《The Great Thief》


 1 Rebirth

    ¡°Big brother¡¯s going to go look for work. Be good, and stay at home and do your homework. Here¡¯s 10 dollars- don¡¯t forget to buy some food for lunch.¡±


    In front of the door of a small house in the Slum District, Lu Li patted the little loli¡¯s head. He simply couldn¡¯t help but lovingly stroke her hair- to see his little sister so healthy and playful was simply wonderful!


    ¡°Alright, alright, big brother,¡± The little loli pouted, ¡°Stop playing with my hair, you¡¯re going to get it messy.¡±


    Lu Xin affectionately straightened up Lu Li¡¯s clothes, and reminded him like a little adult, ¡°Do your best, alright? Big brother¡¯s so hardworking, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to find a job this time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother will definitely find a good job, earn a lot of money and let Xin Xin live a good life,¡± Lu Li said as he hugged her. He said silently in his heart, ¡°I definitely won¡¯t be so poor that I can only watch as you slowly die.¡±


    ¡°When Xin Xin¡¯s older, she¡¯ll earn a lot of money as well,¡± The little loli said as she squirmed in his embrace, solemnly raising her fist in determination.


    Despite the fact that he was extremely unwilling to leave, Lu Li said his goodbyes to his little sister.


    On the bus, he reached into his pocket and froze, bitterly smiling.


    The money he had given to his little sister had lunch had reappeared in his own pocket. He knew that she would probably do this. She was simply too lovable and cute.


    It was currently the 23rd Century, and science had been improving by leaps and bounds. All sorts of AI technology filled every corner of the world, and this development had caused people¡¯slives to improve tremendously. However, it also meant that human labour was becoming obsolete.


    Unemployment was no longer something that was rare, especially to people like Lu Li who were at the bottom of society. To them, finding a stable job was simply a dream.


    If nothing changed, he would have continued to wander in unemployment.


    It was not until he joined a game union¡¯s Gold Collection Unit, by a stroke of incredible luck, that he finally enjoyed a stable life. However, because he only entered the game called ¡°Dawn¡± a year after it was released, he was at too big of a disadvantage, and was never able to become an expert.


    Two years later, his little sister, Lu Xin, was diagnosed with a serious illness during a school check-up.


    Without the money to afford the millions of dollars of medical expenses, coupled with the fact that he had been hunted down by a few other game unions, Lu Li could only watch as his only family slowly died.


    That feeling was worse than being cut with a knife. Lu Li had hugged his little sister while sobbing on many occasions.


    However, his fate had been changed.


    On the day he had received notice of his sister being critically ill, Lu Li had cried for a long time before passing out on his little sister¡¯s hospital bed. When he woke up, he found that he had returned three years in the past - a sort of rebirth.


    He knew that while his little sister was still healthy, he needed to earn money- a lot of money.


    Only with enough money could he cure his little sister of her illness, so that she could be like the other children her age and live a blissful life.


    Only with enough money would he not be humiliated by his girlfriend¡¯s parents. He had been asked, ¡°You don¡¯t have a roof to cover your head,nor do you have a foundation to stand on. Without a car or a house, and just your words, what do you think makes you good enough for our Mei Mei?¡±


    Only with enough money, would he be able to lift his head high and not be looked down upon!


    The easiest way to earn big money would be through the lottery. However, it was a pity that Lu Li never thought that he would experience rebirth, and so never paid attention to the numbers. Neither did he have any experience with the stock market: him, a poor boy, could never afford those sorts of things. Moreover, because the stock market was so volatile, it was something that poor people like him could never risk¡­


    After thinking and thinking, Lu Li was frustrated to find that although he had experienced rebirth, becoming rich would not be easy at all.


    The only thing that he seemed to be able to do was play games- and the game that he had played for 2 years, ¡°Dawn¡±, was set to be released in just a few days.


    Lu Li had already given up on finding a proper job. Today, he wouldpay a visit to the Star Moon Union¡¯s headquarters, where he had worked in his ¡°past life¡±.


    The Star Moon Union was not one of the 10 Great Unions, nor was it in the Chinese Top 4. It was just a game alliance created by a group of university students. The union¡¯s leaders all had extremely rich parents, so they could spend money as they pleased. That was the only reason why their union was still of considerable size.


    The Azure Lake District next to the Higher Education Mega Center was one of the most beautiful places around. It had mountains on one side and water on the other, with cherry blossoms carpeting the ground. In front of Lu Li was an office building, and behind him was a Villa District. Only extremely rich people would be able to set up their companies here.


    Lu Li walked into a building, and the beautiful receptionist looked at his attire in disgust. She called a number, and told Lu Li that he could go in for his interview.


    ¡°Currently, we¡¯re only recruiting people for our Suicide Squads; our Gold Collection Unit is not recruiting anymore.¡± The interviewer was a fashionably dressed woman. She painted her nails as she talked, and didn¡¯t even bother to look at him.


    The so-called ¡°Suicide Squad¡± was simply cannon fodder. Dying 10 times in a day was normal for them.


    The reason Lu Li wanted to find a union to join was so he could use their game helmet for free. Although members of the Gold Collection Unit didn¡¯t have very good future prospects, they could at the very least train and level up. Those in the Suicide Squad were destined to never rise to high levels. After all, dying in the game meant losing EXP.


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m quite talented at collecting gold,¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t willing to give up and join the Suicide Squad. If he gave up now, his plan to earn money would be ruined. He calmed down his breathing as he coolly said, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to recruit me to be part of the Gold Collection Unit, I can earn at least 20 gold per week¡­¡±


    ¡°What? 20 gold?!¡± The woman was so shocked that she accidentally flicked nail polish onto her face.


    Although Dawn was created with the most advanced virtual game technology, and had world-class developers, it was impossible for it to be released without any beta tests. However, not many people had been selected for beta testing, and what they experienced would not have any impact on the actual game.


    In just a few days, what all players realised was that it was incredibly difficult to earn money.


    For normal players, they would not even be able to make their ends meet. Members of the Gold Collection Unit with some skill or experience were only able to earn a few silver per day.


    According to the estimates of experienced players, at least 100 gold was required to establish a guild. Even with 100 members of the Gold Collection Unit working day and night, assuming that they didn¡¯t spend any of it, it would take at least a week to earn that much money.


    And yet, this guy had promised that he would be able to earn at least 20 gold in a week!


    20 gold- that was the equivalent of 200,000 copper!


    ¡°Have you been part of the beta testing? Did you find some sort of way to earn money?¡± The interviewer¡¯s heart raced as she suspiciously asked.


    Lu Li gave a mysterious smile, pretending to have some sort of secret.


    ¡°Ao Jian, come over for a bit, something just came up¡­ Mmm, someone came to apply for the Gold Collection Unit, and says that he can earn 20 gold in a week. I think he¡¯s found some sort of bug.¡± The beautiful interviewer had no choice but to tell her superior.


    Very soon, Lu Li heard some hurried steps running towards the room. Turning around, he was quite shocked to see who had appeared.


    The people who had arrived included the boss of Star Moon, Ao Jian, as well as a few other people. From Lu Li¡¯s two years¡¯ worth of experience in the Star Moon Union, he could see that they were all high-profile members of Star Moon.


    ¡°Ohh? Don¡¯t tell me that the person who can earn 20 gold in a week is this boy.¡± A short man next to Ao Jian yelled out. This person¡¯s in-game name was Half A Cigarette, and was the leader of Star Moon Union¡¯s Thief Group. He was an incredibly abrupt and rash person.


    ¡°Is what she said true? Do you really have a method to earn 20 gold in a week? Are you sure that you¡¯re talking about ¡°Dawn¡±?¡± Ao Jian¡¯s face was quite unsightly. He had carried a sliver of hope as he ran over, but seeing what Lu Li looked like, he felt it disappear.


    Lu Li¡¯s looks were extremely ordinary, and his face was a yellowish-black colour. His clothes were wrinkled, and there were threads sticking out of it. One could tell at a single glance that he was one of those people at the bottom of society.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any evidence, but even if I can¡¯t deliver, you won¡¯t lose much, right?¡± Facing the crowd of rich and talented young people, Lu Li didn¡¯t look like someone who was at the bottom of society at all. He calmly smiled, his eyes filled with boundless confidence.

 2 Cai En’s Kite

    The Star Moon Union¡¯s hundred-man Gold Collection Unit was already full, but they didn¡¯t mind adding another person. After signing the official contract, Lu Li received one of the cheapest game helmets.


    Even one of the cheapest game helmets cost $30,000- for the Lu family brother and sister, a mere $10 was a large sum of money. It would have been impossible for Lu Li to afford a game helmet by himself.


    Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and on September 1, 2215, Dawn was opened worldwide.


    ¡°Do your best, big brother!¡± The little loli jumped around, feeling very excited.


    Lu Li kissed her little face, then lay on the bed and put on the game helmet. A feeling of numbness came from his head and spread throughout his body, causing his consciousness to become hazy.


    ¡°System check-up¡­¡±


    ¡°Firstlog on, retina scan, binding¡­ DNA analysis, binding identity, binding bank account¡­¡±


    After the robotic voice disappeared, Lu Li appeared in a vast hall. There were ten or so large screens around him, and all of them had the image of a figure that looked just like him.


    ¡°The Model VII Game Helmet has been bound to you, welcome to Dawn. In a far away age of darkness¡­ a new chapter has opened. Azeroth Continent has entered into an age of war...¡±


    ¡°Dear Player, would you like to begin creating your account?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°First, please choose your faction. In the war-torn Azeroth Continent, the Evil Faction and the Light Faction have begun hostilities¡­¡±


    ¡°The Light Faction!¡±


    ¡°You have chosen the Light Faction. Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves¡­ seven races are available to you¡­¡±


    ¡°Night Elves!¡±


    ¡­ Ten seconds later, a Night Elf version of Lu Li that looked about 80% similar to him appeared in front of him.


    Night Elves and humans were about the same height, but had slightly darker skin, as well as pointy ears. Compared to humans, the Night Elves who lived in forests had much better stealth and detection abilities.


    Player: Lu Li


    Profession: Thief


    Race: Night Elf


    Faction: Light Faction:


    Level: LV0


    Attributes: Strength: 2, Agility: 2, Intelligence: 2, Constitution: 2, Perception: 2, Charisma: *, Luck: *


    HP: 100/100; Energy: 100/100


    Defence: 2; Attack: 3; Toughness: 1; Reflect: 2; Willpower: 0


    Balance: 5; Focus: 5; Jump: 5; Stealth: 0; Hide: 5; Search: 5


    Magic Resist: 0; Movement Speed: 5; Attack Speed: 5


    Weight limit: 0-20 pounds (light movement); 20-30 pounds (normal movement); 30-50 (restricted movement)


    Racial Abilities:


    [Shadowmeld]: Active Skill, Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 2 minutes. Activate to slip into the shadows, reducing the chances of being detected. The effects last until the time runs out or upon moving. After the effects end, aggro that was held towards you will be restored.


    [Quickness]: Racial Passive. Reduces the chances of being hit by melee and ranged attacks by 2%.


    [Evasive]: Racial Passive. When using Shadowmeld or in stealth mode, reduces the chances of being discovered by enemies.


    [Nature Spirit]: Racial Passive. Night Elves possess wisdom and intelligence that other races do not. Gain +3 Intelligence every 5 levels.


    [Nature Resistance]: Reduces chance of being hit by Nature magic by 2%.


    Class Ability 1: [Dagger Proficiency]: 20% bonus Attack Speed when using Daggers.


    Class Ability 2: [Ambush]: 30% bonus Attack Damage when attacking an enemy from behind.


    Class Ability 3: [Pick Pocket]: Has a certain chance to steal money or items from humanoid creatures. Creates aggro. Cannot be used against players and non-aggro NPCs.


    In his previous life, Lu Li¡¯s profession had been a Druid.


    He could attack, heal, and even tank. However, that didn¡¯t mean Druids were powerful. In fact, one would rarely see Druids in the top 10 rankings.


    However, most of the Gold Collection Unit players had chosen Druids. This was because Druids were hard to kill, and barely had to use any consumables when fighting monsters. When running out of HP, they could heal themselves, and when running out of MP, they could transform and use Swipe. They could often access places that other players couldn¡¯t such as water and mountains.


    However, this time, Lu Li had chosen the Thief profession.


    The Thief profession was the king of PK, and had many incapacitating skills, as well as shocking explosive power. Furthermore, no one could stop them if they wanted to escape from battles. It was also easy for Thieves to earn money by opening treasure boxes, stealthily going to places where normal players couldn¡¯t go to mine, picking medicinal plants¡­


    Although Lu Li hadn¡¯t played as a Thief before, he was very interested in this profession. He had read many guides for Thieves, and was confident that he would be able to succeed as one. Moreover, Lu Li¡¯s Thief was destined to be set apart from all the other Thieves.


    ¡°You have chosen a melee profession, please choose your operating mode¡­¡±


    Regarding the operating modes, the official website went into much detail regarding the Automatic Mode, Half-Manual Mode and Manual Mode.


    Each of these modes had their advantages and disadvantages, and it was acknowledged that their difficulty was in that order.


    When playing as a Druid in his ¡°past life¡±, his Cheetah and Wolf transformations were also used melee attacks, so he knew how difficult using Manual mode was.


    However, he was clear that all melee experts used either Half-Manual mode, or Manual mode!


    ¡°I choose the Manual mode!¡±


    ¡°Enter the game!¡±


    Suddenly, a dizzying sensation hit him, and when he opened his eyes they were filled with the verdant scene of a dark ravine. Towering trees that blanketed the entire sky- in the real world, because of the deforestation from humans, this sort of scenery was impossible to find.


    Near where he spawned, there was a gigantic tree with a few NPCs standing around it. They looked exactly like real people, except for the physical characteristics of Elves.


    Soon, more players also appeared.


    The Dark Ravine was one of the Night Elf players¡¯ spawn points. The Star Moon Union¡¯s Elf players all decided to start here.


    After having a look at his stats, Lu Li decided to start doing quests.


    At LV0, there were 3 quests available to them: The Blacksmith¡¯s 30 Young Boar Tusks, The Tailor Shop¡¯s 30 Young Shadowmaw Panther Furs, and the Orphan Cai En¡¯s Kite. The third quest was to take down a kite from a tree, and return it to Cai En.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with the first two quests, and instead accepted the third quest, ¡°Cai En¡¯s Request¡±. He ran to the back of the mountain, and avoided monsters whenever he could. If he couldn¡¯t avoid them, he would do his best to charge past them, and would eat Bread whenever his HP was low.


    Little Bread: Use: Recovers 30 HP in 8 seconds, must be sitting while eating.


    The system gave each player 5 for free, and the shops sold them for 5 copper each. They were quite expensive, and normal people wouldn¡¯t be able to afford them.


    It was lucky that monsters under Elite grade wouldn¡¯t chase players; players would be able to shake them off once they ran out of their aggro range. As such, Lu Li was able to arrive at the back of the mountain without much trouble.


    The ¡°Kite¡± item in ¡°Cai En¡¯s Request¡± was on a tree at the bottom of the mountain. It wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to grab it after jumping onto the tree from a nearby rock.


    It was a very, very large kite, and the problem wasn¡¯t with how to retrieve it, but the respawn time.


    Tens of thousands of Elf players in the Dark Ravine could accept this quest, but this quest item only respawned once every half an hour. This was simply ridiculous.


    From the very beginning, Cai En¡¯s Kite was acknowledged to be the most ridiculous quest in the Dark Ravine!


    Luckily, Lu Li was able to obtain this quest item.


    However, he didn¡¯t go to complete the quest.


    And that was because he hadn¡¯t obtained this kite for the purpose of completing the quest.

 3 Druid God Ring

    For most games, quest items were quest items and nothing else.


    However, Dawn was different. This kite could be modified to become a glider, and could allow players to ¡®float¡¯ down from high places without falling to their deaths.


    Of course, this was only achievable after some significant modifications.


    Lu Li tore his clothes into strips, and tied them onto the kite so he could use it as he wished.


    His next goal was to get to the top of the mountain.


    He failed on his first attempt: he had been killed by 2 fat boars. On his second attempt, he was killed by a LV6 Forest Leopard. His third attempt was even worse: he had run into a crowd of Jungle Spiders¡­


    In Dawn, dying was a very common occurrence. Any player, unless they forever stayed in the Main City, was bound to die quite a few times. When venturing out into the wilderness for the first time, it was completely normal for players to die 10 or so times.


    It was only on his seventh attempt that Lu Li finally reached the top of the mountain!


    His weapon had been completely destroyed, and the few coppers that he had been given by the system were gone. Luckily, the kite counted as a quest item, and so he couldn¡¯t drop it when he died. Otherwise, he would have cried himself to death.


    After attaching himself to the kite, Lu Li breathed in deeply, and jumped down from the cliff.


    The wind howled in his ears, and after stretching out his ¡®wings¡¯, his descent began to slow down.


    Of course, the kite simply couldn¡¯t compare to an aerial mount. It was hard to maintain balance, and he nearly crashed into the mountain many times.


    Luckily, the kite was a quest item, so it didn¡¯t couldn¡¯t be destroyed!


    Bang!


    -27!


    -3, -3, -3¡­


    The first damage figure was from falling, and the subsequent ¡®-3¡¯ were from stepping into magma.


    Luckily, he had good reflexes, and he quickly jumped out of the way. Otherwise, he would have suffered a heavy loss.


    Below him was a complex-looking region, with smoke everywhere. There was magma spewing out of the ground, and the thick smell of sulphur hung in the air. This was the Outer Region of the Abyss.


    It was said that the Titans defeated and sealed Ragnaros who was from Azeroth into the Abyss. After millions of years, Ragnaros¡¯ power created countless Lava Monsters, causing the Abyss to become the most dangerous place in the entire continent.


    Luckily, there weren¡¯t any monsters in this area, otherwise they would easily be able to squish the LV0 Lu Li to death.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t too far away from his goal, and he carefully looked around. 10 minutes later, he found the place that he was looking for.


    It was a stone house.


    Inside the stone house were a stone table, stone chairs, as well as a stone box on top of the stone table. Inside the stone box was a ring.


    [Supreme One Ring] (Silver): Strength+1, Agility+1, Vampirism+1. Special effects: The Lord of the Forest, Cenarius, gave this ring special powers. You can learn three Druid transformation skills, as well as a skill for one of those transformations. Equipment Requirements: None. Durability: None.


    That¡¯s right, this was what Lu Li came for.


    Equipment in Dawn were ranked as such: Common, Bronze, Steel, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Epic, Legendary¡­


    Common equipment didn¡¯t have any bonus stats; only Defence and Attack. Bronze equipment had 1 bonus stat, Steel had 2 bonus stats, as well as a chance of special effects¡­ Legendary equipment had 8 bonus stats, and would always have a special effect.


    Cenarius was the child of Elune and Malorne, the protector of nature. He was also the adopted son of Ysera, the Queen of the Giant Dragons, and was called the Lord of the Forest by the ancient Elves, or the Demigod of the Groves.


    He was a Demigod, as well as the mentor of the first Night Elf Archdruid, Malfurion Stormrage!


    The Supreme One Ring was the legacy equipment that he had given to Malfurion Stormrage. There were two rings in total, and because Malfurion believed that he couldn¡¯t wield their power by itself, he only wore one ring and left the other in an unknown place in the Dark Ravine.


    Malfurion¡¯s twin brother, the most powerful Demon Hunter, Illidan Stormrage wanted to obtain this legendary equipment, but was refused by Cenarius because he knew that his heart was filled with darkness and malice.


    As such, there was a split in the relationship between the twins.


    The reason why Lu Li had been able to find this ring was simple- rebirth!


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, when he was earning gold, Lu Li had met an Elf Warrior called Azure Sea Breeze. That Warrior could transform like a Druid, as had healing and stealth skills.


    Azure Sea Breeze was like Lu Li; someone who was collecting money in the game to earn a bit of money in the real world. Moreover, because of his strange skills, he was often chased down and killed, causing his level to fall.


    Afterwards, Azure Sea Breeze had told him his secret- he had obtained those skills through the Supreme one Ring!


    It was a ring that could be upgraded- even after three years, there were only a handful of items that were found that could be upgraded!


    It was a pity that this mystical equipment hadn¡¯t brought Azure Sea Breeze any luck.


    Firstly, it took up an equipment slot. Although the Supreme One Ring had three stats, they weren¡¯t that great. When there was an abundance of Steel grade equipment, these stats were worthless.


    Moreover every person could only equip 2 rings, and in order to upgrade it into the Supreme Two Ring, Azure Sea Breeze had spent a lot of time and effort on it.


    There was once an elite team that had created many records. They were ranked first in the Level Rankings as well as Equipment Rankings, but after obtaining this ring, their team disbanded, and slowly fell from the rankings. In the end, they could only join a Gold Collection Unit¡­


    In addition to this, once equipped, it could never be unequipped.


    In order to try to get rid of this ring, Azure Sea Breeze had protested to the company that developed the game, as well as tried dying again and again in the game, but it was useless.


    If players could have multiple accounts or restart their account, Azure Sea Breeze would have chosen one of those options, but unfortunately, this wasn¡¯t the case.


    And now, this ring was in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate at all as he equipped it.


    Because this was the beginning of the game, this Supreme One Ring would give him a massive advantage over other players.


    As for the future... he had confidence that he could upgrade it into the Supreme Two Ring, then the Supreme Three Ring, Supreme Four Ring, Supreme Five Ring¡­


    It was incredibly difficult to get here, but getting back was easy. Lu Li stood in the magma and watched his HP decrease.


    He once again respawned at the Dark Ravine.


    ¡°Look, another one died. It¡¯s a pity it¡¯s a guy.¡±


    ¡°Whoa, no way, he only has a pair of underpants left. What happened to him?¡±


    ¡°Aiya, I recognise this guy. He¡¯s died a lot of times already. Is he addicted to dying?¡±


    There were many people at the spawn points. Some people hadn¡¯t bothered to train yet, and sat around the respawn point, enjoying the show and hoping some beauties would show up.


    Lu Li ignored these people, and opened the community channel, then entered the group chat¡¯s number.


    ¡°Hi everyone!¡±


    After a few moments, the group chat became quite bustling.


    ¡°Aiyo, if it isn¡¯t the Gold Collection Unit¡¯s expert. What level are you now?¡± There were quite a few people in the Star Moon Union who knew of this new expert, who had claimed that he could earn 20 gold in 1 week. None of the high-profile members of the Star Moon Union believed him. For a menial worker to spout such arrogant words, had everyone outraged.


    ¡°I¡¯m not worthy for that title, please call me Lu Li. Right now, I¡¯m LV0.¡± Lu Li said as he looked for the NPCs for the Boar Tusks and Panther Fur quests.


    ¡°No way, my LV1 EXP bar is already 30% full, how can the expert be LV0¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also LV1¡­¡±


    ¡°Boss Ao Jian is doing really well; he¡¯s almost LV2¡­¡±


    ¡°Does anyone at the Dark Ravine have a dagger or short sword?¡± Lu Li casually asked, ¡°If you loan it to me, I¡¯ll return an equipment with bonus stats tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Wah, equipment with bonus stats? No one¡¯s found any equipment with bonus stats yet.¡±


    ¡°At least put some effort in when trying to scam people; piss the hell off!¡±


    ¡°Lu Li,¡± Ao Jian finally spoke. He wasn¡¯t very courteous either, ¡°It¡¯s been more than an hour, but you¡¯re still LV0, and you even destroyed your weapon. Are you sure you know what you¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree that you would fulfil my requests within your power? Right, and it¡¯s not just my weapon; my clothes and money are also gone. If someone can give me a few bread, that¡¯d be great as well.¡± Lu Li shamelessly said.


    The people in the group chat fell silent. Goddamn, can you be even more shameless than this?!

 4 Skill Completion

    ¡°Where are you right now? Come over to the Blacksmith.¡± After the group chat fell silent for a while, the future Union Elder ¡°Square Root 3¡± spoke up. Ao Jian had probably swallowed his anger and agreed to Lu Li¡¯s requests.


    Not too long later, the Hunter Square Root 3 saw Lu Li at the Blacksmith. Although he was mentally prepared, what he saw shocked him out of his mind.


    The player who had confidently said that he could earn 20 gold in 1 week was only left with equipment that couldn¡¯t be destroyed or dropped¡­


    However, Lu Li¡¯s expression was abnormally calm. Square Root 3 had never seen anyone look so calm while almost naked, which left him with some hope and faith in Lu Li. He silently transferred to Lu Li a dagger and 10 Little Breads.


    [Sharp Dagger] (Common): 1-2 Damage. Level Requirement: LV0. Durability: 8/10. A bit better than the beginner weapon.


    ¡°Oh, also, were you able to find a Seal Transformation book?¡±


    Square Root 3 shook his head, and asked in curiosity, ¡°You¡¯re a Thief, right? Why do you want a Seal Transformation book? Is it for a friend?¡±


    The Seal Transformation was a Druid transformation skill book. It had a chance of dropping from monsters beside lakes. It didn¡¯t have any skills specific to that animal, and so Druids usually viewed it as quite useless. However, Lu Li was determined to have this skill book.


    ¡°Yep, I have a friend who wants that skill book. Just remember to give me that book. Earning 20 gold within a week depends on it.¡± Lu Li casually said as he held the hand equipped with the Supreme One Ring behind his back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll send some people to wipe out some small fry,¡± Square Root 3¡¯s expression became serious, and immediately dispatched some people to kill monsters to look for the skill book.


    ¡°See you later.¡± Lu Li waved with the dagger in his hand, and left to kill some monsters.


    Thieves were given three skills when they started the game: Shadowstrike, Stealth and Unlock. As a Night Elf, he also had a bonus stealth skill: Shadowmeld.


    Stealth: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 8 seconds. Allows Thieves to conceal themselves until the effects run out.


    Shadowstrike: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 4 seconds. Deals 2 damage to the target, as well as 120% weapon attack damage. Awards 1 combo point.Proficiency: 1/1000.


    Unlock: Requires 10 seconds to cast, Cooldown Time: 2 minutes. Open the locks of chests and doors. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t find a monster and simply charge at it. Instead, he activated Stealth and got closer. This was the difference between the Manual mode and Automatic mode.


    Under the Automatic mode, the system would alert players when they were able to use their skills, and could even cast skills for players. Using Automatic mode, it was also impossible for skills to fail because of control issues. On the other hand, any other issues could cause the skill to fail.


    Like so.


    LIKE SO.


    Snap! Lu Li accidentally stepped on a branch, causing a clear snapping sound.


    The young boar¡¯s ears pricked up, and snorted a few times before charging at Lu Li.


    This was, after all, Lu Li¡¯s first time playing as a Thief. He could only reveal himself and start duelling it out with the young boar.


    He slashed at the boar, -6!


    The boar rammed into him, -9!


    Just like this, Lu Li exchanged blows with the young boar.


    In the distance, Square Root 3, who had been observing him, frowned. He didn¡¯t know much about Thieves, but this guy who even failed at using Stealth didn¡¯t seem like an expert.


    Under Automatic mode, using Stealth was not foolproof, but against low level monsters like this boar, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have been detected.


    The Star Moon Union¡¯s future Vice-President left in disappointment. To him, Lu Li was pretty much a scammer.


    However, Square Root 3 didn¡¯t see Lu Li¡¯s second attempt against a monster, otherwise his impression would have been much better.


    The second time, Lu Li¡¯s Stealth didn¡¯t fail. He arrived behind a young boar, and aimed at its hind legs as he slashed out.


    Blood spurted everywhere, -11!


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 82%, caused 93% Skill Damage, target stunned for 1 second!


    Stun!


    This was the Manual mode!


    The beloved, yet despicable, manual mode!


    The 82% Skill Completion that Lu Li just achieved was not a simple feat at all. That 82% Skill Completion was pure luck.


    Currently, not many people had chosen to go with the Manual mode, and those who did averaged around 50% Skill Completion. 50% Skill Completion could only unleash 40% of the Skill¡¯s Damage, as opposed to the 100% from the Automatic mode.


    In Lu Li¡¯s ¡°past life¡±, Manual mode had not become popular until the game had been released for three years.


    The next few times Lu Li faced off against monsters, his highest Skill Completion was around 60%, which was far below the 100% for Automatic mode players. After all, he had never properly played with the Manual mode before.


    Although the ¡®rebirth¡¯ gave him advantages over other players, it didn¡¯t mean he became an expert instantly.


    However, he wasn¡¯t worried. He patiently killed young boars while raising his Proficiency and getting a better sense of the Skill Completion.


    Being a professional player could be quite dry at times, and patience was often more important than talent. Lu Li, who had killed many, many monsters in order to earn money was an incredibly patient person.


    Lu Li¡¯s skill completion level continued to climb upwards, and by the time he had reached LV1, he could consistently achieve over 70% for the Skill Completion. The Skill Damage was now around 90%, which wasn¡¯t too far below that of Automatic mode players¡¯.


    The quest to obtain 30 Young Boar Tusks was quickly completed.


    Lu Li found 45 copper coins, 10 young boar fur, but no equipment.


    When he went to complete the quest, he received 300 EXP, 20 copper coins, as well as a Cloth Cloak.


    [Cloth Cloak] (Common): 3 Armour. Level Requirement: LV1. Durability: 10/10.


    The young boar fur could be sold for 2 copper coins each, and after selling them, Lu Li¡¯s personal wealth was now a single silver coin.


    However, after buying 10 Bread, he was left with only 50 copper coins, or half a silver coin.


    In Dawn, every time a player levelled up, they would receive 5 Attribute Points.


    Lu Li thought for a few moments, then gritted his teeth and put all of the Attribute Points into Agility.


    Although it wasn¡¯t as much as Strength, Agility also gave him some Attack Power. Furthermore, it could also increase his Movement Speed and Attack Speed. More importantly, Agility could increase the chance for Critical Hits and Evasion for Thieves.


    In Dawn, Thieves were split into two main styles: the Agility Thieves, who put all of their points into Agility, and the Warrior Thieves, who put all their points into Strength. It was hard to say which one was better- both styles had peak level experts, but to Lu Li who was used to playing alone, there were more advantages to Agility Thieves.


    After levelling up, there were 2 new quests available to him: Shadowmaw Panther¡¯s Fur, which could only be obtained by killing a LV2 Shadowmaw Panther, as well as the Rotting Magic Moss. The second quest was a Collection quest, and was located near the bank of the Moon Shadow Lake.


    After killing 30 young Shadowmaw Panthers, and finishing all of the LV0 quests, Lu Li would go to kill real Shadowmaw Panthers.


    Shadowmaw Panthers were decent monsters to farm for EXP. They didn¡¯t have much HP, and had average Defence. To Thieves, who had the advantage of attacking first, it wouldn¡¯t take much effort to kill them. Moreover, apart from fur, Shadowmaw Panthers could also drop equipment, or even skills like the Magicians¡¯ ¡®Ice Spear¡¯ or the Druids¡¯ ¡®Claw¡¯ or ¡®Panther Transformation¡¯.


    Of course, this all depended on one¡¯s luck. Lu Li¡¯s luck was quite poor, and even after half an hour, he didn¡¯t find a single skill book.


    Stealth, Shadowstrike, -19!


    Shadowstrike Skill Completion 73%, caused 81% Skill Damage. Lu Li sent out two attacks, and the Shadowmaw Panther in front of him let out a pitiful cry as it collapsed to the ground.


    A clang sounded out, causing Lu Li¡¯s heart to leap. That wasn¡¯t the sound of coins falling, but equipment dropping- and a weapon, at that.


    Lu Li kicked away the Shadowmaw Panther¡¯s body, revealing a 1 metre long, jade-green Magic Staff.


    [Apprentice Magic Staff] (Common): 5-7 Damage. Level Requirement: LV2. Durability: 3/10.


    This was definitely a good piece of equipment. Although it was only Common grade, it had high Damage. For a LV2 weapon, it was extraordinary.


    With the motivation of earning equipment, Lu Li began to farm monsters in earnest.


    Not too long after, a second piece of equipment appeared.


    [Fisherman¡¯s Old Felt Cap] (Common): 2 Armour. Level Requirement: LV1. Durability: 8/10.


    This piece of equipment was a lot worse than the Magic Staff, but at least Lu Li could immediately use it. After equipping the Hat, his Armour was increased by quite a bit, and he received less damage when fighting monsters. This raised the efficiency of his farming.


    As he was farming monsters, he felt the sensor on his waist vibrate.


    Lu Li quickly finished off the monsters he was dealing with, picked up a copper coin, and answered the call.


    ¡°The ¡®Seal Transformation¡¯ you wanted has appeared¡­¡±

 5 A Thief That Can Cast Seal Transformation

    ¡°Where are you right now? I¡¯ll come over to you immediately.¡± It was the Star Moon Union¡¯s Square Root 3. Lu Li was a little taken aback; he didn¡¯t think that the Seal Transformation skill book would be found so quickly. The union¡¯s capability was definitely greater than any individual.


    If it were up to him alone, it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that he would be able to find this skill book, even after three days of searching.


    ¡°By the Moon Reflection Lake, where you said the Grells would spawn¡± joked Square Root 3: ¡°Seeing as you now know how to farm the Seal Transformation, could you tell me how I could farm a Tame Beast Skill Book?¡±


    Tame Beast was a unique Hunter skill, whereby after learning it, they were would be able to tame beasts. This was the mark of a true hunter.


    ¡°For that you have to grind a LV 6 monster on the mountains ¨C Wild Forest Wolf. They can drop ¡®Tame Beast¡¯ or ¡®Revive Pet¡¯ skill books for the hunter, ¡®Wolf Transformation¡¯ for the Druid, ¡®Inferno Impact¡¯ for the Magician, ¡®Backhand Backstab¡¯ for the Thief, and if you are lucky, it might even drop ¡®Shieldstrike¡¯ for the Warrior.


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said that¡±. Immediately after he had finished speaking, Lu Li regretted it.


    It was also because he got the Seal Transformation so quickly, that he was a little excited.


    The blood of a Thief should be calm; next time he definitely needed to keep his cool.


    He had honestly just asked Square Root 3 that question in passing, not thinking that he would receive such a detailed answer.


    ¡®Shieldstrike¡¯!


    With Shieldstrike, professions that focused on Defence would no longer be a useless burden, and the LV5 Spider Lair Instance Dungeon would be possible to clear.


    After repeatedly farming, the quest for Shadowmaw Panther skins had already been completed. He immediately set out for the Moon Reflection Lake.


    In the history of Dawn, there lived the intelligent Eisenna of the Wild. In a way that even she cannot remember the precise process of, she created a weak evil spirit race, giving them the Moon Reflection lake as their habitat.


    Eisenna was a demigod and was once rumored to be Cenarius¡¯ spouse - mother of the keepers of the Grove, but this had never been confirmed by the King of the Wild.


    Perhaps the God of Creation didn¡¯t care, but the Grells were exceedingly ugly and frequently said ¡°this is our territory, trespassers must die¡± while aiming fireballs at them.


    However, these small rogue-like monsters were in fact vegetarians who fed off moss.


    The corrupting moss quest, was to collect 20 of these items from the bodies of these small evil creatures.


    Not long after, Lu Li found Square Root 3, but following him was not one person; he was leading 2 members of the union, one was a Magician, and the other was an impressive Druid!


    The Druid, ¡°I am Richy Rich¡±, was staring at Lu Li with hate in his eyes - it was his party that found this Druid skill book. As such, he thought that it would be his, but it was unexpectedly reserved for a Thief.


    How could he not feel resentful?


    Lu Li knew this Druid, he had very rich parents and would die for his pride. He infamously set a massive bounty for the head of the ¡®Water Thief¡¯, all because they had some good equipment that they did not want to sell to him.


    If that kind of circumstance caused such an event, then what would happen now that there was an actual reason for resentment?


    ¡°This is the skill book that you wanted¡± Square Root 3 said, handing the skill book to Lu Li. After the trade ended, he left without saying a word. Square Root 3 had some reservations about Lu Li saying he wanted the skill book for a friend.


    Dawn only had a few open skill books, from which all professions could learn. However, this definitely did not include ¡®Seal Transformation¡¯ which was unique to its occupation.


    ¡°I have a Magic Staff, you can have it as compensation for the skill book.¡± Lu Li did not satisfy their curiosity, putting the skill book in his bag, and taking out the Magic Staff that he attained earlier.


    The Magic Staff had broad usage requirements, Magicians, Warlocks, Priests and Druids could all use the Magic Staff.


    ¡°What kind of joke is this, a common equipment to compensate for a skill book? You¡¯re insane!¡± I am Richy Rich took a glance and immediately started calling out.


    ¡°You guys can also choose not to take it¡± Lu Li was too lazy to explain how high the damage of this Magic Staff was, and how weak the skill book actually was.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough¡± I am Richy Rich was dumb, but that didn¡¯t mean Square Root 3 was too. He pulled past the child with wealthy parents, and took the Magic Staff. ¡°It¡¯s clear according to what you have said, do you want to train together?¡±


    ¡°Not right now, I need to do a collection quest¡±, Lu Li didn¡¯t want to form a party with them. On one hand, he didn¡¯t want to expose his own secrets, and on the other, he wanted to practice Skill Completion alone.


    The reason for forming a party to train was efficiency, but other people had no obligation to practice skills with him. Moreover, he did not like these arrogant people who were favored by God.


    He still had 8% exp left to go and after handing in the two quest items he had on hand he would rise to LV2. When that time came he would be able to learn a very important Thief skill ¨C Cheap Shot. After learning Cheap Shot, training with the Thief would become much more efficient.


    [Cheap Shot]: Instant cast. Stuns target for 4 seconds, must be cast when under the effect of Stealth. Awards 2 combo points.


    Although it didn¡¯t deal any damage, Cheap Shot stunned for 4 seconds, making the thief an elegant King of control, regardless of whether it was PVE or PVP. This skill was a big part of professional Thief gameplay.


    What was quite unfortunate was that this skill is not upgradable.


    Square Root 3 was the diplomat of Star Moon Union and was considered rather amicable to talk to. Even after being declined by Lu Li he was unfazed, it was only I am Richy Rich whose expression was not too pretty.


    This rich child had always gotten the first of everything, but today, not only did he not get a skill book of his own occupation, he was also offended by Lu Li. If it weren¡¯t for Square Root 3¡¯s good demeanor, he would have organized for some members of the union to take out Lu Li.


    After collecting everything, he returned to the village. Lu Li handed over the Young Shadowmaw Panther, Shadowmaw Panther fur and corrupting moss to complete 3 quests, becoming level 2 in the process. He also immediately learnt Cheap Shot.


    Of course, the price that he paid to learn the skill made him return once again to having only copper coins, after newly breaking through into having a silver coin.


    This was the nature of the game - the money earned was never enough. Learning skills, repairing equipment and buying potions, were all reasons for your wallet to decrease in size.


    Lu Li did not forget the ¡®Seal Transformation¡± in his bag. This skill was not for Thieves but after learning it, it would appear within his skills column.


    [Seal Transformation]: Instant Cast. You transform into a seal that is capable of swimming. You can now enter and explore waters. Spell duration 20 minutes. Cooldown 30 minutes. Swimming speed increased by 50%, gain ability to breath underwater, when transformation is in effect offensive skills cannot be used. Skill proficiency 1/1000.


    To speak the truth, the Seal Transformation was terrible, and didn¡¯t gather much attention amongst the other Druid skills. Its function was very limited.


    A large majority of Druids who picked this skill used it to find herbs or mine underwater.


    Regular players could achieve the same effects by taking breathing underwater pots. Furthermore, they could still attack while under those same effects.


    However, this was completely different; Lu Li was a Thief, a Thief that knew Seal Transformation.


    The reason that he dared to make a claim that he could make 20 gold in a single day to the Star Moon union was because he could take advantage of this ¨C a Thief that could transform into a seal!


    He moved to a more remote part of the Moon Reflection Lake, and looked around in all directions as the water rippled around him. He then disappeared below the surface of the water.

 6 Opening a Treasure Ches

    After entering the water, a grey bar appeared before Lu Li. This represented how long he could stay underwater, which was roughly 30 seconds. After this period, he would start to lose HP.


    Seal Transformation!


    After casting the skill, Lu Li instantly transformed into a small seal. His body was very smooth and he continued diving towards the bottom of the lake.


    There were different kinds of monsters within the lake; like variations of fish, shrimps, crabs and snails. While the transformation reduced aggro, none of the monsters were higher than LV5 so they did not target him.


    After about 2 minutes, Lu Li reached the bottom of the lake that was over 100 yards deep.


    Amongst the aquatic plants, there were fish swimming through them. Lu Li looked around and found the object that he had come here for.


    A treasure chest!


    This was the kind of advantage he had. The game had only started about 4 hours ago; who else would be able to find a treasure chest like this?


    Loot that was found in treasure chests was like the loot awarded for killing elite monsters. In the previous world, Thieves who opened treasure chests were all very wealthy.


    So he approached the chest and cast his Unlock spell.


    [Unlock]: 10 second cast time, 2 minute cooldown, opens locked chests and doors. Skill Proficiency 1/1000


    Unlock was not an offensive skill, so even in seal form it could be used. Lu Li got lucky and the chest was opened on his first try.


    The chest slowly opened, and he reached into it and felt around, pulling two items out with his seal claws.


    One of them was a piece of equipment.


    Crab Claw Band (Bronze): 8 Armor, Agility +2, Level Requirement LV3, Durability 9/20


    An attribute equipment!


    It was even armor suitable for Thieves!


    The bronze equipment before him was great ¨C it completely suited the Agility Thief playstyle that Lu Li had taken up. Once he reached level 3, his skills would be even more synergized.


    The other item, was a skill book.


    Even though it was easier to find these low grade skill books, right now it was still early in the game. As such, the value of these skill books were much higher than bronze equipment.


    [Frost Nova]: Instant Cast, 50 second cooldown, affects all targets within 12 yards, dealing 9-11 ice damage and freezing them. The freeze can last a maximum of 8 seconds.This freeze effect can be cancelled by dealing damage to the target. Level requirement LV5. Upgradable.


    Oh my!


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t contain himself; he felt the rush of 10,000 galloping horses.


    He just gave Square Root 3 a common Magic Staff that dealt 5-7 damage for a skill book. A skill that could deal 9-11 damage was already incredibly good, but this Frost Nova, the damage was a secondary effect with the primary effect being a freeze!


    All targets¡­ in 12 yards¡­ for 8 seconds¡­ all these aspects together, made Frost Nova the best attainable skill!


    Even after 2 years of this game, not all Magicians would have owned this skill.


    You couldn¡¯t farm it in the LV5 Spider Lair Instance Dungeon, the LV10 Death Mines, the LV15 Howling Caves nor the LV25 Scarlet Monastery¡­


    Hmm, in the LV25 Scarlet Monastery, the boss might have a small chance of dropping it, a very small chance.


    So if a grade were to be given to it¡­


    Bronze?


    What a joke!


    Iron?


    Definitely higher!


    Silver?


    Take any piece of silver equipment and it wouldn¡¯t compare to this skill book!


    ¡­¡­


    Lu Li was completely shocked; he did not expect at all to get Frost Nova from this low grade treasure chest. He thought he was dreaming¡­ or maybe it was a bug.


    This book alone could be sold for 20 gold.


    With 20 gold you could match the entire earnings of a large union down to their last copper coin.


    Only after a while did he finally calm down and put the skill book in his bag to continue looking for treasure.


    Moon Reflection Lake had 3 treasure chests, placed randomly at the bottom of the lake.


    If he could get 3 Frost Nova skill books¡­


    Pah, Lu Li slapped himself ¨C to find another Frost Nova would just be wishful thinking.


    There were many aquatic plants around and elite monsters that could appear, so he had to search very slowly. It was only after 10 minutes did he managed to find the second treasure chest.


    His heart started beating faster!


    The life of a Thief was so exciting; so far he had no regrets with this occupation.


    Montreal¡¯s Sickle (Bronze): Damage 15-23, Strength +1, Level requirement 4, Durability 12/18.


    It was another bronze equipment, this time a long two handed weapon. It could be used by Hunters, Druids, Paladins and Warriors. The attributes were also good, boasting significant damage and one of the best stats in the additional strength.


    Small Black Bag (Common): Container, 6 Spaces.


    This was also a good item. In Dawn, players first started with only 10 bag spaces. It was not clear now, but when the levels were a little higher and with various drops to collect, everyone would find that there would be enough inventory spaces.


    A 6 space bag would be sold by the universal shop at the Beginners Village for the price of 80 silver when it was renovated. Lu Li could sell this bag for 50 silver or more, depending on whether people could afford it.


    After opening 2 treasure chests, Lu Li started to swim towards the surface of the water because the 20 minute duration of Seal Transformation was about to end. If he didn¡¯t leave now he could drown here.


    After breaking through the surface, Lu Li quickly returned to his original Thief form. He climbed onto shore to find a few Grells to kill.


    When the Seal Transformation cooldown had reset, he quietly dived in once again.


    The third treasure chest contained a silk cloth, which was material for a tailor. It wasn¡¯t worth much money.


    However, there was also a ring.


    Sturdy Ring (Bronze): Damage 2-6, Constitution +3, Level Requirement 5, Durability 20/20.


    Tutut, he was salivating over this ring.


    Not only did this ring increase his damage, it also gave 3 points of Constitution.


    Every player, when they levelled up, would gain some additional max HP depending on their occupation but also on their Constitution stat.


    Thieves and Magicians both gained 7 max HP for every point of Constitution. Paladins and Warriors on the other hand gained roughly 10 max HP for every point. This was known as growth potential.


    If he kept this ring for himself it would be a bit of a waste, but he believed that Azure Sea Breeze would really like it.


    He would have to wait 24 hours before he could farm these treasure chests again. In the meantime, he could only train. He didn¡¯t farm any more Grells, instead going to farm some Shadowmaw Panthers and hoping to find ¡®Cheetah Transformation¡¯.


    Unfortunately, he kept farming till level 3, and it was now 6pm in game. In real life it was already 12am, and he still hadn¡¯t found a skill book. Other than the furs that he had found, there was only a common piece of armor.


    The colour of in game sky started to dim. According to government regulations, this was the daily 8 hour period where the game would be dark - from 12 am to 8am. In the open field, visibility was reduced to half and the training areas would randomly spawn Night Crawlers


    Night Crawlers were especially strange; their level was highest level player in the area + 10. They had high attack, high defence and high HP, as well as strong regenerative abilities. Only after an attribute decreasing weapon was found could the players stand a chance against them.


    These were put in place for the sake of the player¡¯s bodies.


    Virtual technology was truly well developed but it was unable to resolve the problem of rest for the players.


    At this time, death was very costly, and if you were killed by the Night Crawlers, you would lose 40% of your current exp: 2 times the penalty of normal death.


    Of course, there were advantages and disadvantages to these measures. A rich person could just hire a bunch of players as cannon fodder, and use them to draw away the Night Crawlers when travelling by night.


    Lu Li had no reason to oppose the system; he returned to the village, and like the numerous other players, set up a stall in the open area in front of the inn.


    Before long, the first player came to look at Lu Li¡¯s shop. This little Night Elf girl squealed so loudly that the whole valley could probably have heard her.


    ¡°Heavens, am I seeing things? There are 2¡­ 2 bronze equipment, and even a skill book!¡±

 7 The first pot of gold

    ¡°Where? Where is the bronze equipment?¡± This reaction was made by more than one person.


    Just because a stall had been set up didn¡¯t mean that it was selling something of value. If you had an extra piece of common equipment to sell, you could already be proud of that. Most players could only sell some dried meats that could be used to replenish some HP.


    ¡°Scoff, it¡¯s just an exaggeration. Our union has 18 people and we only have 3 spare common equipment to sell. We have only found 1 bronze equipment which was dropped by an elite monster. Our leader is currently wearing it¡­¡±


    ¡°Woah, it really is bronze equipment and a skill book. I¡¯m going to find out what kind of skill book it is¡­¡± Not everyone was skeptical; there were some bored people who also came by to have a look. After looking through the stall they were speechless.


    Then, more and more people came.


    How did this happen? Lu Li was left equally speechless.


    When he played this game previously, it had already been running for a while. At that time, the newbie village was busy and there were many stalls around, but it had never been so¡­ noisy.


    It wasn¡¯t because of the bronze equipment, nor was it because of the skill book. It was because they had not yet seen the world!


    ¡°Brother¡±, a surprised union member went over, calmed down a little and started talking business. ¡°I¡¯m very interested in this Montreal¡¯s Sickle, but 1 gold and 50 silver is a little too much don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Sturdy Ring for 2 gold, dammit, if there¡¯s someone out there who has 2 gold right now, I¡¯ll do a live broadcast of myself eating grass!¡±


    ¡°Frost Nova, this skill is overpowered. Brother, we the Grand Hegemony union can¡¯t afford 20 gold. How about we trade with actual money.We¡¯ll send the money to you first, and you can give us the skill book when you receive it¡­¡±


    Grand Hegemony!


    That was the union that rules over the ¡®Shadow Realm¡¯; they weren¡¯t much different from Star Moon Union.


    Who would have thought that a person from such a large union would be so polite? It was completely unlike the aggressive stories that were told about them.


    This proposal of first sending the money before receiving the skill book showed a genuine sincerity. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but be interested by the offer.


    The in-game name, Drinking Alone, was a famous one. Amongst the 4 owners of the Grand Hegemony, there would come a day when he would lead a group of 800 players to the Shadow City of the Evil Faction, destroying many villages in the process.


    20 gold was incredibly difficult to come by. Even though Grand Hegemony was one of the top ten unions, they were still unable to gather 20 gold. Their members were all dispersed into different regions, and at this time, they were unable to gather this kind of strength.


    Lu Li considered it for a few seconds, before taking out his communication device from his waist and inputting the Star Moon Union number.


    ¡°Calling for assistance, calling for assistance¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay stop calling, we¡¯re on our way¡± Square Root 3¡¯s response was quick; there must have been someone who had made an announcement to the Star Moon Union.


    ¡°Oh¡±, Lu Li didn¡¯t say a word after that, and continued to work on his stall.


    Not long after, Square Root 3 arrived, and this time he wasn¡¯t alone. There were 7-8 people following him, each one with a look of excitement on their face.


    ¡°Okay, time to pack up, the union wants everything you are selling. Give accounting some time, and the funds will be directly sent to your card.¡± Ao Jian was here, so naturally it wasn¡¯t Square Root 3 speaking. His tone was so natural, but the people surrounding were shocked to hear what he said.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Ao Jian? Brother Ao Jian is so insincere; there is a process to doing business, especially when dealing with items of such high value¡± Drinking Alone was trying to stick to Lu Li. This was no joke; this skill book was very hard to come by and anyone with ambition would not want to let it go.


    ¡°Haha, Drinking Alone, this is none of your business¡± Ao Jian made a faint smile while looking at him. ¡°Lu Li is one of our Gold Collection unit, and has signed an official contract. You say I don¡¯t have the capacity to make a decision like this?¡±


    ¡°Gold Collection Unit?¡±Drinking Alone was shocked, ¡°this master is one of your Gold Collection Unit people?¡±


    The audience nearby erupted with noise.


    This was insane, someone who was capable for getting 2 bronze equipment and a high quality skill book to sell was a member of the Gold Collection Unit?


    Were the members of Star Moon Union all this talented?


    I am Richy Rich jumped out and sneered: ¡°You inexperienced imbecile, you see his level and you call him a master? I don¡¯t know what kind of luck he had to get this kind of item, but as a member of the union he didn¡¯t even do what he was supposed to. He secretly tried to sell these items¡­¡±


    ¡°I just didn¡¯t get to tell you yet¡± Lu Li tried to respond.


    ¡°What do you mean you didn¡¯t get to tell us? You have signed a contract to the union, of course everything you get belongs to the union.¡± I am Richy rich was fierce and stern. ¡°You set up a stall, but you knew that this was illegal behavior. If you did manage to sell the items, we are fully capable of pursuing you for your legal liability.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s fuse is only a certain length and Lu Li already didn¡¯t really like Richy Rich. After hearing him say that, he immediately put the skill book in his bag: ¡°The contract I signed with you is not an ordinary Gold Collection contract, so I will keep this skill book.¡±


    Finding Frost Nova was a complete accident. According to Lu Li¡¯s plans, opening a treasure chest every 24 hours should result in at least 3 bronze equipment. In a week, it should be possible to attain at least 20 bronze equipment which was more than enough for 20 gold.


    At the time that the contract was signed, the basic agreement was to deliver 20 gold a week for a 3 month period. There were no other limitations.


    After 3 months, Lu Li¡¯s contract with the Star Moon union would expire. If Lu Li wanted to continue using the helmet, he needed to pay Star Moon Union 10,000 in real life money. During this period, the gold that was delivered was not for free. Star Moon Union would need to give a 20% discount of the market price as a reward.


    Ao Jian thought of all this, and his expression went cold. Due to his arrogance, he was unable to face the words that had been said.


    Seeing Ao Jian¡¯s expression, everyone knew that Lu Li¡¯s words weren¡¯t empty. I am Richy Rich also couldn¡¯t say anything. It was like he was choking; he opened his mouth but no words came out.


    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s just fine. We, the Grand Hegemony, know the high value of this book; 20,000 real life money. But I don¡¯t know if Lu Li is willing to part with his treasures.¡±


    Drinking Alone looked ecstatic, seizing this opportunity to name a price that left people dumbfounded.


    20,000, Lu Li¡¯s heart beat with excitement.


    ¡°How about this¡± With the surrounding people enjoying the misfortune of what was happening, Square Root 3 quickly spoke up: ¡°this book can be counted as the 20 gold, your weekly duty has been accomplished and you can now play the game at ease¡­¡±


    The lack of human compassion that was being shown through Square Root 3¡¯s words stopped Lu Li from maintaining his composure.


    To live for someone else, how would that ever be a good feeling?


    Honestly speaking, was Frost Nova really worth 20 gold? It was hard to say.


    But simply looking at its attributes and effects, no one dared say it wasn¡¯t.


    Right now any union in the game was incapable of paying 20 gold for anything. Moreover, even after 3 to 5 days no one would be able to pay that kind of money.


    In a time when everyone was working to contribute money to the unions, the value of gold was greater than anything else.


    That¡¯s why it¡¯s said that Square Root 3 knows how to deal with people!


    In the previous game, Star Moon Union developed and became a big union. Square Root 3¡¯s way of working obviously outclassed that of the I am Richy Rich kind.


    ¡°If there isn¡¯t a problem, we¡¯ll count it as 20 gold¡± Ao Jian stared intently, but he wasn¡¯t an idiot. Knowing that this was the best way to take advantage of the situation, he still nodded his head even though he did not completely agree.


    As for I am Richy Rich, he stayed completely silent, afraid that Lu Li might remember the boastful words that he said before.

 8 Ambush!

    Right now gold coins were valuable but there wasn¡¯t a big market for them. If you were to trade it, it would be roughly 1 to 1500 times in terms of value. After taking into account the 20% discount, Lu Li would be able to attain about 25,000 real life money if he were to give Star Moon Union the skill book.


    ¡°With this bit of cash, we could rent a nice small suite near a park, and find a decent school for my little sister,¡± Lu Li thought.


    As for Drinking Alone?


    The price that Square Root 3 has offered was higher and fulfilled the weekly gold quota. Lu Li really had no reason to reject him, after all, Drinking Alone and he were not really friends.


    However, this did not get Drinking Alone down, as he warmly said: ¡°Brother Lu Li, add me as a friend. Next time you find some good equipment, don¡¯t forget me. I hope for an opportunity to work together in the future.¡±


    Lu Li felt like it would be rude to refuse, so he hastily accepted the friend request.


    Ao Jian and I am Richy Rich both felt ashamed, so they found a reason to leave. Square Root 3 was left with the responsibility of trading the skill book from Lu Li and dealing with the financial transfer.


    25,000 in actual money!


    This was almost the monthly wage of a high position office worker.


    In addition, Lu Li also gave one of the bronze equipment that he found to Square Root 3. Back when he had lost everything from dying too much, Square Root 3 gave him a Sharp Dagger and supplies. At that time, he also pledged that he would return a weapon that had additional attributes. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t break this promise.


    Montreal¡¯s Sickle (Bronze): Damage 15-23, Strength +1, Required Level 4, Durability 12/18.


    This weapon had high damage, which was very useful for the early levels. Even the cool headed Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t remain completely emotionless.


    After the trade had completed, Lu Li disconnected. To professional players, getting an appropriate amount of rest was important. Lu Li didn¡¯t want what happened last time, where after 2 to 3 months he had damaged his body.


    The next day when he woke up, his sister had already left for school.


    Lu Li would have to wait for her to come home before telling her the news of the money he had made. They could finally move out from this low class worn out room.


    First, he went out for a run around the block, and then checked his account for the money before returning to have some breakfast. By the time he went online, the daylight was already shining in-game.


    The game time and real world time had a 1:1 relationship. But the darkness in game was fixed to be from 12am to 8am no matter what. Whether it was windy or raining it would still be daytime out of those hours.


    Speaking of rain, when Lu Li logged on, the Dark Ravine was raining.


    The rain was fine, continuously falling and blurring the sky.


    He repaired his equips and bought some bread. Then, Lu Li who had recently made a decent sum of money continued on in his journey to practice his occupation.


    At this time, the highest level players would be around level 4, diligently working towards level 5. Lu Li wasted a lot of time getting the Supreme One Ring. He also spent quite some time practicing Skill Completion and opening treasure chests. In addition, the Thief occupation was not one that was easy to train up; it would in fact be stranger if he didn¡¯t fall behind.


    He was already level 3, so farming Shadowmaw Panthers would not be efficient. Instead, he decided to go and farm the LV4 Young Forest Wolves.


    While he was walking, Lu Li suddenly discovered a patch of grass that was unnaturally hollowed out.


    There¡¯s a thief here!


    Lu Li¡¯s heart jumped, he hastily took 2 steps back and planned to cast Stealth.


    Unfortunately, before he could do so, he heard the shifting of air behind him.


    A short dagger that emitted a white light flew out at him from the void. This was obviously Shadowstrike, one of the thief skills.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even think, reflexively turning to the side and tumbling in that direction as far as he could.


    This would allow him to dodge the strike but also prevent further attacks of the thief from behind.


    When the game ran for longer, even new players would know that you shouldn¡¯t turn your back on a thief. The additional 30% dealt because of that was no joke.


    The dagger grazed Lu Li¡¯s shoulder, dealing more than 30 damage. At this stage, this was a very scary attack.


    System: You have been attacked ¡°lawlessly¡±, you have 10 minutes to retaliate!


    He got up and started running away.


    What rubbish; in this situation where there weren¡¯t many skills to be used, both thieves knew each other¡¯s skills. Moreover, the other thief was nowhere to be seen. Once one of them was hit by Cheap Shot, it would all be over.


    ¡°Dammit, grab him!¡± his assailant was decisive and followed in pursuit, holding a small dagger with him.


    Because moving in stealth reduced movement speed by 30%, the other thief no longer maintained his stealth. He also started hurtling towards Lu Li wielding a dagger.


    Because he was attacked, Lu Li¡¯s movement speed was reduced and the two thieves would soon be able to attack him.


    He started to despair, trying to work out why someone would just randomly decide to kill him and whether he would have an opportunity in the future to exact revenge.


    In that moment, there was a rustle and a silhouette of someone ran into one of the thieves. The impact was great and the while the thief didn¡¯t get knocked back, he was instead stunned on the spot.


    Charge!


    This was a warrior skill!


    The swishing of two blades could be heard, and not waiting for the stun duration to end, the warrior faced his shield towards the thief.


    Pa! Continue being stunned!


    The blades continued to swish and the thief that was attacked fell.


    At this time, Lu Li and the other thief finally reacted.


    What happened next was rather anti-climactic. It was 2 on 1 and one of them was an expert Warrior. This lucky thief was also quickly taken care of.


    Then, Lu Li looked at this friendly warrior, dumbfounded.


    It wasn¡¯t because seeing a Night Elf Warrior was rare¡­ Night Elf Warriors were truly rare like beautiful flowers. This was because the race had high Agility and Intelligence but very average Strength and Constitution.


    It also wasn¡¯t because this friendly warrior had demonstrated 2 very rare skills.


    The reason Lu Li was dumbfounded was very simple: he knew this warrior.


    Well, he knew him from the previous game.


    Azure Sea Breeze! The guy who had the bad luck of obtaining the Supreme Ring.


    ¡°I said, brother, are you dumb?¡±


    ¡°No you¡¯re dumb.¡±


    This was the first conversation between two fellow sufferers in a 2 person gold collecting group.


    ¡°I said, I saved your life, how are you going to repay me?¡±


    ¡°The fact that you can live the rest of your life is enough, oh yeah, this is for you.¡± Lu Li raised his hand and threw a ring.


    Sturdy Ring (Bronze): Damage 2-6, Constitution +3, Equipment requirement: 8 Strength, Durability 20/20


    Lu Li kept this ring and didn¡¯t sell it because of this guy before him; after all, he took someone¡¯s Druid God Ring. Hopefully it would be a bit of a consolation because ever since he got that ring he had started having bad luck.


    Azure Sea Breeze instinctively caught it and after taking a glance he excitedly said, ¡°No way brother, are you really giving me a bronze ring!¡±


    It¡¯s not like he had never seen a good item before. The weapon he had in hand was bronze which he traded for with a skill book that teaches the Magician skill ¡®Ice Gun¡¯. Moreover, he had also learnt ¡®Charge¡¯ and ¡®Shieldstrike¡¯.


    The number of people who had obtained 3 skill books in game were very few right now.


    But he hadn¡¯t seen a ring like this before, especially a ring that has such good attributes.


    ¡°Thank you for saving my life¡± Lu Li said with a laugh, ¡°If you get something good in future I hope you will return something to me.¡±


    In this game one death costs 10% exp, but at such a low level this was only a matter of a few tens of minutes. It really wasn¡¯t worth a bronze equip.


    But Lu Li wanted to make friends with this person he once knew.


    ¡°Okay, I accept your friend request. My name is Azure Sea Breeze. Warrior, level 5,¡± said Azure Sea Breeze straightforwardly as patted Lu Li¡¯s shoulder. He didn¡¯t say anything that wasn¡¯t necessary.


    ¡°You¡¯re level 5¡± Lu Li was surprised, ¡°I¡¯m Lu Li, Thief, newly level 3.¡±


    ¡°How are you only level 3? No wonder you were attacked by the two thieves. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll help you level up.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was this kind of person; once he made a friend he was immediately very warm and open towards them. Otherwise, Lu Li would have never found out about the secret of his ring.


    Speaking of, that ring was really just a mess.


    In some sense Lu Li had made a friend, but this wasn¡¯t completely the case. That ring didn¡¯t make Azure Sea Breeze stronger, but resulted in lowering him to a point where he had to farm gold to get by.


    Of course you don¡¯t want to make too many requests if you are being led. But Azure Sea Breeze was already level 5, so Lu Li didn¡¯t want to go farm Young Forest Wolves anymore.


    ¡°You¡¯re already level 5, how about we go to an Instance Dungeon¡±.

 9 Verbally Abusing an NPC

    ¡°Are you talking about the Spider Lair? I heard that the monsters inside are pretty strong. The LV3 monsters inside there are as strong as LV5 monsters outside, and don¡¯t even mention the Elite monsters and Bosses.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was excited by this idea, but also worried. After all, dying meant losing EXP.


    ¡°Find some people to work with us, it should be fine,¡± Lu Li confidently said, ¡°Do you have any friends? We¡¯ll make a five-man team.¡±


    It would be fine for the two of them to kill some of the weaker monsters, but Elites and Bosses were out of the question.Instance Dungeons were good opportunities to earn money and items, but the risks were high.


    ¡°You think I have friends? I¡¯ve been training by myself all this time.¡± Azure Sea Breeze felt quite awkward; every expert had ten or so followers, but he didn¡¯t have any.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and find a few people.¡±


    Lu Li had been planning to call Square Root 3, but what happened yesterday had caused him to lose faith in the Star Moon Union¡¯s people. He thought about it for a while and rejected the idea.


    Lu Li¡¯s friend list was pretty much empty. Apart from Square Root 3 and the newly add Azure Sea Breeze, he only had one other person- Drinking Alone.


    Screw it, if it wasn¡¯t for his help yesterday, the Star Moon Union definitely wouldn¡¯t have given in so much. Lu Li directly called him, ¡°Are you free?¡±


    ¡°Hey Mr Expert, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°A LV3 Instance Dungeon- have you ventured out into the wilderness yet?¡±


    ¡°We tried once last night, and everyone died.¡±


    ¡°I want to find a few people to do an Instance Dungeon together; do you have any Druids who have learnt Bind and Regeneration, as well as some other healing spells¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be there soon. Where do we meet?¡±


    ¡°At the entrance of the village. The one at the north, near the Wild Wolf Territory.¡±


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t wait for long before they saw Drinking Alone walking over.


    Drinking Alone was a Warlock, and was followed by a little demon who was jumping around. Evidently, he was already LV4. With him was a female Druid and a female Warrior who wielded a large two-handed axe. Lu Li couldn¡¯t see their levels, but they had equipped new weapons over their Common beginner ones.


    ¡°I say, bro, this is crazy. Wait, is that Northern Tang Dream? It¡¯s got to be Northern Tang Dream. And that guy at the front is Drinking Alone.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was shocked to see who was joining them.


    The last game he played was ¡®Shadow Realm¡¯, and he was quite familiar with all the famous people.


    Lu Li looked over, and saw that the person walking with Drinking Alone was indeed the Grand Hegemony¡¯s North Tang Dream.


    In Dawn, there were a few famous beauties. There was the bewitchingly beautiful ¡®Dancing Flower Charmer, the lolicons¡¯ favourite ¡®Not A Primary Schooler¡¯, the cold goddess ¡®Water Fairy¡¯, as well as the dashing and elegant ¡®Northern Tang Dream¡¯!


    Northern Tang Dream was one of the key figures of the Grand Hegemony, and was even more famous than the leader.


    ¡°LV4 Warrior, Northern Tang Dream.¡± She wore a suit of thin plate armour, which emphasised her slim figure. Coupled with her beautifully sparkling eyes and valiant-looking eyebrows, it was no wonder that she not only had male admirers, but many female admirers as well.


    ¡°Hello big brothers, I¡¯m the Druid Northern Tang Kitty. I¡¯m a bit rusty, so please take care of me.¡± Northern Tang Kitty was also a beauty. It was just that she was quite short, and had a soft and cute voice- a typical loli.


    ¡°As long as you know how to heal, that¡¯s fine. This is my friend Azure Sea Breeze, a LV5 Warrior.¡± Lu Li casually glanced over at Northern Tang Dream, then turned away, looking extremely calm.


    ¡°Hey there beauties.¡± Azure Sea Breeze said shyly. He didn¡¯t even dare to look at them in the eyes- a typical otaku!


    Apart from being slightly shocked at Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s level, the women didn¡¯t appear to be too warm.


    Comparatively speaking, Lu Li was in fact doing better than Azure Sea Breeze- after all, he had a Skill Book and Bronze grade equipment. When Drinking Alone told them this, even Northern Tang Dream became interested in this person.


    What methods had this person used to earn a powerful Skill Book and Bronze grade equipment?


    There were thousands of people in the Grand Hegemony, and even until now, no one had been able to obtain a Skill Book like the Frost Nova. In total, they had only found 10 or so Bronze grade equipment, all of which were obtained from killing Elite monsters in the wilderness.


    Hearing that Lu Li wanted to find people to do an Instance Dungeon, Northern Tang Dream had immediately headed over.


    ¡°2 Warriors and a Thief. Our team seems a bit skewed towards the melee side. Should we call over someone with a ranged profession? I only came to have a look at the expert who could get so many good things in a day.¡± Northern Tang Dream was called the Dashing Beauty, and was a straightforward person, saying whatever was on her mind.


    In Dawn, skills were very important. Not only were ranged professions safer, their attacks were usually more effective. As such, they were especially important for clearing Instance Dungeons- no one used teams with three melee professions.


    ¡°No need, melee teams are pretty good too,¡± Lu Li said as he shook his head, ¡°Did you guys bring any restoratives? Instance Dungeons need a lot of consumables.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot of Bread and Spring Water,¡± Northern Tang Dream said in a generous manner, ¡°Just ask us for some if you need any.¡±


    Spring Water was similar to Bread- it could restore MP.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about Bread and Spring Water,¡± Lu Li shook his head, ¡°Do you have any potions that can instantly recover HP during battles?¡±


    ¡°We had a quite a few bottles, but we used them all yesterday. We only have 3 bottles left.¡± As one of the high profile members of the organisation, Northern Tang Dream was frustrated by their poverty.


    Health Potions that could be used during battles could be obtained from quite a few places: the Potion Shop sold them, and they could be dropped by Elites in the wilderness. Alchemists could also make them if they had a recipe. However, to the players of the current stage of the game, buying them from the Potion Shop was the only viable option.


    In the Village¡¯s Potion Shop, 5 bottles spawned every hour. Not only was each bottle valued at 1 silver coin, buying them also required luck. Many organisations often left people at the shop to wait for them to spawn.


    ¡°Without Potions, Instance Dungeons are a bit difficult. Everyone, come with me, and follow my orders later on.¡± Lu Li remembered seeing a post in the forum in his ¡®past life¡¯, and had remembered it because of how amusing it was.


    There were all sorts of people in the game. Some liked to mess around, but who would have thought that their work would have actually come in handy now?


    If everything went to plan, they would be able to obtain some Potions.


    Lu Li led his group towards the Forest, and came to a campsite.


    ¡°This is the Goblin Businessman, ¡°Northern Tang Dream was surprised, ¡°He has quite a few good items, but they¡¯re all really expensive. I only have 3 silver coins.¡±


    The items weren¡¯t just ¡°quite expensive¡±. Not too long after the game had started, many people had met this Goblin Businessman, and found that he had lots of great items. However, until now, no one had ever bought from him before.


    The price of items was 5 times that of the normal price!


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t afford any of the items either- he didn¡¯t have a single silver coin on him.


    However, this didn¡¯t matter. Lu Li walked over to the Goblin Businessman and started to verbally abuse him, ¡°You dirty Goblin, what is this crap you¡¯re selling?¡±


    The people behind him stared with eyes wide and mouths open, and even Northern Tang Dream¡¯s jaw dropped.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t extremely handsome, but he seemed to be an intelligent, temperate and calm person¡­


    However, this impression of him was turned on its head.

 10 Physically Abusing an NPC

    ¡°You despicable Elf, where is your elegance and dignity? You have insulted the great Krolly. Krolly¡¯s items are the best in the entire Continent!¡± The Goblin was furious, and began to argue with Lu Li.


    ¡°What the hell is wrong with your head? And why are you so smelly? I bet you live in the sewers¡­ don¡¯t ruin the word ¡°great¡± by using it to describe yourself, alright?¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t hold back at all as he continued to verbally abuse the Goblin Businessman.


    System Announcements continuously rang out in his ear:


    You insulted the Goblin Businessman Krolly, Goblin Reputation -5.


    You insulted the Goblin Businessman Krolly, Goblin Reputation -5.


    ¡­


    You insulted the Goblin Businessman Krolly, Goblin Reputation -5. Your relationship with the Goblins has dropped from ¡®Friendly¡¯ to ¡®Neutral¡¯¡­


    After falling to ¡®Neutral¡¯, Krolly¡¯s items would no longer be available for purchase by Lu Li and his teammates. However, Lu Li didn¡¯t show any sign of stopping at all, and began to insult him even more.


    ¡°I heard that insulting NPCs can cause them to attack you.¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he swallowed a mouthful of saliva and looked at Krolly¡¯s level with fear. It was LV53.


    Moreover, any NPC with a name was usually Elite grade, or even a Boss.


    ¡°He can probably insta-kill us in 1 hit¡­¡± Northern Tang Kitty was on the verge of tears. Her LV4 EXP bar was only 2% full. If she died right now, she would go back to LV3.


    ¡°What the hell is Lu Li doing¡­¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s new teammates all took a step back.


    The poor Goblin was at a clear disadvantage in this insult competition with Lu Li. The system only gave him enough intelligence for negotiating with players for money; he had no skill at all in an insult standoff.


    ¡°The great Krolly curses you, despicable Elf,¡± He cried out, ¡°You will be killed like an animal by the Goblins, and your pitiful cries will be heard in every corner of the Continent¡­¡±


    System: You insulted the Goblin Businessman Krolly, Goblin Reputation -5. Your relationship with the Goblins has dropped from ¡®Neutral¡¯ to ¡®Hatred¡¯¡­


    ¡°Alright, Sea Breeze, start attacking. Everyone else, follow suit.¡± Lu Li took a few deep breaths before yelling to his teammates.


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s face fell as he pleaded, ¡°Big bro, I¡¯ll call you big bro, alright? I¡¯ve never done anything to make you angry. I also saved you 10% EXP today, so why do you have to do this to me?¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap, get to work!¡± Lu Li said as he stabbed Krolly with his dagger.


    -1!


    Almost as soon as he was injured, a green +1 appeared.


    Although he had barely been hurt, Krolly¡¯s reaction was incredibly surprising. He helplessly started screaming, as if he was a little girl being violated.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything as he ran behind Krolly and start stabbing at his behinds.


    The other people started to realise that something was off. This Goblin Businessman didn¡¯t retaliate when being attacked, and because of the weight of the things he was carrying, his speed was incredibly slow.


    However, he regenerated his HP almost instantly.


    ¡°Stop standing around, hurry up and help me. We still need to go do an Instance Dungeon!¡±


    The others all hesitated for a moment before also attacking.


    The moment they started attacking, they almost all started crying.


    System: Because you have attacked the Goblin Businessman Krolly, your relationship with the Goblins has dropped to ¡®Hatred¡¯¡­


    ¡°Goddammit Lu Li, go die!¡± Azure Sea Breeze inwardly screamed. He had already offended an entire race; how would he survive in this game?!


    The Goblins were a neutral faction, and were famous for their business and scroll-making. They were one of the biggest races.


    Everyone else¡¯s faces also weren¡¯t pretty, but they held it in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s easy to earn reputation with the Goblins. Just find a random Goblin NPC and give him a few gold coins. You¡¯ll be able to get your reputation back up.¡± Lu Li comforted them.


    The others were speechless- he wasn¡¯t sure if they were surprised by what he said, or if they didn¡¯t believe him.


    ¡°It¡¯s a small bug. However, getting to ¡®Worship¡¯ is a bit hard.¡± Lu Li quickly explained.


    The Goblin race¡¯s reputation was the easiest to earn out of all the different races. As long as you had money, you could quickly raise your reputation with them. It was just that being on friendly terms or being worshipped by them didn¡¯t have much point- the greedy Goblins wouldn¡¯t give you any discounts,no matter what.


    ¡°Unbelievable¡­ wouldn¡¯t we be able to kill as many Goblins as we want and earn their equipment?¡± Northern Tang Dream¡¯s objections were now gone, and was even considering slaughtering Goblins for a living.


    ¡°Not every NPC is as easy to bully as Krolly. He¡¯s a special case. In future, we won¡¯t bully any more cute little Goblins.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t kill him, he regenerates too quickly.¡± Drinking Alone yelled.


    ¡°The point isn¡¯t to kill him,¡± Lu Li calmly replied, ¡°Just keep attacking. We¡¯re nearly there.¡±


    After yelling for a while, Krolly finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He roared, then took something out of his bag and threw it at Lu Li¡¯s head.


    Lu Li quickly picked it up, but didn¡¯t stop attacking.


    [Small Health Potion]: Instantly restores 50HP, is not restricted by battle. Cooldown Time: 30 seconds. Potion Resistance: 20.


    Potion Resistance can be explained like this: If a Potion has a Potion Resistance of 80, then using the same type of Potion next time will have 20% reduced effects, and the Cooldown Time will be increased by 20%.


    Of course, the more Potion Resistance, the better.


    A Potion with a Potion Resistance of 20 was simply trash. However, at the current stage of the game, the only option most players had was to escape from battle to sit down and eat Bread. Being able to instantly recover 50HP was already not bad.


    When Lu Li shared the Potion¡¯s stats with everyone, they were all filled with motivation.


    After throwing out an item, Krolly soon found that his weight was still too heavy to be able to run away, and could only continue to throw items out.


    It was a pity that they were all Potions. After a while, he had already thrown out 5 bottles of Potions, but still wasn¡¯t fast enough to run away. He screamed, ¡°Krolly won¡¯t forgive any of you. You will suffer under the flames of the great Goblins!¡±


    After screaming, he threw out an item, which smashed into Northern Tang Kitty¡¯s face. She yelled out, then quickly picked it up, and shouted in joy, ¡°Aiya, it¡¯s a Bronze grade equipment!¡±


    [Whisperer] (Bronze): 10-18 Damage, Intelligence+2. Level Requirement: LV4. Durability: 17/20.


    What an incredible Bronze grade Magic Staff!


    ¡°Woohoo!¡± Azure Sea Breeze whooped, and everyone began to attack even more furiously.


    After throwing out another few Potions, the Goblin Businessman once again threw another Bronze equipment in front of Lu Li.


    [Night Leather Armour] (Bronze): 8 Armour, Constitution+1. Level Requirement: LV4. Durability: 11/20.


    The stats of this piece of equipment were quite average, and couldn¡¯t compare to the Magic Staff from earlier. However, none of them complained- this was a piece of Armour, and could save their lives in the Instance Dungeon.


    After throwing out 2 pieces of equipment, the Goblin Businessman could finally start to jog.


    ¡°Northern Tang Kitty, Bind!¡± Lu Li called out.


    Northern Tang Kitty immediately scrambled into action, and unleashed one of her Druid skills, Bind, on Krolly.


    Success, rooted for 3 seconds.


    Another Potion!


    ¡°Sea Breeze!¡±


    Pa, Charge, stunned for 2 seconds, Potion!


    Pa, Shieldstrike, stunned for 2 secoinds, Potion!


    Northern Tang Dream¡¯s battle sense was pretty good. Just as the Goblin Businessman recovered from a stun, she immediately stunned him again.


    It was a pity that it was another Potion!


    Northern Tang Dream and the others all started to give up, seeing that Krolly was about to escape.

 11 Elite level Instance Dungeon

    At this moment, Lu Li quickly moved. By using Shadowmeld to disappear from the battle, followed by Stealth and Ambush, he was able to stun Krolly again!


    Dawn was quite different to other games. To use a Racial Passive to leave the battle, then instantly enter stealth and use the Ambush skill¡­


    This was unique!


    No less than expected from an expert.


    When Krolly recovered from the stun, he threw out another item. Unfortunately, it was a Potion.


    Everyone had used up all of their Crowd Control abilities, and looked at Lu Li helplessly, as if they hoped he would be able to conjure up some sort of miracle.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t let everyone down. The dagger in his hand flashed, then spun through the air and stabbed into the back of Krolly¡¯s head.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 83%, caused 95% Skill Damage, target stunned for 1 second.


    Although it was only for 1 second, when Krolly recovered, he threw out another item, and then continued to run away while screaming.


    Equipment!


    [Azure Wolf Leather Shoes] (Bronze): 4 Armour, Agility+1. Level Requirement: 3. Durability: 7/10.


    Undoubtedly, this piece of equipment was for Lu Li.


    Since the Druid was the only Magic profession out of all of them, the Magic Staff went to Northern Tang Kitty.


    Northern Tang Kitty equipped the Bronze grade Magic Staff, and the way she looked at Lu Li became completely different. She had been completely mindblown today - never before had she seen anyone earn equipment like this before.


    ¡°This NPC will never appear here again. Don¡¯t ever think of doing this to other NPCs.¡± Lu Li said as he looked at the disappointed look on Northern Tang Dream¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t want to see this beauty dying a silly death.


    ¡°How did you know that this NPC wouldn¡¯t retaliate, and would even drop items?¡± Having big breasts didn¡¯t necessarily mean one had small brains. Naturally, Northern Tang Dream wouldn¡¯t neglect to ask the most pertinent question.


    This was the original place where Krolly was, and after being attacked, he would always change places. That meant that this was the first time Lu Li had attacked Krolly. How did he know all this? This was the question on everyone¡¯s mind.


    ¡°I have a friend who joined the beta test, and accidentally¡­¡± Lu Li instantly entered ¡®I have a friend¡¯ mode. After all, this was the only plausible explanation. Otherwise, how would he know this? He was only a ¡°Gold Collection Unit¡± member, not a high profile member in his company.


    ¡°What was that skill just then?¡± Northern Tang Dream suddenly asked.


    ¡°Which skill?¡± Lu Li pretended that he didn¡¯t know what she was talking about.


    A look of annoyance flashed across the beauty¡¯s face. Evidently, she wasn¡¯t too pleased with Lu Li¡¯s feint of ignorance.


    Normally, every man would seize every opportunity to get on her good side, unlike Lu Li who was being difficult.


    For example¡­ Azure Sea Breeze. He smacked Lu Li on the back of the head as he stuck up for the goddess, ¡°Stop acting dumb. The skill you used at the end, that stunned Krolly for 1 second. I don¡¯t remember Thieves having a skill like that, but it looked like Shadowstrike.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it was Shadowstrike.¡± Lu Li helpless said.


    ¡°Are you using Manual mode? If you have a high Skill Completion, will there be a special effect? What was your Skill Completion just then?¡± As expected from an expert. Drinking Alone immediately got to the crux of it.


    Drinking Alone had also tried out the Manual mode, and knew about Skill Completion.


    When casting a skill and obtaining Skill Completion over 50%, there would be a system announcement. For a person who had just tried out Manual mode, being able to obtain Skill Completion over 50% was quite impressive. It seemed that he lived up to his reputation.


    ¡°83%, Skill Damage was 95%, with a 1 second stun.¡± Drinking Alone had left a good impression on him, so Lu Li honestly answered him, ¡°If you¡¯re interested in the Manual mode, you should try it out from time to time.¡±


    Their group chatted as they walked towards the entrance of the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon.


    While walking, they took inventory of the items they had obtained from the Goblin Businessman. There were 13 low level Health Potions and 3 low level Mana Potions. The Mana Potions were all given to the Druid, Northern Tang Kitty, and everyone received 2 Health Potions, with Azure Sea Breeze receiving the rest.


    The Night Leather Armour was also given to Azure Sea Breeze. Since he was the highest level out of all of them and had the Shieldstrike ability, he was the best candidate for being the team¡¯s tank.


    The entrance to the Instance Dungeon was on a mountain. It was a hole that was about one and a half times as tall as a person, and behind the light blue energy shield, many large spider webs could be seen.


    As the leader of the team, Lu Li tasked with choosing the difficulty of the Instance Dungeon at the Assembly Stone.


    The Assembly Stone looked like a tombstone covered with mystical signs and symbols, and sometimes had the background to a quest. It could also assist with finding teammates, as well as choosing the difficulty of the Instance Dungeon.


    Very soon, the team heard the system announcement, ¡°Your team has chosen the Elite level Spider Lair¡­¡±


    Elite level¡­


    There were two types of Instance Dungeons in Dawn. There was one that everyone could enter- it was a Public Instance Dungeon that had a Cooldown Time. The other was an Adventure Instance Dungeon that required a teleport scroll- this was usually called a ¡°Private Instance Dungeon.¡±


    Instance Dungeons had different levels of difficulty. Whatever was written on the teleport scrolls for Private Instance Dungeons, that was what the difficulty would be.


    The Public Instance Dungeons had 4 levels of difficulty: Normal, Elite, Hero and Nightmare. Low level Instance Dungeons such as the Spider Lair, they did not have the Hero or Nightmare levels.


    ¡°Heavens, the Elite level¡­ yesterday, I died in the Normal level so many times. Wuu¡­ my EXP¡­¡± Although Northern Tang Dream usually acted like a cool beauty, she could also be quite dramatic.


    ¡°Hey beauty, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°Why did you choose the Elite level? Are we really up for this?¡± Drinking Alone was much more collected. He wasn¡¯t thinking about the potential EXP loss, but the possibility of them actually succeeding.


    ¡°The Elite level Instance Dungeon isn¡¯t that hard; don¡¯t scare yourselves. Our tank is already LV5, and has Shieldstrike and Charge. We¡¯ll be fine as long as we¡¯re careful.¡± Lu Li refuted.


    Everyone had been scared by the word ¡®Elite¡¯. The monsters in Elite level Instance Dungeons had an extra 10% Attack and Defence compared to those in Normal Instance Dungeons, and had an extra 20% HP.


    The real reason Lu Li wanted to clear an Elite level Instance Dungeon was because the things he wanted to find couldn¡¯t be found in Normal level Instance Dungeons!


    If Lu Li wanted to upgrade the Supreme One Ring, he would need lots of precious materials. Most of these materials couldn¡¯t be bought with money- for example, the Jade Spider Web, which was a LV5 Blue Material, could be found in the Elite level Instance Dungeons but had an incredibly low drop rate.


    Moreover, the Jade Spider Webs were essential items to Tailors and Craftsmen for Advancement. Teams that were strong enough to obtain these items never had enough for the whole team- who could have any to sell?


    As such, Lu Li could only make his own team to find these materials.


    ¡°I agree with doing an Elite level Instance Dungeon. I heard that the first team that clears an Instance Dungeon gets to go on the World Announcements.¡± Azure Sea Breeze excitedly said as he waved the one-handed sword in his hand.


    When most players had upgraded their equipment and levelled up, and as long as they had a decent 5 person team, they would be able to clear the Normal level Instance Dungeon. However, this was not the case for the higher difficulty Instance Dungeons. These were mainly attempted by elite teams, and teams would be ranked by their clear times, allowing them to create new records.


    Every time a new record was created, or a team tied with the record-holders, the new team would receive an extra piece of equipment, and would have the glory of a World Announcement.

 12 Entering the Instance Dungeon

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to say before we go in,¡± Lu Li calmly said, ¡°As the team leader, I want one of the items we obtain.¡±


    We haven¡¯t even started, but he¡¯s already talking about wanting one of the items. The two girls looked at him while pouting. This guy didn¡¯t act like an expert at all.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it.¡± Azure Sea Breeze said. Because of Lu Li, he had obtained a Bronze grade Ring and a Bronze grade Armour, so he was already satisfied.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Drinking Alone was curious.


    ¡°Jade Spider Web, a Blue Material. It¡¯s something only Bosses drop.¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°How do you know the Boss will drop it?¡± Northern Tang Dream asked with wide eyes.


    ¡°I have a friend¡­¡±


    ¡°Cheh!¡±


    The rest of the team couldn¡¯t even be bothered to ¡°cheh¡± at Lu Li, and they entered the Instance Dungeon.


    The Spider Lair was dark and damp, and had a slightly rotten smell. There were spider webs everywhere, and the scuttling sounds of spiders¡¯ legs echoed in the distance.


    In front of them was the first wave of monsters - two spiders that were as large as small dogs. Their 8 furry legs were covered with spikes, and they savagely looked around with their countless eyes, causing everyone to shiver.


    The LV5 Spider Lair was the lowest level Instance Dungeon, and its main purpose was for players to become used to the mechanics of Instance Dungeons. The first few waves of monsters were all normal monsters, which were slightly stronger than the monsters outside. The five man team quickly disposed of them.


    After defeating 5 waves of monsters like this, they arrived at a brook.


    Above the brook was a bridge, and a jade-green spider that was at least twice the size of the normal monsters was sitting on top. It was called a Spider Lair Guard.


    ¡°This is an Elite grade monster, it should be pretty strong.¡± Northern Tang Dream and Drinking Alone had tried out this Instance Dungeon the previous day, and both held a lingering fear towards Elite monsters.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad. It just has an extra Venom Spit skill,¡± Lu Li dismissively said as he started to give out orders, ¡°Sea Breeze go and draw aggro. When the charge bar for its Venom Spit is about two thirds full, use your Shieldstrike to interrupt it.¡±


    If he used it before two thirds, the Guard would start to charge it up again. If he used it after two thirds, he wouldn¡¯t be able to interrupt it.


    These sorts of things were impossible to find out without trying a few times. However, Lu Li had experienced rebirth, and didn¡¯t need to waste time on things like this.


    After 30 seconds, the Spider Guard started to howl.


    ¡°Get ready, it¡¯s starting to charge up¡­¡±


    Just as Lu Li spoke, a light grey charge bar appeared above the Guard¡¯s head.


    Azure Sea Breeze held his breath, and as soon as the charge bar was two thirds full, he smashed into the Guard¡¯s head with his shield.


    The Guard was stunned, and its charge up was cancelled.


    Things went smoothly from there. The Guard soon ran out of HP, and fell to the ground.


    It was a pity that it didn¡¯t drop any equipment, only a Mana Potion.


    That was to be expected; the drop rate was quite low, and it was rare for even Elite monsters to drop equipment.


    ¡°This was even easier than trying to clear the Normal Instance Dungeon yesterday,¡± Northern Tang Dream¡¯s eyes flashed with excitement, ¡°Lu Li, how about you join our Union, and join the main group?¡±


    The main group only had 100 people, and to a large Union with thousands of people, they were the elite of the elite. This was an excellent offer.


    However, Lu Li shook his head and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± He had joined the Star Moon Union for the game helmet. As soon as he had enough money to buy the game helmet, he would immediately leave them, but he didn¡¯t plan on joining the Grand Hegemony either.


    Comparatively speaking, the Grand Hegemony would offer him better treatment than the Star Moon Union, but it was less than ideal.After all, the thousands of people there all had their own agendas and goals.


    Seeing that Lu Li had rejected her offer, the beauty didn¡¯t seem offended, and continued to walk. However, Lu Li called out to stop her.


    ¡°Everyone, put your weapons into the brook.¡± Lu Li went around the bridge and put his Dagger into the brook.


    What could be special about the water in a spider¡¯s lair? The black water looked incredibly dirty, and had a striking smell to it. The two girls¡¯ faces both became pale.


    ¡°After soaking your equipment in there for 30 seconds, you¡¯ll gain a Buff which increases damage to Spider-type monsters by 20%...¡±


    Hearing this, everyone charged over.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t work for Druids and Warlocks; only melee professions benefit from this¡­¡±


    Drinking Alone and Northern Tang Kitty looked depressed.


    This was why Lu Li said having a melee team wasn¡¯t so bad. In Lu Li¡¯s ¡®past life¡¯, everyone knew about the effects of the water here. People who were farming Spider-type monsters would come to the Instance Dungeon just to get this Buff, even though it only lasted for an hour.


    After passing by the bridge, more and more monsters appeared. Sometimes, a wave would have two Spider Lair Guards, but with the Buff, the speed at which they advanced did not fall at all.


    One of the elite monsters dropped a Bronze grade Bracer, which gave 3 Armour and 1 Strength. Northern Tang Dream graciously gave it to her fellow Warrior Azure Sea Breeze. After all, the stronger the Defence of the main tank, the easier the Druid¡¯s job would be in healing him.


    The Spider Lair had 2 Bosses. One of them was a big spider called the Fallen Spider Chief. The other was a man-faced spider called Mandelin.


    The team stood in front of the Spider Chief. Team leader Lu Li was LV3, Azure Sea Breeze was LV5, and everyone else was LV4.


    The Spider Chief was a LV5 Boss, and had 12,000HP.


    ¡°The Spider Chief isn¡¯t very hard to beat. There are two stages that are important,¡± Due to his experience from his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li didn¡¯t need to work out the Boss¡¯ attack patterns bit by bit. He started to give out orders, ¡°Every time it loses 20% of its HP, it will summon a wave of smaller monsters. We don¡¯t have any Crowd Control, so don¡¯t try to attack them. They¡¯ll explode after 5 seconds, so just keep away from them. When its HP drops to 5%, it might go berserk. Our Druid needs to heal everyone as much as possible, and Azure Sea Breeze needs to prepare a lot of Potions to drink.¡±


    ¡°How did you know this? Oh, right, you have a lot of friends.¡± Northern Tang Dream was curious to the point of exploding, but she knew that Lu Li wouldn¡¯t tell her. As such, she could only vent using some sarcasm.


    ¡°How much HP does the Boss in the Normal level Instance Dungeon have?¡± Azure Sea Breeze felt quite a bit of pressure. He had never heard of anyone killing the Spider Chief before. After all, only 5 people could enter this Instance Dungeon.


    If the main tank¡¯s equipment or skills weren¡¯t up to scratch, or if the healer couldn¡¯t heal enough, or if the attackers couldn¡¯t deal enough damage, they were finished.


    ¡°The Normal Instance Dungeon¡¯s Boss has about 10,000HP, and looks a bit smaller,¡± Drinking Alone bitterly smiled, ¡°We only got the Boss down to 70% HP yesterday. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll even be able to see this one go berserk.¡±


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start. As long as you listen to my instructions, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t think that this Instance Dungeon would be difficult at all. If it wasn¡¯t because of his equipment and lack of good Skills, he would even dare to solo this Instance Dungeon.


    Azure Sea Breeze used Charge on the Boss, dealing 5 damage and a 1 second stun.


    Even Lu Li was shocked by the damage taken by the Boss. He remembered that in his ¡®past life¡¯ when he had faced off against the Boss, the main tank¡¯s equipment wasn¡¯t much better than Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s, but still dealt a lot more damage.


    The truth was that in the beginning, the Spider Chief was very strong. It was only later that its Defence had been nerfed.


    Although he was surprised, since they had started this, they would have to finish it.


    Ambush, Shadowstrike¡­


    The Boss¡¯ Defence was higher than Lu Li had expected, but its Attack Power was about the same as what he had expected. Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t in much danger from this Boss.


    Since Azure Sea Breeze could hold up as the tank, it all came down to the Druid¡¯s healing and the attackers¡¯ DPS.


    Their Druid was quite experienced, but didn¡¯t have any good healing skills yet, and didn¡¯t have enough MP either. After healing 10 or so times, she was out.


    This was when the Potions that Lu Li had ¡®earned¡¯ with everyone came into play.


    Just as Azure Sea Breeze liked to say, ¡°A Potion in the hand means no fear in the heart.¡±

 13 Baiting

    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 80%, caused 89% Skill damage, stunned for 1 second.


    Boom!


    -14!


    The Big Spider shrieked twice, and raised its back¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the boss anymore. Other than Sea Breeze, everyone gather next to me. After 4 seconds, Sea Breeze should use Charge on me¡± Lu Li calmly walked away from the boss, reminding everyone else of what to do. They quickly followed Lu Li away.


    At this time, a large number of small spiders spawned out of the spiders back. They were the size of a fist and were all rushing towards everyone.


    ¡°¡­3, 4¡­¡± When Azure Sea Breeze counted 3 he had already started turning his body, and by the count of 4 he had already cast Charge.


    The small spiders were rushing towards them like flowing water. The others turned pale with fear.


    Drinking Alone¡¯s party had mostly died because of these small spiders. Each small spider could deal significant damage to a player, and when multiple of them exploded, this could instantly kill them.


    However, dealing with them was easy; you just needed to move around and stay out of range of them.


    Lu Li led the small spiders around the boss. After a few seconds, the small spiders started to explode one by one. On the other side, Azure Sea Breeze had already started to lead the others to start hitting the boss again.


    After experiencing that once, it was dealt with much more calmly when the Boss did that again.


    In the second stage, when the Boss dropped to 5% HP, it went berserk as expected.


    Northern Tang Kitty worked hard to keep healing in addition to the potions that Azure Sea Breeze had in hand. In the end, the Boss¡¯ berserk mode wasn¡¯t enough, and after a final cry it lay dead on the ground.


    Lu Li was already about to level up. His whole body lit up as the exp bar completely filled, raising him to level 4.


    ¡°Can I loot the corpse?¡± He took a deep breath, really curious to know what items the Boss would drop.


    ¡°Stop!¡± said Azure Sea Breeze and Northern Tang Kitty with one voice. Drinking Alone and Northern Tang Dream didn¡¯t say anything but looked worried nonetheless.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want to loot it¡± Northern Tang Kitty quickly said: ¡°All this time, your roll points have never exceeded 20.¡±


    Up till this point, there not many bronze equips had dropped. There had only been 3, but there were many commons and materials. While there were several rolls that had happened, with Lu Li undoubtedly performing the best, his rolls were 6, 13 and 2 successively. He hadn¡¯t received a single piece of equipment.


    ¡°Just because I¡¯ve rolled low numbers doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t loot the body. Generally when I loot corpses I find good things¡± Lu Li had a dark expression and tried to defend himself.


    Many years ago, there was someone called Lei Feng. He took pleasure in serving others, putting other people before himself.


    And Lu Li clearly was someone who was hurt for the benefit of others.


    When he looted he always found good things, but could never win in rolls.


    The others were doubtful, but they didn¡¯t want to put their team leader to shame.


    Everyone just thought it would be fine to let him be unlucky this one time.


    After a long gaze, Lu Li slowly squatted and reached over to the Boss with both hands.


    ¡°Silver Light Crossbow (Steel): Damage 12-20, Agility +3, Attack Speed +1, Level Requirement LV4, Durability 16/25¡±


    A Steel weapon, probably the first in the game, too bad¡­ it was a crossbow.


    Although a crossbow could be used by melee classes, only in the hands of a hunter could its true potential be unleashed.Other people could only use it as bait.


    ¡°How come it¡¯s not a Magic Staff, how unlucky¡± Northern Tang Kitty couldn¡¯t hold in her disappointment.


    ¡°Please, you already have a bronze weapon. I¡¯m still using a common and you¡¯re sad it¡¯s not a Magic Staff¡± Northern Tang Dream had a nasty expression on her face.


    ¡°Shadow Cloak (Bronze): 2 Armour, Intelligence +1, Level Requirement LV3, Durability 14/18. And one potion, that¡¯s it.¡±


    Druid Northern Tang Kitty and Warlock Drinking Alone¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. Although the cloak was just general equipment, cloak drop rates were extremely low. They hadn¡¯t even seen a common cloak before.


    ¡°Did the Jade Spider Web you want not drop?¡± Northern Tang Dream was somewhat disappointed, but she was also curious as to what exactly the material Lu Li wanted was.


    ¡°Drop rate is low¡± Lu Li was not disheartened, ¡°Silver light crossbow, 3 occupation specific items to roll for, I¡¯ll just go for it.¡±


    23 points.


    ¡°Pfftt¡± Northern Tang Dream laughed, and casually rolled an 87.


    ¡°It should be mine, just so you guys know. Sea Breeze big brother is not only handsome, I also roll with power¡± Azure Sea Breeze said complacently.


    99 points.


    Oh my, so he does, everyone stared at him viciously, wondering if his luck came from the heavens.


    Azure Sea Breeze was also surprised, laughing: ¡°Split it amongst yourselves, 3 points of agility is more useful to you guys, count it as a payment of your compassion.¡±


    In Dawn, any occupation could equip a ranged weapon. Physical professions equipped crossbows, Magic professions equipped magic wands and other special profession had their own ranged equips ¨C like the Shaman¡¯s totem, and the Paladin¡¯s Holy Covenant¡­


    Lu Li then bluntly equipped it on himself, his recent level up allowing him to do so.


    ¡°Have you guys already exchanged rings¡­?¡± Northern Tang Kitty said peculiarly: ¡°I didn¡¯t think you guys had that kind of relationship¡­¡±


    Rotten girl¡­


    Then, Drinking Alone successfully rolled the Cloak. Northern Tang Kitty was fuming, resolving to practice rolling when she got back.


    They continued onwards, and with the increase in level and additional equips, it wasn¡¯t long before they faced the final boss ¨C Mandelin.


    Mandelin was a massive spider with a human face with 8 Guards protecting it.


    ¡°The difficulty of this Boss lies in the guards.¡± Lu Li recalled his previous experience and said: ¡°The damage of these guards is not less than the Boss itself, we have no choice but to wipe them all out.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze laughed: ¡°That also means we can only take them on one at a time?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re smart¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t wait for him to be satisfied but continued: ¡°But the aggro on these Guards is very sensitive, if we aggro one, we will have to face all 8. If we try to bait it like normal, well, there isn¡¯t a way to only get 1¡±


    ¡°Since you know this, surely you know the solution as well?¡± Drinking Alone had full confidence in Lu Li.


    The 8 Elites were circling together, if there wasn¡¯t a shortcut past them then they currently had no solution to this difficult problem.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go pull them, you guys stay back until we reach around the corner. There it won¡¯t draw agro¡± Lu Li changed his weapon, taking out the recently equipped Steel crossbow.


    The crossbow arrow drop rate was high; everyone¡¯s backpack usually contained over 100 of these. They were used mostly as a distraction or as a baiting tool.


    Everyone else fell back, poking their heads out from round the corner. They were all curious as to what Lu Li was going to do.


    Lu Li simply shot an arrow at one of the Guards.


    The boss didn¡¯t move, but the 8 Guards immediately called out and started rushing towards him.


    Lu Li turned to run, rushing till he turned the corner before stopping. The 8 Guards then lost aggro and turned back to leave.


    Lu Li then walked a few steps forwards, and shot an arrow at the last Guard. The 8 turned their heads to pursue him once more.


    This happened over and over, going back and forth.


    ¡°No way, brother, what are you doing, do you plan to kill the Guards with exhaustion?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked unbearably as he couldn¡¯t see any positive effects.


    Lu Li ignored him, and continued what he was doing.


    Finally, as everyone was getting impatient, Lu Li shot an arrow and this time only that Guard turned its head. The others all returned to the Boss.


    ¡°What are you guys staring at, go attack!¡±

 14 First Clear

    The 8 Guards each needed to be pulled quite a few times before they could be killed. While this seemed very troublesome, it in fact did not use up that much time. Moreover, this method made a difficult boss easy to defeat.


    As for the Boss itself, after all the Guards were dead, its HP quickly dropped.


    ¡°Keep at it! So far there hasn¡¯t been a world announcement. We are likely to be the first to clear an Instance Dungeon. This is a matter of getting an entry in the historical record, I¡¯m feeling a little excited¡± Azure Sea Breeze spoke incoherently: he wasn¡¯t just a little excited, he was in fact very excited. He almost bashed Lu Li in the face with his shield.


    Just for fun, Dawn had a historical record. In addition to recording some NPC related background events, it also recorded player actions. Of course, it had to be a big enough event for it to be recorded.


    Speaking of the historical record, the other players also started to get excited. The steady teamwork between them started to get messy; Northern Tang Kitty cast Heal twice, wasting some magic points.


    ¡°Steady, steady, if this keeps up we could get a record¡± Lu Li was sweating, reminding everyone:


    ¡°Careful of the area of effect attack¡±


    Only then did everyone put their full attention on the Boss, but before 3 seconds had even passed, Northern Tang Kitty called out again: ¡°I hear that the first time an Instance Dungeon is cleared, it gives everyone an item rather than just dropping one. Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Heal, heal!¡± As the healing stopped, the Boss conveniently made a big attack, Azure Sea Breeze was shocked and started shrieking.


    So once again everything was thrown into confusion.


    ¡°That should be the case¡± Lu Li responded, seeming to agree with what Northern Tang Kitty was saying.


    In the previous generation, he hadn¡¯t ever broken a record before, let alone participate in this unprecedented occasion of clearing an Instance Dungeon for the first time. Thinking about how everyone would get an item, he also started to get excited. Maybe he could get the Jade Spider Web in one go.


    Upgrading the Supreme One Ring to the Supreme Two Ring had 2 requirements: to be at the Sacrificial Altar and to have the right material.


    The Sacrificial Altar was in the Whispering Forest. The monsters around the forest were no issue, and when you had all the items there was a shortcut you could take. However, to upgrade it this time, there were 7 rare items that were needed. All these items were also highly versatile so no one would sell them in the market.


    Lu Li had planned on learning the Craftsman Trade Profession to make jewelry. Levelling it up to an Intermediate level required 2 Jade Spider Webs. In total, that meant he needed 12 Jade Spider Webs. Who knew if the Boss would even drop any, or if the person who got it would want to give it up?


    As he was thinking, the Boss HP feel down to 5%.


    Azure Sea Breeze called out in alarm again, ¡°It¡¯s gone berserk, heal! Woah its damage is quite high, and Shieldstrike missed, heal, heal¡­¡±


    The Boss going berserk was expected; most Bosses in Dawn would go berserk in the final moment, unless of course if you could kill the Boss in a very short window. But with the equips they had now, this was impossible, and berserk bosses had a strong resistance to crowd control skills.


    The additional attack damage, attack speed and aggression by the berserk increased the strength of the Boss by a significant amount. Azure Sea Breeze who was originally holding the boss back as steadily as a mountain was being pushed back. His body had a trickle of red; there were clear remnants of blood.


    ¡°Main Tank fall back for a bit, Druid cast bind¡­¡± Lu Li¡¯s voice was still calm.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t hit¡± Northern Tang Kitty was in a mess trying to read her skills, not to any great effect. But this wasn¡¯t anything new for her, at least she knew to go back to healing Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze had been hit and was bleeding out. He raised his head to drink a HP restoring potion.His HP was mostly restored, and he immediately charged back into battle.


    Lu Li took a breath, his wrist twitching, throwing out daggers seemingly at random. Damage values started to float up one after another, and the others who were watching were so dumbfounded they almost forgot to keep attacking.


    If you looked carefully, every time he attacked it seemed like he didn¡¯t use all his strength, doing just enough to maximize the limits of his attack.


    This technique was not something Lu Li made up, but was developed by a famous Dawn player - the female goddess ¡°Water Fairy¡±.


    The beauties in Dawn were extremely beautiful, but those who were experts were very few. Northern Tang Dream for example had attractive cheeks and great stature but her technique was at best second class.


    However, this wasn¡¯t absolute. There were two notable exceptions, with one of them being the female Thief, Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy was a legend in Dawn.


    First of all, she was a beauty, but also an expert. Moreover, and most importantly, she was a tycoon.


    When others were searching for their first legendary equipment, half of her body was already covered in legendary equipment. To her, money was just a number. As long as there was something she wanted, she would just pay for it.


    With such good equipment, her damage was naturally extremely high. It was said that the ordinary attack of Water Fairy was comparable to a big trade union¡¯s main force using the Thief¡¯s final skill together.


    Lu Li had personally seen Water Fairy use a skill; it was an incredible scene that could only be described as cutting corners.


    Taking a complex skill as an example; the Thief¡¯s Bonestab. When this skill was performed it was very beautiful, with an exaggerated action and high damage. Generally, every Thief who wanted to maximize damage dealt would carefully observe all of the details.


    However, for Water Fairy, only the most important parts were performed. As such, the skill wouldn¡¯t fail but would also not have high skill completion.


    While other people took 3 seconds to cast Bonestab, she could do it in less than 1. But, because her equipment was insane, the damage difference wasn¡¯t much.


    As of now when there weren¡¯t many skills, Lu Li could raise his attack frequency in this moment, but the effects of doing that were not generally good.


    The berserk Boss had less than 800HP, and with that round of attacks, they had already taken out half of its remaining HP.


    The situation wasn¡¯t looking good, however. Azure Sea Breeze had to retreat again and could not keep drinking the potions due to the potion resistance.


    ¡°Northern Tang Dream cast Charge, Drinking Alone stop, you¡¯re almost OT¡± Lu Li mechanically took over the situation, his voice was monotone: ¡°Stand firm, the Boss only has a little bit of HP left, but don¡¯t get greedy¡±


    Drinking Alone had been standing back, unaffected by the Boss, but for a while he had been drawing the aggro of the boss.


    The charge of Northern tang Dream was similarly resisted by the Boss. What was even more unfortunate was that Azure Sea Breeze suddenly got hit by a big attack again, dropping HP as quickly as water flows¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m almost out of mana¡± Northern Tang Kitty stamped her foot, feeling helpless.


    Mana was a slang term that referred to magic points used to cast spells.


    ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Lu Li smiled, as the shade cleared and he cast Cheap Shot out of Stealth. The Boss was successfully stunned on the spot. Behind the Boss, he stabbed the dagger into the back of its head with all of his strength.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 87%, dealing 100% of Skill damage, Stun for 0.8 seconds.


    The Boss then recovered from its stun, immediately crying out before crumpling into a pile of 8 legs, unmoving.


    Before he could even take a breath, Lu Li received a system announcement.


    Honorable player, your team has successfully cleared the Spider Lair (Elite) Instance Dungeon. The system will now make a global announcement. Would you like for your name to be announced?

 15 Battle Loo

    ¡°Of course we want our names to be announced!¡± Azure Sea Breeze said loudly: ¡°Unless you want to hide our names?¡±


    ¡°Some people are afraid of being famous. Once your name goes onto the global announcement, there will be many people looking to cause trouble with you.¡± Lu Li thought otherwise; the real world and the virtual world were different - the cost of crime was significantly lower.


    Lu Li remembered a poor kid named ¡°Rowing Poetry¡± in his previous life who had been announced on the global announcements. He was bullied by the other players because of this and couldn¡¯t leave the beginner village for a few months.


    Even a strong thief like Water Fairy was taken down by being ganged up on, after a 100,000 real money bounty was placed by I am Richy Rich,


    The reputation of the first people to clear an Instance Dungeon would be good for a big organisation, but for a ragtag group of players it was useless. It would only open themselves up to harassment.


    ¡°After being identified, the large unions will all extend their offers to you¡± Drinking Alone guessed that a master such as Lu Li wouldn¡¯t stay with Star Moon Union. Grand Hegemony was also afraid of being looked down upon by others.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan to join any union, I plan to be a professional player.¡± No matter what other people believed, Lu Li had no intention to join any unions.


    The welfare treatment within a union was good, but good things don¡¯t fall out of the sky. If you wanted something, you would have to work for it. Joining a union would mean that he would be earning money for them.


    Dawn¡¯s growth would be very rapid; even the game company would not be able to anticipate its growth. An entire industry would form around the game and as it grew, Lu Li would be able to make so much money that he wouldn¡¯t be able to spend it all.


    ¡°If you want to be a professional player, then you have to be famous¡± Azure Sea Breeze said dismissively, ¡°Don¡¯t not say it: you led a team to clear an Instance Dungeon. If this is known, there are definitely many people who would want to recruit you. Professional players are very valuable.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s brow wrinkled, unable to produce a rebuttal and trying to comprehend how this guy who was normally not very quick witted could come up with such convincing points.


    In actuality, this had something to do with the previous life. The top players didn¡¯t really dare offend anyone, it was really the ordinary people that you needed to be worried about. Even Water Fairy, the tycoon goddess, was ambushed by the ¡®Steel Blood Alliance¡¯ Union. The great thief appeared and disappeared like the wind, and in a short period was killed up to a thousand times. But the Steel Blood Alliance Union wasn¡¯t acting alone: they had the influence of other big organisations.


    ¡°If the Jade Spider Web is dropped, what do we get for giving it up?¡± Drinking Alone earnestly said: ¡°Northern Tang Dream and I are well known players. If we are recorded in game history it would be great for the development of our union¡­¡±


    ¡°Later on if you need our assistance, we will definitely spare no effort¡± Northern Tang Dream¡¯s face was also full of hope.


    To the union, acquiring a player with expertise was better than 1000 regular players. Lu Li was such a player, destined to never stay amongst the crowd. One day, when he would be famous, people would naturally remember when he cleared the first Instance Dungeon with members of the Grand Hegemony. It was just like sticking their label on Lu Li.


    Lu Li smiled bitterly and shook his head. He didn¡¯t want to enter the lime light at this time, but at the same time he wasn¡¯t afraid of public opinion.


    System: Under the leadership of Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Northern Tang Dream, Drinking Alone and Northern Tang Kitty is the first team to clear the Spider Lair (Elite) Instance Dungeon!


    It was simple and trite, but everyone¡¯s name was on it.


    Next was gaining the exp from clearing the Instance Dungeon. Because it was the first clear, not only was all the exp doubled, but extra equipment was rewarded as well.


    Lu Li looked in his bag and saw that he had obtained a dagger.


    Broodmother¡¯s Kiss (Bronze): Damage 8-15, Agility +2, Level Requirement LV3, Durability 18/18.


    The damage of a single handed weapon could not be compared to the likes of a two handed Magic staff like the Whisperer. However, it added 2 points of Agility, making it an equivalent bronze equip.


    The others also inspected their rewards and their faces lit up. What was unfortunate was that Lu Li wasn¡¯t awarded with the material that he needed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what the Boss dropped¡±, Northern Tang Kitty was keen on looting the Boss.


    The others looked at Lu Li, unsure if he wanted to loot the Boss. The current game rules were that if there wasn¡¯t a special designation, the leader would loot and distribute the battle loot.


    ¡°Go for it¡± Lu Li said casually with a shake of the head.


    His words were very unusual and no one believed him.


    ¡°waa¡­¡±


    The first time they killed a Boss that had a small chance of dropping something good, he was like an excited little girl, refusing to let go of the item.


    Suddenly, Lu Li¡¯s communication device began to manically vibrate.


    This was to be expected, but he didn¡¯t know that people would react this quickly. After a brief check, he found that they were all friend requests.


    Lu Li thought for a while, then refused all the friend requests. He resolved to not add anyone.


    Even though he could make money by opening treasure chests, the most important thing right now was training. He didn¡¯t want to be disturbed by too many people.


    After he got rid of all the friend requests, only 2 entries remained. One was the Star Moon Union chatroom and the other was from Square Root 3.


    Lu Li watched Northern Tang Kitty inspect her equipment while opening up the chatroom.


    The moment he entered, he was immediately assaulted by a messy chorus of 6 or 7 voices.


    ¡°Lu Li, you got the first clear right?¡± It was Ao Jian, Star Moon Union¡¯s president.


    ¡°It was just luck¡± Lu Li replied.


    Spider Silk Hood (Steel): 5 Armour, Intelligence +2, Constitution +2, Special Effect: Dark damage effects increased by 10%, Equipment Requirement Lv 5, Durability 21/25


    The chance of a Steel Item being dropped on the elite difficulty was not high, so it seemed like the bonus of the first clear was truly significant.


    On the other side, Ao Jian was so angry he couldn¡¯t speak: ¡°What do you mean lucky, that was an Elite Instance Dungeon! You didn¡¯t find people from our union, instead gathering your own team of players. Do you have no sense of pride or honour in our union?¡±


    ¡°Drinking Alone led, and just brought me along.¡± Lu Li assigned the hood to Drinking Alone. This was typical Warlock or Shadow Priest equipment. As expected of an item dropped by the Boss, its attributes were very powerful.


    ¡°You¡­¡± As you can imagine, Ao Jian¡¯s complexion was terrible. It didn¡¯t take much to figure out that Drinking Alone was a high-ranking member of the Grand Hegemony Union. If he was the one who truly led them, then Lu Li would not have been assigned party leader.


    Generally speaking, 2 kinds of people can be party leaders. An officer or a team leader.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me this rubbish. Say what you want, but once you¡¯ve handed over the equipment it won¡¯t be your responsibility any more. Once the Union is established, you can hand it in to the warehouse.¡± I Am Richy Rich obviously cared the most about the Elite difficulty Instance Dungeon equipment.


    The Boss truly dropped some good items; this second item was also Steel grade.


    Weaver¡¯s Leather Armour (Steel): 12 Armour, Agility +4, Strength +2, Equipment Requirement Lv5, Durability 7/25.


    Compared to the previous item, it lacked a special effect, however, this didn¡¯t mean that it was necessarily bad. The Armour value was 2 times the previous one, adding 6 points to its best attribute, but for a Thief, this increase wasn¡¯t really practical.


    Other than these two, there were 2 more pieces of equipment that were both Bronze. Although the attributes of these were good, both of them weren¡¯t used by thieves, so they were rolled for by the other players.


    After all that, Lu Li casually sent the information of the equipment to the Star Moon Union office.


    The chat room fell silent for a second, then an immense commotion boiled up.


    ¡°I want that Spider Silk Hood, no one take it.¡± Quickly realising that what he said was not quite appropriate, I am Richy Rich hastily added: ¡°Wait till I earn some money to collect some gold, our union must be established as soon as possible¡±


    ¡°I guess it¡¯ll just be like this, everyone start collecting gold. Do not fear the high prices, you will be compensated¡± Ao Jian said soon after: ¡°Lu Li, give that Steel Hood to Richy. As for that Steel Leather Armour, you can use it for now¡±

 16 Leave!

    ¡°Whoops, you gotta be earlier next time. All the items have been given out.¡± The last item that was looted by Northern Tang Kitty was the Jade Spider Web; Lu Li¡¯s spirits were high and he spoke thoughtlessly.


    ¡°Taking random players into the Instance Dungeon is one thing I can let go of. But you gave the rewards the outsiders as well? Lu Li, is there something wrong with your brain?¡±


    The world definitely contained people like this: those that are completely self-centered and take issue with anything that doesn¡¯t go their way.


    ¡°Leave!¡± his voice was monotone, but the words were rude.


    Gasps could be heard in the chatroom; did they hear that wrong? It was I am Richy Rich being told to leave. This wasn¡¯t something that had happened in a long time.


    The game was currently in its peak period, and the previous announcement had received the attention of almost everyone who played the game. The Star Moon Union had about 300 to 400 people, and in front of all these people, a Gold Collection Unit player was saying this to a high-ranking player.


    Leave!


    I Am Richy Rich¡¯s skill was average, but he was rich and willing to spend money.


    He was followed by Ao Jian and played dozens of games, spending millions in each one. As such, he eventually became Ao Jian¡¯s number 2, even if someone like Square Root 3 didn¡¯t care much about him.


    Right now, his dignity was being trampled.


    The chatroom was dead silent for a good few seconds and all that could be heard was labored breathing. The leader of the union was surprisingly silent.


    In fact, Ao Jian was actually rejoicing.


    Last time he squared off with Lu Li, he had spent 25,000 real money to get one skill book. Every time he thought back to it, he felt more regret, but from another perspective, he also understood. Compared to these rich 2nd generation people, Lu Li was of a different breed.


    This verbal slap to the face could have easily been directed towards Ao Jian.


    Ao Jian looked over to the side; he was training with I am Richy Rich. Feeling a shared distaste towards Richy Rich, he felt a sense of satisfaction to see his misfortune.


    ¡°O-o-okay¡­¡± I am Richy Rich was so angry he couldn¡¯t form a sentence.


    ¡°Who I do Instance Dungeons with is none of your business. Who the items are rewarded to within our party is none of your business. The items that I choose to use for myself are none of your business.¡± He didn¡¯t mention that he had over 20,000 real money on his bank card. Even if he didn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t mention something like that to cause more trouble.


    ¡°Why you... you know I can stop you from continuing in this game¡± Richy Rich said with hatred.


    ¡°If there was someone who could stop me, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be you¡±,Lu Li wasn¡¯t particularly good at this back and forth insulting, but he could remember some people from the previous generation who really could stop him.


    At that time his sister had gotten sick, and he needed sell all the equipment he had for money. But he was tricked, so not only did he not receive his money, he was also hunted by several unions.


    He had run away and begged before, but to him, what was more important than his life was his precious sister. To other people, this kind of sacrifice wasn¡¯t something special to behold. They regularly watched it on TV, which demonstrated the thrill of such a thing.


    After experiencing this rebirth, Lu Li refused to accept such a compromise again.


    Even if he couldn¡¯t earn the money to buy the helmet, he would not join any union.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough¡±, seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Ao Jian stepped in. Otherwise, the dignity of the union would be at stake.


    All this time, the union was a privilege for its members and their performance was above that of an average person. If someone discovered that they had a bit more money and was convicted enough, a Gold Collection Unit member would be able to take a strong stand. Then, more and more people would start to follow from this example.


    ¡°In one week, I will return the money for this violation. You won¡¯t need to wait long¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t wait for Ao Jian to speak, he quickly spoke and left the chatroom.


    Raising his head, he saw Azure Sea Breeze and the others who he thought had already cleared the dungeon but were still looking worriedly at him.


    Then he remembered that everything he said in the chat room was spoken aloud and the people nearby could hear him.


    ¡°Is everything alright, Lu Li?¡± Azure Sea Breeze kindly asked. The other 3 people were blankly staring, looking very strange.


    ¡°Everything is fine, let¡¯s get out of this dungeon¡± Lu Li equipped his dagger.


    ¡°You had a falling out with the Star Moon Union? And you need to pay a penalty fee?¡± Drinking Alone clenched as he straightforwardly asked his question.


    ¡°Yeah something like that, those people are nuts. At first I thought I could just ignore them, but I didn¡¯t realize I was so impatient.¡± Lu Li laughed; he didn¡¯t look anxious at all.


    In reality, the penalty wasn¡¯t a small amount. The cost of the helmet and the penalty fee was about 60,000 altogether. It was basically the cost of 2 helmets.


    ¡°If you are willing to come to our union, we will pay for your penalty fee. There will be no other conditions. All you have to do is take our people to do these kinds of Instance Dungeons. If you need something, just ask. We will not refuse.¡±


    Drinking Alone already thought that Lu Li was an expert when he achieved an 80% Skill completion and when his attacking daggers were dancing like snowflakes.Only when the system detected that they were the first to complete the dungeon did he realize that he had been underestimating this young man who looked as plain as water.


    The strength of a union is far greater than that of a single person. Lu Li understood this, as the Star Moon Union sent out 5 parties of 5 to find the ¡®Seal Transformation¡¯ Skill Book within an hour. If Lu Li was on his own, he couldn¡¯t have done this.


    Lu Li needed a large amount of materials to upgrade his Supreme Ring. If there was a whole union to help him look for these materials, then it would be so much easier. But there was an issue.


    The Grand Hegemony wasn¡¯t a very suitable union for him. Its President, ¡°Emperor Hegemony¡± was a very ambitious person, but he didn¡¯t have the ability to bring the union to its peak. Perhaps he could make some fame for them in ¡°Shadow Realm¡± but it would be too difficult in a game like Dawn.


    They were continuously suppressed by a few large unions working together. Once their members left the safety zone, they would be ruthlessly attacked.


    In this place, things were clear and simple. But it didn¡¯t suit Lu Li, it didn¡¯t suit a professional player and it didn¡¯t suit a Thief.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t plan to join any union. But if there¡¯s a chance next time, we can do Instance Dungeons again¡± Lu Li shook his head: ¡°You guys can go ahead and grind the Common Instance Dungeon - it is far easier than the Elite level. You can find anyone to join you guys.¡±


    It was as if he had expected this. Drinking Alone sighed and let go of the topic, ¡°Why don¡¯t you continue farming with us. The Elite Instance Dungeon has a 3 hour cooldown, but you can do the Common Instance Dungeon whenever you want. You just offended the Star Moon Union, so going out to train now seems like a good idea.


    ¡°I have something to attend to, you can continue,¡± Lu Li said nicely, but he had already made up his mind. The others could only watch helplessly as he left.


    ¡°How unfortunate¡±, Nothern Tang Dream started speaking: ¡°Before he came, I thought Drinking Alone was exaggerating. I never thought he would be stronger than you described. I¡¯ve never heard of this person before, it seems like he just came out of nowhere.¡±


    She was only 20 years old, but was an experienced player already. A while ago she had done research on every expert there was, but there wasn¡¯t someone whose style was even close to being like Lu Li¡¯s.


    ¡°He is stronger than you can imagine, do not underestimate him.¡± Drinking Alone said.


    ¡°Do we want to share the strategy to the Instance Dungeon?¡± Northern Tang Kitty responded, for they hadn¡¯t mentioned this matter.


    In successfully clearing out an Instance Dungeon, other than gaining fame and equipment, you could also sell the strategy for clearing it out for a large sum. This was especially the case for a small ragtag group like them, as they didn¡¯t need to be afraid of a union monopolizing the resource.


    Their fellow union members saw them get the first clear on the Instance Dungeon, but because none of them were the party leader, no one asked for the clearing strategy. Emperor Hegemony was someone of extreme principle.


    After contacting Lu Li, his response was simple. They could handle it however they liked, but if a Jade Spider Web was dropped, they needed to sell it to him.


    Now Lu Li was cautiously moving through the woods trying to stay hidden. In the previous generation he heard that there was a mine in the forest, he wanted to try to see if he could get in. There is an NPC in there that he is interested in.

 17 Cynocephalus Mine

    As Lu Li was carefully advancing using Stealth, the rest of the Dawn players were in an uproar.


    Everyone had the same question on their minds: who was Lu Li?


    Lu Li was so low-profile that no one had even heard of his name before. There were hundreds of thousands of players who had currently bought a game helmet, but no one knew who he was.


    Only the few people who had seen him try to sell the Bronze grade equipment and Skill Book remembered him. As it turned out, that ordinary-looking Thief hadn¡¯t obtained all those pieces of equipment by pure luck.


    There were so many Unions and elite groups in Dawn- if he didn¡¯t have some skill, how would he have been able to clear it, and not them?


    Currently, it wasn¡¯t just Lu Li¡¯s team who were attempting Instance Dungeons.


    In actuality, there were thousands of teams attempting the Elite level Instance Dungeon. Large unions in the top 10 unions, such as ¡°Glory Capital¡±, ¡°Drizzle¡±, ¡°Blood-red War Flag¡±, etc, had all send at least 10 teams to attempt the Instance Dungeons.


    Many of them were able to defeat the first Boss, but the second Boss had far too many Guards. As such, they couldn¡¯t go according to the normal plans, but had to try again and again.


    None of them had expected to hear that system announcement.


    If it was another large union¡¯s elite team, that would have been acceptable. However, they had never heard of this guy before.


    Very soon, this information was passed through private chats to high profile members of different unions.


    ¡°Northern Tang Dream isn¡¯t a surprise. I¡¯m sure big sister Water Fairy is familiar with her.¡± A female player wearing a white Priest robe read out the information while looking at her beautiful teammate who was squatting down and using her dagger to dissect a spider leg.


    The woman was as beautiful as a goddess, and she didn¡¯t even look up as she gave a soft harrumph.


    ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days, but people have already started making a ¡®Beauty List¡¯. It¡¯s expected for big sister Water Fairy to be on there, but why is Northern Tang Dream ranked higher than big sister?¡± Another teammate wondered out loud, surprised.


    The female Thief didn¡¯t say anything, and put the dissected spider leg inside her bag. She then pointed her dagger towards the spider¡¯s poison sac. Her dissection of the spider made her cold demeanour feel even colder yet, causing everyone else to gulp in anxiousness.


    ¡°Drinking Alone and Northern Tang Kitty are also in the Grand Hegemony,¡± The Priest continued to speak, ¡°There isn¡¯t much information about Azure Sea Breeze, but was a little famous in Shadow Realm. There was a period of time where he sat at the top of the Player Level Rankings. He was probably an expert hired by the Grand Hegemony.¡±


    ¡°What about Lu Li?¡± The female Thief carefully put away the poison sac, unable to hold herself back from asking.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know anything about him.¡± The Priest bitterly smiled.


    ¡°I might know something, but I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s that person,¡± One of the people in the team hesitantly said, ¡°I saw a player called Lu Li selling things on the street before, and he was also a Thief like big sister.¡±


    ¡°Speak!¡± The Thief addressed as ¡°big sister Water Fairy¡± was expressionless. Her voice was very pleasant to the ears, but she spoke in short sentences.


    None of the other players found this weird, though. This was one of the Drizzle Union¡¯s legendary players- Water Fairy. Not only was she on the ¡®Beauty Rankings¡¯, but if there was an Expert Ranking, she would definitely be on that as well.


    ¡°Last night, he was selling things at the Moon Shadow Valley. He had 2 Bronze grade equipment, as well as a Skill Book¡­¡± The player described the 3 things Lu Li were selling, causing everyone to breathe in sharply.


    ¡°There¡¯s actually this sort of skill book?¡± Water Fairy¡¯s face was full of disbelief. For someone who enjoyed fighting other players in games, she knew just how powerful this skill was.


    Not only was it a Crowd Control skill with an AOE of 12 yards, but its duration of 8 seconds, was incredible. Currently, the longest Crowd Control skill was the Thief¡¯s 4 second Ambush. However, compared to this, Ambush was nothing. Of course, the advantage of Ambush was that after stunning their target, they could continue to attack them normally.


    ¡°That Thief should be part of the Star Moon Union,¡± The person reporting looked a bit confused at this point, ¡°But seeing how they interacted with each other, it seemed that he didn¡¯t have a good relationship with the people there. After all, he didn¡¯t choose people from the Star Moon Union to do the First Clear of the Instance Dungeon with him.¡±


    Although Water Fairy was a high profile member, she didn¡¯t care about the union¡¯s matters, and wasn¡¯t very interested about this.


    Female tycoons were only interested in experts.


    She was only interested in experts to buy good equipment, or to cut them down.


    And now Lu Li had entered her field of vision.


    Other unions were also investigating Lu Li, so they could pull him to their side, or to ask him for the strategy to clear the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon.


    Currently, Lu Li was slowly advancing into the mine.


    There were many mines in the forest, and this was one of them. There were many dog-headed people, called Cynocephali wandering around that ranged between LV8 to LV10. They sometimes dropped equipment, but they always dropped a lot of money. After a day or two, this place would become filled with people.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t come here to earn money. It wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t strong enough, but earning money this way was too inefficient. Moreover, if he faced off against more than 2 of them at once, he would be finished.


    After using Stealth to wander around for a bit, Lu Li finally found the NPC he was looking for.


    Explorer Tap, Moon Shadow Valley Guard, LV13, heavily injured.


    ¡°Greetings, my kinsman. There¡¯s something I need your help with.¡± Tap got straight to the point, and issued out a quest.


    It is worth mentioning that after leading his team to the First Clear of the Spider Lair, Lu Li gained a suffix to his name in the eyes of NPCs.


    Lu Li the Spider Lair Pioneer. This was similar to a Title, but it didn¡¯t give him any bonus stats. However, when he had enough reputation, NPCs would start to take the initiative to offer him quests. Although Pioneer was a low-grade suffix, it was still a symbol of power.


    ¡°Of course, it would be my honour.¡± Lu Li slightly bowed. He was much more familiar with etiquette than other players.


    Tap nodded in satisfaction, took out a mask, and gave it to Lu Li, saying, ¡°There are some strange noises in one of the mine tunnels. Please take a look for me.¡±


    System: You have received a quest, Check the Mine Tunnels¡­ Quest Rank F, Quest Reward: 1 silver coin.


    This was a very ordinary quest, and had the lowest Quest Rank. Although the Quest Reward was decent, it wasn¡¯t a fortune by any means.


    There were many LV8+ Cynocephali walking around, and Lu Li was only LV4.


    The key lay in the mask in his hands.


    Cynocephali Mask: This piece of equipment has mysterious illusion magic, causing the wearer to look like a Cynocephali.


    Lu Li put on the mask, and instantly transformed into a Cynocephali soldier. He had a ferocious looking dog-head, a muscular body clothed in some tattered Leather Armour, and was holding a crude wooden club.


    With this mask, Lu Li didn¡¯t even need to use Stealth anymore. Just like this, he walked past a small group of Cynocephali. They looked at him dumbly, but didn¡¯t react at all.


    If there was anyone else present, they would have seen an incredibly independent Cynocephali swaggering into the mine tunnel.


    All of the Cynocephali he passed by acted as if they hadn¡¯t even see him.


    It was much darker inside the mine tunnel, and there were many Cynocephali working inside. However, there weren¡¯t as many as outside, and most of them were mining with pickaxes. Practically all of them were working separately.


    Lu Li ignored them and went further into the tunnel.

 18 Superior Quality Copper Ore

    Lu Li wasn¡¯t here to kill Cynocephali.


    Dawn¡¯s EXP system gave bonus EXP for killing monsters higher than the player¡¯s own level. When killing a monster than was 1 to 3 levels higher, a player would receive an extra 5% to 15%. However, when killing a monster that was more than 3 levels higher, the bonus would be set at 10%.


    Moreover, when a monster was more than 3 levels higher than a player, damage dealt was greatly reduced, so it was almost impossible to even damage those monsters. As such, very few people tried to kill monsters that were more than 3 levels above their own level.


    This was to prevent rich people from gaining too much of an advantage by hiring people.


    After all, if a group of people attacked an incredibly high level monster and let the rich boss deal the final blow, the rich boss would be able to take 20% of the EXP. If the bonus was too high, this sort of method would be game-breaking.


    The mine tunnel winded around, and was now very high. There were lots of rocks on the ground, mixed with mottled pieces of ore. These were all the lowest quality of ore, and were worth roughly 1 copper each.


    They were also quite heavy, so Lu Li completely disregarded them.


    After walking for a minute, his eyes lit up. There was a depression in one of the walls, and there seemed to be something rectangular hidden there.


    Nearby, a Cynocephalus was striking the wall with his pickaxe. Every time it had hit the wall a few times, he would turn to look at the rectangular object, as though it were in a hurry.


    Lu Li took a few steps back, took off the mask and used Stealth.


    This Cynocephalus was LV9, and was a whole 5 levels higher than Lu Li. When Lu Li was close, it stopped striking the wall and looked around, trying to see what was making it feel uncomfortable.


    Lu Li did his best to calm down his heart, and silently attacked.


    Ambush successful!


    He now had 4 seconds, to attack first.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t use Shadowstrike, although it was his most used skill. It was no longer difficult for him to achieve a Skill Completion of 80%, giving him a 1 second stun. Instead, during those 4 seconds, he used normal attacks.


    -6, -7, -6¡­


    The damage he was dealing was simply pitiful. The current Lu Li not only had the Supreme One Ring, but also had 2 pieces of Steel grade equipment - his Armour and Bow, as well as 3 pieces of Bronze equipment, one of which was his dagger. With this sort of equipment, he should have been dealing at least double digits, but the gap of 5 levels was simply too vast.


    However, this didn¡¯t mean that Lu Li wasn¡¯t able to kill this LV9 normal monster.


    In less than a minute, Lu Li had killed the Cynocephalus.


    The 300 EXP he received was nice, but he had also used a Basic Health Potion in the process.


    When he finally retrieved the rectangular object, the Potion he had just used didn¡¯t seem like much anymore.


    A treasure box!


    There was a pile of coins inside. According to the system announcement, there were 43 silver coins in total.


    Clearing an Elite level Instance Dungeon, not including the Boss, would yield about this much money. However, that money would be split among 5 people, so these 43 silver coins was quite a fortune for Lu Li.


    Now, Lu Li had 60 or so silver coins.


    In real life, this would be worth about $1,000.


    Before, even working as a menial worker, he wouldn¡¯t be able to earn this much in a month.


    Treasure boxes usually contained 2 items. Lu Li dug around, and found something that felt like a band.


    It was a bracelet!


    Lu Li was overjoyed. Bracelets were different to Bracers- anyone could equip Bracers, but only female players could wear Bracelets, which replaced Bracers.


    Because they were exclusive to only some players, they were much more valuable!


    As a gift, Bracers were much better than even Rings.


    [Astromancer¡¯s Bracelet] (Bronze): Intelligence+4, increases bag space by 6 spaces. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 20/20.


    Instantly, Lu Li felt as though a sea of coins was raining down on him.


    In the Emporium, a bag with 6 bag spaces could be bought for 80 silver coins. Not only did this Bracelet increase bag space, it did not take up any of the 5 set bag slots that players had. It also gave a bonus 4 Intelligence, which people would go crazy over.


    Priests, Magicians, Warlocks, Druids, Shamans¡­ all professions that required Intelligence would want this piece of equipment.


    What¡¯s more, this Bracelet looked incredibly beautiful. Astromancers were a specific type of Magician, and the reference to an ¡®Astromancer¡¯ was definitely referring to the High Astromancer Solarian. She was an upper-class Elf, and was a noble of nobles who loved beautiful and luxurious things.


    The Bracelet evidently reflected this.


    Although this piece of equipment was not worth as much as the Frost Nova Skill Book, if he met a tycoon who desperately wanted it he would be able to sell it for at least 5 gold coins.


    Think about it: with your girlfriend or wife looking at you with a pleading look in her eyes, would you really be able to say no?


    $60,000 in the real world seems like a lot of money, but I¡¯ve lived this life before, and I won¡¯t walk a normal path. I¡¯ll definitely be able to earn that much in a week.


    Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Lu Li continued on.


    There was definitely more than 1 treasure box in this mine tunnel. In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had read a guide for levelling up the Thief skill Unlock. That guide had mentioned that there were many low grade treasure boxes here.


    Not long after, he saw another treasure box.


    In Lu Li¡¯s eyes, its crude and dusty exterior couldn¡¯t block the golden light it was radiating!


    This treasure box only had Bronze grade equipment. One of them was a pair of Shoes for Magicians which gave 2 Intelligence. It wasn¡¯t too good or too bad.


    The other piece of equipment was a Shield for Protection Warriors. Not only did it give a fair bit of Defence, it also gave 3 Constitution. Although it wasn¡¯t as good as the Bracelet, it was still worth a lot.


    For a team to take down a Boss in an Instance Dungeon, the main tank¡¯s HP and Defence was one of the deciding factors.


    ¡°Lu Li, we¡¯ve obtained a Jade Spider Web. Where are you right now? We¡¯ll take it over.¡± Drinking Alone had sent him a voice message.


    ¡°Just send it over to me. I never thought that you would¡¯ve cleared the Elite level Instance Dungeon again so quickly.¡± Lu Li replied.


    Anyone could mail things at inns. The delivery cost was 5 copper coins, which wasn¡¯t much.


    ¡°Eh, you turned off your Friend Function? Our boss asked me to thank you. If it wasn¡¯t for your guide, we wouldn¡¯t have known about the Buff from the brook, or how to take down the Boss at the end. Who knows when we finally could have cleared that Instance Dungeon!¡± Drinking Alone earnestly said.


    ¡°How many teams do you have doing the Instance Dungeon?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°We have 10 in total. All of them are above LV4, but only 4 teams cleared the Instance Dungeon, and only 1 team found a Jade Spider Web. Its drop rate is way too low. Plus, the equipment they got were all quite average.¡± Drinking Alone was worried that Lu Li might think that they had kept some for themselves, so he explained in detail.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty normal. Keep working hard.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t continue to chat, and went back to looking for treasure boxes.


    Lu Li soon found that there weren¡¯t as many treasure boxes as he had expected. After having a thorough look, he confirmed that there were only 3 in total.


    3 treasure boxes with a refresh time of 24 hours. Only fools with heaps of time on their hands would use this method to level up their Unlock skill.


    This was actually due to changes Lu Li was unaware about. What Lu Li was relying on was his experience from his ¡®past life¡¯. However, many things had changed from the beginning of the game to when he had actually started playing. For example, in order to calm down the countless protesting Thieves, the company had, later on, increased the number of treasure boxes in many locations. Of course, the treasure boxes in those areas were quite mediocre.


    The mine was one of those places.


    The current mine only had 3 treasure boxes!


    The third treasure box gave an average Bronze grade equipment, as well as a piece of Copper Ore. Its Quality was a whopping 86, and was graded to be ¡°Superior Quality¡±.


    Minerals and ores had 4 levels of Quality: Normal, Good, Superior and Perfect.


    Good Quality ores weren¡¯t that hard to come by, but Superior Quality ores and minerals completely depended on luck. If one was lucky, they could find one on their very first swing of a pickaxe. If they were unlucky, they might only find one after 2 years.


    With this Superior Quality Copper ore, Lu Li suddenly formed a new plan. With this ore, he would be able to receive a good quest.

 19 Sap

    However, before going for that quest, he would complete the one he had right now.


    Lu Li had already run around the entire mine tunnel, and had finished the quest given to him by Tap.


    A few Cynocephali Magicians were gathered around an altar, calling their god.


    That¡¯s right- their god!


    The Cynocephali in Dawn were the lowest creatures, but they deeply believed that they were chosen by the greatest evil god- Saron.


    The Cynocephali Magicians chanted as they made sacrifices, ¡°O Great Saron, descend upon us with your immeasurable glory and destroy those arrogant Elves.¡±


    When he went back to Explorer Tap, Lu Li described the altar, completing his quest.


    Lu Li originally wanted to delay completing the quest- that way, he would be able to use the mask for a few more days. However, it was a pity that the mask would be taken back at night, and Lu Li would receive a penalty of a reduction in reputation for not completing his quest.


    Fortunately for Lu Li, players only started taking this sort of quest after they were LV8. To the LV4 Lu Li, 300 EXP was a tremendous amount.


    He had risen to LV4 in the Instance Dungeon, and had received EXP from 2 Bosses. Adding on the EXP for clearing the Instance Dungeon, the bonus EXP for the First Clear, as well as the EXP from a LV8 quest, Lu Li¡¯s level shot to LV5.


    LV5!


    Currently, most players were still LV4, and only some exceptional players were LV5, or even LV6. Out of these people, the only one Lu Li knew was Azure Sea Breeze. Even if there were other levelling-freaks, they would be few in number.


    In order to obtain the Supreme One Ring, Lu Li had spent quite a bit of time. He had also used a lot of time in clearing the Instance Dungeon, as well as travelling to this mine through the forest. Within the mine, he had spent more than 1 hour looking for treasure boxes. Out of these first 2 days, at least half the time he spent could be described as ¡®mucking around¡¯.


    And yet, Lu Li¡¯s level was still on par with that of other experts.


    ¡°Wait, my kinsman, I¡¯m sure you can see that I¡¯m heavily injured, and can¡¯t return to the Village.¡± NPC Tap called out to Lu Li.


    Lu Li¡¯s heart sank. Could it be that he had to take this injured Elf back to his village?


    Escorting Quests were quite common in Dawn, and required players to protect a character or thing to their destination. Players would battle monsters the entire trip, and sometimes even NPCs.


    And this place was filled with LV8 monsters.


    The worst thing was that Escort Quests weren¡¯t easy to refuse. Once refused, the NPC would take it as the player abandoning them to die. This was particularly bad for Lu Li, since Explorer Tap was his kinsman- the drop to his reputation with Elves would be terrifying.


    ¡°Respected kinsman, can you please take this letter to the Moon Shadow Valley¡¯s Sentinel Captain Carolina?¡± It seemed that Explorer Tap had some intelligence, and was mercifully sparing Lu Li from death.


    However, how the hell did he write a letter without Lu Li even noticing?!


    By the time Lu Li returned to the Moon Shadow Valley, it was already late. Lu Li first headed over to the Profession Trainer.


    A LV5 Thief and a LV4 Thief were worlds apart- this was because of the skill Double Dagger Proficiency.


    Double Dagger Proficiency: When using 2 Daggers, Physical Attack Damage+40%, Attack (Skill) Success Rate+5%. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    Although at low levels, Lu Li¡¯s offhand damage couldn¡¯t be maximised, an extra 40% wasn¡¯t too bad. Moreover, with normal attacks, 2 Daggers simultaneously attacking quickly could sometimes seem like an Attack Speed Bug.


    The Double Dagger Proficiency skill not only drastically increased Thieves¡¯ Attack Power, but also had a hidden skill- Parry.


    The offhand Dagger could be used to parry enemies¡¯ attacks. Even some Magic Attacks could be parried. If the Parry was successful, the damage received would be greatly reduced. Of course, parrying greatly relied on one¡¯s experience and battle sense.


    Furthermore, there were 2 other skills that he could learn.


    Sap: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 10 seconds. Incapacitates a target for a maximum of 20 seconds. Can only be used while Stealthed, and can only be used on a humanoid target not in combat. Any damage will cause the target to awaken. Only 1 target can be incapacitated at a time. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    In the distant future, there would be a thread on the official forum dedicated to cursing the most disgusting skill in Dawn.


    No one could protest against the Thief Skill ¡®Sap¡¯ hanging at the top of the Skill Rankings.


    Imagine if you were doing a quest, and suddenly found that you couldn¡¯t move at all. Goddammit, is it possible to lag in a virtual game?!


    Before you could realise what was happening, your HP would start to empty out.


    It was also possible that the Lord Thief didn¡¯t want to kill you- but this depended on the Lord Thief¡¯s mood. Female players would often be harassed by this skill.


    Of course, all the Thief would be able to do was look. They could look at breasts, butt, face, etc, but as soon as they touched, the system would allow the female player to retaliate.


    And afterwards, you would appear back at the spawn point.


    There was another skill that Lu Li could learn: Backstab.


    Backstab: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 30 seconds. Stabs the target in the back, causes 150% of Equipment Damage. Must attack from behind the target, and the main hand must be equipped with a Dagger. Awards 1 combo point. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    This skill¡¯s damage was not bad, but its Cooldown Time was quite long. Only Lu Li knew that although this Backstab skill seemed very ordinary, if he could obtain the Backhand Backstab and the Enhance Backstab Skill Books, this skill would become the Enhanced Backhand Backstab. Not only did it deal a huge amount of damage, but if its Skill Completion was high enough, it would also cause Paralysis.


    After learning those skills, Lu Li planned to go and clear the 2 remaining LV4 and LV5 quests.


    The Hunter Trainer had a ¡°Pet Betrayal¡± Quest. Apparently one of his pets, a wolf, had escaped, and his request was for players to kill the wolf and bring back its head. The Quest Reward and EXP were all decent, and also gave 2 pieces of Pet Food which could increase Pet Loyalty. They could sell for 1 silver coin each, which was decent.


    The other quest was a Collection quest, and required him to look for a plant called the ¡°Silver Leaved Grass¡±. This quest allowed players to learn the Herbalism Skill for free, and the Quest Reward was the Alchemy Skill. These skills were essential to Thieves.


    Also, Lu Li still had the ¡°Tap¡¯s Request¡± quest that he needed to complete. The Sentinel Captain Carolina wasn¡¯t stationed in the village; she was somewhere in the wilderness, so doing these 2 quests meant that he would also have a high chance of running into her.


    The Collection quest was quite easy. Silver Leaved Grass was one of the most common herbs, and while looking for the escaped wolf, Lu Li quickly found 20 of them. However, he still couldn¡¯t find the Sentinel Captain.


    A scream sounded out, and Lu Li instantly entered into Stealth and rushed over.


    A gigantic black wolf was mauling a player, who quickly turned into a white light and flew off.


    The face of the little girl next to him was completely pale, and she didn¡¯t even dare to move.

 20 Kill Stealing

    The escaped pet!


    Seeing the target of his quest, Lu Li stared in shock for a few moments.


    This thing was a bit too different from what he had seen in his ¡®past life¡¯.


    The wolf in front of him was gigantic and towering, whereas the one in his ¡®past life¡¯ had been the size of a small husky and didn¡¯t have much HP. This was the difference between a normal monster and an Elite grade monster.


    However, he realised that this was normal- in order to allow players who had started later to catch up, the game company had reduced the difficulty of many of the quests. By the time Lu Li had joined the game, the escaped pet could easily be killed.


    ¡°Hey, do you want to form a party?¡± It would be difficult to fight by himself and there was no one else around, so Lu Li casually asked the girl in front of him.


    ¡°But, but my big brother¡¯s¡­ dead,¡± the little rabbit-like girl said with watery eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a game; it¡¯s not like your brother¡¯s permanently dead. He¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Lu Li sent over a party request. It was accepted by a player called ¡°Lonesome Flower¡±. The other player in the party, ¡°March Rain¡±, was evidently the little ¡®rabbit¡¯ in front of him.


    Who would have thought that this scared little rabbit would be one of the members of the champion team of the 5v5 team fights in 2 years¡¯ time.


    ¡°Bro, wait for me, I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Lonesome Flower was the player who was just killed.


    A party of 3 people against an Elite grade monster wouldn¡¯t be too hard.


    ¡°Flower, you¡¯re a Magician, so start attacking at full power once I start attacking. March Rain, when I tell you to heal, make sure you heal immediately.¡± After chatting for a bit, Lu Li started to give out orders.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Flower. If you have to shorten my name, at least call me Lonesome.¡± The Magician sounded quite annoyed.


    ¡°Alright, Flower, get ready.¡± Lu Li used Stealth and went to the back of the monster, and used Cheap Shot to stun it. He and Lonesome Flower began to rapidly attack it.


    Lonesome Flower evidently hadn¡¯t cleared any Instance Dungeons before, or killed any Elites. He didn¡¯t have a single piece of Bronze grade equipment, and his damage was simply pitiful.


    ¡°I say, bro, what hack are you using?¡± Seeing that his skill damage couldn¡¯t even compare to Lu Li¡¯s normal attacks, Lonesome Flower couldn¡¯t stay calm.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you for 1 gold coin. Deal?¡±


    ¡°1¡­ just 1 gold coin?¡± Lonesome Flower was quite disappointed. If Lu Li had wanted a higher price, he might have accepted. 1 gold coin was far too little for something so precious; Lu Li was definitely joking.


    System: Backstab Skill Completion 65%, caused 72% Skill Damage.


    Lu Li successfully used his new skill. However, it was not executed very well, so he only dealt about 20 or so damage.


    Seeing his maxed out combo points, Lu Li could only inwardly sigh. Once a Thief reached LV5, they experienced profound changes. However, what truly made a Thief strong was their Ultimate Skill.


    Ultimate Skills required combo points to use. Right now, if Lu Li had an Ultimate Skill, he would be able to insta-kill a Magician with Common grade equipment like Lonesome Flower. It wouldn¡¯t even require a Critical Hit.


    ¡°Heal me!¡± Lu Li commanded.


    ¡°But¡­ but you¡¯re still at full health.¡± March Rain felt quite confused.


    Just as she spoke, she saw Lu Li¡¯s health being reduced by half, and she hurriedly healed him 3 times to return him back to full health.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t angry, and patiently explained, ¡°Healing requires intuition and prediction. You need to predict when a Boss will attack, and start healing just as your target starts receiving damage. This wolf¡¯s attack damage isn¡¯t that high, and isn¡¯t very tricky to deal with. Otherwise, if it continuously attacked me twice, I would already be dead.¡±


    ¡°No wonder you told me to heal when you were at full health. But how do I tell when the monster is going to use its skill?¡± March Rain seemed to really like her Priest Profession. Normally, she didn¡¯t dare to say much to Lu Li, but as soon as he mentioned skills for being a Priest, she instantly became excited.


    ¡°Normally, only Elite grade monsters or NPCs can use skills. These sort of characters have fairly good AI systems, so their movements, expressions and words all have meanings. For example, the giant wolf¡¯s howl was slightly longer than normal. That meant it was going to use a skill. Plus, the amount of HP it has left indicates that it¡¯s probably in its ¡®struggling¡¯ state.


    ¡°You know so much¡­¡± March Rain paused, ¡°Even more than my big brother.¡±


    Lonesome Flower¡¯s face fell. Was this guy here to steal his little sister?


    ¡°Make sure you spend time and effort practicing. Healing takes a lot of skill, and will often determine the outcome of a battle.¡±


    March Rain had always been interested in being a Priest, but she had never felt that Priests were strong or important. However, upon hearing Lu Li say this, she felt a spring of hope well up inside her.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know how much of an impact his words had had on this little rabbit. Back then, she had joined at least half a year earlier than him, and for games, half a year was incredibly important.


    ¡°The escaped pet is over here. Big brother, come over quickly; it¡¯s about to be killed!¡± They suddenly heard a few players and soon saw them appear.


    The giant wolf¡¯s HP had fallen to 20%, and neither Lonesome Flower nor March Rain had expected any other players to barge in. Their faces turned a bit pale.


    ¡°Flower, go and lead the giant wolf somewhere else. Go with your big brother, March Rain. I¡¯ll kill these guys first and then meet up with you.¡± Lu Li retreated a few steps, and entered into Stealth. The Boss¡¯ aggro was instantly transferred onto Lonesome Flower.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t done anything though.¡± March Rain said in a small voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to happen sooner or later.¡± Lu Li said in the Party Chat, then stopped speaking.


    The newcomers were a small party made up of a Priest, Warlock, Hunter, Magician and a Druid. From how much HP the Druid had, it seemed that he was the main tank.


    Druids were Jacks of all Trades, and could play a variety of roles. The Bear Transformation could greatly reduce damage taken, which helped in tanking.


    The group of people came over while sniggering. They didn¡¯t view Lu Li¡¯s party as a threat at all. Seeing Lu Li enter into Stealth, the Magician commanded the Druid and Hunter to gather around the Priest to protect him.


    As long as the Priest didn¡¯t die, he could continuously heal back the damage the Thief dealt, reducing Lu Li to an insignificant threat.


    However, just as they got into position, the Magician found that there was something wrong with the Warlock next to him.


    His eyes were clouded, and was slightly swaying, as if someone had smashed his head with a stick.


    Sap!


    The Magician immediately prepared to release a Blizzard around himself and the Warlock. AOE skills were incredibly effective in forcing Thieves out of hiding.


    Blizzard was an Instant Cast skill, and only required a hand gesture. It was fast and easy to activate.


    This Magician had pretty good reactions, and had good judgement. It was a pity that he had run into Lu Li. Just as he started to raise his Staff, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head.


    Swish swish swish¡­


    -67, -82, -74¡­ a chain of terrifying numbers quickly arose. By the time the Hunter had pulled out an arrow, the Magician was already dead.


    Lu Li had 2 pieces of Steel grade equipment and 3 pieces of Bronze grade equipment. The Magician only had a single ordinary piece of Bronze grade equipment. Not only was there a great gap between their equipment, Lu Li was also 1 level higher than him. Lu Li had finished him off with just 5 normal attacks.


    After the Magician fell, Lu Li sprang towards the Warlock, who was still incapacitated.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 89%, caused 112% Skill Damage, target stunned for 2 seconds!

 21 Massacre

    After only a Shadowstrike, the poor Warlock was already at half HP, in addition to being stunned. After 2 normal attacks, the Warlock followed the fate of the Magician before he could even summon a small demon.


    The party¡¯s priest had raised his Magic Staff twice, but still hadn¡¯t cast a single skill.


    His expression was pale, what kind of Thief was this? Both of his friends were already level 4, and they didn¡¯t even stand a chance against him.


    The party of 5 watched as 2 of them fell. There was only the Druid, Hunter and Priest remaining.


    The Druid as the Main Tank put all his points into Constitution for the sake of survival, so his attacks were pitiful. The Hunter had no pets and he hadn¡¯t reached level 5 yet. As such, he didn¡¯t have Bow Proficiency so his attack speed was greatly inhibited. As for the Priest, would you expect him to use his Magic Staff to beat someone to death?


    "Big brother, this is a misunderstanding" The priest called out: "We were only passing by"


    Lu Li completely disregarded him, picking up the Common Equipment that the Warlock dropped and slowly disappearing.


    With his opponent going invisible, this told him that Lu Li had no intention of sparing anyone.


    The Priest¡¯s face darkened and called out: "We are all part of the Imperial Secret Service, please examine us objectively and don¡¯t mess with people you don¡¯t know¡­"


    The Imperial Secret Service sounded funny, but those who ran into these people would be unable to laugh. Their union was great in number and they all enjoyed PVP, so being targeted by them would be very troublesome.


    Lu Li tightened the grip on his dagger and took a deep breath.


    So it was them!


    The Imperial Secret Service!


    The dagger flashed before the Hunter¡¯s neck released a spray of blood.


    The Druid let out a roar and started charging towards Lu Li, but Lu Li circled around the Hunter to dodge and go back into hiding.


    This time, the Priest had finally found a good opportunity.


    Hunter: +35, -62, the heal wasn¡¯t as much as the damage taken. Who says that having a Priest means you¡¯ll never die? In the face of all these skills and equipment, anything could happen.


    In close range, the Hunter could only use melee weapons or engage in hand to hand combat with Lu Li. The Druid on the other hand, who busying circling the Hunter to chase Lu Li, couldn¡¯t find a way to engage him.


    After the 6th hit, he had only managed to achieve 50% on Backstab¡¯s Skill Completion. But it was still more than the Hunter could bear, and he yelled as he fell onto the ground.


    "Run!" The Priest despaired and turned around to escape.


    Lu Li sprinted forwards; he was behind the Druid and he used both daggers to repeatedly attack the back of his head. 3 down 2 to go, and after attacking the Druid to death, he moved onto the Priest. He could only Heal and had short legs, so there was no way he was going to make it far. Lu Li quickly ended the fight with the use of his 2 daggers.


    Now that he had cleared out the area, he continued fighting the Giant Wolf.


    "They were from the Imperial Secret Service and you didn¡¯t give them any dignity." Lonesome Flower sighed; she had only been in the game for 2 days but she knew that messing with the Imperial Secret Service was a bad idea.


    "Yeah I killed people from the Imperial Secret Service." Lu Li¡¯s eyes were a little bloodshot. There seemed to be a glint on the dagger in his hands and he obviously was affected.


    In the previous life, he had many unions hunting him, one of which were the Imperial Secret Service. For the sake of raising money to treat his sister¡¯s illness, he asked a friend to be a middle-man to apologise to a high level Imperial Secret Service member. He apologised and even promised to do the same on a public forum, but he never thought that the Imperial Secret Service member would agree and then later set up an ambush to kill him once.


    Until this day, he still hadn¡¯t understood how he offended this Union, and would take that question to the grave.


    In terms of who he hated, the Gangnam Royals were first and the Imperial Secret Service was definitely second.


    What those unfortunate eggheads didn¡¯t know, was that once they spoke the words Imperial Secret Service, they had sealed their fates. As long as a person was part of the Imperial Secret Service, Lu Li was determined to immediately kill them.


    In this life, this was one of the reasons he chose to play Thief.


    The Thief was not the strongest in PVP, but in terms of mobility, or quickly eliminating someone, he was unrivaled.


    The escaped Giant Wolf didn¡¯t have much HP left and after short flurry of attacks, it cried out before falling onto the ground.


    The wild Elite Monster didn¡¯t drop things that were as good as the Elite Instance Dungeon, but he was lucky. It dropped a Bronze equip, and three "Head of escaped Pet".


    Obviously within the game, it was impossible for the players to take out a knife an actually decapitate the wolf.


    "We just need to take the quest item, we don¡¯t want the equipment" March Rain timidly said. He didn¡¯t even dare look at Lu Li and was completely scared, not knowing if he was going to have nightmares about him.


    "This is a Priest item, you can have it." Lu Li picked up the items and lightly said: "PVP is a very normal thing in the game. Go quickly, there¡¯s going to be many Imperial Secret Service members here soon. You didn¡¯t enter a war so they won¡¯t be able to find you."


    "I still need to find an NPC for a quest" Lu Li said.


    "What kind of NPC? We¡¯ve explored this nearby area, and we¡¯re quite familiar with it" March Rain didn¡¯t dare participate in PVP, but he didn¡¯t want to just leave, instead looking for other ways to help out.


    "Moon Shadow Valley¡¯s Sentinel Captain Carolina" Lu Li responded.


    "Carolina? We¡¯ve seen her before, she was by the small river saddled on a horse. If you walk west along the main road, you should be able to catch up to her. "


    "Let¡¯s add each other as friends, we can play together later if we¡¯re free." Lu Li put the Quest Item in his bag and slowly escaped back into the shadows.


    "Goodbye Big brother Lu Li" March Rain bit his lip, and made a fist: "Next time we will definitely be stronger, we won¡¯t hold you back."


    "Okay, if you want to be stronger, next time, I can take you to an Instance Dungeon" Lu Li¡¯s voice sounded from afar, slowly dissipating.


    The breeze ruffled the grass, undoing the footsteps that he left behind. The yellow flowers in the grass waved in the wind and you couldn¡¯t tell that someone had walked through this area.


    "Oh" Lonesome Flower pat her thigh: "Speaking of Instance Dungeons, was brother Lu Li the one who got the first clear on the Spider Lair? It had to be him: his equipment was so good and his technique seemed too strong."


    With such a big gap in skill, March Rain¡¯s eyes darkened but quickly lightened up again: "I will definitely learn to play the Priest well; I want to be Dawn¡¯s number 1 Priest!"


    Occasionally you could see Silver Leaved Grass by the side of the road, but Lu Li didn¡¯t stop to pick them. He quickly moved while invisible, wanting to find the NPC quickly and hand over the letter. Then he could return to kill those Imperial Secret Service members who were doing their job.


    His equipment was good, but that didn¡¯t mean that he was immortal. As long as the party was ready for battle, it was possible that he would be affected by crowd control until his death.


    However, as Lu Li understood better than anyone: becoming an expert comes only from killing others. In Dawn, PVP accounted for a large proportion of gameplay. It taught skills that could not be learnt by merely training with the NPC.


    Carolina was riding a white leopard, leisurely walking along the road. There were a few players following behind her.


    Carolina was a famous Demon woman; her stature was fantastic and she only wore enough clothes to cover the important parts. There were many perverted people here who would just follow her all day, not doing anything else.


    Of course, her beauty was one thing, but her temper was considered bad.


    Those who gathered in front of her were killed instantly and their deaths cost double exp.


    "Your excellency, I have brought news from Tap" Lu Li revealed himself in front of Carolina with a hand on his chest. Her expression was solemn as he performed this act of courtesy. In the face of a superior demon, politeness would only serve as an advantage.


    "Oh, so it¡¯s a Thief. It has been a few days since I have seen Tap, how is he?" Under the gaze of numerous players, Carolina not only did not instantly kill this person obstructing the road, but instead sat up from her saddle and spoke with a delightful voice.

 22 Kills In Ten Steps

    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry to have to tell you; my kinsman has found himself in trouble and has sent me to deliver this letter.¡± Lu Li took out the letter Tap gave him, using the game function to organise his sentences.


    In the previous life, there were countless experts who wrote guides which all basically said: Interacting with an NPC in this way is the best way to garner approval, thus resulting in more quest clues and bigger quest rewards.


    For example, if an NPC had a piece of Steel equipment and Silver equipment in hand, both could potentially be quest rewards.


    To them, they would be equally worthless, but to the players, these two items were significantly more valuable.


    Carolina¡¯s gaze only stayed on Lu Li¡¯s hand for a moment before she started to open the letter.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised those low life Cynocephali could hurt Tap; it looks like the Sacrificial Altar in the mines could summon something else. Thief, are you willing to help me?¡±


    ¡°Esteemed Carolina, your wish is my command,¡± Lu Li said without hesitation, though he knew this could be troublesome.


    Other people might have thought that Carolina was just a Sentinel Captain and a beauty of the Night Elves, thus not issuing any good quests. Lu Li knew better because of his rebirth.


    In two years¡¯ time, a band of Orcs would enter the Whispering Forest with the intention of invading Darnassus, but on the way there they would run into the sentry team of the Moon Shadow Valley.


    This was a team of three that could vanish with the wave of a hand. Together they almost destroyed the entire Orc band.


    Carolina had summoned a Moon God!


    Moon God Elune, was one of the Gods that the Night Elves believe in. There were many Gods that appeared in Dawn, but a large majority of them were demigods or demons. There were only a handful of real Gods like Elune.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Elune never killed, there wouldn¡¯t be a single Orc that would have left the Whispering Forest.


    Speaking of which, the Supreme One Ring on Lu Li was actually forged by the Moon God¡¯s son, Cenarius - a demigod with supernatural power.


    Some people say that Carolina was actually Tyrande Whisperwind- the Night Elves¡¯ great leader and wife of Malfurion, a strong Druid. However, this has never been officially confirmed.


    Carolina smiled at Lu Li as she said: ¡°My subordinate is stuck in a dangerous situation, but I have a quest that I need to complete so I am unable to save him. Can you go and bring him back?¡±


    System: Accept Quest: A female Priest¡¯s request: go to the Cynocephali mine and escort Explorer Tap back to Moon Shadow Valley. Time Limit: 24 hours. Reward: Unknown.


    As expected, Lu Li bowed without hesitation: ¡°Moon God on high, Esteemed Female Priest, as an Elf I will pursue this wholeheartedly!¡±


    This quest was going to be difficult because Lu Li was only level 5, but needed to fight level 8 monsters. In addition, he would need to get through a forest that was densely packed with monsters.


    However, this wasn¡¯t the end of the road. It was not an Instance Dungeon, so he could ask for others to help him.


    ¡°@#*!@!...¡± Carolina said something in Elven that was incomprehensible to Lu Li before mysteriously leaving.


    Lu Li respectfully took two steps backwards, before fading out of sight.


    Where he was standing was now covered in arrows and signs of magic.


    The formalities took so long that members of the Imperial Secret Service had received news that he was with Carolina.


    When Carolina was there, no one dared to do anything, but once she left, no one could wait any longer.


    The dozens of members of the Imperial Secret Service immediately attacked, but Lu Li also immediately withdrew. To stave off evil required constant vigilance; if he was 2 or 3 seconds late he would have been killed.


    In the previous life he didn¡¯t play as a Thief, but he experienced a lot of PVP, so this ability to hide and escape was one that was very convenient to have.


    ¡°Everyone spread out and search, but be careful. The moment he shows his face begin attacking¡± The commander directed his subordinates, while also loudly exclaiming to the surrounding players: ¡°The Imperial Secret Service is performing its duties. Those who don¡¯t want to die, leave the area immediately¡±


    ¡°Crazy, thinking you¡¯re so great,¡± Soy Sauce Party scolded, but only loud enough for the 2 to 3 people near him to hear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mumble, and quickly get out of here. The Imperial Secret Service are the most unreasonable. If we aren¡¯t careful they might attack us.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know how the Thief from before offended these people, but it doesn¡¯t look good at all.¡± Most people who were watching joked about it; only some people were sympathetic with Lu Li.


    ¡°With so many people searching, they¡¯ll find him sooner or later¡± a busybody said. ¡°I bet this Thief won¡¯t last more than 5 minutes¡±


    ¡°Rubbish. If you want to bet on something, bet how long it¡¯ll be before he gets killed,¡± another busybody said, rummaging around for a copper coin to gamble with.


    Nobody thought that Lu Li could run away, let alone kill anyone.


    On the other side, the Imperial Secret Service had over 20 members present, all wielding weapons. They were densely packed and swinging all over the place, hoping to flush out Lu Li from hiding.


    After 2 minutes, when the Imperial Secret Service players were about to lose their patience, a miserable cry came from behind a tree.


    Several nearby Imperial Secret Service members rushed over, but all they saw was a corpse that was disintegrating into data.


    Everyone looked at each other in dismay, trying cast some area of effect spells, but to no avail.


    ¡°Look, on that side!¡± Soy Sauce Party who was nearby called out, pointing in the direction for his friend.


    His companion saw where he was pointing, and saw a Warlock player with his head low, completely still. Behind him was a Thief wielding his dagger; there was a spray of blood and in one burst the Warlock was killed.


    The entire process took less than 10 seconds!


    But this the 10 seconds was enough for the Imperial Secret Service players to discover where Lu Li was.


    Seeing a Thief rush at him, he smiled before rushing towards him as well.


    The Stealth skill was on cooldown, so both Thieves directly confronted each other. Neither of them cast Stealth.


    System: Successful parry, damage caused is reduced by 50%!


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 81%, causing 92% damage, target will be stunned for 1 second.


    When the skill had been cast, the dagger was put back into its sheath. As it was sheathed, a bloodstain appeared on the back of the other Thief. Before he could even draw, Lu Li had turned and plunged the dagger into him.


    During the stun duration, Lu Li performed 3 normal attacks. When the other Thief finally came to, he could only feel the coldness in his throat before falling to the ground.


    Lu Li picked up some equipment that fell on the ground while the person underfoot disappeared. Before he even stood up, he had faded away once again.


    The viewers around who were whooping were now speechless, with shocked expressions on their faces. Most of them were staring at the body of the Thief who was taken down in one shot as it faded into light, returning to the spawn point.


    They were the same occupation; was the disparity between a master and an ordinary player so large?


    The shock was unexplainable.


    They all knew that masters would be very strong, but they had never seen one battle in person.


    The uniformed commander of the Imperial Secret Service roared: ¡°Mages, spread out and cast Blizzard. Warlocks cast Charm. Those who have the Charge skill don¡¯t save it. All Thieves go into Stealth and wait for an opportunity¡±


    After several minutes, the members of the Imperial Secret Service hadn¡¯t done or said anything and the viewers surrounding were getting impatient.


    Could the Thief have secretly run away?

 23 Tutorial

    Even if Lu Li had secretly escaped, no one would blame him.


    In Dawn, the specialties of the Thief occupation was hotly debated, but most people would concede that these dishonorable moves were definitely one of them.


    Kills in ten steps and travels great distance with ease!


    The former describes the burst potential of a Thief while the latter describes a Thief¡¯s mobility.


    ¡°Come out if you¡¯re worth anything!¡±


    ¡°This hiding business takes no skill, come out and fight¡­¡±


    ¡°Go home to your mother, stop pretending to be Sun Tzu!¡±


    The Imperial Secret Service members were clamoring, but neither Lu Li nor the surrounding players paid attention to them.


    After a good few minutes, the Thief still hadn¡¯t shown his face.


    Some people thought that he had already left, and yet some were still here foolishly searching.


    They may as well have used this time to go and surround Carolina once again.


    The surrounding players were watching and laughing as they slowly left, as the Imperial Secret Service members continued with shame and resentment. They didn¡¯t have a choice in all this; they wanted to train instead of wasting time too, but this was a greater priority.


    ¡°Let¡¯s return; this one person isn¡¯t worth the trouble. We¡¯ll wait for another opportunity to take him,¡± the commander ordered, but politely this time.


    There were 30-40 members of the Imperial Secret Service that turned up so quickly. Even with this many people, they weren¡¯t able to drive Lu Li into a corner and had instead turned into a laughing stock. No one wanted to continue this futile effort, and upon hearing the instruction, they started to take out their Hearthstones and activate them.


    The activation time for the Hearthstone was 15 seconds with a cooldown of 30 minutes. It allowed the players to return to their designated village or city.


    While the Hearthstone was being cast, light is shone around the user to signal their return.


    The commander watched the changing sight before him as he teleported and in his vision, buildings materialized before the trees of Moon Shadow Valley. After relaxing, he found himself tired, letting out a sigh. This was truly a failed task.


    Hearing that his members had been killed by the same person who got the first clear in an Instance Dungeon, he immediately set out to take revenge, hoping to also gain some respect from the players in the area. This had backfired badly, and now the reputation of the Union had been destroyed.


    The members of the Imperial Secret Service didn¡¯t stand a chance against the guy who took the first clear of an Instance Dungeon!


    If he was able to take the first clear, he must have received good equipment. He also must have cleared the dungeon a few more times after that.


    Who thought that they would find themselves in this kind of situation?


    As he was muttering these reasons for his defeat to himself, a cry could be heard from his members.


    ¡°It¡¯s that Thief, he hasn¡¯t left!¡±


    ¡°Help, I can¡¯t move!¡±


    ¡°Dammit, my return port was disrupted. Everyone don¡¯t return yet, quickly come and help!¡±


    There were 3 people; one was hit by Sap, another by Cheap Shot and the last was kicked, so all of their return ports were disrupted. The others had started their ports so early that they had all returned to Moon Shadow Valley.


    What is this!


    How can you play like this?


    The return point was densely packed with members of the Imperial Secret Service. In such a small space, this was enough to display their strength, causing ordinary players to keep their distance.


    But today, there was a chill in the air around them.


    Until now, there were members who were arrogant about their ability, even though they hadn¡¯t done anything. Numerous members had this mentality, however, now that they had faced that Thief, they were too ashamed call themselves experts.


    He was the real expert.


    He first killed an entire party, and then, under the noses of dozens of other members, he had butchered another three!


    Can we not play with you anymore?


    Nope!


    They had to ask the expert whether they could leave!


    Lu Li kept 3 Mages behind. He didn¡¯t need to manage the ones that had been hit by Sap or Cheap Shot because of the stun. The one he was facing was the most important; he needed to finish the fight in 20 seconds before the other player returned from the effects of Sap.


    Mages learned a teleportation skill at level 10 called ¡®Flash¡¯. Before they cast it, their movement would be significantly reduced. If someone were to come into close range, they would have no hope of escaping. Their only option was to keep at it.


    What Lu Li found was strange was that the target that he was attacking right now was not only in a complete mess, but didn¡¯t know how to retaliate at all.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know how strange what he had done to the other player was. After disrupting his port and immediately attacking his face, he had no idea how to respond.


    After 6 seconds, the second player who used Ice Arrows woke up. Lu Li had already dealt with the first Mage.


    The Ice Arrows hit Lu Li¡¯s body, exploding into shards of ice and dealing 35 damage. It also applied a 20% movement speed debuff (it was a debuff spell, the opposite of a buff).


    This didn¡¯t matter, as Lu Li was already close by and could easily approach the Mage. He stabbed the opponent in the stomach like a viper and immediately pulled back. Lu Li then disappeared as he tumbled and reappeared behind him, casting Shadowstrike!


    The other player had just finished loading the next Ice Arrow when Lu Li had disappeared from view. He then felt like he had been stabbed, which interrupted his skill and stunned him.


    This Mage that had been stunned was not bad; the moment he recovered from the stun he knew exactly what he needed to do and immediately began his attack when the opportunity presented itself. It was too bad that his opponent was Lu Li. It was as if his mind was read, and when he quickly turned around after he recovered, Lu Li was already behind him again.


    With your back to a Thief, this was one of the most brainless ways to die!


    Immediately after Lu Li had killed his target, he immediately entered Stealth.


    The last player that woke up was nervous, brandishing his Magic Staff and calling out: ¡°Don¡¯t come over here, don¡¯t come here¡­¡±


    After a few seconds, a light shone behind him and the Cheap Shot skill was successfully cast. He was stunned for 4 seconds!


    The result had already been determined/ Lu Li quickly dealt with this kid who was scared out of his wits and picked up the items that were dropped before fading into the shadows¡­


    This time he really left.


    It sounded like this all happened over a while, but the process of Lu Li interrupting their return ports and killing them actually occurred in under a minute.


    In the return point, the three unlucky kids appeared. Their faces were sullen and restless.


    The others were completely silent; no one made a sound in that return area.


    The commander looked at everyone and shook his head as he said: ¡°Forget about today, everyone should go back to training. If you see this Thief then run away and wait for a later opportunity. However, we should all pay extra effort to gather more information about him.¡±


    The morale of the troops was lost, so any further attempts would only be humiliating.


    ¡°Boss, quickly check the forums!¡± Just as he was about to tell them to disperse, someone called out.


    In Dawn, you could directly access the game forums. You only needed to instruct the interface and it would appear before your eyes on screen.


    The hottest post currently on the forums, with a hit rate increasing at over 1000 per second read:


    Moon Shadow Valley God level Thief, tutorial included!

 24 Enchantmen

    A PVP incident had occurred today at Moon Shadow Valley, which was fairly common. But what the original poster of the forum post saw was absolutely extraordinary!


    The poster and a few other enthusiasts were gathered, watching the beautiful NPC, Carolina. Suddenly, their surroundings were filled with 41 members of the Imperial Secret Service, all with the intention of getting rid of some nameless Thief. It was 1 v 41, and in plain view of everyone there, the Thief managed to kill 3 people while taking less than 100 damage himself before escaping¡­


    The original poster saw this with his own eyes and was shocked; his hands were still shaking as he made the post.


    The original poster was actually recording Carolina at the time, and so was fortunate enough to record the whole scene.


    He said that this Thief was godlike, and every move he made was worth studying.


    There was link that followed, and when you opened it, it would play the scene before the members of the Imperial Secret Service ported home.


    The video had only been up for a few seconds, but comments were already appearing.


    1: Jade Flower Lover ¨C As someone who is a professional gamer part of the ¡®MLG¡¯, seeing this gives me the chills. Did this guy edit the video so it looks like this?


    2: Painted Feathers ¨C SECOND!!!!


    3: Roman Vanguard ¨C The Great Qin Empire Union are hiring. If you are the brother who is in the video, please add me as a friend. The yearly salary is greater than that of elders in a big company and our union consists of people who are strong and ruthless. Together we will dominate Dawn!


    4: Midnight Melody ¨C The Imperial Secret Service got smashed, woo hooo!


    ¡­


    68: Water Fairy ¨C To the one in the video, do you want to meet up somewhere to PVP?


    ¡­


    71: Storm Warrior ¨C To the 68th comment, Water Fairy, you are beautiful and I love you!


    72: Interstellar boy ¨C I have a car, room and all sorts of household appliances. My bank balance exceeds 8 figures. Please be my girlfriend Water Fairy!


    73: Old man next door ¨C How many PVPs does Water Fairy want to participate in, 3 or 4? Count me in¡­


    ¡­


    320: Amusing Funeral ¨C The original poster¡¯s video is incomplete, it gets even better at the end. Please see my post: The wretched way is king, the ultimate path of the Thief!


    The lower the comments, the crazier they became, but there were still numerous people who could see the value of this Thief, including renowned Thieves such as ¡°Midnight Ghost¡±, ¡°Blood Dagger¡± and ¡°Song of Sorrow¡±.They all praised Lu Li¡¯s technique and positioning, and each one held it to high esteem. But the top Fairy Thief, Water Fairy, in asking for a battle caused discussion to ignite in this forum.


    The Imperial Secret Service then became an example of what not to do, and for a long time, their members had to keep their heads down when facing other players.


    As Lu Li¡¯s appearance was brief, while the video was taken from afar, no one could clearly see his name and so for a long time they just called him ¡®nameless¡¯.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know about any of this, and after he left, he went straight to the Moon Shadow Village.


    He was afraid that he was being followed, so he stayed in stealth. He only revealed himself when he had entered the Dwarf¡¯s blacksmith.


    ¡°You sneaky Thief, are you here to steal something?¡± the Dwarf¡¯s blacksmith could be found commonly in the game: after all, Dwarves forge the highest quality metals. However, in this kind of place like the Moon Shadow Valley, only Qum¡¯s Blacksmith could be found.


    The other blacksmiths in Moon Shadow Valley were all managed completely by elves.


    ¡°Master Qum, you misunderstand.¡± Lu Li took a step forward and saluted the Dwarf.


    ¡°Humph, Elf hypocrite, there¡¯s nothing for you here.¡± There were large swords and shields hanging on the walls of the blacksmith; he wasn¡¯t lying.


    ¡°I heard you¡¯ve reached some troubles in your research, so I specifically went and looked for a piece of Superior Quality Copper for you.¡± Lu Li turned his wrist and pulled out the Superior Quality Copper Ore from the mines, placing it gently on Qum¡¯s workstation.


    ¡°Superior Quality Copper ore?¡± Qum chuckled with disdain: ¡°How can the deserted Whispering Forest produce a Superior Quality Copper ore? Ever since I was sent to this damned place, I haven¡¯t seen any high quality ores.¡±


    Although his mouth spoke with spite, his hand still reached out and picked up the ash covered copper piece.


    ¡°Well¡± Qum was surprised as he felt it, hastily picking up his magnifying glass to study it.


    ¡°Quality 86, it¡¯s pretty good even for a Superior Quality Copper Ore¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°You have a good eye¡­¡± the Dwarf gripped the copper ore tightly, clearly satisfied.


    This wasn¡¯t true though, as the system directly told the player the grade of the ore. No visual observation was required of the players, but he obviously didn¡¯t tell the NPC that. Lu Li smiled as he took out a dagger from his backpack. ¡°Master, you can keep the ore. All you need to do is enchant this weapon of mine.¡±


    Enchantment, involved using magic to attach an effect to a weapon, helmet or other equipment, either temporarily or permanently.


    Lu Li did not know whether Qum from the Moon Shadow Valley was an Enchanter, but according to the guide he knew, Qum was the only one willing to undertake tasks for the player.


    ¡°What a surprise, you know about enchantments?¡± Qum asked.


    ¡°It is a great art, graciously given by the Gods,¡± Lu Li patiently flattered. In fact, the current players hadn¡¯t even heard of enchanting. The life occupations that were officially listed only included Forger, Potion Crafter, Tailor and Forager (picking medicinal herbs, mining or hunting for skins).


    Others such as Enchanter, Jeweler, Scribe, Builder and Cook would only appear in the next update of the game.


    When the players reached a big city, they would come into contact with an Enchanter. With a ridiculously high price, they could add an attribute to a piece of equipment. This could make a small or big difference and could also be good or bad.


    Lu Li¡¯s flattering made Qum feel more comfortable; the Elf before him didn¡¯t seem so bad. He picked up the dagger and flicked the blade with his finger: ¡°Crafted by Elves, looks good but functionally useless.¡±


    Broodmother¡¯s Kiss (Bronze): Damage 8-15, Agility +2, Equipment Requirement LV3, Durability 18/18.


    This bronze weapon wasn¡¯t too bad; it was a weapon that could be used when you were level 3, but was nothing compared to what the Dwarves could produce. Lu Li didn¡¯t really address the criticism, just smiling with embarrassment: ¡°Master Qum, can you give it a new life?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not only a Dwarven Blacksmith.¡± Qum was also a special Enchanter.


    ¡°Khaz¡¯Goroth on High, your generosity is to be admired.¡± Lu Li bowed in gratitude, successfully enticing the Dwarf to take on the job.


    Dwarves place great importance on their image, and as he had already been praised in addition to being given the ore, it wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to accept the request.


    After taking out a few odd pieces from behind his workstation and laying them in a certain order around the dagger, both of Qum¡¯s hands emitted a colored light, the outline of his fingers flickering. Symbols then appeared and flew towards the dagger without entering it.


    After a while, Qum sighed with relief and returned the dagger to Lu Li: ¡°The original material isn¡¯t too great. This is best I can do.¡±


    Broodmother¡¯s Kiss (Steel): Damage 10-22, Agility +4, Special Effect: Target will be poisoned if they are hit, dealing 20 damage per second, lasting for 5 seconds. Equipment Requirement LV5, Durability 30/30.


    Woah, in the blink of an eye the sparrow had become a phoenix; the Bronze equipment became Steel. If this was considered bad, what kind of Enchanter was? Lu Li had never heard of enchanting that changed the rank of an item.


    Lu Li was completely filled with gratitude this time: ¡°Master Qum, this is the best dagger I¡¯ve ever seen. The greatness of your enchantment is amazing.¡±

 25 Aegwynn’s Tome

    ¡°The art of Enchanting has been on the decline,¡± the old Dwarf said dejectedly, as if Lu Li¡¯s words caused him to remember something sad.


    ¡°No way, there are lots of people who know about Enchanting. There¡¯ll be more and more Enchanters in the future. Don¡¯t worry maestro, you won¡¯t be lonely,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Those Enchanters,¡± Qum said as he shook his head, ¡°They have blasphemed Enchanting, and blasphemed our Ancestors.¡±


    Lu Li had no idea what Qum was saying. In his ¡®past life¡¯, he liked to read guides, but none of them could explain this Dwarf¡¯s inexplicable words. However, his experience in games told him that this was an opportunity!


    ¡°Maestro, I can¡¯t quite understand what you¡¯re saying. I am but a young Elf, and do not know much.¡±


    Perhaps it was because Qum had been holding all of this within him for so long, and upon seeing Lu Li¡¯s respectful attitude, he replied, ¡°The history of Enchanting started with a Magician in the ancient times, and has been developed for tens of thousands of years¡­ modern Magicians strive for efficiency, and try to minimise materials used while maximising their effects. But they¡¯re wrong. As the quality of materials go down, Enchanting will become more and more worthless¡­¡±


    ¡°The glory of Enchanting has been instead covered with dust and dirt. What a pity.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t really know what to say in response.


    In the olden times, the materials used for Enchanting were far too valuable, so Enchanting was a very limited discipline. As time passed, Magicians researched how to use lower grade materials or less materials, causing Enchanting to become more widespread and popular.


    There were advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, but to Qum, those modern Magicians had ruined Enchanting.


    Young Elf, thank you for listening to my story. When one grows old, it¡¯s hard to see from a new perspective.¡± Qum was indeed quite old. Although Dwarves had quite a long lifespan, even they were not immortal.


    ¡°It was my honour. You are a great and respectable Enchanter.¡± Lu Li sincerely said.


    Even in his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had never even heard of an Enchanter being able to raise an equipment¡¯s grade simply by Enchanting.


    ¡°The river of time has washed away the past; I wonder how many Enchanters there are who also stick to the olden ways. Elf, are you willing to follow my path and continue walking down it for me?¡± The Dwarf¡¯s eyes were filled with a slight look of helplessness and hope. Lu Li wasn¡¯t someone he was extremely satisfied in, but there were no other options available to him.


    Who would have thought that things would have turned out like this? Lu Li came here simply to Enchant his Dagger, but now he had been presented with a rare opportunity.


    A rare Trade Skill!


    If he said no, he would definitely be a fool. Of course he was extremely willing! ¡°That would be my honour. I am willing to devote my life to this path.¡±


    This seemed to move the old Dwarf and the last trace of hesitation in his eyes vanished. Qum limped into one of the inner rooms of the smith. When he came back, he was holding an incredibly thick and ancient-looking book.


    ¡°A Lord Magician gave this Enchanting book to my ancestor, and it was passed down to me. Now, I will pass it to you, Elf. I hope that you will take good care of it.¡± He passed the ancient book to Lu Li and instantly looked like the burden on his shoulders had been greatly eased.


    System: You have received Aegywnn¡¯s Tome (Special). With this book, you can learn the ancient discipline of Enchanting.


    The book was very old, but it was not torn or missing any pages. The title page was quite plain, and there was a small string of words in the bottom right corner.


    My life belongs to myself, and I make all my decisions willingly and freely. I have never been controlled by anyone; not even gods can do so! I lower my head to others out of respect and admiration, but never out of subservience! ¨C Magna Aegwynn.


    What a domineering quote!


    Aegywnn¡­ Aegwynn¡­ Lu Li¡¯s mind was blown.


    He had guessed that it was some grandmaster who wrote this Enchanting book, but he never would have thought that it was actually Aegwynn.


    Aegywnn was called the most powerful Magician and was the Guardian of Tirisfal. She had protected this continent by killing monsters and demons. Together with the Blue Dragonflight, she defeated the strongest Boss in Dawn- the Dark Titan Sargeras, who was described to be the source of all evil. She then sealed his corpse under the Abyss.


    Within the players¡¯ hearts, this female Magician was the pinnacle of all existence.


    Grand and majestic!


    However, Aegywnn decided that she did not want to continue being controlled by the Tirisfal Council and wanted to pass on her power to alter generations. As such, she chose a man- Nielas Aran, the genius court Conjurer. They gave birth to an even greater son- Medivh!


    This Aegywnn¡¯s Tome didn¡¯t have any stats, and apart from Enchanting offered nothing else. Nevertheless, it was worthy of its name.


    Of course, when Lu Li opened this Enchanting book, what he saw was not only powerful Enchanting formulae, but also lists of required materials that shocked him. He completely understood why the ancient ways of Enchanting had been abandoned.


    It was a pity that he was not a Magician- if he was, he could have maximised the potential of this incredible book.


    Who would have thought that the Novice Village in the Moon Shadow Valley held so many secrets.


    In actuality, there were many secrets hidden in Dawn. Every race had powerful heroes who had left behind secrets to be found in various villages.


    Lu Li knew that he did not have much of a lead on other people, and that there were definitely other players who also had incredible equipment and items.


    However, he knew more than others, and put in more effort!


    After saying goodbye to the Dwarf Qum, Lu Li left the smith and handed in the Collection quest for the Silver Leaved Grass.


    As expected, the reward was the Alchemy Skill. This skill was important for any player, and especially essential for any solo Thief.


    This was because Alchemy had a branch called Poisons. This allowed players to create poisons which could be applied on Daggers, causing them to deal extra damage. Some poisons could even apply Debuffs, such as lowering Movement Speed, Paralysing the enemy, lowering the effect of healing, etc.


    From morning until night, Lu Li had been online for over 12 hours. He hadn¡¯t eaten or rested, and was completely worn out.


    After learning the Alchemy skill, Lu Li planned to log off, but the World Announcement suddenly shone out with a chain of gold letters.


    System: Under the leadership of player Indifference, Capcoman, Yew, Still Water Flowing and Hunderhunch have set a new record for Spider Lair (Elite level). Current record: 1 hour 12 minutes 32 seconds!

 26 Surprise

    Lu Li stared for a few moments before recovering.


    At this point, it was normal for their record to be broken. However, for the new record to be a whole 10 minutes faster than theirs was a bit surprising.


    The people in this World Announcement weren¡¯t just any ordinary players - they were part of one of the most famous unions- the Blood-red War Flag!


    This union was ranked 3rd in all of China, and 9th in the whole world. It was said that the boss of the union was an army veteran, and many of the members were also veterans. If it wasn¡¯t because their requirements were so high, resulting in them not having as many players as the other unions, their ranking would be even higher.


    To Lu Li, creating new records for Instance Dungeons didn¡¯t have much point. After all, it was just an extra Bronze grade equipment. However, creating new records was important for large unions- they would rather exchange 10 pieces of equipment in order to bring more fame to their union.


    Indifference was the Blood-red War Flag¡¯s Commander of the Instance Dungeon group and was said to be the god of PVE. Yew was also famous within the Blood-red War Flag, and was an expert in PVP. Apart from newbies, there wasn¡¯t anyone who didn¡¯t know of him.


    Them appearing on the World Announcement was the equivalent to the Blood-red War Flag appearing on the World Announcement.


    Everyone was also wondering why the top ranked Glory Capital and the second ranked Gangnam Royals had fallen behind by so much.


    Perhaps it was because they had bought his guide. Lu Li bitterly smiled to himself. He had said that his teammates could do whatever they wanted with the information, so of course they would have sold the information as a guide.


    Lu Li had been planning to log off anyways, and seeing this, he didn¡¯t feel much motivation to continue playing for the day. As such, he decided to log out.


    Lu Li received a fright when he took off his game helmet.


    His little sister, Lu Xin, was looking at him with an expression of fury. He hadn¡¯t seen her so angry in a long time, and it made him feel reminiscent.


    ¡°Big brother, you played for a whole day!¡±


    Lu Li looked over, and saw that he had been given a plate of untouched egg fried rice.


    Lu Li stretched out and stroked her little head, ¡°Big brother¡¯s in the wrong. I¡¯ll definitely eat properly from now on. By the way, Xin Xin, big brother¡¯s already earnt some money in the game.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The little girl¡¯s attitude immediately changed. She simply couldn¡¯t help it- the Lu brother and sister had never hidden their desire for wealth, due to their poverty.


    ¡°Realer than real!¡±


    ¡°Liar,¡± The little girl pouted, ¡°I heard a few of my classmates say that this game is really hard, and it¡¯s really difficult to earn money in there.¡±


    ¡°There are people in your school playing?¡± Lu Li felt a bit guilty. He didn¡¯t have the money to send his little sister to a good school. She was currently studying at the Slum District¡¯s Primary School. Not only was the teaching inferior to other schools, but the environment wasn¡¯t great either.


    ¡°They¡¯re like big brother. They joined unions to earn money, and receive $800 per month. Big brother, can I play as well?¡± Whenever Lu Xin talked about money, her eyes would always sparkle.


    Lu Li shook his head, went over, and poured the leftover egg fried rice into the bin.


    ¡°Big brother, what are you doing? You can still eat it if you heat it up¡­ I put a whole 2 eggs in!¡± Lu Xin was quite annoyed at Lu Li¡¯s behaviour.


    ¡°I just said I¡¯ve already earnt money, but you don¡¯t believe me. Let¡¯s go out to eat.¡± Lu Li took his little sister¡¯s hand as he started to walk out.


    Lu Xin could only reluctantly look at the egg fried rice in the bin, and walked out of the house with her big brother.


    They lived in a small alley which was extremely cramped. However, there were many, many people living there. Many people called this sort of place a ¡®doghole¡¯; it was only 1 step up from homelessness.


    Lu Xin was incredibly pretty and cute, while Lu Li was young and strong and would always help out his neighbours. Seeing the Lu brother and sister, the neighbours would always greet them warmly.


    ¡°Oi, Lu boy, why didn¡¯t I see you picking up Xin Xin today?¡± An old uncle yelled out while pouring out a bucket of dirty water.


    ¡°Hello Uncle Zhao, something came up today, so I couldn¡¯t go.¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do that,¡± Uncle Zhao stopped Lu Li, angrily saying, ¡°You know how unsafe this place is. If it wasn¡¯t for me today, Xin Xin said she might have been bullied. Such a pretty girl walking by herself in this sort of place just isn¡¯t safe.¡±


    What Uncle Zhao had said was true. After all, the Slum District was where the lowest members of society lived.


    Lu Li looked at his little sister in shock, ¡°Xin Xin, those bullies from the rubbish dump followed you again? Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±


    Lu Xin looked down with a bit of guilt, ¡°I didn¡¯t get the opportunity to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Look after your little sister properly. You should know that girl from the eastern alley was nearly violated. If I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Once people reached a certain age, they liked to talk a lot and nag. However, this was out of the kindness in his heart, and Lu Li sincerely thanked him many times.


    After saying goodbye to Uncle Zhao, Lu Li walked out of the alley, and turned to walk towards the rubbish dump.


    Lu Xin quickly stopped her brother, anxiously saying, ¡°Big brother, don¡¯t be rash. I¡¯m fine, right? Don¡¯t fight with them¡­ if someone dies, then you¡¯ll go to jail¡­¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to worry his little sister, so he could only put that thought away. It seemed that the beating he gave them a few days ago was too light; these people healed way too quickly.


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t fight with them. Let¡¯s go eat for now. Tomorrow¡¯s Sunday, so let¡¯s go and find somewhere else to move to.¡± Lu Li was originally planning to give the Star Moon Union the penalty for breaking the contract, and then rent a better place to live when he had saved up a bit.


    However, seeing what had happened today, which happened regularly, Lu Li decided that it would be best for them to move as soon as possible.


    Lu Xin¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Big brother, you really earned money?¡±


    Lu Li gently patted her head and said, ¡°You little rascal, did you really think that your big brother would trick you? I¡¯ve really earnt a lot of money, so tonight you can eat whatever you want. Let¡¯s have a good meal.¡±


    After eating, Lu Li had a shower and immediately entered the game


    This week, Lu Li not only needed to earn enough money to cover the contract penalty, but also enough to move to a better home. He had to give it his all.


    There were only 2 hours until night fell in the game, but he still hadn¡¯t opened the treasure boxes at the bottom of the Moon Reflection Lake. However, he decided to raise his level first.


    Before he even left the village, his communication device rang- it was Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Lu Li, you¡¯re finally online.¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°I was having dinner. What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I have some things to give you. Where are you right now?¡±


    ¡°What is it? Let¡¯s meet at the place where we first met.¡± Lu Li decided that it would be easier for them to meet at a familiar place.


    ¡°Alright, just meet me there. I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Azure Sea Breeze said and ended the call.


    Not long after, Lu Li saw Azure Sea Breeze, the Elf Warrior, jogging over.


    ¡°What is it? You were being so mysterious.¡± Lu Li said.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately opened up a trade window, and threw a pile of things in.


    ¡°Holy crap, where the hell did you get these?!¡± Lu Li simply couldn¡¯t stay calm.

 27 Buying Loyalty

    Within the Trade Window were 4 Jade Spider Webs!


    Jade Spider Webs only spawned in the Elite level Instance Dungeon for the Spider Lair, and had an incredibly low drop rate.


    Yet Azure Sea Breeze had suddenly taken out 4.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they all came by legitimate means.¡± Azure Sea Breeze sent them over as he explained, ¡°After clearing the Instance Dungeon, I contacted some of the big unions, and planned to sell the guide to clearing it. After comparing the compensation they each offered, I decided to sell it to¡­¡±


    ¡°The Blood-red War Flag?¡± Lu Li realised what was going on.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I sold the guide to them. We agreed that they would give all of the Jade Spider Webs to me, but I couldn¡¯t sell the guide to anyone else.¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°4 Jade Spider Webs¡­ that¡¯s amazing,¡± Lu Li sighed in awe, ¡°The Grand Hegemony only obtained 1.¡±


    The Blood-red War Flag was much more powerful than the Grand Hegemony, and they had probably invested at least 100 teams into clearing the Instance Dungeon. Assuming that they didn¡¯t keep any for themselves, a 4/100 drop rate was simply astonishing.


    ¡°How many do you still need?¡± Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t ask Lu Li what he needed them for. He knew that to require so many of an incredibly rare item, Lu Li was definitely planning something big.


    ¡°I still need 2 more,¡± Lu Li said as he patted Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Thanks bro!¡±


    He would be a liar if he said that he wasn¡¯t touched. No words could express the gratitude in his heart, so he could only say a simple ¡°thanks¡±.


    Azure Sea Breeze was good friends with him in his ¡®past life¡¯ as well. Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s character was bold and refreshing, and wasn¡¯t the type to plot against others. Once he saw you as a friend, he would be completely loyal and devoted to you. Otherwise, Lu Li would have never known about the secret of the Supreme One Ring.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t be as open as Azure Sea Breeze, but that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t want a friend who would be open with him.


    ¡°Alright, alright, just take it. I wasn¡¯t this courteous when you gave me your equipment.¡± Azure Sea Breeze punched Lu Li, ¡°If you¡¯re grateful, then help me level up.¡±


    ¡°You sure you want me to help you level up?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t think he was much stronger than Azure Sea Breeze, who was a Warrior. In Dawn, Warriors, Magicians and Hunters were the kings of levelling.


    After what happened in the Instance Dungeon, I¡¯ve come to enjoy playing as the main tank. I¡¯m going to lean more towards Constitution in the future, so I won¡¯t be able to deal as much damage,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°Being a main tank is good; you¡¯ll have lots of potential in the future. If you have good equipment, you¡¯ll also be strong in PVP. In his ¡®past life¡¯, Azure Sea Breeze had also been a main tank, however, he had been dragged down by the Supreme One Ring and his attack was even weaker than Lu Li¡¯s who was a Druid.


    ¡°Levelling up is going to be a pain.¡± Azure Sea Breeze sighed.


    ¡°The Public Instance Dungeons can be repeatedly cleared, and there¡¯ll be more and more Instance Dungeons in the future. Just level up through doing Instance Dungeons and quests. If you can make a good team, it¡¯ll be even more efficient than killing monsters,¡± Lu Li advised.


    There were very few quests in Dawn, and relying on them wasn¡¯t enough to get to high levels. As such, most players relied on killing monsters to level up. The monsters in Instance Dungeons were harder to kill than monsters outside, but they gave more EXP. If Azure Sea Breeze could form a team with high efficiency, just like Lu Li had said, he really would be able to get on the Player Level Rankings.


    The two of them walked as they talked, and soon arrived at a LV8 Stone-skinned Boar Territory.


    There were two types of boars here- one was the Stone-skinned Boar, which had high Defence and average Attack, while the other type was called the Stone-toothed Boar, which had high Attack and average Defence. Both types had high HP, so players generally preferred not to train here.


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze both had quite a few pieces of Bronze grade equipment, so that bit of HP was nothing to them.


    The most efficient way to train was to not share monsters with anyone else.


    Azure Sea Breeze usually spoke a lot, but was incredibly focused while training. He was like a silent monster-killing-robot.


    While killing monsters, Lu Li would also practice using his skills, slowly applying the things he had learnt in his ¡®past life¡¯ to his current playing style.


    Continuously testing and continuously improving.


    On the forums, everyone revered Lu Li, saying that ¡°he had opened a door for Thieves and melee professions.¡± However, most of the things he used were not his own - he had absorbed many skills and tricks from other Thieves that he had read about in his ¡®past life¡¯.


    If one didn¡¯t want to fall behind, they would have to continuously improve.


    It was getting closer and closer to night in the game world, and Lu Li soon stopped, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. I want to take you somewhere before it¡¯s night.¡±


    Lu Li wanted to go and open the treasure boxes at the bottom of the lake.


    The game was progressing quite slowly, but he didn¡¯t know when other players would start to obtain items that could allow them to breathe underwater. The power of a large union was not something a solo player could compete with.


    Most players had reached LV4 by now. It was much more efficient to form a team and hunt high levelled monsters, so there were barely any players at the Moon Reflection Lake by now.


    Azure Sea Breeze was completely in the dark as to why Lu Li had wanted to come here.


    What made him even more curious was that Lu Li told him to stand on the shore, then looked around and jumped into the water.


    Suicide?


    Before Azure Sea Breeze could yell out, he saw a seal break out of the water and nod towards him.


    The Elf Warrior was completely shocked and his eyes widened as his world collapsed.


    Lu Li grinned, then dived into the water.


    Not long after, he found one of the respawned treasure boxes.


    There were 2 pieces of Bronze grade equipment, both of which had average stats.


    With treasure boxes, the more there were together, the worse the items inside would be.


    However, during the early stages of the game, any equipment was good equipment. A Bronze grade piece of equipment that had a decent bonus stat would definitely sell for at least 50 silver coins. Equipment that weren¡¯t gender or class specific and had 2 good bonus stats could sell for at least 1 gold coin.


    Normal players couldn¡¯t afford that sort of equipment, but a team definitely could. A group of people could pool together their money to buy good equipment for their main tank or main attacker, and upon earning more money, they could buy the rest of their team equipment.


    This was how non-affiliated players played.


    There were water plants everywhere, and it was difficult to find the other 2 treasure boxes. Lu Li looked around the bottom of the lake, but couldn¡¯t find any, so he could only go back to the surface and wait for the skill to refresh again.


    Upon reaching the surface, he saw Azure Sea Breeze anxiously looking down.


    ¡°You finally came out. I thought you drowned!¡±


    ¡°I opened a treasure box down there, but there should be 2 more. I¡¯m going to go down again after my skill refreshes.¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Goddamn, you¡¯re frickin¡¯ overpowered. Even GMs might not be as overpowered as you.¡± Azure Sea Breeze could not help it, as the crude words rolled out of his mouth in shock. Even receiving 4 Jade Spider Webs hadn¡¯t made him this shocked.


    This guy Lu Li was simply incredible. He had turned into a seal and dived down to open treasure boxes.


    Perhaps he was the only person in the game to do this.


    Lu Li was speechless. He didn¡¯t really know what to say. Inwardly, he was muttering, ¡°It¡¯s because of the item you got in my ¡®past life¡¯, but as a Warrior, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to open the treasure boxes anyways.¡±


    Lu Li could only take out a few pieces of equipment saying, ¡°Have a look, and take what you need!¡±


    What magnanimity!


    Azure Sea Breeze nearly got down on his knees and called Lu Li ¡®big bro¡¯.

 28 Underwater Boss

    Azure Sea Breeze seemed like a carefree person who said things offhandedly, but he had a good sense of what was and wasn¡¯t appropriate. As such, although he knew Lu Li could go into the water, he didn¡¯t ask why.


    Since Lu Li had offered him the equipment, he didn¡¯t hold back and chose a valuable shield, as well as plate pants. If these equipments were sold, they could definitely fetch a price of at least 3 to 5 gold coins.


    If someone told you their secret and trusted you to be their friend, refusing their goodwill would simply be an act of rudeness.


    Friends who always acted extremely courteously and did not accept each other¡¯s goodwill could not be said to have truly deep ties.


    Lu Li had considered the potential consequences of telling Azure Sea Breeze his secret, but after thinking it through, he still decided to tell him.


    Lu Li had received a lot of help from Azure Sea Breeze in his ¡®past life¡¯, and he felt that he owed him for the Supreme One Ring. After getting to know him for 2 years, he knew that as long as he didn¡¯t let Azure Sea Breeze down, Azure Sea Breeze wouldn¡¯t let him down either.


    Moreover, Lu Li had some plans of his own.


    Dawn simply wasn¡¯t a game that could be played as a solo player. Instance Dungeons were incredibly important, as many rare and valuable equipment and materials could only be found within them. Take the Jade Spider Webs for example: there was great demand, but only the Elite level of the Spider Lair spawned them, and they had a horrendous drop rate. Waiting to buy that sort of material for a decent price would take at least 1 or 2 years.


    Joining casual groups temporarily was fine, but it wasn¡¯t good for the long term.


    Seeing that Azure Sea Breeze was keen on once again embarking on the path of a main tank, Lu Li decided to recruit him for his team.


    The main tank was usually the core of the team. Azure Sea Breeze was skilled, and was also a decent person. It would be difficult to find a main tank like him.


    A Permanent Party didn¡¯t necessarily mean that every single person was a permanent member, but the main members had to be able to work together efficiently, as well as be amicable in splitting the rewards.


    If everyone got along, then they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about disagreements and people trying to take advantage of each other.


    In actuality, the 4 Jade Spider Webs that Azure Sea Breeze had given Lu Li were worth far more than the 2 Bronze grade equipment that he had taken. When Trade Professions became more popular, a single Jade Spider Web could be worth as much as 100 gold coins!


    Then again, these Jade Spider Webs were exchanged for Lu Li¡¯s guide to the Instance Dungeon.


    All in all, this was a good transaction for Lu Li. If they really became a Permanent Party, this would have happened anyways.


    Lu Li once again dived to the bottom of the lake and searched for treasure boxes. As he searched, he suddenly saw a ridiculously large turtle- one that was bigger than most Elites.


    It had a dark-green shell, 4 grey limbs and a thick and powerful looking body.


    Could it be a Boss?


    This was entirely possible - after all, Bosses in Dawn could appear on land, in the water, or in the sky. However, despite doing his best to recall, he couldn¡¯t remember there being a Boss in this place.


    Bosses had a certain drop rate for rare materials, so large unions would always try to keep them a secret. Whenever a Boss spawned in the wild, they would always chase non-affiliated players away. As such, Lu Li had never been able to kill a Boss in the wild before.


    However, it was different now- currently, no one knew that there could be Bosses in the water.


    Lu Li ignored the turtle for now, and went to find the other treasure boxes.


    After half an hour, Lu Li finally found the other 2 treasure boxes. He received a valuable material and 2 pieces of Bronze grade equipment, as well as a Hunter Skill Book - Trueshot Aura.


    It was a pity that it wasn¡¯t Tame Beast!


    [Trueshot Aura]: Passive Ability. Cannot be levelled up. Increases the Attack Power for both melee and ranged teammates within 100 yards by 10%.


    This was a strong Passive Ability, and was very useful for team situations.


    Although it was valuable, it couldn¡¯t be compared with Tam Beast.


    Currently, there were people advertising that they were willing to buy a Team Beast Skill Book for $20,000 in the real world, which was about how much Lu Li had sold the Frost Nova Skill Book for.


    This Trueshot Aura Skill Book was very suitable for Hunters who worked in teams. It would definitely be able to sell for at least 5 gold coins.


    The rare material was called Crocodile Scale, and was a high-quality material used in creating heavy armour. There was even a chance of it giving the armour a special effect. However, since no one would be using it soon, Lu Li could only put it into his storage.


    One of the Bronze grade equipment was a hat which had average stats, but Lu Li could at least equip it immediately.


    [Black Velvet Cap] (Bronze): 5 Armour, Agility+1. Level Requirement: LV4. Durability: 12/20.


    Lu Li swapped out the Fisherman¡¯s Old Felt Cap for this cap. Not only did it look better, it had a few more Armour points and a point in Agility. Lu Li was extremely pleased.


    The other piece of equipment was a Magic Staff.


    Moon Shadow Magic Staff (Bronze): 15-22 Damage, Intelligence+3. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 28/28.


    This Magic Staff¡¯s Damage was quite high - higher than the Whisperer Lu Li had obtained from the Goblin Businessman. Moreover, it gave a whole 3 points in Intelligence that even most LV5 weapons could not compare to it. Lu Li was sure many Magicians would be willing to pay a high price for it.


    When Lu Li came out of the water, Azure Sea Breeze was killing Grells. These LV4 monsters had no chance against a LV6 Warrior - it was pretty much 1 hit, 1 kill for Azure Sea Breeze.


    It was a pity that they gave very little EXP, and rarely dropped anything.


    ¡°Done?¡± Seeing Lu Li come out, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Did you find anything good?¡±


    Lu Li shared all the equipment on the Party Channel and replied, ¡°There¡¯s a Boss underwater- do you want to kill it with me?¡±


    ¡°Boss? How would I kill it? I can¡¯t go underwater like you.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was excited, but soon became deflated.


    ¡°I¡¯ll lure it up here and you draw aggro. Do you have enough Potions? Don¡¯t be too reluctant to part with them.¡± It was Lu Li¡¯s first time hunting a Boss in the wild, so he was a bit nervous.


    Will we be able to kill it? And do we need a healer?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but let¡¯s try. Don¡¯t let anyone know that I can go underwater though,¡± Lu Li replied.


    Apart from players that he wanted to form a Permanent Party with, Lu Li wasn¡¯t considering telling anyone else his secret. When Potions and items that allowed players to breathe underwater became more common, it wouldn¡¯t matter if he revealed it then.


    One of the reasons why Azure Sea Breeze had been hunted down in Lu Li¡¯s ¡®past life¡¯ was because many people knew he was a Warrior who could turn into a seal.


    ¡°If we can kill it, we¡¯ll kill it. If we can¡¯t, we¡¯ll run away. Alright bro, go lure it over.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was quite open with trying new things.


    After Lu Li¡¯s Seal Transformation refreshed, he dived into the water and carefully edged towards the Boss.


    It turned out that the massive turtle was indeed a Boss and it even had a name- ¡®Kleig¡¯. As soon as Lu Li swam into its aggro range, it immediately charged towards the little seal.


    [Seal Transformation]: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 30 minutes. You turn into a seal, and can swim in water. The effects last for 20 minutes. You receive Swimming Speed+50%, draw 30% less aggro, and can also breathe underwater. While transformed, you cannot use any Attack Skills. Proficiency: 23/1000.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the bonus 50% to his Swimming Speed, Lu Li probably would have been caught very quickly. Lu Li could only swim as fast as he could as he watched the turtle Boss closing in on him.


    The little seal furiously swam for its life!

 29 Keep Grinding Until It Dies

    -7£¡


    The Seal Transformation actually had a very dangerous hidden effect; after transforming, the effects of Lu Li¡¯s equipment would be nullified. This meant that he had 0 armor.


    What would happen if you had 0 armor and were hit by a Boss?


    Death!


    It was only natural that he felt anxious.


    The blueish green lake appeared dim and ripples could be seen across its surface. Just as Lu Li thought he was about to get hit, a red light shone down from the setting sun and he broke through the surface with a splash.


    An arrow shot through the air, hitting Kleig directly in the head. Although it only dealt a little bit of damage, there was still a noticeable spray of blood. Kleig wailed and abandoned the small seal at the surface, instead charging towards the damned Elf Warrior near the bank.


    ¡°Dammit. This monster¡¯s defense is insane; I barely even damaged it,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out in surprise. He changed his weapon from the crossbow to a long sword and shield as the turtle rushed towards him.


    While this was happening, Lu Li had climbed back onto shore and stabbed Kleig in the tail.


    -7!


    He was shocked - what kind of defense was this? When he hit Bosses from Instance Dungeons, he would deal at least 10 to 20 damage. When he PVP¡¯ed with other weaker players, he could deal up to 100 damage. Kleig was only a level 3 Boss, but he could only deal 7 damage.


    Kleig sobbed like a baby; its cry was high pitched and sad.


    It opened its mouth which was densely filled with teeth and began attacking Azure Sea Breeze. Each tooth looked lethal, like the tip of sharp knife.


    ¡°I was scared earlier, but it turns out it has very low attack.¡± Azure Sea Breeze breathed a sigh of relief after he was attacked, putting away the potion he was about to take.


    It was only after Lu Li had checked the Battle Announcement that he understood why he said that.


    Battle Announcement: Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s Charge deals 4 damage to Kleig; Kleig deals 8 damage to Azure Sea Breeze¡­


    The damage that Kleig was dealing to Azure Sea Breeze was not Boss-status-worthy.


    However, when they saw Kleig¡¯s HP, Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s faces both went dark. 30,000HP!


    This was 2 times higher than a level 5 Instance Dungeon Boss!


    How many potions would they need!?


    No one would give up on a Boss just because they were afraid of using too many potions. They simply had no choice: for the sake of better equipment and materials, they had to do it.


    Kleig was powerful in the water, but when it reached the shore, it became somewhat slow and weary. It lay on the ground unmoving, while Lu Li stood still and attacked it. This allowed him to attain an extremely high Skill Completion value, which in turn allowed for the Boss to be stunned often and gave Azure Sea Breeze some breathing space.


    After fighting for 30 minutes, Azure Sea Breeze had used 10 potions and the Boss had lost more than half its HP.


    In the midst of the struggle, Kleig suddenly moved and rushed towards the lake.


    ¡°Dammit, it¡¯s going to recover!¡± Lu Li really wanted to slap himself.


    Most amphibians and other monsters with a similar biology had the ability to return to a more suitable environment and recover large amounts of HP.


    Under Lu Li¡¯s and Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s angry stares, Kleig¡¯s HP bar slowly increased by 10. Not only did this mean that they had lost several minutes of their time, but there could be an even greater effect that they didn¡¯t know about.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s pull it to the small forest to fight it.¡± They both felt exasperated, but the system didn¡¯t make any further announcements. They had already gotten this far and couldn¡¯t give up now.


    Kleig was slow in following, as they travelled further and further away from the Moon Reflection Lake.


    By the side of the lake, there were many similar trees that were all densely packed together. Kleig was having trouble getting through them, but the aggro system forced it to follow them.


    When they felt that they had gone far enough, Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze once again began to attack.


    This time, when it reached 50% HP, Kleig didn¡¯t try anything new. It simply made a futile effort to hit Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s Bronze shield. Not knowing what would happen if it spent too long away from the water, its damaged was reduced by a significant amount. Its HP went from 50% to 30% without taking a single critical hit.


    When it reached 30% HP, Kleig began to twist its body and clumsily attempted to return to the lake.


    ¡°Block it and pay attention to your positioning.¡± Lu Li rushed over, blocking the front of the Boss, but the Boss knocked him aside.


    Kleig¡¯s knock-aside skill might have had a cool down, so Azure Sea Breeze quickly copied Lu Li. This time they were able to successfully block the Boss.


    They didn¡¯t know how long it would stay in this agitated state, but after 30 seconds it calmed down once again. This signaled the continuation of their struggle in depleting its HP.


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s potions were almost completely used up. He had used 11 potions in this fight alone, and if it weren¡¯t for Lu Li helping him loot the Goblin Businessman, this fight would have been impossible.


    ¡°I still have 6 bottles, it should be enough.¡± Lu Li took a few bottles from his own bag and threw them onto the ground.


    ¡°You keep one, just in case the Boss goes berserk. I¡¯m not sure if I can tank it all,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    Victory was in sight, but neither of them could guarantee that an accident wouldn¡¯t happen.


    ¡°If we kill the first wild boss, we could get on TV!¡± Lu Li laughed, his hand movements continuous. He regularly produced an 85% Skill completion on Shadowstrike that stunned Kleig for 2 seconds.


    ¡°Ever since I got to know you, getting on TV doesn¡¯t seem like that much of an accomplishment anymore.¡± Azure Sea Breeze used to think that he was an expert, but now that he knew Lu Li, he realized that were players so strong it was almost unnatural.


    ¡°I¡¯m just lucky.¡± Obviously, Lu Li couldn¡¯t say that he had experienced rebirth, which would be even more unnatural.


    ¡°Your luck is one thing, but what is most important is how diligent you are. Every time you fight a monster you are practicing; it seems like every time I see you you¡¯ve significantly improved. With such great leaps of progress, how can you mix with people like me?¡±


    ¡°I have no choice. If I don¡¯t work hard, I¡¯ll be eliminated quickly. To most players this is just a game, but to me this is my job, my hope,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°Work?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was surprised: ¡°You have to earn money by playing this game?¡±


    ¡°Yep, it looks like you aren¡¯t a newbie yourself - you must have played games for a few years already. What do you think of Dawn?¡± Lu Li already knew this about Azure Sea Breeze, but he couldn¡¯t show it. The story needed to slowly play out.


    Azure Sea Breeze had a shield equipped and struck Kleig on the head with it with a Shieldstrike. The Boss was stunned as he heard Lu Li ask the question and he immediately replied without hesitation: ¡°I think this game is good compared to the others.¡±


    ¡°The business opportunities in this game are finite and the money that can be made is comparable to work in real life. Are you still studying or are you working?¡± Only someone who had experienced rebirth would know that Dawn¡¯s market was big. In one year¡¯s time, it would expand across the world, spawning a rich professional scene.


    ¡°I studied in the big four, and am about to start looking for work.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was somewhat serious; university graduates were basically just unemployed people. This was a phenomenon that had appeared 200 years ago. With the development of better intelligent systems, finding employment was becoming more difficult.


    Welfare had become a large part of people¡¯s living income, which was a severe social problem. That is, until Dawn had appeared.


    ¡°How about we band together to make money in this game?¡± Lu Li was 80% sure that Azure Sea Breeze would agree because most of this generation couldn¡¯t find a job. As such, they spent most of their days playing these video games.

 30 Bountiful Reward

    ¡°I¡¯ve previously tried to work part in time in games. It¡¯s easy to earn money.¡± Azure Sea Breeze still hadn¡¯t graduated yet and didn¡¯t know how difficult it was to find a job, so he didn¡¯t accept the offer too easily.


    ¡°I sold a skill book yesterday and made 25,000 in real money,¡± Lu Li said casually.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately responded: ¡°You sold a book for 25,000?¡±


    ¡°I still have some equipment in my backpack and if I sold them, I could probably make several thousands more. Even if I was really unlucky and sold them all at their minimum price, it would still be 20,000 in real money.¡± Lu Li was fanning the flames of Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s interest.


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s breaths were short and the sword that he was gripping was shaking. His blood surged as Lu Li showed him a whole new world.


    Currently in society, everyone was becoming ¡®smarter¡¯, which resulted in needing less manpower. A marketing student like Azure Sea Breeze could only earn 10,000 per month at most, by working from early morning until late at night. He would also need to accept the various difficulties with leadership, making the whole experience stressful.


    Moreover, Azure Sea Breeze was not part of a rich family. While he didn¡¯t live in a slum, his parents were just ordinary workers who rented.


    ¡°I¡¯m planning for a group of around 10 people¡­¡±


    ¡°Count me in!¡± Lu Li hadn¡¯t finished speaking but Azure Sea Breeze had already called out.


    ¡°I told you all this so you would join me. Now focus on the boss - you don¡¯t know when it¡¯s going to go berserk. When it does, protecting your HP is the top priority,¡± Lu Li reminded him.


    These two had been in a fight with Kleig for over an hour now. It was almost night, but they still hadn¡¯t killed it yet. Maybe it didn¡¯t want to waste any more time, as it had reached 5% HP and was still not in berserk mode. It even transformed into a weaker state. A straightforward announcement was then made by the System.


    System Announcement: Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze have successfully achieved the first clear of a wild boss - Kleig!


    This announcement had not yet been made to the World Announcements or the Faction Announcement, but once it was made in the Local Announcements, many people immediately came out from the bushes.


    Elegant Village Sister: ¡°What kind of things does a Wild boss drop, let me see¡­¡±


    Grinning Laugh: ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be that much weaker than an Instance Dungeon boss, but the fact that these two people could kill it is pretty impressive.¡±


    Festive Sacrifice: ¡°The people who completed the first clear of an Instance Dungeon also included these two experts. I¡¯ve heard of Azure Sea Breeze who is an expert in the game ¡®Shadow Realm¡¯, but I have no idea who this Lu Li is.¡±


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t have any time at all to bother with these players¡¯ comments. They were too busy staring at the loot!


    A wild boss dropping items was especially magnificent, with a bloom of equipment and materials flying everywhere.


    They hastily picked up all of the items, afraid that a stranger would appear and steal them.


    ¡°You pick things up really quickly!¡± Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed.


    ¡°I have a lot of bonus Agility,¡± Lu Li responded. In his previous life, he had stolen many things by picking them up quickly, which led him to offend many unions.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know how to respond to that.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was speechless.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how good the items are. After all, this is the first Wild Boss,¡± Lu Li said with anticipation.


    He really needed more money; it was 60,000 for the penalty fee, in addition to finding a new house, changing schools for little sisters, food and clothes¡­


    4 Equipment:


    Bloodseeker¡¯s Axe (Steel): Damage 18-36, Strength +5. Special Effect: Attacks with this weapon have 10% armor penetration. This effect cannot be stacked. Equipment Requirement Lv 5, Durability 30/30.


    Snake Skin Bag (Bronze): 10 Spaces, reduce weight by 5%.


    Jungle Herdsmen Helmet (Bronze): Armor 6, Intelligence +2, Equipment Requirement Lv 5, Durability 30/30. (One piece of the Jungle Herdsmen suit, exclusive to Druids)


    Jungle Herdsmen Leg Guard (Bronze): Armor 10, Intelligence +2, Equipment Requirement Lv 5, Durability 30/30. (One piece of the Jungle Herdsmen suit, exclusive to Druids)


    1 Skill Book:


    Shield Wall: Instant Cast, 60 second cooldown. All damage received is reduced by 60%, lasting for 5 seconds. Need to have a shield equipped. Proficiency 0/1000.


    There was also 1 piece of material:


    Horn of Kleig: Forging Material, provides 5% additional armor piercing for weapons. Requires high level forging.


    There was also a significant amount of money that was dropped. Between the two of them, they received 13 silver coins and several potions. However, the Boss was only level 3, so the potions weren¡¯t of a very high level.


    The axe was clearly the best item and by far the most valuable.


    The Snake Skin Bag was currently not very valuable, as two 6 space bags didn¡¯t sell for more than 1 Gold. Lu Li planned to hold on to the Snake Skin Bag, as he regularly opened treasure chests which required him to have a large storage space.


    As for the two bronze equips, it was hard to say.


    Even though they were bronze equipment, their attributes were good. In addition to this, when both were equipped, there would be an additional effect: Recover skill duration increased by 6 seconds.


    Recover: Instant Cast, consumes 30 mana to restore 15 HP on a target, subsequently restores 5 HP every 3 seconds for 9 seconds.


    Recover was one of Healer Druid¡¯s most used spells. This suit extended the skill duration, which was valuable in a combat situation.


    ¡°Are you interested in the Axe? It¡¯s pretty useful while training.¡± Lu Li passed the axe to Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze brandished the axe and returned it to Lu Li: ¡°This is more useful for a warrior playstyle and not at all for me. Go sell it for money, I¡¯d like the skill book.¡±


    This axe was suited to a Berserk Warrior, but Azure Sea Breeze had taken the defensive route. However, the skill book was clearly useful for him.


    After using Shieldstrike to draw aggro, a Defense Warrior could then use Shield Wall to guarantee the safety of the whole party. Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t hold his interests back.


    Lu Li had no qualms with giving it up; the skill book¡¯s value wasn¡¯t even close to that of the Steel Axe.


    ¡°You can take this 6 space bag. I have a 10 space one already.¡± Lu Li took out the bag and threw it at him. ¡°I¡¯ll sell the rest and split the money with you later.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± Azure Sea Breeze waved his hand. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have even found the boss. All I did was spend some of my time. Taking this skill book is already more than enough.¡±


    ¡°We fought it together, we have to split it evenly,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°What I¡¯m saying, Big brother, is that since you formed the party, you are the leader. You can¡¯t lead by just splitting everything evenly - you have to look at the members¡¯ contribution and what they want.¡± Azure Sea Breeze started to sweat profusely, ¡°Friendships have unspoken rules, and the party will need to be the same.¡±


    Hearing how serious he was, Lu Li kept the rest of the items.


    Azure Sea Breeze was more passionate about the group that he was, and didn¡¯t stop talking about it, asking: ¡°What now? Do we need to recruit more people?¡±


    ¡°We can slowly recruit people. Tomorrow, our first order of business is to help someone break an Instance Dungeon record. Aren¡¯t you in touch with a few large unions? Ask them how much they are willing to pay to improve the record by 5 minutes.¡±


    Lu Li had many ways to make money in mind, but unable to carry many of them out. As of now, the market of helping other people grind was still in its fledgling stages. Most unions were just trying to survive.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back. We don¡¯t have much time left.¡± When the game went into night, the wild was significantly more dangerous. They both took out their Hearthstones and activated them.

 31 Setting Up a Stand For Auctions

    The Dark Ravine was very lively at night. The elves who preferred the quiet couldn¡¯t stop players from entertaining themselves and having a good time.


    A bonfire had been lit in the open area, and cheap wines that were sold in the grocery were the most popular item amongst the players. Everyone¡¯s dramatic fantasies were all satisfied here; there were even some young girls dancing and singing.


    There were also many people who set up stalls. The Elven Bodyguards acted as if nothing was happening, not caring about the influence that these foreigners had on the city¡¯s image.


    Returning to the Dark Ravine, Azure Sea Breeze went about looking for Unions to talk to while Lu Li went around looking at the stalls. He checked if there was anything he could use and scoped out the market prices.


    After some investigation, Lu Li discovered that the equipment being sold here was more expensive than what he expected.


    A bronze equip that added 1 bonus attribute sold for at least 20 silver coins. An equip that added 2 bonus attributes was worth around 35 silver coins. As for Steel Equipment, there wasn¡¯t a single one to be found.


    After giving it some thought, he realized that this was normal, as the Elite difficulty Spider Lair was the only place where Steel Equipment could be dropped. Those that could beat this Instance Dungeon would most certainly use the equipment for themselves. Those who couldn¡¯t use it had a long queue of people in their Union waiting to trade with them. There was no way any Steel equips would end up in a stall.


    After a leisurely stroll, he had only found a Ring that added 1 point of Agility being sold for 1 Gold. What a rip off!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t think about it much longer and immediately set up a stall of his own.


    The last time he set up a stall he was attacked by other people, so this time he was smarter about it. He cut a while cloth with his offhand dagger, making a makeshift mask and covering his face with it.


    There were 7 bronze equips, including two pieces that made one Druid set. In addition, there was a brace, a Steel Axe and a Hunter skill book: Trueshot Aura.


    Anything that added 1 bonus attribute he priced at 25 silver, while anything that added 2 bonus attributes was set at 40 silver. The Magic Staff that added 3 Intelligence was priced at 80 silver, while the brace was priced at 1 gold. With some hesitation, Lu Li marked the two Druid set pieces to be 2 Gold each. Of course, no one would buy it at this price, but Lu Li planned to wait until someone asked about it to discuss a price. As for the Steel equip, he set an exorbitant price of 10 gold.


    The skill book didn¡¯t actually have much innate value, but as no one currently had one, Lu Li marked it to be at 2 gold.


    After setting up the Booth, Lu Li squatted behind it and read through the forum. Some posts contained techniques, some analyzed different parts of the game and others introduced the large Unions.


    The video of him PVPing sat in the highest position, with over 100,000 comments on it. It was simply unsurpassable.


    Like the day before, it wasn¡¯t long before Lu Li heard someone call out in alarm because of the equipment and skill book.


    Yesterday they called out in alarm because of the Bronze equipment, but today it was because of the Steel equipment!


    ¡°Oh my, it really is a Steel equip. This is the first time I¡¯ve even seen one, how lucky.¡± People who saw it were shocked, drawing attention to the stall and causing more people to see it. Eventually, more people were called over to look at it.


    Soon enough, even those who couldn¡¯t afford anything began crowding around Lu Li¡¯s stall.


    ¡°Can you give me a discount for this Magic Staff?¡±


    ¡°How can this Steel equip be so expensive!¡±


    ¡°How much would you sell the 2 pieces of the Druid set for in real world currency? I want them!¡±


    ¡°25 silver for a Bronze, how are they selling these for so cheap? I¡¯m already prepared to buy them!¡±


    The clamoring was a sea of voices; it was difficult to clearly hear what was being said.


    Two of the ordinary Bronze equips were bought first. Bronze equips were already worth quite a few silver, so they were a profitable purchase at this price, regardless of whether they were for personal use or for selling. Those who had money on hand immediately bought the equips, leaving those who were too slow frustrated and angry.


    Seeing that the sales had begun, the better Bronze equips quickly disappeared from Lu Li¡¯s stall. He didn¡¯t even know who bought the Brace, but the items that were left behind seemed to be of interest to no one. Despite this, the number of people crowding his store kept growing.


    On the local channel, some people had announced that the Moon Shadow Valley had a Steel equip on sale!


    There was a masked man who had set up a stall in Moon Shadow Valley plaza with a pile of high quality equips for sale!


    Who could keep their cool after hearing this news? People who were doing Instance Dungeons, or out in suicide squads all made a return trip to see this.


    Some even went offline to make some phone calls with their rich acquaintances.


    Dawn had done well: their large player-base meant that there were also many tycoons. Many people were trying to trade for more gold to scrounge together more money. However, Steel Equips weren¡¯t something you could purchase even if you were rich.


    ¡°Step aside, step aside, those who aren¡¯t buying anything please step aside.¡± There was a Mage who was being escorted. By the looks of it, he was definitely rich.


    ¡°Can you make this Magic Staff a little cheaper?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not even a Steel equip and you¡¯re selling it for 80 silver. That¡¯s a bit of a rip off.¡±


    ¡°Steel equips are at least 5 gold each. I sold a skill book yesterday for 20 gold.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so it was you who sold the skill book. Brother, add me as a friend. If you ever find good Mage items, you can message me directly.¡± It appeared that this Mage called Holy Thunder was truly rich, as he bought the Magic Staff at its original price.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t reject a tycoon like this, immediately adding him as a friend.


    His approach to the friend¡¯s list was to reject anyone that added him, however, he allowed himself to add other people.


    In such a short period, he had managed to make 3 gold. If you included the items that he received from the treasure chests and the Boss, his total profit would be 4 gold.


    Lu Li opened the Trade Window and was stunned.


    1:1000!


    It wasn¡¯t 1500 for each gold coin anymore! Lu Li shook his head and bitterly laughed. No wonder the equip prices had increased by so much. The tycoons must have realized that yesterday¡¯s gold conversion rate was just too much.


    In reality, even 1000 for 1 gold was crazy. However, the gold exchange rate would continue at this level as long as the big unions kept accepting it.


    When the prices settled down after the 3rd soft reset, 1 gold would not even be worth 100 real money.


    ¡°Can I trade the pieces of the Druid set for real money? No one is going to pay 4 gold for it. Brother Thief, if you don¡¯t need gold, how much real money are you willing to sell it for?¡± A leather clad Druid pushed in, his heart set on the two pieces of the Druid set.


    ¡°We also would like to buy the 2 pieces of the Druid set for real money, so go ahead and make a bid.¡± Others had also taken a special interest in the Druid equips. Once they saw that Lu Li was about to yield, they also started yelling.


    Lu Li never thought that the interest for these two 2 Bronze equips would be greater than the Steel equipment. It appeared that he had underestimated the demand for healing equipment among parties.


    The Steel equip would increase one¡¯s DPS and overall attack strength, but the healing equip could increase healing for the whole party. It looked like they were all aware of this, as most of them were Druids, but were trying to buy it for their own party.


    ¡°The 2 pieces of the Bronze Druid set were dropped by the Wild Boss. The suit¡¯s special effect increases the duration of Recover by 6 seconds. I will begin the auction for it now, but I want to be paid before I give you the goods.¡± Lu Li thought of his previous life, and suddenly had the bright idea of starting an auction.


    Upon hearing what Lu Li said, the surrounding crowd quietened down.

 32 Warrior God Moonligh

    ¡°How do we know that you won¡¯t just run away after you get the money?¡± someone queried.


    Before Lu Li could even respond, someone shot back: ¡°Get out of here, this guy is an expert who has gotten 2 First Clears. Why would he want your small bit of money?¡±


    No one could respond to that, as he truly was incredible. He had sold a skill book yesterday and everything on sale had been obtained today. This made all the ordinary players feel useless in comparison.


    This was probably the first Steel equip that had been put on sale!


    This was probably also the first Bronze suit that had appeared in game!


    ¡°For these two Bronze equips, I bid 200 real money.¡± The crowd was silent for a moment, before someone shouted out a price.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not mess around. For those two Bronze equips, we the Great Qin Empire bid 2000 real money.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t even need to say anything before someone raised the price significantly.


    This was a textbook seller¡¯s market, without any fear that no one would want to buy it.


    The price that Lu Li had set was 4 gold together, or 2 gold per piece. According to the current trade market, gold had an exchange rate of 1000 to 1. As such, a bid of 2000 real money was just to test the waters.


    ¡°We the Gods of Dusk bid 4000 real money, but would also like to remind everyone not to bid too highly. These attributes are good, but it is only level 5. Let¡¯s not hurt each other but be amicable instead.¡± This was spoken by a senior player who was experienced and reliable. He accurately pointed out a key issue - these equips were too low level.


    Several unions in the crowd hesitated, as they needed to consider this.


    ¡°5000 real money.¡± The silence didn¡¯t last long before another bid was called out. The price had now surpassed Lu Li¡¯s original marked price.


    Lu Li followed the voice to find Drinking Alone standing in the crowd. He was obviously attempting to buy it for his Union, and if no one increased the bid, he would happily take it at 5000.


    ¡°10,000!¡± A cold, yet magnetic voice sounded from the crowd. It had a mysterious charm to it.


    Water Fairy!


    The name was shouted and like magic, the crowd split to make way for her.


    This was the first time that Lu Li had seen Water Fairy in person. However, he wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with her. She would later become Dawn¡¯s first competitive representative, with her image being placed on a large promotional poster.


    Water Fairy as an extremely beautiful woman in every sense, with long legs and a charming, slender waist. She maintained a youthful appearance with her immature facial features, but her demeanor was cold and arrogant. As such, she had gained the image of a goddess to the players.


    It wasn¡¯t clear whether it was because of Water Fairy¡¯s presence, or that 10,000 well and truly exceeded the value of these items, but no one placed any further bids.


    ¡°Add me as a friend.¡± Water Fairy¡¯s voice was actually very soft, like a typical Japanese girl. It was too bad that this was ruined by her monotone intonation.


    Lu Li gawked for a moment, before attempting to send Water Fairy a friend request. However, he was met with a system message which told him that the player he was trying to send a request to forbade friend requests¡­


    ¡°Ah¡­ I can¡¯t¡±


    So, she was also someone who didn¡¯t accept friend requests.


    After a second, Water Fairy responded: ¡°It¡¯ll work now.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t receive a cold system prompt this time and successfully added Water Fairy as a friend.


    ¡°Water Beauty, I worship you, please add me.¡± Other people saw that Lu Li and Water Fairy had added each other, so they also quickly sent their invitations. However, they were all disheartened when they rejected by the system.


    How could this Thief who was hiding his face add her, but a genuine person couldn¡¯t?


    ¡°Water Beauty, I am from the Gangnam Royals, please add me. Perhaps my union could work together with Drizzle Court sometime.¡± Gangnam Royals were ranked 2nd among the unions, but upon hearing a proposition like this, one couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    A player like Water Fairy had no regard for unions.


    A union would provide its resources in exchange for a person¡¯s allegiance - it was a mutual relationship.


    High-ranking players like Water Fairy, Beast King Hunter, Glacial Autumn Wind and Berserk Warrior Moonlight usually did not engage in union matters, regarding themselves as equals to the unions. They usually spent more time on their own matters.


    Only Drinking Alone and Indifference were the kind of people to regard matters of their union to be their primary occupation. However, they would be unable to rise and become the best of the best.


    ¡°When can we PVP? You can choose the time and place.¡± This was the reason for the friend request. The female tycoon was showing her aggressive side, and if he were to decline, she would probably scream and attack him.


    ¡°Wait until I¡¯m free.¡± Lu Li wanted to tell her that as of now, she wasn¡¯t a match for him, but he was scared that he would be killed by her nearby supporters.


    Water Fairy seemed to trust that this ¡®expert¡¯ was in the middle of something, and left after completing the transaction with several other members of the Drizzle Court Union.


    Spending this kind of money just for a PVP match was something that only Dawn¡¯s first female tycoon would do.


    ¡°Next is this big Steel axe for a Berserk Warrior. Everyone has already seen its attributes. If you have it, it doesn¡¯t matter who you fight in a PVP. You will be the one reaping the rewards!¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything more and announced the starting price.


    The Elven race was unsuitable to be a Main Tank and those who played Warrior as an Elf would mostly follow the Berserker Warrior path. As this was Elven territory, this typical Berserker Warrior weapon would almost certainly be sold.


    Elf characters were also beautiful, which is something that tycoons loved. Elf Berserker Warriors had therefore made a name for themselves in being extremely wealthy.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Suddenly, someone called out to Lu Li.


    ¡°Woah, who do you think you are? Just because you say wait, should we all just wait?¡± Those who were about to name a price were all startled by the shout and nearly choked on their own saliva, while others began to shout back at her. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you couldn¡¯t attack anyone here, they would have started fighting long ago.


    ¡°I am Moonlight.¡± The voice was firm and steady, unaffected by the scolding.


    Others were laughing, but Lu Li didn¡¯t even crack a smile.


    Within 2 or 3 years, Moonlight would quickly rise up within the game community.


    There were too many Thief experts, so there was too much dispute over the title of Thief God, but the Warrior God was absolute. Many people used this to refer to Moonlight!


    Some people said that he possessed an evil spirit because of how bloodthirsty he was. He once picked a Union called Twilight Gloom and fought them. In that battle, he had completely broken all his equipment and lost several levels, but had also managed to kill several hundred of the opposing players.


    With such a glorious outcome, should you just accept your victory?


    No!


    It wasn¡¯t many days before he was re-equipped with a full set of high quality equips and killing people from that union.


    No one knew how the situation was resolved, but Moonlight had shocked the entire player-base, and no one dared to offend him from then on.


    Others claimed that Moonlight was some Godlike player with a smurf, because his technique was too good and his levelling speed was too fast. The equipment on his body was also the best, which was not the mark of an amateur.


    Who knew that today was his lucky day? Two future experts had unexpectedly arrived. Lu Li was a little shocked.


    He was curious, however, as to why Moonlight had told him to stop the auction.

 33 Trade

    ¡°I¡¯ll trade you a Steel grade equipment for Thieves, how about that?¡± Moonlight took out a piece of equipment and showed Lu Li its stats.


    [Swift Leather Boots] (Steel): 8 Armour, Agility+4, Special Effect: Swiftness- when Stealthed, Movement Speed+10%. Lasts for 10 seconds. Cooldown Time: 120 seconds. Effects cannot be stacked. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 30/30.


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes constricted. This piece of equipment would be fantastic for PVP battles.


    However, it definitely wasn¡¯t worth as much as Lu Li¡¯s Axe. The Bloodseeker¡¯s Axe was a weapon, whereas the Swift Leather Boots were Armor. It would be impossible to directly trade them.


    Moonlight wasn¡¯t an idiot. He saw the hesitation in Lu Li¡¯s eyes, and hurriedly added on, ¡°If you want money to cover the difference, I can transfer money in real life.¡±


    All the spectators fell silent. Both of these Steel grade equipment were incredible, and were things that most players could only dream of. To be able to take out a Steel grade equipment to trade? It was likely that both of them had more.


    Truth be told, Lu Li did indeed have another 3 pieces of Steel-grade equipment. One was his bow, one was a piece of Armor, and the other was the Dagger that had been Enchanted by the Dwarf!


    ¡°No need for the money. Help me with something and I¡¯ll trade with you.¡± Lu Li thought for a moment before giving up on the real life money.


    He lacked money in real life, but his $45,000 in his account gave him some breathing space. His priority now was the Escort quest given to him by Sentinel Captain Carolina - the 24 hours time limit was quite short. As well as this, he would forfeit his rewards if he exceeded this time limit and there would be further penalties if Tap died.


    Moonlight was quite skilled and was a powerful Berserker. He was an excellent attacker and had quite a bit of HP and Defence too. Getting his help for this quest would be crucial.


    Lu Li had considered asking Drinking Alone and the other people from the Grand Hegemony to do the quest with him, but seeing as he had rejected their offer to join them, he didn¡¯t feel that it was right to ask them.


    ¡°Deal.¡± Moonlight had already thought for quite a long time, and Lu Li thought that he would refuse. However, in the end, he nodded.


    What was there to think so long about? Just what was going on in this guy¡¯s head?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother signing a System Contract. He knew that although Moonlight had a reputation for being extremely bloodthirsty, he wasn¡¯t a liar or a scammer.


    Moonlight was so shocked that Lu Li trusted him this much, that he directly gave the equipment to him. After thinking for a few moments he also sent Lu Li a friend request, but was coldly denied by the system.


    Lu Li immediately sent over a friend request and they both appeared in each other¡¯s friend lists.


    The spectators could only watch as the Steel grade equipment in front of Lu Li disappeared. The last remaining item was the Hunter Skill Book.


    If it was just a regular Hunter Skill Book, only Hunters would be interested. However, this Trueshot Aura skill would give an entire team a Buff to their Physical Attack Damage. Moreover, melee teams were currently quite favoured due to the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon.


    As such, many rich people were interested in buying it for the purpose of strengthening their union.


    ¡°We¡¯ll swap a Thief Skill Book with you. How¡¯s that?¡± If Lu Li decided to accept, then he wouldn¡¯t auction. Auctions were simply too savage - items and equipment would often be sold at many times their actual value.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but it has to be an Ultimate Skill or an Enhancing Skill for Thieves.¡± Lu Li knew that if he wanted be strong in Dawn, he had to think towards the future.


    He desperately needed money, but making himself stronger was the top priority.


    ¡°What¡¯s an Enhancing Skill?¡± Everyone had blank looks on their faces. Moonlight, who had decided to hang around was looking confused as well.


    Everyone knew about Ultimate Skills. Thieves¡¯ skills gave combo points, which could be used for Ultimate Skills. However, no one had ever heard of Enhancing Skills before.


    Lu Li could only patiently explain. ¡°Enhanced Skills are extensions of normal skills. For example, there¡¯s Enhanced Charge, Enhanced Stealth, Enhanced Blizzard and Enhanced Backstab. There are also some skills that aren¡¯t quite Enhanced, but are similar. For example, there¡¯s a Druid skill called Little Leopard Transformation which is similar to the Cheetah Transformation skill, but its stats are even better.


    ¡°My friend found a Chain Lightning Skill Book. Does that count as Lightning Arrow¡¯s Enhanced Skill?¡± asked someone in the crowd.


    ¡°One¡¯s a single target skill and the other is an AOE skill. Chain Lightning is very valuable, but it¡¯s not the Enhanced Skill of Lightning Arrow,¡± clarified Lu Li.


    ¡°As expected of an expert.¡± Everyone was in awe of Lu Li¡¯s knowledge. Many people sent out friend requests to Lu Li, but all of them were, as usual, were coldly rejected by the system. Yep, he was definitely an expert - only experts were this hard to add as friends.


    ¡°I have a Backhand Backstab Skill Book. Is it different to Enhanced Backstab?¡± a female Hunter timidly asked.


    ¡°Backhand Backstab isn¡¯t an Enhanced Skill, but is an Ultimate Skill. Would you like to trade with me?¡± Lu Li calmly asked.


    ¡°I¡­ I train by myself, so¡­ so wouldn¡¯t it be a bit of a waste?¡± The Hunter was a young girl, and didn¡¯t have a full set of equipment. The drop rate in Dawn was incredibly low, but as long as one had the patience and skill, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to obtain a full set of Common grade equipment.This girl was definitely a newbie.


    ¡°In the future when you have pets, this skill will also Buff you pets. Plus, once you have this skill, it¡¯ll be easy to get into a good team,¡± Lu Li patiently said.


    The early stages of the game were often the most difficult for Hunters. This was because Tame Beast Skill Books were incredibly rare, in addition to having low accuracy and low attack speed. If a Hunter didn¡¯t have any good equipment, it would be almost impossible for them to find a good team. The girl in front of him obviously fell into this category, but he was curious as to how she had obtained a Skill Book like Backhand Backstab.


    [Backhand Backstab]: Instant Cast. When you are at your target¡¯s side, consume all of your combo points to backhand backstab your target, causing Equipment Damage x (1 + 30% x number of combo points) worth of Damage. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    This Ultimate Skill was quite powerful, but if one had to point out a drawback, it would be that Backhand Backstab required difficult positioning. As such, most Thieves in Dawn chose to use Eviscerate as their Ultimate Skill. However, to Manual mode players, this skill was easier in being able to achieve surprising effects.


    The Hunter girl was convinced by one of Lu Li¡¯s reasons, and then nodding, opened up a Trade Window with Lu Li.


    Lu Li let out the breath that he had been holding and traded with the girl.


    Lu Li felt a bit guilty, perhaps because he felt that he had taken advantage of this girl. He sent her a friend request, hoping that he would be able to make it up to her in the future.


    Trueshot Aura was quite a good skill and was very rare. However, it simply couldn¡¯t be compared to the Backhand Backstab. At least to Lu Li, he had received much more than he had given, and thus the exchange hadn¡¯t been very fair to the girl.


    The Hunter girl was very surprised that Lu Li would add her as a friend. However, being added by an expert made her quite happy, so she accepted the request without hesitation.

 34 House Searching

    After selling all of his equipment and the Skill Book, Lu Li sent a message to Azure Sea Breeze to see how things were going on his end. After confirming that all was well, Lu Li logged off and went to sleep.


    The next day was Sunday. Lu Li and his little sister ate some breakfast, then left to look for a new home.


    From a sociological standpoint, once private ownership was established, people were bound to be divided into the ¡®rich¡¯ and the ¡®poor¡¯. Despite how advanced technology was, this was something that could not be changed.


    The wealth gap between the rich and the poor was still as present as ever in the 23rd century. There were 3 main Districts: The Slum District, Commoner District and the Rich District. Although these weren¡¯t their official names, that was how reality was.


    The people who lived in the Slum District were mostly unemployed and barely scraped by on government handouts. Most of them didn¡¯t have the right to education or healthcare. The reason why the Lu family lived in such poverty was because Lu Li wanted his sister to go to school, so that one day she might be able to find a good job and marry into a good family.


    Those who lived in the Common District were mostly the working class who earned low incomes. Although they didn¡¯t have much money, they were handed more rights than those in the Slum Districts and lived in much better conditions because they could at least contribute to society.


    As for the Rich District, they were the minority who controlled the majority of society¡¯s wealth, and enjoyed much more in terms of rights and power.


    Lu Li now had more than $40,000 in his bank account. It was impossible for him to buy a house even in the Commoner District, but renting a house would be no problem.


    Currently, they were looking for a house in the Commoner District with a nice and safe environment, that was close to a school and wasn¡¯t too expensive¡­


    ¡°Big brother, look, there are police here even though it¡¯s still daytime,¡± pointed out Lu Xin in curiosity.


    Lu Xin was a little beauty but had always lacked a feeling of security since she was young. Luckily, her big brother was good at fighting, so she was able to safely grow up in the Slum District.


    ¡°It¡¯s because this side of the Commoner District is close to the Slum District,¡± Lu Li explained. This was quite ironic - Lu Xin was excited to see the police, but the people they were here to guard against were people like Lu Li and Lu Xin.


    ¡°Big brother, if we find a house to live in over here, we won¡¯t count as poor anymore, right?¡± The little girl asked with a look of hope on her face.


    ¡°Xin Xin, we weren¡¯t poor because we lived in the Slum District, but because we didn¡¯t have any money. Now that we have money, we aren¡¯t poor anymore.¡± Lu Li swore to himself that he would never let his little sister feel inferior because of her social status ever again.


    ¡°Oh! Big brother¡¯s so awesome; you earnt that much money in just 2 days!¡± To Lu Xin, her big brother was always the strongest and the most awesome person. A certain bro-con¡¯s eyes were filled with little stars.


    ¡°Xin Xin, let¡¯s not look for a house here.¡± A certain sis-con¡¯s heart started racing as he proudly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the Rich District!¡±


    ¡°Big brother, are you sure?!¡± Lu Xin burst into excitement, but then became doubtful. ¡°Big brother, will we really have enough for that? If¡­ if one day we don¡¯t have enough money, what will we do?¡±


    It was normal for the little girl to worry about this.


    However, what she didn¡¯t know, was that sis-cons hated being doubted by their little sisters. What? Not being able to earn enough money? Impossible!


    The more Lu Li thought about it, the more he wanted to move to the Rich District. The living conditions there were simply too good. The Slum District was a crappy area that should have been demolished 200 years ago, while the Commoner District was equivalent to the normal suburbs. Only the Rich District could match the 200 years of advancement in technology.


    Lu Li and Lu Xin sat in a hover car as they set out for the Rich District.


    The Rich District was quite large, but there were not many people. Apart from some special regions, the residential area was filled with trees and some rare plants that had become extinct 200 years ago.


    Plant DNA that had been preserved for 200 years had finally been reconstructed using technology. It was very fitting for them to be growing in the gardens of the Rich District.


    ¡°You want to rent a house here?¡± Most of the receptionists came from the Commoner District, so they didn¡¯t have the same condescending attitude that most people of the Rich District had. The receptionist kindly said, ¡°The government regulations require that your account needs to have at least $1,000,000 in order to live here.¡±


    ¡°$1,000,000¡­¡± Lu Li¡¯s hopes were instantly dashed.


    ¡°Big brother, let¡¯s forget about it then,¡± Lu Xin softly said as she pulled Lu Li¡¯s arm.


    ¡°You could try out the region near the Higher Education Mega Centre,¡± the receptionist suggested.


    ¡°Right!¡± Lu Li suddenly realised that it wasn¡¯t just the Rich District that had a good living environment.


    Seventy years ago, when the location for the Higher Education Mega Centre was being chosen, there had been some complications.


    The government had wanted to put all of the universities in the same location to save money and space.


    They had originally been planning to build the Higher Education Mega Centre in the Rich District, as all the members of the committee were from the Rich District. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want universities to be close to where they lived?


    However, no one thought that those from the Commoner District and Slum District would be so outraged. Factory workers went on strikes, teachers went on strikes, electricity and water was cut, transportation was blocked, and even the military fell into chaos. Soon, members of the committee began to be assassinated.


    As such, someone suggested that the Higher Education Mega Centre should be built between the Rich District and Commoner District.


    Although some people were still unhappy, most of the chaos ceased, and the Higher Education Mega Centre became a buffer between the Commoner District and the Rich District. While it was affordable for most people of the working class, the conditions there were almost as good as those in the Rich District.


    By the time the Lu brother and sister arrived at the Higher Education Mega Centre, it was already 11am. Lu Li decided to go to the Villa District where the Star Moon Union was, since he was familiar with its surroundings.


    This was a Garden Villa District. In the front, there were 4 office buildings, and behind them was the residential area.


    Lu Li held Lu Xin¡¯s hand as they walked past a Real Estate Agent¡¯s office and into the residential area.


    ¡°Big brother, I heard that Real Estate Agents can show you around and give you some information. Why didn¡¯t we go in there?¡± Lu Xin turned around, wanting to look back at the office.


    ¡°Silly girl, Real Estate Agents are all swindlers. They always start with the worst house and work their way up from there. If you meet a really bad one, they sometimes even collude with the landlord to cheat you of your money. So remember, never, ever find a Real Estate Agent,¡± Lu Li said, as he passed on essential knowledge to his little sister.


    Lu Xin completely trusted Lu Li, and she looked at the office with wariness.


    ¡°Then how will we know which houses are for rent?¡±


    ¡°There are 2 ways: we can either look online, or look at the District¡¯s bulletin board.¡± In his ¡®previous life¡¯, Lu Li had also moved out of the Slum District with his little sister. However, they had only been able to move to the Commoner District, and the living conditions still weren¡¯t that great.


    ¡°Are we going to look online?¡±


    ¡°Most of the photos online are fake. It¡¯s better if we go and take a look in person. We¡¯ll have a look at the bulletin board first,¡± Lu Li replied. Even after hundreds of years, some things had never changed. Beside the digital bulletin board were some empty spaces for people to put up their own ads.


    There were those wanting to buy second hand game helmets, clinics advertising their medicine, as well as advertisements for renting rooms.


    The brother and sister pair squeezed in front of the bulletin board together, looking for an ad that caught their eye. Just as they were about to choose one to call, they heard someone impatiently saying, ¡°Are you guys done or not? Can you let me stick something on?¡±

 35 My Beautiful Landlord

    The person¡¯s voice was slightly hoarse, and Lu Li turned around, he was that it came from a beautiful woman.


    Her clothes were not very orderly and she had eyebags as well as an impatient expression, however, she was definitely a beauty. This went to show just how stunning she was.


    The Lu brother and sister took a few steps back to make way for her. She was holding a sheet of paper with a sticky back, and she carelessly stuck it onto the bulletin board. She didn¡¯t even bother to look at it after, and yawned, then shakily left.


    ¡°Big sister.¡± Lu Xin called out to the beauty.


    The beauty turned around in annoyance. However, seeing that it was the cute little girl who had called out to her, her voice became somewhat more amicable. ¡°What is it little sister?¡±


    Lu Li had been completely ignored.


    ¡°Big sister, you stuck your ad upside down!¡±


    The beauty seemed to waken up, and walking over, she saw that it was indeed upside down.


    Villa overlooking the Little Mirror Lake. Renting out 3 rooms. Includes a private bathroom, shared gym, kitchen¡­ IV-6 network port for gaming¡­ Monthly rent: $8,000-12,000. For more information, please call 182*****001.


    After turning it the right way up, Lu Li was able to read the ad, and immediately called out to the beauty who was about to leave.


    ¡°What is it now?¡± The beauty frowned and her eyes filled with annoyance. Her attitude towards Lu Li was completely different.


    ¡°The room you¡¯re renting out has an IV-6 network port for gaming? Are you sure it¡¯s an IV-6?¡± Lu Li asked.


    The IV-6 network port was designed especially for gaming and costed quite a bit of money - about $2,000 per month. Furthermore, because of the network resources it took up, the installation of such network ports was strictly limited. Even if one had money, they might not necessarily be able to access one.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you want to rent?¡± The beauty gave him a strange look, ¡°Sorry, but we only want to rent to females.¡±


    ¡°Big brother, it¡¯s so expensive,¡± Lu Xin said as she held Lu Li¡¯s hand. She was simply astounded by the monthly rent. The government handouts given to those in the Slum District would be around $8,000 per year, and it would rarely be given in cash.


    ¡°This price is actually quite fair. You know, Xin Xin, it would be quite hard for us to find a cheaper and better place than this in the Higher Education Mega Centre,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°How about we go back to the Commoner District? We¡¯ll come back when we have enough money.¡± Lu Xin didn¡¯t want her brother to overwork herself. She would already be happy living in the Commoner District.


    What a good girl. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but stroke his little sister¡¯s head. ¡°If we live over here, I can send you to a good school. That way, you¡¯ll be able to go to the No. 1 Affiliated Middle School. I heard that the enrolment rate there is quite good, and the minimum mark for passing is alright. Big brother wants you to get into the best school and best university, alright?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Lu Xin wanted to say something, but was cut off by Lu Li. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about money. Big brother will take care of that.¡±


    These people probably weren¡¯t looking for male tenants because there were females living there already. It would be quite awkward for them if he moved in. As such, Lu Li did not push it, and instead continued to look through the ads, searching for one that had an IV-6 network port.


    An IV-6 network port was simply too important, especially to a Manual mode player.


    A virtual reality game depended on the game helmet, as well as the network port. Only with a decent game helmet and network port would the game run smoothly and actually appear like a virtual world. Lu Li¡¯s game helmet was one of the worst, and combined with the network port in the Slum District, he could definitely feel the effects.


    ¡°Oi, you two.¡± The Lu brother and sister were muttering together about the different ads when they heard the woman call out to them.


    ¡°Eh, you¡¯re still here?¡± Lu Li was a bit surprised.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were looking for a place to rent? Come with me.¡± Without waiting for them, the beauty started to march forwards.


    From behind, the beauty¡¯s figure was quite impressive. She had long, slim legs and had a thick waist with a well-rounded bottom. Even without trying, she was quite sensual.


    Lu Li hesitated for a moment before taking Lu Xin¡¯s hand and following her, as he asked, ¡°How much rent do I have to pay at once?¡±


    ¡°Pay for 3 months plus the next 3 as security.¡± This time, the woman didn¡¯t sound as annoyed at them.


    ¡°No problem, but can we start next month? I¡¯ll need to prepare during this month,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Why do you need to start next month? Are you going to become rich in a month?¡± The woman¡¯s thinking process was a bit strange. Most people wouldn¡¯t have agreed to such a thing, but instead, she had asked them why.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to become rich, but renting a place should be fine.¡± Lu Li replied.


    As they talked, they had come to the entrance of the Villa. No wonder they said that it was overlooking the lake - this villa had 2 storeys and was right next to it. There was also a decently-sized balcony that extended out over a bit of the lake.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve found a good job, then let me see the contract. Otherwise, how can I trust you¡­ wait here.¡± The beauty opened the door and walked in. However, after taking a few steps, she immediately ran out and turned around while yelling, ¡°I brought some people who are interested in renting; hurry and clean the place up. There¡¯s a guy¡­¡±


    Lu Li started sweating. He could almost imagine a bunch of almost-naked girls sitting in the living room.


    There was a flurry of movement inside and someone yelled back, ¡°Alright, big sis Huan Huan, you can come in now.¡±


    The living room was quite large, but was a bit messy. However, at the very least, there wasn¡¯t any underwear lying around. There were two women sitting on the sofa, looking at the Lu brother and sister in curiosity.


    As the saying goes, ¡®birds of a feather flock together¡¯. These two women were also exceptional beauties. One of them was wearing a light blue shirt and was quite a lot shorter than the other two women. Her large and sparkling eyes, coupled with her sizeable chest made her appear like a ¡®kawaii¡¯ girl from a manga.


    The other looked much more delicate and quiet, as if she was from a painting.


    ¡°Please take a seat. What were we talking about just then?¡± the woman who was called ¡®big sis Huan Huan¡¯ said, as she found a spot on the sofa and curled up.


    ¡°Big sis Huan Huan, didn¡¯t we say that we¡¯d look for a female?¡± the kawaii girl said unhappily.


    ¡°Ah, I saw that he treated his little sister really well, and I felt touched at the time,¡± Huan Huan said, as she messed around with messy hair, evidently feeling conflicted.


    The kawaii girl looked at Lu Xin and suddenly realised something, saying, ¡°Hey, at least she¡¯s shorter than me and she¡¯s super cute. Let¡¯s let her stay.¡±


    ¡°Dou Dou, she¡¯s still young; she¡¯ll definitely still grow,¡± the delicate girl reminded her.


    Although Lu Xin was already in grade 10, she was only 14 years old. She was incredibly pretty, but was only about 1.5 metres or so tall.


    ¡°Big sis Yi Yi, will you die if you just agree?¡± The girl referred to as Dou Dou yelled out furiously. The delicate beauty looked away, and didn¡¯t say anything else.


    ¡°Alright, be quiet you guys,¡± Huan Huan cut them off as she looked at Lu Li and said, ¡°You said that you wanted to start renting next month, right?¡±

 36 I’m a Professional Player

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t feel as though there was anything wrong with this. If he was still living in poverty, he might feel a bit ashamed. However, after earning over $40,000 in 2 days, he felt more confident than anyone else.


    Those who were truly confident in themselves could face reality head-on.


    ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re a student. Where are you working now? Do you have any proof of your income?¡± Huan Huan and the other girls looked at the calm Lu Li. Could he really have found a good job?


    ¡°I¡¯m a professional player.¡± Lu Li thought for a moment, and decided that the most suitable job title for him would be a ¡®professional player¡¯. His status as a member of the Gold Collection Unit had ceased the moment he had decided to leave the Star Moon Union.


    ¡°Professional player!¡± the three girls said at the same time with a strange look on their faces.


    ¡°So you¡¯re a professional player. What game do you play?¡± The kawaii girl Dou Dou curled her lip as she asked, ¡°Are you sure you can earn enough money?¡±


    ¡°Dawn.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you play Dawn as well. What level are you?¡± Huan Huan seemed a bit more awake.


    ¡°LV5.¡±


    ¡°Huh, LV5. Not bad, Dou Dou¡¯s also LV5.¡± Huan Huan thought for a while before asking, ¡°It¡¯s been 2 days since the game opened; how are you so confident that you¡¯ll be able to earn enough money? How many gold coins do you have?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only got 10 or so gold coins now; I¡¯ve exchanged most of it into real money,¡± Lu Li truthfully answered.


    The kawaii girl leapt up and said, ¡°Big sis Huan Huan, don¡¯t listen to him. It¡¯s super hard to earn money in Dawn. How can he already have 10 gold coins?!¡±


    ¡°You seem to have sold a lot of things,¡± Yi Yi said in a small voice.


    She was completely right - not only did he have 10 or so gold coins, but he had sold A LOT in the past few days.


    ¡°How much did you earn from selling your things?¡± Huan Huan was doubtful. Although she hadn¡¯t played this game, she had heard Dou Dou yelling quite a bit about how difficult it was to play and earn money. She even had to borrow money to repair equipment.


    ¡°About 40 gold coins. I sold them for about $45,000.¡± In order to convince them to let him rent a room here, he had to show that he had money in the game and also in real life.


    He didn¡¯t know that he had just poked a hornet¡¯s nest.


    ¡°Impossible, impossible!¡± Dou Dou was tearing at her hair as she rolled around on the sofa, as if her mind was on the verge of collapse.


    ¡°Mister,¡± Huan Huan calmed down and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t believe you, but to earn $45,000 in real money in just 2 days is inconceivable. What proof do you have?¡±


    ¡°I can show you the screenshots of my trades and exchanges. One exchange was with the Star Moon Union: I sold them a Skill Book for $25,000. The other was with Water Fairy: I got $20,000 from that,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°Wait, you sold that Skill Book to the Star Moon Union? And Water Fairy? Are you... are you¡­ that Lu Li?¡± Dou Dou yelled out as she stopped rolling around.


    ¡°Madman, Dou Dou has been calling you a madman for the past few days,¡± Yi Yi added softly.


    This girl was incredibly beautiful and looked harmless, but she liked to hit those who were down.


    ¡°Be quiet, you,¡± Dou Dou and Huan Huan said at the same time.


    Yi Yi curled up into a ball, her eyes glimmering as if she had been wronged. She looked extremely pitiful.


    ¡°Can you tell us how you earnt so much money?¡± Huan Huan climbed up from the sofa and ran over to sit down next to Lu Li, while Dou Dou sat on his other side. The two girls sandwiched Lu Li in between them and stared at him intently.


    ¡°Ahem, these screenshots should be enough to prove that I¡¯m able to pay the rent, right?¡± This was the first time he had been so close to 2 young, beautiful women, and he felt quite a bit of pressure.


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± Huan Huan quickly nodded, ¡°Now can you tell us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really know what you mean¡­ I¡¯m just here to find a place to stay,¡± Lu Li felt that there was something not quite right about these women.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you why we want to know so badly¡­¡± Huan Huan¡¯s face fell and she started to explain to Lu Li.


    They had rented this house in the first half of the year. Seven university students had formed a game studio in order to do well in the game ¡®New World¡¯.


    It was a pity that things did not go as planned. 6 months after New World was released, many players moved to Dawn. As such, the girls¡¯ investments in New World and the villa had all gone down the drain.


    The passion they felt for the game quickly disappeared and everyone else left. Soon, it was just these 3 girls.


    Huan Huan¡¯s surname was Zhou and was the boss of the studio. She had invested the most money, but when the others had left, she had given back some of what they had invested. She had taken the biggest loss.


    Yi Yi¡¯s surname was Yang and her real name was Yang Liu; Yi Yi was her nickname. She had been close friends with Huan Huan since they were young, so naturally, she hadn¡¯t left.


    As for Dou Dou, her name real name was Dou Jing Jing. However, she didn¡¯t like her name at all. This was because her name (Jing Jing) meant ¡®to calm down¡¯. Whenever someone said they needed ¡®to calm down¡¯, she would always be made fun of. As such, everyone called her Dou Dou, since it sounded much cuter.


    After what had happened, it was only natural for them to feel dejected and low-spirited. Huan Huan and Yi Yi didn¡¯t even want to play Dawn. Only the heartless Dou Dou entered the game, but she hadn¡¯t done well for herself.


    ¡°Back then, we were completely confident and signed a 3 year lease on the house. Now, we can only sub-lease to minimise our losses,¡± Huan Huan grudgingly said as she told Lu Li the reason why they were renting out the rooms.


    Rich, filthy rich. This was an awesome villa in an awesome location. It was large, and had its own garden, swimming pool and balcony. It was probably worth at least $100,000 per month and yet they had leased it for 3 years. Lu Li felt like his head was about to explode.


    He quickly comforted the 3 girls who were grasping at straws, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the rental terms first, then game matters. I¡¯ll definitely help you all, but don¡¯t expect too much - I¡¯m just a normal player.¡±


    ¡°Mmm got it, got it, that¡¯s what all experts say,¡± Dou Dou rapidly nodded.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what to say. Lu Xin suddenly realised just how powerful her big brother had become and a look of worship appeared in her eyes.


    ¡°There are 3 rooms in total, 2 big and 1 small. The big ones are $12,000 per month and the small one is $8,000 per month. If you can teach us how to play Dawn, we can reduce the rent by $2,000.¡± After gathering together for a while, the 3 girls made a decision.


    The rooms were all very large: even the smallest one was twice as big as the entire unit the Lu brother and sister had occupied in the Slum District.


    ¡°Big brother, let¡¯s share the smaller one,¡± Lu Xin suggested in a small voice. She had never seen such luxurious rooms before and felt like she was dreaming.


    ¡°No way.¡± The first person to reject this was actually Dou Dou. She furiously pointed at Lu Li as she yelled, ¡°How can you do this, you pervert? Your little sister¡¯s already so big, but you still sleep with her, you pervert.¡±


    She was clearly had a hyperactive imagination. Lu Li was speechless and the other 2 girls pretended that they didn¡¯t know her.


    After ranting for a bit, before convincing Lu Li to rent 2 separate rooms, she finally calmed down.


    ¡°We¡¯ll charge you $15,000 per month for the 2 rooms. Yi Yi and I will join the game next week. When that time comes, you need to give us some basic equipment and tell us what we should do.¡± These students were all very rich; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to rent such a place. After finding out that their studio had failed because they chose the wrong game and discovering a new hope in the form of Lu Li, they were willing to give him a sizeable discount.


    ¡°If you join our studio, we can let you guys stay here for free,¡± Yi Yi said in a small voice.

 37 Escorting As a Party

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Dou Dou who had just been scolding Lu Li suddenly became eager, as she was actually the one who respected him the most. Even though she wasn¡¯t an Elf, she knew that Lu Li had sold a skill book worth 20 gold on the first day and even more equips last night.


    He had even gotten the first clear of the Elite-difficulty Instance Dungeon, as well as the wild Boss. This had made global news and he had become a well-known name on TV.


    If she knew that the first PVP video on the forums was about him, she would be even more surprised.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be joining your studio, I don¡¯t have plans like that at the moment.¡± Even with the beauties before him, Lu Li was clear and straightforward with his rejection.


    ¡°What about the rooms? Have you decided?¡± Huan Huan looked at Lu Li, wholeheartedly hoping that he would choose to stay. This was a gaming god, one that ranked among the best in China and perhaps even the world.


    Even if he didn¡¯t join their studio, a few tips here and there from him would be greatly beneficial.


    If Lu Li still thought it was too expensive, the rent could be further reduced.


    ¡°I can pay for the first month¡¯s rent, but the rest of the initial 6-month payment will have to take a little longer.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t plan to stay for free, but he had to find a way to earn 60,000 for the Star Moon Union by next Wednesday.


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not a problem. You guys can pack your stuff and move in today,¡± the three sisters all nodded in agreement.


    Moving out didn¡¯t take very long as he and his sister didn¡¯t have much; they only brought their clothes and daily necessities, leaving the rest behind to be taken by their neighbors.


    Lu Li stayed in the bigger room on the second floor, which was farther away from the girls, while Lu Xin stayed in the smallest room, which was closest to Dou Dou. The landladies had already warmed up to her and had dragged her out to go window shopping in the afternoon.


    Lu Li turned down their offer; he still had a very important Quest to complete in game.


    When he logged in, it was already 3PM. The sky was sunny today in Moon Shadow Valley and the sunlight rested on the green grass, reflecting a golden light. The valley didn¡¯t look dark at all.


    After sending a message to tell Azure Sea Breeze to come over, Lu Li looked for a few monsters near Moon Shadow Valley to try out his new network connection and equipment.


    The IV-6 game network had instantly made him more powerful. His original 80% Skill Completion on Shadowstrike had been increased by 2-3%. This was with the worst game helmet as well and when he upgraded to the best helmet, there would be a further increase.


    An independent player like him needed the best equipment he could get.


    He had already used the skill book he had obtained from the day before. While Backhand Backstab dealt a lot of damage, the hardest aspect of the skill was the required positioning.


    However, Lu Li had read guides about this in the past and had PVPed with other independent Thieves, so executing it wasn¡¯t hard. He would have to spend a long time practicing though, if he wanted to increase his Skill Completion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for a while,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he walked up and patted Lu Li¡¯s back with his shield. ¡°Why did you only just come online? I¡¯m almost level 7 now. Doing Instance Dungeons last night to level up was just too good.¡±


    ¡°I was looking for a house to move into this morning and only managed to find the time to log in now,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already done what you told me to do yesterday. Many of them are interested, but I chose Drizzle Court because they offered us 3 Jade Spider Webs and any Steel equips if they¡¯re dropped. The only thing is, we will need to join their Guild,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°Guild?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? This morning several Guilds were established. Within the Chinese region there are currently 7 which are on our side: Drizzle Court, Gangnam Royals, Blood Red War Flag and Seventh Heaven. On the evil side, there is Glory Capital, Gale Legion and Stellar Union. The first one to establish their Guild was Glory Capital.¡±


    ¡°They really are quick; this is not a simple task.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t think that so much would have changed in the one morning he was gone.


    ¡°Boss, your equipment is a little overpowered don¡¯t you think? These people only just gathered enough money to establish their Guilds today and your equips are already worth several gold coins,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out loudly, causing people around them to look at him.


    ¡°Shh keep a low profile. Don¡¯t help them farm yet, I still have a quest I need to complete.¡± Lu Li turned on his communication device and called Moonlight, the Warrior that had traded Steel equips with him.


    Moonlight was currently doing an Instance Dungeon. However, when he received Lu Li¡¯s message, he left and ported home, appearing before them.


    After mutual introductions, Lu Li told them about the Quest, ¡°This is probably not unique and you guys should be able to get it as well. When we complete it, we¡¯ll see if there are any follow up quests.¡±


    ¡°Is it okay if we don¡¯t have a healer? I don¡¯t have many potions left.¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s face was bitter; the Boss from yesterday had taken up way too many potions. If it weren¡¯t for the rewards, his bag would be empty.


    ¡°Check your friends list to see if there¡¯s anyone suitable; we can get a few more people. But just tell them that it¡¯s an escort quest and not about the materials and rewards,¡± Lu Li said.


    Lu Li said that with a certain truth in mind. When asked to help with a quest without the promise of a reward, most people would come up with an excuse. Azure Sea Breeze was one of the few friends that was here without a reason.


    As someone who was proud to have such a large social network, he didn¡¯t realize how many were fair-weather friends. Azure Sea Breeze looked hurt and squatted to the side, not saying anything.


    In contrast, Lu Li¡¯s friend list was small, but there were quite a few people who were willing to join.


    March Rain the Priest and Lonesome Flower the Mage were the ones who had completed ¡°Pet Escape¡± with Lu Li. Upon hearing that Lu Li needed help, they had asked for his location and immediately headed over.


    In his friends list, there was also Holy Thunder the Mage, Water Fairy and three people from the Grand Hegemony. Lu Li decided against contacting them as he wasn¡¯t very close to them and didn¡¯t want to trouble them.


    Finally, his eyes stopped on one name - Remnant Dream, who was the one who traded the skill book with him. After receiving the news, the little hunter obediently presented herself. Her skill was average and she was unsure if she could be of any help.


    Lu Li was looking for an opportunity to compensate her for the skill book, so he planned to take her.


    With many monsters on the way, the experience gained would not be much different from those that were training in parties. As for the danger level, they would be completely safe as long as they stayed together.


    Dawn¡¯s parties had no max number, so the 6 of them could form a group.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight were level 6, Lonesome Flower and March Rain were level 5, and Remnant Dream was level 4. They were all young people so they quickly warmed up to each other and went on their merry way.

 38 Let’s Go!

    The party had killed many monsters before reaching the level 6 Spotted Forest Panther and had received a considerable amount of loot.


    However, now that they had entered Spotted Forest Panther territory, they were starting to feel some pressure.


    ¡°Remnant Dream, how long until you level up?¡± Lu Li made a misstep and a shadowy figure closed in. He quickly twisted his dagger and plunged it into the back of the monster¡¯s head. He then heard the system prompt: Backhand Backstab Skill Completion 71%, dealing 79% damage.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ still missing 1 percent,¡± the little hunter said as she uncoordinatedly drew her bow and fired a weak arrow. Azure Sea Breeze waved his long sword to block it as it flew towards him. He was quite familiar with this action as this wasn¡¯t the first time.


    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯ll be strong when you learn Trueshot Aura.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t have the same nasty look in Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s eyes, instead comforting the little hunter that was about to cry.


    Lonesome Flower was using Automatic mode, which was fairly normal for anyone wanting to do well. Later, when he had more skills and a full set of good equipment, he would be a force to be reckoned with. Lu Li hadn¡¯t seen March Rain for a day, but her improvements were already significant. As for Moonlight, there was only one phrase for him: killing machine!


    He wielded one of the finest Steel weapons - the Bloodseeker¡¯s Axe, and he wore another piece of Steel equipment on his body. In addition, he had also learned a skill with an incredibly low drop rate - Whirlwind. All this complemented a Berserker Warrior¡¯s high attack and he was dealing more damage than Lu Li.


    After walking for half an hour, they reached the Cynocephali mine, which was a forbidden area to the players. The mine was filled with Cynocephali patrols, so there was currently no one training here.


    Remnant Dream had now reached level 5, finally learning ¡®Trueshot Aura¡¯.


    [Trueshot Aura]: Increases melee and ranged attack of all party members within 100 yards by 10%. Passive Skill. Not upgradeable.


    All party members gain a benefit: attack strength is increased by 10%


    ¡°Yes! This skill is really good for parties.¡± Not too long ago, Azure Sea Breeze thought Remnant Dream was a burden and had only just realized her value.


    Moonlight¡¯s expression also changed and he looked at Remnant Dream with awe, like she was a high-quality equip.


    Remnant Dream had always been bullied; no one ever wanted to party with her. To be valued by an expert was a completely new experience for her. It didn¡¯t matter whether it was Azure Sea Breeze or Moonlight, as she looked up to both of them.


    ¡°Alright, stop talking. Get ready to attack. Even though the Cynocephali are high level, our party¡¯s attack strength is pretty high too. This shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but we can use this time to practice. March Rain, heal us well.¡± After a rest, Lu Li tried to get everyone ready to work.


    Lu Li went into stealth first and cast Sap to stun one of them. The rest of the party ambushed the target and focused it down. The poor Cynocephali was killed in just a few seconds.


    This was a level 10 monster!


    ¡°Woah, the exp is higher than in an Instance Dungeon!¡± Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed.


    The monsters here were all 2 to 3 levels higher than he was, which granted the maximum bonus exp. This meant that they gave more exp than the level 4-5 monsters in the Instance Dungeon.


    Spirits were high and they rushed in headfirst, even when there were 3 or 4 monsters grouped together. The pressure was on March Rain to heal, but the stubborn girl didn¡¯t protest, instead clenching her teeth and continuing to support. Lu Li occasionally gave some tips, but her technique was becoming good.


    After over an hour, they had cleared a way to Tap. Azure Sea Breeze had also been pulling monsters from the surrounding area so they could increase their level.


    Coming before Tap, they all received the Exploration Quest.


    ¡°The goal of the quest is to find the Sacrificial Alter in the cave. You guys go ahead. I¡¯m going to open some treasure chests.¡± Lu Li already knew where they could go, and turned invisible before entering the cave.


    ¡°No wonder Lu Li¡¯s equipment is so good. A Thief can go anywhere he wants, and can¡¯t he just open any treasure chest he wants?¡± Lonesome Flower said with envy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it; you have to consider who it is as well. Look at other Thieves. Some of them are really bad,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said with disdain. ¡°Those who play as a Thief are also playing with their heart. There are so many monsters here, but Lu Li had already explored this place yesterday.¡±


    ¡°His technique is pretty good too; his Skill Completion is very high.¡± Although you damage dealt couldn¡¯t be seen, they had been together long enough for Moonlight to make an estimate on the damage Lu Li was dealing.


    ¡°Moonlight, do you play with your friends?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked casually while attacking a monster.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m alone right now, just playing however I want.¡± Moonlight¡¯s voice was low and deep and it sounded like there was a story to him.


    Azure Sea Breeze smiled: ¡°It¡¯s no fun playing alone. Whenever you do an Instance Dungeon you have to find a random party. The chance of you running into ¡®unique¡¯ people is really high. You know, I ran into quite a few of them just last night¡­¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was someone who could make good small talk and was a bit of a chatterbox. As long as he was around, there would be no fear of silence. Whenever he met a stranger, he would quickly be able to find a common topic to talk about.


    Lu Li went alone and moved quickly, as he didn¡¯t need to fight any monsters. Before the others had even completed their quest, he had already opened all three treasure chests and returned.


    ¡°Lonesome Flower, you can have this Magic Bracer. I don¡¯t mind how you decide between you and your sister.¡± Lu Li had obtained a few Bronze equips from the treasure chests, and if anyone here could use them, he would just give it to them.


    Lonesome Flower and March Rain tried to politely decline, but eventually took it anyway.


    ¡°Remnant Dream, you¡¯re pretty lucky, there¡¯s two things here for you.¡± Lu Li gave her two equips that added agility.


    ¡°This¡­ this is too precious, isn¡¯t it?¡± The little hunter was shocked.


    Azure Sea Breeze saw what was happening and was also shocked. ¡°This can¡¯t be what you just got from the treasure chests right? This crossbow looks familiar¡­ oh, that¡¯s right, it was from when we got First Clear on the Elite Spider Lair¡­¡±


    Once Remnant Dream heard that, she was even more reluctant to take it.


    ¡°I have no need for a crossbow and your aim with the bow isn¡¯t very good. Try the crossbow, it¡¯s easier to operate. With Automatic Mode, the system will adjust the speed of the arrows,¡± Lu Li decisively confirmed the transaction, but worried that the other party wouldn¡¯t accept, he added: ¡°Think of it as a loan. When you have better equipment you can return it to me, otherwise you can keep it.¡±


    The others were shocked by Lu Li¡¯s generosity and Remnant Dream was so excited she couldn¡¯t speak.


    Even the stone-faced Moonlight who didn¡¯t get along well with others was affected. He always thought that Lu Li was very good in doing business, never taking a loss. He never thought that he would just give away a Steel weapon.


    Silver Light Crossbow (Steel): Damage 12-20, Agility +3, Rate of fire +1, Level Requirement 4, Durability 25/25.


    Although its attributes were weaker than Bloodseeker¡¯s Axe, it was still a Steel equip, which made it better than a Bronze equip in every way. It was not very useful to someone like Lu Li, but he could easily sell it, as there were Hunters out there who were willing to pay a very high price.


    ¡°Finally, there¡¯s this. See if you can use it.¡±


    When Lu Li placed the Bronze pants in front of him, Moonlight got an even bigger shock. He did not expect this at all. If he put it on, it would increase his strength by 1, giving him a total of 2 bonus strength.


    This was the first time someone had gifted him an equip since he had started playing games!


    This feeling, was really weird¡­

 39 Cynocephali Elder

    ¡°Hello, Carolina sends her regards. She hopes that my friends and I will escort you back to Moon Shadow Valley.¡± After waiting for everyone else to complete the Exploration Quest, Lu Li went up and interacted with Tap.


    ¡°Send my thanks to Chief Carolina. O brave Elf, you are finally here.¡± Upon seeing Lu Li, Tap regained some strength and stood up before saying: ¡°Your friends have brought me some new information. The Cynocephali are trying to transport something from the other side of Sacrificial Altar. Go with your colleagues to destroy them. A couple of years ago I found a few skill books; they can be your rewards.¡±


    Skill books!


    Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up.


    All of them were only here to help out Lu Li with his Quest; they had no expectation that would yield such high exp and potentially net a skill book.


    There were both newbies and strong players here, but this was the first time that any of them had heard of a quest with a skill book as a reward.


    Only Lu Li who had experienced ¡®rebirth¡¯ knew that Dawn Quests didn¡¯t have a set pattern. There was no guarantee that if you completed a quest with a certain number of stars you would receive a skill book. Sometimes, a quest that only required killing a few monsters could reward you with a skill book or a skill point. Other times, a quest of high difficulty would not reward you in this respect at all.


    Skill Points would be part of the update next Monday. Every 2 levels, a Skill Point would be gained. Otherwise, you could gain them by getting lucky in quests or beating bosses. With these Skill Points and some gold, you could increase your skill level.


    When Lu Li was reborn, he found out that many quests that gave Skill Points were currently compulsory. However, the current players had no idea about them.


    Of course, that was something to be considered next Monday. Lu Li gawked for a bit, before decisively saying: ¡°As one of the Elves, we will defend the dignity of Master Elune with my life. The dirty Cynocephali sacrificial offering will be completely torn to pieces.¡±


    ¡°Moon Goddess be with us.¡± What Lu Li had said was so inspiring that Tap began shaking with excitement. If not for the fact that he was determined by the system to be wounded, he would have already rushed into the Cynocephali mine.


    The others had never seen a player talk to an NPC like this before and were dumbfounded. They slowly realized that Lu Li¡¯s success wasn¡¯t just because he was lucky; he played this game with a certain kind of earnestness.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t say any more, leading his party back into the mine.


    The way to the Sacrificial Altar was clear, but after they had taken the quest, the Sacrificial Altar had changed significantly. Other than the 8 Cynocephali Mages that were gathered around the altar, there were 4 more level 12 Cynocephali Priests.


    ¡°There are 8 of them with shared aggro; I¡¯ll stun one and kill another. Then, we¡¯ll focus-fire one of them together, and after I¡¯ve gotten aggro, we¡¯ll just attack the closest ones. Remnant Dream, you can take one on, Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight should be able to take 2 each.¡± There was not much strategy involved in this situation; they just needed DPS and healing.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do this.¡± March Rain was the most nervous.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me or the other two Warrior¡¯s HP. Just take care of your brother and Remnant Dream. Let¡¯s go.¡± Lu Li went invisible and Sapped one of the Mages. He then turned around and used Cheap Shot on another.


    Everyone else then selected their targets and started casting all of their spells.


    March Rain who was the most worried found that after the fighting had started it wasn¡¯t so bad. Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight had a full set of equipment and a high level of armor. Even when they were hit by the Cynocephali Mages who were 3 to 4 levels higher than them, they only lost a little bit of HP.


    Lu Li was responsible for two of the monsters; one of them was completely motionless and the other completely stunned, unable to raise its staff.


    With Lu Li and Lonesome Flower both attacking, it quickly keeled over and died. After dealing with that, Lu Li escaped from the fight by going invisible and giving the target that was sapped another Sap (Sap can be chained but the stun duration will be reduced by a third). His next target was the monster that had already been taken to half-health by Moonlight.


    Before long, the 8 Mages were all killed before they could do anything. Although the Priests were high-levelled, this didn¡¯t translate into their attack damage. What was challenging about defeating them was their ability to restore HP.


    However, this wasn¡¯t really an issue either as there were 3 who could be considered experts in this party. Whenever, they saw a Healing skill being cast, they immediately stunned the caster to interrupt the skill.


    Even if they missed a few times, this didn¡¯t have much of an impact on the overall situation. Soon enough, all the Priests lay dead on the floor too.


    ¡°The power of darkness is coming and you insects will soon bow down to the Great Yogg-Saron,¡± the last priest said before falling into the Sacrificial Altar, his blood flowing like a river.


    ¡°Too bad they didn¡¯t drop anything,¡± Azure Sea Breeze disappointedly said as he kicked the body of the Mages.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be sure, maybe it¡¯s not over,¡± Lu Li shook his head.


    Even though he hadn¡¯t done this quest in his previous life, his experience told him that it wouldn¡¯t be this easy.


    ¡°Are you talking about the blood?¡± Moonlight was similarly curious.


    ¡°This blood flow is definitely more than usual.¡± The others were beginning to become suspicious.


    The 4 Priests that were killed on the altar weren¡¯t moving. However, their wounds hadn¡¯t stopped bleeding after they died. The whole Sacrificial Altar was now filled with blood.


    The symbols on the Sacrificial Altar gradually lit up.


    ¡°Oh no, there¡¯s no way Yogg-Saron will really be summoned right? That¡¯s just too insane.¡± Azure Sea Breeze held his shield tightly, somewhat anxious.


    ¡°Yogg-Saron was one of the Old Gods, dubbed The Beast with a Thousand Maws. Even the Titans couldn¡¯t destroy its evil, they could only imprison it deep underground. There¡¯s no way it would be so easy to summon,¡± Lu Li thought otherwise.


    In his previous life, 25 people who were level 40 couldn¡¯t even defeat the Tentacle of Yogg-Saron, which was the final Boss of an Instance Dungeon.


    The dark light on the Altar shone unceasingly, before finally gathering together to form a Cynocephali Elder¡ªCynocephali Elder Allen.


    ¡°Why is it a Cynocephali?¡± Azure Sea Breeze had been anticipating something bigger, but was disappointed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate it, this is a Boss.¡± Lu Li suddenly thought of something that he had read before about Bosses, one of which was Cynocephali Elder Allen. One of its skills was Charm, which possessed players.


    For players, Charm was a Warlock skill that made the target aimlessly wander around for a while.


    But for Allen, it was different: he could directly control the players. He could control a healer to heal him or force a damage dealer to attack a teammate.


    Other than Allen, there was a level 15 public Instance Dungeon boss that knew this skill. When Lu Li was fighting this boss in his previous life, he became so frustrated that he wanted to kill himself.


    At the moment everyone was only level 5-6, but they had bumped into Allen who was level 10. Even Lu Li felt a bit of despair.

 40 Charm Skill

    ¡°Have you fought this Boss before? Is this Boss difficult?¡± Moonlight saw that something was wrong based on Lu Li¡¯s facial expression and sent him a private message.


    ¡°I have a friend who was in the beta that ran into this Boss. Its attack and defence is very ordinary, but it has a skill that is very hard to deal with¡­¡± Lu Li generally described what the Boss could do and saw that Moonlight was also frowning.


    But Moonlight wasn¡¯t disheartened, messaging back: ¡°I heard from Azure Sea Breeze that you intend to make a fixed group. If you are, you will need someone to take on the role of commander. You cannot be hesitant like this. The question is simple, what do we give up and where can we attack back? Even if we lose, we only lose some exp. On this trip today, I¡¯ve already gained more than 50% exp.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Lu Li felt like his mind had cleared. That¡¯s right, it was only some exp. He didn¡¯t feel nervous anymore, instead clapping his hands and saying, ¡°Let¡¯s give it a shot. If anyone has any ideas speak up!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re waiting for your direction; how do we fight it?¡± This was the blind trust that Azure Sea Breeze had for Lu Li.


    Lu Li waved his hand, saying, ¡°Main Tank attack the Boss and receive healing, everyone else deal damage.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Everyone stared at him in disbelief.


    ¡°It¡¯s my first time too; I don¡¯t know what to do either. This Boss probably has Charm, so whoever is controlled will either heal it or attack us. If that happens, don¡¯t panic. If a healer gets controlled, then we can use crowd control to stop it, but if an attacker gets controlled, we should all hide.¡±


    The text that he read didn¡¯t have any strategy written to beat the boss; it only described its despicable skill. As such, Lu Li could only arrange a countermeasure based on that description.


    Although they were unwilling, they could only attack it with the standard method for now.


    Azure Sea Breeze charged in and successfully stunned the Boss for a second. It looked like the Boss wasn¡¯t immune to Crown Control.


    Some Bosses in Dawn could be Crowd Controlled, but others had attributes that stopped this from happening. All you could do was hit them when they cast a spell, or counterattack with a Mage to cancel it.


    There had been people who tried to take Professions with a higher number of crowd control abilities to control Bosses. However, they soon discovered that some Bosses were immune to crowd control skills. Moreover, attempting to use these skills on a Boss may cause it to go into berserk mode earlier and wreak havoc.


    After Allen was stunned by Charge, Lu Li¡¯s cast Cheap Shot, which only stunned for 2.5 seconds out of the usual 4 seconds. It appeared as though the Boss had some kind of gradual immunity to crowd control skills.


    Fortunately, most Cynocephali¡¯s had weak defense, and the Elder was no exception. Azure Sea Breeze could deal 3 damage, while Lu Li¡¯s normal attack could deal around 5 damage.


    However, its total HP was 45,000!


    Not accounting for any incidents, it would take an hour if the 5 of them kept attacking it.


    They didn¡¯t have a choice though; the highest-level member was not even level 7 and the Boss was level 10. The difference in level was simply just too great. If the Boss was a wild beast that had high defence, there would be no chance of them ever taking it down.


    ¡°Dammit, this dog¡¯s hits hurt. It¡¯s much stronger than the turtle boss.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was knocked down by the Cynocephali Elder and lost 23 HP.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a level 10 Boss,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°I¡¯m really curious as to how yout beat the first Wild Boss,¡± Moonlight said.


    ¡°How else? The two of us just kept hitting until it died,¡± Azure Sea Breeze answered, ¡°But that Boss was easier to kill, because its attack wasn¡¯t very high and it didn¡¯t have such a special skill. It just had high defence and a lot of HP.¡±


    ¡°That Boss lives in the water and when its HP reached a certain level, it would return to the water to heal. So we pulled the boss into the woods¡­¡±


    ¡°You guys are so vulgar, what did you do to the Boss in the woods?¡± Lonesome Flower hadn¡¯t said anything all day, and this was what he contributed when finally did.


    ¡°Hehe, just the same as before.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was just as bad.


    ¡°For the two of you to be able to kill a Boss is something to be proud of,¡± Moonlight said emotionally. He was an expert and had played several games in his career, but he had never heard of two people killing a Boss on the second day in a game. He could already feel Dawn¡¯s developers crying about this.


    They talked while they fought the boss so they wouldn¡¯t be bored.


    Occasionally, the Boss would use its stick to cast a spell that was like Blizzard. It dealt a lot of damage; Lu Li was hit and he lost over 30 HP. If not for the fact that it only occasionally cast this spell, they would have already given up.


    When the Boss HP dropped below 70%, it held up its stick (Magic Staff) and started an incantation in an obscure language. Remnant Dream slowly aimed her Crossbow at Lonesome Flower with a stone face.


    ¡°Sister, why do you resent me? Why are you pointing your weapon at me?¡± Lonesome Flower stepped aside and put on a long face.


    ¡°Help, help, what do I do? I can¡¯t control myself¡± Remnant Dream was already nervous, but this made her unable to speak properly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, the Boss is using its skill to control you. Look at your own UI; how long does it last for?¡± Lu Li calmly called out, attempting to comfort the nervousness of his party members.


    ¡°There¡¯s 52 seconds left,¡± Remnant Dream immediately called out after checking.


    ¡°Get out of here, don¡¯t let Remnant Dream hit you.¡± It was the good thing that the respawn time of the monsters wasn¡¯t very fast, so they had some space to fight.


    The little Hunter now had a Steel Weapon equipped, so her attacks would be something to watch out for.


    While casting Charm, the Boss didn¡¯t attempt anything further, which was good news in their current predicament. The pressure on Priest March Rain to heal had finally been relaxed for a while.


    Lu Li attacked Allen while explain to her, ¡°When you are healing don¡¯t panic. If you can, don¡¯t over-heal, especially when someone receives a minor wound. Don¡¯t heal every time Blizzard is cast; we can be hit 2 or 3 times before we die. But make sure to keep everyone relatively healthy as well, you never know what the Boss might do. The best you can do is keep everyone above half health.¡±


    ¡°If one of the damage dealers is controlled, the Healer can go and drink a mana potion,¡± Moonlight added.


    Although Lu Li¡¯s damage output wasn¡¯t very high, this wasn¡¯t the biggest problem with this Boss. The biggest problem was healing!


    After fighting for over an hour, it became apparent that managing the mana potions was key. Each mana potion needed to be used to its maximum restoration potential. March Rain over healed a lot, which meant that they were safe, but a lot of the healing was also wasted.


    As these two experts were giving advice, Charm was cast a second time. This time Lu Li was the target and March Rain decisively ran off to restore mana.


    This was the difference between fighting a Wild Boss and an Instance Dungeon Boss. The aggro range was different: a Wild Boss¡¯ aggro range was much smaller, while an Instance Dungeon Boss¡¯ aggro range was based on terrain and vision. Some of them would stick to you for as long as you were in their Instance Dungeon.


    After Lu Li had been controlled, the person that he started chasing after was Lonesome Flower.

 41 Charm Hear

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely your luck. Bro, keep running,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said with mischievous glee.


    Lonesome Flower looked back as he ran and soon started to yell, ¡°Crap, captain¡¯s Movement Speed is faster than mine. Someone help me!¡±


    ¡°Sea Breeze, use Charge on me,¡± Lu Li instructed. Azure Sea Breeze immediately used Charge on Lu Li and stunned him. Because most of the equipment that he had gave Constitution, he only damaged Lu Li for about 20 HP.


    After Lu Li recovered from being stunned, his target did not change, and he continued to chase after Lonesome Flower.


    ¡°Goddamn, have mercy. Is my first death really going to be because of captain?¡± Lonesome Flower desperately ran. However, an Intelligence profession simply couldn¡¯t outrun an Agility profession.


    ¡°Shut up you idiot. The first time I saw you, you were being killed by a wolf.¡±Lu Li was becoming annoyed by his yells and seeing that his Dagger was about to stab Lonesome Flower, he could only yell out, ¡°Moonlight, stun me!¡±


    Moonlight used Charge and stunned Lu Li, giving Lonesome Flower some more time to escape.


    ¡°Sea Breeze, use a Shieldstrike on me.¡± What a situation! Lu Li never thought that he would have to instruct his own teammates to attack him.


    They patiently endured until Lu Li could control his body again. By now, the Boss¡¯ HP had fallen to about 60%. Luckily, March Rain¡¯s MP was more or less recovered.


    As long as the healer had the opportunity to run off, recover their MP and drink some Potions, they wouldn¡¯t become a burden to the team.


    Luckily, Azure Sea Breeze was the main tank. He almost had a full body of Bronze grade equipment and was nearly LV7. That was the main reason why he could survive for a long period of time without being healed. Any other tank, even that of a large union¡¯s, would have to be constantly healed by the healer.


    But then again, how could a large union possibly go up against a LV10 Boss with 6 people?


    Players on the Forum were claiming that the Evil Faction¡¯s Stellar Union had made a team of 100 players who were all LV5 and above, to challenge the LV20 Boss Lubbers. However, they had apparently all been wiped out, due to the main tank not being strong enough.


    The Cynocephali Elder they were facing was quite a difficult Boss. He would use Charm every 5 minutes and the person affected would change every time. Despite this, they soon managed to reduce his HP down to 50%, albeit with some difficulty.


    ¡°Goddamn!¡± The players suddenly screamed out inwardly.


    March Rain had been controlled!


    This was the worst-case scenario!


    March Rain immediately stopped moving, and started to furiously heal the Boss!


    The Boss¡¯ HP wouldn¡¯t be healed very quickly - in the 1 minute that charm lasted, it would probably only be healed by about 4,500HP. However, this wasn¡¯t the main point of frustration.


    ¡°I¡¯m out of MP.¡± In less than 50 seconds, March Rain¡¯s Mana bar had been completed depleted.


    ¡°Sea Breeze get ready to use Potions to recover; March Rain, once you¡¯re free from the Charm, immediately retreat and drink Mana Potions. Recover as much MP as you can.¡± Lu Li knew that he couldn¡¯t panic, otherwise his party would be finished.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had been part of many teams led by experienced captains. From all of his experience, he had learned one important lesson: the captain could never panic!


    Allen roared and used his staff to smash down on Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s head. Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP fell down to half, but he drank a HP Potion and was healed by March Rain before the next attack.


    They now faced a new problem - March Rain¡¯s MP definitely couldn¡¯t last for the 5 minutes between the Boss¡¯s charms.


    Even if they had more Mana Potions, they wouldn¡¯t be of much use because of Potion Resistance. Lu Li thought for a moment before saying, ¡°March Rain, retreat outside of the Boss¡¯ range and recover your MP. Azure Sea Breeze, don¡¯t use your Taunt. When Azure Sea Breeze has about one third of his HP left, Moonlight should draw aggro.¡±


    This was a fairly safe method. The difficult part would be for Moonlight to draw aggro in time. Otherwise, if their main tank fell, taking down this Boss would be virtually impossible.


    Lu Li had always suspected that Moonlight was an expert, and so far, Moonlight hadn¡¯t let him down. When Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP fell below half, he started using his skills to damage the Boss and by the time Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP fell below one third, a high-damage Whirlwind from Moonlight drew the Boss¡¯ aggro to himself.


    However, Moonlight was not a tank and his points, as well as equipment, were all focused on Strength. Every hit from the Boss cost him 50-60HP and he would be down in just a few hits.


    During this whole process, Lu Li was gathering combo points. Once he had 5 combo points, he moved into position and successfully used his Backhand Backstab.


    System: Backhand Backstab Skill Completion 79%, caused 101% Skill Damage, Rank 1 Armour Pierce Effect, lasts for 30 seconds.


    Moonlight¡¯s Axe also had an Armour Pierce Effect, but it wasn¡¯t as good as the one Lu Li had just triggered.


    Seeing that Lu Li had triggered the Armour Pierce effect, Moonlight showed his experience by backing off. This afforded Lu Li the opportunity to deal a large amount of damage and draw the Boss¡¯ aggro. Lu Li¡¯s Defence was low, but he had high Agility and Evasion. Combined with his ability to move unpredictably, he was able to last even longer than Moonlight.


    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Just as Lu Li was in danger, Azure Sea Breeze, who had recovered about half of his HP, came charging in like a tank. He smashed into the Boss and drew aggro to himself using his Taunt.


    March Rain¡¯s MP was now fully recovered. The crisis was over.


    After knowing what would happen if their healer was controlled, they were no longer in suspense. At most, they would just have to continuously attack the Boss and play it safe for a while. From beginning to the end, not a single member of their party died.


    The shameless boss was surrounded by even more shameless players, as they slowly wore him down.


    The poor Cynocephali Elder was a Boss that could easily destroy a 100 man team, but had now fallen pitifully at the altar. It didn¡¯t even get to say anything before it was killed.


    System: Players Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Moonlight, March Rain, Lonesome Flower and Remnant Dream have achieved the First Kill of the wilderness Boss Cynocephali Elder Allen!


    ¡°I finally got onto the World Announcements,¡± Lonesome Flower said with tears streaming down his face.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that amazing; you get used to it.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was acting cool, but upon seeing all of the comments in the Public Chat, he could help but feel proud as well.


    The instant the Boss died, Lu Li, Lonesome Flower, Moonlight and March Rain all levelled up. The EXP from such a Boss was incredible.


    What¡¯s more, the very sight of the items and equipment that the Boss dropped reinvigorated the spirits of the entire party.


    ¡°It dropped a lot of equipment, so let¡¯s all try our luck and see who gets the better equipment,¡± Lu Li said as he stepped back. His luck was average, so he let the others try first.


    Azure Sea Breeze grinned as he picked up a piece of equipment. However, after looking at its stats, his expression fell and he threw it to Moonlight.


    ¡°I think I forgot to wash my hands; it¡¯s a Bronze grade piece of equipment. You can have it.¡±


    ¡°Just because you washed your hands doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll get a good draw; it¡¯s your luck,¡± Lonesome Flower laughed.


    Moonlight took the equipment and also picked another piece up.


    ¡°Hmm, not bad. It¡¯s a Steel grade Priest¡¯s equipment.¡±


    The equipment boosted healing and therefore was given to March Rain.


    Everyone else also drew a piece of equipment. Most of them were Bronze grade and only Lonesome Flower drew a Steel grade piece of equipment. It was a helmet suitable for tanks and was extremely valuable. Of course, the team gave it to Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Thanks, bro. Your real name wouldn¡¯t happen be Lei Feng, the icon of selflessness, would it?¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he laughed his head off.


    To draw such a good piece of equipment for someone else, Lonesome Flower almost cried.


    Lu Li received a piece of equipment for his shoulders. It was Bronze grade and gave 5 points of Agility, but he could only use it after he was LV10.


    The Boss they had just killed was LV10, which meant that the lowest Level Requirement for the equipment it dropped would be LV10. All of the players could only keep the equipment until they could use it at a later date.


    Furthermore, under the insistence of his teammates, the materials dropped from the Boss also made their way into Lu Li¡¯s bag. One of them was the Charm Heart, which was exactly what he needed to upgrade the Supreme One Ring. Originally, he had believed that it could only be obtained from a LV15 Instance Dungeon.

 42 Double Skill Books

    Everyone else was of the opinion that without Lu Li, they wouldn¡¯t have gone on this quest and wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill this Boss. Seeing that Lu Li wasn¡¯t able to obtain a single piece of Steel-grade equipment, they were insistent that he could have the materials. To Lu Li, just receiving this Charm Heart made everything worth it!


    LV15 Instance Dungeons were incredibly hard: even a team with ten LV20 players would struggle to successfully clear one. Moreover, the Charm Heart only dropped in the Elite grade Instance Dungeon and had a drop rate even lower than that of the Jade Spider Webs.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, he remembered that Azure Sea Breeze had told him that in order to obtain the Charm Heart, he had cleared the LV15 Instance Dungeon for 3 months!


    The main materials required for upgrading the Supreme One Ring to the Supreme Two Ring were the Jade Spider Webs and the Charm Heart. The other 5 types of materials were rare, but most of them could be bought from the market. All it would take was some time and money.


    Lu Li estimated that if his luck was good, he would be able to take the ring to an altar to upgrade it before LV10.


    The Supreme One Ring¡¯s stats simply couldn¡¯t be compared to that of the Supreme Two Ring¡¯s. The gap was too wide.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and hand in the quest.¡± After handing out their spoils of war, the party left the mine. They encountered a few monsters on the way back, but easily killed them all.


    ¡°Elf, I hope that you have brought back good news.¡± Tap was still in his half-dead condition. He had obtained a broken gun and leant on it, using it as a crutch.


    ¡°There were some complications, but luckily we were all able to survive,¡± Lu Li said, then proceeded to describe the intense battle.


    The others were worried; Azure Sea Breeze wanted to say something, but Lu Li stopped him with a stern look.


    They didn¡¯t know why Lu Li had done this. Everyone knew that the Quest Rewards were linked to the Quest Difficulty. The Altar Sacrifices weren¡¯t even Elites, so it would be difficult to get good rewards for killing them. However, they hadn¡¯t only killed some Altar Sacrifices, but a Boss with close to 50,000HP.


    A Cynocephali Elder!


    It was possible that the rewards would be a bit better for killing that Boss.


    ¡°Complications?¡± Tap looked serious, ¡°What sort of complications? Can you tell me in details? Monitoring the Cynocephali is my duty, so I can¡¯t overlook anything.¡±


    Only now did Lu Li mention the Cynocephali Elder Allen. After speaking, their whole party received notice of a quest completion.


    System: Completed Tap¡¯s Request: Kill the Cynocephali Sacrifices. Received Reputation Reward. Received EXP Reward. Received a Skill Book of Player¡¯s Profession.


    System: Completed Tap¡¯s Request: Kill the Cynocephali Elder. Received Reputation Reward. Received EXP Reward. Received a Skill Book of a random profession. Received an Equipment of Player¡¯s Profession.


    Apart from Lu Li, everyone was dumbfounded. They all understood why Lu Li had separated his interactions with Tap into 2 stages.


    Unexpectedly, they had just cleared 2 quests, and both of them had excellent rewards.


    The second quest¡¯s rewards were especially good. The EXP from that quest alone gave each of the party members half an entire bar of EXP.


    What made them even happier was that they had also received a Skill Book for their own profession, as well as any Skill Book of their choice. In addition to this, they had even received a piece of Equipment for their profession!


    None of them had ever received such awesome Quest Rewards before. These past few hours had seemed like a dream to them: they had killed LV8-9 monsters and a LV10 Boss, which was topped off by completing an incredible quest.


    ¡°Lord Tap, please allow us to escort you back to the Moon Shadow Valley so you can recuperate.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t ignore the NPC and even offered to escort him back.


    Tap was very happy with Lu Li¡¯s words and warmly said, ¡°I indeed need to go back to recuperate. However, after I¡¯m fine, I¡¯ll still need to return here. After all, this is my job.¡±


    Lu Li suddenly understood why Tap¡¯s quest was different to the one in his ¡®past life¡¯.


    In Lu Li¡¯s ¡®past life¡¯, Tap had been a very ordinary NPC who would give out 2 quests every day. One involved investigating the mine tunnel, while the other required the player to kill 20 Cynocephali. The rewards were just EXP and silver coins.


    Lu Li concluded that the quests they had just done were limited to the first player or players to successfully complete them. In the future, these quests wouldn¡¯t be available to anyone else anymore.


    Tap could move by himself, but he moved incredibly slowly and drew aggro from monsters within 80 yards. Lu Li and his party had to constantly shield him the entire way.


    Their job was much easier after getting out of Cynocephali territory, as the monsters outside had much lower levels.


    The party finally had time to have a good look at their spoils of war.


    [Vanish]: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 2 minutes. You vanish and enter into an enhanced Stealth state. The effects last for 5 seconds. For the first 3 seconds after vanishing, damage received and damaging effects will not cancel the Stealth. All Movement Restrictions will also be removed. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    Lu Li almost yelled out in joy. It was actually this skill!


    The Boss of the LV30 Instance Dungeon Scarlet Monastery (Library) at Elite level or higher had a certain chance of dropping the Vanish Skill Book.


    This was an Instance Dungeon that every player would clear every day. If one could obtain a Vanish Skill Book, their entire team would be able to earn a handsome sum by selling it. There were often captains of teams who would take the Skill Book for themselves and immediately leave. Who cared about their reputation when they could sell the Skill Book for so much money!


    Back then, there were around 40 million Thieves in Dawn, but less than 1,000 of them had the Vanish skill!


    Vanish was the symbol of an expert thief. It was viewed in the same way as the Magicians¡¯ Ice Block.


    Evidently, this Skill Book was very valuable.


    However, at the moment, it could only sit around in Lu Li¡¯s bag. If it wasn¡¯t for the LV10 requirement, Lu Li would have learnt it immediately to prevent it from dropping if he died.


    Before Lu Li could take a look at his second Skill Book, he heard a loud yell.


    ¡°Wuu, I finally have Tame Beast, Tame Beast!¡± It was the little Hunter Remnant Dream. She was so excited that she was jumping around and was almost shedding tears of joy.


    Without Tame Beast, Hunters couldn¡¯t obtain pets. No matter how skilled they were, they would never be able to match up to other Hunters or players of other professions. Once a Hunter had their own pets, their strength rose significantly.


    A Hunter with pets was the king of the wilderness!


    In Dawn, apart from armoured professions, Hunters were the best counters to Thieves.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s luck was comparable to Lu Li¡¯s. She had finally obtained the Tame Beast Skill Book that she had been dreaming about.


    ¡°Polymorph.¡± Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t sound too happy.


    ¡°Shield Block. Looks like I really am cut out to be a main tank,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said bitterly.


    ¡°Mortal Strike. It can reduce healing on the target.¡± Seeing that everyone else had declared what skills they had received, Moonlight didn¡¯t hide his either.


    ¡°Revive,¡± March Rain said, with her head tilted up, face beaming with pride. Priests who could Revive were very valuable. Everyone knew how important reviving was to a team.


    ¡°Vanish.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t offer any explanation. He said the name and looked at his other Skill Book.


    [Shadowfiend]: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 5 minutes. Summons a Shadowfiend to attack a target for 15 seconds. When the Shadowfiend successfully attacks the target, the caster will receive 10% of their current MP back. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    Although Tap was just an Explorer, he was an Elite grade NPC who had a name. His rewards were all incredibly generous.

 43 Child of the Fores

    Shadowfiend was an incredibly rare Priest summoning skill.


    Its strength wasn¡¯t in the bit of damage that it could deal, but rather in the effect of the Shadowfiend.


    Every time the Shadowfiend successfully attacked, the caster would regain 10% of their MP. If they were lucky and got in 4 or 5 attacks within those 15 seconds, the Priest would be able to recover around half of their MP.


    With this skill, March Rain¡¯s sustain would be much better, and she wouldn¡¯t have to run off while fighting Bosses to recover her MP.


    Shadowfiend was worth a lot of money and although it couldn¡¯t compare to Lu Li¡¯s Vanish, it was much more valuable than Remnant Dream¡¯s Tame Beast. This sort of skill could ensure continuous healing for a team and many unions would be willing to pay a high price to create a self-sustaining healer.


    Lu Li thought about it for a long time before painfully giving the Skill Book to March Rain.


    He wasn¡¯t a very generous person, but this skill was much too important to March Rain. She had readily joined him when he needed help. He simply couldn¡¯t go and sell the Skill Book secretly.


    ¡°Ah, this skill¡­¡± March Rain was quite smart and immediately worked out how important this skill was to her. She was filled with gratitude and took out her second Skill Book.


    Child of the Forest: Instant Cast. You turn into a cheetah, raising your Movement Speed by 50% and gain the ability to climb at 45 degree angles. Allows you to use all skills available to the Cheetah Transformation. The caster becomes immune to all Polymorph effects and fall damage is reduced. Transforming removes all Movement Restrictions on the caster. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    When Lu Li was selling things at the Moon Shadow Valley, he had explained what Enhanced Skills were to the spectators. The Enhanced Skill for Cheetah Transformation was the Child of the Forest.


    This skill added a bonus 20% Movement Speed to the Cheetah Transformation, as well as the ability to climb at 45 degree angles.


    The Dawn players often called Druids in the Child of the Forest form ¡®Meow People¡¯. This was because they were smaller than normal cheetahs and looked closer to cats. Furthermore, they were so fast that even players with Movement Speed buffs couldn¡¯t catch up to them.


    Druids had great survivability. Although they didn¡¯t fare well in PVP battles, they were adept in running away.


    Despite Lu Li being a Thief, he was still able to learn this skill because of the Supreme One Ring. It was a skill that he had been quite keen to learn.


    The last time he had been wandering around in the Moon Shadow Valley, he saw a player selling a Cheetah Transformation Skill Book for 5 gold coins. He didn¡¯t even hesitate to buy it, as it was essential to him learning Child of the Forest.


    Seeing them exchange Skill Books, Azure Sea Breeze took out his Skill Books to see if anyone wanted to trade.


    If there was anyone else around, their jaw would have hit the ground. Who in their right mind would gift another person a Skill Book worth tens of thousands of dollars in real life?!


    No one else had any Skill Books of use to Lu Li, so they all exchanged them among themselves. Their sense of camaraderie instantly grew and they truly began to feel like a party.


    The equipment that Lu Li received was actually Steel grade!


    [Death¡¯s Shadow] (Steel): 12-25 Damage, Strength+5, Attack Speed+10%. Level Requirement: LV6. Durability: 32/32.


    Currently, Lu Li had a LV5 Common grade Dagger, as well as the Enchanted Dagger Broodmother¡¯s Kiss.


    [Broodmother¡¯s Kiss] (Steel): 10-22 Damage, Agility+4, Special Effect: Upon successfully attacking a target, there is a chance of the target be poisoned and taking 20 damage per second for 5 seconds. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 30/30.


    Lu Li felt that the Broodmother¡¯s Kiss suited his playing style more and it also had a cool special effect. It had been of great help to him in both Boss battles he had experienced in the wilderness. However, this didn¡¯t mean that Death¡¯s Shadow was inferior to it.


    The Death¡¯s Shadow was more suited for Warrior Thieves, as it had high damage. However, this didn¡¯t mean that Agility Thieves couldn¡¯t use it - after all, it gave a bonus 10% Attack Speed.


    Lu Li unequipped his Common grade Dagger and equipped Death¡¯s Shadow. His Attack Power rose tremendously; this sort of damage was enough to strike terror into the hearts of light-armoured professions. Even a player like Moonlight who used heavy-armour wouldn¡¯t be too confident with facing the current Lu Li.


    No one else had as much as Lu Li. Apart from March Rain who had obtained a Steel grade Magic Staff, the rest of them had only received ¡®top class¡¯ Bronze equipment.


    ¡®Top class¡¯ Bronze equipment wasn¡¯t too bad - many people didn¡¯t even have normal Bronze equipment. Top class Bronze equipment could be sold for around 3 gold coins, worth about $3,000 in the real world. As such, everyone was still quite happy with what they received.


    On the way back, Azure Sea Breeze received a message from the Drizzle Court. They were asking when they would clear the new record and what they would need.


    ¡°We¡¯re not in a rush. No one¡¯s beaten the Blood-red War Flag¡¯s record yet, right? That means their record was achieved with a bit of luck. Next time, we¡¯ll use a different method. Tell them to prepare 3 Magicians with good equipment,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that a melee team would be best?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was a bit surprised by Lu Li¡¯s words.


    By now, practically everyone knew the way to clear the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon. Because melee professions could gain a buff from the brook, they had been greatly sought after for Instance Dungeon teams. On the other hand, the traditionally favoured professions had been completely ignored.


    Near the entrance to the Instance Dungeon, there would always be Magicians begging to join teams. Even if they were accepted, they would be treated with disdain.


    Magicians had never been treated like this before in any game. As such, when they heard that the famous expert was going to take a team of Magicians to break a new record, the Drizzle Court¡¯s Magicians all shed tears of joy. They assembled 3 of their best Magicians with the best equipment and who were all LV7!


    Magicians were the fastest in levelling. One of the most common levelling methods involved a Thief dragging over a large mob of monsters to a Magician, who would cast a Blizzard and annihilate them instantly.


    If it weren¡¯t for there being so many players and so few monsters, there would probably be a few LV10 Magicians by now.


    After escorting the injured Tap back to the village, Lu Li and his party went to find Carolina to complete the quest. It was a pity that this Escort Quest was given to Lu Li alone and none of the others received any EXP or rewards.


    After Lu Li handed in the quest, he was only 10% away from LV7. He was almost the same level as the Magicians from the Drizzle Court and could almost qualify to go on the Player Level Rankings. This was all because of the recent few quests that had given him an enormous amount of EXP.


    Apart from EXP, Carolina also gave him something that looked like a command medallion.


    ¡°Number 17 Administrative Order¡­¡± Apart from these Elvish words, there was nothing else. Looking at this command medallion, Lu Li felt quite confused.


    ¡°What¡¯s this thing? Administrative Order? Are they going to give you a job as an Official?¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he looked at it. He also had no idea what it was.

 44 Guild Upgrade Order

    ¡°Your Excellency, Carolina, please forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is this Number 17 Administrative Order?¡± Lu Li asked as he walked forwards.


    Carolina stroked her White Leopard¡¯s soft fur as she smiled and replied, ¡°In the near future, you will become an important force in fighting back against the Burning Legion. You must unite¡­¡±


    ¡°Guild Upgrade Order!¡± Lu Li immediately understood where this was going.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had never seen this item before. The players had given this item a different name, so he didn¡¯t immediately recognise it. This was what was called a ¡®Guild Upgrade Order¡¯.


    The requirements for establishing an official guild in Dawn were not too high: 20 gold coins. Sooner or later, as long as the members worked together, they would be able to officially establish their guild. When a guild was first established, it would be LV1 with a capacity 1,000 people. The only way to improve the guild was to upgrade it.


    Not only could upgrading increase the number of players, but it also gave special effects. For example, a LV2 guild gave its members an extra 5% EXP, while a LV5 reduced the 30 minute cooldown for players¡¯ hearthstones.


    Upgrading a guild wasn¡¯t actually very difficult. As long as a guild could gather the required materials and present them to the Administrative Hall, it could be upgraded.


    As well as this, there were also some special items, such as the Number 17 Administrative Order, that could upgrade a guild. These were called ¡®Guild Upgrade Orders¡¯ by players.


    All Administrative Orders with the number ¡®7¡¯, such as 7, 17, 27, 37, were all related to guilds. For example, the Number 7 Administrative Order allowed one to establish a guild for free. The number 17 Administrative Order allowed one to upgrade a guild to LV2.


    After levelling up to LV2, the guild could spend 5 gold coins and unlock the special effect, which would allow all members to gain a bonus 5% EXP.


    This 5% made a massive difference - it was extremely attractive to levelling maniacs and experts.


    If a guild wanted to recruit people, all they would have to do was yell ¡°We¡¯re looking for experts; we have a 5% EXP bonus!¡± Soon, there would be many experts signing up.


    Currently, all guilds were only LV1!


    ¡°Sea Breeze, contact the heads of the large unions. Tell them that we have an item that can instantly upgrade their guild to LV2. We¡¯ll do an auction at night at the Moon Shadow Valley,¡± Lu Li said while grinning. ¡°We¡¯ve struck it rich! We¡¯ll share the profits equally when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°Is it worth a lot?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was also quite excited.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Moonlight interrupted, ¡°Look, I helped you with your quest, so me receiving some equipment and Skill Books was fair. However, what I gained in this trip was far more than I had expected, so I don¡¯t think that I should take any of that money.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need any either,¡± Remnant Dream quickly said as well, ¡°I really don¡¯t know what I should say. My equipment is bad, my level is low and I¡¯m not very skilled. Normally, no one¡¯s willing to train with me, and yet you took me to fight a Boss. I even received a Steel grade piece of equipment and lots of Bronze equipment. There¡¯s also those 2 Skill Books, one of which is the Tame Beast skill. I already feel bad about taking all that, so I really can¡¯t take any more.¡±


    It was quite rare for the shy girl who usually stuttered when she spoke to say so much at once.


    Lonesome Flower and March Rain also shook their heads, expressing that they didn¡¯t want to take any of the money either.


    ¡°Why are you all looking at me? I didn¡¯t say I wanted any money. I was just curious as to how much this little command medallion could sell for,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, feeling wronged.


    ¡°How much it could sell for¡­¡± Lu Li thought for a while before saying, ¡°It should be worth at least 50 gold coins. Are you sure you don¡¯t want any?¡±


    ¡°So much money!¡± Everyone drew in a breath of air.


    Although the money was enticing, the rest of the party were all determined not to take any of it.


    Lu Li felt quite emotional and was finally able to put away his worries. He had been keenly observing his party members the entire trip and had concluded that they were all good people. In the future, when he made a Permanent Party, he would definitely consider them all.


    ¡°Did you guys know that there¡¯s a patch next Monday?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Of course. Since it¡¯s the first patch, there¡¯ll probably be a lot of changes,¡± Lonesome Flower said.


    ¡°There¡¯s a little secret I want to share with you all. You know how the official website was encouraging players to give feedback and report any issues¡­¡± Lu Li said.


    Azure Sea Breeze couldn¡¯t help but interrupt, ¡°We know about this. Pretty much every game encourages feedback, but in reality, they never implement any of those suggestions. I feel that at the very most, they might increase drop rates and EXP.¡±


    ¡°They probably won¡¯t change the drop rates and EXP in Dawn, but they really are sincerely asking players for feedback and to report issues,¡± Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    ¡°Any rewards?¡± Moonlight suddenly asked.


    This was expected from a seasoned player. He had picked up on the fact that Lu Li hadn¡¯t mentioned this so everyone could complain about the game company.


    ¡°Bonus EXP.¡± Lu Li was surprisingly calm. ¡°As long as you give a good piece of feedback or raise an important issue they¡¯ll give you quite a bit of EXP, even if someone else has already mentioned it¡­¡±


    As soon as Azure Sea Breeze heard Lu Li say this, his expression became completely serious. If they really gave quite a bit of EXP, then this might be worth it.


    ¡°What sort of feedback are they looking for?¡± Lonesome Flower was quite frustrated. He was always complaining about some aspect of the game, but he wasn¡¯t sure how to suggest improvements.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you some examples. Everyone think about it individually as well - we¡¯ll collate our answers tomorrow so that we can all give a lot of feedback. After all, the company said that it didn¡¯t matter if other players also raised the same things.¡± Lu Li then provided some examples of changes he had seen in his ¡®past life¡¯.


    For example, there was creating an Auction Hall, creating more stalls and markets in towns and cities, players being able to see the stats and attributes of items and equipment in the Trade Window, etc.


    More examples included increasing Proficiency gain rate, fixing the Hit calculation for Automatic mode players, adding more NPCs who could teach Trade Skills, adding weather effects that could affect battles¡­


    The other¡¯s eyes all clouded over and they even started to suspect whether Lu Li was an employee of the game company.


    ¡°You guys should find some other people and clear the Elite level Instance Dungeon a few times. I¡¯ll give you the complete guide in a bit. Azure Sea Breeze and I are going to help Drizzle Court clear a new record, so we¡¯ll have to part with you guys now.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t bother to check how much his teammates had remembered: telling them this much was already more than enough.


    The other people were still absorbing what Lu Li had said. They didn¡¯t feel as though that Lu Li saying that he would create a new record was very surprising and they all said their goodbyes.


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze organised their equipment and items and met up with the Drizzle Court¡¯s 3 Magicians, preparing to break a new record for the Instance Dungeon.

 45 What Kind of Experts Are These?

    On the same day that Lu Li had achieved the first clear of the Elite Spider Lair, Azure Sea Breeze sold the strategy to Blood Red War Flag. Blood Red War Flag then sent out their elite teams under the godlike leadership of Indifference in Dawn and shortened the record to 1 hour 12 minutes and 32 seconds.


    This record was created yesterday and given that most players had only levelled up once since then, no one had beaten the record yet.


    Now Drizzle Court had invited Lu Li to set a new record, at the price of 3 Jade Spider Webs and all the loot in the Instance Dungeon.


    There were two types of public dungeons in Dawn, those that were open to everyone and those in a restricted area that required a payment before entering. The Spider Lair was in the Whispering Forest, an area where everyone could enter.


    The three mages from Drizzle Court, Lin, Ling and Beautiful Moonlight, were standing by the transmission area, waiting for Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze. Someone who had money obviously wouldn¡¯t need to save the few copper coins required for transmission.


    Among the three of them, Lin and Ling looked exactly the same: they were both twins. This was the first time Lu Li had seen twins in a video game and it was a strange sight.


    These three Mages were all at level 7, making Lu Li the lowest level member of the party. He was still 10% of EXP bar away from reaching level 7.


    The highest level was Azure Sea Breeze, as he was only a few monsters away from reaching level 8.


    ¡°Is it alright to not have a healer? Stopping to drink pots is a waste of time,¡± Beautiful Moonlight asked.


    ¡°In order to break a record like this, there an aspect of luck, but it is also important to shorten the time taken to do things wherever you can,¡± Lu Li said affirmatively, ¡°We won¡¯t be needing a Healer for this round.¡±


    Since Lu Li insisted, no one else protested. Beautiful Moonlight seemed to be high-ranking within the Drizzle Court, as she immediately added Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze to the guild.


    If all members of the party were from the same guild, the System Announcement would broadcast the name of the guild. The reason that Drizzle Court wanted the record was for this advertisement.


    ¡°Have any of you learnt crowd control skills?¡± Lu Li asked.


    All three of them shook their heads, with a look of shame on their faces.


    The point of Mages in Dawn was for Area of Effect attacks. Blizzard was one of the skills that a Mage could learn, which enabled them to attack large groups. However, Area of Effect crowd-control skills were gained based on luck.


    If Mages were all capable of area attacks and area crowd control, why would anyone bother playing the other classes?


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, you guys just have to manage your damage. Don¡¯t worry about not having an off-tank; Sea Breeze¡¯s skills and equips are good enough. Even if you guys wanted to play off-tank you couldn¡¯t,¡± Lu Li spoke the truth, but the girls were offended and secretly talked amongst themselves. They vowed to give it their all to deal as much damage as possible.


    After entering the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li asked for the rewards of his services.


    ¡°We always pay our debts.¡± Beautiful Moonlight was angered.


    Female gamers were no longer a rarity, but in the virtual world, everyone appeared like their real selves. A beautiful woman like her, one who was part of a top ten nationwide union ¨C Drizzle Court, would never have been questioned like this before.


    ¡°I can¡¯t relax until I¡¯ve got it in my hands,¡± Lu Li spoke plainly and without thought.


    Beautiful Moonlight traded the three Jade Spider Webs to Lu Li, who internally breathed a long sigh of relief. When he was doing the first clear, he had received one Spider Web. The Grand Hegemony had then given him another and Azure Sea Breeze had given him 4 more. Now, with an additional three, he had nine spider webs in total.


    He needed 7 to upgrade his Ring and 2 to study the Trade Skill. This was perfect!


    ¡°Make sure you bring enough potions, but control your mana consumption. Try to minimize your time spent taking potions.¡± Lu Li was formally giving out orders, ¡°You don¡¯t need to carry too many HP potions; everyone should only need 3. Trade the rest to Sea Breeze, as we don¡¯t have a healer¡­¡±


    You said we didn¡¯t need a Healer, but now you¡¯re using it as a reason to take our HP potions?


    The girl¡¯s hearts were indignant, but for the sake of the record, they gave Azure Sea Breeze the potions.


    If they really were a big guild, then someone must have learnt how to make potions already, which meant that they would have extra potions. Azure Sea Breeze grinned from ear to ear and Lu Li also kept some of the potions for himself, for safety purposes.


    ¡°Follow at the back, but don¡¯t attack anything. Let me pull them together before you begin.¡± Lu Li¡¯s first decision almost shocked them to the point of crying.


    How long would it take to pull them all together?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind them, baiting the 2 little monsters by the entrance and taking them deep into the Instance Dungeon.


    At the entrance of the brook, there were a total of 4 waves of 8 monsters. Lu Li pulled them to the entrance of the brook and signaled Azure Sea breeze to draw aggro.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately charged into the group of monsters and cast Taunt, successfully drawing aggro of the 8 monsters.


    After being hit a few times, the nervous Azure Sea Breeze felt calm. He had barely lost any HP and didn¡¯t even need to take a potion.


    He hadn¡¯t considered his current level or equipment; he had only been thinking of when he had come.


    The three Mages had decent skills; when they saw that aggro had been drawn, they immediately cast Blizzard into the group of monsters.


    Attacking large groups like this felt good and was much more satisfying than only using blades.


    Of course, one or two Mages would be unable to achieve this effect. Furthermore, only Lu Li would dare to not bring a Healer into an Instance Dungeon. However, because of that, the Blizzard skill could be used to its highest potential.


    When he noticed that the aggro was fading, Azure Sea Breeze would take the opportunity to attack the monsters or cast Shieldstrike. If that didn¡¯t work, he would use Trample: a strong aggro drawing skill.


    The Trample skill book was traded to him by Remnant Dream and drew the aggro of a crowd, making it an essential skill for a Main Tank.


    Azure Sea Breeze had an unusual talent for PVE; this aggro drawing technique could be shown in big guilds as a tutorial video.


    It would normally take quite a few minutes to clear the four waves of monsters, but they had completed this task in just over a minute.The three Mages finally believed that Lu Li was here to beat the record and not to steal their potions.


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze soaked their weapons to gain the attack buff and pressed on.


    From the Brook to the first Boss, there were 6 waves of monsters, with a total of 16 monsters and 4 elites. Lu Li didn¡¯t worry too much; it didn¡¯t matter how many monsters there were. He continued to pull them all together and soon reached the boss.


    ¡°He¡¯s not thinking about pulling the Boss into the group as well is he?¡± Beautiful Moonlight¡¯s voice trembled.


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much; if we included the Boss we wouldn¡¯t be able to fight it. Big brother is a tactical mastermind,¡± Azure Sea Breeze smiled complacently. He charged ahead before Lu Li gave the instruction to, stopping just in front of the crowd of monsters that Lu Li was leading.


    ¡°Move around while you aggro them. Everyone else don¡¯t worry and attack it with all you¡¯ve got.¡± Lu Li waited for Azure Sea Breeze to draw aggro, then went behind the monsters. He didn¡¯t kill any of them, instead gaining enough combo points for his Ultimate Skill before moving on.


    The 4 Elites were his main targets. While he was attacking, at least one of the Elites would be under the effects of crowd control.


    Azure Sea Breeze persistently pulled the group around, carefully stepping backwards while making sure the Elites weren¡¯t hitting him. Even though his HP was steadily reducing, he always kept it above half and was never affected by potion resistance.


    The crowd of alarmed spiders seemed to quickly fall before the players. Beautiful Moonlight and the two others discovered that they had all simultaneously fallen.


    Thinking back, that was probably why Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li had kept changing targets.


    Without thinking about how surprised they were, the two helpers quickly picked up two Bronze equips and some materials that had dropped.


    Now they were heading towards the boss, but Azure Sea Breeze was only at half HP!

 46 Breaking The Record

    Is he crazy?


    Of course not!


    In fact, the person who had started the attack wasn¡¯t Azure Sea Breeze, but Lu Li.


    A LV5 Boss facing a LV7 Thief was unable to block much of the crowd control. With one Cheap Shot and a Shadowstrike at 85% Skill Completion, the Boss was stunned for 6 seconds!


    Lu Li was then hit 4 to 5 times and lost a third of his health. He drank a potion, allowing him to withstand another two hits without dying. Azure Sea Breeze then cast Taunt, causing the Boss to give up on the Thief that was about to die and start hitting the Defence Warrior that was at full HP!


    The three Mages from Drizzle Court were firing Ice Arrows at the Boss while dealing with inquiries from the higher-ups in the union.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. I have no reason to lie to you, President. We are fighting the first Boss now. The monsters before this? They were split into two groups and cleared out. The Main Tank is very strong. Who is stronger? The Main Tank or the Thief? I think the Thief is a little stronger; his damage is so high. He just stunned the Boss again; I don¡¯t know how he has so much crowd control. Oh, that¡¯s right, he also has armour piercing which has affected the boss¡­¡±


    ¡°The minions have been summoned, President, but there¡¯s no need to hide. Once the Main Tank stomps, all of them are stunned and after the three of us cast Blizzard, there isn¡¯t a single one left behind¡­¡±


    ¡°The Boss is at half HP, yeah, it¡¯s being done without a healer. The Thief and Main Tank are taking turns healing and tanking damage¡­ the minions are back¡­ now they¡¯re dead¡­ the Boss just went berserk¡­ the Boss is dead.¡±


    Six minutes!


    It had taken more than ten minutes to deal with the Boss last time. With four DPS characters and one powerful Main Tank, it had only taken six minutes to kill it. It could only use its signature move, the little explosive spiders, twice.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. You guys eat some bread to recover. Find a good spot and I¡¯ll pull the monsters over.¡± Lu Li restored some HP, before going back to luring the monsters.


    The monsters were still spiders, but each wave now consisted of two Elites and two ordinary ones. The move speed of the Elites were slightly higher and some of them accelerated really quickly. Once Lu Li left the three Mage¡¯s field of view, he turned into a small yellow leopard.


    This wasn¡¯t his first time transforming, as had previously played as a Druid. The rocky and uneven terrain was no problem for him and soon, he was drawing more and more monsters within the Instance Dungeon.


    The little Leopard¡¯s move speed was 30% faster than usual; this was unnaturally fast. Even if the Elite monster quickly accelerated, all they could reach was dust. However Lu Li didn¡¯t want to lose the aggro of the monsters lagging behind, so he regularly turned back towards the crowd.


    In total, there 13 waves with 52 monsters altogether and half of them were Elites. There was no way that Azure Sea Breeze could tank all this.


    As planned for earlier, there was a cavern in the Instance Dungeon that had partially collapsed, leaving behind a narrow alley. Azure Sea Breeze was already there in position and the three Mages stood behind him ready to cast their skills.


    A small yellow leopard then brought a large group of spiders over from the distance, like flash of lightning.


    The girls stared, dumbfounded by the leopard that ran past Azure Sea Breeze and stopped before them. There was a flash of light as it transformed back into Lu Li.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ so cute¡­¡± said Lin.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ a ghost¡­¡± Ling nervously remarked.


    ¡°Lu Li¡­ you¡­¡± stuttered Beautiful Moonlight, was also frightened silly.


    Who could explain what just happened? They thought that he was a Thief, as he was using Thief skills and techniques. If anyone had tried to tell them otherwise, they would have cut them to shreds.


    But this Thief had suddenly transformed into a small leopard, which was a transformation skill that belonged to Druids.


    They were utterly dumbfounded. Beautiful Moonlight secretly took out a Priest skill book, ¡®Quick Heal¡¯, and attempted to study it.


    System: Sorry, you are not a Priest, skill learning failed.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a special item from this Instance Dungeon,¡± Lu Li sighed. ¡°What are you guys gawking at? Can¡¯t you see that Sea Breeze has drawn aggro? Quickly attack!¡±


    Yes, it¡¯s a special item, it must be a special item!


    Beautiful Moonlight¡¯s gloominess was suddenly filled with joy, as she imagined hearing elves everywhere showering her in glory¡­


    Azure Sea Breeze served as a blockade, standing before the group of monsters with Lu Li beside him. There was only a maximum of 4 monsters that could attack them at once. The three Mages blotted out the sky with Blizzards and their HP values rapidly decreased.


    In just two minutes, the only monsters left alive were the 78 Elites, each with only a sliver of health left.


    ¡°You guys continue. I¡¯ll go ahead to deal with the guards.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t wait to finish off this wave, instead going straight ahead.


    By the time Azure Sea Breeze and the rest had finished and rushed over, the second Boss of the Spider Lair, Mandelin, only had 5 guards remaining. Three corpses lay at Lu Li¡¯s feet.


    ¡°I¡¯ll draw them over and we¡¯ll clear them out in one go.¡±


    Lu Li lifted his hand and the guards immediately rushed over, eyes red.


    But of course, death was the only thing waiting for them.


    The Boss was no exception.


    Mandelin had no idea why it existed¡ª it would forever be recorded in Dawn¡¯s history as one who was utterly humiliated.


    System: Under the leadership of Lu Li, Drizzle Court¡¯s guild members Azure Sea Breeze, Beautiful Moonlight, Lin and Ling have broken the record of the Spider Lair (Elite) Instance Dungeon. Current record time: 32 Minutes 45 Seconds!


    The record that Blood Red War Flag had set of 1 Hour 12 Minutes and 32 Seconds had been cut down by more than half!


    Lu Li could proudly say that unless someone knew his strategy, or was abnormally over-equipped with Steel equipment, there was no way that his record would be broken. Even if it was, it would not be by much.


    In Dawn Instance Dungeons, players who were 5 levels higher could not participate in setting records. After 10 levels the dungeon would no longer drop equipment, and after 20 levels, they would not be allowed to enter.


    In his previous life, the fastest record of this Instance Dungeon was 29 minutes. This was achieved by four Hall of Fame players working together.


    These Hall of Fame players were all the best in their field, ranging from PVE experts with the title of the most first clears, or PVP experts whose very names would cause people to tremble, like Moonlight.


    Water Fairy was also a Hall of Fame player, but she was in there for her beauty. This meant that her skill alone was not enough to put her in the Hall of Fame.

 47 Boosting

    ¡°Uh¡­. Our President has a question.¡± After recovering from their surprise, the three Mages no longer meant any disrespect to Lu Li and asked very carefully, ¡°Will you break this record again, if another Union pays a higher price?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± Lu Li replied succinctly and touched his heart to vouch for it, not mentioning that one day the record would be broken again. For some reason, Beautiful Moonlight unquestioningly accepted what he said. In this world, there were people that didn¡¯t lie, not because they were morally righteous, but because they felt as though lying was beneath them.


    As per the agreement, all the rewards in this Instance Dungeon were to be given to Lu Li. After that conversation, the three Mages said their thanks and left the Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°The first Boss dropped Plate Armour for a Main Tank, so I¡¯ll take that. You can take whatever was dropped by this Boss.¡± Azure Sea Breeze looted the corpse and found a hammer.


    Mandelin¡¯s Redemption (Steel): Damage 8-16, Strength +4, Healing Effect +25, Level requirement 5, Durability 25/25.


    This hammer¡¯s damage wasn¡¯t¡¯ very high, but because of the +25 Healing Effect, it was a very good one-handed Healer weapon. Healers weren¡¯t concerned with damage anyway.


    ¡°Good,¡± Lu Li threw the equip into his bag to be sold in the evening.


    ¡°The minions dropped 3 Bronze equips. Both Bosses dropped two each and there is an additional one for breaking the record. You can go sell them. There were 2 rare materials dropped as well, but unfortunately, they weren¡¯t Jade Spider Webs.¡± Azure Sea Breeze handed all the equips to Lu Li.


    ¡°I¡¯ll split the money after I sell them; we beat this Instance Dungeon together,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Sure, but I¡¯ll just take a third since the strategy was yours. You don¡¯t need to be polite with me.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was insistent on his share.


    Lu Li indulged him. After leaving the Instance Dungeon, he asked Moonlight how they were going in the same Instance Dungeon. They had only just beaten the first Boss.


    The two of them spent some time idling, before Azure Sea Breeze suggested that they do the regular difficulty Spider Lair. At their current level, they could take 2-3 players in without affecting the entry conditions.


    Lu Li needed money, so he didn¡¯t refuse.


    ¡°Expert players to boost in the Spider Lair at regular difficulty! One gold coin for entry, equips will be calculated separately. First come first serve,¡± Azure Sea Breeze roared and immediately was surrounded by players.


    Just because Lu Li had earned some gold didn¡¯t mean that regular players were able to as easily. In reality, a gold coin was no small amount; most players were unable to even afford that.


    There were countless gold collection members, but all of their gold was given to their respective unions. These gold collection members were simply unable to afford the $30,000 helmet. All they could do was continue waiting and hope that the game helmets would become cheap enough to afford.


    After finding out that this was a fixed price, those without money quickly dispersed, leaving behind the players who had a few gold coins in their bags.


    These people slowly earned their money in this game, one silver coin at a time.


    ¡°Take me, I¡¯m a level 4 Mage, I¡¯m even able to help out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a Warlock that¡¯s already level 5. If there are any Bronze equips, I will definitely buy them. Take me.¡±


    ¡°Level 5 Hunter, I already have 2 Bronze equips on me. I¡¯m very strong, so please take me through the Spider Lair. Brother please just once okay?¡±


    Who said that earning gold was hard? All these people were willing to give up a gold coin for an ordinary level Spider Lair. They were even making all sorts of promises¡­


    ¡°You know, this is your fault,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said quietly.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lu Li was bewildered.


    ¡°Because you made that strategy, all the parties who enter the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon want close-range DPS members. Magic and Ranged players can¡¯t find a party. Even for public parties, only a small portion of Magic and Ranged players are able to enter.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Lu Li blushed with shame, ¡°This is the game company¡¯s fault, nothing to do with me.¡±


    ¡°My guess is that next week¡¯s new players will mostly choose close combat occupations. I don¡¯t know what the game company will think about that,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°Relax, they aren¡¯t going to be replaced,¡± Lu Li shook his head and started a party.


    Lovable Bookworm has been added to the party.


    Xx has been added to the party.


    King has been added to the party.


    Two Mages and a Warlock. All of them were of the Magic Occupation.


    ¡°Pay first. When the items are dropped, there will be an auction between the three of you. The starting price of each Bronze equip will be 20 Silver. Common equips will be rolled for between the three of you and all the materials will be taken by me,¡± Lu Li said straightforwardly while entering the Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°We don¡¯t even know if we can complete this Instance Dungeon.¡± King put on a long face, thinking he had been deceived. He thought that this was some kind of fraud, as there were three clearly rich people in this group. They didn¡¯t even have a healer.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Brothers, please don¡¯t trick us. We¡¯ve all spent money on this game, so our skills are pretty average. We can¡¯t keep up with your non-healing attack team,¡± Loveable Bookworm said.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re free to leave. No one is forcing you to come,¡± Lu Li explained lazily.


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± the other Mage xx suddenly called out, ¡°You¡¯re Lu Li, the one who got a couple of first clears and just set a new record. That Lu Li?¡±


    ¡°Yep, any other questions?¡± He didn¡¯t think his fame would have this kind of use.


    ¡°Of course not.¡± The three of them quickly traded a gold coin to Lu Li, in fear that if they too were slow, they would be kicked out of the group.


    So, this ordinary looking Thief was Lu Li: Dawn¡¯s most regarded player. Unfortunately, the expectations that they had of Lu Li were bound to fail.


    Other than his deep eyes, this person didn¡¯t really have the appearance of an idol.


    ¡°How do we do this?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    Lu Li knew what he was asking; he wanted to know if they were going use the same record-breaking strategy. The ordinary difficulty was much easier than Elite, so even without the help of three strong mages, Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li could easily clear the monsters.


    ¡°Just do whatever and push to the end. If you guys want to fight, then hit whatever you want. If you don¡¯t want, you can also just follow.¡± Lu Li had absolutely no faith that the other members were able to properly DPS. They would probably unleash all of their damage on a single small monster.


    Azure Sea Breeze shrugged and cast Charge, successfully drawing the aggro of a little monster. He hit it as he lured it, ignoring the other one on Lu Li¡¯s side. The three members looked at each other and decided to help.


    To improve one¡¯s skill requires immense practice. After performing well in front of an expert, maybe you too would be able to attain First Clears or break records.


    The regular Instance Dungeon¡¯s chance of dropping Bronze equips was much smaller: the waves before the first Boss didn¡¯t drop anything. Once the first Boss was dead, a Bronze Magic Cloth Armour was found.


    The three Magic players fought over it and eventually sold it for 50 silver coins.


    They really were tycoons. For a piece of Bronze equipment, they were willing to pay several hundred real dollars. Lu Li¡¯s backpack actually contained several Bronze equips at the moment.


    Before fighting the second Boss, an Elite monster dropped a Magic Belt which sold for 60 silver. It was too bad that the last Boss¡¯ two Bronze drops were not what the members were looking for. Instead, they went straight into Lu Li¡¯s bag.


    All this took no longer than 50 minutes, which was more efficient than a random party. The members were mostly content and Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze received 3 gold for their boosting fee. They had also managed to sell over 1 gold¡¯s worth of dropped equips, in addition to the two Bronze equips. In total, their profits were about 5 gold.


    Lu Li looked at the gold price on the trading platform. Currently, it was 1 to 800. They had earned $4000 in a single boosting service.


    In reality, boosting wasn¡¯t very profitable. Strong teams could only take 1 person at a time and there was a chance that they would not even succeed. Only someone like Lu Li could take three at a time while clearing it faster than a normal team.


    Two of the members wanted to continue farming, so Lu Li found one more person and did it again. This time, the income was slightly less, but still totaled 4 gold.


    After the second round, there was not much time left. Lu Li was LV7 at 60% exp while Azure Sea Breeze had already hit LV8. They met up with Moonlight who had just finished the Elite Instance Dungeon and went to the plaza together.


    Lu Li was going to sell the Guild Upgrade Order and a Steel Weapon, in addition to the pile of Bronze equips.

 48 Still Short of Money

    If it was the Number 7 Administrative Order (the one that was used to establish a guild), it wouldn¡¯t sell for much money. A LV1 guild only needed 20 gold coins, but could only accommodate 1000 people. Most guilds couldn¡¯t even fit their own members, let alone begin recruiting more.


    However, the Number 17 Order was different: this could double a guild¡¯s member limit to a maximum of 2000 members. This allowed them to accept many more people.


    After finding out that Moon Shadow Valley was hosting an auction for a guild level-up, many guilds had sent out their representatives. Even players from Evil Faction guilds would pay attention to this.


    Inter-faction transactions were prohibited in Dawn, but this didn¡¯t mean that items could not circulate between them. The next update would include a Black Market, but an alternative was to kill another player and take the dropped items.


    ¡°He¡¯s coming, Lu Li is coming, and he¡¯s coming to sell equipment.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of equipment will be there today, but I have exchanged money for 2 gold.¡±


    ¡°You dare show off with only 2 gold coins? I exchanged 9 gold in one go.¡±


    ¡°Haha, some idiots bought from the stall I set up. I bought gold for 800 in the morning and sold it for 1000 at night. For some reason, people are buying. I¡¯ve made over $2000 this way.¡±


    ¡­..


    As night fell, Lu Li set up his stall. He priced the Bronze equipment at 20 silver each, except for the especially good ones which were set at 50 silver coins. There were 14-15 people just waiting around to quickly pick some stuff up.


    ¡°A Steel Hammer for a Healer Priest, Paladin or Shaman is available. There¡¯s also a Guild Upgrade Order, which shouldn¡¯t need explaining. These two items will be auctioned together, with a starting price of 1 gold. Please place your bids. If you want to use real world currency, you will need to pay an additional 20% on top of the normal exchange rate.¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t particularly good at auctioning, but this was absolutely a seller¡¯s market. There was no worry that it wouldn¡¯t be sold.


    The players looked at each other in dismay, trying to work out how much their opponents could pay.


    Currently, the most valuable equips were for Main Tanks, followed by Healing and DPS. An item that increased Healing caused a great deal of excitement amongst the people.


    Of course, a single Steel item was not enough to attract the big Guilds¡¯ attention. These guilds had been sending parties to complete the Elite Spider Lair every day, acquiring at least 1-2 Steel equips per day in the process. However, the needs of the Guild were too great, so they would never sell them.


    ¡°5 gold.¡± The bidding had begun.


    Suddenly, the price was five times more, but this didn¡¯t mean that this person was rich. Everyone knew that the starting price of 1 gold was a joke.


    ¡°10 gold.¡± Since the bidding had started, some compulsively felt that they had to bid, regardless of the outcome. Even if they couldn¡¯t get it, they could take peace in the fact that someone else had to pay even more for it.


    Needless to say, this dark, human mentality tremendously helped Lu Li.


    From then on, the bids came continuously and the price kept rising until it was at 30 gold. After this point, only the large guilds remained.


    The first guild that levelled up would be a target for the others. If they weren¡¯t strong enough, the losses wouldn¡¯t be worth it. Only those guilds who were in the national top 100 would be able to put the reputation of ¡®first guild to level-up¡¯ to good use.


    ¡°It¡¯s 30 gold, but it doesn¡¯t cost much more than 20 gold to upgrade your guild. Everyone, please relax.¡± What the guilds required for an upgrade was stone, lumber and gems. It would be cheaper to send members to harvest these materials. However, if they were to buy them from the market, there was no way they would be able to obtain these all for 20 gold.


    ¡°Get out of here. If we relax then you¡¯ll get it. 40 gold: we the Iron Blood Brothers want this today,¡± a player called out loudly.


    ¡°Iron Blood Brothers? What nonsense, does Glory Capital take us to be fools? Extending so far from the Evil Faction, you should watch yourselves.¡± Iron Blood Brothers sounded like Blood Red War Flag, because their names were closely related. But in reality, this was the Blood Red War Flag¡¯s greatest competitor, Glory Capital, masquerading as a Light Faction guild.


    Dawn was an online game, and there would always be leaks of information. As such, players had already known this for a long time.


    ¡°Blood Red War Flag bids 80 gold. If the Iron Blood Brothers dare to bid again, we will ensure that your guild members will never be able to leave the safe area,¡± a Night Elf Druid said with a stern voice, pointing directly at the person who just bid. His tone and action reinforced the threat.


    Lu Li¡¯s brow furrowed, but he still hadn¡¯t said anything. Although Blood Red War Flag¡¯s representative was a little much, he was sincere. He had doubled the price, which was way higher than he had envisioned.


    A virtual good that sold for 100,000 was very rare.


    As expected, after Blood Red War Flag placed their bid, no one further bids were placed.


    This guild was third in the nation, but their strength was incredible. They were able to go toe-to-toe with the rank 1 Glory Capital for years without collapsing and were also able to defeat the rank 2 Gangnam Royals. There weren¡¯t many people who dared to mess with them.


    Lu Li suddenly realized a drawback to these kinds of auctions. If guilds like Blood Red War Flag made such massive bids, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sell these items for ridiculous prices. However, this wasn¡¯t that big of a problem, as the next update would introduce online and allow all players to participate.


    After giving Azure Sea Breeze his portion, Lu Li still had 20 gold on hand and the $80,000 that Blood Red War Flag transferred to him.


    Blood Red War Flag didn¡¯t have 80 gold, so they had to transfer real money instead. Today, the exchange rate was fluctuating at around 800. After adding on the additional 20%, the total amount came to $80,000.


    Lu Li thought for a while and decided not to exchange the gold he had.


    Next Monday¡¯s update would introduce online trading. Chances are, there would be some uninformed players who would trade rare items away as worthless. Knowing what would happen in the coming 2-3 years meant that Lu Li could pick up some of these items with ease.


    Lu Li had planned to send the $60,000 penalty fee tomorrow. At first, he couldn¡¯t afford a game helmet, but with the portion of money that he had made and the promise of 20 gold per day, the Star Moon Union had sent a game helmet straight to him.


    After that, everyone had become angry when Lu Li rejected the offer to turn in the 20 gold for that week. As a penalty, he needed to pay double of what the helmet cost, which was $60,000.


    This seemingly impossible quest had now been excessively completed.


    After giving up $60,000, he still had $30,000 that he urgently needed to use.


    Due to the popularization of intelligence, society¡¯s demand for skilled laborers grew smaller and smaller. At some point and in some way, the government would downplay the importance of compulsory education, forcing the people to spend a lot of money to enjoy a more ¡®lasting¡¯ education.


    In the slum area where Lu Li went to school, there were two middle schools. One catered for compulsory education, which allowed for entry at a very small fee. The percentage of graduates from this school going into high school was 0%, but the other school wasn¡¯t much better. There were only a handful of students that could make it into high school every year. This was the school Lu Xin went to. It cost 10,000 every year and most attendees were recipients of social welfare.


    But now that the Lu siblings had moved out, they didn¡¯t need to go to the slum area schools any more.


    Lu Li had taken a liking to the suburban area¡¯s best school, which naturally was the most expensive.


    After checking the website, he found that the second half of the school year cost $30,000. Adding up all the additional costs, Lu Li worked out that the total cost would be $100,000 per year. This was the cost of a typical high-class school. Even people in the working-class area may not have been able to afford this, let alone slum-area residents.


    There were also the 2, 3 and 7 middle schools which were close to the university as well. These were significantly cheaper, particularly the 7 middle school. This was the first choice of the working-class residents. However, he wanted the best for his little sister, so these average schools weren¡¯t worthy in his eyes.


    He needed to start the formal transfer between schools next Monday, so this $30,000 would be used for that.


    Finally, Lu Li had also planned to bring his little sister to a hospital for a full body check.


    Just like that, the $100,000 that Lu Li worked so hard to earn was used up. There was not much left.


    He was still short of money!

 49 Great Gods Group

    After the auction ended, Lu Li went to the Moon Reflection Lake to open another three treasure chests, then logged off and went to sleep.


    The next day, when Lu Li logged on, he immediately received a message from Moonlight.


    The message was short and simple: let¡¯s fight.


    Lu Li was happy to be able to fight and train against someone else, so he did not refuse. He had been waiting for an opportunity like this.


    Although Azure Sea Breeze was an expert, he was better suited for PVE. He was strong in Instance Dungeons, but was not a very powerful PVP opponent. In Lu Li¡¯s ¡®past life¡¯ as a Druid, Azure Sea Breeze lost more challenges against him than he won.


    However, Moonlight was different - he was one a PVP master.


    The place they decided on was fairly remote and the land was quite flat. There weren¡¯t any monsters or any forests, so many players chose to fight here.


    Moonlight was currently trying out one of his skills. He gently waved his Axe, testing different angles and trajectories.


    For melee professions, PVP wasn¡¯t just about positioning, but was also about attacking style. This meant figuring out a way that could render their opponent defenceless, while attaining a high level of Skill Completion. Everyone had their own techniques and Moonlight had been pondering on what sort of path he should take. He was uncertain as to whether he should continue with the strange and tricky style, or the unrestrained and direct style.


    After hanging out with Lu Li for a few days, he had received some inspiration.


    As such, he wanted to fight with Lu Li to confirm what he had been thinking.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± While deep in thought, Moonlight suddenly heard a rustle and instinctively ducked down.


    Damnit, it was a Thief!


    Lu Li!


    However, the danger had not passed. The Dagger¡¯s trajectory changed and stabbed into the back of his head.


    Cheap Shot successful!


    Being hit with a successful Cheap Shot by a Thief with Steel grade equipment would mean instant death for most people.


    Luckily, Moonlight was a Warrior and also had quite a few good pieces of equipment.


    After recovering from the stun, Moonlight whirled his Axe and successfully parried Lu Li¡¯s Ultimate Skill, Backhand Backstab. Had he not parried this, the fight would have been over.


    After receiving the system announcement that his skill had failed, Lu Li did not panic. His Dagger twirled and left a few cuts on Moonlight¡¯s waist.


    His movement was incredibly complex and relied on his superior Movement Speed. He always tried to position himself behind or to the side of Moonlight. His attacks were also lightning fast and although he couldn¡¯t deal as much damage, he had a significant advantage in the number of attacks he could deal.


    Moonlight roared and started to spin.


    Whirlwind!


    Lu Li took 2 blows and lost about 20% HP. He hurriedly turned and retreated.


    After escaping from the range of Whirlwind, Lu Li saw a black shadow charging towards him. It turned out that Moonlight had cancelled Whirlwind and instantly casted Charge.


    Lu Li was stunned and saw that he was about to be hit by a Hamstring skill.


    Hamstring was one of the Warriors¡¯ most famous skills. It reduced the target¡¯s Movement Speed and added a Bleed effect if the Skill Completion was high enough. However, it took time to cast and execute, so he didn¡¯t use it before using Whirlwind. Instead, he chose to use it when Lu Li had been stunned with no escape.


    Just as the Axe was about to chop into Lu Li, he suddenly vanished into a puff of green colored smoke.


    ¡°Damnit, the Vanish skill!¡± Of course, Moonlight remembered the Vanish skill book that Lu Li had obtained.


    The Hamstring skill was now useless, but Moonlight didn¡¯t give up. He chopped down with his Axe and kicked out with his foot, after forcing Lu Li into the direction he wanted.


    Moonlight relied on his wealth of PVP experience to force the Stealthed Thief out of hiding. This showed that he was indeed quite the expert. However, it was a pity that he had lost too much HP at the beginning.


    Lu Li stopped attacking and retreated, ending this fight.


    ¡°You won,¡± Moonlight calmly admitted his loss.


    ¡°I began with a surprise attack, so let¡¯s call it a tie,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re a Thief; are you meant to fight openly with a Warrior like me?¡± Moonlight put away his weapons as he laughed, ¡°I¡¯ll add you to a chat room with heaps of PVP experts. You can fight with them in the future if you want.¡±


    Lu Li received a system announcement which told him that he had been invited to the ¡°North Sea Kindergarten¡± chat room. This name was worthy of face-palming, but since Moonlight had invited him, he didn¡¯t refuse.


    Chat rooms were an important way for players to socialise. Players could either use voice chat, or type, with some people using both. In the North Sea Kindergarten, people used both - even if someone used voice chat, a corresponding text message would appear in the chat.


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a new person.¡± A person called Hornet¡¯s Nest was the first to find out that a new player had joined their chat room.


    Lu Li was quite shocked. Could this really be the legendary Hornet¡¯s Nest? Hornet¡¯s Nests were dangerous in real life and the one in this game was even more dangerous. Once provoked, he would immediately react and would not give up until he had exacted his revenge.


    ¡°It¡¯s someone the Blood Demon brought in. Whose fake account is it?¡± said Green Flag Wine, who was yet another famous player.


    This was the future champion of individual PVP battles. His Paladin was believed to be invincible and his nickname was the ¡®Tire Killer¡¯ - he could kill you by simply tiring you to death.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never met anyone called Lu Li before. There¡¯s still some people who haven¡¯t joined the game yet; they should be joining next week. At this level, I¡¯ll be able to wreck them repeatedly, heheh. I¡¯ll kill them so many times that they won¡¯t even get out of the Novice Village, hahaha.¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s laughter was incredibly arrogant.


    24 hours after Dawn was opened, players were barred from registering and new game helmets couldn¡¯t be used. This lasted until the next week, when players could start registering and joining again.


    However, those who joined later weren¡¯t at much of a disadvantage. They were all given double EXP for the first 3 days they played.


    Lu Li¡­ Lu Li¡­ the Lu Li who set a new record yesterday?¡± asked a player called Wild, who had suddenly burst in.


    ¡°Heheh. Wild, you don¡¯t accept it? He didn¡¯t just clear your record, he beat it by half.¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest was filled with glee.


    ¡°Of course I accept it. If it was just a few seconds or minutes, I¡¯d be able to contest that¡­ but that half an hour gap is something the people in the union greatly respect.¡± Wild seemed quite calm.


    Lu Li suddenly recalled that Wild was one of the Blood-red War Flag¡¯s experts and was also a PVP pro.


    ¡°Lu Li, LV7 Thief. I just lost to him. If anyone¡¯s not convinced, you can fight him yourself,¡± Moonlight cut the people off and introduced Lu Li.


    ¡°How could I let this opportunity go by? I¡¯ll fight with you.¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest was evidently a PVP maniac. In fact, everyone in this chat room was a PVP maniac.

 50 A Hunter With A Pe

    ¡°He¡¯s a Night Elf and you¡¯re a Dwarf. How are you going to fight with him?¡± Moonlight asked. Hornet¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t know what to say in reply.


    Currently, none of the racial territories had been opened up and there were no teleportation channels. It was simply impossible for them to be able to fight.


    Lu Li looked through the list of players in the chat room and felt numb as he saw all of the famous names he had heard about in his ¡®past life¡¯. They were all legends in the PVP world and were known by virtually every player.


    The expert Magician Twilight specialised in AOE skills in dealing with teams.


    The expert Shaman Empty was highly skilled in Strengthening. His playstyle was called the textbook for melee professions.


    All of the PVP experts had things they specialised in. Furthermore, there were players from both the Light Faction and the Evil Faction.


    It was funny and shocking to see players from the Glory Capital and Blood-red War Flag co-existing in the same place.


    Moonlight was referred to as the Blood Demon in this group, which sounded familiar.


    Dawn was the only game that Lu Li had played, but if he had played others, he definitely would have known of ¡®Blood Demon¡¯. He was a true veteran who had risen to prominence in more than 10 games.


    As for the ¡®North Sea Kindergarten¡¯ chat room, it was a world that normal players couldn¡¯t even hope of getting close to.


    In the PVP world, all of these people were legendary existences.


    After arranging a few PVP battles with the players, Lu Li asked Moonlight if he wanted to go with him to earn some money from Boosting.


    Moonlight wasn¡¯t very interested in earning money. Rather, he said that he had gotten into a conflict with a union yesterday. There were quite a few experts who he wanted to kill.


    Lu Li was speechless; he and Moonlight lived in different worlds. He could only go and find Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Clearing Instance Dungeons is so tiring. It¡¯s way more relaxing farming monsters outside.¡± Azure Sea Breeze loved clearing Instance Dungeons, but he didn¡¯t love them to the put of running them all day, every day. A single mistake could result in the entire team being destroyed, so it was quite mentally taxing. Furthermore, he was 3 levels higher than the monsters in the Instance Dungeon, so he earned very little EXP. To a levelling maniac, this was simply operating at a loss.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re trying to break a record today. Plus, are you really going to waste your Instance Dungeon Cool Down for today? You never know, you might even get a piece of Steel grade equipment,¡± Lu Li said, trying to convince Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Steel grade¡­ hmm, ok, let¡¯s go.¡± Gaining equipment would still make it worth it.


    Lu Li looked through his friend list, adding Remnant Dream, Lonesome Flower and March Rain to his party.


    ¡°Actually, we can bring some clients,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, as he thought of the money they had earned the previous day from Boosting.


    A Guild Upgrade Order could be sold for 50 gold coins, while Boosting could earn them up to 10 gold coins!


    ¡°There isn¡¯t much of a difference in clearing Normal level and Elite level Instance Dungeons for clients. The EXP is more or less the same and if we charge too much, no one will want to pay. Let¡¯s just avoid all the trouble and hassle.¡±


    There was an unspoken rule in Dawn: if the Boosters couldn¡¯t clear the Instance Dungeon, or if the client died, the Boosters would have to provide a full refund.


    Even Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to take two clients for the Elite level Instance Dungeon. It would only be worth it for him if he charged 2 gold coins, but = not many people could afford this price. As such, it would be better to just Boost people through Normal level Instance Dungeons.


    March Rain arrived with Lonesome Flower. The brother and sister duo had good equipment and were quite skilled. They were the sort of people that Lu Li definitely wanted to consider for a Permanent Party. This was especially so for March Rain - she would impress him every time they met.


    The four of them waited for a bit before Remnant Dream came.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s entrance was much grander than anyone else¡¯s.


    ¡°Holy crap, there¡¯s a pig following this Hunter!¡± someone yelled out.


    ¡°Idiot, that¡¯s her pet,¡± another said condescendingly.


    ¡°There are actually Hunters who have pets already? This is probably the first one and she¡¯s cute, heheh¡­¡±


    ¡°Apparently there are already two Hunters in the Evil Faction who have pets. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s been anyone in the Light Faction who have gotten pets yet except for her. Hey, Hunter babe, do you want to do an Instance Dungeon with us? We¡¯ve got 2 melee players and just need another damager. We¡¯ve got a really strong main tank and healer.¡±


    Remnant Dream had always been looked down on and neglected, using her mediocre archery skills and Dagger to train. No one even wanted to form a party with her in the wild to train. Who would have thought that she would become so popular after gaining a pet?


    ¡°I¡­ I have a party already. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m really sorry¡­¡± Remnant Dream felt so guilty rejecting all these people that she almost started to cry.


    ¡°You have quite the choice in pets¡­ a pig?¡± Lu Li simply couldn¡¯t understand why Remnant Dream had chosen such an animal.


    ¡°I thought that the little pig was really cute, so I caught it. The Hunter Uncle also said that little pigs have high Defence and don¡¯t die easily. It will also be a good companion for me. He told me to treat it well and care for it,¡± Remnant Dream said, sticking up for her pet.


    ¡°How¡¯s that black ball cute. Look at its tusks and the boils on its body. It¡¯s even drooling.¡±


    Hearing Lu Li¡¯s words, Remnant Dream began to question her sense of aesthetics. The little pig started to look less cute and less like the pet pig she had at home.


    ¡°In future, I¡¯ll take you to catch some rare monsters to be your pets. Just keep this one for now.¡± After cheering up Remnant Dream, Lu Li took them into the Instance Dungeon.


    With her pig, Remnant Dream was now much stronger. Although it was just an ordinary pet, it had skills of its own: Slash and Charge. Slash could cause a bleeding effect, while Charge could stun.


    With her little pig using Slash and Charge, she was able to easily kill monsters now.


    Lu Li took it fairly easy this time. He attacked while giving pointers to March Rain and Remnant Dream, giving them healing and attacking tactics.


    Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t a very talented player and wasn¡¯t able to pick things up quickly. However, she was passionate and enjoyed everything she was doing.


    By now, March Rain had become quite proficient at healing. Their party didn¡¯t run into any danger, as she would always heal at exactly the right time and didn¡¯t waste any MP.


    Lu Li felt that even if this girl was put in a large union, she would be able to take on the role of the main healer. She had only spent a few days learning and training - this was true talent.


    The first Boss dropped a piece of Steel grade equipment. It was Chain Mail Armour, so they gave it to Remnant Dream.


    The second Boss also dropped a piece of Steel grade equipment. It was a piece of Leather Armour and an exquisite one at that.


    [Spider Silk Gloves] (Steel): 10 Armour, Agility+5, Attack Speed+5%. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 28/28.


    In Dawn, the quality of Gloves depended on its secondary stat. Attack Speed was a pretty good stat for melee professions, while Cast Time Cooldown was a good stat for Magic related professions. Even better stats could be obtained by successful reforging. Stats like Parry and Evasion weren¡¯t very useful - it would be better for that stat to be a Primary Attribute.


    Lu Li took these Gloves for himself. Although Remnant Dream could also use them, they were much more suited for Lu Li.


    Upon reaching LV10, all professions would unlock Proficiency in certain types of Armour, which would give them bonus stats. For example, Thieves and Druids could gain Leather Proficiency, Hunters and Shamans could gain Chain Mail Proficiency, Warriors and Paladins could gain Plate Proficiency¡­


    In order to gain the corresponding Proficiency, one had to have a full set of the corresponding Armour.


    As such, Leather Armour usually wasn¡¯t given to Hunters.

 51 Snake Valley

    After coming out from the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li had planned to Boost to earn some money. However, he figured that the gains would not make up for the losses.


    In Dawn, being 3 levels higher than monsters reduced EXP by half, while being 5 levels higher gave you no EXP at all. Azure Sea Breeze was now LV8 and out-levelled the Elites and Bosses in the Instance Dungeon by 3 levels. The amount of EXP that he earned was less than what he would receive from farming normal LV8 monsters outside. Even Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t receive too much EXP.


    In any game, level was the utmost priority, then equipment, then money.


    Sacrificing a long term benefit for a short term gain was taboo for players. If Lu Li wanted to earn big money, he had to out-level the other players.


    Currently, his level wasn¡¯t that high. There were many levelling maniacs who were now LV8 or LV9. Those who joined later had also received three days of double EXP, helping them catch up to everyone else.


    ¡°Let¡¯s form a party to train.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was quite embarrassed by his current level. There wasn¡¯t much EXP to be earnt in the LV5 Instance Dungeon and most parties in the wilderness didn¡¯t need a tank. A strong healer would be more than enough and adding any unnecessary roles would simply reduce the amount of EXP everyone received.


    ¡°It¡¯s not too hard to find a place with lots of monsters. I¡¯ll take you guys to a place, but it depends if you want to go or not,¡± Lu Li said hesitantly.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we want to go to a place with lots of monsters?¡± March Rain felt confused.


    ¡°Are you afraid of snakes?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Snakes?!¡± March Rain and Remnant Dream both yelled out.


    ¡°Well, you can change the visual effects in the settings. You¡¯re allowed to change a type of monster¡¯s appearance into a cartoon for a short period of time.¡± Even so, the visual effects still looked quite real. After all, it was a virtual reality game, so it was impossible to make monsters completely look like they were from a cartoon.


    ¡°Are there really lots of monsters there?¡±


    ¡°Yep and the respawn time is quite fast. We won¡¯t have to share the monsters with anyone else and there should be a Boss there as well.¡±


    ¡°Wait are we waiting for then? Let¡¯s quickly go!¡± As soon as they heard that there was a boss, the team immediately became excited. Even Remnant Dream, who was a newbie, became quite eager. It seemed that they had become addicted, after taking down Bosses with Lu Li.


    It was a pity that the turtle in the Moon Reflection Lake had been discovered by other people when it surfaced to breathe. There were now groups of people waiting there for it to respawn. As such, Lu Li always went to open the treasure boxes at night. Luckily, there were many Glow Stones at the bottom of the lake, so he didn¡¯t have to blindly search for them.


    The team followed Lu Li to the supposed monster treasure trove.


    They followed a path into the forest, passing a grassy plain with small white flowers. Lu Li then led them off the path and into a forest of thickets that were half as tall as a person. There were a few small swamps on the way and they saw crocodiles submerged within them.


    ¡°Those are LV16 monsters. If Hunters can¡¯t find any rare monsters, they like to catch those to be pets. They have good Attack and Defence, as well as good stats.¡±


    ¡°I thought there weren¡¯t any monsters above LV10 in the Novice Village.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was flabbergasted.


    ¡°They never said that on the official website.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t understand the thought processes of these supposed veteran players. However, this was true for most games; monsters in and near the Novice Village usually only went up to a certain level.


    After walking for 10 minutes or so, they saw another path extending from the depths of the forest. Who knew where it led to?


    ¡°Why is there a path here? When will we get there?¡± They had already been walking for half an hour. Did they really have to go so far just to train?


    ¡°This path goes to the Grey Valley, which takes about 3 hours to get to by horse,¡± Lu Li explained. ¡°The opposite direction goes to the coastline. We aren¡¯t very far from where we¡¯re going. It should just be another ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here.¡± Ten minutes later, Lu Li and his party were standing near a canyon crevice. The canyon crevice was quite narrow. If it weren¡¯t for where they were standing, it would have been extremely difficult to find this place.


    Everyone else was speechless. They just wanted to kill some monsters for EXP. Who would have thought that they would have traversed past what felt like half of the world? Then again, this place was quite remote and would have been extremely hard to find.


    ¡°Elves are friends of Nature and we treat plants and animals with kindness. However, there were some Druids who didn¡¯t like snakes, so the Druid Council confined them here. As such, it¡¯s called the Snake Valley,¡± Lu Li said as he squeezed into the canyon crevice.


    The party followed him through. What greeted their eyes when they got out was completely different to what they had expected.


    Everyone imagined the Snake Valley to be an eerie and terrifying place, filled with blood, bones and venomous snakes. In reality, the Snake Valley was quite a beautiful place.


    There were trees with jade-green leaves, lush grass and colourful flowers. Bird song echoed throughout the valley and it was even more beautiful here than outside.


    ¡°Most of the snakes in the valley use venom attacks, which deal a lot of damage. Don¡¯t worry though: they drop something called Snake Bile, which is used to create antidotes,¡± Lu Li said.


    When he learned Alchemy, the system had given him three recipes. The first was for Basic Health Potions, another was for Basic Mana Potions and the other was for Basic Antidotes. All of three of these could be created at LV0. While he hadn¡¯t practiced any Alchemy yet, creating Antidotes would be a good way to raise his Proficiency.


    Lu Li had not come here only to kill snakes, but also to find a type of grass called Snake Trust Grass. It was an important ingredient in upgrading the Supreme One Ring. It could also be used for creating Intermediate Health Potions.


    Although Snake Trust Grass could be found in other places, it was abundant in places where venomous snakes resided.


    ¡°Where are the monsters?¡± How could there be snakes in such a beautiful place?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything. He rushed into the valley and soon, there were three large snakes chasing him, all as thick as a child¡¯s arm.


    The sharp cries of 2 girls rang out. Evidently, they hadn¡¯t changed their visual settings yet.


    Azure Sea Breeze had good mental fortitude and reaction speed, and he quickly attacked the three snakes.


    Everyone else started to nervously attack. The visuals in Dawn were simply too realistic - there was no difference between these snakes and snakes in the real world.


    These snakes were called ¡®Black Ring Snakes¡¯ and were LV10. Their attacks were devious and they were hard to hit. However, they had low Defence and not much HP - it only took a few hits to kill them. Thus, they were very suitable for Lu Li¡¯s party to farm. This was made especially easy with Lonesome Flower¡¯s Blizzard. As soon as they were slowed, killing them became as easy as slaughtering sheep.


    The only troublesome thing was their venom which they could rapidly spray. The range was quite far and it had a large area of effect. This attack was also almost impossible to dodge and dealt a great amount of damage. Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li could only rely on Potions to survive.


    Eventually, the three large snakes were killed, dropping a Snake Bile, as well as some copper coins. Taking into account the number of Potions they had used, the party had suffered a marginal loss.


    ¡°The EXP here is so good. We¡¯re getting way more than we did in the Elite level Instance Dungeon.¡± Azure Sea Breeze instantly fell in love with these gruesome snakes. He charged forward to draw the aggro of more snakes, while Lu Li took the opportunity to create a Basic Antidote.


    [Basic Antidote]: Cures LV10 and below Poison effects. Grants immunity to Poison for 15 seconds.


    ¡°Crap, why are there suddenly so many of them?! Help!!¡± Suddenly, there were more than ten Black Ring Snakes chasing after Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Don¡¯t heal him, just run,¡± Lu Li called out, as he grabbed the terrified March Rain and Remnant Dream.


    ¡°Lu Li, you traitor! I thought we were brothers!¡± Azure Sea Breeze was furious. He felt that he could still be saved. After all, there were only ten little snakes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll visit your grave and pay my respects. Hurry up and run, the Poison can stack!¡±


    The Poison can stack?!


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s face went green and he tossed out any plans of fighting. He, too, started to desperately run.


    The Poison effect dealt 50 damage every 3 seconds. If that could be stacked, it would simply be too terrifying.

 52 Party Annihilation

    Training in the Snake Valley was quite efficient and easy. It was just bad luck that Azure Sea Breeze had drawn the aggro of a massive group of Black Ring Snakes. Remnant Dream, who was the lowest level out of all of them had just levelled up to LV6, while everyone else filled up their EXP bars by around 50% in a mere 2 hours.


    After nearly clearing out the current wave of monsters, Lu Li entered Stealth to scout out the Boss and look for more Snake Trust Grass.


    Snake Trust Grass was fairly rare and it took Lu Li quite a while to find two of them. There were many Silver Leaved Grass, however, which were an ingredient used in creating Basic Health Potions. These could be sold for 40 copper coins each, so collecting a lot of them could be quite profitable. When they went back, Lu Li planned on buying some Peacebloom Flowers to create Basic Health Potions. He could use them for himself, while raising his Alchemy Proficiency.


    Two hours after they had started training, Lu Li finally found the Boss.


    Gallaher: that was the name of this venomous python that was covered in colourful blotches. It was as thick as a tire and was about half as tall as a person when it raised its head. Its mouth was extremely wide and contained four pointed fangs, making it look incredibly monstrous.


    It was LV12, and had 35,000HP.


    ¡°This thing could probably swallow me in one gulp.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t afraid of snakes, but he definitely didn¡¯t want to be eaten by a massive one like this.


    ¡°Go and test the waters for us.¡±


    Lu Li only knew that this was a Boss. As for how they were going to fight it, he had no idea.


    ¡°Goddamn, so you reveal your true colours! Are you trying to make me commit suicide?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze felt quite depressed.


    ¡°March Rain, stay back. If we can¡¯t handle it, we¡¯ll need you to save us,¡± Lu Li ignored him and reminded their Priest to keep herself safe.


    Azure Sea Breeze could only look at his teammates pitifully, as he heroically charged towards the Boss.


    ¡°I dealt 13 damage¡­¡±


    That wasn¡¯t too bad. For a tank who had put most of his points into Constitution and whose equipment mainly gave Constitution, being able to deal 13 damage to a Boss meant that its Defence was quite average.


    ¡°It hit me for 35 damage¡­¡±


    Its Attack wasn¡¯t very high either. In fact, it seemed quite weak for a LV12 Boss.


    ¡°Everyone start attacking!¡± Lu Li still wasn¡¯t feeling quite confident, but they couldn¡¯t just give up. Thinking of what Moonlight had said to him in the past, he gritted his teeth and rushed towards it!


    The Boss roared, sweeping out with its body and dealing AOE damage to the melee attackers. Lu Li¡¯s Defence was much lower than Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s and he lost about 100HP in a single strike.


    Luckily, it didn¡¯t attack very frequently with its tail, so their Healer was easily able to replenish their HP.


    Lu Li did his best to damage the Boss while observing it. He felt that the Boss was more complex than it seemed.


    All the Bosses in Dawn were notorious for being hard to kill. Bosses in the wild were much harder to kill than Bosses in Instance Dungeons. Even large parties could be completely wiped out by a single Boss.


    After losing 10% of its HP, Gallaher became furious. It raised its body up and its neck became incredibly flat, as if it was charging something up¡­


    ¡°Everyone run, the Boss is going to release a powerful move!¡± Lu Li yelled as he ran.


    Unfortunately, none of the others had his intuition and reaction speed. Only March Rain, who was focused on healing Lu Li, subconsciously began to run with him.


    The Boss spat out a massive wave of venom, which seemed to cover the entire sky. It completely covered all of those who didn¡¯t run, regardless of whether they were melee or ranged.


    ¡°Goddamit,¡± Lonesome Flower only had time to curse before he died.


    Next was Remnant Dream. She could only helplessly blink as her world turned black.


    The Antidote bottle in Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s hand fell to the ground as he yelled, ¡°Aargh, the Antidotes are useless against its poison!¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze had a lot of HP and high Defence. He was only able to strike an impressive pose before he collapsed to the ground.


    Slither, slither, slither. Although the massive Boss didn¡¯t have any feet, it was even faster than Lu Li!


    It was coming for them!


    As it came closer and closer, they could clearly see its fangs. It was about to catch March Rain.


    Forget it. Lu Li breathed in and yelled to March Rain, ¡°Keep running, I¡¯ll block it for you!¡± He stopped running away and instead fearlessly charged towards the Boss.


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t run. If you all die, then I¡¯ll die with you!¡± March Rain actually stopped running.


    Lu Li almost spat out blood as he furiously yelled, ¡°Do you think you¡¯re in a drama or something? You¡¯ve got Revive, so you can save us all. Watch less of those war dramas for goodness¡¯ sake!¡±


    March Rain could only awkwardly smile and continue to run towards the exit.


    Lu Li rushed in front of the Boss and was sent flying by its tail. After landing, he only had a third of his health remaining.


    In order to give March Rain a few more seconds to run, he took out a Potion and drank it.


    Just as he finished drinking it, the second attack came, and Lu Li was once again sent flying. There were many hidden features in the game. For example, having high Constitution gave additional resistance to being sent flying, knocked back or knocked down. As such, Azure Sea Breeze could steadily take hits from the Boss and would at most take a step or two back. Lu Li, who didn¡¯t have a single point of Constitution, was sent flying around like a shuttlecock.


    He was lucky that the great system god didn¡¯t let him endure this for too long. He was hit again and glowed white as he turned into a corpse.


    If it wasn¡¯t to save March Rain, Lu Li could have escaped. His Child of the Forest transformation would have allowed him to easily outrun the Boss.


    After dying, players had two choices: they could either be sent to a nearby respawn point and meet the big sister goddess, or they could be revived on the spot. This was only if they accepted the Revival once it was cast on them.


    Lu Li waited for roughly 1 minute before the system asked him if he would like to accept being revived.


    After confirming his acceptance, the black and white world was once again filled with colour. However, he had lost 10% of his EXP. Before dying, he would have been able to reach LV8 after killing a few more monsters. What was even worse was that he had actually dropped his Steel grade Armour.


    If March Rain had also died, and they were all sent to the respawn point, the equipment definitely would have been erased by the system.


    ¡°Thank goodness, thank goodness,¡± Lu Li and Lonesome Flower, who had both dropped Steel grade equipment cried out in relief.


    Lonesome Flower happily hugged March Rain to express his joy and gratitude. Lu Li thought for a few moments before rejecting the idea of doing the same thing. He couldn¡¯t just go and hug someone else¡¯s little sister.


    ¡°We definitely won¡¯t be able to kill this Boss,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, as he sat down on the grass.


    ¡°Actually, we can put up with its normal attacks. The problem is its venom - it¡¯s simply too powerful. It looks like we¡¯ll only be able to deal with it after we have Intermediate Antidotes,¡± Lu Li concurred. Basic Antidotes were only effective against Poisons from monsters under LV10. This Boss was LV12, so they needed Intermediate Antidotes.


    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s just farm the normal monsters and avoid the Boss.¡± After nearly losing his precious Steel grade equipment, Lonesome Flower was quite scared.


    ¡°Lu Li, try to level up your Alchemy as fast as possible and get the First Clear for this Boss before everyone else,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°No problem.¡± Lu Li was all too happy to invest in his Trade Profession.

 53 Intermediate Antidote

    Lu Li and the others continued to grind in the Snake Valley from the morning until the afternoon. On average, everyone gained half of their EXP bar. Lu Li was now LV9 and he had found 11 Snake Trust Grass. He only needed 5 to upgrade his ring, so the rest could be used to make Intermediate Health Potions.


    The NPC did not teach him how to make anything higher then Basic Potions, so if he wanted to make Intermediate Potions, he would need to find the recipe on his own. The Intermediate Health Potion restored more health and had more value, considering the relatively low crafting cost.


    Because of his rebirth, Lu Li knew where to find the recipe, but that would have to wait until next Monday¡¯s patch. For now, his goal was to make an Intermediate Antidote.


    The Intermediate Antidote recipe wasn¡¯t hard to find; as long as a monster used venom, it could potentially drop it. Lu Li had already found 4-5 copies. If he sold them he could make quite a few silver coins.


    As for the materials required, the Basic version required one Snake Bile, while the Intermediate one required two. This had an 80% success rate.


    ¡°Do you need anything else for the Intermediate? Is there a quest?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was determined. Even after half a day of training he still wasn¡¯t tired.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to from Basic to Intermediate; only from Intermediate to High would you need to do a quest. I¡¯m just missing 3% EXP.¡± Alchemy couldn¡¯t be performed repeatedly - even if you did have the materials, there was a cooldown period. Throughout the day, Lu Li would immediately start making potions as soon as the cooldown refreshed. If you made many of the same potions, the required proficiency for it would decrease.


    After half a day, Lu Li¡¯s Alchemy was finally Intermediate level.


    Now his Trade Skill would start to show its usefulness!


    System: You can now manufacture Intermediate Antidotes, Alchemy Proficiency increased by 1.


    Intermediate Antidote: Cures LV20 and below Poison effects. Grants immunity to Poison for 15 seconds.


    One or two Intermediate Antidotes were not enough to beat the Boss, but after 2 hours, Lu Li had made over 30. Four of them had failed, which matched the 80% success rate.


    ¡°Everyone take 7 bottles. Sea Breeze you take 2 more. We¡¯ll the give the boss one more try and if it fails, we¡¯ll let it go for today.¡± Looking at the time, there were less than 2 hours before night fall when the wild would become very dangerous.


    They started attacking the monster as usual; Azure Sea Breeze led the charge and drew the aggro of the boss.


    Lu Li refrained from yelling out every profanity he knew. It was too bad that this Boss was immune to stuns. Even a 90% Skill Completion on Shadowstrike could not stun it. However, the that Lu Li damage dealt surpassed his expectations.


    Performing an 89% Skill Completion would deal 112% damage. However, the damage suddenly spiked to 150% when he attained 90% Skill Completion. Skill Completion was one of the least talked about subjects in his previous life. It was reserved exclusively for the experts and seemed forbidden to the masses. There had only been a handful of forum posts which seriously talked about it. After 90%, it was a completely new playing field.


    The advantage of rebirth was that his knowledge was one step ahead of the other players. However, Lu Li knew that to become a true expert, he still had a long path to walk.


    After all, in his previous life he was just an ordinary player!


    He suddenly focused and shrugged off his exhaustion. Azure Sea Breeze looked at him curiously and mumbled, ¡°Why are you suddenly trying so hard, did you have some potency medication?¡±


    Lu Li ignored him, diligently trying to make every Skill Completion as high as possible.


    Under his leadership, the others also gave much of their strength. They quickly took the Boss down to 90% HP.


    The Boss whined and raised the first half of its body.


    ¡°Get ready to take the potion¡­3, 2¡­1, do it!¡± Lu Li stopped attacking and threw his head back, staring at the Boss¡¯ big mouth.


    The pale-green venom erupted out of it at the same time as Lu Li¡¯s command, surrounding the area around him.


    ¡°Dammit,¡± Lonesome Flower cried out, throwing aside the Intermediate Antidote bottle and taking a Basic Healing Potion.


    ¡°Careful everyone. Listen to my instructions or you won¡¯t last more than a few seconds,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°I almost died, I only have 10-20 HP left. Give me some HP!¡± Lonesome Flower patted his chest in fear.


    Mages have naturally higher Magic Resistance and later on, he would gain shields to defend from physical attacks. However, his resistance to poisons was relatively low and Lonesome Flower had put all his points in Intelligence. The poison that the Boss released dealt 250 damage initially and 50 damage afterwards every 3 seconds. He wouldn¡¯t be able to survive that.


    ¡°The duration of the Intermediate Antidote might not be enough. Everyone pay attention and take them appropriately,¡± Lu Li calmly instructed, while trying to estimate how much damage he was dealing to the Boss.


    ¡°If it releases the poison every 10% of its HP, we won¡¯t have enough potions, as we only have 7 each.¡± Lonesome Flower put on a long face; this Boss was particularly effective against Mages, so he could die at any moment.


    ¡°Continue dealing damage and let me observe it. At worst, we could give up, but would you be satisfied if you gave up after only dealing 10% of its HP?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Continue, continue,¡± Azure Sea Breeze called out and increased the frequency of his attacks.


    Wild Bosses would definitely drop a Steel armour. They had been grinding for this Boss the whole day and Lu Li had even learned Intermediate Alchemy. If they gave up now, it would be incredibly unsatisfying.


    The second spray of poison was about to go off, right when the Boss¡¯ HP was reduced to 80%. Lu Li saw the Boss draw its body back and immediately shouted, ¡°Everyone except for Healer and Main Tank, run!¡±


    Lonesome Flower had long anticipated these words and he took many more steps than even the Thief. With the threat of the Bosses poison, the normally slow Mage ran as fast as his short legs could take him.


    As for Lu Li and Remnant Dream, the two Agility occupations, they ran even faster.


    March Rain had added points into Constitution and Intelligence, while Azure Sea Breeze had added all his points into Constitution. These two lost less than 50% HP when hit by the Poison,so this strategy didn¡¯t need to be explained by Lu Li.


    In reality, they were fighting this Boss really early. After a few weeks, when this portion of the map became known to the public, several guilds would send their elite parties to farm this Boss. They would not have the same flexibility of being able to leave the fight whenever.


    To successfully beat a Boss in Dawn, one had to be aware of their competitors.


    Basic materials could be used from early to late game and could be quickly snatched after the Boss had been beaten. The old turtle at Moon Reflection Lake was only a level 3 Boss, but over 100 players were now there, waiting for it to spawn.


    The third time it released the poison, Lonesome Flower ran too slowly, so he took an Intermediate Antidote and a Basic Heal Potion. He barely made it through this dangerous phase.


    This was not the only way; he could have exchanged some equipment with Azure Sea Breeze. This would net him about 100HP and increase his Defence, improving his survivability.


    Of course, this would mean abandoning his Offensive Mage build. He would have less damage than Remnant Dream.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s pig died after the third wave of poison. If she wanted to revive it, she would need to wait another 3 minutes. If they had to solely rely on Lu Li to hit the boss, this would take a long time.

 54 Thrilling Strike

    Eventually, Azure Sea Breeze came up with a great idea. Lonesome Flower would fight until the Boss¡¯ HP was down by 9% before running. As the Boss¡¯ attacks were very consistent, this would keep him completely safe.


    They fought the Boss all the way down to 50% HP using this strategy.


    This time the Boss changed its pattern; not only did it release poison, it also flung its tail immediately after.


    Remnant Dream thought she could bear the poison, so she didn¡¯t run this time. Unfortunately, the poison and the tail whip was too much and the little hunter yelped as she fell.


    Her Steel Crossbow also unfortunately dropped.


    Lu Li¡¯s situation was better; he still had some HP left after taking the antidote. As well as this, he had many Steel equips on him.


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Lonesome Flower asked as he ran back.


    ¡°Pick up her things; we will continue. After we finish fighting, we¡¯ll revive her.¡±


    Lu Li did not falter, calmly continuing to deal damage.


    It was just one person and not the whole group. The sky was darkening and they didn¡¯t have time for another try.


    There was only Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze left, but they were still quite strong. After a few minutes, the Boss reached 41% HP and was about to spurt poison again.


    ¡°Lonesome you go, I¡¯ll be right behind you. March Rain protect yourself, Azure Sea Breeze prepare to take the potion.¡±


    Lu Li now planned conservatively. After all, they only had 4 members left and couldn¡¯t lose anyone else. If he knew that this would happen, he would have invited Moonlight.


    Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t mind and took off. He didn¡¯t look back to check on the others, as he didn¡¯t want to die.


    March Rain thought for a bit and also retreated, but the Boss¡¯ last two-hit combo also took her out. She remembered Lu Li telling her that the Priest must never die.


    Even if the group was annihilated, there needed to be someone to loot the corpses!


    Azure Sea Breeze shook his head and sighed, ¡°How come I get abandoned every time?¡±


    ¡°We have complete trust in you.¡±


    Seeing that the Boss was about to spray the poison, Lu Li turned around and dashed off.


    If the Boss could speak, it would definitely scold them. It had never seen such terrible thing: if they wanted to fight, they should stand and fight¡­


    Azure Sea Breeze was covered in an oily green mess, but he was still standing strong. He wasn¡¯t even knocked aside by the tail.


    After this, they continued to DPS the Boss. When it reached 21% HP, Lu Li was waiting for the signal, but he didn¡¯t expect the it to open its mouth and take a deep breath.


    The suction was powerful: other than the Main Tank, no one would leave the Boss¡¯ side.


    ¡°It¡¯ll suck us in first before spraying the poison?¡±


    ¡°What a shameless Boss,¡± was a thought shared by everyone.


    No matter how much they struggled, the four of them were stuck within 8 yards of the Boss!


    Then, with one thick green spurt, they were all covered in poison.


    In the mist shone a white light, where Lonesome Flower had turned into a corpse.


    March Rain was drinking an Antidote and a Healing Potion, while simultaneously healing Lu Li.


    The Heal saved Lu Li¡¯s life, allowing him to survive the tail attack that came from the Boss afterwards.


    When the poison had worn off, Lu Li only had a sliver of HP left!


    March Rain was also the same, while Azure Sea Breeze was doing slightly better with about 20% HP.


    ¡°Stand firm, give yourself and Sea Breeze HP!¡± Lu Li loudly reminded March Rain. Disregarding the potion resistance, he threw his head back and downed another one, restoring over 30 HP. It was good that the Supreme One Ring had some life steal. Usually, the 4-5 HP was negligible, but now it was actually quite important.


    A Healer, a Main Tank and a DPS. Lu Li¡¯s downed party members, Lonesome Flower and Remnant Dream, were still in the fight, unable to leave their corpses. They could only helplessly look on.


    ¡°Keep going, we won¡¯t not give up.¡±


    Lu Li sounded steady; he was unwavering, he had not complained and he was not exhausted.


    He was grateful for his past experience as a gold collection member. That boring, desperate and time-consuming job made his impatient self slowly become the Lu Li he was today.


    19%, 18%, 17%... 13%, 12%!


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to hide, don¡¯t worry about me. Take care of your own HP.¡±


    Last time, he hadn¡¯t died to the poison, so this time he was definitely prepared for it.


    The Boss took a deep breath once again, sucking in everyone within 8 yards before spurting poison and whipping its tail...


    Lu Li didn¡¯t immediately drink the antidote, instead waiting for a little over 2 seconds. Just after this, he drank the antidote and the damage that was about to be dealt was immediately cancelled by the system.


    The poison damage was for 20 seconds, while the Antidote lasted for 15 seconds. If it was used early, the potion would lose its effect early. With 2 ticks to go, this totaled 100 damage.


    By waiting two seconds before drinking the antidote, there would be less than 5 seconds of poison left when it wore off. This meant that he only took 1 tick of poison, which was 50 HP.


    However, after this attack Lu Li¡¯s HP, was only a little bit more than 50. If the tail whip was a little stronger and he didn¡¯t have this 50HP, he would have died.


    Even though he had passed this wave of attacks, he couldn¡¯t relax.


    Most Bosses go berserk when reduced to 5% HP!


    The Boss managed to wipe their team when it dropped to 90%, but that wasn¡¯t too bad. If the Boss annihilated them at 5% HP, even the most confident person would feel a little depressed.


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze made eye contact and laughed bitterly, hoping for some kind of divine intervention.


    Its HP was now 1750, which was 5%. The Boss had really gone berserk!


    The big snake turned red and was maliciously pounding against Azure Sea Breeze. Its tail began to pull at people, even tossing March Rain aside at one point.


    Its attack damage and attack frequency increased!


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze were surprisingly relaxed.


    As long as it didn¡¯t spray any poison, a damage increase wouldn¡¯t kill anyone. This wasn¡¯t a problem.


    Night Elves have a skill called Shadowmeld, which would instantly give them Stealth. To Lu Li, this was perfect for him to escape. However, for warriors like Azure Sea Breeze, it was used to reduce aggro.


    Azure Sea Breeze, who was now at 20% health, cast Shadowmeld.


    After being dragged around twice, Lu Li also cast Shadowmeld. The Boss now faced March Rain and rushed towards her.


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze pursued the Boss from behind, when they saw that March Rain was about to be hit. The Main Tank cast Taunt to redraw the Boss¡¯ aggro. March Rain looked like she didn¡¯t even see the Boss charging at her, instead taking a step back and giving Azure Sea Breeze some health. Her calmness was incomparable!


    System: Players Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower and Remnant Dream have successfully achieved the first clear on a Wild Boss, Gallaher!

 55 Rager Equipment Se

    In addition to the System Announcement, Lu Li also received a large amount of exp. There was so much that it was hard to believe, but when he thought about it, it was to be expected. This was a level 12 Boss and there was only 3 people to split the EXP with. Those who had died did not receive any exp.


    The Boss showered the ground with items. One didn¡¯t even need to look to know that there was a huge reward!


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze relaxed and sat on the floor, while March Rain worked on reviving Lonesome Flower and Remnant Dream.


    Not only had Lonesome Flower and Remnant Dream lost 10% of their EXP, they also didn¡¯t receive any of the LV12 Boss EXP. It would be unusual if they weren¡¯t a little sad, but they were all excited to look at the loot.


    ¡°Remnant Dream, go get the equips and see what they are.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to move, instead assigning the looting to the little hunter.


    The little hunter really liked doing that, so she happy picked it all up.


    She didn¡¯t know that her luck would be so good; the first item she picked up was a Steel Hunter Bracer. It had a level 10 requirement, but added 8 Agility and 2 Constitution. It perfectly matched her needs.


    The second item was Lu Li¡¯s. Once he heard the name, he already knew its attributes.


    Rager Bracer (Steel): Amour 15, Agility +6, Critical Hit +5%, Level Requirement LV10. Durability 32/32 (One of the Rager set, Exclusive to melee)


    In his previous life, Lu Li had this equipment. At that time, the game had been out for a while and there were countless players who were already LV10. Its price was very low, but Lu Li still had to work for 2 weeks to buy 2 pieces of the Rager Equipment Set.


    Besides this Bracer, there was a Rager Necklace that could be dropped by Wild Bosses from level 10 to 20. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t dropped this time.


    When both pieces of the Rager Equipment Set were equipped, the set would produce an effect.


    Rager: Travelling Speed increased by 20%, Attack Speed increased by 20%, Defence reduced by 20%. Lasts 30 seconds.


    The first two were buffs, while the last one was a debuff. Together, they made up the most common Equipment Set for newbies.


    Compared to the Jungle Herdsmen Equipment Set, this set¡¯s effects were like night and day. Melee players who used this set wouldn¡¯t need to change their equips until they were LV30.


    The Boss only dropped these two Steel equips. The other 3 equips were Bronze and fit nicely for the three others who didn¡¯t get a Steel equip. There were two materials left; these could be used to make level 20 Silver Equips and were very valuable. Their value was not far from Steel equips.


    Lu Li gave one of them to Azure Sea Breeze and the most valuable one to Lonesome Flower, which was more or less a fair distribution.


    This was one of Lu Li¡¯s problems; he always wanted things to be equal. Azure Sea Breeze disagreed with Lu Li¡¯s method of assignment, but he didn¡¯t want to say anything in front of everyone. He put away the material that Lu Li had given him, but returned the equip, claiming that he was too lazy to sell it.


    The five of them formed what could be considered the basic part of the permanent group. Normally, they would train separately, but when it came to fighting Bosses or doing Instance Dungeons, they would join together. Moonlight¡¯s skill was high, but he had a greater interest in PVP. Most of his time would be spent fighting other players, so he unfortunately became an optional member of the group.


    Lu Li planned to set up a small mercenary group after some time.


    Mercenary groups were officially recognized and did not conflict with Guilds. Members of different groups could join the same Mercenary group. This was going to be introduced in the update the following Monday. The cost of setting one up was fairly low as well: for just 1 gold, you could add up to 100 people.


    However, Lu Li had no intention of being in charge, and when the time came, he would recommend the position for Azure Sea Breeze.


    Firstly of all, their personal friendship was good and second of all, Azure Sea Breeze was capable.


    Azure Sea Breeze had even more experience in previous games than Lu Li. He knew more about creating teams and wasn¡¯t like Lu Li in trying to make everything equal.


    Moreover, Lu Li had too many secrets that he couldn¡¯t just share with everyone.


    There were many things he couldn¡¯t explain by saying that he had a friend on the inside. Who knew what people were thinking? If anyone went to talk to the game company, he would have some problems.


    Most of the time, he needed to do things on his own.


    After gathering some money by taking advantage of rebirth, he would be able to save enough to treat his sister¡¯s illness. He could also go to the battle area and practice his PVP techniques.


    After fighting the Boss, it was already nighttime. The party members started channeling their Hearthstones to return home.


    The party had not yet been dismissed; everyone still had to give their feedback for the game. According to Lu Li, if their feedback was accepted there would be an EXP reward. Everyone firmly believed this.


    After a while, Moonlight was also added to the party.


    He was still level 8, which was not far behind Lu Li. This was one problem with PVP - you don¡¯t increase your level and if you die, you also lose EXP.


    They said it was a discussion, but it was really Lu Li directing everyone on what direction to take.


    An example was skill promotion. The players had been playing for such a long time, but even their most commonly used spell was not level 2. For Lu Li, this was Shadowstrike, which was currently at 466/1000.He was still missing over half the EXP required.


    This was a very big issue, and the game company would want to address this for the sake of the ordinary players.


    The suggestion that Lu Li offered was that one would gain a Skill Point every 2 levels. By using a Skill Point and a gold coin, you could increase a Skill¡¯s level. This way, all people would have the opportunity to try higher level skills.


    Another example was the arena, which was the most requested part of the game. A game without an arena would struggle to attract people. At the moment, players weren¡¯t actually sparring with each other because if they died, they would lose EXP.


    There was also the matter of an Auction Room, but even if no one suggested this, it would inevitably appear in the game. This could be a ¡®suggestion¡¯ that allowed one to receive some EXP.


    Lastly, there was the issue of syncing up the days and nights with real days and nights. This didn¡¯t really matter to Lu Li, but most of the players who needed to get up early wanted to strangle the game design team because of this.


    Showing damage taken by party members, daily quests, changing EXP lost upon death, increasing stats shown, additional Trade Skills, weather effects, changing hits under Automatic Mode, adding a bounty function, changing Stealth tracking, stacking materials in inventory¡­


    Lu Li knew that most of them had played many games. Even with Lu Li¡¯s 2-3 years of experience, everyone added their own opinions and they quickly reached about 100 suggestions.


    Lu Li knew that many of these were not going to be accepted, which meant that there would be no EXP reward. These were called invalid suggestions.


    However, they couldn¡¯t just send in the suggestions that they knew would be accepted. If they sent in 30 suggestions that were all accepted, the game company would suspect insider information being leaked. If that were the case, they would have some trouble.


    According the previous life, the most submitted suggestion from this round from a player called ¡°Brother Yang is Here¡± who was a Paladin. He gave 300 suggestions which was astonishing. However the person who got the most accepted was not Brother Yang is Here but rather a hunter called¡°I No Understand¡±. This hunter submitted a few more than 60 but over half of them made it into the game.


    Lu Li calculated that of their 92 suggestions, if all goes to plan they should have 48 of them accepted. That doesn¡¯t sound too crazy.


    After submitting the feedback to the official site, Lu Li took advantage of the system that is yet to be updated and set up a booth at Moon Shadow Valley to sell the Bronze equips from today. In addition, he has also raised a sign which indicates a few things that he is looking to buy.

 56 A Hilarious Journey

    After returning to the Novice Village, Lu Li figured that the Treasure Boxes in the Moon Reflection Lake would have refreshed, so he left to open them again. As for the Treasure Boxes in the Cynocephali Mine, he didn¡¯t bother with them anymore. Each of the Boxes were surrounded by Thieves who were waiting for each refresh, because they would rather not fight monsters.


    Everyone had their own play style; it was best not to think too much about it.


    When Lu Li reached the lakeside, he discovered that there were still people around. He was curious - the Boss didn¡¯t respawn at night, so what were these people doing?


    He went into Stealth and found a private place, before transforming into a Seal and diving deep underwater.


    Before he reached the bottom, Lu Li encountered a problem. There were other people here¡­


    There were roughly five or six Druids swimming around. Lu Li hid amongst the thick grass, taking advantage of the Glow Stones to try and understand what they were doing.


    It turned out that the crowd¡¯s goal was also to find Treasure Chests.


    It was too bad that the chests in the water were all locked and they were Druids, so they would be unable to open them.


    This group of Druids were using their claws and heads to attack the Treasure Chest. The result was disappointing, as the treasure box remained shut.


    Suddenly, one of the Druids transformed back into human form and reached out to grab the chest, attempting to lift it up and bring it back to shore.


    Lu Li almost let out a laugh.


    The Treasure Chest was part of the map; it wasn¡¯t something that could be destroyed.


    If not, one could simply take out an axe and the Thief¡¯s unlock skill would just be irrelevant. The Druid¡¯s plan of moving the Treasure Box was purely a fantasy.


    The greedy Druid that had transformed into a human quickly paid the price.


    He was probably about to drown and desperately tried to swim to the surface, but there was no time left. Lu Li had previously calculated that the distance between the surface and the bottom was about a 3-minute swim. It was quicker the other way, requiring only 1 minute to swim from the bottom to the surface. However, in 30 seconds he would start losing HP.


    The greedy Druid quickly changed into a corpse and the other Druid¡¯s skills were about to time out as well. They looked at each other and all floated to the top together.


    It turned out that when they were waiting for the Boss to respawn, a Druid went into the water to look for it and happened upon a Treasure Chest. The Druid that saw this didn¡¯t say anything and waited for everyone to leave at night. He then called over his guild members to tell them about it.


    Unfortunately, this didn¡¯t go as planned, as they were unable to open them.


    Lu Li was curious as to why these few players thought they could get what was inside the treasure chests. Did they want to drag the treasure chest ashore and break it open with a rock?


    After they left, Lu Li dashed towards the treasure box. He saw the whole thing unfold and went straight towards it and cast Unlock.


    One Bronze equip and a piece of Silk Cloth.


    The second treasure chest was slightly better; there was a Bronze equip and a skill book.


    Slit Throat: Instant Cast, uses up all Combo Points and attacks the throat of the target dealing 1 + 20% * Combo Points. If the target is below 20% HP, this attack will definitely be a critical hit. Skill Proficiency 1/1000.


    Lu Li was surprised. This was the Thief¡¯s version of the Warrior¡¯s Execute!


    This skill wasn¡¯t necessarily rare because everyone could learn it. When one reached level 20, there was a relatively easy Thief Quest in Warsong Valley that became available. The reward of this quest the Slit Throat skill book.


    From that time on, all the Thieves had an ultimate skill.


    Currently, he was level 9 at 40% EXP. He tried to learn the skill and the skill book vanished from his hands in a flash of light.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t move for a few seconds. He didn¡¯t dare to believe it, quickly opening the skill panel and confirming that Slit Throat was in it. There was a shining label on it: Ultimate Skill. He was filled with joy!


    He wasn¡¯t even level 10 and he had learned a level 20 skill book!


    Slit Throat was a very strong skill. Although its regular damage couldn¡¯t compare with Backhand Backstab, it crit against targets at low health. The probability of it being a critical was very high; someone in his past life had used the skill over 1000 times to test it. He found that the critical rate was around 70%.


    If he was PVPing another player, they would be as good as dead once their HP reached 20%,!


    Only an idiot would sell this skill book!


    The third chest dropped two Bronze equips, one of which was a Magic Staff that he conveniently needed to upgrade his ring.


    The Treasure Chests found in Moon Reflection Lake had been much better than those in the Cynocephali Mine. Lu Li had found two high quality skill books here. However, he wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain a monopoly on this area for much longer.


    Since other players had found out about this, they would sooner or later find a way to open these chests. Underwater Breathing Potions were one example.


    After opening all the treasure chests, Lu Li immediately returned. He could imagine the look on the faces of those people when they return to find the chests gone.


    ¡°Who touched my treasure chest!¡±


    [Supreme One Ring] (Silver grade): Strength+1, Agility+1, Vampirism+1. Special effects: The Lord of the Forest, Cenarius, gave this ring special powers. You can learn three Druid transformation skills, as well as a skill for one of those transformations. Equipment Requirements: None. Durability: None.


    This was Lu Li¡¯s only Silver equip. Bronze equips were primarily being used by regular players, while Steel equips were being used by the experts. If he took this out, everyone would definitely marvel at it.


    But, Lu Li knew better than anyone that this equip didn¡¯t actually give him much additional strength.


    He looked at his Rager Equipment Set; the one piece gave him 6 stat points. Remnant Dream¡¯s Steel Bracer gave her 10 points, while the Supreme One Ring gave him a measly 2 points. As for the Vampirism stat, it depended on how much you have. If you only had a bit of it, you may as well not have any at all.


    The Special Effect was no doubt the best part, but it couldn¡¯t be used in battles.


    The final Boss in the LV10 Instance Dungeon on regular difficulty could drop rings. The attributes of these varied, but even the worst one would give an additional 3 to 5 points. This meant that Lu Li¡¯s attributes would be the worst when that time came.


    As such, he needed to upgrade the Supreme One Ring to the Supreme Two Ring as soon as possible. The Supreme Two Ring was overpowered.


    The upgrade needed to be done at a Sacrificial Altar with 7 other materials. The 7 Jade Spider Webs, a Charm Heart and 5 Snake Trust Grass were things he had already found.


    He now needed 3 Bronze Ingots, which could be attained by a Blacksmith combining Copper and Tin ore.Bronze ingots weren¡¯t very rare. He just needed a few Copper and Tin Ore which would cost around 60 silver. If Lu Li bought it with 1 gold, it would probably be accepted as a fair deal.


    Additionally, he needed 6 Green Agate, which was found when mining and was considered to have a high value. The use of Green Agate was quite widespread, but the Moon Shadow Valley didn¡¯t have a Mining Trainer nor many mining resources. He would have to buy it from a player of another region and ask them to mail it through.


    The market price of this item was hard to say, so Lu Li has temporarily set his price at 30 silver.

 57 Professional Businessman

    Upgrading the Supreme One Ring also required a piece of Bronze grade equipment to act as a medium. Bronze grade Magic Staffs could be used, and he had coincidentally found one at the bottom of the lake. There were no requirements for its stats ¨C the item quality was enough.


    The final items that Lu Li needed were Magic Amplification Materials. A common type of this were Gale Fangs, which dropped from Gale Wolves in the Moon Shadow Valley. They were LV6-LV7 Magic Beasts and could use Arcane Balls to attack.


    In Lu Li¡¯s ¡®past life¡¯, Azure Sea Breeze had used these, so Lu Li decided to follow suit.


    The drop rate for Gale Fangs wasn¡¯t very low. Lu Li only needed 20 of them, which wouldn¡¯t take too long to gather.


    ¡°This piece of equipment¡¯s stats are pretty good, but it¡¯s a bit expensive. Can I buy it using Gale Fangs? I have 30 or so,¡± a Thief asked him, as he pointed at a piece of Leather Armour that Lu Li was selling.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Lu Li was unable to decline an offer to instantly obtain so many Gale Fangs. Even if he suffered a bit of a loss, it was still acceptable to him. Bronze grade equipment now only sold for around 2 gold coins, and the time he would save could be used to earn even more money.


    Now, Lu Li was only missing the Bronze Ingots and Green Agate.¡£


    ¡°Hey brother, you want to buy Green Agate?¡± a passing-by Druid asked, when he saw Lu Li¡¯s sign.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Are you willing to pay a bit more? Green Agate isn¡¯t easy to find and mining takes a lot of effort. Sometimes it takes hours to find a single Green Agate and there¡¯s quite high demand for it. There are a lot of Trade Skills that need it.¡±


    It seemed that this person was a businessman - he sounded extremely eloquent and convincing.


    Any newbie would have been won over by his words.


    ¡°How much do you want?¡± Lu Li casually asked.


    ¡°3 gold coins for one.¡± It was audacious of him to ask for such a large amount of money. He probably assumed that Lu Li was quite rich, based off what he was selling.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not interested; I¡¯ll continue to wait for offers.¡±


    Lu Li coldly laughed to himself. Did this guy think he was an idiot?


    ¡°There isn¡¯t much Green Agate over in the Night Elf territory. The monsters at the Cynocephali Mines are all quite high levelled, so not many people are brave enough to mine there. I only have a few Green Agate and they were all mailed to me by my friend from the Dwarf Mountains,¡± the Druid continued, as he tried to persuade Lu Li.


    ¡°50 silver coins for 1 is already a fair price. The price over at the Dwarves¡¯ side is probably the same, but I just don¡¯t know anyone over there,¡± Lu Li replied.


    He wasn¡¯t completely out of options yet - he could ask Drinking Alone for help, but owing a favour for a few gold coins wasn¡¯t quite worth it.


    ¡°How about this: 6 Green Agate for 10 gold coins. You must be an expert, seeing as you¡¯re selling so many Bronze grade equipment. I¡¯m guessing that you have the money to afford it. I¡¯m called Shen Wansan; how about we be friends?¡± The Druid¡¯s seemingly kind and amicable smile started to look more and more vulgar.


    Shen Wansan was a prominent businessman in the early Ming Dynasty who was incomparably rich. For a player to name himself after that man showed quite a bit about himself.


    ¡°Your asking price is a bit too high for me. If you really want to be friends, I¡¯m willing to buy 6 Green Agate and 3 Bronze Ingots for 10 gold coins. If I need any materials in the future, I¡¯ll definitely come to you first,¡± Lu Li said resolutely.


    ¡°That¡¯s not too good.¡±


    Although he said this, Shen Wansan was seriously considering the offer. As someone who had his sights on being the biggest businessman, he was much more acquainted with the selling prices than Lu Li. Green Agate could be bought for 35 silver coins at the Dwarf Novice Village and even the most expensive prices wouldn¡¯t go over 40 silver coins.


    As for Bronze Ingots, if it weren¡¯t for Tin Ingots (which were required to make Bronze Ingots) being so rare, they would be worth less than 1 gold coin.


    Shen Wansan asking a Dwarf friend to buy some for him would cost him about 50 silver coins per Agate.


    Altogether, these things would cost him less than 7 gold coins. Lu Li offering him 10 gold coins was incredibly profitable for him.


    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want to sell it, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    There was no way that Lu Li would accept a higher price. 10 gold coins was equivalent to $6,000-7,000 in the real world, which was half a month¡¯s rent for him!


    ¡°I¡¯ll sell! I¡¯ll sell! Brother, you¡¯re quite a quick-tempered one. I¡¯m guessing you want to be friends then?¡± Shen Wansan asked with a grin.


    ¡°Do you have the goods on you?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Of course not - my bag¡¯s way too small. It¡¯s in my post-box; I¡¯ll go get it immediately. Just wait a few minutes.¡±


    Shen Wansan didn¡¯t waste any time. After adding Lu Li as a friend, he ran off to get the goods.


    The bags in Dawn were simply too small. A professional businessman like Shen Wansan would take advantage of the mail system by leaving items in there, without having to worry about the system erasing them.


    After waiting for a long time, Shen Wansan still wasn¡¯t back. Lu Li had already sold 2 Bronze grade equipment before he saw him running back as he huffed and puffed.


    ¡°What took you so long? You only just bought those things, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Heheh, you can¡¯t blame me for doing so. Alright, let¡¯s trade - I¡¯ve got everything here. Now, I¡¯m not boasting, but the only person in all of the Moon Shadow Valley who would be able to get what you want is me, Shen Wansan.¡±


    Shen Wansan had indeed put in a lot of effort to obtain these things. He definitely deserved the profits he had made.


    Because of how urgently Shen Wansan had requested the materials and the fact that the system was being updated the next day, the price at which he had bought all of the things was now 9 gold coins. Since there were many players who would be joining soon, many of the players with the goods didn¡¯t mind waiting and ended up selling the goods to Shen Wansan for a price that was higher than normal.


    No matter how much money he spent, Shen Wansan was determined to make this deal happen!


    The reason was simple - when adding friends, he could confirm the identity of the other person.


    There was a person who Shen Wansan deeply respected and wanted to get to know. That person wasn¡¯t the Water Fairy or even the Glory Capital¡¯s head, Sorrowless, it was Lu Li!


    When he added Lu Li as a friend, he simply couldn¡¯t believe that it was actually him.


    It was the same Lu Li who had sold an incredibly rare Skill Book on the very first day of the game, the same guy who had sold Steel grade equipment on the second day, the same guy who had sold a Guild Upgrade Order on the third day¡­ what couldn¡¯t this guy achieve?


    If it was just once, it could be dismissed as luck, or even heaven-defying luck if it were twice. However, saying that he only had good luck was childish.


    What attracted Shen Wansan the most was good equipment and players who could obtain good equipment.


    As such, he was determined to get on Lu Li¡¯s good side, even if it meant operating at a loss.


    Lu Li looked at the items and straightforwardly handed over the 10 gold coins.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t leave yet. Brother, destroying a bridge after crossing the river isn¡¯t good at all,¡± Shen Wansan said as he pulled Lu Li over, ¡°Bro, you¡¯re quite mysterious - I can¡¯t even imagine how you obtained all those things. Look at my name - I¡¯m a professional businessman. In the future, if you have any good items or equipment, can you let me sell them for you?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Lu Li.


    ¡°If you let me handle it for you, you¡¯ll definitely earn more. Take that Guild Upgrade Order for example. You sold it for 50 gold coins, right? If it was up to me, the minimum would have been 120 gold coins,¡± Shen Wansan said excitedly. To him, Lu Li¡¯s auction was much too amateurish.


    All businesspeople could see was money. What was the Blood-red War Flag? If they dared to stand between him and money, he would make them pay.


    The ¡®loss¡¯ that Lu Li had suffered could easily be avoided by having a trusted agent.

 58 Night Ghost 1

    Not every expert was backed by a union, but all of them had to have a professional businessperson as a friend.


    This was something that Lu Li had heard another player say in his ¡®past life¡¯. At that time, he hadn¡¯t given that much thought. After all, he was only a member of the Gold Collection Unit. Although he had eventually become more powerful, he was a second-rate expert at most.


    It was only today that he finally understood the significance of that sentence.


    He finally understood why Moonlight, who only had Common grade equipment, could instantly obtain an incredibly rare set.


    Experts needed a businessperson to support them in financial matters. Businesspeople were much more responsible and committed than unions. After all, they relied on their experts to supply them with rare items and equipment. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.


    Lu Li gave the two remaining LV10 Bronze grade equipment to Shen Wansan to sell and said farewell.


    Agreeing that he would go to Shen Wansan first when he found something good didn¡¯t mean that they had established an official business relationship. This required observing the other person over time. After all, they needed to be able to work together towards the same goal.


    The system was going to be updated in a few hours. The updating would last from nightfall until the night of the next day. Apart from helping Lu Xin to complete some of the paperwork for transferring schools, he could use the rest of the time to sleep. As such, Lu Li had no plans of sleeping early.


    By now, he couldn¡¯t earn any EXP from the LV5 Instance Dungeons, so he planned to find a safe place to train.


    Training alone, especially at night, wasn¡¯t as efficient as when they had been training as a group in the Snake Valley. However, gaining a little bit of EXP at a time would add up. At the very least, it would be more than he would receive from sleeping.


    There were many players who had the same thought: the wilderness was quite busy and screams could occasionally be heard. Evidently, there were Nightcrawlers around.


    After the game entered night-time, Nightcrawlers that were 10 levels higher than the highest-levelled player in that region would spawn in the wilderness. They had fast regeneration, decent Attack, and would kill everything in sight.


    If Lu Li bumped into a Nightcrawler, he could transform into a Little Leopard. With his Movement Speed, even the LV20 Nightcrawlers wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him.


    It was a pity that Lu Li didn¡¯t have any equipment that gave him night vision. He could only stumble around in the dark, following the route he had taken when he went to obtain the Supreme One Ring. He walked up the familiar path to the back of the mountain. There were 2 types of monsters there: the ¡®Injured Wild Wolves¡¯ and the ¡®Old Wild Wolves¡¯. They all had average Attack and Defence and were suitable for Lu Li to train on.


    In the forest, there were packs of wolves, each containing 20 members and at least one Elite-grade monster. According to the system settings, the Alpha Wolf of this pack was the victor of many death battles, with the loser of each being chased out. Each loser eventually became an ¡®Injured Wild Wolf¡¯.


    As for the Old Wild Wolves, these were wolves that had been evicted from the pack because of their age.


    They were all between LV8 to LV10 and travelled alone. They were much easier to deal with than other wolves.


    There were many trees growing close to each other here and their leaves covered the sky, reducing visibility. The monster population was quite sparse, so it wasn¡¯t an ideal place for parties to train.


    Lu Li picked a spot that was fairly remote and looked around for wolves to kill.


    The wolves could only deal around 20 to 30 damage to him, while he could hit them for 70 to 80 damage. If he used his Ultimate Skill, he could 200-300 damage.


    The Supreme One Ring¡¯s normally unnoticeable Vampirism effect was now a great help. Lu Li essentially didn¡¯t need to drink any Potions at all.


    He used Stealth to move behind a Boss wolf and stunned it with a Cheap Shot, before unleashing a barrage of normal attacks. As soon as the Boss woke up, he dealt a Shadowstrike chained with a Backstab to the wolf¡¯s unprotected waist. By now, Cheap Shot¡¯s cooldown had now refreshed. The second Cheap Shot put him at exactly 5 combo points.


    Lu Li¡¯s Dagger flashed across the wolf¡¯s throat.


    Slit Throat!


    If he got a Critical Hit with Slit Throat, it would instantly kill his target. Even if he didn¡¯t get a Critical Hit, he would only need to hit the target another 2 or 3 times.


    It took Lu Li about 20 seconds or so to kill a monster. The rest of his time was spent on actually finding monsters to kill.


    He didn¡¯t know that there were people secretly watching him and discussing.


    ¡°His Attack is so strong. When did LV10 wolves become so weak?¡± More than 30 yards away were two people hidden in the grass, quietly muttering to each other.


    ¡°Luckily we didn¡¯t immediately go and attack. Let¡¯s just observe for today,¡± the other person said reluctantly. His intuition told him that this person would not be easy to deal with. Even with this expert Thief beside him, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to take him on.


    These two people were both Elite Thieves from the Imperial Secret Service Union: ¡®Swirling Left Eye¡¯ and ¡®Staring Right Eye¡¯. Their teamwork was seamless and even experts had to be careful around them.


    ¡°I bet he has quite a few pieces of Bronze grade equipment on him, as well as a piece of Steel grade equipment or two.¡±


    Comparing Lu Li to themselves, the two Thieves both felt admiration and anger. The world was simply too unfair: why did he have such good luck?


    ¡°Who cares what equipment he has? He¡¯s going to drop it all soon. We¡¯ll kill him once today, once tomorrow, and again and again until he¡¯s back to LV0,¡± Staring Right Eye said vehemently. Members of the Imperial Secret Service were infamous for killing players until they were LV0 again.


    ¡°Exactly. Boss Seethe is going to be here soon. No matter how strong this Lu Li is, he won¡¯t be able to escape,¡± Swirling Left Eye said with hatred in his voice.


    He had been in the fight with Lu Li a few days ago and was killed in a mere few moments, becoming a stepping stone to Lu Li¡¯s fame.


    From that time onwards, the Imperial Secret Service hadn¡¯t stopped monitoring Lu Li. Seeing that Lu Li had ventured out at night by himself, the two Thieves immediately contacted their union while cautiously following him.


    They had been planning on finding an opportunity to kill Lu Li, like when his health was lowfrom fighting monsters.


    Who would have thought that Lu Li¡¯s health would never drop in the slightest and that he would be able to clear the monsters so quickly? His equipment was much better than theirs, so they gave up on the idea of attacking him and instead waited for everyone else.


    The monotonous process of farming monsters caused Lu Li to become less wary of his surroundings and he didn¡¯t notice himself being observed. He also didn¡¯t notice ten or so players entering the area around him. A fireball quickly flew towards Lu Li¡¯s back and he only had time to turn around.


    The fireball exploded and if it wasn¡¯t for the game¡¯s settings, it probably would have burned him and the entire patch of Forest.


    Lu Li did not immediately enter Stealth, because he would be damaged again in 3 seconds from the Fireball¡¯s Burn. If he went into Stealth immediately, he would be revealed as soon as he took the Burn damage again.


    Many other attacks were launched at him and ten or so shadows sprang towards him.


    The Warrior in front raised the sword in his hands. Once he entered his attack range, he would instantly use Charge. As long as they could stun this despicable Thief, they could stun-lock him up until they killed him.


    There was no sense of justice or fairness, only murder!


    Lu Li had to die, no matter what!

 59 Night Ghost 2

    Lu Li slightly regretted letting his guard down. He, who¡¯s profession had the highest sensitivity, had allowed so many players to come within 30 feet of him. This was unacceptable!


    Thirty feet was the range from which most ranged professions could attack.


    A faintly burning damage figure rose up from Lu Li¡¯s body. It was only 2 points of damage, but these 2 points of damage took away the opportunity for him to enter Stealth.


    The Warrior¡¯s Charge was about to hit him and the Warlock had cast a Charm skill.


    The players attacking Lu Li were confident of their success. After deploying so many people, they had finally corned the Thief.


    After their fight with Lu Li was posted on the forums, the Imperial Secret Service had been greatly affected.


    As the stars of the video, they had been mocked and ridiculed by other players. The guild that had lived in glory in many other games became a joke and in less than 3 days, they had lost hundreds of players. Even a few experts that they had recruited left.


    20-30 people had been toyed with by a single Thief, who had killed quite a few of them and forced the rest of them to return to town. Only a retard would join such a guild.


    However, if they could kill this Lu Li and post a video of this on the internet, they would be able to recover and become even more prominent.


    The consequence of messing with the Imperial Secret Service? Death.


    Even the title for the post had already been thought of. It was incredibly domineering and cool!


    However, the grins on the faces of the Imperial Secret Service¡¯s players soon disappeared. Lu Li turned into a puff of green coloured smoke and vanished.


    ¡°Force him out of hiding! Use anything you have!¡± The leader of this expedition, ¡®Raging Wolf Blood¡¯, didn¡¯t know how Lu Li vanished, but his experience informed him as to how to counter it.


    He knew that some thieves could instantly use Shadowmeld and Stealth to slip away. However, that didn¡¯t matter. As long as they could continuously hit him with skills, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.


    The players who came this time were not the same as the ones from before. The previous group had been pulled together quickly, while the players here now represented almost all of the experts that they had in the Moon Shadow Valley.


    Ten or so ranged attacks spread out, covering the ground, while the melee players swung their weapons around. They were all left disappointed. There were no signs that any of them had hit Lu Li.


    Where did he go?


    A small golden cheetah hid in the thickets while eating a piece of bread.


    Lu Li shivered as he looked at his HP.


    A single round of attacks had brought him down to critical HP.


    Just then, he had dodged all the melee attacks, but he had been hit by quite a few ranged attacks.


    If not for the fact that being damaged in the first 3 seconds of Vanish did not cancel the stealth effect, and if not for his equipment, he definitely would have died.


    After returning to full health, Lu Li activated Stealth and walked out.


    The trees and thickets within the Forest made it difficult to look for someone, but they also gave Lu Li cover.


    He silently crept behind a Magician and stabbed his Dagger into the back of his head. Luckily, it was just a game. Otherwise, their brain fluids would have probably started to leak out. With a single strike, Lu Li had dealt around half of that player¡¯s HP.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 92%, caused 180% Skill Damage, target stunned for 2 seconds!


    In those 2 seconds, Lu Li could attack with his normal attacks 3 times, dealing more than 100 damage each time.


    The Magician reacted quickly after he recovered. He immediately used Shadowmeld to avoid Lu Li¡¯s next normal attack, then lifted his hands and prepared to launch an Inferno Impact.


    If Lu Li was hit by the Inferno Impact, he would probably be Blinded.


    Lu Li shook his head and sidestepped as he spun, stabbing the Dagger in his right hand into the Magician¡¯s back.


    A Backhand Backstab with a Skill Completion of more than 70% cleared out the Magician¡¯s remaining HP.


    The feeling of attacking and killing like this was quite thrilling. Lu Li took a deep breath and picked up the equipment on the ground, then once again melted into the darkness.


    Just then, he hadn¡¯t used Cheap Shot, because he wanted to experience what a real PVP battle was like. If he had used Cheap Shot, he definitely would have been able to kill the Magician before he could even retaliate.


    Once he heard that a member of the team had died, Raging Wolf Blood immediately knew it was Lu Li.


    From where the battle had happened, he made a guess of Lu Li¡¯s current location and a few Magicians immediately surrounded the area.


    None of them noticed the little cheetah stealthily slipping away. At night and within the Forest, it was much more convenient to move around as the little cheetah.


    The next player to be assassinated was the Warrior. This poor Warrior had accidentally drawn the aggro of a Wolf. If there was anyone to help him, he would have been able to finish it off quickly. However, no one paid him any attention because of Lu Li¡¯s reappearance.


    It was just a normal monster. Surely a Warrior would be able to take care of it.


    That was only true, however, when there was no one else interfering.


    A Cheap Shot stunned the Warrior for 4 seconds. With the combined attacks from the Wolf and a Thief, the Warrior was finished off in less than 3 seconds.


    A few Imperial Secret Service players hurried over, only to see the Warrior and a dead Wolf wrapped together in an intimate embrace.


    ¡°Damn Thief. Face us like a man!¡±


    There were many shameless players, but this guy was special. Even his comrades rolled their eyes when they heard this. With so many players trying to find and kill him, only a retard would step out into the open.


    Just as the Warrior¡¯s body began to grow cold, a shout came from elsewhere.


    A group of players quickly ran over, but only found another corpse.


    Raging Wolf Blood could empathise with the frustration and helplessness that the previous group¡¯s leader felt. He finally understood why that leader had made those decisions that day.


    He had 2 options: they could either give up, or all die.


    A black shadow flitted past and he saw 2 Daggers criss-cross, as they repeatedly stabbed into an isolated Hunter.


    The Hunter was stunned and when he awoke, he saw his comrades running towards him before his vision darkened.


    Lu Li backflipped and shrank down into his cheetah form as he hid in the thickets. He would transform into the cheetah and activate Stealth, not giving the other players any opportunity to catch him.


    He was a Night Ghost, the Phantom of the Forest!


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Raging Wolf Blood closed his eyes as he sighed and gave the order to retreat.


    ¡°Should we revive our fallen players?¡± someone asked.


    A cry of surprise sounded out from the distance, then abruptly stopped. After a few moments, Swirling Left Eye¡¯s voice sounded in the chatroom.


    ¡°It was two of us against one of him. Right Eye even launched the first attack, but we failed. Boss, we should retreat!¡±


    ¡°Everyone, start channelling your teleport. If you meet this person in the future, don¡¯t fight with him.¡± Raging Wolf Blood did not waste any time, telling everyone to immediately leave.


    Had they underestimated their enemy? Or were the time and location unfavourable towards them?


    Even if they could choose the time and location and bring a team of elite players, how could they defeat this incredibly stealthy Night Ghost?!

 60 Slight Disappointmen

    Lu Li sent off another Thief with a Slit Throat and picked up the dropped equipment. Just as he was about to enter Stealth, he saw a group of people gathered together with a gentle light surrounding them. There were people channelling their hearthstones?


    Lu Li transformed into the little cheetah and crept over. What he saw left him dumbfounded.


    30-40 people were huddled together, channelling their hearthstones.


    The scene actually looked quite spectacular.


    Wait!


    Just as he was about to interrupt them, Lu Li suddenly stopped.


    For so many people to channel their hearthstones together, it had to be a trap!


    Perhaps, they would cancel the channels and launch a volley of attacks at him as soon as he appeared.


    What an insidious leader!


    Just as Lu Li was about to celebrate how wise he was, the players that were channelling their hearthstones all disappeared.


    They left?


    Lu Li stared in shock for about 10 seconds before walking over.


    There was not a single player left, and the system had restored the grass to its normal condition. It was as if they had never been there and the battle that Lu Li had just been in was simply a hallucination.


    Lu Li¡¯s Daggers danced around in his hands like butterflies. After thinking for a while, he shrugged. He could only accept that those people had retreated.


    Such lack of dedication!


    He didn¡¯t feel relieved, but rather, quite disappointed.


    200 years ago, there had been a ridiculous TV series that spent five minutes opening and introducing the characters, and another five minutes closing with a preview of the next episode. Another ten minutes were spent on repetitive fighting and only the remaining ten minutes contained the actual plot.


    That wasn¡¯t the point though. In that TV series, there was a phrase that was very relevant to what just happened: ¡°I didn¡¯t even use my strength but you¡¯ve already fallen!¡±


    Were these people just playing around?


    Lu Li had seen and heard about quite a few PVP battles in Dawn, all of which were incredibly exciting and thrilling. No one cared about the potential loss of EXP or equipment; the only thought in their minds was ¡°KILL!¡±


    Take, for example, the battle that had caused Moonlight¡¯s name to rise to prominence. He had fought from morning to night and every person involved had dropped many levels. Furthermore, his equipment that was worth hundreds of thousands of gold was all lost.


    So why then, had things turned out like this?


    The last time he had encountered the Imperial Secret Service, they had also fought for a while before huddling together to channel their hearthstones.


    These two groups of people were quite similar. Could it be that they were also from the Imperial Secret Service?


    If the Imperial Secret Service players knew that Lu Li had figured out their identity not because of their fame, but because of their cowardice, they probably would have committed suicide out of shame.


    The Imperial Secret Service players weren¡¯t bad by any means. For example, if they were to fight Moonlight, it would be possible to kill him by overwhelming him with numbers, despite his skill or equipment. After all, even though Moonlight was a ¡®war god¡¯, he had been killed many times and Lu Li would often hear of him being killed. However, Lu Li was different. He was a Thief - a very crafty Thief.


    Last time, he had hidden away for many minutes before doing anything to find a good opportunity. When everyone thought that he was gone, he had suddenly reappeared and killed many players. After killing someone, he immediately disappeared.


    The same thing had happened this time. Lu Li¡¯s equipment were better, he was more skilled, and he was more cunning. Apart from the initial volley of ranged attacks that he was hit by, the Imperial Secret Service players couldn¡¯t even touch him.


    This sort of battle had caused them to despair. They were facing a Night Ghost, an untouchable phantom. As such, Raging Wolf Blood had quickly given the order to retreat. Otherwise, their numbers would be continually whittled down until their entire group perished.


    After killing five players, Lu Li had obtained two pieces of Bronze grade equipment and a piece of Steel grade equipment. He was quite satisfied with these rewards.


    The Bronze grade equipment were both for Magic professions and he could sell these for money. The Steel grade equipment was dropped by one of the Thieves he had killed at the end and had excellent stats.


    Spellbreaker¡¯s Leather Pants (Steel): 10 Armour, Strength+4, Critical Chance+10%, Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 18/25.


    This was a fantastic piece of equipment for a Warrior Thief. Upon seeing the 10% Critical Chance, Lu Li immediately equipped the pants. No matter if he was an Agility Thief or a Strength Thief, Critical Chance was something he could never have enough of.


    With this, Lu Li now had 1 piece of Silver grade equipment (Supreme One Ring) and 6 pieces of Steel grade equipment (Spider Silk Gloves, Swift Leather Boots, Weaver¡¯s Leather Armour, Spellbreaker¡¯s Leather Pants, Broodmother¡¯s Kiss, Death¡¯s Shadow). This placed him above almost all other players. Even experts with the support of big guilds probably would not have anything comparable.


    After all, no one else had killed 3 Bosses in the Wilderness, obtained the First Clear for an Instance Dungeon and obtained a new record for an Instance Dungeon. This even include the equipment he had found from the many chests he opened every day.


    Lu Li did not change to a different place to train. After all, the Forest was very suited to Thieves, especially at night. If anyone wants to die, come at me. However, Lu Li did not let down his guard. This time, he kited the monsters towards the thickets before he started fighting them.


    If anyone attacked him, he could instantly dive into a thicket and escape.


    Currently, only Druids could dive into thickets and bushes like that. No one would expect a Thief to be able to transform into a cheetah.


    Lu Li farmed monsters until 12am, filling up 70% of his EXP bar. The system notified the players that the update was about to begin and told them to safely log off. Otherwise, they would be responsible for any loss if they continued to play.


    After logging out, Lu Li was shocked to find that there were many people in his room.


    His three female landlords and his little sister who should have been asleep were all looking at him in awe.


    Luckily, he at had a pair of boxers on.


    ¡°Xin Xin, what are you all doing here?¡±


    ¡°Big brother, I heard that you committed murder in the game again. So cool!¡± the little girl said with an expression of admiration.


    What the heck? Shouldn¡¯t little sisters usually have eyes filled with tears?


    ¡°Big brother, you committed murder. Let¡¯s run¡­ I¡¯ll be with you forever¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not called ¡®murder¡¯, it¡¯s called ¡®PVP¡¯ - something that people do for fun. You have school tomorrow, so you should rest early, alright?¡± Lu Li did his best to correct his little sister. He couldn¡¯t allow her to go around telling everyone that her brother had murdered people.


    ¡°Heheh, if the Imperial Secret Service¡¯s people knew that you killed them ¡®for fun¡¯, they¡¯d probably cry,¡± Dou Dou said with an expression of fake compassion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare corrupt my little sister. Who knows what sort of things you were telling her.¡±


    Lu Li put the game helmet away and put on a shirt, covering his muscular and scar-ridden chest.


    The bespectacled and delicate Yi Yi swallowed a mouthful of saliva, as she reluctantly looked away from Lu Li¡¯s chest.


    ¡°You¡¯re drooling, you pervert,¡± Huan Huan said as she nudged Yi Yi, feeling embarrassed because of her friend. She looked so prim and proper, but she acted like this.


    ¡°The video has already been uploaded to the forum and they got your face this time.¡±


    Dou Dou jumped in front of Lu Li with an ¡®I caught you¡¯ expression.

 61 Videoed Again

    ¡°What video?¡± Lu Li had an uneasy feeling.


    Were there so many bored people taking videos everywhere?! Last time, it was during the day and there were many people passing by. It was only natural that the scene would be filmed. However, this time, it had been at night and in such a remote location. Who could have possibly taken this video?


    Indeed, the top thread on the forum had changed.


    The God Thief reappears: the birth of the Night Ghost!


    There was no other description in the thread, just a video.


    From the videographer¡¯s perspective, a group of 30-40 players sinisterly marched into the Forest. They were made up of all sorts of professions and there were even close-ups of some players and their equipment.


    ¡°This is the Imperial Secret Service¡¯s ¡®Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You¡¯. He¡¯s quite skilled at PVP and is ranked in the top 10,000 in China¡¯s Steel Blood Rankings (PVP Rankings). This is¡­¡± Dou Dou pointed out some of the players, introducing them to Lu Li.


    Top 10,000? He was so weak?


    Lu Li felt that he hadn¡¯t fought anyone who was particularly skilled last night. Only the two Thieves at the end were relatively well known.


    The scene in the video changed to two Thieves lying in the grass, silently watching another Thief farm monsters in the distance. The Thief who was farming looked incredibly efficient and powerful.


    ¡°One of them is called Swirling Left Eye and the other is called Staring Right Eye. They are a very scary duo and have defeated many people in the top 100 Steel Blood Rankings,¡± Dou Dou explained.


    ¡°Wait, this video seems fake,¡± Lu Li said with a face of confusion, ¡°The scenes are changing too fast. Maybe there¡¯s something wrong with the angle, or maybe¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I don¡¯t think anything is fake,¡± Dou Dou said as she glanced at him.


    ¡°This video was made by the Imperial Secret Service,¡± realised Lu Li.


    The battle was very entertaining, shot from different angles and edited by an expert to the standards of a Hollywood movie. The members of the Imperial Secret Service did not slander Lu Li in the video, but seemingly praised and flattered him.


    There were a few dodge-moves that looked clumsy, but were edited by the Imperial Secret Service to look graceful.


    In the video, Lu Li was the main actor and all of the attention was on him. His face and hid actions exuded a sense of fierceness and power.


    There weren¡¯t any other players present to be witnesses at the time, so it must have been The Imperial Secret Service who made this video of their own guild members being killed. Then, after some weird editing, they posted it on the forum for all to see.


    ¡°Did they not use an umbrella in the rain? Are their brains filled with nothing but water?¡± Huan Huan asked sarcastically.


    ¡°No, they¡¯re very clever.¡±


    Even though the Imperial Secret Service players were not very skilled in PVP, Lu Li was impressed with what they had done today.


    ¡°Why? I think every one of them is stupid.¡±


    The girls did not understand why Lu Li thought so highly of them.


    ¡°After defeating the Imperial Secret Service players last time, they lost a lot of their reputation,¡± Lu Li speculated. ¡°This time they must have wanted revenge and initially intended to record a video of me being killed, but that didn¡¯t turn out as expected.¡±


    ¡°Then why did they still post the video?¡± Dou Dou asked.


    ¡°They want everyone to know that the person who defeated them is very strong. The stronger that person seems, the more understandable their failure is,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Maybe they¡¯re not as useless as they are known for,¡± Huan Huan nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Also,¡± Lu Li rewinded the video, pointing at the robe of a magician, ¡°This is a Steel grade equipment from the Spider¡¯s Lair Instance Dungeon, with very good defence. However, it could only last a couple seconds against me. He didn¡¯t even have an opportunity to retaliate. What does this tell us?¡±


    ¡°Wow, your attack is so high!¡± Dou Dou exclaimed with a face of admiration.


    ¡°Your attack is high; therefore, you must have a lot of good equipment on you,¡± Yi Yi said calmly, collecting herself after being impressed by Lu Li.


    ¡°Exactly, they want to tell everyone that I have a lot of Steel grade equipment. In doing this, they not only explain the reason for being unable to defeat me, but they also encourage people to hunt me for drops,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Big brother, you must be in danger.¡±


    Lu Xin held onto Lu Li¡¯s arms with a worried expression.


    ¡°Especially from those thieves who enjoy PVP for the fun of it. You must be careful in the future, because anyone could strike you from behind and take your equipment,¡± Yi Yi said, taking joy in his misfortune.


    Lu Li felt slightly uneasy but ignored them. He yawned and said, ¡°Ok, are your curiosities satisfied? Everyone go back to sleep. Xin Xin, you¡¯re going to a new school tomorrow, do you want others to see your eye bags? Also, don¡¯t enter my room without my permission next time. ¡°


    ¡°Do you feel uncomfortable with a couple of beautiful girls coming into your room?¡± Huan Huan said teasingly.


    ¡°Tsk Tsk, you have a nice body, boy.¡±


    Dou Dou approached Lu Li, wanting to caress his chest which remained visible under his shirt. She was an extroverted and naughty little girl, who seemed to be able to sense that Lu Li had no ill intentions towards them.


    ¡°You never go to the swimming pool and it¡¯s such a waste that it¡¯s just sitting there. We don¡¯t mind if you use it; we could even go together since we don¡¯t normally skinny dip anyway,¡± Yi Yi said with evil intentions.


    Lu Li could not handle them anymore and chased them all out of his room.


    The next morning, Lu Li politely refused the 3 girls¡¯ requests to come along and took his sister to the No.1 Middle School to handle the admission procedures.


    The Higher Education Mega Centre was basically a small city. Several universities surrounded the Central Business District and the streets were filled with people. Lu Li felt deeply moved, coming here with his sister.


    He found it miraculous that the Heavens had given him another chance. This time he would protect and guard his sister well.


    The No.1 Middle School had a great location, next to the best universities and had a great school environment. The students seemed to have more energy and spirit compared to the Common District.


    ¡°I¡¯ve made a call before. This is my sister¡¯s grade report.¡±


    Lu Li had a clear goal as he entered the enrolment office. He handed the forms to the enrolment director, an old man dressed in plain and simple clothes who looked to be nearing his 60s. According to Dou Dou, he used to be the principal of a Normal University and had been a teacher for his entire life. After his retirement, he continued to serve in the enrolment department at the No.1 Middle School.


    ¡°Grades like this from that place. Not bad, not bad.¡±


    The old man was impressed.


    After this, he asked Lu Xin a few more questions, to which she all cleverly replied.


    ¡°Why do you want to come to No.1 Middle School? Our enrolment standards and our school fees are much higher than other middle schools?¡± the old man asked sincerely.


    ¡°Our living standards have improved by quite a bit, so I wanted to give her a better education and environment. I know that No.1 Middle School has higher enrolment standards, but my sister¡¯s grades are not bad. She is very mature and is willing to put in the effort,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°To strive to create a better learning environment for your sister is commendable. Have you studied at a school before?¡±


    The old man¡¯s attention suddenly turned to Lu Li.

 62 Real Life Great Thief

    ¡°I only attended 2 years of primary school. After that, things happened, and I haven¡¯t set foot in a school since,¡± Lu Li said calmly.


    No one could understand how unfortunate that year was for them.


    Their parents left them and there were no relatives that were willing to foster them.The only orphanage near them was found to have been associated with a child abuse scandal. Eight-year-old Lu Li and his baby sister had to persevere to survive.


    Not only did he raise his sister and send her to school, he did this without committing a single crime.


    ¡°Not only were your past records clean, you have even received many awards for the good deeds you¡¯ve done,¡± the old man said, with Lu Xin¡¯s social profile and their family¡¯s information in his hands.


    ¡°Done good deeds¡­¡±


    Lu Li felt slightly uncomfortable with that phrase.


    There were many more good deeds he had done over the past years. However, favours would only be recorded by the Social Credit Bureau if they were submitted by someone. Many of the other good deeds that he had done over the past years had all gone without record.


    ¡°Ha ha, young man, don¡¯t mock the system. There are reasons for recording individual social credits,¡± the old man laughed. ¡°We haven¡¯t accepted a student from the Slum District for 13 years. Even if their grades were good, they were all sent to the No.7 Middle School. They have a class catered to students from the Slum District.


    Lu Li¡¯s expression changed slightly. A few days ago, he had compiled his household¡¯s information, as well as Lu Xin¡¯s grade report and sent them off to No.1 Middle School. He received a notification of acceptance on the same day. Lu Li was oblivious to the inside enrolment stories of Slum District students and how difficult it was to be accepted.


    ¡°You have a very high social credit, especially for someone from the Slum District,¡± the old man said. ¡°Our society has become more and more corrupt, so it¡¯s rare to find people like you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Lu Li thanked him genuinely.


    ¡°If you are interested in attending school, I can help you with that as well.¡±


    The old man took out a business card from his drawer. ¡°This is Principal Liao¡¯s business card from the Normal University. I can send in a good word for you. You can go and attend some lectures at the university and listen in on them,¡± he offered.


    ¡°And for my sister¡­?¡± Lu Li slid the business card into his pocket.


    ¡°Grade 1 Class 5. I will speak with the teacher in charge of that class. You can start attending class today.¡± The old man must have been someone of importance. Lu Li had done some background research and found that the first 5 classes were almost impossible for normal people to get into.


    ¡°Do you have any questions regarding the school fees?¡± the old man asked


    ¡°No, all good, thank you sir.¡±


    Lu Li shook his head; he did not intend to apply for any reductions.


    Lu Xin was from the Slum District. She would be mocked by her classmates if they found out he had applied for one.


    Many schools jumped the gun and tried to do things to help the disadvantaged students. Although their intentions were good, they did not realise the impact it had on the self-esteem of their students and how they were viewed among their peers.


    His sister did not need that!


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    The old man smiled, impressed with Lu Li


    He had no education and no official job, but was still able to provide for his sister. He had even helped her to be accepted into the top middle school. This kid seemed to have great potential.


    Lu Li said his goodbyes and figured out that Lu Xin¡¯s class was located at the front of the campus. When they arrived, there were many students in the classroom for the morning self-study session.


    ¡°You¡¯re the new student, right? Come on in.¡±


    A female teacher gestured her to come in. She wore black framed glasses and dressed very professionally.


    Lu Xin stood next to the teacher and shyly introduced herself to the class.


    Lu Li was worried about his sister and stood at the door to observe. He had to make sure that Lu Xin had settled in before he could leave.


    ¡°The new student is so cute.¡±


    The students whispered to each other as their attention turned to Lu Xin.


    ¡°Damn, is she a loli from the 2D world? Her voice is so gentle and so cute; I think I¡¯m going to die.¡±


    ¡°Sit next to me! There¡¯s a spare seat next to me!¡±


    The commotion was mainly from the boys, however, there were a few girls who were also into lolis. Naturally, there were also others who disagreed.


    ¡°Her looks are ok, but look at the way she dresses. It¡¯s so random and out of place,¡± some girls commented sourly.


    ¡°It looks familiar; is that the CC brand from last years¡¯ catalogue? No, it looks like the knockoff version. Wow, she¡¯s wearing imitations.¡±


    The girls laughed mockingly to mask their jealousy.


    No.1 Middle School was catered to the Rich District. Most students come from a wealthy background. Lu Xin¡¯s background instantly created a socio-economic divide between her and her classmates.


    The teacher said sternly, ¡°Lu Xin was accepted in our class by Principal Fan. I hope that you¡¯ll all get along in the future. If someone gives her a hard time I will be contacting your parents.¡±


    Principal Fan was the old man from the enrolment department. He was not only the enrolment officer, but also the famous principal of No.1 Middle School.


    He had been a relief teacher at No.1 Middle School for 10 years, the Education Director, vice principal, principal of No.2 Middle School, professor at Hua Xia University of Industry and Commerce, Head of Department, Chair of board and the Principal of Normal University. He had many accomplishments and wealth of experience. He was well respected and had a good reputation among other educators.


    Many rich and powerful people from the Rich District had either been his classmate, his student or had attended his economic lectures. Many students from the Rich District were taught to be respectful of Principal Fan. If they did not listen to Principal Fan, they would probably be skinned alive by their parents.


    When they realised it was Principal Fan that organised her admission, many of the students became quiet.


    ¡°You, outside the door, are you a new student as well?¡± the teacher asked, seeing Lu Li standing outside the door.


    Lu Li shook his head and pointed in the direction of Lu Xin, replying, ¡°I¡¯m her older brother and accompanied her here. My sister is quite shy, so please take good care of her.¡±


    As Lu Li spoke, he caught the attention of the students.


    The bitter girls wanted to mock him because of how tacky his clothes were. His sister was at least quite cute, but he was dressed overly formal on such a hot day.


    But before they could begin their mocking, someone shouted loudly.


    ¡°What the heck, it¡¯s Lu Li!¡±


    ¡°I must be blind, it¡¯s actually Lu Li!¡±


    ¡°Am I imagining things? I can¡¯t believe that I get to see the legend himself!¡±


    Normally the students were afraid of the teacher, but this time, they didn¡¯t care. It was not only one or two, but as many as ten who continued to yell and shout.


    ¡°Shut up! All of you! What are you being loud about?! Get out if you want to be loud!¡± the teacher sternly commanded with a serious face. The piercing stare behind her glasses was almost like an AOE skill, able to immediately annihilate every student.


    Normally, if she got angry like this, the classroom would be dead quiet. Even the naughtiest of students would shut up.


    But today, everything changed.


    As soon as the teacher stopped speaking, a few of the boys jumped up and ran out of the classroom.

 63 Goodbye, Star Moon

    Four students rushed out of the classroom and surrounded Lu Li. Their over-excitement made him feel uneasy.


    You weren¡¯t able to alter the way that you looked in Dawn: your in-game avatar would look like your real life self. However, most players would add further customizations to their character, which made them unrecognizable in addition to the changes in race.


    When Lu Li joined the game, he didn¡¯t change anything for the sake of saving time.


    He was now regretting that decision. In the future, he would wear a mask in game.


    ¡°Gu¡­ Guru, I¡¯m playing Thief too. Can you¡­ give me an autograph?¡± a pimple-faced boy stuttered.


    The teacher of the class was concerned; it was one thing for these kids to play video games, but for it to reach a point where they would be chasing celebrities was too much. A meeting with their parents needed to be set up tomorrow to talk about this obsession.


    ¡°I don¡¯t play Thief, but I really admire you Guru. I¡¯m so happy to meet you¡­ so happy!¡± another loud voice of a boy rang out.


    The admiration for video gamers was so strong. This kid¡¯s father was an internationally renowned musician and didn¡¯t even receive half of this respect.


    ¡°Guru, are you taking apprentices? I would like you to be my master,¡± a third student asked politely.


    The teacher¡¯s face had already turned green from betrayal. Her students were being stolen from her before her own eyes.


    She looked to see what the last boy, the top student in the class, was going to say.


    ¡°Guru, please take care of me.¡±


    The last boy only muttered a few words, as everything else had already been said by the others.


    The teacher stumbled before grabbing onto a table. It was¡­ an illusion, it must be!


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk some other time.¡±


    Lu Li saw that Lu Xin had found a place to sit, so he waved and started to leave.


    The boys looked at Lu Li and back at the pale complexion of the teacher. In this moment of calm, they all moodily returned to the class.


    Guru¡¯s gone¡­


    Don¡¯t be afraid!


    He can run now, but he¡¯ll be back sooner or later.


    We¡¯re now Guru¡¯s little sister¡¯s schoolmates. It¡¯ll be easy to see Guru again.


    Lu Li left the campus and strolled along the street, shopping for the daily essentials. He also bought his sister two complete sets of good-quality clothing. Everything from head to toe was branded, even the underwear.


    Now that he had more money, he naturally would give his sister better things.


    After dropping everything back home, Lu Li went to the Star Moon Union office.


    He imagined that there would be a group of people mocking him, but instead, he was greeted by only Square Root 3.


    Square Root 3 looked the same in game and in real life; he was a handsome young man. The only difference were the glasses that he wore, which looked elegant and refined.


    ¡°I¡¯m honored to meet you Lu Li,¡± Square Root 3 said, as he shook Lu Li¡¯s hand and invited him to sit.


    ¡°Here is the 60,000, as per the agreement,¡± Lu Li passed the cash over saying, ¡°I¡¯m thankful for this contract, which gave me the opportunity to enter Dawn.¡±


    To this rich second generation, 30,000 wasn¡¯t even enough to take a stroll in the night markets, but to Lu Li, this was truly the start of his gaming career. When the game had just been released, there was no way for him to buy a game helmet. He had to join Star Moon Union as a Gold Collection member, but he didn¡¯t think that his contract would come to an end this quickly.


    ¡°I also appreciate this contract very much. Without it, Dawn would have one less expert.¡±


    Square Root 3 passed on the money to a nearby accountant, who nodded before leaving. He then picked up the Relief Agreement and signed his name on it.


    He was the Guild¡¯s legal representative and had the authority to sign this kind of contract.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t expect this, initially thinking that Square Root 3 had volunteered to see him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been in Star Moon for 5 years, ever since High School. At the time I was young and didn¡¯t know anything, but after so many years I now understand,¡± Square Root 3 sighed emotionally, laughing bitterly, ¡°They told me to escape, because there was a bigger world out there, but I was unwilling.¡±


    Lu Li understood what he was saying, but didn¡¯t respond. Everyone had to live with their own choices, no matter what they were.


    ¡°Star Moon Guild has many issues that can¡¯t be resolved. If you really tried to resolve them, the guild would probably be unable to go on,¡± Square Root 3 sighed and continued, ¡°Because of these issues, I won¡¯t convince you to stay. I only hope that if we need some help, you¡¯ll look at these papers and extend a helping hand.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, as long as I¡¯m compensated appropriately,¡± Lu Li responded.


    What was originally a hostile meeting was instead carried out in an amicable and united atmosphere. Both parties recalled their initial struggles together, but now shared a fine outlook on their potential future business interactions within Dawn.


    In reality, Square Root 3 never wanted Lu Li to stay.


    Currently, most guilds were chasing after experts, the most popular of which was Lu Li. They weren¡¯t particularly interested in his PVP ability, in fact, they weren¡¯t interested in PVP experts at all. What were looking however, were PVE experts.


    To the big guilds, Lu Li was a talented party leader. How else could he have attained the first clear of the Spider Lair and then broken the record by such a staggering amount?


    He had taken three Wild Boss First Clears. No one was unconvinced of this.


    Some were even questioning the Chinese Party Leader Rankings. Lu Li¡¯s ranking was one question that no one could answer.


    However, the most important thing was that Lu Li didn¡¯t have an official guild!


    He was open for anyone to attract him to their guild.


    Many people wished to be subordinates under Lu Li¡¯s party leading expertise, except for Square Root 3.


    After the few interactions that he had with Lu Li, Square Root 3 knew that Lu Li wasn¡¯t one to cater for public interest. He has his own pride and would not bow down to you because your family was rich or if you were a brilliant student from a good university.


    Star Moon Union was made up of these rich, second generations and elite university students.


    Both of these kinds of people were too proud, so they were not compatible.


    I am Richy Rich actually wanted to legally attack Lu Li, but Square Root 3 had strongly advocated for a peaceful resolution.


    Things that happened in-game were best resolved in-game.


    To offend an expert in the heat of the moment was unwise.


    This wasn¡¯t what Richy Rich would have liked, but he had series of nightmares of Lu Li appearing from the shadows and holding a knife to his neck after watching last night¡¯s video.


    There were no skills in real life and no such thing as Stealth, but even then, one should be wary of someone who had that kind of patience and ability.


    If you backed someone into a corner, you had to be ready when they came out swinging.


    Without a care in the world, Lu Li strolled through the streets, enjoying himself without a care in the world. All the normal things that he saw were brilliant in his eyes.

 64 System Update

    After the System Update, the night and day within Dawn was almost the opposite of reality. The days were always long, while the nights were always short. The night was set to be exactly 8 hours, from 10AM to 6PM real time. During this time, the Nightcrawlers would roam the wilderness and the public Instance Dungeons would be closed. Those who wanted to train had to do so in the wild and at the risk of death.


    In order to adapt to this reversed time, Lu Li forced himself to sleep well in the afternoon.


    After he woke up, he found his landlords at his door.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I would say that we are considered beauties. How dare you speak to us like you saw a cockroach?¡± Dou Dou¡¯s personality was unlike the meaning of her name, which meant reserved. Once she caught on to something, she couldn¡¯t keep quiet about it.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sorry. What seems to be the problem?¡± Lu Li asked insincerely, while thinking about making some food.


    ¡°We would like to take you out for some food and bring some home for Xin Xin.¡±


    Knowing that their looks wouldn¡¯t work, Yi Yi resorted to luring him in with food.


    ¡°Okay, how about we go to the Dragon Szechuan restaurant?¡± If someone was offering to pay, he would be happy to accept. This would also let his sister try some better food, so he had no reason to reject the offer.


    ¡°You¡¯re ruthless. Do you really want to go the Dragon Szechuan restaurant? Do you want to eat all our money away?¡± The sad looks of the beauties were a sight to behold. Of course, this was just a pretense, as the Dragon Szechuan restaurant was an extremely popular restaurant. On average, it would cost each person less than 100 dollars.


    However, they wanted something in return and waited until the food had arrived before revealing their true intentions.


    ¡°Lu Li, you¡¯re an expert. What kind of profession should I play?¡± Zhou Huan Huan asked.


    ¡°This is a complex question; it depends on your ability, hobbies and what kind of playstyle you have.¡±


    Lu Li could already roughly guess what they were going to ask. These three girls were very reasonable in giving him and his sister such low rent, so he had no reason to avoid the question.


    ¡°We just play however. As long as it¡¯s fun we don¡¯t mind,¡± Yi Yi said.


    ¡°Oh, are you not going to maintain the game studio?¡± Lu Li was surprised.


    ¡°Playing casually doesn¡¯t mean that we can¡¯t earn money.¡±


    Dou Dou¡¯s mood changed quickly and she happily said, ¡°Who knows? Maybe I¡¯ll find a high quality skill book.¡±


    ¡°Wipe off your saliva. What profession do you want to play?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Paladin.¡± Dou Dou placed her hand over her chest. ¡°May the light keep you!¡± she declared.


    ¡°Sure, what about you guys? Are there any professions that particularly interest you?¡±


    The Paladin was one of Dawn¡¯s most popular professions. However, this profession was hard to play without skill.


    ¡°I want to tame pets, but I heard that the Tame Beast Skill Book is hard to find. If that¡¯s a problem, then never mind,¡± Yi Yi said.


    ¡°I have a hunter on my friends list who has already learned Tame Beast. If it appears again, I¡¯ll hold onto it for you, so don¡¯t worry. After level 10, its really easy to grind the skill book. Otherwise, the profession would be unplayable.¡±


    Lu Li supported her choice of hunter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to play, but I definitely don¡¯t want to play Priest,¡± Huan Huan sadly said.


    ¡°Not priest?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t want to play Priest, but I still like being a Healer.¡±


    ¡°Then play Shaman - Healer Shaman can restore health, give buffs, drop various totems, transform into a Shadow Wolf and it also has a variety of strong support skills. Together, the three of you have ranged DPS, melee DPS and a healer. Once Dou Dou gets a set of defensive equipment, you won¡¯t even need to find a Main Tank.¡±


    The Shaman¡¯s wolf was somewhat similar to the Druid¡¯s cheetah transformation. After transforming, it gave a 20% movement speed increase and a stealth ability. If you were lucky, you could also learn the increased speed skill. The only caveat was that it didn¡¯t have any offensive abilities.


    ¡°Picking a profession isn¡¯t actually that complicated. The players on the forums have barely learnt any skills, so they can¡¯t speak for picking one profession over another,¡± Lu Li said with disdain. He had forgotten that he was only aware of this because of his previous life¡¯s knowledge.


    After dealing with the issue of food and clothing, it was almost day-time in Dawn when they got back. Lu Li washed up and logged into the game, which was now bright and beautiful like a painting.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to appreciate the beauty of it; he quickly found a hiding spot and transformed into a small leopard. He ran past the Moon Reflection Lake, sending a message while he went.


    ¡°Quickly go to the small forest next to the Moon Reflection Lake. I have led the turtle to the other side!¡±


    This was something that only Lu Li knew. The system update would refresh all kinds of things, including Bosses and Treasure Chests!


    Originally, he had planned to go the Cynocephali mine and open the three chests, but after some thought, he decided that fighting a Boss was more worth it. The items produced in those chests were generally common, but there was a possibility of the Boss dropping a Steel item.


    There was no one else in the wilderness other than Lu Li, as he rushed towards the Moon Reflection Lake. His gold yellow fur shone in the sun, making him look like a bright gold streak.


    Wow!


    The little leopard dove into the water and instantly turned into a seal.


    Worried that someone would take the Boss, Lu Li didn¡¯t open the Treasure Chest that he saw. He pulled the aggro of the Boss and took it back to the surface. After breaching the surface, he transformed into the leopard again and pulled the Boss into the forest.


    The turtle Boss reluctantly looked at the Moon Reflection Lake as it was forced to slowly follow Lu Li according to the rules of the system.


    Although the forest area was small, it was much easier to kill the monster here than by the lake. They only had 6 people, but that was better than competing against the huge army of people that were gathered to fight the Boss.


    Azure Sea Breeze, Moonlight, Lonesome Flower, March Rain and Remnant Dream were already online to receive Lu Li¡¯s reminder. They wanted to fight a Boss as soon as they entered the game, so they waited vigilantly for this message.


    ¡°Sea Breeze, take aggro. Everyone else start dealing damage.¡±


    Lu Li rushed into woods and turned back into humanoid form.


    Azure Sea Breeze used Charge and Taunt to draw the Boss¡¯ attention to himself. While doing so, he asked, ¡°Lu Li, we answered so many things, but we didn¡¯t get any EXP rewards.¡±


    Before the game opened, the official website had been updated to announce the updated content. A staggering 48 of those things were suggested by them; the 6 of them were tied for first place.


    The first thing Azure Sea Breeze checked when he came online was how much he had levelled up by. But to his disappointment, he was still 30% EXP from hitting level 10.

 65 Moonlight is Killed

    ¡°You will get the reward. You just need to go into town and enter your account. There is a small transfer fee though, so you¡¯ll need to wait for a while to receive the experience,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°Oh my, it sounds expensive by the way you describe it. How much is this transfer fee?¡±


    Everyone was curious.


    ¡°Transferring from the Novice Village costs 1 Gold and transferring between towns costs 2 Gold. You cannot transfer between Novice Villages¡­¡±


    Lu Li shook his head, feeling the burden of the price.


    He had a plan to send it to different cities, but the cost would give him some trouble.


    The game company must have been going bankrupt to try and make money so ruthlessly. Everyone was speechless.


    Most of the group was considered to be doing pretty well. Remnant Dream was carrying 4-5 Gold, while Lu Li had over 10 Gold, even after purchasing the upgrade materials for the Supreme One Ring.


    How could ordinary players spare that kind of money? Even 1 Gold was considered quite a lot.


    Only those who spent money on the trading platform to buy Gold coins could spare some.


    Repairing equips cost money and potions cost money. With these two costs, a player¡¯s earnings would quickly be gone. If one wanted to buy 2 Common equips, they would truly be impoverished.


    ¡°It¡¯s just 1 Gold, I guess.¡±


    Other than Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze also had money to spare after fighting a few Bosses.


    ¡°After beating the Boss, I want to claim the EXP. I¡¯m 10% EXP from reaching level 10 now. How much EXP will I get?¡±


    ¡°Let me calculate¡­ you should be at least level 12 after receiving it.¡±


    Lu Li calculated it based on some previous posts he had read, but he was unsure.


    ¡°If I can really get to level 12 that would be great! After level 10, the EXP cost to level up each time is a couple times more than the previous level. I¡¯m currently levelling up slower than this turtle!¡± Azure Sea Breeze burst into tears.


    Kleig blinked innocently. It wanted to turn and run but was intercepted by Moonlight¡¯s Charge. Once again, it was attacked relentlessly.


    Without its healing ability, Kleigh was a piece of cake. After only 20 minutes, it let out a scream.


    ¡°The Boss is here and there are players killing it already!¡±


    The Boss¡¯ scream seemed to have attracted some players.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the items; you guys return to town!¡± Lu Li decisively spoke and picked up the Boss¡¯ drops.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t pick up any items, but didn¡¯t channel his recall either. Instead, he faced the two players and rushed towards them. With three swishes of his axe, one of them was already dead.


    Charge, Slash, Sweep¡­ Execute!


    Lu Li stared and was a little scared. He wasn¡¯t paying attention, but this guy seemed to have execute.


    By the time the other player had reacted, he only saw the corpse of his companion. In his surprise, he was unable to stop Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s and the others¡¯ return channels.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t channel either, instead preparing to go into Stealth after picking up the items.


    He was a Thief! Thieves would never need to use the return channel!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t advise Moonlight to return either: he was a PVP maniac, so he wouldn¡¯t give up any PVP opportunity. He would rather die.


    Lu Li snuck off to the side, watching Moonlight make use of the cramped forest terrain to kill the players one by one. He had no plans whatsoever to help. It was too bad that he didn¡¯t have some melon seeds to snack on; otherwise, this would have been perfect.


    Moonlight¡¯s technique was excellent. His positioning was always right and he moved around to avoid most of the non-targeting skills. The Axe in his hands was constantly waving around. The Berserker was commonly dubbed as the King of physical attack, but tended not to kill people efficiently.


    However, after fighting for 3 minutes, Moonlight had already taken a dozen lives. When he cast Whirlwind, he took out 5-6 players who only had a bit of HP left.


    Nevertheless, the overpowered Berserker was not invincible.


    Moonlight¡¯s HP continued to decline: 80%, 60%, 50%...


    Oh no, he had been crowd controlled!


    The next wave of attacks hit really hard and he was now at less than 10% HP.


    Moonlight had no intention of running away, but at this point, only Thieves and Druids could possibly escape.


    ¡°Die! How dare you mess with the Glorious Paladins!¡±


    Moonlight then fell as this was shouted.


    His axe dropped and didn¡¯t turn white with his corpse.


    The weapon dropped!


    It looked cool, had high attack and possibly some other effects. All the players excitedly held their breaths.


    ¡°Wow, so pretentious for such a small guild,¡± Lu Li thought. The players who PVP¡¯ed with Moonlight were all members of the Glorious Paladins. They were well disciplined and left the dropped equip to the commander. Not one of the players went to pick it up.


    As the commander bent down and picked up the weapon, a Thief with his face covered suddenly appeared before him. He picked up the axe and threw it into his backpack before slowly fading away.


    His attitude was way too casual, like he had picked up a coin from his bedroom floor.


    ¡°What are you guys looking at? Go and flush out that Thief!¡± The commander was frozen for a full 5 seconds before roaring at his guild members.


    Even the Imperial Secret Service¡¯s elite players couldn¡¯t flush Lu Li out. For these slow-reaction, second-rate ordinary players to do so was just wishful thinking.


    ¡°I dropped my weapon.¡± Moonlight sounded depressed.


    He had lost the high attack Bloodseeker¡¯s Axe that gave additional Strength and swung smoothly. He could have dropped anything, but somehow this was the thing that dropped.


    ¡°Hey, I just picked up an axe. Not sure if it¡¯s yours,¡± Lu Li joked.


    ¡°You really are something else. I¡¯ll wait for you in the village.¡±


    Moonlight didn¡¯t offer any money, immediately sending a trade request. He spent all day PVPing, so he didn¡¯t have any money to give Lu Li.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stay in the village, go to Snake Valley and fight snakes for the next two hours. Then, we can kill the snake Boss before going to town,¡± Lu Li said.


    Once the others heard about the Boss, they forgot about everything else.


    Lu Li transformed into a small Leopard and rushed like a gust of wind. He didn¡¯t take the road in case someone saw him, instead running through the bushes by the side of the road.


    Later on, when the Child of the Forest skill was more common, the small golden leopard would be a common sight and he would have nothing to worry about.


    ¡°Lu Li, which town are we going to? I just saw a transfer representative and there are 126 towns where it could be sent to.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was worried about where to go.


    ¡°Grey Valley of course,¡± said Lu Li without hesitation.

 66 Rattan City

    Gray Valley and its surrounding areas were the most popular places for players between LV10-30.


    This area had five private Instance Dungeons to be explored, according to the town map.


    It also had the most complete set of Trade Profession NPCs and Dawn¡¯s only fishing master, who resided by the Iris Lake.


    The scenery was also beautiful, making it a paradise for casual gamers.


    From here you could reach the Human and Dwarf ports, the Evil Faction¡¯s outpost, Stranglethorn Vale and the Druid¡¯s Sacred Moonlight Grove.


    This was also a popular PVP location, especially between the Light Faction and the Evil Faction in a contest for land. The blood of countless players flowed through the river.


    As well as this, the altar that Lu Li needed to upgrade his ring was in Gray Valley; he couldn¡¯t think of a reason not to go there.


    The other players wouldn¡¯t know all this at first and would travel to various places in the world. However, as the player-base¡¯s knowledge deepened, they would slowly converge in Gray Valley to the point of overcrowding.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others had no reason to disagree, so they followed Lu Li to Gray Valley.


    Lu Li ran until his stamina depleted, before resting by the roadside.


    This was another feature added by the update. Sprinting, flying, fighting and completing Instance Dungeons all consumed some stamina, which could be regained by resting. Additionally, Alchemy could produce Stamina Potions and eating cooked food could restore stamina.


    While waiting for the others to arrive, Lu Li looked at the items dropped by the turtle Boss.


    The Wild Boss ended up dropping a Steel item.


    Poison Bow (Steel): Damage 15-24, Agility +3, Special Effect: Targets hit by this weapon will be poisoned. Level Requirement 5, Durability 28/28.


    Bows, Crossbows and rifles were all part of Dawn¡¯s ranged weapons. The Bow¡¯s attack was higher, while the Crossbow and rifle had higher attack speed. Amongst these, the rifle with a sight attached had the highest accuracy.


    For players who weren¡¯t very good, the rifle was their choice of weapon.


    The Poison Bow was most suited to Hunters, but other professions could use it as a means of ranged attack.


    The attributes of this weapon were similar to the Crossbow that Lu Li gave to Remnant Dream. For her, the Crossbow was easier to use, so she probably would not want to switch weapons.


    Lu Li intended to hold on to the Bow ¨C he needed to do something that required a ranged weapon. With it, his efforts would be halved for twice the result.


    This Poison Bow was a Shortbow, so it had outstanding attack and a far greater attack speed than that of a Longbow. It also had a small frame, so it wouldn¡¯t hinder his movements if he carried it on his back.


    After asking Remnant Dream in the chatroom, the hunter decided not to change weapons. To her, operating the Bow was a nightmare.


    Kleig only dropped one Steel item, in addition to 2 Bronze items, one of which was a Druid Jungle Herdsmen equip. Lu Li took the Shortbow and didn¡¯t participate in the rest of the distribution.


    A few of them had now reached Snake Valley, but they didn¡¯t immediately fight the Boss. Instead, they farmed the ordinary snakes because they needed to find Snake Bile to produce Antidotes.


    The lowest level member was currently Remnant Dream at LV8. Everyone else was now LV9 and approaching LV10. Only Azure Sea Breeze had long since achieved this milestone, but the experience of levelling up after this was truly horrible. He had been farming snakes for over 2 hours now and had only gained 3% EXP.


    Lu Li was collecting Snake Bile while fighting the monsters, creating antidotes whenever the cooldown refreshed.


    After making quite a few Intermediate Antidotes, they started fighting the Boss.


    Snake King Gallaher wasn¡¯t a Boss that could be dealt with in greater numbers. Its poison attack had been dubbed the ¡®Full Screen¡¯, but Lu Li had Intermediate antidotes which were taken on his command. This made the 35,000HP Boss rather satisfying to fight.


    After the Snake King fell, Lu Li¡¯s EXP jumped to 85%.


    However, he hadn¡¯t been paying much attention his EXP, as his full attention was on the items that Gallaher had dropped.


    It dared not to drop a Rager Pendant!


    Only with a complete Equipment Set would the Rager Pendant have a special effect. Without the set, it was just an ordinary equip.


    Gallaher had been killed twice now, but both times, the Rager Pendant hadn¡¯t been dropped.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t very frustrated, as all level 10 to 20 Bosses had a decent chance of dropping them.


    The loot wasn¡¯t nearly as good as the First Clear. The only noteworthy item was a pair of Steel Mage Shoes that were pretty average ¨C they didn¡¯t even give movement speed. Lu Li passed them to Lonesome Flower and gave the rest of the 4 Bronze equips, including those from the turtle, to Azure Sea Breeze to sell and split between those who hadn¡¯t received a Steel equip.


    As for the two materials that the Boss dropped, they were both unanimously given to Lu Li.


    Later, the group prepared to leave Moon Shadow Valley. For some, this small Night Elf Forest Village gave opportunity, but for others, only disappointment.


    For Lu Li, this place was now part of the past; there was a broader world beyond.


    In town, there were Auction houses, the Arena, more Instance Dungeons, more quests, even more NPCs and many business opportunities.


    As long as it only cost 1 Gold to leave Moon Shadow Valley, Lu Li¡¯s and his group wouldn¡¯t miss this bit of money. Azure Sea Breeze waited for everyone on the Teleportation Channel, while Lu Li went ahead to another place.


    There was something that Lu Li initially only had a 50% chance of getting, but now he stood an 80% chance.


    Rattan City, a small town in the heart of the Evil Faction, celebrated its first guest.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s an elf. Wait, it¡¯s a sinful Thief, a despicable bandit, a dirty robber. Guys, help me catch him.¡± A Dwarf Goblin Guard jumped up and down but dared not move forward to attack, choosing to keep shouting instead.


    Lu Li remembered that because he had attacked the Goblin businessman Krolly, his Goblin reputation was negative. Rattan City happened to be a typical Goblin town.


    The two or three level 60 Goblins were careful not to come over. Their timidity was nothing like their great greed.


    ¡°Is this how Rattan City treats adventurers?¡± Lu Li braced himself and took a step forward, not showing a shred of fear.


    ¡°We only welcome friendlies,¡± the guards shouted angrily. ¡°But you, the jungle stalker, attacked a great businessman. Mr Krolly has spread your reputation throughout the goblin world.¡±


    ¡°I swear in the name of Elune, I am no enemy of the goblin world,¡± Lu Li explained while rubbing two pieces of gold in his hands. He proclaimed boldly, ¡°In order to learn the great discipline of engineering, I deliberately travelled for thousands of miles from the Whispering Forest in Moon Shadow Valley.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve heard about Rattan City¡¯s engineering?¡±


    The Goblin had a sense of pride, not only because they had the most comprehensive set of merchandise in the mainland, but also because of their great engineering.


    ¡°Yes, in this world, there is nothing compared to Goblin Engineering.¡± Lu Li handed a gold coin to the Head of the Guards. ¡°Respected Rattan City Guardian, can you recommend Rattan City¡¯s greatest Engineering Master?¡±

 67 Recipe

    While Goblin Engineering itself was well renowned, a remote place like Rattan City only had garbage Engineering Masters.


    However, learning the basics of Engineering was the same everywhere. It was only when you were specializing that would need to choose an appropriate mentor. To gain back some Goblin reputation, Lu Li would have to bite the bullet and learn some engineering from Rattan City.


    The guards brought Lu Li across the wooden deck. Along the way, he could see the unfavorable looks that the NPCs gave him. This was the effect of his hated reputation.


    After reaching the shore, they travelled to a house with two mechanical dolls placed by the door.


    A goblin¡¯s body was like that of a dwarf, so their houses were tiny to Lu Li.


    He needed to bend over to enter the house, but fortunately, there was a sofa that could accommodate his butt. Only after he sat down could he straighten his neck.


    ¡°Oh, Gabi, why did you bring this Elf to me?¡±


    The Goblin Engineer looked at him curiously. When he turned around, Lu Li could see his magnified eyes behind his glasses, a truly horrifying sight.


    ¡°Although he is an unwelcome robber, he brought some gold to atone for it,¡± the head guard said with a smile.


    ¡°Oh, you want to study Engineering?¡±


    The expression of the Goblin Engineer improved, but he was still preoccupied with his work. He pushed a semi-new book towards Lu Li.


    ¡°5 gold.¡±


    Lu Li almost coughed up blood. Everywhere else, studying a Trade Skill would only cost 50 silver. This greedy dwarf was charging ten times the price.


    However, he didn¡¯t have a choice: he wanted to gain back reputation, so he needed to pay them. He was also under the surveillance of a LV60 NPC. The only thing he could do was obediently pay the money.


    System: You have received the Goblin¡¯s goodwill. Your reputation is now neutral.


    System: You have discovered Rattan City, receiving 200 EXP¡­


    Lu Li was relieved after hearing the System Announcements. At least these NPCs would not oppose him anymore.


    Goblins were always polite to people who were rich. The head guard gave Lu Li a salute and walked off with his gun, satisfied.


    Lu Li opened the Engineering Skills book. The title page was written in blue ink, describing an outline in goblin language. He couldn¡¯t understand it at all, but this was a virtual game, so he didn¡¯t need to. After he used the skill book, it disappeared.


    The Goblin Engineer didn¡¯t observe the way that Lu Li did his learning. He was working on his experiment and told him, ¡°If you don¡¯t need anything else, please leave. I¡¯m very busy right now.¡±


    ¡°Respected Master, do you have a recipe for sale?¡± Good or bad, each Trade Skill Trainer had his/her own unique recipes. Lu Li knew that this trainer was no exception.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s over there on the side. Three gold for each one. If you want one, you can pay me directly, but don¡¯t expect me to explain it to you, despicable elf.¡± Because his reputation was only neutral, the Goblin Engineer¡¯s attitude was still unfriendly.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t angry; he walked over to the dusty oak table. There were a few thin parchments on it.


    Blueprint: Blue fireworks, used for entertainment. This was not a unique formula. The mainland sold a similar one, so this definitely wasn¡¯t worth 3 gold coins.


    Blueprint: Fine handmade guns. These had average damage and the required materials weren¡¯t cheap. The weapons were only bronze anyway. Lu Li shook his head and put down the drawing.


    He looked at another two and was completely disappointed. It seemed as though this Goblin Engineer was only an Intermediate level ¨C these blueprints were all for low level useless items. He didn¡¯t have any expectations when he picked up the last one.


    ¡°Master, are all the blueprints here for sale?¡±


    Lu Li put in effort to calm his frenzied heartbeat, lest the Goblin Engineer saw his excitement.


    But he was needlessly worrying; the Goblin Engineer didn¡¯t even care enough to look back, impatiently scolding him.


    ¡°Pick one, leave the gold coins and get out of here! Or else, I¡¯ll show you the Engineer¡¯s wrath!¡±


    Lu Li took the last recipe, dropped the three gold coins onto the test bench and left in large strides.


    As he left the store, an arrow flew at his head!


    Had he been exposed? Lu Li¡¯s heart sank. Maybe a group of NPCs were coming to take back the recipe.


    The arrow hit his shoulder, dealing 70+ damage. The attack seemed pretty high, but for a LV60 NPC, this was the lowest damage it could do.


    While he was confused, a group of NPCs rushed over.


    The mechanical doll by his side moved forwards and used a magical sword to cut the attacker down.


    Lu Li then realized that it was an attack by a group of Evil Faction players. The NPCs weren¡¯t after him.


    Dawn had areas which were neutral with neutral NPCs. Rattan City was one of these. They had no preferences for Light or Evil Faction players, but if someone used an attack in front of them, it would be taken as a provocation. Just like that, they would be killed before they could do anything.


    The poor Evil Faction Hunter didn¡¯t even react and turned into a corpse.


    Not only that, he also dropped an equip.


    Lu Li rushed over to pick up the things and threw them into his bag before running out of town. He instantly transformed into a Cheetah and carefully avoiding the monsters outside of the village, dashing along the coastline towards the marsh.


    ¡°My recipe, hey! Where is the recipe I put down?¡± A sharp roar suddenly sounded from within the Goblin Engineer¡¯s cabin, ¡°Damn elf, he stole my Akare¡¯s Bomb recipe! Dammit, dammit, guards, GUARDS!¡±


    ¡°Master, what happened?¡±


    The guard rushed over and was shocked to see the nearly crazy Goblin Engineer. There were broken bottles and jars scattered everywhere and all kinds of materials and accessories lying around. None of this was enough to quell his anger.


    ¡°An Elf that Captain Gabriel brought over, he¡­ he¡­¡±


    The Goblin Engineer couldn¡¯t go on.


    Took away?


    Cheated away?


    Stole away?


    The Goblins were crafty merchants, always selling for exorbitant prices and always firm when the transaction had been completed.


    One of the classic sayings of the Goblin race was, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about taking a single gold coin from me. Refund isn¡¯t a word I know.¡±


    Akare slumped on the dirty floor. He had to admit that Lu Li didn¡¯t take, cheat or steal, but rather had bought the recipe. He was under the witness of the System God and was willing to complete the transaction.


    ¡°Ooo, the Great Akare suffered a loss. Akare sold all his possessions for 3 gold coins.¡±


    The sad goblin engineer couldn¡¯t help but burst into tears. His cries were so distressing that those who heard them wept too.


    The few guards were very understanding; the Goblins only earned and never lost. To lose money was worse than to kill them. It was no wonder that Akare was so sad.

 68 Aegwynn Residence

    Only when he had almost used up all his stamina did Lu Li dare to slow down. He carefully took out the old parchment from his backpack.


    This parchment was completely different from the others; it was older and looked more exquisite. Even the handwriting had a sense of charm. This was not something an intermediate engineer would own.


    Blueprint: Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb


    Field: Engineering


    Requirement: Intermediate (150)


    Use: Teaches you to create ¡°Ivy¡¯s Foolproof Bomb¡±


    Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb: A fool bomb that can be used by any adventurer who knows nothing about engineering. It will hit the target almost every time! Deals 2000 damage to tall targets within a radius of 5 yards.


    Lu Li had only seen Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb once in his past life. It was in an auction house and was sold for 300 gold, which at the time was worth almost $50,000.


    Ivy¡¯s Fool bomb was not something that conventional Engineers could make. It was said that no one in Azeroth could make any items from the Ivy series.


    Ivy was a legendary master engineer who had accidentally killed himself over 1000 years ago, attempting to create a super bomb that could level the Kayaro Mountains. The bomb had exploded during the manufacturing process, burning him and all twelve of his children to a crisp. Their labs and lab notes were also destroyed in the explosion.


    Only some of their less well-known disciples survived. These people more or less inherited Ivy¡¯s legacy, but unfortunately, were also interested in bombs. They dedicated their lives to developing them, which led to their deaths as well. This was the reason for its decline.


    Making bombs was risky, but the profits were huge.


    No one could imagine, that this remote seaside town would contain a lost Ivy formula, and not just an Ivy formula, but one for a bomb.


    Bombs were very useful; other than in PVP or in fighting bosses, one could use them to farm monsters. They were essentially EXP farming machines.


    Lu Li only needed to drop a few bombs and watch as his level rose.


    He affectionately read the blueprints over and over again, before reluctantly putting them back in his bag. He then remembered that he had also picked up a piece of equipment.


    Bestial Soul Shoulderpad (Steel): Armour 18, Agility +6, Pet attack +20%, Level Requirement 10, Durability 35/35.


    This was a hunter exclusive Chain Mail Armour. The 20% attack buff for pets was the best bonus that a Beastmaster Hunter could ask for. It would sell for at least 10 gold coins in the auction house.


    He didn¡¯t know who the hunter that dropped this was, or whether it fell from his bag or from his body. It would be truly unfortunate, if a LV10 expert was out there still trying understand why he was killed.


    Not far north was a castle owned by a union and currently in the hands of Sierra¡¯s army.


    Sierra was the daughter of Admiral Kurdilas. Under the guidance of the Prophet Medivh, Mage Jaina Proudmoor led the fugitives of Lordaeron to a city on the east coast of Kalimdor.


    Lu Li had come here to find a secluded Great Prophet.


    In his past life, he had completed a quest where he heard an NPC tell a story about Aegwynn that mentioned this.


    She (Aegwynn) was sent to Kalimdor and built a beautiful hut along the shore near Rattan City, as she waited for death to come.


    Then, she constructed an Astral Well, from which she saw the end of her son (Medivh). When she saw Khadgar and Lothar Execute Medivh, her heart broke.


    She was determined to use all of her magic to revive her son!


    After storing up her magical powers for 20 years, she finally managed to revive Medivh and remove him from Sargeras¡¯ evil soul. Medivh was determined to atone for his wickedness, so he travelled and implored the leaders of all the races to unite against the Burning Legion as one.


    Then, Aegwynn sacrificed the last of her magic for her grandson. This Guardian of Tirisfal who had lived for thousands of years was suspected to have reached the extreme limits of life.


    According to legend, Medivh took Karazhan¡¯s energy, illusion, memory and everything else. He said, ¡°Now, let us start again,¡± before turning into a crow and flying away.


    In the library of written records, it was said that ¡®the prophet disappeared until old age¡­¡¯


    Lu Li hoped to find that beautiful hut at the beach outside Rattan City and Medivh along with it.


    The hut was not hard to find; Lu Li soon saw it on the shore.


    Green ivy covered the rooftop, which bloomed with densely intertwined lavenders and bright yellow flowers.


    There was an old tree next to the door of the hut, with a gray swing hanging down from it.


    He could imagine that in a similarly quiet evening, there might be a seemingly ordinary old woman sitting on the swing, gazing out at the sea.


    She would reminisce about her life in the Tirisfal woodland and the sound of the boys laughing would play in her ears. She would also think back to Sargeras, who was imprisoned by her in the abyss of powerful demons. Then, there was Nielas Aran¡­


    Aran, the one who she had decided to have a child with, the Stormwind City Court Mage.


    The cool sea breeze blew at her, as she smiled, rembering her son, her grandson¡­


    Lu Li walked somberly to the swing and bowed lowly to the woman who had given everything for Azeroth. ¡°The most powerful mage that transcends demigods; may you rest in the world of Emerald Dreams,¡± he thought.


    Ivy¡¯s formula and the Bestial Soul Shoulderpad had already paid the teleport fee ten times over.


    But to be able to see Aegwynn¡¯s former residence made this trip even more meaningful.


    He sat down on the swing and took out a book from his backpack.


    My life belongs to myself and I make all my decisions willingly and freely. I have never been controlled by anyone: not even the gods can do so! I lower my head to others out of respect and admiration, but never out of subservience!


    Lu Li stroked the cover that these words were engraved upon, looking more and more determined.

 69 Raven Transformation

    ¡°My life belongs to myself¡­¡± A sigh sounded out and Lu Li suddenly discovered that a person had appeared next to the swing without him realising.


    The person was wearing a hat and a large cloak that was decorated with many feathers. The face under the hat looked incredibly old, scarred with the marks of time. He held a crude-looking Staff that looked like a lump in his right hand.


    ¡°Esteemed senior, this Adventurer Elf from the Whispering Forest pays his respects,¡± Lu Li said, as he hurriedly stood up with one hand over his chest. This was a formal Elf greeting.


    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s an Elf from far away. Little fellow, the words you just said sounded very familiar.¡±


    The elderly man supported himself using the edge of the well and sat down. He looked like nothing more than a weak old man.


    ¡°I received an Enchanting book from a Great Dwarf Master and those words were carved on the title page. The Great Master told me to come to Rattan City¡¯s seaside to search for a great Enchanter. Esteemed senior, are you the person I came to find?¡± Lu Li did not reveal the true reason why he had come, instead giving himself a very good excuse.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not skilled in Enchanting, but she¡­ Elf, can I have a look at your Enchanting book?¡± The elderly man looked up at Lu Li, with eyes full of wisdom.


    Lu Li handed the book over and stood a few steps away.


    ¡°It¡¯s her¡­¡± The elderly man stared at the words engraved on the cover of the book, as well as the words left by Aegwynn on the title page. His entire body began to fade and space began to twist as a great wave of magic overflowed from within him.


    It became difficult for Lu Li to breathe, as though something had grabbed onto him by his mind. It felt like his spirit could be destroyed with a single thought.


    Luckily, this change in the atmosphere disappeared as quickly as it came. In an instant, everything returned to normal. Even the flowers that had been torn from the trees were restored, as if nothing had happened to them.


    If it weren¡¯t for the sweat covering his hands, Lu Li would have believed that everything that had just happened was a hallucination.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, Fairy, but she is gone.¡± The old Magician¡¯s wizened hands stroked the cover of the book, as many complicated emotions flashed in his eyes: grief, resentment, attachment¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a pity. However, this Enchanting book is quite ancient and there¡¯s much that I don¡¯t understand in it.¡±


    Lu Li suddenly felt some disdain for himself as he suddenly said, ¡°You seem to really like this book. In that case, please accept it as a present from me.¡±


    An incredibly rare and godly Trade Skill Book had been given away by Lu Li just like that.


    However, Lu Li did not feel any regret. It wasn¡¯t because the Enchanting materials were too difficult to find, but this book, Aegwnn¡¯s relic, should have been given to her son. After all, it meant a lot more to him than to Lu Li.


    ¡°Thank you for your generosity, Elf, although, I know your motives are not pure,¡± Medivh said as he lightly sighed, ¡°Because of your generosity and sincerity, I will grant one request from you.¡±


    Lu Li did not feel any fear, but was rather relaxed. He had never thought of deceiving this prophet - all he wanted was an opportunity to talk to Medivh.


    As such, he directly said, ¡°Respected son of Aran, Guardian of Tirisfal, I would like to learn the Raven Transformation from you.¡±


    Indeed, Lu Li wanted to fly!


    ¡°Raven Transformation?¡± Medivh, a human who was more powerful than demigod, was completely confused by this request.


    At the start, Medivh had been attracted by the words Lu Li was reading out and had appeared out of nowhere. Later, he found out that this weak Elf had his mother¡¯s legacy book. Finally, that Elf had actually gifted this priceless Enchanting book to him, for a simple transformation skill in return!


    He didn¡¯t ask for Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, nor did he ask for the Raven God¡¯s Cloak or for any incredibly powerful spells¡­


    He had asked for the Raven Transformation skill!


    Was it difficult to turn into a raven? Not at all!


    In a LV50 Private Instance Dungeon, players could meet a projection of the Raven God and receive a flight skill book. When Druids reached LV60, they would receive a flight-related quest. Although it was quite difficult, the majority of the Druid players would be able to receive a flight skill book. These included the Raven Transformation, the Bat Transformation and many others.


    The only caveat was that it could only be obtained after reaching LV50-LV60.


    If Lu Li wanted to fly now, only this elderly man in front of him could help him. Even Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage, the Lord of the Night Elves, could not teach him a flight skill so casually.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re not a Magician,¡± Medivh said as he shook his head.


    Lu Li¡¯s heart sank. In his ¡®past life¡¯, he had read some guides that said that Medivh could turn into a raven. Moreover, in order to develop this skill, it was said that Medivh had studied the Druids¡¯ transformation skills and fought with the Raven God Anzu.


    Even though Anzu was a demigod, he had been beaten black and blue by Medivh. He had been beaten so badly that Medivh was able to use the feathers he had dropped to create a Legendary grade cloak.


    ¡°I can only teach you the modified Crow Transformation. Are you still willing to exchange, Elf?¡± The elderly man spoke slowly. It turned out that it wasn¡¯t that Lu Li couldn¡¯t learn the skill, but that there were some issues involved in teaching it.


    ¡°Thank you for your generosity, Lord Magician. I am willing.¡±


    Lu Li had no other choice: he had already given away the Enchanting book. The elderly man would probably insta-kill him if he changed his mind. In Dawn¡¯s lore, Medivh had done many good things, but had also committed many evil deeds.


    Medivh did not give him a skill book. Rather, he simply pointed towards Lu Li¡¯s forehead and a system announcement popped up.


    System: you have learned the skill Crow Transformation.


    Crow Transformation (fake): Channel for 30 seconds and consume 500 HP to become a raven, allowing you to fly for a limited period of time. Flying consumes 10 HP per second and being attacked while in flight will cancel out the transformation. Level: 1/5.


    This skill was quite flawed. The original skill was an instant cast, whereas this one needed to be channelled for 30 seconds. The original skill also cost nothing, whereas this one costed a base of 500 HP in addition to 10 HP per second. The original skill allowed one to fly indefinitely, whereas this one only allowed him to fly for a ¡°limited period of time¡±. What was even worse was that he would fall from the sky if he was hit by anything.


    As for the Level: 1/5, this was something introduced in the update.


    It didn¡¯t mean that players could not increase their Proficiency of a skill - this was still hidden. Every 2 levels, a player would receive 1 Skill Point (SP). Using SP and gold coins, the corresponding profession¡¯s Instructor could raise the level of their skills. Of course, if one had the patience and determination, they could raise their skill levels through practice and training instead.


    All in all, Lu Li was quite unhappy with this skill, but he couldn¡¯t voice his dissatisfaction.


    Medivh looked easy-going, but that was because he did not display his might. This Archmage who had been killed, then revived by his mother, could obliterate Lu Li with a sneeze.


    ¡°My transformation skill requires Mana, but you don¡¯t have any Mana within you. As such, I could only modify the skill before giving it to you,¡± the elderly man said, trying to comfort him.


    ¡°I received a badge many years ago. Hopefully it can make up for the deficiencies of the skill, so I will gift it to you as well.¡±

 70 Rankings

    Bloodstained Badge (Silver): Constitution+10, recover 1% HP every 3 seconds when wearing the badge. Has a certain chance to activate 30% damage conversion. Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 40/40.


    It was a Silver grade equipment and a badge as well, which was extremely rare. The stats were also amazing.


    ¡°It definitely makes up for it. Respected Archmage, I have no way to express my gratitude towards you,¡± Lu Li said with an expression of excitement, while gripping the badge as though he was afraid that it would be taken back.


    This was no less than expected from a being that surpassed demigods. He had casually given out such a rare and valuable item. It was possible that this was the lowest quality item that Medivh had and Lu Li even felt tempted to bring a crowd of people to rob him.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re satisfied. May you have a pleasant journey, Cenarius¡¯ ineheritor.¡± Medivh looked deeply at the Supreme One Ring on Lu Li¡¯s finger as he slowly disappeared into the light of the sunset.


    An extremely overpowered bomb recipe, a flight skill and a piece of Silver grade equipment!


    He had received quite a few good items and achieved his goal. Lu Li happily channelled his hearthstone and prepared to return to town.


    He did not return to the nearest town, but the Moon Shadow Valley that the hearthstone was bound to. Teleporting from a town to another town cost 2 gold coins, but teleporting from the Novice Village only cost 1 gold coin. Moreover, Lu Li did not dare to return to the Rattan City - the Guards would just kill him immediately.


    The Moon Shadow Valley was even more busy than before. Countless new players had joined the game and the once spacious Novice Village had become packed full of people. He couldn¡¯t help but admire the foresight of whoever had designed the Novice Villages.


    ¡°LV3 Bronze grade weapon, 7-10 Attack. Willing to accept gold coins or real money. Absolutely essential for Thieves who want to quickly level up, don¡¯t miss out!¡±


    ¡°Boosting for the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon, minimum level is LV3. $2,000 for 1 person, guaranteed to level you up after 1 run.¡±


    ¡°Selling an entire set of low level equipment, $10,000. If you want to catch up to the other players, you¡¯ll need to make some investments¡­¡±


    The first batch of players found that this was a good business opportunity and quickly earned enough money to teleport to another city or town. Some people didn¡¯t want to let this opportunity go and decided to stay in the Novice Village for a while.


    These people would be left behind by the people who chose to leave and would quickly be overtaken by the new players. After all, new players received double EXP for a period of time.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t plan to earn money here, even though he knew it was quite profitable to do business with newbies.


    With his level and equipment, it would be no problem to boost four people through an Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li paid 1 gold coin to the teleporter and stood on the teleportation channel. After a few seconds of dizziness, he arrived at the Grey Valley¡¯s Astrana.


    Astrana was the Light Faction¡¯s base camp in the Grey Valley. It was situated between sentry outposts and was behind the Zoram Harbor. There were all sorts of races here: Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Draenei, Worgen, Gnomes and even Pandaren.


    ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Looking around this familiar, yet unfamiliar town, Lu Li contacted Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Doing some quests while waiting for you. Go to the Council Hall and register your account; you¡¯ll be able to see the Level Rankings.We¡¯ll wait for you and collect our EXP reward together, then dominate the Level Rankings,¡± Azure Sea Breeze replied.


    Lu Li knew that Azure Sea Breeze was obsessed with the Level Rankings, so he couldn¡¯t complain and quickly headed off.


    The highest-ranking officer in the Grey Valley was a Sentinel Captain called Raene Wolfrunner. She was a female Night Elf Hunter, Warrior and Ranger, and was incredibly powerful. Moreover, she rode on a giant grey wolf and had many Night Elf Cavalry under her command.


    Registering an account required one simple step: paying money!


    Lu Li gave 10 gold coins to the Tax Officer Ramkin, who then declared that Lu Li had officially become a member of Astrana.


    Lu Li opened the Rankings and a transparent frame appeared in front of him.


    There were 2 public rankings in Dawn: the Level Rankings and the Glory Rankings. All of the other rankings were made by players.


    The Level Rankings were self-explanatory and the Glory Rankings were listed with PVP maniacs. Players could receive Glory from killing the enemy faction¡¯s players, as well as completing frontline quests. Because every player¡¯s rank was currently that of a Recruit, killing an enemy player would only give a bit of Glory.


    Level Rankings:


    1. I No Understand, LV11, Hunter, Glory Capital, Evil Faction


    2. Wild, LV11, Mage, Blood-red War Flag, Light Faction


    3. Sorrowless, LV10, Mage, Glory Capital, Evil Faction


    4. Green Flag Wine, LV10, Paladin, Gale Legion, Evil Faction


    5. Brother Yang Is Here, LV10, Warlock, Peacetime Dynasty, Evil Faction


    6. Not A Primary Schooler, LV10, Priest, Blood-red War Flag, Light Faction


    7. Water Fairy, LV10, Thief, Drizzle Court, Light Faction


    8. Twilight, LV10, Mage, Stellar Union, Evil Faction|


    9. Azure Sea Breeze, LV10, Warrior, No Guild, Light Faction


    10. Ninja Turtle, LV10, Paladin, Glory Capital, Evil Faction


    Glory Rankings:


    1. Blood Dagger, 78, Thief, Glory Capital, Evil Faction


    2. Hornet¡¯s Nest, 66, Warrior, Seventh Heaven, Light Faction


    3. Storm Warrior, 52, Warrior, Gale Legion, Evil Faction


    4. Flowers and Jade, 48, Shaman, Blood-red War Flag, Light Faction


    5. Man of Darkness, 35, Mage, Glory Capital, Evil Faction


    6. Empty Forest, 32, Hunter, No Guild, Light Faction


    7. Life Is But A Dream, 31, Thief, Stellar Union, Evil Faction


    8. Zurich, 25, Mage, Gale Legion, Evil Faction


    9. Swirling Left Eye, 22, Thief, Imperial Secret Service, Light Faction


    10. Staring Right Eye, 20, Thief, Imperial Secret Service, Light Faction


    The Glory Rankings were filled with PVP maniacs. Blood Dagger was a famous Thief who loved PVP and was extremely skilled at it. This was the same for Hornet¡¯s Nest, as well as the rest of the players on the Glory Rankings. If it weren¡¯t for Azure Sea Breeze always dragging him out, Moonlight would probably be up there as well.


    The two Rankings were pretty much filled with experts from the biggest guilds. It was no wonder they would be able to take the top spots in the Level Rankings with so much help. The two opposing factions were evenly matched in the Glory Rankings, but the Light Faction was slightly behind in the Level Rankings with only four players there.


    The guildless Azure Sea Breeze was particularly eye-catching. This made him look quite special.


    The reason he could make it onto the Level Rankings was simple ¨C he was a levelling maniac and Lu Li had taken him to kill many Bosses. It would be strange if he couldn¡¯t make it onto the Level Rankings.


    Lu Li looked at his own rankings. Because he had not killed any of the enemy faction¡¯s players, he had not yet entered the Glory Rankings. He was currently ranked 66th in the Level Rankings, but had not spent much time training. To him, this was quite a pleasant surprise ¨C in his ¡®past life¡¯, he wouldn¡¯t have even dared to dream of being in the top 100.


    Furthermore, the 3rd to the 52nd ranked players were all LV10. Lu Li was only about 10% away from reaching LV10 and was just a sliver behind these players.

 71 Dominating the Rankings

    While there weren¡¯t many other players around, Lu Li went to the Inn to bind his hearthstone to Astrana. In the future, if he used his hearthstone, he would appear in Astrana instead of the Novice Village. However, the Inn did much more than bind hearthstones.


    If one logged off in the Inn for 6 hours, they would receive double EXP for 1 hour the next time they logged in. This was another feature of the new update.


    The game company used all sorts of methods to force players to rest and encouraged them to strike a good balance in their daily living. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Dawn became more and more popular.


    It was likely that no one knew that a new Board of Directors, comprised of people from various countries, was slowly being formed. In the future, Dawn would be controlled by these people.


    A few weeks later, a player called Dancing Flower Beauty would become a representative for China¡¯s Magnetic Hovercar Company for $5 million. This was the first time the virtual world began to influence the real world.


    Companies in the real world began to enter into the game world and guilds began to seek sponsors, forming strong partnerships!


    From that point, the game began to integrate itself more into the real world and vice versa. Companies rented shops in the game, shifting the focus of investments from Equipment Shops, Potion Shops and Item Shops to hotels, cinemas, shopping centres and offices.


    More and more people turned their lives and work towards the game. As for labour in the real world, technology had advanced so much that most labour was done by robots.


    ¡°Lu Li, over here!¡± Azure Sea Breeze waved, catching the attention of Lu Li who was slowly walking around.


    Lu Li walked over and entered with the rest of the group into the Council Hall. The NPC who gave out the EXP rewards was located there.


    ¡°We¡¯ll show those mortals our power. They thought they were so great, but they¡¯ll all be crying once they look at the Level Rankings,¡± Azure Sea Breeze excitedly said.


    ¡°No matter what you want to do, I¡¯m going to hide my name,¡± Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    Lu Li liked to keep a low profile and did not like to be at the centre of attention. If he wanted to, he could probably find a representative contract which would earn him hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. If he was lucky, he could become a star in the game world and earn even more money.


    ¡°Hide your name?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was completely dumbfounded.


    It was not as though there were no players who hid their names. There were around 7-8 of them in the top 100, but everyone in the top 10 chose not to hide their names. The update also introduced a World Channel, where many people paid money to try and become famous. Everyone was famous; why would anyone hide their name?


    One¡¯s name, profession, level and guild were all great for advertising.


    ¡°I also want to hide my name.¡± March Rain always followed what Lu Li said; whatever he said was bound to be correct.


    Lonesome Flower harrumphed and indicated that he would also hide his name.


    Remnant Dream did not really mind - she was too preoccupied with grooming her new pet leopard.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t say anything, but also decided to hide his information.


    Azure Sea Breeze looked around in shock, as he clapped his hands together, saying, ¡°Right, hiding our names would be better. Think about how mysterious it would be if the top players on the Level Rankings all hid their names.¡±


    In order to seem mysterious, Azure Sea Breeze also endured the pain of hiding his name.


    And thus, the group went to collect their EXP rewards.


    All they had to do was tell the Administrative Officer why they had come. After their identities were confirmed, they immediately received their EXP bonuses.


    Azure Sea Breeze, who was nearly at LV11, directly shot to LV12!


    Lu Li, who was 10% away from LV10, shot halfway through LV11!


    Lonesome Flower and March Rain, who were also LV9, shot to LV11, just behind Lu Li.


    Moonlight and Remnant Dream had both just reached LV9, but because of how much EXP they received, they also made it to LV11 and entered the top 10 rankings.


    As such, there were great changes to the Level Rankings.


    1. Unknown Player, LV12, Light Faction


    2. Unknown Player, LV11, Light Faction


    3. Unknown Player, LV11, Light Faction


    4. Unknown Player, LV11, Light Faction


    5. Unknown Player, LV11, Light Faction


    6. Unknown Player, LV11, Light Faction


    7. I No Understand, LV11, Hunter, Glory Capital, Evil Faction


    8. Wild, LV11, Mage, Blood-red War Flag, Light Faction


    9. Sorrowless, LV10, Glory Capital, Evil Faction


    10. Green Flag Wine, LV10, Paladin, Gale Legion, Evil Faction


    All 6 of them were now in the top 10 rankings.


    It seemed that I No Understand and Wild had barely reached LV11. After all, they were ranked lower than Moonlight and Remnant Dream, who only had 10% in their LV11 EXP bars.


    They were all shocked and even Moonlight, who didn¡¯t really care about levels, started to breathe heavily.


    Only the na?ve and innocent Remnant Dream looked around in bewilderment, confused as to why they were acting that way. March Rain kindly explained to her what it meant to be on the Level Rankings.


    No one knew who first discovered the changes in the Level Rankings. With the hundreds of millions of players, it almost guaranteed that someone would always be looking at the Level Rankings. However, not everyone wanted to spend 1 silver coin to talk in the World Channel.


    Wine Courage Wang: GM, there¡¯s something wrong with your game. Everyone, quickly look at the Level Rankings!


    Paw Scent: It must be a hacker from the Light Faction. Goddamn! There¡¯s a whole row of them; the Evil Faction only has 3 players up there now.


    Monster King: Is this game even playable? Even the Level Rankings are bugged. Where did these 6 unknown players come from? Plus, they¡¯re all from the Light Faction.


    Eyeless Fish: Oh my, so many rich people talking in this World Channel. Anyone looking for a spouse? Either gender is fine~


    What followed were the messages of many players suspecting that there was a bug in the game. Some of them immediately reported this to the customer service department. After all, reporting bugs in Dawn gave generous rewards.


    After waiting for a long time, there had still been no news on the game¡¯s official website. The Level Rankings stayed the same and only after 5 or 6 minutes did someone realise that something was off.


    Wonderboo: Looks like some people charged into the top 10. I thought I¡¯d be able to get into the top 100 today, but that just crushed me. I¡¯m going to log off and write a book with myself as the main character.


    Mysterious Vanguard: Could it be a power team that made it to the top 10 together? Did they complete some sort of godly quest? Did they help Queen Sylvanas kill Arthas Menethil?


    I Will Be The Lich King: Piss off @Mysterious Vanguard, long live Prince Arthas!


    Harmony Dragon: You idiot. If Arthas doesn¡¯t die, how will you be the Lich King? Could it be that you want to be the Lich King¡¯s boyfriend?


    Showgirl Chunnie: The 9th ranked Azure Sea Breeze disappeared. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s one of the 6 players. As for the other 5, tell us who you are and stop being so mysterious¡­


    All of the prominent guilds took great interest in this matter. All of them wanted to recruit these people, but it was impossible due to them hiding their names.


    A few people thought to Azure Sea Breeze and the other person who had obtained the First Clear of the Instance Dungeons and Bosses. Some guessed that Lu Li was one of them, while others guessed that it was Beautiful Moonlight and her friends. Others speculated that some lucky people, who were unknown to the public, had received rewards from the system.

 72 Buying Goods At The Exchange Hall

    After revelling in their glory for a bit, Moonlight couldn¡¯t take it anymore and went to the Broken Wood Outpost to kill people.


    The Broken Wood Outpost was the Evil Faction¡¯s Grey Valley base camp. Together with the Warsong Sawmill, it was the Evil Faction¡¯s frontline in the north.


    The two sides¡¯ main forces were withdrawn in their own territories. NPCs would often give out kill quests to players in both factions. Not only would killing players from the opposing faction give them Glory, it would also give them some EXP as well.


    From the Broken Wood Outpost to the Forest Treehouse, players from both sides engaged in ferocious battle.


    Lu Li looked at the time and recommended that everyone go and clear the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon. Although they couldn¡¯t receive any EXP or set any new records, there was still a possibility of getting Steel grade equipment. Selling two pieces of Steel grade equipment could net them 10 or so gold coins. Not all of them had a full set of Steel grade equipment either.


    Main Tank: Warrior Azure Sea Breeze, 3500+ HP, 6 pieces of Steel grade equipment, number 1 on the Level Rankings.


    Healer: Priest March Rain, 1600 HP, 5 pieces of Steel grade equipment, number 4 on the Level Rankings.


    DPS: Thief Lu Li, 1500 HP, 2 pieces of Silver grade equipment, 8 pieces of Steel grade equipment, number 2 on the Level Rankings.


    DPS: Mage Lonesome Flower, 1100 HP, 1 piece of Silver grade equipment, 6 pieces of Steel grade equipment, number 3 on the Level Rankings.


    DPS: Hunter Remnant Dream, 2000 HP, 4 pieces of Steel grade equipment, number 6 on the Level Rankings.


    Almost all of Remnant Dream¡¯s Steel grade equipment had been found in Instance Dungeons cleared with Lu Li. The best equipment she had found from training with strangers was of a Bronze grade. It wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t found any Steel grade equipment, but that the leaders of the groups were dishonest. They had told her that the Steel grade equipment was bad and convinced her to give it up.


    Cheating players was commonly seen.


    Lu Li remembered the Steel-grade Chain Mail Armour that he had picked up from a player in Rattan City. He took it out and gave it to Remnant Dream. She didn¡¯t understand what was so good about it, but was still overjoyed.


    Now, Remnant Dream had 5 pieces of Steel grade equipment - the same as March Rain.


    Considering equipment alone, Lu Li¡¯s team was quite incredible and far superior to even the elite groups supported by large guilds. They even had 3 pieces of Silver grade equipment, that barely any of the player-base had even seen.


    This sort of team could easily destroy the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon. There was no need for them to kill the 8 Guards one by one - they could decimate the group in one go. It took them a grand total of 22 minutes to clear the Instance Dungeon, which was a whole 10 minutes faster than the current record.


    The equipment that they found was either useless to them or not as good as what they currently had. In the end, they decided that Lu Li would sell them and split the money.


    ¡°If you have any excess money, pass it to me. I¡¯m going to have a look at the Exchange Hall,¡± Lu Li said.


    The other people took out their money and handed it to Lu Li. Altogether, they had 20 or so gold coins.


    Only Lu Li¡¯s team could take out such an amount of money. The only other groups that could fork out such a large amount were guilds with thousands of people.


    It was not difficult to earn money in Dawn, but there was a high cost to survive. The game company had brilliantly devised a system that maintained a general balance in the economy.


    Exchange Halls were only available in towns or cities. Players could consign many items to sell and could also view and buy items consigned by other players.


    The consignment method was very simple. A player could set a minimum price, as well as a maximum price.


    The lowest items would be auctioned first and the person with the highest bid would win the item. If no one bought the item over a period of time, it would simply be mailed back to the owner. A player could also directly buy an item by paying the maximum price (the ¡°buying price¡±) set by the owner.


    Some people did not set a maximum price, making it so that it could only be sold by auction.


    Lu Li looked through most of the equipment and listed his for a slightly lower price than the market price.


    Afterwards, he used the search function to see if any of the materials he wanted were being offered:


    Lava Essence Soul: None!


    Variant Scorpion Eggs: None!


    Jade Statue: None!


    Eternal Frozen Shard. Just as Lu Li was going to repetitively start a new search, he suddenly found that there was a result for this item.


    Not only were there Eternal Frozen Shards for sale, but there were 6 of them!


    Their minimum price was 1 gold coin and the buying price was 5 gold coins.


    Lu Li felt as though he was dreaming. These things would be worth more than 50 gold coins in 1 month or so, but were currently being sold for less than 1 gold coin.


    In order to prevent any complications, Lu Li decided to immediately purchase them for the buying price.


    The system told him that he had a new mail.


    A few more system announcements then rang out, telling him he had new mail. It was probably to notify him that the equipment he had just consigned had been sold.


    Lu Li went to the mailbox at the entrance of the Exchange Hall and saw that the 2 pieces of Steel grade equipment and 3 pieces of Bronze grade equipment had all been sold. In total, he had earned 23 gold coins.


    There were also 6 Eternal Frozen Shards.


    Lu Li went back to browsing through the available items. There were many items that he needed.


    Lu Li need 8 different materials to upgrade the Supreme One Ring to level 3. After a long search, he had only found the Eternal Frozen Shards. It was a type of material that could be found when mining for Frost Iron. This meant that there were already professional Miners in the game that didn¡¯t belong to a guild.


    How could a player belonging to a guild consign this sort of extremely precious material at such a pitiful price?


    Although he couldn¡¯t find any of the 7 other materials, Lu Li did not feel disappointed. After all, he hadn¡¯t expected to find any of them so early on in the game.


    He had a look at the facial equipment section and was surprised to find that there was much more equipment than he had expected.


    It seemed that a Tailor had obtained a blueprint and was mass-producing these things.


    The ¡®facial equipment¡¯ was split into 2 main categories: Bandannas and Veils. These sorts of equipment usually didn¡¯t have any stats, and if they did, they would be ordinary at most. However, they could conceal a player¡¯s identity and protect their privacy.


    In reality, the strips of cloth that he had ripped from a Common grade equipment served the same purpose.


    He looked through the equipment and chose a grey bandanna that reduced poison miasma damage by 20%, which cost him 60 silver coins. The system once again told him that he had new mail.


    Afterwards, Lu Li went to see if there were any good arrows.


    Although he had a Steel grade Bow, he was a Thief without Bow Proficiency. He wouldn¡¯t be able to deal sufficient damage to a Boss with just this Bow, so he had to start thinking about arrows.


    In order to make life easier for Hunters, basic arrows would automatically spawn in one¡¯s quiver. Other professions using a Bow would also receive this benefit. However, these arrows did not have any Attack power - the damage dealt was only calculated from the Bow and the player¡¯s own Attack.


    After hitting a target, an arrow would automatically disappear. If it still had Durability, it would automatically return to the quiver. If it ran out of Durability, or was destroyed while in flight, the arrow would disappear.


    Hunters with a Blacksmith profession would usually increase their Blacksmithing level by creating arrows. Not only were the costs low, the arrows could be used by themselves or sold. If they were lucky enough to find a blueprint to create a valuable type of arrow, they would be able to earn as much as those who could create Bronze grade equipment.


    Normal Arrow: 0-1 Attack. Durability: 3.


    Most of the arrows in the Exchange Hall were Iron Arrows, which were slightly better than the ones the system provided. They costed 10 silver coins each.


    Above these were Fine Steel Arrows. Their Attack was 1-2, but there were not many of them. Because there were only 10 or so for sale, they were incredibly expensive.


    Lu Li almost decided to buy some Iron Arrows when he saw something that caught his eye.


    Armory Rusty Arrow: 2-5 Attack. Durability: 2.

 73 Stocking up on Snake Trust Grass

    Armory Rusty Arrows were the standard weapons of the NPC army. They were manufactured in bulk and stored in the Armory. However, they rusted because of the poor storage conditions and their durability and attack both fell. This didn¡¯t make much of an impact because they were still a lot better than the average Fine Steel Arrows.


    A bundle of these arrows costed about 20 silver, which came down to about 2 copper each. This was much more expensive than the cost of making normal Iron Arrows. Therefore, many people were reluctant to use these arrows.


    Lu Li picked out the Armory Rusty Arrows and bought the bundles that were listed at 20 silver or less. He ended up with 9 bundles of arrows.


    With 10 or so gold left, Lu Li continued browsing but did not find any other rare materials. However, it was not necessary to search for rare materials to become rich. Even trading the most average materials could make big money.


    For example, Snake Trust Grass was the most important material for making Intermediate Health Potions. Without it, only Beginner Health Potions could be used at the LV10 Death Mines.


    No one had seen the recipe for Intermediate Health Potions, so no one knew about the importance of Snake Trust Grass.


    Snake Trust Grass and Silver Leaf Grass were both uncommon. Lu Li spent a day in Snake Valley and had only managed to find 10 or so. However, Snake Trust Grass could also be found around the Beginner Villages. Since Snake Trust Grass was a higher level than Silver Leaf Grass, the Proficiency one gained from harvesting it was much greater.


    Many players used them to practise and increase their Harvesting Skill. Since it would be a waste to sell them at the Shops, players would list them in the Auction Hall at very low prices. They hoped that ¡®stupid merchants¡¯ would see the Snake Trust Grass bundles and buy them.


    Lu Li compared a few other popular materials on the market and decided to buy the Snake Trust Grass.


    He bought them not because of their importance, but because of their low price. There was also too much stock in the Exchange Hall. Thousands of Snake Trust Grass had been listed on the market. Some were listed separately, while others were in a set.


    Each set contained 20 units of Snake Trust Grass and could be sold for 40 copper in NPC Shops. At the Auction Hall, they were listed for about 10 times that price - 400 copper or 4 silver.


    When the recipe was released into the game, a set would cost about 3 Gold. The profit Lu Li made would be much more than just 10 times.


    It was too cheap! Lu Li continued to buy and buy and buy!


    All together he bought more than 100 sets. He also bought an additional 100 sets that were listed for under 5 silver.


    However, Lu Li decided not to buy the sets that were listed for more than 5 silver so that the market would not be affected. Since he had no other competition, he could be patient and wait until tomorrow for more sets to be listed at under 5 silver.


    Lu Li then spent about 20 silver to rent a small room which gave him the ability to log off.


    After he logged off, the pretty landladies treated Lu Li to some 5-star hotel standard takeaway so that they could ask questions about the game. Lu Li answered as much as he could and they all thanked him.


    Zhou Huan Huan and Yang Liu were both new players, so Lu Li designed the best possible levelling guide and advised them to make the most out of their 3 days of Double EXP. After the Double EXP, they would be around the same level as the older players.


    The 3 girls considered renting his room for free.


    An expert was living with them and giving them tips. Not only were they not paying him, they were also taking rent from him. How dare they!


    Lu Li felt energetic during the day and decided to use up some energy at the gym. After an exhausting workout, he dragged his tired body back home and slept.


    After waking up, he ate and logged on as always. Since he logged off at the hotel, he received a 1-hour double EXP buff.


    This double EXP buff could be used at any time, depending on when the player wanted to activate it. Obviously, once activated, it couldn¡¯t be stopped and would continue for the entire hour.


    The Level Rankings had not changed much; Lu Li and his friends were still in the top 6.


    Azure Sea Breeze suggested that they go to the next Instance Dungeon since there were players that had already explored new ones. Although the LV10 Death Mines were close to the Human towns, any town with an Instance Dungeon Teleporter could send them there. This included the Grey Valley.


    No one seemed to care about the 5 copper transportation fees.


    ¡°I still have some errands to run; you guys can go and try out the dungeon. Don¡¯t be too hopeful though, because this Instance Dungeon is extremely annoying. If you guys get hit by the Boss¡¯ ultimate skill, those with weaker equipment will instantly die. He can also target freeze someone. If you heal or cure the frozen one, you¡¯ll draw aggro and will have to kite the boss. I¡¯m not so sure about the exact details.¡±


    Lu Li tried recalling the details of the Instance Dungeon and roughly pointed out the main things.


    The level requirement for the Death Mines was only 10. However, the monsters were all at least LV12. Monsters before the bosses were at least LV15 and after the boss, they became LV16.


    Lu Li did not want to discourage the others. However, it would be difficult to defeat the first boss Glubtok even under Lu Li¡¯s command. The group¡¯s equipment level was simply too low. As for the second boss Helix, it would plant mines everywhere which were impossible to guard against and predict the location of. Unless everyone had intermediate Healing Potions, it was almost impossible to pass that stage.


    Intermediate Healing Potion recipes were extremely hard to find. There were no rumours of any one with the recipe. Otherwise, the prices for the Snake Trust Grass in the Auction Hall would not so low.


    Lu Li recalled a post on the forum that was entitled, ¡®Whichever Guild announces that they have an alchemist capable of making Intermediate Healing Potions will have a long line of people begging to join.¡¯


    Lu Li felt very blessed when he remembered the sets of Snake Trust Grass that he had yet to take out from his mail box. He would browse the market again and use up all the gold he had on Snake Trust Grass.


    ¡°Forget it then, we¡¯ll continue to level while waiting for you.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze decided to give up upon hearing how difficult the Instance Dungeon was. If they got stuck in the dungeon and died, they would lose the equipment found and the EXP gained. He was extremely stubborn and reluctant to lose EXP.


    ¡°If you guys want to form a party and kill mobs, I suggest killing Nagas. They¡¯re often in a group, so there are a lot of mobs which are easy to find. Low HP and defence but high EXP. As long as you kill the Naga Healer first, the rest is a piece of cake,¡± Lu Li suggested.


    ¡°Where is it? Mark it on the map.¡± Azure Sea Breeze took out a leather paper and gave it to Lu Li.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s already making the map, impressive.¡± Lu Li was impressed, as though he was witnessing history unfold.


    After studying the rough map, he pointed at the location of Nagas.


    ¡°Start killing at this point and continue down this path. You¡¯ll see an abandoned dock. Swim across the sea and after 3 to 5 minutes, you will see a small island. The mobs are plentiful there: more than enough for you guys to clean up. But remember to only enter the water when you arrive at the dock. Otherwise, there might be Ghosts of Dead Pirates which are Elite Grade Monsters with annoying attacks.


    Lu Li had a phase where he farmed the Nagas relentlessly to make money. He knew the tips and tricks of farming them like the back of his hand.


    The Island was very deserted because people couldn¡¯t even find its location. The mobs there would be enough to help them get to level 12.


    ¡°Got it, see you later.¡± Azure Sea Breeze waved and lead the others to train.


    He and the others knew that Lu Li had a lot of secrets, but they never asked him about it. Everyone had their own secret and everyone had a story, just like Lonesome Flower¡¯s Silver Grade Weapon. Its stats were crazy powerful and no one knew where he had found it.


    Lu Li left to upgrade his ring. He was about to be rewarded for the preparation he had done for the crafting of the Supreme Two Ring.

 74 Twilight Altar

    To upgrade the ring, Lu Li needed to enter the Twilight Valley through the Amisallan Jungle. This was where the Twilight Altar was located, which was looked after by the High Disciple Anzelin.


    Lu Li prepared himself, as he began his journey through the Amisallan Jungle.


    The Amisallan Jungle was filled with Nightmoon Tigers ¨C cunning beasts that ranged from LV15-20. They often travelled in packs of 3 to 5 and could become invisible.They also had a Counter Invisibility Skill, which meant that even thieves would have trouble getting past them.


    Luckily, Lu Li had learnt the Crow Transformation skill.


    Crow Transformation (fake): Spend 30 seconds and consume 500 HP to become a raven, allowing you to fly for a limited period of time. Flying consumes 10 HP per second and being attacked while in flight will cancel out the transformation. Level: 1/5.


    Lu Li currently had 1480 HP, which mainly came from a couple of equips that increased his Constitution ¨C especially the Bloodstained Badge, which added 10 points.


    After transforming, he immediately lost 500HP. This gave him the ability to fly for 3 minutes, however, 2 minutes was probably the safer option for him as it would allow for some landing time. This greatly decreased the chance of him being ambushed by Nightmoon Tigers.


    Nightmoon Tiger packs could contain a rare white-coated variant called a Shadowclaw Tiger. These had very fast attack speed and could turn invisible. As such, they were very useful pets for Hunters. Lu Li planned to bring Remnant Dream here when they were higher level.


    Lu Li checked his supplies then casted Crow Transformation.


    After 30 seconds, Lu Li felt his body transforming into a crow. It was a strange sensation, almost as though his body had disintegrated and reformed back into a crow. After adjusting to his new form, he flapped his wings and flew away.


    This was definitely different to the normal Crow Transformation skill. Normally, when the skill was cast, only animations and light effects appeared. He wouldn¡¯t necessarily feel different.


    However, compared to the normal Crow Transformation, the skill taught by Medivh was much faster. Flapping his wings took little effort or energy.


    Looking down from a bird''s eye view, the giant trees looked more like small mushrooms and the monsters on the ground appeared to be small black dots.


    From the time he had taken off, his HP had dropped by 10 per second. This loss was slightly alleviated by his badge which regenerated HP, at a rate of 0.1% (14 HP) per 3 seconds.


    He calculated that he could easily fly for a little more than 3 minutes.


    The deeper part of the Amisallan Jungle contained many rivers and valleys. This seemingly peaceful and quiet area was lurking with dangerous monsters in the shadows.


    Lu Li started to look for a landing spot after 2 minutes of flying. This spot had to be an open field, suitable for battle and preferably without any Nightmoon Tigers. With such low HP, it would be impossible for him to withstand an ambush from a pack of Tigers.


    Lu Li landed on a rock in the middle of a river. He sat down to recover his HP with bread.


    The food that could be bought from the system was a bargain because of its cheap price. It was too bad it could only be consumed outside of battle.


    After he recovered, he continued flying, and as he was flying, he spotted a Griffon in the distance.


    He immediately headed straight down into the forest, unperturbed by the threat of monsters.


    Griffons were often associated with Dwarfs from the Wild Hammer Clan. These savage mounts would tear up any enemies they saw in the skies, except for Giant Dragons.


    Grey Valley was still in the vicinity of the Whispering Forest, which was too dense for the Griffon to land and search for him. It hovered over the forest momentarily, then flew away with its magnificent wings.


    Lu Li waited for half an hour before he took flight again.


    His efforts had paid off; after recalling the route from his memory, Lu Li finally entered the Twilight Valley.


    Immediately, he began his search for the Twilight Altar.


    The Twilight Hammer was an infamous Evil Cult Organisation within Dawn. They searched ruins and historic relics from around the world to find information that suggested the existence of the Ancient Gods. They firmly believed that Azeroth would one day be ruled by the Ancient Gods again.


    As such, they built the Twilight Altar to collect energy from the earth, which they hoped the Ancient Gods would use to return triumphantly from the abyss.


    Not long after, Lu Li saw the four tall towers that surrounded the altar.


    He hovered over the altar for a while and landed right in front of High Disciple Anzelin. As he transformed back, his body blurred and the outline of his Elf form appeared from within the distorted light.


    "Elf, this is not a place you should be."


    Anzelin did not summon his Twilight Fanatics to prepare for battle; perhaps Lu Li''s entrance was too out of the ordinary. Instead, he only appeared to be slightly alerted.


    "Successor of Gujar''s willpower, why do you not greet a friend from afar?" Lu Li questioned while laughing, "I bring greetings from Duke Ravenholdt, wishing that your God will return soon."


    Lu Li was referring to Gujar, the creator of the Twilight Hammer who had many identities.


    Duke Ravenholdt was the head of Ravenholdt Manor. The Ravenholdt Manor that he had established was also known as the Assassin Guild. The Thief Guild consisted of the most powerful Thieves and Assassins. Lu Li was pretending to be a member from the Assassin Guild.


    "You? A puny Elf? How did you gain Ravenholdt''s trust and grace?" Anzelin was quite intelligent and had been appointed to the role of summoning Water Corps. He was one of the senior members of the Twilight Hammer.


    The Assassin Guild was the most mysterious and secretive organisation in Dawn. Few had seen Ravenholdt in person and some did not even believe in his existence. Naturally, many thieves and assassins saw him as their leader who was well respected.


    Their standards for accepting members was very high. The fact that Lu Li brought personal greetings from Ravenholdt suggested that he was an official member and not just one of the minions.


    Lu Li showed them his ring and said, "My dear Twilight Members, I''m sure you''re familiar with this."


    "The Supreme Ring! Are you associated with¡­ Malfurion?" Although Anzelin was only a LV50 boss, the sound of his voice was still terrifying. Lu Li was pleased that he had pretended to be a member of Ravenholdt''s Manor.


    The Twilight Hammer''s arch enemy was The Ring of the Earth and the Cenarion Circle. Malfurion was the leader of Cenarion Circle.


    He said calmly, "I swear in the name of Ravenholdt, I have never seen Malfurion and have never been blessed by him. I cannot tell you how I obtained this ring, but I am simply proving to you my capabilities."


    If Lu Li had Ravenholdt''s Badge, it would have been even easier to persuade him. It was too bad that they were so difficult to obtain.


    "I acknowledge your strength. Speak, Elf, why did you come here?" Anzelin asked fearfully, his eyes fixated on the Supreme Ring. He wasn¡¯t sure how Lu Li had obtained it, but he could not help but respect him.


    Should he steal it? Forget it. The Twilight Hammer hated Druids, so they naturally wouldn¡¯t use the Druid''s God Ring. Besides, they did not dare to offend the Assassin Guild in any way.


    I wanted to gain powers from the earth, so I brought some gifts," Lu Li said as he pulled out the things he had prepared from his bag.


    Upon hearing that Lu Li wanted to use the powers from the Earth, Anzelin hesitated and wanted to refuse. However, after seeing what Lu Li had offered, he began to waver.

 75 To Supreme Two Ring

    This was the Whispering Forest, the base of the Cenarion Circle. The Twilight Hammer¡¯s power here was almost negligible.


    High Disciple Anzelin was summoning the Water Corps, preparing to attack Meisnera¡¯s Guardpost. However, the scarce supplies had seriously affected his working efficiency and Lu Li had just taken out exactly what he needed in exactly the right amount.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to use your altar, but you seem to be missing these things. I¡¯m afraid that¡­¡± Lu Li seemed like he was about to walk away.


    ¡°Alright, alright, you cunning Elf, I accept your gift. Please put the Earth¡¯s power mediums onto the altar.¡±


    Anzelin quickly called Lu Li and agreed to the deal.


    The altar absorbed some of the Earth¡¯s power. The soldiers that were summoned were a little weaker, but without these materials, who knew how long it would take to create enough of them?


    This in itself was a dilemma, as the Twillight Hammer¡¯s High Disciples wanted to attack as soon as possible. Yet, they underestimated the Earth power that the ring needed.


    Lu Li stretched out his hand and the ring automatically detached from his finger, slowly floating to the top of the altar. As Anzelin continued his spell, a golden energy was drawn out from the altar and gathered around the ring.


    Two minutes later, Anzelin¡¯s forehead was began to sweat. Why wasn¡¯t it done yet?


    After another two minutes, Anzelin¡¯s face started to pale. Why did this damn ring upgrade need so much energy?


    Within another 10 minutes, Anzelin¡¯s face began to contort and his heart was full of anger. There was also a trace of fear in his eyes, but he did not stop the altar.


    The process lasted more than 10 minutes before Lu Li successfully got a System Prompt.


    System: Your Supreme Ring has been upgraded to level 2, keep working hard!


    Supreme Two Ring (Gold): Strength +10, Agility +10, Critical Chance +20%, Vampirism +20%. Special Effect: The Lord of the Forest, Cenarius, gave this ring special powers. You can learn three Druid transformation skills, as well as two skills for one of those transformations. Equipment requirement: None. Durability: None.


    This was very worthy of its Gold status. Lu Li didn¡¯t need to say anything about the 20 bonus attribute points, which alone were already worthy of Gold grading. The most important thing was the 20% Critical Chance, which was its most unnatural attribute.


    Lu Li¡¯s Rager Bracer and Steel equips only added 5% Critical Chance. Even then, it was exclusive to melees and used by people from LV10 all the way to LV30.


    This ring added 20% in one go!


    Additionally, the 20% Vampirism was much stronger than before. When paired with his Bloodstained Badge, he wouldn¡¯t need to take potions under normal circumstances.


    ¡°Thank you for your generosity, may your God protect you. See you later Anzelin.¡±


    Lu Li had no intention of crossing the bridge. It was not that he didn¡¯t want to, but that he couldn¡¯t beat it. A LV30 Boss was no laughing matter.


    ¡°I do not wish to see you again, fallen Elf. Go back to the darkness.¡± Anzelin wasn¡¯t so polite. He looked at the cracks forming on the altar heartbrokenly, trying to think of a solution.


    His Ravenholdt Manor identity held him back. Otherwise, he would have personally killed this kid.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t directly return to the city ¨C he remembered that there was a chest near the Twilight Valley. In his past life, there were Thieves that fought over this chest because it wasn¡¯t an ordinary Bronze chest but a higher level Steel chest.


    The Steel chest had a certain probability that it would drop Silver Equipment.


    However, he didn¡¯t know its specific location. After all, he wasn¡¯t a Thief and so he didn¡¯t expect to pass by it.


    Twilight Valley had humanoid monsters known as Twilight Fanatics. They were once Anzelin¡¯s subordinates, but they had long since lost their minds and would attempt to kill anyone they saw.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to tango with them either, flying directly above them. Based on his vague impressions, he narrowed his search to an area within the Dilan Ruins.


    The Dilan Ruins was filled with rundown buildings. All that was left was the mural that tragically played witness to their history.


    There were many Twilight Fanatics wandering around in the area, which would pose a problem if they weren¡¯t dealt with. Lu Li carefully used Stealth to sneak up behind one and was about to kill it when he suddenly realized something.


    The humanoid form could be stolen from!


    If you were a Thief and you didn¡¯t steal anything, how can you be called a Thief?


    Dawn¡¯s Thieves were similar to Assassins, but they used traditional gaming terms. The stealing aspect of the profession seemed to be a little lacking.


    You couldn¡¯t steal from players, non-human creatures, friendly units¡­


    The only creatures you could steal from were these humanoid monsters, such as the Twilight Fanatics.


    Stealing: gives a certain chance to obtain coins and equips from a humanoid body. Results in aggro. Cannot be used against players or non-hated NPCs.


    Lu Li carefully got close to the Twilight Fanatic and used the Steal skill on the monster.


    System: Stealing failed!


    The Twilight Fanatic turned its head and pointed its Magic Staff at Lu Li.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t angry; his strong stats and regeneration allowed him to effortlessly deal with this LV15 monster. The EXP gained was also very good.


    The next few times he encountered this monster, he would try to steal from them.


    His luck was good for one time where he stole 5 copper coins, but all his other attempts failed.


    System: You steal a piece of rag.


    System: You steal 5 copper.


    System: ¡­


    As he continued to steal, his success rate slowly increased. Although the steal skill didn¡¯t fall under the category of upgradeable skills, practice certainly did make perfect. Between a rookie and a god thief, there was definitely a difference.


    The chest could only be come across by chance, so Lu Li relaxed by practicing his Steal skill and farming. This was how the afternoon came to pass.


    As he opened up the level ranking list, he saw that the top of the list hadn¡¯t really changed. After all, everyone was desperately levelling. Azure Sea Breeze and the rest must have followed Lu Li¡¯s pointers. As long as they chose a good location and the monsters were good for farming, there was no reason for anyone to be able to catch up.


    On the other hand, the Glory Rankings had shifted. Other than Blood Dagger always being fixed in the top three, everyone else¡¯s position changed by the minute.


    Moonlight was truly an expert ¨C he had suddenly managed to rush into 4th place. Currently, he had killed over 100 people, but if he kept going like this, his level ranking would suffer.


    Everyone had their own playstyle, so there was no need to force anything, but Lu Li just felt a bit emotional about it.


    He skillfully finished off the Twilight Fanatic that he was fighting, with a Slit Throat at 75% Skill Completion and 90% damage that had also critically hit. He then reached down to pick up the few copper coins it had dropped and looked around. Suddenly, something caught his eye.


    A treasure Chest!


    Steel Treasure Chest!

 76 Steel Treasure Ches

    A treasure chest¡¯s grade could be determined based on its appearance. Its color, adornments and material were all visibly of a higher quality.


    Lu Li looked at the monsters in the surrounding area, making sure they were far away before standing in front of the Steel Chest and casting Unlock.


    System: Sorry, your Unlock skill¡¯s level is insufficient to open this treasure chest.


    Insufficient level?


    Lu Li froze for a moment, before realizing that the Unlock also needed a certain level.


    LV1 Unlock could only open Bronze chests, while a Steel chest required a LV2 or greater Unlock.


    After the System Update, Lu Li received 5 Skill Points ¨C one for every 2 levels he had gained. Fortunately, he still hadn¡¯t used any of them.


    Most skills required one to find a teacher to upgrade them, with the exception of original skills. Unlock and Steal were both skills that came with the Thief profession, so Lu Li could upgrade them on his own. If he couldn¡¯t, he would need to leave and make a return trip for this Treasure Chest.


    He painfully added a Skill Point and confirmed the upgrade.


    Unlock: 10 second cast, 1 minute cool down. Opens locked chests and doors. Skill Proficiency: 2/5.


    There wasn¡¯t much change other than the cool down halving, which was a pretty good of upgrade. System: Unlock failed.


    After a minute, he tried again but it failed. Perhaps a newly levelled-up skill required some practice, because Lu Li had already used the Unlock skill countless times.


    Seven minutes later, on his seventh attempt, Lu Lu finally managed to open the treasure chest.


    This was likely the first Steel chest to be opened in the game. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but feel excited.


    He reached his hand in and felt around, discovering a ring shaped item.


    A ring!


    It really was a ring! Lu Li cried out in satisfaction. As it turned out, people who dared to take the first steps were the luckiest of them all.


    It didn¡¯t matter what profession this equip was for, or what kind of properties it had. As long as it was a ring that was higher than Bronze, it would sell.


    Lu Li¡¯s current rings were the Supreme Ring on his right hand and an ordinary Bronze agility ring +1 ring on his left hand. In reality, not many people were wearing 2 rings at once.


    Sharp Tooth Ring (Steel): Damage 6-8, Strength +6, Agility +3. Equipment Requirement: level 10. Durability 30/30.


    The one he had found was a good one and something he could use as well. Lu Li unceremoniously replaced the low level Agility +1 ring.


    Lu Li reached in again, filled with hope. This time, he found a blueprint.


    Blueprint ¨C Magic Patterned Bag


    He was a little disappointed ¨C why couldn¡¯t it have been for an Intermediate Healing Potion?


    If he found the Intermediate Healing Potion blueprint, he would have been rich.


    Lu Li was apparently an insatiably greedy kind of person. The Magic Patterned Bag was a 20 space bag, with 14 more spaces than the 6-space bag that the system sold. For the majority who couldn¡¯t scrape together four 6-space bags, this magic bag would definitely be very popular.


    However, it was unlikely to make him rich, as the income wasn¡¯t going to be stable.


    March Rain seemed to be learning Tailoring, so he would give it to her when he got back.


    There were only these two things in the chest and Lu Li unwillingly retracted his hand. He memorized the location of the Steel chest and its respawn time, before directly heading back to the city.


    After returning to the city, he first went to the Auction House to see if there was any cheap Snake Trust Grass. There was less stock this time and he didn¡¯t have enough money, so he only bought 70 sets.


    His mailbox had now accumulated 300 Snake Trust Grass sets.


    However, many players from the first group had already reached LV10. Monsters higher than LV10 all had a small chance of dropping the Intermediate Healing Potion Recipe. Who knew how much longer it would be before this secret was known by everyone and the price of the herb skyrocketed?


    It was too bad that he didn¡¯t have enough money. Even Azure Sea Breeze and others¡¯ money had all be completely spent. Maybe he could go to the trading platform and buy gold coins.


    Suddenly a person¡¯s face appeared in his mind: Shen Wansan!


    ¡°Boss Shen, are you here?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask if I¡¯m here. If you have business then speak; every minute is gold wasted,¡± Shen Wansan responded cheerfully.


    ¡°Really now, I¡¯ve come to borrow some spending money. What do you think?¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t too hopeful.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Shen Wansan hesitated as expected.


    ¡°To be honest, I do have a few gold coins, but they have been used to invest in some goods. I¡¯ve also heard some news that many companies are currently trying to enter the game to do business. We small-timers don¡¯t dare to compete with them, but I won¡¯t pass up an opportunity to make some cash.¡±


    This really was an opportunity. While these big companies settled in and catered for high-end goods, they might leave some holes in the market for ordinary players to make some money.


    ¡°Lend the money to me for a month at 100% interest. How about that?¡± Lu Li sweetened the deal.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk in person.¡± Shen Wansan was immediately interested.


    This was Lu Li¡¯s reputation as an expert, figuratively slapping him across the face.


    When he reached the designated Tavern, Shen Wansan was already there waiting.


    ¡°Expert brother, why is your face covered?¡± Shen Wansan didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it cool? I see many people covering their faces on the street.¡±


    Lu Li opened his bandana and drank some water.


    ¡°Sure, but it¡¯s inconvenient. I guess what Expert brother is doing is justified though. You won¡¯t to be recognized on the street right?¡± Shan Wansan wasn¡¯t sure if he was supposed to be jealous or pleased at his misfortune.


    ¡°Fortunately, this bandana exists and it¡¯s also fortunate that many people wear bandanas,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    Bandanas were made by Tailors. Their price wasn¡¯t very high and those who liked being mysterious would buy one to give off that air. You could often see masked people on the street.


    ¡°What are you planning on doing that gives you the confidence to loan with 100% interest?¡± After a few formalities, Shen Wansan went straight to the main point.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Lu Li shook his head without speaking.


    ¡°Hey hey, I have two gold collection offices under me, in addition to spending all my time collecting goods at the Trading Platform. So far, I¡¯ve gathered around 180 gold.¡±


    Shen Wansan had reason to be proud; to have this kind of net worth only after a week of the game opening was no small feat.


    Shen Wansan specialized in short term investments: buying low and selling high.


    He also knew that gold could slowly decrease in value, so if he wanted to earn money, investing in goods that were guaranteed to increase their value was the best way.


    But what kind of items increase in value?


    Equipment was definitely a no go!


    His colleagues, in an attempt to stock up in Bronze equipment, had made an absolute mess.


    Since the Spider Lair opened, countless strategies have been developed. New players could join an ordinary players¡¯ party to fight the two bosses which caused the number of Bronze equips to surge. What was originally valued at 20 silver coins couldn¡¯t even be sold at 10.


    ¡°Lend 50 gold coins to me and I¡¯ll tell you the secret. This is a ludicrous sale, how about that?¡± Lu Li laughed. He wasn¡¯t worried whether the other side would agree, as he knew this kind of businessman. Once they tasted blood, they would never let it go.


    However, Shen Wansan subverted his knowledge, shaking his head with a serious expression.


    ¡°Maybe we can cooperate in a different way.¡±

 77 Collaboration

    Maybe we can work together in a different way. The words that came out of the businessman¡¯s mouth were surprisingly sincere.


    Lu Li looked at him in surprise, asking, ¡°What do you propose?¡±


    He had already said that it is a big business deal and that he only needed to borrow a sum of gold. He was even offering to pay 100% interest. Was Shen still unsatisfied? Greed was a really bad habit.


    Shen Wansan explained, ¡°I propose we work in a collaboration. Let me control the money and I¡¯ll pay you dividends. How about that?¡±


    He was a businessman, born into a business family. Although the three generations before him did their businesss in secret, he still knew the one universal truth - never take a once off deal.


    Lending the money to Lu Li for his business opportunity for a double repayment seemed fair, but it didn¡¯t help to develop their relations.


    Everyone just made their own money and had nothing to do with each other.


    In the future, they might not come to look for him anymore. Even worse, they might find another person to do business with.


    Only by working together with an elite expert would Shen Wansan feel like he was truly making business.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t think this far ¨C he considered Shen Wansan¡¯s proposal and found that it would be more convenient if he did it. He wouldn¡¯t need to spend levelling time to visit the Exchange Hall.


    After finalizing the terms of their agreement, Shen Wansan wrote up an electronic contract. Under the witness of the great system God, this also had a legal effect in the real world.


    The main idea of the contract was that Shen Wansan would invest 100 gold coins into whatever Lu Li specified and that they would split the profits evenly.


    If his specified good didn¡¯t double in value within the next month, then Lu Li would give Shen Wansan his Silver badge.


    ¡°Guru, tell me what I¡¯ll need to buy.¡±


    Shen Wansan changed his tone, now directly addressing him as guru.


    ¡°Do you know about Healing Potions?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Do you want Silver Leaved Grass or Peacebloom flowers?¡± As a qualified businessman, Shen Wansan understood the game, at least to the point where the Basic Heal Potion was made of Peacebloom Flowers and Silver Leaved Grass.


    ¡°How could I be asking for the Basic Healing Potion?¡± Lu Li shook his head, continuing, ¡°Those don¡¯t earn any much money. We need to make the Intermediate ones.¡±


    ¡°Intermediate Healing Potion?!¡± Shen Wansan stared blankly at Lu Li.


    ¡°Guru, do you know how to make Intermediate Heal Potions?¡±


    He had complete faith ¨C in his mind, Lu Li had already ascended to a divine level. None of these strange things seemed strange to him anymore. If the guru could make Intermediate Healing Potions, they could make a mountain of gold!


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to make it.¡±


    This one phrase cast doubt into Shen Wansan¡¯s mind, but what Lu Li said next reversed this.


    ¡°But, I do know where I can get the Intermediate Healing Potion Recipe.¡±


    ¡°Are you asking me to buy its ingredients?¡± Shen Wansan trembled with excitement.


    ¡°Guru, quickly tell me what kind of ingredients!¡±


    ¡°Snake Trust Grass.¡± Lu Li took a sip of his tea and wrote those words on the table.


    Shen Wansan¡¯s lip trembled before he wiped them away with his sleeve. In silence, he stood up, bid Lu Li goodbye and turned away.


    Every minute was worth dozens of gold. This was now more true than ever!


    ¡°Gee, still impatient as ever.¡±


    Lu Li shook his head, picked up his tea and drained it. He was about to leave before he was stopped by the waiter.


    ¡°Sir, you haven¡¯t paid.¡±


    What!


    System: Players Sorrowless, I No Understand, Ninja Turtle¡­ and another 20 players, have gotten the first clear on Wild Boss Wild Boar King Cossady.


    What again!


    After stepping out of the tavern, Lu Li opened the rankings. I No Understand, who was a fair bit behind, had now overtaken Moonlight at 6th place.


    Wild Boar King Cossady was a LV15 Boss. Glory Capital needed to bring more than 20 people to beat it, which meant that the EXP each person received was drastically lower. Otherwise, he would have rose another rank.


    It wasn¡¯t that Lu Li hadn¡¯t fought the Wild Boar King before; he was just incapable of defeating it. At the Boss¡¯ command, all the monsters in the area would attack.


    Only 20 people were mentioned, but in taking this Boss, Glory Capital had used over 300 players.


    Lu Li touched the short bow on his back. Seeing as there was still time, he could go and kill Death Knight Benedict.


    Death Knight Benedict could be found in the Morningstar Tower in the Land of Ghosts. If he wanted to go there, he would need to transfer to Blackedge Fortress and fly over Blackedge Mountain into the Blood Elf site.


    Going all the way to someone else¡¯s land to fight a Boss sounded heroic, but he had no other choice.


    No matter how overpowered one was, there were only a handful of Bosses one could solo.


    The special thing about Dark Knight Benedict was that he was not very smart and he didn¡¯t self-heal. Most of his skills were melee ranged, so as long as Lu Li positioned well, he would be able to eventually shoot him down.


    After spending 2 gold coins, Lu Li arrived at Blackedge Fortress.


    Blackedge Fortress was a neutral city, but it was deserted at the moment. When players started to become Death Paladins, it would liven up.


    After Lu Li selected his target, he carefully flew over the treetops.


    The Morningstar Tower¡¯s location was very remote and players shouldn¡¯t have even explored the area yet. After all, it was filled with LV15 ghosts with high defence. They also had terrifying spells: once a player was hit, they would involuntarily run around attracting even more monsters.


    It was said that the Morningstar Tower was a magic tower where a famous enchantress had studied her magic.


    Benedict was the Paladin that served her. No one knew what happened, but one day the enchantress disappeared and this Paladin became a Death Knight who attacked anyone that came close to the tower.


    Lu Li settled at the top of the Morningstar Tower and transformed back.


    A husky roar could be heard from a distance, before a Paladin that was tall in stature rushed over on his horse.


    The man was dead and so was the horse; this was the Death Knight.


    He waved his spear and roared anxiously, but couldn¡¯t step forwards.


    The Morningstar Tower was the final memory he couldn¡¯t destroy!


    Lu Li squatted on the tower and relentlessly shot arrows at Benedict. This was the easiest Boss to kill, but sooner or later all the major guilds would fight over it and it would spill enough blood to form a river.


    Even with the Steel Bow, the high damage arrows only dealt 4-5 damage to Benedict. The poison did most of the work, as he perpetually lost a single HP at a time.


    After 4 to 5 minutes, Benefit began to summon ghouls.


    Ghouls had 4000HP and would Charge at ranged professions. Generally, when fighting this Boss, you would prioritize clearing these out.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t need to worry though ¨Che was so high up that the ghouls¡¯ Charge couldn¡¯t reach him.


    In addition to Charge, Ghouls could also explode, but this was once again useless against Lu Li.


    He was like a bug.


    When his HP fell to half, the Death Knight released a death mark on Lu Li.


    This caused him to lose 300HP per second, for 5 seconds.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have 1500 HP, but he could drink potions and he also had the Bloodstained Badge. While it was exciting, there was almost no risk of death.


    Once Lu Li was back at full health, he let out a sigh of relief. The Death Knight didn¡¯t seem to have any more moves.


    He was afraid that the Boss would be unreasonable like him. If a melee Boss started to perform multiple ranged attacks in succession, he would be dead before he could even speak.

 78 Someone Was Coming to Steal The Boss

    After grinding for an hour, the Death Knight finally reached low HP.


    When this happened, it used a new ability.


    Desecration: A field is created at the foot of the caster. All who stand in it have their movement speed reduced by 50% and take 1000 Shadow damage every 2 seconds.


    Needless to say, this was an overpowered skill; one tick of the Shadow damage would drop Lu Li past half HP. Fortunately, his reactions were quick and he immediately changed locations when the skill was cast. However, he still had to take at least one tick of the damage.


    At 5% HP, the Boss went berserk, releasing skill after skill that left potholes in the ground.


    While Lu Li was fighting the Boss, he suddenly stopped attacking and listened attentively. His expression was grave.


    There were other people!


    He stood up on the tower and looked around the perimeter, spotting a party of a dozen people who were quickly clearing out mobs. It seemed that their goal was to reach the tower as well.


    The loud cries of Death Knight had most likely alerted the nearby players that were farming.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone standing on the tower,¡± a sharp-eyed player said as he pointed at Lu Li.


    ¡°How did he get up there?¡± a Blood Elf Mage asked while casting spells.


    ¡°Not sure, but it doesn¡¯t matter. It sounds like the Boss isn¡¯t dead yet, so if we quickly get there we can steal it from him. There¡¯s no way we can¡¯t steal it, given that there are so many of us.¡±


    The one who said this was a female Hunter. Judging by her skilled arm movements alone, she was probably twice as good as Remnant Dream.


    After a couple of glances, Lu Li stopped staring and sped up his ranged attacks.


    The Death Knight¡¯s constitution was high and he was completely covered in armour. There wasn¡¯t much difference in hitting any part of his body, so Lu Li didn¡¯t need to find a weak spot.


    The Boss only had 2000 remaining HP, but the group of people were getting close. If they were clearing monsters, then the waves of mobs would be pulled away.


    Just as Lu Li thought this, the mobs were pulled away and the Evil Faction players got closer and closer to the Morningstar Tower.


    The thought of killing the Boss only with the bow was now just wishful thinking.


    It was time to just attack!


    Lu Li jumped off the tower and rushed at the Boss.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 93%, resulting in 210% Skill Damage and stunning the target for 1 second.


    A -64 red damage value floated up. This was ten times the damage of the bow and arrow!


    System: Backstab Skill Completion 81%, resulting in 92% Skill Damage. Target¡¯s armor is broken.


    The Armor Break on this kind of High Defence Boss was very useful. Before that, Lu Li¡¯s attacks only dealt damage in the tens, but after the Armor Break effect, normal attacks dealt 20-30 damage.


    The Boss hit Lu Li, -350!


    He downed a Health Potion and before the armor break was lost, he quickly cast Shadowstrike again.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 95%, dealing 300% Skill Damage and stunning for 2 seconds.


    This was Manual Mode! Upon reaching a completion rate of 95%, he could deal three times his normal damage. He knew that even before his ¡®rebirth¡¯ there weren¡¯t many people who were able to do such a thing.


    There were less actions required for Shadowstrike and it was Lu Li¡¯s most practiced skill. With a bit of luck, he had managed to pull off this amazing blow.


    Benedict didn¡¯t even hit him a second time; he was angry and raised his Warhammer to cast Desecration.


    What was astonishing, was that Desecration appeared even at the feet of the people standing a hundred yards away.


    Not for a second did they think that the Boss would target them in his spell. The whole party was standing on the Desecration area of effect, which dealt 1000 damage every 2 seconds. They immediately started losing members.


    4 or 5 white lights shone out!


    ¡°Dammit, the Boss is dead.¡±


    The group left, afraid of taking another tick of Desecration. Those who were lucky discovered that many had fallen, including their Boss - the 9th ranked player Sorrowless, who was Glory Capital¡¯s leader!


    However, it wasn¡¯t over yet. Desecration caused each of them to move 50% slower, allowing the monsters that they were pulling started to quickly catch up to them and cause all sorts of chaos.


    Lu Li stood in front of the Boss. Obviously, he couldn¡¯t escape, but after he had activated the skill on his shoes, he could barely feel the effects of the slow.


    Swift Leather Boots (Steel): Armor 8, Agility +4, Effect: Swiftness, movement speed increased by 10% for 10 seconds. 120 second cool down. Cannot be stacked. Equipment Requirement: Level 5. Durability 30/30.


    After 10 seconds, the Swiftness effect dissipated and Lu Li was hit by the Boss twice, taking more than 700 damage. He had survived the whole ordeal.


    The Boss was now down to less than 500 HP.


    ¡°Quickly, the Boss is about to die. Pull this wave of monsters away, No Understand you go interfere with the Thief fighting the Boss.¡±


    After their Boss had died, another member immediately assumed command. The number 1 guild did not have an undeserved reputation.


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stepped off the ground and launched himself up, swiping his dagger from left to right.


    System: Slit Throat Skill Completion 85%, dealing 100% Skill Damage and a Bleed effect.


    Critical!


    The initial blow dealt -147, followed by a stream of about ten -20s.


    After the critical hit, Benedict went into a weakened state where his attack and defence were greatly reduced. He seemed to know his life was ending and looked back at the Morningstar Tower, quietly awaiting his death.


    Shadowstrike, Backstab, Shadowstrike, Slit Throat.


    The Boss had fallen!


    Level up!


    System: Player Lu Li has achieved the First Clear on Wild Boss Death Knight Benedict!


    Once this kill was broadcasted in the World Announcements, there was a great uproar.


    This time, Lu Li was the only name on the announcement.


    Jade Flower Lover: Oh my, he solo¡¯ed a Boss!


    Saltless Exchange: Guru Lu Li is overpowered. Sorrowless managed to kill a wild Boss too.


    Great Qin Pioneer: Sorrowless my ass. It sounds nice to say that they did it with 20 people, but I have friends in the Evil Faction and they saw 300-400 people move out. Lu Li solo¡¯ed the Death Knight. Even the name of the boss is scary.


    Painted Feathers: We the Light Faction have Guru Lu Li. What does the Evil Faction have? Come, let¡¯s compare.


    Glory Capital¡¯s players were still dealing with the last wave, but they looked a little sluggish. There wasn¡¯t a word to describe the strength of this Thief. He didn¡¯t look very strong, but you could clearly see Benedict¡¯s spilled blood.


    A completely armor clad soul couldn¡¯t have been an easy fight.


    I No Understand finally rushed out from amongst the monsters, firing his bow!

 79 A Mutual Fear

    Lu Li tanked the two incoming arrows, quickly picking up the dropped equips and materials.


    He didn¡¯t have time to pick up the dozens of silver coins. He ducked and rolled to avoid a white glowing arrow. This was the Hunter¡¯s Crowd Control spell. If he was hit, he would be in a state of confusion for 3 seconds. In that time he would be killed.


    Shadowmeld, Stealth.


    ¡°Dammit, he¡¯s escaped,¡± I No Understand angrily burst out, while shooting a arrows in the direction Lu Li had vanished.


    ¡°No Understand, why didn¡¯t you start with your Confusion Arrows?¡± One younger member was dissatisfied.


    ¡°Screw you! Mother! Dammit! Do you think the Confusion Arrows have a long range?¡± I No Understand rebuked the ungrateful ingrate.


    ¡°The Boss is rushing over,¡± he reminded.


    ¡°Then what are you doing here? Let¡¯s withdraw.¡±


    The female hunter looked around for a moment and said, ¡°Did you see the World Announcement? The Thief just then was Lu Li, the god who took out multiple members of the Imperial Secret Service. Let¡¯s just forget about today; levelling up is more important.¡±


    After hearing that it was Lu Li, the hot-blooded member was silent.


    Lu Li¡¯s popularity was also as equally outrageous in the Evil Faction when compared to the Light faction. After all, everyone was notified when a World Announcement was made. Their understanding of the two words, ¡®Lu Li¡¯, was: God Thief!


    Lu Li had actually hidden behind the Morningstar Tower, eating bread to recover HP.


    Although he hadn¡¯t lost all of his HP, he had come close. Facing a Boss head-on was never going to be a Thief¡¯s strength.


    He had also overheard the conversation of the group. Seeing as they had no intention to fight him, he wouldn¡¯t chase after them either.


    If he wasn¡¯t wrong, this was the same party of Glory Capital that fought the Boss, although he didn¡¯t know if Blood Dagger or Man of Darkness was in the party. Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid of them, but couldn¡¯t envision himself killing them if he attacked the group.


    Waiting until his HP was almost fully recovered, he found a remote corner to transform into a crow before returning to the city.


    After returning to Astrana, Lu Li could finally relax and check out what the Boss Dropped. There were some rare materials, an Intermediate Health Potion and 3 pieces of equipment.


    Protector¡¯s Promise Chestplate, Plate Armor, Steel Equipment, +7 strength, 20% increase to all holy damage. Level requirement: 10.


    Low-level equipment was becoming less and less valuable, so Lu Li intended to immediately sell this one.


    Shadow Shinguards, Cloth Armor, Steel Equipment, + 8 Intelligence. MP consumption of Shadow skills are reduced by 10%.


    This was a relatively good effect that was suited to Shadow Priests and Warlocks. He was also going to sell it.


    There was also a Bronze equip that was LV10, so it would be worth slightly more than a LV5 Bronze equip.


    The greatest thing he had gained from the Boss was EXP: soloing it had taken him to 30% of the next level.


    Now, he was close to beating Azure Sea Breeze in the player rankings. Lu Li estimated that Sea Breeze had roughly 20% EXP than he did.


    There was still a lot of time left, so Lu Li contacted Azure Sea Breeze, only to find out that the few of them were already doing the Elite Spider Lair. It would be best for him to farm the lair on his own.


    Previously, he wouldn¡¯t dare farm alone, but now that he had the Bloodstained Badge, the small Spider lair posed him no problem.


    ¡°Seeking a Boost for the Spider Lair, will do the regular difficulty for free and pay 1 Gold for Elite difficulty. Is there a strong party willing to take a solo player?¡± The World Announcements were filled with advertisements such as these, but most of the players wouldn¡¯t choose to do the Elite difficulty.


    The risk was too great and the time spent was too much. It just wasn¡¯t cost effective.


    Lu Li casually browsed for a bit and hid his name, before sending out invites to the players who had posted the messages.


    This was the issue with fame ¨C having too much of it caused problems. He just wanted to quickly get to farming; he didn¡¯t want to be bothered for doing an Instance Dungeon.


    System: Lonely Master has been added to the party.


    System: Wine Courage Wang has been added to the party.


    System: Foolish Fanatic has been added to the party.


    System: Endless Horizon has been added to the party.


    Lonely Master: ¡°Why did you send me a party invite? Are you boosting? Elite Dungeon?¡±


    Lu Li: ¡°Yep, boosting at Elite difficulty. You can directly transfer the payment over there; 1 gold in advance.¡±


    Lonely Master: ¡°Are the others part of your party?¡±


    Lu Li: ¡°They¡¯re all clients.¡±


    Lonely Master: ¡°What? You¡¯re taking all of these clients alone? Are you crazy?¡±


    System: Lonely Master was kicked from the party.


    The other people in the party were silent. Lu Li¡¯s decisiveness was actually convincing to the other players.


    Lu Li: ¡°If you have any problems you can leave, otherwise go enter the Instance Dungeon. I need one more player.¡±


    Endless Horizon: ¡°Let me ask a question, can I invite someone?¡±


    Lu Li: What¡¯s the name, I¡¯ll add them.


    Endless Horizon: ¡°Return to Shore.¡±


    Lu Li: ¡­


    Wine Courage Wang: ¡­


    Foolish Fanatic: ¡­


    Endless Horizon and Return to Shore were¡­ a couple. Now that the party was full, they entered the Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say this now, you don¡¯t have to fight. You can just follow,¡± Lu Li urged after collecting the gold.


    Foolish Fanatic raised his hand and asked, ¡°Guru, I am a Healer, do you need healing?¡±


    ¡°Do it yourselves, I don¡¯t need it.¡±


    Lu Li shook his head and went into Stealth. He faced the monsters and killed one after another. He killed every monster within 3 strikes and it was all over within 20 seconds.


    ¡°OP! No wonder he can take all these clients alone. Guru you must have a full set of Steel equips and rank highly on the player rankings.¡±


    Return to Shore was a little chatty and had been talking non-stop since they had entered the dungeon. Lu Li slightly regretted adding him.


    ¡°Guru, I¡¯m telling you, my role model is Lu Li, followed by you,¡± Return to Shore continued.


    ¡°What do you mean? You can¡¯t even tell who this bandana wearing Guru is. How can you admire him?¡± Wine Courage Wang asked.


    ¡°If he wasn¡¯t a guru, why would he cover his face? Maybe the person levelling us right now is Lu Li himself,¡± Return to Shore hypothesized.


    ¡°Shut up, I¡¯ll kick you if you keep making noise,¡± Lu Li spoke and all of them fell silent.


    Once he reached the Brook, Lu Li got the 20% attack buff so he could kill the monsters even faster.


    The only drawback of boosting was that his level was too high and there was barely any EXP to split. The 4 clients that were following him were level 3-4, so they were excited about the EXP they were getting.


    Occasionally a common equip would be dropped, but Lu Li wouldn¡¯t even bother which made the clients even happier.


    ¡°The Elite Instance Dungeon is so much better. The EXP I¡¯ve gotten so far is more than if I did the regular difficulty twice.¡±


    Wine Courage Wang was very emotional.


    ¡°The most critical is having good equipment. Just buy any two and put them on so you can join a party to do the regular difficulty. If you¡¯re lucky, you¡¯ll get a Steel equip and you¡¯ll be able to join a party to do the Elite difficulty.¡±


    When doing Elite Instance Dungeons, many people would want to know if you were carrying a Steel equip first.


    ¡°If you want to do the Elite difficulty, you¡¯ll need to learn more.¡±


    Lu Li killed the last monster and headed towards the first Boss.


    As long as it wasn¡¯t too much trouble, he didn¡¯t mind teaching rookies.


    While attacking, he gave a brief introduction on the various stages of a Boss¡¯ behavior and the various professions that could deal with it. Lu Li only drank 3 Basic Health Potions before putting the Boss down.


    The only exciting part of the whole experience was when Endless Horizon stepped a little too far forward and was almost killed by a small spider.

 80 For The Blueprin

    The Boss dropped a Steel equip which was ecstatically bought by Wine Courage Wang for 2 Gold. Although the price of equipment was dropping, good equipment was still hard to find. Steel equips with good properties were worth around 3 gold and were bought quickly if they appeared on the auction.


    The price of the equipment sold was at a modest rate, so Wine Courage Wang was very grateful towards Lu Li.


    Unfortunately, his name was hidden, so the party members could only see what he looked like. They all unanimously gave up on adding him.


    After the second Boss was defeated, it dropped a Magic Staff weapon.


    What was the most expensive weapon in Dawn?


    It was definitely the Magic Staff!


    Mages, Warlocks, Priests, Druids, Warriors, Hunters and Shamans could all use a Magic Staff. However, Hunters and Warriors generally didn¡¯t use them.


    All four clients were able to use the Magic Staff, so Lu Li held a bid for it.


    The attributes on this Magic Staff were pretty good, so its final price was 5 gold. Overall, Lu Li had managed to make 10 gold from this Instance Dungeon while spending almost nothing.


    Unfortunately, Elite Instance Dungeons could only be completed once per day and the Regular Instance Dungeon wasn¡¯t worth doing. After this round, he declined the client¡¯s request to continue farming and went straight to the Exchange hall.


    He had a look around for materials to upgrade his Supreme Ring and for Skill Books that he could use, but didn¡¯t find anything. He then looked for Snake Trust Grass and bought all the sets he could find for less than 10 silver.


    After all the Snake Trust Grass on the market had been sold, its price had started rise.


    This was just the reality of the market. Fortunately, a price of 10 silver coins would still make for a large profit margin and Lu Li couldn¡¯t think of anything that could be more profitable than this.


    Afterward, he dropped off the two Steel Equips into the Auction Room. This time, he didn¡¯t set a maximum price but opted for a non-maximum price auction.


    For parties that wanted to complete the new Instance Dungeons, LV10 Steel equips were the most sought after items. There was absolutely no worry that he wouldn¡¯t be able to sell them.


    Currently, the most valuable equipment were LV10 Steel equips. Most of the older players were approaching LV10 and the newer players with double EXP had no need to invest into the lower level equips. It would be better for them if they had the money to bid for a LV10 equip.


    The equipment had only just been consigned before a series of bids went up.


    The price of the Steel Equipment almost instantly shot to 3 gold, before slowing down, as the number of players who could pull out 3 gold for a piece of equipment were few.


    Lu Li estimated that the auction would be complete in 6 hours and that the two equips would easily make 10 gold.


    For the rest of his time, Lu Li went to look for Azure Sea Breeze to farm Nagas with and use his double EXP boost. This was the same double EXP boost that he had gained by staying in the hotel for more than 6 hours.


    He gave the Magic Patterned Bag blueprint and the few pieces of Magic Cloth to March Rain. He was counting on her to quickly increase her skills so she could start creating the Magic Patterned Bag. The group¡¯s current bags were becoming more and more lacking.


    March Rain¡¯s Tailoring was almost at an Intermediate level. Everyone was eager to get a Magic Patterned Bag so they all contributed the cloth that they had.


    While they were farming, Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li discussed the formation of a Mercenary group.


    Lu Li had been thinking about how creating a fixed party was a must. After all, Dawn wasn¡¯t a single player game. Also, the rare materials that one needed to progress were not something a single person could gather on their own.


    Moreover, even with Lu Li¡¯s own foresight, he dared not to take a random party through the Death Mines. The Death Mines and the Spider Lair were on two completely different levels. The Death Mines were a true test of a player¡¯s abilities.


    There was also the issue of Private Instance Dungeons. If he found a Private Instance Dungeon Scroll, he would need to take a group of knowledgeable people that he could trust. Otherwise, if he took a random party and failed 3 times, the scroll would become useless.


    Lu Li was caught in a dilemma. Thieves required an independent playstyle, so it was difficult to rely too much on a party.


    As such, he didn¡¯t want to be the party leader.


    ¡°Sea Breeze, you should be the leader,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°What, why would you make me the leader?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was confused.


    ¡°I can¡¯t spend too long with everyone else; I¡¯m a Thief. I need to move alone a lot of the time,¡± Lu Li explained, feeling as though he would be able to persuade the others.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous,¡± Azure Sea Breeze did not hesitate to refuse, ¡°What does you being the leader have to do with that? You do your thing and we¡¯ll do ours. The leader role doesn¡¯t have to be too official. I won¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not that different with or without you.¡±


    Lonesome Flower glanced at his sister who was paying attention to Lu Li, healing him even when he lost a bit of HP. Couldn¡¯t she see that her brother was about to lose all of his HP? ¡°When we need you, you can come. When we don¡¯t need you, you can be elsewhere¡±


    Lonesome Flower actually wanted to avoid him! Lu Li laughed bitterly.


    ¡°Big brother Lu Li, you should be the leader. How good would it be if our leader was the number 1 player,¡± Remnant Dream said eagerly.


    ¡°Hello? I am the ranked number 1 player,¡± Azure Sea Breeze corrected her before asking Moonlight, ¡°Hey, little light, what do you say?¡±


    Moonlight had spent all day PVPing, but had come here to spend his double EXP boost like Lu Li. He waved his hand coldly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me little light, unless you want to lose a level.¡±


    ¡°You see! I can¡¯t deal with this kind of teammate,¡± Azure Sea Breeze held out his hands and sighed. ¡°How about I be the vice leader; I¡¯ll help out with matters dealing with PVE.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a guild?¡¯ Remnant Dream ignorantly asked.


    ¡°Guilds have to pay taxes, silly.¡±


    In reality, they could make a guild, but it would be better if they waited for a while to take a pre-existing high-level guild from someone. It would cost a lot less.


    Now that they had gotten this far in the conversation, Lu Li could no longer refuse. He planned to go and spend some money the next day to establish the Mercenary group. In future, all PVE related matters would be dealt with by Azure Sea Breeze, as he was considered an expert in PVE matters and managing teams. His wealth of knowledge was far greater than Lu Li¡¯s.


    Then, they also had to discuss the issue of exploring the new Instance Dungeon.


    Now that he had hoarded a large number of Snake Trust Grass, he had to find a way to obtain the Intermediate Health Potion recipe as quickly as possible.


    Once he had the recipe, he would be able to take the team to get the Death Mine¡¯s first clear.


    After all, the First Clear rewards were great and had a much higher drop rate.


    The Intermediate Health Potion recipe could be dropped by any monster that was higher than LV10. Lu Li and the group had farmed these monsters for 2-3 days, but they hadn¡¯t seen even the shadow of the recipe.


    The other players still had not heard of the Intermediate Healing Potion. Otherwise, the auction house would not have people selling Snake Trust Grass for so little.


    Previously, someone had written a guide to getting Intermediate Healing Potion Recipes and had written out a list of monsters that were the most likely to drop them. Lu Li recalled that the most likely monster were humanoids called ¡®Undead Herbalists¡¯.


    The next day, Lu Li went to the Council Hall to register a Mercenary Group under the name ¡®XinXin¡¯. Other than this game, all he had on his mind was his sister. When the council member asked him, he reflexively responded with those words.


    He had no regard for the others¡¯ protests.


    After he invited the five regular group members, he hesitated, before deciding against inviting his landladies.


    His next actions would be undertaken alone; his goal was to get the Intermediate Health Potion Recipe.

 81 Pick Pocket Skill

    Lu Li chose the Undead Herbalists for 3 main reasons.


    The first was that these monsters were the same level as him, so farming them would be easy and there wouldn¡¯t be any reduction to his EXP. Secondly, the Undead Herbalists had a high chance of dropping blueprints, and just like any other humanoid monster, Lu Li could Pick Pocket them. Finally, they also could drop a type of Quick Poison recipe in addition to the Intermediate Potion recipe.


    Poison was incredibly useful to Thieves, just as a pet was to a Hunter.


    The only issue was that the Undead Herbalist spawn point was quite far away from Astrana and was within enemy territory.


    This was of no concern to Lu Li, however. As he stroked the sharp edge of the Broodmother¡¯s Kiss, he felt his body surge with energy.


    Every Thief became stronger through killing!


    With a combination of flying, using Stealth and running as the Little Cheetah, Lu Li burned through his Stamina twice before reaching the Grey Valley¡¯s frontlines.


    The sound of a logging machine could be heard, as well as miserable cries. The scent of grass and trees in the air was stained with the thick smell of blood.


    Lu Li saw many players from the opposing factions fighting and killing each other. He observed a few battles while stealthed, before leaving after a short while.


    His goal here was to obtain recipes, not to earn Glory. Of course, if there were Evil Faction players crazy enough to charge into Light territory, he wouldn¡¯t pass up the opportunity for free Glory.


    However, he first went to the Silverwing Outpost to receive a quest.


    The Silverwing Outpost was the outermost outpost in the Grey Valley and as such, was a popular battle site. As he was nearing the outpost, an Elf stopped him.


    ¡°Young kinsman, this is not a place where you should come.¡±


    Replying to this Elf required luck. If a player replied too slowly, or gave a poor excuse, this Silverwing Warrior would tell you to leave, as this place was involved in military matters.


    However, Lu Li did not feel anxious at all and he quickly replied, ¡°I have sufficient strength and wish to fight for the peace of the Grey Valley!¡±


    As long as a player expressed their desire to fight, the NPC would give them a PVP quest.


    Once the Silverwing Warrior heard Lu Li¡¯s words, he nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡°Welcome, new warrior. I hope you can prove yourself first,¡± he replied.


    ¡°As you wish.¡± Lu Li had come solely for this quest, so he did not hesitate in accepting it.


    ¡°The Forest¡¯s medicinal herbs have been defiled by the Undead and Orcs. Please go and stop them. This badge will record your battle results,¡± the Silverwing Warrior said with a murderous gleam in his eyes. ¡°Show those despicable invaders our might.¡±


    Lu Li received the badge and the system notified him that he had received the Faction Quest ¡®The Bleeding Outsiders¡¯.


    Under the supervision of the Orcs, the Undead Herbalists busily collected medicinal herbs to create potions for the warriors on the frontlines.


    The quest required him to kill the Undead Herbalists and Orc Supervisors.


    Players from both the Light and Evil Factions would receive this quest. Players from the Light Faction were required to kill the Undead Herbalists, while players from the Evil Faction were required to protect them and kill the Light Faction players.


    These quests could only be accepted after reaching LV12 and there were not many players in this region yet. There was only a small training group who were about 200 feet away. They seemed to be from the Evil Faction, as there was a Tauren (a human with a bull head) among them.


    Lu Li crept behind an Orc Supervisor and used the Pick Pocket skill on it.


    System: Pick Pocket failed.


    The instant his Pick Pocket failed, Lu Li used Cheap Shot, stunning the Orc Supervisor for 4 seconds.


    The 4 seconds of stun, coupled with Lu Li¡¯s mastery of Shadowstrike, caused the Orc Supervisor to be stunned until its death.


    If Pick Pocket failed, Lu Li would immediately be attacked by his target. However, the system would allow him to use Stealth if he was quick enough, which afforded him the opportunity to use Cheap Shot. This was a basic technique for Thieves, but there were not many players who were able to do this.


    It was not technically difficult, but not enough players knew that this was even possible.


    Killing the Orc Supervisor did not give Lu Li any Glory, but the badge in his bag now showed the number ¡®1¡¯.


    Killing an Orc Supervisor would usually leave behind 4 defenceless Undead Herbalists. However, Lu Li did not underestimate these monsters covered in large robes. They would often throw out poison bottles, which dealt quite a lot of poison damage.


    Pick Pocket.


    System: You have obtained a bottle of Basic Antidote.


    Basic Antidotes were now common goods. After hitting another Undead Herbalist with Sap, Lu Li quickly killed the one that he had just pick pocketed before any of the others could react.


    Lu Li continuously used Pick Pocket and quickly killed his targets after. He was like an incredibly efficient farming bot.


    He continued until he heard a system announcement.


    System: Respected player, through your continuous efforts, your Shadowstrike Skill has levelled up to LV2.


    Shadowstrike had finally levelled up! Lu Li almost wept tears of joy ¨C this was the first time that he had levelled up a skill through his hard work.


    Before he could rejoice, he heard the next piece of information given by the system.


    System: Because you were the first player to level up a skill through practice, you also receive 1 additional SP.


    This was why Lu Li did not use his SP to level up Shadowstrike ¨C he knew that being the first person to level up a skill through hard work would have good rewards.


    The 1 SP he had gained was not to be looked down on. The system only gave 1 SP per 2 levels and every profession had more than 10 skills. With every skill having a level cap of 5, it would take many SP points to level every skill to its max level.


    SP was even more valuable than Silver grade equipment.


    Shadowstrike: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 4 seconds. Deals 20 damage to the target, as well as 150% weapon attack damage. Awards 1 Combo Point.Level: 2/5.


    Compared to the LV1 Shadowstrike, this LV2 Shadowstrike was much more powerful. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but find a monster and try to finish it off with Shadowstrike.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 92%, caused 180% Skill Damage. Target stunned for 2 seconds.


    The Undead Herbalist, which only had half of its HP bar remaining, staggered and then fell to the ground.


    He had actually dealt a critical hit.


    Although the official website didn¡¯t give any detailed figures, some dedicated players had run tests. They hypothesised that levelling up a skill didn¡¯t only increase the damage, but also Critical Chance.


    With his main attack skill levelled up, the speed at which Lu Li farmed monsters became much faster. The number on the badge now had 3 digits, but all of the items that he had stolen were all common and useless things.


    System: You have obtained [Recipe: Basic Agility Potion].


    Lu Li stared in shock. He had finally obtained a recipe.


    Recipe: Basic Agility Potion


    Recipe: Alchemy


    Requirements: Intermediate Alchemy (180)


    Use: Teaches you how to create a Basic Agility Portion


    Basic Agility Potion: Increases Agility by 5 points for 2 minutes. Cooldown Time: 30 minutes.


    Although it wasn¡¯t the recipe for the Intermediate Health Potion, Agility Potions were still quite good. They could increase Agility for a short period of time, which was incredibly useful in Boss fights or PVP.


    This Potion could raise Agility by 5 points, while Lu Li only received 5 stat points per level.


    It seemed that it really wasn¡¯t too difficult to obtain recipes using Pick Pocket. Lu Li felt even more motivated and began to farm monsters even faster.

 82 Faerie Fire

    Just as Lu Li was about to kill an Orc Supervisor, a black figure charged towards him.


    Lu Li muttered inwardly, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time, you scrub.¡±


    A habit that he had developed in his ¡®past life¡¯ was that he would always keep an eye out for ambushes. Otherwise, he would be easily killed while faming money.


    Why did people pick on Gold Collection Unit members?


    The reason was simple: Gold Collection Unit members had decent equipment, but they weren¡¯t skilled enough to compete with experts. As such, killing these sorts of people was usually had a low risk and a high reward.


    Tauren innately had greater Strength than other races, but because of how big they were, they were often quite slow. Although this Tauren had charged over at full speed, Lu Li was fully prepared.


    Lu Li grabbed the Orc Supervisor and held him out as a shield.


    The Orc Supervisor was powerless to resist.


    Seeing that he was about to crash into the monster, the Tauren Warrior knew that this battle would be tough.


    However, there was no medicine for regret. The Tauren did not despair, because he knew he had allies who were rushing over ¨C a Tauren Druid and a Tauren Priest. They had all been quite reliable.


    They¡¯re just a motley crew, Lu Li thought to himself as he shook his head. He stunned the Warrior using a Shadowstrike and continuously attacked him with normal attacks, causing his HP to rapidly fall.


    Who said that Warriors countered Thieves?! The Tauren Warrior almost started to weep.


    ¡°Hurry up and heal me!¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure.¡±


    The two other Tauren hurriedly ran over and started to cast healing spells on him.


    The Druid and Priest were both Healers.


    This was a classic team composition that worked well when each player had fairly average Attack. It was very difficult to kill a team with one Attacker and two Healers.


    Lu Li almost felt sorry for these poor people.


    However, he didn¡¯t feel too bad about killing them when he saw the axe that the Warrior was holding.


    The axe was called the Mangler and it had a Bleed effect. It was a decent double-handed weapon for PVP and cost 68 Glory points to purchase from the Evil Faction¡¯s frontline Quartermaster.


    That meant that this crew had killed at least 68 Light Faction players.


    Lu Li quickly cast Shadowmeld and became stealthed.


    ¡°Hurry and use Trample,¡± the Druid yelled.


    ¡°Goddamn¡­¡±


    Only then did the Tauren Warrior find that he was no longer stunned. He stomped down with his feet, but didn¡¯t find anything near him.


    Priest: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Lu Li had used Sap on the poor Priest.


    The Druid thought to himself, ¡°Damn this guy¡¯s smart. He stunned the Priest, so he¡¯s probably coming for me. Then, there¡¯ll be no one to heal the Warrior.¡± Upon coming to this conclusion, he quickly started to heal himself.


    Red damage figures began to float above the Priest¡¯s head, and by the time the Druid had realised what was happening, the Priest was already on the ground.


    Lu Li immediately entered Stealth, then sprang towards the Druid who was only just beginning to react. After being hit by Cheap Shot, the Druid was not able to retaliate at all and quickly joined the Priest in the dirt. As for the Tauren Warrior, he was still chasing after Lu Li.


    Lu Li¡¯s Movement Speed was already fast to begin with, and after activating the speed skill on his Boots, it was impossible for the Warrior to catch up to him.


    In a 1v1 battle, the Tauren Warrior had no confidence in beating Lu Li. The other two players had been killed by Lu Li in a flash and the gap between them was simply too vast.


    After killing three people, Lu Li now had 3 Glory points.


    Glory points were incredibly useful ¨C they could be used to increase one¡¯s Rank, or could be exchanged for EXP, materials or equipment. With enough Glory, one could even exchange them for a mount¡­


    Of course, this would take much time and effort. After finishing off his three assailants, Lu Li continued to farm monsters for recipes.


    Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar had now increased by 10%, which was not much slower than if he were to train in a party.


    The Undead Herbalists would occasionally drop some equipment, but they were usually quite ordinary. After reaching LV10, most people had a full set of Bronze grade equipment. It was good that Lu Li barely needed to consume any Potions while farming because of his Bloodstained Badge.


    Just like that, 4 or 5 hours passed.


    During this period of time, there had been many enemy players who had tried to ambush him. However, they were all quickly killed by Lu Li.


    Without even really trying, Lu Li¡¯s Glory had risen to 17.


    Suddenly, a voice shouted out. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± a busty young woman angrily yelled out as she pointed at Lu Li. His wanton killing had finally brought him some trouble. Ten or so people surrounding the woman all murderously glared at him.


    Before Lu Li could react, his body lit up with flames.


    Faerie Fire? There are people with this skill already? Lu Li was completely dumbfounded.


    Faerie Fire: Instant Cast. Uses magic to surround the target, preventing them from going into stealth or concealing themselves. Causes 50 damage when cast in Bear Form.


    This was a Druid spell and was the one that Thieves hated the most. Without the Shadow Cloak skill to give magic immunity, it was basically a death sentence for Thieves.


    What was even worse was that this skill lasted for a whole 40 seconds.


    Lu Li immediately turned and ran. Otherwise, he would be dead for sure!


    The group of people never expected Lu Li to react so quickly. He hadn¡¯t even said anything before he sprinted away.


    What was even more shocking was that this Thief was incredibly fast. He was even able to outrun the abilities that were just about to hit him.


    It was not until the Faerie Fire had disappeared did Lu Li finally calm down and stop running.


    He felt like cursing at the system for being unfair. Back in his ¡®past life¡¯ when he was a Druid, he had only found this skill book when he was LV28. Who would have thought that someone from the Evil Faction had learnt it already? This was simply preposterous.


    Lu Li was determined to obtain the Shadow Cloak skill. Otherwise, things would not turn out so well next time.


    He had underestimated these people, but they had also underestimated him.


    If he was affected by the Faerie Fire and surrounded on all sides, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape, no matter how fast he could run.


    This would not be the case with the Shadow Cloak skill. The Shadow Cloak skill was the Thieves¡¯ trump card in PVP. It gave magic immunity for a short period of time, which was essential to not being killed.


    However, it was rare for normal monsters to drop this skill book and the Bosses that dropped it were incredibly difficult to kill.


    Or were they?

 83 Finding the Recipe

    There were a few Bosses that could be killed by relying on the terrain around them, such as the Death Knight. Lu Li¡¯s other target was even more highly levelled, but dropped even better items. The only prerequisite for fighting it was that he had Intermediate Health Potions.


    All Bosses could cast skills. The Death Knight¡¯s Desecration could even affect players that were not part of the battle.


    His next target¡¯s skills were used even more frequently and it would be impossible to survive without a large stock of Intermediate Health Potions.


    As such, it was essential that he obtained the Intermediate Health Potion recipe.


    He casually killed off a few enemy players, before returning to his training spot.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t think of anything that was easier to farm than the Undead Herbalists.


    Pick Pocket.


    System: You have obtained a bottle of Basic Deadly Poison.


    This was good stuff. Lu Li took out the bottle of poison that he had just stolen, then hesitated. He decided not to apply it to his dagger.


    It would be better to save this for fighting Bosses or other players.


    Lu Li¡¯s experience as a Gold Collection Unit member had made him a patient person. He continuously farmed monsters for 8 hours. In the end, he was too tired and hungry, so he logged off to get some rest and eat some food.


    After logging on again, he looked at the Rankings.


    Moonlight had fallen out of the top 10 in the Level Rankings, but he had advanced to the number 2 position in the Glory Rankings. He was now right behind Blood Dagger with his 220 Glory.


    Although Remnant Dream would often train with Azure Sea Breeze, she had strict parents. She had to eat and sleep at set times, and had fallen to number 9 on the Level Rankings.


    Azure Sea Breeze was now LV14 and was the only LV14 player in Dawn. Apart from when he was eating, he never logged off. He didn¡¯t have real life things to do like Lu Li and was a classic levelling addict.


    Although he was still LV13, Lu Li was quite close to where Azure Sea Breeze was because he had solo-killed a Boss. Moreover, his Attack was quite high which made it incredibly easy for him to farm monsters.


    Lonesome Flower and March Rain were right behind Lu Li. They had been training with Azure Sea Breeze and so were gaining EXP quite quickly as well.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal for the day was to reach LV14. As for obtaining the Intermediate Health Potion recipe, he had already started to lose hope.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t find it, then never mind. That¡¯s the problem with Dawn. What kind of game would make it so difficult to obtain Potions? All the previous games I¡¯ve played sold all kinds of Potions in the shops,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, as he chatted to Lu Li through a voice call.


    He was met with silence from Lu Li.


    ¡°Did you know, that when you logged off to eat lunch, the Blood-red War Flag killed a Boss. It was a Desert Explorer or something, but I forgot what level it was. Apparently, it took 70-80 people to kill it¡­¡±


    Lu Li still did not reply. He had foreseen that this would happen. After all, it was impossible for him to take all the good things. In the end, Dawn was a fairly balanced game. Moonlight would often die and Lu Li would have to run for his life when there were too many people. There were also Bosses that anyone could kill¡­


    Lu Li knew that the Desert Explorer Boss had a chance to drop the Explorer equipment set that was exclusive to Hunters. However, this Boss had a large spawn area and was difficult to find. Moreover, it would be impossible for Lu Li and his party to kill it.


    ¡°There¡¯s a Bounty Quest for killing you in the Mercenary Hall. I¡¯m guessing that it was the Imperial Secret Service who made it.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze continued to chat on, despite Lu Li¡¯s silence.


    ¡°Killing you once will earn 10 gold coins and the maximum number of times you can do it is ten. It¡¯s actually quite a bit of money. Do you want to help your bro become a little richer?¡±


    Lu Li felt quite annoyed. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was more annoyed towards Azure Sea Breeze, who was taking joy in his misery, or the Imperial Secret Service that wouldn¡¯t leave him alone.


    As he repetitively Pick Pocketed and killed monsters, Lu Li suddenly realised something.


    The system had told him that he had successfully stolen something, but he was so zoned out that he hadn¡¯t realised. He hurriedly opened his bag.


    Sitting in the second last space was a piece of paper.


    System: You have obtained [Recipe: Intermediate Health Potion].


    Lu Li stared in shock. He found it! He had finally found it!


    Recipe: Intermediate Health Potion


    Recipe: Alchemy


    Requirements: Intermediate Alchemy (120)


    Use: Teaches you how to create an Intermediate Health Potion


    Intermediate Health Potion: Immediately recovers 200 HP, as well as 20 HP per second for the next 10 seconds (will be cancelled if hit). Is not restricted by battle. Cooldown Time: 60 seconds.


    When Lu Li took out the recipe, he almost cried.


    He had spent so much time and effort looking for it. Back in his ¡®past life¡¯, he had also obtained this recipe. However, this was after the game had been released for a year. As such, the recipe only sold for 20 gold coins in the Exchange Hall. Who knew how difficult it was to find these things in the wilderness?


    Even if someone offered him 200 gold coins to buy it right now, he would still refuse.


    At this point, Lu Li felt like vomiting when he saw an Undead Herbalist. He looked at the quest badge in his bag, and was blown away by the number it displayed.


    2,089!


    It had taken him a whole 13 hours.


    Lu Li immediately learned the method for creating the Intermediate Health Potions. He didn¡¯t want to risk being killed by an enemy player and dropping it. He would probably blow up in anger if that happened.


    Lu Li returned to the Silverwing Outpost, wondering what the reward for clearing the quest to such a degree would be.


    As he entered the outpost, he was not stopped this time. Perhaps it was because of the badge in his bag. He looked around, but didn¡¯t find the Silverwing Warrior who had issued the quest to him. As such, he approached Vinda Nightwing , the Commander of the Outpost.


    ¡°Hello, what can I help you with?¡±


    Lu Li took out the silver badge, ¡°I was tasked by a Silverwing Warrior to complete ¡®The Bleeding Outsiders¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Your courage is praiseworthy, my fellow kinsman. Please give me the badge,¡± Vinda Nightwing said. After receiving the badge, the incredibly cool and calm commander¡¯s expression changed.


    ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± Lu Li asked, perturbed. He had completed this task successfully in his ¡®past life¡¯. Could it be that killing too many was not good?


    ¡°No, you¡¯ve done very well. I will give you the reward now.¡±


    Vinda Nightwing regained her composure and put the badge away, then pointed her finger towards Lu Li¡¯s forehead.


    System: You have outstandingly completed the quest ¡®The Bleeding Outsiders. You received Glory points, EXP and Fame.


    Lu Li¡¯s body flashed with light as he levelled up. Not only was he now LV14, his EXP was also 16% full. That meant that the quest completion reward had given him enough EXP to fill up around 20% of his EXP bar.


    He had done much more than was required of him. If he had asked, the NPC would have told him that the number of Undead Herbalists he was required to kill was 20.


    The rewards would only increase after killing more than 500 monsters, so barely any players bothered with this.


    No one would farm those monsters as repetitively as he had. Not only had he spent nearly an entire day, he was also able to kill the monsters much faster than other players. The number of monsters he had killed would take other players 3 to 5 days to kill.

 84 Top in Both Rankings!

    It wasn¡¯t impossible to do what he had achieved, but there were two prerequisites.


    Firstly, there had to be very few people farming there (ideally just 1). Otherwise, there would not be enough monsters. Secondly, the player had to be incredibly patient like Lu Li, being able to farm for more than 10 hours without getting bored.


    Most players were here to enjoy the game, not to play themselves to death. Azure Sea Breeze was an exception.


    Just as he had thought of Azure Sea Breeze, he heard him ranting again.


    ¡°Goddamit, Goddamit,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cursed. ¡°What the hell did you do, you monster?¡±


    ¡°Can you talk like a decent person?¡± Lu Li quickly turned the volume down. Why was he acting so explosively?


    ¡°Look at the Rankings, look at the Rankings! How am I going to keep living? I¡¯ve been killing myself to level up, but I¡¯ve been overtaken by you. Not only did you overtake me, you also trampled all over Moonlight as well.¡±


    Lu Li had no idea what he was talking about, so he opened the Rankings.


    First place in the Level Rankings!


    This wasn¡¯t unexpected ¨C he had received a considerable amount of EXP from completing the quest.


    However, he was also first place on the Glory Rankings!


    Lu Li quickly opened his stats page and saw that his Glory had reached 285!


    He clearly remembered that he originally only had 20-30 Glory, which was all earned from enemy players who insisted on attacking him. Killing those people hadn¡¯t taken much effort.


    After looking through the system records, Lu Li finally understood what had happened.


    In addition to the EXP reward increasing, the Glory reward had also been significantly boosted.


    Normally, this quest would give 2 Glory points as a reward: 1 Glory point per 10 Undead Herbalists. Based on this rate, he had earned a bonus 208 Glory points. Moreover, because this was a PVP quest, the Silverwing Commander had also given him an additional 50 Glory points.


    He was now at the top of both Rankings!


    Lu Li thought carefully, but couldn¡¯t think of someone who had ever taken the top places in both Rankings.


    ¡°Did you go deaf or did you die? Why aren¡¯t you replying?¡± Azure Sea Breeze continuously ranted, before changing his tone, ¡°Big bro, Big bro Lu Li, please tell me how you did it. I want to do it as well, pleeeease¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop being so disgusting,¡± Lu Li replied as he shivered. However, he still told Azure Sea Breeze exactly what he had done.


    ¡°Over 2,000? Goddamn, you¡¯re an absolute madman,¡± Azure Sea Breeze howled.


    ¡°Can you ask the NPC how many monsters you need to kill to unlock that bonus?¡±


    Lu Li went back to talk to the Silverwing Commander, but no matter how much he probed, Vinda Nightwing only smiled.


    Lu Li did not dare to ask anymore. The Commander was being courteous because he had rendered exceptional services. However, he didn¡¯t want to risk being thrown out of the Outpost.


    ¡°The Commander wouldn¡¯t tell me, but I think it¡¯s definitely above 200. I have no idea if it¡¯s between 500-1000, or over 2000. Do you want to come and try?¡± Lu Li asked.


    He was certain that it was above 200, because someone had killed over 200 in his ¡®past life¡¯, but had complained that this quest was boring and didn¡¯t give good rewards. Lu Li didn¡¯t have many talents, but one of his few was having a good memory.


    ¡°How is the Undead Herbalists¡¯ Defence and how much HP do they have? Do you think it¡¯d be good to farm in a party?¡±


    Lu Li described the Undead Herbalists¡¯ general stats and dispelled any unrealistic thoughts that Azure Sea Breeze was thinking.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible to form a party, but you¡¯ll have to share the kills. You¡¯ll have to multiply as many people you bring by 2000. Plus, this is the Grey Valley¡¯s frontlines. I didn¡¯t want to kill anyone, but ended up killing 20-30 people who attacked me. I was even chased by a group of people, but they gave up because they couldn¡¯t catch me.¡±


    The group with the Faerie Fire had returned once more but failed. They didn¡¯t bother him after that.


    If it was Azure Sea Breeze, he definitely would have died.


    ¡°This won¡¯t work and that won¡¯t work. Screw it, I¡¯ll just farm monsters properly. This might be of use to Moonlight though; you should tell him about it.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was quite a sensible person. After hearing that it wouldn¡¯t work, he immediately let it go.


    ¡°Alright I¡¯ll be hanging up now. I¡¯ve almost gone deaf from your nagging,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hang up yet, tell me what your plans are. Are you going to try out the new Instance Dungeon or continue to level up?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll continue to level up. Making Potions takes some time and it¡¯s best if we¡¯re all LV14. If the Boss is 3 levels higher than us, we¡¯ll receive extra damage,¡± Lu Li replied.


    The last two Bosses of the Death Mines were both LV16 and would deal extra damage to players who were LV13 or below. Moreover, players who were LV13 or below would also deal reduced damage to the Bosses.


    ¡°Farming Nagas isn¡¯t efficient anymore. Should we farm something else?¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was becoming lazy and wanted to save some time in training. After all, Lu Li was like a god of knowledge to him.


    ¡°Have a look if there¡¯s a place called the Fire Scar Temple. There are Demon Guards and other hell monsters. There¡¯s also a Boss that spawns in the deepest region there. I¡¯ll bring some Potions and help you kill the Boss.¡± Lu Li thought for a while before deciding to take down the Demon Warlock Akereus.


    That place wasn¡¯t very well hidden and it would soon be filled with players.


    The equipment that Akereus dropped was fairly ordinary, but he was still a LV15 Boss in the wilderness. He had a chance of dropping the Rager Equipment Set that Lu Li wanted, as well as a Fire Scar Temple¡¯s Instance Dungeon Scroll. The Fire Scar Temple was one of the early private instance dungeons. Akereus also had underlings, so the EXP that he gave was much more than the Death Knight.


    Lu Li directly returned from the Silverwing Outpost to the town. He first went to the mailbox to collect the money he had earned from selling the Steel grade equipment.


    After the 5% transaction fee was applied, Lu Li received 33 gold coins. He checked the price of the Snake Trust Grass and bought all that he could.


    The other ingredient for creating Intermediate Health Potions was Peacebloom Flowers.


    Peacebloom Flowers were not worth much, as they could be found all over the Novice Village. A player could casually gather more than 100 sets in a day and sell them for 20 copper coins per set.

 85 Scammer Merchan

    Lu Li rented a quiet room at Astrana. He had brought along a bunch of ingredients to start his Alchemy journey.


    Alchemy could either fail or crit. If it failed, the ingredients used would disappear and the player¡¯s HP would decrease. If it crit, the player¡¯s HP would increase and it would yield double the amount of finished product.


    System: You have successfully crafted 1 Intermediate Health Potion, Alchemy Proficiency +1


    System: You have successfully crafted 1 Intermediate Health Potion, Alchemy Proficiency +1


    The cooldown for using Intermediate Health Potion was, only a minute. Lu Li had been crafting for 2 hours and had more than 100 bottles. Overall, the chance to crit was much higher than the chance to fail. This was why he paid money to rent a room, instead of just crafting in a random location.


    Out of his 100 Health Potions, Lu Li took 20 and listed them on the market for 1 Gold each.


    What a scam!


    Everyone was getting ripped off by him.


    In his previous life, Snake Trust Grass sold for 3 or 4 Gold per set. This meant that the cost of making an Intermediate Potion was a little more than 10 silver. At the moment, the Auction Hall was only selling the Grass for a few silver coins per set.


    He was spending less than a silver coin per Intermediate Health Potion, yet he was selling them for 1 gold each!


    It was a rip-off, targeted at rich guilds.


    He wasn¡¯t worried about people not buying his potions, because all the big guilds were trying to clear the Death Mines. They could not wait to get their hands on Intermediate Health Potions. One gold per potion was considered reasonable for them.


    Lu Li did not list all of them on the Auction Hall. It was a simple concept of supply versus demand ¨C the rarer the item, the more he could sell it for. He could not let anyone else know that he could mass produce Intermediate Health Potions. Even if someone else were to farm the recipe, they would give it to their own guild first.


    If there was demand, then there would be profit.


    After he made the batch of potions, Lu Li repaired his worn-out equipment which cost him more than 1 gold. This was a small price to pay for the money he would gain from selling the potions.


    After he finished his repairs, Lu Li left to find a Skill Trainer.


    He tried to activate the quest, but was ignored many times by the Thief Skills Trainer.


    Lu Li decided to give up and unwillingly took out his gold to level up his skills.


    At LV14, he had 7 skill points. Previously, he had gained 1SP from the system for being the first player to level up a skill through practice. However, he had spent 1SP on his Unlock Spell so that he could open Steel treasure chests. As such, he was left with only 7 skill points.


    Lu Li decided to max out Shadowstrike. It was the most basic skill for the Thief class and was also his most used skill. Shadowstrike would continue to be used later on, even after he learned new skills.


    Backstab had to be upgraded as well. Mastery on Backstab had the potential to break armour, which was very useful for fighting bosses. Lu Li decided to add two SP to this skill.


    Backhand Backstab was a commonly used ultimate skill. However, Lu Li found that Slit Throat dealt more damage. He decided to leave Backhand Backstab for now, choosing to consider levelling it up when he had received more SP.


    He added one point to Slit Throat and saved the rest of his remaining SP for his future skills, such as Gale Step and Shadow Cloak.


    ¡°That¡¯s 15 gold all together,¡± the old thief said expressionlessly.


    Luckily, he had saved some money from before. Otherwise, he would not be able to level his skills, even though he had enough SP.


    Shadow Strike: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 4 seconds. Deals 100 damage to the target, as well as 200% weapon attack damage. Awards 1 Combo Point. Level: 5/5.


    This was a massive difference. After he levelled up the skill, the damage had more than doubled.


    Backstab and Slit Throat had also become stronger. However, the difference was less obvious when compared to Shadowstrike. No one was willing to spend so many SP points on a single skill.


    After he had finished preparing, Lu Li headed off to the Fire Scar Temple.


    Azure Sea Breeze and a few other people had already entered. Lu Li saw the remains of dead bodies littered through the temple courts, as he made his way through the area.


    Occasionally, he came across some patrolling Hell Hounds.


    Hell Hounds were demons that took the form of big dogs and were the untamed version of the Mage¡¯s Hell Hounds.


    They were the minions of the Dog King Harka and had very bad eye sight. Hell Hounds could accurately sense any surrounding magic and would use this ability to hunt their prey.


    Since Lu Li was a thief, they passed by him unknowingly. This didn¡¯t matter, however, as he killed them because they were good EXP.


    Eventually, he came to the place where Demon Warlock Akereus spawned.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others were nearby killing mobs. When they saw that Lu Li had arrived, they quickly finished off their targets and gathered together.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say anything?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never killed it. What can I say?¡± Lu Li handed out the Intermediate Health Potions and applied the poison he had found to his dagger.


    He had saved this poison for a time of need. Today was that time.


    Akereus had a massive body, with hooved feet and crimson wings that extended from his back. He wielded a green, burning sword and wore an Archimonde Insignia Breast Plate. In some ways, Akereus looked more awesome than the Cynocephali Elder.


    Azure Sea Breeze approached the boss carefully. Akereus opened his eyes slowly, which looked sinisterly empty and radiated a green light.


    ¡°Team, let¡¯s get him!¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out loudly and charged towards the boss with his shield and sword.


    Lu Li had already snuck behind the boss, and when Azure Sea Breeze had built up enough aggro, he used Cheap Shot.


    Immune!


    Now he remembered; demon monsters were immune to stuns.


    He had no other choice but to fight him head-on.


    System: Shadow Strike Skill Completion 91%, resulting in 160% Skill Damage and stunning the target for 2 seconds.


    Although the Boss was still stun-immune, the damage that this dealt was still very high. The numbers that appeared above Akereus shocked everyone.


    ¡°Why do you do triple my damage?!¡± Lonesome Flower was truly astonished ¨C he thought that his equipment was a similar level to Lu Li¡¯s. He had Silver Grade equipment, but his damage was much lower.


    ¡°Akereus is immune to 20% of magic damage dealt,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain why you do triple my damage, big bro. My magic damage is damn high.¡± Lonesome Flower felt like he was a failure in the eyes of little sister.


    ¡°My Shadow Strike Completion is at 90%, so it deals 160% Skill Damage. Plus, my skill is already maxed.¡±


    In front of his team mates, Lu Li had nothing to hide.


    At 160% Skill Damage, his Shadowstrike was dealing the same damage as a critical hit.


    ¡°Why did you put all your SP on a trash beginner skill?¡± Azure Sea Breeze also did not understand.


    ¡°There are no trash skills in Dawn; everyone has a skill they use the most. If you want to be a pro, you have to max the skill you use the most,¡± Lu Li said, as he corrected their misunderstanding.


    Traditionally, in online games, beginner skills would be replaced by higher level skills later on.


    Dawn on the other hand was completely different. Shadowstrike would always be used by Thieves. A Magician¡¯s Frostbolt would always be their main skill. For Priest¡¯s, Flash Heal was their most reliable healing skill. Finally, if you took out a Hunter¡¯s Arcane Shot, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fight mobs.

 86 It Can Fly

    Lu Li took a step back, twisted his wrists and stabbed straight into the boss¡¯s spine.


    System: Backstab Skill Completion 83%, resulting in 95% Weapon Damage. Rank 1 Armour Pierce Effect.


    Akereus entered a state of Pierced Armour. Demon type bosses were immune to stuns, but they were not immune to Armour Piercing Effects.


    ¡°You upgraded this skill as well, right?¡± Lonesome Flower feared that the gap between him and Lu Li was widening. This made him very mad.


    ¡°Of course, I increased it by two levels,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°What should I level up then?¡± Lonesome Flower asked shamelessly.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a frost mage? Frost Bolt, Blizzard! Those two are essential. When you learn Water Elemental, level that up as well.¡± Lu Li was an expert at this, but knowing too much beforehand was not fun.


    Not everyone treated this game as a job like he did. Discovery and experimenting with the game was part of the fun.


    ¡°You put the Intermediate Health Potions on the market?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    ¡°Yeah, for 1 gold.¡± Lu Li said, as he looked through the world chat.


    ¡°Brother Lu Li, you¡¯re such a scammer,¡± Remnant Dream said, making faces at Lu Li while her pet chased Akereus.


    ¡°The poison damage is pretty impressive; was this the poison you applied before?¡± March Rain inquired.


    ¡°Careful, the boss is using his skill. Azure Sea Breeze, raise your shield,¡± Lu Li reminded him as he stared at the fireball that was forming in the boss¡¯s hands.


    Azure Sea Breeze raised his shield and braced himself.


    ¡°Prepare to face Akereus¡¯s wrath!¡± Fire rained down upon them while a gigantic fireball trailed behind.


    Evil Sacrifice!


    Evil Fireball!


    As the two skills hit Azure Sea Breeze, damage continued to appear above him.


    -85, -560, -85, -85, -85¡­


    Evil Sacrifice was also an AOE debuff skill, so everyone had damage figures appearing above them.


    Azure Sea Breeze had high defence which negated a good portion of the damage, but he still took 85 damage per second. It was even worse for everyone else. Remnant Dream and Lu Li took more than 100 points of damage, while Lonesome flower and March Rain, being mage classes with high magic defence, still took 89 points of damage.


    It was fortunate that everyone had upgraded their gear and had more than 1000HP. If not, half of them would had died.


    The Boss continued his assault and rained down fireballs. The dark, red fireballs continued to bombard Azure Sea Breeze.


    March Rain had already learnt Flash Heal, which had a lower cooldown and faster cast time than her normal healing skill. Her healing had increased and become more impactful ¨C each flash heal restored more than 200 HP. Azure Sea Breeze had also drunk an Intermediate Health Potion and managed to survive.


    This damage absorption was way beyond Lu Li¡¯s expectation. Any other main tank would have died to that barrage of attacks.


    Lu Li had never personally fought Akereus and had only read on guides on defeating him. Most of them recommended to bring two main tanks.


    After everyone had managed to recover their HP, there was another animation ¨C a summon!


    Arcane energy formed blue symbols on the ground and Akereus slowly conjured up two Hell Hounds.


    ¡°Quickly, get rid of them! Those monsters drain your mana,¡± Lonesome Flower and March Rain yelled at the sight of the Hell Hounds.


    The siblings played classes that relied heavily on mana, so they had to quickly get rid of them.


    Lu Li also knew the consequences of this. If the healer was out of mana, the whole team would die. He charged and attacked one by himself, while Remnant Dream commanded her little cheetah to handle the other. Lonesome Flower panicked and casted a barrage of skills on the Hell Hounds that flew everywhere.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem as powerful when you¡¯re fighting the boss.¡±


    Azure Breeze mocked him.


    ¡°The normal mobs can drain all of my mana in 3 hits. These Elite Hell Hounds can probably drain all of my energy in 3 hits. I don¡¯t know what the game company is doing. Where is the counter play?¡± Lonesome Flower complained.


    Lu Li used Backhand Backstab on the Hell Hound, which went flying and died.


    The second Hell Hound cast Magic Burn on Lonesome Flower. Lu Li was unable to do anything. He could only watch as Lonesome Flower¡¯s mana dropped by a third.


    Luckily, the team ganged up on the Hell Hound and killed it before it could do anything else.


    ¡°I desperately need the Awakening Skill Book,¡± Lonesome Flower sighed heavily.


    There were already magicians on the forum that were bragging about this skill. It could restore 30% of one¡¯s maximum mana at LV1, increasing to 60% at LV5. However, Lu Li also knew that at max level, it would restore HP by 20% as well.


    The game was unfair to Mages?


    They had crowd control, AOE, invincibility, critical strike, teleportation, stealth, doppelgangers and a variety of shields. Mages were overpowered in this game.


    Of course, that was only if one had unlocked these skills.


    As for the Awakening Skill, players only received it if they were lucky. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help him with that even if he wanted to.


    ¡°Are we able to defeat this boss?¡± Lonesome Flower asked. ¡°It¡¯s not even at half HP yet and we¡¯re already struggling. Who knows what kind of stuff it will pull out later.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes, ¡°How should I know? I just know that there was a LV15 boss here. As for how powerful it is, only the system knows.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re not all-powerful like we thought. Lonesome Flower, March Rain, stand behind Remnant Dream. When the Hell Hounds, appear let them drain mana from her,¡± Azure Sea Breeze commanded.


    ¡°Why?¡± The little Hunter felt wronged.


    ¡°You don¡¯t use mana. Why are you scared of being drained?¡±


    When the boss casted Evil Sacrifice and Evil Fire Ball again, Azure Sea Breeze immediately raised his shield and bravely braced himself before the roars of Akereus.


    The Hell Hounds appeared again and Lu Li immediately attacked, as they used their magic burn on Remnant Dream.


    Every skill had a cooldown. When Hell Hound¡¯s skills were on cooldown, they were like sitting ducks, waiting to be slaughtered. The team had managed to survive another attack for now and the Boss HP was at 50%.


    Suddenly, Akereus began to fly.

 87 Fortune Favors The Fool

    ¡°Lu Li, Lu Li!¡± Seeing that the Boss could fly, Azure Sea Breeze immediately asked for assistance.


    ¡°Stop yelling, just wait and see what kind of skills it has before making any decisions. Remnant Dream, continue attacking.¡± Lu Li actually knew, but he didn¡¯t know how to describe them.


    Akereus flew into the air, but he wasn¡¯t very high up and was still within attacking range of the ranged professions. He circled in the air, muttering some demon language before a muffled rumbling could be heard.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Azure Sea Breeze looked up and stared dumbly.


    ¡°It¡¯s charging a magic spell.¡± Lu Li was also a little uncertain, but he quickly identified it. He saw Akereus wave the green sword in his hands and dark, red fireballs that exploded upon impact began to rain down.


    ¡°Dodge the incoming fireballs. Don¡¯t stand on the flames,¡± Lu Li shouted as he moved away.


    Fortunately, the fireballs would always hover in the sky for a moment and their falling speed wasn¡¯t very fast. As long as you moved away, it was easy to dodge them.


    ¡°Ahh, help!¡± Remnant Dream clutched her head like a headless fly and scurried around.


    This was a true test of skill. When they previously fought Bosses, they could remain stationary for the entire fight. Even Remnant Dream could take advantage of that and deal some decent damage. In this situation, however, she had no idea how to react.


    Lu Li watched her run straight into a fireball, taking 400-500 damage. She had also stepped onto the fire, so her HP was quickly depleting.


    ¡°Come and follow me,¡± Lu Li shouted at her.


    Remnant Dream had a moment of resolution and ran over to Lu Li, unceremoniously grabbing on to the back of his belt and hanging off it like a tail.


    Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze were faring much better and were casually walking about. The Boss¡¯ big menacing skills didn¡¯t do much damage to them. March Rain was a little shaky at first, but quickly learned how the fireballs fell and was easily dodging them while healing the others.


    Was there anything worse in the world? This boss could hit you, but you couldn¡¯t hit him back.


    The good news was he would tire after a while and eventually come down.


    With their pent-up frustrations, the team immediately rushed up and attacked it. Just like that, the Boss was taken down to 30% HP.


    Gas Explosion!


    Akereus was back in action, blowing away all the melee players except the Main Tank.


    ¡°Dammit, he knocked Lu Li away,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said. ¡°He flew 120 yards away, he¡¯s definitely dead.¡±


    ¡°If he flies backwards like that, he¡¯s going to land on his butt.¡± Lonesome Flower was blatantly taking pleasure in Lu Li¡¯s misfortune.


    ¡°Our party is about to get cleared.¡± Remnant Dream put down her crossbow with a look of sorrow.


    ¡°Hey, even if he¡¯s dead, it doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ve lost. I¡¯m very strong too.¡± The Main Tank was a little unhappy.


    March Rain didn¡¯t say anything, instead rushing towards where Lu Li was and preparing to heal him. However, she knew that the chances of surviving such a fall were very slim.


    Lu Li had felt a rush of air, after which he saw the Grey Valley¡¯s forest and blue sky, with its tall canopy and dancing birds. His mouth moved and he turned into a gold leopard while he was falling.


    ¡°Oh my,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    ¡°Oh what!¡± exclaimed Lonesome Flower.


    ¡°Woah,¡± breathed March Rain.


    After landing easily, Lu Li stared blankly at Remnant Dream. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Let me hug you. Transform back and let me hug you.¡± Remnant Dream blinked and looked hopeful.


    ¡°Come on, we have work to do,¡± Lu Li answered coldly.


    At 20% HP, the Boss once again cast Evil Sacrifice and Evil Fireball, which was easy to get through.


    At 10% HP, Akereus did nothing.


    With victory in his sights, Azure Sea Breeze laughed, ¡°Here comes the end of your reign, today next year will be the anniversary of your death!¡±


    Lu Li covered his face. He didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him that the Boss was about to cast his most disgusting spell.


    Azure Sea Breeze laughed while Akereus roared and waved his green sword. Everyone began to run around like headless flies.


    Fear Roar!


    All targets within 200 yards were affected by a 6-8 second fear.


    Akereus went berserk, mercilessly laying into Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s body.


    -450, -600, -800, -1000, -1200¡­


    ¡°Waaaaahh!¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze return to normal for a moment, before his vision went black and white.


    The tank was down!


    March Rain put down her Magic Staff and looked at Lu Li.


    ¡°Heal me. Everyone else, DPS ¨C the Boss is almost dead.¡±


    Lu Li blocked the Boss, furiously waving his dagger.


    Fortunately, the Boss¡¯ berserk ended with the fear, so Lu Li only took 500 damage.


    Lu Li downed an Intermediate Healing Potion, which brought him to full HP with March Rain¡¯s heal. He cast Slit Throat on the Boss, which had a bleed effect.


    Part of Lonesome Flower¡¯s attacks were being resisted, so his damage to the Boss was not even remotely close the Lu Li¡¯s.


    The Boss HP was finally grinded down and Akereus was unable to continue carrying his sword. He sighed before proclaiming, ¡°One day, I will return to my original place (The Abyss).¡±


    System: Players Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, March Rain and Remnant Dream have achieved the First Clear on the Wild Boss Akereus!


    The World Announcements were once again filled with excitement, but some didn¡¯t bother checking because they saw Lu Li¡¯s name. They had accepted this to be normal.


    There was actually quite a handsome amount of EXP. Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar rose by 8%.


    The rescued Azure Sea Breeze was sad, because he didn¡¯t receive this and had also lost 10% EXP from his death. His 2nd place seat was now in danger, as Lonesome Flower reached LV14.


    ¡°Woah, the system gave me a skill point. Did you guys get it?¡± Remnant Dream was happy; she had spent a lot of time with this group of experts and knew that Skill Points weren¡¯t easy to come by.


    ¡°Nope,¡± March Rain replied as she shook her head quietly.


    ¡°Good work,¡± Lu Li said. He didn¡¯t have the strength for banter.


    ¡°The heavens are blind,¡± Azure Sea Breeze muttered as he sat on the ground.


    ¡°Fortune favors the fool,¡± Lonesome Flower cried, with tears running down his face.

 88 Instance Dungeon Scroll

    Even a fool would know that they had gotten a good thing. Remnant Dream grinned as she went to pick up the equips that the Boss dropped.


    ¡°Oh, a one-handed sword. Big brother Sea Breeze, this is yours.¡±


    The little hunter ran back and offered him the loot.


    Hellreaver (Steel): Damage 30-42, Strength +8, Constitution +5. Special Effect: Armor Piercing. Certain probability to cause a 20% armor break to the target. Cannot be stacked. Equipment requirement: level 15. Durability 45/45


    A level 15 Steel equip with an armor breaking effect!


    The half dazed Azure Sea Breeze was suddenly filled with vigor as he jumped up, took the Hellreaver and started laughing.


    He had long been jealous of Moonlight¡¯s Bloodseeker¡¯s Axe¡¯s armor break effect. He never thought that he would receive a weapon with this effect, let alone one that was level 15. The damage on this was also significantly better than a current level 5 Steel equip.


    The armor piercing effect was just too strong. It was definitely one of the top three Warrior effects. Moonlight had seen level 10 steel equips before, but they didn¡¯t have this effect, so he continued to use his precious axe.


    It was a pity that this was a level 15 equip, so he couldn¡¯t wield it just yet.


    ¡°See what else there is,¡± Lu Li urged. Akereus¡¯ drops were said to be bad, but perhaps it would drop some good weapons on the first clear.


    ¡°Remove Curse; this is some kind of Skill Book. It seems like it¡¯s for mages. I don¡¯t know, I can¡¯t learn it.¡± The skill book had a Mage profession logo, so the little hunter managed to work it out.


    ¡°That¡¯s mine, I¡¯m a mage.¡±


    Lonesome Flower, who was staring at the sky and pretending to be sad, immediately ran over.


    Curses were very common in Dawn. Many Bosses could cast these skills which put their target in a weakened state. Warlocks also had all sorts of strange and unusual curses, but this was also their weakness.


    To be able to learn a skill was a good thing. Lonesome Flower could no longer be sad.


    ¡°What else?¡± Lu Li was a little disappointed that he couldn¡¯t use it.


    ¡°A Bronze belt for Priests, which is for big sister March Rain. There¡¯s also a Bronze bracer for me, but it isn¡¯t as good as the one I already have. Lu Li you can go sell it. Finally, there is a rare material and a scroll¡­¡±


    ¡°What kind of scroll!¡± Lu Li¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Fire Scar Temple ¨C Common. With this scroll, you will have 3 days to enter the Ordinary Difficulty Fire Scar Temple.¡±


    Remnant Dream read out the words on the scroll.


    ¡°It¡¯s a private Instance Dungeon. It should drop some good items.¡±


    Lu Li immediately thought that Akereus was a good Boss. Whoever thought otherwise deserved to be spat in the face.


    ¡°Is it difficult?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was a little worried, as the scroll had been dropped by a LV15 Boss. Akereus has been killed, but admittedly this was toughest battle that the party had faced yet. Its dungeon couldn¡¯t be that easy, even if it was only regular difficulty.


    ¡°We have three opportunities to clear the Instance Dungeon, but after 3 days the scroll will disappear. Even if we can¡¯t do it, we¡¯ll have to try,¡± Lu Li laughed bitterly.


    ¡°How about we go kill Gallaher once today, again tomorrow and also tomorrow¡¯s Akereus. We can kill a few more Bosses and get a few more Steel equips before people realize.¡± Being a girl, March Rain was more careful than the others.


    Her suggestion didn¡¯t make sense, however. Why would they go back to a lower level area? The transfer cost money.


    ¡°It does make sense!¡± Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed as he clapped his hands. ¡°We can raise some money by selling things in the Exchange Hall.¡±


    Lu Li seemed to be suddenly lost in thought, but he realized that this was the normal mentality. Spending some money at the Exchange Hall or trading farmed equips for others were effective ways to increase their strength.


    It was not as though he had a choice. Ever since his rebirth, everything he had done was to earn money because of the despair he had faced. He couldn¡¯t let a single gold coin go to waste.


    ¡°Let¡¯s return to the city and go the Dark Ravine.¡±


    Lu Li put the rare materials in his bag and started channeling his teleport.


    He still had some Intermediate Antidotes from last time, but he bought a few more from the Exchange Hall. A group of people headed straight to fight the Boss.


    Whispering Forest had many Novice Villages and each one had its own kids of Boss. It was too bad that Lu Li couldn¡¯t think of any Bosses other than the one in Snake Valley, so his plan of clearing out the Novice Village Bosses couldn¡¯t be executed.


    There was still no one fighting the Snake Boss and they had prior experience. With a new tier of equipment, there was no way they were going to lose and Snake King Gallaher eventually fell.


    Snake Skin Shoulderpad (Steel): Defence 15, Strength +6, Agility +4. Equipment Requirement: level 10. Durability 32/32.


    This was a leather equip for Warrior Thieves. Its properties were average and it didn¡¯t have a special effect. After all, it was only LV10. However, it was still much better than the Bronze Shoulderpads that Lu Li had on, so Lu Li gladly took it.


    Another item that was dropped was a Steel Magic item, but what Lonesome Flower had was better. The group decided to sell it to raise funds for the transfer, which was really a monetary sinkhole. A single return trip cost them 10 gold. If it weren¡¯t for this Boss¡¯ guaranteed EXP and rare material drops, going back to fight the Novice Village bosses wouldn¡¯t be worth it.


    Taking advantage of the little time they had left, they quickly cleared the Elite-difficulty Spider lair, which dropped two LV5 steel equips. No one needed them, so they were consigned to the Exchange Hall.


    The Intermediate Health Potions that he had consigned were almost all sold out.


    Of the 20 bottles he had put up for sale, 15 of them had been sold. The remaining 5 weren¡¯t getting any attention.


    This result was a little unexpected. Lu Li had predicted that those who were capable of doing the Death Mines should have been on a mad rush to buy these.


    In fact, he had idealized the situation.


    He had only put in 20 potions so that they wouldn¡¯t attract attention, but this was already too many.


    Intermediate Health Potions could only be dropped by LV15+ monsters at an extremely low probability. The Exchange Hall had only ever seen one or two of them at a time and they were always marked at absurd prices.


    The big guilds immediately understood that someone had learnt to make this Potion the moment that 20 of them had appeared at once.


    They also knew that this person wasn¡¯t part of a guild. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be selling it.


    Twenty bottles weren¡¯t enough to keep them safe in the Death Mines, so the guilds decided to wait and look into who had learned the recipe. Once they found him, they would immediately try to win him over.


    Moreover, the smaller guilds had no desire to clear the dungeon. This was a time to live frugally and develop the economic strength of the guild.


    The only buyers left were the adventurous casual players who liked taking risks and had bought the potion for their protection. These were the people that had bought the 15 potions.


    Lu Li thought for a moment and slowly began to understand what was happening. He simply put up the rest of the 50 Health Potions up for sale. This would be enough for a group to clear the Death Mines. Someone would definitely go for it.


    He was still carrying a few dozen gold coins, so he looked around for cheap Snake Trust Grass and spent all his money on it.


    The Intermediate Health Potion recipe would probably be farmed out in the next few days, so this was his last opportunity.


    In reality, the price of Snake Trust Grass had risen a few times. Twenty silver was considered cheap now, but most people sold it for fifty silver per set. As long as someone was buying it, the prices would continue to rise.


    Lu Li used the rest of the time to create the Health Potions. He did this until he was unbearably tired, before going offline to sleep.

 89 Death Mines

    This time, Lu Li was successful. Selling all 50 Intermediate Health Potions, plus the few Steel Equips earned him over 70 gold. Five percent of this was paid to the Exchange Hall.


    It was a huge sum of money.


    Azure Sea Breeze who was waiting online was also shocked by this sum of money.


    It was not that they hadn¡¯t seen this amount of money before, but they never thought that selling potions would be so profitable.


    ¡°Look around for what you need; we can buy it directly from the Exchange Hall. Once you have everything, we can go and clear the Death Mines.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to wait around any longer than he needed to.


    ¡°That¡¯s no good,¡± objected Lonesome Flower. ¡°This money was all made by you; we didn¡¯t do anything. How can we use it to buy our own equips?¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say it like that,¡± Lu Li touched his nose and said shyly, ¡°Of all the Bosses we¡¯ve fought, you¡¯ve given me all the rare materials. Those aren¡¯t things you can buy with money.¡±


    ¡°Rare materials?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was puzzled. ¡°I¡¯ve always felt like you place too much value in these rare materials. Are they a really that important?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Lu Li resolutely nodded, ¡°On the official website, it says that Dawn¡¯s equipment are divided into grades: Common, Bronze, Steel, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Epic and Legendary. There are also potentially even higher grades like Demigod and God. What the website doesn¡¯t say, however, is that there are certain items at Epic and above which can¡¯t be dropped.¡±


    ¡°How do you get them then?¡± Remnant Dream stared blankly.


    ¡°Are they crafted by the materials?¡± Azure Sea Breeze immediately understood.


    ¡°Correct. Bosses will drop an Epic Equipment Matrix, which allows you to craft an Epic equip with the rare materials. The equips that are crafted are better than those directly dropped and this is also true for the Legendary equips. As for the Demigod and God equips, I¡¯m not sure,¡± Lu Li revealed to them.


    To the others, he was very mysterious, so it wasn¡¯t too surprising that he knew this.


    On the forums, there were people selling rare materials at astonishing prices and the three LV5 Bosses had been killed over and over. The big guilds must also have known this secret.


    ¡°That sounds like it¡¯s still going to be a while. In that case, I¡¯ll just go ahead with this.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was still the most straightforward member; he would never be needlessly polite with Lu Li. Lu Li really admired that about him.


    The Exchange Hall had LV10 Steel equips and even some LV15 ones, but they weren¡¯t cheap.


    It had been calculated that the current Chinese market had over 4 million players and counting. In order to accommodate for this huge number, there were thousands of Novice Villages like the Shadow Valley and hundreds more towns. Having this many locations naturally meant that there were many Bosses. There would always be a supply of Boss-dropped materials on the market.


    Lu Li was currently equipped with Steel-grade shoes, a shirt, pants, gloves, bracers, a main weapon and a long ranged weapon. His belts, cloaks, and headgear, however, were Bronze. As for his two badges, two rings and necklace, he was already incredibly fortunate to just have these items. He would definitely not be looking to replace them any time soon.


    All he was looking for was a Cloak, Belt and some Headgear.


    Nothing really caught his eye, even after a thorough search. So, he spent a dozen silver to buy a LV10 Bronze Cloak that gave a few more attribute points than his LV5 one.


    There were a few Steel Headgears though. Lu Li eventually decided on spending 5 gold for one of them.


    Sword Dancer¡¯s Hat (Steel): Armor 13, Agility +6, Constitution +2. Equipment Requirement: level 10. Durability 22/30.


    This equip was satisfactory for his needs. There wasn¡¯t anything much better than this, but the 5-gold price tag was quite hefty. However, this still easily afforded by Lu Li.


    Light Belt (Steel): Armor 16, Agility +8. Special Effect: Certain probability to deal 20% extra damage. Level Requirement: Level 10. Durability 16/32.


    This belt was good, but its price was very steep, at 9 gold. Lu Li hesitated for a moment before buying it as well.


    He also searched for Skill Books.


    There were barely any Skill Books in the Exchange Hall, especially those for Thieves. This was unfortunate.


    The most commonly available Skill Books were for Druids. Lu Li thought for a while before giving up. His Cheetah form could only learn 2 skills, so he needed to consider this very carefully.


    Lu Li also helped Remnant Dream pick out 2 pieces. Once everyone had picked out their equipment, the 70-80 gold he had earned was completely spent.


    Everyone¡¯s equipment was already excellent, so their overall strength didn¡¯t increase by that much.


    Lu Li also let Azure Sea Breeze find some Supplementary Tools for the upcoming Instance Dungeon, while he ran off and rented a quiet room to craft a few dozen Intermediate Health Potions.


    After this, he consigned another 50 bottles to the Exchange Hall!


    It was time to go to the Death Mines!


    It was said that the gold deposits in the Death Mines could increase the wealth of Stormwind by a third. In the first Orc War, the mine was abandoned because according to legend, it was haunted.


    This lasted until the day a ragtag group of kids formed the Defias Brotherhood and occupied this maze. They used it as their base of operations for the destruction of Stormwind city.


    The story of the Defias Brotherhood was a long one and won¡¯t be expanded on here.


    As they entered the Instance Dungeon, the path led them along a winding cavern. As a Thief, Lu Li was in charge of navigating, while the others followed him.


    He stopped when he reached a fork in the path and after some careful observation, he pointed to the side of the small cave and said, ¡°Look, there is an NPC¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others looked carefully and saw a half-dead NPC behind an abandoned mine cart.


    If one didn¡¯t look carefully, he would be difficult to spot.


    Seeing that someone was coming, he struggled to get up.


    ¡°Dear adventurers, how are you?¡±


    ¡°Who are you? Why are you in this place? I hear this is the base of the Defias Brotherhood.¡±


    Lu Li stepped forwards and began to talk to him.


    ¡°I am Lieutenant Horatio from Stormwind city. Adventurers, I have something I need you to do. Can you lend me your strength?¡±


    How could Lu Li reject? ¡°Of course, we will do our best,¡± he replied.


    ¡°I was ordered to investigate the situation within the Death Mines, but as you can see, I was bitten by a snake. Can you do a trip in there for me?¡± Horatio showed the players his darkened calf.


    ¡°We are going in to clear it out. We are happy to take your request,¡± Lu Li said without hesitation.


    Lieutenant Horatio took out a small disk.


    ¡°Glubtok the Foreman will be the first rival you encounter and he is a powerful Ogre Mage. Be careful, he has both brute strength derived from his race and many evil spells! Bring this communication device so we can keep in touch when conducting the investigation.¡±


    Lu Li took the small disk and the system prompted him that he had accepted the Death Mines Quest.

 90 The Relaxed Old One

    The group quickly encountered monsters.


    What they saw was a group of Cynocephali diggers, toiling away. There were two fatter ones overseeing the work.


    ¡°There are so many monsters; we won¡¯t be able to clear them out cleanly,¡± Azure Sea Breeze grimaced ¡°Cannons,¡± Lu Li observed and pointed in a direction.


    ¡°Dammit, the monsters in this Instance Dungeon can use cannons as well.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s face turned green; he didn¡¯t want to know what it was like to be bombarded.


    The Cannons in Dawn were based on the medieval age, but they weren¡¯t exactly the same as the ones in real life. They were incredibly powerful, so it would be very bad if someone were to take a direct hit. The players all had a heartfelt fear for these cannons.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one wave of monsters around the cannon. We should take it,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°You know how to fire a cannon?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was confused.


    ¡°Firing a cannon in a game is easy. You don¡¯t need to do it properly,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°You go in first and stun the gunman. I don¡¯t want to get hit by that,¡± Azure Sea Breeze gestured at Lu Li.


    Lu Li shrugged and entered stealth.


    There was a fat Ogre responsible for firing the cannon and two Cynocephali slaves protecting him.


    The Ogre was immune to sap, so Lu Li cast Cheap Shot on him. Once the Ogre was stunned, Lu Li came out of stealth which the two Cynocephali slaves to scream and wave their hands.


    -32, -28¡­


    The Ogre was an elite, but the Cynocephali were just ordinary monsters. This damage wasn¡¯t very surprising.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately rushed over to pull the mobs away.


    Lu Li felt around a bit and set up the cannon. In his past life, he had been called ¡®the little expert¡¯. Now, it was time for him to shine.


    He fired directly at a group of monsters, dealing a significant amount of damage as the cannonball exploded.


    The 7-8 monsters that were affected started running towards the cannon, but there was a Main Tank to intercept them. Lu Li continued to fire freely.


    The cannon also had HP and would be destroyed when this was depleted. However, between Lu Li¡¯s constant firing and Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s tanking, the mobs were brutally slaughtered. They didn¡¯t even have a chance to reach the cannon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go pull more monsters.¡± Azure Sea Breeze knew what to do next without any instruction.


    He rushed off on his own and quickly brought back a group of monsters. Lu Li fired the cannon at them and cleared them out two times faster than they would have normally.


    The first wave of monsters before the first boss were quickly cleared out. Lu Li let the cannon go and followed the party to face the Boss. They couldn¡¯t move the cannon, otherwise they would have used it in the fight.


    Glubtok the Foreman had two Ogre bodyguards.


    Azure Sea Breeze observed for a moment and that the Boss and his bodyguard¡¯s aggro would not be drawn together, so he directly attacked them.


    His mistake was that the bodyguard¡¯s aggro mechanic was unlike Dawn¡¯s regular aggro mechanic. They ignored Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s taunts and rushed over with their hammers raised.


    One of these bodyguards was immediately stunned by Lu Li¡¯s Cheap Shot, while the other was hit by Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s Charge. With the crowd control active, the well-equipped group quickly sent them to see the System gods.


    After a short recovery period, they turned their attention to Glubtok.


    ¡°Glubtok will show you the power of the Arcane!¡± The fat Ogre was clearly angry.


    His anger proved useless, as Lu Li would have been able to kill him a few days ago. Now, everyone was a higher level and they had better equipment. Glubtok the Foreman was killed in just over 10 minutes. The Quest Tracker prompted them that they had successfully killed the Foreman and gave them their next instruction: Kill Helix.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that hard,¡± Azure Sea Breeze remarked.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for brother Lu Li reminding someone to cast Shield Wall, that person would have died,¡± Remnant Dream grinned mischievously.


    ¡°Cough, cough, Remnant Dream, how about you go and see what the Boss dropped?¡± The little hunter was very lucky and enjoyed picking up weapons.


    Remnant Dream went to Glubtok¡¯s corpse and began to loot it.


    ¡°Ah, these are clothes for sister March. It¡¯s too bad they¡¯re LV15.¡± She had picked up piece of Steel clothing with decent attributes, but its requirements were a bit too high. After the Boss was taken down, March Rain reached LV14. She would be able to equip this after one more level.


    ¡°What else is there?¡± Azure Sea Breeze stared expectantly at the little hunter.


    Remnant Dream felt around and replied, ¡°There is a LV15 Bronze equip, two pieces of Magic Patterned Cloth and an Intermediate Potion. That¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°Well, this is the first Boss. You can¡¯t hope for too much, let¡¯s keep going,¡± Azure Sea Breeze inhaled with disappointment.


    Only Lu Li knew that Dawn was a stingy game. It was best not to have high hopes for the coming Boss either. The fact that the first Boss had dropped a Steel equip was probably because of the First Clear bonus. The probability of a Steel drop was normally very low.


    After Glubtok the Foreman fell, a stone door on the mountain behind them had opened up. Upon entering the stone door, they faced a different kind of monster ¨C Supervisor Brother Bulin and Mine Bunny Girl.


    The former could cast a Compelling Roar which raised its own attack speed by 50% and Excitement, which dealt Shadow damage to its target and reduced its movement speed by 50%. The latter would throw a plate to lower the target¡¯s attack speed by 30% and movement speed by 50%.


    The difficulty had significantly increased, but this was not enough to stop the advance of Lu Li and his team.


    Before long, they stood before the second Boss, Helix.


    Helix was actually a foreigner to the Death Mines.


    He was originally a Bilgewater Cartel craftsman, but had received a large sum of money from the Defias Brotherhood to come and work for them. Being a shrewd Goblin, he quickly took up the offer and renounced his allegiance to his previous employer.


    Helix was riding on the body of a mechanical monster.


    Players needed to deal with the mechanical monster first. During this process, Helix would lay hidden mines around the giant room which would explode when stepped on, causing all players within 4 yards to be damaged and knocked back.


    If they were unlucky, the knockback could land them onto another mine.


    Fighting this Boss therefore required the use of Intermediate Healing Potions. Otherwise, the pressure would be too great. Helix was called the party killer for a reason.

 91 Repeated Party Wipes

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it,¡± said Azure Sea Breeze, as he waved his sword and rushed towards the Boss.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to stop him and could only watch as the heavily armored Main Tank rushed past him. He was then kicked away by the mechanical monster like a ball. It was really rather pathetic.


    ¡°What a strong Boss.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was visibly shaken and afraid of going in again.


    ¡°Go again. Are you going to wait for its cooldowns to refresh?¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze flicked his middle finger at Lu Li and charged at the Boss once again.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother going into Stealth because the mechanical monster was immune to stuns. Without killing it first, players had no hope of fighting the Boss.


    The mechanical monster and the Boss worked as a unit. They could both deal damage to the players while Helix constantly laid down mines. They were about the size of a palm and would spin when they were thrown onto the ground, before slowly drilling their way underground. When a player stood on the ground above one of them, it would explode.


    Although the mechanical monster was strong enough to knock back Azure Sea Breeze, it mostly only dealt single digit damage.


    Boom!


    Lonesome Flower felt something heat up under his foot before he was sent flying.


    -425!


    Half of his HP was suddenly depleted.


    After landing, he staggered backwards for a few steps.


    Boom!


    Perhaps he was simply unlucky, but as he stepped backwards he triggered another mine. This time March Rain was also knocked up with him.


    The two of them flew up and then hit the ground.


    Lonesome Flower glowed white. He was unexpectedly killed very quickly.


    This was the Boss¡¯ most headache-inducing aspect ¨C the area of effect explosion that could affect teammates within four yards.


    If a player was hit by a mine and triggered another one within 30 seconds, the damage they took would be doubled.


    ¡°Look at you, cowering like mice.¡±


    The goblin engineer happily ridiculed them atop of the mechanical monster.


    When March Rain landed, she quickly started to heal herself.


    They had only just begun and had already lost a high DPS player. What a tragedy this was.


    ¡°Continue fighting. We have to familiarize ourselves with the Boss. If you trigger a mine, immediately drink a potion. Do not try to save them.¡±


    Lu Li looked at his frightened teammates and spoke profoundly.


    The others thought for a while and came to the same realization. They would probably be unable to defeat the Boss this time, but the least they could do was try and work out what kind of skills it had for the next fight.


    The mechanical monster had high HP and they had only managed to deplete half of its HP bar after five minutes of fighting.


    Lu Li suddenly felt a vibration under his foot and he quickly tried to escape. Unfortunately, the mine had already been triggered. He and Azure Sea Breeze were both caught in the explosion.


    ¡°Take your potion!¡± Lu Li already had a potion in hand and quickly drank it as soon as he landed.


    As the Main Tank was knocked up, the mechanical monster charged and knocked back the Healer. When March Rain hit the ground, she triggered another mine. Coincidentally, Azure Sea Breeze landed near her and both of them were sent flying.


    It was chaos!


    The whole scene was out of control, as the Boss went after Remnant Dream directly. With every swing of its mechanical arm, Remnant Dream lost 300 HP. The little Hunter was scared and tried to escape, but in doing so, she triggered a mine and died before she could even take a potion.


    By the time Azure Sea Breeze had regained the Boss¡¯ aggro, the party only had three people left.


    Without the two DPS professions, the mechanical monster was losing HP at an even slower rate.


    After struggling for some time, a mine was triggered again. This time, it was even worse. The Main Tank stepped on one mine after another until he died. There was absolutely no window for healing.


    Without a Main Tank, the other two quickly turned and ran, but the room was closed and there was nowhere to go.


    After the group was revived, they all gloomily sat by the door to Helix¡¯s room.


    They had all felt very strong; their equipment was good and their level was high. They didn¡¯t expect to be wiped before they had even killed the mechanical monster.


    ¡°This is just how it is; we¡¯ll get used to it eventually.¡± Azure Sea Breeze tried to cheer everyone up but his efforts were in vain.


    ¡°The loss of EXP is heartbreaking.¡± Lonesome Flower put on a long face.


    After the update, a few different death penalties had been introduced in Dawn:


    The first was for field deaths: Revive in the Cemetery and lose 20% EXP. In addition, the player will be in a weakened state for 30 minutes.


    The second was also for field deaths: Your soul runs to the place of death and revives there, but make sure your corpse is guarded. The player will also lose 15% EXP.


    The third was also for field deaths: Revive by a spell from a profession and lose 10% EXP.


    The fourth was for Instance Dungeon deaths: Your soul will appear in the cemetery outside the Instance Dungeon. Your soul can enter the Instance Dungeon to revive at the entrance of the Instance Dungeon. The player will lose 1% EXP, but these deaths are unlike the others. A player cannot drop a level in this way.


    One percent didn¡¯t sound like much, but one still had to kill many monsters to obtain this. The Boss was also extremely hard to defeat, so who knew how many times they were going to die?


    Their second attempt was much smoother. Now that they had experience with the explosions, they could balance themselves if they were affected. Remnant Dream didn¡¯t run away this time and they successfully killed the mechanical monster.


    All that was left was Helix.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve succeeded in provoking Helix.¡±


    The goblin engineer angrily stood up from the wreckage of the mechanical monster.


    Helix still had a very disgusting skill - Mount.


    He could jump onto a person¡¯s head and block their vision. The victim was usually considered dead and attacked by their teammates.


    Moreover, the frequency of him burying the mines was higher too. Lu Li¡¯s party was wiped again and again, for a third, fourth and fifth time¡­


    ¡°Stop, this isn¡¯t the way to go about it either,¡± Lu Li shouted at Azure Sea Breeze, who still wanted to continue.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t much time left, so everyone should go and take a break. Think about how we can beat the Boss while you¡¯re at it¡±


    The others were physically and mentally exhausted, so they didn¡¯t object.


    In reality, Lu Li already had a strategy; he just didn¡¯t want to say it out loud.


    Fighting Instance Dungeons required a great use of teamwork and various focused tactics. There was a strategy and skill to fighting every Boss.


    Lu Li knew many strategies because of his rebirth, but they were still very limited. When he eventually ran out of strategies and they had to face an unfamiliar Instance Dungeon, what would they do?


    As such, they had to get used to studying Instance Dungeons.


    This Boss wasn¡¯t very difficult. Some would even say that it was easy, so it provided a good test.


    He logged back on after a meal and the five of them sat in front of the Helix room door discussing tactics.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stand apart from each other,¡± Remnant Dream said.


    ¡°Yo, can you not think of something that a rookie would say?¡± Lonesome Flower mocked.


    ¡°The biggest problem is when you get knocked back and you land on another mine. This Boss seems highly reliant on luck.¡±


    March Rain always worked really hard, but she could only helplessly watch as her teammates died.


    ¡°Yeah, we can try standing in the corners. If all the ranged players stand in the corners, the wall will block them from triggering any others if they trigger one in the first place.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s experience showed and he quickly found a way to deal with the explosions.

 92 Kick

    The three ranged players all stood with their backs to the walls, while Azure Sea Breeze pulled the Boss to the center. He and Lu Li stood apart from each other. Everyone¡¯s positions were very carefully chosen so that no two people would be sent flying together.


    Based on Lu Li¡¯s memorized strategy, these were the correct positions. With the Intermediate Health Potions and a bit of luck, this Boss wouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    They were able to kill the mechanical monster smoothly and Helix didn¡¯t pose too much of an issue either. After 10 minutes, he fell before them.


    A Steel Dagger!


    Bayonet of Vengeance (Steel): Damage 20-28, Agility +8, Strength +4. Effect: On hit, there is a chance that the target will bleed, taking 20 damage per second for 5 seconds. Equipment Requirement: level 15. Durability 35/35.


    There was no doubt that this was Lu Li¡¯s weapon.


    This was a high-quality dagger too. It had high damage, good attributes and a good special effect. It was almost impeccable.


    It even caused a bleed effect that could not be removed. This could stop stealth!


    For fights between Thieves, there was no better effect than bleed.


    It was a pity that Lu Li was still half a level below the level requirement.


    After killing Helix, the EXP that everyone had lost was mostly regained. No one got a Skill Point reward this time; it seemed like the probability of getting one was very small.


    According to the Quest Tracker, the third Boss was called ¡°Death God 5000¡±.


    It sounded like a very scary name, but it was really just a mechanical harvester.


    Around it stood four mechanical monsters. The Death God 5000 would start to move after the four mechanical monsters had been killed.


    This Boss wasn¡¯t really difficult to defeat and didn¡¯t require any special strategy. As long as they dodged its swiping attack (which was like Whirlwind), they would be fine. The only difficult part of the fight was when the room would periodically be filled with ¡®Molten Slags¡¯.


    Molten Slags were a fire elemental monster with a molten shield that dealt 4000 damage to surrounding enemies.


    Currently, no one could tank this kind of damage.


    Fortunately, there was a machine next to the Boss¡ªthe prototype Harvester. It was activated when the fight started and could be operated by anyone. It had high damage and was immune to shield damage. It could also crowd control the Molten Slags, which would allow the ranged players to quickly wipe them out.


    The small Xin Xin Mercenary Group killed the Boss in one try without losing a single member.


    It was too bad that this Boss was really stingy; it didn¡¯t drop a single Steel equip. It only dropped one Bronze equip and an engineering material.


    The fourth Boss was the Piercing Heart Wolf General.


    In Dawn¡¯s lore, James Harrington was cursed to become a Worgen. In that one unfortunate night, he destroyed his beloved family and his maritime career. After that, he renamed himself the Piercing Heart Wolf and fled to the western wilderness. He later accepted his appointment by the Defias Brotherhood to command their fearless ships.


    This Boss didn¡¯t have any special active skills, but had one passive skill¡ªBloodlust.


    Bloodlust slowly increased the Boss¡¯ attack speed and damage. The longer the fight went for, the more unlikely his defeat became.


    This was the reason why Lu Li had asked everyone to level up before going into the Death Mines. If they were three levels lower than this Boss, then the damage reduction and its own damage buff would be too much to overcome. They would simply be unable to kill the Boss in a short enough timeframe. Once the Main Tank was killed, the rest of the team would soon go down with him.


    Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and March Rain were all level 14. Remnant Dream was level 13 and the Piercing Heart Wolf General was level 16. The level difference was not that wide.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give it a shot. If we can¡¯t do it, then we¡¯ll go back and level up. We can come back when everyone is LV15,¡± Azure Sea Breeze suggested. The others didn¡¯t oppose him.


    Taking down 50% of the Boss¡¯ HP went relatively smoothly, because the Boss¡¯ bonus damage wasn¡¯t too high. However, when his HP dropped to 30%, the damage started to become ridiculous. The Wolf General would deal 500-600 damage per strike, with the occasional critical hit.


    When the Boss reached 20% HP, Azure Sea Breeze squealed and was killed.


    Team kill!


    The second time, they did slightly better and managed to lower it to 15% HP.


    However, they were unable to get its HP below 15% in their successive attempts.


    Losing 1% EXP each time didn¡¯t sound like a lot, but it added up quickly.


    Moreover, Dawn¡¯s other players¡¯ were continuing to gain EXP while their own EXP was decreasing. If they were continue like this, they would soon be unable to maintain their positions on the Level Rankings.


    They soon realized that they couldn¡¯t do it and gave up.


    There were already some posts on the forums, describing some pioneer guilds who were still stuck on the first Boss.


    These people didn¡¯t have any Intermediate Health Potions.


    After the Instance Dungeon, Azure Sea Breeze proposed killing the Demon Warlock and Snake Bosses. He was dressed in Steel items, but most of them were only LV5, so his defence was considerably weaker.


    They were going to go kill Akereus first. Now that they had the prior experience, this would be an easier boss to fight.


    In order for the other players to gain more EXP, Lu Li quit the party when the Boss dropped to 20% HP and left the battle. He went back to the city to prepare Intermediate Antidotes.


    The EXP distribution in Dawn was very fair. As long as you participated and didn¡¯t die, you would be assigned some EXP. However, if you quit the fight, you wouldn¡¯t receive any EXP.


    When Lu Li got back to the city, he took out the gold he had made through the Intermediate Health Potion sales from the mailbox. He then went around looking for Snake Bile and other cheap items.


    Before long, Azure Sea Breeze was assigning the loot. Akereus didn¡¯t drop anything good this time, just some Heal Leather which was exclusive to Healer Druids and some common materials.


    The Heal Leather was consigned in the Exchange Hall.


    Lu Li checked the items he needed to upgrade his supreme ring, but he expectantly found nothing.


    He browsed the skill books that were available and stumbled upon one called ¡®Kick¡¯.


    Kick: Instant cast. Cooldown of 15 seconds. Quickly kick the target to interrupt spell casts. This also prevents the target from casting related spells for another 5 seconds. Proficiency 1/5.


    This was a very good Skill book; it could be used for both Instance Dungeons and PVP.


    However, the price was quite expensive at 20 gold coins.


    Although the price of gold had fallen to 300:1, 20 gold was still thousands of dollars. This was still far beyond what the average player could afford.


    This was probably the reason Lu Li had found it. Otherwise, it would have already been bought.

 93 Special Equipmen

    Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate in buying the Kick skill for 20 gold coins.


    Lu Li wondered if there was any Silver grade equipment being sold. In his curiosity, he looked at all equipment from the most expensive first to the least expensive.


    The most expensive piece of equipment was Steel-grade and was listed at 400 gold coins. The description was, ¡°The Great Qin Empire is recruiting; contact Great Qin Pioneer for details.¡± Lu Li was speechless and couldn¡¯t help but marvel at their resourcefulness.


    He scrolled down and saw that there were many similar things. Many people had listed trash-tier equipment for very high prices, with descriptions detailing recruitment advertisements, looking for a spouse, looking to make friends, etc.


    Some people listed their equipment for exorbitant prices and said in the description that they were only willing to trade for weapons that were suitable for their own profession.


    After looking through the priciest equipment, Lu Li confirmed that no one was selling any Silver grade equipment.


    Unless something miraculous happened to a ridiculously lucky player, the chances of obtaining Silver grade equipment at this point in the game were practically impossible. Bosses that could drop Silver grade equipment at this point in the game could only be found in the Hero difficulty of the Death Mines. Even Elite grade Bosses wouldn¡¯t drop Silver grade equipment so early on.


    Wait a second¡­


    A piece of equipment selling for 200 or so gold caught his eye, and seemed to be in the ¡®facial equipment¡¯ category.


    He quickly went back.


    It was a Steel grade Bandanna!


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Even in his ¡®past life¡¯, he had never even heard of a Steel grade Bandanna.


    Nameless (Steel): 1 Defence, All Stats+1, Special Effect: Hides Information (can be toggled), Leve Requirement: LV1. No Durability.


    The 1 point of Defence was quite insignificant, and although the Bandanna gave All Stats+1, this wasn¡¯t necessarily better than a piece of Bronze grade equipment. However, it gave the ability to hide one¡¯s information.


    What did it mean to hide one¡¯s information? For example, Lu Li had hid his information in the Level Rankings, so he was displayed as an ¡®Unknown Player¡¯. When forming a team, he would also hide his information, so that his name was ¡®Unknown Player¡¯. Since the system allowed one to their information in certain situations, why couldn¡¯t there be equipment that hid one¡¯s information?


    Looking at the words ¡®hides information¡¯, Lu Li suddenly remembered something.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, there was a Thief who would not leave his name when PVPing with other players, even if he attacked first.


    The system gave the players a choice whether to hide their information on the Rankings, or when forming teams, but there was no such option for PVP. As such, the system would alert both players in a PVP combat that the intiating player had maliciously attacked the other. This gave the attacked player 10 minutes to retaliate.


    However, when that particular Thief attacked, this system announcement did not come up.


    The players who were killed did not even know who had killed them and couldn¡¯t find anyone to take revenge on. As such, there were often people reporting this issue on the official website. However, the response from the game company was that this was not a bug, so people stopped reporting this issue.


    Perhaps that person had used this sort of equipment.


    Lu Li looked at the description.


    ¡°Steel grade Bandanna, willing to exchange for a high-quality Thief equipment, preferably weapon. PM ¡®Black Cat¡¯.¡±


    Lu Li immediately contacted that player.


    Lu Li: You there?


    Black Cat: Yes, yes, do you want to exchange equipment? I know it doesn¡¯t have a very nice name, but if you don¡¯t have Steel grade equipment, then forget about it. This lady here would rather throw it away than trade it for Bronze grade equipment.


    Evidently, it was a female player. She had sent a lengthy reply back, with a tone of annoyance. It seemed that many people had offered to exchange with her, but the results had not turned out too well.


    Lu Li directly sent over the Dagger¡¯s stats.


    Lu Li: Death¡¯s Shadow (Steel): 12-25 Damage, Strength+5, Attack Speed+10%. Level Requirement: LV6. Durability: 32/32.


    Black Cat: Hmm¡­ Hmm¡­ Not bad, but¡­


    This was an exquisite Dagger ¨C it was quite rare to have 12-25 Attack on a single-handed weapon. The 5 points of Strength made this Dagger seem even more enticing and it even gave a 10% increase to Attack Speed. This was incredibly rare for low level equipment. Normally, even 5% was a lot.


    However, Black Cat was not entirely willing to trade for only this Dagger. After all, her Bandanna was incredibly special.


    Special Steel grade equipment was incredibly rare!


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that female players could only use Veils, she would have probably kept it for herself.


    Lu Li: Broodmother¡¯s Kiss (Steel): 10-22 Damage, Agility+4, Special Effect: Upon successfully attacking a target, there is a chance of the target being poisoned and taking 20 damage per second for 5 seconds. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 30/30.


    This Dagger was not inferior to the previous one in the slightest and its Poison effect was very useful against Bosses.


    Black Cat: Wow, great god¡­ wait, do you really have this equipment? You¡¯re not tricking me, right?¡±


    Lu Li: You can pick either one of the Daggers. If you want, we can trade. If not, forget it.


    Black Cat: It¡¯s a pity they¡¯re both LV5 weapons though. Great god, I¡¯m nearly LV10, so can you give me a piece of LV10 equipment or both of those LV5 Daggers?


    Lu Li: No way, goodbye.


    Black Cat: Wait, let¡¯s be reasonable.


    Lu Li: How about this: you choose one of the Daggers and I¡¯ll add on a LV5 Steel grade Leather Armour. Your Steel-grade Bandanna is rare, but hiding information isn¡¯t that useful. After all, the game¡¯s settings already allows you to hide your information.


    Black Cat thought for a while and felt that what Lu Li had said was true. After all, many other players had said the same thing. Players didn¡¯t have to rely on equipment to hide their information and most players wanted to become famous.


    None of the players on the Glory Rankings who she had talked to were interested in this Bandanna. Only the somewhat famous Midnight Ghost was somewhat interested in trading. However, he was only willing to trade a fairly ordinary piece of LV5 equipment, which couldn¡¯t even be compared to the ones that Lu Li had offered.


    Lu Li was very patient and did not rush Black Cat. He bought a temporary LV10 Bronze grade weapon and a LV10 Bronze grade Armour, then left the Exchange Hall. His destination was the Inn, where he could hire a private room to create some Intermediate Health Potions.


    After half an hour, he received a reply.


    Black Cat: Great god, I¡¯ve decided to trade with you. I¡¯m a combat Thief, so I want the Death¡¯s Shadow and the Leather Armour. Where are you now?


    Lu Li: Meet me at the Dark Ravine. I¡¯ll pay for the transport fee.


    Trading at the Dark Ravine was much cheaper than trading at the Grey Valley. After all, going between towns cost 2 gold coins, but going between a town and a village cost only 1 gold coin.


    With someone willing to pay the transport fee, Black Cat immediately went to the Dark Ravine.


    At the agreed location, she saw a Thief who had covered his face and had his name hidden during the transaction.


    The special equipment ¡°Nameless¡± was thus obtained by Lu Li.


    Lu Li was lacking a decent weapon and clothing, but he had bought some to use temporarily. When he levelled up to LV15, he could equip the LV15 Steel grade equipment in his bag.


    He bought this Bandanna just in case he became too famous in future and was targeted. Who knew when it would be useful? Moreover, he no longer had a need for his 2 LV5 weapons and he wasn¡¯t lacking in gold, so he decided to trade them off.

 94 Ambushed

    After a while, Azure Sea Breeze and the others came to the Dark Ravine. Then, they all headed off to the Snake Valley to kill Gallaher.


    Gallaher¡¯s territory was in a corner of the Snake Valley. As it was surrounded and attacked by Lu Li¡¯s group, it furiously spat out poison and swept around its massive tail, trying to send these disrespectful players to the grave.


    It was a pity that it could not do so.


    Against these skilful, high-levelled and well-equipped players, it could only struggle in vain.


    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to kill this Boss for much longer. There are many waves of players heading this way and they¡¯ll probably reach here in two or so days,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said in disappointment as he patted Gallaher¡¯s head with his shield. He was furiously counterattacked by Gallaher in response.


    ¡°As long as our equipment is good enough, we won¡¯t need to worry about not having enough Bosses to kill. It¡¯s just that the high level Bosses are way too hard to kill,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Do you want to recruit some new people?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind; you can handle that.¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t really interested in these things.


    He knew many future-experts, but they wouldn¡¯t necessarily want to join them. Moreover, experts were usually quite haughty. Once they became famous, they might not want to stay within the small Mercenary Group.


    When Lu Li¡¯s HP dropped down to 50%, he drank an Intermediate Antidote, which cancelled out the Boss¡¯ Poison Attack. Following that, the Boss hit him with its tail, dealing 70 damage. However, with his 1,000+ HP pool, he was in no danger at all.


    Suddenly, Lu Li¡¯s face darkened.


    When did these people creep up behind them?!


    Before Lu Li¡¯s group could react, all sorts of attacks ¨C Frostbolts, Fireballs, Shadow Arrows, Arcane Shots, Lightning Bolts ¨C rained down upon them.


    Remnant Dream, Lonesome Flower and March Rain were all instantly killed.


    Only 2 of them were able to react in time. Lu Li immediately used Vanish, avoiding the first wave of attacks, while Azure Sea Breeze activated Shield Wall. This resulted in there only being a chain of single-digit damage figures rising above him.


    There were at least 70-80 enemy players. Azure Sea Breeze couldn¡¯t last very long and after Shield Wall¡¯s effects ended, he was also buried by a wave of skills.


    However, he had bought enough time for Lu Li to run away. By the time they had finished off Azure Sea Breeze, they simply couldn¡¯t find Lu Li.


    Although Lu Li wasn¡¯t invincible, he wouldn¡¯t lose his Stealth from being hit for the first 3 seconds after using Vanish. He quickly activated the speed boost from his Boots and his Movement Speed increased by 10%.


    After escaping from the enemy players¡¯ attack range, Lu Li immediately transformed into the Little Cheetah and dove into the grass.


    ¡°Goddamit, he escaped again!¡±


    ¡°How is this possible?! We threw so many attacks at him but couldn¡¯t insta-kill him!¡±


    ¡°His level¡¯s probably pretty high, my attack missed¡­¡±


    ¡°My Charm skill also missed.¡±


    ¡°Increase the search perimeter. Thieves are usually quite slow when they¡¯re Stealthed. Everyone cast your abilities wherever you think he might be.¡±


    ¡°Is there a Tank? Someone tank this Boss. It doesn¡¯t have much HP left, so we might as well kill it¡­¡±


    ¡°Idiot. Find the Thief first. If weren¡¯t able to kill a Thief with 70-80 people, that would be disgraceful. I¡¯ll kill anyone who dares to fight the Boss before we¡¯ve found him.¡±


    ¡°What gives you the right to order us around? We can¡¯t wholeheartedly look for the Thief before killing this Boss.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, we can use the system to check his coordinates every 30 minutes, so we might as well kill the Boss first.¡±


    Although they knew not to underestimate this Thief, these 70-80 people had successfully snuck up on him and attacked. Who would think that anything could go wrong?


    This motley crowd simply couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of the Boss.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, but don¡¯t come over for now,¡± Lu Li answered his communication device, telling his teammates what was happening.


    ¡°Dreamy¡¯s a bit down, so I¡¯ll try to cheer her up,¡± March Rain replied.


    It wasn¡¯t that the little Hunter had never died in the game before, but that this was the first time she had been killed by players.


    Lu Li felt a bit guilty. After all, these players had come for him.


    The peaceful days that had gone by caused him to let his guard down and he had forgotten about the bounty on his head.


    This group of people had come exactly for the bounty.


    After the second update, the bounty system was introduced. After paying 10 gold coins, a player could list a bounty quest in the Mercenary Hall.


    The person who placed the bounty on Lu Li was quite rich. Killing Lu Li would earn them 10 gold coins and the maximum number of kills was 10. This meant that there was a total bounty of 100 gold coins on him!


    Any player could spend 10 silver coins in order to receive this bounty. Every 30 minutes, players could spend 50 silver coins to search for the target¡¯s coordinates.


    Lu Li had spent the entire morning in the Instance Dungeon and didn¡¯t expect that the bounty hunters would come for him.


    Not only had he gotten four of his teammates killed, but he had also exposed this place to others.


    He didn¡¯t leave, but hid nearby in the woods.


    He was so close that he could hear what they were saying and discovered who they were.


    Some of them were from the Imperial Secret Service and their leader was ¡®Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You¡¯. He wanted the players to hurry up and find Lu Li, but it was a pity that there were only 20-30 Imperial Secret Service players in that group. The other people were all strangers and had only joined up with them for the bounty.


    The system made it so that players who assisted in completing the bounty quest would receive 80% of the reward.


    Killing Lu Li would earn 8 gold and they might not even earn a large share of that. As such, many of the players decided to finish off the Boss. Gallaher now had less than half of its HP, and it could be killed within minutes by the 70-80 players.


    Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You had no choice but to compromise, ¡°Hurry up and finish it off; the equipment will belong to whoever can get their hands on it. If someone attacks another person for equipment, then the rest of you kill him immediately.


    He then ordered his guild¡¯s players to keep an eye on the time and immediately search for Lu Li¡¯s coordinates as soon as it was possible again. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this. He had been there the last time the Imperial Secret Service had tried to kill this guy and he knew what he was capable of.


    Even though Lu Li wanted to tear these people into shreds, he remained calm.


    He retreated somewhere safe and coldly watched as the motley crowd attacked the Boss under Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You¡¯s command.


    With so many people, Gallaher¡¯s HP quickly fell.


    30%!


    The giant snake leaned backwards as it deeply inhaled, then spat out its venom towards the players.


    Bosses in the wilderness were all quite tough and Gallaher was no exception. Its poison and AOE attacks made it an incredibly tough Boss to kill.


    This wave of venom covered more than half of the players.

 95 Bloody Battle

    The first time Lu Li¡¯s team had fought this Boss, they had been completely annihilated. Because these people were much higher-levelled than Lu Li and the others were at the time, no one died from the first wave of venom.


    However, many of them now had critical HP!


    How could Gallaher be so easy to kill? It had reduced a majority of the attacking players to critical HP in just 1 attack.


    ¡°Heal! Hurry up and heal! Are you dead or something?!¡± A motley crowd was indeed a motley crowd. Seeing their HP fall so low, they all began to yell for healing, covering up their leader¡¯s voice.


    Gallaher then followed up with a tail attack.


    The crowd began to yell even louder and more desperately.


    At the beginning, none of them had taken Gallaher seriously. After all, it was a LV12 Boss that had lost a big chunk of its HP.


    No one thought that they would lose players so quickly.


    A group of players died immediately as 5 or 6 rays of light flew off.


    There were only 5 Healers. After all, this crowd had come to kill Lu Li, so the vast majority of them were professions with high damage. The Healers raised their Staffs and started to cast healing magic. Luckily, the Boss didn¡¯t continuously attack, allowing the players to slightly relax.


    Lu Li silently crept behind a Priest and immediately stunned him as he raised his Staff.


    The Priest didn¡¯t expect to be ambushed and his face was filled with shock. He even thought that the Boss had used a new skill and a string of damage figures arose from his body.


    1 down!


    Dead players couldn¡¯t talk, but they could type.


    However, before he could type anything, another Healer from the team sent out 3 words:


    ¡°Fudge, I¡¯m dead!¡±


    ¡°The Healers are being killed!¡± the crowd suddenly realised, as they saw Lu Li furiously attacking the third Healer.


    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic, focus your attacks on him!¡±


    With a Boss and a godly Thief separately attacking them, how could they not panic?


    In reality, the elusive Lu Li, who had been called ¡®Textbook¡¯ Lu Li, was no less dangerous than the Boss.


    Some of the players reacted quickly and immediately launched their skills towards Lu Li.


    He didn¡¯t bother to look over as he slashed his Dagger across the frightened Healer¡¯s throat.


    Slit Throat! Critical Hit!


    Lu Li jumped forwards and rolled, avoiding most of the attacks. Regardless, his HP still fell by 40% after being hit by the few remaining attacks.


    He didn¡¯t run or retreat like the players had expected. He ran towards the Boss and used the Boss¡¯ body to block the players¡¯ second wave of attacks.


    A wall of skills erupted on the Boss¡¯ body.


    The Boss¡¯ HP once again fell.


    When the players finally rushed over, there was no trace of Lu Li. He had long since disappeared, and they had now drawn the aggro of the Boss.


    Should they fight or not?!


    The Boss only had a bit more than 20% of its HP, so it would be a pity to give up.


    However, how could they keep fighting? They had already lost 3 Healers and they had to constantly worry about being ambushed by the Thief.


    ¡°Hurry up and quickly finish it off. If anyone dies, just run back to your body,¡± Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You ordered as he gnashed his teeth. They had to finish off this Boss, otherwise the players would be too demotivated to look for Lu Li.


    The Druids with healings spells were designated as the new Healers. Although their healing spells weren¡¯t as great, it was better than nothing.


    20%!


    Lu Li ran his fingers over his Dagger¡¯s sharp and cold edge. He knew that there would be an opportunity coming soon.


    Gallaher once again sharply inhaled, pulling in the players in front of it, then blasted them with poisonous fog. Within the poisonous fog, many players turned into rays of white light.


    This time, 10 or so of them had died.


    The remaining players were all at critical HP and most of them were cursing the system, asking why the Antidotes weren¡¯t working.


    Lu Li sprang forwards and activated his speed boost skill from his Boots, then flashed around within the crowd.


    He killed every time he attacked!


    Now, even his normal attacks were able to finish the remaining players off. The players at critical HP simply couldn¡¯t do anything against him.


    In an instant, the battlefield descended into utter chaos.


    Some people were screaming for healing, some were cursing Lu Li for being despicable and some were desperately attacking the Boss. It was amusing how few players were actually retaliating against Lu Li.


    Lu Li ran over to an area where there were fewer players and used Kick on a Mage, interrupting the spell she was casting. He then drank a bottle of Intermediate Health Potion.


    This immediately recovered almost half of his HP, bringing him back into the safety margin.


    ¡°Hurry up and kill him!!¡± Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You¡¯s voice was already hoarse from shouting. However, he found that they simply couldn¡¯t do anything against Lu Li, who was significantly more skilled than they were.


    What the hell were they supposed to do?


    Lu Li used the Boss and the other players to block skills, while he jumped around and caused chaos. Although it looked quite inelegant, this was surprisingly effective, and the 70-80 players couldn¡¯t help but want to learn from him.


    There were very few Instant Cast spells that had Crowd Control or Detection abilities. The Mages often found that by the time they could cast the more useful spells, Lu Li had already escaped outside of their range.


    He seemed to have some sort of speed buff that made it even harder to deal with him.


    What was even worse was that he had a skill that could interrupt other skills. While other players were charging up or channelling their skills, he would always ruin everything with a kick.


    He also seemed to be familiar with the skills of all the other professions, allowing him to make prompt and efficient decisions. He always dodged, retreated and attacked at the right times.


    Furthermore, he seemed to be incredibly rich. He continuously drank down Intermediate Health Potions that cost 1 gold coin per bottle. It seemed that he would drink one as soon as the Cooldown Time expired.


    The Boss once again spat out venom when it fell to 10% of its health.


    This time, even Lu Li was dragged over.


    The Boss that had once caused him great pressure was now nothing to him. After drinking an Intermediate Antidote, he only took 300 damage.


    Long live Gallaher! The battle field was once filled with rays of white light.


    Comparing their almost-empty HP bars to Lu Li¡¯s relatively healthy one, the players near him all fell into despair.


    Very few even had the heart to retaliate anymore.


    All of them were crying as they thought, ¡°This isn¡¯t a player, this is a Boss!¡±


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t show any mercy. While the players were all at critical HP, he immediately killed the Healer beside him and ran off.


    Against so many players at such short range, all Lu Li could do was run.


    However, after taking some time to recover, he once again jumped into the fray.


    The Boss¡¯ HP continuously fell, as did the players¡¯ HP.


    Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You suddenly realised that out of the 70-80 people he had brought, only 10 or so remained, and they were all at critical HP.


    No one knew who the first to do so was, but after seeing Lu Li drink another Intermediate Health Potion, the players all started to madly run away.


    However, Lu Li definitely wouldn¡¯t let them go. Together with the Boss, he chased after the escaping players as he killed them off, one by one.

 96 Complete Extermination

    Lu Li¡¯s rebirth caused him to treasure his new life. As such, he tried to avoid trouble as much as possible.


    However, he had found this was wrong.


    Incredibly wrong!


    Even if he didn¡¯t cause trouble for others, this didn¡¯t mean that others wouldn¡¯t cause him trouble.


    It was more understandable for the Imperial Secret Service to target him and his friends. After all, there was enmity between them and they had caused each other to suffer losses.


    But what was up with the rest of these people? Lu Li had never offended them.


    Luckily, he was skilled and had 3 years¡¯ worth of experience. Even Moonlight probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive.


    What made this even worse was that even Lu Li¡¯s friends had been brought into this.


    This was especially so for Remnant Dream. She was just a high schooler and was about the same age as his little sister. Although things had been rough on her in the game, she had never been mercilessly killed by other players.


    Yet, these people had unhesitatingly killed her.


    These people had to die.


    Lu Li pulled his Dagger out from a player¡¯s back, turning him into a corpse.


    The Boss had been a great help. Not only did it block attacks for him, but it also attacked the players continuously. Without any Healers, the players who he wanted to kill quickly died.


    It was almost as if he and the Boss had formed a partnership.


    The remaining players ran for a while, and were finally able to escape as they spread out.


    Two of them ran into a snake nest and were killed by a group of LV10 snakes.


    Another was smacked to death by the Boss¡¯ tail, while their leader was finished off by Lu Li.


    Lu Li remembered this person. He seemed to be an expert member of the Imperial Secret Service. However, he was pitifully easy to kill and did not even put up a struggle.


    The last 7 or 8 people continued to run without even looking back.


    As for whether they would be able to pass through the snake territory in critical HP, Lu Li simply didn¡¯t care.


    The almost-dead Boss turned its attention to Lu Li. He was the only player left within its aggro range.


    Lu Li picked up the equipment that Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You dropped, gripped his Dagger and started to fight with the Boss.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 94%, caused 250% Skill Damage, target stunned for 2 seconds.


    A red ¡®-228¡¯ floated above the Boss¡¯ head.


    After taking a weight off his shoulders, his Skill Completion had become even higher. He had never achieved 94% Skill Completion before.


    The Boss was stunned for 2 seconds, giving Lu Li ample time to slaughter it.


    Shadowstrike, normal attack, normal attack¡­


    System: Backstab Skill Completion 85%, caused 100% Equipment Damage, Rank 1 Armour Pierce effect.


    Shadowstrike, Slit Throat!


    The Boss¡¯ HP was quickly depleted and it fell to the ground.


    Lu Li picked up Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s call, ¡°Go and train somewhere; I¡¯ve killed the Boss.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Azure Sea Breeze replied, ¡°What do you plan to do now?¡±


    ¡°Kill people!¡±


    ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t do anything rash. If it¡¯s not safe, just hide in the Instance Dungeon. We¡¯ve got 24 hours; we might as well work at it,¡± Azure Sea Breeze replied. Bounties could not be issued casually. They cost 10 gold coins to be put up and even more gold for the reward. Moreover, the system would take 20% of the deposit regardless of whether anyone completed the bounty quest or not.


    The Imperial Secret Service¡¯s bounty reward was 10 gold coins per kill up to 10 kills. Even if no one completed the quest, they would still have to pay 30 gold coins.


    This wasn¡¯t much to them. After all, sending 30 people to the Dark Ravine cost 30-40 gold coins.


    The current exchange rate was 1 gold coin for $300. This operation had cost the Imperial Secret Service more than $20,000 in total.


    As long as players with a bounty hid inside an Instance Dungeon, or another safe area, the bounty would disappear after 24 hours.


    Issuing bounties once or twice was fine for the Imperial Secret Service, but even large guilds couldn¡¯t afford to issue them continuously.


    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing. Try to level up as much as you can so we can use the Fire Scar Temple Instance Dungeon tomorrow. It¡¯ll be the last day tomorrow, so we have to clear it.¡± Lu Li picked up the equipment the Boss had dropped as he started to channel his hearthstone.


    There was a LV10 Steel grade equipment for Mages, which was perfect for Lonesome Flower. There were also many other pieces of equipment in his bag that he had picked up from killing other players. The people who had come for his bounty all had pretty decent equipment, which made him feel quite happy.


    The lowest grade of equipment he found was Bronze and there were 4-5 pieces of Steel grade equipment that he could sell.


    It was a pity that they were all LV5, so they wouldn¡¯t be very useful to Lu Li and his friends.


    After returning to town, Lu Li put most of the equipment he had picked up into the Exchange Hall.


    According to his calculations, this would earn him about 10 or so gold coins.


    He checked the prices of the Snake Trust Grass and was surprised to find that even the cheapest set was selling for 2.8 gold coins.


    ¡°Bro, have you seen the prices for Snake Trust Grass in the Exchange Hall?¡±


    Shen Wansan quickly replied, ¡°I have. Tow hours ago, the Drizzle Court found the recipe for making Intermediate Health Potions and all of the Snake Trust Grass in the Exchange Hall was bought by them. By the way, someone said that you were being hunted down in the World Channel. Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Mm, I¡¯m fine. How many sets have you stored up?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got more than 10 people working for me and all of them have hundreds of sets. This time, we¡¯re going to make a killing,¡± Shen Wansan replied. He had thought about cheating Lu Li, because his contract didn¡¯t stipulate how many sets he should collect, or how much he should buy them for. It only stipulated that the total amount he should spend was 100 gold coins.


    However, Shen Wansan decided against it.


    After all, 70-80 people had failed to kill this person.


    He was a veteran and had been a businessman in many games. He knew how powerful the Imperial Secret Service was. In their heyday, game companies had even discussed with them before releasing new features.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they did not act with integrity and did foolish things, they would be ranked even higher.


    However, even such a powerful guild couldn¡¯t do much to Lu Li.


    ¡°If you have Snake Trust Grass on you, pass it to me and I¡¯ll take care of it for you. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to sell them for at least 3 gold coins per set,¡± Shen Wansan said. The Drizzle Court had been madly buying all of the Snake Trust Grass in the Exchange Hall, but they weren¡¯t dumb. They did not buy any of the extremely expensive sets.


    If one wanted to sell them for high prices, they needed to be patient and use some business tactics.


    Lu Li thought about it. Indeed, he didn¡¯t have much time or energy to sell Snake Trust Grass.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give them to you for 3 gold coins per set. If you can sell them for higher, you can keep the excess. I¡¯ve got 500 sets here,¡± Lu Li replied. He had bought as much as he could over the past few days and Azure Sea Breeze and the others had given the ones they collected to him as well.


    In reality, he had much more than 500 sets!


    However, he did not allow his excitement to overwhelm him. He had to at least keep enough for himself to use.


    Lu Li sent 500 sets of Snake Trust Grass in his mailbox to Shen Wansan, then took out a few sets and went to the Inn to make Potions.


    After creating the Potions, he gave 10 bottles to each of his teammates and restocked his own supply. To other players, these things were worth tens of silver coins. However, to Lu Li, Snake Trust Grass was only worth a few silver coins, which was also the value of the Potions to him.

 97 Close Proximity

    Every 30 minutes, players could ask the system to search for a target¡¯s coordinates.


    However, this cool down applied to everyone. Whenever someone¡¯s coordinates was checked, no one else could search for them again until after the cooldown had ended.


    Because of this, Lu Li did not have the whole server looking for him. He didn¡¯t bother to wait at the Mercenary Hall to see who had accepted his bounty quest.


    Instead, he found a place and waited for the person who had searched for his coordinates.


    Lornesta was located quite close to the coast lines. It used to be an ancient city of Night Elves and had been abandoned for a long time. Now, only Nagas roamed around the ruins of the ancient city.


    One of the great mysteries of Dawn was that for some reason, Nagas were more attracted to this place than any other High Elf ruins. It was recorded in ancient scrolls that the current Naga Queen Azshara had lost godly artefacts at this place while she was still a High Elf.


    Lady Janira had occupied this city with her Naga Scout Army and would attack any enemies that dared to approach it.


    Because Nagas normally spent their time underwater, they had a poor level of awareness on land. Even though the stealthy Lu Li had walked around Lady Janira, he had not been noticed. However, he did this carefully, as he still respected the power of Lady Janira, who was a LV20 Boss.


    The average levels of normal mobs in the Scout Army were around LV18, which was four levels higher than Lu Li. Luckily, it was less than five levels ¨C mobs had increased critical chance when the level difference was more than five.


    Although these LV18 mobs were normal monsters, they were just as annoying as the Elite grade monsters in the Death Mines. They could even be compared to some weaker bosses.


    As per tradition, the Nagas had two incredibly broken skills: Consume Magic and Mana Drain.


    The army lead by Lady Janira had crossed the Sea of Death which granted the surviving troops the ability to poison. The poison wasn¡¯t as strong as Gallagher¡¯s poison, but it was still powerful enough to be lethal to players that were 5 levels lower than them.


    Lu Li had chosen this place to be the cemetery for the bounty hunters.


    Mana Drain, Poison and a LV20 boss!


    As soon as Raging Wolf Blood came online, he received the notification that Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You and others had all died.


    ¡°Did you get the new coordinates?¡± Raging Wolf Blood did not blame others, because he had also been out-played by Lu Li once. Luckily, he had retreated and minimized the loss.


    ¡°Got it.He¡¯s in a ruin located in Grey Valley. We got obliterated; how do we report back to our boss?¡± Sorry I¡¯m Better Than You asked anxiously.


    ¡°Stop worrying about it. We¡¯ll find a peacemaker and come to terms with him,¡± Raging Blood Wolf said moodily. His plans with Lu Li and the Imperial Secret Service had not gone well. He had decided to continuously mess with Lu Li.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can come to terms. I killed a couple of his team mates, including 2 girls.¡±


    Sorry I¡¯m Better Than You had a face of slight regret.


    ¡°So what if they were girls? If a girl fights you do you not fight back? Stop being such a coward. If an opportunity arises, I¡¯ll kill his team mates so that they¡¯ll lose levels. Then Lu Li won¡¯t be able to get first clears,¡± Raging Wolf Blood sneered.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll inform the others.¡± Sorry I¡¯m better than you nodded.


    ¡°How many players have accepted Lu Li¡¯s bounty?¡±


    ¡°There are more than 100 in the chat room. There were more before but many gave up on the quest. They said we had no chance of killing Lu Li,¡± Sorry I¡¯m Better Than You said bitterly.


    ¡°These people are useless. When we¡¯re in fights they fight like cowards, but when we¡¯re retreating, they¡¯re always the first ones to run.¡±


    The people who survived the ambush on Lu Li were all useless. They couldn¡¯t fight but were very talented in the art of running away.


    ¡°Go gather up the troops, notify Swirling Left Eye and Staring Right Eye and prepare to leave.¡± Raging Wolf Blood was the commander of Imperial Secret Service¡¯s 1st squadron and had made a name for himself in both PVP and PVE.


    It was too bad he didn¡¯t know what Lu Li had in store for him at the ruins.


    Lu Li decided not to wait like a fool for them and started hunting monsters near Lornesta.


    He stole while training.


    Half of the ruin city was covered by bodies of water. There were ditches, puddles and pools everywhere, and beneath many of these lay various ruins and abandoned buildings.


    A ripple slowly spread out on the surface of the water nearby.


    Perhaps it was the blood spilt from killing monsters, or perhaps it was a bug. Lu Li saw the ripple and didn¡¯t think much of it.


    Swirling Left Eye let out a sigh of relief as he hid nearby. He hated Lu Li with all his heart and was confused as to why he was hunting in this area.


    The ruin was surrounded by water; if he wasn¡¯t careful he would give himself away.


    He held his breath and glanced at Staring Right Eye. The two slowly moved in towards Lu Li¡¯s backside.


    Ever since their last encounter, the reputation of the Imperial Secret Service¡¯s ¡°Two Eyed Thief¡± combo had been destroyed. However, they had trained and upgraded their equipment, so they felt like they were just as strong as Lu Li.


    Swirling Left Eye was confident that he could solo-kill Lu Li.


    Lu Li quickly finished off a Naga with Slit Throat.


    After the battle had finished, he casually picked up the coppers that the monsters dropped. Lu Li rested at a nearby pillar as he quietly recovered HP with bread.


    Since these were LV18 monsters, they had left Lu Li with only 60% HP after the battle.


    Swirling Left Eye did not care that Lu Li was unaware of his attack. Did he really think that no one could find him just because he went to a remote area?


    As he approached Lu Li, he realised that he couldn¡¯t attack him from behind because he had his back to the pillar.


    If he could stun Lu Li from behind, Swirling Left Eye had an 80% chance to kill his target.


    Perhaps it was the bread, but Lu Li¡¯s health recovered very slowly. A single piece of bread only recovered around 10% HP. He still had 20% left to recover.


    An unaware target who was not even full HP. Swirling Left Eye started to doubt himself.


    Lu Li let out a sigh, as though he was anxious about his surroundings. ¡°Poor fella,¡± Swirling Left Eye thought. He was the first player to have a bounty Dawn.


    Lu Li took out another bread, trying to fully recover his HP.


    Swirling Left Eye knew that he did not have time to hesitate. He had to make his move.

 98 The Battle Between Thieves

    Cheap shot could only be used from behind.


    However, being an elite PVP Thief in the top 100 rankings, Swirling Left Eye obviously had other options.


    Gouge: 1 second cast, targets the eyes of the enemy, causes paralysis for 2 seconds. Must be facing the target. Any damage will cause the enemy to come out of the paralysis state. Current level 3/5.


    This was dropped by a LV10 boss that he had killed with his guild.


    After acquiring this skill, Swirling Left Eye had immediately levelled it up twice, which shortened the cast time by a second.


    This skill was his trump card!


    A battle between thieves! Lu Li must die!


    Swirling Left Eye was holding his LV10 Black Steel-Grade Dagger which had a Berserk effect. He was confident that his gear was better than everyone else¡¯s, including the legendary Lu Li.


    The cold blade swung across the air and swiftly stabbed Lu Li in the eye


    Swirling Left Eye¡¯s strike landed, but not on Lu Li¡¯s eyes as he expected.


    The blade hit something else - a health potion.


    The dagger shattered the bottle, which provided no resistance, as the blade continued on its course. But this was it.


    Although the health potion did not stop Swirling Left Eye¡¯s skill, it still revealed his position.


    Gouge could be used under any circumstances. It did not break invisibility, but if it hit anything, the invisibility would end.


    ¡°Quick, quick, I still have a chance!¡± Swirling Left Eye thought calmly, pretending that nothing had happened. He was taking a risk, betting that Lu Li could not react in time. He didn¡¯t think anyone could avoid this ambush.


    Was it even an ambush?


    Of course it wasn¡¯t. Lu Li immediately kicked him, as if he had already anticipated this attack.


    Kick: Instant cast. Cooldown of 15 seconds. Quickly kick the target to interrupt spell casts. Also prevents the target from casting related spells for another 5 seconds. Proficiency 1/5.


    Lu Li¡¯s Kick was only LV1, but it was more than enough.


    Swirling Left Eye was kicked right in his middle and groaned. He felt like he was baited into a trap.


    The pain was worse than being stabbed by Lu Li with the dagger. This punk wasn¡¯t being hunted; he was the hunter!


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 90%, caused 150% Skill Damage, target stunned for 1 second.


    One second was enough to decide life and death!


    Shadowmeld, Stealth, Cheap Shot, Backstab, Shadow Strike, Backhand Backstab!


    Swirling Left Eye sighed and knelt on the ground, defeated.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t care about how a dead man felt. He picked up the dagger, examined it, and almost wanted to kiss Swirling Left Eye¡¯s dead body.


    ¡°My dear Left Eye, did you come to give me this gift?¡±


    In order to trade for the Black Steel Grade Bandana, Lu Li had given away his dagger. He had equipped a bronze dagger as a replacement, which significantly decreased his attack.


    He hastily equipped the new dagger and swung it around happily. He was very satisfied.


    Berserk Fang (Steel): 16-24 Attack, Agility+6, Special Effect: Has a certain chance to trigger the Berserk effect, increasing Attack and Attack Speed by 10%. Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 25/35.


    Berserk effect was the best effect in the game. Lu Li felt incredibly grateful for the bounty.


    When the next patch came out, the bounty system would be altered slightly. If the person with the bounty killed someone who had accepted the bounty, he would receive a large sum of gold. It was too bad that he didn¡¯t receive anything this time. However, Lu Li had no complaints, since he had looted this new dagger.


    Swirling Left Eye still had other gear, but none of it could be compared to the quality of his dagger.


    Lu Li activated Stealth and disappeared, leaving behind a corpse.


    There were no movements or ripples in the surrounding puddles; no one could tell whether had he left or stayed in place.


    After receiving Swirling Left Eye¡¯s message, Staring Right Eye hastily headed towards that location. However, after receiving the news about his partner¡¯s death, he hesitated and decided to head back. Since he was about the same power as Swirling Left Eye, he probably stood no chance as well.


    The areas around the Ruins of Lornesta were beginning to fill up with a crowd. Although they had the numbers, they weren¡¯t making much progress with the LV18 Naga boss who could drain mana and deal poison.


    Thieves could freely go in and out of the ruins, but the other classes could not. They had to slowly clear every mob in the area.


    ¡°I thought bounties were easy to get. Looks like we¡¯re wrong,¡± a player said disappointedly.


    ¡°Yeah, so what if we have the numbers? We can only check for his location every half an hour. Even if he wasn¡¯t a Thief, he could just change his location every half an hour and it would be difficult to find him,¡± another player agreed.


    ¡°I have a feeling he chose this place on purpose,¡± a mage said, as looked at his mana bar with despair.


    Mana Drain!


    Was there another skill that was more disgusting than mana drain?


    Yes, there had to be!


    There was a single player that kept asking for heals. All of the priests had to concentrate their heals on him to raise his HP back up.


    He had almost died from the poison.


    Mana drain only demoralized you, but poison could be lethal.


    A LV18 boss was a nightmare for these LV12-13 players. If the Secret Imperial Service had not provided all these healers, many would have died before even catching a glimpse of Lu Li.


    ¡°Left Eye is dead,¡± Sorry I¡¯m Better Than You reported sternly.


    ¡°That idiot! Why couldn¡¯t he wait for everyone to catch up? What about Right eye? Did he find Lu Li?¡± Raging Wolf Blood¡¯s expression changed.


    ¡°Right Eye already retreated. Left Eye died before he could arrive. He even lost the Berserk Fang,¡± Sorry I¡¯m Better Than You said, annoyed.


    Dawn did not have an ¡®Outlaw¡¯ system. However, if you killed too many people, the chances of you dropping your best gear when you died became higher. Weapons had the highest chance to drop. This was why Lu Li was able to pick up Moonlight¡¯s axe last time.


    ¡°How did he die? He always went on about deciding the winner between him and Lu Li? How could he just have died?¡± Raging Wolf Blood said disappointedly.


    ¡°Left Eye said he got baited. Lu Li pretended not to see him and ambushed him. In my opinion, Lu Li had already expected our plan.Maybe we should cancel the operation.¡± Sorry I¡¯m Better Than You said carefully.


    ¡°Do you think we can afford to lose him?¡± Raging Wolf Blood replied.


    This was an operation involving more than 100 people. They had to at least commit to their plans.


    ¡°Tell everyone to be extra careful. As long as we¡¯re steady and cautious, there¡¯s no way he can confront us!¡±

 99 Getting Someone Else To Do The Dirty Work

    Was it necessary to stubbornly continue fighting Lu Li like this?


    He knew more about the Thief profession than anyone else in Dawn.


    In two years, Dawn¡¯s Chief designer Fan Zhou would comment in an interview about the Thief profession, ¡°The Thief is the King of Shadows. We have chosen to give them many kill-skills and mobility that cannot be matched by other professions. The idea is to keep them in perpetual killing motion, never needing to step out of the shadows.¡±


    Lu Li selected a new location and continued to farm monsters.


    He only had 40% EXP left before LV15, at which point he could do a Job Transfer Quest.


    The quest reward was a 10% increase in all attributes. Depending on the degree of completion, there might also be Skills, Skill Points or equips as a reward.


    Dedicated players above LV15 would pull ahead and become much stronger than ordinary players. Only then would he be truly be worthy of being Rank 1. As for his pursuers behind him, they would still have to deal with the LV18 monsters in the area.


    Besides farming monsters, he also collected herbs.


    The damp environment allowed him to find some new specimens, such as the Fuming Toadstool and Swiftthisle.


    The Fuming Toadstool was a material that was used for making ¡®Basic Slow Poison¡¯, while the Swiftthisle was used to make the Basic Agility Potion.


    To a Thief, these were treasures.


    After farming for 15 minutes, Lu Li went into Stealth and looked for a new location.


    The locations that he looked for were generally densely packed with monsters. Any players that wanted to get closer to him would need to clear out the monsters first. Even Thieves and Druids would need to act carefully.


    Within 15 minutes, Lu Li had killed two Thief players that were lurking around him.


    The various puddles on the ground were his radar. Even a good Thief would have a hard time staying undetected.


    Raging Wolf Blood gloomily gestured for the Priests to revive the two corpses he had found. He saw the depressed expressions on the mercenaries¡¯ faces, but his mood was even worse than theirs.


    Shouldn¡¯t a Thief with a bounty placed on him be in constant fear?


    Why were the hunters the ones who seemed to be the victims?


    After working out how long it had been, Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You spent another 50 silver coins to check Lu Li¡¯s coordinates.


    ¡°Oh wow, he¡¯s next to us.¡±


    He opened the map and plotted the coordinates. What Raging Wolf Blood saw made him instantly feel sick.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way that we can¡¯t kill him. We¡¯ll all rush over at once. Ignore the monsters.¡±


    Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You was also filled with anger. The 110 of them had been looking all over the ruins, only to find out that he was right under their noses.


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯ve seen the terrain over there. It¡¯s very uneven.¡±


    Staring Right Eye didn¡¯t approve of this.


    ¡°No, uneven terrain should make it hard for him to run. We have so many people ¨C one wave of skills should be enough to kill him.¡±


    The surrounding players were becoming restless. They thought that following the Imperial Secret Service would result in a bountiful reward, but there weren¡¯t even any scraps for them.


    ¡°Everyone calm down.Rushing in is not the way to solve the problem. We, the Imperial Secret Service promise to take none of his dropped items. They will be split among you instead.¡±


    Raging Wolf Blood was also desperately trying to suppress his own emotions.


    These guys were just some motley crew!


    After struggling to keep the impulses of the crowd in check, Raging Wolf Blood sent a team of Thieves to explore the way ahead.


    Before they left, he told them sincerely, ¡°Your sole quest is to scout out a path. Do not succumb to your impulses. Swirling Left Eye is your example. Keep in mind that he is top 10 on the Glory Rankings.¡±


    Swirling Left Eye¡¯s face turned green and he wanted to stab himself.


    Not long after, the mounted scouts returned.


    ¡°He is farming monsters in high spirits.¡±


    The Thieves were infuriated, because they had been looking for him for half a day. However, they thought back to the commander¡¯s orders and didn¡¯t dare to make a move.


    ¡°What about the surrounding terrain?¡± Raging Wolf blood disregarded their resentment and directly asked Staring Right Eye.


    Staring Right Eye described the rough terrain, concluding with, ¡°The terrain is very complex, but I think we can use it our advantage. We have many people, so we can block him in with the walls.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Raging Wolf Blood glanced at everyone¡¯s bloodshot eyes. He then waved his hand and moved out.


    He was also almost unable to hold himself back.


    This was a former residential area that had been subjected to years of water erosion. All that was left now were ruins. From afar, Lu Li could be seen at half HP fighting a Naga scout.


    He was within a dense group of monsters, but maintained a safe distance from them. He only let one of them aggro him at a time.


    ¡°Kill!¡±


    As the saying goes, seeing your enemies makes your rage burn. This group of players who had been taunted for the past couple of hours had been holding onto a belly full of fire.


    In that moment, there was no order. No one would obey any commands that were given.


    Kill him!


    Lu Li acted as though he was deaf, as he continued to casually kill the monsters. He didn¡¯t even notice the players who were rushing towards him.


    The ferocity was clear on their faces.


    ¡°Your last day has come; the ocean will devour you,¡± an ordinary-looking Naga angrily declared, as it held up its Magic Staff.


    A visible circle of magic spread out from the staff, freezing everything in its path. This move was worthy of one of Queen Azshara¡¯s court mages. Lady Janira¡¯s simple hand gesture was stronger than a regular Mages¡¯ Frost Nova by many times.


    When it was about to spread to Lu Li, he took two steps back and entered the water behind him.


    Raging Wolf Blood no longer had the energy to keep track of Lu Li, but he had to recognize reality: they had unwittingly invaded a Master Mage¡¯s territory.


    Damn Lu Li! This was a trap!


    The frozen players were frightened to find that in addition to being frozen for 9 seconds, they were taking 100 freeze damage per second.


    The Boss was still holding up the Magic Staff, while the Elves chanted an obscure spell. These ancient Elves were very beautiful and Lady Janira¡¯s voice had a sexy tone, but no one could appreciate those things at the moment.


    Lu Li transformed into a little seal and disappeared deep underwater. He didn¡¯t think that he could handle any of that with 0 armor.


    After a while, he stuck his head through the surface.


    The world was peaceful. If it weren¡¯t for Lady Janira¡¯s manic laughing, Lu Li would have almost thought that there was no one here.


    He regained his regular form and went into stealth.


    ¡°Thank you, distinguished Lady Janira. The glory of your master, Queen Azshara, will be known by the whole continent,¡± he thought.


    With two skills, the entire group of players had been completely wiped out!


    The pieces of equipment and materials on the ground were the only evidence of them that was left behind.

 100 Thief Trainer

    There were two LV10 Steel equips, nine of LV5 Steel equips, 26 Bronze equips and 4 Common equips. The rest was just debris.


    After all, not everyone would drop something, and the dropped item might not even be an equip.


    Even so, the harvest this time was terrifying.


    Receiving one LV10 Steel equip was already great. It could replace any piece of Remnant Dream¡¯s full body of Bronze equipment.


    There were also several LV5 Steel equips with fairly good attributes. Lu Li intended to give these to his landlords, who would now be almost out of the Novice Village.


    Although he had no obligation to give them anything, they had treated him well, so this was a sign of his gratitude.


    Additionally, most players were now in a rush to upgrade their skills. This cost a lot of Gold, so it was difficult to sell equips at a high price. It would be better to give the items to a friend, rather than sell them for cheap in the Exchange Hall.


    The World Announcements had not been quiet for a single moment today. Countless players were watching to see if Lu Li would fall because of his bounty.


    Even some of Lu Li¡¯s ¡®fans¡¯ were scared to be too optimistic. After all, there were hundreds of people looking for him, not to mention his coordinates being revealed every half an hour.


    Contrary to everyone¡¯s expectations, Lu Li didn¡¯t die and return to the city. Instead, those who went to hunt for him started returning. There was also a particular moment when a large group of people suddenly appeared in Aston¡¯s Revive point. It was a spectacle.


    As a result, these people became a joke in the World Announcements.


    Raging Wolf Blood was embarrassed, angry and frustrated, but he had to face the fact that their second action had failed.


    The choices he had before him were to either gather more manpower or give up.


    Lu Li was too lazy to care about these things. He blocked the World Announcements and friend requests so that he wouldn¡¯t have to know what was happening in Dawn because of him.


    He returned to the city and gave the useful equipment to other people, while consigning the useless stuff to the Exchange Hall.


    There were dozens of gold coins in his mailbox, but there were still about 10 Intermediate Health Potions that hadn¡¯t been sold. There was nothing he could do about this, as someone had managed to find the recipe.No one would buy his exorbitantly-priced potions.


    Lu Li browsed around the Exchange Hall. Intermediate Health Potions were generally selling for around 50 silver coins. The price was still quite high.


    Surely a guild other than the Drizzle Court had found the Intermediate Health Potion recipe.


    When more Intermediate Health Potion recipes were found, their price would stabilize at around 20 silver coins.


    Lu Li then put some of his own up for sale. Given the price that he had bought the ingredients for, this was still profitable for him.


    Then, he searched for something he was interested in.


    An engineering product, ¡®Explosive Trap¡¯, caught his eye. He didn¡¯t imagine that someone would have learned the blueprints for this item. He looked at the price before buying it for 2 gold.


    This was created by combining tin with some engineering skills and definitely wasn¡¯t worth 2 gold. However, Lu Li had a way to make this worth over 10 gold, so he wasn¡¯t too fussed about the price.


    After spending dozens of silver coins to repair his equipment, Lu Li left the town. He looked for a secluded place and started his Crow Transformation skill. He then flew west towards Astrana.


    The desolate Oberdeen Ruins were once a lively city. There was an abandoned Moon Well not too far away from this place, which was Lu Li¡¯s current objective. After observing his surroundings, he put the explosive trap into some bushes.


    The best feature of this engineering product was that the trigger was very sensitive. Even a nearby micro-vibration would trigger the trap. Fortunately, there were no small animals nearby. Otherwise, he would be really afraid to use the trap.


    His target was often found in this area. In theory, it would be blown up.


    Lu Li carefully retreated and hid behind a bush.


    He didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t even dare to take a big breath. The target that was coming was a former Thief skill trainer and his Stealth Skill was probably the best there was. Lu Li being called ¡®textbook¡¯ was a joke before this person.


    This trainer did not take the initiative to attack others, instead only retaliating when he was attacked.


    Lu Li only knew about his existence because of his rebirth.


    The gentle wind of the forest could be heard in the silence of the ruins, like a soft cry.


    Besides that, there was nothing here.


    Lu Li could even hear the sound of his own heartbeat.


    After a long while, he was awoken by the sound of a loud explosion. The explosive trap had been triggered.


    A figure appeared out of nowhere and Lu Li immediately went up to cast Cheap Shot on it.


    Block!


    Two daggers collided, which emitted a loud screech.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t attend to the fact that his weapon¡¯s durability was quickly dropping. Cheap Shot didn¡¯t work, so he quickly cast Shadowstrike, his best skill. It was almost a definite stun when cast by his hands.


    He was confident that he would be able to crowd-control the specter before him.


    Suddenly, the Thief Skill Trainer turned white. His body was somewhere in between existence and non-existence. It could only be described as a ghost.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 48%, resulting in 33% skill damage.


    The Thief Skill Trainer turned to the side, which made Lu Li¡¯s dagger miss. Lu Li had completed less than half of the Skill Completion, which dealt a measly 30 points of damage.


    He took two steps back and concentrated on the Thief Trainer.


    This was but a mere instinctive spirit that had been left behind. No wonder the people from his past life said that it was best for Thieves to come to Oberdeen¡¯s Thief skill trainer.


    The Thief Trainer fiddled with the dagger in his hand and took a step before appearing next to Lu Li. The dagger¡¯s snakelike twist reached Lu Li¡¯s back. While this wasn¡¯t the most appropriate position or timing, it was certainly the most effective path to get to him.


    It was the standard Backstab posture. Lu Li, who had struggled to cast Backstab, felt like he had already benefitted a lot by watching his movements.


    In this urgent moment, Lu Li¡¯s dagger didn¡¯t stay motionless. With his left dagger, he tried to block the Thief Trainer¡¯s attack.


    The Thief Trainer then smiled mockingly, took a step forwards and now was completely behind Lu Li. -46, -52, -48.


    A string of damage values rose above Lu Li¡¯s head.


    Fortunately, he was only an elite!


    Otherwise, this Thief Trainer would be the most difficult Boss around.


    Lu Li activated the speed buff on his shoes and immediately ran out of attack range. He turned his body at the same time and cast Shadowstrike.


    He didn¡¯t even see the target this time. Instead, he went with his feeling and managed to land a blow.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 76%, resulting in 83% skill damage.


    Two figures were going at it in the Oberdeen Ruins. The Thief Trainer¡¯s skills and equipment were slightly better, but the System only gave it an elite status. Its Attack and Defence were very different to Lu Li¡¯s.


    Lu Li would also shamelessly take potions to replenish his health.


    He spent another 10 minutes before taking his opponent down.


    The Thief Trainer didn¡¯t drop anything good. No equipment or materials, just a single secret room key.


    This key was designed to open the corresponding secret room door, which was the purpose of this trip.


    He was going to use this key to unlock some treasure.

 101 Empty Abyss

    In the history of Dawn, there was only one event that had a far-reaching influence.


    In that year, a fierce conflict between Malfurion and Azshara threw the High Elves into chaos. The whirlpool in the Well of Eternity eventually exploded and sparked a series of catastrophes. The huge explosion shook the foundations of the temple and caused a powerful earthquake throughout the continent.


    Grey Valley was also affected by this. The ground sank and water from the Misty Sea rushed in to form a rampant river. The river was vast and turbulent, but this did not result in a disaster, because all the water was falling into an empty abyss.


    This could be seen in the form a huge whirlpool. Lu Li was standing on the rocks next to the whirlpool.


    He checked his equipment and supplies again, before closing his eyes and jumping in.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even make a splash upon entering; he was immediately sucked in.


    He couldn¡¯t make out what was up and what was down. His vision was completely white and he soon found himself drowning. The water pressure pressing against him didn¡¯t help, as he started to lose HP. Lu Li quickly drank an Intermediate Health Potion before transforming into a Seal.


    Although he still couldn¡¯t see anything or control his movements, the Seal form would stop him from losing any more HP.


    After what seemed like an eternity, Lu Li was finally released.


    If it weren¡¯t for the OP skill Shadow Cloak, he would have never subjected himself to such as experience. It was only through his tenacious mind and tough body that he was able to get up.


    The torrent could still be heard outside, but Lu Li was now standing in an underground cave.


    He was lucky that he had been thrown into this cave.


    Many people that took Underwater Breathing Potions were unable to be thrown into this cave. Only players with Seal Transformation stood a chance.


    In his past life, the first player to find this cave was a Druid. The poor player was sucked into the whirlpool, but he didn¡¯t want to die. Who knew how long he was in there, before he was finally thrown into the cave?


    The cave was straight and the end could be seen from Lu Li¡¯s position.


    There stood a heavy stone gate, engraved with an ancient and mysterious pattern.


    As he got closer, Lu Li read the text above it.


    ¡°Tyrande? It really is you. After spending a million long years in darkness, your voice is like a bright light shining onto my heart.¡±


    These nonsensical words were puzzling.


    In the middle of the gate was a very conspicuous keyhole.


    It was actually not a keyhole, but rather a hole with the function of moving the gate. The Thief¡¯s Unlock skill couldn¡¯t be used to open this stone gate.


    Lu Li took out the key and put it into the hole. The glyphs on the stone gate started moving and the hexagons lit up one at a time.After a while, it thunderously began to move backwards.


    There was a prisoner held here, or at least the prisoner¡¯s avatar.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal was to kill it and get the guaranteed Shadow Cloak drop.


    In this ancient cell, the High Elf Guards had now become ghosts after being killed in an invasion. They haunted the place, ready to kill any adventurer they came across.


    There were 20 elite monsters in the cell, which Lu Li quickly took care of. Finally, he saw the projection of Illidan kneeling over an altar.


    He was blind and his hands were holding a pair of indistinct blades. He was completely motionless.


    This was just a shadow, but an imprisoned shadow nonetheless. He had long been forgotten by his enemies, but an emotional person would comment that he continued to long for Tyrande ¨C even through 10,000 years.


    Lu Li transformed into a crow and slowly flew to the totem pole in the middle of the hall.


    This was also a Boss that was confined to the ground, but this was definitely much harder to kill than the Death Knight.


    An arrow flew through the air, signaling the start of the battle.


    ¡°You are walking on a dark path. You shouldn¡¯t be here, Night Elf!¡± the shadow said to Lu Li, as it looked up. His manner was calm, not showing any sign of anger. After tens of thousands of years, he wouldn¡¯t become angry over such a small thing.


    Lu Li ignored him and kept firing.


    This was Dawn¡¯s most powerful Demon Hunter. Any moment of hesitation could spell his doom.


    Of course, if Lu Li wanted to become a Demon Hunter, he could get down and actually talk to him. This might even reveal some clues about the profession. However, as a Light Faction Night Elf player, Lu Li was definitely not going to give up his own future and defect to the Demons.


    The Evil Faction weren¡¯t allies with the Demons. In fact, they were actually sworn enemies.


    Once Lu Li became a Demon Hunter, he would find no favor with either faction.


    Seeing that his persuasion wasn¡¯t working, the shadow began to attack. He waved the dual blades in his hands and a spell that was similar to Shadow Arrow hit Lu Li. This took half of his HP.


    Lu Li seemed to know that it was coming and calmly drank a potion.


    The shadow was struggling on the altar ¨C he wanted to rush over and kill this little elf that dared to provoke him. However, a light flashed over the altar, which revealed the shackles that tightly bound the shadow to the six surrounding pillars.


    The shadow struggled in vain for a little longer before casting another spell.


    Lu Li was only left with a little bit of HP this time. It was a good thing this was a melee Boss with a long cooldown on its spells. Otherwise, he would already be dead.


    Another skill that it had was Consume Magic, which was capable of removing a player¡¯s entire MP bar.


    This was used immediately, as Lu Li was the only one here.


    Losing his mana didn¡¯t pose a threat to him; it actually gave him more time to recover. He was finally able to take another Intermediate Health Potion to replenish his HP.


    Lu Li¡¯s current arrows were the high-damage Wolf Teeth Arrows that could deal 6-7 damage. They cost 40 silver each and had 5 durability, which meant that they could be shot 5 thousand times. They were truly worth the money.


    A group of people gathered near the empty abyss.


    ¡°The result of 2 queries have been this place but I can¡¯t see him. The system must be wrong,¡± said Sorry I¡¯m Strong Than You.


    ¡°How can the system be wrong? Look around carefully. Maybe he went underground?¡± Raging Wolf Blood¡¯s face was sullen. He sent players to search the surrounding area.


    This time they had even more people ¨C around 300-400. Most of them were from the Imperial Secret Service.


    There were also some random players who had started following them.Even those who had initially dismissed the whole thing were suddenly interested. Their numbers were quite large and they were following from the back.


    ¡°It might actually be possible that he is underground,¡± Staring Right Eye said, while staring at the big whirlpool by the cliff.


    ¡°You mean that he is in there?¡± Raging Wolf Blood also stared at the big whirlpool for a long time. His mouth suddenly felt dry.


    ¡°It¡¯s the only remaining explanation, unless this is another trap.¡± Staring Right Eye sounded unsure.


    ¡°How about we send someone in to try it?¡± Sorry I¡¯m Strong Than You suggested.

 102 End Of The Line

    A high-HP Paladin drank an Underwater Breathing Potion and was dropped in.


    The Underwater Breathing Potion only lasted for 5 minutes. Soon after it expired, the Paladin appeared in the cemetery. He shook his head and sent a message, ¡°I have to do something in real life, I¡¯ll be going offline for now. Bye bye.¡±


    No matter how much they tried to get into contact with him later, there was no response.


    He definitely feigned his death!


    Given the limited duration of the Underwater Breathing Potion, they picked a Druid named ¡®My Brother is Epic¡¯.


    He soon came back from the cemetery and said with shame, ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to react before I drowned.¡±


    So, they kicked him back in.


    This time, the poor Druid managed to pull off the Seal Transformation, but he immediately regretted it.


    This kind of spinning sensation was too much to bear.


    ¡°What is this? My Brother is Epic is offline now too.¡±


    Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You¡¯s expression was dark, as he was afraid of what was below. What could possibly be down there that would result in actions like these from their players?


    ¡°Call him and ask him what is going on.¡±


    Raging Wolf Blood was actually not that anxious.


    He was afraid that there would be nothing down there. However, given that there was something strange happening below, it was definitely possible that Lu Li was in there.


    In this age of technology, there was no need to go offline to make a call. Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You simply called My Brother is Epic with his communication device.


    ¡°Epic, why did you go offline?¡±


    ¡°Basically, I¡¯m really scared and I don¡¯t want to log back on.¡±


    ¡°How on earth did you get logged off?¡± Sorry I¡¯m Stronger than you was becoming impatient.


    ¡°The system said I was getting too emotional and kicked me out of the game.¡±


    My Brother is Epic felt like he had been wronged.


    ¡°What¡¯s down there?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s all just water. Dammit, there was so much water. I was tossed about for who knows how long. It was endless.¡±


    The poor Druid had lost control of his emotions. He was worried that if he logged back on, he would still find himself tossing about in the water.


    In order to protect the players, the game would keep track of their bodily functions. It measured a player¡¯s emotional level and various other bodily functions. If there was something wrong, the player would be kicked out of the game and an emergency call would be made.


    Sorry I¡¯m Stronger than You hung up and told Raging Wolf Blood what had happened. He, too, was beginning to worry.


    He looked at another Druid, whose face immediately went pale.


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯m afraid of deep water. If I go down there I¡¯ll definitely be kicked by the system.¡±


    ¡°Boss I have heart disease, don¡¯t make me do it,¡± said another.


    ¡°Two gold coins!¡± Raging Wolf Blood promised.


    There was no response.


    ¡°Five gold coins, final offer.¡±


    Splash, splash!


    Three Druids with no moral integrity scrambled to jump in. Five gold could be used to purchase a decent LV10 Steel equip. These were players from large guilds, so they didn¡¯t have much money.


    ¡°Are you all crazy?¡± Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You was surprised.


    ¡°I¡¯m the crazy one.¡±


    Raging Wolf Blood¡¯s face was pale; he didn¡¯t expect three to jump at once.


    After quite a long time, one of the Druids was finally thrown into the cave within the whirlpool.


    The large stone gate was still open. The Druid, who was called King Satan, felt like he was the main character of a story. He placed himself in the middle of an adventure, wondering what was ahead.


    A mountain of gold? Magic Weapons? Or perhaps there would be some secrets that would allow him to fly¡­


    All he saw, however, was Lu Li fighting a Boss as he squatted on a tall totem pole.


    ¡°B¡­Boss, I see Lu Li. He¡¯s fighting a Boss,¡± King Satan whimpered, as he sat on the ground. He knew that it was unlikely that Lu Li would come to mess with him, so he sat to take a breath.


    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t he killed you yet?¡±


    It was difficult to imagine the scenario.


    ¡°He¡¯s busy fighting the Boss, so he isn¡¯t bothered with me.¡±


    King Satan looked up and saw how high up Lu Li was. He couldn¡¯t imagine how a Thief could get up there.


    Now that he knew how to get into the cave, Raging Wolf Blood remained silent.


    Of the three Druids that went in, one had made it and another had killed himself by cancelling the Seal Transformation because he couldn¡¯t take it. There was one more foolhardy guy who was still in the middle of the turbulent waters. This meant that only certain kinds of players can enter and that they would therefore be unable to maintain their numbers advantage. Moreover, if only Druids could make it, how could they possibly pose a threat to Lu Li?


    ¡°Try and interfere with the Boss.¡±


    The poor Druid was helpless. The best he could do was try and ruin Lu Li¡¯s Bossfight.


    King Satan hesitated before clenching his teeth and transforming into the resilient Bear Form. He then rushed forwards with zeal.


    Lu Li almost broke out in laughter. He had already seen this guy who had come out of nowhere, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn¡¯t afford to shoot a Druid that could heal himself.


    Fortunately, the Druid got himself killed instead.


    Illidan¡¯s shadow was already angry after being shot by Lu Li repeatedly and he had begun to suspect his High Elf training. Much of his power had already been eaten away after 10,000 years of imprisonment. However, this was Illidan, the great demon. Even his mere shadow was strong beyond measure.


    Fortunately, something came his way. The shadow seized the Druid¡¯s legs and raised him off the ground.


    This was one of the Boss¡¯ skills ¨C it could twist a human body beyond recognition.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t bear to look; the poor child who had made it here was already quite mentally strong. However, he was completely unprepared for this. Even a LV20 Main Tank who had put all their points into Constitution wouldn¡¯t dare to fight Illidan¡¯s shadow.


    King Satan almost started crying.


    Fortunately, the Boss didn¡¯t prolong his suffering.


    After a few moments, he was sent back to the cemetery.


    ¡°If a group of Druids go in, would it be possible for you to steal the Boss?¡±


    Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You thought that if he made a World Announcement that Lu Li was fighting a Boss, there would be countless players ready to join in.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless; the Boss¡¯ attacks are too strong. Lu Li has found a place where he can¡¯t be attacked. If many people go in and die without gaining anything, then our Imperial Secret Service will become a target of the public.¡±


    Raging Wolf Blood shook his head and made him give up the idea.


    ¡°Give up?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s give up.¡±


    ¡°I can already see the players mocking us,¡± Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You lamented.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ll announce tomorrow that the Elite Guild¡¯s pay has been doubled. As long as there is some interest, our slightly tarnished reputation is no issue.¡±


    Raging Wolf Blood¡¯s ability to see this showed that he had the psychological qualities required for a good leader.


    ¡°Oh, has the Boss been investing?¡± Sorry I¡¯m Stronger Than You asked excitedly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve bought 500 shares from 3 different powerful companies. There will be a large sum of money coming in soon. The Imperial Secret Service will not fall.We will have opportunities to deal with Lu Li later,¡± Raging Wolf Blood responded.

 103 Shadow Cloak

    After the Boss fell, Lu Li finally reached LV15.


    System: Player Lu Li has successfully achieved First Clear on the Wild Boss Illidan¡¯s Shade!


    He had solo-killed another Boss!


    Was this person playing on a private server? How was he so far ahead? The struggling regular players felt a sense of unfairness.


    The World Announcements then became a mess. There was a mix of denouncement, defence, praise and requests for apprenticeship.


    Lu Li blocked all these channels; he didn¡¯t want to see whether players admired or were jealous of him. However, he didn¡¯t block the messages from his friends, which included the congratulations of his newly-added female landlords.


    ¡°Master, you killed a Boss on your own,¡± Huan Huan commented. Her in game name was ¡®Small Raccoon¡¯.


    ¡°Was the Boss easy to kill?¡± asked Yi Yi, who went by ¡®Willow Yi Yi¡¯.


    ¡°I¡¯m so jealous! I wanna bite you,¡± said Dou Dou, whose in game name was ¡®Don¡¯t Hit Dou Dou¡¯.


    ¡°Did you not say you would PVP with me when you were free? When are you free?¡±


    This was from the well-known beauty, Water Fairy. It was too bad that she was overly emotional, always asking for people to be killed.


    ¡°Brother Lu Li is so strong.¡±


    It seemed like Remnant Dream had recovered from being killed. After all, it was just a game.


    ¡°Is there anything for me?¡± This was from Azure Sea Breeze, the most straightforward of them all.


    Lu Li replied to each of these messages, one at a time. When he was done, he saw the system message.


    He was the first player to reach LV15.


    He had abused this situation, but it was unfortunate that there wasn¡¯t any reward.


    Dawn would obviously not reward you for abusing the game, but it wouldn¡¯t penalize you either.


    Lu Li came down from the totem pole and went to see what the Boss had dropped.


    He hoped that he would find a Warblade.


    Warblades were a one-handed weapon. They had higher attack than daggers, but still maintained a comparable attack speed.


    There was also a skill book that was guaranteed to drop: ¡°Shadow Cloak¡±.


    Shadow Cloak: Instant Cast. 90 second cooldown. Provides a short period of magical immunity and instantly removes all debuffs upon activation. Lasts for 3 seconds. Proficiency 1/5.


    He won¡¯t need to worry about being crowd-controlled from now on, as most magical crowd control skills could be negated by this skill.


    In addition this, there was an Ancestral Bead, which was green. Lu Li picked it up and was overjoyed.


    This wasn¡¯t an equip, but a rare material that could be used to make a LV40+ Silver Shaman Weapon. However, this wasn¡¯t why Lu Li wanted it. It was important to him for a very specific reason.


    The Ancestral Bead was one of the necessary materials for upgrading the Supreme Ring.


    After finding two good items in a row, Lu Li was content. He didn¡¯t expect too much from the last item.


    Unexpectedly, the item he had expected the least from gave him the biggest surprise.


    The name of this item was the same as the skill book. It was an equip named Shadow Cloak.


    Shadow Cloak (Steel): Armor 12, Agility +10. Effect: Emerge from the shadows (stealth) behind a target and gain 50% movement speed for 2 seconds. Equipment Requirement: level 15. Durability 32/32.


    Was there an equip more powerful than this?


    Compared to what he had right now, apart from the Supreme Ring and the Bloodstained Badge, there was absolutely nothing that was as powerful as this cloak.


    He could stealth and get behind his target before they could even react. At this point, he could use Cheap Shot to stun it for 4 seconds.


    What kind of person would be able to escape such an attack?


    If he had this equip, he would have been able to confidently face Aberdeen¡¯s Thief Trainer, instead of beating him down with the help of potions.


    Furthermore, this was a cloak.


    Cloaks weren¡¯t considered particularly rare, but they still had really low drop rates. One might not be able to buy a good cloak, even if they had the money. In addition, this cloak was designed like a cape and was able to almost cover up most of his body. It made him look a little more mysterious.


    As well as these three items, the Boss also dropped the Writings of the Dark Herald.


    It seemed like the drop rates for a First Clear were really high, as the Writings of the Dark Herald also had a low drop rate.


    It was a thin book with writings on the cover that said, ¡°This eroded book holds the secrets to being a Demon Hunter.¡±


    After opening it, there was a System Prompt: This scroll is incomplete, it is part of a larger set of scrolls. It seems like this provides the steps required to become a Demon Hunter.


    Most Night Elves that became Demon Hunters participated in rituals and ceremonies they didn¡¯t understand. It was likely that no one was supposed to read this scroll.


    Ranger Golinda Nahien would know what to do with this.


    This was one of Dawn¡¯s most famous dark items. It was proof that a player had become a Demon Hunter.


    Lu Li had no plans to become a Demon Hunter right now or in the future.


    Although they were a hidden profession, Demon Hunters were quite useless. Previously, a few successful players had transferred, but nothing came of it.


    In fact, most of Dawn¡¯s hidden professions were dead ends and were purely for entertainment.


    Of course, this could still be sold for a good price, as there were many tycoons who were eager to try out the hidden professions.


    To them, strength was irrelevant before trendiness.


    After returning to the city, it was almost time for Lu Li to go offline. He fixed up the equipment that he used and logged off. He then posted an anonymous post to the official forums.


    ¡®Hidden Professions in the Exchange Hall.¡¯


    Even quality goods still needed advertising. Players who saw the Writings of the Dark Herald had no idea what it was, so they didn¡¯t place a bid.


    Lu Li covered everything in his post, from the role of the item, to the quest that allowed the transfer to become a Demon Hunter. It was truly a five star service.


    The next day, the first thing he did was look at the Writings of the Dark Herald.


    146 gold coins!


    Lu Li was startled. He knew that this would earn him some money, but he didn¡¯t think it would be so much.


    Moreover, this auction wasn¡¯t even over. The number was still rapidly on the rise.


    While he was standing in the Exchange Hall, the price of the Writings of the Dark Herald had increased to 150 gold coins.


    Originally, he had felt as though the Shadow Cloak skill book, Ancestral Bead and the Shadow Cloak were all incredible finds. However, none of these would have sold for more than 150 gold coins.


    During this time, many gold coins were being spent on upgrading skills. With demand driving the supply, gold prices were firmly placed at slightly more than $300. This meant that the Writings of The Dark Herald was worth around 50-60 thousand dollars.


    Lu Li had intended to take his little sister to the hospital for a full body check in the next few days, so the more money he had, the better. He was also considering whether he should sell a few more of his items.

 104 Clean Field

    ¡°Did you hear that there is a Hidden Profession Transfer item in the Exchange Hall?¡± Azure Sea Breeze immediately asked when he saw that Lu Li had come online.


    ¡°Yep, Demon Hunter,¡± Lu Li casually responded.


    ¡°Are you interested? I can send some money for you to get it. I read in the forums that Thieves are good for becoming Demon Hunters,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said enthusiastically.


    Although he wasn¡¯t as rich as Lu Li, he spent all his days in Instance Dungeons and got free potions from Lu Li. He was considered a rich man compared to the ordinary players.


    ¡°Uh¡­ didn¡¯t I tell you that I put that onto the Exchange Hall?¡± Lu Li was a little touched, but he was never going to admit it.


    ¡°Dammit, you got a Transfer Item¡­ and you consigned it to the Exchange Hall? Why?¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was incoherent; he once again felt like Lu Li was some kind of alien.


    ¡°The advancement of a Thief is pretty good. Why would I become a Demon Hunter? Hidden Professions aren¡¯t as good as everyone thinks,¡± Lu Li explained.


    If hadn¡¯t experienced rebirth, he probably wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to perform the transfer.


    ¡°But it¡¯s a Hidden Profession, you dummy.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was bitter.


    ¡°Listen to me, if you ever find a Hidden Profession, don¡¯t just transfer right away,¡± Lu Li solemnly warned.


    It wasn¡¯t only his rebirth insights that told him Hidden Professions were a dead end. In a year¡¯s time, there would be an official statement made in response to all the crying of the Hidden Profession players: ¡°Hidden Professions are not bad, they are just not as strong as everyone imagined. Dawn¡¯s Hidden Professions are supposed to fun.¡±


    The key word here was ¡®fun¡¯.


    It would be okay if they weren¡¯t particularly strong. They just needed to be on par with the regular professions. The problem was, that Hidden Professions were hard to attain and were far weaker than the regular professions.


    Lu Li knew a few Hidden Profession players. Their equipment was often a complete mess. At LV30, they would still be using LV20 equipment.


    ¡°If they¡¯re that bad, then never mind.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was still disappointed.


    ¡°How did your levelling go yesterday? Can we clear the Fire Temple yet?¡±


    There was no way Lu Li would be able to solo the Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°Remnant Dream still needs 20% EXP. We are currently at the Dilan Ruins using our double EXP boosts. She should level up soon. I am a little over LV15, but I¡¯m still incomparable to you. You just go around soloing Bosses at random,¡± Azure Sea Breeze responded.


    ¡°That place was under a body of water. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t dare fight a Boss while there is a bounty on me.¡±


    Lu Li was concerned that Azure Sea Breeze would misunderstand, so he further clarified, ¡°The Boss took 3 hours to kill and I used dozens of potions. It wasn¡¯t exactly the easiest experience.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, as long as you remember me when you get good items. Don¡¯t be stingy. I¡¯m almost out of potions, so make some before you join us,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said with a laugh. He didn¡¯t think too much about it.


    ¡°You go ahead and keep training then. I¡¯ll make some potions.¡±


    Lu Li picked up some materials and two recipes from the Exchange Hall.


    He had a Basic Agility Potion Recipe, but it required Intermediate Alchemy (180). Currently he was at Intermediate Alchemy (156), so he hadn¡¯t quite met the learning requirements. Making more Intermediate Health Potions now no longer granted any additional EXP. He needed to learn some new recipes.


    One of the two recipes he got from the Exchange Hall was a Basic Intelligence Potion. Its effects were almost the same as the Basic Agility Potions, but its learning requirements were lower. It only requirement an Intermediate (150) to learn.


    Basic Intelligence Potions increased Intelligence by 3 points. This wasn¡¯t overpowered, but the materials to craft it were cheap. Lu Li intended to use this recipe to quickly level his alchemy.


    The other recipe was a pleasant surprise.


    Recipe: Luck Potion


    Use: teaches you how to make Luck Potions


    Luck Potion: Enables you to occasionally find extra treasures on hostile targets. Lasts 20 minutes.


    Many people did not know what this potion actually did. For a long time, there was doubt that this potion even did anything at all. After endless testing, it did not seem to have any effect on a monster¡¯s drop rate.


    It was only later that people realized that this potion wasn¡¯t supposed to be used for fighting monsters, but rather to gain additional income when using the Thief¡¯s Pick Pocket.


    Pick Pocketing humanoids had always been an unstable source of income, but after using the Luck Potion, the number of coins gained increased by around 50%. What would originally result in 5 coins would now be 7, which allowed for a slow but steady increase in income.


    More importantly, this potion gave Pick Pocket a certain probability to steal blueprints.


    If used correctly, this recipe that he had spent 20 silver on would give him up to one thousand times the profit.


    In the private hotel room, Lu Li first made that Intermediate Health Potions that were going to be used in the Instance Dungeon. He then used the materials he had bought from the Exchange Hall to make a dozen bottles of Basic Intelligence Potion, successfully raising his Trade Skill to Intermediate (160). The new recipes were very good for upgrading his Trade Skill.


    After reaching Intermediate (160), Lu Li tried to make some Luck Potions.


    Luck Potions were very special, in that their failure rates were very high. The officially released probability was 50%. However, this was only an approximation and having dozens of potions continuously fail wasn¡¯t unheard of.


    Hence, the production was much slower than the Health Potions.


    Lu Li first washed his crucible before putting in the Golden Lotus that he had bought from the Exchange Hall. He grinded it into a fine powder and put it into a crystal bottle. He then added some extra herbs before carefully swirling it above the stove.


    Bang! The bottle exploded, releasing a charred aroma throughout the room.


    Obviously, this first attempt had failed.


    The temperature was probably a bit too high.


    Lu Li made that observation based on what he had remembered from an alchemy post.


    In his second attempt, lady luck smiled upon him and he successfully created a Luck Potion.


    At this time, the communicator on his waist vibrated. Lu Li carefully put the Potion into his bag and opened it up.


    ¡°Just so you know, we got chased away.¡±


    It was Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Were you killed?¡± Lu Li frowned. The Dilan Ruins were quite a remote place, which was why he had recommended that they train there. Why would there be other people?


    ¡°Those people were crazy. They didn¡¯t say anything, but just attacked us,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said a little angrily. ¡°March Rain and Remnant Dream are okay, but Flowers and I died. I even lost my shoes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look. Were they guild members? Did you see any guild badges?¡± Lu Li started to pack up his things, ending today¡¯s alchemy session. He could do this at any time in the future.


    As he messaged, he flew towards the Dilan Ruins in his crow form. His friends had been attacked, so he had to attack back. Even as a second rate player in his previous life, he had gone up against large guilds. Now that he had experienced rebirth, the idea didn¡¯t even phase him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see them clearly, don¡¯t worry about it. They had many people in their group. We were going to fight an Instance Dungeon anyway, so I¡¯ll just pretend it was a free teleport back to the city.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze tried to discourage him.


    ¡°Get out of here, it must be a big guild. Are you afraid of the conflict between them and me? I¡¯m already on the way. I want to see which big guild this is.¡±


    Lu Li knew that Azure Sea Breeze was lying.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already offended the Imperial Secret Service. Don¡¯t provoke another big guild,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said bitterly.


    Had he known this would happen, he wouldn¡¯t have told Lu Li about this. They were only a few players; how could they go up against a big guild? The Imperial Secret Service already had them on the run and now there was going to be another¡­


    Lu Li turned off his communicator, flapped his wings and dived towards the Dilan Ruins.

 105 Planning To Steal A Boss

    The Dilan Ruins was a castle surrounded by a forest and black fog. There were quite a few players around.


    What shocked Lu Li was that there were 300 or 400 players gathered here.


    Could it be that they wanted to fight the High Disciple Anzelin?


    Anzelin was a difficult Boss. He was like Janila and was not a simple wilderness Boss. They were special Faction NPCs and with the current players¡¯ strength, even 500 of them wouldn¡¯t be able to take him down.


    Lu Li found an isolated spot to stop and recover some HP. He put on his Steel grade Bandanna, Nameless, and hid his information, then slowly edged over.


    These people were really fighting a Boss. It wasn¡¯t the massive Boss Anzelin, but a humanoid Boss.


    It was wearing a tattered Mage¡¯s Robe, and its pale face was filled with the aura of death¡­


    The Plague Messenger Nois!


    Based on his knowledge of the game, as well as the name of this place, Lu Li deduced that Noiswas formerly the Baron of Dilan.


    Before he had fallen, he was part of the aristocracy and was a genius Necromagus. He was incredibly accomplished in the arts of Necromancy and Curses.


    However, his madness and cruelness had reduced Dilan to ruins.


    The Plague Messenger Nois was a summoned Boss, like the Cynocephali Elder that Lu Li had killed in the past. They were both unique and would not respawn after being killed. Lu Li had entered the game fairly late in his ¡®past life¡¯, so he had never seen the Plague Messenger Nois. However, he knew some information about it and had read some descriptions from players who had taken it down.


    The guide for killing the Plague Messenger Nois was very simple ¨C remove Curse.


    Only Druids and Mages could remove Curses in Dawn. The Skill Books for those skills were incredibly rare, but this wasn¡¯t a problem for large guilds. With thousands of Mages and Druids, there would be at least 10 to 20 of them who had these skills.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to get too close ¨C a LV15 Boss wasn¡¯t something to be taken lightly.


    He observed the players fighting the Boss and identified the guild badge on their chests- the Gangnam Royals.


    They were the number 3 guild in China and had 200 year old history, which dated back to when keyboards were still being used. It had been established by a bunch of rich kids.


    Although the guild went through some rough times, it managed to survive with the financial support of these people.


    They only had one strength, which was their wealth. Of course, wealth often brought about arrogance.


    When training, they would monopolised the entire area and oppress others with their numbers in PVP battles. As well as this, they would destroy their opponents using money in guild battles. They were a blight in the virtual world and had ruined many great games. However, game companies simply couldn¡¯t ban them due to the inflow of revenue that they brought.


    Most people in the Gangnam Royals had chosen the Human race, so he had not encountered them in the Novice Village. Otherwise, they definitely would have gotten into conflicts.


    The Gangnam Royals loved monopolising areas, which was what Lu Li hated.


    If someone wanted to monopolise an area he was training in, he would not rest until they were gone.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯ he had often gotten into fights because of things like this. It seemed that this would be the same in his new life.


    The one in charge of this expedition was the guild executive Sword Raise Sand. He was a LV14 Warrior and was 9th on the Level Rankings. It was said that he was fairly skilled, but didn¡¯t have many opportunities to show off, because the Gangnam Royals always fought as a group.


    The player who received the Plague Messenger quest was guildless, so he contacted the Gangnam Royals for help. He thought that he might as well let them take the rewards from killing the Boss, as he could receive the excellent rewards for completing the quest.


    There were many benefits in killing a Boss, so the Gangnam Royals readily agreed.


    As for the players they had killed at the start, they simply didn¡¯t care about them.


    Lu Li hid behind a collapsed wall and curled up into a ball. Even if he wasn¡¯t stealthed, no one would be able to detect him.


    He had originally planned to kill a few of them to relieve his anger, but seeing that they were fighting the Plague Messenger Boss, he changed his mind.


    The Plague Messenger had a chance of dropping Plague Shards ¨C one of the materials he needed for upgrading the Supreme One Ring. Plague Shards were incredibly difficult to find, and in his ¡®past life¡¯, Azure Sea Breeze said that he had spent half a year finding 3 Plague Shards.


    Lu Li planned to wait and steal the Boss.


    Wanting to steal a Boss was easy, but actually doing it was hard.


    First of all, one had to be close enough to the Boss. In a battlefield with hundreds of players squeezed together and spells and arrows flying everywhere, it would be difficult for a Thief to be able to remain Stealthed.


    Moreover, even in an army of one thousand, the players would be split into small teams of 5 or 10 players. The Captain would immediately recognise a stranger trying to mix in.


    As well as this, one had to be familiar with the Boss¡¯ skills. It was a crucial mistake to think that the Boss was on his or her side and that it wouldn¡¯t attack them.


    Finally, the player had to be able to react fast enough and act quickly. Only by dealing the final blow would the player receive the EXP and equipment from the Boss.


    Dawn¡¯s system of giving out rewards for killing Bosses was quite unique. Apart from the team that dealt the most damage to the Boss, the player who dealt the final blow would receive 20% of the EXP and the right to take equipment as well.


    This sometimes created some problems. For example, in order to take the 20% EXP for themselves, some people paid teams to lower the Boss¡¯ HP, then dealt the final blow. Some people camped others who were fighting Bosses and would rush in to deal the final blow. However, that usually resulted in the player being completely annihilated by the others.


    Thus, it was understandable why guilds often forced any other players out of the area when fighting a Boss.


    However, Lu Li did not accept what they had done. Even if they wanted to monopolise the area, they didn¡¯t have to kill anyone. To Lu Li, it was wrong to kill for such selfish reasons.


    The Plague Messenger had quite a few powerful skills, such as the Plague Messenger¡¯s Curse. This was a classic big move, which could instantly affect 20 or so players. If the Curse remained on a player for more than 10 seconds, it would turn into the Plague Messenger¡¯s Fury.


    It was just a Curse, and didn¡¯t seem all that powerful. However, that was only if one did not know what the Plague Messenger¡¯s Fury did.


    Plague Messenger¡¯s Fury: Affected players turn into a bomb, dealing 400-600 Nature Damage to other players within 30 feet. Additionally causes 300-500 Nature Damage every 2 seconds for 10 seconds after that.


    With the players¡¯ HP at the current stage of the game, this was a death sentence for large teams.


    The hundreds of players fighting the Boss had no idea what was coming for them.


    Lu Li¡¯s was positioned quite well. He was in a shadowy corner where he was hidden from the Plague Messenger, so he would not be Cursed. He also would not be blown up by other players.


    Even if another player looked his way, they still wouldn¡¯t see him if they weren¡¯t paying attention. After all, the Dilan Ruins were filled with dark grey smoke all year round.

 106 Stealing!

    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    A chain of 3 explosions sounded out. Three players weren¡¯t able to get rid of their Curses in time and became bombs, exploding and blasting all players within 30 feet of them.


    No player could survive the initial blast of 400-600 damage and the 300-500 damage every 2 seconds for 10 seconds. The three bombs also covered an extremely large area.


    Lu Li felt extremely gleeful upon seeing that 70 or so players had died. The leader, Sword Raises Sand, almost coughed up blood. However, he was competent and immediately gave out orders to the Mages and Druids who could remove Curses, while ordering the rest of the players to spread out.


    Even so, players died almost every second.


    The Plague Messenger was extremely shameless in the sense that it had no consistency to its attacks. While other Bosses would launch certain attacks when they fell to a certain percentage of their health, the Plague Messenger did not do so. It released skills whenever it wanted, with no predictability at all. Sometimes it wouldn¡¯t use certain skills for a long time and sometimes it would repeatedly use them.


    Continuously using those skills was simply ridiculous.


    The Cooldown Time for removing skills was 30 seconds. If no one had their skill ready when a player was Cursed¡­


    Luckily, the game didn¡¯t contain much gore. Otherwise, the scene of blood, organs and limbs flying everywhere would have made the Gangnam Royals throw up.


    Before the Boss¡¯ health had even fallen to half, they had lost more than 100 people.


    However, taking down a Boss wasn¡¯t simply about having the numbers. In fact, the more people there were, the faster the Boss would regenerate HP and the more frequently it would use skills. This was especially bad for the Plague Messenger, who did not have a fixed attack pattern.


    ¡°If you¡¯re Cursed, don¡¯t run into a crowd.Are you trying to get everyone killed?!¡± Sword Raises Sand was furious by this point. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t talk to the players like this. After all, there were many people with incredibly rich and influential parents in the guild.


    This time, he had no other choice. The quality of players in the Gangnam Royals was a lot lower than that of other guilds. They were only ranked higher than the Blood-red War Flag because they had more people and more resources.


    A small mistake caused tens of people to become corpses on the ground.


    It was unfortunate that this was a wilderness Boss. Dying here meant losing quite a lot of EXP.


    By the time Nois¡¯ HP had fallen to 30%, the Gangnam Royals had lost more than half of their people.


    Lu Li began to have more confidence in stealing the Boss, because it still hadn¡¯t used its Ultimate Skill yet.


    It was important to remember where this was ¨C the Dilan Ruins. Below, tens of thousands of Baron Nois¡¯ subjects were buried in the ground.


    When the Plague Messenger¡¯s HP fell to 20%, it began to summon Undead Warriors.


    It could summon 10 every time and could use this skill 3 times. The LV15 Elite grade monsters would rip apart all players within their vision.


    Lu Li sneakily activated Stealth as he saw the Boss¡¯ HP falling lower and lower.


    The Plague Messenger roared out, ¡°Awaken, my warriors! Rise up and fight once again!¡±


    Rays of black light shot out from the crown on his head like arrows from a bow, and bore into the ground. Some of the rays of light passed through players on the way, instantly killing those not at full HP and critically injuring those who were.


    The Gangnam Royals thought that the attack was over. However, the ground began to crack as Undead Monsters crawled out.


    Although there were only 10 of them, their momentum was too frightening.


    Sword Raises Sand hoarsely croaked out instructions to the Knights and Warriors to hold back these Elite monsters, while commanding everyone else to continue attacking the Boss. Healers were to quickly recover their Mana and continuously heal.


    By the time the 10 Elite grade monsters had been finished off, the Gangnam Royals had lost another 40-50 people.


    The issue was that the black rays of light dealt massive amounts of damage and the Elite grade monsters were able to insta-kill any players who had low HP.


    The second and third waves went better for the players. After all, they knew what to expect. Sword Raises Sand began to feel calmer after clearing them out.


    He didn¡¯t know if it was because of the Boss¡¯ skill, but he suddenly felt more jumpy.


    When the Boss¡¯ HP fell to 5%, its body flashed with red light as it went into berserk mode. It began to rapidly cast its spells in every direction and the two tanks desperately used their skills, trying to draw the aggro back to them. However, this was useless.


    Luckily, the berserk mode was only activated when it was nearly dead. Everyone could see that the Boss¡¯ death was only a matter of time.


    The Boss¡¯ HP fell to 3%... 2%...


    Lu Li continuously searched for ways to get closer to the Boss. At this point, the battlefield was quite sparse, which gave him the space to move around.


    Just as he was calculating the best time to attack the Boss and secure the final blow, the Gangnam Royals¡¯ players stopped attacking. Not only did the Attackers stop attacking, even the tanks put away their weapons, while the Healers continued to rapidly heal.


    Lu Li stared in shock for a few moments before he realised what they were doing and almost laughed out loud.


    Many large guilds would do this sort of thing. They would often let an important figure within the guild take the final blow, so that they could maintain a decent level. The players usually didn¡¯t mind, as this meant that their rewards would be much higher.


    For a guild like the Gangnam Royals that was made up of privileged children, it was no surprise that they would do such a thing.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had even heard of them ¡®auctioning¡¯ the final blow for a Boss. The money earned from the auction would be split among the players who participated in the Boss battle, which was something that attracted people to join the Gangnam Royals.


    Even picking up the crumbs of the wealthy was not too bad.


    Sword Raises Sand cupped his hands in salute towards the other players and took out his two-handed Greatsword.


    The Healers quickly started to heal him, in case the Boss suddenly attacked and killed off their leader. Sword Raises Sand treated people fairly and was well-liked by most people.


    Just as he raised his Greatsword and was about to rush over, a black shadow suddenly appeared behind the Boss.


    The black shadow was covered with a grey Cloak and his face was hidden by a Bandanna. None of his skin could be seen. However, the player¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t important. Sword Raises Sand furiously watched as the black shadow immediately began to attack the Boss with his two daggers.


    The first thought that came to mind was that someone was stealing the Boss!


    The second was that this wasn¡¯t a player from the guild!


    The third was that the Boss had been stolen!


    This person had incredibly high attack, being able to deal tens of damage with each hit. In fact, he had dealt over 100 damage with the last hit.


    As the Boss¡¯ HP was cleared out, a system announcement was made, notifying players that the Plague Messenger Nois¡¯ First Clear had been completed.


    All of that happened in an instant. By the time Sword Raises Sand was able to react, the black shadow was already picking up the equipment.


    ¡°KILL HIM!¡± Sword Raises Sand roared out as he charged over towards the black shadow. The other players felt as if they had woken up from a dream and started to frantically launch their skills.


    The black shadow picked up 3 pieces of equipment before being buried by the skills.


    He was finished!

 107 Rager

    The ice from the Frostbolts disappeared, the corrosion from the Shadow Arrows vanished and the Arrows from the Hunters were removed by the system. However, the corpse that should have been on the ground¡­


    Was not there!


    The Gangnam Royals players were not willing to give up so easily and madly launched their skills everywhere. Even an incredibly tough tank would be insta-killed if they were hit. However, they simply couldn¡¯t find the black shadow that had stolen the Boss and quite a few pieces of equipment.


    Sword Raises Sand was completely dumbfounded ¨C even more so than he had been when the person had stolen the Boss. It was almost impossible to escape from a net of attacks like this.


    Even a Thief who learned Vanish would be reduced to a corpse under such a barrage of attacks. After all, Vanish only prevented a player from being forced out of Stealth if they were attacked. It did not mitigate damage. Could it be that this person had learned the legendary Gale Steps?


    Gale Steps was said to be an overpowered skill that could mitigate damage for 1 second while allowing the user to maintain their Stealth.


    ¡°Check which players have learned the Gale Steps skill, especially players in the Light Faction,¡± Sword Raises Sand ordered in a low voice.


    When a player from the enemy Faction appeared, their body would be covered by a thin blood mist which made them easily identifiable. However, the black shadow did not have such a visual effect on him, which meant that he was a Thief from the Light Faction.


    ¡°Could it be Lu Li?¡± Someone asked in a small voice.


    As the most famous and powerful Thief in the Light Faction, it was inevitable that someone would suspect him.


    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible, so make sure you keep an eye on him. What happened today must not be spread to the public. If I find out that anyone has leaked out this information, the consequences will be severe,¡± Sword Raises Sand said darkly, as he started to look at the World Channel.


    Although Lu Li had dealt the final blow, the most damage was dealt by the Gangnam Royals. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the final blow had been stolen, they would have felt incredibly proud of themselves. However, upon seeing the arising discussion on the World Channel, Sword Raises Sand felt even worse.


    Demonic Blood Angel: Congratulations to our brothers the Gangnam Royals for getting the First Clear of the Plague Messenger Nois.


    Arrogant Egg: No less than expected from the second ranked guild. The Gangnam Royals really are powerful.


    Flaming Meteor Fire: What a joke, you must be kidding, right? Killing a LV15 Boss with 400 people? You call that powerful? At the most, you can say that they have strength in numbers. Lu Li and Glacial Autumn Wind soloed Bosses by themselves.


    Crescent Moon Wind: That doesn¡¯t matter. In the end, they still got the First Clear. Rich people of the Gangnam Royals, good on you. Flaming Meteor Fire, stop criticising others and go train. Watch out that you don¡¯t get targeted.


    Great Barbarian God: Where are the Gangnam Royal¡¯s rich ones? Why aren¡¯t they showing off their exquisite equipment?


    Flowers and Jade: Yeah, show us if you have anything good. I¡¯ve got a lot of money, so I might just want to trade with you, haha~.


    What the world did not lack were busybodies. Even though talking on the World Channel cost money, they still chatted away.


    No matter if it was congratulating the Gangnam Royals or mocking them, they were rubbing salt into their wounds. After all, they had used 400 people to kill a Boss and the final 20% EXP and equipment had been stolen from them.


    There were still 2 pieces of equipment that Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to take away.


    When they were brought to Sword Raises Sand, he almost cried.


    They were both Bronze grade equipment!


    On the other hand, Lu Li was very happy with the three items and equipment he had received.


    A Skill Book!


    Seed of Corruption: 2 seconds Cast Time, 60 seconds Cooldown Time. Infects a target¡¯s body with a Demonic Seed, causing (Magic Attack x 160%) Darkness Damage within 8 seconds. If the target dies because of the damage, they will explode, dealing (Magic Attack x 80%) Darkness Damage to all enemies within 10 feet of the target.


    This was a weaker version of one of the Plague Messenger¡¯s skills. However, it was still incredibly powerful, especially in team fights.


    This Skill Book wasn¡¯t of much use to Lu Li, but he was sure that Mages would fight to the death over it.


    His second spoil of war was what he wanted most ¨C a Plague Shard. When the Boss died, Lu Li immediately grabbed it.


    Lu Li was also extremely happy with the final piece of equipment. In fact, he had been wanting this for a long time.


    Rager¡¯s Pendant (Steel): Hit+10%, Reduces Ice Magic Damage by 5%, Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 32/32. (Part of the Rager Equipment Set, exclusive to melee professions)


    Pendants were a type of necklace that gave Hit, Critical Chance, Evasion or Damage Reduction, but not Attack or Defence.


    The Rager¡¯s Pendant gave Lu Li 10% Hit. For players that used Automatic Mode, Hit increased the likelihood of hitting their target. For players using Manual Mode, Hit had a chance of increasing Skill Completion. As such, Hit was said to be one of the best stats for a Manual Mode player and was not at all inferior to Critical Chance. The 10% Hit that this piece of equipment had increased its value by several times.


    The 5% Damage Reduction to Ice Magic Damage was also quite good. In PVP fights, even 1 or 2 HP could affect the outcome of a battle. 5% Damage Reduction would be incredibly useful in fights and this was especially so, because the most popular element chosen by Mages was Ice.


    Below LV30, the Rager¡¯s Pendant was the best necklace for melee players. This was especially so if a player also had the Rager¡¯s Bracers. When equipped together, the Equipment Set¡¯s effects would be triggered, making the player even stronger.


    Rage: Has a certain chance to increase Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 20%, as well as lower Defence by 20%. Lasts for 30 seconds.


    This effect was quite similar to the one Lu Li¡¯s new Dagger had.


    Berserk Fang (Steel): 16-24 Attack, Agility+6, Special Effect: Has a certain chance to trigger the Berserk effect, increasing Attack and Attack Speed by 10%, Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 35/35.


    Lu Li had received this Dagger as a spoil of war from killing the top Thief in the Imperial Secret Service, Swirling Left Eye.


    What was important was that the Berserk Fang¡¯s ¡®Berserk¡¯ effect was different to the Rager¡¯s ¡®Rage¡¯ effect. As such, they could stack. Of course, having these 2 effects triggered at the same time was entirely dependent on luck.


    Lu Li now owned quite a few exquisite pieces of equipment.


    Not considering the Supreme One Ring and the Bloodstained Badge, these two Steel grade pieces of equipment completely surpassed what most other players had.


    The Rager Equipment Set was the best Equipment Set for melee professions before LV30 and he also had a LV10 and LV15Dagger. Both of these were Steel grade equipment with special effects and he also had a Cloak that could make every Thief drool.


    The reason why Lu Li was able to escape from such a barrage of attacks was because of the Shadow Cloak.


    He had chosen a player who was in a good position and used the Shadow Cloak¡¯s effect to instantaneously appear behind him. After this, he entered into Stealth and left.


    Lu Li¡¯s Boots were also excellent. Although they were only LV5, they could instantly increase his Movement Speed by 10%. This had saved his life many times.


    His pants gave 10% Critical Chance, which made them something he was unwilling to swap out for.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t say that his equipment was the best in Dawn, but he could confidently say that the number of people who had better equipment than him could be counted on one hand!

 108 Please Let Me Have Your Kids

    After the white light from the hearthstone had disappeared, Lu Li appeared at Astrana¡¯s spawn point. As soon as he arrived, he saw Azure Sea Breeze and the others, who had been anxiously waiting for him. They couldn¡¯t convince Lu Li not to go. and they knew that they would only be a burden to him if they went. The only thing that they could do was wait for him.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter that you couldn¡¯t steal it. When we¡¯re stronger, we¡¯ll go and kill them all,¡± Seeing how calm Lu Li looked, Azure Sea Breeze thought that he had failed.


    The system announcement saying that the Gangnam Royals had achieved the First Clear for the Boss had been heard by everyone.


    The only thing he could do was comfort Lu Li.


    ¡°What are you on about? Of course I got it.¡±


    Lu Li was still not quite used to the discomfort that teleporting brought, which was why he looked so blank.


    He had just been in an incredibly intense situation and had stolen a Boss from the hands of the second ranked guild. However, he was not as ecstatic as one would have expected him to be. Instead, it was as if he had done something extremely ordinary.


    For Thieves, remaining cold and aloof was quite normal. If he was a normal player, he definitely would have been extremely excited about what just happened.


    However, Lu Li was not playing this game for fun. This was his job, a job that could allow himself and his little sister to live better lives. As such, he wouldn¡¯t be afraid to make everyone his enemy in order to achieve his goals.


    ¡°Really?! Did you steal any good equipment from them?¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s reaction was more like a normal person¡¯s.


    Lu Li showed the three items he had obtained to the rest of the team in their team channel. He then explained the value of each of those items, which completely shocked the other players. Even Lonesome Flower, who had remained expressionless, couldn¡¯t help but grin.


    ¡°I need the Plague Shard, as well as the Rager¡¯s Pendant. I¡¯ll give this Skill Book to Azure Sea Breeze to sell and you and Lonesome Flower can split the money,¡± Lu Li said as he handed the Skill Book to Azure Sea Breeze.


    Lonesome Flower was about to refuse, but Azure Sea Breeze had already gleefully accepted it.


    ¡°Sure. Flower and I both lost quite a bit of EXP, so this should be enough to heal the wounds on our hearts.¡±


    The team chatted as they headed to the Fire Scar Temple.


    The Fire Scar Temple was in the Temple Ruins that the Apocalypse Guard Akereus was in. If they wanted to enter the Fire Scar Temple, they would first have to defeat Akereus.


    Currently, quite a few players had found their way to this place. By the time Lu Li and his team had arrived, they found that the space that Akereus occupied was empty.


    The Akereus for this day had been killed already.


    Lu Li and his team stood on the altar and activated the Instance Dungeon scroll.


    System: You have entered the Fire Scar Temple Instance Dungeon, Normal level. Kill the Apocalypse Guard Claudius!


    The Normal level Instance Dungeon only had one Boss, which was Claudius. Like Akereus, he was also an Apocalypse Guard.


    In the Elite level Instance Dungeon there would be a second Boss, in the Difficult level Instance Dungeon there would be 3 Bosses, and it was unknown how many there were in the Nightmare level Instance Dungeon. After all, Nightmare level Instance Dungeon scrolls were far too rare. Lu Li had never seen a guide for the Nightmare level Fire Scar Temple, but rumours said that the Silver grade Bow used by the famous hunter Glacial Autumn Wind had come from it.


    Because Lu Li¡¯s team only had a Normal level Instance Dungeon scroll, they only needed to kill Claudius.


    Claudius was slightly stronger than Akereus, so Lu Li had waited for everyone to level up before coming to this Instance Dungeon.


    Today was the deadline, so they had to pass it in one go!


    The first wave of monsters were Hellhounds. Lonesome Flower and March Rain absolutely hated these dogs that could siphon Mana.


    However, they weren¡¯t enough to stop Lu Li¡¯s team.


    After 10 minutes, they stood before Claudius.


    Claudius¡¯ appearance was quite similar to Akereus¡¯. To Lu Li, there wasn¡¯t much difference between them.


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    Lu Li grabbed Azure Sea Breeze, who was about to charge up.


    ¡°Do you have a guide?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked hopefully.


    Having a guide would be wonderful. As long as they acted in a specific way, they would be able to easily beat the Boss. Azure Sea Breeze had experienced what it was like to get past a Boss easily with a good guide and felt quite inadequate without one.


    ¡°Guide, my ass. Use this,¡± Lu Li said as he took off his badge and handed it to Azure Sea Breeze.


    Bloodstained Badge (Silver): Constitution+10, recover 1% HP every 3 seconds when wearing. Has a certain chance to activate 30% damage conversion. Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 40/40.


    ¡°My lord,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out, ¡°Please accept my worship. Please let me be your servant! Please let me have your kids!¡±


    Lonesome Flower rolled his eyes and the two girls giggled. However, after they saw the stats of the badge, they were completely dumbfounded. They simply couldn¡¯t imagine how Lu Li had obtained this Silver grade equipment.


    Lonesome Flower, who had been incredibly proud of his Silver grade Staff, couldn¡¯t muster up any pride anymore.


    ¡°Stop making a racket. I¡¯m only lending this to you temporarily. I still need it,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Cheh!¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s face immediately fell.


    In reality, they were all joking around. If any of them wanted to use one of Lu Li¡¯s things, all they had to do was ask. Lu Li didn¡¯t have any intentions of solely keeping the badge to himself, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have taken it out.


    Azure Sea Breeze felt incredibly confident with his new badge and yelled as he rushed at the Boss.


    During the first three minutes of the fight, Claudius acted normally. He had incredibly slow Attack Speed and average Attack. His attacks didn¡¯t even have the Burn effect that the other Apocalypse Guards did.


    Regardless, none of the players let down their guard. The more normal a Boss seemed, the more unpredictably it could act.


    Three minutes later, Claudius used his first skill.


    ¡°Crap, it actually has an Armour Pierce effect. March Rain, focus on healing Azure Sea Breeze.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t know what else was coming, so he didn¡¯t dare to casually use his Shield Wall. He could only do his best to block the Boss¡¯ attacks and try to reduce the damage as much as possible.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this much damage can¡¯t kill you,¡± Lu Li said, as he prevented March Rain from using her special healing skill.


    March Rain was becoming more and more skilled as a player, but still needed to develop her judgement. She also didn¡¯t have enough confidence in herself, which made it easy for her to listen to others.


    Claudius¡¯ Armour Pierce was not as simple as Azure Sea Breeze had thought. When the Armour Pierce¡¯s duration had expired by one third, the Boss swung his sword again and stacked another Armour Pierce.


    Azure Sea Breeze could no longer afford to rant or muck around. He focused on his HP bar and the Boss¡¯ attacks, preparing to use Shield Wall.


    Lu Li started to feel that his team¡¯s tank was lacking some Damage Reduction. While attacking, he tried to recall where it was that they could find a Damage Reduction skill for Defence Warriors.


    The two Armour Pierce effects caused Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s health to fall by 20% each time. Claudius¡¯ damage was simply insane. It would be impossible to survive with only March Rain¡¯s healing.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate! Start using Potions!¡± Lu Li reminded him. If he didn¡¯t start using Potions to bring his health back up, he wouldn¡¯t be able to survive when the Boss stacked another Armour Pierce effect.


    The toughest part about fighting Claudius was his Armour Pierce effect. He could continuously stack it, which became deadly for tanks. With three Armour Pierce stacks, it would be incredibly difficult for any tank to survive, unless they could quickly bring the Boss¡¯ HP below 60%.

 109 Three Stacks of Armour Pierce

    As soon as Azure Sea Breeze had replenished his HP, the powerful Armour Pierce Attack hit him again.


    He was hit and lost 60% of his HP.


    With three stacks of Armour Pierce, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s armour became non-existent. Now he had to tank with his raw HP.


    If any other main tank was in his position right now, they would have been instantly killed.


    Azure Sea Breeze held his breath, raised his shield and braced himself for Claudius¡¯ next attack.


    He waited a few seconds right after being attacked in order to maximize the duration of the shield.


    With his Shield Wall up, the damage he received was only about 30%.


    With March Rain¡¯s heals, this was enough for him to survive the damage from the boss.


    However, Shield Wall only lasted 5 seconds and had a cooldown of 60 seconds. Azure Sea Breeze had to invest 4 SP into this skill to raise it max level, which would allow it to last for 8 seconds with a 40 second cooldown.


    Shield Wall could block three times at most during its duration.


    Claudius¡¯ Armour Pierce Effect still lasted more than 10 seconds.


    Lu Li had no choice but to believe in Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s skill and March Rain¡¯s healing. All he could do was to focus on dealing damage and taking down Claudius¡¯ HP to 60% as fast as possible.


    When the Shield Wall duration ended, everyone anxiously kept their eyes on Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP bar.


    If anything happened, Lu Li had to grab aggro no matter what.


    Switching aggro wasn¡¯t particularly difficult. All Azure Sea Breeze had to do was to activate the Dark Elf racial skill ¨C Shadowmeld, which cause Claudius to aggro onto the player dealing the most damage. However, Lu Li would only be able to tank a few hits.


    Some equips had passive and active effects, such as March Rain¡¯s staff, which had an 20% increased healing active. When the Shield Wall disappeared, she activated it and her heals became significantly stronger.


    But it wasn¡¯t enough!


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately drank an Intermediate Health Potion.


    Now he knew why Lu Li had told him to drink a potion earlier.


    Intermediate Health Potions recovered 200 HP. In addition to March Rain¡¯s increased healing, Azure Sea Breeze was able to recover up to 60% of his HP before Claudius¡¯ next attack.


    Final Blow!


    After receiving this attack, Claudius¡¯ Armour Pierce Effect disappeared.


    However, instead of disappearing completely, the Armour Pierce dropped from 3 stacks to 2 stacks. The damage he received was still very high.


    Lu Li was about to tell Azure Sea Breeze to use Shadowmeld when something completely unexpected happened.


    When Azure Sea Breeze was attacked and took 60% of his HP in damage, he was also healed by 800 HP.


    With the 800HP heal and March Rain¡¯s enhanced Flash Heal, Azure Sea Breeze was able to survive.


    ¡°Damage Conversion!¡± Lu Li soon realised.


    The passive from the Bloodstained Badge saved the entire team.


    Upon being attacked, there was a chance for 30% damage dealt is converted to HP.


    Azure Sea Breeze received more than 2000 points of damage, which equated to about an 800 HP recovery from the conversion.


    Damage Conversion was an effect that converted damage received back to HP. It was based on the damage dealt by the attacker, whereas Life Steal was based on the damage dealt by the player.


    For Lu Li, Life Steal was more beneficial to him, but for low attack Main Tanks, damage conversion was much better.


    If it weren¡¯t for the Crow Transformation that drained his HP to maintain, he would have given Azure Sea Breeze his Bloodstain Badge.


    ¡°Keep going; get the boss¡¯ HP down to 60% before the next Armour Pierce!¡± Lu Li shouted, encouraging the others to continue fighting.


    In between Backstabs, he used regular attacks in order to maximize his damage output. Lu Li also activated his armour and dagger actives to increase his Attack. After a minute of relentless attacking, a red, bloody mist began to surround him.


    If anyone else saw him, they would have thought he was from the Horde, because the effects were so similar.


    In reality, Lu Li had activated the Rage effect.


    Rager Equipment Set: Rage: activated at a certain chance. Movement speed increased by 20%, attack speed increased by 20%, defence decreased by 20%. 30 second duration.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t worried about the decrease in defence because Azure Sea Breeze was pulling the aggro. After he received the 20% attack speed buff, his daggers became too fast for the naked eye to see.


    Damage figures started appearing above the boss with an occasional critical strike. The damage that appeared from his high-completion Shadowstrike were even higher than crits.


    If Lu Li and the others were not able to take the boss¡¯ HP down to 60% within the 30 second buff duration, he would probably kill himself.


    The Boss¡¯ HP came down to 59% and Lu Li felt a sense of relief.


    Dawn was so realistic that he began to feel sweaty under his armour.


    After this, Claudius was easily dealt with and died after 10 or so minutes.


    System: You have successfully slain Claudius. EXP and rewards will be received.


    Claudius was the Apocalyptic Guard of the Burning Legion, so slaying him gave them a handsome amount of rewards, EXP and reputation. Remnant Dream, along with Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower all levelled up to 15.


    Lu Li was now LV15 with 18% EXP. He was the same level as Claudius, so the EXP he received was slightly less.


    Since they had entered the Normal level Claudius dungeon, they only received a single piece of Steel Grade equipment and two copper equips. Lu Li and his party were all already wearing Steel Grade equips, so these drops were useless to them. They decided that they would be sold for money.


    The Black Steel Grade equip had pretty nice stats and was a chain mail shoulder for healer Shamans. It had an overload effect which increased intelligence by 50 for 5 seconds.


    Five seconds were more than enough to make an impact on the battlefield. Lu Li discussed with his teammates and decided to give it to his landlady Huan Huan.


    Under Don¡¯t Hit Dou Dou¡¯s leadership, Huan Huan and Yi Yi followed Lu Li¡¯s levelling guide and continued advancing in the game.


    They were a team consisting of a Healing Shaman, a skilful Hunter and an experienced Death Knight. The trio all managed to get to LV12 after the three days of double EXP.


    These three girls all joined the Drizzle Court. Even in this guild full of beauties, they were still among the prettiest.


    Although they were not high-level, they still managed to make a name for themselves, especially Huan Huan, who had good organisation skills. Apparently, she had even become an elder of the Drizzle Court.

 110 Large Sum

    Lu Li was not one of those perverts who constantly stared at girls. He did not owe the land ladies any favours and was not obliged to write them a levelling guide in addition to running errands for them.


    The reason why he was being so nice was because of their hospitality to Lu Xin.


    His recent hard work in the game and caused him to neglect his baby sister.


    The three landladies often took Lu Xin to eat, shop and play at theme parks.


    Even though Lu Li was so concentrated on the game, he noticed that the introverted Lu Xin had become more outgoing and cheerful like other girls her age.


    This was something that Lu Li could not achieve by himself.


    Although others may have thought that it was wasteful to give away Steel Grade equips, it was the least he could to express his gratitude.


    Lu Li was a person who knew that he should repay those who were kind to him. To see his little sister be happy was his biggest dream. Since he didn¡¯t have much, he had to repay them in any way he could.


    Azure Sea Breeze and others didn¡¯t oppose his decision. The reason why they had stayed with him in the first place was because of his maturity and kind-heartedness.


    ¡°Your sister is so lucky to have a brother like you,¡± Remnant Dream enviously said.


    ¡°Silly girl, do I not treat you well?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked jokingly.


    Since Azure Sea Breeze was an only child, he often envied Lu Li and Lonesome Flower for having little sisters. Recently, he had been encouraging Remnant Dream to call him older brother.


    ¡°Let¡¯s return to town. Everyone should log off and take a break; we¡¯ll clear the Death Mines this afternoon.¡±


    Compared to the last time, they had a much higher chance of clearing the Death Mines.


    Lu Li considered exploring the Elite Level or Difficult Level if they could easily pass the Normal level. The Death Mines were a low-level Instance Dungeon and therefore did not have a Nightmare Level.


    ¡°We should take the first clear for the Death Mines before the system refreshes.¡±


    Clearing the Elite Level Instance Dungeon gave you a chance to appear on TV. Azure Sea Breeze really wanted to appear on TV so that he could brag about it.


    Previously, he had told his friends about being ranked 2nd. Their response was to immediately expose him on the forums.


    Luckily, he didn¡¯t go as far as exposing Lu Li¡¯s secrets as well.


    Lu Li had to forgive him because he was a well-geared, PVE-focused main tank who would be very useful in the future.


    ¡°Today is Friday. We¡¯ll focus on levelling up over the next two days in the mornings while we try and get first clears of dungeons in the afternoon. ¡°


    ¡°Why does this game keep updating? What kind of a game updates weekly?¡± Lonesome Flower asked, slightly ticked off.


    ¡°The updates won¡¯t be as frequent in the future. The third system update didn¡¯t really change much.¡± Lu Li did not tell them that Dawn had become a ground-breaking MMORPG after the third patch.


    After the third update, the $30,000 gaming helmet was reduced to $3,000.


    This bankrupted many big gaming companies around the world.


    As of now, Dawn had more than 10 million players. After the price drop of the gaming helmet, hundreds of millions more joined the Chinese server alone. Anyone could calculate the billions of dollars in profit, based on the sheer number of players and the price of the gaming helmets.


    Only a national standard gaming company could take such a gamble.


    From then on, the era of MMORPGs began.


    Many people bought the gaming helmet to make money in the game and joined various gold farming guilds.


    Older people joined the game to enjoy fishing, chess and cooking. Others that were more passionate also chose a class to join in on this new teenage craze.Members that were over the age of 50 joined the old Mage guild: Mage Palace. They quickly became an attraction in Dawn.


    Kids could wear the gaming helmet to take tutoring classes in game. These offered face to face interactions with the tutor.


    Many more entertainment companies started holding concerts, as well as filming dramas and movies within Dawn.


    Companies joined in to build skyscrapers. Workers would practice using machinery and their working facilities for real life. Soldiers used the game as a virtual war zone to emulate actual wars and combat.


    There were also a group of people called the Scenery Crew, who hoped to explore every corner of Azeroth.


    Lu Li did not have the opportunity to participate in the game in his past life, because he was too worried about his sister. He entered the game a year later which was much too late.


    However, in this life, it was different. He joined the game as soon as it came out with the experience that others did not have.


    When he parted with Azure Sea Breeze and the others, he went to look for Shen Wan San.


    Rather than putting up the loot on the Exchange Hall, he would give it to Shen Wan San. He would always be able to sell it for more.


    ¡°Shen Boss, how you doing? Has the Snake Trust Grass sold out yet?¡± Lu Li had not contacted him in a couple of days and wasn¡¯t sure whether he had done his job.


    Everything was sold, except for the sets that Lu Li had saved for himself.


    Lu Li and Shen Wan San agreed on a deal and he gave him another 500 sets of Snake Trust Grass to sell at 3 gold per set.


    Lu Li reminded him to sell them before the game updated. The reason for this was in case the gold economy crashed.


    Gold had dropped from $1500:1 to $1000, $800, $500 and now, $300. From there it would continue to steadily decline until it stabilized at $100:1.


    Many people thought that when the billions of players joined the game, there would be a crazy demand for gold. After all, they would need equipment, skill books, crafting materials¡­


    Shen Wan San was thinking the exact same thing, but after Lu Li told him otherwise, he began to panic.


    ¡°I was about to find you, older brother. Your gold will be counted in front of you; meet at the Noah Bar, room 3.¡± Shen Wan San was a very humble man. Though he called Lu Li ¡®older brother¡¯, he was actually in his mid-30s.


    Noah Bar was run by NPCs and had a fair price. It was a popular gathering place among young teenagers.


    Lu Li greeted the bar host and was directed to room 3. When he opened the door, he saw a fat, black panther on the seats.


    If he had saw this in real life, he would¡¯ve been scared to death. However, this was quite a normal sight in a game.


    The panther returned to its normal form, revealing Shen Wan San¡¯s silly face. ¡°I learnt the Panther Transformation Skill recently. It¡¯s so fun.¡±


    ¡°If Boss Shen played a combat class, you might be pretty good.¡±


    Lu Li complemented him insincerely and cut straight to the main topic.


    ¡°How much gold do I get this time?¡±


    Despite already roughly knowing, the amount of gold in front of him still made his heart pound.

 111 Millionaire

    ¡°So impatient.¡±


    Shen Wansan was laughing, but he put on a straight face when he saw that Lu Li wasn¡¯t smiling.


    ¡°For the 500 Snake Trust Grass, as per our agreement, I¡¯ll be giving you 1500 gold. However, it actually sold for more than this¡­¡±


    ¡°The extra is yours to keep.¡±


    Lu Li quickly did some mental calculations. The current Trading Platform had a price of 1:330, so this amount equated to $490,500.


    ¡°Our separate deal was an investment of 100 gold. I actually asked a friend to borrow a little more money, so it ended up being a little more¡­¡±


    Shen Wansan¡¯s voice was compassionate, Lu Li had earned a lot of money, but so had he.


    It was all because of this person before him that he had such an opportunity. The other players only saw the strange price of the Snake Trust Grass, but who would have thought that it was because of him? He had used this kind of low-level material to leverage a huge profit.


    ¡°Stop. We agreed on 100 gold coins. We¡¯ll maintain that agreement,¡± Lu Li corrected him.


    Business is business and if things become unclear, it was bound to lead to trouble.


    If he received any additional money, that would no longer be business, but compassion.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Shen Wansan smiled wryly and could only helplessly say, ¡°100 gold coins bought about 830 sets of Snake Trust Grass, at an average of 12 silver coins each. Taking into account the initial cost, they were sold for a total of 2668 gold.¡±


    After accepting the transaction, the system prompted Lu Li that he had received 2834 gold.


    In addition to the money he had made from his last few days of selling Intermediate Health Potions, he now had 3000 gold!


    Without any delay, Lu Li pulled up the trading interface and set an offer of 100 gold coins for $350.


    Those who were selling gold were waiting for the system update, so that the gold prices would increase. However, those that were buying gold were worried for this same reason. The former group of people didn¡¯t want to sell gold now, while the latter group of people wanted to buy gold now. The Trade Platform¡¯s information currently showed that there were more buyers than sellers, so Lu Li didn¡¯t have to worry that no one would buy his gold.


    It was currently a seller¡¯s market, with the platform transaction fees to be paid by the buyer!


    In total, Lu Li had made a million dollars!


    In his previous life, Lu Xin¡¯s medical fees had totaled over a million dollars. He had thought of everything, but even if he had sold himself entirely, he would still not be able make enough money. He had even considered selling all of his organs.


    Now, in just three weeks¡¯ time, he had basically solved the problem of medical fees.


    A burden that he had been carrying in his heart for a long time had finally been lifted.


    ¡°Expert Brother, do you have any new business ventures? How about we continue to cooperate?¡± Seeing that Lu Li was about to leave, Shen Wansan quickly grabbed his arm. His face was beaming.


    He sincerely wanted to continue to share more of his benefits with Lu Li and to be able to continue to tell him this kind of news.


    ¡°Boss Shen, you¡¯re addicted. This time I inadvertently found out the secret of the Intermediate Health Potion. Who knows if I¡¯ll encounter another chance like this? I¡¯m not one of the game designers.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s face was innocent, as he resolutely insisted that this was an accident.


    The game designers actually couldn¡¯t make money like this. Firstly, they weren¡¯t allowed to enter the game and secondly, there were state agencies that monitored the game. If there were any issues that arose, the game designers would face harsh legal consequences.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to make money, but the profits from the Snake Trust Grass were insane.


    To be able to turn a profit that was 3 to 5 times the cost was already unusual, let alone a profit of 10 times. Moreover, the value of gold would soon decrease, while an ever-increasing stockpile of goods was built up. Soon, making money would become significantly harder.


    However, the most important reason for refusing was that he didn¡¯t want to take any risks. He couldn¡¯t explain why he knew so much, so if he did this too often, he might come under police investigation. Who knew what might happen then? This game wasn¡¯t run like any other.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one to solo Bosses and it could be argued that they were sufficiently strong enough to achieve those First Clears. However, even if there was some doubt to that, 100 years of internet law precedent meant that the internet police couldn¡¯t get to him.


    With regards to hoarding goods, you could say that you had a vision, but it was unlikely that people would believe that you were some kind of prophet.


    Under the resentful gaze of Shen Wansan, Lu Li took his large sum of money and left the Noah Tavern.


    When Lu Li logged back on after going offline to have some food and do exercise, the system prompted him that thirty transactions had occurred.


    This speed was a little beyond his expectations. He thought that it would be a day or two before he could sell all of these gold coins. If he knew that this would happen, he would have increased the price. He estimated that someone would have bought the gold even if it was priced at 1:400.


    What was done was done, so Lu Li didn¡¯t think too much about it after that.


    He was just about to tell the news to the others, when Azure Sea Breeze called him.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally here. Lighty was looking for you, you should respond to him.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze really liked giving people nicknames. He called Moonlight, ¡®Lighty¡¯, Lonesome Flower, ¡®Flower¡¯ and Remnant Dream, ¡®Dream¡¯. The only person he didn¡¯t dare to do it to was March Rain.


    ¡°Why is he looking for me?¡± Lu Li paid the 5 copper coin transmission fee and accepted Moonlight¡¯s call.


    ¡°Do you still need money? I¡¯ve found a way¡­¡±


    Moonlight had been spending most of his time PVPing as opposed to levelling. Luckily, Glory could be traded for EXP, so he wasn¡¯t too far behind. He was actually still within top 100 in the level rankings.


    ¡°Oh, what way?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t think of him as the entrepreneurial type. As such, he was pretty curious.


    Although he had just made a large sum of money and had solved an urgent matter, who could say that they had earned too much money?


    He would like to buy a house, so he wouldn¡¯t have to live in someone else¡¯s home.


    ¡°PVP.¡±


    Moonlight¡¯s speech was simple, unlike Lonesome Flower¡¯s or Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s by killing people and taking what they drop,¡± Lu Li laughed.


    This was definitely an option, given Lu Li¡¯s equipment and level.


    However, Lu Li had plans to become a professional player, so his reputation mattered.


    ¡°Gambling equipment, gold coins or cash,¡± Moonlight responded.


    Lu Li suddenly remembered from his past life that high-end PVP circles would gamble while PVPing. He never thought that he would be doing such a thing.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the best idea. The game company doesn¡¯t care now, but that doesn¡¯t mean that they won¡¯t target it later.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know if this was true, but he was apprehensive anyway. Gambling was illegal.


    ¡°What happens in the future will be in the future.¡±


    Moonlight evidently thought otherwise.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you in urgent need of money?¡±


    Lu Li was busy, even busier than the professional players he had previously seen. When asked why he was so busy all the time, his response would always detail needing money. Moonlight had been thinking about this and hoped that he could find a way to help him.


    Lu Li was sure that this was the reason.


    The avenues for gambling had not yet been set up in Dawn. After all, there were all kinds of incomplete infrastructure needed to ensure fairness. Gambling would begin to rear its head when the arena was set up. However, Lu Li was reasonable in wanting to fight in the arena right now.


    The gambling didn¡¯t even need to happen offline. It was just masked under the guise of other things, such as buying or selling equipment.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t waste his words either and replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be going into an Instance Dungeon soon, so I¡¯ll contact you tomorrow. Are there any suitable opponents?¡±


    ¡°There are two people who want to challenge you: Water Fairy and Hornet¡¯s Nest,¡± Moonlight elaborated.


    ¡°It¡¯s for a 100 gold coins. Are you interested?¡±

 112 Seeing the Piercing Heart Wolf General Again

    Playing for 100 gold wasn¡¯t a low bet.


    PVP battles tended to last from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. To lose $30,000 in such a small amount of time was not something most people could afford.


    However, Lu Li had no reason to hesitate, as he was confident he would win.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t underestimate Hornet¡¯s Nest and Water Fairy. Both of these players were PVP experts, especially Water Fairy. Lu Li had a full set of Steel armor but he wasn¡¯t actually that much stronger than them. It was entirely possible that Water Fairy was also equipped with an entire set of Steel armor that was LV10 or higher.


    ¡°How about tonight? I¡¯ll take on one of them. You can help me get either one,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Then, according to Hornet¡¯s Nest, your opponent will be Water Fairy. I¡¯ll send you a video later and you can make your final decision afterwards.¡±


    Moonlight stood by and paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°If the Instance Dungeon drops something that I can use, remember to hold on to it. I¡¯ll buy it at market price.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, I¡¯ll remember. But when we finish, you should go in and clear it twice. Levelling up in Instance Dungeons is faster than in the wilderness,¡± Lu Li suggested.


    PVPing on your own wasn¡¯t a sustainable long-term practice, as a player¡¯s equipment level would slowly lag behind. Most PVP players would get the support of a guild and follow them on Elite Instance Dungeon runs. Alternatively, they would ask for mages to help them quickly kill groups of monsters.


    ¡°Sure, when the time comes I¡¯ll talk to Sea Breeze.¡±


    After Moonlight said this, he terminated the chat.


    Lu Li sat by the Instance Dungeon entrance as he waited for everyone else to turn up.


    Visiting the Death Mines still made everyone feel uncomfortable. The last time they had faced the Piercing Heart Wolf General, Lu Li had saved their progress. This time, they could start by directly facing the Boss.


    Progress in Dawn could be saved, sold or refreshed, but these operations had to be carried out by the party leader.


    Generally, as a Boss was killed more often, its drops become worse. For example, once the First Clear had been taken on the normal difficulty of the Death Mines, the next three Boss kills had a 30% chance of dropping a Steel equip. The following three Boss kills would then only have a 15% chance of dropping a Steel equip.


    Lu Li had saved their progress so they wouldn¡¯t have to repeat the first section of the Instance Dungeon.


    According to Azure Sea Breeze, most guilds were still stuck with facing Helix. The few that could reach the Piercing Heart Wolf General were very highly ranked guilds.


    They had so many people, so they could afford to send many elite parties in at once.


    It would be a miracle if a small group like Lu Li¡¯s could take out the Piercing Heart Wolf General.


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s equipment and level made it clear that he was the number 1 Main Tank in Dawn. March Rain¡¯s technique was getting better and better and she was definitely comparable to an elite Priest from a big guild. Lonesome Flower and Lu Li¡¯s damage output could easily be considered to be among the best. As for Remnant Dream, her technique still wasn¡¯t great, but her equipment and pet helped her to keep her ground.


    Now that they were freshly facing the Boss again, the players didn¡¯t feel the depression of being killed over and over.


    ¡°Sea Breeze, watch yourself. I¡¯ll be dealing as much as damage as I can.¡±


    Lu Li did not intend to issue any instructions. There weren¡¯t any instructions worth giving for this Boss anyway. The Main Tank drew aggro, the Healer healed and the damage dealers focused on attacking. As long as they could kill it in a relatively short amount of time, they would be victorious.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you guys fight like you did last time, I¡¯ll be tanking the damage until the very end.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze waved his hand and placed his shield in front of his chest, before charging towards the Piercing Heart Wolf General.


    Lu Li¡¯s figure flashed and appeared behind the Boss, almost before Azure Sea Breeze finished his charge. He then completed a Backstab with more than 80% Skill Completion to the Boss¡¯ spine.


    Armor Piece effect!


    The Piercing Heart Wolf Generals aggro was then transferred to Lu Li. It turned around and faced Lu Li with its claws. Fortunately, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s taunt timing was very good, so the Boss was forced by the system to focus its attacks on him instead.


    Lu Li only dared to do this because Azure Sea Breeze was skilled. Otherwise, he would have waited for the Main Tank to draw aggro.


    Under the Armor Pierce effect, the Wolf General¡¯s HP dropped rapidly. It was much faster than last time and an entire chunk of the Boss¡¯ health was instantly wiped out.


    Lu Li made sure that he wasn¡¯t being careless and started to attack faster as the effect on his dagger was triggered.


    There were two effects that could activate from his daggers. One was a bleed, while the other was berserk. These were very suitable for fighting Bosses, but it was too bad that the probability of their activation was very low. You never knew when they were going to trigger.


    Lonesome Flower stood next to his sister, quietly casting his spells. As a mage, most of his skills required channeling, but his damage was very high. According to the damage statistics, his damage was only 15% lower than Lu Li¡¯s. This was only because Lu Li had just released a quick wave of attacks.


    March Rain¡¯s focus was entirely on the Main Tank. She avoided using her stronger spells, as they would be needed at a later stage.


    As the Piercing Heart Wolf General¡¯s HP fell to 50%, its damage increased. Its body was shrouded in a light red mist, which indicated that it was a in an aggressive state. However, unlike Berserk, its defence was not weakened.


    Lu Li downed an Agility Potion and flicked his wrist, casting a high Skill Completion Shadowstrike.


    Without any hesitation, he used up the five combo points he had just accumulated to cast Slit Throat which applied a bleed effect to the Boss.


    The Piercing Heart Wolf General¡¯s HP was now at 40%.


    Lu Li looked up and saw the damage being taken by Azure Sea Breeze before breathing a sigh of relief.


    The damage wasn¡¯t too high yet. Between the strong healing and the Intermediate Health Potions, this Boss no longer posed a threat to their party.


    The ever-increasing damage due to Bloodlust no longer out scaled their party, but the fight wasn¡¯t at its end yet. When the Boss reached 20% HP, it used another skill.


    Wolf Order: A player is chosen and turned into a Worgen.This player will follow the Piercing Heart Wolf General¡¯s commands.


    This was different to Cynocephali Elder Allen¡¯s Charm. Charm retained a player¡¯s skills, while Wolf Order turned a player into a Worgen with only two skills.


    The first skill was Dash, which was similar to Charge. It dealt damage and also knocked players down. While this skill dealt high damage, it was unlikely to kill anyone.


    The other skill was Corrosion, which cause anyone that was hit to take damage over time and have reduced armor. As long as the Piercing Heart Wolf General was not in its Bloodlust state, this didn¡¯t pose too much of a threat either.


    The Wolf Order targeted Lonesome Flower and transformed him for 30 seconds.


    Without one of their stronger DPS characters, fighting the Boss was a little more difficult. However, they still eventually managed to reduce the Boss down to 10% HP.


    The final aggressive stage was a joke. The Piercing Heart Wolf General actually did less damage in the aggressive form than it did with its regular Bloodlust bonus.


    In just nine minutes, Lu Li¡¯s team destroyed the Piercing Heart Wolf General, who had previously killed them five times. Azure Sea Breeze was even lucky enough to be awarded a Skill Point.


    For both Remnant Dream and Azure Sea Breeze to obtain a Skill Point as a reward in an ordinary Instance Dungeon must have been because of the First Clear. The chances of this happening otherwise were so low that it was impossible.

 113 Fearless Barrier

    Once the Piercing Heart Wolf General fell, the Quest Tracker prompted Lu Li to proceed further into the cave and destroy the Defias Brotherhood¡¯s Fearless Ship.


    However, they first had to find out what the Piercing Heart Wolf General had dropped. This was the First Clear, so it was guaranteed to drop a Steel item.


    ¡°Wow, Sea Breeze, there¡¯s a shield for you.¡±


    Looting was Remnant Dream¡¯s favourite part. Her hands seemed to be particularly lucky, so she had become the Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s resident looter.


    When he heard that it was a Shield, Lu Li could already guess what the item was.


    This was definitely the result of the First Clear, because even on Elite difficulty, it only had a small chance of dropping. The item in question was the Fearless Barrier.


    Fearless Barrier (Steel): Armour 32, Constitution +12. Effect: When your HP is drops below 20%, all damage taken is reduced by 80% for 8 seconds. Equipment Requirement: level 15. Durability 45/45.


    Every profession had a different set of pros and cons, so it was difficult to determine which profession was the best.


    However, this item had high armor and high constitution in addition to its very special effect. The Fearless Barrier was definitely a must-have for Main Tanks farming the Death Mines.


    The Main Tank was the core of every party. As such, it was absolutely necessary that every team had one when attempting to farm the Death Mines.


    ¡°Oh my, this equip is way too strong. It¡¯ll basically make me invincible.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze equipped the shield as soon as he laid his hands on it. He waved the dark green shield about as he grinned with satisfaction.


    In some ways, its special effect was more powerful than Shield Wall.


    As long as the Boss they were fighting wasn¡¯t too strong, it would be very difficult to instantly kill Azure Sea Breeze. His shield would buy them some extra time to Heal and figure out the Boss¡¯ skills.


    Many things could be done within eight seconds.


    Even an average player would instantly command respect if they obtained the Fearless Barrier at this stage of the game.


    Not a single rare material was dropped, as their luck had probably been used up already.


    In addition to the Fearless Barrier, there were two pieces of Bronze equipment.


    These were both LV15, which was currently the most commonly-used category of equipment. Nobody even looked at their effects, as their attributes were similar to a LV5 Steel equip. Lu Li wasn¡¯t too fussed about what happened to them.


    ¡°I wanna roll for it.¡±


    This was a strange thing for Remnant Dream to say, but no one decided to stop her.


    Instead, they indulged her wishes. If she wanted to roll, then she could roll for them.


    Azure Sea Breeze rolled and got 78 points.


    ¡°Oh well. I guess I¡¯m just too good.¡±


    With his number, it was highly likely that he would take the equipment. However, he also had a large ego and began to show off.


    March Rain smiled before rolling the dice and got 52 points.


    ¡°Brother Flower, roll quickly,¡± Remnant Dream urged. It seemed like she was more excited for this than looting.


    The proud Flower felt a sense of disdain towards this child¡¯s play and reluctantly rolled his dice. He got 16 points and his face immediately darkened.


    Lu Li rolled 44 points. He wasn¡¯t very lucky when it came to things like this. Considering how unlucky he was, 44 points was already pretty good.


    Once everyone was done, Remnant Dream held her hands near her stomach and offered a prayer.


    92 points!


    ¡°Wow! I won, I won!¡± the little hunter exclaimed, as she excitedly jumped around.


    The others started to sweat at this sight; it seemed like she would want to do this more often in the future.


    Lu Li¡¯s party was fairly cooperative when it came to equipment. Steel equipment would be assigned to whoever was most suited to use it and if there wasn¡¯t anyone, it would be sold. Bronze equips on the other hand would sell for a few silver at most, so whoever picked these up could have them.


    It was too bad that the little hunter wasn¡¯t around when the party was first established, so she didn¡¯t get to enjoy rolling for equips. Once they fixed the teams, she would have even fewer opportunities to do so.


    Lu Li shook his head in silence while the two pieces of Bronze equipment were directly given to Remnant Dream.


    At this time, Remnant Dream interrupted and said, ¡°Brother Lu Li, I¡­. don¡¯t want the equips, I just wanted to roll¡­¡±


    She didn¡¯t want her teammates to think that she wanted the equipment. The little hunter didn¡¯t know much, but she was sensitive to this kind of thing. She had heard that some parties had split up over issues of distributing equipment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it; it¡¯s just two pieces of Bronze equipment.¡±


    Lu Li patted her head before opening the large, underground cave door behind the Boss.


    Everyone else followed him and patted her head as well. Even March Rain smiled as she reached out and rubbed her arm.


    They entered an enormous cave with a large lake in the center. Within their field of vision, they saw the Fearless Ship docked at the pier. There was a small path that extended out to the river bank which led into the pier.


    Suddenly, there was a rumble; something was happening.


    Knowing that the enemy had broken through Piercing Heart Wolf General¡¯s defensive position, the Fearless Ship¡¯s Captain ordered the ship to start firing.


    On the path to the Fearless Ship, cannonballs would land and explode. These explosions left charred, shallow pits in the ground.


    The Captain had also released a whole group of Mutant Parrots which were as big as falcons. These parrots flew over the path and the lake, ready to attack anyone that got too close.


    Azure Sea Breeze turned a little green. They didn¡¯t know how much damage these cannonballs could deal and the uncertainty made him shiver. Someone had to go and test out the strength of these cannonballs and as the Main Tank, he was the most suitable for the job.


    He gingerly stepped out onto the path and anxiously waited for a cannonball to fall on him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see that the locations where the cannonballs fall are fixed?¡±


    Lu Li laughed at this sight. He felt as though he should remind them that the cannonballs wouldn¡¯t kill them, but would still deal significant damage. The main purpose of these cannonballs was to scare them off.


    ¡°Dammit, why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was so ashamed that he nearly walked away.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask.¡± Kind people could sometimes do bad things too.


    Azure Sea Breeze was speechless as he rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Tell us what to do. Even if the locations are fixed, there are still parrots that will harass us.¡±


    ¡°Do you guys see those patches over there? There is quite a large space between the dropping cannonballs. We can stand there and clear out the monsters. Just make sure you keep moving to minimize the chance of a cannonball hitting you,¡± Lu Li said, as he pointed.


    ¡°The best time to go is right after two cannonball fall.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s wisdom helped to optimize the plan.


    After two cannonballs fell, there would be a short break. This break was the key to avoid being hit.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s try it.¡±


    Lu Li directed the Main Tank to go first. Azure Sea Breeze angrily put up his middle finger and went out with his shield.


    Their predictions were correct and the path actually turned out to be pretty easy to travel along. The only unexpected thing that happened was Remnant Dream falling into the river. She began to flail and scream, but eventually found out that the river was only waist-deep.


    The leader of the Defias Brotherhood, Edwin Van Cleef, had brought a group of workers to renovate Stormwind. The Royal Family of Stormwind later found out that they had expended their budget on the war and could not pay for the engineering costs.


    They even wanted to default on the debt.


    Edwin Van Cleef turned out to be a revolutionist. He gathered workers and recruited people from the lowest part of society before leaving Stormwind, vowing to one day destroy it.


    The Fearless Ship before them was all he had at first.


    It was actually an old sailboat. So, if they wanted to face the captain, they would have to climb aboard.


    The Elite monsters were easy to kill and gave a surprisingly large amount of EXP. Azure Sea Breeze started to become addicted to killing them. They ended up wasting a lot of time by killing monsters that they didn¡¯t have to, but seeing the rise in EXP was worth it.

 114 Female Boss

    The Captain of this ship was not Edwin Van Cleef, but a monster he had hired.


    The current Captain Cookie was an amphibian who used to be the Chief Chef of the Fearless Ship. He took the post when the previous Captain died and poisoned all those who opposed him.


    This just went to show that you should never offend a cook.


    Edwin Van Cleef¡¯s heir seemed to accept the chef Captain. She didn¡¯t care who served as the Captain of this post, so long as they took personal responsibility.


    The existence of the second last Boss, Captain Cookie, was actually purely for entertainment.


    It sat inside a burning pot which would burn those who got too close. This Boss primarily used ranged attacks, which forced Lu Li to dodge while attacking.


    Captain Cookie smiled and said, ¡°Oh, pitiful players, come try this.¡±


    Food was thrown everywhere throughout the battle, both good and bad.


    It was quite easy to distinguish between these two; they just got Azure Sea Breeze to try it first. His HP was very high, so there was no way he could die.


    The food that had a slight green glow were poisonous. Eating or touching it resulted in the player going into a stackable Disgust state. This reduced a player¡¯s attack speed and cast rate by 10%, while also dealing 200 damage per second. The affected player had to find non-poisonous food (that increased attack speed and cast rate by 10%) to remove this state.


    If they weren¡¯t careful, they could step on multiple poisoned foods and quickly lose party members.


    Fortunately, Lu Li¡¯s team was pretty skilled. Even Remnant Dream managed to successfully dodge the poisoned food while only consuming the healthy ones.


    Lu Li saw this and curiously asked the little hunter about it. It turned out that she had played a similar kind of game when she was young that involved similar mechanics of dodging and eating. When the fight was over, she even complained that it wasn¡¯t difficult enough to be satisfying.


    Captain Cookie was about to fall. The whole process had been smooth and uneventful. At such a low difficulty, everyone could imagine what the dropped items would be. There was no need to report them.


    The three Bronze equips that dropped were very common. Remnant Dream was unwilling to take any, so it was given to the others.


    Although the drops were bad, the fight still gave quite a bit of EXP because it was with a LV16 Boss. Lu Li himself rose to LV16, while Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and March Rain stayed at LV 15. Remnant Dream was now only 20% away from reaching to LV15.


    The Death Mine¡¯s final Boss was Vanessa Van Cleef ¨C Edwin Van Cleef¡¯s daughter. By now, Edwin Van Cleef had long been killed by the ¡®hero¡¯ sent from Stormwind.


    The Quest Tracker told the story of how Vanessa had witnessed the tragic fate of her father when she was very young. As the daughter of the former leader of the Defias Brotherhood, she took it upon herself to plan revenge on Stormwind within the Death Mines.


    As a little girl who lost both her parents, she grew up seeking vengeance for her father.


    In some sense, the players standing before her were a cruel circumstance. There were actually many cruel circumstances all throughout Dawn.


    However, Lu Li had no plans to be sympathetic. The moment they entered the cabin, they immediately began fighting wave after wave of Defias Sailors.


    These Sailors were good farming monsters. To Lu Li¡¯s party, there was no danger and lots of EXP to be gained. By the time they had finished fighting, Lu Li had made a good amount of progress into his EXP bar.


    However, what regular party could deal with six consecutive waves of monsters? In total, they were attacked by 30 Elite monsters all at once.


    Even with the strength of Lu Li¡¯s party, they still had to take potions on several occasions.


    Once the 30 monsters had been killed, Lu Li immediately commanded everyone to retreat.


    The cabin was too dark and there wasn¡¯t enough space, so it didn¡¯t make a good battlefield for the players.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others obeyed and hurriedly rushed out of the cabin.


    ¡°Where is the Boss?¡± Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t understand why Lu Li had taken them onto the deck. He was standing in the front, keeping everyone behind him in case of an attack.


    ¡°Edwin was the Chief of the Engineering Union, but before that, he trained in Stormwind¡¯s Intelligence agency (MI7) for many years. Even the head of MI7, Madias Shore, had nothing but praise for him¡­¡± Lu Li slowly explained.


    ¡°Dammit, what are you saying?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was becoming impatient.


    ¡°He¡¯s a great Thief,¡± Lu Li said helplessly.


    ¡°So?¡± Sea Breeze didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°As his daughter, Vanessa Van Cleef is also a Thief. Do you think she will openly engage us?¡± Lu Li asked.


    Most parties who fought Vanessa for the first time would have started to become bored. This was to be expected, because Vanessa didn¡¯t seem to be doing anything at all. At some point, she would choose a target and go into Stealth to ambush it. If the party¡¯s reaction speed was quick enough, they might save that member. Otherwise, they would lose a member before the Boss fight even started.


    However, with this kind of turtle-style defensive formation, Vanessa could only attack the Main Tank.


    ¡°What? It¡¯s her.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze raised his shield and went into a defensive stance.


    ¡°Brother Lu Li is so strong. How did you know?¡± Remnant Dream was starry eyed. She was still young and innocently adored him.


    ¡°Hehe, Astrana¡¯s Skill area has a library which records a lot of Azeroth¡¯s lore. You can go read some if you have nothing to do,¡± Lu Li responded with a compelling reason.


    He was already tired of this Normal difficulty Death Mine and was eager for it to end.


    ¡°No thanks, I hate reading,¡± the primary school girl said as she shook her head rebelliously.She was at an age where she hated everything to do with study.


    The female Boss unexpectedly appeared in front of Azure Sea Breeze and hammered him right on the forehead.


    This was one of the stronger skills that Vanessa had in her arsenal. Azure Sea Breeze was stunned for 5 seconds and his armor was reduced by 20%.


    Before he was able to recover, Vanessa added in a Kidney Strike, increasing the stun duration to 9 seconds.


    Apart from this, there was not much else that she could do. She had limited ranged attacks and was blocked by the wooden wall. All she could do was continue to attack Azure Sea Breeze from the front as he complained about how broken this Boss was.


    The location that they had selected was good and reduced the effectiveness of the Boss.


    Lu Li could have stealthed and spread out, but he didn¡¯t dare to do so. Vanessa probably had a few more tricks up her sleeve.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s commanded her second pet to attack. It valiantly charged out, but was quickly dealt with. The little hunter could only continue firing her crossbow, holding down the trigger.


    Lonesome Flower, who was devoted to his sister, suddenly realized he had fallen in love with Vanessa. This was not because of her charming movements, but because she had scared Lu Li into his shell.


    March Rain no longer looked to him in worship.


    This situation was also great for ranged professions, so he had by far the largest damage output.


    While waiting for Azure Sea Breeze to recover, he cast as many disabling spells as he could. Between him and Remnant Dream, Vanessa had already lost 10% of her HP.

 115 Clearance

    ¡°I believe in my father; our cause is just!¡±


    As Vanessa said this, she elegantly spun on the spot and swung the edge of blade outwards.


    Blade Flurry!


    Her blade was swinging so fast that it was blurry. Those who were about to be hit by it knew that it was going to hurt. Lu Li hid behind Azure Sea Breeze but still got hit twice, losing 600 HP instantly.


    Azure Sea Breeze, who was standing at the front, quickly cast Shield Wall. When the flurry ended, he only had 40% of his HP remaining.


    Although he was normally one to mess around, he could be depended on when it counted. When Vanessa had begun her Blade Flurry, he had promptly cast Shield Wall and blocked most of the damage. It was unlikely that the team could have tanked it otherwise.


    However, in doing so, he enraged Vanessa. She cast Backhand Backstab and stunned him, while also applying an Amour Pierce effect. His HP was falling so quickly that even March Rain¡¯s healing couldn¡¯t keep up.


    Luckily, the Fearless Barrier he was equipped with had a very strong effect. When he dropped below 20% HP, he practically became impossible to kill as it would mitigate most of the damage. This wasn¡¯t only useful for PVE; many Paladins liked using it for PVP as well.


    During the eight second damage reduction period, his HP was restored to a safe amount.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother hiding anymore. He pushed past the gap left by Azure Sea Breeze and started to help deal damage.


    Vanessa¡¯s HP began to drop quickly. When she reached 60% HP, she revealed another one of her tricks. One could say that she started cheating.


    Player¡¯s from his previous life had always ridiculed the idea of a Thief with the ability to summon helpers.


    Following the instructions of their leader, a Defias Executor, Defias Shade and Defias Blood Shaman all appeared on the battlefield.


    ¡°Flower, turn the Blood Shaman into a sheep,¡± Lu Li ordered.


    Lonesome Flower quickly targeted the Blood Shaman and cast Polymorph on him. The Blood Shaman turned into a sheep and began to run around.


    ¡°It¡¯s so cute!¡±


    Remnant Dream had a special kind of thought process that everyone was used to by now.


    Lu Li ignored the bleating Blood Shaman and went straight towards the Executor, who was the equivalent of a Paladin. If it only had high damage that would be fine, but it also had a very strong healing spell. Killing it had to be their first priority.


    Under Lu Li¡¯s leadership, the players stopped attacking the Boss and focused their fire on the Executor, upon which it quickly died.


    At this point, they ignored the Blood Shaman, even though killing Mages and Shamans first was a common practice by most parties. Instead, the next target they switched to was the Defias Shade.


    The order they had taken made sense, as the healing of the Executor would have quickly undone all of their efforts.


    After dealing with Executor, they immediately turned to the Defias Shade. This monster could disappear mysteriously, but killing him actually turned out to be pretty easy as he could be crowd-controlled. They just needed to keep him crowd-controlled long enough to be dealt with.


    However, the Shaman that was left also had a trick of his own. Lu Li quickly told everyone, ¡°Don¡¯t the Shaman yet. Kill the Boss first.¡±


    You could do that?


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others were puzzled, but they had blind faith in Lu Li, so they switched their focus to Vanessa.


    The Blood Shaman didn¡¯t attack anyone, but started to channel a spell instead.


    As it did this, a transparent cover appeared on the battlefield. It was as tall as a person and had a 40 yard radius. It looked like a big bubble.


    ¡°Sea Breeze try to move the Boss so that Flower and I can attack her. Flower, stand with me.¡±


    Lu Li moved and stood in the bubble.


    As he entered the bubble, a damage value floated above his head as he lost 200 HP.


    ¡°Are you trying to get me killed?¡±


    Lonesome Flower hesitated before bracing himself and stepping in. The damage dealt by the bubble was magic-type, so he lost around 150 HP.


    After stepping into the bubble, he realised what was happening. He saw that he had gained a status effect.


    ¡®Reduce defence by 50%, increase attack by 50% and take damage every 5 seconds.¡¯


    Azure Sea Breeze pulled the Boss into a good position before everyone else desperately tried to deal as much damage as they could.


    As Lu Li and Lonesome Flower were taking constant damage, March Rain took care of them. If things got too out of hand, they could still take an Intermediate Health Potion.


    With a 50% increase in attack, the Boss¡¯ HP quickly dropped from 60% to 40%.


    ¡°Kill the Shaman.¡±


    Lu Li turned around and targeted the Defias Blood Shaman.


    ¡°How unfortunate. If only we could take the Blood Shaman with us to farm monsters. His buff is just too good,¡± Lonesome Flower said as he coordinated with Lu Li to instantly kill it.


    When her HP dropped below 40%, Vanessa suddenly became invincible!


    She activated some kind of dodging item which caused everyone who attacked her to miss. She would then flash like a ghost and appear behind the players before casting Cheap Shot.


    Luckily she would only hit once at a time, which gave March Rain some time to heal.


    This meant that if the bubble was still up¡­


    Seeing how he had instantly dropped to half HP, Lonesome Flower¡¯s face went pale.


    However, this phase didn¡¯t last very long, as Azure Sea Breeze was working very hard to regain aggro. While Vanessa was attacking them, she also complained about Stormwind City.


    The players never thought that Vanessa was a bad guy.


    In this world, there were many that were actually sympathetic to this charming female Thief.


    The two girls were affected by her speech and unknowingly stopped their attacking and healing, but they quickly started again after Lu Li yelled at them. He had no intention of dying because of the Boss¡¯ lines.


    When her HP dropped below 20%, Vanessa Van Cleef became enraged and started to blow up the ship.


    No matter how beautiful she was, her craziness would pull anyone back to reality.


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Lu Li turned and ran. The others quickly followed suit.


    The system would never have designed an Instance Dungeon that was unsolvable. Lu Li brought everyone to some ropes by the side of the boat which could be used to swing off the hull and avoid the explosion.


    He had thought that the girls wouldn¡¯t dare to jump, but he didn¡¯t think that their swings would be smoother than his.


    By now, the explosion that Vanessa started had dissipated. As this was a videogame, the explosion had no effect on the ship¡¯s hull.


    They continued to damage Vanessa, but she no longer did anything as flashy as the explosion.


    Her parents were killed when she was 12, which was the reason she had developed this hatred. Fighting this Boss felt like they were a reading story; everyone¡¯s emotions were conflicted.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a game; don¡¯t take it too seriously. When we come back, we¡¯ll see her again,¡± Lu Li said as he tried to lighten up the mood.


    This argument was surprisingly effective and quickly did away with the sadness in the player¡¯s hearts.


    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate though,¡± Lu Li muttered.


    ¡°Why is it unfortunate?¡± March Rain was right next to him, so she could hear him.


    ¡°There won¡¯t be a World Announcement.¡±


    Lu Li changed the subject. His words didn¡¯t make much sense, but Azure Sea Breeze would have known what he was talking about.


    Clearing the Death Mines at ordinary difficulty wasn¡¯t rewarded with a World Announcement. However, if they could do it at this difficulty, they could probably complete it at Elite or higher difficulties too.


    Of course, Lu Li didn¡¯t really care about the World Announcements. He was just sad that he didn¡¯t get to see the Hidden Boss.


    The final Boss of this Instance Dungeon was Vanessa Van Cleef. However, there was a certain chance that players would be able to face the Defias Brotherhood founder, Edwin Van Cleef, in his spirit form.


    That was the so called Hidden Boss.

 116 Broken Skull

    Lu Li was a little sad that they hadn¡¯t encountered the Hidden Boss, but the others didn¡¯t know about its existence. There was a sense of excitement in the air as soon as they had completed the Instance Dungeon. Remnant Dream was already eagerly looting the body.


    Although Vanessa lost her parents at a young age, she was still the oldest member of the Defias Brotherhood. There was no way that her items would be bad, so Lu Li was also looking forward to this moment.


    ¡°Brotherhood Cloak, waaahh! It¡¯s a Steel Cloak for Thieves. It has an additional skill that increases the Stealth effect by 50%. Brother Lu Li, isn¡¯t that great?¡± Remnant Dream had been following the party for a long time and was now able to determine the value of an item based on its special effects.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Lu Li nodded, but was a little disappointed.


    The Brotherhood Cloak was pretty good. Lots of people would want this cloak as it could compensate for a player¡¯s lack of skill in using Stealth. However, for a player like Lu Li, this effect had no practical significance. His Shadow Cloak was better in general for him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be disappointed; take it anyway. You should be able to find someone who is willing to trade for it.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze looked at Lu Li¡¯s face and immediately knew that he already had something better.


    Everyone still unanimously decided that the cloak should be given to Lu Li. He accepted it and put it into his backpack.


    ¡°Defias Ring! This ring¡­ is so beautiful¡­¡±


    The expressions of the three boys turned dark. What did its beauty have to do with anything? They wanted to know the attributes; who cared about the way it looked?


    ¡°Bronze, plus 5 Agility and 2 Strength, no special effects.¡±


    Remnant Dream¡¯s standards had also been raised. She knew that if it wasn¡¯t a Steel item, it probably wasn¡¯t any good.


    ¡°Brother Lu Li, do you want it?¡± Remnant Dream actually really wanted it, not because it was better than what she currently had, but because it was beautiful.


    ¡°You can take it. This isn¡¯t as good as what I already have.¡±


    Seeing how much she liked it, Lu Li didn¡¯t have the heart to say no.


    ¡°This Instance Dungeon didn¡¯t feel too hard. When are we going to try the higher difficulties?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait until tomorrow. I want to go kill a Boss; you take Remnant Dream somewhere to level. Her level is still too low,¡± Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    He was currently LV16, while Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and March Rain were LV15. Only Remnant Dream was still not yet LV15.


    Remnant Dream immediately lowered her head. She was a student, so she had to study in the day and could only play at night. Although the game world was sunny, she couldn¡¯t go without rest. It was natural that her level would fall behind.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let her get too tired.¡±


    Lu Li softened his voice after seeing the little girl¡¯s guilty look.


    After leaving the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li made some Intermediate Health Potions before heading into the Exchange Hall.


    He first bought some high damage arrows before shopping around for a crossbow. He intended to kill Illidan¡¯s Shadow again as the items that it had dropped were just too great.


    Only Illidan¡¯s Shadow could attract him enough to stand in a corner and do nothing but shoot for a good portion of the day.


    He had long since forgotten about the Death Knight. The first reason was because the First Clear hadn¡¯t give him any particularly good items. However, the more important reason was that the Boss had been discovered by Glory Capital. It didn¡¯t matter if they couldn¡¯t fight it themselves, as they could also enlist other players to help them.


    His LV5 Steel Bow¡¯s attack was too low, despite having a poison effect. It had taken him a really long time to kill Illidan¡¯s Shadow.


    As such, it was important that he bought a good long ranged weapon.


    The Exchange Hall¡¯s range of selection was getting better, but finding a particularly great item was also becoming more difficult. The current Exchange Hall fee was 5%, which was not a negligible amount. Lu Li also knew that after the third update, this fee would be increased to 10%. This would result in many more shops appearing.


    Lu Li currently didn¡¯t have any plans to open a shop as he didn¡¯t have enough stock. Attempting to open a shop right now would cost him a lot of money.


    Buying a shop was even more unthinkable as players simply couldn¡¯t afford to do it. It took the top ten big financial groups working together to set up a virtual office and even then, they could only just cover the rent.


    After some browsing, Lu Li¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.


    Broken Skull (Steel): Damage 20-28, Agility +6. Special Effect: There is a certain probability of dealing Piercing damage to the target. Equipment Requirement: LV10. Durability 13/32.


    This was better than Lu Li¡¯s LV5 Steel bow.


    Poison Bow (Steel): Damage 15-24, Agility +3. Special Effect: There is a certain probability of poisoning the target. Equipment Requirement: LV5. Durability 28/28.


    There were three additional attribute points and an increase in the damage range. The effect wasn¡¯t that much better, but what was important was that the Broken Skull was a crossbow. Crossbows had a higher fire rate than bows. For every 10 shots a bow could make, a crossbow could make 13-15.


    Piercing damage was a very common effect among crossbows. The pierce meant that it could ignore defence and deal maximum critical damage to the target.


    For example, if he was fighting Illidan¡¯s Shadow, what was normally 20-30 damage would be at least 60 if the Pierce effect was activated. Compared to the Poison Bow, its DPS was much higher.


    However, it wasn¡¯t cheap and was priced at 15 gold coins.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t let this stop him ¨C he had just made a million dollars.


    After buying the crossbow, he looked around for some crossbow proficiency skill books.


    These kinds of skill books weren¡¯t very common, but they had a large demand. Lu Li couldn¡¯t find a single one.


    He quickly let it go.


    A hunter¡¯s crossbow proficiency could increase its damage by 5%. A non-hunter could learn crossbow proficiency, but it would only increase the damage by a maximum of 2%. Lu Li didn¡¯t think that the small bonus was that important.


    After he had bought everything, he went to the Empty Abyss.


    The sight of the Abyss was breathtaking. As Lu Li stood by the cliff and watched the vortex rotate, he started to feel sick.


    Remaining determined, he drew in a deep breath and jumped into the whirlpool.


    He then turned into a small seal and patiently waited.


    This time he wasn¡¯t so lucky. He had been in the vortex for quite a while, but he still hadn¡¯t been thrown into the cave. He could only helplessly keep waiting.


    Lu Li was a successful person and as such, many players admired him, were jealous of him or hated him. However, most players didn¡¯t despise him and just considered him to be a really lucky guy.


    After spinning around for so long, most people would have left by killing themselves.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t like most people. In moments like these, he would think about his past life and remember the feeling of despair.


    Being tossed around by the whirlpool didn¡¯t feel great, but no matter what, he would always have hope because he was willing to fight for the things he cared about.


    Through the pain, he even felt a bit of happiness.


    This was simply insane!


    The system didn¡¯t torture him for too long. After about half an hour, he was finally tossed into the cave.


    As he lay on the cold, hard floor, Lu Li still felt like he was spinning. He was also struggling to cancel the Seal Transformation spell. He slowly pushed himself off the ground and made his way towards the stone gate.


    The key hadn¡¯t disappeared from when he used it last time, so he took it out and put it into the keyhole. The circles on the stone gate began to light up, opening the cage of Illidan¡¯s Shadow once again.

 117 Trade Skill

    Of course, others had tried to defeat this Boss before.


    Previously, Lu Li had fought it while he had a bounty on him. There had been many Imperial Secret Service players and people from other guilds who were after his bounty. As such, the Boss under the whirlpool no longer remained a secret.


    Some Druids had transformed into seals and attempted to enter. Those who could endure the ferocity of the whirlpool were thrown into the cave.


    However, none of them could open the stone door, so they quickly gave up.


    As such, Illidan¡¯s Shadow became Lu Li¡¯s private Boss. Unless other players received quests from NPCs and were sent here directly, this Boss would only be accessible by him.


    This time, after putting-on his better equipment, he only spent 3.5 hours to defeat it and consumed 40 Intermediate Health Potions in the process. Intermediate Health Potions now costed 30 silver coins per bottle. Adding on the few quivers of Arrows he had used, the cost of killing this Boss was around 10-20 gold coins.


    Lu Li would still be determined to fight it, even if he made a loss.


    After killing it, his EXP rose by 45% of his bar. If he killed Illidan¡¯s Shadow again tomorrow, and trained for a bit, he could easily reach LV17. After this, he could then consider accepting the upgrading-profession quest.


    Apart from the handsome EXP reward, there was also the equipment, materials and Skill Books to look forward to.


    The Boss had once again dropped a Shadow Cloak Skill Book.


    Although Lu Li had already learned that skill, he could sell it for quite a bit of money. This Skill Book was worth far more than any piece of Steel grade equipment.


    The Skill Book alone made killing Illidan¡¯s Shadow worthwhile.


    This time, it also dropped a piece of Shoulder Plate Armour. Although it was Steel grade and had a special effect, it simply couldn¡¯t compare to the Shadow Cloak that he had obtained last time.


    Lu Li sent its information to Moonlight, asking him if he wanted it or not.


    Moonlight was not picky and immediately replied, saying that he would pay 5 gold coins for it.


    Five gold coins for a piece of Steel grade equipment that had a special effect was a reasonable price.


    Apart from equipment and Skill Book, Illidan also dropped a material ¨C Shadow Essence. This could be used to forge Warlock equipment and was therefore useless to Lu Li. It also couldn¡¯t be sold for very much at this stage, so he could only put it in his storage and wait for its value to increase.


    After killing the Boss, Lu Li did not continue to train, but instead returned to town.


    He was still the top ranked player in the Level Rankings by at least half a level, so he wasn¡¯t in a rush to continue training. Moreover, in Dawn, level didn¡¯t determine everything. There were many other important things to take care of, for example, Trade Skills.


    Trade Skills in Dawn were quite complex and even Lu Li didn¡¯t have a full understanding of them.


    However, his knowledge was enough.


    The were 4 main ¡®collection¡¯ types ¨C Herbalism, Mining, Skinning and Logging, which branched out into further sub-categories.


    Lu Li planned to learn Herbalism and Mining.


    He chose Herbalism for his Alchemy, and Mining because he knew many places that contained rare and valuable resources. It would be a pity not to harvest them.


    Moreover, Mining brought the most benefits in terms of profit.


    Normally, players would learn Mining and one of the other three collection Trade Skills. Players often opted for Skinning or Herbalism. Logging had limited uses, so most players only chose it because that was their role in their guild.


    Lu Li actually wanted to learn Skinning as well ¨C apart from being able to obtain large amounts of fur, one could also obtain many different food ingredients.


    However, Dawn only allowed players to choose two different types of collection Trade Skills, so he gave up on the thought.


    Skinning didn¡¯t have much skill requirement ¨C as long as a monster was beast-type, anyone could skin it. As such, fur and meat were quite common in the Exchange Hall.


    There were also many non-collection Trade Skills. These included Jewellery, Engineering, Enchanting, Forging, Tailoring, Alchemy, Brewing, Planting, Cooking, Fishing, etc¡­


    Even after playing the game for three years, Lu Li hadn¡¯t been able to fully investigate all of them.


    There was no limit on how many of these other Trade Skills a player could learn. However, they were restricted to only learning two within a town¡¯s Trade Skill District. If a player had learned two or more Trade Skills already, the NPC would no longer teach them.


    However, these restrictions were nothing to Lu Li. After all, he knew many ways to obtain Trade Skills, such as finding NPCs in the wilderness, doing secret quests, or trading in Fame Points.


    Nevertheless, he didn¡¯t plan to be a Trade Skills player for his whole life.


    After giving it some thought, he decided to learn Engineering, Alchemy, Fishing and Cooking.


    He would have to wait until he found the opportunity to learn Fishing and Cooking, while he had already learned Alchemy. He had far-surpassed the Intermediate level, and was sure that after a few days, he could become an Advanced Alchemist.


    Lu Li had learned Engineering from an NPC at Rattan City by paying money. This took up one of the skills he could learn from NPCs in towns or cities, and had cost him 10 times more than it normally would.


    Because his high-quality Bomb Blueprint required Intermediate Level Engineering to use, he had to learn Engineering and level it up.


    With the Bomb, training would be much faster and more efficient.


    Currently, his level of Engineering could create three things: Spanners, Bolts and Low Quality Gunpowder.


    As of now now, there wasn¡¯t much he could do apart from collecting materials and making what he could. At least he could then use them to creating other things in future.


    Creating Spanners and Bolts required Bronze Ingots, while Low Quality Gunpowder required Low Quality Stones, which were a Refined Product.


    Lu Li cleared out the Bag with 18 bag spaces that March Rain had given him and bought a bunch of raw materials from the Exchange Hall. He then rented a private room in the Engineering Laboratory and started to make Low Quality Gunpowder.


    Luckily, players did not actually have to know how to make gunpowder.


    Through Lu Li¡¯s efforts, his Engineering EXP bar slowly filled up. The best thing about doing this was that players didn¡¯t need to concentrate at all. As such, many people found someone to talk to while they practiced.


    Doing this required much patience, but this was no problem for Lu Li.


    System: You have successfully produced some Low Quality Gunpowder. You received EXP in your Trade Skill.


    System: Production failed.


    Lu Li put away the Low Quality Gunpowder he had made and continued to level up his Engineering. He would gain a bit of EXP every time he produced 3-5 Low Quality Gunpowder. By the time he had reached 30 points, this EXP was drastically reduced.


    As such, Lu Li started to produce Spanners.


    Spanners were essential in Engineering, but were quite difficult to make.


    System: You have successfully produced a Low Quality Spanner.


    Lu Li threw it away.


    System: You have created a Failed Spanner.


    Lu Li also threw it away.


    He made another 5 or 6, all of which were Normal Spanners, however, they still weren¡¯t good enough to be used.


    Spanners determined the success rate of Engineering products. The better the Spanner, the more likely the player would be to successfully create something. Any player would want a Perfect Spanner and Lu Li was no exception. However, even after failing so many times, he didn¡¯t feel dejected at all.


    He left the workbench, walked over to the centre of the room and sat down, closing his eyes. Of course, he wasn¡¯t practicing some kind of martial art, but rather, meditating to calm himself down as he went through each step of the production process.

 118 Helping the Little Hunter Catch a Pe

    No matter how realistic a virtual game was, in the end, it was just a game. Of course, players were not required to create Spanners using the same process as in real life. However, there were a few basic steps that had to be followed: using a hammer to smash Bronze Ingots into rough billets, placing the rough billets into the rolling mill to shape them, and finally, some polishing at the end.


    It was impossible for anything to go wrong in the second step, so, one only had to be careful in the hammering and polishing parts.


    Lu Li walked over to the workbench and did his best to hammer out 5 identical rough billets, giving them each a number. He then placed them into the rolling mill and took out 5 Crude Spanners. After this, he went to the polishing wheel and started to polish the Spanners.


    After a few minutes, five completed Spanners lay side-by-side on the workbench.


    This sort of batch production looked efficient, but didn¡¯t give any EXP. However, the finished products could still be used.


    1 Low Quality Spanner, 2 Failed Spanners and 2 Normal Spanners.


    Normal Spanners could be used to make things, but Lu Li was not satisfied with them. He recalled what he had done to craft each of the Spanners, while taking into account their respective qualities.


    He concluded that what influenced the quality of a Spanner the most was the hammering.


    If he used the right amount of force when hammering, and hammered the rough billets into the right dimensions, the quality of the Spanner would improve.


    Knowing this, what he needed to do was quite simple.


    Lu Li noisily hammered the Bronze Ingots, doing his best to control the strength he used as he worked them into rough billets. He then followed the next two steps, turning them into Spanners.


    After changing his methods, Lu Li did not produce a single Failed Spanner. The worst one he made was of Normal Quality, and he was even able to produce 2 Good-Quality Spanners. If he wanted to increase the quality even more, he would probably have to use better materials. After all, it was wishful thinking to create a Perfect Quality Spanner with Bronze Ingots.


    In order to save money, Lu Li had purchased the lowest-quality raw materials.


    As such, he began to produce Bolts. Bolts could also be used to make other things and were quite important, so Lu Li decided to use them to increase his Engineering level


    It was a pity that producing Bolts took up too much time. By the time he logged off, he still hadn¡¯t reached Intermediate Level.


    He started his next day in Dawn by training and when he saw that Remnant Dream had logged on, he contacted her.


    ¡°Dreamy, you¡¯re LV15 now; come over and I¡¯ll help you catch a new pet.¡±


    Lu Li decided to help Remnant Dream increase her strength. No matter how bad her skills were, she would be able to do well as long as she had a powerful pet.


    The rest of the group all went off to the Exchange Hall.


    It was impossible for players to get stronger by relying on themselves to obtain equipment. It was best to trade or buy from others whenever it was appropriate.


    After meeting up with the little Hunter, Lu Li took her to the Amisallan Jungle. It was a famous and dangerous place within the Grey Valley.


    The Amisallan Jungle was filled with Nightmoon Tigers and was a forbidden area for players under LV15. Even teams would rather go around it than risk going through it.


    One never knew when they would be jumped on by a Nightmoon Tiger in Stealth, let alone how many would jump out at them. Once they were targeted, they would be finished.


    ¡°Big brother Lu Li, I think my little leopard is pretty cute.¡±


    Remnant Dream tried to speak up for the little leopard she had been with for the past few days.


    ¡°Even though you can only summon one at a time, a Hunter can have two pets. I never said you had to give up your leopard,¡± Lu Li patiently explained. Azure Sea Breeze would have immediately kicked out the leopard.


    ¡°Then what about my little pig?¡± the little Hunter asked, downcast.


    ¡°Just get rid of that pig. When you¡¯re higher level, I¡¯ll help you find an even cuter one,¡± Lu Li said, as if he was cheering up his little sister.


    Lu Li¡¯s words turned out to be quite effective and Remnant Dream immediately released her little pig, which oinked as it ran off. It was unlikely to survive in the Amisallan Jungle.


    ¡°What sort of pet are we going to catch today? Is it strong?¡± Remnant Dream asked, as she reluctantly put her little leopard into the Standby Pet Space.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a Shadowclaw Tiger. It has very good stats, and has higher Attack, Defence and Speed than your little leopard. It can even go into Stealth.¡±


    Shadowclaw Tigers were one of the best pets in the early stages of the game. However, they were quite rare, so finding one required luck.


    The Amisallan Jungle was incredibly dangerous, but that depended on the player.


    Being with a LV16 expert thief, Remnant Dream was never in any danger.


    Perhaps Remnant Dream was just as Azure Sea Breeze said ¨C not very smart, but incredibly lucky. She would always draw extremely good equipment and it didn¡¯t take long for her to find a Shadowclaw Tiger. It was lying on a grassy hill with no other monsters in sight.


    Lu Li went into Stealth and crept around it, then stunned it with 1 hit.


    The Shadowclaw Tiger lived up to its reputation as a rare monster ¨C the 4-second Cheap Shot only lasted for 2 seconds on it and it took less damage than the Elite-grade monsters in Instance Dungeons. Rotating through a set of his full combo only depleted 40% of its HP.


    The Elite-grade monsters in the Death Mines couldn¡¯t even handle one full combo from Lu Li.


    This big tiger was extremely beautiful. It had snow-white fur, and its body was sleek, but powerfully-built. Its eyes ferocious eyes shone like topazes, but underneath them, it looked innocent and kind. Remnant Dream fell in love with it at first sight.


    As soon as the tiger recovered from the stun, it immediately swiped at Lu Li.


    This was its ¡®Sweep¡¯ skill, which dealt damage to targets in a 180-degree arc in front of it.


    -127!


    This was damage worthy of a top-grade pet. With Lu Li¡¯s excellent equipment, only a Boss could deal that much damage to him in 1 hit.


    However, the Shadowclaw Tiger had other skills.


    Tendon Rend: Mauls the target¡¯s ankles, reducing their Movement Speed 50% for 6 seconds. Cooldown Time: 10 seconds.


    Thick Skin: When HP falls below 40%, reduces damage taken by 50% for 12 seconds. This skill can only be triggered every 120 seconds.


    Adding onto its Stealth, it had 4 skills: Stealth, Sweep, Tendon Rend and Thick Skin.


    Indeed, it was a top-grade pet!


    Pets with 2 or 3 skills were innately excellent. Having 4 skills made for a top-grade pet, while a perfect pet would have 5. Of course, this wasn¡¯t necessarily always the case. After all, skills had tiers as well.


    However, the Shadowclaw Tiger that Lu Li and Remnant Dream had found had 4 excellent skills.


    Stealth was for utility, Sweep was an AOE skill, Tendon Rend was for Movement Control and Thick Skin was for defence!


    Lu Li felt slightly disappointed. If it also had Smack, a Crowd Control skill, it would have been perfect.


    After allowing the tiger to hit him once, Lu Li began to counterattack and quickly brought its HP down to less than 20%.


    He stopped attacking and signalled towards Remnant Dream.


    ¡°Alright, use your Tame skill. Don¡¯t be nervous, just take it slow.¡±


    Remnant Dream hurriedly used the Tame skill on the Shadowclaw Tiger.


    It was impossible to use Tame on a monster at full health, as the likelihood of Tame succeeding increased as the monster¡¯s health decreased. Every monster had 3 chances of being Tamed. After this, it would commit suicide.


    Failure!

 119 Preparing to Form a 10-Person Team

    Seeing that Tame had failed, the little Hunter stomped on the ground in frustration.


    Rare monsters were fairly hard to Tame, so Lu Li had to reduce its health even more. He didn¡¯t dare to use skills anymore, so he drank an Intermediate Health Potion and started to use his normal attacks. He hit the tiger again and again until it was at 10% HP.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, try again. You¡¯ve still got 2 chances.¡±


    Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t as nervous this time, but her Tame still failed.


    Lu Li was speechless. Wasn¡¯t her luck extremely good? He had no choice but to continue to decrease its HP.


    8%... 6%... 5%...


    Lu Li didn¡¯t stop¡­ 2%!


    ¡°Big brother Lu Li, stop attacking, stop attacking! You¡¯re going to kill it!¡± Remnant Dream called out.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. This tiger hasn¡¯t even submitted, but you¡¯re already defending it.


    He flicked his Dagger and used Shadowstrike.


    Lu Li could easily reach 90% Skill Completion with his Shadowstrike which would instantly kill the tiger. Remnant Dream started to wonder if he had gone crazy.


    Of course he hadn¡¯t!


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 33%, caused 25% Skill Damage.


    A damage figure of 46 appeared above the Shadowclaw Tiger¡¯s head, leaving it with just 14 HP.


    Less than 1%!


    ¡°Alright, try again. If it doesn¡¯t work this time, it just means that this guy isn¡¯t fated to be with you,¡± Lu Li nonchalantly said, disregarding the amazing feat he had just performed.


    If a player who was familiar with the Manual Mode was watching, they would be flabbergasted.


    Achieving high Skill Completion wasn¡¯t easy, but controlling it was even harder.


    Lu Li could pretty much deal as much damage as he wanted.


    The little Hunter was shocked, and her hand trembled as she touched the Shadowclaw Tiger¡¯s head in her final attempt to tame it.


    Success!


    It was almost impossible for Tame to fail on a monster with 10 or so HP left.


    After being summoned as a pet, the tiger that was originally half as tall as a human now stood below Remnant Dream¡¯s knee . It now looked more like a cat than a tiger.


    Remnant Dream cried out and picked it up as she stroked it¡­


    The little tiger desperately tried to squirm out of its new owner¡¯s embrace. However, it could only pitifully cry out.


    Pets all fell to LV1 after being tamed. If Remnant Dream wanted the tiger to become strong enough to fight, she would have to help train it.


    After Remnant Dream had caught her pet, the two returned to town and called their teammates to enter the Instance Dungeon.


    This time, they did not choose the Normal level.


    Instead, they skipped over the Elite level and went straight to the Difficult level!


    ¡°Alright, this is going to be fun. Go hard or go home, eh? I¡¯m sure the Elite level is too easy for us.¡±


    The childish Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t feel pressured at all, but instead was grinning with excitement.


    ¡°I trust you,¡± March Rain said as she gripped her Staff, full of confidence in Lu Li.


    Lonesome Flower was completely focused on his little sister. As long as she was fine with it, so was he. Of course, he was unhappy with how much she trusted Lu Li.


    As for Remnant Dream¡­ she never knew what was going on.


    They found Horatio, who had issued the quest near the entrance the last time. He was still lying behind the abandoned mine cart and still looked half-dead.


    ¡°Adventurers, you¡¯ve finally come,¡± Horatio weakly said, as he looked at them and struggled to get up.


    ¡°We¡¯ve killed Vanessa and the quest log shows that we¡¯ve completed our quest. Please give us our reward,¡± Lu Li said, as he showed Horatio the quest log. The system notified him that he had completed the Death Mines quest and he instantly received 6% EXP.


    Apart from the EXP, they also received Fame for the Stormwind City, but there were no equipment or money rewards. It seemed that this half-dead NPC was incredibly poor. Lu Li and his team didn¡¯t waste any time and accepted the next quest, ¡®Stormwind City General¡¯ ¨C a letter-delivery quest. They then proceeded to enter the Instance Dungeon.


    Compared to other teams, Lu Li¡¯s was quite advanced. Most other teams were still struggling with the Normal level, while even the elite teams would be destroyed in the Elite level.


    ¡°Apart from us, the fastest are the Blood-red War Flag. Yesterday, I heard that they reached the Piercing Heart Wolf General, but their tank wasn¡¯t strong enough. Otherwise, they would have defeated him.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze knew all of the latest news and rumours. After all, he liked to make friends.


    ¡°Did they ask you for help?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Of course. They tried to get me to join their guild. They made it seem as though not joining was a terrible loss for me,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said disdainfully.


    ¡°If you want to join, you can join them. Big guilds treat their experts well,¡± Lu Li joked.


    ¡°My bro, don¡¯t joke around with me. What sort of future would I have there? No matter what they say to me, they¡¯ll definitely give the good equipment they find to the tank that they raised. I¡¯m familiar with this sort of thing,¡± Azure Sea Breeze replied.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re not leaving, let¡¯s all keep our eyes out for suitable people to join us. We need to find another 5 people for the Wailing Cave, which is a 10-person Instance Dungeon. It¡¯ll be impossible for us to clear it with 5 people,¡± Lu Li said. What he had said earlier was a joke ¨C none of the people in his team liked the style of the big guilds.


    ¡°Leave it to me,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he proudly patted his chest.


    ¡°We need to test any potential people for a week. If any of us aren¡¯t happy with them, they have to leave,¡± Lu Li said, as he started to clear out the smaller monsters.


    Upon hearing this, Azure Sea Breeze smiled bitterly. He also went to draw the aggro of the monsters, muttering, ¡°Teams take time to grow together. How can you send someone off in a week? I¡¯ll lose a lot of face.¡±


    ¡°Since we¡¯re forming an important group, we need to have strict requirements,¡± Lu Li explained.


    One reason was because he had too many secrets. The other was that he knew what sort of person Azure Sea Breeze was. He was extremely extroverted and friendly, as well as incredibly skilled. It would be no problem for him to lead a group. However, he had a fatal flaw; he trusted people too easily. He was the type to have a multitude of friends, but not a single confidant.


    From what Lu Li remembered, Azure Sea Breeze had been fairly famous when he had entered the game. He was well-loved, was on the Level Rankings and had set records for Instance Dungeons¡­


    However, someone had betrayed him after he had obtained the Supreme One Ring. It was all downhill from there.


    In order to upgrade the Supreme One Ring, he had spent an incredible amount of time on searching for materials. His Semi-Permanent Party had disbanded and he had been hunted down for the ring. Some of his ¡®closest friends¡¯ had asked to keep the ring safe for him, then joined the groups hunting him down when he refused.


    Although Azure Sea Breeze was dissatisfied with the restrictions set by Lu Li, there was nothing he could do.


    After all, the core of the group was Lu Li and he had absolute faith in him. After all, without Lu Li, they wouldn¡¯t even be together.


    While discussing their new team, they continued to push on and quickly arrived at the first Boss, Glubtok the Foreman. There were rumours that he secretly loved the long-legged Vanessa. However, because of his demonic appearance, he could only be a doorkeeper for his goddess.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t him at all and immediately charged.

 120 Steel-Grade Leather Armour

    Killing this two-headed fatty had been a piece of cake last time and it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult this time either. This was in spite of the fact that the Instance Dungeon was now 40% harder than last time and that the fatty had a new skill.


    A continuously moving wall of fire appeared around him, which would cause a player to receive massive damage and be Burned if they touched it. There wouldn¡¯t even be time for healing before the player was killed.


    In order to fight Glubtok, players had to slip past the wall of fire and attack it, while fighting off the smaller monsters that it summoned. None of this was a requirement in the Normal Level Instance Dungeon.


    Remnant Dream held on to Lu Li¡¯s Leather Armour as she followed him closely. She would occasionally attack as well.


    The little tiger, who was named ¡°Cutey¡±, was put on the ¡®follow¡¯ mode and followed closely behind its master. After all, it was still too low-levelled to be of any help.


    The main performer in this battle was Lonesome Flower. He had taken the spotlight quite often, especially when Lu Li was unable to. With his LV10 Silver grade Staff, he could easily and effectively attack from afar.


    With the other players serving as distractions, Lonesome Flower was able take down the Boss with no problems.


    However, they had spent 30 minutes to this and their entire party had even died once. They knew that this Instance Dungeon would definitely take a long time, and that they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to clear it within a day.


    After Glubtok died, Azure Sea Breeze levelled up and became the second player in Dawn to reach LV16.


    Everyone else also received quite a lot of EXP ¨C even more than Lu Li had obtained from Illidan¡¯s Shadow. This was no less than expected from a Difficult Level Instance Dungeon. Lu Li was now 30% away from LV17 and would probably be able to level up after killing the second Boss, Helix.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what the Boss dropped.¡±


    The Instance Dungeon demanded absolute concentration, so all of the players sat down to take a rest.


    Remnant Dream was in charge of collecting the equipment. She brought back a Magic Staff, a material, a Recipe and 2 pieces of Bronze-grade equipment.


    The Recipe was for an Intermediate Mana Potion and wasn¡¯t very rare. After all, the potions were already being sold in the Exchange Hall. Lu Li had not learned how to make them yet, so he decided that he might as well use it.


    However, he didn¡¯t plan to buy the materials to make Intermediate Mana Potions. After all, he couldn¡¯t increase his EXP through making them and selling them wouldn¡¯t earn him much either.


    ¡°What are the Staff¡¯s stats?¡± Lonesome Flower couldn¡¯t resist asking.


    ¡°I¡¯m not giving it to you; it¡¯s for big sister March.¡±


    Remnant Dream ran over and handed the Magic Staff to March Rain. March Rain smiled as she patted her head and showed everyone the Staff¡¯s stats. It was a Staff for Healers and gave 10% Healing Critical Chance.


    ¡°Damn, 10% Healing Critical Chance. That¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    Lonesome Flower was quite happy that his little sister had obtained such an excellent piece of equipment. Although March Rain¡¯s original weapon was extremely good, it was too low-levelled.


    Lu Li shook his head.


    ¡°This Staff¡¯s stats aren¡¯t that great. Healers don¡¯t need Healing Critical Chance, but guaranteed buffs.¡±


    The other people felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured on them, but couldn¡¯t help but agree with Lu Li¡¯s words.


    Healers were often faced with two situations: non-desperate and desperate.


    In non-desperate situations, they could casually heal their teammates with their normal spells, so the increased healing from the Critical Chance wouldn¡¯t be of much use.


    On the other hand, if the bonus healing from the Critical Chance never came in desperate situations, it would also be useless.


    ¡°Which one should I use then?¡± March Rain began to trust Lu Li more and more. She had originally thought that this weapon was the best, but Lu Li¡¯s words had showed her how wrong she had been.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s better for you to use the new one for now. It¡¯s higher level and had better stats. In the future, you can switch it out for a better one, so don¡¯t be afraid to spend some money when the time comes. If you don¡¯t have enough, you can ask us,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Hmph. After saying so much, the conclusion is still to use it,¡± Lonesome Flower coldly said.


    ¡°Flower, that little ¡®hmph¡¯ made you seem so cute and girly,¡± Azure Sea Breeze laughed. He was met with a whack to the head.


    After joking around and chatting, they began to kill the smaller monsters.


    There were many more monsters, when compared to the Normal Level Instance Dungeon, on the way to the second Boss. They were all LV15 Elite grade monsters, so it took some time to kill them. However, they gave quite a bit of EXP and soon, Remnant Dream¡¯s pet reached LV9. After levelling up another 2 times, it would be able to fight with them.


    The second Boss caused their party to die many times, so no one dared to be careless.


    However, they were able to use the same positioning as before, so it wasn¡¯t too hard to defeat Helix. All it took was some more time, and for the Healer to continuously drink Mana Potions and summon Shadowfiends.


    Luckily, March Rain had the Shadowfiend skill. Otherwise, it would be difficult to sustain such a long battle.


    After the second Boss fell, Lu Li, Lonesome Flower and March Rain all levelled up.


    Lu Li had reached LV17 even faster than he had expected. Originally, he had thought that he would only level up after completing the Instance Dungeon.


    Although the Difficult Level Instance Dungeon was harder than the Normal Level Instance Dungeon by 40%, it gave around 70-80% more EXP. The Elite Level Instance Dungeon gave 40% more EXP.


    The second Boss didn¡¯t drop any rare materials, blueprints or recipes, but it was definitely not stingy. It still gave 2 pieces of LV15 Steel-grade equipment ¨C one for Remnant Dream and one for Lu Li.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s was called ¡®Piercing Harpoon¡¯, and was an excellent, long weapon. Hunter melee weapons were usually just for decoration and stats, so these were all that mattered.


    Lu Li received a piece of Leather Armour. According to Dawn¡¯s system, this was a piece of Chest Armour, so it counted as an Upper Garment.


    Concealing Chest Armour (Steel): 18 Armour, Agility+6, Constitution+2, Special Effect: Has a certain chance to absorb 20% of damage taken, Level Requirement: LV15. Durability: 28/28.


    Lu Li¡¯s original Weaver¡¯s Leather Armor had been traded for his Steel grade Bandanna, so he had bought a LV10 Bronze-grade Armor to temporarily use. It had very ordinary stats, but he had not been able to find anything better. As such, he was overjoyed to obtain this Concealing Chest Armour.


    The third Boss, Deathgod 5000, was no challenge at all. Even in the Nightmare Level Instance Dungeon, it would probably be extremely easy to beat as well. Lu Li¡¯s party only spent 10 minutes to defeat it.


    It dropped a piece of equipment for Shamans that no one could use, so they decided to sell it.


    The Piercing Heart Wolf General that they had bitterly struggled with in the past did not show any mercy this time either. It made them miserable from the moment they started fighting, and because it ended up killing their Healer, everyone in the party died.


    They failed in their second attempt as well. Azure Sea Breeze activated Shield Wall a bit too late and the Fearless Barrier wasn¡¯t enough to save him. As such, everyone once again died.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop here for today.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re stopping after only dying twice?¡± Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t feel like giving up so easily.


    ¡°It¡¯s not because we can¡¯t beat it, but because we¡¯re all so tired,¡± Lu Li said, as he looked at the two girls.


    ¡°Plus, I want to go and try out the Arena later. If you guys want to continue, go ahead. We shouldn¡¯t have any problems finishing off the last few Bosses tomorrow.¡±

 121 Arena

    The first thing that Lu Li did after he exited the Instance Dungeon was craft more Intermediate Health Potions.


    As his Alchemy levels increased, the crafting time of the potions and the chance of failure both decreased. He decided to relax while waiting for his potions to be made.


    As he waited, he browsed the forums and researched the current rules regarding PVP.


    The Arena mode was still quite undeveloped.


    Players had to request for the system to make a battle room. The number of players was optional and the battle system was quite flexible.


    A fee of 1 gold was required to create a battle room. Challengers could request to join the room after paying 10 silver coins. If the challenger won, then he would receive 20 silver coins, but if the room owner won, the entry fee would be rewarded to him.


    If the room owner lost, he would also lose the room.


    A password could also be set to the room, so that those only those who knew the password would be granted access.


    Lu Li planned on fighting Water Fairy tonight.


    Water Fairy had been a famous Thief in Lu Li¡¯s past life. Although she did not have the best skills, her equips were godly.


    Lu Li planned on preparing and practising beforehand in case things went south during the battle.


    Painted Feathers, LV15 Mage, Wins: 43 Losses: 15


    Lu Li had found a random room and saw that the owner was a LV15 Mage. Although his opponent appeared to be decent, Lu Li was still confident that he could win.


    System: Dear player, welcome to the battle system. Would you like to change your battle ID?


    Lu Li froze for a second, realizing that the earlier version of the battle system allowed you to change your battle ID. Most people skipped this process because it was unnecessary, and nobody cared about being anonymous.


    This function was taken out before Lu Li had joined the game in his past life, because not many people used it.


    Lu Li thought for a second and randomly changed his ID to ¡®No Name¡¯. The name wasn¡¯t a childish joke; he just wanted to sound cool as he wore his Steel-Grade Bandana.


    Since he changed his name, he thought that he might as well change his appearance.


    He took out his Steel-Grade Bandana and wrapped it around his face. Coupled with his Black Shadow Cloak, this made him look like a complete badass.


    After paying the entry fee of 10 silver, Lu Li was teleported on a round battle field. The arena was flat and was no more than 50 yards in diameter. There were no obstacles in the arena for Lu Li to hide behind.


    The battle field was chosen by the room owner and was selected because it gave him an advantage. This was one of the benefits that encouraged players to create rooms.


    Painted Feather was on a 7-win streak. Gaining 10 silver per win, he had almost broken even with the cost of creating a room.


    But now, a new challenger had entered the room.


    It was a thief dressed in a body of leather armour with a dagger in each hand.


    Painted Feathers almost laughed out loud when he saw him, finding his appearance to be amusing. Normally, Lu Li¡¯s outfit would be somewhat mysterious. However, after a day of challengers coming in who were dressed exactly the same, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    The new challenger that stood before him was even more outrageous. Not only was he wearing a bandana, but he was also wearing a black cloak. Did he really think that he looked cool?


    When he checked the challenger¡¯s ID to know he had come from, Painted Feathers became even more annoyed.


    No name!


    Could one be any more arrogant?


    ¡°I hate people are more arrogant than me.¡±


    Painted Feathers resolved to teach this guy a lesson.


    He summoned a Water Elemental which appeared on the battle field.


    Lu Li became alert and prepared for battle.


    Players who created rooms were all confident in their skills. The Mage was already at an advantage with the Water Elemental alone.


    Lu Li approached him carefully, and when he was within the Water Elemental¡¯s aggro range, he quickly dashed behind Painted Feathers, then stunned him from behind.


    Painted Feathers knew he was in trouble and before he could react, he was already stunned.


    A Pro!


    He knew that he was no match.


    Water Elementals were very alert and intelligent summons; they were able to detect stealth units.


    This No-Name guy had managed to sneak past the Water Elemental before it could even react. This demonstrated how fast Lu Li was.


    After being stunned, he was attacked relentlessly.


    Painted Feathers realised how helpless he was after he found out that his Frost Bolt only dealt 50 damage to Lu Li. On the other hand, all of Lu Li¡¯s damage figure were well above 100 and sometimes reached even more than 200~300.


    The significant damage difference was due to the Piercing Armour effect.


    After the stun duration finished, Painted Feathers quickly escaped, as his Water Elemental raised its arm and casted Frost Nova.


    The Water Elemental¡¯s Frost Nova was a weaker version of the real skill and only had a radius of 8 yards.


    However, everyone still respected its power because of the freeze duration.


    The random 8-second freeze duration of the Frost Nova left its frozen targets helpless. All that they could do was wait for their death.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Painted Feathers was hoping to see a frozen Thief. He though that with his decent gear, high attack and Water Elemental, he could still turn the tables around.


    However, this was all according to Lu Li¡¯s calculations.


    As the icy mist faded, it revealed that nothing was hit by the Frost Nova.


    Painted Feathers immediately felt a sharp pain behind his back, and he was instantly transported back outside the room.


    Lu Li had won the battle and received 20 silver as reward.


    His PVP rating was now Wins: 1 Losses: 0


    The first battle he had fought was relatively easy. It wasn¡¯t because Water Elemental Mages were weak, but because they currently had no shields.


    Once Mages acquired their shields, a battle between a Mage and a Thief would be more entertaining.


    The second battle he fought was with a Warrior.


    In Dawn, there were no overpowered Class, but only overpowered players.


    The warrior that Lu Li faced this time was much weaker and was continuously stunned by him. When the battle was over, he was whisked out of the room before he was even able to activate any of his gear¡¯s actives.


    Lu Li breezed through his other opponents as well and quickly stacked up on wins.


    10 winning streak!

 122 Fighting Water Fairy Part 1

    The Arena was much simpler compared to what Lu Li had remembered.


    Some players formed chat rooms to exchange information and tips on PVP.


    The biggest chat room was called Pride.


    Saltless Exchange: Painted Feathers, what happened to your room? Are we still going to practice today?


    Jade Flower Lover: He was defeated and lost his room. He¡¯s crying right now.


    Saltless Exchange: What happened?


    Festive Sacrifice: Apparently, he went up against a hardcore player.


    Painted Feathers: I¡¯m not crying; it was just 1 loss. Why would I cry¡­


    Saltless Exchange: That¡¯s right; it¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t lost before. Want me to get revenge?


    Painted Feathers: Forget it. You don¡¯t stand a chance.


    Saltless Exchange: Is he a strong pro? You don¡¯t even have the courage for a rematch.


    Painted Feathers:I¡¯m not sure who he is. His ID is No Name. Has anyone heard of him?


    Old Man Next Door: Who¡¯s talking about No Name!?


    Painted Feathers: I just opened an arena room and got defeated by a guy called No Name. Do you know him Old Man?


    Old Man Next Door: Was he wearing a black cloak and a black bandana? I don¡¯t know him but he defeated my room as well. God dammit! I had just opened up the room as well. What a waste of gold.


    Painted Feathers: At least I didn¡¯t lose too much silver. He¡¯s pretty much undefeatable with his speed and attack.


    Iron Sword: I see that there are others that were defeated by him. I just lost to him and was about to seek revenge, but I guess I¡¯ll just be wasting my time.


    Painted Feathers: Haha, Iron Sword, you lost as well? Where did this random guy come from? I thought all the Pros train in the wild.


    Iron Sword: Maybe it¡¯s because you lose EXP in the wild when you die, whereas we can only lose money here. Anyways, this No Name guy is too strong. We better avoid him for a while.


    A random Pro had come out of nowhere and defeated more than 10 confident, skilled players. The news of this started to spread like wild fire.


    Players such as Moonlight would often practice on others that were around his same skill level. Occasionally, he would also go to the battle front to fight players who were experienced in PVP. Lu Li had come in and casually defeated everyone, which made them feel very nervous and insecure.


    However, Lu Li was only using these arena battle rooms to relax before his fight with Water Fairy.


    After he could not find a worthy opponent, he decided to travel to the Empty Abyss to train on Illidan¡¯s Shadows. He planned on fighting Illidan¡¯s Shadow, then facing off against Water Fairy after a good night¡¯s rest.


    After 3 hours, Illidan¡¯s Shadow was defeated.


    System: Illidian¡¯s Shadow successful slain, 1 SP will be received.


    Lu Li heard the System¡¯s notification and phased out for a second. He checked the System Log again to make sure he had heard right.


    Finally! An extra SP!


    He had not received an SP as a reward from the System since he had levelled up his Shadow Strike.


    After the last Instance Dungeon, Remnant Dream and Azure Sea Breeze had each been rewarded with 1 SP, but not Lu Li. This random SP reward made Lu Li extremely happy.


    He now had 10 SP in total: 8 SP from reaching LV17, 1 SP from Shadow Strike and 1 from Illidan¡¯s Shadow.


    His SP distribution was as follows: 3 SP for Shadow Strike, 2 SP for Backstab, 1SP for Unlock, 1SP for Seal Transformation and 1SP for Slit Throat. He still had 2 SP remaining.


    Besides the bonus SP, the boss also gave 13% EXP as reward. In addition to this, he also received a copy of the ¡®Shadow Cloak¡¯ Skill Book.


    Shadow Cloak was an essential Thief skill. It was extremely difficult to fight against skilled Mages without it. Without Shadow Cloak, a Thief would be locked in place because of the Mage¡¯s debuffs and crowd control.


    However, it was still extremely rare. The 2 copies that Lu Li had would sell for a great price.


    Other than the Shadow Cloak Skill Book, Illidan¡¯s Shadow also dropped a Steel-Grade Equip for Mages and Priests that had decent stats. He considered giving it to Lonesome Flower.


    After defeating the Boss, Lu Li left to look for a Skills Trainer and decided to add the remaining 2 SP to Slit Throat. This greatly increased its damage and critical chance.


    Moonlight came to look for Lu Li soon after.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get careless. I¡¯ve fought her twice and we¡¯re tied at a win each. She has many Silver Grade Equips on her,¡± Moonlight reminded Lu Li. Since Warriors countered Thieves, to be able to steal a win off Moonlight showed just how overpowered Water Fairy¡¯s gear was.


    ¡°Why did you rank her before Hornet¡¯s Nest?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Hornet¡¯s Nest has better skills¡­¡± Moonlight subconsciously answered, unsure as to why Lu Li had asked that question.


    ¡°Exactly. No matter how good your gear is, you¡¯re not threat if you don¡¯t have the skills. If I can¡¯t defeat her, then I shouldn¡¯t even bother challenging Hornet¡¯s Nest.¡± Lu Li never underestimated or overestimated his opponents.


    He had Silver-Grade Equipment as well.


    His Rager set was on par with many Silver Grade Equips and he had gotten his Bloodstained Badge back from Azure Sea Breeze. His ring was even better than Silver Grade and the rest of his gear had powerful actives and passives.


    As for his skills, his Shadow Strike was maxed out and he also had Backhand Backstab and Slit Throat to help him when needed.


    ¡°Eh, whatever, do as you like,¡± Moonlight said. ¡°That lady has heaps of money. If she sees something she likes, don¡¯t be afraid to name your price because she¡¯ll most likely accept it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t sell her anything that I¡¯m wearing; there are some spare equips in my bag that I have trouble selling though. Hurry up and contact her. The sooner we fight, the sooner I can go home and sleep,¡± Lu Li hurriedly urged.


    He actually had Water Fairy on his friends list. However, he had ignored her many times when she wanted to fight him. It would be awkward if he contacted her first, so he asked Moonlight to contact her instead.


    Water Fairy responded quickly and arrived at the Astrana arena centre.


    Creating a room required talking to a specific NPC. After this, the owner would be transported to it.


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s rare to see you around,¡± the beautiful girl sharply said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been busy making money,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re actually a professional player. Let me see if you¡¯ve got any goods¡­¡± Water Fairy said, as she closely examined the gear that Lu Li was wearing.

 123 Fighting Water Fairy Part 2

    Lu Li took out the ¡®Shadow Cloak¡¯ skill book from his backpack and showed it to Water Fairy.


    Her face was suddenly shocked and she quickly swallowed.


    ¡°Are you willing to sell it me?¡±


    ¡°Yep!¡±


    ¡°Why would you want to sell such a good skill book to me?¡±


    This was too good to be true; Water Fairy didn¡¯t dare to believe it.


    In Dawn, less than 10 people would end up learning Shadow Cloak. Water Fairy had been trying to buy this skill book for a long time, but had been unsuccessful so far. She didn¡¯t think that would ever find it, let alone in the hands of Lu Li.


    Lu Li laughed at this scene.


    The answer was self-evident and as Water Fairy realized this, her eyes widened.


    ¡°You actually found two copies of ¡®Shadow Cloak¡¯!¡±


    Three, silly girl!


    Lu Li was actually quite proud of this, even if his face didn¡¯t show it. He shook the skill book in his hands and said, ¡°If you want it, name your price. I¡¯ll sell it if you name an appropriate one. I can¡¯t really be bothered to take it to the Exchange Hall.¡±


    ¡°One hundred gold!¡± Water Fairy hesitated for a moment before declaring her price.


    When Lu Li first entered the game, he had been incredibly lucky and had managed to find a Mage crowd-control skill book ¨C ¡®Frost Nova¡¯. At the time, he had sold it for 20 gold, but the value of gold was $1500:1. The 20 gold he had earned translated to $30,000.


    Now, the exchange rate of gold was $300:1. If Water Fairy payed 100 gold, then the value of ¡®Shadow Cloak¡¯ and ¡®Frost Nova¡¯ would be the same.


    However, the price that she had named reflected her sincerity. Lu Li could have pushed to get a little more, but he didn¡¯t do so. Instead, he directly traded the skill book to her.


    ¡°100 is fine by me. Just give it to Moonlight. It¡¯ll be tonight¡¯s ante.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much; I¡¯ll buy you a meal one day if you¡¯re free.¡±


    Water Fairy nodded happily as she grinned. Her whole face seemed to radiate with joy.


    She was the kind of person that people couldn¡¯t take their eyes off, but she had a cold demeanor, so most people kept their distance. However, in this moment, her true personality had been revealed. Who would have thought that she had such a pure smile?


    ¡°Alright, if there are no other questions, we should get started.¡±


    The more-experienced Moonlight couldn¡¯t help but feel a little embarrassed for him.


    This guy deserved to be single for the rest of his life!


    Water Fairy nodded and began to paint something onto her dagger.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but watch her and sigh. This was a benefit of being a tycoon; she had already started to use poisons.


    He had Pick-Pocketed poison from the Undead Herbalist, but had already used it to fight a Boss. Later, he tried to look for poisons in the Exchange Hall but couldn¡¯t find any. He didn¡¯t know if Water Fairy had found hers, or if it had been produced by her guild members.


    If it had been produced by Drizzle Court guild players, he could potentially ask about purchasing some after the PVP. For now, he would just forget about it; there was no way she would give him some before the fight.


    Lu Li spent a gold coin to construct a common room that was used in Thief vs. Thief battles, before telling Water Fairy the room password.


    Before long, the two of them appeared in the competition room.


    This map was similar to one that Lu Li was in before; it was just a small circular platform.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy made eye contact one last time before almost simultaneously going into Stealth. The two of them immediately lost track of each other, but the arena wasn¡¯t very big. Eventually, they were bound to run into one another.


    Lu Li¡¯s footsteps were light, as he floated about.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Water Fairy should have been near where he was originally. Lu Li carefully tried to sense any movement in the air. His brain was simulating the field like a net, attempting to sift out any irregularities.


    In his previous life, Lu Li also needed to be sneaky, so his Stealthing-ability was very natural.


    However, he quickly realized that he had been overconfident.


    He felt a movement in the air behind him and his neck hair quickly stood on its ends.


    A dagger was moving as quick as an arrow towards the back of his head.


    His opponent must have had some kind of specialized Stealth equipment!


    Lu Li¡¯s brain reacted quickly. He moved his arms, legs and contorted his body, managing to block the dagger without even looking at it.


    Chiang! With that sound, Lu Li knew that he had blocked the attack, especially since he had not been stunned by Cheap Shot.


    Water Fairy was not disappointed by this and followed her first attack with an even stronger one.


    Lu Li had previously studied Water Fairy¡¯s PVP tutorial videos, but now that he was facing her in person, he could really feel the oppressive nature of her attacks.


    There was one word to describe them¡ªfast!


    Water Fairy¡¯s attack speed was so high, that for every attack Lu Li got in, she attacked back three times.


    However, this kind of speed didn¡¯t come from her high attack-speed attributes. Instead, she had chosen to exchange effectiveness for speed. Her attacks were relentless, but she didn¡¯t pay attention to her Skill Completion, as the damage she dealt was around 30-40.


    The poison that she used also wasn¡¯t what Lu Li had expected. It was more of a fast-acting poison that allowed each attack to deal more damage.


    On the other hand, when Lu Li attacked her, he would deal 80-100 damage.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 65%, resulting in 72% damage.


    This should have had a high Skill Completion, but was reduced because it was blocked.


    Overall, Lu Li was losing more HP, but only by a small margin.


    Lu Li knew that this was a bad situation to be in, but he didn¡¯t panic. He kept his cool and continued to allow her to come at him.


    Even her flurry of attacks had gaps in them. Water Fairy¡¯s attacks were affected by changing positions and casting spells. When Lu Li found an opportunity, he activated the Swiftness effect of his shoes and swept her aside. She tried to turn and follow him, but paused for a moment.


    This was the effect that Lu Li wanted.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 89%, dealing 112% damage and stunning for 1 second!


    After being stunned, Water Fairy frantically tried to cast Shadowmeld. In the moment Shadowmeld took effect, it could nullify an attack by making it lose its target. She hoped that Shadowmeld would protect her from being stunned by Cheap Shot.


    In that short 1 second duration, Lu Li¡¯s attack came and Water Fairy¡¯s Shadowmeld also activated.


    It looked like she had had timed it perfectly.


    However, things don¡¯t always turn out as planned. Water Fairy was shocked to find that Lu Li hadn¡¯t used Cheap Shot, but a regular attack.


    She had been tricked!


    As she realized this, she felt the chill of a dagger behind her.


    The real Cheap Shot was coming!


    Fortunately, she still had another skill ¨C Gale Steps.


    This was the first time that Lu Li had seen Gale Steps.


    Gale Steps was considered one of the strongest Thief skills. It gave invincibility and dealt high damage, while boosting movement speed and critical chance.


    He didn¡¯t know what level Water Fairy¡¯s Gale Steps were, but a max-level Gale Steps gave 2 seconds of invincibility, 80% bonus movement speed and dealt 280% bonus damage when coming out of Stealth.


    He now realized out why Moonlight had lost to her. Water Fairy¡¯s skills were far too strong. Her equipment was also very good and he was willing to bet that all her equipment was at least LV15 Steel-Grade.


    Now that he had thought about it, this wasn¡¯t outside the realm of possibility. With such a big guild behind her, it would have been strange for her not to have good equipment.


    Lu Li pursed his lips and maintained his straight expression while retreating backwards.

 124 The World Is So Big

    When one retreats, the other naturally advances. Water Fairy had no doubt that she would be able to catch up to Lu Li, as her Gale Steps gave her a significant movement-speed buff.


    Just as she was about to come into contact with him, he halted his retreat and kicked the empty space in front of him.


    Moonlight was capable of knocking Lu Li out of stealth with a normal kick. As such, Lu Li¡¯s Kick skill was bound to do the same, given that skills could be cast faster than regular actions.


    Water Fairy made a muffled groan before appearing in front of Lu Li, as she clutched her stomach in pain.


    However, she still managed to take a step and launch herself at Lu Li. She was attempting to utilize the first attack coming out of Gale Steps, which had a bonus 280% damage. After such a prolonged fight, Lu Li only had about 300 HP remaining. This attack could instantly kill him.


    Was he about to lose?


    Of course not!


    The moment Water Fairy¡¯s dagger touched Lu Li¡¯s skin, she thought that she had won.


    In that moment, he smiled at her before instantly vanishing.


    Naturally, she thought that Lu Li had gone into Stealth. She followed his action and kicked towards the empty space before her.


    Halfway through her kick, she realized the mistake that she had made. A sting on her back told her that Lu Li had appeared behind her.


    This was the Shadow Cloak¡¯s special effect!


    Lu Li was able to make three, uninterrupted attacks ¨C Shadowstrike, a normal attack and Backstab.


    After Water Fairy had turned around, he took a step forwards and positioned himself next to her. He then turned and cast a Backhand Backstab at her back.


    The little HP that Water Fairy had left instantly disappeared.


    Lu Li had won!


    When they both stepped out of the competition room, Lu Li could see that she was eager to try again.


    ¡°Again.¡±


    The female tycoon was obviously dissatisfied.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, maybe another time.¡±


    Lu Li received the 200 gold coins from Moonlight while shaking his head and rejecting the challenge.


    The first 100 was his own deposit and the second 100 was Water Fairy¡¯s bet.


    What a quick 100 gold!


    The feeling was addictively exhilarating, but it was probably best to ensure moderation.


    Lu Li remembered from his previous life that there had been players who went bankrupt, or who were caught by the Internet Police because of in-game gambling. These players were mostly experts as well.


    Moreover, fighting Water Fairy again wouldn¡¯t be easy. Her equipment was as good as his and she had a skill that he hadn¡¯t learned. Gale Steps alone had proved to be a great threat to him.


    The reason that Lu Li won was solely because of his significant PVP experience. He was just too familiar with Dawn¡¯s gameplay, and could quickly read situations and bait out skills. In fact, the moments that Water Fairy had taken an advantage in were all within Lu Li¡¯s expectations.


    Baiting out skills was especially important in PVP. Feigning positions, actions, skills and baiting out the opponent¡¯s crowd-control and crowd-control recovery skills were all necessary to winning.


    Currently, players still haven¡¯t used the Manual Mode for long enough to master any of this.


    If Water Fairy felt like the fight was unfair, it was only due to her shallow understanding of PVP.


    She could be thinking that she shouldn¡¯t have used Shadowmeld so early, so as to save it for a more critical moment. However, even if they fought again, Lu Li still had many ways to bait out her main skills.


    Her invitation was rejected, but she couldn¡¯t force Lu Li to go again, so she left in a huff.


    ¡°You can have this equipment. They aren¡¯t very good, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make do.¡±


    Lu Li handed a bag of Steel equipment to Moonlight. He fought Bosses quite regularly and had many pieces of equipment that he couldn¡¯t be bothered to sell.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t mind; he immediately equipped them.


    In that moment, Lu Li realized that Moonlight didn¡¯t have a complete set of equipment. He was still wearing some Bronze equipment.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened here?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°While fighting the Gangnam Royals, I was so engrossed that I got killed a few times,¡± Moonlight said plainly. He wasn¡¯t angry or passionate about it; his tone was as plain as water.


    Fundamentally, Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight were very different people. Azure Sea Breeze had the boldness of a Warrior, but Moonlight was more haughty and eccentric.


    ¡°You can¡¯t really buy anything good in the Exchange Hall. It would probably be better if you did some Instance Dungeons with us, as opposed to wandering around with that axe.¡±


    Lu Li understood Moonlight, but didn¡¯t necessarily agree with his philosophy.


    ¡°I had a similar thought; call me when the time comes,¡± Moonlight said, as he waved his hand and left.


    Taking advantage of the little time he had left, Lu Li quickly trained his engineering skills.


    However, making Bolts wasn¡¯t enough for him to level up to Intermediate. His engineering EXP bar stayed at 62, while he required 80 points.


    With a need to find new recipes, Lu Li went to the Exchange Hall. He searched for Basic Engineering Recipes, trying to find one that was cheap and easy to make.


    Engineering was a very neglected profession. It didn¡¯t have access to a variety of living materials, nor could it produce a large variety of equipment. Its products were strange and mostly unreliable.


    The bomb blueprint was the sole motivation for Lu Li¡¯s interest in Engineering. With 2000 damage, any monster below LV20 would instantly die to it, while any monster above LV20 would be critically wounded if hit.


    He just needed to find a place with many monsters to draw together and bomb. He estimated that it would give him an entire level of EXP.


    Lu Li was looking forward to being able to hold his own bomb. While browsing through the recipes being sold at the Exchange Hall, he noticed that there were a wide range of grades between them. He had been looking for a couple of dozen minutes before he finally decided on one.


    Blueprint: The world Is So Big


    Recipe: Engineering


    Requirement: Basic (50)


    Use: Teaches you how to make ¡°The W0orld Is So Big¡±


    The World Is So Big: This is a very wonderful item. Just try it and see. Then, you will know how big the world is.


    This blueprint wasn¡¯t cheap, which was probably something to do with the strange description. The player had marked it at a price of 3 gold coins, which was equivalent to an ordinary Steel item.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate. Once he saw the price, he immediately bought it.


    The World Is So Big. Many people would have been confused by the name, but Lu Li knew what it did. In his previous life, many people would ask an engineer to make one of these for them. Its primary function was so that they could act cute.


    That¡¯s right, to act cute!


    The World Is So Big made people smaller ¨C around 1/8th of their original size. Of course, when they were that small, the world would appear big to them. That¡¯s where the name came from.


    Mini-players who were only a few centimeters tall were particularly cute.


    Lu Li then searched the Exchange Hall and found all the materials that he needed for this item.


    Creating one costed around 20 silver, but once its effect was made known, there would definitely be buyers.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn¡¯t sell it for too much because it could only be used three times. Something that could only be used three times could only be sold for 3 gold at the very most.


    In fact, even 3 gold was stretching it a little.

 125 Options For the New Party Members

    When he had purchased enough material, Lu Li returned to the engineering lab once again.


    The physical mechanics behind ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ were unknown. After all, this was just a video game. The whole process of creating one was not difficult, but very time consuming. Lu Li had spent 10 minutes just to create a single one. The System then prompted him that he had gained 1 point of EXP.


    No wonder so few people chose engineering; upgrading your skills took too long. If you had the right alchemy recipe, you could have gained 10 points of EXP in 10 minutes.


    The finished product looked a little like a syringe that was filled with white light. He stabbed himself with it and felt a dazzling electric shock as he quickly shrunk like a deflating balloon.


    In addition to looking physically smaller, this also reduced the effect of aggro by 20%. It lasted for 30 minutes, disappeared upon death and could be cancelled.


    Lu Li could no longer reach the workbench that was originally at waist height. There was no way he could work like this, so he cancelled the effect. Upon confirmation, he immediately started growing until his original size was restored.


    He still had 13 points before reaching Intermediate Level, but he didn¡¯t particularly mind and continued to work hard.


    As he began to speed up, Azure Sea Breeze sent a call request.


    ¡°This is so depressing; I can¡¯t find anyone,¡± Azure Sea Breeze lamented.


    ¡°Oh, tell me what happened.¡±


    Lu Li half-heartedly asked him to elaborate while smashing an object and putting it into a small copper tube.


    ¡°I asked some experts that I knew, but most of them were already part of a guild. Those that weren¡¯t are asking for too much. They want priority in equipment drops, the materials and some have even asked for the last hit EXP on Bossess¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you play with them often?¡± Lu Li chuckled, as he carefully tightened the copper pipe. The System prompted him that his product was successful and he gained EXP.


    ¡°Usually when they come to me for help, their words are like honey. But once they hear about leaving their guild, they become apprehensive.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was really sad this time; he had no idea how he had managed to get stuck in this situation.


    Lu Li thought to himself that this was to be expected for as long as Azure Sea Breeze had a strong willingness to trust anyone.


    Lu Li had deliberately set difficult entry requirements. Not only was there a probation period, you also needed to be unanimously accepted by the old members. No matter how strong they were, most players would be disheartened by this, let alone the guild members that Azure Sea Breeze was inviting.


    In the age of virtual reality, guilds were no different to real life companies. If you asked someone to give up their source of income and refuse to provide them with some sort of security, they wouldn¡¯t want to come.


    As for those who had complicated conditions, Lu Li didn¡¯t even need to disapprove. Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t willing to accept those people either.


    ¡°So be it. I have a few candidates; try contacting them,¡± Lu Li said, as he listed them off. He was becoming more and more skilled in producing ¡°The World Is So Big¡±.


    ¡°You have suitable candidates? Why didn¡¯t you say anything? I¡¯ve been running around everywhere,¡± Azure Sea Breeze replied angrily.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t worry about him and continued listing his candidates.


    ¡°There¡¯s one person called Wandering; he should be a Paladin. His skills are pretty good, but he¡¯s a little strange. Just watch out when you contact him¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean Wandering, the narcissist?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze yelled out.


    ¡°Narcissist is probably right.¡±


    Lu Li recalled the Wandering from his past life. This was probably the most appropriate description.


    ¡°How could you possibly know someone like that? No way!¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was strongly opposed to the idea.


    ¡°Tell me why not.¡± Lu Li thought this situation was amusing.


    ¡°I can¡¯t take his narcissism,¡± Azure Sea Breeze responded.


    ¡°But he¡¯s not a bad player. He also has a sense of duty. Do you admit to that?¡±


    Lu Li still remembered how he had met Wandering. Azure Sea Breeze was in dire straits and was being hunted by players with explosive magic.


    The group of players were his so-called ¡®friends¡¯. Wandering was involved in the operation, but as a member hiding in their ranks. He relayed information to Azure Sea Breeze so he could stay one step ahead of the group. After he was found out, he couldn¡¯t leave the spawn area for a few days.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze had to admit it, but he continued to argue, ¡°But that guy just joined this week. How is he going to keep up with his poor equipment?¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was good friends with him in a previous game. However, they had a falling out and now he hated him.


    ¡°Levels can be gained and poor equipment isn¡¯t really a reason. If you don¡¯t contact him, I¡¯ll do it for you.¡±


    Lu Li thought that Wandering was very appropriate. There was no need to worry that he would betray them for his own self-interest.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ve messaged him. Don¡¯t forget what you said; if he¡¯s not appropriate then we¡¯ll kick him out. If anyone has any objections in a week¡¯s time, he has to go.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze had thought it through.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more person. Listen up.¡±


    Lu Li had just finished making his fifth ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ and he placed it into his bag. His luck had been good and he gained a little more EXP.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be another person like Wandering; we don¡¯t play well together.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was filled with resentment.


    He was still so arrogant and was yet to truly understand the wisdom of the world. Lu Li still remembered him crying that he was a fool, and telling him that he only had two friends. Only two¡­


    ¡°Sesame Rice Ball. Try him.¡±


    ¡°Him? That¡¯s probably unlikely; he¡¯s the Seventh Heaven¡¯s Chief Warlock.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was shocked.


    The Seventh Heaven was a low-key group, but they had formidable strength and were even stronger than Drizzle Court. In the annual game guild rankings, they ranked fifth in the Chinese District.


    To be the Chief Warlock in a guild that stood out among thousands was a testament to his strength.


    ¡°Yes, Sesame Rice Ball is currently Seventh Heaven¡¯s Chief Warlock. However, from what I hear, this will soon no longer be the case. The Seventh Heaven¡¯s financial manager had homosexual tendencies and found that Sesame Rice Ball appeared¡­ alluring. When the Big Boss found out about this, he got scared and kicked him out of Seventh Heaven. He wouldn¡¯t want to return, even if it meant his death.¡±


    This was a controversial matter in his previous life. However, it had been a year since the event when Lu Li entered the game. Even so, the players, especially fujoshis, continued to talk about it.


    With the explicit details filling their brains to the brim, all kinds of erotic texts appeared all over the forums. They were masterpieces, boasting the allure of love. It was only then that Lu Li had learned the meaning of ¡®Boy¡¯s Love¡¯.

 126 Moon Creek Prison

    After going offline, Lu Li lit up his room with a dim bedside lamp. He got up from his bed and his neck felt sore. Then, he put on a pair of slippers before heading outside.


    When he had enough money, he would definitely need to buy a Health Pod. All those advertised drugs were useless; only the Health Pod¡¯s full body massage systems would make the helmets more comfortable.


    In the living room, the three female landlords were snuggled into the sofa and watching TV.


    These girls were already beautiful, so to see them snuggled up together like that would make most people go crazy. However, Lu Li was not one of these people; he quietly greeted them and headed into the kitchen. His eyes didn¡¯t linger for any longer than they needed to.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t sleepwalking right?¡± Dou Jing Jing asked curiously.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Zhou Huan Huan wasn¡¯t very sure.


    ¡°You guys are less attractive than a piece of bread,¡± Yang Liu said maliciously.


    ¡°Oh, the great god is just really different.¡±


    Zhou Huan Huan blamed everything on the fact that Lu Li was revered as a god. Once this was brought up, there was nothing left to be said.


    ¡°Great god? If he¡¯s a great god, why don¡¯t we ask him to help us?¡±


    Dou Jing Jing patted Yang Liu¡¯s thigh with a look of realization.


    ¡°Even Water Fairy couldn¡¯t find him; what makes you think you¡¯ll be able to?¡± Yang Liu shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go ask him.¡±


    She quietly jumped off the sofa and ran barefoot into the kitchen.


    Lu Li was cooking; he intended to make braised pork and julienned stir-fry potato. His knife skills were pretty good and the thickness of the potatoes were all very even. It was hard to tell them apart, unless you looked at them very carefully.


    ¡°Great god, how are you?¡± Dou Jing Jing asked as she bounced over towards him.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Lu Li put down the knife and looked at her.


    Perhaps it was for their beauty, but the three landlords didn¡¯t stay online for as long as Lu Li did. As such, their eating and leisure times eventually drifted apart, which resulted in a lack of communication in the house.


    ¡°How¡¯s living here? Are you comfortable?¡±


    For someone who enjoyed causing trouble, speaking gently like this was really difficult.


    ¡°It¡¯s been good. Thank you for taking care of Xin Xin,¡± Lu Li replied, as he continued cooking. He handed her a cup of cucumber juice that he had been preparing.


    ¡°Xin Xin is really cute; we all really like her. It doesn¡¯t really count as taking care of her.¡±


    Dou Jing Jing took the cucumber juice and watched Lu Li work, as she leaned against the marble counter.


    At this time, Lu Li would usually make extra so that his sister could have some after coming home from tuition. At first, he had given her money to buy lunch, but he soon realized that he couldn¡¯t bear to pay the exorbitant prices set by the school refectory.


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Uhm¡­.¡±


    Usually she wasn¡¯t this polite to Lu Li. When she needed to ask something of someone, she would find it very difficult. Dou Jing Jing quietly said, ¡°Sister Huan Huan got an Instance Dungeon Scroll. We¡¯ve already tried it twice, but we failed both times.¡±


    ¡°Oh, an Instance Dungeon Scroll! What kind of Instance Dungeon?¡± Lu Li was intruiged.


    ¡°Moon Creek Prison. It¡¯s in the human part of town. It¡¯s an underground prison,¡± Dou Jing Jin responded.


    ¡°Tell me what it¡¯s like.¡±


    Lu Li had to acknowledge that anyone could get these Instance Dungeon scrolls. He wasn¡¯t the only one that was lucky.


    ¡°Our small party got it when we were doing a quest. We didn¡¯t really prepare and just went in,¡± Dou Jin Jin shamefully said. ¡°We were immediately killed by the first Boss.¡±


    ¡°The first Boss? Is there a second one?¡± Lu Li was even more surprised.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s an Elite difficulty dungeon scroll. When we went in, we were prompted to kill two Bosses.¡± Dou Jin Jin felt as though that the existence of the two Bosses wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary.


    However, she truly was lucky. The Elite Difficulty Instance Dungeon Scroll was an uncommon drop and the monsters within it were difficult. These five lucky newbies were naturally going to be killed.


    ¡°What about the second time? Did you ask for help?¡± Lu Li was now really interested in this Instance Dungeon. One of the materials required for the Supreme Ring upgrade was called ¡®Barbaric Blood¡¯. These were only dropped from the Moon Creek Prison¡¯s Worgen Boss. In an Elite Instance Dungeon, the chance of it dropping was even more likely.


    ¡°The second time, we got the biggest expert from our guild, Water Fairy.¡±


    It would have been difficult for these three female landlords who were also Drizzle Court players to find other experts. This was understandable.


    ¡°But you still couldn¡¯t do it, right?¡± Lu Li was not surprised.


    ¡°Yeah, the Main Tank couldn¡¯t keep up. This was also our guild¡¯s strongest Main Tank. We still couldn¡¯t even beat the first Boss. Water Fairy said that it couldn¡¯t be beaten at this stage of the game.¡±


    Dou Jin Jin sounded depressed.


    It was like having an unreachable pile of treasure in front of you. This was more painful than not having any treasure at all.


    ¡°In other words, you only have one chance left.¡±


    Not only did Instance Dungeon scroll have a three-day limit, it also had a three-chance limit. If the Instance Dungeon was not beaten in three attempts, then the scroll would be considered a failure.


    ¡°You definitely have a way, right? You¡¯ve gotten so many First Clears.¡±


    Dou Jin Jin was like a patient desperately seeking after medical attention.


    With one last chance left, she went to Lu Li. To her, he was even better than Water Fairy. After all, he was currently the man of the hour.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come find you tomorrow morning. As for the items dropped by the Instance Dungeon, I want a specific kind of material and one equip.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ alright.¡±


    Dou Jin Jin was a little angry that Lu Li wanted to be paid, but she realized that this wasn¡¯t that bad. Otherwise, they would have just wasted their last chance. She and Lu Li were acquainted, but not to the point where he would be helping her for free.


    After having dinner, Lu Li trained at the gym until his sister got back.


    ¡°Big brother, you aren¡¯t asleep!¡± Lu Xin was a little surprised. Ever since her brother started playing videogames, his schedule had been reversed. She didn¡¯t get to see him very often.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± Lu Li sat beside his sister and looked at the girl who was growing up.


    She seemed a little pale. He used to think that she was just malnourished or that she was studying too hard. Who would have guessed that the disease was already spreading in her body?


    ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± Being stared at by her brother made her feel a little uncomfortable. She couldn¡¯t help but twist away.


    She had heard big sister Dou Dou talk about a kind of person that liked their sisters. Could it be that her brother¡­ no, there¡¯s no way. They grew up together, so they had to be close¡­


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what her beloved sister was quietly thinking of. He touched her face and calmly said, ¡°Go call your school and take a day off. I¡¯m bringing you to the hospital on Monday. I¡¯ve already made the appointment.¡±


    ¡°Oh, but why?¡±


    Lu Xin, who was immersed in Dou Dou¡¯s fantasy world, heard her brother talking about the hospital and thought it was a little silly.


    ¡°One of my friends got sick, but they found out too late. I want us both to do a full body checkup.¡±


    In order to not put too much pressure on his sister, Lu Li fabricated a temporary excuse to do a full body checkup.


    ¡°But I feel fine.¡± The Lu family had never gotten sick before.


    ¡°I¡¯ve recently made some money, so don¡¯t worry about that. Big brother will soon make even more, so you¡¯ve just got to listen to me.¡± Lu Li patted Lu Xin¡¯s little head and as he came to a conclusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to make the call.¡±

 127 I Have The Final Say

    When he came back online the next day, Lu Li spent two gold coins to transport himself west of the city. It was Dou Jing Jing who wanted to meet him there. Her in game name was Don¡¯t Hit Dou Dou and probably had something to do with the phrase ¡°Have dinner and hit dou dou¡±.


    ¡°We have to give you one spot.¡±


    Dou Jing Jing was a little worried.


    In Dawn, Instance Dungeon Scrolls actually produced private Instance Dungeons. As such, in addition to the three attempts rule, the parties attempted them could only have 50% variation.


    Moon Creek Prison was a five person dungeon, so three people from the party that had attempted it the first time always had to take part.


    In their first attempt, the party consisted of the three lady landlords and two other Drizzle Court players.


    On the second run, Yang Liu had to give up her spot because she was a Hunter. She gave up her DPS position to Water Fairy. Now, someone else needed to give up their spot for Lu Li. After some discussion, it was decided that this would be Dou Jing Jing.


    ¡°Looks like your guild members aren¡¯t very friendly.¡±


    Two out of the three landlords had already given up their spots. The other two players who were there in the first attempt remained adamant about staying in their positions.


    The only reason Huan Huan was still in was because this was her quest. Without her, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do it at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s normally fine, but when it¡¯s important¡­¡±


    Dou Jing Jing bitterly lowered her head.


    ¡°Well, in that case, I want two equips and the material. You tell them that. If they refuse, then I¡¯ll leave.¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t as amicable as the three other ladies.


    In an Elite Dungeon, at least three pieces of equipment would be dropped, in addition to the EXP and First Clear rewards. If he was helping a friend, he would be content with just taking the material and leaving everything else. However, in this current situation, only one of his friends could enter the Instance Dungeon. Of course, Lu Li would have been dissatisfied otherwise.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Dou Jing Jing was angry, but she knew that he wasn¡¯t being like this because of her. All she could do was message the team channel.


    There were two forms of communication in Dawn ¨C one was text and the other was voice. Dou Jing Jing was using text, but based on her facial expressions, it didn¡¯t seem like it was going well.


    The few other players were already waiting at the dungeon. Other than Water Fairy and the landlords, there were two other players ¨C a female Mage and a male Warrior.


    He didn¡¯t think that Drizzle Court would start taking in male players; it must have been the pressure on them to keep up in the game.


    With such a large player base, only accepting female players just wasn¡¯t enough to keep up on the rankings. Recruiting some appropriate, high-level male players was inevitable for the development of Drizzle Court.


    ¡°Dou Dou, what is this? He¡¯s already taking two items and now he wants more? Are you doing this because he is your friend?¡±


    The female Mage saw Lu Li and Dou Jing Jing standing together and openly cried out.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even look at her and instead nodded directly at Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy was lazy with her response and nodded in return. The atmosphere was tense and there was no sense of being a team.


    ¡°Lu Li¡­¡± Dou Jing Jing was becoming unruly. She didn¡¯t argue at all, but tugged at his sleeve and looked at him with a teary face.


    ¡°You guys have tried and failed twice. You have no ground on which to bargain with me. If you want to get through this Instance Dungeon, you will just have to agree.¡±


    Lu Li was straightforward and didn¡¯t extend any courtesy to Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy grunted but said nothing.


    ¡°Who do you think you are? How can you say that?¡±


    This female Mage had only started playing in the second release. The name, ¡®Lu Li¡¯, didn¡¯t carry much meaning for her. The male Warrior was trying to restrain her, but to no avail.


    ¡°You¡¯re only LV15; don¡¯t bother entering. You and Dou Dou should join the party,¡± Lu Li said, as he pointed at the Warrior. ¡°If there are no problems, then stay, but you must listen to my instructions. If anyone has any problems with that, you can leave the party.¡±


    ¡°I have no problems with that,¡± the warrior desperately nodded.


    He knew that Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid of kicking them out. He quickly accepted the invitation from Zhou Huan Huan and waited for them to complete the party modifications.


    The beautiful female Mage from Drizzle Court must have been popular. She was probably also sought after by many male players. After Lu Li had been so blunt with her, she became furious and began to raise her Magic Staff.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. You can return.¡±


    Water Fairy cut off the Mage, forcing her to swallow whatever she was about to say to Lu Li.


    Next to Water Fairy, any kind of pride she felt for her own beauty was a joke. Moreover, Water Fairy held a very high position in the guild.


    Some people said that the president of Drizzle Court wasn¡¯t Water Fairy, but that she was actually the financial backer. Regardless, her words had the authority to decide who was or wasn¡¯t in the guild.


    The female Mage stared angrily at Lu Li before turning away.


    Zhou Huan Huan let out a helpless sigh before pulling out the Instance Dungeon scroll and channeling it.


    The LV17 Lu Li, LV15 Little Bear Huan Huan (Zhou Huan Huan), LV16 Don¡¯t Hit Dou Dou (Dou Jing Jing), LV15 Leaf Bro and LV16 Water Fairy all entered the Instance Dungeon.


    Little Bear Huan Huan was the party¡¯s Shaman Healer, while Leaf Bro was the Main Tank. Both of their levels were relatively low and their equipment wasn¡¯t too great. This Elite-difficulty Moon Creek Prison was now going to be a little harder. Luckily, Lu Li had prior knowledge, so he wouldn¡¯t be doing this the conventional way.


    However, in order to confuse them and pave a way for his strategy, he began to tell them a story that was related to this abandoned prison.


    ¡°The Defias Brotherhood had once attempted to release prisoners from this place, but they didn¡¯t imagine that the first person they encountered would be a crazy Gnoll. After many of them were bitten, they escaped the area and left it alone.¡±


    ¡°You really know a lot.¡±


    Zhou Huan Huan sincerely admired his knowledge.


    ¡°When I have free time, I read in the library. If you understand the background of certain characters or locations, you can find more quests or learn strategies for Instance Dungeons. As for this prison, the first Boss is going to be Gnoll Ording. If you know about its origin, then you will know its weakness and its skills¡­¡± Lu Li continued.


    As the saying goes, listening to the wise is better than ten years of study. Even Water Fairy, with her cold character, was carefully listening to Lu Li¡¯s explanation. She and the others couldn¡¯t help but admire him.


    The dungeon¡¯s save point only appeared after killing a Boss; there was no such feature for killing the little mobs. However, now that they had two strong Thieves in Lu Li and Water Fairy, they were easily able to clear them out.


    After 10 minutes, they stood before the first Boss, Gnoll Ording.

 128 Deriving a Strategy From the Story

    The Gnoll was two meters tall and abnormally large. Its skin was green and gray, and became darker around its nose. It had a full, greyish-red mane and its head looked like a hyena with yellow teeth and blood-red eyes.


    Everyone was looking at Lu Li. They had all died the last time they had gotten here and didn¡¯t have high hopes for this attempt either. However, they all wanted to know what the best way to destroy this Gnoll was.


    ¡°Compared to the other Gnolls, Gnoll Ording is actually very religious,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Just tell us how to kill him; I know its religious. Last time we fought it, it kept saying something about Yenogg.¡±


    The others who had heard this were amused ¨C they didn¡¯t think that Ording¡¯s belief was useful. Was there a way to use a certain doctrine against it?


    ¡°Yenogg is a relatively weak Demon Lord.¡±


    Lu Li looked at them and saw that they were a little disheartened. It was as if he had done something childish.


    ¡°Is there a way to work out the strategy with this information?¡± Little Bear Huan Huan was the one who had set up the studio, so she had some potential for leadership.


    ¡°That is correct. This is actually the info you need to be able to deal with it,¡± Lu Li nodded, before continuing, ¡°But there is someone else that needs to be mentioned¡ªKrasus. This guy was a genius. When he was building this prison¡­¡±


    ¡°Who is Krasus?¡± Huan Huan took Lu Li¡¯s explanation like a bedtime story.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t angry that his explanation had been interrupted and further explained with a weird expression on his face, ¡°Krasus should actually be called Claustraz. He is a dragon ¨C one of the youngest spouses of the Red Dragon Queen¡­¡±


    ¡°The youngest spouse? Does that mean that the Red Dragon Queen had many spouses?¡±


    The female members were suddenly paying attention.


    ¡°Hehe, in short, Krasus was a dragon, but he was a genius in the rare Red Dragon magic. By the virtue of his magical power, he became the leader of Dalaran¡¯s strongest group ¨C the ¡®Sixth Assembly¡¯. He would normally appear like a High Elf and only used his original form in exceptional circumstances.


    ¡°Wow, it sounds so mysterious and magical!¡±


    Dou Jing Jing sighed at the epic-ness of these characters, while the others were shocked by Lu Li¡¯s knowledge.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t just making this up. In his past life, when he wasn¡¯t farming for gold throughout the day, he would be reading in Danassus¡¯ library.


    In the end, Lu Li developed a natural desire for knowledge, despite never attending school in reality. Even so, he knew that the game¡¯s so-called literary masterpieces were just fantasy.


    However, these books were not entirely useless. One could imagine how much effort Dawn¡¯s development team had spent on developing them. There were probably tens of thousands of fantasy writers involved in a compilation of stories.


    There were many hidden secrets among them.


    The books had an undeniable role in transforming Lu Li from a Gold Collection Member to a second rate expert in his previous life.


    Take the Red Dragon Krasus for example ¨C he knew where to get an Epic Quest, with a great amount of EXP, a legendary Mage equip and a Mage skill book as a reward.


    It was too bad that he wasn¡¯t a Mage.


    ¡°Where was I up to?¡± Lu Li frowned.


    ¡°You said that Krasus built the prison. I still can¡¯t believe that this prison is run by a dragon.¡±


    Huan Huan looked around the prison for any dragon-related markings, but couldn¡¯t find any.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Krasus was a genius of a Mage. He created a prison without any guards.¡±


    Lu Li felt a little sympathy for the Gnoll, as he stood in front of it.


    ¡°How does it not need guards? Won¡¯t the prisoners just run away?¡± Dou Jing Jing asked curiously.


    ¡°Although there are no guards, there is someone stopping them from escaping,¡± Lu Li said as he pointed at Ording and continued, ¡°It helps Krasus stop all the foreign enemies who want to come in and all the prisoners who want to get out.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± This revelation was even more surprising than the guardless prison.


    ¡°Krasus built the Gnoll¡¯s cell as an altar ¨C one that can communicate with the Demon Lord Yenogg. Do you think Ording would leave the place where it can communicate with its god?¡±


    ¡°Probably not.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s eyes suddenly opened.


    ¡°Yep, with Ording stationed here, no prisoners are able to leave. If it¡¯s hungry, it¡¯ll eat anyone that comes in, or any prisoners that try to escape. In other words, it¡¯ll eat anyone that passes by.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that Ording is the Instance Dungeon¡¯s most powerful Boss?¡±


    If the first Boss was already this strong, how could they even stand a chance against the rest of the Instance Dungeon?!


    ¡°That¡¯s right. For as long as Ording stands at the altar, it has the skills and strength of a final Boss.¡±


    Lu Li deliberately emphasized the word ¡®altar¡¯.


    ¡°However, once the place from which he draws strength is destroyed, he can be killed.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying we need to destroy the altar?¡± Huan Huan and the others were all wondering the same thing.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little easier than that. Do you see the four statues? Once the Boss starts to draw power from them, it will gain high attack and defence. During that time, we¡¯ll have a short window to destroy the statue. It is only in that moment that the statues are vulnerable; they are otherwise indestructible,¡± Lu Li stressed.


    ¡°I see that you have studied Instanced Dungeons.¡±


    Water Fairy, who hadn¡¯t been particularly concerned with Instance Dungeons, now held Lu Li in high esteem. ¡°Do you have any interest in Drizzle Court?¡± she asked.


    No wonder there were people who said that she lacked worldly wisdom ¨C how could she be so direct?


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not interested in joining any guilds. I¡¯m just trying to help out my friend and claim the rewards.¡±


    Lu Li rejected her even more directly.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Seeing that Lu Li had refused, Water Fairy didn¡¯t press further on the matter. The reality was that she wasn¡¯t actually interested in building up her guild either.


    ¡°Warrior, attack. Don¡¯t activate your damage reduction skills,¡± Lu Li commanded. Leaf Bro simply nodded and headed for the Gnoll.


    ¡°Meat! Fresh Meat!¡± Ording hadn¡¯t eaten anything for a few years now. Hunger tormented its soul, so it was excited to see the players move closer.


    The moment that it started advancing, it casted its spell¡ªRapid Charge.


    Rapid Charge: Charge to a target, causing the caster¡¯s next attack to deal more damage to it.


    This was the same skill that they had seen last time. It dealt high damage but was not fatal. The skill that they had to watch out for was Mortal Strike.


    Mortal Strike: Inflicts 200% weapon damage to the target and injures it. Any Heal skill cast on the injured targeted is reduced by 50% for 5 seconds.


    Not only did this skill deal a lot of damage, it also halves the effects of healing. On several occasions during the fight, Leaf Bro had wanted to activate his damage reduction skills. However, Lu Li had told him not to, so now his HP was critical.

 129 Leaf Bro’s Gratitude

    ¡°Your defensive moves are a bit lacking; try to think of how other tanks would face this Boss.¡±


    Lu Li, who was used to playing with the pro tank Azure Sea Breeze, was not used to Leaf Bro¡¯s level of skill.


    Defensive moves were related to the Half-Manual mode. If they were executed well, a tank could greatly reduce the amount of damage taken from the Boss and decrease the likelihood of Critical Hits. The reason that Leaf Bro was losing HP so rapidly wasn¡¯t just because of his equipment, but because his defensive moves weren¡¯t being properly executed.


    If it were anyone else, Leaf Bro definitely would have ignored them. After all, this was a Thief instructing a Warrior.


    However, he was being instructed by Lu Li, the greatest legend in the game.


    Leaf Bro was part of the first group of people to enter the game. While he was still marvelling at it and familiarising himself with it, Lu Li had already completed the First Clear of an Instance Dungeon.


    He carefully thought back to the actions of the guild¡¯s best tanks and noticed some things that he hadn¡¯t paid attention to in the past.


    He bent over a bit more and lowered his centre of gravity, as he slightly leaned forwards. When the Boss attacked, he moved his Shield forwards to meet it, and used its power to move back afterwards.


    Just like that, the damage he took from the Boss was greatly reduced. At least for now, the party would no longer be in any danger.


    Water Fairy was a carefree person, but was very competitive. As such, she was always looking for ways to obtain better equipment and challenged many people to PVP duels. At the moment, she was competing with Lu Li in terms of DPS (Damage Per Second).


    Her equipment was comparable to his and she even had skills that he didn¡¯t. However, she was still unable to match his damage output.


    She discovered that Lu Li¡¯s Skill Completion for his skills was astonishing. Although she couldn¡¯t precisely see how high it was, she could make estimations based on the damage he dealt. There was no doubt that she had ever seen anyone deal as much damage as Lu Li.


    Could it be that she had chosen the wrong path? Was attacking quickly better, or achieving high Skill Completion?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know that Water Fairy began to doubt herself because of him.


    Instead, he was completely focused on the Boss. Their tank¡¯s equipment was quite poor and his skills weren¡¯t that helpful. They had to stop the Gnoll Ording from drawing energy from the altar. Otherwise, they would be finished.


    Gnoll Ording appeared to be in a berserk state. Apart from using a few skills here and there, all it did was yell, ¡°Meat, fresh meat!¡± This caused everyone to shiver in fear that it would leap over and take a bite out of them.


    Perhaps he had become tired from being berserk, but the Gnoll stopped attacking and raggedly breathed in and out as his red eyes stared at the intruders.


    ¡°Pay attention: Water Fairy, take the first statue. Dou Dou, take the second one. I¡¯ll take the third one. When we¡¯ve finished, we¡¯ll attack the fourth one together. Leaf Bro, prepare to use your damage reduction skills and drink Potions. Huan Huan, be ready to heal whenever necessary,¡± Lu Li loudly called out.


    The Boss was about to start drawing energy.


    ¡°Ancestral gods, give your people power,¡± Ording furiously roared to the sky.


    If one was not paying attention, they wouldn¡¯t notice the changes in the four statues, which opened their eyes as they were covered by the thin fog.


    As soon as Lu Li gave his orders, the three DPS Attackers started to attack the statues.


    The Gnoll became even more furious and began to attack faster. His damage also increased significantly and Leaf Bro hurriedly activated his damage reduction skills.


    ¡°Too early. Even if you can¡¯t control the situation, you should at least be able to estimate how much damage you can take,¡± Lu Li¡¯s called out. Although Lu Li had good intentions, Leaf Bro¡¯s faced burned.


    ¡°Sorry, I panicked,¡± Leaf Bro gloomily replied.


    ¡°Make sure you¡¯re focusing from now on.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s calm attitude encouraged the entire team to keep their emotions in check.


    Lu Li was the first to destroy the statue he was in charge of. He didn¡¯t go to help Water Fairy, but instead rushed towards last one.


    ¡°I¡¯m at my limit!¡±


    Leaf Bro¡¯s damage reduction skills were far worse than Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s. He had only lasted for 5 seconds, but there were still two statues remaining.


    ¡°Retreat only when I tell you to. Retreat¡­ Retreat¡­ Retreat¡­¡± Lu Li coolly ordered.


    Normally, tanks wouldn¡¯t choose to retreat when facing a Boss. After all, retreating greatly reduced one¡¯s defences and increased the likelihood of the Boss dealing critical hits by breaking through their defences. What tanks feared most were Critical Hits in key moments.


    However, Leaf Bro had no other choice. His faith in Lu Li caused him to follow his orders.


    One step¡­ another step¡­


    Under normal circumstances, Leaf Bro would have been hit by the Boss 5 times in that period. However, because of Lu Li¡¯s instructions, he had only taken 4 hits. Furthermore, he had been able to block adequately each time, which prevented the Boss from dealing Critical Hits.


    After the last statue was destroyed, the Gnoll wailed and collapsed on the ground.


    When it came back to its feet, it no longer had the Gnoll God Yenogg¡¯s power, and its strength fell significantly.


    ¡°Why have you abandoned your people?!¡± it cried out.


    After a few minutes, they finally defeated Ording.


    Even with the EXP being shared among 5 people, Lu Li received 10% of his EXP bar. An Elite-level Private Instance Dungeon gave even more EXP than the Difficult-level Death Mines.


    ¡°The Boss dropped 4 things: a Steel-grade equip, a Bronze-grade, a Skill Book, and a material called Barbaric Blood.¡±


    As the team leader, Zhou Huan Huan had gone to pick up the items and equipment.


    Lu Li looked at the equipment and Skill Book, but only took the Barbaric Blood.


    It wasn¡¯t that the equipment and Skill Book weren¡¯t good enough, but because they were useful for the others.


    The equipment was a Hammer, which had decent stats. This was perfect for the Paladin Dou Jing Jing.


    The Skill Book was for Shield Wall, which Lu Li agreed to give to Leaf Bro.


    Leaf Bro was so moved that he couldn¡¯t say anything. His equipment wasn¡¯t great, his skills were ordinary, and he had nearly let the team down. He never thought that he would also receive something. After all, the normal rules were that those who made mistakes lost the right to receive any rewards. He had never thought that he would receive the Shield Wall Skill Book he had dreamed of.


    ¡°Alright, next Boss.¡±


    After obtaining the material he wanted, Lu Li didn¡¯t waste any time and immediately headed off.


    The smaller monsters they met on the way were human convicts. They were mostly bandits from the western wilderness who had been locked in this prison for a long time.


    These bandits were fairly strong, but posed no danger to Lu Li¡¯s team.


    A mere ten minutes later, they stood before the second Boss ¨C the final Boss of the Elite-level Instance Dungeon.


    Dangerous Convict Bazil Thredd!


    The Death Mines Instance Dungeon was quite close to the Moon Creek Prison. As such, there were a few connections between the Bosses.


    For example, Barker Slide was the Lieutenant of Edwin VanCleef, and a member of the Stonemasons.


    They had built the Stormwind City together and had rioted together when they both hadn¡¯t received their pay.


    However, Edwin VanCleef had escaped from the soldiers, while Bazil Thredd had been captured and thrown into this prison.

 130 Refusal

    Bazil Thredd was a Stonemason and didn¡¯t have the military background that Edwin VanCleef did. As such, his attacks which revolved around wildly brandishing his stone hammer were fairly simple.


    Regardless, Lu Li did not underestimate him. Before the Wailing Cave was opened, Thredd was the only Boss whose attacks carried Disease Damage. Before Priests obtained the Cure Disease Skill Book, players could only rely on tanks to endure the Disease debuff.


    Now that Leaf Bro had Shield Wall, it would be much easier for him to survive.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s attacks were incredibly effective on Thredd. As a poor Stonemason and Convict, he barely had any Armour. It only took Lu Li and his team 17 minutes to kill him.


    System: Drizzle Court player Little Bear Huan Huan, Don¡¯t Hit Dou Dou, Leaf Bro, Water Fairy and Lu Li have completed the First Clear of the Elite-level Moon Creek Prison Private Instance Dungeon.


    Apart from EXP and Fame, Dou Jing Jing was also fortunate enough to receive 1 SP.


    As for equipment that Lu Li was promised, none was dropped. However, because they had completed the First Clear, everyone received bonus rewards.


    Apart from Lu Li, this was the first time that any of them had obtained a First Clear. None of them thought that the rewards would be so abundant. The only person who didn¡¯t receive a physical reward was Zhou Huan Huan, who instead received an EXP reward that filled her EXP bar by half and boosted her to lV16.


    Lu Li received a Steel-grade Dagger. Although it was a LV15 weapon, its Special Effect was not as good as the Daggers he already had, so he planned to sell it.


    Zhou Huan Huan collected the remaining items and equipment from the corpse and showed everyone in the Party Channel.


    There were four things in total: a Steel grade equip, a Bronze grade equip, a Strengthening Stone and a Skill Book.


    This was the first time Lu Li had seen a Strengthening Stone. He hesitated before saying, ¡°I want the Strengthening Stone.¡±


    ¡°What are Strengthening Stones used for?¡± Water Fairy guessed that the Strengthening Stone was something good, but had no idea how it could be used.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably used for strengthening a piece of equipment¡¯s stats.¡±


    Of course, Lu Li knew what it was used for, but he didn¡¯t want to reveal too much of his information. Whenever he did tell anyone anything, he always said that he had read it in the Library.


    ¡°Sell it to me, name your price!¡± This female tycoon was prepared to pay any price for the things that caught her eye.


    Having money, beautiful looks and a domineering attitude meant that she had always been successful in games.


    Since the beauty had asked for it, it wouldn¡¯t be too good to refuse. Besides, he could earn quite a bit from her.


    However, what shocked everyone was that Lu Li decided to reject her offer.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve decided to use it. If I find any in hte future, I¡¯ll sell them to you.¡±


    Those were only courteous words. One could never have enough of an item that could strengthen equipment.


    After upgrading the Supreme One Ring, Lu Li planned on strengthening it.


    There was a chance of the strengthening failing. If that happened, the equipment would be lost. However, this was impossible with the Supreme One Ring. After all, it couldn¡¯t be dropped or lost.


    Water Fairy looked at Lu Li angrily, feeling reject. He always seemed to do this to her, whether it was in PVP, selling equipment or selling items. It wasn¡¯t as though she couldn¡¯t give him a good price.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even hesitate after rejecting her offer and went to pick his second item.


    Zhou Huan Huan and Dou Jing Jing were dumbfounded. They no longer felt hurt because of Lu Li¡¯s attitude to them. After all, he had coldly rejected Water Fairy who was much more beautiful than they were.


    In fact, they even took some pleasure in her dissatisfaction.


    Lu Li deliberated over whether he should choose the Steel-grade Thief Hat, or the Healer Skill Book.


    Both of these items were quite good. The Skill Book was the Priest skill ¡®Regeneration¡¯ which gave continuous healing, while the Hat was a LV15 Steel grade equip that had a Special Effect which gave 10% Detection.


    This Special Effect was incredibly useful in PVP.


    Thieves were one of the most common professions in Dawn and there would often be battles between Thieves. In battles between Thieves, the side that had better Detection would have the advantage. After all, in his PVP battle with Water Fairy, she had discovered him first because of her Belt which gave her increased Detection.


    ¡°Can I please have the Hat?¡± Seeing that Lu Li was not moved by money, the cold and arrogant woman asked in a soft and almost flirtatious voice.


    The Drizzle Court players had never seen Water Fairy like this before.


    If any of them recorded this scene and put it on the forum, there would definitely be a bounty on Lu Li within a day, with countless people joining the hunt.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll choose the Skill Book then,¡± Lu Li said as he nodded.


    The Hat wasn¡¯t terribly important to him, but the Regeneration skill would make the Difficult level Death Mines Instance Dungeon a lot easier.


    Everyone was extremely happy, except for the female Mage who had been chased away at the beginning.


    Lu Li did not directly return to Astrana. The Death Mines were not too far away, so if he entered from the wilderness, he could save 5 copper coins¡­


    As well as this, he knew that there was an excellent quest in the western wilderness. The reward for the quest was a damage reduction skill for Warriors.


    After leaving the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li checked to see if his Permanent Party members were online and contacted them to continue with the Death Mines.


    They met in front of the Piercing Heart Wolf General.


    Azure Sea Breeze smirked at Lu Li, ¡°Did you help the Drizzle Court clear the Instance Dungeon because you fancy Water Fairy?¡±


    Just then, when Lu Li¡¯s name had appeared with Water Fairy¡¯s name on the announcement, the World Channel had erupted. Lu Li had turned off the World Channel, so he had no idea what was going on.


    Now, even the newbie players who joined after the second update knew of Lu Li.


    ¡°It was just a coincidence. I was helping a few real-life friends clear the Instance Dungeon. They just so happened to be part of the Drizzle Court; I didn¡¯t even know that Water Fairy would be coming,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°Be a man and own up to it. Do you really think we¡¯d believe that?¡± Lonesome Flower retorted. He selfishly thought that his little sister was getting a bit too close to Lu Li. If she thought that Lu Li was someone who lusted after beauty, she would definitely dislike him.|


    How could he let his little sister worship someone else?


    ¡°Here¡¯s a Skill Book for you.¡±


    Lu Li ignored him and gave the Regeneration Skill Book to March Rain.


    ¡°For me?¡± March Rain asked in surprise, as she received the Skill Book. Seeing what it was, she became even happier.


    ¡°It¡¯s Regeneration! I¡¯ve always wanted this Skill Book. Thank you, Lu Li!¡±


    Lonesome Flower felt as though Lu Li was slapping his face. He felt even more depressed as he saw how happy his sister was.

 131 The Frustrated Azure Sea Breeze

    The Piercing Heart Wolf General quickly forced everyone to become serious.


    Compared to the last time, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s and March Rain¡¯s equipment had been greatly upgraded. Azure Sea Breeze now had an extra 4 pieces of LV15 Steel grade equipment, while March Rain had an extra 3 pieces. Considering all this and the Regeneration Skill Book that Lu Li had just given March Rain, their team was much stronger than before.


    The other three members had also obtained better equipment, but not to the same extent. This time, no one dared to be stingy with their money.


    A few large guilds had cleared the Normal-level Instance Dungeon and were now trying to clear the Elite-level Instance Dungeon.


    If someone else obtained the First Clear, all the effort they had put in would have been for nothing.


    The First Clear for Instance Dungeons and creating new records in Instance Dungeons were different. As long as a party cleared an Elite-level or higher Instance Dungeon, they would receive the First Clear for that dungeon. Even if Lu Li and his party cleared the Difficult level first, the other guilds would still miss out on the First Clear.


    They were sure that if they obtained the First Clear in the Difficult level, the rewards would be excellent.


    Lu Li applied some poison to his Daggers. He had bought five bottles of poison from Water Fairy, at 10 gold coins per bottle.


    Before the fight started, everyone drank some Potions. Azure Sea Breeze drank a Constitution Potion, Lu Li and Remnant Dream drank Agility Potions, and Lonesome Flower and March Rain drank Intelligence Potions. This time, none of them held back.


    Azure Sea Breeze roared out as he rushed at the Piercing Heart Wolf General.


    This tragic character was originally called James Harrington. After being afflicted with the Worgen Curse, he had destroyed his family and maritime career in a single, chilling night. From then onwards, he called himself the Piercing Heart Wolf and escaped to the western wilderness. There, he became a subordinate of Vanessa and commanded the Defias Brotherhood¡¯s juggernaut.


    According to some of the official lore, Vanessa loved him wholeheartedly, but he did not reciprocate that love because his heart was filled with rage and anger.


    Apart from the Armour Pierce that could stack 3 times, the Piercing Heart Wolf General also had new skills in the Difficult-level Instance Dungeon.


    The new skills made most players want to give up.


    The Piercing Heart Wolf General was probably the most difficult Boss in the Instance Dungeon. Even the final Boss, Vanessa, wasn¡¯t as ridiculously powerful.


    Regeneration was an incredibly powerful skill. As long as this HOT (Heal Over Time) skill was cast on the tank, the tank would continuously regenerate HP.


    Because of this Regeneration, March Rain was able to easily keep Azure Sea Breeze above 80% HP.


    When Azure Sea Breeze had 3 Armour Pierces stacked on him, March Rain began to rapidly heal him, disregarding her MP. With Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s max level Shield Wall, he was in no danger at all.


    However, surviving the Armour Pierces didn¡¯t mean that the fight was over. The real test came when the Piercing Heart Wolf General¡¯s HP fell to 30%.


    At this point, it howled and disappeared from everyone¡¯s vision.


    It was replaced by a few ghost-like monsters. They were fairly slow and did not have very high Attack, so everyone was quite confused as to why they had appeared.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look for the Boss; hurry and clear out these smaller monsters,¡± Lu Li shouted as he quickly attacked.


    However, they were not very easy to spot. In the distance, two of these smaller monsters stood together.


    A strange scene then began to unfold. The two smaller monsters combined into a new one which had much higher HP, Attack and Defence.


    However, this wasn¡¯t too big of an issue ¨C this was still nowhere as powerful as the Boss. The only problem was, that when two smaller monsters combined, another five would appear.


    They slowly attacked as they crept closer to the larger monster, trying to combine with it.


    Without Lu Li having to say anything, the others began to attack faster. If a few more monsters combined with the larger one, it would probably become as strong as the Boss. Who knew how many more waves there would be?


    Lu Li killed off three of the smaller monsters, barely preventing them from combining with the larger one.


    After clearing out the second wave of smaller monsters, the team focused their efforts on the larger one. Apart from Azure Sea Breeze, none of them paid attention to the Piercing Heart Wolf General that suddenly appeared. After 10 seconds, it vanished once again and was replaced by the smaller monsters.


    ¡°Goddamnit, can you not spawn so quickly?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze cursed. To give the others more time to kill the smaller monsters, he continuously kited the larger one.


    Lady Luck smiled on Lu Li, and his Rager Equipment Set¡¯s Special Effect was activated, significantly increasing his Attack and Attack Speed. He ran straight for the larger monster, trying to kill it before the smaller ones could come near.


    Even without the larger monster, the smaller ones did not stop. They still tried to get close to each other to combine themselves again.


    This was the most infuriating aspect of the Heart Piercing Wolf General. It summoned the smaller monsters at an absurd rate, which would combine to form larger monsters. If three or more were allowed to combine, they would become incredibly difficult to kill. They would simply absorb more and more smaller monsters until they were able to insta-kill players and destroy the entire party.


    This was a true test for DPS Attackers.


    Lu Li played a significant role in this crisis. With the Special Effects he had from his equipment, he was able to quickly save the day.


    However, he found that he was lacking in something crucial ¨C controlled buffs.


    No one could afford to rely on their luck in critical situations.


    When the threat from the smaller monsters had been averted, Lu Li sprang over and started to attack the Piercing Heart Wolf General. After its HP fell to 20%, the smaller monsters all disappeared.


    The extremely intense battle left everyone both physically and mentally exhausted. It was no wonder that Lu Li had decided to stop that day.


    After bringing the Boss down to 20% HP, the fight became relatively easy. Within a few minutes, it fell to the ground as a corpse.


    A pair of Steel-grade Pants for Knights, a Steel-grade Necklace for Magic professions and a rare material were dropped. The other three Bronze-grade equips were completely ignored.


    Although the Necklace was more suited towards Lonesome Flower, he gave it to his little sister instead. Seeing her so happy, made him extremely joyful.


    Lu Li gave the Steel-grade Pants to Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°When Wandering gets here, you can give this to him as a welcoming gift.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he awkwardly continued, ¡°He said that he doesn¡¯t want to join because our Mercenary Group doesn¡¯t have the same benefits that the large guilds provide. I tried to convince him, but he still refused in the end.¡±


    ¡°Haha,¡± Lu Li laughed, ¡°How about I add him and ask?¡±


    ¡°Go screw yourself,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cursed, ¡°If you want to give it to him, give it to him yourself. I don¡¯t want to associate with him.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who knows him, so it should be you who contacts him.¡±


    Lu Li shook his head, as he went on, ¡°When we¡¯ve finished this Instance Dungeon, remember to add him to our Mercenary Group. Remember, you¡¯re the one who knows him, so this responsibility falls on you.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze was planning how he could kill Lu Li without leaving behind any evidence.

 132 Rapidly Increasing EXP

    ¡°Not being able to provide the benefits of a guild is indeed a problem,¡± Lu Li said, as he cleared out smaller monsters.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep an eye out for high-level guilds for sale. If there¡¯s a decent one, we¡¯ll buy it.¡±


    ¡°There are people selling guilds?¡± Everyone else was quite shocked to hear this.


    ¡°There will be soon,¡± Lu Li confidently replied.


    After the second update, guilds would begin to pop up all over the place. Many players wanted to become overlords through their guilds, but it was a pity that reality was harsh. They would find that it was difficult to sustain their guilds, and thus would decide to sell them.


    Lu Li wanted to wait and buy a guild for a low price, so that he could save the time, money and effort required to level it up by himself.


    ¡°Lu Li, after clearing this Instance Dungeon, will you be able to hit LV18?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    By the time they had reached Captain Cookie, Lu Li was already halfway through LV17. Azure Sea Breeze had finally reached LV17, while Lonesome Flower was nearly there. The Difficult-level Instance Dungeon provided an abundance of EXP from everything.


    However, given that they had already spent 2 days in here, it wasn¡¯t that efficient either.


    Azure Sea Breeze was now ranked 3rd on the Level Rankings. I No Understand had caught up and overtaken him.


    The reason why Lu Li was able to maintain a comfortable lead was because he farmed Illidan¡¯s Shadow every day. The Moon Creek Prison he had cleared in the morning had also given him about 10% of his EXP bar.


    When he reached LV18, he would stop receiving as much EXP from Illidan¡¯s Shadow. If he didn¡¯t work hard, he would soon be overtaken as well.


    ¡°There are still two Bosses and the small monsters in the ship¡¯s cabin, so I should have more than enough EXP to level up.¡±


    The Death Mines¡¯ ship¡¯s cabin was called the EXP Wonderland. It contained more than 180 small monsters, as well as a Bug that could be exploited.


    The prerequisite for this was that they killed the Captain of the ship first.


    Captain Cookie was an easy Boss in all levels of the instance dungeon. In the Difficult level, he still remained in his pot, throwing out food. However, the fire under the pot dealt more damage to melee professions.This was so much that Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze weren¡¯t able to attack him at all.


    Captain Cookie also threw out food incredibly quickly.


    If a player stepped on poisoned food and did not step on the healthy food fast enough, they would quickly die from being poisoned. As such, there had to be people to step on and clear out the poisoned food. This task was left to Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze.


    They would accumulate poison by stepping on as much of the poisoned food as they could. Then, they would step on the healthy food to remove all of the poison at once..


    Remnant Dream and Lonesome Flower were in charge of attacking the Boss. However, Remnant Dream¡¯s pet could only stand beside her and watch, as it was also a melee attacker.


    After 10 or so minutes, the Boss fell.


    Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar jumped up to 60%. Remnant Dream and Lonesome Flower both levelled up ¨C Remnant Dream was now LV16, while Lonesome Flower was now LV17 and was ranked 4th on the Level Rankings.


    Since the Boss had been so easy to kill, none of them expected any good equipment to drop. The Boss dropped a rubbish, Steel-grade equip, as well as a Skill Book for Berserkers which was quite common. Lu Li decided to give this to Moonlight.


    The final Boss was the beautiful Vanessa.


    However, before facing her, Lu Li wanted to exploit the Bug which would give them quite a lot of EXP.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need you to jump into the water soon,¡± Lu Li said, as he distributed Potions that allowed them to breathe underwater.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one Boss left; what are you doing?¡± Lonesome Flower asked. Everyone else felt confused as well.


    ¡°I found a way to farm a lot of smaller monsters; do you want to try it?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t bother explaining in detail.


    ¡°Of course we do!¡± Lonesome Flower shouted out, before anyone else could reply. Smaller monsters in Instance Dungeons were treasures ¨C they posed no threat and gave a lot of EXP. In order to quickly farm these monsters, he had even levelled up his Blizzard skill to the max level. However, it was a pity that he didn¡¯t really have any opportunities to use it.


    ¡°Jump into the water and swim to the place where I throw this bottle. The water there is fairly shallow; you can come up from the stairs over there. Do you see it?¡± Lu Li threw out a bottle and gestured as he instructed his team.


    After all the others jumped down, Lu Li opened the ship¡¯s cabin. A large wave of about 180 smaller monsters flooded out. In the Difficult level, they were no longer split into 6 waves of 30 monsters. Instead, players were expected to deal with all of them in one go.


    If they could kill them, they would receive a massive amount of EXP. On the other hand, if they couldn¡¯t kill them, their party would be annihilated. Lu Li turned and ran out of a breach in the ship, then vanished!


    After losing their target, the smaller monsters could wander around in circles.


    After Lu Li had left, the cabin door automatically closed and new monsters spawned inside. Lu Li came back through another breach, and when Vanish¡¯s Cooldown had nearly expired, he once again drew the aggro of the smaller monsters.


    There were 8 breaches in the ship, which meant that Lu Li could lure out 8 waves of the smaller monsters. Alternatively, he could just jump down from the ship to produce the same effects. However, if he did that, the smaller monsters would not be split into even groups and would be difficult to deal with. Moreover, this Bug had its limits ¨C after an hour, any monsters left on the deck would be erased by the system.


    After 20 minutes of doing this, there were 1,440 monsters crowded on the deck. This was truly a sight to behold.


    Luckily, the ship was quite big and was able to hold them all.


    They had to get rid of all of these monsters within 1 hour!


    Lu Li called the others over and instructed them, ¡°Sea Breeze, you block the breaches. March, you heal. Flower, you attack.¡±


    ¡°Watch closely.¡±


    Lonesome Flower was itching to start.


    All of these LV15 monsters were just EXP to him.


    Against Lonesome Flower¡¯s Blizzard, which almost had no Cooldown, each wave of 180 monsters quickly turned into EXP. Remnant Dream was also continuously attacking with her Bow and Arrows. It was a pity that Hunters didn¡¯t have many AOE skills, and that Remnant Dream didn¡¯t have a single one.


    Lu Li also joined in on the attacking. He attacked the ones with more HP, leaving those with lower HP to perish to Lonesome Flower¡¯s AOE spells.


    In just 5 minutes, all 180 monsters had been cleared out. Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar increased by 8%, which was even more than what he had received for killing Captain Cookie. The LV16 Remnant Dream and March Rain received even more, with their EXP bars jumping by more than 10%.


    After killing these monsters, they all sat down and used their consumables to recover. Lu Li then ran over to attract another wave of 180 monsters.


    As they cleared one wave of monsters at a time, their EXP bars all steadily rose. By the 3rd wave, March Rain had levelled up, becoming the fifth LV17 player in Dawn.


    She was now the highest levelled Priest in all of Dawn.


    Before they cleared the 6th wave, Lu Li levelled up to LV18.


    By the 8th wave, which was the last, Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower¡¯s eyes were starting to become red. They were less than 20% away from LV18.


    Remnant Dream was also a sliver away from LV17.


    Now, even Remnant Dream, who had fallen behind everyone else, was 7th place on the level rankings. She had nearly caught up to the Blood-red War Flag¡¯s top Mage, Wild, who was LV17.

 133 Bug

    ¡°Should we fight the boss or continue?¡± Lu Li worriedly asked.


    ¡°Man up! You¡¯re an experienced player; why do you look so uneasy? Even Remnant Dream and March Rain are both calm.¡±


    ¡°Fight the Boss my ass,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said raggedly, as he jumped off the ship. Lonesome Flower followed.


    Lu Li smiled bitterly, shook his head and continued luring the small mobs.


    After another 20 minutes, the deck was filled with monsters again.


    There were 1440 of them!


    After 2 waves, Remnant Dream levelled up to LV17. Azure Sea Breeze levelled after the 4th wave. After the 5th wave, Lonesome Flower also levelled.


    Following this, they would still gain more EXP, but not enough for March Rain and Remnant Dream to level up to LV18.


    ¡°Dammit, why am I getting so little EXP?¡± Azure Sea Breeze realised that his EXP bar had stagnated. Lonesome Flower checked his EXP bar and also realised he had the same problem.


    ¡°You need more EXP to level up at LV18 than LV17. Besides, these small monsters are only LV15; you¡¯ll receive decreased EXP due to the difference in level,¡± Lu Li calmly explained.


    A difference in three levels was really awkward in Dawn. If a monster was 3 levels higher, it would do bonus damage. If a monster was 3 levels lower, then the player would receive decreased EXP due to the level penalty.


    When they were LV17, 180 monsters gave them 5% of their EXP bar. Now, the same number only gave them 1.5%.


    When they had finally finished clearing the waves, everyone lay exhausted on the floor. No one could stand killing monsters at such a high intensity for such a long time.


    ¡°Do you guys still want to kill these monsters?¡± Lu Li asked again.


    ¡°We must.¡± Lonesome Flower said, as though he was filled with energy again. His motivation came from his little sister, because she had yet to level up to 18.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this quickly then; the bug will probably be patched by the System after an hour or so.¡±


    ¡°Ah. It¡¯ll get patched?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was scared and asked, ¡°Would the System ban our accounts if it found out that we abused a bug to level up?¡± The others became nervous as well. It took so much effort to level up, so if they got banned¡­


    ¡°Why would they ban us?¡± Lu Li asked, confused.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t know how to explain. Sometimes, Lu Li seemed like an omniscient god. Other times, he seemed like an idiot who was unaware of common knowledge.


    The truth was, Lu Li had only ever played Dawn.


    He had no experience with other games, so he didn¡¯t know about the punishment players received from abusing bugs. These punishments included resetting the account and sometimes even a complete ban from the game.


    Dawn was different; it didn¡¯t matter how the players played the game, as long as they didn¡¯t disobey the Internet Law Legislation.


    It was only a couple of levels they had gained anyway. Even if Lu Li abused a bug to make millions of gold coins, the game company would probably just ignore it. At most, they would request to exchange the gold for real money, in case the exploited gold crashed the in-game economy.


    The 3rd time that Lu Li gathered the monsters, he took about 30 minutes, as he was distracted.


    Based on his estimations, the bug would be patched after they finish this wave.


    In his past life, the bug had stayed around for about 9 hours. In that time, the Gangnam Royals were able to exploit it and gain a level advantage over the other guilds.


    However, this time was different. Lu Li and the others were not normal players and took up the top spots on the level rankings.


    The other players weren¡¯t blind either and probably would have reported them when they saw the speed that they were levelling at.Once reported, the system would evaluate the bug and assess the measures to be taken.


    After an hour, everyone lay exhausted on the deck. They had finally cleared out the monsters.


    March Rain was already LV18. Remnant Dream managed to level up to 17 with 70% EXP and passed I No Understand on the rankings.


    The party of Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, March Rain and Remnant Dream claimed the top 5 spots on the Level Rankings again.


    ¡°Come and pick up the loot. Even though it¡¯s a bunch of coppers, there¡¯s enough here to total up to about 100 gold. There are heaps of materials to pick up as well.¡±


    March Rain and Remnant Dream obeyed, and immediately got to work.


    ¡°Flower, your sister is picking the loot up; stop being lazy and come pick up some cloth so that she can level up her tailoring,¡± Lu Li said.


    Lonesome Flower was the most exhausted member of the party. He had to continuously cast Blizzard, which made his arm extremely tired and heavy. However, he felt energised again from thinking about how many cloths could be looted.


    The cloth, materials and copper coins were all picked up. There were also hundreds of Common Grade Equipment that could probably be gathered and sold for handsome sum. However, they could not be stacked up into a set like the materials, so they ended up leaving these behind.


    After resting for a bit, Lonesome Flower got up and said, ¡°Should we give it a try again? What if the bug is still there?¡±


    The bug was still worthwhile, even if their EXP gain had slowed. Compared to training in the wild, it was still much better.


    Lu Li thought that it would be a waste if they did not continue to exploit the bug.


    The others who were all resting on the ground got up and jumped off the boat.


    Lu Li gathered up 180 monsters again and prepared to activate his stealth skill.


    Then¡­


    The monsters froze in place.


    After Lu Li went into stealth, they all disappeared as well. This meant that the system had already found and addressed the bug issue.


    Lu Li blocked the World channel so he couldn¡¯t see what the other players were saying. However, the rest of the party could see the heated discussion that was going on.


    Was it that easy to make it onto the Level Rankings?


    As the levels increased, it would be harder and harder to level up. Today, they had made some incredible progress and were able to dominate the Level Rankings once again.


    I No Understand, Wild and Sorrowless were all kicked off the rankings.


    Today, Lu Li had taught the other Dawn players what it meant to be one-upped.

 134 Boss Dreams

    After 30 minutes or so, everyone had recovered their HP and Lu Li opened the door. Even though the bug was gone, they still had to clear the remaining wave of monsters before they could fight the boss.


    Azure Sea Breeze raised his Fearless Barrier and blocked the door while the others continued to deal damage.


    After the small monsters were cleared, Vanessa would spawn.


    In the Difficult Level Instance Dungeon, Vanessa began by hypnotising players, which place them in a ¡®Dreaming¡¯ state.


    Players would enter Vanessa¡¯ dream and would have to fight their way through the bosses they had previously faced.


    The first boss they faced was Glubtok ¨C a fearless, man-eating demon that was skilled with magic. His biggest counters were ice and fire elements.


    A flurry of icicles began falling from above.


    Flames from below started to scorch the earth.


    In Globtuk¡¯s nightmare, players had to continue dealing damage while dodging the ice and fire.


    Luckily, the Dream version of Globtuk only had 10,000 HP. As long as they paid attention while trying dodge, Lu Li and Lonesome Flower alone could quickly kill it.


    The second boss was Helix ¨C a greedy Goblin with a scary face.


    The Helix nightmare contained many poisonous creatures, such as snakes, spiders, scorpions and bats.


    When Helix was young, he was a hard-working travel merchant. No one understood the pain and the effort he had to put in, just so he could survive.


    Helix almost had almost died, when he was attacked by a mob of poisonous creatures in the middle of a business trip. This experience had haunted him for a very long time.


    However, the poisonous creatures in this dream could be ignored ¨C they just had to focus on killing Helix in the shortest amount of time possible.


    As they fought him, Lu Li¡¯s dagger effect was randomly triggered, which made the whole fight much easier.


    The 3rd boss was Death God 5000 ¨C a mechanical, robotic harvester. Apparently, robot had dreams as well.


    In his dream, the players had to make it past a road of moving electric walls. Similar to Super Mario, players had to avoid the electric walls and reach the destination.


    Many players underestimated this stage and took it as a joke.


    ¡°This is awesome! I like it so much,¡± Remnant Dream exclaimed excitedly.


    When fighting a boss, Hunters had to continuously change their position in order to avoid attacks. As such, they were particularly skilled at manoeuvring themselves and excelled in these kinds of mini-games.


    The two girls began to observe and examine the field, trying to find the easiest path to take. The funny thing was, that it ended up being almost identical to the old path that Lu Li had taken before.


    Girls were weird creatures.


    As they followed the two girls, the party began a mini-game adventure.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    A spark flashed as Lonesome Flowered touched the electric wall and died.


    ¡°Hmm, there¡¯s a spot up ahead that looks safer. I¡¯ll revive him there.¡±


    March Rain wasn¡¯t in a hurry to revive her brother. She would rather stop at a safer location to save him.


    ¡°Flower, you¡¯re too noob. Even more noob than the girls,¡± Azure Sea Breeze mockingly said.


    ¡°Pfft, if you weren¡¯t following my sister so closely, you probably would have died much sooner,¡± Lonesome Flower retorted angrily. He couldn¡¯t accept the fact that his younger sister was better than him at something.


    ¡°Ok, stop fighting or we¡¯ll get electrocuted again.¡±


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t ashamed of letting the others lead, even though he also knew the safe path.


    Seeing Remnant Dream¡¯s excited face, as she contributed in leading the team, was worth it for Lu Li. ¡°If only I could see my little sister like this,¡± he thought. He would allow her to play the game as well, once she recovered.


    ¡°Good job Dream!¡± Everyone praised the little Hunter when they finally reached the Boss.


    Many parties would lose players, or even get entirely wiped out during this stage. To be able to lead everyone out on the first go was very commendable of Remnant Dream. Everyone had their talent; they just needed opportunities to discover them.


    A boss with only 10,00HP was quickly annihilated.


    The next boss was thePiercing Heart Wolf General.


    The Wolf General¡¯s nightmare was a scene of him trying to save his loved ones. He was unable to do so and could only watch as they died before his eyes.


    Everyone was touched by this heart-wrenching scene, and wanted to save the two innocent children portrayed in the dream.


    The Death Mines were an iconic Instance Dungeon in Dawn. Even though it was a low-level dungeon, it was complete with a perfect and realistic story line, in addition to well-designed and creative bosses. Additionally, the final Boss, Vanessa, was one of the hottest bosses in the game.


    Even though it was on Difficult-Level, it would still be pretty easy for Lu Li¡¯s party to rescue the two children within the time limit.


    After exiting the tunnel, they came to an even more shocking scene.


    The Wolf General boarded the Fearless Ship, holding his wife in his arms as he prepared to drown her in the sea.


    If there were no hope, then destruction would take over.


    This scene triggered his most painful memory. He was unsure as to whether it was the intruding Worgens or himself that killed his loved ones.


    The players had to defeat him before he killed his wife.


    Lonesome Flower immediately used his Silver equipment actives. Combined with Lu Li¡¯s damage output, the mad Piercing Heart Wolf General was defeated in under 10 seconds.


    The Death Mines portrayed a tragic storyline from the beginning to the end.


    After passing the Wolf General¡¯s Dream, the players would face Vanessa.


    However, she wasn¡¯t very difficult to defeat. After 20 minutes of fighting, her HP dropped below 5%.


    Azure Sea Breeze was excited, because it was time to appear on TV again!

 135 Six Silver Pieces

    By now, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted. However, they were all filled with a feeling of indescribable excitement.


    They had achieved the First Clear on the Difficult-level Death Mines!


    While the other guilds were still struggling to complete the Elite difficulty, they had already pulled far ahead.


    Vanessa had also been very polite; she didn¡¯t go berserk at the end. Instead, she gracefully fell.


    Unfortunately, this politeness wasn¡¯t reciprocated at all by Lu Li and his party. They were all immersed in the prompts that were being made by the system.


    System: Player Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, March Rain and Remnant Dream have achieved the First Clear in the Death Mines (Difficult).


    All Dawn players saw this, regardless of whether they were farming, PVPing or running a dungeon.


    The World Announcement had been specially displayed for all to see.


    While the world stared in shock, Azure Sea Breeze typed a few words into the World Announcements: ¡°Sorry, my hand slipped and accidentally completed the dungeon!¡±


    Hand slipped?!


    What a mockery! How pretentious!


    The World Announcements were empty; only his words were displayed there.


    It was a good thing that he was Dawn¡¯s number 1 guild-less Main Tank ¨C all the large guilds were trying to entice him into joining them. Otherwise, someone would definitely have set a bounty on him.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t notice this at all. He only kept three channels open ¨C the party channel, local channel and trading channel.


    The City Channel, Faction Channel, Regional Channel and World Announcements were all blocked, because he felt like these were a complete waste of time.


    He had blocked the World Announcements, so he was completely oblivious to what was happening.


    Instead, he was completely focused on the System prompts that were appearing.


    Vanessa¡¯s 9% EXP was awarded before the EXP for clearing the Dungeon was. The difficulty level rewards were obviously very high ¨C 13% EXP was given, on top of what they had received from killing the small monsters. He was already 47% through LV18.


    The party¡¯s lowest level member, Remnant Dream, finally reached LV18 and was now at the same level as the others.


    Although they were all LV18, there was still a significant difference in EXP. There was a range of 50% EXP between the five of them.


    After the EXP was awarded, the loot was dropped.


    Why did Lu Li want to do the Difficult-level Instance Dungeon, when they have could have easily achieved the First Clear on the Elite Instance Dungeon instead?


    All their effort had led up to this moment.


    This was his top priority; when Lu Li heard the prompt to receive the loot, his heart skipped a beat.


    Van Cleef¡¯s Grip (Silver): 20 Armour, Agility+12, Strength+4, Special Effect 1: Critical Chance+5%, Special Effect 2: Sudden Thrust ¨C instantly dash to a target within 8 feet, causing 150% Weapon Damage, Cooldown Time: 120 seconds. Level Requirement: LV15. Durability: 45/45.


    Silver Gloves!


    They added 12 points of Agility and 4 points of strength, for a total of 16 stat points. Levelling up only yielded 5 stat points for one to freely assign.


    However, this was completely overshadowed by the two special effects.


    The first was the 5% additional critical chance. For gloves, the most in-demand properties were critical chance and attack speed. This critical chance on these gloves essentially doubled their value.


    The second, and the best special effect was Sudden Thrust.


    Sudden Thrust could help a Thief quickly close in on a target to deal significant damage. It was one of the few, rare, mobility-enhancing special effects.


    This Silver equip was definitely one of the best items out there. They wouldn¡¯t have received anything close in comparison if they had achieved the First Clear on Elite-difficulty.


    Beneath the equipment attributes, there was an inscription ¨C ¡®My daughter, may your 12th year have no worries.¡¯


    It was likely that these gloves were supposed to be given to Vanessa for her 12th birthday. This was the same year that he had been killed by the Stormwind assassins.


    His 12 year old daughter didn¡¯t grow up to be as carefree as her father would have wanted. Instead, she took this present and began her long road of vengeance.


    ¡°Is everyone looking at what you¡¯ve got?¡± Lu Li looked around, curious to know what the others had received.


    March Rain¡¯s face was bright-red with excitement, as she rushed to show Lu Li her new equipment.


    It was a LV15 Silver Hammer that was emerald-green and glowed with an electrifying light. It added 10 points of Intelligence and 5 points of Constitution. Although it only had one effect, this effect was incredibly powerful.


    Special Effect: Divine Blessing, Instant Cast. The target gains 50% Bonus Healing Effect and the caster gains 50% damage reduction. Lasts 30 seconds, Cooldown 360 seconds.


    Although the cooldown time was quite long, so was the effect duration. Even with his wealth of experience, Lu Li had rarely seen a Priest effect that lasted for this long.


    The effect was also very strong ¨C in addition to the 50% bonus healing, it also gave the Healer 50% damage reduction. In critical situations, the healer would often put themselves in dangerous positions.


    With this effect, March Rain would easily be able to survive.


    In fact, this weapon was good enough for March Rain to use it until she was LV30, provided that she continually upgraded her other equipment.


    Remnant Dream received Silver shoes, with a very strong effect that allowed her to recover from stuns or slows. This had a cooldown of 90 seconds.


    However, the little hunter was confused about the skill and was unsure as to when she would actually be able to use it. Still, she equipped the shoes, though not fully appreciating their effect.


    Lonesome Flower received a Silver ring. In addition to providing 10 Intelligence and 6 Constitution, it also came with +10% Critical Chance, which would be great boost to his already fantastic offensive capabilities. Under the right circumstances, he would be able to output even more damage than Lu Li.


    Azure Sea Breeze only checked his equipment after returning from the World Announcements.


    Silver Breastplate!


    It had high-defense, 12 bonus Constitution and two special effects. One of them was 5% bonus HP, while the other gave 10% bonus defense for 15 seconds.


    Now, he could truly claim to be Dawn¡¯s number 1 Main Tank. Even Lu Li would have a hard time killing him.


    Before today, they wouldn¡¯t have dared to say that they were stronger than the Elite teams of the large guilds. After all, those teams were the result of thousands of players¡¯ efforts.


    However, after receiving such strong, Silver equipment, Lu Li had confidence that they could easily crush those elite teams.


    They weren¡¯t even done yet; the Boss had still not been looted.


    Seeing as Vannessa had been so difficult to kill, there was a good chance of her also dropping a Silver equip.


    What would the sixth silver of the day be? Lu Li was very curious.

 136 It’s Another Big Axe

    Remnant Dream ran over and grabbed a very large dual-handed Axe from the Boss¡¯ corpse.


    She didn¡¯t even have the strength to pick it up and had to drag it back.


    Death Striker (Silver): Damage 28-42, Strength +12, Agility +6. Special Effect: Upon hitting a target there is a chance of causing Bleed, which deals 160 damage every 3 seconds for 15 seconds. Does not stack. Equipment Requirement: Level 15. Durability 45/45.


    ¡°Damn, its attack is so high! That can¡¯t be right.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze almost choked on his own saliva.


    Lu Li looked at his two Steel daggers. One had 16-24 damage, while the other had 20-28 damage. The highest damage that either of these daggers could deal was lower than the minimum damage of the axe.


    Of course, apart from the usual requirements, the axe also required both hands to wield. This was one of the reasons for its high attack.


    The additional 12 Strength and 6 agility, for a total of 18 bonus attribute points, were best suited for a Berserker.


    The Bleed effect that Death Striker had was incredibly powerful. Once affected by Bleed, Thieves and Druids could not go into Stealth. Professions with cloth armour were likely to be taken down to half-health by the bleed alone. Even professions that used plate armor would not be able to withstand too many of ticks of Bleed.


    ¡°Moonlight has good luck.¡±


    A weapon this good simply couldn¡¯t be sold. Who knew whose hands it would end up in? Also, the only berserker that they were close to was Moonlight. If there was anyone they could trust, it would be him.


    However, they couldn¡¯t give it to him for free.


    Despite this, no matter how much money Moonlight had, it would never match the value of this axe.


    Other than the axe, there were also 2 pieces of Steel-grade equipment. There were Pants for Magic Professions and a pair of gloves for Chainmail Armor Professions. These were given to Lonesome Flower and Remnant Dream respectively. All that was now left were some skill books.


    ¡®Ice Barrier¡¯!


    Regardless of what the name actually was, most players called this skill ¡®Ice Shield¡¯.


    Currently, no Mage in Dawn had any kind of shield. However, in a few level¡¯s time, three shields would become commonplace: Fire Shield (Fire Barrier), Magic Shield (Magic Barrier) and Ice Shield (Ice Barrier).


    Although there were some other shields, these three were most commonly used. The first was a physical shield that was able to absorb a lot of physical damage. The second, as the name suggested, was mainly used to absorb spell damage. The third, which was now in the hands of Remnant Dream, could absorb both. It was a mix between the fire and magic shields.


    Lonesome Flower¡¯s hands trembled as he received this skill book.


    No matter what the game was, a Mage should have a shield. Without one, they had no sense of security.


    ¡°Flower, can you not look at Lu Li like that? It¡¯s gross,¡± Azure Sea Breeze commented.


    ¡°Leave me alone.¡± For Lonesome Flower to be harassed by him like that had already became the norm.


    He immediately learned Ice Barrier. As the channeled the skill, a shield began to envelop his body.


    It covered him closely, as though he were wearing a new set of clothes. It was colorless and transparent, with only a slight shimmer on its surface. Although it only seemed like a thin layer, everyone had just read the description of the skill and did not dare to underestimate its defence.


    ¡°This is a really good skill book; it¡¯s rare that the Death Mines would drop such an advanced skill book,¡± Lu Li really wanted to praise the System, as today¡¯s rewards had far exceeded his imagination.


    This likely had something to do with the First Clear and Remnant Dream¡¯s lucky hands.


    After checking out all the rewards, most people would have assumed that this Instance Dungeon had no more to offer. However, Lu Li expected more.


    The final Boss of a Difficult-level Instance Dungeon had a 100% chance of dropping a rare material. There was a certain probability that it would be the one he needed¡­


    ¡°Amber Jewel¡­ What is this? It¡¯s a little warm; is it a rare material?¡± Remnant Dream was puzzled, as she held the translucent little stone. Before she was done looking at it, Lu Li had already taken it away.


    Being the base of the Stonemason Union, the Death Mines was famous for dropping rare stones. These had a wide range of uses, and could be used to craft weapons, armour, jewelry and more.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be taking this item.¡±


    Lu Li suppressed his rapid heartbeat and let out a long sigh.


    He needed three Amber Jewels to upgrade his Supreme Ring, and now he was holding one of them in his hand. Although its drop rate was low, the player base was incredibly large. Sooner or later, the materials would be widely available, but Lu Li would now be able to upgrade his Supreme Ring a little before that happened.


    He was very happy to have acquired this material.


    Before leaving, Lu Li received his Bloodstained badge back from Azure Sea Breeze. He was going to fight Hornet¡¯s Nest tonight and it would be wise to be careful.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others who had entered the Instance Dungeon from Astrana returned to Astrana. However, Lu Li had entered from the Western Wilderness, so he exited to the Western Wilderness instead.


    After getting out of the Instance Dungeon, he transformed in a crow and flew away.


    When the Defias Brotherhood rebelled against Stormwind city, they set up their base camp in the Western Wilderness. The Stormwind city nobles had given up this territory, so there were a huge number of Defias Bandits, Mercenaries, Militia and war refugees that had lived here .


    Corpses were strewn all over the land and there were vultures circling in the sky.


    These vultures were active monsters; they wouldn¡¯t wait for a corpse. When they saw Lu Li, they quickly started heading towards him.


    Fortunately, he had learned the Crow Transformation from Medivh, so he was much faster than an ordinary crow. Animal instinct was no match was human wisdom, and Lu Li flew past them without any worries.


    Only suicidal people would walk through the Western Wilderness. It was filled with LV25 Sand Poison Scorpions that had high speed, high damage and poisonous attacks.


    In the face of all these Scorpions crawling around on the ground, Lu Li¡¯s Stealth was practically useless.


    Once he was caught between a few of these, there was no guarantee that he would be able to escape.


    In order to avoid this danger, he chose to fly instead.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal was Gabriel Cresso ¨C an injured man lying on the barren hills in the northernmost part of the Western Wilderness.


    According to an article that Lu Li had read in his past life, Gabriel Cresso was an Officer of Stormwind that would assign a quest. This quest awarded a skill book called ¡®Demoralizing Shout. This skill was exclusively for Defence Warriors; it reduced the damage of surrounding monsters by 20%. It could be considered a damage-reduction spell, especially when used with area of effect taunts.


    Azure Sea Breeze actually already had quite a few damage-reduction effects ¨C there was his Shield Wall, his shield¡¯s effect and his breastplate¡¯s effect. That was no problem however ¨C there wasn¡¯t a single team that would complain about a Main Tank with too many defensive skills.

 137 A Sad Ques

    These barren hills had no name ¨C the article that Lu Li had read didn¡¯t mention a name and the System didn¡¯t provide any prompts. There were barely even any trees in the area. It was significantly different to the Elven regions.


    Lu Li went back and forth many times before finally finding his goal.


    A mound!


    Gabriel Cresso was lying at the top of a hill and his body was covered in dust. If it weren¡¯t for the blade sticking out of him, Lu Li might not have found him even after three years of looking.


    Lu Li returned to his original form and walked towards him, politely saying, ¡°Respected Warrior, may I ask, what can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°Warrior? Oh¡­ Warrior¡­¡± Gabriel Cresso smiled weakly.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything; instead, he continued to quietly and patiently wait.


    There were a few key steps to successfully acquiring the quest. First, you had to find Gabriel Cresso and call him a Warrior. Then, you had to listen to his story.


    ¡°Are you willing to listen to my story? I don¡¯t want to take it to my grave.¡±


    Gabriel laughed, before looking up at Lu Li with his pair of grey eyes.


    Lu Li knew that he was going to tell a tragic story, and although he knew what he was going to say, he nodded and allowed him to speak.


    Gabriel Cresso was born into a family of blacksmiths.


    He grew up in the dry, cold sand Western Wilderness. When he grew up, he married his childhood sweetheart, however, this happy time was short-lived. A war broke out and Stormwind City recruited a large number of farmers to send to the front. Gabriel Cresso was one of those who were recruited.


    After many years, he managed to return from the front to his hometown.


    What drove him mad wasn¡¯t the war, but that his village had been completely lost. All the wheat that once grew was gone, and nothing of familiarity was left. His parents and wife had also perished in the war.


    ¡°I had killed countless Defias Bandits and Soldiers. Elf, do you know why?¡± Gabriel Cresso narrowed his eyes, as he stared at Lu Li. His fingers rubbed the sharp edge of his dagger.


    ¡°Because my family was killed by the soldiers.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t need to respond; Gabriel Cresso had answered his own question. When he said this, tears began to gush out of his eyes.


    Sometimes, he believed that what he did wasn¡¯t wrong. All who were foreign to this land had to die.


    His harsh father, his kind mother and his wife¡­


    The year that he had left them, he remembered tugging on their shirts and crying. They had all been killed by the outsiders.


    However, there were other times where he felt confused.


    As an officer of the Seventh Corps of Stormwind, he had undergone the trials of blood and steel. He knew that he had no right to take the lives of these soldiers; they were pitiful Western Wilderness fools that had been cast aside by Stormwind.


    They were most likely carrying out their orders, and also had wives and children back home.


    ¡°Elf, do you think I¡¯m a bad person?¡± Gabriel Cresso asked, as he stared at Lu Li.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault ¨C it¡¯s war¡¯s fault. The fault is with those stupid nobles.¡±


    Lu Li hesitated before he added, ¡°If I were you, I would have done the same, because family is above all else.¡±


    The article didn¡¯t contain any strategy on how to answer the NPC¡¯s questions. These were Lu Li¡¯s own words.


    In his mind, his sister was above all else, regardless of law or morality.


    ¡°No, the legion¡¯s glory is above all else,¡± Gabriel Cresso interrupted.


    ¡°Please forgive my mistake.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really agree with him, but he didn¡¯t want to bicker with an NPC.


    ¡°It was the soldiers who killed my loved ones. However, they also refused to leave the Western Wilderness,¡± Gabriel Cresso sighed and continued, ¡°They are like me; they loved this land even though it was so desolate.¡±


    ¡°How sad!¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°The soldier¡¯s duty is to protect the people of the land, not to obey the noble.¡±


    Gabriel Cresso struggled to stand up as he hissed, ¡°Elf, I¡¯m tired. Can you help me finish a quest?¡±


    ¡°You are a respected Warrior; I am willing to listen to your orders.¡±


    What Lu Li wanted had finally been delivered.


    ¡°Go to Sentinel Ridge and bring me 10 Soldier tags!¡±


    System: Gabriel Cresso¡¯s request: Kill Sentinel Ridge¡¯s soldiers and bring back 10 military tags.


    Lu Li confirmed the quest and said farewell to Gabriel Cresso, before turning into a crow and flying towards Sentinel Ridge.


    Sentinel Ridge was located in the north-eastern part of the Western Wilderness. It was a military fortress that was abandoned many years ago. Now, it was only used as a post that provided the soldiers a place to catch their breath.


    This garrison housed more than 600 soldiers who had tried to control the situation in the Western Wilderness. However, the members of the Defias Brotherhood were spread out all over the land, and were so powerful that holding them off was much easier said than done.


    Stormwind City claimed that no extra resources could be provided and only gave them the right to collect what was on the land. As such, the soldiers in the Western Wilderness were isolated and helpless. They were surrounded by enemies and suffered mentally because of this.


    In the first few years, they adhered to military protocol and provided protection for the farmers.


    However, as time went by and as the situation deteriorated, the deaths of their fellow soldiers made them more and more irritable.


    They eventually became a murderous group like the Defias Brotherhood and attacked the Western Wilderness¡¯ people.


    Lu Li slowly snuck behind the two sentries.


    He cast Sap on one and quietly closed in on the other to cast Cheap Shot from behind.


    These soldiers were higher than LV20, so Lu Li was prevented from dealing his full damage. However, his strong equipment and skills easily guaranteed that he could kill them. A few minutes later, he straightened his hand and threw one of the tags into his bag pack.


    Not every solider had a tag; Lu Li had killed two of them but had only received one tag.


    Although they didn¡¯t drop any equipment, they dropped a satisfying amount of money. Each soldier dropped 2-3 coins, which was even more than the Instance Dungeon monsters.


    In his second encounter, Lu Li did not immediately attack. After casting Sap on his target, he used his Pick Pocket skill.


    System: You got a piece of dry bread.


    Pick Pocket could yield all kinds of things, but most of these were cheap and useless.


    After an hour, Lu Li stopped his attack because he had gathered enough tags. He had assassinated 32 Sentinel Ridge Soldiers. Of course, these soldiers would be refreshed in two weeks.


    The fact that this was just a game helped him feel a little better.


    Dawn was truly a great game. The NPCs didn¡¯t feel any different from ordinary people, each with their own unique personalities. Sometimes, it felt like their expressions could reveal their madness, confusion, sadness or relief¡­


    Sometimes, he felt like he was in the same predicament as Gabriel Cresso, confused about his own position.


    If he wasn¡¯t so mentally fortuitous, he really didn¡¯t know if he could have completed the quest.

 138 Someone Who Was Accidentally Killed

    Lu Li didn¡¯t follow the advice of the article, which instructed him to kill this NPC who was supposed to die in a few months¡¯ time.


    Instead, he stood before Gabriel Cresso and took out the military tags. He was neither excited nor afraid that he had experienced killing so many soldiers.


    ¡°Oh, Elf, your strength is beyond my expectations.¡±


    Gabriel Cresso took Lu Li¡¯s quest items with a complex look on his face. There didn¡¯t appear to be any joy in hearing about the death of his enemies.


    ¡°Please let me ask, do you recognize any of these people from back when you were farming them?¡± Lu Li inquired. He didn¡¯t know whether the NPC would understand the word ¡®farm¡¯.


    Despite being unsure of how the system would deal with this, Gabriel Cresso understood Lu Li¡¯s meaning. He replied without hesitation, ¡°Of course not, they have already died. Once they¡¯re dead there¡¯s no coming back.¡±


    ¡°Please let me ask another question. Do you know any of the people on these tags? One of them says: Lisa, I don¡¯t want to die, I still want to touch your face.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Gabriel Cresso¡¯s expression suddenly changed.


    His hands began to tremble and he dropped the ten tags onto the ground. He then looked through them one by one, before he found one that sounded familiar.


    Ivan Farris


    Rank: 9th Lieutenant


    Hometown: Western Wilderness


    The last row of small print: Lisa, I don¡¯t want to die, I still want to touch your face.


    ¡°Ivan¡­¡±


    Gabriel Cresso¡¯s expression drooped. He was already on the verge of death, but now he looked a dozen years older. If it weren¡¯t for his chest moving up and down, he would be no different to a corpse.


    He couldn¡¯t help but reminisce about Ivan Farris, the one who he grew up with.


    They used to fish together in the small river and catch rabbits in the wilderness. They would lurk about in the moonlight, trying to catch a wild boar that was trampling the wheat. In the end, they were chased away by the angry wild boar.


    He had fancied a girl called Lisa. So, on the day of his enlistment, he engraved Lisa¡¯s name on his military tag.


    Ivan Farris was like his own brother and now, he was dead because of him.


    The article that Lu Li had read in his previous life described this quest in great detail.


    Gabriel Cresso¡¯s heart would be full of hatred when he sent players to kill the soldiers in Sentinel Ridge.


    This quest was also very well-known because its reward was very worthwhile.


    It seemed like most people tended to enjoy a similar kind of story ¨C one that involved justice and evil, or revenge and choice.


    Dawn¡¯s quest system was far from conventional. As long as a conversation was going in the right direction, it could trigger the quest, but eventually, it would come to an end.


    When he saw Ivan Farris¡¯ military tag, Gabriel Cresso¡¯s quest came to an end.


    He was facing the reality of what he had done in the name of his belief.


    Gabriel Cresso had reason to take revenge, but his vengeance had blinded his heart from seeing the difference between justice and evil.


    Without seeking vengeance, he didn¡¯t have any other reason to live.


    ¡°My condolences,¡± Lu Li said, as he bent over. He was a little sympathetic, but also a little happy. Although the situation in the Western Wilderness had gotten out of control, with the Sentinel Ridge post being almost meaningless, not every soldier there deserved to be killed.


    ¡°Elf, you did the right thing!¡± Gabriel Cresso looked up with ferocity in his eyes.


    ¡°Respected Warrior, please do not taint your honor.¡±


    Lu Li remained calm. He knew how to deal with NPCs.


    Sure enough, Gabriel Cresso once again returned to his gloomy demeanor. He sluggishly stroked his chest and saluted Lu Li, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry. I was blinded by hatred, but now it¡¯s over.¡±


    ¡°You are a respectable Warrior,¡± Lu Li said.


    If he could choose, he would have preferred an alternative outcome.


    However, he couldn¡¯t think of any way to avoid this tragedy. Gabriel Cresso¡¯s mission would later become very popular and the Sentinel Ridge would become a bloody land. Thousands of soldiers would be assassinated by the players.


    ¡°This is the reward for the quest; it is something I learned in the army. If you can¡¯t use it, then you can give it to your friends. You definitely have some friends, just like Ivan and I¡­¡±


    Gabriel Cresso handed Lu Li a book. The system then prompted him that he had completed the quest.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to hang around for any longer; he gave a word of thanks turned to leave.


    Surprisingly, Gabriel Cresso called to him again.


    ¡°Elf, I¡¯m thinking of going to the front. I will probably die there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that is a fitting Warrior¡¯s end.¡±


    Even Lu Li didn¡¯t understand why he was still talking. Wasn¡¯t the quest over?


    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of death, because it will bring me relief. But there are some things I cannot reconcile.¡± Gabriel Cresso pleadingly looked at Lu Li and asked, ¡°For the sake of the great Mage Medivh, can you help me with one of my wishes?¡±


    Medivh was a human who had led the Coalition to defeat Archimonde and protect the Night Elves¡¯ Tree of Life. Even the most arrogant wizard was in awe of him.


    A quest?


    Lu Li paused before turning around and saying, ¡°Of course I would be happy to help you.¡±


    A quest necessarily meant there was a reward. This was a universal truth in all games. Lu Li didn¡¯t have any reason to refuse.


    ¡°I was born into a family of blacksmiths. My grandfather learned this skill from Ironforge. Even those who were from Ironforge considered my grandfather a great blacksmith¡­¡±


    Gabriel Cresso was very talkative. He would always add a little extra to his own story.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I am unable to appreciate the older ways,¡± Lu Li sighed pretentiously. He had already told him that the wild soldiers had killed his whole family. There was no way that his grandfather had survived by some miracle, so Lu Li couldn¡¯t work out why he was being given this information.


    ¡°My grandfather was such a good blacksmith that there no one in this wilderness that didn¡¯t know his name. Even some of the nobles would send for him to craft their weapons.¡±


    Gabriel Cresso remembered where he was going with his story and continued, ¡°They had hoped that I would also become a blacksmith and live safely.¡±


    Lu Li was indifferent to what Cresso had said; he wasn¡¯t really invested int the story.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to become a blacksmith because I liked fighting.¡±


    Gabriel Cresso¡¯s eyes were suddenly filled with sadness.


    ¡°The skills of the Cresso cannot be lost. Elf, are you willing to help me pass them down?¡±

 139 The Forging Hammer

    Lu Li was a little overwhelmed.


    As someone who had experienced rebirth, he was used to being in control. He knew about the Supreme Ring, how to clear dungeons and even the nuances of dealing with NPCs.


    This quest was only supposed to reward the skill book, so why wasn¡¯t it following the order?


    If Lu Li wanted to learn Forging, he would have immediately jumped at this opportunity. However, he didn¡¯t have any plans to do so. He had already invested a lot of time into Alchemy, so if he learnt Forging now, he would have to invest even more of his time.


    ¡°Elf, do you not want to accept my request?¡± Gabriel Cresso asked.


    ¡°Your Excellency, I have a friend who really loves forging, but I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Lu Li wracked his brains, trying to come up with something.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± Gabriel Cresso smiled and said, ¡°Do you think that the Cresso Family inheritance can just be given to someone else?¡±


    Lu Li almost swore at him.


    Did he look like a blacksmith?


    ¡°You misunderstand, respectful warrior, I have no knowledge in forging. I¡¯m just worried about breaking your trust,¡± Lu Li quietly responded.


    This response was ingenious. Gabriel Cresso did not get angry and his goodwill towards Lu Li was deepened. He pulled out a hammer from his bag and gave it to him, saying, ¡°Your heart is strong. I believe in you. I hope you will be able to carry this onwards.¡±


    Lu Li helplessly took the hammer and watched as Gabriel Cresso limped away.


    System: You have received Cresso¡¯s Hammer


    System: You have learnt Dwarven Forging. Your strength has permanently increased by 5.


    System: You have completed the quest ¡®Last Wish¡¯. You are awarded with EXP and 50 Forging EXP.


    The EXP reward wasn¡¯t very much, but receiving 50 Forging EXP was certainly a surprise.


    Forging was the most difficult skill to raise. Even after making a dozen pieces of equipment, one might only receive a little bit of EXP. Most of the equipment that was made by forging was also Common-grade, so it could only be sold to stores. The yield wasn¡¯t even enough to cover the costs.


    However, these were all things to worry about in the future. For now, Lu Li¡¯s attention was focused on Cresso¡¯s Hammer.


    Cresso¡¯s Hammer (Special): Strength +20, Forging Speed +30%, Forging Success Rate +20%, Equal +1, Lu Li Exclusive, Durability 100/100.


    Of the 4 attributes, the +20 strength was the most negligible. Lu Li had quite a few pieces of equipment that gave him bonus strength; together, these were definitely stronger than the Forging Hammer.


    The 30% Forging Speed bonus wasn¡¯t too impressive either; it just helped to save some time.


    It was the 20% Forging Success Rate bonus that made Lu Li¡¯s heart race.


    In his previous life, the best Forging Hammer that he had seen belonged to the Blood Red War Flag¡¯s Chief Engineer. It was called the ¡®Blacksmith Guild¡¯s Gift¡¯. It was the reward given by a long chain of quests that required half of the guild¡¯s participation and over a month of effort.


    That hammer gave a bonus 15% Success Rate, which attracted a huge number of people to join the Blood Red War Flag. This item alone helped the guild, who had been suppressed by the Gangnam Royals, to greatly prosper.


    The Forging Hammer that Lu Li was holding did not give a bonus 15% but 20%!


    Learn! Learn! Learn!


    He simply had to learn Forging. As he clutched the hammer, he could already see the gold coins raining down on him.


    If he posted about this hammer on the forums now, there would only be one of two outcomes. Everyone would want to win him over, or everyone would want to hunt him down.


    The last attribute, Equal +1, had Lu Li completely lost. He had never seen something like this before, nor had he ever heard of something like before either. What on earth was the purpose of Equal +1?


    In most games, the stronger and more important equipment attributes were stated closer to the end.


    This meant that the ¡°Equal +1¡± was stronger than ¡°Success Rate +20%¡±. It was too bad that Gabriel Cresso had left already, so he couldn¡¯t ask any questions about it.


    In addition to all of this, it was exclusive to Lu Li. This property made him both love it and hate it. He couldn¡¯t sell the Forging Hammer, even if he wanted to. How much money could he make if he did? One million? 10 million?


    However, it also prevented anyone else from taking the Hammer from Lu Li.


    It also had a durability of 100/100. The worst part about being a blacksmith in this game was that the Forging Hammer¡¯s durability usually declined too quickly. They required a repair after forging a dozen or so equips, and the repairs weren¡¯t cheap either. Moreover, forging common equipment wasn¡¯t enough to cover the cost of repairing the hammers.


    However, with the bonus 20% success rate, he could charge others to help them forge their equipment when his Forging level was high. To him, the repair costs were a small obstacle.


    The rewards for this quest had been very good. Not only did he receive the Warrior damage reduction skill ¡®Demoralising Shout¡¯, he had received an unreal Forging Hammer.


    When he returned to Astana, Lu Li logged off to rest.


    He was going to fight Hornet¡¯s Nest at night (game time), so he needed to be at his best.


    If Water Fairy was considered a top player because of her looks and high end equipment, Hornet¡¯s Nest would be one because of his technical skill.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest had been infamous in his past life for having a personality that matched his name. A single poke would set him off; he swore relentlessly and would easily become enemies with anyone.


    Backing him was the Seventh Heaven of the Light Faction ¨C China¡¯s fifth ranking guild.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was lower-levelled than Lu Li, but he still wasn¡¯t too far behind. He almost certainly had a team of Mages to help him farm. Equipment wouldn¡¯t be a problem for him either; Lu Li expected him to be equipped with LV15 Steel-grade pieces. If a ranked guild Seventh Heaven couldn¡¯t gather a full body of LV15 Steel equipment, then there would definitely be something wrong.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was a Warlock, which meant that he had many skills. Lu Li had seen videos of him PVPing other players, but he always felt like Hornet¡¯s Nest was holding back. He was probably hiding his skills.


    Warlock minions (pets) were very different to the Hunter pets. These creatures were summoned from the Abyss.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s minion was a rare succubus. So far, only Moonlight had faced off against it. It had good crowd control skills such as Charm, and it could apply two different kinds of debuffs on a target. These


    Moonlight wasn¡¯t optimistic about the battle between Lu Li and Hornet¡¯s Nest. As such, he had purposely scheduled for it to be after the fight with Water Fairy, so that Lu Li had more time to prepare.

 140 Warming Up

    After Lu Li had rested for a while, he logged back on and looked for Moonlight.


    He immediately put the axe and skill book into the trading window without mentioning any sort of payment.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t pay too much attention to the items at first. The skill book was good; it was definitely something he could use. The axe¡­


    ¡°Silver! You¡¯re joking. Are you sure you want to give this to me?¡± Moonlight had almost accepted and taken the axe.


    ¡°Of course, unless you want me to sell it?¡± Lu Li laughed.


    ¡°If you can use it, then take it. I just hope that you won¡¯t PVP other players so recklessly. It would be a great loss if someone else picked it up.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much, but I can¡¯t afford this.¡±


    Moonlight equipped the weapon, waved it around and nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡°We can deal with the money issue some other time; I trust that you won¡¯t run away.¡±


    Lu Li had complete faith in him. With an equip like this, Moonlight was likely to win more wagered matches anyway. With a few wins in a row, he could easily make tens of thousands of dollars.


    Moreover, he didn¡¯t seem like the kind of guy to not pay his debts.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll send you the cash when I get it. How about your fight with Hornet¡¯s Nest? Are you feeling confident?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t lose,¡± Lu Li said firmly and full self-confidence.


    ¡°I¡¯ve PVPed him a few times and I¡¯ve lost more than I¡¯ve won. His equipment is really good,¡± Moonlight said a little sadly.


    With Dawn¡¯s hidden identity system, Moonlight had decided to start anew. He no longer kept in contact with all of his previous friends and guilds.


    Without a guild to support him, it was quite hard to keep up. At the very least, he would fall behind in equipment.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest had a full body of LV15 Steel equipment and likely even had some Silver equipment. On the contrary, Moonlight didn¡¯t even have a full body of LV10 Steel equipment. In fact, some of his equipment was still LV5. This kind of level difference in equipment couldn¡¯t be made up for with skill.


    However, even if he had lost more than he had won, this still meant that he had won before. His God of War title hadn¡¯t been given to him for no reason.


    ¡°Let¡¯s have a warm up match then.¡± Lu Li created a competition room and invited Moonlight.


    ¡°I thought you wanted to rest,¡± Moonlight said, as he licked his lips, ¡°But if you¡¯re up for it, then so am I.¡±


    From Moonlight¡¯s perspective, Lu Li was a good PVP partner, but was also generally unwilling. Moonlight didn¡¯t want to bother him, so he usually wouldn¡¯t try to invite him to a match.


    But ever since his last loss to Lu Li, he had looked forward to the next duel.


    How could a Warrior lose to a Thief?!


    A random competitive map had been chosen. An expanse of wilderness appeared before Lu Li, covered in dry, windswept grass. This open environment had no effect on the Thief¡¯s Stealth but provided the Warrior with a convenient view of the battlefield.


    With his high damage and armour, Moonlight was more like a human tank compared to the last time had he fought Lu Li.


    Lu Li immediately went into Stealth and distanced himself from Moonlight.


    The arena system had a special requirement for the battle, given the two player¡¯s professions: If Lu Li did not attack in 10 minutes, he would lose.


    However, this didn¡¯t mean that he was in a hurry. He carefully observed Moonlight, trying to find a good angle of attack.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t stand still, but continually adjusted his position. Sometimes he would move quickly and other times he would move slowly; his actions seemed to be compeltely random. He was always ready for the moment that Cheap Shot was cast.


    The map was windy, but the wind was inconsistent. The grass constantly swayed in a disorganised mess.


    Most people wouldn¡¯t be able to use the environment to determine much information. However, Moonlight was an expert with a wealth of PVP experience.


    His thought process was that Lu Li was a PVE player with very little PVP experience. Even if his overall skill was good, this wouldn¡¯t necessarily translate into PVP prowess.


    He would definitely try to attack from behind, as most Thieves tried to do.


    He was probably sneaking over right now, walking slowly to prevent detection while keeping a low centre of gravity.


    Moonlight stood still. He twisted his head and stared at his surroundings. He watched the grass sway and felt the wind move around him.


    Lu Li crept up behind him and stopped moving.


    This was a good position. He only needed to take 3-4 steps forwards and thrust his dagger to cast Cheap Shot.


    Could it really be this easy?


    Lu Li thought about his options. He was about to commit to casting Cheap Shot before he realised that this was a trap.


    Moonlight¡¯s heavy armour was a little awkwardly positioned. He also wasn¡¯t one to leave himself open and vulnerable like this. His attention didn¡¯t seem to be focused in front of him, but behind him. He was definitely expecting an attack from behind.


    With one sweep of his axe, he would easily be able to hit Lu Li.


    Lu Li cautiously retreated. He retraced his steps and waited quietly.


    1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes¡­


    The position that Moonlight was in was a little tiring, so he gently took a step forwards. In doing so, he completely exposed his back.


    Suddenly, some hay flew past him and a patch of grass was flattened.


    Moonlight¡¯s eyes narrowed as his upper body spun around, swinging his big axe from left to right. The blade¡¯s arc covered at least 5 yards behind him.


    This was the Berserker¡¯s Crescent Slash.


    He thought that this surprise attack would definitely hit and reveal Lu Li. He didn¡¯t expect that the area above the flattened grass would actually be empty.


    Moonlight immediately turned back around, but unfortunately for him, it was too late.


    Lu Li¡¯s Cheap Shot had already perfectly hit his target, resulting in a 4 second stun.


    With their levels being so similar, any bonus effects from skills were especially important. A half-second stun would already be very strong, let alone a 4 second stun.


    Petrify!


    Moonlight cast a damage reduction skill. His skin turned into a stone-like material and his defence greatly increased. This would reduce the damage that was going to result from the stun.


    Backstab: successfully applied an Armour Break effect.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t rush to deal his damage.


    He then calmly used two ordinary attacks, and just before the stun on Moonlight was about to end, he cast Shadowstrike. A two second stun was added on!


    He unable to gather the 5 combo points required to cast his Ultimate Skill and Moonlight was about to recover. As such, Lu Li instead used a high Skill Completion Slit Throat that didn¡¯t deal much damage, but still resulted in a strong bleed effect.


    With this round of attacks, Moonlight¡¯s HP had been dropped to 50%, and he was still bleeding.


    Everyone knew that Lu Li¡¯s equipment was good, but they wouldn¡¯t truly understand how brutal his attacks were until they personally experienced them.


    After casting Slit Throat, he activated his shoe¡¯s skill and increased his movement speed.


    He only just outran Moonlight¡¯s Trample skill.


    However, Moonlight wasn¡¯t an idiot. Once he realised that his Trample had missed, he immediately cast Charge and rushed towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li turned around to see a wall of flesh barrel towards him. He didn¡¯t even have time to finish casting Vanish before he was stunned.

 141 Hornet’s Nes

    It was like this last time as well. Moonlight used his Charge completely differently to the novices of the Imperial Secret Service. After all, those people had a very shallow understanding of Dawn. They would spend a second or so to get into posture. By that time, their target would long be gone.


    After being stunned, Lu Li did not panic, but patiently waited.


    With his top-grade Silver equipment, Moonlight had incredibly high Attack. A single skill could deal around 200 damage to Lu Li.


    Lu Li was hit 3 times in the 2 seconds that he was stunned for, and Moonlight was even able to trigger the Special Effect on his weapon.


    Special Effect: Hitting a target has a chance of causing them to Bleed, dealing 160 damage every 3 seconds for 15 seconds. Cannot be stacked.


    He¡¯s done for! Moonlight couldn¡¯t resist using his Ultimate Skill.


    Whirlwind!


    Lu Li exhaled and used his Gloves¡¯ Special Effect.


    VanCleef¡¯s Grip (Silver): 20 Armour, Agility+12, Strength+4, Special Effect 1: Critical Chance+5%. Special Effect 2: Sudden Thrust: instantly dash to a target within 8 feet, causing 150% Weapon Damage, Cooldown Time: 120 seconds. Level Requirement: LV15. Durability: 45/45.


    Sudden Thrust was similar to Charge. It had shorter range, but was much more versatile, as it did not require the user to assume a certain posture. Moreover, the user had no control over themselves once the skill was used.


    Lu Li launched himself to the side as soon as began to dash, which caused him to change direction.


    If his target was Moonlight, this skill would have failed. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t!


    Lu Li turned into a blur as he shot past Moonlight.


    395. That was how much HP he still had after escaping from Whirlwind. He had almost been reduced to Critical HP in an instant.


    After using Shadowmeld and Stealth, Lu Li once again disappeared from Moonlight¡¯s vision.


    Moonlight bitterly smiled and cancelled Whirlwind.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop there. You¡¯ve won.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that,¡± Lu Li said as he cancelled his Stealth and appeared in front of Moonlight, sitting cross-legged. His voice was filled with confidence; after all, he hadn¡¯t even used Vanish and was preparing to cast Cheap Shot. He also had the Special Effect from the Shadow Cloak, so even though he didn¡¯t have much HP left, he was sure that he could have killed Moonlight.


    If he used the Shadow Cloak¡¯s Special Effect to instantly appear behind Moonlight and cast Cheap shot, then used some basic attacks, Moonlight would have been killed in an instant.


    Even if something unexpected happened, he could still rely on Vanish.


    ¡°You¡¯re way too calm,¡± Moonlight sighed. As an expert Warrior, he felt quite depressed about repeatedly losing to a Thief.


    In a direct confrontation, Lu Li would never be able to beat a Berserker, no matter how good his equipment was. However, Lu Li was incredibly calm, which allowed him to always find good opportunities.


    If he wasn¡¯t calm, he wouldn¡¯t have remained in Stealth for such a long time, which gave him the opportunity to attack.


    If he wasn¡¯t calm, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have used his normal attacks after initially stunning Moonlight, which saved the skills he needed to continue stunning him.


    If he wasn¡¯t calm, he wouldn¡¯t have waited for Moonlight to use his Ultimate Skill before escaping.


    This sort of calmness could be fatal.


    Moonlight had given this fight his all, yet Lu Li had seen through all of his attacks. After fighting Lu Li, Moonlight always felt frustrated.


    Moonlight was originally worried that Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be able to put up much of a fight against Hornet¡¯s Nest, but those worries had been dispelled. At the very least, Lu Li was at the same level as Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    As they exited from the Arena, they saw Hornet¡¯s Nest at the entrance.


    ¡°Ah, you guys¡­¡±


    ¡°We just fought. I lost.¡±


    Moonlight did not feel embarrassed, as he straightforwardly said what had just happened.


    ¡°Goddamn. You¡¯re kidding me, right?¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest felt quite sullen.


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t because Moonlight had lost, but because he felt that Lu Li wasn¡¯t taking him seriously.


    In order to prepare for this battle, Hornet¡¯s Nest hadn¡¯t fought with anyone the entire day. He had trained with his team in the morning, levelling up to LV17, and had repeatedly watched Lu Li¡¯s PVP battles. He had even napped for 2 hours to ensure that he was at his peak condition.


    And what had Lu Li done?!


    He had obtained the First Clear for the Moon Creek Prison in the morning, as well as the First Clear for the Death Mines at the Difficult level.


    The First Clear for the Difficult-level Death Mines!


    Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s Seventh Heaven had sent hundreds of teams into the Elite-level Death Mines, but not a single one of them had succeeded. And yet, Lu Li had cleared the Difficult level?


    Even if Hornet¡¯s Nest let that go, there was still another thing.


    He had fought with a Warrior right before their fight?!


    This was simply contempt!


    This was simply humiliation!


    ¡°Calm down, calm down, I need to stay calm,¡± he thought.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest, who had spent a few hours calming himself prior to this, started to bubble up with rage.


    ¡°Hello, ready to fight?¡± Lu Li asked, as he looked at Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s equipment. His gaze suddenly became serious.


    LV15 Steel grade Equipment Set!


    Although it was only a 3-piece Equipment Set, it had the Demon¡¯s Eyes skill. Once this skill was activated, it gave a probability of seeing objects and people in Stealth.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have any equipment or skills that strengthened his Stealth, so if Hornet¡¯s Nest used this skill, he would definitely be able to see him.


    Although Lu Li was shocked, his expression still remained calm.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that his calmness only angered Hornet¡¯s Nest even more.


    ¡°You just fought with a friggin¡¯ Warrior, but you¡¯re not even going to rest before fighting me? Don¡¯t kid around with me!!¡±


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was nicknamed ¡®One Poke One Explosion¡¯. He was not a very calm person, and although he wasn¡¯t extremely arrogant, he still had his pride. Being looked down on like this completely infuriated him.


    ¡°Alright, alright, we¡¯ll start now. We¡¯ll see what right you have to be so arrogant!¡±


    Moonlight opened his mouth, wanting to explain, but he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    He didn¡¯t want Lu Li to lose; after all, Lu Li was a true friend to him. However, he also hoped that Hornet¡¯s Nest would teach Lu Li a lesson.


    His extremely calm attitude was simply too despicable.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know why Hornet¡¯s Nest looked so angry. He was completely focused on the skill from Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s equipment. After confirming that they could start, he gave Hornet¡¯s Nest the room number and password.


    The two players disappeared and were sent to the Battle Room.


    It was also a random map and was an expanse of ruins.


    This kind of map was advantageous for Thieves, as it made it easier to use Stealth. However, because Hornet¡¯s Nest had the Demon¡¯s Eyes, Lu Li could only physically hide.


    After Hornet¡¯s Nest entered the Battle Room, he summoned his pet ¨C a rare Succubus.


    The Succubus was incredibly pretty and had a curvaceous figure that was clad in sexy lingerie. It exuded a pure, yet flirtatious air, and was holding a whip that it used to gently strike the ground.


    A rare Succubus and Demon¡¯s Eyes¡­


    Lu Li squatted a distance away, as he thought of how to take down this Warlock.

 142 Evenly Matched

    Lu Li wanted some time to think, but Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s fury had reached its peak. After summoning the Succubus, he immediately activated Demon¡¯s Eyes.


    You¡¯re going to regret it when I catch you!


    Lu Li saw this through a crack in the wall and immediately entered into Stealth.


    It was easy to tell when someone was using the Demon¡¯s Eyes. The user¡¯s eyes would turn completely black with cracks around the edges, making them look like a demon from hell.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest quickly moved around with the activated Demon¡¯s Eyes, trying to find Lu Li as quickly as possible.


    As an expert, he usually wouldn¡¯t be in such a rush. He would at least be able to maintain his composure. However, he had been pushed too far. If Moonlight was there, he would have noticed that there was something different about Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    Demon¡¯s Eyes lasted for 30 seconds and had a Cooldown Time of 2 minutes. The 30 seconds quickly passed and Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s eyes returned to normal.


    Lu Li tiptoed out from behind a wall and carefully crept towards Hornet¡¯s Nest. Warlocks had very high Detection, so Hornet¡¯s Nest soon felt that Lu Li was close. However, he couldn¡¯t tell exactly how close he was.


    The feeling of not knowing the location of one¡¯s enemy was quite uncomfortable. Hornet¡¯s Nest gradually calmed down, regretting that he had used his trump card so early. He could only order his Succubus to stand behind him. If Lu Li attacked, the Succubus would immediately counterattack.


    Chi!


    That was the sound of a Dagger stabbing into flesh. Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s heart leapt, but he didn¡¯t feel himself being attacked.


    Crap, Succubus!


    Hornet¡¯s Nest quickly turned around, and saw Lu Li furiously attacking his sexy Succubus.


    Succubi were fairly balanced pets. They had average Attack and Defence, and their main use was their Crowd Control skills. The Succubus that Hornet¡¯s Nest had was fairly rare ¨C not only did it have a Fear skill and a Charm skill, but it also had a Confusion skill, which most Succubi didn¡¯t have.


    People with low resistances who were affected by Confusion would become like headless flies, while people with high resistances would lose much of their accuracy when attacking.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s Succubus also had 2 debuffs ¨C one that lowered Magic Resistance and one that applied continuous damage.


    It was just a pet, but it had 5 skills. It was simply overpowered.


    If Lu Li attacked Hornet¡¯s Nest, it would be impossible for him to kill Hornet¡¯s Nest within 5 seconds, no matter how high his Attack was. In those 5 seconds, the Succubus would have enough time to use at least 2 skills on him. Once Hornet¡¯s Nest started attacking him as well, he would be finished.


    As soon as Hornet¡¯s Nest realised that Lu Li was attacking his Succubus, he immediately used Fear.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn¡¯t just ignore Hornet¡¯s Nest. Warlocks had a range of Crowd Control skills and Lu Li saw a mass of black light flying towards him incredibly quickly. He bided his time and activated Shadow Cloak just as it was about to hit him.


    Shadow Cloak: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 90 seconds. Gives magic immunity for a short period of time and cancels out all magic debuffs. While active, nullifies all magic debuffs. Lasts for 3 seconds. Level: 1/5.


    Warlocks had many Crowd Control skills, but they were all magic debuffs. With the Shadow Cloak, Lu Li didn¡¯t have to worry about Crowd Control skills for 3 seconds.


    In order to give himself more time to attack, Lu Li didn¡¯t use his Sap at the beginning.


    Most Thieves would have chosen to use Sap to stun the Warlock, then attack his pet.


    However, Lu Li knew that Dwarves had a Racial Passive called Stoneform which could cancel out stun effects.


    Most races had similar Racial Passives. Night Elves had Shadowmeld, which allowed them to dodge 1 attack and disengage from battle, while the Gnomes¡¯ Escape Artist allowed them to nullify Slows¡­


    If Lu Li used Sap, Hornet¡¯s Nest could immediately use Stoneform to cancel out the stun, then counterattack. This would mean that he would have less time to attack. When facing off against experts, every second counted.


    As such, Lu Li decided to first attack the Succubus. Adding on the time it took Hornet¡¯s Nest to react and cast Fear to the 3 seconds of magic immunity the Shadow Cloak gave, Lu Li had 5 seconds to attack.


    If Lu Li couldn¡¯t kill a Succubus in 5 seconds, he might as well surrender.


    Lu Li¡¯s Ultimate Skill, Backhand Backstab struck the Succubus¡¯ exposed back and with a seductive ¡°Ah~¡±, it fell to the ground. Lu Li had successfully killed off the Succubus!


    In this entire process, Hornet¡¯s Nest had been desperately attacking Lu Li, causing a massive amount of damage. However, he knew that he had taken the short end of the stick as soon as he found out that his Crowd Control skills had no effect on Lu Li.


    In 3 seconds, Lu Li lost a quarter of his HP!


    Vanish!


    Hornet¡¯s Nest could only watch as Lu Li disappeared into the shadows.


    Shadow Cloak Special Effect!


    Lu Li instantly appeared behind Hornet¡¯s Nest and used Cheap Shot, stunning him for 4 seconds!


    After this, he used a high Skill Completion Backstab, which added on an Armour pierce effect. Hornet¡¯s Nest hurriedly activated Stoneform, cancelling out the stun.


    Lu Li had been waiting for him to use his Racial Passive and immediately used Shadowstrike. Keep standing still for me.


    The stun didn¡¯t last for too long; he was only able to use 2 normal attacks.


    After recovering from the stun, Hornet¡¯s Nest softly chanted, and a black line that stretched out from his feet appeared on the ground. His body blurred and glided 6 feet along the line, which put some distance between himself and Lu Li.


    This Hornet¡¯s Nest was quite the guy. Warlocks normally only acquired this skill at LV30, and yet he had it already.


    Sudden Thrust!


    Lu Li had used this Special Effect in his fight against Moonlight to escape.


    This time, he used it to chase. Just as Hornet¡¯s Nest stopped moving, he felt a sharp pain in his back. Lu Li had already caught up.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest raised his head, opened his mouth wide and deeply breathed in.


    This wasn¡¯t a lion¡¯s roar, but the Warlock¡¯s Howl of Terror.


    Howl of Terror: 1 Second Cast Time, Cooldown Time: 90 seconds. Lets out a howl, causing 5 enemies within 3 feet to run in fear, disorientating them for 5 seconds. Dealing any damage to the targets will cancel out the effects.


    As long as Hornet¡¯s Nest could Fear Lu Li, he would have time to summon his Succubus again. Now that he was prepared, he definitely wouldn¡¯t allow Lu Li to kill his Succubus again.


    Kick!


    Lu Li savagely kicked Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s abdomen.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s Howl of Terror was instantly cut short. After a skill was cancelled by Kick, it would not be usable for another 5 seconds.


    Lu Li activated his Boots¡¯ Special Effect and turned into a blur as he ran around Hornet¡¯s Nest, not giving him a single opportunity to cast magic. This was the first time that Hornet¡¯s Nest had seen such footwork, and he immediately knew that he was in a bad situation.

 143 Experience

    Dawn wasn¡¯t like those old games, where one wrong move would cause a collision.


    Apart from having a high Movement Speed, Lu Li¡¯s vision and control were also important.


    Against a Thief who was attacking at a close distance, and especially one that could achieve high Skill Completion, Hornet¡¯s Nest quickly fell.


    The Demon¡¯s Eyes did not help at all, while his rare Succubus had been killed right at the beginning of the battle. Hornet¡¯s Nest found it hard to accept this defeat.


    He felt that he had lost because his emotions were out of control. If they were to fight on even grounds, it would be difficult to say who would win.


    However, one¡¯s emotions were quite important in PVP battles. This was especially exemplified in Dawn, where equipment wasn¡¯t as important.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t win the battle because of his luck, but because of his skill and judgement.


    ¡°Again!¡±


    After leaving the Arena, Hornet¡¯s Nest once again challenged Lu Li.


    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m tired. Maybe next time,¡± Lu Li apologetically replied.


    Seeing that Lu Li had spent quite a bit of energy and effort to defeat him, Hornet¡¯s Nest felt a bit better.


    However, what came next made him feel even worse.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest, Hornet¡¯s Nest, look how low you¡¯ve fallen.


    After receiving the 100 gold coins from Hornet¡¯s Nest, Lu Li said goodbye to him and Moonlight, then logged off. Right before logging off, he put most of the hundreds of gold coins he had into the Trade Platform, leaving a few for himself to use.


    After a night of sleep, Lu Li woke up early in the morning to drag his reluctant little sister out.


    ¡°Big brother, can we not go? I¡¯m completely fine ¨C look, I¡¯m strong as an ox,¡± the little girl said, as she patted her fairly flat chest.


    This was the first time that Lu Li and his little sister had gone for a medical check-up. They never had the money required to do so before.


    Lu Xin felt very nervous, thinking that her big brother was selling her off.


    Lu Li had been working hard for this day, ever since he had experienced ¡®rebirth¡¯ a few weeks ago. How could they not go? In order to make his little sister feel better, he decided to splurge a bit, and called a taxi instead of going on the bus.


    Despite the economic advances, public transport had not become less popular, but was instead being used by more and more people. In the past 200 years, the government had denounced the use of private cars and promoted environmentally-friendly transport. However, because magnetic hovercars were not easily affordable yet, most people could only choose to squeeze together on public transport.


    Taking a taxi was quite expensive ¨C a journey to the City Hospital costed a minimum of $600.


    Lu Xin never thought that she would be able to ride in such a vehicle. As she leaned into her big brother¡¯s embrace, her frowning disappeared. She no longer felt nervous about going to the hospital.


    Lu Li softly told his little sister some of the things that had happened in the game.


    In reality, he was much more nervous than Lu Xin. He tightly hugged her, feeling worried that he would lose her.


    ¡°Big brother, I miss my old room. Last night I dreamt that we moved back to our old place and saw Uncle Zhao and Aunty Zhao. They gave me a handful of lollies, but I didn¡¯t get to eat them before I woke up,¡± the little girl said.


    Although it was quite a run-down place that had left them with some unpleasant memories, it was still the place that they had grown up in.


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to move back,¡± Lu Li said resolutely. He paused for a second, then patted his little sister¡¯s head.


    In the silence, Lu Xin quietly asked, ¡°Well, work hard then, big brother. Can we buy our own house sometime? It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s smaller than our old place.¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to move out? Don¡¯t Huan Huan and the others treat you quite well?¡± Lu Li asked in confusion. Could it be that the three landlords had been secretly bullying her this whole time?


    ¡°They treat me well, but in the end, it¡¯s not our home,¡± Lu Xin replied.


    ¡°Alright, when big brother has earned enough money, I¡¯ll buy a big house for Xin Xin, and we¡¯ll fill it up with lollies that Xin Xin likes to eat,¡± Lu Li lovingly said as he smiled.


    By the time they had arrived at the hospital, Lu Xin¡¯s legs had weakened. She had to be carried in by Lu Li.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know if his little sister¡¯s illness could be detected so early on, so he asked the doctor to do a full check-up. The hospital never stopped patrons from spending money, so if they asked for one, the hospital was more than willing.


    They had to a wait a few days for the report, so Lu Li sent his little sister to school.


    ¡®Let¡¯s hope the checkup was of use. If we can detect it earlier, there¡¯ll be more hope,¡¯ he thought.


    Lu Li bitterly laughed. He was probably the only person in the world who hoped that the medical report of someone they loved would show something wrong.


    After getting home and entering the game, Lu Li was immediately met with shouting from Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°The game¡¯s updating today! Why are you so late?!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I had some things to take care of in real life.¡±


    Lu Li checked his account, and saw that he now had over $1 million in it, which cheered him up a bit. At least this time, he wouldn¡¯t be completely broke when he found out about his little sister¡¯s illness. Moreover, he would have to work even harder in the future.


    ¡°Did something happen to your little sister?¡± Azure Sea Breeze stopped complaining and asked, noticing that Lu Li¡¯s tone sounded quite serious.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, don¡¯t worry about it. What¡¯s up?¡±


    As usual, Lu Li went to the Exchange Hall to see if there were any rare materials that he needed. Everyone was getting better equipment, so the earlier he upgraded his Supreme One Ring, the more advantageous it would be for him.


    It was a pity that the rare materials that were available were incredibly expensive. Some couldn¡¯t even be bought with money.


    ¡°Wandering demands to meet you. Otherwise, he¡¯s not willing to join,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, then paused and continued, ¡°Sesame Rice Ball also came and wants to see you. It turns out you were right ¨C he really did leave Seventh Heaven.¡±


    For someone like him, leaving a guild wasn¡¯t a small matter. The whole forum was filled with discussions about the system update, Dancing Flower Beauty and Sesame Rice Ball.


    Some of the threads claimed that Dancing Flower Beauty would be offered a $5 million contract to become a representative for China¡¯s Magnetic Hovercar Company.


    However, most people simply didn¡¯t believe this. Although the Magnetic Hovercar Company was rich, they had never been willing to spend money on a movie star to become a representative. Why would they spend $5 million on a girl who just played a game?


    The discussion about Sesame Rice Ball, on the other hand, was about him leaving the guild.


    Seventh Heaven produced excellent Warlocks, and Sesame Rice Ball considered to be the best in the guild. For players who weren¡¯t very familiar with the PVP world, Sesame Rice Ball was even more famous than Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    In order to leave Seventh Heaven, he had actually paid the $300,000 penalty.


    Moreover, it was possible that he could be hunted down by the Seventh Heaven¡¯s Assassination Team.


    Everyone wondered what could have caused such a famous PVE player to do such a thing.

 144 I Want Him

    ¡°Lu Li, aren¡¯t you curious about why he left?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Lu Li calmly replied. Hearing his tone, Azure Sea Breeze believed that he really wasn¡¯t curious at all.


    But how could Lu Li not know? Back then, when the truth had been revealed, the entire gaming community had been sent into an uproar. The matter even became a classic material for fujoshis.


    ¡°What is with you? You¡¯re not curious about anything! What¡¯s the point in living like that?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed, ¡°Sis-cons are all weirdos. That Flower is also a boring guy.¡±


    ¡°Have you seen anyone selling Lava Essence recently?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t been looking out for it,¡± Azure Sea Breeze replied.


    ¡°If you see someone selling it in future, make sure you let me know.¡±


    The other materials weren¡¯t too hard to find, but Lava Essence was a bit of a headache for Lu Li.


    Any Boss, smaller monster or Elite-grade monster had the chance to drop them. However, Lu Li needed a whopping 15!


    They weren¡¯t like Eternal Frozen Shards, which could be found in large quantities.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to talk about something really important right now. Can you focus?¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze sounded quite angry.


    ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll go over now,¡± Lu Li lightly sighed as he closed the Exchange Hall screen. It appeared that finding the rare materials would require luck.


    ¡°We¡¯re at the Four Seasons Tavern, next to the Inn. Also, are we really going to take Sesame Rice Ball? There are quite a few problems going on for him right now. Maybe you haven¡¯t played many games before and don¡¯t know how powerful Seventh Heaven is¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze rambled.


    Lu Li tried to add Hornet¡¯s Nest as a friend, but the system told him that Hornet¡¯s Nest had disabled this function. This was expected ¨C all pros turned off the feature that allowed others to add them as friends. Otherwise, they would be swarmed with friend requests.


    Since they weren¡¯t friends, Lu Li couldn¡¯t privately message him. As such, Lu Li could only use the chat room that he entered in a while: the North Sea Kindergarten.


    He thought for a moment before typing, ¡°Is Hornet¡¯s Nest here¡­?¡±


    The chat room fell silent, then quickly exploded with messages.


    Green Flag Wine: Isn¡¯t this Lu Li? You¡¯re like a firefly at night. Even if you conceal your name, we all know that you¡¯re at the top of the Level Rankings.


    Lu Li: ¡­¡­


    Wild: Lu Li, are you interested in joining our Blood Red War Flag? If you join, our guild won¡¯t stop you from making your own Mercenary Group, and we¡¯ll give you a salary of $200,000 per year.


    Empty: Wild, when did you start to recruit people? Why aren¡¯t you recruiting me?


    Wild: I¡¯m just passing along a message for my guild. You know I¡¯m not involved with the running of the guild.


    Lu Li: Sorry, but I don¡¯t plan on joining a guild for now.


    A few weeks ago, Lu Li would have jumped at an offer of $200,000 per year. However, a few weeks ago, no one knew who Lu Li was. He would have been eager to accept a Gold Collection Unit job with a yearly salary of $20,000.


    Wild: Let¡¯s fight when you have time.


    Lu Li: Of course, of course.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Of course my ass. Fighting only takes a few minutes. I¡¯ll create a room and you can join.


    Lu Li: There¡¯s something I need to talk to you about.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Speak.


    Lu Li: Sesame Rice Ball ¨C I want him.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Ah, Rice Ball. Do you know why he left the guild?


    Lu Li: Don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t want to know.


    Empty: He¡¯s someone from one of the top 5 guilds. Heheh, Lu Li, good on you. If Hornet¡¯s Nest hunts you down and kills you, I¡¯ll pay for repairing your equipment.


    After the third system update, the cost for repairing equipment had been increased. Players were quite unhappy with this, as the Durability of equipment decreased drastically upon dying. However, there was not as much backlash from the community, as the EXP penalty for dying in an Instance Dungeon had been removed.


    Empty was implying that Lu Li wasn¡¯t a match for Hornet¡¯s Nest and would be killed by him.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: What do you think gives you the right to take up his issues by yourself?


    Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s words were impolite, but they weren¡¯t without reason. Although Seventh Heaven couldn¡¯t compare to the Blood Red War Flag in recruiting elite players, they were far superior to guilds like the Imperial Secret Service. No matter how strong Lu Li was, he would suffer quite a lot from going against their guild.


    Lu Li: Well, I¡¯m first in the Level Rankings, so I doubt that anyone can catch up to me within a few days. That should give me quite a bit of time to kill Seventh Heaven¡¯s top players. Does that give me the right?


    Lu Li¡¯s words were equally impolite and were filled with bloodlust. Although he looked quite calm and relaxed most of the time, it seemed that he had a scary side as well.


    Before the third update, this kind of threat wouldn¡¯t have been very scary. After all, dying didn¡¯t have much of an EXP penalty.


    However, the third update brought great changes to the EXP penalties. Although there was no longer an EXP penalty for dying in Instance Dungeons, the EXP penalty for dying in the wilderness was increased. Dying brought a 30% EXP penalty, while being revived only incurred a 10% EXP penalty. If a player was attacked by another player, they would not be allowed to revive, which meant that they would automatically lose 30% of their EXP bar upon death.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was very clear about this. It would be no problem for a PVP expert like him to trick the other side into attacking first, unless they adamantly refused to fight at all.


    Empty: Goddamn. What gives you the right to threaten Hornet¡¯s Nest?


    Hornet¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t have a good temper, but he was a veteran in the North Sea Kindergarten. Empty liked to joke around, but he would always stand with Hornet¡¯s Nest. Moreover, it was quite audacious for Lu Li to speak to a veteran like this.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Of course he has the right. We fought last night and I lost.


    One had to admit that Hornet¡¯s Nest was quite straightforward and honest. He didn¡¯t try to hide the fact that he had lost at all.


    Empty: !!


    Green Flag Wine: !!


    Blood Dagger: !!


    Wild: !!


    Everlasting Regret: !!


    Twilight: !!


    Midnight Ghost: !!


    Windchaser Sickle: !!


    The originally quiet chat room instantly became lively.


    A countless number of legendary names began to talk. Any normal PVP player who saw so many famous players would probably die from the excitement.


    Even Lu Li was unable to stay calm. All of the players that he had admired in his ¡®past life¡¯ had all been sent into a frenzy by him.


    Water Fairy: What¡¯s so extraordinary about that? He beat me as well.


    Moonlight: I¡¯ve already lost twice.


    Wild: Holy crap, fight a round with me!


    Blood Dagger: We¡¯re both Thieves, so I should fight him first.


    Midnight Ghost: Losers should go away. Come, fight with me. We¡¯ll see who¡¯s the strongest Thief.


    Everlasting Regret: This lowly one remains unconvinced. How about I test the waters first?


    Lu Li: If you let Sesame Rice Ball join my Permanent Party, I¡¯ll owe a favour to Seventh Heaven.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Alright, but you have to fight with me again. If you win, don¡¯t worry about the favour. If you lose, don¡¯t try to force this matter again.


    Lu Li: Tonight.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Deal.


    After exiting from the chat room, Lu Li rubbed his head and cut off the chattering Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s matter has been taken care of, so don¡¯t worry. At the very least, the Seventh Heaven won¡¯t openly make things difficult for him.¡±

 145 Two New Members

    After exiting from the chat room, Lu Li rubbed his head and cut off Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s matter is pretty much concluded, so don¡¯t worry. At the very least, the Seventh Heaven won¡¯t openly make things difficult for him.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Why? What happened?¡± Azure Sea Breeze choked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when we¡¯re there.¡±


    Lu Li ended the conversation, not wanting to hear anymore from him.


    After the 3rd system update, a large influx of players had joined the game. However, the population of Astrana had somehow decreased by a significant amount.


    When new players joined, the game decided to increase the benefits in the Novice Village to help and encourage them. Many higher-level players also returned to Novice Village for the benefits.


    Established guilds took this opportunity to bring in new members, so that they could increase their population and their fame. The Instance-Dungeon-Pioneering Guilds, however, continued onwards and advanced into further dungeons.


    After the 1st update, Asian Server had more than 10,000 players. This rose to more than a few millions in the 2nd update, and after the 3rd update, the population had skyrocketed to more than a hundred million.


    The top players had all come from this group of new beginners.


    After the system update, many new shops opened in Astrana, which made the game even more realistic.


    Tuesday Jewellery Shop entered Dawn and offered a 20% discount on accessories both in and outside of the game.


    ¡®Versace Equipment Shop: Best Designs with the Best Stats¡¯ were advertising for a product spokesperson in game who had to be within the top 100 of the Level Rankings.


    ¡®The luxurious Four Season Hotel, wishing to provide you the best accommodation in Dawn.¡¯


    The Four Season Hotel was where they planned to meet up. Lu Li saw the LED advertisement above him and let out a sigh. The possibilities of the Dawn were limitless; he already knew that the game would become more ridiculous and extravagant.


    Some people had even built a zoo, which featured different animals and monsters inside the game.


    ¡°How many people sir?¡± the waiter politely asked. It was obvious that he was well-trained and professional.


    ¡°I¡¯m with someone. Room number 7.¡±


    Lu Li thanked him and walked confidently into Room 7.


    The design of the room was quite simple and had a medieval feel to it.


    There were many people inside. The regulars were all here, but there were two that Lu Li did not recognize.


    One was a very handsome Paladin. It was too bad that he was a guy.


    His name was Wandering and he was a friend of Azure Sea Breeze, even though he didn¡¯t want to be associated with him.


    Wandering was a lazy and arrogant person. When Lu Li entered the room, he remained sitting on the wooden chair and ignored him.


    Other than the fact that he was slightly above average in terms of skills and intelligence, he was basically just an arrogant, narcissistic drunk.


    The other person was much more normal. Upon seeing Lu Li, he hastily got up and greeted him. He was a small and average looking guy, just like Lu Li had imagined.


    ¡°Sesame Rice Ball, right? Hello.¡±


    Lu Li extended his arms to greet him and said, ¡°Come join the Mercenary Group. I¡¯ve taken care of things with the Seventh Heaven.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze had already expected this. Remnant Dream and March Rain also had faith in him. Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t even care. Only Wandering was shocked upon hearing the news.


    ¡°How did you take care of them by yourself?!¡±


    Wandering knew about Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s situation and was confused as to what had happened.


    Seventh Heaven would never let the strongest Warlock in their guild leave so easily. Wouldn¡¯t they seek revenge?


    Perhaps because of Internet Security, Seventh Heaven wouldn¡¯t bring things into real life. However, they could easily hire someone to constantly follow and kill whoever messed with them in the game.


    Lu Li did not address his question, but extended his arms out to greet him.


    ¡°Hello, pretty lady.¡±


    ¡°Goddamn you!¡± Good-looking and narcissistic men were all very sensitive to being called ¡®pretty lady¡¯, because they were worried that they would never be able to find a girl who looked better than themselves.


    He didn¡¯t care if others called him good looking. It was only being called a ¡®pretty lady¡¯ that really triggered him.


    ¡°Sea Breeze, I thought that the people that you recommend were all reliable. How come this guy is a sissy?¡± Lu Li¡¯s insult was not directed towards Wandering, but was actually meant to annoy Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Ohhh, so it was you that wanted to me to join. Have you forgiven me?¡± Wandering asked teasingly. He was smart enough to know that Lu Li was joking about calling him a sissy and was more surprised about the fact that Azure Sea Breeze had recommended him.


    ¡°Lu Li, I¡¯m strongly against him joining. I don¡¯t get along with him at all. What if I accidentally chop him in half one day?¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze stood up as he took out his one-handed axe.


    ¡°What do you guys have against each another?¡±


    Lu Li already knew the answer to question, but he asked anyway. Sometimes, conflict could be solved by talking it out.


    ¡°None of your business. I just don¡¯t want to see him,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said weakly, unwilling to settle their differences.


    ¡°Yo, get over yourself.¡±


    Wandering didn¡¯t have a good temper either. He slammed his cup onto the table and pointed at Azure Sea Breeze, shouting, ¡°Goddamit, it was the girl that dumped you. It had nothing to do with me. It¡¯s not like I seduced her and stole her away from you.¡±


    ¡°Who else is there to blame? It was your fault that you always smiled at her so lewdly. We wouldn¡¯t have broken up if it weren¡¯t for you.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze smashed his axe onto the table and prepared to settle things with Wandering.


    Lu Li found a stool and decided to watch the drama unfold.


    Remnant Dream whispered to March Rain, narrating a love triangle drama that involved blood, tears and murder to her.


    Lonesome Flower death-stared Remnant Dream and pulled her aside.


    ¡°I went to look for Hornet Nest before. Your troubles are somewhat resolved for now.¡±


    Lu Li added Sesame Rice Ball to his friends and privately messaged him.


    ¡°Hornet Nest!¡± Sesame Rice Ball was surprised. ¡°Can you tell me how you solved it?¡± he asked.


    It was true that Hornet¡¯s Nest was considered the No.1 Warlock in game. However, he specialized in PVE.


    ¡°I will fight him tonight. The deal was that if I win, they would stop bothering you,¡± Lu Li said casually.


    ¡°This is what you called resolved?!¡± Sesame Rice Ball thought that Lu Li was crazy.


    ¡°If I could beat him yesterday, I can beat him today,¡± Lu Li said confidently.

 146 Making the Mercenary Group like Home

    Sesame Rice Ball fell silent.


    He wasn¡¯t very fond of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Mercenary Groups could not level up and it did not have the benefits of a Guild. No one in their right mind would prefer a Mercenary Group over a Guild.


    In a multiplayer game as big as Dawn, battles and wars would involve millions of players.


    What could a small Mercenary Group do against millions of people?


    Everyone had ambitions and dreams to be the best. Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s ambition was to be an extremely well-known player in the game.


    However, because he was from Seventh Heaven, no other guilds had reached out for him to join.


    Small guilds wouldn¡¯t even think about it, while the bigger guilds were worried about potentially offending Seventh Heaven.


    Xin Xin Mercenary Group was the first to send him an invitation.


    If it weren¡¯t for the invitation coming from Azure Sea Breeze, who was the number one main tank in Dawn, Sesame Rice Ball wouldn¡¯t even have considered joining the group.


    And now, for the sake of assuring Sesame Rice Ball, Lu Li was willing to fight Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    He suddenly felt a sense of warmth and recognition from the others and began thinking that maybe joining the group wouldn¡¯t be such a bad idea¡­


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll join the Mercenary Group, just for tonight...¡±


    ¡°From now on we¡¯ll just call you Rice Ball. You don¡¯t have to worry about the fight tonight. I am quite confident.¡±


    Lu Li had defeated Hornet¡¯s Nest without any background information about him. With the extra experience from last time, it would be embarrassing for him to lose.


    Lu Li¡¯s confidence was almost contagious; Sesame Rice Ball began feeling reassured and calm.


    ¡°Are you guys done fighting?!¡± Lu Li interrupted.


    ¡°It¡¯s either me or him,¡± Azure Sea Breeze declared.


    ¡°Have you not heard of the phrase ¡®bros before hoes¡¯? Is that too difficult for you to understand?¡± Lu Li thought that it was pointless to continue arguing. Besides, he was in a hurry to complete his profession upgrade.


    ¡°Goddamit, easy for you to say. This is the 7th time that this guy has ruined my relationship. How would you feel if the same thing happened every time?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked, almost tearing up.


    ¡°¡­I guess I can¡¯t empathize.¡± Lu Li was speechless.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re ugly. Haha, if only you were as good-looking as I am, you wouldn¡¯t have been dumped so many times. Stop wasting your time on girls that don¡¯t love you back.¡±


    Wandering¡¯s sharp and clever comments made Azure Sea Breeze see red.


    In reality, he knew he was being unreasonable, but he just didn¡¯t want to admit it.


    Azure Sea Breeze was actually quite decent looking himself. Despite this, ever since he was little, all the girls he had dated had fell for Wandering¡¯s charming looks.


    He wanted a normal life, so he considered cutting contact from Wandering. However, he was stuck with him all the way from kindergarten to university, and now even in games.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll solve this later, Sea Breeze,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find the one that¡¯ll love you and cherish you for who you are one day.¡±


    Maybe one day¡­


    Azure Sea Breeze had nothing else to say.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk business then; how much is the monthly pay?¡± Wandering wanted to the get formalities out of the way.


    ¡°There¡¯s no set pay, but gear is evenly distributed. Whoever needs the gear can take it. If no one needs it, then it is sold for gold and shared equally among everyone,¡± Lu Li said honestly.


    ¡°Sea Breeze you bastard. This group is such a joke. I thought a team that had taken so many First Clears would be more awesome,¡± Wandering said to Azure Sea Breeze, who was still mad and ignored him.


    ¡°If you have any suggestions, you can bring them up.¡±


    Lu Li knew the value that Wandering brought to the team and asked him sincerely.


    ¡°I thought my bro was the team leader,¡± Wandering muttered.


    Anyone could tell that the heart and soul of this Mercenary Group was Lu Li.


    ¡°He is the team leader. Normally, I don¡¯t care too much and play the game solo most of the time,¡± Lu Li explained and continued, ¡°I only take the rare materials from Instance Dungeons; everything else is split amongst everyone.¡±


    ¡°What do you do with the rare materials?¡± Wandering was surprised.


    ¡°The gear in the later levels all require rare materials. Storing them now would be beneficial in the future,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°How much rare material have you stored up?¡± Wandering initially thought that the Mercenary Group was meaningless. However, after hearing their insights and future plans, he realised that they were more than just a bunch of idiots.


    ¡°Twenty-seven rare materials all together. We have a large variety and haven¡¯t sold any.¡±


    Lu Li always notified his team mates when he needed to use the rare materials.


    Twenty-seven?!


    Wandering was stunned by this number.


    Not all bosses dropped rare materials. Even though Wild bosses had a higher chance of dropping rare materials, it was difficult to them loot before other people.


    Most of the big guilds probably didn¡¯t even have that many.


    ¡°Wait, those materials belong to Lu Li and have nothing to do with me,¡± Azure Sea Breeze interrupted.


    ¡°I said it was for everyone.¡±


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t planning on taking them all for himself. Even though he contributed the most in obtaining these rare materials, he still couldn¡¯t have done it alone.


    Camaraderie was the most important thing in a team. Lu Li had to make sure that everyone received the same benefits.


    ¡°The materials have nothing to do with us.¡±


    Lonesome Flower wasn¡¯t very fond of Wandering either and said, ¡°We couldn¡¯t have completed the Instance Dungeons without Lu Li, so we¡¯re content with EXP and equipment as rewards. Receiving rare materials as well is just asking too much.¡±


    Wandering didn¡¯t feel bad at all and said excitedly, ¡°If Lu Li contributed the most in these Instance Dungeons, then I¡¯m guessing that Lu Li is an Instance Dungeon expert.¡±


    ¡°Older brother Lu Li is the best; there is no Instance Dungeon that¡¯s too hard for us!¡± Remnant Dream backed up Lu Li.


    ¡°It¡¯s great that we have an Instance Dungeon expert, but the way you guys split the rewards is too unfair. How is everyone else supposed to make money?¡± Wandering inquired as touched his face. ¡°Don¡¯t think of me as a greedy guy, but you guys aren¡¯t looking at the bigger picture.¡±


    ¡°Stop pretending,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said casually.


    ¡°Multiplayer games have more and more opportunities to make money. A reasonable and fair reward system based on performance promotes the production of all team members. I can¡¯t believe you guys split the rewards equally. It¡¯s just unfair,¡± Wandering said.


    Azure Sea Breeze went silent. He had also mentioned that splitting the rewards evenly was unfair. However, he couldn¡¯t come up with a way that would make everyone happy.


    ¡°There are many opportunities to make money. This Mercenary Group is not like those cold-hearted companies that take advantage of their employees. Rather, I want us to be more like family and friends.¡±


    Lu Li shook his head, disagreeing with Wandering. However, he knew deep down that Wandering was right.

 147 Madman’s Ques

    ¡°A home, huh. Haha¡­¡± Wandering was habitually about to lash out, but he held back. He had been moved by what Lu Li had said.


    He didn¡¯t have much ambition, unlike the high school players such as Sesame Rice Ball. He, like Azure Sea Breeze, was facing graduation, but wasn¡¯t looking around for a job.


    He just wanted an easy life, where he didn¡¯t need to worry about money.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you won¡¯t make money either; I¡¯ve already made over 100,000. You can make more money with us than if you spent your entire life working.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze had already been with Lu Li for a long time. He was currently carrying 300-400 gold and had followed Lu Li¡¯s instruction to exchange it before the system update. This gave him exactly 100,000 dollars.


    Those searched for internships could only make two to three thousand dollars a month. They also needed to spend some of that for rent and food to get by.


    ¡°Our university fees can already be paid,¡± Remnant Dream said as she wrinkled her nose in satisfaction.


    When her mother saw the huge sum of money in her account, she nearly called the police. She thought that Remnant Dream had sold herself to make that money.


    Remnant Dream had benefitted the most out of this group. Her equipment set was considered to be one of the best in the game, her level was higher than most tycoons and she had even made tens of thousands of dollars.


    Lu Li took good care of his core party members. He usually never took any of the monetary earnings, bought the supplies, and sometimes would even buy good equipment or recipes them.


    It was all supposedly a repayment!


    He had borrowed money from them for the Snake Trust Grass business at the start of the year. At the time, everyone had happily given him the money as a gift. He had not only paid them back, but still also continued to give them compensation.


    Other than Remnant Dream and Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and his sister had also made a lot of money.


    Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s head was lowered and his pride was shattered.


    Even this little girl had made so much money already. He was Seventh Heaven¡¯s number on Warlock. For the sake of building him up, they had spent ten to twenty thousand dollars on him. Even so, he hadn¡¯t been able to earn even a dime to make ends meet.


    ¡°Lu Li, I¡¯m really curious to know how much you¡¯ve earned. You don¡¯t have to tell me if you don¡¯t want to though.¡±


    Wandering had been hit hard today but he was too curious to not ask.


    ¡°One million.¡±


    Lu Li was hesitant, but answered anyway.


    ¡°What?!¡± Not only did this shock the newcomers, it also startled the original members. Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s $100,000 was already an eye-opener, but Lu Li¡¯s $1 million was something else entirely.


    The others didn¡¯t feel jealous; they instead knew that their future was going to be even better. Lu Li wasn¡¯t someone who would enjoy all of his earnings by himself.


    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t ask for much. If I can make $20,000 a month, I¡¯ll be content.¡±


    Wandering didn¡¯t probe much further in fear that they might not want to accept him into the group.


    Azure Sea Breeze accepted Sesame Rice Ball into the group first, before contemptuously accepting Wandering.


    ¡°Like you said, you¡¯ll get your $20,000 per month. You will now live a life with a month salary of $20,000.¡±


    ¡°Get out of here. We¡¯ll talk about the future some other time. We now have seven people, but we need three more to attempt the Howling Caves,¡± Wandering said.


    ¡°Do you have any good candidates?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Remnant Dream interrupted and weakly asked, ¡°Can I recommend someone?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to accept too easily.


    Having one rookie was enough. Remnant Dream was strong ¨C she had a party buff, a high damage pet and good equipment. She could output higher DPS than the average members of an elite team.


    However, if they got another rookie, the later Instance Dungeons would be very difficult.


    Instance Dungeons demanded teamwork, which was difficult with too many rookies.


    ¡°Dreamy, you better not compromise our group,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said bitterly, ready to dismiss her.


    ¡°Nooo, Hachi Chan is much stronger than I am. She has three Silver equips.¡±


    The moment that she said this, Remnant Dream covered her mouth. Her good friend had told her a million times not to tell anyone that.


    ¡°Three silvers?!¡± The other players didn¡¯t dare believe it. Azure Sea Breeze had one, Lonesome Flower had two, March Rain had one, Sesame Rice Ball had one and Wandering had none.


    ¡°Hachi Chan¡­¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t surprised at the three Silver equipment, but at the familiarity of the name.


    In his previous life, he had really enjoyed reading strategy guides. Of the strategy guides that were worth reading, Hachi Chan had authored many of them.


    She was a mysterious girl who enjoyed and would accept any kind of quest. However, she was a little crazy about it ¨C she would travel for many days just to do a small quest.


    What was staggering was her luck; she was able to receive many quests in the course of a few days. She even received a number of hidden quests.


    Hachi Chan then slowly became popular on the forums, as she enjoyed writing strategy guides and was happy to share them with everyone.


    For her, obtaining the three silvers wouldn¡¯t have been impossible. Lu Li guessed that she had probably ended up doing some chain Quests. These kinds of quests were boring, requiring patience and luck to complete.


    She was clearly not lacking in these two areas.


    ¡°Alright, seeing as she is your friend, you can invite her directly.¡±


    Lu Li nodded and promised to add her to the group.


    Hachi Chan was a Druid. She could heal, restore mana and also had decent strength.


    It didn¡¯t really matter if the party was a little disorganized. Having Remnant Dream already made things a little chaotic, so adding Hachi Chan probably wouldn¡¯t change too much.


    ¡°Big brother Lu Li, you¡¯re great. My friend will not disappoint you.¡±


    Wandering and Rice Ball had just joined so they didn¡¯t really have a say. The others didn¡¯t have an opinion on it either. Regardless, Remnant Dream had already happily reported this decision to her friend.


    ¡°Does anyone else have any friends?¡± Lu Li asked.


    He couldn¡¯t show favoritism; he didn¡¯t want to specifically only recruit experts anyway. If someone had a reliable friend, they could be invited to the group.


    Everyone looked at each other before shaking their heads. Even if they did have a good friend, they would need to make sure that he/she was suitable for the Xin Xin Mercernary Group. Lu Li¡¯s secrets couldn¡¯t just be revealed to anyone.


    However, Remnant Dream¡¯s mental capacity was limited and couldn¡¯t comprehend such a complex problem.


    Fortunately, the person that she had suggested was decent. The fact that Lu Li had been content with the suggestion was entirely accidental.


    ¡°Alright then, we can continue recruiting slowly. We are now almost all at the same level. Once Hachi Chan gets here, we can start talking about upgrading our professions.¡±


    Lu Li ordered a cup of wine and sipped it slowly.

 148 Sharing

    Lu Li didn¡¯t drink in real life, but drinking in the game wasn¡¯t taboo. You could become drunk in the game, however, it was only a brief nervous stimulation. It was not harmful to health, nor would it result in any nerve damage.


    After waiting for over 10 minutes, Hachi Chan still hadn¡¯t arrived.


    ¡°Go and ask your friend what¡¯s happening,¡± Lu Li urged Remnant Dream. Although waiting for a lady was a gentlemanly thing to do, there were no gentlemen here.


    ¡°She¡¯s probably lost; I¡¯ll go look for her,¡± Remnant Dream said as she nodded and rushed. She could be heard in the distance loudly talking into her communicator, asking where Hachi Chan was and what kind of landmarks were around her.


    Lu Li remained calm, but the others¡¯ expressions were dark. They already had a bad impression of this new player.


    ¡°Take this. Look at your rotten equipment,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he threw a paladin equip at Wandering while ridiculing his equipment.


    Wandering didn¡¯t mind the insult and happily put on the equip. He rubbed his hands together and said, ¡°The attributes are good and so is the style. This is only just worthy of my face.¡±


    Of all of the players, Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s complexion was the darkest. It was as though he were filled with black sesame paste. He began to wonder if the Xin Xin Mercernary group had any normal people.


    Out of the core players, there was one who wanted the make the Mercenary group a home, a slightly foolish leader and an unworthy little hunter. The one called March Rain appeared to be normal, but the brother who always stood by her made them an unusual sibling combination.


    The new paladin looked like a transsexual and was a maddening narcissist.


    The final player who was about to arrive had three Silver equipment, but a poor sense of direction and was currently lost in the city of Astrana.


    If they went out to the wild and came back to find that they had lost a player, it would certainly be her.


    As he was thinking this, Remnant Dream came in, dragging a girl behind her. The vulnerable, little hunter seemed like she had suddenly grown up. She was walking and rambling at the girl, ¡°Next time don¡¯t just randomly walk around in an unfamiliar place; there are bad people in games too¡­¡±


    In fact, the girl she was dragging was actually half a head taller than Remnant Dream. However, she had a confused look and walked into the room absentmindedly.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, do you agree to join our Mercenary Group?¡± Her name was a little awkward to say, but Lu Li didn¡¯t mind. He could still accommodate for her.


    The girl¡¯s confused eyes widened, but weren¡¯t focused. Lu Li then repeated himself before she responded, ¡°If I join, will you help me do quests?¡±


    Lu Li glanced at the others before nodding and replying, ¡°Sure thing, but you¡¯ll have to wait for times when we are not doing Instance Dungeons.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll join. Thank you for accepting me.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze added the new member while Remnant Dream pulled Hachi Chan onto a seat. Lu Li then began to talk about the profession upgrade.


    Level 15 players were now very, very common. Countless people had attempted the profession upgrade quest, however, they had all failed.


    Not a single person had completed the quest.


    The failure of this quest was costly; it wasn¡¯t as simple as having to redo it again. After leaving the story quest, the player¡¯s current EXP would drop to zero and they would also be unable to re-attempt the quest for three days.


    Upon seeing so many people fail, everyone else had started to be more cautious. They were no longer fussed about receiving the first 100 profession upgrade reward.


    ¡°The first thing is equipment. If you don¡¯t have more than half a full set of LV10 Steel equipment, you will have no chance in completing the quest¡­¡± Lu Li explained, according to what he had read in the forums and from his past experience.


    ¡°What about priests?¡± March Rain was the most worried. She only had heals and no damage skills. She simply didn¡¯t waste any skill points on damage output.


    ¡°Dawn will still test healing professions. After you enter, you will need to choose a follower from any profession. A good choice will increase your chances of completing the quest.¡±


    ¡°What should I choose?¡± March Rain was blindly following Lu Li¡¯s words.


    ¡°For a Priest, the best choice for damage output is the Paladin. With your supporting heals, a Paladin can produce the highest damage out of any profession. Once you¡¯ve chosen the Paladin, the system will then generate a few options for you. Here, you just need to choose the one with the highest attack. Don¡¯t worry about their HP.¡±


    In reality, she could also pick Warrior. However, the system¡¯s warrior was aggressive and did not provide sufficient protection for the player. The healing player could easily be killed by a group of small monsters.


    ¡°If a Priest should choose a Paladin, then should a Paladin choose a Priest?¡± Wandering was initially disinterested in Lu Li¡¯s so-called analysis, but after hearing his explanation for March Rain, he thought that it might actually be a little tricky.


    ¡°You would be correct in doing so, but because you have put some points into defence, it would be best for you to pick a Shadow Priest. This profession can heal and provide some damage output. If they have a shield skill, that would be even better,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°I hear that your upgraded profession is determined after you complete the test. What advice do you have in this regard?¡± Wandering really knew how to pander to people.


    ¡°Depending on your performance in the story quest, you will receive three options. If you can, you should pick Death Raider. Most Paladins will pick this path. Otherwise, you should pick Defence Raider. Death Raider isn¡¯t actually that much better than Defence Raider. It just has a slight higher attack.¡±


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t God; he didn¡¯t know what kind of professions the system would present.


    One by one, Lu Li gave them advice for their professions ¨C even Sesame Rice Ball. Lu Li suggested that he pick a Shaman or Druid to heal him.


    Finally, Lu Li added, ¡°This quest is a test of patience, so don¡¯t take it too quickly. If there is a chance to rest, you should take it. Finally, don¡¯t worry too much about your followers. If they die, you can go back and re-elect them. If you aren¡¯t happy with your followers, you can just let them die¡­¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s final piece of advice was unusual. Many players had failed because they refused to put their followers in danger and ended up dying themselves.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s quest will be a story quest. I¡¯ll now go through some forum posts and analyze them; maybe that would be helpful in the future.¡±


    Lu Li took many examples from the forums and analyzed them one at a time. He discussed what they should do if they encountered such situations.


    He couldn¡¯t guarantee that everyone from the Mercenary Group would finish their quest, but this could increase the chances of their success.


    As long as they understood Lu Li¡¯s explanations, the chance of success was actually quite high. Lu Li was even confident of Remnant Dream because of her pet.

 149 Profession Upgrade Ques

    After the meeting was dismissed, Lu Li left and everyone else went to farm.


    The original members weren¡¯t surprised, while Wandering and Rice Ball didn¡¯t care. As Remnant Dream dragged Hachi Chan away, she waved at Lu Li and said, ¡°Help me with my quest if you¡¯re free. It¡¯s a very difficult quest.¡±


    Lu Li had gained yet another fan. Hachi Chan admired him because his explanations of the quest were very thorough. He was like an encyclopedia.


    There was no rush to do the Instance Dungeons. After the system update, the daily refresh of Instance Dungeons had now been changed. Regular difficulty still refreshed daily, but the other difficulties only refreshed once a week. Elite Difficulty refreshed every Tuesday, the Difficult-Level refreshed every Thursday and if there was a Nightmare Difficulty, it would refresh every Saturday.


    The Wild Bosses didn¡¯t have a specific refresh time, but it was roughly once per week as well.


    The goal of the game company was to create a universally fun game; they didn¡¯t want players to spend all of their time doing Instance Dungeons.


    Lu Li knew this before anyone else, but he couldn¡¯t do much about it. This change wasn¡¯t necessarily bad for the players ¨C there would be more players practicing their Trade Skills.


    Lu Li bid farewell to the others and decided to do his Profession Upgrade Quest. He was confident that he would succeed. In his previous life, he had managed to get his Druid profession upgrade at LV18. His equipment then wasn¡¯t even close to what he had now.


    Other people had failed because they lacked experience.


    With such an extensive knowledge of Quest Strategy, there was no point in waiting until LV20 to attempt it.


    Once he successfully upgraded his profession, he would be able to guarantee a win against Hornet¡¯s Nest later that night. The profession upgrade wasn¡¯t just a simple change; there were many practical things that were changed as well.


    Depending on how the tasks were completed, there would be a reward of two to five skill points and one to three skills. If the player was one of the first 100 to successfully complete the quest, they would additionally receive a large EXP bonus. Lu Li could reach LV19 or higher if he completed it.


    Astrana¡¯s Profession Upgrade NPC was an Elven Elder that resided in the Mercenary Hall.


    The Mercenary Hall was one of the liveliest places in Dawn. Players could post or take quests from here. The system would then determine the rewards based on the difficulty of the quest. These quests were actually no different from regular NPC quests.


    ¡°Please pay five gold coins.¡±


    The old wizard kindly smiled and gave Lu Li a pen.


    Lu Li obediently took out the money; this amount was dispensable to him. After confirmation, he was sent to the quest map.


    It was a swamp!


    Lu Li had never heard of this map. Not only was the sky dark, lightning flashed across it and a continuous rumbling could be heard. Venomous bugs darted between the stalks of watery grass.


    A man with an NPC¡¯s cloak was standing on high ground. He had a white beard and was carrying a Magic Staff. He was most likely a Control Mage.


    ¡°Dear Elder, I have come to accept the test.¡±


    Lu Li stepped onto the mud in front of him and began talking.


    ¡°It is too late to go back now. My test is not a simple one.¡±


    The old elf raised his head to reveal a dry, wrinkled face. He had an exhausted and impatient demeanor about him, after guarding this station for so long.


    ¡°For the sake of my race and the glory of Elune, I am willing to give it my all.¡±


    After speaking these words, the wizard¡¯s face softened. He paused before asking, ¡°This is too dangerous. Do you need a companion to help?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    The system prompted Lu Li that accepting the help of a companion would increase the difficulty of the quest by 50%. He didn¡¯t calculate the exact gains or losses of this move, but he didn¡¯t hesitate to accept the help.


    You didn¡¯t really need a companion to complete the quest. If this were a familiar map, Lu Li might not have accepted the help. Completing it solo would result in a higher score, but ultimately, finishing it mattered most.


    With such a strange map before him, he chose the safer option.


    The old wizard the asked Lu Li what profession he wanted his helper to be. The system presented him with a list of options.


    Lu Li browsed the list before selecting Druid.


    The old elf pulled out some magical materials from his bag and placed them methodically on the ground. After a lengthy spell, six Druids appeared. This was two more than the four that Lu Li had expected.


    It seemed that getting the old wizard¡¯s goodwill yielded a certain advantage.


    Lu Li studied the followers, reading the attributes displayed by the system.


    The first was a partial defensive type. Pass.


    The second was a damage output type. However, its attributes were too weak and it only had a few skills. It wouldn¡¯t be much of a help. Pass.


    The third was a pure healing type. Lu Li needed survivability, not a babysitter.


    The fourth had pretty good attributes, but it was also a partial defensive type. It was essentially a meat wall. Other players might have liked this one, but Lu Li wasn¡¯t satisfied.


    However, if the remaining two were bad, he would have to choose the fourth one.


    Lu Li sighed and looked at the fifth.


    The fifth¡­


    Elite!


    This was actually an Elite Follower.


    Lu Li pointed at the Elite and did not hesitate in saying to the old elf, ¡°Respected Control Mage, thank you for your generosity. I have found my adventure companion.¡±


    The last one also had good attributes, but it simply could not compare to the Elite. There was nothing it had that was even within the same range.


    ¡°Well, little guy, may the glory of the moon shine upon you. Go forth, find Rennesak and bring me his head.¡± After saying this, the old elf turned and vanished without a trace.


    Lu Li stepped towards with his follower into the swamp.


    He immediately concealed himself with Stealth; only the footprints in the grass remained. Seeing that Lu Li had gone into Stealth, the follower turned into a Cheetah and also entered Stealth.


    Not only did the Elites have high HP and Defence, but they also had strong skills as well.


    The most common skill of the other followers was the healing skill ¡®Tree Sap¡¯. Having seven skills was already quite decent for a follower. However, the Elite Follower had a full 12 skills. It had just turned into a Cheetah and gone into Stealth, being able to perfectly coordinate with Lu Li¡¯s actions to minimize the chance of encountering other monsters.

 150 Amazing Drop Rate

    Lu Li¡¯s original speed was quite fast. Although he was slowed down by Stealth, he was still much faster than the regular followers. However, this Elite Druid¡¯s speed was increased by the Cheetah Transformation, allowing it to easily keep up with Lu Li.


    With countless number of monsters hidden in the mud, it was impossible to avoid them all.


    After a few minutes, a monster drilled out of the ground in front of Lu Li. This led to the first battle in his trial.


    Muddy Swamp Monster, LV20.


    It was tall, had good defense and used poison attacks. Technically speaking, it was an elemental and was very sensitive to movement. Many players who had faced this monster in their quest were killed by it.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t try to save any of his skills. He immediately used his cloak¡¯s special effect to dodge the Swamp Monster¡¯s attack and appeared behind it. He then stunned it and attacked with full force!


    The moment he started hitting the target, the Druid follower cast Starfire, which dealt an impressive amount of damage.


    The Elite was much stronger than a normal follower.


    The Swamp Monster quickly fell. Lu Li hurriedly picked up its loot and ran away.


    If he didn¡¯t run away, he would basically be asking to die. He knew better than anyone how dangerous this place was, even if he was unfamiliar with it.


    When he was sufficiently far away, Lu Li looked back. The place where he had fought the Swamp Monster was now teeming with them.


    The wilderness was endless and there were no constellations in the sky, so it was difficult to make out any sort of direction. Fortunately, the Druid follower could provide directions to him. Otherwise, he would have been lost here forever.


    Occasionally, there would be puddles in the ground. Lu Li had now fallen into these puddles twice, and was now uncomfortably wet and covered in mud.


    Soldiering on, he wiped the mud off his face and silently continued.


    As a professional player, he couldn¡¯t worry about things like this!


    After an hour of walking, he had tallied up over a dozen encounters. Most of them were harmless, except for the two Elite snakes he had fought. They had a potent venom which rendered the Intermediate Antidote useless. However, the Druid was able to heal him.


    Lu Li tried to give some bread to the Druid Follower, but was unsurprisingly rejected.


    Followers couldn¡¯t use a player¡¯s items; this was enforced by the system. Lu Li had to stop and allow its passive regeneration to restore its mana.


    He had originally intended to kill some other players to increase his score. However, the map had been completely empty for the entire hour he had been in it. He couldn¡¯t kill anyone even if he wanted to.


    There had to be something wrong.


    However, in reality, the truth was simple¡ªhe had been assigned to a difficult map.


    According to the system¡¯s identification protocols, Lu Li belonged to an S-rank map. Moreover, this was a particularly difficult S-rank map.


    The number of players who were assigned to this map was very small - not even one percent of the population.


    In a dozen days, maps in this category would stop being selected, as no one had ever successfully completed them. In the future, no one would ever see these maps again.


    A high risk usually meant an extraordinary harvest. When Lu Li picked up the loot from an Elite monster, he decided not to rush back out.


    A Lightning Mark!


    This was something that could only be dropped by LV20 or higher Wild Bosses. However, because of these Elite monsters, Lu Li already had two.


    The drop rate was incredibly high.


    Lu Li issued a command to his follower to break out of Stealth and step into the swamp waters.


    A Swamp Leech crawled out of the mud and sprayed a water arrow at the Druid Follower. The Druid immediately transformed to its original form and started to fight back.


    The Swamp Leech didn¡¯t move very quickly. Before it got close to the Druid Follower, Lu Li was already Stealthed behind it.


    The fight had to be quick; he couldn¡¯t stay in one place for too long as he would be surrounded and overwhelmed. The ants here were like elephants and most monsters were LV20 Elites.


    Besides having a poison, the Swamp Leech also applied a painful slow.


    After a minute or so, it was killed by Lu Li and his follower.


    A Strengthening Stone!


    This was also another LV20 Boss drop. Bosses below LV20 only had a very small chance of dropping this on their First Clear.


    Perhaps it was because of Leech¡¯s thick blood, but by the time Lu Li had picked up the Strengthening Stone, there were already four or five other monsters approaching them.


    This was no problem for them!


    They both transformed into Cheetahs and quickly lost their pursuers.


    Just like this, Lu Li continued to farm monsters. After three hours, not only did he find 5 rare materials, but he also had three Strengthening Stones and two LV15 Steel equipment.


    After his last encounter, he ran hundreds of yards before stopping.


    He only had half his HP remaining and the Druid¡¯s mana was also very low. Deciding against healing himself, he took out a piece of bread and regenerated the HP.


    The Druid¡¯s mana automatically regenerated; he could save some money in that regard.


    Just as he sat down, he felt a slight wind behind his head.


    Cheap Shot!


    The high-speed, air-slashing sound was all too familiar. Lu Li even heard it sometimes in his dreams.


    Without any hesitation, he plunged into the mud in front of him.


    After getting up, Lu Li immediately commanded the Druid to freely fight. Another Thief appeared and crowd controlled it, then started to attack.


    The follower who was attacking the Druid was most likely a regular one, as its attack was not very high.


    This was the clever combination of the double Thief.


    Lu Li wiped the mud off his face and immediately used his Cloak¡¯s effect to move behind the Thief player.


    The Thief player was shocked. He had considered countless possibilities, but none of them involved Lu Li¡¯s ability to dodge Cheap Shot.


    When attacked with Cheap Shot, the usual response of a player was to turn around. Although this wouldn¡¯t avoid the skill, it would lessen its effect.


    Lu Li was the first player he had ever seen to react so late and still dodge Cheap Shot.


    By the time he was able to react, the circumstance had already drastically changed. Lu Li disappeared and reappeared behind him. This was the perfect Cheap Shot.


    Four second stun!


    The Thief Follower that was attacking the Druid rushed to save its master. However, the Druid raised its hand and a cluster of vines rose from the ground, tightly entangling its opponent. It then ignored the tangled opponent and attacked the Thief player with Lu Li.


    In this mirror matchup, the Thief with weaker equipment simply did not have the power to fight back. When he finally realized that he was dead, the System had already prompted him of his failure.


    System: Killed a competitor, increased evaluation score by 3 points.


    Unfortunately, this map wasn¡¯t small enough; he had only met one player so far. Lu Li was unable to use PVP to effectively increase his score.

 151 Killing Other Players To Earn Points

    The guy who had failed to land Cheap Shot on Lu Li gave him a wakeup call. This was not a solo game; a small probability did not mean an impossibility. He hadn¡¯t been attacked by an expert this time, but next time, he might not get off so easy.


    He put away his relaxed state of mind and started to be more cautious, trying to stay in Stealth for as possible and forgoing rest.


    From when he had entered the map until now, it had been five hours. Lu Li finally saw something outside the swamp ¨C a towering tree.


    This was no exaggeration at all; the tree truly did tower over the swamp.


    Not many people had been here before. Before this, the tallest tree he had seen was probably Nordrassil on the summit of Mount Hyjal ¨C also known as the World Tree.


    Nordrassil was very tall and was almost half as tall as Mount Hyjal itself.


    However, compared to the tree before him, Nordrassil was a small sapling.


    G¡¯Hanir!


    Lu Li, who had read countless Azeroth Lore books, suddenly remembered a name.


    The moment he remembered, he was even more confused.


    How could it be G¡¯Hanir!?


    G¡¯Hanir was the mother tree of Azeroth, with the seeds of every other tree. This tree was paradise for all birds and winged creatures; even dragons would choose to spend the rest of their lives here.


    However, it had long been destroyed and its guardian, the Crow Demigod Avena, had fallen in the Ancient War.


    Lu Li looked at the seemingly endless crowns of G¡¯Hanir, the numerous creatures flying over its canopy and the multitude of lights lingering on the branches. He then finally understood that he was in a fantasy map.


    Mother Tree G¡¯Hanir was not his goal and neither was Crow Demigod Avena.


    However, upon seeing G¡¯Hanir and thinking of the Crow Demigod Avena, he remembered the goal of his quest ¨C Rennesak.


    Rennesak was actually a Night Elf. Speaking of him necessarily involved Avena.


    In the beginning, Avena was a crow who lived on her mother, G¡¯Hanir. She gained a some divine power because of her closeness to G¡¯Hanir, but she was still a regular crow.


    However, Avena was lucky; she found Elune¡¯s favour and became the messenger of Elune.


    Being a divine messenger wasn¡¯t at all a complicated job. Her duty was just to help Elune send information to the Demigod Cenarius.


    Not long after, Avena also began sending information for other demigods as well, receiving praise for her speed and integrity. As a reward, the demigods gave her more power to help her complete her missions more efficiently. Eventually, Avena herself became one of them¡ªa demigod.


    Who says that being a courier has no future? There was Li ZiCheng in the real world and Avena in the virtual one.


    When the Ancient War broke out, Avena would sometimes take the form of a mortal and guide the humans and elves who were being chased by the Apocalypse Guards.


    At this time, a traitor appeared. His name was Rennesak.


    No one knows why Rennesak became corrupted, but that didn¡¯t matter. He used his ability to determine the whereabouts of Avena and quietly passed this information to the Apocalypse Guards.


    A large demon force then concentrated their attacks on the messenger Demigod. An Apocalypse Guard¡¯s spear eventually pierced the body of Avena and sprayed her blood over the earth. Those of the Burning Legion that came into contact with Avena¡¯s blood also fell.


    This single person had almost destroyed a demigod.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal was to kill the traitor and return with his skull.


    After entering the vicinity of Mother Tree G¡¯Hanir, the environment around Lu Li changed from a muddy swap to the heart of paradise.


    He carefully entered Stealth with the Druid, as they slowly and quietly advanced.


    ¡°Make your follower heal or everyone is done for!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s out of mana, let¡¯s run away¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, Light Faction kids, don¡¯t even think about leaving!¡±


    He finally heard some voices. Lu Li had seen a few corpses on the way here, but he was now able to see the fight that had left them there. There were three members of the Light Faction and two members of the Evil Faction engaged in fierce combat. Although the Light Faction players had a numbers advantage, they were actually getting beaten down by their opponents.


    The Evil Faction side consisted of a Thief and a Warrior with Thief and Paladin Followers, respectively. This was a typical aggressive combination.


    Just as Lu Li arrived, the Thief-Warrior team killed an opposing player. Once the player died, their follower immediately disappeared.


    The remaining two Light Faction players wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. It was a hopelessly one sided situation.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t go up to help. He wasn¡¯t a saint ¨C why would he help these strangers? For the glory of their faction? That sentiment only motivated fools. In reality, of the players killed on these maps, 80% of them were within the same faction.


    Yet, another Light Faction player had been killed and the Evil Faction players were still alive. However, the Thief only had a bit of HP remaining, while the Paladin probably didn¡¯t have any mana left. He hadn¡¯t seen him use any heals; he had only been using his hammer to help deal damage.


    The final Light Faction player was also a Paladin. Although he was actually very resistant in PVP battles, seeing his two friends die before his eyes had broken his spirit. He just stood there as he was slaughtered.


    The Evil Faction players were completely unaware of Lu Li¡¯s presence. It was now time for him to clean up.


    Lu Li touched the Evil Faction¡¯s Thief and cast Cheap Shot.


    The two Evil Faction players weren¡¯t standing close together to protect each other. The only thing that they were focused on was increasing their scores.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even finish his rotation of skills before he killed the Thief, who dropped a weapon.


    The Warrior retreated two steps when he saw Lu Li. He had been very conservative in this battle and his Paladin had been slowly healing him. His HP was almost full, so he was ready to fight.


    ¡°Thank God, I¡¯ve been saved. My HP is low, so let me go. I¡¯ll leave this guy to you,¡± the Light Faction Paladin said as turned away and escaped. With this new Thief present, the Warrior couldn¡¯t chase after him. As for the Thief, his goal was clearly someone else. He was also a Light Faction player like him.


    However, what he thought was wrong. The moment that he turned around, Lu Li¡¯s ghost appeared behind him, casting Backstab and Shadowstrike.


    ¡°Dammit, are you not human? You don¡¯t kill the enemy faction but choose to kill me instead!¡±


    The paladin couldn¡¯t do anything due to the stun and could only shout abuse at Lu Li.


    He had originally been surrounded by two people with less than half HP. As such, Lu Li was able to quickly take him down with a few skills. He received two points and left the area.


    The Warrior wanted to chase him, but he wasn¡¯t too keen on it. By the time he had finished hesitating, Lu Li had already finished the fight.

 152 A Robbery

    That was so quick!


    The Warrior¡¯s intuition told him that he was in trouble.


    Logically speaking, as a plate armored Berserker, he should have a natural advantage against a Thief. He shouldn¡¯t be so pessimistic, but seeing how ruthless Lu Li was made his heart feel cold. He had mercilessly killed someone who was already disabled.


    ¡°Wait!¡± the warrior called out to Lu Li, ¡°I am a member of Glory Capital. Today, our guild is attempting this quest map on a large scale. You will encounter even more Glory Capital players¡­¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Lu Li was a little surprised.


    While ordinary players didn¡¯t have the courage to attempt the quest, this didn¡¯t mean that guilds didn¡¯t have the courage either.


    They would organize their players into batches in order to take the first 100 award. This was a good way for a guild to accrue some fame¡ªthe first three, successful players would be mentioned in an eye-catching World Announcement.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a good idea for you to offend us. There will be a dozen more of us down the road. Why don¡¯t we just get along peacefully?¡± the Warrior asked, as he tried to persuade Lu Li.


    ¡°I guess I could let you go. Three rare materials.¡±


    Lu Li stretched out three fingers and waved them at him.


    The Warrior, who was used to showing of his strength, would never have reduced himself to paying a ransom for his own life. He became angry and immediately attacked Lu Li with the intent to kill him.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t my enemy. You¡¯ll die really quickly,¡± Lu Li reminded him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who will win,¡± the warrior spat, before clenching his teeth.


    ¡°Oh, so you don¡¯t agree then. That¡¯s too bad¡­¡±


    As Lu Li said this, he disappeared into the shadows.


    The Warrior tightened him arms and ordered his Paladin follower to cast Consecration.


    Consecration: Instant Cast. 30 second cooldown. Consumes 7% mana. Holy energy is poured into the ground at the caster¡¯s feet, dealing 90 damage to anyone who enters the area for 9 seconds.


    The damage wasn¡¯t too high, but it was enough to stop Thieves from coming close. Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to close in on them.


    ¡°You¡¯re casting Consecration right away, are you that afraid?¡±


    Hearing Lu Li¡¯s soft tone in this strange, soul-ridden area was terrifying.


    Consecration only lasted 9 seconds and would soon be over. The Warrior would then have to wait 30 seconds before casting it again. However, the crucial matter was whether he would have a second opportunity to do so.


    ¡°Throw three rare materials on the ground and you¡¯re free to go.¡±


    His voice was a like a devil drilling into the warrior¡¯s mind.


    ¡°How are you even going to kill me?¡±


    The warrior secretly rubbed the sweat from the palm of his hands. He didn¡¯t actually have the heart to back up his words.


    He definitely wasn¡¯t a rookie - he had entered this map quest and had made it out of the swamp.


    It wasn¡¯t because he was scared to fight either. Lu Li¡¯s previous performance was just too insane.


    The Thief from before had been showing-off the whole way; his skill-level was about the same as the Warrior¡¯s. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have decided to work together to overcome their shared obstacles.


    As for the Paladin, he was unable to display any his strength. Other than scolding Lu Li, he could only scream like a chicken.


    ¡°If I kill you, you will lose a bunch of EXP and drop an item. But most importantly, you won¡¯t be able to attempt this quest again for three days.¡±


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack. Instead, he tried to persuade the Warrior. If this was in a different setting, he would be like a mentor offering life advice.


    ¡°My equipment isn¡¯t much worse than yours, and I am a warrior!¡±


    The Warrior had already lost all of his courage, as he attempted to repel Lu Li with his words.


    ¡°Your equipment is really good. Are you carrying the Wall Mangler?¡±


    Lu Li glanced at the glowing blue light coming off the Warrior¡¯s equipment. The contempt in his heart caused his lips to twitch; this was such a waste of good equipment.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name? I want to lose fairly and clearly.¡±


    The warrior took two steps back and the paladin who was standing behind him followed suit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take me for a fool. I know you¡¯re trying to stall for reinforcements. That¡¯s so cute. The directions on this map are confusing. Even if your companion led the way, there is no way that anyone would find you in such a short time. I¡¯ll give you 10 seconds to think about it. After that, your friends will be collecting your corpse,¡± Lu Li mercilessly said, as he appeared behind the Warrior in Stealth and cast Sap on him.


    The 20 second stun from Sap was more than enough time to kill the Warrior¡¯s follower.


    ¡°You despicable person. You said 10 seconds!¡±


    The Warrior had been affected by Sap, but that didn¡¯t stop him from speaking.


    ¡°I meant that you would be dead in 10 seconds,¡± Lu Li¡¯s coldly said, as his daggers fluttered in his hands.


    An ordinary follower could only take a few hits; it almost instantly dropped to half health.


    ¡°Stop!¡± the Warrior shouted, ¡°I got it!¡±


    Without a follower, his strength would be greatly reduced. Even if he escaped Lu Li¡¯s clutches now, the rest of the quest would be immensely difficult.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mess with me and don¡¯t let the Paladin heal himself.¡±


    Lu Li stopped and removed his Stealth. He stood right in front of the Warrior, waiting for him to drop the materials.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have much rare material,¡± the Warrior said through clenched teeth. He could just cast Charge right now, but he didn¡¯t dare to.


    Killing Lu Li wouldn¡¯t do him much good. The most he would gain would be a piece of equipment and some points that he didn¡¯t know the function of. However, if he was killed by Lu Li, he would lose much more than that.


    Glory Capital had made a promise to him if he completed the quest: he would receive a promotion within the guild and a number of attractive monetary rewards.


    As he was currently a full member, completing the quest might result in him becoming an elite member. If he was lucky and made it into the first 100, becoming a core member might even be a possibility.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have any rare materials, you can drop Strengthening Stones. Don¡¯t just tell me that you have nothing. In that case, I¡¯d rather just earn more points,¡± Lu Li chuckled. He thought that the warrior would propose a counter-offer to the three rare materials.


    The Warrior didn¡¯t dare argue with him, immediately dropping two rare materials and a Strengthening Stone onto the ground. He then quickly asked, ¡°Can I go now?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t know that Lu Li could take the material and still kill him, but he didn¡¯t have a choice.


    ¡°Of course. I hope your profession upgrade is a success.¡±


    Lu Li picked up the items and took two steps back to show his goodwill.


    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡±


    If his guild found out that he had dropped rare materials to save himself, he might not remain an ordinary member, let alone become an elite member.


    ¡°No one will know,¡± Lu Li said confidently.

 153 Fallen Elves

    The Warrior walked away in low spirits, leaving an excited Lu Li by himself. A Blackwater Scale, a Lightning Mark, and a Strengthening Stone ¨C these were the spoils of his first robbery.


    These were a very handsome reward!


    Lu Li currently had 7 rare materials and 4 Strengthening Stones on him. Even completing the Difficult-level Death Mines hadn¡¯t given him this much material. Under normal circumstances, a player coming out from the marshes with a single rare material would be considered quite good.


    Killing Normal grade monsters was quite hard for an average player, let alone the Elite grade monsters that dropped rare materials. Meeting two Elite-grade monsters usually meant death for the average player. The Warrior had only gained his rare materials and Strengthening Stone by killing other players.


    No one else had thought of Lu Li¡¯s method, which was to use their Follower as bait to kill monsters.


    Now, he had found a new way to obtain rare materials.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, he had always been the one being robbed. However, this time it would be different. Lu Li excitedly begun his robbing adventure.


    It was possible not to see anyone in the marshes for over an hour. Even after exiting the marsh, there would only be a few more players. In an hour, Lu Li had only found four groups of players.


    Two of them were full teams. After following them for a few minutes and not finding an opportunity to attack, he could only give up.


    He then found a single player who was quite poor. After reducing him to critical HP with a few hits, he had given up his only rare material to preserve his life.


    Following this, he ran into a group of two players. They both had their Followers and refused to give in to Lu Li because of their numbers advantage.


    Lu Li could only show them the meaning of the saying, ¡®a wise man submits to his circumstances¡¯.


    Adding on their Followers, it was a 2v4 fight, which was difficult, even for Lu Li. He tried to hold back, but still ended up killing one of the players.


    The other player immediately changed his mind and obediently handed over 2 rare materials.


    Continuing onwards, there were no players who were travelling by themselves. Even if there were, either the player or their Follower would have a stealth skill. In such a large map, it was difficult to find them.


    The others all formed small parties.


    Because they now had safety in numbers, there were less fights breaking out.


    As such, Lu Li had to temporarily stop his robbing adventure.


    His destination was the Fallen Elf Village, which was a gathering point for monsters in the map. Confronting Rennesak would not be easy ¨C he had to trek deeply into enemy territory.


    The Fallen Elves were all LV20 or above Elite grade monsters and were all quite fierce.


    Lu Li saw a team of 5 people being quickly annihilated by 10 or so Fallen Elves, so he didn¡¯t rush in. Instead, he quietly hid and waited at the entrance of the village.


    Being opportunistic was something that Thieves liked to do.


    More and more players arrived, all of whom had entered the map to upgrade their professions in the morning.


    Although they were all competitors and wanted to kill each other, no one dared to act against anyone else. At least before the Boss appeared, they all held back.


    Players from different Factions couldn¡¯t form parties, so it was impossible for them to work together. As such, they were divided into two clear groups that stood far away from each other. It seemed that they were going to enter the village from different places.


    When the Evil Faction had gathered 40 or so players, they couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    A Mage assumed leadership, and they all sat down as they began to discuss their strategy.


    As for their sincerity, that didn¡¯t need to be worried about.


    After all, there was safety in numbers and their speed in clearing monsters would greatly increase.


    Equipment would sometimes drop, and would be distributed fairly on a rotational basis by the temporary leader.


    Lu Li even saw the Warrior who he had first robbed standing next to the Mage.


    This Mage was from the Glory Capital, which explained why he could order around this group of 40 people.


    Lu Li entered into Stealth as he followed behind the Evil Faction players, looking for an opportunity. There were also quite a few other players doing the same thing.


    Perhaps they had chosen to do this because killing players from the enemy Faction not only gave them Glory, but also reduced the guilt that they felt.


    There would occasionally be incredibly strong LV25 Elite grade monsters. They didn¡¯t have much HP, but had high Attack, and could nullify half of the damage taken from players. The 40-player team¡¯s numbers soon started to fall.


    A Thief suddenly appeared behind a player with critical HP and killed him. However, he wasn¡¯t strong enough to get away.


    Lu Li face-palmed; this player gave Thieves a bad name.


    Despite this, he didn¡¯t have any plans to prove himself.


    The Evil Faction players were going to fight more Elite grade monsters, and needed to defend against the enemy Faction players behind them. As such, they advanced quite slowly.


    Lu Li knew that the Light Faction players were probably in the same situation as well.


    The two sides reached the Fallen Altar at almost the same time. This was the grand location of the Fallen Elves¡¯ ¡®Village Committee¡¯ and had a radius of at least a few thousand feet.


    Apart from the Fallen Elves, there were quite a few Apocalypse Guards standing around the Altar.


    They were the lowest level of cannon-fodder in the Burning Legion, but to the players, they were like massive walls.


    The leaders of both sides immediately dispelled all thoughts of fighting; they had no choice but to work together and clear out the Apocalypse Guards. The glory of their respective Factions didn¡¯t matter at all in this moment.


    Just in case something went wrong, they decided to wait for more players to arrive.


    Lu Li stood on fairly high ground as he carefully observed the Fallen Elves around the Altar.


    The quest description had briefly mentioned Rennesak. After taking into account the different positioning of the monsters, Lu Li quickly found his objective ¨C an ancient-looking Elf.


    He would be quite handsome without his wrinkles, but his eyes were incredibly cruel and cold. A white wolf lay at his side, and he was holding a Horned Bow.


    The Horned Bow was quite long, which meant that Rennesak wasn¡¯t a Ranger.


    Rangers had short bows and knives, and were skilled in both melee and ranged battles. The Elf Clan¡¯s Rangers struck fear into everyone¡¯s hearts, and were just as famous as the Priestess of the Moon.


    The most famous Ranger in Dawn was Sylvanas Windrunner, who was also one of the Evil Faction¡¯s most well-known Bosses. Not only was she extremely powerful, but she was also indescribably beautiful.


    After seeing Sylvanas, many Light Faction players had almost wanted to join the Evil Faction. However, they had never been able to find a way to change Factions.


    Since he wasn¡¯t a Ranger, Rennesak was most likely a Hunter ¨C an expert at ranged battles, but weak in melee fights.


    As Lu Li was examining the scene, more than 200 players had gathered. They all began to charge towards the Apocalypse Guards.

 154 Infighting

    The main leader of the group was the Glory Capital¡¯s Mage, Illusory Dream. He was somewhat famous in the gaming circles, and only an expert from a large guild like him could exert control over a group of players from both Factions.


    The saying ¡®there is strength in numbers¡¯ was proven to be true. After being attacked by so many players, the LV28 Apocalypse Guard couldn¡¯t even counterattack before it was killed.


    However, the quest was not that easy. They would not be able to complete it in this fashion.


    The sound of a horn rang out, and a row of 10 or so Apocalypse Guards began to march towards the group of players. They were all large, powerfully-built and wielded massive swords, which instilled a sense of fear in the players¡¯ hearts.


    The leader¡¯s face fell, as he cursed inwardly.


    You goddamn monsters. Aren¡¯t you meant to just stand there and wait to be killed by us?! Why the hell are you grouping up into a formation?


    It was the first time that the other players had seen an NPC army, and their morale was low.


    The tanks at the front continuously retreated. In order not to lose EXP, some of them simply turned and ran. After all, this group was just a motley crowd.


    ¡°Tanks, stay calm. Healers, keep healing. Do you want to complete this quest? Raise your spirits, otherwise we¡¯ll all be finished!¡± Illusory Dream, roared. This was his first time seeing an NPC formation and his hands were sweating, but he had to stay calm.


    His yells were somewhat effective. A few tanks with decent equipment continued to bear the brunt of the Apocalypse Guards¡¯ attacks.


    The Healers healed as quickly as they could, while the other players stood behind the tanks, desperately attacking.


    Lu Li was hiding nearby, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. What he was worried about the most was that these people would give up. No matter how overpowered a person was, they wouldn¡¯t be able to face so many Apocalypse Guards alone.


    The quest for upgrading one¡¯s profession was difficult for everyone, but not to the extent that even 200 players working together couldn¡¯t clear it. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be many players who would have upgraded their professions, even after 2 months.


    In order to encourage competition, games would often allow some players to become experts. The game would only be exciting if there were experts to chase after. However, if normal players couldn¡¯t even upgrade their professions, that would be the end for Dawn.


    After all, no one wanted to play a supporting role.


    At this stage of the game, no one except for Lu Li knew a secret.


    This secret was that the difficulty for profession quests had limits. For example, this kind of S-Ranked map had a difficulty of 100.


    Out of these 100 points, the marsh area was worth about 30 points, while the remaining 70 were assigned to this area.


    The Apocalypse Guards were incredibly difficult to kill; this group of 200 people would lose members while fighting against only 10 of them. Lu Li estimated that they would count as approximately 50 points, leaving a total of 20 points.


    This meant that Rennesak would be easy to kill. He was likely only a bit stronger than the Elite-grade monsters.


    Lu Li only knew this because he had experienced rebirth. The poor players who were struggling with the Apocalypse Guards probably thought that the Boss would be ridiculously overpowered.


    Lu Li continued to wait. With so many Apocalypse Guards and Fallen Elves on the altar, he would be slaughtered before he could even Rennesak.


    The sound of the horn became even louder, as a team of 20 Apocalypse Guards and another team of Fallen Elf Mages entered the battle!


    This was bullying!


    ¡°Great God, what should we do?¡± The Light Faction¡¯s temporary leader¡¯s face went green. He helplessly looked at Illusory Dream, hoping that he had a good idea.


    ¡°What else can we do? If there are more enemies, we¡¯ll just have to kill them. Surely you¡¯re not thinking of giving up?¡± Illusory Dream yelled out, ¡°If you Light Faction players are all wimps, move over and let our Evil Faction players show you how to be real men.¡±


    At this, players from both sides were spurred into action as they fought valiantly, not caring about death anymore.


    Lu Li stood at the side, coldly laughing.From where he was standing, he could just about see the entire battlefield. He could see that most of the players who were dying were from the Light Faction. Although the Evil Faction also suffered some casualties, they were mainly solo players.


    The Glory Capital¡¯s main force had barely lost any players.


    If he guessed correctly, there would be many Glory Capital players hurrying over, or even hiding in ambush behind them.


    Although Illusory Dream was not an outstanding leader, his skill in maintaining his own forces, while whittling down his enemy¡¯s, was exceptional.


    It was incredibly difficult for the 200 or so people to deal with the 40 monsters. Almost every clash between the two forces resulted in deaths on the players¡¯ side. The Fallen Elf Mages¡¯ Pyroblasts were terrifying and could be stacked. Only the Knights who had high Magic Resistance could resist them for a longer period of time.


    Although there were many people, not everyone was immersed in the battle. Some of the smarter ones began to retreat.


    However, it was a pity that they had made this decision too late ¨C they were met with Blizzards from a group of Mages. A wave of damage figures rose up as the Glory Capital¡¯s players destroyed the alliance.


    The alliance, which was marked by a lack of trust, did not last for even half an hour.


    The Light Faction¡¯s leader heard roars of anger and turned around to see a shocking scene. He furiously walked over and grabbed Illusory Dream¡¯s collars, shouting, ¡°What have you done? What the hell have you done?!¡±


    ¡°We have to be harsh with deserters,¡± Illusory Dream bluntly replied.


    ¡°Where did those people come from?¡±


    Anyone who was able to lead a team was not an idiot.


    It was the well-equipped Mages in the newly-arrived group of 70-80 players, who had carried out that execution. They would be more than enough to take out the remainder of the Light Faction.


    ¡°Screw it, let¡¯s go,¡± the Light Faction leader said. The remaining 30-40 players changed their focus from attacking the Apocalypse Guards and Fallen Elves to protecting their teammates.


    Including the players killed by monsters, the Light Faction¡¯s original number of 100 players had dwindled to less than half.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t completed the quest yet, so why are you leaving already?¡± Illusory Dream coldly laughed. In his eyes, these people were no longer teammates or enemies, but pieces of equipment that could be distributed to the Evil Faction players.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for us to complete this quest, so are you sure you want to keep us here?¡± the Light Faction leader angrily roared, ¡°I only have a second-rate guild, but I vow that if you don¡¯t give us a way out today, our guild will do nothing but specifically target your Glory Capital¡¯s players.¡±

 155 Rennesak

    The other players were also furious. If this matter was spread to the public, the hatred from the normal players would be dangerous.


    ¡°Even if your Glory Capital is filled with experts, I still believe that we can kill you!¡±


    ¡°The frick is this? Who would have thought that people would do such disgusting things in a game?¡± a player cursed, as he threw his helmet to the ground, ¡°This granddaddy has never spent money in a game before, but I¡¯m going to make an exception today. When I go back, I¡¯m going to issue a bounty for Glory Capital players: 10 gold coins per kill, with no limit, until I finish spending my red packet money.¡±


    A rich kid?


    Now that the situation had come to this, even Illusory Dream didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Killing the 30-40 Light Faction players would be incredibly easy. They would be able to accomplish it even without this new force of 60-70 players. However, the consequences would be hard to deal with.


    Killing other players was usually considered normal in games. However, what the Glory Capital was doing was indeed quite shameless.


    If you all got along harmoniously, wouldn¡¯t my opportunities be limited?


    Lu Li equipped his Steel grade Bandanna. After creeping a bit closer, he instantly flashed behind a Priest from the Evil Faction.


    Healers never expected to be assassinated, as they stood behind everyone else. The Healer, who was wearing Cloth Armour, didn¡¯t take many hits, before he said goodbye to the quest map.


    ¡°Fudge! Attack!¡± Illusory Dream stopped hesitating.


    As he yelled out the order, a wave of attacks flew at Lu Li and the remaining Light Faction players.


    Luckily, they were fairly dispersed, as most of the Evil Faction players were focusing on the 30-40 Light Faction players. Lu Li used Vanish and escaped the scene with half of his health remaining. Thieves truly had the greatest manoeuvrability.


    As long as they didn¡¯t try to directly confront a Warrior, escaping would always be a piece of cake.


    Although Illusory Dream felt that the attack from the Thief was very suspicious, he didn¡¯t have the time to pay attention to him. Instead, he directed all of his players to massacre the remnants of the Light Faction¡¯s team.


    As this was happening, another wave of monsters started to attack.


    Without the Light Faction players to use as cannon fodder, the Glory Capital¡¯s players faced attacks from both sides.


    Lu Li¡¯s attack had not been a casual one. This was exactly what he had been aiming for, based on hisprevious experience and observations.


    The survival of the 100 or so Glory Capital players was not to his benefit.


    A group of 40 Elite-grade monsters, 30-40 enemy players, and 20-30 Followers surrounded the Evil Faction¡¯s players and Followers. The scene under the altar descended into chaos.


    Although the 30-40 Light Faction players did not have much HP left and were outnumbered, they were desperate and were not easy to kill. By the time they had all fallen, the Glory Capital had lost approximately the same number of players as well.


    ¡°Who was that Thief?¡± Illusory Dream asked, his face dark.


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure. The person who was killed said that there was no system announcement,¡± someone replied.


    ¡°Bullshit. How can there be no system announcement? Are you saying that our Priest attacked him first?¡± Illusory Dream had been revelling in his success just a few minutes ago, but his plan had quickly come crashing down.


    Everything had happened because of that Thief.


    ¡°Illusory bro, they dropped quite a lot of equipment, as well as 2 rare materials.¡±


    This was good news, and it cheered up Illusory Dream.


    The official website did not provide information regarding players dropping equipment and materials when they died. However, players on the forums had analysed a large amount of data and found that equipment had a higher chance to drop after killing a large group of people. It was more also likely for players to drop things that were equipped, than to drop things in their bags.


    Out of the tens of people they had killed, only two rare materials had been dropped.


    This was why Lu Li preferred extorting players out of their rare materials, as opposed to killing them.


    ¡°Everyone, be careful. After clearing out these monsters, we¡¯ll be able to kill the Boss. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re part of our guild or not; after we exit, contact me for rewards,¡± Illusory Dream said, providing the players with some much-needed motivation.


    Not all of the 100 or so players were part of the Glory Capital. Some of these Evil Faction players were part of other guilds or were solo players.


    Originally, they had felt a little perturbed about attacking the Light Faction players. However, upon hearing this, they felt much better.


    Quest items would be received after killing the Boss. After all, it wasn¡¯t as though the only player that obtained Rennesak¡¯s head could complete the quest. Moreover, everyone¡¯s quest items were different.


    However, not every participating player would receive quest items.


    Only the players in the team that dealt the most damage would receive these. In other words, only a single team could complete the quest.


    Light Faction players and Evil Faction players could not form teams, so they simply could not trust each other. Since the remaining players were all in the Evil Faction, there was less conflict, and Illusory Dream was easily able to satisfy them.


    The last wave of monsters charged down from the altar. There were nearly 100 of them.


    Lu Li ran to a secluded place, turned into a raven and flew into the air.


    This map was quite strange ¨C all of the normal monsters were flying spirits. Lu Li¡¯s luck was good and he did not encounter any danger. After a short flight, he landed on the altar, where there stood a single Elf.


    He was currently casting a spell with a hexagram, and a serene, magical energy filled the mystical markings. It almost seemed to be complete.


    Lu Li inwardly whooped in delight. If he was any later, he would have failed the quest. He had seen a similar magical formation before, and this one was clearly a transportation door.


    Looking at the incredibly complicated symbols, it appeared be a long-distance transportation channel.


    Profession quests often had similar situations. In other words, if they ran out of time and Rennesak left, they would fail the quest.


    Goddamn. You¡¯re a Hunter, but you¡¯re using a transportation channel. This is cheating!


    The profession system for NPCs in Dawn was quite messy, as many NPCs had multiple professions. For example, Saar was a Shaman, but many people thought he was a Warrior. Illidan was obsessed with magic, but he was a Demon Hunter¡­


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have any time to recover his HP. He activated Stealth and quickly moved behind Rennesak.


    Cheap Shot!


    The transportation channel was cut off!


    However, the failed transportation channel resulted in a severe backlash from the magic elements.


    An explosion erupted on the altar, enveloping Lu Li, Rennesak and his white wolf pet.

 156 Stealing Food From A Tiger’s Mouth

    Perhaps it was because he was an Ancient Elf, but Rennesak¡¯s stats were quite strange. With his Mage and Hunter professions, he had an incredibly high resistance to stuns. While Lu Li was still recovering, he had already jumped up.


    He immediately grabbed the bow on his back and shot out an arrow. At the same time, his white wolf pet sprang towards Lu Li.


    It was impossible for such a commotion on top of the altar to remain unnoticed by the people underneath. Illusory Dream inwardly cursed, but continued to encourage his players. ¡°What are you all so shocked about? It¡¯s just a few Thieves up there. Do you really think they can kill the Boss?¡±


    Everyone else thought about it and realised what he said was true. There was only a single path to the altar, and with so much fighting happening underneath, it was impossible for many people to get up there. Disregarding whether they had a Healer or not, it would be impossible to kill the Boss in a short amount of time.


    They still had a large group of monsters to kill, but once they finished them off, the accomplishments of the people on the altar would become theirs.


    ¡°I bet this is the other side¡¯s last act of desperation,¡± a player joked.


    ¡°These Light Faction players are idiots; they might as well wait until we fight the Boss to cause trouble for us.¡±


    Other people also joined in the mocking, feeling no pressure at all.


    Illusory Dream felt a bit of regret. He shouldn¡¯t have said those words so confidently. After all, what if¡­


    On the altar, Lu Li was about to fulfil that ¡®what if¡¯. He casted Shadowmeld just as the arrow was about to hit him, which allowed him to dodge it.


    The white wolf never made it to him. Lu Li¡¯s Druid Follower changed back into his original form and used Vines to bind it. They wouldn¡¯t need to worry about it for 2-3 seconds.


    After coming up with a plan, Lu Li had directed his Druid to go around the large wave of players and come up to the altar. Perhaps it was because no one had expected it, but it actually succeeded in coming up.


    Druids had quite a few ¡®restriction¡¯ skills. These included Vines, Cyclone and Summon Mud Golems, which could help Lu Li restrict Rennesak¡¯s pet.


    With an Elite-grade Druid Follower behind him, Lu Li felt much more confident.


    He appeared next to Rennesak and landed a Shadowstrike.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 95%, caused 300% Skill Damage, target stunned for 1 second.


    He couldn¡¯t help but marvel at his own skills. To be able to hurriedly cast a Shadowstrike which dealt 300% Skill Damage and caused 1 second of stun was a godsend.


    However, the damage he dealt was quite pitiful. The 300% Skill Damage only caused Rennesak to lose 120 HP. Luckily, he only had 3,000 HP.


    Indeed, he had even less HP than most Elite-grade monsters.


    Lu Li looked at Rennesak¡¯s stats and saw that he had an inconspicuous debuff.


    Curse of Weakness: Traitors should be punished. In the name of the Moon Goddess, lower all of Rennesak¡¯s stats by 99%.


    This was a powerful curse, and was no less than expected from the Moon Goddess.


    It was said that the Moon Goddess dearly loved her pet raven. After finding out that the raven demigod Aviana had fallen, she had personally collected her feathers and allowed her to be reborn from the Moon Well.


    The poor, traitorous Rennesak could only wait for his death because of this.


    Even though all of Rennesak¡¯s stats had been lowered by 99%, he was still able to deal 3-figure damage to Lu Li. If Lu Li wasn¡¯t careful, he could be insta-killed.


    Moreover, Rennesak wasn¡¯t a pure Hunter ¨C when he was attacked at close range, he would cast magic.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had his Shadow Cloak, as well as Kick. Otherwise, the situation would have been quite troublesome for him.


    Lu Li had the confidence to kill Rennesak, but he had to do so before the players below rushed up. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t just be facing a weakened boss, but also a mob of furious enemy players.


    Lu Li cleared out Rennesak¡¯s 3,000 HP in less than a minute. This was only possible because Rennesak¡¯s pet had been restricted by Lu Li¡¯s Follower the entire time.


    Collect!


    Lu Li could already see the Glory Capital players hurrying towards him. He picked up the items that the Boss dropped and tried to use Collect on the corpse.


    It was impossible for things in the game to be the same as in real life. Players were not expected to chop off Rennesak¡¯s head by themselves. Any collection-type Trade Skill could be used to obtain quest items.


    Lu Li¡¯s face fell. Although he had calculated and planned everything perfectly, there was one thing he had forgotten about.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, his collection skills had been levelled up to the max. Currently, even his Herbalism was only an Intermediate level.


    ¡°There have already been 20 maps where the players have failed their quests. It turns out that the quests have time limits. Luckily, someone¡¯s already started the Boss for us, so I think we still have some hope,¡± Illusory Dream cheerfully said.


    ¡°Illusory bro, Illusory bro¡­¡± a player beside him nudged him, sounding a little worried.


    Illusory Dream looked at the player in annoyance. Why couldn¡¯t he just be more direct?


    ¡°Illusory bro, the Boss has been killed!¡± a group of players shouted out, waking Illusory Dream up from his daydream of being promoted to General Manager, then CEO, then marrying a beautiful wife.


    Why?!


    Why?!


    Whoosh!


    Illusory Dream disappeared.


    ¡°Illusory bro, Illusory bro¡­¡± the player beside him looked bewildered.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me; Illusory bro suddenly disappeared.¡±


    ¡°He probably logged off. Someone give him a call. Hearing that probably took quite an emotional toll on him. I hope¡­¡± I hope he doesn¡¯t die of anger. Such a thing couldn¡¯t be said out loud.


    ¡°What should we do then?¡±


    The hundred or so players left looked at each other. Their leader had been shocked into logging off and the Boss had been killed. They had gone through hell for another person to reap their reward.


    ¡°Mess him up!¡±


    The mob angrily rushed towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li¡¯s forehead was covered with sweat and his hands began to tremble.


    The players were only 40 feet away¡­ and he only had two more chances.


    Collect!


    Collection failed!


    Was he really going to fail because of something like this?


    Escaping from these people would be no problem at all for him. However, if he left and they were unable to use Rennesak¡¯s body to complete the quest, they could destroy it. This would prevent him from completing the quest as well.


    The angry mob looked quite fearsome. Those with ranged professions already had their weapons out and were preparing to attack.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t accept this!


    He glared at them, preparing to use Vanish and leave.


    Wait!


    Lu Li suddenly remembered something.


    Aiya, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m this dumb.


    He hastily unequipped his main-hand weapon and sent an order to his Druid Follower.


    The Druid, whose sole purpose was to follow Lu Li¡¯s commands, stood between Lu Li and the Glory Capital¡¯s players, bearing the brunt of most of the attacks.


    Lu Li held Cresso¡¯s Hammer in his right hand, and casted a final Collect on the corpse with his left.

 157 Mission Complete

    Lu Li held Cresso¡¯s Hammer in his right hand, and casted a final Collect on the corpse with his left hand.


    System: Gathering complete. Rennesak¡¯s head received.


    The corpse on the ground was left headless and Lu Li received a black sack that had a pungent, rotten smell. He placed the quest item into his bag, drank an Intermediate Health Potion and quickly ran away.


    Although the Elite Druid Follower had very high HP, defense and self-healing, it still couldn¡¯t withstand damage from 100 or so people.


    It was a shame, because if a Follower survived the Profession Upgrade Quest, the player would receive a card that would them to summon the Follower up to 3 times. This could be extremely useful in certain situations.


    It was too bad, but the danger was not over yet.


    People that were undertaking the Profession Upgrade Quest were all the stronger players of their respective guilds. They advanced together like an army and worked together as a team, not giving Lu Li any chance of escape.


    Stealth could not solve every problem, but what about Gale Steps?


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t learnt Gale Steps yet, but even if he had, it probably wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference.


    However, there was no need to worry, because he had already scouted the area and knew the escape routes like the back of his hand.


    ¡°Hehe, everyone, stop wasting your time.¡±


    Lu Li appeared near the altar and cancelled his stealth.


    Players from the Glory Capital saw his expression behind his bandana and knew that they had been outsmarted.


    He had even dared to taunt all these people right in front of their faces.


    ¡°Bye bye.¡±


    Lu Li waved his hands and fell backwards.


    Normally, falling from 50 yards would leave you at critical HP. Any higher than 65 yards was basically suicide.


    The altar was more than 100 yards above ground; this distance meant certain death.


    Everyone from the Glory Capital remained for a few seconds, then sprinted towards the edge of the altar and looked down.


    Illusory Dream had logged on and witnessed all of this as well.


    ¡°What are you guys looking at?¡± he asked, as he pulled someone aside.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pull me, I want to see as well,¡± the player said impatiently. However, upon realising that the person that had pulled him aside was their commander, he quickly changed his tone.


    ¡°Illusory bro, you¡¯re online! That¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°Great your mum. The boss was stolen from us,¡± Illusory Dream retorted and slapped him.


    ¡°Illusory bro, don¡¯t be angry. We got revenge for you.¡±


    The player wasn¡¯t angry about being slapped and just accepted it.


    ¡°Oh, how did you get revenge? Did you kill him?¡±


    If Thief had actually died, then Illusory Dream could at least save some face.


    Everyone failing the quest was less embarrassing than having the Boss stolen right before their eyes.


    ¡°We forced him to jump a cliff,¡± the player proudly said. Forcing someone to commit suicide was crueller than killing them.


    ¡°He jumped?¡± Illusory Dream looked worried.


    ¡°Why would he randomly suicide? Are you sure he suicided? Did you see him fall to his death?¡±


    Everyone shook their heads simultaneously.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the corpse?¡±


    ¡°Illusory bro, it¡¯s just a game. How are we supposed to find the corpse?¡± a player naively questioned.


    Goddammit! Are you calling me stupid?!


    Illusory Dream almost decided to log off again, but he sat down and calmed himself down.


    ¡°Illusory bro, what now?¡± With their leader back, the players could finally rely on him again.


    ¡°What else can we do? We can only wait,¡± Illusory Dream sighed.


    ¡°Wait for what?¡±


    ¡°Wait until system notifies us about someone completing the quest. Then, we¡¯ll be transported out.¡±


    ¡°Would someone really complete it? That would be the first ever Profession Upgrade Quest completed in Dawn,¡± another player said.


    ¡°We were supposed to be the ones that completed it first. You did good Illusory bro. Everyone can testify for you if big boss questions us.¡±


    This guild member wasn¡¯t trying to suck up to him. It was the truth.


    First of all, Illusory Dream had pretended to ally with the Light Faction and tricked them into clearing the monsters for them, while chipping down their manpower. Then, he ambushed them from both sides, removing their biggest competition.


    All that was left to do was to kill the boss and complete the quest together.


    Everyone that completed the quest could have all been from Glory Capital!


    He had come so close, yet he was still so far¡­


    At this moment, everyone felt a sense of regret.


    System: Unknown Player has completed the Profession Upgrade Quest. Rewards will be received.


    Everyone was transported out of the map, destroying any last hope that the Glory Capital was clinging onto.


    As Lu Li fell down, he had casted Child of the Forest.


    Child of the Forest: Instant Cast. You turn into a cheetah, raising your Movement Speed by 50%, as well as your ability to climb at 45 degree angles. Allows you to use all skills available to the Cheetah Transformation. The caster becomes immune to all Polymorph effects and fall damage is reduced. Transforming removes all Movement Restrictions on the caster. Proficiency: 1/1000.


    This Cheetah Transformation skill allowed him to drop from a distance of more than 120 yards.


    He even drank an Intermediate Health Potion right before jumping just to be safe.


    After leaving the area, he completed the quest with Rennesak¡¯s head.


    If the Druid Follower was still alive, he would have made the effort to escort it back. However, without it, Lu Li could only the NPC by using the quest item.


    ¡°Young Elf, you have surpassed my expectations.¡±


    The elderly Elf lifted his hood, revealing his long, silvery hair.


    ¡°By the protection of the Moon Goddess, the sinner paid his price.¡±


    Lu Li handed over the unopened sack which contained Rennesak¡¯s head.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s my son. Thank you for giving him peace and rest.¡±


    The Elf held the bag with a sad expression.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    Lu Li was stunned at this and felt uneasy.


    How could a father hire people to kill his own son? What a tragedy.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very long story that shouldn¡¯t be mentioned. I won¡¯t tell it to you.¡±


    The Elf decided not to satisfy Lu Li¡¯s curiosity and instead handed him a stack of skill books.


    ¡°These two skill books are your reward. Please pick out two.¡±


    Two?!


    Lu Li was disappointed. Why were there only two?


    ¡°Your follower died, so the mission was not completely perfectly,¡± the Elf said, as if he already knew what Lu Li was thinking.


    ¡°This is an ancient test and it has its own rules. Sorry about that.¡±

 158 Advancement to Great Thief

    Lu Li was slightly displeased, but he had to accept the truth.


    The Thief Skill Books were grey and the colour had faded because of their age. The average person could not tell the differences between each book and would randomly select them most of the time.


    However, Lu Li had experiences from his past life, so he was not the average person.


    Skill Books had names on them, but they were flipped so that the player had to randomly select one. Despite this, Lu Li could tell the difference between the books due to the patterns on their backs.


    Every book had a different pattern, but it was very hard to tell them apart. Someone accidentally noticed this one year into the game and a group of people studied the patterns for weeks, collected data and found them.


    Lu Li obviously didn¡¯t memorize the patterns of every skill book. However, he did take the time to memorize the patterns of the rarer and more expensive skill books.


    There was a stack of more than ten skill books, but only a few caught his eyes.


    Lu Li pulled out a book and expectantly saw Gale Steps on the cover.


    Gale Steps: Instant Cast. 60 second cooldown. Forces user into Stealth and gives user 1 seconds of invulnerability. When in Stealth, movement speed is increased by 50% for 5 seconds. The first attack dealt upon leaving Stealth will deal 150% damage. Current Proficiency 1/5.


    When Gale Steps was maxed, the invulnerability lasted up to 2 seconds, while the movement speed was increased by 80%. The first attack upon leaving stealth would deal 280% damage.


    This was a skill he had always wanted. The drop rate was extremely low and there were no other ways to obtain it. Lu Li was very pleased to have obtained it from the Profession Upgrade Quest.


    He still had one more chance, but there were two skill books that he could recognize.


    One was Kidney Strike and the other was Ambush.


    Kidney Strike was a control skill that used up combo points to stun. It was one of the longest CC skills besides Sap, but its stun effect would not broken by attacking.


    Ambush was simply a high-damaging skill that gave the user 2 combo points after using it. This would present them with more combo options.


    Lu Li¡¯s current combo order began with Cheap Shot, which gave him 2 combo points. He then followed this by Backstab and Shadow Strike, which gave a point each for a total of 4 combo points. However, this wasn¡¯t enough to use his Ultimate Skill.


    For Lu Li, both skills would largely improve his damage output and fighting potential.


    After contemplating for a while, he decided to choose Ambush.


    Ambush: Instant Cast, 30 second cooldown. Ambush your target from behind, dealing 180% Weapon damage. Awards 2 combo points. Current proficiency: 1/5.


    He wanted Kidney Strike as well, but Ambush would be more useful at this current stage.


    Lu Li¡¯s main damage output came from Backstab and Shadow Strike. He needed to incorporate a lot of auto attacks as fillers in-between skill cooldowns in order to maximize his damage output. This would work against lower-skill players, but against experts, it was very disadvantageous.


    Lu Li was more interested in the special effect of Ambush.


    If the Skill Completion rate was high than 85%, the target would be paralysed for 1 second. A Skill Completion rate above 90% would cause paralysis for 2 seconds..


    ¡°You are the first player to complete the Profession Advancement Quest and you were able to complete it alone. Five skills points will be rewarded,¡± the Elf continued.


    ¡°Thank you, dear Elder.¡±


    Lu Li was very pleased when he heard this. He was more excited about the skill points than receiving the Skill Books. Skill Books were rare and expensive, but Skill Points could not be bought, even with all the money in the world.


    ¡°Because you are the first person to complete this quest, bonus EXP will also be rewarded. Are you ready?¡± the Elderly Elf asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Lu Li nodded.


    Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar was quickly filled.


    System: You have levelled up to LV19. You have levelled up to LV20.


    Two Levels! Even after reaching LV20, his EXP bar continued to be filled until it reached 60%.


    ¡°Now, you have 3 choices.¡±


    The Elderly Elf waved and a virtual board appeared, displaying the three different class choices.


    Thief, Scout and Demon Hunter.


    Lu Li chose Thief without hesitating - he had never intended on playing any other class. He had even found the Job Change scroll for the Demon Hunter, but decided against using it.


    Job Advancement Scrolls allowed you to change class immediately. Advancement rewards would still be received, but the user would not be listed in the System Class Rankings.


    Demon Hunters were also known to players as the ¡°Hidden Class¡±, but Lu Li was not interested.


    Scouts were even rarer!


    Their expertise leaned more in the field of stealth, scouting, detection and deactivating traps. These were skills that were more beneficial in group settings, but extremely useless by themselves. Lu Li would never choose this.


    Thieves could everything that Scouts could, just not to the same level of mastery.


    The title of the Thief class didn¡¯t change, but players often called the Advanced Thieves ¡°Great Thieves¡±.


    From this point onwards, he could proudly call himself ¡®Lu Li the Great Thief¡¯.


    ¡®Hidden¡¯ classes or quests in Dawn referred to classes that didn¡¯t have much information on forums and quests that were limited to a certain group of people. This promoted the mysteriousness and uniqueness of the game.


    The System announced the first player to complete Job Advancement.


    Before the announcement, Lu Li was given the option to reamin anonymous. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t really care, but he didn¡¯t want to seem boastful, as he had just stolen the Rennesak kill from the Glory Capital.


    Realistically, this didn¡¯t make much of a difference. Anyone could tell that he had completed the advancement by looking at the rankings.


    Everyone knew Lu Li as a scumbag, but acknowledged that the No.1 place undisputedly belonged to him. He and his team of goons had been able to take almost every ¡®first¡¯ in Dawn.


    After he completed the mission, Lu Li said his goodbyes and everyone was teleported outside of the map.


    Lu Li was heavily rewarded in this quest, with skill books, skill points and EXP. After being teleported out, he immediately used the skills books and added the SP into his skills.


    He had gained 10 SP from levelling up, 1 SP from levelling up Shadow Strike and another SP from killing Illidan¡¯s Shadow. If he didn¡¯t use them up, he would have 17 points altogether.

 159 An Old Acquaintance

    Lu Li obtained 10 Skill Points by reaching LV20. Levelling-up Shadowstrike and fighting Illidan had also awarded him with one Skill Point each. If he didn¡¯t use any of his Skill Points, he would have 17 of them altogether.


    He added a point to his Unlock Skill and his Seal Transformation, which left him with 15 remaining points.


    After this, he maxed out his Shadowstrike, which only cost three Skill Points as he had manually levelled it up before. Now, he had 12 points remaining.


    He then added two points to Backstab and spent three on Slit Throat to increase it to rank 3.


    After all of that, Lu Li was left with seven Skill Points.


    He intended to add more points to Slit throat and max it out.


    Slit Throat: Instant Cast, uses up all Combo Points and attacks the throat of the target, dealing their own damage * (1 + 50% * Combo Points). If the target is below 20% HP, this attack has a chance of being a critical hit. Skill Proficiency 5/5.


    A max-levelled Slit Throat didn¡¯t have significantly more damge, but was able to reach 100% in critical chance.


    This was a finishing skill.


    Lu Li could open with a Cheap Shot and Ambush to deal gain two combo points each, before following with Backstab to apply Armour Break. He would then use Slit Throat to complete this five star combo. Even high-HP professions would have to submit to him.


    He directly put four points into Gale Steps to max out this God-level, lifesaving skill.


    Gale Steps: Instant Cast. 60 second cooldown. Forces user into Stealth and gives 2 seconds of invulnerability. When in Stealth, movement speed is increased by 80% for 8 seconds. The first attack dealt upon leaving Stealth will deal 280% damage. Current Proficiency 5/5.


    Lu Li added his last two points into Shadow Cloak, which increased the magic invulnerability duration to four seconds.


    This single second was not to be underestimated, as it could play a vital role on many occasions. Lu Li would have liked to max out this skill, but he didn¡¯t have enough Skill Points.


    The other players must have had it even worse, if a LV20 player that had just gained seven bonus Skill Points was struggling with a lack them.


    The cost of upgrading skills was really expensive and increased with the strength of the skill. It had cost Lu Li 26 gold coins to upgrade Gale Steps with four skill points.


    This was equivalent to three weeks of work for an average player.


    His wallet was getting smaller!


    Lu Li thought about his sister¡¯s medical expenses and the big house that they both had their hearts set on. He clenched his fists; he needed to make more money.


    He had originally planned to take his permanent party to do an Instance Dungeon, but they had all run off to do their Profession Upgrade Quests. Lu Li then made a chatroom to provide live guidance. His teammates just needed to describe their map quest, for him to provide additional strategy.


    His ability to do this was more shocking to Wandering and Sesame Rice Ball, than the fact that Lu Li had already completed his Profession Upgrade Quest.


    Completing the Quest could have just been luck, but to provide map-specific analysis like this was insane.


    Sesame Rice Ball felt that he, who considered to be a top Warlock player, was weak. Even the other top players of the large guilds had to kneel before Lu Li.


    This was just like Demigods and Semi-Devils. Everyone was so focused on the popular people like Jiang Hu, but they had no idea about the unimaginably strong monks who were in the Shaolin Temple.


    As Lu Li was gave out commands, he also tried to pick a quest.


    ¡°North of Astrana, there is a group of Thistle Skin Bears. My scouts report that their numbers have grown rapidly over the past few months. If their numbers become too great, they might become strong enough to attack Astrana! Go to the Thistle Skin village and kill as many as you can. I will be here waiting for your report. May the moon be with you.¡±


    A leather-clad Meisnera was distributing quests to the players around her.


    This was Meisnera¡¯s post; it was primarily set up to defend against the new residents of the Northern Odila Ruins ¨C the Thistle Skin Bears.


    Meisnera was renowned for her beauty. Not only was she physically beautiful, she also had an irresistible voice. It was regarded as the pinnacle of virtual technology.


    There were many players who loitered around Meisnera¡¯s post in the hope of engaging in a few lines of dialogue with her.


    Some players claimed that if they found someone in the real world who had a voice like hers, it wouldn¡¯t matter even they were really ugly.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t here to listen to Meisnera¡¯s voice ¨C he wasn¡¯t so pitiful. Although, in his past life, he had been reluctant the leave the post for a few weeks¡­


    After receiving the quest, Lu Li left the crowd and found a quiet place to transform into a leopard, before running to the Thistle Village like the wind.


    Meisnera¡¯s quest was well-known but its rewards were mediocre. They only included some EXP and a Bronze equip. He had only accepted this quest for the cute Thistle Skin Bears.


    These monsters had a chance of dropping the Thief Poison recipe!


    For this reason, he had to grind them, even though they were only LV17-19 and would yield little to no EXP.


    However, this situation wasn¡¯t without its benefits.


    As these monsters were two to three levels below him, he could deal the maximum amount of damage.


    Coupled with his fast-farming rate, this allowed him to gain EXP at a somewhat reasonable rate.


    ¡°Taking over the bear farming field, leave the area now!¡±


    ¡°Taking over the bear farming field, leave the area now!¡±


    The people that said this were loud, and their tone was arrogant.


    ¡°Who wants to take over the field?¡±


    Who would be so insolent as to try and take over such a densely populated area? This area was required for Meisnera¡¯s quest; they had to be kidding.


    ¡°Angel Wings?¡±


    The people who were yelling turned around and saw the badges of injustice.


    ¡°Correct, I am a member of the Angel Wings¡­¡±


    Although he was only a fringe member, the guild that he claimed to be from wasn¡¯t obscure.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care that you are from Angel Wings. Step aside.¡±


    The other players did not give the Angel Wings any respect and declared, ¡°We, the Imperial Secret Service are taking over this area. It doesn¡¯t matter if you are the Angel Wings or even the Wings of Dawn. Step aside.¡±


    The Angel Wings was a branch of the Wings of Dawn, which was a fairly large guild and only slightly lower-ranked than the Imperial Secret Service.


    Although the Imperial Secret Service had been humiliated by Lu Li, they were large enough that most ordinary players treated them well.


    Upon hearing the name ¡®Imperial Secret Service¡¯, the Thistle Village players changed their expressions.


    Losing EXP for this wasn¡¯t worth it. Why would anyone throw away their EXP by resisting them?


    Everyone took a step back!


    They probably wouldn¡¯t occupy it for too long and would be gone soon enough.


    However, for Lu Li, the name ¡®Imperial Secret Service¡¯ brought back fond memories.


    Lu Li smiled before equipping the bandana from his backpack, his eyes glowing with excitement.

 160 Cash Cow

    Lu Li smiled before equipping the bandana from his backpack. His eyes were glowing with excitement.


    He wasn¡¯t a good person, nor was he good at accepting fault. Previously, when the Imperial Secret Service had attempted to hunt him down, he didn¡¯t bother to seek revenge. However, the time had come for retribution.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that? Why hasn¡¯t he left yet? Does he want to die?¡±


    Seeing that Lu Li had no intention of leaving, the Imperial Secret Service members became unhappy and stormed over to him.


    ¡°Are you talking about me?¡± Lu Li lowered his voice as he asked.


    ¡°Nonsense, are you deaf?¡±


    This was Hurricane, a member of the Imperial Secret Service¡¯s Assassination Team, which was specifically tasked with clearing out areas. Seeing that Lu Li wouldn¡¯t budge, he pushed him.


    This was a common way to start a fight with another person. Once their emotions had been riled up, they would immediately start fighting.


    All this time, Lu Li had his back to the player. When he finally turned around, Hurricane saw that his entire face was covered with a black bandana that only left his gray eyes exposed.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Hurricane was a little surprised. He didn¡¯t expect Lu Li¡¯s face to be covered.


    ¡°I hate people who try to take over area.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s wrist dropped as he casted Shadowstrike.


    Hurricane was a little shocked when he saw Lu Li¡¯s bandana, but after Lu Li attacked him, he laughed, ¡°That¡¯s hilarious ¨C you haven¡¯t even gone into Stealth. You want to openly attack me, a warrior.¡±


    But a second later, he stopped laughing.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 94%, resulting in 250% damage and stunning the target for 2 seconds.


    Once the stun was applied, Lu Li attacked as he casually began to walk.


    System: Backstab Skill Completion 89%, resulting in 112% damage and applying Armour Break on the target!


    System: Ambush Skill Completion 86%, resulting in 107% damage and paralyzing the target for 1 second!


    Just as he had recovered from the stun, Hurricane found himself paralyzed.


    There were a few differences between a stun and paralysis.


    The former could not be lifted until the end of its duration, while the latter would be lifted if damage was applied to the target. However, while in paralysis, the target still could not move or perform any actions.


    To Lu Li, these differences were unimportant.


    He put his dagger on Hurricane¡¯s throat and gently pulled from left to right.


    Slit Throat!


    Hurricane watched as his HP rapidly dropped; he was almost dead.


    He quickly reacted and immediately casted Trample.


    It didn¡¯t matter that this didn¡¯t actually apply any Crowd Control. Hurricane turned around and started running. He wasn¡¯t too far away from the guild¡¯s Healer, who was also running towards him.


    The Trample did not affect Lu Li; he had gone into Stealth as soon as he had completed Slit Throat.


    The Warrior had quite a bit of HP, so the LV4 Slit Throat wasn¡¯t able to finish him off. But even if he wasn¡¯t able to kill the warrior in one rotation, that didn¡¯t mean the warrior was going to survive.


    Hurricane let out a sigh of relief when the Guild¡¯s Healer began to heal him. The Thief hadn¡¯t caught up to him either.


    Before he could take his next breath, his vision went black and the world appeared in monochrome.


    Was he dead?


    The Healer bitterly lowered her Magic Staff; she didn¡¯t understand why Hurricane hadn¡¯t taken a potion. Did he not know that he was bleeding?


    Slit Throat¡¯s Bleed effect resulted in a large amount of damage.


    As the Healer stared at Hurricane¡¯s lifeless body, she felt a cool sensation in her back.


    She really needed to write some feedback for the System. The ice-cold sensation of a dagger stab was way too cruel¡­


    ¡°Fall!¡±


    With a single Backhand Backstab, the Healer went flying. Her body glowed white as she turned into a corpse mid-air.


    Crap, he had forgotten about his PVP value.


    Lu Li pulled up a panel to see his own attributes and saw an impressive PVP value of two.


    This was a new feature from the new System update. Initially, Dawn didn¡¯t have a PVP value. They had always encouraged players to fight each other.


    But ever since the PVP incident, their philosophy had changed.


    There was a retired minister that once held an important position. He started to play Dawn and became engrossed in Herbalism and Alchemy.


    One day, the old man had his butt sticking out as he searched through the grass for herbs. The players passing by thought that this was so unsightly that they killed him.


    The old man suffered physically and mentally because of this. As such, when he went offline, he looked for his son-in-law¡ªthe Chief of the Internet Supervisory Office. He then aggressively condemned the game¡¯s brutal premises.


    The Chief didn¡¯t want to listen this old retired minister, but he was afraid of the consequences. He could only helplessly advise the game company on behalf of the Internet Supervisory Office.


    The game company considered it and decided that an overly brutal game wasn¡¯t a good idea either.


    Hence, the new PVP rules were introduced.


    If a player took the initiative to kill another combat profession player, they would gain one PVP value. If a player took the initiative to kill a player that was five levels lower, the PVP value that they gained would be doubled. If a player killed a Trade-Skill-life player, the PVP value that they gained would also be doubled.


    The higher the PVP value, the more things they would drop upon death. This was capped at three items.


    There were three ways to reduce one¡¯s PVP value.


    The first was by time. Every hour, a player¡¯s PVP value would decrease by one.


    The second was by taking Bounty Quests. If a player killed another player with a PVP value, they would be able to offset some of their own. Killing a player with a high PVP value would yield a higher reward. The players with PVP values that were killed would be sent to jail by the system, until their PVP values depleted to zero.


    The third was by imprisonment.


    For every hour spent in prison, some PVP value would be removed.


    This was different to reducing their PVP value by being online. Even if the player logged off, the System would still calculate their jail time.


    When it was time for the players to log off in Lu Li¡¯s previous life, players would flock together and go to jail to reduce their PVP value. This phenomenon was truly a spectacle. However, it was condemned by the morally righteous as evidence of their moral bankruptcy.


    Most people didn¡¯t want to log off in a jail cell, as it wouldn¡¯t award them with the double EXP period that logging off in a hotel room would.


    Additionally, those who voluntarily went to prison to reduce their PVP value were free to leave. However, those that were sent after being killed on a bounty were forced to stay until their PVP value had been fully depleted.


    ¡°Everyone be careful. There is a masked Thief in the Thistle Village. His equipment is very strong; do not act alone,¡± the group leader reminded everyone as he received the report.


    After gaining two PVP points, Lu Li had to be more careful. He looked around before finding his next target.


    His selection criterion was simple¡ªequipment.


    The guy in Lu Li¡¯s sights had good equipment. Although Lu Li couldn¡¯t see the exact attributes, he could roughly guess that they were of pretty high value.


    After a rotation of Cheap Shot, Backstab, Ambush and Slit Throat, he was gone.


    Lu Li picked up the equipment that had dropped onto the ground and disappeared.


    It was a pair of Mage Steel shoes that gave +10 Intelligence and +3% movement speed. These were decent attributes that would sell for at least seven or eight gold coins.


    After the system underwent some macro-control, the gold prices stabilized at around $100:1. This meant that these shoes were worth around seven to eight hundred dollars. Name brand sneakers also cost around the same.


    With all the costs involved in just surviving, an average player probably would not be able to earn seven or eight gold coins in a day.


    He now had three PVP points.


    Disregarding his PVP value, Lu Li continued to look for cash cows.

 161 Massacre

    The Thistle Village covered a wide area with monsters that refreshed quickly. Additionally, there was a chance for the monsters to drop some Alchemy recipes. This was the reason that the Imperial Secret Service wanted to take over the area.


    However, this large area had quickly become a nightmare for them.


    There was a ghostlike Thief, whose whereabouts were unknown.


    ¡°Dammit, that¡¯s the seventh one. Brightly has been killed as well. This guy only picks people with good equipment to kill. How shameless.¡±


    The Imperial Secret Service members were angry, but they couldn¡¯t find the target of their anger.


    ¡°Did you guys grow up eating feces? How can a few hundred of you be afraid of one Thief? Those who were killed, who killed you?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t show a name. Maybe he has a special item. Maybe its Lu Li¡­¡±


    ¡°Lu Li? We aren¡¯t even hunting him anymore! How dare he show his face here!¡±


    Lu Li obviously didn¡¯t know what these people were talking about. Even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t care. He was too immersed in killing people and taking their equipment.


    He now had a PVP value of nine, and would be finished after ten.


    He had to stop¡­ He definitely had to stop¡­


    Realizing that he had just gained another 5 PVP points, he solemnly vowed to stop.


    ¡°Lu Li, I ran into Drizzle Court players. Haha, I¡¯m pretty lucky right.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s unique laughter filled his brain, allowing him to sober-up from his killing frenzy.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Lu Li picked up his speed, as he quickly finished off the people in front of him. He gathered up the dropped equipment and immediately casted Gale Steps, before a group of long-ranged professions could attack him.


    ¡°If you stick around with Drizzle Court, you¡¯ll have no problems with your Profession Upgrade Quest. Your map¡¯s point of difficulty is the Boss, but with the rank 1 Main Tank, it should be a piece of cake,¡± Lu Li elaborated.


    He opened up his character attributes and saw an impressive PVP value of 14.


    It seemed as though Lu Li had a demon in his heart, just like in his previous life. The demon had enticed him into indulging himself in the pleasure of killing, and he couldn¡¯t seem to break free.


    He suspected that he might have some kind of mental disease.


    Moonlight was probably even more afflicted by this mental disease.


    Some of the players on the Glory Rankings had over 1700 Glory points. There were a large number of people who placed before Lu Li on this list.


    It was probably time to go and practice his Trade Skill.


    ¡°Lighty, what are you doing?¡± Lu Li rented a laboratory and began to make ¡®The world is so big¡¯. His Engineering was almost at the Intermediate (80) level, which led him one step closer to making the Fool¡¯s Bomb.


    ¡°Killing some people.¡±


    Lu Li knew that only Moonlight could say something like that so casually.


    ¡°The PVP rules have changed and you¡¯re still killing people.¡± Lu Li was bored, so he decided to talk to Moonlight. However, he was also curious about his mentality when he PVPed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a single PVP point. What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Moonlight disagreed.


    ¡°Are you PVPing in Warsong Canyon?¡±


    Lu Li remembered that game had certain areas that were specifically made for PVP. Killing players in these areas wouldn¡¯t increase a player¡¯s PVP value.


    ¡°Why? Do you have a PVP value?¡± Moonlight asked.


    ¡°Yeah, 14 points. There were some people trying to take over an area, so I killed a dozen or so of them,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    ¡°The solution is simple. Go to the Mercenary Hall and take a few Bounty Quests to clear out your PVP value. With your level of skill, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem right?¡± Moonlight didn¡¯t really understand Lu Li¡¯s predicament.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about the PVP value. Have you ever felt like you go into a killing frenzy when you start killing players?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no pleasure in killing monsters. I play games for the pleasure,¡± Moonlight said and continued impatiently, ¡°Alright, I gotta go. There¡¯s someone coming. I want to try and use Whirlwind to kill multiple people at once.¡±


    ¡°Remember to do your Profession Upgrade Quest if you¡¯re free,¡± Lu Li quickly added.


    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s too troublesome. You can buy a Profession Upgrade scroll with 2000 glory.¡±


    Moonlight didn¡¯t appreciate Lu Li¡¯s reminder.


    ¡°Alright¡­ bye¡­¡±


    He really was a simple, PVP madman.


    Playing games for his pleasure!


    Lu Li thought about this phrase. He had mixed feelings about it and was unsure what that felt like.


    He would have liked to indulge in his pleasures, but his sister¡¯s issue has always been on his mind. He also needed to plan for the future; he wanted his sister to enjoy a wealthy life.


    Lu Li reminded himself that he was a professional player. It was best that he didn¡¯t offend other people.


    Realistically, not everyone would be friendly to him, even if he was patient. There were also some things that he simply couldn¡¯t be patient about. People taking over areas were an example; the feeling of being told to go away was unbearable.


    But he had experienced rebirth!


    Before he had experienced rebirth, he wasn¡¯t this affected by this. For some reason, rebirth had made him more susceptible to it.


    Lu Li spent his entire afternoon working in the lab. At first, his emotions were in a mess, but he slowly calmed down as he refined his items. During this period, Azure Sea Breeze and sixteen other players completed their Profession Upgrade Quest. This caused quite the commotion among the players, which was different to when Lu Li had succeeded. He was alone and his name had been concealed.


    It was a great achievement for sixteen people to complete the quest together.


    All the members of the core party had succeeded, even if they didn¡¯t end up taking Lu Li¡¯s advice.


    In reality, Azure Sea Breeze had actually only narrowly completed the quest. There were initially two to three hundred Light Faction players, but after a battle with the Evil Faction players, their numbers had been reduced by 50%. Out of the hundred remaining players that fought the boss, only sixteen actually completed the quest.


    The EXP that he gained was also a lot less. Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li were originally not too far apart, but he was now a whole level behind.


    Although this quest was available to LV15 players, it was recommended to wait until LV20 to attempt it.


    After LV20, most players would be able to complete their Profession Upgrade Quest.


    When the evening came, Lu Li met up with Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was dumbfounded when saw Lu Li¡¯s level.


    ¡°You¡¯re already level 20!¡±


    ¡°Well.¡±


    Lu Li looked at his opponent, who was only LV18. How weak.


    ¡°I worked myself to death with a team of a dozen players from the morning until now so that I could gain a single level. But you¡¯re already level 20. You must be cheating!¡±


    ¡°You can report me to the System if you want.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t express any opinion. Did Hornet¡¯s Nest want an apology for levelling up too quickly?


    ¡°You must be the first person to successfully complete the Profession Upgrade then?¡±


    Hornet¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t want to fight anymore, and he sat on the ground. This was a common acknowledgement of defeat; the outcome didn¡¯t necessarily need to be decided by the death of a participant.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Lu Li put away his daggers.


    ¡°Did you get reward skills?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Lu Li also sat down.


    ¡°Are they good?¡±


    ¡°Gale Steps¡­¡±


    ¡°My God!¡±


    ¡°Did you get some Skill Points as well?¡±


    ¡°Quite a few.¡±


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t so open as to tell him everything.


    The skills didn¡¯t matter, as they would be revealed sooner or later. However, Skill Points couldn¡¯t visibly be seen.


    ¡°Well, Sesame Rice Ball is one of you now. There won¡¯t be anyone looking for trouble with him, at least, no one from Seventh Heaven.¡±


    Hornet¡¯s Nest wasn¡¯t angry; he knew that he had lost the bet. Although he would become very aggressive when provoked, he was still an open and honest person.

 162 Engineering Blueprints

    ¡°I hope this is the case. Thank you for your help.¡±


    Lu Li knew why Sesame Rice Ball had left Seventh Heaven, so he understood the effort that was required.


    After this PVP match in which there was no actual fighting, Lu Li logged off in a hotel room.


    He had no intention of logging off in a prison to reduce his PVP value; it just wasn¡¯t worth it.


    If he logged off in a hotel room for six hours, he would receive a one-hour double EXP bonus for the next day. Being a high efficiency farmer, he would be able earn as much EXP in that hour as a regular player would after farming for half a day.


    Lu Li continued to work hard with the Forging Hammer in his hands. He wanted to build the Fool¡¯s Bomb.


    He could just imagine the situation that would unfold once he had created the bomb. He would find a place that was particularly dense with monsters and use it in the double EXP hour. With this technique, he would be able to farm a day¡¯s worth of EXP in an hour.


    When he logged on the next day, his main focus was upgrading his engineering.


    His engineering had now risen to Intermediate (87). ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ no longer gave EXP upon completion, so Lu Li had to go into the Exchange Hall to find a new blueprint. He also wanted to sell some of the ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ that he had made.


    He searched the trading panel for ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯, as he needed to determine the current market price.


    28 gold!


    Lu Li became a little dizzy when he saw this price.


    There were only two ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ on sale in the Exchange Hall; they were being sold for 28 and 30 gold.


    People were selling something that cost 20 silver to make for 28 gold. How dare they mark such a high price?!


    ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ was really fun to use and there were all kinds of girls who would pay a lot of money for them. However, 28 gold was just way too much.


    Was he about to make it big?


    These days, he spent all of his free time into engineering. Even though many of his attempts were failures, he still had a small portion of successful products. Lu Li had exactly 70 successful products on hand.


    However, ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ wasn¡¯t as universally useful as Snake Trust Grass. The market was much smaller and 99% of people couldn¡¯t afford it.


    With 28 gold, he could buy a full set of Steel equipment.


    Seeing as he knew that there would be some people who would buy them, Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate to throw two of them into the Exchange hall.


    He priced them at 27 gold each.


    He didn¡¯t want to put them all in at once. If he inflated the market with them, they wouldn¡¯t appear as precious. They would appear as though someone was trying to sell garbage for 20 to 30 gold. That was more than 3000 dollars.


    Next, he needed to find new blueprints.


    The drop rate for engineering blueprints were just too low. Lu Li discovered that most of the engineering blueprints were at least Intermediate (100) and had expensive material costs. The most critical point of this operation was to find something that didn¡¯t cost too much to make.


    Would he have to make Rifles?


    Upon reaching Intermediate (80), the System would award the player with a Rifle blueprint.


    This was an exclusive equip for Hunters, which sounded great, but unfortunately was only Bronze-grade. Level 10 Bronze equipment was rarely found in the market; these were only bought by miserable people who were very far behind.


    A LV10 Bronze Rifle was worth about 40 silver coins in the Exchange Hall.


    The material for it cost a little more than one gold. They were also hard to find and would often be out of stock in the Exchange Hall.


    The worst part about making rifles was the time that it took. Two minutes for a single item was already considered to be long, but a single rifle took over 50 minutes to craft.


    Low level engineering blueprint¡­


    Wait, there was another way.


    If he remembered correctly, Lu Li knew a place to find good engineering blueprints.


    More accurately speaking, this place was a Steel Treasure Chest.


    However, its position was quite awkward. There was a low probability that regular players would be able to open it first.


    Yet, if one was an Evil Faction player, it would be fine.


    Lu Li needed to sneak into the Evil Faction. In fact, he needed to sneak into a heavily guarded post¡ªthe Crossroads Outpost.


    Past the front lines of the Evil Faction in the Grey Valley and the Warsong Canyon was a barren land. The Crossroads Outpost could be found in the middle of this barren land.


    Thousands of Orc Wolfriders were based in this Outpost; they were tasked with protecting the supply and transportation line of the Grey Valley front line.


    Additionally, the Taurens¡¯ home was not far from here. If the Crossroads Output let out a distress signal, a steady stream of Tauren warriors would come over to support it.


    This was where Light Factions players would die.


    After Lu Li thought about it for a while, he decided to take the risk.


    He didn¡¯t go straight in, instead heading to the Silverwing Outpost first to look for NPC quests.


    The Silverwing Outpost was a Light Faction post at the forefront of Gray Valley that protected supplies going into Warsong Canyon. It even provided an exchange for some PVP equipment and items.


    The last time Lu Li that was here, it was empty apart from the NPCs. Now, there was a sea of people.


    The game was going to continuously expand its maps, but as more people flooded out of the newbie villages, it was going to become overcrowded.


    ¡°Young fellow, come here!¡±


    Outpost Officer Vinda Nightwing pushed aside the other players who were attempting to talk to him and walked straight towards Lu Li. He had even put on an Elven etiquette.


    ¡°Who is this? Why is he skipping the queue?¡±


    The nearby players felt it was unfair.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve been waiting for so long. It should be first come first serve.¡±


    Everyone had been patiently waiting, so a sense of dissatisfaction quickly spread among them.


    ¡°Shut up, that¡¯s Lu Li. The number one player. Did you not see the NPC salute him?¡±


    Those who recognized Lu Li immediately started correcting the crowd.


    ¡°Who decided that he was the number one player?¡±


    Some people just couldn¡¯t be pleased.


    ¡°Wild doesn¡¯t claim to be number one. Who is he to?¡±


    Wild was the master of the Blood Red War Flag. He was quite good at PVP and completing Instance Dungeons. He would often take parties with him, so he had many fans in the game.


    Lu Li glanced at these players before saluting back at Vinda Nightwing.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to pay tribute to the Warriors at the front. I hear that our resources are getting a little tight. As an Elf, I am willing to contribute the little strength I have.¡±


    ¡°So, what can you do then?¡±


    ¡°I have found a message that the Evil Faction has stored up a lot of fodder¡­¡± Lu Li said softly.


    ¡°You are correct, our spies have also discovered similar information. But, we do not know exactly what they are storing up.¡±


    Vinda Nightwing waved his hand and two individuals came out from their cover.


    This was definite a trigger in the plot. To the other players, Lu Li was definitely receiving a hidden quest.


    ¡°I know where it is. Please allow me to go and burn it down.¡±


    When Lu Li volunteered for the job, he started to feel some confidence in being able to obtain the blueprint.

 163 Wind Wielder

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Vinda Nightwing was a little moved before, but now he was shocked.


    Not only did Lu Li know where the storage was, he was also willing to go and take the risk of burning it down. This completely subverted his understanding of adventurers, who would always try to get the maximum reward for every bit of effort they put in.


    Take the ¡®Killing the Undead Alchemist¡¯ quest for example. This adventurer was the only one to over-fulfill its requirements.


    Now, he was standing before him once again, offering to go to a dangerous place to complete a quest with a slim chance of survival.


    ¡°Yes, for the glory of the Moon God, I am willing to do my best to complete this quest,¡± Lu Li said zealously.


    In reality, it wasn¡¯t actually as dangerous as it seemed to be. He just needed to know the flow of the quest. Additionally, he would be given a one-use item by the NPC, which would guarantee his success and safe passage.


    The most critical point was that the NPC would present him with a one-use item. This was why Lu Li had waited until he had more than one reason to take this task.


    Vinda Nightwing stared at Lu Li for another moment before nodding, ¡°Young man, you are a brave elf. You will grow into a great warrior. We truly do not have enough manpower on the frontlines to reassign to this task, so I will assign this quest to you.¡±


    ¡°I am willing to serve you,¡± Lu Li¡¯s heart jumped for joy, as he quickly agreed.


    ¡°I have something that might help you. I hope you will return safely.¡±


    Vinda Nightwing handed Lu Li several scrolls, before the System prompted him that he had received the ¡®Destroy the Supply¡¯ quest.


    Conceal Scroll x2: Strengthens Stealth, reduces the probability of detection by 30.


    Accelerate Scroll x2: Gives Movement Speed increase of 100% for 20 seconds. Immune to all Crowd Control during acceleration.


    Protection Scroll x2: Provides a shield that absorbs 5000 damage for 60 seconds.


    Strength Scroll x2: Increases attack power by 200% and critical chance by 10% for 30 seconds.


    There were a total of eight scrolls, which were all quest items. Upon completion of the quest, they would vanish, even if they were unused. If the quest could not be completed, the scrolls would vanish after six hours.


    After Lu Li received the items, he ignored the clamoring of the people who wanted to know how he got the hidden quest as he turned invisible and left. His destination was the Warsong Canyon.


    The Warsong Canyon was one of the two PVP maps currently available in the game. This map was a PVP player¡¯s paradise, and they would fight here until they bled and sweat.


    There was no innocence or mercy here.


    This place operated under the sole philosophy of kill or be killed.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even want to use his crow transformation, because the air was packed with air combat units.


    Airships, Griffins, High Hawks¡­


    The Troll Archers were very proficient. They could shoot down anything, even a mosquito.


    There were also countless dangers on the ground, but at least he would have sufficient time to deal with them.


    If he met an NPC that he couldn¡¯t beat, he could use the scrolls to help him offensively or defensively. As for the hostile camp later, he hadn¡¯t even considered the possibility of failure.


    A white-feathered Griffin dove from above to grab a player into the air and drop them.


    The player screamed, before instantly turning into a glowing, white ball. PVP maps didn¡¯t leave any corpses, otherwise this place would have been completely covered in bones.


    There was a Troll Archer shooting arrows atop a gray raptor that dashed about wildly. It was a LV20 Elite NPC with astonishing lethality; every arrow it shot felled a Light Faction player.


    As it galloped through some woods, a large spell flew towards it.


    This Troll Archer could no longer dash about. It fell off the raptor and was engulfed into the spell.


    Lu Li carefully avoided the dangerous areas, carefully exploring each location. He didn¡¯t want to provide himself with any opportunity to be killed.


    System: Kill the hostile camp players, Corporal Rank, Reward of 5 Glory points.


    Lu Li bent over and picked up a piece of equipment left by his prey and quickly re-entered Stealth. By the time his prey¡¯s companions realized what had happened, not a single hair was left to be found.


    There was one property that Lu Li didn¡¯t have from his set of LV15 Steel equipment ¨C Toughness. Not only did this increase defense, but it also reduced the probability of being critically hit. This kind of attribute belonged to mainstream PVP equipment that would be quickly snatched up if put into the Exchange Hall.


    PVE players could grind this kind of equipment by doing Instance Dungeons.


    However, PVP players who didn¡¯t have guild support would need to spend money at the Quartermaster, if they wanted equipment with Toughness. The price wasn¡¯t too high; they just needed to have a certain number of Glory Points.


    PVE players could become rich in one lifetime, but PVP players would remain poor for three generations. There was some truth to this statement.


    Lu Li once again killed a hostile camp player. As he turned around, he found himself stunned by the amazing scene in the sky.


    A huge Wind Wielder was hit square in the chest by a Dwarf¡¯s crossbow and staggered, before falling into the hillside forest.


    Wind Wielders were of the Wyvern genus, but were not real dragons. They were at most a pseudo-dragon, and were one of the Evil Faction¡¯s most common flying monsters. However, the scary thing about them was that they all looked like Bosses.


    Fortune favours the bold!


    Lu Li quickly looked around, before turning into a Crow and flying towards where the Wind Wielder had fallen.


    Despite other people seeing the Wind Wielder fall, they would not be able get there before Lu Li. The ground of the Warsong Canyon was steep, which made it difficult to go uphill and presented a risk of falling.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have these issues; he just needed to worry about getting shot down or encountering other air units on the way there.


    Lady Luck had always smiled on him and this time was no exception. Lu Li landed and threw his head back to gulp down an Intermediate health Potion, before immediately going back into Stealth.


    The Wind Wielder was not very far ahead. It was still not dead yet and was struggling in the trees.


    This flying creature was of a dragon-descent, so it had amazing regenerative abilities. Although it was badly bruised and vomiting blood, it would regenerate to its original form if given some time.


    He had to be quick!


    Lu Li rushed up and cast Cheap Shot to stun it.


    The level gap was so big that the original four second stun only lasted a little more than a second.


    2645/120,000!


    He knew that it would have high HP, but not 120,000-high. Even the Death Mines¡¯ Bosses at Difficult-level had 60-70,000 HP at most.


    Backstab!


    -22


    Lu Li went pale. He had always thought he was very strong.


    Who knew what level of defense he was up against here?


    The Wind Wielder had already suffered a serious injury and was almost defenseless¡­


    Defenseless!


    Seeing that the Wind Wielder was just about to wake up, Lu Li cast Ambush on its huge wound.

 164 Throwing Caution to the Wind

    -168!


    Lu Li was surprised ¨C an attack on the wound had resulted in such a strong effect.


    Of course, not every attack would result in a wound.


    He had five combo points but Slit Throat was too hard to complete due to the Wind Wielder¡¯s size. Instead, he cast a Backhand Backstab directly onto the wound.


    -236!


    At this rate, there was still hope of victory.


    The Wind Wielder recovered from its dazed state and swung a claw at Lu Li. He was immediately knocked away into a tree with considerable force.


    -1479!


    After what seemed like half a day, he got up and checked his HP. What he saw shocked him; he could have been instantly killed.


    Lu Li was now LV20 and had significantly better equipment than when he was at LV10.


    His constitution had not been increased, but he still had over 1800 HP due to the bonuses from his equipment. This was significantly more than other Agility Professions. Even if another Thief had some additional constitution, they would still look like an anemic patient to him.


    Even so, Lu Li was left with less than 100 HP after being hit.


    He knew that the Wind Wielder would be strong, but not this strong.


    The Wind Wielder wanted to get up and finish off Lu Li, but after failing to do so, it helplessly fell back onto the ground and started to foam at the mouth.


    It only had two thousand HP left!


    The huge wound caused by the crossbow was still dealing damage to it.


    However, this loss was slowly decreasing and the Wind Wielder¡¯s HP began to stabilize. In a few minutes, its regenerative ability would quickly restore its HP.


    Lu Li faced a tough choice.


    To kill or not to kill?


    If he chose not to and walked away, he would obviously have nothing to gain.


    If he tried to kill it, he might not have the ability to finish the job.


    Even if he brought his whole team, he wasn¡¯t sure if they could do it.


    In his past life, Lu Li was just a second rate expert, so he never had the opportunity to join a strong guilds. He always saw these kinds of giant monsters from afar, so he didn¡¯t know how strong they really were. If this Wind Wielder was in its normal form, it would actually not be much weaker than a flying dragon.


    There weren¡¯t many people who dared to provoke a pseudo-dragon like the Wind Wielder. It was better to try and fight a Griffin.


    However, it wasn¡¯t as though Lu Li didn¡¯t have a plan.


    He was currently carrying eight scrolls which were supposed to be used for the ¡®Destroy the Supply¡¯ quest. With these scrolls, he would stand a good chance of killing the Wind Wielder.


    Lu Li¡¯s expression fluctuated, before he let out a sigh and turned away.


    He was afraid that it would be a wasted effort. If he used the scrolls and was still killed by the Wind Wielder, then he would also fail his original goal¡­


    After taking two steps away, he suddenly stopped andslapped himself in the face.


    Lu Li, you¡¯re a coward!


    How big was the probability of finding a dying Boss? Out of the millions of players in Dawn, only a few would face such a situation.


    He threw his head back and downed an Intermediate Health Potion. After thinking about it for a moment, he also drank a Basic Agility Potion. The bonuses weren¡¯t huge, but it was better than nothing.


    Lu Li ripped open one of the scrolls!


    A lavender shield appeared around his body. This shield could absorb 5000 points of damage for 60 seconds.


    Then, he ripped open a second scroll!


    His attack power was increased by 200% and his critical chance was increased by 10% for 30 seconds.


    After this, he used his Shadow Cloak¡¯s effect to instantly appear behind the Boss.


    His grand exit could have been seen from the back of the monster.


    Cheap Shot!


    Cheap Shot didn¡¯t result in a stun this time, but he received two combo points nonetheless.


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes turned red, as he stabbed the dagger into the wound with all his might.


    Ambush!


    -928!


    This attack was a critical hit. With the 200% attack bonus, the damage that resulted was simply insane.


    Suddenly, the enemy before him vanished. The Wind Wielder flapped its battered wings and turned to face him, launching a dark ball of flame from its mouth.


    Lu Li reacted quickly. He waved the dagger in his left hand to block the attack as he pressed forwards!


    The dark flame ball then exploded.


    -102, -115, -89, -126¡­


    It seemed that even near-extinguished sparks still dealt a lot of damage. A few dozen of these sparks landed on Lu Li, dealing over 2000 damage.


    Such was the nature of an offensive skill. If the Wind Wielder had used a dark-flame-ball instead of its tail for its first attack, Lu Li would have already died.


    Fortunately, he had a shield that could absorb 5000 points in damage. Otherwise, he would have died here as well.


    Backstab!


    -266


    Shadowstrike!


    -456!


    The Wind Wielder had now sustained a lot of damage. Knowing that its life was at stake, it extended its claws and slashed at Lu Li three times in a row.


    -814, -789, 1152!


    Lu Li¡¯s shield was flickering and was about to be extinguished.


    By now, it had absorbed over 4000 damage and no matter how optimistically he calculated it, it wouldn¡¯t last the next wave of attacks.


    Lu Li got out his second Protection Scroll and put it in his mouth, ready to tear it open. However, he didn¡¯t immediately do it.


    Even though he had used one of his Protection Scrolls, there was still hope for completing his quest. However, if he used both of them, there wouldn¡¯t be any hope left.


    As such, he gambled on his last attack.


    Slit Throat!


    Lu Li jumped as high as he could and swung his dagger at the long throat of the Wind Wielder.


    His attack angle wasn¡¯t great and he couldn¡¯t aim at his target properly, so his Skill Completion wasn¡¯t very high. Despite this, Lu Li felt confident in this attack, as his dagger was cut through the Wind Wielder¡¯s muscles.


    This was a mysterious feeling and was one that couldn¡¯t be empirically determined.


    He even put away the scroll that he was ready to tear.


    -1365£¡


    The Wind Wielder let out a whine and its half-lifted, sharp claws dropped onto the ground.


    Lu Li¡¯s body flashed white. He had even levelled up!


    This monster had made a LV20 Lu Li directly level up from half EXP.


    What level could the monster possibly be?


    From the start of the battle to the end, Lu Li couldn¡¯t work out what grade or level it was.


    In fact, he had only received 20% of the Wind Wielder¡¯s EXP. After all, when the Wind Wielder had fallen, it only had 2,000 of its original 130,000 HP remaining.


    A Wind Wielder was 10 levels higher than a Griffin, and couldn¡¯t even be compared to the Troll Archers.


    Lu Li had just killed one of the Paladin¡¯s strongest mounts. A standard LV50 Boss.


    If Lu Li didn¡¯t have the scrolls and it wasn¡¯t already significantly weakened, it wouldn¡¯t even have to fight back. Lu Li¡¯s weak attacks would have been mitigated by its innate regeneration.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t afford to take a moment to breath. He immediately dashed to the dropping equipment, afraid that someone might rush out to take these trophies.

 165 A Gift From The Heavens

    Lu Li didn¡¯t even pause to breathe and leapt towards the equipment on the ground, afraid that someone else might rush out and steal his spoils of war.


    Right after he cleared up all of the equipment, a person rushed out from the thickets with a ¡®whoosh¡¯.


    He was around 30 years old and looked like a classic ¡®uncle¡¯. Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure if he had as much hair in the real world as well, but he had a thick, bushy beard in the game.


    Many people made such adjustments to their characters. Even if they couldn¡¯t completely change their appearance, even small alterations like this made them look quite different.


    Lu Li waved his hand and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the Demon King Green Flag? Why are you here as well?¡±


    Green Flag Wine had been preparing to make a move, but had been unexpectedly recognised by his target. He somewhat awkwardly put away his hammer as he replied, ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Green Flag Wine. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Lu Li¡­¡±


    The other player evidently wasn¡¯t an idiot, so he probably couldn¡¯t get away with lying.


    The name ¡®Lu Li¡¯ was like a magic spell. Almost everyone in Dawn knew about this name and Green Flag Wine was no exception. Although he was also an expert, he had never achieved anything that was announced on the World Channel.


    ¡°So it¡¯s the great thief. It¡¯s an honour to meet you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re being too modest. Did you see who killed this monstrous bird?¡± Lu Li asked innocently.


    ¡°You came first¡­¡± Green Flag Wine felt speechless.


    ¡°I was too late,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    Green Flag Wine didn¡¯t believe Lu Li, but they were both experts, so he couldn¡¯t just make a ruckus.


    ¡°Have you learned Skinning? You should probably skin it. I¡¯ll be leaving first,¡± Lu Li said, as he activated Stealth.


    Being a Thief was incredibly convenient. You could leave at any time you wanted, as long you couldn¡¯t be seen.


    ¡°Ai, I might as well skin it. I guess it¡¯s better than nothing,¡± Green Flag Wine shrugged, as he began to skin the Wind Wielder. To be able to skin a LV50 monster, it was likely that he had an item that increased his skinning success-rate.


    As he toiled away, he suddenly felt that something was off.


    Looking up, he found that there was a growing crowd gathered around him.


    ¡°Bro, give us a share.¡±


    The players standing around Green Flag Wine all eyed him maliciously.


    A single Knight was completely helpless against such a large crowd.


    They would be able to coerce him into dropping the things that he had just picked up.


    ¡°Screw you Lu Li!¡±


    Green Flag Wine realised that he had fallen into a trap.


    Have you learned Skinning? You should probably skin it.


    Green Flag Wine knew that word that he had killed a high-level Wind Wielder Boss would quickly spread throughout Dawn like wildfire. No one would believe otherwise, even if he explained until his lips bled.


    ¡°You dare to curse at my idol?! Hurry up and take out the equipment you picked up,¡± a young player embarrassingly said, as he glared at Green Flag Wine.


    ¡°He¡¯s not retarded ¨C how can he just take out the equipment? Everyone attack him and take his equipment!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! If he took it out willingly, wouldn¡¯t we just be beggars? If we want something, we¡¯ll just kill him and take what he drops!¡±


    With so many people gathered together, there were bound to be a few scoundrels.


    Green Flag Wine was furious, almost to the point of tears. He scratched his beard as he defeatedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave this place to you guys. Don¡¯t take this trash too seriously ¨C we¡¯re all from the Light Faction, so just teach them a lesson.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir. Boss Green Flag, leave this place to us.¡±


    Ten or so players stepped forward, all bearing the insignia of the Peerless City.


    The Peerless City was a large guild in the Light Faction, and was said to be supported by the multinational corporation Peerless Digital. There were many large corporations investing into the game, with Peerless Digital being one of the largest ones.


    Green Flag Wine was one of Peerless City¡¯s top experts, so he was always followed around by a group of subordinates. How could he just walk around by himself?


    Lu Li seemed to be a lot more devious than he let on.


    Green Flag Wine thought back and realised that the Wind Rider had definitely been killed by Lu Li, who took the equipment it dropped. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have framed him like this and run off.


    I¡¯ll settle this with him when I get the chance.


    Green Flag Wine was a very open-minded person. Despite knowing that he had been conned, he didn¡¯t become angry.


    By now, Lu Li had run across half of the Warsong Canyon. It was not until he knew that he was absolutely safe did he stop to have a look at the equipment he had obtained.


    Tempest Leather Boots (Silver): 25 Armour, All Stats+10, Movement Speed+5%, Special Effect: Escape. After activating, you instantly appear at a location within 15 feet. Cooldown Time: 180 seconds, Level Requirement: LV25. Durability: 50/50.


    Looking at his own tattered Boots, Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but praise the system.


    Swift Leather Boots (Steel): 8 Armour, Agility+4, Special Effect: Swiftness- when Stealthed, Movement Speed+10%. Lasts for 10 seconds. Cooldown Time: 120 seconds. Effects cannot be stacked. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 30/30.


    The Swift Leather Boots were a piece of LV5 equipment that gave only 4 points of Agility and heavily lacked in Armour. Despite this, he had never replaced them.


    This was because the Movement Speed+10% effect was too rare. No other special effect, whether it was LV10 or LV15, could compare to that of the Swift Leather Boots..


    However, these Tempest Leather Boots were different. Although the All Stats+10 wasn¡¯t as good as a simple 20 points of Agility, it was still much better than that which the Swift Leather Boots offered. Moreover, with another 10 points of Constitution, his survivability would be significantly increased as well.


    Although the 5% Movement Speed it gave was less than the 10% of the Swift Leather Boots, there was a significant difference. The Tempest Leather Boots gave a permanent, guaranteed 5% Movement Speed, whereas the Swift Leather Boots only provided the 10% Movement Speed as an active skill that lasted for 10 seconds.


    Finally, there was its Special Effect ¨C Escape.


    For players like Lu Li, who relied on speed and positioning, the best type of shoes were Flying Shoes. There were two types of Flying Shoes, with the first being the Escape Type. By activating the Special Effect, players could be instantly moved to a random position within a certain distance. The other was the Flash Type, which allowed players to control their teleportation.


    Flash was a core Mage skill, so shoes with this sort of Special Effect were incredibly rare. In Lu Li¡¯s ¡®past life¡¯, no more than 10 people had the Flash Type Flying Shoes, even after the game had been opened for 3 years.


    Most people would already be ecstatic to have the Escape Type.


    The only pity was that this pair of shoes had a high level requirement. Lu Li had just levelled up, and was only LV21. If he wanted to equip this pair of shoes, it would probably take him at least a week.


    All he had to do was be patient; he would be able to equip them sooner or later.


    Apart from these exquisite Silver-grade Flying Shoes, there was also a Silver-grade Wind Ring for Shamans. Apart from increasing stats and damage, it had a Special Effect that increased Totem-type Magic by 10%, and another that reduced the Equipment Requirement level by 30%.


    As he examined the Ring, Lu Li suddenly realised that his Permanent Party was lacking a Shaman.


    With the Ring and a Bloodthirster Totem, the entire team¡¯s damage would skyrocket.


    The final Special Effect was also quite extraordinary. The Ring could normally only be worn at LV30, but with the Special Effect, it could be worn at LV21. This kind of stat made equipment incredibly valuable.


    Apart from these two pieces of equipment, there were also two Steel grade equips. However, their stats were far too inferior and could only be equipped at LV40. Lu Li decided to just throw them into the Exchange Hall.


    The level of equipment dropped by Bosses corresponded to the players¡¯ levels, in addition to some other factors. Normally, the higher the grade, the lower the required level. Silver-grade equipment was usually LV20-30, Steel-grade equipment was usually around LV40, and if there was any Bronze grade equipment, they would be LV50. Luckily, the system hadn¡¯t screwed him over by giving him LV50 Bronze-grade equipment.


    Lu Li had also obtained a rare material, which was a Darkplate Scale. It could greatly increase HP Regeneration when using it to forge Dark Gold-grade equipment, which made it quite valuable. In time, it would sell for 100 gold or so. However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t so dumb as to sell it for 100 gold.


    This haul was truly a gift from the heavens. Lu Li patted his full bag, feeling overjoyed.

 166 Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

    Carrying so many treasures, Lu Li hesitated and returned to town.


    There were many dangers in the Warsong Canyon, which made him feel quite anxious. Not only were there other players to worry about, there were also enemy NPCs from the Evil Faction. If he dropped his Silver-grade Boots or Ring, no amount of crying would bring them back. Moreover, he still had 8 PK Points on him.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the quest scroll¡¯s time limit, he would have waited for his PK Points to deplete before doing the quest.


    Going back and forth wasted quite a bit of time.


    In order to leave himself with sufficient time to complete the quest, Lu Li travelled as quickly as he could. He transformed into the little cheetah and sprinted along a small path.


    Since he wasn¡¯t using his other skills, anyone who saw him would just think that he was a lucky Druid.


    Currently, there were many Druids who had learned the Leopard Transformation. However, not many of them had acquired this smaller form that could travel even faster.


    Along the way, he would occasionally run into people who wanted to kill him, but was able to simply outrun them. All that they could do was stare at his disappearing figure in shock.


    Lu Li quickly reached the end of the canyon.


    In front of him was an impregnable Evil Faction defence line. Countless Orc Recruits wearing crude Plate Armour, patrolled around the outskirts of the canyon.


    These Recruits were the reserve force of the Steel Knights, who had been sent over by Orgrimmar¡¯s Chief Saar for a baptism by fire. Only those who qualified would officially become part of the Steel Knights.


    In order to make sure that these new recruits weren¡¯t completely annihilated, Saar invited his allies, the Trolls and the Tauren, to help in their defence.


    Most of the defence line was made up of Orcs that were all LV20-30, and were watched over by a group of Troll Archers on top of the tower that had the Eagle-Eye Effect. Even a messenger pigeon would not be able to freely fly around. Within the mass of Orcs also stood a few Elite-grade Tauren.


    These Tauren were true warriors. An average, they were above LV40 and would be able to completely destroy anyone who stood in their path. If Lu Li wanted to pass through this defence line, he would have to do so by avoiding them.


    Lu Li hid in the bushes and calmly observed them.


    He could faintly remember that the Tauren moved around according to some general pattern. At the very least, they wouldn¡¯t be gathered so densely like this.


    The Tauren were quite a complicated specie that lived within the vast plains in the centre of the Kalimdor Continent. They served Nature and protected the balance between animals, plants and the Elemental Elves.


    From the sound of it, their beliefs and values were quite similar to those of the Night Elves.


    However, they after allying with the Orcs who cut down and destroyed trees, they became accomplices to the destruction of Nature.


    Moreover, the Night Elves and Tauren were taught by the demigod Cenarius, who was also the father of the Druid profession.


    The Taurens vowed to help Cenarius protect the field of life, as well as the creatures loved by Mother Nature. On the other hand, the Dark Elves protected the forests and worshipped him as they had worshipped his mother, the Moon Goddess Elune.


    The Night Elves and Tauren should have been like a family.


    However, Lu Li had no plans to go over and say hi. This was in spite of the fact that he was wearing Cenarius¡¯ Legacy Ring on the pinky finger of his right hand.


    As he thought about all this, the Tauren finally began to move.


    Large carts containing weapons and armour were wheeled over and were unloaded by the Orc Recruits, who were instructed by the Tauren.


    A few gaps appeared in the defence line and Lu Li knew that this was his opportunity. Who knew when he would have such a chance again?


    Lu Li crept closer to the Orcs and ripped open a Concealment Scroll.


    The Concealment Scroll boosted the effects of his Stealth and reduced the chances of him being detected by creatures under LV30.


    This was completely useless against the Tauren that were LV40-50, but the chances of the Orcs discovering him were incredibly low.


    All Lu Li had to do was avoid bumping into them, and sneak past while there weren¡¯t as many Tauren around.


    The Tauren were extremely efficient, and quickly returned before Lu Li had reached a safe spot.


    Lu Li stood in the midst of the monsters. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place!


    Although Stealth had no cooldown time, he simply didn¡¯t have the time to wait around. He had a quest to complete!


    After completing this quest, he would definitely learn Stealth for the Child of the Forest form. Only now did Lu Li realise that he had been too indecisive.


    This whole time, he hadn¡¯t learned any skills for the Child of the Forest form ¨C the two skill slots were still empty. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to learn any skills, but he simply couldn¡¯t decide upon what to learn.


    This situation made him feel more resolute. After all, if he could enter Stealth while in the little cheetah form, he would have passed through here long ago.


    Thieves could go into Stealth, but their Movement Speed was by far inferior to that of the little cheetah¡¯s.


    Lu Li was in the middle of shuffling his way forward, when the Tauren in front of him scratched its hair and confusedly looked in his direction.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even dare to breath as he carefully retreated.


    Should he try to force his way through?


    No way. There were way too many monsters around, not to mention the nearby tower. Once he revealed himself, he wouldn¡¯t last even 30 seconds.


    In his desperation, Lu Li began to rummage through his bag, searching for something that could help.


    After looking through it once, he couldn¡¯t find anything of use.


    What about this¡­


    Lu Li reached into his bag and took out an Engineering product.


    His Engineering level was incredibly low, so he had been mass-producing The World Is So Big.


    The World Is So Big allowed a player to turn into a miniature version of themselves. Apart from the size-change, it also gave a 20% reduction to aggro. This made sense ¨C becoming smaller would make someone harder to find.


    The World Is So Big looked like a syringe. Lu Li stabbed it into his thigh, and like a deflating balloon, his body rapidly decreased in size.


    ¡°Ah, the world is so big!¡± he couldn¡¯t help but inwardly exclaim. The Orcs that were originally bigger than Lu Li now looked like towering giants.


    He glanced around and found that he was only as tall as the Orcs¡¯ feet.


    Even if he cancelled Stealth, he probably wouldn¡¯t be discovered. Taking small steps, he carefully and literally inched his way forwards.


    The length of his strides also became shorter with his size. There was no helping that.


    Lu Li once again came to where the Tauren were and began to shuffle forwards, testing to see if there would be any reaction this time.


    The consequences of being discovered were dire. All they would have to do was step on him and he would be doomed. Lu Li definitely didn¡¯t want to die like a bug.


    There was no reaction from them as he drew nearer, and they continued to remain oblivious as he crept closer still. Evidently, the 20% reduction to aggro was the real deal.


    However, as Lu Li came into their midst, a Tauren finally felt that something was off.


    It looked around with its gigantic head and scanned its surroundings with its bovine eyes, even raising its large stick (totem pole) and swinging it around. However, it simply couldn¡¯t detect the tiny figure next to its foot.

 167 Crossroads

    Who said that 28 gold coins wasn¡¯t worth it?


    Lu Li equipped an ordinary Bandanna and turned on his video function. He decided that he would post this video of him passing through the sea of Orcs onto the forum to advertise for ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯.


    This advertisement would surely be very effective.


    From how it seemed, the LV20-30 and even the LV40-50 monsters, were unable to detect Lu Li after he had shrunk.


    Of course, if someone bought The World Is So Big and tried to do the same thing, they would die a pitiful death. Lu Li was also using a Concealment Scroll.


    After suffering much fright but no actual danger, he finally passed through the Warsong Canyon¡¯s defence line. In front of him lay the vast Barrenlands.


    As the name suggested, the Barrenlands were a desolate place, filled with nothing but rocks and sand. Despite this, it was an important, strategic region in Kalimdor because it connected many important places. To the west stood the Stoneclaw Mountains, and to the east was Durotar. The Mogolei Prairies and Mountains were to the south-west, while the area to the south-east contained the Dustwallow Marsh Wetlands.


    The place that he wanted to travel to was at the centre the map and was a significant intersection for many important routes ¨C the Crossroads Outpost.


    The Evil Faction extended out from the Crossroads as the centre and controlled a vast piece of land.


    On the other hand, the Light Faction only had some mobile camps and small outposts, and was unable to provide any transportation services. Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have had to go through so much to arrive at this place.


    It was important to note that the next Instance Dungeon that Lu Li and his team were planning on clearing was also in this map. Outside the Instance Dungeon was an oasis which produced mutant fish that were famous throughout all the lands.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had often come here to fish, and participated in many battles. As such, he was incredibly familiar with this region and quickly arrived near the Crossroads Outpost. Despite being called an outpost, it was more or less a city.


    The thing Lu Li was looking for was at the centre of the city, inside the clocktower.


    If he didn¡¯t have the quest scrolls, he wouldn¡¯t have even dared to get close to the clocktower.


    A few Evil Faction players strolled past Lu Li, talking and laughing as they went on their ways. They had no idea that there was a Stealthed, LV21 Thief beside them.


    Lu Li observed everything in the outpost, from its landmarks, to its geography, structures and NPCs. He imagined what would happen if he was discovered by the NPCs and how they would try to stop him. After analysing the data he had collected, Lu Li planned a few escape routes for himself.


    He didn¡¯t dare to be too careless. Although the NPCs here weren¡¯t very high-levelled, they were still around LV20-30. Furthermore, most of them were Elite grade and there was a multitude of them.


    Not too far away from where he stood were the Barracks. If he caused too much of a ruckus, a battalion of Orc Soldiers would join the fight and he would be absolutely doomed.


    Lu Li recalled some of the articles and guides he had read that detailed the Barrenlands, thanking his parents for giving him such a good brain. Some of the things that he had thought he had forgotten could be recalled if he concentrated hard enough on them.


    He couldn¡¯t go near the Equipment Shop, as it was very dangerous inside. In his ¡®past life¡¯, there was a team who had tried to attack the Crossroads, but had been massacred by the hammers of the Tauren inside the Equipment Shop.


    Lu Li chose a path that strayed far away from the Equipment Shop. If he was lucky, he wouldn¡¯t run into any trouble from there.


    At this point, everything was still just a plan.


    He deeply breathed in, and walked through the gate in Stealth.


    There was no time limit for the Concealment Scroll, but once Lu Li cancelled his Stealth, its effects would be lost. As such, he had kept his Stealth activated from when he had used the scroll in the Warsong Valley until now.


    The structures in the Orc City were quite crude and had a barbaric air to them.


    No one would imagine that a Thief from the Light Faction had relied on his Stealth to enter an important military fortress of the Evil Faction.


    The NPCs inside the city were not like the soldiers ¨C they were all enjoying life and minding their own business.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to be careless. Between advancing, he would wait until the NPCs had moved before he moved. Despite being so careful, he was almost discovered. An Orc had hurriedly run over and bumped arms with him. While the Orc seemed to take notice of this, it didn¡¯t make too much of a fuss because it was within the city.


    Lu Li learned from this mistake and used another The World Is So Big. He couldn¡¯t afford to be stingy in such an important situation.


    Although his speed was decreased, it was a lot safer for him.


    After half an hour, he finally arrived at the clocktower.


    The clocktower was tall, with spiral steps circling up around it that led to a gigantic mechanical clock at the top. Apart from showing the time, it also provided the soldiers with a vantage point, through its function as an observation platform.


    The treasure chest was at the top.


    There were 4 NPC Warriors guarding the entrance that all had hidden levels. Seeing them from afar, Lu Li gave up on trying to enter from the front.


    Instead, he walked to the back of the clocktower and stood next to a pile of random items. Then, he cancelled his Stealth and activated the Raven Transformation.


    There were NPCs everywhere around the clocktower that all acted like real people. They glanced around and would occasionally look at the pile of items Lu Li had hidden behind. Plotting to do something so devious with so many people around felt quite exciting.


    The raven slowly flapped its wings and flew up.


    There were also many spear-wielding NPCs that patrolled along the spiral steps. They looked quite solemn and focused on their duties.


    However, this sort of alertness led to fatigue. As such, when the Orc Warriors and other NPCs saw the raven flying up, none of them reacted at all. It wasn¡¯t strange to see ravens in the Barrenlands.


    However, the raven¡¯s feathers appeared to radiate a black light.


    It must have been a trick of the light.


    After being stuck on patrol duty for many days, the warriors all thirsted for battle. They couldn¡¯t help but daydream about fighting against the Centaurs.


    Lu Li landed on the top of the clocktower, next to a spiky lightning rod.


    He even used his beak to smooth out his ruffled feathers, just like a real raven.


    Of course, his eyes were focused on the grey treasure chest with green carvings on the observation platform. The carvings were of Frostwolves ¨C a brave and beautiful type of creature.


    The soldiers on the observation platform looked down at the Crossroads Outpost and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, they gripped their spears and walked down the spiral steps.


    When the soldiers disappeared, Lu Li flapped over to the treasure chest.


    Unlock!


    This was his only chance!

 168 Facing a Strong Warrior

    Lu Li activated the skill. One second, two seconds¡­


    Unlock took 10 seconds to cast.


    Those 10 seconds felt like years to him. This was especially so when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The metallic boots made thumping noises as they stomped up the stairs.


    Five seconds, six seconds¡­


    Lu Li could already see the Orc Warrior¡¯s savage face and his muscular body. He was holding a gigantic hammer in his hands.


    Seven seconds¡­ hurry up, hurry up!


    Of course, the moment that Lu Li saw the Orc Warrior, the Orc Warrior also saw him.


    Even if the Orc Warrior was intellectually impaired, he would immediately understand what was happening as soon as he saw Lu Li. He stared in shock for a moment, before roaring and rushing towards Lu Li with his hammer raised.


    Lu Li remained motionless, as if the Orc Warrior didn¡¯t exist.


    Ding! The sound of metal being struck sounded out. Lu Li didn¡¯t have enough time to dodge, so all he could do was rip open the scroll that he had prepared in advance.


    5,000 damage was absorbed!


    -447!


    The Orc Warrior¡¯s attack not only dealt damage, but was able to knock Lu Li back.


    Before Lu Li could stretch his hands into the treasure chest, he was sent flying. His body heavily hit the clocktower¡¯s stone walls, causing him to take more damage.


    The Orc Warrior did not continue to attack him, but produced a whistle and madly blew into it.


    From the Orc¡¯s perspective, the Night Elf in front of him had the Light Faction¡¯s Light Shield which was impossible to quickly destroy by himself. As such, he decided to call for reinforcements.


    Lu Li took in a breath of cold air.


    Goddamit. You¡¯re a LV30 Elite but you¡¯re calling for reinforcements? Do you have any shame?!


    Lu Li unhesitatingly activated his Cloak¡¯s Special Effect, which allowed him to instantly appear behind the Orc Warrior and use Cheap Shot!


    His dagger accurately stabbed into the back of the Orc Warrior¡¯s head. Because of their level difference, the 4 seconds of stun was reduced to 2 seconds.


    Despite the reduction in time, it was still enough.


    Lu Li ran over to the treasure chest and grabbed the items inside it.


    Luckily, not much time had elapsed. If the treasure chest was not opened within 30 seconds of being unlocked, it would become locked again.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to see if any of the two items were the item he wanted. He had to face a furious Orc Warrior, not to mention the reinforcements that were storming up the stairs.


    Things had escalated rather quickly.


    Anyone else would have simply closed their eyes and given up at that point. After all, the items from the treasure chest would not necessarily be dropped.


    However, Lu Li definitely wouldn¡¯t give up.


    Part of the reason for this was his stubborn nature. Even if he had to die, he would die fighting.


    Another reason still was the fact that he had a quest to complete and had 7 PK Points. If he died, he would drop so much equipment that he would cry.


    Lu Li turned and ran, while reaching into his bag.


    The Raven Transformation required 30 seconds of channelling and the Child of the Forest was only effective within an altitude of 100 feet. He was at least 300 feet high in the air, so Lu Li could only count on this item to save him.


    A kite!


    A torn and tattered kite!


    Back when Lu Li first entered the game, he had immediately gone to obtain this kite. It was because of this kite that he had obtained the Supreme One Ring, which had paved the way to his current achievements.


    He simply couldn¡¯t bear to part with this kite, despite the fact that it took up 3 spaces in his bag.


    The Barrenlands were windy all year round. Lu Li held on to the kite as he jumped down. The wind lifted him up, but his descent was quite rocky because the kite was so frayed.


    The Crossroads was a major traffic hub, so there were always crowds of people there. At this current stage of the game, its population was at a peak.


    The ruckus on the clocktower, as well as the Orcs¡¯ ear-splitting roars, piqued the players¡¯ curiosity. Soon enough, they saw a large kite floating down.


    Bystander A: A god has descended!


    Bystander B: God my ass, that¡¯s obviously a player.


    Bystander A: Bull crap, of course I knew that was a player. It¡¯s a Light Faction dog.


    Bystander B: Ah, a Light Faction dog. Why¡¯s he over here on our side? And why did he fly down from the clocktower?


    Bystander C: I think that he stole something good. Otherwise, those big thugs (Orcs) wouldn¡¯t be so furious. Haha, what good luck to be able to escape like that.


    Bystander B: It¡¯s possible that he won¡¯t escape. There are people everywhere.


    Bystander A: Let¡¯s go and have a look. Maybe we¡¯ll be able to get some freebies.


    Lu Li did his best to control his direction and steered himself towards a point outside of the Crossroads Outpost.


    However, to say that he had successfully escaped at this point would be a bit premature. Not only were there many players trying to kill him, a group NPCs had rushed out from the Outpost, wanting to bring him to justice.


    Was this really necessary? It was just a Basic Blueprint that he had stolen.


    Even with the kite slowing his fall, he had still quite rapidly descended the 300-400 feet from the top of the clocktower.


    The ground came closer and closer, as he braced himself for impact.


    -825!


    Half of his HP bar had been emptied. Lu Li hurriedly drank an Intermediate Potion.


    Just as he raised the potion to his lips, a black figure rushed out from the side, stunning him.


    Hamstring, Movement Speed Reduction!


    Armour Pierce, Defence Reduction!


    The third strike of the axe was surrounded by a cluster of red light. This was Slash ¨C a skill that could cause him to continuously bleed.


    Lu Li was rather frightened at this point. If he was successfully hit by this, he would be unable to go into Stealth due to the continuous damage. A Thief who was unable to go into Stealth would be ripped apart by these players and NPCs.


    Vanish!


    Lu Li successfully entered Stealth and stepped back, avoiding the Slash.


    After Lu Li disappeared, the Warrior continued to swing his axe. He had previously used this method to force many Thieves out of hiding. It was a pity that he wasn¡¯t successful this time. By the time he had swung in another direction, Lu Li, despite his reduced Movement Speed, had already moved away.


    Whirlwind!


    This Warrior definitely wasn¡¯t an ordinary player.


    Lu Li closely observed this Orc Warrior, but couldn¡¯t identify him. After all, most Orcs looked the same, so they didn¡¯t need to worry about being identified in real life.


    It was an effective destruction of appearance.


    Whirlwind had a large AOE and gave the Warrior a speed buff. If Lu Li maintained his current speed, it would be difficult for him to avoid it.


    Lu Li unhesitatingly cancelled his Stealth, and used his Gloves¡¯ Special Effect ¨C Sudden Thrust. The instant he activated the Special Effect, he changed direction, dashing away from the Warrior.


    Lu Li felt that this Warrior was quite difficult to deal with, but the Warrior was even more shocked by Lu Li¡¯s skills.


    The Warrior¡¯s name was Gaze, and was very famous within the Evil Faction.


    He had accepted a Bounty Quest, and his target just so happened to be at the Crossroads. As such, he was close by when Lu Li had jumped down from the clocktower.


    Seeing that it was an enemy player, Gaze unhesitatingly used Charge to stun Lu Li.


    This was the difference between experts and ordinary players. Charge could be used by anyone, but experts like Gaze and Moonlight could accurately hit their target from a distance and maximise the stun dealt to them.


    An ordinary Warrior might not be able to catch an opportunity to stun Lu Li, even if he was standing beside them. When Lu Li had been surrounded by the Imperial Secret Service players, none of the Warriors could do anything to him.


    Lu Li rushed out of the Whirlwind¡¯s range, but before he could even take a breath, he was stunned by a Warrior who used Charge from behind him.

 169 Orb of Deception

    Impossible!


    If Lu Li could see his own face right now, he would be so embarrassed.


    Did he use Charge again?!


    He had used Charge twice in the span of 20 seconds. Players at this level shouldn¡¯t have been able to do that.


    Perhaps it wasn¡¯t Charge¡­


    Rather, this skill was from a piece of equipment, much like his own cloak which had an active similar to Shadow Step. If Lu Li were to learn Shadow Step as well, he would be able to cast the skill twice.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to figure out which Warrior equip had the Charge active, and immediately casted Gale Steps.


    The animation of Gale Steps played as Lu Li quickly bolted forward, causing the Warrior¡¯s Slash to miss yet again.


    Lu Li became invulnerable and proceeded to enter into Stealth.


    This caused the slow and the armour piercing effect to both disappear, returning Lu Li to his peak condition. However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t stay around for much longer.


    ¡°Can I have your name?¡± he stopped in his tracks and asked.


    ¡°My name is Gaze, who are you? There are a few decent Thieves in the Light Faction but I¡¯ve never seen you before.¡±


    The Warrior knew Lu Li was planning on leaving because they were both evenly matched. The battle would take too long to decide and it was not the right place or time.


    For the sake of his pride, he would never gang up on Lu Li with a group of players.


    ¡°Lu Li¡­¡± Because Lu Li knew this, he wasn¡¯t afraid to reveal his identity.


    ¡°So you¡¯re Lu Li. No wonder, some say you¡¯re the best Thief in the Light Faction. It was an honour to battle you today; your reputation is well-deserved,¡± Gaze suddenly realised. At first, he didn¡¯t care at all about ¡°The Great Thief¡±, but now he understood why Lu Li was so highly-respected.


    ¡°Next time, we¡¯ll decide the winner.¡±


    Lu Li was also more than happy to schedule a rematch against such a formidable opponent.


    Gaze wasn¡¯t much stronger than Moonlight. However, because Lu Li had played together with Moonlight so many times, he knew his every move, skills and gear like the back of his hands.


    Lu Li helplessly watched as the blood-thirsty Evil Faction players came rushing towards him. After taking one last look at the Warrior to make sure he remembered his face, he activated a speed scroll and the speed boost from his shoes and quickly vanished.


    Where had stood just moments ago was bombarded with various spells and attacks.


    Hundreds of Evil Faction players swore to kill the invader and furiously began to type out, ¡°Protect home-ground, find Light Faction scum.¡±


    NPCs sent scouting teams around the area, making sure that there was nowhere to hide.


    However, they knew that it was almost impossible to catch Lu Li. All he had to do was leave the battle and find a secluded place where he could teleport back to town.


    Lu Li did not return to town, however, and instead decided to rest up in a tent that he had found.


    Before entering it, he killed the small mobs that were hanging around inside. No one would care to look inside an old and broken tent.


    He rested while eating bread and fruit to fill his hunger.


    After the new System Update, a hunger feature was added to make the game even more realistic. Players experienced hunger after fasting for a long time, which decreased stats and could eventually lead to starvation.


    Lu Li had been completing the Profession Upgrade Quest the whole morning and didn¡¯t have time to eat.


    Bread and fruit wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy his hunger, but at the very least, his status wouldn¡¯t decrease.


    While he rested, he took out the rewards he had gained from the day.


    Blue Print: Beginner Battle Field Maintenance Robot


    Field: Engineering


    Requirement: Engineering (85)


    Use: Teaches you to create Beginner Field Maintenance Robot. Sells Magic Material and can repair damaged items.


    Beginner Field Maintenance Robot: Summons a robot that sells materials and food. Can repair damaged items up to 10 times. After 10 minutes, its internal motor fails.


    The Field Bot blueprint was what Lu Li had been after.


    Robots that were created from engineering were very useful, especially in an Instance Dungeon setting. When players were killed, their gear proficiency would decrease, which required repair. Repairing damaged items can only be done in town, unless if one had a portable Maintenance Robots, which could conduct repairs on the spot.


    Maintenance Robot blueprints were extremely hard to find. Lu Li had coincidentally found out that the blueprint could be found at the clocktower near the crossroads. He remembered from his past life that many players would kill for this blue print.


    There was also something else.


    Lu Li had high hopes for the item, because the Horde Warriors were trying to retrieve this at all costs.


    An orb? An orb!


    Deception Orb!


    Lu Li held his breath as he started trembling.


    How could a Deception Orb come out of a treasure chest?!


    Normally the chest only contained blueprints, which was known to most players in the game. However, no one knew that there was a chance of receiving a Deception Orb by opening it.


    It must have had an extremely low drop rate.


    This explained why the Horde Warriors were chasing him. Deception Orbs were an overpowered item that upon equipping, would disguise a player as the other faction and allow them free passage into enemy territory.


    Deception Orb (Special): Allows the user to transform into a member of the other Faction for 1 hour. 4-hour cooldown.


    Lu Li knew of another method to obtain a Deception Orb from a PVP quest. However, it was a quest item which was given by the quest NPC and was to be used to scout out and assassinate enemy players.


    Being a quest item, it had a limited time of use.


    However, the Deception Orb that Lu Li had wasn¡¯t the same as the quest item version. The effects seemed to be even better than the one from the NPC.


    Lu Li held the Orb in his hands and decided to use it.


    System: Item used. Please enter your race, profession and name.


    Undead, Thief, No Name.


    Lu Li felt his body transform.


    After a short while, his flesh seemed to peel away, exposing bone as he became an Undead.


    He stood still for a while, completely dumbfounded. The monsters that Lu Li had killed before respawned and rushed towards him. He quickly snapped back into reality and casted his skills in his Undead body.


    It worked!


    The monsters were quickly taken care of because of the level difference, however, this didn¡¯t matter to him. The most important thing was that he had gained a new identity.

 170 Setting the Barracks on Fire

    The Deception Orb enabled Lu Li to do things that he couldn¡¯t do before. No one would suspect that an Undead or Demon character was in fact Lu Li in disguise.


    This way, he wouldn¡¯t have to stay hidden on the Level Rankings.


    Hiding his name on the Level Rankings allowed Azure Sea Breeze to cover for him. Many people argued over whether Lu Li or Azure Sea Breeze was the best PVE player in the Light Faction.


    Besides the commander, the heart and soul of any team was the Main Tank. The Main Tank, without a doubt decided how far a team would be able to progress.


    Ever since the second system update, many players on the Level Ranking had become anonymous, leading some people to believe that Azure Sea Breeze had become the top player on the rankings.


    On the other hand, many people argued that Lu Li was on top of the rankings because he was the core of the team and was even able to solo bosses.


    A Thief as the core?


    This statement was seen as a joke.


    Soloing bosses wasn¡¯t anything new or noteworthy either. The expert Hunter Glacial Autumn could do it as well.


    The people who actually knew Lu Li¡¯s level, such as Hornet Nest, wouldn¡¯t bother spreading the news anyway.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to appear boastful, because he was worried about the safety of his teammates and his real-life identity. Even though Internet Security was now very advanced, which deterred most criminals from committing crimes, he still didn¡¯t want to risk anything.


    With the Deception Orb, he could finally bring out the real potential of a Thief.


    Lu Li played the game with a clear goal ¨C to make money and provide his sister a better quality of life. Because of this, he had been constantly under stress was worried about everything.


    Decisive and reckless: that was the way Lu Li had played the game in his past life.


    He was friends with troublemakers, drank the strongest alcohol, killed people from big guilds, stole bosses from whomever he pleased and became hated by everyone.


    However, in the end, he regretted everything because he had been selfish and neglected his sister.


    Lu Li was a good kid at heart. Even though he had several altercations with the Imperial Secret Service and other guilds, he was still focused on making money. He was still focused on taking his team to new heights.


    No Name, on the other hand, was a Thief, who walked in darkness with blood and death by his side.


    As the effects lasted for an hour with a cooldown of four hours, he could have a new identity up to four times a day.


    He felt his skeletal face and put on his bandana. Now he could easily complete the quest ¡®Destroy the Supply¡¯.


    The Evil Faction had set up camp on a mountain near the crossroads and stored most of their supplies there.


    Lu Li casually strolled into the camp site. The two Orc Warriors that were guarding the door saw him but didn¡¯t think much of it.


    The camp site was extremely messy with hay and armour strewn everywhere. There was also some marinated meat, which was the staple food for Orc Warriors. As well as this, there were some Human slaves in there and some other players.


    ¡°Oi, little skeleton guy, get me some fresh meat,¡± an Orc Commander demanded, as he whipped the ground before Lu Li.


    Lu Li had no choice but to stop and ask, ¡°What kind of meat?¡±


    ¡°There are some lion and wolf packs nearby, but if you could hunt some raptors that would be even better,¡± the Orc mocked, with his pungent breath.


    System: Quest Received ¡°Fresh Meat¡±.


    Lu Li was confused; the Deception Orb¡¯s effect was bizarre.


    The system had allowed him to accept quests from the other Faction.


    In his past life, when he had used the Deception Orb for the PVP quest and tried speaking to NPCs from the other Faction, they would simply ignore him.


    Lu Li was actually planning on escaping when he saw the LV40 Orc Commander.


    ¡°What are you waiting for? hurry up and go. Goddamn skeleton scum.¡±


    The Orc Commander impatiently whipped Lu Li. It hurt slightly, but didn¡¯t deal any damage.


    ¡°As you please.¡±


    You idiot, can¡¯t you tell I¡¯m an imposter? Lu Li turned around and saw the pack of lions that had spawned.


    The lions were LV15-16 monsters and were a piece of cake for Lu Li.


    Lu Li used harvest on the corpse and received Fresh Meat.


    After inspecting it closely, he found that it was a quest item and could not be consumed.


    Lu Li quickly obtained 40 pieces of Fresh Meat.


    He found the Orc Commander again and gave him the quest items.


    Perhaps it was because of how fast Lu Li had completed the quest, but the Orc was extremely pleased. ¡°Soldier of the Horde, War Chief Thrall is grateful for your efforts.¡±


    Lu Li was rewarded with a pathetic amount of EXP. However, he didn¡¯t care and proclaimed excitedly with his hands on his chest, ¡°For the Horde, Victory for Sylvanas!¡±


    Lu Li had a passion for acting.


    ¡°For the Horde!¡± the Orc exclaimed as he thumped on his own chest.


    The Evil Faction didn¡¯t think that they were evil, especially the Orcs who called themselves the Horde. On the other hand, the Light Faction was an alliance between many races, hence the name Alliance. This was otherwise known to the Evil Faction players as Light Faction dog or Alliance scum.


    Lu Li wandered around the camp site for a bit, gathering information about the area. He set the four explosive bombs while nobody was looking.


    All he had to do was activate them and the whole campsite would become a sea of fire.


    He felt slightly sorry, but it was a game, after all.


    Lu Li ignited the bombs and bolted away in his Cougar form.


    After a few seconds, the bombs were set off and an explosion appeared behind him.


    System: You¡¯ve defeated Horde players, received 117 Glory points.


    System: You¡¯ve defeated Horde NPC, received 1450 Glory Points. EXP rewarded.


    System: You¡¯ve defeated Alliance NPC. PVP points increased by 27. 2700 Glory Points deducted.


    The first two system notification made him very happy. However, the last notification was totally unexpected.


    The EXP wasn¡¯t so bad. Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar increased by 14% at LV21.


    He had been rewarded 1567 Glory points, but was also deducted 2700 Glory Points.


    He had 468 points to begin with, which dropped to -665 after the explosion. All the effort he had put in was completely wasted.


    It wouldn¡¯t have been as bad if he had only lost Glory Points, however, his PVP points had also increased by 27 points. He had put in so much effort to decrease his PVP points to 7, but this had been completely undone.


    His PVP points were so high; when would he be able to clear them out?!

 171 Bounty Hunter

    His PVP points were so high; when would he be able to clear them out?!


    Lu Li began to regret undertaking this quest; the strategies he had read never mentioned anything about this. He knew there was something wrong when he saw the human slaves, but didn¡¯t realize that their deaths would increase his PVP points.


    ¡°Dammed PVP points system,¡± he thought.


    After completing the quest, Lu Li was transported directly back to the city.


    He didn¡¯t want to stay in the Barrenlands for any longer than he had to. Who would have thought that he would accumulate such a large amount of PVP points while in enemy territory?


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure if this was simply just in his head, but he felt a sense of malice from the NPCs and players who saw him and his 34 PVP points.


    He needed to get rid of his PVP points.


    After clearing out his backpack, he immediately went to the forums to make a lengthy post. He then went to the Exchange Hall and put in a few more ¡®The World is so Big¡¯ before getting ready to go to the Silverwing Outpost.


    The remaining scrolls had already vanished. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but feel it was a pity.


    ¡°Ah, my colleague. I¡¯m so happy to see that you made it unscathed.¡±


    Upon seeing Lu Li, Vinda Nightwing immediately moved past the other players to greet him.


    ¡®Dammit, how can you say that I made it unscathed?¡¯ Lu Li wanted to cry at him, but instead said, ¡°Thanks to your generous blessings, I was able to complete the quest. All glory to Elune.¡±


    ¡°Here is your reward. I hope you will continue to provide your great services,¡± Vinda Nightwing said with great satisfaction.


    The system prompted Lu Li that he had gained EXP; he was now LV21 at 33% EXP. The second place on the Level Rankings was taken by Azure Sea Breeze who was LV19. Everyone else was LV18.


    In addition to the EXP reward, there was also a piece of equipment.


    However, it was worse than what he already had equipped, so he had to sell it.


    It was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain equipment that was better than what he already had.


    Lu Li left the Silverwing Outpost feeling dejected. He didn¡¯t want to be the hero that burned down the Orc¡¯s supplies. In his heart, he repeatedly cursed at the PVP points system.


    This system was something that had been phased out a long time ago in the virtual world, but was now seeing a new resurgence.


    Lu Li noticed two players who began to walk towards him. They were laughing among themselves, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel like their laughs were a little fake. He also saw that one of the players had just taken out their Magic Staff, while the other was holding their Bow and arrows.


    Whoosh¡­


    Arrows flew towards him and skills were being channeled. If Lu Li hadn¡¯t glanced at them, they might have successfully pulled off their sneak attack.


    Gale Steps!


    This blocked all the attacks and put Lu Li into Stealth.


    ¡°No wonder his PVP is so high ¨C this Thief has Gale Steps. This isn¡¯t Water Fairy right?¡± the Mage shouted, as his skills hit nothing but air.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be ¨C he has a male stature. Be careful though,¡± the hunter said, as he summoned his pet.


    This was strange ¨C his face was definitely covered. How could they have recognized him?


    Lu Li scratched his head in wonder before suddenly noticing a few faint words floating above their heads.


    Names above heads had long since been removed, so these words couldn¡¯t be their names. Lu Li looked carefully and discovered that they read ¡°Punisher¡±.


    Punisher¡­ isn¡¯t that the word used for a Bounty quest?


    The new system was more likely to designate a bounty to players with high PVP points. Players without PVP points would never be designated a bounty.


    After receiving a Bounty Quest, a PVP list would be displayed, which showed the PVP points of players in a descending order.


    However, this list did not display the names of those players ¨C there was only a digital code in that column.


    As such, players who took Bounty Quests never really knew the true identity of their targets. They just needed to kill their target to gain their rewards.


    Lu Li felt depressed. His PVP points were easily the highest, so it was no wonder that he was so quickly recognized. While his two assailants had the word ¡®Punisher¡¯ above their heads, they also saw a word displayed above their target.


    This word was a particularly incriminating one: ¡®Guilty¡¯.


    Punishers would obviously exert their punishment on the guilty.


    Dammit, how could I have been so dumb?!


    The fact that there was a bounty on Lu Li didn¡¯t anger him. In fact, it made him happy.


    This was his opportunity to deplete his PVP points!


    Lu Li ignored the two players who had taken his Bounty Quest. He immediately ran towards the Return Point, transported to Astrana and went straight into the Mercenary Hall.


    ¡°Respected Elder, I want to take a Bounty Quest.¡±


    Lu Li handed over a gold coin and presented his request to the old, Elven Clerk with a smile.


    The elderly wizard took the gold coin and tossed a badge at Lu Li.


    ¡°Choose a target from this list. This badge will record all your information ¨C do not lose it.¡±


    The badge, which was of a normal size, resembled a small skull that represented death. Its front face had the word ¡°Kill¡± on it, while the back read ¡°First Order Bounty Hunter¡±.


    The Bounty Hunter Badge was the identity of the Bounty System Hunters. With this badge, a player could take and complete quests to accumulate points. When a player had enough points, they could become a more advanced Bounty Hunter.


    Lu Li opened up the PVP list. To his surprise, it was quite lengthy. There were about one thousand players who had accumulated PVP points.


    The player with the highest PVP points on the list was No.1189 at 34 points. Next to this entry were 32 stars, which corresponded to the 32 Bounty Hunters who had accepted that quest. These players could periodically pay the system to check Lu Li¡¯s coordinates.


    The interval between queries was determined by a player¡¯s Bounty Hunter level. It was unlikely that any player had reached the second level, so all queries would have had a one hour cooldown.


    However, there was a way around this. Players could query the system and share the information between a few players in their party. This would allow them to make multiple queries in the hour, but even still, only one person would be able to complete the quest.


    The top player with 34 PVP points was a very attractive target, but Lu Li could only tearfully ignore it.


    The second player, who was No.263, was quite far behind at only 9 points. Even he was still marked by a dozen stars.


    Nine points were nothing to be scoffed at ¨C to accumulate so many without dying meant that he was quite strong.


    Lu Li confirmed his selection of No.263.


    He then queried the system for the coordinates.


    89216, 36725, 48.


    His target wasn¡¯t actually too far from him. Lu Li knew the location clearly in his mind and bolted towards it.


    Haste was necessary, as this was the nature of Bounty Quests. What if the target was moving? Or if someone else got there first? If he failed the quest, his gold deposit might get deducted from.


    There was a farming location just outside of Astrana which primarily spawned LV18 ¡°Suffering Souls¡±.


    Level 18 monsters were currently mainstream, as most players were also around this level.


    A lone Mage was leisurely casting his spells when he felt a cold sensation in his back. A figure with a black mask, cloak and attire had appeared behind him.


    Within a rotation of Cheap Shot, Backstab, Ambush and Slit Throat, the Mage¡¯s lifeless corpse fell onto the ground. The words ¡®Punished¡¯ were printed on his face and the player was summoned into a cell.


    Even a Healing Profession player wouldn¡¯t have had time to revive him.


    With 9 PVP points, it would be at least nine hours before he got out of jail.


    ¡°Bounty Quest,¡± said the Thief, as he picked up two pieces of equipment from the floor and disappeared.


    The whole time this happening, the surrounding people stood dumbfounded.

 172 Bounty Ques

    Not long after, the two to three hundred players who were farming in the area all converged to stare at the place where No.263 had fallen.


    They were an elite group of players from a guild, tasked with protecting their boss while he farmed. There shouldn¡¯t have been anyone who dared to attempt his Bounty Quest ¨C was it not a death sentence?


    But even under such heavy protection, their boss had been killed.


    They must have been dreaming.


    ¡°Is¡­ is the boss dead?¡± one player murmured to himself, unable to believe it.


    ¡°Where is the one who killed him?¡±


    Everyone felt burning anger kindle in their hearts.


    It wasn¡¯t because their beloved boss had been killed, but because he had been killed in the presence of so many people. It was truly shameful.


    ¡°He¡¯s escaped¡­¡±


    A player tearfully pointed at the place where Lu Li had vanished. The guild member who was closest to Lu Li also mentioned that Lu Li had greeted them after killing their boss.


    ¡°Find him! We have to find him!¡±


    ¡°Stop farming. We have to avenge our boss.¡±


    The group readied themselves for battle and spread out.


    ¡°Wait, I know who did it.¡±


    ¡°Do you know him?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that¡­ there¡¯s a lot of pressure on me with so many people around¡­¡±


    ¡°Dammit, I¡¯ll kill you if you don¡¯t speak up!¡±


    ¡°Look at the PVP list. The guy with 34 PVP points now only has 25 left.¡±


    ¡°He must have killed the boss!¡±


    ¡°Hunt him down, hunt him down¡­¡±


    Lu Li had already returned to complete the quest. Upon seeing that his PVP points had dropped from 34 to 25, he felt much more comfortable.


    However, he couldn¡¯t help but think that there was something strange about that guy. It seemed like no one was trying to kill him, even though he had 9 PVP points. His skill was average at best and he didn¡¯t even have a chance to retaliate.


    Lu Li¡¯s second target was No.852 who had 6 PVP points.


    Upon querying for the coordinates, he found that his target¡¯s location was considerably far away from where he was. He would need to travel all to way to the coastline.


    Lu Li was unable to cancel this quest for a three-hour period, unless someone else completed it before then. The only thing he could was to grit his teeth and make the journey; he was going to fly anyway.


    The moment he left Astrana, he was met with a huge barrage of skills. Lu Li jumped in fear and ran back into the safe area.


    At this stage, the whole city was still a safe zone. However, after the fourth update, the area of these zones would decrease significantly. At that point, a player could be killed even when walking on the street.


    Fortunately, there was still quite a long time to go before that happened. As he stood in the safe area, Lu Li looked at the hundreds of people guarding the Astrana gates, who stared back at him with ravenous eyes.


    ¡°H-Heroes, how have I offended you that you would bring such a strong force against me?¡±


    Lu Li checked that the bandana was on his face, before allowing himself to relax.


    Even the Imperial Secret service hadn¡¯t brought this many people. Did these guys have no shame?


    The opposing group of players didn¡¯t expect Lu Li to react so quickly and regretted casting their spells so early. However, after listening to Lu Li¡¯s innocent questioning, they became fired up again.


    ¡°You killed our boss, yet you dare ask us why we¡¯re offended?!¡±


    ¡°No way, I¡¯m not crazy. Why would I kill your boss? Who is your boss?¡±


    Lu Li kept a completely straight face. It was too bad that his bandana was in the way, so his acting was wasted.


    ¡°Our boss was killed right before our eyes by someone whose PVP points have since dropped. So we, the Milky Way Fleet, need to¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, number 263!¡± Lu Li suddenly realized.


    ¡°Boy, we aren¡¯t being unreasonable. Come out obediently and let us send you to jail. Otherwise, your future will look very bleak.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    Lu Li raised his hands and asked, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    The other players looked at each other and shook their heads.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know who I am. How are you going to find me to exact your revenge? See you later everyone,¡± Lu Li laughed, as he went into Stealth.


    The hundreds of people were dumbfounded.


    Astrana was the Light Faction¡¯s busiest city and had many gates. The only reason that this group of people had successfully blocked off Lu Li¡¯s path was because this gate was closest to the Mercenary Hall.


    Lu Li eventually found an empty alley and turned into a crow before taking to the skies.


    Astrana was the Druid¡¯s base camp, so the NPCs treated animals like crows very well. No one would randomly try to shoot him down.


    Lu Li flew back and forth a few times which excited the members of the Milky Way Fleet.


    ¡°If he¡¯s running so fast, he must be out of energy by now. Everyone, try your hardest to put this guy in prison. The boss was furious about dying, so what this guy did was unforgiveable. Whoever kills him will be award $10,000. Now charge, for the boss!¡±


    ¡°For the boss and for the $10,000, charge!¡± yelled one of the bemused players, as the group rushed forward in a wild stampede.


    Lu Li¡¯s second objective was a smart one ¨C he would change locations every few minutes so they couldn¡¯t work out where he was.


    However, just as he was about to change locations, Lu Li found himself cornered.


    Lu Li saw a warrior with the red word ¡®Guilty¡¯ above his head, who was charging towards him. He instinctively went into Stealth and cast Cheap Shot¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±


    One rotation of skills wasn¡¯t enough to kill this Warrior, as he was quite well-equipped. However, when he recovered, he didn¡¯t retaliate. Instead, he scratched his neck and ask Lu Li why he was killing him.


    Lu Li was taken aback; he thought that he had attacked the wrong person.


    ¡°Brother, are you number 852?¡± Lu Li asked, while he continued to stab him.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re talking about the PVP list. Yeah, I¡¯m number 852. Wait¡­ you¡¯re wanted by me. How is this possible? How does¡­ ugh¡­.¡± he gurgled before falling.


    His body was then taken away by the system, presumably to the prison.


    ¡°Damn, he was a talker.¡±


    Lu Li wiped the sweat off his forehead. This was the first time that someone had intentionally not fought back.


    He only had 20 PVP points left. Lu Li nodded with satisfaction, unaware of the hundreds of players around him who were once again left dumbfounded. He then quickly returned to the city so he wouldn¡¯t be caught.


    The fourth-ranking player on the PVP list only had 3 points.


    Nevertheless, he dutifully continued to complete Bounty Quests, while on the run from the group of players who were trying to kill him. He initially thought that this process would be slow, but by now, he had almost depleted of his PVP points. However, his progress was unexpectedly interrupted while undertaking his 6th quest.


    The player that Lu Li was hunting had logged off to avoid being killed.


    Bounty Quests could not normally be cancelled. For a Bounty Quest to be cancelled, an application had to be made to the Mercenary Hall after three hours, the wanted player could remove all their PVP points, or someone else could claim the bounty first.


    In this case, Lu Li only needed to wait two hours before that player¡¯s PVP points depleted. After this, the System would default to telling him that he had failed his Bounty Quest. He would then be able to continue and take the next quest.


    As of now, Lu Li had 12 PVP points left, but he was still at the top of the list.

 173 Sister’s Sickness

    Lu Li was almost out of time now anyway. He had an important task to complete tomorrow, so he simply logged off with no regard for the hundreds of players who had been following him.


    As he was worried about the results from his sister¡¯s medical examination, he did not get a good night¡¯s sleep. He walked out of his room the next day with a pair of dark circles around his eyes, which shocked everyone else.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been over-indulging yourself,¡± said the landlord suggestively.


    Lu Li¡¯s only response was to fart loudly. He sat at the table and watched his sister eat her rice porridge.


    Lu Xin didn¡¯t know what was happening; all she knew was that something wasn¡¯t quite right with her brother.


    ¡°Pervert,¡± Dou Jing Jing exclaimed, ¡°Since you¡¯ve gotten up, you¡¯ve done nothing but stare at your sister.¡±


    ¡°Lu Li, can I ask you a question?¡± Zhou Huan Huan was the most normal of them all.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Lu Li had eaten some rice porridge, but his mind was still preoccupied.


    He was desperately hoping that this examination would uncover his sister¡¯s illness. It sounded a little stupid, but if it didn¡¯t, then maybe the disease would continue to lurk in her until it was too late.


    ¡°It has to do with the Death Mines ¨C we have been trying to kill the Elite-difficulty Piercing Heart Wolf General for a few days now. Can you give us some advice?¡± Zhou Huan Huan carefully asked. She did not think that Lu Li had any obligation to tell him, so she was a little apprehensive.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t much advice I can give there; your Main Tank is just too weak,¡± Lu Li bluntly replied, unafraid of causing any offense.


    ¡°Our Main Tank is already LV18. Our guild actually has two LV18 Main Tanks. One of them is with Water Fairy and the other is with us,¡± Zhou Huan Huan gloomily sighed.


    Zhou Huan Huan and the others had been integrated well into Drizzle Court, and were now part of a small, elite team. The guild had also provided them with strong Main Tank and DPS players. Despite this, they had failed every time they attempted the Death Mines.


    ¡°You guys can reach out to Azure Sea Breeze for help. For two hundred gold, he¡¯ll let get you through the Death Mines at Elite-difficulty. Get your guild to pay the money.¡±


    Lu Li wiped his mouth before standing up to hug his sister and send her to school.


    ¡°Two hundred gold! That¡¯s so much.¡±


    Dou Jing Jing stuck out her tongue and started calculating how much that was in real money.


    ¡°The guild will definitely agree to two hundred gold,¡± Willow said definitively, ¡°Other guilds are capable of paying two hundred gold, but don¡¯t have the connections for something like this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Zhou Huan Huan let out a sigh and self-deprecatingly said, ¡°The guild leader probably made us into a separate elite group because we know Lu Li.¡±


    Although Dou Jing Jing was reluctant, she couldn¡¯t deny that point.


    After Lu Li sent his sister to school, he immediately went to the hospital where Lu Xin had her medical examination.


    Medical developments had still barely made any progress. Contrary to the predictions made by researchers, terminal illnesses were still untreatable, a variety of new, incurable diseases were still being discovered, and a large proportion of deaths each year were still occurring on hospital beds.


    ¡°You were the one who came in for the check yesterday right? Where is your sister?¡± the old doctor with thick reading glasses sluggishly asked, while flipping through the medical records.


    ¡°She¡¯s at school, doctor¡­¡± Lu Li slowly replied.


    ¡°You are fine ¨C just a little malnourished, but that can be handled with some supplements. But your sister¡­¡±


    The doctor looked through his lens and saw Lu Li¡¯s clothing before gently sighing.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my sister?¡±


    Lu Li hand had unconsciously grabbed his thigh, but he was so nervous that he didn¡¯t feel any pain.


    ¡°Have you heard of Heart Failure Syndrome?¡± the old doctor asked mildly.


    Lu Li felt bitter, but he could only stiffly shake his head.


    ¡°It is a very rare heart disease. I have been practicing medicine for 30 years and have only encountered three cases. Its cause is very complex. If she doesn¡¯t receive treatment, she won¡¯t live past eighteen.¡± The old doctor sympathetically looked at Lu Li, anticipating that he would break down in tears.


    ¡°There must be a way to cure it right?¡± Lu Li¡¯s eyes were fixed on the doctor.


    ¡°The cure¡­ is really expensive. Regular insurance that provides for basic health cover is usually insufficient,¡± the doctor said as he shook his head, ¡°The amount of relief that the hospital can provide is also very limited.¡±


    ¡°Money isn¡¯t an issue!¡± Lu Li¡¯s expression was firm.


    Otherwise, what use was his rebirth?


    To climb into the upper echelon of society?


    To wake up in paradise, intoxicated and surrounded by beautiful women?


    No, it wasn¡¯t for any of these reasons. In these past few weeks, he had never for a moment thought about these!


    There was only one thing that his mind was fixated on and he would do this thing right, no matter what.


    No matter what, his sister could not die!


    The doctor was shocked; he swallowed his saliva and replied, ¡°For this kind of disease, there are two mature treatment programs. Do you want to hear about them?¡±


    ¡°Please do tell me.¡±


    For Lu Li to know that there was a cure would make him less frightened.


    ¡°The first kind is a conventional treatment. It involves surgery, and drugs to control the disease and improve her heart¡¯s function. If it goes well, your sister will be able to live like a normal person¡­¡±


    ¡°How long will her lifespan be?¡± Lu Li interrupted.


    ¡°We¡¯ve detected it fairly early, so it can be more easily controlled. I cannot give you a guarantee, but my professional opinion is that she will easily gain 20 years,¡± the doctor dutifully replied.


    Previously, Lu Xin¡¯s condition had been discovered in its later stages, so the doctor could only predict an additional 10 years if the treatment was successful. However, Lu Li was unable to afford this.


    ¡°What about the other kind?¡±


    Previously, the doctor had talked about a transplant, but didn¡¯t go into detail as he knew that Lu Li didn¡¯t have any money.


    ¡°A full transplant. This will cost much more money.¡±


    The doctor glanced at Lu Li¡¯s clothing again. He was convinced that this kid was at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.


    ¡°How much longer will a full-transplant allow my sister to live?¡± Lu Li asked anxiously.


    ¡°A full-transplant is quite different from a traditional transplant in that it can result in a complete recovery. However, this treatment is predicated on two conditions - that there is a donor and that the patient undergoes a high-end regenerative treatment after surgery.¡±


    The doctor almost couldn¡¯t bear to continue, ¡°But I must remind you, the surgery will cost at least $1 million and the regenerative treatment after will be even more expensive. An average family is usually unable to afford this option.¡±


    ¡°As long as my sister can be cured, I can pay any amount of money.¡±


    Lu Li reached across the table to grab the doctor¡¯s hand and pleaded, ¡°Doctor, please help us. Please find a donor for us¡­¡±


    ¡°A donor can only come along by chance. I will contact the general hospital to see if they have any reserves.¡±


    The doctor was impressed with Lu Li¡¯s impulse, but he bitterly said, ¡°Boy, this really isn¡¯t a small amount.¡±


    Lu Li took out his mobile phone and fiddled with it to open up his bank account. He handed his phone to the doctor and said, ¡°You see, I have $1.1 million in my account right now¡­¡±


    The old doctor didn¡¯t believe Lu Li, but curiosity got the better of him. When he saw Lu Li¡¯s phone, he almost jumped.


    After repeatedly checking the amount, he confirmed that there was definitely over $1 million.


    A million dollars wasn¡¯t actually that much; this old doctor had seen many patients who were millionaires. He had even seen some billionaires too, but all those people were successful professionals.


    Yet before him was a young man in a ten-dollar t-shirt who had more than $1 million.

 174 Diligently Making Money

    ¡°Young man, I¡¯m quite surprised, but there will be additional follow up costs. These additional costs will determine the extent to which your sister is healed.¡±


    The old doctor was finally considering Lu Li seriously as he discussed the costs of treatment. However, he still wasn¡¯t convinced that Lu Li had enough money to completely cure his sister.


    What he underestimated was Lu Li¡¯s determination.


    ¡°A month ago, my sister and I lived in the Common District, in a small, leaky, one-story house. Now, not only have we moved to the University Villa area, but I¡¯ve also made $1 million.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t need to raise his voice; he was merely stating the facts.


    With this simple statement and the proof of his money, the doctor had no further objections.


    ¡°Alright, I guess I¡¯m getting old and my perspective is becoming narrower. Let¡¯s just talk about the general plan of the treatment,¡± said the doctor.


    ¡°Do as you please. I only have one family member.¡±


    Lu Li chose to believe in this respectable gentleman, who in his past life was very patient.


    ¡°The medical examination is actually quite superficial. The patient must now come in to the hospital for a more thorough inspection. I will then organise some experts for consultation. These experts won¡¯t only come from this hospital¡­¡±


    From the doctor¡¯s description and explanation of the treatment, the $1 million cost didn¡¯t appear to be without reason.


    After a morning of conversation, a brief medical plan was written up. Lu Li invited the doctor out for lunch, but was rejected.


    He had a good impression of Lu Li and his sister, and promised to follow up on this case as much as he could. He also promised to use his personal connections to find an appropriate donor.


    Lu Li then returned to the school and stood outside the classroom window, watching her sister.


    One of her classmates whispered something in her ear, which caused her to dance with joy and gently smile. Lu Li had never seen her from this outside-observer angle before.


    The sun shone through the glass window and reflected off her skin, making it glisten like jade.


    She was growing up and was no longer the dependent, little girl that Lu Li had the impression of.


    Feeling as though she was being watched, she turned her head and saw her brother standing on the edge of the flower bed. He was wearing cheap clothes and a funny hat¡­


    The September roses had also bloomed and were a deep, blood red.


    ¡°Brother!¡±


    Lu Xin¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. She happily stomped towards him and jumped into his arms.


    ¡°I just got back from the hospital and wanted to check in on you. Have you eaten?¡±


    After hugging her, Lu Li was reluctant to let go.


    ¡°Yep, Huan Huan is a really good cook. I helped her to wash the bowls,¡± Lu Xin replied.


    ¡°Go back to class now. I have something I want to tell you tonight.¡±


    Lu Li saw that some of the other students were wanting to leave the classroom as well. He helplessly touched his sister¡¯s hair, before letting her return.


    When he arrived back home, Lu Li immediately logged back into the game.


    This had nothing to do with his mood, nor was it about his addiction to the game. Rather, he had placed all of his hope in Dawn; he needed to work hard to make money for his sister.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally on. Drizzle Court is asking us to do an Instance Dungeon and I hear you only asked for 200 gold,¡± Wandering complained, the instant that Lu Li appeared in the tavern.


    ¡°200 gold is already quite a bit¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze whispered.


    ¡°Shut up. and look at the prospects,¡± Wandering said before beginning his analysis, ¡°¡­ There are hundreds of Unions in Dawn and none of them have been able to clear the Death Mines. Do you know what it means to a Union for them to complete the Death Mines?!¡±


    The other members sat and listened respectfully, like well-trained elementary school children.


    ¡°If you and Water Fairy are somehow together, the fact that we picked them is already special treatment. However, we cannot make concessions about the price; we are here to make money.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we want to make money!¡± Hachi Chan waved her fist, but upon seeing that no one else joined in, she quickly dropped it.


    ¡°I was just going to let Sea Breeze take the earnings. Do you guys want to split it?¡± Lu Li was hesitant in asking this question. He thought that Azure Sea Breeze was going to do it alone, while the rest of them would remain unaffected.


    Being a party with such strong DPS and Healing, they would be able to clear Elite Instance Dungeons with a single, conventional Main Tank like Wandering.


    ¡°Of course we want to split it.¡± Wandering no intention of letting his rival gain a free advantage. ¡°He can keep half of it and the other half can be split among us. This can be the way we do it in future as well ¨C there should be no personal ventures.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Azure Sea Breeze immediately said.


    ¡°No one asked you. You won¡¯t take Main Tank equipment, even if it suits you. You¡¯re too nice. Next time, ask me before dealing in business matters. I wanted to charge them at least 500 gold but I can¡¯t anymore.¡±


    Wandering¡¯s calculations had revealed his true nature.


    Popularity doesn¡¯t enable you to place yourself above everyone else, right?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t reject what Wandering had said, but instead presented an alternative view. One hundred gold split between seven people was just a dozen gold per person.


    He displayed some of the things that he was carrying and beckoned at the others to take them.


    ¡°And so on¡­¡±


    Wandering stopped and impatiently snapped at Azure Sea Breeze, ¡°This isn¡¯t equipment that has been acquired as a party, so we can¡¯t just take it. We have to pay for it.¡±


    Of course, internal prices would be a lot lower than what would be found in the Exchange Hall.


    The others thought that this was reasonable point so they didn¡¯t object. Lu Li didn¡¯t mind either way, but also agreed. Perhaps this was how a formal team should be conducted.


    The equipment was organized into piles, with the first containing equipment dropped by the players in Lu Li¡¯s Profession Upgrade Quest. The next pile was what he had obtained from killing Rennsak. After this, there was pile from killing Imperial Secret Service players and another from the Warsong Canyon¡­


    All in all, there were 19 Steel-grade items.


    Upon hearing that they had to pay, none of them retracted their hands. In fact, they had actually become more emboldened to buy the items. Lonesome Flower bought shoes that gave him 3% Movement Speed, which were valued by Wandering at 5 gold. This would be cheaper than buying them in the Exchange Hall, if they could be found there at all.


    Lu Li¡¯s Swift Leather Boots were taken by Remnant Dream. The swiftness effect was quite powerful, so Wandering wanted to value them at 20 gold. However, Lu Li always personally looked out for the littler hunter and only took 5 gold for them.


    The others also picked up equipment that they were satisfied with.


    Although Wandering had always played with random parties, he was quite savvy with equipment and hence, was well-equipped. There weren¡¯t many Main Tank choices and he didn¡¯t find anything that particularly caught his eye.


    Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s current equipment was the most common. He had returned the equipment given to him by Seventh Heaven, so what he was currently wearing was publicly available in the Exchange Hall. He managed to find quite a few upgrades from Lu Li¡¯s piles.


    Hachi Chan looked through them excitedly for a long time, but didn¡¯t find anything. Her equipment was simply too good already.


    The equipment dropped from chain quests was quite similar to what was dropped from Instance Dungeons. As long as the player had a good level of analytical skill and could endure the tedious nature of the quests, they would succeed.


    ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s also this ring.¡± Lu Li took out the Wind Ring.


    It was Silver-grade and had very strong attributes.


    ¡°Dammit, we have to recruit a Shaman. If someone got this, they wouldn¡¯t need friends anymore,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    ¡°Speaking of recruitment, we have to talk about something.¡±


    Wandering was shocked by the ring as well, but he was more concerned as to when a new Shaman would join them.

 175 Weapon Mold

    ¡°Speaking of recruitment, we have to talk about something.¡±


    Wandering was shocked by the ring as well, but he was more concerned as to when a new Shaman would join them.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were going to do it?¡± Lu Li wondered.


    If this task was given to Azure Sea Breeze, Lu Li would be worried, because he wasn¡¯t a great judge of character. However, it had been assigned to Wandering, Lu Li hadn¡¯t given it much thought.


    Lu Li had gotten to know Wandering through Azure Sea Breeze in his past life. Besides his narcissism, he was actually very capable, especially in managerial areas. Many guilds had wanted to hire him to be their Vice President.


    ¡°You assigned it to me and said it would be easy.¡± Wandering couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why you must make a Mercenary Group and not a guild¡­¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have money at the time,¡± Lu Li replied, a little embarrassed.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you made a million dollars?¡± Wandering didn¡¯t quite understand.


    ¡°Something happened and I spent a lot of it,¡± Lu Li laughed in response.


    ¡°Then everyone can just chip in. Guilds are comparably better than a Mercenary group, whether in monetary earnings or in gaining equipment. When a guild gains enough players, there will be great returns,¡± Wandering said impatiently, seeing that he wasn¡¯t getting through to Lu Li.


    ¡°I was planning to buy someone else¡¯s high-level guild to save some money.¡±


    Lu Li thought that this was a good idea.


    After the previous day¡¯s System Update, guilds had begun appearing on the Trading Platform. Their selling prices were much cheaper than the original cost to create one, but their levels weren¡¯t very high. The highest-level guild was only LV3.


    ¡°Come on, big bro, you can¡¯t save money on everything,¡± Wandering exasperatedly said. ¡°As a party leader, you have to ensure that your party members have a sense of belonging. The same can be said about guild leaders. What else, if not building your own guild, is better to foster this sense of belonging?¡±


    The others thought that Wandering had a point, but Lu Li was such an authoritative figure that they had always listened to him.


    ¡°You have a point,¡± Lu Li admitted. He wasn¡¯t a stubborn person.


    ¡°And about the Mercenary Group name, did you have a stroke when you were creating the group?¡± Wandering continued his ridiculing.


    ¡°Have some respect. That¡¯s my sister¡¯s name.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t ignore his remark.


    You could attack him all you wanted, but you could never say anything bad about Xin Xin, no matter what.


    ¡°Argh, damned sis-con.¡± Wandering rubbed his forehead in frustration.


    ¡°Alright, I randomly made up the name, but is it really that important? We are repeatedly the recipients of First Clears and our levels are dominating the rankings¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Wandering interrupted. ¡°I have one more thing to complain about¡­¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t mention Xin Xin¡­¡±


    The others chuckled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you don¡¯t put the Mercenary Group name on the World Announcements when you get First Clears. You are missing out on a lot of good publicity.¡± Wandering sounded bitter. Outside of Lu Li, no one knew anything about the Xin Xin Mercenary Group or how to run it.


    ¡°We generally just leave the settings to default,¡± Lu Li said as he rubbed his nose. ¡°The only time we changed it was when we helped Drizzle Court get the new record. After taking their money, we had to display their name on the announcements.¡±


    ¡°We get the First Clear so often, that we¡¯ve become de-sensitized to it.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze lifted his head proudly, but no one seemed to appreciate this.


    ¡°As for the Level Rankings, I want you all to reveal your names right now. I don¡¯t want to go to Luna Square and beg for people to join us. I want people to beg for us. Do you understand?¡± Wandering spat, as he bore his fangs.


    Lu Li thought of the mask in his bag and nodded.


    Azure Sea Breeze happily jumped up and cried out, ¡°Wow haha! I can finally reveal the glory of Dawn¡¯s number one Main Tank.¡±


    ¡°Ah, and now your fans will finally know that you aren¡¯t even in first place,¡± Wandering disdainfully said.


    ¡°Must you always comment on anything?¡± Azure Sea Breeze bitterly questioned.


    He felt as though he was doomed to always live in someone else¡¯s shadow. Wandering had helped him appreciate the competitive nature of life, but he felt like there was no way he could ever surpass Lu Li¡¯s ability.


    His resistances were slightly better than Lu Li¡¯s¡­


    But, for a Defensive Warrior to have better resistance than a Thief wasn¡¯t anything noteworthy.


    Lu Li pulled open his information panel and revealed his name which sat at an impressive first place on the Level Rankings.


    Lu Li ¨C 1st, Azure Sea Breeze ¨C 2nd, Lonesome Flower ¨C 3rd, March Rain ¨C 5th, Remnant Dream ¨C 7th.


    Fourth place was occupied by Glory Capital¡¯s I No Understand, while sixth was occupied by Bloor Red War Flag¡¯s Wild.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had taken five of the first ten positions.


    Of the new members, Sesame Rice Ball was ranked the highest at 23rd. Wandering was next at 35th and Hachi Chan was ranked 71st at LV18, even though she spent most of her time doing quests.


    In fact, apart from Lu Li, all the players ranked 2nd to 86th were LV18.


    ¡°Alright, do your job well. The organisation believes in you.¡±


    Lu Li promoted Wandering to Leader in an unexpected display of trust.


    Everyone else, including Wandering, had no idea that Lu Li would be so trusting towards someone that he had only met a few times.


    ¡°Dammit.¡± Wandering felt a little bad. He had always thought that stories about compassion were rubbish, but now that he had actually experienced it, he couldn¡¯t help but feel moved.


    Of course, this still wasn¡¯t to a point where he would kneel before Lu Li.


    ¡°I do have one requirement ¨C I will need a large amount of rare materials that I will specifically name. I also intend to learn Forging soon. When I do, my requirements for rare materials will become even greater. As such, any rare materials found by our group must never ever be sold,¡± Lu Li said frankly.


    He knew that the people standing before him weren¡¯t tycoons. They all had their own reasons for making money.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were graduating this year. They weren¡¯t looking for jobs, but had instead decided to become professional players.


    Sesame Rice Ball had to pay a termination fee of $300,000 to Seventh Heaven. He was most likely looking to earn that money back.


    Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were both high school students, so anything they earned would be placed towards their University tuition fees.


    Lonesome Flower and March Rain¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t very clear, but they must have had some extravagant spending habits, as they would often trade in their gold for real money at the Trading Platform.


    As Lu Li wanted to block the selling of rare materials, he had essentially stopped one avenue by which the group could earn money.


    ¡°Rare materials?¡± Hachi Chan lifted her small hands and said, ¡°I have a lot of rare materials and a Mold. Do you want me to help you make equipment?¡±


    ¡°A Mold?¡± Lu Li was surprised. He had never seen a Mold before in his previous life. Only bosses above LV20 had a probability of dropping Molds.


    ¡°Yeah, take a look¡­¡± Hachi Chan reached into her backpack and pulled out something that looked like a Magic Staff.


    Mold: Umbranse¡¯s Staff (Silver)


    Recipe: Forging


    Requirement: Intermediate Forging (95)


    Use: Creates an ¡°Umbranse¡¯s Staff¡±


    Umbranse¡¯s Staff: Attributes unknown.


    ¡°It¡¯s a Silver equip; that¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    Lu Li rubbed the Mold while the others watched. Only he understood that Molds were not easy to come by.

 176 The Amazing Hachi Chan

    With a Mold that could forge Silver equipment, even the worst possible Forging outcome would be an entire grade better than any Instance Dungeon drop. If the player was lucky and forged a high or perfect quality equip, it would be comparable to Gold-grade.


    The only problem was that Molds were very rare and were single-use.


    Upon seeing the name ¡®Umbranse¡¯s Staff¡¯, Lu Li immediately knew where the Mold had come from. Umbranse¡¯s Judgment!


    ¡°Umbranse¡¯s Judgment¡± was a difficult quest in which the player had to face a LV20 humanoid Boss.


    Before attempting it, one would have to complete dozens of pre-quests to gather enough of Umbranse¡¯s Poison. The boss could only be killed with this poison. This was one of the most tedious, low-level quests.


    Without completing these pre-quests, the only way to beat it was by brute force in numbers.


    Even so, this LV20 Boss had considerable strength. Facing a large guild, let alone Lu Li¡¯s party of ten, would be child¡¯s play for it.


    Umbranse¡¯s drops were usually very strong. In addition to a Mold for a Silver equip, there was also a very small chance of a Gold weapon called ¡®Fate¡¯ to drop.


    It also dropped a few recipes¡­


    ¡°You¡¯ve killed Umbranse; did it drop a Poison recipe?¡±


    Lu Li held his breath, fearing a disappointing response.


    ¡°Poison¡­¡± Hachi Chan looked confused for a second before suddenly responding, ¡°I think there was a recipe called Deadly Poison. I haven¡¯t had the chance to sell it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great. How about you sell it to me?¡± Lu Li was overjoyed, as she did indeed have the Deadly Poison.


    It seemed that Hachi Chan had stockpiled a treasure trove. Lu Li was glad that he had accepted her.


    Hachi Chan rummaged through her backpack for a while before producing the recipe.


    ¡°Does your backpack really have that many things in it?¡± Sesame Rice Ball had always been curious, having seen Hachi Chan rummage through her backpack like that more than once.


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s so much stuff. I have 4 backpacks with 16 spaces that are all full. I can¡¯t fit anything more into storage either.¡± Hachi Chan looked depressed.


    Sixteen-space backpacks?? How frustrating. Lu Li and the others were still using the 12-space backpacks that March Rain had sewn, which already put them ahead of the regular players. However, all of their backpacks combined wouldn¡¯t have been enough for the quest expert.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of losing your equipment?¡± Sesame Rice Ball asked with concern.


    ¡°Nope, I did a quest that awarded me with an attribute that prevents items from dropping,¡± Hachi Chan replied with pride.


    ¡°She¡¯s child of the System, she has to be,¡± Lu Li thought to himself.


    There was a very humble NPC called Cerellean Whiteclaw who resided by the Black Sea Coast. Despite his docile nature, he wasn¡¯t one to be underestimated, as he was one of the first Elite Druids to be trained by Malfurion. When the Well of Eternity exploded, Cerellean lost his beloved and had never recovered since. If he eventually managed to move past his sorrow, he could become as strong as Brother Frandral Staghelm.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, there would be a day when Cerellean Whiteclaw would suddenly emerge.


    In two years, Cerellean Whiteclaw would fight the Dark Dragon Princess Onyxia, on a day that would become known as Twillight Gloom. In the end, the Druid would be wounded, giving the Dark Dragon Princess an opportunity to escape.


    He was the one that could give players the attribute that would prevent any items from dropping upon death. This included anything the player was wearing or storing in their backpacks.


    Unfortunately, this attribute was only given to certain players. After Lu Li left the Novice village, he had tried to gain it, but was rejected, because he was not a Druid.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need two rare materials. I only have Jade Spider Webs with me.¡±


    Lu Li only had two Jade Spider Webs left, but he no longer had a use for them apart from helping out Hachi Chan.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve already prepared the materials. Let me find them,¡± she said, before frowning and diving back into her backpack.


    ¡°Show me if you have any other rare materials; I still need quite a few of them for an equip,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Alright, if you need them, you can have them.¡± Hachi Chan was also a generous person.


    ¡°Can everyone not look at me like that? I¡¯ll pay for them.¡±


    Lu Li broke out into a sweat. Everyone was staring at him as though he was cheating this little girl.


    ¡°Ah, I found the Jade Spider Web. I remember now ¨C I traded Variant Scorpion Eggs for these.¡±


    Hachi Chan proudly held out the Jade Spider Web.


    ¡°What? You traded Variant Scorpion Eggs for a Jade Spider Web?!¡± Lu Li almost threw-up blood.


    ¡°Little girl, can you please be a little more rational!?¡±


    Jade Spider Webs were a fairly uncommon, low-level Instance Dungeon drop, so they were worth about 10 gold each. Variant Spider Eggs on the other hand were completely different. There weren¡¯t many scorpion bosses, nor were there any Instance Dungeon that dropped them. Their value was so high that as of now, a single egg was worth 200 gold. Lu Li also needed Variant Scorpion Eggs for his Supreme Ring upgrade, so one could only imagine his reaction when he heard that she had traded them for Jade Spider Webs.


    ¡°Are they valuable?¡± Hachi Chan thought for a moment before continuing, ¡°I think a lady gave one to me for helping her catch a scorpion¡­ Hey, I think I still have another!¡±


    She then buried her head into her bag again and continued rummaging.


    The others had incredulous expressions on their faces.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li was torturously asking himself who it was that really experienced had rebirth? His achievements almost seemed tiny when compared to hers.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been holding onto this for too long,¡± said Hachi Chan, as she handed the Variant Scorpion Eggs to Lu Li. ¡°My backpack still contains a few more rare materials; do you have any other special requests?¡±


    ¡°Take them all out and I¡¯ll help you appraise their value. If you ever want anything, tell me and we¡¯ll work something out. Never, ever trade rare materials for it. There are some rare materials that are more valuable than Silver equipment.¡± Lu Li felt heartbroken for her, upon seeing her simple-mindedness.


    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t trade often. I just wanted the Jade Spider Web to make the equipment,¡± Hachi Chan weakly rebutted, as she accepted Lu Li¡¯s offer and began to take out her rare materials.


    All her cloth-related items were given to March Rain, as she was a Tailor.


    All her meat-related items were split between them all, as most players would end up learning Cooking.


    Everything else that was left behind would need to be individually analyzed.


    ¡°Arcane Branches ¨C these must be pretty good. I also bought some ores and gems; you can have them.¡± Hachi Chan gave these directly to Lu Li. They were supposed to be ingredients to be used in forging Umbranse¡¯s Staff.


    ¡°I¡¯ll buy the other ingredients and work out the payments after the equipment has been made.¡±


    Lu Li took a moment to calculate that they already had the two, most important materials. The other materials were quite inexpensive and would only cost a few gold. Altogether, the materials for this Silver Magic Staff would be worth 20 to 30 gold.


    The price gap between a Steel and Silver equipment was quite obvious.


    ¡°When would be a good time?¡± Hachi Chan was looking forward to receiving her new equipment.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t learnt Forging yet, so it¡¯ll be a few days,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even learnt it yet and you¡¯re promising to forge someone else¡¯s item? Are you drunk?¡± Azure Sea Breeze immediately began to insult him. Wandering seemed to agree as well. If they both agreed on something, then it had to be true, right?


    Lu Li ignored them and continued to expectantly watch Hachi Chan, as she rummaged through her backpack.

 177 Sesame Rice Ball Is Also Pretty Smar

    Lu Li ignored them and looked at Hachi Chan expectantly as she continued to rummage through her bag.


    Hachi Chan was a treasure trove, a real-life version of Doraemon.


    The materials that Lu Li needed were far too rare and were required in too great a quantity, so it would take a long time to gather them. To suddenly find someone who had quite a few rare materials filled him with hope.


    It took Hachi Chan a whole half an hour to take out all of her rare materials.


    Apart from the Variant Scorpion Egg that she had given Lu Li and the 2 rare materials that could be used to create the Magic Staff, she had taken out another 7 rare materials.


    This meant that she had obtained 10 rare materials just from doing quests. There were a few people bragging about receiving rare materials from quests, as they all felt that they were very lucky. However, that was because they hadn¡¯t met Hachi Chan.


    This girl was completely dedicated to her quests.


    No wonder why Dawn was so acclaimed ¨C one could achieve great things through any way of playing.


    Of the 7 new rare materials, 2 were the same grade as the Variant Scorpion Egg and could be sold for 100-200 gold. The other ones were more common and would fetch around 20-30 gold each.


    The three rarest ones were worth about 150 gold each, while the others were worth about 30 gold each. That meant Lu Li needed to pay Hachi Chan nearly 600 gold coins.


    Lu Li was actually unable to purchase them all immediately.


    Hachi Chan never thought that her materials would be so valuable.


    ¡°No way, are they really worth this much?¡± Wandering felt a bit dizzy.


    ¡°If you want to make equipment with a Mold, you¡¯ll definitely need at least one or two materials. For example, the Jade Spider Webs can be used to make Silver grade equipment, Gold grade equipment, and maybe even Epic grade equipment. Otherwise, why do you think the big guilds would want to hoard these things?¡± Lu Li explained.


    Rare materials didn¡¯t have levels or grades ¨C this was a common saying. However, there was another saying that rare materials were simply priceless!


    ¡°Let¡¯s pay for it together. How can we let you take all the goodies for yourself? We won¡¯t take any of your 26 rare materials though,¡± Wandering said.


    By saying this, he acknowledged that it was fine for Lu Li to privately keep what he had already.


    ¡°Sure, but we¡¯ll put them together. In future, if anyone needs anything, just take it,¡± Lu Li agreed.


    ¡°Half price, half price,¡± Wandering hurriedly corrected him.


    ¡°Big brother Lu Li, is there nothing you need?¡± Hachi Chan felt a bit disappointed. She felt that she had quite a few rare materials, but he unexpectedly didn¡¯t need any of them.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you give me the Variant Scorpion Egg? If it wasn¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have even known where to find one. Thank you, Hachi Chan,¡± Lu Li said as he patted her head joyfully.


    ¡°What else do you need? Tell us and we¡¯ll look out for them,¡± Wandering asked.


    ¡°I need two Lava Essences, one Jade Statue and one Amber Crystal,¡± Lu Li replied. After doing some mental calculations, he felt a bit scared.


    ¡°What on earth are you making to need so many rare materials?¡± For the rest of the party who had only learned what Molds were today, none of them could understand why Lu Li needed so many rare materials.


    Two Lava Essences, one Jade Statute, one Variant Scorpion Egg, five Eternal Frozen Shards, one Plague Shard, one Barbaric Blood, one Amber Crystal and a Steel grade Magic Staff as a Magic Vessel. These were the materials Lu Li required to upgrade the Supreme One Ring to LV3. Any ordinary person would shiver upon seeing those requirements.


    In Lu Li¡¯s ¡®past life¡¯, Azure Sea Breeze hadn¡¯t been able to upgrade it to LV3 even after a year.


    In contrast, Lu Li had superhumanly managed to gather more than half of the materials in a month.


    ¡°To make a really strong piece of equipment. And yeah, it does need quite a lot of materials.¡±


    Lu Li thought for a moment before deciding to reply ambiguously.


    The fact that he couldn¡¯t completely trust everyone was only a small part of the reason. The main reason was that he wanted to have two identities, so the less people knew, the better.


    ¡°Rare materials are incredibly hard to find and I haven¡¯t even heard of the ones you listed before.¡± Wandering turned to look at Sesame Rice Ball and asked, ¡°Rice Ball, did your guild have these things?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really pay attention to these sorts of things, but I think they had a Jade Statue. It was quite beautiful, so I still remember it.¡±


    Sesame Rice Ball apologetically smiled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can win one from Hornet¡¯s Nest next time,¡± Lu Li said as he licked his lips. He was almost tempted to find Hornet¡¯s Nest and fight him immediately.


    However, he knew that the possibility of this was extremely small. Although Hornet¡¯s Nest liked to fight, he wasn¡¯t an idiot. How could he have any hope of winning against Lu Li who was superior in skills, equipment and level?


    ¡°I have an idea for you to get rare materials.¡±


    Although Sesame Rice Ball had stayed silent, he had been paying attention the whole time and gave his opinion now.


    ¡°Oh, do you have a way?¡± Lu Li was quite curious.


    ¡°You can issue a quest at the Mercenary Hall. You can trade with money, equipment, boosting, helping with quests, helping with levelling up. Anything, really¡­¡± Sesame Rice Ball paused before awkwardly adding, ¡°Actually, most people don¡¯t even know what rare materials are used for.¡±


    Lu Li felt as if he had suddenly been shocked awake and he slapped the table as he stood up.


    He could issue out quests for rare materials!


    To be honest, he couldn¡¯t be blamed for overlooking this fact. In his ¡®past life¡¯, he had joined the game half a year after its release. By that time, almost everyone knew what rare materials were used for, so no one would simply give them to anyone else.


    However, it was completely different now!


    Even those who were at the top of the level rankings weren¡¯t very sure about how to use rare materials. This was even more so for ordinary players.


    Although it wasn¡¯t very likely for rare materials to drop, there was still a certain chance.


    Doing quests like Hachi Chan, opening treasure chests, fishing and spin-the-wheel lotteries all had a probability of giving rare materials.


    ¡°Thanks everyone.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t wait to post up the quest and he quickly said, ¡°Sea Breeze, go help the Drizzle Court with the Instance Dungeon. I¡¯ll go and issue the quest, then clear my PK Points. The rest of you can go and clear the Elite-level Deathmines Instance Dungeon.¡±


    There were still six other members apart from him and Azure Sea Breeze. As for how to organise the remaining six of them, that was up to Wandering. Without Lu Li around, he would be in charge of leading the team.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t strict about them clearing the Instance Dungeon. After all, they still needed time to adjust to each other.


    After exiting the Tavern, he headed straight for the Mercenary Hall. He spent one gold coin to hang up a quest and paid a fee of two gold coins per day to list it at the top.


    If he wanted to be even more extravagant with his money, he could even spend 50 gold coins to broadcast it hourly in the World Channel.


    Quest: Can help clear Private Instance Dungeons and guarantee 100% success. Can help clear Wilderness Bosses with team with the option of buying any exquisite equipment. Requested Reward: Rare materials (quantity and type negotiable), long-term quest, Publisher: Lu Li.


    Lu Li was going all out for rare materials. He only lacked a sign: ¡°Selling body for rare materials¡±.


    After listing the quest, Lu Li contentedly went to receive some Bounty Quests.

 178 Killing a Homicidal Demon

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s him, the top of the rankings, 11 PK Points.¡±


    From when Lu Li had logged on, there had been people eyeing him. After all, it was his fault that he was at the top of the PK Rankings, which was watched even more closely than the Level Rankings. This was because there was nothing too interesting on the Level Rankings, whereas the PK Rankings were shrouded in mystery and had a sense of bloodiness and battle.


    Lu Li was felt like a monkey in a zoo. He was incredibly relieved that he hadn¡¯t forgotten to put on his Bandanna.


    ¡°It¡¯s just killing 11 people; it¡¯s not a big deal. Even killing a hundred wouldn¡¯t be a problem for me.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t quite like the feeling of being watched, but he was an exception. Most people enjoyed being eyed by others like a celebrity.


    ¡°11 PK Points aren¡¯t that had to get rid of, but would you really dare to walk around with those 11 PK Points?¡± someone immediately retorted back.


    Indeed, gaining 11 PK Points was a simple task, which could be accomplished by casually killing 11 people. For those who were a bit more shameless, they could even kill players with Trade Professions. Getting hundreds of PK Points in a day wouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    However, this wasn¡¯t worth the risk, because they would be pursued by swarms of Bounty Hunters.


    If one had many PK Points, being killed would result in them dropping 3 pieces of equipment and being automatically sent to the jail. There, they would wait for their PK Points to be slowly cleared at 1 point per hour.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the main thing. Do you see those people over there, the Milky Way Fleet?¡± someone said as they pointed at some idiots who were trying to unsuccessfully hide.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Milky Way Fleet that have recently become renowned for their brazenness. They formed a team to clear Bounty Quests? They¡¯re way too shameless!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much,¡± the other person smugly said. ¡°Their boss was killed by this Number 1189 guy¡­¡±


    ¡°No way, the Milky Way Fleet¡¯s idiot boss is always training with a bunch of people. Why would he be so bored as to accept a Bounty Quest? If you even go near that place, you¡¯ll immediately be mobbed.¡±


    Perhaps this brother had suffered from that before and he vehemently spoke out.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re useless. Number 1189 killed him with hundreds of people around. That scene was the epitome of ¡®taking a life from a thousand miles away as if taking something out from a bag¡¯.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know anyone from the Milky Way Fleet, but he knew that there were many people who hated him. He hurriedly accepted a few Bounty Quests then entered into Stealth.


    ¡°Goddamit, this is way too wretched. How can he just avoid battle like this? Where was the massive fight I was expecting?¡± the spectators dissatisfiedly yelled.


    The people from the Milky Way Fleet turned green. They had waited for so long and yet, their target had simply gone into Stealth and left.


    ¡°Check the radar, are you pigs?¡± The spectators were adamant on watching a good fight and began to give ideas. There were even people walking around, trying to find Lu Li.


    This was unacceptable for a story-plot. There had been a massive build-up to the climax, but in the critical moment, the main character had run off.


    Lu Li had long since exited the Mercenary Hall. This time, he didn¡¯t leave the city, but went to the Teleportation Point.


    He paid 2 gold coins to be sent to the Lakeside Town.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t feel distressed at the loss of 2 gold coins at all. He was about to face a homicidal demon.


    When he had accepted the Bounty Quest, the No.3542 person had 4 PK Points, which had now grown to 8 PK points. He was definitely killing players with Trade Professions, for his points to be increasing so fast.


    Lu Li appeared at the Lakeside Town¡¯s Teleportation Channel.


    Some players liked to take the boat, while others who didn¡¯t like to waste time preferred to be directly sent there. Lu Li was evidently the latter.


    From where he stood, the Redridge Mountains could be seen to the east and the clear, still, blue lake could be seen to the west. It was a beautiful scene.


    This place was paradise for Trade Profession players and was the top location for sightseers.


    The lake was abundant with fish, which included the delicious Spotted Sunfish that were renowned for their amazing taste. Spotted Sunfish that was cooked by Cooking professions could increase Constitution by 1-5 points.


    The Redridge Mountains were also abundant in mines and many Miners hoped to make a fortune there.


    Lu Li looked at the radar and found that his prey was on a mountain. He was probably killing Miners.


    Killing Trade Profession players was one of the most despicable acts that could be committed.


    The system gave twice the amount of PK Points for killing Trade Profession players.


    It was still early on in the game, but in another few months, the Trade Profession players would form the Trade Profession Alliance. It was a massive organisation that spanned both factions and was even more powerful than the Mage and Thief Alliances.


    They would issue bounties for high prices and would sometimes even place bounties on their target¡¯s guilds.


    By the time Lu Li arrived, the person already had 10 PK Points and was still killing Trade Profession players.


    ¡°Girly, don¡¯t run. I¡¯ll let you go if you let me touch you,¡± a Paladin with the word ¡®Punish¡¯ above his head laughed wildly.


    ¡°We have a guild, so you shouldn¡¯t push us too far,¡± a female player huffed as she ran.


    ¡°Guild? Don¡¯t be stupid. Would they become enemies with Very Vulgar Very Violent over useless players like you?¡± Paladins were slightly faster than normal players and even more so Trade Profession players. He quickly caught up and smashed his hammer into the Trade Profession player¡¯s back, clearing half of her HP bar.


    ¡°Apologies, doing a Bounty Quest.¡±


    A voice floated through the air and suddenly, the attacker stopped moving.


    It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to stop, but that he couldn¡¯t move anymore.


    Paladins were a Plate Armour profession that could heal themselves. They also had skills that could reduce damage, so Thieves normally avoided fighting Paladins.


    However, the unexpected had happened ¨C a Thief had ambushed a Paladin and had dealt shocking damage. The Paladin¡¯s HP began to rapidly fall.


    ¡°Who the hell are you? You dare to kill someone from Very Vulgar Very Violent?¡± The Paladin despaired.


    Mentioning his guild when he had the upper hand was a display of power.


    However, now that his life was in someone else¡¯s hands, mentioning his guild showed how scared he was.


    Very Vulgar Very Violent was a second-rate guild with a bad reputation. Their members were all shameless and committed despicable deeds, such as killing Trade Profession players.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t pay any attention to what he said; his words were useless. Even if they were of great importance, Lu Li still wouldn¡¯t let him go.


    If he killed this guy, all of his PK Points would pretty much be cleared.


    ¡°Just you wait¡­¡±


    Antagonists loved to utter this line before they lost.


    Lu Li picked up three pieces of equipment from the ground and was surprised to find that they were all quite good. They were all Steel grade equips with decent Special Effects.


    ¡°Um, thank you. We would have lost EXP again otherwise.¡±


    A Trade Profession player stepped forwards. She was a Mage, but wore a Trade Profession badge, showing that she would not participate in battles.


    She would not deal damage to monsters and monsters would not attack her for no reason.


    It was incredibly difficult for these sorts of players to level up. They could only level up by relying on quests from Trade Profession NPCs. Of course, they could also find people to boost them or help them level up. That was usually what the rich Trade Profession players did.


    ¡°I was just doing a Bounty Quest,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Regardless, you helped us, so thank you,¡± the female player sincerely said. She was a Gnome and looked quite small.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll accept your thanks.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t want to cause a ruckus.


    After clearing his PK Points, he planned on going back to his Engineering Laboratory to produce the Maintenance Robots. This would allow him to level up his skills, earn money, and earn even more money.


    ¡°Can we hire you to protect us?¡± the little Gnome hesitantly asked.

 179 Thieves Are Killers

    ¡°Sorry, I have many things to do,¡± Lu Li refused.


    In truth, he sympathised with these Trade Profession players. Perhaps it was because of their hobby, or because they were sick of fighting, but they just wanted to peacefully play the game. And yet, other people simply wouldn¡¯t leave them alone.


    ¡°Oh, never mind then.¡± The female Gnome and her friends all looked quite disappointed.


    After all, this was a game and levelling-up was the most important thing. No one would be willing to sacrifice their levelling time to protect a few Trade Profession players for a bit of money.


    ¡°However, if you issue Bounty Quests, I can kill people for you, as long as you pay a fair price.¡±


    Lu Li smiled under his Bandanna and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about not being able to afford it ¨C if you know any other Trade Profession players who are also being bullied, you can pool together your money. Once the bullies have been killed enough times, they won¡¯t dare to bully you anymore.¡±


    If the Trade Profession players could see Lu Li¡¯s face, they would have discovered the evil behind his smile.


    However, he didn¡¯t feel bad about this at all. He could only admit that this devil had revealed its fangs in advance.


    Trade Profession players were quite weak individually, but once they established their alliance, they would become incredibly powerful and influential. With their wealth, they would even be able to destroy quite a few second-rate guilds.


    Lu Li¡¯s words sounded like thunder in these Trade Profession players¡¯ ears.


    This was especially so for the female Gnome. Her eyes lit up with fire and burned so passionately that Lu Li almost didn¡¯t dare to look at her directly.


    ¡°What¡¯s your price?¡±


    ¡°I just need rare materials. Any rare materials.¡±


    ¡°I have a Redridge Gem in my bag. Is that alright?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even need to ask who I want to kill?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter ¨C everyone¡¯s the same.¡± Killing anyone was fine for Lu Li ¨C it was a Redridge Gem.


    Although it was also a mineral resource, Redridge Gems were much more precious than the Eternal Frozen Shards that Lu Li had bought from the Exchange Hall. Not only were their drop rates incredibly low, but they were also region-specific to the Redridge Mountains and couldn¡¯t be found anywhere else.


    Moreover, Lu Li wanted to get on the good side of the Trade Profession Alliance.


    Hearing Lu Li¡¯s words, the Trade Profession players all saw how confident and powerful this masked man was.


    Everyone¡¯s the same!


    This was an incredibly arrogant and confident statement.


    The female Gnome breathed in deeply and loudly declared, ¡°I want to kill the Guildmaster of that person¡¯s guild. He wants to chase us out of the Redridge Mountains and has already killed us once today.¡±


    ¡°You guys issue a Bounty Quest and I¡¯ll accept it. If you¡¯re alright with it, you can give the rare material to me now.¡± Lu Li thought for a moment and made a proposal.


    ¡°Crystal, don¡¯t trust him.¡± One of her friends hesitantly grabbed her arm.


    What if he took the goods but didn¡¯t deliver on his end?


    However, the female Gnome shook her friend off and handed the fiery-red gemstone to Lu Li. She resolutely said, ¡°My name is Half-life Crystal. I¡¯ll make sure that those scumbags never look down on us Trade Profession players again.¡±


    Lu Li looked at her closely and realised that she was Half-life Crystal ¨C one of the three heads of the future Trade Profession Alliance.


    It was no wonder that she had so much charm and charisma.


    She was a legend within the game who proved to the players that people could become great because of their dreams.


    It seemed that fate had brought them together. There were hundreds of thousands of Trade Profession players, but the one he had saved was her.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name? How will we find you in future?¡± Half-life Crystal hurriedly asked, seeing that Lu Li was about to leave.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the name; I¡¯m not wearing this mask just to seem mysterious,¡± Lu Li replied. ¡°You can create a chatroom and I¡¯ll stay in there anonymously. If you need anything, you can message me within the chatroom. Also, if you put ¡®Trade Profession¡¯ in your Bounty Quest name, I¡¯ll keep an eye out for it.¡±


    Bounty Quests issued by the Trade Profession Alliance all had ¡®Trade Profession¡¯ at the beginning. This was something that Lu Li was used to from his ¡®past life¡¯.


    There were only two people in the chatroom, as Half-life Crystal didn¡¯t bother to add her other friends. Lu Li became her own personal resource.


    Lu Li returned to Astrana and after handing in his Bounty Quests, his PK Points were all cleared except for one. He would simply get rid of this by staying online.


    There was no notice yet from the Quest he had issued. At the very least, no one had asked any questions about it. After all, the contact person for it was Wandering.


    ¡°I put up the Bounty Quest. Great god, when will you be starting?¡± Half-life Crystal¡¯s voice rang in the chatroom.


    ¡°Hmm, in a few minutes¡­¡± Lu Li was currently making ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯. With the resources he had left, he could make another two.


    Although producing them didn¡¯t give EXP anymore, every single one of them in the Exchange Hall had sold out since he had uploaded his video to the forums. On average, he could earn 25 gold from one of them, so he wanted to reap as much of the benefits as possible before other players began to jump in.


    ¡°Can you record yourself killing him?¡± Half-life Crystal tentatively asked.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Lu Li immediately replied.


    After finishing making the two of the ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯, Lu Li once again stepped into the Mercenary Hall. He no longer had any PK Points and Number 1189 was now just a legend.


    The Bounty Quest system and the PK system were completely different.


    Lu Li looked through the available Bounty Quests. There weren¡¯t many of them, so he quickly found the one he was looking for.


    Curtainfall, Warrior, Guildmaster of Very Vulgar Very Violent.


    After accepting the Quest, Lu Li spent 50 silver coins to check where his target was.


    There was good news and there was bad news.


    The good news was that his target wasn¡¯t far from him. The bad news was that his target was in Astrana, which was a Safe Region.


    Lu Li found him in the Tavern, where he was making advances on a female player.


    The female player¡¯s looked decent and wasn¡¯t reciprocating his advances, but wasn¡¯t rejecting them either. Evidently, she was playing hard to get.


    ¡°Do you know where their guildmembers train in Astrana?¡± Lu Li typed in the chatroom.


    ¡°Please wait for a bit, I¡¯ll ask someone.¡±


    Evidently, Half-life Crystal had allied with many players and quickly found Very Vulgar Very Violent¡¯s training spot.


    Ling Chen was very familiar with this place ¨C the Fire Scar Temple.


    Very Vulgar Very Violent had recently took in a group of low level players and were helping them level up in the Fire Scar Temple for a fee.


    It took Lu Li 10 or so minutes to get there and kill three players with decent equipment. After, this he stayed there to wait for their Guildmaster.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if Curtainfall would actually come. After all, it would be best for him to stay in the Tavern.


    Having their training spot being taken wasn¡¯t a big deal, but it would cause them to lose face.


    In front of his subordinates, immediately taking action as the boss would cement his position and power. As such, he gave up on flirting with the female player.


    He rushed over with tens of players following behind him.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the guy? Didn¡¯t you say he¡¯s still here?¡± Curtainfall¡¯s voice was quite loud and he spoke in a direct and commanding manner. Only by being strong and domineering could one control their subordinates, especially in a guild with a mix of good people and scumbags like his.


    ¡°He was here just then. Luckily, our defences were quite dense, so we only lost three players.¡±


    Lu Li turned on his video function and chose a good angle to record Curtainfall. He then stealthily approached him. From the video¡¯s perspective, it looked like Lu Li was simply doing what everyone else was doing.


    Curtainfall was a Warrior and his equipment was quite good. Lu Li had to keep some distance between himself and the other players in order to succeed in one blow. Luckily, Lu Li was quite patient.


    Perhaps Curtainfall felt that the attacker had left, but after waiting for a while, he began to walk around the training spot. He put on a big show of directing his subordinates to attack monsters and bragged about some mechanics of the game.


    It was a pity that he only had money and not much skill. Unless they were of a different profession, even the subordinates could tell how inexperienced and unknowledgeable he was.


    Luckily, he found a little Warrior.


    The little Warrior¡¯s skills were utter rubbish, but he had a sweet mouth. As soon as he saw Curtainfall, he immediately greeted his boss and flattered him.


    Curtainfall decided that he would properly teach this junior today.


    There weren¡¯t many monsters where they currently were, so he took the little Warrior a bit further away.


    Lu Li knew that his opportunity was here. When Curtainfall¡¯s MP was sucked dry by the Hellhounds, he sprang into action.

 180 Trade Profession Alliance

    Looking at the awe and respect written all over the little Warrior¡¯s face, Curtainfall felt quite pleased. As such, he lowered his guard and still had no idea what was going on even when Lu Li¡¯s Dagger stabbed into the back of his head.


    Stunned for 4 seconds¡­


    The little Warrior stared in shock at the masked Thief who had appeared behind his boss, unsure of what to do.


    Perhaps he was hoping that his godly Guildmaster would reveal his skills and destroy this Thief in a few hits.


    Lu Li looked at this Warrior¡¯s HP and saw that he had 2,600 points, which was essentially the same as most tanks. It seemed that this guy was afraid of dying and had added quite a lot of his stat points into Constitution.


    To be honest, Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure if he could finish him off before anyone else came over.


    If this guy had average skills and stalled for time, Lu Li would be forced to back off.


    After all, he was a Warrior, with Plate Armour and high Defence.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t worried. If he couldn¡¯t kill him, he would just run. As the profession with the greatest manoeuvrability, he was confident that he could escape with his life.


    Cheap Shot, Backstab, Ambush, Ultimate Skill Slit Throat.


    Not only did the max-level Slit Throat deal a Critical Hit, it also triggered a Bleed effect.


    Lu Li¡¯s attacks flowed like water. His 2 Daggers continuously flitted through the air, like two butterflies dancing in blood.


    It was said that while Mages¡¯ skills were dazzling, Thieves¡¯ skills were poignant and beautiful.


    With Curtainfall¡¯s thunderous howls, the scene seemed even more poignant and beautiful.


    The little Warrior found that his boss had very limited abilities and couldn¡¯t even retaliate. As such, he Charged towards Lu Li, but was easily dodged by a sidestep.


    Backhand Backstab! As Lu Li stepped out of the way, he placed himself in the best position for a Backhand Backstab.


    Although it was activated with only 2 combo points, it still dealt over 300 damage.


    The Warrior¡¯s HP fell to less than 1/3 of his original. The other players from Very Vulgar Very Violent were all too far away, so most of them had no time to react and rush over. Only about 8-9 seconds had passed, from when Lu Li started attacking to almost reducing Curtainfall to critical HP.


    Lu Li had used up all of his skills, but he continued to circle around the Warrior and attack. Although the little Warrior was an absolute noob, being hit by him would be quite troublesome.


    When Curtainfall was finally able to react, he didn¡¯t retaliate, but instead took out a Potion.


    ¡°Boss, attack!¡±


    The little Warrior was chasing Lu Li around and thought that he had the upper hand. He actually started to direct his boss to help him kill Lu Li.


    Curtainfall was a tycoon, so he wasn¡¯t completely useless. In the real world, he had a medium-sized corporation. However, he was an idiot in the game. He simply didn¡¯t know how to retaliate against this Thief who was running circles around him.


    Despite this, he still had some sense of judgment. He could tell that if he was able to hold out for a few more seconds, he would be safe once his subordinates hurried over.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was wrong, but would Lu Li give him the chance to drink a Potion?


    Lu Li¡¯s Dagger in his left hand flashed as he stabbed it towards Curtainfall¡¯s eyes, shocking him. He couldn¡¯t help but quickly turn his head, and as such, couldn¡¯t complete the action of drinking the Potion.


    This was the strength of the Manual mode: players could freely exploit their opponent¡¯s weaknesses.


    Curtainfall¡¯s equipment was quite good, but he was a tanky Warrior with crappy skills. That was Lu Li¡¯s assessment of him. When he dodged the strike to his eyes and tried to drink the Potion again, Lu Li¡¯s Shadowstrike was once again ready.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 95%, caused 300% Skill Damage, target stunned for 2 seconds.


    Lu Li added in a normal attack and with a ¡®puchi¡¯, the Dagger stabbed into Curtainfall¡¯s heart. The Warrior with more than 2,000 HP sank to the ground, defeated.


    All of the Healers who had rushed over cancelled the healing spells they were preparing. None of them expected that someone could slaughter their boss in a mere ten seconds.


    The shock of this was fatal. After killing Curtainfall, Lu Li picked up the equipment on the ground, then entered into Stealth as he left. Surprisingly, no one tried to stop him.


    The tens of guild members looked around at each other, like soulless puppets.


    Lu Li had completely overturned what they knew about the game. The noobs who thought they were strong had finally met a true expert.


    As Lu Li left, he muttered, ¡°A motley crowd¡­,¡± which stabbed into their hearts like a thorn. They simply had no courage to make any kind of rebuttal.


    They were only good for bullying Trade Profession players.


    A few minutes later, a thread appeared on the forums.


    The title was very simple: Trade Profession players can get angry too ¨C this is what happens to those who kill Trade Profession players.


    The first scene was of the target. Evidently, this video was recorded with the intention of displaying it.


    Very Vulgar Very Violent was just a small guild that was only famous because of how shameless its members were.


    And now, their Guildmaster had been killed.


    After some editing, the clip lasted for 30 seconds in total. The masked assassin in black appeared like a ghost and cleanly killed the Guildmaster, then left with a mocking ¡°A motley crowd¡±.


    Although this clip was quite short, it showed everything that was important: Very Vulgar Very Violent¡¯s guild badge, Curtainfall¡¯s HP and the players who had been madly rushing over to help.


    The thread¡¯s views skyrocketed. Even Half-life Crystal, who had uploaded the video, didn¡¯t expect such a massive response.


    This was all because of human nature. People all enjoyed watching a good fight, and revenge killings were especially exciting. Moreover, this thread had a video and it was well-shot at that.


    Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Lu Li, but most people just felt as though this Thief was skilled and had high Attack. He wasn¡¯t particularly amazing.


    This was mostly because of how poorly Curtainfall had performed. Most people felt that if it was them, they would have been able to kill him too.


    They also saw the deeper meaning behind posting this thread.


    Hiring Hitmen?


    Since when did Trade Profession players become so high-profile?


    What was even more shocking was that a new thread had soon appeared.


    A player called Half-life Crystal announced that it was her who had hired the Thief to kill Curtainfall, and although this was the first time, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be the last.


    Trade Profession players are like sheep that anyone can bully, but we should band together and create a place for ourselves in the game world.


    We just want to live!


    Countless people reposted this message and soon, it reached 100,000 reposts.


    On that day, the Trade Profession Players Alliance, or Trade Profession Alliance for short, was established. It had been established two months earlier than what Lu Li had remembered.


    ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± Despite her busyness, Half-life Crystal made some time to thank Lu Li.


    She was indeed a shrewd girl who knew and remembered where all of this had come from.


    Before Lu Li¡¯s assassination, even if there were people yelling for Trade Profession players to band together, they would simply be ignored. Only after Lu Li¡¯s assassination did everyone realise that the game could be played in this way.


    ¡°If you want to thank me, you can help me find some low-grade materials for Forging,¡± Lu Li straightforwardly said.

 181 Thief-Style

    There were a number low-grade materials that were difficult to buy, not because their price was too expensive, but because it was too cheap.


    For example, the low-grade rocks and metals obtained from mining could sell for 5 copper per set of 20. At this price, most players would just throw them away to save inventory space.


    Players who had just started Forging could level-up their profession by forging equips. In order to advance, they first had to train by forging low-grade rocks. Since these materials were not available on the market, they had to manually mine them in caves, which was a big waste of time.


    Lu Li¡¯s request could not be any easier, so Half-Life Crystal immediately accepted it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll put up a quest for low-grade rocks in the Mercenary Hall. Just make sure you get people to do it.¡± Lu Li decided to continue hiding his identity.


    ¡°Alright, if I need help again I can come find you, right?¡±


    Theoretically, there were many other experts besides Lu Li that wouldn¡¯t mind working as a paid hitman. As long as a decent amount of gold was being offered, most players would happily accept it.


    For some reason, Half-Life Crystal had developed a strong sense of trust towards her lifesaver.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter ¨C I can kill anyone.¡±


    That same sentence had been ringing in her ears, ever since she had heard Lu Li say it.


    She felt a sense of safety when she was on his side, which gave her the confidence to fearlessly face any challenge.


    ¡°Like I said before, as long as you can afford it,¡± Lu Li said impatiently.


    The newly crafted Maintenance Robot fell apart in his hands again because the material inside had overheated. This was his fourth failed attempt.


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll have the rare materials ready.¡±


    Half-Life Crystal was not angry. She actually respected the attitude and confidence that only an expert would have.


    Lu Li was very anxious because he didn¡¯t know how to break the news of Lu Xin¡¯s sickness to her.


    His attempt had failed again.


    ¡°No wonder there were barely players that specialised in Engineering. Goddamn useless profession,¡± he thought.


    Lu Li decided to stop trying and take a break.


    In the meantime, he chose to go and clear his PVP points.


    He had gained 4 PVP points after helping Half-Life Crystal, but was able to get rid of one point while being online.


    Three PVP points could easily be cleared through a PVP quest, so he decided to enter the Warsong Canyon.


    There were many players, NPCs and large monsters in the Warsong Canyon. The drop and EXP rates seemed pretty decent.


    Lu Li decided to train here and use up his double EXP time for the day.


    A team Evil Faction players were fighting Evil-Eyed Antelopes, which were the most common monster in the Warsong Canyon. However, it was unclear whether they were fortunate or not to be facing a pair of Elite Grade Monsters.


    Two LV20 Elite Grade Monsters would be a headache for a small team of 5 players.


    Even Lu Li would probably avoid them most of the time.


    Luckily, the five players had superior gear and decent skills. After fighting for a while, they successfully defeated one of them, leaving the other at half HP.


    At this very moment, the healer who was standing at the back screamed. Everyone turned to look, only to be met with the scene of their healer being slain by a masked Thief.


    The attacker had managed to kill a healer in two hits?!


    Even though the healer was damaged from the monsters, it was still unbelievable that someone was able to do that.


    With the healer gone, the Thief who was wearing a black bandana quickly turned his attention towards the Warlock. He activated his Shadow Cloak and tanked the incoming damage from the Mage and Druid as he killed him.


    This mysterious person was Lu Li, who had been hiding nearby for a while now.


    After killing the Healer and Warlock, Lu Li picked up their gear and Gale-Stepped into Stealth.


    Tanking the damage from an Elite Grade Monster without healing was almost impossible and the Protection Paladin followed his team members¡¯ fate.


    The aggro of the Evil-Eyed Antelope quickly switched onto the Mage, who was dealing the most damage.


    The poor Mage was decimated before he could even apologise to the Elite Grade Monster.


    Just like that, the 5-man party was quickly demolished like a piece of cake. The remaining Antelope recklessly charged towards Lu Li and was eliminated as well.


    The gear he had picked up was average at best and could be sold for some pocket money in the Exchange Hall. However, the EXP he gained was surprisingly high.


    Besides that, Lu Li also gained Glory Points.


    Having negative Glory Points, he was unable to accept rare quests such as ¡°Destroy the Supplies¡± from NPCs. He was therefore determined to make his Glory Points positive again.


    A player was being chased in the forest nearby. He was clearly a skilled expert, but it was too bad that he was being attacked by people from the Light Faction.


    If he wasn¡¯t so skilled at escaping, he would¡¯ve died earlier.


    The people that were chasing him were determined to chop him into two.


    A shadow flashed past and before he could react, his was hit in the back of his head and was stunned immediately.


    Goddamn, what kind of speed is this?!


    Lu Li¡¯s speed boost came from his cloak active, which also allowed him to teleport behind his target.


    It didn¡¯t matter how skilled he was; a low-HP Berserker stood no chance.


    This was a frustrating way for him to die. However, the most frustrating thing was that his Two-handed Axe, which was his most-prized possession, had been dropped.


    The people in pursuit caught up and were left with nothing but a corpse.


    Warsong Canyon had unique terrain with vast, sweeping grounds that could be used for larger-scale team battles.


    A Shaman confidently screamed out a number, as he pulled his claws out from his opponent¡¯s body. It was the 6th person he had slain so far, and he expected many more to fall at his hands.


    But before he could even react, he felt a sharp pain in his back.


    Bloody Thieves, all they do is backstab people.


    Situations like these were perfect for Lu Li.


    He would pick on the weaklings and target those who could easily be killed within a few seconds. Why would he bother wasting time fighting difficult opponents?


    Hit and run ¨C Lu Li never gave his opponents an opportunity to seek revenge.


    He was a merciless killer hiding in the shadows, ready to strike.

 182 Playing For Both Sides

    After about two hours in the Warsong Canyon, Lu Li had managed to gain 200 Glory Points, which increased his total back up to -420.


    In doing this, he had not actually killed 245 people. Since the introduction of PVP, many people had managed to advance and receive a title. Even killing a Low-Ranked office would award more a single Glory Point.


    On average, killing a Low-Ranked Officer gave about 10 or so Glory points.


    Besides Glory Points, he had also accumulated quite a bit of gear from the corpses.


    Warsong Canyon doesn¡¯t give EXP or PVP points. As such, the gear that was dropped here was relatively better.


    Lu Li¡¯s bag had quickly been filled-up, so he was forced to return to the Outpost outside of the Warsong Canyon. There wasn¡¯t a Storage at the Outpost, but at least there was a Mailbox.


    After sorting through the gear in his bag, he mailed most of it to Shen Wansan.


    All of the gear that Lu Li mailed-off was decent, with most of it being slightly better than the gear of the Elite Teams in the larger guilds. If he gave all of it to Shen Wansan in bulk, he would be able to sell it at a higher price than at the Exchange Hall, while also avoiding the listing fees.


    ¡°Hehe, nice work big guy,¡± Shen Wansan quickly messaged.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lu Li gave a simply reply.


    ¡°I sent you the gold from the transaction we made last time. 200 gold,¡± Shen WanSan said.


    ¡°How come they sold for so much?!¡± Lu Li had only given him 20-30 Steel Grade equips and was surprised by the profit they had made.


    ¡°Great god, you are wise beyond comparison. As soon as you said that gold would drop in value, it dropped. I managed to avoid making a mistake because of you, so consider this a small gift of respect.¡±


    Some people were still hopeful and listed their gold at 1:$100 on the exchange forums. They were soon hit with the realisation that the gold value had declined.


    ¡°We¡¯re here to help each other. No worries,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly the great god that has been helping my business. If there¡¯s anything that Mr. Shen can help you with, don¡¯t be afraid to ask,¡± Shen Wansan offered, humbling himself.


    He wasn¡¯t just being a suck-up; Lu Li had actually given him a great deal of help.


    After yesterday¡¯s 3rd system update, Shen Wansan had opened a boutique shop which mainly stocked high-end items.Because of his advertising and the amount of stock, the opening had been extremely successful. They had managed to overpower most of the big companies in Astrana.


    More than half the stock was provided by Lu Li; mainly of the Steel-Grade equips he had offered were worthy of being featured.


    Most people kept their gear to themselves and didn¡¯t even have spares to sell.


    Lu Li thought for a second and asked, ¡°Can you get me rare materials?¡±


    ¡°Rare materials¡­¡± Shen Wansan laughed bitterly because Lu Li had asked for the rarest resource in the game.


    ¡°No?¡± Lu Li was disappointed.


    ¡°I do have some, just not that many. I¡¯ve been trying to store up on these as well.¡± Shen Wansan hesitated, then continued, ¡°Great god, if you really want some, I can give you half of mine.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Shen I think you misunderstood me,¡± Lu Li interrupted. ¡°I only need Amber Crystals, Lava Essence and Jade Statues. If you have any of these, then I¡¯m more than happy to offer a price or negotiate an exchange with other rare materials.¡±


    All Lu Li was focused on was upgrading his ring; he didn¡¯t care about anything else at the moment.


    ¡°I only have 1 Lava Essence and I haven¡¯t heard of the others,¡± Shen WanSan sighed in relief.


    He was scared that Lu Li would be greedy and ask for all the rare materials he¡¯d been storing up.


    Since he was so sociable and required connection for his business, he already knew about the value that rare materials had.


    From a different perspective, it could be said that rare materials were the future currency of Dawn. Common, Bronze and Steel Grade items were all low-tier trash compared to rare materials.


    Although he only had one Lava Essence, Lu Li was very pleased.


    ¡°Lava Essence is about 80 gold each I think. Do you want money or rare materials for exchange?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Haha, if this could be of help to the great god, then I¡¯m more than happy to give it to you for free,¡± Shen WanSan offered generously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t. If you could sell this to me it would help me a lot. We should keep business away from our private lives.¡±


    Lu Li was starting to get sick of his flattery. Ever since he had made money off Lu Li last time, he had been trying very hard to get close to him.


    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll just take it off the money you made from the gear you sent to me.¡±


    Shen Wansan knew when to back down and didn¡¯t force Lu Li to take it for free.


    ¡°That works. Please take notice of the three rare materials I mentioned before. Price is not a problem,¡± Lu Li said and ended the call.


    Shen Wan San sat in the break room of his boutique and ordered his employees to mail the goods, while wondering what Lu Li wanted to do with the rare materials.


    He had been very specific in what he wanted, so he must have been planning to do more than just stored them up.


    To Shen Wansan¡¯s understanding, there were a few Molds that had dropped in Dawn. However, even these only required one or two rare materials to create. The fact that Lu Li was asking for more than three meant that he needed them for something else.


    Unbeknownst to him, Lu Li¡¯s plans had been uncovered by a smart merchant.


    He was more troubled by the fact that he couldn¡¯t find anyone to kill.


    After returning to Warsong Canyon, he had been unable to find a target for ten or so minutes. He could only see players from the Light Faction.


    Many players from the Light Faction began to type taunts into the regional chat.


    ¡°Where are all the Horde Pigs?¡±


    Lu Li was surprised to meet someone he knew.


    This guy had come to the battle field just to brag ¨C Richy Rich.


    Not only was he bragging, his words were arrogantly over-the-top. He even included people¡¯s family in his insults.


    Lu Li was slightly ticked-off and wanted to chop him up, remembering the days when he had made him leave Star Moon Union.


    Unfortunately, there was a rule that prevented you from killing someone from the same Faction in battle.


    Lu Li pulled out Deception Orb from his bag.


    Undead. Thief. No Name.


    An Evil Faction player appeared in the place where Lu Li had been standing.


    With the Deception Orb, who cares if you¡¯re Light or Evil Faction? I¡¯ll kill them all.


    ¡°There¡¯s a Horde pig over here. Let¡¯s kill him.¡±


    Someone had coincidentally seen Lu Li and shouted for back up from his friends.


    Lu Li was only planning on killing Richy Rich; he didn¡¯t expect these noobs to come picking a fight.


    Instead of running away, he decided to fight them head on.

 183 Seeing a Lot of Money Once Again

    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to shamefully run away, so he could only push forwards and meet him with his dagger.


    The Druid that was approaching Lu Li was very worked up, but the Thief that he faced remained calm.


    Previously, when most players didn¡¯t have very many skills, Druids were considered to be very strong. They could attack, resist, heal and had many crowd control abilities. After learning Bear Form, Druids would even become resistant to crowd control.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t a player who only had a few skills. Compared to most other players, Lu Li¡¯s skills were numerous and ridiculously strong.


    As the Druid, Rising Bloody Ocean, charged forwards, Lu Li disappeared with Shadowmeld.


    Before he could even turn his head, he was placed into a stunned state by an attack from behind. By the time he was able to cancel his transformation and recover from the stun, Lu Li had already moved behind him to stun him again with Shadowstrike.


    Druids could use their Transformation skills to recover from stuns, but they were still subject to a cooldown.


    Experts would require a three second cooldown, while other players might require four to five seconds.


    What shocked Rising Bloody Ocean was that during this three second period, Lu Li had taken a quarter of his HP without using his ultimate ability.


    A Thief¡¯s Ultimate Skill dealt incredibly high damage. When other players with PVPed with a Thief, they would be most afraid of the Thief¡¯s Ultimate burst damage. If the Ultimate Skill managed to critically strike, you could only pray that you had enough HP to withstand it.


    These Ultimate Skills were a core part of the Thief Profession. If Lu Li was still holding onto his Ultimate Skill, Rising Bloody Ocean wouldn¡¯t be able to relax.


    A fireball then flew over and exploded into a shower of sparks on Lu Li, dealing over 70 damage.


    Magic Attacks had some force, so Lu Li was unable to cast Shadowstrike with a high skill completion.


    He glanced at the two other approaching players calmly, then cast Gale Steps and vanished from sight.


    ¡°Be careful everyone ¨C this is an expert Thief. He must be lurking in the vicinity, looking for an opportunity. We should stand back to back,¡± shouted Rising Bloody Ocean.


    The three players stood back to back for a few hours in fear.


    However, his statement was completely self-asserted. Lu Li had long since left, after seeing that they had taken up this impenetrable formation.


    It was crucial for a Thief to remain calm and patient. Despite this, a Thief should not waste time on an insignificant issue.


    Although contradictory, the former described quietly finding opportunities, while the latter encouraged selecting the right targets.


    This was a simple idea, but of course, its application depended on the player¡¯s objective.


    Killing was one objective. Killing for money was another.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really hate this group of players; he really only wanted to take their dropped equipment and make some money. However, this would have taken too much time, so he chose to go to his alternative target instead.


    It would be easier to kill a single cruel player, Lu Li thought, as he raised his head to see ¡°I Am Richy Rich¡±. He seemed like a good target. His body was carrying some ridiculously overpowered equipment, he was at a good level and he also had seven or eight followers behind him.


    They were probably a ten-man party. The missing two players were most likely Thieves or Druids in Stealth.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t take on a team like this, so he had to wait for an opportunity.


    Like a true Thief, he patiently followed behind them.


    I Am Richy Rich had been born with a silver spoon, so he had no respect for others. In contrast, Lu Li was disciplined from an early age by his parents.


    A party of five Evil Faction players entered into the view of I Am Richy Rich¡¯s party. When they saw that they had numbers disadvantage, they turned and attempted to leave.


    With a five-player difference, it was simply a hopeless battle.


    ¡°Go, do not let them leave.¡± I Am Richy Rich was clearly excited, as he waved his hand tyrannically.


    The five-man party¡¯s Shaman Healer flashed as he was successfully Sapped by a Thief. After this, their Mage was Sapped by the same Thief. Finally, a separate Thief Sapped their Paladin.


    It turned out that they had two Thieves who specialized in casting Sap.


    Of the five members, three of them were stunned. The rest of the members immediately began to attack the Thieves with all their strength.


    If they could kill one, they would break even. If they could kill two, then all would not be lost. They weren¡¯t going to go down without a fight.


    10 against 5!


    This was destined to be a doomed battle, even if the five players¡¯ skill was above average.


    But who would have thought that a new variable would appear? Lu Li was that new variable. He appeared behind the Light Faction¡¯s Priest and reversed the tides of the battle.


    I Am Richy Rich must have thought his chances of success were guaranteed, because he didn¡¯t leave anyone behind to protect their Priest.


    This gave Lu Li the means to deal a fatal blow.


    This Priest wasn¡¯t weak at all and his response to Lu Li¡¯s attacks was quite quick. He managed to mitigate some of Lu Li¡¯s Skill Completion. It was too bad that he was up against a 3-year PVP Thief expert. Although the Priest¡¯s original dodge reduced Lu Li¡¯s Skill Completion, it left his back wide open.


    Blood sprayed everywhere and he was left stunned for two seconds.


    A nearby player attempted to support the Priest with a Shadow Bolt that hit Lu Li for over 100 damage.


    This time, Lu Li didn¡¯t retreat and instead activated Shadow Cloak. He planned to kill the Priest, even if he had to tank a hail of arrows.


    The moment the five-man party saw Lu Li, their spirits were immediately lifted.


    However, their hopes were quickly dashed as they realized that Lu Li was only one person. They were still at a numbers disadvantage.


    What Lu Li did next was completely beyond their expectations. They had no idea how he had done it, but he quickly took the Priest down to critical HP.


    Could they let them save their Priest?


    Of course not!


    One of the Evil Faction Warriors threw his shield aside and Charged at a Warlock that was attacking Lu Li.


    Lu Li wanted to kill the Priest, while I Am Richy Rich¡¯s followers wanted to kill Lu Li to save the Priest. Meanwhile, the Evil Faction players were interrupting the players who were attacking Lu Li. The three parties were engaged in a tug of war.


    However, this didn¡¯t last for very long, as the Priest¡¯s HP was simply too low.


    When Lu Li Kicked the Priest to interrupt his Healing, his desperate struggle finally came to an end.


    After the Priest died, I Am Richy Rich¡¯s party lost their healing ability.


    Despite this, they still had a numbers advantage.


    Lu Li¡¯s next target was Richy Rich. He activated his cloak¡¯s effect and immediately appeared behind him


    Richy Rich was a Magic Druid, otherwise known as ¡®a chicken¡¯.


    This kind of Druid had high Attack and strong Crowd Control, but weak Defence. Lu Li¡¯s Ambush dealt more than 300 damage, which caused Richy Rich to start running and shouting for support.


    There were definitely some second-generation kids who were experts, but Richy Rich wasn¡¯t one of them.


    Experts would have had large amounts of experience in battle. They would have teetered upon the balance between life and death to train themselves in the art of battle. Take Water Fairy for example ¨C she had spent a significant amount of time PVPing with other people.


    The kind like Richy Rich, who would spend their time ordering others to help them, would have no skill whatsoever.


    To Lu Li, killing him felt like slaughtering an escaping duck.


    While he was attacking Richy Rich, he also conveniently managed to Crowd Control a few other players.


    As such, the Evil Faction was finally able to regain control of the situation.


    The two sides fought fiercely, suffering losses on both sides.


    After killing Richy Rich, Lu Li walked over to pick up the equipment and left the remaining players to fight.


    He had dropped a Silver equipment with really strong attributes!

 184 Life’s Most Important Person

    Richy Rich had dropped a Silver equipment with really strong attributes!


    However, this cloak was unlikely to be better than the one Lu Li already had.


    Lu Li was confident in thinking that this was the first Silver Cloak in the whole game.


    Cloaks were harder to obtain than other kinds of equipment, and a good cloak was even more so.


    Forest Ravings (Silver): Armour 15, Intelligence +10, Constitution +5, Cooldown of nature-based spells reduced by 20%, Effect of nature-based spells increased by 20%, Healing Effects increased by 10%. Exclusive to Druids. Level Requirement: level 15. Durability 45/45.


    This was clearly equipment that was perfectly suited for a Healer Druid.


    The Tree of Life Form was one of the Druid¡¯s Transformation spells. After undergoing transformation, they would appear like a cute, young tree.


    However, this little tree was not to be underestimated. When in the Tree of Life Form, Druids had 15% increased Healing and 120% increased Armour. They were also immune to the Mage¡¯s polymorphing spells.


    Additionally, some of their Healing spells would have an increased effect.


    With this cloak, a Heal Spell that was cast in the Tree of Life Form would first be increased by 15% and then by an additional 10%.


    Lu Li had been in Warsong Canyon many times, so there was no longer any difference between Light Faction and Evil Faction players to him.


    All of them were simply walking pieces of equipment.


    Lu Li mailed the equipment to Shen Wansan and logged off.


    After he woke up, it was already night and time to go back online.


    But this time, Lu Li didn¡¯t hurry to log on. Instead, he turned off the lights in the living room and sat down quietly.


    Ever since his rebirth, he had been busy making money without a chance to take a break.


    He was seldom able to just sit peacefully.


    The last time he was in such a daze, he had desperately tried to remember his parents, but the only memories he could muster-up were vague, almost non-existent shadows.


    He was only 23 this year. If he counted the years of his rebirth, he would still only be 26. Yet, he had experienced much more than the average 30-year-old.


    As he recalled the past 20 years of his life, his mind was filled with memories of his sister.


    He was given opportunities to be adopted by rich families when he was young, but he refused because he wasn¡¯t alone. He had his sister.


    When he was growing up, he could have mixed around with bad company. But he didn¡¯t, because he wasn¡¯t alone. He had his sister.


    He was actually quiet smart and would have had opportunities to study abroad and start anew. But he didn¡¯t, because he wasn¡¯t alone. He had his sister.


    For the rest of his life, he would continue to support and depend on his sister.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t see his own face in the darkness, but he had quite a calm expression.


    The doorbell rang as Lu Xin came in with a bag slung over her shoulder. She turned on the light to see that her brother was sitting on the sofa.


    ¡°Brother, haven¡¯t you gone to work?¡± Lu Xin insisted that his video games were his work and that he wasn¡¯t unemployed.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t gone online yet because I have something to tell you. Why are you home so late today?¡± Lu Li glanced out of the window to see that it was already completely dark.


    ¡°A new student had their birthday today, so we all celebrated with a barbeque,¡± Lu Xin guiltily confessed.


    ¡°Is it a boy?¡± Lu Li¡¯s eyebrow lifted. She was growing up now and would soon be at the age where she would attract the attention of other boys.


    ¡°It¡¯s a girl! She doesn¡¯t live very far away, just in the neighborhood,¡± Lu Xin hastily explained.


    ¡°Barbeques aren¡¯t good for you,¡± Lu Li impatiently said.


    Her diet was very important, having a severe heart condition. There were many things that she would like to eat that had to forbidden.


    ¡°But it tastes so good,¡± the little girl said playfully. Previously, they couldn¡¯t even have a proper meal with rice, let alone a barbeque. She was only able to enjoy these different foods because they had finally left the Common District.


    ¡°Don¡¯t have it again next time,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    ¡°Sorry brother, I promise I won¡¯t do it again,¡± Lu Xin cowardly apologised.


    ¡°Lu Xin, there¡¯s something I need to tell you. Can¡­¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know how to tell her.


    He needed to tell a young girl that she had a very rare illness and required a very complicated treatment which also costed an astronomical amount of money¡­


    This was just cruel.


    ¡°Brother, what is it? Didn¡¯t we promise to not hide anything from each other?¡±


    Lu Xin sat down next to Lu Li and grabbed his arm.


    ¡°The medical examination results came out and¡­ the results are serious.¡±


    Lu Li steeled his heart and decided to come out with it.


    ¡°Oh, uh¡­¡± Lu Xin panicked.


    Her brother had earned a lot of money playing the game. They had moved into a big house and everything seemed to be fine. Who would have thought that she would hear such a message from her big brother¡¯s mouth?


    ¡°Xin Xin, don¡¯t be scared, it¡¯ll be okay.¡± Lu Li held his sister tightly.


    ¡°How serious is it?¡± The little girl¡¯s voice was tearful.


    She didn¡¯t ask which of them it was. They were basically inseparable, so who it was didn¡¯t matter.


    ¡°It¡¯s very serious, but you have to believe your brother. I will definitely make sure you are healed. I promise it,¡± Lu Li said firmly. ¡°No one will take you away from me unless I die.¡±


    ¡°Big brother, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡±


    Lu Xin leaned against Lu Li¡¯s body weakly. She couldn¡¯t stop her tears from dripping down her face.


    ¡°First, you will need to undergo a comprehensive inspection. If required, you might also need to take a year off school.¡±


    Lu Li quickly calmed down. He had been preparing for this day for a very long time.


    ¡°Sorry brother.¡± Lu Xin¡¯s tears were now flooding out from her eyes.


    Was it really so serious that she needed to take a year away from school?


    She felt like she was a burden to her brother. He had made so many sacrifices for her and she could only passively accept them. Just as things were looking up, she had become a burden again.


    ¡°Silly girl, what are you saying?¡±


    Lu Li saw his sister¡¯s panicked tears and could only casually wipe them away.


    ¡°Are you guys okay?¡± a voice called out. They must have bothered Zhou Huan Huan.


    Willow and Dou Jing Jing also heard the sounds.


    The scene that they came to was the siblings crying over each other¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Lu Li said, as he instantly calmed down. Other than with his sister, he had never really learned to show emotion with other people.


    ¡°Sister Huan Huan, I¡­¡± Lu Xin pulled free of Lu Li and ran over to her to quietly whisper, ¡°Can you lend money to me? I¡¯ll return it to you when I¡¯m older.¡±


    The three land-ladies were left with their mouths open. They had no idea what was happening.


    Were these siblings in some kind of fight?


    ¡°Xin Xin!¡± Lu Li raised his tone, visibly displeased.


    ¡°Ignore him Xin Xin, what happened? We will help you.¡±


    Dou Jing Jing pulled her close and they stood against Lu Li together.


    ¡°I¡¯m sick and it might cost a lot of money. Can you guys lend some money to me? When I start working, I¡¯ll return the money to you. Otherwise my brother¡­¡± Lu Xin started crying again onto Dou Jing Jing.


    She wasn¡¯t worried about her treatment ¨C she was worried that her brother would be very tired.


    ¡°Lu Li, how did this happen? Xin Xin is sick? Is it serious?¡± Zhou Huan Huan asked seriously, as she got everyone to sit down on the living room sofa.


    This young and beautiful little girl was actually sick.


    Lu Li was a poor boy, so he never really let the small issues bother him.


    However, this sickness must have been very serious.


    The land-ladies were very fond of Lu Xin, so the thought had grabbed their attention.


    Lu Li tried multiple times to pull Lu Xin back, but this was to no avail. The three land-ladies were unrelenting, like mother hens. He could only helplessly explain some of the details.


    ¡°I can solve Xin Xin¡¯s issues myself. We don¡¯t need your help. Xin Xin, get back over here,¡± he said seriously.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to work yourself to death.¡±


    Lu Xin held onto Dou Jing Jing like she was a lifeboat.


    ¡°So you actually want to do a transplant?¡± The three girls were dumbfounded.

 185 Struggles Of The Hear

    ¡°It¡¯s a high-end transplant, a treatment that has only recently been released. As long as the surgery is successful, there will be no side-effects on Xin Xin.¡±


    Lu Li not only said this to comfort them, but also to comfort himself.


    ¡°Will the cost definitely be very high?¡± Willow calmly asked.


    Lu Xin started to cry again.


    ¡°The surgery costs a million dollars, but I¡¯ve already earned that amount.¡± Lu Li tried to console his sister.


    ¡°What about the follow up?¡± Willow was unrelenting.


    With an organ transplant, the bulk of the money wasn¡¯t spent on the surgery, but the recovery. Various complications might also appear during the recovery period.


    ¡°At the rate that I¡¯m making money, I believe that it¡¯ll be enough for the medical expenses,¡± Lu Li confidently said.


    He truly believed that he had been reborn to save his sister.


    ¡°You believe? What makes you believe you can do this?¡±


    The grumpy Dou Jing Jing almost poked Lu Li in the face, while the other land-ladies¡¯ faces also showed that they didn¡¯t agree.


    ¡°Do you have no brain? What if you don¡¯t make enough? Do you think the hospital will give you a grace period? I know that you care for your sister, but you are refusing our help because of your manly ego. You didn¡¯t have any plans of telling us right?¡± Willow poisonously spat.


    ¡°This is my problem,¡± Lu Li said stiffly.


    They couldn¡¯t understand the despair that he had been through to raise money for the treatment. He had given up all of his dignity. He had begged old uncles and aunties. He had sold everything that he had, valuable or not.


    He asked everyone he knew, hoping that he would receive some mercy.


    However, he had been thoroughly disappointed.


    Other than Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering, who had raised a few ten-thousand dollars, no one else had lifted a finger to help him.


    The others all branded him as a liar and he was even targeted by some players. They had cheated him out of equipment that he could have sold for extra money, which took away his final hope.


    When Lu Li experienced rebirth, he had been desperately making money and trying to prove a point.


    Even if no one else would help him, he would still be able to save his sister.


    But these land ladies who they had only known for a few days?


    Why would they lend money to him?!


    ¡°Xin Xin, I¡¯ll lend $200,000 to you. If it¡¯s not enough, I¡¯ll ask my grandfather for more. You can return it if you don¡¯t use it.¡±


    Dou Jing Jing was the first to offer. She held onto Lu Xin tightly and was firm in her decision.


    ¡°The surgery will be a million dollars, but it¡¯s hard to say how much the recovery will cost. It might be expensive, or it might not even cost a single penny. For now, let¡¯s just say that it will cost 1.5 million dollars. Dou Dou has already given $200,000. Huan Huan¡¯s money is tied up in the studio, but she has relatives that can easily lend 3 to 5 hundred thousand dollars without a problem. I will lend the rest¡­¡± Willow asserted, promising to lend $1.5 million to them.


    Someone who could live in this kind of mansion would definitely not come from a poor home.


    However, these girls had to get this jaw-dropping amount money from somewhere else. They were still in university, so it had to come from their families.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Lu Xin didn¡¯t dare look at her brother¡¯s dark expression, as she continued to hug the sisters and cry.


    ¡°Xin Xin, don¡¯t feel bad. You are so cute that you¡¯ll definitely recover,¡± Dou Jing Jing wiped away her tears as she consoled her.


    Lu Li was very touched, but he still didn¡¯t feel like he needed to take their money.


    ¡°You. What do you think?¡± Willow was blunt towards Lu Li. He couldn¡¯t utter a single sentence without feeling ashamed for it.


    ¡°First, she¡¯ll need to do another thorough check-up, followed by an expert consultation. Then, we will just have to wait for a donor. The number one expert in the hospital has promised me that he will find a donor as quickly as he can,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°My grandfather and Hospital President Zhao are close. I will go talk to him,¡± Dou Jing Jing said as she raised her hand.


    ¡°I have an uncle working overseas. I think he¡¯s working in a medical institute. I can ask about this to see if he can find a suitable donor,¡± Zhou Huan Huan added.


    The more compatible the donor, the less likely the body was to reject the organ during recovery.


    ¡°I will make and submit a web page so that the public might be able to support us.¡±


    Willow snapped her fingers and said, ¡°Xin Xin, follow us. You¡¯ll sleep with us tonight.¡±


    After she finished speaking, she and Dou Jing Jing guided Lu Xin away.


    Zhou Huan Huan followed them for a little bit before she ran back to Lu Li and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much ¨C medical science has come a long way. Xin Xin will be okay.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, nothing will happen to Xin Xin,¡± Lu Li firmly said.


    ¡°You keep making money in the game. Great master, I believe in you.¡±


    Zhou Huan Huan smiled before waving at Lu Li and running off.


    When he returned to Dawn, Lu Li felt fully reinvigorated.


    ¡°How are you guys going on that Instance Dungeon?¡± he asked as he entered the Mercenary Group Chat. ¡°Today, we have to complete the Elite difficulty. Tomorrow, we will do the Difficult Level and the day after, we will go the wasteland¡¯s Howling Caves.¡±


    ¡°Those Drizzle Court girls haven¡¯t come online yet,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said in a depressed tone.


    ¡°Keep waiting for them then. Wandering, what about you? How are you going?¡± Lu Li asked again.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough DPS to get through the Piercing Heart Wolf General¡¯s armor pierce stacking,¡± Wandering replied lazily.


    ¡°Dammit, you clearly couldn¡¯t tank it,¡± Lonesome Flower impolitely rebutted. To say that there wasn¡¯t enough DPS was to say that he wasn¡¯t good enough.


    ¡°Everyone shut up. This time March Rain, Flower, Wandering, Hachi Chan and I will do it as a five man party. Riceball and Dreamy can go find a place to train.¡±


    Lu Li was too lazy to listen to their squabble and gave them instructions directly.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Riceball didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°Wandering, have you recruited someone?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°You know that mysterious Berserker out there? When the time comes, we can just let that guy in. How about that?¡± Wandering and Lu Li had a similar idea. They were also both very patient.


    ¡°That works. Moonlight¡¯s technique is very good and he has quite a few skills. As for his equipment¡­ we¡¯ll talk about that when the time comes.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to guarantee that he had good equipment. Moonlight spent all day killing other players in the Warsong Canyon, so it would be no surprise if he had dropped some of his equipment.


    ¡°All we have left is this Silver Shaman Ring, so we will only be looking for Shamans. Countless people have applied to be a part of the group, but many of them are incompatible¡­¡± Wandering said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense ¨C Wandering has selected some beautiful girl. He even went into the arena to assess her.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was filled with contempt.


    ¡°What?! What beautiful girl? Is she prettier than me?¡± Wandering was furious.


    ¡°Why were you so enthusiastic? You didn¡¯t even see if she had good technique, nor did you notice that she was only LV16.¡± Azure Sea Breeze continued to fearlessly attack him.


    ¡°Oh, I understand now. Brother Sea Breeze must have seen Brother Wandering walking closely to a beautiful sister. They must have also gone into the arena together and now Brother Sea Breeze is jealous. Am I right?¡±


    Wandering: ¡­


    Azure Sea Breeze: ¡­


    Everyone else: ¡­


    ¡°Hachi¡­ don¡¯t say anything if you have nothing good to say?¡± Remnant Dream was becoming a little impatient towards her. She was afraid that the partner she had brought in was going to be dismissed.


    ¡°I, I have no restraint sometimes.¡± Hachi Chan¡¯s voice became softer.


    ¡°Keke¡­ okay then. If no one else has any further questions, then get ready. Anyone who had their name called should meet at the Instance Dungeon in five minutes.¡±


    Lu Li broke the tension and started announcing their next course of action.


    ¡°Wait¡­ so is it true?¡± Hachi Chan weakly asked.

 186 Breaking In The New Party Members

    ¡°Dammit. Stop asking if it¡¯s true. You¡¯re so young and you¡¯re thinking about things like this.¡±


    Wandering was furious and slapped the top of Hachi Chan¡¯s head.


    Tears began to well up in Hachi Chan¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Just say it; you don¡¯t have to hit her.¡± Lu Li couldn¡¯t bear to watch this little loli cry.


    ¡°What, do you think this is real life?¡± Wandering indignantly grabbed Lu Li by the collar and said, ¡°And you! You seem like a good person, but you really aren¡¯t. You left such an infuriating task for me.¡±


    ¡°You should have said something then. Is there anyone else more reliable to delegate to?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Whatever. I took one piece of Magic Cloth and now I have to do a bunch of work for you. You could have set it up so that only players with rare materials could get into contact,¡± Wandering contemptuously spat.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll change it when we get back.¡± Lu Li rubbed his nose, feeling a little guilty.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dig around for excuses if you can¡¯t do a job properly,¡± Azure Sea Breeze sneered. These two had become accustomed to verbally attacking each other.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, hold on to this. Wandering, take a look and work out how many rare materials this is worth.¡± Lu Li took out the Silver Cloak that Richy Rich had dropped and handed it to Hachi Chan.


    ¡°Oh wow,¡± was all that Wandering managed to say.


    ¡°Use some of that experience that you have rather than staring at it blankly like that.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze continued to attack him. He had followed Lu Li for so long that he had seen all kinds of good equipment. Although this Silver Cloak was indeed strong, it wasn¡¯t enough for him to lose control over.


    ¡°You fool. Have you seen a cloak better than this?¡± Wandering couldn¡¯t just allow himself to be attacked.


    ¡°Waaaaahh!¡±


    Just as everyone thought that Hachi Chan was going to talk about the cloak¡¯s attributes, she rubbed it and exclaimed, ¡°This cloak is so fluffy and soft! It feels great!¡±


    ¡°Let me try, let me try!¡± Remnant Dream pushed in to rub it.


    ¡°Hachi Chan can heal as well with this cloak,¡± March Rain enviously said.


    She had pretty good equipment already, but nothing improved her healing as much as the Forest Ravings.


    ¡°It also increases her damage output. It pretty much increases everything,¡± Sesame Rice Ball added. He now understood why Lu Li let Hachi Chan into the Instance Dungeon and not him.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to make two potions. You guys get ready quickly,¡± Lu Li urged.


    He hadn¡¯t found the time to learn the Deadly Poison recipe that Hachi Chan had given him.


    Deadly Poison dealt some damage when triggered, but would then go on to deal damage over time and could stack up to five times. For Thieves, Deadly Poison was inappropriate for PVP, as they had many Crowd Control spells that could be interrupted by their target taking damage. This kind of damage over time would only be a liability.


    However, this was of no concern when fighting a Boss, because the chances of applying Crowd Control on a boss were far too small.


    Some said that the Thief Profession was made up of two limbs ¨C their Ultimate Skill and Poison.


    So far, very few Poison recipes had been released in Dawn, much less than Intermediate Health Potions. As such, most Thieves did not use Poison. Even if they had a bottle or two that they obtained from a quest, they would wait for a critical moment to use them.


    Although Poison was also hard to create, the Deadly Poison recipe required inexpensive materials.


    Furthermore, it was also quite convenient to make. He managed to make two bottles in less than three minutes.


    Each bottle could be applied to a weapon five times over a 30 minute duration, which was just enough for Lu Li to use. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to distribute the Poison, but that it was exclusive to the Thief profession.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t particularly interested in doing the Death Mines again.


    They had already cleared the Difficult Level, so what surprises could the Elite Difficulty hold?


    However, the other members of the party were in high spirits, especially Hachi Chan. This was the first time that she was going to fight an Instance Dungeon Boss, so she was curious about everything.


    There were two new members to the party, so they had to introduce their roles and skills before the fight began.


    The player with the most skills surprisingly turned out to be Hachi Chan and not Lu Li.


    After counting the number of Skill Points they had, she only had three less than Lu Li.


    It should be mentionedthat Lu Li had already completed his Profession Upgrade and had gained an additional five Skill Points.


    ¡°Are quest players really this powerful?¡± March Rain was interested.


    Although she was actually quite a good player, she would inevitably have some crises because she was always surrounded by experts.


    ¡°Not really.¡± Hachi Chan bit her lip before sadly saying, ¡°I did a quest before telling my classmates about it. They did the same quest that I did but they didn¡¯t get the reward. So, they called me a liar and said that I was intentionally not telling them the full story.¡±


    After speaking she sighed sadly. She was still young, so she didn¡¯t realize that her small problem was laughable.


    ¡°The process of doing a quest can only be used as a guideline. Dawn¡¯s quests are very flexible and thus the lack of a reward is quite normal. If you are interested, you can go and pick up some quests to do. The rewards won¡¯t be the same, but you can still learn from the methods used to complete them,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, can you take me to do a quest later?¡± March Rain asked.


    ¡°Of course. You don¡¯t know how hard it is for me to do these quests. I always get lost. Dreamy doesn¡¯t want to do them with me either ¨C she hates doing quests.¡± Hachi Chan immediately felt like she had found a partner.


    ¡°Well, if you want to do quests, you can follow Hachi Chan later. But for now, our main objective is getting past this Instance Dungeon. Wandering, this Boss should be solely targeting you. Make sure to use your damage reduction skills well. Don¡¯t use them too early,¡± Lu Li instructed as he began to apply poison to his daggers.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    Wandering had excellent technique, but his equipment wasn¡¯t nearly as good as Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s. As such, the party had died here a couple of times yesterday.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, pay attention and heal him when he reaches three stacks of Armour Pierce. We are the party that defeated the Difficult level of this Instance Dungeon. This is but only the Elite Difficulty, so it should be quite easy,¡± Lu Li reassured everyone.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Hachi Chan clenched her Magic Staff and solemnly nodded.


    ¡°On my signal, the three players can start dealing damage, but Wandering should move up now. One, two three!¡± Lu Li waited for Wandering to draw aggro before he engaged.


    If Azure Sea breeze was here, there would be no need to wait until the count of three. A warrior¡¯s ability to draw aggro was stronger than a Paladin¡¯s, even though a Paladin¡¯s defense was higher than a defense Warrior¡¯s.


    Compared to when they had last fought the Piercing Heart Wolf General, Lu Li¡¯s equipment was now considered to be overpowered.


    Lu Li¡¯s Rager Equipment Set triggered frequently because of the level difference. As such, his total damage output was higher than Lonesome Flower¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go. You guys are strong, but won¡¯t you draw aggro?¡± Wandering saw the stats and felt a little inadequate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯m keeping track,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how you fight these monsters.¡±


    Lonesome Flower was completely relaxed. The last time they had come here, it was only him doing damage, while Wandering was yelling. The party just didn¡¯t have enough DPS.


    ¡°As long as we don¡¯t deal excessive damage for a long period, it¡¯s unlikely that we would draw aggro. Do you notice that Flower and I are alternating our damage rotations?¡± Lu Li explained.


    After thinking back, Wandering realized that it had been just as Lu Li said.


    Originally, Wandering had thought that Lonesome Flower and Lu Li¡¯s damage was comparable, but it had actually been controlled by Lu Li this whole time.

 187 Continuously Keeping Track

    The others were dealing as much damage as they could to the Boss, but Lu Li was actually limiting his output. No wonder they had been able defeat it at Difficult level; Lu Li truly was a master.


    ¡°When the Armour Pierce is applied, don¡¯t cast any of your skills. Trust March Rain,¡± Lu Li yelled.


    Wandering was just about to cast his damage reduction skill.


    March Rain¡¯s heal wasn¡¯t strong enough to replenish his HP, so when he watched it drop below half, he became a little worried.


    Lu Li turned to look at him before slowly saying, ¡°Drink your potions.¡±


    Drinking a potion would only replenish 300HP; this wasn¡¯t enough to turn the situation around. Wandering was doubtful about Lu Li¡¯s instruction.


    Suddenly, March Rain cast a Critical heal and the Main Tank recovered almost all of his HP.


    ¡°You can calculate when a Critical Heal will come?¡± the proud Wandering asked incredulously.


    ¡°You think too much ¨C I only know that March Rain¡¯s critical rate is quite high. If you were at full HP, the critical heal would be wasted. Regardless, a single Armour Pierce doesn¡¯t pose much of a threat anyway,¡± Lu Li explained as he shook his head.


    ¡°You¡¯re just playing with my life now,¡± Wandering angrily said.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, heal him as well. The second stack of Armour Pierce is coming,¡± Lu Li instructed as he ignored him.


    ¡°¡­¡± Wandering continued to draw the Boss as he resigned to doing as he was told, casting his Damage reduction skill and taking potions when instructed to. He held back his emotions and watched as Lu Li helped them get through this Boss.


    After 10 minutes, the Piercing Heart Wolf General let out a cry before falling.


    Wandering was left in a daze. How was this Boss so easy? Was this even the same Boss from yesterday that brought them so much suffering?


    ¡°The Difficult Level Boss was much harder than this.¡±


    Lonesome Flower patted him on the shoulder compassionately.


    In reality, he didn¡¯t really have a reason to vent about Lu Li. But after all he had seen, it was just a habit.


    He felt like nothing was ever difficult when he was following Lu Li. A Boss that was such a struggle for all the other players had not only been killed, but they had done it without any casualties.


    Wandering¡¯s pride was crushed. He knelt in the Instance Dungeon in admiration.


    He had led the party yesterday and fought for half a day, but they couldn¡¯t even get past the third stack of Armour Pierce.


    ¡°Let me just quickly say, Wandering, your grasp of Instance Dungeons is a bit weak. Hachi Chan you need to go online and find a Druid guide for casting skills. Your equipment is good, but your damage is not even half of mine or Flowers,¡± Lu Li said as he clapped his hands.


    ¡°I understand,¡± Wandering nodded.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Hachi Chan was extremely ashamed but she immediately agreed.


    But why did he say this now? They weren¡¯t finished; there were still two more Bosses.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going now. Riceball will be joining you guys in place of me. I don¡¯t gain any EXP from this,¡± Lu Li sighed. He was already LV21, so the Instance Dungeon monsters that were a maximum of LV16 gave him no EXP.


    He didn¡¯t even look at the equipment that was dropped before leaving. There was just no way that the Elite difficulty dungeon would drop something good.


    After leaving the Instance Dungeon, he entered the whirlpool once again to fight Illidan¡¯s Shadow.


    Due to the level difference, Illidan¡¯s Shadow no longer gave him any EXP, but he could still drop items.


    The respawn time of Wild Bosses had been increased to once per week, so Lu Li couldn¡¯t farm them daily anymore. However, the two Shadow Cloak Skill Books that he had obtained were well worth it.


    The first book was sold to Water Fairy for 100 gold, while the second was probably valued at around 200-300 gold. There was no way he was going to sell it now.


    Shadow Cloak was an essential Skill for a good Thief and before LV30, was the indicator of an expert. It was much better than a Mage¡¯s Frost Nova.


    He had already killed this ghost numerous times and there was nothing out of the ordinary today. The people outside were envious of this Boss, but they couldn¡¯t access it. Most players had now lost hope of ever getting to its spawn location.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t get a single point of EXP and he climbed down from the pole, mumbling to himself.


    Three items had been dropped: a piece of Steel equipment, a rare material and a ¡®Shadow Cloak¡¯ Skill book.


    The equipment was quite bad and the rare material was Demon Essence. This material could be dropped by any Demon Boss and was actually quite common. Only the skill book satisfied him.


    System: Congratulations to the Xin Xin Mercenary Group with the members Wandering, Lonesome Flower, March Rain, Sesame Rice Ball and Hachi Chan, for breaking the record of the Death Mines.


    Lonesome Flower and March Rain were familiar to everyone as regulars of First-Clearing, but the other three players were completely unknown.


    The World Announcements instantly buzzed with discussion about this.


    It was widely believed that Lonesome Flower and March Rain had left Lu Li to play on their own.


    ¡°Lu Li, the Instance Dungeon has been cleared,¡± Wandering joyfully messaged the Mercenary Group Chat.


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°Haha, there are many people trying contact me. Some are asking to cooperate and others are asking to join our group. But we¡¯ll talk later, I¡¯m busy right now.¡± Wandering¡¯s ego had been inflated once again. He was grinning so much that his lips couldn¡¯t turn up any further.


    Unusually, Azure Sea Breeze, who was normally against him, hadn¡¯t said a word.


    ¡°Just like that, I¡¯ve beaten your score. You should drink some poison¡­¡±


    An old-sounding voice rang out in the Chat Room, testifying to the speaker¡¯s vile character.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t allow Wandering¡¯s smugness to last for very long. In fact, it only lasted for seven to eight minutes.


    System: Congratulations to Drizzle Court¡¯s Guildmembers, Water Fairy, Azure Sea Breeze, Little Bear Huan Huan, Don¡¯t hit Dou Dou and a Willow Yi Yi for breaking the record of the Death Mines.


    The World Announcements started buzzing once again.


    Lu Li must have had a bad day and blamed all his teammates, because they seemed to have all run away.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do this intentionally, I just couldn¡¯t stop myself. I wasn¡¯t careful¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s singing was surprisingly good. He had a good karaoke voice.


    ¡°You dog¡­¡±


    ¡°Wandering, Sesame Rice ball, Hachi Chan, Remnant Dream and March Rain, you guys go and do the Difficult-Level Instance Dungeon. Everyone else go and find a place to level up.¡±


    Lu Li looked at the time and decided that it was still early.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Wandering asked.


    He had been assigned all the newbies! What was this?


    ¡°I need to practice my Trade Skill. If you have any questions about the Instance Dungeon, ask March Rain.¡± Lu Li wisely chose to ignore the presence of Remnant Dream.


    ¡°I feel like this composition is unlikely to succeed,¡± Wandering couldn¡¯t help but admit.


    This composition would probably fail to clear the Elite Difficulty Instance Dungeon, let alone the Difficult Level.


    I can¡¯t do it!


    ¡°No one expects you to clear it. The goal is to clear the first Boss. If you can clear the second Boss, then the third Boss should not be an issue. When you get to Piercing Heart Wolf General, Sea Breeze and I will join you,¡± Lu Li said straightforwardly, without any hint of formality.


    Wandering was just about to cry.


    Lu Li¡¯s intention wasn¡¯t to test their abilities. He was already aware of what they were all capable of.


    With regards to PVE, Sesame Rice Ball was the most skilled. He had played with Seventh Heaven in a few different games now, so he had excellent game sense and knowledge. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been promoted by them.


    Wandering, on the other hand, had always played in wild parties, so he had his own method of doing things. He just needed to integrate himself with Lu Li¡¯s rhythm.


    Hachi Chan had an innate talent for Quests that even Lu Li couldn¡¯t best. She was just like Remnant Dream ¨C an ordinary player, but with a good understanding of her skills. However, even if she just relied on her strong equipment, she would still be much better than an average player.


    Lu Li had put them together in the Instance Dungeon for a simple reason¡ªexperience.

 188 A Nice Sum Of Profi

    The other players generally didn¡¯t have much experience with the Difficult-Level Dungeons. They needed to catch up to the level of the original members of the Xin Xin Mercenary group before they could move on to other things.


    Practice was also needed so that they could properly complete the Howling Caves together.


    Monsters in the Howling Caves Instance Dungeon ranged from LV15-20, while the Hidden Boss could even be up to LV25.


    If they were lucky and the Hidden Boss appeared, would they choose to fight?


    Not fighting it would be a waste, but their chances of success depended on the ability of the players.


    Lu Li had already decided to let them fight through as much as they could to earn some EXP. He would only substitute players in if they couldn¡¯t get past a certain area.


    In reality, farming outside of Instance Dungeons wasn¡¯t that much slower. For Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, and Lonesome Flower, who were LV21, LV19 and LV19 respectively, it was faster to farm outside. Lu Li wasn¡¯t able to gain even a single point of EXP within that Instance Dungeon.


    However, Lu Li chose not to farm with Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze. His number one priority was his Engineering Trade Skill.


    It was for the bomb!


    Once he could make the bomb, farming would become so much faster and more efficient.


    If the others got the bomb, they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about levelling either.


    Moreover, if he was running short of money to pay for Lu Xin¡¯s treatment, he could easily make a batch to sell.


    Lu Li once again stood before his Engineering desk.


    Copper Bar, Raw Wood, Wire, Linen¡­


    He put all the materials within reach before taking a deep breath. After this, he started to recall the process of creating a ¡°Maintenance Robot¡±.


    Maintenance Robots weren¡¯t expensive to make, but they sold for a very high price. This was partly because of their large demand, but also because their creation was a difficult, lengthy process that required many different kinds of materials.


    But Lu Li wasn¡¯t about to let a robot that was almost finished to fall apart.


    With his three years of experience, he quickly fastened the Basic Emerald into the most important part.


    This gem could be found alongside Bronze and Iron Ore. Due to how common it was, it¡¯s purity and rarity was rarely discussed. It was barely good enough to be the core of a Maintenance Robot.


    Now that he had picked up a good piece of Basic Emerald, he used a Whetstone to carefully grind down the edges and corners.


    The shape of it needed to conform to the blueprint and it would be best if the surface was without blemish. After confirming this, he would need to carve some simple runes onto it.


    The Rune Writer that he was using had been bought from a grocery store for 10 silver. Although he felt poor as he used it, he didn¡¯t have a choice. He knew how to find better Rune Writers, but it was still too early for that. He needed to at least be LV30.


    It was a good thing that the runes required for the Maintenance Robot were very simple. He only needed to write 30-40 strokes.


    After carving the runes, Lu Li used a little scrubber to rub some Strange Dust onto the top of the gem. This Strange Dust belonged to the Enchanting Trade Skill and could be obtained by decomposing Bronze equipment.


    As the dust entered the carved runes, the Basic Emerald began to glow and pulse with magic.


    Now, it was better suited as an energy core.


    Lastly, Lu Li needed to build a heart chamber to hold the gem.


    He was going to use the Copper Bar and Linen to do this.


    In real life, Lu Li was actually quite the handyman. His old house¡¯s table and chairs were all made by him, so this little chamber was no issue.


    The Emerald that he placed into the finished heart chamber fit perfectly.


    This was the core of the Maintenance Robot; it would provide the energy for its maintenance activities.


    Maintenance Robots were very crude machines. When Lu Li attained a higher level in Engineering, he would be able to make Combat units like the Mechanical Gargoyle. Only those machines could be considered as ¡®finely crafted¡¯.


    Once the power source was complete, Lu Li started to work on the body frame of the robot.


    He needed to guarantee that the Maintenance Robot would be able to complete a sufficient amount of repair work, and also that it wouldn¡¯t just fall apart.


    For the outer cover, low level materials such as Raw Wood cut into Planks, Copper Bars and Wire were sufficient. Lu Li had even added a bit of adhesive to hold it all together. He was a pioneer in this area; no one else knew about things like this.


    Lu Li then carefully placed the core into the robot¡¯s chest, fastening it onto a Copper Bar.


    As he did this, he held his breath.


    System: You have successfully produced a ¡°Basic Maintenance Robot¡±. Your Engineering EXP has increased by 3.


    The system announcement actually made Lu Li jump, as he had forgotten that the System would notify him of the results. He was so immersed in the production process that he had forgotten he was in a game.


    Perhaps it was this focus that led to the finished product having very good attributes.


    According to the blueprint, the robot could operate for 10 minutes at a time. However, the robot in Lu Li¡¯s hand could be used up to 12 times in total. This was two times more than usual.


    Despite this, he was still more concerned about the three-point increase of his Engineering EXP.


    He had risen from Intermediate (87) to Intermediate (90), which filled him with joy.


    Although Lu Li found that Engineering wasn¡¯t easy, he was extremely satisfied with these three points and eagerly tried a second attempt.


    But alas, his second attempt resulted in a failure.


    Other than the materials, he had also wasted 20-30 minutes of his time.


    It turned out that the three points were not that easy to gain.


    However, after successfully creating another robot, his success rate increased.


    As night fell and he was about to log off, he looked at his creations and was surprised to find that he had made 30 of them. His success rate was now greater than 70%.


    His Engineering skill had also significantly increased and was now at Intermediate (128). However, the EXP yield had become significantly lower. He had to make 4 products to go from 127 to 128.


    Lu Li then left the Engineering Lab and started to sift through his mailbox.


    The ¡°low quality stones¡± from Half Life Crystal had arrived. There were over 20 stacks, which was more than enough for him to improve his Forging Technique.


    The next thing he needed to deal with was ¡°The World is so Big¡±.


    Lu Li¡¯s advertising had worked out well. He had used a first-person perspective to tell the other players about the item. ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ wasn¡¯t only used to look cute ¨C it also had practical purposes for their adventures in Azeroth.


    As for whether someone would buy it and attempt to use it in the Warsong Canyon, that was beyond his considerations.


    There was another reason why business was booming.


    Someone had made a post talking about how they had bought a ¡°The World Is So Big¡± to give to a girl for her birthday and for his confession. He was successful in doing so.


    Well, no one really knew the real reason for his success.


    He must have already been attractive, and the two were probably interested in each other. Yet, the ¡®World Is So Big¡¯ still seemed to serve as a catalyst.


    Thus, using ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ turned into the favorite way for tycoons to confess. In a short time, all 70 that Lu Li had posted were all sold out.


    Discounting the transaction fee, each one of them was sold for 25 gold.


    The seventy of them were sold for 1750 gold altogether.


    Currently, the Trading Platform price for gold after taxes was $112:1.


    In one transaction, Lu Li had made $200,000.


    Although this was less than the Snake Trust Grass profits, it was still a nice sum.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that more people were also learning to do this, Lu Li would have made another batch to sell.

 189 Buggy

    9am in the real world.


    This was normally the time people went to work or school, but Lu Li had just finished a 10-hour session of gaming.


    After lying on the bed for so long, he felt like his bones were starting to rot.


    He put on some exercise clothes and walked out of the building. The air in the district was quite fresh and was suitable for running.


    Lu Li¡¯s looks were quite average, but he had a silent and calm air about him, which attracted the attention of girls. This was particularly so for the schoolgirls from the Clear Lake Campus.


    Even the scars on his body seemed quite cool and mysterious.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t like being looked at like that and the gazes made him feel as uncomfortable as the condescending stares he had been given in the past. Just as he was about to return to the residence and go to the gym, he heard someone call his name.


    ¡°Lu Li, Lu Li¡­¡±


    Looking over, Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    There were a few people calling out to him from across the district¡¯s security gates. They were all younger than 30 years old ¨C the youngest was about 10 years old ¨C and were dressed like hooligans. Anyone could tell that they were not from a good background.


    It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to go in and find Lu Li, but they couldn¡¯t pass the security.


    ¡°How did you know that I live here?¡± Lu Li asked as he walked over.


    ¡°Someone saw Xin Xin nearby.¡±


    The leader, who was a skinny and tall guy walked out. Although they were separated by an electronic fence, he didn¡¯t seem to feel very safe and he stood in a hunched position.


    ¡°Were you following Xin Xin?¡± Lu Li¡¯s voice became louder.


    ¡°Big bro Li, don¡¯t misunderstand,¡± the skinny and tall guy explained, ¡°We didn¡¯t disturb Xin Xin and didn¡¯t even dare to talk to her.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t come here in the future.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother wasting more time on these people and turned to leave.


    ¡°Big bro Li, please wait. Us brothers have a request.¡±


    Seeing that Lu Li had no intentions of listening to them, he started to yell, ¡°Big bro Buggy was caught. Please, big bro Li, save Buggy.¡±


    Lu Li stopped walking, and slowly turned around.


    ¡°Big bro Buggy offended someone and might be sentenced. Big bro Li, we heard that you turned your life around, so please save him,¡± the tall and skinny guy pleaded loudly.


    A few minutes later, Lu Li exited the district and stood in front of them.


    ¡°Blacky, did Buggy ask you to come?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Big bro Buggy didn¡¯t let us come,¡± the tall and skinny guy replied, ¡°I made this decision. At least, for Aunty Niu, please save big bro Buggy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like he hasn¡¯t been in jail before.¡±


    Looking at the woods outside the district, Lu Li couldn¡¯t but help but think back to the poor alley he had grown up in.


    He had only been gone for a month and yet he felt that he now lived in a different world.


    ¡°This time they framed big bro Buggy and said that he raped someone. He might get 10 years.¡±


    Blacky lowered his head and everyone else stood extremely still, like wooden puppets, not daring to say anything.


    ¡°10 years.¡±


    Lu Li sighed inwardly.


    Buggy wouldn¡¯t even be able to make it to the end of the sentence. Not long after he was sent to jail, he was accidentally killed by a warden.


    ¡°Big bro Buggy wouldn¡¯t do that sort of thing, he¡­¡± Blacky hesitantly said.


    ¡°I know. What does the other side want?¡± Lu Li cut him off.


    ¡°They want us to give all our territory to them as well as $100,000.¡±


    Blacky gritted his teeth and everyone else looked furious as well.


    They were just some hooligans from the Slum District. Their income was originally quite poor and if they lost their territory, they would be in a situation worse than dying. Moreover, it would be impossible for them to pay $100,000.


    ¡°Tell them to release Buggy first and you¡¯ll give them all of the territory. As for the $100,000, that¡¯s impossible. If they don¡¯t want a lose-lose situation, I can give them $20,000 for their efforts,¡± Lu Li said after thinking for a moment. ¡°If they don¡¯t agree, tell them that Buggy¡¯s my bro, and we¡¯ll see what they do.¡±


    ¡°Big bro Li, why would you give them money?¡±


    The others were utterly confused.


    ¡°Since they have the upper hand, you can only compromise. Otherwise, what are you going to do? Start a rebellion?¡± Lu Li looked at them and the blockheads all quickly looked down.


    ¡°Big bro Buggy definitely won¡¯t agree to giving them all the territory. There are tens of us who need to make a living,¡± Blacky retorted.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s about to lose their life and you¡¯re worried about that? Since you¡¯ve come to find me, just do as I say. Otherwise, just let Buggy rot in jail. He angered Aunty Niu to death and I cut off ties with him ages ago.¡±


    Aunty Niu was Lu Li¡¯s original neighbour and Buggy was her son.


    When Lu Li was younger, Aunty Niu cared for him and his little sister. She treated Lu Xin especially well.


    For anyone who treats my little sister well, I¡¯ll treat them well.


    This was the philosophy that Lu Li held since he was young.


    He had grown up together with Aunty Niu¡¯s son, but Buggy began walk on a different path. He began to do more and more extreme things, causing his mother to die of anger. From then on, they had been strangers.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had always been furious towards him and didn¡¯t take any action regarding Buggy¡¯s situation. As such, the mastermind was able to do as he pleased.


    After experiencing rebirth, Lu Li put all of his efforts into his little sister, so he felt less towards the incident with Aunty Niu.


    Although Buggy¡¯s actions back then were despicable, Lu Li didn¡¯t want him to die.


    ¡°Okay, as long as big bro Buggy stays safe, we¡¯ll do anything,¡± Blacky nodded, looking ashamed. ¡°Sorry big bro Li. We couldn¡¯t find anyone else so we could only come to you.¡±


    ¡°Are all of your followers still with you guys?¡±


    Lu Li felt annoyed whenever he thought of Buggy¡¯s troupe of followers.


    They were a rag-tag bunch and although they weren¡¯t unforgiveable sinners, none of them were good people. Their livelihoods would be a big problem.


    ¡°Including me, there are 42 of us who are waiting for big bro Buggy to come out. There¡¯s not a single useless coward among us,¡± Blacky proudly said as he patted his chest.


    ¡°Big bro Li, if you¡¯re with us, we definitely won¡¯t be bullied,¡± blurted one of the people behind Blacky who couldn¡¯t hold their tongue.


    Everyone else felt the same way and looked at Lu Li in expectation.


    Their big bro Buggy valued loyalty, but it was a pity that he was too reckless and was often toyed around with.


    Lu Li gave his contact details to Blacky, then gently shook his head as everyone else stared. ¡°I¡¯m different to all of you.¡±


    Indeed, I¡¯m different to you guys, not just because I have a little sister.


    After getting back from his run, Lu Li took his little sister to the hospital to have an examination.


    This time, it was a full examination. The Number 1 City Hospital attached great importance to her case and the hospital¡¯s best doctor carried out the examinations himself.


    Less than 2 hours after the examination, the results were placed on the consulting room¡¯s table.


    Apart from the Number 1 City Hospital¡¯s experts, there were also some experts in attendance from the Number 2 City Hospital, the Military Medical University¡¯s affiliated hospital and some other hospitals.


    The consultation confirmed the donor¡¯s blood type and a series of other data.


    It was a pity that during the consultation, they were unable find a suitable donor in the national donor database.


    Lu Li and Lu Xin could only hope that a suitable donor would soon appear.


    However, many of the experts agreed that Lu Xin¡¯s illness was still in its early stages, so it was possible to use other methods as well.


    Lu Li spent the day with his little sister and after arranging everything for her at night, he entered the game.

 190 A Bit Touched

    ¡°I say, Lu Li, why have you been logging on so late for the past 2 days?¡±


    Seeing that Lu Li had finally logged on, Azure Sea Breeze began to complain in the Mercenary Group¡¯s chat.


    ¡°Had some family matters to take care of. How have you guys been going in the Instance Dungeon?¡± Lu Li gave a short reply, showing his intention to say nothing further about it.


    ¡°Those guys finished off the first Boss, but couldn¡¯t beat the second Boss even after trying a few times. I helped them finish the second and third Bosses and now they¡¯re at the Piercing Heart Wolf General, but they¡¯ve already been killed twice,¡± Azure Sea Breeze replied.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Wandering?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you issue quests for rare materials? He went to help other people do quests in exchange for rare materials. He should be back soon,¡± Azure Sea Breeze uncertainly replied.


    He and Wandering were both tanks, so they would never go into a five-man Instance Dungeon together. If Azure Sea Breeze went in, Wandering would be out of a job.


    ¡°He went to earn rare materials? When was this?¡± Lu Li was both a little surprised and touched, as Wandering was quite a lazy person. Even if he knew a quest had good rewards, he wouldn¡¯t bother if he thought it was too much effort. Who would have thought he would have gone out doing quests to earn rare materials for Lu Li?


    ¡°The friggin¡¯ hell, what sort of people don¡¯t even know when to heal?!¡± Wandering roared in the chat, cutting Lu Li off.


    ¡°Heheh, why would they ask you for help if they weren¡¯t noobs?¡± Azure Sea Breeze smugly replied.


    Lu Li laughed, but didn¡¯t say anything. Wandering was narcissistic and sharp-tongued, but he definitely wasn¡¯t a bad person.


    ¡°Big brother Lu Li, have you been busy with something?¡±


    A message came in from Remnant Dream. She didn¡¯t talk in the chat, but privately sent a text message.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I¡¯ve just been working on upgrading my Trade Professions, so I haven¡¯t been very active lately,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Big sister March said that some problems probably came up in the real world, but you didn¡¯t want us to know. All of us want to help you. Yesterday, when it was nearly time to log off, big brother Sea Breeze took us to steal a Boss, but we weren¡¯t successful. Today, big brother Wandering went to help other people with quests, but I think he died once,¡± Remnant Dream said as she secretly told Lu Li everything.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s fine ¨C don¡¯t worry unnecessarily. Oh, right, I¡¯ve got some fun things for everyone,¡± Lu Li paused. Was it really that obvious?


    He felt quite weird having so many people concerned about him.


    In a way, Lu Li wasn¡¯t a very sociable person and wasn¡¯t very good at expressing himself. He had never been cared for or worried about by strangers before.


    ¡°What is it? What is it?¡± Remnant Dream could be quite childish sometimes and quickly forgot about asking Lu Li what had happened.


    ¡°A small toy. Go collect it after finishing the Instance Dungeon.¡±


    Lu Li sent everyone a ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯, which he had prepared in advance for his teammates. Although he needed money, he didn¡¯t want to become a slave to money. There would always be ways to earn more money.


    ¡°Alright, big brother Sea Breeze is going to start, so I¡¯ll stop chatting. I¡¯ll be scolded if I make mistakes,¡± Remnant Dream replied.


    ¡°Young master Breeze, how¡¯s it going? Can you clear it?¡± Lu Li asked in the chat.


    ¡°It should be fine. You don¡¯t get EXP from here anymore, so it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t come,¡± Azure Sea Breeze confidently replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll continue to level up my Trade Professions.¡±


    Lu Li also hoped that they would work hard by themselves. If they were too reliant on him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to grow as much.


    He had now reached a new bottleneck in Engineering. The Maintenance Robots no longer gave him much EXP and it took too much time to create them.


    Lu Li needed to find newer and more suitable blueprints.


    The Maintenance Robots he had put in the Exchange Hall were still there and their price had risen quite slowly. On average, they were worth around 4 gold each and were on a completely different level to ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯.


    This wasn¡¯t surprising.


    ¡®The World Is So Big¡¯ was naturally quite interesting and because he had marketed it well, it had become a luxury good in the game. It was desired by many players, so it could be priced accordingly.


    On the other hand, the Maintenance Robots were ordinary goods and their uses were quite limited.


    If player¡¯s equipment was badly damaged, they would normally go back to town and repair it at a shop. Only the elite groups of big guilds would use Maintenance Robots to save time.


    Lu Li first made a few bottles of Deadly Poison. Even now, they still couldn¡¯t be found in the Exchange Hall.


    He set the price at 10 gold coins, non-negotiable.


    Lu Li never even considered the possibility of mass-producing them and hoping that a large wave of people would snatch them up.


    That simply wasn¡¯t realistic.


    Deadly Poison and Intermediate Potions were different. After all, the former only made one¡¯s life a bit easier, while the latter could save one¡¯s life.


    Lu Li then began to look for more suitable blueprints.


    His goal was to find Engineering blueprints that could help him rise to Intermediate level, as well as Basic blueprints for Forging.


    These were the two Trade Professions that he wanted to upgrade. He chose Engineering so that he could create the Fool Bomb, which was a heaven-defying item. Forging, on the other hand, was for Hachi Chan¡¯s Mold and his extraordinary Forging Hammer.


    Basic Forging blueprints were very easy to find. Lu Li chose a LV5 Single-Handed Sword. It was a Bronze grade weapon with decent Attack and even gave +2 Strength.


    This sort of equipment was suitable for Warriors, Knights and other professions that wanted Strength. After the game helmet¡¯s prices had been slashed, there were more and more players joining every day. Lu Li didn¡¯t worry at all about not being able to sell these swords.


    Moreover, Single-Handed Swords were easy to Forge, so Lu Li didn¡¯t have to worry about failing.


    Intermediate Engineering blueprints were a little more troublesome. After deliberating for a while, Lu Li gritted his teeth and bought an ordinary Sightscope blueprint. He was a bit reluctant because ordinary Sightscopes were only useful for guns and even then, could only give guns an extra 2 Attack.


    If this was the only caveat, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have felt too bad. After all, even if he couldn¡¯t sell them, he could use them to gain EXP.


    However, they also took up quite a lot of resources and were usually made by Trade Profession players who had too much money.


    What was even worse was that ordinary Sightscopes required Intermediate level (135), while Lu Li was only at Intermediate level (128). As such, he had to choose yet another terrible blueprint.


    After continuing to look, the best he could choose was the ¡®Small Blue Firework¡¯.


    Dye, Medium Leather, Gunpowder and Wool Cloth.


    It actually required four, quite expensive materials, which made Lu Li feel like almost giving up.


    However, when he thought to the Fool Bomb and Mechano-Hog, he was determined to raise his Engineering level.


    After creating Fool Bombs, levelling up would be no problem for him anymore. After creating Mechano-Hogs, earning money would be no problem for him anymore. Furthermore, there were also Rocket Boots and Goblin Jumper Cables.


    Most people thought of Engineering as a Trade Profession without a future. Only Lu Li knew of the benefits and rewards of studying Engineering. After all, the game wouldn¡¯t design a Trade Profession that was incredibly difficult to level up without any rewards.


    Filled with hope for the future, Lu Li bought a large amount of materials from the Exchange Hall.


    The gold coins in his bag were rapidly flowing out.


    The resources required to create a Small Blue Firework costed about 3 gold coins, which wasn¡¯t too bad. However, fireworks in the Exchange Hall only sold for 20 silver coins.


    This meant that Lu Li had to be prepared to make heavy losses.


    System: Successfully created a Small Blue Firework, Engineering EXP+1.


    They weren¡¯t difficult to make, but they didn¡¯t give much EXP either.


    Lu Li bore the pain in his heart and continued to create fireworks.


    Of course, he would occasionally fail.


    Because he was using Gunpowder, failing would result in explosions which were impossible for Lu Li to dodge at a close distance. It would be fine if he just suffered the loss of materials and was covered in soot, but the explosion would also reduce the Durability of his equipment.

 191 Finally Being Able To Make Bombs

    As for taking off his equipment, Lu Li simply didn¡¯t dare to do that.


    Even with his equipment on, being caught in an explosion reduced his health down to about 1,000HP. If half of his HP would be blasted away with his equipment on, he would probably be instantly killed if he took it off.


    When Lu Li finally upgraded his Engineering to Intermediate Level (135), nearly all of his equipment was red.


    Equipment turned yellow when its Durability became low, at which point the system would prompt players to repair it. After becoming red, the equipment¡¯s stats would be affected and if the player still didn¡¯t repair it, there was a possibility that it could be permanently damaged.


    Repairing his equipment costed 7 gold coins.


    Having equipment that was too good was also a problem. The repairing fees were incredibly damning.


    In total, it had cost Lu Li 60-70 gold coins to raise his Engineering from 128 to 135. As for the 10 or so fireworks he had made, they were practically worthless, so he decided to give them to Remnant Dream and the others to play with.


    It was nearly the Mid-Autumn Festival and there were quite a few events in the game. When the time came, using fireworks could allow one to win prizes.


    Although Ordinary Sightscopes were more difficult to make and required more expensive materials, there were no dangers in creating them. Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have to take each step with fear in his heart.


    Lu Li had spent his entire day in front of this workbench.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the new teammates had actually somehow cleared the Difficult-level Instance Dungeon without Lu Li and Lonesome Flower.


    They acquired a piece of equipment suitable for Lu Li: a LV15 Steel grade hat.


    Berserker¡¯s Horned Helmet (Steel): 15 Armour, Agility+8, Special Effect: After activating, Detection+5, has a certain chance to detect traps, Level Requirement: 15. Durability: 35/35.


    Although this piece of equipment¡¯s stats were not overpowered, the Detection stat was quite useful.


    In PvP battles, Detection could help a player detect Stealthed creatures, such as Thieves, Druids and pets. In PVE, it was also useful for detecting Stealthed monsters and hidden traps.


    Lu Li¡¯s current hat was LV10 and Steel-grade, without any Special Effects.


    Although there was still room for improvement, his body was covered with exquisite equipment. It was a set of godly equipment that would have been impossible for him to acquire in his ¡®past life¡¯!


    The 2 Daggers and his long-ranged Bow were all decent Steel-grade equips with Special Effects.


    Berserk Fang (Steel): 16-24 Attack, Agility+6, Special Effect: Has a certain chance to trigger the Berserk effect, increasing Attack and Attack Speed by 10%, Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 35/35.


    Bayonet of Vengeance (Steel): Damage 20-28, Agility +8, Strength +4. Special Effect: On hit, there is a chance that the target will gain a bleed effect that deals 20 damage per second for 5 seconds. Level Requirement: LV15. Durability 35/35.


    Broken Skull (Steel): Damage 20-28, Agility +6. Special Effect: There is a certain probability of dealing Piercing damage to the target. Equipment Requirement: Level 10. Durability 32/32.


    His clothing equipment was slightly worse.


    Concealing Chest Armour (Steel): 18 Armour, Agility+6, Constitution+2, Special Effect: Has a certain chance to absorb 20% of damage, Level Requirement: LV15. Durability: 28/28.


    Spellbreaker¡¯s Leather Pants (Steel): 10 Armour, Strength+4, Critical Chance+10%, Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 25/25.


    Snake Skin Shoulderpad (Steel): Defence 15, Strength +6, Agility +4. Level Requirement: LV10. Durability 32/32.


    [Swift Leather Boots] (Steel): 8 Armour, Agility+4, Special Effect: Swiftness- when Stealthed, Movement Speed+10%. Lasts for 10 seconds. Cooldown Time: 120 seconds. Effects cannot be stacked. Level Requirement: LV5. Durability: 30/30.


    Light Belt (Steel): 16 Armor, Agility +8. Special Effect: Certain probability to deal 20% extra damage. Level Requirement: Level 10. Durability 16/32.


    VanCleef¡¯s Grip (Silver): 20 Armour, Agility+12, Strength+4, Special Effect 1: Critical Chance+5%, Special Effect 2: Sudden Thrust, instantly dash to a target within 8 feet, causing 150% Weapon Damage, Cooldown Time: 120 seconds. Level Requirement: LV15. Durability: 45/45.


    Shadow Cloak (Steel): 12 Armor, Agility +10. Special Effect: Emerge from the shadows (stealth) behind a target, gain 50% movement speed for 2 seconds. Level Requirement: LV15. Durability 32/32.


    Rager Bracer (Steel): Amour 15, Agility +6, Critical Hit +5%, Level Requirement LV10. Durability 32/32. (Part of the Rager Equipment Set, exclusive to melee professions)


    Lu Li also had a necklace that formed the Rager Equipment Set with the bracers.


    Rager¡¯s Pendant (Steel): Hit+10%, Reduces Ice Magic Damage by 5%, Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 32/32. (Part of the Rager Equipment Set, exclusive to melee professions)


    Bloodstained Badge (Silver): Constitution+10, recover 1% HP every 3 seconds when wearing the badge. Has a certain chance to activate 30% damage conversion. Level Requirement: LV10. Durability: 40/40.


    The Bloodstained Badge was currently being used by Azure Sea Breeze, as it was more suitable for him. After finding a replacement, Lu Li planned to give it to him permanently.


    As for his rings, one of them was the Sharp Tooth Ring.


    Sharp Tooth Ring (Steel): Damage 6-8, Strength +6, Agility +3. Level Requirement: LV10. Durability 30/30.


    The other ring was Lu Li¡¯s only Gold-grade equipment: the Supreme Two Ring.


    Supreme Two Ring (Gold):


    Strength+10


    Agility+10


    Critical Chance+20%


    Vampirism+20%


    Special effect: The Lord of the Forest, Cenarius, gave this ring special powers. You can learn three Druid transformation skills, as well as two skills for each of those transformations. Equipment Requirements: None. Durability: None.


    Although Lu Li had a set of exquisite equipment, some of the pieces were still LV10 or worse.


    This was especially so for his Shoes and Pants ¨C they were still LV5. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have better Shoes, but that he could only equip the better pair when he was LV25.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s equipment set would definitely sit far above that of any other player¡¯s.


    This was especially so when considering his Special Effects. Almost every piece of Lu Li¡¯s equipment came with a decent Special Effect. If anyone saw them, their eyes would definitely pop out.


    Back when Lu Li had been ¡®farming¡¯ equipment at the Warsong Valley, he had obtained quite a few pieces of LV15 Steel-grade equipment with decent stats. However, none of them were exquisite enough for him to want to equip them.


    Almost all of his equipment could be called perfect.


    Even his pair of LV5 shoes would attract a crowd of people fighting to buy them.


    Moreover, his LV5 Pants gave 10% Critical Chance. A piece of equipment that gave 5% Critical Chance would be considered a treasure, so these Pants were simply priceless. Furthermore, he had the Rager Equipment Set, which was the best equipment set for melee professions under LV30.


    In terms of stats, Lu Li had added all of his stat points into Agility. After levelling up 21 times, he had added a whole 105 points into his Agility. All of his Strength and Constitution came from equipment, but since his equipment was so good, these stats weren¡¯t that much worse than anyone else¡¯s.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn¡¯t so arrogant to think that his equipment was the best it could be.


    At the very least, his clothing, shoulderpads and rings could be a little better. As for the other LV10 equipment, he would immediately replace them if he found any LV20 equipment with Special Effects and decent stats.


    His goal was for all of his equipment to be at least LV20 by the time he was LV30.


    He still had a badge space that was empty. If he gave the Bloodstained Badge to Azure Sea Breeze, he would have 2 free spaces.


    Although he knew of methods to obtain badges, the quests were a bit bothersome and random. He decided to take Hachi Chan to complete them when they had the time. With Hachi Chan, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about not being able to complete the quest.


    However, he would leave all of that for later.


    After a whole day of work, Lu Li had finally upgraded his Engineering to Intermediate Level (150). He fought back the tears as he finally learned the Fool Bomb blueprint.

 192 Receiving Materials For Free

    Blueprint: Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb


    Field: Engineering


    Requirement: Intermediate Level (150)


    Use: Teaches you to create ¡°Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb¡±


    Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb: A fool bomb that can be used by any adventurer who knows nothing about Engineering. Will hit the target almost every time! Deals 2000 Fire damage to tall targets within a radius of 5 yards.


    Lu Li had slaved away for so many days, not doing Instance Dungeons, not killing other players and not levelling up, all for this.


    As soon as he learned the blueprint, he rushed to the Exchange Hall.


    The materials that the Fool Bomb required were quite complicated. Broken down into its constituent parts, a Fool Bomb had a Bronze shell, activation mechanism, detonator, and explosives.


    The Bronze shell was made up of Copper ore, Tin ore and Iron ore. The activation mechanism was made from a fuse and a metal transformer. The detonator required cloth, flame particles and fuel oil, while the most important element, the explosives, were the easiest to make. Back when he had started learning Engineering, Lu Li had made a lot of explosive powder. He would be able to use them after some purification.


    Although the things listed above would cost him quite a lot of money, it was still within an acceptable range.


    However, when he looked for ¡®Starwood¡¯, he was dumbfounded.


    It wasn¡¯t because it was too expensive, but because the prices were ridiculously low. The lowest price was 1 silver coin, as there wasn¡¯t much of it.


    The results for Starwood in the Exchange Hall didn¡¯t even make up a full page and they were all listed separately.


    Lu Li counted and found that there were 12.


    The cheapest was 1 silver coin while the most expensive was 5 silver coins.


    Starwood was only used for making Fool Bombs, so no one paid much attention to it, both in his past and present lives. Everyone just thought of it as a useless material.


    Since it was a useless material, it couldn¡¯t be sold for much money.


    Some people just threw them into the shop, others left them forgotten in their storages, and some smarter people left them in the Exchange Hall. After all, there were no fees involved.


    Lu Li bought all of the Starwood in the Exchange Hall.


    If everything went well, these 12 Starwood would allow him to create 12 Fool Bombs.


    Things had turned out a little differently to what he had expected.


    Twelve was definitely not enough. Lu Li wanted hundreds, if not thousands of bombs so he could repeatedly nuke large mobs and Bosses to rapidly increase his level.


    What could he do to quickly gather more Starwood?


    Lu Li thought for a moment before writing a sentence in the World Channel.


    Lu Li: Buying Starwood, 20 silver coins each. Only requesting 20. Send it to my mailbox, pay on receipt.


    Pay on receipt meant that the seller could set a price that had to be paid before an item could be retrieved from the mailbox. After paying the money, the buyer could retrieve the item and the money would be sent to the seller.


    He said that he only wanted 20 Starwood because he was worried about being taken advantage of.


    What if the other players realised how important Starwood was to him and started to charge astronomical prices? This sort of thing was not uncommon and he simply didn¡¯t want to risk it.


    When he sent the message to the World Channel, the World Channel that he had muted came to life again.


    A world of prosperity was opened up to him.


    Even though it costed 10 silver coins to send a message, many people simply couldn¡¯t help themselves.


    1 Slash 1 Kill: Gangnam Royals, don¡¯t push people too far. This isn¡¯t one of those games where you can bully people as you wish. If you really push us too far, then be prepared for a life and death struggle.


    Pepsi: Am I seeing things? This is so rare ¨C great god Lu Li actually appeared to us in the World Channel. Everyone, gather around.


    Cute Bookworm: Gathering around.


    King: Great god Lu Li, long time no see. Take me to fly.


    Ancient Sword Green Fish: Gathering around.


    Marquis of Linghu: The Brotherhood of Righteousness is currently recruiting, $100,000 salary. Lean against a big tree for shade ¨C the Voyage Shipping Group will create the most beautiful home for you in the game.


    Holy Thunder: Great god, I have one. Can you tell me what it¡¯s used for? I¡¯ll just gift it to you.


    Rabbit Fork: I¡¯ve never heard of it. Who would have thought some people actually have it? Someone please enlighten me as to why the number 1 expert would ask for it in the World Channel.


    Staring Right Eye: Haha, number 1 expert.


    Passionate Mango: I have one as well. I got it from an NPC as a reward for completing a quest. I couldn¡¯t find a use for it though. Great god Lu Li, I¡¯ll give it to you for free if you add me as a friend.


    Immortal Doer: I had that those things from ages ago, but I could never work out what they were for. I¡¯ve asked more than 300 NPCs, but still don¡¯t know. Great god Lu Li, please be merciful and tell me how to use them.


    Prisoner Number 8: I have one, but it¡¯s useless to me, so I¡¯ll gift it to you. Check your mailbox.


    Lord Of The Flies: Everyone¡¯s being so generous? I have one too and I¡¯ll give it to you for free as well. Don¡¯t you dare give any money though- otherwise you¡¯ll be looking down on me.


    Nipple Assassin: ^


    Tang City: Can you not all be like this?You¡¯re making it impossible for someone like me to increase the price. Forget it. It¡¯s just some silver coins. Check your mailbox.


    Great God Dudu: Wuu, I finally know what a real great god is like. So jealous and envious~


    Dragon City: That¡¯s to be expected. This is our faction¡¯s great god. No matter if it¡¯s the Level Rankings or the Instance Dungeon records, we¡¯re on top of the Evil Faction. Why¡¯s that?


    Please call me Son-In-Law: Look at my name.


    Showgirl Chunnie: Esteemed father-in-law, please accept your son-in-law¡¯s respects¡­


    At the start, there weren¡¯t many people who had seen Lu Li¡¯s message, so it was easy to tell what they were saying. After a while, the World Channel exploded with excitement and just looking at it caused Lu Li¡¯s head to spin. Only then did he regret posting in the World Channel.


    He went to his mailbox and looked inside it.


    Swish, swish swish. Ten or so messages flooded in and there were still more coming. After opening them, Lu Li found that they were all Starwood.


    Mail only stopped coming in after half an hour. In total, there were 43 packages.


    Out of these 43 mail packages, only 6 of them were pay on receipt. All of the others had been given to him for free.


    Lu Li paid all of the pay on receipt mail. In the end, no one had tried to take advantage of him. After all, Starwood didn¡¯t have much use and even most NPCs didn¡¯t know how to use it.


    Out of the remaining 37 mail packages, one even contained 2 Starwood.


    He had received 38 Starwood in total.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really owe these people a favour, as the Starwood wasn¡¯t worth much to them.


    But then again, it had to be. After all, these people had simply mailed him the goods without asking for any payment.


    What¡¯s more, these things were only worth a couple of silver coins, so who could be bothered to sell them? Most people would probably just forget about it in their storage.


    This was quite problematic. Lu Li scratched his head in frustration.


    In the end, he simply couldn¡¯t bear to take the Starwood without paying, so he added all of the players who had given it to him for free as friends.


    He wasn¡¯t an ungrateful person.


    Added by Lu Li as a friend!


    No one had expected this.


    All of the people who had gifted Lu Li the materials did so because they respected him, and didn¡¯t expect to use this opportunity to get closer to him.


    Why would a great god who dealt in tens of gold coins become friends with you over a few crappy materials? Although there were tens of millions of players in the Light Faction, the number of people who he added as friends could be counted on a single hand.


    As such, the group of people were completely dumbfounded when they saw the friend request from Lu Li.


    Lu Li originally expected that after adding these people, he would be harassed and annoyed by them. Who would have thought that after preparing himself, not a single person said anything?


    Lu Li exhaled in relief and counted his Starwood. He now had 56 in total.


    After this, he bought large amounts of the other materials from the Exchange Hall, which dropped the gold he was carrying down to single digits.


    However, he had no choice. Engineering had used up a majority of his gold and he was planning to make 56 Fool Bombs. Each of them costed a few gold coins to make, which cooled off his excitement from earlier.


    Using these bombs to level up was simply pay-to-win.

 193 Life and Death

    Lu Li realised that using the bombs to level up was extremely costly.


    However, even if the costs were high, he still needed to level.


    Many people didn¡¯t even know how to use their money effectively.


    I No Fully Understand from the Evil Faction had gone to the extent of hiring people to help him level. He hired people to carry out specific tasks, such as luring and gathering monsters together.


    Everyone was doing all that they could to level up as fast as possible.


    The top of the Level Rankings had been filled with LV18 players a couple of days ago. Today, there were more than thirty LV19 players, who seemed to have given up on Instance Dungeons and were now focused solely on levelling up.


    Lu Li prepared the material required to upgrade the bombs.


    As he was about to start, he remembered something.


    The explosion from making fireworks dealt a few hundred points of damage. What would happen if he upgraded the bombs?


    He was terrified. What if he was killed instantly?


    ¡°What are you guys doing right now?¡± Lu Li decided not to risk it and private-messaged March Rain for help.


    If he died instantly from the explosion, March Rain could revive him on the spot.


    ¡°We¡¯re all training; it¡¯s getting so hard to level up. Why don¡¯t you come and level with us?¡± March Rain quickly replied.


    ¡°Let Hachi Chan heal them. Come back to town and help me,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be right over,¡± March Rain replied without a second thought.


    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± She was evidently confused by all the tools that were involved. Her profession was Tailoring, which was a lot simpler than Engineering.


    Engineering was extremely complicated, as it involved all the other professions in one way or another.


    ¡°I¡¯m making bombs; it¡¯s very dangerous,¡± Lu Li said seriously. ¡°You¡¯d better stay far away in that corner. Yeah, even further. Prepare to heal and shield me from afar.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but it sounds awesome,¡± March Rain joked.


    ¡°Hope you won¡¯t get too scared,¡± Lu Li said, as he readied himself to start.


    The first time was an experimental trial, so Lu Li¡¯s expectations weren¡¯t very high. There was a very low success rate and before the bomb was assembled, it exploded.


    Boom!


    With a flash of light and a loud explosion, Lu Li was sent flying.


    March Rain quickly healed him and finally understood what he meant before. This wasn¡¯t just dangerous ¨C it was life threatening.


    Lu Li patted his chest and said worriedly, ¡°Put a shield on me. Otherwise, I might die from the explosion.¡±


    Luckily, the game prevented tools from being damaged during crafting. Otherwise, Lu Li would have to pay for the repair fees.


    On his second attempt, Lu Li got lucky and the bomb powder was successfully made without exploding.


    However, when he poured the bomb powder into the bronze bomb shell and slowly placed the detonator inside, it exploded again. This time, Lu Li received even more damage.


    Even with the shield, he was at a critically low HP.


    No wonder the bomb experts like Ivy had all died. This was way too dangerous.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop this ¨C it¡¯s too dangerous.¡±


    March Rain didn¡¯t understand why Lu Li was doing all of this. Did all Engineers go through this process?


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Even if I die, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Lu Li wiped away the dirt on his face from the explosion and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t forget ¨C it¡¯s a game and we can be revived.¡±


    March Rain was impressed with his determination.


    Lu Li rested for a while before making the third bomb.


    It¡¯s fine to make mistakes, but it¡¯s unacceptable to make the same mistakes.


    Learning from his previous mistakes, he managed to successfully craft one.


    System: Successfully crafted ¡°Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb¡± Engineering EXP +5.


    Lu Li was so excited that he almost threw the bomb in his hand.


    Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb: A fool bomb that can be used by any adventurer who knows nothing about Engineering. Will hit the target almost every time! Deals 1600 Fire damage to tall targets within a radius of 5 yards.


    It was stated in the blue print that it would deal 2000 fire damage. However, Lu Li knew why there was a difference.


    In order to increase the success rate, he had purposely decreased the amount of explosive powder that was added.


    Less explosive powder meant less power.


    It would be much easier now since he had the experience.


    Despite this, accidents continued to trouble Lu Li.


    After his 3rd failed attempt, his gear was in such a terrible condition that he had to borrow 50 gold from March Rain to repair it.


    When the success rate increased, Lu Li decided to add more explosive powder to increase the power.


    Lu Li was blown away by the next failure and landed on the ground as a corpse.


    He was quickly revived by March Rain and continued, undeterred from completing his suicidal mission.


    ¡°Ok, finally finished.¡±


    Lu Li placed the last bomb carefully onto the table and let out a sigh of relief.


    In reality, a successfully crafted bomb wouldn¡¯t explode unless it was activated. Nevertheless, he was still careful with it because he had put in so much effort.


    ¡°Why did you craft so many of these? Are they for killing monsters?¡± March Rain finally asked.


    Lu Li simply smiled and gave the bomb to her.


    ¡°My goodness! Why is the damage so high?!¡± March Rain was surprised.


    Such an overpowered item shouldn¡¯t even exist!


    A LV20 monster usually had around 3000 to 4000 HP. This meant that they could easily be killed with 2 bombs.


    The main problem was the radius of 5 yards!


    March Rain immediately imagined the satisfaction of throwing the Fool¡¯s Bombs into a large group of monsters and watching them as they disintegrated.


    ¡°It¡¯s too bad that the success rate was so low.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s face and hair was black and burnt from the explosions.


    He had started with 50 or so material sets, but only 36 attempts had been successful. However, he had gained a respectable amount of Engineering EXP and was now Intermediate Level (167), with only 13 more levels to reach Advanced Level.


    Advanced Level Engineers could make Goblin Jumper Cables.


    Unlike Beginner Maintenance Robots, Goblin Jumper Cables can be sold for a high price. The demand for these things were very high, especially for experts. In Lu Li¡¯s past life, almost every expert had a Goblin Jumper Cable in their inventory.


    Imagine dying in the wild and dropping your best equipment.


    Of course, you could risk it and pray that it was still there by the time you go back. If not, then you could only feel happy for making someone else¡¯s day.


    However, if you had a Goblin Jumper Cable in your inventory¡­


    All you had to do was activate it and have a chance to revive on the spot.


    ¡°Are you going to use these to level up?¡± March Rain was envious.


    ¡°Yes, but not alone. I need the whole team, so gather them up. I know a great location ¨C we can level up together,¡± Lu Li corrected her.

 194 Revenant Lands

    He had planned to come to this place ever since he had found the blueprint.


    The Revenant Lands!


    The Revenant Lands were probably the best place to level up using the bombs.


    They belonged to the Revenant Lord Absorune Nilan.


    Absorune was the prodigy of the Nilan family, who was raised by the royal magicians. He exceeded all of their expectations and was appointed to be the next Royal Great Magician in line.


    In Dawn¡¯s lore, every prodigy had a tragic storyline.


    Absorune fell in love with a peasant girl from the country side.


    Their love was forbidden by the elders, in order to keep their name pure and royal. As such, the Duke of Nilan ordered the girl to be executed.


    That night, the moonlight was tainted by blood.


    The small town became nothing but ruins under the mercy of a cavalry raid.


    When Absorune arrived at the scene, the girl and the entire town had been drowned in their own blood. From then on, Absorune was no more ¨C he had become the Revenant Lord.


    After receiving help from the Witch King, he revived the citizens of the town and invaded the land of his family with his plagued army.


    Ever since, the once rich and powerful land that was inherited by the Nilan family had become barren, without a trace of life.


    After the party teleported to Astrana and walked around for a while, they arrived at their destination.


    The Revenant Lands did not have day or night. They were covered by a heavy blanket of black smoke and there were no animals, no trees and no signs of life.


    It was so silent that the only thing you could hear was breathing.


    This time, the entire Xin Xin Mercenary Group was gathered together ¨C Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, March Rain, Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan, Sesame Rice Ball, Wandering, and Moonlight.


    There was also a new member that had been accepted by Wandering after two days of observation.


    Sakura Memories, LV17 Shaman.


    She was a tomboy and learnt martial arts in real life. She was very good at the game and had been selected out of the 10 or so Shamans that were being considered.


    Even though she was only LV17, she was not to be underestimated.


    Sakura Memories was a pro at levelling and even Azure Sea Breeze was impressed with her.


    The main reason that Lu Li and the others were at the top of the Level Rankings was because they were one of the first players in the game.


    Sakura Memories was different - she was part of the 2nd wave of players.


    For someone that started playing in the 2nd wave to have already reached LV17 was extremely impressive, especially for a solo player.


    What was even more impressive was that the little Shaman had already completed her Profession Upgrade Quest by herself.


    The stereotype of girls being bad at games had long been forgotten. Hachi Chan was a quest expert, Remnant Dream had the best gear and March Rain¡¯s natural talent for the game exceeded everyone else¡¯s.


    Sakura Memories was a classic example of an independent, strong woman. Not only was her willpower stronger than most men, she was also valiant and formidable.


    It was Lu Li¡¯s first-time meeting Sakura Memories. However, she had already met everyone else while they were training together.


    ¡°How fast can we level using these bombs?¡± Sakura Memories asked unsurely.


    As a 2nd wave player, she was completely tunnel-visioned on levelling and had no idea what it meant to be the top player in the game.


    She probably thought that Lu Li was not much stronger than Wandering.


    ¡°We¡¯ll level very fast,¡± Lu Li assured her confidently.


    ¡°The Fool¡¯s Bomb does very high damage in an area. However, you need to gather up a lot of monsters to maximize its potential. If there was a place like that, wouldn¡¯t a group of Mages with AOE skills essentially do the same thing?¡± Sakura Memories didn¡¯t understand why Lu Li insisted on training with these bombs. She even thought that he was being unreasonable.


    ¡°The monsters have really high Magic Resist, which would greatly reduce a Mage¡¯s damage,¡± Lu Li explained patiently.


    ¡°But there aren¡¯t any monsters here.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze looked into the distance and saw nothing.


    ¡°There will be monsters later. Let¡¯s set up first.¡± Lu Li directed everyone¡¯s attention towards the higher ground in the valley and said, ¡°Everyone, gather over there.¡±


    Everyone trusted in Lu Li and didn¡¯t question him, so Sakura Memories naturally followed them.


    Although she was doubtful about Lu Li¡¯s plan, she decided to follow what he said, since she was still new to the group.


    This place was great for training ¨C there was a large hole in the slope up ahead which was perfect for trapping monsters.


    Everyone climbed up the slope and looked down at the ditch.


    However, the slope wasn¡¯t steep enough and could be climbed-up from below.


    In a game as popular as Dawn, there were bound to be unique features involving the terrain.


    For example, speed was reduced when going up a hill. If the terrain was too steep, the system would not allow you to climb up. When going downhill, there was an increase in speed.


    ¡°Flower, stand at this position,¡± Lu Li commanded.


    ¡°Then what?¡± Lonesome Flower asked.


    ¡°You are in charge of casting Blizzard to decrease the speed of the monsters at the front of the pack. Sea Breeze, Moonlight and Wandering, you three stand in front of Flower to prevent monsters from getting to her. Who¡¯s good at throwing things? I need two people.¡±


    Lu Li looked at the remaining people that hadn¡¯t been assigned a task and decided to choose Sesame Rice Ball.


    It wasn¡¯t because he looked down on girls, but that the girls in the group were too unpredictable.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ve played basketball for many years, so throwing things should be easy.¡±


    Sesame Rice Ball nodded and accepted the job.


    ¡°Then¡­¡± March Rain hesitated because she wasn¡¯t confident.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ve played basketball, soccer, volleyball, ping pong and other sports as well,¡± Sakura Memory said confidently. She was displeased when Lu Li had looked over the group of girls and asked Rice Ball instead.


    ¡°Ok¡­ you can try then.¡±


    Lu Li was originally planning on letting March Rain do it, as he trusted the little Priest more.


    ¡°What do I do?¡± Hachi Chan became worried.


    ¡°Uh¡­ you stand right there. If any monsters plan on climbing up, then you can blow them away.¡±


    Lu Li thought for a while and assigned a random job for her to do. In reality, when monsters were aggroed, they wouldn¡¯t randomly wander around.


    What Lu Li meant by ¡®blowing¡¯ was the Druid skill and not with her mouth.


    ¡°And me, and me!¡± Remnant Dream saw that everyone had been assigned a role and felt left out.


    ¡°When the monsters die, you can go pick up the gear,¡± Lu Li said to the little Hunter.


    ¡°Are you going to lure the monsters by yourself?¡± Wandering asked.


    ¡°Yeah, I can do it alone. I¡¯ll bring the monsters into the circle and run around for a while. Let the monsters gather up in the centre and throw the bombs on my signal. You must throw them together, one towards the left and one towards the right. Try to damage all the monsters.¡±


    ¡°What kind of monsters are we killing?¡±


    ¡°Spirits. They are around LV20-25 and have about 3600 HP. Two bombs will completely wipe them out. The key is to throw the bombs perfectly. When we finish, I¡¯ll go lure more while you guys clear the battle field for the next wave.¡±


    There were a lot of monsters. A slight mistake would mean certain death, which was why Lu Li didn¡¯t mind spending the extra time explaining to them.

 195 Pulling the Monsters

    After his explanation, Lu Li gave the Bloodstained Badge to Azure Sea Breeze before bending forwards to drink a Basic Agility Potion. He then rushed off into the empty wasteland.


    ¡°Are there really monsters here?¡± Sakura Memories asked, confused.


    ¡°If he says so, then yes.¡± Azure Sea Breeze had known Lu Li for the longest, so he trusted him the most.


    ¡°If there are ghost monsters, then it¡¯s very possible.¡± Conversely, Wandering was more inclined to use his mind to analyze the problem.


    ¡°Why is it possible if they are ghosts?¡±


    ¡°In Dawn, you cannot pass through each other. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all aware of that? Wandering glanced at Azure Sea Breeze with contempt.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Everyone knew this to be true.


    ¡°Ghosts are the exception to this rule. They don¡¯t have a physical body, so they are unrestrained by unit collision,¡± Wandering sighed. ¡°As such, the Fool¡¯s Bomb can only be a great farming tool if it¡¯s used against ghosts.¡±


    One could only admire Lu Li¡¯s eccentric way of thinking.


    If it was any other kind of monster, they would only have killed a couple dozen in half a day¡¯s time, even if they were perfectly packed into a 5-yard radius.


    A dozen people killing a couple of dozen monsters in half a day wasn¡¯t efficient at all.


    However, because Ghosts had no body, they could be infinitely stacked.


    Theoretically, a small area could accommodate an infinite number of ghosts.


    Theoretically, one bomb could yield several levels of EXP¡­


    But of course, these were all considered in the theoretical realm.


    There were abandoned houses strewn all over the Wilderness. These houses had been severely beaten by the wind.


    When Lu Li rushed past, his clothes ruffled in the wind and awakened the sleeping presence of the land.


    A translucent shadow amongst the ruins turned its head and saw Lu Li¡¯s silhouette. This shadow was quiet for a moment, before it threw its head back and let out a soul-piercing wail.


    This wasn¡¯t a normal cry ¨C it was Soul Shriek. Ghosts which had this skill could use it to summon companions.


    More ghosts started to appear.


    They all followed Lu Li closely with the intention of tearing him apart.


    Before long, a Death Mark appeared above his head.


    He was now the equivalent of a guiding light that the monsters would incessantly chase. Lu Li could finally increase his speed.


    He turned into a Leopard and dashed about chaotically in the wilderness.


    Even his journey back wasn¡¯t without its dangers.


    These ghosts did not have bodies, but Lu Li wasn¡¯t like them. Their attacks could easily cause his movement to be interrupted.


    Moreover, these ghosts could also cast Slows.


    Once afflicted by a Slow, his movement speed would be greatly reduced.


    Lu Li told the others that they couldn¡¯t farm here for this very reason.


    There weren¡¯t many people who were faster than Lu Li. Even a Druid with the Cheetah transformation was still slower than Lu Li¡¯s Child of the Forest.


    The ghosts behind him continued to wail and summon more ghosts, thus increasing his number of pursuers.


    He didn¡¯t dare to stop for even a single moment, afraid that they might cast a Slow onto him.


    In his previous life, he once had the privilege of witnessing the Evil Faction¡¯s top guild ¡®Stellar Union¡¯ kill the Revenant Lord. However, this was a bit of an exaggeration for the Stellar Union ¨C they didn¡¯t actually see the Boss.


    Their group of over 400 players were all submerged in the boundless Sea of Death.


    From that point on, ¡®Life Exclusion Zone¡¯ was no longer just a name, but a reality.


    Lu Li was currently in the periphery of the outskirts of the Revenant Lands. Even so, he was frightened by the flood of monsters following him. He gave up on his plan to continue pulling and turned a corner to leave, not knowing how many ghosts he was bringing with him.


    ¡°Lu Li, are you done yet? Flower and I have been waiting for ages,¡± Azure Sea Breeze pleaded in the chatroom.


    ¡°Just finished. There are quite a few monsters, but you must stay calm.¡±


    Lu Li was concerned that they wouldn¡¯t know how to react to this situation, so he quickly addressed it.


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯ve experienced all kinds of storms with¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up, don¡¯t start now. Everyone stay alert and get ready!¡± Wandering interrupted Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s boasting.


    There were definitely too many monsters.


    From their perspective on the high ground, they could see the overwhelming number of monsters chasing Lu Li. The monsters were almost transparent, with hideous and pained faces.


    Lu Li rushed over.


    Lonesome Flower hastily threw a Blizzard down behind him.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to enter into the fray, as he ran around the perimeter to congregate and herd the monsters together


    The bomb¡¯s radius was very small, but every extra monster killed was worth it.


    ¡°Can I throw it now?¡± Sakura Memories¡¯ palms were becoming sweaty upon seeing Lu Li perilously dodging in and out of the Ghosts¡¯ claws.


    Mother didn¡¯t need to worry about Lu Li any longer.


    If it weren¡¯t for this inappropriate moment, she would have immediately expressed her admiration for Lu Li.


    ¡°Wait. Wait for my command.¡±


    Lu Li cancelled his Leopard form in the distance. His speed was slower, making his situation more dangerous, but his eyes remained focused on the monsters. He then quickly activated the swiftness effect on his shoes.


    ¡°Lu Li!¡± Wandering was standing up quite high, so he could clearly see a white, ring-like slow come out of a ghost¡¯s claw and into Lu Li¡¯s body.


    Lu Li heard his call and didn¡¯t continue to stand idly as he activated Shadow Cloak.


    Magic Immunity!


    ¡°Good.¡± Wandering was relieved¡¯ his timing was just right.


    The ghosts were continuously packed into a small patch of ground and eventually, there were thousands of them huddled together.


    ¡°Do it!¡±


    When Lu Li saw that the monsters had gathered and that his Shadow Cloak duration was almost up, he quickly issued the blast command.


    The Fool¡¯s bomb was called the Fool¡¯s bomb because it was easy to operate.


    Once the player triggered the activation mechanism, the bomb would prime and explode after three seconds!


    Sesame Rice Ball and Sakura Memories were both technically good players. They didn¡¯t dare to delay when there were this many monsters and both immediately threw the bombs.


    Lu Li quickly crawled behind some cover and sat down.


    The Fool¡¯s Bomb exploded with much more force than it had in his lab. There was a flash before a fiery shockwave was sent out in a five yard radius. The explosion was ferocious¡­


    Any units that were in the area of effect were subjected to a fixed amount of damage.


    Even these peculiar ghosts were affected.


    Ghosts weren¡¯t a commonly-farmed monster, as they were immune to all physical damage and most magic damage.


    There were only two kinds of players that could farm them ¨C Paladins and Light Priests.


    However, there were no issues with using the bomb. Lu Li could continuously hear the sound of himself gaining EXP as he joyfully looked at his EXP bar visibly filling up.


    ¡°Why are there still so many!?¡±


    Wandering¡¯s shout caught Lu Li¡¯s attention. He was surprised to discover that there were still hundreds of ghosts on the field that had not yet died.


    ¡°Paladin, go and keep them occupied. Hachi Chan and Memories, you guys are responsible for DPS. March Rain heal. Sesame Rice Ball, get another bomb ready.¡±


    After observing the situation, Lu Li resolutely decided to use another bomb.


    There were several hundred monsters that were over LV20, so there was no way they could clear them out with conventional methods.

 196 Bombing Indiscriminately

    ¡°Lu Li, how much are those?¡±


    Wandering felt impressed with himself; he was worried about the costs even at a time like this.


    ¡°Over a dozen gold. Throw!¡± Lu Li responded.


    Sesame Rice Ball flicked his hand, released the bomb and watched as the black gadget floated through the air. It was like throwing a handful of gold.


    There was a loud explosion which left some coins behind. There was nothing else left.


    ¡°This is insane. Insane,¡± Sakura Memories muttered to herself.


    She wasn¡¯t poor ¨C in fact, she could be considered to be quite well-off. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to buy such expensive levelling equipment on her first day.


    But even she didn¡¯t dare to believe that the bomb she had just thrown was worth over a dozen gold.


    They threw three bombs in total. Even if they were only worth 40 gold altogether, that was still $4000 in real money. The statistics from China Economics Online showed that the national average income was not even 4000 dollars.


    However, by the look on Lu Li¡¯s face, it was obvious that he wanted to do that again.


    ¡°If you feel like it¡¯s a waste, then make sure you aim it a little better.¡±


    Lu Li knew what their faces meant but calmly waved his hands and rushed back into the Revenant Lands.


    In his second attempt, Lu Li pulled the monsters at a faster rate. He had a better understanding of their attack patterns and thus, was able to pull even more of them.


    He still refused to show the new players that he could transform into a leopard. You could call him stingy or cautious, but this was just the way he had been brought up.


    After doing one big loop, Lu Li transformed back into his original form as he made his way back.


    ¡°He¡¯s coming.¡±


    Wandering saw a small black dot in the distance that was being followed by an overwhelming group.


    Sakura Memories and Sesame Rice Ball were much more cautious with the bombs this time. They threw them correctly, which caused a splendid explosion.


    The monsters were completely wiped out under the force of these two bombs as the EXP bars of each player rushed forwards once again.


    This was the kind of EXP that you could only receive after half a day¡¯s work.


    ¡°Let¡¯s split the cost evenly.¡± Moonlight was a PVP player who usually just carried an axe and went around chopping people down. He rarely participated in team activities and felt particularly sorry.


    ¡°Yeah. This way of farming is just too expensive. Let¡¯s talk about how we¡¯re paying.¡±


    Wandering was always one to insist on financial clarity, so naturally, he was the first to support the idea.


    The others also voiced their opinions. It was okay if they had to spend some money. Every wave required three bombs, which was a few dozen gold coins. If they didn¡¯t contribute and just enjoyed the free EXP, they would feel guilty.


    However, they also wanted to know something else.


    This was an item that could yield half a day¡¯s worth of EXP in 10 minutes, and was definitely not something that was only worth a few dozen gold coins.


    If this bomb was sold, people would pay 100 gold coins for one.


    They couldn¡¯t imagine that in Lu Li¡¯s previous life, he had found a Fool¡¯s bomb and auctioned it for 300 gold.


    Of course, there were many reasons why he was able to auction it at such a price. The buyer probably had a specific reason for wanting the bomb ¨C he didn¡¯t take it to use for farming.


    Players weren¡¯t able to derive a blueprint from a product, but NPCs could. That buyer bought the bomb so he could give it to an NPC, hoping that the Fool¡¯s Bomb blueprint would be produced.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li never found out who ultimately developed the Fool¡¯s Bomb blueprint.


    ¡°At our level, we can level up in six waves.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze was filled with emotion. As a levelling madman, he had thought very hard about how to farm more efficiently. However, all of his struggles couldn¡¯t even be compared to a few pudgy-looking black balls.


    As he said this, the second wave was cleared out. He was already about level up, so he reached LV20, becoming the second person to do so behind Lu Li.


    Lonesome Flower closely followed; he seemed to be about to about to level up as well.


    However, Lu Li was already halfway past LV21. The EXP required for him to level up had become greater and greater, but he would easily reach LV22 by the end of the day.


    With 36 bombs, they could wipe out 12 more waves of monsters.


    To get from LV19 to 20, a player needed to clear out 6 waves.


    20 to 21 required 10 waves, 21 to 22 required 16 waves and 22 to 23 required 24 waves. The assumption here was that every wave would not be smaller than the second wave.


    Of course, as Lu Li got better at pulling the monsters, the number of monsters increased.


    After all the bombs had been used, Lu Li had made decent progress into LV22 EXP bar. The others had all levelled up as well.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were both LV21 now. Other than Sakura Memories, who still needed a little more EXP, everyone else was LV20. They had taken over the leaderboard once again and this time, it was by a significant margin. They now suddenly occupied 9 positions.


    The World Announcements had already turned itself upside down in uproar.


    Some smarter people related this to Lu Li¡¯s purchase of Starwood, feeling like they had discovered a secret.


    Starwood could quickly increase your level!


    By eating it?


    That was a joke, but it probably had to do with a quest. But where would they find the NPC? How could they find the NPC? How would they obtain the quest? They wanted to ride this rocket too¡­


    Lu Li once again muted the World Announcements. In trying to figure out the function of Starwood, the channel had reached another climax.


    He had expected this to happen, as he had only recently acquired the Starwood.


    The players who were jealous of him were not in the minority.


    Even the 4th player, who was once number 1 and was currently the Chief of Glory Capital ¨C ¡°INo Understand¡± ¨C was furious with envy.


    He really was going mad.


    He was the reputation of the guild.


    If a player could hold a position at the front of the rankings, it would be good publicity for their guild.


    Glory Capital had promised him great riches if he reached the top spot, as both he and the guild would receive significant monetary benefits. The amount was so high that even large guild executives were desperately pushing for it.


    However, it was probably best if they just forgot about first place. Lu Li¡¯s levelling was far faster than any ordinary player.


    While the top 100 list was filled with players who were LV 18-19, only one person had managed to reach LV21 at this time.


    Perhaps they could settle for second. Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were doing well, but at least there was some hope of overtaking them.


    Poor I No Understand¡­


    In order to help him level up, his guild had sent out 12 Mages. They were split into 3 teams that were always killing monsters. There was also a group of players who would pull the monsters in and another group of players that would deliver potions¡­


    If there were more monsters available, there would be even more players doing this.


    But seeing Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s recent progress would make any player¡¯s eyes pop out.


    Who would have thought that so many people would overtake I No Understand in such quick succession? In under an hour, he had lost the 4th place that he had worked so hard for and dropped to 10th.


    Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, March Rain, Remnant Dream, Sesame Rice Ball, Wandering, Moonlight and Hachi Chan were currently in the top nine. All of them were from Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Damned Xin Xin Mercenary Group!

 197 A Statistical Anomaly?

    Damned Xin Xin Mercenary Group!


    They must have been cheating!


    Someone should report them to customer services - these slags needed to be punished!


    However, those people were bound to be disappointed. After some investigation by the system, all the data had been found to be normal.


    A blueprint had been ¡®stolen¡¯ by a player from an NPC. The player then crazily levelled up their Engineering EXP to reach the appropriate level for the bomb. The only jaw-dropping fact was that this player clearly had the ability to mass produce these bombs.


    A group of game designers, Technical Advisors and Sociology Experts had been called together for an urgent meeting.


    ¡°We have no right to delete something that is natural within the game ¨C this is contrary to the spirit of the game. Various player unions are constantly watching the data within the game,¡± the legal advisor said seriously.


    He made no reference to the law, because he knew that the law wasn¡¯t the strongest power.


    The spirit of the game wasn¡¯t something that had always been taken seriously. However, it could now become a matter of life and death for a game. Once a game company had violated the spirit of the game, many players would be disappointed and rival game companies could easily use this against them.


    Although Dawn was controlled by high-authority figures throughout the country, these figures still had political enemies.


    These enemies were always lurking, waiting for any kind of error to pounce on.


    As Dawn seemed to become more and more popular, there were bound to be people who were eagerly waiting for its downfall so they could drag their enemies down into the abyss.


    ¡°That is correct. We also don¡¯t have the ability to make such a change. The key to modify the main program lies with the board of directors,¡± supported the technician.


    ¡°This really isn¡¯t much of an issue,¡± the CEO said as he waved his hands, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you guys wanted to meet so urgently.¡±


    ¡°All of Dawn¡¯s player base is concerned about this player. This is no small matter,¡± the head designer responded while wiping the sweat off his forehead.


    This man had gone straight to his boss¡¯ superior. He thought that the issue was so big that he had called out the CEO. However, he didn¡¯t realize that they would have a completely opposite opinion.


    This was what people were most afraid of in a workplace. Could he have done something dumb?


    ¡°Concerned about this player? This really isn¡¯t an issue.¡± The CEO operated the control panel, bringing up a large picture Lu Li on the screen. ¡°We have been closely following this player since the beginning of the game.¡±


    ¡°His ability has destroyed the balance of the game,¡± the director declared, trying to draw everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Can he fight 100 people at once? Or kill a person in one hit? Or does he have some kind of godly equipment on his body?¡± The CEO stood up as he grew impatient.


    It was probably unlikely that Lu Li could fight 100 people at once. Although his PVP battles were stunning, this was nothing compared to fighting 100 players at once. Realistically, there was even a chance of failure when facing a party of five players. If it were 10 players, he would probably have to avoid them, while if it were 100 players, he wouldn¡¯t even dare to reveal himself.


    As for killing a person in one hit, it took him a whole skill rotation.


    His Supreme Ring ¨C the godly item ¨C had been slightly abused. It was originally designed for entertainment purposes.


    The fact that Lu Li had already upgraded it to level two was beyond the designer¡¯s expectations. Even the head designer felt embarrassed about this.


    ¡°We need a hero, the players need a hero and Dawn needs a hero. The more players there are like this, the better,¡± the CEO said as he left the room. When he was a few steps short of leaving the room, he said, ¡°Mr Chen, you have abused your power and attempted to tamper with the natural data within the game. Submit your resignation to HR tomorrow. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to explain the non-disclosure agreement¡±


    The head designer slumped into his chair. His mind was a mess; the only word that he remembered was resignation.


    ¡°Mr Chen, take care now.¡±


    His deputy, who had pushed him to call this meeting, smiled as he walked over.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Head Designer Chen was now blue in the face, as he finally understood.


    ¡°If you think about it, it really isn¡¯t a problem. The Fool¡¯s bomb isn¡¯t really that good. Starwood¡¯s drop rate is also quite low and the ghosts aren¡¯t that common either. Once they level up, the ghosts will eventually yield no EXP. The balance hasn¡¯t been destroyed,¡± the deputy sighed as he shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me ¨C you were blinded by your own greed. You really wanted to interfere with natural data? This is natural data we are talking about¡­¡±


    Lu Li had no idea that he had even caused some ripples within the game company.


    It was a good thing that everyone had listened to Lu Li¡¯s instructions to clear out their bags, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold as many things. Even so, there was still so many Bronze and Common equipment that they had to throw away as trash.


    The ghosts were all ordinary monsters, so the best that they could drop was Bronze equipment. The chance of them dropping Steel equipment was almost non-existent.


    However, it was still worth collecting the Skill Books and the materials.


    After farming tens of thousands of these ghosts, a dozen Skill Books had been dropped. Of course, one shouldn¡¯t hope to obtain an Ultimate Skill from these ordinary monsters.


    Lu Li himself had managed to obtain a Thief Skill¡ªGouge.


    Gouge: 2 second cast time. Gouge the target¡¯s eyes, paralyzing them for 1 second. The target must be facing you when the skill is cast. Any damage to the target will cause them to recover. Proficiency 1/5.


    With a two second cast time, this skill would never be taken seriously. Regular players were more likely to use Instant Cast skills like Kidney Strike, which had a longer crowd control.


    However, the experts had a different opinion.


    When this skill was upgraded, its cast time would be shortened and its crowd control duration will be increased. It would then become a very good crowd control skill.


    Lu Li already had quite a few crowd control skills, but no one would ever complain about ever having too many. As such, he quickly learnt the skill.


    ¡°Sell whatever equipment you can and take whatever materials you need. Everyone can do their own thing now,¡± Lu Li declared as the battlefield cleared.


    ¡°These are all basically trash; selling them won¡¯t make much money. We¡¯ve spent a few hundred gold today¡­ Actually, if you calculate it with the market price rather than the cost, we would have spent even more,¡± Wandering said, looking extremely uncomfortable.


    ¡°You old fart. Where can you buy levels from?¡± Azure Sea Breeze immediately refuted Wandering.


    To a levelling madman like him, there was no price that was too high. Sakura Memories, who was also a levelling madman, nodded at this.


    She still felt like she was dreaming. She was only LV17 in the morning, but in a flash, she had suddenly reached LV19 with only a little more to go until LV20.


    As a female player who had joined with the second batch of players, such an achievement was already something to be proud of. She had now even ranked on the leaderboard among the top 16.


    ¡°Alright, stop arguing about it. I made the bombs so we could all level up; don¡¯t worry too much about the money. If you feel like you need to compensate me, you can help me find some special, rare materials that I will need down the line.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. We should at least compensate the costs,¡± Wandering insisted, ¡°Otherwise, who else would dare to come and farm this free EXP again?¡±


    They really were farming free EXP today.


    Other than Lu Li¡¯s bombs, Lonesome Flower was the only other person who had contributed, by casting Blizzard.


    ¡°Everyone can share the cost price then. We currently have two tasks. Those who haven¡¯t upgraded their professions should do the Profession Upgrade Quest and everyone else should get ready for the Howling Caves!¡± Lu Li resolutely ended the dispute and announced the beginning of the Howling Caves plan.

 198 Mid-Autumn Festival Activities

    Before travelling to the Revenant Lands, Lu Li had already planned to take on the wasteland¡¯s Howling Caves. However, he knew that it was going to be very difficult, so he was meticulously making preparations.


    The higher the level of an Instance Dungeon, the more difficult it was. A ten-player Instance Dungeon like the Howling Caves would teach the players the true meaning of despair.


    But this time, it would be different, as the Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s members were mostly at least LV20. Azure Sea Breeze was already LV21, so he would not receive bonus damage from the first three Bosses due to their level difference.


    Despite this and the fact that they had enough players, they couldn¡¯t simply take on the Howling Caves.


    Lu Li wanted Wandering and the others to attempt their Profession Upgrade Quests, as players who had completed these were generally stronger.


    While they did this, he was going to practice his Forging Trade Skill. His Engineering had already brought him substantial returns and surely, the highly-regarded Forging Trade Skill would not disappoint him.


    At that moment, a System Prompt sounded in his ear.


    This was accompanied by brightly-colored text appearing on all the channels. Every player in Dawn had received this announcement.


    System: The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming and we would like to spend this festive time with you! On the 27th of September 2215, Dawn will be hosting a series of events: 1 ¨C Mooncakes from the sky ¨C the whole map will randomly drop Mooncake Gift Boxes. 2 ¨C The Shadow Cup PVP competition will begin. 3 ¨C All the craftsmen NPCs in all towns and villages will refresh. 4 ¨C ¡­


    There were 10 events altogether, ranging from PVE to PVP and Combat professions to Trade Professions. Even Data Collectors and casuals could take part in them. As long a player participated in some way, they would receive the rewards.


    It was needless to say that the most important events were the first three. At the very least, Lu Li would put his effort the first three.


    The first event was open to all players. Most players were likely to find a Mooncake Gift Box, which had a chance of dropping Potions, Equipment, Materials, toys, Mooncakes etc.


    Moreover, there was a chance that a monster could drop a Mooncake Gift Box. This chance was higher when fighting a Boss.


    As the name of the second event suggested, it was a PVP event. In fact, this was the event that all of the experts were interested in.


    The Shadow Cup was a historical gaming tournament. It was started 160 years ago by Shadow and had quickly become an integral part of entertainment culture.


    It was said that this cup was the creation of one senior player. Players watched as he had decided one day to start the Shadow Cup, which he then persisted to host for over 100 years.


    His slogan was intimidating: As the Shadow never dies, so will this event never end!


    All his descendants had to declare that statement before they could take on any tasks for the Shadow Cup.


    Shadow had also suffered some career lows in the past 100 years, but whenever these occurred, countless players would flock to the cinemas to support him.


    As technology developed to the point where food could be synthesized and factories had become fully autonomous, human resources were eventually freed. Anyone, rich or poor, could now support the entertainment industry and the influence of the Shadow Cup naturally rose again.


    The most important thing was that the winnings of each Shadow Cup totaled tens of millions of dollars in real money.


    The third event was also for all players, as anyone could accept the quest. However, as the NPC would only give out Trade Skill related quests, it was considered a Trade Skill event.


    ¡°That sounds awesome,¡± Azure Sea Breeze grinned.


    ¡°Tch, what could you possibly participate in?¡± Wandering glanced at him with disdain, which successfully sent the Main Tank into a rage.


    ¡°You talking about me? Do you remember when you last asked me for help? If I didn¡¯t bring the appendicitis medicine, you would have just laid in bed in pain. You called me and cried out to me to save you because you thought you were going to die,¡± Azure Sea Breeze retaliated.


    ¡°The events will start next week. Which events would you guys like to participate in?¡± Lu Li quickly cut them off. If they fought each other out here in the wilderness, one of them would die and lose EXP.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we participate in all of them?¡± Hachi Chan¡¯s eyes lit up, feeling like her time had come.


    ¡°You could, but it would be better to just focus on one. We can split into small groups to work out which of these events are the most cost effective.¡± Lu Li couldn¡¯t find a way to tell them that the first three events were the best and could only make tact recommendations.


    In reality, all of the rewards were quite good, but it was more difficult to win a prize in the last seven events.


    For example, the ¡°I love Dawn¡± photography contest had a $1 million prize that was offered by a photography company. However, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group probably didn¡¯t have anyone who could do that.


    ¡°What do you plan to participate in?¡± Moonlight asked.


    ¡°Anyone can participate in the first one as long as they are in game ¨C it just depends on their luck. But, I plan to pick up a quest for the Third event. I¡¯ve practiced my Engineering and it¡¯s almost at Expert Level. As for the third event¡­¡±Lu Li paused.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it together.¡±


    Moonlight wasn¡¯t his usual calm self; he was actually showing some excitement.


    ¡°Why? Are you interested?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a professional event ¨C aren¡¯t you interested?¡± Moonlight¡¯s eyes were shining, which made him look inexhaustibly eager.


    ¡°I once heard of someone who the online world considered as a great God of gaming. His name was Blood Demon,¡± Wandering said as he inserted himself into the conversation and continued, ¡°He and his team had taken many positions on many ranking lists and had even become champions of the Shadow Cup. But, rumor had it that they had some internal conflict which sent them downhill. Eventually, they had a complete falling out in a game called Shadow Realm¡­¡±


    Upon hearing the name Blood Demon, Moonlight¡¯s expression changed a little. He waited until Wandering finished his ramble before wryly adding, ¡°That¡¯s right, I am Blood Demon. Brother Wandering seems to know a lot.¡±


    Wandering smiled sneakily and said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m Guessing.¡±


    ¡°You damned blind rat,¡± Azure Sea Breeze attacked. ¡°Lighty, I¡¯m not talking about you. I¡¯m talking about him.¡±


    ¡°Ah, let¡¯s not revisit things in the past.¡±


    Moonlight shook his head, obviously unwilling to talk about his past and instead asked, ¡°Lu Li, are you interested in participating in a Professional Competition with me, a failure? We¡¯ll go in and take home the grand prize.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not like you,¡± Lu Li refused, shaking his head.


    Moonlight looked a little distressed. Would he have no way of starting over ever again?


    ¡°I¡¯m not like you ¨C I don¡¯t have any interest in taking home the grand prize. However, I am very interested in the rewards that are involved in winning the grand prize. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m not participating in the second event,¡± Lu Li seriously said.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry. He rubbed his face as he said, ¡°We are still down by one person. Shadow Cup matches are 3v3.¡±


    ¡°Hrm, this is no easy task¡­¡± Lu Li laughed.


    Wandering immediately straightened up; he had to be the one.


    ¡°March Rain can be our Healer.¡±


    Lu Li immediately picked March Rain. This little Priest was already good enough to be the main Priest of the Champion team, based on the memories of his past life.


    Her talent could easily be seen from the PVE situations that they had been in.


    Within the short period of one month, he had watched the little noob, who could only look on as her brother died to the Wolf, grow into a Priest who could independently heal an entire party, before finally becoming the main force behind the First Clear of the Death Mines on Difficult Level.


    Lu Li had solo¡¯ed Bosses time and time again, so he was always in the limelight. Azure Sea Breeze was the Main Tank, so he was perceived to be the core of the team. As for the Healer, not many players paid attention to her, so they never really appreciated her importance.


    Most players just thought that you just needed to keep on healing and that there was no technique to it.


    Lu Li suddenly felt expectant that March Rain would improve while in PVP. She would definitely be better than in PVE.


    Although Wandering was a good player, he didn¡¯t have much PVP ability, much like Azure Sea Breeze. If Lu Li and Moonlight had to pick one other player, they wouldn¡¯t pick them.

 199 Forging Day

    Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain. A Thief, a Warrior and a Priest ¨C what a wonderful combination.


    In all of Lu Li¡¯s experience, he had never seen such a composition before. This composition mainly lacked magical crowd control and damage. Moreover, Priests currently didn¡¯t have many skills, so they might not be strong enough.


    However, he still believed that they could pull it off. Moonlight and Lu Li¡¯s burst was high; there weren¡¯t many players who could survive their focused attacks.


    This was especially the case for Lu Li, who not only had strong attacks, but high-survivability as well.


    ¡°If March Rain can finish her Profession Transfer quest, that would be good.¡±


    Moonlight had already completed his quest. He had purchased the Transfer Scroll with 2000 Glory points, so he had never actually set foot on the quest maps.


    Most PVP players completed their Profession Transfer in this way, but comparatively speaking, their need for Skill Points was not as great.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the outpost and try to finish it.¡±


    March Rain looked gentle but was actually quite fortuitous. She was like Lu Li and would try her best in all the things that she did.


    ¡°Alright, let me know when you¡¯re in and we¡¯ll see which map it is.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t have a plan either.


    A large portion of completing the Profession Transfer was based on luck. For example, you could end up in an easy map, or run into some players that you knew. Azure Sea Breeze smoothly completed his quest because he ran into some Drizzle Court players who he was familiar with.


    However, if you got a special map with many enemies, you would have to rely on your own ability.


    ¡°Once you¡¯re in, look around to see if there are players from large guilds around. I¡¯ll help you look,¡± added Moonlight. His connections were wider than Lu Li¡¯s and the people he knew were all experts.


    ¡°If that doesn¡¯t work, we can take you into the battlefield. Farming 2000 Glory Points is actually not that difficult,¡± Lu Li said murderously. Moonlight agreed with him ¨C today was only Wednesday and they still had four days to go. It would be enough time.


    As they were off negotiating, Azure Sea Breeze walked over with his chest puffed-up.


    ¡°We also want to participate in the competition. Wandering, Sakura Memories and I will form an aggressive team. If you end up facing us in the competition, good luck to you.¡±


    ¡°Huh, you have two Main Tanks. What kind of joke is this?¡± Lu Li laughed at the thought of it.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. If I¡¯m so strong, why do I need Breezy? Breezy you¡¯re out. Everyone, welcome Sesame Rice Ball to our team,¡± Wandering said.


    ¡°You shameless dog,¡± Azure Sea Breeze raged. ¡°Dreamy, big brother will take you to a competition to earn some gold!¡±


    The little hunter shook her head and said, ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t want to fight. I need to accompany Guo Guo¡­


    Guo Guo was her pet Tiger that had been raised to be plump and strong. It was exceptionally ferocious, but it was too bad that it had such a cute name. If it wasn¡¯t constrained by the system, the tiger would have eaten its master by now.


    ¡°Hachi Chan!¡± Azure Sea Breeze apprehensively looked at the Druid.


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± With such boundless energy, she was truly the daughter of the System.


    ¡°Fantastic. Flower, I don¡¯t need to ask you right? We¡¯re like brothers¡­¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze embraced Lonesome Flower¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Lonesome Flower sneered, ¡°Not too long ago, you didn¡¯t even consider me and now, you¡¯re suddenly my brother. Sorry, I only have one sister who is about to be stolen away and no brothers.¡±


    ¡°Uhh, but Flower, I treat you so well¡­¡±


    Lonesome Flower ignored him and started to channel his return teleport.


    Lu Li and the others started to head off as well. Those who hadn¡¯t finished their Profession Transfer had to get ready for it, but Lu Li was planning to train his Forging. Hachi Chan was already LV20 and he couldn¡¯t put off using her Mold for much longer.


    Azure Sea Breeze, who had also already finished his Profession Transfer quest, decided to prepare for the Shadow Cup. He went into the Warsong Canyon with an axe in one hand and a giant shield in the other.


    Moonlight felt a sense of obligation and followed him. Otherwise, this could end badly for Azure Sea Breeze.


    Unlike Lu Li, he had no experience of being excessively hunted, so he had not developed his escaping ability. He was currently like a moving bag of Glory that could even drop equipment.


    Lu Li emptied his backpack and filled it with Crushed Stones before heading to the Blacksmith to learn Forging.


    Although the game¡¯s Blacksmith was bigger than most players would have initially imagined, the number of players who wanted to learn Forging was just too great. There was always a long queue all day long.


    Moreover, not everyone could receive a room number to forge in.


    The person responsible for registration was a small, grumpy Dwarf.


    ¡°15 Silver coins per hour.¡± The little Dwarf was rather dishonest ¨C his price was very high.


    ¡°Why it so expensive? Alchemy only costs 5 Silver!¡± the player in front of Lu Li cried out. Fifteen Silver coins was already the price of a piece of Bronze equipment. The income wouldn¡¯t be able to cover the costs at this price.


    The Dwarf stared at him and curled his beard as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t compare this to such a sissy trade skill; you are blaspheming the Forging Gods. Go to the back of the line.¡±


    Although he was a Dwarf, he still had immense strength, which showed as he grabbed the player¡¯s belt and knocked him to the back of the line.


    He landed exactly at the last position of the line, not any closer or any further.


    Lu Li obediently took out the 15 Silver coins.


    ¡°Brother Dwarf from the Copper Tribe, please open a Forging room for me. I would like to learn the great art of Forging.¡±


    After his history was acknowledged, the Copper Tribe Dwarf immediate put away his contempt for Lu Li. Upon hearing that Lu Li wanted to learn the great art of Forging, he didn¡¯t hesitate. The moment that Lu Li finished the formalities, he immediately handed over the Forging Badge.


    The room that was given to Lu Li was also quite good. The fireplace was burning ferociously and was obviously using good coal.


    However, Lu Li could only Forge Whetstones, so he couldn¡¯t make use of this flame.


    Making a Whetstone was quite simple. There was almost no chance of failure, but it gave less EXP.


    Fortunately, Lu Li only needed to get his Forging level to Basic (15) before he was able to Forge something else. Altogether, he forged over 30 Whetstones to complete his goal.


    The next thing was the Green One-handed Sword that he had found in the Exchange Hall.


    After Lu Li prepared the materials, he stared at the Forging Hammer in his hands.


    Cresso¡¯s Hammer (Special): Strength +20, Forging Speed +30%, Forging Success Rate +20%, Grade +1, Lu Li Exclusive, Durability 100/100.


    Because of its +20 Strength, it was easy to wave around. Lu Li¡¯s Forging Speed also noticeably increased. As for the increased Success Rate, Lu Li couldn¡¯t really feel it, as the Whetstone¡¯s probability of failure was too low. Out of the 30 Whetstones he had forged, not a single one had failed.


    What could Grade +1 possible mean? Perhaps it meant that an equipment¡¯s Grade would be immediately promoted?


    That probably wasn¡¯t the case ¨C it was too ridiculous. If a newly-forged equipment was Bronze, the result would be a Steel-grade piece of equipment. If it was Steel, then the result would be a Silver piece of equipment. If it was Silver, then the result would be beyond imaginable.


    Regardless, he would know once he forged something. Lu Li was looking forward to wielding the hammer as he smashed it down onto the unfinished One-Handed Sword.

 200 A Good Return

    System: Production of the Soldier¡¯s Long Sword has failed.


    F¡­Failed!


    How could it have failed? Weren¡¯t the initial stages of Forging supposed to be easy to get through? The hammer should have also increased the success rate by 20%...


    He had been so focused on the end-result that he had failed.


    In his previous life, a strong Trade Profession Player had once said that Trade Skills required ¡®heart¡¯!


    After gathering his thoughts, Lu Li focused all of his attention onto the sword base that was before him.


    Of course, in-game Forging was nothing like Forging in real life. In reality, forging a sword required fanning the flames, smelting ore, casting and other kinds of machinery. On the other hand, the game would skip over the first few steps. Once the Trade Skill was used, a certain amount of ore would be consumed and the sword base would be formed. Players were only required to hammer the sword into shape, temper it¡­etc


    System: A Soldier¡¯s Long Sword has been successfully produced. Forging EXP +1.


    Soldier¡¯s Long Sword (Bronze): Damage 12-18, Strength +3, Equipment Requirement: Level 5. Durability 20/20.


    It seemed to be a little different¡­


    Lu Li opened up the Forging panel and found the blueprint that he had learnt.


    On the blueprint, it said that the Forged Soldier¡¯s Long Sword would be:


    Soldier¡¯s Long Sword (Bronze): Damage 10-16, Strength 1~2, Equipment Requirement: Level 5. Durability 20/20.


    This definitely wasn¡¯t what he had in his hands.


    Not only was its upper and lower bound of damage increased by 2 points, it also now had three attribute points.


    Even low-end LV5 Steel-Grade equipment would only have three attribute points.


    One could doubtlessly say that Lu Li was holding was an exquisite weapon.


    Exquisite LV5 weapons couldn¡¯t be sold for a heaven-defying price, but they could still be sold for at least 10 or so silver coins in the Exchange Hall


    Presumably, this was the effect of the Grade +1 property.


    Lu Li then continued to make another 13 Swords. Two of them had +3 attributes, while the rest had +2 attributes. There wasn¡¯t a single sword that only had Strength+1.


    He felt like a large mountain of coins had fallen from the sky and buried him.


    From Forging 14 Swords, he had gained a total of 10 EXP. He now needed to find a new blueprint to increase his EXP more rapidly. Because of this magical hammer, he wouldn¡¯t lose as much money.


    ¡°That is¡­¡±


    Lu Li had long since noticed a person standing at the door who seemed to have something on his mind. After hesitantly approaching someone else, he would immediately retreat, as if he was too embarrassed to speak.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Lu Li looked at him calmly.


    The person before him was wearing cloth armor and had a Warlock-style Steeple hat. In one hand, he held a LV10 Steel Magic Staff; he was probably a Warlock. Lu Li couldn¡¯t see his level, but based on his equipment, it probably wasn¡¯t very high. He was unlikely to be higher than LV15.


    Perhaps it was because Lu Li¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t carry the same alertness that most players did, but the Warlock mustered up the courage to ask, ¡°My equipment is critical but I have no money. Can you lend me some money for the repairs?¡±


    Before Lu Li could respond, he hastily added, ¡°My name is Iron Sword. I will definitely return the money to you. You can note it in the system¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t trust him,¡± a player nearby interjected. ¡°There are plenty of people in Astrana who are begging like him. They have all kinds of reasons for wanting money. Even if you give him money now, the next time you see him, he¡¯ll still be asking for money. As for the system note, you have to pay for that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay for the system note,¡± Iron Sword responded.


    ¡°Hahaha, then why don¡¯t you exchange some real-life money at the Trade Platform for some coins, you fool.¡± The passerby smiled impudently, proud that he had debunked a liar.


    What he said was true ¨C the Trading Platform was quite advanced and could credit the coins to your account in under half an hour.


    ¡°I¡­ nevermind, excuse me.¡±


    Iron Sword bowed his head in humiliation and was about to leave.


    ¡°How much do you need?¡± Lu Li called out.


    ¡°Just 1 gold. No, 80 Silver. I don¡¯t need a full repair,¡± Iron Sword said eagerly.


    ¡°How did you get to a point where you don¡¯t even have money to repair your equipment?¡± He couldn¡¯t even pay for 1 gold? Lu Li was now a little skeptical. Dawn¡¯s repair costs were notoriously high, but regular players should still have been able to support themselves.


    ¡°I transferred all my money yesterday and today, I died a few times while trying to kill a quest monster,¡± Iron Sword sighed helplessly.


    Lu Li finally came around. He now understood why Iron Sword was unable to even pay for the repair costs for his equipment.


    He had the same experience in his past life. Any money he made in-game, he would immediately convert to real dollars. He would never have enough money in real life to exchange for in-game currency either.


    ¡°Here is two gold. You can have it,¡± Lu Li said as he transferred two gold.


    He wasn¡¯t a tycoon, but he wasn¡¯t that charitable either. This was in spite of the fact that he had just received a few hundred gold from the other members of the Mercenary Group for creating the bombs.


    ¡°Thank you so much, but 1 gold is enough,¡± Iron Sword refused.


    ¡°Just keep it ¨C you¡¯ll probably need it. Use the rest on potions.¡± Lu Li said as he confirmed the transaction.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Iron Sword hesitated momentarily before quickly closing the window.


    ¡°Yet another person who has been cheated.¡±


    The passerby saw that Lu Li had given the money and bitterly left, shaking his head.


    ¡°What monsters were you fighting that caused you to die over and over?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t leave immediately. Instead, he asked a few more questions about him. Now that he had helped him, Lu Li didn¡¯t want him to die again and end up on the same path as before.


    ¡°The Fire Elemental Lord Magmasa. It¡¯s a rare monster. I always come really close.¡±


    Iron Sword had nothing to hide.


    ¡°Oh, is it a huge Fire Elemental Monster?¡± When Lu Li heard the name Magmasa, his eyes lit up.


    The Fire Elemental Lord Magmasa was not a Boss. However, it was a rare monster with an irregular refresh time and place. Only players who had received the relevant quest could find it.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a really big Fire Elemental. The lower¡¯s its HP, the higher its defence,¡± Iron Sword exasperatedly replied.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll help you kill it.¡± Lu Li sent a party invite.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much trouble for you¡­¡±


    He had just borrowed some money and now he needed help to fight a monster. Iron Sword felt like he was asking for too much.


    It might drop something that I need,¡± Lu Li explained bluntly.


    ¡°Alright. If it does drop, then it¡¯s yours.¡±


    When Iron Sword heard that Lu Li needed something, he accepted the party invite without a second thought. He didn¡¯t even ask what the item was.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re Lu Li!¡±


    ¡°Yep, let¡¯s go.¡± He had forgotten to make himself anonymous, but it didn¡¯t really matter.

 201 Exquisite Silver-Grade Equipmen

    Behind Lake Erie was the Howling Wolf Valley, but despite its name, it didn¡¯t have any wolves. The wind blew around in the Felwood Forest, making it sound like the howl of wolves.


    The fire monster Lord Magmasa sat on top of a stone pile within the Howling Wolf Valley, like a silly red quail.


    It didn¡¯t have much of a story ¨C it had just lived for a long time.


    The system gave the details of the monster, repeatedly showing a life and death story. Now, two players appeared in front of it.


    ¡°©»| ¡® O ¡¯|©¿ ROARRRR~¡± The fire monster stood up and let out a massive roar.


    Because Lu Li was in a party with the quest recipient, he could also see this monster. He didn¡¯t feel nervous at all ¨C after all, this thing just seemed scary and wasn¡¯t very strong.


    Rare monsters were placed in a special category. Some rare monsters were as strong as Bosses or Heroes, while others were even weaker than normal monsters.


    Magmasa was in the middle and was slightly stronger than an elite grade monster.


    Iron Sword summoned his pet, a jumpy demon that most PVE Warlocks used. Lu Li thought that it would have been better if he used a Hellhound. After all, the fire monster was a melee, magic attacker. However, Iron Sword¡¯s financial status probably wouldn¡¯t permit the purchase of a Hellhound¡¯s Contract.


    ¡°Are you in need of money?¡± Lu Li asked while attacking.


    His attack was very high and most of Magmasa¡¯s aggro fell on him. The amount of damage he was taking would be fatal for Iron Sword, but Lu Li didn¡¯t care at all.


    ¡°I need money for my father¡¯s treatment. He participated in the Indian War when he was younger¡­¡± Iron Sword hoarsely replied.


    Lu Li was surprised. Normally, soldiers injured in battle would receive a pension. However, for those who fought in the Indian War, it was different. That massive war had been too cruel and many soldiers had become war criminals for killing civilians.


    Iron Sword¡¯s father was probably one of those people. Although they weren¡¯t punished, they lost their status as soldiers and the corresponding benefits.


    Iron Sword had previously been quite close to killing the monster and with Lu Li helping him, Magmasa quickly fell.


    Two Steel grade equipment, one rare material and a quest item.


    ¡°I just want the quest item; you can have everything else. This quest has very good rewards.¡±


    Iron Sword only picked up the quest item and offered everything else to Lu Li.


    ¡°I just want this,¡± Lu Li said as he picked up the rare material. ¡°Helping you kill this monster wasn¡¯t a big deal and this rare material is worth 50 gold coins. Plus, just having money doesn¡¯t necessarily mean you can buy it.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s worth that much?¡± Iron Sword was shocked.


    ¡°What, are you regretting it now? If you want it, you can take it and sell it for 50 gold coins. You can do a lot with that money,¡± Lu Li said as he lightly threw the Lava Essence up and down in his hand.


    Fifty gold coins was quite large sum of money for anyone, except for the rich tycoons who viewed money like dirt.


    This was especially so for Iron Sword, who didn¡¯t even have enough money to repair his equipment.


    Anyone could see his internal conflict and regret.


    ¡°Never mind. What¡¯s yours is yours. I never go back on my promises.¡±


    In the end, Iron Sword let out a long breath and lightened up.


    ¡°In the future, if you need help with anything, just let me know,¡± Lu Li said as he sent a him a friend request. He had always respected soldiers and Iron Sword was a man of integrity.


    Iron Sword accepted his friend request, but didn¡¯t say much.


    Although he had let go of a large sum of money, he was still filled with gratitude towards Lu Li. He felt that Lu Li wasn¡¯t as arrogant or aloof as most people thought.


    ¡°Take these two pieces of equipment and sell them.¡±


    Lu Li gave the two pieces of equipment to Iron Sword. He had seen the stats and saw that they were quite good. They could definitely be sold for a few gold coins.


    ¡°I¡¯ll return to you the 2 gold coins that I borrowed after I sell them.¡± This time, Iron Sword didn¡¯t refuse. Just because he had integrity didn¡¯t mean he was an idiot. This was his quest and Lu Li was just helping him. Since Lu Li had taken the most valuable thing, he naturally couldn¡¯t take any more.


    ¡°Ah, alright.¡± Lu Li respected this person, but also felt a bit speechless. He shook his head and started to channel his hearthstone.


    If Iron Sword went back on his word, Lu Li would have bought the Lava Essence for 50 gold coins. After all, he required the Lava Essence to level up his Supreme Two Ring.


    However, if that was the case, it would have simply been a business dealing between them. After receiving the Lava Essence, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have added Iron Sword as a friend, no matter how much he sympathised with him.


    When he returned to Astrana, Lu Li went to the Exchange Hall and chose a few blueprints, then started forging again.


    Engineering had taken up a few days of his time and although Forging was not easy, it wasn¡¯t nearly as time-intensive. However, that was only if one had enough resources.


    When Lu Li ran out of EXP from a blueprint, he would immediately switch to the next one. Lu Li didn¡¯t really care that the blueprints were quite expensive.


    With Cresso¡¯s Hammer, the chance of forging good equipment was massively increased. He would be able to recover quite a bit of the money with the equipment he sold.


    By investing unreservedly into Forging, Lu Li raised his Forging to Intermediate Level (120) in half a day.


    In actuality, Hachi Chan¡¯s Mold only required Intermediate Level (95). Lu Li spent hundreds of gold coins to raise his Forging to Intermediate Level (120) to increase the chance of success.


    It wouldn¡¯t matter if he failed at creating a normal piece of equipment, as he would just lose some materials. However, if he failed with the Mold, he would lose both the materials and the Mold.


    As such, Lu Li was determined to succeed on his first try.


    Hachi Chan had originally planned to watch him create her exquisite weapon. She demanded to postpone her profession upgrade quest to watch him forge. However, Lu Li had harshly rejected that idea, as he didn¡¯t like being watched while he forged.


    That was a reason a great master would give, and no one could refute it.


    All of the materials, including the 2 rare materials, had been prepared. Lu Li rested for a while before starting. The process to forge a Magic Staff was quite complicated, but his hammer was a great help.


    ¡°Did you succeed? Did you succeed?¡± someone would periodically ask in the chat. This wasn¡¯t only Hachi Chan ¨C everyone else was very interested in this weapon.


    ¡°All of you shut up, or I¡¯ll mute the chat,¡± Lu Li replied in frustration.


    The chat instantly became silent.


    Lu Li calmed down his breathing and used a burin covered with a metallic liquid to continue inscribing symbols on the staff.


    He followed each step on the blueprint and soon, he had reached the final stages.


    Lu Li¡¯s breathing became ragged. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the heat from the furnace, or because he was too nervous. His forehead was covered with sweat and the thing that he dreaded most was hearing a system notification.


    Despite this, there was nothing Lu Li could do to avoid hearing one.


    As Lu Li used his forging hammer to do the final shaping for the Magic Branch, a system announcement sounded out after the final strike.


    System: You have successfully created Umbranse¡¯s Staff (Exquisite Silver grade), Forging EXP+1.


    He had succeeded?


    ¡°I succeeded!¡± Lu Li yelled into the chat.


    ¡°Goddamn, the god weapon has been born. Hurry up and show us the stats,¡± Azure Sea Breeze excitedly said.


    ¡°Mine, mine, it¡¯s mine!¡± Hachi Chan yelled.


    Umbranse¡¯s Staff (Exquisite Silver grade): 16-24 Attack, Intelligence+16, Constitution+4, Special Effect 1: Magic Critical Chance+13%, Special Effect 2: when casting a spell on a target, has a certain chance to increase/decrease target¡¯s Defence by 20%, Level Requirement: LV20. Durability: 55/55.


    It was actually an Exquisite Silver-grade equipment! The first time he had created a piece of equipment with a Mold had resulted in an Exquisite Silver-grade equipment!

 202 Grade+1

    All equipment created from Molds had a prefix added to their grades.


    As such, it was obvious whether a piece of equipment had been dropped or created by a Mold.


    There were 4 prefixes that equipment from Molds could have: Fine, Superior, Exquisite and Perfect. The gap between each prefix was quite big, with Perfect Silver-grade equipment almost rivalling Gold-grade equipment.


    Even the lowest grade of equipment from a Mold was better than normal equipment of the same grade. Of course, it was possible for Silver grade equipment that had been dropped to have heaven-defying stats as well.


    The Umbranse¡¯s Staff in Lu Li¡¯s hands had skipped the Fine and Superior grades and was an Exquisite Silver-grade equipment.


    The Attack wasn¡¯t that great, but Magic professions didn¡¯t rely on the Equipment Damage. Instead, most of their damage came from their Skill Damage. The staff gave 20 points of stats, all of which were quite useful. This was especially so for Intelligence, which was +16.


    What made this staff worthy of its status as an Exquisite Silver-grade equip were its Special Effects.


    Magic Critical Chance+13%. In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had seen a Fine Umbranse¡¯s Staff with a Critical Chance of 11%. That meant that for every level of quality, the Critical Chance was increased by 1%.


    As for the chance to increase or decrease a target¡¯s Defence by 20%, that was an unexpected surprise.


    Lu Li had once read a thread that listed very rare Special Effects and included this one.


    Healers or other support-roles could give their teammates a 20% Defence buff, while the 20% reduction to Defence could be used as massive Armour Pierce!


    This was the first piece of Lu Li had forged from a Mold. At the very bottom, he carved the golden words: Forged by Lu Li, giving this weapon some history.


    Lu Li looked at the words ¡®Exquisite Silver grade¡¯ and suddenly thought of something ¨C could this be the effect of the Grade+1?


    He never believed that his luck was very good. Although he had put all of his effort into forging this weapon, he never would have expected it to be an Exquisite Silver grade equip.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t even dare to hope for a Superior Silver grade.


    Perhaps the Grade+1 meant that when creating a piece of equipment from a Mold, its grade would be boosted one higher.


    If it was as he thought, then the Grade+1 stat would be completely heaven-defying.


    This stat was listed behind the Success Rate+20%. Usually, the further back a stat or Special Effect was, the more powerful it was.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn¡¯t confirm if this was true.


    ¡°Damn, it¡¯s so good. Can you make me one sometime as well?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was drooling in envy.


    ¡°Sure, if you have a Mold.¡± Lu Li packed up his things and prepared to conclude this period of training his Trade Professions. He would slowly continue to train them up in future.


    ¡°Molds are so hard to come by. Apart from Hachi Chan¡¯s one, I haven¡¯t seen any others.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was devastated.


    In actuality, he was someone who had seen and experienced much. He had achieved various First Clears and records. It was a pity that he had never obtained a Mold before and the quest that Hachi Chan completed would not give the same rewards.


    Exquisite Silver grade. Ignoring all of the stats that it gave, the alone prefix was quite impressive.


    ¡°The Wailing Cave will drop a Mold,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Goddamn, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? Everyone, let¡¯s work hard. There¡¯s still a few a still hours until the game ends today, so let¡¯s enter the Instance Dungeon as soon as possible,¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s yelled, which hurt everyone¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Even if we go into the Instance Dungeon, that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ll beat the Boss,¡± Lonesome Flower said.


    ¡°Even if we beat the Boss, that doesn¡¯t mean a Mold will drop,¡± Wandering added.


    ¡°Even if a Mold drops, that doesn¡¯t mean it will be suitable for you,¡± Hachi Chan also joined in.


    ¡°Even if it is suitable for you, you won¡¯t necessarily be able to find the rare materials. Haha, Hachi Chan, I¡¯m pretty good, right?¡± Remnant Dream laughed uncontrollably.


    ¡°Ahem, and even if you have the materials, that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll make it for you.¡± Lu Li dealt the final blow.


    ¡°You¡¯re all bad people¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze whimpered as he crawled away.


    ¡°I finished my profession upgrade,¡± Sesame Rice Ball softly said in the chat.


    Most of the time, this shy guy stayed silent or quiet.


    However, with his skills and power, he had long since earned the respect from the rest of the team.


    Ever since Sesame Rice Ball had joined the Mercenary Group, Lu Li had spent less effort into Alchemy. He only needed to make his own poisons.


    Seventh Heaven had funded Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s Alchemy, so his level was much higher than Lu Li¡¯s. Not only could he made Advanced Antidotes, he could also make Intermediate Health Potions, Intermediate Agility Potions, Intermediate Strength Potions, Intermediate Intelligence Potions, Intermediate Constitution Potions and even Intermediate Tenacity Potions.


    Seventh Heaven had taken away all of his equipment when he left, but they couldn¡¯t take away his skills.


    ¡°Can you make some Potions? I¡¯ll pay in a bit.¡±


    Wandering put himself in charge of logistics. As soon as he heard that Sesame Rice Ball was free, he immediately gave him something to do.


    ¡°Make a lot of Advanced Antidotes if you can,¡± Lu Li added. There were many poisonous monsters in the Wailing Cave and their poison required Advance Antidotes to cure.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± Sesame Rice Ball respected Lu Li a lot and always took his views seriously.


    ¡°Some Constitution Potions as well,¡± Lu Li said after thinking for a moment.


    Lu Li made 2 bottles of Deadly Poison then went to find a place to peacefully farm monsters.


    Most of the mainstream players of Japan spent their time training and levelling up. In the early stages of the game, level determined everything and no one wanted to fall behind.


    As someone who had experienced ¡®rebirth¡¯, Lu Li also needed to train and level up.


    After farming for more than half an hour, a second person finished their profession upgrade.


    ¡°I finished upgrading my profession. Luckily, I met some nice people,¡± Hachi Chan said, letting out a sigh of relief. Her profession still leaned towards dealing damage and healing. With her amazing set of equipment, she didn¡¯t need to worry about not being able to handle two roles.


    For someone like her who enjoyed questing, she needed to develop in such a direction anyways. It wasn¡¯t just for the team.


    ¡°Goddamn, are you the system¡¯s daughter? Is this even possible?¡± Wandering was fighting some monsters, while also keeping up his guard against enemy players. He was feeling quite melancholic.


    ¡°Lu Li, where are you? I¡¯ll come find you,¡± Hachi Chan ignored him and asked Lu Li for his location.


    ¡°For what?¡± Lu Li pretended not to know why.


    ¡°My staff, my staff! I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all jealous!!¡± the little girl loudly yelled.


    If Remnant Dream was a silly-cute character, Hachi Chan was an idiot-cute one, who liked to make up things in her head.


    She had already imagined that these people were so jealous of her exquisite equipment that they were going to suppress her. The glorious Hachi Chan definitely wouldn¡¯t yield.


    Lu Li told her where he was and quickly saw a golden cheetah rushing over.

 203 Hachi Chan’s Fujoshi Habits

    This was the first time Lu Li had seen Hachi Chan transform. It turned out that she had also learned the Child of The Forest.


    Lu Li¡¯s equipment was not much better than Hachi Chan¡¯s, especially after he handed over the Exquisite Silver-grade Staff.


    ¡°Did you get any rewards from finishing the profession upgrade quest?¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure how many Silver-grade equips this girl had.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even mention it. The rewards were so bad ¨C a Steel grade equipment, a Skill Point and a Skill Book. The equipment was worse than what I already had and the Skill Book was something I¡¯ve already learned,¡± the system¡¯s daughter dissatisfiedly complained to her father.


    Receiving a Skill Point was already amazing. Most people only received a Steel-grade equip when they completed the quest.


    ¡°Oh, what Skill Book was it?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Stealth. I¡¯ve already learned it.¡± Hachi Chan played around with her Staff, looking at it with fond eyes. However, Lu Li simply wouldn¡¯t praise her.


    ¡°Give it to me then,¡± Lu Li said as he stretched out his hand. He felt that it wasn¡¯t too good to just take something from a little girl so he added, ¡°I¡¯ll give you 10 gold coins.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you as a gift. Thank you for making me such an excellent and pretty piece of equipment,¡± Hachi Chan casually replied.


    ¡°I¡¯d be pretty happy if you took off the bit after ¡®excellent¡¯,¡± Lu Li annoyedly replied. The Staff had extraordinary stats and Special Effects, yet she valued its looks the most.


    However, he was very interested in the Skill Book.


    As more and more Molds were found, Dawn¡¯s ¡®Forging Alliance¡¯ would suggest recommended prices and very soon, these received the support of all Blacksmiths.


    They believed that if the Forging failed, the Blacksmith should compensate the owner of the Mold for 20% of the value of the materials used. Of course, they could also privately agree otherwise.


    If they forged a Fine grade equip, the would pay Blacksmith a small fee, or even no fee at all.


    Forging a Superior-grade equip would result in the Blacksmith taking a fee worth 10% of the materials used.


    Forging an Exquisite-grade equip would result in the Blacksmith receiving a fee worth 20% of the materials used. In reality, most Blacksmiths took more than this standard. Usually, the owners of the Mold were more than happy to pay some extra money in exchange for the Exquisite grade equipment.


    As for Perfect-grade equipment, there was no way to set a standard price, and neither was there a need to. After all, most Blacksmiths would never be able to forge a Perfect-grade equip/


    Umbranse¡¯s Staff was an Exquisite Silver-grade equip.


    According to the standard prices, Hachi Chan would have to pay Lu Li far more than the Stealth Skill Book she had just gifted him.


    Lu Li had wanted this Skill Book for a long time.


    Although the Druid Cheetah Stealth Skill Book wasn¡¯t very rare, the demand for it was far too high. Lu Li couldn¡¯t spend all of his time at the Exchange Hall waiting, so he had never been able to obtain one.


    After handing over the Staff, Lu Li went to continue farming monsters. He still had half an hour of double EXP left, and every second of it was incredibly precious.


    When she received her Staff, Hachi Chan didn¡¯t immediately leave. Instead, she used her skills to help Lu Li farm monsters.


    Lu Li could only add her into his party.


    ¡°When are we going to throw bombs again?¡± Hachi Chan felt quite bored of farming like this.


    ¡°Starwood is pretty hard to obtain and I have to collect some more.¡± There was nothing Lu Li could do. After all, he wasn¡¯t so thick-skinned as to ask for Starwood on the World Channel again.


    One Starwood in exchange for a favour ¨C he couldn¡¯t make too many of those deals.z


    Moreover, many people already had their suspicions about Starwood. When he went to the Exchange Hall, he couldn¡¯t find a single one.


    Most of the Starwood Lu Li had was given to him by players who respected him. These were all personal favours that needed to be paid back ¨C he couldn¡¯t just throw them a gold coin in exchange.


    ¡°You can¡¯t make any without Starwood?¡± Hachi Chan pitifully asked.


    Since she had entered the game, she had completed many, many quests. She had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of rare and strange things, but she had never obtained a Starwood before. Perhaps its drop rate was too low.


    ¡°There will be people selling it,¡± Lu Li confidently replied.


    Starwood had a low drop rate, but with tens of millions of players, it was impossible for it not to drop. The people who currently had Starwood were probably trying to investigate how it could give them EXP, but most of them were doomed to fail.


    When they failed, they would naturally throw those ¡®useless things¡¯ into the Exchange Hall.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, you¡¯re doing it wrong.¡± After they had farmed for a bit, Lu Li couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    It wasn¡¯t because he liked to teach other people, but because he had played as a Druid in his ¡®past life¡¯. He simply couldn¡¯t stand watching Hachi Chan play like that.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m farming pretty well.¡± Hachi Chan blinked in confusion.


    ¡°No matter if it¡¯s attacking or healing, a Druid Mage should be using damage or healing over time¡­¡± Lu Li blabbered on for a few minutes before he paused and said, ¡°You should try to understand your skills more instead of just using them casually.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Hachi Chan opened her mouth, with a silly expression on her face.


    ¡°What, you can¡¯t understand it?¡± Lu Li frowned. In order to cater to her intelligence level, he had already explained things quite simply.


    With intelligence like that, Lu Li wondered how she usually did quests.


    Hachi Chan looked as if she was an adventurer who had just discovered a new continent. Unable take her eyes off Lu Li¡¯s face, she said, ¡°Lu Li, I always thought you were a high and mighty expert. Who would have thought that you could talk so much?¡±


    Lu Li frowned deeply and he felt a sudden urge to flick her on the head.


    What was going on in that brain of hers? How could she think of such things when the ¡®great god¡¯ was teaching her 1 to 1?


    ¡°Did you understand the things I just talked about?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I did,¡± Hachi Chan nervously nodded and gulped.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll continue talking about Healing Druids. I¡¯m only going to say it once and if you make any mistakes when we go into the Wailing Cave, I won¡¯t show any mercy.¡± Lu Li pretended to look fierce and mean.


    Unafraid, Hachi Chan came closer.


    ¡°I heard that you have a little sister who¡¯s younger than me. Do you usually smack her?¡±


    ¡°If you continue to gossip, I¡¯ll really smack you right now.¡± This kid was simply too much. Lu Li could feel the calmness that he prided himself in slipping away.


    ¡°Alright, alright. Why do you have to be so mean?¡± Hachi Chan didn¡¯t dare to continue to provoke Lu Li.


    The was no one around where they were. What would she do if a certain someone was provoked to the point of committing murder?


    ¡°The Wailing Caves require two Healers ¨C one main and one support. March Rain is the main Healer and you¡¯ll be the support Healer. When there¡¯s a big need for healing, you¡¯ll help. At other times, you¡¯ll be attacking. Of course, when attacking the Boss, you need to make sure that you keep a heal over time on him¡­¡±


    ¡°Got it?¡±


    ¡°G-Got it¡­¡± Hachi Chan shook herself out of her daze and hurriedly replied.


    ¡°Clearing an Instance Dungeon is much harder than doing quests, so everyone needs to work hard. Otherwise, everyone will be dragged down,¡± Lu Li earnestly and patiently said.


    Only towards girls around his little sister¡¯s age did he have this much patience.


    ¡°Lu Li, you need to be careful of Wandering,¡± Hachi Chan mysteriously said.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with Wandering?¡± Lu Li was surprised. He simply couldn¡¯t understand what this little girl was talking about. He thought that Wandering was a pretty good guy and he had known him for a long time in his ¡®past life¡¯.


    ¡°I feel that there¡¯s a lot going on between him and Azure Sea Breeze,¡± Hachi Chan stood on her tiptoes and whispered to Lu Li.


    Apart from the two of them, there were only monsters around. What was going on with this girl?


    ¡°They¡¯ve known each other for ages. Of course there¡¯s a lot between them.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t understand what she was talking about.


    He felt that this young girl had a problem with communication. Luckily, Xin Xin wasn¡¯t like this.


    ¡°But you¡¯re a couple with Azure Sea Breeze, right?¡±


    Suddenly a girl¡¯s voice shrilly cried out, ¡°Aiya, don¡¯t pull my ears! Save me! Dreamy, hurry up and save me! Lu Li¡¯s hitting me¡­¡±

 204 Preparing to Start The New Instance Dungeon

    ¡°Why is it me?¡± Lonesome Flower¡¯s expression was quite terrifying. Even his little sister kept her distance.


    ¡°Ah, Flower, don¡¯t be sad.¡± Perhaps he felt bad or had some other motives, but Azure Sea Breeze came over and put his arm around Lonesome Flower¡¯s shoulder to comfort him.


    ¡°Why am I the only person who hasn¡¯t finished their profession upgrade quest?!¡± Lonesome Flower felt quite depressed.


    The difficulty of the profession upgrade quests was suitable for most players above LV20. Most of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had reached this level, and all of them had excellent equipment and skills.


    As long as nothing went wrong, they would be able to finish the quest, even if they were alone.


    Lonesome Flower was extremely unlucky. At the beginning, he had been too arrogant to form a party with the other Light Faction players. As such, he had been slaughtered by a large group of Evil Faction players.


    Lu Li felt that Lonesome Flower failing his quest was quite normal, and it wasn¡¯t necessarily bad.


    Lonesome Flower was simply too arrogant and aloof.


    He only cared about his little sister and didn¡¯t interact much with anyone else.


    As such, no one else from the Mercenary Group paid him much attention. His cooperation in Instance Dungeons was also quite lacking ¨C all he did was attack and attack.


    Dawn was not a game for single players. Lu Li hoped that Lonesome Flower would understand this through what had happened.


    ¡°Alright, you can try again in three days. Right now, we¡¯re going to the Wailing Cave. I¡¯ll draw a map for everyone,¡± Lu Li said as he took out a piece of sheepskin paper.


    ¡°Why do we need a map? Can¡¯t we be transported by the NPC?¡± Everyone felt quite confused.


    Lu Li could only patiently explain, ¡°The Wailing Cave is in the South of the Barrenlands. The last time when I went to the Barrenlands¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, the person who set fire to the Horde¡¯s camp was you?¡± Moonlight asked, flabbergasted.


    ¡°Yes, that was a quest,¡± Lu Li nodded.


    ¡°Goddamn, I¡¯m speechless,¡± Moonlight bitterly laughed and patted Lu Li¡¯s shoulder. This guy was quite good at surprising those around him.


    Not many people knew about it in the Light Faction, but there were many discussions going on in the Evil Faction around this topic. This was especially so in the PVP groups, where the players were all very interested. Most people thought that it was an NPC who had dived into enemy territory to set fire to the camp.


    As for Gaze, the Warrior who Lu Li had encountered, he hadn¡¯t mentioned anything to anyone.


    ¡°To be honest, it wasn¡¯t as glorious as it sounds. We can talk about it later. I¡¯ll talk about what I learned from scouting out the Barrenlands.¡± Of course, Lu Li hadn¡¯t actually done any scouting. He just needed an excuse to give out information he had read about in his ¡®past life¡¯.


    ¡°What did you find?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a Sweetwater oasis near the Wailing Cave. If you soak in there for 10 minutes, you get an All Stats +5 buff which only works in the Wailing Cave,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you go in for 10 minutes?¡± Wandering was confused.


    ¡°To take a bath,¡± Lu Li weakly replied.


    Wandering responded with a middle finger.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll stop messing around. I thought back to the Spider Lair Instance Dungeon and decided to try it out. I feel like this will give us an edge over other players. Who else would go in there and soak for 10 minutes?¡±


    ¡°Even though All Stats +5 isn¡¯t that overpowered, it¡¯s still quite useful for our whole team. How long does it last for?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I stayed in the Instance Dungeon for about an hour, but it still hadn¡¯t run out. It disappeared after I came out.¡± Lu Li knew that Wandering wouldn¡¯t easily be tricked. Luckily, he had prepared some answers in advance.


    ¡°Alright, since it¡¯s like that, it wouldn¡¯t be good to be sent there directly by an NPC. Draw the map for us then,¡± Wandering excitedly said.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually pretty simple. You go to Rattan City first and walk along this path. Make sure that you stay on it, because it¡¯s the safest route. Don¡¯t try to take shortcuts, because there are many Orc Wolfriders on the way from Rattan City to the Wailing Cave. They¡¯re all LV30 Elites, extremely fast, and are difficult to deal with. You¡¯re pretty much dead if they see you.¡±


    ¡°Do we have to take this trip every time we go?¡± Azure Sea Breeze discontentedly asked.


    He was a Warrior, so he didn¡¯t like to sneak around and hide.


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. At this place,¡± Lu Li pointed at the map, ¡°There¡¯s a frontline command station. You can repair your equipment there and buy some simple items. There¡¯s also an Inn, but the only issue is that there¡¯s no transportation channel or Exchange Hall.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so troublesome without a transportation channel.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rely on transportation channels too much. In the future, they¡¯re going to get rid of most transportation channels. They¡¯ll only be in certain maps,¡± Lu Li kindheartedly reminded them.


    ¡°Why would they do that?¡± Everyone else was quite unhappy about that, especially the lazy Azure Sea Breeze.


    Hachi Chan was on the verge of tears. She already had a bad sense of direction and if the transportation channels were removed, it would take her years to get anywhere with those little legs of hers.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t many maps in the early stages of the game and there are many players, but it¡¯s difficult to get around. When mounts are introduced, you naturally won¡¯t need transportation channels anymore.¡±


    Lu Li was clearer about this than anyone else. As the game progressed, the number of transportation channels would decrease. In the later stages of the game, they would only be available for distances that would take more than half a day of travelling.


    Replacing them would be land mounts, flying mounts, airships and other flying machines.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, you scout ahead with your cheetah form in Stealth. If you see any Orc Wolfriders, give a warning and Wandering will direct you,¡± Lu Li looked at the unreliable Druid and sighed.


    ¡°What about you? Aren¡¯t you coming with us?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t go to Rattan City¡­¡± Lu Li stammered as he wiped away some cold sweat from his forehead.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Rattan City was in Astrana¡¯s transportation channel list. Even though it didn¡¯t belong to the Light Faction, it still was a neutral place. Everyone was curious as to why Lu Li couldn¡¯t go.


    ¡°Err, I just can¡¯t.¡± Lu Li¡¯s response made everyone grind their teeth in frustration.


    ¡°Tell us, tell us!¡± Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan grabbed either side of Lu Li, refusing to let go.


    ¡°Alright, let go, I¡¯ll tell you. I offended an NPC there, so I can¡¯t go back. Are you happy now?¡± Lu Li gave in.


    Offended a NPC?


    Azure Sea Breeze couldn¡¯t help but think of that poor Goblin Businessman Krolly. He pointed at Lu Li with a trembling hand as he yelled, ¡°You killed an NPC again?! Are you addicted to killing NPCs?¡±


    ¡°You hooligan, when did I ever kill an NPC?¡± Lu Li rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Big brother Sea Breeze, have you guys really killed an NPC before?¡± With Hachi Chan¡¯s encouragement, Remnant Dream began to act cute, but everyone else was curious as well.


    Lonesome Flower and March Rain had been with Lu Li for a long time, but didn¡¯t know he had killed an NPC before.


    Azure Sea Breeze was being overwhelmed by the girls and could only pitifully look at Lu Li.


    Lu Li clapped his hands and sternly said, ¡°What are you guys still doing here? Hurry up and set out. We¡¯re going to try to kill a Boss today; there¡¯s a very high chance of a Mold dropping for the First Clear.¡±


    Could he be more fake than that? Everyone looked at him with disdain.


    Lu Li ignored them and simply left.


    He had to travel further than them, as he needed to pass through the Warsong Valley, so he ran the whole way.


    Although he could fly, it still wasn¡¯t as convenient as using a transportation channel.


    ¡°Goddamn, can I tell them or not? Lu Li, you little girl! Don¡¯t run away!¡± Azure Sea Breeze was only able to react after Lu Li had ran off and was left to deal with the curiosity of his teammates.

 205 Delicious Wind Serpen

    In order to prepare for the long battle ahead, Lu Li had already bought supplies and sent them to Wandering. He sent them through the Mailing System, where items could be stored and mailed to others.


    He didn¡¯t want to waste time and planned to travel past the Warsong Valley as quickly as possible.


    If he could get past the Warsong Orc Guards last time, he could easily do it again. Previously, he had used ¡°The World is So Big¡± to confuse all of the guards¡¯ senses. This time, he could easily fool them with the Deception Orb.


    An Undead Thief from the Evil Faction casually strolled through the Horde¡¯s area.


    ¡°Lu Li, there¡¯re so many Centuars around here. How do I get past?¡± Wandering asked anxiously in the chat room.


    Every time he encountered a problem, he would naturally ask for Lu Li¡¯s opinion on the matter. There were too many monsters and killing them would be a waste of time and energy.


    ¡°Find a place with less monsters; I¡¯ll be right over. Apparently, the monsters here drop a magical blue print called ¡®Delicious Wind Serpent¡¯.¡± Lu Li transformed into a crow and flapped his wings as he soared across the sky.


    Ever since he had levelled up his Crow Transformation, the flying speed had greatly increased.


    ¡°Delicious Wind Serpent? Is it edible?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are no bonus stats, but it¡¯s very cool. If you consume it, you can become a Ninja or a Pirate.¡± Lu Li saw the Sweetwater Oasis in the distance.


    The Sweetwater Oasis and the Bitterwater Oasis were both inside the centaurs¡¯ territory. The Kolkar Centaurs led by Khan Dez¡¯hepah roamed the barren north. They had to compete with the Durotar Orcs and the Thunder Cliff Taurens for land.


    The Celkis Centaurs were also a part of these deformed monsters and came from Desolate Land. They had lost to the Tauren in a battle and were driven out of their land.


    The Kolkar Centaurs received support from the Cenarion Union and declared war upon the Orcs.


    The lore had nothing to do with the players, but they would aggro onto anyone who came close. The players were interested in them for their loot.


    Delicious Wind Serpent recipe!


    No matter what they planned to do with it, it was worth the time investment.


    Lu Li did not descend from the sky in Crow form, but suddenly appeared in front of Azure Sea Breeze and the others.


    ¡°Goddamn, are you trying to scare us?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze was angry at Lu Li for suddenly popping up in front of them and almost split him in half with his axe.


    ¡°Look at the time ¨C you guys are so inefficient,¡± Lu Li scolded him.


    He trusted Azure Sea Breeze to explain the problem of killing the NPC. He would never betray him, even if people threatened to cut his manhood off.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there¡¯s a recipe that drops here which that allows you to transform into a pirate?¡± Hachi Chan searched the ground littered with Centaur corpses.


    ¡°Hachi Chan loves Johnny Depp,¡± Remnant explained.


    ¡°Johnny Depp? What the hell is that? Is that a boss?¡± Lu Li was confused.


    ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t know who Johnny Depp is? He¡¯s one of the greatest movie stars from 200 years ago,¡± Hachi Chan explained as she coldly stared at Lu Li. ¡°He passed away long ago. What a shame; I can only see him in movies. He was one of the greatest actors of all time.¡±


    ¡°Why are you still talking about him when he¡¯s dead? I hope he comes and finds you at night,¡± Lu Li said, trying to scare her.


    ¡°Uncle. You¡¯re so lame. What a pathetic attempt at scaring little girls.¡±


    ¡°I might look mature but I¡¯m nowhere near looking like an uncle. I¡¯m still young,¡± Lu Li retorted, almost coughing up blood. ¡°The drop rate for the Delicious Wind Serpent recipe is way too low. That¡¯s too bad. Let¡¯s go take a bath.¡±


    ¡°PERVERT. Why would you ask girls to go take a bath with you? Remnant and I aren¡¯t even of legal age yet,¡± Hachi Chan taunted him. She had held a grudge on Lu Li ever since he had pulled on her ear.


    Lu Li was defeated.


    After everyone had a good laugh, they arrived together at Sweetwater Lake.


    Ten minutes later, Wandering impatiently asked, ¡°Why is nothing happening?¡±


    Lu Li jumped out of the water and led them towards the Instance Dungeon cave. ¡°Things will happen after we enter the instance dungeon,¡± he replied.


    This secret Instance Dungeon wouldn¡¯t be discovered until much later. Normally, people wouldn¡¯t bother to stay in the water for that long.


    Although the dungeon was hard to find, it wasn¡¯t completely impossible. Therefore, there was no reason for them to suspect that Lu Li had undergone a rebirth.


    The girls who had previously said that they weren¡¯t afraid of ghosts huddled in the centre of the group, too afraid to even speak.


    They soon arrived at a large pool of water which obstructed their way.


    ¡°Carefully swim over; don¡¯t aggro the monsters in the water. They¡¯re very deep down, so as long as we cross the river quickly, they won¡¯t notice us,¡± Lu Li whispered.


    ¡°There¡¯s something in the water¡­?¡± Remnant Dream almost cried while holding onto Hachi chan.


    March Rain also took a couple steps back because she was afraid. Only Sakura Memories seemed fine and curiously walked closer, trying to figure out what was in the water.


    ¡°There¡¯re only two monsters down there.¡± Lu Li was speechless.


    ¡°That¡¯s so scary! What if they pull on my legs and drag me down?¡± Hachi Chan began to cry.


    ¡°They¡¯re monsters, not water ghosts.¡± Lu Li finally understood why many elite groups didn¡¯t accept female players.


    ¡°How do you know there aren¡¯t any water ghosts? I¡¯m not going in, never,¡± Hachi Chan protested which was met with agreeance from Remnant Dream. In their current state, they probably wouldn¡¯t even touch the water unless they were thrown down.


    ¡°Big Bro, lure the monsters out and we¡¯ll kill them,¡± March Rain urged as she pulled on her older brother¡¯s sleeves.


    ¡°Kill them!¡± Lonesome Flower exclaimed enthusiastically to impress the ladies.


    ¡°How about I lure them?¡± Sakura Memory couldn¡¯t wait.


    ¡°Wait, if we¡¯re going to fight them, at least have a strategy,¡± Lu Li said, defeated. ¡°The two monsters down there are both Elite Grade and have high HP. The main problem is that they can restore their HP by going back down into the deep when it low.


    ¡°Focus on one then?¡± Moonlight suggested.


    ¡°Yes, we need to all burst it at once and kill it before it goes back down,¡± Lu Li nodded and agreed.


    They wouldn¡¯t let a girl go down to lure the monsters. Azure Sea Breeze, who was standing by the edge, felt a painful kick from behind as his heavy armour splashed into the water.


    ¡°Wandering, you asshole. I bet it was you that kicked me,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he plunged into the water.


    ¡°No one saw me kicking you. Innocent until proven guilty!¡± Wandering replied cheekily.

 206 Obtaining Another Bracele

    ¡°Who else besides you would kick me? Do you think I¡¯m actually stupid?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze was not angry because he was in the water, but because he had been kicked in.


    ¡°Shut up Azure. Prepare for battle.¡±


    The two shadows beneath the surface grew larger and larger as the water began to stir up.


    The monster is here!


    ¡°Goddamn, these monsters are massive. Are you sure these aren¡¯t bosses?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze had always been a fearless type of guy. He had seen all kinds of weird, creepy and even gory things, but the monsters beneath the water sent chills up his spine.


    ¡°You¡¯re the ones that wanted to fight them,¡± Lu Li said, trying to avoid responsibility.


    Not many people fought these monsters, not because they were difficult, but because of the way they would appear. The way they lurked in the shadows and rushed towards you as soon as you entered the water would leave anyone with post-traumatic stress disorder and deep-sea-phobia.


    Even their gear and drops sank to the bottom, most people would choose against retrieving them.


    The girls began to run away and even Sakura Memory¡¯s face became pale. The monster¡¯s large and sinister mouth came rushing towards Azure Sea Breeze to devour him.


    Its name was ¡®Deviate Lurker¡¯ and it looked like a plesiosaurus.


    ¡°Hurry up and get up, or you¡¯ll get one shot,¡± Wandering laughed.


    Azure Sea Breeze clumsily avoided the attack and raised his shield, as he casted Taunt.


    Lu Li and Wandering stood beside him and instantly attacked the Lurker that had been taunted. Everyone began to support them from behind, using fear to fuel their strength as they threw every ability they had at it.


    The plesiosaurus was quickly killed and cried as it ran away.


    ¡°Rest for a bit and lure the other one.¡± Lu Li then glanced at the little Druid and asked, ¡°Hachi Chan do you want to go down to pick up the loot later?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯d rather die,¡± Hachi Chan refused.


    ¡°There¡¯s a high chance that it¡¯ll drop the recipe for Delicious Wind Serpent.¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t lying this time. Although the information wasn¡¯t on the forums yet, he knew from his past life that these monsters had a high chance of dropping the recipe.


    ¡°Whatever it drops, I ain¡¯t going down there. Lu Li, you¡¯re so mean. I¡¯m traumatised and never going swimming again.¡± The sight of the two giant monsters appearing from the depths of the sea was enough to leave her traumatised for a long time.


    Lu Li felt slightly guilty and gently said, ¡°Ok, ok, I¡¯ll go down and get it. If I find the recipe, I¡¯ll even share it with you guys.¡±


    ¡°Go lure the monsters,¡± Wandering demanded as he kicked Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze was confident this time from the previous experience and used his shield to lure the Lurker up to the surface.


    The second monster heard the commotion from above and rushed upwards.


    It was no different this time and the Lurker was beat to death.


    Lu Li received two Intermediate Underwater Breathing Potions from Sesame Rice Ball and jumped into the water.


    He hadn¡¯t even learned to make Beginner Underwater Breathing Potions, but Rice Ball had upgraded his alchemy to Advanced level and had learned many rare recipes.


    Lu Li felt pressured from this, because if Sesame Rice Ball didn¡¯t benefit more from Xin Xin Mercenary Group than Seventh Heaven, he would feel guilty for making him join.


    It was very dark below, so he transformed into Seal to increase his field of view.


    The pool of water was similar to a pocket. The expanse of water below became wider and wider as he dove in deeper. Now, he could feel the currents moving.


    Lu Li only saw a Bronze Grade Weapon when he reached the bottom.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if the recipe had dropped, or if it had been swept away by the currents.


    Lu Li began to search around.


    Treasure Chest!


    He had yet to find the recipe, but had managed to stumble upon a Steel Grade Treasure Box.


    He prayed that something good would come out.


    Recently, he had been quite busy and was unable to go around looking for Treasure Boxes.


    When he had the time, he planned on searching for Treasure Boxes that he remembered from his past life.


    Lu Li searched the Treasure Box with his seal claws and felt a piece of cloth at first.


    This was a robe for Mages with some decent stats, but for Lu Li¡¯s group, it was nothing more than garbage. He decided to keep it in his bag to sell.


    Normally, a Steel Grade Treasure Box would drop two items, so Lu Li searched the box again.


    He felt a circle shaped object that was larger than a ring and took it out.


    Bracelet!


    He remembered the time he had found a bracelet in a Treasure Box at the start of the game. He had sold it for about 10 times the price of a normal Bronze Grade Equip.


    Lu Li looked back on this with a deep sense of regret.


    Being the first female-only gear in the game, he could have sold it for a ridiculous price, even if the stats were terrible. He could never forgive himself for selling it for so cheap.


    Protection of the Tides (Steel): Strength+6, Stamina +6, Adds 12 slots to inventory. Level Requirement: 15, Durability 36/36


    Protection of the Tides was made of jade and looked like flowing water. Lu Li didn¡¯t care about the appearance of gear, but the bracelet was so beautiful that he was mesmerized for a few seconds.


    He could probably sell this for good money.


    Or perhaps, he could give it to someone as a present. Just kidding, as if Lu Li would do that.


    This bracelet had value in its appearance, not in its stats.


    When he finished the Instance Dungeon, he planned on selling it to the jewellery shop.


    After he opened the treasure box, he searched around for a while and decided to head back up after finding nothing.


    ¡°Why were you down there for so long? I thought you drowned,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°I opened a treasure box and found 2 Steel Grade Equipment. You guys wouldn¡¯t need them, so I¡¯ll keep them for myself,¡± Lu Li replied. ¡°The monster only dropped a Bronze Grade Equipment and nothing else.


    ¡°This was expected. A 5000 HP Elite Monster probably wouldn¡¯t drop anything good.¡± Wandering glanced at Lu Li and decided to believe that he wasn¡¯t keeping stuff to himself. He didn¡¯t question Lu Li about the treasure box either.


    If Lu Li could say it out loud, he must have had a clear conscience.


    After travelling past the pool of water, they came across a number of different monsters.


    Devouring Ectoplasm ¨C a disgusting slime monster commonly known as Slimey by most players.


    Deviate Coiler ¨C a wind serpent that was able to spit out poison. Although it looked like a regular monster, it had a very high damage output. If it wasn¡¯t for Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s Advanced Antidotes, someone might have died.


    Deviate Slayer ¨C a very fierce raptor. It was also a normal monster, but it could crit every three hits, which dealt a lot of damage.


    Even though the monsters were quite fierce, Lu Li and his group managed to get through everything smoothly and arrived at the Instance Dungeon Entrance.

 207 Starting The Howling Caves

    The first ten-person Instance Dungeon had officially begun.


    ¡°You are the party leader; select a difficulty,¡± Wandering said.


    ¡°Nightmare, pick Nightmare!¡± Azure Sea Breezed egged Lu Li on.


    The others were eager as well and even Wandering was facing Lu Li with anticipation.


    Lu Li¡¯s PVP ability was quite strong, but not many people cared about that. The people who knew him had predominantly heard about him through the World Announcements for First Clears and Soloing Bosses.


    ¡°Your face is a Nightmare,¡± Lu Li said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Perhaps the Death Mines had set a bad precedent, but his friends seemed to no longer have any fear of Instance Dungeons.


    The Howling Caves was a 10-person Dungeon with four available difficulties ¨C Ordinary, Elite, Difficult and Nightmare. This was likely to be the first Instance Dungeon in Dawn that included all the levels of difficulty.


    Although completing the Death Mines was no easy feat, the Difficult Level was still the highest available.


    While the Elite difficulty could be considered as 20% harder than the Ordinary Difficulty and the Difficult Level 30% more, the Nightmare difficulty didn¡¯t follow this trend. It wasn¡¯t even just 50% more difficult ¨C in fact, it was a Heaven-Defying 100% more difficult.


    Furthermore, all Nightmare-Difficulty Bosses had super-overpowered area of effect Skills. Only the last two Bosses in the other difficulties had these.


    ¡°Elite.¡±


    Lu Li took no notice of the looks of disdain and decisively chose the Elite Difficulty.


    ¡°Ah, Elite it is then. We can still get First Clear with that.¡±


    Wandering had a strong fighting spirit and comforted everyone.


    After entering the Dungeon, everyone gained +5 to their attributes.


    ¡°Can I ask something? Why have I gained 8 points?¡± Hachi Chan didn¡¯t mean to show off, but everyone else had only gained five points. Her situation was understandably unusual.


    ¡°Little one, you truly are the System¡¯s daughter. Was there anything else you wanted?¡± Azure Sea Breeze had almost fallen prostrate before her. The System was definitely telling them something.


    ¡°Keke, little Hachi, do you want to tell us the strategy for this Instance Dungeon?¡± Remnant Dream also started jealously teasing her.


    ¡°Give me two Molds please.¡± The prideful Flower tried to fit in by making a joke that was unusual of his character.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. How could you have gained 8 points? Did anyone else gain 8 points?¡±Moonlight¡¯s voice interrupted them.


    ¡°I think I can explain that.¡±


    Lu Li waited for their discussion to end before speaking confidently.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because Hachi Chan is a Druid,¡± Lu Li explained. ¡°The monsters in the Howling Caves predominantly have Druid canines. They were once part of Cenarion¡¯s circle of life and their goal was to restore the Barrenlands¡­.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say that they¡¯re good guys? We are actually going to kill good guys!?¡± Hachi Chan¡¯s eyes widened with shock.


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Lu Li hesitated for a second, before continuing, ¡°Archdruid Navarax believed that he could use an underground fountain to restore the Barrenlands into a fertile land, but such a task required energy to be drawn from the legendary world of Emerald Dreams.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Everyone remembered that Lu Li said he spent his time in the library when he had nothing better to do.


    ¡°Then there was a tragedy of course. Navarax had accidentally created a living nightmare and the great power changed the Howling Caves. The water became contaminated and the once docile animals turned into vicious carnivores. Now, Navarax is trapped within his own nightmare, waiting to be rescued.¡±


    ¡°Good thing we aren¡¯t going to be the bad guys,¡± Hachi Chan sighed, as she patted her chest with relief.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t laugh at her. It was actually because of her innocent mind that she had gained the NPC¡¯s favor and become obsessed with Quests. Maybe he was also too obsessed about the game?


    ¡°So¡­?¡± Wandering asked helplessly.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t Druids, so we won¡¯t be able to enjoy the Druid benefits. It doesn¡¯t make that much of a difference anyway; let¡¯s just calmly do this Dungeon,¡± Lu Li consoled them.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s all try our best for this Dungeon.¡± Wandering nodded and quickly adjusted his mood.


    After taking a few steps, they were faced with a number of humanoid creatures.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately became alert and raised his shield, but Lu Li quickly reached out and held him back.


    ¡°Not yet. They aren¡¯t monsters.¡±


    ¡°Not a monster? But that¡¯s a Tauren!¡± Azure Sea Breezed exclaimed in a whisper.


    Tauren belonged to the Evil Faction. The Evil Faction was not necessarily evil; this was simply what they had been named by the game company. However, to the NPCs, their lifestyles were different because they considered themselves as a part of the Horde.


    As the Tauren were part of the Horde and the players were in the Alliance, they were naturally sworn enemies.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. It¡¯s a Tauren, but it¡¯s also a Druid. Don¡¯t you see the Night Elf behind it?¡± Lu Li was afraid that his teammate was about to start a war.


    These three NPCs ¨C two Tauren and one Night Elf ¨C were in fact followers of Navarax, and had formidable strength because of the Nightmare¡¯s erosion. As such, if a player picked a fight with them, they were basically asked to be killed.


    Lu Li stepped forwards and gave an Elven greeting.


    ¡°Upon Cenarius¡¯ name, is there anything I can help you with?¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s some adventurers. May the light shine upon you.¡±


    The two Tauren reciprocated the greeting, before turning and shouting, ¡°Ebru, these are your people!¡±


    The Night Elf behind them came forward and after a courteous exchange, she began to give them the quest:


    ¡°¡­I need to wake him up from the nightmare, otherwise he will be trapped in there forever, supplying evil energy to the lands. However, I will first need to kill his fallen servants before I am able to perform the awakening ceremony. Can you help me, my people?¡±


    System: Ebru from the Howling Caves has requested that you kill Poison Fang Lord Cobrahn, Anacondra, Pythas and Serpentis. Do you accept?


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t the only one who received this prompt; everyone else got it as well. The entire Xin Xin Mercenary Group confidently accepted the quest.


    Then, Lu Li brought everyone to talk to the other two NPCs. They picked up two Collection Quests ¨C one to collect ten variants of leather and the other to collect five Snake Flowers from the depths of the cave.


    In order to help the adventurers complete the quest, the NPC also gave everyone five Advanced Antidotes and five Intermediate Health Potions. Other parties would have thought that this was quite good, but Lu Li¡¯s party did not lack these things. Nevertheless, it was still better than nothing.


    There were many small monsters on the way which ranged from LV18-20. The EXP they gave was not bad, but they didn¡¯t really drop anything.


    As the Main Tank, Azure Sea Breeze took the lead and provided everyone with a convenient environment to deal damage. Occasionally, one or two monsters would break through the Main Tank¡¯s defense, but they couldn¡¯t escape Wandering, the Side Tank.


    Having two tanks made things quite easy; everyone could just enjoy dealing damage.


    However, March Rain had to heal two people. At first, she found this a little difficult, but slowly became more confident over time. Hachi Chan was supposed to help her, but she could never find the opportunity to do so. As such, she acted in DPS role as well.


    Her equipment was quite strong and after Lu Li had pointed out some techniques she needed to work on, her damage output was now quite considerable.


    The first Boss was not far off and Lu Li was soon able to see her ¨C Poison Fang Anacondra, a female Night Elf who was an Acolyte and a Druid.

 208 A New Commander

    ¡°You can take command, Wandering,¡± Lu Li said, as he carefully coated his dagger with poison.


    ¡°Me? Why me?¡± Wandering was surprised; he thought that Lu Li would personally make the commands. After all, they were in the Barrenlands.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m talking about you. You can¡¯t always rely on me. What if I¡¯m not there? I¡¯m a Thief you know,¡± Lu Li responded.


    The reason why Lu Li always did well as a commander was not because of his talent in commanding, but because of his knowledge in strategy. As long as a player wasn¡¯t completely useless, they would be able to get pass the Instance Dungeon with his step-by-step instructions.


    He had tried to train Azure Sea Breeze to become a commander, but nothing came of it. The team was a mess under his leadership.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± Wandering did not refuse, as he had faith in himself.


    ¡°You can do it. We all believe in you. If I have anything to say, I¡¯ll still let you know. Everyone, put in your best effort ¨C we will be beating this Boss today.¡± Lu Li was under a very strong impression that Wandering had a special talent for Commanding.


    From Lu Li¡¯s memory of his past life, Wandering had gone undercover in unions to help Azure Sea Breeze. He had joined those unions by presenting himself as a commander. Only a talented commander could make a quick, decisive decision in the heat of the moment.


    ¡°Oh no, why do I feel like our future is bleak?¡± Azure Sea Breeze rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Wandering big bro, you can do it, good luck!¡± Hachi Chan happily welcomed the fact that Lu Li had renounced his position as commander. She had always thought that Lu Li wasn¡¯t a good person, as he liked to pull her ears.


    The others also expressed their support. Wandering had won their hearts by being very reliable.


    However, this did make him just a little more narcissistic, a little more vicious with his words and a little lazier¡­


    ¡°Big bro, I think you can do it too.¡±


    This was Sakura Memories speaking. She was clearly a beautiful and elegant person, yet she was speaking so crudely with the guys.


    ¡°Alright then, if everyone is in support of me, then I¡¯ll just go ahead then. Breezy, attack!¡± Wandering gave the Main Tank a kick.


    Azure Sea Breeze stared at him and asked, ¡°Just like that? Aren¡¯t you gonna say anything else?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s our first time ¨C what else is there to say? We have to test the Boss to see what skills it has,¡± Wandering responded confidently.


    Indeed, the first step for clearing an Instance Dungeon was by testing it out first.


    However, Lu Li was already prepared for a depressing result before the fight even began.


    Poison Fang Anacondra wasn¡¯t too difficult, but the dinosaurs nearby would soon notice the fighting. They would then let out a loud roar that would attract all the monsters from nearby, including the dinosaurs and Fanged Druids from across the river.


    No matter how strong the party was, there was no way they would be able to defeat that kind of gang-up.


    Nevertheless, he had just expressed his trust in Wandering, so he couldn¡¯t start questioning him now.


    The sight of ten players rushing in to fight was even more spectacular than five players. Anacondra used a Lightning Bolt to attack. Its attack frequency wasn¡¯t very high and its damage wasn¡¯t more than Azure Sea Breeze could bear.


    When the fight first started, everything seemed like it was going well.


    After the Boss had taken some damage, she started to heal herself.


    ¡°Dammit, Lu Li, interrupt¡­¡±


    Before those words had even left his mouth, Lu Li had already kicked the Boss to cancel the skill. Wandering could only swallow the rest of his sentence.


    However, Anacondra was a Monster that used magic, so there was no way that she would only cast Lightning Bolts. If those were all she used, the players would feel incredibly bored.


    In reality, they actually did feel bored and just wanted to get the fight over with.


    Deep Sleep! Make a target unconscious for 15 seconds.


    Unfortunately, the target was March Rain.


    Fifteen seconds didn¡¯t seem like long, but by the time the Healer woke up, the whole team would be dead.


    This was probably the most difficult aspect in facing Anacondra. If a party was unlucky and their Healer was put to sleep, they would be thrown into chaos. Those with a short temper would definitely lose their minds.


    During the 15 seconds of sleep, the System slowly counted each and every second.


    However, Wandering remained calm and commanded the second Healer that Lu Li had assigned.


    ¡°Little Hachi, heal Breezy,¡± Wandering directed with a normal pace and tone.


    He was still worried and wanted to yell too, but he knew that if he did, he would send Little Hachi into a mess.


    Hachi Chan was stunned for a second, before she subconsciously turned to Azure Sea Breeze and casted Rejuvenation on him.


    Her technique was a little sloppy; she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to completely replace the original Healer.


    Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t stupid ¨C he quickly cast Shield Wall and greatly reduced the damage received.


    ¡°Restoration!¡± Lu Li shouted out the name of the skill.


    Hachi Chan subconsciously obeyed and cast Restoration. The rejuvenation of Restoration was quite strong and it healed a considerable amount of HP. Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP instantly jumped back up.


    Although she was the second healer, Hachi Chan¡¯s Equipment and Skills were quite strong. As such, the amount that she had just healed was actually no less than what March Rain was capable of.


    ¡°Cast Lifebloom, now, again, and again. Alright, now Heal¡­¡± Lu Li had played as a Druid in his past life. Although he didn¡¯t play a Healing Druid, he still knew how to heal at an elementary level.


    To him, it was effortless ¨C he could do it even with his eyes closed. However, other people had different opinions about this.


    You¡¯re a Thief ¨C how do you know about Druid skills so well?


    Before everyone could make a scene, Lu Li quickly told them that he didn¡¯t immediately rest after logging off each day. He would read up on information about the game, including the skills of other professions.


    No one could become a master by simply relying on luck.


    With Lu Li¡¯s guidance, Hachi Chan kept Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP at a safe amount while they waited for March Rain to wake up. Once she recovered, everything was back on track.


    Anacondra suddenly flashed green and thorns appeared all around her.


    This skill reflected melee damage and dealt 200 Nature damage. Lu Li and Moonlight backed off the moment they saw this, demonstrating the skills that they had picked up from PVP. However, Wandering and Sakura Memories were a little slower to react. By the time they had stopped attacking, they had already lost half their HP.


    It would be helpful to add at this point that Sakura Memories was a Melee Buffing Shaman.


    Buffing Shamans were a class that dealt a mixture of physical and magic damage. They used various totems to fight their enemies, were able to Heal and could also generate mana¡­


    ¡°Memories and Hachi Chan, heal the other Melee Professions,¡± Wandering commanded.


    At that moment, a velociraptor strolled by and saw a group of players swarming around Anacondra.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, keep dealing damage. I¡¯ll pull it. Hachi Chan, watch my HP.¡±


    Wandering was the side-tank, so this was perfect for his role.


    Unfortunately, reality wasn¡¯t as perfect as they had imagined. The little dinosaur didn¡¯t rush in to attack them. Instead, it raised its head and let out a loud cry.


    In response to its call, a group of mobs from various places flocked over.


    The party was about to be destroyed; there was no doubt about it!


    Lu Li used Gale Steps the avoid the Boss¡¯ attack and so was the last player alive in the party.


    Generally, thieves didn¡¯t die with the rest of the team


    Some of them suggested sending a player to guard the path where the little dinosaur would come from, while others maintained that they should just focus-fire the dinosaur when it appeared. The atmosphere was becoming quite heated. Regardless of the idea, everyone was participating in the discussion.


    ¡°Why not just pull the Boss off to one side?¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say this out loud, but private-messaged this to Wandering.


    Wandering saw the private message, but couldn¡¯t understand why Lu Li had used this. However, he soon realized that Lu Li wanted to establish him as an authority.

 209 Catching A Druid As A Pe

    ¡°Alright, stop fighting. Following Lu Li¡¯ suggestion, we¡¯ll pull the Boss off to the side.¡±


    Wandering was grateful for what Lu Li was doing, but he was a proud man and couldn¡¯t claim the idea as his own.


    Lu Li was a little irritated, but there was nothing he could do.


    This time, Wandering carefully inspected the surrounding environment before deciding on a secluded corner. He truly did have discerning eyes, as the location he selected would later become the standard spot in most strategies for farming Anacondra.


    As the line of sight was blocked, there was no way that the little dinosaur could see them, unless if it ran in to look.


    However, before they began fighting, Wandering made an unexpected decision.


    ¡°What, you want me to heal?¡± Hachi Chan¡¯s eyes were wide and was so shocked that her mouth was hanging open.


    ¡°Yes, you will be the main healer, March Rain you are the side Healer. I¡¯m giving you an opportunity to improve by taking us out of our comfort zone, so make good use of it. Lu Li will guide you on what skills to use, but also consider why he has asked to you use those skills,¡± Wandering whispered.


    Lu Li internally praised Wandering over and over.


    He was quite courageous to use a dungeon clear for teaching, but if you thought about it, there wasn¡¯t anything really wrong with it.


    The only loss was Hachi Chan¡¯s damage output. Her output wasn¡¯t that high anyway, so the party would probably do fine without her. Hachi Chan was now the Main Healer, but in reality, March Rain would still be watching everyone¡¯s HP.


    If they previously weren¡¯t so unlucky as to have their Healer go to sleep, the little dinosaur wouldn¡¯t have found them.


    This time, Anacondra was killed with no complications.


    ¡°What did it drop? Quickly go find out!¡± Hachi Chan anxiously cried out.


    She had fought her heart out for this Boss and had done more than half of the healing. March Rain only took over when she had run out of MP.


    ¡°I¡¯ll loot it.¡±


    Remnant Dream was the party¡¯s designated equipment distributor because of her lucky hands. She was also unwilling to give up the role.


    ¡°One Silver Equip ¨C a Chain Mail Armor. Oh wow, its main bonus is additional Intelligence¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s for a Shaman, give it to Memories,¡± Wandering commanded.


    ¡°There is a rare material,¡± Remnant Dream said, as she reluctantly gave the Armor to Sakura Memories.


    Sakura Memories was a little embarrassed. This was her first Instance Dungeon experience with the party and she was already receiving equipment. Moreover, it was a LV20 Silver equip with good attributes.


    ¡°Give me the rare material. Lu Li and I will deal with it,¡± said Wandering.


    ¡°Oh, and give the ring to Memories as well,¡± added Lu Li.


    Lu Li nodded and took out the Wind Ring to hand it to her.


    This ring was a LV25 equip, but with its -30% effectiveness, a LV18 player could equip it. Its effects were quite special, especially the buff that gave Shaman Totems an additional 10% effectiveness. This could be considered as a God item for Shamans.


    ¡°These¡­ are all for me?¡± Sakura Memories felt that the ring¡¯s effect was too good to be true.


    ¡°No need to be polite ¨C you aren¡¯t just getting these for free. I¡¯ve been keeping track of the scores and these will be deducted from your final contribution. So, keep working hard,¡± Wandering said as he held up a book that he had been carrying. He really had been keeping track of everything.


    Azure Sea Breeze snatched the book and began to read it out loud, ¡°Howling Caves points record: Group participation ¨C 10 points each. Immaculate leadership by Wandering ¨C 5 points. Wow, you think your leadership is immaculate? Do you have no shame? Satisfactory performance by Azure Sea Breeze ¨C 1 point. You old geezer, you think my performance is only satisfactory? Constructive criticism by Lu Li ¨C 5 points. Hachi Chan showing great improvement ¨C 3 points. Why did I get the least points!?¡±


    Everyone had gained bonus points of about 3 on average. However, Azure Sea Breeze had only gained a single point.


    ¡°It¡¯s not an exact science. If an equip that is dropped is suitable for you, then you¡¯ll get it,¡± Wandering grunted before snatching back his book.


    ¡°Do you think you can fool me Wandering? The points are obviously tied to the gold reward, but you¡¯ve gone and taken mine away,¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out angrily.


    ¡°Alright, if you keep arguing about this, I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t have a life to spend your money on,¡± Wandering fearlessly said.


    He wasn¡¯t trying to create a false account ¨C it just happened that Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s points appeared particularly fraudulent. However, the sum of both their points was six, which was the same as everyone else¡¯s. The scoring wasn¡¯t very strict and neither was it perfectly fair.


    ¡°Alright, stop fighting. Don¡¯t you see I¡¯m still allocating items? There¡¯s also a Skill book ¨C ¡®Moonkin Form¡¯. The name sounds so ugly. It¡¯s yours Hachi,¡± Remnant Dream said as she looted the third item.


    ¡°Let¡­ let me see.¡±


    The name really did have quite an ugly ring to it. Why would a girl want to learn a skill that was called Moonkin Form?


    It was a Transformation Skill that could turn Hachi Chan into the Moonkin Form?


    In full view of everyone, Hachi Chan learned the skill and brazenly used it.


    The creature that appeared was furry, chubby and looked like a giant quail. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that everyone had seen her transform, they wouldn¡¯t have recognized it as Hachi Chan.


    ¡°Waaaa, Its so cute!¡± Remnant Dream rushed over and started rubbing its fur.


    March Rain and Sakura Memories also ran over and joined in.


    ¡°Seems pretty good. Does it look okay?¡± Hachi Chan had already completely forgotten about the skill¡¯s name. As long as it looked good, everything was fine¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s really really cute. I don¡¯t know if there will be plush toys of this coming out, but I really want to hug one to sleep.¡± Given March Rain¡¯s expression, it seemed like she was a girl who liked plush toys.


    ¡°It can be custom made. I¡¯ll find a company to do it later,¡± said a certain sis-con immediately.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Hachi Chan, can you strike a few poses so I can take some pictures?¡± March Rain asked.


    Originally, their relationship was a little awkward, but now that they had something in common to talk about, the girls had hit it off. Wandering didn¡¯t rush them either. After all, their objective of defeating the first Boss had been reached.


    Hachi Chan obediently struck a candid pose for them.


    Obviously, Dawn had put in a great effort to cater for female tastes. For example, the Druid¡¯s Moonkin Form had a number of cute elements to it.


    Lu Li hit Lonesome Flower with his elbow.


    ¡°What?¡± Lonesome Flower turned around unhappily; he had been helping to take pictures.


    ¡°If it turns out well, can you make one for my sister as well? It has to be pink. Can you also make it a little bigger? My sister is 150cm tall. How tall do you think it¡¯ll be?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t really know if Lu Xin would like it, but he subconsciously wanted to get one for her.


    With a common talking point, Lonesome Flower finally felt like he could have a conversation with someone. The two of them discussed which designs would be most comfortable and aesthetically pleasing¡­


    ¡°Hey! Dreamy, what are you doing to me!?¡± Hachi Chan¡¯s cry caught everyone¡¯s attention and they all twisted back around to see what had happened.


    It wasn¡¯t really anything¡­


    Only Lu Li, who had a keen eye and a deep understanding of Hunter skills, understood. However, he couldn¡¯t bear to look and had to cover his face. Why were they doing this?


    ¡°Don¡¯t move Hachi,¡± Remnant Dream said.


    ¡°What is this? What are you trying to do?¡± Hachi Chan anxiously watched the slight yellow glow of the shroud around her. Although she knew that her party members couldn¡¯t hurt her, the fact that a skill was being cast on her was enough to scare her.


    ¡°I¡­ I want to catch you as my pet¡­¡± Remnant Dream softly whispered as she continued her hand motions.

 210 Resurrection

    ¡°We¡¯re good friends, but you want to capture me as a pet?¡± Although she was young, Hachi Chan knew that she should protect herself from her enemies and watch out for her closest friends.


    This girl wanted to capture her as a pet!


    Many other Hunter had this dream as well, to capture a Druid as a pet.


    However, while most people only ever thought about it, Remnant Dream had acted on it. The little hunter had been casting her Tame Beast Skill for a while now.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m a player. You can¡¯t capture me. You can¡¯t!¡± Hachi Chan¡¯s panic was quite adorable, but the game wouldn¡¯t allow a player to capture another player as a pet¡­ right?


    Remnant Dream bitterly retracted her hands, but she was unwilling. She even private-messaged Lu Li, ¡°How can I capture the quail as a pet?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your best friend, and you want to capture her?¡± Lu Li gave her a strange look.


    ¡°No, I just wanted to try it. Next time¡­ I¡¯ll just capture someone from the Evil Faction.¡±


    Now that the little girl had calmed down, she realized the error in what she was doing to her friend. As such, she directed her intention towards someone from the Evil Faction.


    ¡°You can¡¯t capture other players¡­¡± Lu Li said helplessly.


    ¡°Then¡­ can I capture NPCs?¡± The girl who had a foolish mind like Hachi Chan was being quite creative.


    ¡°NPC¡­¡± Lu Li wanted to say that she couldn¡¯t, but he suddenly thought of Mok¡¯Nathal¡¯s final descendant ¨C Rexxar. He was followed around by large Bear named Misha, who was also a Druid.


    There was also Windcaller Claude, who had been captured as a pet by a Boss in the Dark Swamp. He had become a laughing stock throughout all of Azeroth.


    ¡°It definitely must be possible.¡± Seeing Lu Li¡¯s hesitation, Remnant Dream smiled and declared, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve decided that I will be capturing a Druid as a pet.¡±


    What a grand dream. Lu Li wiped away his sweat and said nothing.


    People would always have dreams, but what if she succeeded?


    After some rest, they continued on their journey.


    ¡°Which way should we go?¡± Azure Sea Breeze wiped off the blood that had been splashed on his face, as they stopped at a fork in the road.


    There wasn¡¯t really a plan. The environment was too complex, so there was no easy way to determine what the right way was. Dawn wasn¡¯t like the other games, where there were full screen maps or navigational plug-ins.


    ¡°I have an idea.¡±


    Hachi Chan had already recovered from Remnant Dream¡¯s capture attempt and was ready to provide a suggestion on how they could navigate through the Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s hear it.¡± Wandering¡¯s head was hurting.


    It seemed absurd for someone with a poor sense of direction to give advice about navigation, but Wandering made sure that he heard everyone¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°This is a gold coin¡­¡± she said as she pulled out a golden coin. This wasn¡¯t the game currency, but rather a special prop that could be bought with special currency awarded from quests.


    Everyone stared at the coin in her hand. Could it be that it was somehow able to direct them?


    ¡°Here, we have a left path and a right path. If the gold coin is face up, we will go left. If the gold coin is face down¡­¡± Hachi Chan said casually.


    Everyone just sweated in silence.


    ¡°I do this all the time when navigating through quests.¡± Hachi Chan noticed that she was being ignored and was a little aggravated.


    ¡°What if the coin stands on its end?¡± Sakura Memories asked as she walked to her side and rubbed her own head.


    She had a point ¨C what would happen if the coin ended up standing?


    In reality, the split-path wasn¡¯t a big deal. If they took the wrong way, they would just have to travel for longer. Wandering directed the party to pick a path at random.


    As they were about to leave, Remnant Dream, who was probably too preoccupied by her dream of capturing a Druid as a pet, stepped to close to the edge and slid down.


    ¡°Help!¡± the little girl cried out in surprise and fear.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯ll find a way down to save you. Look around to see if there is anything you can grab onto,¡± Lu Li said. He didn¡¯t want to keep talking, but she truly did have heaven-defying luck.


    Jumping in at this point was actually the correct way of completing the Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°Waaa, there are monsters down here! They¡¯re attacking my pet!¡± Remnant Dream felt like she had been abandoned to face the unknown dangers alone.


    ¡°Let¡¯s jump.¡±


    Lu Li led the group as he jumped in. The other quickly followed suit.


    The river wasn¡¯t actually that deep ¨C in fact, the water only reached up to their ankles.


    Remnant Dream had run into some crocodile monsters, which actually posed no real threat to her, let alone the whole group of players that had now jumped down as well. The area was quickly cleared, but now they were faced with the problem of climbing back up the smooth slope.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explore this way,¡± said Lu Li. As a Thief, this was the perfect job for him. It also conveniently directed them onto the route that led towards the second Boss.


    Before long, everyone had received a prompt from Lu Li to move forwards and they quickly discovered the Poison Fang Abyss.


    There was a constant stream of monsters the whole way. Luckily, the monsters dropped the quest items that they needed, so even though the day was ending, everyone was in high spirits.


    One of the items, Snake Flower, had a very low drop rate. They had only acquired three out of five.


    As all ten of them had the quest, the item was even scarcer.


    Azure Sea Breeze strongly suspected that while Lu Li was walking ahead of them, he had taken all the Snake Flowers.


    Lu Li disdainfully disagreed with this explanation. He was responsible for guiding the group from the front, and was so perfect for the role that it was almost over-kill for him to be doing it.


    The second Boss, Cobrahn, was in a relatively remote location. If Remnant Dream had not fallen down, which prompted Lu Li¡¯s guidance, they likely would not have found him within the Instance Dungeon.


    The others didn¡¯t know about this. They thought that they would just stumble upon a Boss, even with the mistakes being made.


    Cobrahn wasn¡¯t that much different from Poison Fang Anacondra. The only difference was that he would use Poison that dealt 700 damage per second.


    At that point, the party started losing members.


    One of the players who died was Sakura Memories. Who let this girl play as a melee? This outcome had a larger probability of occurring because she was melee.


    ¡°Are we giving up?¡± asked Sesame Rice ball. The Boss hadn¡¯t even lost 20% of its HP and they had already lost a member. Generally, a commander would sacrifice a few members so that the others could escape.


    They would then start again with more certainty.


    ¡°Continue fighting. Everyone, keep at it. It would be good if we could kill the Boss today, but it¡¯s okay if we don¡¯t as well,¡± Wandering said calmly.


    As the poison was quite different from normal, Wandering¡¯s leadership style had to be very meticulous. He would address every detail, no matter how small it was, and was paying full attention to everyone¡¯s actions.


    Lu Li¡¯s leadership style focused more on macro maneuvers, only calling out specific instructions at very the last minute.


    ¡°I can revive big sister,¡± Hachi Chan volunteered.


    ¡°While we are in combat, you can¡¯t use Revive,¡± March Rain reminded her nicely. Revive had a low drop rate, but there was still a subset of players who had the skill.


    Hachi Chan had probably never been in a party with other people before, so she didn¡¯t know that Revive required the player to leave combat first.


    ¡°My revive is very special ¨C it¡¯s called Resurrection,¡± Hachi Chan said seriously.

 211 Solved Another One

    Resurrection?


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes lit up; he instantly knew what Hachi Chan was talking about.


    In Dawn, there were many professions that could heal. Each profession had their own unique uses, but a healer Druid¡¯s specialty was Resurrection.


    This was a rare skill that a Druid could use in any form. Its value was in the fact that teammates could be revived while still in combat.


    Only a Healer Druid would have this kind of skill!


    As Hachi Chan channeled the Resurrect, Sakura Memories slowly sat up. It was unlikely that this skill had been upgraded, so she only had a little bit of HP.


    However, this was of no issue as the party had two healers. Sakura Memories was quickly taken from back the brink of death.


    The Boss¡¯ poison was too strong, so everyone had no choice but to carry a bottle of Advanced Antidote. Even so, the Advanced Antidote wasn¡¯t enough to cure them. It only served to mitigate part of the poison¡¯s effect.


    Wandering also had no choice but instruct Hachi Chan to heal the Main Tank, while the more-skilled March Rain was delegated the task of watching over the rest of the team¡¯s HP.


    March Rain had an extremely heightened sense of game consciousness. The players in the party would often receive healing the moment they started taking damage from the poison.


    ¡°I feel like this Boss can be beaten,¡± Azure Sea Breeze muttered under his breath.


    Upon seeing that the Boss had lost over half its HP and that everyone was still alive, Remnant Dream underestimated the poison¡¯s strength and was downed again.


    ¡°Now you know why I chose the Elite Difficulty,¡± Lu Li said as he glanced at him. It wasn¡¯t as though Azure Sea Breeze was stupid; he just didn¡¯t use his brain sometimes.


    The Elite difficulty was just right to break this newly-established team in.


    If it was Nightmare or even Difficult, it would be impossible for them to complete.


    ¡°Sakura Memories, keep using your totems. Everyone, don¡¯t get greedy when you¡¯re dealing damage. Flower and Rice Ball, keep your damage output steady. We have a good chance of beating this Instance Dungeon, but if someone accidentally takes aggro, all our efforts will be for nothing.¡±


    As the Bosses of the Howling Caves had the Thorns Skill, which was capable of reflecting physical damage, the melee professions were limited. As such, the players who were the most capable of dealing damage were Lonesome Flower, followed by Sesame Rice ball. Behind them were Lu Li, Moonlight and the rest.


    However, Lonesome Flower could only deal a limited amount of damage, as he wasn¡¯t as confident in dealing with aggro as Lu Li.


    As the Boss¡¯ HP continued to decline, it cast the Deep Sleep Skill. This time, the target was Moonlight. This didn¡¯t affect the team much, so everyone just continued to calmly deal damage.


    ¡°Lighty, your position looks pretty funny. You don¡¯t look like an expert at all; you should just keep sleeping,¡± Azure Sea Breeze teased.


    Deep Sleep tended to put players into unsightly positions. This was especially the case with male characters; it was really quite silly.


    ¡°Lu Li¡­ never mind, just pretend I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Wandering didn¡¯t have to say anything before Lu Li kicked the Boss to interrupt its healing. He decided not to tell Lu Li about interrupting the Boss anymore, as he would always do it before he even finished speaking. How embarrassing.


    He then realised that there were some players that required explicit instruction, such as Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan, and even Lonesome Flower. The others didn¡¯t need any instruction at all and would just do what they needed to when the time came. These players were Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain.


    The three of them competing in the Shadow Cup together now seemed to make sense.


    There was also one more player who could make decisions in the middle of a situation ¨C Azure Sea Breeze. He immediately put up the Shield wall just as the Boss went into Berserk.


    Other than going Berserk, the Boss also sent out two Poison Fang Druids.


    Bang!


    The Berserked Boss knocked Moonlight away before also knocking Sakura Memories away. When they landed, they were both at critical HP. This sent both of the healers into a healing frenzy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the others, just make sure you keep healing. Everyone, just ignore the monsters. Focus your damage on the Boss!¡± Lu Li finally couldn¡¯t help himself as he barked some instructions.


    Wandering needed to be more decisive. It didn¡¯t matter if some of them died, as long as the Boss was beaten. They didn¡¯t lose any EXP for dying in the Instance Dungeon anyway.


    In his past life, Lu Li remembered meeting a party leader that really liked using players as cannon fodder.Because of this, he always generated easy results on missions.


    With Lu Li intervening, everyone but the Healers focused their damage on the Boss. The two monsters were chasing Lonesome Flower, but they were unable to stop him from dealing as much damage as he could.


    Lonesome Flower was ready to sacrifice himself. He let the two monsters attack him and continued to damage the Boss.


    Lonesome Flower died!


    Sesame Rice Ball died!


    Remnant Dream died!


    However, at this time, the Boss also died!


    ¡°Healers, start saving people. Revive Remnant Dream first. I¡¯ll be going now ¨C I¡¯m so tired. I think we¡¯ll stop here for today ¨C there isn¡¯t much time left anyway.¡± Wandering wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling exhausted from leading the party.


    Remnant Dream ran up to loot the Boss the moment she was revived.


    ¡°Skill Book, Disperse.¡± The first item that Remnant Dream looted was a skill book.


    ¡°Give it to March Rain. With this Skill book, there will be no need to fear the next time she is affected by Deep Sleep.¡± Disperse targeted Magic spells and fortunately, Deep Sleep was one of them.


    ¡°A Silver Hammer. Seems to be for Healers.¡± Remnant Dream sent the attributes to everyone so they could see them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it,¡± March Rain said shook her head.


    No one else wanted to claim it either, as taking it would mean a deduction in their contribution points.


    ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll just put it on the Exchange Hall and split the money proportionally later.¡± Wandering didn¡¯t mind that no one wanted it. The equipment was for general use and the fact that it was Silver made it valuable in the Exchange Hall.


    ¡°There is also a Steel equipment. That¡¯s it,¡± Remnant Dream announced as she stood up and clapped her hands.


    ¡°The attributes are not bad. Breezy, you can take it, I¡¯ll take 10 points off you.¡± Wandering forced it onto Azure Sea Breeze without much of an explanation.


    ¡°You old geezer, you use defensive equipment as well. Why don¡¯t you take it yourself? I want Silver equipment and Molds, not Steel equipment,¡± Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed angrily.


    This LV20 Steel equip was actually quite strong. It was much better than the equipment he currently had.


    However, now that he had seen the kind of equipment that Hachi Chan¡¯s Mold made, he didn¡¯t want this kind of equipment anymore. Wandering had even pushed it onto him, suddenly deducting points without discussing it.


    ¡°Alright, this is where we will stop the Instance Dungeon for today. Hachi and Dreamy, you guys are still in high school, so don¡¯t play for too much longer. Go to sleep. We¡¯ll start again tonight at 8pm, so it¡¯s not too much of a rush.¡± Although Wandering planned to start a little later, everyone was fine with it.


    He understood everyone¡¯s different situations, even more so than Lu Li.


    Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were 2nd year High School students, Sesame Rice Ball was in his first year of University, while March Rain and Sakura Memories were already well into University. Wandering and Azure Sea Breeze were both in their final year of university and Lonesome Flower was in the year before them. Moonlight was the oldest here, being someone who had already graduated many years ago.


    Lu Li¡¯s situation was a little more complicated. He had never been to university, but was now mixing into the community and was a professional player.


    All in all, everyone except for the two little girls had adequate time to play the game.


    Although the game placed the body into a shallow sleeping state, it was far inferior to proper deep sleep. The girls¡¯ bodies were also still growing, so that was even more of a reason not to stay up.


    ¡°Both of our results are really good,¡± Remnant Dream protested.


    ¡°We also work really hard and study well,¡± Hachi Chan added, as she adorably swung her head.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be 1.5m tall forever, then quickly go to sleep!¡± Now that the Instance Dungeon was over, Wandering had returned to his abrasive self. ¡°You guys are so ugly and short. I really worry about how you guys are ever going to get married¡­¡±

 212 Guardian Goddess Part 1

    The girls were immediately provoked to anger the moment that Wandering finished speaking. They were naturally quite beautiful and were almost reaching maturity, so what he had said was unbearable to them.


    In view of the grieving Remnant Dream, Azure Sea Breeze kicked his buddy down into river.


    Wandering: ¡°Aaaah¡­¡±


    ¡°Will he die?¡± March Rain asked cheekily.


    ¡°Splash! Listen, there¡¯s water down there,¡± Azure Sea Breeze responded with a laugh.


    ¡°You made that ¡®splash¡¯ sound,¡± Sakura Memories shot back at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s all the same, let¡¯s go.¡± After he finished speaking, he left the Instance Dungeon.


    The other men didn¡¯t hesitate to leave with him. The girls were currently still kind-hearted, but this would only last for another three seconds. Everyone was wondering why Wandering had thought it was a good idea to say that to those girls, as they quickly left as a group.


    Only Wandering was left in the river, forced to find another way out. He hoped that he wouldn¡¯t run into any monsters.


    After leaving the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li brought everyone to the camp that was spoken of in the legends. While they were working on clearing the Howling Caves, they had to stay here in this village.


    With the little bit of time they had left, Lu Li asked Remnant Dream for some cooked food.


    In order to raise Guo Guo, Remnant Dream had to develop her cooking skills. While in reality, she was unable to even make fried potato strips, she could cook food that was beyond delicious in game. This food could even give bonus attributes.


    After distributing some food to everyone, Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan logged off. They seemed to have something on their minds.


    From the top of the canopy tigers fall, Dreamy and Hachi were 1.5 metres tall.


    Lonesome Flower then brought his sister and the others who weren¡¯t logging off to train.


    As for Moonlight, the Barrenlands were heaven for him. They were filled with Horde players!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t go to train. Instead, he left the camp after receiving the food to search for some Treasure Chests.


    Treasure Chests would often spawn in weird places. For example, they could spawn on mountains, in caves, or even in ditches. Of course, the most important place to check was a monster¡¯s tent, as this was the most likely place for a Treasure Chest to appear.


    Some Treasure Chests had a fixed refresh time, while others had a random refresh timer. The inability to determine a Chests¡¯ refresh time was a Treasure Chest hunter¡¯s biggest fear.


    As Lu Li flapped his wings, he flew slowly and close to the ground, not wanting to accidentally fly past a Chest.


    He had quite the harvest along the way, but it was too bad that most of the chests were Bronze. Most of the items inside, other than the two skill books and some low-end material, had no market value.


    Regular materials were quite different from rare materials.


    Rare materials were still useful in the long term, no matter how low their level was. A LV80 Mold could potentially still use a Jade Spider Web. On the other hand, low-level regular materials didn¡¯t retain their value, as they could only be used for low-level equipment.


    One of the two skill books was for a Paladin skill ¨C ¡®Divine Intervention¡¯. Obtaining this was a complete surprise.


    A Paladin could use Divine Intervention on a friendly target to protect them from any physical or skill damage. Although this removed the target from battle and prevented them from moving, monsters would be unable to hit them for the duration of the skill.


    In a situation where a team was about be destroyed, a Paladin could sacrifice himself to protect the Healer and cast this skill on them.


    This would lead to the Healer being the lone survivor on the battlefield. However, the Boss would then also return to its original position.


    Wandering would definitely appreciate this skill; it would also serve as a consolation for being thrown off the cliff.


    The other skill book was far worse. The Warrior¡¯s ¡®Shieldstrike¡¯ was currently only worth 10 silver in the Exchange Hall and was pretty worthless.


    There was a kind of Thief called a ¡®Treasure Hunter¡¯ that made a profession out of opening Treasure Chests. The forums were filled with ¡®get rich quick¡¯ schemes for such players. In his past life, Lu Li was envious of these people and this was partly the reason why he had chosen to play as a Thief.


    Unfortunately, now that he was actually playing as a Thief, he realized that reality was quite different from what he imagined.


    Treasure Chests weren¡¯t widely distributed and they didn¡¯t necessarily drop good items, let alone anything that would make him rich overnight.


    With a deep resentment for the game, Lu Li logged off.


    After some sleep, he sent his sister to school. As she had not yet formally accepted the treatment, she still needed to go to school.


    Lu Li greeted the teacher, hoping that his sister would be able to receive special treatment. She absolutely could not participate in any physical activity or do any school work that was particularly arduous.


    According to Lu Li, it didn¡¯t matter too much if she couldn¡¯t make it into university. Her brother could support her for life.


    When Lu Li logged on the next day, he received some news: Some Water Elementals had appeared near Meisnera¡¯s Output and were being farmed.


    ¡°Guardian Goddess¡­¡± Lu Li muttered to himself.


    If it weren¡¯t for this news, Lu Li would have completely forgotten about this. This was his original reason for choosing Astrana as a landing point.


    As previously mentioned, Meisnera was truly beautiful and had a serene voice.


    For the players in Grey Valley, it would be understandable if they had not heard of Raene Wolfrunning (Astrana¡¯s Chief), or Malfurion, but if one did not know about Meisnera, then their life had not been truly lived.


    There were even girls who were addicted to her voice. She was the pinnacle of 200 years of gaming history.


    Lots of players had her lines recorded and used them as a ringtone in real life.


    If there were Water Elementals near Meisnera¡¯s Output, then the High Disciple Anzelin of the Twillight Hammer had completed his plan to deploy in Astrana. The day of attack was imminent.


    There had been some Twilight Cultist activity in the Grey Valley, but their numbers were small and were not considered as a threat to the Night Elf Sentinel Army.


    Anzelin and his subordinates understood this, so they created a Twilight Altar and used its strength to summon Water Elementals from the sea.


    Lu Li also had some kind of relationship with these Water Elementals.


    In order to upgrade his ring, Lu Li and the High Disciple Anzelin of the Twillight Hammer had struck a deal. He would give some materials to the altar and be allowed to draw some of its strength.


    However, Anzelin had underestimated the energy needed for the ring.


    This resulted in a delay in the formation time of the Water Elementals.


    However, there was also another side to the situation. Although Lu Li had delayed the formation of the Water Elementals, the current Water Elementals would be a lot stronger than the ones he had faced in his past life. This was because of the materials he had given.


    ¡°What level are the Water Elementals?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Around level 20. They give quite a bit of EXP. Do you want to go and join the party?¡± Wandering was still in the Barrenlands camp, but his heart had already returned all the way back to Meisnera¡¯s Output.


    ¡°Go if you want to and take the others with you as well. There¡¯s no rush to complete the Instance Dungeon.¡± Lu Li was very supportive of his decision.


    Guardian Goddess, or as the official statement called it, ¡®The Meisnera Outpost Battle¡¯, appeared to be a very worthwhile event. There were large amounts of EXP, equipment, rewards and Glory points to be earned¡­


    When he heard about the Glory points rewards, Lu Li¡¯s face fell.

 213 Three-Person Party

    Lu Li opened up his stats page and saw that his Glory was still -312.


    Burning the Horde¡¯s supplies rewarded him with a generous amount of EXP and a Deception Orb. However, he had lost large amounts of Glory because he had made the mistake of burning some of the human slaves to death.


    He was definitely the player with the lowest Glory in all of Dawn!


    If he wanted to participate in the ¡°Goddess Protection¡± event, he had to quickly raise his Glory back to a positive value!


    Everyone else was enjoying their EXP, but he had to go to the Warsong Valley.


    ¡°Lu Li, why aren¡¯t you coming?¡± Apart from the two girls who could only log-on after 8pm, everyone else was waiting for Lu Li.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the Warsong Valley to get my Glory back to positive,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    ¡°Why?¡± Wandering was quite frustrated.


    ¡°It¡¯s complicated. Regardless, it¡¯s what I need to do, so you guys go first. Be careful though ¨C right now, there aren¡¯t many water elementals, so it¡¯s the players farming the monsters. In the afternoon, it¡¯ll be the monsters farming the players,¡± Lu Li warned them.


    Indeed, Anzelin barely qualified as a Boss and had low status. However, he was a genius, and had gathered some zealots to form a massive water elemental army right under the noses of the Night Elf Sentinel Corps.


    In his ¡®past life¡¯, Lu Li had entered the game after this battle, but he had heard many old players talk about it.


    According to them, the water elementals seemed to extend endlessly over the heavens and the earth, which at the time, had thrown them into a state of despair.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help you. The Alliance players are all farming water elementals, so there are many Horde players at the Warsong Valley.¡± Moonlight loved to fight other players and had wanted to work with Lu Li for a long time. As he thought about a Warrior and a Thief working together, his blood began to boil with excitement.


    ¡°Mmm okay.¡±


    Lu Li evilly realised that a Berserker would be decent cannon fodder.


    ¡°I want to go as well. We¡¯re a three-person party right?¡± March Rain thought for a moment before deciding to tag along as well.


    ¡°Hmm, alright, you can do some practice and observe some real killing techniques.¡± Moonlight liked to call killing an art, and was obsessed with PVP. This was why he wasn¡¯t a very fitting leader.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go as well,¡± Sesame Rice Ball said.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s alright; three people is enough. Having too many people can be troublesome as well. You¡¯re lower level than us, so it¡¯s better for you to farm some EXP,¡± Lu Li refused.


    Having more people wasn¡¯t necessarily a good thing, and there were many parties that had more people than them.


    Lu Li returned to town and first went to the Exchange Hall.


    A Stampeding Roar Skill Book costed 60 gold, which was worth around $6000 in real life. Lu Li unhesitatingly bought it.


    Supreme Two Ring¡¯s Special Effect: The Lord of the Forest, Cenarius, gave this ring special powers. You can learn three Druid transformation skills, as well as two skills for each of those transformations.


    Lu Li had learned the Seal Transformation at the very beginning, which payed off extremely well for him.


    The second skill he had learned was the Child of the Forest, which allowed him to transform into the little cheetah.


    The third one was his Raven Transformation, which allowed him to fly. It was a skill he relied on heavily, as it allowed him to simply fly over places that other people wouldn¡¯t dare to go near.


    As for the ¡®learn two skills for each of those transformations¡¯, he could only learn skills for his cheetah transformation. The Seal and Raven Transformations belonged to swimming and flying transformations, so no additional skills could be learned on top of those.


    Lu Li had always been unsure as to what he should learn for his cheetah transformation.


    Not too long ago, he had learned Stealth.


    And now, he had chosen his second skill, Stampeding Roar.


    Stampeding Roar, Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 60 seconds. A roar let out by a Druid that causes the Movement Speed of allied players within 5 feet to increase by 30%. Lasts for 5 seconds, and removes all snare and trap effects. Current Level: 1/5.


    In actuality, Stampeding Roar wasn¡¯t very suitable for Lu Li, and didn¡¯t make him stronger.


    It was for his team! Or at least, that¡¯s what Lu Li told himself.


    When he thought of the Shadow Cup¡¯s massive prize, he felt much better.


    Half an hour later, their three-person party arrived outside the battlefield.


    ¡°I¡¯m in charge of scouting,¡± Lu Li said as he pointed at himself. ¡°Lighty¡¯s in charge of engaging. March Rain, just protect yourself and heal us up now and then.¡±


    Moonlight and March Rain both nodded, as the three of them entered the Warsong Valley together.


    Lu Li turned into a little cheetah and entered into Stealth. If one were to be direct and unflattering, he could be described as a rat darting around. If anyone looked over, they would only notice the grass moving.


    ¡°In front of us, 3 O¡¯clock, 1 Warrior, 1 Priest, 2 Mages, 1 Warlock. They have a pretty bad formation. Moonlight, use your windmill and kill them,¡± Lu Li softly said in their chat.


    This team had a standard composition. What defined a standard composition? It was quite simple ¨C a team with a Healer was a standard composition.


    Perhaps everything had gone too well for them, but they began to relax their wariness.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the Alliance dogs today? So unsatisfying,¡± the Warrior at the head laughed.


    ¡°They¡¯re probably too scared of us after yesterday. Glory Capital is the biggest guild in the game now, and is destroying everyone in the Warsong Valley. The Blood Red War Flag doesn¡¯t even dare to retaliate,¡± the Mage walking beside him scoffed.


    ¡°Are we going to continue today?¡± someone at the back asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for there to be a big battle today like yesterday. The Glory Capital¡¯s starting on the Wailing Cave today, so there are only a couple of small teams patrolling around to suppress the Alliance dogs,¡± the Mage said.


    ¡°It was a single battle, but it was so awe-inspiring. It¡¯s a pity their standards for recruiting are too high. Crap, enemy attack¡­¡±


    The Warrior turned his head and saw a person suddenly burst out from the thickets. Just as they stopped walking, a Whirlwind came towards them.


    The Priest lifted his staff, but before he could cast a heal, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and his vision became dark.


    Lu Li managed to deal with the Healer in just a few strikes, before Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind had even finished.


    Apart from the Warrior, the other three players instantly fell to Critical HP!


    Moonlight cut off the Priest¡¯s escape route with a Charge and executed him with two strikes from his Axe. Lu Li activated his Cloak¡¯s special effect and instantly appeared behind the Warlock, then Kicked him, interrupting the Fear he was about to cast. He then dealt a Shadowstrike with a high Skill Completion which stunned him, then finished him off with another two blows.


    There was still a Mage and a Warrior left.


    ¡°Brace yourself!¡± Moonlight and the other Warrior Charged into each other, leaving both of them Stunned.


    The Mage wasn¡¯t so lucky. He was used to casting Cone of Cold to slow down Thieves, but he simply couldn¡¯t hit Lu Li with it. Lu Li continuously flitted around while dealing damage.


    An expert!


    A pretty girl came out from behind a tree and started to channel a healing spell, leaving the other two survivors in despair.


    It had taken the three of them less than 40 seconds to achieve a flawless victory over five players. Moonlight had lost a bit of HP, while Lu Li hadn¡¯t even been hit. The difference in strength between the two teams was extremely obvious.


    ¡°March Rain, you didn¡¯t need to come out. Be careful in the future.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t pick up the dropped equipment, and instead entered into Stealth.


    He continued to scout ahead of them for enemies. When there were too many of them, he would guide Moonlight and March Rain to avoid them. When he found modestly-sized teams, he would coordinate with Moonlight and March Rain to ambush them, and when he found single players, he would simply kill them by himself. There was simply no opportunity for Moonlight and March Rain to participate in those battles.


    The Warsong Valley was incredibly vast, and if one could casually bump into an expert like Lu Li, then experts would be far too common.

 214 Complete Dominance

    ¡°There are quite a few people, but that doesn¡¯t mean we won¡¯t have an opportunity,¡± Lu Li said as he stroked the edge of his Dagger. ¡°Let¡¯s watch the show for now.¡±


    Below the mountain slope, a group of people were fighting and killing each other.


    The Alliance¡¯s side was at an obvious disadvantage, both in their numbers and their skill.


    As for the Horde¡¯s side, they had made smart decisions to advance or to retreat. Evidently, they had a competent commander.


    The Alliance¡¯s numbers continuously dwindled. Almost all of them had to face two enemies, or an enemy with a Healer following them around.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time. I¡¯ll go down first. Moonlight, try to kill as many Healers as possible. March Rain¡­¡± Lu Li paused, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to get into action.¡±


    After killing their way through the Warsong Valley, March Rain was no longer the scared quail hiding in the thickets. Although Moonlight was not fully satisfied with her performance, at least they had confirmed that she had talent in this area.


    March Rain gripped the staff in her hands and heavily nodded.


    Lu Li crept behind a Druid in Stealth, who was probably their commander. The reason he had deduced this was because everyone paid quite a deal of attention to him.


    If he wasn¡¯t the commander, there would be no reason for everyone to look at him so often. After all, it wasn¡¯t at though he were a beautiful lady.


    The Alliance players weren¡¯t idiots. Occasionally, a few of them would rush over to try and kill this Druid. However, the Horde players protected him well, and he was quite skilled as well.


    Lu Li waited patiently. Even if Moonlight charged down from the mountain slope and rushed into the crowd of enemies, he would continue to remain Stealthed.


    This new Warrior was an expert.


    The Druid¡¯s attention was quickly commanded by Moonlight. His lips moved and a few Horde Mages went over in an attempt to surround and suppress Moonlight.


    Moonlight reacted quickly and immediately activated Petrified Skin. This greatly boosted his Defence and made him immune to all Crowd Control skills, allowing him to tank many of the Mages¡¯ attacks.


    Which profession was the toughest on the battlefield?


    Berserkers!


    When Petrified Skin¡¯s effects ended, Moonlight activated his second Crowd Control immunity skill, Berserk!


    This was a Berserker¡¯s most famous skill. At its max level, Berserk sacrificed 30% Defence for 30% Attack, 30% Attack Speed and 30% Critical Rate.


    Moreover, he would be immune to all Crowd Control effects during that period of time.


    After activating Berserk, he immediately casted Whirlwind and spun around like a human spinning top within the crowd of Horde players.


    Some people said that Warriors only had three tricks. There were two explanations for this.


    The first was their skills: Charge, Berserk and Whirlwind, which could pretty much kill anyone.


    The other explanation was their three buffs: Attack, Attack Speed and Critical Rate, which Berserk buffed by 30%. Currently, it was mainly the Berserkers who had the ability to insta-kill players!


    Lu Li personally witnessed Moonlight executing a Mage in one hit, although his HP wasn¡¯t full to begin with.


    The Druid commander also saw Moonlight¡¯s ferocity and ordered more people to surround him. The Alliance players who were barely hanging in there finally had an opportunity to breathe, and began to fight with more vigour.


    Moonlight fell to Critical HP!


    After all, he wasn¡¯t a god. Being able to furiously attack despite being attacked by 4 or 5 people was already quite impressive.


    Just as Moonlight was about to fall, a ball of white light floated over and disappeared into his body.


    +689!


    +56, +62, +44¡­¡­


    Immediately, half of his HP bar was filled again.


    ¡°Goddamn, such overpowered healing¡±, the Druid cursed silently. He could only order the people around him to join those attacking the Warrior in frustration.


    ¡°Thieves and Warriors, go and kill the Healers!¡±


    This was the last order he issued before he was hit by a Cheap Shot from Lu Li.


    Cheap Shot, followed by a high Skill Completion Back Stab, successfully activated Armour Pierce. The Druid frantically transformed into a bear ¨C Druid transformations could cancel out Crowd Control effects.


    The stun from Cheap Shot disappeared with the transformation. However, it was a pity that the Druid¡¯s reaction speed, which he had prided himself in, was completely laughable compared to Lu Li¡¯s.


    Lu Li had already taken his reaction speed into account and used Ambush, rendering him paralysed. He then used a normal attack, Shadowstrike (stun), Slit Throat (bleed)¡­


    The Druid stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.


    The people standing at the front were puzzled as to why their commander hadn¡¯t spoken in a while. As they turned around, they happened to see the Druid fall to the ground, but there was no one around him!


    Anyone who saw this scene would feel spooked ¨C only ten seconds had passed.


    Lu Li had timed his assassination perfectly and chained his skills together seamlessly. This Druid was only the leader of a small team in the Glory Capital. How could he react in time to the attack of someone of Lu Li¡¯s calibre?


    From the beginning up until end, he hadn¡¯t even seen who it was.


    The commander¡¯s death didn¡¯t cause the Horde players to despair or feel scared. Instead, they became furious and began to fight even harder.


    The Alliance players fell one by one, but this didn¡¯t include the members of Lu Li¡¯s team. Moonlight became much more reserved and stood in front of March Rain, tanking most of the damage.


    In a virtual game where most attacks didn¡¯t pass through players, protecting Healers was entirely possible.


    With their superb skills and excellent equipment, Lu Li¡¯s team was incredibly strong. They were at a clear advantage and managed to tie many of the Horde players down.


    Lu Li casually walked around, taking life after life. His main targets were players who weren¡¯t at full health, as he could kill players at Critical HP with a single hit. At first, the Horde players didn¡¯t notice, but as more and more players died, they saw Lu Li walking around like a death god.


    It was a pity that with their current numbers, it was impossible for them to surround him with many people.


    After the battle concluded, the three of them politely declined the invitation from the Alliance survivors to join them, and went to look for new targets.


    ¡°Looks like you killed a lot of people. How much Glory did you get?¡± Moonlight asked.


    ¡°They were all recruits, so I only got about 70-80 Glory,¡± Lu Li replied after looking through his stats. He still needed over 100 Glory to get back to a positive value, but he would be done soon if he was lucky.


    ¡°Last time, I killed a Rank 4 Sergeant Major and received 40 Glory for that,¡± Moonlight said, not feeling satisfied yet.


    ¡°What¡¯s your rank now?¡± Lu Li felt quite curious.


    ¡°I died quite a few times, so I¡¯m a Rank 6 Sergeant Major. If it wasn¡¯t for those deaths, I would¡¯ve been a Centurion a long time ago. From what I know, there are more than 10 Centurions right now,¡± Moonlight said in disappointment.


    Dawn¡¯s Glory system and Military Rank system were quite complicated. To put it simply, one¡¯s Military Rank was linked to their Glory: under 100 points was a Private, 100-500 was a Corporal, 500-1000 was a Sergeant and 1000-2000 was a Rank 1 Sergeant Major. For every 1000 Glory after that, they would increase by 1 rank, eventually becoming a Centurion at 10000 Glory.


    After Centurion there was Legatus, Brigadier, General, Marshal, Grand Marshal, Warlord, Supreme Warlord¡­


    If players were killed on the battlefield, they would lose a certain amount of Glory, which was quite complicated to calculate. However, it precluded the possibility of hiring people to farm Glory.


    Killing players of different ranks gave different amounts of Glory. Killing Privates or Corporals only gave 1 Glory, and there were many of these noobs running around. Killing a Sergeant gave 5 points. In the group that Lu Li had just killed, there were 2 Sergeants. These sorts of people were becoming more and more common.


    Killing a Rank 1 Sergeant Major gave 10 points, while killing a Centurion or above gave extra rewards.


    It was a pity that despite staying in the Warsong Valley for 3-4 hours, Lu Li and his team hadn¡¯t even run into a Sergeant Major, let alone a Centurion.


    Luckily, because there were many noobs, Lu Li was able to become a Private after 3 or so hours and escape the embarrassment of having negative Glory.

 215 Goddess Protection

    ¡°Are you guys done? There are more and more monster! It feels so good to see my EXP grow so quickly!¡± Azure Sea Breeze yelled in the chat. He had already done this many times.


    Lu Li picked up the equipment on the ground and said, ¡°Let¡¯s finish here today.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t had enough though.¡± Moonlight preferred killing people with his axe to farming for EXP.


    Surprisingly, March Rain actually nodded her head in agreement. Through their session today, her violent side had been awakened, and she found her heart racing as she fought and killed.


    If Lonesome Flower knew that Lu Li had corrupted his darling little sister, he would be furious.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll come here to play for a bit every day. It¡¯ll be good preparation for the competition next Monday,¡± Lu Li said, supporting her enthusiasm.¡± March Rain, there¡¯s something I want you to do. I want you to think about how to survive despite being attacked by 3 players, and give us the opportunity to protect you¡­¡±


    It was entirely possible that they would be up against 3 attackers.


    In 3v3 battles, many teams were formed of professions with high Attack, foregoing any Healers. Their goal was to immediately focus and burst down the Healer or Mage in the other team.


    ¡°Mm, I¡¯ve learned a lot today. I¡¯ll have a good think about it,¡± March Rain nodded.


    She had improved immensely, and through this, she could truly see just how skilled Lu Li and Moonlight were. From this, she saw just how lacking she was.


    The Meisnera Outpost had become the most densely packed place in the game.


    Countless player were fighting on this map.


    ¡°Goddamit Lu Li, hurry up and bring March Rain here. I¡¯m nearly dead and Hachi Chan¡¯s healing isn¡¯t reliable. She always runs out of MP¡­¡± Under Lu Li¡¯s guidance, Hachi Chan¡¯s healing skills had improved, but her timing wasn¡¯t as good as March Rain¡¯s.


    Azure Sea Breeze continuously shouted, leaving Lu Li and the others no other choice but to hurry up.


    They suddenly heard him scream, ¡°Hachi Chan hurry up and heal!! Why aren¡¯t you healing?? You still have a lot of MP right? You just recovered some¡­¡±


    Hachi Chan angrily replied, ¡°No way, I¡¯m not healing you. You think my healing isn¡¯t good enough, so you¡¯re not getting any.¡±


    ¡°Serves you right¡­¡± Wandering coldly laughed. However, for the team, he pacified Hachi Chan, saying, ¡°Look at how stupid he looks. Just heal him once or twice ¨C it doesn¡¯t really matter if he dies, but we¡¯ll have less cannon fodder.¡±


    Tears poured down Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s face and he didn¡¯t dare to say anything further.


    When the three of them finally joined up with everyone else, they were able to greatly reduce the pressure on the others.


    ¡°Goddamn, didn¡¯t I tell you to stay safe? Why¡¯d you choose to defend this place?¡± Lu Li asked as soon as he arrived.


    Wandering looked around them and replied in annoyance, ¡°Everything was fine at first and farming EXP was easy. Who would have thought that things would turn out like this?¡±


    ¡°There are going to be a lot more later, so let¡¯s quickly move out,¡± Lu Li softly said, as he killed the monster he was dealing with.


    Undoubtedly, these monsters were just cannon fodder sent in by Anzelin. The event would only truly start when the system gave out the quest later.


    ¡°If we go, this area will be undefended,¡± Wandering sceptically said.


    ¡°That¡¯s the Wings of Dawn guild over there; they¡¯ll be happy to cover for us.¡± Lu Li looked over and saw that the group of people close to them were wearing the uniform of the Wings of Dawn.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°To the east side, of course,¡± Lu Li replied as he led his team and retreated.


    The Wings of Dawn knew that this place was a treasure trove of EXP and if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that this was the first time that such an event had occurred, they would have tried to snatch this spot from them. Furthermore, everyone was getting along quite nicely.


    When they saw Lu Li and his team leave, they immediately sent over a 50-person team.


    The east side of the sentry outpost faced a tall mountain, and at the centre lay a small basin. The monsters that attacked this place had to squeeze through the two sides, so there weren¡¯t many of them.


    As well as this, the monsters had to walk uphill, which reduced their Movement Speed and Attack.


    ¡°There were more monsters back there. Why did we have to come here?¡± Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t too happy about this. To a levelling maniac, monsters equalled EXP. Giving up on a place with that many monsters was like stabbing him.


    ¡°Farm at peace here. Just don¡¯t cry later,¡± Lu Li replied. ¡°Everyone, have a look at your consumables and see if you¡¯re lacking anything. This battle¡¯s going to go on for a long time, and we won¡¯t have time to sit down and recover.¡±


    ¡°How long will it last for?¡± Wandering asked in shock.


    Wasn¡¯t it just an event? Normally, events only lasted for 1 or 2 hours, with some of the shortest ones lasting for only 10 or so minutes. They had already been fighting for 4 or 5 hours, but Lu Li¡¯s words had made it seem like this was just the beginning.


    ¡°Probably around 12 hours,¡± It had been far too long ago, and Lu Li couldn¡¯t exactly remember the duration of the event.


    ¡°Fudge,¡± Wandering cursed. ¡°Then what we have probably isn¡¯t enough, especially our Intermediate Health potions and Intermediate MP Potions¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go buy some.¡± Lu Li distributed the things he had on him then returned to Astrana.


    He bought a large quantity of Potions from the Exchange Hall and stuffed his bag to its limit, then returned to the Meisnera Outpost.


    ¡°So fast!¡± Wandering was completely dumbfounded.


    There were no transportation channels between the Meisnera Outpost and Astrana. Under optimal circumstances, it would still take at least 30 minutes to travel to and from.


    There were water elementals everywhere, and yet, it had only taken Lu Li 10 or so minutes to get back. This was including the time it had taken him to go to the Exchange Hall and buy everything.


    ¡°I¡¯m a Thief, so I move quickly and have many skills that can increase my Movement Speed.¡± Lu Li suddenly realised he had made a mistake ¨C after all, he had flown all the way back.


    Luckily, Wandering was only shocked and didn¡¯t want to pry any further. At this moment, a system announcement rang out, drawing away their attention.


    System: A group of Twilight Hammer cultists have set up camp to the south-west. Anzelin and the dark Old Gods formed an alliance, granting them the power to control the water elementals. A vast water elemental army is heading towards the Meisnera Outpost. Esteemed adventurers, please fight valiantly for the Moon Goddess!


    System: Would you like to accept the quest ¡®Defend the Meisnera Outpost¡¯?


    ¡°For the Moon Goddess!¡± someone yelled out.


    Momentarily, yells could be heard echoing around the Meisnera Outpost.


    For the Moon Goddess!


    For the Moon Goddess!


    For the Moon Goddess!


    Almost every single player accepted the quest ¨C after all, they were going to kill monsters anyway. If they could receive additional rewards while doing so, why would they refuse?


    System: Accepting the quest and surviving until the water elemental army is destroyed will result in abundant rewards.


    Anyone else would probably think that it was just some EXP, but only Lu Li knew just how ¡®abundant¡¯ the rewards were.


    From the recounts he had read, almost all of the surviving players had levelled-up, with some players even levelling-up twice. It was estimated that over 100,000 players received Silver grade equipment, some players received Molds, and some said that they had even received Skill Points.


    The players who chose not to participate would regret it for the rest of their lives.

 216 The War Flag Will Not Fall

    Anyone could accept a quest issued by the system.


    All players who accepted the quest received a buff.


    Meisnera¡¯s Blessing: HP Recovery +20%, MP Recovery +20%, Damage to Elementals +20%.


    What a buff!


    The players all yelled out in joy, completely delighted.


    ¡°Everyone be careful. If you can survive, you¡¯ll receive good rewards. If you can¡¯t, you¡¯ll lose EXP.¡± All of the players were completely confidently, but Lu Li could only coldly laugh.


    ¡°Oi, why¡¯s this guy always so pessimistic?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked as he nudged Wandering.


    ¡°How am I meant to know?¡± Wandering also felt that something was weird. He wasn¡¯t a prophet, but just from logical reasoning, the game company couldn¡¯t have designed such a massive event to be easily completed.


    The Meisnera Outpost was the doorway to Astrana. It faced the southwest and bore most of the pressure from the coastline, Deadwind Pass, Warsong Valley and the Grey Valley.


    This was especially so for the sea enemies, the Nagas, which had to be defended against.


    The defence line at the outpost was made up of a formation consisting of millions of soldiers. Of course, there weren¡¯t that many Night Elf Sentry Corps from the Grey Valley, but there were masses of players!


    Millions of players were transported from various places in order to participate in the largest official event.


    The quest was quite simple ¨C it only required them to kill monsters, but even gave a buff.


    Soon, their questions were answered. Five minutes after the quest was issued, the sound of a massive wave of water could be heard drawing near.


    Wandering looked up and almost dropped his hammer.


    The water elementals came from the southwest, but Wandering and the others were facing the east. Logically, there shouldn¡¯t have been too many water elementals, and yet, all they could see in the distance were water elementals. Not even a single patch of grass or dirt was visible anymore.


    ¡°Goddamn, why are there so many? What do we do? Run?¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s legs went soft and he almost collapsed to the ground.


    Even if all the monsters only attacked him once, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to last for 3 seconds. No damage reduction skill in the world would be able to save him.


    ¡°Run, my ass. It¡¯s all EXP.¡±


    Lu Li, who had been quite serious, now looked relaxed. ¡°March Rain, do your best to control the tempo. Hachi Chan, just use Rejuvenation and stay safe,¡± he commanded.


    Rejuvenation was a heal-over-time skill, which could help keep them at a healthy HP level when they weren¡¯t losing too much HP.


    As he spoke, he continuously attacked water elementals.


    Although he had lent his Bloodstained Badge to Azure Sea Breeze, his equipment gave him quite a lot of stats. He was also a higher level than the water elementals, so he was even more resilient than a normal Warrior.


    Everyone else was dumbfounded.


    Surely he wasn¡¯t a Thief that had put all of his stats into Constitution? As they inwardly debated among themselves, they saw him kill a water elemental in 3 hits.


    Goddamn, was that water elemental made of mud?


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    The Healer of the team next to them wasn¡¯t focusing and had forgotten to heal. Someone in their team had been killed by a water elemental.


    Only then did they realise that the massive water elemental army had arrived. Everyone needed to pay attention, otherwise a single mistake could cost them their lives.


    Water elementals were melee magic monsters. Their attacks dealt water damage and gave a Movement Speed debuff.


    Suicidal people would often rush headfirst into battle and be drowned in the sea of water elementals. Lu Li¡¯s group were more careful, and because they had the advantage of the terrain, they waited for the monsters to charge at them.


    Lu Li had chosen this area himself. The slope was steep enough and they were surrounded by massive fir trees.


    As such, they didn¡¯t have to face as many monsters at once. In total, there were only 10 or so water elementals attacking Azure Sea Breeze at any given time.


    With Lu Li distracting some at the side, the situation was fairly stable.


    However, the other players weren¡¯t so lucky. They had thought that they could simply receive free EXP by facing some LV20 monsters.


    Because many of the teams were created on the spot and didn¡¯t have good compositions, the players were continuously pushed back.


    Capcoman: Blood-red War Flag¡¯s Sixth Unit, shrink down the defence line towards me.


    A message came up in the Region Channel. No one expected that the first guild to react would be the Blood Red War Flag.


    Although the Light Faction didn¡¯t have a super-guild like the Glory Capital, the Blood Red War Flag was still quite powerful, and was greater than the Gangnam Royals at times.


    They had actually retreated against the sea of monsters.


    The other guilds all followed suit and shrank down their defence lines. However, many players still turned into orbs of white light from the repeated assaults of the water elementals.


    With the players retreating and the monsters advancing, not a single player had the opportunity to breathe in this battle.


    ¡°For the Moon Goddess!¡±


    ¡°Long live the Alliance!¡±


    From the crowd of players, groups of suicide squads charged out and yelled as they blocked the monsters.


    This was the first clash between the player and monster army, and resulted in tens of thousands of people turning into white light.


    However, these people didn¡¯t die for nothing. The players behind them had enough time to get into formation, as if they were attacking an Instance Dungeon.


    Warriors, Knights and Druids roared as they advanced.


    Flowers and Jade: I¡¯m the commander of the Blood Red War Flag¡¯s Second Unit. All players and guilds are currently facing a great danger. This is no longer EXP farming, but a battle. Behind us is the Meisnera Outpost, as well as our home. For the Alliance, let our clothes be stained with blood. The war flag will not fall!


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: The Seventh Heaven will defend the south.


    Green Flag Wine: The Seventh Heaven will defend the west.


    One by one, the guilds stood out and organised even more solid defence lines. As the solo players cooperated with the guilds¡¯ experts, the players finally found a foothold and stopped retreating.


    Vanish!


    Lu Li was continuously hit by a few monsters. He almost lost his balance and had to resort to his Vanish skill.


    Having lost their target, the monsters sprang towards Lonesome Flower, who was beside Lu Li. Lonesome Flower coldly harrumphed and activated his ice shield.


    Lu Li took a few breaths, then dived back into the battle.


    There was no such thing as an impenetrable defence line. Even with his abilities, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that no monsters would make it past him. If the monsters charged into the crowd of players and attacked a magic profession player without decent equipment, they would be insta-killed.


    Normal players weren¡¯t like them, who were all over LV20.


    ¡°There¡¯s something bad happening at the Warsong Valley. Have a look at the kindergarten chat,¡± Moonlight said to Lu Li.


    Lu Li opened the muted chat and immediately heard Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s furious voice.


    ¡°Twilight, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±


    Twilight (Stellar Union): ¡°I had no other choice. The NPC gave the order to destroy the Silverwing Outpost. Otherwise, why would my Stellar Union attack during such a bad time for you guys? We completely respect your bravery and hot-bloodedness.¡±


    ¡°Despicable!¡±


    If the Meisnera Outpost was a doorway to Astrana, the Silverwing Outpost was the frontline of the Grey Valley, which prevented the Orcs from invading. It was also the place where players could buy consumables in the Warsong Valley.


    In the chat, Blood Dagger (Glory Capital) cackled, ¡°Our spies said that you¡¯ve been levelling quite happily, so if we don¡¯t do something quickly, we¡¯ll be trampled on by you guys.¡±


    Flowers and Jade: Glory Capital is powerful, but you¡¯re nothing to me.


    Blood Dagger: Lil Jade, I¡¯m looking forward to getting hot and heavy with you at the Shadow Cup.


    Zurich (Gale Legion): You can do your quest, so why can¡¯t we do our quest? We¡¯ve been pretty unhappy about the Silverwing Outpost for a while, so we¡¯ll take this opportunity to get rid of it.


    Water Fairy (Drizzle Court): You guys are so annoying. Is running your mouth all you can do?


    The conversation went on and Lu Li inwardly sighed. They had finally stabilised this region and yet, the Horde was attacking the Alliance¡¯s frontline outpost in the Warsong Valley.

 217 Warsong Valley Battle

    Moonlight private messaged Lu Li and asked, ¡°What should we do?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just check out what they have to say for now,¡± Lu Li replied. He didn¡¯t want to give up the large amount of EXP here.


    At that very moment, an invite to a chatroom called ¡°Protect the Meisnera Outpost Chatroom¡± popped up. He scanned through the member list and found out that they were all famous PVP players from the Light Faction.


    Moonlight was invited as well.


    He looked up to the sight of countless death animations in the battle before him, sighed and accepted the invite.


    As the saying goes, ¡®every man is responsible for war and conflict¡¯.


    As a member of the Alliance, Lu Li would never blindly kill people, but he knew he would eventually be involved.


    Besides, the team of players that were willing to sacrifice themselves for others also impacted Lu Li. He finally understood why the players from his past life were all so passionate about ¡®Defend the Meisnera Outpost¡¯.


    Men will kill.


    ¡°Lu Li is here.¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest received the notification that Lu Li had joined the chatroom.


    ¡°Hey everyone.¡±


    Lu Li was quite conflicted, so his greeting wasn¡¯t one of excitement.


    Everyone in the chatroom greeted Lu Li, but many were unenthusiastic because he had taken so many first clears. He was also notorious for his PK video with the Imperial Secret Service.


    Even in the eyes of these experts, Lu Li was on a completely different level.


    ¡°We can¡¯t allow the Horde pigs to take over the Silverwing Outpost, so we must face them head on there,¡± said a Mage called Lucky Southern Persian. Lu Li had heard of him before and knew him as a PVP expert.


    Lucky Southern Persian was rather fond of PVP battles, but he didn¡¯t play as much as Moonlight. He wasn¡¯t very well known because Mages were naturally bad in PVP.


    ¡°I contacted several big builds and they¡¯ve agreed to send some players to Warsong Valley. I also contacted some other solo players who will be moved over there to help,¡± said Jade Flower Lover, who was from the Blood Red War Flag.


    Jade Flower Lover was also a famous PVP enthusiast. He was rather lacking in terms of his individual skill, but made up for this with his leadership.


    ¡°Casual players may not be enough to hold off Blood Dagger and the others. This is why we¡¯ve assembled a small team of skilled PVP experts to attack them strategically,¡± suggested a Berserker called Deadly Gold Underwear.


    ¡°We¡¯ve invited about 70 to 80 players. Is there anyone who is not willing to participate?¡± Lucky Southern Persian asked.


    A few players had declined because they were busy. They apologised and said their goodbyes.


    ¡°Then¡­ I won¡¯t go either.¡±


    Lu Li declined, not because he didn¡¯t want to work with this group of people, but because he worked better alone. Besides, not everyone was familiar with each other, so there would be too many disagreements and a lack of team chemistry.


    ¡°Lu Li, you¡¯re not going?¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest was surprised.


    ¡°My group is fighting Water Elementals right now; they can¡¯t fight them without me,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Goddammit, can you look at the bigger picture? Why are you still worried about your team? Some people are just so selfish,¡± Swirling Left Eye retorted.


    Staring Right Eye quickly followed and added, ¡°Hornet¡¯s Nest invited you. Are you going to let him down?¡±


    They were clearly trying to ruin the friendship between Hornet¡¯s Nest and himself, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.


    However, Hornet¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t fall for their tricks and coldly said, ¡°Left and Right Eye, shut up or I¡¯ll kick you two out. It¡¯s not like you guys will make much of a difference anyway.¡±


    The two thieves decided to shut up.


    They were usually fearless when facing-off against casual players. However, in this chatroom, they at the bottom of the ladder. Even though Imperial Secret Service was a decent-sized guild, they could not compare to the Blood Red War Flag or Seventh Heaven.


    If they dared to leave the chatroom, the big guilds would give the Imperial Secret Services a hard time.


    Many didn¡¯t understand the reason why Hornet¡¯s Nest had so much respect for Lu Li. However, Hornet¡¯s Nest was extremely stubborn and outspoken, so no one dared to raise up any arguments.


    ¡°Lu Li plays this game as a job,¡± Moonlight explained. ¡°Levelling-up is very important for him.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s staying at the outpost just to level up?¡± Lucky Southern Persian was ticked-off.


    ¡°It¡¯s just how it is. We have no right to force him to do something he doesn¡¯t want to. He¡¯s not in a guild and doesn¡¯t owe anyone here a favour,¡± Moonlight calmly said.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t understand why Moonlight had brought this topic up, but he trusted him. All he wanted to do was to leave the chatroom and get back to killing monsters.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re playing for the money, how about we hire you, on the basis that you wouldn¡¯t disappoint us?¡± Deadly Golden Underwear suggested.


    ¡°That could work¡­¡± Moonlight winked at Lu Li.


    ¡°A Jade Statue and 50 Starwood¡­¡± Lu Li said after completing some brief calculations in his head. If they paid him this, it would be worth giving up the EXP from the event.


    Most people here were PVP experts and therefore knew very little about Jade Statues. However, a lot of people had heard about Lu Li levelling-up with Starwood.


    People in the chatroom began discussing and Hornet¡¯s Nest offered, ¡°Seventh Heaven will give you the Jade Statue, but we only have 20 Starwood.¡±


    Lu Li had already heard from Sesame Rice Ball that Seventh Heaven had a Jade Statue, but the extra 20 Starwood was a pleasant surprise.


    ¡°Blood Red War Flag will provide the rest. Anyone else got any requests?¡± Jade Flower Lover followed up and waited a few seconds for a response. The silence from the chatroom signalled the start of this expedition.


    Lu Li private-messaged Drizzle Court and asked a few players to fill in for him and Moonlight so that the team could continue levelling.


    Lu Li and Moonlight then left the battle and made their way to Warsong Valley.


    It would be no use if a group of 70-80 PVP players tried to attack Warsong Valley together, because these players excelled at one-on-one fights.


    Lu Li initially wanted to work alone, but Lucky Southern Persian stopped him.


    His reasoning was simple ¨C what if Lu Li hid somewhere and didn¡¯t contribute?


    Lu Li agreed and joined his team along with Moonlight.


    The team consisted of Lucky Southern Persian (LV19 Ice Mage), Stellar Union Silver Radiant (LV20 Priest), Floral Paralysis (LV19 Thief), Moonlight (LV20 Berserker) and Lu Li (LV22 Thief).


    This was a classic, offensive-centred team composition.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Lucky Southern Persian declared, as Floral Paralysis scouted ahead.


    Lu Li stretched his body and went invisible. Lucky Southern Persian used Detection, but he could no longer detect Lu Li, who still should have been nearby.


    ¡°I hope I don¡¯t bump into Thieves like him in the future,¡± he mumbled to himself, feeling inferior in front of the LV22 expert.


    The first Horde players they encountered were a small team of 10 players. Naturally, Lu Li and the others decided to face them head on and immediately attacked.


    The battle shortly ended after about a minute or so.


    Lucky Southern Persian finally witnessed Lu Li¡¯s famous skills and understood why he was so well-respected by Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    The enemy Paladin continued healing and naturally became a target for Lu Li to hunt. After a couple of stabs, he fell to half HP and was instantly finished by Slit Throat.


    After he finished him, Lu Li immediately disappeared again and instantly reappeared behind another healer.


    The two healers had no time to react and were quickly finished off.


    When his Rager set effect was activated, he basically became a human harvester.


    Out of the ten enemies, he solo-killed four by himself.

 218 Blood Dagger Great Thief

    Lu Li was ridiculously strong in the eyes of Lucky Southern Persian and the others. Lu Li quickly realised that his teammates weren¡¯t so bad either.


    Lucky Southern Persian in particular had perfect timing for his skills and always maximizing his abilities to their greatest potential. Even when two enemy Warriors and a Paladin were focusing on him, he still managed to stay above half HP.


    Additionally, even though Stellar Union Silver Radiant¡¯s heals weren¡¯t the strongest, he had godlike survivability skills, which enabled him to consistently heal over longer periods of time.


    At the beginning of fights, priests were often the ones that were targeted. However, enemies were unable to target Stellar Union Silver Radiant because of how durable he was, which left them no choice but to focus the Mage.


    Lu Li portrayed the violent Thief image, able to output a huge amount of damage. On the other hand, Floral Paralysis portrayed the typical stealthy and cunning image.


    Warsong Valley¡¯s terrain was very complicated and difficult to navigate through. Floral Paralysis was able to help Lu Li and the others with this using his scouting skills.


    ¡°I can sense a Thief nearby who has been lingering around the whole time. Should we be worried?¡± Stellar Union Silver Radiant asked while he brought out his badge and showed the others.


    It had no other stats other than Detection +30%.


    Normally, equipment like this were useless to other classes. However, a Priest¡¯s main goal was to survive and protect themselves from ambushes, so this was the perfect badge for him.


    ¡°Floral Paralysis, be careful and protect the priest. Stellar Union, give the badge to Lu Li. If this person is brave enough to come here alone and target us, he must be very confident in his skills,¡± Lucky Southern Persian replied.


    Lu Li received the badge so that he could catch the lurker with it.


    He was given the responsibility because the unknown Thief may have had escape skills, which would render traps useless against him.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant approached Lu Li, then patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°They always call you No.1 in the Alliance. Are you feeling the pressure?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea who came up with that. I¡¯ve never even thought of myself as an expert. I¡¯m simply playing this job for the money,¡± Lu Li replied honestly.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant handed him the badge as they exchanged words.


    After equipping it, his Detection stat skyrocketed, which allowed him to immediately detect that someone was about 3 yards in front of them.


    Detection +30%. What an overpowered stat. All Lu Li could think about was what he would do if he was facing a priest with this badge.


    All of Lu Li¡¯s strategy would become child¡¯s play if up against this badge.


    With the badge, Lu Li was able to accurately approximate the enemy Thief¡¯s location. All the team had to do was to cast Blizzard to reveal him from his stealth. After that, he would have no chance. However, if Lu Li was the enemy Thief, he could have Gale-Stepped his way to safety.


    ¡°Lure him out when the timing is right. It¡¯s all up to you now, Stellar Union,¡± Lucky Southern Persian said as he winked at Lu Li and continued on his way.


    The poor Thief was still giving away his position; he had no idea that they were baiting him into a


    trap.


    Sure enough, the opportunity quickly came.


    Lu Li and the others encountered a small team of five. When the two parties noticed each other, the enemy Hunter was already in range for his attacks.


    Moonlight shouted and charged towards them.


    Lucky Southern Persian quickly followed, preparing for the battle.


    Although it appeared that the party had left the lonely priest behind to fend for himself, he was just acting as bait.


    The fact that the Mage had charged towards the enemy made it seem extremely fake.


    No party would ever simply leave their priest behind like that, especially one that was made up of experienced players.


    Lucky Southern Persian was playing mind games with the enemy Thief.


    He was betting on the fact that the lone Thieve was over-confident and too arrogant for his own good.


    Lucky Southern Persian was right; the Thief was way too arrogant.


    As soon as Lucky Southern Persian casted Blizzard, the Thief took action.


    He ambushed Stellar Union Silver Radiant and followed up with a few high damage skills. Within a few short seconds, Stellar Union had fallen to half HP. However, he was a tank Priest, so the Thief¡¯s skills weren¡¯t strong enough to instantly kill him.


    ¡°So, it was big boss Blood Dagger,¡± Floral Paralysis giggled as he appeared behind the Thief. He wasn¡¯t in a rush to attack Blood Dagger and wanted to savour the moment.


    Blood Dagger knew that his ambush had failed and could only watch as Stellar Union healed himself twice back to full HP.


    However, he had come prepared and had a backup plan, knowing that he might not have been able to instantly kill Stellar Union Silver Radiant.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t use Gale Steps, I¡¯m not going to hold back any longer,¡± Floral Paralysis said, beaming. To be able to threaten one of the top Thieves in the game made him feel ecstatic.


    Blood Dagger was one of the top 5 Thieves in Dawn. He had specialized in Assassin-type classes in every other game he played and was basically seen as a walking Thief guide.


    Blood Dagger stayed in place, not in a hurry to use Gale Steps.


    How arrogant.


    Moonlight, Lucky Southern Persian and Floral Paralysis simultaneously casted their ultimate skills on Blood Dagger. If he didn¡¯t case Gale Steps now, he would fall to less than half HP.


    Blood Dagger was waiting for this moment, to bait out all of their ultimates.


    He casted Gale Steps before the skills landed on him and disappeared in front of everyone.


    ¡°Next time, you won¡¯t be so lucky,¡± he haughtily threatened.


    However, after this experience, he knew that it would be almost impossible to assassinate one of them alone.


    Blood Dagger contacted some experts from the Evil Faction to help him out as he moved towards a safer location.


    At this very moment, he felt pain in the back of his head. The pain was almost unnoticeable because the skill had barely hit him.


    Normally, the skill stunned for 4 seconds, but this time, it only lasted for 2 seconds.


    Blood Dagger realised what had happened.


    He had focused most of his Detection behind him, which meant that the person had attacked him head-on. The ambusher was able to predict Blood Dagger¡¯s movement and had waited to attack him.


    This meant that the person must have had incredible judgement skills and high Detection.


    This person must have also been very careful, not wanting to give away his position and scare-off his target.


    Before Blood Dagger could finish thinking, he was attacked relentlessly.


    Armour Break, Paralysis, Stunned, Paralysis, Bleed¡­


    ¡°Goddammit! Why am I constantly under crowd control?!¡±


    Did he cast all of his skills with high Skill Completion?


    Blood Dagger was panicking. He was a pure PVP player and had faced countless Thieves before, but never once had he been completely dominated.


    The arrogant and fearless Blood Dagger was honestly terrified.


    If news spread that he was killed without even seeing his attacker¡¯s face, he might as well resign from the game.


    Impossible! Blood Dagger had the best gear available, which had the ability to decrease critical hit damage. If this was a proper one-on-one fight, then there was no way he could be killed in one combo.


    It was too bad that Lu Li wasn¡¯t planning on fighting him one-on-one.

 219 Killing a Centurion

    An ice hockey puck hit Blood Dagger, which woke him up, but slowed him as well. Before he could react to anything else, a dagger flew out of the sky and struck him on the forehead.


    ¡°Fight me 1 vs 1!¡±


    Blood Dagger helplessly turned his head. Although he had successfully escaped from Floral Paralysis¡¯ Gouge, he still hadn¡¯t escaped Lu Li¡¯s rhythmic attacks from behind.


    Lu Li was like a sticky candy that was attached behind him, continuously dealing damage.


    Lucky Southern Persian shamelessly used Cone of Cold. Although it didn¡¯t deal high damage, it was still inflicted an additional slow.


    In a 1 vs. 3 battle, the Evil Faction¡¯s Top Thief was being brutally devastated.


    He had just used Gale Steps a few moments ago, and his Undead skill could only produce a Fear. He had no way of vanishing.


    Moreover, the three players that had surrounded him were no fools either.


    However, he didn¡¯t stand still to await his death. He tensed himself and pushed clear of Floral Paralysis to stab both of his daggers at Lu Li.


    Neither of them had any skills left, so they could only use normal attacks and parries.


    Floral Paralysis laughed and put away his daggers, still standing in a strategic position. He didn¡¯t want to give Blood Dagger an opportunity to escape.


    Lucky Southern Persian had still not used any damage skills. Although all of them could just surrounding Blood Dagger and kill him, they had some pride as experts, so they didn¡¯t simply gang up on him.


    Lu Li¡¯s dagger handling was quite good. The parries from his left hand and the blocks from his right hand looked like a butterfly flapping its pair of wings.


    If another expert was present, they would have thought that Lu Li was quite good with them in real life as well.


    However, Blood Dagger was quite skilled as well; each of his attacks were made with all of his effort. He pressed forward with an air of dominance, trading blows with Lu Li.


    Unfortunately, with his critical HP, his splendid showdown barely lasted 10 seconds.


    Lu Li¡¯s dagger swiped Blood Dagger across his chest, depleting the last of his HP.


    Lu Li caught an item that was falling onto the ground, accompanied by a white light.


    System: Kill a Centurion, 100 Glory points gained.


    ¡°Congratulations, you just killed the strongest Thief of the Evil Faction. You really do live up to the name of number one player,¡± Floral Paralysis said as he licked his lips. That 10 second duel was an eye-opener for him.


    There were no skills or movement, just pure reaction and reflex!


    ¡°You¡¯re too nice; this badge helped me out quite a bit.¡± Lu Li took off the badge and returned it to the Stellar Union Silver Radiant.


    ¡°Stellar Union, I won¡¯t be so polite after today. This badge is just far too strong. No Thief that faces it would be able to get away.¡±


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant bitterly shook his head and replied, ¡°A thief has turned his attention to me. I really am hopeless.¡±


    However, even in saying that, he still had nothing to fear. He had the Detection Badge and wasn¡¯t a lone player. He had the support of a large union like ¡®Azure Guard¡¯.


    ¡°This equipment¡­¡± Lu Li raised the equipment in his hands and shared its attributes in the Party Channel.


    Slayer¡¯s Shoulderpads (Silver): Defence 18, Agility +10, Strength +6. Effect 1: Attack Speed +10%. Effect 2: Backhand Backstab Skill +1. Equipment Requirement level 15, Durability 42/42.


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of these Shoulderpads. All the equips that he currently had were for general use, but they were also on the lower-end and were LV10.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty good. Too bad it¡¯s only for Thieves; you can work it out with Floral Paralysis.¡±


    Lucky Southern Persian wasn¡¯t interested, especially seeing that there was other competition.


    ¡°You were the one who killed Blood Dagger. I just helped you out. I can¡¯t bear to take it,¡± Floral Paralysis refused, waving his hands. ¡°Besides, they¡¯re not better than the Shoulderpads that I already have anyway. They¡¯re a LV15 Silver equip as well. You can keep them.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much. I¡¯ll take less next time.¡± Lu Li replaced his Shoulderpads and immediately received a small attribute boost.


    The most valuable aspect of these Shoulderpads was the Backhand Backstab +1. He was most impressed with that attribute.


    Equipment that increased the level of skills, especially main skills, were never easy to come by. Even Lu Li had never found one until now.


    Blood Dagger was the number one Thief of Glory Capital, but how he rose to the top was a mystery.


    Swirling Left Eye: How is everyone? Oh yeah, what about that really expensive expert? I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s dead.


    Lucky Southern Persian: Stop it, don¡¯t embarrass yourself.


    Swirling Left Eye: What do you mean, South? You won¡¯t even let me speak?


    Lucky Southern Persian: You guys didn¡¯t care when you were relying on the guild¡¯s strength. The Imperial Secret Service regularly displays their power among the regular players anyway. If you want to keep going on like this, it would be wise to clearly recognize your position. Don¡¯t mess with people you can¡¯t deal with.


    Swirling Left Eye: South you¡¯re like an old instrument playing the same tune all the time. I just wanted to know whether we found any valuable materials, but here you are spouting some great truth.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: You have nothing to do with the materials.


    Floral Paralysis: Oh dear, I can¡¯t help but feel a little sympathetic towards these two.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant: Broadcast the situation. South¡¯s little party entered the Warsong Canyon for 12 minutes and killed 29 Evil Faction players.


    Swirling Left Eye: Our party killed 31 people. Hehe, sorry, but we are first.


    Floral Paralysis: Stellar Union, do you want to tell him? I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to go on within this social circle if I do.


    Swirling Left Eye: Don¡¯t tell me you all have diarrhea ¨C that¡¯s not normal.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant: Dammit, you¡¯re just asking for it now. We only killed two less than you guys, but what you don¡¯t know is that there was a Centurion among the 29 players.


    The chatroom suddenly burst into action.


    Magic Cry: A Centurion? Who was it? Surely there aren¡¯t many Centurions in Dawn right now?


    Swirling Left Eye: No way, I don¡¯t believe you. No one saw it anyway, so you can say what you want. If you want to boast about something, at least make it realistic.


    Lucky Southern Persian: Yes, if we were making this up, no one would believe us. So, we are telling the truth.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: I believe you, who was it?


    Holy Thunder: I believe you as well; I just want to know which unlucky player died.


    Lucky Southern Persian: Well, if you want to know, you can invite one of us out for a drink.


    Jade Flower Lover: Wow, we have to invite you guys out. Wait, is it¡­


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Crap, did you guys kill Blood Dagger?


    Lucky Southern Persian: Keke, I didn¡¯t have a grudge against him, but he was set on fighting us. After Lu Li butchered him, he even dropped a Silver Equip.


    Staring Right Eye: I want to ask, how did you guys kill a Thief with Gale Steps?


    Swirling Left Eye: Blood Dagger must have been left alone?


    Floral Paralysis: Left Eye, you¡¯re really embarrassing yourself. Aren¡¯t you a Thief as well? What difference does it make if you are or aren¡¯t alone? You really are bringing shame to your party today.


    Jade Flower Lover: Alright then, so Blood Dagger was killed by his arrogance. This probably won¡¯t happen again. Everyone keep working hard to kill a few more players.


    Lucky Southern Persian: Don¡¯t forget to invite us out for drinks.


    Jade Flower Lover: You weren¡¯t even the one who kill him; we should be taking Lu Li out for drinks. Brother Lu Li, I¡¯ve already sent you the Starwood that you wanted. I guarantee that you¡¯ll be happy with the amount.


    Lu Li: Thank you.


    There were a few more messages directed at Lu Li after that, mostly about how they had managed to kill Blood Dagger.


    This time, the questions towards Lu Li were far more sincere.


    The rule of strength applied to video games more than it did in real life. Now that Lu Li had killed Blood Dagger, it was sufficient for everyone to admire him, regardless of how he was killed.


    Lu Li typed a few short responses before shifting his attention back to killing people on the battlefield.


    In another chatroom, Azure Sea Breeze was flaunting the time when he had experienced a surge in EXP. This annoyed Lu Li so much that he considered leaving him behind the next time they went bomb levelling.

 220 A Huge Bounty

    ¡°Haha, I was almost LV22, while someone else was still stuck on LV 22.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze felt like the cloud that had been hanging around his head had almost been lifted.


    As a levelling maniac, how could he let an idle thief out-level him?


    ¡°Oh, little insecure one,¡± spat Wandering.


    ¡°If I could farm at night, I think I could reach LV23.¡± Azure Sea Breeze disregarded him; he was completely immersed in his own world.


    ¡°Oh,¡± sneered Lu Li coldly, ¡°I just asked Blood Red War Flag and Seventh Heaven for quite a bit of Starwood. I¡¯ll be turning these into bombs, but if a certain warrior is levelling so quickly, he doesn¡¯t need to come with us.¡±


    ¡°Lu Li, oh Great Lu, I¡­. I¡­.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was dumbfounded.


    ¡°You just got hacked¡­¡± Wandering maliciously attacked Sea Breeze, who was already down.


    ¡°You were tempted by the Rice-Ball-demon¡¯s magic and said some things you shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    Hachi Chan was legitimately attempting to help Azure Sea Breeze.


    In the Protect the Meisnera Outpost Chatroom:


    Dancing Star Dream: I found Sorrowless, but I died.


    Jade Flower Lover: Where? How many people?


    Dancing Star Dream: The coordinates are 78594, 56311, 56. There were so many people who were probably PVP experts just like us. Given the direction they were taking, they are probably rushing towards us.


    Lucky Southern Persian: Is it just a few dozen of them? What about their main force?


    Dancing Star Dream: They have probably been deployed. I did a big loop around them, but I didn¡¯t see any of them. They have quite a few thieves scouting around in Stealth; I got caught because I bumped into one of them.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: What good comes from talking about you? You¡¯re just one Mage who wanted to do something on your own. I hope you¡¯ve learnt your lesson now.


    Jade Flower Lover: Is everyone hearing this? Sorrowless is coming and we need to unite to fight this war.


    Sorrowless wasn¡¯t the most skilled among this group, but he still had quite the reputation. Not only was he the president of Glory Capital, but he was also on the top of the Horde¡¯s PVP ladder.


    Moreover, the Glory Capital¡¯s wasn¡¯t made up like the other big guilds. They didn¡¯t have some big behind-the-scenes financial backer or supporter. Sorrowless himself was a rich second-generation child and thus, was able to effectively speak for Glory Capital.


    In other words, he truly was the leader of Glory Capital.


    Killing Blood Dagger was a happy occasion that had greatly increased the group morale. However, it would be nothing compared to killing Sorrowless.


    If they were able to kill Sorrowless, today¡¯s showdown at this camp would be over.


    Jade Flower Lover: Our main forces are defending the Meisnera Outpost, so there will be a great difference in strength between us and the Horde. If we let them surround us, we won¡¯t be able to stop them. We need to fight them now.


    Empty: That is probably Sorrowless¡¯ plan. That¡¯s why he¡¯s only brought a few people. He wants to fight a decisive, high-stakes battle.


    Jade Flower Lover: He¡¯s too arrogant then. We¡¯ll see who wins this fight.


    Wild: Actually, nothing bad will happen if we don¡¯t fight them. Remember, our goal is just to lead them into the Warsong Canyon.


    Empty: The Silverwing Output is not that easy to break into ¨C the NPC there is stronger than we can imagine.


    Jade Flower Lover: I¡¯m aware that an open conflict has its risks. But if we, as the top players of the Light Faction, are unwilling to fight now, when will we ever fight? Wild, what do you think?


    Wild: Let¡¯s do it. It¡¯s the Blood Red War Flag¡¯s turn to place the bounty right?


    Lu Li was curious about this and privately messaged Moonlight about the bounty.


    Moonlight vaguely explained, ¡°It¡¯s just a way for these big guilds to gamble and show off how much money they have. When doing things like this, they will offer a large monetary reward for the player who successfully completes the quest. This is also how prestige is developed.¡±


    Lu Li responded, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just bribing the people?¡±


    No wonder people said that guilds were not for poor people ¨C they seemed to find all sorts of ways to spend money.


    Moonlight grunted with disagreement, ¡°It¡¯s also a display of strength. To be able to pull out such a big bounty and complete the Bounty Quest is a display of strength. You should just consider it as a competition.¡±


    While this was going on, Jade Flower Lover had already reached an agreement about Blood Red War Flag¡¯s bounty.


    Objective: Sorrowless and the other Evil Faction elite players. Prize Money: 200,000 real money for Sorrowless. 100,000 for a Centurion. Prizes for Sergeants are calculated according to their rank.


    Moonlight then asked, ¡°Lu Li just killed Blood Dagger. What about that?¡±


    Wild responded after a brief pause, ¡°After the event is over, one hundred thousand dollars will be transferred to brother Lu Li¡¯s account. Blood Red War Flag always keeps its word.¡±


    Blood Dagger had been killed before the event started, so technically, Blood Red War Flag didn¡¯t need to pay him anything. However, the large guilds usually either had a big tolerance for this, or just felt embarrassed for not recognizing it. As such, Lu Li managed to earn a bonus sum of money.


    It also likely had to do with Moonlight asking about it.


    Moonlight was a seasoned expert, so whatever he said was unlikely to be opposed. Even the left and right eye brothers didn¡¯t dare to oppose him.


    Jade Flower Lover: Alright everyone, the hunt begins. At the very least, you should kill one other person before you die.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Just fight them one at a time. Remember to take screenshots of any equipment that you drop. Then, you can ask little Jade for compensation. We couldn¡¯t properly compensate everyone last time.


    Jade Flower Lover: Relax, it¡¯s not just for equipment either. If you lose EXP, the Blood Red War Flag will compensate you with gold. This fight is for the glory of the whole faction, so we can¡¯t hesitate at all.


    The next few messages were just messages of encouragement.


    However, Lu Li maintained an uncommitted attitude to all of this. He wasn¡¯t a guild player, nor did he care too much about the glory of the factions. In actuality, these faction wars were actually just something coordinated and pushed for by the large guilds. It was something that the ordinary players quickly took on board.


    Swirling Left Eye: My brother and I will be assassinating Sorrowless. I hope everyone will cooperate with us.


    Normally, they wouldn¡¯t aim so high, but their image had taken yet another beating today. After Lu Li had killed Blood Dagger, the Imperial Secret Service was once again put to shame. The little reputation that the left and right eye brothers once had was now a joke. They had to do whatever they could to regain their image.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: You two¡­


    Jade Flower Lover: Sure, we¡¯ll give you a chance to do it. But the risk is quite high, so make sure you¡¯ve thought this through.


    Swirling Left Eye: We brothers aren¡¯t cowards.


    Jade Flower Lover: Everyone gather together; let¡¯s head towards Sorrowless¡¯ coordinates. Send people ahead to scout out the situation. If a large force appears, we¡¯ll all have to retreat.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t rush ahead in an attempt to kill Sorrowless. He had experienced rebirth and knew better than everyone as to how scary Sorrowless truly was. He was a schemer ¨C how could he put himself in danger like this for no reason?


    There were a dozen players on each side and a hundred others who had entered the forest.


    When Lu Li first started, he got a few easy kills due to the element of surprise.


    However, the Evil Faction players were quite conservative, so they didn¡¯t suffer too many losses. Soon, they responded with their own attacks.


    Both sides had now engaged in a fierce battle in the forest¡¯s open area.


    In this situation, technique played a smaller role, as anyone could become the target of an attack and die.


    Swirling Left Eye, Staring Right Eye and several other thieves slowly crept towards the centre of the Evil Faction players¡¯ camp under cover.


    Sorrowless ¨C he was a Mage who was responsible for directing the Evil Faction players in combat.


    As for Lu Li, he continued to play conservatively as usual. He always stayed close to Lucky Southern Persian and the rest.


    He didn¡¯t attack unless it was almost guaranteed that he would complete the kill. For example, he would only attack a player who had been left alone, was on critical HP, or was capable of being one-shot.

 221 I Prefer To Keep A Low Profile

    ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel like quite right,¡± Stellar Union Silver Radiant said, while healing Moonlight.


    ¡°Yeah, it really does,¡± Lucky Southern Persian nodded in agreement as he continued to cast his skill. The Cone of Cold revealed a Thief who was trying to perform a sneak attack on Stellar Union Silver Radiant.


    ¡°I refuse to believe that Wild and the others don¡¯t see it.¡± Stellar Union Silver Radiant casted Shadow Word on the Thief before returning to healing so he couldn¡¯t go back into Stealth.


    ¡°Even if they do know, what can they do? We can¡¯t start so strongly and then retreat. That would look bad for us,¡± Moonlight said as he charged over and stunned the Thief. With a few attacks, the Thief was quickly taken down.


    ¡°Dammit, look at those Blood Red players,¡± Stellar Union Silver Radiant scolded.


    At this time, Swirling Left Eye angrily asked in the chatroom, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you support me Jade Flower Lover? Didn¡¯t you said you would support me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll support your sister,¡± Empty replied. ¡°Do you even know how to player? The opportunity that you saw wasn¡¯t an opportunity at all. Don¡¯t drag the rest of us into your death wish, alright?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t follow them. It was really sad ¨C a few dozen players couldn¡¯t even get close enough to splash water at him,¡± one of the other experts joyfully added.


    ¡°Hey you, dumb left eye, next time I see you, I¡¯m going to kill you over and over. I¡¯m going to leave you in the gutter,¡± threatened another angry expert.


    What came next was a barrage of messages ridiculing Swirling Left Eye. He was beginning to look quite unpopular.


    Lu Li happily watched his bad luck. It served him right for always looking for trouble and being a general nuisance.


    However, he didn¡¯t stay happy for long, as he heard Right Eye call out, ¡°Lu Li, why didn¡¯t you support us? I remember you taking the reward already.¡±


    ¡°Would you believe me if I told you that the next time I see some Imperial Secret Service players, I¡¯ll kill them?¡± Lu Li smiled and asked bluntly.


    ¡°Did you guys hear that? Did I say anything wrong?¡± Staring Right Eye shouted.


    ¡°Dammit, stop messing around you clown,¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest said impatiently.


    Elevenless: I finally know what a true villain looks like. I always thought that they only existed in fantasies.


    Deadly Gold Underwear: Elevenless, don¡¯t you see that this is normal? Lu Li has killed so many Imperial Secret Service players that some animosity towards him was bound to have developed.


    Wild: Alright, stop talking about it. Lu Li, put in a bit more effort. You can¡¯t just stay out of it while everyone is putting in their effort.


    Lu Li: Sorry, I have no intention of being cannon fodder.


    Wild: What do you want to do then? Do you want to assassinate Sorrowless?


    Lu Li: We¡¯ll see. If there is an opportunity, then I might try. Otherwise, you won¡¯t see me rushing up and getting myself killed.


    Wild cried on the inside. His group had simply charged straight at the Evil Faction players. Had that been a dumb thing to do?


    What was supposed to be a zealous and courageous act, had turned into something idiotic in hindsight.


    From Lu Li¡¯s perspective, the move was stupid, and everyone should have been able to see that. Sorrowless was clearly using himself as bait, tempting the Light Faction players to charge at him and get themselves killed.


    Jade Flower Lover: We all need to attack at once and break through the line. We can¡¯t retreat.


    He hadn¡¯t lost heart yet and still held on to the possibility of killing Sorrowless¡­


    However, the full-frontal assault was just becoming desperate, as countless white lights lit up all over the battlefield.


    Both sides had experienced losses ¨C the Light Faction side was also made up of experts.


    The battle raged on for seven to eight minutes before Magic Cry cried out, ¡°Wild, let¡¯s retreat. Hornet¡¯s Nest just died.¡±


    At this point, the Evil Faction players were dominating. Upon seeing the Light Faction players pull back, Sorrowless waved his hand and commanded, ¡°Pursue them according to the plan. Those lying in wait can come out now.¡±


    Lucky Southern Persian cast a shield to protect himself and shouted, ¡°Everyone stay alive. We¡¯ve lost this round.¡±


    ¡°Lu Li, you aren¡¯t leaving?¡± Moonlight had just killed a Druid that was furiously rushing towards them, but he noticed that Lu Li had not started to retreat. It was as if he had no intention to retreat.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. We¡¯re all retreating, so there is an even smaller chance of killing Sorrowless. If you go back there, you basically have a death wish,¡± Floral Paralysis couldn¡¯t help but say.


    ¡°My guess is that Sorrowless has the same idea as you,¡± Lu Li grinned.


    ¡°I wish you good fortune and hope you find success.¡± Lucky Southern Persian obviously wasn¡¯t too optimistic about the risk Lu Li was taking.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Stellar Union Silver Radiant took off his badge and threw it at him.


    ¡°Use this for now, return it to me later.¡±


    Lu Li caught it and put it on, then quickly rushed towards the back of the Evil Faction players. With this badge, he didn¡¯t need to fear being caught-out.


    In the future, he needed to get equipment with high Detection, but he also needed equipment that would buff his Stealth.


    Such a large-scale retreat of the Light Faction players announced the complete fall of the Warsong Canyon. Even the NPCs on the battlefield had to retreat towards the Silverwing Outpost with them.


    As the scales began to tip against them, the rate at which the Light Faction players died increased.


    Sorrowless had planned ambushes on the retreating Light Faction players, which had the potential to slow them down. As long as they were slowed, the chasing group of players would be able to reach them and deal a little bit more damage.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest had died in the beginning, which was followed by the Elevenless and Dancing Star Dream. Even Floral Paralysis died in the confusion.


    Revive couldn¡¯t be used on the battlefield and it took quite a long time for a dead player to run back to the battlefield. As such, their formation had completely been broken.


    Jade Flower Lover has died!


    The loss of the Blood Red War Flag commander was a huge blow to the Light Faction. If not for the fact that Wild also had quite a bit of prestige, the Light Faction forces would have been shattered.


    Sorrowless stood on high ground, observing the chaotic battlefield from afar.


    ¡°Start the final ambush. I want them all to be annihilated.¡±


    ¡°Boss, we¡¯ve had major losses as well. If we go on, no one will win this war,¡± said a high-ranking Glory Capital player who was standing beside him and looked quite pessimistic.


    ¡°It won¡¯t be a mutual destruction,¡± Sorrowless replied confidently. ¡°As long as I stand here, we are the victors.¡±


    ¡°Yes, boss, I will pass this on,¡± the player said helplessly.


    ¡°Glory Capital, a glorious victory will soon be won. This place is well and truly ours,¡± Sorrowless muttered under in breath, unaware of the Thief in Stealth that was lurking behind him¡­


    It seemed like he was alone in this inescapable trap.


    Lu Li slowly approached Sorrowless, but continued to watch him from afar. He dared not to get too close.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant¡¯s badge had already helped him quite a bit. Otherwise, he probably would have already been surrounded by a group of Thieves.


    Lu Li went back into Stealth, as he couldn¡¯t see an opportunity that would lead to a favorable outcome.


    However, all he could think about was that he was currently ahead in level, equipment and skills. If he didn¡¯t kill him today, then the chance for him to do so in future would only grow slimmer.


    ¡°Lu Li, I hear you went back in?¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest sent a message to him.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing to do here. I just wanted to admire the big boss¡¯ elegance,¡± Lu Li unexpectedly joked.


    ¡°When you¡¯re done admiring, kill him. Then, we¡¯ll throw you a celebration when you get back,¡± Hornet¡¯s Nest laughed. He seemed to be have a questionable amount of confidence in Lu Li.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really want it ¨C I prefer to keep a low profile,¡± Lu Li replied, as he cautiously followed Sorrowless¡¯ group. They had finally started moving.


    At the bottom of the mountain, another wave of Thieves had joined the fray. This was a total military defeat for the Light Faction.

 222 An Epic Fall

    At the bottom of the mountain, another wave of Thieves had joined the fray. This was a total military defeat for the Light Faction.


    Moreover, as more ordinary players started to join the battle, the scene became even more chaotic.


    Dawn didn¡¯t mess around with the balance of the game, but there was definitely no single person who was any match for ten thousand people.


    In the chaos where skills were just being cast all over the place, even top-level expert players were being killed. In other words, technique didn¡¯t matter anymore.


    ¡°In the current circumstances, the expert players are at a disadvantage whilst the ordinary players are at an advantage. At this rate, the Silverwing Outpost will soon be in ruins,¡± a paladin said as he walked over. This was Ninja Turtle; he was in charge of leading the ordinary players into the battle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be negligent, those Blood Red players will not admit defeat so easily. What is happening over at the Meisnera Outpost?¡± asked Sorrowless.


    ¡°Their situation is dire; over half a million players have been killed. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they can continually reinforce, they would have lost to the Water Elementals a long time ago. Additionally, if we take the Silverwing Outpost, those Alliance dogs will be finished,¡± Ninja Turtle said gleefully.


    Sorrowless stared at him. ¡°You idiot. You saw them die, but did you see their levels increase?¡±


    On the whole, countless players had died at the Meisnera Outpost, but they had also earned a significant amount of EXP. Those who died could easily just farm the EXP back, but the survivors in particular earned a lot of EXP.


    Ninja Turtle didn¡¯t dare to say any more.


    Although everyone was just playing a game and didn¡¯t need to answer to anyone else, Glory Capital was a corporation. So no one could oppose Sorrowless, they could only obey.


    ¡°So what should we do?¡±


    ¡°Just do whatever you need to do.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say they were gaining levels?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what they¡¯re doing, as long as you do what you need to do. The game company isn¡¯t as dumb as you are; if they are gaining levels then us Horde players will soon get a similar event.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re always right,¡± criticized Ninja Turtle in his heart, before heading back to the frontlines.


    Lu Li was nearby, squatting on the ground. He was still, like a stone that had been there since the ancient times.


    After some observation, he realized that players from all ranks would occasionally report to him. They didn¡¯t all have something important to report either, some of them just wanted to show their face to Sorrowless. However, he didn¡¯t seem to mind this behavior.


    He had likely always lived a life of indulgence, waking up intoxicated with beautiful women on his knees, with enough power in the palm of his hands to command a mighty force.


    He must have enjoyed this feeling very much.


    When this game reached legendary status, Glory Capital would only be taking in the best of the best. It would no longer go on comfortably like it was now.


    This was a game after all, and it was fair because everyone started at the same point. You needed to work hard to get results, otherwise you were likely to fall behind and regret it.


    Lu Li pulled up the game rankings and looked for quite a few minutes before finally finding Sorrowless¡¯ level.


    Level 18!


    Considering his own rank, he never imagined that Sorrowless would be so far behind.


    Under his command of Glory Capital, he had over 10 thousand players at his disposal. He also had a further 10 thousand players who were smaller organizations that rallied under the same flag. But after the third System Update, the competition between guilds must have gotten fiercer, so he probably didn¡¯t have any time to train.


    Lu Li was already level 22, so there was a 4 level difference. With a bit of luck, he would be able to kill him in a few hits.


    But he first needed to find a way to get close to him.


    Lu Li dared to estimate that there was probably no less than 50-60 Thieves just in the surrounding area.


    If Sorrowless stood completely still, Lu Li knew he could rush up to kill him because he had the Detection Badge. He would likely bump into quite a few Thieves - that¡¯s how tightly packed they were.


    This was a game after all, so there wasn¡¯t the high-tech security that was available in real life.


    Another player just turned up; he seemed to have reported good news as Sorrowless¡¯ normally solemn face had a smile. He turned to pat the player on the shoulder before letting him go.


    This player seemed to be flattered and was really excited when he was walking away.


    Lu Li stared at the player¡¯s face before breaking into a smile.


    Deception Orb.


    Undead, Thief, ID Blank Thief.


    At this point it is worth mentioning that the Deception Orb can change a player¡¯s identity but not their appearance. You also couldn¡¯t use an ID that was already taken, like Ninja Turtle or Blood Dagger.


    But, was there a certain appearance that Undead players had?


    Lu Li moved his jaw uncomfortably, trying to make sure that the effect wouldn¡¯t just wear off. He then revealed himself at a distance and walked towards Sorrowless.


    He could feel several Thieves surrounding him as he approached.


    If he made any unusual movements, he would definitely be attacked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you before.¡± It was impossible for Sorrowless to know everyone, but it wasn¡¯t enough that he was an Evil Faction player. Regardless of whether it was Glory Capital, Blood Red War Flag, or a smaller guild, they would all be wary of undercover players posing as another faction.


    Lu Li stopped moving ¨C continuing to move would have meant death. He then spoke in a hoarse voice that spirits normally use, ¡°The Chrysanthemum Blossom Brigade greets you. My brother is stuck in battle and couldn¡¯t leave.¡±


    Chrysanthemum Blossom Brigade was a medium sized guild. But it was only medium for now, as it was one of the secret branches the Glory Capital had nurtured.


    Only Glory Capital¡¯s few trusted players had the opportunity to know about this guild, so the ordinary players had no idea.


    Lu Li knew about them because a player called Nightedge had killed Azure Sea Breeze over and over with a few other players.


    But of course, that happened in his previous life.


    Even whilst they had a hostile relationship, Nightedge was one of the few people that Lu Li admired.


    Gossip spread when Nightedge and Sorrowless had a falling out. As Lu Li paid some attention to what had happened, it seemed like he was getting on good terms with Sorrowless.


    This effect worked better than Lu Li had anticipated. It was likely that Sorrowless didn¡¯t ask anyone too much about Nightedge, so he just waved Lu Li through. Lu Li could sense the ambushing Thieves slowly back away.


    ¡°My brother found a piece of equipment and he would like to give it to you. He told me to bring it over.¡± Lu Li reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of equipment ¨C he had killed so many players today, so he had an abundance of equipment.


    ¡°Are you his sibling?¡± Sorrowless¡¯ suspicions had mostly dissipated, but he couldn¡¯t help but ask a few questions.


    ¡°No, he only has sisters in his family; I¡¯m his cousin. He calls me Blank Thief,¡± Lu Li said. He found himself drawing closer to Sorrowless as he tried to give Sorrowless the equipment.


    The gossip spoke of Sorrowless liking Nightedge¡¯s younger sister, but she unfortunately chose the Light Faction¡­


    How could they get into a relationship if they were different genders? Keke, sorry that was a slip of the tongue, I meant if they were different factions.


    In short, it was a very melodramatic and complex situation.


    ¡°I see, have you seen Darkness recently? Did she really run away from home?¡± Sorrowless now had complete trust. Someone who knew that Nightedge only had sisters was definitely a friend or a relative in real life.


    ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Lu Li retracted his hands and replaced the equipment with a shining dagger.


    Gouge!


    Backstab!


    Ambush!


    Shadowstrike!


    Slit Throat!


    He didn¡¯t get to use Cheap Shot. Despite the target being the president of Glory Capital, Lu Li didn¡¯t even get through a single rotation of his skills before he killed him.


    A level 18 player, especially one that was light armored, was going to be vulnerable regardless of whether they were a president of anything.


    Lu Li quickly picked up the equipment and cast Gale Steps to vanish before the group of Thieves approached.

 223 Guardian Goddess Part 2

    70 to 80 Thieves ¨C Lu Li estimated that there probably were more who helplessly watched as Lu Li killed their Boss. They couldn¡¯t do anything to save him, even though they were only a dozen yards away.


    Before the Priests learnt Mass Dispel, there was nothing they could to stop a Thief¡¯s Gale Steps.


    The Thieves did try to rush towards him and surround him so that his movement was limited. They were trying to wait for the Stealth to run out and kill him when he appears.


    But Lu Li¡¯s Detection Badge helped him in this situation as he weaved through the Thieves who were just running around and left the circle.


    Lu Li: Pass a video around, Sorrowless is dead.


    Lu Li¡¯s voice echoed in the noisy chatroom. His tone was calm, like he had just killed some ordinary monsters.


    At this moment, everyone was preparing a defence outside of the Warsong Canyon. They expected to be able to hold this location for a little while.


    The guild leaders also realised at this point that they didn¡¯t have that much commanding power. In the whole game, there were 10 million Light Faction players, but they could barely command 1 million.


    Lu Li¡¯s voice was being transmitted through this mess of voices.


    The chat room then quickly went quiet, not only in voice chat but also in text chat. Those that didn¡¯t hear him quickly looked through the chat logs.


    Unexpectedly, the first person to respond didn¡¯t question the authenticity of Lu Li¡¯s claim. After all, he had just killed Blood Dagger not long ago. However, he was unable to accept Lu Li¡¯s indifference.


    This was Sorrowless, someone who had spent so much effort in games but still lost.


    How could he describe it; like he had just killed a chicken!


    Hornet¡¯s Nest: Sorrowless is dead, haha. Sorrowless is dead!


    Jade Flower Lover: The video, the video of him dying - quickly post it onto the forums.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant: Hahaha, it really happened, you really killed Sorrowless.


    Lu Li: It was all thanks to your item. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t even have had the opportunity.


    Everyone in the chatroom then started talking at once; most of them were just repeated messages.


    The Regional Channel also contained these same messages.


    The video post also contained the same messages.


    Sorrowless died!


    It didn¡¯t actually mean anything that he died; dying in the Warsong Canyon didn¡¯t cost any EXP.


    The equipment that he dropped wasn¡¯t anything good either.


    It was just a level 15 Silver equipment that would cause an ordinary player to jump for joy but was not good enough for a top-level player.


    But if someone said something like that, he definitely would be hated.


    Because this was Sorrowless.


    The Glory Capital God.


    It¡¯s said that he had been playing games since he was 16 and after a decade of gaming, he was now a legend.


    In the game he played, Death Maiden, he had a huge impact on players of both factions.


    When the Evil Faction players who were furiously fighting in the war saw the World Announcement, they were dumbfounded. When they turned their heads, they saw him, looking over all the living things, standing where their leader was standing.


    Now, this Meisnera fight and the Silvering Outpost destruction quests had both been sidelined.


    This day would be written onto the history books.


    The legend who had never been killed before had just died.


    No one would remember that Sorrowless was only level 18 whilst Lu Li the bounty hunter was level 22. Nor would they care the method used involved tricking Sorrowless into letting his guard down.


    But Lu Li didn¡¯t care about any of this. After he passed the video to Jade Flower Lover, he immediately went to the Meisnera Outpost.


    Lu Li requested an invite. ¡°Add me into the party.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you go with Moonlight to PVP? Why did you come back to farm again?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was once again running his mouth.


    ¡°Looks like I won¡¯t need to take you to the Revenant Lands then,¡± Lu Li grunted.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately changed his tune. ¡°Sisters, everyone, welcome Lu Li into the party. Our rank 1 player, oh sorry, our former rank 1 player. The rank 1 position has been stolen away.¡±


    Lu Li checked the rankings. Although he hadn¡¯t fallen far behind, he was now outside of the top ten.


    The first ten players were all level 23. Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were rank four and six respectively. The first player was Blood Red War Flag¡¯s Not An Elementary Student whilst the second and third were players from Seventh Heaven.


    Whilst Azure Sea Breeze and the group were farming the whole time, they just couldn¡¯t compare to those players who brought along several groups of mages for focused farming.


    But now that Lu Li had gotten the materials, he could make a whole bunch of bombs. So the level rankings were not yet set in stone.


    The party didn¡¯t just contain members from their group. Lu Li had also asked some Drizzle Court players to help them. There was Little Bear Huan Huan, Willow, and Don¡¯t Hit Dou Dou. Additionally, there was also Lin, Ling, and Beautiful Moonlight.


    These were three Mages that Lu Li had worked with before. When Lu Li was helping Drizzle Court break the record for an Instance Dungeon, he did it with these players.


    ¡°How is the tactical situation?¡± Wandering asked.


    ¡°Not bad, we have the perfect number of players. How about we just go back to levelling here,¡± Lu Li¡¯s hands were constantly moving, dealing with one Water Elemental after another.


    ¡°Has Sorrowless really been killed?¡± Sesame Rice Ball couldn¡¯t bear not to ask.


    Lu Li paused before responding calmly, ¡°Should be.¡±


    The Evil Faction players likely thought it was an undercover player who had assassinated Sorrowless. It could not have been a Light Faction player.


    In the Light Faction, there was just news that Sorrowless had been killed, but there was no indication as to who did it. Hornet¡¯s Nest and the others were all backed by guilds with top players; none of them would be willing to advertise that a non-guild player did it.


    Guilds usually put in a large amount of resources to create a super expert that would represent the guild. These experts would then help the guild build up more fame.


    This kind of game has existed for many years and so it was an interest to countless people.


    Even Swirling Left Eye and Staring Right Eye wouldn¡¯t reveal this secret, even though they hoped that Lu Li would run into some bad luck. They too were products of this system.


    If they left the Imperial Secret Service, they would be left with nothing.


    He didn¡¯t want to put himself on center stage, so naturally Lu Li must not have any opinion about it.


    Before long, the system notified him that he had received 500,000 dollars.


    Sorrowless was worth 200,000, Blood Dagger was worth 100,000 and the remaining 200,000 was probably money for him to stay quiet.


    He was the one who should be called the legendary gamer because he made 500,000 in one day.


    If he wasn¡¯t a person of ordinary status, he would have received the title of the game¡¯s first assassin.


    Instead, Lu Li just farmed and chatted away freely with his friends.


    Soon the news came that the Evil Faction troops had retreated. Glory Capital and its dependency¡¯s forces had all pulled back, leaving the other scattered players and the smaller guilds. These remaining players stood no chance in breaking the defence line.


    There was also news that Sorrowless just revived in their base camp.


    Someone who saw him said that his complexion was indifferent. He didn¡¯t have the breathless expression like someone who had just been completely destroyed.


    Someone heard that¡­


    This was Azeroth, a world of adventure. It was also a world full of hearsay.


    System: The quest ¡°Defend the Meisnera Outpost¡± is complete. EXP has been awarded. Equipment has been awarded. Glory has been awarded.


    It wasn¡¯t much EXP, but it was enough to take Lu Li to level 23.


    The equipment was a level 20 Silver Dagger. Its attributes were decent, but the effect was quite mediocre. It wasn¡¯t good enough to replace either one of Lu Li¡¯s exquisite daggers.


    The Water Elements retreated and returned to the sea. High Disciple Anzelin of the Twillight Hammer was nowhere to be found.


    The ¡°Defend the Meisnera Outpost¡± was over but there were still two hours left in the day; Lu Li was physically and mentally exhausted. He logged off really early to get some rest, not even bothering to count the amount of Starwood he had in his mailbox.

 224 Accidental Assistance

    Seeing Buggy again made Lu Li feel a little introspective.


    Ever since he experienced rebirth, he never thought to look for this person again. In his eyes, it didn¡¯t matter to him whether this person was alive or dead.


    Buggy was wearing blue work overalls. It looked like he just got out as there was a ragtag band of young people following him.


    The people around were avoiding the crowd. A few heavily armed security guards were carefully watching them.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t pretend like he didn¡¯t see them, so he walked over holding his sisters hand.


    ¡°Ah, Xin Xin, it¡¯s been a while - you¡¯ve grown,¡± Buggy was a very charming, mild mannered, and learned person. He even sounded more scholarly then Lu Li, though he hadn¡¯t actually read many books.


    ¡°Big bro Buggy,¡± Lu Xin called out.


    ¡°If you dare touch her, I¡¯ll make you talk to her whilst lying on the ground,¡± warned Lu Li.


    Buggy, who had planned to touch Lu Xin¡¯s head, stiffened for a moment before retracting his hand.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t supposed to be here; you better leave,¡± Lu Li added.


    ¡°Just because we are poor?¡± Buggy raised his brow; he didn¡¯t have a good temper.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t poor people, don¡¯t insult those who actually are poor. You guys are degenerates. Speak now if you want something; Xin Xin¡¯s class is about to start,¡± Lu Li was being impatient but he also felt like he was speaking the truth.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to thank you,¡± Buggy said as he remembered the purpose of his visit; he appeared weaker.


    Lu Li shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I had hoped you would die in jail. If there isn¡¯t anything else, I¡¯ll be going. You go do your thing; don¡¯t look for me or contact Xin Xin again. Otherwise¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we are brothers?¡± Buggy asked while tilting his head.


    When he tilted his head, his initially calm look turned stubborn. He was just like his father; Lu Li heard that Buggy¡¯s father had been killed because of this same provocativeness.


    ¡°I¡¯ll acknowledge that we are brothers when you die,¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t want to say anymore as he pulled his sister away.


    The atmosphere was tense, mostly because Lu Li¡¯s words were just too blunt.


    Lu Xin didn¡¯t dare to say anything either, though she had always felt like Big Bro Buggy was always good to her.


    But, she also knew that her brother didn¡¯t like Big Bro Buggy. If she talked to him too much, her brother would get angry and he would sometimes hit Big Bro Buggy.


    He would actually hit him too with enough force to draw blood.


    ¡°Is it not enough that I was wrong?¡± Buggy called out.


    Lu Li¡¯s lips twitched but he didn¡¯t turn his back.


    ¡°I¡¯m here to borrow some money for my underlings,¡± Buggy was getting anxious. His group of followers were following behind him, and the scene was quite spectacular.


    A police car drew near and stopped by the road. The window then rolled down to reveal the faces of two policemen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t owe you any money,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°Brother¡­¡± Lu Xin was being pulled by her brother but she kept trying to turn back.


    She actually knew most of these people. She had grown up with Buggy in Aunty Niu¡¯s house and these people were mostly the kids from the area.


    They were all children stricken by poverty.


    Some of them were the same age or younger than Lu Xin.


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Lu Li asked helplessly as he stopped walking.


    His sister had a soft heart, but when he looked at his sister, his heart was even softer.


    He was going to send her to school before coming back to work something out.


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to integrate into society; I want to start a studio ¨C a game studio,¡± Buggy said in an upright posture.


    ¡°Will they rely on you?¡± Lu Li made no attempt to disguise his contempt.


    ¡°Yes, these guys are all with me and I can¡¯t let them go hungry. Lend me some money and I¡¯ll pay it back after some time.¡± Buggy¡¯s face went red; he had previously refused to beg no matter what.


    Lu Li was silent. He didn¡¯t want to do it, but seeing this person had troubled his heart.


    But he had to admit that if this was really his plan and Aunty Niu knew about it from the afterlife, she would finally be able to rest peacefully.


    ¡°How much do you need?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already done the research. I need to rent out a small warehouse and each helmet will cost 3000. We have 59 people so I¡¯ll need to borrow 250,000¡­¡± It looked like Buggy had already thought about this beforehand.


    ¡°What else have you researched?¡± sneered Lu Li.


    ¡°I¡¯ve also researched that you are doing really well in your current game; you¡¯re the number 1 expert,¡± Buggy had a weird look on his face. Previously he had always held Lu Li in contempt, thinking that he was useless.


    But, he didn¡¯t think he was that much different from Lu Li either. Seeing that Lu Li was doing so well, he thought that he wouldn¡¯t do too badly if he brought his own crew.


    ¡°Do you think the game will be easy?¡± Lu Li knew him all too well.


    ¡°At least we¡¯ll be able to feed ourselves,¡± Buggy said firmly as he looked around at his subordinates.


    ¡°Brother Lu, please help us out. We¡¯ll work hard on earning gold and make enough to return it to you,¡± assured Blacky, who was standing behind Buggy.


    ¡°Big bro, how about we just lend him the money first,¡± Lu Xin softly spoke into Lu Li¡¯s ear. ¡°If he can make money, then he¡¯ll stop doing bad things.


    ¡°This has nothing to do with you,¡± Lu Li gently glared at his sister for a moment.


    ¡°You can set a deadline and if I don¡¯t return the money then you can report me to the police and send me to jail,¡± said Buggy.


    ¡°I can lend you the money,¡± Lu Li said after some thinking, ¡°But I have a condition.¡±


    ¡°Tell us, I will do anything,¡± Buggy responded as he patted his chest.


    ¡°You can do whatever you want in game, but when the time comes, I will need you to unconditionally do what I tell you without any questions.¡±


    Buggy¡¯s complexion turned a little dark, he knit his eyebrow and asked, ¡°What kind of things?¡±


    ¡°Haha, if you want to continue to have the same kind of authority as a gang leader, I recommend you get out now, Buggy. I, Lu Li, don¡¯t owe you anything,¡± said Lu Li coldly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ think about it¡­¡± Buggy said with astonishment.


    ¡°Why should I give you time to consider it? Buggy, everyone has to pay for what they¡¯ve done. Especially for us who have come out of the Common District, none of us believe that there is such a thing as a free meal.¡±


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t actually thought about anything for them to do; he just didn¡¯t want to let him borrow the money so easily.


    He was already riddled with debt. If it weren¡¯t for his mother, then Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have cared about his attempt at redemption. What did it have to do with him?


    Moreover, Lu Li didn¡¯t want to be too ruthless in front of his sister.


    Buggy looked like a deflated ball as he smiled bitterly. ¡°You¡¯re right, Lu Li. I was the one who taught you that truth, and it seems I have forgotten it.¡±


    ¡°If you agree, leave an account number and I¡¯ll send the money,¡± Lu Li said as he held his sister¡¯s hand. ¡°And don¡¯t approach Xin Xin again. If I find out that you¡¯ve contacted Xin Xin, all our agreements are void.


    ¡°Lu Li¡­¡± Buggy gave Lu Li his account number and wanted to say something else, but he hesitated. He finally waved his hand and left with the group of people.


    He knew that Lu Li cared about Lu Xin, but he didn¡¯t know that he cared so much.


    Many years ago, he had cracked a joke. But he didn¡¯t realize that Lu Li would hate him for so many years because of it.


    He couldn¡¯t even remember how long ago it was but it must have been more than 10 years ago. One day he had ripped some money off their neighbor and bought some candy.


    ¡°Xin Xin, if you like the candy so much, you can marry Big Bro Buggy and I¡¯ll buy it for you every day.¡±


    Xin Xin was focused on eating the candy, and before she could even say anything, Lu Li had already dragged off poor Buggy by the hair. They fought and from that day on they would look for any reason to fight each other.


    After the incident with Aunty Niu, the two grew even further apart.


    Buggy didn¡¯t even dare to look at Lu Xin. When he encountered her, he would just turn and walk away.


    It would be a disaster if Lu Li saw him.


    But it was clearly just a joke - Buggy wasn¡¯t a pedophile.

 225 Altar of Tides

    What happened to Buggy was only an accident, so Lu Li didn¡¯t take the incident to heart.


    The only reason he had lent money in the first place was because of Aunty Niu. Even until her very last moment, the kind, old woman was still hoping for her son to repent and start again.


    There was nothing wrong with playing games, especially when the government was promoting them. At the very least, playing games was preferable to becoming a gangster.


    At the same time, Lu Li wasn¡¯t worried about not being able to get his money back. Buggy was a man with great abilities and if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he strongly upheld his principles, he would have already become a real gang leader.


    Although he only had a small crowd that couldn¡¯t compare to the other average guilds, they were much more united.


    Like Lu Li, these people who started from the bottom all had some sort of tenacity.They could withstand loneliness, endure through bitter pain and were all suited to playing games.


    He only made Buggy remain under his command in order to annoy the man.


    The next day, when Lu Li logged on, the weather was nice and sunny in Astrana.


    Many people were still discussing the defense of Meisnera on the streets outside the inns. Of course, even more people were talking about Sorrowless and the mysterious player who had assassinated him.


    Lu Li stopped by the mailbox outside of the inn.


    Inside the first package was a Jade Statue, sent by Hornet¡¯s Nest, alongside another 28 Starwood.


    There were another 76 of them in another package, sent over by Jade Flower Lover from the Blood Red War Flag.


    On top of the $500,000 transferred to Lu Li in the real world, these were the total gains he had made from yesterday.


    He had forgone his chance to level up and receive precious skill points in exchange for these gains.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others had all received a skill point, which compared to EXP, were much more desirable. Skill points were something that one could only hope to come across with luck. If Lu Li was given another chance to choose, he was honestly not sure if he would insist on staying to level up.


    Lu Li shook away his pointless thoughts and set his attention on the materials that he had finally managed to acquire.


    It was hard for him not to look back and sigh. He had spent one month to achieve what Azure Sea Breeze could not achieve in two years ¨C to acquire all the materials for upgrading the Supreme Ring to LV3.


    Lu Li had no clue about the statistics of the Supreme Ring after the upgrade, but that wasn¡¯t a big issue. He only needed to know the location to upgrade the ring.


    This information was all given to him by Azure Sea Breeze during the past life. Azure Sea Breeze had spent a great deal of time to gather this information, but in the end, it was Lu Li who ended up up using it.


    Since they had all spent too much time online yesterday, the two high school students from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group were still catching up on sleep. The others also wanted to take a good rest as well. It was still six hours away from twelve o¡¯clock, the time that everyone had agreed to come online and run through the dungeons.


    There was probably enough time to upgrade the ring.


    After teleporting to Booty Bay, Lu Li spent another half an hour sailing on a boat before he arrived at the The Vile Reef.


    The Great Sea was only a little further ahead.


    There were some who claimed that you would be able to reach Kalimdor, the other continent of Azeroth, if you travelled across The Great Sea. Rumor had it that great wealth was hidden in the depths of the Sea, and some also believed that the big whirlpool within it would take you to another world.


    However, there was no proof to prove these legends as true. Those who dared to adventure deep into The Great Sea for evidence had never returned.


    To be fair, there was no need to try at all. Teleportation channels had connected the two continents since ancient times, so there was absolutely no need for anyone to explore the depths of The Great Sea.


    Lu Li had no interest in investigating these sorts of things either; he was only here to travel to the desert island near the coastline of The Vile Reef.


    It was much more dangerous to travel to his destination by swimming ¨C the monsters underwater were not only a high-level, but also come in great numbers.


    Fortunately, he could fly, courtesy of Mr. Medivh.


    Lu Li had already passed on his Bloodstained Badge, which was also given to him by Medivh, to Azure Sea Breeze.


    After upgrading his crow transformation to LV2, the damage that he received was almost negligible. As well as this, he could also travel at a faster speed.


    However, after Lu Li got closer to the island, he didn¡¯t dare to act presumptuously anymore. These ferocious seabirds were extremely xenophobic and would attack anything that looked different to them.


    Lu Li cursed under his breath as he landed on a surrounding reef and cancelled his crow transformation.


    Even before he had the chance to jump off the reef, a tentacle emerged from the water and launched towards his chest.


    Despite being caught by surprise, Lu Li still reacted in time with a successful block.


    -126!


    Unsuccessful with its first attempt, the tentacle struck again.


    Lu Li could now finally see what had attacked him.


    Squid?


    It was a squid indeed. After Lu Li dodged another attack, even more tentacles emerged from the sea and shot forwards in a flurry towards him.


    This would be a frightening and suffocating situation to be in for anyone.


    Fortunately, a strong mentality has always been Lu Li¡¯s greatest asset. Leisurely drawing back his dagger, he jumped and escaped.


    Seal transformation!


    His Seal transformation had become much stronger after also being upgraded to LV2.


    Firstly, the LV1 seal transformation provided no Armor, and was therefore unable to absorb any damage. The LV2 transformation came with Armor that was equivalent to 50% of Lu Li¡¯s Armor from his gear. Normal attacks would no longer kill him instantly.


    Secondly, the LV2 seal transformation allowed him to stay underwater without time restriction.


    Last of all, swimming speed was also greatly increased. Lu Li was small, but agile, and although the squid chased him relentlessly, it was still unable to catch him through the reefs.


    This place was too close to the shore, and it had no intention of going on land.


    Even though Lu Li had set foot on solid ground, he didn¡¯t feel safe at all.


    A few Murlocs beside the campfire started charging towards him with their harpoons after they noticed him. They were chanting things that he couldn¡¯t understand, but one thing was certain ¨C they definitely weren¡¯t trying to be friendly.


    The Murlocs were all LV25 elite monsters.


    Their attacks would often cause attribute-decreasing debuffs, making them even more troublesome for thieves.


    Killing them was quite hard for Lu Li, but fortunately, he was equipped with extremely good gear and was only two levels lower than them. He would be fine as long as he didn¡¯t aggravate too many monsters.


    Murlocs had been around Azeroth for a long time. They had a strong belief in the Water Lord - Tidehunter Neptulon and could can be considered as the rulers of the seas from the past.


    After the appearance of Nagas, the Murlocs fell from their dictating position.


    Murlocs were intelligent beings, often cooking a great variety of food. There would be a pot on top of almost all of their campfires.


    However, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t ever dare touch their food, especially after the time when he looted a particular recipe of theirs.


    The title of the cooking recipe was ¡°Barbecue Murlocs¡± and it had the following description: ¡°After I completed a quest for the Murlocs, one of the Murloc Elders gave me a book as his token of gratitude. It was a book about how to cook the best Murloc dishes.¡±


    Lu Li was bewildered by the recipe that he had looted.


    The Murloc Elder must have been insane to give out a recipe book on how to barbecue his own kind.


    Lu Li appreciated this joke ¨C it was hard to not be impressed by the staff members who wrote the lore.


    However, even if the dish was capable of removing the hungry status from a character, and gave a short buff of +5 to all attributes, Lu Li was determined to not touch the recipe.


    He ended up placing the recipe on auction at a high price. Perhaps there would be a player out there who was into this sort of thing.


    After two hours of tough battle, he finally made it into the depths of the island.


    The Altar of Tides ¨C what Lu Li was searching for had finally come within eyesight.

 226 Offering of the Murlocs

    Lu Li¡¯s ring could only be upgraded by exchanging a sacrificial offering into energy, or at least, that is how it was done for the first three levels. Hence, there was a need for an altar that could supply energy to the ring.


    In saying this, the Altar of Tides was not the best option out there. Perhaps there were other altars that could provide a better upgrade for the ring.


    However, the Altar of Tides was the best altar that Lu Li could get his hands on. It wasn¡¯t just a random altar built on a deserted island ¨C it was one with a long history.


    Stranglethorn Vale appeared to be the only peace zone in Azeroth where the war had not yet breached.


    Within the Vale resided a great Troll civilization from the ancient past. They had built grand cities that the Trolls and Goblins lived in.


    Most of the Trolls still followed the tradition of eating humans and a few of the troll tribes had already been recognized as man eaters. These included the Mossflayers and the Vilebranches.


    Besides these tribes, Ice trolls had also been proven to be man-eaters. Desert trolls, Forest trolls and Jungle trolls also occasionally displayed man-eating behavior.


    Even the mysterious Dark trolls showed man-eating behaviour, however, there were still some noteworthy exceptions. For example, the Zandalar clan and Raventusk clan would eat any food that looked like a human, but they wouldn¡¯t eat their own kind. The Darkspear clan also kept their man-eating tradition until they joined the tribe, however, they gave up on their cannibalism.


    The cooking recipe that Lu Li had looted was evidence that the trolls seemed to enjoy eating barbecued Murlocs.


    According to records from the past, Murlocs who were afraid of being eaten called upon the Tidelord to descend upon them.


    Neptulon responded to their call and sent a huge wave to sink the grand city. The tides even raged through the entire Stranglethorn Vale.


    The city was flattened into ruins and the trolls turned against each other to form a few opposing tribes.


    After that, Thrall led the orcs and their allies, the Darkspear clan, to move to this land together. The Deakspear clan were the group of trolls from the Jungle troll tribe who gave up on cannibalism.


    The island under Lu Li¡¯s feet was only the tip of the iceberg ¨C underneath it slept an ancient troll city.


    The altar that the Murlocs used to call upon the Tidelord stood in front of him.


    It should be noted that the words used in the lore were ¡°call upon¡± and not ¡°summon¡±.


    With their limited abilities, the Murlocs were not strong enough to summon a demigod, such as an elemental lord.


    However, this altar was enough for Lu Li.


    All he needed now was a caster, as Thieves could not activate altars.


    Fortunately, he was prepared.


    Lu Li walked towards the altar and placed down the Jade Statue that was in his hands.


    The crystal-clear statue radiated a green glow with a ripple-effect that began to spread outwards.


    Unfortunately, this was only an average Jade Statue of Neptulon. The altar reacted to the statue because Neptulon had descended here before, but the statue itself was not enough to summon Neptulon.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t planning to summon Neptulon anyway ¨C he still wanted to stay alive.


    ¡°Who is summoning the great God of the Tides?¡± A violet teleportation channel appeared in the inscriptions outside of the altar, followed by a Murloc priest wearing a green robe.


    ¡°Luna on high, this night elf from Darnassus greets you,¡± Lu Li said as he took the Jade Statue and passed it to the priest.


    The murloc priest grabbed the statue and exclaimed with excitement, ¡°Oh, what is this I¡¯m seeing?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a gift. I hope you like it.¡± Lu Li was relieved to see the glow of the Murloc priest change from hostile-red to friendly-green.


    Only Murlocs could activate the Altar of Tides, so it would be quite troublesome if the priest hadn¡¯t shown up.


    ¡°Young elf, you¡¯re such a well-mannered child. Speak, what is your request of me?¡± The priest was in a good mood and carefully carried the statue in his arms.


    ¡°I am an adventurer who is seeking great power. I wish to obtain the power of the tidelord,¡± Lu Li replied, cutting straight to the point.


    The priest immediately changed his expression.


    ¡°What? How dare you set your target on the altar.¡±


    He was only slightly stronger than an elite monster, and there was no guarantee that he could beat this thief who had a Jade Statue, so he remained on his guard.


    Night elves were very strong and were even capable of defeating what the Murlocs feared most ¨C Nagas.


    Murlocs had always been cowards and were only tough on the outside. They swarmed upon their enemies and ran away when they couldn¡¯t win.


    ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood ¨C I do not plan to use this altar without paying a price. I¡¯ve brought you rewards in exchange.¡±


    Lu Li took out a great amount of rare materials and placed them in front of the altar, one by one.


    The priest widened his eyes at the sight, mumbling the name of Neptulon to try and maintain his sanity.


    The NPCs in Dawn were also capable of leveling up through two methods. The first method was to defeat strong opponents and grow through battle. This method was ineffective for the Murloc priest, as he had to stay and protect this altar.


    The second method was to gain power from an outward source.


    The materials that Lu Li had brought were extremely tempting for the priest. Not only could the priest use these materials to absorb energy, he could even use them to absorb purer, divine power from the altar.


    ¡°Help me drain the power from the altar and these will all be yours.¡±


    Like the whispers of a devil, Lu Li¡¯s words were filled with temptation.


    ¡°No, the altar¡¯s power cannot be used carelessly. Punishment will descend upon us from the great tidelord.¡± It was easy to tell from old priest¡¯s dry face that he was in a dilemma.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly ¨C the tidelord won¡¯t descend upon these ruins. Ask yourself, what does this wasteland have that can possibly attract a demigod?¡± Lu Li interrogated, persecuting the murloc¡¯s soul.


    The poor old thing was almost about to cry.


    ¡°Murlocs shouldn¡¯t be enslaved. You all need to break away from the grasps of the Nagas. Only then will you guys have the chance to find great power ¨C power great enough to summon your tidelord.¡± Lu Li decided to tackle this from another angle.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The old priest¡¯s eyes sparkled as he declared, ¡°We were once rulers of the seas. No one other than the gods can enslave us.¡±


    ¡°As a friendly elf, I must agree with your words,¡± Lu Li replied, pretending to side with the Murloc priest.


    His words were clearly untrue. Elves loved nature and balance, but they were never a friendly race to begin with.


    Unfortunately, all that the old priest could think about now was the blueprint that Lu Li had just described to him.


    Murlocs shouldn¡¯t be enslaved, they shouldn''t be struggling in these ruins, and they needed a strong leader. The old priest felt as if his youth had returned to his body once again.


    Lu Li collected the materials and pushed them towards the priest, saying, ¡°Take them, for the sake of greater power and for the future of the murlocs.¡±


    ¡°I need to check if these materials are really what I need.¡±


    With his bloodshot eyes, the old priest nodded his head heavily.


    Of course, these were the materials that he needed. Azure Sea Breeze had already interacted with this old Murloc priest in his previous life and received a long list of materials from him.


    ¡°I doubt that anyone else will be able to provide you with better materials than me.¡± Lu Li was slightly anxious ¨C who knew if this NPC would suddenly change his mind?


    Fortunately, these materials were what the Murloc priest wanted.


    The pile of materials that Lu Li offered not only contained the rare materials that the priest needed, but it also included the sacrificial offerings required to activate the altar. The priest didn¡¯t need to supply anything at all.


    The old priest was surprised, in a good way of course, as he checked every single material and held all of them tightly in his arms.

 227 Supreme Three Ring

    Fortunately, all the NPCs in Dawn keep their promises. After taking Lu Li¡¯s rewards, the old priest began preparing the altar for activation.


    ¡°Child, I¡¯ll be guiding the power of the tides upwards. How do you plan to receive the power?¡± the old priest asked.


    The power that the altar produced was affected by the target of the offering. For some, it could be elemental power, while for others, it could be demonic power, holy power or even power from evil gods.


    These powers could not be easily absorbed.


    Even the Murloc priest himself refrained from contacting the tidal powers too frequently.


    Lu Li stretched out his hands and placed them above the altar. Once again, the ring detached itself from him, floating silently in the air.


    ¡°Artifact!¡± the old priest exclaimed.


    ¡°Artifact? It¡¯s only a gold grade equipment, what artifact?¡± Lu Li was confused.


    ¡°No, I feel a surging divine power, so genuine, so¡­ ancient. Elf, what is it that¡¯s so special about you, that even the gods favor you?¡±


    ¡°What favour? Just grab the ring and pop it onto any finger,¡± Lu Li thought.


    But of course, he couldn¡¯t say that in front of a priest, who were loyal servants to the gods. With a sincere expression, the night elf saluted the empty space in front of him and said, ¡°I¡¯ve spent a long time to get this ring and almost died in the process. Perhaps it was my sincerity and good faith that moved the King of the Jungle.¡±


    The old priest was inspired with awe and began to seriously manipulate the altar.


    Murlocs lived a short life, but priests were an exception to this rule. They aged very slowly because they were nurtured by the divine power from the altar.


    The old priest watched over the altar, which had last been activated over a century ago.


    Today, once again, the Altar of Tides radiated a blue glow.


    A rainbow of colors suddenly erupted from the grey ring. The light was even brighter than the previous time Lu Li had been at the Twilight Altar, and the sea level near the isolated island began to fluctuate as the waves became more active.


    The old priest said with a shudder, ¡°Gods, the gods are angry.¡±


    The Murlocs were such a vulnerable race; it was hard to understand how they had stood their ground against the trolls for so many years.


    ¡°No,¡± Lu Li interrupted him, ¡°this is the gods responding to your summon. Soon, the glory of the Tidal Gods will once again be with the murloc race.¡±


    The old Murloc didn¡¯t believe his words, but he still continued casting.


    After all, it was only to upgrade a Gold-grade equipment ¨C nothing too crazy.


    About ten minutes later, the glow of the altar began to dissipate and the sea level was restored to its peaceful, glassy state.


    System: Your Supreme Ring has been upgraded to level three. Please continue to work hard.


    The ring returned to Lu Li, who was eager to check the new statistics.


    Supreme Three Ring (Dark Gold)


    Strength+20


    Agility+20


    Constitution+20


    Critical Strike+25%


    Special Effect 1: Blessing of the Jungle King, Stealth effect+20%


    Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle ¨C Cenarius grants a special ability: you can learn three transformation forms of the Druid class and you are also able to learn a maximum of three skills for each transformation


    Equipment requirements: None


    Durability: None


    The previous attributes had increased to +20 and Constitution had even been added. Lu Li felt as though he was on the edge of becoming a tank thief, even though he had never added a single point to his Constitution.


    He was also very content with the Critical Strike being increased from 20% to 25%, as this was an incredible attribute. There was no way that the game would instantly give him an item with a Critical strike of 100%.


    Even so, Lu Li¡¯s Critical Strike chance was still way above any other player¡¯s.


    Currently, an equipment with 5% Critical Strike chance was already fairly decent. An owner of an equip with 10% Critical Strike chance could proudly show off and impress others.


    Slight adjustments had also been made to the special effects of the ring. Although there were still only three transformation forms, each transformation form now came with one more skill.


    This meant that Lu Li could learn another skill for his Cheetah form, or a skill for his whole form.


    As for the Seal form and Crow form, even Malfurion himself probably hadn¡¯t figured out a way to use skills in these two forms.


    Besides these, the Supreme Three Ring added another special effect.


    Stealth+20%


    This special effect had come just in time, as though he had calculated it. Just when Lu Li was still having a headache yesterday over Stellar Union Silver Radiant¡¯s badge, a Stealth+20% effect had been added on to his ring.


    Even though Lu Li would still take risks, the chances of him being detected by Stellar Union Silver Radiant would be decreased to a minimum with the Supreme Three Ring.


    Lu Li let out a long, relieved sigh. He was finally harvesting the fruit of his hard work.


    Upgrading from level three to level four would be even harder.


    First of all, he would need to find a suitable altar.


    After that, he would need to find a NPC who could give him an Altar Quest so that he knew what materials were required.


    Lastly, just to be sure, he would need to find a NPC who understood this ring.


    If he chose any random altar, there was a chance that something might go wrong with the ring. Lu Li couldn¡¯t allow this to happen as the Supreme Ring was what he relied on to surpass the other players.


    From what he had gathered from the library, there was a list of possible NPC candidates: Cenarius, Malfurion, Illidan¡­


    Malfurion had gone to sleep in the world of Emerald Dreams, Cenarius was always missing, and there was no way that someone like Illidan would help Lu Li.


    Wait, there¡¯s one more person¡­¡­


    Lu Li suddenly remembered the scene that the book had described.


    Tyrande, Tyrande Whisperwind!


    She had grown up as a close friend to both Malfurion and Illidan.


    That year, Malfurion had heard of a few rumours that mentioned a demigod of the forest who lived in isolation from the world. He invited his own friends to search for this demigod.


    Plants and animal that inhabited Azeroth quickly sent messages to Cenarius.


    Out of surprise and curiosity, Cenarius found these Night Elves and searched deep within their hearts. He found great hope within Malfurion¡¯s heart which also restored his own hope.


    When Cenarius walked out from the shadow of the bushes, he agreed to teach them the ways of the Druids.


    However, Illidan was still addicted to magic. At that time, Tyrande was already a novice priest in the Elune Sororities. It was hard for her to devote herself to other gods besides the goddess.


    In the end, only Malfurion continued on the path and became a druid.


    From the Stormrage brothers, Tyrande chose Malfurion to be her partner.


    Besides the three gods who were mentioned previously, there was no doubt that Tyrande would also understand the Supreme Ring.


    However, find Tyrande was no easy task.


    She was the best hunter under the moonlight, the chosen one of Goddess Elune and the ultimate boss of the night elves.


    Medivh might be helpful, but Lu Li laughed in his head at the thought of Medivh helping him.


    Was there anyone who could help him outside of the main city?


    Lu Li started reflecting upon all of the NPCs that he had interacted with in the past.


    Suddenly, a name flashed in his thoughts: Sentinel Captain Carolina.


    That¡¯s right, Carolina could definitely help him.


    When Lu Li had first arrived in this world, many people discussed this beauty on the forums. Some thought she was Tyrande, while others claimed that she was the successor of Tyrande.


    It didn¡¯t matter to Lu Li who she was, as long as she was capable of helping him.


    As someone who was capable of summoning the moon god, it would be an easy task for her to introduce him to Tyrande.

 228 Reward Under the Sea

    Lu Li decided to focus on the Howling Caves and worry about the future at a later point in time.


    Apparently, the fastest team in the Glory Capital had already taken down the fourth boss and was now trying to figure out how to take down the fifth boss. Most of the people from the Blood Red War Flag had either been placed at Meisnera¡¯s Output or the Warsong Canyon. However, their PVE team was not affected by this and were also on the fourth boss.


    The first clear not only rewarded better gear, but also represented the strength of a guild.


    Guilds were picky right from the start with who they chose to accept. Then, from the thousands of guild members, they picked out the best to form their PVE teams. It would be a real shame if they still couldn¡¯t beat a team formed by random players.


    However, there were probably some benefits that could be taken before leaving this place.


    Based on his memory, Lu Li assessed the terrain along the Stranglethorn Vale¡¯s coastline. It didn¡¯t take long for him to find a giant statue that stuck out from the waters.


    Thousands of years had passed and things had changed as time went by. Only the statue that stood in the center of the city remained standing.


    When the tides ebbed as they did now, it would be possible to see a tall Troll standing and looking up to the sky. It was hard to imagine what kind of power drove the barbaric cannibal tribes to create such a splendid piece of work.


    What Lu Li had to do was dive under the water from here.


    Seal Transformation!


    The small seal shook his head, as if to adjust his eyesight, which was different to a human¡¯s.


    If Lu Li was only relying on Elixirs of Water Breathing, he would have a much smaller field of vision, unless if he could find some goggles.


    Speaking of goggles, this seemed to be another area that an Engineer could greatly profit in.


    Goggles were very useful ¨C they blocked the wind when players were on mounts and increased vision when a player was underwater. Goggles of the best quality could even allow you to see in the dark.


    Unfortunately, the blueprints for them didn¡¯t drop often. Based on Lu Li¡¯s memories, it seemed like stealing from the goblins was the only feasible option.


    Soon, he was unable to think about other things. After diving about ten meters underwater, he saw some monsters ¨C a bunch of Sharptooth Frenzies. These were a type of mutant piranhas and were incredibly ferocious.


    Lu Li studied the surrounding environment and realized that there wasn¡¯t a single path for him to cross safely. As such, he swallowed an Elixir of Water Breathing and changed back to his original form.


    If he couldn¡¯t avoid them, he would just have to make his way in by force.


    Sharptooth Frenzies weren¡¯t high level monsters; they were around LV25, with high Attack and average Defense.


    One attack from Lu Li and would deal at least a hundred damage, while a five-star Slit Throat with the combination of a critical strike would deal around six or seven hundred damage.


    After taking down a few Frenzies who stood in his way, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer and quickly dived downwards.


    Not long after he left, a mob of Sharptooth Frenzies swarmed the area, as they were very sensitive to the smell of blood.


    The deeper the sea level, the darker the sea became, and even in the seal form, Lu Li was only able to see approximately ten yards in front of him.


    The long bodies of the water plants drifted with the undercurrent, as harmless fish swam back and forth between them. Unidentified objects protruded from the soft sand of the seafloor, like little buildings.


    A city had once stood here.


    Through the erosion of time and the incubation of the seas, nothing had been left behind.


    A few Murlocs swam around here that preyed on the many other sea creatures.


    These, however, were not Lu Li¡¯s target. He carefully searched and soon found what he had been looking for behind a building.


    A giant clamshell!


    It was a mussel that was the size of a house.


    Based on how Dawn usually made their settings, the creature would at least be Boss level if it was still alive.


    But now, it lay silently on the spot, not moving a single bit. The creature had been dead for many years already and obvious traces of time had been left behind on the surface of its shell.


    Lu Li picked up a piece of rock and tapped it along the eroded lines of the clamshell.


    It didn¡¯t take long before he knocked off a huge chunk of shell.


    He squeezed in from the hole that he knocked out and searched within the soft sand.


    Lu Li was overjoyed to feel a sphere-shaped object with his hands, and he promptly grabbed it, then exited the giant mussel.


    Blue Pearl: Production material.


    Its description was simple, but Lu Li knew this was some good stuff.


    Pearls were the most common material for making jewellery, and Blue Pearls were one of the best for this. Equipment made with Blue Pearls not only looked beautiful, but also had comparatively better attributes.


    They were not a rare material, but were harder to obtain than average rare materials.


    Only these kind of blue mussels would produce Blue Pearls, as the process took at least a hundred years.


    Lu Li had wandered the seas outside of the Stranglethorn Vale for a few months in his previous life, which allowed him to gain a small fortune from them.


    Currently, no one knew that there were blue pearls hidden within the seas nearby, which meant that he had no competition. Lu Li decided that he would thoroughly search this place.


    Unfortunately, the refresh rate of this place was too low and some mussels didn¡¯t even have anything inside of them.


    After searching for about an hour, Lu Li had only managed to find five blue pearls, with two of them being average quality.


    This was actually a pretty good result. In his past life, it would take him an entire day to reach this number. At that time, Lu Li wasn¡¯t the only one searching underwater and it was quite common to accidentally run into players from the opposing faction.


    ¡°Oi, boss, what are you doing?¡± Azure Sea Breeze called as he logged on.


    ¡°I¡¯m searching for pearls in the sea,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Wow, so much spare time in your hands. Are you finding these pearls to please girls?¡± Azure Sea Breeze teased.


    ¡°No,¡± Lu Li denied.


    ¡°Then are you gifting it to boys? Oh damn, boss, when did you start becoming gay?¡± Azure Sea Breeze yelled.


    Lu Li, ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s gay? Who¡¯s gay?¡± Judging from the volume, it was Hachi Chan.


    ¡°Whoever is gay isn¡¯t even going to be chasing after you.Why are you so excited?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was left speechless.


    ¡°Have you two finally decided to date?¡± Hachi Chan asked in a hopeful tone.


    ¡°Prepare for the dungeon. Stay alert this time ¨C I¡¯m taking off points for every mistake,¡± Lu Li snapped.


    ¡°No way! Taking off points?¡± Azure Sea Breeze almost fainted on the spot. Whether he had made mistakes or not, he already had plenty of points taken off him.


    ¡°Take off points. Take off points!¡± Wandering had come online.


    As the others also started logging on, Lu Li checked the time and started travelling towards the Howling Caves.


    Everyone¡¯s strength had greatly improved compared to last time.


    Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were all now LV23, while the others were all LV22, including Sakura Memories.


    Level 23 would be enough to suppress the monsters in the Howling Caves (Heroic Mode).


    The monsters that appeared along the way were cleared easily; it didn¡¯t take long for the team to make it to the third boss ¨C Pythas.


    Pythas was originally childhood buddies with Naralex. His original name was Areon and he had amazing talent in the path of the Druids. He had even learned some Warrior skills.


    This is what was so amazing about NPCs ¨C it was as if class restrictions were only a decoration to them.


    However, no matter how amazing he was, Areon had already lost his sanity.


    After he fell, he changed his name and was now known as Pythas. With his new identity, he combined his close combat skills with his Druid knowledge, successfully becoming one of the most challenging bosses in the Howling Caves.


    His signature skill was Thunderclap.

 229 The Treasure Box In The Instance Dungeon

    Thunder Clap ¨C a skill that was considered legendary in Dawn.


    Deals damage to all players in a radius of 10 yards, causing a 40% increase in spell cooldown time and a 40% decrease in movement speed. Lasts 30 seconds.


    This skill was the ultimate crowd control ability.


    Teams that attempted to clear the Howling Caves often preferred to recruit classes that had long-range attacks, to specifically avoid Thunder Clap.


    Typically, bosses pulled out their ultimate skills as the fight progressed. However, Pythas used Thunder Clap as soon as Azure Sea Breeze touched him.


    Lu Li, Sakura Memory, Azure Sea Breeze, Wandering and Moonlight were all hit, which greatly reduced their total damage output. They could only sit and wait for the effect to disappear.


    ¡°I¡¯ll calculate how often Thunder Clap is used; there must be some sort of pattern. Don¡¯t worry guys, the game wouldn¡¯t design a boss that is impossible to kill.¡± Wandering wiped the sweat off his forehead and tried encourage everyone.


    Much to his disappointment, Pythas¡¯ Thunder Clap did not have a set pattern.


    After two minutes, everyone was wiped out.


    They all remained silent as they sat and recovered their HP with bread.


    ¡°The teams that have managed to clear Pythas probably had more ranged players,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, as he anxiously looked towards the boss in the distance.


    ¡°Want to try again?¡± Wandering sighed. Since they were just a mercenary group and not a guild, their options were limited in terms of backup long ranged classes.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind either ¨C whatever happens, happens.


    ¡°Say, Lu Li, do you know any inside information? If you do, please tell us,¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    He wasn¡¯t used to the complete silence from Lu Li. His impression of Lu Li was the all-knowing, Instance Dungeon expert, able to answer all questions thrown at him.


    ¡°What am I supposed to know?¡± Lu Li shook his head.


    He knew the trick to avoiding Thunder Clap, but decided against telling them.


    Before the boss used Thunder Clap, there was an animation which could only be noticed by extremely observant players.


    Wandering was still lacking in this area. Therefore, it was a good learning experience for him.


    The second attempt was even worse than the first. Everybody knew that it was almost impossible and didn¡¯t have the same drive as they did in the first run.


    Before the third attempt, Wandering sternly said, ¡°Look at yourselves. Is this the attitude that you should have before attempting an Instance Dungeon?!¡±


    Even though he had a tendency to ramble, he was still a courteous party leader. Unlike the typical leaders, he wouldn¡¯t find a scapegoat to push the blame onto whenever something went wrong.


    Lu Li rarely entered Instance Dungeons with other players in his past life, simply because he hated the party leaders.


    Whenever they were pissed, they would scold someone. They would always target the new or inexperienced players, and looked for opportunities to shift the blame onto them.


    The newer players couldn¡¯t retaliate because there were countless people lining up to join the party.


    This time, Lu Li didn¡¯t want to go through the same problems, so he formed his own team with several solid players.


    ¡°I want everyone to try harder this time; I think I¡¯ve found the pattern,¡± Wandering said as he began the third Pythas attempt.


    Wandering really had the talent to be a leader and ordered everyone to stand at different positions. This afforded the melee-range classes the time to scatter and avoid Thunder Clap. As Pythas raised his axe with both hands, Wandering gave the signal for everyone to get back.


    Wandering, Lu Li and Moonlight reacted immediately and avoided the attack. Sakura Memories was slightly slower and was struck by Thunder Clap.


    As for Azure Sea Breeze, the Main Tank, there was no point in him running.


    ¡°See, that was the key to avoiding the skill,¡± Wandering said proudly. ¡°When Pythas casts Thunder Clap, he raises both arms, as opposed to only one arm.¡±


    Lu Li was very impressed with his appointed commander.


    The trick to dodging Thunder Clap was that simple. Because the Howling Cave Instance Dungeon was so difficult, the gaming company had given Pythas a long animation before casting Thunder Clap. This gave the players some time to react.


    When the second Thunder Clap was casted, all four melee classes successfully dodged it.


    After this, they immediately pounced onto the boss again.


    Without the interference from Thunder Clap, their damage output was greatly increased.


    After 10 minutes, Pythas turned into a corpse as he uttered, ¡°The coils of death will crush you¡­¡±


    They had spent half an hour to clear the bosses, mainly because of the time wasted from the first two attempts.


    ¡°Why did he only drop Steel Grade Equipment?¡± Wandering asked as he searched the body, pouting his mouth in disappointment.


    ¡°That¡¯s expected. Pythas has been killed before, so it¡¯s not the first clear,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s get a move on. First kill! First kill!¡± Azure Sea Breeze chanted.


    Since the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had always been ahead of the other parties, it felt like a waste of time to put in so much effort for two Steel Grade Equips.


    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s a key here,¡± Remnant Dream said as she picked up some old keys.


    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked as she handed him the keys.


    ¡°It¡¯s obviously for opening treasure boxes?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the treasure box?¡±


    The group promptly began searching for the treasure box.


    ¡°Here, I found it¡± Sakura Memories shouted.


    Lu Li was surprised that she had been able to find the treasure box so quickly, since it was hidden very well.


    Even after the Howling Cave was cleared, many players didn¡¯t know where the treasure box was. It wasn¡¯t until much later that it had been discovered.


    Lu Li planned on pretending to be clueless and letting the others search for it.


    He didn¡¯t expect Sakura Memories to find it this quickly.


    Everyone rushed towards Sakura Memories and found her dangling off the cliff while holding onto a branch. Her hands were pointed at the hole on the cliff-side.


    ¡°Older sister Memories, aren¡¯t you afraid of falling?¡± Hachi Chan asked as she carefully looked down.


    Sakura Memories¡¯ bravery was commendable; even Lu Li felt terrified at the sight of her dangling above the ground.


    ¡°Give me the keys. I¡¯ll open it,¡± Sakura Memory volunteered.


    The party watched as she swung from one branch to another like a monkey and into the hole.


    ¡°Can you do it?¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s face looked pale.


    ¡°I think she can,¡± Sesame Rice Balls said anxiously.


    ¡°Not only is she beautiful, but she¡¯s also so talented in everything,¡± Wandering and the others agreed.


    Sakura Memory returned very quickly.


    Everyone was extremely impressed with her ability to scale a cliff with her bare hands.


    They looked at her in disbelief, momentarily forgetting about the treasure box.


    ¡°Something nice came out of it.¡±


    There was a 16-slot bag and a recipe.


    ¡°You found the bag, you can keep it,¡± Wandering said. No one had any objections.


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    ¡°½ÓÏÂÀ´Ôõô×ߣ¬»ØÍ·Â𣿡±É±µôÕâ¸öBOSSÖ®ºó¾Íû·ÁË£¬ÎµÀ¶º£·çÀ§»óµÄ¿´ÏòÆ®ÁãºÍ½Àë¡£


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    ¡°I have enough bag slots, didn¡¯t you say you never have enough bag space? Here you go.¡± Sakura Memory threw the bag to Lu Li.


    Lu Li accepted it.


    The recipe was for tailoring for a LV15 Steel Grade Cloth Wrist Armour and was given to March Rain.


    ¡°What¡¯s next? Do we head back?¡± There¡¯s a dead end after killing the boss, Azure Sea Breeze asked Wandering and Lu Li.


    ¡°How about we jump?¡± Lu Li said jokingly.

 230 Chain Lightning

    ¡°Jump down? You¡¯re kidding, right? It¡¯s so high up!¡± Azure Sea Breeze felt his legs turn into jelly. Even Sakura Memories could not believe him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back, let¡¯s go back.¡± Wandering decided against Lu Li¡¯s suggestion.


    Lu Li knew what he was doing. There will be an old and broken-down shrine at the dead end, which was a couple of meters up ahead.


    If they jumped from there, there would be a body of water to break their fall.


    This was discovered by a group of players who had wanted to break the Instance Dungeon record time in Lu Li¡¯s past life. As such, they thoroughly studied the Instance Dungeon and found this shortcut.


    Retracing their steps back to the beginning could lead them to the right path as well. However, doing this would waste more time.


    After becoming confused and lost their direction several times, the group finally reached the fourth boss.


    ¡°Apparently, this boss drops shields. Someone from the Blood Red War Flag looted a LV20 Silver Grade shield last night.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was tempted to give the boss a kiss after hearing about this.


    The turtle Boss Kresh was a passive monster. As long as it was not attacked, it would not aggro onto anyone. Even if Azure Sea Breeze gave him a kiss, nothing would happen.


    This giant turtle was the most ancient inhabitant of the Howling Caves. Nobody knew how many years it had survived down here. The calm and docile Kresh was not affected by Navalex¡¯s nightmares.


    However, Kresh was hunted by almost every party because it dropped a very rare defensive shield.


    ¡°Why did you attack Kresh? Kresh has done nothing wrong,¡± the turtle Boss whined depressingly.


    Rare treasures naturally attract hunters. It was human nature to hunt for things that they desire.


    Kresh wasn¡¯t difficult to defeat. Apart from its high defence, it had very little offensive powers. It only had a skilled called Crushing Bite, which had an Armor Pierce effect. However, the effects didn¡¯t stack, unlike Piercing Heart Wolf General.


    After about 20 minutes or so, Kresh was defeated without putting up much of a fight.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it myself,.¡± Azure Sea Breeze said as he stopped Remnant Dream.


    Remnant Dreams wasn¡¯t against this because apparently, the only valuable thing that this boss dropped was the shield.


    Azure Sea Breeze rubbed his hands together and stretched his legs, preparing to take the loot. He even prayed to some unknown gods and deities.


    ¡°Goddamn, why is it this?!¡±


    Lu Li went over to have a look and saw that it was a ¡°Worn Turtle Shell Shield¡±. He could only consolingly pat Azure Sea Breeze on the back.


    Worn Turtle Shell Shield was a LV20 Steel Grade shield, however, it was nothing but trash compared to Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s current shield.


    This was nothing out of the ordinary. Kresh¡¯s Back was considered the best LV20 Silver Grade Shield. However, its drop rates were terribly low, at 5% in Elite mode and 20% in Nightmare mode.


    They weren¡¯t taking the First Clear, so the drop rates were even lower.


    ¡°Lu Li, can we try doing Nightmare mode later?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was triggered by this and had become ambitious.


    ¡°Yeah, we can do nightmare later,¡± Lu Li agreed.


    The first five bosses were possible on nightmare mode, however, the last three bosses would be quite difficult to defeat. Not only were they high-level, but they also had extremely annoying crowd control abilities.


    It would be hard to clear the entire dungeon, but they were doing it for the loot anyway.


    The party picked up some useless equipment and materials that dropped from Kresh and continued onwards.


    They walked along the river ditch as they cleared out Deviate Crocolisks along the way and eventually reached Skum.


    Skum was a Kodo beast from the North Barrens and had come to the Howling Caves to seek refuge from the harsh environment.


    Much like the other inhabitants of the cave, it had also become corrupted.


    Now, dark energy flowed through his body, turning it into a massive and cruel beast. It would attack anything that came too close with its sharp tail and lightning.


    Glory Capital, Bloor Red War Flag and the other major guilds were all stuck on this boss.


    The reason was simple ¨C Chain Lightning.


    This was a Shaman¡¯s most commonly-used mobbing skill. The damage wasn¡¯t very high, nor did it have any bonus effects.


    However, when Chain Lightning was casted by a boss, it became unimaginably powerful.


    Chain Lightning: Skum strikes an enemy with a lightning bolt that arcs to other nearby enemies. Deals high nature damage, targets are paralysed.


    It hit multiple targets and caused paralysis.


    Skum was essentially the first Boss in Dawn that could deal damage to multiple targets.


    Chain Lightning had no cooldown and could be spammed multiple times.


    Lord Pythas could make melee classes less powerful. Skum, on the other hand, completely rendered them useless, because of its continuous release of Chain Lightning.


    Ranged classes alone could not deal enough damage to take out the 80,000HP beast.


    The Blood Red War Flag and other big guilds had tried an all-ranged lineup. However, they found that if Chain Lightning didn¡¯t spread among the other players, it would instantly kill the main tank.


    There was information about the boss on the forums, and it was known to everyone how difficult Skum was to deal with.


    Wandering and the others knew they had an impossible task before them.


    ¡°How about we try this? Melee classes try to spread out as much as possible and stay away from Azure Sea Breeze. I¡¯ll share the Chain Lightning damage with him,¡± Wandering ordered.


    Azure Sea Breeze raised his shield and bashed the boss on the head, immediately grabbing aggro.


    Skum howled angrily and a lightning bolt immediately hit Azure Sea Breeze.


    The lightning did not disappear after hitting him but instead, forked-off to hit Wandering, leaving both of them paralysed.


    Normally, Chain Lightning from a Shaman dealt very little damage.


    After a few Chain Lightnings, the damage began to stack up, by three or four times. March Rain could not heal enough, so Hachi Chan also began healing.


    The Boss¡¯s HP had dropped by about 3 %.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hold the boss anymore!¡± Azure Sea Breeze watched as his HP became critically low and realized that his death was imminent.


    Even if he held on, the two healers didn¡¯t have enough mana to last the whole fight at this current state.


    ¡°Someone else take the aggro. Moonlight, it¡¯s up to you now.¡± Wandering¡¯s HP was also dangerously low and he had to switch aggro.


    Moonlight tanked the damage for a little while, but eventually gave out as well.


    As a Berserker, his defence was much lower than Wandering¡¯s.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give up; I don¡¯t think we can do this,¡± Azure Sea Breeze sighed.


    Wandering could switch aggro with Moonlight. However, as the main tank, Azure Sea Breeze had no one to switch with.


    The moment he said this, Chain Lightning was casted, dealing 500-600 points of damage and instantly killing him.


    Lu Li quickly reacted and ran.


    After he reached a safe spot, he used Stealth to leave the battle. The whole party was basically defeated after two more Chain Lightnings.

 231 An Exotic Strategy

    Their first attempt had failed, but Wandering did not lose heart.


    Clearing Dungeons was always like this ¨C they had to keep trying again and again even if that meant dying again and again. Only then, would they have a chance at success.


    ¡°We¡¯ll go double tank this time. Lu Li, what do you think?¡±


    Before Wandering joined the group, he had always listened to Azure Sea Breeze talk about Lu Li being such a strong Instance Dungeon leader. However, Lu Li had just been playing dumb this whole time. He hasn¡¯t suggested a single idea on how to clear this dungeon.


    ¡°Seems like a good idea. Let¡¯s give it try,¡± Lu Li nodded and complimented Wandering¡¯s idea.


    It was a good idea, but what about the result?


    Not long after they started again, Wandering realized his mistake.


    Azure Sea Breeze could resist some damage, but that didn¡¯t mean that he could keep tanking it. As an Aggressive Knight who had placed most of his points into Constitution and Strength, his Defence was simply too low.


    ¡°Some of you ranged players should go in and tank some damage,¡± Wandering said helplessly. He could only try to share some of the damage around.


    The Chain Lightning immediately jumped from his body onto someone else, significantly reducing the burden that was on him. With someone helping Azure Sea Breeze, they would at least be able to tank the Boss¡¯ damage.


    However, a new issue quickly arose.


    At first, it was just the melee profession who were tanking damage, while the ranged professions were dealing damage to the Boss. This system produced enough DPS to remain hopeful about defeating the Boss. But now that the ranged professions were also tanking the damage, their DPS had drastically reduced.


    With everyone tanking the Boss¡¯ damage, who was left to actually hit the Boss?


    The time it would take to defeat the Boss had now been stretched out to an impossible length.


    ¡°I¡¯m out of MP. Sister Memories, quickly come and help me with your stick,¡± Hachi Chan cried out as she hastily ran to Sakura Memories for help.


    The stick that she was talking about was actually the Shaman¡¯s Mana Fortune Totem, which regenerated the MP of players standing around it.


    ¡°I¡¯m also gonna run out of MP soon. Let¡¯s all regenerate for a bit.¡±


    March Rain had been tasked with healing everyone, including the two tanks. As such, her mana consumption was even higher than Hachi Chan¡¯s.


    ¡°The Boss is only at half HP,¡± Sesame Rice Ball said, which was what everyone was concerned with.


    With both healers taking turns to regenerate their MP naturally and with potions, they would be able to fight for an indefinite amount of time.


    However, there was so much pressure to heal that they wouldn¡¯t be able maintain this pace for long.


    The healers would run out of MP and then, the party would be destroyed.


    Their second defeat was rapidly approaching. This time, Lu Li was quite unlucky, as he died before he could even use Gale Steps.


    ¡°Lu Li do you have any ideas?¡± Azure Sea Breeze pulled on his sleeve and refused to let go. ¡°If you do, speak up. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to get the first clear on this Boss, and the good stuff will be taken by the other guilds.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if anyone has any ideas, feel free to speak up.¡± Wandering eagerly looked at Lu Li as he said this.


    Only now did Lu Li realize that he had been taking it a little too far.


    He was trying to help his party get better, but it was one thing to practice and another thing to refuse to use his rebirth knowledge. He was essentially shooting himself in the foot.


    He sorted his thoughts before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t actually have a method in mind, but perhaps we could change the way we are thinking about it.¡±


    ¡°Like?¡±


    ¡°You see, there¡¯s a pond over there, which can conduct electricity. If Breezy stands in the water and pulls the monster¡­¡±


    ¡°You can do that?¡± Wandering¡¯s eyes were filled with doubt.


    This was far too simple of a solution to defeat such a difficult Boss. Players that defeated this Boss with their blood, sweat and tears would likely kill the game designers if they found out about this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I just think it¡¯s strange that this place has a pond,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°There¡¯s a platform there. If we stand on it, the Boss will be unable to hit us.¡± Wandering didn¡¯t believe Lu Li. He couldn¡¯t accept that after all his effort, it was going to be that easy. There was simply no way.


    ¡°This Boss has clearly been attacking from a range.¡± No one believed that truth that Lu Li was telling, so he could only urge them, ¡°We don¡¯t have anything to lose. We won¡¯t know for sure until we try, right?¡±


    ¡°I agree. Lu Li sounds much more reasonable than the other guy.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was the first to support him.


    Because of their closeness, Azure Sea Breeze was always complaining about Wandering¡¯s unreasonable leadership. This was actually Lu Li¡¯s fault ¨C if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he used his rebirth knowledge to lead, Wandering¡¯s conventional leading methods wouldn¡¯t have faced such criticism.


    Seeing that everyone else didn¡¯t have an opinion, Wandering nodded and said, ¡°Alright then. Breezy, go and test the depth of the water.¡±


    The pond wasn¡¯t very deep ¨C when Azure Sea Breeze stood in it, the water level only reached his knees.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even check if there were any monsters in there; you just walked right in. Your IQ isn¡¯t very high is it?¡± Wandering couldn¡¯t help but say.


    ¡°You told me to do it.¡± Azure Sea Breeze sounded like he had been wronged. ¡°I told you to find out how deep it was, not go into it,¡± Wandering said as he smiled.


    ¡°Alright, stop bickering. Save it for when you guys get back. Go and pull the monster. Let¡¯s finish this Boss quickly and try the other three after this. We can still finish this Instance Dungeon today,¡± Lu Li commanded as he clapped his hands.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t even family,¡± Azure Sea Breeze argued.


    Wandering smacked him across the back of his head and spat, ¡°Pull the monster already. Use your bow, you idiot.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze fiercely shot an arrow at Skum¡¯s butt. This enraged Skum, who then roared before turning around. It thumped its foot on the ground and charged at Azure Sea Breeze.


    To start off with, it only used regular attacks.


    At this point, it made no difference for Azure Sea Breeze if he was standing on the ground or in the water. He could still tank the Boss.


    When Skum finally started casting Chain Lightning, everyone held their breath. All eighteen eyeballs stared in anticipation as to what would happen next.


    Only Lu Li, who had experienced rebirth, was sure. No one else knew what would happen but him.


    While using the water to absorb some of the lightning damage seemed silly, even sillier strategies for defeating Bosses would appear in the future.


    For example, there was a Boss that would go berserk when it saw a female player. The solution to this was simple ¨C bring a male-only party.


    There was also another Boss that was really afraid of poisonous snakes. If you caught a baby poisonous snake and put it in front of the Boss, it would immediately lose 30% of its attack, which made the Instance Dungeon significantly easier.


    Under the fixed gazes of everyone, the lightning finally hit Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s body. This initial contact dealt 200 damage, but that was it.


    The lightning¡¯s second jump went into the water and didn¡¯t cause any more damage to Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Haha, it really does work. I only took 200 damage,¡± Azure Sea Breeze laughed.


    It was so easy. Such a small adjustment had reduced the damage taken from 700-800 to 200. Even if the damage taken was additive, the situation still wouldn¡¯t be as desperate as it was before.


    Now, they had six players dealing damage, which caused Skum¡¯s HP to rapidly fall. After a mere 15 minutes, its 80,000 HP had been reduced to a few points.


    As such, if you thought about it, this actually wasn¡¯t that difficult of a Boss.


    Otherwise, the other guild¡¯s parties would have been stuck here forever.


    The First Clear of this Boss was finally taken by Lu Li and his party. The equipment dropped by it was much better than the previous two Bosses.

 232 Deal Damage Firs

    System: You have successfully killed Skum. You have been awarded with a Skill Point.


    The System had made a prompt into Lu Li¡¯s ear as soon as the Boss had fallen onto the ground. He couldn¡¯t help but feel overjoyed.


    It had been a long time since he had received a Skill Point as a reward.


    On the previous day, over ten thousand people had received a Skill Point for the Defend the Meisnera Outpost event. There were rumors that some players had even received two Skill Points. If Lu Li said that he wasn¡¯t jealous, he would be lying.


    This time, it was only Lu Li who had received a Skill Point, leaving everyone else to yearn for one.


    Skill Points were not easy things to obtain ¨C you couldn¡¯t buy them, even if you had a lot of money.


    ¡°Lucky bastard,¡± Wandering said with resentment. ¡°Breezy stood in the water to pull the monster. He put in effort, so he should get one point.¡±


    ¡°I already work hard and I only get one extra point?!¡± Azure Sea Breeze was already on edge from Wandering saying that he was working hard. But when he heard that he was only getting 1 point, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that his points were being taken away.


    ¡°Are you unsatisfied? If you are, then I just won¡¯t give you any points,¡± Wandering hummed.


    ¡°No, no sir. I¡¯m satisfied. I knew you would try to bully me. We¡¯ve known each other for so long and have been through so much.¡± Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    ¡°Your side of the family must be pretty poor then; you don¡¯t even have pants to wear,¡± Hachi Chan said sympathetically.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Wandering had good leadership skills despite repeated losses and defeats. Two points.¡± Wandering continued to shamelessly strip Azure Sea Breeze of his points.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze was left so speechless that he was incapable of throwing any insults.


    Everyone else knew that this scoring wasn¡¯t arbitrary. It was just that he would often take Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s points and give them to himself.


    ¡°Player with most DPS for all three Bosses¡­ Oh wow, how is it Lu Li?¡± Wandering had only just realized that Lu Li was always first in terms of damage output.


    ¡°What? He¡¯s higher than me?¡± Lonesome Flower couldn¡¯t believe it and he pulled up the stat panel.


    Not only was Lu Li¡¯s damage higher, it was exactly 10% higher.


    The first two Bosses of the Instance Dungeon were quite easy. They didn¡¯t drop any good equipment, so there was no interest in scoring for them.


    It was only after they were faced with Skum that Wandering had happily decided to pull out his scoring book.


    Who knew that they would find out this incredible thing after checking the statistics?


    Everyone had the same question on their minds ¨C how was Lu Li, a melee player, first in damage output?


    Pythas was a difficult Boss for melee players because they had to occasionally run away to avoid its Thunderbolt. It was a similar situation with Skum. Only Craig allowed melee players to stand still to attack it.


    However, these numbers couldn¡¯t have been achieved by hitting Craig alone.


    Lord Mages and Warlock Gods were generally recognized as the best players for dealing damage in Instance Dungeons. These players were particularly advantageous for Bosses because of their range.


    However, Lu Li had somehow managed to completely outclass them.


    Why was Lu Li¡¯s damage so high compared to the two magic classes?


    The answer was simple ¨C it was because of his two pieces of equipment.


    One was the LV15 Silver Shoulderpads that he had obtained from Blood Dagger, and the other was the Supreme Three Ring.


    In addition to the quantitative bonuses of these equips, there was also a qualitative effect.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. Just because you¡¯re gay doesn¡¯t mean I am too,¡± Lu Li joked, acting like he was nervous.


    ¡°Humph. No, you¡¯re gay,¡± Wandering said to Azure Sea Breeze in disgust before continuing, ¡°Lu Li dealt the most damage for all three Bosses and gave constructive comments for Skum. Plus five points. If no one objects, then we¡¯ll settle on that.¡±


    However, Lu Li¡¯s damage output hadn¡¯t increased for no reason. If he was able to deal more damage than the two magic classes on Bosses like Pythas and Skum, he must have undergone some great changes in the last two days.


    He clearly didn¡¯t want to talk about it, so Wandering made a joke about it and went through the motions.


    ¡°March Rain healed well and so did Hachi Chan. Although you were lacking in manpower, you didn¡¯t fail us during both emergencies. Two points each¡­¡±


    ¡°Go and look at what was dropped Dreamy,¡± Lu Li ignored them and directed Remnant Dream to loot the items.


    ¡°Fang Gloves¡­ leather equipment. Big bro Lu Li, it¡¯s for you.¡± The moment that Remnant Dream saw a leather equip, she would immediately give it to Lu Li.


    ¡°Dreamy, I use leather equipment too.¡± Hachi Chan felt like it was a little unfair.


    ¡°I¡­I gave it to Lu Li to assign it.¡± Remnant Dream refused to admit that she did this on purpose, although she blamed Hachi Chan for having too many good pieces of equipment.


    ¡°Uh, this is for Hachi Chan ¨C it¡¯s part of a Druid set. Too bad its Steel though. If Hachi Chan can collect a Silver set, she would become much stronger,¡± Lu Li said as he gave the equipment to her.


    ¡°I want a set! I want a set!¡± Hachi Chan whined.


    In addition to Azure Sea Breeze, there was now someone else who was obsessed with equipment.


    The Steel Fang Set was actually not bad, but it couldn¡¯t compare to the Silver equipment that Hachi Chan already had.


    The Fang Set was the best Druid set at level 20+. It was generally split into different rarities ¨C Steel, Silver and Silver from a Mold. These different rarities could be mixed without affecting the set¡¯s effect.


    ¡°There¡¯s also another Silver equipment. Wow, I think it¡¯s mine! Someone help me work out if this is mine,¡± Remnant Dream said as she passed over a Chainmail Shoulder Armor.


    Lu Li looked at the attributes and the special effect before nodding, ¡°Yep, this is yours. It¡¯ll increase your range and accuracy.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll be taking it then.¡± Remnant Dream was overjoyed as she replaced her equipment.


    Their party¡¯s composition was quite simple. Although Sakura Memories also used Chainmail, she couldn¡¯t make use of ranged items. The other members naturally found no reason to object.


    ¡°Don¡¯t show off yet. Quickly check if there is anything else?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s a Charged Scale. It¡¯s a rare material.¡± Remnant Dream looked for a while before finding another item.


    ¡°Give that to me. It can be used to create chainmail that increases the effect of lightning skills. Even if we can¡¯t find a use for it, I can trade it for a rare material that is even better. Wandering, take note of this,¡± Lu Li said, clearly expressing his interest in the item.


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s still one more thing ¨C a Thunder Lizard Tail,¡± Remnant Dream lifted the Boss to discover this, as she noticed that the Boss¡¯ corpse was lying on something.


    This drop completely changed Lu Li¡¯s expression.


    These drops really were worthy of a First Clear. The previous two Bosses combined had only dropped two Steel and one Silver equipment. There were no rare materials either.


    However, not only did Skum drop a Silver equip and a Steel equip, it even dropped two rare materials.


    Even though this Instance Dungeon was difficult, there was no way that it would drop this many items if it wasn¡¯t a First Clear.


    ¡°The Thunder Lizard Tail has a wide range of uses, so put it with the Mercenary Group,¡± said Lu Li. This was something that everyone could use, so it would be outrageous if Lu Li tried to claim it.


    Wandering just took it without saying anything.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next Boss. Didn¡¯t you guys say that the next three Bosses are higher-levelled? Hopefully, they¡¯ll give us more EXP.¡± Azure Sea Breeze held onto his big shield and set off confidently.


    The first few Bosses of the Howling Caves were between level 18 and 20, which was just within the penalty range. This meant that Azure Sea Breeze had received a pitiful amount of EXP for each of the Bosses. However, the other players who were level 22 actually received a considerable amount of EXP.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, the next few Boss¡¯ levels are going to make you cry,¡± sighed Lu Li.


    In reality, they didn¡¯t even need to wait until the Boss. Even the first few mobs that Azure Sea Breeze ran into caused him to cry bitter tears.


    You damned mobs! Why do you have such strong poison?

 233 Blocking Monsters

    Fortunately, Lu Li was prepared and had asked everyone to bring Advanced Antidotes. Otherwise, they were bound to lose members when they were surrounded by the Poison Clouds of the Poison Fang Druids.


    ¡°The mobs are already level 22; what level will the Boss be?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was no longer thinking about how higher-levelled monsters would give him more EXP.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see it.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t want to scare him.


    The level range in the Howling Caves was quite wide ¨C monsters were anywhere between level 15 and level 25. This was before considering the eight Bosses as well. For a player, this was simply a nightmare.


    Even up until level 30, there were many players who remained stuck on the last three Bosses.


    Lu Li actually had no faith in their ability to defeat the last three Bosses. In his previous life, he had been level 25 when he reached the Howling Caves, but he was also with two other level 30 players.


    The two players didn¡¯t help him out because of their kindness ¨C it was so that the Boss would continue to drop its normal items.


    If the level gap was too wide, the Boss wouldn¡¯t drop as many items.


    However, even with such a strong lineup, they still fought until they were within an inch of death when they were facing the sixth Boss, Serpentis.


    The later recounts of players detailing their experiences in this Instance Dungeon instilled a fear for this Boss in those who heard them.


    The general consensus was that there was no specific strategy to Serpentis. It was a true test of everyone¡¯s equipment, skill and positioning.


    But of course, the difficulty was proportional to the reward.


    In the Elite and Difficult levels, only the last three Bosses would drop Silver Molds.


    ¡°Why are there so many mobs? How can anyone survive this?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was struggling to move, but he was unable to with the number of Poison Fang Druids that were attacking him.


    These Magic Mobs weren¡¯t capable of being pulled together either. They could only kill them one at a time.


    ¡°Try blocking them in,¡± Lu Li suggested.


    Azure Sea Breeze scanned the terrain and reluctantly found a position in the corner where he was outside of their field of vision.


    As the mobs couldn¡¯t see him, they continued to move forwards and eventually got really close.


    ¡°Little sheep, I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze moved out of the corner and sent out a seismic wave while Lonesome Flower cast Blizzard onto the group.


    This was a useful trick, but was usually useless in the virtual world as it required an enclosed space.


    ¡°Rice ball, go to the Exchange Hall if you¡¯re free and see if you can find an AOE skill book,¡± Lu Li said then turned to Hachi Chan and continued, ¡°You too. It doesn¡¯t matter how much damage you do; a magic profession player is incompetent unless they have an AOE skill.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re so expensive,¡± Hachi Chan protested bitterly.


    Ever since she had started playing, she had only ever wanted to do quests. As such, she could be considered as a solo player. When there were too many mobs, she couldn¡¯t fight them, but if there were too few, she wouldn¡¯t need to use an AOE skill.


    However, Sesame Rice Ball was more obedient and immediately nodded, ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll look into it.¡±


    With this blocking technique, the group could clear out the mobs a little faster. Nevertheless, they still consumed their antidotes at roughly the same rate, which posed a problem for them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll scout ahead.¡± Lu Li entered Stealth and explored the path ahead.


    After some time, he returned.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to fight the mobs in here ¨C I have plan for us to escape.¡±


    Upon hearing that they didn¡¯t need to fight anymore, everyone¡¯s spirits were lifted.


    The Poison Fang Druids gave quite a bit of EXP, but they were too hard to fight and there were too many of them. It was a task as difficult as fighting the Boss itself.


    ¡°The Main Tank will need to activate their damage reduction skills and rush forwards. You all need to listen to my instructions¡­ you have to okay?¡± Lu Li anxiously looked at Remnant Dream and Hachi chan before saying, ¡°Do you dare to jump over a ditch?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± The two girls patted their chests to assure him.


    Azure Sea Breeze had quite a few damage reduction skills, and his shield also provided additional damage reduction if his HP fell below a certain threshold. As such, he bravely went ahead and drew aggro from all the mobs.


    Lu Li went into Stealth and went ahead, while everyone else took a bottle of the Antidote and ran behind Azure Sea Breeze.


    They made it through half of the cave after minute of walking, but Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s damage reduction was about to finish. When everyone finally caught up to Lu Li, he said, ¡°Ditch.¡±


    ¡°Lu Li, please. How can you call this a ditch?¡±


    It was actually a ravine that was near the wall. It wasn¡¯t very wide, but the players couldn¡¯t see the bottom of it. Even Azure Sea Breeze felt his legs go soft when he saw it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t jump first ¨C hold off the mobs. Everyone else, jump quickly,¡± Lu Li said, ignoring him.


    ¡°Can I say no?¡± Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were both shaking.


    ¡°Quickly, just close your eyes and jump. Watch me.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t sprint, but simply jumped and reached the other side.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first. I¡¯ll go first,¡± Sakura Memories volunteered.


    The ravine wasn¡¯t actually that wide. Sakura Memories jumped back and forth a few times.


    After seeing a girl do it, the boys had to follow suit, as they didn¡¯t want to appear timid. Wandering, Sesame Rice Ball and the others all jumped across, one after the other.


    March Chan gritted her teeth and rushed across with her eyes closed.


    This gave Lu Li a fright ¨C she had almost fallen down. When he had told them to close their eyes and jump, he had done so out of desperation. He didn¡¯t mean for them to actually do it.


    Luckily she jumped from the right spot and made it, despite the scare.


    ¡°Quickly, you two old ladies. If you don¡¯t jump soon, I won¡¯t be able to hold them off for much longer.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was at 20% HP, which triggered his Shield¡¯s damage reduction effect.


    ¡°Dreamy, you first. I¡¯ll follow you,¡± Hachi Chan encouraged.


    Remnant Dream was scared as well. She sprinted for a few steps, but planted her feet into the ground when she reached the edge of the ravine. Her momentum almost tossed her into the depths below.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to jump, then just die on that side. After the monsters leave, we¡¯ll get March Rain to revive you.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t have any more ideas, but he couldn¡¯t let Azure Sea Breeze die.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t leave us behind.¡± Once she heard that they were going to be left to fend for themselves, Hachi Chan was suddenly prompted to action.


    It was easy to convince someone in a virtual game that something was real.


    Azure Sea Breeze quickly downed an Intermediate Health Potion while March Rain healed him from the other side of the ravine. The two girls were taking their time, but eventually took the leap of faith.


    Remnant Dream had already been scared once, so she didn¡¯t want lead again. This time, it was Hachi Chan going first, and after a sprinting for a few steps, she jumped furiously.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    Girl, don¡¯t scream first ¨C you jumped a little too high.


    If she kept going¡­ she was definitely going to fall in.


    If she fell from this height, who knew what kind of mental toll that would have? Lu Li sighed before using his Cloak¡¯s effect and appearing behind Hachi Chan.


    Party members couldn¡¯t attack each other, but he could still push her.


    Bang! Hachi Chan hit the other side of the ravine.


    The person who was falling had now become Lu Li. While everyone felt touched by his sacrifice, he activated his glove¡¯s effect on Azure Sea Breeze ¨C Sudden Thrust.


    He then immediately appeared back on the top.


    ¡°So cool!¡± Remnant Dream exclaimed as she clapped.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s your turn,¡± Lu Li urged.


    Time was ticking and when all of the mobs began to attack Azure Sea Breeze, he wouldn¡¯t be able to tank them, even if he was receiving healing.


    ¡°Will you help me?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± assured Lu Li.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be jumping then.¡±


    Like Hachi Chan, she sprinted for a few steps, shut her eyes and jumped over with great vigor when she reached the edge of the ravine.


    By the time she had opened her eyes, she was already safe and sound on the other side.


    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze looked at each other for a moment before jumping over together.


    The width was actually quite small. It was just that the perceived depth of the ravine applied an immense amount of psychological pressure.


    Before long, the game company would change this part of the Instance Dungeon. They would reduce the width of the ravine and also add a foggy effect so it didn¡¯t appear so deep.

 234 The Boss’ Subordinate Is Also Really Strong

    A large group of Poison Fang Druids made threatening gestures at Lu Li from across the ravine, but they couldn¡¯t really do anything else. After a while, the System prompted them that they had escaped the fight and the monsters bitterly turned away.


    Even after crossing the ravine, there was still quite a long way to go and many more monsters on the path.


    However, this time wasn¡¯t as difficult as before. Although there were many mobs, they were all close-ranged and didn¡¯t use poison. They were also a little ugly, but gave quite a bit of EXP.


    The Deviate Shambler staggered around with a sway in its step. Its appearance almost terrified the younger players.


    Its body was made of mud, so its attacks would often miss. The melee players experienced some difficulty in hitting them, but the ranged players didn¡¯t have any problems with this.


    There was also another monster called the Deviate Lasher, which didn¡¯t have high HP or resistance. The only issue with them was that they were quite densely-packed ¨C there were usually a few dozen of them together. Even a tank as strong as Azure Sea Breeze made sure to cast his resistance skills before he dared to charge in.


    After clearing the mobs for over an hour, they group finally reached Serpentis.


    Serpentis was once one of the best students of Navarax.


    In the Howling Caves, Serpentis wasn¡¯t the final Boss, but it definitely had the most personality.


    Many players thought that this unusual Boss was very sophisticated.


    It lived in a nearly open-air cave with green lights hanging on the wall. There was also a wooden frame nailed to the walls and the shelves were filled with bottles and jars.


    A number of wooden stakes were strewn all over his testing bench, while he sat at his desk performing Druid Mage experiments.


    He allowed some Druids to understand the wonder of transforming into a Poisonous Python, while allowing other Druids to experiment with fast-acting, natural poison.


    ¡°We have guests¡­¡± Serpentis lifted his head to look at Lu Li and the others.


    At this moment, four Wind Snake Guards appeared before him. Two of them transformed to display Sharp Fangs, while the other two transformed to have Poison Fangs. They were all as tall as an average human and had wings on their back, which gave them a streamlined aesthetic.


    However, Lu Li knew of their true savagery.


    ¡°Get ready.¡± Wandering was uneasy as well. Upon seeing the Wind Snakes approach, he quickly ordered the party members to prepare for battle.


    Wind Snakes were snakes that had grown wings and were the descendants of Hakkar. Serpentis had developed a way to control them, making them his own watch-dogs. The four Wind Snakes had multiplied to form the community of Wind Snakes that filled this entire Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°Hiss¡­¡±


    They still retained one particular snake-like aspect ¨C before attacking, they would provoke their opponent to demonstrate their strength.


    Azure Sea Breeze took a step forwards to meet them.


    One of the Sharp Fang Wind Snakes flapped its wings and produced a gale, which reduced the speed of all players by 50%.


    Both sides then engaged in battle. Azure Sea Breeze pulled two of them while Wandering and Moonlight took on one each. The other people all focused their attacks on one of the Poison Fang Wind Snakes.


    One of the Poison Fang Snakes spat poison at Azure Sea Breeze. He suddenly turned green as a damage value of 300 appeared above his head again and again, quickly dropping him down to half-HP. If he had cast his damage reduction skill any later, it was possible that he could have died.


    ¡°Are these damned monsters considered mobs?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked in fear.


    ¡°This is basically a super elite ¨C kinda like a mini Boss.¡± Moonlight made his judgement after looking at the monster¡¯s remaining HP.


    Not all Bosses fought alone. Some of them had subordinates, which were usually very strong. Serpentis was one of these Bosses; each of the Wind Snakes had the strength of a mini Boss.


    At this moment, the other Poison Fang Wind Snake tried to spit poison. Its target was Sakura Memories.


    With her current HP¡­


    Lu Li rushed forwards with a kick, forcing the Snake to swallow its poison. A huge -1600 appeared over its head.


    Counterattack!


    The other players didn¡¯t know that you could do that. As they watched Lu Li, they thought that what he had done was very unnatural.


    ¡°Who else has an interrupt skill?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday, the System awarded me with Rebuke. It can prevent a target from casting spells for 4 seconds, but it has a long cooldown,¡± Wandering responded.


    ¡°I have Wind Shear,¡± Sakura Memories said as she raised her hand.


    ¡°You two can organise those two among yourselves. You are responsible for interrupting the one on the left. I will interrupt the one on the right. Make sure you cast your skills quickly ¨C you have to interrupt it on time.¡± Lu Li had unconsciously taken over command once again.


    However, there was no other way. If they fought this Boss under Wandering¡¯s directions, they would have a 100% chance of failure.


    The Sharp Fang Snake inhaled and bit at Azure Sea Breeze. Azure Sea Breeze immediately felt his body become heavier and quickly glanced at his status effects.


    Armor Pierce, Bleed, Lethality.


    He had received three debuffs in a single moment.


    Armor Pierece reduced his Defence, Bleed continuously reduced his HP and Lethality cut his ability to heal in half.


    ¡°Cast Shield Wall. Make sure the Main Tank is healed up.¡± Before he could say anything, Lu Li had already issued a command.


    Azure Sea Breeze had just cast his damage reduction skill, but all four Druids stopped attacking their respective targets and cast a skill onto him.


    -600, -600, -600, -600!


    These skills had dealt 600 damage even though Shield Wall was up, which demonstrated how strong they really were. After this, the four Wind Snakes surrounded Azure Sea Breeze and unleashed a ferocious Thunderclap, dealing over a thousand damage in a matter of seconds.


    If he hadn¡¯t cast his damage reduction skill, or if Lu Li hadn¡¯t reminded them to heal him, Azure Sea Breeze would have already been lying on the floor.


    ¡°Continue to focus the Poison Fang Snakes. Just ignore the Sharp Fang ones,¡± Lu Li called out to the players who wanted to use their AOE skills.


    ¡°But the Sharp Fangs are so strong. Why aren¡¯t we hitting them?¡± Wandering couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°These four monsters are the same grade. There is no reason to hit the Sharp Fang one over the Poison Fang one; I just decided it to be so.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to spend on explaining.


    The Sharp Fang Snake¡¯s strength was in its ability to quickly apply three debuffs.


    The Poison Fang Snake¡¯s strength was in its poison and Tainted Blood.


    Tainted Blood: A mutated Wind Snake can select a target and reduce its defence by 90%, before dealing significant damage to it.


    This could instantly kill someone!


    After fighting for a few minutes, they finally managed to kill one of the Poison Fangs. They then followed Lu Li¡¯s instruction to turn and start focusing on the other one.


    This Poison Fang let out a cry and spat a green light at Sesame Rice Ball.


    Sesame Rice Ball cried as he hit the ground and was instantly killed.


    Everyone¡¯s faces turned green. This wasn¡¯t even the Boss ¨C how was it capable of one-shotting someone?


    Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s equipment gave him a decent amount of HP, so he wasn¡¯t particularly lacking in that area.


    It wasn¡¯t just Sesame Rice Ball. When the two level 30 players had brought Lu Li here in his previous life, they would be left with a sliver of health if a Poison Fang hit them.

 235 Loathed By The Two Girls

    Lu Li had to shout to regain everyone¡¯s attention.


    March Rain busied herself with healing everyone while Hachi Chan began to Resurrect Sesame Rice Ball. The others quickly focused their skills on the remaining mutated Poison Fang Wind Snake.


    While the monster was still alive, everyone remained uneasy. It was no wonder that Lu Li had wanted everyone to kill the Poison Fang first.


    Before long, the Sharp Fang Wind Snake began to bite once again. Azure Sea Breeze received another three debuffs, but he was prepared for them this time, so he was largely unaffected.


    ¡°Keep at it! We¡¯re almost there,¡± Lu Li anxious called out.


    He was watching the Poison Fang Wind Snake for when it would cast Tainted Blood. Before casting, it would shake its head and select a target.


    Special effect, special effect, why isn¡¯t the special effect activating?


    Why was it not working at this crucial time?


    Lu Li wished with all his heart that the special effect on his two equips could be manually activated.


    ¡°Activate your damage reduction skill if you have one. Everyone should drink a potion.¡±


    Lu Li had no other choice. If he couldn¡¯t catch it in time, they would just have to rely on their luck to get past this.


    At last, it landed¡­ on Moonlight.


    As Moonlight¡¯s HP was depleted, everyone¡¯s hearts jumped.


    Had he lost all of his HP?


    That couldn¡¯t be the case ¨C he was still standing up somehow.


    ¡°Hey, can I get some heals?¡± Moonlight had an ugly look on his face, but his voice was still calm. He was someone who had experienced much in his life.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t die; that¡¯s a surprise,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, looking at him curiously.


    ¡°I activated a damage reduction skill and took a potion. I¡¯ve only got a few dozen points of life left; I almost died,¡± Moonlight replied as he wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead.


    Fortunately, the target had been Moonlight. He had quite a bit of HP, as well as strong equipment, high defence and a powerful damage reduction skill in Petrify. If this had hit anyone else, they probably would have been killed.


    The poor Poison Fang Wind Snake that was already on critical HP was quickly finished off by a furious flurry of attacks from the group.


    The Sharp Fang Wind Snakes were strong, but Azure Sea Breeze was a very powerful tank. They simply could not get past him. Soon, they turned into corpses on the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t loot them for equipment yet; quickly rest up instead. The Boss is about to awaken.¡±


    Lu Li took out a piece of bread that could help regenerate his HP and devoured it.


    His authority was greater than Wandering¡¯s, so everyone obediently began to regenerate their HP and MP.


    ¡°What a curious outcome.¡±


    Serpentis rose from his testing bench and walked over, saying, ¡°Was my creation not perfect? Were my theories incorrect? No, that¡¯s impossible¡­¡±


    ¡°Why does he look just like a person?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked, his hair standing on end.


    ¡°Let me try,¡± said Sakura Memories as she jumped up and ran to the Boss.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your mum¡¯s name!?¡± she yelled.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Everyone covered their faces; they just couldn¡¯t bear to look.


    This girl had such a strange thought process, to come up with such an unusual question.


    ¡°I am the Venom Tongue King. Nothing is impossible for me.¡±


    Fortunately, Serpentis didn¡¯t mention anything about not having a mother and said his original lines instead.


    An intelligent Boss was not the same as an actual person. Such a Boss wouldn¡¯t appear in a low-level Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°Come back quickly, you silly girl.¡±


    Sakura Memories was so close that the Boss could just one-shot her. Serpentis was rather elegant; he didn¡¯t say anything before he started his attack.


    Azure Sea Breeze rushed ahead to intercept him before he could attack.


    Serpentis was about to show everyone the full combat potential of a Druid.


    He first transformed into a Quail Form. Although his skill damage wasn¡¯t very high, he used AOE skills like Skum. As March Rain had not yet learnt any AOE healing, she had to individually heal everyone.


    After getting through the first stage, he then transformed into a big Bear.


    The bear was taller than a person when it majestically stood up. Its presence was overbearing and applied a significant psychological pressure on the players.


    ¡°Breezy, I think this thing wants to eat you,¡± Wandering said as he took two steps away from Serpentis.


    Azure Sea Breeze put on a sad face. He was the main tank, so he couldn¡¯t hide. No matter what happened, he needed to face it. He had to stay, even if he had to tank while kneeling.


    ¡°Careful. Everyone, retreat,¡± Lu Li reminded.


    The players who retreated managed to avoid the ground ripple, which was Serpentis¡¯ AOE stun. An experienced leader would have noticed the signs of this and instructed their party-members to escape.


    Lu Li was obviously one of these experienced leaders.


    ¡°His defence is too high!¡± cried Hachi Chan as she threw out a skill which surprisingly only did a few dozen points of damage.


    ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t fought a Boss with an even higher defence.¡±


    Lu Li pushed her to help her avoid one of the Boss¡¯ attacks.


    Impact: Targets a random player, dealing massive damage and knocking them up.


    Hachi Chan picked herself off the ground and wiped off the dust on her face.


    ¡°Why do you always push me? Am I that ugly?¡±


    ¡°Just make sure you dodge; I don¡¯t care about your looks.¡± Lu Li really couldn¡¯t understand the thought processes of these girls. She didn¡¯t care that she had been pushed over, but was complaining because she thought it had to do with her appearance.


    Hachi Chan grunted and turned away, deciding to hate Lu Li from this moment on.


    ¡°Remnant Dream, have your pet stay by Breezy¡¯s side. Breezy, when I give the command, run away from there as fast as you can,¡± Lu Li commanded as he watched the Boss¡¯ HP.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s tiger stopped attacking and obediently stayed next to Azure Sea Breeze.


    Serpentis then let out a scream which caused the cave to tremble. Lu Li then gave the order to Azure Sea Breeze, who began to retreat while dragging his shield behind him.


    The Boss grabbed the nearest target. Damage values began to rise over the tiger¡¯s head.


    After a round of attacks, Remnant Dream¡¯s baby tiger had been killed.


    ¡°Oh, my Guo Guo¡­¡± Remnant Dream was about to cry.


    Lu Li patted her head and consoled her. ¡°You can revive him later. If you feed him well, he¡¯ll be happy again in no time.¡±


    The hunter¡¯s pet had a happiness value, which would decrease if it was hungry or if it died, and would increase if it was fed or was played-with. A pet with a high happiness value would become stronger, while a pet with low happiness would put in a minimal amount of effort in fights. An unhappy pet might even refuse to fight for its owner.


    Remnant Dream also grunted and no longer paid any attention to Lu Li.


    From the team¡¯s perspective, Lu Li had done the right thing. But to the girl, this uncle had been very unreasonable.


    After Serpentis finished, he transformed into a Leopard. This was the third stage.


    The third stage was quite difficult, mainly due to a despicable skill ¨C Sweep.


    Sweep struck in a wide, fan-shape and could be cast almost instantly. It wasn¡¯t affected by aggro either.


    This was why most players said that the Howling Caves seemed to hate melee players. Such a skill would cause any melee player to fight in constant fear.


    It was already difficult for Azure Sea Breeze to defend against this Boss, let alone the other players.


    If a player was hit by Sweep, they could only hope that they were lucky.


    ¡°Breezy, you stand in the middle. Wandering, you stand on the left and Moonlight, you stand on the right. I¡¯ll stand in the back. Memories, stand a little further back. If you don¡¯t have any ranged skills, then just use your totems to attack.¡± Lu Li started assigning positions to his team members.


    Sakura Memories was a little confused, but she didn¡¯t know what else to do. Everyone just assumed the positions that Lu Li had indicated.


    At this time, Serpentis casted the first Sweep.


    ¡°Wandering, damage reduction. Heal Wandering,¡± Lu Li shouted.


    A person giving commands was necessary. This way, the players didn¡¯t have to make a judgement and could follow the instruction as soon as they reacted.


    After the Sweep, Wandering was left with over 20% HP. However, he had successfully tanked the attack.


    ¡°Memories, move up and attack. Use whatever skills you have. Count until 30 before moving out of the Boss¡¯ attack range.¡± Lu Li was like a machine, doing everyone¡¯s brain-work for them.


    The others didn¡¯t need to think ¨C they just needed to follow his instructions.

 236 The Previous Rank 1 Player

    For Serpentis to successfully cast Sweep, he had to complete quite a few actions, but these were done very quickly. If it weren¡¯t for Lu Li¡¯s instruction, Wandering probably wouldn¡¯t have reacted in time.


    The second Sweep was coming!


    As Serpentis twisted around, he completely changed the direction that he was facing. He then swiped his claws at Lu Li from left to right. He had clearly been waiting for this opportunity to hit the player that he hated.


    Gale Steps!


    The effect activated with a sound, and Lu Li didn¡¯t lose a single point of HP.


    ¡°Pick up the output speed! Let¡¯s finish this off quickly and defeat the Boss in one go!¡± Lu Li shouted, trying to inspire his team.


    In one go?


    Everyone¡¯s spirits had been lifted; why not?


    No one questioned why Lu Li was so familiar with this Instance Dungeon. All they knew was that Lu Li¡¯s instructions were extremely precise and took into account even the smallest of details.


    This precision infinitely boosted their confidence.


    Lu Li had once again refreshed their perceptions of him, especially for the older party-members like Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower.


    The previous First Clears had not happened by some kind of miracle.


    Everyone focused even harder on hitting the Boss. After hearing the command, the already efficient damage output was increased by a significant amount.


    If another person had seen this, they would have yelled about how it wasn¡¯t possible or fair.


    Rumbling Gorge, Stonetalon Mountains.


    This was the battlefield where the advance of the Burning Legion was resisted. The Rumbling Gorge was a barren place ¨C there was nothing herem other than rocks and yellow soil. However, this place spawned LV20-22 Rock Monsters, which had a relatively quick refresh rate. This made it suitable for training in large parties.


    Today, the Glory Capital had taken over this entire area.


    The Gorge¡¯s surroundings were completely filled with the Glory Capital¡¯s Elite players. There were even players standing at the top of the hill. Many of them had a high level of detection, which enabled them to detect any Stealthed-Thief activity.


    A person who was mathematically in-tune would quickly realize that this small map contained over a thousand Glory Capital players.


    This was so extravagant!


    They¡¯ve already taken over the area! Do they really need to have that much security? These were the thoughts and insults of the ordinary players.


    The monsters in the wide-open Rumbling Gorge were being pulled in as soon as they spawned. There was a little protected area that contained more than a few hundred monsters.


    Five mages would cast Blizzard at the same time, clearing out all of the monsters within a few minutes.


    If their MP ran out, they would immediately retreat to regenerate and would be substituted by another player. This player would immediately and relentlessly start to cast their skills. There wasn¡¯t a single moment of quiet in this monster-farming frenzy.


    According to Dawn¡¯s rules, a player could share in their party¡¯s EXP, as long as they participated.


    This was the main method used to farm for someone else. Most rich players would do this, but the game company had no intention of stopping them.


    There was no true equality in this world ¨C those who were rich had a definite advantage over the others. This allowed them to increase their levels quickly, but it wasn¡¯t a large enough advantage to break the balance within the game.


    Moreover, this kind of gameplay created opportunities for other players to earn money.


    However, even this couldn¡¯t be compared to Lu Li¡¯s bomb farming. That was a borderline bug.


    ¡°Boss, you should rest for a bit.¡±


    Blood Dagger, the Thief who made ordinary players tremble, walked over. His eyes were filled with worship for the frenzied Mage before him.


    Yes, not respect or awe, but worship.


    The members of the Glory Capital were unwavering as they continued to release their spells onto the Rock Monsters before them. The rate at which Blizzards were being cast was perfect for the rate at which the monsters were being pulled-in. It wasn¡¯t too fast or too slow, so no effort was being wasted.


    ¡°Boss, you¡¯ve been doing this for over 5 hours. The others are worried,¡± Blood Dagger said as he swallowed his saliva and gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Think back ¨C how many years has it been since I farmed for 4 days in a row in ¡®Fantasy World¡¯? After that, I was so tired that I was just looking for a safe place to sleep,¡± Sorrowless asked as he continued farming.


    ¡°It¡¯s been eleven years. We didn¡¯t know anything then; we were gaming noobs,¡± Dagger sighed as he reminisced.


    ¡°Yeah, starting from ¡®Fantasy World¡¯, I¡¯ve played one game after another. I don¡¯t know when I started to suspect my own abilities.¡± Sorrowless cast one last skill before taking two steps back and downing a Mana Potion.


    Advanced Mana Potions were a valuable item that would never circulate on the market.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that Boss. Glory Capital is only the number one guild because of you,¡± Blood dagger said sincerely.


    Although they were said to hold a 100-year-old name, the Gangnam Royals just couldn¡¯t be compared to the Glory Capital. They had risen and fallen many times. At their worst point, their name was all that they had left. However, Sorrowless took over the Glory Capital at a critical moment, when he was a young, handsome boy. He had used 10 of his best years to create this legendary guild.


    ¡°A thief,¡± Sorrowless said, smiling bitterly. ¡°The once number one Lord Mage didn¡¯t even have the strength to fight back before he was killed.¡±


    In reality, Sorrowless still cared about his performance, but he needed to remain calm so that his guild members also would.


    Sorrowless didn¡¯t like the feeling of death, even in a game. That is why he established his influence, so that countless other players would be willing to die for him.


    However, he didn¡¯t think that someone would be able to approach him, especially under such tight protection. But what was even more unexpected was the player¡¯s skill. He had killed him before he could even react.


    It was as easy as killing a chicken.


    Sorrowless had spent last night alone, before starting to madly farm early in the morning.


    ¡°Bro, I am incompetent, but have we found out who it was?¡± Blood Dagger asked in shame.


    ¡°I don¡¯t blame you ¨C that person was really strange. How did he know Nightedge?¡± Even now, Sorrowless still felt a chill when he thought back to the moment.


    It wasn¡¯t unusual to have someone know you well ¨C everyone had friends and family. But for someone who he didn¡¯t know to understand him to such an extent was horrifying.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked Nightedge; he doesn¡¯t know him either,¡± Blood Dagger said quietly. ¡°Do you want me to send someone into the Chrysanthemum Blossom Brigade? I feel as though Nightedge has been separating himself from us recently.¡±


    ¡°No need. If Nightedge says he doesn¡¯t know him, then he doesn¡¯t know. That person never lies,¡± Sorrowless said, shaking his head.


    ¡°Then¡­ could it be Darkness?¡± Blood Dagger asked cautiously.


    Sorrowless¡¯ face was stiff at first, before it transformed into a more complex and difficult look. He even stopped casting his skills and turned to face him.


    Only a few people knew about the presence of Nightedge. As such, if something had happened, Darkness must have had something to do with it.


    But now that it had been said aloud, it sounded a little contrived.


    Nightedge, Sorrowless and Blood Dagger had been friends since childhood.


    Darkness was Nightedge¡¯s sister. No one knew when it had started, but Sorrowless had developed feelings for her.


    However, he was a reserved person and was the heart of a guild, so he never confessed.


    Later, one of Darkness¡¯ best friends had developed feelings for Sorrowless. His following rejection pushed her to attempt suicide. She then left the country and Darkness had hated him ever since.


    The poor, game God now had no chance to confess his feelings and unload the burden on his mind.


    ¡°I¡¯ll find someone to keep an eye on her. The fact that she is in the Light Faction is no problem.¡±


    Blood Dagger didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    ¡°Oh yeah, what about the person who killed you? Do you know what that was?¡± Sorrowless sighed and shifted the topic.

 237 The Outstanding

    It was honestly quite sad for both of the Glory Capital¡¯s gods to have been defeated on the same day.


    ¡°His name is Lu Li,¡± Blood Dagger said calmly.


    ¡°Lu Li, the Lu Li that took many first clears.¡± Sorrowless had already returned to his normal state and once again raised his Longstaff.


    ¡°I¡¯ll eventually get my revenge.¡± Blood Dagger didn¡¯t feel like he was any lesser than Lu Li.


    There were a lot of reasons for the loss yesterday ¨C the opposing side was a small team and he was only by himself. Furthermore, he was also quite unlucky to have run into them.


    ¡°In all honesty, even if we don¡¯t take action, there will others who will deal with him.¡± Sorrowless was confident about his perspective, and was still that same guild leader who always had the situation under control.


    ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Blood Dagger asked.


    ¡°He protrudes out too much from the crowd, like a knife placed inside a bag.¡± Sorrowless had never given Lu Li a good evaluation; he never thought of Lu Li as a threat to the Glory Capital.


    ¡°If what you say is true, doesn¡¯t that mean that there¡¯s a good chance he will reach the top?¡± Blood Dagger didn¡¯t understand; he wasn¡¯t the type to think deeply about anything.


    ¡°Do you know why guilds look after their PVP masters?¡± Instead of answering directly, Sorrowless responded with a question.


    ¡°They can bring glory to the guild,¡± Blood Dagger replied without thinking.


    Ignoring the fact the PVP battles occurred on a daily basis, game masters would be equivalent to athletes once the competition season came around.


    ¡°What about the elite team players in guilds? Why do they get a high salary?¡± Sorrowless asked.


    ¡°They take on dungeon records, loot gear, loot materials and attend guild wars.¡± Blood Dagger was still confused.


    Seeing that Blood Dagger still didn¡¯t understand, Sorrowless smiled bitterly as he shook his head and gave his answer.


    ¡°The wind destroys the tree that stands out from its forest, not to mention that this tree attracts way too much attention. It covers up the daylight and leaves no room for the other trees to survive.¡±


    ¡°Are you referring to jealousy?¡± Blood Dagger finally began to think.


    ¡°Oh you, this isn¡¯t about jealousy ¨C this is about money,¡± Sorrowless snorted, then continued, ¡°When the industry that took hundreds of years to form is broken, do you really think that those who profit from this will sit back and watch on the sidelines?¡±


    This was enough for Blood Dagger to finally come to a realization.


    These guild masters were tiring themselves out trying to achieve things, but why would they deserve their privileges if they could be beaten by a random master player without any background?


    All these elite teams from different guilds had worked so hard already, but the first clear for dungeons was constantly being taken by a team of random players. Under these circumstances, it would be hard for these elite teams to keep receiving such high salaries without feeling some sort of shame.


    Lu Li was a person who deserved to be hated indeed.


    ¡°Those from the Blood Red War Flag won¡¯t shut him down in public, but there¡¯s no guarantee what they might do in private. Let¡¯s just wait and see,¡± Sorrowless analyzed confidently.


    One could only imagine his expression if he found out that it was Lu Li who had killed him.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know about any of this, even though he had already thought about and prepared for it.


    Many experts were under fierce battle in the Warsong Canyon. The elites from the guilds had all done as much preparation as they could to take the first clear of Howling Caves. This meant that no one had the time to cause trouble for Lu Li.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, what¡¯s the cooldown on Revive?¡± Lu Li helplessly looked at Wandering and Sakura Memories who had already died.


    ¡°Let me know when it¡¯s ready. Moonlight, if mobs spawn again, you take care of one and I¡¯ll take care of the other. Sea Breeze, you¡¯re gonna have to work harder and take care of the rest.¡± This was the best that Lu Li could do in terms of allocating his team members.


    Wandering was a bit weak. Previously, when Serpentis had summoned four Wind Snake Guards, he was unable to handle them and had died. The team had to put in all that they had to pass the stage, and Sakura Memories had even died to protect the healer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as I¡¯m still standing, we definitely won¡¯t be wiped.¡± Azure Sea Breeze knocked his shield and Taunted Serpentis.


    Currently, on the fourth stage, Serpentis could switch between multiple forms of Moonkin, Panther and Bear. This meant that it had the advantages of great defense, but was also capable of casting spells.


    The worst thing about him was his summoning skill, which summoned four Wind Snake Guards that had high attack attributes.


    Lu Li¡¯s estimations were correct; the monsters were soon summoned again.


    His cloak¡¯s special effect activated, which was a surprise attack that knocked one monster unconscious.


    Unfortunately, it only lasted for 1.5 seconds. Elite monsters, especially those in the Howling Caves, all had a strong resistance towards crowd-control skills.


    Moonlight used Charge, which didn¡¯t knock out the monster, but still drew its aggro.


    Two summoned monsters were now left. Azure Sea Breeze was supposed to pull both of them, but Remnant Dream made an extraordinary play on the spot and used her pet to aggro one of the monsters.


    People tend to do the unthinkable in desperate situations and improve through hard times.


    ¡°Focus on my monster. Remnant Dream, if your pets can¡¯t tank it, then drag your pets around with you.¡±


    Lu Li continued to give out instructions.


    He had already decided that he would give Remnant Dream some special training on kiting monsters once they completed the dungeon.


    It would be very shameful if a Hunter couldn¡¯t kite monsters.


    On the other hand, Hunters who were good at kiting were often very useful to a team.


    ¡°Revive is ready; who do I save?¡± Hachi Chan stopped to ask Lu Li.


    ¡°Revive Memories. Hurry,¡± Lu Li replied in a serious tone.


    ¡°Huh? Not our second tank?¡± Hachi Chan had already targeted Wandering. She didn¡¯t expect Lu Li to ask her to save Sakura Memories, who was the Shaman.


    ¡°Stop talking and hurry up.¡± Lu Li slightly raised his voice and glared at her.


    Hachi Chan pouted and resurrected Sakura Memories.


    ¡°Memories, after you resurrect, put down a mana regeneration totem, and once I give the instruction, prepare to put down a Tremor Totem. Is that clear?¡± Of course, Lu Li wasn¡¯t making his decisions based on nothing. Serpentis would only summon monsters twice, meaning the second tank was no longer important at this point in time.


    Instead, a Shaman who could place down all sorts of totems was much more important. There were only a few totems that Sakura Memories was capable of placing down, but fortunately, the Tremor Totem was one of them.


    Tremor Totem: Places down a Earth Totem with 5 HP near the caster, lasts for 10 seconds. The totem shakes the ground nearby every second, removing fear, charm and sleep effects for all team members within 30 yards.


    Serpentis, in his Moonkin form, casted some kind of unknown spell and instantly turned into a black quail.


    ¡°Oh my, it even changed color.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was caught by surprise and nearly threw his axe away.


    As he was trash talking, he received a curse of corruption and began to constantly take corruption damage.


    ¡°Flower, cleanse the curse off Sea Breeze. Hurry, hurry, hurry!¡± Important things should be repeated three times to emphasize their importance. Lonesome Flower rolled his eyes at Lu Li and raised his hands to cleanse the curse effect.


    ¡°Memories, get ready. Three, two, one, place down the Tremor Totem!¡±


    Sakura Memories had been waiting for this instruction and when Lu Li spoke, the totem was immediately placed down.


    ¡°That was a bit too early. I didn¡¯t expect your reaction time to be so fast, but that¡¯s okay. Everyone, just deal maximum damage,¡± Lu Li said as he scratched his nose awkwardly.


    Serpentis used a crowd control skill, which had a fear effect and a wide cast range.


    Unfortunately for him, this skill was now a joke.


    With the Tremor Totem in effect, everyone was only controlled for no longer than one second before they returned to their normal state.


    After using the crowd control skill, the boss finally stopped.


    They had battled for about half an hour and used countless potions to reduce Serpentis to less than 10% of his health.


    This was a Boss with 130,000 hit points, which was 50,000 more than Skum.


    ¡°Lu Li, did we pass this time?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked, still in shock.


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t go berserk, then yes, we¡¯ve passed.¡± Although Lu Li was exhausted from battling the boss, he felt his heart begin to race.

 238 Tragedy

    Boss battles were always a torture ¨C the damage taken from Bosses was always more than what you would be able to heal. This was especially the case for Serpentis. Not only did he barely take any damage, he even healed himself.


    After his health decreased below 10%, Serpentis began to fight in his human form.


    Bear form had high defense, Panther form had high attack, while Moonkin form allowed him to cast spells and summon. These could all be specifically guarded against, but this was difficult with human form as it was difficult to anticipate what tricks he might play.


    Fortunately, Lu Li knew. He calmly observed every single move of Serpentis so he could make plans accordingly.


    ¡°March, dispel the boss! Hurry!¡±


    The heal buff that Serpentis had just placed on himself hadn¡¯t even taken effect before it was dispelled by the players.


    An average team of random players would not have this level of synchronization. This kind of healing buff was different to the kind of healing that players could cast. Each time the buff activated, it regenerated 2% of the boss¡¯s health and could activate up to five times if it was not dealt with.


    ¡°I just want to become a teacher that everyone admires and respects! Why is everyone protesting? Are my inventions not great?¡± Serpentis asked with a hoarse voice.


    5% Health!


    Lu Li¡¯s heart sank after he heard Serpentis¡¯ lines ¨C he was going berserk.


    ¡°Full damage output! Don''t worry about anything else! Hachi Chan, you too.¡± Lu Li accelerated his attacks. One of his Critical Backstabs dealt more than two hundred points of damage.


    Everyone believed Lu Li¡¯s words and became anxious.


    Incapacitating Roar!


    This was a crowd control skill that would leave the whole team paralyzed for ten seconds until damage was taken.


    Serpentis then transformed into a panther and used Slash on Moonlight. Under the circumstance where no healer could heal, there was no way that he would be able to handle the damage.


    ¡°Use damage reduction!¡± Lu Li shouted. ¡°Try to stay alive for as long as you can!¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze reached an epiphany and activated the rest of his damage reduction skills.


    However, Sakura Memories was less fortunate. She only lasted for less than two seconds and was totally helpless against Serpentis in berserk mode.


    There were still four seconds left.


    This time, Serpentis stopped attacking the melee professions and turned his focus towards the ranged professions instead.


    Remnant Dream, who was standing closer, became the first target. She lasted for about one second.


    Next to Remnant Dream stood Lonesome Flower.


    ¡°Everyone, don''t panic. The boss barely has any health left and he has very weak defense while in berserk mode¡­¡­¡± Lu Li tried to encourage everyone, but as he spoke, Lonesome Flower died.


    He didn¡¯t even have the chance to activate a shield.


    This was an absolute tragedy. Lonesome Flower was the second highest damage dealer in the team and was equivalent to Lu Li in this fight against Serpentis.


    Without needing any instruction from Lu Li, Moonlight charged at the boss and stopped it.


    ¡°We haven''t lost! Kill him!¡± Lu Li¡¯s eyes turned red; only a little more than 4% health was left. If the team was wiped now, their half an hour¡¯s worth of effort would be wasted.


    A team-wipe at 40% wasn¡¯t that devastating, but a team-wipe at 4% would drive people insane!


    One strike from the boss took out 40% of Moonlight¡¯s health, even with damage reduction and March Rain¡¯s heals. He could now only take a maximum of three attacks.


    System: Shadowstrike cast at 95% Skill Completion, dealing 300% skill damage.


    A massive -240 floated upwards. This was Lu Li¡¯s best spell cast for the day and dealt three times its usual damage. It was even stronger than a critical strike, but compared the Boss¡¯ 5000 remaining hit points, the damage was barely noticeable.


    Fortunately, Lu Li wasn''t the only one in battle.


    He still had two team members left, so the total sum of damage dealt was still very noticeable.


    Sigh!


    Moonlight sighed and followed the fate of Azure Sea Breeze.


    Wandering, Azure Sea Breeze, Sakura Memories, Lonesome Flower, Remnant Dream and Moonlight had died, leaving four team members.


    Rage!


    The equipment set effect had activated just in time.


    Lu Li¡¯s Attack was raised to the next level, but the Boss switched its focus to him.


    Lu Li didn''t dodge. His dagger slit Serpentis¡¯ throat as he performed a Slit Throat with a high Skill Completion level.


    -266, -12, -12, -12¡­¡­


    -1125!


    -266 was the damage that Lu Li had dealt to the boss, while the -12 was the damage over time from the bleeding debuff.


    The -1125 was the damage that the boss had dealt to him. Lu Li had approximately 1800 hit points, which surpassed most other players of his Profession, but even so, there was no way that he could take another hit.


    Shadowmeld!


    The boss had already made his attack, but because Lu Li used Shadowmeld, it missed.


    With about 2000 HP remaining, the Boss began to search for a new target and settled upon March Rain, who was the next closest to it.


    March Rain immediately cast a fear spell on the boss.


    This skill didn¡¯t deal damage to the boss and provided no crowd-control, but it definitely aggravated it.


    Whether the healer was still alive no longer mattered, since no one could last longer than a few hits. There wasn''t even enough time to cast heal anyway.


    As such, for the team, this gentle girl did something that any man would hesitate to do ¨C suicide!


    The first attack from the boss had already left her with very little health, and had applied a bleeding effect.


    Without panicking, she healed herself once and calmly faced her death. The boss attacked twice, which took up a little more than a second.


    The entire time this was happening, Lu Li chased the Boss and dealt insane damage.


    The Boss turned around and lashed out. If its attack had landed, he would have surely died.


    Gale Steps!


    With the one second of invincibility, Lu Li took the hit without taking any actual damage.


    He then entered Stealth, causing the Boss to lose track of him and search for a new target.


    Hachi Chan!


    ¡°Hachi Chan! Transform into Panther form and run! Quick!¡± Lu Li shouted urgently.


    Hachi Chan¡¯s reactions were a little slow, so she still took a hit. Fortunately, the hit still left her with a little bit of health.


    The little panther ran for its life.


    Serpentis followed behind in close proximity. Once he locked onto his target, he wouldn¡¯t give up easily unless it left the battle or died. Of course, if the Boss took damage, it was still possible for him to turn around and attack the others.


    Sesame Rice Ball was lucky; the boss never turned around to attack him. As such, he had been crazily dealing damage this whole time.


    Lu Li activated his cape¡¯s special effect, instantly appearing behind the boss and casting Cheap Shot, then Ambush!


    The first damaging attack after leaving Stealth from Gale Steps would deal 150% damage to the target. With the overlay damage from Ambush, the attack this time dealt over two hundred points of damage. Backstab!


    The Skill Completion was a bit low, but he was still able to store a combo with it.


    Shadowstrike!


    Both skills dealt almost two hundred points of damage.


    The Boss used an acceleration skill on himself as Hachi Chan also died. Just as he was about to turn around and destroy Lu Li, who was stuck onto him like a piece of chewing gum, he discovered another person in between them.


    Sesame Rice Ball!


    Sesame Rice Ball was well aware that he dealt less damage than Lu Li, with each of his attacks only dealing 30-40 damage.


    As such, he also chose to suicide.


    Serpentis used a long-handed weapon, so watching his strike land from above was truly a terrifying experience.


    -1565!


    Sesame Rice Ball was killed instantly.


    Sudden Thrust!


    It now came down to a test of bravery where the one with true courage was bound to win. Lu Li knew he could no longer turn back.

 239 Dagger Mold

    The boss still had 200 HP, while he was left with only half of his health bar. If the Boss wasn¡¯t defeated instantly, he would certainly be dead.


    Furthermore, Serpentis could also heal himself.


    Grasping the chance that Sesame Rice Ball had created with his death, Lu Li appeared beside the Boss, side stepped, raised his arms, spun sideways, gathered all the strength that he could muster from half of his body and stabbed Serpentis in the back.


    This strike, which was dealt with a fluidity that Lu Li had never felt before, dealt 216 damage to Serpentis.


    Lu Li saw the numbers that floated into the air and felt a cold hand grip his heart.


    Serpentis still had 241 hit points left! He wasn¡¯t dead?


    If Serpentis hadn¡¯t died, then the one who died would definitely be him. After all, Serpentis had an incredibly fast attack speed; there was no chance left for him to land another attack.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s anticipated death never arrived. He made a subconscious swing before Serpentis turned around which happened to land.


    -45!


    This was from a Shadowstrike with a Skill Completion of less than 80%. Lu Li should¡¯ve just found a tree and hung himself.


    However, it was this subconscious attack that finally took down the Boss.


    Serpentis took two staggered step as he held his grudging gaze on Lu Li, then fell face-flat on the floor and turned into a pile of smoldering ashes.


    System: Serpentis has been successfully slain, Experience has been rewarded, Reputation has been rewarded.


    Serpentis was a high-level boss and Lu Li was the only one who had received the EXP. This pushed his EXP bar forward by a huge chunk.


    On Level Rankings, he was number 32nd .


    Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were 12th and 19th, respectively.


    Yesterday, Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were still within the top ten.


    However, this couldn¡¯t be helped ¨C they had spent half a day in the Dungeon, only to gain about 10% EXP.


    Players who focused on leveling never entered Dungeons in the game¡¯s starting stages. They would always be in the wild, training with a bunch of other people.


    There would be elite teams from guilds who would look after their gear.


    An entire day spent out in the wild would give them at least half a level¡¯s worth of experience. Even if they were to kill monsters one by one, they would still gain around 20-30% of their EXP bar.


    With bombs in his storage, Lu Li wasn¡¯t the least bit concerned about leveling up. Instead, he dragged out the battle record.


    System: Backhand Backstab 95% completion, dealt 250% skill damage, target paralyzed for 0.5 seconds.


    Paralyzed for 0.5 seconds - that explained what had happened.


    Shadowstrike was an average damaging skill. No matter what level of completion was achieved, there was no way it could have crowd-controlled the boss. As such, from the very start to the very end, there was no way that Lu Li could¡¯ve stunned the boss.


    However, the finishing move was different. While a high Skill Completion Slit Throat left a bleeding effect, a high Skill Completion Backhand Backstab would stun. This was simple logic.


    All this time, Lu Li had always focused on practicing Shadowstrike, Backstab and Slit Throat. Ambush and Backhand Backstab were skills that he didn¡¯t use as much.


    This was especially the case for Backhand Backstab, as it had a very strict requirement with regards to the player¡¯s movement. The player was required to position themselves beside the boss and had to spin their body, while their dagger had to be facing backwards. These series of actions had to be completed to have a chance at achieving a high Skill Completion for Backhand Backstab.


    Adding in this skill to an attack sequence would waste quite a bit of time. For people like Lu Li, who aimed for a fast tempo, Backhand Backstab would only mess up their rhythm.


    Lu Li had never achieved a completion level of 90% or higher for the skill, so it was hard for him to use the paralyze effect on any Bosses.


    Strangely, everything about the skill seemed right to him this time. Lu Li reflected upon the battle; it must have been his intense focus that made everything fall into place at the right time.


    It seemed like the skill didn¡¯t waste as much time as he had initially imagined ¨C he completed the series of actions required for a Backhand Backstab almost instantly.


    ¡°Lu Li, calling on Lu Li. Did the boss drop anything good?¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s voice cut through Lu Li¡¯s deep thoughts.


    Lu Li still didn¡¯t know how to make Goblin Jumper Cables and obviously, Thieves didn¡¯t have any resurrection abilities, so everyone who died had to run to their corpse again.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t looked yet. I was waiting for you guys?¡± Lu Li said as he sat down slowly.


    It was only until now that he started to feel the sweat and the trembling of his hands and feet.


    Dawn designed this aspect of the game to be very close to reality. Mental exhaustion would be reflected in the body, and included symptoms of spasms and sweating.


    Some monsters along the way had already respawned, but only in small numbers. They couldn¡¯t possibly stand in the way of nine excited people.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Lu Li to see his dead team members again.


    ¡°The loot could¡¯ve disappeared, you know.¡± Wandering glanced at Lu Li, which was truly terrifying when combined with his beauty.


    Lu Li was glad that his sexuality is straight.


    ¡°It takes half an hour. Remnant Dream, take a look at what the boss dropped.¡± After countless experiences, it had become a solid truth that what a Boss dropped was dependent on who touched its corpse.


    Remnant Dream could barely wait; these had always been her best moments in Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Not even caring about the wounds on Serpentis and the blood that was spilled all over the floor, the little girl rushed up to the corpse and started searching for their spoils of war.


    ¡°What¡¯s this material? Corrupted Demonskin,¡± Remnant Dream said, pulling out a piece of leather.


    ¡°Tailors can use it to make cloth and leather armour. The equipment that is made comes with very high defense attributes and sometimes, it may even come with special damage-absorption effects. It¡¯s a pretty good item,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°Mystic¡¯s Sphere. Wow, never seen this one before. The description says it¡¯s an off-hand equipment,¡±


    This girl was always interested in the best-quality gear. She often looked up relatable threads in the forums, which in return, gave her a better taste in these sorts of things.


    Lu Li was struck by a thought and asked Remnant Dream to pass over the gear.


    Mystic¡¯s Sphere (Silver): Casting Speed+3%, Spell Effects+5%.


    These were two very dull attributes, and there was nothing else included in the description, not even level requirements or durability.


    ¡°This item is for spell casting classes, but give it to March first.¡± Lu Li gave the item to March Rain and nobody objected.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t make this decision from a biased perspective. In Dawn, the Mystic¡¯s Sphere was classed as an off-hand gear, which was similar to a Knight¡¯s shield.


    With the existence of off-hand gear, it was natural for the game to also have main-hand gear and two-handed gear.


    Under normal circumstances, two-handed gear could not be equipped at the same time as off-hand gear. Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball were both equipped with two-handed staves. Neither of them could equip this off-hand item.


    On the other hand, March Rain used a LV15 Silver-grade hammer, but had nothing in her off-hand.


    An extra equip meant improvement, and it was clear as day that a good healer was the deciding factor between victory and defeat for the team.


    ¡°Is this item not good? Why do you look unhappy?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked in an confused manner.


    ¡°I¡¯m not unhappy.¡± Lu Li was not unhappy, but wasn¡¯t excited either. After so much effort, on top of taking the first clear for the boss, it was hard for him to be satisfied with one Silver-grade equip.


    Usually, it was very rare for Heroic-difficulty Dungeons to drop two Silver-grade equips at once.


    As he thought this, the system decided to defy his expectations.


    ¡°Wow, a mold! I finally looted a mold!¡± Remnant Dream screamed with excitement.


    Hachi Chan immediately ran up and hugged her as they screamed and jumped around.


    Everyone had put an immense amount of effort into defeating the Boss, so the excitement was clearly visible on their faces when they heard the good news.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the system already reward you with a mold? What¡¯s with all this fuss?¡± Lu Li was actually very excited too, but he had a steadier personality and was able to pretend as if nothing had happened.


    It would be inappropriate if he jumped and screamed like a little girl.


    ¡°How can it be the same? The system was so shameless; all the rewards were LV25 molds. We don¡¯t even know when we¡¯ll be hitting level 25,¡± Remnant Dream reasoned.


    The system was generous and gave out thousands of Silver-grade molds during the Meisnera Output Battle.


    Millions of people attended the battle and ten thousand molds were given out as rewards, which was a pretty high ratio.


    Besides Lu Li, everyone in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had participated in the event and had received a mold.


    Unfortunately, it could only be used at LV25, which left many quite disappointed.


    ¡°Stop jumping. Pass it over.¡± Lu Li finally couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and snatched over the Mold. Based on its appearance, it was a Dagger!

 240 The First Clear Taken Today

    Although Lu Li¡¯s weapon was a little under-levelled, it still had a pretty decent special effect.


    However, it was quite problematic for a weapon to be under-levelled, as its damage output would be low. What was the point of a weapon that dealt no damage?


    Yesterday¡¯s Meisnera Output Battle event had awarded him with a LV20 Silver-grade dagger. Unfortunately, it came with a terrible special effect. After some hesitation, Lu Li mailed it to Shen Wansan to let him deal with it instead.


    Mold: Corrupted Fang (Silver)


    Recipe: Forge


    Requirement: Journeyman Forging Recipe (100)


    Use: Forging ¡°Corrupted Fang¡±


    Corrupted Fang: Attributes Unknown.


    When it came to molds, it was hard to know if the gear they produced would be good or bad before it had been made.


    However, Lu Li knew.


    Every dungeon dropped its own ¡®classic¡¯ gear, which would become ¡®classic¡¯ because of its attributes, appearance, or even special effects. Some gear would even feature in the lore.


    Corrupted Fang belonged to the first type of ¡®classic¡¯ gear; it was famous for its legendary special effect.


    It came with an Armor Piercing effect, a probability of increasing Critical Strike Chance, and a very small probability of activating a legendary Thief effect ¨C Escape.


    After using Escape, the player would randomly appear anywhere within an eight-yard radius.


    This was a very rare special effect, even for someone like Lu Li who had experienced rebirth. Apart from the Corrupted Fang, this effect would only appear on high-quality LV40-50 Thief equipment.


    Lu Li was worried about the outcome, since he wasn¡¯t entirely sure what the mold would end up producing for him.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else.¡± Remnant Dream rummaged for a bit more and was disappointed that there wasn¡¯t anything good left.


    ¡°Such a greedy girl,¡± Lu Li said, unable to hold back his laughter. ¡°A rare material and two Silver-grades from a Heroic-difficulty Boss and you¡¯re still not satisfied?¡±


    ¡°There are still two bosses left, right?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was at a bit of a loss since the Boss hadn¡¯t dropped any equipment that he could use.


    The same could be said about Wandering, which was mainly because he died too early. He also felt like he couldn¡¯t match up with Lu Li¡¯s leading skills.


    ¡°Are we continuing?¡± Lu Li asked as he checked the time.


    They had spent around five to six hours in this dungeon, which was a little over half the game time for today.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it, for the first clear.¡± Azure Sea Breeze was keen and ready.


    Humans are very strange creatures ¨C they become easily exhaused if they¡¯re placed in disadvantaged circumstances, but those who are excited will often light up with an unimaginable passion.


    Looking at all of the excited faces in front of him, Lu Li waved his hand and said, ¡°Sure, let¡¯s do this. We¡¯ll take the first clear for this dungeon today.¡±


    There were still two LV25 bosses left, but most of them had already reached LV23, so they wouldn¡¯t be limited in any way. They also had the best gear that was currently available, which made completing the dungeon quite an achievable task.


    Unlike Serpentis, who was extremely challenging, the two bosses that are left were only slightly troublesome.


    The seventh boss was very easy to find ¨C it wasn¡¯t too far away from Serpentis and there were barely any monsters along the way.


    ¡°So ugly!¡±


    Hachi Chan said what was on everyone¡¯s minds. The seventh boss of Howling Caves, Verdan the Everliving, was truly an abomination.


    Before Navarax had come to the Howling Caves, people understood very little of this creature. Verdan the Everliving was viewed as the original guardian of the cave, who was unable escape the corruption of its home.


    However, it didn¡¯t reject this kind of corruption. Rather, it gained a life force so strong that not only granted it immense power, but also allowed it to live almost eternally.


    As the corruption continued to deepen, Verdan¡¯s body grew in size and became much stronger.


    Now, he stood four meters tall and two meters wide, with arms like giant trees that almost touched the floor when he lowered them. His skin was covered by resin which had been hardened by age, while his facial features were non-existent. It was no wonder that Hachi Chan had called him ugly.


    Currently, Verdan had formed an alliance with othe ther corrupted Druids and had become the seventh Boss of the Howling Caves.


    ¡°This boss isn¡¯t hard, but make sure to keep this one thing in mind.¡±


    For any normal team, it would at least take one or two wipes before they figured out how to defeat the Boss, no matter how good their gaming senses were.


    ¡°Speak. We¡¯re all listening?¡± Wandering was very curious as to how Lu Li knew about all of these things, but he was a smart person.


    If the other person chose not to bring it up, then why would you try to probe through it? Their relationship might not be firm enough to go through such trial.


    There would always be some special people in this world. Nobody knew how they gained their information. For as long as this game was designed and managed by people, information could always be leaked.


    Dawn was doing quite well in this aspect, but this didn¡¯t stop the normal players from making false accusations that were based on their own assumptions.


    ¡°He will randomly throw out two debuffs. Both debuffs are contagious, but they¡¯re treated in different ways,¡± Lu Li explained. ¡°One of the debuffs is called Corrupted Plague and the other one is called Corrupted Sickness.¡±


    ¡°If you have the Corrupted Plague debuff, you need to stand away from everyone else. As long as the healer heals you, you won¡¯t die. However, if you don¡¯t walk away from the crowd, those who stand near you will take a huge amount of damage, and the team will instantly be wiped.¡±


    ¡°On the other hand, if you have the Corrupted Sickness debuff, someone needs to take the damage with you. There is no way that a healer can out-heal the damage dealt if the player stands alone¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Understood?¡± Lu Li asked after his explanation.


    ¡°This is what you mean by simple?¡± Hachi Chan had a bitter look on her tiny face, while Remnant Dream also had the same expression. Everyone else wasn¡¯t looking too confident either.


    One moment, you had to stand apart to prevent the debuff from spreading, and the next, you had to stand together to spread it¡­


    ¡°Just follow my instructions and it¡¯ll be easy; I¡¯ll organize the positioning,¡± Lu Li said as he drew some markings on the floor. ¡°Later on, everyone stands here. Sea Breeze, you pull the Boss and face everyone. It¡¯s simple.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all sticking together?¡± Wandering expressed his doubt ¨C this wasn¡¯t a game where people could pass through each other and stand in the same spot.


    ¡°Yes, the melee classes should stand at the front, while the ranged classes should stand in a semi-circle behind them. This is a very common formation. When I tell someone to go out, that person has to immediately leave the formation, and Hachi Chan will top up their health bar.¡±


    ¡°Sure, but what if the one who has to run out is me?¡±


    ¡°So many questions. March, there¡¯s no way you¡¯d die, and even if you ran out, can¡¯t you heal for yourself?¡± Lu Li was worried about the little girl¡¯s brain. So stupid. I bet she doesn¡¯t get good grades in school.


    Perhaps that¡¯s why the system always looked after her.


    Azure Sea Breeze pulled the Boss, and it didn¡¯t take long for debuffs that Lu Li had talked about to begin appearing.


    The first victim was Sakura Memories. She seemed to always have bad luck.


    ¡°Memories! Sakura Memories, hurry and leave,¡± Lu Li shouted.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Sakura Memories apologized.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, heal her. March, top up everyone¡¯s health. Everyone, drink potions.¡± Lu Li had already expected this to happen. He was even glad that the first person to get the debuff was Sakura Memories. Although this girl was distracted, her reactions were still pretty good.


    If the target happened to be Remnant Dream or Hachi Chan, they would still be standing on the spot.

 241 The Earth Mother Guides You

    ¡°You can come back now. Stand where you were before.¡±


    Lu Li commanded Sakura Memories to return to the formation while he continued to deal damage. Even though the damage output was decreased due to the formation, this strategy was very safe and easier to execute with less-experienced players such as Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan.


    If you were debuffed with the plague, you would run away. If you were debuffed with the disease, then you would stand in place.


    The second person that was afflicted with the plague was Moonlight, who reacted before Lu Li could call his name.


    After this, Remnant Dream was finally affected with the plague. She knew that she had slow reactions and had anticipated the debuff. As soon as Lu Li called her name, she bounced out like a rabbit.


    Lu Li praised her unwillingly because she had placed all her attention on him while waiting for her name to be called out. However, this caused her to miss all the arrows she fired, placing her near the bottom of the damage output chart.


    As for Hachi Chan, even though she was airheaded, she had very good reactions. This explained why she always did well in quests.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t worried about the others as they were all PVE experts.


    With the debuff-rotation strategy, Verdan the Everliving was quickly killed after about ten minutes. However, because there were ten people, the EXP reward was quite mediocre.


    ¡°I received 1 SP!¡± March Rain exclaimed happily. She was always in need of SP because priests had more skills to level up.


    ¡°Anyone else get SP?¡± Lu Li asked, disappointed.


    Everyone shook their heads.


    ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s see what the boss dropped.¡±


    Remnant quickly gathered the loot from the battle.


    She first picked up a Deviant Oak Seed, which was a rare material used in Alchemy. Lu Li gave this to Sesame Rice Ball.


    ¡°Ah, why did you give it to me?¡± Rice Ball was surprised.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one that provides all the health potions; you deserve to take this rare material,¡± Lu Li said generously.


    ¡°Then¡­ I¡¯ll take it. Older brother Wandering, don¡¯t forget to deduct points.¡± Sesame Rice Ball was very serious about the point system for distributing loot.


    ¡°It¡¯s not even an equip. I¡¯ll just deduct 2 points,¡± replied Wandering, who was visibly displeased.


    Apart from the rare material, there was a Silver-Grade Mage Hat for Mages and Warlocks. Since Sesame Rice Balls took the rare material, the hat was given to Lonesome Flower.


    Lonesome Flower¡¯s old LV15 Silver Grade Hat was given to Sesame Rice Ball.


    The two pieces of gear were similar and both had a useful active. The only difference was that the high-level hat had better defence and stats.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the last Boss?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was about to cry because not a single tank equip had dropped.


    ¡°It¡¯s back at the entrance of the Instance Dungeon. I know a short cut, but you must follow me closely,¡± Lu Li replied as he prepared himself and jumped down the cliff.


    Below was a small but deep pool of water. If you missed the water, it would be certain death.


    This shortcut was developed by players who wanted to break the Instance Dungeon clearance record. The dungeon was studied and examined very carefully to find methods of reducing their clear time.


    The location shortcuts were really just common sense.


    After realising that Lu Li was still alive a few seconds later, the others cautiously jumped down.


    They kept Lu Li¡¯s words in their minds and followed him very closely through the narrow road, eventually gathering at the dungeon entrance.


    The three NPCs were still there.


    After turning in two quests for a decent amount of EXP, they followed Lu Li and arrived at Navarax¡¯s disciple Muyoh.


    The Tauren stroked his beard and said intensely, ¡°You did not let me down. Now I can awake Navarax. Come and help me, brave adventurer.¡±


    ¡°Everyone accept the quest.¡± Lu Li wrote on the team channel.


    ¡°What do we need to do?¡± Lu Li asked the NPC as the party representative.


    ¡°The Earth Mother guides you. I need your help. The Fanglords are dead! All hope is not lost! The awakening ritual is quite complex, however. It cannot be done alone.¡± The old Tauren seemed quite troubled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¨C we¡¯re here to help.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t mind being guided by the Earth Mother. Without the Tauren¡¯s quest, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fight the 8th boss.


    ¡°I will handle all the necessary preparations, but I will need you to protect me. The nightmares summoned from Navarax¡¯s journey through the Emerald Dream prove to be quite formidable. Without your help, the mission is doomed. When you¡¯re ready to defend me, say the word, and I shall lead the way to Navarax¡¯s chamber.


    ¡°Are all Tauren this chatty?¡± Azure Sea Breeze mocked him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve done the necessary preparation,¡± declared Lu Li as he patted himself on the chest.


    ¡°Walk with the Earth Mother. The winds will guide you.¡±


    The old Tauren happily nodded and led everyone into the depths of the Instance Dungeon.


    ¡°There might be a lot of mobs later; we must protect the Tauren. Sea Breeze, go ahead. Wandering and Moonlight, stay on either side of the Tauren and protect him,¡± Lu Li instructed.


    The Tauren continued walking as waves of Elite Grade Monsters were summoned. They were all LV25 and gave excellent EXP.


    These monsters were different to the deviant versions. They had all been summoned from the Emerald Dream, so they were much stronger.


    However, compared to Serpentis, these mobs were much easier.


    Eventually, they arrived at a cave.


    A Night Elf lay on the floor in a deep sleep with powerful Nature Elementals surrounding his body. This Druid was far from ordinary.


    Navarax!


    Muyoh stood in awe before the great Druid and was afraid to go near him. He turned around and said to Lu Li and others, ¡°As you can see, a powerful Druid is dreaming.¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Everyone wanted to help out the Tauren.


    Just say it, brother, we¡¯ll do anything you ask!


    ¡°Protect me, brave souls, as I dive into the Emerald Dream to rescue Navarax and put an end to this corruption. There will be powerful monsters from the Dream that will attempt to stop me. Friends, you must not protect me while I perform the ritual,¡± Muyoh said worriedly.


    ¡°The Earth mother guides you. We¡¯ll protect you with our lives,¡± Lu Li replied formally.

 242 Eliminate The Minions

    ¡°Hachi Chan,¡± Remnant pulled Hachi Chan to the side and whispered in her ear, ¡°Who is this Earth Mother and why is she always guiding people?¡±


    She had been holding in this question the whole time and eventually, her curiosity got the better of her.


    ¡°Pfft.¡±


    Hachi Chan almost rolled onto the floor when she heard this. She only stopped herself from bursting out in laughter because of the serious atmosphere.


    She was a quest expert and knew that you should never treat NPCs as actual people.


    Perhaps Muyoh didn¡¯t hear Remnant Dream¡¯s question, or he pretended that he didn¡¯t hear. He resolutely continued on his mission and began performing the awakening ritual on Navarex.


    Navarax began tossing and turning restlessly in his nightmare.


    As this was happening, corrupted monsters began to spawn out of his dream¡­


    ¡°Prepare for battle! Azure Sea Breeze, you must be on full alert. Make sure you grab all the aggro!¡± Lu Li shouted.


    While performing the ritual, Muyoh became extremely vulnerable. If the ritual was interrupted mid-way, he would be trapped in Navarax¡¯s dream forever.


    If this mission was not completed, the 8th boss would not spawn.


    The place where Naralex resided was surrounded by water. The underground spring water here was planned to be used for restoring the Northern Barrenlands. However, it had now become infested with monsters from the Emerald Dream.


    The river waters had become dark and murky. Suddenly, a Murloc surfaced above the water with a ¡®quack¡¯.


    Then another¡­ and another¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t go too far! Stay calm and wait for them to come closer!¡± Lu Li shouted, stopping Azure Sea Breeze in his tracks. It would be much easier to stay around Muyoh and wait for the monsters to come closer, rather than chasing them around and leaving him exposed.


    ¡°There are too many! I might not be able to pull all the aggro.¡± Azure Sea Breeze began to panic.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Moonlight and Wandering will assist you. Take a side each and pull the aggro while covering for each another. If you see a green monster, then kill it immediately. If the monsters are black, then pull aggro and ignore them. They reflect back three times the damage taken.¡±


    Instance Dungeons always had traps and tricks within them, and damage reflect was a classic example. This was one of the reasons why the Howling Cave was a nightmare for melee classes.


    Upon hearing Lu Li¡¯s commands and confidence, everyone felt a sense of relief and comfort.


    The monsters appeared out of the waters, wave after wave. Most of them were Murlocs.


    Why Murlocs?


    There were no simple answers to this question. Lu Li did not know much about Navarax¡¯s background lore, or of the seven great Druids in Dawn.


    The only thing that he remembered was that he could transform into a butterfly.


    The great Druid that had discipled Serpentis was in a deep slumber.


    Based on pure imagination alone, he must have been incredibly powerful and terrifying in his prime.


    A great multitude of Murlocs appeared from the waters. The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had to put in their maximum effort to protect the vulnerable Tauren.


    In reality, the failure rate for this quest was quite high. In his past life, a total of 1000 parties had been surveyed on this particular quest, and more than 700 had failed.


    Luckily, Lu Li and his team were able to successfully clear out the Murlocs under his command.


    A gaming company would never design an Instance Dungeon that was impossible.


    As long as a team had the required level and gear, and each member fought to their maximum potential, they would have a high chance of defeating the Boss.


    Before they could familiarize themselves with the spawning pattern, Lu Li and the others were faced with a giant Murloc that slowly surfaced from the waters.


    Mutanus the Devourer!


    From the darkest corners of Navarax¡¯s soul, his Emerald Nightmare had summoned a corrupted version of his greatest enemy. A Murloc monster called Mutanus had been spawned in the real world to devour anyone who tried to awaken the great Druid Navarax.


    Mutanus the Devourer ¨C the final boss of the Howling Caves.


    Compared to Serpentis, Mutanus could instil fear into players with his appearance alone.


    It was level 25, the same as Verdan the Everliving.


    ¡°What¡¯s the strategy? Quick!¡± Azure Sea Breeze was worried.


    They watched as Mutanus slowly rose from the water and sinisterly stared at Muyoh. It wasted no time and began to approach them.


    ¡°Azure Sea Breeze, go up and tank it. Drink Health Potions when they come off cooldown to take off some pressure from healers. March Rain, support the main tank with your healing and Hachi Chan, assist March Rain in healing. Everyone else, drink a Health Potion if your HP falls.


    Everyone knew that there would be a lot of pressure on the healers during this boss fight.


    As expected, Azure Sea Breeze immediately lost a massive chunk of his HP bar.


    With the support of Hachi Chan, March Rain was able to heal him back up.


    ¡°Everyone, be careful ¨C it might start summoning minions. Wandering, you¡¯re in charge of protecting the Tauren from the minions. Hachi Chan and Wandering, if you guys die, I¡¯ll subtract 10 points!¡±


    Just as Lu Li had predicted, the raging Murloc screeched and began waving its arms around, summoning 8 Murlocs.


    Wandering reacted quickly and casted Consecration to take aggro.


    ¡°Everyone focus on the minions and ignore the boss!¡± Lu Li yelled.


    While everyone switched their focus to the Murlocs, they were not able to kill them in time. After 30 seconds or so, Mutanus picked up a Murloc with its mouth and threw it in the air. It landed straight into its mouth, screeching and screaming.


    Mutanus bit down and began to chew, as blood and chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere.


    Everyone felt nauseous at the sight of this. Even Lu Li, who had been expecting it, felt uneasy in his stomach. The designers of the game must have had weird taste to create such a gory animation.


    After Mutanus devoured the little murloc, its HP bar increased by a large portion.


    Everyone now understood why Mutanus was known as the devourer.


    The other two Murlocs were quickly eaten as well, recovering Mutanus¡¯ HP by 2%.


    They had basically wasted their time.


    Wandering finally understood why Lu Li had assigned two healers, rather than just March Rain. If the fight continued like this, it would take them years to defeat it.


    ¡°Do you guys see now? The minions must be killed immediately,¡± Lu Li signed.


    Although everyone had followed Lu Li¡¯s commands, they didn¡¯t realise the urgency behind them and had to face the consequences. The team now knew the importance of killing the minions first.


    The goal of this fight was to eliminate the minions as quickly as possible, then focus their firepower on Mutanus.

 243 The Boss’ Cloning Ability

    ¡°Oh wow, he also has a healing ability,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said in despair.


    After eating three little mobs to replenish 6% of its HP, Mutanus didn¡¯t wait for anyone to attack before starting to cast another heal on himself.


    This was one incredibly overpowered aspect of Dawn. It was extraordinary to see a Boss do it.


    But how much would this skill heal?


    3%? Or maybe 5%? One of the previous Bosses, Serpentis, could heal himself for 3%. This was the Instance Dungeon¡¯s final Boss, so he had to be stronger than the 6th boss, right?


    They had dealt 8% of Mutanus¡¯ HP from when they had first started attacking him. After he had healed 6% from eating the mobs, he was now at 98%. With the heal, he would be back at full HP.


    Why would they even bother attacking him?!


    ¡°What is this? I¡¯ve never seen a Boss with a heal before,¡± Lu Li said as he ran up with a Kick and interrupted the Boss¡¯ channeling.


    So it could be interrupted¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re the expert here ¨C why didn¡¯t you tell us earlier that it could be interrupted?¡± Azure Sea Breeze lamented as the Boss shifted its attention to him because of his clamoring.


    ¡°Well, now you know.¡± Lu Li had played everyone and he didn¡¯t feel remorseful in the slightest.


    However, his teammates couldn¡¯t hit him ¨C they could only take their frustration out on the Boss.


    After a while, the Boss summoned another eight small mobs. This time, everyone began to focus their attacks on them, not waiting for Lu Li or Wandering to finish pulling them.


    The poor eight small mobs, who were originally quite strong, had just been summoned from Navarax¡¯s nightmare. Before they could even understand what was happening, they had already been eliminated by some adventurers.


    Their last thoughts were ¨C ¡°What kind of world is this? It¡¯s so dangerous¡­¡±


    The Boss helplessly watched as his underlings were slaughtered. He quietly swallowed its saliva, thinking about how he hadn¡¯t even eaten a single one.


    As for his knock-off healing ability, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had especially saved three interrupting skills for it. They never allowed it to be casted.


    ¡°This is perfect; keep going like this. Memories, put down a Mana Totem. Those who need Mana, go stand in the aura.¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t stingy with his compliments.


    Sakura Memories¡¯ Mana Totem had quite a long cooldown, so it could only be used a few times in one fight. If it was used early, it could go on cooldown with the other skills. When this was properly timed, it could increase the duration over which the party could continue to receive healing.


    This fight was basically a cycle.


    Mutanus would summon the underlings, which would then be viciously killed by Wandering and the others. After this, the Boss¡¯ healing skill would be interrupted as soon as it was casted.


    Although this Boss was strong, it was actually easier to defeat than Serpentis with the right technique.


    Slowly but surely, his HP began to drop, while March Rain and Hachi Chan cautiously managed their MP.


    Other than the Main Tank, Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t receive any healing. They could only rely on their potions.


    ¡°Everyone be careful ¨C the Boss is about to clone itself. Breezy and Wandering, you take one each. You go left and Wandering can go right. Pull them far apart; make sure they never stand together.¡± Lu Li saw the Boss¡¯ HP and estimated that they were about to enter a crucial period of the fight.


    Mutanus¡¯ nature was just disgusting.


    He had just eaten some of his underlings alive and now he was tearing something apart.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t tearing a player apart ¨C the game wasn¡¯t that brutal.


    He was tearing himself apart. As for how he did this, no one who had ever seen Mutanus could possibly even begin to imagine it.


    The two halves of Mutanus wiggled a little and slowly inflated. Before long, they had turned into two identical copies of him.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were already prepared. They each pulled one of the Bosses in different directions with their Taunt.


    ¡°Flower, Moonlight and Dreamy, go fight Wandering¡¯s monster. March Rain, heal Wandering. Everyone else, fight Breezy¡¯s monster. Hachi Chan, make sure you keep our main tank healthy,¡± Lu Li quickly ordered.


    There were no differences between the two Bosses; they both had the strength of the original Boss. It was going to be a little difficult for Wandering to tank his Mutanus, so Lu Li sent March Rain to heal him.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just kill one of them first?¡± Azure Sea Breeze struggled to understand.


    ¡°You have to kill both the bosses at once. Otherwise, the living one will eat the dead one¡¯s body and restore its HP to a point where even I¡¯ll feel desperate,¡± Lu Li recalled the previous lesson he had learned in the Howling Caves in fear.


    He had only joined the game a whole year after its release, so the strategy for the Howling Caves had been out for a while.


    Both Bosses needed to die together.


    However, knowing this was one thing. Achieving it was an entirely different matter.


    There was one instance where one of the bosses had died first, while the other was left at 5% HP. Before the players could do anything, the surviving Boss threw itself onto the corpse of the other and began to wolf it down.


    55!


    They had lost half a day¡¯s work in a single moment.


    The real problem was that they couldn¡¯t keep healing for much longer. They simply couldn¡¯t keep fighting to clear out another 50% HP.


    ¡°If we don¡¯t kill the Bosses at the same time, then all our previous efforts will be wasted. That means, we will lose our first clear as well¡­¡± Lu Li was clearly anxious, as he kept repeating the same thing.


    ¡°Mister, you¡¯re being really annoying,¡± Hachi Chan said and frowned. She couldn¡¯t bear Lu Li¡¯s constant talking.


    Normally, Lu Li only gave instructions at the most crucial moments, spending the rest of the time to furiously deal damage. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t consistently top the damage charts.


    However, his cold, aloof style had suddenly changed into a street-aunt style. Everyone was struggling to adapt to it.


    ¡°Alright, Wandering, you¡¯re responsible for interrupting the healing of the other Boss. I¡¯ll leave this side to you, Memories. Make sure you interrupt it on time. I will deal with the little mobs,¡± Lu Li said helplessly.


    ¡°True. What do we do with the little mobs? Is it going to¡­ summon 16 of them?¡± Everyone¡¯s face turned a little green.


    They had already begun to imagine the Bosses feasting on the underlings.


    ¡°Relax, there won¡¯t be 16 of them.¡±


    Lu Li glanced at the funny looks on their faces. Were these people even thinking? How could the game company allow two bosses to summon eight mobs each?


    Even the most overpowered of parties wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with that.


    There were still mobs, but they were only summoned one at a time. Every ten minutes, a mob would climb out of the water.


    Lu Li could deal them with easily, but he also had some additional ranged-help from Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball.


    ¡°Slow down with Wandering¡¯s one. Remnant Dream, go attack Breezy¡¯s one. Don¡¯t get it down to 5% yet.¡± Although Lu Li was dealing with a different fight, he still kept a close eye on the other Boss¡¯ HP.


    5% was the critical Berserk point. Any Boss could go Berserk when they dropped below 5%.


    As Mutanus the Devourer was straight out of a nightmare, it was highly likely that he would go Berserk.


    8%, 7%...


    The two Bosses¡¯ HP bars were dropping at almost exactly the same rate. Lu Li¡¯s previous rambling had driven home the seriousness of the situation. No one dared to disregard what he had said.


    5%!


    Both Bosses turned red and went Berserk at the same time!

 244 Angry About The First Clear

    Mutanus was originally a Boss with unnaturally high Attack. After going Berserk, that characteristic was further amplified.


    In many cases, clearing an Instance Dungeon required luck.


    For example, it would be a disaster if you accidentally healed the wrong person, but you could only chalk that up to bad luck. If the Boss went Berserk right away, that would also be really bad luck.


    And now, both of the Bosses had gone Berserk at the same time. What were the chances of that happening?


    ¡°Everyone stay calm and take it easy,¡± Lu Li said cautiously. ¡°We still have a chance. Sesame Rice Ball, don¡¯t attack so quickly. Otherwise, Wandering might not be able to maintain aggro.¡±


    As Berserk reduced Defence, DPS professions could very easily steal aggro.


    Lu Li said these words slowly and gently, which rubbed-off on the mood of his party-members. They all slowly calmed down as well.


    ¡°March, make sure you watch Wandering¡¯s HP. Don¡¯t forget to activate your equip¡¯s special effect at the critical moments. Breezy, you have quite a few damage reduction skills. Use your judgment and cast them.¡± Right now, the greatest pressure was on the healers, but Lu Li refused to put that on them.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze wanted to trade healers, but after seeing Hachi Chan¡¯s puffy cheeks and wide eyes, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything.


    As for the others, Lu Li could only hope that the Boss wouldn¡¯t deal a critical hit.


    Azure Sea Breeze would be fine ¨C he wasn¡¯t known as Dawn¡¯s number one tank for no reason. However, Wandering had put quite a few points into Strength and his equipment wasn¡¯t nearly as good as Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s. As such, he was actually quite a fragile Tank.


    Fortunately, he had good technique. He was able to cast his skills at the right time and position well. Wandering could probably stay alive for a little while longer.


    ¡°Those on the left with Wandering, stop attacking,¡± Lu Li shouted.


    ¡°Damn it, this is a bad time. I can¡¯t hold it for much longer.¡±


    Wandering¡¯s face was pale. He saw that his Boss was almost dead, but Lu Li had told him to stop attacking.


    ¡°As long as the Boss doesn¡¯t die, it¡¯s alright if you die.¡± Lu Li¡¯s face was straight and his tone was serious.


    Wandering¡¯s expression turned dark as he almost fell over.


    He had to try his best to tank this Boss while everyone focused on the other one.


    Lu Li¡¯s request was simple ¨C both bosses had to die simultaneously.


    ¡°Both of the main tanks, report their HP.¡± Lu Li was one of the main damage dealers, so he couldn¡¯t keep track of both of the Bosses¡¯ HP bars at once.


    ¡°The one on my side has 9806 HP,¡± Wandering said.


    ¡°The one on my side has 12873 HP left,¡± Azure Sea Breeze followed.


    ¡°Memories and Remnant Dream, go fight Wandering¡¯s one. Everyone else, attack Breezy¡¯s one, but stop at 1000 HP,¡± Lu Li commanded, letting out a sigh. There should be no further problems.


    Perhaps it was because of Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s high defence and powerful damage reduction skills, or March Rain¡¯s strong heals that had kept a fragile tank like Wandering alive for this long.


    The two Bosses¡¯ HP dropped slowly and soon enough, they reached 1000 HP like Lu Li had said.


    ¡°Keep going. Stop at 300 HP.¡±


    As the Mutanus on Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s side reached 300 HP, everyone immediately stopped hitting it. Once the one on Wandering¡¯s side also reached 300 HP, they carefully continued attacking again.


    ¡°250!¡±


    ¡°220!¡±


    ¡°Interrupt the heal; don¡¯t forget that.¡± Lu Li used his Cloak¡¯s effect and appeared behind the channeling Boss before interrupting its healing with a kick.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any mana,¡± Sakura Memories quietly mumbled.


    ¡°Say something earlier next time,¡± Lu Li replied. His words were not harsh, but Sakura Memories still covered her face.


    ¡°Do we keep attacking?¡± Both Bosses were now at 100-200 HP. If someone dealt a critical hit, the Boss they were attacking would just die.


    ¡°Everyone focus your attacks on three.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to attack anymore either ¨C it was better to be more cautious at this point.


    On his command, both sides attacked with everything they had.


    The Mutanus on Lu Li¡¯s side died immediately, while the one on Wandering¡¯s side stumbled, but survived. It stopped attacking Wandering and rushed towards the corpse.


    ¡°Ranged players, continue attacking!¡± Lu Li shouted.


    At the speed that the Boss was moving, the melee players were unable to keep up, but this was no problem for the ranged players.


    When everyone saw that the Boss hadn¡¯t died, they paused for a moment which almost led to a disaster.


    Lu Li activated his shoes to give him additional speed and rushed towards the Boss. Moonlight also rushed towards the Boss with his Whirlwind activated. Everyone else simply used whatever skills were the most convenient.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    The remaining Mutanus, who only had a few dozen points of HP left, died before he could even reach the corpse.


    System: Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s players Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Sakura Memories, Sesame Rice Ball, Wandering, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream have achieved the First Clear on the Howling Caves (Elite).


    First Clear on the Howling Caves?


    Currently, there was a ten-man party struggling to defeat Skum. Their spirits were high because they had finally defeated the previous Boss after being stuck for two days and dying hundreds of times.


    This was the Glory Capital¡¯s best Elite squad. It contained two Main Tanks, two Healers and six of the guild¡¯s best DPS players.


    Although a double tank and double healer composition dealt less damage, it was the only way that they could tank this Boss¡¯ shameless attacks.


    As they steadily fought, Skum¡¯s HP was slowly brought to a critical level.


    They had originally thought that they were going to be the first to kill it. According to all of the information they had gathered, Skum had not yet been defeated. Even the Blood Red War Flag¡¯s best team could only take it down to 30% HP.


    Everyone was well aware that the biggest guilds had spies in all the other big guilds.


    However, they never would have imagined that a group of players that weren¡¯t from a big guild would not only have defeated Skum, but also achieved the First Clear on the Howling Caves.


    They had already completed the final Boss while their own party was still stuck on the fifth Boss. There were still another three Bosses after this one.


    There was such a large gap between them despite the fact that they had a guild supporting them with unlimited potions and a team of Instance Dungeon specialists providing strategic advice based on the videos they were being supplied¡­


    Was it because their levels weren¡¯t high enough? Or perhaps, their equipment wasn¡¯t good enough¡­


    Everyone felt a little disheartened.


    ¡°Keep it together and defeat this Boss! We have already spent so much effort; do you want to let it all go to waste?¡±


    ¡°Keep your spirits high! Look alive!¡±


    The commander had to encourage them and lift his team¡¯s morale after seeing their expressions.


    The Boss had already reached critical HP, so everyone just needed to keep fighting for a few more minutes. This was actually quite achievable, as the Main Tank still had unused damage reduction skills and had more than enough mana.


    Unfortunately, morale was one of those things that although was unseen, usually played a key role. It was unclear what went wrong, but soon, one after the other, the players started falling.


    One hundred and¡­ they couldn¡¯t even remember how many times they had been wiped.


    This affected all of the players who were trying to achieve the First Clear. The announcement that the First Clear had been achieved sent a wave of despair through the ordinary players.


    When all of the players saw the string of familiar names such as Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li, they knew that this wasn¡¯t the first time such a miracle had been achieved. However, this time, there were some new names.


    Although Lu Li had previously led parties to achieve the First Clear in two previous Instance Dungeons, he hadn¡¯t addressed one important issue.


    Dawn was not a solo game.


    His powerful five man party would be in need of more players when they reached a ten-player Instance Dungeon. This was where the big guilds had a significant advantage, as they were able to gather the most talented players.


    Everyone felt like Lu Li¡¯s little party wouldn¡¯t be able to transition into Instance Dungeons like the Howling Caves.


    But who would have thought that they would achieve the First Clear and leave everyone behind once again?

 245 All Parties In Shock

    A new player curiously asked, ¡°What is this Xin Xin Mercenary Group? Didn¡¯t you say that the strongest guilds were Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ actually, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group is quite strong as well¡­¡± The ¡®older¡¯ player, who was actually only more experienced by a few days, was slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°Are they even stronger than Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag?¡± The new player seemed really interested about this and kept pushing it.


    ¡°Not even close.¡± The older player was an admirer of these super guilds. He had also just been put to shame, so he angrily said, ¡°The Xin Xin Mercenary Group only has a few members; how could they compare to the big guilds? Glory Capital¡¯s guild is already level 23, which means they have over 20,000 players. That doesn¡¯t even include the subordinate groups. You know, they deployed over 100,000 players to the Warsong Valley yesterday.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± The new player didn¡¯t want to offend the person who was helping him level up, but he just couldn¡¯t help himself.


    ¡°Why did the Xin Xin Mercenary Group get the First Clear? Didn¡¯t you say that the Howling Caves were really difficult?¡±


    ¡°They just got lucky,¡± the older player argued.


    ¡°Also, I heard that Glory Capital¡¯s leader, Sorrowless, was killed. Is he really the legendary Lord mage?¡± The new person didn¡¯t know much, but he added with glee, ¡°To be able to kill a legendary player and still get away with it¡­ it looks like I made the right decision by picking Thief.¡±


    System: You were kicked out of the party.


    Dismissing a party member was that easy.


    In one of the human-spawning newbie villages, a group of Thieves were farming wild boars in the pumpkin fields.


    The village chief had issued a quest, claiming that it was the season where wild boars would ravage the fields. The players were required to defend the pumpkin villagers and would be rewarded with some Bronze weapons.


    This group of players were all in a party, and they were all Thieves.


    Having a dozen players in a party was commonplace, but for them to all be Thieves demonstrated a clear misunderstanding of the professions.


    They didn¡¯t want a main tank or a healer; this had to be some kind of joke.


    When the World Announcement was made about the Howling Caves, they had also seen it.


    ¡°Is it brother Lu?¡±


    ¡°It should be,¡± the leader Thief nodded and agreed.


    ¡°Do we want to join the Xin Xin Mercenary Group?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve come into the game to be assassins, so we need to keep a low profile. If we follow them, then we¡¯ll become famous. How can we keep a low profile then? Isn¡¯t that right, Buggy Bro?¡±


    ¡°Yep, we need to keep a low profile.¡±


    In another less-populated chatroom, a person who had been silent for quite some time spoke out.


    ¡°Them again? What is this?¡±


    ¡°Our people are still stuck on Skum. How did they manage to defeat Skum?¡±


    ¡°Azure Sea Breeze is the number one Main Tank, March Rain¡¯s healing is very strong, Lonesome Flower¡¯s equipment is very good and Remnant Dream is the first hunter to have tamed a pet. As for the new players, I don¡¯t need to talk about Sesame Rice Ball, right?¡±


    ¡°Sesame Rice Ball was a Warlock that we had trained, but he gave up all his equipment when he left. Although his technique was good, our elite party members shouldn¡¯t be that much weaker than him.¡± The person who was speaking was clearly a high-ranking Seventh Heaven member


    ¡°Hachi Chan is a questing maniac and is quite famous is a few circles. Our guild has actually bought quite a few good items from her in the past.¡± This player was clearly a significant authority, as he had managed to contact those who had dealt with Hachi Chan and gather information about her.


    ¡°Wandering is a leader ¨C he has led quite a few Wild Parties. He was the first to lead a Wild Party through the Spider Lair¡­¡±


    ¡°If he joined the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, would he still maintain a leadership position?¡± someone asked after some hesitation.


    ¡°Definitely not. After all, Lu Li is there too. Is Drizzle Court¡¯s President Falling Star here? Haven¡¯t you done an Instance Dungeon with Lu Li before?¡±


    ¡°Lu Li has really good leadership skills, but it¡¯s the Howling Caves¡­ I really can¡¯t imagine it.¡±


    ¡°Even with a strong leader, it is still very difficult. If this was an easier game, all you would need is one expert.¡±


    ¡°If she hasn¡¯t changed her name, Sakura Memories was a levelling madman in ¡°21 Century¡±. She stayed in the top three of the level rankings for three months.¡±


    ¡°It should be her ¨C Sakura Memories joined the game after the second system update. She¡¯s now already at rank 4.¡±


    ¡°Moonlight¡­¡±


    ¡°Moonlight is a bloodthirsty demon. There¡¯s nothing else to say about him.¡±


    ¡°So, the most important player is Lu Li.¡±


    ¡°This guy basically came out of nowhere. He¡¯s about 20 years old and clearly has a strong ability to lead a party through Instance Dungeons. He is also a PVP expert; he uses Manual Mode and almost all of his skills have a bonus effect. He also has top tier equipment. Yesterday, he and a few other players killed Blood Dagger, and even Sorrowless¡­¡±


    ¡°I can understand how he killed Blood Dagger ¨C he is just too reckless. But I¡¯m curious as to how he managed to kill Sorrowless.¡±


    ¡°No one knows ¨C he was alone, without any accomplices. He even got away safely too.¡±


    ¡°From what I heard, the player who killed Sorrowless was an Undead Thief. The information seemed reliable.¡±


    ¡°Haha, it definitely must have been an enemy of Glory Capital. The killer must have been one of Sorrowless¡¯ bodyguards. I wonder how many connections you have with our guild.¡±


    ¡°Hah, that¡¯s funny. Why would we have connections in our own guild?¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get back on topic. If our connections in Blood Red haven¡¯t lied, then there are only two possibilities. Lu Li has friends in the Evil Faction, or he used some kind of item to make himself appear Undead.


    ¡°I think the latter possibility is more likely. But how did he gain Sorrowless¡¯ trust and get so close to him?¡±


    ¡°This person is so mysterious. It feels more difficult to deal with him than Sorrowless 10 years ago.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t just ignore him ¨C the Xin Xin Mercenary Group has just put us both to shame. What does Drizzle Court think?¡±


    ¡°How about we contact them and see if there is any chance for cooperation?¡±


    ¡°We could also block them out and make sure that they can¡¯t leave the safe area.¡±


    ¡°Haha, haven¡¯t you Imperial Secret Service guys tried that and failed? How about you share your experience with trying to hunt down Lu Li with us?¡±


    ¡°President Earth Dragon, what do you mean? Are you saying you¡¯ve never done something like that before?¡±


    ¡°Ahem, I didn¡¯t fail as horribly as you did. You really put yourself to shame.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough. We¡¯ll get someone to harass him. President Demon Emperor, you will take the lead and I will support you.¡±


    ¡°Do I target the Xin Xin Mercenary Group or Lu Li himself?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the others for now ¨C going after them will negatively affect your reputation. Just deal with Lu Li. Even if you can¡¯t kill him, make sure he is unable to play the game properly.


    ¡°If they¡¯re together, should I avoid the others and just kill Lu Li?¡±


    ¡°If President Demon Emperor isn¡¯t afraid of losing some reputation, then you can make that decision. I don¡¯t have an opinion on it. However, he is the same player who assassinated Sorrowless. If you don¡¯t play by the rules, you might be put to shame once again.¡±


    The players within the big guilds didn¡¯t have very high levels, but they did have very tight security. Even so, who would dare claim that their security was better than Sorrowless¡¯?


    ¡°Drizzle Court will not be participating in this matter.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, President Falling Star?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. Sister Water doesn¡¯t want us looking for trouble with Lu Li, so you¡¯ll have to talk to her yourself.¡±


    ¡°Does Drizzle Court stand by Lu Li¡¯s side?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m aware that President Earth Dragon is serious, but Sister Water has spoken and we will not be helping.¡±


    ¡°If you divulge any of this information¡­¡±


    ¡°Does it make a difference? This is someone who got the First Clear on the Howling Caves; do you not clearly see the situation?¡±


    Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t even know that the whole world was going crazy because of them. They were standing before both corpses of Mutanus, waiting to loot them. The Instance Dungeon was also waiting to award them with the First Clear rewards.

 246 A New Form Of Fligh

    ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t move while I loot you. Big sis is coming for you.¡± The little girl slowly approached the Boss¡¯ corpse, completely unaware of her teammates all waiting in anticipation.


    After some searching, Remnant Dream pulled out the first item.


    It was a Silver Plate Helmet Mold. She couldn¡¯t determine its attributes, so she gave it to Wandering for appraisal and allocation.


    The second item was a Silver equip ¨C Fish Skin Robe.


    It had an undesirable name and it also looked quite ugly. However, its properties were excellent. It was the kind of equipment you would expect to receive from the Howling Caves.


    Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s equipment was quite ordinary, so Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t compete for it.


    The rare material that dropped was a Murloc Scale, which could be used to make Chain Mail Armor or Plate Armor. As they had a low drop-rate, they were quite valuable.


    Because they had achieved the First Clear, each of the party members received a bonus item.


    Everyone either received a Skill Book, an equip, or a rare material. Most of them were satisfied.


    Lu Li received a Skill Book called ¡®Premeditation¡¯.


    Premeditation: Instant Cast, 20 second cooldown time. Add two Combo Points. These points must be consumed or added to within 18 seconds, otherwise they will be lost. Cannot be upgraded.


    This skill on its own wasn¡¯t particularly strong. Its use was simple ¨C it allowed a Thief to add two Combo Points without leaving Stealth.


    However, it was not to be underestimated.


    The reason that Thieves could deal as much damage as Warlocks or Mages was because of their Ultimate Skills. The strength of these Ultimate Skills came from the consumption of Combo Points. If these Ultimate Skills were used without Combo points, they would be weaker than ordinary skills.


    As such, Lu Li was well-satisfied with ¡°Premeditation¡±.


    In his eyes, this book was as valuable as a Silver equip.


    Only Sakura Memories was awarded with a Skill Point. The others could only look at her with envy.


    From the Howling Caves onwards, it would become almost impossible to farm EXP from Instance Dungeons. It would take days to clear the more-difficult dungeons. Often, you would need to wait until the players were a higher level than the Boss before being able to advance, which further reduced EXP gain.


    As such, players needed to continually take the time to go and farm as well.


    Despite this, you couldn¡¯t avoid Instance Dungeons either, even if you had money to buy equipment or someone to supply you.


    Only Bosses could give you Skill Points!


    As the usefulness of Skill Points become more evident, even the so-called top players couldn¡¯t help but follow their parties into Instance Dungeons.


    On the other side, the Tauren Druid had finally awaked Navarax.


    The newly-awakened Archdruid shook his head in a daze, while the Tauren rambled to explain everything that had happened.


    By the time Lu Li and the others had allocated all the loot, Navarax had been caught up to speed on the recent events.


    ¡°Thank you, my friend,¡± he said gratefully.


    ¡°You protected the Sweetwater Oasis and fed the countless population of the Barrenlands. Our achievements are insignificant in comparison,¡± Lu Li replied with great sincerity.


    If there was such a thing as a Charisma Value, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be able to compare to Hachi Chan. However, he could make up for it with his language.


    ¡°That is the gift of nature.¡± Navarax was happy to hear what Lu Li had said.


    There wasn¡¯t a single person who didn¡¯t like to be complimented. The key was in the precision of the compliments.


    ¡°Since you have finally awoken, we will be taking our leave.¡± The Instance Dungeon had been completed, so Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t have much reason to stay.


    ¡°Please wait. I have a little trick that I want to give to your friend,¡± Navarax said and beckoned, ¡°Please ask that small Druid to come here.¡±


    Hachi Chan turned her head before realizing that she was being called. She quickly jumped up and came over.


    Lu Li almost started crying.


    He had been the one interacting with the NPC, so why had he decided to call Hachi Chan? She was probably about to receive some kind of special reward.


    Perhaps she really was the System¡¯s daughter.


    Muyoh¡¯s escort quest wasn¡¯t a conventional ibe. Its purpose was solely to lead them to the Boss. While Navarax did show gratitude towards the players, he wasn¡¯t the one who issued the quest. As such, he had no obligation to give any reward.


    ¡°Hello uncle, do you need us to take you home?¡± Hachi Chan looked at this poor person who had slept in this cave for so long and thought about how there were monsters everywhere.


    ¡°You are a kind hearted child, but there is no need. We will meet again if fate requires it. Farewell.¡± Navarax touched Hachi Chan¡¯s head before both he and Muyoh turned into butterflies and flew away.


    Flew¡­ away¡­.


    ¡°They¡¯re just going to fly away like that?¡± Everyone was bewildered.


    He had called Hachi Chan over just to pat her head. That guy must have been a loli-con.


    ¡°The System just prompted me that I have learnt how to fly. Does that mean I can fly now?¡± Hachi Chan muttered, as she also turned into a big, colorful and beautiful butterfly.


    The girls who were there, including Sakura Memories, stared with starry eyes.


    Unfortunately, this butterfly wasn¡¯t flying elegantly. It looked more like a plane that was out of control.


    She first ran into the rock wall of the cave and let out a hiss. It was clearly Hachi Chan¡¯s voice. She then, even more uncontrollably, flew headfirst into the water.


    ¡°Gulp, gulp¡­¡±


    Lu Li was a little jealous before he reminded himself that she didn¡¯t even have the Seal Transformation.


    ¡°Hachi!¡± Remnant Dream rushed into the water and pulled out the flapping Hachi Chan before hugging her.


    Just as everyone was appreciating the affection that these sisters had for each other, Remnant Dream drew open her hands and faced Hachi Chan before casting¡­


    Tame Beast!


    ¡°Dreamy!¡± Hachi Chan exclaimed angrily.


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± Remnant Dream laughed dryly.


    ¡°If we cleared the Howling Caves again, would the Druid still be awarded with this skill¡± Wandering took a deep breath, in awe of this reward.


    When Druids learned to fly, it wasn¡¯t only for their own sake. They could now provide aerial support for their fellow players.


    Every place that was previously unreachable would now be accessible by the Druid.


    If the party was fighting a Boss in the wild, having air reconnaissance would significantly change their battle strategy.


    If you just imagined that the leader was a Druid¡­


    Lu Li shook his head. In his previous life, he had never heard of the Howling Caves granting this reward.


    Moreover, other than an NPC, he had never seen anyone transform into a butterfly.


    Even with his rebirth, he was quite weak when compared to Hachi Chan.


    For the sake of the Crow Transformation, he had taken a huge risk to see Dawn¡¯s strongest Mage, Medivh. Yet, he still had to give up a Hidden Profession in exchange for it.


    What had Hachi Chan done?


    She hadn¡¯t spoken to the NPC before she was called up and given this crazy flying skill.


    Although he wasn¡¯t going to keep a grudge, his heart felt a little uneasy.


    Other than Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan, everyone had a look of sadness on their faces.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave, let¡¯s leave,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said before leaving. He, as the main tank, and March Rain, as the Main Healer, were the two most-exhausted people in the party.


    ¡°Farming, Farming.¡± Sakura Memories was a levelling maniac. If she spent more than a single moment not doing things that contributed to her level, she would feel uncomfortable.


    ¡°Lu Li, when are we going to go bomb levelling?¡± After experiencing the farming potential of the Fool¡¯s Bomb, farming monsters one-by-one felt like a pain.


    ¡°Let me deal with a few things first. After that, we¡¯ll go bomb levelling,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t you have that really overpowered crafting hammer?¡± Wandering suddenly remembered and stopped Lu Li, who was about to return to the city.

 247 Seeing Carolina Again

    ¡°You must be talking about this,¡± Lu Li said as he pulled out the crafting hammer.


    He had no reason to hide it. Players were often murdered for equipment, but no one would kill a blacksmith for a hammer.


    Generally speaking, players would try not to offend others who had a crafting hammer. Killing those players would be useless, as the hammer was unlikely to be carried on them. Players would often just store their hammer in the warehouse and only take it out if they were going to use it.


    ¡°Oh wow, no wonder you can make such good equipment. I guess our future armor and weapons will depend entirely on you,¡± Wandering said straightforwardly.


    Everyone else probably didn¡¯t understand, except for Wandering, who had crudely studied Forging.


    If this hammer could be sold, it would fetch a heaven-defying price, as it represented the creation of countless exquisite equips.


    ¡°You all have whetstones, and you can also find out what kind of materials you need. If you have all the materials required, I¡¯ll make it for you.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t mind spending some time to make equipment for his party.


    This was what a party should be like ¨C everyone putting in their best to achieve a common goal.


    The strength of a party wasn¡¯t solely determined by each individual¡¯s strength, but also by the emergent synergies its members.


    ¡°Can you help us make equipment to trade for rare materials? All you need is that hammer¡­¡± Wandering¡¯s eyes lit up as he thought about all the rare materials that were now available to him.


    ¡°Stop dreaming,¡± Lu Li rejected decisively. ¡°I don¡¯t have that much time, and who knows whose hands that equipment will fall into?¡±


    ¡°Drizzle Court, probably. I hear you and Water Fairy had a thing. I¡¯m sure you would make equipment for her?¡± Wandering asked with a grin.


    ¡°We¡¯ve only had a few interactions,¡± Lu Li said, with a change in his expression.


    A beautiful woman like Water Fairy would often be rejected not because she wasn¡¯t beautiful enough, but because she was too beautiful. People would often feel that she was out of their league.


    ¡°What if she has material that we desperately need?¡± Wandering pressed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do a maximum of three per day, but you have to supply your own materials.¡± Lu Li quickly estimated that crafting three pieces of equipment would take up to one hour. He thought that this was an acceptable loss.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! It wouldn¡¯t be worth it if it was any easier,¡± Wandering nodded in agreement.


    After bidding farewell to his teammates who were going to train, Lu Li started channeling to return to the city and was immediately transported to his original spawning location ¨C the Dark Ravine.


    The trees of the Dark Ravine were just as dark as the sky, with their leaves mostly being a reddish-purple.


    The ground was covered in a jade-green grass, which was mottled with thick patches of crimson and lavender flowers. Wild Boars and Black Panthers could be seen moving around amongst the greenery. It was truly a harmonious sight.


    In the distance, a purple mist tinted the color of the hills and jungle, making it appear like an oddly-colored amber.


    It was evening in Dawn, and the sunlight was lazily shining through the purple mist.


    Countless players were continuously leaving the place. Some were leaving for the first time, while others left because they had died in the wild. Some were confused, excited or even frustrated. It was truly a unique taste of life.


    Lu Li¡¯s black leather armor, rings and necklaces quickly gave away the fact that he wasn¡¯t a novice. A group of people immediately started to gather around him.


    ¡°Expert, lead me. I¡¯ll pay you 100 dollars per hour, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Expert, do you have any spare equipment that you can give me? It¡¯s urgent.¡±


    ¡°Expert, can I borrow some gold to repair my equipment? I¡¯ll return it to you when I have money.¡±


    Lu Li surveyed his surroundings, before slowly disappearing into Stealth and walking away.


    ¡°Humph, he¡¯s just here to show off. He has no compassion at all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because he didn¡¯t do well outside of here. That¡¯s why he came back.¡±


    ¡°When I¡¯m higher-levelled, I¡¯ll kill this kind of person whenever I see them.¡±


    The group of players scolded among themselves and scattered. Lu Li could only bitterly smile; he would never lower himself to argue with these people. He then transformed into a leopard and ran among the green grass.


    Carolina ¨C the Sentinel Party Leader was still riding her Winter Frostblade Leopard. There were two Ranger Sentinels closely following her, guarding her against any attacks from behind.


    Just like last time, many players were still following this Night Elf beauty.


    However, they didn¡¯t dare to approach her, so they could only stare and drool from a distance.


    Like Meisnera, Carolina also had a queen-like noble temperament that made players obsess over her.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even dare to take one more look than he needed to. He stood before Carolina and stepped forward with a salute, saying, ¡°Greetings, respected Excellency. I have travelled in Stealth to get here; I hope the Moon Goddess will light our paths.¡±


    Carolina stopped the guards who were about to chase Lu Li away and sat up on her mount. ¡°Greetings, Pioneer of the Howling Caves, we meet again,¡± she replied.


    As Lu Li¡¯s party had achieved the First Clear of the Howling Caves, he had gained an additional title ¨C Pioneer of the Howling Caves.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you remember me.¡± Lu Li was a little flattered.


    It was always a happy affair to be remembered by a beautiful woman. Although she was really just some lines of code, it felt like she was a real woman.


    ¡°Last time, your party cleared out the Spider Lair and now, you have brought the good news of clearing out the Howling Caves. I would like to thank you on behalf of the Elune sisters.¡± Carolina broke out into a smile, and the nearby players could only envy Lu Li.


    This was the kind of smile that anyone could fall for, the kind of smile that could make the whole world disappear.


    The person who had designed this character was truly a genius.


    ¡°Lord Navarax is a great control mage, but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t gain any favor with him. I have a few questions that I was hoping you could address,¡± Lu Li said, stating his intentions.


    ¡°I know he was immersed in transforming the Barrenlands, but it seems like even he can¡¯t remember what Nordrassil looked like.¡±


    Carolina seemed to be somewhat discontented with Navarax as Lu Li remained silent. He didn¡¯t want to accidentally slander a famous, meritorious Archdruid.


    Some things were fine for an NPC to say, but were best for a player not to say.


    Of course, the only exception to this was Hachi Chan, the System¡¯s daughter.


    ¡°What kind of question do you have?¡± Carolina sighed emotionally before returning to the topic at hand.


    ¡°I accidentally came across this mysterious ring which has given me the breath of the forest. But in trying to explore the secrets of the ring, I have experienced some things. Now, I am confused and I don¡¯t know the way forwards.¡± Lu Li raised his hand and revealed his finger with the ring on it.


    Carolina had a serious look on her face; the prior laziness had completely disappeared.


    She stretched out her hand and the ring floated off Lu Li¡¯s finger. It then landed on the Priest Goddess¡¯ jade-white palm.


    Dammit, didn¡¯t it say that it couldn¡¯t be dropped or lost?


    ¡°So this is it,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°Not his.¡±


    Even Lu Li was confused about this.


    However, as someone who had experienced rebirth and spent countless hours reading in the library, he knew more about the game¡¯s lore than anyone else. He quickly came to realize what Carolina meant.


    She recognized that this was the Supreme ring and that it wasn¡¯t the one that Malfurion had.


    ¡°Do you know how to make it stronger?¡± Lu Li asked cautiously.


    If Carolina didn¡¯t know, then he really didn¡¯t know who else to turn to. He wasn¡¯t a Druid, so he couldn¡¯t enter the legendary Emerald Dreams to look for Malfurion.


    The creator of the ring, Cenarius, had disappeared without a trace. As such. there was very little hope in finding him as well.

 248 A Quest Line

    Lu Li also knew that he wasn¡¯t a particularly charismatic person, so his chances of triggering the quest weren¡¯t higher that of an average player.


    Carolina seemed to be stuck reminiscing. She was picturing herself exploring the forest with two other children, back when the times were simpler, with no enemies, with no disputes¡­


    ¡°I had forgotten about this Ring for many years. You are a lucky young man.¡± Lu Li waited in trepidation as Carolina finally spoke.


    The previous expression on her face had been replaced with elegance and nobility. Although she had a pleasant look in her eyes, everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel as though it was fake.


    ¡°So, can you point me in the right direction?¡± Lu Li asked uneasily.


    ¡°I would be more than happy to do so,¡± Carolina said and smiled as she pointed in the northwest direction. ¡°Go to the Moonlight Forest; Keeper Remulos should be happy to help you.¡±


    ¡°But I hear that the Moonlight Forest only welcomes the most pious of Druids.¡± Lu Li found himself in a difficult position. In his previous life, he was a Druid, but now, he was a Thief.


    The Moonlight Forest was one of the most unusual places in Azeroth.


    This forest had not suffered from the demons¡¯ corruption. It still maintained its original purity and tranquillity; it was truly a land of peace. Druids who harmed the forest or created conflict would be promptly expelled from it.


    As such, the Moonlight Forest was often used as a neutral ground for conferences between the Alliance and the Horde. Tauren would often come here to seek advice from Night Elves or Druids.


    Although the surroundings were quiet and serene, most Druids would constantly feel anxious here. Recently, an unknown assassin had attacked Remulos, causing him to fall into an unresponsive state due to nerve damage. When they saw that the Cenarion Circle¡¯s enemies were this powerful, the Druids were left in fear and suspicion.


    As such, apart from the Druids, no other profession was allowed in this place, not even Priests.


    Being a Thief, Lu Li felt his heart freeze over.


    If there was any profession that would be mercilessly killed as soon as they stepped into the Moonlight Forest, it would definitely be a Thief, right?


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Carolina suddenly realised. ¡°I had almost forgotten about that.¡±


    Lu Li helplessly felt some contempt. Her negligence was inconsequential for her, but he had almost lost his life because of it.


    ¡°This should do it.¡± Carolina placed her delicate hands on Lu Li¡¯s head and a crescent-like badge condensed from the light onto Lu Li¡¯s shoulder.


    The system then prompted him that he had received the Priestess¡¯ Blessing, granting him safe passage in the Moonlight Forest.


    The perverts drooled as they saw this. They were dumbfounded as they witnessed this direct contact between the Goddess and the Thief.


    Although Carolina was dressed skimpily, there was nothing the players could do about it. Countless perverts were killed every day by the guards following her. These players couldn¡¯t even come within a 5-yard radius of her.


    ¡°¡­¡± Lu Li was touched.


    Of course, this was not because a female Goddess had touched him.


    Rather, it was because of the Priestess¡¯ Blessing. With this, he would now be able to access any Night Elf location. Even polite treatment within the Moonlight Forest as a Thief was now possible.


    Moreover, only LV30+ Druids could transport to the Moonlight Forest. Other players were required to physically travel to the location.


    Without considering the distance, it was still a very dangerous journey. There was also a toxic cloud that hung over the forest, so he absolutely could not fly over the dangers.


    A LV30 requirement had been easily fulfilled with a single touch from Carolina.


    ¡°Thank you for your generosity, Queen of the Nightwalkers,¡± Lu Li saluted gratefully.


    ¡°I hope that your journey is smooth, brave adventurer,¡± Carolina said, as she caressed the Frostblade Leopard.


    ¡°For the glory of the moon.¡± Lu Li took two steps backwards before leaving.


    Throughout their whole encounter, Lu Li didn¡¯t pay much attention to her physical appearance, despite her elegant movements. Her pale, slender body was usually a strong, male hormone activator.


    As someone who had already been shut out by the Tauren, he never wanted to offend an NPC again.


    This was especially the case for Tyrande, the person before him.


    If he offended her, he would become an enemy to all Night Elves.


    Teleport: Moonlight Forest. Teleports the user to the Moonlight Forest. Will send caster back to their original position if cast within the Moonlight Forest. Usage: 5/5.


    This was not a regular skill. Rather, it was a temporary skill that had a restricted number of uses.


    There were only 5 uses, but this was more than enough for Lu Li.


    As he cast the skill, he disappeared from the Dark Ravine.


    Lu Li always had a bounty on his head; there was always a reward hanging under his name. Anyone could access Bounty Quests, so his movements were never really a secret.


    ¡°Why did he return to the Dark Ravine?¡± Because he was an expert, Lu Li¡¯s movements were always being monitored.


    After the inter-guild alliance meeting, this surveillance had become even more intense.


    Before the pawns could be contacted to confirm that Lu Li was indeed in the newbie village, his coordinates had suddenly appeared in an unknown location.


    Player maps could be shared; there were even some players who would specialize in drafting maps for money.


    For only a few gold, you would be able to purchase almost all of the entire current maximum map range.


    The players who were tasked with surveillance were all well off, so this little bit of money didn¡¯t mean much to them. However, they all received the same message ¨C Lu Li had travelled to an unknown area.


    Exploring new areas generally yielded ludicrous rewards, so when the bosses heard that Lu Li was in one, they couldn¡¯t help but feel intolerably jealous.


    When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with an emerald light radiating from the moonlight lake.


    It was said that this place had received the Moon¡¯s blessing and as such, contained Dawn¡¯s most beautiful scenery. Many players often felt nostalgic in this place and some even made Nighthaven their permanent home.


    However, this was no easy task. Even after farming Prestige for a month, you still wouldn¡¯t necessarily meet the criteria for becoming a resident in Nighthaven.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t needed to farm Prestige, as he was a Druid in his previous life.


    To him, this place was the same as the Dark Ravine.


    There were two Druids at the transport point ¨C a Tauren and a Night Elf. They looked anxious when they saw Lu Li appear, but when they noticed the badge on his shoulder, they both bowed with respect.


    He had been granted complete access.


    Keeper Remulos resided in the Temple of Remulos near Nighthaven.


    When Lu Li found him, he was in a deep sleep on the ground.


    He had the body of a deer ¨C very similar to Cenarius. Some records claimed that he was the son of Cenarius, while others claimed that he was Cenarius¡¯ disciple. Regardless, he held an unusual position in the Cenarion Circle.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to wake him up. Instead, he turned into a Cheetah and sat next to Remulos¡¯ body.


    Two to three hours passed while he waited for Remulos.

 249 Keeper Of The Grove

    As the sun began to set, soft sunlight penetrated through the gaps of the trees and onto the green grass, illuminating it like a beautiful gem.


    Collectors who admired this beautiful sight gathered wild plants and flowers, but as soon as they left the Moonlight Forest, the plants and flowers lost their charm.


    This was the Moonlight Forest; the closest place to the world of Emerald Dreams.


    ¡°Child, how long have you been waiting? It must¡¯ve been boring,¡± said a man with the body of a deer and a pair of long antlers. He shook his head to the left and right as he stood up from the ground.


    ¡°Not for long; I was listening to the whispers of the wind as it blew past the treetops.¡±


    Lu Li returned to his human form as he exchanged formalities in the elven way.


    ¡°You¡¯re a thief,¡± Remulos was surprised as he spoke. ¡°I thought you were a druid.¡±


    ¡°I occasionally study the ways of nature,¡± Lu Li replied, trying his best to build a connection.


    Trying to connect with Remulos through Carolina was clearly an unrealistic choice. Remulos was the grandchild of Elune while Carolina was only a servant to Elune.


    Of course, this was only an analogy.


    ¡°This must be the work of a Moon Priestess. It would be hard for you to tread in the Moonlight Forest otherwise,¡± Remulos reasoned, as he pointed at the mark on Lu Li¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I received her help in order to come here and seek advice about this ring.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what do I see here?¡± Remulos finally began to see Lu Li in a new light; he took a step forward to take a closer look at the ring.


    ¡°Do you know how to make the ring grow stronger?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Possibly. I once followed a demigod and happen to have some knowledge about rings.¡±


    With his twig-like fingers, Remulos carefully poked at the Supreme Ring, which radiated a green light.


    He¡¯s not going to rob me, is he?


    Lu Li was slightly anxious as he looked at Remulos¡¯ expression.


    Luckily, Remulos had no intention of taking the ring; he was only amazed by it as he spoke, ¡°Surprisingly, it¡¯s been levelled up twice ¨C once by the Twilight Altar and the other by the Altar of Tides. You have been very fortunate.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your praises; all glory to Elune,¡± Lu Li humbly replied.


    ¡°However, the Twilight Altar wasn¡¯t complete and the Altar of Tides was too crude. Thank goodness you¡¯ve slain many evil spirits, or else it would be hard to imagine what would become of this ring.¡±


    After a quick change in the topic, Remulos continued in a pitiful manner.


    Lu Li felt a chill of disappointment as his emotions bubbled over in his heart.


    ¡°Pardon me, if I were to compare this ring to Malfurion¡¯s ring¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­¡­ That would be a great difference to compare. What the Archdruid received was the inheritance of nature; he also eliminated countless demons.¡±


    Remulos seemed to find this funny and rose his head in laughter.


    ¡°So, it was wrong from the beginning,¡± Lu Li said in dismay.


    ¡°No, no, you¡¯re looking at this from the wrong perspective; you¡¯ve already managed to surprise me with what you¡¯ve achieved in your current state. Everyone has a different path to walk, child. There is really no need for you to compare yourself with those who are born to be great,¡± Remulos gently said as he smiled.


    ¡°It will only make you lose sight of the path that¡¯s ahead of you.¡±


    ¡°Then, what should I do next?¡± Lu Li was quick to pick his emotions back up.


    After his rebirth, he had walked this path step by step; he had given his all for the Supreme Ring.


    As long as one tries their best, there¡¯s no need to be disheartened, even if the outcome isn¡¯t perfect.


    Remulos was very satisfied with Lu Li¡¯s behaviour; he nodded his head and asked, ¡°Before I give you any ideas, I¡¯d like to first understand; what have you acquired so far from this ring?¡±


    ¡°I can transform into a seal, I¡¯ve dove deep into the abyss to slay Illidan¡¯s shadow, I can transform into a child of the forest¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Child of the forest? You must be referring to your previous form in the beginning. It looked so realistic that it fooled me into thinking you were a druid.¡±


    Remulos shook the tail of his deer body and spoke in a gentle manner.


    ¡°When I transformed into a child of the forest, I learned to move in stealth. I¡¯ve also learnt Stampeding Roar and the ring has also improved my stealth abilities.¡±


    Lu Li was very honest and didn¡¯t mind displaying his strength to the druid.


    ¡°This is indeed the most suitable pathway for you,¡± Remulos approved.


    ¡°I¡¯m also capable of flying.¡±


    Lu Li thought for a bit and transformed into a crow.


    This time, Remulos didn¡¯t continue to compliment Lu Li but circled him repeatedly, obviously astonished by the dark red crow.


    ¡°Transform back, transform back. Let¡¯s keep talking.¡±


    Lu Li followed his instructions and went back into his human form.


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll both transform to this,¡± Remulos said as he transformed into a child of the forest ¨C a little, golden cheetah, slightly bigger than Lu Li and with many inscriptions on his body.


    These were markings that belonged to the Keepers of the Grove and allowed them to unleash great power while inside the forest.


    Two cheetahs crouched together as they chattered away. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Lu Li had already interacted with this guy in his previous life, he would¡¯ve viewed Remulos as a joke.


    ¡°Overall, even though some of this ring¡¯s potential has been wasted, there is no doubt that it suits you. You¡¯ve done well, now, what new abilities are you hoping to gain next?¡± Remulos asked.


    The ring is designable?


    Lu Li was shocked. At this point in time, his experience from his previous life was no longer helpful. Azure Sea Breeze was also not a source of information he could refer to. Although he had spent two to three years upgrading the ring, he had never reached this stage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there. Don¡¯t you have any attributes or special effects that you want? Even profession skills are fine, but of course, these are limited to skills from the Druid profession.¡±


    Remulos¡¯ voice was laced with temptation.


    ¡°Anything?¡± Lu Li found it unbelievable.


    ¡°Almost anything. There are still somethings that are unachievable. For example, if you want to turn into a girl, or if you want to kill Sargeras with one strike, I can¡¯t help you with that,¡± Remulos replied, as a grin slowly crept across his face.


    ¡°I only wish to make this ring more suitable for my Thief profession.¡±


    This was truly Lu Li¡¯s only goal.


    He wasn¡¯t a bugged NPC created by the system who could play multiple classes. Neither did he feel like he was supposed to have anything that he wanted just because he had been reincarnated. He barely had enough skill points and he had also learned a precious lesson from those hidden classes.


    It was hard to focus and excel when there was too much going on at once.


    ¡°That¡¯s a real shame. It¡¯s definitely possible for you to become a Ranger, or a Druid,¡± Remulos sighed as Lu Li figured out his intentions.


    ¡°I tread in the shadows, but I will never bow down to evil,¡± Lu Li replied carefully.


    He wasn¡¯t scared of being killed ¨C he was a player and could revive. He was only afraid of angering Remulos and having him steal his ring.


    The ¡®unable to drop, unable to destroy¡¯ description meant nothing to a bugged NPC.


    ¡°Yes, you have a courageous and righteous spirit, otherwise, there was no way that the Moon Priestess would favor you. Come, let me show you the way to upgrade this ring and as you wish, it will help you master the shadows,¡± Remulos, the Keeper of the Grove said.

 250 Nightmare Dungeon Ques

    Mastering the shadows had never been on Lu Li¡¯s mind. He was never confident about his luck and only wished to maintain the advantages of the Supreme Ring.


    Special effects aside, the attribute of Critical Strike +25% had already satisfied him.


    ¡°As a token of my gratitude, I¡¯m willing to do whatever I can within my powers to repay your generosity.¡±


    It wouldn¡¯t be right to believe that a price did not have to be paid, as nothing comes for free.


    If Lu Li didn¡¯t give anything this time, he would lose Remulos¡¯ good impression of him, even if the ring was to be upgraded to level four.


    Even Carolina would be disappointed with Lu Li.


    Remulos looked at Lu Li and weird, yet enchanting smile crept across his face. Remulos and his kind had always been very graceful and charming.


    Otherwise, there would be no way for a Goddess like Elune, a Goddess who overlooked all mortals, to show affection towards Malorne, The White Stag.


    ¡°You¡¯re such a gorgeous Thief. Little one, your persistence has touched me; let¡¯s talk first about how to upgrade this ring. Father¡¯s work shouldn¡¯t be sealed under the abyss.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ready to listen,¡± Lu Li said in relief.


    ¡°People call it The Supreme Ring, but this name originated from a joke. Its real name is actually &%£¤*&¡­¡­¡± Remulos spoke of the name using ancient Ent language, which was hard to decipher. He knew that Lu Li didn¡¯t understand, so he continued with his explanation, ¡°It means Slaughterer; it exists to kill. Do you understand that?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Lu Li silently repeated the word ¡®Slaughterer¡¯. It felt no different to The Supreme Ring; both were just names anyway.


    ¡°The sides of this ring are a Moonflower. Illidan requested for this engraving to be done. Do you know of Illidan?¡± Being the son of Cenarius, Remulos had existed for a very long time and had lived more than ten thousand years.As such, he was aware of the love and hate stories that revolved around these few people.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about them.¡±


    Lu Li suppressed his shock and told Remulos about his knowledge of Illidan.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know so much, little one. This ring belongs to Illidan and not Malfurion; you must understand this,¡± Remulos said in a serious tone.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Lu Li laughed bitterly on the inside; he was the one that had killed Illidan, or to be exact, Illidan¡¯s shadow, many times.


    ¡°This ring has been contaminated with Illidan¡¯s obsessions. Surely, you¡¯ve met his shadow,¡± Remulos lamented. ¡°We won¡¯t discuss what went on between them. I just wanted to tell you that this ring belonged to Illidan; it was made to slaughter.¡±


    ¡°Your teachings will be remembered; I will always be standing on the opposing side of the Burning Legion.¡± Lu Li acknowledged what Remulos was trying to say; it would be a waste of all the history he had studied in the past if he didn¡¯t understand what was being said to him.


    ¡°In order to upgrade the ring to level four, you must gather the blood of forty bosses after their death. The more bosses you kill from races of the Burning Legion, the better the ring become for you,¡± Remulos said.


    Lu Li¡¯s heart sank upon hearing the upgrade conditions.


    Wasn¡¯t this asking for a little too much?


    Forty bosses wouldn¡¯t be too hard to find, even if they were all different. If there weren¡¯t enough bosses in shared dungeons, it was still possible to complete the task by using dungeon scrolls for private dungeons/ What was hard about the task was the demon bosses of the Burning Legion. Demon-type bosses were never easy to find.


    There were some in The Fire Scar Temple, but nowhere near the required total of forty.


    There were only a small number of low level dungeons that had anything to do with the Burning Legion.


    While Lu Li remained expressionless, Remulos didn¡¯t pause and said, ¡°Some materials are also required. Those Worgens are a ferocious and greedy bunch.¡±


    Lu Li was already mentally prepared for this. ¡°How am I supposed to find out what materials they need?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Druids of the Moonlight Forest have traded with them in the past and are allowed to borrow their Blood Fang Altar. For the foreseeable future, this altar should be the most suitable for you to upgrade your ring. All you need to do is prepare the following materials, and I will send someone with you to trade with the Worgen.¡±


    As he spoke, Remulos brought out a piece of leaf inscribed with words.


    Lu Li took the leaf and looked; his brows began to lock themselves together.


    Two Dreadtusks, two Plagued Spring, two Glutton Shackle, two¡­¡­


    Altogether, it was a list of at least sixteen types of rare materials.


    Besides these, a Gold-grade casting medium was also needed.


    Even though these were all materials that were hard to obtain, Lu Li felt relieved after he received the list.


    The aimless feeling that had dwelled within him over the past few days was gone.


    People need a goal to pursue in order to live life to the fullest.


    These were all materials that were challenging to find, but he had been reincarnated, which gave him some slight advantages. For example, he knew that he could find the Glutton Shackle in the Shadowfang Keep. As for the Plagued Spring, he knew a boss in the wild that had a slight chance of dropping it.


    Even if he didn¡¯t know where to find everything, his rebirth had already saved him from a lot of research.


    A difficult goal was better than having no goal at all.


    If he couldn¡¯t find a way to upgrade the ring, Lu Li had no idea what would happen to him. As players continued to level and obtain better gear, a level three ring was bound to be outclassed out at some point.


    ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re truly remarkable, Keeper of the Grove,¡± Lu Li said, expressing his gratitude sincerely.


    ¡°You¡¯re the most courageous elf adventurer I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    Remulos nodded his head in satisfaction. In all honesty, Lu Li was the only adventurer head had ever seen. ¡°I have one more request to ask of you; are you willing to accept it?¡±


    Nothing comes for free and it was inevitable that quests had to be completed.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t mind doing quests, especially since Remulos has provided him with guidance. Even if there were no rewards for this quest, he will still give his all to complete it.


    ¡°Blackfathom is located in The Zoram Strand of the Grey Valley. It was once a splendorous shrine that worshipped the great Moon Goddess Elune. However, the shrine fell during the explosion of the Sunwell and sank into the deep surges of The Veiled Sea. Now, some Satyr and Nagas have discovered and tainted it.¡± Remulos pulled a scroll out of nowhere and handed it to Lu Li then continued, ¡°Go and cleanse it for me; kill all those who have tainted the shrine.¡±


    System: Dungeon scroll obtained ¡ª¡ª Blackfathom (Nightmare).


    A dungeon scroll! A Nightmare-mode dungeon scroll!


    Lu Li took the scroll and really began to feel the pressure; he wasn¡¯t prepared to take down a Nightmare-mode dungeon.


    The Howling Caves had a Nightmare-mode too, but he knew that their team had only just formed, so it would be impossible for them to clear it. As such, he chose to do heroic mode instead for the sake of taking the first clear.


    Blackfathom, especially in Nightmare-mode, was an extremely challenging private dungeon.


    The original entrance level for the dungeon was LV20. Nightmare-mode increased this to LV25 and in total, the dungeon included seven bosses that ranged between LV25-30.


    ¡°Why, does this mission trouble you?¡± Remulos smiled as he asked.


    ¡°No. I will complete what you¡¯ve entrusted to me as soon as I can. Glory to the goddess; my blade will bathe in the blood of those who dare to taint the shrine,¡± Lu Li promised generously.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to your return from victory. May the moon always shine upon you.¡±


    Remulos reached out his hands to tap the crescent mark on Lu Li¡¯s shoulder, and the system proceeded to prompt his acceptance of the quest.

 251 The Trial from Water Fairy

    After leaving the Moonlight Forest, Lu Li didn¡¯t use the teleportation opportunity that Carolina gave him. Instead, he teleported back to the main city.


    There, he took out all of the Starwood from his storage and mailbox.


    This included the Starwood that he had purchased from auctions, payment that had been sent to him by Jade Flower Lover and Hornet¡¯s Nest, as well as the rewards of everyone else in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    No one would turn a blind eye to items that could speed up the leveling process.


    In his spare time, Azure Sea Breeze would hang out in the world channel and announce that he wanted to purchase Starwood. He was more shameless than Lu Li, claiming that he only accepted cash transactions and nothing else.


    All of this added up to approximately 120 Starwood.


    Theoretically, this would be enough produce about 120 Fool¡¯s Bombs, but even a fool would know that this was unachievable.


    No matter how skilled a player might be, it was impossible to guarantee a 100% success rate when the system and its set failure rate was involved.


    However, as a player¡¯s level of proficiency improved, so did the success rate for creating the bomb. The production time would be reduced as well.


    Upon reaching the end of his gaming time for the day, Lu Li had used up all the Starwood and produced 106 bombs. He had wasted around 20 Starwood, which was a heartbreaking ratio.


    The next day, only a few people were online.


    The Lonesome Flower duo, Moonlight, Wandering and Sesame Rice Ball all went to Warsong Canyon, while Sakura Memories went to level up by herself.


    As for Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan, they were high school students. Wandering had also warned them that if they didn¡¯t rest properly, they would stop growing taller. As such, these days, they had been coming online later than usual.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind them coming online at a later time, since Dawn was designed in such a way that made it hard for everyone to have a huge gap in levels.


    Over 100,000 players were LV22, the top 200 players were all LV23, and only the top few players on the ranking list were LV24.


    Lu Li went to top up on materials from the auction, particularly common materials that could be used to make Silver-grade gears. If the materials were cheap, he would purchase them and if he found rare materials, he would purchase them as well, even if they were slightly overpriced.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t come across either of the two rare materials (one Ice Spike and one Nethershard) that he needed for his dagger mold.


    Neither of them were hard to find and both could be dropped in the Death Mines, Howling Caves or by some Bosses in the wild. They just hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to come across these items before.


    As for auctions¡­¡­ of course there weren¡¯t any there.


    ¡°You there? Great Master?¡±


    Hearing by a knocking sound, Lu Li took out the communicator on his waist and found a message from Water Fairy.


    ¡°I¡¯m no master at all, but what¡¯s up?¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t dare call himself a master in front of a player who played using real money. If he was to name someone who had better gear and more skills than him, chances are, it would most likely be Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy was in charge of Drizzle Court, a top ten guild in China that was filled with beautiful girls. There were also a few other guilds that followed her.


    If this was his previous life, Lu Li never would have been able to come into contact with a girl of such a high position. However, in his current life, it was actually these beauties who often approached him first.


    Despite this, he really had no interest in this beautiful girl at all.


    ¡°I want to know the guide to the Howling Caves. Is it okay to share it with me?¡± Water Fairy sighed on the inside. Although she wasn''t the type of girl who would be unhappy if she didn¡¯t receive any compliments, it was hard for her to happily interact with someone like Lu Li, who couldn¡¯t be bothered to give any compliments at all.


    ¡°Skum?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Pretty much. if it¡¯s possible, I¡¯d like to know the guide for all the bosses after.¡±


    Water Fairy was quite used to Lu Li¡¯s style of talking and decided to cut straight to the point.


    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine,¡± Lu Li agreed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you need to discuss this with the others? After all, it¡¯s your whole team¡¯s effort.¡±


    Water Fairy couldn¡¯t resist the urge to investigate further.


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ve already discussed and reached a conclusion about this,¡± Lu Li slowly said after a slight pause.


    He didn¡¯t want to leave an impression where it seemed like he was the deciding factor of success. However, he also wasn¡¯t bothered enough to gather everyone for the sake of reaching a conclusion.


    ¡°Then, are you willing to sell this guide?¡± Water Fairy gave up and decided to never be curious about Lu Li again.


    ¡°If you can answer a few of my questions, it won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    Lu Li always talked slowly when he conversed with strangers so that it would be hard for others to see through his intentions. The was exactly what the beautiful girl felt like she was dealing with.


    ¡®Is he going to ask for my real name, my measurements, the type of guys I like¡­¡­¡¯ she thought.


    Luckily, Water Fairy had been born into wealth and had grown up overlooking others. As soon as Lu Li finished his words, she quickly asked, ¡°Say, what do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the reaction of the few top guilds about me killing Blood Dagger and Sorrowless?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Ha, Drizzle Court is one of the top guilds too, you know.¡±


    Water Fairy couldn¡¯t hold in her laughter. It wasn¡¯t laughter out of spite ¨C she genuinely found this funny.


    ¡°Firstly, your guild is structured differently to traditional guilds. Secondly, your guild has no real ambitions. Thirdly, you guys need me.¡±


    It was a rare occasion for Lu Li to analyze something and talk so much at once.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Water Fairy was at a loss for words; it was the first time she had heard someone say something like this to her.


    Drizzle Court was the only side that he had considered to collaborate with. His three female landlords were doing quite well in the guild and Water Fairy was extremely wealthy.


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t only wealthy because she had spent a few million dollars on this game; she was truly a wealthy woman who also had great authority.


    A year later, Drizzle Court would become the fifth guild to construct a village for the players. The village would slowly develop and eventually become one of the most popular cities among the players.


    The amount of money spent and the background party that prevented all of the other guilds from taking action was truly impressive.


    Lu Li had no intentions to depend on a woman.


    He already decided that he wouldn¡¯t lower his head to anyone in this life, especially after his rebirth.


    ¡°What do you think? Blood Dagger and Sorrowless are both legendary figures in the gaming world, yet, you killed both of them by yourself. This is something that the other experts couldn¡¯t achieve,¡± Water Fairy replied, after considering her response for a few seconds.


    There wasn¡¯t much that could hold her back. She had enough to back her up and this allowed her to do anything that she wanted. The unspoken rules between the top guilds didn¡¯t apply to her.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯d say I must be hated by many,¡± Lu Li laughed.


    ¡°And you took the first clear for all the dungeons as well. You¡¯ve really left nothing for the top guilds.¡± Water Fairy was very calm when she said this. Although she was a girl, she still accepted her defeat gracefully.


    ¡°Yes, so, how do they plan to deal with me?¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t surprised at all.


    He had seen enough of this in his previous life. All of the top guilds had banded together to shut down a hunter, Glacial Autumn Wind, the Kiting King. He seemed to have learned some sort of stealth skills and had taken the first clear for many bosses in the wild.


    The top guilds had failed to recruit him, so they teamed up to shut him down instead over a year-long process.


    This time, Lu Li was the one in the spotlight. Even after Glacial Autumn Wind had taken a few first clears from map bosses, no one had mentioned anything about shutting him down.


    ¡°If they join together to shut down your Xin Xin Mercenary Group, how do you plan to react? You¡¯re a thief who had learned Gale Steps, so it¡¯s difficult to kill you. However, it¡¯s a different story when it comes to your team members,¡± Water Fairy asked to test the waters.

 252 Selling Cheat Guides

    ¡°Are they not afraid of my revenge if they laid hands on my team members?¡±


    ¡°Apparently after the next system update, cities will no longer be a safe zone. I doubt these guild leaders will hide in basement forever,¡± Lu Li said coldly. ¡°If a guild leader gets killed in front of so many people¡­¡­¡±


    Water Fairy shuddered upon the thought.


    Most guild executives were once experts in the past, but that was all a long time ago.


    The weight of guild affairs and the life of peace and luxury had caused all of them to lose their sense of battle and determination.


    Sorrowless, the number one player from the past had been killed.


    If the members of Xin Xin Mercenary Group were killed, all they would lose was EXP. However, if a guild executive was to die while being helplessly pounded onto the floor in front of a crowd, they would lose their prestige.


    Levels were easy to gain, but the same could not be said about prestige.


    Since ancient times, grace and power had always been the key to leadership. None of the executives from top guilds had ever given up on implanting a reliable image in the hearts of their guild members.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we never planned to cause you any trouble.¡±


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t afraid of Lu Li, but neither did she think of him as an easy target.


    Even though he didn¡¯t have the advantages of numbers or background, he wasn¡¯t afraid of anything.


    He was too rational, so it was unwise to threaten him with his team members. He wasn¡¯t the passionate type who would die together with them.


    Even if you were to wipe out his entire team, he would still remain concealed in the dark, patiently waiting his chance and once the time came, nothing would stop him besides death.


    Most importantly, he was too skilled.


    Two days ago, Water Fairy might have challenged Lu Li to examine her improvement.


    However, after Lu Li killed Blood Dagger and Sorrowless, the once fearless girl who stood at the top cowered before him.


    ¡°What¡¯s your price? You should know, this is no easy dungeon,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t demand too much. Drizzle Court has backed out this time from the faction of people who are against you,¡± Water Fairy pleaded.


    ¡°Oh, seems like those who are interested in shutting me down all come from a strong background.¡± Although Lu Li said this, he honestly felt no pressure at all.


    ¡°Since yesterday, there has been someone to take up your bounty at different times of the day. The coordinates kept on refreshing,¡± Water Fairy said casually. ¡°This time, your old rival received a lot of support.¡±


    ¡°The Imperial Secret Service,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    ¡°This information is quite valuable, right?¡± Water Fairy asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t expect me to hand over the cheat guide just for this piece of information; I really couldn¡¯t care less about the players from Imperial Secret Service. As a thief who has learned Gale Steps, no one can stop me if I want to go.¡±


    Dozens of Thieves in the Glory Capital couldn¡¯t do anything to him, let alone those from the Imperial Secret Service.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to give me the guides for free. I was just hoping for you to not ask for too much.¡± Water Fairy was a little uncomfortable about talking business in a game.


    ¡°Ice Spike, Nethershard, Dreadtusk, Plagued Spring¡­¡­¡± Lu Li was already prepared and listed out a bunch of rare materials. He was worried that Water Fairy might not be able to remember everything, so he even sent the list again by text.


    The list included materials he needed to make his dagger, materials he needed to upgrade his ring and materials to make equipment for others in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    ¡°Oi, enough.¡±


    Even the usually cold and expressionless Water Fairy had become irritated. If someone was next to her, they would lament, ¡°No wonder why people always like pretty girls; they look beautiful even when they¡¯re angry.¡±


    ¡°Just a few more. White Wolf Fang, Ancient Metal of Nature¡­¡­¡±


    Lu Li finally finished; he had listed dozens of rare materials in total.


    ¡°Lu Li, don¡¯t overstep your boundaries,¡± Water Fairy angrily said.


    ¡°If you can supply fifteen of these thirty-nine materials, , I¡¯ll give you the entire guide. If not, it¡¯s a hundred gold coins for each material that¡¯s missing. Of course, you can also just give me 1500 gold coins.¡±


    Lu Li was steadfast, as if he wasn¡¯t facing a rare beauty.


    Even if Water Fairy was rich, she wouldn¡¯t spend 1500 gold coins on materials.


    It¡¯s not that the guide was unworthy, but that it was more profitable to do the exchange with rare materials. A lot of the rare materials on the list were less than one hundred gold coins in value.


    ¡°Give me your answer within half an hour. Otherwise, I¡¯m off to level up,¡± Lu Li added.


    ¡°Can a single items stack?¡± Water Fairy asked.


    ¡°No, besides the White Wolf Fang which I need two of. I only need one of each of the other materials.¡± What Lu Li currently needed the most were these thirty-nine different materials; he had the rest of the missing materials in their storage.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go and check how many of these I can acquire. I¡¯ll contact you half an hour later.¡±


    Water Fairy was a decisive person.


    $150,000 for a cheat guide. It was hard to determine if this was worth it.


    For an average team, the entire profit they could make from the Howling Caves would be no more than $10,000 (drop rate greatly decreases after the first clear).


    However, for a guild with thousands of teams, their losses would be made up if around a dozen of these teams were able to make a breakthrough.


    Additionally, a cheat guide for Heroic-mode would make an important point of reference for the Difficult and Nightmare modes of the dungeon.


    As well as this, passing the entire dungeon would be very profitable for them in terms of advertising.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be waiting around once the time passes,¡± Lu Li said, then paused and added, ¡°Thank you for your intelligence.¡±


    The first half sounded cold, but the second half was said in a thankful tone.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the information that Water Fairy had brought, he would¡¯ve asked for a higher price. He would have asked for at least half of the forty rare materials, or 2000 gold coins.


    After half an hour, Water Fairy punctually met up with Lu Li.


    ¡°Here are seven of the materials. We¡¯re still missing eight, so we¡¯ll give you eight-hundred gold coins.¡± Water Fairy didn¡¯t bother to exchange formalities and traded with Lu Li.


    Lu Li took one look, and was no surprised to find that all the materials were fairly common. The materials for his Dagger Mold were included, but none of the materials he needed to upgrade his ring were there.


    If his ring levelled up again, it would become a legendary equipment. Even in his previous life, legendary equipment was a rare sight, let alone at this point in time where most people still used Steel-grade gear.


    Any kind of material was rare and hard to get.


    Besides the seven materials, there were also another 800 gold coins. The exchange rate was currently around 1:100, so this was the equivalent of about $80,000.


    ¡°What are you trying to do that requires so many materials?¡± Water Fairy was extremely curious.


    ¡°Making equipment for the members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t try to hide anything. He then coughed and said, ¡°I have a forging hammer of the best quality. It doesn¡¯t forge anything under Superior grade.¡±


    ¡°What? How is that possible?¡± Water Fairy widened her pretty eyes.


    Others might have trouble finding Molds for gears, but this was no problem for her. She already had the gears made and was wearing them.


    However, the two pieces that she had made out of Silver-grade molds were only of Fine quality. The qualities were as follows: Fine, Superior, Exquisite and Perfect, with Fine quality being the lowest.

 253 No One Leaves

    ¡°If the quality is less than Superior, I¡¯ll compensate with 100 gold.¡±


    Lu Li was in need of money and didn¡¯t want to take advantage of his teammates. Therefore, he found ways to maximize his earnings by utilizing all the possible resources he had at hand.


    Since this was a massive multiplayer online role-playing game, there were many factors and obstacles that Lu Li would face. Even though he was reborn and given a second chance, this didn¡¯t necessarily mean that he could become a billionaire without putting in the effort and time.


    Lu Li was lucky enough to stumble upon Snake Trust Grass and he had sold them to earn his first pot of gold. However, this was a mere accident and if anyone else had discovered it, they would have earned the same amount of money.


    As for selling equipment found during battles, Lu Li wasn¡¯t the only player that did that.


    The people who were making the real money were in-game merchants such as Shen WanSan.


    Lu Li had a very overpowered crafting hammer and he used it to help others craft their gear. If a high-quality gear was crafted, he would charge extra for it.


    This was his money-making strategy.


    ¡°Can I see your crafting hammer?¡± Water Fairy was reluctant.


    Lu Li laughed and waved his hands saying, ¡°Just because you like eating the egg doesn¡¯t mean you have to find out which chicken it came from. If you ever need to craft anything, just come and find me.¡±


    Water Fairy was left speechless but was somehow more convinced.


    She planned on testing Lu Li¡¯s crafting hammer with some blueprints from the guild storage later. If what Lu Li said was true, the only thing she could think of was her whole body covered in shining and overpowered armour.


    Soon, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream logged on.


    Lu Li gathered his teammates from the Warsong Valley to go and level up.


    They were enjoying themselves too much and didn¡¯t want to come.


    With Moonlight and the other experienced players, as well as their Superior-grade equipment, they were thriving and no longer needed Lu Li to help them level up.


    Eventually, they gathered at the same place and prepared to go through the same routine.


    Lu Li gathered the monsters, while the others threw bombs then watched as countless monsters disintegrated into bars and bars of EXP.


    Every wave could be eliminated with around 3 bombs. With a total of 100 or so bombs, they were able to clear 45 waves of monsters.


    As the hours flew by, Lu Li¡¯s EXP continued to rise until he was almost LV25.


    However, as he was gathering the monsters, he noticed that something was off.


    Much to his surprise, he saw some fighting in the distance. It was quite the commotion.


    These monsters were between LV20 and 25, which made them very suitable for players to train on. However, rarely any players would ever grind around here, considering their ridiculous defence and how spread-out they were.


    These people were coming from a different direction and were very different to Lu Li¡¯s group.


    Lu Li suddenly recalled Water Fairy¡¯s warning about the Imperial Secret Service. They had recently received support from the other major guilds and planned to hunt down Lu Li for his bounty.


    First, the needed find him before killing him. How dumb could they get?


    To kill a Thief with Gale Step was near impossible. Even Lu Li could not guarantee such a feat.


    The only reason why he had been able to kill Blood Dagger was because of his teammates baiting-out Gale Steps. After this, Lu Li was able to hunt him down with the Detection Badge and the help of the others.


    ¡°Everyone be careful ¨C there might be trouble.¡±


    Lu Li had a suspicion that the Imperial Secret Services were targeting his friends as well.


    If they were able to capture all of them in one attempt, it would be perfect for them.


    As soon as the chatroom notification appeared, Lu Li immediately received a reply.


    ¡°Are there people looking for a fight?¡± Azure Sea Breeze yelled. He wasn¡¯t worried at all and feared nothing.


    ¡°Did something happen? What did you see?¡± Wandering asked.


    ¡°Are there people hunting for Hachi Chan because they¡¯re jealous of how fast I¡¯m levelling up? Dream, I¡¯m so scared¡­¡± Hachi Chan said sarcastically, thinking she was being clever.


    ¡°You guys should hide; I¡¯ll go find out who these people are,¡± Lu Li said, ignoring all the chattering.


    This group of people was very close to where Lu Li¡¯s group was training. If they were to scout around the area, Lu Li and the others could easily be exposed.


    There were hundreds of players in this group.


    The sheer number of players made the high-defence monsters look like ants as they stampeded past them.


    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t my old friends.¡±


    Lu Li recognized the icon of the Imperial Secret Service ¨C an iconic sword from the Ming Dynasty.


    ¡°I found his coordinates! He¡¯s nearby!¡± someone shouted.


    The crowd erupted and began to search for Lu Li, who was hiding in the shadows and scouting out the situation. He could pounce out at any time he wanted and take someone¡¯s life.


    The players from the Imperial Secret Service were all paranoid and feared for their lives.


    You couldn¡¯t blame them for wanting to get rid of Lu Li so badly. If they never got their revenge, Lu Li would forever haunt their dreams.


    ¡°Be careful. Mages, cast Blizzard to shield us,¡± said Raging Wolf Blood, who was standing alongside his trusty Thief sidekicks, Left and Right Eye.


    When Lu Li saw them, he decided to return.


    This was not because he was scared, but because he wanted to gather more monsters.


    He planned on greeting the Imperial Secret Services with a gift to kill all of them.


    The players that were sent to hunt down Lu Li would have been the elites from the guild who had decent level and gear.


    Lu Li wanted to make them all drop their gear and EXP.


    It was not guaranteed that a player would drop equipment after death, however, the chances were much higher than a monster¡¯s drop rate. If a group of 500-600 players died, there would probably be at least 100-200 equips that dropped.


    That would equate to hundreds and hundreds of gold in profit! Think about all the bombs that could be made with that money!


    ¡°Captain, he¡¯s gone.¡±


    Every few minutes, Lu Li¡¯s coordinates were checked by someone and soon, they realised he was no longer nearby.


    ¡°Did he run away? Tell me the coordinates and find out his location.¡±


    Raging Blood Wolf was slightly disappointed because he planned on attacking Lu Li by surprise.


    No one knew that there were so many monsters in the Revenant Land.


    At first, they didn¡¯t encounter too many monsters. However, after a while, they started spawning and appearing incessantly. Every time they killed one, another would be attracted by the commotion. This delayed their plans and rendered them incapable of moving efficiently.


    If Lu Li had noticed them and immediately ported back to town, their whole operation would have been for nothing.


    ¡°Captain, he¡¯s still on this map and he¡¯s not that far away.¡±


    The expert map analysist quickly determined Lu Li¡¯s location using the coordinates.


    ¡°Send two Thieves to scout him out. Never mind, Left Eye, Right Eye, you two can go and have a look. But no matter what, don¡¯t act foolishly this time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we know that we¡¯re no match for him,¡± Swirling Left Eye admitted, finally accepting the truth.


    Raging Blood Wolf had no idea that Lu Li had slain Blood Dagger and Sorrowless. He was just a commander, so he didn¡¯t join in on the guild meetings and discussions.


    Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Imperial Secret Services utilized their resources well by checking Lu Li¡¯s coordinates whenever possible, while a professional analysist determined his location. The locations were then sent to the two Thieves for them to act accordingly.


    ¡°Why do I feel like he¡¯s coming towards our position?¡± Staring Right Eye looked at the red dot on the map anxiously.


    ¡°Even if we can¡¯t defeat him, we can still run, right?¡± Swirling Left Eye replied.

 254 Massacre

    If Lu Li could hear what they were saying, he would tell them nicely: ¡°I¡¯m not alone!¡±


    Growing up as a poor boy in the lowest class of society, Lu Li had a tough mental fortitude. As long as he could survive, he would never confront someone because of small conflicts and indifferences between them.


    Naturally, Lu Li was skilful at something that not many people were good at ¨C holding a grudge.


    If someone wronged him, he would remember that to his deathbed, even if he didn¡¯t have the time to seek revenge.


    Once the opportunity arose, his revenge would go above and beyond what they had done to him.


    He was determined to treat the hundreds of Imperial Secret Services players to a pleasant surprise by gathering a great multitude of Spirits. If he could, he would have gone to the extent of luring the Spirit Lord out to them.


    Although the Spirits were translucent, when they stacked up, they looked like a floating sheet of white paper.


    Left and Right Eye were dumbfounded as they stared at the countless monsters that covered all of the land they could see.


    It was their first time seeing so many monsters gathered together.


    Once thousand, two thousand¡­ no, five thousand! Maybe even more!


    The monsters couldn¡¯t see them, so they didn¡¯t avoid them. When Lu Li dashed past them in his leopard form, they were completely submerged in a sea of undead monsters.


    Speed decreases in Stealth¡­


    They wanted to cancel their Stealth so that they could escape quicker. However, it was too late now because they were surrounded by the Spirit Army.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Left and Right Eye had been afraid of death since they had first played games. The terrifying thing was the psychological effect of being drowned by so many monsters.


    After a terrible cry, the two were revealed and immediately shredded into pieces.


    The little leopard looked back and began moving faster.


    He had been marked countless times by the Spirits so he didn¡¯t have to worry about losing aggro.


    Lu Li realised he had miscalculated because he didn¡¯t predict that the Imperial Secret Service would send the two Thieves to scout out the area.


    There was no point of regretting the situation; he had to start analysing the risks that came with this surprise.


    If his transformation skills were discovered, everyone would be envious.


    Even more people would hunt him for his bounty.


    History would repeat itself and everything that had happened to Azure Sea Breeze in his past life would happen to Lu Li as well.


    All the major guilds would have another reason to encourage others to hunt him down. Even the casual players would begin hunting for him if they were presented the image of a boastful player who relied on his overpowered ring to put down other people.


    When that day came, there would be no Evil or Light Faction and no opposition. Everyone would come together as one to get rid of the No.1 player in the game.


    Lu Li was already aware that he couldn¡¯t hide his Druid God Ring forever.


    When the time came, he would deal with it.


    While assessing the situation, Lu Li came across the Imperial Secret Services players.


    They were still mocking Swirling Left Eye and Staring Right Eye. Those two were always over-confident and up themselves; it wasn¡¯t much of a surprise that they had been killed by monsters.


    ¡°Did you hear how they scared they were?¡± someone asked mockingly.


    ¡°What¡¯s so scary about monsters? We have a 600-player group. Even if the monsters on the whole map were gathered here¡­ Goddamn, why are there so many monsters¡­?¡± This scene reminded him of the time he went to watch the high tides. The sea of Spirits accurately represented the beautiful scenery.


    They were the same as the violent waves, overcoming anything in their path.


    Lu Li did not return back to human form ¨C there was no point in hiding since he was already exposed. Besides, the agility and speed of his leopard form was enough to avoid most of the skills directed towards him.


    Lu Li circled around the Imperial Secret Services players as thousands upon thousands of monsters began advancing towards them.


    Even the idiots realised what Lu Li was doing.


    ¡°Everyone, spread out and retreat.¡±


    Raging Wolf Blood was slow to react. As soon as he realised what was happening, he decisively ordered everyone to retreat.


    What about killing Lu Li?


    Assuming that they could kill him, which was quite unlikely, these Spirits wouldn¡¯t simply return to where they had come from. They would immediately aggro onto the next closest player.


    Raging Wolf Blood was flustered; he could only hope that some of them would survive.


    The Speed of the Spirits was too fast to outrun. Even Lu Li, as a full dexterity Thief, needed leopard form to run from them. As for those in the Secret Imperial Service who played slow professions, they stood no chance of running away.


    The Priests and Paladins were the first victims.


    They tried to put up a fight for their lives, but they could do nothing against the Spirit army.


    The LV20-25 Spirits dealt about 80-200 damage to players around the same level. Players with less than 2000 HP were immediately killed.


    The Warlocks, Warriors and other professions soon followed in their inevitable death.


    There were some Thieves and Druids who decided not to run, but to escape by Stealth. However, they were trapped by the dense group of Spirits like a group of fish in a net.


    Stealth merely tricked the eyes; it wasn¡¯t the same as completely vanishing.


    Mages had teleport skills, but were quickly hunted down as well.


    Druids, Shamans, Thieves¡­


    Raging Wolf Blood was also trapped in the sea of Spirits.


    Lu Li seemed like he was running around aimlessly, but he was actually circling around the Imperial Secret Service like a fisherman with a net.


    ¡°So merciless.¡± Azure Sea Breeze and the others came to the scene of people screaming and dying. They almost felt sympathetic towards this group of players.


    Lu Li was no god. Even if a group of 600 players stood around for him to kill them, it would still take him a long time to finish them all off.


    In reality, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t even dare to show his face against a group of 100 players.


    Moonlight was silent, but his mind was conflicted. This must have been the worst massacre in the history of Dawn. It was hard to watch, even for these skilled PVP players who would kill up to 100 players a day.


    ¡°How come he can transform into a leopard as well?¡± Hachi Chan could transform into a leopard with the same Children of the Forest skills. Besides their gender, the two leopards were identical.


    ¡°Hachi Chan, are you guys brothers and sisters?¡± Remnant Dream sternly said, as she looked at Lu Li, then back at Hachi Chan.


    Remnant Dream thought about using the Tame Skill on Lu Li.


    However, she decided against it when she thought about Lu Li¡¯s human form. Hachi Chan was much cuter.


    ¡°Maybe it was a quest or something?¡± Azure Sea Breeze took a guess.


    ¡°Or maybe it¡¯s an equip? It¡¯s going to be rough from now on.¡±


    Wandering sighed, feeling like he had been baited by Lu Li. Now, everyone would be on their tails to hunt for their bounty.

 255 Making A Small Fortune

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go get the stragglers.¡±


    Moonlight rested his axe on his shoulder and rushed towards Lu Li.


    Initially, there were a few Imperial Secret Service players farming in the area. However, after their Main Tank died, most of them had their sights set on Lu Li and were chasing after him.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t really come into contact with anyone; he ended up going around to loot equipment. There would be some stragglers left behind, but there were probably only a few of them. Moreover, these stragglers were probably already scared and were unlikely to cause any trouble.


    As for those that had died, even if they had the nerve to come back, it would still take quite some time to travel.


    ¡°Quickly pick up the equipment; we¡¯ll meet up at our old spot in ten minutes. I¡¯ll be back,¡± Lu Li said as he dragged the monsters away from them.


    In Dawn, there was a chance that players would drop a piece of equipped gear upon death. Addtionally, there was also a smaller chance that they would drop items from within their backpacks. However, there was another even smaller chance that they would drop nothing at all.


    Of the 600 people, over 500 had scattered the area with their corpses.


    Nine players could be seen working like bees, cheerfully picking up all the equipment.


    ¡°A little girl with mushrooms, carrying a big bamboo basket¡­¡± Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan looted the corpses while happily singing a song.


    Having played the game for over a month now, they no longer cared about the fact that hundreds of players had just died in this area.


    After all, it was just a game and these weren¡¯t real deaths.


    In about five to six minutes, they had picked up all the items. There were 219 pieces in total.


    The players present weren¡¯t poor either ¨C they all had the bag that gave them 12 additional item slots, on top of their 20 normal item slots. As they all used four extra bags, each of them could carry up to 68 items. So, it was actually quite a simple task for nine players to carry 200 items.


    Of the 219 items, there were 116 Steel equips. The remaining portion was partially made up of rare materials and other miscellaneous items. There were also 52 Silver equips.


    Of the 52 Silver equips, 38 of them were level 15, 12 of them were level 20 and 2 of them were level 10.


    It was difficult to quickly assess how much all of this was worth. However, with so much Silver equipment, it would certainly sell for thousands of gold.


    Steel equipment was now worth very little and couldn¡¯t be sold for gold coins anymore. However, this equipment was worn by the Imperial Secret Services¡¯ elite. How could equipment that came from their elite be worthless?


    Good Steel equipment could still be sold for 2-5 gold. It was hard to say how much level 10 Silvers could be sold for, but level 15 Silvers were worth at least 10 gold. If they had good attributes, then they could even be sold for 30 gold. A level 20 Silver equip with a useless effect could still be sold for 20 gold, but if it had a good effect, it would be priceless.


    ¡°This is so much money. We should just wait here for them to come again,¡± shamelessly said the cold Lonesome Flower. However, he knew that this thought was on everyone¡¯s minds.


    ¡°They probably won¡¯t come back,¡± responded, who had a deep understanding of guilds


    Although they were one entity, a guild needed to balance many different interests while also considering the mood of its members. A large-scale operation like this wasn¡¯t simply decided by one person on a whim.


    They would have lost tens of thousands of dollars after what had just happened with Lu Li.


    Even the President Emperor might not have the power to make an executive decision like that, let alone Raging Wolf Blood.


    After ten minutes, Lu Li began to deal with the crowd of mobs he had been dragging around.


    However, there were too many mobs this time and he had to use four bombs to successfully clear them out.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he needed to hide his ability to transform into a leopard, he could have easily pulled even more monsters, which meant that he would have needed to use even more bombs.


    After clearing out the mobs, he sat down to recover his Stamina.


    Surprisingly, no one asked Lu Li about his leopard transformation. In reality, Lu Li also wasn¡¯t sure how to address it. Eventually, he just raised his hand and said, ¡°I accidentally found a ring that allows me to learn a few Druid skills. It¡¯s nothing special.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze had already seen Lu Li transform into a Leopard to help Drizzle Court break the Spider Lair dungeon record.


    At the time, Lu Li had explained that it was a quest reward scroll.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t think too much about it, but now that he knew the truth, he didn¡¯t feel much better either. On the contrary, he was even more concerned about Lu Li.


    ¡°Now that those people know, will there be trouble in future?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯ll deal with that later.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t think that he would run into two thieves patrolling the mountain either.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad,¡± Wandering said whilst caressing his face. ¡°I¡¯m constantly being hunted because of how handsome I am, but I am still able to keep on living.¡±


    ¡°Narcissist.¡± Everyone gave him the middle finger.


    After he cracked that joke, the mood was lightened.


    It was time to split up the loot.


    The 52 Silver and 116 Steel equipment was more than enough for everyone to use. The amount of equipment was plentiful.


    Actually, it should have been 54 Silver equipment. Swirling Left Eye and Staring Right Eye both had PVP points, so they should have dropped more than one item.


    There was a helmet that was pretty good, which was kept by Lu Li.


    Dormant Leather Headgear (Silver): Armor 22, Agility +15, Constitution +6. Special Effect: Crowd control effects are reduced by 30%. Equipment Requirement: Level 20. Durability 50/50.


    His previous Berserker¡¯s Horned Helmet had a good effect, but it gave too few bonus attributes. As such, it was mercilessly thrown into the corner in of bag.


    It could be used in a future occasion, but the level 20 Silver helmet was simply too cost effective.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and pull more monsters. You guys can take some equipment. Just take it if you can use it; there¡¯s no need to be polite. After you guys are done, I¡¯ll give the rest to my merchant friend who will sell them. We can split up the profits later.¡± Lu Li had already carefully picked his items, but he was still carrying more than 20 bombs on him. He decided that it would be best to use them up quickly, just in case the Imperial Secret Service shamelessly decided to attack them again.


    ¡°We¡¯ll just split up the profits. We didn¡¯t do much to get this equipment and we still need to account for the cost of the bombs,¡± Wandering said, quickly stopping Lu Li.


    ¡°In that case, just forget about the cost of the bombs. It¡¯s not much anyway.¡±


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t an idiot ¨C he just cherished friendship. He never wanted to be alone.


    ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not much? You probably spent over a thousand gold to make these bombs! That¡¯s 10,000 in real currency!¡± Wandering laughed.


    ¡°¡­¡± Lu Li was speechless.


    ¡°We¡¯ll just take anything from here ¨C it¡¯s still worth quite a bit of money anyway. We also can¡¯t just let you take a loss, so listen to Wandering. Regardless, we all make quite a bit of money,¡± Moonlight said as he picked up a level 15 Silver Plate Amour and equipped it. He wasn¡¯t shy about it at all.


    The cost of making the bombs was incredibly high, and the only thing that could really make up for it was if the ghosts dropped skill books.


    These little mobs could not drop Silver equipment and rarely dropped Steel equipment, but they often dropped skill books.


    Even if these were just common skills, they could still be sold for handsome a sum of money. These books were split evenly, along with the miscellaneous items.


    After Lu Li gave it some thought, he felt like he was taking this money for granted. As he absentmindedly pulled the monsters, he started to really consider how much money they had made.


    Fortunately, this was ingrained in his muscle memory. Otherwise, he could have been killed because he was preoccupied with his thoughts.


    Water Fairy had given him 800 Gold and seven materials. Those materials would be used for his teammates to create equipment. Even if those equips were sold at the lowest market price, it would still add up to around 1200 gold.


    As the cost of the bombs was 1000 gold, everyone had decided to return that portion to him. Now that he had broken even, the skill books that had been assigned to him was pure profit.


    With regards to the equipment that was delivered by the Imperial Secret Service, even after everyone took what they wanted, it would still be worth at least 1000 gold.


    In one day, they had made over 3000 gold, which was the equivalent of $300,000.


    All of this was made in just one day.


    In fact, Lu Li could make money really quickly. After this encounter, he would give the equipment to Shen Wansan, who would deal with the sales and deposit the gold in his mailbox. After accumulating the money and apportioning it to his teammates, he would still be left with hundreds of gold.


    On average, he would make over ten thousand dollars in a day. Once he set up his business of crafting equipment for other players, he would be able to make even more money. To him, the most important thing was a stable income.

 256 Getting Back Onto The Level Rankings

    ¡°That¡¯s the last one. We don¡¯t have enough to kill them in one shot again.¡±


    Sakura Memories looked at the last bomb in her hands and smacked her lips.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll leave it there for today,¡± Lu Li replied, as he looked at his own EXP bar.


    He was already at LV25 with more than 17% EXP, which ranked him at fourth place. Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and March Rain were in front of him as the top three. All the members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group were LV25, except for Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan and Sakura Memories. However, they could easily get there with half a day of farming.


    The rankings, from first to tenth, were filled with Xin Xin Mercenary players. Eleventh place was taken by I No Understand, Glory Capital¡¯s representative.


    By now, no one was surprised.


    Other than wanting to join a big guild, those who wanted a high rank thought that they could achieve this by becoming a part of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    ¡°Can we do this again in the future?¡±


    Sakura Memories was afraid that this would forever remain as her strongest memory. As a levelling maniac, nothing gave her more joy than seeing her EXP bar rise.


    ¡°If I can get more Starwood, then sure, but the EXP won¡¯t be as great.¡± Lu Li had just popped a piece of jerky into his mouth and was speaking slowly.


    The highest-level ghosts were only LV25, which was the same as them. The EXP bonus had long since disappeared and when their levels were higher, they would gain even less EXP. Once they were two levels higher than the ghosts, they wouldn¡¯t receive any EXP at all, no matter how many ghosts they killed.


    ¡°At least it was still better than earning our EXP bit by bit. This is one bad thing about Dawn ¨C levelling takes too long,¡± Azure Sea Breeze sighed.


    ¡°They want everyone to play this game. By reducing the speed at which you can level, they can increase the game¡¯s longevity. I¡¯m guessing that after a year, there still won¡¯t be a single person who has reached level 50,¡± Wandering said sensibly.


    In fact, his estimation was quite accurate. In the future, Dawn would introduce a level cap, with LV50 considered as the first stage of being fully levelled.


    After reaching LV50, players were required to complete a Challenge Quest before they could continue to gain EXP.


    Because of this Challenge Quest, all the players at that level were stuck for three months.


    However, Dawn also pushed the players to explore the other richer elements of the game. This led players to care less and less about the levels and rankings.


    After all, having a high level did not mean that they were powerful.


    For example, the difference between level 20 and 24 was only 20 attribute points. With a few upgrades and good equipment, this difference could easily be mitigated.


    Dawn used the standard five-level grouping for equipment, which meant that level 24 players could still only wear level 20 equipment. As such, the level of strength between them was not very large. However, after a gap of five levels, a higher tier of equipment could be worn to better reflect that difference.


    When Lu Li participated in the Warsong Canyon war, he wanted Starwood instead of Gold so he could bring everyone to level 25.


    The battle at the Meisnera Outpost must have actually dropped quite a few level 25 Silver equips.


    Otherwise, there would not be this many Silver Molds available on the market.


    Most people would say that only a fool would sell their mold. Wasn¡¯t it better to keep something that could potentially produce strong equipment?


    However, those who considered others to be fools were not usually very smart themselves.


    Currently, most players were level 22 or below. Those who were higher than level 22 were already considered first class. Considering the hundreds of thousands of players in China, they would be within the top few hundred.


    As for those who were below level 22, they would quickly realize that they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach level 25 before next week.


    Even if they did reach that level, they might not have the materials to use the Mold. Even if they did have the materials, they might only be able to craft an ordinary Silver equip anyway¡­


    In short, it was too much effort for too little gain.


    Even so, many players still thought it was better to hold onto their Molds than to sell them. Yet, the price of one level 25 Silver Mold was equal to that of 2-3, good level 15 Silver equips.


    That kind of purchase could significantly and clearly increase a player¡¯s strength.


    After splitting up the loot, Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan and Sakura Memories, the three players who had not yet reached level 25, decided to find two other players to grind the Death Mines. The others were already ten levels higher than the dungeon, so they didn¡¯t go with them.


    Some of them went levelling, while others went to the Warson Canyon.


    Lu Li first checked the Skill Books that were assigned to him.


    Skill Books that were dropped by these mobs were generally quite ordinary. Rarely were they extraordinary, but this was not an absolute rule. Lu Li eventually discovered that one of the Skill books he had received was actually quite good.


    Sprint: Instant Cast. 120 second cooldown time. Increase your movement speed by 20% for 8 seconds. Can be used while in Stealth. Skill Proficiency 1/5.


    This was one of the Thief¡¯s easiest skills. It wasn¡¯t considered rare, as it would drop very regularly later, but for now, it still had a low drop rate.


    Even though the skill books were ordinary, he would have no problem selling them.


    With Dawn¡¯s third weekly update, the equipment repair prices had been increased once again. Lu Li needed to spend over a dozen gold to repair his exquisite equipment, which was over a thousand dollars.


    Lu Li then channeled the return spell and stood before his personal warehouse, trying to determine what equipment he should use.


    The loot this time was truly bountiful. Most of the players in his party had only taken 2-3 equips, which left Lu Li with 44 Silver equips and 105 Steel equips.


    After looking for a while, he found that there wasn¡¯t anything worth taking for himself.


    Other than the Silver helmet that he had taken at the start, nothing else really caught his eye.


    To the ordinary players, the group of players that dropped this equipment were experts. However, to Lu Li, they were no such thing. Within this huge pile of equipment, he could barely find clothes or a belt for himself.


    He eventually decided on a trashy belt and equipped it.


    Bladefist¡¯s Breadth (Steel): Strength +3, Critical Hit +2%, Level Requirement 10, Durability 28/28.


    The Bloodstained badge that Lu Li had given to Azure Sea Breeze significantly assisted in maintaining his HP. It served an important purpose when it was used on the Main Tank.


    The other equipment was either not for Thieves, or worse than what he had.


    He was currently wearing many level 10 or 15 Steel equips, but these had special effects. Equipment such as the Rager set or Shadow cloak couldn¡¯t easily be replaced.


    Lu Li also decided to swap his old LV5 shoes with the Tempest Leather Boots dropped by the Wind Wielder.


    Tempest Leather Boots (Steel): Amor 25, All Attributes +10, Movement speed +5%, Special Effect: When escaping, you can activate this skill to appear in a random location 15 yards away. 360 second cool down. Level requirement: 25, Durability 50/50.


    These boots came with a special effect that helped him escape and provided him with more than one escape skill.


    As for the rest of the equipment, Lu Li kept a few of them and gave the rest to Shen Wansan. He would help him sell all of this equipment at a higher price than in the Exchange Hall without having to pay taxes or fees.


    The two of them had already established a stable relationship. Now, even the Xin Xin Mercenary Guild¡¯s equipment was given to Shen Wansan to deal with.


    After mailing the equipment, Lu Li contacted Shen Wansan with the news.


    ¡°I just passed over a few pieces of equipment. You¡¯ll get them soon,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°I already saw it. Brother, don¡¯t call it a few pieces. I only ever carry a few dozen equips at a time; my daily trading volume can¡¯t keep up with you.¡± Even without seeing his face, Lu Li could image Old Shen¡¯s bitter smile.


    ¡°This was an accident. As per our old agreement, do you think you can deal with all of it?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t dwell on the issues of quantity.


    The Imperial Secret Service was clearly seeking to oppress them, to the point where they couldn¡¯t fight back. If it were a difference circumstance, Lu Li would have had no choice but to run as far away as possible.


    ¡°Of course. The Shadow Cup main event is starting in two days, so people are currently rushing to buy equipment,¡± Shen Wansan said with some pride.


    ¡°I also have something I need your help with.¡± If it weren¡¯t for this, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have even called Shen Wansan. He would have just sent the equipment to him.

 257 Invasion Of The Centaurs

    ¡°Speak. I will help you to the best of my ability.¡± Shen Wansan decided to make a commitment before he even considered it.


    If there was one person that Shen Wansan would give up his entrepreneurship principles for¡­


    It would definitely be Lu Li!


    At first, he had done this purely because it was good business. Lu Li was a great expert, so he couldn¡¯t afford to offend him, and he had to retain him as a business contact. After all, he could rise on Lu Li¡¯s coattails.


    As they took advantage of opportunity after opportunity, Lu Li had always been generous to him and he had never found a chance to repay him.


    However, he was feeling a little anxious now that Lu Li actually had something he needed help with.


    His chance had come. Shen Wansan held his breath, ready to make a great sacrifice.


    ¡°There are currently a great number of level 25 Molds on the market. I would like you to help me buy some. In terms of the professions, I would like the Molds to be for Thieves, Warriors, Priests, Paladins, Mages, Warlocks, Hunters, Druids or Shamans. Try to get Molds for these professions if you can, but you can also get them for other professions if they¡¯re selling at a good price. I also want¡­¡±


    ¡°Level 25? Woah, you¡¯re already level 25.¡± Shen Wansan was a businessman, so the things he paid attention to were not the same as what a regular player would. He had wanted to check that Lu Li was already level 25.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t sound particularly proud of it.


    ¡°You guys must have some trick to levelling up so quickly,¡± Shen Wansan sighed. He didn¡¯t really need to level up, but he still felt the aching curiosity like everyone else.


    ¡°Come to think of it, I also have a business opportunity,¡± Lu Li followed up after a brief delay.


    ¡°Oh, what kind of business?¡± Shen Wansan¡¯s eyes lit up.


    As long as the words ¡®business opportunity¡¯ came out of Lu Li¡¯s mouth, he would be filled with anticipation.


    Would it be just like the Snake Trust Grass business?


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited ¨C I¡¯m not sure how well this business venture will go. I¡¯ll need Starwood¡­¡± Lu Li wanted to sell the Fool¡¯s Bomb.


    This was for two reasons. The first was that the Fool¡¯s Bomb¡¯s usefulness was quickly running out.


    The second was that other players were currently looking for something like the Fool¡¯s Bomb. Lu Li and the others had created a wide gap between them, which other players would pay a significant amount of money to close.


    These players would also care about maintaining their position of superiority.


    He intended to take advantage of these player¡¯s sentimental attachments to their position.


    A truly strong player would never worry about being overtaken.


    They only knew how to keep pushing forwards, so that the players behind them would become too tired of trying to catch up.


    Moreover, he made himself really easy to find. No one would have thought that the number one player was actually here to make money!


    Make money!


    ¡°Specifically for?¡± Shen Wansan had already lost his patience and he spoke eagerly.


    ¡°When Starwood is combined with some other materials, I can make a Fool¡¯s Bomb.¡±


    Lu Li described the function of the bomb and mailed over the last bomb that he was carrying.


    Shen Wansan was a veteran gamer, so he immediately understood.


    ¡°I see, I see,¡± Shen Wansan said with a laugh. ¡°In that case, for as long as Starwood continues to exist in this game, I will take it all.¡±


    ¡°One Starwood can make one Fool¡¯s Bomb. However, I have no way of guaranteeing that the crafting process will succeed,¡± Lu Li said calmly.


    ¡°Of course, I understand.¡± Shen Wansan didn¡¯t seem to mind.


    ¡°If we make 10 bombs, I will take 5 for myself. My friends and I still need to level up,¡± Lu Li said, continuing to add conditions.


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Shen Wansan didn¡¯t hesitate.


    ¡°You can then sell the remaining five. We¡¯ll split the profits¡­¡± Lu Li paused, as he considered what the split proportion should be.


    ¡°What do you think of 50/50?¡± Shen Wansan asked cautiously.


    ¡°Old Shen isn¡¯t getting enough if we make it like that.¡± Lu Li was happy with this, but he didn¡¯t feel comfortable with accepting it.


    The materials were all paid for by Shen Wansan, but he was only taking half of the bombs. If he also took only half the profits, he would be receiving 75% for a very small-time investment.


    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t just think about making one lump of money and leaving. This could become a long-term business opportunity. Lu Li, do you know how many new players join this game every day?¡± Shen Wansan suddenly seemed to be asking an irrelevant question.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t really looked into it.¡± Lu Li internally wished he knew.


    ¡°Yesterday, there were 1.257 million new players, which is a 16% increase in new players from the day before. With so many new players, do you think there will come a day when your Fool¡¯s Bomb will stop selling?¡± Shen Wansan could see the continuous stream profits flooding in from this bomb.


    Lu Li initially aimed to sell the bomb to the first-tier players, but this could actually be a long-term business venture.


    As a businessman, Shen Wansan understood one thing more than anything else: a short business could put food on the table, but only a long term business would be truly stable.


    ¡°In that case¡­¡± Lu Li did some calculations. If he received 70%, he could spend a little bit of time everyday crafting some Fool¡¯s Bombs.


    After some conversation, the two players had a celebratory drink before signing a deal that would have a long-lasting impact on Dawn.


    ¡°As for the Molds, I will help you get them. If I find suitable ones, I¡¯ll mail them directly to you. Just let me know how much you are willing to spend on them and I¡¯ll see what I can do?¡± Shen Wansan finally thought about the task that Lu Li needed help with. He patted his chest and took initiative to mention it.


    ¡°The middleman fee should be at a rate of¡­¡±


    Before Lu Li could even finish speaking, Shen Wansan angrily protested, ¡°Lu Li you¡¯re just slapping me in the face right now. With our relationship, do you think I can charge a middleman fee?¡±


    ¡°Business is business,¡± Lu Li replied, but after seeing Shen Wansan¡¯s face, he raised his hands sheepishly and said, ¡°Alright then, thank you very much Old Shen. I will await your good news.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, I look forward to working with you. Come, I¡¯ll buy you a drink,¡± Shen Wansan offered as he waved for two cups. ¡°The best liquor comes in pots and should be had with all kinds of vegetables. It¡¯s almost noon; don¡¯t eat those dried meats.¡±


    Combat players generally just ate barbecued food to resolve the problem of hunger.


    With a high-cooking skill, it actually had quite a delicious taste. But of course, the tavern¡¯s food was incomparable.


    Before Lu Li could even respond to decline, Azure Sea Breeze loudly shouted something in the chatroom.


    ¡°Lu Li, what are you doing? The world is going crazy! How are you still in the city? Get out¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry, something urgent came up,¡± Lu Li apologised and smiled sheepishly at Shen Wansan before hurrying out.


    Once he was out of the tavern, Azure Sea Breeze started explaining what had happened before he could say anything.


    In fact, everyone out and about was discussing this very same thing. The news of it was being broadcasted in every channel.


    What was the event that happened after the Defend the Meisnera Outpost?


    Of course, it was the Invasion of the Centaurs!


    The game company had designed a large-scale event for the Alliance players that allowed millions to participate. This event had brought an abundance of EXP and Silver Molds. If the game company didn¡¯t also make one for the Horde players, would anyone keep playing this game?


    The Alliance players probably wouldn¡¯t mind, but the tens of millions of Horde players would be furious.


    Their operation to destroy the Silverwing Outpost had not succeeded.


    However, it seemed as though this was also the same on the overseas servers. No matter, all the Horde players across the globe always felt like they had been wronged in some way.


    As such, in an event that corresponded to the Defend the Meisnera Outpost, the Invasion of the Centaurs was coming the next day.

 258 Setting Foot In The Barrenlands

    With the Horde players fighting mobs, what could the Alliance players do?


    They could steal the mobs!


    PVP!


    This time, the mobs¡¯ drops were just like those of the Wild Bosses ¨C anyone who was killed within three minutes of picking up an item would drop that item. Players were also unable to return to town within 5 minutes of picking up an item.


    If you were picking up equipment, you were vulnerable.


    In Dawn¡¯s lore, Centaurs were cruel and irritable. They could be found scattered across the Kalimdor continent in the Barrenlands, Mulgore and Durotar.


    It was generally thought that they were the descendants of Zaetar and the evil elemental, Princess Theradras.


    Zaetar was a demigod and Cenarius¡¯ son. He and Princess Theradras¡¯ union created the Centaur race. Eventually, Zaetar was killed by his own Centaur son, but Princess Theradras lifted his soul and carried it in her body.


    However, doing that to a demigod was blasphemous towards Cenarius.


    Hence, from that point onwards, Night Elves and Centaurs became mortal enemies.


    This was especially so for the Tauren ¨C their hatred for the Centaurs was deeply and culturally ingrained. As such, when these races saw each other, they couldn¡¯t help but mercilessly kill each other.


    However, this time, the Centaur army had marched into Durotar with the intention of destroying Orgrimmar. This was revenge on Chief Saar for helping the Tauren to slaughter their enemies.


    The Barrenlands was going to be the main battlefield; players were to ambush the army here.


    Once the Centaurs entered Orgrimmar, the quest would be considered a failure. After all, the players could not yet enter that city themselves.


    The Centaurs were level 20 to 23, which was one level higher than the mobs that had attacked the Meisnera Outpost.


    The Centaurs¡¯ stats (HP, Attack, Defence) were all higher than a normal monster, but they yielded double the amount of EXP, which was driving the players crazy.


    Moreover, their drop rates were astonishing.


    Steel-grade equips, Silver-grade equips and Molds could all be directly dropped from the mobs themselves. It wasn¡¯t like the Defend the Meisnera Outpost, where these items were given as a System reward.


    If it weren¡¯t for this event, a monster dropping Silver Molds would simply be unimaginable.


    When the announcement for this came out, it wasn¡¯t only the Horde players who were bubbling with excitement; the Alliance players couldn¡¯t sit still about it either.


    We could steal some of the EXP and equipment. The game company hasn¡¯t said anything about us Alliance players not being allowed to participate in Horde events. Also, when we were doing the Defend the Meisnera Outpost, didn¡¯t you guys run over and join in too?


    As this news spread like the wind, a great multitude of players rushed towards the Warsong Canyon.


    ¡°Lu Li, let¡¯s go; we¡¯re all waiting for you,¡± Azure Sea Breeze eagerly cried out. ¡°Let¡¯s get them!¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± Lu Li smiled back at him with disdain.


    ¡°Unless there¡¯s some detail that we¡¯ve missed?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was already used to be being looked down on by Lu Li so he didn¡¯t mind asking about it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you guys have ever been to the other side of Warsong Canyon. Have you ever seen the Orc or Tauren NPCs?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Not really. Are they high levelled?¡± Even Moonlight hasn¡¯t seen them before.


    ¡°They are level 30 Elite NPCs. So if we go and attack them, aren¡¯t we just asking to die?¡± Lu Li grunted.


    Among the Orcs, there were a great number of Berserkers. These Berserkers could be found throughout the entire continent of Azeroth. A single Whirlwind from one of these Berserkers could make any player cower in fear.


    The forces were all part of the Steel Knights. The last time Lu Li had seen them, they were level 20 to 30, but by now, they should have all been at least be level 30. There were also the level 40 Tauren Warpriests and level 40 Demon Archers.


    If all the ordinary players rushed there, they would likely be vaporized into a mist of blood.


    Players couldn¡¯t lose any EXP for dying in the Warsong Canyon, but that privilege was lost, as they were no longer in the Warsong Canyon. Moreover, they could still drop their equipment. Naturally, Lu Li had no intention of rushing forwards and becoming cannon fodder.


    ¡°What now then? Are we supposed to just stand by and watch?¡± Azure Sea Breeze asked before suddenly realizing, ¡°Oh wait, we can transport to Rattan City.¡±


    ¡°Stop dreaming,¡± Wandering snapped, completely stopping him in his tracks. ¡°The transportation channels there have been closed; do you think the System is as dumb as you are?¡±


    ¡°What do we do? What do we do?¡± With EXP and equipment at stake, Azure Sea Breeze was anxiously trying to think of a plan.


    ¡°We can wait; the others are more anxious than we are.¡±


    Lu Li walked over and finally met up with his team.


    At this time, many players who were killed had just respawned. The Silverwing Outpost Revive area was densely packed with players who were loudly cursing the NPCs for being overpowered. All of this proved Lu Li¡¯s predictions as true.


    ¡°The big guilds will start to organise parties to overcome these obstacles,¡± Moonlight said casually.


    ¡°But they haven¡¯t done anything yet.¡± Azure Sea Breeze had just realized that among the players who were in the Warsong Valley, very few of them were wearing guild badges.


    ¡°They¡¯re waiting to see what happens to the ordinary players,¡± Wandering said with a laugh. ¡°They are probably inclined to believe that the ordinary players are weak; this mindset hasn¡¯t changed for many years.¡±


    Sesame Rice Ball was silent. He wanted to refute these two sentences, but he found himself convinced by them.


    ¡°We are a group of our own.¡±


    Although Azure Sea Breeze was a veteran gamer, he didn¡¯t know anything about this. Perhaps he was just too lazy to think about it; he mostly just spent his days levelling, levelling¡­


    ¡°In their eyes, the only group of players capable of upholding the faction¡¯s honour are probably their elite players. As for all the players outside of the guild¡­¡± Sesame Rice Ball said with confusion while sitting cross-legged on the floor.


    ¡°In their eyes, we are just cannon fodder. But I don¡¯t know who gave them that sense of confidence,¡± Lonesome Flower unexpectedly chimed in, his face filled with disdain.


    Ever since he had taken first place, his coldness had ascended to an even higher level. With the exception of his sister, everyone was just trash in his eyes.


    ¡°Flower is right, but these players are cannon fodder to us as well. Look, they couldn¡¯t even wait for any longer,¡± Lu Li said as he pointed into the distance.


    A mass of guild players were marching in a formation towards the Warsong Valley.


    ¡°The Horde seems to be ready to start the war. Seeing as they can¡¯t wait any longer, let¡¯s follow them and go in too.¡±


    Moonlight took out his axe and his eyes began to glow a dangerous red color.


    This person was battle-hungry; his blood was already boiling with excitement.


    However, it wasn¡¯t just him. The whole group of elite guild players were rattling their swords in anticipation.


    Their levels, equipment and large numbers made up for the difference in strength between the players and the Orcs. Even if there were 40 Tauren Warpriests, their HP would eventually be grinded down.


    If the Howling Caves didn¡¯t limit parties to 10 players, then it would be steamrolled through by sheer volume just like this. None of the Bosses would pose any threat.


    Lu Li and the others followed behind the large force as they crossed past the Warsong Canyon defense line and stepped into the Barrenlands.


    They didn¡¯t know what Sorrowless was thinking, but no players were posted outside the Warsong Canyon to ambush the Alliance invasion. As such, the hundreds of thousands of players could stream into the Barrenlands unimpeded.


    The invasion of the Centaurs had officially begun.

 259 Warpries

    As they looked around, the only thing that they could see were Centaurs!


    This place was once like its name suggested ¨C a barren land. However, now, it was completely filled with Centaurs.


    The Centaurs were moving in different groups, but they were all led by their leader, ¡®Khan¡¯. Their main method of attack was melee or by shooting arrows. They also had groups which were proficient in casting magic to deal Natural or Shadow damage. There were even some who commanded hunting dogs.


    Other than their appearance, the Centaurs and their cousins ¨C the Keepers of the Grove and the Tree Demons ¨C had no other similarities.


    Their faces had ferocious expressions that were always discerning between friend and foe. As long as the beings before them were not Centaurs, they were enemies.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s first experience was with two Centaur Warriors. They were armed with long weapons and they rushed towards them like tigers.


    However, this wasn¡¯t really a surprise; they were like cavalry, even though they were just riding themselves.


    Four legs are faster than two legs, and Azure Sea Breeze had barely enough time to raise his shield before he was directly hit and knocked back a few steps.


    This was Dawn¡¯s number one Main Tank, so you could only imagine what it was like for the other players.


    Lu Li observed the battlefield and saw continuous flashes of white light. Although the players had a significant numbers advantage, this was not a one-sided battle at all.


    Both sides were taking casualties, but the players kept moving to fill in the gaps. The Centaurs were also taking significant losses.


    While he was looking around, Lu Li¡¯s eyes focused in on a combat unit that wasn¡¯t too far away.


    Warpriest!


    Warpriests were a unique profession for the Tauren race. They were generally considered a combination of a Warrior and Shaman, but they also had some battle auras that could be found in the Knight Profession.


    Their equipment and Skills were often a mess, but they always carried the same weapon ¨C a seemingly unwieldy totem pole.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to underestimate them. After observing the Tauren for a while, he saw a player dissolve into a white light after being pounded by the totem pole.


    ¡°Move south, but don¡¯t make it obvious.¡± While they were dealing with the two Centaurs, Lu Li directed his party away from the Warpriest.


    That Warpriest definitely had not ome out of the Warsong Canyon. The Warpriests in the Warsong Canyon were level 40 and Elite, but they would die after being hit by a few dozen spells.


    Lu Li now understood why Sorrowless had allowed the Alliance players to join the battle.


    It was because of the Warpriests.


    Due to the Invasion of the Centaurs, the Orcs had fallen back to Durotar and left the front line with the players.


    However, the Tauren didn¡¯t retreat with them as their hatred towards the Centaurs was so deep that it could only be cleansed with blood.


    So, at this time, the Barrenlands was actually filled with a large number of Warpriests!


    The Warpriests were not kind like the Tauren Druids who were law enforcers. Instead, they were a


    group of bloodthirsty militants.


    These Warpriests would not only kill the Centaurs, but also any of the surrounding Alliance players.


    For the Horde players, these Warpriests were basically reinforcements. As long as they spoke to them, they could receive a Warcry buff that increased their attack strength by 20%.


    However, for the Alliance players who had entered the Barrenlands, they were basically Gods of Death.


    While Lu Li was watching one of the Warpriests, he observed it destroy a ten-man squad and survive relatively unscathed.


    The Alliance players soon discovered what was happening.


    The guilds then called a quick meeting, which resulted in each guild sending out hundreds of players to specifically kill these Warpriests.


    Lu Li was invited too; it was the same chatroom as before.


    The Blood Red War Flag wanted to hire him as the commander of the team tasked with killing the Horde players¡¯ commander and the Warpriest.


    Lu Li openly rejected the offer. He currently didn¡¯t have much interest in Starwood and he could easily make gold on his own.


    These Warpriests were particularly difficult to kill. If they attacked them, there was a very high chance of failure.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t go either. Although he loved PVP, he was a solo player. This was the main difference between him and the guild-supported PVP experts like Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    ¡°Hachi, you keep an eye out.¡±


    The battlefield was just too chaotic and these Tauren Warpriests were very strong. They had almost gotten themselves caught by one of them. Luckily, another group of unlucky players caught its attention first.


    After such a close shave, Lu Li decided to have someone always watching out.


    Otherwise, if a Warpriest got too close, there would definitely be losses to the party. Everyone¡¯s levels were also really high, so each death would cost them a lot of EXP.


    ¡°Why do I have to do it?¡± Hachi Chan had taken the form of a big quail.


    She was swaying around in her chubby body while casting skills. Although she looked like an absolute fool, many players, most of them Hunters, still took interest in her.


    It was every Hunter¡¯s dream to tame a Druid as their pet.


    ¡°You can transform into a butterfly and fly to a safe place where you can tell us where to hide when there is a Warpriest nearby. As long as you don¡¯t fly too far away, you will still share the EXP with us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but¡­ but I¡¯m not very sensitive to direction.¡±


    Hachi Chan was a little embarrassed. It¡¯s not that she wasn¡¯t sensitive. Simply put, she had no sense of direction.


    ¡°Then, if you see a Warpriest within 50 yards of us, just report it,¡± Lu Li responded, lowering his standards.


    ¡°Sure, but what if a Centaur shoots me down?¡± Hachi Chan looked into the sky and saw arrows randomly flying everywhere.


    The accidental injury was no joke; she didn¡¯t want to be a martyr.


    ¡°See that flag over there? If you stand on top of it, no one will bother you.¡± A butterfly appearing in this huge world was nothing out of the ordinary.


    Everyone then stood in a circle to help hide the fact that Hachi Chan was transforming. Soon, she was a butterfly flying in the sky.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure she won¡¯t get shot down?¡± Wandering watched Hachi Chan crookedly fly through the sky and wiped the sweat off his forehead.


    They really should have stuck a sign on her forehead that said ¡®noob on the road¡¯.


    ¡°She¡¯ll be safe once she reaches the top of the flag. The flag is quite tall and should be outside of the Centaur¡¯s range.¡±


    However, this implied that until then, it was still dangerous.


    The battle had now been going on for over 20 minutes.


    A large number of players had died, but a large number of Centaurs had also turned into EXP and equipment.


    During this period, the Alliance and Horde players maintained a level of restraint. They hadn¡¯t started properly attacking each other.


    The only time that they really fought each other was when a Mold was dropped. The players¡¯ perspectives on Molds was very different to their persepectives on equipment.


    One of the conflicts that Lu Li witnessed started with some Alliance players picking up a Mold. Before he could be happy about it, they were attacked and killed by Horde players who robbed them of the Mold. However, those players also had guildmates and party-mates who wouldn¡¯t simply sit by and watch that happen.


    Even so, this small-scale PVP killing was nothing on this battlefield with millions of players.


    However, Lu Li eventually noticed a danger that he couldn¡¯t just ignore.


    A few Horde players had finally succeeded in taking some equipment, even though their numbers were smaller.


    The Warpriest had been used to control the balance of powers. After some begging, it protected the Horde players while slaughtering the other Alliance players.


    Suddenly, the hunters had turned into prey.


    Lu Li decided that he would personally test his strength on the Warpriest, but his attacks could only deal single digit damage which was instantly regenerated.


    As for the totem pole attack, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to try his luck. He cast Gale Steps and escaped.


    So far, he hadn¡¯t seen a single player who could survive a hit from the Warpriest.

 260 The Underlying Lesson

    Slowly but surely, the other players started to discover this secret as well.


    When a Mold was dropped, there would necessarily be some bloodshed. This trick was used during these times of conflict.


    There was a clear advantage for the Horde players as they would immediately stay close to the Warpriest when a Mold was dropped. This forced the Alliance players to keep their distance.


    They had no other choice, as approaching the Warpriest was basically the same as dying.


    This put the Alliance players in a miserable situation. It wouldn¡¯t bother them too much if they couldn¡¯t steal the items that were meant for the Horde players, but even the items that were meant for them were being stolen away.


    ¡°Mold!¡± Remnant Dream happily danced as she finally looted a Mold from a Centaur¡¯s body.


    Immediately, the figure of a Thief appeared behind her and started attacking her without a second thought.


    This Thief¡¯s attack was high; he was able to deal significant damage in spite of Remnant Dream¡¯s exquisite equipment.


    At the same time, two other thieves also joined in to attack her.


    It would be difficult for a single Thief to kill Remnant Dream due to her good Chain Mail armor, but the situation was vastly different with two or three thieves.


    No one could survive against all these attacks and crowd-control, no matter how strong they were.


    Without a skill like Gale Steps, even Lu Li wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against these thieves.


    Fortunately, Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t alone!


    The first person to react was the battle-hardened PVP player, Moonlight. He charged at the nearest Thief and left him stunned, then swung his axe and took out 20% of the Thief¡¯s HP while simultaneously applying a Bleed.


    If a Thief was affected by Bleed, the only way to successfully enter Stealth was by using Gale Steps.


    Lu Li¡¯s cloak flashed and he instantly appeared behind another one of the Thieves.


    Cheap Shot!


    The last remaining Thief was shocked; these players¡¯ reactions were far too quick. The original plan was to have three players attack the Hunter and quickly kill her. One of them would then take the dropped item and retreat while the other two¡­


    The Thief suddenly came to a realization ¨C if he didn¡¯t escape now, it might soon be too late.


    But in fact, it was already too late. Lu Li had no intention of attacking the Thief that was affected by Cheap Shot. Instead, he ran straight at the remaining thief.


    In a head-on engagement between thieves where neither had an advantage, technique alone would prove the victor


    The moment they engaged each other, the other Thief¡¯s heart sank. He had attacked twice, but one attack missed while the other was blocked. The opposing thief had successfully hit him twice, with both attacks dealing a significant amount of damage.


    ¡®I really should escape,¡¯ he thought to himself.


    However, just as he was about to, he found himself unable to move.


    Gouge!


    Now that he had been crowd-controlled, there was no way left for him to recover.


    Lu Li followed up with a string of skills which uneventfully finished off the Thief.


    Unfortunately, they only dropped Steel equipment and not the Silver Molds like they had hoped. It looked like this business of robbing other players wasn¡¯t so easy after all.


    Lu Li turned his head to see that the other two assailants had also fallen.


    The one that Moonlight was fighting had been easily dealt with. Berserkers were recognized as one of the strongest professions in PVP, especially against other professions that used leather armor. There was simply no contest.


    As for the one who had been stunned by Lu Li¡¯s Cheap Shot, his fate was worse, as he had to face eight of the top ten players on the level rankings.


    No matter how good he was at PVP, he was still up against players who would never miss a skill on a stationary target.


    At first, a few other Horde players had turned their attention to this scuffle. They wanted to help out their fellow players and potentially gain something out of it too.


    However, when they saw that the three Thieves had been utterly annihilated, their hearts grew cold and they ran away.


    As they were running, they waved for the others to retreat as well.


    ¡°Humph. How dare they attack me.¡±


    Remnant Dream had become pale in shock and her hands were still shaking, but the moment she saw her attacker¡¯s dead body, she immediately ran up and kicked it.


    The few Horde players started to run even quicker.


    Mum, help me. These guys are heartless. Not only do they kill people, but they even beat their corpses.


    ¡°Stop kicking it and check if it dropped any equipment,¡± Sakura Memories said as she pulled her away and held her hand¡­


    ¡°Oh yeah, do you think it¡¯ll drop something good?¡± Remnant Dream threw off the female shaman and knelt down to shake the body of the thief.


    What she found was a piece of Silver equipment.


    Lu Li looked at it and shook his head. ¡°It isn¡¯t better than what I already have. You can play with it, but give me the Mold,¡± he said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a crossbow. It¡¯s mine! Give it to me!¡± Remnant Dream refused to let go of it. It was quite an exquisite crossbow for a Mold, and had a beautiful green color.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t a God; he didn¡¯t know what kind of attributes every piece of equipment would have.


    ¡°I¡¯m watching out for people robbing you for it,¡± Lu Li said as he grabbed it. ¡°And you¡¯ll be giving it to me eventually anyway ¨C you don¡¯t even know Forging.¡±


    Remnant Dream thought about it for a while and eventually agreed. She then peacefully allowed Lu Li to hold on to her equipment.


    ¡°Lu Li, you should just go around killing people for their equipment.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze stared at the corpse at his feet as he suddenly realized how dangerous of a situation they were in.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Lu Li dryly laughed, before rushing into a group of archer Centaurs.


    The level 25 archer Centaurs were killed in three hits and didn¡¯t even last ten seconds.


    He had been really lucky this time; both his Ambush and Backhand Backstab had been critical hits.


    Now, there was nothing within a 30 yard radius around the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Not only were the Horde players far away, but the Alliance players had also distanced themselves. Lu Li surveyed his surroundings and saw that the closest players to them were cowering in fear.


    They were afraid that Lu Li would rush over and cut them down.


    Lu Li wanted to tell them that he wasn¡¯t that kind of person, but he was worried that he would frighten them even further by walking towards them.


    He actually wanted to go and kill them for their equipment ¨C his profession was perfect for it.


    However, he dismissed that idea as soon as he thought of it.


    The rise of the internet had really lowered the moral standards of most people; it had allowed many people to loosen their moral convictions.


    Killing, snatching equipment, stealing Bosses¡­


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t some do-gooder either ¨C he had stolen Bosses from big unions before. But usually, he kept the interest of the ordinary players in mind.


    The kinds of players that were killed by him lived a specific kind of life. They lived a life of extravagance, a life without worry about food or clothing, unlike he, who had lived a life of poverty. Although he would never go back to his previous life again, he still understood the desperate struggle.


    Lu Li would always remember his despair after he had been cheated out of his equipment.


    To someone else, getting equipment was an unexpected bit of fortune. However, to him, it was the last hope and lifeline for his sister.


    Wealthy people didn¡¯t really care about the loss of one or two pieces of equipment and regular people would at most feel a little depressed, but those who were poor simply couldn¡¯t afford to be robbed.


    There were always players who were particularly vicious and preyed on the weak. Lu Li felt no remorse in killing this type of player.


    However, he didn¡¯t know who, amongst the millions of players in the Barrenlands, he should kill.


    He was afraid that he could accidentally remove someone¡¯s last hope. As such, he resigned himself to only taking drops from the Centaurs.


    As he had scared the nearby people away, a few more mobs had gathered around Lu Li and the others.


    Fortunately, these mobs were no match for them. With three Plate Armor professions stubbornly holding the frontline, Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball were free to attack as they pleased.


    Sesame Rice Ball had acquired ¡®Rain of Fire¡¯, although it was bought at a high price.


    The mobs in front of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group experienced an ice and fire double attack, which was accompanied by attacks from both Lu Li and Sakura Memories in between.


    Soon, the second Silver mold unexpectedly dropped, then a third, followed by a fourth¡­

 261 Retrea

    ¡°Move to the side; we¡¯re taking over this place.¡±


    After two molds were dropped, someone finally became jealous and stood up.


    Of course, those who were small in numbers didn¡¯t dare to approach alone ¨C around thirty to forty people approached together.


    The team had already stayed here for around 1-2 hours and these people certainly weren¡¯t the first ones who had attempted to take over this location. However, everyone up to this point had been warded off by Moonlight and Lu Li.


    This was the greatest number of people they had encountered, but most importantly, they were all from the Alliance.


    The Barrenlands were very strange today; the Horde and Alliance players shared the same monsters on the same map. The conflicts were limited to a smaller scale and they were all between players from different factions.


    It was rare to run into players from the same faction.


    It was the first time that Lu Li and the others had encountered people from the same faction who were attempting to take their spot.


    They had taken a great location that Hachi Chan was able keep watch over on higher ground. The Warpriest had come over twice, but had been lured away both times by Lu Li.


    Based on the two Molds that had previously dropped, it seemed like the drop rate here was pretty decent.It was no wonder why this spot was in such high demand.


    ¡°Why should we let you take over this place?¡± Azure Sea Breeze rolled his eyes as he spoke with impatience.


    ¡°It¡¯s not right to take such a big spot when there¡¯s only ten of you. We¡¯re all in the same faction; shouldn¡¯t we be helping each other out?¡±


    A Mage, who looked like the leader of the crowd, pulled the previous speaker back as he flashed a smile.


    ¡°We''re not giving up this location,¡± Azure Sea Breeze refused as he shook his head.


    ¡°The event today is very special ¨C Horde NPCs and players are everywhere. As a part of the Alliance, we should try to get more gear and experience from here, otherwise, how are we going to fight the factions wars in the future? You only have ten people, so the monsters are being killed at a slow rate. You guys should give up this location and move to a spot with less monsters; it¡¯ll be safer that way for you as well,¡± the Mage reasoned, trying to justify their actions.


    The momentum was with them ¨C it was 30-40 people against a small group of ten.


    Their argument was reasonable as well ¨C it was clear that they were doing this for the sake of the faction.


    ¡°Get out. I hate people like you who take up whatever chance they can to act for the greater good, when it¡¯s only for their own selfish benefit,¡± Azure Sea Breeze scolded.


    ¡°Friend, what are you trying to imply? Do you have some sort of misunderstanding about our Roaming Dragon Guild? You should apologize now, or else¡­¡­¡± the Mage proceeded to blabber on.


    ¡°My, I¡¯m begging you guys, can someone make him shut up?¡± Azure Sea Breeze angrily raged.


    His anger wasn¡¯t only directed at the Mage, but also at Moonlight and Lu Li, who were both focusing on killing monsters. The two of them were extremely patient and pretended as if they hadn¡¯t heard a single word.


    Moonlight and Lu Li exchanged glances as they nodded.


    Lu Li activated the special effect on his cape, stored two combo points, stunned the Mage with Cheap Shot and used Slit Throat right after Ambush.


    Meanwhile, Moonlight stacked an Armor Pierce with a slice of his weapon and killed the Mage.


    This process took no longer than five seconds.


    It was so fast that the Mage¡¯s blabbering speech of justice still echoed in the air.


    ¡°Your kill?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Moonlight replied.


    ¡°Should¡¯ve let me taken the PVP points,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    It was at this point that the crowd from Roaming Dragon finally caught up with the situation.


    How had their boss suddenly been killed?


    ¡°Should we continue?¡± Moonlight didn''t really care ¨C he was certain that even if he died, Lu Li would be able to pick up his gear for him.


    ¡°If they can¡¯t learn to appreciate the mercy we¡¯re giving, we¡¯ll kill them all. Wandering, take the others and move back.¡± Lu Li also couldn¡¯t care less about the situation.


    Real PVP didn¡¯t rely on numbers; two players were enough. The others only needed to use their skills from a distance.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡± Someone else had arrived to the party.


    Roaming Dragon wasn¡¯t a small and useless guild at all. In fact, it was a branch of the larger ¡°World of Gods and Demons¡±.


    World of Gods and Demons originated from another game popular game, Gods and Demons. A few medium-sized guilds in the game felt that they didn¡¯t have enough people, so they gathered many small guilds together and barely made it onto the list of big guilds.


    The person who had arrived was from the headquarters of the World of Gods and Demons. He was a Paladin, and was being followed by four team members.


    They had heard from their guild branch that someone discovered a good place, and quickly rushed over. However, something didn¡¯t seem right; the corpse on the floor looked a bit familiar.


    ¡°Big boss, you¡¯re finally here. Our boss just got killed,¡± the underlings sobbed.


    Fortunately, someone in charge had come. The other players didn''t really have enough courage to face Lu Li and Moonlight. Those two had killed their best-geared player within the bat of an eye.


    ¡°Say¡­¡±


    The big boss was called ¡°Roc of Ten Thousand Miles¡±, a name of poor taste. He raised his eyebrows and was just about to take action.


    ¡°It¡¯s better if you don''t say anything at all. Our boss absolutely hates it when others talk in front of him, and he tells us to kill whoever he hates,¡± Lu Li said as he pointed at Azure Sea Breeze who stood behind him.


    Azure Sea Breeze was speechless ¨C surely, nothing good would ever come out of a bad mouth.


    Roc of Ten Thousand Miles was intimated ¨C what kind of reason was that for killing people? The seniors in the World of Gods and Demons were too weak in comparison.


    ¡°Which guild are you guys from? Let¡¯s not fight among our own guilds¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re the Xin Xin Mercenary Group,¡± Azure Sea Breeze declared proudly.


    Lu Li remained silent; he actually wanted to tell them they were from the Blood Red War Flag. If not, even the Gangnam Royals would have been a good choice. One guild had power, while the other had money, and neither were guilds that people would want to offend.


    ¡°Xin Xin Mercenary Group!¡± The crowd was sent into an uproar.


    Roc of Ten Thousand Miles had to dry cough a few times for the underlings to settle down.


    ¡°Everyone, see you again.¡±


    Roc of Ten Thousand Miles slightly changed his expression, but still decided to give up.


    It¡¯s not that he was tolerant, but that he felt as though these people were too strong. Even with 30-40 people on his side, his chances of success were slim.


    These were people with reputations!


    If Dawn was to be compared to the Jianghu [TLN: a Chinese term, often used in Wuxia novels to describe the underworld of gangs, prostitues, secret societies etc.], then the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would at the very least, be equivalent to the Peach Blossom Island or White Camel Mountain. [TLN: both are forces small in number, but had great fame and prowess]


    They didn''t have big numbers, but were definitely able to take charge over any situation.


    There was barely anyone who came to harass them after this wave of people left. However, there were still others who would point at them from faraway and whisper amongst themselves.


    So this is the legendary Xin Xin Mercenary Group. That Thief must be Lu Li.


    How come there are two Warriors? Which one is Azure Sea Breeze?


    Wow, that Mage must be Lonesome Flower! Would you look at his expression and his face? He¡¯s totally my ideal type.


    That Paladin is so pretty; I wonder if it¡¯s Lu Li¡¯s girlfriend or Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s girlfriend.


    Where¡¯s Hachi Chan? Apparently, she¡¯s very disorientated and can¡¯t even reach the gates of the cities. How did she get into the Xin Xin Mercenary Group? How come I don¡¯t have this kind of luck?


    There was nothing that they could do for these kind of people.


    Three hours, four hours went by¡­¡­


    The three among them who were almost level 25 had leveled up a long time ago , while the others were almost level 26.


    As for the gear, drop rate had always been a complex matter.


    In the four hours that they spent here, they only managed to loot around a dozen Silver-grade Molds.


    On the other hand, the system had dropped a lot of Silver-grade gear. This summed up to a total of 30-40 equips, which meant that everyone could receive a few each.


    This was also due to the fact that Lu Li and his team were very efficient in killing the monsters. Usually, a team of even fifty people would not be able to kill as many monsters as they had.


    There was also Remnant Dream, who had incredible luck and excelled at looting good items from the corpses.


    After the four-hour mark, Lu Li began to check the time frequently.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he stopped and said seriously.


    ¡°Why? Maybe we can get a mold for a shield.¡± Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t satisfied; the attributes for his shield were quite decent, but who didn¡¯t want better gear?


    For the number one tank, his shield was a little weak.


    ¡°Is something not right?¡± Wandering knew that Lu Li never made any meaningless decisions.


    ¡°The Orc NPCs should be counter-attacking soon. Have you guys not noticed? The formation of the Horde is changing.¡± Lu Li made up the latter half of the sentence.


    In reality, he had actually read from some articles that there were a high number of casualties from the Alliance during this event.


    Four and a half hours into the event, both the Horde and Alliance factions joined together to stop the attacks of the Centaur troops.


    The Steel Knights left from Durotar, moving across the entire Barrenlands and defeating the Centaur troops who were held back by the players.


    During this process, the Horde players stopped the Alliance from their retreat. They cooperated with the Orc Wolfriders and Warpriests of the Steel Knights, and alongside the survivors of the Centaurs, they killed almost all of the Alliance players in Barrenlands.


    Wherever they went, they slaughtered. The guild you belonged to or the level of your gaming skills didn¡¯t matter at all. Even those from Blood Red War Flag and Gangnam Royals were unable to escape.


    As a whole, the Alliance players lost experience, gear and morale.


    This kind of loss heavily affected the Mid-Autumn Festival events in the future. As for the last Shadow Cup tournament, the top three teams all belonged to the Evil faction.


    The others in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had a lot faith in Lu Li. After his explanation, no one had any objections about retreating.


    The choice that Lu Li now faced was whether or not he should share this information with the others.

 262 The Fish That Slipped Through The Ne

    Lu Li didn¡¯t have a sadistic mindset where he enjoyed the suffering of others.


    But most importantly, would anyone believe him?


    All of the players within his eyesight were fully focused on killing monsters; the huge amount of experience and rare Molds had driven them crazy.


    Lu Li hesitated for a bit before he sent a message to Water Fairy and Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    He didn¡¯t explain in detail what was going to happen, but mentioned that he had unintentionally discovered the suspicious movements of the Horde players and the NPCs.


    The team of ten left their prime farming location and shortly, others came to take their spot.


    ¡°This is such a good place; I can¡¯t believe those idiots gave up on it.¡± The players who were lucky enough to take over this spot were not thankful, but spiteful.


    ¡°They probably used up all their supplies. So what if they¡¯re experts? They¡¯ve hogged this place for long enough; it would only be a matter of time before the crowd becomes angry,¡± his comrades agreed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯d be any less than them if we had the equipment and the level.¡±


    ¡°This Lu Li must be imagining things.¡±


    Hornet''s Nest saw Lu Li¡¯s message, but didn¡¯t take it to heart.


    He respected those who defeated him, but his pride and ego still remained.


    Water Fairy was much more cautious ¨C she stopped killing monsters and left the territory of her own guild.


    She was also a full dexterity Thief with shoes that had a speed buff, so it only took her a dozen minutes to run to her destination.


    ¡°Team one to twenty, leave battle and return to the city,¡± Water Fairy instructed after looking at the movement of the Horde players.


    As the big boss behind the scenes, she could give instructions without notifying the Guild Master.


    Falling Star, the Guild Master of Drizzle Court, asked for the reason behind Water Fairy¡¯s actions and couldn''t help but feel that something was off.


    Falling Star had been following Water Fairy for many years, and they also knew each other in reality. However, Falling Star had never seen Water Fairy fully obey someone¡¯s instructions like this and wondered if Lu Li had cast a magic spell on her .


    Team one to twenty contained a total of two thousand people; they were the mid-rank forces of the Drizzle Court. As long as they were fine, the guild wouldn¡¯t be affected too much, even if the others were wiped out.


    They also took all of their loot with them.


    At the very most, all that the others would lose was experience, and possibly an equip if they were unlucky.


    This time, Drizzle Court had assigned sixty teams, each consisting of a hundred people, but only twenty teams were asked to retreat. This was because Water Fairy didn¡¯t trust Lu Li¡¯s judgement entirely, even though she saw the restlessness of the Horde faction with her own eyes.


    The Horde players were in fact acting in a restless manner.


    Glory Capital had always been the supreme leader above everyone else; all the guilds followed their commands, regardless of their reputation.


    About an hour ago, Sorrowless had begun maneuvering the Horde players from the big guilds. He asked them to move South, then return back, in a continual, unending process.


    If Earth Dragon, the Guild Master of the Blood Red War Flag, asked for the Alliance players to shift locations, even the medium-sized guilds probably wouldn¡¯t obey.


    There were some people who questioned Sorrowless¡¯ requests, but he ignored them. In fact, he even maneuvered people more frequently.


    Since questioning didn¡¯t work, everyone became silent and did as they were told.


    Over these few years, Glory Capital had grown in terms of power and influence. All those who dared to oppose them had disappeared one by one; there was no mercy.


    After about an hour¡¯s worth of effort, there was still nobody who could figure out what Sorrowless wanted to do.


    With a wave of his flag, a grand total of 700,000-800,000 players from the elite teams of the large and medium guilds would take action, surrounding the Barrenlands in a fan-formation.


    This was his plan right from the beginning; the constant shift in location and people was for this purpose.


    Once the operational plan began, all of the previous manouvres would seem like wise moves with great vision.


    It only took twenty minutes to completely surround the Barrenlands, which was a large-scale map with a maximum capacity of a few million players. Running from one end of the map to the other would take hours.


    The NPCs also cooperated with Sorrowless and his deployment.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t a coward; he wouldn¡¯t retreat without a battle if only the players were involved.


    However, this time, a hundred thousand NPCs had joined forces with the Horde faction.


    Or rather, a hundred thousand Orc Riders had joined; this was definitely the main force of the Steel Knights.


    Based on what Lu Li knew, every single unit from the Steel Knights would at least be a level 50 Elite. The Junior Captains would be Bosses and as for the officers with titles¡­¡­


    There was simply no way to compete against this.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the system wanted to give out bonuses to the players, there was no way that the Centaur troops, who were only about LV20, would be capable of standing up to the Steel Knights. The difference in strength between the two was not something that could be changed by sheer numbers.


    When the Steel Knights charged out from Durotar, the fates of the Centaurs would be sealed right then and there.


    However, the players had no clue that Sorrowless had already received a secret quest from an Orc NPC. He was asked to cooperate with the Steel Knights in driving out all of the intruders from the Barrenlands.


    The Alliance faction was also on the list of intruders.


    Standing on top of a high hill, the mountain breeze blew against Lu Li as he looked down upon the fresh smoke of war that arose from the Barrenlands.


    A few hundred thousand elite players from the Alliance, alongside countless random players, were being slaughtered like livestock.


    When he had read the articles from the past that described this event, he thought that they were all exaggerating and was confused because Dawn was a game of balance. There was no way that it would allow a one-sided war like this to happen.


    However, he had now witnessed this with his very own eyes.


    This led him to understand many things that he couldn¡¯t understand from the past.


    The rewards from ¡®The Invasion of the Centaurs¡¯ actually weren¡¯t as good as the rewards from ¡®The Meisnera Output Battle¡®, especially with regards with experience. Back then, Azure Sea Breeze had almost gained enough experience to level up twice.


    The experience received from the current event was a lot less.


    As for the silver grade Molds, while Lu Li and his team had managed to obtain a lot of them, this wasn¡¯t the same for the others. Overall, the game was still quite balanced.


    However!


    During The Meisnera Output Battle, it was the Alliance players who had taken all the gear, but in the Invasion of the Centaurs, the gear and experience rewards were given to players from both factions.


    This placed an invisible gap between the factions.


    In order to bridge this gap, a special quest was permitted by the system.


    The result of this was the fall of countless Alliance players in the Barrenlands.


    Lu Li looked for a little longer and felt powerless. There was nothing he could do to make the situation better, so he returned back to the city.


    There were too many high-level orcs below, which denied any chance for him to gain anything from the situation.


    He wasn¡¯t interested in assassinating Sorrowless either.


    Sorrowless had never wronged Lu Li, so he currently had no interest in killing him.


    To be fair, Lu Li looked down on himself too much.


    At the very least, Drizzle Court had minimized their losses thanks to his warning. Not only were they able to keep their Molds, but they also kept two thousand people away from harm.


    At first, Hornet¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t really take his advice to heart, but when the spy who was placed in Drizzle Court by Seventh Heaven reported back with the news of Water Fairy¡¯s retreat, he began to reassess the importance of Lu Li¡¯s warning.


    Seventh Heaven didn¡¯t only have spies in Drizzle Court; they had even placed some spies in the opposing faction. This was done by having the staff members in reality play on the Horde while still giving them a salary. All they had to do was provide information.


    These spies within the Horde reported back on the situation, which made Hornet¡¯s Nest begin to feel that something was wrong about Sorrowless.


    Following the principles of safety first, Seventh Heaven also had ten of their elite teams retreat.


    Of course, these elite teams brought back with them all the loot.


    Any guild would have at least one spy in another guild. Everyone was aware of the actions that Seventh Heaven and Drizzle Court had taken and once they retreated, they came around to ask why.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest and Water Fairy didn¡¯t mention anything about Lu Li ¨C all they said was that they noticed some strange activity from the opposing side.


    As such, players from the other guilds copied their action and had some of their teams retreat.

 263 Rich Customer

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you this time.¡±


    Not long after Lu Li returned, Water Fairy sent him a message.


    ¡°I only gave you guys a reminder. Are you alright?¡±


    Lu Li was currently choosing materials at the Auction. The materials required to make the dozens of Silver-grade Molds and totaled an extraordinary sum.


    An average player could hunt for one or two weeks, but even then, they still might not be able to save up enough money for the materials to make one Mold.


    In order to balance out the prices, Dawn began to consume the gold coins, gear repair fees, skill points, teleportation fees, potions supplies, food supplies and all sorts of different materials that were available in the market.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to escape and died to the Orc Wolfriders.¡± Water Fairy didn¡¯t sound happy, which slipped out unconsciously in her voice.


    So what if she had good gear and a fast running speed?


    Good gear meant nothing to a huge level gap, and no matter how fast you were, there was no way you could possibly outrun a Wolfrider.


    While she was with her guild members, she put up a cold front as she was too embarrassed to be dispirited in front of them, but there was no need for her to hide this when she was with Lu Li.


    ¡°You died because you didn¡¯t listen, what can I do?¡± Lu Li thought, wanting to say this to her face.


    Fortunately, he remembered that at the other end of the conversation was a rich customer, so he tried to comfort her in his own clumsy ways.


    ¡°NPCs are too strong for players at this point in the game; it¡¯s nothing to be concerned about. Once players manage to get their levels up, the NPCs won¡¯t be that hard to kill anymore.¡±


    Water Fairy lightened up after hearing his words.


    ¡°Your team must¡¯ve returned ages ago; what are you doing now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve all returned. I¡¯m buying materials from the Auction; I¡¯m planning to make some gear, like what I told you last time. I¡¯m better at making gear, specifically weapons, plate and chain armor. I can make pretty much anything that¡¯s classed under the forging skill.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t really figure out why this cool beauty suddenly wanted to chat, so he replied at a moderate pace.


    This sort of dull and small talk suited Water Fairy perfectly.


    It slowly eased away the unhappiness that she felt from dying to the Orc Wolfriders.


    ¡°So, you weren¡¯t joking about crafting gear. Aren¡¯t you going to level up? Oh, right, you¡¯re already level 25. So fast, you must have some kind of secret. Can you tell me, uhm¡­¡­ don¡¯t worry, the price isn¡¯t a problem.¡±


    How did the topic drift back to money again?


    Lu Li laughed bitterly on the inside; he expected nothing less from a millionaire like Water Fairy.


    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you about this yet; I¡¯ll contact you about it when conditions are met.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll mail you a few Molds and the corresponding materials. You can set the price yourself.¡± Water Fairy hung up quickly; it seemed like someone was looking for her.


    Soon after this, Lu Li heard the notification sound of mail entering his mail box.


    He took out the Mold and materials, and planned to practice with these first. He would work on his Dagger once he levelled up to a higher proficiency in forging.


    The first item was the ¡°Imitated Soulforge Legplates", a plated leg armor from a level 25 mold that required mostly average materials.


    Even though there were no set rules, it was commonly understood that better gear required rarer materials.


    Water Fairy probably didn¡¯t trust Lu Li much either.


    Not only was Lu Li one of the top players on the level rankings, but he was also so skilled that he was often referred to as a walking Thief textbook. Recently, others had given him the title of ¡®The Genius Commander of Dungeons¡¯. Moreover, he could even forge good gear¡­¡­


    How was it possible for someone to be so good at everything?


    Other than his clueless team members, no one would believe his words.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li learnt the forging process of the plate gear. The system included every single step of the forging process, and the Molds also came with specific descriptions.


    He completed each detail step by step, until the system announced that he had successfully forged the ¡°Imitated Soulforge Legplates (Superior Silver)¡±, and that his forging proficiency had increased by +3.


    The special effects weren¡¯t that great, but the attributes were pretty good. After all, it was level 25 silver grade gear and superior quality as well.


    The forging process took a total of 25 minutes. This wasn¡¯t too bad, considering that he hadn¡¯t made equipment in the past few days and had become slightly unfamiliar with the process.


    The second equip that was crafted had fairly good attributes and special effects, but it was a shame that it was still only Superior quality. Lu Li was a little unsatisfied about this; he believed that he must have made a mistake during the process.


    Clearly, he was setting his expectations too high. The big guilds would fight over a blacksmith who even had the chance of crafting Superior gear.


    Lu Li repeatedly reviewed his forging process.


    Eventually he managed to discover his problem ¨C he didn¡¯t have an overall vision when he was forging.


    This kind of theory was based off a Blacksmith guide that he had come across in his previous life. The moderately famous Blacksmith suggested that before you forged anything, you should first structure the model of the equipment in your mind. Every component should exist to serve this model; it wasn¡¯t right to blindly follow the instructions and make the components, then put them together in a passive manner.


    There were also many other theories about Forging, such as the theory about the spirit that rested within gear, and the theory of the Yin and Yang of gears ¡­


    Behind every trade profession was a wealth of knowledge.


    Lu Li put some of these theories to the test and managed to produce Exquisite grade gear from his next three Silver-grade molds!


    ¡°You there¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Water Fairy asked.


    ¡°Your five equipment have been made ¨C four Superior and one Exquisite.¡±


    Lu Li pasted the descriptions of the equipment in the chat.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Water Fairy was speechless.


    She had always thought that Lu Li¡¯s promise of ¡°only forging gear with Superior quality or better¡± was just an exaggeration. Sellers always exaggerated their products for business.


    The same could be said about those who sold services.


    She didn¡¯t expect Lu Li to actually follow through with his words. There was even an Exquisite-quality equip.


    When they had previously discussed this deal, Lu Li promised he would pay one hundred gold coins for every equip that was below Superior quality. This was quite an irrational deal, as some of the Silver-grade equips weren¡¯t even worth one hundred gold coins.


    Then, Water Fairy expressed that Lu Li could decide on the service fees.


    ¡°Name your price; I¡¯ve still got a few equipment to be made.¡±


    Drizzle Court was a big guild, but many equipment required a lot of strange and rare materials, which they may not have had in stock.


    As such, the better choice would be to gather the materials and forge whatever equipment they could make first.


    From another point of view, this also placed the Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s wealth on display. First clears and solo clears were more than just a show ¨C their stock of rare materials was just as good as any other guild¡¯s.


    ¡°How many more equipment?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Another seven.¡±


    ¡°I can make all of them for you for free, but you have to sell me this Shaman Claw.¡±


    These Silver-grade equips were extremely rare and could not be evaluated with numbers.


    ¡°Exquisite quality aye, you don¡¯t plan to use it for yourself, right?¡± Water Fairy was puzzled.


    The attributes for this claw boosted both dexterity and strength. There were also two special effects ¨C one boosting Critical Strike, while the other applied lightning damage to normal attacks.


    Thieves could use this Claw too, but that would put the second special effect to waste.


    Although claw type weapons dealt enough damage, they were hindered by their extremely slow attack speed. They simply weren¡¯t suitable for full-dexterity Thieves like Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    ¡°I have a close-combat Shaman in my team,¡± Lu Li explained.


    ¡°Oh, Sakura Memories. How rare for a girl to have a close-combat play style.¡± Water Fairy was well informed about the people on Lu Li¡¯s team.


    She had talked about Sakura Memories playing close-combat and had totally forgotten about the fact that she was also doing the same.


    ¡°How about it? There aren¡¯t many close-combat Shamans in your guild, right?¡±


    ¡°Take it. Eleven Superior Silver-Grades¡­ based on the market price, that would be at least a few dozen gold coins. Just help us make some gear in your spare time in the future,¡± Water Fairy offered generously.


    No fee was usually charged for a Fine Silver-Grade equipment forged from prepared materials. Superior Silver Grade equipment were usually charged around two gold coins, perhaps a little extra if the special effect was good.


    As for the Shaman Claw, not only was it Exquisite quality, but it also had great attributes and special effects. It would at least be worth a hundred gold coins.


    Lu Li had definitely profited from this deal.

 264 Forging The Corrupted Fang

    It took Lu Li about two to three hours to complete the seven equips that Water Fairy had requested. Including the five equips that he had made previously, he had consecutively made a total of twelve.


    Following his own professional ethics, he gave his all while he made them.


    As such, he felt lightheaded and was extremely tired after focusing so intensely.


    Forging equipment was definitely more tiring than killing monsters.


    Among these seven equips, two of them were Exquisite quality ¨C one was a Staff and the other was a Dagger. Water Fairy was very satisfied with the results and wanted Lu Li to continue making equipment for her.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t down for it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t put down any restrictions this time because it was your first deal and we have a pretty good relationship, but from now on, I¡¯ll only make three equips per day. If you want me to make equipment, you¡¯ll have to pre-order the spots, and there¡¯ll be no discounts in prices either.¡±


    Among the twelve equips that he had crafted, Lu Li had only taken one of the Exquisite ones. In all honesty, he barely made any profit.


    Anyone else would have charged at least two hundred gold coins for three Exquisite-quality equips.


    Although Water Fairy was disappointed, there wasn¡¯t much she could do. She was very pretty, but Lu Li didn¡¯t care about her looks.


    Furthermore, there was no way she would act cute like the other girls, which further minimized her chance of getting what she wanted.


    ¡°Then can we do tomorrow? We¡¯ll pre-order all three of the spots.¡±


    Water Fairy couldn¡¯t bring herself to beg, but it didn¡¯t seem right to ask for something using a cold tone, so she spoke in a slightly uncomfortable manner.


    ¡°You can pick two of the materials from this list to give to me as service fee.¡±


    Lu Li brought out a list filled with rare materials.


    Some of these he currently needed, while others were there based off his memories from his previous life.


    ¡°There¡¯s only a few of you; what¡¯s the point of having so many rare materials?¡±


    Even Water Fairy felt pained by looking at the names on the list.


    ¡°For the materials that are in red, one of them is equivalent to two. I can also make one more equip for you.¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t answer her question, but instead kept talking about the deal.


    Undoubtedly, he had the potential to remain single for the rest of his life, considering how he was only talking about business with such a beauty.


    The materials in red were required for upgrading Lu Li¡¯s ring. Water Fairy silently remembered the list and traded the equips with Lu Li before she left.


    Before Lu Li even had a chance to take a break, Shen Wansan messaged him.


    ¡°There are now quite a few Molds on the market. I¡¯ve found a few of them for you; you should take a look and decide on the prices you¡¯re willing to offer.¡± Shen Wansan cut straight to the point.


    ¡°40 gold for the staff, 50 gold for the shield, 25 gold for the boot. I don¡¯t want the dagger¡­ 60 gold for the Spellfire Longsword¡­¡­¡± Lu Li thought for a bit, then named his price.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Shen Wansan was at a loss for words.


    ¡°What? Is something wrong?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Bro, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m the equipment dealer or if you are. You¡¯re more familiar with the business than I am.¡± Shen Wansan couldn¡¯t help but admire Lu Li.


    Molds weren¡¯t like other items ¨C they were truly a gamble.


    Because everyone was only able to see a name, the most that they could do was make judgments based on the materials listed by the Mold.


    However, this method of judging wasn¡¯t guaranteed either. Shen Wansan had bought a Silver-Grade mold with a high price in the past that created an equip with terrible attributes. Not only was the Mold expensive, but the required materials were also expensive ¨C the total cost was around two hundred gold. Unfortunately, no one wanted to buy it, not even for twenty gold.


    ¡°I just pay more attention to these things on a regular basis. That¡¯s why I know a bit about it.¡±


    He had seen too many equips in his previous life and was able to guess most of the special effects from the molds that Shen Wansan had sent him.


    For example, the Spellfire Longsword was a dual blade suitable for Paladins and came with a very strong special effect. That was why Lu Li was willing to buy it for 60 gold.


    As for the dagger, based on the required materials, it probably wouldn¡¯t turn out to be too bad.


    However, Lu Li knew better than anyone else that it was very hard to forge it with a good special effect that was of equal value to the price paid. Nine out of the ten daggers forged from this mold would be nothing but garbage. He was better off not buying it.


    What costed the most in a Silver Grade equip wasn¡¯t the mold, but the rare materials.


    As such, all the big guilds used any possible means at their disposal to gather rare materials, which made the game more and more difficult for solo players.


    If Lu Li was to play the game by himself, chances are, he would still be a fairly decent player, but he wouldn¡¯t be as wealthy as he currently was.


    Dawn was simply not a solo game.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll go according to your prices. I¡¯ll have a chat with them.¡± Shen Wansan didn¡¯t plan to waste time.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to spend a little more if needed,¡± Lu Li added. He had based the prices off his past experience in combination with the prices from the current market. It was impossible to not have any change in the pricing.


    With the amount of money he was earning, he could afford to spend a little more.


    In his previous life, Lu Li¡¯s favourite thing to do besides reading books in the library was to discover underpriced items. He would often stay in the Auction in his spare time to analyze the prices of items. He would buy the underpriced items and sell them at a higher price, earning a small of income for himself.


    If he was lucky, he would run into very underpriced items.


    For example, someone had once placed an item in the Auction without any knowledge of its real value. This resulted in Lu Li earning a small fortune.


    Some players even forgot to enter an extra zero after their prices.


    Occasions like these were a gift from heaven. Even if it wasn¡¯t a lot of money, Lu Li would still be excited about it for a long time.


    Now that he thought about it, it was pretty funny, but that was the harsh reality that he faced.


    He didn¡¯t need to do this anymore in his current life; he could earn way more with the time that he spent to find underpriced items.


    The prize money for first place in the Shadow Cup was a total of five million dollars. There were also other awards such as MVP, Celebrity player, etc. If he received any award, it would make all of his previous investments worth it.


    Lu Li was pretty confident in receiving an award.


    It was Saturday today, which meant that only one day was left before the competition started. It would be nearly impossible for people to catch up to level 25 in this short period of time.


    When the time came, they would have a team with three level 25s who were equipped with some level 25 Silver-Grade gear. They would be able to crush most teams with their levels and gear alone.


    After completing Water Fairy¡¯ requests, Lu Li didn¡¯t rush himself to make the next equips. Instead, he went offline and napped for two hours before he logged back on and began his work.


    Mold: Corrupted Fang (Silver)


    Recipe: Forge


    Requirement: Journeyman Forging Recipe (100)


    Use: Forging ¡°Corrupted Fang¡±


    Corrupted Fang: Attributes Unknown.


    This was the first equip that he was going to forge.


    Both of the daggers that Lu Li currently had equipped were severely lacking in damage. He desperately needed a new, main dagger.


    Ice Spike, Nethershard and a bunch of other materials pushed the cost of this dagger above 140 gold coins.


    This was equivalent to $15,000.


    Exquisite, Exquisite, you better give me an Exquisite-quality.


    It would be sad if he made three Exquisite-quality equips for other people and failed to make one for himself.


    After all the preparations were done, Lu Li followed the system¡¯s instructions as he carefully forged the dagger.


    When he made equips for Water Fairy, the time spent on each one was different due to the differences in the forging process. However, none of them took him longer than half an hour.


    However, because Lu Li had higher expectations for this dagger, he repeatedly hammered the blade, ensuring that all the materials blended in perfectly. He devoted all of his energy to every inch of the blade, not even daring to carve the inscriptions on the handle until he had gained some confidence from practicing on a piece of wasted material.


    The entire forging process lasted almost fifty minutes.


    He was unconsciously dripping in sweat, as if someone had just pulled him out of a river.


    However, he didn¡¯t feel this at all. To prevent his sweat from affecting the quality of the weapon, he had even worn a secure helmet.


    He was finally on the last step. If the dagger was anything below Exquisite, it was going to Auction.

 265 Shadow Cup

    ¡°Everything goes to the shop if it¡¯s not Exquisite grade or above¡± was a joke. With the crafting hammer, everything he crafted would be Superior at worst.


    As the dagger shined radiantly, Lu Li¡¯s heartbeat became faster and faster. His eyes were transfixed on it, paying full attention to every detail.


    System: Successfully crafted Corrupted Fang (Perfect Silver Grade), Crafting EXP +8.


    P¡­perfect!


    He had crafted a Perfect Grade Equipment.


    Lu Li had only heard of Perfect Grade Equips in his past life and had never seen one with his own eyes.


    Back then, his highest equipment grade was only Exquisite.


    Lu Li slowly shifted his gaze downwards from the word ¡°Perfect¡± to examine the stats on the dagger. Regardless of the grade, an equip had to have the appropriate stats to maximize its value.


    Corrupted Fang (Perfect Silver Grade): 24-36 Damage, Agility +16, Strength +6, Critical Chance +8%, Special Effect 1: Chance to apply 20% Armor Pierce effect when attacking, lasts 15 seconds. Special Effect 2: Chance to summon a Phantom when attacking; Phantom has 30% of player¡¯s attack damage, lasts 20 seconds. Level Requirement 25, Durability 50/50.


    Perfect! It¡¯s perfect!


    As Lu Li held the warm and freshly-crafted dagger, he couldn¡¯t help but kiss it.


    The damage of this new dagger completely outshined both of his old ones.


    Agility +16, Strength +6. To be able to add 22 stat points with a one-handed weapon was almost impossible, unless the equip was Perfect grade.


    The Special Effects were completely unexpected.


    Technically, this equip had surpassed the limit of Silver Grade equipment because it had 3 special effects, including the 8% Critical Chance increase.


    However, the system only allowed two special effects on a Silver Grade equipment, so the critical chance wasn¡¯t listed specifically as a ¡°special effect¡±.


    The Critical Chance +8% was not as good as Hachi Chan¡¯s Umbranse¡¯s Staff, which gave 13% critical chance. However, as previously mentioned, it was a one-handed weapon.


    When looking at the stats of a weapon, the first thing to consider was whether it was one-handed or two-handed.


    Berserkers were the only class that could wield two two-handed weapons, but were required to completed a special class quest to do this.


    Two one-handed equips could be equipped together. For example, if Lu Li had two Corrupted Fangs, he would gain 16% critical chance, which would surpass Hachi Chan¡¯s staff.


    The second effect that every Corrupted Fang had was Armor Pierce!


    Although the effect only lasted for 15 seconds, this was more than enough time for Thieves with high attack speed to punish their opponents.


    The third effect was Shadow Clone!


    Thieves had a lot of skills, and listed below are the most iconic ones:


    Kidney Strike ¨C this was very strong crowd-control ultimate. With this skill, Thieves could keep their opponent stunned until they were dead.


    Blind ¨C this skill was very rare. Being one of the most respected skills for a Subtle-Style Thief, it was very flexible both for attacking and retreating.


    Gale Steps ¨C the skill that defined an expert. Big names such as Lu Li, Water Fairy and Blood Dagger wouldn¡¯t dare to call themselves experts without Gale Steps.


    Shadow Step ¨C Lu Li had this skill as a special effect on his cloak. He would never replace his cloak until he learned Shadow Step,.


    Shadow Clone ¨C at first glance, casual players might think that it was merely bonus damage.


    The special effect on the Corrupted Fang was the weaker version of the skill. The Phantom for the real version had 50% of the player¡¯s attack damage. However, the real value in this skill wasn¡¯t the bonus attack damage, but the clone.


    If your opponent suddenly split into two, which one would you attack?


    If the opponent hesitated because of the split-second confusion and made the wrong choice, it could be a matter of life and death.


    Lu Li tried to hold in his excitement as he unequipped his Berserk Fang.


    The other dagger that he had equipped was the Bayonet of Vengeance.


    Bayonet of Vengeance (Steel): Damage 20-28, Agility +8, Strength +4. Special Effect: On hit, there is a chance that the target will gain a bleed effect that deals 20 damage per second for 5 seconds. Level Requirement: LV15. Durability 35/35.


    The Bayonet of Vengeance had low stats, and the special effect only dealt 100 damage.


    The only reason why Lu Li kept using it was because of the bleed effect.


    During a one on one fight between two Thieves, the bleed effect would remain unless Gale Step was used.


    Ideally, Lu Li wants to bait out his opponent¡¯s Gale Steps with the Bleed effect. Without Gale Steps, the opposing Thief would be missing their main escape ability.


    A fight between two Thieves depended on whoever used their escape abilities first.


    After the dagger was completed, it was about time for Lu Li to log off.


    The next day was the last day of the Mid-Autumn Festival event.


    When Lu Li logged on, he received the equips from Shen Wansan, in addition to about 80 Starwood.


    There was also a letter.


    The letter mentioned that Shen Wansan had decided to send some Starwood that he had bought for Lu Li, as well as some from his storage.


    Shen Wansan suggested to use them to level up for now and recommended Lu Li to sell them after the Mid-Autumn Festival was over.


    There was no point in giving your opponents resources.


    He also stated that he looked forward to the tournament and expected the Xin Xin Mercenary Group to come out on top.


    Shen Wansan had shamelessly placed a heavy bet on Lu Li and the others to win. If they failed, he would probably go bankrupt.


    After Lu Li read the letter, he felt sincerely touched by Shen Wansan¡¯s support.


    Shen Wansan was a merchant and based on their contract, half of the bombs that were made by the 80 Starwood were to be sold for profit.


    Currently, all of the major guilds were focused on levelling and therefore, these bombs could be sold at a much higher price. It was the perfect time to make a profit because of the high demands.


    If 40 or so bombs were crafted and sold, the profit would likely total 8000 gold or more.


    This could potentially be a multi-million dollar business.


    However, Shen WanSan didn¡¯t give Lu Li the Starwood for his own gain, but to support Lu Li and his group.


    Lu Li and the others were the only level 25 players, and were the favourites to win the Shadow Cup. If the bombs were sold and their opponents reached level 25 as well, their chances of winning would greatly decrease.


    Lu Li would remember this favour.


    He successfully crafted 76 bombs and gathered everyone together for a levelling-up spree.


    This had become routine for them now, and Lu Li was able to gather up 3-4 times the number of monsters compared to the first time. If the bombs were thrown correctly, only 3 would be required to wipe out the entire field.


    They also activated double experience for an hour.


    In addition to the bonus EXP from yesterday¡¯s event, the whole group reached LV26.


    Immediately behind them were I No Understand, Wild, Green Flag Wine and Twilight, who were all LV24 and were expected to reach LV25 by today.


    However, Lu Li and the others weren¡¯t worried about them.


    They were just players who were good at levelling and weren¡¯t very experienced in PVP. Even with a full body of Silver-Grade Equipment, they were useless.


    As for Hornet¡¯s Nest, Blood Dagger and the others, they were all only LV23.


    There was a small power spike when reaching Lv26. Besides the 5 stat points, they also received a skill point because they were on an even-numbered level.


    ¡°I have gathered some Silver Grade Molds. Everyone, take a look at them and see if any could be useful for you, then craft them with the rare materials from the group. We have to win the Shadow Cup this time at all costs.¡±


    After they levelled up, Lu Li delegated their individual tasks for the day.


    They had to win the Shadow Cup!

 266 Goddamn Water Fairy.

    When Lonesome Flower came, Lu Li had just finished crafting a one-handed sword ¨C Spellfire Longsword.


    He was very disappointed with the result because he had very high expectations for this high-quality Paladin weapon. Lu Li was a god-like blacksmith, so anything below Superior was a failure.


    However, since the weapon wasn¡¯t for himself, he shamelessly took a sigh of relief.


    Wandering would probably hold a grudge against him for this. He was too much of a narcissist and always said toxic things.


    ¡°Flower, why did you come?¡± Lu Li asked as he reached for a kebab in his inventory to replenish his energy from crafting. There had been many instances in Dawn of players focusing too much on crafting and dying of starvation because they had forgetten to eat.


    Lonesome Flower looked at him coldly with and threw two pieces of equipment at Lu Li.


    ¡°No way, did you make equips for me?¡± Lu Li was surprised.


    They had first met when Lonesome Flower was being attacked by a pack of wild wolves. It was quite a brutal scene.


    His sister, who was also present at the time, had been scared to death.


    After getting to know him more, Lu Li realised that he was actually a very proud and arrogant person. He rarely asked for help from others and always rejected other people.


    The only time he seemed happy was when he was with his sister.


    Lonesome Flower was actually quite polite and had a good personality. He was cool and handsome, so he was even more popular with the girls than Wandering.


    The reason why Wandering was less popular was because no girl wanted to date someone who was prettier than herself.


    Lu Li had expressed before that he despised those with a sister complex, because they were hard to interact with.


    However, he was very touched by Lonesome Flower¡¯s gesture. Lonesome Flower was such a prideful person, yet he had humbled himself and crafted an equip for him.


    ¡°My sister made It for you; stop making her craft your equips all the time,¡± he coldly said and went about his way.


    Lu Li was wrong.


    The equips had been made by March Rain.


    ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t ask her to craft me this,¡± Lu Li mumbled to himself.


    Grim Chest Armour (Fine Silver): Armour +28, Agility +12, Stamina +6. Special Effect: Activate a energy shield which absorbs 300 points of damage, cooldown 120 seconds. Level Requirement 25, Durability 55/55.


    Lu Li was currently wearing a level 15 Steel Grade Chest Armor. Despite its decent stats, it was still incomparable to the Silver Grade Equipment that March Rain had crafted.


    300 points of damage didn¡¯t seem like much; however, it could be extremely useful with the right timing.


    March Rain didn¡¯t have the overpowered Cresso¡¯s Hammer and therefore, most of the gear she crafted was Fine Grade.


    However, Lu Li was still very appreciative.


    On the other hand, Lonesome Flower was pissed because he was jealous.


    Lu Li was much more pleased when he had a look at the stats on the other equip.


    Devil Leather Jacket (Superior Silver): Armour +24, Agility +14, Strength +4, Special Effect 1: Dodge +10%, Special Effect 2: Gale Steps skill level +1. Level Requirement 25, Durability 58/58.


    This belt provided more stats than his Chest Armor, and the additional 10% Dodge was quite a rare special effect.


    In other virtual reality games, Dodge was a very undefined stat because it allowed the player to avoid damage at a certain chance. This created a lot of confusion and randomness in other games, and was often nerfed to compensate.


    However, in Dawn, dodge didn¡¯t equate to the complete avoidance of damage.


    Instead, Dodge chance referred to the decreased probability of receiving critical damage. In other words, if your Dodge chance was high, the less likely it would be for others to critically strike you.


    Therefore, over time, less damage would be received overall.


    The second effect was self-explanatory ¨C everyone in the game had heard of Gale Steps and it was high respected.


    The cost of the materials to craft this belt was extremely high. The Devil Leather alone was listed at 150 gold at the Exchange Hall.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure where March Rain had found the materials, because they weren¡¯t in his personal storage or in the mercenary group storage.


    Perhaps she had been lucky and stumbled upon it, but Lu Li decided not to ask and just accepted the gift.


    He accepted it as a gift of gratitude from March Rain for all the work he had done for the mercenary group.


    It was too bad that Lu Li didn¡¯t have any Weapon Molds for March Rain to repay her.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t return the favour because he was a blacksmith, so he could only craft weapons from Weapon Molds.


    Tailors could craft cloth and leather armour, while Leatherworkers could craft leather and mail armour. Blacksmith could craft weapons, mail armour and plate armour, which were all useless for March Rain.


    System: The Shadow Cup is about to begin. Do you want to enter?


    There were options to accept or decline the notification.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t surprised at all by the notification and calmly selected accept.


    On the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the system sent a notification to join the Shadow Cup for all players that were out of combat.


    If the player missed the notification, it could still be accessed via the menu option.


    After clicking accept, another notification appeared, informing Lu Li that he could form a party. The first round of the tournament started the next day at 10:00am and all party members had to be online to participate. They would then proceed to be transported to the tournament map.


    The Shadow Cup was a long-established tournament with a very handsome reward for the winners. There were countless players that signed up for it.


    Since the entry was free, most casual players joined in for the experience. The more serious players, however, had been preparing for this tournament for a while and were ready to take the championship.


    Lu Li had updated and improved most of his gear; the only thing that he was missing was poison.


    He was currently using Beginner Poison, which was lacking in damage. If he could find some Intermediate Poison, this would greatly increase his damage potential.


    He couldn¡¯t find any in the Exchange Hall and Shen WanSan didn¡¯t have any either.


    After some thought, he decided to ask Water Fairy.


    Since he had helped her before, he wasn¡¯t afraid to ask for a favour.


    ¡°I have two types of poisons, but they aren¡¯t cheap. I can sell some to you,¡± Water Fairy offered straightforwardly. It was obvious that she was quite happy.


    Even her idol, Lu Li, ran into times when he needed help from her!


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t notice, but she subconsciously raised her lips and smiled.


    ¡°The price doesn¡¯t matter to me,¡± Lu Li said.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t annoyed by her haggling, but was amused by her serious business voice. He felt like she was a lot more interesting and less boring when she was doing business with other people.


    ¡°And, I have another request. If you see players from Drizzle Court, you must go easy on us¡­¡± Water Fairy joked.


    Even she was ashamed of herself for saying that.


    The famous Ice Queen from a top 10 guild on the Chinese server was asking for mercy.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t understand her joke and replied seriously, ¡°We obviously can¡¯t just surrender against you guys, but I¡¯ll make sure not to apply poison when I¡¯m up against you.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Is that so¡­ I¡¯m busy with other things, talk to you later.¡±


    Water Fairy hung up immediately.


    Lu Li swore to make her pay for this one day.


    He received a mailbox notification shortly after; it was the poison sent from Water Fairy.


    The poison came in a set of 10, each costing 20 gold.


    Lu Li almost puked because he knew that Intermediate Poison only costed 2 gold at the very most to produce.


    How dare she overcharge like this!

 267 Aiming For First Prize

    Lu Li felt like he was at his wit¡¯s end; he couldn¡¯t return it now.


    He couldn¡¯t do something like that with his manhood at stake.


    However, in a situation where someone else did not have the recipe for something this rare, selling it at ten times the price wasn¡¯t that unusual.


    The materials for Intermediate Poison were not easy to find. Water Fairy was unlikely to have many either, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have stingily offered only 10 of them.


    Lu Li had already decided to use the Basic Poison unless it was a critical situation.


    In fact, there weren¡¯t many people that were worth using the Intermediate Poison on.


    After registering, Lu Li found the Skills Trainer and used up the rest of his Skill Points. His main goal was to upgrade Backhand Backstab.


    This skill was very important for PVP players, but the only problem was that the monetary cost of upgrading it was heart-wrenching.


    He had spent over 30 gold!


    At this stage of Dawn, an average player would take a week to make that amount, assuming they lived frugally and didn¡¯t experience any misfortune.


    Most people could barely make ends meet.


    Lu Li then found Moonlight and spent the rest of their time in the Warsong Canyon.


    After March Rain finished making equipment, she logged-off for some rest. However, after she logged back on, she also joined in. The three of them used the Warsong Canyon as the location for their practice.


    They ran into quite a few Horde parties, but all of them were easily defeated.


    After logging-off to get some sleep, Lu Li slept in a little later than usual.


    ¡°Have you guys eaten? I¡¯ll pay,¡± he asked after he had finished watching up. He looked to his younger sister and the female landlords, who were in the living room watching TV, for a response.


    After living together for so long, friendships would eventually form, even if there was no initial spark.


    Besides, the three landlords had treated Xin Xin extremely well, especially after learning about her condition. They felt so bad for her that they basically treated her like their own little sister.


    ¡°Luckily, none of us have eaten yet. Otherwise, we would have missed this prestigious opportunity.¡± Zhou Huan Huan happily jumped up and ran off to change.


    Lu Li only realized that these girls were still wearing their pajamas when she stood up.


    Although their curves couldn¡¯t be clearly seen, their slim figures could still be appreciated behind their cotton sleepwear.


    However, Lu Li was a gentleman; he was completely focused on his sister and didn¡¯t spare more than a glance on the girls. The on-looking Willow Yi Yi found this quite boring. She now had even more reason to suspect that Lu Li wasn¡¯t normal.


    He was either a sister-con, or had a gender issue.


    ¡°Lu Li, have you registered for the Shadow Cup?¡± Dou Dou was dressed in shorts which revealed her slender white legs.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Lu Li responded without hesitation. He then turned his head to ask Lu Xin if she had felt any discomfort today.


    The hospital¡¯s medicine seemed to have a few side effects; the little girl¡¯s white face appeared paler than usual.


    ¡°It would be good if you could get a prize,¡± Dou Dou said hopefully. ¡°That way, you won¡¯t need to worry about the treatment fees.¡±


    Lu Li was determined to completely cure his sister of this disease and eliminate the possibility of having to relive the nightmare that was his previous life.


    The three landlords had wanted to lend him money, but he had been resistant towards this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want any old prize ¨C I want the first prize.¡±


    Lu Li spoke seriously; his voice was firm and confident.


    ¡°First Prize?¡± Dou Dou¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Why are you so surprised? I don¡¯t think there is anyone that could stop me from taking first prize.¡±


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t being arrogant ¨C the level disparity was too significant. Most of the other experts weren¡¯t even level 25 yet, and this was without considering the difference in equipment either.


    The current rules of the Shadow Cup tournament were very unforgiving. It was just pure, single-elimination three on three battles all the way.


    If you won, you would be promoted and if you lost, you would be eliminated.


    It was not until the next competition that a few globally-recognized event coordinators got together to create a new set of rules, which diminished the effect that a single player had on the outcome.


    Currently, Lu Li¡¯s personal strength could determine a lot of things.


    Following this train of thought, he thought that he would most likely be able to take this round of the Shadow Cup championship.


    Dou Dou then started to list off the previous champions and how strong those teams were. She also tried to warn Lu Li not to aim too high¡­


    However, he just took the opportunity to learn about his opponents and didn¡¯t really think much about it.


    When he next logged on, it was already Monday morning in the game.


    As night and day were reversed in Dawn, it always felt like a dream when he entered the game world.


    It was still early, but Lu Li didn¡¯t sit around waiting for the competition to start. He, Moonlight and March Rain all received the Mid-Autumn Festival quest and went out to train together.


    It was only the first day, so they tried not to expend too much energy.


    Although their opponents for the competition would be randomly assigned, the system would also take into account the players¡¯ level of equipment and overall strength. This prevented the awkward situation where a top team would face some ordinary players.


    During the Mid-Autumn Festival Week, mobs had a chance to drop the Mooncake Box, which could potentially reward a good item.


    Unfortunately, the rate of this happening wasn¡¯t very high.


    The first round had begun!


    They quickly dealt with the monsters before them and rushed to the arena.


    There was a 1-minute waiting period before the round began. If the players were late, the system would consider them to have lost.


    The arena that they were in was circular.


    In the interest of saving time, the System would randomly select one of the basic maps.


    Lu Li glanced at the players opposing them. There was one Mage and one Warrior; only two people had shown up so far.


    This meant that there were two possibilities ¨C they really only had two players, or one of them was in Stealth like Lu Li.


    In reality, their opponents were just like them. Lu Li had Stealthed himself the moment they entered the battle, so their opponents also only saw two players ¨C a Warrior and a Priest.


    ¡°You go ahead. I¡¯ll stay right here.¡± Moonlight could tell they were novices with a single glance.


    Lu Li immediately moved behind their Mage.


    Sap!


    Now, the Mage was unable to move. He didn¡¯t have any stasis skills, nor did he have any skills to remove the stun. All he could do was wildly plead in his team¡¯s chatroom for the Warrior and Druid to protect him.


    He¡¯s so fast!


    This was the first thought of all three opposing players.


    It had only been a few seconds and this Thief had already made it all the way to the back.


    The Warrior turned around to rescue him, but found himself unable to move halfway through the turn.


    After Lu Li had attacked the Mage, he went straight to the Warrior.


    Premeditation (2 stars), Cheap Shot (2 stars), Ambush (2 stars), Backhand Backstab!


    Blood sprayed out of the Warrior¡¯s body as his HP was rapidly emptied.


    It was a one shot!


    The Thief¡¯s combo points (stars) could be accumulated to a total of five. Gaining any more was worthless, so Lu Li had actually wasted a star.


    He wasn¡¯t an inflexible person; he just used whatever skill felt right at the time.


    After using four skills the deal with the Warrior, the Druid sheepishly revealed himself. He didn¡¯t even have the chance to cast a Heal.


    What is your healer doing in Stealth?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t give them any chances. His cloak flashed and he instantly appeared behind the Druid who was cut down in a few hits.


    As he was about to kill the Mage, the Mage¡¯s character suddenly vanished.

 268 March Rain’s Sparring Partner

    Lu Li was shocked; could this be the legendary Mage Stealth Skill? He had seen it first-hand in his past life, but didn¡¯t it have a three second cast time?


    Could it be some overpowered skill that he didn¡¯t know about?


    System: Congratulations! You and your team have advanced to the next round. The next round will begin in 15 minutes.


    He suddenly realized what had happened and couldn¡¯t stop laughing.


    It wasn¡¯t an overpowered skill at all ¨C the Mage saw that the situation was hopeless and had conceded the match. The System then teleported him back out into the world.


    This was a common occurrence in most competitions. When a player thought it was over, they would quickly hide and leave to avoid being abused any further by their opponents.


    Just like that, Lu Li had singlehandedly dealt with the entire other team.


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Lu Li asked March Rain.


    March Rain blinked vacantly and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel much; I didn¡¯t even get to do anything. How did we win?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, if I knew, I would have just fought them normally.¡±


    Lu Li had initially wanted to slowly show her what a competition was like, but he didn¡¯t realize that she would lack confidence. This underexposure was just as bad as dropping her straight into the deep end. If March Rain hadn¡¯t gotten any proper experience, then it would be better to go back to the Warsong Canyon for practice.


    In the second round, they faced some decent opponents.


    There was a Paladin with a one-handed sword, a Priest to Heal and a Warlock as the main DPS. This was a standard knight composition.


    There were no real tricks to fighting a team like this, so Lu Li and Moonlight didn¡¯t bother coming up with any real strategy.


    ¡°March, just follow what we¡¯ve taught you. Keep at a distance and protect us. Try to keep us alive for as long as possible; Lighty and I will try to kill their Priest first. If we can kill their priest, we¡¯ll definitely win,¡± Lu Li said, quickly briefing them on their tactics.


    Seeing that March Rain was a little nervous, Moonlight comforted her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¨C you¡¯re level 26, so you¡¯re at least two levels above them. As long as you heal yourself, they won¡¯t be able to hurt you,¡± he gently said.


    ¡°Make sure you have the Regeneration skill casted on yourself at all times; you don¡¯t have to start healing us right away,¡± Lu Li added.


    March Rain clutched the mallet in her hands and nodded her head with determination.


    The moment the round started, the Paladin and the Warlock ran straight at March Rain. The Warlock, on the other hand, made an early move ¨C he quickly cast Fear on the Thief that hadn¡¯t gone into Stealth.


    From his perspective, the Thief was stupid not to be in Stealth, so he took the opportunity to use Fear on him. This would relieve a lot of the pressure on his side.


    However, if he was an expert, he wouldn¡¯t have immediately casted Fear on a non-stealthed Thief.


    Now, this non-stealthed thief was simply strutting past them. Either he was a fool, or he had some other plan in mind.


    Lu Li was obviously holding onto his skills.


    Shadow Cloak!


    In the moment of shock after all of the built-up suspense, Lu Li directly rushed at the opposing Priest.


    Their Priest was also female, but she wasn¡¯t as pretty as March Rain. She had a sad look on her face, perhaps in the hope that some players would pity her.


    Unfortunately, Moonlight was a PVP maniac. He would kill the player in front of him regardless of their gender.


    The poor Priest girl could only watch as the two other male players rushed towards her. After a few hits, she was removed from the match.


    On the other side of the battefield, the Paladin was chasing March Rain, who was running around and healing herself.


    This was the first time she was facing a dive-profession on her own. Although she was nervous, this wasn¡¯t much unlike the experience she had when they were in the Warsong Canyon. She knew when to advance and when to retreat, so she could give herself opportunities to heal.


    As well as this, she was well-equipped and her skills were quite strong.


    The Paladin¡¯s damage was much less than he had expected. The few hits that he did get in were easily recovered through March Rain¡¯s Regeneration skill.


    March Rain also kept Lu Li¡¯s words in mind, ensuring that the Regeneration buff was always applied to her.


    +20, +22, +18¡­


    The low numbers were not to be underestimated, as the ticks were applied quite rapidly.


    Before the Warlock could get in range to attack March Rain, he looked back to find that their Priest sister had already been killed.


    Did they really need to be that aggressive!?


    In a normal situation, a single DPS profession wouldn¡¯t be able to kill a Healer in such a short amount of time. Obviously, Lu Li¡¯s overpowered strength was the exception to this rule.


    As he had no other choices, the Warlock pressed forwards to attack March Rain.


    Their only chance was to kill the other Priest and level the playing field.


    When that happened, they would have a Paladin that could heal and Warlock, against a Warrior and a Thief. There was still hope in that situation.


    Moonlight was just about to go back and save March Rain before he was stopped by Lu Li.


    He shook his head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s test March and see how long she can last.¡±


    Moonlight soon realized that this was a good way to see if March Rain could withstand the pressure of two players chasing her at once.


    But what if March Rain died? Wouldn¡¯t that affect the outcome of the match?


    Of course not! Lu Li and Moonlight together had easily cleared-out teams of five players in the Warsong Canyon. They even dared to provoke teams of ten.


    The technique of these other two players was pretty good, but they were nowhere good enough.


    After Lu Li attacked, he realized that this Paladin had to be level 23 or below, as he couldn¡¯t even deal the minimum damage on some of his skills. This meant that he was being penalized by the System.


    Basically, Lu Li¡¯s strength was affecting the game balance.


    In his previous life, of those who participated in the tournament, only I No Understand had reached level 25. Everyone else was still below level 25.


    Over half of I No Understand¡¯s body was equipped with Silver equipment and he was level 25. He uneventfully took the first prize for Glory Capital.


    But now, I No Understand wasn¡¯t even up to Lu Li¡¯s current level. He was still one Boss away from gaining enough EXP to be level 25.


    On the other hand, Lu Li and the others had already reached level 26.


    The butterfly effect is a difficult thing to predict; it¡¯s hard to say when the deviation occurred.


    March Rain had 4 pieces of level 25 Silver equipment!


    ¡°Can you try a little harder? How is it that you¡¯ve only taken 30% of her HP after so long?¡± the Warlock shouted at the Paladin, feeling a little resentful towards him.


    You can hit her; then you¡¯ll know why.


    When he finally managed to attack her, he was shocked. His Shadow Bolt that usually dealt 150 damage only dealt a little more than 100 damage to March Rain.


    This was the effect of the level penalty and the difference in equipment.


    The Warlock immediately realized the cause of the problem.


    Oh System Gods, this is so unfair. Why have you assigned us such a strong team?


    ¡°Kill this Priest.¡±


    The Warlock clenched his teeth and tried the best he could with the Paladin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, just make this Paladin waste his mana,¡± Lu Li said in the chatroom, while Moonlight leaned on his big axe and enjoyed the sight. ¡£


    ¡°Use Fear!¡± The Paladin had finally lowered March Rain¡¯s HP down to 50% and hurriedly asked the Warlock to use his crowd control skill.


    The Warlock found that his Fear cooldown had reset and immediately tried to cast it on March Rain.

 269 Mistakenly Using The Battlefield As A Lecture Hall

    ¡°If he tries to use Fear on you, cast Regeneration on yourself, and then cast a damage reduction skill on yourself. If you ever get an anti-debuff skill in the future, you can use that to protect yourself. Even though the Warlock¡¯s Fear is an instant-cast, he still needs to pick a target and perform some hand gestures. If you are observant enough, you¡¯ll see it coming,¡± Lu Li casually instructed March Rain.


    March Rain pursed her lips together and stared at the Warlock¡¯s Magic Staff.


    The Warlock completed the hand gestures before raising his staff and casting the skill. After he cast it, both he and the Paladin felt like they were about to cry.


    It wasn¡¯t that March Rain hadn¡¯t been affected, but that she had become even harder to kill after being Feared.


    In addition to the Regeneration and damage-reduction skill, she had also cast Power Word Shield on herself.


    Fear was primarily used to cancel or interrupt skills. March Rain was currently running around like a headless fly, but if she took any damage, she would recover from this Feared state.


    The Warlock and Paladin angrily attacked her, but even with a coordinated attack, they could only deal 60% of March Rain¡¯s HP.


    After recovering, March Rain immediately started Healing herself again.


    ¡°We need to find a way to get March the ¡®Psychic Scream¡¯ skill book. She¡¯s too passive,¡± Lu Li said, summing up the situation he had been observing.


    Psychic Scream was a Priest crowd control skill. After its use, up to five players within 8 yards would be put into a confused state. If these players didn¡¯t take any damage, this state could last for 8 seconds.


    The use of Psychic Scream could instantly change the tides of a battle.


    ¡°Psychic Scream would be pretty good. I¡¯ll ask some of my friends to see if they have it.¡± Moonlight was deep in thought.


    ¡°March Rain also has some issues with positioning ¨C she hasn¡¯t fully understood the environment around her,¡± Lu Li noted.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it is when you¡¯re new; you just have to slowly learn.¡±


    Moonlight maintained an optimistic attitude; he was quite satisfied with March Rain¡¯s performance.


    ¡°Uh, we¡¯re not really in a hurry to win, so you can take your time.¡±


    If they wanted to advance and enter the top 10000, they would probably need to fight in another dozen matches. March Rain still had many chances to practice her PVP skill and positioning.


    With Lu Li and Moonlight¡¯s ability alone, they could easily advance, even without a Healer.


    ¡°A Priest should always try to burn their opponent¡¯s mana. A Paladin with no mana is useless,¡± Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but remind March Rain again.


    March Rain took a step back and cast Mana Burn on the Paladin.


    The Paladin already had a pitifully small pool of Mana, and Mana Burn¡¯s cooldown was quite short. After March Rain had cast Mana Burn three times in succession, the Paladin didn¡¯t have a single point of Mana left.


    Lu Li was right. Without Mana, the Paladin couldn¡¯t cast any skills and had to resort to using his ordinary attacks with his single-handed sword.


    Did the Paladin think he was a Warrior or a Thief?


    The Paladin¡¯s ordinary attacks had embarrassingly low damage and an extremely slow attack speed.


    He quickly realized that his efforts were futile.


    The Warlock wasn¡¯t afraid of Mana Burn as he could summon Hellhounds that could do the same thing. However, March Rain¡¯s equipment was so good that her Intelligence attribute was high enough to cast off the Warlock¡¯s Mana Burn. She had no reason to be afraid of him.


    The battle between them went on like this: one of them would attack while the other would Heal.


    In addition to healing herself and occasionally retaliating, March Rain also periodically ensured that the Paladin never had enough mana to cast skills.


    ¡°Dammit, let¡¯s leave.¡±


    If the Warlock and Paladin hadn¡¯t worked out by now that she was training, they probably had something wrong with their brains.


    At first, they wanted to kill her in their anger. But now that they had discovered that they couldn¡¯t kill her at all, they couldn¡¯t do anything but admit defeat and leave.


    The System prompted them again that they had won.


    ¡°How did it feel this time?¡± Lu Li asked with a smile.


    After their previous battle, March Rain had said that she didn¡¯t feel much, but he wouldn¡¯t believe her if she said the same thing this time.


    ¡°It was really exciting! If I had more time, I feel like I could have killed them both!¡±


    March Rain¡¯s eyes were sparkling; she was obviously really excited.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have had enough mana,¡± Moonlight laughed.


    ¡°Oh yeah, I don¡¯t have enough mana.¡±


    She had to Heal and attack on top of the Hellhounds constantly burning her mana. March Rain didn¡¯t actually have much mana left either.


    Her opponents only needed to wait a little longer for her to run out of mana¡­


    After they exited the battlefield, the System began the countdown once again. After 15 minutes had passed, they were prompted to enter the arena again.


    Warrior, Mage, Shaman.


    This composition was quite similar to the previous one. They had physical melee damage, Magic ranged damage and a Healer.


    However, this time, March Rain was much more active.


    The most important thing was that they kept practicing. Moonlight engaged the opposing Warrior and Lu Li pestered the opposing Shaman, while March Rain took on the opposing Mage.


    Lu Li used his Cloak¡¯s effect and appeared behind the Shaman before casting Sap.


    The opposing Mage quickly jumped in and sent a Blizzard in their Shaman¡¯s direction. This area of effect crowd control skill was intended to force Lu Li to give up on attacking their Healer.


    However, Lu Li had already escaped and was watching the fun from a distance.


    March Rain lifted her hand and attacked the Mage.


    The Mage was their party leader and he initially wanted to retreat, as their Healer had been Sapped. But what confused him was that this Priest, a healing profession, had for whatever reason taken the initiative to attack a Mage.


    For a moment, he felt like he had swapped professions with March Rain.


    When Moonlight finally reached the other Warrior, they began to relentlessly swing their axes at each other, like two axe demons.


    At first, the Mage didn¡¯t pay much attention to March Rain. After all, her wasn¡¯t very high. Instead, he focused his attention on Moonlight.


    However, Moonlight did something even more surprising ¨C he immediately cast a damage reduction skill.


    March Rain saw that the Mage was ignoring her, so she decisively cast Mana Burn.


    Although Mages had quite a lot of mana ¨C even more than Warlocks ¨C he couldn¡¯t allow this to go on for too long. As such, he commanded the Warrior to go and attack March Rain.


    A Warrior and a Mage was much more challenging compared to a Paladin and a Warlock.


    Even so, March Rain wasn¡¯t afraid at all. She was actually excited that they had ganged-up on her and was having a lot of fun fighting them.


    Moonlight continued to harass the Warrior to make it difficult for him to attack March Rain. ¡°I can¡¯t speak about anything else, but from what I¡¯ve seen, March Rain is quite suited for competitions,¡± he said to Lu Li.


    To be unafraid in battle ¨C this was the simplest of requirements.


    As for her skills, how would March Rain ever know the consequences of attacking a Mage if she didn¡¯t experience it?


    Of course, all of this was to train March Rain¡¯s battle sense.


    When they started to fight high-level teams, she would need to independently do her job of healing.


    ¡°For Mages, you should burn their mana when you can. Even if you don¡¯t have time to do it properly, it can still help relieve pressure from your teammates,¡± Lu Li instructed, after casting Sap on the Shaman.


    ¡°But, he doesn¡¯t deal that much damage. What should I do if I¡¯m facing a Mage that deals high damage?¡± March Rain asked while she continued fighting.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you though of a question like that,¡± Moonlight praised.


    ¡®To infer different information from the same lesson and learn by analogy¡¯ was easier said than done.


    ¡°You are a healer, so don¡¯t focus on trying to kill them,¡± Lu Li advised. ¡°Everything you do should involve staying alive and providing healing.¡±


    ¡°Then how should I protect myself?¡±


    As she said this, March Rain was hit by the Warrior¡¯s Charge. This gave the Mage a chance to cast an incredibly strong skill. Working together, they had both taken almost half of March Rain¡¯s HP.


    ¡°What do you think you should do?¡± Lu Li wasn¡¯t worried at all. He gently stroked his dagger and held back any impulses to stab the Shaman.

 270 The Priest Must Circle The Pillar

    Lu Li refused to kill the Shaman.


    As long as the Shaman was alive, the Mage and Warrior would still believe there was hope. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t easily give up.


    The test of the previous match wasn¡¯t comprehensive enough.


    Now that March Rain was down to half-HP, the resolve of the Mage and Warrior was further strengthened. They only needed a bit more effort to kill this Priest. Then, they could save their Healer and win the match in a three on two¡­


    As for why Lu Li and Moonlight weren¡¯t helping their Healer, perhaps they were just rookies.


    ¡®That must be the case¡¯, the two reassured themselves.


    March Rain was hit again and again with devastating blows; there were several occasions where the Mage almost killed her.


    The Mage¡¯s attributes weren¡¯t very high, but his equipment must have given him bonus critical hit, as each critical hit dealt significant damage to March Rain.


    They also realized that March Rain¡¯s technique and game-awareness were a little lacking. This was especially the case for her positioning, as she didn¡¯t seem to move much.


    Soon, the Mage gave up on his instant cast skills and started channeling.


    Channeled skills were obviously stronger than Instant Cast skills, so the pressure on March Rain was now even greater.


    ¡°Is this a little excessive?¡± Moonlight thought that she couldn¡¯t take it. He could only try his best to pester the Warrior as he couldn¡¯t kill him.


    ¡°Its fine. March Rain is stronger than you think,¡± Lu Li replied calmly.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just worried that she might not be able to tank all of these attacks. If she dies¡­¡± Moonlight was still casually harassing the Warrior when he realized how effective Lu Li¡¯s stress test really was.


    Due to the fear of an unexpected failure, no one dared to use the competition to train.


    Only Lu Li dared to do this, and only the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had players who were higher than level 25.


    ¡°You have to develop and experience everything ¨C even death,¡± Lu Li said indifferently.


    Part of his PVP technique had come from a variety of difference sources from his previous life. He had refused to follow any one technique or theory, striving to find something that worked perfectly for him.


    Another part had come from his previous life of self-discipline.


    When he entered the game, Dawn had already been up for a year. As a Gold Collection Member, his life basically consisted of killing mobs over and over and over¡­


    If it weren¡¯t for the incident, he probably would have remained as a Gold Collection Member.


    Unfortunately, things went wrong and people started looking for trouble with him.


    One day, two overexcited players ran up to Lu Li and killed him, sending him back to the city.


    That feeling of being targeted and oppressed was quite depressing.


    After he had been killed, he sent his attackers a message asking why. (Dead players couldn¡¯t speak, but could still send text messages) The response from those players changed his life.


    Do we need a reason for killing weaklings like you?


    From that point onwards, Lu Li no longer believed that being a Gold Collection Member was a viable career.


    He did a lot of studying and spent all of his time in the library, learning about various close-quarters combat techniques that were used in the arena.


    He had long since forgotten the names of those players, otherwise, he would have killed them a few times by now. However, he would also thank them, because without them, he wouldn¡¯t be where he was now, even if he had experienced rebirth.


    This was the same for March Rain. Whether she was killed in the arena or not, this was something that she needed to experience.


    Her HP continued to dwindle and she had fallen to critical HP on more than one occasion. Her Mana was also visibly depleting and she looked like she was about to cry.


    March Rain felt like she had been wronged. Her two DPS teammates were just standing there and allowing her to die to this Mage. Even though she knew that this was just an exercise, she had always been spoiled by her brother and had never felt so helpless before.


    If Lonesome Flower saw this scene, he would definitely seek revenge on Lu Li.


    The phrase ¡®acting resourcefully¡¯ accurately described March Rain.


    When the situation became desperate, she inadvertently ran to a nearby pillar.


    She got there just in time. The Mage¡¯s skill had failed while he was halfway through the channeling because he had lost sight of his target.


    Both the Mage and March Rain were stunned by this outcome.


    Lu Li and Moonlight exchange smiles and sighs; this girl had finally discovered the secret.


    However, the Mage refused to accept this. He chalked it up to luck; this Priest girl had definitely just stood behind the pillar by accident.


    As such, he adjusted his position and started channeling once again.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t understand March Rain at all.


    Although March Rain hadn¡¯t played many games in the past, she was a very quick learner, able to derive a deep understanding from a little bit of information. She was even better than Lu Li at this, which is why he insisted on taking her to this competition.


    When March Rain saw that the Mage had started channeling again, she calmly took a few steps.


    His skill was interrupted once again and the Mage felt a chill in his heart.


    How was he supposed to fight like this?!


    Killing a Priest wasn¡¯t difficult. You just needed to apply some crowd-control and have two players focus-fire the Priest.


    However, the Warrior was currently engaged and the Shaman couldn¡¯t help either, as even if he recovered from Sap, he only had defensive skills.


    They had managed to advance using this composition in the last Shadow Cup.


    Were they really about to lose on the third match?


    The two of them were stuck in a cycle of chasing and hiding. March Rain¡¯s critical HP had now regenerated back to full.


    When the Mage walked towards her, March Rain cast a skill.


    Shadowfiend!


    Her Shadowfiend was now a whole level higher. If the full potential of Shadowfiend was realized, it could regenerate 50% of her mana.


    Lu Li almost applauded at the sight of this.


    Firstly, March Rain had not cast Shadowfiend on the Mage or the Warrior. Damage dealing professions weren¡¯t afraid of Shadowfiend as it was a formless summon that could be killed in two to three hits.


    Instead, she had put the Shadowfiend on the Shaman¡¯s body.


    The poor Shaman couldn¡¯t even defend himself; how could he fend off a Shadowfiend?


    Secondly, the timing at which she had casted Shadowfiend was perfect.


    The Mage was on the other side of the pillar desperately trying to lower her HP with instant cast skills. Due to the pillar obstructing his view, he had no way of seeing the situation that the Shaman was in.


    He could only see the Priest¡¯s mana increasing¡­ at first there was only 30% remaining, then suddenly, it regenerated up to 80%.


    80% might as well have been 100%.


    The Mage felt like the situation here was hopeless and desperately rushed towards Lu Li, leaving March Rain behind.


    If it weren¡¯t for the difference in strength due to the levels and equipment, he would have killed March Rain. The situation was hopeless unless he could get someone else to help.


    He was going to save the Shaman first and then attack the Priest together.


    He had decided to fight the Thief.


    The Thief¡¯s fighting style was the most unorthodox in all of Dawn.


    These two professions also had an unorthodox way of doing battle, much unlike the usual charging at each other.


    Was a Thief easier to kill than a Priest? Perhaps, but definitely not in this situation.


    Lu Li sighed. The trainer had given up on his job, so naturally, there was no way to continue this session. The stipulated 30-minute time limit was almost over as well, so he sped up his actions.


    Lu Li¡¯s casual attacks were suddenly replaced with vicious, relentless ones, with high-levels of Skill Completion.


    The Shaman felt wronged, as he thought Lu Li was a cheat.


    If you showed me that you were this strong from the start, I wouldn¡¯t have underestimated you.

 271 The Victory Money

    His feelings of injustice were in vain; the angry Shaman didn¡¯t even have a chance to heal himself before he died.


    The Mage speechlessly stopped walking.


    He initially thought that this Thief was in a similar predicament to him.


    It seem to him that the both of them were struggling the kill each other¡¯s healers. Who would have thought that he had been faking it the entire time? He just slaughtered their teammate like a chicken.


    His mental state was a mess as he helplessly watched the Thief run towards him. He really wished that he could take off this Thief¡¯s bandana and find out who this was.


    Unfortunately for him, he didn¡¯t get a chance to; the combined attacks of Lu Li and March Rain quickly eliminated him.


    The Warrior¡¯s response to all of this was as expected; he quickly conceded and left the match.


    ¡°That was really good,¡± Moonlight sincerely complemented March Rain. ¡°The Priest should aim to circle a pillar and use it to interrupt any Mage¡¯s channeled skills. This is a high-level technique that every Healer should master.¡±


    March Rain smiled happily; her previous grievances had been replaced with joy.


    Discovering a new technique in the midst of battle was far more satisfying than having it told to you. It created a sense of achievement that made you feel like you could do anything.


    Now she could confidently say that she loved this feeling.


    Although she felt a similar way when they cleared Instance Dungeons, it was nothing compared to PVP.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get too proud,¡± Lu Li said bluntly. ¡°You are still a long way away from becoming a professional healer. A strong affinity for keeping yourself and others alive is a basic requirement for that.¡±


    ¡°This guy¡­ just let me be happy for a second.¡± March Rain usually had a good temper, but she couldn¡¯t help but wrinkle her nose at this.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get it in a few more games,¡± Moonlight comforted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go out and fight mobs; find a place to rest instead. The coming fights will only get harder.¡±


    Lu Li and Moonlight hadn¡¯t put in much effort, but March Rain had been completely focused in these matches.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t an unreasonable person; he was just very strict on himself, which sometimes reflected in the way he treated others.


    The three of them sat under a big tree and laid out a white cloth that they piled an assortment of food, drink and wild fruits upon.


    Most of the wild fruits that could be found in the game were edible.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how my brother is doing,¡± March Rain worriedly said as she nibbled on some bread.


    While they were eating, Wandering¡¯s party was arrogantly and relentlessly crushing their opponents.


    Although Wandering was a Defensive player, he had actually put quite a few points into Strength. He had also secretly been collecting a set of offensive equipment. With the two skill books gained from bomb farming, he wasn¡¯t lacking in this department either.


    He had the skills and the levels, so he definitely could do quite a bit of damage.


    Sesame Rice Ball and Sakura Memories could go without explaining; these two just tried to deal as much damage as they could.


    Moreover, Sakura Memories could also drop totems.


    At the start of every match, they would rush straight at the opponent¡¯s healer.


    No one else would ever understand what it felt like to be rushed by three level 25 players.


    Of the four matches they had competed in so far, they had always managed to successfully burst down the healer. After they had killed the healer, the remaining DPS professions didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    ¡°These players are simply no challenge to us,¡± Wandering said as he shook his head with a proud expression on his face.


    ¡°Our levels are pretty high,¡± Sesame Rice Ball replied shyly.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s because you¡¯re too good looking, so they always give us a chance.¡±


    Sakura Memories didn¡¯t pay attention to Wandering¡¯s expression instantly turning dark.


    This guy always mentioned his good looks, but would feel insulted if someone else did.


    Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and Hachi Chan, on the other hand, didn¡¯t have such a radically aggressive lineup.


    However, they had adopted another shameless strategy.


    Azure Sea Breeze would stand in the front of Hachi Chan and Lonesome Flower.


    This ¡®turtle strategy¡¯ ensured that no two players could be crowd controlled at once and that Lonesome Flower could easily help out Hachi Chan.


    It created a seamless defense that prevented the opposing players from finding any openings.


    If they focused Azure Sea Breeze, then that would be the optimal outcome. Azure Sea Breeze was so tanky that even a Boss couldn¡¯t kill him, let alone these ordinary players.


    If they started to attack Azure Sea Breeze, then Lonesome Flower would rain his fury down upon them.


    Lonesome Flower¡¯s damage was second only to Lu Li. However, Lu Li was so overpowered that no one could compare to him. In all of Dawn, there weren¡¯t many people who could compare to Lonesome Flower.


    Even if they had really strong Healer, they didn¡¯t stand a chance against his and Hachi Chan¡¯s combined attacks.


    Once the Healer was gone, the match would be decided.


    If you tried to kill Hachi Chan, that was truly a death sentence. This was the System¡¯s daughter; she wasn¡¯t that easy to kill.


    She had good equipment and was a high level. However, she would also mysteriously get buffs like a Shield, Rebound, Reduce Damage, Dodge¡­ and even Invincibility.


    It was likely that one of the players who attacked Hachi Chan had ended up with some mental trauma.


    The poor guy knew that he had just faced someone who was particularly strong but he was also convinced that all other Druids were just as overpowered. As such, he avoided Druids from that point onwards.


    If you wanted to kill Lonesome Flower, you would need to be able to quickly break through his shield.


    Before going into the fourth match, Lu Li quickly checked out what was happening with the other two teams.


    Wandering¡¯s team had already fought seven times, as their aggressive style quickly ended matches. Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s team wasn¡¯t far behind either ¨C they had just finished their sixth match.


    ¡°Should we finish the matches faster?¡± March Rain asked.


    For the sake of training her, Lu Li¡¯s team had wasted quite a bit of time. Otherwise, the combined strength of Lu Li and Moonlight would have quickly eradicated most teams.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Speed won¡¯t win us the grand prize. We can only play ten matches every day anyway, so we can take it slowly,¡± Lu Li responded.


    There was only one opposing player in this match.


    As soon as the match began, he immediately gestured to stop.


    ¡°Hold on, please wait!¡±


    There was only one person that was visible, but the other two players could still be in Stealth. Lu Li couldn¡¯t risk lowering his guard.


    ¡°What do you want to say?¡± Lu Li asked as he stepped forward.


    ¡°Give me your bank account details.¡±


    It was a hunter who had a Ringed Bear by his side. It wasn¡¯t an ordinary Ringed Bear either ¨C it was a rare pet like Remnant Dream¡¯s.


    ¡°Why do you want my bank details?¡± Lu Li was bewildered.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you $100,000 if you concede,¡± the Hunter offered gracefully.


    ¡°Dammit. Can I ask how many matches you have won?¡± Lu Li asked.


    It turned out that he was only tycoon. Although Lu Li immediately lost respect for him, he realized that this probably wasn¡¯t a rare occurrence.


    It wasn¡¯t just the Shadow Cup ¨C almost all the tournaments had some kind of shady dealings. Most players were willing to accept this and as long as it didn¡¯t create too much of a hassle, the organizers didn¡¯t bother dealing with it either.


    However, $100,000 real was no small amount.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been through eight games so far; you are the ninth. Don¡¯t be ashamed to take it ¨C you do what you can to get rich. Moreover, there are eight teams before you who have already accepted our friendship.¡±


    The Hunter¡¯s perspective was a little strange ¨C he believed that any rational person would accept his offer.

 272 Threat Of The Sistercon

    ¡°Why are you wasting your breath on him?¡± Moonlight rushed forwards and swung his axe to split the negotiator in two.


    ¡°Do you guys think we would have conceded if he offered $10 million?¡± Lu Li smacked his lips and left the arena when the System gave them the victory prompt.


    ¡°These are just the qualifying rounds. He¡¯s not dumb; there¡¯s no way he would offer $10 million,¡± Moonlight said, shaking his head.


    Before the first 10,000 players were found, the matches were called the Qualifiers. The actual competition would start after this, with the last 16 players being part of the Finals.


    ¡°What if it was the finals?¡± Lu Li was a little puzzled.


    ¡°You say that like we¡¯re guaranteed to make it into the finals,¡± Moonlight laughed. ¡°Even if it was the finals, there wouldn¡¯t be a need to concede. If we can make it into the top three, the prize money in addition to various other endorsements will give us a few million dollars, if not 10 million.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever been to the Shadow Cup finals?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°A few times,¡± Moonlight nodded.


    He didn¡¯t really like talking about his past, but he wasn¡¯t so sensitive that he would refuse to talk about it at all.


    This guy was obviously a veteran, but Lu Li suddenly realized that Moonlight had never participated in any of Dawn¡¯s tournaments in his previous life, whether it was the Shadow Cup or Dawn¡¯s own professional tournaments.


    The impression that Moonlight gave off was that he was constantly fighting.


    Lu Li¡¯s rebirth had actually changed Moonlight, or rather, it had put Moonlight on a different path.


    This was probably a good thing.


    They didn¡¯t run into any more weird attempts at bribery in the later matches. March Rain got to face a wide variety of different players and her skill improved by leaps and bounds.


    Soon, they had completed all ten matches and there was only half of the day left.


    They decided not to spend it at the Warsong Canyon as they were sick of PVPing. Instead, they went and started an Instance Dungeon.


    The Howling Caves had four difficulties. They didn¡¯t consider clearing the Regular Difficulty and they had already cleared the Elite Difficulty, so they settled upon Heroic Difficulty.


    It wasn¡¯t necessary for them to do the Nightmare Difficulty. Although there was a chance for Gold equipment to be dropped, it was just too draining to be worth the small chance.


    Compared to when they were still clearing the Elite Difficulty, everyone had now become stronger. Everyone had gained quite a few pieces of level 25 Silver equipment.


    In fact, they were actually concerned that they would instantly clear the first few Bosses on Heroic Difficulty.


    The EXP that they received was higher than in the Elite Difficulty, especially for those who were not yet level 26. Sakura Memories even received a Skill Point.


    The equipment that was dropped was quite good as well.


    Hachi Chan received a level 25 Leather Hat which was a classic drop from the Howling Caves. Its special effect would deal 200% rebound damage to whoever hit her head.


    Whoever hit her would be really unlucky!


    Most people would aim their attacks at the head, as this increased the chance of a critical hit or applying a debuff.


    Someone like Lu Li would prefer to stab the back of another¡¯s head with his dagger.


    Remnant Dream also received a good piece of equipment. Its special effect made her pet go berserk, increasing its attack and critical hit by 30%, but decreasing its attributes after the effect.


    As Beastmaster, equipment like this was basically God-like.


    Skum dropped a decent Pants Mold for Lu Li. After Skum, they began to fight Serpentis, but they were defeated two times in a row. The players reluctantly then decided stop for the rest of the day.


    As Lu Li already had the required materials for the pants, he decided that it would be convenient to Forge them now.


    Basilisk Hide Pants (Superior Silver): Armor 22, Agility +12, Constitution +8, Special Effect 1: Critical Hit +6%, Special Effect 2: Increase Stealth effect by 10%. Equipment Requirement: Level 25. Durability 55/55.


    Lu Li¡¯s current pants were already quite strong.


    Spellbreaker¡¯s Pants (Steel): Defence 10, Strength +4, Critical Hit 10%, Equipment Requirement: Level 5, Durability 25/25.


    Everyone else thought that Lu Li¡¯s single level 5 equip was rather unsightly.


    However, he simply didn¡¯t want to give up the +10% Critical Hit; this effect was too strong. In fact, the Perfect Silver level 25 Dagger that he had equipped yesterday only added 8% critical hit.


    A level 5 equip that had 10% bonus Critical Hit was considered to be godlike.


    But now, his Supreme Three Ring added 25%, his Bracer added 5%, his gloves added 5%, his dagger added 8% and his new pants would add 6%. As such, the loss of 4% critical chance appeared less significant.


    Lu Li had already reached a bottleneck in critical chance anyway; adding any more would have diminishing returns.


    It was impossible to gain 100% Critical Hit and critically strike with every attack. Dawn¡¯s calculations prevented such an absolute situation from ever occurring.


    Lu Li had previously read some data analysis on how a pre-level 30 Thief would be capped at 40% critical chance.


    Replacing his pants would not only increase his Armor, but would also give him a worthy special effect.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was lacking in items that increased his Stealth effect, but that this Critical Chance cap was quite significant.


    He had personally experienced Stellar Union Silver Radiant¡¯s powerful Detection Badge firsthand. Against the Badge, the Evil Faction¡¯s number one Thief, Blood Dagger, could be easily killed when detected.


    He already had the Supreme Three Ring which gave him a 20% increase in Stealth, and now the pants would give him an additional 10%. It was unlikely that he would be easily detected from now on.


    Other than this, Lu Li didn¡¯t make any more equipment for himself. He helped Wandering forge a one-handed shield before moving on to Water Fairy¡¯s three Molds. He was even lucky enough to forge an exquisite piece of equipment.


    After this, he gave his level 5 pants to Shen Wansan. He knew that they could be sold for a high price with a little bit of hype.


    The next day, Lu Li did a bit of levelling while he was waiting for the competition to start again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t put too much pressure on my sister,¡± Lonesome Flower complained to him in a message. ¡°It¡¯s one thing for her to be competing with you guys, but I hear that you guys are relentlessly teaching her PVP strategy when the match starts. Are you forcing her to do this?¡±


    ¡°That is definitely not the case.¡± Obviously, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t admit it


    When it came to talking about March Rain, Lu Li didn¡¯t want to be too candid as he understood the perspective of an older brother.


    ¡°She printed a stack of PVP information and brought it to school, but it was found by her teacher. Luckily, I am quite familiar with her teacher, otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous.¡±


    College students had more freedom to play games, but the school obviously couldn¡¯t allow that.


    Studying game strategy in class couldn¡¯t be forgiven, especially for someone like March Rain who loved to study.


    ¡°We absolutely had nothing to do with that.¡± Lu Li would refuse to admit it, even if he was beat to death. ¡°With Moonlight and I, she doesn¡¯t really need to do too much. Haha¡­ hahaha¡­.¡± he dryly laughed.


    ¡°Good. Quickly finish the matches so you can return my sister.¡± Lonesome Flower was a sistercon, but he wouldn¡¯t unnecessarily create a scene.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t know how Lu Li was training his baby sister.


    The second day of the Shadow Cup was very important. The 10,000 qualifying players would be decided by the end of the day and the real competition would begin shortly afterwards.


    With the real competition came real prize money.


    Even if you couldn¡¯t make it into the finals, there was still some prize money up for grabs.


    This money came from a portion of the ticket price.

 273 Promotion

    An audience was permitted for official matches and many players bought entry tickets; the location had a concert-like setup with a widescreen that live-streamed the entire match.


    Analysts were even assigned for the popular teams.


    The tickets were sold at ten silver coins each, which was cheaper than the price of a movie ticket, but of course, the time span of a match was much shorter than a movie.


    If ten thousand people paid for tickets, that would be 1000 gold coins.


    Players could receive a 10% profit from this, which was equivalent to $10,000 in real money. This was no small sum; many contestants were aiming for this money.


    Lu Li had also entered the competition in his previous life, but unfortunately, his team members weren¡¯t the best and they didn¡¯t manage to get promoted.


    As each individual stood on different levels from one another, it was only natural that they each received a different amount of income.


    Famous professional contestants such as Jade Flower Lover and Blood Dagger had no problem selling out all 100,000 tickets.


    That would be $100,000 of real money earned from a match.


    For teams who weren¡¯t as famous, if would be fortunate if they had a few hundred people show up to their match. Some teams didn¡¯t even have a single person show up to their match.


    Shadow Cup Gaming Competition: Team Lu Li¡¯s 14th match.


    ¡°This is the last match; we¡¯ll be promoted if we win this,¡± Moonlight said as he waved his axe with excitement.


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt that we¡¯ll be promoted. After all, this is only the preliminaries; it¡¯s nothing to be proud of,¡± Lu Li replied.


    His words were also aimed towards Wandering and Azure Sea Breeze. The two teams that they led had already been successfully promoted an hour ago.


    Both of them had been very pleased with themselves after they heard that Lu Li hadn¡¯t passed the preliminaries yet.


    While they spoke, their opponents had already entered the match.


    The first to enter was a Paladin, the second to enter was also a Paladin and the third¡­¡­ was still a Paladin.


    ¡°An entire team of Paladins¡­¡± Moonlight wasn¡¯t impressed.


    Warriors and Thieves were damage-output classes, so Moonlight and Lu Li didn¡¯t like plate-armor classes. They didn¡¯t expect to match up against a team consisting of three plate-armor players.


    The Paladin class was capable of dealing damage and healing at the same time. It wasn¡¯t an easy class to deal with.


    It would also be naive to think of these three Paladins as noobs, as they were able to win their previous matches.


    ¡°I¡¯ll whip them.¡± March Rain was keen to give it a try.


    Paladins were March Rain¡¯s favorite ¨C of all the classes that she could burn mana from, Paladins had the least amount of mana. Besides, the Paladins at this stage all had short legs and they didn¡¯t run any faster than Priests.


    ¡°Great, we¡¯ll be relying on you for this match,¡± Lu Li and Moonlight laughed.


    The team of Paladins was only a bit harder to kill than their previous opponents.


    Lu Li made some observations before he sneaked up on a Paladin which he believed to be the designated healer.


    As soon as Lu Li went into Stealth, one of the Paladins casted Consecration, which caused the ground around them to become heated.


    Any Stealtheh units that stood on the area would take damage and consequently be revealed.


    Because they had three Paladins, they could constantly cast this skill without any delay between the skill cooldown.


    As well as this, Consecration was a skill with little mana cost, so they weren¡¯t afraid about running out of mana.


    They truly had the battle-style of a porcupine.


    Lu Li circled around them for a bit before he gave up his attempt to charge at them.


    The three Paladins held their grounds as they slowly approached March Rain, casting Consecration the entire time.


    Their existence was truly a headache.


    Moonlight kept a certain distance from them, not in a rush to force a fight.


    March Rain waited for them to enter her spell zone before she casted a Mana Burn on the Paladin who charged in front.


    The Paladin, who specialized in defense, had very little mana to begin with and after her spell was casted, one fifth of his mana bar disappeared.


    Unsurprisingly, the three Paladins sped up their pace and were no longer as synchronized as they were from the start. They immediately saw through March Rain¡¯s plan; this girl had no mercy at all and was trying to burn all of their mana.


    At this point in time, Priests were truly the most impressive class!


    Given that there was no great difference in gears, level or gaming skills, trying to kill a Priest would be a hopeless attempt.


    It would even take a huge amount of effort for Lu Li to kill a top-tier Priest like Stellar Union Silver Radiant. In their previous matches, Moonlight and Lu Li had snuck up together on the healer from the opposing team and used all of their skills to kill them.


    March Rain continued backing away at a steady pace as she casted Mana Burn.


    She casted Mana Burn as soon as the skill went off cooldown.


    If the three Paladins tried to pick up their chasing speed, Moonlight would close in to pressure them.


    Paladin A: ¡°Damn, if she keeps burning, I¡¯m going to run out of mana. What do we do?¡±


    So far, they had not run into a Priest who enjoyed burning mana so much, not to mention a Priest who casted the skill with such accuracy.


    Mana Burn was a skill that fell from above, so a player with good game awareness and a fast movement speed would be able to dodge it.


    However, the three Paladins were afraid of ruining their formation and this lowered their mobility. It was no wonder why they were unable to dodge the Mana Burns.


    Paladin B: ¡°We can¡¯t continue like this; we¡¯re getting played by a single Priest.¡±


    Paladin C: ¡°Fight them head on ¨C we¡¯re on the edge of passing the preliminaries. If we lose this match, I¡¯m going to find a balcony to jump off.¡±


    Paladin A: ¡°I have this strong feeling, he¡¯s going to have to jump off a balcony this time.¡±


    Paladin C: ¡°After I die, I¡¯ll come to find you every night.¡±


    Paladin B: ¡°Big bro, for the safety of your butt, get on with it. We¡¯ll cover you from the back!¡±


    Paladin A used a skill to speed up his pace and charged at March Rain.


    Lu Li instantly appeared behind Paladin C, who was the healer, following a flash from his cloak.


    Paladin B was tossed into a dilemma ¨C he couldn¡¯t decide if he should continue ahead and kill the opposing healer with his leader, or if he should turn around to save their own healer.


    However, among the healing classes, Paladins had the best defensive attributes. After all, they wore plate armor and held a shield in their hands.


    As such, he chose to continue forward. After he finished off the healer from the opposing team, he would then turn around and rescue the healer on his own team.


    Two Paladins went ahead to attack March Rain while Lu Li controlled the one that was left.


    It was true that Lu Li couldn¡¯t kill a Paladin healer within a short time-span, but he had the help of Moonlight. Moonlight immediately charged over and the two violent damage dealers quickly killed the healing Paladin.


    After they had killed their target, March Rain still had half of her health bar left.


    It was now three against two and the results of the match had already been decided.


    System: Congratulations, your team has passed the trials of the preliminaries and has successfully become the 6688th team to be promoted.


    According to incomplete statistics, over ten million teams had signed up for the competition in China. Those who were able to win a dozen matches were either elite teams from guilds, or some other very skilled random players.


    Around six thousand teams had already completed their matches, but Lu Li and Moonlight dragged on the competition because they wanted to give March Rain some opportunities to practice.


    Low rankings meant low audience numbers.


    The fifteenth match!


    Lu Li and his team ran into fairly decent opponents.


    When the match began, a Thief sneaked over to attack March Rain while the Mage also focused on her. It seemed like they wanted to kill her in one go.


    Lu Li and Moonlight didn¡¯t dare to let them attack March Rain so freely.


    Lu Li used poison on the Thief to reduce his speed and proceeded to stun the Mage with the special effects from his cloak. Moonlight used Whirlwind and happened to deal damage to both enemy players.


    The Mage took a huge amount of damage from the Whirlwind and with Lu Li¡¯s constant attacks, he quickly fell.


    As soon as the Thief left Whirlwind¡¯s area of effect, Moonlight instantly cancelled it, stunned the Thief with a Charge and broke his armor with a slice from his axe.


    The special effect from Execute activated and wiped out 20% of the Thief¡¯s health bar, which was all the health that he had left.


    After Lu Li assassinated the Mage, he casted Sprint to chase down the Priest from the opposing team.


    The Priest wasn¡¯t even able to protect himself, let alone spare the energy to save their Thief.


    Following the Mage, the Thief died to Moonlight as well, while the Priest was taken of shortly thereafter.


    Their first match in the regular season had only taken them 35 seconds.

 274 Who Was This Lu Li?

    Lu Li¡¯s previous match wasn¡¯t entirely ignored by everyone.


    There were almost a hundred million players in Dawn from China alone, so it was only natural that he would have some loyal fans.


    They had been watching Lu Li closely to see when he would be promoted from the preliminaries.


    Everyone had expected him to be the first to be promoted, if not within the first ten. Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t happen either ¨C he wasn¡¯t in the first hundred, or even the first thousand¡­


    Who would have thought that they would drag on their matches and be promoted after around six thousand other teams?


    Despite this, there were still people who paid attention to the list of new promotions.


    As soon as Lu Li¡¯s team appeared, the fans knew that the one they had been waiting for had finally arrived.


    News of this spread quickly.


    Around four thousand people immediately bought tickets and entered Lu Li¡¯s fifteenth match.


    There were others who continued to buy entrance tickets, which peaked at almost ten thousand people. All up, this would be an income of around 8000-9000 gold coins.


    However, some unexpected problems occurred; even the hosts of Shadow Cup weren¡¯t prepared for it.


    Those who had entered at the start were satisfied ¨C they felt like they had seen an amazing match. However, those who entered later weren¡¯t as lucky. All they saw was an empty match ground on the big screen.


    We spent money to come here and watch a match, but all we got to see was a map.


    The match had finished too quickly.


    The arena was a rather small one ¨C players were able to engage each other almost as soon as they entered. The opposing team had wanted to finish the match as quickly as possible, with the Thief and the Mage focusing on March Rain. This forced Lu Li and Moonlight unleash their full strength.


    Dawn had an A.I reporting system, which would send a high-level alert to the hosting party if too many players sent reports.


    There were no solutions for this in such a short amount of time ¨C all the hosting party could do was to replay the match again so that everyone knew what had happened.


    The opposing team were no match for Lu Li and his team members; Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind alone had nearly killed two players.


    After the replay, the system sent everyone out. Some people were still asking for another replay of the match.


    ¡°Brother Chang, get an analyst here quickly to prepare for the analysis of this team!¡± a graduate shouted with excitement at the Shadow Group department which was responsible for the Shadow Cup.


    He was a young man who didn¡¯t know how to talk properly ¨C his attitude wasn¡¯t humble enough and neither was his tone.


    The supervisor paused, then slowly replied, ¡°Young people just can¡¯t retain their composure. They¡¯ve just won a match, that¡¯s all. We¡¯ll wait until they¡¯ve entered the round of sixteen before we talk about this.¡±


    ¡°What!¡± The young man almost jumped on the spot and exclaimed, ¡°You¡¯re not having any analysts for Lu Li¡¯s match?!¡±


    Fortunately, he was still quite rational and didn¡¯t blurt out what he had thought.


    You must be brain-dead!


    ¡°What¡¯s with all this commotion? So what if it¡¯s Lu Li? He¡¯s not even on the Expert Rankings. Take a look at all the analysts; everyone¡¯s been sent out and no one has time.¡± The supervisor was originally impressed by how the team had finished a battle so quickly, but he was annoyed at the fact that an intern had talked to him in commanding tone.


    Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain were all IDs that he was unfamiliar with.


    ¡°Expert Ranking? What about the Expert Rankings? They¡¯re nothing compared to Lu Li!¡± Since the intern was a newbie, he didn¡¯t know what it meant to be afraid, so he slammed the table as he stood up and spoke.


    There was no way that anyone else would talk back to their boss in front of others.


    However, Lu Li was a God from the intern¡¯s point of view, and there was no way that he would allow someone else to be so disrespectful.


    ¡°You¡­¡­ You¡­¡­¡± Supervisor Chang¡¯s face flushed red as he yelled, ¡°Get out of here! I¡¯ll see what career you¡¯ll manage to land from here on.¡±


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not worried about finding a job. Worse comes to worst, I¡¯ll just be a professional gamer. After observing someone like you host the Shadow Cup, I see that the hundred-year legend isn¡¯t as amazing as they all think. I¡¯m ashamed to be training at Shadow,¡± the young man laughed, chucking the folder in his hands away as he walked out.


    ¡°Wait, what happened?¡± A middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle walked in just in time to run into the intern. Perhaps he had heard the intern¡¯s angry words, but he stopped him from leaving.


    ¡°Move. Staying another second here makes me want to puke.¡±


    The young man was biased against the Shadow Group at this point, so everyone he ran into annoyed him.


    ¡°Tell me what you meant by ¡®The Shadow Group isn¡¯t as amazing as they all think¡¯. Everyone, gather around. Come and have a listen too.¡±


    The middle-aged man wasn¡¯t angry; he waved his hands and all the people in the circular office stood up.


    ¡°President Zhao.¡±


    It was clear that the middle-aged man who had walked in was someone of importance.


    ¡°Good to see you President Zhao. I should¡¯ve asked someone to tell us you were coming.¡±


    Supervisor Chang quickly approached and his sour expression instantly changed to a big smile.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    His tone was still warm, but all those who knew the Vice-President well would be able to feel the rage that boiled under his words.


    Shadow had been famous for a hundred years and was truly a legend in the business world. There was no way he wouldn¡¯t be angry when someone spoke bad of the Shadow Group.


    Supervisor Chang didn¡¯t wait for the intern to speak and explained, ¡°This was what happened¡­¡­¡±


    This office took up the entire floor and there were many who eyed his position, so he didn¡¯t dare to exaggerate anything.


    However, it was still possible for him to achieve the results that he wanted by adjusting the way he spoke.


    Observing the expression of others and adjusting their language based on it ¨C this was something that anyone with enough life experience would be able to do.


    However, what he found weird was that his coworkers that had been gathered by the Vice-President suddenly gave him a sympathetic look.


    He hated this kind of look from others ¨C it felt as if he had forgotten to wear his clothes before he left his door in the morning.


    ¡°For a Shadow Cup like this¡­¡±


    The intern didn¡¯t bother trying to correct the little lies that Supervisor Chang had slipped into his previous words. ¡°Will there still be a next season for it?¡± he carelessly laughed.


    ¡°A shame indeed.¡± President Zhao¡¯s face slightly twitched as he sank into the leather chair.


    ¡°President Zhao¡­¡­¡± Supervisor Chang wasn¡¯t dumb and he began to have a bad feeling.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know Lu Li?¡±


    The Vice-President still wanted to double check.


    ¡°Lu¡­¡­ Lu Li.¡± Supervisor Chang began to sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go have a look after I get back home.¡±


    He didn¡¯t dare tell a lie and pretend that he knew. He could try and fool the President, but definitely not the Vice-President; he had seen with his own eyes the things that the Vice-President had done to climb to his current position.


    ¡°No need to trouble yourself; you can report back to Manager Qian. Oh, and tell him while you¡¯re at it, I¡¯d like to see his resignation letter in the company¡¯s regular meeting this weekend,¡± President Zhao coldly said as he regained his usual composure and sharp attitude.


    A cold act indeed ¨C he couldn¡¯t even be bothered to deal with Supervisor Chang. Instead, he went straight ahead and dealt with Supervisor Chang¡¯s manager.


    Even for those at the top of society, a manager position in the Gaming Department of the Shadow Group was a position that would have taken a dozen years to climb to. In fact, even if they spent the time and effort, there was no guarantee that they would be able to make it to this position. Yet, the career of someone had been ended with a single sentence.


    A lot of companies liked to poach employees of the Shadow Group by offering a higher salary because they were talented people who were highly valued.


    However, it was rare for other companies to employ those who had been released by the Shadow Group. Those who were released by the group wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to start over again.


    His manager had been released; what about him?


    Supervisor Chang¡¯s brain became a giant mess as all kinds of thoughts flooded in to eventually focus on one single point.


    Who was this Lu Li?

 275 A Senior Analys

    Besides Dou Dizhu [TLN: A Chinese gambling card game] on mobile, Supervisor Chang had barely played any games. All his game knowledge came from the game-related news.


    He knew about the winners from each competition, including their specialties and which guild they were from.


    If he was asked to talk about these, he would definitely be able to conjure up a great speech. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to host the Shadow Cup.


    Although the Shadow Cup didn¡¯t earn a huge amount of profit, it had an important and special meaning behind it.


    When all the past Presidents of the Shadow Group made their speeches and vows, the Shadow Cup was always mentioned.


    They would strictly announce that they had spend their entire career maintaining the Shadow Cup. Even if the company was to go bankrupt, the Shadow Cup would be the last investment to be written off.


    President Zhao cared a lot about the Shadow Cup because after his father retired, he too, would be standing in front of the board of directors and honoring it.


    And now, Supervisor Chang, who was hosting the Shadow Cup, stood before him without any knowledge on the most well-known player in the game. He felt a coldness sweep across his entire body.


    After a hundred years, had the Shadow Cup really decayed to this extent?


    Two seniors had lost their jobs because of an intern.


    On one hand, this was truly a ridiculous event. Even Vice-President Zhao, who managed dozens of branch companies, had heard about the legends of Lu Li. He even knew of his First Clears and the days he had taken them on.


    On the other hand, Supervisor Chang, a person responsible for the many affairs of the Shadow Cup, had no clue who this Lu Li was.


    This was truly because of the environment of the job. People only focused on how to climb higher and became ignorant with regards to their actual ability for their job.


    If things truly went according to what Supervisor Chang had previously said and they waited until Lu Li entered the round of sixteen to analyze his play, this would be truly be the downfall of the Shadow Cup.


    At the same time, the Vice-President was about to succeed the group, so this was exactly the time for him to make big actions. Supervisor Chang had just happened to be around at the wrong time.


    As for the intern, nothing too clich¨¦, such as President Zhao suddenly promoting him to a supervisor, happened. He simply remained as an intern.


    However, he became an intern who had been noticed by an executive of the group.


    Unsurprisingly, Vice-President Zhao had a tight schedule. After he sorted this out, he left the office with a a heavy burden on his mind.


    ¡°Lu Li¡¯s sixteenth match is about to begin.¡±


    A technician sent a request to ask for the next arrangements.


    Supervisor Chang had already left as well, and he hung his head in despair. The new supervisor was yet to be decided and the secretary, who was in temporary replacement, thought for a bit before asking the intern, ¡°What do you think we should do?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we should find the best analyst for this. We should also analyze the previous recording and post it on the forums.¡± The intern didn¡¯t end up leaving; he actually really loved this job.


    ¡°Post it on the forums?¡± In order to maintain a certain amount of profit, the Shadow Cup and the Game Company of Dawn banned people from recording the matches. It was very rare for match recordings to appear in forums.


    ¡°It was a battle that only lasted for 35 seconds and there¡¯s no way that people will be satisfied from that. So, they¡¯ll have to buy entrance tickets to see the match live. We¡¯ll be able to earn the full profit for every single match.


    ¡°What do you guys think?¡± Compared to Supervisor Chang, the replacement secretary didn¡¯t know much about these things too, but he was smart enough to ask for the other people¡¯s opinions.


    Most of those who were in the office were a part of the gaming industry, so they had a good idea about what to do.


    The replacement secretary was also a trusted subordinate of the next President and had no hidden agenda, so everyone shared their opinions.


    The results were clear.


    The best analysts were sent over ¨C not one, but two.


    Dark Wind, who wasn¡¯t an expert in the game, but who was a famous expert on game theory, had been an analyst for almost ten years and had a good reputation.


    There was also Zhang Zhen, one of the top hosts in the analyst world. He adapted very well and also hosted many matches that included well-known Thieves, such as Blood Dagger.


    A host combined with an analyst ¨C this was a top combination for the very best.


    ¡°Hi everyone. The match actually hasn¡¯t started; we¡¯re just here too early, haha.¡±


    Out of habit, Zhang Zhen cracked a joke before he began his analysis.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the previous match. Teacher Wind, what¡¯s the shortest match in our current season of Shadow Cup? Any matches shorter than Lu Li¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Of course there is. The shortest match only took sixteen seconds ¨C a team surrendered before the battle even started,¡± Dark Winds said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll skip the ones who have decided to forfeit. Teacher Wind, what do you think of the combination for Lu Li¡¯s team?¡± Zhang Zhen asked.


    ¡°Two physical damage dealers, with a Priest as the healer. This is a fairly common combination.¡± Dark Wind didn¡¯t mind stating the obvious truth. ¡°For a Thief, there are many other better combinations out there. For example, a Thief combined with a Mage and Priest is the combination with the highest victory rate at the moment. Even Sorrowless made his comeback this time using this classic combination.¡±


    ¡°Lu Li and Sorrowless ¨C which team do you think has a better chance?¡± A debate always made a good topic. Once this topic was brought up, everyone entered into a heated discussion.


    Lu Li and the others hadn¡¯t received their notification to go on stage, but his match was already filled with one hundred thousand audience memberes.


    Ten thousand gold coins!


    Even if it was only a 10% profit, that would be equivalent to one thousand gold coins.


    Based on the rules that Lu Li and Wandering had placed down, the Xin Xin Mercenary teams that entered could receive sixty percent of this profit. The other forty percent would become the foundation of the Mercenary Group and could also be used as everyone¡¯s salary.


    This meant that Lu Li had earned 200-300 gold coins from this match alone.


    ¡°Both teams are strong and have their own specialties. It¡¯s hard to say which team will be able to travel further.¡± Of course, Dark Wind didn¡¯t come to a conclusion. He slyly changed the topic of the conversation and began to analyze the recording from the previous match.


    ¡°Have you guys noticed that Lu Li often uses this skill to suddenly appear behind his opponent? Take a look, it happens in an incredibly short amount of time.¡±


    ¡°You have a very strong game knowledge. What is this skill?¡± Zhang Zhen asked the question on everyone¡¯s minds.


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of like Shadow Step,¡± Dark Wind explained. ¡°It¡¯s hard to know the exact effects of the skill because there are currently no players who have demonstrated it. All the knowledge that I have of this skill comes from NPCs.¡±


    ¡°Seems like this is a precious skill,¡± Zhang Zhen sighed in amazement.


    ¡°But the skill that Lu Li used probably isn¡¯t Shadow Step ¨C it has a different effect. When an NPCs uses it, you can tell from the movement of their legs, but when Lu Li used it, his back would glow slightly. We¡¯ll screenshot and enlarge this scene¡­ can you see it? The slight glow is produced by the inscriptions on his cape. This is clearly¡­¡­¡±


    He dragged on his sentence for a bit as he purposely kept the audience guessing.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s a special effect from his cape. Amazing observation, Teacher Wind,¡± Zhang Zhen said as he clapped in a cooperative manner.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know that he had already been analyzed in detail by someone.


    This wasn¡¯t something that could be helped; he was bound to run into talented analysts. They usually had an entire research team behind them that focused on analyzing the skills, gear and play style of gaming experts.


    If you didn¡¯t have anything to show, there was no way that anyone would stick around to listen to all this nonsense.


    ¡°To be honest, Lu Li¡¯s synchronization with Moonlight is something that deserves more of our attention.¡± Dark Wind proceeded to move onto another topic.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve seen it too. Lu Li first reduced the movement speed of the Thief, then went on to control the Mage. The Thief and Mage didn¡¯t position themselves properly and they both got caught in Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind,¡± Zhang Zhen exclaimed with an exaggerated expression on his face. ¡°This Whirlwind is truly amazing! Teacher Wind, why do I feel like Moonlight dealt more damage in this match?¡±


    ¡°They both dealt a similar amount of damage. It¡¯s mainly because the damage of Whirlwind was more obvious to the eyes. We can take a look at the statistics from the system¡­ yes, both of them dealt a similar amount of damage. Moonlight dealt a little more, about 3% more than Lu Li.¡±


    ¡°You said that they synchronized well. Can you elaborate on this?¡±


    ¡°Timing. Including this Priest, March Rain, who is slightly lacking in experience, the three of them have a smooth synchronization.¡±


    ¡°Do you see it here? They didn¡¯t talk or make eye contact. Lu Li naturally created an opportunity for Moonlight to attack, but March Rain didn¡¯t stand around doing nothing either ¨C she positioned herself to block the vision of the opposing healer. The death of the Mage was a result from their teamwork.¡±


    All of this took an entire three minutes to explain.


    Strangely enough, people paid ten silver coins to enter the scene and watch the match through a virtual widescreen. All they saw was two guys chattering away, but instead of feeling annoyed, they paid attention and enjoyed listening the whole time.


    It was hard to imagine that a short 35 seconds had so many things hidden within.

 276 A Remarkable Live Stream

    ¡°Now, let us begin watching the live stream. There¡¯s fifteen seconds until they enter the scene.¡±


    Both Zhang Zhen and Dark Wind hyped the atmosphere as the match began.


    The match took place in a grassland with a wide surface, but there was no point in this setting. Everyone could see each other easily.


    The moment that Lu Li entered the scene, waves of loud cheering exploded from the crowd¡¯s seats.


    In all honesty, these normal players knew a lot about Lu Li and his achievements, but only a few had actually seen him. This kind live stream had an incredibly realistic feel to it and for many of them, it felt like Lu Li was standing right before their eyes.


    Average people admired heroes and Lu Li was the hero in the eyes of these average gamers.


    ¡°Because we don¡¯t have any related damage statistics, we won¡¯t be able to judge the health bar of Lu Li. However, there is no question that Lu Li, who is already level 26, would be equipped with outstanding gear,¡± Dark Wind stood in a sea of people as he exclaimed with excitement.


    Zhang Zhen nodded in agreement. ¡°Likewise, his two team members are also very strong, especially the Priest girl, March Rain. Many people refer to her as the number one Priest in Dawn.¡±


    The intelligent camera system obediently showed a close up shot of March Rain.


    Beautiful girls are popular everywhere they go. A girl who was beautiful and had great gaming skills was definitely the ideal type for many gaming boys.


    ¡°March Rain still lack a bit with regards to her skills,¡± Dark Winds said calmly. ¡°Moonlight is the real expert, and he¡­¡­¡±


    He paused, but then decided not to blurt out the assumption of others from the industry ¨C that Moonlight was the once famous Blood Demon.


    It was a skill to make analysis on experts about their gear and specialty through observation, but blurting out the secrets of gaming experts based on pure assumptions would only be gossip. Real professional analysts would never turn to these dirty tactics.


    Furthermore, this would turn the gaming experts against them.


    Once these experts publicly expressed that they didn¡¯t approve of a certain analyst, their fans would all turn against the analyst too.


    Of course, there also some analysts who were famous for their terrible tongues, but Dark Wind wasn¡¯t one of them.


    ¡°The players from the opposing team have arrived too ¨C a Warlock, a Paladin, and another¡­¡­¡±


    Only two people were visible; this meant that the third person had gone into Stealth.


    Although Dawn wasn¡¯t a fair game, it always aimed to be a balanced once. There were no combinations at this point in time that allowed two players to defeat all the other opposing combinations.


    ¡°Teacher Wind, do you think that the third person is a Thief or a Druid?¡± Zhang Zhen asked.


    It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t analyze, but as a host, his job was to cooperate with the analyst and spark up a conversation. He wasn¡¯t supposed to make a fancy show of himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the classic trio of Druid, Warlock and Paladin,¡± Dark Wind replied and raised his voice then continued, ¡°Alright, Lu Li has gone into Stealth too. Let¡¯s look at this from the bird¡¯s eye view and see who he¡¯s trying to aim for.¡±


    Bird¡¯s eye view referred to a particular spectating mode that showed everything in the scene, including targets in Stealth.


    The third person on the other team was a Druid indeed.


    Lu Li, who was also in stealth, approached the opposing team at a rapid speed. There was no hesitation in his positioning; it seemed as if he wasn¡¯t worried about being discovered at all.


    ¡°His target is¡­¡­ the Warlock,¡± Dark Wind spoke at a fast speed. ¡°Looks like Lu Li plans to kill their cloth armor profession in one go, but doing so by himself would be close to impossible. I wonder if Moonlight would be able to support him by dealing some damage?¡±


    ¡°Moonlight moved; he charged forward. Teacher Wind, would this be a bit too early?¡± Zhang Zhen didn¡¯t understand what he was seeing.


    ¡°Moonlight always had a bold and unrestrained play style.¡±


    Dark Wind didn¡¯t really understand either, but he was experienced and gave a very direct reasoning.


    Moonlight was indeed bold and unrestrained; he went straight for the enemy team and as soon as the Paladin entered his attack range, he used Charge.


    In a battle between experts, there was a guarantee that Charge would always be successful.


    The Paladin was skilled too ¨C his first reaction was to sidestep in an attempt to dodge the Charge.


    Unfortunately, Moonlight wasn¡¯t the noob that he imagined. He suddenly changed the direction of Charge and still ran into the Paladin.


    On the other side, Lu Li used Sap on the Warlock.


    This Warlock wasn¡¯t a bad player either; he had a potion that had been crafted through Alchemy. It dealt 1 damage to himself every second, which was negligible but removed the effects of Sap.


    This was the most effective way to deal with Sap for most common classes. However, you still needed to apply the Alchemy potion to yourself before you were Sapped.


    It was the first time that Lu Li had encountered this in his current life, so he was a little careless.


    March Rain also had some trouble too. The opposing Druid wasn¡¯t just a healer ¨C he had some damaging skills as well. His damage was quite high, and he took a huge chunk out of March Rain¡¯s HP bar.


    As both analysts watched the match, they felt as if a hand had grasped onto their hearts and were slightly distracted.


    They were worried that Lu Li would decide to end the match quickly. If the battle ended within twenty to thirty seconds, they would have nothing to say.


    However, at the same time, they were worried that Lu Li and his team might lose.


    If Lu Li and his team lost, they would be embarrassed, since they had given them so many compliments beforehand. It would be as if they had slapped their own faces.


    Everyone in the audience was busy; they all gave the match their full attention.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t expect his Sap to fail on the Warlock, but that was about it. He chased the Warlock with a few more attacks, then twisted his wrist, causing a fountain of blood to spurt from his shoulder.


    System: Shadowstrike Skill Completion 81%, dealing 88% skill damage. Target stunned for 1 second.


    ¡°Why is the Warlock being crowd-controlled? What was that skill?¡± Of course, Zhang Zhen knew that it was a skill with a completion level of over 80% in manual mode.


    However, for the purpose of analyzing, he had to ask the question for most of the audience.


    Dark Wind swiftly explained, then concluded, ¡°80% completion for a skill isn¡¯t an easy thing to achieve. As far as I know, it¡¯s possible to complete a skill at 90% when you aim at a non-moving target, but only a few are able to complete a skill at 80% or higher when they¡¯re in actual combat.¡±


    While they spoke, Lu Li had already crowd-controlled the Warlock.


    In order to prevent himself from being crowd-controlled by the Warlock¡¯s pet Succubus, Lu Li even activated his Shadow Cloak. As Dark Wind was very knowledgeable, he took the chance to explain the Shadow Cloak skill in detail.


    A number of Shadow Cloak skill books in the market had been sold by Lu Li. He was a professional player and his main goal was to earn money, so there was no way he would keep the skill to himself in fear of creating competition.


    Suddenly, Moonlight abandoned the Paladin and Charged at the Warlock.


    Whirlwind!


    ¡°Absolutely remarkable! Brilliant teamwork! Oh, there¡¯s something even better ¨C Lu Li used his signature effect! His target is¡­¡­ the healer! That¡¯s right, he crowd-controlled the healer! The Warlock is gone!¡±


    As he finished, the Warlock died to Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind.


    The poor Warlock had lost quite a bit of health from Lu Li¡¯s attack, then was stunned and had to endure an entire Whirlwind. There was no way he could¡¯ve survived that.


    There were no protection skills for Paladins yet, so the Paladin couldn¡¯t save him either. Only the Druid could do anything, but he had been lured far off into the distance by March Rain. He came back to support the others as soon as he saw that things had gone wrong, but he ran into Lu Li. By the time he managed to escape from the stun, the Warlock was already dead.


    The two players that were left were quite decisive too ¨C they quickly forfeited and left the scene.

 277 Death Match

    Regular matches were different to qualifier matches. Instead of an instant elimination system, the tournament was based on a point system. There were a total of three matches in the regular matches. Teams received a point for each win and required at least two points to advance to the next stage.


    As such, when all hope seemed lost, they decided to accept defeat.


    Rather than stalling this match, it would be smarter to conserve their energy for the next battle.


    Dark Wind was dripping with cold sweat; he was completely caught off guard by their play style.


    He held himself back from commentating about March Rain¡¯s mispositioning, otherwise, it would¡¯ve been embarrassing.


    March Rain strayed off from the group and had no protection from her teammates.


    However, this was all a trap that had been set up by the little priest. She purposely baited their strongest class to the ditch so that he would be separated from his group as well.


    Without the healing from the Druid, Lu Li and Moonlight were able to quickly burst down the Warlock. It was only a matter of time before the rest of their opponents met the same fate.


    Dark Wind calmly analysed Lu Li¡¯s formation and play style, and acted as if he knew what had happened. Since he had also complimented Lu Li¡¯s group before the match, no one suspected that he had misjudged the situation.


    He proceeded to analyse some highlights from the fight and excitedly announced it to everyone who was watching.


    The match had finally ended.


    The system notified them of their win and they were teleported out of the arena.


    Lu Li realised that their strategy had been exposed by the commentators to everyone and was bothered by the fact that it was no longer a secret. However, his mood quickly changed at the thought of the 1000 gold that they would receive at the end of the match.


    He would probably receive a share of 200 gold from the winnings.


    Although he couldn¡¯t have the best of both worlds, he would choose the money if he was forced to.


    One match equated to 200 gold and there were more than ten more matches to go.


    However, he had other tricks up his sleeve such, as the escape active from his shoes, the ambush active from his gloves and the protection active from his chest plate. Additionally, he had yet to reveal his Perfect Grade Corrupted Fang to the world.


    They were matched against three Mages in the next round, a raw damage output team.


    Their strategy was to instantly kill-off the other team¡¯s support and then clean up the rest of their opponents. This strategy was simple, yet very effective.


    However, this was not the case against Lu Li¡¯s team.


    March Rain and the others were all level 26 and above. The three level 23 Mages had a level punishment against them, so their damage output was abysmal.


    Seeing as they couldn¡¯t instantly kill the healer, all they could do was pray for their lives.


    The entire match was quite uneventful as the three Mages tried their best to stall it out. Dark Wind and Zhang Zhen continued to commentate and managed to talk throughout the entire match until the end.


    On the 17th match, Lu Li faced-off against some old friends.


    At first, he didn¡¯t realise, because his opponents were all in Stealth mode.


    Were they up against 3 Thieves?


    They had just faced 3 Mages and now, they were up against 3 Thieves. What was up with all the weird team compositions?


    A single-class team composition could sometimes be extremely strong, because the players complimented each other. However, they lacked the flexibility and adaptability when they were faced against a counter. The single-class team compositions were basically extinct before Lu Li¡¯s rebirth.


    The only remaining team that was composed of a single class was the Five Fireball Gods. However, they weren¡¯t even close to the top 16 teams.


    Lu Li¡¯s team decided to carefully test the waters.


    Moonlight left his original position and advanced cautiously, while March Rain followed closely behind. Lu Li activated his stealth and also followed closely to deal with anyone that tried to ambush their healer.


    ¡°Everyone must be wondering what is happening. Let¡¯s take a look at our special view.¡±


    Zhang Zhen inputted some commands and the big screen revealed everyone¡¯s position.


    Much to Lu Li¡¯s surprise, the opponents were actually two Thieves and a Druid.


    The two Thieves weren¡¯t just any ordinary Thieves; the spectators quickly recognized them.


    Swirling Left Eye and Staring Right Eye!


    ¡°Ahh, how unfortunate for them,¡± Dark Winds laughed bitterly. As a professional commentator, he had to respect the players from major guilds.


    The Imperial Secret Service wasn¡¯t the biggest guild, but many people still wouldn¡¯t dare to offend them.


    The two commentators were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They had to keep things interesting for the viewers and had to make sure that they didn¡¯t offend Imperial Secret Service at the same time.


    As for the result of this match¡­


    If Left and Right Eye could defeat Lu Li today, the Imperial Secret Service would regain the respect they once had.


    Somehow, everyone in Dawn knew about how Lu Li had completely wiped out hundreds of elite players from the Imperial Secret Service.


    The Imperial Secret Service had lost all their respect and was seen as a joke by many people.


    And now, the two parties had met again in this tournament.


    The three players from the Imperial Secret Service froze in place when they saw Lu Li. The expressions on their faces were hilarious and it was as if they had already accepted that this would be an impossible match to win.


    That Thief is Lu Li right¡­ it must been¡­


    Why do we have to be humiliated again on the big screen!?


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t surrender¡­ right¡­?¡± the Druid asked.


    Every player from the Imperial Secret Service trembled at the sound of Lu Li¡¯s name, especially after they had suffered that brutal massacre. Their hearts were filled with fear whenever Lu Li was mentioned.


    Swirling Left Eye death-stared the Druid and angrily retorted, ¡°Surrender your mum. Worse comes to worst, we¡¯ll just die.¡±


    The Druid knew that their chances of winning were slim and had given up before the match had even started.


    ¡°Legend, wait until they are separated and ambush the Priest,¡± Staring Right Eye began to strategize.


    ¡°I don¡¯t do enough damage; how can I kill the Priest? Besides, Lu Li would be close-by protecting his healer,¡± the Druid called ¡®I¡¯m a Legend¡¯ said as he began tearing up. It was basically a suicide mission.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Lu Li will go and save the healer, and when that happens¡­ hehe,¡± Right Eye laughed coldly.


    His smiled reminded Legend of the big bad wolf.


    Moonlight continued walking forwards further and further away from March Rain.


    At this very moment, the Druid appeared and immediately attacked March Rain.


    Priests wore cloth armour and had low defence. Therefore, they expected Druid to be able to solo-kill the priest.


    However, the script did not go as the director had written. March Rain appeared to be under very little pressure; she was able to heal herself and even had the ability to return some damage back to the Druid.


    Moonlight turned around and rushed back to March Rain for support.


    The Druid was completely caught off guard because he thought that Lu Li would appear to help March Rain, but instead, it was Moonlight that supported his priest.


    A healing Druid against a Priest and Warrior was a recipe for disaster.


    It didn¡¯t look good for the three stooges of Imperial Secret Service.


    ¡°Well, this is awkward. Right Eye has miscalculated and their strategy isn¡¯t working,¡± Dark Wind explained. ¡°The two Thieves are still in Stealth mode, but their Druid¡¯s HP continues to drop. If they don¡¯t do something soon, it could very easily turn into a 2 vs. 3.


    ¡°If they came out and helped the Druid, they would be ambushed by Lu Li.¡±


    Zhang Zhen was impressed and clapped his hands, then continued, ¡°As expected of Dawn¡¯s best commander ¨C Lu Li predicted their attack and reacted accordingly.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they appeared to be in a dire situation,¡± Dark Wind commented.


    In reality, the difference in skill and damage was so great that the Imperial Secret Service had no chance of winning, even if their strategy had worked out.


    Left Eye revealed himself and immediately pounced onto March Rain, who had been self-sustaining her own HP.


    Moonlight suddenly switched targets from the Druid and immediately dashed onto Swirling Left Eye, stunning him.

 278 Spokesperson Or Sponsorship?

    Warriors were known to be a natural counter to Thieves, especially under such conditions.


    Swirling Left Eye was desperate to get out of this battle, but there was no way out. If it wasn¡¯t for the healing from his Druid, he would probably be dead by now.


    It had become a 2 on 2 battle between the DPS and healer of both teams. Staring Right Eye and Lu Li both remained in Stealth and observed the situation.


    On the surface, it appeared as if the battle had come to a stalemate. However, the expert players could clearly see that Moonlight was completely dominating Swirling Left Eye, and that the Imperial Secret Service was very disadvantaged.


    The reason why Warriors countered Thieves was because of their ability to bleed and slow.


    Lu Li was able to defeat Moonlight because he had mobility, a high skill completion rate, as well as Armor Pierce effects and crowd-control skills, such as Paralysis and Stun.


    Swirling Left Eye didn¡¯t have Armour Pierce effects and his gear was significantly weaker. Even with the healing from the Druid, his HP continued to drop and quickly fell to 50%.


    The camera turned towards Lu Li and Staring Right Eye on the big screen.


    Lu Li watched intently like a cougar stalking its prey, as he waited for Staring Right Eye¡¯s grand entrance.


    Everyone knew that as soon as his target appeared, he would unleash his wrath and rip his prey apart.


    Although Staring Right Eye was much smarter and calmer than his partner, he was still at his wit¡¯s end. On the big screen, he had a very desperate and hopeless expression.


    Should he bother saving them?


    The two Thieves could easily take out Moonlight if he was alone, however, the fact that Lu Li lurked around in the shadows made Right Eye very hesitant.


    Swirling Left Eye was about to give up.


    He still had one last trick up his sleeve which was the active on his Pants. When his HP dropped to 20%, he gained the Berserk Effect, which greatly boosted his damage output. However, he knew that he would have no chance to use it.


    Lu Li already knew about this and planned on bursting Swirling Left Eye down as soon as his HP reached 20%. Swirling Left Eye would be instantly killed with no chance of retaliation.


    Staring Right Eye realised that he could not waste any more time and decided to attack. He focused March Rain instead of Moonlight.


    ¡°Why is he targeting the healer instead of saving Left Eye?¡± Zhang Zhen asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s trying to kill two birds with one stone. By targeting the healer and bursting her down, Moonlight would be forced to peel for her, thus saving Left Eye. Besides, Right Eye would not be able to take down the Warrior in such a short amount of time. However, as soon as Lu Li appears, the battle will be over,¡± Dark Winds explained. ¡°March Rain¡¯s HP is pretty low as well; she only has 60% left.¡±


    ¡°So you mean that Staring Right Eye thinks he can take down March Rain in time?¡± Zhang Zhen asked, visibly surprised.


    Although he had only seen three fights that featured March Rain, Zhang Zhen was already very impressed with her.


    The little Priest was still very inexperienced in various areas of PVP, but she had mastered the ability to stay alive despite being focused by the opposing teams.


    ¡°Staring Right Eye thinks he can,¡± Dark Winds said as he smiled.


    Staring Right Eye wasn¡¯t being cock ¨C it was his only hope of turning the fight around. He regretted their initial strategy ¨C instead of hesitating, the two Thieves should have jumped onto the Priest and attempted to burst her down as quickly as possible.


    As soon as he revealed himself, Lu Li also made his move.


    Lu Li¡¯s target was Swirling Left Eye, who was already receiving a beatdown from Moonlight.


    Preparation, Cheap Shot, Ambush, Slit Throat.


    The low-HP Left Eye was instantly killed.


    However, March Rain¡¯s HP was also dropped dangerously-low.


    Everyone had their own tricks up their sleeves, and the same went for Staring Right Eye. He had two tricks ¨C one was a Berserk Effect from his gear and the other was Kidney Strike!


    A max level Kidney Strike could stun an enemy for up to 6 seconds.


    Within the 6 seconds, he was able to drop March Rain¡¯s HP down to a critical level.


    However, after March Rain recovered from the stun, she shielded herself and activated her resistance skills.


    Staring Right Eye knew that his window of opportunity was over and selected the surrender option.


    After this battle, Lu Li and the others won 3 more consecutive rounds. The battles didn¡¯t last very long because none of their opponents were very formidable.


    The completion of the 20th battle signalled the end of the tournament for the day.


    The tickets for all 10 of Team Lu Li¡¯s matches had been sold out, except for the 15th battle.


    There were more than 100,000 spectators per match and the entry fee was 10 Silvers, which equated to 10,000 gold in profit.


    The participating team received 10% of this profit and the rest was split amongst the Pro-Gaming Association, the Asian Film Corporation and the Gaming Company.


    A tenth of 10,000-gold meant that Team Lu Li received a total of 1000 gold.


    According to Guild rules, the team from each guild received 2% of the total winnings, while the rest was given to the Guild Masters to be split accordingly.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t associated with a Guild and was a part of his own Mercenary Group.


    Therefore, Lu Li and Wandering agreed upon keeping 60%, while the other 40% would be stashed in the Mercenary Group storage for future funding.


    A grand total of 5000 gold in profit meant that Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain received 1000 gold each.


    This equated to $10,000 in real life.


    The other two teams had also finished their matches for the day and gathered together. Team Azure Sea Breeze remained undefeated while Team Wandering had suffered a single loss.


    Since the other two teams from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group were also quite famous, their matches were mostly sold out as well.


    Team Lu Li made 5000 gold and the other two teams made 3000 gold each.


    Remnant Dream, who didn¡¯t participate in the tournament, appeared to be very envious of them. However, everyone knew that she wasn¡¯t in need of the money because she had come from a wealthy background.


    But who doesn¡¯t love money? If a high school girl like Remnant Dream could save enough money for college by herself, her parents would be very proud of her.


    Even Hachi Chan had received 600 gold in winnings, which would be a nice amount of pocket money that she could use in real life.


    The matches tomorrow would be even more important and hyped-up.


    ¡°Someone contacted me and asked me to be the spokesperson for Ducd¡¯O chocolate, but I refused,¡± Hachi Chan said as she handed Remnant Dream half of her winnings that she had promised.


    ¡°Why did you refuse it?¡± Moonlight¡¯s eyes lit up.


    Being a spokesperson for something was the perfect job for little girls like Hachi Chan. It would be easy and the pay would be pretty good.


    Although the profit from the entry fees was quite generous, it was nothing compared to the money one could make from sponsorships and other companies.


    Being a spokesperson for an International Brand of chocolate would pay millions per year.


    ¡°Because they said I was airheaded,¡± Hachi Chan said angrily. ¡°I¡¯ve tried their chocolate before and I hated it, right Dream?


    Remnant Dream had to agree because she had just received some gold from her friend.


    She planned on finishing the Ducd¡¯O chocolate that she had been hiding in her room so that Hachi Chan wouldn¡¯t see it.


    ¡°I thought air-headed was usually a compliment.¡± Azure Sea Breeze felt like an old man when talking to lolis like Hachi Chan.


    ¡°I was also invited to be their spokesperson,¡± March Rain said.


    She looked at everyone¡¯s reaction then looked at her older brother Lonesome Flower.


    ¡°I did as well.¡±


    Lonesome Flower patted his sister¡¯s head then said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later. Maybe we can move to a better house.¡±


    ¡°How come I didn¡¯t receive an invitation?¡± Azure Sea Breeze was envious.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t receive an invitation either, I¡­ I¡­.¡± Wandering was very angry. His reputation as a pretty-boy was going down the drain¡­


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t received an invitation either. However, he knew very well that he wasn¡¯t approached by companies because they weren¡¯t very hopeful.


    Usually, teams that were confident in reaching the top 16 would reject most sponsorship offers from companies, because they would be losing out on money if they accepted a sponsorship deal earlier in the tournament.

 279 His Younger Sister Also Plays

    From what Lu Li could remember, the Shadow Cup had produced many stars, especially in Dawn.


    As Dawn¡¯s popularity began to rise, it became more and more universally renowned. This gave its stars fame that could compare to that of real celebrities.


    The experts of the game would receive many endorsements, as long as they weren¡¯t too vulgar.


    At first, these products were more aimed towards younger people, but gradually, other industries also made their way into the game.


    Some players could make tens of thousands and others could make millions, but the top experts could make tens of millions with endorsements alone.


    Those who were beautiful could also become rich beyond compare.


    Lu Li first started doing Instance Dungeons with Northern Tang Dream, but if they wanted him to endorse them now, it would cost over ten million a year, as quickly killing opponents was one way to spike to stardom.


    The title of ¡®most expensive endorsement fee¡¯ had to go to Dancing Flower Beauty, who was rumored to have been paid over $30 million.


    Water Fairy had also endorsed products, but her fee was only $1 million. It was later exposed that the product was one from her own company; this was a typical model for tax evasion.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know if anyone would ask him; he was actually quite curious about it.


    If he could endorse a product, he would be able to pay for his sister¡¯s treatment and have enough money left over to buy a house.


    Staying with the landladies was good, but he still didn¡¯t feel fully secure for Lu Xin. It still wasn¡¯t a proper home.


    After finishing the day¡¯s matches, they all continued farming the Howling Caves.


    The Heroic-Difficulty Serpentis was really overpowered; it was on a completely different level to the Elite-Difficulty. To a certain extent, defeating this Boss was based on pure luck. If they were unlucky, they would just end up dead.


    As such, they could only remain patient and keep trying.


    By nightfall, Lu Li and the others had fought this Boss 12 times.


    Just as they thought that today¡¯s efforts would be futile, Serpentis decided to target Azure Sea Breeze twice in a row. Azure Sea Breeze, who was equipped with three Silver level 25 equips, barely managed to tank the Boss¡¯ attacks.


    However, now that they had survived the most critical moment, they were finally able to defeat the Boss.


    The items that were dropped were all quite powerful. Sesame Rice Ball and March Rain both took a LV25 Mold each, while Hachi Chan received a LV25 Fang Set equip.


    Unfortunately, Serpentis didn¡¯t drop any rare materials or give any skill points, which was to be expected. This wasn¡¯t the First Clear.


    After logging off, Lu Li washed up and discovered that the female landlords were waiting for him.


    ¡°Morning. Why are you all looking at me like that?¡± Lu Li greeted them and checked that he was wearing something. Everything seemed fine.


    ¡°Big bro, I saw you in the competition,¡± Lu Xin said cautiously.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Lu Li sat down with a glass of water and took a sip. However, he spurted it out when he realized what had been said.


    ¡°What did you say? How did you see me in the competition?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t scare her.¡± Dou Jing Jing protected Lu Xin like a mother hen and calmly said, ¡°I gave her a helmet and brought her around to relax.


    Lu Li was shocked that his sister was now playing the game as well.


    This news was simply too much; it took him over half an hour to accept it.


    ¡°My sister isn¡¯t even an adult yet,¡± he protested, breaking his silence.


    ¡°Tch, so what if she isn¡¯t an adult? Dawn¡¯s age requirement is 8 years old and the legal requirement for virtual gaming is 12 years old.¡±


    ¡°Fine, just play then. Playing some video games might be good for you.¡±


    Lu Li saw that his sister felt like she was being punished unjustly, so he immediately softened his stance and started to comfort her.


    ¡°I just went in to have a look. It won¡¯t affect my studies,¡± Lu Xin hurriedly explained.


    She was the only family he had left and was most afraid of disappointing her brother.


    ¡°You¡­ I believe you.¡±


    Lu Li wanted to tell her that her studies didn¡¯t really matter but he realized that it wasn¡¯t appropriate. He then changed the subject and asked, ¡°What profession did Lu Xin pick?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I chose a Hunter so I can have a pet. I want to catch a dog,¡± she replied, her eyes sparkling.


    Lu Xin loved dogs. Whenever they went out for a walk and they saw a dog, she would always stop and play with it.


    Previously, their living conditions had been quite poor, so it was unrealistic for them to own a pet.


    However, despite knowing about Lu Xin¡¯s love for dogs, Dou Jing Jing couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Liu Yi Yi was allergic to small animals and that included dogs.


    She then quickly came up with the idea of letting Lu Xin play the game.


    The $3000 for a game helmet was simply a drop in a bucket for her; it was less than the bags she would readily buy.


    The main obstacle was convincing Lu Li, as the little girl always wanted to be obedient to him.


    To convince her, Dou Jing Jing came up with a few points. The first was that she could see her brother more often and the second was that she could raise her own animal.


    These reasons were so convincing that she successfully dragged the little girl into the game.


    ¡°No problem. You can play after school. But don¡¯t play for too long ¨C you need your rest,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°Xin Xin saw you and the Imperial Secret Service in a match. It was very exciting but we didn¡¯t buy any tickets,¡± Zhou Huan Huan said lazily. She was curled up on the couch.


    ¡°Yeah, we couldn¡¯t get the tickets. Can you get them? Can we get backstage access?¡± Dou Jing Jing asked hopefully.


    ¡°I would like to, but I can¡¯t,¡± Lu Li helplessly replied.


    ¡°Big bro, you¡¯re so strong. When those players saw you, they were so scared.¡±


    Lu Xin was always captivated when talking about her brother. Most of the time, she was a well behaved little girl.


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m your big brother.¡±


    It was difficult to explain to her that Left and Right eye weren¡¯t standing still because they were scared.


    ¡°Big bro, I hear your tickets are worth a lot!¡± Lu Xin exclaimed excitedly.


    ¡°When your big brother wins the championship, we¡¯ll have even more money,¡± Lu Li said with a smile as he poked his sister¡¯s nose.


    This little money maniac.


    Although the three landlords thought that Lu Li was a little arrogant, they couldn¡¯t refute him. What he was saying almost seemed natural.


    Lu Li was considered by many to be the number one player. He had taken three Instance Dungeon First Clears and had performed too many miracles. It wouldn¡¯t even be a surprise if he took first place.


    The only thing that could let him down was his teammates.


    Dawn wasn¡¯t a solo game and the Shadow Cup was a 3v3 tournament.


    What decided each match was not the strongest player of each team, but the overall strength of each team.


    However, after seeing Lu Li¡¯s match today, these fears had been dispelled.


    The tough March Rain and the sharp Moonlight were well-admired by the ordinary players.


    ¡°Did you guys make it into the competition?¡± Lu Li asked, turning his attention to the landladies.

 280 A Compromise

    ¡°We ran into one of Seventh Heaven¡¯s teams and were beaten,¡± Zhou Huan Huan said casually. However, she was unable to hide the depressed look on her face.


    ¡°Seventh Heaven.¡±


    Lu Li shook his head sympathetically.


    This was the nature of the competition. Strength was essential, but luck was still important.


    The three landladies had above average strength; they were quite strong compared to the ordinary players. If they were lucky, advancing through the tournament wouldn¡¯t have been that difficult, but they would be hard-pressed against a top-level team. Against a team from one of the biggest guilds, there was naturally nothing that they could do.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter ¨C we didn¡¯t really expect to get anything. The three of us are more like casual players,¡± Dou Jing Jing said, trying to comfort herself.


    Reality had taught them the difficulties of entrepreneurship ¨C their initial plan of setting up a gaming studio had long been abandoned.


    Dawn had already broken the record for that most-played online game and was now worthy of being called the universal game. There was actually a lot do to within it.


    For example, setting up a shop¡­


    ¡°I want to open a Potion Shop. I¡¯ll have a banner that says ¡®Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s Potion Shop¡¯¡­¡± Liu Yi Yi joked.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Potions didn¡¯t even have that much potential, and she even wanted to affiliate the shop.


    ¡°Xin Xin had already promised to be the store salesperson,¡± Dou Jing Jing said as she put her arms around Lu Xin then continued, ¡°As long as Xin Xin is there by the counter, lots of people will come in to buy things.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Lu Li subconsciously refused after thinking about that scene.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Surprisingly, this question had come from Lu Xin herself. Although she was shy, she struggled to look brave, trying not to show any weakness in front of her brother.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard work.¡± Lu Li lowered his voice and spoke gently.


    ¡°I¡¯m not scared; I want to make money too. I can¡¯t make big bro do it all.¡± Lu Xin began to choke up as she spoke.


    She had joined the game and seen her brother PVPing with other players. While other players looked at Lu Li in awe, she only felt sorrow and grief.


    The Lu Li in the competition felt so unfamiliar that she was afraid.


    She didn¡¯t know that her brother had been putting so much effort into the game. This was something she didn¡¯t normally get to see.


    ¡°Xin Xin, as long as you are ok, I am happy. I¡¯m not even tired when I play games.¡±


    Lu Li immediately started consoling her when he saw her tears. He bent down and wiped her eyes with his sleeve.


    Once upon a time, Lu Xin¡¯s classmates were making fun of her patchy clothes.


    She was generally so well-liked that there were some girls who were jealous of her. In reality, the patches weren¡¯t even that obvious and they actually looked quite nice.


    However, a fourth grader didn¡¯t have much control over their emotions, so she starting crying the moment she saw her brother.


    Lu Li had bent down in the same way and clumsily wiped her tears away with his sleeve.


    Every time he saw his sister¡¯s tears, Lu Li would feel like he had been stabbed in the heart, as he didn¡¯t know what to do. Assassinating Sorrowless again would be an easier task to deal with.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry Xin Xin; big sister will let you make the decisions. We will hire employees and Xin Xin can help look out for the store. She can¡¯t fight mobs and can only stay in the safe area, so she¡¯ll be really bored.¡± Dou Jing Jing was also distressed.


    ¡°How can you manage your sister like that?¡± Liu Yi Yi couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°I had planned to teach her how to make potions and rent a stall for her. She would have been allowed to keep the money she made,¡± she protested.


    ¡°Xin Xin is already fifteen.¡±


    Zhou Huan Huan felt sorry for Lu Li, who was being ganged up on by everyone. She could only stress this one point.


    Lu Li had a decent understanding of Lu Xin¡¯s perspective.


    This girl had always been strong even when she was young and was always looking for ways to alleviate her brother¡¯s burden. On the summer holidays, she would take up odd jobs, no matter how bad they were. She just wanted to help make some money.


    Lu Li touched her face and sighed, ¡°Xin Xin, I just want you to be happy. Listen to me, your brother isn¡¯t actually suffering that much. Making money isn¡¯t as difficult as you think it is. From the start of the game until now, I have already made over $1 million, and I made over $100 thousand just today. You really don¡¯t need to work in the potion shop.¡±


    ¡°But big bro, I really want to do something¡­¡± Lu Xin knew her brother¡¯s weakness. If she cried first and then softly asked for something, he would always agree.


    Eventually, Lu Li couldn¡¯t convince her sister and he gave it another thought. Perhaps Liu Yi Yi was right.


    Lu Xin couldn¡¯t fight mobs because of her heart; she might not be able to take the fright.


    There were also some players who might randomly kill others for fun. These players played the game recklessly and had no regard for the kind of damage that it would inflict on others.


    If something like that happened, even if Lu Li killed that player until he reached LV0, it wouldn¡¯t reverse the damage done.


    The best thing was for her to stay in the safe area, which obviously included the Potion Shop. Whether Lu Xin could make money was one thing, but the most important thing was that she had peace of mind.


    ¡°Promise me you¡¯ll never leave the safe area. Do you understand?¡± Lu Li carefully urged.


    It wasn¡¯t as though the safe area was completely empty either. The game had a cinema where you could watch movies and there was even an amusement park. Currently, tourist companies were also building attractions within the safe area.


    ¡°Well, but big bro, when I reach level 10, I want to tame a dog,¡± Lu Xin said as she smiled. Her tears had dried up now.


    Lu Li had no choice but to promise that he would help her.


    In reality, he didn¡¯t intend on stopping her from entering the game, but was waiting for the gaming box to come out at the end of the year.


    The gaming box couldn¡¯t sustain a person inside of it without eating or drinking, but it did protect the person¡¯s sleeping and nervous systems.


    The earlier versions allowed the user to achieve almost the same effect as actual sleep.


    The later versions could protect a user¡¯s mental state. If Lu Xin faced some kind of danger, the system would protect her. It could change the scene before her or temporarily confuse her senses.


    PVP players generally didn¡¯t use this feature, but this was no problem for non-PVP players.


    Since he had promised to let his sister open a Potion shop with the landladies, Lu Li naturally had to discuss Lu Xin¡¯s workload.


    The main point that he vehemently argued for was that she couldn¡¯t do work that was too intense


    In addition, he urged that they should also give her more money so she could feel a stronger sense of achievement.


    As the three landladies loved Lu Xin, they didn¡¯t bargain with Lu Li¡¯ conditions. In fact, they even accepted these conditions as if they were to be expected already.


    Even Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have had the compassion that they did. He really needed to repay for them for this.


    The best thing about the shop was that the team could take potions out of it. Although Sesame Rice Ball specialized in Alchemy, he didn¡¯t make every kind of potion. They normally got their unimportant potions from the Exchange Hall.


    Additionally, Lu Li planned to take his sister to meet his teammates tomorrow.


    He also wanted to watch some competitions with her.


    When they were younger, they couldn¡¯t spend money on luxuries like this. However, things were different now. They could watch competitions or movies and do anything they wanted.

 281 Call Me Big Sis

    When they logged on the next day, Lu Xin excitedly met up with Lu Li.


    Her in-game-name was ¡®Lu Family¡¯s Sister Xin Xin¡¯. When she was creating her character, she had tried Lu Xin, Xin Xin and a few others, but all of these had been taken, so she randomly picked one.


    Lu Xin was also a Night Elf so she spawned in the Dark Ravine. However, it was different to where Lu Li had spawned.


    If a player didn¡¯t enter a number, they would automatically be sent to the place where they spawned.


    Lu Li entered the Dark Ravine and then entered the number. He was quickly transported to Lu Xin¡¯s location.


    Lu Xin was standing outside the Return Point.


    She could immediately recognize Lu Li at a glance.


    ¡°Big bro, over here!¡± she exclaimed.


    This virtual world was still quite novel for her. She felt like she hadn¡¯t seen her brother for a long time and now that they had finally met, it was like a pleasant reunion.


    ¡°I see you. Add your big brother as a friend so you can contact me in future,¡± Lu Li said as he moved forward to greet and hug his sister.


    ¡°Big bro, I have quite a few friends already,¡± Lu Xin said happily after confirming the request.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you only start playing yesterday? How do you have so many friends?¡± Lu Li frowned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. When I entered the game, lots of people started adding me. If it weren¡¯t for sister Dou Dou coming quickly, I would have had even more friends.¡± Lu Xin had always been protected by her brother, so she never really had the chance to get mixed-up with trouble.


    She just thought that everyone in the game was really friendly.


    ¡°Delete all of them.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s face went black; he felt like killing these players. They had added her because she looked cute.


    ¡°But why? Everyone is so friendly; they are even teaching me how to play.¡± Lu Xin was puzzled.


    ¡°If someone asked for your number in real life, would you give it to them? Even if they just wanted to be your friend and have some food with you¡­¡± Lu Li knew all the tricks that people used.


    ¡°That¡¯s definitely a bad person.¡± Lu Xin was instantly brainwashed by her brother¡¯s words.


    Thinking back for a moment, she remembered how those players were a bit too eager to see her.


    ¡°They are helping you now to gain your trust. Then, they will harm you when the time is right. Don¡¯t randomly add players from now on.¡±


    Lu Li was secretly proud of himself and continued, ¡°How you not heard? These players in video games have no morals; killing each other is a very normal thing¡­¡±


    He was speaking like he had never killed anyone before.


    After an endless lecture, the first lesson he had taught his sister in this game was not strategy or how to play it, but rather not to add strangers as friends.


    Once he had completed his brainwashing, he brought his sister out to farm and level up.


    Initially, high level players would receive no EXP for killing low-level mobs. If Lu Li, who was LV26, killed a mob that was LV10 or below, he would receive no EXP and no items, except for quest items.


    However, to encourage high-level players to help out newbies, new rules were created. A low-level player would receive a portion of the EXP from any mobs that were killed by a high-level player, if they were in the same party. These mobs would also still drop items.


    Of course, the EXP was low and the drop rate was rather pitiful.


    However, Lu Li could kill the LV8 and 9 mobs in one hit. This quickly added up and Lu Xin gained EXP at a faster rate than if she was playing on her own.


    ¡°Big bro, don¡¯t walk so quickly, I want to pick up some stuff.¡±


    Lu Xin was storing everything her bag, laboriously picking up every single item.


    She was picking up rubbish and common equipment that was usually automatically sold to the shops. The rubbish that she was picking up could easily be bought from the shops for 1 copper.


    ¡°Xin Xin, don¡¯t pick up those things ¨C they aren¡¯t worth anything.¡± Lu Li¡¯s forehead was sweating.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Sister Dou Dou brought me here yesterday and I picked up full bag which I sold for 1 Silver,¡± Lu Xin rebutted.


    One silver¡­


    Lu Li¡¯s sweat was now pouring. Why was her sister so cute? She had worked so hard for one silver coin.


    Well, one silver was one dollar, which was worth one pickled vegetable at the market.


    ¡°Big bro will need to compete in the competition later, so I won¡¯t be able to help you level up. Don¡¯t you want to get a dog as quickly as possible?¡± Lu Li had to use the dog to tempt her.


    The moment the dog was mentioned, she gave it another thought and ultimately, the dog prevailed.


    She understood the main idea ¨C big bro¡¯s time was very precious. In the same amount of time, he could make hundreds of silver.


    Lu Xin reluctantly looked at the pieces of rubbish that she was leaving behind and ran to keep up with her brother.


    ¡°Big bro, there¡¯s a really fierce leopard and a wild boar ahead,¡± Lu Xin said as she peeked out from behind Lu Li and carefully looked around.


    Lu Li was just like this when he had first started. However, that was a long time ago.


    Lu Xin was playing games for the first time; she had no other experience with even the simplest of games. She was also an inexperienced 15 year old girl, so there was nothing wrong with this behavior.


    Every sistercon would feel like their sister¡¯s actions were really cute.


    The leopard and wild boar were quite strong; they were known as the Novice Village Killers. Even if the players only faced one of them at a time, they might not be able to defeat it.


    However, for Lu Li, they could be defeated in one hit.


    Yesterday, Lu Xin had been trained by Dou Jing Jing and the others to LV3. Lu Li intended to get her to LV10 today. He would then find a Tame Beast Skill Book so that they could get a few dogs for her to play with.


    Before LV20, a hunter could have three pets. Although they could only send one out to battle at a time, they were still allowed to own three.


    The three landladies were still sleeping so they hadn¡¯t logged on yet, but the Xin Xin Mercenary Group soon came online.


    Lu Li greeted everyone in the chat room and added Lu Xin into it.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Wandering asked curiously. There was no reason to add a new person to this chat room so naturally, he was surprised. They didn¡¯t generally entertain outsiders.


    ¡°Lu Family¡¯s Sister Xin Xin¡­¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze shouted, ¡°I know! She¡¯s your sister! Isn¡¯t that right Lu Li?¡±


    ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Lu Xin. I¡¯m my big brother¡¯s sister.¡±


    Lu Xin was a little anxious, but it was just a voice chat. If it was face to face, she probably wouldn¡¯t have had the courage for such a greeting.


    After her greeting, the chat room burst out into laughter.


    I¡¯m my big brother¡¯s sister! What a way to describe it.


    ¡°Keke, it¡¯s my sister. Please be nice; she is quite shy.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t bear to see his sister¡¯s embarrassed face so he immediately started to protect her.


    ¡°Where are you? Let us see,¡± Hachi Chan called out curiously.


    ¡°Yeah, you always talk about your sister. We want to see what she looks like.¡±


    Remnant Dream was positive that Lu Li¡¯s sister, who he always talked about, was younger than her.


    ¡°The competition is going to start soon.¡± Lu Li was afraid that her sister might get scared; his teammates weren¡¯t the most normal bunch.


    ¡°The system needs a confirmation from us before it can start. It can wait a little.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s rejection only made them more curious, especially Sakura Memories. She just couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer.


    Lu Li sent out the number of the Dark Ravine.


    Soon, everyone was gathered by the Cynocephali Mine. Lu Li was here killing the LV10 Cynocephali.


    ¡°Waah!¡±


    The first person to get there was Remnant Dream. As she ran towards Lu Xin she screamed, ¡°Hachi Chan, come quickly! She looks like a doll!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s just like the one in your house. How old are you?¡± Hachi Chan asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m 15. I¡¯m in my first year of high school this year,¡± Lu Xin earnestly answered.


    Lu Li was afraid that these two girls would scare his sister, but he didn¡¯t think that Lu Xin would actually get along with them quite well.


    In fact, Lu Li was overreacting. After all, Lu Xin went to school and interacted with her classmates.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re already 15. It doesn¡¯t look like it at all; you look more like an 11 or 12 year old. You look really cute,¡± Hachi Chan said, before shaking her head.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. Even if you¡¯re only one year younger, you¡¯re still younger. Quick, call me big sis.¡±


    Remnant Dream pushed Hachi Chan aside and encouraged Lu Xin to refer to her as big sister.

 282 Gaze

    Now that Remnant Dream¡¯s wish to be a big sister had been fulfilled, she began to teach Lu Xin about taming pets.


    ¡°Do you see this big cat that I have? This is a rare pet that was really hard to tame,¡± the little girl said sagely. ¡°I¡¯ve also tamed many other pets, but there is one kind of pet that I just can¡¯t tame.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what is it?¡± Lu Xin enviously looked at Remnant Dream¡¯s White Tiger, Guo Guo. It was now over LV20 and was much bigger than when Remnant Dream had initially caught it. It was actually quite intimidating now.


    Lu Li¡¯s sister was really curious as to why she wasn¡¯t satisfied with her current pet and why she couldn¡¯t catch this other one.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? I¡¯m warning you, if you try to tame me again, I¡¯ll go to your house and complain about you. I¡¯ll tell aunty that you keep bullying me.¡±


    Hachi Chan jumped up and started crying like a cat that had its tail stepped on.


    ¡°Tame sister Hachi?¡± Lu Xin was shocked and was suddenly afraid of Remnant Dream.


    Didn¡¯t she say that hunters could only tame animals? Why would she use it on another player? It was a player she appeared to be close to as well.


    ¡°Uhhh, it¡¯s not what you think,¡± Remnant Dream said as she pulled in Hachi Chan. ¡°Hachi, turn into a Quail and show Lu Xin ¨C it¡¯s really cute. My greatest goal is to tame one of these.¡±


    ¡°Dreamy, I have to cut ties with you.¡± Whenever they talked about taming her, Hachi Chan wanted to cry.


    ¡°Alright, stop fussing, let¡¯s all get ready for the competition. The further you make it, the more money you¡¯ll earn. If you earn enough money, then you can happily play the game.¡±


    Lu Li had to interrupt them as their time was precious. He had already been gracious enough to let them see Lu Xin.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t participating in any competitions, so we¡¯ll take Xin Xin.¡± Remnant Dream felt lucky that she hadn¡¯t joined the Shadow Cup.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± it wasn¡¯t that Lu Li was really strict, but that Remnant Dream could be a little dull and unreliable.


    ¡°Relax, this is the Novice Village ¨C we won¡¯t be bullied here. Guo Guo will protect us,¡± Remnant Dream said as she waved and patted Guo Guo¡¯s head.


    An exquisite LV25 pet was not something that even a similarly-levelled player could easily deal with, let alone the players that were in the Novice Village.


    ¡°Alright then, but don¡¯t let Xin Xin fight the mobs. Her body can¡¯t take it.¡±


    Lu Li also remembered that the landladies were about to come online before he decided to give the system his confirmation.


    From today onwards, the pace of the competition would be set by the players.


    The players would first apply to the system which would allocate them their opponents. After the matchmaking was completed, they would wait for other players to buy tickets to watch them before the match officially began.


    They couldn¡¯t go in right after they applied, so they were all just casually farming mobs and chatting.


    ¡°Xin Xin, watch our match later,¡± Hachi Chan invited.


    She thought that she was more sister-like and much stronger than Remnant Dream. Once Lu Xin saw her match, she would definitely worship her.


    ¡°But the tickets are so hard to buy and I don¡¯t have any money,¡± Lu Xin said in dismay as she looked at the money she had in her bag and wrinkled her brow.


    ¡°Hahahahaha.¡±


    Everyone began to laugh.


    Lu Li¡¯s sister saying that she didn¡¯t have any money? That was obviously a joke.


    Other than those who ran big businesses, there weren¡¯t many people who made as much money as Lu Li.


    ¡°Competitors can get two free tickets,¡± Wandering said, then gave them a quick summary. All they had to do was enter the ID of the players they wanted to watch and they would be sent to the stands when the match began.


    ¡°Watch ours ¨C I invited first.¡± Hachi Chan aggressively pulled at Lu Li¡¯s sister.


    The first team to go in was Wandering¡¯s. They managed to apply pressure onto their opponents from all sides and ended the game within two minutes, gaining another point in the competition.


    The next was Lu Li¡¯s team.


    Although Lu Xin really wanted to watch her brother¡¯s match, Hachi Chan had been really insistent, so she had no choice but to keep waiting.


    The moment Lu Li stepped into the match, he gathered his thoughts. He stopped thinking about his sister and focused on the task at hand.


    He had seen someone who he had fought with before.


    Gaze!


    When Lu Li snuck into the Crossroads Outpost to steal the Maintenance Robot blueprints, he also conveniently found a Deception Orb in a treasure chest at the top of a watchtower.


    After he got down from the watchtower, he had bumped into this person.


    At the time, he had gone a few rounds against him. His technique had left a very strong impression on Lu Li. He also knew a skill that Moonlight had, Whirlwind.


    Apart from Moonlight, Gaze was the only Berserker to have successfully hit and stun him with Charge.


    Lu Li was forced to use Gale Steps to escape. If they continued fighting head on, his chances of victory would actually be quite slim.


    Although he could recognize Gaze, Gaze couldn¡¯t recognize him, as he was now wearing a mask.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    Moonlight raised his eyebrow in surprise when he saw Gaze. Who knew how he managed to tell these Orcs apart?


    The only reason Lu Li could do was because of his unique face tattoo.


    Gaze immediately recognized Moonlight. Moonlight was a Night Elf so his face wasn¡¯t very different from real life.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not fight yet ¨C let me say hello,¡± Moonlight said as he went into the middle. ¡°Gaze, how are you? So you decided to play Orc, huh?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, much better than you. I see that you¡¯ve changed your name,¡± Gaze laughed with a grin. ¡°Let¡¯s formally introduce ourselves. Gaze, proudly serving the Gale Legion.¡±


    Only a professional player would use the word serve like that. It tended to be something that the top PVP players said.


    ¡°Moonlight, proudly serving¡­ the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.¡±


    There was a twitch at the corner of Moonlight¡¯s mouth, but his face didn¡¯t show any emotion. Not even half a smile.


    They must have known each other from the past and they appeared to be friends. The only mystery was why they had parted ways.


    ¡°Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡­ oh yes. You don¡¯t join guilds anymore, so you¡¯re part of the number one Mercenary group instead¡­¡± Gaze¡¯s eyes suddenly flashed as he called out, ¡°Hey, how can you not say hello? Lu Li, it¡¯s been a while.¡±


    At first, he had unexpectedly seen Moonlight, so he acted a little rudely.


    However, he remembered that Moonlight was working with the Light Faction¡¯s number 1 player.


    Lu Li also felt a sense of regret as they weren¡¯t able to fight properly the last time. And now, Lu Li¡¯s reputation had grown significantly, especially after killing Blood Dagger.


    At the Crossroads Outpost, Lu Li had told him that they would fight it out next time.


    Not only was Gaze not afraid, he now had even higher expectations for this battle. How could someone who was friends with Moonlight be afraid of PVP?


    Lu Li, who was still covered, gently nodded his head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s fight to the end.¡±


    The two commentators had no idea what was happening. This was the first time that they had witnessed players having a conversation in the match. Their topic of conversation was also quite puzzling.

 283 The Flying Man

    ¡°Alright, they probably knew each other and were saying hello, but now that that¡¯s done, the match will soon officially begin.¡±


    The main commentator, Zhang Zhen, saw that the players were finally getting into position and couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath.


    This was a competition, not a chatroom.


    It would be a good idea for the game company to recommend that players not talk during the competition in the future.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the compositions of these teams. Lu Li¡¯s side is running Thief, Warrior and Priest. The other side is running¡­¡± Dark Wind observed.


    ¡°Warrior, Mage and Priest, a classic composition,¡± Zhang Zhen added in coordination.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true. This composition is comparable to Thief, Mage and Priest. On top of the Berserker¡¯s physical damage output, the Mage¡¯s advantage is even greater,¡± Dark Wind passionately spoke.


    ¡°Dark Wind, the team that Lu Li is facing today isn¡¯t any ordinary team, right?¡± Zhang Zhen had been infected by the atmosphere.


    ¡°Yep, Lu Li¡¯s opponents for today include a well-known PVP expert, Gaze.¡± Dark Wind had to act as if he had anticipated a match between such strong players before the final 16. He quickly thought of Gaze¡¯s history as he said, ¡°Gaze has played five to six games and is a true veteran gamer. In the once popular, Jianghu, he, Chainsmoker and a few others had risen to become legends.


    Moonlight was Chainsmoker, so he knew Gaze¡¯s qualities very well.


    ¡°Gaze has now joined the Gale Legion; do you think that the Gale Legion would have equipped him with the strongest team?¡± Zhang Zhen asked.


    Of course, he personally hoped that Gaze¡¯s team was stronger. The more exciting the competition, the more opportunity he had to make comments


    The last few matches had been exciting, but they lacked some tension.


    ¡°It is said that Gaze¡¯s membership fee is up to four million annually, so it is likely that the Gale Legion will give their best. The Mage who is holding that Magic Staff is the number one Mage in the Gale Legion, Cloudy Leaf. The Priest is actually a new face.¡± Dark Wind only managed to identify some of the players.


    ¡°The number one Mage? How strong is he really?¡± Zhang Zhen obviously already knew of Cloudy Leaf.


    The reason he asked was to give Dark Wind the opportunity to explain what Cloudy Leaf could do. Most commentators were also really knowledgeable.


    ¡°Which side do you think will win?¡± Zhang Zhen asked.


    This was a very unprofessional question. When commentating on a match where both sides were experts, it was very difficult to answer who would win when the host asked such a question.


    If they were right, they had to nothing gain. However, if they were wrong, that would be really embarrassing for them.


    However, Dark Wind didn¡¯t really seem to mind answering that question. ¡°When comparing Moonlight and Gaze, Gaze is probably a little stronger. But Gaze will not win,¡± he sighed.


    ¡°Why is that?¡± How could the stronger player not win?


    ¡°Moonlight is level 25 and the level 25 equipment that he is wearing has come from a Mold. With such a level and equipment imbalance, they are on a completely uneven playing field. Also,¡± Dark Wind paused, ¡°Have you forgotten about Lu Li? This is not a fair fight at all!¡±


    Zhang Zhen could only quietly agree, rather than to compare Cloudy Leaf to Lu Li.


    There were fans from both sides who had bought tickets, but most of them were here to see Lu Li. How would a regular expert face off against a God?


    While they were speaking, the match began.


    Lu Li and Moonlight immediately went after the opposing Healer. They wanted to get rid of the Priest as soon as possible, as they knew Gaze¡¯s strength and didn¡¯t share Dark Wind¡¯s optimism.


    The opposing team¡¯s lower level and weaker equipment was their weakness. As for Lu Li¡¯s team, March Rain was their weakness.


    If they could defeat the opposing Priest, they would have mitigated their team¡¯s weakness.


    Gaze saw that the other Priest was also a girl. Her dark eyebrows made her glow with vigor as she prepared herself to fight.


    Although she was being focused fired, Wendelian didn¡¯t panic.


    Lu Li cast Cheap Shot on her but she quickly used her badge¡¯s effect to remove the stun. She then sidestepped Moonlight¡¯s Charge as he flew past her.


    Wendelian was healing herself while moving towards her Mage.


    Gaze also started to move in instead of attacking March Rain. He clearly had less confidence in this healer.


    Moonlight had already cast every skill he had other than Whirlwind; all his buffs were in effect simultaneously. This was also the case for Lu Li. In a few short seconds, they had reduced the healer¡¯s HP down to half.


    As this was happening, the Mage spread a layer of ice beneath their feet.


    The ice seemed to move slowly at first, but it suddenly covered a 12-yard-radius, freezing all hostile units within the area.


    Frost Nova!


    The moment that Lu Li saw the layer of ice, he knew what skill it was. This was the skill that had made him enough money to buy a game helmet when he first started playing the game.


    This skill was very rare.


    Even after another two to three years, only the experts would have this skill.


    Lu Li and Moonlight were both frozen. This skill had a 12-yard range and an 8 second effect duration!


    There was no easy way to defeat Moonlight at this time without wasting Frost Nova¡¯s effect.


    Even if they tried to kill him, he would recover as soon as he started taking damage.


    As such, the Gale Legion¡¯s number one Mage Cloudy Leaf aimed his Magic Staff at Lu Li and started channeling his skills. He wanted to hit this Cloth Armored Thief with a high damage skill.


    It was a five second channel, and there was only one second left before the skill could be cast.


    Lu Li used his Shadow Cloak skill.


    This removed any magic effects and made him immune to those effects for a short time.


    Now that he was no longer frozen, he immediately used his cloak¡¯s effect to appear behind the Mage.


    The Priest had already retreated behind the Warrior so she couldn¡¯t make it in time. Her Inferior Shadow Step didn¡¯t give her enough distance and there was no way that she could make it if she ran.


    However, just as Lu Li was casting Cheap Shot, a figure appeared.


    Gaze had cast Charge.


    He had anticipated that Lu Li would use his cloak. This was a well-known skill of Lu Li¡¯s.


    If Lu Li was hit by this Charge, he would have no choice but to cast Gale Steps.


    A Thief that had already used Gale Steps would have very few life-preserving abilities left, especially when facing a Warrior and a Mage.


    Fortunately, Lu Li, with his wealth of PVP experience from his past life, had seen this situation before. He simply reached around the Mage and started attacking him as quickly as he could.


    Lu Li was basically right behind the Mage¡¯s body and Gaze could do nothing but pass by him.


    Although Gaze couldn¡¯t hit him, he didn¡¯t keep charging like a rookie.


    Instead, he decisively cancelled his Charge and stopped right beside Lu Li.


    Trample!


    This was the strength of Gaze. He definitely wasn¡¯t weaker than Moonlight. In fact, his transitions between skills were smoother than Moonlight¡¯s.


    Trample would definitely be within range if he was this close. If Lu Li didn¡¯t act, he would definitely be affected by Gaze¡¯ Trample.


    While everyone was watching him, Lu Li jumped.


    Yes, he jumped.


    Could you avoid Trample just by jumping?


    Trample¡¯s effect lasted for 1 second. If the skill was higher-levelled, this duration could be increased. Although this wasn¡¯t mentioned in the skill description, it was a generally accepted effect.


    Human jumps were limited to less than one second. Although they could get infinitely close to one second, it was scientifically confirmed that they would never be able to exceed it. There was once a man named Jordan who was dubbed the ¡®flying man¡¯, as he had achieved an airtime of 0.8 seconds. It was considered a miracle.


    As such, in everyone¡¯s minds, jumping to avoid Trample wasn¡¯t a realistic way to avoid it.


    As for whether it would actually work, even the commentator didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Lu Li was an expert and experts rarely made any pointless moves. So, when he performed this eye-catching jump, everyone watched on in anticipation.

 284 Exchanging Pieces

    Gaze stared at Lu Li¡¯s airborne body as he cast Trample.


    Visible tremors began to spread in a circle around him as the ground shook continuously for a whole second. He wasn¡¯t worried that Lu Li would be able to dodge it.


    They had to take advantage of that fact that Moonlight was still unable to move for another 8 seconds and quickly deal with Lu Li.


    As for March Rain, she was currently running around randomly.


    Wendelian had previously approached March Rain and casted Soul Shriek, putting her into a terrified state for 8 seconds.


    Soul Shriek was the Priest¡¯s strongest crowd-control skill; it caused the target to involuntarily run around.


    As the Gale Legion was currently LV21, the main branch must have had at least 20,000 members. They also had quite a few sub-branches which likely brought the total members up to 100,000.


    Being Gaze¡¯s teammember and having the support of 100,000 players, Wendelian naturally wouldn¡¯t lack such strong skills.


    Moonlight was going to be four seconds away even after he recovered from being frozen. It was enough time!


    Now, they just had to wait for Lu Li to fall down.


    Although this has taken so long to describe, it all happened incredibly quickly. The events that occurred after Lu Li¡¯s jumped all happened in the blink of an eye.


    Everyone thought that he would be finished as soon as he landed.


    But would Lu Li really be finished in this situation?


    Of course not! There was no way that he jumped just to delay the inevitable.


    Under the gaze of 100,000 viewers, he kicked his right leg squarely onto Cloudy Leaf¡¯s chest¡­


    Was that possible?


    At this point even Dark Wind couldn¡¯t remain silent. ¡°This is a game after all. So the things that are possible in real life¡­¡±


    Although virtual games had been around for over 200 years, the only thing that he could say was ¡®this is still a game after all¡¯.


    Kicking someone to shift your momentum wasn¡¯t uncommon in real life. However, in a game, it should have been impossible, especially given the technical difficulty required to do it.


    After all, the rules of the game were created around the concept of playability.


    As such, when you kicked someone else in a fight, it shouldn¡¯t have had any effect.


    The events that followed left everyone dumbfounded. The moment Lu Li completed his kick, the Frostbolt that Cloudly Leaf was casting backfired.


    He had been affected by Kick!


    Everyone suddenly realized that this Thief had used a skill.


    Casting Kick and actually kicking someone were two different things. Only one of them was a skill and would be recognized by the system.


    When a channeled skill was interrupted, there would naturally be repercussions.


    Although Lu Li was inevitably going to fall, his use of this skill had significantly delayed that fall.


    The ground had stopped trembling and Trample¡¯s effect had passed. Lu Li fell flat onto the ground, but managed to raise his dagger and successfully block Gaze¡¯s Hamstring skill.


    Upon a successful block, Hamstring¡¯s 50% slow was reduced by half and its damage was also significantly reduced.


    Although he had avoided Trample, Lu Li was still in danger. He had been slowed and he was in close proximity to a Berserker, a Mage and a Priest.


    With a heavy heart, Lu Li was forced to cast Gale Steps.


    Dawn was a very balanced game.


    There was no way that he could defeat a Berserker head-on, even with his superior equipment and levels. This was even before considering the two other players who were present.


    He didn¡¯t want to make the mistake of Staring Right Eye by hesitating. When he saw that the situation was bad, he decisively retreated.


    Gale Steps was a Thief¡¯s ultimate escape skill; it allowed Lu Li to smoothly escape and relieved the effects of Hamstring, as well as any other debuffs.


    Gale Steps also conveniently put him into Stealth.


    Gaze was shocked. He thought that Lu Li was so proud that he would rather die than use Gale Steps. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have jumped before and would have simply used Gale Steps to get away.


    He didn¡¯t think that he would have such a change of heart and suddenly retreat.


    So, who were they supposed to attack now? Moonlight or March Rain?


    Without much thought, the three of them ran straight at March Rain. In Dawn¡¯s team battles, killing the Healer was never a bad idea.


    March Rain had not yet recovered from her Feared state and was still running around randomly.


    The Mage¡¯s Frostbolt had hit March Rain which woke her up, but this attack was quickly followed by Gaze¡¯s Charge.


    Armor Break, Strangle, Whirlwind.


    One of Gaze¡¯s characteristics was that he was very goal oriented; he had used all the skills that he had left. As long as he achieved his goal, he didn¡¯t care that he was perhaps using Whirlwind a little too early.


    Lu Li was troubled.


    He finally understood what Staring Right Eye was feeling. He had to choose between whether he should save her or not.


    He had to save her!


    Lu Li burst into action the moment he thought this and went straight to the Mage, Cloudy Leaf.


    He first casted Premeditation and followed that up with Cheap Shot!


    Premeditation wasn¡¯t a combat skill and wouldn¡¯t be seen by one¡¯s opponents, but it gave the caster two extra combo points. Any Thief who had this skill would use it before casting Cheap Shot.


    The moment the Mage was crowd controlled by Cheap Shot, Lu Li immediately cast Ambush.


    Fighting players was very different from fighting monsters. It was very difficult to get the same level of Skill Completion, as players tended to dodge or block. Even the slightest twist from the player could have a great impact on the degree of completion.


    However, in a situation like this, those additional influences could be ignored.


    Because the target was under hard crowd-control, the target was no different from a wooden dummy.


    Cloudy Leaf could only watch as his HP rapidly dropped.


    He felt a cool sensation on his neck before his HP dropped even further. It was also accompanied with a Bleed.


    Dammit, his Skill Completion is way too high.


    As he was still stunned, he couldn¡¯t even give himself any shields. He could only hope that Wendelian was keeping him alive.


    He kept reassuring himself that there was no way he would die in one rotation of skills, especially with a Priest that had such strong equipment. But now, his confidence was shaken.


    He had just 200-300 HP and had been stunned for another 2 seconds. Was this really the Thief¡¯s useless Shadowstrike?


    Many Thieves looked down on Shadowstrike because they felt like it did too little damage.


    However, Lu Li really liked this skill and it dealt significantly more damage in his hands. Just then, it had done three times the normal damage and had even produced a special effect.


    It wasn¡¯t that much worse than an Ultimate Skill.


    Wendelian quickly used her Magic Staff and started casting a skill. With a white flash, Cloudy Leaf¡¯s 30% HP jumped by 20%.


    Bang!


    The Mage had woken up and was trying to cast Ice Shield on himself before he was stunned once again.


    Moonlight had charged at him!


    He had finally recovered from being frozen and was furious.


    He cast his skills often and accurately, not losing focus for a single moment.


    There was still a chance; Cloudy Leaf forced himself to calm down. He still had quite a bit of HP and Charge¡¯s stun only lasted for two seconds. Only two seconds¡­


    Cha! Lu Li seemed to have made a misstep, as he stabbed his dagger into Cloudy Leaf¡¯s forehead.


    Gouge!


    Lu Li alone might not have been able to continuously stun a Mage with a healing Priest, but the two of them together could do it.


    Although Lu Li had taken the initiative on this side, the pressure on March Rain hadn¡¯t been alleviated. She was in imminent danger, as she was facing a ten-year gaming veteran who was also one of Dawn¡¯s top PVP players.


    She had already given herself shields, used her damage reduction skills and had healed herself where she could.


    When Lu Li and Moonlight joined forces to finish off Cloudy Leaf, March Rain was down to her last sliver of HP.

 285 Two Lu Lis

    Two Lu Lis


    Gaze killed March Rain, but he didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of exhilaration. This girl was too competitive ¨C even if she knew she was going to die eventually, she would still try her best to survive.


    Her competitive personality caused Gaze to lose his chance to support the Mage.


    Or rather, he miscalculated ¨C he thought that he could kill the Priest, then turn around and save the Mage in time.


    Accidents always happened; he underestimated the completion level of Lu Li¡¯s skills. Even a Berserker like himself was petrified by the damage Lu Li could deal, not to mention that March Rain was unexpectedly hard to defeat.


    Two against two!


    It was hard to say which side had the advantage. Gaze could heal, but his damage output was limited. Since he was the only one standing, it would be hard for him to quickly kill either Lu Li or Moonlight by himself.


    As for Lu Li and Moonlight, they were a violent combination.


    If Wendelian ran out of mana first, it would be Lu Li and Moonlight¡¯s victory, but if Lu Li and Moonlight couldn¡¯t survive until he ran out of mana, they would both be in danger. After all, from this point onwards, there was no way for either of them to regain any health at all.


    "Leave Gaze to me; go and chase down the Priest," Moonlight said as he waved the big axe in his hands.


    "Alright, I promise I won¡¯t give her any chances to heal," Lu Li promised before he dove into the shadows.


    Shadowmeld!


    Gaze sighed, this skill was his biggest concern.


    Wendelian healing a warrior was different to healing herself; she was a cloth-geared class after all.


    "Come, let¡¯s see if you¡¯ve fallen behind." Moonlight licked his lips; the lust for battle was clear in his eyes.


    "Alright, today we¡¯ll settle who¡¯s the best once and for all."


    Gaze was quick to adjust; he knew that Moonlight would be a tough enemy and he needed to focus.


    Wendelian didn¡¯t panic; she placed a constant heal buff and a shield on herself.


    If Lu Li resurfaced, he would have to pop her shield first and if he waited around for her shield to disappear, she would have enough time to heal Gaze.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t wait ¨C his Cheap Shot was already off cooldown.


    With Cheap Shot available, there was no problem at all.


    He had already secretly replaced his dagger with Corrupted Fang.


    This was no longer a time where he should be hiding his true strength - he couldn¡¯t place all of hope in Moonlight. If Moonlight lost to Gaze and he failed to kill the healer, they would lose for sure.


    He wouldn¡¯t allow himself to fail, at least, not before he gave it his all.


    "Teacher Wind, what do you think of the current situation?" Zhang Zhen had to voice a reminder ¨C his partner always forgot to talk.


    You¡¯re an analyst, you¡¯re here to watch the match.


    "Hmph, this is a situation where both parties are evenly matched," Dark Wind replied after he cleared his throat.


    "Do you think Lu Li will be able to kill the Priest before Gaze and Moonlight settle their score?" Zhang Zhen asked.


    Up until this point of the match, no one apart the biased fans would think that the team they supported was guaranteed to win.


    "This is hard to say. Lu Li¡¯s damage is indeed quite insane, but there is no way he will be able to stun the Priest until she dies. Once Wendelian finds a gap, she¡¯ll be able to raise her health bar back up." Dark Wind actually had a more pessimistic view about the situation, but as an analyst, he couldn¡¯t draw any definite conclusions.


    However, everyone understood what he meant.


    "Alright, Lu Li is starting his attack; he opens with a Premeditation, followed by Cheap Shot. Here comes Backstab, Ambush, great. That¡¯s already five combo points, now what¡¯s next? Backhand Backstab or Slit Throat? Wait, am I seeing things? Teacher Wind, what is this, what is this?"


    In the world of the Analysts, Zhang Zhen was well known for his quick talking style. It was quite common to see him call out the skills of players at a rapid speed.


    But right now, he was on the edge of having a breakdown.


    He was a Dawn player too and had an in-depth understanding of all classes. He was also a common visitor of the forums, but never had he seen anything like what he had just witnessed.


    Why were there two Lu Lis!


    Dark Wind¡¯s jaws dropped, as he subconsciously replied," Maybe it¡¯s some sort of cloning skills¡­ this game actually has cloning skills..."


    The audience exploded into a frenzy.


    This was a sight that they had never seen and it was an impactful shock for many.


    Those who supported Lu Li were cheering ¨C they had no doubt that Lu Li would perform another miracle ¨C while those who supported Gaze were cursing out loud. This was not fair!


    Corrupted Fang (Perfect Silver Grade): 24-36 Damage, Agility +16, Strength +6, Critical Chance +8%, Special Special Effect 1: Chance to apply 20% Armour Pierce when attacking, lasts for 15 seconds. Special Effect 2: Chance to summon a Phantom when attacking. Phantom has 30% of player¡¯s attack damage and lasts 20 seconds. Level Requirement 25, Durability 50/50.


    Lu Li¡¯s attacks had activated the special effects. He didn¡¯t pause at all and his dagger quickly slid across Wendelian¡¯s neck.


    The clone that he had summoned did the same; it copied the exact moves of Lu Li and its dagger also slid across the same position.


    -312!


    -96!


    An ultimate skill took out almost a quarter of Wendelian¡¯s health. On top of the damage previously dealt, Wendelian barely had any health left.


    This was only the beginning; Lu Li still hasn¡¯t used his Shadowstrike.


    The clone dealt damage in the same way that Lu Li did. When Shadowstrike critically struck, dealing three times its original damage, Wendelian became a true tragedy.


    As the two second stun was about to end, Lu Li stacked a Gouge on top.


    In her last moments, Wendelian regained consciousness, but she barely had any health left. Even if she could heal herself, there was no way for her to handle the incoming attacks of Lu Li.


    Wendelian fell to the floor, while Moonlight and Gaze still had around half of their health bars left.


    "You lost."


    Moonlight stopped attacking and took two steps back. Even he was surprised about Lu Li killing the healer so quickly.


    "Yes," Gaze admitted as he smiled bitterly. "But there¡¯s more chances in the future."


    Regular seasons were different to elimination matches; losing a match didn¡¯t mean you would be eliminated from the competition. It wouldn¡¯t be hard for Gaze¡¯s team to enter the round of sixteen with their skill level, but they no longer had a chance for the Champion spot in this season of the Shadow Cup.


    Gaze didn¡¯t blame Cloudy Leaf for dying too quickly, neither did him blame himself for not killing March Rain fast enough.


    They had already played the best they could and it wasn¡¯t a surprise that they lost. He was level 24, Cloudy was also level 24 and Wendelian was only level 23. On the other hand, Lu Li was level 26, March Rain was also level 26 and Moonlight was level 25. The gap between the teams was too great and they didn¡¯t have any level 25 gear.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they had stronger skills, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to put up such a fight.


    "We¡¯ll talk about it next time; I¡¯ll fight you again."


    Moonlight bumped fists with him and exited the match. He wasn¡¯t the least bit worried about Gaze going back on his word.


    Gaze followed and left the match too, as Lu Li received a victory message from the system.


    After he left the scene, his clone disappeared and the breathtaking moment from before dissipated. All that was left on the battleground was emptiness and silence.


    An uproar of cheering erupted from the stands; even the supporters of Gaze applauded.


    Despite Gaze¡¯s team losing, they had forced Lu Li to play his trump card.


    Lu Li¡¯s team had also brought out the potential in Gaze¡¯s team. The fans had faith that Gaze¡¯s team would make it into the round of sixteen for sure.


    Lu Li left the battleground and was teleported to the entrance. The members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group sat on the ground and rested, while his sister was learning how to fight monsters from a small distance away.


    As he watched on, Lu Li¡¯s slightly frowned, but he didn¡¯t stop her.

 286 Focusing Hachi Chan

    "It¡¯s a shame we didn¡¯t get to spectate the game."


    Regret was written all over Sakura Memories¡¯ face; March Rain had left early and was explaining what had happened during the battle.


    Even with Lu Li and Moonlight, she had been killed and had to leave the battle early. This clearly showed how tough their opponents were.


    "You and Gaze know each other?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Gaze was a famous player and even though he tried to stay under the radar, he was just like Blood Dagger and the others. They were players who were often analyzed by many, especially when people talked about PVP masters.


    Lu Li recalled from his past life¡¯s memories that Moonlight never participated in competitions, even though he had the ¡®Warrior God¡¯ title. However, no one ever thought that he had better gaming techniques than Gaze.


    "Don¡¯t you and Gaze know each other too?" Moonlight laughed bitterly; not everything in this world was explainable.


    "We¡¯ve fought against each other before. It ended as a draw; he¡¯s a very tough opponent."


    Seeing that he didn¡¯t want to dive deep into this topic, Lu Li didn¡¯t question him any further. Everyone had their own secrets to keep.


    "Yes, Lu Li, I¡¯ve found our weakness." Moonlight¡¯s expression was serious.


    "Are you referring to our skills?" Lu Li asked.


    "Yep, you¡¯ve found it too. Compared to their team, our skills were too weak. Otherwise, the match would¡¯ve been much easier."


    Frost Nova, Soul Shriek, Whirlwind¡­the caliber of skills books that players from the big guilds were able to obtain was truly beyond what any ordinary player could imagine.


    Even as a mercenary group, Lu Li and the others still seemed like random players in the eyes of many.


    "Is it possible to obtain a Soul Shriek skill book now?" Lu Li asked.


    "I¡¯ve contacted a few friends, but none of them have it. Currently, this skill is in high-demand; the same goes for Frost Nova..."


    It wasn¡¯t only these three skills that Lu Li and the others needed; they actually lacked quite a lot of skills.


    For example, Lu Li really needed Kidney Strike.


    Kidney Strike was a very powerful crowd-control skill. For a Thief to become the strongest assassinator of cloth-armored classes, this skill was definitely a requirement. However, Lu Li still hadn¡¯t been able to find the skill book for it, not even with the help of Shen Wansan.


    At the end of the day, the advantage that reincarnation gave had its limits.


    "Aiya, it¡¯s our turn. Xin Xin, make sure to accept." Hachi Chan jumped up; their match was about to begin.


    After inviting Lu Xin, she also invited Lu Li.


    Lu Li still hadn¡¯t applied for another ranked match and after giving it some though, he accepted the invite.


    They were then teleported into the stands of the match arena.


    Lu Xin sat beside Lu Li; they had both been invited by Hachi Chan, so it was natural for them to be placed beside each other.


    Hachi Chan, Azure Sea Breeze and Lonsome Flower made a classic team-composition of Warrior, Mage and Druid. On the other hand, their opponents went for the more aggressive Paladin, Warlock and Thief.


    Paladins were capable of dealing damage and healing. They were a very flexible class and because they wore plated armor, they were able to take more damage.


    The Thief went into stealth mode as soon as the match started. The Warlock targeted Hachi Chan and the Paladin also rushed forward.


    "Will Hachi Chan win?" Lu Xin sat beside Lu Li and held onto her brother¡¯s hand, her eyes glistening.


    "Of course," Lu Li affirmed.


    "Mate, you¡¯re friends with Hachi Chan, right? How can you be so sure they¡¯ll win?"


    The audience seating didn¡¯t afford any privacy and the person beside them had a pair of good ears, good enough to hear what Lu Li was saying in the rowdy environment.


    "Brother, why?" Lu Xin wasn¡¯t so sure anymore after she heard someone else question Lu Li.


    As they grew up, Lu Li often lied to her. For example, he would bring food home and tell her that he had already eaten when he hadn¡¯t.


    "Because they¡¯re targeting Hachi Chan." Lu Li was certain of his prediction, but he couldn¡¯t explain it.


    His reasoning didn¡¯t sound logical at all ¨C was there anything wrong with trying to kill the healer first?


    The Warlock¡¯s Shadow Arrow exploded on Hachi Chan¡¯s leather armor, followed by a -22 and the word ¡®Miss¡¯.


    Usually, a miss meant that the skill hadn¡¯t landed. However, in Dawn, it was impossible for a skill not to land on its target. Rather, the 22 points of damage was a clear indication that the skill had failed.


    Shadow Arrow had a cast time of three seconds and was one of the most common skills used by Warlocks. Even if the Warlock was a lower-level than Hachi Chan, the damage that it dealt should have still been at least around 150.


    Azure Sea Breeze was known as the number one tank in the game, but he wasn¡¯t well known among PVP players.


    As soon as the embarrassing damage digits floated into the air, the analyst gasped and said what everyone else was thinking, "Aiya, that¡¯s some bad luck for the Warlock."


    At the same time, the Thief had gone into Stealth and had snuck up behind Hachi Chan.


    He used a Cheap Shot to stun Hachi Chan, which was followed by a smooth sequence of skills. It was clear that he wasn¡¯t an ordinary noob either.


    However, what left him speechless was that just like the Warlock, his attacks were also a bunch of failures.


    The Warlock and Thief gave it their all, completing an entire round of all their skills, but they only managed to take around half of Hachi Chan¡¯s health bar.


    Dodge, Damage Reduction, Parry, Block ¨C Hachi Chan had it all. The Thief and the Warlock were both shocked. Was this really a Druid standing before them?


    You didn¡¯t even have a shield, so what¡¯s with the block? You didn¡¯t move your staff either, so where did the parry come from...


    "Aiya, help!" Hachi Chan screamed. "They¡¯re hitting me! They¡¯re all hitting me! Help me!"


    The audience was left speechless.


    You barely lost any health; what¡¯s with all this screaming.


    Hachi Chan had good equipment, but her attacks and healing were only average. Her gear mostly came from quests and were all quite unusual.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower didn''t stand around doing nothing either. Azure Sea Breeze faced off against the Paladin while Lonesome Flower aimed at the Thief.


    At this point, Lonesome Flower¡¯s unleashed a barrage of spells and attacks. He was a magic damage class and was focusing his fire on a leather-armored class. A bunch of jaw-dropping numbers floated into the air.


    No one attacked him either; he was completely free to do consistent damage.


    The Thief really began to feel the pressure. If this continued, he would die before he got around to killing the Druid with his Warlock teammate.


    An unknown effect on his equipment was suddenly activated. A red light radiated from the Thief and his damage greatly increased. He had already stored five combo points and immediately aimed his ultimate skill right at the back of Hachi Chan¡¯s head.


    As long as the weird statuses didn¡¯t pop up this time, he had faith that this attack would end everything.


    After killing the Druid, he planned to then use Gale Steps.


    Then, once he ran towards the Paladin and received some healing, he would be in good fighting condition again.


    Lonesome Flower had only just finished a skill rotation, so he could only watch as the Thief went berserk and attacked Hachi Chan.


    Don¡¯t disappoint us; heal yourself.


    Unfortunately, Hachi Chan was at a loss since she couldn¡¯t find the Thief. She had no clue that the Thief had already made his way behind her and was prepared to surprise her.


    "Even though she¡¯s cute, she¡¯s honestly too stupid."


    The person who was sitting next to Lu Li clearly wasn¡¯t a supporter of Hachi Chan and had smug look plastered all over his face.


    Before he could finish his sentence, the tides of battle suddenly shifted.

 287 Reflect You to Death

    The girl who had been snuck up on took no damage and was still at a loss, but the person who tried to end her with an ultimate skill blacked out and died.


    Lu Li felt the corners of his mouth twitching as he held his forehead with his hands. Of all the places this Thief could attack, he chose to strike the head of the system¡¯s daughter.


    A little while ago, Hachi Chan had received a new helmet. Its attributes weren¡¯t the best, but it had a very interesting special effect ¨C it reflected 200% damage.


    Hit me, and I¡¯ll damage-reflect you to death.


    The number that floated above the Thief¡¯s head was almost 500.


    While it had dealt around 200 damage to Hachi Chan, the damage reflect dealt an even more massive 500 damage.


    His death was truly unexpected.


    The crowd went wild. What had just happened?


    Why was the person who had stood there and took the attack still standing, while the attacker himself had actually died?


    "Let you hit me, I¡¯ll let you hit me!" Hachi Chan hatefully stomped on the corpse of the Thief. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the corpse quickly disappeared in a flash of white light, she would have probably been stomping on it for a long time.


    "Hmph."


    The Analyst was almost in tears; all he could manage was to dryly comment, "She¡¯s still so cute even when she¡¯s angry, as expected from the popular Hachi Chan."


    The Warlock who was still alive was in complete shock. He could¡¯ve finished Hachi Chan off, but thought about the strange scene that had unfolded before his eyes and lost the courage.


    Although the Warlock was shocked, Lonesome Flower wasn¡¯t. He turned around with Azure Sea Breeze and the both focused down the Warlock together.


    Hachi Chan also came around to help as well, throwing around all sorts of spells and activating the Special Effects on her equipment.


    One of the effects was actually a silence; the Warlock was unable to cast a single spell and died without being able to put up a fight.


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s team ended up easily winning the match.


    "Hachi Chan, you were so amazing," Lu Xin said with admiration after the team exited.


    She had just discovered two people of her age who were both very good at gaming - Remnant Dream, who had caught an amazing pet and Hachi Chan, who had stood there while her attacker simply died. This was even more astonishing than anything else she had seen so far.


    "Of course, we¡¯re all the way here already. We¡¯ve never lost before."


    Hachi Chan was incredibly proud of herself; it felt good to be admired. It was a real shame that her best friend, Remnant Dream, never admired her. Instead, she would always try to tame her. Hachi Chan decided that from this point onwards, she would make Lu Xin into her new best friend.


    "Your techniques¡­ you should practice on your techniques more. Even I was embarrassed for you." Lu Li didn¡¯t hold back from bursting her bubble.


    This girl was only able to make it this far because of two reasons - she had a set of unusual gears and she had great teammates in Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Yeah, I know," Hachi Chan admitted. She had also realized her mistakes.


    She wasn¡¯t an unreasonable girl.


    From this point onwards, Lu Li¡¯s team didn¡¯t run into gaming masters like Gaze anymore. Even if they ran into some slightly troublesome teams, it never reached the point where March Rain was sent out of the match first.


    The three female landlords came late but quickly joined everyone.


    Everyone had no clue what Willow Yi Yi and Wandering had said to each other, but the deal was sealed. Their potion shop would supply the Xin Xin Mercenary Group with all kinds of potions for free. In return, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would openly advertise this deal.


    This was a very profitable opportunity for Willow Yi Yi ¨C the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was already quite famous and once the Shadow Cup was over, their fame would definitely take another step up.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really mind ¨C their rare potions were all crafted by Sesame Rice Ball while their regular potions were bought from the Auction.If people were offering free potions, why would they decline the offer?


    Many stores used this kind of advertisement strategy for their products anyway; this wasn¡¯t a formal endorsement.


    With the help of her new expert friends, Lu Xin rapidly levelled up. It only took her one afternoon to reach level 10.


    Dou Jing Jing had already prepared a skill book for her. They really liked Lu Xin from the bottom of their hearts and were even more prepared than Lu Li.


    Taming pets wasn¡¯t a hard task that needed Lu Li¡¯s supervision.


    Lu Xin also insisted that she didn¡¯t want his company, so he took everyone back to Astrana to farm monsters.


    At this point in time, monsters in the Wild had a certain chance to drop a Mooncake Box. These Mooncake Boxes could be opened by NPCs and contained Mooncakes that applied all sorts of status buffs, as well as some other equipment and items.


    However, most importantly, the boxes contained the skill book for "Basic Mounting" and also had a tiny chance for players to receive a mount.


    In Dawn, players had to wait until level 30 to have a chance at learning Mount skills and they could only receive mounts after they learned the skill.


    Mounts were able to be obtained in many ways ¨C some were obtained from events, others from quests and there even a few mounts that dropped from dungeon bosses.


    Even if a player was unable to obtain a mount using those methods, there was no need for them to be dismayed. There were beast masters in the main cities who sold mounts. Although the prices were a little steep, they could always gain glory from battlegrounds if they couldn¡¯t afford it. Once they had the Centurion title, they could exchange 20,000 glory points for a mount from the battlegrounds. However, these mounts would have a slightly slower travel speed.


    Lu Li knew a few bosses that would drop mounts and he also knew the strategies for taking them down.


    If the Mooncake Box dropped a "Basic Mounting" for him, he wouldn¡¯t mind getting a mount for himself.


    The team continued to farmed monsters and queued up for ranked matches. Soon, they had completed the required matches for the day and had also managed to collect a dozen Mooncake boxes.


    Including the boxes that he had kept from the past two days, Lu Li had around thirty Mooncake Boxes. The others also had a similar number of boxes.


    "Call Xin Xin. Let¡¯s go open these Mooncake Boxes; I heard others saying that they received some pretty accessories from them."


    Hachi Chan couldn¡¯t help herself, seeing that the game time for the day was coming to its end and that Lu Li and the others were still killing monsters.


    "Sure, we¡¯ll stop here today." Perhaps it was because of his sister, but Lu Li didn¡¯t object.


    After they returned to the city, they saw that it had been flooded with people.


    "Buying Mooncake Boxes at a high price. 20 silver coins for one. I¡¯ve already bought a couple hundred of them and don¡¯t have much money left, so I¡¯m only buying the last ten."


    "It would be a foolish act to not sell your boxes to me ¨C a Steel grade gear for a Mooncake Box. What are you still waiting for? You¡¯ll be able to kill monsters easily with a full Steel grade set. Preparation will quicken the work."


    From the regional channels all the way to World Announcements, these spam messages were everywhere.


    These business people kept the prices low and bought one box at the price of 20 silver coins. The event had only just begun and there wasn¡¯t much competition yet.


    20 silver coins was a sizeable amount for some people, but for Lu Li and the others, it was nothing.


    They ignored the businessmen in the game and walked into the Representative Government Hall.


    There was a beautiful secretary who stood beside the magistrate. The leather gear she wore showed off her nice dark-elf body, which attracted many people to line up in front of her.


    When Lu Li and the others first arrived, they didn¡¯t attract much attention.


    However, when Lonesome Flower, who was standing at the front, took out around seventy Mooncakes, the hall was filled with gasps.


    Mooncake Boxes would go straight into a player¡¯s bag once they were dropped. The person who killed the monster had the highest chance of obtaining the box, while healer classes would randomly receive the boxes from monsters killed by others.


    Even for a Mage who was capable of dealing area of effect damage, seventy was still an incredible number.

 288 Exquisite Quest Scroll

    It was hard to say what a player could receive from the Mooncake Box.


    The box contained all sorts of things and many people stood around here just so they could see what others were getting. Some people would offer a price if they saw something they were interested in.


    Lonesome Flower was a handsome guy with a cold demeanor; there was no way he would act like the others and rub his hands or pray to the Gods before he opened the boxes.


    He opened the first box, which contained a $100 Walmart voucher.


    That¡¯s right, items from the real world could also be obtained from these boxes. From Lu Li¡¯s knowledge, the highest-valued real item that you could receive was a cool Maglev Sedan, which was worth one million dollars.


    A $100 voucher was only equivalent to one gold coin, but it was still better than selling the box to those businessmen for 20 silver coins.


    The second item was a Steel grade equip; it was level 5 too. This box wasn¡¯t worth it.


    The third item was a Mooncake. Eating the Mooncake would give the player a +200HP buff which lasted for 20 minutes. The buff would disappear upon death or going offline.


    After opening a few more boxes, he finally received a good item.


    An accessory!


    It wasn¡¯t a necklace or a badge, but rather an accessory outside the normal range of equipment.


    Normal bosses didn¡¯t drop these accessories; they were limited and only available in events.


    The accessory that Lonesome Flower received was a pair of earrings with +5 Constitution. There was nothing really special about the earrings, other than the fact that they were exceptionally beautiful.


    March Rain really liked them.


    As long as March Rain liked them, Lonesome Flower was very satisfied.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Lonesome Flower to open all of his boxes.


    The other items that he received all belonged in the previous categories. They weren¡¯t bad items, but they weren¡¯t very exquisite either.


    Other people went to open their boxes as well. Mooncakes were the most common, closely followed by equipment.


    The equips that the Mooncake Box provided were all quite poor in quality; they were either Steel grade or Silver grade with very average attributes. Those who were unlucky even received Bronze grade gears.


    Lu Li queued up behind Remnant Dream. He had 34 boxes, which wasn¡¯t a lot compared to Lonesome Flower, but was still an amazing sum to the average players.


    Lu Xin stood beside her brother with high expectations as she watched him open his boxes.


    "Oh, a Mooncake! Attack+10%, not too bad. Here, take it," Lu Li said as he passed the Mooncake to his sister.


    In the past, during Mid-Autumn Festival, they would both still buy Mooncakes, because Mooncakes symbolized reunion. When they ate the Mooncakes, it felt like their deceased parents were still with them.


    Even though the in-game Mooncakes wasn¡¯t permitted in matches, they were still usable in dungeons, and could also be used when farming monsters in the wild, or during PVP with other players.


    Lu Li continued to open the boxes.


    Mooncakes, Steel grade gears, Mooncakes¡­


    "Mage Tower" Quest Scroll?


    Lu Li stared blankly for a few seconds, then was overwhelmed with joy.


    If his memories were correct, there would be a certain chance for him to obtain either Polymorph or Ice Block when he completed the quest. Both were God-tier skills for the Mage class.


    If he was extremely lucky, he might even have a chance to receive both skills books.


    Polymorph could turn a single target into a small animal. This effect lasted for 15 seconds and during this time, the transformed target would be unable to attack or cast spells. However, the transformed target would rapidly regain their health.


    Ice Block was even more impressive; everyone referred to this skill as the "refrigerator". After using this skill, the Mage would gain an invincible status for 10 seconds.


    Of course, after using it, they wouldn¡¯t be able to attack anyone else.


    This quest scroll was priceless.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li wasn¡¯t a Mage.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time that he had questioned his class choice.


    On his first day of playing, he had obtained "Frost Nova", a skill book that even most level 30 Mages would not be able to obtain. Now, Polymorph and Ice Block were waving at him again.


    "Flower, yours," Lu Li said as he passed the quest scroll to Lonesome Flower.


    Lonesome Flower took the quest scroll and briefly scanned it. He didn¡¯t think much of it; he had no clue about the rewards of this quest.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t explain it either ¨C he wasn¡¯t interested in showing off. Once Lonesome Flower received the reward, he would thank him anyway. Besides, Dawn¡¯s quests had always been very strange ¨C putting in more effort didn¡¯t mean that you would receive something better. Sometimes, going with the flow was the best option.


    After this scroll, there was nothing else from the box that was worth mentioning.


    Collectively, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had opened a couple of hundred Mooncake Boxes, but no one had managed to obtain a mount.


    According to the forums, the best item that could be obtained from these boxes was a level 20 Silver grade mold. Perhaps there were better items, for example, the "Mage Tower" Quest Scroll that Lu Li had given to Lonesome Flower. However, no one knew of its value yet.


    As for the accessories, it was hard to determine their value. Some would consider the accessories to be extremely valuable, while others complained about their barely existent attributes.


    Before he went offline, Lu Li sent a message to Shen Wansan and asked him to help him purchase similar scrolls.


    Whether they were quest scrolls or dungeon scrolls, he wanted all of them.


    Many people were clueless about the value of these items, but Lu Li had an extra three years of game experience.


    Mid-Autumn Festival arrived on the next day.


    A festive atmosphere could be felt everywhere in the game. Lots of places hung up different decorations to celebrate and players could even set the environment of the cities to night-mode.


    Hence, a bright moon hung in the sky and the city was lit by lanterns. Even by reality¡¯s standards, this was a beautiful and rare sight.


    "Everyone, good luck. The top hundred are going to be decided today. Don¡¯t get eliminated."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t admire the beauty of the scene for too long. He was calm and only thought about performing well in the competition.


    "Relax. We¡¯re still planning to see you in the finals."


    Azure Sea Breeze seemed to be confident about his team.


    "I¡¯d hope so¡­" Lu Li didn¡¯t want to discourage him.


    Even with luck on their side, Azure Sea Breeze might not even be able to make it into the round of sixteen.


    Wandering¡¯s team had an even smaller chance, since they had already lost a match before. If they lost another match before they entered the top hundred, they would be eliminated.


    After sending a request to the system, Lu Li and the others waited for a few minutes before they were teleported inside.


    The fruit of victory was right before their eyes. If they lost at this point, they would definitely regret it, so all those who were participating in the matches today made sure they were at their very best.


    Lu Li¡¯s team had only just seen who they were up against when they were rushed by the opposing team.


    It was another team that consisted entirely of damage dealers.


    Moonlight used Whirlwind right in front of March Rain and a Thief was forced out from Stealth.


    This wasn¡¯t just a lucky guess, but rather, an accurate judgement made by a PVP master. He assessed the movement speed and positioning of the opponent and casted the skill before they could lay their hands on the healer.


    The Thief was caught by surprise and instantly used his Swiftness effect.


    He thought he could make it out of Whirlwind¡¯s cast range with the burst of his movement speed, but he had no clue that Lu Li was already waiting for him.


    Lu Li opened with a sudden strike and forced the Thief to stay where he was.


    The Thief endured the entire Whirlwind. Even for a leather-armored class, Whirlwind wasn¡¯t a skill that could easily be tanked.


    The Thief never got his chance; he died even before he could do anything.


    The other team was left with a Paladin and a Warlock.


    They had wanted to save the Thief too, but he was stuck inside the Whirlwind. There was nothing that they could do.


    The opposing team had lost their main damage output right from the start; there was no doubt about who was going to win the match.


    However, they still fought as hard as they could, until the Paladin was finally struck down and sent out by the system.


    Lu Li¡¯s trio was the first to win a match today; it didn¡¯t take long before they were teleported out too.

 289 An Unexpected Meeting

    "Look at your depressed-looking face! Did you guys lose?" Wandering rejoiced at their misfortune.


    Azure Sea Breeze had mocked them when they lost their battle last time. However, the tables had turned and Team Azure Sea Breeze had finally lost their first match, right before they entered into the top 100.


    Wandering was relentless and his insults flew like daggers, cutting deep into the trio.


    "It¡¯s ok. It¡¯s only one loss; it¡¯s not a big deal. If you win two more, you¡¯ll qualify for the top 100 which is where the big money comes in," Lu Li consoled them.


    Every match would be packed once they entered the top 100.


    The tickets were one of their main sources of income.


    Up until now, Lu Li had received ticket money with full attendance for every match.


    That was equivalent to $300,000-$400,000 in real life!


    Moonlight and March Rain, who had been with him since the start of the tournament, had earned the same amount of money as well.


    The other teams under Xin Xin Mercenary Group had earned about $100,000-$200,000 in ticket sales.


    "Sigh¡­ why didn¡¯t they focus Hachi Chan this time?" Azure Sea Breeze was very bitter.


    Hachi Chan stomped on the ground angrily and retorted, "Do I look like I enjoy being focused?"


    The matches they had won before had all been against weaker opponents.


    Their team consisted of two LV26 players and a LV25 player, and they all had Superior-Grade Gear or better. Most teams didn¡¯t stand a chance against them.


    The stronger teams they faced would usually focus Hachi Chan.


    However, Lu Li and his team would never focus Hachi Chan if they were matched against them.


    Hachi Chan was a trap set up by them!


    It was very difficult to kill Hachi Chan because of her heals. By the time the enemy team finally managed to kill her, they would be close to being finished off themselves.


    At a surface-level, Team Azure Sea Breeze seemed unstoppable and could beat anyone.


    However, if the enemy figured out their strategy, they would actually be the weakest team from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    It was extremely easy to defeat them ¨C all you had to do was ignore Hachi Chan.


    The little girl wasn¡¯t very confident in PVP, especially on a stage as big as the Shadow Cup. Her heals weren¡¯t very strong, her damage output was very low and she would often be flustered in a fight.


    Therefore, it was much wiser to ignore her completely and focus on Lonesome Flower!


    Even though Lonesome Flower was a high-level and had good gear, he was the only damage dealer on their team. If he was killed first, there would only be a low-damage main tank and a low-damage healer left.


    Team Azure Sea Breeze seemed like a formidable, balanced team, however, they weren¡¯t even considered a threat for their experienced opponents.


    This was exactly what had happened in the last match. They faced off against a smarter team which immediately focused Lonesome Flower, then zoned-off Hachi Chan while slowly chipping away at Azure Sea Breeze.


    "There¡¯ll be plenty of matches that are coming up. You guys should practise your coordination more."


    Lonesome Flower looked like he wasn¡¯t focused and Lu Li decided he had to do something about it.


    "Flower, you should really work on improving your skills. Look at March Rain ¨C she¡¯s doing much better than you in the tournament. Shouldn¡¯t you become stronger as a brother so you can protect your little sister?"


    Lu Li¡¯s method of encouraging Lonesome Flower was very childish and usually, people would just ignore him.


    However, anyone that challenged the authority of Lonesome Flower as an old brother would face his wrath.


    Lonesome Flower became very mad but had nothing to say because he knew that Lu Li was right.


    Even though he lacked the skills and wasn¡¯t as talented as his little sister, it didn¡¯t mean that he could not improve and work on his game.


    With his current level and gear, he would become a much better player if he improved his positioning and his mechanics.


    By his gear and level alone, he was known as the top Mage in the game.


    However, he was lazy and was only capable of standing in on place while casting his spells.


    What a waste of resources...


    Lu Li then turned his attention towards Hachi Chan, but before he could say anything, Hachi Chan quickly blurted out, "I¡¯ll put in more effort to learn how to heal properly! Don¡¯t scold me!"


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t bring himself to scold a little girl.


    After 5 minutes or so, the second round was about to begin. Lu Li quickly finished off the monsters he was fighting and prepared to enter battle with his teammates.


    At a corner of the Black Sea Coast, a group of people were fighting a LV15 Wild Boss which only spawned at certain times.Star Moon Union was lucky enough to have come across it and they had managed to lure the boss into a remote area.


    If they didn¡¯t lure it away, they risked other players stealing the kill.


    "Big boss, don¡¯t worry. You guys can leave. After this match, we¡¯ll enter the top 100."


    The group was re-energized at the thought of their guild entering the top 100.


    They were considered to be one of the major guilds in Dawn because they were full of rich, second-generation students who were willing to pay to win.


    Last year, they ranked at 82nd on the Guild Rankings. However, if they didn¡¯t perform well in the Shadow Cup this year, their ranking would be at risk.


    Although there were many factors that went into the Guild Rankings, tournament achievements were considered to be a major one. If a guild didn¡¯t perform well in a tournament, their ranking could drop significantly.


    Square Root Three sighed and regretted the past with Lu Li.


    If only Lu Li had stayed in Star Moon Union¡­


    Yes¡­ if Lu Li had stayed, he would have found ways to make more money. He would have become the top player and commander in the guild. He would have led Star Moon to numerous First Clears, taken them to levelling hotspots and led them to the Shadow Cup championship.


    Star Moon Union had the money and resources but they lacked a leader. If Lu Li had stayed, they wouldn¡¯t have to struggle to barely make the top 100 in the Shadow Cup. They could have even had a guaranteed ticket to the finals.


    As Lu Li became more and more well-known and his accolades continued to grow, Square Root Three became more and more regretful. He should¡¯ve taken Lu Li¡¯s side back then instead of trying to play the peacemaker.


    There was nothing he could do now.


    He was purely focused on improving the guild and maintaining harmony within it.


    He sighed again as he watched Ao Jian, I am Richy Rich and Lawlessly teleport to the arena.


    Others cheered them on as they were also invited to be teleported to spectate the match.


    "Eh¡­ isn¡¯t that¡­ that¡­" I am Richy Rich saw the people standing before him and mumbled.


    "March Rain¡­. crap, it¡¯s Lu Li!" Lawlessly hadn¡¯t forgotten the beauty of March Rain and recognized her immediately. He soon realised that Lu Li was on the same team as her.


    I am Richy Rich hated Lu Li¡¯s guts so he had never spectated any of Lu Li¡¯s games. He was unfamiliar with Moonlight and March Rain as well.


    A Warrior, a Priest and a Thief in Stealth.


    Ao Jian¡¯s expression turned sour; he couldn¡¯t believe their terrible luck.


    Star Moon Union had already lost a match prior to this battle. If they lost one more, they would be eliminated from the tournament. This meant that their chances of entering the top 100 were extremely slim.


    "Don¡¯t be scared ¨C our gear isn¡¯t that bad. Big boss is already Lv24 and he has Frost Nova," I am Richy Rich said. In reality, he was terrified, but he had to encourage the others to fight. Otherwise, it would be impossible to defeat Lu Li. I am Richy Rich knew about Lu Li¡¯s reputation of being a PVP expert, but he decided to put up his best fight before going down.


    "I¡¯ve always wanted to face off against Lu Li again. I wonder if the rumours are true," Lawlessly said encouragingly as he went into Stealth.


    He recalled the time when he was sent out to assassinate Lu Li with another Thief and had almost succeeded. He wondered how things would¡¯ve turned out if Azure Sea Breeze hadn¡¯t ruined their plans.

 290 Destiny Makes Enemies Mee

    The reason why Lawlessly fearlessly stepped into the arena was because of the additional 10% Detection from his necklace.


    This necklace had dropped from a LV20 Wild Boss which had taken the whole of Star Moon Union to defeat. Lawlessly wasn¡¯t the best Thief in the guild, but because he excelled at sucking up to the guild master, he often received better equips when the loot was divided up.


    The necklace alone gave him the ability to detect his opponents and strike first. This gave him an advantage against most Thieves because a fight between two Thieves was often dependent on whoever unleashed their combos first.


    Lu Li stayed put and observed his opponents.


    To be honest, he didn¡¯t see anyone from Star Moon Union as a threat.


    In his past life, he had worked for the Star Moon Union to earn gold. The longer he stayed, the more he realised how fake and materialistic everyone there was. As he became more and more independent, he decided to leave the guild and venture out on his own.


    Lu Li was amused by the fact that these three had made it into the top 100. If his memory served him correctly, the Star Moon Union was one of the only guilds on the top 100 Guild Rankings that could never qualify for the top 100 in tournaments. Even before his rebirth, Star Moon Union had a reputation for their terrible tournament records.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t aware of the fact that the Star Moon Union had only made it this far because of the Frost Nova Skill Book. Frost Nova was strong enough to decide certain matches during the qualifiers. Their healer was I Am Richy Rich who was the wealthiest player in the guild. His motto was "When I¡¯m being a pretentious prick, everyone should shut the hell up." He hated when others stole his moments of glory.


    Their team composition was actually pretty decent, but their skills were lacking¡­


    "Lu Li, show your face if you dare!" I am Richy Rich shouted.


    The commentators were surprised by his trash talking because Lu Li would probably make them eat their words sooner or later.


    Trash talking was very common in Dawn, whether it was before or during matches. Some would even take the opportunity to advertise their product or sponsorships.


    However, the Shadow Cup was a prestigious tournament and trash talking that involved the other person¡¯s relatives was strictly forbidden. Therefore, trash talking wasn¡¯t as common in the Shadow Cup.


    What was the point of trash talking if it doesn¡¯t involve their relatives?


    Lu Li completely ignored him because he noticed a shadow at his 3 o¡¯clock position.


    Their plan was to lure Lu Li out with their trash talking and ambush him with Lawlessly.


    Lu Li repositioned himself and slowly moved towards the Thief.


    He cautiously crept around and repositioned himself until he had circled around the Thief without being noticed.


    It was normal for him to go unnoticed.


    Even though the 10% Detection from Lawlessly¡¯s necklace allowed him to detect Thieves, Lu Li had a bonus 30% Stealth effect from his Ring and Pants.


    Lawlessly was overconfident in his Detection and he would soon face the consequences.


    "I¡¯ve got my sights on a Thief and I can lock him down while you charge in for support. I know that the Mage has Frost Nova because I was the one that sold it to him," Lu Li said in his message to Moonlight.


    Moonlight nodded as a signal that he understood.


    "Lu Li, you ungrateful thing. Are you scared? Why don¡¯t you come out?" I am Richy Rich continued yapping.


    Since he was a healer, he had nothing to do except to trash talk.


    As expected, Ao Jian teleported towards March Rain and casted Frost Nova. He planned on freezing both March Rain and Moonlight.


    Once they cut off the support from his Warrior and Priest, Lu Li would be nothing more than a sitting duck waiting to be slaughtered.


    Ao Jian¡¯s strategy was the right move.


    However, before he could act, Lu Li had already ambushed his prey.


    Preparation and Cheap Shot stunned Lawlessly and revealed him from his stealth.


    After he was revealed, they realised that they had encountered each other before.


    Lu Li had sold the Frost Nova Skill Book to the Star Moon Union for $30,000, which caused a lot of internal conflict within the Guild. Lu Li was ambushed by two Thieves that were sent by the Star Moon Union to assassinate him. If Azure Sea Breeze had not stumble upon them, Lu Li would have been dead meat.


    Both parties wouldn¡¯t have thought that their next encounter would be in the Shadow Cup.


    Ao Jian casted his Frost Nova and instantly regretted it.


    Only March Rani stood frozen in place. Since she was a long-ranged class, she was still able to cast Mana Burn onto I am Richy Rich before being hit.


    Ao Jian was very discouraged because their trump card had been easily nullified.


    However, he had no time to be depressed over his useless Frost Nova because his Thief was in big trouble.


    A combo that Lu Li and Moonlight often ran was the Stun into Whirlwind. This usually guaranteed them a kill.


    Before Moonlight had finished his Whirlwind, Lawlessly died from the burst damage.


    Lu Li decided to ignore the Mage and went straight for I am Richy Rich. He hated this self-centred, trash-talking narcissist and would kill him multiple times if he could.


    Yes, Lu Li hated him so much that he had become a petty person.


    The pitiful thing was that as soon as Lu Li rushed towards I am Richy Rich, he immediately screamed and ran away.


    Why was he even running? It was impossible for a Druid to outrun a Thief unless he used transformation.


    Even without any mobility skills, Lu Li easily caught up to I am Richy Rich and slashed him with his dagger from behind.


    I am Richy Rich was extremely wealthy and was also the most powerful person in terms of status in the Star Moon Union. He would often buy Superior Grade Druid equipment from the market for a high price. As such, his gear was at an elite-level, and was much better than any other healer¡¯s that Lu Li had faced before.


    However, I am Richy Rich was extremely pessimistic and was discouraged upon seeing his teammate drop dead almost instantly. He was traumatized from previous encounters with Lu Li and no longer had the will to fight back.


    "Ao Jian, you useless piece of crap! Do you not know how to peel for your healer?!" I am Richy Rich selfishly berated. He cared for no one but himself and in the spur of the moment, he even trash-talked his own teammate.


    "Stop embarrassing us and heal yourself," Ao Jian replied while recklessly casting all of his skills towards Lu Li.


    They were disadvantaged from the start and now they lacked in numbers. There was no way of them turning the fight around.


    He managed to deal some damage to Lu Li, but this was instantly negated by March Rain.


    Moonlight quickly joined the fight and the dust finally settled.


    The word "Victory" appeared in bold and flashed across their screen!


    This marked their entry into the Asian Server Top 100.


    The Top 100 may not seem all that impressive, however, this tournament featured the top players from all over the Asian Server. The tournament was seen as an All-Star competition where the best players gathered to fight for the championship. Even reaching the top 100 was a big accomplishment for players, especially for those who were looking to rise on the Guild Rankings.


    Lu Li and the others weren¡¯t teleported out of the arena immediately, but instead remained as the camera turned towards them and their faces were displayed on the big screen.


    Everyone that entered the top 100 were considered to be celebrities in the game.

 291 Star Moon Guild’s Demise

    Lu Li had finally entered the top 100.


    The Star Moon Guild had been tragically beaten and brutally eliminated.


    As Ao Jian and the others were sent out by the System, a nearly dead Boss was defeated.


    "Boss, we got it."


    One of the subordinates picked up the Boss¡¯ drop and couldn¡¯t help but cheer. It was a material that they needed to upgrade their guild. In a few minutes, they would be a level 20 guild.


    There were currently only a few level 20 guilds in the game; there were definitely less than 50 of them.


    If a player was in one of these level 20 guilds and also made it into the top 100, that would significantly increase their fame.


    Unfortunately, this overexcited subordinate didn¡¯t see Ao Jian¡¯s emotionless expression.


    I Am Richy Rich interrupted him with a kick, "Yeah, but don¡¯t you see that the boss is unhappy right now?"


    Not everyone in this game was equal. Some were imbued with a strong sense of duty.


    Although this scene was rarely played out in the ordinary guilds, it was commonplace in Star Moon.


    The player that was kicked wasn¡¯t affected in any tangible way. However, he was kicked in full view of everyone, which put him to shame.


    Why would you three people, who lost, take it out on us?


    There was a hint of anger that flashed in some of the players¡¯ eyes, but this was quickly concealed.


    Being a member of the Star Moon Guild had its benefits; it was much better than even the best guilds. These players who had a relatively average technique didn¡¯t want to give up their position.


    All they could do was take it.


    "Okay, you guys need to pull yourselves together." Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t bear to watch anymore.


    "I¡¯m in a bad mood; can¡¯t I express it?" I Am Richy Rich glared at him.


    "If you want to take express it, then take it out on the noobs in the arena. Why are you taking it out on your own guild?" The item that Square Root 3 was holding fell to the ground as he angrily said, "If it weren¡¯t for you, would Lu Li have left? If it weren¡¯t for you, would Elevenless have left? It¡¯s because of your big mouth, that this guild is losing members every day."


    "Do you even know what you¡¯re talking about?" I Am Richy Rich was now upset. "We didn¡¯t do anything to them; they were just ungrateful."


    "If you really think that, then I have nothing left to say to you."


    Square Root 3 suddenly felt weak. Lu Li was one of Star Moon Guild¡¯s Gold Collection Members, but he had been offended by Richy Rich over and over again. Ao Jian was no better either. He thought that Lu Li would be like every other member and would just accept the harassment for the sake of a potentially rich future. However, he didn¡¯t think that Lu Li would refuse to accept even the smallest amount of harassment. Lu Li had torn up the contract and paid the penalty for cancellation.


    From then on, there wasn¡¯t a single expert who had stayed in their guild for long. They had all left like Lu Li, without exception.


    Why would those who had real talent care about this supposedly high salary of tens of thousands per month?


    Square Root 3 was an old member of the Star Moon Guild; he had been with them since its day of establishment five years ago.


    He was actually quite famous among the commanders, but he was always insulted for being a ¡®gatekeeper¡¯. He had turned down many opportunities to stay in this dying guild.


    However, today, for the first time, he felt genuinely disheartened.


    "I didn¡¯t know you had such an issue. Come and form an elite party with me and we¡¯ll oppress some noobs. I¡¯ll pay you 10,000 for each player." I Am Richy Rich didn¡¯t consider Square Root 3¡¯s emotions at all and simply left.


    Square Root 3 just stood there with his lip quivering; he was so angry he was speechless.


    "Don¡¯t bother with him, you know how he¡¯s like. He¡¯s always upset when he loses a competition," Ao Jian said casually as he patted Square Root 3 on the shoulder.


    "Ao Jian, do you remember our dream when we set up this guild?¡¯ Square Root 3 tilted his head and watched as the Boss¡¯ corpse faded away. His mind was racing.


    "Why is there so much that displeases you? You know that he has paid a lot for this guild."


    Ao Jian was becoming a little impatient.


    Normally, he would never say something like that to his subordinates. However, today he was furious, as he had missed his chance to get into the top 100.


    I Am Richy Rich had many problems, but as his name suggested, he really was Richy Rich.


    "Now that you mention it, you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t like him," Square Root 3 said as he smiled. "Actually, I don¡¯t like you either. Ao Jian, you¡¯ve been really disappointing."


    Ao Jian suddenly received a system prompt.


    System: Square Root 3 has resigned as a guild leader. Square Root 3 has left the Star Moon guild. A sad song describes a thousand words; perhaps you will meet once again.


    "Hey, what are you doing? Let¡¯s have a proper discussion." Ao Jian was dumbfounded.


    I Am Richy Rich (World Announcement): Square Root 3, you idiot, don¡¯t ever come back if you have any problems. Our Star Moon Guild isn¡¯t better with you and won¡¯t be any worse off without you.


    Ao Jian was further dumbfounded for a moment before he suddenly realized why Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t stand Richy Rich anymore. The guy had no control.


    Before he could do anything, Richy Rich got his subordinates to bump the message onto every forum.


    As such, everyone learned that Square Root 3 had left the Star Moon Guild.


    Ordinary players who inadvertently saw this message had one question on their minds. Who was Square Root 3?


    Dust Dragon (World Announcement): Fish are meant to be in the sea and birds are meant to be in the sky. Congratulations for getting out of that sea of misery. We, the Blood Red War Flag, are looking for talent. What do you think? You can set the conditions¡­


    Then, dozens of guild leaders and high-ranking officers recklessly spoke out as well.


    They were all inviting Square Root 3 to join their guilds.


    It didn¡¯t matter that the ordinary players didn¡¯t recognize Square Root 3. As long as it wasn¡¯t their first day playing, they definitely would have recognized these high-level guild names.


    It was quickly discovered that Square Root 3 was ranked 31st among the top commanders.


    He was only ranked 31st ; why was he so valuable? Some of the guild leaders were even personally inviting him and allowing him to set his own conditions.


    This was all because of the Star Moon Union. This second-rate union had gained the attention of the bigger guilds due to its quick rise to prosperity.


    The current top 100 guilds all had dozens to hundreds of years of history. However, the Star Moon Guild had only been around for five years.


    They had come so far in only five-years-time, and had long since attracted the attention of the bigger guilds.


    However, the World Announcements also began to attack the Star Moon Guild.


    Lu Li knew that this was happening and had blocked the World Announcements, but his teammates weren¡¯t so cold and were reading all about what was happening.


    Lu Li (World Announcement): Brother Square Root, I won¡¯t engage in formalities, but I wish you well in your glorious future endeavors.


    The only person from the Star Moon Guild that hadn¡¯t left a bad impression on Lu Li was Square Root 3.


    However, he also knew that Square Root 3, with his talent for management, would be useless for their small Mercenary group.


    Square Root 3 (World Announcement): Many thanks for accepting an old watchdog like myself, but I would like to rest for a while. Thank you Lu Li for your blessings. If I had made a different choice in the past, would you still have left the Star Moon Guild?


    His supposed other choice was to side with Lu Li and not give any consideration to Ao Jian.

 292 Silver Ches

    Lu Li was silent for a really long time. He wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to respond and just wanted the channel to cool down.


    Just as everyone thought he wasn¡¯t going to reply, a message came up on the World Announcements. "Sorry, I only accept your cooperation, but not your jurisdiction."


    The chatter in the World Announcements started up again.


    Lots of people were still trying to draw in Square Root 3 while others were ridiculing Lu Li.


    I only accept cooperation, but not jurisdiction.


    That was going a little too far. The leaders of the big guilds saw this message and felt uncomfortable. They all felt that this Lu Li person was like a thorn in their sides.


    Square Root 3¡¯s eyes actually lit up when this happened, but he still didn¡¯t accept any of the guild invitations.


    Not long after Lu Li¡¯s match, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯ team, despite their level and equipment advantage, barely managed to win two matches in order to break into the top 100.


    Wandering¡¯s team didn¡¯t have a healer. With such strong burst, they needed to defeat the opposing healer quickly. If they could kill the healer within the first few seconds, then they would win. If they were unable to, they would lose. In their last match, they had faced off against Peerless City¡¯s main team. Their strategy didn¡¯t work on this team, so they were eliminated just short of the top 100.


    Peerless City ranked ninth on the Chinese Trade Union Rankings and they had stars like Green Flag Wine and Fatal Gold Underpants.


    Speaking of the rankings, these were the unions that placed before Peerless City:


    Glory Capital was the well-deserved first place, followed by the Gangnam Royals, then Blood Red War Flag, Gale Legion, Seventh Heaven, Azure Guard, Drizzle Court, Wings of Dawn, Peerless City and Stellar Union.


    Other than Glory Capital, Gale Legion and Stellar Union, all the others were trade unions.


    Although the Gangnam Royals were second, they didn¡¯t have many experts. However, after joining Dawn, they had managed to win over Dancing Star Dream, A Straw in the Wind and Old Man Power to form a group of a Thief, a Mage and a Druid. They had yet to be defeated in the competition.


    Although not everyone in the top 100 were experts ¨C they could have been lucky like Azure Sea Breeze ¨Cmost of them were unique in some way.


    After entering the top 100, there was a reasonably long resting period.


    Lu Li wanted to do a few things. He wanted to make up for the skill book gap between his team and the big guilds.


    In the competitions, skills that he didn¡¯t think were that common came up, and there were usually two or three of them at a time. For example, Frost Nova, Soul Shriek, Kidney Shot, Whirlwind¡­


    Lu Li intended to open a Silver Chest.


    However, he wasn¡¯t going alone ¨C he also called on Hachi Chan.


    He didn¡¯t have a choice. Silver-grade and higher Chests couldn¡¯t be casually opened and their locations were much more obscure. They could potentially appear in the middle of a freshly spawned group of mobs.


    The Silver Chest that Lu Li wanted to open was guarded by a level 30 Lava Monster. Although, it wasn¡¯t a Boss, it was much stronger than a regular Elite mob. As such, most players considered it to be a Boss.


    Lu Li had almost no chance of killing a level 30 pseudo-Boss, so that meant he wouldn¡¯t be able to open the chest either.


    However, Hachi Chan, who could also fly, could provide him with healing.


    "I¡¯ve already bought the things you told me to. Now you want me to come with you? What if you sell me off?" the little girl pleaded.


    "You wouldn¡¯t sell for more than two pieces of Steel equipment," Lu Li savagely shot back.


    "You¡­" Hachi Chan was furious. "I¡¯m upset now¡­"


    Lu Li took Hachi Chan out of the city and headed towards the Southwest Barrenhills. They faced monsters along the way that were easily slaughtered by him. He was now equipped with a level 25 dagger and his attack had greatly increased.


    "There¡¯s no way ahead."


    Hachi Chan craned her neck and stared at the tall, endless mountain before them.


    "We¡¯re flying over," Lu Li said as he started channeling his Crow Transformation skill.


    "Waah, you can fly too! But you¡¯re ugly."


    Hachi Chan turned into a butterfly and flew two laps around the crow before letting out a satisfied laugh.


    The sound of the laugh was a little horrifying in a place as desolate as this.


    "I¡¯ll take you to the chest. Remember to follow me and if there is something dangerous, run away," Lu Li warned before flying over.


    The most common danger in the skies were predator birds. However, in the Barrenhills, there wasn¡¯t much vegetation or many animals. As such, Lu Li and Hachi Chan didn¡¯t end up running into anything dangerous on the way.


    "It¡¯s so hot! Where are we going?" Hachi Chan complained as she flapped her wings.


    "Just take it; it¡¯ll only get hotter."


    After he spoke, Lu Li spotted a red lake not too far from them.


    "What is that? Isn¡¯t that magma?" Hachi Chan almost fell in. If she still had legs, they would have collapsed.


    There was no way that they would be able to see such a scene in the real world.


    The magma was surging like seawater, curling to form waves.


    The spray almost touched Lu Li¡¯s wings and just as he was about to fly higher to avoid it, someone from behind him told him to stop.


    "Just come over here; nothing will happen."


    "Liar, I just saw you almost get roasted." Hachi Chan wasn¡¯t that silly.


    "I¡¯m taking you to find some good items; it won¡¯t be dangerous."


    Hachi Chan was a 16-year old girl, so Lu Li couldn¡¯t force her. He could only be patient with her.


    "Really?" Once she heard that there would be good items, the little girl forgot about the dangers.


    She followed behind Lu Li and avoid the magma splashes for 5 to 6 minutes before finally finding an island in the lake. Lu Li circled it before deciding on a spot to land.


    From an external perspective, some sort of intelligent activity had occurred. There was a half-constructed temple in the area.


    Hachi Chan then landed and together, they both changed back into human form.


    "I¡¯m about to die of this heat; why didn¡¯t you tell me to bring water?" Hachi Chan opened a bottle of water and gulped some down before pouring the rest on her head.


    Lu Li ignored her and tried to find the chest from memory. Sure enough, the chest was at the back in a stone wall.


    The construction of the chest was extraordinary. Its entire body was made of silver and there was a constantly changing pattern on it.


    A Silver Chest!


    The lava island¡¯s Silver Chest had a great probability of dropping all kinds of exquisite Skill books. That was a note that Lu Li remembered reading from his past life.


    Not only did the note record the loot, but it also recorded the powerful monster that guarded the chest.


    "Wow, it¡¯s a chest!¡¯ Hachi Chan exclaimed and rushed forwards.


    "Do you want to die?" Lu Li grabbed her and watched the surrounding terrain. He chose a place where Hachi Chan could provide healing.


    Hachi Chan obediently stood behind a rock and squatted down.


    When Lu Li needed her healing, she would stand up and cast her spell. Otherwise, she would stay squatting so she wouldn¡¯t be targeted by the lava monster¡¯s attacks.

 293 Spirit Dragon’s Freedom

    Hachi Chan could be a little foolish at times, but she truly was a good girl that tried her hardest when it mattered.


    When Lu Li saw her squatting behind the hot rock, he felt a lot more secure.


    He carefully approached the Silver Chest and cast his Unlock skill.


    Before he could even finish channelling the skill, a rocky monster appeared out of thin air before him.


    However, this monster wasn¡¯t just made of rocks ¨C there was a layer of burning magma flowing between them. The magma trickled down from its body onto the floor.


    As soon as the monster appeared, it immediately punched Lu Li.


    -245!


    -16, -16, -16¡­


    The -245 was from its initial attack and the subsequent ticks were from the burn that it applied. Luckily, the monster was only a level 30 pseudo-boss. If it was a real Boss, Lu Li would definitely have been forced to retreat.


    The magma monster only had 28,000 HP.


    Lu Li retaliated and cast Shadowstrike with 91% Skill Completion, which dealt over 100 damage.


    He was currently level 26 and was up against a level 30 pseudo-boss, so there was a damage penalty. However, thanks to his exquisite equipment, he still managed to deal a three-digit value.


    Lu Li had just over 2000HP, so he could take seven or eight hits from this monster without a problem.


    Hachi Chan just needed to heal him every once in a while.


    The problem was the monster¡¯s skill, which sent out a sea of fire that engulfed the surrounding area. Even Hachi Chan, who was behind the rock, got hit by it. Naturally, this skill caused some confusion.


    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t cast too often, so Lu Li could simply tank it and slowly kill the monster.


    After ten minutes of fighting, Lu Li felt like he was about to be burnt up by the lava around the island. The monster then let out a wail and exploded, scattering fragments of its body everywhere.


    It had self-destructed.


    Gale Steps!


    With lightning reflexes, Lu Li cast Gale Steps to become temporarily invincible.


    Hachi Chan, who was still hiding behind the rock, was splashed by some of the fragments and lost half of her HP. She quickly cast Regeneration on herself in shock.


    After the magma monster exploded, there were two things left on the ground.


    One of them was the rare material ¨C Lava Essence. It could be used to upgrade his ring, but only from LV2 to LV3, so he didn¡¯t need it anymore.


    The other was a skill book ¨C ¡®Divine Protection¡¯. This was a damage reduction skill for Paladins and it was quite powerful. Wandering didn¡¯t have it so it would be perfect for him.


    Of course, Wandering would insist on giving Lu Li a few gold for compensation.


    After dealing with this magma monster, Lu Li cautiously went to unlock this chest. After 10 seconds of channelling, the lid of the chest swung open.


    Lu Li looted everything.


    The first item was a skill book. As the treasure hunter said, this box had a high chance of dropping skill books.


    Pain Suppression: Instant Cast. 180 second cooldown. Reduce damage dealt to an ally by 40% for 4 seconds. Can be cast even when suppressed. Proficiency 1/5.


    Lu Li felt an inexplicable joy in his heart.


    This skill book couldn¡¯t be found easily at all!


    It was hard to say whether Pain Suppression or Soul Shriek was more powerful, as they served different purposes and could be used very effectively in various circumstances.


    With Soul Shriek, you could cause someone to attack their own teammates. Alternatively, your team could rush to attack the afflicted player.


    Pain Suppression was a damage reduction skill, but could also be cast on allies, in addition to yourself.


    If an ally was taking significant damage, this skill could alleviate most of it. If the healer was being focused, then this skill could be cast on themselves for the same effect.


    The chest also contained something else. With a feeling of anxiety, Lu Li raised his hand to reach into the chest.


    "Wait, let me loot it!" Hachi Chan shouted as she rushed over.


    "Alright, you try."


    Lu Li took two steps back and gave her space to loot chest.


    He had been really unlucky, but Hachi Chan wasn¡¯t that much luckier either. He couldn¡¯t help but wish that Remnant Dream was here.


    Hachi Chan touched the chest and spent a moment of silence in what looked to be a prayer before reaching in and feeling around.


    "Feels like a book," she muttered as she pulled out another book.


    It was another book; Lu Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He felt elated, as they had acquired three skill books from this one trip.


    "It¡¯s not a skill book," Hachi Chan concluded after looking at it intently. "It¡¯s a quest."


    Lu Li took the book and read the title ¨C ¡®The Spirit Dragon¡¯s freedom¡¯. The first page described an untouched place where there was a small Spirit Dragon egg. It pleaded for the reader to help preserve this little bit of life¡­


    Of course it would be a quest; even chests could drop quests.


    However, Lu Li couldn¡¯t be angry about it. This kind of quest didn¡¯t give ordinary rewards; it would drop a book that provided a guide to raising a Spirit Dragon.


    It was even more precious than Pain Suppression.


    Not only would this book give you a saddle, but it would also provide you with a flying mount.


    Ordinary mounts were already difficult to get, let alone a flying one.


    If you looked at Hachi Chan and ignored her seemingly na?ve attitude, you would discover that there wasn¡¯t a quest that she couldn¡¯t do. Lu Li had seen her quest diary before; there were at least 400-500 entries.


    Some say that when God closes a door, he still leaves a window open.


    Although Hachi Chan had average technique, she had an unrivalled ability to complete quests. Remnant Dream was uncoordinated but had lucky hands, Wandering was a narcissist but had a talent for commanding, and Lonesome Flower was eccentric but very good to his sister¡­


    "Do this quest well; it¡¯s really important." Lu Li gave her the quest book but didn¡¯t tell her anything about the quest¡¯s rewards.


    Part of the pleasure of a game was its mystery and surprise.


    After returning, Lu Li gave Pain Suppression Skill Book to March Rain and received the three Silver Molds, alongside the materials that Water Fairy had sent to his mailbox. She had also sent compensation for his services. Because he had made an exquisite piece of equipment, she had sent an additional 200 gold coins.


    Shen Wansan also occasionally offered Molds and materials. After Lu Li made them, he would offer them back to Shen Wansan at the cost price +20% to sell if his team couldn¡¯t use them.


    As for Starwood, the stock on the market seemed to have cleared out. Shen Wansan had been searching for a few days and had only found a few dozen.


    A couple dozen Starwood was just a drop in a bucket for these level 25 and 26 players. Lu Li made them into bombs and gave them to Shen Wansan to sell.


    Lu Li¡¯s recent income was really high due to a combination of ticket money, labour fees and commission from Shen Wansan.


    His bank account had already exceeded $2 million, so it was likely that he was close to being able to afford his sister¡¯s treatment.


    As such, if he found something good, he would be quite willing to give it to his teammates.


    If his teammates weren¡¯t strong, how would they be able to help him get the First Clears? If March Rain or Moonlight weren¡¯t strong, how could they hope to win the Shadow Cup?

 294 Shifts In The Rankings

    The days within Dawn were very long; there was about 16 hours per day. This gave Lu Li the time to deal with a few other things before logging off to sleep. He didn¡¯t log back on until the afternoon. This was the game¡¯s afternoon, which meant that it was at nighttime in real life.


    Lu Li left the Forging workshop and walked towards the busy business street. More and more players had set up a shop there.


    There were players selling equipment and materials, as well as taverns and even hairdressers.


    Players of all races could be found here and it seemed like business was going well.


    Lu Li walked into an accessories shop.


    "Mister Thief, how can I help you?"


    The salesperson was also a player and spoke using language that was standard in the retail industry.


    She couldn¡¯t tell if this thief could buy anything, so her voice wasn¡¯t particularly friendly. She was still transitioning between working in a real shop to working in a virtual one.


    Lu Li glanced at the counter and saw an array of gold ornaments, precious rocks and metals. Most of these items existed in real life too.


    The game company had introduced a new function that allowed business owners to scan in products that they had in real life. Players could then choose to buy those goods either in the game or in real life or both. Then, the business would send those goods to your house. Alternatively, you could just take them and wear them in game.


    "Are there any ornaments that have dropped from the Mooncake Box?" Lu Li asked.


    Lonesome Flower had received a pair of beautiful earrings from them and had given to his sister March Rain. Lu Li saw the envy on his sister¡¯s face when that had happened.


    He wasn¡¯t lacking in money at the moment, so he didn¡¯t mind spoiling her a little.


    For her entire life, the only jewelry she had were flower bands that you could buy from roadside stalls.


    "Here we have a headpiece that is very rare. Please have a look."


    The salesperson led Lu Li to the counter and pointed at an item in the glass window.


    It had small emerald green flowers on it with crystal droplets.


    Lu Li imagined what it could look like on his sister¡¯s forehead and was very satisfied.


    Similar to what Lonesome Flower had received, this gave +5 Constitution which was better than nothing.


    "How much is it?"


    The time for bargaining had finally come. The salesperson spoke slowly and then held her breath, afraid that she would scare the customer away.


    "80 gold coins. We can also deliver the same item in real life to your house for an additional 120 gold coins."


    200 gold coins was equivalent to around $30,000-40,000, which was no small sum of money.


    However, the salesperson seemed to know what Lu Li was thinking and further elaborated, "We are the second largest jewelry store in China and can be found in any city. These diamonds are the highest quality diamonds from Botswana¡­"


    After taking in a string of complex explanations, Lu Li¡¯s started to feel a little dizzy.


    Getting this kind of jewelry for a young girl ¨C who would have thought that the great expert¡¯s tastes were so light?" a cold voice rang out from behind him.


    Lu Li turned around and saw that Water Fairy was leaning on the counter and watching him.


    This time, she looked quite different. Water Fairy wasn¡¯t wearing leather armor and instead was dressed in some kind of feathered costume. She looked like a person in a classically painted piece of art.


    "Fancy seeing you here." Lu Li nodded and didn¡¯t bother asking how she had recognized him.


    He almost always had his mask on and this time was no exception. He had started to feel like he wasn¡¯t free unless he was wearing the mask. Of course, this was limited only to the game.


    "Are you buying that for a girlfriend?" Water Fairy got up and looked at the accessory Lu Li held in his hands.


    Lu Li had a good eye. For it to have this kind of material and shape, it must have been hand-crafted by a master.


    "Giving my sister a gift ¨C she¡¯s turning 15 this year," Lu Li replied as he gently gazed at the emerald-green ornament.


    "Your sister is very lucky to have such a good brother." Water Fairy¡¯s attitude towards him was completely the opposite of when they were fighting.


    "I¡¯ll take this and I¡¯ll buy it in real life too," Lu Li officially confirmed with the salesperson.


    "Use my membership card. I¡¯m a regular customer so I get 20% off," Water Fairy offered as she handed over a card.


    They had cooperated on many things already so Lu Li didn¡¯t feel bad in taking the membership card.


    The Salesperson took the card and went through the formalities, leaving Lu Li and Water Fairy to chat. They talked about nothing other than the Shadow Cup.


    Water Fairy had brought with her the Drizzle Court¡¯s Mage Deadly Green Orange and Priest Star Baby. They had made it into the top 100 without a single loss with their Thief, Mage and Priest lineup.


    Drizzle Court was ranked seventh, so their strength could not be overlooked.


    "It¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t run into you. I hear the match you had with Gaze was very exciting; the official website replay has already exceeded over a 100 million clicks," Water Fairy said.


    "Over 100 million," Lu Li sharply inhaled, "will I get paid for that?"


    There was usually a payment of 10 copper coins for each click on the official replay. Normally, this didn¡¯t amount to much for a normal player, but a view count of over 100 million would produce a significant amount of money.


    "Yeah, you¡¯ll get paid." Water Fairy appeared unfazed by the fact that Lu Li was about to make an obscene amount of money. She was actually quite calm about it all.


    "The game company is crazy¡­" Lu Li smacked his lips and looked helpless.


    "Are you confident in getting to the finals?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Nope." Lu Li shook his head.


    "Liar!"


    "No, really."


    "If you aren¡¯t confident then why do you still have tricks up your sleeve? I think if it wasn¡¯t for Gaze, you wouldn¡¯t have changed your weapon." Water Fairy¡¯s smokey eye had a look of resentment.


    Lu Li¡¯s mouth was gaping wide and he was speechless.


    "What skill was that?" Water Fairy came over and stared straight into Lu Li¡¯s eyes.


    Lu Li¡¯s face was hidden behind his bandana, but his emotions could still be seen through his eyes.


    Of course, Water Fairy was inevitably disappointed.


    Other than responding to the fact that a beautiful woman had suddenly approached him, Lu Li¡¯s eyes were calm and unmoving.


    His intentions were obvious. She wanted to know but he didn¡¯t want to tell her.


    Water Fairy honestly suspected whether Lu Li thought she was beautiful. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be so quiet towards her.


    "It¡¯s going to be really annoying if I run into you in the competition," Water Fairy sighed.


    "The feeling is mutual," Lu Li comforted half-heartedly. "Why aren¡¯t you farming? Isn¡¯t everyone rushing to get to level 25?"


    "I¡¯m already level 25," Water Fairy responded.


    Lu Li was surprised for a moment before he quickly opened up the rankings list. Apart from the players who were in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, there were a few others who were also level 25.


    Their level advantage had been lost.


    "Do you still have confidence in getting into the finals?" Water Fairy had never seen Lu Li¡¯s face go pale before and couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s shock lasted for only a moment. He quickly regained his composure and asked, "Did you guys use the bomb to level up?"


    He had given the bombs to Shen Wansan in the morning and these players were now on the rankings in the afternoon. Old Shen Wansan must have been really impatient.


    They had already agreed that he could sell them if he wasn¡¯t going to use them. However, if they had really been sold and used by other players, Lu Li couldn¡¯t but feel a little anxious.


    If he had hidden these bombs and waited until after the competition to sell them¡­

 295 Hundredfold Profi

    "It¡¯s too bad I only got six of them," Water Fairy said with a look of regret.


    "Oh." Lu Li pretended not to know anything.


    "You¡¯re the one who makes the bombs right? Sell them to me next time; don¡¯t sell them to anyone else, alright?" Water Fairy wasn¡¯t fooled.


    She had seen a figure with a familiar shadow cloak on the street and had observed him for a really long time before concluding that he was Lu Li. She then followed him into this jewelry shop to talk about business.


    "I¡¯m sure it was expensive." Lu Li was speechless.


    "I spent 9000 gold coins for six bombs," Water Fairy said casually.


    Lu Li almost fell onto the ground. A single bomb sold for more than 1000 gold?


    There was no way that could be real.


    If they could all be sold at that price, he could only imagine how much money he had thrown away.


    Of course, that was just his own prediction.


    There were many reasons why Shen Wansan could sell them at this price. However, the most important one was the Shadow Cup.


    If you didn¡¯t buy them, someone else would.


    If someone else bought them, they would have a direct advantage over you.


    As such, if you were reluctant to spend this money, you were basically giving up on the competition. This competition awarded guilds a reputation that could last for a very long time.


    Lu Li had previously glanced at the level rankings list.


    All the players who were now level 25 were all from large guilds.


    Water Fairy had spent 9000 gold coins and bought 6 bombs to successfully reach level 25.


    Sorrowless had spent 12000 gold coins and bought 8 bombs, which in combination with his previous period of relentless levelling successfully allowed him to reach level 25.


    Gangnam Royal¡¯s Mage Dancing Star Dream, who had previously always been a top-ranked player, spent 7500 gold to buy 5 bombs and had just made it to level 25.


    Wings of Dawn¡¯s Warrior Elevenless, who would usually farm with a group of Mages, had spent 10500 gold coins and used seven bombs to reach level 25.


    As there were only a few bombs, only these four lucky players had managed to get their hands on them.


    Lu Li imagined that there must have been other guilds who wanted some but were scared off by the price.


    At the original cost of a dozen gold coins, Lu Li had already felt like he was throwing money away to level.


    But what was that compared to spending about 1500 gold coins per bomb!?


    According to his estimates and given the materials costs, each bomb should have sold for at least ten times the cost.


    That was about 150 gold coins per unit.


    However, they had actually sold for 1500 gold coins each!


    This really was a heaven-defying business!


    Lu Li simply couldn¡¯t comprehend what method Shen Wansan had used to sell these 20 bombs at a hundred times their original price.


    This was four million dollars in real money!


    Lu Li was about to receive two million; it was like money was falling out of the sky.


    He also understood Water Fairy¡¯s intentions. She wanted to be the sole customer of these bombs. However, he honestly couldn¡¯t make a promise like that and bitterly shook his head.


    "All the Starwood is almost gone."


    Extinct was the only word that could be used to describe it. Shen Wansan had looked for so long and could only find 20 units. What was the explanation for that?


    It meant that the game company had lowered or perhaps even stopped the spawn rates of Starwood.


    Without Starwood, there wouldn¡¯t be any bombs.


    Water Fairy was a smart person and quickly understood the situation. She wasn¡¯t disappointed and sincerely said, "We can still cooperate in other ways. There will be opportunities for that as long as we have mutual needs."


    From selling Instance Dungeon strategy to creating Silver equipment, and now the bombs. Lu Li was always learning new things about her.


    This woman didn¡¯t value the superior Silver equipment or the bombs; she could see Lu Li¡¯s potential and that was what she valued.


    If it was possible, she wanted to foster this potential.


    "Aren¡¯t we working together now? I make equipment for you every day." Lu Li was in a tough spot; he really couldn¡¯t make any guarantees.


    Although his sister¡¯s medical expenses had been solved, he still had many expectations for this game.


    He hoped to buy a large house, preferably a small villa. He also wanted to buy a flying car, which was the standard benchmark for being rich in this society.


    Even after completing these goals, he wanted to save money to...


    However, once he started working with Drizzle Court, Lu Li¡¯s development would be limited and he would also face antagonism from Drizzle Court¡¯s rivals. This was unless, of course, if he decided to actually join Drizzle Court.


    However, this was contrary to his personal principle.


    He could accept cooperation, but he couldn¡¯t accept another¡¯s jurisdiction.


    After the salesperson completed all the formalities for Lu Li, he signed the contract with the great System God as witness.


    The jewelry company was now bound to send the designated goods to Lu Li residence within a specified time, while the in-game item was directly given to Lu Li.


    Lu Li also couldn¡¯t bear to stand beneath Water Fairy¡¯s stare; she truly was a cold woman.


    After he escaped the jewelry shop, he immediately started looking for Shen Wansan.


    He was only going to be assured of his two million dollars once it was in his pocket.


    The two of them met up in their usual place, the tavern.


    Lu Li looked up to find that several gold coins¡¯ worth of the finest wine had been poured out before him. "Old Shen, you must be really good. Four level 25 players have suddenly appeared."


    "Will this affect my brother in the Shadow Cup?" Shen Wansan asked bitterly. "I still hope for you to win the championship."


    He really knew how to carry himself.


    Although he was giving advice for something that had already passed, Lu Li didn¡¯t mind.


    "There will be an effect, but it doesn¡¯t really matter," Lu Li replied as he shook his head. "Even without these bombs, there would still have been some people who would have hit level 25."


    "Four million, brother! We made four million this time!" Shen Wansan wiped the liquor off his lips and passionately said, "As per our agreement, we get half each."


    After saying this, he transferred the full amount of money into Lu Li¡¯s account.


    "I won¡¯t take the credit ¨C it was you who sold it!" Lu Li gave him a thumbs up to show his admiration.


    "Hehe," Shen Wansan laughed, "I¡¯m not very good at playing the game, but I can definitely sell things well. Old Shen¡¯s best skill is to play with the pricing."


    "Actually, if I wasn¡¯t so rushed, I could have increased the price by an even greater amount. Each of the customers only spent close to $1 million. To us poor men, $1 million might seem like a lot, but these guilds wouldn¡¯t really care about it. Once they enter the finals, they will receive that back and more."


    "I¡¯ll take this money for now, but next time¡­" Lu Li put out his hand on Shen Wansan¡¯s shoulder then continued, "If there is a chance, let¡¯s get rich together."


    "Absolutely." Shen Wansan patted his chest.


    After casually chatting about Silver Molds, Lu Li said goodbye and left.


    Shen Wansan shook his head and sang some old folk songs while he drank. After some time, he took in a deep breath.


    Oh, Lu Li, I¡¯ve been waiting so long for you to say that.


    This wasn¡¯t the first time Lu Li and he had worked together, but all this time, he had never gained Lu Li¡¯s full trust. As a shrewd businessman, he could feel Lu Li¡¯s wariness towards him.


    As such, in order to foster a partnership with Lu Li, he had to tread very carefully.


    It was only now that he finally got to see the fruits of his effort.


    Lu Li was really happy today. He had finally achieved the goal of his past life ¨C to save enough money for his sister¡¯s treatment. However, Shen Wansan was also really happy as he had finally won Lu Li¡¯s trust.

 296 A Sense Of Danger

    The changes in the level rankings had given Lu Li a sense of danger.


    He had been able to speed past the other players in the early stages of the game, whether it was in terms of levels or First Clears, because of his rebirth.


    However, he had since learnt one crucial thing: rebirth wasn¡¯t the be all and end all.


    As time went by and the other players¡¯ technique improved with disciplined training, the gap between them was closing.


    Skill Completion was one example of this. When he was hitting 80% Skill Completion in the Novice Village, the high-level players at the time could only hit 50% Skill Completion, even after intense practice.


    While he was able to perform a 95% Skill Completion now, there were many people who were able to reach 90% Skill Completion.


    Slowly but surely, the other players would close in on his 95%.


    Because it was really hard to get past 95%, he would inevitably be caught up to or even overtaken.


    When they caught up to him in Skill Completion and when he no longer had a significant advantage in levels or equipment, what would Lu Li use against the other players?


    As such, Lu Li didn¡¯t let the 2 million dollars go to his brain. The first thing he did after getting the money was go levelling, rather than indulging in his desires.


    There were some monster areas near the Deadwind Pass. Lu Li chose a quiet spot and started grinding.


    Just like when he first started playing the game, he continuously practiced every skill, from the simplest to the most powerful. Every dagger had a different shape which meant a different style¡­


    This was a really boring process, but Lu Li didn¡¯t feel tired at all.


    As someone who grew up poor, he had developed an endurance that an ordinary person didn¡¯t have. He could take suffering and endure loneliness.


    He kept up these repetitive movements until the System told him that the day was about to end.


    It was only then that he felt completely exhausted.


    The journey through the qualifiers, the regular competition and the top 100 had been a blur. It was now the fifth day of the Shadow Cup Tournament.


    Those who had managed to get into the top 100 were either from strong guilds, or were really well coordinated teams. The teams from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group were quite unique in that regard.


    They were similar to fireflies in the darkness and had received a lot of attention.


    It was said that these two teams had become really popular in the underground gambling ring. There were countless people waiting for them to win or to lose.


    This attention also made them even more popular, making admission tickets even harder to get.


    The top 100 was nothing like the qualifying rounds. Now, the system would allocate teams for each match and the match would only begin when both teams entered the arena.


    The content of the matches had also changed.


    The new match consisted of two elements ¨C an individual element and a group element.


    The individual element required teams to send out one member each to fight. Winning this round would earn that team one point.


    After a one-hour break, the two teams would then fight each other and the winner of that fight would earn that team two points.


    Using this point system, the 16 teams with the highest points would proceed to the finals.


    Lu Li was first in the top 100 and unfortunately had to go up against the Gods of Dusk¡¯s team.


    Gods of Dusk was the third-ranking guild in China and had sent their star player, ¡®Wood Fearing¡¯. Wood Fearing was an aggressive thief and was quite strong.


    However, two of their teams had entered into top 100 and Lu Li wasn¡¯t facing the main team. As such, he had lost his opportunity to face Wood.


    "The other team has a Warrior, Warlock and Druid. Who do you think they will send out?" Moonlight asked.


    "I don¡¯t know." Lu Li shook his head.


    "Actually, we don¡¯t really need to know," Moonlight smiled and said with fearless confidence. "You go, I¡¯ll go next round."


    It was true ¨C it didn¡¯t really matter who the other side sent. It didn¡¯t matter whether it was the Warlock or the Warrior, as they wouldn¡¯t have any advantage against Moonlight or Lu Li.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t waste any time. He coated his dagger with poison and began to observe the map.


    The jungle terrain was generally considered to be a home to Thieves and Druids. The God of Luck had really unnecessarily blessed him this time.


    After Lu Li wandered the jungle for a while, he quickly discovered his opponent.


    It was a Warlock with a Succubus pet standing in an open space in the jungle. The place where he was standing was surrounded with water puddles.


    This player had a good eye. He had been able to find a favorable location, even in the jungle environment. He didn¡¯t know if he was going to be up against a Warrior or a Thief, but he couldn¡¯t go wrong by leaving an open field of view.


    Lu Li headed towards him and stopped 30 yards short of the Warlock.


    The puddles on the ground could affect his Stealth, but Lu Li had two equips on him that gave him bonus Stealth, so the effect was probably negligible.


    Lu Li slowly closed in on his opponent and the audience who had paid to watch this match held their breath. A portion of the audience were Thieves who were intently watching to learn some techniques.


    These matches were the best place to learn new techniques.


    Those who were able to get to this point in the competition were the best in their professions. These players were also unable to hide, especially with the keen eyes of the commentators analyzing them, so this was the perfect time to learn.


    Of course, how much you could actually personally gain was dependent on the person.


    "He¡¯s walking very conservatively, which is perfect for an environment like this." Dark Wind had even analyzed Lu Li¡¯s walking method.


    Everything from Lu Li¡¯s target selection, to observing the opponent¡¯s field of view, to closing in on the opponent was analyzed.


    Even the dumbest of noob Thieves and other professions could benefit from this analysis.


    Lu Li¡¯s opponent, the poor Warlock, had all of his precautions rendered pointless by Lu Li. He simply couldn¡¯t see someone continuously closing in on his back.


    "This Warlock player from the Gods of Dusk is finished," Dark Wind concluded with a sigh.


    Before he knew it, Lu Li was behind him and had made his first attack. The Warlock quickly ordered his pet to attack him, but the Thief who had activated Shadow Cloak simply didn¡¯t care about the pet¡¯s attacks.


    After a couple of seconds, the Warlock was a corpse and Lu Li had barely lost a third of his HP.


    The next round was the group match. It was clear that Lu Li was very powerful individually, but their opponents had a very conservative composition ¨C a Warrior in the front and a Warlock at the back with the Druid. The three of them were itching to fight together.


    However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that they were definitely going to lose.


    Their composition had no dispelling skills, nor did it have any defensive skills. Their whole strategy was based around the Warlock¡¯s Fear and the Warrior¡¯s attacks. Their defense was simply terrible.


    Moonlight cast a damage reduction skill and rushed right at them, while Lu Li applied some crowd control. This unexpected sudden burst threw the other team into chaos.


    This time, Lu Li and his team didn¡¯t focus-fire the Druid, but chose the Warlock as their target.


    Without enough protective skills, the opposing Warrior had no way of saving the Warlock from this focus-fire. As for the Druid, his specialty was in mobility, not in his ability to save.


    The Warlock could only think of one thing, "Why is it always me?"


    As he continued to flail in vain, he was cast out of the arena 1 minute and 22 seconds after the match started.


    Lu Li¡¯s team had won again and had gained two more points.


    They had won both the individual and group portion of the match and had gained a perfect three points.

 297 Top 100 Part 1

    There was another match in the morning.


    Moonlight easily won against his Thief-opponent in his single match.


    It was reasonable to say that a strongest class didn¡¯t exist in Dawn; the only thing that existed was the strongest player.


    However, the counter between classes wasn¡¯t something that could ever be ignored. Even with bleeding skills, stunning skills and combo skills, Thieves were still heavily countered by tank classes such as the Warrior class.


    A Warrior like Moonlight, who had Whirlwind, was definitely the greatest counter for a Thief.


    Even Lu Li would have to rely on his own mobility to stay out of trouble and wait until a Warrior finished using his damaging skills before he could engage in combat.


    Besides the fact that March Rain died from being focused by the opposing team, the group matches weren¡¯t too much of a worry.


    However, they weren¡¯t easy either, as their opponents were all LV24 and were mostly equipped with a full set of LV20 Silver-grade gear.


    Fortunately, Lu Li and the others were also constantly upgrading their equipment. March Rain and Moonlight were nearly fully equipped with LV25 Silver gear.


    After they finished the second match, Lu Li began planning to upgrade some of his equipment, even though his current set was exquisite.


    Rager Bracer (Steel): Amour 15, Agility +6, Critical Hit +5%, Level Requirement LV10. Durability 32/32. (One part of the Rager Equipment Set, exclusive to melee professions).


    Rager Pendant (Steel): Hit+10%, Reduces Ice Magic Damage by 5%, Level Requirement: LV10.


    Durability: 32/32. (One part of the Rager Equipment Set, exclusive to melee professions).


    The Rager set was without a doubt, the best possible LV10 equipment set. In the past, it had served Lu Li well for a very long period of time.


    However, the set eventually reached its limits and became outclassed, especially the Bracer.


    Besides the Critical Hit +5% attribute, none of the other attributes on the Bracer were appealing at all. Any LV25 Superior Quality Silver-grade item would be better.


    Using the Molds and materials supplied by Shen Wansan, Lu Li had also made a few Thief Bracers, but they all came with average special effects.


    This couldn¡¯t be helped ¨C good molds were difficult to purchase and rare materials were even more difficult to find.


    Even the big guilds had no answer to this kind of issue.


    After some careful selection, he finally found a replacement that could satisfy him.


    Wristwraps of Undead Slaying (Exquisite Silver): Armor 23, Agility+15, Strength+5, Special Effect 1: Berserk, Attack+18%, Lasts for 20 seconds, Cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 2: Deals extra 18% damage to the Undead race, Level Requirement 25, Durability 48/48.


    This was mainly chosen due to its Exquisite quality and the extra 20 points of bonus attributes that it provided.


    The Berserk effect was also an important factor. This was an active effect, which meant that it was controllable and much more reliable than the passive special effects which heavily relied on luck.


    In a game like Dawn, especially in the context of PVP matches, experts generally didn¡¯t like passive special effects, since they activated by chance. The unexpected activation could also mess up the rhythm of their attacks, so many of them had a tendency to use what they were able to control effectively.


    Lu Li was no exception to this; the Rager¡¯s set wasn¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows for him.


    The last special effect of the Bracer fully demonstrated its hate towards the Undead race.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t think that this was useless at all, even though it was only useful against the Undead.


    In the Alliance Faction, most players were Human, with the Night Elves coming in at a close second. For the Horde faction, most players were Undead, especially the PVP players.


    Undead Thieves, Undead Mages, Undead Warlocks and even Undead Warriors ¨C these were all top choices for PVP players in the Horde faction.


    Lu Li kept his Rager¡¯s Pendant ¨C its attributes were still fairly decent. Necklaces also belonged in the rare equipment category, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to find a better replacement in such a short amount of time.


    The other two matches were quite easy; Lu Li and his team managed to score the maximum points.


    On the first day of the Top 100, Lu Li¡¯s team scored a total of 12 points.


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s team scored 9 points; they had lost a group match and a single match.


    There were many teams who had lost points on the first day. Apart from Lu Li¡¯s team, there were only another twenty-one teams who had managed to get the full 12 points.


    This season, in the Top 100 of the Shadow Cup, the unluckiest team would be the Peacetime Dynasty, who ranked 11th on the Guild Rankings. Their team ran into Drizzle Court in the first round and lost three points.


    In their second match, they went up against Gale Legion and lost another three points.


    Their third match was against Azure Guard. While they scored in the single matches, they were completely defeated in the group match.


    In the fourth match, they fought against Sorrowless, who had made his comeback. Sorrowless and Blood Dagger had always been an iconic combination in the gaming world, so there was no doubt that the match would end with a tragic defeat for Peacetime Dynasty.


    A guild ranked 11th on the Guild Rankings had only managed to score one point on the first day.


    They became the most unpopular team for the season.


    The single most noteworthy match was between Water Fairy and Green Flag Wine from Peerless City.


    Both of them were celebrity gaming experts ¨C Water Fairy was ranked second on the Beauty Rankings and as the prettiest and richest girl among the gamers, she was destined to attract attention.


    Green Flag Wine was known as the Tire Killer ¨C it didn¡¯t matter what class he was playing against; his play-style resembled a hedgehog. There wasn¡¯t a single open spot for people to lay their hands on.


    The match between these two experts received a lot of attention from both the game company and the hosts of the competition.


    However, most people in the gaming circle didn¡¯t place their bets on Water Fairy.


    Although she was a great player, who didn¡¯t hesitate to spend her money, she didn¡¯t stand at the pinnacle of gaming experts.


    Green Flag Wine, on the other hand, had a glorious record of defeating famous players like Blood Dagger, Wild and Elevenless. After playing Paladin in Dawn, his skills had increased greatly. Moonlight had fought him a few times in the past and had lost more matches against Green Flag Wine than he won.


    However, the results of the match were a surprise to everyone ¨C Green Flag Wine lost.


    In the post-match interview, the Tire Killer denied the explanations of the analysts, who claimed that he wasn¡¯t "playing at his best".


    The difference between him and Water Fairy wasn¡¯t the levels ¨C it was their gear.


    Water Fairy almost had an entire set of level 25 Silver-grade gear and her weapon dealt insane damage.


    Even if the two were to face-off again, Green Flag Wine was unsure if he could prevail.


    At this point, everyone began to focus their attention on the gaming masters who were LV25.


    In Dawn, equipment could be changed every five levels. Although the difference wasn¡¯t that substantial, it was enough to make a small impact in the competition grounds.


    Did this imply that the few teams with LV25 players would all be seen in the finals?


    Of course, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s team wasn¡¯t noticed by the media; they were like beggars running into the garden of a millionaire ¨C they simply didn¡¯t fit in.


    A few businesses had already invited Lu Li to be their spokesperson. They offered a price of over eight-hundred thousand dollars to him.


    March Rain¡¯s social status had gone up to 1.2 million dollars.


    This couldn¡¯t be helped. Although Lu Li had more impact on the team, he didn¡¯t have the good looks of Wandering or Lonesome Flower, so it was only natural that his price would be a little lower.


    Based on the explanations from Moonlight, the businesses were also taking their own risks. They were placing their own profits on the line with the prices that they offered.


    If Lu Li performed even better in the future competitions, they would make an incredible gain. However, the more times that Lu Li lost, the more profit these companies would also lose.


    Lu Li was unmoved by the $800,000 offer, so he declined the opportunity to be their spokesperson.


    Being a spokesperson wasn¡¯t as easy as it seemed - not only did these players have to cooperate with the business for promotional events, but they also had to maintain a good image.


    Moonlight wasn¡¯t someone who could be tied down by rules.


    March Rain didn¡¯t mind these rules- it was quite possible that she would take accept an offer after she entered the finals.

 298 Top 100 Part 2

    When Lu Li wasn¡¯t playing in matches, he would spectate other games.


    However, it was very hard to get tickets, since most of the competitors who had entered the Top 100 were popular players with their own fan bases.


    For example, Lu Li really wanted to see Sorrowless in action and had tried four times to buy tickets, but had never managed to see a single match.


    It had already been two or three years since Sorrowless last played in a competition, but he was still the most popular person around.


    He was the very definition of popularity; it was extremely difficult to buy tickets for his matches.


    For a long time, Lu Li had heard that Sorrowless was a strong player, but he had never gotten the chance to see him in action with his own eyes.


    Lu Li reincarnation had changed many aspects of the game. If it wasn¡¯t for him, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many LV25 players in the Shadow Cup this season.


    Sorrowless wouldn¡¯t have made his comeback either ¨C he would have continued to be the leader that he was, living as a legend from the past like Medivh, instead of leveling up to LV25 and aiming to rise to the top again.


    He was definitely a tough competitor.


    Lu Li never thought of the man who had died to his single combo as the real Sorrowless.


    On the sixth day, the Top 100 matches continued.


    After Lu Li received the code for his match, he realized that he still had an hour before it started.


    Lu Li opened the match schedule in an attempt to try and buy a ticket; he was quite curious about the other matches.


    So far, he had only seen one of Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s matches, but it was honestly not worth watching.


    Azure Sea Breeze shamelessly hoped that everyone would just attack him, Lonesome Flower only wanted to cast Fireballs and Hachi Chan¡¯s rebound damage was like a bug.


    Lu Li scrolled for a bit and actually managed to get himself a ticket.


    I¡¯m still a Thief expert after all ¨C fast eyes and fast hands.


    One team was from the Wings of Dawn, and consisted of Elevenless the Berserker, Faker Than Wind the Paladin and Marks the Hunter. They were up against a team from Seventh Heaven, which consisted of Lucky Southern Persian the Mage, Empty the Shaman and Hornet¡¯s Nest the Warlock.


    Lu Li slapped his thighs in satisfaction; these ten silver coins were definitely worth it.


    Wings of Dawn were ranked 8th and Elevenless was a celebrity player, while Faker than Wind and Marks were both well-known IDs.


    Seventh Heaven was ranked two spots higher than Wings of Dawn with Hornet¡¯s Nest and Lucky Southern Persian also being top tier game masters. Empty was originally from the Gangnam Royals, but had transferred to Seventh Heaven after Dawn was released. He had to pay a compensation fee 1.6 million dollars.


    Seventh Heaven¡¯s team was a rare case of a full celebrity, but the team from the Wings of Dawn weren¡¯t too far behind either.


    Elevenless was the only LV25 player among them.


    The Wings of Dawn had spent nearly 10,000 gold coins to get him there.


    "The single match would definitely be Elevenless; I wonder how many level 25 Silver equips he¡¯s wearing." Everyone was discussing the competition that was ahead.


    Yesterday, Water Fairy, who was LV25, had defeated Green Flag Wine, who was LV24. This made the audience turn their attention to all of the LV25 players.


    Was today going to be another match that displayed the power difference between levels?


    Lu Li sat in the audience seat, viewing the match through the big screen.


    As expected, Wings of Dawn sent out Elevenless. Everyone thought that Seventh Heaven would send out Hornet¡¯s Nest to counter this and even the analysts made a similar guess.


    Lu Li shook his head; he felt like he wouldn¡¯t be seeing Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    He had worked with Lucky Southern Persian before, who had left a deep impression on him. This Mage played a completely different style to Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    Lu Li was familiar with Hornet¡¯s Nest, who was like a thunderstorm.


    On the other hand, Lucky Southern Persian was like a cornerstone. He had a fancy but lowkey play style, which was unassuming at the first glance. However, when you though back to his actions, you would be surprised. Every single one of his moves were carefully planned, even if it was an unimportant repositioning.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest would definitely lose against Elevenless, who was LV25. Only Lucky Southern Persian stood a chance...


    Lu Li was right¨C the one who entered the arena was a Mage ¨C Lucky Southern Persian.


    An expression of disappointment flashed across Elevenless¡¯ face. After exchanging formalities with Lucky Southern Persian, a chase began between the two in the round arena.


    Elevenless charged!


    Lucky Southern Persian teleported!


    Instant spells were casted nonstop. Lucky Southern Persian had been maintaining his distance the entire time.


    The instant spells barely did any damage to Elevenless, but the movement speed debuff would sometimes activate. When it did, Lucky Southern Persian would use this chance to take down some of Elevenless¡¯ health bar.


    Elevenless also demonstrated the qualities of a professional player. He wasn¡¯t flustered and continued to use all sorts of skills to get closer to Lucky Southern Persian.


    His efforts weren¡¯t futile; he would occasionally land hits on Lucky Southern Persian.


    The damage from a LV25 Berserker was incredible. Each time he came into contact with Lucky Southern Persian, he would take out a huge amount of his health bear. Lucky Southern Persian had to use his shield to survive.


    The difference between both players could easily be seen through the damage dealt and the defense. When Elevenless found the chance, Lucky Southern Persian would be placed at a disadvantage.


    He would have to quickly pull away and wouldn¡¯t be able to cast any spells for a long period of time.


    Even instant cast skills required certain postures, however, he wasn¡¯t even given the chance to form them. Once he stopped running, he would take a beating.


    "Lucky Southern Persian is at an obvious disadvantage... he¡¯s barely hanging on," the analyst said without any mercy.


    "Actually, they have a very subtle difference between their experience bars. Lucky Southern Persian is almost able to level up and Elevenless has only just reached level 25. However, this small difference means a great difference between their gear. The two system events both produced a lot of level 25 Molds."


    The other analyst was slightly biased towards Lucky Southern Persian, but he, too, had a pessimistic attitude towards the match.


    "It shouldn¡¯t be like this. Lucky Southern Persian shouldn¡¯t be this weak."


    Lu Li had never fought against Lucky Southern Persian, but they had teamed up before, so he had some idea about his skill level.


    He was very good with his skill-chaining ¨C he liked using his smaller skills in combos.


    However, when the time was right, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to go all out.


    He had a skill that not only increased his Attack and Critical Strike, but also allowed him to instantly cast Frostbolt. While this was a truly impressive skill, Lu Li hadn¡¯t seen him use it at all during this battle.


    Both players were losing health, but Lucky Southern Persian was a Mage. He naturally had less health, so overall, he was at a disadvantage.


    The turn-around that Lu Li had been waiting for never happened. A golden ¡®Victory¡¯ was tossed onto the widescreen, announcing the victory of Elevenless.


    After this came the group match.


    The existence of Elevenless had most of the audience believing that the outcome had already been decided.


    A level 25 Berserker would definitely be a killing machine in the arena.

 299 Top 100 Part 3

    Due to the one-sided nature of the single match, most people felt like they had already seen the outcome of the group match.


    It was in a desert map and everything was easily visible to the eye.


    Elevenless charged ahead, as if nothing could hold him back. The two parties engaged each other as there was nothing that they could hide behind.


    "Elevenless charged in too boldly."


    The analyst was slightly unsure, but his experience told him that this match had already spun out of control.


    There was no cooperation between Elevenless and his Hunter team member, Marks.


    It seemed that Elevenless was displaying his invincible might while the others could only watch in despair.


    Lucky Southern Persian continued to back down, like in he had done in his previous match, as Elevenless rained down attacks on him.


    Fake! This was too fake!


    Lu Li shook his head; he didn¡¯t want to comment about what was happening in the match at all.


    It was easy to see everything clearly from an outsider¡¯s perspective, but it wasn¡¯t that easy for the actual players themselves. Elevenless had been fooled by his single match; he had overestimated the strength of his new LV25 equipment and was overconfident.


    There was no coordination at all between the team from the Wings of Dawn. Elevenless was already too far away from his team.


    Soon, Lucky Southern Persian began to bare his fangs.


    Frost Nova!


    Elevenless, who had already left his team behind, was frozen on the spot, while Lucky Southern Persian teleported beside the Hunter, Marks.


    He was the real target.


    Marks was hit twice in a row by Frostbolts that were instantly cast and landed as critical strikes. His movement speed was also reduced due to the special effect of the skill. Hornet¡¯s Nest had already changed his target from the Paladin, Faker Than Wind, to him as well.


    While this was happening, Faker than Wind, was being held back by Empty.


    With Elevenless frozen on the spot and the Paladin preoccupied, there was no escape.


    The LV24 Hunter couldn¡¯t stay alive until the Paladin came to his rescue and neither could he make it until Elevenless unfroze. Tragically, he became the first person to be sent out in this group match.


    Elevenless was still at a loss.


    How did the tides turn around so fast? They had still been at an advantage just before.


    Lu Li stood up and left the audience seat. The match was over; there was nothing left to see.


    Seventh Heaven won two points, while the Wings of Dawn only won one point, despite the fact that they had a LV25 Warrior.


    Lucky Southern Persian had been playing mind games right from the very start.


    Although there was no guarantee that he could have won against Elevenless in the single match, there was no way that he could have lost in such a helpless way.


    He had lost to Elevenless but received his reward in the group match. Indeed, Elevenless, who had become overconfident in his ability, stopped cooperating with his team members.


    He thought that victory would be easy which cost them the match.


    Profession-wise, the Wings of Dawn had an advantage against Seventh Heaven¡¯s combination of Mage, Warlock and Shaman. They also had a level 25 Berserker, which made it almost impossible to find a reason for them to lose.


    The only way that they could lose was with their own mistakes.


    Although the Wings of Dawn had lost the match, no one thought that the season was over for them.


    Elevenless would only be more cautious from now on. The team who ran into them next would be quite unfortunate.


    The opponent for Lu Li¡¯s team today was a team from Majin Temple.


    As the name suggested, this was a guild that consisted of Mages. It wasn¡¯t big, but it was definitely famous.


    They were famous for two things ¨C firstly, the guild had a high Mage population and secondly, it consisted of a lot of older people.


    Majin Temple was sometimes affectionately known as Elder¡¯s Temple in Dawn.


    As the virtual age came, virtual gaming became one of the main forms of entertainment for people. It was normal to see people around thirty or forty years old in games, but it was rare to see anyone older.


    The gaming industry media described Majin Temple as "old but still strong".


    "You, or me?" Lu Li asked Moonlight before the match.


    Moonlight shook his head and laughed bitterly.


    "I can¡¯t guarantee anything."


    Warriors fighting against Mages were naturally at a class disadvantage. Unless the opposing player made a mistake or there was a massive difference between equipment or levels, it would be very hard to win. Rather than hoping for a mistake to be made by a professional player, you better off believing that you would transform into a Super Saiyan during the match.


    The number one lord Mage ID, Unforgettable Maple, had been famous for almost a hundred years, and had shared history alongside Majin Temple.


    But of course, there was no way someone could play a game for a hundred years.


    Generation after generation, gamers extended his existence, until his existence gradually became an icon.


    The number one Mage in any game was known by this title. Sorrowless was a legend, but he wasn¡¯t the number one Mage.


    "Alright," Lu Li smacked his lips. "I¡¯ll go and meet the number one Mage."


    No one would want to admit they were worse than someone else; it was nice to challenge the authority.


    "Unforgettable Maple has been keeping a low profile in Dawn. He has a team to train with him in Majin Temple and usually doesn¡¯t play against outsiders. Only a few have fought against him, so there¡¯s barely any information on him." Moonlight was helpless as well.


    Lu Li took a piece parchment paper. Only a few skills and equipment effects were listed.


    However, just the ones mentioned were enough to give Lu Li a fright.


    "He can use the fridge, the Frost Nova, and can even summon a Water Elemental pet..."


    The fridge skill gave him survivability, Frost Nova was a control skill, and as for the Water Elemental pet, even Lu Li was unsure how this was possible at the current stage of the game.


    The Water Elemental pet could use Frostbolt and besides dealing damage, there was also a great chance for it to apply a movement speed reduction effect.


    The Water Elementals could also cast Frost Nova. As such, Unforgettable Maple essentially had two Frost Nova skills to cast.


    "Have Water Elementals already become widespread among the Mages in Dawn without us knowing?" Lu Li felt like the game had suddenly become unfamiliar.


    "You must be kidding. As far as I know, only Unforgettable Maple has this skill. He changed classes to become a frost mage; the quest reward was a Water Elemental," Moonlight explained.


    "Shame I don¡¯t have Kidney Strike," Lu Li sighed.


    The single match was a Thief against a Mage.


    One was the number one Mage, who had been around for a long time, and the other was Lu Li, who Blood Dagger had been thinking about all day long. At once, the match attracted the attention of many.


    Not long ago, during an interview, Blood Dagger expressed that he wanted to defeat Lu Li the most.


    The media didn¡¯t get to find out the exact reason, but this was enough for Lu Li to become even more well known.


    What was it about him that made Blood Dagger view him as a worthy opponent?


    As soon as Lu Li entered the map, he went into Stealth. He barely knew anything about Unforgettable Maple, so he needed to get closer to investigate.


    Unforgettable Maple didn¡¯t plan to hide anything; his Water Elemental had already been summoned and was on standby next to him.

 300 Top 100 Part 4

    Unforgettable Maple didn¡¯t dare to underestimate Lu Li; he gathered his focus and turned around slowly on the spot.


    Thieves mostly had a very standard attack pattern ¨C they liked to attack from behind. As such, he consistently turned in an attempt to disrupt Lu Li¡¯s attack pattern.


    Lu Li followed his movement a few times, then eventually gave up and stood on the spot.


    When it came to combat experience, he didn¡¯t have as much as the number one Mage, but he made up for this with his vast experience in Dawn. He could find the solution to any sort of situation.


    There wasn¡¯t much that could be done against Mages who preferred to keep still when fighting against a Thief.The Thief would have to take the initiative and attack first.


    The average Thief would use Ambush as an opener. Others might choose to use Lock Throat if they had that skill because of its silence effect.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t do that ¨C he used Sap.


    Now, it was time to kill the Water Elemental.


    However, Unforgettable Maple¡¯s reaction was beyond his expectations.


    The instant that Lu Li successfully casted Sap, the Water Elemental raised his hand and a ripple of magic appeared under Lu Li.


    The Water Elemental had cast Frost Nova.


    The reaction speed and judgement of Unforgettable Maple was truly unparalleled.


    Normally, after a player had been Sapped, they would pause for a moment in confusion.


    However, Unforgettable Maple reacted almost in an instant.


    Not only was his judgment incredible, but he had also found the position of Lu Li with amazing precision and without the slightest hesitation, had commanded the Water Elemental to attack.


    The atmosphere in the arena at this point was very strange. Unforgettable Maple was sapped, Lu Li was frozen and the Water Elemental was the only one that could move.


    However, the Water Elemental didn¡¯t attack either, because if it did, it would unfreeze Lu Li.


    An eerie situation had been created.


    After eight seconds, Lu Li regained his movement, upon which the Water Elemental began attacking him from a distance.


    Damned movement speed reduction.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t activate Shadow Cloak right now.


    He needed to save this skill for the right moment.


    Shadowmeld! Stealth!


    The Water Elemental backed away, but Lu Li had already given up on his attempt to kill it. Killing it would require an entire rotation of his skills, but a Water Elemental that had already casted its Frost Nova was no longer a threat. It could also be re-summoned after it died, so there was absolutely no need to try and kill it.


    Lu Li snuck up behind the Mage and planned to Ambush him¡­


    Ice Block!


    The Mage casted the ¡®refrigerator¡¯ skill, turning himself into a block of ice. While he was invincible and could not take any damage, he wasn¡¯t able to deal any damage either.


    Unforgettable Maple didn¡¯t remain in the frozen status for too long ¨C he quickly unfroze himself as a Frost Nova extended under his feet, then teleported away from the spot.


    When he turned his head, he was shocked to find that no one was caught by the Frost Nova.


    "So fast..." Dark Wind mumbled. It took him a while to recover before he exclaimed, "It seems as though they¡¯ve only brushed past each other, but this has been quite a complex battle thus far. Let¡¯s replay this again in slow motion."


    The two players returned to their original state, facing each other with caution without engaging. As such, not much action would be missed with the replay on screen.


    "Lu Li used Ambush, then Unforgettable Maple reacted with the refrigerator. He unfroze, casted Frost Nova and flashed away¡­ As he used Flash, Lu Li casted a skill ¨C Gale Steps¡­ No, this wasn¡¯t Gale Steps ¨C he disappeared. A very quick reaction ¨C both of their performances were exceptional."


    "Lu Li still hasn¡¯t used his Gale Steps and Unforgettable Maple has used his shield, which is a LV5 skill. It seems like he¡¯s invested a lot in this skill."


    Seeing the blue eggshell around Unforgettable Maple, even Lu Li felt like he had a headache.


    The protection that a level five shield was able to provide was extremely powerful. Not only did it decrease the speed of the attacker, but it also had a chance to freeze them.


    The shield wasn¡¯t easy to pop, but Lu Li couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    Once the Water Elemental¡¯s cooldown on Frost Nova recovered, it would be another difficult battle.


    Unforgotten Maple was very cautious with his positioning and his defense was also very strong. Lu Li didn¡¯t want to take the risk or waste the time to try and sneak up behind him. He activated the special effect on his cape, instantly appeared behind the Mage and casted Ambush!


    The last Ambush didn¡¯t do much and he had almost played himself, but this time, Lu Li made his attacks more surprising.


    A four second stun!


    Lu Li began his attempt to burst down the target and dealt insane damage.


    Unfortunately, Unforgettable Maple¡¯s shield was too thick. It completely absorbed the damage from two of Lu Li¡¯s greater-damaging skills.


    Others might panic if they saw that two of their skills hadn¡¯t dealt any damage, but there was no way that Lu Li would panic. He continued to cast skills at his own pace.


    After two skills, the shield from Ice Block was on the edge of breaking. Lu Li took a side step and spun his body, then used Backhand Backstab!


    His calm composure rewarded him with a high completion level and his damage finally broke the shield. Backhand Backstab dealt a huge amount of damage and even activated a one-second paralyze effect.


    What was even more surprising was that the attack also activated the special effect of the dagger.


    Another Thief that looked identical to Lu Li appeared in the arena.


    Unforgettable Maple stared at Lu Li¡¯s expressionless face; he had no choice but to use his damage reduction.


    Even a level five shield was unable to last until he recovered from being stunned. Lu Li¡¯s damage was simply too strong.


    Backstab!


    Even with damage reduction, Unforgettable Maple lost almost a hundred points of health.


    In a fight between experts, even a 100 HP was a significant amount. The Mage could almost feel his heart throbbing.


    Gouge!


    He remained stunned on the spot.


    In this short time, Lu Li took a deep breath and spun his wrist, casting his signature Shadowstep.


    He was so familiar with this skill that he could complete it with his eyes closed.


    Completion level 95%, damage 300%, target stunned for one second.


    The Mage¡¯s health bar finally dropped below half!


    Whoosh!


    Cone of Cold was immediately released; the chilly wind made it hard for Lu Li to move.


    This was a skill that reduced speed and had a large cast range. The effect was extremely powerful, however, it required a lot of technique to control it. An average player wouldn¡¯t have any idea on how to use it effectively.


    Unforgettable Maple was no average player ¨C the angle of his Cone of Cold was precise and unexpected. Lu Li was caught by surprise.


    Sprint!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate to cast his skills and instantly used his speed buff.


    Unforgettable Maple was the type of Mage who didn¡¯t deal a lot of damage, but instead, used his impressive repertoire of skills to kill his opponents slowly. His play style was very similar to Green Flag Wine¡¯s ¨C they would both wait for their opponent to make a mistake and proceed to burst them down.


    Lu Li, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t a Thief with a dirty play style. His play style was beyond what Unforgettable Maple had expected.


    However, this didn¡¯t mean that Unforgettable Maple would lose his composure. Against a Thief that aggressively pounced towards, his strategy was to bombard him with multiple instant-cast-skills in a row. Although each skill only dealt moderate damage to Lu Li, they added up over time. Lu Li rapidly lost twenty percent of his health.

 301 Top 100 Part 5

    As Unforgettable Maple continued to chip down Lu Li¡¯s HP, he kept his eyes on the cooldown of his ultimate skill. He knew that he had to be patient because his opponent had yet to use Gale Steps.


    Lu Li was still at 70% HP, while he was only left with 43%. However, Lu Li began sweating because he felt anxious.


    How come his Skill Completion had become so low all of the sudden?


    He realised something that was very surprising to him ¨C Unforgettable Maple¡¯s low-cooldown skills were affecting his damage output. He appeared to be casting the skills randomly, but each of them were timed perfectly to disrupt Lu Li¡¯s Skill Completion.


    For example, Lu Li would flinch slightly when hit by Ice Lance. Unforgettable Maple timed his skills to hit right before Lu Li casted his own, which caused his Skill Completion to go down.


    It may have been coincidence the first couple of times, however, Lu Li soon realised that Unforgettable Maple was very good with his timing and tempo.


    Apart from using his skills, Unforgettable Maple also reduced Lu Li¡¯s Skill Completion with his positioning and movement.


    He would move in random directions while kiting Lu Li with his skills. Sometimes he would zig zag, then stop suddenly and other times, he would move sideways, or even closer towards Lu Li.


    The combination of these two factors mean that none of Lu Li¡¯s skills had a Completion of over 60%.


    By the time the Mage reached 25% HP, Lu Li only had 40% left.


    Unforgettable Maple had not casted any main skills or ultimates during this time. The reason why Lu Li had lost so much HP was because he was constantly being hit by Unforgettable Maple, in addition to the Water Elemental. Even though each hit only dealt around 10 to 30 points of damage, he was able to slowly bring Lu Li down to critical HP.


    Ambush!


    Lu Li activated the spell effect from his gloves and managed to change the tempo of the fight.


    He then followed this up with Kick!


    Unforgettable groaned ¨C he was unable to cast his skill in time.


    Luckily, his Water Elemental was slowing Lu Li down, which allowed him to take a breather.


    Before he could recover, Lu Li casted Gale Step to remove all the debuffs on him.


    When he reappeared, he cycled through his combos again.


    Technically, Cheap Shot had no cooldown. As long as the player was in Stealth, it could be casted again.


    Unforgettable Maple¡¯s Frost Nova had finally come off cooldown, so he commanded his Water Elemental to cast it immediately. He had to crowd-control Lu Li as soon as possible, otherwise, he risked losing at that very moment.


    Shadow Cloak!


    Lu Li was having none of this and casted Shadow Cloak immediately.


    Unforgettable was stunned and couldn¡¯t do anything to interrupt Lu Li from casting his skills. As such, Lu Li was able to take him out in a couple of hits.


    ¡®Victory¡¯ flashed across his screen along with the Dawn logo.


    Some of the spectators were expecting Unforgettable Maple to turn the tables around and naively thought that the Mage had the advantage over the Thief.


    However, they had forgotten about Lu Li¡¯s massive arsenal of tricks and skills.


    He had three escape skills ¨C Shadow Meld, Vanish and Gale Steps.


    There were also three skills that boosted his speed ¨C Sprint, Gale Steps and Ambush.


    As well as these, he had three more skills that improved his flexibility, including Ambush, Shadow Cloak and the active on his shoes that he had yet to reveal to the audience.


    Lu Li thought that his skills weren¡¯t as powerful as what the players from the major guilds had. However, in reality, they were definitely on par. The only skills he was missing were Kidney Strike and Blind.


    The grass was always greener on the other side.


    This was a stupid concept that many people had.


    Unforgettable Maple did not get teleported outside of the arena immediately but instead, was interviewed by reporters.


    This was one of the options after the end of a match. There was a total of three options ¨C stay until the arena timed out, teleport back to the player¡¯s original map or be interviewed.


    Normally, the interview option was greyed out for the average players. The option was only available when reporters were willing to interview the player.


    Lu Li had the option of being interviewed as well, but ignored it every time.


    Unforgettable Maple was a celebrity player and needed the exposure to the media. Therefore, when the opportunity came, he would always choose to be interviewed.


    The loss was very devastating for him and he was very willing to share about his experience to the audience.


    A reporter from the Home of Esports bluntly asked him, "Teacher Maple, sorry for the loss. Is this your first defeat in the Top 100?


    Unforgettable Maple was very friendly with the reporter despite his blunt question and replied, "No, it¡¯s not the first time. I¡¯ve lost to Professional Healer from Peerless City.


    "Professional Healer" was a very deceiving ID, because everyone assumed that he would be a healer. However, he was actually a full-damage Shadow Priest.


    Shadow Priests could heal as well, but they were more similar in play-style to a Warlock than a Priest. They focused on dealing consistent Shadow Damage over time to diminish their opponent¡¯s HP. Healing took a secondary role for them.


    Shadow Priests were a counter to Mages because they could deal damage while healing at the same time. Additionally, they also had the Mana Burn skill, which was very advantageous for them.


    "For today¡¯s loss, do you think the level difference played a big role in the outcome?" the reporter asked sympathetically, but continued to rub salt into his wounds.


    "The level difference definitely made a difference, but it wasn¡¯t the major factor," Unforgettable Maple replied as he shook his head.


    "If not for the level, then I assume the gear didn¡¯t make much difference either? What would you say was the decisive factor in today¡¯s match?" the reporter asked.


    Unforgettable Maple paused as he recalled the match in his mind and said, "Skill Completion. His Skill Completion was crazy."


    "But you were doing well with interrupting his Skill Completion the whole game¡­"


    "There would be no way of winning if I hadn¡¯t controlled his Skill Completion," Maple laughed. "I lost most of my HP after the initial stun. A match between a Mage and a Thief is based on whoever crowd-controls their opponent better."


    "Do you have confidence for the team match coming up?" The reporter asked.


    "I¡¯m looking forward to it." Unforgettable Maple was still smiling. However, everyone could tell that he wasn¡¯t very hopeful.


    He was the core of his team and excelled in 1 on 1 situations, yet he had still lost to Lu Li.


    On the other hand, Lu Li¡¯s team had two major threats, as opposed to just one. Moonlight was very well-respected in the professional scene and no one had ever doubted the role he played on the team. No one had ever doubted the impact he had on their success.


    The match was between a Warrior, Thief and Priest line-up, and a Mage, Warlock and Shaman.


    Lu Li was confident in this match-up but didn¡¯t let his guard down at all.


    The reason was because this was their first time fighting against a Life-Steal Shaman.


    Mage-Warlock-Shaman was a destructive team composition. The core of their team was the Life-Steal Shaman.


    This team was capable of unleashing powerful area-of-effect damage and their skills complimented each other well. The ability to instantly burst the opposing healer was their speciality.


    There weren¡¯t many options Lu Li¡¯s team had when facing this composition. As long as they worked together to get past the life-stealing, everything would work out fine.


    The match began.


    Each team tested the waters and the Shaman instantly activated life-steal.


    They couldn¡¯t find any openings or errors made by Lu Li¡¯s team, not that it would have mattered much. They were hoping to instantly kill March Rain while life-steal was still active.


    As soon as the Shaman activated life-steal, Lu Li ambushed the Warlock with his Cloak active.


    While he was stunned for 4 seconds, Lu Li directed his attention towards the Mage.


    Moonlight coordinated his attack with Lu Li and Charged towards the Mage.


    Offence is the best defence, so they successfully advanced past this group.


    The next three matches were all against teams that were from guilds below top 50 on the Guild Rankings. These teams were a piece of cake compared to Unforgettable Maple¡¯s team and team Lu Li successfully gained 12 points from the day¡¯s matches.


    From his past experience, if they received 6 more points or won two more matches, they would be able to advance into the Top 16.

 302 Top 100 Part 6

    Many teams were eliminated before the last day of the tournament, including Team Azure Sea Breeze. They lacked the ability to adapt and change strategies when required, so they were easily exposed by the other experienced, top-tier teams.


    However, Azure Sea Breeze was content with how far they had made it in the tournament.


    They were a team of random classes put together, but were still able to go toe to toe with many teams in the top 100. They celebrated their progress and had earned the respect from many people both in and outside the game.


    Team Lu Li¡¯s first match was in the morning against Peacetime Dynasty who were ranked at No.11.


    Peacetime Dynasty had choked on their first day of the tournament and had only managed to earn 1 point.


    On the second day, they were much more focused and careful, and were able to earn enough points to make it into the top 100.


    Just as they thought that their luck was about to turn around, they were matched up against Xin Xin Mercenary on the tournament¡¯s last day.


    Although the Xin Xin Mercenary Group lacked numbers and weren¡¯t a team full of Elite players from a major guild, they were still the favourites to win the tournament and had yet to lose a single match.


    Even the most optimistic fans knew that they stood no chance against the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    The individual match-up was between Lu Li and Song of Sorrow.


    This was a rare chance to witness a battle between two of the best Thieves in the game. It was a very lucky day for the crowd, because they were about to witness history.


    However, the battle wasn¡¯t as exciting as they thought it would be.


    Both players began by entering Stealth and circling around the arena.


    There were many occasions where they were about to cross paths, but they managed to avoid each other every time.


    The crowd was getting restless; everyone just wanted to see some action.


    They had no idea that a mirror matchup between two Thieves would be so boring. A mirror match-up between two Mages was much flashier and more exciting. Even Warrior match-ups had more action involved.


    This continued on for a while until Lu Li was able to sneak past Song of Sorrow¡¯s Detection with the bonus Stealth effects from his gear. After 2 minutes and 47 seconds, Lu Li casted Sap and gained the upper hand.


    Song of Sorrow was also very decisive and immediately used Gale Steps.


    He had no other choice. He knew better than anyone what Lu Li would do to him after he was stunned.


    From the beginning of the match, Lu Li had only Backstabbed him once, but had dealt almost 300 points of damage to him.


    The damage he dealt was insane compared to his fight against Unforgettable Maple, who dealt 100 HP or less per hit.


    Wristwraps of Undead Slaying (Superior Silver): Armour +23, Agility +15, Strength +5, Special Effect 1: Berserk, Attack +18% for 20 seconds, cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 2: Increase attack power by 18% when fighting Undead. Requirement: Level 25. Durability 48/48.


    Unfortunately, Song of Sorrow was an Undead Thief.


    Lu Li loved going up against Undead Classes because they received a bonus 18% damage from him. If the Berserk Effect was active, that would be a total of 36% increased damage.


    Song of Sorrow realised this and became much more careful with his positioning.


    However, Lu Li had already figured out his movement patterns and his tendencies when dodging.


    Lu Li read a guide in his past life, or rather, a theoretical book.


    The author wasn¡¯t an expert gamer but a psychologist.


    Using his expertise in psychology, the author studied how people acted in online games. In his research, he found that when a player entered an unfamiliar environment, their mannerisms and the way they acted all contributed to their tendencies and habits.


    Even something as simple as taking a couple of steps could be associated with their habits.


    Lu Li thought that this was very interesting and incorporated this to help him read his opponents, which gave him an advantage once he had observed them for a certain amount of time.


    Throughout the entire match, Lu Li had been observing Song of Sorrow and had already figured out his habits.


    Although these weren¡¯t precise, they could still be taken into consideration during their battle.


    After 11 seconds, Lu Li found Song of Sorrows again and casted Sap.


    At this very moment, the match was over.


    Without Gale Steps or any other escape abilities, there was no chance of survival against a Thief with superior gear.


    This was of course, unless if Lu Li made a mistake.


    Would Lu Li make a mistake? This question was answered by Song of Sorrow¡¯s empty health bar. Lu Li had executed his combos well and the crowd cheered.


    No.1 Thief!


    Everyone was shouting and chanted together.


    No.1 Thief!


    Song of Sorrow was a very famous player in the gaming community who was known for playing Thief-type classes in other games as well. However, in Dawn, his fame had diminished and he had become an old and washed-up player.


    Blood Dagger, Song of Sorrow, Wood Fearing, A Straw in the Wind, Yew and Water Fairy were known as the Seven Godly Thieves.


    These players exclusively played Thieves and were scattered among other online games, but they had congregated together in Dawn. It was still undecided as to which Thief was truly The Great Thief and this was a greatly debated topic within the gaming community.


    The 7 Thieves had yet to face against each other in the Shadow Cup.


    The match between Song of Sorrow and Lu Li was completely unexpected.


    However, in this unexpected turn of events, Lu Li had convincingly defeated Song of Sorrow in a one on one battle.


    Did this mean that Song of Sorrow was weak?


    If he was weak then he wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat Magic Cry from Azure Guard.


    Magic Cry was considered an expert player as well, as he defeated A Straw in the Wind and Hornest¡¯s Nest, in addition to other famous players.


    If Song of Sorrow defeated Magic Cry and Magic Cry defeated A Straw in the Wind, then Song of Sorrow could probably defeat A Straw in the Wind.


    However, A Straw in the Wind had also been defeated by other godly celebrity players.


    Therefore, the topic would still be up for debate until they finally faced each other.


    Lu Li had defeated Song of Sorrow, which made him a contender for the No.1 Thief in the game.


    After the presentation of the championship and the other awards, the Shadow Cup had a feature where the crowd could vote for the top players of each class.


    It was every player¡¯s dream to be recognized by the community as one of the top players in the game.


    After this battle, everyone was debating who the top Thief in the tournament was this year.


    Once the individual match-up had finished, the Team Battle followed next.


    Peacetime Dynasty was known for their work ethic and hard-work in team battles. Each member gave it their all and coordinated with each other well.


    From the start of the match, Lu Li and the others were greatly pressured by their opponents. March Rain had a lot of close calls and almost made it a 2v3 fight, but managed to stay alive with the arsenal of tricks up her sleeve.


    However, they were a team of level 25s and had developed chemistry over time. Lu Li¡¯s managed to survive with their superior team work.


    After 3 minutes and 25 seconds, the golden Victory flashed across their screens.


    The system announced that Peacetime Dynasty had been eliminated from the Shadow Cup.


    The crowd screamed and cheered even louder than before. Not only had Lu Li defeated Song of Sorrow in the individual match, but they had also managed to defeat them in the team battle as well.


    The No.11 guild that had managed to qualify for the finals last year had been so easily defeated?


    This caused an uproar in the gaming community and the experienced players were taken by surprise.


    Many people had yet to hear about the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Peacetime Dynasty had a total of 22,000 people under their guild. Their entire guild was devastated and angered by the news.


    Who the hell are the Xin Xin Mercenary Group?! How dare they eliminate us!?

 303 Top 100 Part 7

    Actually, the Xin Xin Mercenary Guild wasn¡¯t the sole cause of their suffering.


    If it weren¡¯t for the Peacetime Dynasty¡¯s repeated losses, their points wouldn¡¯t have been low enough to warrant their elimination.


    Drizzle Court, Gale Legion, Azure Guard and Glory Capital were all involved in their elimination.


    They should probably take their complaints to the Brotherhood Guild instead.


    There was actually one important reason as to why the Peacetime Dynasty had been eliminated so early.


    They had two core members of their team ¨C Song of Sorrow and Hot Twitch. These players were also their top players. However, Hot Twitch (the Hunter) was stolen away by the Brotherhood Guild for 2.6 million dollars.


    As such, they had no choice but to substitute in a different hunter for Hot Twitch. The new player wasn¡¯t as strong as their star player, and the team¡¯s synergy was destroyed.


    What happened to the Peacetime Dynasty was upsetting, but had no bearing on the following matches.


    The next match involved the Xin Xin Mercenary Group against Purple Lunar Paradise.


    Purple Lunar Paradise was ranked 12th, with their star players Dark Destroyer (Warrior) and Lone Smoker Long (Warlock). Their Druid, Mini Meow, was also quite famous because she was cute and ranked among the top ten on the beauty rankings.


    Dark Destroyer was a long Warrior veteran and had been famous for nearly a decade.


    Lone Smoker Long, on the other hand, was on par with Hornet¡¯s Nest and was in contention for the title of ¡®number one Warlock player¡¯.


    It was Purple Lunar Paradise¡¯s Warrior, Warlock and Druid composition against the Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s Warrior, Thief and Priest.


    Purple Lunar Paradise had unexpectedly decided to send out Lone Smoker Long.


    This wasn¡¯t what the audience wanted to see and many of them began to boo.


    Lu Li stood among the stands and bitterly shook his head. It seemed as though they had worked out Moonlight and Lu Li¡¯s sending-pattern and were taking advantage of it.


    Even so, he restrained his to change players.


    Although the Magic Professions had some advantages over Warriors, Lu Li still had full confidence in Moonlight.


    Moonlight was incredibly skilled with his Charge, had many damage reduction skills and had strong skills like Whirlwind. It wouldn¡¯t be easy to defeat him.


    Additionally, it wasn¡¯t as though Moonlight had never beaten Magic professions before; he had actually done it on more than one occasion.


    But having said that, Lu Li¡¯s heart sank when he saw the scene.


    Lone Smoker Long must have had many bonus Agility points and his shoes must have been exquisite. He was surprisingly much faster than the Berserker.


    He also had two escaping skills that were actually Special Effects.


    One of them appeared to make him slip forwards. It looked amusing but was actually quite effective.


    The second created a shadow four yards in front of him, which he could then teleport to.


    These weren¡¯t Warlock Skills, so they must have been Special Effects from equipment. Lone Smoker Long obviously spent a lot of time in refining his equipment set.


    However, because he had prioritized mobility, his attack and defense attributes were quite average. His damage was irritatingly pitiful.


    Moonlight was hit by him and only lost a few dozen HP. Even the Warlock¡¯s damage over time skill only dealt a little bit of damage on each tick.


    He was using his speed to engage in guerilla warfare, repeatedly attacking his slow opponent to slowly wear him down.


    Lu Li shook his head bitterly. He could only praise Lone Smoker Long for playing this kind of alternative Warlock.


    This match turned out to be the longest individual match of the Shadow Cup Tournament, lasting for 47 minutes.


    In his previous individual matches, Lu Li¡¯s opponents could only last for 4 or 5 minutes. In fact, the victor was mostly determined in one minute.


    Moonlight eventually lost the match by a narrow margin.


    Lone Smoker Long was almost out of HP as well.


    "Sorry, I lost."


    Moonlight had a sad expression on his face. All experts had a sense of pride and he really didn¡¯t want to lose this match.


    "It¡¯s just one match; don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯ll get it back on the next round."


    In the group round, Lu Li and Moonlight didn¡¯t hesitate. They rushed at Lone Smoker Long the moment they saw him.


    This happened so quickly that Purple Lunar Paradise¡¯s Warrior Dark Destroyer and Druid Mini Meow were unable to react.


    Lone Smoker Long¡¯s expression turned dark ¨C did they really hate him that much?


    He had to run away; he had no other choice.


    Fortunately, he was very mobile and was almost able to shake off his pursuers.


    However, there was no way that he could outrun Lu Li.


    Lu Li cast Sudden Thrust, then applied a Slow poison with a few slashes of his dagger.


    After this, Lu Li stepped back and let Moonlight deal with him.


    Lu Li had to go back to save March Rain. While he and Moonlight were chasing down Lone Smoker Long, Mini Meow had cast Creeping Vines on March Rain and binded her. She then worked with Dark Destroyer to try and quickly kill her.


    Lu Li activated his cloak¡¯s effect and appeared behind the Warrior, then stunned him with Cheap Shot.


    He then aggressively attacked, rapidly bringing down the Warrior¡¯s HP. However, with Mini Meow healing him, Lu Li was unable finish him of on his own.


    March Rain took this opportunity to return her HP to full.


    Now that Lu Li had achieved his goal, he turned around and frantically attacked Lone Smoker Long.


    The player, who was also considered one of the most handsome men, could only helplessly run away. His HP was dropping too quickly even for his Healer to keep up.


    Who allowed him to run such a non-meta build?


    The rest of the group round wasn¡¯t particularly eventful. Lu Li used his speed to restrain Lone Smoker Long and used Gale Steps to avoid Dark Destroyer¡¯s Whirlwind. Moonlight then cast Whirlwind in response to this and quickly killed Lone Smoker Long with Lu Li.


    After Lone Smoker Long died, Lu Li turned and mercilessly knocked Mini Meow out of the match.


    The third match pitted the Xin Xin Mercenary Group against the Great Qin Empire. They were a very united guild, but they had been unable to cultivate any star players. As such, the results could easily be imagined.


    At this point, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had already qualified for the top 16.


    Their fourth match was against the 18th-ranked East Sea Fleet. Despite the fact that Lu Li¡¯s team had already qualified, they still mercilessly knocked their opponents out from their precarious position.


    On the current leaderboard, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group placed fourth with 47 points.


    Glory Capital, Blood Red War Flag and Drizzle Court placed before them with the full 48 points.


    Drizzle Court had been quite lucky. They didn¡¯t face any particularly strong opponents and they had Water Fairy to carry the individual rounds. Their Mage, Deadly Green Orange, was also an expert. He had managed to defeat Song of Sorrow.


    Behind them were the Gangnam Royals at 46 points, Wings of Dawn at 46 points and Peerless City at 45 points. The remaining final-16 teams were Seventh Heaven, Azure Guard, Gale Legion, Stellar Union, Majin Temple, Purple Lunar Paradise, Gods of Dusk and Brotherhood.


    There were six Evil Faction teams and ten Light Faction teams. The proportion was quite similar to what it had been previously.


    Although the Gods of Dusk weren¡¯t ranked very highly, they had managed to hold their own with their unnaturally strong player, Wood Fearing.


    There were still many people lamenting about Peacetime Dynasty¡¯s elimination as they were predicted to make it into the top 10 of the tournament.


    Blood Red War Flag had three teams in the top 100, but unfortunately, only one had survived.


    Glory Capital had masters like Sorrowless and Blood Dagger on their team, so their journey had been smooth sailing.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group was the dark horse of these final 16 teams. They had subverted the expectations of the players about who would be in the top 10.


    As Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain became more well-known, so did the other members of the Mercenary Group.

 304 Who Is Going To Be President?

    The top 16 was a whole new world.


    No one would look down on the Xin Xin Mercenary Group as a random team anymore as their achievements could clearly be seen.


    Previously, it was only the businessmen who considered giving them products to endorse. But now, they even had financiers who wanted to acquire them because they were optimistic about their group¡¯s growth.


    As the gaming industry grew, it even spread to the poorer parts of the community.


    As a result, the star players¡¯ fame grew even greater.


    Dawn, a game that had become so universally accepted, was gaining more and more players every day from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was a great business opportunity.


    They were offering eight million dollars!


    For an up and coming force that wasn¡¯t even a big guild, this was already a very generous amount.


    However, Wandering, without first consulting Lu Li, rejected the Northern Chinese Power Company¡¯s offer.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t oppose this decision either.


    It wasn¡¯t that the amount was too low, although, this was still a factor.


    Lu Li¡¯s primary concern when playing Dawn was to make money, but he wasn¡¯t going to sell himself for a short-term benefit.


    After taking the $8 million, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would become the Northern Chinese Power Company¡¯s designated competitors. A portion of any money from endorsements or competitions would be returned to their sponsors.


    Additionally, they would also need to listen to the decisions made by the club managers.


    Naturally, the club manager would be someone appointed by their sponsors.


    My life belongs to myself, and I make all my decisions willingly and freely. I have never been controlled by anyone; not even gods can do so! I lower my head to others out of respect and admiration, but never out of subservience!


    These were the words on Aegwynn¡¯s book that had deeply resonated with Lu Li.


    In his past life, he had sold himself to raise money for his sister¡¯s treatment. However, after his rebirth, he had promised himself that he would never bow to anyone ever again.


    He might have come from a poor background, but that didn¡¯t mean he needed to yield to anyone.


    The Northern Power Company wanted a team that was completely theirs. Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain would be their battle generals, and they would send a ¡®specialist¡¯ to manage the rest. This was the exact reason why Lu Li refused the offer.


    Lu Li preferred to dominate his niche rather than to dominate everything.


    The head of Northern Power Company wandered off, thinking about how such a large sum of money had failed to buy the cooperation he wanted.


    However, an important issue had been raised ¨C the direction of future development for the Mercenary Group.


    Were they just waiting for a better price? Or would they never accept any offers and remain as a Mercenary Group?


    "Mercenary Groups are too simple and don¡¯t scale well." The only qualified person here seemed to be Wandering. He had managed a guild in the past but was kicked out because of his vicious tongue.


    At first, they didn¡¯t want to start a guild because of the costs. They were unlikely to overtake any of the larger guilds anyway.


    However, things were different now ¨C they had an opportunity before them.


    If they started a guild now, there would surely be countless players swarming to join them. They could even pick whatever criteria they wanted for entry.


    After all, they were the fourth-ranking team in the top 100.


    "How about we start a club first, then a guild later?" Wandering suggested.


    He looked at Lu Li before making a decision. Lu Li usually didn¡¯t care about a lot of things, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t learn from them.


    He was very clearly someone who was the master of his own affairs.


    A wise man would never make the same mistake twice.


    "A club?" Lu Li looked vacant.


    "It¡¯s pretty similar to the current guild structure¡­" Wandering then described the current guild structure and the club structure in detail. Although there were some subtle differences, they were essentially the same thing.


    Some players weren¡¯t part of their guilds but were part of a club instead. This meant that the guild did not bind them.


    Star players like Hornet¡¯s Nest or Lucky Southern Persian were often part of these clubs. In fact, they were often the leaders for these clubs and were solely responsible for them.


    Of course, there were also some players who were subordinates in the club. Jade Flower Lover was an example of this.


    Most guild presidents weren¡¯t the club leader. The main sponsors would generally send someone they trusted to control the club.


    Of course, there were some leaders who were presidents for both the guild and the club. For example, Sorrowless was the Glory Capital¡¯s Club leader and the Glory Capital¡¯s Guild President.


    However, news was circulating that Sorrowless was transferring his President title; his intention was to return to the competitive scene. It was possible that there was going to be a new president in the near future.


    In a sense, the guild served the club.


    The star players¡¯ skill books, level and equipment were unconditionally provided by the guild.


    This architecture freed up the star players from the complicated guild obligations, giving them time to practice PVP, participate in competitions or do various other jobs to represent the guild.


    A club¡¯s income came from a number of places. These could be fees, winnings or endorsements and so on.


    "Let¡¯s do it then."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have big ambitions, but he couldn¡¯t refuse this development. The Xin Xin Mercenary Group was no longer just about him.


    He wanted to make money but Wandering wanted to develop the group. There was no need for this to become a conflict ¨C each person could still accommodate for their needs.


    "What should we call it? Xin Xin Club?" Wandering asked Lu Li. The others had been silent. Remnant Dream was already napping and Hachi Chan was absent-mindedly drooling.


    "Let¡¯s all discuss it together. The first name was little too casual." Lu Li didn¡¯t have any ideas.


    "Consider the fact that the guild name has to be the same," Wandering said then continued, "Now we need to pick a guild president and a club leader."


    "You can be the guild president," Lu Li said.


    "I¡¯m not too suited for that role. I¡¯m too lazy to deal with trivial matters and I¡¯m very likely to offend people."


    The guild president was the overall manager and had to deal with all kinds of players outside of the guild. With Wandering¡¯s vicious tongue, the other players were bound to be offended.


    "If he was the president, there would be players declaring war on us every day," Azure Sea Breeze quipped.


    "How about you do it?" Wandering sneered.


    "I¡¯m too lazy," Azure Sea Breeze shrunk back in fear.


    He knew that he wasn¡¯t someone who could manage people. In fact, he had grown up being bullied by Wandering for that.

 305 Core Position

    Sesame Rice Ball made a face when they looked at him and sheepishly hid behind his hands.


    Lonesome Flower¡¯s remained stoic, completely uncaring.


    Sakura Memories was so vigorously shaking her head that it was almost about to fall off.


    She wasn¡¯t that much less attractive than March Rain, but she lacked some womanly elegance. She was more of a masculine woman than a strong woman.


    Moonlight was sitting with his eyes closed and had not said anything. He obviously didn¡¯t want to get involved in this.


    As for Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan, although they were cute, they were also quite na?ve. If either of them were the president, they would definitely drag the guild through the dirt.


    "I¡¯m not suited for this either," Lu Li said as he started to sweat.


    He had no idea how to be a president as he had relied on strategy guides up until now. These were PVP strategies and Instance Dungeon strategies, but there were no strategies for being president.


    "I have a candidate in mind, but you have to invite him." Wandering had no intention of letting Lu Li be the president. Although his egalitarian principles worked in the mercenary group, he had no other leadership qualities.


    "You mean¡­" Lu Li¡¯s heart stopped when he suddenly thought of someone.


    "Square Root 3. If you manage to invite him, all of our problems will be solved," Wandering said confidently. He had a lot of respect for Square Root 3.


    "Wasn¡¯t he from the Star Moon Guild? Players from that guild are all the same," Azure Sea Breeze said with disdain.


    Lu Li and Wandering ignored him and started discussing ways to persuade him.


    Square Root 3 wasn¡¯t a fool. They didn¡¯t have or know anything, so why would he sell himself to them? Additionally, Lu Li had made a fortune out of the Star Moon Guild and was also the reason why they had failed to make it into the top 100. The two of them had some bad blood between them.


    "What about the club?" Lu Li asked.


    "The club must be placed in your hands. The three main players in the spotlight are you, Moonlight and March Rain. But all the other members will also be in the club with you. What do think of that?"


    Wandering wasn¡¯t being completely selfless either. If they followed Lu Li and became members of the club, they could also enjoy some leadership benefits. Even if the guild grew in the future, there was no way that the later members could catch up to them.


    "Oh yeah, seeing as we are starting this for ourselves, how will we split the shares?"


    Normally, it was the backing companies that had to ask this question and there was actually more than one kind of share. Lu Li asked the question anyway, even with his limited understanding.


    Everyone was also getting shares?


    They were already content with taking a high position with a high salary. They didn¡¯t think that Lu Li would give them shares as well.


    After all, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was established solely by him, the First Clears were commanded by him and the little group in the Shadow Cup had only made it so far because of his leadership.


    One could conclude that none of this would have happened without Lu Li.


    If Lu Li found another group of players, he would likely still carry them with the same momentum.


    "Are you sure? They¡¯re supposed to be yours." Wandering didn¡¯t feel like the Xin Xin Mercenary Group deserved this but he wasn¡¯t willing to flat out reject the idea either.


    There was no one who didn¡¯t want to become more successful, nor was there anyone who wanted to work for someone else.


    "Let¡¯s split it up. It¡¯s meaningless if I have it all. For ten people¡­" Lu Li was interrupted before he could finish.


    "Don¡¯t use your egalitarian principles here," Wandering said dryly.


    Historically, no one had ever succeeded by being an egalitarian. If they wanted to truly achieve something, they couldn¡¯t use these principles that provided little gain as a code of conduct.


    "You decide it then." Lu Li didn¡¯t know what else to say and left it to Wandering.


    Because he was part of the society¡¯s lowest, all he desired was fairness. Whether it was social fairness or fairness in wealth, this weak, idealist thinking was reflected in his everyday life.


    However, this didn¡¯t make him stupid.


    In his past life, he didn¡¯t have friends, let alone have anything to give to his friends.


    As such, he particularly cherished the relationships that he had in his current life. He was willing to give more generously, especially since it didn¡¯t affect his objective of making money.


    Lu Li had no concept of his wealth representing his success in this game.


    However, Wandering had a good sense of how much things were worth. After some calculating he said, "The Mercenary Group is yours, so you can take 80%, and the rest¡­"


    "Just half please. I¡¯ll just take half," Lu Li refused as he shook his head.


    He felt like he didn¡¯t deserve to take that much. He couldn¡¯t bear to take 80% and leave a mere 20% behind.


    "How about 60% then."


    Wandering admired Lu Li¡¯s generosity, but he wasn¡¯t as selfless. If the boss was willing to be generous, then he was willing go along with it.


    Now that the 60% proportion had been decided, the organizational structure had been solidified.


    Most big companies were controlled by people who held a little over 10% of the shares, but this was usually the situation after a period of maturity.


    Now that Lu Li was holding 60% of the shares, no one would ever be able to challenge his authority.


    The two of them went on to discuss how everything else would be split. The others didn¡¯t care too much about this process and were mostly just lazing about. Only Sesame Rice Ball felt a little anxious and had some concerns about it.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t care for these matters at all.


    Remnant Dream had long since fallen asleep and now, Hachi Chan was falling asleep while hugging her¡­


    Those who were still awake were the players of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group that really liked money. Even so, they didn¡¯t ask anything extravagant.


    "You take 60%," Wandering stressed again. "Azure Sea Breeze and I will take 5%¡­"


    "Why do I have to be tied to you? How will we split this 5%?" Azure Sea Breeze was unhappy.


    "I¡¯ll take 4% and you take 1%. Don¡¯t ask why ¨C it¡¯s because I¡¯ve got more brains than you. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you were here before me, you wouldn¡¯t even have 1%," Wandering responded with disdain.


    Azure Sea Breeze started to feel emotional.


    In fact, his real method of calculation resulted in Wandering receiving 2% and Azure Sea Breeze receiving 3%. How they dealt with that was between the two of them.


    "March Rain and Flower will share 5%. Memories, Riceball, Hachi and Dreamy will have 2% each. Moonlight, you take 5%. You¡¯re not allowed to refuse."


    "We are making the rules. The remaining 17% will be given out to the future members. How much should we give to Square Root 3?"


    March Rain and Azure Sea Breeze both received 3% because they had a greater contribution to the group. March Rain was even still in the competition. Moonlight received 5% because of his value as a star player.


    According to the standards of regular clubs, core competitors and guild presidents were offered a higher percentage.


    "Let¡¯s just give him 5% and leave the guild matters to him," Lu Li decided.


    In the current video game industry, the guild president was almost purely a managerial role. Most presidents didn¡¯t hold any shares.


    Of course, Square Root 3 had participated in the creation of the Star Moon Guild, so he must have had more influence on it. However, the Star Moon Guild and the Xin Xin Mercenary Group were not really the same in terms of power.


    As such, it was actually quite fair to receive a 5% stake for a managerial role.


    Although the others didn¡¯t care, Wandering felt like these portions were too generous. However, if Lu Li was willing to give them away, he didn¡¯t mind either. All he could think about was how they could convince Square Root 3.


    He had to start working the moment he took the money.


    The remaining 12%, would be used for emergencies, or potentially, to raise funds.


    Currently, these shares were a hefty amount. Even after splitting the earnings from the tickets, there were still hundreds of thousands of dollars left.


    After Lu Li took a little more than half, everyone else received almost $10,000 each.


    However, this was just the beginning. The Seventh Heaven Club¡¯s net profit for each competitive season was over $10 million. The number would be impressive even if it was scaled down to their level.


    The salary of a freshly-graduated person from the social elite was miniscule in comparison to $1 million per year.


    At the end of the day, only Wandering and Lu Li had fully participated in this meeting.


    In this small, crude tavern, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had planned their future organizational structure and the direction of their development.

 306 Pre-Game Preparations

    The top-100 phase of the tournament was simple and brutal, but the top 16 finals were going to be much grander.


    In order to give everyone time to prepare for the competition, the game company decided to postpone the matches by a day. This meant that the competition would resume on Tuesday, with Monday being a proper celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival.


    Some teams spent it hurriedly levelling in hopes of reaching level 25.


    However, this was only a small portion, as the EXP required to level up after level 20 was really high. It would be difficult to even get earn one fifth of the EXP required in one day of levelling.


    Most of the other players just participated in the official events organized for the Mid-Autumn Festival.


    The star players also needed to show their face to make use of their commercial value.


    "Old Shen, how is the situation with the skill books? You can¡¯t let me down now." Lu Li and his team didn¡¯t need to level up, so they focused their energy on finding their skill books.


    They didn¡¯t need to show their faces either, so winning this competition was their top and only priority.


    "I¡¯ve had a look, but the prices are really high. If it isn¡¯t particularly important, I would suggest you wait a little longer." Shen Wansan knew the prices well. If a wealthy person like him thought it was high, then it truly must have been expensive.


    "How much were they?" Lu Li¡¯s asked flatly.


    Although his voice was flat, it was also firm.


    They had come this far and made it into the top 16. It was too late for them to back out now. Even if they knew that they were going to be slaughtered, they still had to go in and try.


    "I found Soul Shriek for 300 gold coins, but I can probably haggle it down to 250. There was no room to discuss the prices of the Warrior¡¯s Frightening Shout. The seller just told me that he was selling it for 650 gold coins. As for Kidney Shot, there were a few sellers but there is no way to get your hands on it for less than 500 gold coins. I only managed to find these three books; the others were out of stock."


    Shen Wansan had his own circle of fellow merchants who bought and sold goods to opportunistically make a profit.


    These kinds of players were not satisfied at doubling the price. They generally targeted high-end players and used all sorts of tricks to sell their goods at upwards of 100 times the original price.


    In reality, Soul Shriek was only worth around 20 gold coins, as only a PVP Priest would be interested in such a skill.


    However, the top 16 was about to begin, so the demand was significantly higher.


    These books were for exquisite PVP skills and had the potential to have a significant impact.


    This was especially the case for Frightening Shout, which was already rare even among the competitors. Only Peerless City¡¯s Deadly Gold Underpants had that, as well as Soul Shriek. They could induce two opponents in a 5 yard radius into a 4-second state of confusion.


    "I¡¯ll take them. Old Shen, you have to get them, no matter how much they costs." Lu Li didn¡¯t deliberate for too long. With these three skills, they had a much better chance at making into the finals, if not the semi-finals.


    By then, the Mercenary Group¡¯s prestige would be at an all-time high.


    To an ordinary player, equipment and skill meant wealth. However, for the top players, glory was equivalent to wealth.


    The difference between third and fourth place was millions of dollars.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll send them to you when I get them. I¡¯ll need to pay for Frightening Shout in gold coins, but if you don¡¯t have the money, I can pay for it first."


    When Shen Wansan saw that Lu Li didn¡¯t mind the price, he went ahead with the plan.


    "Then you can front the cost. I¡¯ll calculate the amount earned from the tickets after the competition and pay you back then," Lu Li accepted.


    Not long after, Lu Li was holding onto the three skill books.


    Soul Shriek was acquired for 249 gold. 250 gold didn¡¯t sound as nice, so the seller conceded the 1 gold.


    Frightening Shout was acquired for 650 gold. The seller couldn¡¯t reduce the price even by a single cent. In fact, he had almost increased the price because the Gale Legion also wanted this skill book. Luckily, Shen Wansan was well-acquainted with the seller and had pinned the deal on their relationship.


    Kidney Shot was acquired for 450 gold. This was because there was more than one seller. If any one of them missed this opportunity to sell it during the Shadow Cup, selling the book would become even more difficult.


    This amount of money couldn¡¯t have come out of Lu Li¡¯s own pocket. Following the club¡¯s procedure, they would wait until the revenue from this competitive season came in and deduct the cost from that.


    March Rain and Moonlight also changed into two level 25 Silver equips. Lu Li didn¡¯t make any changes to his equipment as any upgrade would have been insignificant.


    Additionally, Lu Li and Moonlight also opened up an arena and gave the slightly jittery March Rain some extra training.


    They dealt with issues like how to deal with a chasing Hunter or Thief, what skills to use in a time of crisis, how to stall for time and even how to heal her teammates while she was being chased down.


    Teaching her all of this wasn¡¯t unrealistic. This was expected of a top-level PVP Priest.


    In order to ensure that March Rain was familiar with each profession that she would face in the top 16, Moonlight found friends from each profession to spar with her.


    These were all friends that he had met in battle, so their technique was quite good. Most of them weren¡¯t his close friends, but this was a small matter. Moreover, it was likely that they were interested in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group as well.


    The topic they were currently dealing with was how to deal with a Mage¡¯s attacks.


    To train March Rain, they had invited a skilled, level 24 Mage.


    March Rain would try to protect herself while also burning the Mage¡¯s mana. She would also occasionally stand near Lu Li and heal him.


    The result of each spar wasn¡¯t particularly exciting.


    Priests didn¡¯t have much attack strength and March Rain was entirely focused on healing. No matter how good she was, there was no way she would defeat these elite players who frequented the Warsong Canyon.


    A regular person being abused by professionals like this would have quit a long time ago.


    Moreover, you also had to consider the mental capacity of the player. To lose so often and in so many different ways could have a significant impact on their confidence.


    Lu Li was concerned about this at first, but his concerns were quickly dispelled.


    This little girl might have lacked experience, but she had an excellent learning ability and had a great mental fortitude.


    She didn¡¯t get frustrated, even after all these losses.


    "When facing a magic profession, you don¡¯t need to keep increasing the distance between you. Doing that is just a waste of time. You need to consider the position of your teammate and try your best to stay near them. That way, you can most effectively help each other." Lu Li hadn¡¯t invited a Priest expert, so he had to rely on his own guidance. Fortunately, he had read a lot of strategy, so he had a good grasp on the theory.


    "Mm," March Rain grunted in response and started to circle around.


    First, she familiarized herself with each profession¡¯s skills, techniques and responses. Then, she learned the different ways that each profession would fit into a composition.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t let Moonlight¡¯s friends come here at their own expense; he gave them 20 gold coins each for repair costs. In reality, durability consumption was quite low in the arena, so it was really a reward that added up to be around 2000 dollars.

 307 An Alliance With Square Root 3

    While they were teaching March Rain how to burn a Paladin¡¯s mana, Lu Li¡¯s communication device rang.


    He delegated his position to another Thief and relieved himself.


    Lu Li¡¯s individual strength was too great anyway; these last-minute sparring partners couldn¡¯t withstand his explosive attacks. March Rain also found that they were applying less pressure, which was quite different from the special training that they had.


    The training benefits would be much more effective if they changed to a regular Thief instead.


    As Lu Li sat in the seats, he noticed that Square Root 3 had sent a message.


    Lu Li had recently sent a message to invite him for a chat, but he didn¡¯t think that he would get a response this quickly.


    "Where are you? I¡¯ll find you."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t elaborate much further, but he did quickly mention the topic of their discussion. The fact that Square Root 3 was willing to come to Lu Li meant that he regarded this conversation with importance.


    "The Arena"


    Lu Li gave him the arena number and the password. Soon, Square Root 3 arrived.


    "You guys are¡­" Square Root 3 was a little surprised to see Lu Li sitting on the seats while two three-person teams were fighting on stage.


    "Some extra training ¨C our Priest is still a little inconsistent." Lu Li didn¡¯t mind exposing their weakness.


    "She might be inconsistent, but she shows a lot of promise. In the last few games, she has improved the most." Square Root 3 sat down next to Lu Li and appreciatively praised March Rain.


    "So, you have been paying attention to us. Square Bro, tell me whether you want to take up the offer." Lu Li got straight to the point. He didn¡¯t have any negotiating skills, nor did he have time to waste.


    Being straightforward was the style of the poor.


    Of course, some people also thought that this was the style of an overlord.


    "Haha, I had planned to take a good rest. I¡¯ve been a guild manager for 5 years; it¡¯s quite tiring".


    Square Root 3 was beating around the bush. He hadn¡¯t accepted, but he hadn¡¯t directly rejected either.


    "I caused the Star Moon Guild to be eliminated. Shouldn¡¯t you hate me?" Lu Li asked tentatively.


    Lu Li was worried that he had undermined Square Root 3¡¯s work. Even if he wasn¡¯t hated, he had still put him in a difficult position. It was impossible for him to imagine that he had gained his respect with what was basically a verbal slap.


    "I hated you a little at first, but the affairs within Star Moon got too complicated and I started to hate the guild more," Square Root 3 admitted sadly.


    "Actually, when I first joined Star Moon, it was for the helmet. I had thoughts of helping the guild grow, but Richy Rich was just too much and the President was too apathetic¡­" Lu Li spoke so genuinely that even he almost believed it.


    "I understand," Square Root 3 said as he patted Lu Li¡¯s shoulder. "That¡¯s why I left as well."


    The initial barrier between them had instantly disappeared like smoke.


    "You did the right thing; everyone knows that. It¡¯s just too bad that the Star Moon Guild has changed and is no longer a suitable place for players with ambition. It was good that you left because we can start anew. We don¡¯t need five years; we could probably overtake them in one or two. We might even win a championship in the process." Lu Li didn¡¯t speak particularly passionately, but his words were still persuasive.


    He didn¡¯t shy away from saying what was on his mind.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s funds couldn¡¯t be compared to the Star Moon Guild. Their number of members couldn¡¯t be compared either. However, he assured Square Root 3 that their growth would be far superior ¨C they had even made it into the top 16.


    The fact that Star Moon Guild found difficulty in getting into the top 100 was ironic.


    "You make the championship sound like a game."


    Square Root 3 wanted to make fun of Lu Li for overestimating his abilities, but he thought better and swallowed his words.


    "We plan on starting a club and a guild. We don¡¯t have much money at the moment, but we should be able to pay for half of it for now. We just need a guild president, but we recognize that this role should be given to a professional," Lu Li said as he stretched out his hand.


    Square Root 3 stared at Lu Li¡¯s hand before looking up at his face.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what this meant, but he could only steel himself and keep his hand stretched.


    After quite some time, Square Root 3 lifted his hand and held Lu Li¡¯s.


    "Even if it is another five years, I won¡¯t be 30 yet. I¡¯ll play."


    Lu Li shook his head and tried not to laugh; these words were truly a little disheartening.


    "You definitely won¡¯t be wasting five years. We are already in the top 16. Soon, we will make it into the quarterfinals, then the semifinals and then the finals. Even if we don¡¯t win, the players will remember us.


    "I hope these aren¡¯t empty promises," Square Root 3 nodded before finally relaxing.


    "You¡¯ll be getting 5% of the club¡¯s shares and become the guild president. You can develop the guild however you want; we will only give you advice."


    Lu Li told him the system that he and Wandering had discussed in an attempt to shock him.


    5% shares and his salary amounted to over a million dollars a year.


    This assumed that they would make it into the top 100 every year, but it would be better if they could get even further. The better the achievements of the club, the bigger his bonuses would be.


    However, Square Root 3¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change; he didn¡¯t seem particularly interested in the money.


    He listened to Lu Li describe how they were going to develop the club while watching March Rain work up a sweat on stage.


    "The guild will need to recruit new players. The salary and other perks will need to be good; they should at least be better than an average guild," Square Root 3 reminded as he slowly entered his role.


    "Relax. We had planned to give out some shares as reward to guild members as well," Lu Li explained.


    These shares were coming from his portion, so he had every right to do this. Wandering had been speechless towards this kind of generosity.


    In reality, it wasn¡¯t that Lu Li was naturally generous, but rather that he was lacking in charisma. As such, there was no way he could recruit players who would do work for him without pay.


    He couldn¡¯t ask a horse to gallop but not let it eat, so he had to give out some benefits.


    "I won¡¯t intrude in the affairs of the club, but there is one thing I feel I should know. What will my contributions go towards?" Square Root 3 asked quietly.


    "Of course."


    Lu Li then explained the club¡¯s future structure to him.


    Square Root 3¡¯s brow wrinkled when he thought about the risks of trusting a mere Mercenary Group. However, his worries were dispelled when he realized that these players had gotten First Clears and were on the top of the rankings.


    The guild was going to be his domain while the club was going to be the Boss¡¯ private domain. He could do as he pleased with it.


    As long as it led to growth.


    After the training, Lu Li bought Square Root 3 to be acquainted with everyone. Soon, the Mercenary Group would be history and a new guild and club would emerge.


    Then, Square Root 3, Wandering and Lu Li discussed the construction of the guild.


    Clubs were dependent on fame and performance in competitions. Lu Li had this covered and it could be easily developed over time. However, the guild wouldn¡¯t necessarily grow, no matter how famous it got.


    Elite groups needed to be set up and tasked with clearing Instance Dungeons.


    Rare materials, equipment and skill books needed to be transferred to the club to sustain them. At the very least, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t need to buy skill books at such exorbitant prices again.


    Of course, there was still one important question. What kind of name should the guild have, so that it would at least give off an air of grandeur?

 308 Everyone Celebrating The Mid-Autumn Festival

    The Mid-Autumn events were primarily celebratory, so there wasn¡¯t much fighting involved.


    On this day, during the Shadow Cup break, the city was filled with bright colors which really gave off a air of festivity.


    In real life, such celebrations had long since been outdated. The old people would sit in their homes, young people would go to work and the children would attend school. Family reunions were now just talk and even the wide varieties of moon cake weren¡¯t enough to entice people anymore.


    However, some players who had thought that the Mid-Autumn Festival had lost its charm had their minds changed by Dawn¡¯s activities.


    In the game world, there were shrines in every city and an old, grey-haired man worshiping the ancestors. There were also ancient scholars writing with traditional Chinese ink. Players didn¡¯t need to travel far ¨C all they needed to do was get a 3000-dollar helmet. Then, they would be able to enjoy the full moon with their friends and family.


    The game had also arranged for players to be able to watch the high tide. They had even recreated the grand view of the Jiang Zhe Region under the glistening moonlight.


    Here, players couldn¡¯t even properly distinguish between what was real and what was virtual.


    Everything felt so real. There was a noisy crowd, a surging tide and the bright moon above it all.


    Even if you wanted to experience the Hu Guang region lanterns, the game company had also fully accounted for that. They had created and hung them all for the players, and it didn¡¯t even cost a single copper coin to experience.


    The game was celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival on a large scale to reproduce the grandness of traditional culture. Other culture groups naturally didn¡¯t want to be left behind. As such, led by the Minister of Culture, various civil groups had launched various activities in response to this.


    They held a trivia session which included knowledge of both the traditional and contemporary aspects of the culture. A variety of puzzles were also written on lanterns and hung up.


    As the game company attached a great amount of importance to this, players who correctly solved the puzzles would receive a small amount of coins.


    However, this small amount was not be underestimated. Statisticians calculated the total amount to be almost a million gold coins by the end of the day.


    It was said that a 14 year old girl had gone around guessing the answers without really caring about whether she got them right. After the game company had rewarded her, she had received over 1600 gold, which equated to $100,000.


    Additionally, there was also the burning tower, pounding moon cakes, duck hunting, sesame cake, honey cake, sacrificing to the God of the land, re-enacting dramas, traditional dancing and so on.


    As long as someone applied to the game company with evidence that it was a real event, Dawn¡¯s enormous design team would quickly make it happen in game.


    However, the most important thing was that everything was free!


    Even if you wanted to see the four ancient legendary beauties dance, it could be done for you.


    In order to promote the game as a whole, the game company had put a great amount of effort into this event.


    The Mid-Autumn Festival was the first holiday Dawn had observed and it was a significant milestone.


    Previous games had celebrated festivals too, but their rewards weren¡¯t as good and their events were all based around the players. Their intention was to foster the loyalty of those players.


    On the other hand, Dawn¡¯s version of the Mid-Autumn Festival did not only target players, but also managed to attract a large number of non-players.


    Why would a painter who had been painstakingly painting all day play some virtual game? Why would a professor standing in an auditorium lie in bed with this game helmet?


    Of course they wouldn¡¯t!


    But Dawn managed to do it. People as old as 80 and as young as 3 all joined the game and found their own ways of having fun.


    The painter went around collecting cultural material from historic sites and was dazzled by all the different styles.


    If they were to travel to these sites in real life, they would need to consider accommodation and transport, which would cost tens of thousands of dollars. Moreover, they might not even get the inspiration they wanted, especially given the pollution.


    However, in the game, only a one-gold-coin transfer fee was required to travel wherever they wanted.


    Dawn had a formidable design team that had been acquired from various industries. They had incredibly imaginative people who were familiar with every country, religion, school of thought and folk song. Together, they created a world which was even more realistic than the real world.


    The painter noticed that the beauty here was unlike that in real life; this was something that only virtual technology could do.


    Even those who were so old that they couldn¡¯t move had found a place in Dawn.


    Others had even tried to negotiate with the game, requesting that the game construct some traditional buildings to become a college of culture, where players could attend if they were interested.


    A young mother who was raising a child had to find online work to sustain their livelihoods.


    She had given her child a helmet and allowed him to play happily in the game¡¯s playgrounds. It was safe here and the system was far better than some aunties or nurseries.


    The residential areas were spacious and many goods from real life were on display in the shops.


    There were also beautiful houses here with fragrant flowers. These didn¡¯t cost $60,000 or even $30,000. With a few thousand dollars, you could have your own house. With a little bit more, you could even have your own estate.


    Now that virtual technology had been around for almost 200 years, the safety of the helmets was no longer in doubt and the game was constantly being optimized.


    Although you couldn¡¯t really live in the game, there wasn¡¯t any reason why you couldn¡¯t work, travel and enjoy everything in it.


    In short, Dawn took advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival to show everyone the possibilities of this infinite world.


    The era of a universal game was truly upon them.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t spend all his time at the arena either. After completing the training with March Rain, they disbanded the party.


    He then brought Lu Xin to enjoy the festive atmosphere.


    At that moment, Lu Li wasn¡¯t a gaming expert. He was a brother taking his happy and curious sister out to enjoy the variety of holiday festivities, just like the other ordinary people.


    "Big bro, do I look good in this?" Lu Xin was wearing the ethnic clothing of the Dai people and her face was flushed with excitement.


    "You look really good." Lu Li knew his sister was beautiful, so his words of praise reflected exactly how he felt.


    "Can we get it? Can we?" Lu Xin was shaking her brother¡¯s arm and her eyes were pleading. The aunt at the stall had said that the clothes could be delivered free of charge.


    "This¡­" Lu Li deliberately looked like he was contemplating it deeply.


    "Big bro¡­" The spoiled Lu Xin was already infatuated with the item.


    "Young man, you can¡¯t be so mean to the little girl. My clothes are of a good quality and are made of the finest fabrics. It¡¯s not even that expensive; it¡¯s only 100 dollars. You should get it for her."


    "Alright, we¡¯ll get it." Lu Li rubbed his sister¡¯s hair with a helpless look on his face.

 309 Name of the Guild

    A hundred dollars was only equivalent to one gold coin; there was no way Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it given his current status.


    Based on how much he cared about Lu Xin, he wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to pay ten thousand dollars, let alone a small sum of one hundred dollars. As long as Lu Xin truly liked it, he didn¡¯t mind at all.


    He was only making a show because he enjoyed the admiration from his sister.


    At the same time, Lu Xin enjoyed the look on her brother¡¯s face, the look that told her he couldn¡¯t turn down her request. When they were still poor, she wouldn¡¯t even bring herself to ask for a piece of clothing that was only ten dollars.


    Lu Li paid the money and Lu Xin put on her new stylish clothing that revealed a tiny bit of her white tummy. A head-piece, which had also been bought by Lu Li, rested on her forehead. There she stood ¨C a fifteen-year-old girl that looked clean and cute, but exuded an innocent charm.


    "Bro, I want Mooncakes!"


    "Can you buy..."


    "Bro, I want to buy a festive lantern!"


    "Can you get me that..."


    "Bro, look at that guy dancing over there! He¡¯s so cool! There¡¯s a big basket on his head too."


    "What part of him is cool? Don¡¯t look at him. I wonder which race he¡¯s from; he¡¯s not even wearing a top. If it wasn¡¯t for today¡¯s celebration, I¡¯d definitely kill him until he can¡¯t play this game anymore."


    "You¡¯re just jealous. There¡¯s no way you¡¯re not jealous."


    "Nonsense. You¡¯re too young to even understand what the word ¡®jealous¡¯ means. I¡¯ll take you to the shores; you haven¡¯t seen the tides, right? They¡¯re very beautiful..."


    This was a personal time that belonged to the siblings. Lu Li blocked all the channels and even blocked his communicator.


    Lu Xin felt like she had never been this happy before. She already had an inkling that her sickness was very severe and knew that a lot of money would be involved in the treatment. She didn¡¯t want to be her brother¡¯s burden, but from another perspective, Lu Li had earned a lot of money through this game.


    From the bottom of her heart, she thanked and loved Dawn.


    On the other hand, Lu Li knew that he had been neglecting her sister for too long, so he was trying his best to make it up to her.


    The guild was in preparation and he was the actual leader, so there was a lot that he had to worry about.


    "Where¡¯s Lu Li?" Square Root 3 paced around anxiously in the temporary station of the guild.


    "He blocked his messages." Azure Sea Breeze was hammering the shield that he held onto. He had made up his mind to forge his own shield and not use the one that Lu Li had made for him. He simply had way too much time on his hands.


    "Right. We should discuss the contract for club players with him."


    Square Root 3 gave Azure Sea Breeze a wishful look and hoped to receive an actual answer from him.


    "Don¡¯t look at me like that; I¡¯m honestly not gay," Azure Sea Breeze teased. He always enjoyed annoying others.


    "Gosh, what¡¯s with these people?" Originally, Square Root 3 had a lot of respect for Azure Sea Breeze. After all, he was the legendary number one tank who had participated in every single one of Lu Li¡¯s First Clears.


    After he had actually come into contact with these people, he realized that things were far from his imagination.


    Although Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were both adorable, one was dorky and the other was simply dumb. It was pointless to expect any kind of constructive feedback from them.


    When Square Root 3 asked about their opinion on the guild name, they batted their watery eyes and asked innocently if they could name the guild Pikachu.


    Fly, Pikachu!


    Square Root 3 was close to sending them flying too.


    Sakura Memories returned to leveling up. She had made up her mind that she was going to reach the top of the Level Rankings and had no interest in anything else besides this.


    Why was such a beautiful girl so dedicated to becoming a gaming master?


    Sesame Rice Ball looked timid and seemed as if he was ready to give everything to prove his enthusiasm to Square Root 3. Unfortunately, he was unable to provide any useful feedback. It seemed like he didn¡¯t know much outside of gaming.


    Lonesome Flower gave him a cool side-glance, before he dragged his sister out.


    Moonlight went out to drink with his friends and clearly expressed before he left that Square Root 3 could make the decisions for the guild. If there was anyone that Square Root 3 didn¡¯t like and wanted dead, he would gladly take up the task.


    Wandering was fixated on his little mirror, enchanted by his own looks. Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t work up the courage to disturb him.


    Azure Sea Breeze seemed normal, but that was about it.


    This guy was always glued together with Wandering and had even taken their share of the club together. Apparently, they also lived together in real life. He was a perfect fit for Square Root 3¡¯s definition of a homosexual.


    "Didn¡¯t Lonesome Flower take March Rain to see the festive lantern? It¡¯s probably the same for Lu Li. These people with sisters... Big three, do you have any sisters?" Azure Sea Breeze was rather envious.


    Lu Li addressed Square Root 3 as ¡®third brother¡¯, so Sesame Rice Ball and the others also did the same.


    However, Wandering and Azure Sea Breeze felt like this wasn¡¯t friendly enough, so just like Moonlight, they called him big three. This seemed more brotherly to them.


    Square Root 3 didn¡¯t get angry. Richy Rich used to call him big three as well, however, he did so with a demanding tone. On the other hand, these two honestly treated him as one of them.


    "I don¡¯t have a sister," Square Root 3 said as his expression darkened.


    "That¡¯s a shame. If only I had a sister too¡­" Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t on the club contract at all. Every time something like this happened, he always wished that he had a sister to look after too.


    "Where can I find Lu Li?" Square Root 3 asked weakly. He wasn¡¯t very hopeful of receiving a response.


    "Don¡¯t bother. There¡¯s no use even if you find him," Azure Sea Breeze replied as he gave him a sympathetic look. "Big three, you should just decide this on your own. As for the ground rules, just make sure the deal is good. After all, we¡¯re the ones getting paid anyway. Lu Li wouldn¡¯t care about it. If you really want someone to discuss this with, you should talk to that self-obsessed guy instead."


    "What did you guys say about me?" Wandering walked over.


    "Let¡¯s talk about the club contract." Square Root 3 could only place his hopes in this beautiful guy who seemed very unreliable.


    What were the chances of a guy who looked like this being reliable at all?


    Surprisingly, when serious business was involved, it was actually Wandering who was the most reliable. He nodded his head and said, "This is something that needs to be considered indeed. What plans do you currently have in mind?"


    Club members had to sign contracts, but for the average members, it wouldn¡¯t be so strict. However, the main team members and celebrity players would have more rules to follow.


    For example, Sesame Rice Ball was a main team member for PVP and could also be counted as an outer member of the club. After he signed the club contract, he would be able to receive a fairly decent salary.


    Of course, if he breached the contract, he would also take more responsibility. Just the compensation fee alone would be quite a sum.


    The contract for celebrity players would include even more rules. It would stress the contract date, the authority and responsibility between both parties, and would also include the profit shares and rewards.


    Most importantly, because they had received such high treatment, they would also be required to pay more compensation if they breached the contract.


    In poaching a celebrity player from another club, the compensation fee alone would start from millions of dollars. During the current season, Hot Twitch had switched from Peacetime Dynasty to Brotherhood club, which costed 2.6 million dollars. There was also another signing bonus on top of this; it was truly a huge sum.


    In order for Brotherhood to steal an expert, they had spent about a year¡¯s worth of their profits.


    This was how the clubs were managed at the moment. They did their best to create celebrity players and made them valuable. In order to not let their investments go to waste, a huge sum of compensation was a necessity.


    Wandering also understood this. After some discussion, they quickly reached a conclusion.


    "Shouldn¡¯t we discuss this with Lu Li too?" Square Root 3 didn¡¯t think that this was the right thing to do. He didn¡¯t feel like he had enough authority to do this.


    "It doesn¡¯t really matter," Wandering said carelessly. "He wouldn¡¯t really mind. Instead of participating in guild management, he would much rather do dungeons or go on all kinds of adventures in the game. As long as there are no problems with the overall direction, you¡¯re free to make your own decisions."

 310 Battle Against Azure Guard

    Although Wandering hadn¡¯t known Lu Li for long, he understood the kind of person that Lu Li was. In his eyes, Lu Li was a gaming genius.


    That¡¯s right, he was a genius before he was a master.


    However, this kind of talent was only demonstrated in the game. Outside of gaming, or rather, outside of dungeons, PVP and quest adventures, he was still quite immature and a very idealistic person.


    As such, he was sure that Lu Li wouldn¡¯t step into this decision making.


    Just like Azure Sea Breeze had previously said, Lu Li didn¡¯t complain about anything after he returned.


    Square Root 3 felt a little dazed; his time at Star Moon Union had never been easy. Ao Jian was someone with a big dream, but lacked talent. He wanted to manage everything, but in reality, he didn¡¯t have the ability to manage anything at all. Richy Rich, on the other hand, had no inhibitions and did whatever he felt like. Square Root 3 spent most of his time cleaning up the mess that these two had made.


    He was thankful that Lu Li had entrusted everything into his hands, but at the same time, it wasn¡¯t something that he was used to.


    Square Root 3 honestly didn¡¯t know what he could say; this was a great feeling. Usually, unless you started your own business, it was very hard to find a boss who would give you so much authority.


    He had thought about starting his own business before and realized that he would have no problem earning an average wage for himself with his ability. However, it would be impossible for him to reach the top in the gaming industry because he didn¡¯t have any experts who could make it into the top hundred matches or even the finals.


    Lu Li and the others were different.


    This small team of ten had already made it to the round of 16.


    On Tuesday, the round of 16 would commence.


    The rules at this stage of the competition were very simple. The sixteen teams would be randomly matched against each other, with the victor earning a ticket to the quarterfinals. A total of eight teams would be selected for this while the other eight losers would be eliminated.


    The sixteen teams that participated in this stage of the match had all gone through rounds and rounds of elimination. There were no weak teams among them.


    Who didn¡¯t want to watch some matches between strong teams?


    The game company opened up more seats for the audience and millions of people spectating became a new reality. At this point in time, without taking the actual matches of the competition into account, the tickets became extremely hard to obtain.


    "Azure Guard? This is getting interesting," Lu Li said as he glanced at the system announcement. Their opponent today was Azure Guard, a guild ranked number 6 on the guild rankings.


    The opposing team included three celebrity players ¨C Magic Cry, Stellar Union Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis. This was a standard combination of Thief, Mage and Priest.


    During the top 100 matches, Azure Guard had run into multiple strong opponents, such as Glory Capital, Blood Red War Flag and Stellar Union. However, with their combined strength, they had still made it to the round of 16.


    Although the team had lost to Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag, no one laughed at them because they put up a good fight.


    No one dared to insult the strength of a strong team that had been around for so long.


    "Thief, Mage and a Priest. You go." Moonlight wasn¡¯t so careless this time.


    They were so close to top, and no one would want to lose the competition by being careless. He was a Warrior, so if he matched up against Floral Paralysis, he had a better chance of winning. However, if the opposing team sent out Magic Cry, he would be countered.


    Warriors had poor mobility in general, so it would be extremely hard to play against an Ice Mage.


    After he lost to Lone Smoker Long, Moonlight recognized his weakness in this area, but this wouldn¡¯t be a problem if Lu Li was sent out.


    Lu Li went on stage and unsurprisingly, the other team sent out Magic Cry.


    Magic Cry was a very skilled player with a strong foundation. He had been well-known for three to four years and was a celebrity player with real strength.


    There was no advantage for either the Thief or Mage in this matchup. These two classes had always been at the center of a long-lasting debate; even the experts couldn¡¯t exactly say which class was better.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t try anything fancy; he went into stealth mode and approached slowly, choosing the best timing and position to attack.


    Either way, he aimed to kill the opponent by brutal force.


    If Frost Nova was casted, Lu Li would use Vanish.


    As soon as Magic Cry flashed away, Lu Li used the special effect on his cape and followed him closely like a shadow.


    Magic Cry was level 24 and his gear was nowhere near as good as Lu Li¡¯s. Even though he made many great plays, he still lost the single match.


    When he fell down, Lu Li still had half of his health bar left.


    In the group match, it was a Warrior, Thief and Priest team against a Thief, Mage and Priest team.


    Lu Li and Floral Paralysis had vastly different play styles. Floral Paralysis was known as the dirtiest Thief in Dawn and had more life-saving skills than Lu Li, however, his attacks weren¡¯t nearly as vicious.


    Although Magic Cry¡¯s gear wasn¡¯t as great as Moonlight¡¯s, with his class-advantage and some good plays, he still had a chance to win against him.


    Recently, March Rain had made significant improvements, but she was still not as good as Stellar Union Silver Radiant.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant was the best Priest healer in terms of technique.


    Strength wise, the Azure Guard team was about the same as Lu Li¡¯s team.


    The key to victory was strategy and perhaps, a bit of luck.


    An example of this would be right now ¨C Stellar Union Silver Radiant detected Lu Li as he approached and subtly signaled to his teammates to sneak up on him.


    Gale Steps!


    Lu Li was forced to use his one of his ultimate skills to save his life.


    There was a good chance that Stellar Union Silver Radiant had obtained a new piece of detection equipment. Otherwise, there was no way Lu Li that could have been discovered so easily ¨C he had two pieces of stealth equipment.


    As soon as March Rain topped up Lu Li¡¯s health bar, Moonlight, who was fighting for time on the other side began running for his life as he was focused down.


    Luckily, he had learned a new skill ¨C Battle Cry, which was a crowd-control skill that allowed him to fear enemy players around him. Magic Cry dodged the spell but Floral Paralysis was caught in the skill range since he was a close-combat class.


    The battle was a total mess.


    They were in a disadvantage and Lu Li had to join the fight to take some pressure off Moonlight.


    Using Ambush to charge towards Magic Cry, Lu Li aimed his attacks at the Mage so that he wouldn¡¯t have time to bring down Moonlight¡¯s health bar.


    However, Magic Cry wasn¡¯t a weak player; he blew out a Cone of Cold just in time, as if Lu Li had run into the cone himself.


    Cone of Cold reduced Lu Li¡¯s movement speed and Magic Cry took the chance to flash away from him.


    On the other side, Floral Paralysis lived up to his name as the dirtiest Thief player, activating Shadow Cloak to dispel the fear effect and disappearing on the spot.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t worry too much about Floral Paralysis. Instead, he activated the special effect on his cloak to hunt down Magic Cry!


    Moonlight received some healing from March Rain, so he also turned around to aim for the Mage.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant had great mechanics indeed. Not only was he able to heal Magic Cry, but he even had the spare time to burn March Rain¡¯s mana bar and throw out a few attack skills in between.


    March Rain was under duress from Floral Paralysis¡¯ ghost-like harassment and was barely surviving.


    Both parties were stuck in a situation that was strangely balanced.


    It was a tug of war where neither side had gained or lost any ground.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant was relieved; this was the situation that he was hoping for.


    Due to the difference in levels, it was pretty much impossible for them to burst down Lu Li. If they risked it, there was a good chance that their failure would result as an opportunity for Lu Li¡¯s team.


    Breaking a balanced situation like this would depend on who made a mistake first.


    In Stellar Union Silver Radiant¡¯s eyes, the breakthrough point was March Rain. As someone who was also a Priest, he could tell that March Rain was a complete noob in the competition.


    With the harassment from Floral Paralysis and him constantly burning down her mana bar, the girl wouldn¡¯t last for long.

 311 Round of Sixteen

    "March, come to us!" Moonlight shouted.


    He was unable to kill Magic Cry with Lu Li. Not only did Magic Cry have a lot of magic reduction skills, but there was also a Priest master backing him up.


    Even though he was constantly on the edge of a cliff, he simply couldn¡¯t be killed.


    March Rain was already in extreme danger. If no one protected her, she would either get killed or have all of her mana burned.


    A Priest without mana was no different to a dead Priest.


    Moonlight¡¯s call was a reminder to March Rain. With great difficulty, she began to move towards her team members, as Floral Paralysis, who was chasing after her, had speed-reduction poison smeared on both of his Daggers.


    Both daggers with speed reduction poison? Could this guy get any dirtier?


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant smirked as he ran to block her.


    He was quite a talented player indeed. Not only was he doing multiple things at the same time, he was excelling at everything that he did too. It was entirely because of him that Magic Cry had been able to last for so long.


    March Rain had Stellar Union Silver Radiant blocking her at the front and Floral Paralysis attacking her from behind. There was nowhere for her to run.


    It was impossible to pass through a person in Dawn.


    "March Rain is a beginner in the match grounds. Although she¡¯s been improving significantly, she¡¯s facing Azure Guard today, a team known for not making mistakes. It seems like she still has a long way to go in terms of team-fighting," Dark Wind said in a sympathetic tone.


    Perhaps this was it for Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Although making it into to the top 16 was a fantastic achievement, no one would say no to a higher ranking.


    The analysts, audience, and even her opponents were feeling sorry for March Rain.


    Pretty girls were always popular wherever they went.


    At this very moment, March Rain opened her mouth and raised her head. A black mist shrouded her face as she let out a sharp shriek.


    Soul Shriek!


    Floral Paralysis had been chasing after her the whole time so he was extremely close to her. Stellar Union Silver Radiant had been some distance away before, but he had decided to run over and position himself to block her.


    The results weren¡¯t surprising at all. Both of them were caught in the cast range of the spell.


    Players caught by the spell would run around aimlessly.


    Lu Li and Moonlight seized this opportunity to burst down Magic Cry. Without the healing from Stellar Union Silver Radiant, Magic Cry died in an instant.


    It was now three against two. No matter how hard Stellar Union Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis tried, they would be able to make a comeback.


    Once again, Azure Guard was eliminated in the round of 16.


    It had been like this for an entire decade; luck had never been on their side. They had been denied entry into the finals of every single major competition.


    Even though Stellar Union Silver Radiant was still smiling, anyone could see the sorrow from the corner of his eyes.


    Floral Paralysis, who had always had a smile on his face, seemed rather gloomy as well.


    They weren¡¯t lacking in terms of strength or effort. Perhaps they just needed a bit of good fortune.


    Besides the team from Peacetime Dynasty, their team had the most ¡®aces¡¯ in this season¡¯s Shadow Cup. They had battled hard to reach this point but couldn¡¯t make it any further.


    Even Lu Li felt helpless for them.


    But definitely not now!


    This moment belonged to the Xin Xin Mercenary Group; it belonged to March Rain.


    March Rain¡¯s performance was an absolute classic, great enough to be recorded in the annals of Dawn. As a healer, she had used an unexpected Soul Shriek and decided the outcome for a round of 16 match.


    It would only be a matter of time before the media spread her fame.


    There was definitely a place for her among the celebrity players.


    After she left the match ground, exhaustion, fear and a multitude of other strange feelings all rushed to her at once. The gentle March Rain fell into her brother¡¯s arms in emotional tears.


    Lonesome Flower couldn¡¯t maintain his usual cold expression either; he felt helpless and heartbroken as well.


    All he could do was give his sister a warm and safe arm to run into, but this was all that she needed.


    The media swarmed in to ask for an interview, but was turned down by all three team members.


    After the match finished, it was theoretically time to have a good rest.


    However, Square Root 3 organized for everyone to go and level up, explaining that this was standard procedure for most teams. It was not the time to relax yet; they had to remain on guard.


    Hence, everyone in Xin Xin Mercenary Group congregated in a level 25 zone to kill monsters for an entire day.


    They harvested a decent amount of experience and a bounty of Mooncake Boxes.


    In the afternoon, the results for the round of 16 came out.


    Following the elimination of Azure Guard, Drizzle Court had prevailed against Wings of Dawn, who were also eliminated from the competition.


    In the single match, Elevenless, who was level 25, was defeated by Deadly Green Orange, the beautiful level 24 Mage from Drizzle Court. In the group match, Faker than Wind (the Paladin Healer) made a few mistakes and Marks (the Hunter) was then focused down. As such, they were defeated.


    The next match was between Blood Red War Flag and Stellar Union.


    Even though Twilight won the single match, they lost the group match.The Stellar Union team was eliminated in the round of 16, which was worse than their performance last year.


    Majin Temple and Stellar Union shared a similar fate. In the single match, Unforgettable Maple had defeated A Straw in the Wind from Gangnam Royals. In the group match, they killed Old Man Power first, who was the opposing Druid healer. However the game was unexpectedly turned around and they ended up losing the match.


    Dancing Star Dream, who was level 25, demonstrated a strength equivalent to the number one Mage.


    The Gangnam Royals were promoted!


    Gale Legion was up against Seventh Heaven. Lucky Southern Persian didn¡¯t pretend to be weak this time, handily defeating Gaze with his class advantage and his top-tier game skills.


    Seventh Heaven also won the group match.


    Peerless City had a tough battle against Purple Lunar Paradise. It was a match that pitted two top-tier Warriors against each other.


    Deadly Golden Underwear and Dark Destroyer were both on the same level as Moonlight and Gaze.


    They were equal in terms of skill so it proved to be a very intense battle.


    Dark Destroyer fell down first, but Deadly Golden Underwear died three seconds after defeating his opponent.


    He only had 26 health points remaining when Dark Destroyer left a bleed debuff on him. The analyst suggested that if Dark Destroyer had critically struck one more time, the outcome would have been completely different.


    Luck was also a part of one¡¯s strength, so no one mentioned anything against Deadly Golden Underwear.


    In this match, Peerless City was promoted.


    Gods of Dusk were only ranked thirtieth. As such, it was peculiar occurrence for them to have made it into the round of 16. They stood out like a sore thumb from the others.


    However, they had defeated Brotherhood, who were ranked at number 13.


    The slow but steady attacks from Wood Fearing supported the team to the quarter-finals.


    It was reasonable for him to be regarded as one of the seven great Thieves and to be as well-known as Blood Dagger.


    The final match was between Glory Capital and Kingdom Eternity. There was nothing special about this match, which was referred to as the worst match of the round of 16.


    The two top Thieves, Midnight Ghost and Blood Dagger, fought each other, but when Midnight Ghost died, Blood Dagger still had three quarters of his health left. The crowd was unimpressed; they felt like he didn¡¯t deserve the title of one of the seven great Thieves.


    As for the group match, it was needless to say that Blood Dagger, along with Sorrowless, wrecked the other team completely.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group, Drizzle Court, Blood Red War Flag, Gangnam Royals, Seventh Heaven, Peerless City, Gods of Dusk and Glory Capital were the teams that had made it into the Quarter-finals this season. They were all teams from big guilds.


    Apart from¡­


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group!

 312 Gangnam Royals

    Not only had they taken over the dungeons, but they had also participated in the competition for the professionals and had even made it to the quarter-finals.


    This wasn¡¯t a common case and the entire game industry had been giving them a lot of attention.


    ¡®Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯, a name that almost seemed like a joke, was now being mentioned by everyone.


    Whether these people talked from a envious or admiring perspective, there was one truth that remained ¨C this was a new force that had risen.


    They were vastly different from Peerless City, the force that had risen three years ago. Peerless City had received a huge sum of investment at the start and the tempting profits had attracted thousands of people to join them. A huge sum was also spent on poaching professional players from other clubs. They had bought their way into the company of the gaming elite.


    As for Xin Xin Mercenary Group, they had started with nothing ¨C no resources and no people. Even the three competitors from the group had seemed to pop out from nowhere.


    They didn¡¯t even have a guild!


    They were definitely a strange existence.


    People were surprised, but they definitely weren¡¯t impressed. At least, the professional gamers weren¡¯t in the mood to praise them.


    If a team of random players had been able to make it into the semi-finals, the high-end clubs that had spent millions of dollars would definitely be brought to shame.


    Luckily, some news had been released.


    Square Root 3, a previous member of Star Moon Union, had agreed to form a union with the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. He claimed that the group had already accomplished its mission and would be replaced by a new guild and club.


    The new guild was in preparation, while the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would keep its membership of ten and remain over the long-term.


    After the average players received this news, they were filled with excitement. A lot of them were paying attention for updates and hoped to join Lu Li¡¯s new guild at the beginning to earn themselves a decent position.


    Quick hands were necessary, otherwise, nothing would be left for them. This was a common phenomenon in the gaming industry.


    Gaming was definitely a passionate affair, but friendship was an important element.


    No matter what happened in the future, those who joined the guild first wouldn¡¯t be treated poorly.


    However, it was the executives from the other big guilds that paid the most attention to this event.


    They had mixed feelings towards this ¨C it was extremely painful, but strangely satisfying.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had always been a worry for them, but the executives of the big guilds comforted themselves with the following reasoning ¨C these people were little in numbers and wouldn¡¯t be able to do much. But once a guild was formed, their fame and resources would only increase and they would eventually become a threatening competitor.


    Despite this, they were also relieved by the fact that the Xin Xin Mercenary Group finally formed a guild.


    It was better to be on par with another guild than to be on par with a mercenary group of eleven people.


    Now everyone was on the same level. Whether they got another first kill or won in the competition, the other average players wouldn¡¯t have to be surprised and amazed anymore.


    At the same time, this attitude clearly displayed the fear that was implanted in everyone¡¯s minds by Lu Li.


    The guild leaders of the major guilds had all discussed and reached a conclusion in private. After the Xin Xin Mercenary Group established a guild, everyone would send them some blessings or gifts, in case they changed their minds about it.


    Wednesday, quarter-finals!


    The first match was the Gangnam Royals against Seventh Heaven.


    The Gangnam Royals were recognized as the richest guild in Dawn. They had paid a huge amount to lock down players with great potential from every match season.


    They also spent a lot of time and energy headhunting other experts.


    After Lu Li and the others entered the top 100 matches, many people wanted to poach or invest in them. Gangnam Royals was one of these people.


    However, they weren¡¯t even as generous as the Northern Chinese Power Company. The price they were willing to pay was one million dollars per person each year for Lu Li and his trio.


    Once Lu Li and his team made it into the round of 16, they would then raise the price to two million dollars.


    Wandering couldn¡¯t even be bothered to give their offer the slightest bit of interest.


    The Gangnam Royals had a splendid team consisting of Dancing Star Dream, A Straw in the Wind and Old Man Power. It was a team of strong celebrity players.


    Their opponent was Peerless City.


    Many thought that Peerless City had run out of luck.


    Peerless City was a new force that had risen around two or three years ago. No matter how strong they were, there was no way that they would be able to compete with an ace team from a top club that had 200 years of history.


    Ten years ago, before Glory Capital had risen to its fame, the number one guild was the Gangnam Royals.


    Even now, the Gangnam Royals were still a top-tier guild. While Blood Red War Flag was a strong competitor, they were still placed below the Gangnam Royals.


    The team sent out by Peerless City consisted of Deadly Golden Underwear, Professional Healer and Green Flag Wine.


    Peerless City also had an entire team of celebrity players. Each of them had quickly climbed the ladder to superstardom over the recent years and had their own specialties.


    The two teams sent out their choice for the single match.


    Dancing Star Dream versus...


    Professional Healer!


    Why was it not Green Flag Wine?


    Dancing Star Dream stood on the stage and stared at Professional Healer who stood across from her. Her expression clearly showed that she was unimpressed.


    Peerless City had a very strange combination that consisted of a Warrior, a Priest and a Paladin. Strictly speaking, Priests and Paladins were both healing classes, however, they were still able to deal decent damage.


    Green Flag Wine would be the best single match player for Peerless City.


    The Tire Killer¡¯s playstyle was always a great sight for many. He could tire you out until you lost your health and mana, and even until you lost your temper as well.


    In terms of Peerless City¡¯s single matches, they had never lost when Green Flag Wine was sent out.


    At this point in time, when they were so close to reaching the finals, Green Flag Wine didn¡¯t show up.


    Mages weren¡¯t a strong counter against Paladins, but Dancing Star Dream had his own play style. He was confident enough that he would win against Green Flag Wine.


    Unfortunately, Peerless City had sent out Professional Healer.


    Professional Healer was known to be one of the most shameless players. The reason behind this was his ID, which made it sound as though his focus was on healing. However, in reality, he focused on both healing and attacking.


    He was a player who stuck tight like a piece of gum.


    Family members always shared some similar traits; Professional Healer was also a tire killer!


    What class were Priests scared of?


    They feared Thieves and wild Druids, but they definitely didn¡¯t fear Mages!


    Dancing Star Dream had great skills, but all he could do was to spam them like he was throwing a tantrum.


    Even though he was level 25 Mage against a level 24 Priest, he still couldn¡¯t control the match entirely. He couldn¡¯t kill his opponent and could only watch on as he slowly died to Shadow Word, a skill that dealt a tiny amount of damage.


    In the single match, Professional Healer convincingly won.


    Fans of the Peerless City cheered. This victory belonged to the club, but it was also a victory that belonged to them.


    They didn¡¯t expect Peerless City to win the upcoming group match at all, but they were already very thankful that the team they supported had won the single match.


    However, even if everyone believed that Peerless City would lose, they were still going to put up a fight.


    At this stage of the competition, everyone only wanted to give their best effort.


    Group match ¨C Peerless City against Gangnam Royals.

 313 Blood Bath

    It was a battle between a Thief, Mage, Druid team and a Warrior, Priest, Paladin team.


    The Gangnam Royals wasted no time from the very start of the match because they couldn¡¯t afford their opponents the opportunity to strike first. They were up against two elite players as well as a Warrior who had high damage output.


    Both parties stood face to face almost immediately after the match had started.


    The Thief from A Straw in the Wind¡¯s team had his eyes on Professional Healer, who had just won the individual match. He wanted to prove to the crowd that the Gangnam Royals weren¡¯t afraid of one on one duels.


    He was very confident that he could win the duel if it was a straight up one on one fight against Professional Healer.


    Dancing Star Dream decided to target Professional Healer as well and was determined to make him the first person to be sent out of the arena.


    Professional Healer¡¯s HP fell very quickly because he was being targeted by two damage dealers. Even if he and Green Flag Wine both activated their healing skills, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to sustain the damage since neither of them were healing-centred.


    Deadly Golden Underwear couldn¡¯t do anything except try and kill Old Man Power


    By the time Old Man Power was at 50% HP, Professional Healer was already at critical HP (20%). It was almost certain that he would be taken down before Old Man Power.


    However, at this very moment, Profession Healer screamed and transformed into a pitch-black sphere.


    The damage from A Straw in the Wind and Dancing Star Dream¡¯s attacks had all become single-digit numbers.


    In the midst of the confusion, Green Flag Wine ganged up on Old Man Power with Deadly Golden Underwear.


    Gangnam Royals were about to lose?


    When Old Man Power was defeated, everyone was stunned and speechless.


    A Straw in the Wind and Dancing Star Dream had focused all of their damage onto Professional Healer, only to have him to activate an overpowered escape skill which saved his life and made all their efforts go to waste.


    Even though Professional Healer was low on HP, the fight had become a 3 vs. 2 and it was only a matter of time before the mission would be completed.


    Gangnam Royals had lost!


    Although many people debated the outcome of this fight, it was Professional Healer that singlehandedly carried Peerless City with his patience and ability to remain calm under pressure.


    Peerless City was the first team to enter the semi-finals.


    The second match was between Gods of Dusk and Drizzle Court.


    Although Wood Fearing was only level 24, he proved himself to be the better player with a convincing win over the level 25 Water Fairy who had better gear than him.


    The Thief¡¯s skill opened everyone¡¯s eyes, proving that mechanics and game knowledge triumphed over levels and gear.


    However, in the team battle setting, Wood Fearing was like a fish out of water. Under the relentless double team by Water Fairy and Deadly Green Orange, he was teleported out of the map almost instantly.


    Although they had won the individual match, Gods of Dusk were still eliminated from the tournament.


    Drizzle Court also entered the semi-finals.


    When teams qualified for the Top 100, individual matches provided them bonus points to qualify for the next stage. However, once the quarter-finals began, individual matches no longer provided extra points and instead became featured matches that determined the top players of each profession.


    For example, Water Fairy had lost to Wood Fearing in the individual match. Therefore, many players would most likely vote for Wood Fearing over Water Fairy as the best Thief in the game.


    However, some people would still vote for Water Fairy simply because she was beautiful.


    The next match featured Lu Li¡¯s team against Blood Red War Flag, the 3rd highest-ranking guild in the game.


    This guild contained a high population of retired war veterans and therefore, had a military approach to the game.


    Whether it was true or not, the rumour painted a mysterious image of the Blood Red War Flag.


    For the same reason, Lu Li and his team would not be afraid or discouraged by Blood Red War Flag¡¯s background. Since this was a game, mechanics mattered the most.


    The individual match was between Lu Li and Wild, who was a high-ranking, elite Mage player.


    However, the level 24 Mage was no match against Lu Li and his HP bar was completely depleted after a few minutes.


    Wild the Mage, Jade Flower Lover the Shaman and Wind Town the Paladin made for an all-star line-up.


    However, many of the more experienced players were perplexed with Blood Red War Flag¡¯s team composition. Mage, Shaman and Paladin wasn¡¯t a very advantageous combination. Under the current meta, Warrior, Shaman and Paladin was much better than Mage, Shaman and Paladin.


    Were there no Warriors in Blood Red War Flag?


    This was unlikely, as Blood Red War Flag had a large talent pool of professional players.


    Their passion for the game attracted many young players, which allowed them to foster potential star players.


    After members joined, they continued to stay because of the culture of the guild. It was very rare for a member to leave for another guild. Because of this reputation, Blood Red War Flag was able to poach star-players from other guilds.


    Blood Red War Flag had managed to assemble three teams to contend for the championship.


    They were hoping that all three teams would make the top 16.


    If that had happened, their reputation would grow exponentially and it would only be a matter of time before they overtook Gangnam Royals.


    Unfortunately, the other two teams had already been eliminated. One team suffered chemistry issues while the other was faced with a very tough schedule. Only the team of Mage, Shaman and Paladin had survived and made it to the quarter finals.


    Because they wanted to balance out the strength of each team, they were forced to evenly distribute their members, which ultimately made them weaker.


    March Rain¡¯s Soul Shriek and Moonlight¡¯s Battle Cry crowd-controlled Wind Town and Jade Flower Lover, leaving Wild vulnerable. The three then focused their damage onto Wild to burst him down. He had no choice but to activate his Ice Barrier to make himself invulnerable.


    Lu Li and the others immediately switched targets to Jade Flower Lover.


    As soon as Wild¡¯s invulnerability timed out, he tried to provide Jade Flower Lover with support. However, Lu Li had his eyes on him the whole time; he activated his cape active and appeared behind Wild, ready to abuse him.


    Moonlight rushed back and used Whirlwind.


    Before Wild could beg for his life, he was killed almost instantly under Lu Li¡¯s burst and Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind.


    Blood Red War Flag had lost both the individual match and the team match. The crowd was silent and unimpressed with their team composition as they were over-confident and had overestimated themselves.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had entered the semi-finals! Everyone was wondering how far they could advance in the tournament.


    Lu Li was interviewed after the match because Square Root Three wanted him to have a good relationship with the media.


    No one wanted an awkward relationship with the media because they could ruin your career.


    "Hello Lu Li."


    The reporter was very young and appeared to have recently entered college. She was very polite and careful with her words.


    "Hello." Lu Li looked at her business card and realised she was a reporter from Home of Esports. For the top company in the gaming-media industry, the standards of their reporter were quite low.


    "The Xin Xin Mercenary Group has entered the semi-finals; do you feel the excitement?" The little girl¡¯s smile was very sweet and was typical of a "girl next door".


    Lu Li recalled the time when a stranger asked if he was happy living in the Slum District. At the time, he wanted to reply with "happy my ass."


    However, now that he was on the big stage, he had to watch what he said. Lu Li nodded and replied, "I¡¯m pretty excited. I didn¡¯t think that we would make it this far."


    "I thought your goal was the championship?" the little reported asked, visibly surprised.


    "That¡¯s something I can only imagine," Lu Li laughed.


    "How do you think the Xin Xin Mercenary Group matches up with the other teams that have made it into the semi-finals?" the little report inquired as she read off her notes discreetly.


    "Because we¡¯re a small group, we lack the numbers and resources to compete with bigger guilds," Lu Li responded seriously.


    The reason why he had been able to do so well in the tournament was because of his rebirth.


    All the other top-tier players had only been playing the game for a little over a month. However, Lu Li has been playing for more than 2 years!


    Once they got used to the game and developed more, they would be even more difficult to handle.

 314 The Skill of Sorrowless

    In Lu Li¡¯s past life, during his first month of playing Dawn, he had struggled to find people to clear the Howling Caves with him.


    He was much worse than the average player.


    Being able to take first clears and entering the semi-finals was all because of the experience from his past life. He also greatly appreciated the help from his teammates in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group ¨C without them he would never have made it this far.


    The knowledge and experience from his past life allowed him to easily surpass casual players. However, when facing expert players, he often reminded himself to be humble and not get cocky because the advantage he had didn¡¯t determine everything.


    Lu Li casually answered all of the questions that the reporter from Home of Esports asked, then left to spectate the last match of the day.


    Glory Capital vs. Seventh Heaven.


    Lu Li was very curious about Sorrowless¡¯s current state.


    Sorrowless was very famous in his past life. In fact, he was so famous that he had almost become a legend, similar to Medivh.


    He was so mysterious that the average player would have no idea how strong he actually was.


    Lu Li had only crossed paths with him once in this life.


    This was during the War of Warsong Valley when he had used the Orb of Deception to transform into a Horde player. He then went undercover and assassinated Sorrowless when he was completely unaware.


    Lu Li was able to kill him before cycling through his complete combo.


    He was aware that Sorrowless was only level 18 at the time and stood no chance against an ambush from a level 20 Thief.


    However, Lu Li had honestly been a little disappointed back then.


    He was disappointed because a legend of the gaming community had been killed so easily. Lu Li came to the realization that the player he had admired so much was also a normal human being.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t come across Sorrowless after that particular event. He had only heard rumours about him leading a group of players who were levelling in the wild.


    Then, Sorrowless and his team suddenly appeared in the Shadow Cup and convincingly swept all the opponents that they faced. They hadn¡¯t dropped a single game since entering the top 16 and even appeared to be slightly stronger than Lu Li¡¯s team.


    Lu Li had been up against Water Fairy many more times and was quite confident in defeating Drizzle Court.


    Peerless City had a team composition of a Warrior and two Healers. Thieves naturally countered squishy support classes and as such, they would easily be defeated as well.


    The only team that he was unsure about was Glory Capital. Lu Li was hoping to spectate their game so that he could observe his opponent¡¯s team composition and play-style before going up against them.


    Lu Li was lucky enough to buy a ticket before they were all sold out.


    Apart from Sorrowless and Blood Dagger, Glory Capital also had a priest called White Westhill.


    Most people were quite unfamiliar with the ID "West Whitehill". He was either a new player or an expert that was smurfing on a different account.


    Lu Li had limited about White Westhill from his past life and only knew that he had very good game-mechanics. However, he was a very inconspicuous player and was almost like a shadow within the Glory Capital.


    Lucky Southern Persian, Empty and Hornet¡¯s Nest were all very famous players that most people had heard about.


    Many people spectating were wondering if they could pull off an upset against the legendary Glory Capital.


    Glory Capital¡¯s reputation had been dropping recently because of a couple unlucky events. For example, Blood Dagger and Sorrowless had been killed by the same person on the same day. Perhaps this marked the downfall of Glory Capital after their 10 years of dominance and prosperity.


    ¡®The 10-year curse.¡¯


    This was a common phrase in the gaming community.


    In every game, there was always a strongest and most-dominant guild. However, this period of dominance never lasted for more than 10 years and eventually, they would crumble into nothing.


    Gangnam Royals and other older guilds had all experienced the same curse. Although they often rose and fell, eventually, they would be replaced by other guilds after 3 to 5 years. The fact that Glory Capital had been so dominant over the past 10 years was nothing short of a miracle.


    Before the match, Seventh Heaven performed a war cry to raise their morale.


    Many Elite Players from Seventh Heaven all cheered for their team that was about to enter battle. It was both a challenge and an opportunity for Seventh Heaven ¨C if they were able to defeat Glory Capital in the quarter-finals, they would have a much higher chance at taking the title.


    Even Lucky Southern Persian, who was normally a very easy-going guy that loved to laugh and joke around, was very serious and had a stern expression on his face. Each one of them was determined and their eyes were filled with the desire to win.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest roared and the crowd screamed and cheered for them.


    Individual Match!


    Sorrowless vs¡­.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest!


    Hornet¡¯s Nest had a Hellhound pet which was able to cast Mana Burn and Silence. This could prove to be extremely useful in a close match.


    Sorrowless summoned his pet as well ¨C a Water Elemental.


    Water Elemental had two skills ¨C Frost Bolt and Frost Nova.


    In terms of the pets, Hornet¡¯s Nest had the clear advantage because his one countered Mages. Sorrowless¡¯s Frost Nova was quite useless against Hornet¡¯s Nest because they were both ranged classes. Furthermore, Hornet¡¯s Nest didn¡¯t rely on mobility and positioning as much as other classes.


    The match had begun!


    Sorrowless was very fast and accurate with his skills.


    Lu Li could immediately tell that he had equipped a lot of cooldown reduction gear. The intervals between his skills and the speed of his skill cycle was 20% faster than the average Mage. His armor mostly consisted of level 25 Silver Grade equips.


    Glory Capital had endless funds and resources, so it wasn¡¯t very surprising that Sorrowless was so well-equipped.


    However, Hornet¡¯s Nest was also performing very well. Compared to his last defeat against Lu Li, he had improved greatly in his mechanics, which Lu Li found quite impressive.


    Lu Li had also improved greatly in every aspect of his game as well and was excited that everyone had gotten better along with him.


    "There hasn¡¯t been anything super exciting that has happened yet. Both parties are still trying to test the waters and size each other up. Hornet¡¯s Nest and Sorrowless are both experts in Magic classes and will showcase some of their skills today¡­" the commentator explained.


    Unfortunately, no one was interested in what he was saying because they were all too focused on the fight.


    "Hornet¡¯s Nest is looking to close the distance between Sorrowless and himself. Let¡¯s see what he¡¯s looking to do."


    "It might be scare tactics," the other commentator added.


    "Will he succeed? Ah¡­ too bad. The range on Frost Nova is 8 yards and Hornet¡¯s Nest is frozen. Let¡¯s see how Sorrowless will follow up on this opening."


    "He¡¯s running away and creating distance? How far is he planning on going?"


    "He¡¯s out of his attack range; what is he planning to do?"


    "I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s happening because Sorrowless can¡¯t attack Hornet¡¯s Nest from that distance." The commentator was confused.


    "He¡¯s at least 2 yards outside of his attack range!"


    Two yards did not seem like much, but somehow, this became the key to his success.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was slowed by the Water Elemental¡¯s Frost Bolts and struggled to close the gap between him and Sorrowless.


    He had no choice but to use his speed boost skill, which was similar to Teleport. He instantly closed the distance by 5 yards but was immediately hit by the Water Elemental¡¯s Frost Nova.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was frozen again and Sorrowless casted Teleport to increase the distance.


    Lu Li was troubled because he realised how annoying Sorrowless¡¯s kiting skills were.


    Since the start of the match, Sorrowless hadn¡¯t made any big plays. All he had done was cast Frost Nova and kited Hornet¡¯s Nest from the very start.


    He must have been wearing equips that increased his attack range.


    Sorrowless was wearing level 25 gear with many unorthodox Special Effects. However, most of his gear was likely high-quality and therefore, he had created a very unique playstyle without sacrificing any damage.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was about to lose.


    Even if he had other tricks up his sleeve, things weren¡¯t looking too good for him.

 315 Semifinals

    As Lu Li expected, Sorrowless ultimately won the individual round.


    However, Hornet¡¯s Nest had proven to be quite a strong opponent and the round had taken over 10 minutes. Sorrowless¡¯ tactic also barely won him the match, as he was only left with 30% HP after Hornet¡¯s Nest had fallen.


    "I feel like Sorrowless¡¯ skill has slipped a little. What do you think?" one of the commentators asked the other.


    "I had the opportunity to commentate one of Sorrowless¡¯ games four years ago. Compared to then, he had definitely lost some of his edge. However, that is to be expected ¨C Sorrowless hasn¡¯t participated in a competition for three years," the other commentator explained.


    "Do you think he will ever be able to return to his original form? It¡¯s been three years and he¡¯s only getting older." The commentator was boldly making wild conjectures about this player.


    "We can¡¯t rule out any possibilities, but he could just be feigning weakness," his partner helplessly replied.


    Lu Li, who was among the audience, shook his head. The possibility of him feigning weakness was just too unlikely. When fighting Hornet¡¯s Nest like that, even Lu Li would have had to give it his all unless he wanted to be hopelessly defeated.


    In fact, everyone seemed to have ignored one crucial detail. Sorrowless had only been playing Dawn for a very short time.


    It had barely been a week since Lu Li had killed him.


    Others had at least a month of experience with this game, but he only had a week. Even though he had the level and equipment advantage, it still would have been very difficult to defeat a great expert like Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    His famous reputation truly did live up to the name!


    The group round had now begun.


    One side was composed of a Thief, Mage and Priest, while the other was composed of a Mage, Warlock and Shaman.


    These were very classic compositions. One was a classic all-rounder and the other was a classic Magic-burst composition.


    The fight was really exciting. Empty had all his mana burnt within four minutes of its commencement, so he placed down a mana regeneration totem. However, it was quickly destroyed by Blood Dagger, allowing almost none of his mana to be regenerated.


    Lu Li squinted his eyes to see if Blood Dagger was using the same effect as his cloak, but it appeared to be some kind of fake Shadow Step.


    Without mana and anything to regenerate it, the tide of the match had been turned. Within two minutes, Empty was knocked out which also signaled Seventh Heaven¡¯s elimination from the quarterfinals.


    Now, all of the semifinal teams had been determined.


    Peerless City, Drizzle Court, Xin Xin Mercenary Group and Glory Capital were the four groups to become the Shadow Cup¡¯s semifinalists.


    The next matches would be first be randomly assigned. The two winning teams would then go on to compete for first and second place while the two losing teams would compete for third place.


    Thursday ¨C the semifinals.


    Lu Li had spent all of his free time farming and training. Before the semifinals began, he had reached level 27. March Rain had also managed to level up ¨C Lonesome Flower had coordinated with other players and brought his sister farming whenever he could in the last two days.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t manage to get much EXP, so he was still level 25.


    There were rumors that Blood Dagger had also made it to level 25. Now, Glory Capital had two level 25 players, both of which were the main players.


    Drizzle Court¡¯s Mage, Deadly Green Orange, was also level 25. Lu Li was certain of that.


    The landladies had secretly sold out their guild before they all logged on. Because of her relationship to Lu Xin, Dou Dou was more inclined towards Lu Li than her guild.


    The situation with Peerless City was unclear. There were no guild members in their club, so they did a good job of keeping their secrets.


    Water Fairy sent a message to Lu Li when he logged on, asking what to do if they bumped into each other in the semifinals.


    Lu Li unhesitatingly told her to fight with everything she had.


    At this point, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s glory wasn¡¯t a matter for him to decide. Everyone was now fervently watching the competition and all who had made it this far had gained considerable fame. Everyone hoped that Lu Li and his team would get as far as possible, preferably winning the finals and becoming Dawn¡¯s first champions.


    No one would rather not be a champion.


    The competition had been running for 200 years and countless people had trained through blood, sweat and tears for a chance at victory.


    In a game as universal as Dawn, the championship title was even more significant.


    However, on the other hand, Lu Li could have easily rigged the match. If they ran into the Drizzle Court, he could easily pretend to lose if they were paid some money.


    Of course, this was just a hypothetical.


    Lu Li¡¯s reply was simple. They would leave it up to their skills.


    Water Fairy simply couldn¡¯t figure out how Lu Li could avoid giving her a chance in spite of her beauty.


    The competitors of each match were announced in the World Announcements.


    Everyone had now seen the list.


    Drizzle Court against Glory Capital and the Xin Xin Mercenary Group against Peerless City. Even these opening fights were between powerful contenders.


    Peerless City!


    This three-year-old guild had stepped into the limelight this competitive season.


    Countless people were waiting to see how far they would get, especially against the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    There were millions of people watching this game and each ticket was sold for over 1 hundred thousand gold coins.


    If the Xin Xin Mercenary Group received 10% of that, they would be 10-thousand-gold-coins, or 1-million-dollars-richer!


    The individual round was Lu Li against Green Flag Wine.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but sigh; he wished it was Deadly Gold Underpants.


    Deadly Gold Underpants was a Warrior and theoretically countered Thieves. However, he was Undead, so Lu Li¡¯s Silver Bracer would give 18% bonus damage against him.


    In a sense, Lu Li had an advantage over all the Undead because of this bracer.


    Green Flag Wine was a Blood Elf. Blood Elves and Night Elves were part of the same family and had a lot of history in Dawn¡¯s lore. This caused one of them to ultimately leave and join the Horde. Now, they had a mutual dislike and were hostile towards each other.


    "Lu Li¡¯s situation is unfavorable. The Tire Killer has plate armor and is able to give himself HP."


    This was the joint interpretation of the situation by Zhang Zhen and Dark Wind. They were obviously trying to not favor either side in this duel.


    "But let¡¯s wait and see. Lu Li seems to be able to create miracles," Dark Wind added.


    Meanwhile, in the match, Lu Li was just walking around. He had stunned Green Flag Wine, but didn¡¯t attack him.


    "He appears to be trying to create some psychological pressure," Dark Wind explained. He was an experienced analyst that was able to discern the heart of the matter. Some regular analysts would have just concluded that Lu Li didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Being stunned and waiting for your opponent to attack was not an easy thing to endure.


    However, Green Flag Wine wasn¡¯t a rookie. At least, the big screen close-up of his face didn¡¯t appear to show that he was anxious.


    After 1 minute and 11 seconds, Lu Li finally attacked.


    Premeditation, Cheap Shot and then an immediate Slit Throat!


    He didn¡¯t even wait for 4 combo points, which was full number of points that could be used with an Ultimate Skill. Instead, he just took the opportunity that he had to attack.


    The moment Slit Throat was cast, Green Flag Wine started to move again. He had used some kind of skill that appeared to be from his equipment to remove the stun. He immediately casted Consecration the moment he recovered from the stun.


    There was nothing Lu Li could do but retreat.


    His opponent could heal himself while his HP loss was basically permanent. Even after taking the Bloodstained Badge back from Azure Sea Breeze, he wasn¡¯t able to heal back to full health in such a short period of time.

 316 Even The Tire Killer Is Scared

    Green Flag Wine had to heal himself quite a few times before he could recover the damage that he had taken.


    "It looks like Lu Li¡¯s damage has increased once again. Even a plate-armor profession is taking significant damage."


    Commentator Zhang Zhen expressed what everyone was thinking.


    A regular Thief couldn¡¯t even deal more than 100 damage to Green Flag Wine. However, Lu Li was different ¨C he had only used two damage skills but had managed to deal 320 damage. His Ultimate Skill Slit Throat had even left a Bleed Effect behind.


    "Lu Li¡¯s attack is quite high, but he is unable to kill his opponent in the stun duration. It looks like the last round of attacks were in vain," Dark Wind sighed.


    To him, Lu Li looked like he was doomed.


    He didn¡¯t expect Tire Killer to make any mistakes ¨C he was the Tire Killer after all. He was always successful because he never made mistakes. Instead, he used his opponent¡¯s mistakes to his advantage.


    "I don¡¯t think so."


    Surprisingly, it was Zhang Zhen who had a differing opinion.


    "Oh, what do you think of this match?" Dark Wind looked at him curiously. Zhang Zhen had been his partner for a long time, but now it was like he was looking at a different person.


    "I have studied Lu Li¡¯s fights and have discovered that he has mastered a different fighting style for each profession. These styles aren¡¯t the smartest, but they are definitely effective," Zhang Zhen said confidently.


    In fact, his guess was actually quite close. If Lu Li was able to explain himself, he would have told them that this was his strategy.


    There were specific strategies for PVE and specific strategies for PVP. Lu Li had learned about both in his previous life.


    After all his experience from his previous life, he had a method for dealing with any kind of opponent.


    Of course, when these strategies were first developed, even regular players could bully gaming experts who were not yet used to Dawn. However, after some time, this became much more difficult. Otherwise, why would anyone pay the experts an annual salary of $1 million if anyone could beat them by reading a strategy?


    "Based on your conclusion, how do you think Lu Li can make a comeback?" Dark Wind asked.


    "I don¡¯t see a way." Zhang Zhen was a little embarrassed.


    "I don¡¯t see a way either," Dark Wind said calmly.


    The second clash happened shortly after. Lu Li had taken the initiative once again and opened with Sap. He then followed up with a string of skills that finished with a Backhand Backstab.


    Green Flag Wine quickly recovered but was already down to 55% HP. He immediately healed himself back to full HP with Holy Light.


    There was nothing that Lu Li could do. He had run away before Green Flag Wine recovered and went back into Stealth when he was separated from the fight.


    His last attack was performed in vain once again.


    Whether these attacks were actually in vain couldn¡¯t be determined by the ordinary players. However, there was also no shortage of professional players in the audience.


    Azure Guard¡¯s Stellar Union Silver Radiant was watching on in the stands. He didn¡¯t need to pay for entry because he was a professional player. Floral Paralysis was sitting next to him.


    "If you were against Green Flag Wine, do you think you could win?" Stellar Union Silver Radiant asked.


    "Previously not," Floral Paralysis said as he shook his head. "But now, I have some ideas. Although I wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee a win, I would at least stand a chance."


    "Oh, do you mean to say that Lu Li can beat Green Flag Wine?" Stellar Union Silver Radiant was shocked.


    "I think so, as long as Lu Li doesn¡¯t make any mistakes."


    "What is he doing? Both attacks have been in vain. Green Flag Wine is still at full HP¡­"


    "You mean his mana¡­" Stellar Union Silver Radiant suddenly cried out.


    Apart from HP, mana was also something that needed to be considered for professional players.


    "Yes, his HP is still full, but his mana is quickly depleting," Floral Paralysis said seriously.


    Before a Paladin acquired either Beacon of Light or Seal of Wisdom, there was no way for them to regenerate their mana. Under normal circumstances, a normal Paladin didn¡¯t have to worry about their mana when using Holy Light to heal themselves because it cost so little mana.


    However, Green Flag Wine wasn¡¯t a normal Paladin. Strictly speaking, he was a damage-dealing Paladin that could heal.


    He was called the Tire Killer because he would always heal himself while dealing damage.


    Healing was secondary to damage for him.


    After taking two attacks from Lu Li, Green Flag Wine had cast Holy Light 11 times. Although Holy Light was one of the lowest-costing heals, he still needed to use at least 20 mana each time.


    With more than 200 mana consumed, Green Flag Wine only had 70% of mana remaining.


    There were still other ways to regenerate mana, such as the Blood Elf¡¯s Arcane Torrent. This would restore 6% of his mana, but had a 120 second cooldown. As such, it could really only be used up to three times in a competition like this.


    Green Flag Wine also had another method of regenerating mana. This required him to hit Lu Li, which would then convert a portion of the damage to mana.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t give him any opportunities to attack.


    Lu Li had taken about 70-80 damage, but the Bloodstained Badge was about to fully regenerate that.


    Because Floral Paralysis could see this, Green Flag Wine soon also realized the same thing.


    The great Tire Killer was running out of mana and getting tired himself. He then rushed forwards, looking for a fight, but unfortunately, he was against a Thief.


    Floral Paralysis who was watching this wretched strategy unfold couldn¡¯t help but bow his head in shame. He also recognized that he had a long way to go.


    Lu Li was teaching everyone a lesson in a disgraceful way on the stage today.


    In the future, other players would look to this match as the milestone for similar strategies. They would think that Lu Li had opened up a whole new way for them to play the game. Many players would forcibly make Lu Li the representative of their strategies and draw analogies between them and this game.


    However, that was something to discuss later.


    When Green Flag Wine¡¯s mana dropped to 50%, he casted a major skill. A huge ring of fire was sent out from his body which knocked Lu Li out of Stealth. Lu Li had only just cast Shadowmeld to enter Stealth.


    As Green Flag Wine rushed towards him, Lu Li activated his shoes¡¯ effect.


    Lu Li vanished from the spot and appeared in another location 15 yards away.


    What kind of ghost skill was that?


    He was now too far away; there was no way that Green Flag Wine could catch him now.


    The match had gone on for over three minutes. Previously, Green Flag Wine would have wanted the match to go on for as long as possible, but now wished that he could have a proper fight.


    Lu Li had two exquisite pieces of equipment that improved his Stealth while Green Flag Wine had no such improvements. There was just no way for him to detect Lu Li.


    He could only just stand there and get attacked again and again.


    Lu Li just kept hitting and running. He never got greedy, so he gave no opportunity for a counter-attack.

 317 Entering The Finals

    Five minutes into the match, Green Flag Wine could only hope that Lu Li made a mistake.


    In his experience, people weren¡¯t robots, which meant that they made mistakes. The key difference was that some mistakes made were too small to be capitalized on by an opponent, while other mistakes were self-evident.


    With Vanish, Shadowmeld, Gale Steps, Sprint, his shoes¡¯ effect and his glove¡¯s effect, Lu Li had more than enough mobility skills and equipment to engage in guerrilla battle.


    Sometimes, he would also use his dagger¡¯s effect, creating another identical Lu Li to join the fun.


    The mirage¡¯s damage wasn¡¯t very high, but it could still accumulate. Things were quite difficult for Green Flag Wine in those 20 seconds, as he was afraid of being killed by Lu Li¡¯s crowd-control combo. As such, he had no choice other than to use some stronger skills to heal himself.


    The stronger skills had a better healing effect, but they also costed more mana.


    After 18 minutes of Lu Li working his strategy, Green Flag Wine¡¯s mana was now completely empty.


    It cost him mana to heal himself, but he would die if he didn¡¯t heal himself. The famous Tire Killer had been tired out.


    This kind of tiring out was even more traditional than when Purple Lunar Paradise¡¯ Lone Smoker Long did it to Moonlight.


    In the individual round, Lu Li defeated Green Flag Wine.


    After an hour of rest, Lu Li reluctantly regenerated his HP and mana before going on stage to compete in the group round.


    As someone who grew up poor, he had the tenacity to do hard labor for hours at a time. On the other hand, Green Flag Wine couldn¡¯t keep up; he had spent too much energy and was more tired than Lu Li. His fatigue could be visibly seen while he was on stage.


    Lu Li looked at Moonlight who nodded in understanding.


    They were going to take advantage of his ailment. The arena was no place for gentlemen. If they couldn¡¯t break through and take advantage of Green Flag Wine, then they really did deserve to lose.


    Lu Li and Moonlight immediately rushed towards Green Flag Wine while March Rain ran into the opposing team and cast Soul Shriek.


    The entire battlefield was in chaos, but Lu Li and Moonlight were fine. Lu Li then crowd-controlled Green Flag Wine and began hitting him with Moonlight. Even if they had a dedicated healer, it wouldn¡¯t have helped, so their loss couldn¡¯t be attributed to their composition.


    Deadly Gold Underpants rushed in for the rescue but was hit by Moonlight¡¯s Frightening Shout, disabling him for a few more seconds.


    Soon, the group round was over. It wasn¡¯t even as exciting as the previous individual round.


    The lasting impression that everyone had was that Lu Li and Moonlight¡¯s combined damage was overpowered. Green Flag Wine was a plate-armored profession and yet, his HP had dropped so quickly. He was basically killed within one rotation of skills.


    Peerless City had been eliminated in the semifinals and the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had entered the finals!


    When this was announced, even Lu Li couldn¡¯t believe it, let alone the other players.


    Just like that, they had made it into the finals?


    As the days passed, so many things had happened that they began to blur together. Lu Li was slowly losing the ability to discern between what had happened in his past life and what was happening now. He mostly still felt like he was a very ordinary person.


    He had just worked really hard so he could earn some money.


    The finals, the championship¡­ he couldn¡¯t even have imagined this before; it was like a dream that he was about to wake up from. Before he could even make sense of it, there were people telling him that he had made it into the finals and telling him to prepare to fight for the championship title.


    "How about you log off and rest for a bit?" Moonlight knew how tired Lu Li was. He was also exhausted after his fight with Lone Smoker Long.


    "Its fine. Drizzle Court and Glory Capital will be facing off in half an hour; let¡¯s go watch them. I don¡¯t know if I can get a ticket though." Getting tickets was now a really difficult task.


    "You can just ask the organizers." Moonlight looked at him strangely.


    He was once again reassured that Lu Li was truly unfamiliar with professional scene. If another professional player heard that Lu Li was rushing to buy tickets like an ordinary player, they would definitely be rolling on the floor in laughter.


    There was still no formal confirmation that Lu Li was a professional player, but Lu Li¡¯s team of three had fought their way into the spotlight and were now the stars of this tournament.


    No matter how the professional associations tried to spin it, they wouldn¡¯t be able to shut them out.


    Lu Li tried to apply through the System channel and was able to receive free access to the arena and all kinds of other privileges.


    After they entered, they were sent into the competitors mat. This area was separate from the audience and provided a better view of the arena. It also let them avoid the awkwardness of being surrounded by the ordinary players.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really have any connections, so he had never experienced this kind of star treatment before.


    The individual round was going to be Blood Dagger against Water Fairy.


    This was Dawn¡¯s most commonly sent-out profession for the individual round. It was also going to be a Thief on Thief battle.


    Water Fairy had previously lost to Wood Fearing, but she had maintained her composure and was now facing Blood Dagger.


    It was hard to say whether Blood Dagger or Wood Fearing was stronger. In Lu Li¡¯s memories, they both had their moments of victory and defeat, but overall, Blood Dagger seemed to be a little stronger.


    Others thought that Blood Dagger was stronger than Wood Fearing because he was backed by Glory Capital.


    Gods of Dusk was ranked third while Glory Capital was ranked first. There was a completely different amount of resources available.


    Regardless, in terms of technique, Wood Fearing was still pretty good.


    In terms of equipment, Water Fairy didn¡¯t seem to be much weaker than Blood Dagger.


    Her equipment had been personally crafted by Lu Li, such that even Lu Li was drooling over them. Her other equipment must have been at least of a Superior Silver level; she wasn¡¯t lacking in money after all.


    However, Blood Dagger was now level 25. This brought about some earth-shaking differences.


    In a Thief on Thief battle, initiative was key.


    From Lu Li¡¯s spectator perspective, he could see both of their actions and movements. This kind of high-level showdown was also very instructive to him.


    Water Fairy¡¯s necklace glittered as she rushed straight at Blood Dagger.


    This necklace must have added a lot of Detection. Lu Li refused to believe that Blood Dagger didn¡¯t have any Stealth-enhancing equipment on him. Even so, he had still been detected by Water Fairy.


    Water Fiary started with a Cheap Shot, and followed this up with a Backstab.


    She achieved an impressive Skill Completion and dealt significant damage. It also applied an Armor Pierce effect.


    Blood Dagger decisively casted Gale Steps and the both of them went back into Stealth. Water Fairy¡¯s necklace seemed to be on cooldown as she wasn¡¯t moving like before.


    Next was a test of positioning.


    Both of these Thieves were really strong, but ultimately, it was Water Fairy who was a little weaker. She walked right past Blood Dagger who cast Sap on her.


    Blood Dagger than cast Cheap Shot followed by a Backstab. His Skill Completion wasn¡¯t much less than Water Fairy¡¯s, but his damage was lower. There seemed to also be an equipment disparity between the two of them.


    Water Fairy then also used Gale Steps, which was to be expected.


    However, these Gale Steps weren¡¯t being used to escape, but rather to attack. The moment the skill took effect, Water Fairy used her cloak¡¯s effect to appear directly behind Blood Dagger.


    This cloak was sold to her by Lu Li and was one of the many drops he had received after repeatedly farming Illidan¡¯s shadow.


    Not only had it dropped a couple of Shadow Cloak skills, but also two cloaks.


    Blood Dagger had been crowd-controlled once again, but this time he didn¡¯t have Gale Steps. As such, he could only passively take the damage while he was still under the crowd control¡¯s effect.


    His HP dropped rapidly but Water Fairy didn¡¯t have to ability to kill him in one shot. Blood Dagger casted Vanish and disappeared from Water Fairy¡¯s clutches. If her Slit Throat had a higher Skill Completion and had applied a Bleed effect, then Blood Dagger would have died.


    If there was a Bleed effect, he would have been revealed after Vanish had taken effect.


    "What do you think?" Moonlight asked Lu Li.


    "Blood Dagger is not much stronger than this," Lu Li laughed in response.


    Moonlight was silent for a moment before asking, "Who do you think our next opponents will be?"


    "It¡¯s hard to say. In this individual round, Water Fairy is probably going to win; her equipment is just too good. That necklace is just broken against Thieves." Lu Li felt really strongly towards that item.


    In addition to the necklace, Water Fairy¡¯s exquisite weapons had been forged by Lu Li. He wasn¡¯t sure if he had created a trap for himself.

 318 Calling Out Lu Li

    Blood Dagger could only close this gap with his skill. He had excellent technique with his dagger and his normal attacks would deal almost the maximum amount of damage.


    When he wasn¡¯t affected by crowd-control, he would block Water Fairy as often as he could.


    Blocking was the most common way to fight a Thief. There was no use of skills; it only required reaction speed and coordination. Successful blocks could significantly reduce the opponent¡¯s Skill Completion. A fight between high-level thieves basically came down to how well one could block.


    Blood Dagger was doing very well in that regard.


    Unfortunately, the difference created due to the skills and equipment was just too much. His playstyle was also too aggressive, which prevented him from making a proper comeback. He didn¡¯t have Wood Fearing¡¯s finesse nor did he have Lu Li or Floral Paralysis¡¯ aggression.


    As a result, his HP was rapidly dropping.


    A white glow appeared at Water Fairy¡¯s feet; he had 0% HP left and the match was over.


    In the individual round, Water Fairy had defeated Blood Dagger.


    Of the seven great thieves and Lu Li, they had all faced each other at least once. Not one of them was obviously better than the rest, with each of them having their own wins and losses.


    For example, Water Fairy had defeated Blood Dagger, but she had lost at the hands of Wood Fearing.


    However, Wood Fearing had also once said in an interview that he was most afraid of Blood Dagger.


    In the group rounds, it was Drizzle Court against Glory Capital.


    Drizzle Court had a long history of being a famous, but relatively weak guild.


    They were famous because their members were all girls and most of them were quite beautiful. As long as there were men in this world, there would definitely be people interested in their guild.


    However, due to their female temperament, they faced some disadvantages in this game.


    As such, they were always seen a just a bunch of casual girl gamers playing together.


    This situation persisted until Water Fairy came along. This mysterious tycoon had started gaming at 15 and later joined Drizzle Court, helping them grow into a large guild. When she turned 18, she was secretly transferred to the club.


    But what truly brought Drizzle Court into fame was the expensive Deadly Green Orange.


    Deadly Green Orange was once one of the core players of Peacetime Dynasty, but had been picked up by Drizzle Court for $2.1 million. This set a sensational new record for the highest-paid female player.


    The Priest Star Baby was also someone who had been bought by Water Fairy. She was cheaper, as she was bought from a medium sized guild, but she had an outstanding performance in her first year of competing. After Water Fairy spread a few rumors, Star Baby didn¡¯t even get to see the end of her season.


    Both teams consisted of Thief, Mage and Priest. The group round of the competition had begun!


    Lu Li finally got to see how Deadly Green Orange played. This girl appeared feminine but was relentlessly strong. The only comparison he could make was that she was the female Sorrowless.


    After the match started, it didn¡¯t immediately turn into a one-sided situation. There were six experts on the field.


    After 1 minute and 40 seconds, Water Fairy took initiative and crowd-controlled Sorrowless. Deadly Green Orange then attacked him with everything she had and quickly dropped him near to 0% HP.


    In that moment, the Glory Capital¡¯s White Westhill furiously channeled for 10 uninterrupted seconds to restore his HP back to 80% with a single skill.


    That was over half of his HP!


    Lu Li had a headache watching this. Now that they had come this far, everyone seemed to have some kind of trump card.


    Of course, he also had one of his own. He was able to turn into a leopard, which was still a secret to everyone. He didn¡¯t know what those Imperial Secret Service players were thinking, but he had yet to be exposed.


    After their unsuccessful attack on Sorrowless, Drizzle Court had lost their advantage. Blood Dagger had been attacking Star Baby whose HP was now down to half. The tides were turning.


    Star Baby then cast Soul Shriek to protect herself.


    Blood Dagger used his Shadow Cloak to block this skill, while Sorrowless was too far away for it to affect him.


    Most people didn¡¯t think that Glory Capital would win so easily. Within 3 minutes and 10 seconds, they had killed Drizzle Court¡¯s Priest, laying the foundations of their victory.


    Although Water Fairy and Deadly Green Orange had also bursted down White Westhill, it was already too late. Their HP was far lower than that of Blood Dagger¡¯s and Sorrowless¡¯.


    At 3 minutes and 40 seconds, a golden shroud surrounded the stage, declaring Glory Capital the winner of the match and a finalist of the championship.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group and Glory Capital were now fighting for the championship, with the loser taking second place. Drizzle Court would then fight Peerless City to determine the third and fourth places.


    After the match, both sides accepted the interview.


    "Drizzle Court just missed out on the finals; is there anything you would like to say?" the reporter asked Water Fairy first. After all, she was a beauty.


    "Our team did really well this season. I¡¯m really happy that we managed to get this far. I believe we¡¯ll be able to do better next season," Water Fairy said without hesitation.


    Her words weren¡¯t insincere; Drizzle Court hadn¡¯t even made it into the quarterfinals last season.


    "If you had entered the finals, you would have had to face the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Do you think you could have won?" the reporter asked.


    Water Fairy blinked before glancing to the side and saying, "You should probably ask them that question¡­"


    The reporter¡¯s question had been rejected, but he calmly turned to the Glory Capital players. "


    Great Guru Sorrowless, how are you? I haven¡¯t seen you in these circumstances for a while. How do you think the next match will go?"


    "I hope to fight Lu Li in the individual round for a proper showdown," Blood Dagger said before Sorrowless could respond.


    The reporter was a little surprised. It was rare that someone would directly call out another player like that. However, after looking at the other players¡¯ calm expressions, the reporter realized that there must have been an underlying story.


    Eager to find out more, the reporter eagerly prompted, "Can you elaborate on why you want that?"


    He had initially wanted to refuse to answer the question, but he felt like he didn¡¯t have any way to do that, so he reluctantly responded, "I¡¯ve lost to Lu Li once and was killed by him."


    "Are you trying to rob me of my opportunity?" Sorrowless laughed. "I¡¯ve been killed by him too¡­"


    The reported jumped in shock.


    As a journalist who didn¡¯t play the game, he knew a lot about Lu Li. He knew that Lu Li was an expert who had come out of nowhere and he knew how Lu Li had an excellent record of achievements. However, none of these were personal experiences and he simply couldn¡¯t believe some of it.


    However, he was absolutely shocked when he heard a direct confession from someone¡¯s mouth.


    How could they possibly be making a joke out of this?


    There must have been something wrong with his brain; this just couldn¡¯t be true.

 319 A Female Tycoon Lending Equipmen

    "Can you shed more light on the situation?"


    This question wasn¡¯t necessary to the interview, but the reporter had succumbed to his curiosity. He really wanted to know what had happened.


    It was too bad that Sorrowless kept laughing while Blood Dagger shook his head and said, "There¡¯s nothing much to say; we just lost to him."


    "But you hope to see Lu Li in the individual round?" The reporter bitterly smiled. He had no way of getting these experts to talk, especially given the mood that they were in.


    "Yeah, and I also hope that Lu Li won¡¯t avoid this challenge. It¡¯s likely that the Xin Xin Mercenary Group will be sending him out anyway," Blood Dagger said indifferently.


    "Are you confident that you will be able to defeat Lu Li?" the reporter asked.


    Water Fairy who was standing off to the side scoffed; his next words were going to be meaningless.


    He couldn¡¯t even defeat her, so what hope did he having of defeating Lu Li? Although she was pretending to maintain an air of elegance, she was still upset that they had lost to at hands of Glory Capital.


    Blood Dagger mustn¡¯t have seen her; he faced the camera lens and stated, "Regardless of my chances, I will fight him fairly with my all."


    There was a strong emphasis on the word ¡®fairly¡¯. Clearly, he was referring to the time when Lu Li and Lucky Southern Persian had banded together to defeat him.


    After the competition, Lu Li went back to farming. To him, this was like any other day; it was as if the next day wasn¡¯t the championship finals. Moonlight was about to go to the Warsong Canyon before he was invited by March Rain to learn some of the harder techniques. She seemed to be the only normal one out of the three.


    "Where are you?" Water Fairy¡¯s message didn¡¯t waste any time on useless talk.


    This was a beautiful woman without a single bit of affection. Who knew if there will be anyone in the future who would be able to change her?


    "Scorched Plains, killing fire wolves," Lu Li responded.


    Ten minutes later, a cold flash was directed at Lu Li¡¯s neck.


    The attack was cunning and silent, but ultimately not successful. The moment the dagger was about to make contact, Lu Li, who was fighting a monster, instantly warped to another location 10 yards away.


    "Is that what you used against Green Flag Wine?" Water Fairy gave up on her test.


    "Hmph." Lu Li quickly finished off the monster he was fighting and stopped for a moment to reply indifferently, "What are you here for? Do you want to farm together or something?"


    "No, I just want to ask you. Are you confident in fighting Blood Dagger?" Water Fairy shook her head.


    Lu Li hesitated before saying, "Didn¡¯t you just beat him? Don¡¯t you think I¡¯ll be able to as well?"


    At this level, it was difficult to be fully confident. Of course, Lu Li was just being cautious.


    "The only reason I beat him was because my equipment was better and I got lucky. How would I know if you can beat him? I thought you were confident?" Water Fairy responded.


    To her, Lu Li was really mysterious and always did the unexpected.


    "It¡¯s better to be careful, but I don¡¯t think I will lose." Lu Li noticed that a fire wolf had respawned next to him. He attacked it as he spoke, completely disregarding the beautiful player that was standing next to him.


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t have anything to say. After some thought, she started to take off¡­


    "What are you doing?" Lu Li asked in shock. He then got hit by the fire wolf multiple times.


    If it weren¡¯t for his exquisite equipment, he probably would have died.


    Anyone watching would have been equally perturbed. A female tycoon was undressing in front of him.


    "Give me your equipment." Water Fairy stared at him, as if he had done something wrong. She was telling a stranger to take off his clothes in front of her; she must have gone insane.


    Of course, you couldn¡¯t remove all clothing unless there was a very specific reason for doing so. Otherwise, there would just be a single layer of cotton clothing underneath that looked like pajamas. It didn¡¯t expose much skin, but it did reveal a person¡¯s body shape more so than if they were just wearing the normal leather clothing.


    Water Fairy¡¯s body shape was quite shapely; she had matured well in every sense. However, Lu Li¡¯s attention was fixed on the equipment that was being traded to him.


    Dawn¡¯s equipment could be worn by either gender, but it would appear slightly differently when different genders were wearing them. The female version was a little prettier while the male version looked more masculine.


    The shirt was a level 25 Silver-grade that gave bonus attack as its special effect. This was a completely different style to what Lu Li had and he rejected it after some thought.


    He also rejected the Bracer without even looking at it. He would never give up his bracer that gave him bonus damage against the Undead. Blood Dagger was an Undead, so he would definitely be able to enjoy his Bracer¡¯s effects.


    The shoes, belt and shoulder pads weren¡¯t necessarily better than Lu Li¡¯s, so he traded those back as well.


    "You should find this necklace useful and this¡­ ring," Water Fairy offered as she held out the ring in her hands. Lu Li finally realized the significance of these pieces of jewelry.


    After looking at the pendant, he found out that he was right. It had an activated effect that increased Detection by 30%. It couldn¡¯t be compared to Stellar Union Silver Radiant¡¯s item, but its activated effect was quite comparable.


    Lu Li traded for the necklace before accepting the ring.


    Obviously, he didn¡¯t trade his Supreme Ring, nor could he anyway. He traded over another ring instead.


    Water Fairy¡¯s ring had pretty good attributes and also gave bonus Armor Break and Critical Hit. These attributes could be considered one of the best among all rings. Who knew how much money she had spent on this?


    There was also the headgear. Lu Li¡¯s headgear wasn¡¯t bad, but it just couldn¡¯t compare to Water Fairy¡¯s.


    It gave Detection and also immunity to Crowd Control effects, although it had to be activated before the skill landed to take effect. It had a duration of 5 seconds and wouldn¡¯t work if activated too early or too late. It had a very high technique requirement and Water Fairy was unable to successfully use it during her match. However, Lu Li really liked this item.


    "I¡¯ll lend you my gloves as well. Remember to give them back," Water Fairy said as she reluctantly took off her gloves.


    She had already given him such a strong ring and she still had something even more exquisite? Lu Li accepted immediately, eager to see what it was like.


    Hunter¡¯s Gloves (Gold): Armor 28, Agility +20, Strength +10, Special Effect 1: Equipment Requirements reduced by 20%, Special Effect 2: Attacks have a certain probability of silencing the target for three seconds. Special Effect 3: Disarm, cause the target to be unable to use weapon effects for 3 seconds. 120 second cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 30, Durability: 64/64.


    It was a Gold equipment!


    It even had its Equipment Requirement reduced to level 24 because of its effect.


    No wonder Sorrowless was affected by Water Fairy¡¯s crowd control. Lu Li had been wondering what was happening the whole time he was watching. He also noticed that she had somehow disabled Blood Dagger¡¯s weapon effect. At the time, he suspected she had some kind of trump skill.


    However, he didn¡¯t think it was actually an exquisite piece of level 30 Gold equipment.


    He was actually a little frustrated. Lu Li looked at his own equipment and realized that beyond the Supreme Ring, he didn¡¯t have a single piece of equipment that was comparable to his rival¡¯s gloves.

 320 Swapping Around The Equipmen

    Equipment requirement reduction was necessary to access equipment in the next tier. Although it didn¡¯t affect the effects of the equipment itself, it could still double the value of an item.


    Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be drooling at the sight of these level 30 Gold gloves.


    The ability to silence was such a useful skill; it would be perfect for disarming Sorrowless. It must have had a low occurrence rate for such a low-level equip to possess such an overpowered ability.


    No wonder the female tycoon was reluctant.


    Normally, Gold equipment was very difficult to acquire. One had to either fight a high level Wild Boss or perform a very cumbersome test. Even then, there was a very low drop rate.


    He didn¡¯t know how Drizzle Court had gotten their hands on this equipment, nor did he have plans to ask.


    In return, Lu Li was planning to trade his level 25 Exquisite Silver equipment. It was much stronger than the level 15 Steel equipment that he was holding and also applied a Bleed Effect.


    Water Fairy¡¯s two badges were rather ordinary, but Lu Li borrowed one of them to reduce Freeze duration. This could be useful to provide some resistance against the Mage¡¯s ice skills.


    A headgear, dagger, necklace, glove, badge and ring¡­


    "I¡¯ll be taking these six items. I guess I owe you one?" Lu Li had planned to further express his gratitude but he found himself unable to do it. She had just been too generous and Lu Li had no way of refusing.


    With regards to Blood Dagger, if he had a 60% chance of winning before, he now had an 80% chance of winning.


    In a duel of this caliber, any bonus attributes or effects provided significant value. If the value had to be put into monetary terms, it would easily be in the billions.


    "A favour? Does that mean you¡¯ll do whatever I tell you?" Water Fairy burst out laughing. She had shown quite a few different emotions today and had even cracked a joke.


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li was a little embarrassed; he had never really experienced true friendship before. He could barely understand males, so females were like wild animals to him.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll get going. Let me cash in on that favor as well; make sure you beat Glory Capital. Don¡¯t let them get first place, but give the equipment back to me first. The first match tomorrow is mine against Peerless City." Water Fairy wasn¡¯t trying to embarrass him, so she moved on when she sensed the tension.


    "Oh, okay," Lu Li quickly traded the equipment back to her.


    "¡­" Water Fairy suddenly regretted her actions. She hadn¡¯t really thought this through.


    What was she doing? Had she just exchanged her clothes with a guy?


    Where was her usual elegance? Where was her usual posture? Impulse really was the devil.


    In reality, it didn¡¯t really matter to Drizzle Court if either the Glory Capital or the Xin Xin Mercenary Group got first place. She and Lu Li didn¡¯t even have that deep of a friendship either and were just cooperating while it was convenient.


    Lu Li hesitated for a moment before putting all his equipment on show for Water Fairy. He hadn¡¯t held anything back other than the Supreme Ring.


    "Your equipment is not bad. Not only do you have Amor Pierce, but you even have a Phantom Image. I¡¯d like to play with that." The Corrupted Fang was borrowed.


    "Wow, this is also really good. You can get so much bonus damage!" The Wristwraps of Undead Slaying were also borrowed.


    "This badge¡¯s level is so low, but it has such a good effect. Where did it come from?" The Bloodstained Badge was also borrowed and was now hanging on the female tycoon¡¯s chest. As Lu Li¡¯s eyes glanced over her chest, his eyes lingered for just a single moment.


    "It was a quest reward." Lu Li had no intention of mentioning Medivh.


    "What about the ring?" Water Fairy¡¯s face became a little flushed when she asked this question. However, it wasn¡¯t that red and you could only see it if you were watching carefully.


    "Show it," said Water Fairy. Lu Li was helpless.


    "Wow, you¡¯re so dishonorable. You clearly have another ring on. It¡¯s right there¡­"


    She had just shown her opponent all of her equipment and felt like she should have been afforded the same treatment.


    "It¡¯s bound; I can¡¯t take it off," Lu Li sighed.


    "Tsh, bound?" Water Fairy asked incredulously.


    There was once a game that bound any item that was equipped. These items couldn¡¯t be dropped or damaged, but that game later went out of business.


    There were also bound items in the current conventional games, but these were limited to the particularly exquisite ones. Water Fairy couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether it was an Epic Equipment, a Legendary Equipment or perhaps even some kind of high-end God item?


    "You can use the others, but just remember to look for me after your match." Lu Li started to feel a bit of regret.


    If this tycoon just logged off or ignored him, he would basically have to face Sorrowless or Blood Dagger naked. That scene was too scary to imagine.


    Water Fairy then straightforwardly took the items and started equipping them.


    She had actually only taken three items ¨C a Dagger, a Bracer and a Badge. Her other equipment was all better than what Lu Li had. She also had a different fighting style to Lu Li, which meant that they used different equipment.


    A male and a female exchanging clothes was not an innocuous matter.


    Fortunately, this was a level 30 mob area, which meant that there was no chance that anyone would be here. Otherwise, someone would have recorded this and posted it to the forums where it would cause an uproar.


    The next day, Drizzle Court would battle Peerless City.


    The Tire Killer was still level 24 as he was unable to farm up in time. As such, he was easily beaten by Water Fairy who also had the borrowed equipment.


    When a second Water Fairy appeared on the field, even the most reasonable people in the audience cried out.


    "Lu Li you actually lent your equipment to Water Fairy?! How shameless are you?"


    This Phantom Image must have come from a really rare piece of equipment. How could there be more than one?


    It didn¡¯t take much to figure out that this female tycoon was cheating. How could Green Flag Wine not get angry?


    This wasn¡¯t an official rule among professional circles, but it was an unspoken agreement. After all, no one wanted anyone riding off each other¡¯s backs.


    However, Water Fairy had turned a blind eye to that and was dealing damage that even Lu Li couldn¡¯t compete with. She quickly crushed Green Flag Wine.


    Water Fairy had won the individual round while Green Flag Wine looked like he had aged a few years. As a veteran, suffering such a crushing defeat must have had a significant psychological effect on him.


    In reality, this was quite a normal occurrence. Dawn had innovated many different aspects compared to the conventional games, so each professional player needed to adapt to the new styles of combat. This was especially so for Green Flag Wine, who was such a consistent fighter. It took him much longer to adapt to his combat style compared to the newer players. However, once he adapted, he would be able to stand up to any trial.

 321 Blood Dagger and His Revenge

    The group match consisted of a Thief, Mage and Priest playing against a team of Warrior, Priest and Paladin.


    Unlike Glory Capital, Peerless City didn¡¯t make a comeback in the group match. However, it wasn¡¯t an easy victory for Drizzle Court either ¨C they almost lost the match.


    Fortunately, Water Fairy was using Lu Li¡¯s dagger. At the most critical moment of the match, she managed to escape from the cornered situation and saved her life.


    In the Shadow Cup this season, Peerless City had come in at fourth place, while Drizzle Court was placed third.


    The time for the final match had now arrived.


    The final round in this season of the Shadow Cup was quite strange.


    One of the teams in the finals had been gone for three years, and were now aiming to make a comeback.


    On the other hand, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was renowned as a bug in the game.


    However, their entrance into the finals has truly brought them popularity. PVE players admired Lu Li for the First Clears that he took and at the same time, their competition success earned them respect from the PVP players.


    Right now, countless people were keenly awaiting the outcome.


    They were also expectantly waiting for Lu Li¡¯s guild to form.


    Thousands of people had planned to apply for the guild as soon as it was formed.


    As such, Lu Li¡¯s guild had a much stronger start compared to the other guilds.


    The leaders of the other big guilds sat in the bar, while they held back their tears in memories of the ¡®good old days¡¯ and complained about the loyalty of the average players.


    Wasn¡¯t it just a few First Clears?


    Wasn¡¯t it just the final round of Shadow Cup?


    What was so amazing it about all?


    It was quite an achievement for them to have entered the final round, and the big guilds were all very envious of this.


    There was nothing they could do to bring them down anymore; they were already in the finals now.


    From another perspective, a guild entering the finals was less embarrassing than a mercenary group doing it.


    Not to mention, the formation of Lu Li¡¯s guild was unstoppable.


    Which guild had so much discussion when it was first formed?


    There was no doubt that as long as Lu Li¡¯s guild caught up in levels, there would be a constant stream of people applying for it.


    Some guilds who were on bad terms with Lu Li, such as the Imperial Secret Service, had already joined together for a discussion about what to do with this situation.


    Were there any possible ways to slow down his development?


    After a lot of thought, it seemed like none of the usual tactics would work. Lu Li was too popular!


    If...


    If the Xin Xin Mercenary Group really won the championship, the forces in the gaming industry would really start to change.


    They also thought about the information that had leaked out from Drizzle Court and Peerless City. It seemed as though Lu Li and Water Fairy had shared equipment.


    This dirty couple!


    All those who heard about this information were angry, but in reality, they were filled with fear.


    Water Fairy¡¯s gear was simply too good.


    Could Glory Capital emerge victorious?


    The crowd didn¡¯t need to wait for long; the Shadow Cup had always been known for its punctuality. After the battle between Drizzle Court and Peerless City, the curtain was raised for the Finals.


    Before the match began, there was a short interview.


    The reporter kept his questions short and asked Lu Li first, "It must be your first time attending a game competition like this, right?"


    Many people questioned if Lu Li was an expert gamer in disguise. This wasn¡¯t just an impossible assumption ¨C perhaps he was an expert gamer who hadn¡¯t played for many years, or who had plastic surgery.


    "It¡¯s my first time participating in a competition like this," Lu Li answered honestly.


    "How do you feel about the competition this time?"


    "Very remarkable. Hmm, the prize money is very rewarding too," Lu Li said.


    "Blood Dagger wants to have a single match against you. Will you accept his challenge?"


    "Maybe." Lu Li glanced at the others who also sat in this room.


    Opposite to him was the Priest, White Westhill, who kept his head down like a meditating monk. Blood Dagger stared at Lu Li, with the lust for battle written all over his face, while Sorrowless remained mysterious.


    It seemed as though Sorrowless had already found out who assassinated him. This was quite normal ¨C there were many in the Alliance faction who knew about what had happened. One of them must have given away the information. With the amount of power that Glory Capital wielded, there was no way that they would be kept in the dark about this.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid either; he pulled up the corner of his lips and smiled in return.


    The reporter continued to ask more questions; there was a lot of questions for the two teams that had made it into the finals.


    Although there were six players in the room, none of them were the talkative type. As such, the interview was extremely one-sided ¨C the contestants only gave responses based on the questions they were asked. Sometimes, they didn¡¯t even bother answering at all. The reporter was obviously relieved when the interview finally ended and escaped from the room without even looking back.


    Lu Li took up the challenge in the single match.


    It was a duel between two Thieves.


    Blood Dagger was very cautious; he had even changed his equipment.The guild had managed to find a few equips for him that buffed his Stealth ability.


    Unfortunately, the preparation was rushed - none of these equips had extraordinary attributes, so there was no guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t be detected by Lu Li.


    By now, everyone knew that the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was working together with Drizzle Court. Water Fairy had exchanged some of her gear with Lu Li and had successfully won against Peerless City. There was no doubt that Lu Li would have some of Water Fairy¡¯s gear on him as well.


    Water Fairy¡¯s detection abilities were truly terrifying; Blood Dagger had to swap out two of his equips to decrease his chance of being caught.


    But was that really enough to protect him?


    The Sap that landed on his head was a clear indication that he was too naive.


    Blood Dagger wasn¡¯t impressed; he should¡¯ve kept onto his old equipment. The extra Stealth attributes did nothing for him.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t hold back all; he found his chance to attack and so, he did.


    Blood Dagger used Gale Steps to block the spell as he turned around to attack Lu Li.


    Lu Li¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t any slower than his. There was no need for Lu Li to force a fight, so he teleported a dozen yards away and went into Stealth with Shadowmeld.


    Both of them were in Stealth again and it seemed as though nothing had changed from the start, except for the fact that Blood Dagger had used his Gale Steps. However, anyone with a sharp eye could tell that he was at a disadvantage.


    The comeback was fast ¨C it was Blood Dagger who caught Lu Li the second time.


    The necklace from Water Fairy was already on cooldown. Under the circumstance where they both had gear to increase their Stealth and there weren¡¯t any major difference between them, the deciding factor would be their positioning, technique and luck.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate; he used Gale Steps too.


    Seeing that Lu Li had used Gale Steps without even thinking twice, Blood Dagger suddenly felt sympathetic towards him ¨C they were the same type of player.


    There was no way that an average player would use their skills so easily. Carelessly using a skill like Gale Steps would mean that they had lost their advantage.


    None of them really thought too deeply about this though ¨C once they died, their skills would become pointless as well.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t allow Blood Dagger to crowd-control him. Although Blood Dagger didn¡¯t use Kidney Strike in the group matches or in his fight against Water Fairy, Lu Li knew that he definitely had the skill and was most likely planning to use it as his trump card.


    After he used Gale Steps, Lu Li entered an invincible state.


    Blood Dagger quickly vanished. If he didn¡¯t use Vanish, Lu Li would definitely run over and catch him.


    After he lost Blood Dagger, Lu Li wasn¡¯t in a rush, but slowly searched for the position of his opponent.


    Perhaps the Goddess of Luck favored Blood Dagger; he still struck first in their third encounter, but Lu Li had backup plans as well. He activated the special effect on his helmet.


    This helmet was from Water Fairy.


    It increased his detection ability and also came with a one-time effect that allowed him to become immune to crowd-control effects. However, it had to be activated before the skill landed on him. The effect lasted for five seconds and the time could not be shortened or extended.


    He couldn¡¯t be immune to Sap, but he could be immune to Cheap Shot instead.


    Blood Dagger was shocked to see that his four second stun had lost its effect.

 322 An Unexpected Advertising Effec

    Blood Dagger was shocked, but Lu Li would never waste this chance.


    After a total of three encounters, this was the moment that he had been waiting for. With a flash from the activation of his cape effect, he was behind Blood Dagger. From Blood Dagger¡¯s point of view, he was still a defenseless lamb waiting to be slaughtered.


    Without a chance for him to think twice, Lu Li had knocked Blood Dagger into a stunned state.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure if Blood Dagger had any other tricks up his sleeve, but this wasn¡¯t a big deal. A good professional player should think ahead, but shouldn¡¯t hold himself back. Focusing on what was right before their eyes was the most important thing.


    Ambush, Back Stab, Slit Throat ¨C as Blood Dagger was almost about to wake up, Lu Li used a Shadowstrike to stun him again. After two auto-attacks, he moved as he attacked to position himself in front of Blood Dagger, which allowed him to cast Gouge. This paralyzed Blood Dagger for another 2 seconds.


    A short moment later, Shadowstrike was off cooldown and he used it again.


    Blood Dagger¡¯s health was below half at this point; he was now very regretful about changing his gear. He was taking a lot of damage since his armor was lower than usual.


    He didn¡¯t have any escape skills either. In their previous encounters, neither of them wasted any skills; they used everything that was available to them.


    However, he wasn¡¯t too concerned ¨C it appeared that Lu Li didn¡¯t have Kidney Strike.


    If Lu Li didn¡¯t have Kidney Strike, he wouldn¡¯t be stunned forever, so he still had a chance.


    Blood Dagger had always held himself in high regard ¨C he believed that if he had a face to face encounter with Lu Li, there was no way he would be so passive.


    If he was given a chance to deal damage, he might even have a chance to stun Lu Li to death.


    In a duel between two Thieves, it was hard to guarantee who won until the very last moment. Even if a Thief only had a little bit of health left, there was still a chance of making a comeback.


    This was also what Blood Dagger had been planning; he waited patiently, until¡­


    Vanish!


    Lu Li vanished during the stun he had casted from Shadowstrike.


    Generally, Vanish was used as an escape tactic, but Lu Li was only using it its Stealth effect.


    It was definitely a waste, but it was also very effective.


    As Lu Li used Vanish, the stun on Blood Dagger also ended.


    However, before he had a chance to take action, Lu Li landed a second Cheap Shot on him. There was truly nothing more despairing than this.


    He had felt like he had almost seen some hope.


    However, Lu Li still didn¡¯t manage to kill him in this round of attacks. After all, Blood Dagger was still from Glory Capital, so his level 25 Silver-grade equipment would prevent him from dying too easily.


    It was a face to face battle between Lu Li and Blood Dagger, who was low on health!


    As the saying goes ¨C "give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world".


    Just give me a chance to fight face to face¡­ and I¡¯ll use Kidney Strike!


    Kidney Strike: Instant cast, Cooldown 30 seconds, Uses up all combo points, stunning target for (combo points+1) seconds, Skill Proficiency 1/5.


    Most Thief skills were cast instantly. Posture and aim was crucial to casting a skill with a high level of completion, and the completion level of Kidney Strike also affected the stun.


    Furthermore, if it was casted with five combo points, it could inflict a 6 second stun, which was longer than the 4 second stun of Cheap Shot.


    This was what Blood Dagger was relying upon; he just needed a chance...


    He started with a Backstab, followed with a Shadowstrike. As both players were moving freely, his completion level wasn¡¯t great and very little damage was dealt, but he received two combo points from this. With the two combo points he had gained from previously casting Premeditation, he currently had a total of four combo points.


    A 5 second stun ¨C this should have been long enough.


    Just as Blood Dagger was about to cast Kidney Strike, his daggers suddenly disappeared!


    Where are my daggers?


    Where did my daggers go!


    The great Thief Blood Dagger was about to cry.


    This was unfair, this was cheating, this was too shameless! He had been disarmed!


    The gloves that Lu Li borrowed had finally come in action, as he activated the Disarm effect that came with them.


    Disarm was a very interesting effect ¨C Lu Li didn¡¯t steal Blood Dagger¡¯s weapon and neither were the weapons in his bag. Nevertheless, both daggers in Blood Dagger¡¯s hands disappeared.


    It was not possible to cast a skill without a weapon. Weapons were not only used to attack, but were also a medium for casting skills.


    Even though this weakened version of Disarm only lasted for three seconds, Blood Dagger barely had any health left. Even if Disarm lasted for a shorter time, he wouldn¡¯t have made it.


    Blood Dagger lost the match the moment his health bar was emptied.


    Previously, when Blood Dagger had died to Lu Li in the Warsong Valley, he could have disregarded it by saying that Lu Li had the help of Lucky Southern Persian and Stellar Union Silver Radiant.


    However, this single match had made it clear to everyone that Blood Dagger couldn¡¯t win against Lu Li.


    He had lost to Water Fairy and now, he had lost to Lu Li as well.


    Blood Dagger was unimpressed ¨C if this wasn¡¯t a livestream, he would¡¯ve yelled out in frustration already.


    This dirty couple!


    Up until this point, Lu Li was the only player among the Thieves who had won all of his single matches in the competition.


    Although he wasn¡¯t the number one player of Dawn, he was at least the best Thief in Dawn.


    Of course, because of the restrictions of the competition, there were still many that he hadn¡¯t played against. For example, Lu Li didn¡¯t face-off against players like Water Fairy and Wood Fearing. It was up to the audience to decide who determine the strong and weak.


    It was time for the group match.


    At this stage of the competition, it was safe to say that millions were paying attention.


    From the start of the single match, players had been complaining through any platform they could use, whether it be the world channels, the forums¡­


    Why weren¡¯t we allowed to spectate the competition? We¡¯ll even pay for it.


    Most players wanted to watch the competition and calculating solely from the population of Dawn, that was at least a hundred million players.


    The Shadow Group didn¡¯t expect this kind of situation to occur either.


    Fortunately, they were quick to react and were also very generous.


    Free for all!


    The entire match was on livestream and every player was given access to watch it.


    Of course, to make up the loss to the contestants from both teams, the Shadow Group compensated each team with 1.5 million dollars. This was more profit than the money gained from selling tickets.


    All players were now able to see the match. This increase in popularity was beyond the comprehension of normal logic.


    Competitive gaming had already been developed for around two hundred years, and was continuing to grow in popularity. As such, millions of people spent money on competition tickets and related products every year.


    However, compared to the entire gaming population, there were only a small number of people who were familiar with competitive gaming.


    For many, this was the first time they had played a game. Some didn¡¯t even know about these older guilds, but the remarkable competition was still very entertaining to them. As such, many of them began to wonder how they could join these big guilds.


    Glory Capital was already a level 26 guild, and the main branch had a maximum capacity of twenty-six thousand people. Including the countless branch guilds below them, they had a total capacity of a hundred thousand guild members.


    However, big guilds like these who had been famous for many years had their own standards; it wasn¡¯t a place that was open for all.


    Then, what about Xin Xin Mercenary Group? What level guild were they? Has their guild reached maximum capacity too?


    Those who were asked this question instantly gave a strange expression. There were only ten people in Xin Xin Mercenary Group; they didn¡¯t have a guild.


    Luckily, the people who gave them the information were nice enough to share a secret with them. Even though the Xin Xin Mercenary Group didn¡¯t have a guild, they were about to make one soon.


    Apparently, new guilds tended to set their entrance standards lower.


    Would they take new players?


    Of course they would! Why wouldn¡¯t they? Who wasn¡¯t a new player at the beginning of Dawn? Apparently, Dawn was the first game that Lu Li had ever played.


    I¡¯ve decided, I¡¯m definitely entering Lu Li¡¯s guild.


    The Shadow Group and Dawn never would have thought that their actions to win the heart of the audience would create such a big profit for Xin Xin Mercenary Group. This was more effective than any kind of advertisement.


    Although some people had no clue about guilds like the Imperial Secret Service, they would definitely know about the Xin Xin Mercenary Group and Lu Li.

 323 Exchange

    The group match began an hour after the single match!


    Lu Li¡¯s motivational words to Moonlight were simple: "It doesn¡¯t matter who you are or what happened in the past ¨C you¡¯ve returned to put everyone under your feet."


    He then said to March Rain, "You¡¯ve practiced long enough.It must be tiring, but this is the day that you¡¯ve been waiting for."


    Then Lu Li told himself, "Fate gave you a second chance. There¡¯s no need to hold onto grudges from the past, but you¡¯ve got to make the best you can out of your life, and this is your chance."


    He had only reincarnated, so he didn¡¯t magically gain the abilities he didn¡¯t have in previous life.


    The lottery sounded like an easy option, but it was incredibly hard for someone to actually remember the prize number for a particular season.


    He didn¡¯t dare to try and change federal events with his future knowledge either; this wasn¡¯t something he could intervene with.


    He only knew how to play games and he also liked playing games. All he needed to do was to be the best at what he could manage.


    The two teams stood facing each other on the stage. In comparison to the calm expressions of the Glory Capital¡¯s team, the team members from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group looked very anxious.


    Only those who understood the situation knew that they weren¡¯t as calm as they seemed.


    To be fair, it was enough for the Xin Xin Mercenary Group to reach this stage. It wouldn¡¯t make too much of a difference if they proceeded further.


    Although popularity was important, it was crucial that they would be able to process it.


    Entering the top hundred was enough for a big guild ¨C guilds that reached the round of 16 would be famous enough to form their own guild and club.


    There were pros and cons of becoming the champion.


    However, for the Glory Capital, this was a different case. They had been the leading guild for many years and their pillar of support, Sorrowless, had even stepped forward to lead the team himself. If he lost the championship, it would damage both his reputation and his guild¡¯s.


    Glory Capital had been the only leading guild in the Horde Faction of Dawn. As such, there were a countless number of other guilds who were quite unhappy about this.


    The prosperity of a guild required money, but there were too many rich people in the game. You could tell this just by looking at those who had recently tried to collaborate with Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    If you needed a celebrity contestant, you could hunt for them elsewhere, as long as you made a big enough offer and painted a bright future ahead of them.


    As for people?


    The last thing the game lacked was people. As long as a figure had prestige, many would flock to their call.


    The most valuable thing was prestige.


    If Glory Capital lost, their prestige wouldn¡¯t remain unharmed either. Although it still wouldn¡¯t affect their superior position in the Horde faction, it would leave some space for the other guilds to advance. From a certain perspective, losing the championship weakened Glory Capital.


    "Who are we killing?" Moonlight asked.


    "The Priest," Lu Li replied.


    The other duo on the opposing team, Sorrowless and Blood Dagger, were both level 25. They had an entire set of Silver gear and weren¡¯t easy targets. In his previous battle with Blood Dagger, Lu Li was unable to kill him after two complete rounds of all his skills.


    Of course, this was also because he had refrained from using Kidney Strike.


    Only White Westhill, the Priest, was still level 24.


    It was hard for a Priest to level up; they had to rely on teaming up with others. If it wasn¡¯t for Lonesome Flower, a brother who loved his sister dearly, there was no way March Rain would be so high-leveled.


    No matter how skilled they were, there was no way for a level 24 Priest to make up the difference between levels.


    Great minds think alike ¨C Sorrowless and Blood Dagger aimed straight for March Rain. If they managed to kill the opposing healer, they would be able to outlast their opponent, which also meant that victory would be waving at them.


    Lu Li even used his cape effect straight away to get close to White Westhill faster.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t charge onwards; he stood in front of March Rain and temporarily stayed to protect her. However, most of his attention was placed on Lu Li. Once he saw an opportunity, he would rush over immediately.


    Premeditation, Cheap Shot!


    Premeditation could be used in Stealth and gave two combo points, while Cheap Shot was a crowd-control skill.


    White Westhill retained his composure and activated his badge, dispelling his crowd-controlled state.


    This was what he relied on to survive. With this badge and Soul Shriek, anyone who tried to kill him first would always fall into the trap. Additionally, he also had some damage reduction skills.


    Lu Li failed to crowd-control White Westhill, but this didn¡¯t stop him from dealing insane damage. He focused immensely and gave it his all to kill the healer before him.


    Lu Li¡¯s attack was fast, accurate and merciless. He also wore Water Fairy¡¯s gear which slightly increased his damage.


    White Westhill was forced to constantly position himself, otherwise, Lu Li¡¯s skills would have a high-level of completion and would deal massive damage.


    Premeditation gave him two combo points, Ambush gave another two pointsand the last point was from Backstab! That was five combo points in total!


    White Westhill squinted his eyes and attempted to judge whether Lu Li was going to use Backhand Backstab or Slit Throat. He studied Lu Li¡¯s actions carefully and was prepared to use his damage reduction skills at any time.


    Glory Capital paid a lot of attention to Lu Li¡¯s skill set and whether or not he had Kidney Strike. At first, they thought he was hiding it as a trump card, but after some careful analysis and attempts to bait out the skill, they concluded that he didn¡¯t have it.


    The drop rate of Kidney Strike was too low, and there were only a few Kidney Strike skill books in the market. Most of them were rewards from rare quests; this wasn¡¯t a skill that could simply be obtained with money.


    Blood Dagger had only acquired his Kidney Strike in the past few days and it had costed a few hundred gold coins.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group only had ten people; their income was limited and they weren¡¯t supported by an organization. Even if they decided to spend the money, there was no guarantee that they could find a source to buy it from.


    Most importantly, in the past matches, no matter how dangerous the situation was, Lu Li had never used Kidney Strike.


    White Westhill misjudged the situation and this led to a terrible result. When Lu Li¡¯s yellow dagger sliced across his head from right to left, he realized that they had been tricked.


    A five-star Kidney Strike ¨C this was a 6 second stun.


    So much could be done during this time.


    As Lu Li casted Kidney Strike, Moonlight, who had been protecting March Rain, charged over to kill the healer with him.


    With two high-level players focusing him down, White Westhill was dead for sure, unless if he had a second skill or equip to dispel crowd-control effects and turn the situation around.


    Sorrowless and Blood Dagger exchanged glances and shook their heads. They began to frantically attack March Rain; all they could do was to make an exchange.


    If both parties lost their healers at the same time, the situation would possibly turn around.


    Under the circumstance that there were no healers, a combination of Thief and Mage had a greater chance of victory against a combination of Thief and Warrior. Sorrowless had faith in himself.


    White Westhill died first, but March Rain barely had any health left either ¨C she was playing against two of the best players.


    Blood Dagger casted a Kidney Strike on March Rain. It was almost impossible for her to wake up before her health bar was emptied.


    While Sorrowless attacked, he even had the spare energy to direct his Water Elemental. His Water Elemental stretched out its hand and as White Westhill fell to the ground, a layer of frost appeared around his body.


    Lu Li and Moonlight were both frozen, while March Rain¡¯s end had come. Whether it be the four analysts or the audience below the stage, everyone thought that an exchange was going to be made.


    Not only would March Rain be dead, Moonlight and Lu Li were also in a dangerous situation.

 324 Champion

    Frost Nova was a skill that lasted for eight seconds. Once March Rain fell to the ground, Blood Dagger and Sorrowless would have ample time to deal with the two players who had been crowd-controlled. This was not to mention that Sorrowless had only used the Frost Nova from his pet; he still had his own Frost Nova available.


    Moonlight could only silently watch as Lu Li was killed.


    However, no one expected Lu Li to go down easily ¨C players familiar with him would know that he still had Vanish and Gale Steps!


    But what was the point of escaping? He couldn¡¯t save March Rain.


    To everyone¡¯s surprise, Lu Li didn¡¯t cast Vanish or Gale Steps, but instead, he began to deform.


    The audience almost thought that the livestream was broken; how could a person deform?


    Only players from a particular profession gasped.


    They were Druids who were familiar with their transformation process; it looked exactly the same as what was happening on stage.


    Druids could transform into anything and during the transformation process, they became immune to all crowd-control effects. This advantage attracted many guilds at some point to create master PVP players from the Druid class, but they were quickly disappointed. Druid was a class that was capable of everything but specialized in nothing.


    The only Druid masters at the moment were Old Man Power from Gangnam Royals and Mini Meow from Purple Lunar Paradise.


    Under the shocked gazes from the audience, Lu Li turned into a little panther.


    The panthers in Dawn were all very cute and the gold Panther created by Child of the Forest effect was no exception.


    However, everyone thought that the scene before their eyes was extremely eerie!


    The little panther extended its four feet as it raised its head and let out an angry roar.


    After the initial surprise, the audience¡¯s first reaction to the little panther¡¯s roar was the urge to laugh.


    A Thief transforming into a Druid was shocking indeed, but what use was this?


    Were Druids any better than Thieves?


    Did Lu Li transform into a panther just to look cute?


    Sorrowless and Blood Dagger noticed the strange scene unfolding on Lu Li¡¯s side, but they didn¡¯t have time to worry about it. March Rain was already very low in health and as long as they killed her, it didn¡¯t matter what Lu Li transformed into.


    However, they soon discovered that there was more to Lu Li¡¯s roar.


    After the roar, March Rain, who was supposed to remain stunned for another three seconds, was freed from her crowd-controlled state.


    She raised her hand to put a shield on herself and activated the special effect on her weapon as she began to frantically heal herself!


    She healed herself and quickly ran away at the same time; it was as if the small Priest had activated some bug in the game.


    Blood Dagger activated his movement speed buff to chase her and Sorrowless also flashed in to follow, but their hearts sank.


    It wasn¡¯t only March Rain ¨C even Moonlight, who was supposed to be frozen, had recovered. He waved his big axe to join the battle and stopped Sorrowless and Blood Dagger from focusing March Rain.


    After Lu Li roared, he transformed back to his human form and pounced into the fight.


    Stampeding Roar!


    Stampeding Roar, Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 60 seconds. Let out a roar that causes the movement speed of allied players within 5 feet to increase by 30%. Lasts for 5 seconds, and removes all snare and trap effects. Current Level: 1/5.


    Lu Li¡¯s Supreme Ring allowed him to learn a few Druid skills and he had learned quite a few of them, but only this skill seemed to be useful in battle.


    Although the Supreme Ring wasn¡¯t a bug, it was surprisingly more effective than one.


    This skill removed all snare and trap effects, allowing all three of them to remove the crowd-control effects on them. Their movement speed was also increased by 60%, which lasted for eight seconds. This allowed the three players from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group to freely run around the stage. They were able to catch their opponent, but there was no way Sorrowless and Blood Dagger could catch March Rain again.


    Sorrowless was incredibly skilled; his gaming mechanics were even slightly better than Blood Dagger. If Lu Li went and told others that he was only level 18 a few days ago and was helpless against his assassination, no one would have believed him.


    Unfortunately, Glory Capital¡¯s healer had already died.


    He had died at the hands of Lu Li, the sly player who had fooled everyone. Lu Li had kept Kidney Strike and waited for a long, long time to finally surprise Glory Capital.


    Their healer died, but March Rain had escaped.


    The one who caused this was also Lu Li ¨C he actually turned into a Panther and casted a very rare ability that allowed him to dispel crowd-control effects from a group.


    Among all players in Dawn, only a few Druids had the Stampeding Roar skill.


    How unreasonable was it for a part-time Druid to have this skill?!


    Lu Li¡¯s health rapidly dropped from Sorrowless¡¯ attacks, but March Rain stood behind Lu Li, healing him nonstop. She even out-healed the amount of damage that Sorrowless dealt.


    Blood Dagger fought against Moonlight and was slowly losing; Warriors had always been the counter to Thieves.


    However, Blood Dagger didn¡¯t give up. His expression was ice-cold as he focused on the battle against the plated Warrior in front of him.


    At the start, there was some mocking laughter from the audience, but gradually the laughter disappeared. Countless pairs of eyes silently watched as the few players gave their best efforts in the battle on the stage.


    A wave of applause!


    Lu Li¡¯s double ¡®ace¡¯ that he had hidden for so long had successfully outplayed Glory Capital.


    He and his team would become the new legends in gaming history. As a new player, he had fought through numerous teams to finally make it to the finals and win the championship.


    However, Sorrowless and Blood Dagger also won the respect of others.


    From them on, people recognized this display of sportsmanship in their unwillingness to concede; they saw what it meant to be a professional competitor.


    Even if there were no paths ahead of them, even if fate had already announced their failure, they were still going to try, to give their best effort and make their best plays in the situation.


    Although they were close to victory, Lu Li and his team didn¡¯t try to bring their opponents to shame either. They were just as serious as they were from the beginning of the match.


    One minute and twenty-eight seconds ¨C by the time the match got to this point, Moonlight had slashed Blood Dagger into a ray of white light. Sorrowless and Lu Li were still fighting head-on against each other, but because there was no help from a healer, Sorrowless was at a disadvantage.


    Moonlight held onto his axe, but he didn¡¯t charge forward to help.


    He stood and watched as Sorrowless fought to his very last moment and turned into the final glow of white light like Blood Dagger.


    The match was on livestream and the final scene was played on numerous big screens. The camera stopped on the team from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, who accepted the admiration of the crowd as they were crowned the champions of the Shadow Cup.


    This was the rise of another gaming legend!


    Lu Li felt like he was about to faint when he accepted the System¡¯s announcement of victory.


    It was still hard for him to imagine ¨C he had finally succeeded.


    Even though he had used his advantage as a reincarnated person and had more experience than the other experts, he had still been successful.


    Success ¨C this simple term was too unfamiliar to him.


    He hadn¡¯t dared think about it in his twenty years of life!


    I won¡¯t just be a flash or a spark; I¡¯ll grow stronger and become a real winner. Not with the advantage from reincarnation or luck, but simply with my brave heart!


    This was the first time that his motivation wasn¡¯t his sister.


    Lu Li felt a strong desire rise from within him.


    He wanted to be a real winner, even if it was just in a game.

 325 Development Funding

    Lu Li and the other two remained in place while the players that qualified for the top 16 were teleported into the arena one by one.


    It was time to present the awards and prizes to the players. However, the celebrity players were more interested in the exposure and the increased popularity that the presentation would give them.


    As the winners of the Shadow Cup this year, Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain stood before all the players as everyone congratulated them and the crowd roared in excitement.


    The 40 to 50 players on the stage were the top 20% of the PVP experts in Dawn. Whether they had already established their names, were nearing the end of their career or entering their prime, everyone celebrated as the crowd cheered.


    The excitement of winning had finally hit Lu Li and he felt proud and happy for everyone around him.


    Some couldn¡¯t contain their excitement ¨C as if they were the ones that had won the tournament.


    Others were expressionless, as if someone owed them money.


    A few players were angry about the results and at themselves for not performing to their expectations. Either way, Lu Li was impressed with each and every one of them and how far everyone had made it.


    As the others congratulated them and shook their hands, Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but notice that they were holding onto March Rain¡¯s hands for a bit too long.


    Everyone became quiet as the representatives from the gaming company and the Shadow Cup Association appeared on the stage.


    It was time for the awards ceremony.


    Champion of the Shadow Cup this year ¨C Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Group award of $5,000,000.


    Second place Glory Capital ¨C $3,000,000.


    Third place Drizzle Court ¨C $2,000,000.


    The fourth place received $1,500,000, while every team from fifth to eighth received $1,000,000.


    Ninth to sixteenth place received $500,000.


    The prize money alone totalled up to almost $20,000,000. There were also awards for the best player of each class, with the winner receiving $500,000.


    MVP Warrior ¨C Moonlight, member of the winning team. His playstyle was very bold and he was very flexible, both defensively and offensively. He was idolized by many Warrior players as the top Warrior in Dawn.


    MVP Mage Sorrowless ¨C this was clearly undisputed.


    MVP Priest ¨C March Rain. In reality, March Rain was less mechanically skilled than Stellar Union Silver Radiant, Professional Healer and White Westhill. However, because of her beauty and her improvement throughout the tournament, many people saw her as one of the best up-and-coming Priests in the game. Based on the votes, she had won the title quite convincingly.


    MVP Thief ¨C Water Fairy¡­ That¡¯s right, Water Fairy had brought home the title. Lu Li came in at second while Wood Fearing came third. Water Fairy received more votes than Lu Li and Wood Fearing combined.


    The sad reality was that the community tended to vote for pretty girls over guys.


    MVP Shaman ¨C Jade Flower Lover. There were very few Shaman players and the only outstanding ones were him and Empty.


    MVP Druid ¨C Meow, a very adorable girl. She had won because all of the virgin male players voted for her.


    MVP Paladin ¨C Green Flag Wine. This veteran definitely deserved this award. Many players believed that he would rise to become the best Paladin in the game once again.


    MVP Warlock ¨C Lone Smoker Long. He was an expert Warlock player as well. Hornet¡¯s Nest came very close to him in the voting, but Lone Smoker Long had the slight edge because he had defeated Moonlight.


    Lastly, the Hunter MVP award went to Marks from the Wings of Dawn.


    Marks had a flying pet with very cute animations that looked like Pikachu. He had gained lots of popularity with his pet alone, especially among the female players.


    There was also supposed to be a Hidden Class Award, which was presented to the MVP that played either Death Knight, Monk or Demon Hunter. However, none of the players from these classes stood out in particular and therefore, this award was skipped.


    There was also the Most Popular Award. The first, second and third places received $2,000,000, $1,000,000 and $500,000 in prize money respectively.


    The first place was presented to the Guild Leader of Glory Capital, Sorrowless. Sorrowless had more than ten years of experience and was considered a legend among the gaming community. It was no surprise that he took home this title.


    Water Fairy was ranked second ¨C she had both the skill and the looks to be voted in at second in the Popularity Award. Because of her beauty, skill and outgoing personality, her popularity had sky-rocketed over the past two years.


    Since Lu Li was a new player, he was placed third behind Water Fairy.


    Beside all of this, there were a bunch of other random awards that weren¡¯t associated with Lu Li.


    After some time, the Shadow Cup officially ended.


    Lu Li noticed something that the representative had said during his speech ¨C "The next Shadow Cup will be bigger and more exciting than ever before."


    This seemed like something that had been said for show, however, Lu Li knew that he was being serious.


    The Shadow Cup would be known as Major League Gaming in the future, but it would still be hosted by the Shadow Cup Association. However, from next year onwards, they would gather all their connections and sponsorships, and completely upscale the tournament into a League Tournament.


    Although the idea had been raised during the past, Dawn did not have a large enough player base to have a league tournament for itself and therefore, the association would lose money.


    However, Dawn had grown into a game that everyone played. The large player base and popularity among the gaming community allowed them to upscale the tournament, thus creating more opportunities for profits. Additionally, the large prize pools would attract more players, encourage players to improve and thus, create more entertainment value.


    The tournament format would be completely remade as well.


    The number of players on each team would increase from 3 to 8, not including reserves. The veteran star players would continue to dominate the game as younger, less experienced players began to rise and more potential star players developed.


    For others, this might have been a good thing, however, for Xin Xin Mercenary Group, this was equivalent to their worst nightmare.


    The advantages and knowledge that Lu Li had would fade as time passed on. With changes to the tournament format, as well as their limited of resources and members, the Xin Xin Mercenary would eventually be crushed by the major guilds.


    In simple terms, if they wanted to continue dominating tournaments, Lu Li had to begin recruiting talent.


    Lu Li had known all of this beforehand and had thought about it many times.


    Whether he had to develop young talent himself or recruit famous players from his past life that had yet to emerge as experts, he needed the support from his team, as well as financial funding and resources.


    Lu Li had no money himself ¨C the money he had made was all spent on supporting his little sister.


    Moonlight was broke as well. Even though he had made some money from the tournament, most of it went to supporting his poor friends and family.


    Others were either students or recent graduates and had no money lying around to be invested into games.


    As for accepting outside resources, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group and Square Root Three would never consider this as an option.


    Luckily, they had made quite a lot of money in the Shadow Cup this year.


    There was $5-6 million from ticket sales, $ 5 million from the prize money, and $1 million from the individual awards that were presented to Lu Li and March Rain. This totalled up to $12 million.


    Sixty percent of this was shared by the members that participated in the tournament. A portion of the remaining money was distributed to the others, while the rest was used as funding for future developments.


    Since Lu Li had made it into the finals, he received a share of more than $2 million. He decided to reinvest part of this money back into the game and set some aside for supporting others.


    When he first entered the game, he had made about $2-3 million, then made another $2 million by selling explosive bombs with Shen Wansan. His bank account had enough money to cure his little sister¡¯s sickness, as well as some leftover for emergencies.


    The others in Xin Xin Mercenary Group had made quite a lot of money as well.


    March Rain and Moonlight had made the most because they entered the finals with Lu Li. On the other hand, the two high schoolers had made enough money for their tuition fees and to support themselves all the way up to university.

 326 Member Recruitment Frenzy

    Just because the tournament had ended didn¡¯t mean that it was time to relax.


    If anyone had such mentality, they might not even make the top 100 in the tournament next year.


    Lu Li and the others had a lot of work to do to prepare themselves for the future.


    Firstly, they had to continue their progression into the Instance Dungeons. Lu Li¡¯s knowledge from his rebirth might have been very advantageous for them, however, if they lacked the opportunities to utilise the knowledge, it would become useless.


    For the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, the best way to maximize the use of Lu Li¡¯s rebirth knowledge was through Instance Dungeons. They had to continue to strive for First Clears and set records in order to obtain equips and SP.


    Apart from this, their mechanics had to reach the next level.


    Lu Li knew better than anyone else that the target behind his back was becoming bigger and bigger. The gap between him and the other professional players was shortening as they continued to develop their game knowledge and game sense.


    Lu Li had put in so much effort just to stay ahead of everyone. If he wanted to continue to be the top player, it was crucial that he worked even harder in all aspects of his game.


    Lastly, he had to develop Xin Xin Mercenary into a guild. Through this tournament, he realised the importance of a guild and a community that strived towards one goal. No matter how many First Clears their current group could take, they still lacked the numbers and resources for tournament participation.


    Lu Li had finally realised what the phrase "strength in numbers" meant. A small team of elite players would never be able to defeat an entire army of noobs.


    If Lu Li could form 100 small groups, he could pass on his knowledge to them after he had completed an Instance Dungeon. The groups would then follow in Lu Li¡¯s footsteps and clear the Instance Dungeon 100 times.


    100 Elite Groups ¨C this was the goal that Lu Li had set for himself. It was also the maximum limit in a guild.


    Every other major guild that entered the professional league tournament also obeyed this rule. It was common knowledge that you needed at least 100 elite groups to sustain a guild.


    The players required for instance dungeons in Dawn varied from 5 up to as many 40 players.


    One hundred elite groups was equivalent to 10 teams of 40 players.


    Super-guilds like Glory Capital were rumoured to have more than 3000 elite groups, which was more than 100 teams of 100 players. This was the fruit of their 10 years of hard work.


    Lu Li was quite discouraged because every time he cleared the Howling Caverns, Glory Capital would have cleared it more than 1500 times.


    As such, he had a lot of work to do to catch up to the other guilds. Since the tournament had just ended and everyone was talking about Xin Xin Mercenary Group, Lu Li used this opportunity to recruit as many players and potential experts into his new guild as possible. Lu Li and Square Root Three had already announced their new guild name "Ruling Sword" during the championship interview from Home of Esports.


    When they announced this, many players searched for it in the guild browser.


    It¡¯s not there?


    It¡¯s not there!


    Many players were disappointed because they couldn¡¯t find it.


    They had announced the guild before it was officially created, and players felt like they were being teased by Lu Li.


    However, although everyone complained, they still waited to join the guild.


    It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to join the guild of the championship team.


    Three years ago, some people had joined a small and unknown guild, not expecting much at all. They only joined because they thought the name of the guild was cool. The guild then continued to develop and grew to become one of the top elite guilds in the game.


    That small guild was called Peerless City!


    They weren¡¯t famous for anything nor did they offer any incentives for their guild members. However, they were lucky enough to become of the largest guilds in the game.


    Now, an even better opportunity had arisen in the form of Ruling Sword. The members could brag to others that they were from a guild that had won the championship.


    Usually, during the initial stages of building a new guild, the guild master wouldn¡¯t put any restrictions on joining. Otherwise, the guild would lack numbers and create an arrogant reputation for themselves.


    They would seem too good for others.


    As the guild became more and more powerful, then they would set restrictions and only allow the better players to join.


    Lu Li had only created the guild at the end of the day and announced it on the world chat.


    "The Guild has been created. Recruiting all players to join.


    His announcement was instantly drowned in messages from other players. The entire server was excited.


    Earth Dragon: "Blood Red War Flag congratulate the establishment of Ruling Sword."


    Water Fairy: Drizzle Court congratulate the establishment of Ruling Sword."


    Stellar Star Silver Union: "Azure Guard congratulate the establishment of Ruling Sword."


    Lucky Southern Persian: "Seventh Heaven congratulate the establishment of Ruling Sword."


    Dancing Star Dream: "Gangnam Royals congratulate the establishment of Ruling Sword."


    Wood Fearing: "Gods of Dusk congratulate the establishment of Ruling Sword."


    Whether it was the guild masters, celebrity players or famous gamers, everyone was excited to see how Ruling Sword would develop.


    It was a great start to their newly established guild. Lu Li and the others had gained respect and recognition purely by their own strengths, which was a very commendable thing.


    Lu Li was well aware that despite all the congratulatory messages, many were planning and developing strategies to defeat them.


    Only one team could win the Shadow Cup and most people would do anything to achieve that.


    By searching the guild name, players could see the IDs of players who were above the Elder rank in the guild.


    Ruling Sword had one guild master, two co-leaders and nine elders, with all the other positions being empty. It was currently a level 1 guild and allowed a maximum of 1000 members.


    The guild master of Ruling Sword was Lu Li, the co-leader was Square Root Three and Wandering was an elder. The three were too busy to pay attention to the world chat.


    They were busy recruiting players!


    There were a countless number of players that applied for the guild. Within 30 seconds of the announcement, more than 5000 players had applied to join their guild, and there were many more to come.


    "Recruit more Mages and Priests," Square Root Three said.


    Lu Li and Wandering began focusing on recruiting Mages and Priests, as well as other classes that were popular within the current meta.


    Mages could level fast and they had high damage potential. Priests were an essential class for Instance Dungeons. As such, you could never have too many Mages or Priests. Besides these two classes, Shamans, Warlocks and Hunters were also very useful in Instance Dungeons.


    "Try to aim to recruit players that are above level 15. If their name seems dodgy then be careful," Wandering suggested.


    You could tell the personalities of some players through their ID. For example, a player with the ID "Daddy is Lit" would most likely be a troll or useless player. It would be wise to filter out these players and prevent them from joining.


    The restriction was added and all players that were level 15 and below were filtered out.


    Fat Monkey!


    This name immediately caught Lu Li¡¯s attention.


    The future king of fire mages! He then looked at his level; Fat Monkey was level 11¡­.


    Whether he was level 1 or level 11, he had to be recruited into the guild. Lu Li accepted the future elite player into the guild without hesitation.


    Beard Stubble, level 7 ¨C a formidable Hunter in the future. From Lu Li¡¯s memory, he was the first one to lure a Wild boss to a quiet place and had spent more than 10 hours to solo-kill it.


    Eternal Night Light, Power of Friendship and Wolf Fang were all potential star players.


    If Lu Li saw a familiar ID, he immediately recruited them into the guild. Knowing that all these players had the potential to become top players was a great feeling.


    This was another advantage that he had gained from his rebirth. Lu Li could see the future glory of these players before they developed.

 327 Developing The Guild

    With players continuously joining the guild, the guild reached the 1000 player mark before long.


    The guild channel was bustling with excitement.


    Some players were trying to get the attention of the guild managers, hoping that they could get a place for their friends as well.


    Lu Li was more than happy to satisfy these requests. Those who brought in little parties of their own were more likely to be consistent and easier to form teams with. If they disobeyed the guild¡¯s instructions, they could easily be kicked anyway.


    Lu Li also reserved 20 empty spots for any emergencies. When a guild first started, no one felt a sense of belonging towards it. As such, it would be disastrous to kick someone out for no reason.


    His consideration wasn¡¯t unreasonable either; it wouldn¡¯t be long before more players would request to join.


    "Great God, we also want to join," Little Bear Huan Huan said in a message.


    Wasn¡¯t this one of their female landlords? Lu Li was surprise and replied, "Why would you want to join me?"


    Drizzle Court had taken third place in the Shadow Cup so their popularity had skyrocketed. They were a great guild to be part of and even treated their members really well. The landladies should have been quite happy to be where they were.


    This was of course, unless if something had happened?


    "We¡¯ve already left the guild, so if you don¡¯t accept us, I will have to tell Xin Xin," Don¡¯t Hit Dou Dou said pitifully.


    "Alright then. Apply and I¡¯ll let you in."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t inquire any further. They were all living in the same house, so he couldn¡¯t reject them.


    The three girls were added to the guild.


    "Hey, isn¡¯t that Drizzle Court¡¯s Dou Dou? Why have they come here?"


    Drizzle Court¡¯s average beauty was quite high, but it was nothing compared to Dou Jing Jing, who was also very charming and had friends everywhere. She was quite famous among the ordinary players.


    They quickly also recognized Little Bear Huan Huan and Willow Yi Yi. The world truly was a small place.


    Before long, Lu Li¡¯s little sister, Xin Xin, was also added.


    The guild was even more lively now.


    It wasn¡¯t because Lu Xin was famous, but once she was added, all the original Xin Xin Mercenary Group players came out to meet her.


    This little hunter was only level 10.


    "This is my little sister, so take care of her," Azure Sea Breeze said first.


    The number 1 Main Tank¡¯s sister.


    This sentiment was repeated throughout the newer players. They all vowed to make her their sister as well. If anyone bullied her, they would make them suffer for a generation.


    "¡­" Lu Li¡¯s face turned blue.


    After some changes, the number of players finally settled.


    "Greetings, I¡¯m Lu Li."


    A few words were usually said when a new guild was established. As the Club President and spiritual leader of these people, Lu Li was unwilling to give up that role.


    The guild quietened down.


    Of the players who had joined the guild today, most of them had done so because of Lu Li. He had led the Xin Xin Mercenary Group to take countless First Clears and was the reason they had claimed first place in the Shadow Cup Championship.


    In the same way that Sorrowless was Glory Capital¡¯s God, Lu Li was the Ruling Sword¡¯s spiritual leader.


    As such, everyone became quiet, eager to listen to what Lu Li had to say.


    Was he committed to everyone¡¯s welfare? Or was he going to pick players to become part of the Elite team? Or was it going to invite players into the club? The new players listened expectantly.


    Only some of the sober players were critically watching Lu Li.


    "Those who have joined us today, must have done so because they saw that we were the champions of the tournament," Lu Li said rudely. Although this was true, saying it like that sounded snobbish to everyone.


    Some players immediately left the guild.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind and continued, "You probably don¡¯t have a better place to go, or you feel like you need to join a guild. Perhaps you were even kicked out of your old guild. Fortunately for you, we haven¡¯t assessed your income as a criteria for entry."


    Another few people left the guild; this leader¡¯s words were simply too hard to listen to.


    As Lu Li continued to speak these harsh words, players kept leaving the guild. Some players who left even left some harsh words in return and went on the forums to vent about it. They obviously couldn¡¯t challenge him to a fight ¨C who could possibly fight Lu Li?


    "Sister Yi Yi, why is Lu Li doing that?" Dou Jing Jing was puzzled and messaged Willow Yi Yi.


    Out of the three of them, Zhou Huan Huan had the best temper, but was a little lazy. Willow had a keen mind and generally had insightful thoughts. Dou Jing Jing would often ask for her advice.


    Willow responded, "The players that have left are all arrogant in some way. They think that they¡¯re better than this and can¡¯t bear to listen to this talk. It doesn¡¯t matter if they leave; it¡¯s not really a loss."


    "But what if they all leave?" Dou Jing Jing didn¡¯t know what to say.


    In a game like this, who wouldn¡¯t have at least a slight temper?


    "Why would they all leave? Lu Li might be speaking words that are hard to hear, but it is still the truth," Willow said unexpectedly. "Even if everyone leaves, the guild can be refilled in a few minutes."


    It was true ¨C Lu Li had the luxury of doing this. If those players were offended by these words, then they weren¡¯t fit to stay anyway. It was best that they left as early as possible.


    Now that Ruling Sword had been established, they didn¡¯t need some charismatic leader, but players who could obey the guild and understood what was expected of them.


    Additionally, Lu Li¡¯s won¡¯t receive that much resentment for his words due to his fame, even if dozens of players had left the guild.


    At this moment, Square Root 3 sheepishly stepped out and said, "You all have a keen eye and are very lucky to have joined the champion¡¯s guild. Our future is bright and as long as we all work hard together, we will have glorious times ahead."


    This was the strategy that they had discussed. Lu Li was the spiritual leader, so he needed to build up respect, but he couldn¡¯t be too approachable. On the other hand, Square Root 3 was going to manage to guild, so he needed to craft a more approachable image.


    The result of this was significant. After Square Root 3 spoke, the tension in the air disappeared.


    They knew that Lu Li was right. According to their current standards, there was no way for them to be champions even if they entered another big guild.


    The big guilds had various benefits for the ordinary members. This goes without mentioning the benefits that were provided to the higher-level guild members.


    The guild warehouses were one of the most attractive places.


    They generally contained a variety of materials, exquisite equipment and rare items that guild members could use their points to redeem.


    These points could be earned by doing guild quests or donating equipment.


    Once a guild was up and running, it was like a small country.


    "Our guild will now have its first event," Square Root 3 tactfully declared. "Players who complete the guild quests will receive double points for the next two weeks. The player with the highest points at the end will receive three level 25 Silver equips. The second will receive two pieces of equipment and the third will receive one. The fourth and fifth highest players will receive a rare material that is commonly used in their profession. I hope everyone¡­"


    Before he could even finish, the guild channel was swamped.


    A happiness had welled up in the players, who were surprised by this great event.

 328 Discrimination

    Most people who had joined the guild did it for the benefits, but anyone with half a brain knew that nothing was for free. They couldn¡¯t hope to gain anything before they had done work for the guild.


    However, Ruling Sword was different. Not only were they the Champion¡¯s guild, but their first event was also very generous.


    It was normal for the guild to set up guild quests as this was the way to grow the guild. However, no one would ever set six Silver equips as the reward.


    Square Root 3 didn¡¯t even have to do anything to mobilize the members. The thousands of members called on their friends and quickly formed parties. They then rushed into the Mercenary Hall to apply for guild quests. The streets were filled with Ruling Sword members rushing about; it was a sight that easily made the other guilds jealous.


    For a guild to reach level 2, a certain number of completed quests and a certain amount of material was required.


    The former required manpower while the later required financial resources.


    The money that Lu Li had earned from the Shadow Cup was almost entirely spent on the guild. Moonlight and March Rain did the same thing and collectively, they had devoted about 5-6 million. This money was the result of their club and they didn¡¯t really mind parting with it.


    As such, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had both the manpower and the financial resources.


    According to Square Root 3¡¯s estimates, if things went smoothly, the guild could reach at least level 15 in two weeks. After all, the players¡¯ levels were quite high and they could complete the quests relatively quickly.


    When he saw that there wasn¡¯t much time left in the day, Lu Li escorted his sister offline.


    However, the little girl was confused about the day and night system, and yelled about finishing her quest. She wanted to contribute as well, so Lu Li made sure to watch over her. He didn¡¯t want her to stray from the safe areas.


    The next day, Lu Li fully entrusted the guild to Square Root 3, intending to bring the old Xin Xin Mercenary Group to do an Instance Dungeon.


    He completely disregarded Square Root 3¡¯s protests.


    After all, they had invited him to manage the guild. He was already receiving such a high salary, so what else would he want to do?


    Lu Li had not yet planned to go to the Scarlet Monastery. Although it could be accessed at level 25, it was a level 30 Instance Dungeon. The mobs within it were all around level 30.


    Instead, he first went to see the Keeper of the Grove Remulos in the Moonlight Forest. Now that he knew how to further upgrade his Supreme Ring, he acquired a quest from Remulos.


    It was to complete the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon at nightmare difficulty.


    Blackfathom could be accessed at level 20, but was a level 25 Instance Dungeon. There were six Bosses within it that ranged from level 25 to 30.


    The Nightmare difficulty unimaginable, but Lu Li didn¡¯t plan to waste his time.


    He was familiar with Blackfathom¡¯s terrain. In his past life, when Azure Sea Breeze was desperately hunting down upgrades for the Supreme Ring, Wandering had taken him into Blackfathom.


    The complex underground passages offered some natural protection and Lu Li had also given him several supplies for his journey.


    With regards to the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon, Lu Li had never seen it before. However, he had seen the general strategy for it on the forums, which gave him some advantage over the newly-arrived ordinary players.


    Recently, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had also purchased an assortment of good equipment, which made the Nightmare difficulty feel like it was within reach.


    Blackfathom was located in the Zoram Strand in Gray Valley. It was a glorious temple which honored the Night Elf Goddess, Elune.


    The temple had collapsed in the explosion of the Eternity Well and had sunk into the depths of the Veiled Sea, isolating it from the outside world. That is, until the Naga and Satyrs were attracted to the ancient temple¡¯s power and sought to explore its secrets.


    Remulos had asked Lu Li to kill everyone who was desecrating the temple. This was a very aggressive decision, but it could be understood.


    In a sense, Remulos was the son of Cenarius and the grandson of Elune. If there was a group of people who had occupied and were desecrating your grandmother¡¯s domain, killing them all was already quite merciful.


    Before he took them to the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li first brought them somewhere else ¨C Blackfathom Camp.


    Blackfathom Camp was situated along Zoram¡¯s Coast and was a part of the Alliance. There were three Elves in this camp ¨C Shindrell Swiftfire, Talren and Muscle Man Brass.


    "Oh, adventurers. Lots of adventurers," Blacksmith Brass muttered under his breath.


    Even though this wasn¡¯t a welcome sight, he still had to admire the courage of these guys. With the recent increase in Blackfathom¡¯s power, the Twillight Hammer and Naga raids had been constantly harassing the Blackfathom Camp. They had just been doing whatever they could to get by.


    "Oh, adventurers really have come," said Talren. He went before Lu Li and the others before touching Hachi Chan¡¯s head and saying, "Your head is so small but you¡¯re already out adventuring. The young people nowadays are great."


    Hachi Chan grimaced. Why didn¡¯t he say that she was young? Why did he say that her head was small?


    She wanted to kick him, but her manners told her otherwise. Instead, she politely bowed and replied, "Uncle, I have many friends and they¡¯re very strong."


    "I can see that; they are all very brave."


    After a glance, Talren turned and continued talking to Hachi Chan.


    The others were crying at the thought of being ignored like a piece of furniture. He was obviously only paying Hachi Chan any attention.


    After talking to Talren, they learned that he was an explorer and archeologist. He had a large ship that was taken by a group of Naga at the ruins of Zoram, and was the only survivor who had made it back to camp.


    "How unlucky."


    Hachi Chan¡¯s wide eyes were becoming teary and she began to act cute.


    Everyone else silently insulted her bad acting.


    However, this NPC fell for it and quickly comforted her.


    "Oh, don¡¯t be sad little girl. Adventures are filled with death and surprises; it was just too bad that my adventures ended badly."


    "What did you get from your adventures?" The little girl showed a face of curiosity.


    "We had explored the ruins of an ancient city some time ago and found some ancient statues inside. Those damned Naga have long abandoned the arts of the Elf family. I heard that they discarded the statues onto the seacoast. Can you guys get them back for me?" Talren asked.


    "My partners are also very enthusiastic; can they help?" Hachi Chan hadn¡¯t forgotten the others.


    "Them?" Talren frowned with disdain. He didn¡¯t intend to issue the quest to the others but it seemed like Lu Li and the others would be helpful in dealing with the desecrators.


    Lu Li had seen Talren in his past life, but he wasn¡¯t this eccentric.


    Dawn¡¯s charisma property must have really had a significant effect; it could completely affect the behavior of an NPC. It sounded very unfair but Lu Li hadn¡¯t believed it until now.


    Although Hachi Chan looked like a fool, she was an extraordinary treasure.

 329 Damning Halo

    "There are many Naga on the coast; I¡¯m a little scared. Please uncle, let me take my partners on the quest too?" Under Wandering¡¯s private guidance, Hachi Chan went on the offensive.


    Talren felt like it was a little dangerous to send a little girl alone to the coastline and began to recognized the value of Lu Li and the others. He readily gave the quest to them.


    Afterwards, everyone received a few more quests from Brass and Shindrell that related to the Instance Dungeon and the surrounding area. However, the most important quest they finally received was the main quest ¨C Demon in Blackfathom.


    ¡®Demon in Blackfathom¡¯ was a special package in the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon. It didn¡¯t reward any equipment, only EXP.


    The package gave a particularly large amount of EXP. It would make Lu Li¡¯s EXP jump by about 30%, which was roughly equivalent to a full day¡¯s worth of farming.


    This was the reason why Lu Li had brought everyone to the small camp.


    In reality, this EXP package only had a 30% chance of being found ¨C many players had attempted and returned empty handed. However, with Hachi Chan¡¯s luck, it was almost certain that they would get it.


    "This is the situation ¨C there have been many rumors that the Twillight Hammer has formed an alliance with the Naga in the North of the Black Sea Coast. The scout Thaelrid that I sent to scout out Blackfathom has been gone for weeks, but he hasn¡¯t sent back any reports," Shindrell said.


    He had disappeared, so something must have happened.


    Lu Li and the others listened carefully, trying to memorize Shindrell¡¯s words and derive some useful information from them.


    "The problem is that the camp is currently short of manpower, so we can¡¯t afford to look for him. Help me find Thaelrid and help him finish his quest, young elf." Shindrell Swiftfire sent Hachi Chan a map and continued, "This map shows Blackfathom¡¯s topography and where Thaelrid was exploring. Although it is not very accurate, it¡¯ll point you in the right direction."


    "I¡­ can¡¯t read this map."


    "We will help her. Please relax," Lu Li said quickly. He quickly took the map from Hachi Chan and stored it. Although he already knew the landscape of Blackfathom, this would arouse less suspicion.


    "I hope you will return safely," Shindrell said as he nodded contently.


    "Is there anything else we need to pay attention to, sister?" Hachi Chan tilted her head and gave an enthusiastic smile.


    "Little sister, there¡¯s nothing else for today, but come again next time." Shindrell was very satisfied with Hachi Chan and pinched the little girl¡¯s face.


    In this one meeting, they had become like siblings.


    The others looked away so they wouldn¡¯t become teary. Now that they were doing quests with Hachi Chan, they clearly knew what the difference was.


    If God could open a door for you, he could open a window for you too


    What were they nervous for? What were they afraid for? Dealing with these eccentric NPC was now worth it.


    After receiving the quests, their first course of action was to the collect the Ancient Statues quest.


    This seemed like a very ordinary quest, but it wasn¡¯t. Given the standard of quests at the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon, there was a big difference between ignoring and completing this one.


    There was a creek at the front of the Spider Lair and the pool outside the Howling Caves. They didn¡¯t know what the Death Mines had ¨C perhaps, it had not yet been discovered. However, this quest had the same effect for Blackfathom.


    The task of collecting the Ancient Statues wasn¡¯t difficult; it could even be done alone.


    The quest was completed when each person had collected 10 statues.


    After they collected the statues, they returned to Talren.


    "This is fantastic! These are all the items I¡¯ve lost! I must reward you; please wait¡­" Talren then rummaged in a pile of statues while absentmindedly saying, "Have you guys seen a stone box? I got it from the sacrificial altar in the city; it contains secrets about the city."


    "Uncle, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll look for it for you," Hachi Chan hurriedly said.


    Lu Li watched how Hachi Chan did quests. Unsurprisingly, she easily recevied another quest. Because her charisma value was relatively high, she presumably received a lot of quests and a lot of goodwill.


    Additionally, most players completed quests with the reward in mind.


    However, Hachi Chan was more involved than that. She didn¡¯t consider the quest¡¯s difficulty nor the reward she was receiving. Perhaps her legendary luck was a blessing for her silliness.


    Talren nodded and said, "After I fled, I recalled a red Naga taking my stone box."


    "A red Naga? Was it Luzel?" the blacksmith who was standing nearby interrupted. "That damned degenerate. He hides on an isolated island. If you go north of the coast, you¡¯ll soon find an island with red hills."


    And so, the next part of the quest was given.


    These quests didn¡¯t necessarily result in more rewards, but it did save them a lot of effort. Otherwise, without a strategy guide or the reminder, they wouldn¡¯t have found the island, even after 3 to 5 hours of searching.


    Luzel was standing at the top of one of the hills on the island, and was much bigger than an ordinary Naga. His skin was dark red, which was exactly the same color as the mountain. If you weren¡¯t paying attention, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see him.


    "This is it?" Azure Sea Breeze tightened his grip and took a few steps forward.


    No on responded because it was obvious. A monster that was targeted in a quest probably wasn¡¯t much stronger than they were, right?


    "Hypocritical elf. You should die." Without saying anything else, Luzel rushed down from the hills.


    Azure Sea Breeze raised his shield and ran forwards. The strength disparity between them was obvious. Luzel had gained momentum from running down the hill and was pushing him backwards. He almost backed him into the ocean.


    -26


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s axe was digging into Luzel¡¯s chest. A weak damage value floated up.


    However, Luzel didn¡¯t have much HP ¨C he only had about 30,000. Being a level 25 monster, this made sense ¨C he only had a little more than an Elite.


    Luzel exclusively used physical, single-target attacks. He kept fighting Azure Sea Breeze while the others dealt damage to him.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group currently had two healers, so healing was a very easy task. There was never a critical situation throughout the whole fight and Luzel was defeated in minutes.


    He dropped an ancient stone box and an ancient elf seal.


    Seal of the Ancient Elves (Special): They have abandoned the Glory of Elune, their souls have been condemned and they have received the damning halo. All Naga within 30 yards receive a 20% weak effect and a certain chance of losing their armor. Lasts for three days.

 330 Tricking An NPC Into Doing An Instance Dungeon

    The Seal of the Ancient Elves was exactly what they were looking for.


    There was only a small probability that Luzel would drop this item, but this probability was increased to 100% when you accepted Talren¡¯s quest.


    This was the strategy that not many people knew about.


    Lu Li, being someone who had experienced rebirth, wouldn¡¯t miss such a detail. He equipped the Seal of the Ancient Elves onto his badge slot, giving the whole team a Damned Halo.


    This aura did not conflict with Remnant Dream¡¯s Trueshot Aura.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t need to change any of his equipment to accommodate the new item. He had long since returned Water Fairy¡¯s items.


    After they had gotten what they wanted, they returned to complete the quest before heading for Blackfathom.


    Blackfathom was a stretch of ruins that was once the site of Zoram City. Within the ruins, there was a collapsed area where the temple had sunk into the ocean. An entrance could be seen poking above the water.


    There was a tower of stone by the entrance and two Elite Magic Mobs guarding it.


    "Breezy, take a party to fight the left one. Wandering, take a party to fight the right one. Make it quick; end the fight in 15 seconds," Lu Li directed as they approached the tower.


    If these two Elite guards fought for more than 15 seconds, they would call a large number of Naga for backup.


    Although they were strong enough to deal with them, that wasn¡¯t the issue. Lu Li didn¡¯t want to waste time on these level 25 mobs that gave barely any EXP.


    With ten players relentlessly attacking them, the two Elite guards didn¡¯t even have time to summon Water Elementals before they were killed.


    "Riceball, give everyone an Underwater Breathing Potion. We need to jump in from here and there is water at the bottom."


    Lu Li indicated at Sesame Rice Ball to give them the Underwater Breathing Potions.


    "I don¡¯t want it; I can swim." Hachi Chan wanted to show off her Druid capabilities.


    Lu Li also didn¡¯t need it either; his Druid ability to transform wasn¡¯t really a secret anymore. He didn¡¯t need to hide it, especially in front of his own people.


    Lu Li took the lead and jumped in; he was quickly followed by everyone else. They were only so brave because it was a video game. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have jumped in with such confidence.


    The landing space was a body of water and there was a big splash as they fell into it.


    "Take the potion now, and follow my lead. Do not fall behind; do you understand? Wandering and Breezy, you guys cover the back. Don¡¯t let anyone fall behind.


    The next section was an underwater maze with many twists and turns.


    In Lu Li¡¯s past life, an incident had occurred here. There was a female player who had gotten lost and had a phobia of either the deep sea, mazes or the darkness. As a result, she couldn¡¯t take the mental pressure of being lost and collapsed.


    Although the system promptly disconnected her from the game, she suffered very real mental trauma and the game company gave her some monetary compensation.


    There were four girls in this party; Lu Li didn¡¯t want that kind of incident to happen now.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering could handle themselves, so they could stay at the back.


    Everyone followed Lu Li and dove underwater. They watched as he swam close to a rock wall and went in. The rest then followed him in a line.


    The underground environment was quite complex. It was mostly collapsed buildings, but you could occasionally see the ruins of the temple.


    As Lu Li had experienced rebirth, he found the journey quite easy and familiar. They were only underwater for seven to eight minutes before they surfaced again. The next section was quite complex as well, but it wasn¡¯t underwater.


    As they left the water and set foot onto dry land, everyone felt a sense of security. However, this feeling was short-lived as they were rushed by a group of Naga.


    Azure Sea Breeze instinctively moved forward and Taunted, which was decisively followed by everyone else¡¯s attacks.


    "Now, we need to find Thaelrid. We¡¯ll split into two teams led by Wandering and I. Take this map; you want to search the three areas with the red dots. Say something in the chat if you find him."


    Lu Li gave Wandering the map and they parted ways.


    He led one party to search in another area.


    The annoying Thaelrid was silent and didn¡¯t have a fixed position. Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have to go through all this trouble.


    Fortunately, he knew the places that Thaelrid was commonly found at, and splitting up would help them quickly cover more ground.


    Sure enough, Wandering soon found a dying Sentinel at one of Lu Li¡¯s marked locations. He quickly messaged the rest of the players to meet up with them.


    When Lu Li arrived, Thaelrid started to speak. He wasn¡¯t mute like Wandering had described.


    "This is our party leader," Wandering said as he pointed at Lu Li.


    "Greetings, brave adventurers." Thaelrid struggled to get up and bluntly said, "My strength is fading; I need your help!"


    "We are willing to serve," Lu Li responded and accepted the quest.


    "A long time ago, this was the majestic temple of Elune. But now, by the powers of the Ancient Gods, this Sacred Moon Well has been tarnished and ruined. Aku¡¯mai, a servant of the Ancient Gods, has also suddenly emerged from the waters." Thaelrid¡¯s eyes widened in fright as he trembled and continued, "By the Moon Gods, I swear, I really did see Aku¡¯mai!"


    Aku¡¯mai was an ancient demon; it wasn¡¯t that strong, but the meaning it represented was shocking.


    Thaelrid pessimistically believed that the Ancient Gods would return with Aku¡¯mai¡¯s coming.


    "The Moon Gods will never fear these demons." Lu Li stepped forward and looked at Thaelrid for a long time before confidently saying, "All of the desecrators will be punished."


    In the normal storyline, you would agree with Aku¡¯mai and then escort him back to complete the quest.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s radical performance could draw Thaelrid out of his pessimism.


    Sure enough, after hearing Lu Li¡¯s words, Thaelrid clenched his fists and hissed, "Thaelrid doesn¡¯t fear death. Let¡¯s see if Aku¡¯mai can feel fear."


    "Very well. My teammates and I will obey your commands," Lu Li said graciously.


    The system prompted then them that they had officially received the "Blackfathom Demon" quest. It seemed to all depend on his acting. Lu Li had put in a lot of effort just to receive this quest.


    "The Twillight Hammer is working with the Naga; the influence of their power can be felt throughout this temple. Twilight Lord Kelris had commanded them to fight in order to exchange lives for Aku¡¯mai. If you want to deal with Aku¡¯mai, you must first kill Kelris,"said Thaelrid.


    "You rest here. I will bring you Kelris¡¯ head," Lu Li promised without hesitation.


    What he was doing required knowledge of the story, not charisma. It had a complete different trigger, so Hachi Chan couldn¡¯t help here. Lu Li was following the strategy guide to gain the most advantage.


    "No, I can still fight." Thaelrid had been infected by Lu Li¡¯s zeal and demanded to fight.


    Now, Lu Li had completed all the preparatory work required to complete the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon. The first was getting the Ancient Elf Seal and the second was Thaelrid.


    Thaelrid was a level 25 Sharpshooter that could deal more damage than Lu Li. He was also part of the System, so he had overpowered amounts of Defence and HP. Taking him with them to the Instance Dungeon would make it a breeze.

 331 Blackfathom Part 1

    With Thaelrid leading the way, they torturously journeyed through the underground world. Thaelrid should have changed his profession from a Thief to a Scout; it seemed to better suit his role as a Sentinel.


    This guy had been here for a long time, so he was very familiar with the terrain and the monsters here. They almost didn¡¯t have to do any fighting before reaching the entrance of the Instance Dungeon.


    It was called the entrance, but there wasn¡¯t actually an entrance there at the moment. Lu Li unfurled the Instance Dungeon scroll. A circle of magic appeared before them, from which came Murloc sounds and the pained cries of some other unknown creatures.


    "Why are the monsters in the in this Instance Dungeon even stronger than before?" Thaelrid¡¯s expression turned dark.


    Lu Li laughed without saying anything. He wasn¡¯t about to tell him that this was the Nightmare Difficulty; he didn¡¯t want to scare away their free worker.


    Although Thaelrid was frightened, he drew inspiration from the Moon Goddess and stepped into the Instance Dungeon without hesitation.


    This was why everyone said that the craziest people were the fanatics.


    The group immediately ran into two Blackfathom Tide Priests. They were holding Magic Staffs in one hand and whips in the other. They were also whipping some human slaves that were howling in pain.


    The Twillight Hammer sect believed that a sacrifice who was experiencing pain and resentment was more sincere.


    As such, captured prisoners would be looted and subjected to all kinds of torture before they were offered to Aku¡¯mai. The servant of the Ancient Gods would then devour their flesh and blood.


    Dawn¡¯s virtual reality was quite realistic and there was no way to lessen the experience. Upon seeing the prisoners being tortured, everyone felt a little uneasy.


    However, they felt even more anger.


    The result of this anger was the instant death of both Priests.


    Even as they died, the Tide Priests did not repent, but yelled out, "All things will perish and the Ancient Gods will rule the land once more."


    "Psht, we¡¯ll just kill your Ancient Gods."


    Azure Sea Breeze kicked the body of the Tide Priest with disdain. They didn¡¯t care about some god in a video game; all that the players thought of them was EXP and equipment!


    The prisoner hadn¡¯t died yet. He struggled to get up and said, "They wanted to feed me to Aku¡¯mai the beast. There are more prisoners in the depths of this dungeon. I beg you, save them."


    "We¡¯ll do it. Leave this place quickly," Lu Li promised as he nodded.


    It wasn¡¯t a quest and it didn¡¯t have a particularly good reward, but there was no harm in doing it. They needed to fight their way through this place anyway.


    System: You have acquired favor from the residents of Stormwind City. Stormwind Prestige +1.


    This came as surprise. Stormwind City was the capital of the Alliance and players of all races set up in that city as their home. Lu Li had also planned to settle down there eventually.


    Prestige was a very useful thing. Without it, you couldn¡¯t buy properties or mount, even if you had the money.


    "Look, more people who do not fear death."


    Another two Tide Priests saw them and immediately cried out. They ordered the Murlocs to surround them and "grab them and make them sacrifices."


    You could already imagine the outcome. Killing these weaklings didn¡¯t even work up a sweat, even though this was the Nightmare Difficulty.


    These Twilight believers were truly fanatics, unafraid of death. Before they died, they cried out, "My death will serve to nourish the Ancient Gods."


    The group cleared mobs the whole way and saved many prisoners. Most of them were humans, but there were some Orcs and Trolls as well. Lu Li and the others stayed on guard the whole time, but there was still a great deal of gratitude expressed towards them for saving their lives.


    Naturally, it would be unrealistic if Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t receive Aiglima¡¯s Prestige Award.


    They reached an underground lake that had a stone tower in front of it. An Orc called Executioner Ghale was standing on top of it. He commanded a few Murlocs to step into the water and laughed, "Come on down; the water is safe. I promise. Hahaha"


    "We¡¯re definitely gonna kill you," Azure Sea Breeze yelled out. He was arguing with an Instance Dungeon monster; he had definitely gone insane.


    After he had set up the obstacle, he quickly left the area.


    "How do we get past?" March Rain asked.


    The Murlocs in the water looked fierce; the sight of them was quite scary. The few girls¡¯ faces looked uneasy.


    "I¡¯ll go and pull them away so you guys will have the opportunity to pass. Don¡¯t delay ¨C there are a bunch of monsters in the water and I can¡¯t hold them for too long."


    Lu Li volunteered himself because he wanted to protect the girls.


    If they were all guys, he would have just gotten them to rush together with the Main Tank leading the charge.


    Although these Murlocs looked scary, they were just ordinary monsters that would take more than a few bites to kill you.


    Moreover, there were also Giant Mussels under the water which could be opened to acquire Pearls. If they collected enough Pearls, a jeweler could make it into a pearl necklace. It didn¡¯t necessarily have great attributes, but it did look very luxurious and elegant. As such, was very popular with the female players.


    Lu Li leaped and landed into the water before the Murlocs began to rush at him.


    While they were all behind him, he transformed into Seal and started swimming quickly. These ordinary mobs couldn¡¯t catch up to him; he just had to make sure that he didn¡¯t get flanked.


    The others took advantage of the opening Lu Li created and quickly passed through.


    Occasionally, one or two Murlocs would come in their direction, but Lonesome Flower dragged them towards him with his skills. He had also cast a shield on himself so the Murlocs could barely do any damage to him.


    After everyone had safely reached the other side, Lu Li finally came out of the water.


    The Murlocs were exceptionally brave in the water, but they were completely different on the shore. They quickly somersaulted back into the water.


    "Do we need to jump on these platforms?" With one look at the terrain, a seasoned player could immediately work it out. There were platforms above the water that eventually reached an exit in the cave wall, with each one being higher than the last.


    In other words, the players had to jump onto these platforms one at a time to reach the exit.


    "Let me try it."


    Lu Li remembered hearing that at first, not all of the players needed to jump up the Blackfathom platforms. However, in order to make it more fun, the game company later changed it so that every player was required to do this.


    When the others heard that they didn¡¯t need to participate, they all let out a sigh of relief.


    Falling from such a great height was already pretty bad. Although there was water below, there were also hungry Murlocs waiting for their food.


    However, Lu Li had the Child of the Forest transformation, so his jumping ability was superior to that of a human.


    The group watched in amazement as the small leopard leaped into the sky and landed on the platform. The leopard then skillfully jumped from platform to platform.


    They all invariably thought that Lu Li must have had some background in the circus.


    Everyone was afraid of how high the platforms were, but Lu Li was freely jumping between them. Before long, he was on the last platform, hopping into the exit of the cave.


    A new way up was soon discovered ¨C a rope was thrown down with Lu Li holding one end of it.


    As long as you had the right equipment, climbing was a lot easier in the game. Each one of them managed to smoothly get up to the exit, even Thaerid. Thaelrid also complimented Lu Li for his skill and eagerly told him that if he ever wanted to be a Scout, he could introduce him to a Scout Master from Tanasus.


    Lu Li respectfully rejected the offer; he currently had no interest in being a scout.


    Not long after, they saw an island that was surrounded by water. They had no idea why there was still water here as they should have ascended quite a bit in altitude.

 332 Blackfathom Part 2

    From afar, everyone could see what was happening on that island.


    There were swirls of magic surrounding a Great White Turtle and entrapping it.


    That was Ghamoo-Ra, guardian of the Temple of Elune. It had lived a long life, but ever since the arrival of the Twilight Hammer, it had been imprisoned.


    A madman was torturing Ghamoo-Ra, attempting to study what would happen when its soul was ripped from its body.


    The cruelty of this endeavor could only be imagined and the only reason Ghamoo-Ra why was still alive was because of its tenacity. However, it was no longer its normal self ¨C if it wasn¡¯t for the Twillight Hammer¡¯s crowd-control, it would immediately go insane.


    The Twillight Hammer had lost their asset. They intended to use this turtle to defend them, but they had made it go insane instead.


    When he saw other people approaching, the Twillight Priest started to become anxious. He quickened his hand movements and cried out at the turtle, "Resistance to my magic is futile, Ghamoo-Ra. Soon you will yield to the power of the Ancient Gods and then, I will use you to pour out our wrath onto these people."


    ¡®These people¡¯ was obviously referring to Lu Li and the others.


    Ghamoo-Ra looked up at these adventurers with a complex look on its face. It then let out a low growl before retracting into its shell and spinning on the spot.


    As it spun, a moonlight-like energy was generated all around it.


    This was power from the Moon Goddess. Ghamoo-Ra had used up the last up the last of his strength to do this. The power around it was released and instantly killed the Twillight Priests that surrounded him.


    "Get ready!" Lu Li shouted.


    Their opponent was none other than the newly-freed Ghamoo-Ra.


    Now Ghamoo-Ra had used up the last of its divine power, it had completely lost its mind. It would kill anything in sight, even its son, Pahboo-Ra.


    However, it still retained some of its primal instinct ¨C it didn¡¯t rush straight for Pahboo-Ra, who was the closest to it, but attacked Lu Li and the others first.


    Ghamoo-Ra had high HP and high Defence. Its signature skill was Trample, which could be used to deal significant damage to players around him. It also had Spit, which was a usually cast at Ranged Professions. The magic that was holding Ghamoo-Ra was now also useless because it didn¡¯t have any more divine power. Otherwise, the Priest would have used its power to oppress Lu Li and the others.


    Thaelrid was extremely powerful and could deal more damage than Lu Li; the NPCs in this game were all incredibly strong. Although he had been quite meek and depressed when they first met him, he was now filled with vigor.


    Ghamoo-Ra¡¯s HP steadily decreased until it eventually laid down and faced Pahboo-Ra ten minutes later.


    This was its son.


    Pahboo-Ra hadn¡¯t been subjected to the same cruelty, as the Twillight Hammer was using it as leverage to prevent Ghamoo-Ra from acting rashly. However, it must have been terrible for it to watch its father being tortured.


    When its father fell, a continuous stream of tears rolled down Pahboo-Ra¡¯s pale face.


    For countless days, Pahboo-Ra had painfully wished for its father to be free, but now that its father had been freed, its heart was filled with excruciating sadness.


    It could no longer see its father anymore.


    Today, the father and son had bid farewell.


    "Don¡¯t just stand there," Lu Li snapped at Remnant Dream while pointed at Pahboo-Ra. "Quickly use Tame Beast before it breaks out."


    Once Pahboo-Ra broke free, it would also go insane like its father.


    It was likely a specific to its species, but Pahboo-Ra looked really young, even though it had grown for many years. Its head was not much bigger than the palm of a hand.


    Once she heard the words ¡®Tame Beast¡¯, Remnant Dream immediately cast it.


    She was very familiar with this skill as she had practiced it thousands of times. As for how she managed to get so much practice, Hachi Chan had something to do with that.


    Pahboo-Ra quietened down the moment the Tame Beast skill was cast on it. After a few seconds, the system prompted Remnant Dream that she had acquired Pahboo-Ra as a pet.


    The pet form of Pahboo-Ra was even smaller; it was now only as big as the palm of a hand.


    However, it was really cute. The girls crowded together and were taking turns playing with it.


    Lu Li got Remnant Dream to send him its stats. These girls were obsessed with its appearance, but he was more interested in the little guy¡¯s skills and attributes.


    Remnant Dream shared its stats.


    Just like its father, it had high HP and Defence. It also had decent Attack, so it was definitely above average. However, if you just compared the Attack attribute, it couldn¡¯t compare to the rare Shadow Claw pet.


    Like Shadow Claw, Pahboo-Ra had four skills, which made it an exquisite pet.


    There was a standard attack which had an area of effect.


    Crustacean Carapace. Rebounds 20% of the damage. When HP is less than 40%, Defence is increased by 100% for 10 seconds.


    This was a very strong pet skill. Ordinary turtles had a small chance of activating Crustacean Shield, but this didn¡¯t have the Rebound effect. On the other hand, Crustacean Carapace had the Rebound effect and was guaranteed to activate this when the user¡¯s HP was less than half.


    With this skill alone, Pahboo-Ra was already worthy as the heir of the guardian.


    The third skill was Trample, a crowd-control skill. They had already seen it in action with Ghamoo-Ra and its strength was obvious.


    The fourth skill was called Revolving Feast, which was the same skill that Ghamoo-Ra had used to kill the Twillight Priests. Of course, Pahboo-Ra couldn¡¯t draw on divine power like its father, but it was still very good as an area of effect skill. Lu Li was very satisfied with these skills.


    This pet definitely wasn¡¯t worse than Shadow Claw.


    However, Remnant Dream probably wasn¡¯t going to become more powerful, even after acquiring this pet.


    Pahboo-Ra had a fatal flaw ¨C it had a very slow movement speed. This meant that it was useless in a PVP battles and could only be used against mobs in Instance Dungeons.


    Even so, Remnant Dream was still very satisfied with her new pet. It looked good and could be held in her arms due to its small size.


    Shadow Claw was still smaller than its original size, but it had grown as its level increased. Remnant Dream was finding it more difficult to hold it in her arms.


    After catching the pet, everyone realized that that they hadn¡¯t checked what Ghamoo-Ra had dropped. Lu Li knew that Ghamoo-Ra wouldn¡¯t really drop anything good, because Pahboo-Ra was considered to be one of the rewards.


    As long as there was a Hunter in the party, pets could easily be caught. However, the attributes of the pet varied from person to person.


    The First Clear and the Nightmare Difficulty both made the rewards better. As such, the turtle pet that now belonged to Remnant Dream was quite exquisite.


    Ghamoo-Ra only dropped one item ¨C Ghamoo-Ra¡¯s rope, a cloth belt.


    It was a level 25 Silver equipment and had attributes that were higher than normal. However, Lu Li and his party had no need for this item, so it was thrown into the guild warehouse where players could redeem it for three points.


    They now set off to face the second boss ¨C Domina.

 333 Blackfathom Part 3

    On the shores of the island where Ghamoo-Ra was located, two Murlocs were torturing a prisoner.


    After the Murlocs had been slain, the prisoner begged the heroes to rescue the other survivors at the next stop. For the sake of his reputation, Lu Li couldn¡¯t find any excuse to turn down the prisoner¡¯s request. Seeing that Lu Li had accepted quest, the prisoner guided him to the passageway that led to the next stop.


    The passageway was very obscure indeed ¨C it was located in an underwater cave; even Thaelrid was unable to detect it.


    They arrived at a brand-new location after they swam through the cave.


    This was Domina¡¯s territory.


    Domina was a Naga, or rather, a high-level caster among the Nagas.


    She was familiar with summoning magic, defensive spells and also studied the ancient arts of immolation.


    The Twilight Hammer reserved a small fjord for her in the Blackfathom while they continued to offer her living sacrifices. With her ceremonies and protection magic, the followers hoped to protect themselves from the monster with many heads when they worshipped it.


    However, as Aku¡¯Mai grew more and more vicious, Domina was no longer a match for him.


    Gradually, more and more believers were devoured by Aku¡¯Mai during worship ceremonies. As such, Domina had no choice but to research a new kind of protection magic. She was also hoping to provide Stealth with this magic for the further protection of her believers.


    She placed so much effort into her research because she understood that once she failed to protect the believers, she would become useless in Blackfathom. The crazy believers wouldn¡¯t mind handing her over to Aku¡¯Mai once she failed to prove her value.


    When Lu Li and the others saw Domina, she was deeply focused on her magic studies.


    "We¡¯re lucky, let¡¯s go."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say much, but he led the charge.


    Why was the decision made so soon?


    Because Domina had just used all of her mana and didn¡¯t have any time to recover.


    Even if Domina had mana, she wouldn¡¯t be a tough opponent either.


    Without her mana, Domina was unable to cast any of her spells, such as Forked Lightning and Frost Nova. As such, she had no way to effectively apply crowd-control; she was only able to deal damage to Lu Li and the others by shooting them.


    Perhaps it was the inheritance from the Night Elves that flowed in her blood, but Domina wasn¡¯t just a simple caster. She was also familiar with bows and arrows.


    Her archery was surprisingly good; she rarely missed an arrow.


    However, because her attributes tended towards being a caster, there was only so much damage she could deal with her archery skills.


    With the help of Thaelrid, Lu Li and the others only spent a few minutes to defeat Domina. The lucky girl this time was March Rain, who received a skill point.


    As characters gained more and more skills, skills points only grew in value.


    Compared to other celebrity players who weren¡¯t interested in dungeons, the First Clears that Lu Li and his team had obtained were an invisible advantage that built up slowly over time. After all, there was a larger chance to receive extra skills points from First Clears.


    Other than this, Domina also dropped an equip and a rare material.


    The rare material was a "Purple Murloc Scale". These were a fairly common rare material that could be found in the Blackfathom, and could be used by Tailors to give extra armor to cloth and leather gear. Blacksmiths could also use this when forging chain mail.


    The dropped equipment was a Silver-grade Mold for her bow ¨C Naga Heartpiercer.


    This weapon came with an Armor Penetration effect, which with the help of some luck, would cause attacks to deal 3-5 times their original damage.


    Although this bow was extremely good, Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t smart enough to use it effectively, so it wasn¡¯t assigned to her in the end.


    There was a magic circle where Domina had been researching her magic. Lu Li requested Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball to activate it.


    Although these magic circles belonged to the system, players could still activate them by casting magic on them. After the two of them investigated the magic circle, a dim blue light radiated from it and all those who stood near it received a special buff: +10% to all attributes.


    This effect only lasted for half an hour, but it was still a welcome surprise.


    The team treaded back on their original path and followed a different fork at the intersection as they headed towards the next territory.


    Lu Li led the way in front and purposely walked against the walls.


    Suddenly, a giant tentacle stretched out from the walls. It grabbed onto Lu Li as black energy began to boil ¨C it was as if the energy wanted to devour him.


    A damage value of -30 popped up over Lu Li¡¯s head. The damage wasn¡¯t significant, but the rate at which it was applied was incredibly fast. Within the blink of an eye, he had lost around six hundred points of health.


    "Heal!"


    March Rain was caught by surprise; it took her a while to react before she began healing Lu Li.


    Under the focus-fire from everyone, the tentacle was quickly destroyed.


    The tentacle had 10,000 health, which was equivalent to an elite monster in a dungeon. Moreover, they also appeared randomly and dealt high damage. The feeling of being caught and tossed into a mouth was also not pleasant at al. If it was someone else that had been caught, they would have most likely been terribly frightened.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t act like he knew everything, so the least he could do was to "experience" everything. By telling the others through his actions, he would be able to notify them of the possible dangers that they would be facing. He wouldn¡¯t be frightened by these tentacles as he already knew about them beforehand.


    After this incident, Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze walked on either side of the walls. If a tentacle popped out, they would quickly destroy it.


    Soon, they reached an intersection, and Lu Li randomly picked one to continue their journey.


    He already knew that this was a dead end.


    The reason why he had chosen this dead end was because there was a special monster at the end of it.


    It was a golden Murloc ¨C the Blindlight Rotter. According to the records, this monster was a binge eater. However, it had been born in Blackfathom where there was nothing much for it to eat. As such, it began to feed on corpses.


    The monster wasn¡¯t ugly, in fact, it looked rather fancy. Hunters had a small chance to tame it, but Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t interested in it at all. The girl dug her head into Hachi Chan¡¯s lap and refused to use her taming skills.


    She saw with her own eyes the way this monster ate the limb of an unknown creature.


    The sound effects of bone crunching were too horrible.


    Only a guy would want a pet like this and most people probably wouldn¡¯t be able to accept it. In this case, Lu Li and the others killed the monster.


    Blindlight Rotter was a rare monster, so it dropped a level 25 Silver-grade equip ¨C a defensive ring. Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t fight for it and willingly gave it to Wandering. Clearly, their relationship wasn¡¯t as bad as it appeared on the surface.


    The third boss, Gelihast, was a Murloc.


    He waved around his dual swords like a sword master.


    According to the legends, Gelihast had come to Blackfathom heeding the call of the Old Gods. On his way, he had killed a dozen shocked Twilight Hammer believers with his two swords. The believers admired his great strength and violence, and allowed him to build his own shrine in Blackfathom.


    Through worship ceremonies, Gelihast received hidden, but evil blessings from ruined shrines.


    He was a visitor, but this visitor was violent indeed ¨C he knocked out half of Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s health bar in their first engagement and forced him to use his damage reduction skills.

 334 Blackfathom Part 4

    Generally, high attack means low defense, and Gelihast¡¯s defense was poor indeed. Lu Li¡¯s Backstab dealt around 200 points of damage to him.


    His total health pool was only around 50,000, which was rather unfitting for his level 25 character.


    "Everyone stay on guard. Apart from the main tank, no matter what you do, make sure you don¡¯t get attacked twice by him." It was very rare to find a boss in Dawn that would focus on the tank for the entire battle. They would always switch their targets every now and then.


    His first choice was Lu Li; Gelihast¡¯s first strike dealt around 800 points of damage.


    Another blow from his sword followed¡­


    Galesteps!


    Lu Li was caught by surprise ¨C how was Gelihast¡¯s able to deal so much damage?


    During the beginning of the game, many players did not have friends to play with them and they protested about this Boss. Since the game company wanted to make Dawn a game for everyone, the strength of Gelihast was later adjusted to make the game more balanced.


    However, Gelihast was still at the peak of his strength during this time.


    He made a huge leap and casted a Whirlwind as he landed on the ground.


    Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind was nothing compared to this one ¨C it was so weak that he should have just quietly dropped it from his skill list. Gelihast¡¯s Whirlwind range was much greater; it hit almost everyone.


    Massive damage values began to float up from everyone. Hachi Chan and March Rain both had to quickly cast their heals, and those who had damage reductions skills used them. The others who didn¡¯t began to focus on dealing damage instead; they wanted to deal as much damage as they could before they died.


    Sesame Rice Ball died first. He didn¡¯t have a shield like Lonesome Flower and he hadn¡¯t learned Metamorphosis either.


    Soon, Lonesome Flower died as well. Although he had a shield, it couldn¡¯t protect him forever. His damage was too high, so the Boss ended up focusing him and attacked him multiple times.


    "Don¡¯t panic; we still have a chance. The boss only has 30% health left," Lu Li said calmly.


    In Dawn¡¯s instance dungeons, team members dying or an entire team being wiped out was a very common occurrence. Everyone had already been trained to maintain a good attitude, but some people would still lose faith if too many team members died in front of them.


    However, that would never happen to Lu Li. As long as there was the slightest sliver of hope, he would never give up.


    He had a persistent soul that always persisted.


    After the two magic-damage-dealers died, Lu Li and Sakura Memories became the main sources of damage output. As for Moonlight, his gear was more suited for PVP, so he wasn¡¯t as powerful as Sakura Memories in dungeon battles.


    After two hits, Lu Li¡¯s health bar was nearly emptied.


    He activated the special effect on his shoes and instantly teleported away, with only a dozen health points remaining.


    However, he would be good to fight again after his health bar was topped up.


    His survival was also thanks to his quick reaction. The few attacks before were clearly one of Gelihast¡¯s combo skills ¨C the gap in between his strikes was almost too short to be noticed. Only gaming masters like Lu Li would be able to escape in time.


    20% health, 10% health...


    Hachi Chan died next. She had good gear, but her technique was quite average. Acting cute wasn¡¯t enough for her to survive when facing a Boss like this.


    Gelihast casted a skill ¨C Leviathan¡¯s Grip ¨C which grabbed a player to sacrifice to Aku¡¯Mai.


    Theoretically, there was no doubt that the person being hit by this skill would die, since it lasted for a long time and also dealt a lot of damage...


    However, it was because of this skill, especially when Wandering was the targeted, that Lu Li and the others saw their chance to grasp victory. During the cast time of Leviathan¡¯s Grip, the boss wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything else, so everyone was free to deal damage. Even if Wandering died, this wouldn¡¯t affect the overall outcome of the battle.


    Wandering died when Gelihast had 2% health remaining.


    His next target was Remnant Dream, but his health dropped too rapidly and he died before he completed his second sacrifice.


    There were no skill point rewards this time, but everyone received a great amount of experience. Since quite a few of them had died during the battle, a generous bounty of gear was also dropped by the Boss. Remnant Dream picked up four items this time.


    Soul Blades.


    Judging from the name, this item sounded like a weapon, but it actually wasn¡¯t ¨C it was a rare material that could be used to forge level 30 Gold-grade swords for Paladins. The drop rate for this item was quite low and it could only be found in Blackfathom, so it was worth at least 200 gold.


    A skill book was also dropped ¨C Whirlwind.


    This was the signature skill of high-leveled Warriors. Moonlight had it as well.


    Lu Li tossed the skill book to Azure Sea Breeze ¨C he had earned it. However, whether he wanted to learn the skill was entirely up to him.


    The other two items were level 25 Silver-grade molds, one of which was for a Thief weapon. Lu Li planned to forge this Mold to see its attributes first before making a decision on what to do with it. The other Mold was a bracer for plated classes. The recipient of this item would depend on the attributes after it was forged, so both items were left with Lu Li.


    The boss after Gelihast was Serra¡¯kis.


    Serra¡¯kis was a Thresher that the Twilight Hammer believers had kept here because of its specialty ¨C laying eggs.


    That¡¯s right, the ground was covered in eggs that had been laid by the monster.


    Even when Lu Li and the others saw it, it was still laying eggs.


    Serra¡¯kis came from the ruins. It followed the instructions from the Guardian of the Deep and continued to lay eggs which hatched and spread through the groundwater of Azeroth.


    This was an ambition that left many speechless.


    There wasn¡¯t much to say about the Boss ¨C it had a lot of health, great defense and decent attack, but it barely had any skills.


    The only troublesome part was the eggs that it laid.


    Each time the boss lost around 10% of its health, a pack of Threshers would break through the eggs and charge towards them.


    Average teams would be easily wiped at this point, but Lu Li and his team members were definitely not average.


    Each time this happened, Azure Sea Breeze would pass the tanking job over to Wandering. He would then activate his damage reduction skill and cast a Trample on all of the monsters to stun them, allowing Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball to easily take care of them.


    One group stun obviously wasn¡¯t enough, so Moonlight would approach for a follow up.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s new pet was also useful ¨C it stunned any monsters that were missed.


    Serra¡¯kis was very broke ¨C it barely dropped anything noteworthy, but there was one item that it would definitely drop ¨C the Rod of Serra¡¯kis.


    This was a level 25 Silver-grade weapon that focused on agility as its main attribute and strength as its secondary attribute. Wild Druids would use an item like this, but what really made it valuable was its special effect.


    Fishing success rate +20%.


    This was a top-tier equip for players who learned fishing. There was no equal for this Rod among the other sub-level 30 equips with regards to the fishing profession.


    After Serra¡¯kis had been slain, they found an underground palace that contained three treasure chests hidden within. Lu Li had the others on standby while he went around and brought back three level 20 Silver-grade equips and two skill books.


    The equips weren¡¯t useful to them, after all, level 25 gear was the norm.


    One of the skill book was Slit Throat and the other was Circle of Healing.


    Lu Li had already learnt Slit Throat, so this was a skill that could be placed in storage. One the other hand, the Circle of Healing was a surprise.


    There were quite a few skills out there in terms of group healing, but most of them had their own weakness, whether it be the long cast time, or the low amount of healing. There were only a few group-healing skills that were particularly strong. Circle of Healing was one of the best healing spells for the Priest class because it was powerful and an instant cast.


    Without a doubt, this skill was assigned to March Rain.


    After they received the book, everyone was happy, perhaps even happier than March Rain herself. The stronger the healer, the safer they all felt.


    Poor Executioner Ghale thought he had run into a bunch of madman. He was crushed and left behind a Cloak and a Mold for a Robe.


    The Cloak provided a decent amount of agility and had two special effects. The first special effect was Critical Strike and the second was Lifesteal, so it was very suitable for Thieves. Unfortunately, there was no way Lu Li would change Cloaks; there were no Cloaks that could replace his Shadow Cloak at this point, but he still held on to the one he had obtained.


    Generally, there was no chance for the Shadow Cloak¡¯s special effect to be used during dungeons, especially when he had another special effect on his boots to escape. In times like these, he would be able to swap out his Cloak.


    After the Supreme Ring lost its Lifesteal effect, his Lifesteal abilities had become very weak. He had to drink potions when he fought monsters alone in order to sustain himself.


    There were only two bosses left ¨C the Twilight Lord and Aku¡¯mai, who were both level 30.


    They were the main focus of the Blackfathom dungeon, which also meant that they were the most challenging Bosses. Lu Li estimated that although they would most likely be able to complete the dungeon, the team would also have to wipe a few times first.

 335 A Very Weak Boss

    The Executioner dropped to the floor; there were no easter eggs this time. [TLN: ¡®Easter eggs¡¯ is a Chinese slang that refers to a hidden surprise].


    The easter eggs in this dungeon were hidden bosses. The Executioner had another hidden identity; he could be found throughout the entire dungeon.


    If the hidden boss showed up, Ghale would step out and reveal his true form.


    Lu Li had never seen Ghale in his true form, but based off some word descriptions, Ghale¡¯s real powers were incredibly strong. He was harder to defeat than Aku¡¯mai, and if a team of level 30 players ran into the hidden boss in Heroic mode, there was an 80% chance that the team would wipe.


    In Dawn, you could challenge the usual bosses as many times as you liked. No matter how many times your team was wiped, this didn¡¯t affect the Boss at all.


    However, there was a different case for hidden bosses. Once a team wiped, the hidden boss would disappear the next time they entered the dungeon. Even if Lu Li and the others ran into the hidden boss, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat it anyway, so it was better if they didn¡¯t encounter it.


    The hardest part about the Blackfathom dungeon wasn¡¯t the boss ¨C it was the terrain.


    At this point of the dungeon, they had already travelled past the most complex terrain. It didn¡¯t take them much effort to arrive in the room where Twilight Lord Bathiel, the ruler of the dark, was located. As for Aku¡¯mai, he was just an evil spirit without any reasoning or intellect.


    Bathiel was living quite a lavish life. Not only were there numerous slaves in the room, but there were also four Warlock beauties, who were either Elvish or Human.


    Although the Twilight Hammer wasn¡¯t the strongest, its structure was definitely one of the most complex. Elves and Humans were also mixed within the believers.


    Not only did the Twilight Hammer cross between factions, but it also crossed between races. Many neutral powers were also a part of it.


    Bathiel was an Orc. He held a giant staff in his hand that had an orange-yellow gem embedded into its tip. Bathiel¡¯s Staff was of the two possible Gold-grade items that could drop in Blackfathom, but the drop rate was extremely low.


    However, since Lu Li and his team planned to take the First Clear in Nightmare mode no less, the drop rate would be slightly higher.


    Perhaps the drop rate would increase from 0.001% to 1%.


    "Breeze, start the fight. Make sure the boss has its back facing towards the team. This is how most boss fights should be started in the future."


    After they cleared the other monsters, Lu Li saw that everyone had recovered and gave the announcement to begin the battle with Bathiel.


    There was no way he would just give them the cheat guide straight away before the battle even started. That would be pure stupidity.


    It was normal to have the boss facing the tank and its back facing against the team during boss fights. Azure Sea Breeze understood this too; Lu Li only emphasized it.


    To the surprise of Azure Sea Breeze, Bathiel was quite weak.


    "Is this what a level 30 boss is like?" he exclaimed, unable to believe what he was experiencing. If all level 30 bosses were so weak, the game had probably reached the end.


    Balancing a game was no easy task ¨C it couldn¡¯t be too hard, or else the average players wouldn¡¯t have an enjoyable time. However, it couldn¡¯t be too easy either ¨C that would kill the fun.


    Players would only enjoy the game when they were constantly challenging themselves.


    Azure Sea Breeze only lost a hundred points of health when Bathiel hit him; this was less damage than the easiest boss of this dungeon.


    When Azure Sea Breeze landed a hit on the Boss, it received around 100 points of damage as well. A main tank dealing this much damage was like a bug.


    The health bar of the boss dropped even faster when the other players dealt damage. For a high-damage like Lu Li¡¯s, each hit dealt around 200-300 points of damage, while a critical strike could even go up to 500 points.


    The boss only had 90,000 points of health.


    "Haha, we¡¯ll finish him off in a few minutes. Take a look at my strongest, most invincible, demon-destroying slash..." the crazy patient who was clearly out of his head, laughed to himself proudly.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to laugh at all. He could imagine how hard the rest of their days were going to be with such a silly main tank. Hopefully, Azure Sea Breeze would still be able to laugh later on in the fight.


    It only took about a minute for the health of the boss to drop below 50%.


    At this point, Bathiel raised his giant staff and recited a long spell with an incredible long cast time. The cast time was around a dozen seconds and couldn¡¯t be interrupted.


    After the cast time was finished, a circle of small, white balls formed around him and began to expand outwards.


    After they expanded out to eight yards, these small balls became Water Elementals.


    Sixteen of them ¨C Lu Li knew the number without even counting.


    "Hurry and kill these Water Elementals. Don¡¯t worry about the boss; don¡¯t you guys realize that the boss isn¡¯t taking any damage now?" he quickly yelled.


    Everyone quickly reacted and focused their attention to the Water Elementals. They had no clue why the Water Elementals were closing in on the boss and neither did they know what was going to happen, but their senses told them that they weren¡¯t going to be happy with the outcome.


    -46.


    One strike from Lu Li¡¯s dagger only dealt a little damage.


    "Focus on the one in front of me; don¡¯t worry about the others."


    Lu Li forced himself to calm down, constantly telling himself, "I have the guide, I have the guide. There¡¯s hope as long as I have the guide."


    His directions were well-timed; they managed to kill one Water Elemental before it reached the boss.


    There were still another 15 left!


    These fifteen Water Elementals became shrouds of mists besides Bathiel and quickly evaporated into his body.


    Bathiel¡¯s health bar, which was at 40%, suddenly began to rise.


    Forty thousand, fifty thousand, sixty thousand, seventy thousand, eighty thousand, ninety thousand... max health¡­


    It rose until it finally stopped rising at a hundred and ten thousand.


    Ding!


    Azure Sea Breeze dropped his shield and axe on the floor.


    "My goodness..."


    The main tank¡¯s crying voice echoed everyone¡¯s thoughts.


    The fact that the boss had returned to full health was already a bug. Why was there another extra twenty thousand HP on top?


    This was definitely cheating! It had to be reported; there was no way around this.


    "Why are you all standing there? Keep hitting the boss."


    Fortunately, Lu Li was more rational; he continued in a casual tone, "We haven¡¯t even lost a single member, so why are you all looking depressed? If the developers made a boss like this, there¡¯s got to be a way to kill it."


    Everyone agreed ¨C the worst that could happen was a team wipe.


    In all honesty, Lu Li was actually worried. If the team wiped, would Thaelrid die as well? Players could revive, but there was no guarantee that NPCs could also revive.


    All along the way, Thaelrid had helped them a lot.


    "The boss... seems to have gotten stronger."


    After a few engagments, Azure Sea Breeze drew a conclusion that frightened everyone.


    In all honesty, it wasn¡¯t a lot stronger. It was only had a little more attack, a little more defense¡­


    "Does the boss get stronger each time after it summons and absorbs the Water Elementals?" Wandering made a judgement that pretty much summed up the truth; there was no need for Lu Li to explain further.


    "I suspect these Water Elementals are the key."


    Sesame Rice Ball was a timid boy who didn¡¯t like to talk much, but every time he made a comment, it was straight to the point.


    After the boss¡¯ health dropped to half, the Water Elementals were summoned again.

 336 A Painful Torture

    Fifteen!


    This time it wasn¡¯t sixteen anymore; only fifteen Water Elementals were summoned.


    It seemed like they hadn¡¯t killed the Water Elemental for nothing ¨C if they killed a Water Elemental, fewer would be summoned on the next round.


    Since this was the case, everyone knew that they had to kill the Water Elementals without Lu Li¡¯s reminder.


    They focused on one Water Elemental first and then a second one. Although Thaelrid was strong, he didn¡¯t take orders from players, so it wasn¡¯t possible to make him focus on a particular target. However, there was a solution around this ¨C everyone attacked the Water Elemental that he attacked.


    They managed to kill two Water Elementals this time before Bathiel absorbed the rest.


    It seemed as though the Water Elementals gave their defense to the Boss. Everyone noticed that the second round of Water Elementals seemed to be weaker ¨C there was no way that Lu Li and the others would be able to kill a second one otherwise.


    Three of the sixteen Water Elementals had been slain.


    By this point, Bathiel had grown even stronger, and was now at the standard strength for a level 25 boss.


    However, since he failed to absorb as many Water Elementals, he became frustrated and began to use his second spell.


    This was a real ultimate skill ¨C icicles started forming in the air and began to rain down on everyone.


    Remnant Dream was hit by one of them and lost around 400 HP.


    Although she was dumb, her reactions weren¡¯t slow. She immediately began to run around when Lu Li asked her to. Icicles landed on her every now and then, but she wasn¡¯t being hit constantly.


    All this dodging heavily affected the battle, but no one had a choice. The icicles continually pelted them from above and dealt high damage, so no one was able to stand still and tank the hits.


    As for Thaelrid, he had a lot of health and strong defense, so he didn¡¯t care about this tiny amount of damage.


    "The three damage dealers on each team should go and help Thaelrid kill his Water Elemental."


    Lu Li started assigning tasks; his goal this time was to kill at least three Water Elementals.


    The first team included Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Remnant Dream, Sakura Memories and Moonlight. This team combination, in addition to the NPC, would be more than enough to kill a single Water Elemental.


    "March, Breeze, you guys help Wandering with his Water Elemental. Flower, go and help too. Rice Ball, we¡¯ll aim to kill a third Water Elemental together. Attack the same Water Elemental as me later.


    As soon as the Water Elementals were summoned, Lu Li pounced on one of them.


    After being absorbed twice, the defense of the Water Elementals was much lower. At least, when Lu Li attacked to them, he no longer dealt 40-50 points of damage. His damage had now returned to his original standard of around 100-200 points.


    Everyone tried their best and the mission was accomplished successfully. The team that helped the NPC even had time to help the others.


    This was a rinse and repeat process. On the third time, the team killed three Elementals and on the fourth time, they improved this to four.


    After the fourth round of summoning, the Attack and Defense attributes of the Boss had reached an incredible level. This was especially the case for his Attack ¨C each strike dealt 500-600 damage to Azure Sea Breeze.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Azure Sea Breeze had good gear with a lot of damage reduction skills, the team would have already been wiped.


    Despite this, there were still a few times when he was on extremely low on health and was almost killed by the Boss.


    Bathiel was now insanely powerful; he was the strongest boss that Lu Li and his team had encountered up to this point of the game. Lu Li and his team were also the top players in the game in terms of gear and level.


    The boss began to cast his skill and icicles fell from the sky again.


    As these icicles rained down, not only did they deal physical damage, but they also dealt mental damage.


    Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan latched onto Lu Li and bowed their heads as they ran behind him. Only a player of Lu Li¡¯s standard would be able to deal damage while he dragged two players behind him.


    Remnant Dream couldn¡¯t die ¨C the team still needed her +10% attack group buff. If she died, it would be unfortunate for everyone. Her tiger also dealt a fair amount of damage and together with her pet, she was still a strong damage dealer.


    Hachi Chan couldn¡¯t die either ¨C she was a healer and also had a resurrection skill that allowed her to revive players during battle. It was better to be safe than sorry.


    "Everyone look out. There¡¯s no need to rush to deal damage. Safety first."


    Lu Li saw that Lonesome Flower had taken a few icicles while he tried to deal a little extra damage.


    Goodness, does he want to die?


    Losing a team member meant that they weren¡¯t far from a team wipe, so it was better for them to spend more time than to recklessly rush through things. This wasn¡¯t specific to the fight with Bathiel; it was important to play it safe in any boss battle. There was no guarantee that the next hit wouldn¡¯t be a critical strike.


    After her participation in the Shadow Cup, March Rain had improved greatly with her positioning and mana control. Otherwise, she probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to sustain in the fight either. Unfortunately, Hachi Chan still hadn¡¯t learned "Innervate". If she had this skill, March Rain would essentially have an extra bar of mana.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had read a description for a particular quest that had a certain chance to reward the skill book for "Innervate". This skill was quite essential for a Druid, but unfortunately, the quest was also fairly challenging. Otherwise, it would have been easier to let Hachi Chan to do the quest herself.


    On the fifth round of summoning, six Water Elementals appeared.


    If any Water Elementals survived after this round, it was guaranteed that the team would start losing members after the boss gained more strength.


    Everyone was aware that emerging victorious or defeated would be dependent on this round, so their attitude to this battle was very serious.


    As soon as the Water Elementals appeared, Lu Li ran towards one with Sprint and began to frantically attack it.


    A mere seven seconds!


    He was the first to kill a Water Elemental and had used everything he had in these seven seconds to do it, including any special effects that were available.


    After he killed the Water Elemental, he ran to help Moonlight while some of his special effects still lingered. Although Moonlight had the most people on his team, most of his teammates weren¡¯t of much use.


    Thaelrid was the second one to kill another Water Elemental. Lu Li praised himself again for his wise decision to coerce the NPC into doing the dungeon with him.


    Lonesome Flower was the third; Dawn had always been lenient with Mages.


    Although his gear wasn¡¯t as great as Lu Li¡¯s, his skills were strong, so his damage output wasn¡¯t weak either.


    Water Elementals took about ten seconds to reach the boss. There were still three of them that slowly inched closer and closer to the boss.


    Everyone went crazy and used anything that they could ¨C Azure Sea Breeze even tossed out his shield, but it missed the boss and poor Wandering was left with two bumps on his head instead.


    "Last one. Was it killed?" Azure Sea Breeze asked with uncertainty after an eerie silence.


    "It was killed. The boss¡¯ health didn¡¯t recover ¨C it¡¯s still on fifty thousand. Pay attention now; we¡¯ve passed the hardest stage, so don¡¯t make a silly mistake here," Lu Li reminded everyone.


    Fortunately, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had already been through a lot in the past. Everyone was calm and executed their jobs perfectly.


    Once the Water Elementals were wiped out, nothing too crazy happened in the remainder of the fight. After battling the boss for around forty minutes, his health bar that seemed as if it contained 90,000 HP, but actually only contained 20,000-30,000 HP, had finally been emptied.

 337 Golden Weapon: Bathiel’s Staff.

    When Bathiel fell, everyone let out a sigh of relief.


    This was such a hard-fought battle because there were no shortcuts or strategies that could be taken advantage of. This fight tested the sheer willpower and strength of the team. The only way to pass this stage was to defeat as many Water Elementals in the shortest amount of time possible.


    For example, if Lu Li and the others had made the slightest error, Bathiel would have devoured the 5th Water Elemental. This would have meant certain death for the entire party. Azure Sea Breeze particularly struggled in this fight; he was barely clinging on for life when Bathiel devoured the 4th Water Elemental.


    If the entire team was defeated, they would lose the help of Scout Thaelrid, which would make this Instance Dungeon impossible to complete.


    Luckily, Azure Sea Breeze was very skilled in Instance Dungeons and March Rain was able to maximize her potential as a priest.


    Lu Li needed his teammates for all these First Clears and could never do it alone.


    The decisive factor in a party was always the Healer and Main Tank; these two classes were essential to completing all Instance Dungeons in Dawn. Lu Li¡¯s guidance and strategies only pointed them in the right direction and unless they were executed well, it would be all for nothing.


    Everyone¡¯s EXP bars increased quite significantly since the boss was level 30.


    Lu Li was now on 21% EXP at level 27 which placed him at 4th on the level rankings board. The three players ahead of him were Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and March Rain.


    These three had surpassed Lu Li because of the Defend the Meisnera Outpost quest. However, no one had received the bonus SP reward.


    "I¡¯m going to search his corpse." Remnant Dream looked up into the sky as she clawed at Bathiel¡¯s lifeless body. Others who were passing by would probably think that she was some sort of pervert.


    "Go ahead. If we don¡¯t get the Golden Weapon, we¡¯ll sell you off to the merchants," Hachi Chan said.


    "Fine, but if it drops, you become my pet," Remnant Dream replied as she looked at her best friend expectantly. These two had always had a good relationship, which was why Remnant Dream wanted her to become her little pet.


    "In your dreams. You can¡¯t even tame players as your pet so stop threatening me with your Tame Skill."


    "Hurry up. If you don¡¯t, then I¡¯ll do it," Wandering said impatiently. He was annoyed by the senseless conversation between the two girls.


    "No! I want to do it!" Remnant Dream squealed as she jumped onto the corpse.


    The first item was a level 30 Superior Silver equip ¨C Curse of Bathiel. It had a special Cursed effect and was a great piece of equipment for Warlocks.


    There was only one Warlock in the party, so Sesame Rice Ball happily accepted it.


    The second drop was a rare material ¨C Twilight Soul. Although it was very useful, it was also quite common in a lot of other areas. Even the Twilight Disciples dropped these, which made them very cheap and not worth selling.


    The prices of Rare Materials were based on demand and supply.


    If the demand was high and the supply was low, the material would sell for godly prices.


    Lu Li remembered from his past life that the rarest material was called Krypton Dog Eye. This was a material used to craft the level 50 legendary ring. The only way to obtain it was to grind for countless hours in the Krypton mine ¨C it had a minuscule drop rate. Each Eye could be sold for $1.7million in real life.


    It might sound absurd, but those were the prices that rich people were willing to pay for a virtual game, especially those who were rich and were also contending to be the top player.


    The third item that dropped was a skill book called Beacon of Light.


    Beacon of Light: Your heals, including multi-heals, on other party members or raid members will also heal the Beacon of Light target for up to 50% of the amount healed. Your Flash of Light and Holy Light on the Beacon of Light target will also refund 40% of their mana cost.


    This was a very powerful skill which made healing Paladins very strong.


    There were currently no Paladin Healers in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    However, Ruling Sword had thousands of members, so Lu Li could easily find someone to give it to.


    He was no longer that person who would do anything for money. He realised that the best way to earn money was to invest time and effort into a guild so that they could excel in tournaments.


    Since they had completed the dungeon on Nightmare mode, they would be rewarded with more loot. Everyone was very excited for the last two items.


    They all held their breath as Remnant continued to dig at the corpse.


    A long staff was pulled out.


    The loot that dropped from boss fights in Dawn wasn¡¯t scattered around the ground like other games. You had to physically take it out of the Boss¡¯ body which added to the realness of the game.


    It was a giant staff with a yellow-orange gem ¨C an exact replica of the one that Bathiel held during the fight.


    Bathiel¡¯s Staff ¨C one of only two Gold drops that could be obtained from Blackfathom Deep.


    From level 30 to 40, Bathiel¡¯s Staff was considered to be the godliest weapon for DPS Mages. Anyone who equipped Bathiel¡¯s Staff was considered an expert.


    It had a very overpowered Special Effect ¨C Spell Steal.


    Spell Steal gave a player the chance to steal a beneficial magic effect from their target. Although a single buff did not seem like much, the effect was able to strength yourself and weaken your opponent at the same time.


    If the Mage in a party had Bathiel¡¯s staff, this would be extremely advantageous for them during Boss¡¯ berserk mode because they would be able to steal it.


    The skill book version of Spell Steal didn¡¯t offer this feature; it was something exclusive to the special effect on Bathiel¡¯s Staff. The special effect on the staff was the upgraded version of the Mage skill.


    Comparatively, Lu Li¡¯s Shadow Step on his cape was the weaker version of the Thief skill, Inferior Shadow Step.


    The staff alone made the dungeon extremely worth it as it could be sold for a handsome amount of money.


    "I¡¯m good! I¡¯m so good!" Remnant Dream smiled as she hugged the staff. Everyone patted her head and praised her unendingly.


    Lu Li had to admit that she was a lucky charm for the party.


    Normally, the only person Lonesome Flower cared about was his little sister; he only had her in his eyes. However, even he couldn¡¯t hold back and beamed at Remnant Dream.


    The Golden Staff could only be equipped by Mages, and as the only Mage in the party, he was the ecstatic recipient of it.


    His goal was to out-DPS Lu Li. Although he was currently nowhere near Lu Li¡¯s DPS, the Staff definitely closed the gap between them. However, his main goal right now was to level up to 30 for the Mage power spike.


    Lu Li, just you wait.


    After Bathiel was killed, the room faded away and everyone could see clearly again.


    Surrounding them were metal cages, each imprisoning a frail and miserable prisoner. They seemed to be bound by some sort of magic, as they were all unconscious. These people were the sacrifices for Aku¡¯Mai.


    Before being fed to Aku¡¯mai they were beaten and tortured.


    "Cast a small Blizzard onto them," Lu Li said.


    Lonesome Flower casted Blizzard without hesitating and the room was immediately filled with wind and snow.

 338 Lonesome Flower Carry

    The prisoners were already suffering from the pain and the sudden Blizzard only added onto their misery.


    They started banging and wailing in the cages.


    "Open the cages and let them out."


    Lu Li commanded everyone to free the prisoners from their cages. Scout Thaelrid was impressed with their kind-heartedness and praised them for their good works.


    Kind-hearted?


    Lu Li¡¯s main goal wasn¡¯t to receive praises from Thaelrid but to increase their Stormwind City popularity.


    Since it was a game, the seemingly disabled prisoners ran out of their cages once they were freed, as if they were running for the Olympics. Each and every one of them bowed in gratitude and hastily escaped the dungeon.


    "Whoever freed the sacrifices for the Old Gods shall face Aku¡¯mai¡¯s wrath of fire. Come you puny bugs! Come and witness the power of the Old Gods!"


    This was Aku¡¯mai, a scumbag who used his master¡¯s power to intimidate people. He relied on devouring lifeforms offered up to him by the Twilight Disciples.


    In reality, he was nothing but a pet of the primordial Old Gods. There was an ancient war between the Stone Giants called Titans and the Old Gods. The Titans killed off the Old Gods using the Sword of Domination at the Blackwater Coast. The Twilight Disciples believed that Aku¡¯mai was one of the surviving Old Gods, but in reality, he was nothing more than a servant.


    According to Lu Li¡¯s research, Aku¡¯mai was a high-ranking servant of the Old God Soggoth the Slitherer. After Aku¡¯mai suffered injuries during the war against the Stone Giants, he fled and hid at the temple ruins.


    From then on, he resided in the Blackfathom Deeps, content with ruling over the dungeon. His followers and disciples, however, were faithful in wanting to summon the Old Gods again. Aku¡¯mai couldn¡¯t care less about this and only cared about the sacrifices offered onto him.


    Lu Li and the others released all of Aku¡¯mai¡¯s sacrifices which angered him. A stone door opened from Bathiel¡¯s dungeon room which led to the nest of Aku¡¯mai.


    "If we lose, then we¡¯ll become the first creatures that Aku¡¯mai devours. AHAHAHAHA¡­" Such an annoying laugh could only come out of Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s mouth. Aku¡¯mai probably wouldn¡¯t even want to devour him after hearing that.


    Everyone looked at him weirdly like he was some sort of maniac.


    Azure Sea Breeze laughed awkwardly when he saw that nobody else understood his joke. He ignored the awkwardness and waved his shield around shouting, "Heroes, Aku¡¯mai lies before us! Once we defeat him, we¡¯ll have all the women and gold that we want!"


    As soon as he charged in, he was hit in the face by a giant tentacle which sent him flying. No one really cared and didn¡¯t bother asking if he was fine.


    He began trash talking the developers and designers of the game, demanding that they paid for his healthcare costs.


    This was the tail clone of Aku¡¯mai which they had encountered on the way before. It was easily defeated and it shrivelled back into the wall that it came out from.


    Lu Li commanded everyone to defeat the all of the clones that they encountered.


    These clones were all a part of the Aku¡¯mai boss fight. Defeating them would make the actual boss fight much easier.


    Between Aku¡¯mai and Bathiel, many people found Aku¡¯mai to be more challenging.


    In reality, Aku¡¯mai was much easier, as long as they had a guide and figured out the boss pattern.


    For example, each clone they countered had 10,000 HP. Killing a clone lowered Aku¡¯mai¡¯s defence by 1%. Along the path from Bathiel¡¯s dungeon room to Aku¡¯mai, at least 15 clones would appear, which equated to a 15% decrease in defence.


    Besides this, there were many other inside tricks which made Aku¡¯mai much easier to defeat than Bathiel.


    "Aku¡¯mai is so godamn ugly."


    These were the words of the little hunter. She preferred adorable little animals such as dogs and bunnies.


    "You disgusting creature. I bet you don¡¯t have a girlfriend because no one would ever love you." Wandering took the words right out of Lu Li¡¯s mouth, but he phrased it in such a creative way.


    His entire body was buried into the earth, only showing his neck and head like a Loch Ness monster.


    Lu Li knew why it hid its body in the ground. When Aku¡¯mai was defeated, it would respawn with two more heads, because he was actually a three-headed hydra.


    "Ok, I¡¯ll explain how to defeat this boss. Heads up everyone, let¡¯s aim to clear this in one go." Lu Li clapped his hand to gather everyone¡¯s attention.


    Everyone was excited for the boss fight and looked towards Lu Li for guidance. His serious expression always meant that he had wisdom to give to the team.


    "From the beginning to the end of the battle, Aku¡¯mai can cast Tearing the Void which summons 4 clones. We cannot kill the clones because more will be summoned, up to a total of 15."


    Everyone became discouraged because there seemed to be no hope.


    How were they supposed to defeat it if they couldn¡¯t hit it?


    "The four clones deal damage, but the annoying bit is the stun effect that lasts for 2 seconds with a cooldown of 10 seconds."


    If there were four clones that stunned someone for 2 seconds every 10 seconds, they would be stunned for the entire duration of the battle.


    "Azure Sea Breeze, you¡¯re in charge of aggroing the boss. When he opens his mouth, run as far as you can. Poison Spit deals less damage with increasing distance."


    Azure Sea Breeze nodded confidently.


    "Wandering, whether we succeed or not will be completely up to you," Lu Li said sternly as he stared into Wandering¡¯s eyes.


    "Me?!" Wandering was surprised that he was the key to this battle.


    He never doubted himself ¨C in fact, he was the most narcissistic person on the team. However, he never thought the day would come where he would be more of a decisive factor than Azure Sea Breeze and March Rain.


    He was just the secondary-tank.


    In other words, he was just a supporting character, a substitute for Azure Sea Breeze when needed.


    "That¡¯s right. Your job is to aggro the four clones and let them stun you continuously," Lu Li explained. "The cooldown on their skill is about 10 seconds and the duration of the stun is about 2 seconds. This means that you only have a 2 second window to draw the aggro again. The most important thing is that¡­"


    "What else? Just say it." Wandering was becoming impatient.


    He knew how hard this mission would be and he was out to prove himself.


    "You can only dictate the direction of the four clones, but you¡¯re not able to move them because they¡¯re stationary."


    "What the hell?!" Wandering swore.


    "You can swear at me later; I¡¯m not done yet," Lu Li continued calmly. "The skill stuns all targets in a straight line, so you must make sure that there are no teammates in the line of attack."


    "I can¡¯t do it," Wandering admitted bluntly.

 339 Regeneration Demon

    If the four images were as Lu Li had said, he would have to tank all of their attacks without any support from his teammates.


    This was something really difficult to do, even for a strong player.


    "Please. Do you think that the images will coordinate their attacks on you?" Lu Li said quietly. "The four images might sometimes overlap their attacks, so your window might be longer than two seconds."


    Even with instant cast skills, he could only cast three of them in two seconds. He had to pull four mobs with three skills and reposition himself; it would simply have been impossible.


    Fortunately, the four images weren¡¯t well-coordinated.


    Under normal circumstances, they wouldn¡¯t wait until the effect was over before attacking again.


    After Lu Li explained this, Wandering¡¯s expression looked a little better.


    However, there was still an immense amount of pressure on him. Lu Li was right when he said that the key player for this Boss was the off-tank. Only he could draw the aggro of the four images and allow the others to attack the Boss.


    "Can I say no?" Wandering was lazy and really hated tasks like this.


    "Nope," Lu Li rejected as he took off his shoes. "The most important thing for you is speed. Wear my shoes; we need you to be faster."


    "Wear your shoes?" Wandering had a look of disgust on his face. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t like their attributes, nor was it that they didn¡¯t suit him as a Paladin. It was simply the fact that these were someone else¡¯s shoes. He pinched his nose as he gingerly slipped them on.


    "Anything else?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "Of course ¨C you have to pay attention to the surroundings," Lu Li said. "Although we aren¡¯t going to kill them, the images can be re-summoned, which means they will appear in a new location. When that happens, you will need to change your angle of attack and Wandering will need to move. You two will have to help him with that."


    "You want me to help that guy?" Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t happy.


    It had always been someone that was helping him, so this was a blow to his pride as a main tank.


    "I don¡¯t care which one of you gets hit, as long as it¡¯s not any of the other players. This Boss¡¯ greatest strength is its HP regeneration. Everyone must be doing maximum DPS or its HP will not go down."


    Lu Li had no other way of putting it.


    The Boss before them was level 30 and they were fighting it on Nightmare Difficulty.


    At their current level and strength, their odds of defeating this Boss weren¡¯t much greater than 50%, even with the additional NPC. As such, they needed to be perfect in every way they could.


    In reality, completing the Instance Dungeon wasn¡¯t that important. For example, in the Howling Caves, most teams just farmed the first three Bosses as opposed to clearing it. They would rather farm in the wild or go on to try and take First Clears in new Instance Dungeons.


    Even at the present level, only the Elite groups of the big guilds were likely to finish playing through the Howling Caves.


    Blackfathom was similar; they wouldn¡¯t lose much even if they couldn¡¯t defeat the final Boss. After all, they had received many good items on the way here.


    However, Lu Li refused to willingly lose this battle.


    This Instance Dungeon Scroll was the result of a quest. If they were unable to complete it, upgrading the Supreme Ring would be very difficult.


    They would also be giving up on a World Announcement for their First Clear.


    It would be inspiring for the players to see the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, known as the newly formed Ruling Sword, accomplish another First Clear. They had just received news from Square Root 3 that the guild was now level 3 and the number of players who were joining was constantly rising.


    Square Root 3 was working tirelessly to screen these new applicants and Lu Li would feel bad if he didn¡¯t at least bring home the First Clear.


    "Everyone, don¡¯t hold back any of your skills. Do as much damage as you can whenever possible."


    After addressing everything, Lu Li signaled Azure Sea Breeze to engage.


    The Ancient Gods¡¯ servant Aku¡¯mai couldn¡¯t speak, but it greeted Azure Sea Breeze with a spit of venom. A damage value of -436 appeared on Azure Sea Breeze head at first, which was followed by a cascade of -75s. The venom was very potent and taking any antidotes provided next to no resistance.


    The damage was quite high, but they could still deal with it.


    Lu Li ran up and stabbed the Boss with his dagger, causing it to lose over 60 HP. This amount of damage for a normal attack was acceptable.


    They had managed to deal 500-600 damage to the Boss in their first wave of attacks, which was a good proportion of the Boss¡¯ 120,000 HP. It just meant that Aku¡¯mai was slightly more difficult than the regular Bosses.


    That was everyone else¡¯s impression.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t think that way. He stared at Aku¡¯mai¡¯s HP and watched as it made an obvious upwards jump.


    +165.


    This was really cheating ¨C it had gained 165 HP in three seconds. Aku¡¯mai was definitely some kind of regeneration demon. Up until this point, Aku¡¯mai had the fastest regeneration that Lu Li had ever seen. Of course, the Wind Wielder that Lu Li had seen in the Warsong Canyon didn¡¯t count.


    Because it had regenerated a chunk of its HP, they had lost a significant amount of progress.


    If you didn¡¯t count the NPC¡¯s damage, Lu Li and the others could only do about 300 damage per second. However, if you considered the Boss¡¯ regeneration and other skills, there would be no guarantee that they could even deal 100 damage per second.


    "This is going to be another bitter struggle," Lu Li thought as his heart sank a little. He looked at Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering, wondering if this pair could continue to properly draw the Boss¡¯ aggro.


    Azure Sea Breeze turned and looked at Wandering and shuffled his feet slightly.


    It wasn¡¯t enough. Lu Li was struggling to hold himself back, but he needed to show that he trusted them. Sure enough, after two seconds, Azure Sea Breeze had cast his new taunt skills and moved again.


    The reason why they didn¡¯t want to do it in one go was because they were afraid of messing up the Boss¡¯ aggro. These were still the early stages after all.


    Wandering was now also moving. The two of the kept moving until the Boss spat some more venom and reared its head.


    It was coming!


    A dark crack opened up in front of the Boss, out of which shot four, identical tentacles. These were the same images as before. They had seen all sorts of things on the way here, but nothing could compare to the strength of these four images.


    After the tentacles shot out, Wandering immediately moved to face them and casted Taunt. The tentacles paused for second before shooting towards Wandering.


    Wandering was immediately frozen on the spot. However, it wasn¡¯t just him ¨C Sesame Rice Ball was also affected.


    It was his first time, so these little mistakes were to be expected.


    After two seconds, Sesame Rice Ball recovered and out of instinct, moved away from the tentacles to adjust his angle of attack.


    The others were just struggling to deal as much damage as possible. They didn¡¯t save any of their skills, but they deliberately avoided attacking the tentacles so that they wouldn¡¯t draw their aggro.


    If they were to fight this Boss normally, there was bound to be someone who would walk into Aku¡¯mai¡¯s attacks. There was no way to guarantee that no one would make any mistakes.


    Lu Li had now left Wandering to deal with the images. With him pulling the aggro, the others had a much easier time.

 340 A Mole In The Guild

    At this time, the Boss didn¡¯t stop moving just because it had summoned the images. In fact, its attacks were still continuous. The venom spray was particularly strong ¨C it had a short interval between attacks and would often splash upon impact, affecting the players around it.


    After 20 seconds, the four tentacles shrunk back into the ground.


    "It¡¯ll be back right away, so get ready. Everyone, make sure you don¡¯t get hit by the tentacles. If a tentacle appears next to you, immediately run away ¨C the further the better," Lu Li carefully directed.


    The second time the tentacles appeared, their position had changed.


    This time they were a little unlucky. The tentacles were quite scattered and Wandering couldn¡¯t taunt them all in one spot. Fortunately, he had Lu Li¡¯s boots which made him faster.


    Tempest Leather Boots (Silver): Armor +25, All Attributes +10, Movement speed +5%, Special Effect: when escaping, you can activate this skill to appear in a random location 15 yards away. 360 second cool down. Level requirement: 25, Durability 50/50.


    Although these boots were leather, they added points to all attributes so any profession could equip them.


    Lu Li had finally changed into them because his original level 5 shoes simply weren¡¯t good enough anymore. One provided rocket-levels of speed while the other made him walk like a turtle. They were on completely different levels.


    However, this difference was very important, because it gave Wandering the speed he needed to keep everyone else safe while they were dealing damage.


    At this point, some other players, in addition to those in Ruling Sword, had become concerned about the results of Lu Li and the others.


    "Old Nuo, have they defeated it yet?" Heart of War sounded deeply worried.


    Heart of War was a name that provoked anger, but no one dared to do anything about it because he was the current generation¡¯s leader of the Gangnam Royals.


    Although his level was quite average, he had stack upon stacks of money.


    However, the person on the other side wasn¡¯t so polite, impatiently retorting, "Dammit, you¡¯re crazy. If they clear this, you¡¯ll see another uproar on the World Announcements. They¡¯re trying to claim the First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty."


    In order to boost morale, Lu Li had tried not to say anything, but it was just too difficult to keep secrets when there were people in the guild who knew that they were doing an Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty.


    Every big guild had an informant in every other guild.


    Previously, a player¡¯s ID wasn¡¯t bound to their identity, so anyone could make any number of accounts to do this. Later on, games decided to bind a player¡¯s ID to their identity so that each person could only have one account. This greatly increased the cost of being a spy.


    However, in this world of tycoons, big guilds could always persuade someone with a generous amount of money to go undercover and spy on their opponents.


    The Mage that Heart of War was contacting was actually a spy called Nuo Yu. He wasn¡¯t doing it for the money, but instead, Nuo Yu owed the Gangnam Royals a favor.


    This time, he had been sent to the recently established Ruling sword.


    Who would be this concerned about Ruling Sword?


    It wasn¡¯t Glory Capital ¨C they had never felt like they were in any danger.


    It wasn¡¯t Blood Red War Flag either. Ever since they had acquired experts and formed an elite team, their status had slowly but surely been rising.


    The one who was most concerned was the originally second-ranked union ¨C Gangnam Royals. They had been suffering at the hands of Glory Capital, Seventh Heaven, Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Now they also had to worry about the newly formed Ruling Sword.


    They couldn¡¯t use any of the conventional methods to suppress them, as the First Clear would make them too popular. Ruling Sword also wasn¡¯t doing anything in the wild.


    Nuo Yi was a professional spy. He would normally never contact Gangnam Royals and would play very fairly once he made it into a guild. He was actually ranked sixth on the guild rankings, which was why he knew this information.


    "How many times have they been wiped?" Heart of War couldn¡¯t believe it.


    "That, I really don¡¯t know," Nuo Yu said impatiently.


    Doing undercover work was quite annoying. If he wanted to progress, he needed to do the quests. However, he would then see his guild points go up by a little and would not be able to help but feel a sense of achievement and belonging.


    But he was a spy!


    "Then when will the guild be doing the challenge? Do you think that they can do it?"


    The guild challenge was something that happened every five levels. It was similar to an Instance Dungeon, but there was only one random Boss in it that refreshed at random times. A guild could send up to 20 players at once to clear it; it was a true test of strength.


    "The vice president of the guild said that they would start it on the day after if they were free. Otherwise, they would put it off," Nuo Yu replied.


    "Why? How can they reach level 6 if they don¡¯t fight the Boss?" Heart of War couldn¡¯t believe it and unwittingly probed deeper.


    Nuo Yu wasn¡¯t too happy at first, but eventually reluctantly explained, "Square Root 3 has been managing guilds for years, so he definitely knows what he¡¯s doing. A level 5 guild can hold up to 5000 players, which is enough for them for the time being."


    "Oh, I understand."


    Heart of War breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered that his own guild had already been formed and stabilized.


    However, given Ruling Sword was already a medium sized guild, given its size and strength.


    "If there isn¡¯t anything else, then don¡¯t contact me. One report a week like we agreed on."


    Nuo Yu cut off the conversation before waiting for a reply.


    "Nuo Yu, quickly, we¡¯re all waiting for you."


    Someone was calling out to him. The player who was speaking was the party leader Fat Monkey. Although he was only level 21, he could deal almost the same amount of damage as Nuo Yu, who was two levels higher. He also gave very professional instructions; the other players couldn¡¯t help but be compelled.


    "Coming. I thought you had already killed the Boss on your own."


    Nuo Yu went forward smiling as he joined the ranks of the fight.


    The strongest players on the Ruling Sword guild rankings had banded together to form a party and were now in the Howling Caves. They had just killed Skum and were now heading towards Serpentis.


    Skum, who was posing problems for most of the guild, posed no threat to their party.


    They had a strategy!


    Some of them didn¡¯t think that it would be so easy. They had simply entrusted the whole run to Fat Monkey, believing that he would lead them through it.


    When they reached Skum, they almost cried.


    They hadn¡¯t realized that standing in the water meant they were protected from the lightning!


    They had previously been oppressed by that skill.


    It was unclear what had happened in his mind, but despite the importance of this information, Nuo Yu had no intention of reporting this back to Heart of War.


    Even the big guild¡¯s elite groups could only rely on their superior equipment and levels to kill Skum. As such, you didn¡¯t even need to think about what happened to the ordinary parties.


    This was also the reason why Nuo Yu always felt irritated.


    This guild was simply too good. It had just been established, but they were already the champions of the Shadow Cup and their superstar lineup had beat everyone else on the ranking list. They also had countless First Clears¡­


    Joining this kind of guild gave a deep intoxicating sense of glory.


    He had also never seen such positive guild members; they were just doing quests non-stop. If it weren¡¯t for the Gangnam Royals¡¯ financial and material support, he wouldn¡¯t be able to compare to these quest madmen.


    And now, the guild had directly given them the strategy for beating this Instance Dungeon.


    This kind of trust was almost unbearable!

 341 Limits Of Authority

    So far, Nuo Yu had played three games and had infiltrated several guilds while undercover.


    He had always been able to get close enough to learn the secrets of the guild in a few days. However, this time, it was different. Previously, there always some separation between those who were close to the guild and those who were outsiders. The core players would enjoy the benefits while the outsiders had to work their way in.


    Almost all guilds operated in this manner.


    Ruling Sword was an exception to this rule. Nuo Yu strangely felt like he had already been a part of this guild for a year or two.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t just the Gangnam Royals who were interested in Ruling Sword¡¯s progress in this Instance Dungeon. Other guilds that had the resources to support a spy had also funded one.


    They now all knew everything; they even knew that Lu Li had left the guild to be run on its own.


    They were aware that a new Instance Dungeon was about to be cleared and a new record set.


    There were some other players who had obtained the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon Scroll, but no one had managed to complete it. In the chronicles of Dawn, the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon had yet to appear.


    They also knew that Lu Li and the others were doing this Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty.


    The big guilds were anxious, but they could only helplessly wait. In their hearts, they were continuously cursing Lu Li, hoping that he and the others would be vanquished by the monsters.


    Lu Li and the others weren¡¯t thinking about any of this.


    Aku¡¯mai¡¯s frequent attacks truly turned the fight into a bitter struggle, especially since they had to dodge the four tentacles. When its HP reached 40%, they faced another big obstacle.


    Aku¡¯mai¡¯s head was thrown and attached itself onto Azure Sea Breeze. It started dealing considerable damage, frighteningly without any intervals between each attack.


    Two consecutive hits!


    Seven consecutive hits!


    Lu Li was shocked. The strategy guide that he had read made no mention of an attack like this.


    Each attack dealt 600 damage. With seven consecutive hits, Azure Sea Breeze had suddenly lost 4000 HP. He only had between 3000-4000 HP and didn¡¯t have the chance to cast his damage reduction skill so he was instantly killed.


    When the Main Tank was one shot, everyone¡¯s hearts sank.


    Normally, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t give up if there was even a glimmer of hope.


    But was there any hope left?


    No¡­


    Even if Hachi Chan could Resurrect, this would take time. With Aku¡¯mai¡¯s attacks, anyone with less HP than Azure Sea Breeze would be instantly killed.


    At this time, the quiet Thaelrid suddenly erupted.


    His body was enveloped with a layer of dark green light and began to inflate. His originally slender Night Elf hands started transforming into huge claws.


    He was a Worgen!


    It turned out that Thaelrid was originally of Worgen descent.


    He roared loudly in front of Aku¡¯mai and began attacking with a renewed ferocity.


    "Hachi, Resurrect Breezy. Wandering, don¡¯t worry about this. Everyone calm down and focus on me."


    Lu Li forced himself to calm down and quickly urged his dazed teammates into action.


    There was still hope; Thaelrid had just given it to them and it surprised them all.


    This NPC had helped them with a lot.


    Lu Li was really happy that he had uttered that single line back at the Blackfathom camp. It had led them onto the quest that ultimately allowed them to recruit the help of this NPC.


    After Azure Sea Breeze was Resurrected, March Rain quickly filled up his HP. A player that was Resurrected would return with critical HP, so if he was accidentally hit by the Boss, their efforts would have been in vain.


    Thaelrid then retreated to make space for Azure Sea Breeze to move back in.


    He was an NPC so he couldn¡¯t receive healing or take potions. Every point of HP lost was lost forever, so facing the Boss upfront like that was suicidal.


    Lu Li also noticed that the transformation gave him bonus defense and damage reduction, but reduced his damage significantly. As such, it wasn¡¯t worth it to keep attacking anyway.


    Accidents were bound to occur from time to time; Lu Li had underestimated the difficulty of the Nightmare Difficulty Instance Dungeon.


    Azure Sea Breeze and March Rain were now playing with their full attention, ensuring that another 7-hit, one-shot overpowered skill wouldn¡¯t work again.


    Fortunately, that same skill wasn¡¯t cast again for a long time.


    In fact, most of Lu Li¡¯s predecessors would have chosen to complete the Elite or Hero Difficulty of this Instance Dungeon. There were few players who cleared it at Nightmare Difficulty.


    As such, it wasn¡¯t unusual that they hadn¡¯t encountered something like this.


    However, this incident also woke Lu Li up. Strategy guides could be used, but they had to be taken with a grain of salt. Many things planned by humans are destroyed by chance.


    At 30% HP, Aku¡¯mai would summon a vortex that could swallow a player into the abyss.


    If a player didn¡¯t know that this was going to happen, there was nothing that they could do to stop it.


    If the vortex swallowed the Main Tank or the Healer, they basically had to give up. No matter how overpowered they were, all who fell in would die. Even Lu Li¡¯s Gale Steps wouldn¡¯t help.


    However, through countless experiences and thousands of defeats, the previous players had summarized a set of rules.


    If Aku¡¯mai summoned the vortex into the abyss when its head was crooked to the left, the players on its left were most likely to get sucked in.


    The opposite was true for the right side.


    Additionally, if Aku¡¯mai summoned the vortex and a player was stunned by one of the tentacles, they


    would not be sucked in.


    These rules could be used to their advantage.


    As such, when fighting Aku¡¯mai, they had to carefully watch its face.


    Lu Li squinted his eyes and watched Aku¡¯mai¡¯s HP. He was also trying to calculate the position and timing of the four stunning images. He hadn¡¯t been to school and didn¡¯t know much, let alone the Pythagorean Theorem, but this didn¡¯t prevent his ability to observe.


    "Everyone pay attention. Get ready to move to the location I specify."


    Lu Li started to allocate everyone to a different location. Even Azure Sea Breeze was assigned a location, despite being unable to move at that moment. He had to wait until Aku¡¯mai moved before he did.


    "I am in the middle. When I call left, then everyone on the left will run with me to a place where you can get stunned by the tentacles. If I call right, then everyone on the right will run with me. Wandering and Breezy, you guys take one side each and draw the Boss¡¯ aggro accordingly. Do you understand?"


    "What if the images go back into the ground?" Wandering asked.


    "I¡¯ve calculated it and we probably wouldn¡¯t be that unlucky," Lu Li replied, then paused for a moment before continuing, "But if that happens, when I call left, Dreamy, Moonlight, Memories and Riceball, you guys should run to my left while everyone else stays on the other side. If I call right, you guys should run to my right¡­"


    This meant that Remnant Dream and the four others, including Lu Li, would lose one player at a time.


    Losing a DPS player would make things a little more difficult, but it was better than losing a Healer or a Main Tank. Once the Healer or Main Tank died, there would be no hope left.


    Aku¡¯mai¡¯s HP slowly dropped and everyone held their breath as they knew the storm was coming.


    "The images are still here. Left side come with me."


    Azure Sea Breeze and the four others ran together.


    Without any hesitation, the image flapped down twice and stunned them all.


    At this time, a rotating object appeared above the top of the team on the left. It had appeared over March Rain and produced a great force that wanted to suck the little Priest away.

 342 A Thrilling Killing Blow

    Fortunately, March Rain was in a stunned state. The vortex lasted for a second and eventually disappeared slowly.


    Rejoice!


    This was the only word that could describe Lu Li¡¯s feelings.


    "Wandering, you lost it."


    Lu Li was shocked when he saw the Boss starting to attack him.


    He had the highest damage, so he was naturally the first target once the Main Tank had lost their aggro.


    If they were to lose their main front line, everything up until now would have been for nothing. That was just how it was when it came to Bosses.


    "Can¡¯t you use Gale Steps, you idiot," Wandering insulted as he ran over and pulled the Boss once again.


    "What would the others do if I ran away?" Lu Li replied defensively.


    In any case, Wandering was still basically a Main Tank and couldn¡¯t be one-shot by the Boss.


    The survivors returned to their original positions and continued attacking the Boss.


    Due to Aku¡¯mai insane regeneration and the break they had just taken from attacking it, it had regenerated over 10,000 HP.


    Fortunately, the strategy guide said that the vortex would only be cast once.


    The strategy guide¡­


    Lu Li then remembered the embarrassing seven-hit combo and no longer believed that the players who had written the strategy guide were the ultimate authority.


    This was the Nightmare Difficulty after all.


    His cautious attitude greatly assisted them.


    When the Boss¡¯ HP had reduced to 20%, a second vortex was cast, but they managed to avoid another disaster with the same move.


    When its HP had reduced to 5%, Aku¡¯mai went berserk.


    Berserk Aku¡¯mai had at least three times its original attack speed, as well as a similar area of effect to the tentacles.


    However, its buff also had a corresponding debuff to it defence. Any skill that hit it dealt over 100 damage.


    Even so, this was the most difficult moment of the fight. The Main Tank had been hit by the seven-combo-one-shot again, forcing Wandering to go in to cover for him.


    Moonlight and Riceball¡­


    Both of them had been one shot.


    Even Thaelrid wasn¡¯t strong enough. He was sent flying by a hit from the Boss and lay on the ground, unmoving. However, he didn¡¯t appear to be dead.


    Perhaps he was waiting for the whole team to die before dying.


    "Give it all you¡¯ve got. Don¡¯t give up until you¡¯re dead. I even want the healers to go and hit it with your Healing Staffs," Lu Li commanded after using Gale Steps.


    If he hadn¡¯t retreated immediately, he definitely would have died.


    However, he had also given up on using Vanish to escape. He didn¡¯t want to waste any time running; he had to deal as much damage as he could now.


    The fight wasn¡¯t only bitter anymore, it was tragic.


    Aku¡¯mai¡¯s HP rapidly dropped from the thousands to the hundreds as the members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group died one at a time. Eventually, there was only one left ¨C Hachi Chan.


    The Boss tilted its head, revealing its dark-red eyes and face that was covered in blood. It was so scary that Hachi Chan subconsciously closed her eyes.


    Then, she remembered what Lu Li had said before he died and how each of her party members had died valiantly.


    The little girl, who was just over 10 years old, opened her eyes and raised her Magic Staff.


    Mom, this time, I¡¯m not a scaredy-cat.


    According to any combat analysis system, Aku¡¯mai should have won this battle.


    At the time, the Boss had 645 HP and was recovering 165 damage every second. Hachi Chan had 1710HP, but she was significantly weaker than the Boss. At the very most, she could take two hits from the Boss before dying.


    As for Aku¡¯mai¡¯s HP, Hachi Chan simply couldn¡¯t deal enough damage to get through it.


    Her equipment was exquisite, but it was biased towards healing effects, so her overall attacks were relatively weak.


    But even so, her status as the System¡¯s daughter was about to manifest once again.


    The Boss refused to die and bit her head.


    Hachi Chan¡¯s HP dropped to 1300; she was about to die soon.


    However, it was much worse for the Boss. Although Hachi Chan¡¯s attack had only dealt 200 damage, it suddenly took 1950 damage and immediately fell onto the ground.


    System: Ruling Sword¡¯s Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower¡­ have successfully completed the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon at Nightmare difficulty.


    The system gave an announcement before Hachi Chan opened her eyes again.


    Hey, she wasn¡¯t dead.


    She had also levelled up.


    How did this happen?


    Could it be that the Boss thought that she was too cute and had decided to let her go?


    "Oi, girl, can you Ressurect us?" Wandering said through his clenched jaw. His corpse was lying on top of Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s corpse¡¯s butt.


    "Oh, yes, gotta save everyone," Hachi Chan responded.


    The real reason was quite simple. Aku¡¯mai had hit Hachi Chan¡¯s head and her exquisite helmet had rebounded two times the damage.


    It should have been 2600 damage, but the Boss had some resistances which reduced it to 1900 damage.


    Even so, this was enough.


    The players were slowly resurrected and everyone looked at Aku¡¯mai¡¯s body. They were at a loss for words.


    It wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t excited. The whole situation felt unreal because they hadn¡¯t really defeated it. It had just¡­ killed itself.


    Lu Li had to admit that they really wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Blackfathom at Nightmare Difficulty unless they were all level 30 and had some level 30 equipment.


    "Haha, Hachi, you¡¯re just too great! Wait no, your head is just too great!"


    Azure Sea Breeze jumped up and began vigorously rubbing Hachi Chan¡¯s head.


    "This is so rude!" the little girl cried out.


    She had made it big this time. Originally, she was level 25, but now, she was level 26 and her EXP bar was almost full. She could be level 27 by the next day.


    As a level 25 player, she had received all of a level 30 Boss¡¯ EXP!


    She had even received a Skill Point; this was the fourth Skill Point that the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon had given out.


    After the First Clear prompt, everyone received another System Prompt.


    Lu Li opened his bag to find that he had received a parcel. It was a very impressive Dagger.


    Abyssal Poison Fang (Gold): Damage 26-32, Agility +18, Strength +10, Special Effect 1: Critical Hit +12%, Special Effect 2: All attributes +20 after Critical Hit has been achieved. 30 second duration and 30 second cooldown. Special Effect 3: Continuously attacking the same target five times will cause the fifth attack to deal 5x damage. 30 second cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 30. Durability: 65/65.


    Praise God.


    Lu Li stroked this dagger and was completely satisfied.


    The damage was high, the attributes were good and most importantly, it had three special effects.


    The first special effect increased Critical Hit which didn¡¯t need much explanation.


    The second special effect increased all attributes on a critical hit. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t as good as increasing attack speed and damage on a critical hit, but it had a long duration. Moreover, it could be used in conjunction with crowd-control and other skills. It was definitely a powerful effect.


    The third effect was a five-hit combo.


    This was quite similar to Aku¡¯mai¡¯s seven-hit combo. Although the five-hit combo was a little weaker, Lu Li was still very satisfied.


    If he could hit a target for 100 damage, his fifth attack would deal 500 damage. That was stronger than an Ultimate Skill ¨C how could he not be satisfied?


    He needed to level up and quickly reach level 30. The last time he had fought Glory Capital, he still needed to borrow Water Fairy¡¯s dagger, which defeated the point of him having experienced Rebirth.


    Everyone else also received great rewards. However, other than Lu Li¡¯s Gold equipment, only Sesame Rice Ball had gotten one as well. It was a shirt that could give him a 40% bonus attack if one of his party members died.


    Now, it was time to loot Aku¡¯mai¡¯s body.


    There were only two opportunities in Blackfathom for Gold equipment to drop ¨C Basel and Aku¡¯mai. Soon, they would know if the Goddess of Luck was at home.

 343 Bloodthirst Skill Book

    If they were lucky enough, Aku¡¯mai could drop a Gold Shield. It was a very strong defensive piece of equipment.


    Remnant Dream knelt in front of the corspe and put her hands together before reaching forward. She could be heard faintly calling on some kind of deity, but they didn¡¯t know who was blessing this little girl¡¯s hands.


    The first item was a level 30 Silver equip. It was made of leather, gave bonus Intelligence and was for Druids. It had good attributes, but Hachi Chan¡¯s level wasn¡¯t high enough, so it was sent to the Guild Warehouse.


    The second was a skill book ¨C "Bloodthirst".


    Bloodthirst, Instant Cast, Consumes 22% Mana and increases all party members¡¯ attack speed and damage by 30% for 10 seconds. 8-minute cooldown. Allies affected by this skill will then become content and will no longer be affected by Bloodthirst for ten minutes.


    This book was so unexpected that Lu Li didn¡¯t know if he should laugh or cry. He was getting ready to complete the quest for this skill book after completing this Instance Dungeon.


    However, he didn¡¯t think that this extremely rare skill book would simply drop like that.


    No wonder the players of the past had claimed that the First Clear rewards were truly bountiful. It wasn¡¯t that Lu Li didn¡¯t believe them, but rather that you had to experience it firsthand to truly appreciate it. They had gathered some truly astonishing rewards.


    This was his true advantage in being reincarnated.


    Many people claimed that they would act in a certain way if they got a second chance.


    However, the reality was that no one expected to actually be given a second chance, so no one was truly prepared for it.


    One could only rely on the information that they knew to create some advantage.


    There was nothing more than that.


    Being a PVP expert relied on individual mechanics, talent, effort, diligence and mental fortitude. As such, only the low-end players would be concerned with strategy for such matters.


    However, PVE was different. Even if you had talent for it, it would still be wise to explore strategies.


    Having these strategies meant that Lu Li was always one step ahead of everyone.


    So far, the Spider Nest, the Death Mines and the Howling Caves had all been publicly engraved with his name as the one who had achieved the First Clear. These First Clears also meant that his equipment and level were always one step ahead of even the top players.


    With that advantage, Lu Li¡¯s team were able to fight their way through the Shadow Cup and unexpectedly become the champions.


    "Dammit, this skill is really overpowered. Ah, but it only lasts for a short time."


    Wandering smacked his lips and looked at Sakura Memories contently. It seemed like their decision to bring in a Shaman was a good one.


    "Don¡¯t talk about things you don¡¯t understand. If it was any stronger, it would break game balance. If we could Increase our attack speed and damage by 30%, not as many of us would have died." Azure Sea Breeze was surprisingly content.


    He wasn¡¯t wrong either ¨C this single Bloodthirst skill book had made them significantly stronger.


    With this skill book, Lu Li was even ready to test out the Scarlet Monastery¡¯s difficulty.


    However, after giving it some thought, he decided that he should wait for all of them to reach at least level 27 before actually considering it.


    "This skill book is yours then," Lu Li said as he handed the book to Sakura Memories. "How many Skills Points do you have now?"


    "Three. I¡¯ve kept them for the stronger skills, so my current skills aren¡¯t very strong."


    Sakura Memories was a close-range buffer, but she would only start becoming strong 10 levels from now. There weren¡¯t many skills currently available to her.


    That¡¯s why she still had three Skill Points available.


    "You should use all of them to upgrade this skill. Bloodthirst must take first priority," Lu Li said bluntly.


    A fully-levelled Bloodthirst didn¡¯t increase attack speed or damage, but it significantly increased the duration. If Lu Li remembered correctly, a level 5 Bloodthirst would last for 20 seconds.


    Its strength made the skill almost like a bug.


    Bloodthirst was one of the Shaman¡¯s strongest supporting skills.


    The third item was a level 30 Silver Mold for Paladin Plate Armor Shin Guard. It had decent attributes, but it wasn¡¯t the anticipated Gold equipment.


    Generally speaking, unless a Boss dropped more than 5 items, only two of those would be equipment. Everyone had seemed to let go of the idea that some Golden Axe with amazing attributes would now be dropped.


    But that was okay.


    The Instance Dungeon couldn¡¯t just keep dropping Gold equipment ¨C that was impossible, even on the First Clear.


    Basel had already dropped a Gold Magic Staff which was a pleasant surprise.


    The last item that was dropped wasn¡¯t an equip, which was what they expected. It was a rare material ¨C Abyssal Crown.


    Wait, the Abyssal Crown!


    Lu Li rushed over and picked it up with his own hands. He gently stroked this small, rough stone crown, not minding its abrasiveness at all and reveling in its elegance and glory.


    This was the Abyssal Crown.


    It was a rare material that only dropped from Demons, Abyss monsters and other special mobs, and was one of the materials he needed to upgrade his Supreme Ring!


    To Lu Li, this item was more valuable than a Dark Gold equip.


    "I want this thing. I¡¯ll put something else into the Guild Warehouse later, so don¡¯t deduct this from my contribution." Lu Li wanted this Abyssal Crown so much that he was willing to give up everything he had received from this Instance Dungeon.


    "Look at how excited he is for that ¨C It¡¯s unbearable."


    Wandering leaned on Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s shoulder as he shook his head at Lu Li.


    "Humph." Lu Li couldn¡¯t be bothered talking back at him.


    These guys just didn¡¯t understand.


    If they knew that a Dark Gold item he had would soon be upgraded to an Epic item, they wouldn¡¯t be surprised at all.


    It was too bad that this upgrade would not be easy.


    Lu Li had just remembered that he needed to collect blood for the ring upgrade. Aku¡¯mai didn¡¯t belong to the Burning Legion, but instead belonged to a long line of Ancient Demons. As such, he wasn¡¯t sure if it would work.


    Lu Li stretched out his ring and a foggy mass of blood floated up from Aku¡¯mai¡­


    The blood was waving at him to approach it.


    Based on the visual effect, it appeared that Lu Li should have been able to absorb this blood.


    This scene was just plain weird. Lu Li looked like someone in the movie who was about to be consumed by the demons. Even Azure Sea Breeze was afraid.


    "Hey, have you gone insane? Are you trying to revive it?"


    It certainly appeared that this was the case.


    "You¡¯re always thinking about all that messed up stuff."


    Lu Li quietly got up and walked to the Sentinel Thaelrid.


    "Wait, you¡¯re not going to eat him too, are you?"


    Azure Sea Breeze stood in front of the Sentinel. It was too bad he wasn¡¯t a Paladin, otherwise, he could use Holy Light and shine his golden armor in protest.


    "Go away." Lu Li rolled his eyes at him.


    "Tch, you won¡¯t even play along. You¡¯re so boring; you deserve to be a bachelor forever," Azure Sea Breeze said as he bitterly moved away.

 344 A Pile Of Equipment To Choose From

    Lu Li felt a little guilty; he should have checked on Thaelrid the moment they defeated the Boss. Thaelrid had been really helpful to them ¨C without him, they probably wouldn¡¯t have completed the Blackfathom Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty.


    He had just been so excited by the rewards they had reaped from this Nightmare Difficulty Instance Dungeon.


    Even though he had been reborn, he was still a normal person.


    He didn¡¯t know if the Sentinel had died ¨C that seven-hit combo was brutal.


    "Sir Thaelrid, are you alright?" Lu Li cautiously stretched out his finger and poked the Sentinel¡¯s back.


    "Well, I¡¯m not dead yet." Thaelrid moved a little to show he was still alive.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t but admire his tenacity. When they first met him, no one expected him to join the team to clear out Blackfathom after a few stirring words from Lu Li.


    He had shown his formidable strength along the whole way.


    He had been struck by Aku¡¯mai¡¯s seven-hit combo, but was still lying alive on the ground.


    Lu Li was a little suspicious. If they had all died, would Thaerid have escaped from the Boss and gone back to his original spot to play dead?


    His title of ¡®sentinel¡¯ was not to be underestimated. In reality, between the League of Arathor, Warhammer Gryphon Regiment, The Seventh Regiment, the Thunderbolt Guard, Honor Hold Regiment and Argus¡¯ Hand, the Night Elf Sentinels were the strongest troops of Azeroth.


    This regiment had survived for over ten thousand years.


    "Do you need me to help you up?" Lu Li asked tentatively.


    "Help me up. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll live for much longer," Thaelrid said.


    "If you¡¯re about to die, you better not send us on an escort quest," Lu Li maliciously said in this heart. He and Sesame Rice Ball helped him up together and leaned him against the cave walls.


    "Adventurers, your heroism is admirable," the Sentinel began to say. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Blackfathom has been investigated and my quest is finally complete"


    Were they going to get a reward?


    Lu Li and the others looked at him in anticipation.


    If he didn¡¯t give anything at all, they were definitely going to kill him.


    It was as if he sensed the tense atmosphere. Thaelrid cut to the chase and pulled out a parcel that was filled with items. "These are the trophies I have gathered over the years. You can all take one item each."


    It really was a big pile of items ¨C there was just so much stuff!


    Everyone looked at each other before they watched Lu Li reach down and pick up an item.


    It was a Silver Mold, but unfortunately, it was level 45, which made it quite ordinary. At level 45, even Gold equipment would not be rare anymore, let alone Silver equipment.


    He was about to pick up another item before Thaelrid faintly added, "Each person only has three chances to pick an item."


    "You¡­" Lu Li was just about to swear at this old guy.


    He quickly retracted his hand. He had just wasted a chance and had to carefully weigh up his second choice.


    There were at least a few hundred items in the parcel, ranging from materials to skill books and other miscellaneous items. There were things that even someone as experienced as Lu Li didn¡¯t know about.


    Although they couldn¡¯t recognize most of the items, they could still recognize some of them.


    "Can the others help me choose?" Lu Li asked cautiously. He was suppressing his excitement, trying to ask the question as flatly as possible.


    "Of course." Thaelrid glanced at the others before nodding. "If they agree."


    Each person could take an item, but they had three opportunities to choose. This meant that Lu Li had two chances to test. If he recognized both items, he could easily make a decision.


    If this were any other group of players, they would already be kneeling before Thaelrid.


    The second choice that Lu Li made was a very fine-looking dagger. The body of this blade was gold in color, so Lu Li guessed that this dagger was probably Gold-grade.


    Although he already had two exquisite weapons, who could complain about having more of them?


    Thaelrid smiled as Lu Li picked up the weapon. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see Lu Li¡¯s expression turn dark as he checked its attributes.


    Bronze¡­ it was a Bronze weapon that was level 40.


    Big bro, you¡¯ve been posing as some mysterious Sentinel but you pick up all this garbage that no one would want.


    "When I was young, a lovely young lady gave that to me as a gift."


    Thaelrid looked upwards, reminiscing his past.


    "Since it¡¯s so memorable, it¡¯s best if you keep it."


    Lu Li threw the item back. He only had one chance left, so he needed to find something that was good for him.


    This one.


    Lu Li confidently picked out a pale blue crystal from the pile of items.


    Imbued Crystal ¨C this was a rare material used for weapons. It only had a small probability to be dropped by high-end Magic Bosses. Lu Li could have sold this item in his past life for 300 gold coins.


    Even a Gold equip might not be worth as much as this item.


    Next, Lu Li elected Azure Sea Breeze to be the next to choose¡­


    His luck was also very ordinary. His first two choices weren¡¯t appropriate for him and he eventually settled for his final item which was a Sheet Material.


    Of course, Azure Sea Breeze would be unhappy with this result.


    Where was the Gold equipment? Where was the Dark Gold equipment? Where was the God tier equipment?


    However, when he heard that this the sheet could be used to Forge a Dark Gold Shield, his dissatisfaction immediately dissipated. He almost grabbed Lu Li¡¯s thigh and started to repent.


    Wandering¡¯s turn was simple. He was too lazy to think about it so he just assigned the task to Lu Li.


    After Lu Li observed the items, he grabbed a skill book. Perhaps it was a strong skill book.


    The value of skill books were not to be underestimated, but they probably weren¡¯t worth as much as when Lu Li had asked Shen Wansan to buy them. The inflation at the time had primarily been caused by the Shadow Cup.


    Please be a high level skill book ¨C something in the same tier as Bloodthirst.


    Lu Li followed Remnant Dream¡¯s example and said a quick prayer.


    However, when he actually looked at the book, it was ¡®Track Beast¡¯.


    Track Beast was a Hunter skills that could be used to discover the recent activities of surrounding beasts.


    This was useless for someone like Remnant Dream who never played along and was also a reward for Hunters when they reached level 20. As such, Lu Li had no choice but to put it back.


    The second book, ¡®Ritual of Summoning¡¯, taught a ritual to open a transmission gate. It required a caster and two other allies to complete, but it could be used to summon parties or party members.


    It was difficult to say whether it was good or bad, but it definitely had its uses.


    As long as a Warlock had two party members around, he could cast Ritual of Summoning to call on a mighty force.


    "I¡¯ll take this one."


    Wandering habitually considered its uses and immediately realized its potential in warfare.


    In a PVP setting, one could dive into enemy lines and summon an army to turn the tides of a battle.


    In a PVE setting, when a guild found a Wild Boss or something noteworthy, the thing that they feared the most was being noticed by everyone else. However, with this skill, a Warlock could go with two stealthy thieves and summon the entire guild without anyone noticing.


    "Are you sure? Lu Li asked. "You still have another chance."


    "I can¡¯t be bothered."


    Wandering took it and threw it at Sesame Rice Ball.

 345 Mystic Dus

    Sesame Rice Balls didn¡¯t realize he was about to become a slave to the team; he was very touched as he learned the skill.


    From the bottom of his heart, he was certain that he was among a great, warm family.


    Definitely too warm.


    "Rice Ball, I¡¯m going pick in your place. Are you alright with that?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course. It¡¯d be best if you can get something for Wandering, since I took his skill book," he added.


    This was a drama show ¨C what was with all of these requests?


    Lu Li decided to ignore them; he squatted down and continued to pick up the next item.


    This was quite similar to drawing a raffle ¨C if he hadn¡¯t been reincarnated, this would be a test for his judgement and luck.


    Normally, only two or three people among a group of ten would receive something decent. The others would most likely be disappointed.


    This was the standard for a quest reward ¨C there was no way a quest would reward you with ten rare materials.


    However, Lu Li was someone who had reincarnated, so Thaelrid was fated to lose a pile of his goods from the very beginning.


    This time, Lu Li picked up a "Death Coil" skill book, which was for Death Knights. It appeared good because it was a skill for a hidden class, but this was still a rubbish item.


    An equip was chosen on the second round.


    Lu Li learned from his previous experience with the dagger and decided to choose something unassuming this time.


    Hence, when he picked up a simple-looking staff, he nearly slapped himself across the face ¨C this staff looked extremely useless and practically, it was also useless.


    After two chances had been used, Lu Li had to modestly pick a rare material.


    "Still six places left."


    Thaelrid stared at Lu Li¡¯s hands; he had started to become a little anxious.


    The four items that Lu Li had chosen included a skill book and three rare materials. These were all good items, especially the three rare materials, and surmounted to a great loss, even for Thaelrid.


    There were still six chances left; he could already feel his wealth leaving him.


    Of course, Lu Li didn¡¯t hold back. He stuck to his rules ¨C an equipment first, then a skill book and if both of them were rubbish, he would go for materials.


    Another rare material obtained.


    "Did you guys want to give it a go?" Lu Li turned his head to ask.


    The four rare materials that he was sure about had all been chosen. There were only two rare materials left in the pile that he hadn¡¯t chosen because he was uncertain about them.


    It was going depend on luck from this point onwards.


    "No, no, you can continue..." The others shook their head in coordination.


    They were all shocked by him.


    No one could guarantee to be as good as Lu Li ¨C of the five items he had chosen, none of them had been complete rubbish.


    It was probably better to select equipment first.


    It was fair to say that equip were the most important thing in the game; it would only be possible for players to face challenges with the help of good gear.


    A hammer? What on earth is this hammer? How is it even possible for a Silver-grade equip to have such terrible attributes? Thaelrid, are you sure you¡¯re not a garbage collector?


    Skill book ¨C "Cone of Cold".


    Lu Li turned the book in his hands over multiple time before he finally accepted that this was just an ordinary Cone of Cold skill book for Mages.


    Skill book ¨C "Mutilate".


    Mutilate, Instant cast, Cooldown 20 seconds. Instantly attacks with both weapons. The main hand deals 80% of weapon damage in the form of physical damage, while the off-hand deals 60% of weapon damage in the form of physical damage. Awards 2 combo points.


    This skill was like a two-hit combo from left and right. The gap time was short and the damage wasn¡¯t high; this was mainly a skill to store combo points.


    It wasn¡¯t a rare skill, but only high-leveled monsters had a chance of dropping it, so it wasn¡¯t a very common skill at the game¡¯s current stage.


    "I¡¯m taking this." Lu Li learned the skill right away.


    An extra skill just meant an extra method to receive combo points. There was no way he would waste his precious skill points on this skill ¨C he couldn¡¯t afford to anyway.


    The seventh time, Lu Li selected a level 30 Silver-grade mold. The attributes were unknown, but at least it was a safe option, much safer than the other unknown choices that were left.


    He was rather unlucky on his eighth attempt. Not only did he fail to pick something good in his first two chances, but even the rare material that he thought he was familiar with turned out to be something entirely different.


    He thought it would be Cold Mithril, but after he grabbed the item, he discovered that it was only an average Mithril Mineral.


    The market-value of a Mithril Mineral was only a few silver coins.


    On his ninth attempt, Lu Li selected the item that he suspected to be Mystic Dust. He found it hard to believe that Thaelrid would grab of a block of dirt to fool him, and couldn¡¯t think of anything else that resembled the block of dirt besides Mystic Dust.


    Although the use of Mystic Dust was limited, it was an essential item for some higher-quality equips. It would fetch a good price if someone rich needed it.


    Mystic Dust, rare material.


    As expected, it was Mystic Dust indeed. Lu Li had never actually seen this item in his previous life, but he had read about it in the chronicled adventures of a dwarf adventurer. The title of the book was "Sketchbook of Bryan, Copper Tribe"; it specifically introduced some weird items with stories in between. The language of the book was very entertaining and Lu Li had read it multiple times. It was like a novel to him.


    According to the legends, Mystic Dusts were the broken pieces from Ancient Gods who had died in the past.


    Of course, this was definitely a made-up explanation.


    After Lu Li placed the Mystic Dust in his bag, Thaelrid changed his expression. He didn¡¯t expect Lu Li to choose something that looked like a block of dust, or else, he wouldn¡¯t have taken out the item in the first place.


    To the players, Mystic Dust was = a rare material, but it wasn¡¯t so simple for a Sentinel.


    This small block of dirt was able to affect the detection ability of higher-leveled creatures. It had helped Thaelrid to hide himself from Dragons in the past, and allowed him to successfully sneak across the Dragon¡¯s Canyon.


    However, Elves were always egotistic. He was the one who said they could pick anything they wanted, so it would hurt his ego to take the item back.


    He had already retired and wouldn¡¯t have a chance to use this item anyway. The best he could do was to comfort himself.


    There was nothing else from the massive pile that Lu Li was able to recognize. He couldn¡¯t spot a single thing that he was familiar with in the slightest.


    "Last chance. Suggestions, anyone?" Lu Li was speechless; these people really thought he knew everything.


    "Maybe I can try. I¡¯m pretty lucky in general," Remnant Dream offered.


    "If you don¡¯t get something good, we¡¯re going to sell you to make up for it," Hachi Chan threatened. Remnant Dream rolled her eyes and lost her courage to speak; there was also a good chance that she was overestimating her own worth.


    "You can try selecting rare equips. Even if the attributes aren¡¯t the best, they¡¯ll still be very valuable," March Rain suggested softly.


    "Right, why didn¡¯t I think of that?" Lu Li suddenly realized.

 346 Love With No Regrets

    Generally, rare equipment referred to necklaces, bracelets, rings, badges, head accessories and masks,


    The drop rate of these items were incredibly low and some of these were restricted to girls only.


    It had always been easier to make money from girls, and the same rule applied even inside the game. There would always be plenty of millionaires willing to spend a great sum of money to please pretty girls.


    The team gathered around to make their choice, having discovered two items from the pile that seemed like rare equips.


    A necklace and a bracelet.


    Which one?


    Theoretically, necklaces would give better attributes, because bracelets and bracers shared the same equipment slot. It was impossible to put a bracer and a bracelet on at the same time.


    In many cases, bracers had better attributes compared to bracelets.


    "This bracelet seems pretty. Why don¡¯t we choose this one?" Hachi Chan swallowed hard as she spoke. Remnant Dream nodded her head in agreement and even March Rain seemed interested. Only Sakura Memories, who was a little less feminine, didn¡¯t seem to care.


    The bracelet was beautiful indeed, far more than the necklace.


    Following everyone¡¯s opinion, Lu Li picked up the bracelet.


    If the bracelet was useless, they still had two more chances to choose anyway...


    "Let me take a look! Let me take a look too!"


    Lu Li only managed to catch a glimpse of the attributes before the girls took the bracelet off him.


    By the looks of it, even if the attributes were terrible, the girls would still take the bracelet.


    Fortunately, the attributes weren¡¯t terrible ¨C they were actually incredibly good. Lu Li was still quite shocked from reading them.


    It was hard to comprehend why a Sentinel between level 20-30 had something like this.


    Stellar¡¯s Dream (Gold): All attributes+15, Special effect 1: Increase bag space by 20, Special effect 2: Teleportation. Appear in selected location within eight yards after casting, Cooldown 90 seconds. Special effect 3: Creates a shield, protecting up to a maximum of three team members, absorbing (2000/total number of players) points of damage. Level Requirement LV30, Durability 120/120.


    A row of orange text was engraved into the bracelet: Hero. I hope someday fate brings you to a love with no regrets.


    Lu Li turned his head to look at Thaelrid¡¯s expression.


    Previously, when he had taken the Mystic Dust, Thaelrid¡¯s expression seemed as if he had lost a best friend. Now that he had lost a Gold-grade equipment, he was bound to go crazy.


    Surprisingly, Lu Li only saw a smile on Thaelrid¡¯s face.


    Was he so mad that he had lost his sanity?


    Contrary to this, it seemed like his expression contained mixed emotions of attachment, affection and relief.


    Lu Li was a determined person, a wise person, a reincarnated person, but he had no experience with relationships at all. No matter how hard he thought about them, he couldn¡¯t understand the mixed emotions of Thaelrid.


    "Sir, we¡¯d like to take this bracelet. Is that okay?" Hachi Chan asked anxiously.


    They all really liked this bracelet and had made up their minds that they wanted to keep it. They didn¡¯t even ask for Lu Li¡¯s opinion ¨C if Lu Li objected, he would definitely be hated by the girls.


    "Little girl, if you like it, then feel free to take it," Thaelrid said gently. "Now, please take some of my strength as a blessing to you all. May you all find someone in your future endeavors, someone special who can accompany you to the very end."


    Right after he said this, Lu Li and his team heard the System¡¯s announcement.


    System: Quest Completed "Blackfathom Demon". Experience reward received, Silverwing Sentinel reputation received, one skill point received.


    A lot of experience was rewarded ¨C Hachi Chan, Moonlight and Sesame Rice Ball all leveled up to level 27, 26 and 27 respectively. The others saw a massive increase in their experience bar as well.


    The uses of Silverwing Sentinel reputation were unknown, but many aspects of the game were involved with some sort of reputation, so it was better to have it than to have nothing at all.


    As for the skill point reward, this was something that Lu Li didn¡¯t expect. It had not been mentioned in any guides and the reward was also quite unreasonable.


    That was ten skill points given away in one go!


    Only high-leveled NPCs with a decent background in Dawn were able to do something like this, but they would much rather give out high-leveled equips than skill points.


    For example, Medivh, who had accepted "Aegwynn¡¯s Enchanting Book" from Lu Li, had taught Lu Li how to transform into a crow as his token of gratitude. However, he still felt like that wasn¡¯t enough and also gave Lu Li the Bloodstained Badge.


    In the end, no matter how good the badge was at the time, it would eventually be replaced as everyone continued to level up.


    Skill points were a different story; they were the foundation to a player¡¯s strength.


    Thaelrid must have been crazy to away everyone ten skill points!


    "You..." Lu Li raised his head and found that Thaelrid, the man that stood before him, seemed to have changed to an entirely different person. Half of his long, black hair had turned gray and his green eyes became misty. It was the first time that Lu Li had ever seen wrinkles on an Elf.


    In an instant, time had cursed him.


    "Send Shindrell my regards. Tell him that the elf in his old age is returning to the resting grounds," Thaelrid said as he slightly bowed and slowly disappeared into the mists of Blackfathom.


    As expected from a high-leveled scout, he left in silence.


    "Sir..." Even someone as dumb as Hachi Chan realized what had just happened and her eyes began to water.


    All along the way, Thaelrid never spoke. He was even more silent than Remnant Dream¡¯s pets.


    He had helped everyone a great deal and saved the team multiple times, until he finally fell to Aku¡¯mai¡¯s seven combo. The Sentinel had demonstrated his value to everyone with his own strength.


    In the end, no one had expected him to hand out so many rewards.


    The dungeon was completed and they walked away with an inconceivable bounty, but no one was laughing.


    Hero. I hope someday fate brings you to a love with no regrets.


    Such a beautiful blessing.


    It must have been Stellar¡¯s Dream that caused him to give out all these skills points. Thaelrid was someone with a story, but unfortunately that had been taken away with him.


    After they left the dungeon, they arrived at Blackfathom camp to hand in their quest, and received some experience, money and equipment. This was a very standard reward from a normal quest.


    After Shindrell Swiftfire heard the words that they had brought from Thaelrid, her expression was filled with lament. She didn¡¯t say much, but told them that if they wanted to see the sentinel again, they could head to the World Tree at Mount Hyjal to test their luck.


    The girls finally smiled upon hearing that they could still meet the Sentinel again, while Lu Li and the others began to feel the heavy burden lift off their chests.


    In the eyes of many players, NPCs were just massive piles of data, but they too, had their own lives to live and stories to tell.


    Even someone like Thaelrid, who seemed rather average, had been born and raised, fought with all kinds of enemies, adventured around the world, and once loved with no regrets.

 347 Guild Station

    The attributes of Stellar¡¯s Dream were impressive indeed. Even Lu Li was interested in it, but he didn¡¯t take any action, since it was an item that was restricted for females.


    Most of the equips in Dawn weren¡¯t separated by gender. There were only a few exceptions to this and bracelets were one of them. Others included head accessories, forehead accessories and earrings, but these items all had a very low drop rate.


    Besides gear that were bound by class, plated-armor classes like Paladins were able to equip plate armor, chain armor, leather armor and cloth armor. Hunters, who wore chain armor, were able to wear the other three kinds of armor apart from plate armor. Druids, who wore leather armor, were also able to wear cloth armor, while cloth-armor classes were only able to wear cloth armor.


    This could be explained by the weight of these items. Plate-armor classes were able to carry heavier weights, so they were able to equip heavier armors such as plate armor. The same rules applied for other kinds of equipment.


    Bracelets weren¡¯t in this category; they were suitable for any kind of female player in any class.


    As such, the ownership of Stellar¡¯s Dream became a tough decision.


    In the end, it was the girls who came up with a plan ¨C they decided to share it. Everyone would take turns wearing it, but usually, the bracelet would be kept with March Rain.


    When the team returned to Astrana, Square Root 3 had already rented a basement in the city.


    The location was quite big ¨C it was a courtyard that measured at least 1000 square meters, but it still wasn¡¯t spacious enough for a thousand guild members.


    When Lu Li and the others entered, the place was crowded. All sorts of players were shouting at each other; it was like a market.


    The gaming company had announced that they would gradually allow the construction of guild stations in the future, but before that day came, even a guild like Glory Capital would have to rent someone else¡¯s place.


    The rent of this courtyard wasn¡¯t cheap at all; it was 2000 gold coins per month.


    Hence, many guilds still didn¡¯t have their own resting location. Their group gathering was to make a group conversation for everyone.


    "It¡¯s Lu Li! Look! It¡¯s Lu Li and the others!"


    Their arrival had attracted the attention of the guild members, who welcomed them with admiration.


    Prestige!


    This was something that the executives from the other big guilds desperately wanted, but was a normal sight here.


    First kills, championship.


    Just these alone were enough for Lu Li to conquer the hearts of everyone.


    "Guild master!"


    "Guild master!"


    All along the way, many people greeted him. Lu Li didn¡¯t try to make himself high and mighty either; he responded anyone who greeted him. Extroverts like Azure Sea Breeze had already become friends with many in the guild.


    This was a good thing ¨C with the number one tank being an extrovert, it was only a matter of time before everyone felt like they were at home.


    The temporary station was mainly just a big courtyard that supplied everyone with a location to share together. The other areas included the guild hall and a row of rooms on each side of the hall for trade skills.


    Square Root 3¡¯s office was located inside the guild hall.


    This place was connected to the mercenary hall. Players were able to browse and accept some simple guild quests and normal quests here.


    When Lu Li spotted Square Root 3, he happened to be talking to another player.


    "Don¡¯t worry. Everyone chose to believe in Ruling Sword; the guild won¡¯t mistreat anyone," Square Root 3 assured as he patted the other player¡¯s shoulders and ended the conversation.


    "Guild master." The other player saw Lu Li and was startled for a bit before he uncomfortably greeted him.


    "Hi."


    Lu Li nodded his head as he watched the other player leave.


    "Who is he?" Lu Li turned around to ask Square Root 3 after the player left.


    "Someone who wanted to join us. He was previously a guild master from a small guild under Star Moon Union. He¡¯s quite a capable man ¨C he brought around four hundred people from his guild to join Ruling Sword," Square Root 3 answered as he poured Lu Li a cup of water.


    This was when Lu Li remembered that Square Root 3 wasn¡¯t just a nobody. He had managed Star Moon Union for many years and had his own reputation in the industry.


    "Did many people follow you here?"


    "Not many, only a few small guild members that I was close with. I turned down the other," Square Root 3 said calmly.


    He had been able to obtain this position because of his own abilities and Lu Li¡¯s trust. In order to head towards an even brighter future, he had to place his hopes in Lu Li and his team, so there was nothing for them to hide from each other.


    He didn¡¯t need to drag a bunch of people into the guild and make them his trusted subordinates either.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn¡¯t a natural leader either. There was no way he could make Square Root 3 give everything right from the start; everyone still kept a bit for themselves.


    "Either way, I¡¯m entrusting the guild to you. If you approve, then feel free to take them in. We need people anyway."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want all the players in the guild to be newbies. Currently, all the big guilds were rapidly developing, so they couldn¡¯t afford to waste time.


    Although some guilds were smaller and had rather average achievements, even they had already formed teams for dungeons and events.


    "We¡¯ve already hit the five-thousand-mark for members. They¡¯re all good quality and quite a few of them look promising."


    Square Root 3 was mixed with all sorts of emotions and was being conservative with his words. The people he had taken in over the past two days were more than just decent; they were good enough to make people envious.


    Considering he had spent so much time in the past to manage Star Moon Union, the high-salaried elites in the union weren¡¯t any better than the current members of Ruling Sword.


    A single championship title had caused countless players to flood in.


    When other people established their guilds, they had to find all sorts of ways to become well-known in the hopes of attracting players to join. However, Ruling Sword was an exception. Over the past few days, Square Root 3 had to go around explaining to the players who wanted to join that the guild was rapidly leveling up, and that once spots were open, applications would be made available again.


    ¡®Happy, but in pain¡¯ ¨C this was the perfect description for Square Root 3¡¯s current situation.


    "There are probably people from other guilds among these applicants," Lu Li reminded.


    "We won¡¯t be able to avoid this, but I¡¯ve already planned to sign contracts in real life with the current elite group. The core elite groups will even be asked to sit in the office."


    Square Root 3 was already well prepared for this.


    To ¡®sit in the office¡¯ meant that these players would be like office workers. An office would be rented and everyone would play games together there.


    "I see. I trust that you¡¯ll be able to look after these things," Lu Li laughed as he pressed on Square Root 3¡¯s shoulders. "Ruling Sword belongs to me, but it also belongs to you and everyone else. No matter what happens, I¡¯ve already entrusted the guild to you. After a while, when the guild has settled, I¡¯ll pass the guild master position to you."


    Guild masters also had a fair amount of authority that was limited to them only. It was more than just a simple title.


    "Don¡¯t even think about ditching me with all this," Square Root 3 said, pretending to be angry."I¡¯ve been so busy in these past two days."


    "Haha, people with better ability should share more responsibilities. We should go out sometime in the future when we¡¯re free, in reality, that is."


    The last time he had seen Square Root 3, Lu Li had gone to the Star Moon Union to terminate his contract. At that time, they felt pity for each other. It was hard to imagine that they would be sitting together again after a few weeks time.


    "You¡¯re the boss; it¡¯s on you," Square Root 3 joked.


    There was no way he would ask Lu Li to give up on dungeons to manage the guild. He knew better than anyone else how important Lu Li¡¯s First Clears were.


    The guild had only taken two days to get on track. Not only were there plenty of people to complete guild quests, but guild members had even made their own parties to do dungeons.


    The team that Fat Monkey was in charge of was performing exceptionally well. They had just defeated Serpentis, which was an achievement that many big guilds haven¡¯t even accomplished.


    Besides the PVP players who wanted to join the guild because of the championship title, there were a great number of dungeon players that had entered the guild.


    Dungeon players were the supporting force of a guild. As long as they didn¡¯t fall behind on dungeon progress, equipments, skill books and rare materials would constantly pour in to keep the club alive.


    "When are we completing the guild challenge?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "I thought you were going to assign some normal players to do it."


    The guild challenge for a level five guild wasn¡¯t hard to complete. In fact, it was extremely simple. It was a chance to group and form bonds between guild members.


    "Give them a chance to fight alongside the champion team. They¡¯ll love the guild even more," Square Root 3 chuckled.


    He was much more familiar with manipulating and managing the guild than Lu Li.

 348 New Elites In the Guild

    "In that case, you can pick a few people. We¡¯ll start tomorrow when we all come online."


    Lu Li checked the time and estimated that they didn¡¯t have enough time to complete the challenge today.


    "I¡¯ll notify them later. They¡¯ll let you know as soon as they come online tomorrow."


    Square Root 3 had already formed a list of who was more enthusiastic, who was more skilled...


    "Sure, I¡¯ll take a look at these people and maybe choose a few of them to play as substitutes for the main team, just in case we need substitutes in the future," Lu Li said.


    "Are you planning to swap out Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream?" Square Root 3 probed.


    He couldn¡¯t decide what kind of answer he wanted to hear. He felt like Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream¡¯s gaming technique was quite average. They would hold back the team, but at the same time, he didn¡¯t want Lu Li to be someone would forget his friends as soon as he became successful.


    A great part of the reason why Square Root 3 had left Star Moon Union was because Ao Jian violated this protocol.


    A leader who only shared tough times but not the good times was truly a discouragement. No one could guarantee that this wouldn¡¯t happen to them.


    "No way ¨C they¡¯ve always performed well." Lu Li was slightly emotional as he continued, "Hachi Chan¡¯s damage isn¡¯t bad and her healing skills are decent too. She¡¯s good enough for a second healer and as for Remnant Dream, her damage in the team is above average."


    Currently, Lu Li dealt the highest damage, while Lonesome Flower was the second highest. They were followed closely by Sesame Rice Ball and Sakura Memories, but Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t any worse than either of them.


    As a matter of fact, she wasn¡¯t only dealing damage by herself ¨C her pet was making quite a large contribution as well.


    This was not to mention that she also had lucky hands. Her lucky hands were something that existed if you had faith in them. Lu Li himself was someone who would gladly believe that Remnant Dream had a pair of lucky hands; this was most likely linked with her luck attribute.


    Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were the treasures of the team; there was no way that they would be swapped out.


    Of course, Lu Li was also thinking about substitutes for their sake; both of these girls were underage and still growing. They had to class during the day and it was important that they got enough rest at night.


    If they stopped growing and stayed around 140cm, wouldn¡¯t that make him the culprit?


    It was impossible for Lu Li to spend all of his time with his team members too.


    He knew a lot of secrets about this game that others didn¡¯t; this was his advantage from reincarnating. However, these advantages had to be put into use. He planned to spend some time in the dungeon with his team while he also adventured by himself at the same time.


    At the very least, he didn¡¯t plan to spend more time in dungeons that have already been completed.


    For example, the Howling Caves ¨C even if it was on Nightmare mode, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would still be able to complete the dungeon with someone else. Lu Li had already taught everyone everything.


    The next day, Lu Li woke up early to go to the hospital.


    Apparently, the hospital had already found a suitable donor, but the matching level wasn''t exceptional. The specialists recommended that Lu Li should wait a little longer; the hospital could do some preparation work in the meantime.


    Of course, Lu Li didn¡¯t have any objections. He even hired a physiotherapist to design a diet and training sessions for Lu Xin.


    By the time he got online, the team had already been formed and everyone was waiting for him.


    "This is Monkey," Square Root 3 introduced.


    "I¡¯ll call you Monkey too. I heard you guys passed Howling Caves yesterday?" Of course, Lu Li knew about the future Fire Mage Emperor. This was his greatest accomplishment in accepting applicants; he was a free celebrity player.


    This guy wasn¡¯t just a celebrity player; he also had his own understandings of dungeons.


    In his previous life, many of the dungeon guides that Lu Li read had been written by this player.


    Speaking of guides, Dawn had already been released for a month and many guides had begun to appear in forums. Some people had even managed to earn up to $10,000 by writing guides.


    Guides were posted on forums and would usually charge viewers for about a month¡¯s time. The authors were also paid by officials based on their views. Hachi Chan would write a lot of guides for quests in the future. She earned a lot from this and honestly wouldn¡¯t have to worry about money at all.


    "We can¡¯t compare ourselves to you; we just followed guides and did an elite difficulty dungeon."


    Fat Monkey was a buff looking guy and seemed slightly older than Lu Li, but this didn¡¯t affect the respect he had for Lu Li.


    Respect for someone due to their strength was true respect, as opposed to respect for authority.


    "No need to be so modest. Have you met Lonesome Flower yet? You¡¯re both Mages; you two must have a lot in common to talk about."


    Lu Li pointed towards Lonesome Flower, who was bending down to talk to March Rain.


    "Haha," Fat Monkey rubbed his nose as he spoke in a slightly awkward tone, "I can¡¯t help it that I¡¯m not a pretty girl."


    "That¡¯s a misunderstanding right there; that¡¯s his sister," Wandering interrupted.


    "Oh, his sister," Fat Monkey¡¯s said as his eyes glistened. "If he has such a pretty sister, Lonesome Flower is definitely going on my friend list."


    "..." Lu Li was left speechless. The celebrity player from his previous life had turned out to be another average person.


    "This is Nuo Yu; he¡¯s also a Mage."


    Square Root 3 pointed at a player who looked slightly gloomy and said, "He deals a lot of damage and is level 24 already, but he¡¯s a quiet one. He doesn¡¯t talk much."


    "Nuo Yu, welcome to Ruling Sword." Lu Li felt slightly familiar with the name.


    In his previous life, when he had entered the game, this person had been hunted by the Gangnam Royals for a good amount of time. He eventually joined Peerless City and became a game master with some fame, so it was a surprise that he had joined the guild as well. It seemed like Square Root 3 really valued him.


    People with good potential were like sharp objects in a cloth bag ¨C they were bound to stick out.


    "Hi," Nuo Yu responded as he bowed his head and refused to say another word. It was no wonder that Square Root 3 had claimed that he was a quiet one.


    In terms of personality, Nuo Yu wasn¡¯t cold like Lonesome Flower, but it seemed like he was carrying a heavy burden deep within him, so he simply didn¡¯t want to talk.


    "Global Friendship, defense Warrior, quite skilled. He was the tank that passed the Howling Caves this time," Square Root 3 said as he pointed at a short-looking male Warrior.


    It wasn¡¯t that this person was actually short; it was just the race he had chosen. It was hard for a Dwarf to be taller than a Night Elf.


    "Just call me Global. I¡¯m not good with my words, so if I offend anyone by accident, apologies beforehand," the Warrior said in a muffled voice.


    "Don¡¯t worry, if there¡¯s any misunderstandings, just talk about it. We¡¯re all brothers."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t dislike people who were sharp with their words, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have tolerated Wandering either.


    "Drifting Night Light, Priest. His nickname is Big Healer," Azure Sea Breeze laughed and spoke as he squeezed his way in. He gently punched the chest of the male Priest, who was a Human-race player, . It seemed like this person was easy to get along with, otherwise, Azure Sea Breeze wouldn¡¯t be so carefree either. He was a little silly, but he understood social protocols.


    Who to joke with, who to be serious with ¨C these were all basic social skills.


    Drifting Night Light was someone who laughed a lot; it seemed like he had a great personality.


    "I¡¯m Wolf Fang. Lu Li, you¡¯re my idol."


    Before Square Root 3 had the chance to made introductions, a Thief pounced over and grabbed Lu Li¡¯s hands.


    His expressions were filled with a crazy passion, like a pervert who had seen a beautiful girl. Lu Li was slightly frightened and wanted to draw back, but Wolf Fang was latched on tightly. He could only let Wolf Fang hold his hands while he said a few words. Wolf Fang was so touched that he teared up.


    It seemed like this was a true fan indeed.


    Lu Li¡¯s fan base was quite complex, but Thieves took up most of the population.


    A living text book ¨C this was a position that barely anyone had the ability to snatch from Lu Li.

 349 Guild Ques

    "Beard Stubble, Hunter, recently reached level 20. Do not underestimate him; he solo-killed a Wild boss yesterday," Square Root Three said as he introduced another Dwarf.


    His face was covered by his massive beard and he carried a double-barrelled hunter gun on his shoulders. A white bear laid beside him.


    If Lu Li wasn¡¯t mistaken, this pet was called Rare Mangeclaw.


    Both Remnant Dream and Beard Stubble¡¯s pets were high-tier, rare tameable monsters. It was no wonder that he had been able to solo-kill a wild boss.


    "Big boss, when are we going to go and steal a Wild boss kill?" Although he physically looked like an old man, his voice was that of a boy¡¯s. Lu Li was caught off guard, not expecting his voice to be so high-pitched when he spoke.


    "If we get the chance ¨C but we have to be stealthy," Lu Li said seriously.


    Since the guild was now established, they have a higher chance at stealing Wild bosses. No matter how friendly and nice everyone seemed, when it came to taking a Wild boss kill, everyone would become bloodthirsty like a wolf in sheepskin.


    Instance dungeons were accessible for everyone whereas Wild bosses were rarer and harder to secure, so the profit gained from killing a Wild boss was much more than clearing a dungeon.


    Guild wars were often started for the control of the popular Wild boss spawn maps.


    "Darkness, healing Paladin," Square Root Three said as he pointed towards a girl.


    Her Human character had a very curvy body; she was taller than the Dwarfs and Gnomes, but not flat-chested like the Night Elves and Draenei. Her face was covered by a purple cloth so her face remained hidden.


    Darkness? Lu Li maintained the same expression, but his heart was stirred up.


    This was not because the girl was very skilled, but because her background story was quite complicated.


    When Lu Li assassinated Sorrowless at Warsong Valley, he had pretended to be Nightedge¡¯s cousin. In order to gain Sorrowless¡¯ trust, he talked about Nightedge¡¯s sister, Darkness, who had left her family.


    Unlike her brothers, Darkness left her home and decided to create an Alliance character.


    Lu Li never thought that he would meet Darkness one day, the mysterious person he had only heard of from stories. Now that she was here, Lu Li was afraid that Sorrowless and Nightedge would come knocking at his front door.


    "Guild master, why are you staring at me? I¡¯m scared", she said flirtatiously in a soft and tender voice. Everyone realised that Lu Li had been staring at the girl for an uncomfortable amount of time.


    "Sorry, I zoned out for a bit," he explained calmly.


    "Are you going to get me to take off the veil?"Her shy and high-pitched voice was mesmerizing. Her eyes sparkled under the lights and her face was pure, yet seductive at the same time. It was no wonder why Sorrowless was so obsessed with this girl.


    "No, that¡¯s fine. You can keep it on." Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested in her.


    So what if she was ranked 6th on the all-time beauty rankings?! Lu Li had seen plenty of beautiful women in his time.


    "You don¡¯t have to introduce him; I know who this person is."


    Lu Li extended his arm to shake his hand and said, "It¡¯s been a while Iron Sword; how have you been recently?"


    "I¡¯ve been ok. I¡¯ve been meaning to return the money I borrowed, but I never had the chance. Here is the 2 gold." Iron Sword handed 2 gold to Lu Li and he happily accepted it.


    "Goddamn Lu Li. How cheap are you that you take money from one of our own guys?" Azure Sea Breeze mocked him.


    "Two gold is still money! Iron Sword, welcome to Ruling Sword." Only people like Lu Li, who had been living in the Scum District, knew how good it felt to be able to pay back the money that they owed.


    Iron Sword seemed to be doing well. He was level 23 with a body full of decent gear, especially the Staff on his hands, which had black smoke surrounding the gem. Anyone with basic game knowledge could tell that the Staff was definitely overpowered.


    "Xiao Xiang, a Marksman hunter."


    Marksman Hunters were a sub-class of Hunters that didn¡¯t rely on their pet to do damage. They relied heavily on their marksmanship and shooting skills to attack, as well as out-positioning their enemies to deal massive burst damage. Xiao Xiang for example, held a massive longbow in his hand and had a Death Spirit Wolf as his pet. This pet has high critical chance and fast attack speed, however, it was extremely squishy and could be killed very easily. Its main goal was to deal as much damage in the shortest amount of time possible.


    Xiao Xiang was a marksman hunter and treated his bow like his girlfriend.


    When Lu Li met him, he barely replied and seemed to care more about his bow than introducing himself.


    Including Square Root Three, this was the line-up for the battle. All of the newcomers were players that had been scouted by Square Root Three, so he had high hopes for all of them.


    Assuming that nothing went wrong, this group of people would become their first team of Elites.


    With everyone gathered together, they formed a team of 20 people.


    This was the limit for a level 5 guild and Lu Li was very confident in this group of talented players.


    After the team was formed, Lu Li did not bother giving a motivational speech. Since this was a virtual game, most players would do whatever benefited them the most. Therefore, a motivational speech wouldn¡¯t increase their loyalty to Ruling Sword. Rather, Lu Li had to earn their trust through his leadership skills and his actions.


    As everyone continued to work together and interact with each other, team chemistry would naturally build up.


    Performance-wise, those who did well could stay, while those that performed unsatisfactorily would be forced to leave.


    "Extreme Challenge part 1. Kill all Kobold Warriors, 10 points." When the announcer finished speaking, the dimmed-lights on the walls lit up and waves of Kobold Warriors appeared.


    Lonesome Flower stepped forward and immediately casted Blizzard.


    +10 points!


    The Blizzard managed to kill of all Kobold Warriors.


    These were level 5 monsters and obviously couldn¡¯t withstand the destructive damage of a level 27 Mage.


    The nine newcomers were surprised by the decisiveness of Lonesome Flower. The commander had yet to give orders but he had acted on his own. They all thought that they had to wait for Lu Li to give the orders to attack.


    On the other hand, if Lonesome Flower saw an opportunity that would benefit the team, he would take it, regardless of Lu Li¡¯s commands. Why would they need an order to clear out a group of level 5 mobs?


    "You¡¯re all free to attack whenever, especially those with area of effect skills. These level 5 mobs shouldn¡¯t give us much trouble." Even Square Root Three was uncomfortable with Lu Li¡¯s style of leadership. However, he knew what to say to keep everyone on track.


    The second wave consisted of level 10 monsters which were taken care of almost instantly.


    The third wave spawned 7 level 15 monsters which were also killed quickly.


    After the third wave, they had totalled up 30 points.


    Since they had received a total of 30 points from the small mobs, the next time they attempted the challenge, they would only need to chip off a portion of the monsters¡¯ HP to pass the stage.


    As long as they passed the stage, then Lu Li would be content. However, these new players, who wanted to earn the old members¡¯ respect, were trying very hard to defeat the monsters.


    The final stage spawned a Kobold Chief.


    The level 15, 35,000-HP Kobold, who was considered to be a difficult Boss at the beginning of the game, had become a piece of cake for the Xin Xin Mercenary group.


    "Power of Friendship, main tank. Darkness, heal the tank. Everyone else can be DPS."


    Lu Li commanded them casually then pounced onto the boss with his daggers.


    When the top player in the game showed off his damage output, no one could compare to him. Even Lonesome Flower struggled to keep up with his damage; the others had no chance.


    Overall, the new members fell behind in damage because their level and gear was far inferior to Lu Li¡¯s.


    After a minute and 25 seconds, the Kobold Chief was defeated and the system announced that Ruling Sword had levelled up to level 6 guild.


    They had finished all the preparations beforehand and were just waiting to complete the guild advancement quest.


    After reaching level 6, all guild members received a bonus 5% EXP.


    Although 5% did not seem like much, it was still a beneficial buff, especially over a longer period of time. It was for these buffs that many players preferred belonging to a guild rather than playing alone.


    Of course, not everyone required the bonus 5% EXP to be a top player.


    People like Lu Li and the others had never joined a guild and yet, they were still dominating the level rankings.

 350 Rare Material Reward

    They had every right to brag about their accomplishments since they had dominated the game without help from a major guild.


    Some people liked to challenge themselves, living for the fears and thrills of life.


    "Wow we barely touched it and it died."


    Azure Sea Breeze was impressed with Beard Stubble¡¯s pretentious and arrogant attitude, and began to unconsciously imitate him.


    The two looked at each other and laughed, as if they both knew how annoying the other was.


    Wandering kicked Azure from his behind and said, "Stop embarrassing yourself. Do you remember who was the one who complained about how difficult Nightmare mode was? Stop pretending to be brave when you¡¯re just a coward."


    "Screw your dad. Wandering, do you have to mess with me every time?" His happy mood was instantly shut down.


    "You were ¡®flirting¡¯ with Beard Stubble the whole time. Are you guys in love?" Sakura Memory added fuel to the flames.


    Everyone laughed out loud and the mood became much less tense. The new members were more comfortable after realising that the winners of the Shadow Cup were easy to approach and were down-to-earth people.


    After reaching level 6, the guild continued to progress at a very fast pace.


    The maximum members allowed increased and there were more guild quests to be completed. Lu Li was glad to see that everything was going great.


    "Is there anyone that still needs to complete Howling Caves? If so, then follow Wandering and clear it for the day. I won¡¯t be joining you." Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested in an Instance Dungeon that he had cleared already.


    The chances of receiving SP from a boss were very low, especially if the dungeon run wasn¡¯t a First Clear.


    Lu Li had other more important errands to attend to and had no time for Instance Dungeons.


    "I haven¡¯t completed it yet," Beard Stubble said as he jumped up.


    Everyone else had already cleared Howling Caves yesterday. Since Beard Stubble¡¯s level was too low, he could only wait outside for his teammates. However, over the past two days, he had been trying very hard to level up and had finally reached level 20.


    "Alright then. Wandering, you¡¯re the shot caller," Lu Li said as he passed the party leader to Wandering. Whether they could complete the dungeon or not was completely up to them.


    He couldn¡¯t babysit every single dungeon that the group attempted, and Thieves weren¡¯t particularly useful in dungeons anyway.


    He trusted in Wandering¡¯s leadership and his teammates¡¯ abilities. Lu Li was confident that they could clear the Howling Caves, even on Nightmare level.


    Lu Li left and went to the Moonlight Forest.


    The Moonlight Forest was one of the most beautiful maps in the game. Lu Li would prefer staying and living here, besides the Moonlight Lake. He could enjoy the sunsets and sunrises in the comfort of his home, as well as the company of the moonlight as he laid beside the lake.


    He could live a life without worries and simply admire the flowers in the garden as he watched as the clouds drift past in the sky.


    It would be perfect.


    However, this was an unrealistic dream that had flashed across Lu Li¡¯s mind for a split second. He knew that he had bigger and greater things to achieve in his life.


    His heart was with his friends and family, as well as Ruling Sword.


    "Young adventurer, I didn¡¯t expect to see you so soon. Are you troubled by something?" Keeper Remulos asked casually as he lazed around in the grassy fields.


    Praise the Moon Gods.


    Lu Li bowed and replied, "As you wished, I led a group of brave warriors and defeated the traitors in the Blackfathom Deeps.


    "You defeated Aku¡¯mai already¡­? How did you defeat him so easily?" Lu Li could sense a tone of disappointment in Remulos¡¯ voice.


    "Yes, I cut his head off," Lu Li said confidently.


    "Just the one head?" Remulos asked.


    "One," Lu Li nodded.


    "Oh, I see. I¡¯ll consider that as a success."


    Remulos was surprised that Lu Li had been able to defeat Aku¡¯mai and complete the Blackfathom Deeps at his current level and gear.


    "Anything else that I can do for you?" Lu Li asked.


    Quests had to be manually accepted in order to begin undertaking them. Lu Li was hoping that Remulos would give him another quest since he appeared to be in a good mood.


    "Wait, I haven¡¯t even given you your rewards," Remulos said.


    "I received a lot of loot and good drops from clearing Blackfathom Deeps; I wouldn¡¯t dare to ask for anything more."


    From Lu Li¡¯s past experience, there would be bonus benefits if he pretended to be humble and polite in front of an NPC. Conversely, the greedier and ruder you appeared to be, the more they would despise you.


    As expected, Remulos was even more impressed with Lu Li¡¯s attitude. He smiled and said, "This is no longer useful for me, but I hope you¡¯ll find some use for it."


    As he said this, he extended his arm and handed something to Lu Li.


    The object was diamond-shaped and was as red as fire. There appeared to be some sort of energy flowing through the mineral.


    "This is¡­ a Fragment of Fire? Lu Li asked uncertainly.


    "That¡¯s right. I thought you¡¯d like it."


    "Yes, thank you Lord Keeper, your gift is greatly appreciated."


    Fragment of Fire was a rare material that he needed to upgrade his God Ring. He wasn¡¯t even sure where to obtain this.


    He never would have thought that Remulos would reward him with this.


    "I¡¯m glad you like it. You deserve it for your bravery," Remulos said genuinely.


    "Thank you so much. Is there anything else you¡¯d like me to do?" Lu Li looked at him passionately, almost as if he wanted to kiss him. Anything that Remulos asked of right now, Lu Li would accept without hesitation.


    "I don¡¯t have anything for you to do, at least not for now anyway."


    Lu Li was disappointed. In reality, he knew that the chances of receiving a quest that rewarded rare materials were very low.


    The quality of rewards correlated to the difficulty of the quest. Since there were no other parties currently in Dawn that could clear the Blackfathom Deeps on Nightmare level, the rewards were very good.


    "If you have any other requests, summon me and I¡¯ll attend to them immediately," Lu Li offered.


    Since Lu Li had past knowledge from his rebirth, he knew alternate ways to strengthen himself. The rare materials that he needed would be obtained eventually.


    "I have nothing for you to do right now, however, my followers have been praying and asking me to help out his sick daughter," Remulos said. "Follow the 6th Street from Astrana¡¯s North Gate and head east. You¡¯ll see a purple wind chime hanging off the entrance of a small alleyway. They live in the second house in the alley."


    "I will head there immediately."


    With or without rewards, Lu Li had to maintain a good relationship with Remulos.


    "May the Moon Goddess protect her people. Your efforts will be rewarded." Remulos was pleased.


    Lu Li teleported back to Astrana and after following Remulos¡¯ instructions, found the house.


    He had a feeling that this quest was Remulos¡¯ way of testing him and that more quests would be given if he did well.

 351 Bathran’s Hair

    Every city had poor people and some form of a slum. As Dawn followed the rules of reality, it also reflected this. The place where Lu Li was standing was equivalent to the Common District.


    The Night Elves weren¡¯t necessarily the most loving or kind-hearted people.


    Pelturas Whitemoon¡¯s daughter Little Leila had been lying on a bed for three days. Her fragile, petite body was curled up and her face showed a bitter expression. Her lips were pursed and her groans were heartbreaking.


    Pelturas was once a brave sentinel and had participated in many fights.


    Unfortunately, he had lost a leg in battle and had become disabled. As such, he later left the army and married a poor wife, but the moment his wife gave birth to his daughter, she died of an illness.


    On a regular day, Pelturas would go out to the mines in order to find something that could earn some money. This was his ancestral craft.


    However, with only one leg, he could barely make living.


    His daughter was his everything.


    "Poor Little Leila, you¡¯re all I have. If you die, why else should I keep on living?" Pelturas had planned to rush to the Temple of Fire in the hope of gaining some reward. Hopefully, he could earn enough to get the Doctor¡¯s shot in order to save his daughter.


    "Excuse me, is there anyone here?"


    Just as Pelturas picked up his crutch and was about to leave, he heard someone knocking at the door.


    Upon opening the door, found a Thief who had his face covered and who was equipped with leather armor.


    Pelturas had no affection for Thieves and said impatiently, "Who are you? Why are you here?"


    "I¡¯m following Remulo¡¯s instructions," Lu Li sighed. "I¡¯ve come to solve your troubles sir."


    "Remulos?" Pelturas¡¯ eyes widened as he spoke. "The Moon Goddess must have heard my prayers; my Little Leila can finally be saved! Can you heal her?"


    Lu Li took two steps forwards and looked at the pale girl on the bed before shaking his head.


    "Sorry, I¡¯m not a doctor."


    "How can this be?" Pelturas felt like he had been cheated; this stranger couldn¡¯t help him after all. How could he claim that he was going to solve his troubles then? No, this wasn¡¯t a "trouble" ¨C this was Little Leila, his only family.


    "I can go find a doctor."


    Lu Li¡¯s hand turned over and revealed a stack of gold coins.


    Pelturas let out a long sigh.


    A doctor wasn¡¯t difficult to find; you just needed to have the money. After forking out 20 gold, they managed to invite a man called Evena Stillwhisper. He was Astrana¡¯s best doctor and wouldn¡¯t see a poor person under normal circumstances.


    Evena carefully diagnosed Little Leila and spoke verbosely about how she was malnourished.


    Pelturas looked guilty.


    "Alright, I¡¯ve got some idea of the cause." After taking the money, he quickly concluded his examination. He pondered for a moment before saying, "I think this illness isn¡¯t purely physical. Has she been to an evil place recently? Or, Pelturas, have you brought back something contaminated with evil lately?"


    Pelturas thought for a moment before he pulled out a sword from the bottom of the bed.


    The long sword was rusty, but if it was repaired, it could be sold to the blacksmith for a few silver coins.


    "Where did you pick that up?" asked Evena.


    "Bathran¡¯s Haunted House. If there was ever an evil place, it would probably be there." Pelturas was disabled and couldn¡¯t fight; he had to do whatever he could to make money.


    "Damned Orcs and damned Bathran," Evenal cursed softly.


    "Can Little Leila still be saved? Please, Mr. Evenal, you have to save her."


    Upon hearing that he was likely the cause of her daughter¡¯s sickness, Pelturas almost looked suicidal.


    "Adventurer," Evena said as he looked at Pelturas¡¯ stump and shook his head before turning to Lu Li, "I need help with something. Are you willing to help me?"


    "Of course. I¡¯m happy to do some work," Lu Li replied simply.


    "If you take the road to the east, there is a plant that grows in the ancient ruins of the Bathran Haunted House. That plant is called Bathan¡¯s Hair and is known to cure the infamous Soul Disease. Can you get some for me?" Evena then went on to describe the appearance of the Bathran¡¯s Hair.


    "Please wait a little while. I will be back soon."


    Lu Li left and immediately transformed into a Crow before flying towards the Bathran Haunted House.


    He wandered around the Haunted House for a while, unable to find the plant that Evena had described. He then landed on the ground in order to search more thoroughly; he couldn¡¯t afford to miss it.


    At this time, a ghost appeared in front of him and pointed at his emblem before asking, "Young man, is this the blessing of the priestess?"


    Lu Li put away the dagger that he had pulled out and calmed himself before saying, "Yes."


    It was indeed a Haunted House ¨C a ghost could emerge at every turn. These repeated appearances were actually quite scary, so there was actually no one farming in this level 20 area.


    "How nostalgic. I used to have something like that."


    Based on its silhouette, it was a strange looking being. It looked more like a big tree than anything else.


    "That must be because you¡¯re a respectable elder, but why are you here now?" Lu Li tentatively asked.


    "These creatures¡­ the so called Horde¡­ cut me down and cut off my hair to carry out their evil plan. Can you help me end it once and for all?"


    Dammit. This must be the legendary Tree of Knowledge, old Treant Bathran.


    Treants had always been the Night Elf¡¯s allies. They lived long lives, but spent most of it asleep and could only be awakened in special ways.


    Bathran was unlucky; he had been cut down while he was still sleeping.


    After he was killed, the orcs planted Bathran back into the ground. That is how the Bathran Haunted House came to grow Bathran¡¯s hair.


    "I would be happy to do that. But before that, I would like to collect some of your hair. Please don¡¯t be angry and hear me out."


    Lu Li comforted the old Treant ghost who was about to run away and then tried to explain why he wanted the hair.


    "The Orcs had just finished harvesting the hair; no wonder you couldn¡¯t find it. Since it¡¯s to save someone, I will give you some now."


    Bathran handed Lu Li a clump of fibrous material. This was Bathran¡¯ Hair.


    "Thank you so much. What can I do to help you?" Lu Li asked as he put the item away.


    This was the so-called chain quest. One would lead into the other and all of them had to be completed, otherwise, the chain would be broken. As to how long Little Leila could wait, these quests weren¡¯t bound by time. The system wasn¡¯t that boring.


    "I hear that their Medicine Master was talking about some fire item across from here. If you can obtain a bottle of that evil item and throw it into my body, you can burn it down completely and my hair will no longer grow," Bathran said as he sighed deeply and melancholically continued, "I¡¯m already dead, so this is a small price to pay to stop them."


    Waking up to suddenly find that you were dead was quite an outlandish way to die.

 352 Deep Pit Camp

    "Where is that bottle of Wildfire?" Lu Li asked.


    "They have built a camp nearby in order to harvest my hair. If you follow the route of the Orcs, you will find the camp," the ghost said.


    Lu Li asked a few more questions, but didn¡¯t gain any further useful information.


    It appeared that he just had to try his luck. There were quite a few quests like this, where the exact location was unknown and you just had to work it out based on some clues.


    Follow the route of the Orcs¡­


    Lu Li looked around for any Undead Herbalists or Orc Supervisors, but was hard pressed to find anything that could help him.


    Those characters were acting like regular mobs ¨C they were not intelligent and were just following a fixed procedure. Each of them acted out the same thing over and over, and wouldn¡¯t wander out of a small, fixed range.


    With no other options, Lu Li could only farm the mobs here while watching to see if there were any special monsters around.


    About half an hour later, he stumbled upon a bunch of Bathran¡¯s Hair on the ground. He tried to collect it, but the System told him that had already had Bathran¡¯s Hair.


    His eyes then lit up in realization. Since Bathran¡¯s Hair had appeared, a special orc would soon be here to harvest it.


    His speculation was in fact correct. Soon, a dozen chain-mail-clad Orcs came to the Bathran Haunted House and collected the Bathran¡¯s Hair, then hastily retreated in the same direction.


    Lu Li cautiously followed them.


    He then saw very clearly that these were all level 30 Elite Orcs. The leader was most likely an even higher level.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid of them; he could escape if he needed to. However, he was afraid that if he disturbed them, the temporary camp would disband and there would be no one left to lead him.


    As such, he tried to keep himself hidden as best as he could.


    He trailed the squad of Orcs for ten minutes before they arrived at the summit of a hill.


    Then, they suddenly vanished.


    Lu Li waited for a while, but there wasn¡¯t any more movement, so he quietly followed their footsteps.


    It turned out that the summit of the hill had been excavated by the Orcs to form a huge pit. They had built their temporary camp in this pit.


    Lu Li turned his head and speechlessly discovered that the Maestra¡¯s Post was close by. This group of Orcs had established a temporary camp right under the noses of the Sentinels.


    If he went and reported to them¡­


    Lu Li was drooling. He was going to report to them after he got the bottle of fire. Even if the reward was monetary, it would still be a handsome sum.


    After he entered, he realized that this place was much more spacious than he had imagined. These Orcs had hollowed out the entire hill. There was some moss growing on the walls and some glowing stones embedded in them, so it wasn¡¯t dark at all.


    There were barracks, a kitchen, a warehouse and even an alchemy room¡­


    Swarms of Orcs were patrolling about. It was a main base of operations; this place was no joke.


    Lu Li watched the movements of his surroundings and slowly entered the alchemy room.


    Wildfire ¨C its name suggested that it was obviously a product of alchemy. Entering the Alchemy room was the right choice, but he didn¡¯t know what else he would find in there.


    As a Thief, stealing things seemed to be a perfectly justifiable matter.


    Of course, Lu Li didn¡¯t expect this shabby camp to contain any kind of heaven-defying treasures. He didn¡¯t ask for tens of thousands; just a few thousand gold coins would satisfy him.


    As he opened the door to the alchemy room, he saw three busy alchemists inside. They were wearing ragged robes and their bony hands were continuously putting things into a big pot.


    The liquid in the pot was highly viscous and there were all kinds of smells being produced as the liquid churned.


    Lu Li almost retched at the stench.


    No wonder there weren¡¯t many other Orcs in the area ¨C they probably had to lose their sense of smell before they could properly work in this environment.


    Lu Li went into Stealth before stepping in lightly.


    Although these Undead couldn¡¯t smell anything, there was nothing wrong with their Perception. When facing these level 30 Elites, it was best that he gave them the respect they deserved.


    The cabin was hot and humid, and the smell was drilling into his nostrils.


    Lu Li bit the bullet and quickly started to look around the potions in search of the Wildfire.


    The materials on the test bench were quite strange. Most of them were animal organs and poisonous plants. Lu Li didn¡¯t want any of these things.


    After a while, he finally found the Wildfire on the bench.


    Taking advantage of the Alchemists¡¯ turned heads, Lu Li grabbed the Wildfire. He then quickly used Shadowmeld to enter back into Stealth so he could leave the damned place.


    After this, he paid a visit to the Orc¡¯s warehouse; there could be some valuable items inside.


    However, his plans were quickly disrupted when the Wildfire that he was holding unexpectedly started to burn him. He almost called out loud in surprise and damage values began to appear over his head.


    It was only three to five points, but this prevented Lu Li from using Stealth to escape.


    He couldn¡¯t enter Stealth if he kept losing HP like this.


    Lu Li almost started cursing out loud before he threw the Wildfire into this bag. However, the Alchemists had already noticed his presence.


    Lu Li could probably deal with a single level 30 Elite, but there was more than one of them before him. He also didn¡¯t know how they communicated, but heavy footsteps were soon heard outside the door.


    If he didn¡¯t leave now, he might not have any chances left.


    Lu Li thought for a while and instead of attacking the undead Alchemists, he turned into a Leopard and rushed out.


    Two Orcs burst into the room, but by the time they noticed him he had already ran away.


    Whooosh¡­


    There were javelins, dark arrows and Shadow Bolts being thrown at him, but he didn¡¯t dare to look back. He zipped left and right to avoid the projectiles, quickly running with his four legs.


    However a humanoid figure was rapidly approaching him from behind!


    Lu Li wished that he had eight legs because his four legs weren¡¯t fast enough.


    He hadn¡¯t really considered how bloodthirsty these Orcs were, but knew that this group of level 30 Elites could easily tear him apart, so he didn¡¯t bother about the details.


    This is just a quest; it should be easy!


    The fire was in his backpack, but he was still taking damage so he couldn¡¯t go into Stealth.


    The only way to escape was the get out of this pit. They wouldn¡¯t be so ferocious then, as the Night Elf Sentinels would never tolerate such a camp existing so close to an outpost.


    Maestra¡¯s Post was just around the back.


    There was a rumbling and a loud voice. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but look back and almost peed himself.


    It was a wolf!


    A Wolf Rider!


    The leopard gave him considerable speed, but it was nothing compared to that given by the wolf mount.


    One, two, three¡­ throw!


    Lu Li threw a dark object behind him and continued to run.


    A violent roar sounded throughout the camp, accompanied by a flash.


    The Orcs and wolves were crying out; the scene had descended into chaos.


    In reality, only a few of them had been hurt, but the sound was quite scary nonetheless.


    Taking advantage of the chaos, Lu Li quickly ran and jumped out of the pit.

 353 Wolf Rider

    Lu Li was heartbroken that he had to throw a bomb.


    The drop rate of Starwood was already extremely low and he only carried three spares on him. That single throw was worth hundreds of gold coins.


    Bathran, I¡¯ve sacrificed so much to burn you down. You better repay me well for this. Otherwise, even if you manage to reincarnate, I¡¯ll cut you down and use you for firewood as payment.


    When Lu Li got out, he immediately rushed straight to Maestra¡¯s Post.


    Why didn¡¯t go to burn down Bathran? Because Bathran was already dead and couldn¡¯t run away, but the Orcs would immediately start running away.


    They had been discovered, so naturally, they would be trying to escape.


    "Lord, I have important news."


    Lu Li returned to his Night Elf form as he approached Maestra¡¯s Post. He grabbed a human soldier¡¯s shoulder and panted as he explained the situation.


    Maestra¡¯s Post was a place where Night Elves and Humans were working together to hold a defensive position. There were many humans stationed here.


    "How is this possible?" The soldier simply couldn¡¯t believe it.


    A Horde camp less than 1000 yards from here? What kind of joke was that? If Lu Li didn¡¯t look like an honest Night Elf, they would have shot him with an arrow already.


    "It¡¯s true¡­"


    Before Lu Li could explain any further, another soldier nearby cried out.


    He was pointing into the distance towards a crowd of crazy Orcs!


    The first three were Orcs equipped with Chain Mail and riding wolves. They were staring intently at Lu Li with their red eyes while he was standing in the Post. They didn¡¯t even slow down when they approached the Post, and rushed straight at them.


    These lunatics had actually decided to chase him all the way here.


    It was three Wolf Riders too!


    These Wolf Riders were full members of the Steel Knights and were something that he couldn¡¯t deal with right now. On top of that, the Maestra¡¯s Post only had a few dozen human soldiers around.


    "Where is Master Delgren?" Lu Li grabbed one of the soldiers as asked.


    Delgren the Purifier was a Paladin who followed the command of the Silver Hand and had his own squire. He was supposed to be investigating a secret organization composed of Orcs and the Undead.


    In other words, this was his domain.


    "The Master has left for inspections today," the soldier cried out.


    "Get ready to fight! Ready your defenses; I¡¯ll go get help!" Lu Li didn¡¯t care about the rewards. If this group of soldiers died, he wouldn¡¯t be able to receive any benefits at all.


    These people were about to be killed because of him.


    After hastily transforming into a Crow, he flew out of the Post in a flurry.


    He didn¡¯t go looking for Delgren ¨C who knew where he had to go to find that guy?


    The nearest defense base was the Meisnera Post!


    Since the previous battle with the Water Elementals, the Meinsera Post had stationed many more troops and would now have the ability to supply reinforcements.


    "Your Excellency, the Maestra¡¯s Post has been attack by Orcs. There are three Wolf Riders there; please send reinforcements."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to shock everyone, so he turned himself back.


    While everyone was watching, a bird transformed into a person, causing the players nearby to exclaim in shock.


    Could it be that this Druid has already learnt to fly? I still don¡¯t even have a mount; are we even playing the same game?


    No one suspected that he was Lu Li, because Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have such a useless skill like this. He also had his face covered and was wearing leather armor like a Druid would.


    The Meisnera¡¯s Post never lacked players.


    In order to see Meisnera, countless perverted players camped here. They had even made this Post their home and were happy to endure sleeping on the ground every night.


    In peak periods, there were perhaps hundreds of thousands of players lingering in the area.


    "Wolf Riders?" Meisnera¡¯s expression suddenly turned serious.


    She didn¡¯t question Lu Li. Meisnera was particularly sensitive to the Blessings of the Priestess and she had seen the Carolina¡¯s mark on him.


    "There are also dozens of Orc Warriros and Undead Alchemists. The Maestra¡¯s Post will not hold for long," Lu Li quickly added.


    Meisnera didn¡¯t hesitate to sound the battle horn as she climbed onto a white cheetah and rushed out. There were a dozen Night Elves riding panthers and a dozen Night Rangers who followed her through the woods.


    "Defend Meisnera!" Lu Li shouted from within a group of players.


    They players were shocked at first, but this phrase aroused their minds. They quickly roared in response to defend Meisnera and rushed to follow her as well.


    As more players heard this familiar cry, they also joined in.


    The ¡®Defend the Meisnera Outpost¡¯ event wasn¡¯t too long ago and many players who were here had participated. As such, they were excited to get back into the action once again.


    Hundreds of players began to follow her in a snowball effect. Lu Li could now finally relax.


    However, this was assuming that the Soldiers of Maestra¡¯s Post could hold out until the reinforcements arrived. If Meisnera arrived at the destroyed Post, then everything would have been in vain.


    Lu Li¡¯s Crow could fly quickly, so he got there before Meisnera.


    Maestra¡¯s Post had not been destroyed by the Horde like Lu Li had imagined. The strength of Maestra¡¯s Post, Delgren, had appeared for battle in the nick of time.


    The human Paladin was wearing heavy silver armor and was facing three enemies. He was covered in scratches but had not died yet.


    "Master Paladin, reinforcements are coming!" Lu Li shouted before landing and running towards the Orc Wolf Riders.


    His attacks weren¡¯t strong enough to deal much damage to the Wolf Rider, but they were enough to relieve some pressure from the Paladin while Meisnera was still arriving.


    Just as he finished speaking, Meisnera and the reinforcements arrived on the battlefield.


    However, a decisive defeat of the Orcs did not happen like Lu Li had expected.


    The Orc Wolf Riders were bosses while the Sentinel¡¯s calvary were only high-level Elites. They weren¡¯t truly part of the Night Elf Sentinel Regiment; they were actually just auxiliary units.


    Meisnera was also a boss, but her profession was a Priestess, so she didn¡¯t have much combat strength.


    Even so, with this additional force, the balance began to tip in favor of the Alliance. The Orc Warriors and Undead were constantly being shot by the Night Rangers.


    The last straw was when the players started crashing into the fight.


    When hundreds of players swarmed the battlefield, the three Wolf Riders were obviously unable to deal with them.


    Take that System! What are you gonna do now!?


    "Defend Meisnera! Long live the Goddess!" the perverts howled as players as they charged. Even if a level 30 Sargeras was standing there, it wouldn¡¯t have been able to stand up to these perverts.


    The Wolf Riders weren¡¯t afraid of these weak players individually, but you couldn¡¯t forget the strong Paladin Delgren, Meisnera the Priestess and the dozen level 30 Elites that she was leading.

 354 Killing The Wolf Riders

    The Wolf Riders, who had been critically wounded by the Paladin, turned away and started running.


    The Orcs would rather live than die and this made perfect sense, especially for an intelligent NPC who was a Boss.


    "Master, shame must be cleansed with blood. We cannot let them escape."


    Lu Li was anxious. These were three level 30 Bosses ¨C if they didn¡¯t at least kill one of them, he would have just wasted the day.


    As soon as the word ¡®shame¡¯ was mentioned, the Paladin¡¯s eyes turned red.


    These dirty Orcs - they actually built a camp in his area. This masked Elf is right; blood has to be shed today. The blood of death to repay the shame!


    "Attack!"


    Delgren roared and charged his horse ahead. The spear in his hand pierced the wolf¡¯s head and flung the Orc off its back.


    The other two Wolf Riders didn¡¯t stop for their fallen companion; they continued fleeing without looking back.


    The Wolf Rider who was knocked-down knew he couldn¡¯t get away, so he gave up his intention to flee. Instead, he put on a ferocious look and desperately roared as he raised his hand to attack.


    Although the Wolf Rider had lost its wolf, it was still a Boss and it fought with even greater ferocity now that it didn¡¯t have a means of escape.


    "Attack the Boss!" The players weren¡¯t afraid, in fact, they were further invigorated.


    Lu Li was also very excited because he had already dealt a lot of the damage to the Boss. As such, once it was killed, he was likely to be the one with the authority to take the equipment.


    Normally, a level 30 Wild Boss would have resulted in a lot of bloodshed.


    However, with the NPCs¡¯ help, it was significantly easier.


    As the Orc Calvary also crashed into them, the players in front of him were knocked away and took significant damage.


    However, Lu Li wanted the equipment, so he couldn¡¯t falter now. If anyone dealt more damage to the Boss than he did, then he would lose the authority to claim the equipment.


    Fortunately, NPC Paladin Delgren was there and his spear racked-up Orc-kills.


    The two Bosses were eventually engaged in an even battle, while the other players were basically just fodder. Every now and then, players would be knocked aside, and some would even be killed in mid-air.


    Lu Li thought that this Wolf Rider was a character that had slowly upgraded to Boss status and as such, would be weaker than the Instance Dungeon Bosses. However, he now had to admit how wrong he was.


    Often, intelligence was a very powerful thing to have.


    Compared to an Instance Dungeon Boss, this Wolf Rider had survived with its high intelligence.


    There were no rules to the Wolf Rider¡¯s method of fighting, and no strategy to deal with it. No one ever wrote about how these NPC soldiers could be effectively dealt with either.


    The normal taunt skills were absolutely futile against it, and it didn¡¯t cast its skills in a predictable manner like an Instance Dungeon Boss would.


    In less than half a minute, a dozen players were killed. It would then follow this up by killing one player every minute.


    It could dodge, move and cast skills whenever it felt like it. Lu Li was once almost hit by one of its strong attacks, but he just managed to cast Gale Steps just in time.


    Paladin Delgren, who was already seriously injured, received a few more additional wounds. If it weren¡¯t for Meisnera providing support from behind, Lu Li questioned whether he could have defeated this Wolf Rider alone.


    One side was fighting for duty and honor, but the other side was fighting for their life.


    The Wolf Rider soon came to the end of its life, but its fighting was heroic and fearless in the face of two other Bosses.


    As it was pierced by Delgren¡¯s spear, the last of his HP dwindled away.


    Lu Li then received a prompt from the System that he had gained EXP. It wasn¡¯t that much, as Paladin Delgren was the primary source of damage and the players were just barely supporting him.


    Was he going to get the equipment?


    The rules for equipment to drop in Dawn depended on the environment and the circumstance. It was different for every case.


    In the current situation, if a player or a party had dealt the most damage and had reached a certain threshold, they would have priority in picking it up. If the threshold wasn¡¯t reached, the equipment would explode in random directions and would be free for anyone to pick up.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t just explode into different directions, which indicated that someone had met the minimum damage threshold.


    "Why can¡¯t I pick it up?" someone said loudly.


    The moment this person cried out, everyone rushed towards him.


    No one could the resist the item that a level 30 Boss could have dropped. Meisnera was a little confused because no one was paying any attention to her, but the others could look at her any time they wanted.


    Lu Li placed his hand over the Wolf Rider and prayed for a second before looting it.


    He was actually quite anxious and worried that the System might tell him that he didn¡¯t have the authority to loot it.


    Fortunately, that didn¡¯t happen. Something appeared in his hand and Lu Li quickly shoved it into his bag as he continued looting¡­


    He first grabbed two small items, before getting a skill book and a large, two-handed axe.


    The first two items were quite inconspicuous, but when a giant axe appeared in Lu Li¡¯s hands, everyone knew that he was the one taking all the items.


    "Hand the items over and we¡¯ll spare your life," someone said ominously.


    "Everyone contributed, you can¡¯t just take it all," another interjected. However, if they had traded places, you would never hear a sentence like that from them.


    "If you offend so many of us, do you think you¡¯ll be able to continue playing this game?"


    Lu Li began to sweat.


    Gale Steps was on cooldown; he had just used it in the fight.


    What about his shoe¡¯s effect? There were hundreds of players surrounding him; there was nowhere for him to go.


    Looking left and right, he couldn¡¯t find a way to safely fight his way out.


    The game still had to be balanced ¨C you couldn¡¯t fight hundreds of players at once no matter how strong you were. Everyone only had to cast one normal skill to instantly kill him.


    "Thank you all for your help; you can claim your rewards from Meisnera. I will need some time alone with this Thief."


    Paladin Delgren was sitting on his horse watching over them. Just as the crowd was about to attack him, he suddenly spoke up.


    Dammit, who do you think you are? If it weren¡¯t for us, you would have already died to the Wolf Rider. The players almost laughed out loud, but they kept that thought to themselves and refused to listen to his order.


    These players felt like they were the reason that the Orcs had retreated. However, in reality, if it weren¡¯t for the role that Delgren and Meisnera had played, there would have been a continuous swarm of reinforcements.


    The players weren¡¯t really paying any attention.


    "Attack!" Delgren suddenly raised his spear and thrust it out with force.


    This wasn¡¯t a regular thrust ¨C this was the move he had performed when he defeated the Wolf Rider. However, this time, the thrust was directed at the players.


    A dozen players instantly died.

 355 Turned On By the NPC

    The surprise was indescribable. An NPC had just turned on them and killed a dozen players.


    The hundreds of players were shocked.


    First, they were stunned in disbelief before they started to become angry.


    However, this anger faded as quickly as it came. The players saw the soldiers nearby raise their weapons and they also received a notification from the System.


    System: Your behavior may be interpreted as a provocation against the Silver Hand. Please act carefully.


    System: Your behavior may be interpreted as a provocation against the Sentinel Corps. Please act carefully.


    Although the Silver Hand had already disbanded, they still had a far-reaching influence. In addition to the Brotherhood of Light, the Scarlet Crusade and Silver Dawn, there were still a high number of high-level Paladins who would rally under the name of the Silver Hand.


    As for the Sentinel Corps, that was even funnier.


    If they offended the Sentinel Corps, wouldn¡¯t they be offending all the Night Elves?


    There were mechanisms in Dawn to change factions, but so far, no one has ever succeeded in doing so.


    After the players calmed down, they became scared. Although they outnumbered the soldiers ten to one, they slowly backed away from them.


    It seemed like this NPC was actually protecting this Thief. Who knew what he had done to get so lucky?


    "Brave adventurer, I would like to thank you," Paladin Delgren said as he climbed onto his horse. "If it weren¡¯t for you, I probably wouldn¡¯t have known about the hidden group of Orcs."


    His tone was low and calm. He even gave Lu Li a salute at the end of his sentence.


    "It was I who alerted the enemy. Otherwise, we would have had a better chance at destroying them,"


    Lu Li looked at the battlefield and saw the corpses being packed away into body bags.


    Maestra¡¯s Post wasn¡¯t annihilated, but there were still over a dozen dead soldiers.


    "I am also grateful that you called in reinforcements for us. Otherwise, we would have lost more than these." Delgren looked sadly at the corpses that were being carried out while gripping the reins in his hands.


    He was a Paladin, a Silver Hand Paladin. As such, he was very conservative and rather tenacious.


    However, he still had feelings and he was upset about his squire.


    The dozen players that he had killed might have just been him venting about it.


    Lu Li gave the fallen soldiers a moment of silence before painfully saying, "They were all warriors and they¡¯re not on the way home. May the light protect them forever."


    "Yes, may the light protect them," Delgren nodded. "You are a brave adventurer and I hope that the light will guide your way as well."


    The System prompted Lu Li to tell him that he had gained 100 prestige points for Stormwind.


    In reality, 100 points for Stormwind wasn¡¯t that much. When Lu Li was freeing the prisoners from Blackfathom, he had already gained a significant amount of points.


    However, he didn¡¯t dare to complain; this Paladin had saved his life as well.


    Moreover, he couldn¡¯t afford to offend this Paladin either.


    There were many things that had happened in the background, and any action he took could influence future events.


    Dawn had spent a lot of time on their NPCs, creating many different scenarios and pathways.


    To put it simply, it was unwise to attack an NPC who was in the same Faction. Otherwise, you would need to do something for them to regain their favor. When Lu Li had attacked the Goblin Businessman, he gained the hatred of all goblins, but he could later settle their differences with some gold.


    Of course, once you joined a particular group, there were less limitations.


    For example, Lu Li really wanted to join Ravenholdt¡¯s Manor. That was a Thief¡¯s Paradise because they weren¡¯t on any side and would assassinate anyone for gold.


    After he left the crowd, Lu Li went into Stealth and snuck away.


    The players had not managed to find out what his name was, so they could only curse at the fact that they couldn¡¯t seek out revenge.


    Just because the Paladin hadn¡¯t given him a reward, didn¡¯t mean that he had returned empty handed. He had just claimed all the rewards of a level 30 Wild Boss.


    The first thing that he pulled out was the dual-handed Axe.


    It was a Gold Equipment!


    Axe of the Legion (Gold): Damage 40-58, Strength 20, Agility 12, 1 Slot, Special Effect 1: 15% Critical Hit, Special Effect 2: Hits have a 30% chance of causing Armor Pierce. Special Effect 3: Wrath of the Legion, all teammates within 8 yards will received a 20% increase in attack power for 15 seconds. 5 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 30. Durability 64/64.


    What an exquisite axe this was indeed!


    Lu Li stroked the axe, wishing that he was a Warrior.


    In addition to this, there was also that level 30 Gold Dagger in his bag.


    This must have been the standard equipment for the Orc Steel Corps. Its last effect had a particularly effective battle effect that made this a truly exquisite axe.


    It even had a slot which only appeared on rare equipment. This slot could be embedded with a gem to increase its attributes.


    There was also a Skill Book, "Apprentice Riding Training Manual".


    With this item, you could accept training from a Riding Teacher. After you learned how to ride and acquired a horse, you would be able to do away with all the problems that came with walking.


    Strength Elixir: A player¡¯s attack power is increased by 20% for 1 hour when used. This effect will persist through death.


    So the small item he had grabbed was an Elixir. Lu Li knew what this was, but most players right now probably wouldn¡¯t recognize it. It would be useful in attempting future First Clears of Instance Dungeons. The 20% attack power buff wasn¡¯t much, but it lasted an entire hour. No wonder the Wolf Rider had fought so ferociously ¨C it must have taken one of these.


    The last thing he had looted was a ring.


    Lu Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat; he was still lacking a good ring.


    Legionnaire¡¯s Band (Silver): Damage 16-24, Strength 12, Agility 8, Special Effect: the target of skills have a certain probability of being silenced for 1.5 seconds. Equipment Requirement: level 25. Durability 48/48.


    He was going to keep this ring for himself. Although its attributes could not be compared to the Axe of the Legion, it was much better than the Sharp Tooth Ring he was wearing.


    The Special effect was actually quite good. It was inferior to the Kick skill, but if he was lucky, he would be able to reap some unexpected rewards. However, it was all dependent on his luck. This was another piece of equipment that he just had to hope would trigger.


    Lu Li was very satisfied with these rewards. He put the ring on and stored the elixir away. It was a consumable, so he was going to save it for another time. He wasn¡¯t going to use the skill book for now because he didn¡¯t have a good-enough mount just yet. He could fly faster than most mounts anyway.


    As for the Axe of the Legion, this was the most valuable item.


    Lu Li hesitated for three seconds before deciding to give it to Moonlight for free. Talk of money soured relationships and they were friends that had been through thick and thin.


    Even if he could sell this axe for $100,000, Moonlight could probably earn more after a few competitions. Moreover, Lu Li didn¡¯t really need money with such urgency anymore and couldn¡¯t be bothered selling one item for the small sum of money it would yield anyway. He just wanted his club to continue to grow and prosper.


    He hoped that Bathran would give him something good, otherwise, this quest wouldn¡¯t have been worth it at all.

 356 Old Tree Seeds

    Bathran was still a ghost, waiting at the same place that Lu Li had left him. The treant looked sad; it¡¯s only desire was to be granted relief.


    Upon seeing Lu Li, his eyes lit up with anticipation.


    "Adventurer, did you get the Wildfire?"


    "Bathran, I almost died because of you," Lu Li said impolitely. "Did you deliberately conceal the fact that the Wildfire would harm me so I couldn¡¯t escape the camp?"


    He had to stand firm on his values, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ensure he got a good reward.


    "It just hurts a little at the start; its fine after you get used to it," Bathran said embarrassedly. "But seeing as you have returned unharmed, I must have chosen the right person."


    "¡­" Lu Li wanted to explode. The damage had caused him to be revealed in front of the whole camp and resulted in three Wolf Riders chasing him.


    "My body is to the north, adventurer. Help me find peace so that those creatures can no longer abuse my hair, and even better, so I can finally regenerate," Bathran said, his face cheerfully smiling.


    "What, you can revive yourself?" Lu Li was surprised.


    "It¡¯s not a revival; it¡¯s a regeneration, which is not the same," Bathran explained as he waved his arm. "I¡¯ll start life anew and I¡¯ll be young, energetic and curious about the world once again."


    "But," Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but interrupt, "Will it still be you?"


    "Child," the ancient Tree of Knowledge said as he smiled bitterly at him, "You know, there are rules that cannot be changed. Life and Death should not be tampered with; I couldn¡¯t ask for anything more."


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t be bothered to refute his point; he knew that Aegwynn had revived her son Medivh.


    However, whether Medivh could truly be considered to be alive was another question.


    Led by the ghost, Lu Li quickly found the body of the Tree of Knowledge. It was a great old tree that was still half-buried in the soil even though it had fallen. But, the strange thing was that the tree was still luscious; it didn¡¯t give off any impression that it had died.


    "Are you sure you want to burn it?" Lu Li asked.


    "Yes, my child. The end has come for me."


    Bathran looked over this tree who had existed for thousands of years. He waved his hand and a green seed flew from the tree into his hands.


    "This seed is the only thing I have produced in thousands of years. I don¡¯t even know what to do with it." Bathran handed it to Lu Li and continued, "I will give this to you and you can find a place where there is lots of moonlight to plant it. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯ll produce, as each seed holds its own secret."


    Wasn¡¯t this the responsibility of the parents?


    Lu Li took the seeds and carefully put it into his bag.


    No one else knew what this was, but he had a pretty good idea.


    As someone who had experienced Rebirth, Lu Li would never forget the myth of Peerless City.


    As hundreds of thousands of Glory Capital troops raided the Peerless City base, everyone though that they were finished. However, a battle horn sounded and a great multitude of treants rose on the battlefield. They fought fearlessly and bought enough time for Peerless City¡¯s reinforcements to arrive.


    After some analysis, they realized that Peerless City must have had a Tree of Knowledge on their side.


    An ancient Tree of Knowledge could summon all trees within a certain range directly into combat.


    They attacked just like ancient tree would, throwing stones that were near them. They would give up their life to prevent the advance of the enemy, making the location¡¯s defense just as strong as Stormwind City.


    Fortunately, these kinds of ancient trees were very rare. The Gray Valley had many trees, but most of them weren¡¯t ancient trees.


    "Maybe one day when you walk past this place, you might hear me say hello," Bathran said as he smiled.


    "I hope that day does come. Mr Bathran, my name is Lu Li."


    Lu Li took out the Wildfire and threw it onto the ancient tree.


    Transparent flames spread and soon engulfed the entire tree.


    As the flames rose, Bathran became a shadow and soon disappeared with a pop. Lu Li had no idea if he had actually regenerated, as there was no way to tell, but he didn¡¯t believe that a being that had lived for thousands of years would die so easily.


    Back in Astrana.


    Lu Li had just returned to Pelturas¡¯ front door when Evena Stillwhisper greeted him. He anxiously said, "Did you get Bathran¡¯s hair? The child¡¯s health is getting worse by the day¡­ ah, you did get the hair! This is a good start, but we will also need other materials. The hair is by far the most important material though. Whatever the Orcs were trying to do with this plant, I just hope it doesn¡¯t become a weapon¡­"


    "It won¡¯t happen; the ancient tree has been turned into ashes," Lu Li shook his head and said softly.


    Evena was stunned as he listened to Lu Li story. He was a little skeptical, but it was still good news. He didn¡¯t need to worry about what the Orcs were doing with Bathran¡¯s hair anymore.


    "Master! My daughter, my daughter! Please save her; she looks like she is in pain."


    Pelturas didn¡¯t care about some Orc conspiracy; his only concern was for his daughter.


    Evena took Bathran¡¯s hair into the alchemy room while Lu Li stood by waiting.


    If he had guessed correctly, this quest was not over yet.


    Soon, the potion was completed and Evena was slowly feeling it to Little Leila.


    After a while, the potion began working and the little girl wasn¡¯t in so much pain anymore. However, she still didn¡¯t wake up.


    Evena was a little embarrassed ¨C he had claimed that this would cure the girl.


    He thought it over for a moment before saying, "The potion worked, but I have underestimated the force of this evil and how weak she is. As such, she is unfortunately still afflicted."


    The poor Pelturas knelt before Evena once again.


    Evena carefully thought before coming up with another idea.


    "If you can expose this potion to a baptism by the Moon Goddess, I think the evil forces will be unable to resist."


    This sounded like a good idea, but required the help of the Moon Goddess. It was probably way too difficult.


    "It¡¯s actually not that difficult, so we will have to entrust it on our brave warrior once again."


    Evena was referring to Lu Li.


    "There¡¯s a place southeast to Lake Farathim where the Moon Goddess¡¯ light shines every day. Please take pity on this little girl and expose the potion to this light. Be careful though ¨C I hear that place is no longer peaceful."


    Lu Li sighed in his heart. Of course it wasn¡¯t peaceful ¨C it was close to the Warsong Canyon which was a warzone.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll do it," Lu Li accepted as he took the potion.


    "Little Leila is in danger; there isn¡¯t much time left. Young adventurer, you only have 30 minutes and you need to let the potion soak for at least 5 minutes," Evena added.


    Dammit, this one was actually time limited¡­

 357 Mission Completed

    Since this was a quest with time restrictions, Lu Li didn¡¯t waste his time and flew straight to Warsong Valley. He encountered some dangers along the way ¨C he was almost surrounded by a pack of hungry vultures. Fortunately, there were a lot of other birds in the forest, so he made it out alive in his crow form.


    After a dozen minutes of travel time, Lu Li stood beside Lake Farathim.


    Lake Farathim had lost its beauty over the years. Following the disaster of the Well of Eternity, the water level of the lake had dropped significantly and the waterbed began to rise to the surface.


    Lu Li needed to find a location where the moonlight had shone upon over the years, and soak the potion in the lake waters.


    A rain of arrows poured down and knocked him out of Stealth mode.


    Lu Li turned his head just in time to see a few Horde players pounce over. The one who attacked first was a Hunter who had Volley. Hunters with Volley had their own special part to play in group fights.


    Previously, when Lu Li had trodden along the side of the lake, he had left behind watermarks that revealed his tracks. Upon seeing him, the Hunter immediately attacked him with Volley.


    Players who hung around battlegrounds often had a strong urge to seek battle; they couldn¡¯t care less about their targets.


    "It¡¯s only him; take him out quick." The leader was an Orc Warrior who charged at Lu Li.


    Lu Li took a small step to the side and the Warrior¡¯s Charge lost its target.


    A dodging technique like this required good timing ¨C if you dodged before the Charge skill completed its cast time, the other player would still change directions and charge into you. The only solution was to dodge this skill after the cast time had been completed, just like how Lu Li had performed it.


    The Orc Warrior was stunned immediately by Lu Li as he dashed over.


    -412!


    Levels, equipment, skills.


    There was a massive difference in all areas between the two players and despite being a plated class, the Warrior still lost a great amount of health.


    The Orc was frightened; he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t give him a chance to react; it only took him a few attacks to send the Warrior off before he pounced towards his next target.


    Four Horde players, a Warrior, a Hunter, a Mage and a Druid.


    The Druid saw that the situation was becoming dangerous, so he transformed and escaped, but the other three players on his team were slain in a short amount of time.


    Lu Li only lost a little less than half of his health.


    This was very normal; there was too much of a difference between the players, not to mention that Lu Li had caught them by surprise. These random players were unable to affect Lu Li at all.


    However, things would be different if it was a dozen to hundreds of random players.


    Lu Li picked up the equipment that dropped, which was quite average and wasn¡¯t worth much. Lu Li didn¡¯t bother to chase after the Druid; he still had a timed quest to complete.


    While he searched around the lake, he tried his best to avoid players from the opposing faction.


    After a few minutes, Lu Li found a place that seemed to fit Evena¡¯s description. There was a little pond where the moonlight shone upon the surface of the green waters, and a thin layer of mist constantly rose upwards from it.


    He placed Bathran¡¯s Potion into the little pond and as soon as the potion entered the waters, rays of lights began to radiate from it. It was as if the moonlight had found an entrance and had begun to pour into the potion.


    Lu Li had originally planned to go into Stealth and wait quietly for five minutes on the side. He didn¡¯t expect the potion to cause such a big commotion.


    Quests had always been hard; this was one thing that had not changed between his previous and current life.


    It didn¡¯t take long for people to be attracted towards the area ¨C two Alliance players walked over.


    "Sorry, doing a quest. Please step aside." Although they were in the same faction, Lu Li didn¡¯t keep his hopes up at all.


    "Quest? You¡¯ve got to be kidding. We were the ones who found this item; when did it become your quest?" One player had his eyes fixated on the potion that was glistening above the waters; he didn¡¯t believe a single word that came out of Lu Li¡¯s mouth.


    Or rather, he believed them, but he had other plans.


    "Seems like you guys are planning to stay."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with the talking; he took his words to action with a set of skills.


    Stealth, Cheap Shot, Ambush, Backstab, Slit Throat ¨C it only took one rotation slay the cloth-geared Warlock.


    The other player¡¯s jaw almost dropped to the floor.


    How could you just start a fight like that and end it so quickly?


    "What about you? Are you staying or leaving?" Lu Li picked up the dropped equipment and tossed it into his bag.


    "..." What other choices did he have? The other player left with a bitter expression on his face, but he didn¡¯t go too far. Instead, he stopped nearby. It was possible that he was waiting for his chance, or perhaps he was contacting his friends.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t worry too much about him; he knew that the real trouble had only just begun.


    A small team of Horde players arrived. They killed the Alliance player who wouldn¡¯t leave and started approaching Lu Li.


    As they walked, the Priest suddenly froze on the spot.


    Before the Priest even found the chance to warn the others that he had been Sapped, Lu Li had already turned around and casted Cheap Shot on the nearest Undead Mage. With his special effects activated, Lu Li didn¡¯t even need to use an entire round of his skills to kill his target.


    At this point in time, there were less than a hundred players in Dawn who had reached level 25. The chances of running into a level 25 player who was part of one of these small teams were extremely low.


    Players under level 25 had to face a harsh punishment and take extra damage when they were playing against a level 27 player like Lu Li.


    With the Priest Sapped and the Mage killed, the other three players were unable to defeat Lu Li.


    After a short while, Lu Li sat down to eat some bread and regenerate his health. All five players were lying dead beside him.


    Within a short time of five minutes, dozens of players had been killed by him. Some were solo players while others were in teams, and there were both Horde players and Alliance players mixed into the crowd. It didn¡¯t take long for Lu Li to find himself with a dozen PK points.


    Fortunately, this had occurred on the outskirts of the Warsong Valley. It was a more-deserted area and it was rare for big teams to appear.


    The greatest number of people that Lu Li had run into were only teams of five, and teams of five made up from random players were no threat to Lu Li.


    He had high detection attributes, so without some kind of special equipment, even Thieves in Stealth mode couldn¡¯t make it past him. All those who tried to steal the potion were turned into corpses on the ground.


    System: Bathran¡¯s Potion has been purified.


    Lu Li picked up his speed now. He killed his opponent before another wave of people approached, then took the potion with him and activated Gale Steps to leave.


    The quest standards were set based on the average players. Lu Li and his flying skills were a bug to the quest; he still had a few minutes to spare after he recalled back to Astrana.


    "Praise the Moon Goddess ¨C this is the right potion," Evena said gladly. "Little Leila can be saved now!"


    After the potion was used, a thin layer of moonlight masked the pale green face of the little girl. Lu Li and Evena could almost hear the whispers of the Goddess in their ears ¨C it was near, yet far, like a petal that drifted with the wind, a soft feather that brushed across their hearts.


    Even though Lu Li was a player, he was also touched by the sight.


    Evena and Pelturas were both already on the ground, humbly worshipping Elune, the Goddess.


    "Daddy, I think I¡¯ve fallen asleep," the little girl said as she opened her eyes.


    "Child, you¡¯ve slept for too long. Daddy was almost going to lose you," Pelturas wept in tears of joy.


    "Mmmm, I don¡¯t want to sleep anymore. Daddy, can we go play outside?"


    "You need rest now, my daughter."


    "Alright, daddy, I think I heard a soft voice calling my name just then. It must be mummy calling, right?"


    "Praise be with Elune; may her glory forever shine upon our land."


    The conversation between Pelturas and his daughter was dull, but Lu Li felt warmth within him. It seemed like all the trouble that he had gone through had finally found its reason.


    "You¡¯ve saved my daughter. This is a debt that I¡¯ll never be able to repay, but please take this with you. This is the most precious thing in my life besides Leila." With gratitude written all over his expressions, Pelturas passed a Longbow into Lu Li¡¯s hands.


    This was probably the final quest reward.


    Was it a Silver or Gold grade equipment?

 358 Rumbling Gorge

    Lu Li looked at the man in front of him, the man who had gone through so many great changes in life, then at the weak girl who lay on her bed. He eventually shook his head.


    "Pelturas, thank you for your kindness, but allow me to decline this gift."


    "Why?" Pelturas was astonished.


    "I¡¯m a Thief, so a bow has very little use for me. You, on the other hand, you can keep your little girl alive with this bow," Lu Li explained. "I sincerely hope that she grows up happily and I¡¯m sure she will, since she has a father that loves her so dearly."


    He didn¡¯t make this decision without hesitation; Lu Li had attempted to persuade himself that this was just a game.


    Unfortunately, the game was too realistic ¨C he couldn¡¯t make himself believe that what he saw before his eyes was only data. To him, this wasn¡¯t just some data ¨C this was a father and a daughter, a disabled father who had almost lost his little girl.


    Surviving had never been easy. If he lost his Longbow, there was no guarantee that the little girl would still have a father the next time Lu Li saw her.


    Perhaps it was because the little girl reminded him of his sister, but Lu Li felt more sympathetic towards her.


    "But you¡¯ve done so much for us ¨C how can I not repay you?" Pelturas laughed bitterly.


    "I¡¯ve already received a payment that I¡¯m happy with. Goodbye, Pelturas. I¡¯ll come by again in the future if I get the chance." Lu Li performed an Elven gesture before he exited the simple house.


    He never found out the attributes of that Longbow ¨C whether it was Gold, or even Dark Gold grade.


    It was the weapon of an Elven sentinel, not to mention the reward of a chain quest, so it most likely wouldn¡¯t be an average Silver grade equip.


    Strangely enough, he didn¡¯t feel a single bit of regret.


    When he left the closed alley, and returned to the rowdy streets of Astrana, he felt as if he had just passed through two different worlds. It was like he was in a trance.


    "I¡¯m Lu Li, the owner of Ruling Sword. I¡¯ll never let myself into a desperate situation like that again," Lu Li told himself.


    He then went to the guild storage to exchange some Advanced Antidote and Intermediate Health Potions. These items took up the greater half of his storage, and he was planning for a long-term battle to quickly level himself to level 30.


    With his current equipment and level, he wouldn¡¯t be any slower than leveling with an army of Mages. He just needed to find the right monsters.


    There was no better choice than the spiders in Web Winder Hollow.


    Web Winder Hollow mainly spawned Deepmoss Creepers and Deepmoss Venomspitters. These two types of monsters were packed tightly together and had a fast respawn rate. They were easy for physical damage classes to kill and rewarded a lot of experience.


    With the current damage that Lu Li could deal, it would take him around a dozen seconds to kill one. The experience from one spider was equivalent to 1.5 times the experience of other monsters at the same level.


    What was important was to keep in mind the poison of the spiders ¨C he would have to drink a lot of antidotes.


    The material fees of these Advanced Antidotes weren¡¯t cheap ¨C a single bottle would cost a few Silver coins. Of course, for the average players, this was quite a burden, but Lu Li wasn¡¯t too concerned about it.


    There was also another threat in the area ¨C the Sharp-fang Spider King, an elite monster. It dealt significant damage and had a fast attack speed, so players would die very easily to it if they weren¡¯t cautious.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t too concerned about this threat either; he was strong enough and he was also a Thief player.


    Before he headed for Web Winder Hollow, Lu Li also purchased a mining pick with +5 mining skill from the auctions.


    How could anyone go to Rumbling Gorge without a pick? There was a lot of low=leveled copper mines there, so for players like Lu Li, who had never picked a single mine before, this was a great location to practice their skill.


    The Rumbling Gorge was located on the west side of the Barrenlands, south to the Grey Valley and north to the Desolate Land. The Alliance basement, Gorge Peak, and the Horde basement, Sun Rock Dwelling, were both located here too.


    The Web Winder Hollow was located on the southeast side of Rumbling Gorge. In order to reach there, it would require Lu Li to cross most of the Rumbling Gorge.


    Lu Li teleported to Gorge Peak and ran along the Gorge Path.


    He didn¡¯t fly this time because there were Wyverns living amongst these peaks.


    These ancient "flying lizards" had always been strong competitors about their territory in the air. When another species posed a threat to their dominance, they would put aside their feuds and work together to defend against the intruder.


    There were also Goblin Airships flying around the area, which could kill Lu Li easily. There was no way that he would pop out in the air with his crow form.


    Fortunately, there weren¡¯t many monsters along the Gorge Path. The monsters weren¡¯t much of a threat to him either, but some Orc patrol squads did pass by every now and then.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t try to be a hero; he was found by one of the squads by accident. It took him a lot of effort to kill two Orc Warriors and as a result, the others who survived pulled out their battle horns and summoned a great wave of cavalry...


    Fortunately, he was a Thief.


    If Lu Li found any copper mines along the way, he would dig them out. It barely took time anyway.


    After around half an hour, Lu Li had reached the end of the Gorge Path. Based on the markings along the way, the next area would be Windshear Crag.


    It was definitely unwise to wander around Windshear Crag ¨C this was a dangerous location with Wyverns, Lumbering Oafs, Insane Druids and Goblin Deforesters. These were all monsters that were hard to kill, but gave very little experience.


    Lu Li leapt into the Black Wolf River beside him.


    The Black Wolf River twisted and extended across most of the Rumbling Gorge.


    Although the water quality of the river wasn¡¯t the best, there were no dangerous creatures in it ¨C only some small fish that endured the pollution. Lu Li transformed into a seal and swam safely the entire way. It didn¡¯t take long for him to reach Windshear Valley.


    "Halt your steps, adventurer!" Following a shout, two human soldiers stopped in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li packed away his daggers to show that he had no intentions of causing harm, then followed the protocols of Night Elves and said, "I¡¯m a Night Elf from the Grey Valley of Astrana; I¡¯d like to request a meeting with Marshal Paltrow."


    "Wait here." One of the soldiers examined Lu Li cautiously before he turned around to make a report.


    The other soldier held onto the hilt of his sword tightly; he was prepared to attack Lu Li at any moment if the situation wasn¡¯t right.


    They belonged to the Northwatch.


    This new force was the main military strength for the Alliance faction in the conquest of Kalimdor and consisted of soldiers from the Barrenlands, Rumbling Gorge and Durotar.


    Marshal Paltrow was the highest commander, or at least for now he was. Once the storylines after level 30 were unraveled, Marshal Paltrow would be assassinated by the Horde faction.


    Paltrow¡¯s ways were upsetting to some of the nobles in the Alliance faction. As such, they plotted against him and joined forces with the Horde forces to take him down.


    Rather than saying that Paltrow died to Horde players, it was fairer to say that he died to the evil plots of others.


    Lu Li was brought in front of Marshal Paltrow.


    Paltrow was a Paladin in gold plate-armor. He was taller than two meters, and Lu Li suspected that he had Vrykul blood flowing within him.


    "Greetings, young adventurer," Paltrow said with a smile. "I haven¡¯t seen an adventurer here for a long time. What a surprise to see you? Is there anything I can help you with?"

 359 Queen Silith

    "I¡¯ve heard that there are some troubles near the camp and hoped to be of some help," Lu Li said, expressing his intentions.


    "You¡¯re a man of good knowledge. That¡¯s right, my soldiers have slacked on their scout tasks and didn¡¯t realize that the back of this mountain was a basin full of spiders. The spiders have increased in numbers and often attack the camp," Marshal Paltrow acknowledged bitterly. "Can you help me wipe out some of these spiders?"


    "Gladly," Lu Li accepted.


    The system hinted that he had received the quest to slay spiders; the numbers and time for the quest was unlimited and the experience received varied.


    This quest could also be received from soldiers, but the numbers would be limited to 50. Even though it was a repetitive quest, it would surely waste time running back and forth. There were guides which mentioned that Paltrow also gave out these quests, but in his, the numbers could stack.


    Lu Li accepted the quest and went on his way.


    He didn¡¯t attempt to tell Marshal Paltrow that he would be assassinated someday.


    They didn¡¯t know each other well enough for Lu Li to warn him, and who knew what would happen if he tried to interfere with the system¡¯s storyline?


    Following a narrow path up the mountain, a small basin displayed itself before his eyes. Although it was small, it would still take quite a lot of time to walk across the entire area.


    The trees in the basin were all an unhealthy shade of red and decorated with spider webs. Even the grass was affected; countless spiders crawled around everywhere.


    The grey spiders were Deepmoss Creepers, while the green ones were Deepmoss Venomspitters. The Sharp-fang Spider King, was nowhere to be seen.


    Lu Li picked a location where the spiders weren¡¯t so packed and focused on killing the Creepers, as it only took a few attacks for him to kill one. There were lots of monsters everywhere, so his experience bar rose rapidly.


    The items that the spiders dropped were quite standard. Besides all kinds of cooking materials like Spider Flesh and Spider Legs, only Thick Spider Webs were slightly more useful. This was a common material used in tailoring.


    Lu Li collected a few spider legs to roast for food, and reserved all the other sections in his bag for Thick Spider Webs.


    After a few hours, Lu Li¡¯s experience bar had risen by about ten percent. At this rate, he would most likely be able to reach level 28 by the end of his game time. He had also saved a lot of Antidotes since he had avoided the areas with a lot of Venomspitters.


    Eventually, he stopped killing monsters.


    The forest was normally quiet, apart from the hissing of spiders and the sound of the strange wind that blew across the basin, but there seemed to be some other noises now.


    Lu Li silently backed away to a location where there were no spiders and transformed into a crow after he left battle-mode.


    With his wings widespread, he looked at the forest from a above.


    As he chased the sound, Lu Li widened his eyes.


    He saw the giant spider, Queen Silith.


    There was only one word to describe Silith ¨C big ¨C she was as tall as 2 people. Lu Li could see her giant body clearly from the top of the forest.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t consider fighting this Boss of the basin. Even if he was level thirty right now, there was no chance for him to kill her.


    Queen Silith was the hardest boss to deal with amongst all the level thirty bosses in the wild. She had a lot of underlings and husbands to help her, and her 240,000 HP also deterred teams with less than fifty people from attempting to fight her.


    In this feminist society of the spiders, Queen Silith had many husbands. These assassins would crawl across the entire basin at Silith¡¯s call and if players were unlucky, thousands of them would appear.


    The thought of thousands of elite monsters all charging in at once was truly terrifying.


    Just as Lu Li was about turn away from Silith, he noticed that there were lights of magic flashing around her. After he flew closer, he heard the sound of battle.


    Someone was trying to kill a level thirty boss in the wild?


    This wasn¡¯t entirely impossible. There were treasure hunters who hunted around for chests, and it wasn¡¯t hard to discover such a big Boss. Many big guilds wouldn¡¯t mind conquering an unknown map.


    Killing a boss in a faraway area also had its advantages; it meant that less people knew about it, so there was less of a chance for it to be stolen.


    Lu Li flew around the branches and landed on a bush with lots of leaves. Through the gaps between the leaves, he saw the battle and found out who was battling the Boss.


    Gale Legion!


    Lu Li had fought against their team before in the Shadow Cup. Gaze, Cloudy Leaf and Wendelian were all celebrity players of the team.


    This time, only Cloudy Leaf had come. The player in charge of the battle was "Thoughts with Poison".


    Lu Li had heard of this player before, who was professional Warrior that focused on defense. He was the number one conductor in terms of PVE in Gale Legion.


    He had brought around two hundred people for this boss fight, which in terms of raw power, was enough to deal with a level thirty boss. After all, they were the only guild here; there were no outsiders to disrupt them.


    However, at this point, Thoughts with Poison had anger written all over his face.


    "Who was the one who gave out the knowledge? Don¡¯t let me catch you, or else you¡¯ll be sitting in jail!"


    It seemed like some others had found out about this event, which meant that there was a spy among these two hundred people. It was hard to keep it a secret with this many players involved.


    As for him threatening to throw the culprit in jail, this wasn¡¯t a joke either.


    These two hundred players had most likely signed contracts with Gale Legion. To breach the contract meant that the law would stand by the guild and punish the player who had sent out the knowledge.


    However, that was only if you could catch the traitor.


    Seeing that things were becoming interesting, Lu Li stayed in his crow form and hid in the bushes, where it would be hard for others to catch them.


    It didn¡¯t take long for other forces to join, and it wasn¡¯t just one force either.


    Peacetime Dynasty, Glory Capital!


    What an unbelievable sight for three major guilds to appear on the same map! Queen Silith was truly honored indeed.


    It seemed like Peacetime Dynasty and Glory Capital had come together, but this was just Lu Li imagining things. There were more than a few hidden spies in Gale Legion.


    After they had received knowledge about the Boss at Rumbling Gorge, both guilds could no longer sit still.


    As such, they grouped their elites and rushed to the battlefield. The guilds had run into each other on the way and knew each the other¡¯s intentions. How they got together remained unknown.


    "Dammit..." Thoughts with Poison was unimpressed, either because he was about to lose the Boss, or possibly because there were spies hidden amongst their elite team.


    A fierce battle erupted, and hundreds of people were killing each other in the basin.


    For a short amount of time, nobody was bothered with Queen Silith.


    Lu Li sat on top of a branch and watched the show; he decided not to leave. Judging from the current situation, perhaps he could get something out of this.

 360 Contes

    During the boss fight, Gale Legion had lost a few dozen players from their team of 200, but they still had about 160-170 players left.


    Peacetime Dynasty and Glory Capital had each brought a team of 100. Their original plan was to wait until Gale Legion initiated the Boss fight before they jumped out. Although their plan was good, Gale Legion had unfortunately found out beforehand.


    Even so, the combination of Peacetime Dynasty and Glory Capital still gave them an advantage in terms of numbers.


    What Lu Li found strange was the fact that the side with more people didn¡¯t seem to do better in the fight. In fact, it was Gale Legion who seemed to have the upper hand. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the Boss was still chasing behind them, they most likely would have already defeated the teams from Peacetime Dynasty and Glory Capital.


    This wasn¡¯t too hard to understand.


    Players from Gale Legion were raging over the fact that the other players were trying to steal their hard work. On the other hand, Peacetime Dynasty and Glory Capital only seemed as if they were working together, but they actually weren¡¯t. They couldn¡¯t draw out their entire potential as a 200-man team, so it was normal for them to be on the disadvantaged side.


    The situation was a stalemate until Queen Silith took action.


    Silith was constantly losing health. While the players were fighting each other, they also dealt damage to Silith, otherwise, there was no guarantee that they would receive the items later.


    Once Silith¡¯s health dropped under 60%, she began to summon her husbands.


    The Sharp-fang Spider Kings were completely black and there were up to a thousand of them that came from all directions. Lu Li didn¡¯t dare make the slightest noise; he was worried about attracting these spiders up the tree he was sitting in.


    Although he could fly, he was still afraid of the webs from these Sharp-fang spiders ¨C they were extremely accurate with them. It didn¡¯t matter if you could fly; they would drag you down anyway.


    Queen Silith was the hardest Wild Boss among the level 30 bosses. Her summoning skills ensured that teams with less than 100 people wouldn¡¯t dare try to offend her. Even Lu Li, who came to level himself up in Web Winder Hollow, didn¡¯t dare to try anything on this boss.


    Some people had noticed these spiders and warned their team members.


    Unfortunately, everyone was too focused on either the Boss or the players; nobody cared about these summoned spiders.


    Sharp-fang spiders were known for their speed; they had already come into contact with the crowd. It only took a short engagement for a dozen players to turn into rays of white light.


    Those who stood on the outer ring took damage from at least seven to eight spiders. Without the support of healers, there was no way that these players would be able to stay alive.


    This was when everyone began to notice these intruding spiders.


    With the Sharp-fang spiders joining the fight, the battlefield became even more rowdy.


    In circumstances like these, there were only two ways that the situation could unravel. Either the players could work together to kill the boss first and split the reward equally, or every team could fight each other to the end and see who would come out on top.


    This could be the spiders, or even Lu Li, who had been hiding on top of the trees.


    At this time, a massive swing occurred. Gale Legion and Glory Capital suddenly joined forces, killing the players from the Peacetime Dynasty in one fell swoop.


    "So many equips," Lu Li sighed from the bottom of his heart.


    The dropped items from a hundred players was even greater than the reward from killing a boss. This was probably the foundation for their sudden teamwork.


    These were elite teams, so there was no way they would drop anything of low quality. Both parties would at least receive a few dozen pieces of Silver grade equipment.


    Peacetime Dynasty had lost experience and equipment, so it was almost certain that their overall strength was going to drop. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about this; it was too late to send more people over.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know if he still had a chance.


    The two guilds who had joined together still had around two hundred people on their teams. Even the Sharp-fang Spider Kings joining the battle wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference.


    After the last Peacetime Dynasty player was sent out of the battlefield, players from Gale Legion and Glory Capital began to wipe out the spiders.


    The Paladins and Warriors stood in the front, tanking the monsters. Mages casted area of effect skills from the back and soon, there were a great amount of spider corpses lying everywhere on the ground.


    The situation that Lu Li had hoped for didn¡¯t occur; Queen Silith¡¯s health quickly dropped below 50%.


    The Sharp-fang Spider Kings had mostly been slaughtered and the Spider Queen was just a helpless boss now. Without any surprises, she would most likely be dead after a few minutes.


    After Lu Li analysed the situation, he had to admit that he could only watch from the side this time.


    Although there was a good chance for him to succeed if he went down to steal the last hit, how to make it out alive would become a big problem. His Gale Steps provided him invincibility for one to two seconds, but this definitely wasn¡¯t enough for him to escape a team of two hundred players.


    The Spider Queen didn¡¯t want to accept her defeat; she shrieked and all the spider eggs that surrounded the area began to pop as small Spiderlings crawled out from them.


    A few Warriors went to Trample these eggs.


    Lu Li closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight before his eyes. Didn¡¯t these poor players know that there was a type of spider called the Explosion Spiderlings?


    Those few Warriors who had cast Trample were wiped out by the ensuing explosions.


    "Ranged classes, take down the spiderlings. Close-combat classes, back away," Thoughts with Poison shouted.


    There were a lot of spiderlings indeed, but they were low in health and defense. They were easy to kill as long as you didn¡¯t get close to them.


    The few ranged classes casted some area of effect spells towards the Spiderlings. The battlefield was filled with damage values as the Spiderlings exploded.


    However, they had still underestimated the importance of these Spiderlings. If Lu Li was the one who directed the battle, he would ask everyone to kill every single Spiderling first. However, most of the players from Gale Legion were still focused on the Spider Queen; whose HP was rapidly dropping.


    After the leftover Spiderlings ran behind the Spider Queen, a red mist rose from the Boss as they were devoured.


    The Spider Queen¡¯s health bar quickly rose from 30% to 60%, which meant that half of their previous efforts had gone down the drain.


    Things were just harder without cheat guides; Lu Li was enjoying the show from the top of his branch.


    "Don¡¯t worry. We have so many people; we¡¯ll be able to take down a level 30 boss. If more Spiderlings are spawned later, make sure to kill all of them," Thoughts with Poison shouted, as the players under his command quickly calmed down.


    The quality of elite team players was clearly much better than random players.


    "What!? What did you say?" Thoughts of Poison seemed to have received some sort of news. He instantly went berserk, as if all of the confidence before was a lie.


    "A lot of players are charging this way; we can¡¯t hold them back," the scout helplessly said.


    "Which guild?" Thoughts with Poison really wanted to find a fortune teller right now, just to check why he was so unlucky today. All he wanted was to kill boss ¨C why did waves of trouble just keep coming his way?


    "There are some players from big guilds, but it¡¯s not the big guilds." The scout found that his words were too difficult to understand, so he began to explain, "The players from Peacetime Dynasty went around the Barrenlands and told everyone that we were killing a boss here. All the players who were leveling there are charging over now. There¡¯s a lot of them."


    No mercy at all!


    Even Lu Li was left speechless. Peacetime Dynasty was betrayed by Gale Legion, so they decided to have their own revenge. They sent out the news in the Barrenlands, the location that was closest to Web Winder Hollow.


    Perhaps they had also mentioned something along the lines of the boss dropping Gold grade or even Dark Gold grade equipment to encourage others.


    Hence, a sea of players flooded into the zone of level thirty monsters.


    As he looked at the Spider Queen who still had half of its health left, Thought with Poison hopelessly asked, "How long until they arrive?"


    If he was given another three minutes, he would definitely be able to kill this boss.

 361 Taking a Bullet For The Boss

    Lu Li sat on a tree trunk and watched as the players battled each other in the distance.


    Some were fighting against the Spider Queen, while others were fighting against the players from Gale Legion. They were determined to kill anything that stood in their way.


    "Brother Midnight Ghost, lead a group of people and hold then off for a bit while the rest of us finish the boss off," Bitter Longing said decisively. "You can take all the drops and loot, as long as we make it onto TV."


    In Wild maps where the First Clear had yet to be taken, the most valuable things were the drops and being able to appear on TV.


    Gale Legion wanted to choose the glory of appearing on World Channel, leaving the drops to Peacetime Dynasty.


    Midnight Ghost thought about it and agreed to his proposal.


    He had to make a decision quickly, otherwise all of these crazy players would swarm over them.


    The most unpredictable factor in the Wild was that there were too many players contending for the same boss. Even if there was a large group of players from a major guild, it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that they would get the final kill. The only sure-fire way was to somehow defeat every player that wasn¡¯t involved with their guild.


    Midnight Ghost led the players from his guild as well as some players from Gale Legion to intercept the blood-thirsty crowd, leaving the remainder of Gale Legion to finish off the boss.


    Spider Queen Silith was close to being defeated, so the few remaining players from Gale Legion would be more than enough to finish her off.


    The casual players would take quite a long time to break through the defence of more than 100 Elites from a major guild. Bitter Longing could finally focus on defeating the Spider Queen.


    Lu Li squinted his eyes, believing that he had a chance at taking the kill.


    He quietly jumped down from the tree and slowly approached the battlefield in Stealth.


    As long as he got the final hit on the Boss, he would receive 20% of the EXP. Additionally, he could also share the drops with Gale Legion.


    Lu Li was very greedy and wanted everything.


    However, he knew that the chances of him dealing the final blow with so many players around would be very low.


    Life would be boring without a little hope; Lu Li believed in himself and betted against the odds.


    The Barrenlands were currently the most populated Horde map in the game. Therefore, there were many players that were trying to break through, hoping to deal the final blow to the boss.


    The Spider Queen¡¯s HP continued to drop under the pressure of the group of Elites. She would be defeated in a couple more minutes.


    Lu Li held his breath and watched her HP bar very closely. He was ready to activate all of his special effects in order to deal a heavy blow at the right time.


    "Stop! Bitter Longing commanded."


    The team of Elites were very well-trained and all stopped simultaneously.


    Lu Li stopped dead in his tracks; he had activated all of his special effects already.


    Goddammit, what is he trying to do.


    At this very moment, the star player from Gale Legion, Cloudy Leaf, stepped forward and began casting Frost Bolt.


    -264HP!


    This was insane damage, as expected from their top Mage.


    However, the Spider Queen unexpectedly healed herself and survived with a slither of HP.


    Cloudy Leaf smiled because he knew that the next spell would finish off the Wild boss and quickly casted Ice Lance to secure the kill.


    Ice Lance was an instant cast skill and had a very fast projectile travel speed. However, it wasn¡¯t fast enough, as a Thief appeared from Stealth and tanked the damage.


    -179!


    The level 25 Cloudy Leaf dealt a considerable amount of damage to this unexpected guest.


    "Kill him! No, wait! Attack the boss!" Bitter Longing screamed.


    The indecisiveness of Bitter Longing¡¯s command was enough to throw off Gale Legion¡¯s team of Elites. The split-second confusion delayed enough time for the Thief to stab the Spider Queen with his dagger.


    Cloudy Leaf¡¯s reaction was much faster and he quickly casted another Ice Lance towards the boss.


    Ice Lance was an extremely fast travelling projectile, however, Lu Li was too close to the Boss¡­


    System: Lu Li, of Ruling Sword, is the first to defeat the level 30 Wild Boss Spider Queen Silith.


    Lu Li!


    He bent over and began picking up the loot, but before he could even touch another item, he was instantly drowned by a sea of instant cast skills.


    Lu Li immediately activated the special effect on his shoes and escaped. He disappeared on the spot and reappeared about 10 yards away from the battlefield.


    As soon as he appeared, he had received a lot of damage.


    This was not because he was slow, but because there were multiple AOE skills that had had already been casted in the area he was teleported to.


    Since Gale Legion had to cover a large area, there was only an overlap of a few skills where Lu Li had teleported. Although Lu Li suffered damage continuously, it wasn¡¯t enough to be kill him.


    Even Cloudy Leaf¡¯s Frost Nova had missed him completely.


    All debuffs were removed from Lu Li when he casted Gale Steps. He hastily transformed into a cougar and dashed off into the bushes.


    "Don¡¯t bother chasing." Bitter Longing held back Cloudy Leaf and the others that wanted to go after him. He shook his head and sighed, "There¡¯s no point in chasing."


    It was very difficult to kill a Thief in the Wild and it would be a waste of time to even attempt to chase an elite Thief such as Lu Li.


    Lu Li had the time to grab an item and left behind two equips and a skill book.


    Bitter Longing was a man of his word and he had to uphold the reputation of Gale Legion. As such, the three items were distributed to Midnight Ghost. Without the rare material, Midnight Ghost was quite dissatisfied, but he didn¡¯t dare to complain in front of them.


    The biggest loser today was Gale Legion.


    They had sacrificed so many players just for a sliver of EXP.


    "Why was Lu Li here?" Midnight Ghost scratched his head.


    "Who knows." Bitter Longing¡¯s face became pale as he said angrily, "There must have been an undercover player in the guild giving information to Ruling Sword. Just like what you guys did."


    "I doubt it," Midnight laughed awkwardly. "They¡¯ve just recently started their guild and probably wouldn¡¯t have the time to send an inside player. Maybe he followed us on our way here?"


    "Maybe he was levelling up around here," Cloudy Leaf interrupted.


    "Level 30 monsters are really hard to kill." That was what most solo players would say.


    "The monsters here have low defence, low HP and good EXP. It wouldn¡¯t be too hard since Lu Li is already level 28." Expert players like Cloudy Leaf tended to analyse every detail of their opponents, even the monsters that they were training on.


    He wasn¡¯t displaying any signs of anger or frustration, which was a trait that Lu Li respected.


    Lu Li was the best Thief he had ever seen. Quiet yet agile, silent yet deadly ¨C who knew how long Lu Li had been lurking around the area? Rather than competing for the final blow against Cloudy Leaf, he had decisively blocked his skill, then went for the easy kill secure. Before everyone had realised what had happened, it was already too late. Cloudy Leaf was impressed with how calm yet clever Lu Li was.


    If it were anyone else that had the opportunity to take the loot from a level 30 boss, they would have stayed and gotten killed because of their greed. However, Lu Li decided to look at the bigger picture and escaped with Gale Steps.


    In reality, Lu Li regretted taking only one item and would have grabbed all of it if he had the chance.


    "The ship has sunk. We¡¯ll get him back next time," Bitter Longing said angrily. He led his army away and massacred all of the casual players along the way to calm his anger.

 362 Meeting

    The world channel and gaming forum blew up with messages and notifications.


    One of the articles posted on the forum laid out the specific events that had occurred throughout the whole ordeal. Gale Legion was the first to discover the Wild boss and had gathered members to defeat it. However, Peacetime Dynasty and Glory Capital followed closely behind


    Gale Legion decided to team up with Glory Capital and together, they eliminated Peacetime Dynasty from the competition. Both parties agreed upon splitting the EXP and drops.


    Peacetime Dynasty became salty and notified casual players on the world chat, thus attracting a large mob. However, their harassment was nullified by Glory Capital¡¯s line of defence.


    When the Spider Queen was almost defeated, Lu Li, the Guild Master of Ruling Sword, descended upon them from the skies and singlehandedly stole the final blow, in addition to all of the loot that was dropped. The two guilds couldn¡¯t do anything and Lu Li escaped easily.


    The article might¡¯ve exaggerated here and there but the details were quite accurate.


    Undeniably, Lu Li had been able to steal the kill from three major guilds and escaped without any harm.


    The news was more shocking than Lu Li clearing Blackfathom Deeps on Nightmare level with his team. Almost instantly, the three major guilds became a laugh stockings for the community.


    The casual players involved in these series of events were even more outraged. Not only did Glory Capital stop them from securing the kill on the Wild boss, Gale Legion had even wiped them out because they were salty for losing it.


    This fuelled the anger of the community and many toxic comments were made about the three major guilds on forums. They dug deep into their wounds and did not hold back on the comments and insults.


    "Don¡¯t bother competing for Wild bosses if you¡¯re not capable!"


    "Lu Li singlehandedly stole the kill from right under your noses."


    "Was this how you guys planned it? Blocking Horde players so that the kill could be secured by an expert from the Alliance? Why did you guys give Lu Li so many presents?"


    The three major guilds almost coughed up blood because they were so frustrated and angry from the comments.


    They thought about teaming up to seek revenge on Lu Li, but this could lead to a war between the two factions.


    Although the Horde Faction had Glory Capital, the Alliance¡¯s Blood Red War Flag was much more powerful than them. If a faction war was started, the Horde would stand no chance.


    They couldn¡¯t do anything but endure through their anger.


    Although Lu Li didn¡¯t have the best relationship with the Alliance guilds, many of them still commended him for his beautiful execution of the kill-steal.


    The casual Alliance players were very proud of Lu Li. This story was worthy to be told for years to come and would go down as one of the best kill-steals in Dawn history.


    Lu Li was the definition of bravery, charisma and skill.


    However, he didn¡¯t care for the fame and the rivalry. The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had grown accustomed to Lu Li pulling off crazy stunts like this in the past.


    What could Lu Li be possibly doing after such a crazy event?


    You guessed it ¨C he was levelling up at the same exact place before he had stolen the Spider Queen kill.


    Who would¡¯ve thought that Lu Li would return to his original training map rather than hiding from the Horde players? Even though the whole world was talking about him, he acted like nothing had happened.


    He had picked up the rare material Spider Queen Silk, which was extremely hard to obtain, even from the Spider Queen. It was one of the highest-quality materials for crafting Mage robes.


    Most people hunted Wild Bosses for their rare materials.


    The quality and skill of a guild wasn¡¯t determined by their number of members, but rather, by how many rare materials they had in their storage.


    Lu Li valued rare materials so much that they had become more of a currency to him than gold. In reality, some of these rare materials would never appear on the exchange hall.


    While training, Lu Li looked over at his EXP bar.


    Level 28, 7% EXP.


    Not only had he completed his goals for obtaining EXP, but he had even exceeded them by a little bit.


    This was all thanks to Spider Queen Silith. Even though the last hit only gave him 20% of the total EXP, it still saved a lot of time for Lu Li in terms of training.


    When Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar reached 15%, he called it a day.


    Before he logged off, he handed in the quest from Marshal Paltrow. After half a day of killing spiders, the EXP rewards from the quest boosted his EXP bar even further. The most important thing, however, was that he was rewarded with more than 100 points of popularity for Stormwind City.


    Paltrow was the Marshal for the human race, so obviously, he would reward players with Stormwind popularity.


    After logging off, Lu Li rubbed his tired face, showered and left the house.


    He planned on meeting Square Root Three to discussing the development of their guild together.


    This was their second time meeting in real life. From the last time they met, so much had changed and so many things had happened.


    Life was just so unexpected sometimes. The last time they had met in real life, Lu Li was still a gold-farmer for a guild. However, he had become fed up with their attitude and cancelled his contract.


    This time, he was the boss.


    The gaming society was advancing with the new age and there were more and more opportunities associated with various partners. Lu Li¡¯s status was basically as the CEO of his guild. Therefore, there were more responsibilities in and outside of the game that he had to take care of.


    The place of meeting was at a decent restaurant.


    This was not because Lu Li was rich, but because the place was very good for discussing business.


    "Looks like you¡¯re doing quite well. How convenient is it that we live in the same area?" Square Root Three ordered something and the waiter took away their menus.


    "I¡¯m renting right now," Lu Li said truthfully.


    Square Root Three laughed. It didn¡¯t matter whether he believed him or not because Lu Li would eventually be able to buy a house from the money he made in game. Square Root Three was confident in the new business and believed in the capabilities of Lu Li and his team.


    "Do you go to school here with Ao Jian and others?" Lu Li asked as he pointed at an old university building through the glass window.


    "That was from many years ago. I knew Ao Jian and the others from high school because we were roommates. University isn¡¯t the only path to succeed in life. Some of us were disappointed that we didn¡¯t make it. The ones that made it didn¡¯t think much about it either. All four of us never really like studying much." Square Root Three re-evaluated that statement, laughed and said, "Ok, we didn¡¯t study at all. We wagged classes and repeated many times.


    "Did the four of you play games together?" Lu Li had never attended university or high school.


    He couldn¡¯t really understand the bond that could be formed between four teenagers sharing a room. The friendship formed between four men based on their mutual interest in games, girls and pornography was stronger than any other friendship in the world.


    "Yes we did. The four of us formed Star Moon Union. Inside the school, there¡¯s a lake. You should go have a look when you get the chance; it¡¯s very beautiful," Square Root Three said as he reminisced upon the good old times of youth.


    "It¡¯s better to forget the past and look forwards to the future." Lu Li was very interested in his story but still remembered to consult him.


    The better the old times were, the more bitter and cruel it was now.


    Once they were brothers and now, they were on separate paths.


    "I stopped caring a long time ago. The last time I saw Ao Jian, I even smiled and said hello to him," Square Root Three said.


    "Did he smile?" All Lu Li could remember was Ao Jian¡¯s cocky expression.


    "No, he¡¯s not very friendly," Square Root Three laughed as he opened a bottle of beer. He poured one for Lu Li and then for himself.

 363 Professionalization of the Elite Team

    "The guild is level eight now, thanks to you," Lu Li said sincerely as he lifted his cup.


    Experiencing rebirth changed many things, but it didn¡¯t change his ability to manage people. He didn¡¯t have that ability in his previous life and he still lacked it now.


    If the guild was in his hands, it wouldn¡¯t have reached level eight in three days, like it had under Square Root 3¡¯s leadership. He would have been bored by all the menial tasks and wouldn¡¯t have been able to do Instance Dungeons, let alone take any First Clears.


    Now he truly appreciated why Sorrowless was only level 18.


    Square Root 3 may not have been able to defeat him, but his management ability was way beyond his.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind expressing his respect for someone who had such an ability.


    "You are the one to be thanked. After we got the First Clear today, the guild applications grew by a dozen pages. If we were to accept them all, we wouldn¡¯t even be able to fit them into a level 20 guild," Square Root 3 shot back.


    "That First Clear was just pure luck," Lu Li explained the situation that led up to it; his version of the story was more legitimate than the ones that other players had been spreading.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t some kind of dunce; his reactions to situations were decisive and brutal. That was why many players looked to him with such high expectations.


    "No wonder. They wanted to raise the level of their star player." Square Root 3 clearly understood the situation.


    Lu Li nodded and said, "They must have been. They reached a new part of the map, so they thought it was perfectly safe which gave me the opportunity. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have had a chance."


    "They had one person take the last hit on the Boss¡­" Square Root 3 thought about that for a moment before continuing, "A mature team shouldn¡¯t rely on one strong player ¨C such reliance is only temporary. Their strength would only be an illusion and could come crashing down one day."


    For example, Sorrowless was assassinated by Lu Li in the Warsong Canyon and then, he had lost in the tournament. He was once a gaming legend, but now, the mysticism surrounding him had mostly faded.


    Of course, he was currently making a comeback, so no one dared to underestimate him.


    "Wait, this is something you have to deal with, right?" Lu Li asked. "You are to deal with how the guild is to grow. Hopefully, the guild won¡¯t be affected on the day I am defeated."


    Square Root 3 smiled bitterly as he took a drink and replied, "You¡¯ve asking for a lot even though you¡¯re leaving it all to me."


    "It¡¯s the most capable who do the most work," Lu Li responded. "I¡¯m not a person who can do management work, but I think it is best if I leave it to someone who knows what they¡¯re doing and not to interrupt them."


    "Thank you for your trust." That was all Square Root 3 could say.


    "You can ask Wandering for some help if you want; he has some talent in this area as well."


    "That guy is too lazy," Square Root 3 said as he waved his hand and gritted his teeth.


    "Oh, you said you wanted to start professionalizing. How are you going to do that?" Lu Li asked modestly.


    He had started gaming too late and had always played alone, so he didn¡¯t know anything about guilds, let alone the matter of running the guild¡¯s club.


    "To put it simply, it is the professionalization of the Elite Teams," Square Root 3 said.


    "Like signing a contract for a salary?" Lu Li asked.


    "Almost. It¡¯s extra incentive to concentrate on staying together. They will also need to have a stable income; this forces the employer find work for them," Square Root 3 explained before he jokingly said, "We are the capitalists exploiting the working class."


    Lu Li hated capitalists, but he didn¡¯t hate being one.


    "Another benefit is that it reduces the cost of training them and the risks of having a traitor within the guild," Square Root 3 continued as he opened another bottle of beer. "You must have already seen Gale Legion¡¯s experience today."


    "Have they professionalized their elite teams?" Lu Li asked curiously.


    "Only partly," Square Root 3 explained. "Of the top 30 guilds, the Gale Legion infamously contain a mixed bag of players with good and bad reputations. They specialize in taking PVP madmen who are usually unruly players. It makes focusing on progressing in the game a difficult thing to do."


    "Surely some players wouldn¡¯t accept it?" Lu Li said after some thought.


    Everyone had their own lives and were unwilling to drop whatever they had for a new career.


    "They won¡¯t oppose it, because those who do can¡¯t enter our elite teams."


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes widened. This guy actually wanted to exclude everyone who opposed. This strategy was just¡­ insane. Lu Li had never heard of any guild that dared to do that.


    Guilds were made up of a collection of players, ones that accepted the system of doing things. It was on this acceptance that the group continued to operate.


    "Hear me out." This kind of decision could determine the future style of management for Ruling Sword. He wouldn¡¯t have done this without running the idea by his boss, but Square Root 3 was sure that he would be able to persuade Lu Li.


    "Alright, explain." Lu Li forced himself to calm down.


    "First of all, we aren¡¯t going lacking in players. Before even putting out any advertising materials, we already have enough applicants to fill up a level 20 guild."


    "True," Lu Li nodded. A level 20 guild could hold 20,000 people, but this was still a conservative number. If Lu Li just stood there and personally invited more people to join, it was likely that even more players would defect from their guilds.


    "Will you continue to take First Clears?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "Of course," Lu Li said confidently.


    "Will the club be able to enter the top 100, wait no, the top 16 in the future?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "Definitely." Lu Li didn¡¯t expect to take the championship next season, but he could definitely get into the top 16 at the very least. His goal was to be part of the top 3.


    "See ¨C your guild¡¯s name will only get bigger and bigger, which means there will be a steady stream of people wanting to join," Square Root 3 explained as he waved his hands and continued, "Which definitely means we won¡¯t have a shortage of players, not now, or in the future."


    "I think I partially understand what you mean." Lu Li wasn¡¯t a fool.


    Square Root 3 meant to say that there were more than enough players for the professionalization to work. Even if some couldn¡¯t accept it and left, there would still be countless players who were waiting to take their spot.


    "You¡¯re also so good at Instance Dungeons," Square Root 3 sincerely said. "It doesn¡¯t matter who you take or what level the difficulty is; you will be able to quickly solve the Instance Dungeon."


    Each guild had their own Instance Dungeon genius, but none were as ¡®stunning¡¯ as Lu Li.


    "You give me too much credit." Lu Li was a little anxious.


    "You are the one who came up with the Howling Caves strategy and I gave that strategy to some reasonable players," Square Root 3 said. "But we can¡¯t continue to do that in future. To be honest, I don¡¯t really trust them. I only trust black and white contracts."


    As a person of authority, maintaining a level of discretion was important.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group was able to produce such a close and warm atmosphere due to its smaller numbers.


    "So you will have demanding terms for the elite teams, just in case they decide to leak the strategy." Lu Li finally had a full understanding of Square Root 3¡¯s plan. He didn¡¯t want their strategies to be leaked either for as long as they were still useful to them. The longer they exclusively held the strategy, the longer they could keep reaping the rewards.


    "I am already working on selecting some players. The first 100 players will gather in the city this week." Square Root 3 knew that Lu Li would agree and had already begun work.

 364 Renting A Building

    "What, here?" Lu Li thought he had heard wrong.


    Jiang Nan City¡¯s cost of living wasn¡¯t as high as the capital, but it was still a well-established city. The house prices never went down and unless you wanted to live in the Common District, it was considered a nice country-side location.


    "I have a relative that owns a building in the Green Gardens area. I can rent it out at a low price," Square Root 3 said.


    "That doesn¡¯t mean the rent will be cheap." Lu Li was still calculating how much that would cost.


    He knew of the Green Gardens area. Although it was called the Green Gardens, there were actually far fewer trees there than the villa or townhouse areas. The place was populated with high rise buildings because it was very close to the university and business center. As such, the rent prices were astronomical.


    Moreover, Square Root 3 had mentioned¡­ a building.


    He was currently still renting his own accommodation and now he was thinking about renting an entire building.


    "Don¡¯t worry about the rent; the people staying there have gone overseas and have left a 12-storey building for me to take care of. We¡¯ll only be using 6 floors, so $100,000 for a month should cover it. The club itself should be able to handle that." Square Root 3 saw Lu Li¡¯s anxious expression and laughed.


    Lu Li pondered for a moment. $100,000 a month did seem quite reasonable.


    He then started thinking about the problem of paying these elite players and started to become anxious again. If a single player was paid a monthly salary of $8000, the cost of 100 players with additional welfare costs and supplied equipment¡­


    Suddenly, he felt a huge responsibility fall on his shoulders. He was responsible for the food and clothing of hundreds of people.


    "We don¡¯t have to rush to pay rent either. It doesn¡¯t matter if we take a few months. The building is never full anyway." Square Root 3 saw that Lu Li hadn¡¯t said anything and tried to comfort him.


    "I¡¯m just struggling a little to accept it," Lu Li openly shared his embarrassment. "Growing up, I never thought that I¡¯d have to pay $100,000 in rent. It sounds like a joke to me."


    "Well, its best you get used to it," Square Root 3 said, then continued to explain, "At the moment, the trade unions are unable to generate any income, but we still need to find some way of funding the elite teams. Other than the funds from the Shadow Cup, the easiest option is for some of the club members to contribute.


    March Rain, Moonlight, Hachi Chan and Wandering all received endorsements of some kind, ranging from the thousands to the tens of thousands. They could contribute some of that to the expansion funds.


    Any single player in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was quite remarkable, so there were countless endorsements ready at their doorsteps for the taking.


    March Rain really had to take her offer. She was currently valued at $1.1 million, which was beyond even Lu Li.


    However, it made sense ¨C she was strong and quite beautiful. Lu Li¡¯s looks were rather average and simply couldn¡¯t compare against hers.


    Moonlight had previously never really liked endorsing products. As Blood Demon, he had only endorsed a handful of them, but this time, he took the initiative to endorse a fitness brand and acquired $600,000.


    Although he didn¡¯t say much and was rather quiet, everyone knew that he was just as loyal to this club as anyone else.


    As for Wandering, he had never participated in any competitions before, but had received an amount that was higher than the average star player. It was $500,000 dollars. He had even made the advertisers sign some agreements that were disadvantageous to them. For example, he made them promise that they wouldn¡¯t profane his natural beauty¡­


    Endorsements were an important part of a club¡¯s survival ¨C even winning competitions couldn¡¯t make them money this quickly.


    But of course, if you didn¡¯t do well in competitions, there would be no endorsements to take.


    It was only because of this money that Square Root 3 dared to talk about setting up a 100-player elite team.


    "Additionally, I also recommend that the club regularly participates in local competitions," Square Root 3 said as he handed over a piece of paper. "Those are the places where local competitions will be organized. I¡¯ve collected some information about them. You can have a look."


    The local competitions were basically unofficial competitions.


    These usually weren¡¯t very large scale and there was only a small reward, but as long as the competition was recognized, some guild points would be awarded and it could affect the guild rankings.


    "The closest one is the Magic Cup, which has an $8000-dollar reward for the champions," Lu L read out.


    "This guy is actually looking down on the Magic Cup," Square Root 3 thought as he held his forehead.


    However, Lu Li had just won the Shadow Cup, so his confidence was somewhat warranted.


    Compared to the Shadow Cup¡¯s 3 million dollar prize, the 8000 dollar prize of the Magic Cup did seem a little stingy.


    "The Magic Cup is quite an established competition and has some influence. They usually gather thousands of players in the audience," Square Root 3 patiently explained. "In fact, star players usually participate in these events for the ticket proceeds or to gain more popularity."


    Lu Li understood everything he had said so far and nodded for him to go on.


    "Although we aren¡¯t lacking in popularity, it is something that has a short lifespan. If you don¡¯t participate in competitions, you will be quickly forgotten. If the event is too small, you can send someone to participate on our behalf. You don¡¯t always have to be the one to fight."


    What was star power? It was the ability to make admission difficult the moment you appeared on stage¡­ They wanted to sustain this, but the Shadow Cup alone wasn¡¯t going to cut it.


    These local events allowed even more players to see their favorite star players on a smaller stage.


    "Alright, we¡¯ll participate. But the Magic Cup is a 5v5, so we¡¯ll need to find two more people." Lu Li nodded; he didn¡¯t have any reason to object.


    Making money was his favorite pastime, after all.


    "You can work that out for yourself. The Magic Cup is happening in November so it¡¯s still early. You have a month to prepare." Square Root 3 breathed a sigh of relief.


    He was actually worried that Lu Li would be an arrogant person.


    Previously, when Stellar Union ranked 10th, their reputation had gone downhill because their star player had a disdain for local competitions.


    Today, they only had one star-player who had defeated his opponent in the top 16, but they were decisively defeated in the group events.


    "Well, looks like I will leave the organization of the hundred elite players to you." Lu Li was already thinking about who to help him fight the 5v5.


    Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan definitely couldn¡¯t. He could probably count on Sakura Memories; she was quite strong and her newly-learnt Bloodthirst could greatly improve the burst potential of their team.


    The last member needed to be some kind of Magic damage dealer.


    Lonesome Flower was an expert, but he was too squishy for PVP ¨C even Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to hit him. Sesame Rice Ball was in a similar situation. He was also too young, so he wasn¡¯t psychologically developed enough for it.


    Fat Monkey¡­


    Lu Li unconsciously thought of the future Fire Emperor. His true potential would be revealed six months from now, but he wasn¡¯t sure if revealing him now was a good idea.


    Square Root 3 saw that Lu Li looked somewhat absent minded and didn¡¯t say any more. The two of them quickly finalized the matter of the 100 players.

 365 Undercover

    The building in the Green Garden area that the club was going to rent would soon become their base of operations. Five floors would serve as accommodation, while the lower floors would be the office area. Square Root 3 was going to place the Ruling Sword logo in front of the building.


    They had established a guild in-game and a company in real life, the specific process of which Square Root 3 was quite familiar with.


    Before long, this would officially become Ruling Sword¡¯s headquarters.


    A hundred full-time players would soon be assigned here, becoming Ruling Sword¡¯s first elite group.


    These players would be given a base salary of $5000 and some additional bonuses like equipment, based on their degree of contribution and other factors. This was far more favorable than the industry standard. Lu Li and Square Root 3 had no problems challenging the industry¡¯s unspoken rules with such good treatment of their players.


    Man is a strange beast. Paying him $2000 wouldn¡¯t guarantee that he would work particularly hard or be motivated.


    Lu Li was quite ignorant when dealing with such matters but Square Root 3 was a veteran.


    However, a mere contract couldn¡¯t bind everyone. It was hard to guarantee that none of the 100 players would be spies sent from other guilds.


    Even so, if someone betrayed them after signing the contract, there was a possibility of imprisonment. As such, any rational undercover player had to consider whether that was truly worth it.


    After logging back online, Square Root 3 published the requirements for the elite group and enthusiastically welcomed everyone to register.


    Instant Millennia: Ah, they¡¯re finally being formalized. I¡¯ve been waiting for so long. Three Bro, count me in.


    Can Cat: Three Bro, I¡¯m still a kid! I need to go to school!


    Before Square Root 3 finished speaking, some players had already started to call out.


    Square Root 3: Can Cat, you study well. You can join the elite group when you graduate.


    Can Cat was young, but he had good technique. Square Root 3 thought it was a waste that he couldn¡¯t enter the elite group, but he couldn¡¯t change the rules now.


    Can Cat: No, I¡¯ll need to change schools. Where is the closest high school?


    Square Root 3: There is one affiliated with the Jiangnan University.


    Can Cat: I¡¯ll go there then. I¡¯ll go register for it now.


    Just like that, he had logged off. Square Root 3 thought that the kid was a little overzealous, but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    Little Star: Three Bro, can I bring my spouse?


    Worldly Cruiser: Dammit, that¡¯s not fair. This star guy wants to bring his wife¡­


    Little Star: Just say so if you¡¯re jealous. Big bro, my wife is just a little low-levelled, so she hasn¡¯t made it into the guild. She is currently working hard to level up; she will almost be the same level as I am soon. Please accept her, even as an ordinary member.


    Square Root 3: Okay, her situation is noted.


    Majestic Moon: Why did it have to be in Jiangnan City? I¡¯m still working in the Capital. Screw it, it¡¯s a few thousand dollars a month and I¡¯ve long since wanted to quit this laborious job. Square Root Big Bro, sign me up. Please take care of me.


    Square Root 3: I can¡¯t guarantee anything, but we¡¯ve calculated the future prospects of our elite group and I believe you will not regret this decision.


    Of course, Lu Li was currently the best Instance Dungeon commander. As long as they followed his Instance Dungeon strategies, any elite group could make large strides in fame and fortune.


    Empty Words: Three Bro, what about accommodation? What if someone is a girl?


    Everyone in the area quietly sighed. Surely girls weren¡¯t as vulnerable as this person made them out to be.


    Square Root 3 took out the floor plan and some pictures of the accommodation floors. It mainly showed the five-bedroom layout, the fine decoration and all the facilities that were included. This was the reason why he had chosen this building in the first place.


    After seeing the pictures, their worries of living in bunk beds like students were put to rest. More than a hundred people quickly registered.


    Square Root 3 didn¡¯t stop them. Just because they had registered didn¡¯t meant they would be selected. It seemed like they had to pick one person for everyone 100 people. There were at least a thousand people they needed to screen out.


    Soon, the statistics were out. Of the eight thousand members in the guild, over two thousand had registered. This was a very high proportion and some had already been directly selected by Square Root 3.


    Although professional gamers were still criticized, professional gaming wasn¡¯t the low-level job that it once was.


    True professional players didn¡¯t have a low income. You couldn¡¯t just look at Ruling Sword¡¯ basic income of $5000 ¨C the actual value they were receiving was closer to $10,000. However, if their base income was $10,000, the elite group would last for very long.


    Guilds like Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag paid a salary of over $10,000 to their elite groups. A $100,000 annual salary could easily be counted as a high salary.


    "I¡¯m done selecting them. Take a look ¨C these will be your subordinates from now on," Square Root 3 told Lu Li.


    "I¡¯ll just have a quick look; I¡¯m farming right now and I can¡¯t leave." Lu Li couldn¡¯t be bothered going to the Web Winder Hollow to farm. It was quite a distance from Astrana and it wasn¡¯t an easy trip.


    Square Root 3 uploaded the list directly onto the chatroom.


    Virtual technology had advanced to an earth-shaking degree. With this simple action, not only could Lu Li see their names, but he could also see their images and some of their personal information as well.


    "The first 57 are strong enough to compete against any other elite group other there," Square Root 3 explained. "The remaining 40 or so either joined the game late or had some reason to be slowed down, but they are very promising players."


    "Huh, why isn¡¯t Nuo Yu here?" Lu Li had done a guild challenge with him and he had left an impression.


    "He said he couldn¡¯t come to Jiangnan, but based on the tone of his voice, there is probably something else," he was one of the first people Square Root 3 went to look for, that¡¯s why he introduced him to Lu Li in the first place. The fact that he had rejected the offer was completely unexpected.


    System: Nuo Yu has been added to the chat.


    Nuo Yu was doing a guild quest; this would be his seventeenth quest for today. With a few more quests, he would soon be third in the guild.


    As Lu Li was the president, he could directly invite any guild member from the guild panel to join any chatroom.


    Nuo Yu was hesitant but agreed.


    "Are you refusing the offer to join the Elite group because of Gangnam Royals?" Lu Li got straight to the point and asked.


    He had the impression that this person had been hunted by the Gangnam Royals. He didn¡¯t know the specifics, but he was definitely being threatened by them.


    It was actually quite difficult to send someone back to level 0.


    If they died outside of the city, they would only lose 20% of their EXP. It wasn¡¯t like they couldn¡¯t continue playing within the safe areas either; they could start a business or even do Instance Dungeons.


    "Gangnam Royals," Nuo Yu said as he breathed in sharply. After Lu Li suddenly said that, he simply couldn¡¯t keep calm.


    "So it really is the Gangnam Royals?" Lu Li frowned.


    He really didn¡¯t like that guild. It wouldn¡¯t be an overstatement to say that he hated that guild.


    "How did you know I was an undercover player for the Gangnam Royals?" Nuo Yu usually only contacted Gangnam Royal¡¯s Heart of War. There were less than a handful of people that knew what he was doing.


    Lu Li was silent, as if there was some misunderstanding.


    He wasn¡¯t an enemy, but an undercover agent¡­


    But that couldn¡¯t be right. An undercover agent would happily accept the offer to join the elite group. The closer they got to the core of the guild, the more secrets they would be able to learn.

 366 A Perfect Resolution

    "Just talk to us; we already know anyway," Lu Li said ambitiously, giving off an air that he knew exactly where this conversation would go.


    "I¡¯m really curious as to how you found out, but I guess it doesn¡¯t matter," Nuo Yu said as he smiled bitterly then continued, "But you¡¯re right ¨C I am the Gangnam Royal¡¯s undercover player and I have been for a few years."


    "Not much information gets by us, but I¡¯m really puzzled as to why you didn¡¯t take the elite group offer," Lu Li asked.


    "Players who have successfully gone undercover for 3 years are referred to as deep undercover players. Those who have been undercover successfully for 5 years are generally referred to as gold medal undercover players. After being undercover for a long time, the job gets easier. You are treated well, and you don¡¯t have to worry about food. So logically, the process should get easier with time¡­" Nuo Yu didn¡¯t directly answer Lu Li¡¯s question and began talking about something seemingly unrelated.


    Then he bitterly cried out, "But do you understand that this isn¡¯t a proper way to live? I have to pretend that everything is going fine and infiltrate as deeply as possible before giving it all away. Last year, I saw several dozen psychiatrists¡­"


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 remained silent. They knew that undercover players who were discovered were kicked out. Undercover players were like viruses to guilds. If they didn¡¯t paralyze them, they would definitely slow them down. However, they had never thought about the feelings of an undercover player before, so they didn¡¯t know what to say.


    "So, what do you plan to do now?


    "What do you guys want to do, now that you know the truth?"


    "We¡¯ll need to see what you want to do before we can make out decision." Lu Li actually didn¡¯t want to kick him out from the guild, even though that was probably the easiest and most effective thing to do.


    "I don¡¯t want to do anything. I haven¡¯t given up any information about anything yet, not even the Howling Caves strategy," Nuo Yu said weakly.


    "You¡¯re third on the Guild Quest rankings and you¡¯re part of the team that clears the Howling Caves. Have you considered a different life?" Lu Li tentatively asked. "Since you¡¯re tired of it, why not change the direction that your life is heading in?"


    Guild Quests rankings were very important; the top three could stand to make nearly tens of thousands of dollars. It was likely that it wasn¡¯t much worse than being undercover.


    "I promised the Gangnam Royals to be an undercover player," Nuo Yu said painfully.


    "For life?" Lu Li asked.


    "Maybe. I don¡¯t know when I finish or when they will end the deal," Nuo Yu replied.


    "Have you signed an agreement with them?" Lu Li was surprised. He had never heard of an undercover player signing an agreement. Having the recognition of the law must have at least legitimized it.


    "You¡¯ve been doing so much for them and for so many years. Did they save your life?" Even Square Root 3 had to say something.


    "No. When I was still in school, my mother got sick. I had to borrow a large sum of money for her treatment but no one else would lend any to me. Luckily, I found Heart of War, who was the director of our school at the time." Nuo Yu¡¯s perspective of Heart of War was a complex one ¨C filled with gratefulness and resentment at the same time.


    "Can¡¯t you just return the money?" Lu Li asked.


    "He said that it was a gesture of good faith at the time," Nuo Yu insisted.


    "Gangnam Royals must be really good at doing business. To me, it seems like you have long since repaid this good faith," Lu Li mockingly said.


    "Leave this matter to me; I¡¯ll have a chat with him," Square Root 3 offered.


    "He is a stubborn man." Nuo Yu didn¡¯t have much hope in the situation.


    "When you are the person sitting in front of him, he may be quite stubborn. Hopefully, he isn¡¯t when I am sitting in front of him," Square Root 3 laughed.


    Nuo Yu kept his promises. Although he was a little inflexible, he was actually a man of principle.


    Square Root 3¡¯s solution was simple ¨C he was going to meet up with the gaming report and write up a press release. Then, he was going to send that to Heart of War.


    "Aren¡¯t you afraid of some secret retaliation?" Lu Li asked Square Root 3.


    Although he had never been in a big guild before, he knew that each guild had a small hunting party that was made up of assassins. They were quite a small part of the guild, but they were used in situations like this.


    "Nope. As long as there is someone watching out for me, I should be able to send the press release," Square Root 3 sneered. "Heart of War knows my connections; he wouldn¡¯t take the risk."


    Other guilds might not buy it, but Heart of War might.


    "No wonder the news of our movements spread so quickly, and they also paint us in such a good light. Oh yeah, do we want to kill Heart of War?" Lu Li was feeling a little trigger happy.


    Poor Heart of War had no idea that Lu Li had set his sights on him. His level wasn¡¯t low, but he had average technique. He wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against Lu Li.


    "I don¡¯t think Heart of War will give us that opportunity; he¡¯s not that arrogant." Square Root 3 seemed like he had dealt with him before. He appeared to understand him very well.


    "How unfortunate."


    Lu Li was farming as he chatted. He was almost halfway into level 28.


    Other players had no chance of getting half a level in one whole day, but Lu Li could do it in just half a day. Although his equipment repair fees were a little expensive, he had been able to make ends meet.


    At the Gangnam Royals¡¯ Virtual Entertainment Game Company ¨C the President¡¯s Office.


    Heart of War was furious. After he hung up the phone, he threw a jade lion at the wall and broke it. That was at least ten thousand dollars wasted.


    "Damned, ungrateful Nuo Yu!" he roared.


    "Do you want the hunting group to hunt him down?" his assistant asked. There had been similar occurrences in the past, and they were dealt with severely so as to deter other traitors.


    "All you know is fighting and killing ¨C do you even have a brain?" Heart of War said angrily. "If we look for trouble now, wouldn¡¯t it be obvious to Square Root 3 that it was us?"


    "But we can¡¯t just forget it," the assistant responded.


    "Well." Heart of War held his forehead and let out a long sigh.


    The Gangnam Royals were only just holding on to second place. If news of their spying got out, their image would be ruined. Moreover, his technique of helping out sick mothers to strong-arm their sons into working for them was worse than just sending a sleeper agent into other guilds.


    Society hated the rich, and they hated heartless rich people even more.


    Heart of War¡¯s personal prestige was good. He came from a rich family that focused on education and charity.


    This press release was enough to completely destroy the image they had been keeping up, but the most important thing was the evidence. Once the details of his undercover players were exposed, those other big guilds would never forgive him.


    He couldn¡¯t imagine what the consequences of this would be.


    "Let¡¯s not do anything yet; we¡¯ll deal with this later. Doesn¡¯t Lu Li have PVP points? Put up a large bounty on his head and don¡¯t let him farm." Heart of War¡¯s lips were dry, but he had no choice but to accept Square Root 3¡¯s terms.


    Posting a bounty on Lu Li¡¯s head would cause him trouble. Every time he wanted to farm, he would have to find an unusual spot. Otherwise, he would be surrounded by a group of players.


    His levelling speed was affected, but he still rose to level 30 after three days.

 367 A Formal Dinner

    When the big guilds started to become complacent about this guy¡¯s levelling, someone suddenly pointed a strange fact out. How was this player, who was being hunted, already level 30?


    On the level rankings, Lu Li was at the top of the list.


    He was the only Dawn player who was level 30. Everyone after him was level 29, and most other players were around level 25.


    When Lu Li equipped his Abyssal Poison Fang, which was a level 30 Gold Dagger, his attack damage noticeably increased. The level 30 spiders couldn¡¯t even withstand one rotation of skills.


    The next day, he logged on a little later because hundreds of people had arrived. They had filled up the entire place and were seated among dozens of tables.


    Although he hadn¡¯t been a president for too long, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be good if he didn¡¯t show up.


    Lu Xin and the three female landlords followed him as well; they were now part of the guild too. Dou Dou was the only one who ended part of the elite group ¨C the others had decided to take the business route. Zhou Huan Huan was also an elder of the guild. She was responsible for the profession players and would work on the logistics of the guild.


    Of the 10 people in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, Sesame Rice Ball was the only one who lived in Jiangnan City. He lived on the other side of town, but he was going to move after finishing the semester.


    Wandering, Moonlight and Azure Sea Breeze had all arranged their accommodation.


    March Rain and Sakura Memories hadn¡¯t graduated yet, so they weren¡¯t going to move. There was nothing to say about Lonesome Flower; he would just be wherever his sister was.


    As for Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan, these two young girls were still too na?ve. Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to ask for them to move thousands of miles away from home, just in case something happened to them or Ruling Sword.


    Azure Sea Breeze was perfect for this environment ¨C he quickly got to know many of the hundred elite players and was the most active out of all of them.


    Wandering was even better looking in person. The focus of the room turned to him when he entered. He still had the same narcissism and would still hurl insults, but he was also a clean freak. He refused to shake anyone¡¯s hand and was content to watch them embarrassingly withdraw their hands.


    Moonlight was a brawny, big guy who also had bushy eyebrows, but was otherwise quite average.


    However, he was addicted to alcohol. It didn¡¯t matter what was in his right hand ¨C his left hand would always be carrying a bottle of wine. It was no wonder wju one of his past usernames was Drunkard.


    Lu Li was just an ordinary person in their eyes, or at least, this was the impression that he gave off. However, they quickly found out that this was a false impression, because it was very difficult to ignore him.


    As soon as Wandering, Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight arrived, Lu Li went to get them.


    Amongst a crowd, Lu Li was quite easy to pick out.


    Although he looked quite average, he was basically the same as he looked in game.


    "Boss Lu Li is here! It¡¯s really Lu Li!" some people shouted excitedly.


    All this time they had only seen Square Root 3 and the other people in charge of recruiting the elite group. Lu Li had been off levelling for three days and hadn¡¯t appeared before.


    They looked at him and saw his average looks, which were followed by three beauties and the little beauty Lu Xin.


    Lu Xin was really happy today. She saw that her brother was being admired by all these people and was extremely proud of him. She had always believed that her brother was a hero.


    When the Xin Xin Mercenary Group players arrived, the hotel bubbled with excitement.


    Many people had not had the opportunity to see these star players and now, not only did they get to see them, but they were even being acknowledged by them.


    Lu Li, the legend of the Ruling Sword, with Ruling Sword¡¯s Elite group by his side.


    It was in this moment that they felt a true sense of belonging.


    They were 100 elite players from all over the country ¨C both men and women, and of all ages. The youngest of them was 10 years old and the oldest was 30 or 40. In any case, they now had a unified purpose ¨C Ruling Sword.


    Yesterday, these people had all signed Ruling Sword¡¯s non-disclosure contracts.


    From now on, they would struggle for Ruling Sword, accept a salary from Ruling Sword and enjoy the glory of Ruling Sword.


    Before they started to eat, badges were to be presented.


    These badges were for everyone who had made Ruling Sword happen, and Lu Li was no exception.


    Everyone went onto the stage and put on the badge. After that, Square Root 3, who was hosting the event, announced the beginning of Ruling Sword¡¯s first annual meeting.


    Annual meetings were generally held at the end of the year. This year, Ruling Sword would hold theirs a few months early.


    This was something that gaming guilds often did. Only the elite players and above were invited to participate. Big guilds like Glory Capital and Seventh Heaven always had these annual meetings, which were always grand events.


    In addition to the elite players, well known celebrities of the gaming circle, famous journalists and all other kinds of important people were also invited.


    They generally commemorated the guild¡¯s outstanding growth for the year and announced the next year¡¯s plan. Whether or not the club was taking on a new star player was also announced at the annual meeting.


    Every year, the period when the annual meetings were held was always chaotic. There were all kinds of people advertising all kinds of products and star players were changing sides.


    However, because Ruling Sword had just been established, the meeting for today only included those within the guild.


    They first introduced how the guild had been set up and the current situation, before introducing several key personnel changes.


    Lu Li was the president and was mainly responsible for the club and its activities. Square Root 3 was the guild president and was temporarily responsible for managing the elite group. That responsibility would be delegated to other staff in future.


    There were also some unannounced positions, like Nuo Yu, who was going to be their head of security. As someone who was experienced with being undercover, he was perfect for this job. With him, it was going to be very difficult to send an undercover player to their guild as he would be able to spot them.


    Square Root 3 also highlighted the star players who had won the championship.


    March Rain wasn¡¯t in attendance, so Lu Li and Moonlight became the objects of their admiration. They had won the championship as a Mercenary Group and laid the groundwork for the start of Ruling Sword. Any praise they received was well deserved.


    Unfortunately, Moonlight¡¯s face was quite cold and Lu Li wasn¡¯t a particularly active person, so not many people dared to stand up and interact with them.


    Finally, Square Root 3 announced the elite group. He also addressed some of the questions raised about rewards and punishments.


    Some people wanted to join the still-existing Xin Xin Mercenary Group, but Lu Li mercilessly refused all offers. He said that the Mercenary Group now only served a commemorative purpose and was not open to anyone.


    They tried to keep the formalities short. After all, the most important thing for them was the development of the guild and time was of the essence.


    Lu Li ate some food before going back online. The other members of the Mercenary Group didn¡¯t stay too long either. Now that they were all almost level 30, they could start the Scarlet Monastery Instance Dungeon.


    Some guilds, especially the big ones, had already begun to attempt the Scarlet Monastery. So in that regard, Ruling Sword was already behind.

 368 Scarlet Monastery

    Scarlet Monastery!


    In one sense, this was the one of the hardest Instance Dungeons in Dawn.


    It consisted of a cemetery, a palace, an armory and a library. These were four Instance Dungeons under the one name, which meant that the Scarlet Monastery was actually a group of Instance Dungeons instead of a single one.


    The entry level requirement was level 25 and the restriction was set at level 35. Most of the mobs were level 30 and above, and the entry level Bosses were also at least level 30. Most of the mobs were humanoid, so they had a low HP and EXP yield, but they still dropped decent items¡­


    One particular group of low-end professional players had specifically relied on farming the Scarlet Monastery for a living.


    Doing the Scarlet Monastery Group of Instance Dungeons would yield them at least 10 gold, some equipment and many other items.


    In order to keep themselves below level 35, they had devised all sorts of ways to get themselves killed. Some would barrel into the middle of a group of mobs and cut themselves off. Others would just jump from a high place.


    In his past life, Lu Li had also done this for a while. He and one other person had farmed this place countless times and actually made a decent amount of money.


    However, he kept his wits about him and knew that this income wouldn¡¯t last for long. For true strength to be maintained, the player had to be at least a certain level. As such, he never participated in this de-levelling business again.


    The challenge of the Scarlet Monastery wasn¡¯t too great, as long as you knew the strategy to it.


    If you knew the strategy, a level 30 team of ten could easily clear the Instance Dungeon at Elite difficulty with no problems at all.


    As for the Hero Difficulty or the Nightmare Difficulty, they had extra requirements.


    Just like in the Howling Caves and the Blackfathom, there were certain shortcuts that you could take in the Scarlet Monastery. These shortcuts were also quite easy to access ¨C all they had to do was kill the Scarlet Paladins outside the Instance Dungeon. After killing 20 of them, they would obtain a Scarlet Halo that would last an hour.


    Scarlet Halo: Damage dealt to Scarlet Crusaders increased by 5%. HP Regeneration increased by 5% and Mana Regeneration increased by 5%. Lasts for 1 hour.


    The halo wasn¡¯t that strong, but there was a big difference between taking it and not taking it.


    The Horde players could simply transport to the Tirisfal Woodland and leisurely walk to the Instance Dungeon. They also only needed to randomly kill a few mobs outside the Instance Dungeon to gain the halo. It was much more difficult for the Alliance players, as the closest Return Point was quite far away.


    The current route was to transport to Southshore and travel north through the Silverpine Forest. You would then need to bypass the Undercity to get to the Tirisfal Woodland, which would lead you to the Scarlet Monastery.


    The journey was quite far ¨C it was at least two hours of travel time.


    Of the guilds that had already started to attempt this Instance Dungeons, most of them, like Blood Red War Flag and Seventh Heaven, had decided to take this route. This was mainly because this route was relatively safe ¨C the monsters along it weren¡¯t that high-levelled.


    Of course, you could transfer directly from the city into the Instance Dungeon, but you wouldn¡¯t be able to receive the Scarlet Halo.


    As such, the Scarlet Monastery was clearly biased in favor of the Horde.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t take that route ¨C he knew a shortcut.


    You could also transport to the Eastern Plaguelands and walk through the Western Plaguelands to reach the Instance Dungeon. It was a shorter route and they could get there in less than an hour.


    It wasn¡¯t that no one knew of this route. This part of the map had already been explored and could be printed out for a few silver coins.


    The problem wasn¡¯t that this route had too many mobs, but rather, it was that they were level 40-50.


    At the players¡¯ current level, a level 40-50 wave of mobs was no different to a Boss. They would spend more time clearing these mobs out if they tried to pass.


    Lu Li only dared to take this route because he was very familiar with the map and the mobs in this area. This was the reason he was confident that he and his teammates would make it through.


    The return trip was almost two hours, so they couldn¡¯t keep going back for supplies. As such, everyone put what they didn¡¯t need into the warehouse and carried extra supplies like food, potions, bandages, and arrows. Lu Li had even made several Basic Maintenance Robots.


    These robots were able to directly repair equipment.


    After the preparations were made, Lu Li first brought Hachi Chan and Sesame Rice Ball to the Eastern Plaugeland¡¯s Holy Light Chapel. The rest of them would farm while they waited for the Warlock to use the transportation skill. They weren¡¯t clearing out the mobs anyway, so it wasn¡¯t better to have more players.


    "Dumb dumb¡­ you¡¯re a rabbit," Hachi Chan insulted. She had wanted to stay behind with the others and just want to be transported.


    Lu Li had told her that she could "run quickly, just like a rabbit" as the reason for making her come. As for Sesame Rice Ball, he had to come because he needed to cast the transportation skill.


    Transportation was a fantastic invention, which allowed them to travel anywhere instantly.


    This place was in stark contrast to the beautiful Astrana. The Plagueland¡¯s sky was faint and the land was dark. Evil shadows seemed to be consuming the horizon.


    A variety of dead creatures were wandering around the land. The Scourge had killed all the living creatures in this territory.


    People had gradually begun to forget that this was once the agricultural center of Lordaeron, the continent¡¯s prime farmland.


    After leaving the Holy Light Chapel¡¯s safe area, a level 50 mob headed towards them and gave them a shock. They didn¡¯t need another warning; they were all very alert now.


    Lu Li went into Stealth and explored the road ahead. Hachi Chan become a leopard and snuck around behind them, protecting Sesame Rice Ball.


    If there was a monster, Lu Li would see it first.


    Exploring this area was quite dangerous. He was only level 30, so the 10-level-gap made his Stealth almost useless, even though his equipment did give him a good amount of additional Stealth.


    Lu Li had to use his Gale Steps and other speed-up skills to escape when he was in danger.


    Dawn¡¯s aggro system was contained to each individual monster, so for a Thief like Lu Li, the best way to escape the stronger monsters was to keep his distance.


    Fortunately, the terrain here wasn¡¯t that complex, otherwise, they definitely would have run into a monster.


    The route that Lu Li had chosen wasn¡¯t the shortest one; he had deviated a little from the direct path. Sesame Rice Ball had realized this, but he didn¡¯t feel like he could ask why.


    As for Hachi Chan, she could barely make out the north and south on a map, so there was no way she would notice something like this.


    After walking for a dozen minutes, there was a sound of hooves galloping behind them.


    Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s expression turned grim. An ordinary soldier wouldn¡¯t have the funds to afford a horse and a ghost rider wouldn¡¯t be something that was easy to deal with.


    His lips moved and he really had to try hard to hold back his desire to complain.


    Why did he have to pick this path!


    Lu Li stopped and let out a sigh of relief; he had finally reached the area.


    He went to get his two teammates behind him when he heard the sound of the hooves as well.


    In the haze, two horses appeared in his field of vision. They weren¡¯t two Cavalry, but two horses pulling a carriage.


    A skinny outcast was sitting cross legged on the carriage, emotionlessly staring at the three people on the roadside

 369 A Free Ride

    When he first saw the old man, Sesame Rice Ball nearly started a fight.


    An Undead!


    The old man was incredibly skinny and a dark glow pulsated in both of his eyes; he was clearly an Undead.


    The Undead mentioned here weren¡¯t the same as the Undead who had been affected by the Plague and didn¡¯t have their own conscious. The Undead here had their own consciousness; they followed the lead of Queen Sylvanas and referred to themselves as the ¡®Forgotten Ones¡¯.


    "Who are you all? Why are you wandering around in the kingdom of the dead?" the old man asked with his hoarse voice. He spoke in the common tongue, a language that suited all races.


    Sesame Rice Balls only came to notice that the old Undead was radiating a faint yellow glow that was almost unnoticeable. This meant that he was neutral, unlike the other Undead who were hostile units.


    "We¡¯re tired adventurers who want to pass through the Plaguelands and into the Scarlet Monastery," Lu Li replied as he took a step forward besides the carriage.


    "Scarlet Monastery..." The old Undead pondered for a while, then asked, "What are your thoughts about the Scarlet Crusade?"


    "After the passing of Sir Mograine, those manic Paladins have become crazed and extreme. I believe they¡¯ve fallen," Lu Li answered swiftly without hesitation.


    A hideous smile crept across the Undead¡¯s fleshless face as he swung the horsewhip in his hands. "Come, adventurers. I¡¯ll give you all a ride."


    Lu Li instructed the other two to climb with him into the carriage.


    As the whip lashed out, the two horses moved their hooves and began their trot.


    Lu Li had already messaged the other two, telling them not to say a single word. Even Hachi Chan was given strict instructions to remain silent.


    After a while, this old and nameless Undead would be referred to as the "Coachman of Plaguelands". Some also referred to him as the "Scavenger of Plaguelands". Whether he killed or gave people free rides was entirely up to his own mood.


    The few sentences that Lu Li had recited before were all based off guides. It had taken the death of countless players by his horsewhip in exchange for the right answer.


    Although Hachi Chan was good with quests, she probably wouldn¡¯t make it out alive either if she ran into an unreasonable, old Undead like this.


    Although the two horses looked no different to average horses, they weren¡¯t average horses at all. The land that they trotted past was all burnt black and they left their hoof prints wherever they went. The other level 40-50 monsters ran for their lives as soon as they saw the two horses; those who didn¡¯t run fast enough were trampled to death.


    Some claimed that the old Undead and his two horses were all Bosses. Their levels were also undetectable, so there was a good possibility that they come from an extraordinary background.


    No matter what the truth was, this wasn¡¯t a combination that Lu Li and his team would want to cross.


    The carriage moved fast; it only took around a minute for them to arrive at Western Plaguelands.


    The Western Plaguelands and Eastern Plaguelands were split apart by the Thondroril River. After they crossed the river, the environment around them changed significantly. Even though the land still looked dreary, at least it wasn¡¯t as dead.


    Not even the slightest bit of green could have been found in Eastern Plaguelands.


    "The natural disasters have never stopped; I wonder how long the Western Plaguelands will last," the old Undead sighed.


    Even though the words of the old Undead sounded like the beginning of a quest, Lu Li kept his mouth shut. Hachi Chan and Sesame Rice Ball had been warned repeatedly, so they also remained silent as they stared at the old Undead in fright.


    "These Jungle Lurkers¡­ so nasty. Last time, the horses were snuck up by them while they were having a drink," the old Undead cursed as he saw the spider that quickly dashed past and into the nearby bush.


    Any other player would have most likely told the old Undead, "I¡¯ll gladly kill these monsters for you; just give me some rewards."


    Lu Li and his team didn¡¯t budge a single bit; they squinted their eyes, as if they¡¯d all fallen asleep.


    The old Undead continued to ramble, not caring if anyone paid attention to him. After a few minutes, the carriage stopped at Dalson¡¯s Farm. Lu Li handed the old Undead three gold coins and quickly left without saying any goodbyes.


    "How rude."


    The yellow eyes of the old Undead flickered, as he continued his journey in his carriage and disappeared into the ghostly farm.


    Any wandering spirits in the farm that touched him instantly turned into a shroud of mist.


    These spirits were level 45 monsters!


    The trip was originally going to be half an hour, but because of their free ride, the travel time had been shortened to five minutes.


    Dalson¡¯s Farm wasn¡¯t so far away from Tirisfal Woodland, and there were also less monsters along the way.


    Lu Li scouted ahead. Upon running into monsters that were unavoidable, he would turn into a panther and drag them away so that Sesame Rice Balls could walk ahead first. Hachi Chan was sometimes able to help too ¨C at least she ran faster than a Warlock.


    After their arrival at the Tirisfal Woodland, the environment changed again.


    The shadow of the natural disaster was nowhere to be seen here. This was a forest ¨C the Tirisfal Woodland that had no end.


    The monsters here were only around level twenty and posed no threat to Lu Li and his team who were already level 29 and 30. However, they still couldn¡¯t afford to let their guard down yet, because this was a location where many Horde players were active.


    It was safe to say that the Tirisfal Woodland was the stronghold of the Undead race. The future main city of the Undead, Shadow City, which still had not been made open to the public, would be located in the Tirisfal Woodland someday.


    Lu Li chose a discreet location for Sesame Rice Ball to open the gate.


    Opening the gate referred to a summoning ritual of the Warlock. With the help of two team members, the Warlock could summon a gateway. Players who were in the same team as the Warlock would be able to teleport themselves to the Warlock through this gateway.


    Azure Sea Breeze, Wandering...


    One by one, team members stepped out from the gateway and arrived at Tirisfal Woodland.


    "Wow, this is too amazing!" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed in shock.


    "Uncultured." It was like a natural instinct for Wandering to look down on him.


    "As if you¡¯ve used it before," Azure Sea Breeze retorted before turning his head to ask Lu Li, "How were you guys so fast? I thought you said that the process takes forty to fifty minutes?"


    "The travel time I mentioned was referring to the average travel time by foot. We met an NPC along the way who had his own carriage and gave us a lift," Lu Li briefly explained.


    Hachi Chan dragged along Remnant Dream, recounting the trip in detail as she described how scary the old Undead was. The silly girl was courageous; she seemed to take pride in strange adventurers like these.


    Honestly, true horror would be watching the old Undead kill people.


    With all ten of them together, they travelled towards the Scarlet Monastery as they followed the directions that the map suggested. Lu Li continued to scout ahead. He had watched out for monsters before, but this time, he was watching out for other players.


    Because they were in the territory of the other faction, it was important that they kept their profiles low. If other big guilds found them, they would be more than happy to cause Lu Li some trouble, especially the few guilds that Lu Li had crossed a few days ago.


    All ten of them had masks to cover their faces. They sneakily approached the Northeast section of the Tirisfal Woodland.


    From a distance, they could already see the old building on top of the hill. That was their final designation ¨C the Scarlet Monastery!


    On their way up the hill, the battle was fierce.


    With the advantage of land and numbers, the Horde players hunted down Alliance players who were on their way to the dungeon.


    This time, there were no shortcuts. They could only fight their way up!

 370 Way Ou

    "Finish the fight as soon as possible, and remember to also kill any Scarlet Paladins that we run into," Lu Li said as he entered Stealth mode.


    He still needed to scout ahead; any well-developed team required a Scout.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group didn¡¯t have their own proper Scout, so Lu Li had to take up the task.


    A Thief who changed classes to a Scout would receive extra bonuses for their Stealth. They would also be able to learn a lot of lock and trap related skills, but Lu Li was quite decent himself in these tasks. Even if a professional Scout joined, they most likely wouldn¡¯t be able to do any better than him.


    The Scarlet Monastery had been deathly quiet a few days ago, but right now, it was filled with the remnants of battle. The grounds were a mess ¨C there were even potions and equips left on the floor waiting to be refreshed.


    This was the first battle that Lu Li had run into. Out of an Alliance team with ten people, only six of them had survived, but there were some enemy players blocking their paths and others tailing behind them. There were two Mages from the Horde faction that stood on higher ground and casted Blizzard beneath them. Not only did the spell deal damage to its targets, but it also revealed Stealthed units.


    In a flash from his Cloak, Lu Li appeared behind a Mage and used Premeditation, Cheap Shot, Backstab, Slit Throat...


    System: Backstab skill completion level 93%, dealt 210% skill damage, level 1 Armor Pierce effect applied.


    System: Slit Throat skill completion level 91%, dealt 160% skill damage, level 1 Bleeding effect applied.


    Before the Bleeding effect even activated, the Mage had already dropped to the ground.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t waste his skills to enter Stealth again. With a few steps, he was behind the other Mage, slicing sliced his dagger into his neck.


    System: Shadowstrike skill completion level 95%, dealt 300% skill damage, target stunned for 2 seconds.


    With one skill, half of the Mage¡¯s health bar was gone.


    The Mage was thrown into shock and constantly tried to cast his Flash as he desperately attempted to teleport away from this nightmare.


    Unfortunately, two seconds of stun was more than enough for Lu Li.


    System: Mutilate skill completion level 75%, dealt 88% skill damage.


    Mutilate was a new skill for Lu Li, so his skill completion level wasn¡¯t high. The damage was also quite poor and there were no special effects either. Lu Li casted this skill mainly to store combo points.


    Mutilate: Instant cast, Cooldown 20 seconds. Instantly attacks with both weapons. The main hand


    deals 80% of weapon damage in the form of physical damage, while the off-hand deals 60% of weapon


    damage in the form of physical damage. Awards 2 combo points, Skill Level 1/5.


    After three combo points appeared on his target, Lu Li took a step forwards and to his left. Not only did he dodge the Charge from a Warrior, but he also positioned himself in a perfect spot for Backhand Backstab.


    The poor Mage was sent flying away and became a corpse halfway in the air.


    In the blink of an eye, Lu Li had killed two Mages.


    Apart from the Warrior, the others didn¡¯t even realize that there was a Thief until the Blizzard stopped.


    "****, kill him!" Having a dozen players, they weren¡¯t the least concerned about one little Thief. Even if it was a Godlike Thief, they would still be able to kill him with their numbers advantage.


    But was Lu Li by himself?


    Of course not!


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others immediately responded to his arrogance with action.


    Moonlight was particularly excited ¨C the PK maniac had been following the team to level up during the past few days and had been holding himself back for too long. As soon as Lu Li killed the Mages, he charged into the crowd and stunned them all with a Trample, followed by a Whirlwind.


    The damage text that floated in the air was like a statement: Berserkers would always be War Machines!


    After this round, Lu Li didn¡¯t have another chance to start any other engagements. Moonlight sprinted to the front, jumping up high and landing with a Trample.


    This skill actually didn¡¯t require such violence, nor did it require any jumping motions either. Of course, the jumping made the skill look more fearsome, as if there was a wild demon resting within the man that only killing could soothe.


    "Follow up."


    Lu Li was lost for words; he signaled for March Rain to go forward and heal.


    Dawn wouldn¡¯t approve of a storyline where a man battled his way out of a massive crowd. Moonlight, who had gone berserk, was already in danger. Half of his health bar was missing.


    However, as soon as a Priest stood behind him, he became the unkillable God of War.


    One was violent and was also able to soak up lots of damage, while the other was good at surviving and had all sorts of healing skills. The combination of Priests and Berserkers had always been one of the most violent in the game.


    Unstoppable might be a slight exaggeration, but it was true that there was barely anyone who could stop Lu Li and his team.


    Their performance also drew other Alliance players towards them. These people teamed up around them and wiped out the Horde players along the path.


    Even if there were a few stronger players that popped up along the way, they couldn¡¯t do much either. After all, Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain were winners of the Shadow Cup.


    Lu Li and Moonlight were able to take down five players by themselves. With March Rain supporting them from the side, even 25 people meant nothing to them. This wasn¡¯t a simple equation like 1 + 1 = 2; they were much more than that together.


    "Don¡¯t forget about the Scarlet Paladins," Lu Li reminded.


    Everyone on their team was always bored when they fought monsters, but they were always excited in fights against players. As such, they had completely forgotten about the Scarlet Paladins. Although they only needed to kill 20 to complete the quest, there were so many players here and monsters were cleared as soon as they spawned. There was no guarantee that they would be able to take down enough Scarlet Paladins before they reached the Scarlet Monastery.


    What they didn¡¯t know was that many Horde players were talking about them in chat channels, broadcasting that top players had arrived at the Scarlet Monastery.


    Even though Lu Li and the others covered their faces, there were still people who were able to recognize them.


    Firstly, this was because of the classes in their team. The players in Xin Xin Mercenary Group and the classes of each player was no hidden secret. Secondly, there was Remnant Dream¡¯s tiger ¨C there were less than a handful of players in Dawn who had Shadowclaw Tigers as pets. Lastly, Lu Li wielded a level 30 Gold grade dagger in his main hand.


    There were only a few Thieves in the game who could take out half a Mage¡¯s health bar with one Shadowstrike.


    His off-hand held Corrupted Fang, which often created a clone of Lu Li. It was like a firefly in the dark that attracted attention.


    All the people from big guilds had begun to realize that this was Ruling Sword starting the Scarlet Monastery dungeon.


    Not only the big guilds from the Horde faction realize this, but the big guilds from the Alliance faction also realized it too. It was as if someone had lit a fuse ¨C all the guilds began to move their schedules towards the Scarlet Monastery.


    Originally, only a small portion of branch guilds visited the Monastery, but now, the place was packed.


    The scene wasn¡¯t too hard to imagine.


    Even if only one percent of the guilds wanted to receive the Scarlet Halo, at least a few hundred thousand people would crowd around outside the dungeon.


    This meant that the entire Tirisfal Woodland had become a big battleground. All sorts of fights were happening everywhere; thousands of people died every second.


    However, none of this concerned Lu Li and his team; they only stopped outside for a short amount of time. Those who heard the news and came to cause them trouble never managed to stop them in time.


    It would be useless, even if someone guarded the entrance. No one knew when they would be done with the dungeon and as long as they were all on the same map, Lu Li would be able to leave the dungeon, kill ten monsters and share the Scarlet Halo with his team.


    Four dungeons ¨C Lu Li chose the graveyard first.


    This was simply because it was the easiest. As long as you knew how to do the dungeon, it would only take about half an hour to complete it.

 371 Hidden Boss

    Dungeon difficulty: "Difficult mode".


    This dungeon was easy as long as players understood the mechanics behind it. As such, there was no need for the team to attempt Heroic mode; they went straight for the Difficult mode.


    As for the Nightmare difficulty, the Bloodmage in this mode would be able to cast a fearful spell ¨C Death and Decay. This skill would instantly kill any players, including the main tank.


    If the skill was casted on the main tank or healer, the team would wipe. If other people sacrificed themselves, the rest of the team would be able to pass through. This meant that the Nightmare mode relied heavily on luck, but Ruling Sword really needed a First Clear right now to maintain their popularity. There was no need for them to test their luck.


    In Dawn, many Instances were either dungeons or chambers. Spider Lair, Death Mines, Howling Caves, Blackfathom were all good examples of this.


    However, the graveyard was an exception.


    After they entered the dungeon, they found themselves in the chilly night.


    The night sky was clear and the stars were incredibly bright, but no one would come here for stargazing, because this was where the dead rested.


    Cemeteries stood on both sides of the path, as if they were soldiers waiting to be inspected.


    The two young girls, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream, didn¡¯t express a single bit of fear on their faces.


    They had grown up happily and had never experienced a lonely and hopeless night.


    One time, Lu Li had been beaten-up by others to the point where he couldn¡¯t stand up. It wasn¡¯t until the later part of midnight when he was finally able to drag himself back home. Ever since then, Lu Xin had been scared of the dark. Until she was ten years old, she needed the company of her brother to have a good night¡¯s sleep.


    "This place is strange. If you guys don¡¯t have any objections, I¡¯m going to engage," Azure Sea Breeze said as he raised his shield and took two steps forward.


    "Wait," Lu Li stopped him, "Let¡¯s do it another way this time."


    Everyone waited when Lu Li spoke; they all had blind faith towards him. As long as Lu Li said something, there would definitely be a reason for it.


    "We¡¯ll take all of them down in one wave, which means that you¡¯ll have to drag all of the monsters behind you in one go. Make sure to not miss any of them, not even a single one," Lu Li instructed, as he pointed towards the monsters in the dungeon.


    "Why?" Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t understand and the others were all confused too.


    Why did they have to kill all the monsters in one go? Why not follow the usual procedures?


    There were two types of monsters within eyesight - Frenzied Spirits, that looked similar to a white shadow, and a corpse-like zombie.


    The entire graveyard was filled with these two types of monsters. There were a few dozen of them in total.


    A few dozen elite monsters wasn¡¯t a small number at all, and there were some level thirty elites mixed within as well. Although level 29 and level 30 was only a one level difference, the strength of monsters would greatly improve at every ten-level mark.


    "Hmm, according to the books, there¡¯s a Graveyard Keeper in this graveyard. Of course, when all the monsters are asleep at the same time, he¡¯ll come out. Before the Scarlet Monastery was established, this place was actually just a graveyard," Lu Li said.


    He chose a reasonable excuse; the descriptions for Scarlet Monastery did mention something similar.


    "Hidden? Is it strong?" Wandering, who was the smart one, immediately understood what the Graveyard Keeper was.


    "Should be alright. We¡¯ll be able to manage," Lu Li replied vaguely.


    The Graveyard Keeper wasn¡¯t hard and it dropped good loot as well. The Ghost Shadow Cloak was known as the best cape for level 30 magic damage classes, but hidden bosses were rare. The Graveyard Keeper had an extremely low chance to appear.


    Only Lu Li knew that if you killed all the monsters at the same time, there was a hundred percent chance for the Graveyard Keeper to appear. This was a secret discovered by others in Lu Li¡¯s previous life.


    However, it had only been discovered a long time after the game had been out. Most people wouldn¡¯t drag so many monsters in one go anyway, and the average players wouldn¡¯t even have the capability to do so.


    At this point, only Lu Li knew about this.


    The method was simple ¨C Wandering pulled the left side, while Lu Li pulled the right side. After bringing all the monsters together, Azure Sea Breeze would use his damage reduction skills and taunts.


    The task was slightly easier for Lu Li. As soon as the monsters followed him, he ran away. His movement speed was fast, so the monsters were unable to catch up to him. Wandering, on the other hand, was having a bit of trouble dragging the monsters behind him without a healer. Fortunately, Lu Li went over to help him, and both of them managed to pull all the monsters together.


    Azure Sea Breeze was already waiting; he activated his damage reduction skills first, then used his group taunt at the entire pack of monsters.


    The monsters immediately turned their heads to target the person who had taunted them. As soon as Azure Sea Breeze casted his taunt, the others immediately began to deal damage to the monsters. They had to kill all of the monsters before the main tank used up his damage reduction skills, otherwise, there was the possibility of Azure Sea Breeze dying.


    Fortunately, they had two strong magic damage dealers on the team ¨C Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball. Remnant Dream¡¯s Volley was also quite useful in group fights, and everyone managed to wipe out the entire pack of forty to fifty monsters.


    The total time spent on this was less than three minutes.


    "I¡¯ve been dreaming for too long."


    After a sigh, the Graveyard Keeper slowly crawled out from the center of the Graveyard.


    When the Scarlet Crusaders first arrived, they claimed that the Graveyard Keeper had been infected by the natural disaster. They killed him, a man who was only interested in investigating corpses, and buried him in the Graveyard. Little did they know that the Graveyard Keeper had turned into a zombie.


    "Go! Priests, make sure to de-buff the plague status in time," Lu Li said briefly as he announced for the fight to begin.


    The Graveyard Keeper had three spells.


    One of these spells was Throw Poison, which caused players to be infected by the plague. It was mostly thrown onto the main tank, but as long as the Priest removed the effect in time, it wouldn¡¯t be much of a threat.


    The second skill was Summon Undead which would spawn a few monsters. However, with a taunt from Wandering and a Blizzard from Lonesome Flower, this skill wasn¡¯t too hard to deal with either.


    The third skill was Devour. After casting this, the Graveyard Keeper would sit on the floor and devour the Undead that the players had previously killed. This would heal a certain amount of his health, but the skill only slowed down his death timer. The maximum he could heal from this was about 10-20,000 HP out of a total of 90,000 HP. In the end, he would still be killed by the players.


    As a level 30 boss, he gave quite a bit of experience.


    Remnant Dream went up to loot the corpse, but she only found one Silver grade equipment.


    Everyone was disappointed, apart from Lu Li.


    Ghost Shadow Cloak (Silver): Armor 24, Intelligence 20, Mana Regeneration +20%, Mana Cost decreased by 20%, Magic Critical Strike Chance +10%, Level Requirement 30, Durability 42/42.


    After Lu Li displayed the attributes of the Cloak, there was no surprise that Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s eyes lit up.


    Any equipment that had a 10% bonus attribute for Critical Strike chance would be regarded as classical. This was without even mentioning the mana regeneration and mana cost reduction that allowed the owner of this Cloak to battle on for longer.


    This meant that the time spent on eating and recovering would be greatly reduced for the player during their leveling-up process.


    "Flower, you take it. His skills cost a little more mana," Lu Li said as he handed the Cloak to Lonesome Flower.


    Although Sesame Rice Ball wanted it too, he didn¡¯t ask for it. He knew that as long as he followed Lu Li, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t mistreat him.


    They could always get another one ¨C there was a 100% chance of fighting the Graveyard Keeper after all.


    It didn¡¯t really matter who received the Cloak.


    In this dungeon, there was only one boss in the graveyard, not including the Graveyard Keeper. Since all of the monsters had already been cleared, the team went straight for the territory of Bloodmage Thalnos.

 372 Time Freezing

    Bloodmage Thalnos was from the Kirin Tor faction and was an absolute asshole.


    Kirin Tor was a Mage organisation dedicated to researching and documenting all forms of human magic, and had existed for over a thousand years.


    A long time ago, most Wizards and Magi resided in Stormwind City. However, the ruler during those times was afraid of magic and sorcery and thus, began setting up restrictions and limitations to control the powers of these Mages. Most of them fled to the North and built the City of Dalaran with the help of the High Elves.


    As time went on, more and more came to seek shelter in Dalaran, which became a paradise for Mages.


    However, as their numbers and power grew, more and more magi began to practice their arts. This caused the fabric of reality around Dalaran began to weaken and tear, allowing the demons of the Burning Legion to enter the world.


    The Burning Legion were too overwhelmingly powerful for the Dalarans to deal with and so, the Kirin Tor was founded to defend against them.


    Unfortunately, Kirin Tor could not alter the fate of these Wizards. While Prince Alsace Minnel led the Scourge and swarmed the land of Lordaeron, Kel''thuzad summoned Archimonde using the Book of Medivh.


    The arrival of Archimonde left the city in a pile of nothing but ashes and sorrows.


    Thalnos, who was a mere Magi Disciple at the time, watched as the great City of Dalaran become nothing but ruins.


    The irony was that he never resented Kel¡¯thuzad, Archimonde nor the leader of the Scourge, Alsace. Instead, he envied how strong and powerful they were.


    Through the years, Thalnos hid in the camp of the Crusaders and explored the world of Necromancy.


    He tortured the spirits of the weak and the poor, and even the spirits of dead Crusade soldiers.


    His job in the Crusaders was to quarantine and execute those that were plagued with diseases. As such, he could freely acquire spirits and demons for his Necromancy.


    Based on his background lore, Thalnos sounded like he would be too powerful for a group of level 30 players to defeat.


    However, over the years, he had suffered injuries and contracted the plague of the Undead, turning him into a fearsome, skeletal being. He now prowled the Scarlet Monastery graveyards as a much weaker version of his old self.


    Lu Li approached the largest tomb stone in the graveyard and pushed opened the door.


    Two large bats appeared and began attacking them. These were the guards of Blood Mage Thalnos and were responsible for dealing with uninvited guests.


    Azure Sea Breeze managed to aggro one of them, while the other one aggroed onto Lu Li.


    Everyone focused on the bat that was aggroed by Azure Sea Breeze. These bats had higher HP than Elite monsters but were relatively easy to deal with.


    When the two guards were defeated, the Blood Mage sensed the intruders.


    He slowly appeared from the graveyard, with his red, glowing eyes threatening to suck them into an endless abyss.


    Bloodmage Thalnos: Level 30, 150,000 HP. He wore a dark green Mage robe and a tall Wizard hat. His face appeared blurry and no one could see his expressions clearly.


    In his hands, he held a long staff which was topped with a skull.


    The eye socket of the skull was flickering flashes of a gloomy shade of green. The mouth was distorted and let out disturbing, mournful laughs.


    "Azure Sea Breeze, don¡¯t just stand there! You can attack him! Wandering, stay put near the entrance and make sure Thalnos doesn¡¯t leave the dungeon room. If he tries to escape, then use Taunt to lure him back into the room," Lu Li commanded.


    This was one of the strategies to defeat Thalnos. If he escaped out of the room, he would resurrect the corpses and souls which would just create more problems for Lu Li and the others.


    Fighting Thalnos inside the dungeon room decreased the difficulty by at least 20%, which could be the difference between a successful or failed run.


    The other teams that were attempting to complete the First Clear for this dungeon were struggling because of the small mobs. They were extremely difficult to deal with and they greatly increased the difficulty of the dungeon.


    The mobs that Thalnos summoned were at least 10 times stronger than the Zombies summoned by the Tomb Guards. These mobs were on a completely different level and they also received healing from Thalnos.


    Of course, besides this strategy, there were other factors that made this dungeon difficult.


    As the final boss of the Scarlet Monastery, Thalnos was extremely annoying to defeat.


    The room for the boss battle was quite cramped and the lighting was dim, which made the fight much more difficult and confusing than it would have been otherwise. Because of the dim room, the flashes of magic and animations of skills were very distracting for players. They also gave Lu Li a headache.


    "Everyone space out and keep at least two yards from each other!" Lu Li yelled.


    "My skill will be out of range!" Remnant Dream shouted back.


    "You don¡¯t have to go so far ¨C just stand next to March Rain. When she moves, you move with her." Lu Li was speechless at her lack of common sense.


    "Sister March Rain, can you guide me later?" Remnant Dream was slow to react but was clever enough to ask for help.


    "Ok." March Rain smiled at the young Hunter.


    After some shuffling around, everyone was finally in the correct positions.


    No one knew what Lu Li was up to, but they all followed his commands anyway. Wandering was the only person that didn¡¯t blindly follow Lu Li¡¯s arrangement. Instead, he figured out that this formation allowed the team to react quickly under any situation.


    "You underestimate my powers," Thalnos laughed as he pointed his staff towards them.


    "Riceball, move 2 yards in any direction! Quick!" Lu Li yelled.


    Sesame Riceball was a dungeon veteran and knew that he was in a bad position. He quickly shifted to his left by a couple of steps and stood near Lonesome Flower.


    After 10 seconds had passed, Lu Li made him move to his original position.


    Sakura Memory was targeted next. Since she was a melee class, there wasn¡¯t enough space for her to move around. As such, Lu Li, Moonlight, Sakura Memory and Azure Sea Breeze all had to shift two yards away from where they were originally standing.


    There was a reason for the 2-yard spacing between each player.


    If it weren¡¯t for Lu Li orchestrating the movement and positioning of everyone, anyone that stood still for three seconds would be affected by a debuff that stopped time.


    The debuff wouldn¡¯t cause any damage to the player, but for two minutes, they would be unable to cast skills, move, or even blink.


    A two-minute window where a player could not deal any damage did not not seem like much, but Thalnos casted this skill every 30 seconds. This de-buff was an area of effect skill that had a radius of 2 yards and was casted randomly in the dungeon room.


    This was the reason why Lu Li had arranged the formation in such a way.


    All Lu Li had to do was watch the attack patterns of Thalnos and keep an eye on where his staff was pointed towards. Then, he would command the corresponding person to reposition accordingly.This required great foresight and intense judgement skills.


    Many other Elite groups of the big guilds were struggling greatly to deal with this skill.


    Even Sorrowless was clueless about this dungeon. Glory Capital had been trying to defeat Thalnos the entire afternoon the day before but were annihilated countless times. After many runs, they had devised a number strategies to deal with the de-buff skill.


    Their strategy however, only had the accuracy of around 50%.


    This meant the 50% of the time, a party member would be hit by the de-buff.


    According to Sorrowless¡¯ calculations, you needed an accuracy of 80% to defeat Thalnos.

 373 Scarlet Monastery Graveyard

    The accuracy of Lu Li¡¯s strategy in dodging the Time-Freezing Debuff was 100%!


    He had practised this dungeon a countless number of times in his past life.


    When Thalnos¡¯ only overpowered skill became useless, his 150,000 HP quickly dropped to 30% in a couple of minutes. 30% HP marked the end of the Time-Freezing form of the boss.


    However, Thalnos¡¯ final form was even more annoying.


    Obviously, he couldn¡¯t use Death and Decay, which was only available to Bloodmage Thalnos in the Nightmare version of the Scarlet Monastery.


    Death and Decay was a Death Knight skill, and was their one and only area-of-effect attack. When used by Thalnos and even higher-levelled bosses, it proved to be extremely difficult and terrifying to deal with.


    Death and Decay ignored invulnerability to magic damage skills such as Lu Li¡¯s Shadow Cloak, meaning that his active would be useless against it.


    When casted, all units in the area of effect would be corrupted by Death and receive a certain %HP of damage per second over time. Usually, everyone that was affected would be dead from 3 to 10 seconds.


    In the Difficult level, Thalnos didn¡¯t use Death and Decay, but he did use a different type of weakened curse spell.


    This skill targeted the aggroed unit, nullifying all Armor and Magic Resistance for 10 seconds.


    Without any Armor, even the best main tank in the world would melt in a matter of seconds.


    This was where Lu Li¡¯s strategies would come in handy.


    "Everyone stop. Wandering, come and cast Taunt. Azure, cast Shadow Meld."


    Lu Li called Wandering over who had already lured Thalnos back into the room twice. He was assigned with the dirty job once again.


    That¡¯s right, Wandering¡¯s next assignment was to tank the Weaken Curse.


    Whether or not he would survive after being cursed wasn¡¯t important.


    Shadow Meld was a great skill because it released the aggro of all monsters in an area. This meant that Wandering would be able to pull the aggro with his Taunt skill.


    Wandering did what Lu Li had ordered without knowing what he was he getting himself into.


    He was a secondary tank, and was meant to sub in for the main tank whenever required to rotate the aggro. Since his main role was to be a sub-tank, most of the time, damage output outweighed the benefits of being tanky. Therefore, Wandering¡¯s Armor was quite low to begin with and the Curse would only lower it slightly.


    Luckily, he had damage reduction skills.


    "Everyone, we¡¯re almost finished. Let¡¯s pick up the pace." Lu Li began attacking Thalnos at full force, and his HP quickly dropped to 25%. Thalnos roared in anger and the skull on his staff send out a red beam of light towards Wandering.


    "Goddamn! Help me!" Wandering felt the energy from his body being drained and his Armor fell to zero in a split second.


    "Azure Sea Breeze, Taunt!" Luckily, as soon as Lu Li commanded, Azure Sea Breeze displayed his No.1 main tank reactions and pulled the aggro almost instantly. Thalnos unwillingly changed targets as he was aggroed back to Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Ok, you can go stand by the door." Lu Li patted Wandering on his back, completely ignoring his death stare.


    "Lu Li you bastard! How dare you kill the donkey after the grinding is done (to get rid of somebody once he stops being useful)?!" Wandering said resentfully.


    "Kill the donkey¡­?" Azure Sea Breeze began laughing out loud and said, "I thought you were smart; why would you compare yourself to a donkey?"


    "¡­" Wandering was speechless.


    He was pissed off because of his role as the guy who does all the dirty work in dungeons. He was either a guard dog or a scapegoat.


    Everyone laughed it off and continued fighting the boss; only Wandering was pissed.


    The rest of the battle was a walk in the park. Thalnos entered Berserk mode once his HP dropped to a certain threshold, which increased his attack and attack speed. However, he could only cast his skills towards Azure Sea Breeze who remained to be an impenetrable wall and wasn¡¯t threatened at all until the end of the fight.


    As long as the guide was followed, the Scarlet Monastery was a piece of cake and was considered to be the easiest dungeon out of the four Scarlet dungeons.


    At the very same time and in the same instance dungeon, Glory Capital had taken Thalnos¡¯s HP down to 29% under the leadership of Sorrowless. This was their first time making it past the Time-Freezing stage.


    "Ok, there probably won¡¯t be any more Time-Freezing and we¡¯ve made it to almost a quarter HP without losing anyone. This is our chance, team!" Sorrowless shouted, which raised everyone¡¯s morale.


    Sorrowless was passionate about leading a team and his words were always words of encouragement.


    "Guild leader, which part of the battle do you think Lu Li and his team are up to now?" Dancing Flower Beauty asked.


    As the No.1 girl on the beauty ranking, her face and body was otherworldly, and she had a gentle and soothing voice. Anything she said would raise the morale of all the exhausted men.


    She had always been leeching off other expert players and was currently level 28. As a member of the core Elite group, she fought along-side Sorrowless.


    Although Sorrowless loved Darkness, he didn¡¯t mind the company of a beauty in battles. He thought about her question and replied uncertainly, "They¡¯re probably still dealing with the summoned mobs. They were difficult for us to deal with the first time as well."


    Glory Capital¡¯s first run in Scarlet Monastery was appalling; they couldn¡¯t even make it past the mobs that were summoned by Thalnos.


    "There¡¯s no way they can progress as fast as us. Why do you seem so unsure, Sorrowless?" Dancing Flower Beauty inquired with a smile.


    Usually, beautiful women weren¡¯t the smartest people on earth. However, Dancing Flower Beautyf was an exception ¨C she was clever and wise enough to use her gentle voice to get anything she wanted.


    "Lu Li is¡­ how do I put it?" Sorrowless didn¡¯t usually talk about Lu Li, but in the presence of a beauty like Dancing Flower Dream, he felt the need to carry on the conversation. "He is extremely talented in clearing dungeons; it¡¯s almost as if he has a hack on every time he starts one. If only he could come over to Glory Capital¡­ The other guilds like Blood Red War Flag would stand no chance."


    "Hacking¡­" Everyone in the Glory Capital was surprised by Sorrowless¡¯ high praise of Lu Li.


    No one suspected Lu Li to be hacking because Dawn had only recently come out. This was such high praise coming from Sorrowless and everyone felt like Lu Li was being overestimated.


    They had never heard Sorrowless praise anyone in the past 10 years.


    "Ah!" The main tank player screamed.


    Before they could react, Thalnos easily killed their main tank.


    Their main tank was level 25, had full Silver gear, more than 4000HP and was Defence specialist Warrior. He was the top tank in the entire Glory Capital guild.


    "Secondary Tank, aggro it!" Sorrowless shouted as he activated an unknown active on his gear while the others attacked. This bought enough time for the secondary tank to react and draw aggro.


    Their secondary tank was much beefier compared to Wandering, so he had no trouble tanking the damage.


    "Druid, revive the Warrior," Sorrowless sighed.


    The only thing that was going through Sorrowless¡¯ mind was whether or not Lu Li could¡¯ve reacted as fast as him.


    At this very moment, a World-Channel notification popped up.


    System: Ruling Sword members Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball, under the leadership of Lu Li, have completed the First Clear for the Scarlet Monastery Graveyard on Difficult level.

 374 Synthetic Stone

    Ruling Sword had taken the First Clear for the Scarlet Graveyard?


    Although the world channel could be muted, the system announcements could not be blocked.


    No matter what you were doing at that very moment, you would be able to see this announcement.


    There was no doubt that all the teams in the Scarlet Monastery at the time had seen the announcement.


    They weren¡¯t robots; they were people with emotions too.


    Countless teams forgot what they were doing and ended up being wiped by Bloodmage Thalnos.


    Sorrowless paused briefly, then returned to his usual composure.


    "Why are you all standing around? We¡¯re not too far behind either. Keep going ¨C we¡¯ll be the second team to pass the dungeon."


    No matter what Sorrowless was thinking on the inside, he appeared calm.


    The team of Glory Capital consisted of players including Blood Dagger, Dancing Flower Beauty and I No Understand. They were all players with a strong mental fortitude.


    They only paused slightly, not giving the Boss a chance to turn the situation around.


    After two minutes, Bloodmage Thalnos had been slain.


    "We¡¯re only two minutes behind," Sorrowless emphasized. "Pass down the guides to our elite teams; have them start on Scarlet Graveyard. If there¡¯s any team that can manage to beat the time record of Ruling Sword, they¡¯ll be rewarded with a hundred thousand dollars, real money."


    The Paladin could almost predict the reaction of the elite teams.


    It wasn¡¯t just a simple $100,000; this was a task handed down by Sorrowless himself. They needed to give it their all.


    System: You¡¯ve received one skill point.


    Lu Li sighed in relief; this dungeon run was worth it!


    He had a lot of skills and most of them were important. The difference between a level one and level five skill wasn¡¯t something that could be ignored. If the system ever gave him a hundred skill points without anything else, he would still gladly take them. It was a pity that there were only so many ways for a player to obtain skills points.


    Skill points only had a small chance to be given out to players after defeating a boss.


    He had received one skill point from Illidan¡¯s Shadow, one point from the Howling Caves, one point from Blackfathom and another skill point just then. In addition to the extra skill point from Shadowstrike, he had only received five extra skill points in total.


    As someone who had reincarnated and taken multiple First Clears, this wasn¡¯t a high ratio.


    He asked around, but he was the only one who had received a skill point reward this time.


    This wasn¡¯t something that could be forced and everyone understood it. Since there weren¡¯t any other rewards, it was time to loot the boss.


    There was a good chance for the Boss to drop Gold grade equips, as this was a level 30 dungeon on Difficult mode.


    As per usual, Remnant Dream ran towards the skeletal mage. The little girl was brave; she didn¡¯t have a single bit of fear in what she was doing.


    The first item she looted was a rare material ¨C Anguished Souls. It looked like mist, but it was actually a solid item that was entirely clear.


    A distorted human face could be seen on the surface of the item; it looked as if someone was howling within.


    According to legend, the souls tormented by Bloodmage Thalnos would all solidify into this kind of essence.


    It was a good item, and a rare material often used for Death Knight equips. Although it didn¡¯t have a wide range of use, it was an item that only the Scarlet Graveyard would drop.


    The second item was a little rock.


    Synthetic Stone: Constitution+10, Strength+5.


    Synthetic stones could be embedded into equips, given that the equip already had slots for one.


    The Axe of the Legion in Moonlight¡¯s bag had a slot like this.


    Axe of the Legion (Gold): Damage 40-58, Strength 20, Agility 12, 1 Slot, Special Effect 1: 15% Critical Hit, Special Effect 2: Hits have a 30% chance of causing Armor Pierce. Special Effect 3: Wrath of the Legion ¨C All teammates within 8 yards will received a 20% increase in attack power for 15 seconds. 5 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 30. Durability 64/64.


    With the help of a high-leveled blacksmith, the attributes of the stone could be transferred onto the axe.


    These kind of stones could be found from monsters or gem cutting. Usually, stones from gem cutting would be slightly worse in terms of attributes; they would typically only have one bonus attribute. However, stones from bosses would have two or more attributes. If a player was lucky, they might even find a stone with special effects, which meant that the player would be able to add another special effect to their equipment.


    In the near future, a stone with an exquisite special effect could even be sold for up to six digits.


    The stone in Remnant Dream¡¯s hand was quite decent; it gave fifteen points of useful bonus attributes.


    Of course, the stone would be best for Azure Sea Breeze; he was the main tank and needed the Constitution attributes more than the others.


    "Hurry, see if there¡¯s other things." None of the items were for her, so Hachi Chan was a little worried. Equipment seemed more appealing when she had to fight for them; she probably wouldn¡¯t even be this excited if she was receiving her quest rewards.


    "It¡¯s not yours," Remnant Dream laughed as she looted an equip.


    She was happy because this wasn¡¯t an equipment for Hachi Chan; it was always nice to see others suffer.


    It was a level 30, Gold grade Plate armor with decent attributes. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t up to the standard of a First Clear, and it was for healing Paladins...


    There were no healing Paladins in the team, so the item had to placed in storage. Darkness, who was in the elite team, was a healing Paladin, so she might be able to use the equipment. This loved one of Sorrowless had signed a contract with Ruling Sword; it seemed like she wasn¡¯t just playing games with him.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t too concerned about their business. Nightedge would soon part ways with Sorrowless and as for Darkness, as long as she didn¡¯t do anything to harm Ruling Sword, Lu Li would still consider her as a part of the guild.


    "There¡¯s one more." Most bosses dropped around three items, so Remnant Dream tried again and managed to pull out another equip.


    As the only boss in the Scarlet Graveyard, Bloodmage Thalnos generously dropped a second equip.


    "Haha, it¡¯s mine!" Hachi Chan went up close to look at the attributes and quickly snatched the item away.


    It was a level 30 Silver grade leather Belt. The attributes weren¡¯t as great as the Gold grade equip from before, but they weren¡¯t too bad either. The reason why Hachi Chan liked the belt wasn¡¯t because of its attributes; appearance was always the most important factor for her.


    "That¡¯s all." Remnant Dream reluctantly pulled her hand back; she was still keen for more.


    "Wandering, summarize the guide for this dungeon. Pass it down to the elite team and have them start on the Scarlet Graveyard."


    No one else on the team besides him and Wandering had this kind of talent.


    "Do they need to get the Scarlet Halo?" Wandering asked.


    "What¡¯s the current situation outside?"


    Wandering asked around; the information he received was quite surprising.


    The current situation outside the Scarlet Monastery at this point was more tragic than they had thought. With the advantage of location and the lead of Glory Capital, the Horde guilds were actively oppressing players from the Alliance faction who aimed for the dungeon.


    Many people had already given up on the Scarlet Halo.


    The Alliance faction were at a disadvantage for the Scarlet Monastery dungeon, or at least, this was how it seemed at this point. They lacked the buff from the Halo.


    Scarlet Halo: Damage dealt to Scarlet Crusaders increased by 5%. HP Regeneration increased by 5% and Mana Regeneration increased by 5%. Lasts 1 hour.


    It didn¡¯t seem like a lot of difference judging from one player, but the difference reflected clearly in a team of ten players. It meant that the Horde faction guilds had an extra half of a person doing the dungeon with their teams.


    "Tell them to not worry about the Scarlet Halo; just teleport into the dungeon. Even if it¡¯s difficult mode, they¡¯ll be able to complete it if they have the guide. It¡¯ll just take a little more time."


    On the other hand, Lu Li and his team didn¡¯t have to worry about the Scarlet Halo, because they had Lu Li.

 375 Three Books

    Dawn¡¯s Instance Dungeon system was quite player-friendly. You could instantly transport to one from a town; you didn¡¯t need to actually travel to the location of the Instance Dungeon.


    What was even more convenient was that if you left the Instance Dungeon, you would appear outside where it was located.


    However, acquiring the Scarlet Halo required players to physically travel to the Scarlet Monastery. The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had fulfilled this condition and now they just had to kill enough mobs.


    As Lu Li left the Instance Dungeon in Stealth, several skills were already flying in his direction.


    The outside was just too chaotic; there was fighting happening everywhere.


    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just the Alliance players who were dying; the Horde players were also suffering heavy casualties. All of the players were losing a lot of EXP. They had gotten so bloodthirsty that they had forgotten the reason they had come here, and that they should have actually been saving their strength.


    There was also fierce fighting at the Instance Dungeon¡¯s entrance.


    Lu Li was still a person; he couldn¡¯t react that quickly and was revealed on the spot. The Horde players had not expected anyone to come out from the Instance Dungeon entrance either.


    As such, he acted quickly and vanished without a trace.


    It was difficult to escape from the fight, but Lu Li had Shadowmeld, Vanish, Gale Steps and even his cloak¡¯s effect. Once he was out of battle, he could immediately go back into Stealth.


    It was difficult to catch a Thief in Stealth, so no one was able to find him afterwards.


    However, he wasn¡¯t here to kill anyone ¨C he was looking for some trouble with the Scarlet Paladins.


    There weren¡¯t many PVP experts here, and those that were weren¡¯t as strong as Lu Li. He quickly killed the sufficient number of Scarlet Paladins and also killed a few Horde players along the way.


    When everyone in his party received the Scarlet Halo, he returned to the Instance Dungeon¡¯s entrance.


    "You can almost come out now," Lu Li said in the party chat. "When you come out, Flower and Riceball should use their area of effect skills at a 45-degree angles and Moonlight should use Whirlwind in the center. Everyone else, follow from behind."


    This was the biggest problem with the Scarlet Monastery Instance Dungeon Group. Even after finishing one of the Instance Dungeons, there was still the possibility of death when travelling to another Instance Dungeon.


    Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t anyone blocking any of the Instance Dungeon entrances yet.


    Perhaps they hadn¡¯t thought of it or maybe they didn¡¯t dare to, but even Glory Capital didn¡¯t have the resources to do something like that yet.


    If you sent players to block all of the Instance Dungeons, you would have to face the attacks of all players. This could escalate into an all-out war.


    Glory Capital had two to three hundred thousand players, but the top 30 guilds combined probably had at least 10 million players. If they were attacked by all of those players, they would lose, no matter what.


    If that happened, the loss of EXP would drag the guild into the abyss.


    Despite the flow of blood at the Scarlet Monastery, everyone was actually maintaining some minimum level of calmness. If Glory Capital wasn¡¯t blocking off the Instance Dungeon, that meant that the bulk of their forces were inside completing it.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group left the Instance Dungeon before Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball immediately casted their area of effect skills. This caused significant damage to the groups of players nearby, and Moonlight chopped right through those players who were directly in front of them with Whirlwind.


    In a few seconds, they had entered the library and had left several corpses behind.


    "Dammit, who were they and why were they so strong?" The survivors felt a lingering fear as they wiped the cold sweat off their foreheads.


    "Their area of effect skills dealt damage in the hundreds. Who was that guy? That¡¯s just unfair." Those who witnessed what had just happened quickly rushed over to pick up the equipment that was dropped.


    "It was the Xin Xin Mercenary Group; the guys that just took the First Clear. Did you guys not recognize the Ruling Sword badges that they were wearing?" There were some players that understood; they were the ones that didn¡¯t try to stop them as they were passing.


    Those who were doing the Instance Dungeons were good to hunt. However, you had to discern between them ¨C some were worth offending, but others were completely out of consideration.


    Lu Li then also rushed into the library as the next Instance Dungeon officially began.


    Before doing the Instance Dungeons in the Cathedral or the Arsenal, they needed to do the one in the library, as it would give them the keys required to unlock those areas. Additionally, there were also several books in the library that were very useful.


    "Beginnings of an Undead Threat" ¨C this book described the story of the Undead. Lu Li had previously read it and found that it was a very interesting book.


    Paladins could take this book to Light¡¯s Great Hope Chapel to trigger a quest that would yield a random Paladin skill book as a reward. If any other player had the book, it would grant a high EXP reward.


    "Compendium" ¨C this book referred to the Scarlet Crusade and was regarded as highly biased by some people.


    This book could be exchanged for a lot of prestige, but you would need to wait for the main city to open up for that. Alternatively, it could also be exchanged for a wide variety of different items that varied from person to person. In his past life, Lu Li had received a little creature that wasn¡¯t much use to him, but he had managed to sell it to a female player for 20,000 dollars.


    The third book was called "Mythology of the Titans".


    This was basically a story book. Lu Li distinctly remembered the sentence on the title page: The future is predetermined and our fates are futile like a drop of water falling into the ocean.


    This book described the lore of Dawn in the context of its most powerful presence ¨C the Titans.


    The Scarlet Monastery Instance Dungeons was something that all players eventually had to face. The reason was predominantly because of this book. After reading it, a player would receive a quest of varying content. It could be easy like delivering a letter or something difficult like defeating a Boss.


    The reward of these quests was the "Adventurer¡¯s Exploration Badge", which was also known as the Adventurer¡¯s Badge or even ¡®the badge¡¯.


    The badge had different attributes for different races and professions, but it always had one common effect: "Disperse all movement speed de-buffs and crowd-control from your character".


    From that moment onwards, ordinary players couldn¡¯t be bullied by the experts.


    Of course, noobs wouldn¡¯t suddenly become gods because of this item, but they would at least have an opportunity to fight back.


    This equipment was considered by game critics to be an integral part to Dawn as a game. It represented the spirit of fair play in Dawn.


    The three books each had their own uses which made the library Instance Dungeon one of the most valuable in terms of gold.


    Lu Li had read many of the books here. Many of them contained lore about Dawn, but there were some books on strategies as well. It was in this Instance Dungeon that Lu Li discovered that Dawn¡¯s lore was not only fun to read, but also useful. Despite not having graduated junior high, he had a lot of time to read and absorb this massive amount of knowledge.


    "Let¡¯s do this Instance Dungeon in the Nightmare Difficulty," Lu Li solemnly said to this teammates.

 376 Dog Food

    Nightmare Difficulty again?


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others were speechless; they just stared blankly at Lu Li.


    They were just talking about the First Clear rewards and how good they were. They didn¡¯t expect Lu Li to coldly suggest the Nightmare Difficulty for the next Instance Dungeon.


    It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t believe they could do it, but that they thought it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    What had just happened?


    They had just got the First Clear!


    When the First Clear was announced, the whole world fell silent, but Ruling Sword began to celebrate.


    This kind of recognition wasn¡¯t something that most members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had experienced before. After all, they couldn¡¯t just go around flattering each other.


    In order to achieve the First Clear, they had selected the Elite Difficulty. Even then, they already had to fight really hard for it, so why would they pick the Nightmare Difficulty now?


    Wasn¡¯t Lu Li being a little overconfident, and perhaps even conceited?


    "Hah, if you want to do the Nightmare difficulty, then let¡¯s do it. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of." Azure Sea Breeze, the one who did the most complaining, was the surprisingly the first to respond, "Glory Capital started the Scarlet Cemetery last night, but we¡¯ve managed pull ahead of them. It doesn¡¯t matter what star players they have, because to the rest of the world, we are the best of the best."


    "Ha, Ha," Wandering sarcastically quipped.


    Eventually, the decision to do it in Nightmare Difficulty was unanimously decided upon. Although everyone had their own reservations, no one wanted to oppose Lu Li¡¯s decision.


    Lu Li was the core of their team and the undisputed leader. Even players as proud as Wandering, Moonlight and Lonesome Flower never questioned him.


    "The library is heavily guarded but I know some secrets about the Scarlet Monastery which can save us a lot of effort," Lu Li said, which comforted everyone. He wasn¡¯t crazy ¨C he wouldn¡¯t have chosen it if it was impossible.


    There were only two official Bosses in the Scarlet Library, but it was really two and a half bosses.


    The first was Lington, Training Officer Lington. He was the half-Boss, and an officer that served the Scarlet Crusade, training their soldiers to fight and shoot.


    He trained the Scarlet Crusade¡¯s archers and basically controlled them in the palm of his hand.


    The strength of this officer was quite ordinary, but he controlled two teams of twenty archers which had burst power that could only be described as overpowered. Among the level 30 Elites, you wouldn¡¯t be able to find another group that had an attack strength as powerful as theirs.


    Any player who took an attack from all of them at once was guaranteed to be killed.


    Lu Li confidently believed that no one would be able to solve this puzzle for a while, which was why he had the courage to pick the Nightmare Difficulty.


    "Lu Li that¡¯s gross. What is that thing?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    He saw Lu Li picking something that didn¡¯t look particularly appealing. Everyone else also started to move away from him.


    "Everyone collect some; it¡¯s just dog food. Throw it at the hound when you see it," Lu Li said calmly and carefully put the collected dog food into his bag.


    "It¡¯s so smelly; can I not take it? I¡¯m just a child," Hachi Chan wrinkled her nose in disgust.


    "He¡¯s not even asking you to eat it¡­"


    "Blergh." The little girl had already vomited.


    "Alright, stop fussing. This item is really important ¨C our ability to complete this Instance Dungeon depends on it," Lu Li said seriously.


    Once they heard him say that, they obediently collected this so-called dog food.


    In reality, this dog food had been mixed with some corpses, which was why it smelled so bad. Most people would avoid it entirely, let alone even think that it was necessary to defeat Dog Trainer Roxi.


    Dog Trainer Roxi was the second Boss; this item was required for the future.


    The first mob that they encountered was some kind of watchman, who had brought four hungry hunting dogs with him. It was said that you should keep your hunting dogs a little hungry so that they feel compelled to run.


    "Dreamy, you go first. Throw a bag of dog food onto the ground and quickly hide," Lu Li commanded.


    This was a simple task. Remnant Dream obediently threw the bag of dog food the moment she heard the instruction to do so. She felt uncomfortable holding such an unpleasant thing in her bag.


    All the other players watched from a distance as the watchman and hunting dogs approached it.


    The watchman walked past it without noticing the dog food, and he didn¡¯t notice that his dogs had stopped to eat the dog food either. This was a recipe for disaster ¨C the crazed dogs pounced onto him and the watchman had no power to stop them.


    The dogs then fell asleep after they had killed the watchman.


    "Hachi, on the next wave, you can throw yours."


    Lu Li was relieved as they passed the sleeping dogs and continued to press ahead.


    "The watchman only had 2000 HP and the dogs had 1000 HP each. Couldn¡¯t we just kill them? Why are we going through all this trouble?" Wandering asked, confused as to what Lu Li was doing.


    However, knowing Lu Li, there had to be some legitimate reason and it wasn¡¯t just some trivial matter.


    "You¡¯ll know soon enough," Lu Li replied cryptically, brushing aside the question.


    Along the rest of the path, there was always the same kind of mob ¨C a watchman and his four hunting dogs.


    The ten players threw the food each time, resulting in a total of 10 dead watchmen and 40 sleeping dogs.


    "Will these dogs help us fight the Boss?" Wandering felt that something was up as an amazing idea suddenly formed in his mind that he couldn¡¯t help but blurt out.


    What kind of joke was that? Simply throwing some food on the ground would cause these dogs to betray their owner?


    "This dog food was a product of a failed experiment. The side effects were too great, so they were abandoned by the Scarlet Crusade," Lu Li casually explained. He knew nothing about the scientific principles or biological theories behind it.


    They had just arrived at a courtyard which was filled with Armor-clad Archers as far as the eye could see.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t directly provoke the Training Officer Lington. Doing such a thing would be guaranteeing his own death.


    He brought the party to some rooms beside the courtyard first. Some of them were empty, while others were filled with level 30 elite monsters.


    After clearing a few rooms, Lu Li found the item he was looking for.


    It was a grass shield interwoven with vines, and was as tall as a person in addition to being a meter wide. Although it was a grass shield, it was still quite hard to lift.


    "I know that this will be used to deal with the archers." Azure Sea Breeze was indeed a master of shields and immediately knew what Lu Li wanted to do.


    When there were these many archers, the medium-sized shield that a Main Tank usually carried was not enough. Only this kind of full-bodied shield could provide effective protection. As for why they couldn¡¯t use a large iron shield, those kinds of shields were installed onto chariots for a reason ¨C no one could lift them up.


    "That¡¯s right, but one shield isn¡¯t enough. We have to keep looking," Lu Li nodded.


    After clearing another dozen rooms, they had found four shields. There were probably more, but Lu Li thought that it was enough and that they didn¡¯t need to waste any more time.


    They stood in the courtyard and Azure Sea Breeze lifted his grass shield as the others hid behind him.


    Naturally, Lington quickly discovered them. He laughed coldly before shouting, "You intruders will know death! You have no idea what you¡¯re about to face! Archers, fire!"

 377 Elites Were Not Easy Pickings

    In the storm of arrows that were fired, some of them would slip through and hit them. However, most of the arrows were blocked by the Grass shield.


    After they moved a little closer, Lington commanded the archers to shoot fire arrows. After a few arrows hit the grass shield, it caught on fire. Everyone was choking from the smoke and the fire was dealing a lot of damage to them.


    "Change the shield!" Lu Li shouted while coughing.


    Azure Sea Breeze threw away the big grass shield that he was holding onto and equipped a new one from his bag.


    Braving the barrage of arrows, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group slowly inched towards the archers.


    Could they have directly attacked them?


    Sure, but it would have placed a huge burden on the healers. Lu Li had set the dungeon on Nightmare Difficulty, which meant that the monsters had 50% more attack power than they did at Elite difficulty. They also had Armor Break, Piercing and other attribute debuffs that would have inevitably resulted in some of them dying.


    Azure Sea Breeze would hold the shield, so that March Rain only needed to occasionally heal him. The others just had to stay low and follow behind him.


    They couldn¡¯t help but admire his prudence. Following him into Instance Dungeons was always an eye-opening experience. He did things that no one else would think of and it would work so effectively.


    Eventually they were receiving attacks from all directions.


    "Breezy, you keep their aggro. Everyone else, attack the archers." Lu Li¡¯s voice was steady as the battle begun.


    In reality, he didn¡¯t need to say anything. Everyone knew that they needed to attack the archers first; they only had 800 HP after all. However, compared to other level 30 elites, they had a ridiculous amount of damage.


    For an Elite to have such little HP and Defense meant that they had exchanged it for a very high Attack. As such, if they couldn¡¯t quickly kill these archers, they were done for.


    If they didn¡¯t kill the archers first, the whole group would be killed.


    Twenty archers had died and Lington hadn¡¯t done anything about it yet.


    It didn¡¯t matter how powerful he was as his strength was in his commanding ability.


    Given the fact that he wasn¡¯t a proper Boss, Lington¡¯s own strength was actually quite mediocre. It only took them a few minutes to kill him on the spot.


    Although he was weak, he still yielded a large amount of EXP. After all, this was an Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty.


    Lonesome Flower also received quite a bit of EXP and managed to level up. He had become the second person in the party to reach level 30. He was also the second person in Dawn to do so.


    The rest of the group were all level 29. Azure Sea Breeze, Sakura Memories and March Rain were the exceptions that had almost reached level 30.


    Sakura Memories and Azure Sea Breeze were both levelling madmen. These two didn¡¯t do anything else apart from Instance Dungeons and farming. As long as they had time, they would spend it on levelling, which is how they had made it to fifth on the level rankings.


    Azure Sea Breeze spent most of the time pulling the mobs towards Lonesome Flower, who would then cast his area of effect skills while being healed by March Rain. This was quite an efficient strategy.


    When Lonesome Flower was pressed for time, he would charge into a group of level 32 mobs and rely on his resistances. He looked for mobs that had high attack and low HP to bolster his EXP gain. It was also quite efficient for him to farm on his own.


    Unfortunately, this time, no one received any Skill Points. They only had the equipment drops to look forward to.


    Officer Lington had dropped three things. The first was a Warlock Skill Book; this was given to Sesame Rice Ball.


    The other two were equips with decent attributes. The first equip was a pair of Gold Priest Healing Gloves which allowed a Priest¡¯s next skill to be cast instantaneously.


    This was an exquisite effect for saving a critical situation.


    For Magic Professions, the longer it took to channel a skill, the stronger it was. The Priest¡¯s healing skills worked the same way.


    If there was a longer channel time, then more health could be restored. March Rain could use these gloves to instantly heal up dying teammates.


    The other equip was a level 30 Silver Cloak that was for Hunters. Not only did it increase movement speed, but it also increased range by 20%. Although it was very useful for a Hunter that liked to kite with their bow, Remnant Dream was unlikely to make use of it.


    However, as a level 30 Silver equip, its attributes were much better than that of a level 25 equip. As such, there was no question about whether to equip it or not.


    After Lington died, a door in the courtyard opened up.


    When they passed through, they found themselves in another courtyard, facing Dog Trainer Roxi. This was where she trained the hounds.


    There were many Scarlet Monks patrolling the courtyard. Dog Trainer Roxi¡¯s work was very important to the Scarlet Crusade, as they intended to use the hounds to fight the Ccourge. They also had the added benefit of being able to tell who had been affected by the plague.


    These Scarlet Monks didn¡¯t seem difficult to deal with. They didn¡¯t have much HP and instead had higher than average attack.


    However, this dungeon was still at Nightmare Difficulty, so inferences couldn¡¯t be drawn from the knowledge they had gained from the previous dungeon. If they treated the monks as some kind of fodder, they were likely to clear out Lu Li¡¯s entire party.


    Fortunately, Lu Li was well aware of how hard it was to deal with these Scarlet Monks.


    "Remnant Dream use your bow and arrows. Breezy and Wandering, you guys draw aggro. Let¡¯s divide them into two groups before attacking them. Do not let more than two Scarlet Monks stand together," Lu Li said seriously.


    "What happens if more than two of them are standing together?" Wandering asked.


    "The three monks will cast a flame storm together. It has a wide range and deals a large amount of damage. It could clear us all out instantly," Lu Li explained.


    With that possibility in mind, Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering acted cautiously, and Remnant Dream didn¡¯t dare to do anything that might transfer the aggro.


    The monks were similar to the Paladins, but they were even more devout. Their way of life could only be described as ¡®bitter¡¯, and regardless of whether it was a time of peace or war, they just drank water, ate rough dry bread, wore linen cloths and wielded simple weapons.


    As they were fighting them, Lu Li made sure to instill a particular lesson into his teammates.


    He did so especially for Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering, who would often command other teams. The lesson was this: do not underestimate level 30 elites.


    The Elites were not easy pickings!


    Perhaps they were not the most powerful, but they usually had their own unique ability.


    Take these monks for example ¨C the Xin Xin Mercenary Group could easily take out a lone monk. However, if three of them stood together, they could easily exterminate ten players.


    The idea was simple, but most other players could only recognize it after they had been slaughtered by these monks.


    They had spent an hour clearing out these monks, but Lu Li didn¡¯t become impatient.


    At that time, the Ruling Sword¡¯s Elite group had destroyed the Scarlet Cemetery¡¯s hidden grave guards and had started on Bloodmage Thalnos.


    The Elite Group had 100 players which were split into parties of ten. With Lu Li¡¯s secret strategy, they managed to clear out the hidden grave fairly easily, which yielded equipment and high spirits.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s Elite group turned out to be stronger than they had expected.


    The other guilds had many parties as well, but no one else had found the hidden grave!

 378 Dog Whistle

    Dog Trainer Roxi was born into a poor family. Both of her parents died when she was young and she grew up alone with an old dog.


    As such, she had a very special connection with dogs. When she had grown up, she met a great Hunter in her hometown ¨C Dog Trainer Bryan. He was an expert in the Tame Beast skill.


    After Roxi completed her study under him, she left her master to join the Scarlet Crusade.


    Her fighting ability basically came from the hunting dogs.


    Azure Sea Breeze carefully went up and drew aggro as the other players started attacking. Lu Li didn¡¯t really need to explain much. The frustrating part about fighting this Boss was that when she reached a certain HP threshold, she would summon a large number of dogs.


    At the Nightmare Difficulty, this aspect would be further accentuated.


    The Boss¡¯ HP was dropping so slowly that Lu Li even found the time to give out some instructions for the elite group players.


    "There is a warning before Static Time is cast. The most important thing to observe is the tip of the Bloodmage¡¯s Magic Staff. When a white ring appears, you will have 1.5 seconds to react. The commander shouldn¡¯t need to do anything else but carefully watch out for that ring."


    "But once it flies out, it disappears," one of the commanders said in distress.


    "You¡¯ll need to make a judgment call. The skill will fly out in a straight line and there will be players in the way. If you aren¡¯t scared of losing some DPS, you can order those players to move out of the way. In reality, the skill only has a certain width. The only condition is that there will definitely be one player in the center. Lastly, you can determine the direction based on how he lifts his staff¡­"


    Lu Li was very familiar with that skill. Not only did he tell them how it worked, but he also explained the behavior that would lead up to that skill.


    "Boss, how many tries did you take to beat this Boss?" someone asked curiously.


    "Just one," Lu Li replied.


    "Wahh! Boss, you¡¯re too good." Although these were just words, they showed that he really worshiped Lu Li.


    Lu Li was confident that the elite group would be able to defeat Bloodmage Thalnos. In fact, these elite players would slowly become more confident and coordinated as they continued to fight together.


    Once you knew the strategy, the Scarlet Cemetery was a piece of cake. It was just training at this point.


    On Lu Li¡¯s side, he grew more anxious as Dog Trainer Roxi¡¯s HP slowly decreased.


    "Close the doors and release the dogs!"


    This line was so comical that if they were in a different circumstance, they would have broken out in laughter. However, this was a Nightmare Difficulty Instance Dungeon and Roxi was at less than 20% HP. This signaled that she was going all out from now on.


    A group of 50 dogs responded to Roxi¡¯s whistle and rushed in as the doors slowly closed.


    There were so many dogs and they all looked incredibly bloodthirsty. It was going to be a tough fight, but Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t one to just give up and die. He braced himself and ran forwards to meet them while activating his damage reduction skills.


    Dawn¡¯s number 1 main tank firmly believed that he should always die before anyone else in his team. For as long as he was still breathing, he would struggle until the very end.


    However, he was held back by Lu Li, who was laughing as he reprimanded him, "Why are you charging in? Fall back ¨C this is pretty bad situation to be in".


    "Attack! Kill them all! I want to use their bodies for feed."


    After backing up, Roxi and her dogs were going a little crazy. This mid-level Scarlet Crusade leader hadn¡¯t felt this kind of desperation in a long time.


    Lu Li and the others kept walking back, but there was only a little bit of space. Where else could they go?


    At that point, the group of bloodthirsty dogs suddenly surrounded Dog Trainer Roxi.


    "What? No! I am your master; you must obey my orders. You ungrateful scum¡­" Dog Trainer Roxi¡¯s HP was almost instantly emptied by the 40 hunting dogs.


    These were the 40 dogs that Lu Li had fed the dog food to.


    The other 10 dogs went to attack Lu Li and the others, but they were easily dealt with. The small room was filled with the smell of blood, which added to the bizarre atmosphere.


    Then, the 40 remaining dogs went back into a deep sleep.


    "I got a skill point," Sakura Memories said, breaking the silence.


    "Congratulations. Remember to add it to Bloodlust," Lu Li responded.


    Bloodlust was just too good of a skill. Once cast, all members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group could deal more damage to the Boss. Sakura Memories had to upgrade it as much as she could.


    In addition to the previous three points, Sakura Memories had finally maxed out Bloodthirst.


    The amount of EXP was also quite significant; Roxi was a real level 30 Boss. She had also dropped four piece of equipment.


    "Rare Material Blood Dog skin. It sounds so gross."


    Remnant Dream¡¯s lips curled as she held up this piece of leather in obvious dissatisfaction.


    "That¡¯s okay; this material can used to make good cloaks, so it can probably be sold for a lot of money." Lu Li habitually used gold to determine its value. This item was probably worth at least 150 gold.


    "Level 30 Silver Boots for a Warrior. They seem like they increase movement speed by quite a bit." Remnant Dream shared the equipment¡¯s attributes and gave it directly to Moonlight.


    The little girl now had a keen eye and knew who would get which equip. She was the only person other than the party leader who had the authority to distribute items.


    In addition to increasing movement speed, the boots also gave +1 to Charge. This had the effect of having one additional skill point.


    "What¡¯s this? A whistle?" Remnant Dream asked as she held a whistle with eyes wide in curiosity. The others also surrounded her, hoping that it was a super exquisite piece of equipment.


    Dog Whistle (Special): Instant Cast, cooldown of 30 minutes. Summon a hound that fights for you for 10 minutes. Equipment Requirement: Level 30. Durability: 50/50.


    It turned out to be a special equip that could summon a pet.


    "I really want it; can I have it?" the ten year old girl pleaded as she pitifully looked at everyone. No one could find it in themselves to take it away from her.


    Well, it wasn¡¯t not for everyone anyway.


    "Dreamy, dreamy, give it to me¡­" Hachi Chan swooped in and grabbed onto Remnant Dream¡¯s body. Not only did she grab onto her, but she also relentlessly kissed Remnant Dream¡¯s face.


    Everyone: ¡­


    "I¡­ also want it," said Remnant Dream.


    "You¡¯re a hunter; you can catch whatever pets you want. Dreamy, have pity on me. We grew up together. When that boy from kindergarten pulled your ponytail, I kicked him onto the ground. When you broke that vase in primary school, you blamed it on me and told aunty¡­"


    Wow, who would have thought that Hachi Chan would have done so much for her friend?


    Remnant Dream licked her lips and thought for a while before making up her mind and giving it to Hachi Chan.


    The whistle wasn¡¯t that useful. The hound only had 1000 HP and didn¡¯t have much Attack. The only thing it really had going for it were its looks.

 379 Small Treasure Hunting Demon

    Although it was as weak as a combat pet, the Scarlet Library Dog Whistle quite sought after.


    Some players had calculated that the Dog Whistle¡¯s drop rate was around 0.01%. Most of the time, it only dropped in the Hero or Nightmare Difficulty. If you managed to get it in the Elite Difficulty, you could brag about on the forums and countless players would look at you in amazement.


    More importantly, the summoned furry dog was really popular with girls.


    When Hachi Chan whistled and summoned the little dog, Remnant Dream immediately regretted her decision. She hugged it with tears streaming down her face, captivated by its cuteness.


    If she knew about this she would have just toughened up and taken it for herself.


    March Rain also wanted it; her eyes gave her away. Even Sakura Memories looked envious.


    There was even the possibility that Lu Li would have wanted it, not because of its combat ability, but because he could give it to his sister. If Xin Xin could have a whistle that could give her a dog to play with, she would be very happy.


    "Dreamy, let¡¯s all take care of it together." Hachi Chan was na?ve but she wasn¡¯t a complete fool.


    She saw that everyone so dearly coveted the dog and immediately offered it up.


    "Alright, let¡¯s keep going. We¡¯ll have more opportunities to get a Dog Whistle later. We have so many elite groups that someone else is bound to get it. You can trade with them later when it happens."


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had many great items equipped. When they got better items, they would usually just sell their old ones, but now, they would trade them into the guild warehouse.


    However, in the interest of fairness, items that were traded into the guild warehouse were converted into points.


    As per Square Root 3¡¯s rules, clearing Instance Dungeons also yielded these points. These points were also doubled if anyone achieved the First Clear. This meant that the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had many of these points.


    Some people liked items like the Dog Whistle while others preferred strong equipment.


    There were all kinds of items in Ruling Sword¡¯s guild warehouse that could be redeemed for points.


    After they left the courtyard, the architectural style of the map changed significantly. The history of this place predated the Scarlet Crusade. When the Monastery was created, this library was established and it had never changed through the ages.


    The Scarlet Crusade was a little extreme, but these buildings were indifferent to whoever occupied them.


    The Tirisfal Woodland¡¯s rainy season had finally arrived. Raindrops landed on the roofs of the wooden huts as the strong aroma of vegetation wafted through the air. The fighting in the area also quickly dissipated.


    "The peacefulness here is just an illusion. Be careful, everyone," Lu Li reminded.


    Lu Li was poor and had never gone to school, so he had a great thirst for knowledge. As such, he had suffered a great loss the first time he came here.


    The Scarlet Acolytes didn¡¯t care what you thought and would start casting their curses on sight. Their curses were similar to those of the Warlocks, but they also knew some Mage skills, the scariest of which was undoubtedly Polymorph.


    The first unlucky was Azure Sea Breeze, who was turned into a frog.


    If this wasn¡¯t a virtual game, players wouldn¡¯t be able to appreciate the same visual shock. The player being polymorphed would suddenly become smaller while the world grew larger. The dozens of players around them would also look very strange.


    "Mommy!" Azure Sea Breeze cried out and started running.


    He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn¡¯t find the words to express himself. The only sound he could make was ¡®ribbit¡¯!


    Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit!


    The player that had been holding up the shield and protecting the team had been turned into a frog, and was croaking and hopping around.


    At this point, transforming players into sheep had not yet been popularized. Besides, it was much more disorienting when they were turned into frogs.


    "Haha, he should just stay in this form."


    Wandering knew that this was a monster¡¯s skill and would only last a short while, but he couldn¡¯t help gloating while he the opportunity.


    He even almost stepped onto him.


    "If you give him a kiss, he will turn back into his original form, frog prince," Sakura Memories maliciously said. This girl was always fantasizing about other men.


    "In that case, I guess he¡¯s staying in this form," Wandering laughed coldly.


    "March, remove the curse," Lu Li said helplessly.


    Did his teammates not feel a sense of urgency? They were still in an Instance Dungeon.


    They were treating the Instance Dungeon like some kind of game, which was typical of them, but then again, they really were playing a game.


    March Rain lifted the curse with one skill, returning Azure Sea Breeze to his original form. His world was now back to normal, but he saw everyone else laughing at him. He cried out in anger and rushed at the Crimson Acolyte, presumably blaming it for everything that had happened.


    As they cleared out the rest of the path, no one else was Polymorphed.


    There were also some other curious curses that they encountered. Some made them bigger, smaller, slower or weaker¡­


    Fortunately, March Rain could remove most magical de-buffs, while Lonesome Flower and Hachi Chan could remove curses.


    "Quickly! attack this one!" Lu Li¡¯s eyes lit up as he pointed to one of the mobs.


    As he spoke, he used his Cloak¡¯s effect to appear behind the mob, but he only realized that this mob wasn¡¯t affected by crowd control after he had cast Cheap Shot.


    Fortunately, it was rare that the others would see him this excited. As such, they all cast their skills at the little mob that was carrying a bag and killed it on the spot.


    There was an explosion of gold coins as it fell to the ground.


    It was rare for mobs to drop gold coins in Dawn. It was already quite generous for a small mob to drop one or two silver coins. Bosses could drop gold coins, but there were usually only a few of them. After they had killed this monster, at least a dozen gold coins were dropped.


    There was even a Skill Book lying on the ground.


    This was the Scarlet Custodian, which was similar to the treasure hunting demons in other games.


    The previous Instance Dungeon had been completed at too low of a level, so this was the first time it had appeared.


    This monster wasn¡¯t very strong; it didn¡¯t have high defense and its HP was rather low. Moreover, it never attacked and would always try to run away.


    It was difficult to deal with because it wasn¡¯t affected by crowd control, so you couldn¡¯t hold it in place to prevent it from escaping down its hole. Once it went down the hole, it was impossible for the players to catch it.


    In this case, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group¡¯s attacks were heaven-defying. Otherwise, it would have managed to escape into its hole.


    The Scarlet Custodian had excellent drops; it would often drop Skill Books and Gold. With regards to the coins, it would be strange if it dropped less than 12 gold coins at a time. Killing this monster would always yield the players a small fortune.


    The gold coins were picked up and automatically divided into everyone¡¯s backpacks.


    Lu Li noticed that he had been assigned 7 gold coins, which meant that there were at least 70 gold coins.


    In addition, there was also a skill book.


    This rare monster would never drop a useless skill book, so Lu Li was filled with anticipation.

 380 Arcanist Doan

    Intervene: Increases your own speed when running towards a teammate within a 15 yard radius by 200% for 10 seconds. As long as the target is within 5 yards of you, you can take the next attack for them.


    It was a good item!


    This Skill book undoubtedly provided a greater opportunity for teamwork. You could easily imagine a situation where someone was about to be killed, only to have another player run by and block the fatal damage for them.


    Although they could only block one attack, this could be enough to determine the difference between life and death.


    Now it was a matter of determining who would get the book.


    Intervene was not a bad skill by any measure, but based on the forums, it seemed like no one else had found it yet.


    Who knew how long it would be before another of these appeared?


    The most reasonable option would be to give it up Azure Sea Breeze. However, they could also give it to Wandering as he was a defensive Warrior.


    Lu Li actually felt more inclined to give it to Moonlight.


    "I don¡¯t mind."


    Although Moonlight thought that this skill book would be quite useful, he didn¡¯t want to fight for it. He was used to keeping a low profile just like Sesame Rice Ball, but unlike Sesame Rice Ball, who was shy, Moonlight was simply indifferent.


    "Hmph, just give it to Lighty; I don¡¯t want to learn this kind of self-hurting skill," Wandering said with a look of disgust.


    "I need to be taking the main damage, so I won¡¯t have time to help others," Azure Sea Breeze said as he shook his head and rejected the skill book. It wasn¡¯t that it was inappropriate for them to have it, but that he had heard that Lu Li wanted to give it to Moonlight. Naturally, he thought that it was a good idea because of this.


    Lu Li¡¯s reasoning was simple. Moonlight wore Plate Armor, so he was fully capable of taking another hit. This skill would also make him stronger during PVP battles.


    Moonlight was the second strongest player in the club after all.


    While this skill book was really useful for Instance Dungeons, it could be even more useful for competitions.


    For Lu Li, wins and losses in game didn¡¯t mean much to him unless they could be converted into real money.


    Fame and reputation were fleeting.


    The bookkeeper monster in this library was going to be difficult because it was at Nightmare Difficulty. The respawns were inconsistent, so Lu Li and the others had to keep checking around while clearing other mobs.


    However, they remained hopeful as they fought their way into the library¡¯s main hall.


    Eventually, they did run into a bookkeeper. It seemed that they weren¡¯t lucky enough.


    There were mountains of books everywhere in the main hall.


    "Alright, all of you need to find these three books ¨C ¡®Beginnings of the Undead Threat, ¡®Compendium of the Fallen¡¯, and ¡®Mythology of the Titans¡¯. We¡¯ll also need to find the keys to the library," Lu Li said as he clapped his hands.


    "I understand finding the keys to the library, but what are those books for?" Everyone¡¯s faces were a little green with anxiety.


    This was a huge circular hall with countless high bookshelves. Finding three specific books in this place was no simple task ¨C they could search for a day and still not find it.


    "Don¡¯t over exaggerate the situation."


    Lu Li was sweating. The game wouldn¡¯t make it impossible, right?


    Of these tens of thousands of books, only a few hundred could be read. However, this number would grow to more than three thousand in a year¡¯s time.


    When Lu Li later came back to the Scarlet Monastery later in his previous life, over tens of thousands of books had been added to the Scarlet Monastery Library.


    Some of these books were written by writers employed by the game company. Others were spontaneously written by players and detailed their travels through Dawn. Some books also documented the historical figures of Dawn.


    Of these writers, the ones who had written the most were Sally Whitemane and Brigitte Abbendis.


    These were two women who had lived illustrious lives.


    Lu Li¡¯s request actually wasn¡¯t difficult. Of the countless books before them, many of them couldn¡¯t be read. As such, if they could put a book into their bag, then it was probably one of those three.


    If everyone looked through 10 books at a time, everyone would have all three books.


    There was a way to make it even simpler. If they all put 30 books into their bags and took some time to sort through them, they would eventually be left with the three books as well.


    The keys were also going to be found sandwiched in one of the books.


    This unlocked the room of Arcanist Doan.


    Lu Li was very familiar with Doan¡¯s background as he had read a biography of the Abbendis family. It recorded the life experiences of the Abbendis father and daughters.


    There were words in that book that had left a strong impression on Lu Li.


    Oh Abbendis, why won¡¯t you look upon me? I am willing to go to the ends of the earth for you and my only hope is that you would notice me¡­


    This sentence was carved onto a silver coin, as a testimony to the person¡¯s feelings.


    It was said that this sentence was written by old man Abbendis himself to another man. However, the authenticity of this claim was weak and was probably made up by the imaginations of some perverted women.


    Even so, it had still received some fame. This old mage had become a famous historical figure from Dawn¡¯s lore which popularized that claim.


    Those silver coins were also collected by these perverted women;¡¯each one of them could be sold for more than 100 gold.


    Doan was one of Old Mograine¡¯s trusted partners. He, Tirion, Alfred Abbendis, Isillien and Fairbanks had worked together to study a mysterious crystal that had been picked up from the Southshore battlefield.


    This was the group that the Ashbringer was born from.


    Doan had played a very important role in that process.


    Later, Silver Hand¡¯s Doan joined the Scarlet Crusade and was made responsible for guarding the Scarlet Monastery¡¯s library. He was also in charge of protecting the key that allowed entry into the Scarlet Cathedral.


    This old Mage whose age was unknown really liked his old friend¡¯s daughter ¨C Brigitte Abbendis.


    Brigitte Abbendis was the Scarlet Crusade¡¯s Grand General Alfred Abbendis¡¯ daughter. Alfred Abbendis was also originally from the Silver Hand Paladin Regiment. After the Grand General Abbendis¡¯ death, young Brigitte succeeded her father to become the new Scarlet Crusade Grand General. She led the remaining Scarlet Crusade to Fireplace Valley and formed a resistance with Scarlet Lord Valdelmar to defend against the Scourge invasion.


    There was no clear evidence of this, but there was an impression that Old Doan was a bit of a loli-con.


    Was he gay or a loli-con?


    Doan was constantly the object of ridicule amongst the players; it was difficult for him to garner any respect.


    However, as one of the oldest members of the Scarlet Crusade, it was very difficult to get rid of Arcanist Doan.

 381 Impartiality

    Theoretically, Arcanist Doan shouldn¡¯t have been in this stage.


    The game company made a simple explanation for this: as the guardian of the library, Doan loved his library and refused to damage it. He would limit his actions and would only use some weak spells.


    Even so, it would take a lot of effort to kill a strong being.


    Lu Li unlocked the door with the key, only to see a bald and old Mage sitting there reading a book.


    A bald and old Mage...


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t believe that he had the audacity to even like Abbendis with his looks. Doan had always been the most wanted head amongst the male players.


    General Abbendis didn¡¯t only look beautiful, she also had a heroic air about her. She was loved and admired by both men and women.


    "My, how rude of me. I didn¡¯t realize that we had guests." In Nightmare mode, Doan was even more intelligent; his facial expression showed no difference to an average human.


    "Cut the chit chat, old man. If you kneel down now and beg for mercy, I¡¯ll consider sparing you." Apart from Azure Sea Breeze, it was hard to find someone else who would say this. His sentence was even more effective than a taunt skill. Doan¡¯s curly hair, the red hair that only covered the edges of his head, began to shiver from his rage.


    "Under the instructions of Brigitte, we¡¯re here to end your filthy life." Lu Li¡¯s words were clearly more well-thought.


    He aimed right where it was going to hurt most.


    Doan¡¯s old face twisted together in mixed emotions of heart-break, disbelief and an unspeakable ferocity.


    "Shut up, go and start the boss," Wandering said as he kicked Azure Sea Breeze from behind.


    Azure Sea Breeze turned to glance behind resentfully, before he charged forward while rubbing his butt.


    A Fireball suddenly slipped out between the fingers of Doan. It smashed into Azure Sea Breeze and brought up a huge red line of text ¨C a critical strike!


    "****, that¡¯s 900 damage per hit. What kind of Fireball is that? Flower, watch and learn."


    Azure Sea Breeze fearfully took a step back and smacked his shield right onto the bald spot of Doan¡¯s head.


    "Stop the talk. We¡¯ll be fine if you can take the damage," Lu Li snapped. Of all the people Azure Sea Breeze could provoke, he just had to choose Lonesome Flower.


    Doan held one book in his hand and casted skills with the other. With just a few simple gestures of his hand, he casted some weak Mage spells with perfect timing.


    It wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t learned any strong spells, it was just that the old library wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.


    At least, before his health dropped too low, the old man wouldn¡¯t be too violent.


    To be fair, these weaker spells weren¡¯t that easy to take either. Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s health bar was constantly jumping up and down, giving everyone a mini heart attack each time it did so.


    The old Mage mumbled something under his breath and two Scarlet Caster walked out from the void.


    "Grandpa, you¡¯re being too shameless, summoning monsters at 89% health." Hachi Chan was clearly unimpressed.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to join in on scolding Doan. He pounced on one of the monsters and instructed the others to kill the second monster.


    These two summoned monsters could heal each other and they were also capable of releasing a massive shield that shielded both themselves and the Boss. This shield was called the Scarlet Shield; it allowed all Scarlet units to take 99% less damage.


    It was a skill that basically granted invincibility.


    "Drag on the fight and don¡¯t die," Lu Li calmly instructed.


    Since Doan¡¯s intelligence had become higher, there wasn¡¯t a particular pattern to follow. He wasn¡¯t like the other bosses, where they casted certain skills based on their own percentage of health.


    For example, these two summoned monsters were sometimes summoned early in the fight and sometimes later.


    There wasn¡¯t much that could be done about this stage of the fight, since there was no way for the team to kill the summoned monsters instantly. It was guaranteed that the shield would be casted, so the best they could do was to stay alive.


    After thirty seconds, the shield disappeared and the two summoned monsters were quickly slaughtered by Lu Li and the others.


    "****, this old thing is way too shameless; his health is regenerating so fast." Azure Sea Breeze looked like he was about to cry. Under the raining spells from the boss, he had no choice but to activate a damage reduction skill.


    "Keep it up, don¡¯t panic. This isn¡¯t too hard."


    Lu Li maintained a steady tone and constantly comforted his team members.


    Right at the same moment, Doan pointed at March Rain and a strong wind swept up and blew the Priest into the air.


    "Hachi Chan, heal. Breeze, make sure to use damage reduction. Controlling March diverts the attention of the boss so the healing task won¡¯t be too hard. Hachi Chan, you can manage this. Come, use a recover first..." Lu Li encouraged the little girl; he was afraid that Hachi Chan would refuse to perform her part.


    Fortunately, Hachi Chan was a professional at doing quests, her gear was good and she also had a lot of skills and skill points.


    Lu Li instructed her step by step and as she casted healing skills based on his instructions, the situation stabilized.


    Doan was a Mage; he placed a shield on himself.


    A shield on him meant that he either didn¡¯t deal damage or would only take a little bit of damage. He also regenerated his health in the process.


    If it wasn¡¯t for Lu Li¡¯s constant encouragement, the others would¡¯ve already given up.


    March Rain¡¯s mana bar was dropping lower and lower; she had to summon her Shadow Demon to recover her mana. With two thirds of Doan¡¯s health still remaining, no matter how much faith she had in Lu Li, she felt like this was a lost battle.


    Kick!


    Lu Li interrupted a spell with his Kick, taking a little bit of pressure off the team.


    It was hard to cancel the skills of a boss; this was dependent on a player¡¯s technique and luck.


    No matter how much effort everyone placed into the fight, the healers were under enormous pressure and March Rain was low on mana again.


    The main tank was satisfactory; his defense was good enough and he couldn¡¯t be killed easily. The healer was skilled too; she always managed to bring back the health of the main tank and the other team members. Consistency became the weak spot in this fight.


    The only fortunate part of the fight was that Doan¡¯s mana bar was also dropping at a rapid rate.


    He tried to cast "Evocation" to regenerate his mana; Lonesome Flower had the same mana recovery skill too.


    Lu Li interrupted his spell just in time with a Kick. If his Kick failed, it would be a guaranteed wipe for the team. As such, Lu Li had been patiently waiting for this moment for a long time.


    "Magic, none of you understand magic! I¡¯ll show you all the power of Arcane Magic, Mana Flux!" Doan laughed spitefully, as he threw away the book in his hand and spread open his fingers. A wave of magic, visible to the eye, began to spread around the restroom of this small library.


    "Damn, this old thing is going to cast his ultimate skill," Azure Sea Breeze cursed hopelessly. The others weren¡¯t too impressed either.


    Sakura Memories pursed her lips; she was going to try and use an interruption skill. "Wind Shear" was also an interruption skill, but unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t that great at casting it.


    "Don¡¯t interrupt him." Lu Li was caught by surprise and he quickly held her back.


    "Why?" The entire team wanted to run themselves into a wall.


    Although none of them expected Sakura Memories to interrupt the skill, they were curious as to Lu Li was so anxious.


    Whose side are you even on?!


    "Don¡¯t you guys even check your own mana bars? Mana Flux is a skill that affects both parties impartially. While he regenerates his mana, we¡¯re also regenerating our mana bars too," Lu Li said confidently.


    Theoretically, this skill could be explained as Doan stimulating the magic elements that floated around in the air.


    With these elements stimulated, all casting units within the area would recover a certain amount of mana.


    After the skill had been completely casted, Doan recovered about four thousand points of mana. March Rain and the others didn¡¯t have that much total mana, but at least everyone had a full mana bar.


    Lu Li had placed his hopes in Doan¡¯s Mana Flux.


    If Doan didn¡¯t cast Mana Flux, all the team could do was to wait until they used up all their mana and wipe. Then, they¡¯d have to restart the battle and continue waiting.


    Finally, Doan casted the skill. With their mana bars recovered, the most Doan could do was to repeat what he did before, but Xin Xin Mercenary Group would be able to handle it.

 382 The Tenacity of a Commander

    Doan didn¡¯t realize that his signature skill had created a chance for his opponents.


    As the battle slowly continued, he began to realize that limiting his actions would only cause the situation to spin out of control.


    As such, he stopped holding back.


    "Heal! Don¡¯t worry about anything else; top up everyone¡¯s health," Lu Li shouted.


    March Rain and Hachi Chan had already been previously reminded by Lu Li. They casted whatever skills they had, whether it was a heal-over-time or a skill kept for emergencies. As long as it was a skill that healed, they would rain it down on their team members and soon enough, everyone¡¯s health bar was full.


    "Use damage reduction once your health drops below half. If your health is too low, drink potions. The most important thing is to stay alive," Lu Li added.


    As his sentence finished, a clear encasement hovered over the entire battleground.


    This was the Zone of Silence. As the name suggested, it was a skill that applied a silence effect in a massive range. The effect lasted for a total of thirty seconds.


    Even Lu Li would be able to kill decent player within thirty seconds, let alone a Boss.


    Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s health quickly dropped to half. He had already used his damage reduction and drank a potion. Heeven casted Shadowmeld to leave battle, but he still couldn¡¯t manage to survive.


    Without Azure Sea Breeze to hold down the fort, Wandering became the second unlucky target.He activated his damage reduction and drank a potion after two hits, but he didn¡¯t last long either.


    With two of the tanks down, the boss¡¯ target choice became a mess.


    Doan aimed for anyone that he could catch, and Remnant Dream was quickly slain on the spot with Lonesome Flower following.


    It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to escape, they just didn¡¯t have the time. An attack that even the main tank couldn¡¯t handle would only deal even more damage to them.


    Shadowmeld was a skill that allowed players to exit out of combat, but it wasn¡¯t a skill that made players invincible.


    For players or monsters, the sudden disappearance would have some effect, but for a Boss, it was different. When a player was a lower level than them, the effects of any skills would be reduced.


    "Don¡¯t run around aimlessly. Calm down and do as much as damage as you all can; he doesn¡¯t have much health left." Lu Li¡¯s tone was steady, perhaps a little too steady, almost to the point where it was eerie. In a circumstance like this, he still didn¡¯t show any negative emotion. The rise in his voice volume was only so that the others could hear him better.


    This was the tenacity of a commander. Sometimes, a player¡¯s mental qualities were more important than their gaming talent.


    After Lonesome Flower hit the floor, the Boss attacked Sakura Memories. As soon as the female Shaman¡¯s health bar was emptied, Doan turned towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li took two hits before he disappeared with Gale Steps.


    Doan stared blankly for a brief moment, but his hands didn¡¯t stop. After two hand gestures, Arcane Missiles appeared and flew right towards March Rain¡¯s chest.


    March Rain was a Priest, so her attributes and equipment leaned towards intelligence and special effects for healing, but she did place some points into her Constitution. Even though she was a cloth-geared class, she would be able to take about three attacks.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare let her take three hits. Doan still had group spells reserved for everyone.


    "Light, Intervene, now!"


    Moonlight immediately responded; his body glided and he appeared beside March Rain like a shadow.


    The 200% movement speed buff wasn¡¯t any slower than a teleport. Before the second skill landed, Moonlight was already standing beside March Rain, ready to take the damage.


    In Dawn, it was always easier for Warriors and Paladins to get the girls. Thieves and Mages were destined to stay single forever.


    Right after, Moonlight raised his giant axe and smashed it into Doan¡¯s head, which successfully drew the attention to himself. March Rain made it out alive.


    Moonlight¡¯s attributes were focused on Strength and his gear also leaned towards dealing damage. Even though he wore plated armor, he couldn¡¯t take more than a few hits either. Fortunately, the Zone of Silence had broken and everyone regained their freedom.


    "Revive Breeze. Light, hold the boss for a bit," Lu Li shouted.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t have much health left, so for him to continue holding the boss meant that he was going to be sacrificed for time.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t have any objections; he didn¡¯t even frown. At this point in time, no one else besides him would be able to buy the team some time. Originally, this was supposed to be Wandering¡¯s job, but Wandering was already lying dead on the cold floor. Without the invincibility skill, Paladins were also a piece of cake.


    With the resurrection from Hachi Chan, Azure Sea Breeze pulled himself up from the floor. He took up the aggression again and diverted all of his depression at the boss.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t end up dying; March Rain¡¯s healing techniques were excellent and she also had a lot of life-saving skills.


    This meant that besides the main tank and healer, there were still three damage dealers left: Lu Li, Moonlight and Sesame Rice Ball. The others were all dead.


    The Boss had 13% health remaining, but with less people dealing the damage, his health bar dropped very slowly.


    "Stay steady, we can do this. Don¡¯t give up, even if there¡¯s only one of us left. March, bring everyone¡¯s health back up." Lu Li tried his best to encourage everyone. Each move of his dagger sent blood flying in the air; these were all high completions.


    "This is so hard," March Rain whispered softly. She was under a lot of pressure in this fight.


    "There¡¯s no way Nightmare mode would be easy, but the boss will drop good things too," Lu Li explained briefly.


    If it wasn¡¯t Nightmare mode, it would be hard for the Dog Whistle to drop. Even if it was a First Clear, there was definitely no chance for the boss to drop what he wanted - the Ravenholdt Emblem.


    A First CLear wasn¡¯t too important for Lu Li, even though everyone was paying attention to who would get it for the Scarlet Library.


    Ruling Sword, or rather, Lu Li himself, no longer needed First Clears to prove anything.


    At least, in the short term, even Sorrowless couldn¡¯t surpass him when it came to dungeon First Clears. It wouldn¡¯t be a big deal to let him take a Fist Clear for once. Even if Lu Li took a step back, there was no guarantee that Sorrowless would be able to pass him.


    Doan¡¯s raised to release an Arcane Explosion. This was a group attack spell and everyone lost about half of their health bar. However, because of Lu Li¡¯s foresight, March Rain had already topped up everyone¡¯s health, so no one died to it.


    Doan¡¯s health dropped to 10%; Lu Li was quite relieved on the inside.


    "I¡¯m running out of mana," March Rain said worriedly.


    "Use it sparingly. If you really can¡¯t help it, then don¡¯t worry about Breeze," Lu Li replied calmly.


    "Lu Li, you ****, I¡¯m going to hold onto this forever," Azure Sea Breeze cursed loudly. He was so tempted to turn around and kill Lu Li with the Boss. They weren¡¯t even in a desperate situation yet and Lu Li was already thinking about giving him up.


    In other people¡¯s teams, main tanks were the precious one.It was just him, poor Azure Sea Breeze, who always on the edge of being tossed away.


    "Hachi Chan, what are you doing with that half bar of mana? Heal!" Lu Li said.


    "I¡¯ve been healing the whole time," Hachi Chan shot back, feeling wronged.


    "Go and practice your technique later; this is unbearable. Top up Rice Ball¡¯s health. Moonlight, use your damage reduction." Lu Li also used his damage reduction just in time for the next group spell by the boss.


    No one healed Azure Sea Breeze, but it seemed like he managed to survive because of his grudge against Lu Li.


    At 5% health, Doan went into berserk mode.


    Lu Li¡¯s dagger effect activated and a clone appeared beside him which boosted his damage just at the right time.


    After a few dozen seconds, Azure Sea Breeze finally died, but the boss didn¡¯t hold on for much longer than he did. Both of them dropped to the floor following each other.

 383 Assassin League

    "I thirst for light, yet, I can¡¯t walk out from the shadows."


    These were Doan¡¯s last words. They were also the inscriptions written on the gates of the Ravenholdt Manor.


    Ravenholdt Manor was the name of a location, but it also pointed towards an organization ¨C the Assassin League. Although was secretive and most were unsure if this organization even existed, the members of the Assassin League were spread across the entire world.


    Doan was once a member of the Ravenholdt Manor.


    As a hunter from Ravenholdt Manor, he became the knight of Silver Hand and fell in love with his old friend¡¯s daughter. Later on, he joined the Scarlet Crusade and lived in seclusion in this small library.


    Nobody knew his true identity.


    He also had a thirst for the light. Perhaps little Abbendis was his light, but unfortunately, the great difference in age forced him to stay in the shadows.


    Following the death of Doan, the system announcement finally arrived ¨C another First Clear, and it was a First Clear in Nightmare mode no less. In the short span of a day, Ruling Sword had taken two First Clears!


    The world channel had gone wild, but everyone was used to it.


    March Rain leveled up to level thirty, but Azure Sea Breeze had died a little too early. It was a tragedy that he couldn¡¯t receive any experience.


    Hachi Chan and March Rain resurrected their dead team members and began to split the loot.


    "It¡¯s all on you now; don¡¯t disappoint us," Lu Li said as he anxiously patted Remnant Dream¡¯s shoulders.


    It wasn¡¯t a guaranteed drop for the item he wanted, even in Nightmare mode.


    He wanted the Ravenholdt Emblem, so that he could join the Ravenholdt Manor faction, or rather, the Assassin League.


    From the years where the Horde and Alliance faction were at war against each other, many organizations, both big and small, remained. For example, there was the Cenarion Circle, Ravenholdt Manor, MI7, Tirisfal Council, Silver Dawn¡­


    Some of these organizations had a faction background, some had a race background, while others had a class background, but regardless, they all had their own norms and history to stand by.


    Lu Li wanted to join the Assassin League, not only for their strange and rewarding quests, but also because he liked the fearless attitude of this organization.


    There were no rules in Assassin League; you could whatever you wanted. You could even assassinate the executives of the organization if you ever received such a quest.


    It would be okay even if you killed Duke Jorach Ravenholdt.


    Since his previous life, Lu Li had been wanting to join this organization, so he had been paying attention to the details surrounding it.


    As a secretive organization, the Assassin League rarely appeared with its own name. Most of the time, the organization identified itself as Ravenholdt to outsiders, but in reality, Ravenholdt was only a small part of this massive organization.


    It was hard to say how many people were actually in the League. It was quite possible that your significant other or the granny next door was a scout for the organization. Some say that for every five people in Azeroth, one of them would be working for the Assassin League.


    Of course, throughout their entire lives, most of these members wouldn¡¯t even know that they were actually working for the league.


    Only around a few thousand people were truly a part of the Assassin League and amongst these people, only a few of them were professional assassins. Most of these people were known by outsiders for their other identities, such as knowledgable Archmages, Demon Slayers, leaders of mercenary groups, bandit leaders, historians... The identities were countless.


    What Lu Li wanted to do was to become a real member of the Assassin League, just like Doan.


    To do so, he had to acquire a Ravenholdt Emblem.


    With the knowledge from his reincarnation, he had three available targets.


    At the current stage, Doan was his greatest chance. The other two targets were all leaders of large organizations and they were all around level forty to fifty.


    Remnant Dream looted her first item, which was a rare material.


    The second was a Gold grade equip ¨C Robe of Doan. This was an exquisite magic class equipment, and after Remnant Dream shared the attributes, everyone exclaimed in surprise.


    Lu Li¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t too focused on it.


    Two chances had already been lost, but there were still a few items left. Even though this was Nightmare mode, the boss wouldn¡¯t drop more than five items.


    "Wow, another Gold grade equipment! Mmm, Hachi Chan, it seems like this is useful for you. If you call me big sister, I¡¯ll give it to you."


    Lu Li¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t impressed.


    "What¡¯s wrong?" March Rained asked. Even if there wasn¡¯t any gear for Lu Li, he usually wouldn¡¯t be too upset.


    "Nothing, I¡¯m just not focused. Girl, quit playing. Loot all the items, or else, I¡¯ll let someone else loot it next time," Lu Li said, trying to hold back his impatience.


    As soon as she heard this, Remnant Dream quietened down.


    Her tiny hands reached out as Lu Li held his breath.


    "Huh, what¡¯s this? How come there¡¯s no attribute description for this? Is this a badge?" With her skinny arms, Remnant Dream dragged out a grey emblem, her face showing a surprised expression.


    "I¡¯m taking this. No objections, right?" Lu Li used his authority as a captain to distribute the item to himself.


    Although the others were curious about the emblem, Lu Li didn¡¯t plan on explaining, so there was nothing they could do about this.


    As a captain who had led them to another miracle, no one would have any objections if he wanted something.


    The front of the emblem was the outline of a manor. The current Ravenholdt Manor looked completely different, so the outline was most likely what the manor looked like a long time ago. On the back of the emblem was the imprint of a few words.


    "May death bring you to rest."


    This was Doan¡¯s last item. The old Mage had offered two Gold grade equips, one rare material and a mysterious emblem.


    Besides these, Azure Sea Breeze received a skill point reward, slightly calming his rage from being abandoned.


    After this came the system reward for their First Clear.


    Lu Li received an equip. Even thought it was only a level 30 Silver grade equip, it was a rare piece ¨C a necklace.


    Bladed Ebon Amulet (Silver): Accuracy +15%, Poison Damage +40%, Special Effect: Certain chance to reflect close-combat damage taken, Level Requirement 30, Durability 52/52.


    Lu Li had been using the Rager¡¯s Pendant for a long time.


    Rager¡¯s Pendant (Steel): Hit+10%, Reduces Ice Magic Damage by 5%, Level Requirement: LV10.


    Durability: 32/32. (Part of the Rager Equipment Set, exclusive to melee professions).


    It was originally a set, but the Rager Bracer had already been replaced, which left the necklace in an awkward position.


    The 5% ice magic damage reduction was decent, but it still wasn¡¯t enough. The small amount of damage reduction didn¡¯t make much difference for Lu Li.


    The Bladed Ebon Amulet had way better attributes, which was to be expected from a level 30 Silver grade equipment.


    Thieves still need their accuracy attribute, which effectively raised their damage. The reflection of close-combat damage was a good special effect as well, with the only down side being that it required good luck. Lu Li wasn¡¯t the best with his luck.


    What he valued the most was actually the extra 40% poison damage; this was such a good attribute for Thieves who use poison.


    Currently, it was still not possible for the system to reward Gold grade equips ¨C level 30 Silver grade equips were the limit. Everyone was satisfied with what they had received, but unfortunately, only March Rain was able to wear her equipment. The others still needed to level up first.

 384 Southshore

    "Yet another First Clear, and it was on Nightmare mode as well."


    The Paladin placed his two swords in his lap and began eating food to replenish his HP.


    Seventh Heaven¡¯s core group had been completely wiped by the Dog Trainer 13 times.


    They skipped the Monastery and started Scarlet Library yesterday afternoon.


    Unfortunately, they were still far behind Glory Capital, who were progressing much faster than them.


    Lucky Southern Persian casted his magic and a set of bread appeared in his hands. He took two pieces for himself and gave the rest to his teammates. As he ate, he said, "Sorrowless still lost. I wish I could see his reaction right now."


    He didn¡¯t even bother hiding his joy for Sorrowless¡¯ misfortune.


    Lucky Southern Persian was a cunning man who enjoyed watching others fail. He found Sorrowless¡¯ misfortune to be extremely amusing.


    "Southern Persian, stop underestimating Sorrowless. He¡¯s relying solely on himself to command his team in the dungeon." Hornet¡¯s Nest was also in the party with him. PVP experts were often freelancers and played the game solo, however, when necessary, the core group would open up a spot for them in dungeons if they were having trouble completing it.


    "Ruling Sword doesn¡¯t have a strategy group," Lucky Southern Persian mumbled.


    A strategy group was a team made up of players that excelled at developing strategies and figuring out Boss patterns from the information provided by the dungeon group. They were essential in most major guilds as they helped to speed up the dungeon progression by decreasing the difficulty.


    Similar to tacticians in war times, strategy groups provided an unspoken advantage to guilds. The dungeon progression of a guild could almost always be accredited to their strategy group.


    Not many guilds relied on the knowledge of an individual player like Lu Li¡¯s team. Even smaller guilds aimed to create a strategy group as their priority. However, instead of developing their own strategy, they would rely on strategies from major guilds to help guide them in their dungeon runs.


    Ruling Sword had yet to establish a strategy group, however, they would undoubtedly have to create one eventually.


    Seventh Heaven relied heavily on their strategy group to progress in dungeons. However, the team of 10 or so members had yet to discover the secret of the dog food. As such, they were stuck with being abused repeatedly by Dog Tamer boss.


    Although Sorrowless was an all-star, he had begun his career on the strategy team before blossoming into a star-player. He was now the leader of Glory Capital and had become a legend in the gaming community.


    In order to live up to his fame, he had to complete the dungeon before Lu Li.


    If he was able to beat Lu Li in a First Clear, he would become a gaming legend once again. However, something that Sorrowless hadn¡¯t taken into account of was the fact that Lu Li been reborn.


    While Lucky Southern Persian mocked Sorrowless for his misfortune, Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s mind was occupied with the thought of Lu Li.


    How was he able to beat a strategy team of 10 or so players? What was his mind made out of?


    Only sore losers spoke of luck for their losses. However, Lu Li had been lucky too many times in the past. There must have been something that he was missing, something that Lu Li saw right through.


    If Lu Li knew that they were stuck on the dog food stage, he probably would¡¯ve told them.


    Lu Li¡¯s team had already passed this stage and defeated Dog Trainer. They were ahead of Sorrowless and were already facing off against Arcanist Doan.


    After the World Channel announced that they completed the First Clear, Water Fairy was quick to offer to buy their strategy.


    However, for the sake of his guild, Lu Li wasn¡¯t planning on selling the guide, no matter how much she offered.


    Water Fairy was quite angry at this and decided to focus her attention on defeating the boss.


    She was willing to sacrifice her sleep just to prove to Lu Li that she didn¡¯t need his guide. Her natural beauty would remain even without a night of sleep anyways.


    Lu Li felt absolutely no remorse for rejecting the No.2 girl on the Beauty Rankings.


    He searched the dungeon room and found two keys.


    "That¡¯s all for today. Everyone can leave and go level up. Aim to reach level 30 as soon as possible." Lu Li handed the keys to Azure Sea Breeze and left the dungeon.


    Everyone in the Xin Xin Mercenary had stocked up level 30 Silver and Gold equips. Once they reached level 30, they would all receive a power spike.It was important for them to reach level 30 before attempting the next two dungeons because it would make them much easier.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t wait to get to Ravenholdt Manor.


    The location of Ravenholdt Manor was very secretive. However, Lu Li knew that it was somewhere in the Hillsbrad Foothills.


    The Hillsbrad Foothills were situated at the South of Alterac Moutains and East of Arathi Highlands. To the south of Hillsbrad Foothills was nothing but endless sea.


    Because the Alterac Mountains acted as a barrier, the Hillsbrad Foothills were not threatened by the Undead from Plaguelands. Additionally, because it was one of the few remaining areas controlled by the Humans in Lordaeron, it provided comfort and shelter for weary travellers.


    However, the Hillsbrad Foothills had become less and less of a safe haven for people as the Syndicate¡¯s power and influences grew. The number of Nagas and Undeads had also increased in nearby areas.


    Lu Li teleported to Southshore.


    Many Alliance Players that attempted Scarlet Monastery would teleport to Southshore for supplies.


    In reality, Southshore was the busiest Alliance city besides Astrana.


    Not only did the city boast some of the best scenery in Dawn, but there were also abundant resources for mining, herbalism, fishing etc.


    Players who played the game as an alternate world to live in would often choose to reside in Southshore and live out the rest of their lives here.


    Even some professional players preferred Southshore over other cities.


    When Lu Li arrived, it was almost sunset. Everything seemed much more peaceful and beautiful as the setting sun showered the city with its golden beams of light.


    No one would have thought that this place would be plagued after a year.


    Many people proposed that the drastic downfall of Southshore was the developer¡¯s way of introducing Sylvannas Windrunner.


    Lu Li entered the town and saw children playing before the setting sun. One of the kids ran through him without stopping.


    Yes¡­ ran through.


    Sally Whitemane ¨C Lu Li looked at her name. She was an adorable little loli.


    The two boys that were chasing behind her were named Renault Mograine and Vishas. The three childhood friends would all grow up to become the Bosses in the Scarlet Cathedral.


    Lu Li saw the cutscene of them as kids.


    It was quite difficult to explain the situation, but to put it simply, the three were already Bosses in Scarlet Monastery. However, in Southshore, where they grew up, there were still cutscenes of them in their childhood.


    This was a parallel time dimension and they could only be interacted with when the quest was accepted.


    Some players tried telling them that they would grow up to become a ruthless couple who would take over the Scarlet Monastery. However, since they were NPCs, they simply ignored the players.


    Lu Li watched them for a while as they ran off into the bushes, then sighed and stepped into the tavern.

 385 Polluter Fragments

    The taverns in Southshore were different from other places.


    The background music was the clanging of the percussion instruments, which created an old-school hipster melody.


    Many people were drinking in the tavern. There were some NPCs, but the tavern was mostly filled with players.


    The taverns in Astrana and other places that Lu Li often visited were never as lively because everyone was busy levelling up and clearing dungeons.


    The Southershore Tavern was much more relaxing and everything appeared to be moving slower.


    A little girl in her late teens was dancing on the tables.


    Her body was petite and she was as light as a feather.


    Besides the table she danced on was a man and a woman. From their appearance and expression, Lu Li assumed that they were her parents.


    "Hey, Elf, would you like something to drink?" The owner of the tavern, Kaili, greeted Lu Li. He looked like a Mediterranean middle-aged man.


    "A pint of ale please, thanks." Lu Li threw his Ravenholdt badge on the counter and sat down.


    "Good choice, we have the best ale in all the lands."Kaili glanced at the badge without any reaction.


    He poured a pint of ale and placed it on the counter in front of Lu Li.


    "I must be lucky then; it¡¯s my first time here," Lu Li said as he took a sip then exclaimed, "It tastes amazing! It¡¯s almost as if I could taste Spring."


    "Young man¡­" Kaili shook his head and laughed, "I thought you were here to see Nima; she¡¯ll be performing a dance tonight. It¡¯s too bad that you adventurers sleep too early."


    It wasn¡¯t that players slept too early ¨C the system automatically forced them to log off.


    Nima had the reputation of being the most beautiful ¡®scenic sight in Southshore.


    Carolina was known as the divine beauty, while the Moon Priestess Maestra was described as the gentle beauty. If a title was to be given to this small-town waitress, it would be the wild beauty. She had a very unique aura and many customers visited the tavern just to see her.


    Nima was talking to a couple of players as Lu Li continued to sip on his ale.


    She held onto a pearl bracelet as the players recalled the tale of them risking their lives to find the very same bracelet underneath the deep ocean.


    Nima gasped and exclaimed in admiration as the soft wind revealed her attractive figure.


    "You¡¯re so lucky to have a beautiful waitress like her. I bet you must look forward to coming to work every night," Lu Li said as he glanced at Nima. According to his strategy guide, he had to suck up to the tavern owner.


    "No, young man, I see her like my own daughter. How can you say such a thing?" Kaili explained profusely.


    "Hey boss, did something happen?" The waitress heard the commotion and hurried over.


    As she came running over, her hour-glass figure became even more obvious.


    Lu Li was the only one that stopped himself from staring at her. He picked up his badge and fiddled with it in his hands and apologized, "Sorry, my mistake. My good sir, you have a very beautiful daughter. Whoever has the honour of having her hand in marriage would be extremely blessed."


    When Nima overheard Lu Li¡¯s compliments, her face lit up with a smile.


    She sat down next to Lu Li on the counter and said, "Oh, Elf from afar, you¡¯re so good at sweet talking. I¡¯ve never met such a sophisticated and intellectual adventurer."


    It was obvious from her tone and her voice that she was being flirtatious with Lu Li.


    "This is my first time in Southshore. Do you know where I can earn some quick cash to buy more ale?" Lu Li asked as he put away his badge.


    "Pfft, where did that weirdo come from? Earn some cash? Don¡¯t try to pick up girls if you¡¯re poor." The group of players that Nima was talking to before were pissed off because Lu Li had attracted her attention. They didn¡¯t bother holding back on their toxic insults and rude comments.


    Lu Li had just finished a day of fighting monsters and didn¡¯t have time to repair his gear. He looked like a homeless man because of his broken armour.


    "Hehe, money for ale," the waitress laughed as she covered her soft lips and smiled flirtatiously.


    "The ale here is too good; I¡¯ve decided to stay here for a while," Lu Li said as he downed his mug.


    Everyone looked down on him because he was drinking the cheapest alcohol in Southshore which cost 3 silvers for a pint.


    "I¡¯m glad you like the ale here."


    Nima seemed very happy. She tilted her head slightly and asked, "I¡¯ll be heading out later. Would you like to escort me? Those Undead are terrifying and I need someone to protect me."


    "It¡¯ll be my honour. Unless they get past my dead body, I will not allow the Undead to lay a hand on you," Lu Li said sincerely as he accepted the escort quest from the system.


    The other players were shocked to see how friendly Nima was towards Lu Li. They had spent so much time here and had bought the most expensive alcohol, but Nima had never thanked them.


    They also didn¡¯t understand why she wanted such a lowly Thief to escort her.


    Many players had visited Southshore and spent weeks trying to activate one of the easiest quests in the game from Nima.


    Was it because of the ale?


    They looked at Lu Li with eyes filled with jealousy.


    "My friend, if you¡¯re here in Southshore, then you must be decently strong. Let¡¯s have a little friendly battle. If I lose, then I¡¯ll buy you all the ale you can drink," one of the players said condescendingly.


    Lu Li ordered another pint of ale and placed three silvers on the counter. He realised that they were trying to provoke him so he remained calm and ignored them.


    After about half an hour, Nima changed into her hunting gear and appeared from her room.


    "Boss, I¡¯ll be out for a bit"


    "Come back safe!"


    Lu Li stood up and followed Nima closely behind as the two exited out of the tavern.


    Her new costume was very beautiful. As Lu Li walked behind her, he couldn¡¯t help but stare at the places he shouldn¡¯t have been looking at. Her waist was very thin and she had a very attractive body. Nima¡¯s choice of weapon was a crimson dagger and she grasped it tightly in her hand.


    Polluter Fragments!


    Lu Li wanted to bow down to her to show his respect for her weapon.


    However, before he could express his feelings, he had something else to do.


    "Forgive me, my lady, for the violent things I¡¯m about to do."


    Lu Li disappeared and rushed back towards the tavern.


    Before the three players could react, two of them were immobilized and the third player was killed instantly.


    It took less than 30 seconds for all three players to be killed.


    Nima stood there and remained calm, as if this was totally normal to her. It was obvious that she was a very beautiful, yet capable young lady.

 386 Yetimus

    Lu Li picked up the dropped equipment and stood up slowly.


    He packed away his dagger and apologized, "I don¡¯t like people following me, so I had no choice but to kill them. Hopefully, a lady like yourself won¡¯t mind this."


    "I pity them, that¡¯s all," Nima said as she turned her head and continued walking. "Hopefully, we¡¯ll arrive at your destination before it gets dark. Many vicious Ogres have came to the Alterac Mountains recently."


    "Thank you, Miss Pathfinder. " Lu Li was relieved; he had finally achieved his goal.


    Ravenholdt Manor was not a welcoming place ¨C it wasn¡¯t somewhere that could be found easily. There were two pathfinders in the hills of Hillsbrad ¨C one was the hostess (waitress) in Southshore, and the other was the Thief Skills Trainer in Tarren Mill.


    Lu Li belonged to the Alliance, so it was only natural for him to seek the hostess located in Southshore.


    For the hostess to guide you, it took more than simply saying, "Take me to Ravenholdt Manor."


    First, you had to have the Ravenholdt Emblem. It didn¡¯t matter where or how you found the emblem, but the emblem was definitely the ticket to Ravenholdt Manor.


    Besides the emblem, you also needed the hostess to have a good impression on you.


    Lu Li had been investigating these things since his previous life. Some people had been killed before by the hostess. Their ignorance had angered the hostess, who seemed naive, but was actually a high-leveled Thief who wielded Shard of the Defiler.


    Failures from the past warned those in the future. The emblem meant nothing to them; they could kill you anytime and abandon you in the wild.


    As for the opinion of the Assassin League, well, they would never respect the dead anyway.


    Lu Li¡¯s method of winning a good impression from the hostess was simple; he began by complimenting the ale that she made.


    To be fair, the ale did taste pretty good and the price was reasonable; it was only 3 silvers for a cup.


    Besides this, you could only bribe her with jewellery.


    Women always liked jewellery; this probably had nothing to do with their class or their race..


    The hostess was level 45 and designed similarly to a Boss model. She was also a Thief, a class that came and went as they pleased.


    For her to take interest in a piece of jewellery, the jewellery had to be at least Gold grade and above level 40.


    The few players from before had attempted to bribe her with average jewellery that could be purchased from the auction with a few gold coins. Lu Li barely had to observe her to feel the boiling rage disguised under the calm expression of the hostess.


    In a few months time, the female Thief and her fierce reputation would become well-known. Perhaps then, no one would dare to show off in front of her anymore.


    Even Lu Li¡¯s killing of the players was still an attempt to win over the female Thief.


    The female Thief seemed to be fairly satisfied with Lu Li. At the very least, she didn¡¯t set down any trials for him. Apparently, 80% of the players died during the trial and lost their Ravenholdt Emblem.


    Lu Li slightly tilted his head to gaze at the female Thief that walked by his side.


    He didn¡¯t do it to admire her beauty; he was instead judging the strength of this NPC.


    After they entered Darrow Hill, Lu Li began to look out for dangers.


    Dangers approached as he expected, when the gigantic figure of the Yetimus appeared in his vision. Lu Li rushed towards it on purpose, just like Don Quixote when he saw a windmill.


    He recognized Yetimus from his previous life. Back then, he was part of a level 30 team of 25 people that had been hired by someone. Their hirer wanted them to kill this Yetimus monster so he could get his quest item.


    However, they underestimated the strength of this level 40 monster. The team was wiped four times; there was no hope for them at all.


    Dying in the wild meant that they lost experience, and losing experience four times was enough of a loss to shake a player¡¯s heart.


    That time, Lu Li had also lost a level 30 Silver grade equipment. He wasn¡¯t as wealthy as he was at this stage during his previous life.


    Later on, he would come into contact with some guides about the hills of Hillsbrad and Ravenholdt Manor. From this, he realized why the hirer had spent so much money to find other players to kill Yetimus.


    In order to join the Ravenholdt Manor and become a formal member of the Assassin League, the Twisted Horns of Yetimus, the Snow King, were required to pass the first trial.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to drag a hundred players out to help him. If he did, other guilds would notice and attempt to disrupt him, even though no one had set their eyes on Yetimus so far.


    Yetimus wasn¡¯t a Boss, but he was even stronger than a Boss.


    The biggest threat for the Stormpike Troops camped in Alterac Mountains and the hills of Hillsbrad wasn¡¯t the Frostwolf Orcs. It wasn¡¯t the Forgotten Ones either ¨C it was the abnormally large Snow King Yetimus.


    This monster had the strongest Earthshattering skill in the entire game of Dawn.


    He could knock up his opponents, causing them to fly at least a few hundred meters into the air. Most people would die from the landing, and even if they managed to survive, they would only be left with a sliver of health.


    Between level 30 and level 40, Yetimus was the strongest being in the game.


    As such, nobody dared to set foot in the Darrow Hills.


    This was originally a prosperous mountain with plenty of herbs and minerals to gather. There were also packs of lions, deer and wild horses roaming the area that could supply a huge amount of leather and meat. There was even a horse that could be captured as a mount.


    What left players even more speechless was the fact that such a strong monster didn¡¯t drop anything good.


    There were also guilds who attempted to slowly tire out the Yetimus, but they were all left disappointed.


    At that time, Lu Li didn¡¯t know what he was getting himself into. He accepted the quest and only found out that this monster was almost impossible to slay after he died four times. It was not until later down the track when he reached a higher level that he brought Azure Sea Breeze and a few others for revenge.


    Now, he wanted to join Ravenholdt Manor as a formal member of the Assassin League, not just some unimportant member in the outer circle.


    Yetimus was a target that he couldn¡¯t avoid.


    He was cautious the entire time to build a good relationship with the hostess, doing it all for this one chance to gamble.


    Hopefully, the hostess wouldn¡¯t sit on the side and watch.


    If a level 45 NPC helped him, no matter how strong the level 40 monster was, it would probably still have to die. This female Thief was no weakling ¨C the Shard of the Defiler that she wielded was an exceptional weapon.


    The Shard of the Defiler was a weapon that only existed in the legends.


    Although the level requirement for the Legendary grade dagger was only level 40 and there were no particularly strong special effects, it was the fastest weapon in Dawn.


    Some say it was so fast that when you attacked an opponent who was wielding this dagger once, they would be able to attack you at least three times.


    Of course, these were all just guesses ¨C no players had actually been able to lay their hands on this Dagger. These were all legends and assumptions that were made based on NPCs.

 387 Using Their Own Strength Against Them

    Yetimus was as tall as three or four people; Lu Li looked like a child standing before him.


    With one swipe, he knocked Lu Li away with great force. There was a huge difference in strength between the two parties ¨C Lu Li was being knocked around like a ping pong ball.


    Fortunately, the hostess started moving.


    Her seemingly weak body rushed towards Yetimus with disproportionate speed, and he retracted his giant hands as she let out a shrill scream.


    However, this pain didn¡¯t serve to scare the beast; it actually provoked it even further.


    He howled as he rushed over, holding his hands together and bringing them down like a hammer.


    The hostess didn¡¯t hesitate to turn and run, pulling Lu Li behind her. If she had not done this, it was likely that Lu Li would have been knocked up hundreds of meters into the sky.


    The whole canyon seemed to shake, demonstrating the strength of that attack.


    "Is this really your first time at Hillsbrad?" the hostess asked coldly.


    As a Thief, she felt like she wasn¡¯t supposed to directly face her opponents. Moreover, this was the kind of opponent she would normally just avoid.


    "I swear on the Moon Goddess that this is my first time here. Are all the monsters here so powerful?" Lu Li¡¯s voice had a hint of sadness. This truly was his first time in the Hillsbrad Hills.


    "You shouldn¡¯t have provoked the big guy," the hostess said and frowned as she looked at Yetimus sighing.


    "Sorry, I must have drank too much wine before and lost my calmness," Lu Li apologized then paused before adding, "Before a woman such as yourself, any man would want an opportunity show his heroism."


    Lu Li¡¯s language was phrased similarly to that of the NPC.


    He didn¡¯t have much knowledge about other things, but in his previous life, he had been playing Dawn and talking for NPCs for over two years. He had also done a lot of research and reading into Dawn¡¯s races, geography, history and even about this female character in front of him. He had a deep understanding of it all.


    His flattery wasn¡¯t too much that it was unbearable, but it was also enough to affect her.


    "It¡¯s not heroism, it¡¯s just stupidity," the hostess responded harshly, but then quickly forgave Lu Li and said, "Since you¡¯ve already provoked it, let¡¯s kill it together."


    "I¡¯m willing to fight for you, esteemed hostess," Lu Li shamelessly said as he licked his lips.


    Everything looked like it had been settled.


    Now all they needed to worry about was whether the two of them had enough strength to kill this monster.


    Both of them were Thieves and they had no healer. As such, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to directly fight Yetimus. Instead, he ran around to the monster¡¯s back and stabbed it with his dagger.


    -74!


    This wasn¡¯t ideal, but Yetimus¡¯ attacks dealt more than 300 damage, so it wasn¡¯t unacceptable either.


    Had there been no special story quest, it would be like the time when Lu Li and Paladin Delgren had killed the Wolf Rider together at Maestra¡¯s Post. When the players and an NPC teamed up to fight a monster, the total damage dealt by the players had to exceed 10% for equipment to drop.


    Otherwise, they would receive nothing.


    However, these were different circumstances ¨C Lu Li was in an escort quest. He had joked around, but they never initially planned to fight this Boss as part of the schedule.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t see the hostess¡¯ damage to the Boss, but based on his observations, he could estimate that it was around 500.


    Yetimus had a total HP of over 300,000!


    Unfortunately, Lu Li quickly realized that there was a fatal flaw in his calculations.


    The hostess was equipped with the Shard of the Defiler, a weapon with one of the highest attack speeds in the game. For everyone one of his regular attacks, she could complete three. Before someone could even attack once, she would already have been one and a half attacks in.


    After calculating, Lu Li started becoming a little anxious and he increased the speed of his attacks.


    All of a sudden, Yetimus hammered his fists down again but Lu Li reacted a little too late. A great shockwave formed under his feet and sent him flying into the air.


    He was at least 300 meters up in the air!


    At this height, any person who fell and hit the ground would be killed.


    The hostess¡¯ expression changed; she wanted to save him but she couldn¡¯t. Because he wanted to avoid a frontal assault, Lu Li had hid behind the monster and now, they were too far apart.


    Just as she thought Lu Li was already dead, his body transformed into a leopard right before her eyes.


    This transformation gave her a bit of a shock; she had thought that Lu Li was just a thief.


    She was the one responsible for leading the Alliance to Ravenholdt Manor, so she had strong observational skills. However, she now began to think that she must have been mistaken.


    When Lu Li hit the ground, a large -1487 appeared which resulted in a significant loss of HP.


    However, that couldn¡¯t be helped. Even if he transformed with Child of the Forest which gave him a more significant buffer when landing, the laws of gravity still applied and the buffer wasn¡¯t enough to completely nullify the damage.


    He quickly drank an Intermediate Health Potion and returned to the fight.


    The hostess¡¯ expression changed again. After a moment of hesitation, she resumed attacking Yetimus.


    Some players would retreat after taking a hit like that, but Lu Li had gotten used to its fighting rhythm, so the monster was no longer able to threaten his life.


    Moreover, the hostess was very strong and was attacking the Boss like a warrior. As such, there was obviously nothing too dangerous about the situation.


    Occasionally, a blood mist would appear around Yetimus which would then get sucked into the hostess. It looked a little like she was absorbing its chi.


    Vampirism!


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but think about his Supreme Ring. It used to have a similar property, but when he last upgraded the item, the Vampirism attribute vanished.


    He wondered if the Shard of the Defiler granted that attribute as well?


    Lu Li was lost in thought¡­


    Not many people would come into contact with Ravenholdt; Lu Li only knew about the tip of the iceberg from his previous life. As it was a closely guarded secret, he naturally didn¡¯t know much.


    After watching the way that the hostess fought, Lu Li swallowed the question that he was going to ask.


    He knew the issue might be a little offensive so the best solution for him was not to ask. Lu Li was afraid of offending the hostess as they were not that close yet.


    After 25 minutes, Yetimus was considerably weakened.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t happy. He couldn¡¯t reach the 10% damage threshold and the several critical hits that the hostess had achieved made his hope even slimmer.


    If he couldn¡¯t deal 10% of the damage, he wouldn¡¯t be able to pick up Yetimus¡¯ Twisted Horn.


    Did he really need to get the whole guild here to fight this monster just to get it?


    Even if he rallied the entire guild, he couldn¡¯t guarantee it, as no one could withstand attacks from a level 40 monster. Azure Sea Breeze could, but he still needed to be more than level 40.


    Moreover, the other guilds would receive the news and wouldn¡¯t just simply allow Ruling Sword to attack this Boss alone.


    "Quickly attack it; I¡¯ll give you ten minutes."


    Lu Li was a little stunned as he saw the scene that was before him.


    The hostess was standing still and drawing the Boss¡¯ aggro, but she had completely stopped her attacks.

 388 Durnholde Keep

    Lu Li was very aware of who he was, to the point that harbored a bit of an inferiority complex.


    He never felt like he had ever received favor from anyone, especially from those around him. When the hostess said those words, he felt a little moved.


    Of course, not a hint of emotion could be seen on Lu Li¡¯s face.


    With the hospitality extended by the hostess, Lu Li no longer needed to worry about dealing enough damage.


    From the start of the fight until now, most of the damage had been done by the hostess. As such, the aggro of Yetimus was firmly locked onto her; it was trying its hardest to pound her into pulp.


    There was no way for Lu Li to take aggro, even if he continually attacked.


    After 6 or 7 minutes, Yetimus let out a loud roar and fell onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust.


    "Thank you."


    Lu Li saw that his EXP had significantly increased and sincerely thanked her.


    The hostess didn¡¯t care much for him at first and had let him fend for himself, but she still allowed him to deal the necessary amount of damage.


    "How can a Thief use a Druid¡¯s skills? Can you tell me?" the hostess asked.


    She got straight to the point and didn¡¯t beat around the bush.


    "I have acquired some special items that have allowed me to use some of the Druid¡¯s auxiliary skills." Lu Li didn¡¯t pour out everything he knew, but he didn¡¯t stay silent either.


    "A special item¡­" the hostess muttered as she put her dagger away absentmindedly.


    Azeroth was a big continent and everyone always wanted more power. This hostess worked at the Ravenholdt Manor, so he wasn¡¯t sure if she was satisfied with that answer. She was definitely hoping to grow even stronger.


    Being a level-45, especially one who had been stagnant for so long, she was always looking for ways to increase her strength.


    As such, it was shocking for her when Lu Li transformed into a Leopard.


    This was such a weak Thief (compared to her) and yet, he had mastered such a powerful skill.


    Lu Li knelt down to loot the body, not knowing what this hostess was thinking. He wasn¡¯t even sure if she was planning to kill him. After all, she looked really excited.


    It wasn¡¯t that he unworried ¨C it was that his worries couldn¡¯t achieve anything anyway.


    In addition to the Yetimus¡¯ Twisted Horns that Lu Li wanted, it also dropped a Silver grade level 40 Hammer for a Damage Paladin, but it wasn¡¯t that good. It was no wonder why not many people were willing to kill this level 40 beast.


    Killing Yetimus really was a thankless job, as Yetimus¡¯ Twisted Horns were almost worthless for those who weren¡¯t informed.


    Lu Li carefully put Yetimus¡¯ Twisted Horns into his backpack. They were so big that they took up three spots. He then raised his head and looked at the hostess.


    She was just staring at him.


    When she saw Lu Li look at her, she nodded her head and said, "Let¡¯s go. Hopefully, we¡¯ll get there before dark¡­ Oh, it¡¯s already dark. If you still want to go, I guess you¡¯ll need to stay at the Southshore Hotel."


    "I really want to get to the Manor as soon as possible." Lu Li knew that he still had 40 minutes left and could make it in time.


    The reason why most adventurers insisted on logging off in the hotels were because they could get an hour of double EXP the next day.


    However, Lu Li insisted that the two of them rest for a little bit before continuing on their trip.


    At night, the biggest threats other than Yetimus were Ogres. Lu Li had run into two of them during their trip; they were trying to steal some deer from a group of mountain lions.


    These Ogres moved around all day and were stronger at night. They were level 35 elites.


    However, they didn¡¯t stand a chance against a few rotations of the level 45 Hostess¡¯ skills. Lu Li didn¡¯t even get a chance to attack, so naturally, he didn¡¯t get any EXP or equipment.


    He planned to eventually come and farm these Ogres as they could drop the recipe for Advanced Healing Potions.


    The Advanced Healing Potion Recipe wasn¡¯t as difficult to acquire as the Intermediate one, but that didn¡¯t mean it was bad. Once they had it, it would significantly help them in doing Instance Dungeons or in PVP battles.


    After about 20 minutes, they reached their destination.


    With regards to Ravenholdt Manor, Lu Li only knew that it was within the vicinity of Durnholde Keep; he didn¡¯t know about the specific location. Even those who had been brought into the manor couldn¡¯t determine the strange route to get there.


    As for Durnholde Keep, this place was closely linked to some great characters in history.


    There was a Sergeant named Aedelas Blackmoore who had discovered an abandoned Orc baby in the wild. Although most members of the Alliance would have killed it, he didn¡¯t.


    Cheap Orc slaves could be acquired anywhere, so no one wanted an Orc baby.


    Blackmoore named this Orc baby Saar, which meant slave in a different language, and brought him back to the prison in Durnholde Keep.


    There, not only did Blackmoore raise him as part of the family, but he also hired a teacher to train him in warfare, strategy and various fighting skills.


    Blackmoore wanted to make Saar a cultured leader so he could take over the Orc Horde and use the Orc army to rule the world.


    After 19 years, Saar became a strong Orc with high agility.


    He later become a hero, standing in opposition to the Alliance. Lu Li had a deep respect for the tribal leader despite his upbringing.


    It was undeniable that Saar¡¯s success was because of Blackmoore. Without him, Saar likely would have just starved in the wilderness.


    Durnholde Keep was the place where Saar had grown up, but even someone like him wouldn¡¯t have realized that there was a secret organization behind the hill where he lived.


    Some say that when Saar left Durnholde Keep, he had the help of the Assassin League and that his growth had been closely monitored by them.


    Today, Durnholde Keep was a ghost town and only housed the deceased. Only when completing a certain plotline could players go back in time and see what Durnholde Keep was like.


    That plotline belonged to a difficult quest called ¡®Escape from Dunholde¡¯ where you would rescue Saar.


    Both Horde and Alliance players could do this quest. It was a little absurd for Alliance players to do this quest, but the rewards were lucrative. Lu Li planned to do it one day as well.


    They passed Durnholde Keep and found themselves before a mountain range.


    "Stay close, or you¡¯ll get lost in this labyrinth," the hostess reminded.


    "I¡¯ll follow your footsteps; thanks for taking care of me all this way." Lu Li couldn¡¯t be too polite; many people failed here. As long as he hadn¡¯t yet seen Ravenholdt Manor, it wasn¡¯t really a victory.

 389 Mechano-Hog

    The hostess was familiar with the road ahead and plowed through quickly. Lu Li had to be completely focused just to keep up.


    He was slightly regretful now that he was so impatient. It was very important that he didn¡¯t lose track of the hostess, but it was doubly difficult to do so at night. There were several occasions where he almost lost sight of her.


    After several minutes, Lu Li was covered in sweat and he had no idea how much travelling he had left.


    Eventually the hostess in front of him stopped, then went into a wooden cabin. There were a group of Trolls hiding in this house. Each of them were wearing scuba masks and they were quite strange looking.


    Trolls and Night Elves belonged to the Horde and Alliance respectively, and were supposed to be hostile. However, because of the Ravenholdt Manor¡¯s sphere of influence, they were forced live together peacefully.


    "Windcatcher, your Excellency, I have brought someone who wants to participate in the test," the Hostess bowed and said respectfully.


    The Trolls sat there motionless. Lu Li didn¡¯t know if they had fallen asleep or just didn¡¯t want to respond.


    After a while, the Hostess helplessly waved her hand and said, "We¡¯ve arrived a little late; the Windcatcher is already resting. Looks like we¡¯ll have to stay here for the night and accept the trial tomorrow"


    "So they are no longer working," Lu Li nodded in understanding. He went to a corner and sat down.


    After a while, the System prompted him to log off. The Hostess watched as Lu Li leaned into the corner and fell asleep.


    The next day, Lu Li hurriedly logged back on.


    When he opened his eyes, the Hostess was gone. There was just a Troll squatting in front of him, who mumbled, "Lazy fool, if you don¡¯t wake up I¡¯m going to cook you and eat you."


    Lu Li shivered before asking, "Where is my guide?"


    "She left; she had completed her quest. This is your destination and perhaps the end of your journey," the Troll replied.


    "Is the Ravenholdt Manor here?" Lu Li said with a surprised expression. Of course, there was also a bit of contempt in voice as this was just a small wooden cabin. It was just not as he had expected.


    "Of course not; this is just the outside. I am the examiner for the test. You are the first adventurer I¡¯ve seen and I had hoped it would be a Troll, preferably a Troll Engineer. If it was, I would have just directly let them pass."


    "I am learning Engineering," Lu Li said quickly.


    Even if he didn¡¯t know how to act like Hachi Chan, he couldn¡¯t offend them.


    "Oh, let me see one of your works. We¡¯ll study it together and if you want to pass the test, you¡¯ll have to convince me that it¡¯s good." The Troll took off the goggles and revealed a pair of grey pupils.


    Lu Li thought for a moment, before pulling out a syringe and injecting himself with it.


    Then the Troll watched as Lu Li shrunk and became a mini version of the Night Elf.


    "Ah, I know this one. The World is So Big."


    The Troll rummaged through his bag for a couple of seconds and also took out a syringe to inject himself with.


    He shrunk until he was even smaller than Lu Li.


    The originally small log cabin now felt like a big mansion.


    "Does this mean I passed?" Lu Li asked tentatively. After all, it wasn¡¯t much of a surprise that the Troll would also have the World is so Big.


    "Nope, you¡¯re not a Troll so you need to show me something I don¡¯t have. I am an Engineering Expert." The Troll was very happy, but he stood firm on the fact that Lu Li wasn¡¯t a Troll.


    This was such a difficult task!


    Lu Li sighed and took out a bomb, then threw it at his feet.


    "This is¡­" the Troll muttered as he looked at the fuse. Then, there was a bang and the whole hut was blown up.


    The two of them climbed out of the ruins and stared at each other.


    "Windcatcher your Excellency, do you accept that?" Lu Li had to admit that he had enacted a bit of revenge. What a terrible quest that discriminated against races that weren¡¯t Trolls!


    When he had the opportunity, he was going to go to the Warsong Canyon and kill a dozen Troll players.


    Bath¡¯ra The Windcatcher wanted to slap him in the face. Building a cabin was easy, but this bomb had almost killed him.


    Hrm, the bomb¡­


    "Do you know that one? Let¡¯s see yours if you do." Lu Li ate some bread and sat down to regenerate his HP. With his current equipment, a single such bomb wouldn¡¯t kill him.


    "I¡­I don¡¯t know that one," the Troll¡¯s shoulders drooped as he spoke sheepishly.


    "What, you don¡¯t know it? This is just an Intermediate Recipe that I learned a long time ago. You just said that you were a Master Engineer!" Lu Li pretentiously shouted with a performance that could win an Oscar.


    He spoke so loudly that everyone within half a kilometer could probably hear him.


    The Troll¡¯s face turned a bright red.


    As an Engineering Master, he hadn¡¯t felt such embarrassment for many years.


    There was a long process for upgrading Trade Skills in Dawn. They went from Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, Sage, Master, to Grand Master. Despite the popular belief, there were no Demigod or God ranks within that system.


    Master and Grand Masters were rare. Being a Sage already made you an industry leader. There wasn¡¯t a single Master Engineer in the whole of Stormwind.


    When he experienced the Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb, a recipe that had been lost for thousands of years, Bath¡¯ra the Windcatcher couldn¡¯t help but feel like he had been punched in the face.


    Moreover, in this situation he couldn¡¯t even get angry at Lu Li. Lu Li was still laughing when he said, "You¡¯re a genius after all. Come, you have passed the test. Let me take you to see the duke."


    Bath¡¯ra waved his hand and two motorcycles appeared by the mountain.


    That majestic shape, the rough lines and the earthy gold colour ¨C this was the legendary¡­


    Mechano-Hog!


    Dawn¡¯s first ever God item!


    If he parked this by the side of the road, a pile of girls would rush to his side.


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes were bright and he was salivating.


    "Don¡¯t look at me like that; these things are just too precious. I spent all my wife¡¯s money and I even had to bind it to my soul," Bath¡¯ra said bitterly.


    A Soul binding meant that the item couldn¡¯t be traded.


    "Master, can you show me the blueprints for the Mechano-Hog?" Lu Li asked as he tugged at the sleeves of Bath¡¯ra.


    "This is something only a Master Engineer can create. Even if you were at an Advanced level, you couldn¡¯t do it. Young man, you need to develop your conscientiousness," Bath¡¯ra said as he pulled away.


    He started the vehicle and the birds in the forest were scared by the roar of the engine.


    "Oh, okay. I had wanted to share the blueprint for the bomb with the Master," Lu Li said with a face of regret.


    "What, you are willing to share the bomb¡¯s secret?" The motorcycle suddenly swerved and hit a nearby tree. Windcatcher Bath¡¯ra had faceplanted into the ground.

 390 The Troll’s Silly Mistake

    It was possible that everyone who came to the Ravenholdt Manor would have a different examiner. Lu Li had never read about Bath¡¯ra the Windcatcher before and so he didn¡¯t know what level he was.


    However, after seeing him get tossed so far and get up like nothing had happened, it couldn¡¯t be that low.


    "Do you really want to share the bomb¡¯s secrets with me?" Bath¡¯ra asked again.


    "Yes, Mr Bath¡¯ra, I have answered your question for the eleventh time and we have already signed an agreement which has been confirmed by the Institute of Engineers." Lu Li was quite annoyed.


    The Troll was quite chatty and was incapable of being quiet.


    "As you know, Master Ivy was a genius. He was a Master of his own time and still is now, even though he was always a joke to his peers and disciples. I didn¡¯t think that I would get to see some of his work." Bath¡¯ra was filled with emotion.


    "Would a genius kill himself?" Lu Li disagreed.


    "This¡­I heard a secret that Ivy didn¡¯t actually die," Bath¡¯ra said embarrassedly.


    "That¡¯s impossible." Lu Li wasn¡¯t like the other players; he had keenly read all the legends and stories about Dawn¡¯s lore. For Ivy in particular, he was confident enough to make this point.


    "I have no reason to lie to you," Bath¡¯ra said then explained, "A Lich can separate its soul and go into hiding. As long as not all of it is destroyed, it cannot truly be killed¡­"


    "Ivy wasn¡¯t a Lich; he wasn¡¯t even a Mage," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    "Of course I knew that, but young man, do you know that Engineering is a great art? It is broader and more profound than any other art. Other than bombs, Ivy also studied the soul¡­" Bath¡¯ra seemed to worship Ivy. Perhaps to those who were keen for Engineering and wanted to continually pursue it, Ivy was forever the true God.


    "Please, Windcatcher. I remember someone saying that it was because of his studies into the soul that he went crazy and made a bomb that could destroy a mountain, which ultimately resulted in his death."


    "Please do not question the Godlike Engineering Master," Bath¡¯ra shouted angrily; his voice was much louder than the Mechano-Hog.


    Lu Li withdrew and warned himself not to discredit an idol in front of their fans again.


    "Actually, I really like engineering and have spent quite some time on it."


    "Then why are you still just an Intermediate Engineer?" Bath¡¯ra politeness had vanished after Lu Li¡¯s display of arrogance.


    "I had only spent a month in my free time, and I was still young at the time," Lu Li shrugged.


    Players were quite richly blessed in this regard. While there were things they may not be able to learn in life, all they needed to do in Dawn was gather the Trade Skill EXP.


    "Never feel like you are still too young ¨C if you wait, it might be too late." Bath¡¯ra¡¯s sigh could be heard by Lu Li even over the thundering vehicles.


    The Mechano-Hog increased movement speed by 120%; it was one of the fastest ground mounts. Before Long, Bath¡¯ra and Lu Li appeared in front of a cave.


    "The Ravenholdt Manor is in the mountains?" Lu Li thought that this was a little strange.


    "Oh, oh no, I¡­" The Troll¡¯s face turned purple before shouting, "I should have put you to sleep. Dammit, I forgot¡­"


    Lu Li: ¡­


    Not only did this guy discriminate between races, he also made silly mistakes


    The road here had many hills and the terrain was complex.


    However, once players had come here often enough, they would eventually remember the directions. Lu Li wasn¡¯t Hachi Chan ¨C if he had to, he could definitely navigate his way here.


    Poor Bath¡¯ra was so distracted by Ivy¡¯s Bomb that he had forgotten to put him into a coma.


    It was a complete mistake.


    Nothing like this had ever happened to the Ravenholdt Manor in thousands of years. The simplest solution would be to kill the offenders.


    However, Lu Li was an adventurer and he knew that Dawn¡¯s rules stipulated that adventurers couldn¡¯t be killed. The most they could do was reduce his EXP by 20%.


    "I can keep a secret. In fact, I just woke up," Lu Li said.


    Virtual reality had been developed for 200 years and had gone through several stages.


    50 years ago, the development of artificial intelligence also became mainstream.


    In the recent 50 years, technology kept advancing and more man-power was freed up. In particular, agricultural production was almost exclusively coordinated by artificial intelligence.


    The same was true of video games; Dawn¡¯s monsters had some level of artificial intelligence.


    If they didn¡¯t need to consider playability, then they would give all life in the world full intelligence.


    Bath¡¯ra the Windcatcher¡¯s intelligence was quite high, so he seriously considered Lu Li¡¯s proposal.


    If Ravenholdt Manor found out about this issue during the trial process, they wouldn¡¯t accept Lu Li, but it would also cause him some trouble. As a member of the organization, he knew the level of their strength.


    "Do you have any demands?" Bath¡¯ra asked.


    "Not really ¨C I don¡¯t have a need for an informant. I also don¡¯t want to offend a Master Engineer." Lu Li had a bit of a headache at this point.


    Knowing the real location of Ravenholdt Manor wasn¡¯t much use to him.


    "No, you have to have a demand," Bath¡¯ra said as he seriously stared at Lu Li." I hope to make this secret a deal, and not something that can be used against me at any time."


    "The Mechano-Hog¡­ how about you teach me about its blueprint?" Lu Li thought for a moment and decided to take the opportunity.


    "The Mechano-Hog is actually a quest that I can¡¯t give you directly. You must first reach Expert level before finding me to accept the quest. After completing the quest, you will receive the blueprint. You can only make the Mechano-Hog after you reach Master level," Bath¡¯ra bitterly said.


    "Then just teach me about a blueprint." Lu Li was speechless; he didn¡¯t expect it to be that difficult.


    "What do you mean, a blueprint?" Bath¡¯ra¡¯s face flushed red again.


    Was this young man about to ask about the legacy and Ivy again?


    "Nevermind. I shouldn¡¯t offend an Engineering Expert," Lu Li quickly praised him. "How about you promise to answer my questions about Engineering when I¡¯m free?"


    "Alright, I promise," Bath¡¯ra sighed.


    Now that this matter had been settled, Lu Li and the Master Engineer¡¯s relationship had been solidified.


    A Troll and a Night Elf then snuck into the cave.

 391 One Star Assassin

    "Windcatcher, your excellency¡­"


    "Call me Master Bath¡¯ra," the Troll said.


    "Master Bath¡¯ra, can I ask you a question?"


    "If you want to ask me about Ravenholdt Manor, I can only apologise," Bath¡¯ra answered pre-emptively.


    "Alright, let me ask about something else," Lu Li said, not discouraged. "If I establish a town in the future, can I invite you to join me? As you know, you are a visionary Engineering Master which is very appealing for adventurers."


    "You want to establish a town? It doesn¡¯t seem like you are particularly rich. Don¡¯t be like those goblins; their engineering has gone downhill," Bath¡¯ra said in disgust.


    They had been in this cave for more than an hour. Fortunately, Bath¡¯ra was around, otherwise, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have made it to the end.


    Before reaching the Ravenholdt Manor there was a bendy river. The naturally occurring underground water in Blackfathom was quite meagre.


    "You can ask me again after you¡¯ve built the city. Prepare lots of money as even if you aren¡¯t paying me, you should at least help me build a laboratory," Bath¡¯ra instructed as he brought Lu Li into the basement of the building.


    They were roughly at the center of the mountain.


    There was a large Teleportation Channel that looked quite old. It didn¡¯t have the same complexity as those in the towns.


    "You didn¡¯t actually have to worry about anything. It turns out the Ravenholdt Manor isn¡¯t even in the hills of Hillsbrad," Lu Li said, thinking he had made some kind of extraordinary discovery.


    "This is a special Teleportation Channel. It will put you to sleep and there are also pit stops along the way," Bath¡¯ra replied as he gave Lu Li a syringe.


    Lu Li took it and administered it to himself without hesitation.


    Before long, he found himself lying on some grass and staring at the sky.


    "If you¡¯re awake, let¡¯s go," a voice beside him spoke. Lu Li turned to see Bath¡¯ra the Troll.


    Lu Li stood up and found himself on an island. It wasn¡¯t that big and he could see that he was near the seashore. A group of seagulls flew off the beach, causing some commotion.


    No far from the pier was a mechanical ship that Bath¡¯ra insisted they take.


    Although it was called Ravenholdt Manor, Ravenholdt Island was the more appropriate name.


    Because the environment was too wet for wood, all the buildings in the area were made of stone. There wasn¡¯t a single person to be found; it was like a deserted island.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t believe that there wasn¡¯t anyone on the island. Even if this exact location wasn¡¯t Ravenholdt Manor, it was still a stronghold. There had to be some people here.


    After travelling for a little longer, they arrived at a big house.


    It was a European medieval-style building that included an ancient clock. Lu Li was standing in front of the building as the bells sounded at noon.


    "Let¡¯s go," Bath¡¯ra whispered behind him.


    Lu Li went in and the doors creaked closed behind him. Bath¡¯ra the Windcatcher was not going to follow him any farther; Lu Li could hear his footsteps as he left. Lu Li¡¯s trial had finally come to an end.


    He passed through a long corridor and entered a main hall where he could see sunlight coming through the roof.


    "Young man, I am Jorach and I welcome you on behalf of Ravenholdt Manor." There was a person sitting by the stone table where the sun hit. From Lu Li¡¯s point of view, he was just a hazy shadow.


    His voice sounded very old, giving the impression that he was in his later years.


    "Thank you, I am honored to be here. Are you the leader of the Assassin League ¨C Duke Jorach Ravenholdt?" Lu Li was shocked. He hadn¡¯t expected to meet such a legendary character.


    "Haha, I am indeed Jorach of Ravenholdt. I am also a Duke but I am not the Assassin League leader," the old man confirmed then fell silent for a moment before laughing, "Me and my ancestors have always been scribes for the Assassin League, primarily recording the events that happened. This organization doesn¡¯t have a practical leader in that sense. From a long time ago¡­"


    As the old man shared his story, the history of the ancient organization was slowly revealed to Lu Li.


    No one knew how the alliance had started, not even Duke Jorach. However, the only thing that was for sure was that the Assassin League was one of Azeroth¡¯s oldest organizations.


    At the same time, the Assassin League was quite a flexible organization.


    It was unlike the usual pyramid structure of most organizations. The structure more closely resembled a spider-web, a large interconnected web with a very wide network and many end points.


    There was no so called ¡®leader¡¯ in the organisation.


    Lu Li particularly liked that part about it.


    The Duke didn¡¯t deny it as part of some deception. He was just a particularly strong member and perhaps had a somewhat noble family background.


    "So, can I join the Assassin League?" Lu Li asked.


    The old man beckoned his hand in the sun and Lu Li approached him. When he finally saw the Duke of Ravenholdt, he didn¡¯t really live up to his expectations.


    He was just a very ordinary looking old man.


    "Young man, if you have already made your decision, please hold out your Ravenholdt Emblem."


    Lu Li took out the Emblem and put it on the table.


    Lu Li was silent. In fact, his heart was a little apprehensive. This emblem was loot that was received after killing Doan. He didn¡¯t know if they would investigate; this was the Assassin League after all.


    It was absolutely impossible for any organization to accept anyone who had killed one of their own.


    This was just common knowledge; no one needed to specifically write that one down.


    However, in reality, Lu Li¡¯s worries were unnecessary. This item that had come from the Instance Dungeon was a perfect copy. Everything within it was just fantasy and was very unlikely to affect the world at large.


    Doan was from an Instance Dungeon which meant that he constantly respawned. As such, killing him wouldn¡¯t cause any enmity between the players and Ravenholdt Manor.


    Besides, the game had been designed so that Doan and a few other characters were the entry point for players to start the quest to join the Assassin League. Otherwise, where else would the players find the emblem?


    "Welcome to the Assassin League. I have accepted you on behalf of the alliance; you are now a one-star Assassin of the Assassin League," the old man declared before stretching out his finger and asking, "Where do you want the mark?"


    Lu Li was stunned for a moment before hastily taking off his gloves.


    The Duke of Ravenholdt pointed at the back of his hand and a little emblem appeared.


    System: You have joined the Assassin League. Because you are the first player to join the Assassin League, you are rewarded with 50,000 EXP, 500 Assassin League Prestige, 2 Skill Points and 30 attribute points¡­


    Jackpot!


    Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief. He just couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    Under normal circumstances, the reward would be 30,000 EXP, 300 Prestige, 1 skill point and 2 attribute points.


    The bonus for being the first person to join was very generous indeed.

 392 Instantly Completing a Ques

    50,000 EXP in addition to the EXP he had received earlier meant that he was only 20% away from getting to level 31. There weren¡¯t even ten other players who were level 30 and most of them were in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    "Young man, calm down. That¡¯s just a small reward," Duke Jorach said while squinting at the sun.


    You didn¡¯t need to explain the EXP, but the two Skill Points already made this trip worth it.


    Lu Li added all 30 attribute points to Agility, which was something he couldn¡¯t do even after levelling 6 times. Of course, levelling up also yielded other benefits, so this wasn¡¯t something directly comparable.


    As for the Assassin League prestige, this was what Lu Li currently treasured the most.


    When he joined the Assassin League, most of the quests would be tasks that the alliance wanted to do. These mysterious quests had abundant rewards and all kinds of different content.


    However, you couldn¡¯t just accept any quest. You needed a certain amount of prestige to accept quests.


    There were rewards for succeeding in those quests, but if you failed, not only would you not receive any rewards, but you would also lose a portion of your prestige. Without any prestige, you could only do the difficult ¡®thankless¡¯ quests.


    Lu Li had 500 Prestige, so he could attempt some of the more difficult quests.


    "Can I look at the quests that I can currently accept?" He couldn¡¯t to wait to see how much he needed to accept the quest that would reward him with the Shard of the Defiler.


    "Of course, but before that, you need to open up the Assassin¡¯s quest system. There are many people in the Assassin League, but not many can open up the Assassin¡¯s quest system," the Duke of Ravenhold¡¯t said with a smile.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was optimistic about Lu Li ¨C the smile was actually one of slight disapproval.


    "Can a regular member open up the Assassin¡¯s quest system?" Lu Li asked. Many members of the Assassin League that he knew of from his previous life were only peripheral members because they couldn¡¯t complete the trial quest.


    "I think you misunderstand. The Assassin League has no formal or informal members. The entry trial and the trial quest have nothing to do with entry to the Assassin League. All members are official members of Ravenholdt Manor."


    "Then, what is my trial quest?" Lu Li didn¡¯t want to listen to this old man anymore and got straight to the point.


    "It is located where you came from. The Hillsbrad Hills have a snow monster that has ravaged the lands over the years. The decision to guve this snow monster free reign has led to some unusual consequences! Snow King Yetimus¡¯ strength has grown to new heights as the incompetent guards there are unable to deal with them.


    "Some parts of the Assassin League in the Hillsbrad Hills are threatened. I hope you can help us kill the beast and bring its horns back to me."


    "As a member of the Assassin League I am happy to accept this quest." Lu Li didn¡¯t have to consider the matter.


    Apparently, this sentiment didn¡¯t please the Duke of ravenholdt. He frowned as he raised his voice and warned, "For the sake of your life, I must let you know how powerful Yetimus is."


    "Yes, your excellency," Lu Li nodded.


    "He naturally has an earthshattering skill that cannot be resisted by those who are weak. I had previously sent a Druid to investigate. He was a little stronger than you and the snow monster was still weak then. The Druid was sent flying, but his skills allowed him to land mostly unharmed. However, when I sent people to kill the monster, they suffered heavy casualties. I can only imagine the monster is now stronger."


    "That is unfortunate," Lu Li commented, displaying a proper performance of sympathy.


    "It would be best if you prepared yourself before you provoked the monster. I don¡¯t want the first person who joined to die," the Duke of Ravenholdt said earnestly.


    "I am grateful for your concern, but what I was going to say was that I already have the Twisted Horn of Yetimus."


    Lu Li took the item out from his bag and placed it gently on the table.


    "How is this possible¡­" the old man muttered.


    "Please have a look and make sure this is the item you wanted," Lu Li offered, hiding his satisfaction. Having an escort with him to fight the monster had turned out well. This was something that others could only hope to achieve.


    "This is it; I had acquired a similar item when I was younger." The Duke of Ravenholdt studied the Horns for a moment with a magnifying glass to determine their authenticity


    "So what is my reward?" Lu Li asked eagerly.


    "This¡­"


    The Duke of Ravenholdt frowned and sighed before saying, "This is my first time facing a situation like this. You are the fastest new recruit to have completed this quest."


    "So¡­. Does that mean my reward will be particularly good?" Lu Li¡¯s eyes lit up. He had completed the quest the moment he got it, without a second of delay. In terms of speed in completing the quest, there would be no one would could complete it any faster.


    "No, no," the Duke of Ravenholdt laughed. "I didn¡¯t specify a time limit so the speed of your completion doesn¡¯t affect the quest¡¯s reward."


    "Dammit," Lu Li cursed. He had gotten excited for nothing.


    System: Quest Trial completed. The exclusive interface, the Assassin¡¯s Quest Interface, is now available.


    Lu Li opened the interface which showed all the quest that were available to him.


    Most of the Assassin League quests were assassinations. Even some of the quests from the Mercenary Quest system had been imported into the Assassin League quests.


    Of course, as the body that was issuing the quest was different, the rewards were also different.


    "Esteemed elder, are there any other rewards for completing that quest?" Lu Li wasn¡¯t satisfied; he wasn¡¯t really interested in this.


    The Shard of the Defiler was his ultimate goal and he was obsessed about it. It was Dawn¡¯s fastest weapon and was basically created specifically for him.


    Lu Li¡¯s tactics were complicated, but they could be summarized as quick, reactive and masterful.


    Reactive referred to his hand eye coordination and reaction speed and masterful referred to his high skill completion, whle quick referred to his general speed. The hostess had left a very deep impression about these things in him.


    "Oh, sorry. It¡¯s been so long since I gave this quest that I have forgotten some things," the old man spluttered as he apologized. Lu Li almost coughed up blood; this old man¡¯s bad memory had almost cost him.


    Subsequently, Lu Li received a prompt that he had received a total of 50 Prestige.


    A big guild wouldn¡¯t have given such a difficult quest with only a 50 Prestige point reward. Lu Li finally understood when the strategy guide said that it was harder to get prestige in the smaller factions.


    When he was looking at the interface which gave the conditions for doing quests. They required at least 10 Prestige points and some were even in the millions.


    Lu Li just stared at the Duke of Ravenholdt, waiting quietly.


    "Oh yes, and EXP¡­"


    A little over 10,000 EXP was awarded. Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar moved just a little bit.

 393 Shard of the Defiler

    "Why are you still staring at me? Alright, young man, tell me what you want," the old man joked.


    Unfortunately, no one was around to laugh; his only audience found him to be too cunning.


    An NPC who dared to hold back rewards from a player? This old man was definitely one-of-a-kind.


    "I saw the weapon that the hostess was using before. It seemed very interesting."


    Lu Li tested the waters; good things were worth fighting for. It didn¡¯t seem realistic for Duke Ravenholdt to reward him the weapon without some sort of prompts.


    "Oh, you must be talking about Shard of the Defiler."


    Based off Lu Li¡¯s descriptions, Duke Ravenholdt quickly realized what he was talking about and explained with a pitiful expression, "That was actually a failure. One of the best blacksmiths of the last generation attempted to make a set of weapons that could compete against the Warglaive of Azzinoth. After about a hundred years of research, he discovered in the end that there were a lot of critical parts that couldn''t be completed."


    "So it''s a set of failures¡­" Lu Li felt disappointed.


    Mass production and failures too ¨C this was far away from what he had imagined. He had even been prepared to complete difficult quests.


    "This plan was stopped a long time ago, so there are only a few Shards of the Defiler left."


    Duke Ravenholdt searched for a bit before he pulled out a weapon identical to the one that Lu Li had seen


    It was definitely something of little value, or else it wouldn¡¯t have been given away so easily.


    Lu Li took the weapon in disappointment as he briefly scanned the attributes...


    "Oh!" Only a gasp was enough to portray Lu Li¡¯s emotions. It was though he had been kicked into Hell from Heaven, only to realize that Hell wasn¡¯t such a bad place after all.


    "If there¡¯s nothing else, you¡¯re free to leave. If there¡¯s anything else you need in the future, look for the hostess in Southshore. She¡¯s your contact person."


    The old man showed a grin as he enjoyed his little prank, then waved his hand before he disappeared from the main hall.


    He wasn¡¯t entirely lying though. When the Shard of the Defiler was made, the blacksmith had wanted to forge a weapon that was as exquisite as the Warglaive of Azzinoth, but of course, he failed.


    After this, he began his second plan. He wanted this set of weapons to be able to upgrade as the strength of the user grew.


    Equipment that could self-upgrade was definitely quite extraordinary, not to mention that this blacksmith wanted to mass produce them.


    Lu Li unconsciously walked out of the place, not realizing that the entire island had greatly transformed in such a short amount of time.


    The plants were withered, the buildings were crumbling and rotting away, and even the blue sky had begun to turn grey.


    The tides were rolling in; it was obvious that a storm was brewing.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t care at all; his eyes never left the dagger that was in his hands.


    Shard of the Defiler (Dark Gold): Damage 42-56. Agility+20, Strength+12. Slot 1. Special Effect 1: Attack Speed+30%. Special Effect 2: Deep Contamination. Reduces 25% of target¡¯s armor and movement speed, cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 3: Fatal Blow. When the target¡¯s health drops below 20%, there is a certain chance to execute the target. Level Requirement 40, Durability 120/120.


    Not only were the attributes amazing, but all of the special effects were incredible too. It was hard to imagine that the old man would describe this as a failure.


    The two daggers that Lu Li had been using were already of extremely good quality. If he tossed either one into the auction, it was guaranteed that players would go crazy over them. However, with the Shard of the Defiler in his hands, he had an urge to toss them both in the sea.


    Needless to say, the damage alone was a great difference. The damage of the Shard of the Defiler was greater than the damage of Moonlight¡¯s level 30 weapon.


    Attack Speed +30% was the best that Lu Li had seen so far. Even his Rager Equipment Set, the set that was claimed to be useful all the way until level 30, would only give him a 20% attack speed boost with both pieces combined.


    Lu Li finally understood why the hostess was able to attack so fast.


    Firstly, the hostess was 15 levels higher than Lu Li and secondly, she was using this dagger.


    Currently, Lu Li had a weapon that came with an Armor Penetration effect; it had a certain chance to reduce his target¡¯s Armor by 20%. At the time, he was very excited ¨C he felt like a single hand, level 30 weapon couldn¡¯t be any better. However, now he knew he was wrong. Not only did Shard of the Defiler provide an even better Armor Penetration effect, but it also reduced the movement speed of the target.


    What he liked even more about the dagger was the fact that the special effect could be "activated". It wasn¡¯t a special effect that was based off chance.


    Speaking of chance, whether it be in his previous or current life, he had always been unlucky.


    Finally, there was the Fatal Blow effect.


    This effect was more than just a cool name ¨C what it actually did was enough to keep Lu Li¡¯s enemies on their toes.


    When the health of his target dropped below 20%, there was a certain chance to execute them. The effect didn¡¯t mean much for players around the current level, because most players at this point had no more than 2000 health points. 20% of this was only around 300-400 health points.


    With his ultimate skill, Lu Li would be able to deal around 200 damage to a player of the same level. The damage would be around 400 points if it was a critical strike.


    The most important thing was that this target wasn¡¯t restricted to players.


    If a boss with 100,000 HP was at 20% HP and the effect suddenly decided to activate, that would be 20,000 health points gone in an instant!


    This was not to mention that many bosses tended to keep their stronger skills for the later stages.


    Lu Li¡¯s dagger was like a bug. This was a real reward indeed!


    Only this dagger would be fitting as a reward of such quest, a quest that required a player to kill a level 40 monster that was as powerful as a Boss.


    The only pitiful part was the level requirement of level 40...


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t even level 31 yet; he was still at least 9 levels away from level 40. Now that his leveling had begun to slow down, he might not even reach level 40 in a month¡¯s time.


    He held a legendary weapon in his hands and yet, he could not use it...


    What in the world could be more painful than this!


    "Bro, when are we going to do dungeons? You¡¯ve been away for more than half the day. The Graveyard record has been tossed around between Blood Red War Flag and Glory Capital. They¡¯re about to catch up to us."


    As Lu Li teleported back to the city, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s voice echoed in his ears.


    This was a message from before ¨C Lu Li had blocked all of his contacts as soon as he entered the Ravenholdt Manor.


    He checked the time; the message was sent to him not too long ago.


    "Has anyone passed the Library?" Lu Li replied.


    "Square Root 3 has already sent people to stay on a lookout outside of the Scarlet Monastery. Around noon, there was news saying that Glory Capital, Blood Red War Flag and Peerless City had already sent people into the Arsenal. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be rushing you either. This place that you¡¯ve found for us is really good for leveling," Azure Sea Breeze said.


    The Arsenal and the Cathedral were places in the Scarlet Monastery that required keys in order to be accessed. Even a Thief wouldn¡¯t be able to pick the locks and open the doors.


    This meant that completing the Library was a pre-requisite for these two dungeon areas. If someone entered the Arsenal, that meant that they would have completed the Library.


    These big guilds all had their own elite teams and guide teams. With the combination of these two, most dungeons wouldn¡¯t be able to hold them back.


    "Don¡¯t worry, the Arsenal isn¡¯t as easy as it seems," Lu Li laughed.

 394 Level 40 Weapon

    "Even if we lose one or two First Clears it¡¯s fine. Square Root 3 already said that we¡¯re standing out too much; this isn¡¯t a good thing." Azure Sea Breeze was serious for once.


    "Uhm... perhaps." Lu Li didn¡¯t disagree.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean he was going to stop himself and wait for the other big guilds to catch up. He never felt like he could afford to stop.


    All of the First Clears were based on his reincarnation.


    However, reincarnation didn¡¯t make him invincible; Lu Li still had to maintain his distance with the others.


    He pulled out the dungeon menu and searched the records for the Scarlet Graveyard over the past two days. Quite a few guilds had already formed a guide for this dungeon, and with a guide to help them, most teams were able to complete it.


    Yesterday, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had taken one and a half hours to pass the dungeon.


    At the moment, the fastest clear time was held by Blood Red War Flat at 45 minutes. Second place was held by Glory Capital at 48 minutes, with teams after them taking more than 50 minutes.


    This didn¡¯t mean that these people were better than Lu Li and his team. Lu Li and his team had actually defeated the Graveyard Keeper and Bloodmage, while the others had only defeated the Bloodmage.


    The system for dungeons in Dawn included two things ¨C First Clears and records.


    As their names suggested, the First Clear referred to the team that completed the dungeon first, while records referred to the shortest amount of time taken to complete the dungeon.


    Taking a look at the previous dungeons where they had taken First Clears, apart from the Howling Caves, the records of the other dungeons had all been refreshed. Big guilds were always able to produce an effective guide after a few dungeon runs. Following this, they would try to send higher-level players into the dungeon and attempt to take the dungeon records.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped that dungeon records were being taken.


    The current dungeon system was quite troublesome ¨C it didn¡¯t matter which mode you did the dungeon in, as long as it wasn¡¯t Normal mode, there was only one opportunity each week.


    Once you did Elite mode, you wouldn¡¯t be able to attempt Difficult or Nightmare mode anymore.


    This also meant that you wouldn¡¯t be able to have both equipment and dungeon records. Lu Li definitely wouldn¡¯t give up the profit from Difficult or Nightmare mode for the sake of something like a dungeon record.


    Not to mention, dungeon records only showed up on the dungeon menu. Opening a particular dungeon menu meant that you would see the top 100 teams. As such, a record wasn¡¯t as influential as a First Clear.


    "Do we have to prepare anything this time?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    The purchase of supplies was usually dependent on the decision of Lu Li, who was the commander. This includes potions, food, scrolls or even special equips.


    "We¡¯ll be attempting the Arsenal in the afternoon. Breeze, see if you can find defense scrolls in the auction. Keep a few spares for everyone; they¡¯re very useful..."


    Lu Li suddenly smacked himself on the head and quickly said, "Never mind. I¡¯ll go myself; there should still be enough time."


    Auction!


    After he thought about it, an item flashed across Lu Li¡¯s brain. He was eager to go to the auction to see if he could purchase it.


    He took out the Shard of the Defiler from his bag and double checked it. He was definitely happy with the slot that came with the dagger.


    Was it necessary for him to wait until level 40 to equip the weapon?


    Under normal circumstances, that would be the case, but there were always exceptions.


    The current situation was one of the exceptions. Because of the slot, Lu Li had a chance to be able to equip this level 40 dagger while he was still level 30.


    The solution to this problem was a simple, little rock.


    Level Requirement -x% Synthetic Stones like these were always popular. Lu Li had his hopes up when he walked into the Auction, but he soon came out disappointed.


    Synthetic Stones already had a really low drop rate, and the type that Lu Li wanted was one of the rarest among them.


    He bought some supplies along the way, including a few dozen scrolls that boosted physical defense for a short period of time.


    These scrolls didn¡¯t provide too much defense and were only effective against physical damages. The price was a few gold coins for one scroll, so in total, he had spent a few hundred dollars. Average players wouldn¡¯t bother to spend money on these things.


    "Help me find something, and purchase it straight away if the price isn¡¯t too ridiculous," Lu Li messaged Square Root 3, the manager of the guild.


    "What are you looking for? It seems like something amazing." Square Root 3 was a busy person, but he definitely wouldn¡¯t ignore Lu Li¡¯s requests, because he knew the significance of Lu Li to Ruling Sword.


    What they were doing now would decide the heights that the guild would be able to reach.


    "A Synthetic Stone that reduces the level requirement of an equipment."


    As Lu Li replied, he also began to head towards the Scarlet Monastery.


    "Sounds rare."


    Square Root 3 searched for a bit, but he had no results either.


    "It¡¯s something that¡¯s embedded into an equipment; it lowers the level requirement for an equipment. The jewelry-trading skills around our current level wouldn¡¯t be able to produce these stones. Only rare monsters have a chance to drop them; you can try to contact mercenary groups," Lu Li advised after some thought.


    Although the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was also a mercenary group, they were very different from traditional mercenary groups.


    The average mercenary group wouldn¡¯t attempt to challenge dungeons ¨C their main income came from helping others with their quests. Sometimes, they would sell equipment too.


    There were always some people who enjoyed spending their time around battlegrounds. They hunted for weakened enemy faction players and were often able to obtain equips that were better than mainstream ones.


    Of course, not everyone had the ability to do such things. Even if these higher-level characters were near death, they would still be able to easily kill a bunch of average players.


    Square Root 3 got the message and began chatting up those who were familiar with the trade.


    Lu Li arrived at the outer circle of the Scarlet Monastery and met up with his team members.


    It wasn¡¯t easy to take a trip back. Azure Sea Breeze and the others never went back to Grey Valley; they hid in a small Alliance camp at the back of the seashore.


    Because the pathways were obstructed, it was a location that was yet to be discovered. Lu Li was able to give the coordinates based off his memory from his previous life. The camp fixed equips, had a mailbox and even sold food. Apart from the fact that it didn¡¯t have a hotel, it was a fine location for people to camp in.


    As such, Lu Li and the others managed to save a lot of travel time compared to other Alliance players.


    As for Lu Li himself, he ran faster than anyone else on land and could also fly. It would only take around ten to twenty minutes of travel-time for him.


    The outer area of the Scarlet Monastery had already settled down. After all, the battle had already continued for two days and many people had been losing experience and even dropping levels. Even with the guilds supporting them, they still couldn¡¯t make up their losses.


    However, it would be wrong to think that this peacefulness represented safety in the area.


    Glory Capital, for example, would send out some elite PVP players to stay at certain locations. Their task was to hunt down core members of the enemy faction and slow down the others from passing the dungeon.


    The team from Ruling Sword was the most important target. Not only did the Horde guilds target them, even the Alliance guilds received commands to target them as well.


    Lu Li and the other had already received warnings about this from Square Root 3. They scouted carefully as they travelled, finding at least a dozen spots where Thieves and Druids were hiding.


    "We¡¯ll force our way in. Don¡¯t worry about the Scarlet Paladins; kill anything that¡¯s in the way."


    With a wave of Lu Li¡¯s right hand, he charged in first with Moonlight.

 395 Killing You Was An Acciden

    If Lu Li was by himself, things would be much easier. Almost no one could track him down.


    Even if they found him, it wouldn¡¯t be possible to stop him without a certain amount of people. In one-on-one battles, only celebrity players would be able to pose a threat to Lu Li.


    What were the chances of running into celebrity players outside of the Scarlet Monastery?


    When the silly Warrior, Elevenless, charged towards him, Lu Li immediately knew that he was in trouble, although he still couldn¡¯t decide how troublesome this might be.


    However, one thing was certain: Elevenless was definitely not alone.


    No matter how silly he might be, there was no way that he would charge in by himself. The golden trio that had won the championship were all present in Lu Li¡¯s team.


    "Everyone else, enter the dungeon. Sea Breeze, charge in and open the gate."


    Lu Li ignored Elevenless and instead ran towards the direction that Elevenless had appeared from.


    Elevenless was blocked by Moonlight and the two Warriors engaged each other in battle.


    Faker than Wind, who had also charged forward, was caught by surprise when he saw Lu Li appear in front of him.


    In this brief moment, a Sap already landed on his head.


    The first thing that Lu Li did was to check and select his target. The second was to leave combat with Shadowmeld and the third was the Sap that landed on Faker than Wind¡¯s head.


    "****, fast reaction."


    Faker than Wind didn¡¯t have any equips or skills to dispel the crowd-control effects that were on him.


    Fortunately, this wasn¡¯t on the competition grounds. Marks, the Hunter who stood behind him, reacted just in time. He switched his mode, left the team and began attacking Faker than Wind.


    As long as damage was dealt, the Sap effect would be removed.


    Marks was strong indeed. Among PVP Hunters, he would at least be in the top five, or even the top 3. After he saved his team member, he even had the time to toss a Flare under his foot.


    Flare was a rare skill for Hunters which would expose Stealthed enemy units within a 10 yard radius of a selected area. It lasted for 20 seconds and had a cooldown of 30 seconds.


    This meant that any Stealthed Thieves that were near him would be exposed.


    After being exposed, a Hunter¡¯s arrow and pet would destroy a Thief who had lost their advantage. Even Lu Li would be in trouble.


    However, what Faker than Wind and Marks couldn¡¯t figure out was that Lu Li had not attacked them. Was Lu Li really so patient that he was going to wait until the effects of Flare disappeared?


    They thought about Lu Li¡¯s previous records, and a serious look began to appear on their faces.


    It would be nice if the other players from their guild arrived. In this situation where a Stealth unit was hiding near them, the Hunter and Paladin felt cold hands gripping their hearts.


    "****, why? Why aren¡¯t you guys helping me?" The crying sound of Elevenless came through his team¡¯s voice channel.


    "Huh? Didn¡¯t you say that they weren¡¯t going to fight us and that they would go straight for the dungeon? And plus, Lu Li is here with us¡­ Faker than Wind was surprised by his voice; he didn¡¯t dare let down his guard.


    "You two were definitely sent here by monkeys... ahhh!" Then, there was no sound.


    "Why aren¡¯t you talking? Did you go offline?"


    Faker than Wind had a confused expression on his face; it was hard to break the truth to him when his eyes looked so innocent.


    However, Marks still decided to explain to him. "If my assumptions are right, after Lu Li Sapped you, he turned around and aimed for Elevenless, so... hmph, you know."


    "My, that¡¯s too sneaky. How can he do that? Doesn¡¯t that mean we got played?" Faker than Wind had a cool name, but he was still quite innocent.


    "Nope, the one who got played was Elevenless. He died again, but we¡¯re both still alive," Marks laughed. Not a single bit of disappointment appeared on his face.


    "Feels bad for Elevenless ¨C I feel like he¡¯s always dying. He died on the match grounds and he can¡¯t even survive in the wild. What if this left a scar on him mentally? Did you hear his scream from before?" Faker than Wind felt quite sorry for his teammate.


    "Say, why did you think Lu Li left us two here, but turned around and aimed for Elevenless?" Marks asked.


    "Why did you need to ask? He didn¡¯t seem like a good person anyway."


    Faker than Wind was angry too; he almost applauded for the death of Elevenless.


    They had only just received information from the guild that Lu Li and the others had appeared. Their original plan was to surprise and deal some damage to the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Ideally, they would wipe the team.


    Even if the three of them weren¡¯t able to fight against their entire team, they would still be able to hold a few people back.


    All guilds, regardless of their faction, probably wanted to keep Xin Xin Mercenary Group outside of the dungeon. It couldn¡¯t be helped since they were always taking the First Clear.


    Lu Li and Moonlight killed Elevenless, then picked up the weapon that he dropped and quickly entered the dungeon.


    In all honesty, they were quite shocked.


    PVP players had appeared outside of the Scarlet Monastery. Did that mean these big guilds were finally going to lay hands on them?


    "So shameless," Lu Li thought as he gritted his teeth.


    If the players outside were all average players, he wouldn¡¯t worry at all, no matter how many of them there were. He was a Thief after all, and only appeared upon entering or exiting the dungeon. An average player wouldn¡¯t even be able catch him.


    However, the situation was vastly different with the participation of celebrity players.


    There was no way Lu Li would drag around a bunch of players to fight for him. Ruling Sword had only just been established and didn¡¯t have a strong foundation like the other big guilds. They simply couldn¡¯t afford to do such thing.


    He already has a plan in mind ¨C if they were really being targeted, they might as well enter the dungeon from the cities. Although the Scarlet Halo was quite beneficial, it wasn¡¯t a necessity for the dungeon.


    "You guys got blocked. Was it by Elevenless and his team?" Square Root 3 was quick with his information. As soon as Lu Li and the others gathered inside the dungeon, he had already received the news on the other side.


    "It seems like you¡¯re right; we¡¯re getting too much attention. We¡¯re too good at dungeons and now we have enemies everywhere," Lu Li sighed.


    "No way. Did someone die?" They were caught by surprise and judging from Lu Li¡¯s tone, Square Root 3 thought that someone had died.


    "No, we killed Elevenless. His body is still outside," Lu Li said.


    "You guys killed Elevenless? Is he that easy to kill?" Square Root 3 thought the world of master gamers was quite strange. He thought that Elevenless wouldn¡¯t be able to kill anyone from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, but he didn¡¯t expect Lu Li to turn around and kill him.


    According to the scouts that he placed outside of the dungeons, there was more than one player who aimed at Lu Li and his team.


    "We couldn¡¯t help it; he charged towards us. Moonlight and I hacked him to death."


    Lu Li felt like something was wrong and continued, "Are there a lot of players waiting around the dungeon? Are all the top thirty guilds waiting outside?"


    "Uhm..."


    Square Root 3 had a headache. Was the stupidity of Elevenless contagious by any chance?

 396 Scarlet Arsenal

    "I know what you mean; we can¡¯t always take the First Clears, but it can¡¯t be helped that they can¡¯t catch up. I mean, do I really have to hold back so that they have a chance?" Lu Li was still absorbed in his own world.


    When Azure Sea Breeze had previously mentioned this to him, he didn¡¯t really care, but he wasn¡¯t too sure about the whole situation either.


    Looking at this from another perspective, if another guild was constantly taking all the First Clears, he would give everything to destroy them.


    "It¡¯s not that bad," Square Root 3 explained. "There was no ambush around the outside. Elevenless probably ran into you guys by accident and thought that this was his chance, but he died. Although the big guilds don¡¯t like us, you underestimated how much they value their reputation. The more important they are, the more they care about their reputation. If others found out that they attempted to group up and kill all of you because they couldn¡¯t beat you in dungeons, do you really think that they¡¯d still be able to stay in this industry?"


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t a big figure yet, had been born a peasant and was more realistic than anyone else, so it was hard for him to figure out how those famous figures thought.


    "However, we can¡¯t exclude their possibility of them targeting us. As long as they keep a low profile, it will be hard for anyone to say anything," Square Root 3 continued. "Next time you guys run into something like that, make sure to be careful. There¡¯s always a chance that accidents can happen."


    Lu Li gave a short reply and ended the meaningless conversation.


    He ran out first to kill some Scarlet Paladins so that the whole team would have the Scarlet Halo buff.


    Then, the Scarlet Arsenal begun.


    The Arsenal was slightly higher-leveled than the two previous dungeons. The monsters were at least level 30, and there were also some level 32 elites around. If the average level of the team wasn¡¯t level 30, the dungeon would become quite difficult.


    "Observe your surroundings for a bit. Any findings?" Lu Li asked as he pointed at the long corridor.


    He wanted to train the observation and thought process of his team members. Although he had the guides, Lu Li never gave up on training his team members to improve their individual strength.


    "There are five in a group. One of them is a big one; it looks tough," Azure Sea Breeze said.


    "What else?" Lu Li shook his head.


    Who asked him to count the numbers? Anyone could tell such a simple thing by looking.


    "The class structure seems interesting; there¡¯s a Priest." Of course, Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t entirely stupid. Although he had no talent in PVP, he definitely lived up to his number one main tank title in PVE.


    "It¡¯s normal to have a Priest. Who made a rule that monsters can¡¯t have a class structure like players?" Lu Li responded then helplessly asked, "Didn¡¯t you guys notice the 110?"


    ¡®110¡¯ was a set of digits borrowed from a particular organization. It referred to patrolling monsters.


    These type of monsters usually had a particular route that they followed. They either patrolled on the route or would walk anywhere randomly if they weren¡¯t assigned to one. If the setting was slightly harder, these monsters could even act as scouts.


    When they discovered enemies, they would report this back to their comrades.


    The 110 in the Scarlet Arsenal had this kind of setting.


    While they battled against players, there was a chance that these 110 would blow their whistles. Following this, 3-5 teams of monsters would charge over to support them. The number of monsters that came over would depend on the surrounding environment.


    "There¡¯s too many 110s." Azure Sea Breeze looked around and his expression became serious.


    "Some monsters at set positions might also randomly become a 110, so these monsters aren¡¯t easy. Not only do we have to clear them out, but we also have to be quick at killing 110s. As soon as a 110 appears, I¡¯ll flash over to control it. Flower and Rice Ball, focus your fire on it as quickly as possible; the three of us should be able to manage. If a second 110 appears, Moonlight can charge in to control it while the others help him. Understood?"


    With Lu Li¡¯s guidance, they wouldn¡¯t have to wipe a few times to discover the secret of the Arsenal guards.


    Azure Sea Breeze charged forward to attract all the damage, while the others followed behind to attack. When they ran into a 110, everyone managed to react in time. The most dangerous moment was when they accidentally attracted 3 waves of monster and a dozen monsters pounced on them. Luckily, only Lonesome Flower died and the whole team didn¡¯t wipe.


    During this time, Lu Li made himself extremely useful. His crowd-control was always timed perfectly so that that the 110 didn¡¯t run around or make any alerts.


    After they entered the building, they ran into another problem ¨C cannons.


    Four cannons were placed in a row with four Scarlet Elites controlling them. They would attack any unit that entered their shooting range.


    These cannons were quite different in that all of their artillery shells were solid. Although these shells didn¡¯t deal group damage, they did a lot of damage to single units. They also applied debuffs such as Heavily Injured, Burned, Stunned, etc.


    If an attack landed, half of a health bar would be gone in an instant. It only took one or two hits to kill someone.


    "When the artillery shells land, they will shake the ground and apply a heat effect. It takes around five seconds for the effect to disappear," Lu Li explained. "What we need to do is simple ¨C we need to walk on those black marks that appear following the heat effect. If you pay attention, you¡¯ll find that after the artillery shells land at one location, there will be at least another 20 seconds until the second one lands at the same location. 20 seconds is enough for us to find the next landing point."


    "Wow, sounds like adventuring a tomb in the movies!" Remnant Dream¡¯s eyes were sparkling.


    In battles, her reaction time was often a problem. She often had to follow other people¡¯s positioning, but when it came to these mini games, she was very good.


    Girls were strange animals, and little girls were no exception.


    "Don¡¯t panic if you get bombed; the stun only lasts for three seconds. As long as you don¡¯t panic and find the landing spot with my instructions, you won¡¯t be hit by the artillery shells a second time," Lu Li reassured then asked uncertainly, "Anyone have any questions?"


    Lu Li first demonstrated to everyone how to position themselves.


    "Fun! This is so fun!" The two little girls were very interested.


    They were the ones that people worried about the most. If they had no problems, the others probably wouldn¡¯t have any problems either.


    Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were only average high school students. It was just by chance that they had entered the Xin Xin Mercenary Group which had carried them through the game.


    If someone had to say that there were things holding the team back, these two girls would definitely be one of them.


    Once they passed the cannon stage and managed to get close to those Elite Gunners, that would be the end of the threat they posed. No matter how good they were with ranged weapons, once the fight became close-combat, they were a piece of cake to deal with.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group continued on their path and soon arrived outside the Warrior Hall.

 397 Positive and Negative Whirlwind

    The Aresenal was a part of the Scarlet Monastery dungeon series. Herod sat alone in the Warrior Hall that was filled with sculptures and statues of past heroes.


    Under the warm Southshore sun, Lu Li saw the cutscene of a youthful blonde boy walking by. The boy was so na?ve and joyful; he too dreamed of becoming a hero when he grew up.


    Little boys always wanted to impress their crushes. For Herod, his crush¡¯s name was Sally Whitemane.


    In the same year, a plague spread across Lordaeron. The Scarlet Crusaders and the Forgotten put away their differences and allied to fight against the Scourge.


    The Scarlet Monastery base camp was left empty and was vulnerable because they needed the numbers to fend off the Scourge. Herod¡¯s mentor contacted the Stormwind Capital to seek assistance and requested them to guard the Scarlet Monastery.


    The Scarlet Crusaders were too focused on sacrificing their lives for justice and were unaware of the social-political situation. They were very desperate for help from Stormwind and as such, they let their guard down.


    The Alterac kingdom fell and Dalleran was demolished, yet the Scarlet Crusaders were still determined to defend Lordaeron. This created the perfect opportunity for the Humans from Stormwind to betray their own allies.


    The Stormwind troops advanced towards the border and they drew swords against their own alliance.


    The Scarlet Crusaders led by Herod were determined to defend their land with their lives, against the invaders who outnumbered them by many.


    The battle was fierce and many Crusaders fell. They fought hard and every warrior made sure to bring down as many enemies as possible before being going down. It was very easy for the players to sympathize with the Crusaders. They were defending the only land in their kingdom as well as the citizens, who were mostly the young, the old and the injured. They had nowhere else to retreat to and all they had left was their courage and their lives!


    Herod and his troops suffered many injuries and casualties. They held back the Stormwind troops and bought enough time for the returning troops for backup, managing to fend off all of the Stormwind Royal Army.


    From that day onwards, Scarlet Crusaders swore to never ally with Stormwind again.


    Herod was crowned as the Champion of the Scarlet Crusade.


    During that very battle, he was struck deep by an axe into his left chest. The wound was so deep that it almost exposed his heart. He became paralysed on the left side of his body and was unable to wear his armor, let alone pick up heavy weapons with his left arm.


    If players observed closely, they could tell that he was a Berserker and held a one-handed axe in his right hand which corresponded to his lore.


    Herod sat in the Warrior Hall quietly, guarding the most sacred building of the Scarlet Crusaders. He was accompanied by statues of brave warriors that had fought alongside him during the battle against the Scourge.


    When the heavy wooden door to the Warrior Hall was opened, Herod turned to face his enemies. His eyes were lit with the same fiery red passion that he always had.


    In reality, Herod was a simple warrior and had nothing to do with the wars, the betrayal and the suffering of his people. He was just a man who wanted to uphold the Scarlet Crusade and bring peace to his people.


    "I¡¯ve been waiting for a real challenge." Herod swung his battle axe and charged towards them before Azure Sea Breeze had the chance to taunt him.


    Azure Sea Breeze held up his shield and was struck by Herod¡¯s Whirlwind, receiving 460 points of damage. Wandering was struck as well and received more than 200 points of damage.


    Whirlwind was an AoE skill and every player in the affected area received damage.


    "His Whirlwind is so much more powerful than all of yours," Wandering mocked.


    "No matter how good his technique is, he only has one arm. The damage isn¡¯t very high," Azure Sea Breeze said in defence, taking his insult personally. "Besides, I¡¯m a defence-oriented warrior. As long as I hold up my shield, I¡¯m much more useful than you."


    Herod was relatively easy to deal with at the beginning of the fight as long as the main tank could block his damage. As such, Lu Li decided to narrate the lore of Herod.


    "Why do I feel like¡­ this guy is a very respectable man?" Azure Sea Breeze began to feel bad for trying to kill him.


    Lu Li¡¯s narration presented Herod as a passionate, strong-willed hero, typical of the main character in an anime or TV show.


    As a fellow Warrior, Herod¡¯s lore really resonated with Azure Sea Breeze, who felt very emotional and became very respectful towards him. Moonlight, on the other hand, was a lot more calm and quiet. However, looking at Herod¡¯s eyes and knowing that he was a man with such a respectable back story, Moonlight couldn¡¯t help but develop a sense of admiration towards him.


    "Oh no¡­ are we the bad guys?" Hachi Chan wasn¡¯t sure whether to be sad or happy.


    "Don¡¯t be stupid. Be careful not to get chopped in half." Wandering was cold-hearted as per usual.


    "Remember that the lore is made up by the developers. Don¡¯t let your guard down; this is just like any other instance dungeon," Lu Li said, realizing that he might have told them too much.


    Unlike Doan, it was clear that Herod wasn¡¯t very clever. He didn¡¯t interact with the players and ignored the conversation between Lu Li and his teammates.


    Some monsters interacted with players while others were just designed to be killed; it was all up to the System.


    Some instance dungeons like the Scarlet Cathedral had bosses that were cleverer and could interact with players. These were often the main bosses and were usually harder to deal with.


    "Careful, beware of his positive and negative Whirlwind," Lu Li reminded after glancing at Herod¡¯s HP.


    "What¡¯s positive and negative Whirlwind?" The two Warriors that could also use Whirlwind were confused. They had never heard of a ¡®positive and negative¡¯ whirlwind.


    "Positive Whirlwind starts from the left and spins to the right. When this happens, everyone should run away except for the main tank. If anyone else is swept up in the positive whirlwind, it¡¯ll be certain death. Remanent Dream and Hachi Chan, be extra careful. Make sure you follow March Rain throughout the whole fight," Lu Li explained.


    "What about negative Whirlwind?" Positive Whirlwind sounded similar to the normal Warrior Whirlwind, which dealt massive AoE damage and slowed enemies struck.


    Negative Whirlwind must be quite different, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t give it a different name.


    "Negative Whirlwind starts from the right and spins to the left. If Herod casts negative Whirlwind, everyone must charge into the Whirlwind and share the damage. Otherwise, Azure Sea Breeze will die instantly. Negative Whirlwind deals more damage when there are less players struck and can instantly kill anyone if they¡¯re in it alone."


    "Goddamn, that sounds very annoying."


    Everyone felt the pressure because this fight would test their teamwork as well as their individual judgement.


    The Gaming Company was very troll. If it weren¡¯t for Lu Li then they would have probably had to attempt the same dungeon several times because it was such a subtle detail.


    "There¡¯s a reason why no one has completed the First Clear for Scarlet Arsenal," Lu Li said with a smile.


    The earlier stages of the Scarlet Arsenal were annoying and difficult to figure out as well. Most guilds had a strategy team and eventually, someone would figure out how to defeat Herod.


    When his HP dropped to 30%, Herod began spinning around with his axe. This was a unique technique developed by Herod himself; no other Warriors in Dawn had access to this skill.


    Azure Sea Breeze began receiving heavy damage and had no other choice but to activate his damage reduction skills. Along with March Rain¡¯s healing, he was able to keep himself alive.


    Everyone scattered like rabbits to escape the Whirlwind. Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream followed closely behind March Rain.


    Sakura Memories ran in the wrong direction and almost face-planted into the Whirlwind. Luckily, Moonlight stopped her in time. This was one of the benefits of having star players on your Instance Dungeon team ¨C their quick reactions and ability to remain calm made everything much easier for Lu Li.


    Herod used positive Whirlwind which meant everyone had to ditch Azure Sea Breeze.


    No one doubted Lu Li and followed his orders accordingly.


    Now understanding what they had to do, everyone made the correct judgement during the second Whirlwind.


    Lu Li let out a sigh of relief because he knew that it would only be a matter of time for Herod to be killed.

 398 Completing Scarlet Arsenal

    Lu Li celebrated a bit too early. He had no idea that Nightmare Herod in Berserk mode would be this crazy.


    "He truly is a berserker" was how Moonlight described it.


    Herod swung his axe and sent Azure Sea Breeze flying into the wall, which rendered him unable to stand up for a while.


    To make the game slightly more realistic, when players received heavy damage, they would be paralysed and debuffed for a short while.


    The second swing of his axe instantly killed Sakura Memories as Herod began hunting down each player individually. No one could withstand more than two swings from his powerful axe and the only way of surviving was to run away.


    Herod was on less than 10,000HP, yet the tables had been completely turned around.


    "Use defence scrolls and stay alive. If the boss aggros onto you, then run away as quickly as possible to buy time for everyone else."


    Fortunately, Lu Li had gathered and distributed some defence scrolls before the fight and it was finally time to use them.


    Although they only provided a mere 10% increase in physical defence, they were very useful in key situations like these.


    Herod¡¯s attacks were all physical damage and the scrolls allowed the players to stay alive for that much longer.


    With the defence scrolls, even Lu Li could withstand two to three hits from Herod. He was ready to use his actives on his chest piece and Gale Steps if he got into a sticky situation.


    "Remain calm and output damage whenever possible!" Lu Li yelled as he followed closely behind Herod, stabbing him in the back.


    His auto-attacks dealt around 100 points of damage while his skills dealt around 200 to 300 HP. All they could do was continue dealing damage and hope for the best.


    10,000 HP would take them around a minute to finish.


    The last minute of the fight would be the difference between life and death.


    One after another, the members of Xin Xin Mercenary Group were killed by Herod. Lu Li zoned out for a second and his HP bar became empty. Herod was now left with a few thousand HP.


    "Who do you guys think the boss will aim for last?" Azure Sea Breeze had pretty much given up and began joking around. As the main tank, he was almost always the first to go down. He was sick and tired of fighting boss battles and not receiving the EXP because he was dead.


    "Hachi Chan, revive me. NOW!" Lu Li ordered.


    "What?! Lu Li, you¡¯re so selfish. Why not save the revive for me instead?" Azure Sea Breeze yelled back.


    "You don¡¯t deal enough damage," Lu Li replied.


    "Money! I¡¯ll revive whoever pays me money," Hachi Chan said proudly.


    Only Xin Xin Mercenary would joke around in a dire situation like this.


    The combination of the silly Hachi Chan, the air-headed Remnant Dream and the overly-confident Azure Sea was entertaining enough that they could probably start their own reality show.


    Lu Li rose from the dead just as Azure Sea Breeze received an axe to the face. Instead of being healed, his healer was busy reviving Lu Li. "Hachi Chan, come and save me before I¡­ Goddammit, I hate you Lu Li."


    Although Lu Li would always joke around with his teammates, when it came to serious situations and boss fights, he would always put in the most effort.


    The only surviving players were him, Hachi Chan, Remnant Dream and Sesame Rice Ball. Even March Rain, their main healer, had been killed.


    Surprisingly, Remnant Dream was still alive. Usually, she was one of the first to go down.


    "Hachi Chan, go and distract the boss," Lu Li said worriedly.


    Lu Li hated situations like these, when the boss as about to die but almost the entire team had been wiped out. One more mistake and they would probably fail the entire run.


    "Why me?" The little girl was scared.


    She was still a kid and thought that she could stay behind Lu Li and heal him.


    "Remember to use all your special effects; the boss won¡¯t be able to kill you," Lu Li comforted.


    "Liar! I¡¯m smart enough to know that I¡¯m bait." Hachi Chan was angry. Even a three-year-old knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand more than one swing of Herod¡¯s axe.


    Lu Li sighed and realised that he had to do this on his own.


    Besides Hachi Chan, the only other person that could tank the boss was himself. Even though Thieves had very low defence, he had numerous actives and escape skills available to help him escape.


    Lu Li had to rely completely on his own reaction time and mechanics.


    Since Herod was already on critical HP, the four of them barely managed to defeat the boss without losing any more members.


    System: Ruling Sword members Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Sesame Rice Balls¡­. have completed the First Clear for the Scarlet Arsenal on Nightmare level under Lu Li¡¯s leadership.


    The surviving four players received exceptional EXP for finishing off the boss.


    Lu Li had finally levelled up to level 31, becoming the first level 31 player on the level rankings.


    The most important things were the loot and rewards.


    As the final boss in a level 30 Nightmare Instance Dungeon, Herod proved to be very difficult to defeat.


    "Mine! Haha, mine!" Azure Sea Breeze was mad for not receiving his share of EXP since he died. However, as soon as he picked up a golden two-handed axe called "The Destructor", his anger completely disappeared.


    The second piece was the Berserker¡¯s Helmet which was a Gold grade equipment for Warriors and Paladins. Wandering willingly decided to give it to Moonlight.


    The third piece was a rare material called Berserk Fragment which was used as a crafting material for various warrior weapons and gear.


    Next was a Warrior skill booked called "Berserker Rage", which was similar to the Troll¡¯s race skill.


    The last item was a Fortified Stone.


    Lu Li had about 10 or so of these and had obtained most of them from his Job Advancement quests. He had also bought some from the markets but had never used them before.


    Even in his past life, Lu Li never had the luxury to use a Fortified Stone because they were ludicrously expensive. Each costed about $10,000 in real money and you needed at least 10 to enhance an equipment.


    A few hundred thousand dollars just to enhance a piece of equipment was something that only the rich could afford.


    Besides, enhancing gear wasn¡¯t worth it because each successful upgrade only enhanced the stats by 3%. Each enhancement required three stones, so you were essentially paying a stone for an 1% stat increase.


    What was even more outrageous was that the amount of Fortified Stones required increased with each successful enhancement. For example, from +1 to +3, you needed 3 stones per enhancement, but for anything past that, you needed 6 stones per enhancement.


    For the first 3 upgrades, if the enhancement failed then you¡¯d lose all the enhancement materials. At anything past +3, you would risk a chance of blowing up your weapon if the enhancement failed.


    There were only a few rich players or star players that would spend thousands to enhance an equip. However, when a casual player obtained a Fortified Stone, they would generally sell it on the market to earn some pocket money for the next few months.


    Obviously, these stones were very hard to come by. They only had a few in the Xin Xin Mercenary storage space.


    Breaking the record time for dungeons rewarded an item to the entire team. However, if it was a first clear, then each individual player received an award.


    The best reward was a bonus SP, however, no one was lucky enough to be rewarded an SP this time.

 399 Water Fairy’s Resentmen

    Lu Li wasn¡¯t very lucky this time. He had received a level 30 Silver dagger that was worse that the two he already had equipped. Even the daggers he were carrying in his bag were better, so this was given up to the guild warehouse for more points.


    However, both Sesame Rice Ball and Sakura Memories managed to receive good items. Rice Ball got a piece of equipment that had particularly good stats while Sakura Memories received a skill book.


    "Shamanic Fury" ¨C the effect of this skill reduced damage taken by a Shaman by 30% for 15 seconds. The key part of this skill was that it could be used even while affected by crowd control. As such, it was quite a good damage reduction skill.


    Some of the others managed to get decent items as well, but they weren¡¯t suitable for them.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group frequently achieved First Clears so their equipment was quite exceptional, which made it difficult for them to pay much attention to ordinary equipment.


    For example, the Claws that Sakura Memories had equipped was a level 20 Silver equipment, but its effect was simply too good to give up. The same could be said about Lu Li¡¯s cloak. Lu Li estimated that this level 15 cloak would stay with him for a long time to come.


    "Your strategy ¨C how much do you want!?" There was only one female who would be so upfront and aggressive.


    It hadn¡¯t been that long since they had achieved the First Clear. While the world was still talking about the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, Water Fairy had already sent a message.


    "There isn¡¯t much strategy to the Arsenal; you just have to avoid the bombs. We got lucky and completed it," Lu Li vaguely explained. He was the only one who could resist this beautiful woman.


    Water Fairy was a beautiful woman who always got what she wanted. As such, it was even harder for her to accept Lu Li¡¯s resistance to her pressure.


    A beautiful woman is every hero¡¯s weakness. Every man was afflicted by that to some extent.


    Drizzle Court¡¯s population wasn¡¯t very high; they only had tens of thousands of people. Even so, they still managed to rank amongst the big guilds.


    If they said that it had nothing to do with everyone else supporting them, they would be lying.


    When players ran into Drizzle Court players fighting a Wild Boss, they wouldn¡¯t let the Boss go completely, but they would still cut them some slack.


    Among the circle of star players that participated in PVP, half of them were involved with Drizzle Court. The players in this circle included Dust Dragon, the president of Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard¡¯s Floral Paralysis.


    Water Fairy huffed in indignation and left the chat room. It was quite an amusing experience.


    It wasn¡¯t like no one had ever resisted her before, but no one had done it to the extent of Lu Li. He was quite unique in this regard.


    As the female tycoon continued to farm, she thought about Lu Li with resentment.


    You better not ever need my help, because even if you begged, I wouldn¡¯t help you.


    After the Arsenal, Lu Li and the others immediately started the Scarlet Cathedral.


    This was the last Instance Dungeon of the Scarlet Monastery and also the most important one. Once they completed this one, they would be considered to have completed the entire Instance Dungeon set.


    To put it simply, the Scarlet Monastery was the Scarlet Crusade¡¯s place of operation.


    The history of the Scarlet Crusade could be split into two periods. One of these periods was the time when Alexander Mograine was still alive. During this time, Grand General Abbnedis, Grand Inquisitor Isillien and Highlord Mograine had co-founded the Crusaders.


    In their early days, the Crusaders were an aristocrat organisation. This frenzied and violent behavior that could be seen now did not exist back then.


    The second period was heralded by the death of Alexander Mograine. This was when the Scarlet Crusade started moving towards madness.


    One of the reasons for this movement was Alexander Mograine¡¯s death.


    He had been killed by his son. In the lore of Dawn, Renault Morgraine and Arthas were quite similar.


    When the Scourge first appeared, Renault lived in a farm house in Brill. His mother died in labor and exchanged her life for his brother¡¯s.


    Renault joined the Silver Hand Paladins when he was about 15 years old, but when Prince Arthas betrayed Lordaeron, Lordaeron was reduced to a living hell.


    During the Battle of Andorhal, the Silver Hand¡¯s Uther the Lightbringer was killed by Arthas. The Silver Hand had almost been destroyed. Those who remained were Alexander Mograine, Isillien, Afred, Abbendis and some others. Most of these people were involved with the creation of the Scarlet Crusade.


    Renault Mograine had been very competitive ever since childhood. Being the son of a distinguished Paladin like Alexander made his desire to become stronger even fiercer. He longed to be a hero like his father.


    However, as the Ashbringer¡¯s son, he was always shrouded by his father¡¯s shadow. He didn¡¯t want to rely on his father and tried to prove himself, so that he could be seen as a brave and fearless warrior. Despite his best efforts, the Highlord always found fault in Renault and often reprimanded him in public, which damaged his self-esteem.


    Perhaps the Highlord also hoped that his son would become a hero, which was why he imposed such strict requirements.


    Even so, throughout history, it was the strange things that ultimately led to big events.


    The father and son eventually became enemies solely because of one woman ¨C the Scarlet Crusade¡¯s young Priest Sally.


    Whitemane had grown up with Renault and the two had always admired each other.


    However, it was completely unacceptable for Alexander¡¯s son to fall in love with his adopted daughter. He implored Renault to uphold the creeds of the Paladin, which were humility, honor, heroism, sacrifice, mercy, faith and honesty. He was to treat women with respect and protect them, but not possess them. Feelings and sensuality would make a Paladin lose the will to fight.


    "The old man is really annoying."


    The two young girls who really liked love stories became quite angry when Lu Li was telling the story.


    "Is Whitemane really that beautiful?¡¯ Wandering asked as he gently stroked his chin. He didn¡¯t believe that someone else could be that good looking.


    "I hear her legs are more beautiful than yours," Azure Sea Breeze laughed.


    "You¡¯re gross; why are you looking are my legs?" Wandering¡¯s temper flared up.


    "Get out of here," Azure Sea Breeze spat back.


    There were internal conflicts and an external fear of Grand Crusader Saidan Dathrohan being possessed by Balnazzar, in addition to Kel¡¯Thuzad participating in the conspiracy.


    The two young people had hearts filled with resentment and planned the conspiracy.


    Under the guidance of the Scarlet Crusade Traitor Azshir, Renault lured his father Alexander and Inquisitor Fairbanks into the ruins of Stratholme where they were surrounded by Scourge.


    Inquisitor Fairbanks was long gone and soon, Alexander was alone with the Scourge. Renault then approached from behind and killed his weakened father.


    However, the entire act of Renault killing his father was seen by Fairbanks who had somehow managed to escape.


    The Inquisitor took his infected body and returned to the Scarlet Monastery. He then angrily exposed Renault¡¯s heinous behavior to everyone, but many, including Isilien, were reluctant to believe that it was true. Sally Whitemane, who was part of the conspiracy, also helped to cover up Renault¡¯s crime. She simply said that Fairbanks had been infected and so he was detained in a secret room of the Scarlet Monastery.


    After the Inquisitor was imprisoned, he was replaced by Sally.


    In this Instance Dungeon, there were three Bosses ¨C Interrogator Jimmy Vishas, Commander Renault Mograine and Great Inquisitor Sally.

 400 Scarlet Instance Dungeon Ques

    While the other players were distracted, Lu Li quickly ran out and refreshed their Scarlet Halo. This time, he didn¡¯t bump into any enemies. No one even saw him.


    Most guilds were clearing the Scarlet Instance Dungeons and some of them were finding success.


    At this point, anyone that could was doing these Instance Dungeons.


    Even if they couldn¡¯t enter the Instance Dungeon directly, they could easily pay some copper to be teleported into the Instance Dungeon.


    Before the start of the Instance Dungeon, there was a short animation, similar to that of Southshore¡¯s.


    There were a group of children playing pretend, acting like they were a family.


    Sally Whiteman: Did you think you could break into this Temple of Light and leave unharmed with its secrets? Vishas, begin the interrogation!


    Little Jimmy Vishas: With pleasure, my lady!


    Little Jimmy Vishas: Haha, tell me! Tell me everything! Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to force the secrets out of you!


    Little Jimmy Vishas: He refused to speak, my lady, but I know of his secret and its useless!


    Sally Whitemane: My brave warriors, destroy this monster!


    Renault Mograine: We must purify this pagan, my lady!


    Renault Mograine: Ah! I have been struck with a fatal blow! I have disappointed you¡­


    Renault Mograine then pretended to fall over as if he had been struck with a fatal blow.


    Sally Whitemane saidDid Mograine die? You will now pay the price! Revive, my Warrior!


    Sally Whitemane then pretended to revive Renault.


    Renault Mograine: I will fight for you once again, my lady!


    Sally Whitemane: We will fight together!!


    The children cheered.


    Sally Whitemane: We are victorious!!!


    "These are the three Bosses we will have to fight, with the first being Interrogator Vishas. He is a cruel executioner, so put away your compassion." The girls of the party were vulnerable to this as they were quite emotional.


    "But they were so cute when they were young!" Sakura Memories protested; she clearly didn¡¯t believe him.


    Lu Li ignored them and brought the team forwards to clear the mobs. They slowly approached a dark red barracks.


    "There is a lot of blood on the ground; the air smells very metallic," Azure Sea Breeze said as he wrinkled his nose.


    "This is the Interrogation Hall. There may be many mobs as we move through these rooms. Breezy, get your damage reduction skills ready," Lu Li reminded.


    If there were too many mobs, there was a real possibility of being wiped. It all depended on the tank¡¯s ability to react quickly and appropriately.


    However, with Lu Li¡¯s reminder, Azure Sea Breeze was probably going to be fine. He really was an expert at being a tank and they soon cleared the room.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Remnant Dream turned and shouted.


    "These guys aren¡¯t dead yet."


    Lu Li stayed in a room they had already cleared, looking at a greenish gray corpse which had the typical characteristics of an Undead.


    Its body was chained up and there were gashes in its skin. It had been whipped, burned and poisoned¡­


    On first inspection, it didn¡¯t seem that different from the other corpses around. However, its chest was still moving up and down, which proved that this being was still alive.


    "Is there a quest here?¡¯ Hachi Chan covered her nose and sympathetically looked at the corpses in the pool of blood.


    "Maybe."


    Lu Li knew that there was a quest, but he couldn¡¯t directly admit to it.


    After a while, the corpse woke up and glanced around the room. It saw Lu Li and the others and weakly said, "So the ones who will finally grant me passing are a group of the Alliance¡­"


    "Is there any way to save you? We are all very strong," Hachi Chan squatted down so the Undead didn¡¯t need to speak any louder.


    "There is no use anymore, kind child."


    A hint of pain could be heard in its voice before it continued, "Although we belong to different factions, I can no longer serve Queen Sylvanas because my life force has been drained."


    "It must be because of Vishas, that bastard," Hachi Chan quickly concluded, sympathizing with the weaker party.


    Even though Sakura Memories thought that Vishas was cute in childhood, murdering and torturing a living thing like this was too much.


    "Yes, all of this is because of Interrogator Vishas. He tortured me for several weeks, but it felt like a few hundred years. I had planned to just die, but I haven¡¯t been able to," the Undead confirmed.


    "What is your wish?" Hachi Chan asked tearfully.


    "Vishas took my wedding ring and gave it to his wife Nancy. That conceited fool always boasted about his baby and how beautiful his wife was. She lives in the area near Lake Lodomir. Kill her and give my wedding ring back to my wife Monica."


    "We need to kill someone¡¯s wife¡­" Hachi Chan was suddenly put in an awkward situation.


    If she needed to kill Vishas, she wouldn¡¯t have had a problem with it, but this quest was for Vishas¡¯ wife.


    "That woman is Vishas¡¯ assistant and is even crueler than him. Half of the people were killed by her," the Undead smiled bitterly and explained.


    "Oh, we will definitely help you get your wedding ring back," Hachi Chan accepted as she patted her chest.


    "Thank you, may Queen Sylvanas Bless you. By the way, tell my wife that I will always love her," the Undead uttered as the light in his eyes began to fade.


    "Wait, where is Monica?" Hachi Chan held on to the Undead, refusing to let him die yet.


    "In the vicinity of the Tarren Mill. If you have the ring, she will not attack you," the Undead said as he finally faded away.


    This was a party quest, so everyone would receive a reward after completing it. The quest didn¡¯t seem that complicated, so they didn¡¯t anticipate to receive a particularly good reward.


    "How touching. In order to complete his wish, he continued surviving, even after all the torture.¡¯ Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan took the story to heart and were quite sad about it.


    As they continued to clear out the mobs, they soon received a second quest.


    This time, it wasn¡¯t someone from the Horde or the Alliance, rather it was someone who had realized the truth of the Scarlet Crusade.


    To the Scarlet Crusade, someone like this was basically a traitor.


    "My name is Joseph."


    This person hadn¡¯t been tortured to the same point as the Undead, but he had still suffered some serious injuries and was being kept in a cage.


    "I received a message that my mentor Fairbanks is still alive and is being kept somewhere in this Cathedral, but I don¡¯t know where¡­"


    His story wasn¡¯t complicated. Despite being a Mage of the original Scarlet Crusade, he didn¡¯t know that Fairbanks had not died and was instead locked up.


    As Fairbank¡¯s apprentice, he and several other apprentices had quietly broken into the Cathedral.


    However, the current Inquisitor Sally Whitemane had found and subdued them. She then handed them over to Interrogator Vishas.


    Fortunately, Vishas had been unwell for the past few days and hadn¡¯t had to time to torture them. Otherwise, they may have died a long time ago.


    "I hope you can find my mentor. He is a brave and wise elder; he wouldn¡¯t have been beaten by the infection."


    The man also said a prayer which gave Lu Li and the others a small buff.


    All Attributes +5 ¨C this was quite a nice buff to have and it was certainly better than nothing.

 401 Holding The Team Back

    Lu Li and the others soon arrived at the main hall of the Interrogation building.


    There was even more fresh blood here than outside, and the walls were covered on all sides with skull lamps that had a flickering green flame within them. Tortured yells could be faintly heard, which were either from people or souls from the past.


    Interrogator Vishas was nothing like Sakura Memories had thought. He was cute when he was young, but that was no longer the case.


    When Lu Li and the other saw him, he had just stripped a prisoner of some skin and was rubbing some salt into their wounds. The prisoner made a shrill cry in agony.


    Vishas looked quite elegant and moved with grace; he even had a gentle smile on his face.


    However, this wide contrast only served to make the players feel even more uncomfortable.


    "The person who designed this character must have been a pervert," Azure Sea Breeze concluded.


    "What kind of game designer isn¡¯t a pervert?" Wandering thought differently.


    "My brother wants to study game design," March Rain couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    Lonesome Flower maintained a cold expression and said nothing. He must have been silently thinking of a way to exact revenge on these two people who had insulted his future profession.


    "Alright, let¡¯s not waste time," Lu Li interrupted them, unable to stand it any longer. "This is Vishas ¨C he is a Warlock and his most powerful skill is an area of effect burn. It will affect five players each time and if you are hit by it, you need to get rid of it as immediately."


    There were several Magic professions that could instantly remove debuffs. In the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, there was a Priest, a Shaman and a Paladin.


    March Rain, Sakura Memories and Wandering were each responsible for two of their teammates. If they couldn¡¯t remove the buff at the time, they were to cast a damage reduction skill instead.


    As for Lu Li, he had Shadow Cloak, which not only removed debuffs, but also made him invulnerable to Magic for a period. He also had Gale Steps which gave him a window of invincibility. With both of these things combined, he didn¡¯t need anyone to protect him.


    Five minutes after the fighting began, Vishas¡¯ HP had dropped by more than half. He didn¡¯t have that much HP left.


    At this time, he began to use his area of effect burn skill.


    In Lu Li¡¯s previous life, he had started the Scarlet Monastery when everyone was over level 30. At that time, the game had already been out for a year and the strategies were already solidified. Their higher levels and stronger equipment also meant that they could more easily resist the burn.


    Additionally, the game company had weakened all the Instance Dungeons.


    To put it simply, the current effect of the area of effect burn was far beyond Lu Li¡¯s expectations. In his previous life, he had no problems with it, but now, he realized that it was going to be a struggle.


    The first time it was cast, Sakura¡¯s whole team was burning, including herself. If everyone¡¯s levels were a little higher, they could have just put out the fires one at a time.


    However, when Sakura Memories saw that her team was burning as well, she was shocked for a moment and didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Sesame Rice Ball was one of the main DPS players, so she reasoned that he should be put out first. However, by the time she came to a decision, she hadn¡¯t put herself out, so she was the first to die.


    Remnant Dream soon followed and burned to death as well.


    The second time it was cast, the debuff wasn¡¯t removed quickly enough and Wandering died on the last tick of the burn.


    The Boss had cast the skill twice and had killed four players. This was just the beginning and there was still a long way to go. The Boss was going to end up burning them all to a crisp.


    "Let¡¯s give up and try again," Lu Li sighed before decisively declaring their first defeat against Vishas.


    Persistence was a good trait, but blind stubbornness was just a waste of time.


    "Wow, we got wiped," Azure Sea Breeze whistled as he quickly burned to death as well.


    "Looks like there¡¯s something wrong with your strategy," Wandering¡¯s said as his lip curled slightly. He was insulting him, but he was also slightly relieved. Lu Li wasn¡¯t omnipotent and could still be wrong.


    He could believe that Lu Li had a deep understanding of Dawn¡¯s lore and thus understood Vishas. However, he didn¡¯t believe that the information he had would allow him to so easily overcome the Instance Dungeons.


    "Yeah," Lu Li sighed. They had gotten wiped, but it wasn¡¯t that big a deal.


    Most of the other guilds were still stuck in the Arsenal Instance Dungeon. They had yet to understand Herod¡¯s positive and negative whirlwind.


    "We have to think of a different way; the burn is just too strong. It¡¯s too bad we don¡¯t have any Magic Defence scrolls," Wandering said sadly. The Physical Defence Scrolls had played an important role against Herod.


    "We should just do it at Elite Difficulty. At our current level, there is no way it would burn us to death," Azure Sea Breeze complained.


    He was right. One simple and easy reason as to why the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had been wiped was because Lu Li wanted to do this Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty.


    "Do you know that the probability of an Elite Difficulty Instance Dungeon dropping Gold equipment is very small?!" Lu Li snapped back.


    "We¡¯ve received Gold equipment for every Boss we¡¯ve fought at Nightmare Difficulty. Let¡¯s keep going for the sake of Gold equipment."


    Wandering waved his hand, indicating for Azure Sea Breeze to clear out the mobs near the Boss¡¯ entrance.


    "This time, we will all have assigned positions so that no three people standing together are part of the same team. When all three people are burning, remove the debuff from one of them, but make sure you don¡¯t panic regarding the other two. I will directly instruct on what to do from there," Lu Li instructed, making a refinement to the strategy.


    "What if the burning person is also the person that is removing the debuffs?"


    "Of course, you should prioritize protecting yourself. Sakura Memories didn¡¯t do that very well. And Remnant Dream, you should have cast your damage reduction skills," Lu Li said.


    "Oh, I¡¯ll do it this time," Remnant Dream nodded pitifully.


    Her reaction speed was a little slow. Normally, it wouldn¡¯t matter, as she could just follow. However, in circumstances like this, losing her would not only reduce their damage output, but it would also affect their morale.


    "When you¡¯re free, you should find some monsters that require you to dodge. You aren¡¯t dumb; you can get better."


    When Lu Li saw her face, he couldn¡¯t bear to speak harsh words at her because she was still young.


    "Okay, I will practice well and next time¡­ I won¡¯t hold the team back." Remnant Dream was about to cry.


    "Don¡¯t scold me; I will practice well too."


    Lu Li had just turned around to look at her before Hachi Chan quickly spoke. She could be quite quick witted at times.


    According to normal guild conventions, there was an elimination model.


    Those who didn¡¯t perform well were replaced with others that had exemplary performances, but Lu Li¡¯s old-fashioned, idealistic mind disregarded that convention.


    However, to inspire the Elite Group, he needed to work with Square Root 3 to establish another core group.


    The second attempt at Vishas was about to start.

 402 Training The Party

    "No secret can be hidden from me. May your petty existence be burned."


    As these familiar words were spoken, all of them braced themselves and paid full attention.


    There was a flash of light as five of them caught on fire.


    However, things were different this time. Because they had changed their positions, the fires on three of them was instantly extinguished.


    "March, do Riceball, Wandering, do Moonlight," Lu Li instructed.


    Both March Rain and Wandering casted their debuff recovery skills on their respective targets.


    This time, although Riceball and Wandering had lost most of their HP, not a single person died. This meant that Lu Li¡¯s new strategy was working.


    Of course, this depended on their ability to react fast enough; one success didn¡¯t prove anything.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t in a hurry, so he didn¡¯t say much when they were wiped for the second time.


    Although Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything, it didn¡¯t make the others feel any better. Every person felt partly responsible.


    The Scarlet Halo¡¯s duration had expired and Lu Li left once again to clear Scarlet Paladins to regain it. The Scarlet Awakening buff was still applied and was unlikely to end before they completed their quest.


    While he was doing that, Water Fairy contracted him again to ask about the Arsenal strategy. Lu Li naturally rejected her offer.


    "This is just a small hitch," Lu Li thought to himself as they got wiped for the third time. Previously, he had just been in a bad mood.


    It wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t strong enough to beat it, rather, it was just that some of the players were weak in certain areas. Reaction time and coordination¡­ these were things that couldn¡¯t be learned through rebirth or some operation. These were skills that had to be slowly trained.


    Fortunately, they weren¡¯t being wiped in vain. Lu Li could see hope when he noticed their gradual improvements, both in skill and in attitude.


    Eventually, they started their fourth attempt.


    "We don¡¯t have much time left for today. We¡¯ll give Vishas one last try and if we fail, we¡¯ll continue tomorrow. Make sure you rest well after logging off; don¡¯t take anything to heart," Lu Li explained calmly before they started. He then added with some pride, "The other guilds are still stuck under Herod¡¯s Axe"


    "Yep, if we¡¯re getting wiped like this then the other guilds must have it even worse."


    Even Wandering had stopped insulting everyone. It was unusual to hear him encouraging the others.


    Come to think of it, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group hadn¡¯t faced a setback like this in a long time.


    Unlike the other guilds, they wouldn¡¯t normally get wiped dozens of times before being able to complete an Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li knew from his past life that the Instance Dungeon that had taken the longest time for anyone to complete was Naxxramas.


    At the time, Peerless City was thriving, and the other guilds were unable to even get to the final Boss.


    Peerless City gained a certain reputation because of this.


    Unfortunately, a few days after the First Clear, their strategy for the Instance Dungeon was leaked. Obviously, the high-level members of the guild were devastated.


    However, even with the strategy, not everyone could make it through the Instance Dungeon. It was only until later when the game company reduced the difficulty of the Elite and Nightmare Levels that the ordinary guilds had a chance.


    Lu Li¡¯s team being wiped three times was really nothing to worry about.


    Lu Li had also considered changing out two members of the party for two members of the Elite Group. These could have been Fat Monkey or Nuo Yu, who were Fire Mages that had a decent amount of Fire Resistance. The change would have been quite significant.


    However, from a different perspective, if he couldn¡¯t bring himself to permanently change the party¡¯s members, it would have just been a temporary solution.


    It was better for Vishas to serve as a whetstone for the team.


    This attempt didn¡¯t weigh too heavily on the members. After all, Lu Li had said that they could just continue trying the next day if they needed to. Even if the other guilds caught up, they were unlikely to get through the Instance Dungeon anyway.


    They had withstood the seventh wave of burning without losing a single member. Lu Li silently wiped the sweat off his forehead.


    This was the kind of rhythm they needed to get through.


    He didn¡¯t way to say anything in case he increased the pressure and just continued playing carefully. The other who were more observant soon also realized this and followed Lu Li¡¯s example to continue casually playing.


    On the tenth wave, Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t cast his skill quickly enough and was killed. The Boss that they were fighting was still standing before them.


    "Hachi Chan, Resurrect Flower. We¡¯re gonna defeat the Boss," Lu Li said as he let out a sigh of relief.


    "What? We¡¯re about to defeat it?"


    "Ah! Are we gonna do it? Can we finally do it?"


    The biggest reactions came from Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan. They had been fully focused until now and when they finally heard that they were about to defeat the Boss, they cried out.


    Lu Li patted Hachi Chan¡¯s head and said, "Don¡¯t get too excited yet and quickly Resurrect Flower; the Boss still has 10% HP."


    With wave of Hachi Chan¡¯s hands, the whole party was back and fighting.


    Vishas was no longer a threat to them. Although his damage was stronger, there weren¡¯t any more area of effect skills to worry about. With March Rain¡¯s abundant healing, the team quickly finished him off with ease.


    Their EXP values soared as two of their members reached level 30.


    "I got a skill point!" Remnant Dream cried out excitedly. She was crying and laughing at the same time.


    "You¡¯re the best Dreamy!" Hachi Chan exclaimed as she ran over and hugged her.


    "Will the next two Bosses be even harder?" Wandering followed Lu Li and sat on the ground with no regard for the blood everywhere.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything; he was afraid of scaring the younger ones.


    Everyone was really tired. They had just fought Vishas four times which was even more exhausting than farming out in the wild.


    "The young are just so energetic. Back in my day¡­" Azure Sea Breeze leaned on Wandering¡¯s shoulder as he watched the two girls jump about. His tone was expressive and reminiscent.


    "Go away; leave me alone."


    Wandering¡¯s words were unforgiving but he didn¡¯t have the strength to physically push him away.


    "Dreamy, go loot the body. We all want to log off and rest; aren¡¯t you tired?" March Rain reminded the little crazy girl about the fruits of their labor.


    Although this wasn¡¯t the final Boss, this was still a Scarlet Monastery Instance Dungeon, so there was no reason why it would be stingy with the rewards.


    "Gold Pants which give my pet critical hit; they even reduce damage. It¡¯s mine! It¡¯s mine!"


    The first equip that Remnant Dream looted was hers, so she was even happier.


    "Wipe your tears, you ugly girl."


    Wandering habitually insulted everyone, no matter how cute they were.


    "Ahem, the second item is a Plated Belt. Let¡¯s give it to Moonlight; Wandering is being naughty," Remnant Dream pleaded at Lu Li in retaliation for being called an ugly girl.


    "Alright," Lu Li didn¡¯t even look at the the attributes and just nodded.


    Wandering: ¡­


    "Bloody Knucklebone ¨C what is this item?" Remnant Dream asked as she looted the third item.


    "It¡¯s a rare material which can be used to make gloves for a Shaman. It¡¯s a pretty good item; give it up Memories." Lu Li didn¡¯t need to see its attributes to determine what it was used for.


    The fourth item was a Cloth Healing Hat; this was obviously given to March Rain.


    "Oh, there¡¯s a Strengthening Stone. It¡¯s quite pretty. There were five things this time," Remnant Dream said, pleasantly surprised.


    However, she was excited for no reason because this item was always given to their star player. Lu Li took the beautiful red stone from her hands.

 403 People That Shouldn’t Be Offended

    The sunrise and sunset in Dawn was completely different from reality.


    The Tirisfal Woodlands were always covered by a night sky. The Scourge that had ravaged Lordaeron during the war meant that no one had ever seen the blue sky or the white clouds there ever since.


    Wherever the Dark Queen Sylvanas occupied, the sky was perpetually dark.


    When Lu Li logged on, he appeared in a nameless camp.


    Those soldiers that weren¡¯t killed by the Scourge retreated into the mountains in an attempt to recover. Unfortunately, their people kept dying and as their numbers grew smaller, the thought of a comeback became a joke.


    It took less than 20 minutes to return to the Scarlet Monastery from the small camp.


    On the way, they also conveniently went by Lordamere Lake and killed Vishas¡¯s wife ¨C Nancy. Nancy wasn¡¯t difficult to kill, but she was still considered an elite monster.


    As per what they had decided, Lu Li and Moonlight pushed ahead first.


    This time, there wasn¡¯t any trouble with the other star players as they burst into the Scarlet Cathedral.


    "Lu Li, haha, I¡¯ve found something you want."


    Before they even started to do the Instance Dungeon, Square Root 3 messaged Lu Li.


    It turned out to be a pleasant surprise.


    "What attributes does it have? Is it in your hands?" Lu Li asked eagerly.


    A Synthetic Stone was already quite rare, let alone one that could reduce an equipment¡¯s level requirement. Lu Li didn¡¯t actually think there was much hope for it, but he didn¡¯t think that he would hear about it the very next day.


    What a serendipitous experience!


    "They say that this will reduce level requirement by 20%..."


    "That¡¯s fine too. I¡¯m currently level 31 and I can get to level 32 in a few days. It¡¯s better than going all the way to 40." Lu Li was excited and anxiously asked, "Have you bought it? Don¡¯t worry about the price ¨C just take it from my pay."


    "Well, the seller is quite unique. They want to talk to you in person." Square Root 3 understood how Lu Li felt but couldn¡¯t help him.


    "They want to talk to me in person? Why?" Lu Li was speechless. He could either get his upgrade or complete this Instance Dungeon¡­


    "Did you offend someone yesterday? Someone like Water Fairy?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "What?" Lu Li suddenly felt uneasy, before he murmured, "Are you telling me that Water Fairy is the one who has the Synthetic stone? Dammit!"


    He couldn¡¯t help but curse. He had just realized the reason why Water Fairy had contacted him a second time about the strategy yesterday.


    A woman with her pride would never contact him twice about the same thing after being rejected the first time.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t fully calm at the time and hadn¡¯t thought it through, but now, he understood everything.


    "I heard it from a Mercenary Group ¨C they had sold it to Water Fairy. I talked to her for a bit yesterday afternoon and it seemed okay, but then she said she wanted to talk to you personally and it didn¡¯t sound too good," Square Root 3 recalled with a bit of confusion.


    "Yeah, I offended her," Lu Li said in frustration.


    Retribution had hit him so fast that he was caught off guard. He now had two choices ¨C give up the Synthetic Stone that was in Water Fairy¡¯s possession or go and talk to her in person.


    "Lu Li, don¡¯t you have any thoughts about Water Fairy?" Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t help but ask after listening to Lu Li.


    "Thoughts? What thoughts?" Lu Li didn¡¯t understand.


    "Please, you shouldn¡¯t keep info from your own people. I know you swapped equipment with her, otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have won the finals so easily," Square Root 3 said matter-of-factly.


    "What about swapping equipment?" Lu Li asked it as if it was completely unthinkable.


    You couldn¡¯t really blame him ¨C he had grown up on streets which were filled with violence and crime. Where the strong dominated and the weak struggled to survive, there was no time for petty affections. Although the later part of his life was better, who would fall in love with a Gold Collecting Member? When his sister got sick, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about things like that.


    "Although this is just a game, it couldn¡¯t have been nothing for Water Fairy to swap clothing with another man. Are you guys dating?" Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    "How is that possible?" Lu Li was shocked when he finally understood.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll just tell you. I don¡¯t really care about this."


    Square Root 3 didn¡¯t know if he took pleasure in someone else¡¯s misfortune but he couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    However, he didn¡¯t think that things were that simple.


    Water Fairy was the famous ice goddess who thought men were ants. There was even a rumor going around that she was a lesbian.


    She didn¡¯t reject him, but she wanted to talk to Lu Li personally¡­


    They were dating ¨C they had to be.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know how to repair the damage done to Water Fairy so as to make her willing to sell the Synthetic Stone. At this time, Water Fairy was already at the Scarlet Arsenal trying to clear it out.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had several High School students, half of which were young girls. The game had been online for 2 hours, but they had still not yet started the Instance Dungeon. It clearly wasn¡¯t much of a rush for them.


    However, it was different for Drizzle Court. At the first moment of everyday, they immediately started the Instance Dungeon.


    Any supplies that they needed were purchased for them and delivered directly into their hands.


    "Sister Water, we got wiped again. Why are you laughing?" It was Leaf Bro who was speaking. The person who had received instruction from Lu Li at Moon Creek Prison had not become part of the Drizzle Court core group.


    Of the ten players, there were only two men; the rest were a bunch of beautiful females. The majority of Dawn¡¯s males were filled with envy for these men.


    "Nothing. How am I laughing?" Water Fairy¡¯s face instantly transformed to normal.


    Leaf Bro hesitated for a second; he didn¡¯t dare to tease the female tycoon.


    Deadly Green Orange, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t afraid of Water Fairy. She came over and contemptuously said, "Last night, you seemed off and now, you are laughing after we got wiped."


    "A hapless poor fool has finally fallen into my hands," Water Fairy coldly said. "Screw it, let¡¯s not keep going. Let¡¯s just wait for the strategy."


    After this, the party from Drizzle Court sat cross-legged at Arsenal¡¯s entrance, waiting for Water Fairy¡¯s so-called strategy.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t the kind of person to deliberate for too long; he quickly put his thoughts into action.


    He had decided to talk to Water Fairy and first send a message to her to say hello.


    "What is it? I¡¯m really busy right now," Water Fairy shot back within seconds.

 404 Forming An Alliance With Drizzle Cour

    This acting was just way too exaggerated.


    Lu Li could hear the crunching sounds through the voice comms. How busy could she really be if she was eating a Spirit Fruit while doing something?


    Spirit Fruits were one of the best fruits in Dawn, and combined the best aspects of all the other fruits. Many players really liked the virtual taste that it created.


    Players who took up Herbalism could make quite a bit of money this way because of the large demand. Many players wanted them and Lu Li had even tried his hand at it in his past life. However, because there were so many other people collecting them too, he didn¡¯t make much money.


    "I have something to discuss with you. When are you free?" Lu Li asked, playing along.


    "What do you want to discuss? Do you finally want to sell the strategy?" Water Fairy responded incredulously, pretending to be surprised.


    "Haha¡­" Lu Li laughed dryly, "I hadn¡¯t finished preparing it yesterday but after thinking about it, I have organized the strategy for Herod. Oh, and I also have the strategy for Vishas. We had gotten wiped quite a few times before we could beat him."


    "Lu Li," Water Fairy said, then paused for a long time and ominously continued, "Where is your integrity?"


    "Aren¡¯t we friends? Have you forgotten that if it weren¡¯t for you, I might not have won the championship?" Lu Li was sucking up to her, acting shamelessly for this Synthetic Stone.


    After all, the purpose of this Synthetic Stone was to enable the usage of level 40 or higher equipment.


    This could increase his strength further than if he upgraded from Gold to Dark Gold equipment.


    However, the critical point was that you couldn¡¯t acquire this item even if you had money. Square Root 3 had inquired with countless Mercenary Groups and only one of them had it. They had sold it to Water Fairy.


    The transaction totaled $150,000 in real money.


    Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a piece of equipment seemed ridiculous to an ordinary player.


    However, a club that won a competition would receive at least a million dollars in prize money. It was estimated that some of the top clubs had an even higher income.


    "You¡¯ve refused me twice and you haven¡¯t even Forged the equipment that you promised."


    Water Fairy felt like she had been hurt. There weren¡¯t many people who could be her friend, and Lu Li had the audacity to play that card.


    "Sorry, I¡¯ve been quite busy lately. When I finish the Scarlet Instance Dungeons in two days, I will compensate you for all the equipment that I¡¯ve promised." Lu Li also felt like he had crossed the line.


    Of course, due to this upbringing, he wasn¡¯t really affected by the allure of a woman.


    "Let¡¯s form an alliance," Water Fairy said after some silence.


    With regards to forming an alliance, there was currently no such system for it. Later when the game company optimized the guild system, guilds in alliances would be able to share a part of their warehouse. Even so, most guild alliances would choose not to do this.


    "An alliance? Between Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword?" Lu Li frowned.


    The commitment of forming an Alliance was too large. In Lu Li¡¯s eyes, an alliance meant becoming total and complete allies.


    His ideal alliance partner would be Peerless City, as both Ruling Sword and Peerless City were young guilds that had a strong momentum and were being targeted by the bigger guilds.


    The members of Peerless City weren¡¯t necessarily as strong as Blood Red War Flag, but they had the enthusiasm to make up for it.


    As for Drizzle Court, Lu Li hadn¡¯t have much of an impression with them other than the fact that they were all women. They hadn¡¯t done anything particularly notable and definitely weren¡¯t as strong as Peerless City.


    "What, do you not like Drizzle Court?" Water Fairy sounded a little shy.


    He didn¡¯t know how many guilds had tried to form an alliance with Drizzle Court, but guilds like Blood Red War Flag definitely would have. She had never taken the initiative to make the offer and she also didn¡¯t expect the answer that she was going to receive.


    "Of course that¡¯s not it," Lu Li quickly responded as he remembered that Drizzle Court was quite rich.


    He never thought that he would dominate the gaming circle as this wasn¡¯t something that could be done overnight. Players had been trying to do so for 200 hundred years. His only purpose in this game was to make money.


    He then had second thoughts about Drizzle Court. They didn¡¯t just recruit female players as the strength of their elite group was not that bad.


    "If we form an alliance, we want to have a part in the Instance Dungeon Strategy for our elite group." This was Water Fairy¡¯s goal. If she could achieve this, she could show that she was not to be messed around with.


    "Okay, but you have to pay for the strategies," Lu Li said bluntly.


    "That¡¯s so stingy; I¡¯m already giving you the Synthetic Stone," Water Fairy complained, but she didn¡¯t push it. A single stone wasn¡¯t enough to form an alliance.


    She just wanted Lu Li to understand its value.


    "Alright then. If you want to know the strategy, talk to Square Root 3," Lu Li said with a sigh of relief before disconnecting from the call.


    This alliance wasn¡¯t the result of coercion. In the future, when everyone had settled and there were outbreaks of war over territories, there would be countless alliances between guilds, big and small. It was simply unavoidable.


    As Lu Li put the equipment that they had recently received into the guild warehouse, he considered some other means of income, as the one with Shen Wansan had come to an end.


    Recently, he had decided that he wanted to buy a house and have a real home of his own.


    The money that they would make from the strategies didn¡¯t belong to the whole guild, but to the Xin Xin Mercenary Group players.


    As for the contribution points, Lu Li wasn¡¯t taking them for himself. The strategies were all formulated by him after all. As such, no one would dare to ask for a split. Besides, they wouldn¡¯t agree in the first place.


    He didn¡¯t go to get the Synthetic Stone, as even if he had it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it.


    If a level 40 equipment had its level requirement reduced by 20%, it would be level 32. He still needed more than 80% EXP to get there.


    Now that they had defeated Vishas, they needed to advance. There were a dense group of mobs ahead and they needed to clear a path through them.


    It wasn¡¯t long before news of the alliance with Drizzle Court spread through the guild.


    Most players couldn¡¯t believe it. If it weren¡¯t the guild president Square Root 3 giving the news, the players would have thought that it was a joke.


    Ordinary players thought that Drizzle Court were group of beautiful ladies; this was the common observation.


    However, they were also a super guild. They ranked seventh on the national rankings, and this wasn¡¯t acquired by a popular vote. This position was acquired by a variety of measures and a guild was unlikely to make this list even after a year of rapid growth.


    And what did Ruling Sword have? They had won a championship, but they didn¡¯t even have 10,000 players. Most of them weren¡¯t even ranked and didn¡¯t have much equipment. These kinds of players wouldn¡¯t necessarily be accepted to the other guilds, even as cannon fodder.


    The group that was most capable of representing their strength was the Elite Group. Even so, there were only 100 players in that. Without mentioning Glory Capital or Blood Red War Flag, even the Imperial Secret Service had seven to eight Elite Groups which were made up of a dozen parties each.


    Drizzle Court had 26 Elite Groups and two core groups, which meant that they almost had 3000 elite players.


    "Boss Lu Li must have given himself up."


    The idea was heard and soon, it was copied all across the channel.


    Lu Li had given himself up so that Drizzle Court would accept them.


    How touching~

 405 Scarlet Cathedral

    "What are you all looking at? You¡¯ve missed the monsters, silly."


    Lu Li was starting to feel uncomfortable from being stared at, so he pointed towards Azure Sea Breeze, an easy target, to deflect attention from himself.


    "Lies! That¡¯s one monster; it barely counts as anything. Lu Li, be honest with us ¨C what did you do to make Drizzle Court agree to forming an alliance with us? What strict terms and conditions did you agree to?" Azure Sea Breeze was keen for some gossip.


    "Nothing. Water Fairy just told me we should form an alliance. I agreed to it, so now we¡¯re an alliance," Lu Li said earnestly.


    "Get out." Evidently, no one believed him.


    "Guild members are saying that he sold himself," Hachi Chan quipped.


    "What does a little girl know about him selling himself?" Wandering said as he patted her on the head. "Lu Li isn¡¯t even that handsome to begin with. He would have to at least be half as handsome as me to be able to sell himself."


    "Someday, when we go bankrupt, we¡¯ll sell you. I¡¯m pretty sure both boys and girls will like you since you look so good anyway," Hachi Chan cursed softly.


    "Alright guys, we¡¯re almost at the entrance. Pay attention," Lu Li had to pull a straight face to keep everyone in check.


    The news had caused a lot of commotion within the guild, but a lot of drama had also arisen outside of the guild.


    There were no secrets on the internet, and the executives of both guilds didn¡¯t plan to keep any secrets either. A few minutes after their decision to form an alliance, the world channel had already heard of the news.


    The average players were only watching the drama from the sidelines, but the big guilds had to pay attention to the influence of this alliance.


    Why didn¡¯t we think of forming an alliance? This was the first thought that popped up in the heads of many. It wasn¡¯t about their loyalty to Ruling Sword ¨C their attention was on the dungeon guides.


    Without a doubt, the dungeon guides must¡¯ve been included as a part of the terms and conditions for the alliance.


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t the only millionaire, but unfortunately, they had lost their chance to spend their money.


    Ruling Sword wouldn¡¯t form another alliance with a guild any time soon. Which guild wouldn¡¯t want to be the one and only when they have a chance to?


    However, the big guilds still had their own pride. They didn¡¯t feel like Drizzle Court was ahead of them because of the dungeon guides; they would just invest more into their dungeon strategy groups.


    "So this is the Scarlet Cathedral." Everyone was surprised by the majestic building in front of them.


    When they first arrived, they had seen this center building of the Scarlet Monastery from afar, but they only appreciated its splendor after they got closer.


    "How many are inside this?" Wandering¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t too pleased.


    "Two," Lu Li replied, demonstrating the numbers with his fingers.


    "That¡¯s not too bad," the others sighed in relief.


    For such a big building, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to fit seven of eight bosses inside.


    Although dungeons were a necessity in games, they were never the mainstream.


    "Pull those monsters over and we¡¯ll kill them. Make sure to not pull that guy with blue stripes on his collar; that¡¯s the training instructor."


    Lu Li shook his head. Soon, the others would feel the wrath of the couple. There was no way that they would be able to call this an easy dungeon at that point.


    There was a wave of monsters at the entrance of the Scarlet Cathedral, consisting of Scarlet Recruits and a Scarlet Training Instructor.


    The number of the Scarlet Recruits was slightly outrageous, but they weren¡¯t strong. It wasn¡¯t a problem to drag all the recruits in one go, but the inclusion of the instructor would make them problematic. If the instructor was pulled over with the recruits, it was a guaranteed wipe for the team.


    Not only did the Scarlet Training Instructor have good attack attributes and lots of health, but it was also capable of applying a 200% attack damage buff to the Scarlet Recruits.


    This was simply a trap placed down by the game designers. Since the uniform of the instructor was almost identical to the recruits, many teams ran into a problem here during their first run.


    Azure Sea Breeze followed Lu Li¡¯s instructions and pulled a wave of a dozen monsters. Everyone followed up quickly and swarmed in to wipe out the monsters.


    After two or three times, the Scarlet Training Instructor was left by himself at the entrance of the Scarlet Cathedral.


    "Oh, where¡¯s my recruits?!" It was as if the Scarlet Training Instructor just woke up from his slumber. "It must be the work of you intruders! Prepare to die!" he exclaimed.


    Despite his zeal, he was quickly taken care of. What could an instructor possibly do without his recruits?


    Since he wasn¡¯t a boss, he didn¡¯t drop anything good either. He only dropped a key that allowed access to the cathedral.


    The door wasn¡¯t too complex ¨C even without the key, a Thief would still be able to open it.


    "Don¡¯t open the door yet. Everyone, take a seat and regenerate first; drink your potions. Scarlet Paladins will constantly swarm out after the door is opened." Lu Li held back Azure Sea Breeze, who had just picked up the key and was about to open the door.


    "Damn, isn¡¯t that the same as Death Mines?" Azure Sea Breeze asked angrily.


    "It¡¯s even more troublesome than that. The monsters that swarmed out from the cabin were all normal monsters, but Scarlet Paladins are all elites. It¡¯s entirely possible to wipe if you¡¯re not careful."


    Lu Li applied poison to his daggers and also drank a potion that briefly increased his agility.


    "They¡¯re really showing no mercy to the players at all. Aren¡¯t they afraid that people will stop playing the game?" Moonlight sighed.


    He was probably the only experienced gamer amongst this team of youngsters. The previous games that he had played all tried to go easy on the players to a certain extent.


    It was truly a first for a dungeon run to take days and for players to countless times during the first run.


    "It¡¯s not like this in Heroic mode ¨C monsters only swarm out consistently in Difficult and Nightmare mode," Lu Li explained. He wasn¡¯t the least bit concerned about the game running out of players. In his previous life, it had only taken three years for Dawn to conquer the entire gaming industry.


    Countless game companies went bankrupt, and people in the industry either had to pursue a different career or had to rely on Dawn for income.


    "Can we finish this dungeon today?" March Rain was worried; there was a big difference between Heroic and Nightmare mode, but Lu Li always insisted on passing Nightmare mode.


    "We can," Lu Li said confidently.


    The heavy doors of the cathedral were slowly being pushed open.


    "Don¡¯t go inside. Hold and defend here at the door. Breeze, make sure not to miss monsters."


    The sound of heavy footsteps approached as the steel boots trampled the floor. Azure Sea Breeze bent his back slightly and raised his metal shield.


    Sparks flew from the metal shield as it came into contact with the long swords. This was the announcement that the battle had begun.


    "Don¡¯t panic if you get chased by monster and don¡¯t forget to use your damage reductions." While Lu Li dealt damage, he also didn¡¯t forget to remind the others of what to do.


    There were too many monsters that swarmed out from within and they were all Elites, so it was difficult to clear them out. Fortunately, Azure Sea Breeze followed Lu Li¡¯s instructions and blocked the entrance, so they didn¡¯t have to face as many monsters as they had previously imagined.


    It was impossible to not miss any monsters at all, and Lu Li was responsible for killing any that slipped through.


    "Flower, go in and snare the monsters at the back." As the monsters increased in number, Lu Li had to think of ways to take some pressure off Azure Sea Breeze.


    Lonesome Flower flashed into a pile of Scarlet Paladins and casted a Frost Nova.


    A great deal of pressure was taken off the frontline which bought enough time for the damage classes to clear out this wave.


    On the other hand, Lonesome Flower was in trouble. Fortunately, he had Ice Block, which granted him a long period of invincibility.


    This time was enough for his team members to push their way towards him.


    An average team would have already become a huge mess while they dealt with this flood of Scarlet Paladins.


    Even a ten-man team of Level 35 players would still be reluctant to choose Nightmare mode.

 406 The Couple 1

    All the monsters were cleared after a few minutes and those who were dead were resurrected.


    Lu Li and the others entered the cathedral and began their journey towards Renault Mograine.


    "Isn¡¯t it supposed to be Whitemane?" Wandering asked in confusion.


    Based on the background history that Lu Li had described, Whitemane and Mograine were a couple whoch controlled the Scarlet Crusade together. In terms of authority, Whitemane, the attorney general, had less power than this Scarlet Crusade Commander that currently stood before them.


    "Congratulations everyone! We¡¯re going to try a challenge; we¡¯ll be facing two bosses at once," Lu Li announced as he clapped his hands, trying to lighten the atmosphere.


    Clang!


    Azure Sea Breeze was stunned; his weapon had dropped onto the floor.


    He wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked ¨C no one was able to remain calm after they heard the news. Lu Li was the only exception since he already knew.


    "After Renault killed his father, he felt quite mentally unstable, but Whitemane was the only person who knew of this. They stayed together in this cathedral and comforted each other, so the system also made sure that they would battle together," Lu Li explained, laying out his hands to demonstrate his innocence.


    Blame the system ¨C this was all the system¡¯s fault.


    "Lu Li, do you realize you¡¯re playing with fire?" Even Lonesome Flower, who was always stone cold, couldn¡¯t resist the urge to complain at Lu Li. The dungeon was hard enough already and they had to choose Nightmare mode.It was as if they had a death wish.


    "Don¡¯t worry, we can do it," Lu Li encouraged.


    Everyone felt like he was making these claims with no backup, but he was actually stating the truth. Indeed, in Nightmare mode, Vishas had caused them quite a bit of trouble. They had wiped three times before they finally cleared the stage on the fourth trial.


    However, Lu Li never fought a losing battle; he wouldn¡¯t have chosen Nightmare mode if they had no chance at all.


    "Tell us what to do."


    Eventually, they stopped worrying. After all, they had already killed the first boss, so they can¡¯t reset the dungeon mode anymore for this week.


    "I¡¯ll tell you guys the basic rules first. Firstly, we¡¯ll be facing this commander Mograine. We kill him first..." Lu Li began to strategize with his team.


    "Wait, you¡¯re telling us that Whitemane won¡¯t do anything before we kill the commander? How does this count as facing two bosses?" Wandering was confused by Lu Li¡¯s explanation.


    "You can think of it that way as well. Before we kill the commander, Whitemane won¡¯t appear. After we kill the commander, she¡¯ll walk out from behind the halls and resurrect Renault..."


    "Can we interrupt the resurrection?" Azure Sea Breeze asked hopelessly.


    "What do you think?" Lu Li shook his head and continued, "From then on, it¡¯ll be two bosses."


    "Which one am I responsible over? Is it a lot of pressure?" Wandering asked.


    "You¡¯re in charge of Whitemane. She¡¯s a Priest, so her damage is lower. What you need to watch out for is her Shadow Word. That¡¯s a spell effect and you need to dispel the effect in time. The other skills you need to watch out for are her healing skills; you have to interrupt them in time..."


    "That¡¯s a lot of pressure," Wandering said, his head aching.


    "Which one do we kill first?" Moonlight asked for all the damage dealing classes.


    "You can¡¯t kill one of them first. If Whitemane dies first, Renault will go berserk. If Renault dies first, Whitemane will resurrect him. We have to make sure they die together," Lu Li said seriously.


    This dungeon was already hard enough and now they even had to pace themselves to make sure that the two bosses died together.


    "Don¡¯t be so disheartened. As long as you guys follow my instructions, we¡¯ll definitely get through this," Lu Li encouraged. They really needed to improve on their mentality.


    "Does Renault have any special skills?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, as he tightened his grip on his axe.


    "Not sure yet, but definitely don¡¯t look down on him. After all, he¡¯s the current commander of the Scarlet Crusade and he¡¯s also a Paladin, so we¡¯ll have to watch out for his Paladin skills," Lu Li replied as he signaled for the battle to begin.


    Azure Sea Breeze initiated the fight.


    "I¡¯ll become a hero, dad."


    The Paladin kneeled in the middle of the hall, then he stood up and waved the long sword in his hands. The sword slashed onto Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s shield and sent him flying.


    Azure Sea Breeze quickly got back up and charged into the Boss again.


    "Don¡¯t attack yet; let the boss focus fully on Breeze first."


    This was a very wise decision. After Azure Sea Breeze was stunned for six seconds by Hammer of Justice, Renault didn¡¯t turn around and aim for the others because he was so focused on him.


    The Paladin¡¯s Consecration skill set the floor ablaze, and just because the team didn¡¯t attack didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t take damage.


    Even if they only touched the flames briefly, their health would still constantly drop, so everyone had to deal damage as they moved around.


    This part of the fight was tough for close-combat classes. Azure Sea Breeze was requested to drag the Boss around to the spots without fire so that his team members would have a chance to deal damage.


    "Healers, pay attention to how you use your mana. Everyone else, make sure to drink your potions whenever you can instead of waiting to be healed."


    Lu Li noticed that March Rain was being too generous with her healing and had to remind her to conserve her resources.


    The two bosses of the Scarlet Cathedral were hard indeed.


    The long duration of the fight was often the cause for teams wiping.


    After all, the mana bars of healers weren¡¯t infinite.


    "Memories, don¡¯t use Bloodthirst yet. Use it later when I tell you to," Lu Li said as he watched the health bar of the boss closely.


    Within ten minutes, Renault Mograine had already lost around half of his health. He had high defense, but his attacks didn¡¯t deal much damage. As such, he wasn¡¯t too challenging after everyone understood his few skills.


    This was not to mention that he only had around 120,000 HP, which was much lower compared to the average health of other bosses around his level.


    "My ****, this guy is too shameless. Paladins have this skill too?" Wandering cursed loudly.


    After they dropped Renault Mograine¡¯s health to 30%, he raised his hand and casted a skill that topped up his health bar.


    Lay on Hands!


    This was the strongest healing skill for Paladins.


    To learn Lay on Hands, a Paladin needed to have a certain amount of intelligence attributes, which would require them to use their attribute points on intelligence. Paladins with Protection and Retribution specializations would not be able to learn the skill. Only healer Paladins would place so many points into intelligence.


    However, NPCs weren¡¯t restricted by these system rules. As long as the skill belonged in the Paladin skill tree and the system stated that he had learned it, he could use it.


    Fortunately, after both bosses joined the same fight, Lay on Hands wasn¡¯t used again, or else there was no way that this dungeon could be cleared.


    "Memories, use Bloodthirst. Everyone else, deal as much damage as you can. We have to kill the boss within fifteen minutes or we¡¯ll be dealing with another Lay on Hands." Lu Li was already prepared, which was why he didn¡¯t let anyone use skills beforehand. He was waiting for this exact moment.


    The system had everything calculated. Only teams up to a certain standard would be able to reach the benchmark to pass this dungeon, and a majority of teams were filtered out by this.


    As for Lu Li¡¯s team, they were currently the strongest team around.


    Bloodlust was a powerful skill and everyone had their own specialties to contribute to the fight. After a wave of burst damage, they easily completed Lu Li¡¯s goal for this stage of the battle.


    Renault Mograine didn¡¯t make it past the cooldown time for his Lay on Hands and knelt on the floor in defeat.


    "Mograine has fallen? You¡¯ll all be paying for this!" A voice echoed in the empty halls, followed by a group control skill that placed everyone in Xin Xin Mercenary Group to sleep.


    Of course, this skill didn¡¯t really make the players go to sleep ¨C it was only restricted them.


    Everyone could only watch as a beautiful woman with long legs and red clothes walked out from the halls.

 407 The Couple 2

    "Rise, my Warrior!"


    "For you, my lady!"


    Lu Li and the others had a sleeping effect on them which prevented them from moving, but they could still see and hear.


    They had just witnessed the beginning to the most classic line in Dawn. Now, with their lives as a medium, the couple demonstrated their love to the world.


    Footsteps steady, Whitemane stood behind her lover, knowing that there was no turning back. She was willing to give up everything for love. Mograine rose from the ground, blocking anyone who attempted to harm Whitemane.


    The former displayed a trust and loyalty to her lover, like a young girl who relied on her Warrior.


    The latter demonstrated how a knight protected his loved one; they lived and died together.


    Whitemane¡¯s fate was very tragic. She had already witnessed a horrible scene at a young age of her family being infected by the frightful Scourge while they passed by North Lordaeron. When her family members became a part of the Scourge, she was forced to kill her parents and siblings with her own hands. From that day onwards, only one thing could bring joy and satisfaction to this fearful Priest ¡ª destroying the Undead.


    She was always the weak and submissive character. A big part of why Renault killed had his father was because of her.


    But how can you ask a woman to change the justice that she had upheld for so long? Not to mention, her eyes were blinded by love, and all she could see was Renault Mograine.


    Suddenly, the death of their father didn¡¯t seem so unforgivable anymore.


    Unfortunately, Alsace had too many fans. As for Renault, because he was with the Goddess that many male players admired, they were referred to as ¡®the ruthless couple¡¯ by many jealous players.


    Whitemane lived up to her Goddess title ¨C she was pretty and it was easy to tell that the designers had spent a lot of time on her. She was a holy Priest in a red dress that was nowhere near conservative.


    In the offline world, there were still many would choose Whitemane.


    In fact, characters like Meisnera and Carolina were rarer. The former had an irreplaceable voice, while the latter had an amazing temperament, but neither of them possessed the simplicity and sexiness that Whitemane had.


    "Pay attention, Breeze. Hold onto Renault Mograine ¨C his wife¡¯s here, so he might be a little excited," Lu Li reminded his team members loudly. The sleep effect ended as soon as he finished speaking.


    Azure Sea Breeze swung his shield across Renault Mograine¡¯s face.


    Renault immediately became enraged and slammed his hammer on Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s head five times.


    If Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t react fast enough and use his damage reduction skill, he probably would have died. Instead of Lay on Hands, Mograine received another skill ¡ª a mutated version of the Crusader Strike.


    To follow up, he casted Divine Storm. This was a group spell with an eight-yard cast range. The ranged classes were able to avoid it by standing far away, but the close-combat classes weren¡¯t so lucky. They all lost about half of their health bars.


    "Paladins are too scary! Wandering, aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself?" Azure Sea Breeze complained.


    Wandering was also a Paladin, but his performance seemed rather weak in comparison.


    "Maybe Paladins will be really strong in the future," Lu Li comforted without much sincerity.


    There wasn¡¯t a ¡®best class¡¯, only the best player.


    This was the absolute truth in Dawn ¨C as long as players put in enough effort and time, there was really no need for them to care too much about their class.


    Wandering was doing his best to hold onto Whitemane; the damage dealt by the female Priest wasn¡¯t as weak as Lu Li had described. She had two main damage skills ¨C Shadow Word, which dealt consistent damage over time and Holy Smite.


    The damage over time from Shadow Word built up if it didn¡¯t get dispelled quickly.


    As for Holy Smite, there was no way around it; Wandering just had to take the damage. Whitemane¡¯s critical strike chance on Holy Smite was incredibly high, and Wandering¡¯s health was constantly going up and down like a roller coaster. All that Hachi Chan could do was to keep healing.


    "Team one, you guys are in charge of Whitemane. Memories and Wandering, you two are both responsible for interrupting her healing skills and group resurrections. Group Resurrections have to be interrupted, or else it¡¯ll be a team wipe..." Lu Li was giving instructions but he suddenly noticed the one or two dozen Scarlet Paladins who had stood up from the pile of corpses at the entrance. As he helplessly shook his head he said, "I told you guys to pay attention and interrupt her skills. Why didn¡¯t anyone interrupt the group resurrection?"


    "There was a healing skill; I interrupted that," Sakura Memories replied innocently.


    "We didn¡¯t discuss our order, so I used my interruption skill too¡­" Wandering added.


    "Reset. March, Hachi Chan, find a place to Shadowmeld and leave battle. Everyone else, take damage first." Lu Li counted the resurrected monsters. There were eighteen of them, which was almost the maximum limit for the group resurrection skill. Eighteen elites and two bosses ¨C there was no way that they were going to make it.


    After thirty seconds, the battle ended.


    March Rain and Hachi Chan, who had used Shadowmeld to leave battle, came back and resurrected everyone who had died.


    Since they were prepared for the wipe, Lu Li and Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t die either. The Night Elves¡¯ Shadowmeld skill was indeed quite powerful, in spite of it not doing anything for the team.


    "I¡¯m going to adjust the teams. Team one consists of me, Sakura Memories, Wandering and Hachi Chan. Everyone else is on team two. Wandering and Memories, have a talk about your timings for skill interruption; I¡¯ll be responsible for the group resurrections. The rules remain the same ¨C we¡¯ll kill Mograine first..."


    "Can we pull them further apart?" Wandering suddenly suggested. "For example, can we drag one of them outside of the Cathedral?"


    "They¡¯re a couple who live and die together. Don¡¯t you feel bad for separating them?" Lu Li joked. To be fair, Wandering¡¯s idea didn¡¯t work at all ¨C Whitemane appeared wherever Mograine did.


    Since this was their second run, it was easier for them to reach stage two.


    Lu Li was now in team one, and was responsible for interrupting Whitemane¡¯s group resurrection.There were corpses everywhere, so it would be easy for her to revive a swarm of level 32 elites.


    Wandering and Sakura Memories were in charge of other skill interruptions. Since they had discussed who was interrupting first, they should be able to accurately interrupt Whitemane¡¯s healing skills.


    Besides her healing skills, Whitemane also had Power Word: Shield. March Rain also learnt this skill which applied a shield on an ally that absorbed a certain amount of damage.


    Without a doubt, the effect of this skill would be amplified in the hands of a Boss.


    Whitemane¡¯s Power Word: Shield could absorb 10,000 points of damage for her husband.


    This skill was an instant cast and cannot be interrupted, so everyone had to break the shield first in order to deal damage. Fortunately, there was a cooldown time, so they were able to manage the fight with Lu Li¡¯s instructions.

 408 The Couple 3

    "Stop dealing damage to Whitemane. Memories, attack Mograine instead. Everyone else, pay attention to the Boss¡¯ health bar. Make sure to keep the Whitemane¡¯s health lower than Mograine¡¯s, or else he will go berserk."


    There was only a certain chance for the boss to go berserk, but just to play extra cautiously, Lu Li¡¯s went for a conservative strategy.


    The team had a low damage output and the healers were under a lot of pressure.


    This was especially so for Hachi Chan, who was half a healer and half a damage dealer. These kinds of Druids were good in long duration fights, but they lacked the burst for healing. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Wandering had good technique, he would¡¯ve died already.


    "Memories, pop down a mana regeneration totem and cast Bloodlust once it goes off cooldown."


    While Lu Li dealt damage to Whitemane by himself, he also took the time to conduct the battle.


    "It¡¯s off cooldown. Do you want me to cast it now?" Sakura Memories placed a mana regeneration totem between March Rain and Hachi Cha so that both of them were able to receive the mana regeneration effect.


    "Come back to Whitemane, and at the call of three, cast Bloodlust. Everyone, use your special effects. March, don¡¯t forget to use your Shadow Demon if it¡¯s ready."


    Lu Li¡¯s brain wasn¡¯t a calculator, so it was impossible for him to be fully aware of everyone¡¯s situation, especially in a fast-paced battle.


    With the cast of one Bloodlust, both bosses had their health bar dropped below 50%.


    "Careful. Call out when you get controlled."


    Lu Li made an estimation of the time and confirmed that they had reached another critical moment.


    "What do you mean by getting controlled?" No one really understood what he meant.


    "As in, when you lose control of your own actions. For example, when you attack your team members or heal the boss," Lu Li explained patiently, feeling like he was a babysitter.


    "Dream, Dream! Are you trying to kill me?!" Hachi Chan called out.


    "I... I... I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t want to aim for you."


    Remnant Dream had been controlled and her arrows were raining down on Hachi Chan. Her pet was also chasing closely behind.


    "Hachi Chan, run towards Remnant Dream; get her closer to her pet. Flower, freeze them," Lu Li instructed.


    This skill of Whitemane¡¯s was known as Dominate Mind, and could control a player for ten seconds.


    Lonesome Flower¡¯s Frost Nova could freeze someone for eight seconds, so this effectively solved the problem.


    However, Remnant Dream could still shoot arrows. She had a good set of equipment, so all of her attacks were very painful. Everyone quickly left her shooting range.


    "Make sure to look out for the Consecration on the floor. Drink your potions when they¡¯re off cooldown and don¡¯t wait for the healers to heal you. Can¡¯t you see that they¡¯re running out of mana? Don¡¯t use your damage reductions yet. Flower, your shield... never mind, you¡¯ve used it. Make sure you use your refrigerator skill when the couple casts their ultimate skill."


    It was impossible to keep everything under control; a good commander needed to adapt to various situations.


    Techniques and strategies weren¡¯t too useful against brute force; the only thing that kept the situation under control was their damage reduction.


    The two bosses stood together as waves of fire poured in from their left and right like tides. All players that were burned by this skill constantly took damage.


    "Damage reduction!"


    Lu Li used his Gale Steps and after his temporary invincibility, activated the shield on his clothes and finally made it through this wave of damage.


    Lonesome Flower followed the previous instructions and used his refrigerator skill while the others relied on their damage reduction skills to survive. These combination skills were the strongest skills that the Boss couple can cast. This was also at the point where most teams would wipe.


    Since everyone was busy keeping themselves alive, Whitemane found her chance to heal Mograine.


    Her healing skill recovered 10,000 health points for him.


    Ten thousand points of health wasn¡¯t much of a problem ¨C they just needed to spend a little more time on the Boss. What was critical about this heal was that it made Whitemane¡¯s health lower than Mograine¡¯s.


    Berserk!


    Mograine saw that her wife was taking more damage than himself, so he went berserk.


    "****!" Lu Li felt helpless.


    They had already tried their best to control the health points of the bosses. Who knew that a problem would still occur?


    There was no point in blaming Wandering and Sakura Memories for not interrupting the skill. They had to solve the problem first, or else the team would wipe.


    "Breeze, use any damage reduction skills you have left. Drag Mograine so that he¡¯s facing everyone with his back. Close-combat classes step back a little, ranged classes focus him down." Lu Li had already stopped attacking ¨C it would be a death wish if he kept dealing damage to Whitemane.


    From this point onwards, there would be many stages in the future with two bosses. What they were dealing with now was only the basics.


    If they wiped again and again, their skills would eventually improve. With a bit of luck added on top, they would be able to clear the dungeon.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t want to repeat the run a third time. He had the most complete guide for the dungeon and was a part of the current top team in the game. His defeat wasn¡¯t definite yet.


    Not only did Mograine¡¯s damage increase after he went berserk, but his attacks also came with a splash effect that burned nearby units. Remnant Dream¡¯s pet died because she didn¡¯t call it in time.


    This showed the importance of a guide ¨C if the close-combat classes didn¡¯t run, the healers would be under more pressure.


    There were only three ranged class players ¨C Remnant Dream, Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball. The three of them dealt damage to Mograine together, while March Rain and Hachi Chan healed Azure Sea Breeze. As for Whitemane, Wandering was dragging her around while Lu Li and Sakura Memories ran behind her to interrupt any of her upcoming spells.


    They didn¡¯t lose any members, and as long as the main tank and healer could endure through the berserk mode of the boss, they would eventually pass through this stage.


    When Mograine¡¯s health dropped below Whitemane¡¯s, his berserk effect ended.


    This was indeed quite a frightful stage, but the ten-man team made it through.


    "From now on, hold back your damage reduction skills. Those who don¡¯t have damage reductions after thirty seconds, leave the hall," Lu Li instructed.


    After everyone calculated their cooldowns, Sesame Rice Ball, Sakura Memories and Remnant Dream turned their heads and ran.


    This wasn¡¯t a good way to avoid skills; the constant running would cause an interruption in their damage output. Once they failed to keep up their damage output, the healing of the boss would pose a real problem.


    Of course, they had no other choice. Without damage reduction skills, there was no way for them to survive the next wave of ultimate skills.


    The ultimate skill was casted but everyone survived with the use of their damage reduction skills.However, the two bosses recovered a significant amount of health, especially Mograine.


    "Everyone, focus on Mograine," Lu Li said as he switched his attention to the Paladin and began to deal insane damage. He also turned his head constantly to check up on Whitemane, afraid that she would cast another healing skill or group resurrection.


    "I¡¯m running low on mana!" March Rain cried out worriedly.


    "Hold still. Don¡¯t worry if you don¡¯t have mana and drink potions when you can. Memories, make sure to place down totems when you can. How long until Shadow Demon is off cooldown?" Lu Li didn¡¯t have the time to wipe the sweat that dripped from his forehead. He tilted his head back and drank an Intermediate Healing Potion.


    If they had Advanced Healing Potions with them, they probably wouldn¡¯t have had such a tough time.


    "Shadow Demon still has another minute; the potions are around two minutes. I didn¡¯t remember the precise time." March Rain¡¯s mana bar was almost empty, so she could only use small skills that costed less to heal for a bit.


    March Rain had leveled her Shadow Demon to level five, so its cooldown had been reduced from five minutes to 200 seconds.


    "Wandering, stay. Hachi Chan, heal Breeze. Breeze, do you have your damage reductions yet?" Lu Li scanned the current situation; he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore.


    "I still have two damage reductions left. One is a skill, the other is an equipment effect."


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t need to check his skill menu or equipment menu ¨C he had been keeping track the entire time.


    "Alright, hold on until March Rain¡¯s Shadow Demon goes off cooldown. Everyone else, drink potions and activate your special effects whenever you can. We¡¯ll win if we can make it through this."

 409 Scarlet Monastery Series Complete

    Surviving a whole minute without healing from their main healer¡­


    Every player in Dawn would think of this statement as a joke because it was pretty much impossible. However, the core group of Ruling Swords had survived through many impossible situations under the guidance and leadership of Lu Li.


    Besides, it wasn¡¯t as if they had no healing at all.


    Although Hachi Chan¡¯s healing and mechanics were lacking, she was very obedient to Lu Li¡¯s orders. With the right shot-calling, she would be able to compensate for March Rain.


    Most of her equips were from quests rewards and gave her a lot of mana regeneration. Her mana pool was still over 50% even though she had been casting spells the whole fight.


    It was obvious that there were no weak links in the Xin Xin Mercenary group. Remnant Dream¡¯s damage output along with her pet ranked her among the best ¨C in some battles she could even keep up with Lu Li and Lonesome Flower¡¯s DPS. Although Hachi Chan¡¯s healing wasn¡¯t as powerful as March Rain¡¯s healing abilities, her heals were more consistent and sustainable due to her large mana pool.


    "Cast Regrowth on Wandering for constant healing and Iron Bark on Breeze. Breeze, pull the Boss while moving, otherwise, the fire from his Consecration will continue to tick on you," Lu Li reminded.


    Although Mograine¡¯s Consecration didn¡¯t do that much damage instantly, it still dealt a considerable amount over time. Kiting the boss around relieved the pressure off both the tanks and the healers.


    "Hachi Chan, you¡¯re doing great." Remnant Dream was impressed that her little friend was able to control herself the whole fight. At the same time, Remnant Dream felt sad because she became the weakest link.


    Hachi Chan was too focused on Lu Li¡¯s voice and accidentally ignored Remnant¡¯s praise.


    Whatever Lu Li told her to do, she quickly executed it accordingly.


    Without a second thought or hesitation, she followed Lu Li¡¯s orders and was able to keep all three players alive.


    "Shadowfiend is up." March Rain¡¯s mana regeneration skill had finally come off cooldown. Although it was only for about a minute, it felt as if time went by extremely slowly for Hachi Chan.


    "March Rain, take note of where you cast Shadowfiend. Last time you casted it, it only regenerated your mana twice. It would be better to stand directly behind Mograine and summon Shadowfiend to ensure that it can attack the boss multiple times in the shortest amount of time possible. Theoretically, with Shadowfiend, you could recover 30% or even up to 40% mana. Make sure that you practise this skill more in dungeons."


    Shadowfiend¡¯s mana regeneration ability was very unique. Every successful attack on a target would regenerate 10% of the caster¡¯s max MP.


    The amount of mana regenerated was dependent on the number of successive attacks. If Shadowfiend missed the target, then it didn¡¯t count. Shadowfiend also heavily drew aggro and the Boss would often aggro onto the caster after a few attacks.


    Most bosses could one shot the Shadowfiend.


    Additionally, Shadowfiend lasted for a maximum of 15 seconds and took around 3 seconds to complete. It was impossible for this skill to restore the entire MP bar of the caster, otherwise, it would be extremely broken and imbalanced.


    Casting Shadowfiend directly behind Mograine decreased the distance and thus maximized its potential.


    Azure Sea Breeze handled the aggro very well and Mograine did not switch aggro onto the Shadowfiend until he was hit 3 times.


    Mograine received 1 damage as the Shadowfiend disappeared into a puff of black smoke.


    Lu Li looked at March Rain¡¯s stats and was very pleased when he saw that she had 43% mana.


    This was enough for them to survive the next wave of ultimate skills from the boss.


    "Heal everyone back to full HP. Drink HP potions whenever it¡¯s off cooldown," Lu Li said, letting out a sigh of relief.


    Everyone activated their damage reduction skills and braced for the ultimate skill. March Rain had to heal the incoming damage from the AOE skill and keep the Main Tank alive at the same time.


    "Uh oh."


    Sakura Memories had been instantly killed.


    Besides Sakura Memories, Remnant Dream also died in the final moments of the fight.


    Mograine was now on 9% HP while Whitemane was on 6%.


    "Everyone, be careful. Hachi Chan revive¡­ Sakura Memories."


    Lu Li hesitated, but chose to revive Sakura Memories.Her death was unavoidable, whereas Remnant Dream had simply forgotten to activate her damage reduction skill.


    "Revive Remnant Dream ¨C she¡¯s a lower level than me and has school tomorrow," Sakura Memories insisted.


    The EXP from two level 32 bosses would raise her EXP bar by quite a considerable amount. Obviously, anyone that was dead while the bosses were killed wouldn¡¯t receive anything.


    If a member missed out on EXP, they could catch up by grinding alone or entering dungeons. However, because Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream had school during the day, they were always behind in levels.


    Hachi Chan revived Remnant Dream.


    It appeared as if the two bosses knew they were about to be killed.


    When their HP dropped to less than 5%, neither of them went into berserker mode. Neither of them feared death because dying together would probably be the most fitting ending for them.


    Lu Li and the others finally prevailed, marking the end of the Scarlet Monastery Dungeon series.


    System: Ruling Sword members Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Sesame Rice Balls¡­. have completed the First Clear for Scarlet Cathedral on Nightmare difficulty under Lu Li¡¯s leadership.


    Elevenless: "Cheaters."


    Lucky Southern Persian: "Eleven, I thought you said you blocked them off in the dungeon."


    Elevenless: "Shut up. I don¡¯t talk to shameless people."


    Lucky Southern Persian: "Why are you so petty? Just because they beat you?"


    Elevenless: "¡­"


    Old Man Power: "Persian, stop teasing Eleven. He¡¯s mine."


    Elevenless: "Sorry Old Man, I don¡¯t like men. You might be gay, but I¡¯m not."


    Jade Flower Love: "Wanting to buy your strategy guide, money isn¡¯t a problem."


    Water Fairy: "Hehe"


    Jade Flower Lover: "Are you mocking us? Sorry we¡¯re not as rich as you people, but I still have my dignity. Don¡¯t mock me."


    Water Fairy: "Sorry, I¡¯m going to be the one that buys it first."


    Jade Flower Lover: "How can you be so confident¡­?"


    Marks: "Woah, my Goddess must have a deal already set up."


    Water Fairy: "Marks, you better not leave your house anymore. I sold the cloak that you dropped for 200 gold yesterday."


    Marks: "Godamn, I bought it back for 600 gold. Which bastard did you sell it to?"


    Water Fairy: "None of your business."


    As the star players yapped at each other, the casual players watched for entertainment. Many other players joined in and gossiped about other people.


    Lu Li watched as their EXP bars increased by a chunk. Moonlight and Lonesome Flower both received an SP as a reward.


    "Congratulations! You just defeated the Scarlet Cathedral and now you¡¯ve finished the Scarlet Monastery as well?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t tell whether Water Fairy was being condescending or envious.


    "Thanks, it¡¯s just a lot of good luck," Lu Li said humbly.


    "You¡¯ve always been really lucky. When are you going to sell the guide to me?" Water Fairy asked.


    "I need to organise it a bit more. I think with the guide, you might even be able to complete Nightmare difficulty." Since they were in an alliance now, Lu Li didn¡¯t have to act so cold towards her.

 410 Rolling For An Equip

    Water Fairy turned to Falling Star and suspiciously asked him, "He said he has to organise the guide; I knew he wouldn¡¯t hand it over so easily. Should we offer more money?"


    Although the alliance between her and Lu Li had been agreed upon verbally, the details had yet to be discussed.


    According to Square Root Three, each exclusive guide sold for an absurd amount of real life money. However, in order to earn their trust and establish the peace treaty, the guide was only sold for $300,000.


    $300,000 did seem a little overboard, however, the value that Drizzle Court could gain for obtaining the guide was nearly unlimited.


    Since Drizzle Court was a large guild and had over 3000 players, they could run the dungeon multiple times for each party.


    If every small group chipped in for the guide, it was merely $1000 per team.


    Spending $1000 to speed up their progression instead of wasting time was more than worth it. If other players were selling guides like this in Dawn, they would become millionaires.


    Although there were many advantages for buying a guide, there were several downsides as well.


    For a guild grow, its members needed to develop the chemistry, loyalty, friendship and trust in one another. All these qualities were gained from fighting side by side in dungeons and PVP.


    If this were to occur once in a while then it would be fine. However, if Drizzle Court continued to pay their way through the game, not only would their reputation fall, but their growth would also be stunted.


    Water Fairy wanted the guide to push Drizzle Court¡¯s name above the other guilds on the dungeon completion rankings. This would promote their reputation so that casual players would recognize Drizzle Court as one of the top guilds.


    "It¡¯s not about the amount of money," Falling Star said as he shook his head.


    "Of course it¡¯s about the money! Do you know how much Lu Li loves money?" Water Fairy laughed.


    "If money could solve everything, then why would we bother setting up an alliance with them? It¡¯s not like Synthetic Stones are useless for us ¨C you could¡¯ve used it for the level 45 equip¡­"


    "Even with the stone, a level 45 equip can¡¯t be used until level 36," Water Fairy emphasized once again.


    As a very independent and prideful woman, she felt uncomfortable with Falling Star¡¯s choice of words and attitude.


    "Anyway, since we¡¯re in an alliance now, you should go and interact with them more," Falling Star said.


    "How am I supposed to interact with them? Train together?" Water Fairy asked coldly.


    She was used to training alone. Since she had very powerful spells and equips, she could easily train solo, just like Lu Li.


    "I thought you needed help for one of the quests?" Falling Star reminded her.


    "I have thousands of men at my disposal. Why would I need help from others outside the guild?" Water Fairy retorted before sighing, "Fine, after the dungeon I¡¯ll contact him¡­ maybe I¡¯ll be able to learn a thing or two from him."


    "Charm him with your charisma and make him sing a love song for you while on his knees. The future of Drizzle Court¡¯s dungeon runs lies in your hands." No one dared to joke around with Water Fairy besides Falling Star and other star players that had fought alongside her.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t messing around with Water Fairy at all. However, he needed to make sure that his own guild benefited from his guide first before handing it over.


    The last two bosses from Scarlet Cathedral were very difficult to defeat. There were many details that required attention and the team composition was also very important.


    There needed to be enough classes with skills that could interrupt or dispel their magic attacks. Additionally, the team members needed to have enough DPS to complete the dungeon.


    When both bosses casted their ultimate skills, teams could not rely solely on their healers. Even March Rain had run out of mana during the boss fight ¨C causal healers would struggle even more.


    That being said, Lu Li and the others had completed the dungeon on Nightmare level.


    "Leather armour," Remnant Dream announced as she held up a piece of equipment. From the animation and the glow, it was obvious that it was Gold grade.


    Lu Li and Hachi Chan looked at her expectantly.


    "Hachi Chan, it¡¯s yours. I¡¯m so nice to you."


    Although both of them wore leather armor, Hachi Chan needed more intelligence and stats to boost her healing, whereas Lu Li needed agility and stats that increased his DPS.


    "Aegis of the Scarlet Commander. This is for¡­" Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t sure who to distribute this to since there were two tank classes that wielded a shield.


    "Roll for it then." The shield added HP and strength, and its special effect increased aggro as well as damage reduction. It was Gold grade and could be used by either of them.


    "I¡¯m the main tank. I¡¯ll give him the one that I¡¯m currently wearing," Azure Sea Breeze said.


    It was true that Main Tanks should have the priority in obtaining new gear. However, his current shield was distributed to him last time and it was already very powerful.


    "Are you scared?" Wandering chuckled.


    "Why would I be scared of you? Let¡¯s go then. Roll for it." Azure Sea Breeze was easily provoked and everyone watched as the two argued.


    Wandering was first and rolled 45. The roll numbers were randomly generated by the system and ranged anywhere from 1 to 100.


    "Haha, you¡¯re a dumbass. How dare you challenge me? I¡¯ve never rolled lower than a¡­ uh¡­" Azure Sea Breeze laughed out loud.


    1 point.


    "Haha."


    Wandering raised his new shield, extremely satisfied with it.


    "Wtf?!? How is that possible?" Azure Sea Breeze swore as the two began to argue again.


    Apart from the two Gold drops, Morgaine also dropped an Enhancement Stone and a rare material.


    Now, it was Whitemane¡¯s turn to be searched. Although players had to fight both bosses at the same time, the loot that was dropped was also doubled.


    "Justice Staff. Big sister March Rain, it¡¯s time for an upgrade again. This is exquisite as well." Remnant Dream had been very lucky this haul.


    The stats on the staff was godly, however, the cherry on top was the Mana Regen special effect that March Rain desperately needed.


    Special Effect: Active, restore 68 MP per second in battle, lasts for 15 seconds. Cooldown 300 seconds.


    A mana regen effect that restored more than 1000 MP every 5 minutes would be very beneficial for March Rain during tough Boss battles. In reality, March Rain had more than enough mana, however, because Lu Li liked to complete dungeons on Nightmare difficulty, she had to constantly heal her teammates.


    The second piece was also for March Rain. Since Whitemane was a priest, she had a higher chance of dropping priest equips.


    Whitemane¡¯s Embroidered Chapeau: Level 30 Silver grade mold.


    This needed to be crafted because Lu Li knew that it had a very useful special effect which could be used to decrease aggro. In Dawn, healing teammates also drew aggro from the Boss. As such, a special effect that decreased aggro was very important in keeping the healer alive.


    The bonus effect also decreased the probability of her being targeted by a Boss¡¯s special attack during fights. Both of these effects greatly increased March Rain¡¯s survivability in dungeon runs.


    The third item was a Priest skill book.


    Prayer of Healing: Heals a target with a prayer to restore 300 HP. After this, the healing Prayer will be transferred to another team member within a radius of 20 yards. Can be transferred up to 5 times, each time in the new target radius, for 30 seconds.


    This skill could heal up to 5 players and was activated when the target receives damage. Additionally, it was very mana-efficient and would become a key skill in future boss battles.

 411 The Basemen

    There was no way that a Nightmare Instance Dungeon would only drop three items. Remnant Dream continued looting and found a Synthetic Stone.


    Neither the Synthetic Stone nor the Strengthening Stone were bad items. The difference between them was that the Strengthening Stone had a consistent market value while the Synthetic Stone¡¯s market value was based on its properties.


    A Synthetic Stone with bad properties was worthless; players wouldn¡¯t even take it for free.


    After all, it would take up a spot on their equipment.


    Those that had good properties could sell for hundreds of thousands of gold coins without a problem. Water Fairy had given Lu Li the stone because of the Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court alliance, but Lu Li would otherwise have had to pay her at least 15,000 gold coins.


    The master looter was at work, so the Synthetic Stone that the little hunter was holding was not bad at all.


    Synthetic Stone: Ignore Defence ¨C a certain chance of reducing the target¡¯s max HP to 1000.


    "This seems quite strong; you can instantly take someone down to 1000HP. If it was a PVP, you could deal over half their HP in a single hit."


    This was the first time they had seen this special effect and they were all amazed.


    "It¡¯s not what you think it is," Lu Li said, bursting their bubbles. "This effect needs to be triggered as soon as possible. Preferably, it would activate on the first strike, because once you start dealing damage, the effect becomes less powerful.


    ¡®Max HP¡¯ ¨C that was the key phrase.


    For example, if a player had 2000 HP and it activated on the first strike, it would deal half of their HP. However, if a player only had 999 HP remaining and the effect activated, they would still have 999HP.


    Even so, the value of this stone had to be acknowledged. It was much more valuable than a Strengthening Stone.


    "What items have you been assigned?"


    Because they had achieved the First Clear, not only did they receive three Gold equips and a Silver Mold, but they also received 2 Exquisite skill books and two stones.


    Additionally, there were also the System rewards.


    Lu Li looked at the System prompt which told him he had acquired the skill book, ¡®Evasion¡¯.


    Throughout the course of these Scarlet Instance Dungeons, Lu Li hadn¡¯t been very lucky. None of the four Instance Dungeons had dropped anything good. However, when he acquired ¡®Evasion¡¯, he felt like it was all worth it.


    Evasion: Instant Cast, 180 second cool down. Evade the next attack that you receive. Grants a bonus 20% Evasion chance for 10 seconds, Proficiency 1/5.


    This skill was incredibly useful in helping him stay alive, but it also tested his ability to make decisions.


    If an opponent casted a powerful skill, you could use Evasion in advance to nullify it. In addition, you would also gain a 20% Evasion chance for 10 seconds afterwards.


    The key was not to use it too early because if it was noticed by your opponent, they could just cast a weaker skill at you first.


    Generally, the better the player, the harder it would be to evade.


    However, for an expert, this was a formidable skill.


    "I seem to remember that we still need to do something here."


    They didn¡¯t need Lu Li¡¯s reminder, but the ten of them had been entranced by the exquisite equipment.


    Before they fought Vishas they had received two quests.


    One of them was to help Vorrel Sengutz kill Vishas¡¯ wife Nancy, reclaim his wedding ring and go to the Hillsbrad Hills outside the Horde camp at the Terren Mill to find Monica.


    They had already half completed the quest and just needed to find the person now.


    The other was from Joseph, who thought that his mentor ¨C the Scarlet Grand Inquisitor Fairbanks ¨C was still alive and wanted them to find him.


    Although they had completely cleared the Instance Dungeon, they still hadn¡¯t found any trace of Fairbanks.


    "Seeing as it¡¯s a quest, Fairbanks will definitely be here. Everyone search every nook and cranny until we all of this place¡¯s secrets." Lu Li didn¡¯t directly reveal the secret; that would be too obvious.


    The hall was enormous and it was quite troublesome to search through it.


    However, they eventually managed to find a switch that opened a secret room on the back of a pillar after a few minutes.


    "We might find mountains of treasure; the Scarlet Crusade seems quite rich."


    Azure Sea Breeze was the first to run into the chamber.


    "Bleurgh!"


    Azure Sea Breeze gagged after smelling the odor.


    Dawn deliberately didn¡¯t process smells, so it was rare for them to smell blood. It was only in particular circumstances that the game would present such smells.


    "It¡¯s the smell of a corpse; everyone can turn it off if you want."


    Lu Li wisely stood outside the door while he reminded everyone.


    In the end, it was only Azure Sea Breeze that rushed in.


    "Hey, is there any treasure?" Wandering took the opportunity to rub in Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s misfortune.


    "I got here first, so if there is anything good, it¡¯s mine," Azure Sea Breeze said as he turned off the smell that was killing him.


    The basement was very dark and only provided a small green lamp on the wall for light. The lamp flickered in the darkness and revealed the layout of the basement to them.


    The basement wasn¡¯t very large. There was a row of bookshelves and across from that was a ¡®person¡¯ sitting in a chair.


    Fairbanks.


    The state of his body was horrendous ¨C it had been completely infected and was producing the smell of a corpse. The only explanation for this was that he had been afflicted by the Scourge.


    Azure Sea Breeze raised his single-handed axe, ready to rush at this monster.


    Lu Li reached out and held him back as he quickly said, "Don¡¯t be impulsive ¨C look at his eyes."


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t understand at first, but he soon realized that Fairbanks wasn¡¯t actually dead.


    His eyes were clear, perhaps even clearer than regular human being¡¯s. There was no sign of control by Sylvanas nor the insanity of the Scourge. They had a similar tranquility to the Elven Lake.


    "Hello, Respected Grand Inquisitor," Lu Li said.


    "Oh, it¡¯s a group of adventurers! When did the Scarlet Monastery become a place where people could come and go?" Fairbanks¡¯ voice was a little hoarse as the air was passing through the rotted gaps in his throat. He sounded a bit like a monster.


    He didn¡¯t sound very polite, so everyone was anxious.


    "We, by Joseph¡¯s request, have defeated Mograine and Whitemane and have come to you," Lu Li said.

 412 Underwater Treasure Ches

    "Joseph?" Fairbanks had to take a moment to recall that he really did have a disciple with such a name.


    "He tried to come here and rescue you, but he fell into the clutches of Vishas. Mograine, with his authority to judge, sentenced him to the torture chambers," Lu Li continued as per the quest.


    After conversing a little more, Fairbanks was finally satisfied. He stood up and put away the book he had in his hand.


    When he sat back into the chair, a flash of sadness appeared in his eyes. "Thank you all. The Scarlet Crusade would one day have come to an end, but I didn¡¯t think I would see it. If you ever meet Darion, Darion Mograine, please give him this book. I have written something about the truth in it."


    Darion Mograine was Renault¡¯s brother who should have been the leader of the Silver Dawn Organisation at this point in time.


    "I am willing to serve," Lu Li said as he took the book and put it in his backpack.


    This was a group quest, so as long as Lu Li completed it, the others would be rewarded too. It would work, given that everyone had met the pre-requisites.


    "I have been imprisoned for too long, so I have nothing to give you. Here are a few bloodied shirts; you can take them," Fairbanks said as he handed over a few pieces of equipment.


    There were three pieces of bloodied equipment.


    Because this was on Nightmare Difficulty, the reward was different.


    On Elite Difficulty, there was only a small chance of receiving one shirt, let alone three.


    Scarlet Wargown, Guild Shirt and Undershirt ¨C these were all special equips that could be worn in addition to regular equipment.


    They didn¡¯t have particularly strong attributes as they only increased HP. However, they each provided an extra 300 HP.


    In terms of Constitution, a Warrior needed to spend over 20 points on to gain 300 HP. Other occupations like Paladins would need to spend 40 points for that amount.


    At the end of this quest, Fairbanks would no longer interact with the players.


    He would just continue sitting there with a book in hand, occasionally writing some things down. If you ignored his rotten face, he was no different to a teacher.


    "There are three pieces of equipment ¨C two for the Main Tank and one for the healer. You guys get one each, and you can lend them to the players during the tournaments."


    Lu Li divided up the shirts from a perspective of maximizing their long-term benefits.


    Poor Hachi Chan was completely neglected. She was so short that Lu Li didn¡¯t see her at all.


    The Scarlet Instance Dungeon had come an end, and until it refreshed next week, there was no reason for them to come here again.


    The grounds outside of the Instance Dungeon were filled with bloodthirsty Horde players. They were lurking about, killing any hostile players and instilling fear into the hearts of the Alliance players.


    The group of players near the Scarlet Instance Dungeons were filled with malice for the Alliance.


    Everyone in the party dispersed and went back to the city. When Lu Li got back, he spent several dozen gold coins repairing the equipment on his body.


    He didn¡¯t have a choice. The drawback to having good equipment was that it was rather expensive to repair.


    If an ordinary player didn¡¯t die too often, they wouldn¡¯t only need to repair their equipment once every two days. It would also only cost them one to two gold coins each time.


    After repairing his equipment, Lu Li transported to a new area on the map ¨C Feralas.


    Feralas was a lush mountain valley, surrounded by desolate lands to the north, the sea to its west and Kalimdor to its southeast. Between them was the thick Needlestone Forest.


    A variety of wildlife could be found here, including carnivores like wolves, bears and horned beasts. There were also many intelligent creatures like the Snowman and the Bloordthirsty Gnoll. Of course, there was also the ogre that ruled this part of the wilderness.


    These monsters were generally between level 43 and level 50, so they certainly weren¡¯t suitable for Lu Li to farm.


    You wouldn¡¯t fight monsters that were 10 levels ahead of you, even if you were suicidal.


    When Lu Li came out of the Teleportation Channel, he could immediately see the Feathermoon Stronghold. Feralas was Alliance territory and Shendris Feathermoon was the leader of the Sentinels in this area.


    The Night Elf Outpost here was occupied with collecting the relics from the ruins of the High Elf and investigating the Naga presence in the south.


    Although Shandris looked quite feminine and was a part of the Sentinel Corps, he was actually a man.


    Other than the Cenarion Circle, the Elune Sisters were next largest Night Elf organisation.


    The general consensus was that only women could comprehend the deepest mysteries of the Moon Goddess, so the Elune Sisters would only recruit female members.


    This was the group that formed the Sentinel Corps and as such, most of the officers were from the Elune Sisters. In fact, the Sentinel Corps were almost completely made up of female soldiers.


    Under Tyrande¡¯s influence, the Night Elves were revolutionized by decree.


    Some male elves received extensive tactical and combat training to be Priests. However, as they began to show outstanding performance in battle, they could eventually promote and become an officer.


    This was the case for Shandris.


    Lu Li was concerned about all of this because he had a very important race specific quest to do after reaching level 40. It was so important that dialogue didn¡¯t have any effect on its trigger.


    However, because of Lu Li¡¯s current level, the Feathermoon Stronghold currently didn¡¯t have any quests that Lu Li could accept. As such, he left the Stronghold and followed the road along the yellow flowers into the wilderness of Feralas.


    Lu Li had exchanged for quite a few pieces of equipment that increased his Stealth. He had told Square Root 3 to prepare them in advance.


    When surrounded by level 40 to 50 monsters, keeping a low profile was the best strategy. Any hostility or aggression was just stupid ¨C an ordinary monster could kill you in 3 to 5 hits.


    Fortunately, although Feralas¡¯ monsters were dangerous, the density of monsters was far lower here.


    This was why Lu Li had decided to come here.


    His destination was Lake Darmont.


    The once great High Elf City was now in ruins and the lake was perfectly calm. Lake Darmont looked like a mirror with a few worn boots floating in it.


    Lu Li had faced quite a few monsters on his journey; it was no small feat to get here.


    When he reached the lake, he quickly channeled and jumped in. The ogre that was chasing him with a stick stopped by the banks and yelled for a few moments before dejectedly leaving.


    Lu Li was already in Seal form, so he had no reason to leave the water.


    He dove deeper and carefully approached the bottom of the lake.


    The calmness of the lake didn¡¯t mean that the lake was harmless. At the bottom of the lake was an exceptionally large lobster which habitually attacked any other sea creatures within its reach.


    Moreover, this monster was quite stingy and never dropped anything valuable. No one really liked fighting it.


    Lu Li was in the water looking for a Treasure Chest. This was a level 40-50 monster area, so the treasure dropped by the chest would be level 40 and above. He couldn¡¯t use such high-level equipment at the moment, but he could still give it away.


    The Hostess at Southshore that liked jewelry would probably like the treasure very much.

 413 Advanced Healing Potion Recipe

    Lu Li wasn¡¯t the kind of person to toss a person aside after he was done with them.


    Moreover, the Hostess was going to be Lu Li¡¯s future contact with the Assassin¡¯s League for quests.


    The female assassin was quite eccentric. If she was satisfied with you, she would treat you particularly well, just like when she allowed Lu Li to kill Yetimus because he had praised her ale.


    However, if you provoked her, she would definitely make your life hell.


    Lu Li remembered a rumor from his past life that a conceited male player who was in the Assassins League had caused a ruckus in the tavern.


    The Hostess didn¡¯t launch a direct attack as she would never openly show that side of her to the player.


    However, that player received a quest to assassinate a syndicate¡¯s top leader ¨C the Duke of Fakures. Who knew how a one-star assassin like him managed to get such a high-level quest?


    The Assassin League¡¯s quests couldn¡¯t be failed in the sense that they would continue indefinitely until the target was dead.


    The worst thing was that until you completed your quest, the Ravenholdt Manor would not give you another one.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what eventually happened to that player, but it was unlikely that he interacted with that small camp again.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what other hobbies the Hostess had and it would be insincere to praise her ale again. As such, he intended to collect some high-grade jewelry for her.


    She was level 45, so giving her level 30 jewelry would be useless.


    She might not care about its properties, but the system gave levels an inherent hierarchy of value.


    Lake Darmont was quite deep, so there wasn¡¯t much light near the bottom. Lu Li¡¯s transformation into the Seal had reduced his natural tendency to draw aggro, but if he knocked into one of them, the ferocious lobsters would definitely attack him.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t been here before in his past life; he had only read about it in some articles.


    A Thief was writing about his girlfriend who loved nature and referenced a treasure chest in Lake Darmont that had a high probability of dropping really good jewelry.


    As for the exact location, the Thief was a little stingy with the details.


    Fortunately, the Lake area wasn¡¯t large and Lu Li only searched for half an hour before finding the chest.


    The chest was next to a large stone. Most of it was covered in sand and it appeared to be a Silver Chest.


    Lu Li¡¯s Unlock skill was level 2 which meant that it couldn¡¯t open Silver Chests. If he wanted to do so, he would need to waste an extra skill point. Skill Points were even more valuable than equipment, so Lu Li felt rather pained. He could only take comfort in the fact that he might get something even better in the future.


    This wasn¡¯t just a mere act of self-comfort.


    Silver and above Chests could drop treasure maps which were worth a lot of money.


    Now that he had solved the issue of Unlock, the only other problem was the two large lobsters next to the chest.


    However, Lu Li had prepared for this earlier; he rummaged through his bag to find the Scarlet Library Dog Whistle. This was the item that Lu Li had coaxed from Hachi Chan. He didn¡¯t need to worry about how the whistle could be blown under water ¨C this was a game, after all. Moreover, Lu Li didn¡¯t even need to blow into it.


    After the whistle sounded, a palm sized dog appeared in front of him.


    The dog was quite intelligent ¨C as soon as it spawned, it tried to escape towards the surface. It wasn¡¯t dumb like its master; it knew that it belonged on land.


    Lu Li quickly held onto it.


    Little dog, you¡¯re so deep that you might as well resign to your fate.


    That¡¯s right, this poor thing was going to be cannon fodder.


    The dog unwillingly struggled but was eventually compelled to slowly approach the two big lobsters. The moment it entered their aggro range, it immediately started moving the other way.


    Lu Li instructed the dog to take them in the opposite direction, then began to approach the chest.


    He didn¡¯t waste any time and immediately cast Unlock onto it.


    By the time he received a prompt that the dog had died, Lu Li had already reached into the chest and grabbed whatever was in there. He didn¡¯t have time to see what it was and immediately escaped.


    When the two big lobsters discovered that he had stolen something, the chase began.


    Could it be that the dog had cursed its owner?


    The retribution was coming and it was coming quickly.


    As Lu Li escaped, he lamented his heartlessness. He then summoned another dog before him.


    Although the dog could run circles around the seal on land, it didn¡¯t stand a chance in the water.


    Even though these two lobsters were unforgiving, buying a moment¡¯s time could keep him alive.


    Eventually, the chase ended when Lu Li reached a boat and jumped out of the water on it. The lobsters couldn¡¯t help but watch as Lu Li checked out his stolen items.


    He had taken a level 45 Axe that was quite strong. It was too bad that it was just a worthless Silver equip.


    When he reached level 45, Silver equips simply couldn¡¯t be considered anymore. Silver was likely to be the common rarity of equipment for the majority of players.


    When he saw that the other item wasn¡¯t a piece of jewelry, he was disappointed, but when he realized what it was, he was filled with excitement.


    Recipe: Advanced Healing Potion


    Area: Alchemy


    Requirements: Expert (240)


    Use: teaches you how to craft Advance Healing Potions.


    Advance Healing Potion: Immediately regenerate 300 HP and generate 50 HP per second for the next 10 seconds (Can be interrupted), unlimited by combat, 180 cooldown.


    Lu Li had planned to take the time to farm Ogres on the Hillsbrad Hills.


    Even if the drop rate was bad, he still needed to do it as the Intermediate Healing Potion was no longer adequate for them.


    Who would have that he would suddenly get what he needed? The stars had clearly aligned.


    "I found the Advanced Healing Potion Recipe. Find a trusted person to learn it," Lu Li said to Square Root 3. He spoke really casually as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal and that he wasn¡¯t showing off.


    "What? Advanced Healing Potion? How?" Square Root 3 was shocked.


    The World Announcements were currently buzzing about the Advanced Healing Potion.


    It was said that only a low-profile Mage had this recipe. Peerless City had spent a lot of money for an exclusive agreement with him. They would only buy a dozen bottles from him every day.


    "Keen this all quiet for now. If Water Fairy finds out, she¡¯ll definitely want it," Lu Li warned.


    "Keke, I understand, but Lu Li, if you treat a beautiful lady like that, you might be single for life. Don¡¯t tell me later that I didn¡¯t warn you," Square Root 3 teased, unable to help himself.

 414 Assassin’s Ques

    "Haha, I don¡¯t know," Lu Li disagreed with a smile. "If you really think that someone like her would be interested in an ordinary person like me, you must be insane."


    "Lu Li," Square Root 3 said somewhat seriously, "You cannot offend a tycoon."


    "Stop thinking about it. I¡¯ll send the recipe to you soon; find someone reliable for it. After they¡¯ve learned it, they won¡¯t have an opportunity to rest or do Instance Dungeons for a while."


    Ruling Sword¡¯s structure hadn¡¯t been fully formalized yet; the professional players still weren¡¯t signed.


    Professional players that hadn¡¯t been signed-on usually wouldn¡¯t be given quests that were core to the guild.


    In a time when the Advanced Healing Potion had not yet saturated the market, its recipe would only be given to someone they knew they could trust.


    Additionally, after they learned how to make the potion, they would need to continually make them as the Elite Group also needed them.


    "Relax, I know a few Trade Skill players. I will accept them into the guild." Square Root 3 had been a part of the gaming circle for many years, so he still had many contacts.


    Lu Li felt relieved as he put the recipe back into his backpack.


    At this time, he realized that the big lobsters had given up on their prey and had long since left.


    He slowly descended into the water and began looking for the chest again.


    This time it took a little longer. Lu Li spent about an hour before finding a chest among some seaweed. If he hadn¡¯t looked very carefully and didn¡¯t have any chest-hunting experience, he wouldn¡¯t have found it.


    He didn¡¯t know what was going to be in it. Lu Li confirmed that the area was free from monsters before moving in to open it.


    Dammit, equipment again.


    The Treasure Chest gods must have hated him.


    Silver Chests always dropped Silver equipment. Alternatively, they could drop Special Equipment or high-grade items that were worth as much as Silver equipment.


    Lu Li looted a Warlock Cloth equip and threw it into his backpack before reaching back in. This time, he felt something different. It was actually a necklace.


    When Lu Li saw the blue luster of the beads, he let out a long sigh of relief.


    However, even after getting what he wanted, he didn¡¯t leave immediately. He searched through both sides of the lake before he reluctantly left when he confirmed that there weren¡¯t any more chests.


    After returning to Southshore, Lu Li first sent Square Root 3 the recipe and then went to the tavern with the necklace.


    The tavern¡¯s business wasn¡¯t as good as the last time Lu Li was here; there were only a few players sitting around. Some were gossiping and others were reading books that Lu Li hadn¡¯t seen before.


    The people here were mostly the elderly; the younger people were usually too worried about missing out to stay here.


    The owner was lying on the counter sleeping, his snores echoing in the room.


    The Hostess was also sitting bored by the counter, rolling a coin around in her fingers. Her expression was quite gloomy and Lu Li could barely see the Black Dragon.


    As Lu Li came in, she put the coin away.


    "Hey, elf. What do you want to drink?" The Hostess greeted Lu Li like she didn¡¯t know him and handed him a cup of wine before he even responded.


    The seat that Lu Li chose was quite far from everyone else. He took the wine and downed it then said, "Another, thanks."


    "Looks like you really do like wine. Can you buy me one?" the Hostess asked with a smile.


    "It would be my pleasure." Lu Li obviously wouldn¡¯t refuse.


    The Hostess brought over two cups. She gave one to Lu Li and sat down with her own.


    "This is to thank you for last time. I stumbled across this little thing and I have no use for it. I hope you like it," Lu Li said as he took the necklace and put it on the table.


    The Hostess didn¡¯t care at first, but became interested when she noticed the luster of the necklace.


    When she saw the item¡¯s level, it was clear that she liked the gift, "Since its useless to you, I¡¯ll take it, but that doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t have to pay for these three cups of wine."


    "I¡¯m glad that you like it. If I go back there, I¡¯ll see if there are any more."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have to worry about her not liking him anymore. In fact, the relationship between him and the Hostess was quite good now.


    Otherwise, the Hostess wouldn¡¯t have helped him fight the monster.


    The two of them didn¡¯t say much otherwise. They just talked about the where the necklace had come from. Lu Li told the truth, but omitted the fact that he had gone there deliberately for this item.


    After finishing the wine, a new guest game in and the Hostess got up to leave.


    Lu Li peeled the paper off the bottom of the glass and left the tavern after paying for his drink.


    Quest: Assassination.


    Goal: 10 Syndicate Emblems


    Description: The Syndicate is the Thief organization of the evil aristocracy. These aristocrats can be found all over the kingdom. According to the latest news, a group of Syndicate members are gathering in the ruins of Dunholde Castle at the South East of Tarren Mill. Collect at least 10 Syndicate Emblems from them.


    Members of the Syndicate must die!


    Quest Requirements: Complete immediately. The number of participants cannot exceed three.


    Quest Delivery: Your Contact.


    Quest Reward: EXP, Prestige, Equipment.


    Fortunately, he hadn¡¯t been asked to assassinate the aristocrats. Although they weren¡¯t that strong, they often had very powerful guards protecting them.


    Lu Li felt like this had to do with the gift he had just given the hostess.


    Of course, this quest couldn¡¯t be easily completed. Syndicate members were level 35 monsters, which meant they were four levels higher than he was. This would weaken his Stealth Effect.


    Against such a group, Lu Li¡¯s Cheat Shot was his only chance.


    Fortunately, he could invite helpers, but he could only take two of them. Who was he going to invite?


    If he took Moonlight and March Rain, it would probably be a tough battle as they didn¡¯t have Cheap Shot like him.


    At this time, his communication device rang.


    Was it Square Root 3? Had he found someone who could make the potion already?


    Unexpectedly, the call was from the tycoon Water Fairy.


    "I have already told Wandering to send you the strategy," Lu Li said first. He was a little scared of Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy was actually a decent person. She had helped him by lend her equipment to him so that he could defeat Glory Capital. She was forthcoming, generous and beautiful¡­ so it was difficult for Lu Li to refuse her all the time, especially now that they were allies.


    "There are other things I could be calling you about you know." Water Fairy was silent for a moment before she continued, "But thank you for the strategy. We have completed the Instance Dungeon. I¡¯m asking for something else."


    "Oh, what is it?" Lu Li was a little annoyed at Wandering. Didn¡¯t he tell him not to give it to her so soon?


    He was probably paralyzed when he ran into her, which was consistent with his normal attitude towards females.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s Elite Group was still struggling to complete it while Water Fairy¡¯s team was the second to complete the Instance Dungeon. In the situation where they both had the same amount of information, Drizzle Court¡¯s Elite Group was far stronger than Ruling Sword¡¯s.

 415 Changing Equipmen

    "I have a quest that I need help with. Does an expert such as yourself have time?" Water Fairy sounded sheepish. Although it was a difficult quest, she still wasn¡¯t keen on asking Lu Li for help.


    She had initially wanted to find someone from within the guild, but the Drizzle Court president encouraged her to ask Lu Li.


    The reason was so that the relationship between alliances could deepen.


    But was it really necessary? It wasn¡¯t as though Drizzle Court would be unable to continue without the strategies.


    However, the strategies did make their lives much easier.


    When the other players saw how this couple was doing, they wanted a taste of their comfortable life.


    As everyone knew, an alliance had been formed between Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court. This prompted many players who were still doing the Scarlet Monastery to enviously call Lu Li and Water Fairy a couple.


    Elevenless: The couple are definitely in cahoots ¨C Drizzle Court has just broken the record for the Instance Dungeon.


    Tracer: Are our strategists just sitting around? How are they so far ahead?


    Faker Than Wind: Now that this couple exists, things are even more troublesome¡­ ugh¡­


    Blood Dagger: Drizzle Court has broken the record, but the Instance Dungeon has only been completed twice. It looks like they have the strategy. Over time, they are going to get even more popular.


    Sorrowless: Don¡¯t worry about them ¨C this kind of popularity is useless. I actually hoped that Drizzle Court would somehow get the strategy. Water Fairy isn¡¯t dumb; she wouldn¡¯t be so short sighted.


    Drizzle Court had broken the record right after Ruling Court had completed it, and in doing so, had caused some commotion. However, this couldn¡¯t be compared to when Lu Li got the First Clear. All that had happened was the news of the couple spreading around the gaming circle.


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t know about this as no one dared to say it to her.


    Otherwise, she definitely would have tried everything in her power to kill these rumors.


    Being a famous female tycoon with otherworldly attractiveness and a vicious personality meant that she would have no problems with killing anyone hundreds of times.


    "So, are you going to help?" She hadn¡¯t heard a response from Lu Li yet and was a little irritated.


    There were very few people who were so rude to her. They were already allies and he still needed to think for so long about this matter.


    "Contact me when the time comes; I¡¯ll definitely help you then if I can. I have also received the Molds you have sent me. I see that there is a Plague Water which is used to make the Blackwolf Spellblade¡­" Lu Li had become a little distracted.


    "Is that a problem?" Water Fairy sounded calm.


    "Uh, can we arrange something so that I can have the Plague Water? I will give you a dagger with good attributes," Lu Li said, obviously entranced by this material.


    The materials for his next upgrade of the Supreme Ring were just too rare. So far, he had only collected one to two of the required items. As such, when he saw the items that Water Fairy had sent, he immediately wanted them.


    "Oh, there¡¯s no need. It wouldn¡¯t be good for us to exchange a material for an equip," Water Fairy sincerely refused.


    "That¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t mind," Lu Li replied in visible shocked.


    This woman was obviously doing this on purpose; she wanted him to beg for it.


    "There is a Thief in our guild that really wants the Blackwolf Spellblade. If I give this material to you, he will be very disappointed," Water Fairy said, barely holding in her laughter. You could almost hear the smile on her face in her voice.


    The vengeful nature of this woman was very scary. Lu Li had refused to sell the strategy to her twice and so she had made fun of him twice.


    In fact, the Blackwolf Spellblade was rather bad.


    Lu Li had actually given her the list of rare materials that he wanted. When she received it, she initially wanted to sell them to him. However, she deliberately beat around the bush to make him feel uncomfortable.


    Lu Li clenched his teeth. He had to hold back his anger, or else the tycoon would feel an even higher sense of achievement.


    "Look at these two pieces of equipment. You can pick any one of them for the material."


    Corrupted Fang (Perfect Silver Grade): 24-36 Damage, Agility +16, Strength +6, Critical Chance +8%, Special Effect 1: Chance to apply 20% Armor Pierce when attacking, lasts for 15 seconds. Special Effect 2: Chance to summon a Phantom when attacking. Phantom has 30% of player¡¯s attack damage, lasts for 20 seconds. Level Requirement: Level 25, Durability 50/50.


    Abyssal Poison Fang (Gold): Damage 26-32, Agility +18, Strength +10, Special Effect 1: Critical Hit +12%, Special Effect 2: All attributes +20 after a Critical Hit has been achieved, 30 second duration and 30 second cooldown. Special Effect 3: Continuously attacking the same target five times will cause the fifth attack to deal 5x damage, 30 second cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 30. Durability: 65/65.


    Lu Li sent over the attributes of both daggers he was currently using.


    To an ordinary person, no material would be worth more than either of these daggers.


    The level 25 Silver dagger was not to be underestimated. If you could attack with it, you would discover that it was actually on par with the second one. Perfect Silver equipment could only be produced with Molds and at this point of the game, it required the player to be very lucky.


    Lu Li could hear Water Fairy¡¯s gasp in the communicator.


    "Are you selling?"


    "I already told you I want to trade," Lu Li responded.


    "What is Plague Water used for that you would trade it for these daggers?" Water Fairy was implying that he was insane¡­


    "It¡¯s very important for one of my quests."


    Lu Li also knew that this trade was a loss for him, but he had an even more exquisite dagger in his bag pack so he didn¡¯t really mind. More importantly, the Plague Water was just too precious to him.


    The probability of this item dropping in the wild was just too small.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to ask all of Ruling Sword to go into the wild to look for this item.


    "This can¡¯t work; you lose too much this way."


    Water Fairy still had her pride. She didn¡¯t mind taking a deal that was advantageous towards her, but this felt too much like trapping someone. She simply couldn¡¯t accept it.


    Furthermore, she also suspected that this man had an ulterior motive.


    Beautiful girls tended to know how to protect themselves with the wisdom they learned from growing up in their families.


    "How about this ¨C I need to do a quest tonight. If you do the quest with me, we¡¯ll call it even. What do you think?" Lu Li asked.


    "Alright, I want the Abyssal Poison Fang," Water Fairy said eagerly.


    She had two daggers equipped, but both of them were Silver and were nothing compared to what Lu Li had. Even though there was a gap between Lu Li and her weapons, her weapons were still much better than those of an ordinary player.


    "I will wait for you at Southshore in three and a half hours," Lu Li said after looking at the time and thinking of a spot with level 30 monsters to farm.


    "What are you going to do now?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Farm at Hillsbrad Hills," Lu Li replied as he looked for Southshore¡¯s blacksmith and asked him to mount the Synthetic Stone onto the Shard of the Defiler.


    He could have done it himself, but it would not have been as efficient.


    In only a dozen seconds, a Shard of the Defiler that only had a level requirement of level 32 was handed back to him. He then lost 5 gold from his bag.


    In his previous life, he would have never spent 500 dollars just to save a bit of time.

 416 Travelling With Water Fairy

    "Where are you?"


    Lu Li had just finished getting the supplies from his mailbox before Water Fairy messaged him.


    Woman, you¡¯re too impatient.


    Lu Li looked down at the Abyssal Poison fang in his hand and told Water Fairy his location with a bitter smile.


    The tycoon was wearing a veil with a fluttering purple butterfly embroidered on the top of it. It looked like an ordinary prop, but who knew how much money she had spent on it?


    "Where¡¯s the dagger?"


    Watery Fairy got straight to the point; she was completely focused on getting the dagger. How could a girl like this be one of the most beautiful women in the world?


    "Here," Lu Li said, as he transferred the dagger in a trade.


    "Wow, this dagger is really pretty and its attributes are also good." Water Fairy was also very concerned with its outward appearance.


    "Can I borrow the dagger that you are swapping out?" Lu Li had already put the spare daggers that he received from the Instance Dungeon into the guild warehouse and didn¡¯t know if some Thief had already redeemed them.


    As a dignified founder of the guild, he couldn¡¯t just go and get the item back from that person.


    "You actually don¡¯t have a spare?" Water Fairy¡¯s eyes flickered as she took some joy in Lu Li¡¯s suffering.


    "I do have one; I just can¡¯t use it yet," Lu Li said.


    "So the Synthetic Stone that you wanted was to reduce the level of some equipment¡­" Water Fairy suddenly realized. She then blinked for a moment before saying, "Can I see your spare weapon?"


    "¡­" Lu Li looked at her, speechless.


    Although they were quite familiar, they weren¡¯t so familiar that he would just show her things for no reason.


    The reason he had shared the attributes of his two daggers earlier was for trading purposes.


    "You¡¯re already level 31 and you¡¯ll be able to use the dagger soon, which means that it was probably originally level 40. With a 20% decrease in level requirement, you can reduce it to level 32. I¡¯m really curious about it; let me see it," she said with a level of entitlement. She had been born with a golden spoon and there were countless people around her all to time that obeyed her.


    In this moment, the words that she spoke made her seem like a spoiled brat.


    She didn¡¯t realize it and Lu Li didn¡¯t really care, but those who were close to her didn¡¯t dare to bring it up.


    Perhaps Lu Li was so strong that he had unwittingly become someone who was equal or even greater than her in her mind.


    "It¡¯s not that much better than what you already have," Lu Li habitually played it down.


    "Lu Li, you¡¯re really annoying you know. You always skimp on girls and it¡¯s so obvious when you do it. And you wonder why you¡¯re an orphan?" Water Fairy was fuming.


    "I don¡¯t know anyone who wants to be an orphan."


    Lu Li equipped the dagger that Water Fairy gave him and said, "If there isn¡¯t anything else, I would like to go levelling."


    "I¡¯m coming," Water Fairy replied as she sent a request to join his party. "I¡¯m level 30, so I won¡¯t hold you back."


    Lu Li hesitated for a moment before thinking about the consequences of rejecting her. He had done it twice and he didn¡¯t want to do it again. He reluctantly accepted while reiterating, "I don¡¯t really like talking when I¡¯m farming. Efficiency is number one for me so I hope you can keep up."


    "Damn you, you loner." Water Fairy followed him as they both left the safe area.


    The levelling experience was quite boring but Water Fairy¡¯s performance exceeded Lu Li¡¯s expectations. Her technique was good, but they also had an impressive level of coordination together.


    After clearing out a group of mobs, Water Fairy immediately cast Cheap Shot on another monster and they quickly reduced it into EXP.


    Even if you included the time taken to find a monster, it only took them about 5 minutes to kill one.


    This was even easier than when Lu Li was farming alone.


    In three and a half hours, it was time for Lu Li to start the quest and he was only 12% away from reaching level 32.


    On the rankings at the moment, the second player was Lonesome Flower, who had not yet reached level 31.


    "I know a place where we can farm even faster; do you want to go tomorrow?" Water Fairy was comfortable farming here, but couldn¡¯t help but invite him.


    "Where is it?" Lu Li asked.


    "Theramore¡¯s Fall."


    Lu Li looked at the tycoon with surprise, not expecting this name to come up.


    Of course, he knew about Theramore¡¯s Fall level 35 mud monsters. They yielded high EXP and would come in groups of seven or eight.


    However, these mobs weren¡¯t necessarily easy to deal with. They had a quick refresh rate, so it was difficult for most average players. They also had a certain probability of exploding upon death, which dealt a lot of damage.


    However, most importantly, these mud-covered monsters were distressing to look at and smelled rancid. How could Water Fairy, a beautiful woman, think of farming monsters like that?


    "Are you coming or what? If not, I¡¯ll just find someone else," Water Fairy said impatiently.


    "I¡¯ll go. Contact me tomorrow morning; I need to do my quest now."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t refuse. It was going to be very difficult to find someone who had synergy with him in Ruling Sword.


    Only Thieves could farm at Theramore¡¯s Fall.


    Two Thieves could crowd-control the monsters in such a way that they wouldn¡¯t explode on death.


    Water Fairy had a look of curiosity on her face as Lu Li led her to his quest, which was South East of the Tarren Mill in the Ruins of Dunholde Castle. This was the place where the Horde¡¯s Chief Saar had grown up, but it was now destroyed.


    "Stealth," Lu Li whispered as he signaled Water Fairy to hide in the shadows.


    "What do we need to do?" Water Fairy sat near Lu Li and was very curious about his quest. If this guy needed help, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be an easy quest.


    "We¡¯ll run into some Syndicate guards soon. There will be a Mage and possibly a Thief. We need to work together to quietly kill them," Lu Li said then added seriously, "This quest is very important me; don¡¯t screw it up."


    "Will they call their companions otherwise?" Water Fairy immediately understood his point.


    "That is a real possibility," Lu Li hadn¡¯t joined the Assassin¡¯s League in his last life so he didn¡¯t know anything about this quest. He didn¡¯t even know what kind of monsters they were going to fight.


    It would be best if they were just ordinary monsters. If they were elite, they might be in trouble.


    A level 35 Elite monster would be four levels higher than Lu Li. At that point, he would definitely need someone¡¯s help.


    The two of them covertly moved through the ruins and quickly found their target. There were a few hundred people here and they were camping out in the area, but it didn¡¯t look like they were going to move anytime soon.


    When they ran into these people, both players immediately stopped. Lu Li had previously mentioned that there could be a Thief.


    Only a Thief could fully appreciate the terror of another Thief.


    "You stand behind me," Water Fairy wrote to him.


    The text chat was to prevent a nearby Thief from hearing them. In an environment like this, even quiet whispers were a death wish.


    "Why are you at the front? I¡¯m a higher level than you." Lu Li didn¡¯t trust her.


    "It¡¯s just one level; my equipment is better than yours." Water Fairy was very strong and couldn¡¯t really accept being behind someone. She didn¡¯t want to just be a supporting player.


    "Stop fussing ¨C do you think your equipment makes you better than me?" Lu Li was speechless.

 417 Completing a Quest with Water Fairy

    Water Fairy thought about Lu Li¡¯s two daggers and changed her mind.


    "I still want to walk in front; there¡¯s no reason why I can¡¯t do it. Lu Li, you¡¯re such a chauvinist."


    She was still gritting her teeth as she spoke, imagining how she could punish Lu Li.


    "I have two equips here that provide bonus stealth attributes. Let¡¯s swap first, then you can walk in front." Lu Li gave up and decided to let Water Fairy walk in front.


    As daylight had already begun to slip away, campfires rose within the campsite. Alongside the spitting flames, the aroma of the venison travelled within the air.


    "Keep up. I¡¯ll engage and you can follow up after I finish my set of skills. We¡¯ll take extra precautions," Water Fairy said to Lu Li, who stood behind her.


    Lu Li agreed; he had no objections.


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t a newbie; she didn¡¯t simply pick any single target to engage. As long as they hadn¡¯t entered the range of the monsters, the monsters wouldn¡¯t care about them.


    The two Thieves walked freely around the campsite; they didn¡¯t run across any scouts in Stealth mode.


    They had previously imagined the place to be on full alert with scouts and guards everywhere...


    "Why is the defense so slack?" Water Fairy wasn¡¯t satisfied. It felt as if she had wasted her efforts over nothing.


    "There¡¯s a limit to how hard these quests can be."


    This was a quest that Lu Li received after he bribed the hostess. The Syndicates in this area most likely consisted of recruits; it was almost impossible for them to contain any higher ranks.


    Water Fairy explored around the ruins for some distance and locked onto a Syndicate Mage who had been singled out. It appeared as if he was gathering.


    She slowly approached, light on her foot, footsteps almost silent.


    The Syndicate Mage, who had been gathering some Earthroot, felt something. He quickly swung around, his staff already risen in mid-air.


    This was to be expected from a level 35 monster. With a five-level advantage, it didn¡¯t matter how much precaution Water Fairy took.


    However, Water Fairy was a famous Thief. The proud girl wanted to show Lu Li that she, too, was capable. Her body bent forward and with the speed of lightning, she stabbed her dagger into the Syndicate Mage¡¯s brain.


    The Syndicate Mage paused as a row of damage text floated above the top of his head.


    Lu Li had to admit that Water Fairy¡¯s gear was impressive indeed.


    Although she didn¡¯t have as many Gold equips as Lu Li, her gear consisted mainly of level 30 Silvers.


    "Level 35 elite ¨C it¡¯s going to be a bit troublesome. 3, 2, 1, your turn!"


    Lu Li instantly casted Premeditation and Cheap Shot. The Syndicate Mage, who was supposed to have regained his consciousness, was stunned again. With the great teamwork between the two, the poor Syndicate Mage never got to see his murderers.


    Lu Li looted the corpse. The system stated that he received some coins, Silk Cloth and a Syndicate Emblem.


    "What¡¯s this?" Water Fairy was curious.


    Although she usually looked cold, there was a still feminine side to her.


    "Quest item." Lu Li didn¡¯t try to keep any secrets and he handed the Syndicate Emblem to her.


    "So this is the thing that caused my reputation to drop¡­" Water Fairy studied the item for a bit; her tone wasn¡¯t too happy.


    Lu Li checked the system record and found that the system had deducted his Syndicate reputation by five points. The Ravenholdt Reputation increased it by one point, so this was a one-to-five trade. It was no wonder why Water Fairy wasn¡¯t happy.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t care about the deduction of his Syndicate reputation. From the moment he had joined the Ravenholdt Manor, the Syndicates were destined to become his enemies.


    It¡¯s a shame that these monsters weren¡¯t easy to kill, or else they¡¯d make a good way for him to gain reputation.


    "The Syndicate isn¡¯t a good organization with a bright future. Their reputation isn¡¯t very useful; you didn¡¯t lose much," Lu Li said, trying to make up an excuse.


    Every faction was bound to have their own use.A player¡¯s reputation would be the deciding factor on how these factions treated them.


    "As if I¡¯d believe you. What are Syndicates?" Water Fairy felt as if she had jumped into Lu Li¡¯s trap, but she was the one who had agreed to the task, so she didn¡¯t complain.


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t the type to consider too far ahead.


    "Just a bunch of bandits," Lu Li explained. "Their members mostly consist of exiled Alterac nobles and their current leader is Duke Fakures. Right now, they¡¯re occupying areas of the Alterac Mountains and hills of Hillsbrad."


    "Bandits?" Water Fairy didn¡¯t believe him.


    "There¡¯s no need for me to lie to you. These people took back their ancestors¡¯ territory through battles, assassinations, lies and theft." From the perspective of the Assassin League, Lu Li felt the need to demonstrate his disdain. "They only fight for their own cause. If someone is capable of helping them to achieve their final goal, they¡¯d also consider working together. "


    The ¡®working together¡¯ mentioned here referred to the quests that players received.


    "Working together would only happen if your reputation wasn¡¯t negative," Water Fairy said. "What¡¯s this Ravenholdt Manor?"


    "You have so many questions," Lu Li sighed. He didn¡¯t enjoy talking to smart people. Why was this woman always capable of grasping the main point?


    "I¡¯m doing quests for you; I should have the right to know some details," Water Fairy said, pretending that she had been wronged.


    Wow, and now she actually enjoys faking it.


    They were doing quests together after all, so he still gave her some details about Ravenholdt Manor.


    "So you¡¯re already a part of a small faction!" Water Fairy exclaimed in shock.


    People like her, who had some sort of background to support them, had their own ways of receiving information. It was no secret for them that there were other small factions available to join apart from the two main factions.


    The main factions existed to create conflict, while the small factions gave opportunity.


    "I¡¯m only ahead by a bit." Lu Li wasn¡¯t being modest; small factions weren¡¯t hard to join. There would be plenty more people who would join small factions in the future.


    "It¡¯s more than a bit," Water Fairy said, getting closer. "Name your price. Can you tell me how to join the Ravenholdt Manor, since we¡¯re allies?"


    She wasn¡¯t entirely certain about their alliance before, but now, she felt more and more confident in it.


    "It¡¯s just luck..." Lu Li was about to decline out of habit, but he knew better this time from his past experience. Not to mention, they were also allies as well.


    "You should think twice before you lie. Do you really believe in luck?" Water Fairy shot back, clearly displaying that she was unimpressed with her expression.


    There was no denying that she was a real beauty; her expressions were pretty from any angle.


    "You know, there are a lot of small factions out there. What if I chose a bad one? Good things usually don¡¯t show up at the start..." Lu Li replied, wanting to lessen his competition.


    The available quests for each small faction were set, which meant that resources were limited.

 418 A Big Sale

    "It doesn¡¯t matter. I doubt you would choose to join a bad faction anyway. Say it, what¡¯s your price?" Water Fairy said without hesitation. She didn¡¯t place her confidence in Ravenholdt Manor, but instead, she placed her confidence in Lu Li¡¯s choice.


    "Do you solve everything with money?" Lu Li suddenly felt like he didn¡¯t like the way she spoke.


    This was something that was hard for him to imagine; he didn¡¯t really understand why either. Indeed, he did like money, and as long as money was involved, everything was negotiable.


    Besides Lu Xin, what could possibly be more important in this world than money?


    However, he quickly dismissed his feelings. Before Water Fairy got to speak, he gestured with his hands and said, "500,000 first. No refunds, no matter what happens, and another 500,000 on top after it¡¯s done.


    A million dollars for a guide ¨C other people probably would¡¯ve thought that he was crazy.


    In 2015, the entire gaming industry raked in a total of 900 billion USD. After two hundred years had passed, this number had multiplied and the gaming industry had become the largest contributor to the entertainment industry. However, only a small amount of the rich people would be willing to pay a million dollars to play a game.


    "Okay."


    Water Fairy happened to be one of those rich people; she didn¡¯t even try to lower the price.


    "We¡¯ll talk while doing the quest."


    Lu Li had just sealed a big deal, but he barely felt happy.


    In order not to attract unnecessary attention, they played the game safely and only engaged when they ran into a good chance. They spent most of the time in Stealth mode as they waited for their chance, and only killed three Syndicates after an hour.


    "In order to join the Assassin League..." Lu Li began to explain his strategies to Water Fairy.


    "What¡¯s the Assassin League?" Water Fairy asked.


    "The Assassin League refers to the Ravenholdt Manor, or perhaps the Ravenholdt Manor is a part of the Assassin League, but this is only my guess." Since they couldn¡¯t rush the quest, Lu Li was patient.


    Messages were sent with their consciousness. It was silent and wasn¡¯t troublesome either.


    "Assassin League¡­The name sounds pretty cool; it feels like it¡¯s suitable for Thieves. You even told me it¡¯s not good." Water Fairy immediately liked it as soon as she heard the name.


    "Thieves are the same as Assassins." Lu Li felt tired talking to girls ¨C they were already off topic.


    "Continue. How do I join?" Water Fairy asked.


    "You need a Ravenholdt Emblem first. Something like this," Lu Li said as he waved the Syndicate Emblem in his hands.


    "So I need to kill recruits from Ravenholdt Manor to loot the emblem?"


    It sounded simple and the guide didn¡¯t sound like it was worth a million, but Water Fairy didn¡¯t think that Lu Li would lie for his money. Gaming masters had their own pride.


    "We¡¯re only getting these emblems because we have a quest, and these are quest items too. Once you attack someone from the Ravenholdt Manor, you¡¯d instantly become an enemy. How would you join the faction then," Lu Li said, shaking his head.


    "Then what should I do instead? I¡¯ll listen to you." Water Fairy responded.


    "All of the compulsory quests to join the Ravenholdt Manor are in Southshore. The hostess of the Southshore is in charge of the Alliance players, while the Thief Skills Trainer in Tarren Mill is for the Horde faction..."


    He didn¡¯t bother suggesting to Water Fairy to find Doan. Doan didn¡¯t have a good chance to drop the emblem and the average teams weren''t capable of completing the dungeon in Nightmare mode either.


    "Do you mean we¡¯ll send people to keep an eye on these two?" Water Fairy asked, her eyes glistening.


    "Do you want me to talk, or do you want to do the talking?" Lu Li felt a little weak; the girl was too smart.


    He spent the majority of his time with girls like Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream, who were both cute, but not too smart. It was hard for him to adjust to talking to someone like Water Fairy, who always managed to finish his sentences for him.


    "You do the talking." Water Fairy secretly rolled her eyes.


    And he claims that he wasn¡¯t chauvinistic.


    "Send someone to keep watch all the time. As soon as the target is found, we¡¯ll both act on it." Lu Li coughed for a bit before he continued, "You have some people in the Horde faction too, right? Keeping watch shouldn¡¯t be too hard for you."


    "No problem at all. What¡¯s after?"


    "You¡¯ll have to wait for news. The emblem is an item that will definitely drop. We just have to wait for the target; there¡¯s no where they¡¯d be able to escape," Lu Li said.


    Even Sorrowless wouldn¡¯t be able to make it out alive with two of the best Thieves targeting him.


    As he explained the guide for Ravenholdt Manor to Water Fairy, they also harvested the lives of the Syndicates. One by one, these unlucky characters turned into experience for the two Thieves.


    Eventually, there were only two Syndicate Emblems left until the quest was completed.


    "There¡¯s about half an hour left until the game time for today is over. Should we get closer," Water Fairy asked Lu Li as she hid in the bushes.


    "Be patient."


    They had killed almost everything in the outer circle, but the monsters were closer together in the inner circle. They had encountered a Syndicate Thief previously, and had only managed to stay hidden because Lu Li was quick enough and used a Cheap Shot on his target with his cape.


    Water Fairy turned her head to look at the calm face of Lu Li; she felt like he wasn¡¯t brave at all.


    Most guys would try to act brave and make themselves look good in front of girls.


    The firewood wasn¡¯t dry enough and the campfires made a constant crackling noise. Quite a few Syndicate recruits had already entered the tent to rest and night patrols had started to take action. They didn¡¯t notice that they had lost eight comrades.


    "Kill the one beside the campfire," Lu Li whispered.


    "Isn¡¯t it too dangerous to get near the campfire?" Water Fairy disagreed.


    Just when she thought he was conservative, he had suddenly become radical.


    "His comrades are all patrolling now. That position is the blind spot for the others. The distance is further too. If we be careful, we should fine." Lu Li didn¡¯t care if he was conservative or radical ¨C all he saw was his chance.


    Water Fairy nodded her head and successfully used Cheap Shot after she snuck closer.


    There was only the sound of a dagger entering flesh that echoed in the air. The Syndicate Guard was entirely controlled by the two Thieves.


    Kidney Strike proved its worth in this situation.


    Poof!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t expect the guard to drop his sword and make such a big noise.


    Shouldn¡¯t the guard have been holding onto his sword tightly even after his death?


    "Who¡¯s there?" Following a loud shout, the entire Syndicate camp erupted into activity.


    "Run!"


    Water Fairy jumped into the ruins on the side and quickly left her original spot.


    Magic and arrows flew by, and people ran around frantically. Although these Syndicate characters weren¡¯t strong as individuals, they were all experienced. They tracked them down based on their scent and voices.


    Water Fairy ran fast, not daring to stay in her spot and let herself be surrounded by level 35 monsters.


    After a few turns, she finally got rid of her pursuers. When she turned around, she realized that Lu Li wasn¡¯t following behind her like usual.


    "Did he die?" Water Fairy scratched her head in confusion.

 419 Nowhere to Hide

    There was no way that Lu Li had died; he just didn¡¯t run with Water Fairy. While Water Fairy ran away, he found a discreet place to hide by himself.


    The campsite was in a mess; they had only just noticed that nine people were missing.


    They actually didn¡¯t need to count who was missing one-by-one ¨C there would be people who reported on the missing members from their team. What followed was fear and rage.


    Around a hundred people had become prey and nine of them were actually killed.


    "Ravenholdt ¨C it must be them. Find them! I¡¯m going to break every single one of their bones!"


    The commander, who was a semi-boss, instructed the Syndicate recruits to find the killers from their opposing faction.


    The system gave them wisdom. In their heads, this was the Ravenholdt Manor provoking them.


    The time when everything had begun remained unknown, but Ravenholdt and the Syndicate had been enemies for a long time, and players from these factions often fought against each other.


    The loss of rational thinking and their tracking gave Lu Li a chance.


    Their team formation had been broken, as most of them went to chase down Water Fairy. The few Syndicate Hunters were all sent out to cast Flare along the way.


    Lu Li was once again happy for himself that he had chosen a good place to hide.


    The heavy wall and the trees along the wall provided him a good hiding place, a place that wouldn¡¯t expose him under the Flares.


    As the crowd left, Lu Li came out from his hiding place.


    The entire camp had settled and only a few recruits remained on guard.


    Lu Li walked around the camp and actually managed to find a few weaklings. There were a few injured recruits in the barracks. This was when he finally realized the shortcut to the ques ¨C the easiest targets were these injured recruits.


    They only had half of a health bar and were mostly asleep or unconscious.


    Lu Li spent an entire seven minutes to carefully kill five injured recruits. Soon, a dark red raven rose into the night and drew a dark light across the night sky.


    Chances are, when the Syndicate Commander returned, he would be very cranky.


    Lu Li landed close to Water Fairy. He had already seen the message that Water Fairy sent; he just didn¡¯t have time to reply.


    "Who...who¡¯s there?" Any movement in the middle of the night seemed frightening, not to mention Water Fairy had just been pursued by a pack of level 35 monsters.


    "It¡¯s me," Lu Li said as he walked out from the dark. The moonlight was dim, so his appearance seemed extra-eerie.


    "You didn¡¯t die?" Water Fairy asked as she examined Lu Li.


    "Of course not," Lu Li shook his head.


    "So, you left a girl and ran on your own."


    Water Fairy decided to look down on Lu Li, but she discovered that Lu Li was too shameless to even recognize this. He didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with his actions.


    "I didn¡¯t run, you did," Lu Li corrected her calmly.


    "..." as expected from a smart person, Water Fairy immediately understood. "You used me as a bait?"


    "Yeah, you run pretty fast," Lu Li complimented.


    "Damn you!" Why did she feel like this guy was being spiteful? Water Fairy wasn¡¯t impressed.


    "Mission completed. I have to thank you for your help," Lu Li thanked her sincerely, then checked the time. "It¡¯s late now. Let¡¯s go offline and rest."


    Under the shocked gaze of Water Fairy, Lu Li teleported back to the city and his team portrait immediately dimmed out.


    If she had a mirror by her side, she would have checked herself out, just to see if the Syndicate had poured sulfuric acid on her face.


    After he went offline, Lu Li immediately went to his sister¡¯s room.


    Ding, ding, ding...


    Lu Li pressed the doorbell again and again, which was connected to the virtual device.


    This was the action that he had to repeat constantly over the past few days to send his sister to bed. She was a trading-skill player, so she had an extra two hours of game time compared to Lu Li, who was a combat player.


    The gaming device kept the players in a light sleep, but combat players would use a little more energy.


    "I had already slept. You woke me up," Lu Xin said as she opened her door with a sleepy look on her face.


    "Stop pretending. You were still online when I went offline." Lu Li was speechless ¨C it had only been a short amount of time and she had already learned how to lie to him.


    "Bro¡­" Lu Xin felt slightly awkward.


    "Hand over your helmet," Lu Li commanded as he extended his hands.


    "No! I¡¯m about to reach advanced level in Alchemy. Just another hour¡­" Lu Xin begged as she batted her watery eyes.


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes were slightly longer than hers, and they were black and deep. Lu Xin¡¯s eyes were quite round, so she seemed extra cute when she batted them.


    "Xin Xin¡­" Lu Li bent forwards so that he was staring at his sister in her face. "If you don¡¯t listen, we¡¯re moving out."


    "Ah! You¡¯re threatening me!" Lu Xin exclaimed in shock.


    A long time ago, when they moved out from the old house, she had wanted a home of her own. But now, her thoughts had begun to change. She was scared when she first moved into an unfamiliar place, but the three big sisters here had been extra nice to her and she had grown to like them.


    "We have money now. We can afford to rent an entire house like this." Lu Li didn¡¯t feel ashamed to threaten a little girl at all. He patted his sister¡¯s head and said, "Pass over your helmet. I¡¯ll give it back to you after I wake up."


    "..." Lu Xin pouted her lips, then ran back and brought out her helmet. "Bro, can you get me a recipe for an Advanced Healing Potion?"


    "Nope," Lu Li declined without a second thought. "Even if I have it, I won¡¯t give it to you."


    "Why?" Lu Xin was envious of the alchemist who had learned the Advanced Healing Potion recipe. The alchemist was treated like a celebrity in the guild.


    "If you learn that now, you¡¯re going to have to make a lot of potions. It¡¯s too tiring," Lu Li comforted.


    Lu Xin wasn¡¯t an unreasonable child; she understood that she needed good rest too. As such, she was only slightly disappointed and didn¡¯t press on the topic.


    "The hospital called me yesterday; there¡¯s good news. I think we¡¯ll be asked for a re-examination within these few days," Lu Li said gently as she pressed on his sister¡¯s shoulders.


    Lu Xin¡¯s face was slightly pale. "Do I have to go through surgery?"


    In an advanced age like this, it was easy for a little girl to search and learn about heart transplants.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll find the best doctor for you."


    A sour taste rested at the tip of his tongue, but he didn¡¯t give in on this topic. There were no escape for some things.

 420 Levelling

    Not only was there the most famous surgeon in the country, but there were also many experts. No matter what problem arose, there would be someone to solve it.


    For this, Lu Li had paid a price of two million dollars, and this was only the price of the surgery. Only a billionaire would do something like this.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t a billionaire, but he would pay any amount for his sister.


    Lu Xin handed over her helmet, then Lu Li took her out to eat.


    He had begun to treasure times like this; the three girls didn¡¯t try to fight for his sister¡¯s time either.


    He received a text message from his phone. It was the bank notifying him of a bank transfer into his account.


    It was probably the money transferred by Water Fairy; she was someone who kept her promises.


    The next day when he came online, Lu Li walked out from the hotel room and arrived at the bar downstairs.


    "It¡¯s good to be young. It¡¯s hard for someone old like me to dream sweet dreams again."


    There weren¡¯t a lot of people in the hotel, so the old owner, Kaili, even had time to greet Lu Li.


    "Greetings. Please give me a cup of wine." Lu Li went to the corner and sat in his usual spot.


    The corner was dark and closed-off, and the stairs were right above it. Sometimes, when people walked on the stairs, dust would fall down. As such, the average customers won¡¯t choose a spot like this.


    "Give the table on the left a cup of wine, and give him extra cheese with it," Kaili shouted.


    The hostess was quick to come out with a plate in her hands.


    "Sir, your wine. This is the cheese from Kaili." The hostess put down the plate and placed the wine and cheese in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li placed the emblems and a handful of silver coins into the plate.


    The system notified him that he has completed the quest. His rewards included reputation, experience and a pair of level 30 silver grade pants for Thieves. The pants weren¡¯t as good as Lu Li¡¯s current ones, but the attributes were decent. They were good news for the Thieves in the guild.


    The experience reward was very generous. Lu Li was originally 14% from leveling up, but now, he gained 4% experience.


    4% experience was a lot for his current level, especially considering that he had only killed around a dozen monsters. The rewards from small faction quests were always attractive.


    "Lu Li, that¡¯s a lot of experience."


    Water Fairy seemed to have received some experience rewards on her end as well. She immediately sent a message across.


    In Dawn, the rewards of a quest could be split with quest helpers. Water Fairy wasn¡¯t a part of the Ravenholdt Manor, so she couldn¡¯t receive any reputation or equipment, but she did receive a decent amount of experience.


    The two of them split the total experience reward together.


    "If you join a small faction in the future, you¡¯ll receive these kinds of quests too," Lu Li said.


    "I¡¯ve already sent people on standby. Once they discover anyone suspicious, I¡¯ll notify you," Water Fairy replied, then mercilessly added, "If anyone dares to take my emblem, I¡¯ll kill them."


    You¡¯re the one who¡¯s taking other people¡¯s items.


    Lu Li was wise enough to keep his mouth shut.


    He stripped a note from the bottom of his wine cup with his other hand, then finished the cup of wine in one go and left the bar.


    Quest: Find Someone


    Target: Pamela Redpath


    Description: Jessica Redpath, from Everlook of Wintersrping, has sent us (Assassin League) a quest and some lead.


    A seven-star assassin has appeared before in the history of Redpath. We cannot ignore the request of his descendants. The quest has to be handed to someone trustworthy.


    According to the reports, Lodaren was impacted by the Scourge. Before the Scourge turned the place into ruins, Jessica Redpath was lucky enough to escape, but her family wasn¡¯t so fortunate.


    We¡¯re worried that her family members have all died during the war of Darrowshire.


    Darrowshire is located in the Southern mountains of the Eastern Plaguelands. Newbie, go and find her family members, especially her sister, Pamela.


    Quest Requirement: Find Pamela, must be completed alone.


    Quest Return: Contact


    Quest Reward: Experience, reputation and equipment


    It seemed that there were only so many times that Lu Li could work around the system. No matter how nice the hostess seemed, quests from a small faction could only be so easy.


    The current quest was harder than the previous one.


    The Eastern Plaguelands weren¡¯t an area of low-leveled monsters. Lu Li has been there once and he still remained frightful of it. The overall level of the monsters in the Eastern Plaguelands was lower than the monsters in the central area, but the difference wasn¡¯t that large. There would definitely be some level 35 monsters, and possibly some level 38 monsters too.


    Most importantly, this was a quest for one player.


    It was best to not try and cheat on the system. If the system stated that it was a single player quest, it was best to do the quest by yourself.


    If Lu Li sent people to wipe out the monsters there and entered there by himself after, the system would still possibly class that as cheating. The punishments of cheating were severe.


    He needed to hit level 32 and change his weapon first.


    He remembered that he had promised Water Fairy to go and level up together, so he brought some supplies and headed towards Dustwallow Marsh.


    The Dustwallow Marsh was connected with the Great Sea on the East and the Barrenlands on the Northwest. On the Southside of the marsh was the Needlestone Forest, but a long line of mountains stood in between. There were no shortcuts to cross to the other side.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have the courage to teleport to Rattan City, so he spent some time to go around.


    "When are you coming?" Water Fairy had already hustled Lu Li a few times in between.


    "I¡¯m here."


    Lu Li flew in the sky while he took the risk of being attacked by flying monsters.


    From a bird¡¯s eye view, the Dustwallow Marsh was like its name ¨C a big, stinky marsh. The grasslands and plants formed the geography of the area.


    Although Lu Li flew in the air, he was still able to feel the heat and moisture modified by the system.


    Such a wonderful place.


    It was hard for him to imagine that Water Fairy would ask him to level up in this kind of environment. She was really willing to give up her image for experience.


    When Lu Li arrived, he found that Water Fairy was unable to kill the Mud Monsters herself. All she could do was to kill the crocodiles in the nearby pond.


    The crocodiles had a lot of health, and also had good defense and attack attributes. As such, it took her a lot of effort to kill them.


    "Come help me." Water Fairy drank a potion as she was pushed back by the crocodile.


    Lu Li went up to help and with the two of them together, the level 35 elite crocodile soon dropped dead. The experience they received was very impressive.


    "It¡¯s a shame there aren¡¯t enough crocodiles, or else..." Water Fairy looked at the crocodiles, which were much cleaner compared to the Mud Monsters that wriggled around in the mud.


    "Just switch off your smelling and taste sensors." Lu Li wasn¡¯t into these kind of things; he had deactivated his own sensor systems already.


    "I already switched them off, but this is still pretty gross," Water Fairy said with a frown.


    Mud Monsters were level 35 Elites, so an arrow by Lu Li only took around 20 points of their health.The damage he dealt wasn¡¯t ideal at all.


    "I haven¡¯t found a good bow to swap to. We¡¯re only using these to attract monsters anyway. Why are you staring at me like that?"


    "Let¡¯s see who deals more damage. We¡¯ll bet for one hour on a level 30 Silver grade equipment. Thoughts?" Water Fairy suggested.


    "Sure. As if I¡¯ll chicken out on this?!" Lu Li didn¡¯t believe that Water Fairy could deal more damage than him.

 421 North Point Tower

    Although their gear was under-levelled, Lu Li had high critical chance as well as a high skill completion rate. Additionally, Mud Monsters were relatively weak for Elite monsters and as such, they didn¡¯t have to worry about their positioning and could solely focus on maximizing their DPS.


    He was able to keep up in DPS with Lonesome Flower who was an elite Mage while giving orders to the other members of his team. Water Fairy was not trailing very far behind.


    They had a bet between themselves to see who dealt the most DPS after an hour. The poor Mud Monsters were slaughtered immediately as soon as they spawned.


    An hour passed by quickly and the time was up. Lu Li glanced at the total DPS chart and his expression changed.


    How could he have lost? Although the difference was quite small, it was an undeniable fact that he had lost.


    "Give it here." Water Fairy was extremely pleased that she had beaten Lu Li.


    Lu Li admitted defeat and handed over the Silver grade equip that he had just obtained. He looked at Water Fairy¡¯s body and asked, "What equips were you wearing? You can¡¯t be wearing a full Silver grade set.


    "Not all of my equips are Silver, but most of them are. The thing is, I have different sets of armor for PVP, dungeons and training, so you stood no chance from the very beginning." Water Fairy couldn¡¯t care less about the winning prize; she was more pleased about beating Lu Li.


    "¡­." Lu Li finally realised what pay to win meant.


    Her way of playing the game didn¡¯t require skill or hacks for her to be the best. All she had to do was to spend money and pay for the most overpowered gear in the game. She had invested double the time and resources for her gear compared to other star players.


    "Should we keep going?" Water Fairy was enjoying her victory.


    "Sure, just let me change my gear first." Lu Li threw his level 30 Silver grade dagger back into his inventory and equipped his Polluter¡¯s Fragment.


    Polluter¡¯s Fragment (Dark Gold): 42-56 damage, +20 agility, +12 strength, Socket Slot 1(Enhanced). Special Effect 1: Attack speed +30%, Special Effect 2: Pollution, active. Decreases target¡¯s armour and movement speed by 25%, cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 3: Fatal Strike, when the target¡¯s HP drops below 20%, chance to kill the target instantly. Requires level 40 (-8), Durability 120/120.


    After he equipped the Polluter¡¯s Fragment, his attack and overall stats were all boosted significantly.


    Since they were training on Elite monsters that gave about 7-8 times the EXP of normal monsters, Lu Li finally levelled up to level 32 after an hour of double EXP. This allowed him to equip his new dagger.


    How much could his new dagger boost his DPS by?


    Water Fairy was the first to witness the power of his new dagger. After another hour, Lu Li had overtaken Water Fairy on the DPS chart and had dealt 5% more damage overall.


    As time went on, the difference between their overall damage grew.


    "Your dagger is so fast!" Water Fairy handed over the item back to Lu Li without hesitating and stared at Lu Li¡¯s new dagger. "Want to sell it to me? I guarantee that the price will be worth it."


    "No." Lu Li rejected her straight up.


    "Why not? Even if you sold me the dagger, you¡¯d still be better than the majority of top players." Water Fairy had her eyes on the dagger the whole time and was determined to buy it. "I can lend it back to you if you¡¯re worried about the upcoming tournament."


    "Not for sale. Simple as that," Lu Li said as he patted her on the head like he did to his little sister.


    Water Fairy was shocked. Ever since her parents got divorced, no one had dared to pat her on the head. She couldn¡¯t believe that she was being patted on the head by some random guy in a game.


    Although she was slightly triggered, she held in her anger.


    After a day of training and quarrelling with one another, Water Fairy had levelled up to level 31 and Lu Li had gained about a third of his current EXP bar.


    The next day, the two decided to train together again.


    The EXP gained from Mud Monsters was much higher than completing quests.


    Lu Li had just completed the Scarlet Dungeon Series and was focused on levelling up before he attempted the next available dungeon.


    He was still topping the Level Rankings with several players closely behind him.


    Besides Water Fairy, I No Understand and some others from Glory Capital were all level 31. There were players from certain guilds who were focused solely on levelling up and never got involved in PVP or dungeons.


    Lu Li found that grinding on monsters was too boring, so he found other shortcuts to level up faster.


    The efficiency of training on Mud Monsters was completely unexpected for him. Having a partner like Water Fairy to train with was also a pleasant surprise. Because of this, he decided to stay here for a while.


    System: North Point Tower is under attack. Players, please come and defend the point.


    The notification was flashing brightly because it was very urgent. Lu Li saw the notification from the system and was hesitant. Although these events were exciting, levelling up was also very important.


    "There¡¯s going to be a fight; did you see the notification?" Water Fairy was excited.


    "I saw," Lu Li replied.


    "I wonder if it¡¯s similar to the Defend the Meisnera Outpost."


    Water Fairy was already getting ready to leave.


    "Are you going to go and stop levelling up? Most players that participate in the event are quite high-levelled which will bring the monsters up to level 35 or even level 40¡­"


    Level 40 monsters would be too difficult for Lu Li and Water Fairy and they would risk the chance of dying.


    There was no EXP penalty for dying in dungeons, however, in the Wild, the penalty for dying was 10% EXP. At their current level, 10% EXP was equivalent to 2 to 3 hours of grinding.


    "Of course I¡¯m going to go. We have to defend the North Point Tower for the Alliance." Water Fairy¡¯s adrenaline was kicking in, but she was probably just bored of grinding on monsters.


    Not everyone had the patience to grind monsters repeatedly for days on end.


    The appearance of the monsters they were grinding didn¡¯t help either. They looked like big grubs wriggling around in the mud.


    "Alright, but be careful. If we die then that¡¯s 10% EXP that we can¡¯t get back," Lu Li agreed, hoping that he could obtain some decent items out of this.


    The two packed their things and headed to North Point Tower.


    The North Point Tower was the Alliance¡¯s first line of defence at the border of Theramore¡¯s Fall.


    Captain Darrell and Sergeant Lukas took post at the North Point Tower. The two NPCs were usually enough to fend off most attacks.


    Lu Li was hoping that the enemies wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to deal with.

 422 Right Or Wrong

    When they arrived at North Point Tower, the battle had already begun. Ogre Trainers were herding Blood Fang Raptors, and were charging towards the Alliance defence.


    "How come there are so little people?" Water Fairy was confused.


    She had imagined hundreds and thousands of players participating in the event, similar to Meisnera Outpost.


    However, she only saw 30 or so players participating.


    "Only players level 30 and above received the system notification. Players under level 30 do not receive the notification and cannot participate in the event. Theramore¡¯s Fall is very¡­" Lu Li explained as he gave her a look of ¡®I told you so¡¯.


    The map was very difficult to train at and the monsters were disgusting, so most players preferred to level up elsewhere. The fact that almost 30 players had turned up to the event was quite unexpected.


    "What should we do?" They had arrived late and their path to the outpost was blocked off by the battle.


    "Let¡¯s loop around from the river and stay down low. We don¡¯t want the archers at the tower to mistake us for the enemy," Lu Li reminded her as he led the way. They went all the way around and followed the nearby river.


    The patrolling NPC guards saw the two Alliance players and let their guard down.


    They entered the outpost and met Captain Darrell, who was ready to give out the quest. Standing next to him was Unforgettable Maple who held a long pole.


    Unforgettable Maple was a star player from Majin Temple, and was also known as the most famous Mage in the game. Even though Sorrowless was considered as a top Mage player, Unforgettable Maple was still known as the Mage God.


    "If it isn¡¯t the scum¡­ cough, cough, Lu Li and Water Fairy."


    The phrase ¡®scumbag couple¡¯ almost slipped out of Unforgettable Maple¡¯s mouth but he quickly recovered smoothly.


    "The Mage God is here as well?" Lu Li chuckled and accepted the quest.


    "I¡¯ll go ahead. You guys take your time." Unforgettable Maple left after greeting them, not planning on joining their party. Thieves were a solo class and didn¡¯t go well with Mages in terms of team composition.


    Darrell¡¯s Blessing: Attack +20%, Defence +20%, certain chance to ignore target defence.


    This buff was probably given to balance out the level difference between the level 30 players and level 40 monsters.


    By the time Lu Li and Water Fairy had left after accepting the quest, Unforgettable Maple was already outside and was busy casting Blizzard. Mages had it easy in these types of events because they could stand from afar and cast AOE skills without risking their lives.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy looked at each other, then jumped down and began fighting.


    Unlike Unforgettable Maple, they were both melee classes and had to get close to their targets in order to deal damage.


    They chose a corner where the battle was less intense with less monsters and more players.


    It was difficult to assassinate someone with so many players around. Lu Li and Water Fairy went into Stealth mode and snuck behind a Paladin.


    Paladins had high defence as well as healing, so if Lu Li was alone, there would be no chance of killing him in one combo.


    However, Lu Li was with another expert Thief who had comparable damage to him.


    The poor Paladin didn¡¯t even have the chance to turn around and see who had assassinated him before he was instantly turned into a corpse.


    The Horde players immediately turned towards the two and began ganging up on them.


    Everyone participating had to be level 30 and above, so they were all considered to be the top players in the game.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy both escaped immediately without hesitation.


    The horde players were too afraid to chase after them and continued attacking the Alliance defence begrudgingly.


    With the two expert Thieves lurking near them, the Horde players became very intimidated. Even though they were tightly-packed and stood close to one another, they felt like they were the wildebeests being hunted by lions on the savanna. The fear drove them to become toxic and they began insulting the two Alliance Thieves.


    "You guys are so shameless. You guys preach about justice and righteousness yet you lurk in the shadows and hide away!" a Tauren shouted with his deep voice."Come out if you dare to PVP me!"


    Lu Li ignored him because he knew that if he revealed himself, it would be certain death.


    "You guys stole the cargo from the Dawn ship and killed off all the crewmen. You¡¯ve even captured captain Ithania. Who knows how she¡¯s doing now. Are you going to take the side of evildoers¡­?" The Tauren was very well spoken and was probably on the debating team at his school. He explained the details of the event from beginning to end.


    "?" Water Fairy looked at Lu Li with a confused expression.


    "!" Lu Li nodded to signal that the Tauren was telling the truth.


    In reality, the Light and Evil Faction were simply the names given to the two factions. Neither factions were always right or wrong. Although the Horde had a reputation of being the savages in Dawn, Humans had committed equally ruthless things in the past. Even the Elves and High Elves had a history of mass killing of the innocent.


    Water Fairy became discouraged and unhappy.


    The beautiful girl had a strong sense of justice, and was very strong-willed and opinionated.


    "It¡¯s just a game. Besides, who knows where they got the cargo on the ship from? Maybe they slaughtered a town and took all their possessions with them. There are many savage Horde pirates that would kill innocent people for their money and possession," Lu Li consoled.


    He consoled her because of the bond that they had formed in the past two days of training together.


    "What if we secretly released Ithania or whatever her name is?" Water Fairy suggested.


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li was speechless.


    Why is it that girls always have a different mindset from guys?


    His little sister would also come up with ridiculous ideas that would never cross Lu Li¡¯s mind.


    "Who cares about the reward? If you really want the reward, then I¡¯ll pay you to help me," Water Fairy said as she stared at Lu Li expectantly.


    Once she made up her mind, she would do anything to complete it, no matter how difficult it was.


    "It¡¯s just a game and this is just a quest. Look at all the players around you ¨C none of them care about why they¡¯re fighting," Lu Li emphasized again.


    "How can you be so cold-blooded?" Water Fairy heard Lu Li¡¯s response and felt like she had been wronged.


    "Stop. Can we not fight about this stupid matter?" Lu Li was speechless again.


    In reality, it wouldn¡¯t matter to him at all whether they completed the quest or not. It was just a simple Outpost Defend quest, and the rewards would most likely be some EXP and a crappy piece of gear.

 423 Two Boss Battles

    "Oh, my bad." Water Fairy realized that she had crossed the line after she spoke.


    She and Lu Li weren¡¯t that close. They have had several exchanges, but they were basically transactions between two guilds as allies. They didn¡¯t really have a personal friendship.


    "Don¡¯t worry about it." Lu Li didn¡¯t mind and explained, "These Outpost Guards belong to Theramore. Their leader is Jaina. Although Jaina is hated by the Alliance because she allowed her father General Proudmoore to be killed by the Horde, she is one of the most dangerous people to offend in Dawn."


    As the Scourge spread, Jaina followed her teacher Antonidas to investigate the plague of the Eastern Plaguelands.


    They came across a prophet who pleaded with Antonidas to lead the people of Lordaeron to the West to Kalimdor. Antonidas regarded this prophet as a madman, but Jaina could feel his strength and felt like his warning should be heeded.


    The chain of events that followed were quite complex, but simply put, the prophet¡¯s predictions came true, one after another.


    Prince Arthas was betrayed, Lordaeron was left in ruins and the entire kingdom was ravaged by the Scourge.


    Jaina was finally convinced that the prophet was right and tried to find him.


    The name of this prophet was Medivh, son of Aegweynn. He was also the one who had that taught Lu Li the Crow Transformation. After his mother, he was one of the most formidable Mages in Dawn.


    Medivh encouraged Jaina to lead her people across the sea and go west into Kalimdor.


    Jaina listened to his advice, gathered some Lordaeron fugitives and Kirin Tor Mages, and defeated the Orcs there. With Medivh acting as a mediator, she and the Horde Chief Saar established an alliance.


    Not long after, Theramore was established. The city was bigger than Astrana and its ports were very well developed.


    Later, Jaina, Saar, Malfurion, Tyrande participated in the Battle for Mount Hyjal against Archimonde, eventually defeating this character from the Burning Legion.


    Jaina and Arthas were once a couple. Chief Saar respected and admired her while Medivh stood by her side.


    In the Adjudicating Assembly set up by the Kirin Tor Mages, Jaina held a very powerful position. She also made up the majority of the Mages¡¯ power in the Alliance.


    If they offended a person like that, not only would be unable to play the game, but they would also be troubled wherever they went.


    Moreover, both Lu Li and Water Fairy weren¡¯t ordinary players ¨C there were tens of thousands of players behind both of them. As such, whatever happened to them would have vast consequences.


    "What now?" Water Fairy was unwilling, but showed some discretion.


    "Keep fighting. You should have no problems killing players from the other faction, right?" Lu Li said, trying to lighten the atmosphere with a light-hearted comment.


    Water Fairy rolled her eyes and cast Cheat Shot on a Thief that was trying to steal something.


    Killing players in this field was actually quite worthwhile. Not only did they receive Glory Points, but they also gained equipment. Moreover, this place wasn¡¯t filled with newbies, so any drops were worth thousands.


    Lu Li, Water Fairy and Unforgetful Maple were all Star players. By coordinating with a few Alliance players, they managed to kill more than a dozen Horde members. The strength gap was simply too wide so there was no suspense in the fight.


    After killing all the players, they began to deal with the rest.


    Lu Li dashed behind an elite Ogre and cast Premeditation, then Cheap Shot to accumulate star points and cause Crowd Control. Following this, he struck it with a Backstab.


    A damage value that was a little over 100 appeared over the Ogre¡¯s head.


    These level 40 Elite Ogres wielded large clubs. When Lu Li was struck with one, a bright red -678 appeared over his head. Over a third of his HP had suddenly disappeared.


    The Warlock next to him didn¡¯t have as much HP and turned white immediately after he was hit. The Ogre that had attacked him then turned its head and looked at Lu Li.


    Lu Li¡¯s senses began to tingle as his boots flashed and he teleported away.


    He already couldn¡¯t fight one, so if there were two together, he would definitely die.


    The two ogres lost their target, which meant the next nearest Alliance player was going to suffer. One player that didn¡¯t run away was quickly sandwiched by them.


    The Ogres were under the leadership of King Mok¡¯Morokk. He was participating in this battle as the spokesman for Rexxar, who had given him leadership over this tribe.


    Although Rexxar was a mix between an Orc and an Ogre, he was Saar¡¯s ally. He had teamed up with Demon Scout Rokhan and Pandaren Traveler Chen to protect Orgrimmar against Daelin Proudmoore¡¯s attack.


    In that fight, he had served as the commander.


    If the Outpost they had to defend was attacked by Rexxar, Lu Li would have walked away.


    Rexxar and his beloved brown bear Misha were definitely not something the players could contend with at this stage of the game. All of them would die, no matter how many of them there were.


    "Gather the injured; don¡¯t go too deep," Lu Li reminded.


    "The EXP is so good!" Water Fairy exclaimed in satisfaction.


    "Couldn¡¯t we be killing the mud monsters?" Lu Li disagreed, not particularly interested in this defensive battle. The level difference between the players meant that their contributions were limited.


    After fighting for over half an hour, both sides had dozens of injured players.


    At this time, King Morokk finally came to the forefront. He stood at the front of the Outpost tower and fiercely slammed his mace into the fence. Wood chips flew everywhere as the whole fence was almost completely destroyed.


    Sergeant Lukas held up his big sword and steadied himself.


    King Morokk reached Lukas in three steps and smashed into him. Lu Li could immediately see the vast difference in power as Sergeant Lukas was sent flying and bitterly hit the tower wall.


    Although he had lost the direct fight, Lukas wasn¡¯t dead yet. Captain Darill now stepped up, also carrying a large sword and holding it firmly against the opposition.


    "Hand over Ithania, shameless humans," King Morokk¡¯s boomed in a thunderous voice.


    "She was involved in the massacre of our village and must be tried!" Captain Darill refused, unwilling to give in. These Ogres had more brute force, but his excellent fighting skills put him in a strong position.


    However, there were also some weaknesses to his fighting.


    "This is slanderous!" King Morokk seemed to know that it wasn¡¯t an issue that could be discussed and completely dropped it to fight Captain Darill directly.


    The victory slowly tilted towards the Ogres as they were brutally bred to be warriors.


    At this time, Lukas returned to the battlefield once again, fighting side by side with his master to resist King Morokk. As others also collided together in melee battle, the casualties grew.

 424 Freely Swapping Between Factions

    Unforgetful Maple, who was hiding above, felt envious, not wanting to continue attacking the ¡®small monsters¡¯. The other monsters could give him the same amount of EXP in half an hour that he would normally gain after farming for a day.


    He charged up Frostbolt and fired it at King Morokk.


    Most of the damage being dealt to him was pitiful. Only when he was affected by Ignore Defence would an attack deal more than two digits.


    King Morokk¡¯s had over 500,000 HP, which was three times more a regular Instance Dungeon Boss. Due to his race, he had many different auras and commanded two armies. He even had the resources to target Unforgetful Maple.


    The Mage thought that his higher position was safe, so he didn¡¯t even realize that he had been targeted.


    A javelin appeared in King Morokk¡¯s hand and was thrown towards him at lightning speed. Given the arc of the javelin, Lu Li already knew Unforgetful Maple¡¯s fate.


    However, a Druid immediately appeared from behind his corpse to Resurrect him.


    This guy had a cunning plan ¨C keeping a Druid behind him at all times to Resurrect him whenever he needed it.


    Unfortunately for him, while he hesitated on whether he should call for backup, King Morokk threw another javelin.


    Unforgetful Maple died again, but the Druid did not run away. Soon enough, another javelin pierced the Druid in the chest and instantly turned him into a corpse as well.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy, who were initially indecisive, now had their answer. In their current circumstance, a battle between level 40 monsters wasn¡¯t something that they could interfere in.


    The presence of other players in the area had been completely eliminated by Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    "Let¡¯s leave; it¡¯s too dangerous." Lu Li was always risk averse and had already begun to retreat.


    "What about the quest? Have we completed it?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Who knows? If the tower isn¡¯t destroyed then you¡¯ll succeed. Otherwise, you¡¯ll fail. You¡¯ll just lose some reputation but it¡¯s not a big deal." Lu Li wasn¡¯t really counting on the Alliance to win.


    Water Fairy nodded and left the battlefield with Lu Li.


    It was too dangerous to advance, so they could only retreat. The two people quietly made their way to the Outpost.


    "Wait, let¡¯s look for Ithania. Pay attention to the guards in this Outpost. If there is anyone, do not act rashly," Lu Li said as he indicated for Water Fairy to split up.


    "Relax, this isn¡¯t my first time," Water Fairy grinned as she brandished her dagger.


    They looked through the rooms, two at a time. Lu Li eventually found Ithania locked in the basement and sent a message to Water Fairy.


    "Why aren¡¯t there any guards?" Water fairy asked.


    "The Alliance forces must have been inadequate. Ithania was injured so there was no one guarding her, although, the guard could be a Thief," Lu Li said quietly.


    "What then?" Water Fairy frowned. She couldn¡¯t think of a way out of this situation.


    "I¡¯ll go try. You keep a look out," Lu Li said.


    "Lu Li, you better not mess this up," Water Fairy reminded. She knew the gravity of the situation, so she wasn¡¯t sympathetic like when they had first started.


    It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t have compassion ¨C it was that the risk of loss was too great.


    For a second-rate guild like Drizzle Court to become what it was today, the Boss behind it all must have made very few mistakes.


    Lu Li sighed as he realized there was no way to do this without revealing a secret of his. However, it wasn¡¯t really much of a secret anymore as everyone knew about it.


    He took out the Deception Orb from his bag and turned into an Undead!


    He could have become another race from the Horde Faction, but in order to further reveal the secret, he chose something that everyone had already seen before.


    Lu Li had used this form to assassinate Sorrowless. After a thorough analysis, everyone now knew it was one of Lu Li¡¯s items.


    With the Deception Orb, Lu Li could freely swap between Factions. He could only be detected by someone who was really overpowered.


    "How did you do that¡­?" Water Fairy knew it was possible but had never seen it up close. She had also never seen an item completely change a person¡¯s faction and appearance.


    "I¡¯m not selling it," Lu Li said, cutting her off before she could even finish.


    "Psht, I hate you." Water Fairy bitterly stomped her foot and obediently continued watching at the look out.


    "Sufferable creature."


    Lu Li entered the room to find Ithania chained to a rack. The Blood Elf wrinkled her nose and had a look of disgust as she spoke.


    To the arrogant High Elves, the Undead were the worst, primarily because they were ugly.


    "Hello, Ms. Ithania." Lu Li revealed himself and greeted her with the signature husky voice that was unique to the Undead.


    Seeing that no one had rushed over to attack him yet, it appeared like there really was no one guarding the basement.


    "You know me? Who sent for me? Was it the King Morokk or the Stormwind Nobility?" Ithania didn¡¯t seem to enjoy the fact that she was being saved. Lu Li could even detect a hint of disgust in her voice.


    "Neither. We don¡¯t have much time; let me help you." No locking device could stop Lu Li¡¯s level 3 Unlock.


    Ithania must have been tortured as her body was scarred and she had a broken arm. Given the way she looked, she was probably unable to fight.


    "Who is outside?" Ithania asked Lu Li after listening.


    She still wasn¡¯t fond of Lu Li as a pile of bones, but her attitude had become slightly better. Lu Li started helping her without saying anything more as she hadn¡¯t mentioned any reward yet.


    "King Morokk, Captain Darill and Sargeant Lukas are fighting right now. So you want to engage them? Lu Li asked.


    "He¡¯s a dirty barbarian. Is there any other way out?¡¯ Ithania seemed to loathe King Morokk the Ogre, which made the doubts in Lu Li¡¯s heart more certain.


    Ithania was a very familiar sounding name, but he just couldn¡¯t put his finger on it.


    Lu Li could only take it one step at a time, but he had to accelerate the process. This form had a limited time and if he revealed his true self before her, he didn¡¯t know if he would survive, but more importantly, there was no way he would receive a reward.


    "Come with me. The guards have mostly left to fight. We can take the back way; there is a river there we can travel across."


    From the beginning, Lu Li had already determined an escape route. He didn¡¯t want to get caught committing a traitorous act like this.


    Under Water Fairy¡¯s guidance, Lu Li managed to lead the wounded Blood Elf through the Outpost while avoiding a few guards. Eventually, they reached the murky river.


    There were actually some archers at the top of the tower, but they didn¡¯t really have the time to look down at them.


    They had no idea that a traitor was among them and that their target was being escorted away.

 425 Treasure Map

    The river wasn¡¯t without its own dangers.


    The river crocodile Boss ¨C Ripscale ¨C was level 45 and had very powerful sweep skills which allowed it to easily deal with hundreds of ordinary players.


    Fortunately, Ripscale was relatively timid, so it never ventured close to the North Outpost Tower.


    Without worries of being attacked by Ripscale, Lu Li and Ithania eventually left the North Outpost Tower range through the river and set foot into the rotten swamp.


    "Respected Ms. Ithania, Rattan City is just through here. This is where I will be leaving you."


    After half an hour, Lu Li proposed the end of the quest. The outline of Rattan City could be seen from their location.


    Lu Li had cheated the Goblin Engineer out of his Bomb Blueprint here.


    That blueprint had not only helped him and his friends maintain their lead, but it had also significantly helped them in the Shadow Cup.


    He could also say that from that moment, he had completely detached himself from the shadow of his sister¡¯s illness.


    "Just here?" Ithania was a little confused.


    If this was the quest, the most dangerous part had been completed so why not just fully complete it? There was no danger ahead and fully completing it would yield a greater reward.


    "I have other things I need to do." Lu Li dared not go back into Rattan City. Moreover, his current form was about to expire.


    There were absolutely no friendly relations between the Night Elves and the Blood Elves.


    To put it simply, the earliest Night Elves were known as the High Elves. The High Elves loved magic, which eventually alienated themselves from the Night Elves.


    During the first Burning Legion Invasion, the Sun Well exploded and the High Elves, including Queen Azshara were blown into the great sea. There, they eventually evolved into the Naga.


    The remaining High Elves were exiled into the Eastern Kingdom where they established themselves in Quel¡¯Thalas.


    During the second Burning Legion Invasion, Death Knight Arthas destroyed Quel¡¯Thalas, and the High Elf Prince Kael¡¯thas vowed to exact revenge on the Scourge. He renamed his race as the Blood Elves to commemorate those who had died in the war.


    Unfortunately, Prince Kael¡¯thas was lost in his vengeance and was tricked by demons. He was defeated in the outer domain of the Stormwind Fortress before he fled back to his homeland and ultimately died on the roof of his teacher¡¯s house.


    The remaining Blood Elves turned to the Horde in the hopes of restoring the Glory of Quel¡¯Thalas.


    If Ithania found out that Lu Li was a Night Elf, she would definitely run away because of his race. No matter what had happened, there would always be enmity between her and Lu Li.


    Ithania didn¡¯t understand Lu Li stubbornness, but Rattan City was just ahead and she was relatively safe now.


    "Ms Ithania, you can rest in Rattan City for a few days. After a while, you can leave by boat. I believe that Rattan City¡¯s mercenaries will be more than happy to send you to back to Silver City," Lu Li said impatiently.


    He didn¡¯t have much time left ¨C only 10 minutes now.


    "If you interrupt the quest, the rewards will be much smaller." Ithania felt a little touched because she thought Lu Li was a good man and felt like she needed to repay him.


    "I promised my friends that I would go on adventure with them. Our meeting time is coming," Lu Li said.


    In fact, he was sighing on the inside. Why did the quest reward need to be lower? All this time, he hadn¡¯t received a single notification from the system about the quest.


    The Deception Orb was truly quite strong. Not only did change what an ordinary person saw, but it also allowed him to enjoy the same treatment as a Horde player.


    Even so, he had never officially received Ithania¡¯s rescue and escort quest.


    Seeing that Lu Li insisted on completing the escort quest, Ithania declared the quest to be completed.


    Normally, Lu Li would have been prompted to receive Prestige and EXP, but unfortunately, nothing happened. This verified the fact that Lu Li couldn¡¯t use this Orb to complete Horde Quests.


    However, he was still expecting Ithania to give him some equipment or item as a reward.


    Although there were some time constraints, the task wasn¡¯t a difficult one, but Lu Li still felt entitled to a Gold equipment or a rare Skill Book.


    "A whole ship of people died trying to get something from a place on this map," Ithania said as she pulled out her fake arm with her right hand.


    Lu Li was dumbfounded as he stared at her.


    All this time, he had thought that the Blood Elf had a broken arm. He didn¡¯t expect that it was a fake. Presumably, her interrogators also didn¡¯t find this out as her fake arm was quite realistic.


    After removing her fake arm, Ithania pulled out a sheepskin scroll.


    From Lu Li¡¯s perspective, this sheepskin scroll wasn¡¯t that old. It wasn¡¯t inscribed with complicated magic and looked just like an ordinary parchment that you could buy for 50 Silver.


    What could it be?


    "I will give this to you as a reward, but¡­" Ithania said as she threw the Sheepskin scroll at Lu Li and smiled, "From now on, you might find some trouble."


    System: Player Lu Li has obtained the Treasure map of Captain Sanders. Coordinates (1475,2366,43).


    Lu Li¡¯s mind was immediately thrown into a fuss.


    It was actually a treasure map! No wonder he had thought that the name ¡®Ithania¡¯ was very familiar. He couldn¡¯t remember where it came from it at first, but it was from this treasure map.


    Every treasure map was unique and held a large sum of wealth, enough to cause a stir in the game.


    In fact, without Lu Li¡¯s intervention, Ithania¡¯s release of the first ever Treasure Map would be short lived, only leaving behind legends about the great wealth it contained. After she gave out her treasure map, no one else would ever see it again.


    In accordance with the System¡¯s rules, once a Horde player rescued Ithania, the quest reward would be Captain Sander¡¯s treasure map.


    Ithania¡¯s ship was sunk by the City of Stormwind and when she escaped, she had come to Thermore¡¯s Fall to ask the Ogres from the Horde for help.


    She had over-estimated the friendship of their so-called alliance and when the news of the treasure map was leaked, King Morokk intended to take the map away.


    Ithania defeated him and ran away, but eventually fell into the hands of the North Outpost.


    Captain Darill of the North Outpost then interrogated Ithiania to try and find out about the map.


    Even if she was temporarily safe, it was only temporary. Regardless of whether it was a player or an NPC, they all thought it was worth fighting for.


    While Ithania carried the treasure map, the whole world was her enemy, so the only way out was to give it up.

 426 Luring An Enemy Out Of Their Territory

    Lu Li was still in shock as he held Captain Sanders¡¯ Treasure Map and watched Ithania walk towards Rattan City. Eventually, Water Fairy appeared before him.


    "Did you get it?" she asked Lu Li eagerly.


    "Did you hear the System prompt?" Lu Li responded as he slowly turned and stepped towards the direction of Theramore¡¯s Fall.


    "Does the whole world now know that you have a Treasure Map now?" Water Fairy was a little envious, but she also had some concern in her voice.


    "Yep, the whole world knows now," Lu Li said as he rubbed his head, feeling a headache coming on.


    The Treasure Map was definitely valuable, but it was a hotly contested item ¨C once a player got it, it would be announced to everyone else in the world.


    The worst part was that players could inquire as to where the Treasure Map currently was. This was part of the adventure system.


    Fortunately, Lu Li wasn¡¯t an ordinary player, but this was still going to cause him a headache.


    "Is there someone coming to kill us?" Water Fairy asked.


    "If someone else received a Treasure Map, would you go after them?" Lu Li responded.


    "Probably. I think the System wants people to try, otherwise, why would it broadcast it to the whole world?" Water Fairy was smarter than most of Lu Li¡¯s teammates.


    That was exactly right, the System wanted to encourage the players to interact.


    "Get ready. We¡¯re going to find the treasure."


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid of anyone and he wasn¡¯t going to give up the Treasure Map. Those who wanted to contend with him for the Treasure Map needed to ask themselves if they could deal with the Shard of the Defiler.


    Wandering and Square Root 3 also saw the news and quickly sent a message asking if he wanted help.


    Lu Li directly rejected them ¨C finding the treasure only required luck. This wasn¡¯t a problem that could be solved with more players, in fact, it would overcomplicate it. If there were only two Thieves, it would be harder for others to find them.


    As for Water Fairy¡­


    He had partied up with her in the beginning to do this quest, but rescuing Ithania was her idea. Now that they had the Treasure Map, of course she would want to find it together.


    "Let¡¯s see what the Treasure Map says. There should be some clues!" Water Fairy suggested enthusiastically.


    "Don¡¯t be so excited; act with a bit more reserve."


    "Aiya, this is a Treasure Map. The legends say that it can turn an ordinary person into an extremely wealthy person overnight!"


    s they grew closer, Lu Li realized that Water Fairy wasn¡¯t always cold and was often just like an ordinary girl. She was just a little prettier and had a bit more money.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but burst her bubble. "Don¡¯t think too much about it. How can a game company make you extremely wealthy?"


    "Wow, you really are taking this calmly," Water Fairy said defiantly.


    "I¡¯m sure there will be something good; this is a Treasure Map after all."


    Given the way the Treasure Map had been treated by the System, it definitely wouldn¡¯t just be a few silver coins.


    Captain Sanders¡¯ Treasure Map: If you are reading this letter, it means that I ¨C Captain Sanders ¨C am now sleeping deep underwater. However, if you follow my instructions, my treasure is yours.


    First of all, you need to find a suitcase. It should be buried in Booty Bay somewhere next to the wreckage. When I buried it, I was facing a double-headed mountain and I planted a tree next to me. I don¡¯t know if that tree is still alive.


    In that suitcase, you will find the next clue.


    This Treasure Map wasn¡¯t a usual map that had red dotted lines leading to the Treasure. It only had some text which could lead them to the first clue.


    "Wander around here with the map. Only come over when I call you," Lu Li said, coming to a sudden realization.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll be careful," Water Fairy nodded.


    System: Water Fairy has received Captain Sanders¡¯ Treasure. Coordinates (1387, 2915, 26).


    The two of them were speechless. Did the System really have to broadcast this transaction too? Regardless, this was part of Lu Li¡¯s plan, as he would have preferred this over a quiet transaction.


    Lu Li then transported through a few places before arriving at Stranglethorn Vale.


    He walked along the coast and began looking for the so-called double-headed mountain. At this moment, all of the players who wanted to snatch the Treasure Map were heading towards Theramore¡¯s Fall.


    Water Fairy just kept moving around and avoided interacting with anyone. She also ignored anyone who asked to work with her.


    She didn¡¯t kill anyone, but that didn¡¯t mean that no one was dying. The swamp¡¯s mud monsters were at least level 35, but they were more often level 40. There were even some level 45 Bosses around. One could easily imagine the fate of the pre-level 30 players who ran into these monsters. The deaths were so frequent that some players had come to gather the drops of those dead players.


    A player had appeared on the Stranglethorn Vale, but no one would have guessed that the little leopard running along the coast line was Lu Li.


    It wasn¡¯t clear how long ago the treasure was buried, but Stranglethorn Vale was now lush with vegetation. There were many trees along the coastline and the double-headed mountain was probably obscured by them.


    After running around for an hour, he had found several potential locations. However, some didn¡¯t have any trees, some didn¡¯t have the double-headed mountain and some didn¡¯t have the wreckage.


    "Lu Li, have you found it yet? I¡¯m being hunted like rabbit and it¡¯s making me anxious. My guild members are helping me to clear them out," Water Fairy panted.


    "You don¡¯t have to run around in the swamp ¨C you can escape to other places too," Lu Li said bluntly.


    "Dammit, if I knew this would happen, I would have searched for the suitcase," Water Fairy complained.


    "Run, I think I might have just found the place. I¡¯ll let you know," Lu Li said as he looked at the mountain which was about 90 feet away. There was also the wreckage behind him, although it was mostly covered in sand, and a tall coconut tree next to him. All three conditions had been met.


    In order to confirm, Lu Li risked being attacked by flying creatures and flew up to check out the mountain.


    This mountain did indeed have two mountain tops.


    Lu Li quickly landed by the tree and took out a shovel before digging into the sand.


    He didn¡¯t know how deep it was, but he didn¡¯t want to miss the small suitcase, so he dug quite a few holes that were half a person deep. Fortunately, this was just a game, so he didn¡¯t get tired.


    When he heard the sound of his shovel hitting something, Lu Li was filled with joy.


    He moved the golden sand aside and saw a rusty suitcase wrapped in crocodile skin that was half-rotten.


    When Water Fairy got Lu Li¡¯s message, she immediately went back to the city and transported as quickly as she could, leaving the thousands of players staring blankly at each other. When they queried for her location, they found out that Water Fairy was now in Stranglethorn Vale.


    Could it be that this woman had found all the Theramore¡¯s Fall¡¯s clues about the treasure?


    She had to be messing with them. There were so many players around her; how could she have the time to find the treasure¡¯s clues?

 427 Treasure

    "Come and open this suitcase."


    Lu Li had tried to open the suitcase but the system told him that he wasn¡¯t allowed to because he didn¡¯t possess the Treasure Map.


    Sure enough, after Water Fairy fiddled with the suitcase, it opened.


    A cloud of smoke poured out and enveloped Water Fairy¡¯s hands which contained Captain Sanders¡¯ Treasure Map.


    She immediately cried out and threw the map. Lu Li subconsciously caught it as it flew towards him.


    System:Lu Li has acquired Captain Sanders¡¯ Treasure Map. Coordinates (32564, 11255, 75).


    Both Lu Li and Water Fairy stared at each other, completely speechless.


    "Hey, there¡¯s stuff in the suitcase!" Water Fairy exclaimed. She shook the suitcase and a bunch of gold coins fell out.


    The gold coins were preserved well and still had a golden sheen to them.


    This pile of gold coins wasn¡¯t necessarily worth a lot, but they still hinted at the legendary treasure to come.


    Lu Li picked up the pile and the system prompted him that he had acquired 134 gold coins. He gave half of these to Water Fairy. There was already a small prize for completing the first step.


    "What next?" Water Fairy clenched her teeth as she looked through the World Channel where they were mostly talking about this couple working together. However, there was nothing she could do.


    When a Goddess and an average man had any kind of relationship, most people would sympathize with the man.


    "The words on the treasure map¡­" Lu Li opened the Treasure Map and found that the content had changed.


    Captain Sanders¡¯ Treasure Map 2: Well done, good friend! Now you need to move East, through the woods. However, you need to watch out for those barbaric orangutans. You will find a cliff and a rope to help you get down. At the bottom is the buried treasure, waiting to be collected¡­


    If you can¡¯t find the treasure, then you can only say that the treasure has avoided you.


    The text was quite humorous, but Lu Li tried to follow what it had said.


    Water Fairy was responsible for looking for the cliffs and the treasure below the cliffs while Lu Li was responsible for diverting the attention of the players. The two of them needed to cooperate.


    The treasure map wasn¡¯t something that could be possessed by a single player. Tens of thousands of players would be chasing and they wouldn¡¯t give you an opportunity to stop.


    If two players worked together, one could look in the correct place while the other could lead the players around as they followed their coordinates.


    Lu Li soon started to feel that Water Fairy had now escaped.


    Stealth was useless as his coordinates could be directly discovered. Once they found him, they would hurl countless skills at his location. No one could survive such an attack.


    But would Lu Li be so easily dealt with?


    "His coordinates are in this area. He hasn¡¯t moved for a long time; why can¡¯t we find him?" one player asked in confusion.


    The System showed that hundreds of players were in this location looking for him, but Lu Li seemed to have vanished. They couldn¡¯t find him, even after trying to flush him out with their skills.


    "Could he have gone offline?" a player guessed.


    "Impossible ¨C you shouldn¡¯t be able to log off if you are carrying the Treasure Map. At the very least, the map would be transported into a warehouse, but then the coordinates would be wrong," someone immediately objected. The people here were the first ones to have started tracking the Treasure Map and now, it had somehow completely disappeared.


    "He is at (37136, 10722, 262) and we are at (37136, 10722, 81). He¡¯s above us!" someone finally realized.


    The coordinates were generally expressed in terms of latitude, longitude and altitude. The latitude and the longitude were the same, so naturally, this meant that Lu Li was above them.


    Hundreds of players looked up at the same time and saw a statue that was completely still.


    They were standing in the ruins of the Gurubashi civilization. This tall statue had not fallen with the erosion over time and continued to watch over the earth.


    Lu Li had transformed into the crow and was standing on the statue¡¯s tooth, talking to Water Fairy.


    "Have you found it? What? The rope isn¡¯t long enough¡­?" Lu Li was confused. Jumping off the cliff wasn¡¯t inconceivable, especially since Lu Li was already a crow and could even just fly down.


    "Don¡¯t worry ¨C I¡¯ve connected a few ropes and I¡¯ve almost reached the bottom. Are you surviving?" Water Fairy panted.


    Lu Li glanced at the bottom. Before he even flew to this position, he didn¡¯t really care about how many players were chasing him.


    In fact, the players below couldn¡¯t even see him.


    They all thought that he was standing on the statue¡¯s head, where there was a small altar. No one guessed that Lu Li had transformed into the black crow.


    "I¡¯m down, but I don¡¯t know if the treasure is here. It¡¯s just a dead end here," Water Fairy said.


    "If it¡¯s a dead end, it might be hard to escape. They will be waiting for us on the cliff. Has your hearthstone cooldown reset?" Lu Li was already thinking about how they would escape after acquiring the treasure.


    "It¡¯s been done for a while now. Our guild has a special bonus which cuts my hearthstone cooldown in half," Water Fairy replied, immediately understanding what Lu Li meant.


    After 10 minutes, Lu Li received a message from Water Fairy that it was time to leave. The treasure could only be opened by someone who had the Treasure Map.


    "Hey, the coordinates have changed. Dammit, it¡¯s moving fast!"


    Unable to do anything else, someone had realized that the coordinates had changed.


    "(35434, 8313, -166). Dammit, these coordinates are just too strange. The first one was in the sky and now it¡¯s in the ground." Those who were looking at the coordinates were about to cry.


    The crowd started to disperse, obviously no longer having any intention of snatching the Treasure Map.


    Now, they had to track the Lu Li and Water Fairy couple, the game¡¯s top two Thieves. Their initial hope of finding them had now grown even slimmer as what appeared to be a bug in the coordinates had arisen.


    Of course, there were still a lot of players who didn¡¯t want to give up until they were prompted that the treasure had already been acquired.


    Lu Li came to Water Fairy¡¯s location and flew down.


    When he landed, he quickly transformed into a leopard as Water Fairy watched him, visibly stunned.


    Today had been an eye-opener for her. She had never underestimated Lu Li as an opponent, but he still had many surprises up his sleeve.


    When you played like Lu Li did, others could no longer just chalk it up to pure luck.


    It was at this moment that Water Fairy realized Lu Li was stronger than she was. She couldn¡¯t fly, become a leopard, or become a Horde player.


    Not to mention, Lu Li had also joined the Assassins League.

 428 Becoming Rich Overnigh

    "Do you mean there¡¯s a chest at the bottom of this lake?" Lu Li looked at this lake and was surprised.


    "I went down before, but the water seems to be alive. The currents are quite strong and there is a chest there that is locked. I think that¡¯s the chest," Water Fairy explained.


    "Where is the key?" Treasure Chests and Chests weren¡¯t the same ¨C they had keys and didn¡¯t require a Thief to unlock.


    "I couldn¡¯t find it; I¡¯ve looked everywhere," Water Fairy said as she shook her head.


    Perhaps she hadn¡¯t looked in the right places or something had changed, but the key was now the biggest problem.


    "That¡¯s really troublesome. We don¡¯t have much time; they¡¯ll reach us soon."


    Lu Li looked at the cliff, but it was too dark to see anything above it.


    The players weren¡¯t dumb. Although they couldn¡¯t fly, it wasn¡¯t something that they would be unable to solve. They could easily just come down with some rope like Water Fairy.


    "I tried to use my Unlock skill, but the System prompted that my skill¡¯s level was insufficient. It didn¡¯t tell me that I couldn¡¯t use the skill, so maybe¡­ oh yeah, what level is your Unlock skill?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Level three."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have to ask ¨C this tycoon definitely would have spent all her points on damage skills.


    "Wow that¡¯s great! Go down and give it a shot." Water Fairy was overjoyed. She was ready to jump back into the water before she gestured at Lu Li and said, "You first?"


    Why do I have to go first?" Lu Li was puzzled but went in regardless.


    The two of them went into the water, one after the other, and took an Underwater Breathing Potion each. Lu Li saw the whirlpools in the water and finally understood why Water Fairy had wanted him to go first.


    Being at the back was the same thing, as both of their clothes were being messed up the current¡­


    Fortunately, Lu Li had the decency to leave Water Fairy alone. He transformed into the Seal and shot deep into the water like an arrow.


    Not only were Water Fairy¡¯s clothes messed up, but her previously destroyed self-confidence was shattered once again. She had underestimated Lu Li too many times. His abilities weren¡¯t limited to flying and transforming into a leopard ¨C he could also transform into a seal.


    He could travel by all modes ¨C sea, land and air.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with Water Fairy. An insider from his guild told him that someone had already discovered a way down the cliff.


    It turned out that there really was a chest underwater. It was much bigger than the average chest too.


    Lu Li opened up the sheepskin scroll and discovered that the content had changed once again.


    Captain Sanders¡¯ Treasure Chest 3: If you see the chest before you and you found the key to unlock it, which is under a big stone by the lake side, then congratulations! Your treasure hunt has come to an end. However, don¡¯t hope for too much, as people tend to want to make sense of their struggles. I have been to many places and seen many things so I haven¡¯t saved up much. Yet, as a captain, how could I not bury some treasure?


    The Sheepskin scroll slowly turned to ash in Lu Li¡¯s hands and drifted away in the water.


    Under a big stone by the lake side?


    Lu Li jogged his memory. Could it be that the thing covered in moss was a rock that could be moved?


    Even so, he didn¡¯t have an opportunity to go back now.


    He could only trust Water Fairy¡¯s guess and hope that his Unlock skill could deal with this problem.


    As he used his Unlock skill on the big rusty lock, the system displayed that it was being channeled. Lu Li then breathed a sigh of relief.


    The skill being channeled was a good thing, even if it was taking a long time.


    "Lu Li, players have entered the water. What now?" Water Fairy sent a message over.


    "How many?¡¯ Lu Li¡¯s voice was still calm.


    "Just one. He¡¯s a Seal just like you ¨C probably a scout," Water Fairy anxiously reported as she dived deeper.


    For a tycoon like her, no matter how valuable the Treasure Chest was, she could afford to not get it. However, now that they had come this far, the value of the treasure could no longer be calculated just in terms of gold.


    In other words, she felt like she was truly playing a game.


    "When he reaches the bottom of the lake, kill him, then transport back to the city," Lu Li quickly said. The reason they needed to wait until he had reached the bottom was so that they could delay the players on the surface. The channel to teleport home also needed some time.


    "What about the treasure?" Water Fairy was still worried about the treasure at a time like this.


    "I¡¯ll just take it all. We¡¯ll split it afterwards." Lu Li saw that the channel had almost been completed and prepared his hands to pull the chain off the box.


    When he opened it, he was met with a pile of gold coins. Fortunately, these gold coins could be picked up all at once. If he needed to pick up them up one a time, he would have been dead on the spot.


    System: You have acquired 1256 gold.


    Damn, there¡¯s more than 100,000 dollars.


    Lu Li no longer felt disappointed about the gold which made him reflect on his superficial tendencies.


    System: You have acquired Administrative Order No. 257.


    Administrative Order?!


    Lu Li froze for a moment before coming to a realization. Wasn¡¯t this the item that could be used to upgrade the guild? The ones that ended in 7 were all used to upgrade the guild.


    An Administrative Order 257 could immediately turn a level 1 guild into a level 26 guild.


    At this time, the highest-level guilds were Glory Capital and Gangnam Royals, who were both level 28. Blood Red War Flag and Peerless City were behind them at level 27. There were several other level 26 guilds, one of which was Drizzle Court.


    How much money was this single token worth?


    There was no way to properly estimate it, but ordinarily, getting a guild to level 26 required millions, and doing it instantly made it even more worthwhile.


    System: You have acquired, "Blind", "Resurrect," and "Felsteed".


    Lu Li felt a little faint; this treasure chest was giving him so much stuff. He really hoped that this wasn¡¯t just a dream.


    Lu Li had never even received the lowest treasures in his previous life. The few times he had gone to fight for the Treasure Maps, he had failed completely. He had always heard about players getting rich overnight, but he had never experienced it until now.


    System: You have acquired Captain Sanders¡¯ Belt, Captain Sanders¡¯ Shirt and Captain Sanders¡¯ Return Ring.


    These were three pieces of Gold equipment. Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to look into their attributes and just directly threw them into this backpack.


    System: You have acquired the Advanced Healing Potion Recipe.


    Although he had received one before, Lu Li was still shocked for a moment. He quickly confirmed that the chest was empty before immediately channeling his hearthstone.


    At this point, it would still be worth it, even if he died. However, he was carrying so many good items that losing any one of them would give him a heart attack.


    Some players arrived just in time to watch Lu Li vanish into a white light as he was teleported back to the City. Water Fairy had also started her channel at about the same time, so she also managed to slip away like Lu Li.


    The coordinates then moved so quickly that it left some players in a daze.


    Fortunately, now that the treasure had been collected, the coordinates would no longer update. Otherwise, countless players would continue to hunt down the player that had collected the treasure.

 429 Lu Li Was About To Cry

    Although they had found the treasure, splitting the profit was still a troublesome matter.


    In the gaming industry, too many friends had fought over the profits. Even lovers can¡¯t avoid these conflicts entirely.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t think about keeping all the treasure to himself, although the set of items were worth around a million dollars in value. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t care about the money ¡ª a million dollars was enough money to possibly save his sister during his previous life.


    He only stuck to his own principles and was a little cunning.


    His principles were mainly influenced by his father, who had passed away many years ago and was a street thug. He barely achieved anything in his life, but he valued his brotherhood and in the end, he died for the sake of his brotherhood.


    It was normal for a child to admire his father, and for a period of time, Lu Li almost stepped on his father¡¯s path.


    Lu Li was glad that he had a sister; his sister was the reason behind their peaceful lifestyle. It was because of his sister that he didn¡¯t live his life like his father.


    Rather than saying that Lu Li raised Lu Xin, Lu Xin was the one redeemed him. Perhaps the siblings only lived so happily because they relied on each other.


    As for Lu Li¡¯s cunning nature, this was something that he had learned while he grew up at the bottom of the society.


    No matter how foolish a person may be, you would still have to give them some benefits in exchange for their service.


    "It¡¯s all here."


    "So many items!" Water Fairy looked at their spoils of war on the table, impressed by Lu Li¡¯s honesty. It was hard to find such an honest individual in the current times.


    "Seems like we¡¯re both wanted now. This is troublesome," Lu Li said with a frown. Square Root 3 had only just warned him to be careful. Although he had already found the treasure, it seemed as though some players weren¡¯t happy about it. Rewards were being offered in the Mercenary Hall for him and Water Fairy.


    "That¡¯s just jealousy. It¡¯s normal for superior people to have haters." Water Fairy was more optimistic about the situation.


    "Alright, let¡¯s just quickly split these things. I¡¯ve got other things to do later."


    When he first entered the game, Lu Li wanted to make money with peaceful strategies. He wasn¡¯t expecting things to end up this way.


    "I choose first?¡¯ Water Fairy asked.


    "Of course." Lu Li pretended to be generous, as a cunning light flickered under his lowered eyes.


    Perhaps he expected too much from Water Fairy¡¯s pride. He thought that if he let her choose first, she would be too proud to take all the good things. However, he was ignorant of Water Fairy¡¯s other side of her personality ¡ª she never held back from her comrades.


    "Advanced Healing Potion. Your guild has this already and we don¡¯t," Water Fairy said as she grabbed onto the recipe.


    With this recipe, it would be easier for their guild to complete dungeons and kill monsters in the wild.


    "Sure." One recipe simply wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy the entire guild, but Lu Li still kept his words. The player who had learned the recipe was already drained from making the potions.


    "A guild level up? We don¡¯t have much use for it right now; you can have it."


    Water Fairy generously passed the Number 257 Administrative Order to Lu Li.


    It wasn¡¯t that she really had no use for this item ¨C there were plenty of branch guilds under Drizzle Court, such as Tower of Smoking Rain and Two Dimensional Dorm. The item would be useful for both of these branch guilds.


    Lu Li was slightly relieved. If Water Fairy took both the recipe and the Administrative Order, Lu Li would have cried.


    "I¡¯m taking Blind."


    "I¡¯m taking Felsteed too," Water Fairy continued, not holding back at all.


    "You can¡¯t even use it."


    Lu Li was about to cry; he decided not to keep quiet anymore.


    The Felsteed was a mount for Warlocks, a handsome mount with a shiny layer of pretty, black fur. Although it was a battle horse, it was a hundred times more aesthetic than the human race mount.


    The flames under its four hooves made the Felsteed one of the most classic mounts in Dawn.


    After seeing this mount, many new players decided to play Warlock.


    The average mount would cost about thirty gold coins, but this mount was worth around a thousand gold coins. Even with money, there was no guarantee that you would be able to purchase it.


    However, at level 50, Warlock players could receive the Felsteed through the completion of a series of complicated quests.


    The Felsteed¡¯s replacement, Fiery Warhorse''s Reins, would become the new classic. Not only was it just as cool, but it was also available for all classes.


    "What? You know of Felsteed?" Water Fairy was surprised by the pained expression on Lu Li¡¯s face.


    "You know about it too, right?" After Lu Li heard Water Fairy¡¯s question, he suddenly realized that the girl wasn¡¯t picking these items at random. Before any related knowledge was released on the official site, she had already known that this was a good-looking horse.


    "It¡¯s a mount, right? It¡¯s not weird to know about it."


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t keen to talk about the top; it seemed like her source of information was quite discreet.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t keen to talk about his source of information either.


    "Resurrect¡­" Water Fairy paused; she was screaming on the inside. She really wanted this skill book as well.


    "I can use this," Lu Li said weakly.


    He didn¡¯t even care about exposing his secrets anymore ¨C he had exposed too many secrets to Water Fairy anyway.


    "What¡­what did you just say? You can learn this skill?" Water Fairy watched in shock as Lu Li took the skill book, which immediately disappeared into a flash of light as he held it in his hands. This meant that he had just successfully learnt the skill.


    "I can¡¯t learn too much," Lu Li said as he shrugged innocently.


    Water Fairy felt a heavy blow to her ego and gritted her teeth as she snatched over Captain Sanders¡¯ Shirt. "This one seems pretty. The attributes seem really good too. I¡¯m taking it."


    Captain Sanders¡¯ Shirt was even better than Scarlet Wargown. Although they were both Gold grade equips, it was better than two Scarlet Wargowns combined. Lu Li could only watch as Water Fairy took another good item.


    "You can have the other two. Don¡¯t complain that I¡¯m not being generous," Water Fairy as she waved her hands, then hesitated slightly and tossed the shirt into her bag.


    Because it was a level 30 equip, she was able to wear it.


    However, she took into consideration that she had to get changed. It didn¡¯t seem appropriate for her to change her clothes in front of a boy.


    Captain Sanders¡¯ Belt, Captain Sanders¡¯ Return Ring ¨C these were both Gold grade equips. Lu Li was too scared to hold back this time and took both the items.


    "And the gold coins¡­"


    Lu Li divided the gold coins in half and split them with Water Fairy.


    In the past, Water Fairy would have waved her hand and said that she didn¡¯t want them. However, she didn¡¯t do that this time and instead, took the gold coins.


    Seeing Lu Li with a pained expression on his face pleased her; it felt like eating ice-cream during a hot summer¡¯s day.

 430 Square Root 3’s Wisdom

    After they shared the profit, the two of them went their separate ways.


    Even though Lu Li seemed as if he had given up a lot, the Number 257 Administrative Order was already a huge gain for him. This item was at least half the value of the treasure box, and Lu Li had still received other things too.


    Captain Sanders¡¯ Belt (Gold): Armor 32, Agility+16, Strength+8. Special Effect 1: Critical Strike Chance+10%. Special Effect 2: Dodge+15%. Special Effect 3: Certain chance to silence target during attacks for three seconds. Level Requirement 30, Durability 64/64.


    A good Thief belt usually came with dodge attributes and although the Dodge amount wasn¡¯t very significant, it was nevertheless still quite good.


    Dodge effectively minimized the chances of a player receiving maximum damage. For example, if an opponent¡¯s attack ranged between 100-200, you would be more likely to receive 100 damage.


    Completely dodging the attack of another player was not realistic, since these virtual games relied on a player¡¯s techniques.


    The silence effect was even better, but the gloves that Water Fairy had lent to Lu Li in the past had an identical special effect already. It was no wonder why she didn¡¯t choose to take this belt.


    Lu Li¡¯s Legionnaire¡¯s Band also had a similar effect, but the chances of activation were too low. The equipment effect had only been triggered a few times so far. It was only a level 25 silver grade equipment after all.


    Captain Sanders¡¯ Return Ring was a ring for Berserkers. Drizzle Court probably didn¡¯t have many female players who were willing to play the Berserker class. At the same time, Moonlight from Ruling Sword was one of the best Berserkers in the game, so the item was left for Lu Li as well.


    It felt like he was always looting gear for Moonlight. Last time, it was the Axe of the Legion, and this time, it was Captain Sanders¡¯ Return Ring.


    After returning to Astrana, Lu Li felt like the city had become unfamiliar to him. The only thing that remained the same was the crowded population of the city.


    Lu Li met up with Square Root 3 in a bar. When he entered a private room, the manager of Ruling Sword was laid back sipping from his wine.


    "No one caught you. I¡¯m impressed," Square Root 3 joked.


    "You have a lot of spare time." Lu Li felt like things were unfair; he grabbed the wine cup and finished it. At the same time, he also slipped himself into the opposite chair.


    "Only slacking off while I can," Square Root 3 laughed, slightly tipsy already.


    He wasn¡¯t lying ¨C the guild was still laying down the foundations. He had to manage all of the big and small tasks by himself.


    It wasn¡¯t until these past few days when friends from the past had come over to join the guild. These friends also included management-level players from Star Moon Union. Square Root 3 had finally found his chance to relax a little.


    "I have something here that can probably spare you from a lot of effort," Lu Li said as he passed over the Number 257 Administrative Order.


    "What can possibly spare me from hard work? There¡¯s no way the work I¡¯m doing can be replaced by something as simple as an item. Oh my, a guild level up?!" Square Rot 3 had been the manager of Star Moon Union in the past, so he was familiar with the item.


    "If you use this, the guild will instantly become a level 26 guild. Our guild will expand to the size of a big guild too," Lu Li said proudly.


    It was true that he wasn¡¯t good with management, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t contribute at all.


    Square Root 3 rubbed the item in his hand with a complex emotion on his face. This was such a small item, but it was capable of accomplishing the hard work over the past two months of thousands.


    "This was what you found in the treasure chest, right? Seriously..." Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t find proper words to describe his feelings.


    "There are other items too; Water Fairy took some of them." Lu Li was still a little salty about what happened before, especially when he had split the gold and Water Fairy was smiling so happily.


    "You two... never mind. I don¡¯t want to ask."


    Square Root 3 lost interest and tossed the guild-level-up back onto the table.


    "What do you mean?" Lu Li was confused. Square Root 3 had been so excited just then, and now, he had suddenly lost interest.


    "We¡¯re not using it." Square Root 3¡¯s eyes lingered on the item on the table, but his expression was soon replaced with determination.


    "Why not? It saves so much trouble. We can go from level 15 to level 26 in an instant. We¡¯ll be a part of the big guilds too. There won¡¯t be many guilds out there who would be better than us." Lu Li couldn¡¯t comprehend Square Root 3¡¯s train of thoughts.


    "The drawbacks are greater than the benefits," Square Root 3 said as he shook his head again.


    "What drawbacks? I¡¯d like to hear about them," Lu Li probed, not entirely convinced.


    Square Root 3 took a sip from his wine and thought briefly before he asked, "Do you know how we leveled our guild to level 15?"


    Ruling Sword had been created too late; they were only level fifteen at the moment. Although their speed of leveling up was already fast enough, they were still a long way behind the other big guilds.


    "Quests and material donations, right?" Lu Li had not participated in the leveling of the guild, so he wasn¡¯t too sure of the details.


    "Our members had to do quests to level up the guild. They dug for minerals, picked herbs, skinned animals, went fishing¡­They had to work for every single piece of material; I didn¡¯t spend a single bit of money on buying materials. Do you know why?" Square Root 3 explained patiently.


    "We¡¯re broke and we need to spend money on other important areas?" Lu Li suggested.


    "No. You¡¯re right about us being broke, but we can still afford to buy materials," Square Root 3 said as he waved his fingers then continued, "It¡¯s the sense of belonging."


    Lu Li thought for a bit and slowly understood.


    "Everyone built this guild together bit by bit; most players did something for the guild. Many sacrificed their time to level up or their time to spend with their girlfriends, just so they could get a little more material for the guild to level up. They¡¯re much more passionate about the guild than you and I," Square Root 3 smiled.


    "So that why you chose not to use this item¡­" Lu Li took the guild-level-up back. After he heard Square Root 3¡¯s explanation, he felt like the item had lost its value.


    "The average level of our players is lower than other players from the big guilds," Square Root 3 continued. "Once the guild reaches level 26, leveling the guild will require higher-level materials. However, a lot of the players in our guild are still low-leveled in their trading skills. At the same time, other players who have been doing quests for the guild won¡¯t be able to complete them either ¨C they¡¯re too low leveled. The development of the guild would stop entirely..."


    "It wouldn¡¯t feel nice for them to have their efforts denied by a single item." Lu Li was convinced.


    "So, let¡¯s sell this," Square Root 3 said as he calmed down.


    "I feel like this item isn¡¯t so valuable anymore."


    Lu Li had originally expected the item to sell for around a million dollars, but he wasn¡¯t so sure about it anymore.


    "No, this item is still valuable. It¡¯s more valuable than you think," Square Root 3 said with a spiteful grin. "There are a lot of people out there who are willing to take the shortcut without thinking about the consequences. Weren¡¯t you really excited about it too?"


    "Geez. You don¡¯t have to remind me about how shallow I am." Lu Li rolled his eyes.


    "I¡¯ll have Shen Wansan sort this out for me." Lu Li immediately contacted Shen Wansan, then asked, "Does the guild need money these days? I¡¯ll pass this money..."


    "You save up some money to buy a house. It¡¯s sad that you¡¯re still renting a house while you¡¯re already the owner of a club."

 431 Fire Mage

    Lu Li handed over the Number 257 Administrative Order to Shen Wansan for him to sort it out. Shen Wansan¡¯s little auction was about to take place, and unlike the system auctions, he planned to sell only the highest quality items.


    An item that could instantly level a guild to level 26 was exactly what he needed.


    There weren¡¯t many people out there who were wise like Square Root 3 and were capable of resisting temptation. There were plenty of rich kids in Dawn who wanted it easy, but they would be paying an expensive learning fee for their own naive nature.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to catch up with Shen Wansan; he left the two of them in the bar to continue drinking.


    As he left, he invited Fat Monkey to join him at Warsong Canyon.


    Before proper battle grounds came out, Warsong Canyon was the only place where gamers could experience heated battle.


    Of course, if you didn¡¯t mind the PVP points from killing people in the wild, you would be free to draw your sword anytime.


    "Theoretically, I should¡¯ve invited an Ice Mage," Lu Li cut straight to the point. He wasn¡¯t someone who wasted time, especially when he was dealing with someone he wasn¡¯t familiar with.


    "I¡¯ve learnt some Ice Mage skills too. Some fire skills deal more damage when the opponent is frozen," Fat Monkey said, not convinced.


    "Ice Mages can cast two Frost Novas. Can you do that? Ice Mages can reduce the movement speed of players. Can you do that too?" Lu Li asked.


    "Alright, in terms of control, Fire Mages aren¡¯t as great as Ice Mages. This cannot be helped, but why did you ask me to come?" Fat Monkey gave up. At the beginning of the game, he had completed a quest. The quest gave him advantages for his fire magic, but in return, his damage for ice magic and arcane magic was reduced.


    "Because you have a good gaming conscious," Lu Li comforted.


    This was indeed why he had chosen Fat Monkey. Most importantly, Fat Monkey¡¯s fame in Lu Li¡¯s previous life was a major deciding factor. He was one of the rare master gamers who dominated the battle grounds as a Fire Mage.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t do much to help Fat Monkey climb to the top.


    There were some things that could only be self-taught. His guidance for March Rain was only limited to general knowledge.


    "So it¡¯s a test today?" Fat Monkey tried to calm himself, as he held tightly onto the staff in his hand. A wide road towards the life a professional gamer was laid out in front of his eyes.


    There were no other clubs that provided a chance like this.


    Players from other clubs had to start as a backup player. It would take them years of testing, training and competition against others for them to actually stand on the match grounds oe dayn.


    Fat Monkey thought Lu Li was joking when he was notified to attend the upcoming Magic Cup competition.


    "It¡¯s not really a test ¨C we¡¯re just going to go in and play for a bit in Warsong Canyon. We¡¯ll set the time limit to an hour. Let¡¯s see how many we can kill."


    Lu Li was already certain he was going to put Fat Monkey in the competition; today was just a little test that would help him understand Fat Monkey better.


    "Sure. Let¡¯s compete," Fat Monkey nodded and charged off.


    The first player he ran into was a Paladin. The Paladin was horrified as he took around two hundred points of damage from Fat Monkey¡¯s Fireball.


    "Shame it wasn¡¯t a critical strike," Fat Monkey said, unsatisfied with his damage. If only his equipment was as good as Lonesome Flower¡¯s¡­


    The Paladin ran even faster after he heard this; he was only here to kill some newbies. Who would¡¯ve thought that he would run into a level thirty Mage? It was probably a Mage with good gears too ¨C he had taken around two hundred points of damage and it wasn¡¯t even a critical strike.


    Fire Mages weren¡¯t as good as Ice Mages in terms of crowd control, but they had much higher damage.


    Lu Li went into Stealth mode and followed on the side. He didn¡¯t do anything to help and paid his full attention on Fat Monkey¡¯s techniques.


    Fat Monkey flashed towards the Paladin and froze him with a Frost Nova. He began to channel a big spell, but the Paladin could only watch as this happened.


    A big spell took a longer time to cast, but it would also have higher damage. The Paladin lost a third of his health after the spell hit him.


    He knew that escaping was no longer an option for him, so he turned around and tossed his hammer at Fat Monkey. Fat Monkey took a few steps back, pulling his distance away from the Paladin and placing burn damage on his opponent.


    The Paladin continued dropping health and although he also dealt some damage to Fat Monkey, it wasn¡¯t enough to turn the tides of the fight.


    When Fat Monkey placed a Fire Shield on himself, the Paladin turned around to escape again.


    Fire Shield provided higher defense towards physical damage and also slightly increased the player¡¯s critical strike chance. The Paladin was worried about his death since he had a little less than half of his health left.


    As soon as the Paladin turned to run, Fat Monkey casted a Cone of Cold to slow down the movement speed of his opponent.


    The outcome was predictable - there was nothing that the Paladin could do against a level 30 fire Mage.


    The battle didn¡¯t last for long ¨C it was only around a dozen seconds. Including Frost Nova, which dealt no damage, Fat Monkey had used a total of eight skills to kill the Paladin.


    "What do you think? Pretty decent right?" Fat Monkey asked, clearly enjoying himself.


    "Your skill combination was a bit slow and you also wasted a big spell in the end. You could¡¯ve solved the problem with an Inferno Impact instead," Lu Li said as he stayed hidden beside Fat Monkey.


    "My bad." Fat Monkey thought for a bit and found that Lu Li¡¯s words were spot on.


    "You don¡¯t know enough about the skills from other classes. You should try training in the battle grounds in your spare time."


    Lu Li swapped to his communicator; he was already somewhere else faraway.


    A Mage who was killing another player from the Horde faction felt a sense of danger. Before he had the time to react, a dagger had already been stabbed into his back. The Ambush that followed sent him into a low health status.


    His healer team member had a fast reaction, but not as fast as the attacker. The healing skill lost its target at a key moment and disappeared into thin air.


    "There¡¯s a gaming master here. Everyone watch out," the captain reminded his team members.


    Most average players wouldn¡¯t dare to try and challenge a team of ten elite players. It was rare for a hundred-man team to appear in Warsong Canyon, as the geography of the map could not accommodate one.


    Only gaming masters wouldn¡¯t charge in for a head on fight. Instead, they wait for the right moment to pounce.


    After Lu Li killed the Mage, he killed another Warrior who was on low health, then went into Stealth mode again and stopped moving.


    The three Alliance players who survived noticed the incoming support and immediately lightened up. They didn¡¯t aim to kill the enemies, and only tried to distract them to create a chance for the gaming master nearby.


    When Fire Monkey came, he casted a Fireball which dealt critical damage and instantly killed an unimpressed player. The rest of the Horde players began to plot their way out, but only three of them survived.

 432 Five Man at Warsong

    "Nice gear," Lu Li said as he inspected Fat Monkey¡¯s equipment.


    "Hehe, our team has already completed the Scarlet Monastery. We can do the Monastery again next week when it refreshes," Fat Monkey said proudly.


    He had brought a ten-man team into the dungeon. With the guide passed down by Lu Li, their team made the fastest progress. He always chose Difficult mode, and although this made the dungeon harder than Elite mode, he gained more from it too.


    "Flower probably has some gear that he doesn¡¯t want. You can go ask him for them," Lu Li suggested with a smile.


    He didn¡¯t want to discourage Fat Monkey. Compared to most players, Fat Monkey did have the right to be proud of himself. However, he couldn¡¯t possibly compete against Lonesome Flower. Lonesome Flower¡¯s gear was so exquisite that even most celebrity Mage players couldn¡¯t compete against him.


    The two of them played for another few dozen minutes until Moonlight, March Rain and Sakura Memories also arrived.


    The five of them temporarily formed a team.


    Lu Li planned to use these members for the Magic Cup in November.


    The Shadow Group invested a little into the Magic Cup, so there was a great deal of respect for the Shadow Cup participants. A team like Ruling Sword, who had won the championship, didn¡¯t even have to participate in the qualifiers. In fact, the top three teams of the Shadow Cup would be able to start from the round of sixteen.


    However, Drizzle Court was already certain that they wouldn¡¯t be competing in the Magic Cup this time. Glory Capital also wasn¡¯t going to send their main team to the competition.


    There were benefits and drawbacks from starting as a top-sixteen team. They could spare a great amount of time and energy on other things, but they would have less time to work on their coordination.


    This wasn¡¯t much of an issue for Sakura Memories because she always followed Lu Li around in dungeons. Although dungeons and PVP were separate things, she still had some foundation in terms of coordination.


    On the other hand, it was a different story for Fat Monkey, whose only interaction with Lu Li was during the guild challenge last time. The challenge barely had any difficulty to it and didn¡¯t really require any coordination.


    As the five players entered the battle ground, the Horde players already felt uneasy.


    Lu Li scouted in front, killing any single targets with one round of his skills.


    He had quite a few Gold grade equips on him, so his damage was extremely high. If the player didn¡¯t have full health to begin with, it would only take him a few attacks to kill them.


    Sakura Memories¡¯ main job, apart from dealing damage, was to cast her Bloodlust and her totems.


    If they ran into a team of ten, Sakura Memories would instantly run over to cast Bloodlust. When Moonlight used his Whirlwind with the Bloodlust effect, Fat Monkey barely even had a chance to secure any missing kills.


    At this stage of the game, there were only a few Shamans who had learned Bloodlust. The first player to use this skill was Empty from Seventh Heaven.


    However, Empty was a Dwarf man while this girl was a Draenei.


    Although Sakura Memories had better gear and was one level higher than Fat Monkey, she still didn¡¯t deal as much damage as him.


    Fat Monkey also began to slowly find his own place. He felt like he could focus on killing healers, as his high damage ensured that no healer would have the spare time to heal someone else apart from themselves.


    However, he wasn¡¯t too enthusiastic in the beginning about this.


    Generally speaking, a lot of female players took healer roles.


    If you went up and attacked a pretty girl, that would bring you a lot of hate. Chances are, you wouldn¡¯t even be able to ask for their number after you killed them.


    March Rain wasn¡¯t fighting by herself anymore either. In the past, people were always eager to chase her down first, so Lu Li and Moonlight always had to keep an eye on her back.


    Now, she stood with Fat Monkey. As soon as someone snuck over to try and attack her, Fat Monkey would cast a Frost Nova. The attacker would then have to worry about how to survive.


    "So many equips!" Sakura Memories rarely came to Warsong Canyon, nor did she have such good team members when she came.


    After half an hour, at least a hundred players had fallen in front of them. Dozens of equips were looted into their bags, mostly Silver grades.


    Just these equips alone were at least worth a few hundred gold coins.


    Sakura Memories was taught a new lesson; she didn¡¯t expect gold to come so easily.


    "From now on, Memories, you and Monkey walk in the front. try to battle alone as much as you can."


    Lu Li and Moonlight exchanged glances and decided to give special training to the two new players.


    "Ahh!" Sakura Memories, who was half-supporting the whole time, was quick shocked.


    "Alright, we¡¯ll give it a try." Fat Monkey, who had already been trained for a while by Lu Li, was much more prepared for this.


    "Let¡¯s go. We don¡¯t lose experience here."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t give them a chance to say more and kicked the two of them out of the team. This meant that March Rain wouldn¡¯t be healing them either.


    Sakura Memories was about to cry. It was true that they wouldn¡¯t lose experience, but they could still lose their equipment.


    She had followed Lu Li in many dungeons in the past, so her gear was extremely valuable. She would probably cry if she lost even one piece of equipment.


    Lu Li watched as they carefully explored into the depths of the Warsong Canyon, then melded into the shadows and secretly followed them. Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to let his team members suffer on their own.


    A Fire Mage and a Buff Shaman ¨C this was a strange combination that left people speechless indeed.


    It seemed like the result of their discussion was that Fat Monkey was to scout in the front. His scouting was pretty good for a Mage, and it seemed like he had spent some time on PVP in the wild.


    If they ran into a small team, they would go around it, even if the team only had five people.


    Lu Li followed behind them for a few minutes until the combination ran into their first fight. It was a Warlock with a pet Succubus.


    The poor Warlock was caught by surprise with a Fireball from Fat Monkey. By the time he had reacted, a Shaman was already running towards him. He casted a fear to scare away Sakura Memories and checked his health; half of his health bar had already disappeared.


    Sakura Memories had casted Bloodlust as soon as they entered the battle.


    Fat Monkey with the Bloodlust buff was like a machine gun, so the Warlock was miserably tortured. By the time Sakura Memories woke up from the fear, the fate of the Warlock was already determined.


    Lu Li spectated the whole battle behind a big tree, and was satisfied with Fat Monkey¡¯s strategy.


    Their two classes weren¡¯t the best combination, so it was the right choice for them to pick a two-against-one fight at the start.


    After they killed a few solo players, Fat Monkey began to become more ambitious.


    He started to choose two players who walked together.


    However, Lu Li began to notice that he wasn¡¯t choosing these players by random, because he always chose a boy and a girl. The girl player would always be terrible as well.


    What is this?


    Lu Li was lost, but this wasn¡¯t much of a secret. There were always boys who wanted to show off in front of girls. Some people even thought that Warsong Canyon was one of the best places to pick up girls.

 433 Darrowshire

    A team composed of both long-ranged and melee classes allowed more flexibility, as well as spacing to prevent being wiped out by crowd control skills. If a single teammate was crowd-controlled, it wouldn¡¯t make that much of a difference to the overall fight. Cunning players like Fat Monkey tended to take advantage of his teammates and use them as bait.


    Lu Li decided to depart after joining them for a little bit.


    Moonlight could lead the remaining four players to continue on in their dungeon. Since everyone was busy trying to clear dungeons, Warsong Valley was unusually quiet and peaceful. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that they would bump into an expert who would give them trouble.


    Lu Li decided to travel to Ravenholdt Manor to complete some quests.


    Someone in the guild needed a bottle of Plagued Bat Blood Serum which could only be obtained from the NPC shop near the dungeon in Western Plaguelands.


    There was no teleporter and the area was swarmed with powerful level 40 monsters along the way. For an average player, it was basically mission impossible, which was why Square Root Three had requested help from Lu Li.


    Apparently, the player who needed the Serum was a hot girl, but that wasn¡¯t the only reason why Square Root Three asked Lu Li for help.


    Her ID was White Bread and she was a female Paladin who was ranked as the number one quest player in Ruling Sword. Her levels and equips were mediocre, and her mechanics weren¡¯t good enough to enter the elite team. As such, she spent her time doing guild quests or leading small groups for training.


    What was hard to believe was that out of the thousands of players in Ruling Sword, a majority of them had talked to or interacted with her.


    She was the hardest working player in the guild, but also the poorest. She would spend her hard-earned money to buy equips for her helpers and teammates.


    Her reputation in Ruling Sword was almost equal to Lu Li and Square Root Three¡¯s. Everyone referred to her as Bread because it was a cute nickname for a cute girl.


    Even if he had to go out of his way, Lu Li would still help her out to thank her for her hard work.


    Stratholme was the next dungeon on the list to clear, however, no one was powerful enough to attempt it yet. Any monster in the dungeon could destroy Lu Li with a single hit.


    Lu Li decided to go around Scarlet Monastery and fly along the coastlines. This way, he could avoid the monsters in the first part of Western Plaguelands which were at least 5 levels above him. Not only would these monsters be difficult to kill, but it would also be extremely risky for Lu Li to face them head on.


    Lu Li needed to be more aware as his level increased because losing EXP now would be extremely discouraging.


    The only monsters he had to worry about when flying along the coastline were the Sea Birds, which looked more like fierce eagles. They were around level 40 and were very large in size. If Lu Li encountered them, he might as well give up on the mission and suicide.


    Luckily, the giant birds were very slow and as long as Lu Li kept his distance, he would be safe.


    When he arrived at Western Plaguelands, he had to descend and travel foot because the Plagued Bats were very fierce. They could detect Stealthed targets both on the ground and in the air.


    Square Root Three had attempted to send other Thieves in the past, but they all died to the Plagued Bats.


    Lu Li came across a bat and managed to kill it, but it left him at half HP. He had no other choice but to find a quiet place to replenish his HP.


    After wandering around for a bit more, he was getting closer to Stratholme.


    There was a small campsite near the Dungeon entrance. Knight Guard Wade was startled by Lu Li, who quickly explained, "Don¡¯t worry, I am a healthy Elf."


    He had to prove that he was healthy and hadn¡¯t contracted the plague.


    The knights here were more afraid of the plague than the Undead monsters around the area.


    "Greetings, honourable knight. Sir, I am an adventurer from Astrana," Lu Li greeted politely. He had to make sure that he didn¡¯t offend him in any way because Wade cared a lot about manners.


    "This is the first time an adventurer has come around these areas."


    Wade inspected Lu Li and could tell that he wasn¡¯t strong enough to train around this area.


    "I want to purchase some Plagued Bat Blood Serum." Lu Li asked, not bothering to go to the merchants first.


    "Plagued Bat Blood Serum?" Wade had a reluctant expression.


    Plagued Bat Blood Serum was extracted from a Plagued Bat. It could be used as a medicine to increase resistance to the plague and treat infected wounds.


    For players, it was a very useful material in Alchemy.


    The most important thing that could be crafted from them was the Superior Antidote. These could only be crafted by Advanced Alchemists and were useful when Advanced Antidotes didn¡¯t work.


    There were also some other uses which were less popular, but could be useful in certain situations.


    "I have four dead Plagued Bats here, freshly killed. Will they be of use to you?" Lu Li asked as he handed over the Plagued Bats he had killed along the way.


    "Fine." Wade looked into Lu Li¡¯s eyes and knew that he had gotten to the campsite by more than luck alone.


    Lu Li bought 200 Bat Blood Serums, which was the most that Sergeant Wade would sell to him. He paid 400 gold and promised Sergeant Wade to bring him some bread and clean water.


    Apparently, he hadn¡¯t received any supplies for months.


    This was a piece of cake for Lu Li because he could fly along the coastlines and avoid the monsters.


    He departed from the campsite and returned on the same path.


    To get to Darrowshire, you could go around Hillsbrad Hill.


    Darrowshire was a small village in the Southern mountains of Lordaeron. Its name originated from a lake called Darrowshire lake which was located to the east of the village. The villagers gere lived a hard-working yet simple life. Darrowshire wasn¡¯t mentioned in the history of Lordaeron, until the start of the Second Great War.


    During the war, countless hero rose to protect their land, and countless heroes fell here in Darrowshire.


    Lu Li walked through the burnt and barren land, under the eerie, blood-red sky. The area was infested with Plagued Bats, which produced a repugnant, rotten stench.


    The houses here had been destroyed, leaving husks and ruins of what they used to be.


    The Scourge Army consisted of Skeletons, Spirits, Plagued Hounds, Rotten Insects, Undead Spiders, Evil Monk and Flesh-Eaters.


    Lu Li found the quest description to be extremely ridiculous.


    Find a little girl in this area?


    She would have either escaped the area with her family, or remained as nothing more than a grave.

 434 Pamela

    The small village beside the town was his destination.


    Along the empty village footpath, the traces of war had disappeared with time.


    Without realising it, Lu Li had become fixated on the ruins of an old house. At that very moment, he felt like he was being held by the throat, unable to breathe.


    Before meeting Pamilla, Lu Li thought she was a sweet and loving little girl.


    She had pink cheeks, dimples and blonde hair as bright as the sun.


    Although she didn¡¯t come from a wealthy background, she was content with the beautiful hand-knit dress made by her mum and the love from her strong and reliable father.


    She also had an older sister that constantly looked after her safety.


    Seeing the current state of Darrowshire, Lu Li hoped that someone had rescued her and taken her away to safety. Perhaps a passing knight, or a powerful mage like Medivh.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li found the person he was looking for.


    She had the same blonde braids and adorable dimples, but her face was pale and almost transparent. Her eyes were filled with fear when she saw the oncoming stranger.


    Lu Li walked over and daringly touched the little girl¡¯s face.


    She was unsure and backed off, but she didn¡¯t feel like she was in danger or threatened by Lu Li because of his sincere gaze. She carefully approached Lu Li¡¯s hands as he lightly stroked her cheeks.


    Lu Li felt nothing!


    She was dead!


    This reminded the hard-working Lu Li of his younger sister.


    He never imagined that Pamela would wind up like this in the quest.


    This was a special quest from Ravenholdt Manor, rarely mentioned by the players of his past.


    Lu Li thought that it would be a simple mission and had no idea it was so complicated.


    "Big brother, are you a bad guy?" The little girl wasn¡¯t creeped out by Lu Li because she was so young. She was quite small, even for a 4 or 5-year-old.


    Before she even understood what death was, she had already crossed path with the Reaper.


    "No, I¡¯m a good guy." Lu Li knelt down and stared into the helpless little girl¡¯s eyes as he asked, "What¡¯s your name? Why are you here by yourself?"


    "My name is Pamela. I¡¯m waiting for my older sister. Do you know where Jessica is? She left when I was still a very, very young girl¡­" The little ghost hadn¡¯t come across anyone in a long time, so she was very happy to talk to Lu Li. She was cheerful and light-hearted like any girl would be at her age.


    Her voice was clear and delicate, and she was very proper, much like his own younger sister.


    "When she left she was very sad and was crying. I didn¡¯t know why she was crying. Maybe she stubbed her toe. When Jessica was still here, we¡¯d often play together, dance together and pick flowers together. Sometimes, when daddy came home, we would hide and try to scare him," the little girl recalled as tears began dripping down her face.


    "Come back Jessica. If you come back, then daddy will be back too and we can play like the old times¡­"


    "Your father¡­ do you know where he went?" Lu Li held back his tears and remained composed.


    He had developed a strong sense of hatred towards the man who had left his family and abandoned his daughter.


    "Aunty Lane made me stay home while daddy went out to war. My daddy is the bravest man in the world, but I¡¯ve been waiting here for a very long time for him to come back. Sometimes, bad people would come and talk to me, and I wish daddy would be here to chase them away¡­" The little girl¡¯s voice became more and more gloomy.


    Lu Li could picture the little girl, sitting out here by the front door, waiting days, weeks and months for her father to return.


    The pain and sadness Lu Li had tried to supress over the years was resurfacing because of the little girl¡¯s story. He remembered when his own parents had passed away and he couldn¡¯t find anyone for shelter or help.


    The financial allowance given by the government was often stolen by the local gangs. In order to survive and feed themselves, Lu Li resorted to begging from people.


    When he left for the day, Lu Xin would sit by the front door just like Pamela. When he returned, she would still be in the exact same place waiting for her older brother. One time, he decided to observe his younger sister from afar and found her sitting at the same place for hours on end, waiting for her older brother to return home safely.


    She would watch as her older brother left until he was out of sight, and would patiently wait until he returned.


    "Sometimes, when it gets dark, I like to play with my doll, but I lost it when I was in town. Can you help me find it?" Pamela asked, as she looked up at Lu Li.


    "Wait here. I¡¯ll be back quickly with your doll." Lu Li remembered seeing pieces of the doll lying around on his way to Darrowshire.


    The little girl nodded and thought that Lu Li was the kindest person she had ever met.


    With a heavy heart, Lu Li returned back to town and searched the ruins for a while. He finally found enough pieces of the doll to complete the quest.


    "Ah! You found it! Tou found my doll¡­" The little girl saw the doll that Lu Li held in his hands and jumped up excitedly. "Oh thank you! thank you! Yay! My doll will help me chase away the bad people."


    Lu Li handed over the doll but felt bad because it was in such terrible condition.


    "Why is it like this?" The little girl began crying upon seeing her fragmented doll.


    "Don¡¯t be sad. I¡¯ll sew it back up for you," Lu Li comforted. He found some tools which could be used to sew the doll back up ¨C an old rod in his bag that he had never used before.


    The hook could be used as a sewing needle and the fishing line could be used as the thread.


    Lu Li was very confident with his sewing skills. As someone who had raised his younger sister by himself, he was very used to sewing and patching up old clothes.


    "Older brother, you¡¯re so skilled at sewing," Pamela said as she held her cheeks and looked at Lu Li admiringly.


    "Pamilla, are you going to continue waiting here?" Lu Li forced a smile on his face. This was the most heart-breaking quest that he had ever attempted.


    "Of course. I¡¯m going to keep waiting. Otherwise, when daddy and Jessica come back, they¡¯ll be worried because I would be missing," the little girl said with a troubled face. "But I feel so lonely. Aunty Lane told me to stay here and wait but she never returned. Older brother, do you think Aunty Lane knows where they are?"


    The little girl had complete trust in Lu Li now, but he didn¡¯t know how to reply to her na?ve and innocent questions.


    "Jessica once told me that Aunty Lane lived in a house near the south of Andorhal. Older brother, you¡¯re my newest best friend. Can you go and help me find my Aunty?" Pamilla asked.


    "Of course. I¡¯ll go look for her for you. Look, I¡¯ve patched up your doll," Lu Li said as he handed the doll back to her.


    "It¡¯s beautiful again! This is my lovely doll and she¡¯ll protect me from any danger. I¡¯ll wait right here, but promise you¡¯ll come back," Pamilla squealed happily.

 435 Chromie

    Following the clues provided by Pamela, Lu Li found Marlene Redpath in a broken house at the foot of Andorhal. There were ghosts and Scourge monsters wandering around, and Marlene was also a ghost herself.


    It seemed like even she was unable to escape the corruption of the Scourge.


    Although he had previously prepared himself, when Lu Li saw this ghost woman, he sighed.


    The fate of this family was reflective of the tragedy of Lordaeron. All kinds of families had perished due to the corruption of the Scourge.


    "Do you know Pamela?" Lu Li asked.


    Marlene¡¯s dull expression lit up as she anxiously responded with a barrage of questions.


    "Have you seen Pamela? How is she? Is she still alive?"


    These three consecutive questions demonstrated her love for Pamela. Who wouldn¡¯t love a girl like that?


    "She¡­ has already died," Lu Li sighed.


    "She was such a happy child; she was so young too. Did she know what happened to her dad?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t see the ghost¡¯s tears, but he wondered if ghosts could cry as sadness filled with atmosphere.


    "I don¡¯t think she did; she didn¡¯t even seem to know that she was dead," Lu Li said quietly.


    Pamela¡¯s aunt burst into tears. She had already died, but perhaps she was so attached to her niece that she had become a ghost and stayed here.


    "Has Pamela¡¯s father died?" Lu Li asked softly.


    He initially thought that Pamela¡¯s father had left her and he was hateful towards him. However, after learning the truth, his spite turned into respect.


    For his daughter, his family and his land, he had shed his own blood.


    "Died in battle? His fate was even worse. I had really hoped that Joseph could return to his daughter, but it is now impossible. His soul was corrupted by the Scourge and he is now a monster," Marlene said sadly.


    "A monster¡­" Lu Li could imagine what had happened.


    As the Warriors and the Scourge fought, Warriors were constantly dying, but many of them stood back up again. These Warriors then had to fight people that once stood by their side.


    This was the terror of the Scourge.


    "Is there any way for me to help?" Lu Li asked.


    Since this was a quest, there had to be some solution. He was willing to try his best for Pamela.


    "If you can find a particular person, there might be a chance for the father and daughter to reunite," Marlene responded after thinking for a long time. She didn¡¯t have any confidence in the idea at all.


    "Who is it?" Lu Li quickly asked.


    "Master Chromie. When I¡­ I was still alive, I had heard legends about him," Marlene said with some hesitation.


    "Chromie, Bronze Dragon, Guardian of Time."


    Lu Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He knew Chromie from his past life.


    When the Lich King attacked the Dragonblight Wilderness, this drove Malygos and some of the other dragons crazy. When the Infinite Dragonflight invaded the Bronze Dragonshrine, Chromie was sent there too as an ambassador of the Bronze Dragon Corps to negotiate between the dragons and the mortals.


    To most ordinary players, she was a cute character with strong equipment.


    However, her strength wasn¡¯t to be underestimated. Consider the other people from Wyrnmrest Temple: the Queen of the Red Dragon Krasus, Kalecgos of the Blue Dragon and Lord Itharius of the Green Dragon¡­


    None of them were lower than an Epic level and Chromie was at least the same level as they were.


    It was also generally accepted that Chromie was the direct descendant of Nozdormu.


    As the Guardian of Time, following the mandate given by King of Gods Aman¡¯Thul, the Bronze Dragon Corps were committed to guarding the timeline of Azeroth. They often stayed in hiding and were rarely seen by the other races.


    However, there were always a few members of the Bronze Dragon Corp who were willing to communicate with the mortals. Chromie was one of them.


    "If you are willing, you might be able to find her in the Andorhal Ruins. I don¡¯t know if it really is her as she is too strong for me to approach," Marlene said before imploring, "I beg you, kind elf. I hear that an item of the dead can be used to change the history of that person. Go to the cemetery of the village and find Joseph¡¯s tomb. His body isn¡¯t there because his ashes were scattered some years ago, but his wedding ring is still under the tombstone."


    "I understand."


    Lu Li carefully remembered the details and head towards the village¡¯s cemetery.


    He didn¡¯t know who or what would be at the post-war cemetery. In Lu Li¡¯s mind, a flash of a ghost riding a coach appeared. It was someone he playfully thought to be the garbage collector.


    Lu Li reached the edge of the cemetery and looked around to find the tombstone.


    After digging through a very shallow layer of soil, he soon found a ring hidden within a wooden box.


    It was Joseph¡¯s wedding ring.


    After taking the ring, the grave released a puff of blue smoke that floated up and formed a middle-aged man. He couldn¡¯t work out if this was some kind of creature, but Lu Li could hear him shouting Pamela¡¯s name.


    Please¡­


    The Paladin lowered his head nobly and knelt before Lu Li.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything. He responded with the standard elf salute and watched as it dissipated into the wind.


    In the Andorhal Ruins, Lu Li found Chromie among some piles of rubble. She was about the height of his knee and looked quite like a child, much like Pamela.


    "Esteemed Guardian of Time, Master Chromie, a Night Elf adventurer greets you. May your glory last forever through the river of time." Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to treat her as a little girl ¨C this was the most powerful presence he had encountered since Medivh.


    "Hey, who¡¯s talking to me?"


    The girl woke up from her sleep and rubbed her eyes. As she looked up and saw Lu Li, she exclaimed in shock, "Heavens, you¡¯re so tall!"


    "Master Chromie¡­" Lu Li didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    "Just call me Chromie; I like that name," the girl said as she lazily stretched her hand out towards Lu Li. "Now, save me from this damn pile of boxes."


    These boxes weren¡¯t small ¨C they were almost the same size as her ¨C but how could these things trap a dragon?


    Lu Li wisely didn¡¯t say too much and reached down to pull Chromie out of the box then put her gently onto the floor.


    "Thank you elf. Where are you from?" Chromie winked and looked carefully at Lu Li before adding, "I can¡¯t see your past nor your future. For our race, this is quite an incredible thing."


    "I¡¯m an adventurer." Lu Li hardly knew how to answer.


    He was a player, so naturally, there would be nothing in his past and nothing about him in the future.

 436 Who Dealt the Killing Blow?

    "Sorry, I¡¯ve been stuck here for quite some time. What is an adventurer? Can I eat it?" Chromie looked up as she blinked innocently at Lu Li.


    "You cannot, esteemed Time Traveller. I have come here to ask for your help."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have much else to say to this cute Bronze Dragon. He already knew that Chromie would take any opportunity to act cute.


    He had already called her the Guardian of Time, Chromie and some other names. He clearly knew who she was but she was still acting dumb.


    "Fine. How¡¯s Tyrande?" Chromie hated old-fashioned people the most.


    "Sorry, I¡¯ve never met Master Tyrande," Lu Li said truthfully. When doing a quest like this, it wasn¡¯t wise to make things up.


    "Oh, I really miss Tyrande¡¯s long legs," the girl said as she jumped on the spot. "Alright, you useless being, speak and we¡¯ll see what the Great Chromie can do for you, seeing as you are so keen for my help."


    Lu Li ignored her last sentence and explained his situation.


    "She doesn¡¯t know that she is already dead?" As Chromie listened to Lu Li story, she settled down and stopped acting cute.


    The Guardian of Time had seen many things in her lfie, but Pamela¡¯s experience was truly shocking.


    "It¡¯s true, Master Chromie. Pamela wasn¡¯t even five when she died, but she continues to wait for the return of her father and sister," Lu Li confirmed as he handed Joseph¡¯s ring to the powerful Bronze Dragon and looked hopefully at her. "Can you help her?"


    "What is this, a wedding ring? Let me see¡­ this ring was worn by a brave warrior. This was Pamela¡¯s father, but even his soul has been contaminated," the little girl said with a frown.


    "This is why I need your help," Lu Li clarified.


    "Do you want to go back in time to save him?" Chromie asked.


    "If it is necessary," Lu Li said. "I will try my best to change all this while time travelling."


    "Change all this? "You don¡¯t even know what happened in the past, and you dare to change history?"


    "Now that I know about it, I have to do something." Lu Li didn¡¯t have a passionate speech, but his determination could be clearly heard.


    In that moment, a picture appeared in Lu Li¡¯s head that was haunting him¡­


    Under the blood red sky and in the dark ruins was a little figure standing alone. She was hugging her doll and overlooking the distance.


    My father will come back and we will be happy again. They¡¯re just a little late¡­


    As someone who had experienced rebirth, Lu Li knew the struggles of his past life and the hope that this new life gave him. However, this hope hadn¡¯t fully healed the wounds from his old life. Deep inside, he would always be reminded of how his life had changed only because of his rebirth.


    In the process of this change, Lu Li had gained a lot, but he had also lost the honest simplicity of the past.


    He was always getting First Clears in Instance Dungeons, those who provoked him while he was farming were killed and he sought to get First Place in the Championships¡­


    Through all of these trials and victories, Lu Li had found himself becoming numb and a little cold in order to make money.


    Pamela touched the deepest part of himself, a part which had nothing to do with rebirth or his sister. It was a part that was just him.


    "You must have a great many stories to tell," Chromie muttered. "I accept. But if we want to save Joseph Redpath, we must first understand his past. In the Andorhal Ruin¡¯s City Centre, there is a book called the ¡®Annals of Darrowshire¡¯. It will tell us something important. Bring this book to me and we will understand Joseph¡¯s fate. Then, if we¡¯re lucky¡­ we can change it!"


    Lu Li nodded and returned to the ruins of Andorhal which was filled with monsters.


    It was very dangerous here and Lu Li had to rely on his strong equipment and skills to escape as his level was still far too low.


    There were some bards in Dawn who would collect some of the local history and legends wherever they stayed to record in writing.


    This fairly complete set of cottages was probably where the bards were resting.


    There were some works scattered on the table. Lu Li looked through them patiently for quite some time before finding the item that he wanted.


    The first volume of the book he found was the Annals of the Darrowshire. Lu Li quickly flipped through its pages.


    The second volume was the battle of Darrowshire. The writing was very detailed and it was probably a firsthand account.


    The battle of Darrowshire had taken place in the middle of the Second War. At that time, the Scourge was rampaging through Lordaeron¡¯s land and the local militia led by Joseph Redpath was fighting the Scourge Ghouls.


    As the war went on, Darrowshire¡¯s connection to the main force was cut off.


    Saying the battle was intense was an understatement, but it turned out to be a tragic event.


    At this time, the Silver Hand Paladins came to support them. The Paladins¡¯ leader was Dave Crawford, who was a local of Darrowshire. He led his followers to the town that he had learned was about to be attacked and joined the resistance against Horgus¡¯ forces.


    When Horgus himself joined the battle, Dave Crawford confronted him head-on. Their battle lasted for a long time and he eventually won, but he was seriously injured and died shortly after defeating the King of the Ghouls.


    The fighting continued as Redpath continued to lead the militia to fight bravely.


    In the battle, an Undead Paladin snuck up on Redpath and attacked him. He used dark magic to tear through Redpath¡¯s will and distorted his soul into an evil shadow.


    The fallen Redpath then spread his corruption throughout the Darrowshire Garrison. The infected soldiers betrayed their compatriots and slaughtered them before turning to Darrowshire and slaughtering the people as well.


    The remaining Undead troops and the fallen Redpath left Darrowshire, which had fallen into ruin as part of Lordaeron.


    This was Joseph Redpath¡¯s final experience and battle.


    Lu Li took this book back to Chromie.


    Chromie looked at it and nodded as she said, "Well, it must be him. It¡¯s quite a tragic story. If it¡¯s possible, we really do need to help him, right? Let¡¯s verify the details of the history. This requires the use of some magic¡­"


    While watching the girl cast divine magic in full focus, Lu Li¡¯s thoughts started to drift.


    He remembered that the end of the book, they turned to Darrowshire and killed the people hiding in their homes. If that was the case, who killed Pamela?


    She must not have known what the person who was approaching wanted to do.


    Perhaps she might have even shouted with her tender voice, "Uncle, do you want to play hide and seek with Pamela?"

 437 Fighting Remnants

    "Now I have some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?" The girl only stopped after half a day¡¯s effort. It seemed like time manipulation was no simple matter.


    "Just give me the news." Lu Li wasn¡¯t in the mood for any games.


    "Well, the good news is that the Annals of Darrowshire have been changed to some extent thanks to my magic. In order words, everything that has happened can now be changed." The girl then scratched her head and continued, "But the bad news is that there were some survivors of the battle and you need to get their permission before I can continue."


    "Who are they?" Lu Li asked.


    "How should I know? There¡¯s only one wedding ring. Maybe you can ask Pamela or her aunt."


    Chromie was helpless here. She needed a relevant item to determine something from the past.


    Lu Li went to look for Marlene first, but she wasn¡¯t there anymore.


    The only thing he could do was to meet that poor girl again.


    When Pamela saw Lu Li, her face lit up. "Big brother, you¡¯ve come back! I thought you would have left me behind just like my father did."


    This damned quest was making him feel so sad.


    Lu Li quickly told her why he had come so that Pamela could recall who else was there.


    Pamela tilted her head and thought for a while before saying, "Oh yes, sometimes late at night I can hear Uncle Carlin crying. The sound seems to be coming from Far East. I hope that he isn¡¯t crying for me. Big brother, can you find my uncle and tell him I am well? Also, tell him that I am here waiting for him and that I really want hear the story he always used to tell. The one about the rabbit and the jam ¨C it¡¯s a really funny story!"


    East¡­ Carlin¡­


    Lu Li suddenly remembered that there was someone at Light¡¯s Hope Chapel called Carlin.


    Yes, it must be him. Carlin Redpath.


    "Big brother, will you be back quickly?" Pamela wanted to grab onto Lu Li¡¯s clothes but she missed and her hands passed right through Lu Li¡¯s pants.


    "I will," Lu Li nodded. He also secretly decided that if he couldn¡¯t finish this quest, he would come and visit this girl often.


    Despite how difficult the travel was, Lu Li eventually reached Light¡¯s Hope Chapel.


    "Visitor from a faraway land, how can I help you?" a sentry greeted Lu Li as he walked forwards.


    "I¡¯m looking for Carlin. I bring news about his hometown," Lu Li greeted in response.


    "Oh, Carlin. That poor man. I¡¯ll take you to him."


    The sentry, who was a member of the Silver Dawn, then led Lu Li to Carlin.


    Lu Li had just begun his explanation when he mentioned Pamela.


    "Have you seen Pamela? How could she still be alive?" Carlin exclaimed. He had fallen during the battle of Darrowshire and although he was seriously injured, he was lucky enough to not be infected.


    A few days after the war, the Silver Dawn organization discovered the dying Carlin Redpath who was thirsty, tired and had a fever. He had collapsed near the Crossroads Outpost. A Paladin healed his injuries and took him into Light¡¯s Hope Chapel.


    Thanks to their compassion Dawn, Carlin Redpath joined the Silver Dawn and fought alongside them against the Scourge¡­


    As for Pamela, no one thought that the little girl was still alive.


    Due to his immense sorrow, Carlin never returned to his hometown. Whenever he felt weak, he let it out by killing monsters and when he was alone, he would be choked with his tears.


    "She has already died, but her soul remains in her hometown. She¡­" Lu Li explained her circumstances with great difficulty.


    Every time he told Pamela¡¯s story, it felt like torture. It was like a rope around his heart that tightened as he progressed through the narrative.


    "Heavens. Oh Pamela, why does your soul still suffer on this earth? You¡¯re so young; I wish I was dead. Why am I not the one that died!?" Carlin¡¯s emotions flared up as he beat the ground. Two Paladins who heard him came in and held him down on either side.


    Seeing the reddened eyes of this jaded man, Lu Li sighed, "I¡¯m now trying to change her fate in the hopes that she will be able to meet her father."


    "That¡¯s impossible. Joseph has already died and he became a monster. He let me kill him but I couldn¡¯t do it. I couldn¡¯t face him¡­" Carlin knelt on the ground and could barely speak.


    "Read this book," Lu Li said as he handed him the Annals of Darrowshire.


    Carlin looked at the book for a long time before finally rubbing his eyes and facing Lu Li. "Speak, brother. What do you need me to do?"


    "I want to travel through time and maybe alter fate itself. Mr. Carlin, I need your permission to do so and some relics from that time. Do you have anything for me?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course. I have no problem with any of this. Can I come with you as well?" Carlin Redpath immediately wanted to participate when he heard about the time travelling.


    "Carlin, it¡¯s too dangerous," one of his Paladin companions said.


    "He¡¯s just a level 32 Thief; how can he time travel?" The other Paladin also didn¡¯t want to risk their leader.


    "I believe him," Carlin said firmly. "Both he and I have a heart of compassion. May the light be with us!"


    Refusing the protests of the other two Paladins, Carlin and Lu Li travelled alone. The Paladin stood in front of Lu Li and killed the monsters that stood in their way.


    "Where do we go to find the relics?" Lu Li helped by poking his knife from one side.


    "The book mentioned a Dave Crawford. After his sacrifice, the Scarlet Crusade put his emblem in the townhall of the Fireplace Valley.They are a group of fanatical warriors; we probably don¡¯t stand a chance against them," Carlin rejected that relic and continued, "The book also mentioned my brother ¨C the Redpath leader. After his rebellion, his shield was crushed and abandoned. It was thrown away in a barn near Gahrron; let¡¯s get that one."


    Gahrron¡­


    If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, Gahrron was where the ¡®Abominations¡¯ gathered. They were a kind of monster that was made up from the corpses of other monsters. If Lu Li met one of these, he could only turn away, as a level 32 player like him would be no match for it.


    However, with Carlin Redpath by his side, the situation was completely different.


    After experiencing so much hatred and bloodshed, Carlin had become a very powerful Paladin in the Silver Dawn.


    When Lu Li expressed his admiration for him, the last survivor of the Redpath family was silent for a moment before saying, "If my brother Joseph was still alive, he definitely would have been the strongest Paladin in the land."


    The crushed shield that had once protected Joseph in battle was picked up. This item would serve as a medium for them to complete their time travel.


    There was Plunderer Horgus¡¯ Head and the Undead Paladin¡¯s sword. All of these were attributed because of Carlin ¨C if it weren¡¯t for him, there was no way that Lu Li could have gotten these items.


    These relics were also haunted by spirits of the past, so Carlin¡¯s holy light also came in handy.


    The spirits there were unwilling to leave were chased away by the holy light. Carlin did this resolutely as his body appeared to be completely shrouded in the light.

 438 Darrowshire, Do Not Give Up Hope!

    After the relics were collected, Lu Li took Carlin to the Andorhal Ruins.


    On the way through Darrowshire, Lu Li asked if he wanted to see Pamela.


    Carlin, the man who didn¡¯t bat an eyelid in the face of vicious monsters and rarely appeared timid, shook his head.


    "Either I bring home her father or I will die on the Darrowshire battlefield¡­"


    By the time they reached the ruined houses of Andorhal, Lu Li could see Chromie in the distance.


    The Bronze Dragon incarnate was squatting on a roof and blankly staring at the sky. The sky was darkened with rain ¨C a dreary sight to behold.


    Lu Li brought Carlin to her with a salute.


    She had returned to her jovial attitude; it was almost like her previous seriousness was a deception.


    "That¡¯s correct, these items can be used to cast a powerful skill. 	It should be enough to send you into Darrowshire¡¯s past," Chromie said after examining the relics Lu Li gave her. "Boys, soon you will experience the unforgettable experience of time travel. Are you ready?"


    "Of course." Lu Li and Carlin were somewhat impatient.


    "Settle down boys," Chromie said seriously. "You need to know exactly what you will face. This is a very tragic battle. First, you need to stay alive, but you also need to complete two tasks. The King of Ghouls must die and Dave must survive. Redpath must also survive until he is corrupted. Once he is corrupted, you must defeat him to redeem his soul."


    "I want to stop him from being corrupted; I would rather take his place," Carlin said, raising his voice. "Pamela is still waiting for him. Oh, great time traveler, I am willing to pay whatever price for it."


    "Take the relics to the exact centre of Darrowshire. The soul of the Darrowshire inhabitants will be reawakened and time will be reversed. As to what the result will be, you unfortunately don¡¯t have a say in it."


    The little girl brought Lu Li and Carlin away from Andorhal and to Darrowshire, where the battle was fought.


    They had returned to Darrowshire once again and it was already evening. Lu Li checked the equipment he had once more. He had a bag of potions and poison applied on his weapons. Carlin just glanced over his Paladin¡¯s sword.


    Suddenly, Lu Li felt a bit of regret for bringing this person. He had a hunch that Mr.Paladin wasn¡¯t going to make it back.


    Chromie placed the relics in the exact centre of Darrowshire. Lu Li could feel the environment change as a spooky purple light was emitted from the items. Souls could be seen restlessly moving about and an unforgettable experience was about to start¡­


    One after another, the ethereal souls condensed into different human forms.


    Carlin¡¯s lips were quivering. It was likely that he was seeing many of his comrades who had fought with him, side by side. His brother Joseph was also among them.


    Before they had time to say anything, the fog of war descended over Darrowshire.


    Suddenly, a Darrowshire Defender shouted, "Darrowshire¡¯s Warriors, pick up your weapons! The deadly Scourge is coming!"


    Lu Li saw armed soldiers rushing to the edge of the town as the Scourge began to attack. The battle of Darrowshire had started once again!


    In the face of level 35 and higher monsters, Lu Li didn¡¯t flinch.


    There had long since been a fire burning in his heart. There was nothing else in this fantasy that he hated more ¨C not even the children were spared.


    The damned Scourge ¨C they desecrated life itself!


    At first, the fighting to was not too difficult, but as more and more Scourge monsters joined the fight, the Darrowshire militia struggled even harder to fight back.


    At this time, a resounding cry could be heard all over Darrowshire.


    "Darrowshire, do not give up hope! We will not fail!"


    It was the Silver Hand Paladins! They were finally here!


    With the Paladins led by Dave, the advance of the Scourge was suddenly halted. A light could be seen from the defensive line, which served to revitalize the hope of everyone there.


    During this scene, Carlin was bawling as he cried out, "Darrowshire, do not give up hope!"


    Lu Li also opened his mouth and shouted.


    Darrowshire, do not give up hope!


    They yelled those words again and again. It was a plea to fate, but also a reminder to themselves.


    At this moment, Lu Li wasn¡¯t even thinking about how this was a quest. Instead, he was like a member of Darrowshire, fighting as a warrior to defend his home and the helpless woman and children in the town behind him. He wasn¡¯t even thinking about Pamela.


    Plunderer Horgus yelled, "Dave! Shine a light to your heart so I can rip it out!


    The King of Ghouls had finally appeared?


    Lu Li and Carlin glanced at each other and knew that the crucial moment was coming.


    The moment Horgus joined the battle, the Scourge¡¯s offence would also intensify. Countless scourge soldiers would attack from all directions, encircling the Paladin and Militia defenders. There would soon be signs of collapse.


    It wasn¡¯t clear what his intention was, but Dave immediately gathered a few squires and rushed towards Horgus to kill him.


    This was a true Paladin, brave and fearless!


    Lu Li looked from a distance as Dave and Horgus fought, but there was a heavy sea of skeletons blocking the path ahead. No matter how hard they fought, more Undead would fill the gap.


    He was just a level 32 Thief!


    Carlin¡¯s experience was somewhat similar to his. Even though he had strained himself already, his light was still shining brightly. However, the huge number of Scourge was no easy thing to deal with.


    "I have to." Lu Li gritted his teeth and threw out a number of dark objects that exploded around him.


    Ivy¡¯s Fool bombs!


    Not only did these deal 2000 base damage, but they also dealt bonus damage to the Undead. Two bombs could basically wipe an area.


    Countless skeleton limbs were sent flying everywhere!


    Lu Li and Carlin finally managed to push through.


    In just a few seconds, Lu Li had spent a lot of money.


    Starwood was already very difficult to collect and his cooperation with Shen Wansan in that regard had long since ended. Lu Li only had a few more of them left in his backpack.


    These spare bombs had all just been used here.


    He hoped that this was worth it, as he rushed towards Horgus the King of Ghouls. In the face of this level 45 Boss, he unceremoniously brandished his Shard of the Defiler.


    Shortly after, Paladin Carlin, the God of the Silver Dawn Paladins, rushed right in front of Horgus

 439 Fate

    It was only after participating in the battle did Lu Li realise that Horgus was a level 45 Boss, and that Dave was a level 40 Boss. Paladin Carlin was weakeratlevel 38 and was barely a Boss, but his HP was only half of Dave¡¯s.


    The three of them only just barely had the upper hand.


    One could only imagine how difficult it was for Dave to fight it off in the past.


    Lu Li was completely in over his head for this fight. They had only just started and he had already lost half of his HP. Fortunately, as a player he could take all sorts of potions. Otherwise, he would have become a corpse by now.


    For the rest of the fight, Lu Li only played a small role.


    Carlin was fighting with all his might; his long sword had caused a great amount of damage to the ghoul.


    It was more accurate to say that the two Paladins, Dave and Carlin, both eventually wore down the ghoul. When the ghoul was about to fall, Lu Li got the last hit, even though he didn¡¯t intend to.


    The level 45 Boss exploded as a whole bunch of items flew everywhere.


    Despite this, Lu Li¡¯s eyes were fixed solely on the Silver Hand leader Dave. His footsteps were staggered and he was in a critical state.


    He had tanked most of the damage, so it was hard for him to avoid injury.


    Carlin was also similarly injured, as he had taken a lot of damage for Dave.


    "It¡¯s regrettable, but my injuries are too grave. Warriors, you must continue the fight!"


    Dave went unconscious, but he wasn¡¯t dead yet. Even so, it was clear that he couldn¡¯t continue fighting.


    Lu Li picked up the things the King of Ghouls had dropped. He didn¡¯t have the time to check them before going back into battle.


    System: Congratulations, Ruling Sword¡¯s Lu Li has finished off the level 45 King of Ghouls Boss, Plunderer Horgus and acquired the First Clear.


    As players were discovering new parts of the map all the time, First Clears on Wild Bosses were common. However, this was the first First Clear on a level 45 Boss.


    The flashing broadcast of this First Clear once again redefined what players thought Lu Li could do, but strangely, no one was talking about it on the World Channel. The players who normally liked chatting had all been shut up.


    What could Lu Li be doing?


    Killing a level 35 Boss required several hundred players to accomplish, but Lu Li had killed a level 45 Boss on his own.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to any of this; the fighting in Darrowshire was still miserable.


    He didn¡¯t know how many potions he had taken; he was just taking them as soon as the cooldown wore off. He was trying to regenerate a sufficient amount of HP in preparation for the difficult fight ahead.


    With the death of Horgus, the Scourge was thrown into chaos. As for the defenders of Darrowshire, Dave¡¯s injuries had also taken a toll on their morale.


    Fortunately, the human militia leader was skilled and commanded his remaining soldiers to withstand the Scourge. Lu Li and Paladin Carlin stood near him and defended him the best that they could.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know how long he was fighting for, but he quickly reached level 33.


    The system seemed to have accepted that Carlin and he had formed a party, so he was receiving part-EXP for each monster Carlin killed. This was one of the hidden rewards of this quest.


    Carlin also shared a Vampirism aura, which gave him some protection from the regular mobs.


    Before they realized it, the type of Undead that was before them had changed.


    The ordinary monsters had been replaced by Elite ones and Lu Li had to retreat to Paladin Carlin¡¯s side, relying on his strength to survive. The rest of the militia could also feel the rising pressure as people were dying left and right.


    Joseph Redpath shouted, "Guardians of Darrowshire! Come together! We must defeat them!"


    With Joseph Redpath¡¯s cry, the spirits of the survivors were reinvigorated and they managed to maintain the defensive line. Joseph himself was constantly supporting the weaker areas of the defensive line.


    Under the leadership of this hero, the seemingly endless stream of Undead finally started to slow down. In the eyes of the survivors, there seemed to be a light at the end of the tunnel.


    They just needed to hold on for a little longer. Darrowshire could be defended!


    Only Lu Li and Paladin Carlin remained fully alert. They were waiting for the death of the Paladin; it was their only chance to save Joseph.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what the result of this quest would be. He was actually quite confused as to whether this rerun of the battle would change anything. Could Darrowshire survive the invasion of the Scourge this time?


    If they could, would they be allowed to follow Jaina and withdraw to Theramore at Theramore¡¯s Fall together?


    The survivors of Lordaeron followed Jaina and were led by the Prophet Mage Medivh to continue building Theramore in Theramore¡¯s Fall.


    If they could change the fate of this timeline, and Joseph, Carlin and Pamela could all live in Theramore, that would be favorable too.


    While he was deep in thought, Lu Li completely missed a Skeleton War Horse nearby. It was Carlin and Joseph who noticed it first. After all, Lu Li¡¯s level was still quite low.


    This was Marduk the Black, the most famous assassin of the Death Knights.


    He had a great black sword that could infect and kill anyone that was a lower level than he was. This time, he was waving his sword at Joseph. His target was clearly the leader of these remnants.


    Paladin Carlin stormed towards him; the moment he had been waiting for had come.


    His heart had long since accepted his death ¨C he was going to exchange his life for his brother Joseph. Pamela couldn¡¯t be without a father.


    However, Paladin Carlin felt a pull that made him fall backwards. From Lu Li¡¯s perspective, Joseph Redpath had pulled back his brother and charged forwards.


    Lu Li quickly used his Cloak¡¯s effect which caused him to instantly appear behind Marduk.


    Cheap Shot!


    No effect!


    With such a huge level gap and the fact that his opponent was a Boss, Lu Li¡¯s attack was nothing more than a joke.


    He could only attack it desperately.


    The helplessness that he was feeling, fighting against fate, was quite familiar!


    Paladin Carlin rushed in with a similar recklessness, preferring to die here than to face the ghost of his niece.


    Unfortunately, it was appeared as though everything had been doomed from the start. Joseph took a hit from the Marduk¡¯s black sword as he shook off the Cheap Shot, but also took a fatal hit himself.


    "Carlin, kill me!" Joseph Redpath felt that he was being pulled away from the light and knew what was happening.


    "Why is fate so cruel? Why didn¡¯t I die?!"


    Even after so many years, Carlin Redpath roared as he felt the same pain.


    "Pamela¡­" Joseph¡¯s last bit of sanity faded as he lay on the ground in a puddle of blood.


    Under a dark, weeping sky, in the desolate ruins, a small figure was standing alone. Her arms were wrapped around a doll as she looked into the distance. Why hasn¡¯t dad come back¡­?


    Leader Redpath has been killed!


    History repeated itself as Joseph Redpath fell to Death Knight Marduk¡¯s sword. He then stood up once again, this time as the Corrupted Redpath Leade

 440 The Final Fate of Pamela

    "Paladin Carlin, let¡¯s put him to rest," Lu Li whispered as he rushed past Paladin Carlin.


    "Rest? Who will give me rest?" The Paladin had a fierce look on his face. With all the pain he had suffered, he had turned into a monster of his own.


    "Joseph is a hero; he should die as a hero and not a monster," Lu Li said firmly. "Pamela should be proud of her father."


    "He should. That should be his fate." Carlin¡¯s grief was unimaginable ¨C he had lost his brother twice.


    "Then let me, an outsider, finish this and you can grieve for the rest of your life," Lu Li said as he rushed towards the Fallen Joseph Redpath.


    His reasoning was wrong, but he didn¡¯t want to lose valuable Quest EXP.


    Fortunately, Joseph wasn¡¯t too strong yet as he had not been completely corrupted. Lu Li couldn¡¯t kill him, but he could deal some damage.


    He had used Gale Steps, Vanish and the other protective effects that he had from his equipment. However, Joseph had only lost a bit of HP; it was probably no less than 10%


    Could it be that this was where he was going to die?


    Truthfully, Lu Li wasn¡¯t willing to die here. He was even less willing to fail the quest here.


    Clang!


    Carlin had finally rushed over to help Lu Li who had almost no HP, providing him with some much-needed space to breathe.


    "This is a fight for Pamela, so she won¡¯t have to die to her father¡¯s hands." Paladin Carlin¡¯s face was solemn, just like when Lu Li had first met him.


    The fight between the two Paladins was tragic. It was just a moment ago that these brothers were fighting side by side.


    The fight didn¡¯t last long, as Joseph strength hadn¡¯t fully come to him, so he was weaker than usual. After five minutes, Carlin smashed his shield and killed him on the spot.


    In that moment, Lu Li clearly saw Redpath¡¯s corrupted eyes clear up.


    This was probably the release of the corruption.


    Unfortunately, Carlin, who was kneeling and crying in front of his brother, didn¡¯t get to see that.


    The surrounding battle slowly quieted down as the souls stopped fighting and looked quietly at the fallen Redpath on the ground.


    A voice then emphatically cried out, "The Scourge is defeated! Darrowshire is saved!"


    The voice was filled with a mix of emotions and Lu Li could feel a great sense of relief.


    With a gust of wind, the warriors were scattered like sand. All the suffering and betrayal to come had now dissipated.


    At least in that moment, the Darrowshire that they had worked so hard to protect was now safe. The souls could now rest assured in heaven.


    Even the death of Paladin Dave was avoided. As he disappeared, he gave Lu Li a bow. Lu Li felt like they would meet again in future.


    The corrupted Joseph that had regenerated was now just a shadow.


    "I couldn¡¯t save you, and now I have killed you Joseph. How can I face Pamela?" Paladin Carlin whispered softly, kneeling down.


    "Do not cry Carlin; remember what father always said. A man should not show his tears," Joseph¡¯s soul said gently. "My eyes were blinded by the darkness but you have saved me from the evil. You saved me, Carlin, so I now beg you¡­ to forgive me."


    "It¡¯s not your fault Joseph. You tried." Carlin was still a Paladin, so after experiencing the loss of his brother, he started to act more like the leader of the Silver Dawn Paladins.


    "Thank you, my friends, but now I need to go home."


    The soul of Joseph turned and walked towards the direction of his house.


    Carlin and Lu Li slowly followed him as Chromie¡¯s magic weakened behind them. As time was rapidly passing, the village quickly turned into ruins.


    "The battle must be over; I think I can hear my father talking¡­"


    A little girl rushed out of the room and flew into Joseph¡¯s arms. Her cheerful voice had a hint of sadness within it.


    "Daddy!"


    Joseph Redpath hugged Pamela and sighed, "Pamela, my dear? Are you okay?"


    "Daddy! Daddy! You¡¯re back! Let¡¯s go play! No, tell me a story daddy! No¡­ let¡¯s go pick some flowers! Then we¡¯ll have tea! I found my doll ¨C did I tell you?"


    It was like an ordinary, na?ve child finally meeting her father after a long time.


    "Uncle, you¡¯re here too. Did you find my daddy?" the girl asked as she raised her head from her father¡¯s shoulders and smiled shyly.


    "Pamela, sorry."


    Carlin opened his mouth but didn¡¯t dare to go close to her. He was afraid that his light would dispel the soul.


    After so many years, he hadn¡¯t stepped back into Darrowshire.


    "And you, big brother, thank you for helping me mend the doll and finding Uncle Carlin and daddy," Pamela said as she smiled sweetly at Lu Li.


    She stretched out her little hand and fiddle with the back of her neck to remove a string of stones.


    "This is the stone amulet that I made after losing my doll. It¡¯s exactly like next-door-neighbor Timmy¡¯s. Please take it."


    "Thank you, Pamela. I love it" Lu Li accepted the roughly made necklace and smiled bitterly.


    "There was also a piece of candy that I liked, but I accidentally ate it. Big brother, do you like candy?" Pamela was tightly holding her father and spoke with her chin on his shoulder.


    "I will buy you the sweetest candy in future." Lu Li felt a bitterness that he couldn¡¯t shake.


    "I really missed you, daddy!" Pamela exclaimed, as she rubbed her face in Joseph¡¯s arms.


    Joseph clung onto the small Pamela and said, "I really missed you my dear. I¡¯m finally home¡­"


    The father and daughter were holding onto each other as their souls disappeared.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know if there could have been a better ending.


    The father was no longer burdened with the crime and the daughter was no longer alone. The sadness in his heart slowly became a feeling of peacefulness.


    "May the deceased rest and the living exact revenge!"


    Paladin Carlin bowed in the direction of the dissipating souls and resolved to be a respectable Paladin even through his tears.


    The fact that the dead could rest was perhaps the only quest reward that Lu Li wanted. As to whether the quest was actually completed, Lu Li didn¡¯t really have the mood to care.


    "Elf, I know a story about a rabbit and some jam. Do you want to hear it?" Paladin Carlin asked.


    After hearing the story, Lu Li was silent for a moment before saying, "Thank you, Mr Paladin."


    Paladin Carlin patted Lu Li¡¯s shoulder in reassurance.


    "Thank you too, I have nothing to give you. All I can do is promise you a favor. I will return it to you at the right time."


    After everyone had left, only Lu Li was left in Darrowshire.

 441 Pamela’s Gif

    "Under-leveled. I took up a quest that was beyond my abilities," Lu Li said to himself as he rubbed the gem necklace in his hands.


    What if he had waited until he was level fifty to take up the quest?


    On second thought, he realized that this was a silly question. If the quest was given to him based on his current level, this meant that it could be completed by him. The assistance from Paladin Carlin was a good indicator of this.


    Perhaps for Pamela, seeing her father was more than enough.


    When she left, even Lu Li could sense that she was happy.


    She never knew what death was; her short-lived life was spent waiting in happiness.


    This was Darrowshire, the battleground for heroes of the past. Countless men fought and died here. Once upon a time, there was a little girl who waited by the doorsteps for her father¡¯s return.


    This was the Plaguelands, a place infested by the Scourge.


    This was Dawn, a very interesting game.


    After he tidied his thoughts, Lu Li also left Darrowshire, which had returned to its¡¯ original form ¡ª a place where the undead wandered.


    As the last ray of sunlight disappeared under the horizon, Lu Li sat on a seat in a hotel located at the Southshore. His gazed flickered along the surface of the sea and his thoughts wandered as they built a legend that consisted of the Scourge, the warriors of Darrowshire and a little girl with her doll.


    "Still wine today?" A slightly lazy voice rang beside his ears.


    Lu Li turned his head to see that the hostess had sat down facing him, and that a goblet of wine had already been placed in front of him.


    "I want to tell you a story ¨C the adventures of a little girl with her doll..."


    The story was simple; Lu Li found that he had finished telling it before he even finished his wine. It was hard to deliver his complex emotions through mere words.


    He longed for someone to hear and be touched by this story.


    "Your story is quite plain compared to the story of other adventurers, and I don¡¯t like the ending either," the hostess said as she stood up with a smile. "My shout for the wine today. Hopefully, you¡¯ll bring me a happier story next time."


    After she left, Lu Li noticed a small crossbow that had been left behind.


    Following this, the system announced that Lu Li had completed the quest. He received experience, reputation and an extra skill point.


    Lu Li successfully reached level 33, and was now two levels higher than the second-placed player on the level rankings.


    The crossbow was small, but it was delicate. The attributes were also very good; this slightly lifted Lu Li¡¯s mood.


    Crystal Protector¡¯s Crossbow (Dark Gold): Damage 32-42. Agility +20, Strength +8. Special effect 1: Critical strike +15%. Special effect 2: Ranged attack speed +25%. Special effect 3: Slash 3. Certain chance to cause a bleeding effect, can be stacked 5 times. Level requirement 30, Durability 72/72.


    A small row of text was written at the bottom of the weapon description: You have a benevolent heart.


    It was a fairly decent crossbow ¨C at least, it was better than Lu Li¡¯s current one. It has been a long time since he had made any improvements to his ranged damage.


    A benevolent heart ¨C Lu Li could only shake his head. Anyone who saw Pamela would probably vow to themselves that they¡¯d protect every single smile and their tiny, tiny hopes...


    He only just remembered that Pamela had also given him a necklace.


    Lu Li never looked at the item in detail, but seeing it reminded him of the little girl once again.


    Pamela¡¯s Gift (Dark Gold): Accuracy +30%. Damage +10%. Special effect: Pamela¡¯s Tea. Upon activation, instantly recovers 20% of health, and regenerates 2% of health each second for the next five seconds. Cannot be interrupted, cannot be used on other targets. Cooldown 30 minutes. Level requirement 30, Durability 72/72.


    Underneath the attributes was another row of text: I really miss you daddy!


    The necklace was made with little rocks and a clear pendant at the end. Inside the pendant was a photo of Pamela¡¯s smiling face that had been taken while she was being embraced by her father.


    Lu Li took a good look at the little girl in the pendant and gently brushed his lips against it.


    Pamela, may you grow happily in another world with your father, in a world where there¡¯s no war and no scourge.


    Besides these, the King of Ghouls had also dropped a bunch of other things. Unsurprisingly, these were all level 45 equips ¨C one Dark Gold and two Gold grades.


    The Dark Gold equip had an extra slot, but it was too hard to find another synthetic stone that reduced level requirement.


    It was also an equip for healer Paladins, so it wasn¡¯t a necessity for Ruling Sword at the moment. Darkness was probably the only one who could use it, but she had too many attachments to Glory Capital, so Lu Li couldn¡¯t trust her entirely yet.


    The King of Ghouls dropped a skill book for Death Knights, but he wasn¡¯t able to think of anyone who might need it. He could only toss the item into the storage.


    Besides the equips, his biggest reward was probably the rare material that the King of Ghouls dropped.


    Dreadtusk ¡ª this was a required material for Lu Li to upgrade his Supreme Ring. It was an item that could only be dropped by boss monsters from the Scourge army and now, it was at the bottom of his bag.


    Astrana currently had the most prosperous businesses in the entire game. Each guild had their own stores and properties, and some of these businesses had been established by guilds in preparation for their future.


    Ruling Sword was no exception. Lu Li¡¯s guild and his three female landlords collaborated to open a store in a decent location.


    Lu Li walked out from the teleporter and arrived at the entrance to the store.


    "That¡¯d be a total of 26.35 gold coins. Our store has only just opened, so we¡¯ll give you a discount and make that 26 gold coins for you." Lu Xin was dressed like a little princess and was serving as a cashier for the store.


    "Xin Xin, let us know whenever you want to go out and hunt monsters. I¡¯ll keep a spot for you." The customer had paid his money, but he was still trying to build a relationship with the girl.


    He wasn¡¯t the only player like this ¨C each girl behind the counter had their own special traits and each of them had a pack of their own fans.


    If this was in the past and someone had tried to pick up Lu Xin, there was no doubt that Lu Li would wave his fist at them and ban them from stepping within a three-meter radius of his sister.


    However, he was feeling extra soft today. He didn¡¯t get mad; he only stood on the side and watched in silence.


    It was hard to regain what had been lost and missed from the past, even if you went back in time. Hence, it was important to treasure the present.


    Lu Li whispered silently from the bottom of his heart: I really miss you, sister!

 442 Halloween

    "Bro!" After she finally got rid of the players who were trying to pick her up, Lu Xin finally saw Lu Li, who was watching her from the doorsteps.


    "You should go to bed now."


    It only took a sentence from Lu Li to change the happy expression on Lu Xin¡¯s face.


    "There¡¯s still a few hours until my game time finishes; the sky only just went dark. I still want to play a little; I¡¯m a trade skill player," she protested.


    Lu Xin had already stopped attending her school, which was very considerate about this.


    Or rather, the school didn¡¯t want someone with a heart problem to sit in their classrooms ¨C it was like looking after a time bomb.


    "Nope." Although Lu Li really loved his sister and wanted to spoil her, he was more than a brother. He was the man of the household since their father had been long gone.


    "Hmph. I hate this." Lu Xin was having fun until she got kicked out of the game.


    Her brother was too stubborn. Once he decided on something, there was no turning back.


    "It¡¯s Halloween tomorrow; you can play tomorrow." Lu Li didn¡¯t want to upset his sister, so he compromised instead. This was something that Lu Xin had been asking for over the past few days.


    "Then can I go out to play?" Lu Xin immediately forgot about being upset.


    "Yes, but I¡¯ll have to go with you. You can¡¯t go out and play anything that¡¯s too dangerous..." Lu Li continued to blabber on.


    "Then can I go and watch other people play?" Lu Xin ran over and held onto her brother¡¯s arm; just the thought of Halloween made her excited.


    For the entire group of people who lived in the poverty area, including the Lu Li siblings, Halloween was as unrealistic as Valentine¡¯s.


    They could barely survive, let alone have the extra time to care about festivals during the year.


    Lu Xin¡¯s understanding of Valentine¡¯s came entirely from books and movies.


    She even wrote a poem about Halloween during her class. The idea of the poem originated from a movie called The Witch:


    He opened the door,


    A bunch of cute children stood outside,


    They wore their little wizard robes,


    As they laughed and shouted,


    Trick or Treat...


    He remembered,


    A while ago,


    The witch that flew away on a broomstick,


    You all look amazing,


    Happy Halloween,


    He cried like a child.


    He spoke as he cried,


    Sorry, but I have no candy to spare...


    The little witches screamed as they ran.


    The poem wasn¡¯t refined, but it was fairly decent for a child in middle school. For her efforts, she won first prize, which was a high-class table lamp. Lu Xin sold her prize to her classmates, and the siblings shared a big meal with the money.


    Although they were in a game, this was the first time that the siblings had celebrated Halloween.


    Halloween was a western festival. It wasn¡¯t as popular as Christmas, since Christmas was a Christian festival that was celebrated in areas that spoke English, for example, North America, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.


    Regardless, Halloween always had its special place in the hearts of the children.


    During the night, children would dress up and go around to different houses to collect candy.


    In real life, none of these events really felt like they were properly celebrated. Halloween was even better in the game than in real life.


    If you ran into Thalnos or Tyrande, it was safe for you to ask them for candy, regardless of your level and status.


    Perhaps you might even be able to ask for a candy from Sargeras, if you knew where he was.


    There were people in the past who had tried to ask for candies from bosses in the wild or in the dungeons, but of course, they all died.


    "I¡¯m going to dress up tomorrow! I love Halloween!" Lu Xin exclaimed excitedly; she was extremely happy.


    "Go offline now!" Lu Li was dedicated to kick his sister offline.


    He didn¡¯t mention to his sister the other story behind Halloween.


    According to legend, the deceased would return to the living in the hopes of reviving themselves through the living. This was the only hope of resurrection for those who had died. The living feared that the dead might steal their bodies, so on this day, they switched off all the lights and blew out all their candles to hide in the darkness. They also dressed up as different mythical creatures to scare away the dead. Afterwards, they would turn their lights on again and proceed with another year of their lives.


    This was a darker way to explain Halloween, and also demonstrated that people were selfish beings.


    Lu Xin would likely ponder over if she should trade herself for her parents¡­


    On the other hand, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t bother over these things. In his eyes, his sister was the most important one, not her parents who failed to perform their responsibilities.


    A rational person would never hope for the impossible to happen.


    After he kicked his sister offline, Lu Li used his time to continue leveling. He didn¡¯t have extra time to level up compared to the others, and his speed of leveling wasn¡¯t that great compared to Mages either. This meant that he couldn¡¯t slack off.


    While he leveled up, he also discussed some strategies for the event on the next day with Square Root 3.


    "During their free time, I¡¯d like people to participate instead of leveling or doing dungeons. If the game promotes an event like this, there must be some sort of attraction for the players." Lu Li wasn¡¯t able to say too much about it, but he was the boss of the guild, so he was able to influence how the event unfolded.


    "Alright. I¡¯ll make sure everyone attends." Square Root 3 had originally planned to tell the others not to forget about leveling and dungeons.


    However, if Lu Li said so, then that¡¯s how things were to be done.


    "Keep the elite teams on standby and keep ten spots open. If you¡¯re going too, then keep eleven spots open. We¡¯ll group a team of one hundred as soon as possible."


    Lu Li mentioned some details about the event and then he began to talk about what was most important.


    "What do we need to do?" Square Root 3 messaged.


    He knew that the event tomorrow would be important. Events always came with a lot of items, equipment and experience, but he couldn¡¯t think of any events that would require so many elite members.


    "A special boss will appear in the Graveyard of the Scarlet Monastery tomorrow, and the dungeon will allow a hundred people to enter. We¡¯re going to enter as soon as possible. I¡¯m going to spend time with my sister in the afternoon, so I¡¯m hoping that the boss will be finished as quickly as possible," Lu Li replied.


    Square Root 3 was left speechless ¨C they were killing the boss as quickly as possible so that Lu Li would be able to play with his sister.


    "I¡¯ll be in charge tomorrow. This is the guild¡¯s first group event, so make sure everyone stays focused. If anyone performs badly, I¡¯ll kick them out and they can go on standby."


    This was Lu Li¡¯s first time in conducting a battle of such a big scale, so he felt pressured as well.


    "Don¡¯t worry. Even if you don¡¯t say anything, I will," Square Root 3 promised.


    Although some big guilds invested in 100-man teams to fight bosses in the wild, most of these people were actually fighting against other players who were also targeting the boss. Not many of them were actually fighting the boss.


    Ruling Sword had a weak foundation, so if they wanted to grow, they needed these group events.

 443 Headless Paladin

    The lady landlords had ordered takeaway from an excellent restaurant, so Lu Li and his sister came around to join them.


    Hence, on Halloween, Lu Li went online later than usual.


    The game time was around sunrise, and pumpkin lights were already being hung up. People in Halloween costumes patrolled around the street and the game was filled with a festive atmosphere.


    According to the descriptions of the event, during Halloween, players could join in and receive their own Halloween costume.


    Of course, once the festival was over, the costumes would disappear as they had a time limit.


    Most people wore a pumpkin head costume, which was a little dumb, but cute in its own way.


    In an empty spot in Astrana, about a hundred Ruling Sword elite players were waiting on standby. They attracted quite some attention, since it was rare for people to gather like this in the game.


    The members of the Ruling Sword were unfazed by the crowd whispering and pointing at them, because if people knew of their identity, they would only be jealous of them.


    This was the guild that had won the Shadow Cup; most people wouldn¡¯t even be able to make it into the guild.


    At this point, Ruling Sword was a level 15 guild with around twelve thousand members. They had no less than three thousand applicants on a daily basis, but less than thirty were actually accepted.


    It was impossible for any guild to reach the top in a short amount of time.


    Without a stable foundation, the guild wouldn¡¯t be able to last long.


    "Uncle, give me a treat! Give me a treat! Trick or treat!" A group of children ran over from the other side of the road and crowded around Lu Li.


    What kind of judgement made them think that he would be an easy target?


    Lu Li was helpless, but he still gave each of them a piece of candy.


    This was a day that belonged to the children; you couldn¡¯t turn down these children who only looked around three to five years old. You probably wouldn¡¯t even remember that each candy cost ten copper coins when they stared at you with their watery eyes.


    Candy was the new function added in for the day.


    If you activated the function on a target, you would be able to give them a piece of candy. This was limited to once per target.


    As he handed out the candy along the way, Lu Li eventually reached the gathering point.


    On the way, there were even some children who gave him candy in return, so now, he had around a dozen pieces in his bag.


    "We¡¯ve been waiting. What took you so long?" Square Root 3 had gathered everyone, but the boss never arrived, so it was quite awkward for him.


    "What are you guys doing?" Lu Li was shocked.


    "Ruling Sword!"


    "Ruling Sword!"


    "Ruling Sword!"


    A hundred people were shouting at the same time; such a sight could not be ignored.


    Fortunately, they had gathered in a fairly isolated area, or else, everyone would definitely be staring at them.


    It was quite a childish act, but Lu Li was touched by it. He clenched his fist and pressed it against his chest as he also shouted, "Ruling Sword!"


    It was unknown who started it, but the guild members shouted even louder.


    "Lu Li! Lu Li! King of first clears!"


    "Champions! Champions!"


    This was fated to be a passionate day. With a bunch of mythical creatures staring them down, Ruling Sword demonstrated their dedication and passion to the world.


    "Let¡¯s go."


    Lu Li waved his hand and signaled for the event to begin.


    The Scarlet Monastery dungeon at this point had become the world of the Headless Paladin.


    The Headless Paladin was a member of the Silver Hand, and was once a hero for all Paladins. Unfortunately, he was cursed and eventually fell into the dark side.


    Some say that it was his own will to fall into the darkness, because he was filled with hopelessness and rage against the world.


    The Headless Paladin had lost his thoughts as it wandered in the Scarlet Monastery. He thought he was still alive and everyone else besides himself was dead. These dead men had to be cleansed away by fire.


    He was no longer loyal to the holy light and rode on his Spirit Warhorse as he arrived in green flames.


    "This is our first group activity today. I¡¯m not expecting everyone to perform excellently, but I¡¯m hoping everyone can stick to one rule. That is, to do as you¡¯re asked!" After they entered the dungeon, Lu Li began to lecture the one-hundred-man team.


    What followed was a bunch of messy responses. Lu Li frowned but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    Then, he began adjusting the teams. The group was split into teams of ten and each was given a number. Everyone was asked to remember their own team number and keep watch on their team members¡¯ statuses.


    The main tank was Azure Sea Breeze, while the secondary tanks were Global Friendship, God of Destiny and Wandering.


    In a team like this, four tanks were enough, but most importantly, Azure Sea Breeze was a strong tank. As the number one tank in Dawn, he usually wouldn¡¯t die easily. The other three tanks were mainly there to pull summoned monsters and were back up tanks in case Azure Sea Breeze died.


    The main healer was Darkness, a healing Paladin. Healing Paladins were better at healing single targets than any other class. She was only in charge of healing Azure Sea Breeze; none of the other people mattered to her.


    Drifting Night Light and March Rain were also main healers, and were in charge of the entire raid team¡¯s health. The other healers only needed to look after the health of their own team members.


    At the same time, Lu Li also had players who were in charge of curse and magic debuffs.


    The curse debuff was usually given to the tanks and had to be removed instantly, while the magic debuff was a group debuff and dealt high damage. Someone had to be in charge of it or else they would lose a lot of members.


    Just in case the elite team members would get suspicious, Lu Li also made sure that there were other players in charge of other debuffs.


    However, the Headless Paladin didn¡¯t know how to use any other debuffs.


    Lu Li activated the altar in the middle of the graveyard, after which a cloud of smoke and fire instantly arose.


    "All these years, I¡¯ve tasted the pain of losing myself. Now, I finally understand the darkness hidden within my soul..." After a wicked laugh, a giant shadow appeared on the altar. It was an armored Paladin that rode on a Spirit Warhorse.


    He held onto a long weapon that was shrouded by mist and emanated with the cries of the dead.


    The players weren¡¯t able to see his face, since he was a Headless Paladin. There was only black smoke in the area that was supposed to be his brain, and two bright flames that flickered like eyes in his dark helmet.


    As expected from Halloween, this was a truly frightening sight.


    "Start. Melee players, get prepared. Ranged players, wait until the main tank has the boss¡¯ focus before you use your skills. All group spells are banned. Whoever makes a mistake will be kicked out and will be placed on standby outside. There are plenty of people waiting outside to enter the dungeon."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t explain any strategies, and instead asked for Azure Sea Breeze to pull the Boss.

 444 Success Is The Mother Of Failures

    "The long and hard search stops here; real justice will be decided by fate. Children, let¡¯s celebrate," the Headless Paladin said as he waved his long weapon.


    A big pile of pumpkins laughed as they rolled forward.


    "Dodge to the left," Lu Li shouted as soon as the pumpkins came out.


    This skill seemed like a prank, but it was definitely not to be underestimated. Two team members didn¡¯t dodge in time and were killed in an instant.


    These hundred-man raids were different to the standard dungeons. It was rare for players to be instantly killed in dungeons, but this situation was common in these raids.


    "I¡¯ll repeat again, you must follow instructions. If I ask you to go left, make sure you go left. If everyone went left, would you guys still collide with each other?"


    It was a pity that two people had died as soon as the raid began. They died because they couldn¡¯t tell the difference between left and right.


    Nevertheless, this was a small setback, and Lu Li asked for those two players to be resurrected.


    Ranged attacks started raining onto the Headless Paladin as two-digit damage values floated into the air. The boss had a total of 1.2 million HP, but it wouldn¡¯t take long to clear its health bar if they continued at this rate.


    However, this was a super boss, so there was no way it would go down so easily.


    With a simple swing, the Headless Paladin dealt a circle of damage around himself. The melee players were all attacked, and four or five them instantly died.


    Berserk!


    Five stacks of Berserk ¨C that was a 50% attack damage increase. Even Azure Sea Breeze was losing his health rapidly.


    Fortunately, he had used his damage reduction in time and there was someone who was focused solely on healing his health bar.


    The Berserk effect was one of the things that made the Headless Paladin quite fearsome. If he used that skill to kill one enemy, he would gain one stack of Berserk. This effect could stack up to ten times.


    Each stack gave him a 10% increase in his attack damage.


    "Druids, resurrect the dead. Breeze, defend as you move. The others should move with him as well. Don¡¯t get within a five-yard radius of the main tank. Melee players, either use damage reduction or fall back if you see the Boss¡¯ weapon rise above its head." Lu Li made strategic adjustments on the spot, and displayed an excellent reaction when most teams would¡¯ve wiped.


    Of course, this was only an illusion. In his previous life, he had already fought the Headless Paladin twice. Although he was unable to ever take it down, he learned a lot in the process.


    There were countless guides about the Headless Paladin, but only elite teams from big guilds managed to actually take it down.


    As the battle continued, the pumpkins rolled out again a few times. The Berserk effect appeared a few times as well, but everyone dodged nicely. There were no more situations like in the beginning when five people died. The health of the Headless Paladin continued to decease and soon fell to 80%, which meant that they had entered the second stage.


    "Fallen knights, follow my command. Fight for victory."


    A row of Spirit Knights appeared before the Headless Paladin and trampled towards the players.


    "Breeze, pull the boss away. Darkness and Hachi Chan, look after his health. The other three tanks, pull three Spirited Knights each from left to right. Ranged players, keep damaging the boss. Melee players, go take down the summoned monsters."


    Since there was a lot of people in the team, Lu Li was unable to explain the guide thoroughly beforehand, and could only work on a reactionary basis. When the Headless Paladin spoke his lines, he made sure the secondary tanks were in good position.


    The second stage was actually harder than the first.


    The most difficult thing about first stage was the pumpkins racing towards the players. They came in great numbers, but they were slow and followed a set track, so they were easy to dodge.


    However, these nine Spirit Knights were a completely different story. They each had the strength of a minor boss, and if the tanks failed to pull them at the start, they would wreak havoc.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t assign nine tanks for each Spirit Knight because these Spirit Knights came with a special buff called "Stability". This buff had nine stacks and if any of them had less than three stacks, they would go berserk.


    A Spirit Knight that went berserk was a real disaster. It would run around everywhere and kill anyone who ran into it in an instant.


    It would also be a disaster if they were pulled all together by one tank, as the Stability buff gave them defense attributes. Dealing damage to them would be impossible if they had too many stacks.


    Three monsters per tank ¨C this was the best result after rigorous experimentation.


    Unfortunately, theory doesn¡¯t always go to plan in real life. Global Friendship only managed to pull two monsters, with the other one being pulled by God of Destiny. He didn¡¯t even realize that he had pulled an extra monster.


    There was nothing wrong with pulling an extra monster ¨C God of Destiny was a defense Druid, so he had a lot of health and wouldn¡¯t die too fast.


    However, the two monsters that Global Friendship pulled instantly went berserk.


    Wherever these two Spirit Knights charged, a glow of white light would rise.


    "My ****," Lu Li swore as he died to the Spirit Knight that ran over him.


    This waved killed a dozen people, including the commander. There were no one to hold down the two berserk Spirit Knights and the two monsters slaughtered the area.


    "Reset. Those who didn¡¯t die, run out of the dungeon. Those who can¡¯t run out, just die," Lu Li commanded as he went to collect his corpse.


    He couldn¡¯t blame the tanks for not pulling the Spirit Knights properly ¨C this was their first time and the situation was too messy.


    In fact, it was rare for a team to make it through stage one on their first try.


    With the lead of someone who has reincarnated, Ruling Sword had already been spared a lot of trouble.


    Everything was reset in their second run. There were no Spirit Knights and no Headless Paladin ¨C the boss had to be summoned again.


    "Alright, success is the mother of failures..." Lu Li didn¡¯t blame anyone and decided to stay rational.


    "It should be failures are the mother of success." Azure Sea Breeze was quick to correct him, and was met by a wave of laughter.


    "You guys get the gist of it," Lu Li said as he glared at him and pretended that nothing had happened. "Everyone did well in the first stage; we dodged all the pumpkins. We only lost a few people at the start because everyone was unfamiliar with the situation. In the second stage, the key is to pull the monsters appropriately. I¡¯ll set a secondary tank to each of you as a helper. Make sure you pull your own monsters and don¡¯t pull anyone else¡¯s..."


    Since the cooldown for Druids¡¯ revives wasn¡¯t ready, Lu Li gave everyone a two minute break.


    "Boss, does this thing drop mounts?" Fat Monkey asked as he came over. He had fallen in love with the Spirit Warhorse the moment he saw the Headless Paladin.


    Even the Spirit Knights rode these kind of warhorses; these mounts were too cool.

 445 The Boss Can Fly

    There was a very small chance that the Headless Paladin¡¯s mount would drop as loot. In other words, there would be one or two lucky players out of the hundred or so players that defeated it.


    Something that was worth mentioning was the ongoing event where anyone who participated would receive a Festival Rewards bag.


    Players received three items in each bag.


    However, some players who were less lucky might receive gold as a reward.


    When a monster was killed in Dawn, it dropped money most of the time.


    The Headless Paladin¡¯s mount was called the Headless Paladin¡¯s Reins, which was the same as his Spirit Warhorse, except for the fact that it was smaller.


    The most important thing about the mount was that it could fly. As long as you had learned the flying mount skill, you would be able to freely fly around town.


    You could even learn the two-player flying mount skill which allowed you to take girls around and show off to the world. Lu Li recalled that the only player who had managed to pull that off in his past life was Sorrowless.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if Darkness did that because he had never met her.


    There was only one mount riding skill in the whole of Ruling Sword, which was Hachi Chan¡¯s dragon egg. However, it could only run on the ground. Apparently, it would hatch into a baby dragon, and although it could not fly in the air, travelling on any mount was much faster than running around.


    The point was that obtaining the mount would be almost impossible.


    "Don¡¯t be discouraged," Lu Li consoled his disappointed teammates. "The Spirit Warhorse might be rare, but there are tons of other goodies that can be obtained. Besides high-tier equips, there are also other cool items like the flying broomstick, flying carpet, Halloween Staff and cute pets. If we get lucky, we can sell those items for tens and thousands of dollars."


    "Wow!" Everyone immediately became extremely excited


    Lu Li had told white lies to encourage his team. The flying carpet and broomstick could only be used in town and not in the wild, and it only had a duration of 7 days.


    With the experience from before as well as the desire to obtain these rare items, every guild member bravely charged towards the Headless Paladin.


    The first stage was quite easy, and the Headless Paladin only took down two players while it was in berserk mode.


    After the Druids casted their Revive and regeneration skills, the two were immediately back on their feet and fighting.


    When they entered the second stage, the tanks drew the aggro of the Spirit Paladins impeccably. They managed to separate the Spirit Paladins into groups of threes and led them into three separate areas.


    The melee classes then surrounded the Spirit Paladins while the ranged classes continued dealing damage from afar.


    "Second unit, take a break and focus on the other two. Remember, all three of them must die simultaneously. Did you guys not learn from our mistake?" Lu Li wasn¡¯t participating in the battle because he was the commander. He had to observe the fight from afar and give orders accordingly.


    The second unit had more ranged classes, and Moonlight was also a part of that team. His axe had a special effect that boosted the damage of his teammates. He was too focused and had not noticed that the Spirit Paladin that he was attacking was dying at a faster rate.


    "I said stop. Do you want to die, Wolf Fang?" Most commanders were harsh with their words, and Lu Li was no exception. This was unavoidable because some players wouldn¡¯t listen until you raised your voice. You would have to be a saint to remain calm under these circumstances.


    "Ah, me? Sorry. Didn¡¯t realise I was in the second unit." Wolf Fang was a Thief with decent gear. He became red from blushing out of embarrassment


    "There won¡¯t be a next time. Whoever makes a mistake next will face punishment." Lu Li was rather annoyed, but decided to give him a second chance ¨C Wolf Fang¡¯s mistake was relatively minor.


    "I promise I won¡¯t screw up again," Wolf Fang sighed in relief. Everyone that was under the leadership of Lu Li felt the pressure, even if they were star players.


    Lu Li¡¯s leadership and reputation was considered to be legendary at this point. Not only had he led his mercenary group to multiple First Clears, as well as the championship of Shadow Cup, but also remained as the No.1 player on the level rankings.


    Although everyone was very alert and on their toes, small mistakes were still unavoidable.


    One of the Spirit Paladins were killed and the other two went into berserk mode, causing everyone to panic and scatter.


    "Ranged classes, focus on the two remaining bosses and kill them immediately. Everyone stay calm; try to run away while dealing damage. If we play it safe, then no one should die," Lu Li¡¯s calm voice echoed across the battle field.


    Everyone gathered themselves and remained calm.


    The two berserk Spirit Paladins were already on low health, and because they were very fast, the melee classes had trouble dealing damage to them. However, their speed didn¡¯t affect the ranged classes¡¯ DPS and both died within 10 or so seconds.


    "Druids, focus on reviving the ranged classes and ignore the melee classes for now," Lu Li ordered.


    Although they had defeated all 9 Spirit Paladins, they had lost more than 15 players. Since there were too many of them to revive, Lu Li decided to prioritize the ranged classes as they dealt more DPS from afar.


    "The Wheel of Destiny has already started spinning; your attacks are useless. The cleansing fire will devour everything for I am the chosen ruler standing on the throne of victory. Ahahahaha¡­"


    The third stage was even more ridiculous than the last Halloween event. This time, he didn¡¯t summon pumpkins or minions to cause trouble, but instead, flew up into the air with his warhorse.


    The melee classes were astonished.


    "Ranged classes, continue dealing damage. Everyone be careful of the fire ¨C If it appears, then avoid it at all cost. Healers, keep your distance and focus on surviving before healing others. Sakura Memories, prepare to cast Bloodlust," Lu Li commanded as he took a few steps back to ensure that he was in a safe position.


    This was why he had ordered the Druids to revive the ranged classes. The Melee classes were completely useless in this stage.


    The Headless Paladin swung his weapons around in the air, casting down a rain of fire beneath him.


    The fire fell from the sky very quickly. If they hadn¡¯t be warned of this beforehand, many of the players would have been struck by it.


    However, with Lu Li¡¯s warning, most of them were prepared and managed to dodge the fiery projectiles.


    The players who were struck by the fire quickly drank potions instead of relying on the healers to heal them.


    The Advanced Health Potions that they had stored up were finally being put to use.


    "Very good. Ranged classes, continue dealing damage. Activate every special effect and buff that you have. Melee classes can use a bow to deal some damage as well." Lu Li was very pleased with how everyone had reacted to this stage; no one had died so far.


    "Damn it, how am I supposed to draw aggro?!" Azure Sea Breeze felt completely useless because he was out of range.

 446 Peerless City

    "Stay calm everyone. Continue to do damage and the boss will come back down eventually. Azure, when that happens, I want you to be in the very centre of the fight, ready to draw aggro." Lu Li was very calm because all they had to do was to dodge the fire raining upon them.


    Lu Li decided not to tell him that the Boss would land right on top of him.


    There was less and less space for the players to manoeuvre around as the fire continued falling down from above. Many players were burned to death.


    However, Lu Li had taken all of this into consideration; it was impossible for everyone to survive this stage. As long as more than two-thirds of the party survived, they would have a much better chance of prevailing through the last two stages.


    When Headless Paladin dropped to 40% HP and descended onto the ground, Ruling Sword still had over 70 players left.


    "Druids, revive the Healers and Tanks. Two druids from four teams should save their Revives for later¡­ I said save it for later, never mind." Everyone was hyper-alert during this fight and executed Lu Li¡¯s orders before he managed to finish talking. Lu Li was speechless but decided not to blame his teammates.


    "Melee classes, focus the boss."


    "Glory Capital has completely wiped out twice already. On their first attempt, they managed to take down 30% HP of the Boss¡¯ HP, and on their second attempt, they manage to reach the half way point." Square Root Three must have planted some undercover players within Glory Capital and received the most recent updates about their progress.


    "Keep us updated with Peerless City as well," Lu Li added with a nod.


    Peerless City was the front runner to complete the First Clear for the Halloween event. They were one of the best up and coming guilds in the game. Although they were relatively new, many players were already comparing them to the major guilds like Blood Red War Flag. Both of these guilds were considered to be the top contenders to overthrow Glory Capital as the best guild in the game.


    "Peerless City, you got it." Square Root Three wasn¡¯t sure why Lu Li had singled out Peerless City, but he followed his orders anyway.


    At this very moment, the Headless Paladin¡¯s next stage was about to begin.


    The Headless Paladin charged forwards on his horse, dealing heavy physical damage to any players in his path and also knocking them back for a certain distance. At the end of his charge, all enemies around the area are feared, lasting 4 seconds.


    As usual, Lu Li was the only one to know about this beforehand.


    Once again, he had to careful not to reveal his secret but also giving them enough information for the team to survive.


    He ordered everyone to keep distance from each other and not to stand in a straight line in order to minimize the number of players in Headless Paladin¡¯s path.


    The Spirit Paladins summoned by him were even more powerful in this stage. Not only did they swing their weapons around, their charge radius was large and the area of Fear was a lot wider than Headless Paladin.


    Players who were feared ran around like aimlessly like headless cockroaches.


    The Headless Paladin took this opportunity to attack and instantly killed a couple of players.


    "Azure Sea Breeze, do not move, and use Taunt," Lu Li ordered Azure Sea Breeze as he directed the other tanks to spread out from each other.


    As planned, the Headless Paladin became confused and randomly charged towards one of the tanks.


    The group of players that were feared before had completely dismantled their formation. Many players were either feared or knocked away from the fight.


    Their DPS began dropping immensely.


    The Headless Paladin charged towards Azure Sea Breeze and when the fear was over, Azure rushed towards the Boss and drew aggro onto himself.


    The Boss had no other choice but to follow the game mechanic and began focusing on him.


    However, after 5 seconds or so, the boss began charging again!


    This time, Lu Li stood in the path of the charge, but narrowly escaped with Gale Steps.


    What made this stage difficult was the chaos and confusion. It really tested the ability of the commander to stay calm in order to lead his team. Since many players were constantly feared or knocked back, their DPS dropped substantially and the stage was dragged on for much longer than it should have been.


    In Dawn, many factors played into the length of a dungeon battle; it wasn¡¯t as simple as dealing the greatest amount of damage in the least amount of time possible.


    Although Ruling Sword¡¯s Elite team was still very much underdeveloped and lacking in talent, Lu Li¡¯s commanding skills were definitely one of the best in the game. Additionally, the knowledge he had gained from his rebirth had saved his team many times during close calls.


    Before entering the final stage, there were less than 70 players remaining.


    "Type 1 if your revive is off cooldown," Lu Li typed into the chat near the end of the fourth stage as he began preparing for the final stage.


    The final stage would be a test of their DPS. If less than half of the team survived during the final stage it would be better to restart rather than to continue on.


    "Lu Li, you better hurry up. Peerless City is already in the final stage."


    Square Root Three¡¯s update was slightly too late, but there was nothing that could be done.


    The Final Stage?


    Lu Li was in disbelief. Although he had logged on a bit later and had been wiped out once already, it was impossible for Peerless City to complete the whole run without failing a single time.


    "They¡¯re utilizing the ladder method for First Clears. Firstly, they send two teams to clear the first stage, then pass on the information and strategy to the next two teams, and so on. However, their first team has yet to fail so they¡¯re much more ahead than we are."


    This was a brilliant idea, however, Lu Li did not have the manpower to do that.


    Rather than investing fifteen groups at once to run the whole dungeon, they sent in two teams to scout the stages first, then passed the information on to the next teams.


    Peerless City was the first to popularize the ladder method, which became the staple strategy for major guilds to complete First Clears.


    Guilds like Peerless City could easily form a 1500 player team, while Glory Capital could send in 3000 players. However, the newly developed Ruling Swords had yet to even complete their second 100-man group.


    The distance in manpower and resources between new guilds and the established ones was far too wide.


    "Do you know how many players the first two teams from Peerless City have lost?" Lu Li asked, forcing himself to calm down.


    "Apparently, they still have around 60 to 70 people, but I can¡¯t guarantee how accurate that is. They might be releasing false information to throw other guilds off." Square Root Three became very worried but didn¡¯t want to put even more pressure on Lu Li.


    "Announce our progress to the world chat; tell them that we¡¯re on the fifth and final stage. Oh, and also add that we have more than 80 players left.


    "But we only have 60 or so left." Square Root Three was confused.

 447 Where Did My Head Go?

    "Three Bro, what is so hard to understand? The Boss will pressure them." Fat Monkey quickly understood the situation and smiled as he said, "If that keeps on the way it is¡­"


    Square Root 3 wasn¡¯t an idiot; he understood and quickly made the arrangements.


    As such, the World Announcements were filled with players who were on-lookers of Ruling Sword. They had reached the fifth stage and only had 80 players left. There was also some conversation about what kind of items were going to be dropped.


    Then, there was news that Ruling Sword was just about to get the First Clear.


    In reality the only requirement of the final stage was stability. They needed to watch the Boss carefully and persevere to the very end. If for example, the commander got impatient after losing a third of his players, the results could be disastrous.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t pin much hope on this strange strategy, but it was better than nothing.


    "Azure Sea Breeze!"


    "Huh? Ahh!"


    This seemingly ordinary conversation that would occur in an Instance Dungeon was very strange in this situation, because it came from the mouth of the Boss.


    Azure Sea Breeze was at a loss as well. The Headless Paladin had actually shouted out his name. Was this an illusion?


    The next thing he heard was a pitiful scream.


    According to some records, the Headless Paladin would ride a Spirit Warhorse and led nine other Spirit Paladins around the entire of Azeroth during Halloween. During the tour, he would call the name of a dying man and take away his soul.


    If he cried out your name, you were dead.


    Azure Sea Breeze found himself in this situation and his HP was immediately depleted.


    The players responsible for healing him didn¡¯t even have time to react.


    "God of Destiny, pull the Boss. Everyone else, stop what you¡¯re doing!" Lu Li shouted while using a resurrection skill on Azure Sea Breeze.


    This was a Druid Resurrect skill, and only required mana to cast.


    Lu Li was a Thief, so his skills relied on energy to cast, but that didn¡¯t mean he had no mana ¨C itjust wasn¡¯t shown explicitly. The Tempest Leather Boots he was wearing gave him 10 points for every attribute, which included 10 points of intelligence.


    There was no one near Azure Sea Breeze who was free enough to Resurrect him, but once revived he ran straight back into battle.


    God of Fate could only tank it for a while and almost died in that short time.


    They couldn¡¯t see the level of this Headless Paladin, but was definitely not a low level.


    Under normal circumstances, five tanks taking turns should have been sufficient. When there was some immediate danger, they could all cast their damage reduction skills.


    This was how the big guilds did it, but Ruling Sword was different. Azure Sea Breeze was level 31 and had several Gold equipment equipped, as well as many Silver equipment that had exquisite properties. He was in an entirely different league when compared to the other Main Tanks.


    Not to mention, he also had more Skill Points. For a Main Tank, the value of Skill Points was immeasurable.


    Azure Sea Breeze was back at the Boss and the little crisis had been averted. Lu Li calmed down and went back to managing the players, not feeling any sense of urgency for this First Clear at all.


    "Peerless City got wiped," Square Root 3 said happily.


    "Under what circumstances?" Lu Li didn¡¯t wait for a response before he rearranged some of the offensive groups. They were crowded too close to the melee groups, and that could end in disaster¡­


    "The specifics aren¡¯t clear. They didn¡¯t know how to engage the Boss, but it suddenly performed a large sweep, returned to 20% HP and went back to Stage 4. The Boss flew back up again, haha¡­"


    Lu Li understood one thing particularly clearly ¨C that was the Stage 5 Boss¡¯ big move.


    The Headless Paladin would deal a thousand damage to all enemies within three yards and regenerate the amount of damage dealt. However, the regeneration was capped at 20% HP.


    The number of melee players around it were way too high. With that kind of regeneration¡­


    "All melee players, pull back. Ranged players, continue to fight. Memories, cast Bloodthirst," Lu Li quickly instructed, refusing to make the same mistake as Peerless City.


    Not long after the melee players were pulled back, the Ruling Sword members saw the Boss¡¯ big move.


    It really was a 360-degree sweep. Unfortunately, the only person he hit was Azure Sea Breeze, but the 1000HP that it regenerated couldn¡¯t be dealt with by the ranged players alone.


    "What about the second group? Didn¡¯t they have another group in the fifth stage?" Lu Li asked.


    "They haven¡¯t been wiped. I wonder why/" Square Root 3 was a little worried.


    "That¡¯s fine. The First Clear of the Headless Paladin doesn¡¯t affect its drops. We¡¯ll let them gain a little ground in the overall race. Everyone, stay calm and take it slow. Melee players move up," Lu Li encouraged.


    This stage of the Boss required melee players to complete. The Undead Paladin¡¯s defense was too high and Magic professions could only deal double-digit damage.


    Lu Li¡¯s conservative movements of the players was a bit of a waste. After moving the melee players back and forth, and taking into consideration the Boss¡¯ HP regen, they had only dealt 10,000 damage after three minutes of fighting.


    The Boss still had 16% HP remaining.


    Everyone felt like Lu Li really was going to give up this First Clear, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be dawdling like this.


    "When your Druid¡¯s Resurrect is ready, revive a Shaman. Anyone who is running out of mana, type ¡®1¡¯ into the chat." Lu Li was really playing the long game. He had calculated it and felt that the remaining heals weren¡¯t enough.


    "Lu Li¡­" Square Root 3 was becoming increasingly anxious.


    "Calm down. Safety first." Lu Li was like a meditating monk and didn¡¯t take on any of Square Root 3¡¯s anxiety.


    He could play a little more boldly, but the risk would also be greater. If the Boss regenerated too much HP, or if they lost too many players, then they really would have to start again.


    "There are quite a few other guilds who have made it into the fifth stage as well," Square Root 3 muttered.


    There were groups constantly being wiped and other groups constantly entering the fifth stage¡­


    13%, 11%, 10%...


    "My head? Where did my head go?"


    The Headless Paladin clutched his head and suddenly remembered that he was missing his head.


    "Melee players, leave the Boss and run 8 yards away!" Lu Li clutched his hands and was sweating as he stared at this scene.


    "Heads, come!" The Headless Paladin waved his hand and four players¡¯ heads flew up. It was just a visual effect, but it scared some of the other players silly. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t have nightmares tonight.


    The players that had lost their heads naturally all died.


    Fortunately, the removed heads started to burn, which caught everyone¡¯s attention and snapped them back into action.


    "Each tank will pull a skull in a different direction. Melee players, attack the skull and ranged players, attack the Boss!" Lu Li shouted as he slightly retreated.


    This part was something he had never personally experienced before, so all of the strategy from this point onwards was purely theoretical.

 448 Killing the Headless Paladin

    From next year onwards, after everyone had studied the strategy, even a random party could defeat the Headless Paladin. It was just that Lu Li was unlucky and had never commanded a strong enough group.


    Some players had big egos and refused to listen to the instructions of other players. As such, they would usually end up dying.


    In his past life, Lu Li wanted to kick those kinds of players out of the group. Now, he finally had that opportunity, but standing here, he could feel the great pressure that was put on him.


    They were a 100-member group that had been fighting for over an hour. If they got wiped, not only would they have to start again, but they would also lose the great influence that came with the First Clear.


    There were also many cases where Lu Li couldn¡¯t show strategies that were too advanced. Otherwise, it would be just too obvious that he already knew the strategy.


    Scattering four players to pull the skulls in the different directions was quite intuitive. This wasn¡¯t the first time Lu Li had spread out the Main Tanks either. Sometimes, it was useful and other times, it was useless. However, it was all to conceal his true purpose.


    The four Main Tanks needed to pull the four skulls because the Headless Paladin in the middle could suddenly rotate with his long single-handed weapon. It was just like the famous Berserker Whirlwind.


    When a Paladin suddenly cast a Warrior skill, it surprised everyone.


    "Peerless City¡¯s second group got wiped as well," Square Root 3 reported as they fought the Boss.


    For Ruling Sword and the other competitors, the destruction of Peerless City¡¯s second group was welcome news. Their gradient strategy was quite strong and had caught everyone off-guard.


    "Ranged players, attack from max range. Make sure you keep moving. If I see you standing still I¡¯ll kick you." Lu Li wasn¡¯t paying attention as he was fully absorbed in the situation.


    Why would he bother with the others¡¯ progress? It was much better to just make sure he was doing a good job.


    The Headless Paladin¡¯s Whirlwind skill also regenerated HP from the damage it dealt. That was why Lu Li arranged for the melee players to attack the skulls and for the ranged players to attack the Boss.


    The range of this Whirlwind was way too high, so a wise commander would plan for it in advance.


    After some observation, Lu Li noticed the behavior that was explained in the strategies. He mobilized a small party and even after a minute and a half of the Headless Paladin spinning, no one was hit.


    It only had 60,000HP left!


    "Today, we have fought well, but tomorrow, we will do even better." Lu Li only started to speak after the skulls were destroyed and the Headless Paladin¡¯s whirlwind ended.


    "After we¡­ about to defeat it?" Square Root 3 was even more excited than Lu Li.


    Everyone turned to look at Lu Li in anticipation. It felt like victory wasn¡¯t determined by the System, but when Lu Li decided it was so.


    "Do you see him going berserk?" Lu Li was still a little nervous.


    "We still have 50-60 players. Why would be afraid of him going berserk?" Square Root 3 asked with some uncertainty.


    "Haha," was all Lu Li could say.


    This Boss that required a hundred players to defeat couldn¡¯t be compared with some small Instance Dungeon Boss. It was unrealistic for him to continue only attack one target at a time; he was definitely going to perform a big sweep.


    "If I am destined to perish," the Headless Paladin said as it raised his arm, "Then please fight with me one last time!"


    "Dammit."


    All his fears were being realized today. The moment he heard the Headless Paladin speak, he already knew what was coming. If the Boss didn¡¯t go berserk, there was an 80% chance that they could defeat it, but now that it was berserk, he wasn¡¯t really sure what would happen.


    However, giving up wasn¡¯t part of Lu Li¡¯s character; he was going to struggle, down to the very last player.


    "Ranged players, keep attacking. Remember to keep 8 yards away from the Boss," Lu Li quickly instructed. "Starting from the first party, send two at a time to be killed. Everyone else, keep your distance from the Boss!"


    They really were being sent to be killed. This time, the players couldn¡¯t even touch Boss before they were instantly killed.


    "Don¡¯t send so many at a time. Do you not understand two at a time? Party leaders, arrange among yourselves." Lu Li didn¡¯t like the way he was speaking but he didn¡¯t have time to worry about that.


    If anyone made any mistakes, it was likely that they would have to redo the entire fight.


    Other big guilds would deduct points from players who made mistakes; benevolence didn¡¯t produce effectiveness.


    Square Root 3 was also fighting the Boss, but his energy was directed outside. There were players constantly reporting to him about the situations of the other guilds. There weren¡¯t many groups who could make it into the fifth stage, but if they were part of a big guild, they often would.


    Peerless City, Blood Red War Flag, Glory capital and even Drizzle Court had made it into the fifth stage.


    If they were lucky, the Boss wouldn¡¯t go berserk and they would likely defeat it. Sometimes, luck was a great strength to have that could significantly tip the scales.


    Square Root 3 glanced towards the guild commander Lu Li and admired his calmness.


    Even in a moment when they were rapidly losing members, he was still calmly organizing the players.


    "Main Tanks, send yourselves ahead. After the Main Tanks, send the healers."


    Lu Li moved around while trying to calculate whether they could finish off the Boss with the remaining players.


    Fortunately, the Boss¡¯ aggro was locked-on to the closest players. Otherwise, the scene would be even more chaotic.


    When the melee players finally died, the Main Tanks went up and tanked the Boss for one or two seconds. Then, the remaining healers were sent. As the Main Tanks were already dead, they didn¡¯t have a job left anyway. They were instantly killed as they were sent forwards.


    Now, the Boss¡¯ HP was almost empty.


    "Everyone, spread out and deal as much damage as possible. Memories, do you have Bloodlust?" Lu Li pulled out his weapon; he also needed to fight.


    "Not yet. One minute," Sakura Memories said as she shook her head. They wouldn¡¯t be able to use Bloodlust for the rest of this fight as it wasn¡¯t going to last longer than a minute.


    "We will either be victorious or defeated in this last push. Good luck everyone," Lu Li said as he pushed forwards and attacked the Boss from behind.


    He was the commander and needed to understand the overall situation, so he couldn¡¯t attack. This was the first time he could show the formidable strength of his equipment.


    He was the only player who could deal more than 200 damage.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t tank the berserk Headless Paladin. He had only cast a full-star Backhand Backstab before he was killed on the spot. After dying, his vision went black and he could no longer speak. The only way he could send information was through specific text channels.


    However, he didn¡¯t need to say anything more; the Boss¡¯ HP was almost empty.


    There were also more than a dozen surviving ranged players attacking with all their might¡­


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have to lie on the ground for too long before he noticed the First Clear on the World Announcements.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, who under the leadership of Lu Li have defeated the festival Boss, Headless Paladin. They have been rewarded with the Headless Paladin¡¯s Reins and a Basic Mount Skill Book.


    The Ruling Sword team channel, guild channel and World Announcements were immediately filled with the guild members cheering in excitement.

 449 Dark Halo

    "Are you guys going to revive me?" Lu Li had been waiting for 30 seconds, but no one had revived him. From the ground, the dozens of dead players could see the remaining players jumping around. They looked so excited that it was like they had forgotten their names.


    "Uh, quickly revive the Boss." They only just remembered Lu Li, Square Root 3 and some others who were still dead on the floor.


    "Sorry Boss. I was just too excited."


    An Elemental Shaman who had learned Revive used the skill on Lu Li and pulled him up.


    After being revived, the first thing that Lu Li did was open up his backpack.


    It contained the Headless Paladin¡¯s Reins and a Skill Book. He had received the rewards that the System had awarded them.


    Headless Paladin¡¯s Reins!


    He didn¡¯t expect that he would one day receive this item!


    There were many things that were worth money in Dawn, as tens of millions of transactions were made every day. However, the items that were truly invaluable were the ones that could enhance other things.


    The Headless Paladin¡¯s Reins was undoubtedly one of the best enhancing items in the game.


    In the earlier stage of the game, most players wouldn¡¯t come into contact with mounts. The first few mounts that were introduced were related to a players¡¯ profession or race, and could be bought from an NPC for some money. However, these were all equally bad.


    The Headless Paladin¡¯s mount, on the other hand, was not the same. There was only once chance to obtain it every year and most players weren¡¯t strong enough to kill it. Even if they could, there was no guarantee that it would drop.


    The players were slowly being revived, one after another. When they were all revived, they all received a notification that they had received a Holiday Boss package.


    Remnant Dream pitifully stared at the Headless Paladin¡¯s body as it turned into ashes; she didn¡¯t get to loot it.


    Lu Li took his Holiday package out.


    His heart was beating quite quickly; he hadn¡¯t felt this kind of excitement for a long time.


    If he got a Headless Paladin¡¯s Steed¡­


    The item in his bag was rewarded by the System, so he obviously couldn¡¯t sell it like it was his own. It was the fruit of everyone¡¯s efforts.


    In his past life, Lu Li had gone through a similar experience. He often went to try and farm for a horse, which could be dropped by Instance Dungeons that were level 40 or higher. (Level 30 or higher Instance Dungeons no longer had any level restrictions) He would do this once a week, in hopeful expectation each time.


    However, the result was just one cooldown after another. He farmed for two years until his Rebirth and never even saw a single horse hair.


    He had often heard the phrase, "Oh no I didn¡¯t get it¡­"


    But now, there was a possibility that the Headless Paladin¡¯s Steed would drop right in front of him. Lu Li¡¯s mind involuntarily wondered about what he would do if he got it. Would he sell it, or maybe use it¡­?


    After taking a moment to ready himself, he opened the package.


    There was no point in delaying; it was what it was¡­


    System: You are rewarded with some EXP and 2 gold coins.


    That¡¯s it?


    Is there nothing else?


    Dammit.


    Lu Li staggered backwards as his legs went soft. He almost farted as he fell onto his butt.


    "Waahahaha!" This was Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s trademark smile. He was holding a plate in his hand as he laughed loudly.


    Lu Li really wanted to kick him to death.


    While Lu Li was thinking this, Wandering had already kicked him. "You old man, why are you causing a fuss? Don¡¯t you see everyone else that¡¯s around? Don¡¯t you have any shame¡­?"


    As Azure Sea Breeze was being showered in a torrent of abuse, he looked around to find everyone staring at him.


    The most annoying thing was receiving the steed and then causing a fuss so that everyone knew.


    At first, he was the most popular number one Main Tank, but in that moment, he had become the object of everyone¡¯s jealousy. There was almost a fight over it, even though not everyone could fully comprehend its value.


    "Boss, I¡¯ll give this to you," Nuo Yu offered as he came over and sent a trade invite.


    He was one of the first players to join Ruling Sword and had started out being undercover for the Gangnam Royals. After swapping sides with the help of Lu Li and Square Root 3, he was released from the clutches of the Gangnam Royals and was now one of the Elite Group¡¯s main Mages.


    When Lu Li saw the item being traded, he was shocked.


    It was actually the Headless Paladin¡¯s steed!


    Ruling Sword had actually received a second Headless Paladin¡¯s Steed!


    Most players would have thought that someone out of the hundred players would have got it, but the probability for two players to receive it was much lower.


    In fact, as the event progressed, the other guilds would soon find out that defeating the Headless Paladin would leave 80% of the players without a mount. It was even sadder when guilds had sent dozens of groups and none of them received a mount.


    "Nuo Yu, don¡¯t joke around," Lu Li refused.


    If he accepted it, what would he have become?


    Everyone had a fair chance of getting it; you couldn¡¯t be too nice in life.


    Despite the fact that it was a guild member offering it, if he accepted it, how could he continue on afterwards?


    Even so, it was still a little heart breaking for Lu Li refuse it. This was worth millions, and was by far the most expensive item Lu Li had seen.


    He was also a little bewildered thinking about Azure Sea Breeze and his mount, while he himself had only received some gold coins. This guild even had two mounts, and he didn¡¯t get one of them.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t the most miserable one ¨C there was a girl who only received one gold coin and was crying.


    However, because Lu Li was the spiritual leader of the guild, he had to endure this.


    In reality, other than Lu Li and the other unlucky girl, most players actually received decent rewards.


    Square Root 3 collated the data and found that more than 10 players received Gold equipment, more than 30 players received Silver equipment and more than a dozen players received a rare material. There were also a large variety of festive items that were dropped.


    The festive items were quite valuable.


    The candy was self-explanatory ¨C the Boss dropped these in bags and each bag contained 100 of them. The lucky Hachi Chan received three bags of candy.


    The Halloween Magic Wand was one of the most interesting gadgets. You could turn someone into a pirate, ninja, skull, bat, kitten or even a small frog¡­ it allowed you to experience what being a Magician would feel like.


    Alien Masks could be put on to appear like another race, but like the Magic Wand, this was a festive item and would disappear after seven days.


    There was also a wide variety of Halloween food, which caused a variety of effects upon eating them.


    The Pumpkin Bag had 18 spaces and was one of the more practical items.


    If you couldn¡¯t get the Headless Paladin¡¯s Steed, there were also the Magic Broom and the flying blanket as consolation prizes. Players who got those two, limited-time items were also objects of envy.


    Seeing that everyone was eager to go back to the city to try their new items, Lu Li pulled himself together and announced the closing of the event.

 450 The Onlookers On The Streets

    "Sell these and use them as capital."


    Lu Li returned to Astrana and tried to make himself feel better. He intended to get Square Root 3 to sell the Headless Paladin¡¯s Reins and the Beginner Mount Skill book.


    He could already fly, so these weren¡¯t things that interested him.


    Before you learned to fly, you had no other choice but to run on the ground.


    "Are you joking?" Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t believe that he was hearing. They had received such good items and he wanted to sell them.


    "Won¡¯t this sell for a few million dollars?" Lu Li stared at Square Root 3 like he was crazy.


    "Big bro, we don¡¯t need to care about money for now," Square Root 3 said as he stared back at Lu Li like he was crazy. "You are the president and your every move is being watched. The more you invest, the greater your returns."


    Square Root 3 tended to get a headache when dealing with Lu Li¡¯s small mindedness.


    To him, Lu Li was good at a lot of things, except when it came to dealing with money.


    The gaming industry had long since moved past simply selling equipment for a living and was now similar to the entertaining industry. A large guild could develop itself and produce star players which were basically virtual idols.


    A virtual idol would continue to be profitable for as long as there were people who cared about them.


    For example, a star player could accept an endorsement contract and attend events, as some people were willing to pay a large amount of money to promote their own business.


    Glory Capital¡¯s annual endorsement contracts were said to be worth more than a billion dollars. If you participated in both large and small events, someone would be willing to pay you, as long as you won some awards.


    All of this was in addition to embedded advertising and so on¡­


    There were trillions of dollars in circulation in the gaming industry and these events were attended by millions of people. As long as you had the attention of enough people, sponsors were willing to pay.


    Ruling Sword had not yet accepted any endorsements for its club, but a conservative estimate put their worth in the tens of millions.


    But why would Ruling Sword fetch such high prices?


    This was because of the guild¡¯s strength, the club¡¯s past record, their rising popularity and their great future developmental prospects.


    Now if Lu Li rode a headless war horse around the streets of Astrana, the forums, the media and countless players would definitely be discussing him with envy.


    "And this is a reward item, so it can¡¯t be traded anyway," Square Root 3 added.


    In the previous Mid-Autumn Festival, there were similar rewards that couldn¡¯t be traded. However, the items that Azure Sea Breeze and Nuo Yu received weren¡¯t affected.


    "Dammit!" Lu Li had only just realized these two lines in the item description.


    To commemorate that in the first year of Dawn, Ruling Sword was the first to kill the Headless Paladin!


    This item cannot be traded, dropped or destroyed.


    He could almost hear the millions of dollars flying away as his heart broke¡­


    You simply couldn¡¯t expect a person who had a poor upbringing to act like a billionaire; it just wasn¡¯t possible.


    "If I were you, I would take advantage of the fact that the other guilds have not yet acquired these Headless Paladin war horses. Go out to the streets and gain a little publicity," Square Root 3 gloated.


    Lu Li thought about it and decided that it was the right thing to do. As such, he learned the Mount Skill and found an NPC to tame a Headless Paladin War Horse.


    Not only was this the first mount in the game, but it was also the strong Headless Paladin War Horse mount.


    After he was done, Lu Li went out into the streets. He looked around and felt a little embarrassed, so he put on his Steel Bandana to at least give him the illusion that he was hiding.


    There was a high-pitched neighing as the tall horse appeared in front of Lu Li.


    It was bigger than the average mount, its eyes and mouth were filled with a green, phosphorus fire and there was a fine saddle installed on its back. Each hoof was also enveloped in flames; it looked like a messenger from hell.


    Lu Li climbed onto the war horse and used the Mount skill. He had learned how to ride in his past life, so he was quite comfortable.


    As the war horse walked, it would leave behind remnants of the fire.


    If he knew how to fly with a mount, this Headless Paladin War Horse would be even trendier as it left the players on the ground in the dust.


    Regardless, the shock value was still sufficient.


    "¡­"


    There was silence all around as players came out on Halloween and saw something even more terrifying than the variety of ghosts wandering about.


    "Isn¡¯t this is the legendary mount? Who¡¯s riding it?" At first, they were curious about the mount, but then they turned their attention to the rider.


    "His face is covered¡­" This was the first time that most of the players had seen another player doing that.


    The attention wasn¡¯t that great; it was just one of envy. If the rider liked attention, then that would be fine, but most players¡¯ attitude was one of outrage. How could this guy have such a trendy mount before anyone even got the regular mounts?


    "It kinda looks like the Headless Paladin¡¯s Steed¡­ That means it¡¯s¡­ Lu Li!" Finally, there was someone smart enough to work it out.


    "Its Ruling Sword¡¯s Lu Li! I recognize the pattern on his bandana¡­"


    After they guessed that it was Lu Li, the atmosphere became a little more positive. This was the person who had received the First Clear by working together with a big guild.


    The other big guilds had sent dozens of groups out, but Ruling Sword only sent one!


    Come and see Lu Li!


    Come and see the Headless Paladin War horse!


    Come and ride Lu Li¡¯s Headless Paladin War horse!


    Congested would be an understatement in describing the crowded main road in Astrana. This development was quite surprising, and Lu Li¡¯s palms were a little sweaty holding the reins of the war horse while sitting on the tall mount.


    He felt like a monkey at the zoo.


    "Lu Li, look at the guild channel¡­" Square Root 3 spoke quickly as if some great thing had happened. Because he was surrounded, this was quite a badly timed moment.


    Even so, Lu Li quickly pulled up the guild channel.


    Most players continued to use the outdated text message to communicate as it made it easier for record keeping.


    The item of interest was easy to find. Lu Li could immediately recognize it at a glance ¨C Blue Python Fang!


    This was because those three words were very important to him.


    He had previously given Square Root 3 a list of things that he should get if he saw them, no matter what the cost. This was the reason Square Root 3 was so anxious when he found it, even though he didn¡¯t know what it was. However, he knew that it was important to Lu Li if he was willing to buy it at any cost.


    This was the material Lu Li needed to upgrade his Supreme Ring!

 451 A Silly Paladin

    Lu Li carefully read the sentence that was written on the guild chat.


    Million Years in a Blink: Does anyone know roughly what a Blue Python Fang does?


    There were a few responses after that, but most of them were just people making things up. Everyone knew it was a rare material, but no one could tell him what it could be used to make.


    With regards to the distributions of drops, there were currently some customary rules in the game.


    If it was an Instance Dungeon or Wild Boss run by the guild using its strategies, any drops belonged to the guild. If it was a Boss fought privately, that was left to the players themselves. If it was a festive Boss, although it required the guild¡¯s coordination, any drops were also left to the players.


    Of course, there were some small guilds that ignored these rules.


    However, Ruling Sword had its long term interests in mind, so naturally, it wouldn¡¯t take the players¡¯ benefits from them.


    Everyone was playing the same game, so if there weren¡¯t some benefits why would anyone join your guild? A stable base salary plus some variable amount in addition to activities and quests that couldn¡¯t be completed alone ¨C that was the general situation for each modern guild.


    Today, the Headless Paladin had dropped many items ¨C several Gold equips, dozens of Silver equips, rare materials, skill books¡­


    Square Root 3 and Lu Li didn¡¯t ask anything of the Elite group. Nuo Yu voluntarily wanted to give Lu Li the horse, otherwise, he had no right to take anything that didn¡¯t belong to the guild.


    But now, Lu Li wanted to break this rule ¨C he really wanted this rare material.


    He couldn¡¯t deal with being surrounding by all these players on this street anymore. Lu Li prompted the Headless Warhorse, which slowly sped up to a gallop and left the crowd behind.


    There was a mad dash as the players tried to chase the horse.


    "Million Years in a Blink. I see." Lu Li sent him a friend request and awaited confirmation from the other party.


    "Dammit, you must be lying. I don¡¯t believe you. Why would the number one player want to add me? Does Dawn allow for players with the same name? There aren¡¯t any special characters in this name either¡­" His rapid chatter demonstrated his excitement but also his silliness.


    "Well, I¡¯m Lu Li. I¡¯m in the same guild as you." Lu Li was speechless.


    "Oh yeah. It does say Ruling Sword in front of your name. Wait a second." The communication cut off and Lu Li could already hear the laughter on the other side.


    So there were people like this in his guild¡­he was a little ashamed to meet him.


    Back in the guild residence, Lu Li finally saw this silly Paladin. He was one of the first players to respond to Square Root 3¡¯s call to join as a member of Ruling Sword¡¯s Elite group.


    Although he had only joined the game on the second round, he was currently level 30 and had caught up with the other players.


    "I want to discuss something with you. I want to buy the Blue Python Fang that you have." Lu Li didn¡¯t take the time to soften him up and got straight to the point.


    "What?" Million Years in a Blink slapped the table and stood up.


    Lu Li¡¯s heart was sinking and he had a bad expression on his face, but he wasn¡¯t so petty that he would hate someone for not selling an item. He waved his hand and said, "Don¡¯t get too worked up ¨C you don¡¯t have to sell it. I¡¯m just asking."


    It was unusual for the Supreme Ring upgrade to require 16 different materials. He knew where to get some of these, but there were a few that he had never heard of before.


    The Blue Python Fang was one of these, and he didn¡¯t even know where to start looking. As such, it was a lie to say that he was willing to let it go, but he couldn¡¯t help himself when he saw how excited the other party got.


    "You looked down on me," Million Years in a Blink said as he became even more excited and pointed right at Lu Li¡¯s nose, "and now you want to buy from me!"


    "Uh¡­" The situation was so unusual that Lu Li didn¡¯t know what to say.


    "You are the Guild¡¯s Boss, the supreme leader of Ruling Sword and you actually want to buy something from me. For such a trivial rare material, you raised my hopes like this. You need to apologize to me!" he demanded as he slammed a white item onto the table and wiped his eyes.


    "¡­" Lu Li had no idea what to do. What was wrong with this guy?


    His intention was the trade the item for gold or equipment from the guild. He had no intention of treating someone from his Elite group badly.


    However, this person was so eccentric that he had no idea how to deal with him.


    "You¡¯ve done something wrong, but you won¡¯t apologize?" It was clear that Million Years in a Blink was quite young. He must have put all his attribute points into being eccentric because dealing with him was giving Lu Li a headache.


    "Sorry, I¡¯m sorry." Lu Li was so confused that all he could do was pat him on the shoulder and apologize sincerely.


    "Hehe," Million Years in a Blink laughed as he scratched his head, "What else do you want?"


    Seeing that he was probably going to tell everyone, Lu Li shook his head and said, "This is fine. If there is anything else, I¡¯ll ask you directly."


    "Alright, I¡¯ll go do some quests."


    After seeing Lu Li act that way, he was thoroughly satisfied and hadn¡¯t even asked for any compensation.


    Lu Li had no idea how to describe this person. He didn¡¯t know if he was eccentric or just genuinely kind-hearted, but at least he wasn¡¯t a detestable person.


    "Well, did you get it?" Square Root 3 didn¡¯t participate, otherwise, it would definitely have felt like they were just pressuring him with their authority.


    Lu Li explained the whole situation simply. Square Root 3 was silent for a moment, before understanding that only Million Years in a Blink could do something like that. It seemed like the other players already knew this about him.


    "Find a way to compensate him." Lu Li couldn¡¯t just take this material for free.


    This rare material, regardless of how important it was, was still worth quite a lot.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s points couldn¡¯t only be exchanged for items from the guild warehouse. In the month¡¯s performance appraisal, unused points could be exchanged for real money.


    "Done. I¡¯m going to go and count up the rare materials that the players received. If we¡¯re lucky, we might find another rare material you need. Speaking of which, what do you want these materials for?" Square Root 3 was quite curious.


    Knowing how stingy Lu Li was, how precious would something have to be for him to want these rare materials at any cost?


    "An Epic equipment," Lu Li vaguely responded. He then ignored Square Root 3 and went looking for his sister for Halloween.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mention the fact this was an Epic equipment that could be further upgraded.


    He didn¡¯t want to scare him.

 452 Halloween Costume Show

    If you wanted to do well in the long term of any game, you couldn¡¯t be satisfied with just being average.


    However, Dawn was very unique in that it allowed players to find their own fun in the game. This fun could be shared among many different players, and it wasn¡¯t limited to everyone minding their own business.


    Halloween was the second festival celebrated in Dawn, and everyone just wanted to have a good time.


    As Lu Li walked through the streets, there was almost no one wearing normal clothing. There was Iron Man on one side, and Spirited Away¡¯s No-Face on the other. There were ghosts, the Ring, zombies, Ninja Turtles, Maleficent, and Assassin¡¯s Creed¡­


    If you could think of a costume idea, it could probably be done.


    Adults and children, boys and girls, the old and young ¨C everyone could find their respective interests.


    Dawn allowed players to make a variety of modifications to their equipment.


    As such, in addition to the costumes that were generated by the system, there were also many homemade costumes moving around on the streets. Lu Li even saw a pumpkin rolling around.


    Lu Xin had been waiting for quite some time; she had logged on in the morning and had been looking forward to playing with her brother.


    However, she didn¡¯t want to create a scene. She knew that her brother was working for them, and had no time to rest.


    So, when Lu Li arrived and asked if she had been waiting for a long time, she shook her small head and held his hand before heading into the Halloween Festival¡¯s crowd of players.


    Lu Xin¡¯s preparation for the surgery could start at any time, so she needed to be in a calm state and couldn¡¯t be under too much stress.


    As such, the Lu siblings couldn¡¯t go into the places like haunted houses. Nevertheless, Dawn provided a wide variety of content, so there were many other things they could do.


    Of course, they first went to the festival center to acquire a set of Halloween costumes.


    The clothing that the System provided was quite elegant; it was much better than what the players could produce themselves. Lu Li also didn¡¯t have much time to spare, so he spent a few gold coins to buy them.


    According to some incomplete statistics, the amount of gold that the players had spent to dress up totaled over 1.7 million gold coins.


    When Lu Li arrived at the festival center, there were two players who were constantly changing their outfit. They must have had OCD because it took them so long. Every change of clothing also cost 1 silver.


    Lu Li paid the festival ambassador a silver coin and the NPC waved his hand. He then transformed into No-Face.


    Spirited Away¡¯s No-Face was probably one of the easiest costumes to create; it seemed like the System wanted to cut some corners. It wasn¡¯t that this costume was bad, but Lu Li had soon a dozen of them today already.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t really mind, as this wasn¡¯t something he really cared about.


    He was only changing his costume for the sake of his sister, and to take part in the festive atmosphere.


    "I want to become someone from Spirited Away too!" Lu Xin saw what her brother had transformed into and wanted to follow suit.


    In China, Japanese cartoon movies were very popular. Master Miyazaki¡¯s work had been around for more than 200 years and was still as popular as ever.


    The first transformation turned her into a small pirate.


    The small pirate was quite cool, and many children liked it, but Lu Xin was not satisfied. The pirate and No-Face didn¡¯t go well together.


    As such, a second silver coin was handed over to the festive ambassador.


    The reason the players had spent over 1.7 million gold coins was because they were all a little obsessive about their costumes.


    "Big bro, what is this?"


    "A ladybug¡­"


    "What about this?"


    "It¡¯s¡­ probably a Transformer¡­"


    "Clown¡­"


    "We¡¯ve spent 12 Silver coins." Lu Xin had unknowingly changed her costume quite a few times, but she still hadn¡¯t found anything to her satisfaction.


    "It¡¯s okay, keep going. It¡¯s just one silver coin each time."


    Lu Li showed his sister the amount of money in his backpack. He had over 700 gold coins.


    "Then I¡¯ll just go eight more times," Lu Xin said sadly.


    As a child who had grown up poor and would keep every cent of change, how could she be willing to keep spending money in this place? The Lu Siblings had both grown up in the same environment and struggled to let go of some of their old habits.


    "Who is this? Seems like Mei?" Lu Xin looked at the mirror and was unsure. She looked a little older than a four-year-old.


    To be fair, the reason she liked this costume was because it took a human form. The previous few costumes were completely incompatible with her image as a little girl.


    The Mei that she was referring to was Mei Kusakabe.


    Mei Kusakabe was a character from one of the famous Japanese animation masterpieces ¨C Totoro. She was the sister of one of the main characters. The two of them had moved with their father from the city into the country. While living at an ancient house, they encountered the spirit of the forest Totoro.


    The translation of her name used its original harmonics, which resulted in Mei.


    "This girl from Totoro suits you. It also complements No-Face as they are both Miyazaki¡¯s works," Lu Li explained to his sister, but he didn¡¯t know that much more either.


    Now that their life was better, Lu Xin would occasionally watch some TV when she was free.


    "If big bro feels it¡¯s right, then I¡¯ll take it," Lu Xin said as she pinched her own arm, which felt a lot smaller. She was already short, and now, she was even shorter.


    Then, the little girl from Totoro went back onto the Streets of Astrana holding No-Face¡¯s hand.


    Despite the fact that it was quite chaotic outside with all the different costumes, the Lu Siblings had a perfect harmony. They had an interdependence that couldn¡¯t be replaced.


    "The System will update tomorrow and the main city will open up. I intend to buy a house from the main city," Lu Li told his sister while dealing with children asking for candy.


    Some players were also taking the initiative to give Lu Xin candy. Her costume made her look small and cute, so she received a lot of candy.


    "Main city? Isn¡¯t this place okay?" for the little girl, Astrana was already big enough. She was often lost and had to ask a guard about how to find the potion store.


    "I won¡¯t be safe here in future; there will be a war," Lu Li said.


    As the Grey Valley war intensified, the Orc Legion¡¯s Soldiers would attack the city. Although they would be repulsed, they would breach the city a few times.


    However, the main city was not the same ¨C there was a super big Boss there. Any main city was basically impregnable. Not only did the Night Elf¡¯s main city house Tyrande, but it was also connected to the Emerald Dream which was protected by the Green Dragon.


    "I¡¯ll follow you then." Lu Xin held her brother¡¯s hand, but she felt a little sad.


    If the surgery failed, then nothing in the future will matter. She knew that she needed to listen to her brother.


    If she wasn¡¯t around in this world, who would continue to accompany him?

 453 The Twin-Headed Ogre And The Little Girl

    The siblings began discussing about their dream house in the game.


    Lu Li wanted to give his sister some hope in life, a hope that their future would only get better and that they would only become richer. He wanted her to know that they would be living in big, clean houses and that they would be able to purchase whatever they liked.


    Lu Xin had a more pessimist perspective in mind; she hoped that her brother would remain happy in the game if anything was to happen to her.


    This was a sad topic and didn¡¯t match up with the festive atmosphere around them.


    The two of them came across a roulette, so they decided to test their luck.


    This was a design by the gaming company and all rights belonged to Dawn. If anyone was to make this design on their own, they would be charged with a crime and persecuted by the internet police.


    A silver coin was required to participate in the event.


    Each player was limited to ten spins, and each spin after that would cost a gold coin. Based on the rewards that the roulette offered, any player that played more than ten times was either a hardcore gambler a or a millionaire.


    "Me first! Me first!" Lu Xin was very interested.


    She snatched over the joystick and turned her excited face to Lu Li, who obediently tossed a silver coin into the machine.


    The joystick moved slightly and the roulette began to spin as Lu Xin stomped her foot. The roulette had begun to spin before she even tried to use any strength; she was certain that she wasn¡¯t going to get anything good.


    Her strength honestly had nothing to do with the results.


    The needle on the roulette landed on the bar for experience, and a white light covered over Lu Xin as she leveled up on the spot.


    This only happened because her level was too low; she was only level eleven.


    On the second time, she received a twelve-space bag.


    On the third time, she received a level 15 Steel equip.


    Her fourth try rewarded her with nothing.


    On the fifth time...


    After ten tries, Lu Xin still hadn¡¯t received anything decent. Of course, she wasn¡¯t impressed ¨C there was a bar on the roulette with the text "Dark Gold Equipment".


    That bar was extremely small; it was almost as thin as a hair.


    However, there was nothing more she could do about it; there was no way that Lu Xin would spend another gold coin to continue spinning.


    Now, it was Lu Li¡¯s turn, but he wasn¡¯t particularly lucky ¨C he received an experience reward three times. With the experience received from the Headless Paladin event, he was currently half way to level 34.


    The only surprise was probably the Halloween Magic Wand ¨C Squirrel. This was an item that was only available during Halloween and had a seven-day time limit.


    Lu Li used the item on his sister, and Lu Xin began to see her world grow bigger. Under the effect of the wand, she had been transformed into a squirrel with a nut in her hand.


    Lu Li bent over to pick her up and placed her on his shoulders.


    This was the amazing part about virtual gaming; it was what made games attractive. This was a world that was entirely beyond imagination.


    There were plenty other games like the roulette ¨C for example, riddles, chess and whack-a-mole. The variety of the games aimed to ensure that everyone could find something that they were good at.


    The squirrel only lasted for two minutes, and after this, Lu Xin returned to normal. It was a strange feeling to sit on her brother¡¯s shoulder, but she refused to transform again.


    Of course, Lu Li refused to transform into a squirrel too; he was used to being the protector.


    Soon, they received another Halloween Magic Wand from the event, which was capable of turning its target into an ogre.


    Under the request of Lu Xin, Lu Li transformed into a tall ogre.


    His body was more than two meters tall and he had two heads.


    This was a strange feeling; Lu Li was even able to make his two heads converse with each other, as long as he didn¡¯t make the two heads speak at the same time. After all, he wasn¡¯t a real ogre.


    Hence, everyone saw a little girl seat herself between the heads of an ogre with each of her hands placed on a head as she chuckled.


    If his sister was happy, Lu Li was happy too. Maintaining an image meant nothing to him.


    Their new combination attracted even more attention than before, as the people around them discovered a new way to play with the Halloween Magic Wand.


    Of course, Lu Xin also received more candy than before.


    Without even realizing, they had already amassed more than 700 candies.


    This meant that there were around 700 people who had given candy to Lu Xin.


    The amount of candy they had almost allowed them to trade for a cat pet, which was Lu Xin¡¯s ultimate goal. Lu Li had originally planned to ask his guild members to help him.


    Halloween was a festival that produced a lot of pets. These pets couldn¡¯t do any damage and had little value, but they were deeply loved by their owners.


    The pet system was a good strategy by Dawn that helped their game rise in popularity.


    If you kept a pet in the game and you really liked it, you would come online daily to see it.


    Besides the entertainment, the Halloween event also offered a great amount of experience. Since Lu Li¡¯s level was too high, the experience rewards didn¡¯t affect him too much, but Lu Xin had already become level 18 after some minor participation.


    They went with the flow of the festival for a day. Not only did they relax, but they also received more experience from the event than leveling up in the wild.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal was to take his sister around; he wasn¡¯t trying to achieve anything.


    He had barely spent any time with his sister in the past two months and the surgery wasn¡¯t entirely without its risks. As such, the siblings treasured the time they had with each other.


    "I want to eat this." Like a little Queen enjoying her ride, the little girl pointed at the barbecue on a player¡¯s stall.


    It was rare for Lu Xin, who was mostly obedient, to show this side.


    "Alright, alright, we¡¯ll eat this. I¡¯ll get it for you," Lu Li said as he went over and bought the item without a single bit of complaint.


    "This flower is so pretty; I¡¯ve never seen it before..." You couldn¡¯t blame her for her reaction ¨C these flowers didn¡¯t exist in real life. Apparently, they had gone extinct around 200 years ago.


    "These flowers are only found around Feralas," Lu Li explained.


    "Since you¡¯re so knowledgeable, I¡¯ll give them to you for a silver coin each." The player who sold these flowers was impressed; it wasn¡¯t easy for someone to recognize them at such a quick glance. After all, the game had only been out for two months.


    "Profit lies everywhere; there¡¯s so many ways to make money." Lu Li himself was impressed by the other player too. He took out a few silver coins to purchase a small bouquet of flowers.


    A silver coin was worth around a dollar. It wasn¡¯t much, but Lu Li could guarantee that this player had at least thousands of these flowers in his bag. These plants had no value and one space in the bag could contain around a hundred units of these flowers.


    "I want to tie them on your horns." Lu Xin had too many things in her hands, so she wasn¡¯t able to hold onto the flowers. As she quickly glanced around, she came up with a new idea.


    There was a sharp horn on each head of the ogre.


    Lu Li was speechless; he was definitely a shame to the ogre race. If other ogres were to find out, there would be no way out for him.


    However, since his sister had made a request, he had to do whatever he could to fulfill it.


    Without even hesitating, he nodded his head and said, "Sure. Do you want me to transform again before you tie it? The item only lasts for two minutes."


    If the players found out who he was, Ruling Sword would probably be the biggest joke of Halloween this time.

 454 The Fourth System Update

    Halloween only lasted for a day, but some of its events such as the Headless Paladin event lasted for the whole week. Players were given one opportunity each day to challenge the boss; this gave some small guilds and mercenary groups a chance.


    Otherwise, the players wouldn¡¯t be happy if big guilds were the only ones who were able to take down the Headless Paladin.


    There were around ten thousand players in Ruling Sword, which meant that they could make around a dozen teams. However, only so many of them were able to truly participate in the Headless Paladin event.


    Most of these players didn¡¯t have the level or strength to participate in these events yet.


    Despite this, there were still around four or five teams that took down the Headless Paladin each day.


    The drop rate of the Headless Paladin¡¯s Steed was greatly reduced on the second day compared to the first. Based on the statistics, there were around 130 Headless Paladin¡¯s Steed that had dropped on Halloween in the entire game.


    This wasn¡¯t a large number, considering the population of Dawn.


    The numbers only decreased over the next six days, and even less players were able to lay their hands on these mounts. Sometimes, a team of a hundred players wouldn¡¯t be able to loot a single Headless Paladin¡¯s steed.


    Interestingly, not all players had the Basic Mount Skill Book, which meant that most players who received the item couldn¡¯t use it.


    In a short amount of time, the Basic Mount Skill Book and Headless Paladin¡¯s steed became the most popular items in the game.


    After Halloween, there was something else that was even more exciting.


    Some called the maintenance on 01/11 the fourth system update.


    This time, the system not only fixed some bugs, but also made some improvements to the dungeons. Dungeons under level 30 remained the same, while dungeons over level 30 no longer had level requirements.


    As for experience lost, players who died in the wild would receive a 10% experience loss, which was reduced to 5% if they were revived.


    Most players were around level twenty and thirty, so they needed a lot of experience to level up. A 20% experience loss was too much for players to handle, so the gaming company decided to take a step back.


    The arena had also been made available with seats for the audience.


    Players could pay to rent out arena rooms, and the prices were set based on the audience that the room was able to host.


    For example, a 500-man room would cost a single gold coin. The two battling players could set the ticket price at one silver coin. As long as they were halfway decent, they would be able to fill out at least half of the seats, which would translate to an income of around 2.5 gold coins. If they split the income in half, they would each earn about 1 gold coin.


    For most average players, this was a fairly decent income.


    For many players who were decently skilled but didn¡¯t have the money to fix their equips, they would be able to earn some quick cash if they went to the arena.


    A new battleground dungeon had also appeared.


    Other elements of the game were only improvements, but this dungeon was probably the biggest focus for players besides the main cities.


    Warsong Canyon was a small battleground located between Grey Valley and Warsong Sawmill.


    During the third war of the Orcs, Grommash Hellscream and his troops had cut down a great number of trees in the forests of Grey Valley. There were still many Orcs that were left behind that continued to cut down trees to supply resources for the Horde. They called themselves the vanguards of Warsong.


    The Night Elves decided to counterattack in a large force to protect the Grey Valley. The Silverwing Sentinel troops responded to the call, swearing to take back Grey Valley and banish the Orcs.


    With this foundation in place, Dawn improved the Warsong Canyon by shrinking it, and a Capture the Flag began between the Alliance and the Horde.


    Players who enjoyed FPS (First Person Shooting) games would be familiar with Capture the Flag gaming mode. The battle mode of Warsong Canyon was adapted from these FPS games.


    There were only twenty participating players in total for each battle of the Warsong Canyon (ten players on each side).


    Everyone was to participate in the battle in their designated battleground. When there were enough players for both parties, the system would send these twenty players into the battleground dungeon.


    When a player successfully took the enemy flag, they were to run back with the flag to their basement. If there were no other players around to protect the flag holder, the enemy team could easily take back their flag. Similarly, a player wouldn¡¯t be able to defend a mini troop of attackers by themselves. Hence, players needed work as a team, attacking and defending together.


    The team that won would receive a great amount of experience, and some players who were lucky might even receive a bonus skill point reward. Even if they were defeated, players would still receive a certain amount of experience.


    From this point onwards, PVP players finally had a way to level up without killing monsters.


    Warsong Canyon was the first battleground in Dawn and was one of the most classic battlegrounds as well.


    Players were able to enter the battleground at level 10, and were split according to the following sections: 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, etc...


    There was a section for every five levels. For example, Lu Li was currently level 33, so he would only be able to enter a battleground section of 30-34.


    These settings were very important, as a few extra attribute points didn¡¯t matter, but a difference in equipment levels was a big problem.


    It wasn¡¯t fair for a player with level 30 equips to play against an opponent with level 25 equips.


    After the fourth system update, a certain number of portals were also removed. To compensate for this, flying mounts, ships and airships were introduced.


    Most importantly, the eight main cities had been released.


    For the Horde, Thrall led the Orcs to build the city of Orgrimmar in memory to the legendary hero, Orgrim Doomhammer. The Trolls didn¡¯t have their own main city; they shared a main city with the Orcs.


    Underneath the grounds of the old Lodaren, the tombs of the royalty had been reconstructed into the palace of Queen Sylvannas, who named the new city ¡®Shadow City¡¯.


    The Tauren built Thunder Cliff in the green grasslands of Mulgore. The legendary Tauren Chief, Cairne Bloodhoof watched over the cliff.


    In the third battle, Alsace, traitor of Lodaren, led the undead army to destroy the entire Quel¡¯Thalas. They tainted the Sunwell and revived the Lich, Kel¡¯thuzad. The high Elves who survived lost the protection from the Sunwell and became irritable, changing their name to the ¡®Blood Elves¡¯. After they returned to the Alliance, they were troubled by unfair treatment and prejudice, so in the end, they joined the Horde Faction.


    The current Silver City was built on the ruins of Eastern Plaguelands; it was the new home to the Blood Elves.


    For the Alliance faction, although Stormwind city was the main city for humans, it was also home to the Dwarves and Elves. It permitted all Alliance members to conduct business within certain restrictions.


    Ironforge was located in the snowy mountain top of Dun Morogh ¡ª it was at the center of the mountain and was an expensive underground city. The old Dwarves and Gnomes lived here. Countless artisans, adventurers, miners and warriors gathered in this place.


    The Exodar was an airship brought to Azeroth by the Draenei. It was located in the Western end of mountains located in Azuremyst Isle.

 455 People With Houses

    The last was the main city of Night Elves, which was also the place that Lu Li had decided to settle down in.


    Although it wasn¡¯t as busy as Stormwind City, Darnassus was a quiet place that people would love to stay at, even for their entire lives.


    According to its description, Darnassus was located at the foot of Teldrassil, the World Tree. The description was often questioned because the city was built on the tree itself. The village at the bottom of the tree was Rut''theran Village, and connected the city to the outside world.


    "Teldrassil" originated from the language of the Night Elves, and meant "Crown of the Earth".


    Teldrassil was located on an island that was raised from the bottom of the sea by Druids with powerful spells.


    It was a small island that was eternally shrouded by a purple mist and floated on the The Veiled Sea, far away from the rest of the world. The prideful Elves lived here and passed down their ancient and mysterious civilization.


    This city was bigger than the entire zone of Grey Valley. You would need to use a portal to go from the North to South of the city.


    Lu Li immediately arrived at the new city with his sister.


    Of course, purchasing a house in the game wasn¡¯t going to be as expensive as it was in real life. It usually only costed in the tens of thousands, and would be no more than a few hundred thousand. This was enough to purchase a decent mansion.


    Just because they were the first to purchase didn¡¯t mean that they were going to get a discount; the gaming company wasn¡¯t so generous in this area.


    Lu Li was worried that the island in the Southside of the city would be purchased.


    Darnassus was split into four sections ¨C North, South, East and West.


    You could purchase houses in every section and they all came with their special attractions. Other races of the Alliance could also live here too, especially Druid players. Perhaps they were the ones who liked the nature of Darnassus the most.


    On this quiet land, the power of nature was something that people sought after.


    This city that was located on the big tree had its own lake and island, which showed how vast it truly was.


    The lake was named by the Night Elves as Al¡¯Ameth.


    The silver lights that reflected in the ripples of Lake Al¡¯Ameth looked like snowflakes as they danced like naughty children. The water was clear, but it was too deep for the bottom to be visible.


    Elegant bridges were built on the shores of the lake, and from afar, it seemed as if crystals flowed underneath them.


    Lake Al¡¯Ameth was the biggest water body in the location and it branched out across the entire city. Hundreds of islands were spread out across the lake, but only one particular island was available for players to purchase.


    This island was beautiful. It wasn¡¯t big, but it was planted with maple trees to form a small forest, and also had a beautiful pond. Under the big maple tree in the center of the island, a small and delicate house stood. It was a house with a white wall and a blue roof. There was also a small Moonwell on the island.


    A small bridge reached towards the shore, but without the permission of the owners, no one else would be able to set food on the island.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had seen this island from afar and had taken a photo of it to show Lu Xin. The little girl really liked it ¨C even when she was sick, the photo was still placed beside her bed.


    In his previous life, he couldn¡¯t afford his sister such a luxury, but in his current life, he was sure that he could purchase this island.


    The general hall was located at the Northside of the city in Cenarion section; there weren¡¯t too many players yet.


    "Greetings. How can I help you?" Two sentinels stopped the siblings when they entered; this place wasn¡¯t as quiet and free as it seemed.


    "I wish to purchase a place to stay," Lu Li said as he pulled his cape to cover up the mark of the Moon Priestess on his shoulder.


    There were some debates between Druids and Priests about their ideology. The current leader of the Cenarion, Archdruid Fandral Staghelm, who was also Malfurion¡¯s student, didn¡¯t get along with the leader of the Priests, Tyrande.


    "Follow along the hallway and you¡¯ll see the hut of Dra. Good luck, my friend." The sentinel was happy to show the way.


    Dra was young female Elf. After Lu Li explained his purpose, she pointed at the shelf of books and said, "This is all the information about properties. You can choose the ones you like, but don¡¯t waste too much of my time."


    "I wish to purchase the island on the lake." Lu Li didn¡¯t go through the books, but instead, read out the coordinates of the island.


    Dra was caught by surprise. She didn¡¯t need to dig through the information to know that the island was called Red Leaf Island and that it was the only island available for sale.


    Although it was close to the Temple of the Moon Goddess and its garden, it was rare for anyone to pass by.


    Originally, the gaming company wanted to keep it as a little surprise of the main city.


    Imagine if you were walking around Darnassus and accidently came across this island. The red maple leaves, the clear waters, the delicate tree house and the crisp green grass ¨C most people would probably think of it as a beautiful place.


    It was hard to imagine that the first location to be sold in Darnassus was this place!


    Dra was only an NPC and the system gave her wisdom, but Lu Li wasn¡¯t doing anything against the rules.


    "This island is up for sale, but you¡¯ll need¡­" Dra paused, then continued, "8000 gold coins. Are you sure you want this place?"


    Because the game had only been released for two months, it was the first day that Darnassus had been made available to players.


    With the current economy within the game, 8000 coins was already an incredible sum. Most players wouldn¡¯t be able to afford this place.


    "Eight thousand?" Lu Li actually wanted to ask how was the place was only listed at 8000. In his previous life, the island wasn¡¯t priced so low.


    The island was discovered in Darnassus after about a month and a half. The first person who bought it paid 15,000 gold and broke the record for property sales in Dawn.


    However, he didn¡¯t lose money ¨C after about half a month, he sold the house for 25,000 gold coins, earning himself a 10,000-gold profit.


    After two years, this island, known as the number one mansion in Darnassus was sold again. It was sold to the hidden boss of Seventh Heaven. The man, Guo DeSho had a title of Prince in real life, and had purchased the place with 45 million dollars.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t thinking about reselling; he only wanted to purchase it to make up for the things that he couldn¡¯t do in his previous life.


    He thought that it would be priced at 15,000, so he had exchanged a lot of gold coins from the guild.


    He didn¡¯t expect the system to only ask him for 8000 gold coins; this was equivalent to 800,000 dollars.


    It would be 45 million dollars two years down the track, so in comparison, it was a bargain.


    Of course, Lu Li had no objections. He quickly signed the documents and the ownership of Red Leaf Island was transferred to the siblings.

 456 Battleground

    Lu Xin didn¡¯t even notice when he paid. She kept her head down as she read through the property information and attempted to find a cheap and decent house.


    "Girl, we¡¯re going," Lu Li said as he waved his hand.


    "Oh, we¡¯re not buying a house anymore?" Lu Xin asked carefully. She thought that her brother had probably changed his mind because the houses were too expensive. The siblings shared similar values in terms of finance ¡ª they were both quite stingy.


    She was relieved, but at the same time a little disappointed.


    She didn¡¯t know that Lu Li had already secretly bought the most expensive house in Dawn. He had paid entirely in cash and signed the contract without any hesitation, which went to show that he was willing to do anything for her.


    Lu Li also finally understood the reason behind the cheap price of the house. The price was low because the main city had only just been made available for players. In about another month, there was a good chance that the prices would go up.


    After he paid the money, Dra gave Lu Li some papers and a plate, which was his identity for his new house.


    The item could not be dropped or damage, but it could be traded. The owner of the house would be able to set up restrictions, with the highest level of restriction allowing them to ban other players from approaching the property.


    Lu Li allowed his sister to have complete authority around the house, and there was another option made available for them on their Hearthstones.


    Previously, they would get teleported back to their selected inn. Now, they could choose to either teleport back to the inn or their home. This was a special service made available by the system after the update.


    However, Lu Li still chose to walk over with his sister.


    The teleportation fees were free ¨C after they arrived at the hall, they could choose to teleport to their location. It was only a matter of seconds for them to travel from the North to the South of the city. Someone had previously tested travelling this distance with a 60% movement speed mount. If the players didn¡¯t use the portal, it would take them at least half an hour to make the trip.


    There were quite a few good places around the south side of the city. Priest skill trainers, Alchemy skill trainers, Herbalist, Pet trainers ¨C there were lots of useful NPCs were around. The auction in the south side of the city was also linked with the auction system in other locations, which made item purchases much easier.


    Just a little further down was the greatest building in Darnassus ¡ª the Temple of the Moon Goddess.


    As the only Goddess of Azeroth, Elune had her own reputation with many races.


    The Temple of the Mood Goddess wasn¡¯t easily accessible; there were many people around the area. A majority of them would come to visit its garden, which was the greatest herb research center for the Night Elves.


    After the garden was the lake.


    Hidden within the bushes and the grass, a small bridge extended across the lake. Fairies from the garden would sometimes play on the bridge, softly singing tunes that calmed the soul.


    It was unwise to attempt hurting these little fairies.


    They were the essence of high Elves who had died fighting in the war for their race. Once you displayed any form of aggression against them, the Elf sentinels hidden within the bushes would definitely attack you without a second thought.


    "Is our house in the water?" Lu Xin had already asked plenty of questions along the way ¨C where did we buy the house, are we there yet, are we there yet¡­


    Her mentality was a little like a wanderer returning home. She was a child from a poor family and it was the first time moving into a new house of her own. It was hard for the average person to comprehend how she felt.


    Lu Li held his sister¡¯s hand as they walked onto the bridge; it didn¡¯t take long for Red Leaf Island to come into sight.


    The name wasn¡¯t fancy, but it was a clear portrait of the island¡¯s image. From afar, it was an island covered by red leaves that rested in clear waters, calm and lazy.


    "It¡¯s here; this entire island," Lu Li said with mixed feelings.


    "But, but..." The little girl was almost drooling, but she was quick to grasp the key point:


    "How much did this cost!"


    "I¡¯m the first to buy a house, so the system only took a thousand gold coins," Lu Li lied. For his sister to not feel any psychological burden, he would even be happy to announce this island as the reward for winning the Shadow Cup.


    Lu Xin was used to trusting her brother, so she didn¡¯t think that he would lie to her, but that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t concerned about the 1000 gold coins.


    "This is a big island and it¡¯s pretty too. As long as the game is still around, we¡¯ll be able to stay here. We¡¯re not losing anything," Lu Li said as he pushed his sister¡¯s shoulder and took her around the island.


    Lu Xin was amazed by the beauty of the place, and liked it the more she explored.


    "Boss, are you done yet? We¡¯re all waiting."


    A message was sent and interrupted Lu Li; he had to stop what he was doing.


    "Monkey, can¡¯t you guys play without me? I¡¯m quite busy." Lu Li wasn¡¯t impressed.


    "What are you busy for? We all know you¡¯re in the city; your coordinates are constantly getting refreshed. Come join us in battleground; it¡¯s so fun. We don¡¯t have enough numbers. If you come, we¡¯ll definitely win."


    Fat Monkey was in the battleground with others from the guild.


    He wasn¡¯t in the battleground at Grey Valley; he was in the new battleground.


    There were ten people on each team and it was played in capture-the-flag mode. Victory was only announced when the flag was stolen by one team three times.


    Fat Monkey had been very active. He was very passionate about gaming and he immediately tried the new battleground dungeon as soon as it was released.


    The poor child truly experienced how important it was for him to have good team members. The first time he went in, eight out of his nine team members were terrible. The battle was completely one-sided ¨C they didn¡¯t manage to take the flag, not even once.


    After his painful experience, the future Fire Mage Lord learned his lesson. He grouped a bunch of people from his guild and they played the battleground together.


    Unfortunately, the battleground was split into sections, and he could only group players between level 30-34.


    Ruling Sword had less higher-level players compared to other big guilds.


    Most players also had their own teams, so there weren¡¯t many players available to play with him.


    On the other hand, a few players from Lu Li¡¯s usual team responded to his call. Sakura Memories, March Rain and Moonlight were all team members for the upcoming competition, so there was no doubt about their response.


    Azure Sea Breeze claimed that he was unbeatable, and he needed to go into the battleground to show off his amazing defense.


    As for the others, Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball didn¡¯t want to show their weaknesses. Wandering was too busy drinking in the bar, Remnant Dream had to take her pet on a walk, and Hachi Chan was busy trying to hatch her Spirit Dragon mount. Anyone who dared to interrupt her would be cursed by her.


    Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Moonlight and Fat Monkey ¨C this was already a really strong team. They just needed a few other players to fill in the gaps.


    However, without Lu Li, they didn¡¯t feel secure, which was why they kept messaging him.


    "You should go; I¡¯ll play here by myself." Lu Xin was a good girl and encouraged her brother to participate in events.


    "Alright, take a look around and let me know if anything needs to be reconstructed or if we need to purchase anything. Make a list; I¡¯ll buy everything when I come back. Or, you can message Square Root 3 ¨C he¡¯ll definitely be able to sort everything out." Lu Li also knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to stop. The battlegrounds were still a good place for him to practice, so it was better if he went.


    Hence, his original plan to spend time with his sister to redecorate their new home ended.

 457 The Badge

    "I¡¯ll come after I finish this quest. When we were clearing the Scarlet Library, there were three books. One of them was called ¡®Mythology of the Titans¡¯. Have you completed this quest?" Lu Li asked.


    "That book was too long so I couldn¡¯t be bothered going through it and threw it in my inventory. Why do you want to do that quest?" Fat Monkey was confused.


    Lu Li asked the others and none of them has completed it.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what to say; this time he was speechless for real. In his past life, ¡®Mythology of the Titans¡¯ was a must-do quest for damage-dealing classes, yet no one had even attempted it.


    Was nobody interested in the ¡®cleanse¡¯ special effect? Cleanse was an active that removed all movement-impairing and crowd-control debuffs.


    There was nothing more important in a PVP battle.


    In reality, this wasn¡¯t as unexpected as Lu Li first thought.


    When Lu Li first joined Dawn in his past life, the game had already been out for more than a year. By then, it was obvious that someone had discovered ¡®Mythology of the Titans¡¯ and most players already knew about it.


    However, no one would be bothered going through the entire book like some sort of fictional story. Even if someone managed to discover the quest, no one would share the secrets of how to obtain Adventurer¡¯s Explorer Badge.


    "That¡¯s perfect; we¡¯re all do it together then. The quest rewards a very useful PVP equip," Lu Li explained.


    "Can we not do it? I already chucked it in the storage," Instant Millennia complained.


    You needed to read through the entire book which had hundreds of pages filled with words. Players couldn¡¯t simply skip through the pages and skim through the book because the system examined the brain waves of the player to determine whether they had read it. Therefore, in order to have the option of accepting the quest, you had to read through each and every single word of the book.


    "Go back and get it from the storage; we must complete this quest. Don¡¯t tell anyone about this yet." Lu Li wanted to keep his secret unknown to others.


    Everyone realised how important this quest was from Lu Li¡¯s serious tone.


    As such, they decided to drop everything they were currently doing and focus on it. Lu Li sat in the living room of his new treehouse while reading Mythology of the Titans.


    The story wasn¡¯t very exciting and he had already read it once in his past life. The book was long and quite dull so he browsed through it carelessly.


    It took him more than 2 whole hours before he finally activated the quest.


    System: Successfully read ¡®Mythology of the Titans¡¯. You may proceed with ¡®the Orphanage¡¯.


    The quest description was simple: find Orphan Matron Nightingale at the Stormwind Cathedral Square; he¡¯ll inform you about the rest.


    Lu Li said goodbye to his little sister and teleported from Darnassus to Stormwind.


    It was obvious that Stormwind was a human city. However, players referred to Stormwind as the capital of the Alliance. Humans, High Elves, Night Elves and Dwarves all called this place their home. Most players enjoyed the multicultural lifestyle and vibes of Stormwind City.


    There were Medieval-themed castles and vine-covered towers. The taverns were filled with wild and passionate laughter of Dwarves. You could stroll freely through the streets, or ride on the boats that sailed slowly through the river canals while appreciating the scenery and culture that the city provided.


    Lu Li walked out of the teleporter then boarded a small boat and finally arrived at the Cathedral Square.


    The open area outside the Cathedral was filled with apple trees. Nearby was a shelter filled with beds for the homeless children of Stormwind.


    Nightingale was quite easy to find. When Lu Li saw him from afar, he was consoling a little human girl who was crying.


    The little human girl¡¯s loud cries could be heard even in the busy streets of Stormwind. Her cries were as clear and obvious as a firefly in the night, even though she was only 5 or 6 years old.


    She looked like a little European girl with her blonde hair, clear blue eyes and fair skin. Her big, beautiful eyes were filled with tears; Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for her.


    "Greetings, Mr Nightingale, I have a message here and it says that you needed some help. What can I assist you with?" Lu Li asked straightforwardly.


    Since Lu Li hadn¡¯t received the quest from someone, he had to ask what Nightingale wanted him to do.


    If Lu Li told him that he had received the quest from reading a book, he would look foolish.


    "Would you be willing to help out the Orphanage? Oh, thank you so much, my friend." Nightingale was pleased.


    "Hope I¡¯ll be of help to you." Lu Li was slightly apprehensive.


    It appeared that the quest wouldn¡¯t be so simple. Lu Li knew this quest was different to those that required him to deliver a letter or escort something; he knew that this quest would take much longer than others.


    Time was money¡­


    "Mm, what should I get you to do first?" Nightingale was ashamed to ask for money so he handed a little orphan to Lu Li. "Maybe you can take care of her for a little while and tend to her needs. Please, young man."


    "I¡­" He wanted to decline the request because he wasn¡¯t used to taking care of toddlers.


    What if she wanted Lu Li to do something ridiculous like taking stars from the sky? He would fail the quest and would have to read the ¡®Mythology of the Titans¡¯ again.


    "Ask me for money, man. I have thousands of gold coins in my bag. I¡¯m very rich¡­" Lu Li thought to himself.


    "I knew you were a kind man. Her name is Becky. Poor Becky¡­ sigh¡­ that damned war¡­" Nightingale patted the little girl¡¯s head and placed her in Lu Li¡¯s arms.


    Although she was cute, she cried too loudly.


    "Ok, sir." Lu Li had to accept because the quest had already appeared in the system.


    Quest: An Orphan¡¯s Dream.


    Becky¡¯s parents were killed in the war and she became a poor orphan.


    Though Lu Li was a selfless hero, his goal of playing this game was to take care of another orphan. Lu Li knew better than anyone that an orphan needed love and care from others.


    It would take some time for him to make Becky happy.


    When Becky saw Nightingale leave, she began crying again, even louder this time.


    Lu Li pinched her little cheeks and greeted her with a smile.


    "Hello Becky, I¡¯m a Night Elf adventurer from another part of the world."


    "Night Elf? Oh my, your ears are so long!" Becky had just noticed that the man she saw had long and pointy ears. She was distracted by them and forgot what she was crying about.


    "Yes. Night Elves¡¯ ears are always this long," Lu Li said with a smile.


    "Hey! Stop touching me so much!"

 458 Returning To Rattan City

    "My mummy said Night Elves all have green hair, but yours isn¡¯t green," Little Becky said as she placed her hands onto Lu Li¡¯s head and stroked his black hair.


    "My mummy said¡­"


    Her voice became gloomy; talking about her mum probably made her miss her again.


    "I¡¯m here if you need me to help you with anything." Fortunately, Lu Li had lots of experience with comforting little girls.


    "I want mummy and daddy," Becky whined as she looked up at Lu Li.


    Lu Li realised that he had said the wrong thing because the system did not give him a quest.


    "Your parents are at a faraway place and won¡¯t be back for a while. You have to be strong because they¡¯ll come back when you grow older." Lu Li sympathized with the little girl because he had lost both his parents when he was young as well.


    "I want to grow up faster!" Becky¡¯s eyes sparkled and nodded.


    "Now, is there anything you would like or anything that you would like to see?" Lu Li asked carefully.


    There weren¡¯t many things that a five or six-year-old girl would want. She contemplated for a while and said, "Mummy said that she would buy me a fruit cake when it¡¯s my birthday, but now both of them are gone."


    "I can take you to eat some fruit cake." Lu Li was delighted.


    This was possibly the easiest quest that Lu Li had ever done. All he had to do was get the little girl a cake.


    The city consisted of mostly cathedrals and orphanages, so there weren¡¯t many cake shops nearby. Lu Li opened up his map and realised that the closest cake shop was quite far away.


    It would take a long time, even if he was to carry her the whole way, so he decided to summon his Headless Paladin War Horse.


    The mount was a single player mount, however, this restriction only applied to other players. A small little girl NPC could easily fit on the mount with Lu Li. He secured Becky safely onto the saddle and took her to the closest cake store.


    Luckily, there weren¡¯t many people in the area, otherwise, the War Horse would have attracted a crowd for sure.


    Up until now, only a handful of players had the privilege of riding a mount. Half of these people were in the Horde faction ¨C Sorrowless, Blood Dagger, etc., and had all obtained the mount from the Halloween event.


    However, since this was the capital city of the Alliance, there were still quite a few players that saw Lu Li¡¯s War Horse.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure which was more out of the ordinary for other players ¨C the mount, or the fact that he was riding it with a little girl.


    Following the merchant lane, Lu Li finally saw a cake shop.


    The sweet aroma of freshly baked cakes could be smelled from a mile away. They both couldn¡¯t help but salivate, and Lu Li decided to buy some for the little girl.


    He allowed Becky to pick her favourite flavour and colour then paid for it.


    Although it was a simple piece of cake that could be bought for a couple of silver coins, the poor little girl devoured it in a matter of seconds while crying.


    Lu Li felt quite sorry for her.


    "Is there anything else you¡¯d like me to do, child?" Lu Li asked her gently as he knelt down beside her.


    "Before my dad got injured, he was a sailor and told me many stories about sailing to Rattan City and Booty Bay. I¡¯ve always dreamt of going out to sea with daddy. Can you please bring me to Ratchet City Pier so I can have a look? I promise I won¡¯t fall into the water or cause any trouble; I just want to see the big boats and go to places that daddy has been.


    The little girl looked at Lu Li expectantly; perhaps she was hoping to see her father there.


    "Ok, I¡¯ll take you to Rattan City."


    Lu Li agreed even though he disliked Rattan City. It was there where he had obtained the Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb blueprint from the engineers.


    With a single message in the guild chat, thousands of players from Ruling Sword arrived at Rattan City.


    The residents of the little town had never experienced this before. The level 60 Goblin Guards were afraid that they were being invaded.


    Many of the Horde players that were in the area quickly teleported back to safety.


    Ruling Sword, one of the top Alliance guilds in the game was planning on taking over Rattan City. The news spread like fire, even catching the attention of Sorrowless from Glory Capital.


    He thought that Lu Li had found a way to take over the city.


    In reality, Lu Li was scared of being attacked in Rattan City. He wasn¡¯t planning on invading Rattan City, but wanted to intimidate them with numbers.


    Goblins only respected others when they were stronger than themselves.


    When they exited out of the teleporter, they were not greeted with words of disgust and disrespect like last time. Instead, the guards greeted them courteously and escorted them on their way.


    "Look, Becky, this is Rattan City and over there is a boat that has returned from sea," Lu Li said and pointed into the distance as a boat prepared to dock onto the pier.


    The majestic boat took little Becky¡¯s breath away; she couldn¡¯t help but stare at it in awe.


    "It¡¯s you! How dare you return to this place?!" Akare exclaimed as he jumped out from his Engineering store, rushed towards Lu Li and grabbed him by the collar.


    "What do you want?! Let go of our boss!"


    "Do you want to die?! Our brothers will destroy your homeland!"


    "Goblins are attacking the players!"


    As soon as he laid his hand on Lu Li, hundreds of players surrounded them. These players from Ruling Sword were all protecting Lu Li under the orders of Square Root Three.


    This was an honourable mission ¨C to be able to protect your guild master was a privilege.


    Whether they were up against Alliance players, Horde scum or NPCs, this group of players would protect Lu Li at all costs. Lu Li was the most respected player in the guild.


    Akare instinctively ducked down and buried his face in his hands. The poor little guy was scared to death; he had never seen this many players wanting to take his life before.


    The Goblin Guards hesitated for a second but remained in place.


    Usually, these level 60 Goblin Guards would have no mercy against law breakers in Rattan City. However, when there were too many players to be dealt with at once, they tended to just turn a blind eye to whatever was happening.


    No one wanted to be killed while on duty.


    To these Goblins, there was nothing more valuable than life itself except for gold.


    "Respected Mr. Akare, I don¡¯t understand what you mean," Lu Li greeted the Goblin Engineer with a bow while holding onto Becky¡¯s hands.


    "You.. you stole the blueprint for Ivy¡¯s Fool Bomb! You long-eared despicable Thief!"


    His pent-up anger and frustration had been building up until this day. Akare has been waiting day and night for Lu Li to return so he could straighten things out with him.


    "You mean the blueprint for the bomb?" Lu Li asked as he blinked his eyes innocently.


    "You sold it to me for 3 gold."

 459 Granting Your Wish

    You sold it to me!


    When he heard that sentence, the Goblin Engineer burst into tears. He had thought about it in every way, and it was he who had lost the bomb recipe!


    He had the opportunity to become one of the top Engineering Masters and the wealthiest in his goblin family. He was going to have wealth beyond measure¡­


    That was all sold away for 3 gold.


    "You sold it to me for 3 gold," Lu Li reiterated. He didn¡¯t know that he was stabbing poor Akare in the heart with these words.


    The level 60 Boss Goblin Engineer stared at him then fainted. No one helped him up as the guards that were normally friendly with him turned away and pretended like nothing had happened.


    They also saw that these players weren¡¯t here to attack Rattan City, so perhaps this was just a personal grudge.


    As defenders of the city, they felt no need to interfere.


    For this strange race that would sell out their best friends for a bag of gold, it wasn¡¯t unusual for them to decide to stand by.


    Lu Li knew that he was now safe. He didn¡¯t have to worry about the NPCs in Rattan City bothering him anymore. The large group that he had brought today was to intimidate and bribe these goblin NPCs.


    There are so many people. What would happen if I accidentally attacked? How scary.


    If I managed to earn one gold coin from everyone here, I would be rich!


    As for Akare, by the time he had woken up, Lu Li had gone to his shop and made two Fool¡¯s Bomb in front of it. Lu Li gave the recipe back to him, but he didn¡¯t care whether he could use to or not.


    At the time, it was a proper transaction for the item, even if the goblin had sold the wrong thing. Lu Li didn¡¯t steal it from him.


    This was the biggest advantage for a race that respected proper transactions.


    Now that Lu Li had compensated him, Akare was unwilling, but could only reluctantly say that he would no longer pursue the matter.


    As for his personal relationship with Lu Li, it was absolute hatred. In the future, it would be impossible for him to buy things or receive quests from him.


    Since the problem had been solved, Lu Li thanked everyone and promised them points for their efforts.


    The guild members were quite happy as they hadn¡¯t really done much. The whole ordeal was just 10 minutes long and they had helped the great God Lu Li. This was the important point. There were many players in Ruling Sword that respected Lu Li and would help him do some things, even at some cost to themselves.


    As he held a high position in the guild, Lu Li had a few points he could give out every month. Every high-ranking guild in Dawn did this ¨C after all, a high-ranking authority deserved to enjoy some of the guild¡¯s resources.


    Tranquility returned to Rattan City as a ship was ushered in.


    The sailors were running around barefoot as they were orderly calling out instructions. Their conversations were brimming with fondness as they approached land.


    The white seagulls were startled as they flew up into the sky.


    Little Becky was jumping about, trying to see the sailors on board, but she was too short. From her perspective, she could only see the foamy white of the crashing waves. Lu Li picked her up and put her on his shoulders so that she could see a little further.


    This was going to be a fruitless ordeal.


    Once the ship unloaded its goods, the sailors triumphantly went to the hotel or tavern, but Becky hadn¡¯t seen her father.


    "My father will come back too, right?" the little girl asked timidly.


    "Yes. As long as you live happily, he will return on a boat one day. He will bring you many delicious things and many beautiful clothes," Lu Li said.


    "I hope he comes home tomorrow," the little orphan murmured.


    "Was there anything else you wanted to eat, or anywhere you wanted to go? Tell me; Uncle will take you," Lu Li said as he looked at the time, unable to endure it any longer.


    "Uncle, when you grant all my wishes, will you leave me?"


    Orphans seemed to be more sensitive. She was only five years old, but she was aware of what Lu Li was thinking.


    "Yes, but I will still look for you when I¡¯m free." Lu Li didn¡¯t really want to see her because her dejected face made him feel quite sad.


    There were many miserable things in this world ¨C no one lived completely happily. The difference was just how much more miserable they were. This girl had lost her parents when she was five, so of course, her situation was pitiful. However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t the kind of person with overflowing compassion.


    He kept reminding himself that this was just an NPC.


    As for the commitment to visit her in future, it wasn¡¯t a complete lie. He didn¡¯t mind paying a little time and attention to this child.


    Becky seemed to understand that she couldn¡¯t have the good uncle around forever.


    "One day, when my guardian let us out to play, I saw a gnome pushing around a car full of toys. There was a doll, a brass car, a ball and a kite," she said quietly.


    "Then?" Lu Li let out a sigh.


    "When mum was around, she would take me out to fly a kite. I want a small kite, but like guardian uncle said, you need money to buy that," the little girl continued sadly. "I don¡¯t have any money, and I need to grow up before I can earn money¡­"


    "Uncle will buy it for you. You can pick any kind you want," Lu Li offered as he took her by hand to the general store.


    Every general store had a set of its own miscellaneous items, but items like kites were popular, so Lu Li could easily buy one with a few gold coins.


    There was a dragonfly, a dragon, and a butterfly.


    "Thank you." Becky thanked Lu Li quietly while holding onto the kite that he bought.


    "Becky, when you grow up, everything will be fine," Lu Li consoled as he touched her head and sighed softly in his heart.


    There once was a movie that had this bit of dialogue:


    Q: Is life always so painful, or is it only like this when you¡¯re young?"


    A: It is always so.


    Perhaps they were right. When Lu Li watched it, his heart was heavy, but he refused to believe it. He wanted to believe that things would be better when he grew up, so he could hold on to that glimmer of hope.


    He didn¡¯t know what this kind of hope would do for a small NPC.


    Lu Li brought Becky back to the orphanage.


    The orphanage was set up in a church and was full of children crying endlessly.


    Lu Li looked at Becky walk back towards those children, the hope in her eyes extinguished. The System had truly made this game too realistic.


    "Can I visit her later?" Lu Li asked the guardian.


    The guardian nodded happily and said, "Of course you can. This place will always welcome caring adventurers like you. Rest assured, we will take care of Becky."


    Lu Li paused before taking out ten gold coins and putting them into her hands.


    With his stingy temperament, Lu Li¡¯s initial generosity to Azure Sea Breeze and the others was to draw them closer together. However, this kind of purposeless payment was very rare for him. If anyone he knew saw him, they would be shocked.

 460 An Exquisite Badge

    "System: ¡®Orphanage¡¯ Quest completed. EXP awarded, Prestige awarded, Gold awarded and the Adventurer¡¯s Exploration Badge awarded¡­


    The EXP was quite decent ¨C Lu Li, who was level 33, received 5% of his EXP bar. He also gained prestige for Stormwind, but there was only two gold, so he had made a loss.


    However, the main objective Lu Li had was to receive the Adventurer¡¯s Exploration Badge.


    Adventurer¡¯s Exploration Badge (Special): Agility +10%, Movement speed +10%, Special Effect: Instant Cast, disperse all movement-limitings effects and prevent your character from being crowd-controlled. 2 minute cooldown. No equipment requirement. No durability.


    There was a small print at the bottom of the equipment.


    You have a good heart ¨C you are a hero. Hopefully, you are treated well by this world.


    Lu Li gently stroked this six-pointed star badge. He had mixed feelings about it ¨C he had helped willingly and didn¡¯t expect to get anything in return.


    This was the badge that the legends spoke of.


    As a special item that could be equipped by anyone, the Adventurer¡¯s Exploration Badge was mostly the same. The first attribute would always be the attribute of the player¡¯s profession. Lu Li¡¯s highest attribute was Agility, so naturally it would add to agility. The percentage would always be between 5 to 10%.


    The second attribute was always move speed, and it, too, was always between 5 to 10%.


    The third attribute was never different. The legendary effect of this badge was to eliminate crowd control, whether it was a stun, sleep, freeze, or a combination of these.


    It had a two-minute cooldown time, so knowing how to optimize the badge¡¯s use was a skill of its own.


    Lu Li put on the badge and asked whether the others had completed their quests.


    Of the nine other players, most of them were done. Many of them had received quest to kill monsters, and as long as the System didn¡¯t give them a Boss to kill, it was pretty easy for the level 30+ players.


    As for the attribute bonus of each badge, this was quite varied.


    Lu Li had received the best one, followed by Fat Monkey, who got a 9% and 8% increase. Azure Sea Breeze got a 10% attribute bonus, but only a 5% movement speed bonus.


    He was slow and that still wasn¡¯t going to change.


    Of course, the players currently didn¡¯t know about this badge yet. As such, there was a period where they would have an advantage.


    Some players still hadn¡¯t finished their quest, so Lu Li returned to Darnassus and took his sister to the markets to buy some necessities. Additionally, they also needed some flower and plant items.


    Lu Xin could plant some flowers when she was free. Lu Li didn¡¯t want her working at the pharmacy for too long; it was quite tiring to deal with customers all the time.


    After noon, the last of his teammates had completed the quest. This was just all up to luck ¨C if you were unlucky, you could get a quest that needed 3 to 5 days to complete.


    This time, in addition to Fat Monkey, Azure Sea Breeze, Sakura Memories, Moonlight, March Rain, several other players in the guild joined, like Mage Nuo Yu, Thief Cain¡¯s Left Hand, Paladin Million years in a Blink and Hunter Xiao Xiang. They had 10 players exactly.


    When Lu Li joined the party, he didn¡¯t accept Party Leader authority. It didn¡¯t really matter who it was; it didn¡¯t have to be him.


    Fat Monkey was a little more daring, so he unceremoniously took Party Leader. He then went into Stormwind City to find battlefield officers to queue up for entry.


    Because they were in a party together, they would be in the same party when they entered in the battlefield.


    This also meant that they wouldn¡¯t get any bad teammates. As for their composition, Azure Sea Breeze or Lu Li could be their flag bearer. Lu Li especially would be a good flag bearer. March Rain¡¯s healing was definitely the best, and there was no need to talk about damage output for a party like this. They had an absolutely ferocious lineup.


    Their only regret was that they didn¡¯t have a Druid.


    Using a Druid as a flag bearer was quite good. The Druid¡¯s Faerie Fire was also very effective against hidden units. Thieves had the most trouble against Faerie Fire.


    However, this problem was basically no problem, as Lu Li and the others could one-shot most ordinary players.


    After a couple of seconds, they all received a prompt telling them that they had successfully entered the queue. Players that were in queue could be transported into the battlefield at any time.


    If they didn¡¯t confirm within 30 seconds, they would lose their position.


    After Lu Li confirmed, he was immediately sent away from Darnassus by the System. While waiting to appear in the battlefield, he could return to Red Leaf Island while he awaited the transportation.


    The first thing he noticed was the flag room.


    This was not unusual ¨C in his previous life he was a decent Druid and so the Warsong Valley Battlefield was one of the easiest places to gain glory points. However, every time he entered the battlefield, he would see this flag room first.


    Both Horde and Alliance players had a flag room,and the structure of both sides was completely symmetrical. There was only a slight difference in the decorative style.


    The flag room was a three-story structure. The bottom was where the flag was placed, and had two exits. One of them led outside into the middle of the field and gave you an acceleration bonus when you moved through it. The other led you to the second floor. Then, you could go towards the slope or towards the cemetery, or take an exit to the top floor. There was no way to exit from the top floor, but you could directly jump onto the bottom floor which made it helpful for protecting the flag.


    Right at the beginning, the flag room was completely closed. All the outward exists were blocked by an impassable fence.


    "I¡¯m not going to explain much; I¡¯m sure we¡¯ve all read the forums. But, I will develop a strategy." Although Lu Li was too lazy to accept Party Leader, he had never conceded his authority.


    "Boss, there¡¯s no need," Million Years in a Blink disagreed. "With a line up like this, they don¡¯t stand a chance."


    This person was funny, but he wasn¡¯t dumb. What he said was true ¨C in this randomly arranged mode, the likelihood that they would encounter a strong team was not very high.


    "If you want to play PVP well, you shouldn¡¯t discount any opponents. We have to use our assets well or else, we risk failure." These were one of the few sayings that Lu Li remembered from his previous life. There were many PVP commanders who used that saying as their motto.


    "Alright Boss. Keep going." Million Years in a Blink smiled; he wasn¡¯t bothered at all.


    "It¡¯s actually quite simple; there¡¯s no need for a complex strategy. We just need to depend on each other," Lu Li said as he started to organize everyone. "Xiao Xiang, you will be the flag protector. Left hand and I will try to steal their flag. The others will push down the middle.


    It was truly simple, and a little crude.


    There were fewer participants in the Warsong Canyon Battlefield, which meant that there were faster-pace changes to the tactics. There was no need to use particularly complex macro command. Applying a small range of tactics were far more flexible. It was a good place to develop coordination in a team.


    After 30 seconds, Lu Li rushed out of the room, leading his teammates in the charge

 461 Stealing The Flag

    Of course, of the ten players, he was the only one riding the Headless Paladin Warhorse. As the rode, he left a small trail of flames which was the object of his teammates¡¯ envy.


    "What a show off; we shouldn¡¯t have invited him," Azure Sea Breeze said indignantly.


    Warriors were often quite slow, but this was further contrasted with the speed of a mount.


    Both sides had opted for a similar strategy; they had both rushed out of their flag rooms and onto the middle of the field. There was going to be a head on confrontation!


    They were definitely going to trade blows!


    The intensity that was experienced in PVP was far greater than that of Instance Dungeons.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t participate in the charge. He had moved forward so quickly that no one behind him could keep up. As such, if he charged right into them he was definitely going to die.


    There were many rookies on the battlefield, but they were mostly on the other side.


    Level 30-34 was where the current high-level players of the game were at. Most, if not all players at that level were pretty good, but Dawn wasn¡¯t one of those games where a single player could wipe countless others. Even someone as strong as Lu Li couldn¡¯t fight 10 opponents by himself.


    When he saw the enemies from afar, he quickly cancelled his ride and went into Stealth.


    Dammit, these guys have no restraint.


    Lu Li counted them up and saw that all ten of them were there. There was no one assigned to guard their flag, nor was there anyone ahead to steal the flag. They were all just blatantly charging ahead.


    "Those behind me, take it easy. They sent all ten players." Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with them and just moved right past.


    The key was to grab the flag; this was the ultimate objective. Of course, fights that were in your favor were important, otherwise, there might not be anyone to carry the flag home.


    Lu Li slowly snuck into the enemy¡¯s flag room.


    The flag rooms were mostly the same. He took the familiar route towards the flag and pulled it up with some effort.


    When the flag was lifted, all players received a prompt that the Horde flag had been taken. It also prompted the Horde players to retake their flag as soon as possible.


    "Lu Li, careful, we¡¯ve pushed them back to their base." There was a clear satisfaction in this voice.


    The key to their victory was Azure Sea Breeze. They had to fight an 8-on-10, but they still had a decisive victory, with the Alliance side only suffering two losses.


    Dead players respawned at their respective Revive points, which was just outside the flag room.


    At this rate, they would respawn just as he left the base. If he ran into them now, they would just gang up on him. Lu Li quickly turned around in search of a different exit.


    Even if he took a different exit, there would definitely be someone waiting for him.


    He also didn¡¯t have time to wait for his teammate¡¯s backup, but Lu Li didn¡¯t panic. He ran around the tunnels and eventually reached a dead-end.


    He didn¡¯t want to make himself an easy target, but he was carrying the flag. This prevented him from entering Stealth, and players from either side could see him on the map. No matter where he hid, he would be found in minutes.


    The reason he was wasting that bit of time was to get to the ¡®shoes¡¯ that were at the end of the tunnel.


    These shoes weren¡¯t physical shoes, but rather, were a speed buff. When Dawn first put this buff in, it was very strong ¨C itgranted 100% movement speed and lasted for 30 seconds.


    The only bad thing about it was its refresh frequency.


    The moment he walked through it, Lu Li started moving at an incredible speed.


    Lu Li dodged past the Horde¡¯s Warrior¡¯s Charge and continued running away.


    The poor Tauren Warrior had been blown by so quickly that he was left in a daze. By the time he reacted, Lu Li was already far off into the distance.


    He ran out from one of the exits and was now on the open field.


    A group of players rushed out towards him and were chasing after the flag.


    This time, Lu Li really felt like this was just a mob of players. They had no concept of intercepting and blocking, and were just charging straight at him.


    However, Lu Li was still travelling at ten times his normal speed.


    These players didn¡¯t have any mounts, so they could only watch as Lu Li ran towards his teammates.


    "Cain¡¯s left Hand, you go and wait at their base. Hide yourself and don¡¯t get found."


    When Lu Li rejoined his teammates, and it was no longer a critical situation, he began planning their next step.


    "Alright, I got it." Cain¡¯s Left Hand wasn¡¯t dumb; he immediately understood what Lu Li wanted to do.


    When Lu Li got to his base, a new flag would refresh in the Horde¡¯s. Cain¡¯s Left hand could then immediately grab the new flag and save them a lot of time.


    "Xiao Xiang, did anyone come to our base?" When Lu Li was rushing back he noticed that there were fewer players.


    "I haven¡¯t seen anyone, but my Flare is off cooldown. Should I use it?" Xiao Xiang had been waiting at their base to prevent anyone from stealing their flag.


    "Cast it; I¡¯m almost there." Lu Li¡¯s buff had disappeared, but he had other means of speeding up. He was a Thief after all.


    He had initially worried that he would be intercepted just before he got to the base, but that didn¡¯t happen. However, when he finally got to the base, he found a Druid, a Thief and Xiao Xiang in combat.


    It wasn¡¯t easy for Xiao Xiang to fight a one-on-two, but the Flare he had just thrown out revealed the Thief and the Druid. This costed them their surprise attack, so all they could do was recklessly charge at the Hunter and his pet.


    Xiao Xiang¡¯s pet was a gorilla; it was quite big and was more defensive.


    The gorilla was quite suited to his playstyle, as he would constantly circle around it and occasionally shoot arrows. It was quite a headache for the Thief and the Druid.


    This was virtual reality, so there was no way for them to just move through the pet to get to the hunter.


    This gorilla also had a skill called Thunder Trample which was an area of effect stun. Both the Thief and the Druid had already been stunned once, which also made them lose their opportunity to surround him. The Thief was already at half HP.


    Even without Lu Li, Xiao Xiang wasn¡¯t necessarily going to lose.


    Dawn had truly tuned the game for good balance, yet this balance didn¡¯t stop strong players from exhibiting their natural talent and hard work.


    When Lu Li came in with the flag, the Thief and Druid were shocked.


    During that moment, Lu Li rushed forwards and casted Gouge on the Thief to stun him. This skill¡¯s crowd control had a short duration, but Lu Li only needed a small window.


    With a small window, he was confident that he could cast Shadowstrike with high Skill Completion.


    With a high degree of Skill Completion on Shadowstrike, he could deal a 2 second stun. Even if some of the effect was resisted, it would still last for at least 1 second.


    The Thief was already at half HP and had now been crowd-controlled.


    Xiao Xiang didn¡¯t need to wait for a cue either ¨C he tanked the Druid¡¯s attack and turned to riddle the crowd-controlled Thief with arrows.


    The Thief¡¯s HP quickly emptied out as he knelt forwards and died.


    The Druid that remained wasn¡¯t too bad; he had quite strong Defence and a lot of HP. Unfortunately for him, he was facing a hunter with a pet and the number 1 Thief on the rankings.

 462 Steamrolled

    The stalling Druid eventually lost the last of his HP.


    "Cain¡¯s Left Hand, where are you?" Lu Li didn¡¯t immediately put the flag into position.


    "I¡¯m ready. I went to their base but there was a Paladin there," Cain¡¯s Left Hand texted back. He was also a Thief and was quite skilled.


    "Monkey, Million Years in a Blink, you two get ready to intercept Left Hand. Sacrifice yourselves if you have to," Lu Li assigned their roles as he placed the flag firmly in place. "Left Hand, Sap the Paladin and take the flag."


    Lu Li had already seen their entire composition and only two of them could Stealth. Both of them had just died here and were probably still reviving. As such, it was unlikely for there to be any ambushes in the other base.


    As soon as the flag was placed, the System immediately prompted them that the Alliance side had gained a point.


    Immediately after that, there was a prompt that the Horde¡¯s flag had been taken.


    Lu Li patted Xiao Xiang on the shoulder and indicated for him to keep protecting their base. He then rushed out of the base, intending to help capture the flag as well.


    The opposing players were now smarter, and didn¡¯t openly engage Azure Sea Breeze and the others. Some of them went to lock down Cain¡¯s Left Hand who had the flag.


    Just as he was about to reach the middle of the field, Lu Li went into Stealth. He then dashed behind the Healer and started attacking furiously.


    The healer had been positioned behind his teammates and thought he was relatively safe. He didn¡¯t expect to be ferociously attacked by someone.


    Fortunately, he was a Chain Mail Armored Healer. Otherwise, Lu Li would have finished him off in one rotation of skills.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t kill the Shaman, but he had hindered the Shaman¡¯s ability to heal his teammates. No healer would be able to heal anyone else while they were still being attacked by Lu Li.


    The tides of the battle turned against them as Moonlight cast a Whirlwind into their Cloth Armor Mage and killed him.


    They had experienced another decisive defeat as their players were all killed.


    "Help me! I didn¡¯t want to sacrifice myself dammit. Million Years, you actually left me behind." Fat Monkey¡¯s cry could be heard as he was obviously surrounded by the players retrieving the flag.


    "Hehe, Monkey, go in peace. We will remember you," Million Years in a Blink laughed as he guarded Cain¡¯s Left Hand and escaped.


    Regardless of what he actually preferred, Fat Monkey now had to sacrifice himself.


    "March, you follow the flag. The rest of us will push ahead. When they come out, Nuo Yu and I will immediately kill the healer." Lu Li sent two players to guard the flag and five players to push ahead.


    "Why are you sending March to protect the flag? Surely it¡¯s not necessary?" Azure Sea Breeze was a meat shield and didn¡¯t have to be as restrained when he had a healer.


    If a Hunter¡¯s dream was to have a Druid was a pet, then a Warrior¡¯s dream would be to have a dedicated Priest for healing.


    In reality, March Rain could play a bigger role with them as she could heal them in the team fights and prevent unnecessary casualties.


    "If we win after this fight, then there will be a lot of EXP awarded. Those who carry and protect the flag get more experience. She is a healer, so she levels up more slowly. She should get more EXP where she can," Lu Li explained, not trying to hide his own selfishness.


    After all, March Rain was a dependent Priest and had always relied on her brother Lonesome Flower to level up.


    "Hey, hey, I¡¯m just asking." Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t have anything else to say.


    "I¡¯ll give the flag to March Rain then. I can level up quickly," Cain¡¯s Left Hand offered, giving up the extra EXP.


    "Sure." Lu Li didn¡¯t try to talk him out of it.


    This time, there wasn¡¯t a Thief or Druid hiding in their base and March Rain was the second player to put in the flag. It was now the third round and was the last chance for someone to grab the flag.


    Once they capture the flag again, the battle would end with the Alliance¡¯s victory.


    The five of them managed to kill ten players at the cemetery. This sounded very impressive, but Lu Li and the others could do it by rotating their use of Revives. After a few times, the opposing players finally realized what they were doing.


    "Monkey, quickly come support us!" Lu Li shouted.


    Now that they had figured it out, the next fight would need all their strength for a victory.


    "No, I don¡¯t want to. You made me cannon fodder," Fat Monkey arrogantly said. Of course, his mouth said one thing but his body said another. He was already running at full speed towards them.


    Now, it was six players fighting ten.


    The moment all the players revived at once, Sakura Memories¡¯ Bloodlust was ready, so Lu Li rushed behind the Shaman. He cast Premeditation and Cheap Shot to stun him for 4 seconds.


    Moonlight and Azure Sea Breeze both cast Whirlwind at almost the same time as they rushed into the crowd.


    Fat Monkey and Nuo Yu cast their Area of Effect skills, dealing just as much damage as a skill like Flame Storm.


    Of the ten players, three instantly died, including the Shaman Healer that Lu Li was focusing on. Although there were still several players left, they were all terrified.


    The several Horde players abandoned the resistance. They were probably all thinking the same thing: "These Ruling Sword players are so overpowered. PVP is too hard."


    Even though all ten of them spawned together, all of them were killed together. Or rather, only nine of them were, as the Thief had quickly snuck away with Vanish.


    In this environment, the Thief was the strongest profession because of their mobility.


    "Who is going to carry the flag?" There was only one Thief left in the other team, which meant that anyone could safely carry the flag. Lu Li didn¡¯t want to do it as he had done it once already; he wanted to give someone else the chance.


    "I¡¯ll go and I¡¯ll bring March. We¡¯ll let them see how strong a Warrior with a Priest is," Azure Sea Breeze said, keen for a fight.


    "You go then. Watch out for the Thief¡¯s Cheap Shot," Lu Li warned, although he thought that it was unlikely that the Thief would dare to cast Cheap Shot on them. One look at Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP would send anyone into shock.


    The remaining seven players stayed at the cemetery of the Horde, ensuring that no one could spawn.


    However, they couldn¡¯t just give up like this. Anything was better than just waiting to lose. If they made a desperation play, they might even stand a chance of winning.


    With that idea in mind, the Horde players started reviving again¡­


    After a minute, the third flag was placed into the spot by March Rain and the System declared the end of the battle. Lu Li and the others had absolutely won the match with a score of 3-0.


    In addition to the Glory Points from killing them, they also received a large amount of EXP. Those who had come into contact with the flag by carrying it or protecting it were assigned even more EXP.


    In this battle, the Adventurer¡¯s Exploration Badge had played a huge role.


    When Lu Li and the others were under crowd control, they could just activate its effect to be freed. On the other hand, the opposing players could do nothing but watch their HP drop when they were crowd controlled.

 463 Running Into An Expert On The Battlefield

    The badge was truly exquisite and Lu Li had no intentions of hiding it. After he was done, he immediately told Square Root 3 about it.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to hide it, but it was impossible to do so.


    The quest was just too easy to trigger ¨C as long as you had the patience to sit through ¡®Mythology of the Titans¡¯ you could do it. However, this book was quite boring, so not many players did it.


    Nevertheless, among the millions of players in Dawn, there was bound to be someone who was bored enough to do it.


    It was said that some people were so bored in real life that they could read instruction manuals for fun. These kinds of people would definitely have no problems reading this book.


    Lu Li estimated that quite a few players already knew about this secret, but had chosen to stay quiet.


    There was EXP and Glory Points rewarded for the battle.


    The EXP gain was related to contact with the flag, but the Glory Points were related to kills. Since there was EXP and Glory Points to be gained, they spent the rest of the afternoon on the battlefield.


    Occasionally, they would run into a strong team.


    One time, they faced off against Gaze, Cloudy Leaf and Wendelian from Gale Legion. They had left a lasting impression since their battle at the Shadow Cup.


    Gaze was a Warrior, who was not unlike Moonlight.


    Cloudy Leaf was Gale Legion¡¯s number one Mage, and was actually second only to Sorrowless. The Horde wasn¡¯t like the Alliance, they only had three Mages. The Alliance side had Dancing Star Dream, Lucky Southern Persion, Wild, Deadly Green Orange, Fat Monkey and the Mage God Unforgetful Maple.


    Wendelian was still a rising rookie, but she wasn¡¯t a new player. She had served in Glory Capital and was Sorrowless¡¯ main healer, until she was replaced by White Westhill.


    It was said that Gale Legion had paid a price of $1.2 million for her.


    Her performance in the Shadow Cup was quite remarkable and she was showing promise at a young age.


    The other seven players weren¡¯t from Gale Legion, but they were all elite players that were at least level 30. Apart than Wendelian, there was also another Druid Healer.


    At the beginning of the match, Lu Li went ahead to steal the flag but got ambushed.


    Cloudy Leaf had taken the Druid Healer and a Paladin, and hid on the second flag of the Flag Room to attack Lu Li when he came to steal the flag.


    In fact, Lu Li had underestimated his opponents. In the match before this, it was smooth sailing, and they didn¡¯t even lose a single flag. He was only told by Moonlight while pulling out the flag that they had run into Gaze midfield.


    Lu Li was frozen on the spot; he initially thought that it was a Mage.


    A single Mage couldn¡¯t do much to him. Even if it was Sorrowless, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be afraid. Lu Li had never lost to a single Mage before.


    Of course, because he had lost the upper hand, Lu Li had to use his cloak¡¯s effect to appear on the second floor.


    When he got there, he was dumfounded.


    There were actually three players upstairs. One of them was Cloudy Leaf.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid to fight them, but he had never intentionally fought a lost battle.


    "Everyone is here I see. I¡¯ll give your flag back to you," Lu Li said as he threw the flag onto the ground and turned to jump back down. While he was falling through the air, Lu li activated his shoe¡¯s special effect and disappeared with Vanish.


    He was simply giving up and was resolutely trying to get away. Cloudy Leaf just stared as Lu Li escaped.


    He had never seen an expert act so shamelessly; Lu Li hadn¡¯t even cast a single skill and was already escaping.


    "Cloudy Leaf is in the flag room. There are three of them in there. I lost the flag," Lu Li reported to his teammates.


    "There are two coming in to steal our flag," Xiao Xiang shouted. It seemed like he was struggling ¨C after all, he was facing off against two players at once.


    "Do we want to send two players back to support him?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "No need," Fat Monkey said confidently before Lu Li even responded. "What can Gaze do? They have three players in their base and two players in our base. Right now, they are fighting a five-on-eight. I don¡¯t think they can hold us for long."


    Gale Legion¡¯s tactics were the classic 2-5-3 composition ¨C two players to steal, three players to protect and five players to fight. Only a particularly confident and highly-skilled team would do this.


    It was likely that Gaze¡¯s team had also been winning easily as well.


    With a composition like this, the area that was problematic was the midfield.


    With only five players to fight, it was clearly more difficult to fight if the opposing side had more players.


    Gaze alone was facing Moonlight, Fat Monkey and Nuo Yu¡¯s focus fire. He didn¡¯t dare to move forwards to cast Whirlwind on the Alliance¡¯s team.


    If it weren¡¯t for Wendelian backing him up with massive healing, Gaze probably couldn¡¯t have kept up the fight.


    However, her healing was also limited as she was being harassed by the opponents.


    After Lu Li dropped the flag, he could go back into Stealth. Instead of leaving the flag room, he kept changing his position and occasionally dropped a Sap on the players there.


    However, even if he crowd-controlled one of them, he still couldn¡¯t beat all three.


    Lu Li¡¯s main purpose was to stall them so that they couldn¡¯t support the midfield.


    The System prompted that the Alliance¡¯s flag had been taken by the Horde and that the Alliance should try to get it back. Lu Li saw that Wendelian¡¯s name had been greyed out which meant that she was dead, but their flag had just been taken.


    "Get out of here!" Fat Monkey cried out as Lu Li¡¯s teammates were cheering.


    Lu Li knew that Gaze had now also died. In fact, the Horde¡¯s whole midfield force had been wiped. All of them, including the Priest Healer Wendelian had been sent back to the cemetery.


    It wasn¡¯t impossible to fight a five-on-eight, but this depended on the strength of the five players.


    The five were facing Moonlight, March Rain, Fat Monkey, Nuo Yu and four other players. None of them were rookies and their equipment was mostly at the same level, so this wasn¡¯t a surprising outcome.


    Now, the Alliance¡¯s flag had been lost, but the Horde had lost more players.


    "Advance and suppress their cemetery. Moonlight and Monkey, you two get inside the flag room. Xiao Xiang, follow them when you revive. We want to continue pressuring them," Lu Li instructed as he barely escaped from his corner to avoid the Paladin¡¯s Consecration.


    Once the Consecration ended, Lu Li went and Sapped the Druid healer.


    Moonlight charged in, along with Fat Monkey who aimed his skills at Cloudy Leaf.


    Mages were a Cloth armor profession, so they were undisputedly the first target. Lu Li and Moonlight with Fat Monkey were all targeting him at the same time. The other Paladin hesitated for a moment before going to attack Fat Monkey.


    He probably also felt like attacking a cloth armored target was easier.


    Cloudy Leaf was stunned by Lu Li¡¯s Kidney Shot, but he never recovered from it.


    After the Mage died, Lu Li and Moonlight turned to kill the Paladin. At this point, the Druid was still in a Sapped state and could only watch as his teammates were being killed.


    This was what it was like to not have the badge.

 464 Evenly Matched

    Lu Li snatched the flag while Moonlight and Fat Monkey were guarding him. In that moment, both the Alliance and the Horde had the flag of their opponents.


    This was not an uncommon situation in the Warsong Canyon. Dawn stipulated that in such a situation, your own flag needed to be in place before you could place the stolen flag to score.


    This meant that Lu Li had to take back their own flag.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t get to acquire the 100% speed buff this time as he wasn¡¯t alone; it was safer to travel in a group anyway.


    The moment the three of them rushed out, they were immediately intercepted.


    When it came to players like Gaze, it was unrealistic to think that they could suppress them at the Cemetery.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t just run away this time. This wasn¡¯t because he was afraid of being outnumbered, but because he saw Gaze sitting on a Headless Paladin Warhorse. He hadn¡¯t dismounted and was waiting for Lu Li to run.


    In Dawn, once you entered the battlefield, you could no longer summon your mount.


    As long as a he never got off the mount, or he wasn¡¯t knocked off the mount, Gaze could keep riding it for as long as he wanted.


    Lu Li¡¯s movement speed was faster than most players, but he wasn¡¯t as fast as Gaze¡¯s Warhorse.


    It was better for him to fight properly than to hope to catch him sooner or later. As such, he was only going to consider escape after he had dismounted. You couldn¡¯t fight from the top of the warhorse anyway, so Lu Li didn¡¯t believe that he would stay mounted.


    His target was Wendelian.


    This female Priest¡¯s PVP technique was quite good; she easily made Moonlight¡¯s attacks futile.


    Lu Li rushed towards the Priest, but before he could even attack, he was hit by an area-of-effect Fear. She was obviously expecting his attack.


    "Aren¡¯t you ashamed to bully a girl?" Wendelian was even in the mood to ridicule him.


    She was quick, but so was Lu Li.


    Shadow Cloak!


    The Fear was lifted and for the next few seconds, Lu Li was immune to any other negative statuses.


    However, Lu Li only got to hit her twice before he was intercepted by Gaze. Lu Li didn¡¯t avoid his Charge, so he was stunned on the spot.


    Badge!


    The stun instantly disappeared and Lu Li slashed at Gaze with his Corrupted Fang, successfully applying a slow. He then turned towards Wendelian and continued to deal damage.


    In a fight like this, Lu Li and the other two were at a disadvantage because their opponents had a healer.


    Even so, it would be unrealistic for Gaze to beat Lu Li¡¯s group quickly. These three were star players ¨C Lu Li and Moonlight had even achieved countless First Clears which meant they had much stronger equipment.


    Suddenly, the System announced something that broke the deadlock.


    The Alliance Flag had been dropped, which meant that the Horde had lost the flag.


    "Everyone attack Lu Li! Stop him!" Gaze Shouted.


    Could they make it in time?


    Of course not ¨C Lu Li had already started sprinting and had left them in a cloud of dust.


    Gaze charged a second time and stunned Moonlight in place. Fat Monkey then turned to the crowd and cast a Frost Nova. Tendrils of frost spread all around him, freezing anyone who touched them.


    This area of effect crowd control skill had been useless until this moment.


    The Horde players that were frozen in place could only watch as Lu Li got further away.


    The first flag they stole was successful and the System told them they had gained a point. However, they were still a long way away from victory. The Goddess of Luck wasn¡¯t only on their side either, as on their second attempt, they made a mistake which resulted in Lu Li being surrounded and killed.


    The battle continued to be a stalemate.


    1-1, 1-2, 2-2.


    Now, they were 15 minutes into fighting for the third flag.


    "Moonlight and Breezy, you guys take the lead. March Rain, you follow them. Everyone else, keep up the pressure at the line. Cain¡¯s Left Hand, you and I will steal the flag," Lu Li instructed as he began to lay out new tactics.


    In the defeat that they had just experienced, both sides had suffered heavy losses, so they couldn¡¯t grab the flag.


    The opposing team was just too strong. Other than the three Gale Legion players, the others were part of the Peacetime Dynasty¡¯s core group. They had clearly struck some agreement that gave the Gale Legion players authority.


    "Do I still protect our base?" Xiao Xiang asked.


    Lu Li hesitated before shaking his head and saying, "You don¡¯t need to protect the base; follow Fat Monkey and the others. Fight with them for the first wave, then quickly head back to kill whoever is taking the flag."


    They had suffered a defeat in the last round, so there was probably going to be more than one or two players going for their flag. It was pointless for him to defend alone.


    The most important thing was to anticipate unexpected results from certain tactics. If your midfield was strong enough to steamroll, they could just turn around and kill whoever was stealing the flag.


    With two Thieves stealing the flag, Lu Li planned to do a relay.


    They snuck into the Horde¡¯s Flag room and explored the area carefully.


    There was a Druid upstairs and Mage Cloudy Leaf downstairs ¨C these were the two players protecting the flag. Their midfield players were probably not very strong, and they had likely sent more players to steal the flag.


    "I¡¯ll stun the Mage, you stun the Druid. On the count of three, Sap them, take the flag and run. Wait for me to catch up to you and then pass the flag to me," Lu Li decided.


    In reality, as long as the Druid was Sapped, the two Thieves could easily kill the Cloth Armor Mage.


    However, Cloudy Leaf wasn¡¯t an ordinary player. He didn¡¯t have weak equipment and definitely had damage reduction abilities.


    If they took long for the kill, the midfield players would pull back and the outcome would be a tragedy.


    "3, 2, 1¡­"


    Sap!


    Lu Li ignored the flag and immediately casted Gale Steps. He rushed towards the dead end where the ¡®shoes¡¯ were, while Cain¡¯s Left Hand jumped from the second floor, pulled out the flag and sprinted out with it.


    Their teamwork was quite coordinated.


    By the time Cain¡¯s Left Hand¡¯s Sprint skill ended, Lu Li had already caught up to him.


    Cain¡¯s Left Hand stopped to put the flag on the ground, but Lu Li didn¡¯t stop running. He had rushed out of the base and headed straight here, so the shoes¡¯ effect wasn¡¯t over¡­


    The players that had tried to intercept them were lagging behind. As for Cain¡¯s Left Hand, he could go into Stealth after dropping the flag, but he charged at the enemies like a moth attracted to fire.


    He was going to buy a little bit of time.


    The other players had also stolen the flag. Lu Li was aware of this as he had long since received the notification and could see the Thief that was holding it.


    The other Thief also saw Lu Li.


    The player was very self-aware and immediately tried to go past Lu Li when he saw him, but with Lu Li¡¯s skills, his efforts were fruitless.


    He had used Gale Steps to acquire the shoes, but he still had Sprint.


    The other Thief also casted Sprint, but he didn¡¯t have any other move speed buffs and could only helplessly watch as Lu Li closed in. Because of their speed difference, he couldn¡¯t escape even if he wanted to.


    The two Thieves attacked each other, but no one was close enough to help.


    Lu Li¡¯s superiority was clear. The Shard of the Defiler he had could deal high damage, but his only regret was that the Supreme Ring didn¡¯t have the vampirism effect. Otherwise, the other Thief would have had no hope at all.


    The first supporter to arrive was Moonlight.


    After some fighting, his HP wasn¡¯t very high, but he had rushed over nonetheless.


    "You go," Moonlight said, getting straight to the point.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything and left Moonlight who was at critical HP to kill the Thief who was also at critical HP. He sprinted straight for his base and put his faith in Moonlight.

 465 Doing Bad Things

    Moonlight didn¡¯t let Lu Li down; Warriors always countered Thieves. Moreover, the Thief was holding onto the flag so there were skills that he couldn¡¯t use. He only lasted a few seconds before he died.


    After Moonlight killed the Thief, he was on low health, but he still turned around and charged towards the pursuers behind them.


    Berserkers were always the manliest class!


    They had a passive skill that increased their attack damage as their HP dropped. Of course, in this kind of situation, Berserkers would die faster too. Moonlight died before he even completed his Whirlwind.


    "Never mind. This is just a waste of time," Wendelian said as she shook her head.


    "It just doesn¡¯t feel good to lose to them," Gaze sighed.


    Within the trio, the real commander was actually the female Priest. She had followed Sorrowless in the past and stood at the top of glory with him. What she was best at was actually commanding, but because Sorrowless himself was already the best commander, her true ability had been hidden.


    Many people thought that she had left because of White Westhill.


    Only some people knew that she had left on her own accord; Sorrowless wasn¡¯t someone who would turn his back on his friends.


    "We¡¯ll have more chances in the future. Speaking of this, I¡¯ve noticed that you still can¡¯t compete against Moonlight¡­" Wendelian comforted him as she changed the topic of the conversation.


    "Hmph." Of course, Gaze disagreed.


    "You¡¯re not as crazy as he is ¨C he is a natural Warrior, a Berserker. He never cared about his own life," Wendelian complimented as she watched Moonlight¡¯s corpse disappear.


    Not caring about his own life ¨C this was indeed Moonlight¡¯s play-style.


    His style was often despised by others, especially by Moonlight¡¯s previous teams. If they won the match, it was because of everyone¡¯s good team work, but if they lost, many people would blame Moonlight, claiming that his play style was too wild and open.


    The system quickly announced that Lu Li and his team had won the match.


    After this, they no longer ran into any other formidable opponents. Lu Li and his team easily destroyed their opponents on the battleground.


    On the new Hero rankings, Ruling Sword¡¯s points had been rapidly increasing, and it didn¡¯t take long for them to be listed as one of the major guilds. They were ranked around the fifties.


    As a new guild, their ranking was rather impressive, especially because they couldn¡¯t even compete against some medium-sized guilds in terms of numbers and elite groups.


    Lu Li¡¯s level quickly rose to level 34.


    Because of the Halloween event and the release of the new battleground, the average level of the players had seen a sudden spike.


    There were many players behind him at level 33 and 32; the top ten-thousand players on the level rankings were all level 32 or above. Most players in the elite teams of the major guilds were all level 30 or higher, and even most of the average players had reached this milestone.


    The beginning of the Magic Cup slowly approached them.


    The Magic Cup had been around for a long time. The competition wasn¡¯t held by a super group like the Shadow Cup, and it once had been put on hold for 50 years due to war. A previous participant of the cup had gone around to try and restart the competition. After dozens of years, the day had finally come for the old man.


    The revival of Magic Cup had only been around a dozen years ago.


    Due to some financial shortcomings, the competition wasn¡¯t held every single year, but passionate gamers never gave up on it.


    There weren¡¯t a lot of gaming guilds that were participating in the competition this season.


    The main team of Glory Capital had already made its announcement. Due to the clash between training schedules, they were only able to send out a few elite teams to participate in the competition. None of their celebrity players were going to take part.


    Drizzle Court also gave up on the competition; they didn¡¯t even send out any elite teams.


    The judges of the competition were sexist towards female players to a certain degree, so Drizzle Court was never a fan of Magic Cup from the first day they had formed their guild.


    Ruling Sword didn¡¯t have to start from the bottom like other guilds; they were the champion of Shadow Cup and were put straight into the top sixteen. The matches during the first few days were not a part of their concern.


    Every day, apart from leading the guild members to kill the Headless Paladin, Lu Li was able to allocate the rest of his time freely.


    Around sunset, he would always go to Southshore. Unfortunately, the quest for Ravenholdt Manor had yet to be refreshed, so the hostess remained cold to him as usual. Even though the people that stalked him thought that his actions were strange, they were unable to discover the secrets of the Assassin League.


    At the same time, the chance for Water Fairy to join the Assassin League had finally arrived.


    The spy that she had placed into the Horde faction had finally given her a target. A Hunter player named "Firing at Stars" had gone to speak with the Thief Skill Trainer, O¡¯moulder, many times. Although the content of their conversation remained unknown, his class gave the clue away.


    A Hunter who kept trying to talk to a Thief Skill Trainer ¨C this didn¡¯t add up at all.


    Even if it was for a quest, there was no need for anyone to approach the same NPC multiple times.


    The Ravenholdt Emblem was an item that would definitely drop ¨C as long as the player died, it would have a 100% drop rate.


    Water Fairy had decided to mark him as her target, but for security purposes, she asked Lu Li to accompany her.


    The two parties had nothing against each other; it very nice to kill someone for their item. However, this was still a game and this tradition had been around for 200 years.


    Being set as a target was always unavoidable when you held onto a treasure.


    If Lu Li was to say that they shouldn¡¯t take the item because the other player didn¡¯t do anything to harm them, he would be unwise.


    The Tarren Mill was located near the middle section of the hills of Hillsbrad. On its Northside were the Alterac Mountains, the location of a campsite that belonged to the Horde Faction. Conflicts often occurred within the Northshore, which belonged to the Alliance and was located on the Southside of this location.


    Besides Grey Valley, this was the second-most common area for players of both factions to fight.


    However, most players were still lower-leveled, so not many of them had ventured to the Stranglethorn Vale. As such, this area wasn¡¯t as rowdy yet.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy didn¡¯t bring anyone else. The two of them snuck outside of Tarren Mill and waited for Firing at Stars to head out to level up.


    Most Hunters with pets usually leveled up by themselves.


    "He¡¯s out. Follow up ¨C we¡¯ll move when he¡¯s further away from the safe zone," Water Fairy signaled Lu Li after receiving her intel.


    Lu Li soon saw the Hunter, who was a Troll. His equipment looked quite decent and he had a wild boar pet following him. There were purple spots on his pet and Lu Li immediately recognized that this was a rare monster from the Plaguelands.


    "Someone from Glory Capital." Water Fairy recognized the guild emblem from their opponent.


    If it was someone from Glory Capital, then it would be quite troublesome indeed. However, Lu Li and Water Fairy never feared trouble, or rather, they weren¡¯t the type to give up on their targets just to save themselves from some embarrassment. There was no way they were going to give up just because he had a strong background.


    "I¡¯ll move first. Then, it¡¯ll be your turn," Lu Li said as he followed behind the Hunter. It was hard for people to detect him with his great Stealth skills.


    Wild boars did not have good detection skills. If Firing at Stars was using a panther or wolf, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have dared to come so close.


    "Why is it you first? Ae you looking down on girls?" Water Fairy raged.

 466 Water Fairy Killed A Glory Capital Player

    "Of course not; you can do it if you¡¯re interested..."


    Girls were always troublesome to deal with.


    Not all pretty girls were as easy going as his sister. Lu Li complained slightly on the inside; there was no way he¡¯d admit that he was a big supporter of Male chauvinism.


    It really didn¡¯t matter who initiated, after all, they were both strong players.


    Two minutes later¡­


    "Oi, have you picked out the spot yet?" It wasn¡¯t as though they were picking a graveyard for themselves ¨C there was no reason for them to waste time on tracking the player. Lu Li was quickly growing impatient.


    "There are other players here. We¡¯ll wait until there¡¯s no one else."


    There were a few locations in the hills of Hillsbrad that suited level 30 players. The map also had beautiful scenery and was the top choice for most mainstream players to level up.


    "You¡¯re scared of other people seeing you," Lu Li laughed discreetly.


    They followed Firing at Stars for quite some time and noticed that the Hunter wouldn¡¯t be as easy to kill as he looked. His wild board pet not only had good attributes, but it also had a Charge skill. It was a good pet that could attack, tank and came with a control skill.


    When Firing at Stars ran into a team of Alliance Players, he would run away, but if it was a solo player, he would attack them.


    All along the way, he had already killed around six or seven Alliance Players.


    As such, Lu Li didn¡¯t feel so bad for killing this player, although he wasn¡¯t sure if he felt bad at all to begin with.


    After they entered a canyon, Water Fairy jumped on him from behind.


    Cheapshot!


    The Hunter was stunned, but his pet wasn¡¯t. The little boar charged towards Water Fairy¡¯s legs.


    Water Fairy was annoyed ¨C she hated Hunters.


    She also hated Lu Li, who didn¡¯t even try to help. It seemed like she was on her own now.


    There was definitely a reason why he was single!


    The little boar didn¡¯t charge into Water Fairy; Water Fairy spun around the Hunter and dodged accordingly. Not only did she manage to dodge the Charge, but she also knocked out the Hunter again.


    Of course, with the interruption from the little boar, there was no way she would be able to focus on dealing damage.


    The Hunter finally woke up, shot an arrow and pulled away at the same time.


    Shooting up close was possible, but the damage wouldn¡¯t be great.


    No matter which class they fought with, Hunters always tried to maintain their distance. Good Hunters even knew how to kite for the entire battle ¨C they would keep their distance until they tired their opponent to death.


    There was no way Water Fairy would let him pull his distance a part like this.


    She was a celebrity player, and even if Hunters slightly countered Thieves in the current patch, she wouldn¡¯t be kited either.


    After he widened the gap between them, Firing at Stars felt a chill at the back of his head and was stunned on the spot again. This time, Water Fairy managed to deal a huge amount of damage to him since the Charge skill of the little boar was still on cooldown.


    "You¡¯re Water Fairy!" Firing at Stars finally realized that his attacker was the famous female player.


    He was at a bit of loss, unsure if he was lucky or unlucky to run into such a scary player. In a different situation, he would probably consider himself lucky and flirt for a bit.


    Water Fairy remained silent and chased after him.


    A delicate mask remained on her face the entire time. Her face was beautiful, but unfortunately, her expression wasn¡¯t.


    "I¡¯m from the elite team of Glory Capital. What have I done to Drizzle Court? I¡¯ll apologize for it?" Firing at Stars panicked; his health bar was dropping rapidly. However, the opposing player barely took any damage from him.


    After the system update, the experience loss in the wild had been changed.


    At this point, he would only drop 10%, and if he could find someone to revive him within ten minutes, he would lose even less.


    However, 10% was still experience, and from level 30 upwards, even 1% would require killing a lot of monsters. Firing at Stars really didn¡¯t want to lose his experience; he was hoping that the girl would stop because of his background.


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t care ¨C Firing at Stars didn¡¯t care about the players he had previously killed either.


    Everyone who died lost 10% experience; he wasn¡¯t the only special one.


    He gave up asking for mercy after he saw that Water Fairy was ignoring him and placed a Freezing Trap underneath his foot. Water Fairy was frozen for thirty seconds.


    This wasn¡¯t too critical, since it was only a freeze effect and dealt no damage. Once the Hunter attacked Water Fairy, she would be unfrozen.


    Strangely, the Hunter pulled away, but didn¡¯t attack Water Fairy. Instead, he drank an Advanced Healing Potion.


    "His support is coming. When are you ending this?" Lu Li had already gone above to scout for her.


    He wasn¡¯t someone who cared about his reputation too much, but he wasn¡¯t interested in killing an average player together with Water Fairy either.


    A few players ran towards them from afar; they were probably Firing at Star¡¯s friends. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t by himself, but was with guild friends instead.


    Water Fairy moved and the frost on her exploded into pieces...


    Gale Steps!


    With the speed increase, Water Fairy became very strong. Her fast attack speed was an eye catcher, and it only took a few attacks from her high-damaging dagger to remove the health bar that Firing at Stars had restored with his potion.


    By the time Lu Li had counted to seven, Water Fairy had killed her opponent.


    "Got it. Let¡¯s go." Water Fairy wasn¡¯t interested in fighting any longer; she picked up the Ravenholdt Emblem and went into Stealth mode.


    The four players who arrived were players from Glory Capital. They had come to support Firing at Stars as soon as they got the message, but unfortunately, he had already became a corpse on the ground.


    Since someone revived him, Firing at Stars only lost 5% of his experience.


    However, this didn¡¯t lift his mood, as he noticed that his Ravenholdt emblem was missing.


    He had received the item after doing a week¡¯s worth of questing and didn¡¯t tell anyone else about it. He had only received more quest information today from the NPC, but he had already lost the item.


    If he knew that this item would allow him to join a small faction, he would probably be even more upset.


    As such, it was better that he knew nothing about it.


    After Water Fairy received the emblem, she followed Lu Li¡¯s instructions and entered the bar at Northshore. In her usual style, she tossed over two level 40 accessories.


    The hostess and her quickly got along well.


    Because of the items that she gave away, her quests went along smoothly, and the hostess didn¡¯t hesitate to help her kill the Yetimus.


    Under the influence of a useless, but extinct recipe, Master Bath¡¯ra totally forgot about his job.


    Without taking up too much time, Water Fairy quickly became a member of the Assassin League.


    With the guidance from Lu Li, she also didn¡¯t miss out on her new weapon, the Shard of the Defiler.


    Lu Li had tried his best to protect and help her along the way, living up to the money that he had received from her.


    Of course, the world channel had been spammed by Glory Capital players. Everyone knew that Water Fairy had killed a Glory Capital player in the hills of Hillsbrad, but this wasn¡¯t too important either.

 467 Do You Want An Exper

    It was often difficult to settle disputes between two major guilds. Regarding the issue of killing noobs, many victims came out and accused Glory Capital of doing the same thing to lower-levelled players. The world chat exploded in mockery and laughter.


    To get salty over a PVP fight in the wild was very petty and unnecessary.


    Besides, there weren¡¯t any players that could be considered as noobs in Glory Capital. Not only did Water Fairy not receive any hate from the community, but she even gained more fans and followers that supported her.


    As for Lu Li, he remained silent and laid low on the whole matter because he didn¡¯t want anyone to find out that he was involved. Otherwise, the title ¡®scumbag couple¡¯ would be framed against their name.


    Many players were already quite unhappy about their successful treasure hunt.


    Water Fairy¡¯s diehard fans were a bunch of weird and stubborn people who hated Lu Li¡¯s guts without any particular reason. If they found out that they were working together, their hatred would be further fuelled by their jealousy and envy.


    It had been two days since the Magic Cup has started, and so far, there had only been fights between the smaller guilds. A match between two, top-100 ranked guilds had finally been scheduled ¨C it was between Grand Hegemony Union and Wisdom Villa, who was trailing slightly behind in the rankings.


    Theoretically, the chances of these two guilds clashing so early in the tournament was unlikely.


    However, since luck had brought them together, one of the giants had to fall to the other.


    Lu Li had met Drinking Alone when he first joined the game. Then, he completed first ever First Clear in the Spider Instance Dungeon with Northern Tang Dream and Northern Tang Kitty.


    However, it was Water Fairy¡¯s suggestion to come and watch the tournament.


    Under the guidance and assistance of Lu Li, Water Fairy completed the Prerequisite quest for Ravenholdt Manor, then invited Lu Li to come watch and the tournament. She wanted to thank him with something in person. No man would ever reject an invitation from a hot girl, especially if she wanted to thank him.


    Although Lu Li wasn¡¯t exactly interested in Water Fairy, he still gave up the opportunity to train. Spectating a single match wouldn¡¯t take up too much time anyway.


    He wanted to visit his old friend who had been doing well on the Level Rankings recently.


    Grand Hegemony Union was running a Warrior, Thief, Mage, Druid and Priest team composition. They were up against a damage-heavy double Warrior, Warlock, Mage and Priest team.


    The meta favoured the double-healing from the Druid and Priest. With proper positioning, Druids excelled at supporting and crowd-controlling, which allowed them to shine in most situations.


    The Mage from Grand Hegemony Union had already learnt the Transformation skill. Additionally, with the Thief, he could potentially pressure the enemy Priest to minimize their healing potential. Once the Priest was killed, the rest of their team stood no chance.


    Obviously, this was all easier said than done.


    "What information do you have for me?" Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested in a match of such low calibre; he was more interested in how Water Fairy was going to thank him.


    "Watch the game," Water Fairy said as she lifted her mask, revealing her soft and fair skin.


    Lu Li had no choice but to continue watching.


    Northern Tang Dream had a very agile and slim body. Her heavy and bulky Warrior armor did not slow her down at all, however, it did emphasize her exotic and wild beauty.


    Her mechanics were decent, but far from that of a star player.


    The stadium that housed more than 100,000 people was completely filled up. Most of these players weren¡¯t interested in the game because they had come here to watch the valiant, yet attractive Northern Tang Dream.


    Her popularity could be attributed to something called the Hot Girl Effect.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s attention was focused on the many mechanical errors, as well as mistakes that could have been capitalized on to seal the game by both teams.


    He knew that if him and his team was in this match, it would¡¯ve ended much earlier.


    "Sigh, Northern Tang is my friend. If you¡¯re not interested in these lower-calibre fights, at least pay some attention to the hot girl," Water Fairy said, knowing that Lu Li wasn¡¯t happy.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested in any girls, not by choice, but because he simply felt nothing towards these attractive ladies.


    "Your friend can¡¯t compete with you." In reality, Lu Li was comparing their PVP skills and hadn¡¯t realise the underlying message that others could mistake this for.


    "Uh¡­" Water Fairy glanced at him, not sure whether he was flirting with her or not.


    "Oh no, his Charge is off cooldown. Sigh, does she not time the cooldown of skills?" Lu Li felt uneasy watching this match. Although he had started paying attention to the game, all he did was trash talk the players from both teams.


    "Where do you think I rank amongst the top female players?" Water Fairy asked.


    Although she always received compliments from others, she wanted to hear it from someone she respected, and was more than happy to hear what he had to say.


    "No.1," Lu Li said without hesitating and added, "Because you¡¯re calm, whereas other female players, including your two teammates, are too impatient."


    He was referring to Deadly Green Orange and Star Baby. Since they were both expert players and had the Hot Girl Effect, they were considered to be star players by the community.


    "Green and Baby are very good; it took me ages to find them." Water Fairy said.


    "Don¡¯t you have male players in your guild? Why not poach better male players from other guilds?" Lu Li asked without any malicious intent because he was simply having a casual conversation with her.


    "We initially decided not to accept filthy¡­ male players." Water Fairy realised she was sitting next to a filthy man and held back her insult.


    "Oh," Lu Li replied, not realising what she had intended.


    "Then, because we wanted to expand our guild, we had no other choice but to make exceptions for certain male players. However, in tournament settings, we only allow female players to represent Drizzle Court," Water Fairy said seriously.


    "How lame¡­" Winning was key to making money, other than that, nothing else mattered.


    "You¡¯re boring," Water Fairy said with a death-stare. "Apologize. Otherwise, I¡¯m not going to tell you what I was going to tell you."


    "Oh, Sorry." Lu Li¡¯s apology was very insincere and casual. However, since he was so thick-skinned, he didn¡¯t care about what Water Fairy thought.


    "Hmph." Water Fairy was speechless, but eventually gave up and said, "You previously mentioned something about inviting experts to join the guild. Would you be interested if I told you that there¡¯s a terrific opportunity to add an expert to your guild?


    "Expert?" Lu Li paused for a bit and asked, "Do you want to join Ruling Sword?"


    "You wish," Water Fairy mumbled. "Who would want to join Ruling Sword? A bunch of noobs gathered together¡­ you¡¯d have to try much harder to get me to join."


    Perhaps she was truly thankful that Lu Li had helped her join the Assassin Alliance, because she was much more tame with her insults.

 468 An Outdated Contestan

    "As long as it¡¯s not you it¡¯s fine. We have the same class; it¡¯s a clash," Lu Li laughed.


    "Quit joking." They weren¡¯t great at joking around with each other. Water Fairy changed her mind and began to talk about business.


    At this point, the gaming industry had a 200-year history and had become a mainstay in the entertainment industry.


    Under the influence of some important figures, virtual gaming had finally become something of value and professional gamers began to find their place in the society.


    Celebrity players not only received the same treatment as entertainment idols, but their income also increased greatly. More and more people were willing to join the industry and they achieved great results.


    With the incoming of the new came the disqualification of the old; this was natural selection that worked in all industries.


    The income of celebrity players was quite low at the start and rose as they grew stronger. However, after they grew older and their reaction time became more lethargic, their income also dropped.


    If they were lucky, they could continue as a coach, but if not, they would have to stick with the money they had previously earned.


    Most celebrity players were under a lot of pressure. They were used to their rich lifestyles, so after they retire, many of them faced a difficult life.


    Moonlight had these kind of friends. A certain amount of his income was used to help them. Although he was famous and was known as Blood Demon, he actually had very little savings.


    "Have you heard of Mu Qiu?" Water Fairy askedafter some brief explanations about the disqualification of celebrity players.


    "Mu Qiu¡­" Lu Li frowned.


    "Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t heard of Mu Qiu."


    Water Fairy was caught by surprise. She expected Lu Li to be excited, and even considered whether she was going to give the player to him if he really wanted him.


    "Of course I¡¯ve heard of Mu Qiu," Lu Li said as he shook his head in confusion, "but you were talking about celebrity disqualification. Is Mu Qiu getting disqualified?"


    Although he hadn¡¯t played other games before, he was still familiar with the Paladin Mu Qiu. Not to mention, Mu Qiu had risen to fame in Dawn.


    Before Dawn, Mu Qiu didn¡¯t have much of a name for himself; he was only a second-class celebrity player.


    He had the skill and the gaming sense, but he wasn¡¯t stable. Most thought that his talent was restricted and that this was as high as he could climb.


    However, after the first league tournament of Dawn, everyone would remember the name ¡®Mu Qiu¡¯. The player that sat in the substitute seat, the Paladin that changed the entire tide of the battle after he got a chance to jump on stage.


    He was a healing Paladin who could attack, and was also the founder of the healing Paladin playstyle that revolved around critical strikes and damage reduction.


    "Mu Qiu is looking for his next company, however, he didn¡¯t level up his account correctly, so he didn¡¯t even have a chance to show up in the Shadow Cup. He¡¯s now in an elite team of Blood Red War Flag, but he can¡¯t even make it into the top hundred," Water Fairy said.


    "It¡¯s his account¡­" Lu Li finally understood.


    Mu Qiu had only entered the game a year after its release in his previous life. People only saw the glory of Mu Qiu, but as for his mistreatment, no one really noticed.


    After all, this was Blood Red War Flag. It had a pretty decent reputation and it was rare for anyone to say bad things about the guild.


    "Only a million. With the money I paid you last time, you¡¯ll be able to have him. How does that sound? Are you interested?" Water Fairy asked; she was quite proud of herself.


    Currently, Ruling Sword was in a pitiful position. Although they had won the Shadow Cup, the guild wasn¡¯t viewed as too much of a significant existence in the outside world. They had a limited amount of master players, and only Lu Li and Moonlight were well known.


    If this was an outdated celebrity player, or a real second-class celebrity player with no future, Lu Li might have shaken his head.


    He wasn¡¯t a charity donator and he wasn¡¯t interested in taking in the weak.


    However, if this was Mu Qiu...


    "When can we talk about it? Contact him for me," Lu Li said up front.


    Although Water Fairy was cold and proud, most celebrity players kept in contact with each other.


    "Don¡¯t you need to consider or discuss this with others?" Water Fairy was surprised by Lu Li¡¯s decisiveness; he was even more decisive than she was.


    "The competition ended. Your friend won," Lu Li didn¡¯t answer her directly.


    Grand Hegemony had won with a slight advantage, however, they still probably wouldn¡¯t be able to make it into the top sixteen.


    Of course, there was no way that they would just suddenly meet with each other. Lu Li needed to understand more about Mu Qiu¡¯s situation, in case he doesn¡¯t have enough information about him when they finally talked.


    The three-year contract between Mu Qiu and Blood Red War Flag was already close to its expiry date.


    Blood Red War Flag had registered even more celebrity players than Glory Capital. A young guild like Peerless City couldn¡¯t compete against them.


    There were plenty of others who could replace a second-class player like Mu Qiu.


    Before the Shadow Cup, Blood Red War Flag had signed a contract with Wind Town.


    In terms of raw skill, Wind Town wasn¡¯t much better than Mu Qiu, but he was only seventeen this year!


    For most famous celebrity players, seventeen-years-old was an age that they were jealous of. This meant that he had potential.


    In the long run, he was much more important than Mu Qiu.


    In reality, he had replaced the spot of Mu Qiu and became the third contestant that was on stage for Blood Red War Flag.


    During the Shadow Cup, Mu Qiu had been removed from the main team and the same occurred for him during Magic Cup this time. He didn¡¯t even manage to get a substitute position, since there were so many master gamers in Blood Red War Flag.


    This was a shame for a celebrity player that had been around for so long.


    With his own connections, Mu Qiu made his application towards a few clubs that he was interested in.


    Blood Red War Flag didn¡¯t intervene; it seemed like they silently permitted his action. After all, it wasn¡¯t beneficial for them to keep around a celebrity player that costed them a fortune but had no future.


    "What level is he?" Lu Li asked at the end.


    "Level 31, slightly under leveled. Apparently, he¡¯s too busy figuring out his techniques. However, he¡¯s quite cheap; only a million," Water Fairy shrugged. She wasn¡¯t very responsible.


    "Only a million¡­" Lu Li smiled bitterly.


    Was a million not money at all? Most people didn¡¯t have a million.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he had given out some shares, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to pay Moonlight and March Rain. No matter how great they were as friends, it wasn¡¯t right if he didn¡¯t pay them at least a million.


    "Should be fine for around a year or two. If you guys make it into the top three of Magic Cup, you¡¯ll earn the money back." Water Fairy was truly considering this for Lu Li¡¯s benefit. A celebrity player who wasn¡¯t too famous or too bad would be very suitable for Ruling Sword, a guild that was quite poor and barely had anything.


    "Thanks for this time. In the future¡­" Lu Li was about to slap her on the shoulder, but he held back his hands.


    He had almost forgotten that he was talking to a girl¡­

 469 A Strong Substitute

    Mu Qiu picked his clubs carefully.


    There was no way he¡¯d consider the clubs that had no future, for example, Star Moon Union and the Imperial Secret Service, regardless of how much money they gave him. This was because he still had expectations; he was still hoping to return to the competitions one day.


    As for Drizzle Court, Mu Qiu never planned for Water Fairy to sign a contract with him. Everyone knew how the female only club worked.


    Apparently, Stellar Union Silver Radiant from Azure Guard had tried to join the circle of girls in the past, but was turned down by them. They even told him that he would have to go to Thailand first to be considered, and also claimed that they were going to check if he was "cleaned" appropriately after he came back¡­


    When Mu Qiu contacted Water Fairy, he had already set his gaze upon Ruling Sword.


    Didn¡¯t the others all say that the two were a couple? Things would be easier with Water Fairy¡¯s help.


    Water Fairy did in fact achieve what he wanted ¨C Lu Li invited Mu Qiu over to his place for talk. This was the first time that he had invited a guest, but compared to meeting in a bar, this was a better display of his sincere attitude.


    Water Fairy had a lot of time to kill so she came along as well.


    When she first saw Lu Li¡¯s home, she opened her mouth and asked, "How much?"


    Lu Li sighed discreetly; wasn¡¯t it tiring to always repeat the same line? He was curious what kind of family had raised such a beautiful, yet, strange flower.


    Without a doubt, Water Fairy¡¯s beauty was her greatest weapon; it was hard for people to dislike her.


    After she set foot on the island, Water Fairy felt like she wanted the place even more. She had spent 6000 gold coins on her little castle in Stormwind City, which was already a very extravagant place, but compared to this island, it didn¡¯t seem so great anymore.


    "I bought this for my sister." With one sentence, Lu Li temporarily settled Water Fairy¡¯s desires.


    Soon, Water Fairy saw the sister that Lu Li talked about. She was a little girl in her teens, and a bunch of children followed behind her as they chased after an almost invisible fairy.


    The little fairy was the "national treasure" of Danassus. The average players would usually stay away from it.


    However, the fairy that was being chased didn¡¯t feel offended. It elegantly dodged and weaved, flying fast and slow as it teased the foolish kids.


    "No way! You have this many siblings?" Water Fairy was amazed.


    She was a single child and her parents were also single children. Even her grandparents didn¡¯t have many siblings.


    "Only the one at the front wearing a skirt is my sister." Lu Li was quite shocked himself too.


    Things were still fine when he had left in the afternoon. He had left his sister to read some books, plant some flowers and nap for a bit if she was tired. He was only gone for about half a day and their home had became an orphanage?


    Yes, these children were orphans.


    There was one of them that Lu Li was actually very familiar with ¨C Little Becky from Rattan City. She pounced forward in an attempt to catch the little fairy in the bushes. Unfortunately, the fairy evaded her. Although she landed on the floor, she didn¡¯t cry and got up again while laughing.


    Lu Li had spoken about these orphans before with his sister, and they both felt very sorry for them.


    He hadn¡¯t expected Lu Xin to bring them from Stormwind City for a visit.


    "So they¡¯re orphans. Your sister is very nice." Water Fairy quickly recognized these children ¨C after all, they were different from real humans.


    "Xin Xin!" Lu Li shouted.


    Lu Xin turned her head to see her brother. She was about to jump into her brother¡¯s lap, but after she saw Water Fairy and Mu Qiu, she changed her mind and attempted to walk to him like a lady.


    It was the first time she had seen Lu Li bring a female friend with him, let alone to bring her back home.


    "This is Mu Qiu, this is Water Fairy¡­" Lu Li introduced as he held onto his sister; her curiosity was too obvious.


    "Water¡­ Water Fairy¡­ So is it really like what the others say? You guys are¡­" Lu Xin gasped as she covered her mouth in shock.


    We are?


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were confused. They were both players who blocked out most of their channels and focused on playing the game. At the same time, most people didn¡¯t run their mouths about gossip in front of them.


    As for Lu Xin, she was too bored.


    Her passion for working at the potion store had begun to fade, and she had also been banned by Lu Li and her doctors from interacting too much with others. All she could do was read books and plant flowers, but in her spare time, she also enjoyed browsing forums.


    If there was any news about Lu Li, she paid a great amount of attention.


    Because of what had happened in the past with the treasure map, everyone spread words about the couple, so it was only natural that Lu Xin knew about it too. She even spent time to look up Water Fairy, but she didn¡¯t expect to see the real person with her own eyes.


    They were? Of course, she wanted to ask if they were dating.


    Lu Li had even brought Water Fairy home. Had they already reached this stage?


    "What¡¯s with the pout?" Lu Li said as he pinched his sister¡¯s cheek. "Go bring me some fruit wine for our guests."


    Lu Xin ran underground to bring some drinks and desserts while Lu Li brought Mu Qiu and Water Fairy to a summer house located in the center of the island. This was where he brought his guests.


    "I¡¯ve heard of the situation from her.Are you interested in Ruling Sword?"


    Lu Li didn¡¯t waste time to beat around the bush; he wasn¡¯t the type. Square Root 3 was the type to go around in circles; he had a thing about proceeding with care and order.


    "That would depend on the sincerity of Ruling Sword. What position can I get after I join Ruling Sword? Although I¡¯m twenty-five this year, I¡¯m not interested in being a coach, a sparring partner or a trainer for new players," Mu Qiu said then quickly added, "Peerless City asked me to join them as a sparring partner for the price of two million. I declined."


    Two million for a celebrity player to join them as a sparring partner ¨C it seemed like the rumors were true of Peerless City receiving a huge investment.


    They probably weren¡¯t impressed about their current position and were ready to challenge the seat of the champion.


    "Our club was only formed quite recently. Currently, only myself, Moonlight and March Rain are treated like professional contestants. We¡¯ve also had two new players join us, so there are no spots available in our main team. However, if you can come, you¡¯ll at least be a strong substitute." Lu Li clearly stated his intentions; he didn¡¯t give out false promises.


    "Only a substitute?"


    Mu Qiu didn¡¯t expect this result ¨C from what he predicted, Ruling Sword barely had any master gamers.


    What made Lu Li think that March Rain would be a better healer than himself? Although, perhaps he couldn¡¯t compare himself to March Rain. After all, this was a girl who stood on the champion stage of Shadow Cup. But what was with the two new players?


    Of course, he had full respect for legend like Moonlight.


    Mu Qiu and Moonlight were from the same generation. A few years ago, they had both entered the gaming industry, and after some hard work, they had both risen to their own fame.


    However, Moonlight was one of the best professional gamers, while he was only a second string.

 470 Professional PVP Player

    Apart from Moonlight, March Rain and White Westhill also performed well in the battle against Glory Capital. Priests were extremely crucial in 5v5 PVP battles because they provide AOE healing, unlike healing Paladins. The rest of the team consisted of Fat Monkey and Sakura Memories, who was a Shaman that had already learned Lifesteal.


    The current meta in group PVP favoured Priests and Mages over Paladins and Warriors.


    Looking at the top teams, almost every team contained at least one ranged, magic-damaging class such as a Mage or a Warlock. Other teams contained unorthodox magic classes such as Shadow Priests or Elemental Shamans.


    The only other Shaman in the game that had already learnt Lifesteal was Empty from Glory Capital.


    Even though Sakura Memories¡¯ mechanics were mediocre, she would still be a major threat in PVP because of her Lifesteal ability.


    "I see¡­" Mu Qiu said, unable to mask his disappointment.


    Everyone wanted to join a team that was favoured to win the championship.


    No one wanted to be in a team of noobs. He had contacted several other guilds and many had turned him down.


    "You¡¯ll have opportunities to sub in for our Shaman because she¡¯s quite unfamiliar with PVP," Lu Li bluntly said, unafraid to reveal the weaknesses of his team.


    Sakura Memories was a level grinder and had only recently entered the PVP scene.


    Although she had a lot of talent and potential compared to other players, she was still far off from the other professional PVP players.


    In reality, Lu Li didn¡¯t need to sign another star player.


    However, he was recruiting him for the future of the guild. PVP teams would be very beneficial for guilds in the future, and a team of five players was not enough to dominate the PVP scene.


    For future tournaments, such as the Dawn Professional League, a team of at least eight to nine players was required to dominate.


    Besides, Mu Qi offered a lot for them in terms of PVP. He was professional, dedicated and had great potential. He had yet to find his playstyle as of now, however, Lu Li could see the potential in him waiting to be developed.


    "I just want to be in a tournament. I don¡¯t care what it costs, as long as I get to fight on stage," Mu Qiu sighed.


    Unfortunately, he had to be the one that was cut from the group.


    "I heard that there will be many opportunities for large scale PVP tournaments at the end of the year," Lu Li revealed in an attempt to encourage him. Water Fairy was surprised that Lu Li already knew about this.


    She had only recently heard about this from her various sources and connections. The development team had only recently begun discussing the possibility of holding a large-scale tournament. How did Lu Li know about this already?!


    Lu Li was a nobody in real life and had no connection with the developers of Dawn. He only knew because of his rebirth.


    At the end of the year, the tournament committee involved in hosting the Shadow Cup, Magic Cup and other tournaments would work together to host the first season of the Dawn Professional League. Because of the increase in the popularity of MMORPGs, the Dawn Professional League would surpass major tournaments such as the NBA and the Asia Cup as the most-viewed tournament in the world.


    "What do you mean?" Mu Qiu didn¡¯t understand him and Water Fairy was curious as well.


    "Currently, the Shadow Cup and Magic Cup are only hosted in 3v3 or 5v5 settings. However, in future tournaments, more players will be involved in each fight. As such, we will need PVP players to fill the roster and when the opportunity arises, you¡¯ll be on the starting team for Ruling Sword. When that time comes, I¡¯ll sign you for $1 million," Lu Li said.


    "Ok. I don¡¯t mind if the salary is less." Mu Qiu could tell that Lu Li was being serious.


    "It¡¯s only one million; why would you want less than that?" Water Fairy was displeased with Lu Li¡¯s lowball offer.


    Although Water Fairy was a cold-hearted business woman, the PVP scene was where she had made a name for herself. As such, she couldn¡¯t help but empathize with other professional PVP players, and Lu Li¡¯s offer made her very uncomfortable.


    "Let me finish." Lu Li was angry because he had been cut off halfway.


    He felt betrayed because of the assumptions that Water Fairy had made.


    "¡­." Water Fairy pouted and remained quiet.


    "One million might be too low. How about $1.8 million?" When Mu Qiu was signed to Blood Red War Flag, he had received a salary of $1.5 million, which was considered to be quite high among the top PVP players.


    Although Lu Li was a good person, he wasn¡¯t stupid with his money and knew how to spend it well. The offer he made was at the right price ¨C not too low and not too high.


    Even if he had offered less than $1 million, Mu Qiu would have let go of his pride and accepted. However, he would forever hold that grudge and one day, would use it as a leverage against Lu Li when he performed well. Then, it would make sense for him to request an absurd amount of money when his contract expired. If this happened, Lu Li would end up losing even more money in the long run.


    With the increased offer, Mu Qiu felt more than happy to accept it.


    "Although I feel like you¡¯re worth more than this, Ruling Sword is still a newly-developed guild, so we don¡¯t have the funds to sign you to a bigger contact. My brother, I¡¯m sorry, but this is all I can offer. I believe that you¡¯ll make everyone regret not signing you to their team," Lu Li said as he put his arms around him.


    "Ruling Sword might not have the funds," Water Fairy interrupted abruptly, "but I do¡­"


    Lu Li ignored her.


    "Ok, my contract with Blood Red War Flag expires in a couple of days. They¡¯re not looking to re-sign me, so I¡¯m more than happy to come here," Mu Qiu said as he stood up and held out his hand for a handshake. "From today onwards, I¡¯m a member of Ruling Sword."


    Although Blood Red War Flag didn¡¯t have the cleanest track record, they were still a guild that preached fairness and justice. They wouldn¡¯t make it difficult for Mu Qiu, even if he wanted to leave.


    "Let me notify Square Root Three about this. You should pack your things and go to Gangnam City; there will be someone there to help you settle in," Lu Li said.


    "Gangnam City?" Water Fairy was surprised, as if she had just heard a secret. She wasn¡¯t aware that Lu Li lived so close to her.


    "Ok. I¡¯ll be there tomorrow." Mu Qiu had mixed feelings, but expressed his excitement to join the new guild.


    "Here¡¯s to a bright future for Ruling Swords," Lu Li cheered as he raised his wine cup.


    Once, he was a teenager that roamed the streets of the Scum District, begging others for money in order to survive. Once, he was an older brother that worked day and night to provide for his sister¡¯s medical bill. Now, that same man had turned into a leader with a thirst for success and victory.


    Water Fairy subconsciously raised her cup as well and cheered.


    After finishing the wine, she realised that she had just cheered for something that was completely unrelated to her.

 471 Son of Arugal

    Given that Lu Li was thoroughly explaining everything to Square Root 3, he didn¡¯t really have a chance to oppose him. All the big guilds bought players like this.


    Lu Li¡¯s offer was also quite reasonable. It would only be insane if they financially crippled themselves for another player.


    Square Root 3¡¯s only worry was whether Mu Qiu would be worth the money. His performance had just been average and he hadn¡¯t done anything particularly noteworthy. His character also had some attribute distribution problems.


    In competitions, these attribute problems couldn¡¯t be ignored.


    Currently, in Dawn, there were no plans to allow for redistribution of attributes in a character, so once you put them somewhere there was no going back.


    However, this concern wasn¡¯t worth opposing Lu Li as he trusted him. He immediately prepared the documents and notified the gaming media.


    No matter how you looked at it, Mu Qiu was a star player and was Ruling Sword¡¯s first officially signed star player.


    As such, a press conference was definitely necessary. Fortunately, now that everything had been virtualized, this was easy to set up without too much cost.


    Ruling Sword had never held such a public event. Entertainment media groups, both big and small, were very curious about them. When information of someone joining Lu Li¡¯s original team was released, Square Root 3 had no worry about any kind of backlash.


    Although the 1.8 million dollar signing fee was quite significant, it was still a good price for Mu Qiu, so Square Root 3 didn¡¯t object to that either.


    As for public opinion, signing a less-than-perfect star player was going to be somewhat ridiculed.


    However, public opinion was the same, whether it was good or bad. As long as they were still relevant and talked about, they could put that to use in the future.


    Lu Li wanted an Instance Dungeon Scroll from the guild warehouse and planned to go to a small Instance Dungeon.


    Shadowfang Keep was a level 30 relatively simple private Instance Dungeon. It could drop Glutton Shackles and the White Wolf Fang that Lu Li needed to upgrade his Supreme Ring.


    Lu Li had posted a guild bounty with some of his guild points. This could be redeemed for points for the Instance Dungeon Scroll.


    In the next few days, a few were dropped, but unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t one at Nightmare Difficulty. There weren¡¯t even any ones at Hero Difficulty. There were just three Elites and a few Ordinary scrolls.


    There was nothing wrong with the Ordinary Scrolls; they could be used for farming and gaining some simple equipment. However, the Elite Instance Dungeon was necessary for the Rare Material drop rate.


    He still needed a level of EXP to get to level 35, so there was no way he was going to achieve it before the Magic Cup.


    Additionally, there were also quite a few quests and items he wanted to take from the Shadowfang Keep. No one knew about them yet, but he wanted to get them early and make use of his rebirth.


    On the Southern Cliff overlooking the Silverpine Forest, the Shadowfang Keep stood like a shadow.


    This was the level 30 Instance Dungeon that could only be entered with a Scroll. Its location was even more remote than the Scarlet Monastery and players had to travel very far to get here. Those issues in addition to the fact that the drops were quite ordinary meant that most Alliance players never ventured here.


    Lu Li transformed into the Blood Raven and took off from Southshore. It took more than half an hour for him to see the massive Silverpine Forest.


    He quickly landed as he reached the forest; the Undead¡¯s aerial strength was comparable to the Orcs¡¯. Their Batriders were notorious for their sense of smell, but who knew how these skeletons could smell in the first place?


    The forest was filled with monsters that were level 20 or so, and were no threat to Lu Li.


    When he encountered some bears with nicely-colored fur, Lu Li killed them and took their fur. The fur could be taken to a Tailor and made into clothes. It could also be used as a rug after being tanned well. The game was just like real life, and winter was coming.


    However, in reality, most of these animals would be protected by law.


    While skinning a helpless bear, Lu Li suddenly stopped. He felt a chill go down his spine, as if he had just discovered a cobra right next to him.


    He was level 34, had exquisite equipment and had slaughtered countless Bosses.


    If there was something that could give him this feeling¡­


    It was the damned son of Arugal!


    Other than the Gnoll Hogg, the other monster that could be considered the nightmare of Elwynn Forest was the Son of Arugal.


    Most players who played as an Undead would run into Arugal¡¯s son.


    Those that ran into him were taught the meaning of being killed upon meeting. There were few who could escape this Elite Monster.


    Silverpine Forest spawned level 10 to 20 monsters, so there were actually level 10+ players farming here. If those players ran into a level 35 Elite¡­ they simply didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Moreover, the Son of Arugal was much stronger than the Hogg and was not an ordinary elite at all.


    The Silverpine Forest was a vast forest that stretched across the West coast of Lordaeron. It was the leveling place and quest map of the Undead. The Son of Arugal wandered around 80% of the Silverpine Forest; it was even freer than a Wild Boss.


    Lu Li started sweating when he saw this monster, even though he was only one level below it.


    Lu Li had killed countless Elite monsters, but the son of Arugal made him really anxious. He had immense strength, which didn¡¯t come from his level, but his two overpowered skills.


    Son of Arugal¡¯s Arrest: Don¡¯t go, my dear. Son of Arugal¡¯s attacks have a chance to stun the player.


    Son of Arugal¡¯s Gift: Curse. Deals 300 damage every 5 seconds for 3000 seconds.


    The first skill was the reason why players were unable to escape, and the second skill was the reason why players couldn¡¯t beat him. With a curse that long, you were done for if you couldn¡¯t quickly remove it.


    Moreover, this curse couldn¡¯t be removed with just any ordinary skill.


    Gale Steps couldn¡¯t even remove it for him, so Lu Li¡¯s chances of beating the Son of Arugal were not very high.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate for long. He decisively transformed into a Cheetah and escaped as quickly as he could.


    He wasn¡¯t sure if he could beat this strong opponent, but he didn¡¯t want to take the risk.


    Suddenly a shadow appeared in front of Lu Li. A huge Worgen fell right in front of him, sending visible shockwaves out all around him.


    Gale Steps!


    Lu Li was a little frustrated. He had only just transformed into a Cheetah, but Gale Steps helped him avoid the shockwave and gave him even more speed.


    He continued to escape and didn¡¯t even think about looking back. He was going to take this chance while he could and didn¡¯t want to risk losing EXP. The Son of Arugal¡¯s skills were just too unpredictable.


    For the time being, the Son of Arugal could be compared to the Bosses that could one-shot players.


    There weren¡¯t many of those Bosses, so the Son of Arugal put many Bosses to shame!

 472 Barely Escaping Alive

    The Son of Arugal¡¯s long paw swiped at Lu Li, completely ignoring his state of invincibility and actually stunning him in place. The Son of Arugal¡¯s Arrest must have had a high stun probability.


    Lu Li really didn¡¯t want to fight an Elite Monster with nearly 90,000 HP.


    However, this was almost nearly unavoidable. It was no wonder why players rarely escaped this monster. If their level was lower than it, even a master would struggle for their life.


    For 10% EXP, Lu Li would need to farm for half a day. As such, he was quite unwilling to lose it.


    In reality, Arugal¡¯s actual attacks were quite ordinary. He dealt about a hundred damage to Lu Li, which was normal for a level 35 Elite.


    After the stun ended, Lu Li used a dagger and stabbed the Son of Arugal¡¯s belly.


    -113!


    It seemed as though they were quite well-matched.


    "Mortal, you have infuriated me. I will now repay you with my anger," the Son of Arugal said as he raised his two claws and brought them down. His claws were covered in a dark mysterious mist.


    Dammit, you¡¯re already using the curse, you cheater!


    Lu Li quickly kicked the Son of Arugal in the chest and succeeded in interrupting his action.


    The Son of Arugal grunted with dissatisfaction and continued to fight Lu Li normally, but it was only a few seconds before he started to cast the curse again.


    Gouge!


    A stun could also be used to interrupt, on the condition that the target was successfully stunned.


    A few seconds later, he started to cast the curse again¡­


    Shadowmeld, Stealth, Cheap Shot!


    A few seconds later¡­


    Kidney Shot!


    Lu Li was quickly using up all of his crowd-control. Those other weak players who faced this monster were unlikely to have as much crowd-control, even if they were in a party.


    However, the crowd-control duration was short, as these Elite monsters had a level of immunity against it.


    Even after using all of his skills to interrupt the Curse, the Boss was still only at half HP. The only thing he could do now was helplessly accept the Son of Arugal¡¯s gift.


    Son of Arugal¡¯s Gift: Curse. Deals 300 damage every 5 seconds for 3000 seconds.


    This curse dealt 300 damage every 5 seconds, which couldn¡¯t be reduced by skills or shields. What was even worse was its duration of 3000 seconds. Ever since Dawn had started, and even before his rebirth, Lu Li had never seen anything stronger than this monster.


    However, in addition to the curse, the Son of Arugal would also deal some damage to himself.


    Lu Li was currently at 2600 HP and had just used a crowd control skill. He quickly drank an Advanced Healing Potion; he hadn¡¯t lost much HP yet.


    Even so, Lu Li would need at least 40 seconds to kill the Son of Arugal.


    Then, he could eat some bread to regenerate his HP, but he still needed someone else¡¯s help as he didn¡¯t have enough bread in his bag.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t give up hope; his dagger¡¯s effect reduced the targets Armor and Speed by 25%. He swung his Shard of the Defiler and Corrupted Fang in a bloody melody.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter how you do it; find someone to get me potions. Preferably Bread. Coordinates: #####," Lu Li messaged Square Root 3.


    "Alright, it¡¯ll be five minutes at most. Be careful." Square Root 3 immediately started arranging the request without asking when he heard Lu Li¡¯s solemn voice.


    Lu Li estimated the amount of time he had left with the bread in his bag, and was slightly relieved when he heard that it was a 5 minute wait.


    Of course, the most critical issue was killing the son of Arugal before he died.


    If he couldn¡¯t resolve the battle in 40 seconds, it might be worth it to find someone to Revive him. In fact, Square Root 3 had already placed a request with the Mercenary Club.


    Ruling Sword was still small and there were very few players active in the Silverpine Forest. There was almost no one to help.


    However, there were Mercenaries in this world ¨C when Lu Li first started, he had also completed some Mercenary tasks and founded his own Xin Xin Mercenary group.


    Square Root 3 had found a large, cooperative mercenary organisation, and had not only commissioned them for a delivery, but also specifically requested a Druid with a Revive skill to rush to that location.


    He also told them that Ruling Sword was willing to buy back whatever Lu Li dropped at a high price.


    The battle between the son of Arugal and Lu Li was at a critical juncture. In fact, Lu Li had less than 40 seconds now as the Son of Arugal was also hurting him with every attack.


    Reducing the damage, avoiding¡­ Lu Li had tried everything.


    Thirty seconds later, Lu Li¡¯s HP was critical, but the son of Arugal still had 20% HP left.


    Shard of the Defiler (Dark Gold): 42-56 damage, +20 agility, +12 strength, Socket Slot 1(Enhanced). Special Effect 1: Attack speed +30%, Special Effect 2: Defile, active. Decreases target¡¯s armor and movement speed by 25%, cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 3: Fatal Strike, when the target¡¯s HP drops below 20%, chance to kill the target instantly. Requires level 40 (-8), Durability 120/120.


    Lu Li never expected the third effect of the Shard of the Defiler to work.


    As the curse damage was about to take effect, Lu Li activated Pamela¡¯s gift.


    Pamela¡¯s Gift (Dark Gold): Accuracy+30%. Damage+10%. Special effect: Pamela¡¯s Tea, activation required, instantly recovers 20% of health, regenerates 2% of health each second for the next five seconds. Cannot be interrupted, cannot be used on other targets. Cooldown 30 minutes. Level requirement 30, Durability 72/72.


    He used the Pamela¡¯s Tea effect and also used Kidney Shot with the five combo points that he had saved.


    The Son of Arugal had been stunned.


    He couldn¡¯t allow the Son of Arugal to attack him; that was the only way he could regenerate HP. His HP slowly ticked upwards from 700 to 800. Fortunately, the potion cooldown had also just ended so he could heal just a little bit more.


    He had bought himself a dozen more seconds to fight.


    Lu Li¡¯s anticipated fatal blow never came, but the Phantom Image from the Corrupted Fang was summoned. Only then did he narrowly finally defeat the Son of Arugal.


    He had barely made it by the skin of his teeth!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t even see what the son of Arugal dropped. He immediately sat on the ground and started stuffing pieces of bread into his mouth.


    He only had a hundred a bit of HP and he was about to be hit for 300 by the curse. The bread quickly regenerated his HP past that point which bought Lu Li some more time.


    If he knew this would happen, he would have brought other people. He just wanted to farm a single Instance Dungeon.


    It sounded quite arrogant and was totally unnecessary ¨C he had almost gotten himself killed.


    Currently, the regeneration speed of the bread was every 3 seconds. Lu Li¡¯s character could also regenerate 200 HP during this time. Although it wasn¡¯t much, he could use an advanced Healing Potion when the cooldown completed.


    When his regeneration rate was quick enough, Lu Li went over to see what the son of Arugal had dropped. He then found a hidden spot and continued to eat the bread.


    He had to be careful ¨C in his current state, even a level-25-player party could kill him.


    Lu Li was actually quite nervous as he had no way of escaping a robbery. He could only wait until he was full HP to return to the city. Alternatively, he could ask Sesame Rice Ball to open a portal and ask his teammates to carry him away.


    Of course, that would mean he had to return to the city and waste more than an hour of travel time.

 473 Small Fry Killer

    Lu Li didn¡¯t have to wait for too long. After two to three minutes, someone called Old Kidney Pain asked to join his party.


    Lu Li had heard of this guy; he was a typical Treasure Hunter. His level wasn¡¯t very high ¨C he was currently only level 28 ¨C but he was definitely Dawn¡¯s most unpredictable Thief.


    "I¡¯ve brought 50 stacks of the best bread. Someone else has also entrusted me with 20 bottles of Advance Healing Potion. You haven¡¯t died yet, so shall I inform the person that I don¡¯t need to use Revive?" Old Kidney Pain stood in front of Lu Li, who was sitting cross-legged between some bushes, and curiously looked at him.


    Lu Li was not in Stealth, but Old Kidney Pain had strong enough detection that he had found the legendary Lu Li on his first try.


    However, it was a bit of long shot to call Lu Li ¡®legendary¡¯ at the moment. He was surrounded by a morbid, dark red mist, and because Old Kidney Pain was in Lu Li¡¯s party, he could see a -300 appear over his head.


    Even so, Lu Li seemed to be in high spirits. His calm and deep eyes looked at Old Kidney Pain as he walked close by.


    "I am only level 28; I can¡¯t fight you," Old Kidney Pain reassured him.


    "Just give me the bread. How much money do I owe you?" Lu Li asked, confirming the details of the transaction.


    "The employer has already paid for it," Old Kidney Pain said, then, unable to resist his curiosity asked, "What happened to you? It looks quite serious. Do you need another service?"


    "Oh, what can you do?"


    "Kill, destroy, write a love letter, pretend to be a boyfriend or girlfriend. If you can conceive it, we can do it," Old Kidney Pain proudly said.


    Mercenary Groups were not the same as a small group of 3 to 5 players. There were some Mercenary Groups that had tens of thousands of players. They did extensive business, but did not participate in the interests of competitions between guilds ¨C they just worked for whoever paid better.


    "Hrm. Will you be able to find someone who can remove curses?" Lu Li tore a piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth.


    "Can you reveal who hurt you like this?" Old Kidney Pain probed.


    "You¡¯re quite curious, aren¡¯t you?" Lu Li frowned but continued, "I¡¯ll give you a warning. Don¡¯t hang around Silverpine Forest in your free time; the Son of Arugal is not fun to deal with."


    "Son of Arugal?" Old Kidney Pain instantly tensed up. "Did he appear here? Wait, how are you alive?"


    "I¡¯m alive because he¡¯s dead. How long will it take for someone to remove this curse?" Lu Li really didn¡¯t like the feeling of this curse on his body. Not only could he die at any moment, but his equipment was also being damaged. This was estimated to be the longest curse a player had experienced so far.


    Old Kidney Pain had just seen the body of a huge Worgen not far behind.


    "Did you actually kill it?"


    "I got lucky," Lu Li modestly answered.


    Old Kidney Pain didn¡¯t think that it was a fluke. Among his social circle, many of them had received requests for Mercenary Soldiers to kill Hogg or the Son of Arugal out of anger.


    Just because those players seeking revenge were weak didn¡¯t mean they were poor. They were rich second-generation kids who were unhappy after being killed and were eager to spend money to get revenge.


    At first, they weren¡¯t aware of the dangers, and many Mercenary Groups accepted the quest. Although they had organized quite a few fights again the Son of Arugal, the outcome was obvious. Since then, the Son of Arugal has been a Mercenary Group taboo.


    Old Kidney Pain was an Alliance member, so he didn¡¯t come to the Silverpine Forest often, but he knew about its dangers.


    He then realized that Lu Li was incredibly strong. He also regretted not arriving a little earlier ¨C perhaps he could have caught Lu Li in the middle of the fight. They were both Thieves, so he could have learned something.


    After leaving all his bread behind, Old Kidney Pain left.


    Lu Li had to find a way to defend himself, so he periodically moved from place to place to ensure that his coordinates changed. He endured the curse and finally survived after an hour¡¯s time.


    During this time, he also got to look at what the Son of Arugal dropped.


    The Son of Arugal only dropped two items. One was an Engineering blueprint ¨C an Aquadynamic Fish Attractor which increased the fishing attribute by 100 points and increased the probability of catching rare fish by 20%.


    It was quite a good item.


    More and more seniors had started to join Dawn. They were seldom willing to join the fighting and mainly engaged in relaxing or recuperative activities.


    However, as they explored more of Dawn, more and more old people discovered that they liked fishing. They couldn¡¯t experience this same kind of fishing in real life.


    Although this item could only be used for 2 hours, it would sell for almost 70 gold on the market.


    The second was a piece of equipment. Unfortunately, the rare material thatLu Li was looking forward to had not appeared.


    However, when he saw the properties of this equipment, his disappointment immediately disappeared.


    Raider¡¯s Leather Pants (Gold): Armor 32, Agility +16, Constitution +12, Special Effect 1: Critical Hit +10%. Special Effect 2: Son of Arugal¡¯s Arrest: attacks have a chance of stunning the target for 1 second. Special Effect 3: Son of Arugal¡¯s Curse: Curse a target causing it to lose 100 HP every 5 seconds for 300 seconds. 30 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: level 35. Durability 64/64.


    There was a small inscription on the pants: You are a small fry killer.


    These pants combined two of the Son of Arugal¡¯s most disgusting skills.


    The first effect was bonus critical hit, which was normal for exquisite equipment. The second effect was just like son of Arugal¡¯s stun, but the probability of activating it wasn¡¯t as high. Lu Li still had a lingering fear of that ability. As for the third effect, that was clearly much worse than the Son of Arugal¡¯s version.


    Even though it was worse, the effect itself was still very strong.


    If a player didn¡¯t do anything about the curse, they could lose a total of 6000 HP. There wasn¡¯t a single player with that kind of HP at the moment.


    Lu Li¡¯s current pants were already quite good, but they were nothing compared to the Raider¡¯s Leather Pants.


    Although it was a dire situation, the items that were dropped brightened Lu Li¡¯s mood. Even so, if he encountered the Son of Arugal again, he would always choose to run first.


    He had managed to kill he son of Arugal this time, but he couldn¡¯t discount the fact that some luck was involved.


    After the curse on Lu Li ended, he quickly arrived at the South Stream Coast. This was a very quiet place; there was the Burning Wood Village on one side and the Shadowfang Keep wasn¡¯t far away.


    There was nothing unusual about this place, nor was there anything special about it.


    Lu Li came here to fish, as he wanted to catch a Southern Grouper. If he cooked that, his sister would probably like to have some.


    Additionally, there was also a sick squirrel that spawned here and was a rare pet.


    Most wild monsters couldn¡¯t be tamed without the Hunter¡¯s Tame Beast. However, these squirrels, which were on the verge of dying, could be tamed by bringing them to a veterinarian.

 474 The Old People That Fish

    Finding a squirrel required luck, but fishing could be done with pure skill.


    The Aquadynamic Fish Attractor¡¯s materials were quite easy to acquire. Lu Li had only farmed the humanoid mobs nearby for 10 minutes before he had enough Linen. After this, he caught some Nymphs in the Forest Wetlands. He already had a few spare Bronze Ingots and Gunpowder in his backpack.


    Lu Li started the process in his hands and was soon notified by the system that he had received six Aquadynamic Fish Attractors.


    One Aquadynamic Fish Attractor could be used for 2 hours, so six was more than enough for him.


    When he got to the seaside, there were many players fishing.


    When these people entered the game, they had chosen to do a Trade Occupation. The combat system was also based on the physical condition of these elderly players; the monsters would not attack them. Moreover, the monsters appeared cute rather than scary.


    When a young man like Lu Li arrived, the old players were quite surprised.


    They saw that the young man was familiar with the tackle. After tying a ring-shaped item to the hook, he threw it into the water and sat down crossed legged, waiting for a fish to bite.


    A man beside Lu Li patted him on the shoulder and said, "Young man, you can find some worms in the woods or buy some from the Auction House. You can¡¯t catch fish without any bait."


    "Mm," Lu Li nodded, suppressing the urge to swing his knife at him.


    Old man, you can¡¯t just touch me like that without warning. Who knows what accident might happen?


    "Kids these days¡­" The old man wasn¡¯t angry at Lu Li, but was a little rude. He didn¡¯t continue talking to Lu Li and complained to the other fisherman next to him.


    "When he hits a wall, then he¡¯ll learn. Old Zhao, you didn¡¯t listen to anyone when you were young either."


    The several old men had been sitting around casually, talking about the same repetitive topics.


    The fact that a young man had arrived was interesting, but this young man was very foolish. He didn¡¯t use any bait for fishing.


    Yet, they simply continued on, confident that he would eventually come to ask for help.


    In real life, other than man-made ponds, there were no other places left to fish.


    "Hey, his bobber moved!" One of the old men was so shocked that he almost dropped the rod in his hand.


    What he said caused some commotion ¨C these old men were not used to something so exciting happening so most of them stopped fishing and ran over to watch how Lu Li was doing this.


    "I think the ring he put on the hook might have confused the fish into thinking it was bait," one of them guessed.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t spent much time fishing in his previous life, but he had managed to reach Advanced Fishing after two years. He elegantly pulled at the fish and in four pulls, revealed a light-yellow grouper.


    A grouper!


    "Wow! He actually got a grouper!" another exclaimed, as the original old man who had told Lu Li he couldn¡¯t catch anything watched on with envy.


    These people were happy with success but didn¡¯t mind failure. They had come a long way in life and were now just taking their time with their food and hobbies.


    This kind of Southern Grouper was a specialty of the south coast with its all natural-yellow color. After being cooked, it had a unique taste that could never be forgotten.


    Unfortunately, it was quite difficult to fish for one ¨C even fishing for an entire day couldn¡¯t guarantee a catch,


    Lu Li continued as if there weren¡¯t group of spectators watching him. He removed the grouper from the hook and attached a second ring, not bothering to check the hook or attach any bait.


    The players now all guessed that this ring was some sophisticated item.


    "Ahem, young man, your fishing skills aren¡¯t low, right?" They had thought that they were the experts, but it turned out this young man before them was a professional.


    "They¡¯re not high. Just basic level¡­" Lu Li said.


    He wasn¡¯t trying to be cold, but fishing required a calm state of mind. It was best not to be chatting while fishing.


    "You¡¯re only basic level? Impossible!" One of the old men was quite irritable and had a bad temper.


    It was also ill-advised to shout while fishing. The grouper was a very careful fish that would escape as soon as there was any disturbance. They would only stop when they ran into the opposite sex.


    "10 gold. Easy transaction. But if you keep yelling, I¡¯ll leave," Lu Li said, as he immediately started dealing the Aquadynamic Fish Attractor.


    The eyes of the old men lit up as they nodded and quickly offered ten gold.


    This item actually added 100 fishing points ¨C it was no wonder this guy was able to do so well. It also increased the chances of catching a rare species of fish.


    This was probably why he had managed to catch a Southern Grouper. These people had been here for a while and quite a few of them were Advanced level, but they hadn¡¯t managed to catch anything good.


    "What is this item? Old Zhao, can you not hide it?" Some of the had dispersed and were paying attention to the Old Zhao. They were talking among themselves again.


    "It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m hungry, but I didn¡¯t bring any bread so I asked this guy for some bread. This young man¡¯s bread is quite good; it¡¯s got a fruity flavor," Old Zhao said as he secretly tied the Aquadynamic Fish Attractor on the hook and started to test its effectiveness.


    There was another fish on Lu Li¡¯s hook. This time, it wasn¡¯t a grouper, but a big, fat fish.


    There was nice sunshine and cooling breeze on the south coast with the Silverpine Forest as a backdrop. The natural scenery was quite beautiful and the Southern grouper didn¡¯t spawn in many other places, so there were many people fishing here.


    Lu Li hooked another grouper, but it was smaller than the first one.


    Even so, catching two groupers within 30 minutes was quite the record. Lu Li caused a shock throughout the fishing groups that was similar to when he had acquired the First Clears.


    "Young man, reveal some of your secrets. We¡¯re so old; we don¡¯t do much else," the old men begged, trying to gain some sympathy.


    These old men were 60-70 years old; it didn¡¯t seem appropriate for them to ask like this.


    "We¡¯re not asking for free ¨C you can set a price. We can¡¯t fight to make money, but you definitely wouldn¡¯t be making a loss."


    These old men must not have known how to do business; they immediately opened by asking him to set a price.


    "Hey, my granddaughter is almost as old as you. She is from Drizzle Court and is quite gorgeous; let me introduce you. I think you¡¯ll pair well with her," another offered.


    These old man were willing to sell their granddaughters for some fish! Wasn¡¯t this too much?


    However, Lu Li couldn¡¯t think of an alternative besides selling the Aquadynamic Fish Attractor. He didn¡¯t have much time and each could last for 2 hours, so he really only needed one.

 475 Lu Li’s Fishing Friend

    Lu Li had only made six Aquadynamic Fish Attractors. Currently, he was using one, and he had also sold one to the old man. Now, he only had four left and had to split them among the rest of the old men.


    "There¡¯s no way you don¡¯t have any left; this is such a good item," said an old man who hadn¡¯t spoken yet as he stared at Lu Li.


    This was a good item for them, but for Lu Li, only gold and equipment could be good items.


    "Based on the way it works, it can probably be created. We will make an order and you can make a batch for us." Another old man had taken out a magnifying glass and seemed to be analyzing it.


    This old man was probably from an engineering background, but everything in the game was just data. How could he tell?


    "These are made with Engineering, but I¡¯ll need materials. I don¡¯t have any at the moment, but when I¡¯m free¡­" Lu Li countered weakly.


    "Materials are easy. I¡¯ll send them immediately."


    At this, their eyes lit up and they immediately started handing out instructions. They were probably accustomed to being in control; these old men were quite overbearing.


    While waiting for their materials to arrive, they continued talking together, mainly about fishing. Lu Li would also occasionally share his experiences, which left them astonished.


    When Lu Li gave his name, an ordinary player would be bursting with excitement as he was Ruling Sword¡¯s leader, the Champion of the Shadow Cup and had acquired countless First Clears¡­


    However when these fishing enthusiasts heard the name ¡®Lu Li¡¯, they were completely indifferent. They obviously had no impression of him.


    "It¡¯s you¡­" Lu Li was surprised to see Old Kidney Pain bringing the old men¡¯s¡¯ materials.


    "Hehe, how else do you think I got the bread to you so quickly? These are my other customers; I see that you know them," he said, looking at them with envy. A lot of money could be earned from these old men.


    Fishing was one of the most ordinary activities and was almost purely recreational.


    In the real world, only those who didn¡¯t have to worry about survival would do it. Otherwise, they would choose to do something that would at least net them at least a little bit of profit.


    "I don¡¯t really want to associate with them," Lu Li said quietly. He was just trying to catch a few fish so that his sister could taste fresh fish.


    "Hey, young man, this is it, right? Use whatever you need," Zhao said as he rubbed his hands together and smiled at Lu Li.


    Well, at least that¡¯s how Lu Li interpreted it.


    "There¡¯s too much material. I still want to fish, and I¡¯m a battle player. My time¡­" Lu Li weakly protested; the amount of material he had been presented with was quite daunting indeed.


    "We will pay for your labor according to the amount that you charged me. It¡¯s not worth the actual material value anyway."


    Old Zhao and the others discussed for a moment before they added, "We also have five groupers; we¡¯ll give them all to you."


    "You want to give me the fish...Have you caught anything else?" Lu Li didn¡¯t understand.


    "Don¡¯t you understand?" the old man asked, expressing his displeasure at this superficial young man. "What we enjoy is the process of catching fish. What is the pursuit of good food compared to that?


    "I still can¡¯t make that many. I can give you half an hour at most; you can pay however much you want." Lu Li took the groupers, but he wasn¡¯t ungrateful.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll take up your offer. What¡¯s your name again? Lu Li, right? How vulgar." Old Zhao sent him a friend request before hearing that the System had stopped him. He sheepishly laughed before saying, "Let¡¯s be friends."


    His name was vulgar?


    The old man¡¯s name wasn¡¯t that much better either; it didn¡¯t suit his elderliness.


    Old Kidney Pain was standing nearby and Lu Li noticed his discomfort. This was the first time he had heard someone say that Lu Li¡¯s name was vulgar as well.


    However, what was even more vulgar was the fact that they hadn¡¯t even heard of Lu Li¡¯s name in Dawn. It was typical of these casual players that didn¡¯t care much about the world around them.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate to confirm the requests of each of their friend requests. Otherwise, they would just keep bothering him.


    "I suppose you¡¯re not an ordinary player." Given Old Kidney Pain¡¯s reactions and the friend request block he had on, the old men had already guessed this. "We can¡¯t help you much in game, but if you have any problems in real life, we can solve them. Just let us know."


    "Definitely," Lu Li said insincerely.


    Lu Li then became an engineering machine. Fortunately, the Aquadynamic Fish Attractor was quite easy to make and could be completed in a few seconds. These old people weren¡¯t too greedy either; they were content after receiving two each.


    Lu Li obtained a total of seven groupers, which satisfied his needs. He hadn¡¯t intended to make any money for this anyway.


    After organizing the next meet-up time with the fishermen, Lu Li left the South Stream Cost and crossed the Burning Village to the destination of his trip ¨C the Instance Dungeon, Shadowfang Keep.


    In fact, there were quests to be accepted in the Burning Village, which was one of the most unique villages of Azeroth. It was located between the Silverpine Forest and the Shadowfang Keep, and its residents turned into fierce Worgens in the evening. Many players knew of this, but few knew why.


    Of course, Lu Li knew the reason.


    The Silverpine Forest¡¯s appearance had changed completely after it was mercilessly corrupted by the Undead Scourge. The trees were rotting, and there were countless ghosts and Worgens wandering around.


    The villagers of the Burning Village lived every day in fear and looked toward the local lord ¨C Baron Silverlaine ¨C to protect them from the wild wolves of the forest.


    However, Baron Silverlaine had not been there for a long time. Instead, they were just given a bracer by a Dalaran Mage that told them it would protect them from the beasts.


    This Mage¡¯s name was Arugal, a former member of the Mage organization Kirin Tor.


    After Arthas led the Undead Scourge and captured the Great Mage Antonidas, the members of the Kirin Tor went in search of greater strength to defend themselves. In their defeat and fear, they supported Arugal in summoning an ancient spirit beast.


    With the book ¨C Ur¡¯s Treatise on Shadow Magic ¨C they summoned an aggressive and fierce spirit Worgen.


    The Spirit Worgen¡¯s immense strength quickly cleared out the nearby Scourge, but it also started attacking the Kirin Tor Mages. Arugal discovered that as long as the Spirit Worgen¡¯s appetite was satiated, it was easy to control. However, he also discovered that it could use magic to convert humans into Worgens.


    Arugal then directed the Spirit Worgen¡¯s magic onto the villagers of the Burning Village, turning them into Worgens!


    The Burning Village¡¯s Worgens ¨C this was a very important quest.


    However, triggering this quest was difficult. Priest players needed to have a certain amount of reputation in the main city of their respective race. Lu Li had already been thinking about how to trigger this quest.


    Once they succeeded with it, March Rain would become much stronger.


    This quest would give a Priest-exclusive skill that Lu Li, a Thief, could only enviously desire.


    For now, he was going to go to the Instance Dungeon where Arugal was. He was going to take advantage of the fact that he was a Thief and dive into the depths of the Instance Dungeon. There was even the possibility of killing the Boss in the process.

 476 The Book of Ur

    Clearing an Instance Dungeon alone in Dawn was an incredible thing.


    The player attempting it would not only be subject to the Boss¡¯ attacks, but also its crowd control, skills, debuffs and other effects. Some Bosses could even transform or one-shot the player.


    The reason why Lu Li dared to solo the Shadowfang Keep was because the Instance Dungeon Scroll that he had on hand was only for Elite Difficulty.


    At his level of 34, he would likely be able to defeat Bosses that were level 30. This was not to mention that he was also quite familiar with this Instance Dungeon.


    In his past life, he had run through this dungeon with a party. The rich party leader used a dozen Instance Dungeon Scrolls, which included not only a large number of Elite Difficulty scrolls, but also two Nightmare Difficulty ones. He had taken part in every strategy that could be used for this Instance Dungeon.


    The Shadowfang Keep¡¯s access level was level 25 and the monsters in it were level 28-30. The final Boss Arugal was level 30 in the Ordinary or Elite Difficulty. In the Heroic Difficulty, its level increased to level 32, and the Nightmare Difficulty Boss was level 35 with some extra skills.


    The Shadowfang Keep absolutely could not be soloed, even if Lu Li had level 35 equipment.


    With regards to Arugal, there was a quest related to him.


    However, Lu Li couldn¡¯t trigger it as he was on the Alliance ¨C this quest was meant for the Horde.


    In retrospect, the Shadowfang Keep was actually a rather strange place. There was a book that said Arugal had led the Worgen Spirit to attack the baron¡¯s castle, which was on the hill outside the Burning Village.


    After he killed Baron Silverlaine, he then occupied the castle for himself.


    The originally magnificent castle was now covered in shadow and the stench of blood. Arugal was hidden away in the castle towers, continually expanding his armies in the hopes of one day ruling the continent.


    His pet Worgen was kept downstairs and ate from the large amount of flesh that Arugal had stockpiled.


    However, the saddest part was that Bardon Silverlaine, whose heroic spirit was still guarding the castle, didn¡¯t know that he had become Arugal¡¯s gatekeeper.


    This meant that there were two types of monsters in the Instance Dungeon. There was the Ghost Corps led by Baron Silverlaine and the Worgen Corps led by Arugal. The former now unconsciously guarded the castle while the latter had taken over the castle.


    As for what the Shadowfang Keep dropped, in addition to the two Rare Materials that Lu Li desperately needed, it also dropped one exquisite item.


    The Book of Ur!


    How had Arugal managed to summon the evil spirit Worgen? He had used ¡®Ur¡¯s Treatise on Shadow Magic¡¯, which was also referred to as the legendary Book of Ur.


    Ur was a Kirin Tor Mage skilled in summoning and shadow spells and had devoted his life to studying Worgens. Arugal was also a member of the Kirin Tor and had acquired the information that Ur left behind. This allowed him to find a way to summon creatures from the Worgen world.


    In fact, Ur himself was very aware of the Worgen¡¯s hostile temperament. The description of Worgen in the Book of Ur was ¡®Cruel and Wicked¡¯. There was a line inside that read, "Some Worgen have quite strong magical capabilities, but the strength of their magic implies their darkness and malice."


    At first, Arugal had studied this magic with reverence and respect, but when faced with the strength that Ur described, he became corrupted by its power.


    This equipment was ¡®upgradeable¡¯ and could be used to summon Worgens. It was one of the best items hidden in Shadowfang Keep.


    Its powers were simply unheard of!


    When he previously completed the Instance Dungeon at Elite Difficulty, the party leader was the one to loot Arugal¡¯s body.


    As per their agreement, all the materials dropped could be taken by the boss and compensated for. The only exception was the Book of Ur.


    This was a special equip which didn¡¯t take up an equipment slot. At first, it would be considered Silver grade, as this was an Elite Instance Dungeon and couldn¡¯t produce anything higher than Silver. However, once the party leader picked it up, he went crazy.


    When the boss came to take the materials, the party leader kicked him out and killed him.


    After the boss died, the other party members were shocked; they didn¡¯t understand what had just happened. The boss was a good player and no one doubted his leadership.


    Then, they saw the Book of Ur for themselves.


    Some say that humans are evil by nature, that they are loyal only while the payoff for betrayal isn¡¯t high enough, and that they are decent only when they haven¡¯t been sufficiently tempted. Lu Li learned a lesson in human nature that day.


    In this life, Lu Li no longer teamed up with others. His teammates had also been with him for a long time. Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering had proved their reliability in his past life, and Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were just silly little girls.


    The standard that he was using to select his teammates was a little strange and quite unpredictable.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t plan on obtaining the Book of Ur from the Shadowfang Keep. The drop rate was just too low and he had only seen it after one year of the game¡¯s opening. He was probably unlikely to change that.


    As he tore open the Instance Dungeon Scroll, the entrance started glowing.


    After Lu Li stepped into the light, he successfully entered Arugal¡¯s domain.


    Upon entering the Instance Dungeon, he clearly saw Worgens and Ghosts across the fence. Smart Hunters would start clearing them from this side of the fence.


    However, Lu Li had no intention of doing so as these monsters provided no EXP for him.


    Thieves were not a shooting profession, so killing the monsters like that was a waste of time and energy. As a Thief, killing these small monsters was completely unnecessary.


    The Thief moved like the wind and struck only in crucial moments.


    Lu Li turned right a saw a small door.


    Behind the small door was a very narrow stairway that led up to the second-floor dungeon. Between each floor was a white-headed Worgen and a grey wolf.


    On Nightmare Difficulty, these Worgen also had a chance of dropping Rare Materials, but this was only Elite Difficulty, so there wasn¡¯t any hope for that.


    Lu Li carefully avoided these level 28 Elite Monsters before going to the dungeon downstairs. Near the entrance was a small Boss ¨C Rethilgore, who was responsible for guarding this crude dungeon.

 477 Shadowfang Keep

    Rethilgore was a fierce looking Worgen. How do you tell? All Worgens look the same; you can feel the chill of death from his giant claws.


    Two grey wolf mounts and another white-headed Worgen stood by him.


    Lu Li was cautious; he brought out his Crystal Protector¡¯s Crossbow, and an arrow landed onto the grass besides Rethilgore.


    Only one of the grey wolf mounts was alarmed.


    It bent its head in confusion and sniffed the arrow, as if it was attracted by the smell of blood, then raced towards the direction of Lu Li.


    As soon as this grey wolf moved, so did the other.


    So long as a player didn¡¯t attack directly, many monsters in Dawn could be attracted this way. Lu Li was successful with his method ¨C the small boss didn¡¯t run towards him.


    The two grey wolves couldn¡¯t do much to Lu Li.


    Using the same tactics, Lu Li quickly cleared out the other monsters and only Rethilgore was left outside the cells.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t go ahead to attack the small boss as there was another hidden monster on the left side of the staircase that most people wouldn¡¯t notice. If you attracted the hidden monster by accident, you would have to deal with two monsters instead of one, which greatly increased the risk of the battle.


    As long as the preparations were done correctly, Rethilgore would be quite easy to deal with.


    Lu Li finished the battle with half of his health remaining. After all, this was a small boss that only had 25,000 HP and was also four levels under him.


    If Lu Li had equipment with Lifesteal, it would make the battle even easier for him.


    Unfortunately, his Supreme Ring had already lost the attribute during the previous upgrade process, and there was no guarantee that he would be able to obtain it again in the future. Perhaps he could ask the Keeper of the Grove if he could add it on with some special materials.


    From what Remulos, the Keeper of the Grove, had told him, the development of the ring wasn¡¯t a set routine.


    Malfurion was on a journey as a Druid. As for Lu Li, he planned to become a king in the shadows.


    Results were always determined by the amount of hard work put in. Lu Li was never a lucky person ¨C Rethilgore only dropped a level 30 Silver equip and two level 25 steel equips.


    The attributes were horrifying and most mainstream players wouldn¡¯t be interested in them.


    The boss dropped one and half gold coins, which was quite a good surprise. Some expert hunters would bring pets with defense attributes and do dungeons on their own for money. The amount of gold coins dropped was enough for them to earn a living.


    Then, Lu Li saw two prison cells in front of him. One of them held an Alliance captive, while the other held a Horde captive...


    The rest of dungeon section was relatively simple. Players who had too much time to kill would release the Horde captive instead of the Alliance one and would be faced with a tough battle.


    Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have any trouble winning against the Horde captive, but there was no point in doing so. A professional player wouldn¡¯t be interested in doing pointless things.


    After he pressed on the button on the wall, the cell door opened and the Alliance captive was released.


    "I didn¡¯t believe that I would be released someday. Thank you, Elf. The future ahead is filled with unknown danger ¨C do you wish to continue?" the Alliance captive asked as he walked out of the cell.


    "Of course. No matter how dangerous the future may be, I¡¯m determined to continue," Lu Li replied.


    This was a standard line. If Lu Li decided to turn back, the dungeon would end here. As long as the answer seemed about right, the captive would help you open the door so that you could continue.


    "May the holy light be with you," the captive said as he took two steps back and disappeared in front of Lu Li.


    On the other side of the door was an open garden, which was enclosed by a fence. The monsters were packed tightly together and five elite monsters patrolled the area.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother clearing out these monsters. Instead, he went into Stealth and snuck to the stable beside the garden.


    There were three elite level horses there.


    These weren¡¯t monsters that attacked on their own ¨C you could kill them slowly, one by one.


    Some say that these horses might drop a mount, but this was a questionable story. Lu Li didn¡¯t believe it and he wasn¡¯t going to bother trying. His target was the treasure box inside the stable.


    Lu Li had previously managed to find a Frost Nova skill book in a treasure box in the starting village.


    After he cleared all the monsters that he might attract, Lu Li opened the treasure box carefully and reached for the two items within.


    Jade Spider Web...


    Even though this was a rare material, it was too already too common.


    The second item was a level 25 steel equip. Lu Li hesitated for a bit, but still placed the item in his bag. No matter how bad it was, it was still worth some money. As long as he had space in his bag, it was important for him as a professional player to put everything he had into use.


    At this stage, Lu Li could choose to move upwards or enter the kitchen on the left. If he moved up, he could fight two fewer monsters.


    Lu Li chose to enter the kitchen.


    All the Worgen monsters in Shadowfang Keep had a chance to drop a White Wolf Fang. Lu Li couldn¡¯t give up on it, no matter how small the chances might be.


    Butcher¡¯s Slicer ¨C this weapon dropped by Razorclaw the Butcher was fairly good, and many players would probably be willing to buy it.


    Rows of maggot infested meat hung on the walls, and rotten grain was scattered in the corners. Together, these aromas combined themselves into a strange, pungent smell.


    Most players didn¡¯t like taking this route because of its environment.


    Lu Li went into Stealth and snuck behind a human spirit. He needed to kill the two Spirit Slaves in the kitchen first. Doing a dungeon alone was no easy task, and it was best to get rid of any threat that he could.


    Spirit monsters were immune to some magic attacks, but this barely made any difference to physical damage classes like Lu Li¡¯s class.


    After he killed the monsters, Lu Li took some time to recover before he fought the boss.


    Razorclaw the Butcher wasn¡¯t a hard boss, but he had a very disgusting spell ¨C Eviscerate. This Eviscerate was different to the Eviscerate that Thieves could learn. It was a skill that applied a bleed effect and the damage was quite high.


    Lu Li went into the fight prepared ¨C he activated his damage reduction whenever a bleed effect was applied onto him.


    The boss barely gave him any experience, or good equipment, and didn¡¯t drop any rare materials either. Lu Li didn¡¯t waste his time being disappointed; he quickly packed up and moved to the next location.


    If Shadowfang Keep had a high chance of dropping rare materials, it would be way more popular.


    There were many bosses in Shadowfang Keep, but most of them weren¡¯t strong.


    Only those players who wanted others to help them level up purchased scrolls for Shadowfang Keep. They would find someone who could repeatedly clear the dungeon for them.


    Behind the kitchen was the food court, which was the restaurant inside the Keep.

 478 Blizzard+1

    The restaurant wasn¡¯t spacious, and the elite monsters inside were split into teams of three or five.


    Lu Li was careful when he pulled these monsters, and tried to gather them from the outer ring without attracting the other monsters. Although these monsters weren¡¯t strong or high-leveled, they were still quite scary.


    If he was Feared, he would run around and if he ran into a pile of monsters...


    That would be an amazing scene to watch.


    Of course, under the usual circumstances, this situation wouldn¡¯t occur. Not only did Lu Li have his Shadow Cloak, but he also had his badge which disabled crowd-control effects.


    Lu Li was only careful because you could never be careful enough when you attempted a dungeon alone.


    Before the arrival of Arugal, these spirits were the original dwellers of the keep.


    It seemed as if they were unaware of their death; they still drank and chattered amongst themselves. Players sometimes even heard their laughter, which combined with the spooky environment, made this a frightful place.


    When Lu Li attacked them, they became angry and viewed him as an intruder.


    Besides the spiral staircase in the food court, Lu Li saw the original owner of this keep, Baron Silverlaine.


    He was a middle-aged man with a bald patch on the top of his head and a brilliantly-shiny forehead. Perhaps he had been handsome when he was young, but now he was just average-looking.


    He was originally an unnoticed lord, but after the arrival of Arugal, he stepped into the history of Dawn as a minor.


    Now, this cursed spirit summoned Worgens to punish the intruders of his home.


    "Why do I not see evil in your eyes, young one? Why do you have to act like an intruder." After those who had served him in his previous life died one by one to Lu Li, he opened his eyes.


    He spoke innocently, as if he was about to give a quest, but Lu Li ignored him.


    While Baron Silverlaine read his lines, the Thief had already snuck up behind him and stabbed him in a frenzy.


    Sometimes, delicate interactions would bring you surprises, but it was a bad idea to interact blindly. If the system left you with a chance to attack, it would be wise to immediately seize it. After all, at the end of the day, problems were always solved with a fist.


    By the time Baron Silverlaine had finished his lines, Lu Li had already dealt a few thousand damage points.


    "Dirty Thief," Baron Silverlaine spat as he spread his hands towards Lu Li.


    "Shroud of Shadow!"


    Black mist shrouded Lu Li and dealt around 150 points of damage to him. It also applied an effect on him which reduced his received healing by 50%.


    This status didn¡¯t bother Lu Li much; he was doing the dungeon alone and had no healer with him anyway.


    Lu Li only needed to focus on dealing damage, and needed to kill this monster as soon as possible before it summoned an Ancient Worgen.


    After his health dropped below half, Baron Silverlaine finally began to summon the Ancient Worgen.


    Summoning was a skill that required a cast time, but it could not be interrupted.


    While the Boss casted the spell, Lu Li took the chance to drink an Advanced Healing Potion, and his health began to slowly rise again.


    After the Worgen appeared, it immediately pounced towards Lu Li.


    The difference between doing the dungeon with a team and doing it alone was that in a team situation, Lu Li could take the time to kill the summoned monsters. There would be someone else to tank the Boss and heal him, and he would also have his team members to help him deal damage. However, in a scenario where he was doing the dungeon by himself, he needed to consider his sustainability.


    Boss damage wasn¡¯t something to be underestimated, and even with Lu Li¡¯s current equipment, he wouldn¡¯t be able to last too long.


    As long as the boss didn¡¯t die, the Ancient Worgen would be summoned endlessly.


    However, if he didn¡¯t kill this Worgen, a new Worgen would be summoned and more monsters would crowd around Lu Li.


    He was now stuck between two choices. He could either kill the Worgen first while he took damage from the boss, or focus on the boss while the Worgen attacked him.


    Since he was doing the dungeon alone, it would be unwise for him to attack the Worgen.


    Baron Silverlaine was the easiest boss in the dungeon, but he was the hardest boss if a player was soloing him.


    Lu Li ignored the Worgen and focused on dealing damage to the boss.


    Energy Shield, Pollution, Arugal¡¯s Gift ¨C he activated all sorts of different special effects. At the end of the fight, he even used the healing skill from his necklace and barely managed to kill Baron Silverlaine.


    Even though this was Elite difficulty, Lu Li silently prayed for a bit and reached out his hands towards the boss.


    Silverlaine Emblem!


    This was a level 30 Silver ring and the attributes were average, but it had a special effect ¨C Blizzard+1.


    This was an exquisite item for sure...


    Blizzard+1 ¨C this was too important to Mages for leveling up. If they already had a level 5 Blizzard, it would become level 6 with this item and the damage would be crazy.


    Lu Li had heard of people purchasing this item at a high price in the past.


    Some even said that Sorrowless had an item like this, or else there was no way he would be able to level up so fast.


    Who said that Shadowfang Keep didn¡¯t drop anything good? It was definitely dependent on luck.


    With this ring, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t even mind if all the other items dropped were terrible.


    The way this ring would be used was simple ¨C it would be rented to trustworthy members of the guild. Lu Li would set the time frame and once the time was up, it would return to the storage.


    This was a tactical equip, so Lu Li didn¡¯t specifically plan to give it to anyone.


    Whether he gave it to Lonesome Flower or Fat Monkey, it wouldn¡¯t be fair regardless. It was easier to just place it in storage and set the usage requirement to be higher. Most likely, only a few of them would be able to use it.


    Mages in the guild would be motivated too once they saw the ring.


    This dungeon was now worthwhile with the dropping of the Silverlaine Emblem.


    This also further confirmed the pattern Lu Li¡¯s looted items followed ¨C he always looted items that benefits others. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t find good items, it was just that his good items were never usable by himself.


    He followed the stairs, which were a part of the tower. There were only a few elite monsters along the way, so Lu Li went into stealth mode and avoided them.


    After he circled around for a while, he arrived at the chapel. This was a small piece of land and the room was filled with Haunted Servitors and Wailing Guardsmen. These monsters all walked around in a small area and were rather troublesome to deal with.


    Lu Li calmed himself down and carefully investigated the walking pattern of these monsters.


    In the end, he decided to directly pass through them.

 479 White Wolf Fang

    It was a risky move to pass through the monsters, but Lu Li didn¡¯t want to waste too much time in this place. Even if he was caught by them, he could still make it out with the number of escape skills that he had.


    After he figured out the moving pattern of the mobs, Lu Li stepped out.


    He was currently level 34 with many items that boosted his Stealth effect. As long as he was careful not to directly bump into a monster, there was barely any chance that he would be discovered.


    Some of the gaps were quite narrow, and Lu Li had to bend to prevent himself from touching them.


    In the future, there would be a quest for all Thieves, regardless of faction. The quest would test their Stealth ability, and if they passed successfully, they would receive a Stealth+1 reward.


    Some players focused on training these skills, especially treasure hunters in high-level maps.


    After a dozen seconds, Lu Li managed to make his way to the other side. There was a boss called Commander Springvale in the room to his left.


    He recalled some details about Springvale and gave up on trying to kill this Boss. Springvale had high attack attributes and even better defense attributes. Most importantly, he was an Undead Paladin and could use an immune shield to protect himself. Although the shield wasn¡¯t too troublesome, he could also heal himself and shamelessly summon other monsters to help him.


    Lu Li was a Thief, so he had limited time compared to other classes. Even if he dealt high damage, he didn¡¯t have the ability to sustain himself in long fights.


    Giving up when he needed to was also a part of being a professional player.


    After he left the chapel and went around the room, he found a door that he could leave from. Outside the door stood an isolated wall.


    This wasn¡¯t the time for him to relax yet; there were many monsters on the wall.


    A lot of people saw these monsters and charged in, but this often didn¡¯t turn out great. If their team wasn¡¯t coordinated enough, there was a chance for them to wipe here.


    Someone like Lu Li, who had reincarnated, wouldn¡¯t make such a mistake. He stood from afar and began pulling monsters with his Crossbow one by one and never got close to the Gargoyles that stood on top of the wall.


    These Gargoyles looked more like statues.


    After countless days of sun and rain, who could imagine that they were still alive?


    Once you got close to these Gargoyles, they would instantly awaken. Lu Li¡¯s Stealth had no use against them, as Bat-type monsters had an edge when it came to detection. They didn¡¯t see things with their eyes.


    If Lu Li didn¡¯t clear the other monsters and pull the Gargoyles at the same time, he would face a tough battle.


    The eight Gargoyles were linked with each other. As soon as one of them was pulled, the others would pounce over too, and all the monsters along the way would also be attracted.


    That would be a total of around 30 monsters. No matter how strong Lu Li was, he would still have to run for his life.


    To prepare himself, he first sat down and ate some bread.


    When the fight began, the eight Gargoyles moved out of their statue form. It was a shocking sight to the eyes and would most likely frighten anyone.


    Lu Li¡¯s daggers pierced into the heads of these Gargoyles, dealing around half of their health bars in damage. The level difference worked wonders for him; it allowed him to maximize his Critical Strike attributes.


    He tried his best to reduce the number of attacks that landed on him.


    The Lifesteal attributes of these bats were too horrifying ¨C as long as their attacks landed, there was a chance for them to recover some health.


    The Lifesteal effect in the virtual game wasn¡¯t too pleasant either; it felt like a cold wind down the spine.


    After he killed the Gargoyles, Lu Li entered another building from the wall. This was the storage room of the Shadowfang Keep, and there were three bosses inside ¨C Blind Guard Odo, Little Evil Bat and Blood Hunter. The two small bosses had less health and less damage, but they helped the big boss and were quite distracting.


    Although the three of them were located in different sections of the room, they would all awaken at the same time, regardless of how you started the fight.


    In a normal situation, an average team would kill the two small Bosses first before they fought the Blind Guard Odo.


    This wasn¡¯t possible for Lu Li since he was doing the dungeon on his own. He would probably die to the big Boss before he killed the small Bosses.


    He didn¡¯t need to kill them at all ¨C if he stayed further away from the Little Evil Bat, he could make it through without being detected.


    However, Lu Li couldn¡¯t give up Odo. Besides the fact that it dropped an excellent weapon ¨C Odo¡¯s Ley Staff ¨C it had also dropped White Wolf Fang twice in his previous life. It had a better drop rate than Fenrus the Devourer.


    Without a bug that worked in his favour, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t even think about attempting the dungeon by himself.


    He quickly wiped out the other monsters, shot an arrow towards the Little Evil Bat and walked the three Bosses around the room.


    The three Bosses didn¡¯t move as fast as Lu Li, but there some distance between themselves. Soon enough, Lu Li had adjusted their positions so that the Evil Bat was in front, with the Blood Hunter behind it and Blind Guard Odo last.


    He carefully pulled these Bosses and had to take a few hits to adjust them to the optimal position.


    This took around three to four minutes. After this, the Evil Bat and Blood Hunter blocked the doorway and Blind Guard Odo was behind them outside the door.


    Evil Bat and Blood Hunter were flying monsters, and hovered about one meter above the ground.


    This height was enough for Lu Li to bend down and attack, while Odo could only stand behind.


    This was the bug in Shadowfang Keep ¨C the two bats blocked the door and because of their body structure, the more they intertwined, the more they blocked the door.


    Blind Guard Odo couldn¡¯t attack Lu Li, but Lu Li could deal constant damage to Odo.


    Eventually Blind Guard Odo couldn¡¯t take it anymore and began releasing a skill called Howling Rage. This was a buff skill that increased its physical damage by 10% for 20 seconds and could be stacked five times.


    Unfortunately, it couldn¡¯t attack Lu Li. Even if it increased its physical damage by 50%, it wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.


    The only trouble that it caused Lu Li was with its spell ¨C Blinding Shadow. This was a skill that dealt true damage, and reduced Lu Li¡¯s health by around 500-600 points each time. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Lu Li was high-leveled, half of his health would begone.


    Lu Li calmly drank a health potion and his health slowly recovered. Due to his positioning, the completion level of his skills were horrible which dragged out the fight.


    After around half an hour, he finally managed to kill the Boss. As for the other two, they weren¡¯t too much trouble for Lu Li.


    Once the battle had ended, it was time for him to loot the corpses. Compared to the previous times, he was much more anxious about looting now.


    After all, only Blind Guard Odo and Fenrus the Devourer had a decent chance of dropping the White Wolf Fang.

 480 Glutton Shackle

    The Supreme Ring needed two White Wolf Fangs, and Lu Li was determined to get them, no matter how difficult it would be.


    With the high expectations he had for the Legendary item in the future, Lu Li bent down and stretched his hands forward to loot to the boss. The first item that he picked up was a stick ¡ª Odo¡¯s Ley Staff.


    This was a very decent staff. Apart from Gold-grade equips, it was very hard to find a level 30 Silver staff that was better than this.


    However, this wasn¡¯t what Lu Li had come for. He unconsciously held his breath in an attempt to loot a White Wolf Fang. The fang was too important to him; it was simply priceless.


    Not all things could be purchased with money.


    The item he picked up didn¡¯t feel like White Wolf Fang. Lu Li¡¯s heart sank and he began to spite himself; he had been too greedy.


    This was only an Elite mode dungeon ¨C what were the chances of him looting the White Wolf Fang in one go?


    Glutton Shackle!


    After the attributes of the item appeared before his eyes, Lu Li was stunned.


    Why was it Glutton Shackle instead of the White Wolf Fang? Did Odo bring the wrong items with him?


    Of course, Lu Li didn¡¯t mind this outcome at all.


    He needed the White Wolf Fang, but he also needed the Glutton Shackle for his Supreme Ring.


    Two White Wolf Fangs and two Glutton Shackles ¨C both were items that could be dropped in the Shadowfang Keep. That was why he had purchased the Shadowfang Keep scrolled, regardless of its price. At the start, he thought the drop rate would be higher if he did the dungeon alone and almost died to Son of Arugal along the way.


    He always thought that the Glutton Shackle would only be dropped by Arugal; he didn¡¯t think that Odo had a chance to drop it too.


    This dungeon didn¡¯t drop many good items, but this was to be expected, as it was only Elite mode. The Bosses usually dropped around two to three items. As such, after Odo¡¯s Ley Staff and the Glutton Shackle, nothing else could be looted from the Boss.


    Just the Glutton Shackle alone was good enough. Lu Li didn¡¯t want to waste his time in this dungeon and besides, he had also looted the Silverlaine Emblem.


    Outside the storage room was another set of walls. The monsters here silenced players, so magic classes wouldn¡¯t be able to use spells here.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t a Mage and there were no bats on the wall. He went straight past the monsters and reached his next location ¡ª the Keep¡¯s Basement.


    He also ran into his old friend along the way ¨C the Son of Arugal.


    There was no need for him to be afraid, as these Sons of Arugal only looked like the Boss, but they were all just monsters. They were completely different to the one that wandered in the Silverpine Forest.


    After the long hallways that led to the Alchemy room, Lu Li finally saw Fenrus the Devourer.


    This Boss was average in terms of strength, but it had the best chance of dropping the White Wolf Fang. In Lu Li¡¯s previous life, he had heard the White Wolf Fang being described as "a tooth dropped by a giant wolf devourer."


    Fenrus the Devourer wasn¡¯t a Worgen; he was just a giant wolf.


    Fenrus, or rather, Fenrir, originated from the fearful giant wolf of the Norse Mythology. It was the child of Loki and Angrboda.


    The Gods feared that the would destroy the Gods, so they decided to imprison him. They requested for the Dwarves to make the "Gleipnir", which was crafted from six non-existing materials ¨C a cat¡¯s footstep, a woman¡¯s moustache, a mountain¡¯s root, a fish¡¯s eyelid, a bear¡¯s tendon and a bird¡¯s saliva.


    After the War God Tyr sacrificed one of his hands, the Gods finally captured it.


    During the Twilight of the Gods [TLN: also called Ragnarok], Fenrir escaped and was able to devour the sky and land. It devoured Odin, Father of the Gods, but was eventually killed by Vidal, the God of Nature.


    Fenrir had two sons ¨C Hatti and Skool. Hatti chased the moon, while Skool chased the sun. They chased the carriage that carried the sun and the moon and finally devoured them during the Twilight of the Gods.


    During the second stage of fighting Fenrus the Devourer, it would split into two giant wolves. A Hunter could capture one of them as a pet and continue on with the battle without affecting the fight.


    Hence, many Hunters were interested in this dungeon for the wolf pet.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t capture any pets, so he killed Fenrus the Devourer. During the fight, he almost died and had to use Gale Steps to leave battle. When he came back, the boss had already returned to full health and he had to restart the fight.


    Fenrus the Devourer didn¡¯t drop the White Wolf Fang, and didn¡¯t drop any good items either.


    If he continued in the dungeon, he would reach the territory of Wolf Master Nandos. It was also a giant wolf, but Lu Li didn¡¯t try to take it down and instead went past it.


    This was a Boss that even an average team wouldn¡¯t be able to take down, not to mention a lone Thief like himself.


    Hachi Chan, Wandering, Remnant Dream and Sesame Rice Ball had already made their way here, so Lu Li didn¡¯t complete the next dungeon scroll by himself as that would be a waste of time.


    At the end of the dungeon was the Nest of Arugal. This was where Arugal stayed after he captured the Shadowfang Keep.


    Lu Li killed the three elite monsters there and prepared to fight Arugal.


    Arugal¡¯s main skill was Shadow Bolt. If he felt like he was taking too much damage, he would turn the player with the highest-level of aggression into a Worgen to attack their teammates.


    Under normal circumstances, this was quite troublesome, however, Lu Li was by himself, so Arugal¡¯s ultimate skill was useless.


    This was why some guides expressed that Arugal was a boss easy to kill by yourself, as long as you could tank its damage.


    The best combination for this Boss was a healer with a strong DPS. Most of the teams that Lu Li encountered chose to fight the boss with less players; they would rather have less players fighting the boss than to have players killing each other.


    When Arugal¡¯s health became very low, it would use Flash to run around.


    There were three platforms in the basement that it could teleport to.


    Fortunately, this Boss had already been affected by the evil spirit Worgen. Besides devouring the corpse of players, it couldn¡¯t regenerate any health on its own.


    In this case, even if Arugal teleported away, Lu Li didn¡¯t need to worry about it healing itself.


    He could even sit down to regenerate his own health faster and continue dealing damage after Arugal teleported back to him.


    After around half an hour, the weak Mage finally ended its sinful life.


    Arugal wasn¡¯t weak; this was only Elite mode. If Lu Li chose a harder mode and did the dungeon by himself, he would¡¯ve already died.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t seen the Arugal in Nightmare mode, but he had heard that even a five-man team of level 35 players had a tough time.


    Ruling Sword couldn¡¯t manage to find a Nightmare mode dungeon scroll, and the big guilds wouldn¡¯t sell it anyway.


    After Lu Li killed Arugal, there was no system announcement. This dungeon had already been cleared by other players. Private dungeons were dependent on scrolls, so there was no guarantee that you could get the First Clear, no matter how skilled you were.


    Arugal dropped a spell book ¨C Counterspell, which was a fairly decent spell for Mages. Unfortunately, the rare material wasn¡¯t a White Wolf Fang or a Glutton Shackle. Instead, it was the Blood of Demonic Wolf.


    This item was a rare material, but even after years into the game, players still hadn¡¯t figured out what it was used for.


    After his team members arrived, the dungeon became quite easy. The three scrolls were used, and in addition to the Glutton Shackle from before, Remnant Dream managed to loot a White Wolf Fang.


    They had been quite fortunate, and Lu Li was now one step closer to his Legendary Supreme Ring.

 481 Legendary Equipmen

    The Top 16 decider match for the Magic Cup Tournament was approaching soon. Lu Li and Square Root Three had to pick up their pace in collecting materials for the tournament.


    Square Root Three did not know why Lu Li wanted these rare materials, however, he knew not to go against him during the period leading up to the tournament. Lu Li was as stubborn as anyone and all Square Root Three could do was to follow his orders, placing countless bounties and rewards for these materials.


    Money could achieve all things; the rewards placed on these materials allowed him to quickly gather up the White Wolf Fang and Glutton Shackle. Both of these were from Shadow Fang Deep, which was a relatively easy dungeon to complete. As such, most casual players could easily defeat it.


    As for materials that were much harder to obtain, Square Root Three had to use his connections to the major guilds to gather them. He was willing to exchange two rare materials for the ones he wanted.


    In all honesty, Square Root Three felt much more tired at Ruling Swords than he ever did at Star Moon Union.


    In his own words, he was as tired as a dog.


    However, he did not complain at all. Instead, he felt like he was full of energy.


    After two days of pleading, begging and hard work, he had finally gathered up all the rare materials requested.


    He used three rare materials to exchange for two Vampire Fangs, then 1.7k gold to buy more than ten rare materials from East Sea Fleet. This selection included Voodoo Blood, which was required to upgrade Lu Li¡¯s ring.


    East Sea Fleet was ranked 18th on the Guild Rankings and had been on a downhill for the past few years. Their guild master was a gambling addict, had lost a large amount of money recently and was looking to sell off the guild.


    The main players in the guild were pissed off and decided to gather up funds to buyout the ownership of the guild for themselves.


    In order to store up funds, they sold some guild property, including several hundred pieces of rare materials. Square Root Three took advantage of this and it turned out to be a win-win situation.


    As for Plagued Spring Water, Lu Li already had one that he had received from Water Fairy in exchange for a Gold Grade Weapon.


    Gold Grade weapons were currently on the market, but the prices weren¡¯t consistent for each piece. Weapons were the most important piece of an equipment set, and a high-quality weapon such as Lu Li¡¯s Abyssal Poison Fang would sell for a crazy amount of money.


    The second Plagued Spring Water was also from Drizzle Court. They must have found a way to farm this rare material and were likely hiding it for their own gains.


    This time, Water Fairy did not charge him for it and simply gave it to him as a favour.


    Lu Li would rather pay her than to owe her a favour because it meant that she could ask him to do anything at any time.


    In his past life, although he had played for more than two years, he had never obtained a Legendary equip. Not only was he not in a strong core group, but he had also been extremely unlucky. The idea of obtaining a Legendary equip would have never crossed his mind.


    And now, he was so close to obtaining one. He could almost taste its glory.


    There were many high-levelled players in Dawn with overpowered equips in the game. Although he wasn¡¯t sure whether this would be the first Legendary equip or not, he was certain that his upgraded ring would be the godliest item in the game.


    Besides all this, he still needed a Dreadtusk and an Ancient Magical Eye.


    As for the Gold Grade item that was needed for upgrading his ring, he already has one in his inventory. The stats on it were terrible, so Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Balls both didn¡¯t want it.


    This was convenient for him because it allowed him to upgrade his ring.


    Now, he had gathered up the majority of the rare materials needed.


    Lu Li had always followed the philosophy of being content with what you have. Rather than wasting time figuring out how to defeat Sargeras and Kil¡¯jaeden, it was better to finish the task at hand first and upgrade his ring.


    Dreadtusks were relatively easy to obtain and Lu Li had already contacted the seller. However, the Ancient Magic Eye would prove to be quite difficult.


    After interviewing some Night Elves and gathering information from Ravenholdt Mansion, Lu Li realised that only Ogre Dungeons would drop this item.


    The lowest level Ogre dungeon was Zul¡¯Farrk


    The good news was that the dungeon was opened to all players, but the bad news was that it required a minimum level of 35.


    He couldn¡¯t solo the dungeon alone because it was supposed to be a ten-man dungeon.


    Public Dungeons in Dawn were catered towards the majority of the player base and therefore could not be too difficult or too easy. Lu Li planned on taking his team to run some dungeons that dropped level 35 gear in order to prepare for Zul¡¯Farrk. However, based on the current progression, he most likely would not be able to upgrade his ring until after the tournament.


    Ruling Sword was the champion of the Shadow Cup and had immediately qualified for a spot in the Top 16. Glory Capital and Drizzle Court were also granted the same privilege.


    In the latest patch, PVP areas were changed drastically.


    Not only could the audience see the players, but the players could now see and interact with the audience as well.


    The arena now housed more than one million people.


    The tickets for the battles that Lu Li and his team were in always sold out, which meant more profit for them.


    There were more than 10,000 players from Ruling Sword alone, all spectating to support their own team.


    They also had to buy tickets, otherwise, other players would be unhappy.


    Spectating tournaments would mean less time for levelling up, however, this built comradery and developed a sense of pride for their own guild.


    The map for the Magic Cup was quite unique. The terrain of the map was a woodland and there were even some monsters in it.


    Killing the monsters in the map was optional. However, most teams would kill them because they granted some special buffs.


    Common buffs included Strength +3, while rare buffs include Movement Speed +2% and the highest-tier buffs could determine the outcome of the game. These included Spell Cast +3%, Attack Speed +5% and even Attack +20%.


    All buffs were temporary and didn¡¯t last very long.


    Lu Li was up against Cherished Wish Guild, a newly formed guild that had recently made it onto the 26th spot on the guild rankings.


    They had always been a very lowkey guild and had managed to qualify for the Top 16 this tournament.


    Unfortunately, their first opponent in the Top 16 were the reigning champions of the Shadow Cup. When their guild leader heard the news, he almost teared up from frustration.


    He couldn¡¯t argue or protest against this because the matchup was randomly assigned.


    The tickets for this match were sold out almost immediately in 37 seconds. Thousands of players sat in the stands waiting for Cherished Wish Guild to be destroyed.


    We can¡¯t go down without putting up a fight!


    This was the mentality of Cherished Wish Guild.

 482 Surprise Attack

    Lu Li¡¯s team was composed of a Warrior, Thief, Mage, Priest and Shaman, as well as Mu Qiu, a healing Paladin, as a substitute. They weren¡¯t exactly sure what they were up against because Lu Li had never seen his opponent¡¯s matches before. However, their team composition couldn¡¯t be determined from past matches.


    Cherished Wish Guild ran a composition of double Warrior, Paladin, Warlock, Druid and a Mage as a substitute.


    Apparently, the guild had been established by a fan base of some celebrity. After years of development, the guild had recently become more solid.


    In the past ten years or so, the gaming community had become much more popular and many guilds began rising to the top.


    However, without a clear purpose and a capable leader, Cherished Wish Guild could not keep up and fell behind.


    They previously had a professional Mage player who left for another guild. Besides a Berserker named Capable General who was their one and only star player, the rest of the team consisted of mechanically-skilled casual players.


    Cherished Wish Guild had made it this far mainly due to luck, but they also had excellent chemistry with one another. However, even players who rarely followed the Magic Cup knew that they wouldn¡¯t last long in the Top 16.


    "Can I volunteer to go ahead? Let¡¯s finish this quickly because I still gotta complete Warsong Dungeon," Fat Monkey said proudly while holding onto his newly-equipped level 30 Gold Grade Staff.


    A couple of weeks ago, he was nothing more than a casual player. His equips and level were above average at best.


    When he heard that Ruling Sword was recruiting players he applied. Even though he did not stand out from the crowd, he was promptly accepted into the guild.


    He then made it into the Elite team and performed well while leading one of the Elite groups. Lu Li saw the potential in Fat Monkey and developed him into a starter for the PVP team. The rest was history.


    "Do not rush. We should clear the monsters and approach them carefully. Sakura Memories, protect March Rain. I¡¯ll lead at the front. Moonlight, you stay at the back of the group," Lu Li stopped him then instructed.


    This was a tournament which involved millions of dollars in profit with more than a million spectators from around the world.


    One careless mistake would cost them everything.


    "Sigh. You¡¯re lamem but I¡¯ll listen to you since you¡¯re the boss." Fat Monkey stopped and waved his staff around, immediately casting a fireball towards the charging Wild Boar.


    Fat Monkey hadn¡¯t experienced much hardship and trauma during his Dawn career. He was no longer the sharp and humble player that Lu Li remembered. Although he was impatient, he also radiated confidence and was full of energy and passion.


    Lu Li remained unstealthed; he had spectated countless matches in his past life including ones that were on the same exact map.


    The forest was divided into two sections. Players had to go to a certain point to attack each other. Therefore, there was no need for them to be cautious before they reached there.


    After searching for a while, he finally found a Treant.


    This type of monster gave a durability buff, which increased movement speed and attack speed.


    The best part about this buff was that it was an aura. Players in a certain radius around the buffed player also received its effects.


    Treants were difficult to deal with because of their high HP and defence.


    However, with Lu Li¡¯s capable team of top players, it would still be a piece of cake.


    Dawn was a multiplayer game and success could not be achieved alone. This was something that Lu Li had learned from the moment he entered the game. As such, he treated his teammates well and was very genuine with them. Even in the toughest times, he put others above himself like a true leader would do.


    Because he had earned their trust, Lu Li¡¯s words had become a powerful weapon.


    The moment Lu Li gave his orders, the three DPS players immediately jumped onto the Treant, dealing massive amounts of damage.


    The spectators had to wait before they got to see the juicy PVP action. For now, they could only watch as the players killed monsters from afar.


    Even though it sounded boring, everyone was still enjoying the tournament and focused on the action.


    Many players bought tickets simply because Ruling Sword was in this match.


    Some were from Ruling Sword or Cherished Wish Guild, some came as fans and others came simply to observe and learn their strategies.


    Some players enjoyed PVP and some enjoyed grinding monsters. This tournament allowed these players to get the best of both worlds. Through the tournament, they were able to observe these top professional players managing their skill cooldowns, positioning and maximizing their DPS.


    A mere 10 silver was extremely worth it for them to absorb and learn things from the best players in the game.


    As such, the spectators were enjoying themselves and many wrote down notes in their notebooks.


    The Treant fell and the buff appeared on Lu Li¡¯s status bar


    From now on, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t attempt to take the final kill on any other monsters because the buff could be overwritten by other buffs.


    However, this did not stop them from attacking other monsters. Lu Li just needed to make sure that he did not deal the final blow.


    "This buff is truly powerful." Fat Monkey could feel his DPS increasing because of the attack speed buff. He admired how ¡®lucky¡¯ Lu Li was because he had chosen to kill a random monster and received such an overpowered buff.


    "I received an attack +12% buff. I think we¡¯ll end it here," Moonlight said, signalling the others.


    This wasn¡¯t their first Magic Cup tournament and everyone on the team had some idea of what to do. Everyone on the team had already done their research in terms of the best buffs that were the most suitable for each individual player.


    "I have yet to find Spell Cast Speed +3%," Fat Monkey reported as he scratched his head, visibly discouraged.


    He looked at Lu Li as he spoke, hinting Lu Li to tell him which monster to kill for the buff.


    "Careful!" Lu Li¡¯ shouted as his expression changed. He had already teleported behind the Paladin that was charging towards them.


    Preparation, Ambush and Backhand Backstab. Not only did he protect March Rain from the surprise attack, but he also took a big chunk out of the attacker¡¯s HP. Every piece of Lu Li¡¯s gear was now Gold grade and above.


    However, Lu Li only managed to stop one player, and the two Warriors that followed closely behind jumped onto March Rain. Cherished Wish Guild had completely given up on killing monsters and decided to surprise attack them before they were ready.


    Fat Monkey and Moonlight were crowd-controlled by the Warlock and ran around like headless flies.


    Even though the spectators knew the ambush was coming, many of them were still surprised when they saw it had worked.


    Many of Lu Li¡¯s fans, who were confident in his skills, were sitting on the edge of their seats.


    Even though Ruling Sword was much more superior both in gear and mechanics, Cherished Wish Guild was still wearing decent gear and had the first strike on their enemy.


    The Warlock¡¯s Fear disorientated its target for a whole 20 seconds, making them one of the best classes in terms of crowd-control. As such, they were considered to be a top-tier class on the PVP tier list.


    If they lost a player in a 20-second time frame, Lu Li¡¯s team would be extremely disadvantaged.

 483 The First Victory

    The Cherished Wish guild didn¡¯t have any other options; they hadn¡¯t managed to get a single kill on the monsters. So As such, they were emboldened to make a desperate play and mount a surprise attack on Ruling Sword.


    Even with Lu Li¡¯s vast experience, he still had to give them some credit.


    They were weak, while Ruling Sword was a guild that had superb star players and had the experience of the Shadow Cup. Even though they added two new, strong players, they still couldn¡¯t stand up to them.


    Hence, they gave up on fighting the monsters and followed through on their only hope which was a surprise attack.


    They just needed to kill March Rain and Lu Li, in that order.


    As Lu Li attacked the Paladin and managed to crowd-control him, the Warlock that Moonlight and Fat Monkey had stunned casted Corruption and Curse of Agony.


    In addition to a Warlock¡¯s strong crowd-control, they also had very potent DOT (damage over time) skills. These were particularly effective against physical professions that had weak magic resistance.


    Lu Li activated his cloak as soon as those skills were cast on him.


    This weakened the damage he was taking and even prevented the curse entirely.


    Lu Li continued to attack the Paladin, but everyone was wondering why a Thief was attacking a Plated Armor target. Didn¡¯t he want to protect his healer?


    With two players attacking the healer, even the strongest player would eventually fall.


    If his healer fell, he wasn¡¯t going to a stand a chance for much longer.


    Everyone felt like the damage output of the two warriors had to be higher than that of one thief. Moreover, the former were attacking a cloth-armored Priest while the latter was attacking a plate armored Paladin.


    In that moment, something happened that subverted everyone¡¯s expectations.


    Suddenly, Fat Monkey and Moonlight¡¯s Fear was lifted. Moonlight casted Intervene on March Rain, helping her tank some damage while Fat Monkey started casting skills at the Paladin Lu Li was attacking.


    No one knew when it started, but Lu Li and the others also now had the Bloodlust status.


    Their Shaman, Sakura Memories, had not just been idly waiting.


    The Paladin was the first to fall. He was facing Lu Li, Fat Monkey and Sakura Memories¡¯ burst damage and their healer was too late to respond.


    Moonlight was standing in front of March Rain, tanking the damage, but he was beginning to fight back.


    In this one-on-two situation, they continued methodically attacking just like they had before.


    There were fearsome attacks, followed by equally fearsome counter attacks. The spectators in the crowd had begun to stand up, their breathing heavy as they watched the battle unfold.


    Those who supported the Cherished Wish Guild didn¡¯t want them to do what they were doing, but they had no other choice. The guild they were facing was just too strong and no amount of scolding could help them.


    The focus of attention was now on Moonlight and Fat Monkey.


    How were they able to instantly remove the crowd-control? This was the key to their reversal ¨C otherwise, Cherished Wish wouldn¡¯t have fallen into this situation.


    At this point, Cherished Wish had lost a Paladin, but they hadn¡¯t given up. The target of their attack was still March Rain.


    This was their last hope ¨C other than March Rain, there was no one else they could kill to come back. They were in a weak position already, even before the Paladin died.


    After Lu Li killed the Paladin, he targeted the Warlock.


    Warlocks were way too overpowered. The Warlock was relentlessly throwing DOT skills at him which dealt insane damage. After his Shadow Cloak effect wore off, Lu Li¡¯s health bar immediately began to plummet. If it weren¡¯t for March Rain¡¯s healing, Lu Li could have been killed by him.


    Even the experts weren¡¯t invincible. If a Thief and a Warlock were standing face to face, it was actually quite disadvantageous for the Thief.


    The Warlock saw Lu Li rushing at him, but he didn¡¯t panic. It appeared that he had expected this ¨C he just waved his hand and threw a Fear right at him.


    Lu Li was hit by the Fear and started to unconsciously run around. After March Rain used her skills to lift it, Lu Li immediately turned around and ran straight into the Warlock.


    Gouge!


    It was only after the Warlock was stunned that he commanded his demon to come save him.


    Unfortunately, the moment he was stunned by Lu Li, he was assaulted by a storm of skills. It was like Lu Li¡¯s stun was a signal for the other players to start attacking.


    To put it in an extreme way, Ruling Sword was playing like a pack of wolves.


    The moment the leader of the pack pounced, the others would quickly switch over and attack the target.


    The method wasn¡¯t particularly technical; it was rather simple and crude, but it was effective for dealing with those who just weren¡¯t as strong as they were. March Rain¡¯s damage reduction skills had until now only been used for her own protection.


    The Warlock had now fallen.


    The Magic Cup was a 5 + 1 event, which meant there were 5 players and one bench player. The players could substitute someone in if a teammate died or if a teammate voluntarily allowed for it.


    The place where the substitute player entered the map was the starting location.


    Cherished Wish¡¯s substitute had entered the moment the Paladin died, but it was impossible for him to run all the way to the battle in time.


    Ruling Sword had a triumphant first battle and gained a point. Their next match wouldn¡¯t start until tomorrow.


    Although they had defeated a guild that was a lower rank, Ruling Sword¡¯s performance was still impressive and clean. They weren¡¯t going to be a championship team that was short lived.


    After the game, Lu Li discussed the successes and failures of the match with his team.


    This was the first match for quite a few players, so Fat Monkey and Sakura Memories received some criticism.


    Fat Monkey was too aggressive and was out of line with the team. When the Warlock Cheap Shot came, he was standing too close to the Warrior and caused both of them to be crowd-controlled. This was an elementary mistake.


    "Reflect on that well. If we had faced someone like Peerless City, we might have lost."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say much after that ¨C they were all adults, and they all understood his points. He didn¡¯t need to keep repeating himself.


    There was still something else for Lu Li to do. He now needed to help Hachi Chan on her quest to get a baby dragon.


    This girl had been running around all over the Azeroth and had almost been killed by an ogre. She had finally received some clues for her quest, but she needed someone to protect her.


    After the match, Lu Li was free for the rest of the day and went to the agreed location.


    "Why did you take so long? I¡¯ve been waiting," Hachi Chan was in her recently acquired Quail Form. She ran a few circles around Lu Li which turned some heads.


    "For the sake of an elven dragon, you didn¡¯t even attend your own guild¡¯s match," Lu Li scolded as he knocked her forehead.


    "You guys will win anyway; it doesn¡¯t matter if I watch." She wasn¡¯t really interested in PVP; both her and Remnant Dream were both masters of falling asleep. They preferred to go shopping rather than staying in the audience.

 484 Grimtotem

    "Are you sure you need to deliver it here?" Lu Li¡¯s expression was unconvinced.


    "Grimtotem Camp ¨C should be right," Hachi Chan confirmed as she nodded earnestly. She didn¡¯t notice Lu Li¡¯s irritated tone.


    "Are you sure you need me to protect you, and that I¡¯m not just here as cannon fodder?" Lu Li wanted to leave.


    Hachi Chan suddenly realized what he meant and noticed Lu Li retreating. She stood in front of Lu Li and said, "You can¡¯t leave! If you leave what will I do with the baby dragon?"


    "This is the Grimtotem Camp; we¡¯re both going to die." Lu Li was speechless.


    Grimtotem was mainly active in the Stonetalon Mountains, Thousand Needles, Feralas and other places. Most of their members were Tauren Warriors, Shaman and Druids. Their goal was to destroy all of the Tauren¡¯s enemies.


    However, according to their criteria, the whole world fell into that category, so they had basically declared war on the world.


    In his past life, Lu Li had a quest that taught him about the origins of this race.


    The members of Grimtotem were Taurens from Thunder Bluff. Originally, they were just considered a radical group by the Taurens, but they were still accepted. However, news began to surface that they were killing innocent people.


    Lu Li¡¯s Tauren Druid colleague told him that although Grimtotem had a long history, its history as an organisation wasn¡¯t long.


    Magatha Grimtotem and her followers thought that Cairn Bloodhoof¡¯s friendship with the Orcs was a huge mistake. In their mind, Kalimdor was Tauren territory and no other race had the right to meddle with it.


    According to Dawn¡¯s history, Grimtotem was attacking goblins, centaurs and Orc settlements. They even killed Tauren that lived in settlements of other races, considering them as traitors.


    These activists were at least level 35 and were on average level 50. It wouldn¡¯t be a surprise to see a big Boss of level 60 or higher in their large settlements.


    It wouldn¡¯t be hard to understand if the Elf Dragon that Hachi was looking for had fallen into the Grimtotem Organisation¡¯s hands.


    It was said that Magatha¡¯s father, an Elder Spiritwalker, had been listening to the angry cry of his ancestors for many years and finally fell into insanity.


    According to some speculation, his father believed that their race had been killed by too many outsiders and decided that the other races needed to be exterminated. He passed on his madness and vision to his daughter, who took him as an example.


    Magatha¡¯s father stubbornly believed that a real Tauren Warrior should be able to ride a dragon and look over the earth¡­


    Grimtotem¡¯s leader ¨C Elder Magatha Grimtotem ¨C sat on the heights of the Thunder Bluff. In fact, even Tauren Chief Cairn Bloodhoof had doubts about her actions.


    She didn¡¯t dare to do too much, but she did order her disciples on the outside to catch any kind of dragon they could.


    "I¡¯m sure my dragon egg is in this camp. Big bro Lu Li, I beg you to help me get it back." Before she even got the egg, Hachi Chan had already decided it was hers.


    Her anger was so real that Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but have some sympathy for the Tauren at Grimtotem.


    For the sake of her baby dragon, Lu Li¡¯s brotherly responsibility had once again been summoned.


    He just couldn¡¯t help but provide support for those who depended on him.


    "Let me think of a way."


    Lu Li comforted himself that it was just Grimtotem village and not Thunder Bluff.


    Although they didn¡¯t have the strength to kill their way through the camp, coming up with a Stealth plan wasn¡¯t too difficult.


    "Otherwise, we could get the whole guild to come and flatten the camp," the little girl exclaimed as she jumped about, acting as if she could make such a decision.


    Pa!


    Lu Li slapped the top of her fat quail head and scolded, "Don¡¯t be so troublesome!"


    Magatha Grimtotem couldn¡¯t leave Thunder Bluff because she didn¡¯t have a reason to do so, but surely an attack on her home was a reason? If she didn¡¯t come herself, she would likely send a few hundred level 50 to 60 Grimtotem NPCs to the camp. Even the whole of Ruling Sword couldn¡¯t stand up to that.


    "If I can¡¯t get my baby dragon, then I won¡¯t leave," Hachi Chan mumbled and rolled up into a ball.


    This girl was a senior high school student and was normally quite intelligent. As such, it was hard to get mad at her in a situation like this.


    Lu Li could understand the depth of Hachi Chan¡¯s obsession with the baby Elf Dragon as his Supreme Ring gave him a similar feeling.


    He sighed internally as he really began to think of a way to do it.


    They couldn¡¯t just rush in as they had no idea where the baby dragon was hidden. If they were careless and aroused some suspicion, then they wouldn¡¯t get a second chance.


    If they used some strategy¡­


    If Lu Li or Hachi Chan was a Tauren, that could be helpful, even if Grimtotem¡¯s reputation wasn¡¯t good amongst her fellow race.


    A Tauren?


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes lit up. How could he not have thought of this before?


    The Deception Orb that was sitting in his backpack was perfect for this.


    This orb wasn¡¯t limited to changing into the Undead as the description clearly said that it could make the caster a member of a hostile camp.


    Because of Cairn¡¯s friendship with Saar, this camp was part of the Horde.


    "Stay here and don¡¯t run around," Lu Li said as he gently kicked the girl, knocking her off her feet. "I¡¯ll go get the dragon egg for you,"


    "You¡¯re a great person, Lu Li," Hachi Chan grunted.


    "Ahem, you called me big bro before and I haven¡¯t even gotten it yet," Lu Li laughed coldly as he shook his head. This strange little girl really was something else.


    "Hehe, my mouth slipped. I want to go too."


    Lu Li pulled her aside, and shook his head seriously.


    "Don¡¯t argue with me. If you want the baby dragon, you need to listen to me."


    "I¡¯m not arguing. Without this Dragon Detector, you won¡¯t be able to find the baby dragon egg. What if they just give you a chicken egg? I don¡¯t want a chicken to hatch from the egg," Hachi Chan insisted.


    "What detector? Just give it to me," Lu Li said as he stretched out his hand.


    The system prompted him that quest items couldn¡¯t be traded.


    It really was a Dragon Detector.


    Hachi Chan truly was worthy of the title of ¡®quest expert¡¯ ¨C she had come prepared.


    Lu Li thought for a moment before coming up a strategy they could try.


    "That¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll take you, but I¡¯ll need to tie you up."

 485 The Tauren

    "Tied¡­ tied up?" Hachi Chan was shocked.


    A few minutes later, a tall, dark-headed Tauren approached Grimtotem. It was wearing Goatskin armor and was carrying a purple halberd and its prey over its shoulder.


    "Halt!" The two sentries at the entrance of the camp raised the weapons they had in hand.


    "The Earth Mother greets you," said the Tauren in a muffled voice. "I am a Tege of the Stonehorn Clan and I have suffered some injuries hunting a Centaur. I would like to enter to buy some food."


    "Tege? Are you still young?" The sentry was also a Tauren and was glaring at this uninvited guest.


    "I still have three months. After three months I will be Tege Stonehorn. I will become a strong warrior like Waga Stonehorn," the dark-horned Tauren declared as it puffed its chest with a sense of pride.


    Waga Stonehorn was the Tauren¡¯s strongest warrior in their history and was said to have 87 long braids.


    This heroic figure existed a thousand years ago but his clan had been lost in time. Other than the fact that he was a Tauren, not much else was known about him.


    A Tauren matured at 15 years old, and had approximately the same lifespan as humans. They would also have many different names throughout their lifetime. Firstly, they would have a childhood name, which was something very simple, like what you would call a dog. In their youth, they would have a more formal name, but they couldn¡¯t have a last name as they would shame their ancestors in battle. When they were fully grown, a last name could be added and they had to fight for their clan.


    The two sentries continued staring at him, but the doubt in their eyes gradually faded. He was just some underage calf to them.


    "If you¡¯re hurt, I can take you to the Shaman."


    The sentry turned into the camp and signaled Lu Li to follow.


    "Wait a minute. Why does the prey on your shoulder look like an Elf that¡¯s a Druid?"


    The sentry was quite knowledgeable as it was able to see that the leopard was actually a transformed body.


    Lu Li was the Tauren while Hachi Chan was being carried back from his hunt.


    "Ahem, let¡¯s not talk about it. I nearly killed the Centaur today," Lu Li said angrily. "If it weren¡¯t for this Druid, who actually stopped me¡­"


    "You should kill her." Sentry B shared a common hatred with the outside, but he also seemed like he would do it if Lu Li didn¡¯t.


    Lu Li was a little nervous. He wasn¡¯t afraid of this Tauren killing Hachi Chan ¨C that was just a 10% EXP loss ¨C but he was afraid that he couldn¡¯t use the Dragon Detector.


    "That¡¯s enough Carthew. We don¡¯t have the authority on what to do with someone else¡¯s prey. You shouldn¡¯t stick your nose into someone else¡¯s hunt; those Taurens are the worst," sentry A said, stopping sentry B.


    Lu Li knew that he was right.


    In general, Tauren Generals were quite different from the Elf Generals, but they didn¡¯t treat each other badly. After all, Tauren Druids and Elf Druids interacted quite harmoniously at the Moonlight Forest.


    However, Grimtotem was an exception to this Tauren custom.


    They were convinced that this land had become ill and required a thorough cleansing.


    "When you meet the Shaman, you gotta get better," Lu Li whispered to the little leopard who was lying on his shoulder.


    "Eeek¡­ this is so scary! Will they kill me." Hachi Chan¡¯s paws were tied, otherwise, she would be covering her eyes.


    The camp was quite scary. Other than the tents and some shabby housing, there were more pillars than usual. These pillars were similar to those of other Tauren camps, but these were totems that could be pulled up by Tauren Warriors and used as weapons.


    The pillars in Grimtotem camp were used for punishments.


    Many of the pillars had a body hanging on them which had been completely dried out. Their race could barely be made out ¨C there were Goblins, Centaurs, Orcs¡­


    There was one little Goblin on a pillar with bits of its stomach dripping down and staining the wood a dark red.


    The most disgusting pillar held a Centaur which had been partially impaled. It hadn¡¯t died yet as it was still moving, but its skin had been removed.


    It was no wonder why the camp had become such an important quest location in the future. The Horde and Alliance would work together with Night Elves and Thunder Bluff Tauren NPCs to not only encircle the camp, but also execute all the Grimtotem Taurens that didn¡¯t have time to flee.


    "Close your eyes. We are players," Lu Li whispered, trying to comfort Hachi Chan. In that moment, he was focused on stealing the dragon egg.


    He had cursed the game designer in his heart a thousand times. There should have been a sign at the camp entrance saying that children below 18 and those who had heart disease shouldn¡¯t be allowed to enter.


    Lu Li¡¯s outward calmness made the sentries trust him a little more.


    They thought that this calf¡¯s race was still fluid, and that he could perhaps one day become a Grimtotem.


    Among this community, there were few Druids, but most of them were weak. This was because of their religious beliefs. However, Shamans played an important role and the general was a Shaman.


    Grimtotem¡¯s leader, Magatha Grimtotem, was a mighty Shaman who was said to have heard ¡®the cry of Earth Mother in her dreams¡¯. The ancestral souls told her about the catastrophe that outsiders would bring. This news greatly overwhelmed her.


    The Shaman in Grimtotem village was an elderly female Tauren.


    Many female Tauren chose to become Shamans as they would feel a stronger connection to the Earth Mother.


    Lu Li threw Hachi Chan at his feet and bowed to the elderly female Tauren in front of him. No matter what the position, the Tauren tribe¡¯s esteem for Shamans wouldn¡¯t change.


    "Little one, I hear you are Waga¡¯s descendent. I thought that the Stonehorn tribe was extinct," the Shaman said as she raised her head.


    She wasn¡¯t as fierce or crazy as Lu Li had imagined, but was rather gentle because of how close she was to nature. She was simply a benevolent grandmother; it was quite a sharp contrast to the torture that was occurring outside.

 486 Sneaking In

    "We have travelled a long way under the protection of the totems. There were only few of us left." Lu Li¡¯s grim face and his dark horns won the Shaman¡¯s trust.


    In his last life, he had seen members of the Stonehorn tribe. They had dark horns and countless messy braids.


    These travelers were one of the most complex Tauren tribes. They didn¡¯t settle on Thunder Bluff and could be found in any corner of Kalimdor. The tribe¡¯s flexibility made Lu Li¡¯s lie even more convincing. The Deception Orb alone wasn¡¯t enough to conjure up a convincing lie.


    Dawn¡¯s history contained a deep amount of information for every race ¨C there was information even for the most trivial clans. This was the reason Lu Li could take so much advantage from rebirth.


    "You can enjoy our food," the Shaman said as she nodded and gestured at the food by her side.


    There was Mulgore Spiced bread, a honey drink and board ham.


    Fortunately, Lu Li was a player and the amount that he needed to eat could easily be calculated in numbers. The food had a very rough texture in his mouth, but he still finished all of it.


    After eating the food, he unexpectedly received +10 Strength.


    Of course, this wasn¡¯t a permanent addition ¨C it only lasted an hour.


    "I would like to rest here and repair my leather armor," Lu Li said as he wiped his oily mouth and rudely rubbed his mane. "If you have good centaur skin, I would like to buy it. Mountain goatskin is just too hot."


    Leather that was skinned from centaurs, which was Grimtotem¡¯s specialty, was thin, cool, could keep the user warm and was quite strong.


    "Please, feel free." The Shaman was pleased that Lu Li liked their leather armor and opened the door for him.


    Lu Li left the Shaman¡¯s tent, which was being guarded by sentry A. He had gained the trust of these Grimtotem Tauren at least for now.


    "Have you detected a dragon egg yet? I hope it¡¯s not in that tent," Lu Li messaged Hachi Chan.


    That Shaman was definitely a kind of Boss; it was at least level 50 and was probably the strongest being in this camp. If she had hidden the dragon egg in her quarters, then Hachi Chan would have to give up on the baby dragon.


    "Not yet. There isn¡¯t a reaction at all." Hachi Chan was puzzled.


    "There should be a place that they are using to hatch the eggs." These kinds of eggs were more troublesome than normal and had more demanding conditions.


    Following this line of thinking, Lu Li began to look through the stables.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to leave Hachi Chan anywhere. Although he needed her detector, there was also the possibility of her being eaten by a Tauren. As such, he had to carry her around everywhere.


    "Is it here?" Lu Li asked again.


    "You¡¯re so annoying; you¡¯ve already asked me eight time. Let¡¯s just go to the barracks." Hachi Chan was being uncontrollably flung around on Lu Li¡¯s shoulders which was probably very uncomfortable.


    "We only have 1 hour. If we¡¯re discovered, then being flayed will be the least of our concerns," Lu Li threatened as he walked into the Tauren barracks. There were many young Tauren here being trained by professional instructors.


    Although the entire race was basically made up of warriors, this was where most of the Warriors were found.


    When Lu Li walked into the barracks, he felt weak.


    However, he still seemed to have the trust of the Grimtotem, so the Tauren recruits didn¡¯t pay much attention to his arrival.


    "Wow, that young calf is so cute."


    After seeing that they were being ignored, Hachi Chan started to become active again. She seemed to have no resistance against cute creatures.


    No matter how ferocious a monster was, they were always cute when they were young.


    "Shut up. They could bite off your head in one mouthful if they wanted," Lu Li tried to scare her as he looked around for the pound.


    The pound was essential for any tribe.


    If they had excess prey, they would be stored in the pound. Their domesticated animals, such as mountain sheep, were also stored there.


    If the dragon eggs hadn¡¯t hatched, there would at least be some space there saved for it. It would most likely be a small space with a nutrient tank, a hatchery, some food¡­


    They finally discovered what they were looking for; it was just next to the blacksmith.


    "Ha, young one, you have a nice Halberd," the blacksmith Tauren, who was carrying a hammer in one hand a big iron lump in the other, shouted at Lu Li.


    Lu Li had to stop to talk.


    "It was given to me by my father. Amethyst was added when it was being forged and its steel was crafted by a Dwarf."


    Hachi Chan smiled to herself. She was slowly discovering how deceptive her leader could be. The lies were coming so naturally and he showed no signs of blushing.


    It was clearly just a Silver Item that had dropped from the Scarlet Monastery, but he had to claim that it had a long history.


    "Let me have a look, young one." The blacksmith dropped the iron lump in his hand and stretched his palm towards Lu Li.


    "No, unless you can defeat me. The Stonehorn clan does not given away its weapons, and although I am young, it is the same with me." When he heard the little calf say this, the blacksmith was furious, but when he heard the second sentence, he could only hold back his anger.


    The little Tauren forging a weapon next to him laughed.


    "Go home and drink some milk, you damned calf." A blacksmith certainly couldn¡¯t duel a minor Tauren.


    Lu Li provoked him a little and even lifted his hoof but eventually left the blacksmith alone.


    The pound¡¯s NPC was an old Tauren male. This was quite common as the older members were more familiar with reproduction and thoroughly understood life. They had often also lost their strength and enthusiasm for combat, but that wasn¡¯t a reason for them to be left behind by the tribe.


    "How can I help you, young one?" the old Tauren asked impatiently.


    "I¡¯ve come to learn how to turn a Druid into a pet. As you can see, I caught a little Druid while hunting a Centaur in the woods," Lu Li said as he pointed at Hachi Chan who was still draped over his shoulders.


    The girl¡¯s hands and feet were tied, but there was a bit of the rope that could be pulled to free her. When she heard something about being made pet, she stamped her feet onto the rough skin on Lu Li¡¯s back.


    "I thought only a hunter would be interested in a subject like this," the old Tauren said as he smiled indifferently. "Cenarius is watching; please let the Druid go."


    "But I always wanted a pet," Lu Li muttered with dissatisfaction. "Are there any pets here for me to see?"


    "Maybe you can pick a Kodo for yourself. When it gets older, you can ride it and follow your tribe into battle." The old Tauren saw that Lu Li was just a young, ignorant calf and wasn¡¯t that interested in him.


    He then went back to napping.

 487 Buying a Kodo

    "A Kodo seems good; I want a black one. The Stonehorn tribe likes black," Lu Li muttered loudly enough for the old man to hear before entering the pound.


    There were several adult beasts in the pound. There were a dozen mountain goats, more than two dozen Kodos and some other creatures as well.


    "Here it is! Keep moving forward!" Hachi Chan was trembling with excitement. Fortunately, she wasn¡¯t a


    complete idiot and kept her voice to a whisper, just in case she disturbed the old Tauren. If she shouted, both of them would be turned into jerky in a heartbeat.


    "Calm down. Give me an approximate location," Lu Li said as he obediently moved forwards.


    He didn¡¯t dare to make his purpose too obvious. The old Tauren seemed to be quite knowledgeable, so he might find a reason to distrust Lu Li.


    Deeper into the pound, there were female beasts that were responsible for nursing the young. They watched Lu Li vigilantly as they made menacing sounds with their mouths.


    "In the cabinet on the left," Hachi Chan decided, based on the information given by the detector.


    On the right was an enclosure where some livestock was being kept, and on the left were some cabinets that looked like a warehouse. They were all locked up.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t immediately turn left, and instead acted like he didn¡¯t care where he was going. He caught a glance at a half-grown Kodo poking through the cage fence and loudly said, "How many gold coins for the black Kodo in row 18?"


    He didn¡¯t say this just for the act. If he could actually buy it, he wouldn¡¯t want to pass up an opportunity for a mount.


    Kodos were mounts that were exclusive to the Tauren, but that did not mean that other races couldn¡¯t ride them. If your reputation with them wasn¡¯t high enough, they wouldn¡¯t sell one to you. Other races were also unable to enter transactions to sell race-exclusive mounts.


    Regardless, there were still a few ways to get a race-exclusive mount.


    The first was from festive activities. In the Brewfest for example, a player could acquire two exquisite mounts ¨C the Swift Brewfest Ram or the Swift Brewfest Kodo. The second way was from a Boss drop and the third was a special circumstance like this one.


    "One hundred and fifty gold. If you want, I¡¯ll even give you 10 Kodo feed. You only need to take care of it for a little longer before you can ride it," the Old Tauren offered as he slowly walked over.


    Lu Li quickly added up the cost in his mind. It probably costed 30 gold for the warriors to catch the Kodo. They would have taken care of it for probably two months which was unlikely to cost more than 2 to 3 gold. Even if the cost of the workers was included, it wouldn¡¯t be more than 50 gold. If he was selling it for 150 gold, that was a 200% profit.


    Tauren didn¡¯t do business like the Goblins, but that didn¡¯t mean they were stupid.


    "Fortunately, I caught a small Druid so I can sell it for some money. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to bring myself to buy it." Lu Li appeared to speak carelessly, as if he understood business very well. "But do not expect to fool the greatest future warrior of the Stonehorn tribe."


    The Old Tauren¡¯s heart sank; this reckless calf was going to bargain.


    "You must give me a saddle, and it must be your newest one," Lu Li said as he stared at the Tauren¡¯s round dark eyes and puffed his nose.


    Sure enough, this was just an inexperienced calf. The old Tauren sneered and calmly said, "Alright, there¡¯s a saddle next to the blacksmith. I¡¯ll go get it for you. You wait. I¡¯ll be right back."


    Although he was a little agitated, he glanced at the cabinets to the left to make sure they were locked before leaving.


    Lu Li waited for him to leave before asking Hachi Chan which cabinet to unlock.


    Lu Li appeared to be a Tauren Warrior, so it seemed like there was no way for him to get into the cabinets without breaking them. This caused the old Tauren to let down his guard a little. However, in reality, Lu Li was Thief and Unlock was one of his special skills.


    As long as it was of a high enough level, any lock could theoretically be opened.


    Lu Li anxiously watched the countdown end and the locked cabinet open. There was a clear container inside with a glowing dragon egg that had a colorful luster. This was what they had come for.


    Lu Li was afraid to take out the dragon egg, fearing that he would harm this fragile life. He held the container and put it directly into his backpack.


    Fortunately, he was allowed to put it in his backpack, although it required four spaces.


    "It¡¯s mine! Its mine!" Hachi Chan was a little anxious when Lu Li put it into his own backpack. She hated that her hands and feet were tied and was prepared to bite him.


    "If you don¡¯t shut your mouth, I¡¯ll do it for you," Lu Li threatened as he closed the cabinet and replaced the lock that was on it.


    He then returned to the enclosure and pretended to tease the Kodo.


    "This is the best saddle I have. It¡¯ll cost me a dozen gold coins but you¡¯ll be able to sit tight on it." Before long, the old Tauren had returned and showed the saddle he had brought.


    Lu Li almost cursed at him ¨C this was clearly the most low-end saddle. This seemed like the workmanship of a craftsman from Stormwind City.


    The Old Tauren wasn¡¯t worried at all that Lu Li could tell the difference.


    Lu Li looked like he had quite a bit of money but was insisting that he knew it all despite his young age.


    In fact, most Tauren who just left the tribe were like him. The exception were those simple and honest fools who were even easier to cheat.


    "How do I take it? Will taking this pet affect my fighting? Members of the Stonehorn tribe who don¡¯t fight will feel very uncomfortable," Lu Li kept on spouting nonsense in fear that the old Tauren would check the cabinets.


    The lock that had been unlocked by the Unlock skill had been internally destroyed. It was incapable of being closed again and this could be noticed if the old Tauren looked carefully. One gentle pull, and the door would be destroyed.


    Once discovered, the consequences would be disastrous. If that happened, Lu Li could only pray and accept his fate.


    The old Tauren smiled contemptuously, apparently bemused at Lu Li¡¯s ignorance.


    He slowly walked towards the cabinets and Lu Li¡¯s hard skipped a beat. He tried to weigh up the strength of the Tauren, but there was no way to determine who would win in a fight.


    Fortunately, the old Tauren didn¡¯t stop at the cabinet with the destroyed locks.


    He went to the innermost cabinet and took out a bunch of keys from his belt to open the cabinet.


    Of course, Lu Li already knew that the mount that he bought would just be summoned, but his fuss appeared to satisfy the old Tauren¡¯s vanity.


    The Old Tauren took out a poker and prepared to brand the Kodo that Lu Li wanted, but first, he indicated that Lu Li should pay.


    Lu Li took out a leather bag and poured its contents onto the table. He halved what was there, which came to exactly 150 pieces of gold. Lu Li had prepared this beforehand.

 488 Exposed

    "Do you want anything else? You¡­ you will need to feed this Kodo. I have a dozen exquisite types of fodder. I¡¯ll sell them to you for 1 gold per bundle. How about 100 bundles?" the old Tauren asked as he stared greedily at the remaining 150 pieces of gold.


    This damned calf was rich.


    It would be better for the old Tauren to keep the gold, just in case the calf lost it to some foreigners and made them richer.


    "How about you sell another Kodo to me?" Lu Li had taken out 300 gold with this intention.


    There was a kind of player in Dawn called a Mount Manic. They occurred in varying degrees, and they wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with a single mode of transport. They would collect a variety of mounts, even those that were only slightly different in color.


    In fact, most players had such a tendency, but then again, most players also had the mental control to ignore it.


    Water Fairy was one of Dawn¡¯s most infamous Mount Maniacs. In his previous life, Lu Li remembered that the woman had collected more than 200 various types of mounts. Some of those mounts were individually worth thousands of gold.


    If Lu Li sent her a Kodo¡­


    Then perhaps, they could come together passionately¡­


    Just kidding ¨C Lu Li never thought about stuff like that. His brain was thinking about all the gold he could earn. Selling the 150 gold Kodo to her for 1500 gold wasn¡¯t impossible.


    "No. That is uncustomary."


    The Old Tauren was confused; even he didn¡¯t know why it was uncustomary.


    "How about this: we¡¯ll pretend you sold it to my Druid pet. That should be fine, right? No one will know anyway. You can just say one of them died." Hachi Chan shook her head as Lu Li said this.


    "I want to die¡­" Hachi Chan was so ashamed that she just wanted it to be over.


    Damned Lu Li. We¡¯ll settle this when we get back. If you don¡¯t pay me back for this, I¡¯ll tell Remnant Dream.


    The Old Tauren thought for a moment before getting out another poker. Lu Li had deliberately selected a pure white Kodo; it didn¡¯t have any colour on its body at all.


    The Old Tauren chuckled to himself as he thought about how the fool was buying a sick Kodo. He could already imagine Lu Li riding this white Kodo through the woods, and how striking he would be. He would then get shot down by a Centaur. It was just unfortunate that few creatures could eat these Kodos, even if they were killed.


    Lu Li paid for the beasts with one hand and took the saddles with the other.


    He suppressed the temptation to run away and slowly left the area. He didn¡¯t know why, but he felt the surrounding Tauren eyes watching him, which made him feel guilty.


    He knew that he didn¡¯t have much time left. The moment the Old Tauren checked the dragon egg cabinet, he would find that the dragon egg had disappeared.


    Perhaps the Old Tauren would have already discovered this, if he deposited his gold coins in that cabinet.


    "Hey, kid, come here." They were almost out of the compound when they ran into Sentry B again. Lu Li didn¡¯t know if he should laugh or cry as he turned around to see the sentry smiling arrogantly at him.


    "What happened?"


    "Why haven¡¯t you changed your coat yet?" the Sentry asked with some contempt.


    "I¡­ I don¡¯t have any money." The little Tauren looked a little distressed.


    He let out a sigh of relief; they still hadn¡¯t realised. These two sentries were Elites that were at least level 40, so it would be disastrous to fight them.


    Hachi Chan spat onto Lu Li¡¯s back. She never knew that her leader was actually an actor and had been deceived by his usual serious nature.


    "Haha, sell your pet to us and we¡¯ll give you a lionskin breastplate," one of the sentries tempted Lu Li.


    "It won¡¯t be easy for you to fight with her on your back. How about we give you a little bit of gold and you can go buy yourself something nice to eat to make yourself stronger," sentry B said affectionately.


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li didn¡¯t anticipate for them to take an interest in the Druid that he was carrying.


    How could he give up Hachi Chan? She was one of his team members and was basically a little sister to him. He normally didn¡¯t mind bullying her, but it was unacceptable to just leave her with a stranger.


    "You don¡¯t want to? It¡¯s a dangerous world out there; are you sure you can protect yourself?" one of the sentries threatened.


    "She is a Night Elf. If her tribe knows that she has been taken prisoner, the Sentinels will definitely make a move. The arrogant Elves will not care that you are a Warrior of the Stonehorn clan."


    "I have never heard of anyone who could use Tame Beast on a Druid. Just give her to us."


    These two sentries likely saw through Lu Li¡¯s lies and wanted Hachi Chan to themselves. They could secretly sell her to some Goblins. They were not only interested in gold coins but also dealing in slaves.


    "You¡­" Lu Li pulled out his halberd and roared, "You dare covet a gift of the Earth Mother! I want to fight you!"


    The faces of the two sentries contorted.


    The Tauren were generally considered a gentle race and in-fighting was forbidden, even within Grimtotem.


    It was generally assumed that their prey were gifts of the Earth Mother and were their personal property. For that reason, no Tauren should try to contest another¡¯s prey. Disputes were handed over to an elder to decide.


    In addition, Tauren were banned from dueling under aged calves.


    Lu Li was also worried that it would end really badly if he was exposed.


    He was a Thief, so if he used any of his skills, he would return to his normal form. There were no Thieves among the Tauren.


    Sentry A and B were secretly angry, but they couldn¡¯t fight him. This was the camp gate, so if there were any scuffles, the others would run over.


    The Shaman elder was very graceful; she was old and insisted on the tradition. In order to avoid a scandal, the likely result would be the death of both them and the calf.


    Lu Li saw that they weren¡¯t going to fight, so he cautiously retreated and slowly moved away from the camp.


    As long as he could get to a safe place, he could channel his recall.


    Suddenly, there was some commotion within the camp and Lu Li immediately started running.


    Moments later, a javelin pierced the spot he was just standing on and the System prompted him that he had just entered battle.


    There was a thunderous sound behind him as the claws of adult Kodos trampled the ground. That sound was followed by an old horn blowing, which meant that the Warriors were going into battle.


    "Hide and look for a chance to return to the town. Please listen to me," Lu Li said as he pulled out a dagger and cut the ropes off Hachi Chan.


    "I won¡¯t go." Hachi Chan seemed to understand the gravity of the situation. Given the loud rumbling that they could hear, there was no way they could channel the 30 second recall in time.


    "Don¡¯t argue; I¡¯ll lead them away."


    Lu Li patted Hachi Chan¡¯s head and pushed her into some bushes.


    He didn¡¯t try to escape. Instead, he ran straight towards the cavalry.


    The Kodo cavalry was just about to hit him, but his normal small figure made it such that only a few of them could reach him.


    Lu Li then instantly turned into a little golden leopard, and desperately ran in front of the cavalry, letting out a loud, continuous laughter.


    Then, there was the sound of a javelin hitting the soil. The Tauren were so powerful that that javelin was an indispensable aid for their cavalry.


    Fortunately, his smaller size made it even easier for him to dodge the general throw of a javelin.

 489 Naive Tauren

    "Hand over the dragon egg!"


    "Carlos will tie you on a pole and make a blanket with your skin..."


    "You damned calf! Stop right there!"


    Lu Li was speechless. These Tauren were so na?ve; they still believed that he was another Tauren.


    His mission would have been perfect, if not for the old Tauren finding out that the lock had been broken, or the two sentinels holding him back...


    It was a strange feeling for him to have his thoughts drift away while he was under pursuit.


    More and more spears were tossed at him as the Tauren Riders soon thought of a way to deal with Lu Li. Not only did they aim at Lu Li, but they also began to throw their spears onto the pathway ahead of Lu LI.


    Lu Li slowed down to prevent himself from running into the spears.


    Clouds of dust were about to envelope him as the hooves of Kodos stampeded forwards. A miserable death awaited him, as he would soon be trampled into a pile of minced meat.


    However, there was no way that he would actually be trampled into minced meat.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t running blindly ¨C he had run around so that the pursuers would chase him, giving Hachi Chan a chance to return to the city. Now that he had ran far enough, it was time for him to leave the main roads and head back into the forest.


    The forest was never a friendly place for riders.


    Lu Li¡¯s sudden change of path enraged the Tauren; they gave up on their mounts and chased on foot behind this cowardly calf.


    When they caught him, they had no intentions of killing him easily. They were going to pull out his horns and pour salt water inside, then strip his skin and pour honey on top.


    The Warriors of the Grimtotem had locked in Lu Li as an enemy and began to imagine all sort of ways that they could torture him.


    After they jumped off their mounts, the accuracy of their spears increased. One of the spears barely brushed past Lu Li and almost pinned him to the floor. The sharp blade dealt around 400 points of damage to him.


    There probably weren¡¯t any Tauren amongst them that were lower than level 40, and there were probably some level 50s as well.


    Any will to fight had now disappeared entirely; he had sorely underestimated the difference between him and his pursuers. When there was a difference in levels, even a normal monster would be able to kill a player in an instant.


    Without their mounts, how could they possibly catch up to a Druid with a speed buff?


    Most of the Warriors and Shamans were left at the back, while only a few Tauren Druids turned into Panther form and were barely able to follow Lu Li.


    Lu Li¡¯s transformation wasn¡¯t any average Panther Transformation.


    Child of the Forest: Instant Cast. You turn into a cheetah, raising your Movement Speed by


    50%, as well as your ability to climb at 45-degree angles. Allows you to use all skills available


    to the Cheetah Transformation. The caster becomes immune to all Polymorph effects, and


    fall damage is reduced. Transforming removes all Movement Restrictions on the caster.Proficiency: 1/5.


    He was 20% faster than the average panthers and also had another climbing effect.


    The climbing effect gave him more adaptability to his environment, to which the bumpy geography of the mountains was no exception. As long as the slope wasn¡¯t greater than forty-five degrees, anywhere was basically flat land to him.


    As the time began to pass, the Tauren Druids gradually lost track of Lu Li. A crow flew away from the forest, which indicated that Lu Li had successfully escaped.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the few Tauren Druids to track their way to his location.


    They sniffed around the area that Lu Li had flown away from, but all they could do in the end was make a few angry growls.


    "We¡¯ve lost the Spirit Dragon. In the name of our ancestors, I¡¯ll make the Wanderers and the Stonehorn tribe pay for this."


    In the tent of the old Shaman, the captain that had led the pursuing team hung his head in shame.


    He carefully bent over on the floor, not daring to set his gaze on the gentle face above him.


    "Wait, that¡¯s not right. He¡¯s not a Tauren." The old Shaman held onto a mirror as a number of scenes unfolded on it. These scenes began from the moment Lu Li had entered the campsite, and extended until he flew away as a crow.


    He knew how to unlock, how to transform into a panther, how to transform into a crow, and had also set his little prey free in the end...


    All of this was beyond the knowledge of the poor, old Shaman; she couldn¡¯t think of anyone who would be able to accomplish such things, unless...


    "Damned adventurers!" the old Shaman yelled in rage as she stood up.


    "As you command," the Tauren captain said as he bowed his head.


    Soon, the riders from Grimtotem set out once again. Within a one-hundred-kilometer radius, which almost covered the entire map, they cleared out everything. Countless players in the area were killed.


    They had no clue why everything had suddenly gone out of control.


    Their actions had no impact on Lu Li; he had already arrived in the main city of the Night Elves ¡ª Darnassus. No one would be able to harm him here, let alone a single Grimtotem camp.


    Hachi Chan sat at the entrance to his home; she stared at the end of the road and ran over as soon as she saw Lu Li.


    Luckily, she was in human form, or else she might have wagged her tail.


    "I¡¯m not going to take anything that¡¯s yours. What¡¯s with the rush?" Lu Li pressed his hands on her forehead, keeping the little girl at arms-length.


    "Lies. You¡¯re not a good person and you¡¯re the best liar I know. Even the Tauren were fooled by you," Hachi Chan said, suddenly feeling insecure.


    "How ungrateful." Lu Li was speechless as he took out the Spirit Dragon egg and traded the item. This item was still an egg, so who knew how long it would take for it to become a mount?


    He had no time for something like this. The Spirit Dragon was also a mount with a cute appearance, so it didn¡¯t suit him.


    "Hehe, thanks Lu Li." Hachi Chan held onto the container and gave the dragon egg a kiss against the glass, picturing the scene of her riding the mount and flying in the air.


    "Do you know who can hatch this egg for you?" Lu Li was curious about Hachi Chan¡¯s quest progress.


    Even though he had reincarnated, he had no clue as to who would be able to hatch this egg. It would be unreasonable to ask a dragon to do this, considering that you planned to tame one of their own kind.


    All the dragon mounts were only data, so they had no sense about their own kind.


    The dragon egg was a different story. From being an egg until it hatched, this was the process of a life forming.


    Although it seemed as though Lu Li looked down on Hachi Chan¡¯s Spirit Dragon mount, no one else apart from him understood how precious it actually was.


    Simply put, it was very, very rare.


    Apart from Green Dragons, Spirit Dragons were the only ones who could freely pass between dreams and reality. They were also the first magic beings to enter the world of Emerald Dreams and come into contact with the Elves.


    The source of theses eggs had always been a mystery. Dawn rarely had any quests or storylines about them and this limited the source of the mount.


    If this dragon baby was to hatch, there was a possibility that it would be the only one.

 490 Surprise

    "Yup, there¡¯s a desert speedway in the Flashing Highlands of the Needlestone Forest. Quentin is located there; I¡¯ll pass the egg to him," Hachi Chan said as she opened her quest board and read its content.


    "That means that you won¡¯t need me for the quest anymore, right?" Lu Li was slightly surprised by the difficulty-level of the quest.


    Was it that simple to receive a Spirit Dragon mount? How come he had barely seen any in his previous life? Had his reincarnation caused a butterfly effect?


    He was taking too much credit for himself.


    This was a one-time quest, but the mount wasn¡¯t a unique one ¨C this was the only chance to receive the mount through this method.


    At the same time, not everyone had an item like the Deception Orb. Even if you made it in, there was no guarantee that you wouldn¡¯t be found, and even if you weren¡¯t found, how would you steal the egg? Moreover, even if you stole the egg, how would you make it out alive?


    Not everyone had the strength and capabilities like he had.


    Hachi Chan was right about Lu Li deserving an Oscar. He had been raised in the lowest parts of society, and was both humble and strong, yet had the cunning edge that most people did not.


    In Lu Li¡¯s previous life, the one who had received the Spirit Dragon mount through this quest was Unforgettable Maple from Majin Temple.


    In order to steal the dragon egg from the Grimtotem, Unforgettable Maple had hatched a plan. He led the Horde and Alliance players to the discovery of the Grimtotem and their horrible ways. With some deceiving words, he faked an event where players were skinned by the Grimtotem.


    The enraged players formed an alliance to attack the Grimtotem.


    Unforgettable Maple took his chance and stole the Spirit Dragon egg during the confusion. However, after he spent so much energy to get the mount, he was at a loss for words.


    The mount was colorful and was perfect for a girl; there was no way he could bring himself to sit on it.


    If he flew around on top of it for a while, he would probably return in shame. He was quite upset about the mount for a while, so the Spirit Dragon had been sealed away from then. This was also why Lu Li never heard about anyone having the Spirit Dragon mount; it had nothing to do with the butterfly effect.


    There was only so much that a single person could accomplish. Although he had changed many things during his current life, the world still remained on track for the most part.


    After Hachi Chan finished using Lu Li, she immediately waved him goodbye and left.


    Lu Li spent the rest of his time leveling.


    Even though he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach level 35 before the competition, that wasn¡¯t a reason for him to rest.


    The Magic Cup was a competition on a smaller scale. Many celebrity players wouldn¡¯t even show their faces, and everyone placed their attention on the large-scale competitions at the end of the year.


    Water Fairy seemed to have found a better spot for leveling, so she stopped contacting to Lu Li to train with her. Lu Li was slightly annoyed about this.


    While he was fighting in the mud of the Dustwallow Marsh, something on his waist vibrated. It wasn¡¯t someone from the game; it was someone contacting him in real life.


    He checked the number record and found that it was the old doctor from the hospital. Lu Li left the game without returning to the city, took off his helmet and immediately picked up the phone.


    "Sir, this is Lu Li..."


    "Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s good news." The old doctor could understand Lu Li¡¯s feelings and was quite touched by the relationship between the siblings, so he tried to keep his tone as gentle as possible.


    "Sure, go ahead." Lu Li was slightly relieved; he found it hard to stay calm for anything that was about his sister¡¯s problem.


    He had never been so anxious, even when he faced the Tauren riders. His sister was the color to his life; she was extremely important to him.


    "A donor has been found!" the old doctor exclaimed happily.


    Lu Xin was only one of his many patients, but he remembered her. After going to the trouble of flying halfway around China, he had finally found a donor and contacted Lu Li as soon as he returned.


    "Really? They¡¯re completely compatible?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t believe what he had just heard.


    He was so overwhelmed by joy that he didn¡¯t even know how to express it.


    They had actually only waited for about a month, but his anxiety made him feel like he had waited for a year. Now that he had suddenly been told that there was a heart available, he nearly fainted from joy.


    "We¡¯ve tested, and the statistics basically match up to 92%. This is a very rare compatibility, and among all the transplant surgeries done, the longest survivor was an English boy. He did his heart transplant at the age of 13 and passed away when he was a 107 old. His compatibility was 96%..." the old doctor tried to explain as precisely as possible.


    "Is it not possible to find a 100% match?" Lu Li wanted to give his sister the best.


    "That¡¯s not possible; a complete match doesn¡¯t exist," the old doctor said. "In all honesty, as long as the blood types match, the transplant can be done. However, to find a match over 90% is very fortunate; you might not even see one over the course of ten years. Many people have lost their chance during the wait."


    "I see. Would there be a strong rejection?" Lu Li was still worried.


    "Of course there would be some rejection if it¡¯s not your own; it¡¯s just the difference in the level of rejection. That¡¯s why we emphasized on the rehabilitation after the surgery. You¡¯re very lucky. After the transplant is done, she will be able to live like a normal person after two or three years of rehabilitation. If the match was low, she would have to be accompanied by medicines for the rest of her life," the old doctor said.


    He had placed in a lot of effort for this matter. Not only had he gone around to find a suitable donor, but he had also talked to the family members of the donor for their cooperation.


    "Thank you so much." Lu Li was filled with gratitude. but he wasn¡¯t good at expressing himself.


    "She¡¯s a very cute little girl; it would be a shame for her to finish her life so young. Not to mention, she also has a brother who loves her dearly."


    "When can we proceed with the surgery?" Lu Li asked, trying to calm himself down.


    "There are some things I have to put out there for you," the old doctor said strictly. "If you want to ensure the best chances, every detail of the surgery is important, and the cost will be very pricey."


    "Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll be able to pay regardless of the price," Lu Li replied.


    He had around $3-4 million in his bank account and could also transfer a section of the money from Ruling Sword. If that still wasn¡¯t enough, he would sell himself to Water Fairy; money wasn¡¯t an issue for her.


    There was some friendship between them, so she would most likely be willing to help.

 491 Heart Disease

    "Are you able to take out three million? If you can¡¯t¡­" the old doctor asked.


    He knew how much $3 million was. Even if the dollar had dropped significantly, most of the average people wouldn¡¯t see that much money in their lifetime. Three million dollars was enough to buy a good house in the average areas.


    "No. I can afford it," Lu Lu replied without any hesitation.


    In this moment, Lu Li would fulfill anything that the old doctor asked for. He was usually smart, but once things came to his sister, he instantly became a fool.


    If everything in life went as planned, then life wouldn¡¯t be so interesting.


    There had to be someone who made you lose your cool. For Lu Li, Lu Xin was this someone.


    "You can afford three million? That game must¡¯ve really, really earned a lot of money¡­" the old doctor said in surprise; he didn¡¯t expect this answer.


    Lu Li had said that he could afford it, but this didn¡¯t mean that he would have to use all of it. The doctor was stating a fact, while Lu Li was showing his determination.


    The old doctor was already the most famous cardiologist in the nation, but he only had around one or two million dollars in his savings.


    Of course, this was also because of his generosity; he often helped his patients, regardless of money.


    He had originally planned to help Lu Li, even if Lu Li couldn¡¯t afford it.


    "Please lower the risks to a minimum; money isn¡¯t an issue." In Lu Li¡¯s perspective, surgeries always came with risks. There was no way he would let his efforts go to waste because he wanted to save some money.


    "Helen Svalford is the most famous heart surgeon in the world. She has performed up to 700 heart transplant surgeries, she¡¯s serious, strict and rarely makes mistakes. Last week, she came to China to perform a surgery. I¡¯ve always kept in contact with her and have planned to ask her to perform the surgery. What do you think?" the old doctor asked.


    Helen Svalford!


    Because of his sister, Lu Li had spent his spare time studying the medical world. This was the name that he paid the most attention to.


    Helen Svalford was from England. With the medical technology of Europe constantly dropping, she was referred to as ¡®the last fig leaf¡¯ for the European medical world.


    She was currently the best heart surgeon in the world, and all of her patients were either millionaires or politicians.


    "Is it really possible to have her perform the surgery?" Lu Li instantly felt like three million was worth it.


    Previously, he had searched up some records from the past. Every famous doctor had some "dirty spots" in their career; it was just a matter of whether they had more or less. However, Helen Svalford didn¡¯t even have one.


    Apparently, she had spent all her years before she was thirty traveling around the world to educate herself. She had never performed on a human body before she was 35. She spent up to ten years testing her skills on animals, and the first time she performed a surgery on a person, it was for Queen Elizabeth XIV of Great Britain.


    Lu Li never thought that he would be able to have someone so legendary perform a surgery for his sister.


    "Twenty years ago, she came to study in China. I taught her a bit, so we kept in contact after," the old doctor said, then hesitated before continuing, "The donor¡­ her family also placed in some effort."


    "Donor¡­ what happened to her?" Lu Li remembered that for someone to donate their heart, it meant that they were most likely going to pass away soon.


    "The name of the donor is Mei Wu; she¡¯s 21 this year. She had a car accident last week and is in a state of unconsciousness. There¡¯s a chance for her to pass away at any moment, so it¡¯s best that you get ready now. We¡¯ll go to Jinling together; the conditions are better there," the old doctor sighed as he pinched his eyebrows slightly. "When you get a chance in the future, you should visit her parents with your sister. That was their single daughter; I don¡¯t even know how they are going to survive without her¡­"


    "Sure, I definitely will. Doctor Don, thank you so much. If you need anything at all in the future, just let me know," Lu Li said as he stood up, expressing his gratitude.


    "I¡¯m not even sure why I¡¯m working so hard for someone my age." The old doctor waved his hand and asked Lu Li to quickly go get ready.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really have anything to prepare. He had already begun his preparation as soon as he discussed the plans with the specialists. Lu Xin didn¡¯t go to school either and she wasn¡¯t allowed to play games for too long. Her diet was carefully monitored and she was ready to enter the hospital any moment.


    The giant stone that had been placed on his heart had not been entirely lifted up.


    It was waiting for a giant toss, a giant toss that would come when his sister finally removed herself from the disease.


    As he sat in the electric car, he felt for the first time like the city was such a great place. Even the cold buildings in the rich section felt warmer under the sunset.


    Once upon a time, he had hated all of this.


    After a dozen minutes, Lu Li arrived back at home.


    "Xin Xin, hurry and pack. We¡¯re going to Jinling." Lu Li called out his sister from the game by knocking on her helmet.


    "What happened?" Lu Xin took off her helmet and yawned; she pulled up her slipping dress and was still quite sleepy.


    The gaming helmet was originally designed to help the player relax, but Lu Li had also secretly adjusted his sister¡¯s helmet. As such, she was often in a hypnotized state. After she left the potion store, Lu Xin¡¯s excitement for their new house had decreased. Besides playing with the orphans, she spent most of her time playing on the grass or sleeping with the fairies.


    Lu Li brought a wet towel from the bathroom and told his sister everything as he wiped her face.


    Lu Xin finally woke up and felt overwhelmed.


    She was about to go into a surgery and walk out with a completely different heart. Understandably, she was utterly terrified.


    She hugged Lu Li tightly as she dug her head into her brother¡¯s arms.


    "I¡¯m scared."


    "I¡¯m here; don¡¯t worry about anything.There are no risks to the surgery," Lu Li comforted his sister as he also comforted himself.


    "But¡­" Anyone would be afraid if they were in her situation. Lu Xin held her hands together so tightly that her veins showed, then lifted her head and asked bitterly, "Will I still recognize you after I change hearts?"


    "Of course you will; you¡¯re still my sister." Lu Li was stunned.


    "But it¡¯s a different heart! Will you still be as nice to me in the future?" The little girl was about to cry.


    Under anxiety, people often switched topics or became unreasonable, and Lu Xin was probably in a similar situation. Most of the time, she was a good and strong child.


    Lu Li continued comforting her as he helped to pack her clothes and luggage. These weren¡¯t necessary, as once they entered the sterile ward, everything they used would be from the hospital.

 492 Unexpected Visitors

    From the moment he received the call from the doctor, Lu Li lost his cool. Lu Xin was young and the situation revolved around her, so she was quite lost too.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Dou Jing Jing heard their movements in the house, perhaps they would¡¯ve already packed and left.


    Dou Jing Jing was surprised and quickly called for the other girls in the house.


    "We¡¯ve found a suitable donor; we¡¯ll be heading off to Jinling for surgery now," Lu Li explained. He was determined to not let anyone stop him.


    "How¡¯s the situation of the donor?" They had never met the donor, so most of their attention was placed on Lu Xin.


    The three girls had an average relationship with Lu Li, mostly because he didn¡¯t care too much about the appearance of girls in general, and didn¡¯t bother to spend extra time with them. Even basic communication wasn¡¯t easy between them.


    However, they had a great relationship with Lu Xin; all of them were like sisters.


    "Very good. Doctor Don said that this is a rare chance." Despite Lu Li¡¯s thoughts, he had to demonstrate confidence in front of his sister.


    "We¡¯re going too." Willow wasn¡¯t the type to talk much, but she was always the one to call the shots.


    "Why are you girls coming?" Lu Li just wanted to head off to Jinling as soon as possible.


    Years back, heart transplants required the surgery to be performed within twenty-four hours of the heart leaving the donor. Once the time went beyond six hours, it would affect the results of the surgery. Over the years, technology had extended this time limit, but regardless, it was still best for the surgery to be performed as soon as possible.


    "You¡¯re a guy. What do you know about looking after Xin Xin?" Zhou Huan Huan retorted as she glanced at Lu Li and turned away to pack.


    Dou Jing Jing and Willow drove the car; all three of them had their own cars.


    The five of them took two cars to the hospital to pick up the old doctor and headed straight for Jinling.


    After Maglev technology had been fully developed, China opened up a highway in the air. Its travel speed was almost as good as an airplane. Jiangnan was also very close to Jinling, so it only took them one hour to arrive at their destination ¨C the biggest hospital in Jinling.


    The arrival of Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t make too much of an impact. Nobody paid attention to the little girl who moved into one of the hospital wards.


    The time was already late and because there were a lot of procedures they had to go through, Lu Li and the others barely had time to catch a breath.


    It wasn¡¯t until the next day that they remembered they had to notify Square Root 3, since there were things in the game to be sorted out too.


    It wasn¡¯t necessarily wrong for Lu Li to give attention to the game at this point in time ¨C Dawn would be the reason for his sister¡¯s recovery and their happy lives after.


    "Lu Li, what¡¯s with you? You went offline without saying anything and didn¡¯t come online today too. The competition is almost starting." Square Root 3 was just about to call Lu Li and began with a complaint as soon as he received the call.


    "I can¡¯t go online right now. Xin Xin is in the hospital and I have to watch over her," Lu Li spoke quietly as he stood outside the ward.


    He understood the importance of the game, but he really wasn¡¯t in the mood to participate in the competition. He also probably wouldn¡¯t be able to perform up to standard in his current state. Lu Li wasn¡¯t a God; he couldn¡¯t close his eyes and dominate over everything.


    "What happened to Xin Xin?" Square Root 3 remembered Lu Li¡¯s sister, recalling her as a very cute little girl, especially when she laughed.


    "Please let her be ok," he thought. Ruling Sword had only just been established; there was a lot that needed to be worked on.


    Lu Li had to explain the entire situation. The two of them were deeply tied by both friendship and profit, so there wasn¡¯t any reason for him to hide anything.


    Square Root 3 first congratulated them on finding a suitable donor, then proceeded to ask if they had enough funds. After he received a sure answer, he then began worrying about the game.


    "In that case, you won¡¯t be able to come online for a few days?"


    "I¡¯ve brought my helmet. Once we settle things here, I¡¯ll come online," Lu Li said.


    Before they left, the girls had packed all their gaming helmets in the car, including Lu Li and Lu Xin¡¯s helmet.


    "I¡¯ll let Mu Qiu go on instead," Square Root 3 sighed. He couldn¡¯t force anything in this situation, and could only comfort Lu Li. "Stay focused on the most important things for now; don¡¯t worry about the game. We¡¯ll hold the fort until you¡¯re back."


    Despite his words, deep down inside, he began to realize the importance of Lu Li in their group.


    Ruling Sword was like a dream that was almost entirely built upon Lu Li. He directed the First Clears for the dungeons and led the teams to win championships.


    This day, Lu Li didn¡¯t go online.


    During the morning, he visited Helen Svalfod. She was woman from overseas, around forty years of age and spoke English, but Lu Li didn¡¯t understand English.


    Willow translated their conversation; she was a talented girl with good grades and was fluent in multiple languages.


    Lu Li actually didn¡¯t have much to say to the doctor; all he could do was to express his gratitude. Besides this, he also attempted to give her some bonus money, but his offer was declined.


    The envelope contained a check for $500,000.


    Although she had been through the situation multiple times in China, Helen Svalford still found it hard to understand some people¡¯s thinking processes. For her to perform the surgery, she would at least receive two million dollars. Why would some people give her bonus money when she was already given such a high pay?


    Since their conversation wasn¡¯t really going anywhere, the legendary doctor soon waved them goodbye.


    Lu Li thought that his afternoon would be free and that he could spend some time to comfort his sister, who was quite anxious, but they had some unexpected visitors.


    "It¡¯s here, right?" A few weak voices could be heard outside, but their words were clear. They had clearly received a good education.


    "Yes, Mr Mei, they¡¯ve moved in last night. Both of their parents have passed away; only the siblings remain." Lu Li was able to recognize the other voice; it was the head nurse.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know many people and felt a sense of rejection to these visitors, but as soon as he heard the term "Mr Mei", he was caught by surprise.


    "Lu, someone is here to visit you guys" the head nurse said as she knocked on the door and shifted to the side.


    "Hi. Please take a seat." Lu Li stood up and pulled over some chairs as he looked at the man and woman that had walked in.


    They weren¡¯t young and there was some white hair on their heads, but they barely had any wrinkles. They must have looked after themselves well, but they seemed tired, as if they had gone through a great ordeal.


    "This must be the little girl."


    The woman went past Lu Li and looked at Lu Xin, who laid flat on the bed on her tummy.


    Lu Xin was chewing on an apple and her cheeks were puffed like a hamster. She wasn¡¯t sure if she should spit out her food or finish eating it. All she could do was to awkwardly stare at the visitors.


    The man and woman were here to see Lu Xin and stared at her after they entered the door. They had a complex expression on their faces and it was hard to tell what they were thinking.

 493 Surgery

    "Take your time, eat slowly and don¡¯t choke on the food." Her expression changed, and Lu Li let out a sigh of relief. The woman sat beside Lu Xin¡¯s bed, and she was surprisingly kind and loving.


    Lu Li had already guessed who the visitors were.


    Their last name was Mei and they wanted to meet Lu Xin.


    Lu Li did not expect to meet the family of the donor like this. He was full of mixed emotions.


    They were still mourning over the imminent death of daughter, so he had to be careful with his wording. If he acted impatiently or didn¡¯t phrase his sentences correctly, it would appear as if he was hoping for their daughter to die faster. The donor¡¯s family could withdraw their consent at any time, so Lu Li was treading on thin ice.


    Unlike other organ transplants, the heart had to be taken out while it was still beating after the death of the donor. Otherwise, it would infarct and become useless.


    From a certain perspective, heart transplants were considered immoral because if the heart was still beating, then the patient had yet to be clinically deceased.


    Some people considered taking out the heart to be the same as killing the patient. Therefore, for the family of heart donors, it was usually extremely difficult for them to accept this.


    Lu Li had nothing but gratitude towards the family of the donor.


    "I¡¯m Mei Wu¡¯s father and this is her mother. We heard that you guys had just arrived," the middle-aged man on the chair and finally said after a moment of silence.


    "Thank you so much." Lu Li wanted to apologise, but he wasn¡¯t sure what the right thing was to say.


    "She¡¯s only 21 years old," Mr Mei said as he wiped at his eyes, not afraid to shed tears in front of a stranger. "She was rebellious and I was stubborn, always wanting her to do things my way. I¡¯d forgotten that she was only 21 years old and had been so strict towards her¡­."


    He was sharing his emotions and Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure what to say, so he listened intently.


    "I never saw this coming. I raised her for more than 20 years, but everything happened so fast." Mr Mei was very well-spoken, but the pain of losing his daughter was unbearable.


    Mrs Mei was slicing apples for Lu Xin, cutting them into small pieces and feeding them to her.


    Her hands were soft and beautiful; it was obvious that she came from a very wealthy background.


    Lu Xin was hesitant at first, but didn¡¯t want to be rude. Her small red cheeks moved up and down as she ate the apple, like a cute doll. Her illness had not affected her cuteness and health; she was just as happy as other kids her age.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure why they had visited. As he listened to Mr Mei, he kept his eyes on Lu Xin the whole time.


    To be honest, Lu Li tensed up every time Mrs Mei held the knife. He was paranoid that the loss of her daughter would cause Mrs Mei to do unthinkable things.


    Fortunately, after slicing the apple, she placed it down.


    "I heard your family is just you and your sister?" Mr Mei asked after he finished his story.


    "Yeah, my parents passed away when we were little and we¡¯ve been dependent on each other ever since." Lu Li realised he never asked the doctor how much compensation was required to be given to the donor family. Even though it was difficult to place a price on a life, Lu Li had never researched into this area before.


    Organ donation had to be free because paying for organs was illegal.


    The only payment required was the cost of the surgery performed in the hospital.


    "Do you have any other relatives?" Mr Mei was surprised because when Dr. Don persuaded them about the heart donation, he had only mentioned that they had lost their parents when they were young. However, he assumed that they had been adopted or taken in by relatives or foster families.


    "Not that I know of." Even if they did have other relatives, Lu Li couldn¡¯t remember any of them.


    Perhaps their relatives would be too poor to take them in, even if they did find a way to contact them.


    "Wow¡­ you singled-handedly raised her up? How many years older are you compared to her?" Mr and Mrs Mei had no other ulterior motives apart from getting to know them better.


    They wanted to see what their daughter¡¯s heart would be used for in the future ¨C whether the recipient was as beautiful as their own daughter, whether the recipient had a warm and loving family and whether the family had enough money to afford the expensive surgery procedure. They didn¡¯t want to waste the heart of their beloved daughter.


    The couple was touched and satisfied by what they saw.


    The little girl was very pretty and cute; she was as pure as an angel, much like their own daughter.


    Her older brother treated her very well and from observing their interactions, anyone could tell that they were very close.


    They had no idea that they had been orphans since they were kids.


    "My older brother raised me when I was still a kid. He was willing to do anything for me, through hardship and pain, and he managed to put food on the table. Now, he¡¯s a professional gamer with thousands of players that follows his orders," Lu Xin said proudly.


    In Lu Xin¡¯s eyes, her older brother was the greatest person alive.


    Whenever the teacher asked the class who the greatest person was in history, some would answer with kings and politicians, while other would answer scientists. However, Lu Xin¡¯s answer would always be her older brother.


    "Ok. Very good," Mr Mei said, letting out a sigh of relief.


    "Um¡­ if I may ask, is there anything I could help you with?" Lu Li asked.


    Lu Li was still unsure as to why the parents of the donor was visiting them. They should have been staying by their daughter¡¯s side because she could pass away at any moment.


    They looked at each other, and Mrs Mei wiped away her tears as Mr Mei said, "I wanted to see if you guys needed any help. If you don¡¯t have enough money, then we can lend you some first. If not, then we¡¯re here to tell you to prepare for the operation."


    Mrs Mei followed and added, "I hope the best for you both. Don¡¯t let my daughter¡¯s heart¡­"


    Lu Li could sympathize with the parents losing their daughter and firmly said, "I will take care of my sister and never let her be sad.


    With the consent of the parents, the operation was quickly performed.


    Two months after Lu Li¡¯s rebirth, Lu Xin entered the operation room under the care of the best heart surgeon on the planet, Helen Svalford, and a team of experts.


    After hours of waiting, the surgery was successful.


    "The operation was very successful. The patient will require some time to recover and I suggest to give her a period of quarantined post-op recovery. Please follow the management plan carefully and strictly."


    Dr. Hellen Svalford was exhausted but explained everything to Lu Li patiently.


    Other experienced doctors all agreed that the surgery went better than expected.


    However, the most important phase of an organ transplant was not the operation, but the post-op management. Lu Li had to be extremely careful in taking care of his little sister to ensure that her heart was not rejected.


    They also suggested that Lu Li move to Nanjing for a while so that the hospital would be more accessible and convenient.

 494 A Match Without Lu Li

    Lu Li wasn¡¯t allowed to visit his sister in the first few days post-surgery. In the midst of his anxiousness, he was forced to log onto the game to sort some things out.


    Apparently, there had been a lot of changes in the mere two days that he had been way.


    Drizzling Court had an altercation with Star Moon Union and the two guilds clashed against each other. After two hours or so, Star Moon Union was defeated, and several thousand players left the guild.


    However, Lu Li cared more about the Magic Cup Tournament.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t able to log on yesterday and Ruling Sword was up against Purple Lunar Paradise. Purple Lunar Paradise performed really well, easily defeating Fat Monkey and the rest of the team.


    Based on what Square Root Three reported, when the new their new sub joined the match, the team became a complete mess.


    Fat Monkey left the party out of anger and complained about the lack of chemistry in the team. Moonlight peeled for March Rain and neglected Mu Qiu because he trusted in March Rain¡¯s healing more. Sakurary Memories¡¯ Lifesteal was completely useless.


    March Rain became flustered for the first time in a tournament setting and couldn¡¯t heal to her maximum potential.


    Mu Qiu tried to turn the game around, but was the first to be sent out of the arena.


    Lu Li could almost imagine the mess at the time based on Square Root Three¡¯s description.


    People who despised Ruling Sword finally found a reason to flame them. That day, the whole server was talking about how hopeless Ruling Sword was without Lu Li.


    When Lu Li logged on, they were preparing for today¡¯s match.


    This was their second time fighting alongside each other. Lu Li signalled Square Root Three not to interfere and let them sort it out themselves.


    The rules for Magic Cup was quite confusing. Losing two matches didn¡¯t mean they were automatically eliminated, however, they would be placed at a lower seed in the next stage.


    "How are things with Xin Xin? When can we visit her?" Square Root Three asked. Before the match started, they decided to sit down together and chat.


    "The doctor said she¡¯s doing well, but she can¡¯t have visitors right now because she could get an infection. You¡¯re welcomed to give her a call, but the call can¡¯t last for too long," Lu Li replied as he read over some criticism from professional players on the game forum.


    "Looks like you can¡¯t relax just yet; I thought you¡¯d be relieved after the surgery," Square Root Three said.


    "Yeah, the post-op management is more important than the surgery itself. I need to make more money in the mean-time," Lu Li said as he smiled bitterly. "My mind is a mess right now. Even if I joined this match, I would underperform by a lot."


    Whenever he thought about his sister and the pain she was going through, his heart ached and breathing became difficult.


    "No worries. This is a great opportunity for them to learn and prepare for the end of year tournament." Square Root Three wasn¡¯t very worried.


    "How¡¯s Fat Monkey?" Lu Li asked.


    Although Square Root Three wasn¡¯t a pro player, he had a lot of experience and a good eye for talent.


    "He¡¯s too much of a hot head," Square Root Three chuckled. "Maybe he¡¯ll get better with time, but he¡¯s too temperamental right now. He should be blamed for the loss yesterday."


    "There¡¯s no other choice. We need more capable players for the tournament at the end of the year and the best way to find talent is to develop them ourselves. He must become more mature and capable to start for our PVP team."


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t disappointed in Fat Monkey at all because he had anticipated all of this.


    Someone who wanted to become the best sniper in the world needed real life experiences and practise, as opposed to relying on pure theory.


    No one was born to be the best sniper in the world. They had to go through countless years of practice and make mistakes in order to learn and excel. Fat Monkey was currently going through an important stage of maturation into a top PVP player.


    Sakura Memories, on the other hand, was playing too passively. Being a DPS player, she needed to be much more aggressive. Green Flag Wine from Peerless City was a great example of an aggressive DPS player.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t too harsh on her because she was a girl.


    The tournament at the end of the year featured three individual player matches which gave one point for each win. Two points were awarded for winning the Single Elimination Open Tournament (winner stays on until defeated), while five points were awarded for the team PVP match. This totalled up to ten points.


    Of course, this was the information leaked by the gaming company and was still subject to change.


    There were other tournament modes that were currently in-the-works such as Challenger Match, Revival Match and others¡­


    There were three players for the Individual Player Match, three players for the Single Elimination Open Match and five players with a sub for the Team PVP match.


    According to various sources, players that entered the Individual Match could not enter the Single Elimination Open Match. Therefore, a team of six players was the bare minimum required for the tournament.


    If they prevented players from participating in more than one match, then each team would require at least twelve players.


    However, Lu Li already knew about the tournament setting from his past life.


    Players that participated in the Individual Match could not participate in the Single Elimination Match again, but all players on the team could participate in the 5v5 Team Match.


    However, this meant that six DPS classes were required because healers would be useless in 1v1 PVP settings.


    Players like March Rain would only be useful in Team PVP Matches.


    Mu Qiu had some DPS, but it would be more suitable for him to participate in the Single Elimination Match.


    As for Sakura Memories, she would not be ready in time at the end of the year to be able to participate in the individual matches.


    Currently, only Lu Li, Moonlight, Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu were capable of participating. He needed to find two more DPS classes to fill the role.


    This was much easier said than done. Even with his rebirth, it was difficult for him to think of players to recruit to Ruling Sword.


    "Wow, nice Frost Nova¡­"


    The match against Majin Temple had already begun. Their Thief tried to flank March Rain, but Fat Monkey somehow anticipated this and froze the Thief in place.


    This was the talent that Lu Li had seen in him. Game sense was something that some players were born with, and this separated the average players from the top players.


    The Thief had already lost half of his HP bar and used Gale Steps to try and escape. However, Mu Qiu followed closely behind and casted Consecration.


    Although Consecration only dealt 10 or so damage per tick, it prevented the Thief from Stealthing away to safety, so he was killed like a sitting duck.


    Unforgetful Maple was late to save his Thief and was furious that he¡¯d lost a player so early in the match. Majin Temple¡¯s sub entered the fight, but they had to play much more conservatively in case they lost another player.


    Unforgetful Maple tended to overthink in tough situations and was afraid that their sub was Lu Li.


    No one knew why Lu Li hadn¡¯t played in the last match.


    Many players, including Unforgetful Maple, speculated that Lu Li didn¡¯t play in order to give their rookie player an opportunity to gain some experience. Since they had lost their last match, it would make sense for Lu Li to participate in this match in order to prevent another loss.


    "We might win this match," Square Root Three laughed out loud.


    "Yeah, Unforgetful Maple is very good at calculating and strategizing in tournaments. However, this time, he might¡¯ve complicated the situation against his favour." Lu Li was more familiar with Unforgetful Maple¡¯s thinking and strategies than Square Root Three.

 495 Thinking Too Much Will Make You Lose As Well

    "This guy¡­he¡¯s just¡­" Square Root 3 was sitting in the stands and was speechless at Fat Monkey.


    Fat Monkey hadn¡¯t become more reserved despite the previous day¡¯s loss. There wasn¡¯t anyone in the team who could hold him back. He was like a crazy monkey, or as Square Root 3 put it, his tactics were just insane.


    However, he didn¡¯t mean this in an insulting way, as they were currently surprisingly effective.


    The more he fought like that, the more Unforgetful Maple was suspicious of Lu Li benching himself.


    Fat Monkey¡¯s equipment was almost the same as Unforgetful Maple¡¯s, but he was well-known for his fire attacks. At this rate, Fat Monkey and he were dealing the same amount of damage to each other.


    However, he was pushing far too forwards, so the Hunter on Unforgetful Maple¡¯s side was also attacking him. This meant that Fat Monkey¡¯s HP was dropping faster and faster.


    If he kept fighting a two-on-one, Fat Monkey would undoubtedly fall first, but Unforgetful Maple had to admit that it wouldn¡¯t be before he had lost half of his HP.


    He shouted loudly for the Healer to heal him.


    It wasn¡¯t worth trading HP with Fat monkey. If Lu Li came in the moment Fat Monkey died, he didn¡¯t know if he could withstand his aggressive attacks.


    This map wasn¡¯t that large and they were fighting at Ruling Sword¡¯s Return Point, which meant that a substitute could immediately join the battle.


    If he retreated now, Fat Monkey would be left on 30% HP, andMarch Rain could easily fill his HP back to full.


    "You guys are so slow. If you kept up, we could have killed the maple girl." Not only did Fat Monkey not thank March Rain, but he was also complaining to his teammates.


    Maple girl was Unforgetful Maple¡¯s nickname.


    There were five of them and they were all from Ruling Sword, but they were pushing him around.


    Fat Monkey kept sticking to him and was fighting quite recklessly, which gave Unforgetful Maple a headache.


    Fat Monkey was a fire mage and in a one-on-one, he didn¡¯t have any reason to fear him. Everyone was long-ranged anyway, so the effectiveness of Freezes was limited.


    "Mu Qiu is not bad," Square Root 3 said, admiring the 1.8-million-dollar star player.


    It wasn¡¯t that Mu Qiu¡¯s performance was particularly eye catching. When compared with a group of amateurs, star players were just ordinary players that had received systematic training.


    Someone like Moonlight, who seemed to have wild and spontaneous tactics, was not common among star players.


    "Maybe he will be the next Tire Killer," Lu Li nodded in agreement.


    "Memories is not as good. She¡¯s too scared of making a mistake," Square Root 3 sighed.


    "Some things can¡¯t be forced. Right now, she just needs to make use of Bloodthirst, and the rest is up to her." Lu Li didn¡¯t demand much and just said what needed to be said.


    People played the game for different reasons, and not everyone was in a rush to make money like he was.


    Not all players wanted to enter professional competitions and take championships either. Most people just wanted to casually play the game for the experience.


    "What about Moonlight?" Square Root 3 was curious as to what Lu Li thought about him.


    "He¡¯s a fighter," Lu Li said as Moonlight rushed into Majin Temple, then let out a sigh of relief. "The game has been won."


    Fat Monkey¡¯s frenzied attacks disrupted Unforgetful Maple¡¯s rhythm, allowing Moonlight to take advantage of him.


    Sakura Memories heard Moonlight¡¯s command and casted Bloodthirst. They then cast all their skills at the poor hunter¡­


    The only exception was Fat Monkey, who was still staring at Unforgetful Maple. He clearly wasn¡¯t going to let his guard down until Unforgetful Maple was dead. Fat Monkey had brilliantly demonstrated the firepower of Fire magic today.


    If Fat Monkey was an Ice Mage, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have wanted him.


    Even without Lu Li, Ruling Sword had managed to defeat Majin Temple. In terms of strength, Majin Temple¡¯s veteran Unforgetful Maple clearly made them tougher than Purple Lunar Paradise.


    After the match, Lu Li went back to levelling.


    Right now, he couldn¡¯t properly focus on doing anything so he just kept training. He was becoming so powerful that the system¡¯s monsters weren¡¯t able to keep up.


    "Hello? I see you¡¯ve come online." Lu Li¡¯s communicator sounded. Only one of Lu Li¡¯s few friends would dare to interrupt him like this.


    "I¡¯m here. Are you guys fighting the Star Moon Guild?" Lu Li responded instinctively.


    "Yes," Water Fairy said with displeasure." Without Square Root 3, they¡¯re in a mess. They actually dared to contact me and tell me about having compassion."


    Lu Li was throwing his daggers so aggressively that his trajectory was a little off.


    He regained his composure and reassured himself that he hadn¡¯t done anything wrong to this tycoon.


    "They were just like flies and we easily swatted them away." Water Fairy didn¡¯t seem to want to talk about that anymore and changed the subject, asking, "Why didn¡¯t you join the competition? You guys lost yesterday."


    "Something came up at home. A loss is a loss. You can¡¯t win if you never lose," Lu Li joked.


    Speaking to someone like Water Fairy was always refreshing; she wasn¡¯t a competitor and it felt more like a friendship.


    After having helped each other so many times, Lu Li finally accepted the feeling of being friends.


    "Sounds quite serious ¨C you were offline for almost 2 days. You didn¡¯t join the competition today either and you won by some luck. Maple girl is smart, but he made a mistake," Water Fairy said, understanding everything quite clearly.


    At the very least, she understood Lu Li. She knew that he wouldn¡¯t use these matches to train his team members.


    The reason was quite simple ¨C the first and second place winnings were very different. If money was involved, Lu Li would be very serious, so it was unusual that he had been absent in the last two matches.


    She was so curious that she took the initiative to contact him about it.


    "¡­" Lu Li hesitated, as there was no need to make his sister¡¯s affairs public.


    "If you don¡¯t want to tell me, that¡¯s fine," Water Fairy quickly added.


    After she said that, Lu Li didn¡¯t feel too good about keeping it from her either. "My sister is sick and she was admitted to the hospital. I¡¯ve been accompanying her¡­"


    "Oh, its Lu Xin. She was fine the last time I saw her; how did she suddenly get sick?" Water Fairy asked. When she previously brought Mu Qiu to talk to Lu Li, she had seen Lu Xin playing with some other kids.


    The impression that she got was that she was very beautiful, spotless and without blemish.


    Obviously, Lu Li had been protecting her very well as she was so carefree. But how did she suddenly get sick?

 496 Consequences of Offending a Female Tycoon

    In the gloomy Theramore¡¯s Fall, Lu Li pulled his dagger out of monster. The System prompted that he had received some EXP, but his EXP bar didn¡¯t move. One monster wasn¡¯t enough to make it budge.


    The Ooze monster would explode before its death. It didn¡¯t cause much damage, but it splashed ooze everywhere.


    Normal players didn¡¯t like these swamp monsters, so this big map only had a few thousand players currently in it. Most importantly, not many players were farming, so there were high amounts of EXP to be gained.


    The same was true for Lu Li, but he was unlike the others. He was farming while listening to the sweet voice of a sister, who was also a beautiful woman.


    "It¡¯s nothing too serious." Lu Li didn¡¯t want to get into too much detail about his sister.


    "Then let me go visit her. I have some free time today after logging off." Water Fairy didn¡¯t know why she made such a request either.


    It had been a long time since she had taken to initiative to ask to visit someone.


    "No, it¡¯s okay, thank you," Lu Li refused, but then thought he was being rude so he quickly added, "She has just completed the surgery, so even I can¡¯t see her. I also don¡¯t know how far it is for you; I don¡¯t want to trouble you."


    "Peace talks my ass! Ao Jian, that idiot," Water Fairy said angrily. "He¡¯s already offended me and he still wants to talk about it!"


    "Huh?"


    "Sorry, I was talking to someone else," Water Fairy apologized, reverting to her normal tone. She just needed to vent for a little bit, but now she felt better.


    The two top executives in Drizzle Court that had come to see Water Fairy had no idea that Ao Jian had offended their leader so badly.


    It was also worth mentioning that the weather was getting cold, so she was probably becoming more impatient. The crafty Star Moon Guild had probably done something to offend her.


    "Do you have trouble with Ao Jian? Do you need help?" Lu Li was still trembling after the tycoon¡¯s show of aggression and thought it would be good to offer some help.


    "It¡¯s okay," Water Fairy said quietly. "Do you know what city I live in?"


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li was dumbfounded, and his foot slipped, causing him to almost fall onto the floor. An Ooze took the opportunity to hit his face, which turned out to be a critical hit and dealt more than 200 damage.


    Why was she suddenly asking a question like this?


    Water Fairy was a celebrity in game, but the city where she lived was unknown. Lu Li didn¡¯t know either ¨C even rebirth couldn¡¯t help him in that regard.


    "It seems like you don¡¯t know. How do you know it¡¯s far away?¡¯ Water Fairy wasn¡¯t speaking angrily, but Lu Li could feel the chill in the air as she spoke.


    Lu Li had only said that as a courtesy; why would she ask him that?


    It was so uncommon for Lu Li to come across someone who didn¡¯t follow formalities that he was speechless.


    After all, they were both friends.


    Well, perhaps they weren¡¯t as close as he thought. Lu Li began to ponder the consequences of offending Water Fairy and Drizzle Court.


    It seemed like Ruling Sword wouldn¡¯t be able to hold up against them as they were still developing and were unable to keep fighting.


    "Tell me which hospital is your sister in. I won¡¯t bite her," Water Fairy interrupted Lu Li¡¯s flights of fancy.


    Lu Li answered honestly, "Nanjing First People¡¯s Hospital, cardiology."


    One reason he was so honest was probably because of his conscience. He hadn¡¯t listened to it much in his past life. Water Fairy¡¯s desire to visit was probably sincere, as she was a rich female tycoon that didn¡¯t owe Lu Li anything. She was unlikely to have some other ulterior motive.


    "Nanjing¡­ haha¡­" Water Fairy made a sneering sound and then immediately hung up.


    Lu Li was completely baffled; he had no idea what was happening to Water Fairy today.


    There were a few days in a month where Lu Li would attribute Water Fairy¡¯s unusual behavior to female physiology. He had raised his sister alone, so he wasn¡¯t completely unaware about those things.


    He had initially planned to be peacefully levelling up, but he had been interrupted by the call from Water Fairy.


    His EXP bar was only at 70%. Lu Li felt a little displeasure at that, but he wanted to log off and go to pay a visit to the hospital.


    He didn¡¯t dare to call his sister as the phone might ring too loudly and scare her. Her heart was vulnerable at the moment and she needed to rest.


    After another two days, Lu Li could see her in protective clothing.


    Perhaps they had been informed by Square Root 3, but his teammates were aware of his situation and didn¡¯t bother him. Even Hachi Chan had been asking someone else to help with her quests.


    Lu Li thought for a moment and decided to open some Treasure Chests.


    After the fourth system update, the Treasure Chest system had changed quite a bit. The most significant update was the drops being reduced from two guaranteed drops to one. However, the Treasure Chests would refresh more frequently now.


    There were too many players, much more than the game company¡¯s expectations. Many players who relied on Treasure Chests to make money were unable to find any and were complaining.


    Additionally, a special Treasure Chest was added. It was officially called the Random Treasure Chest, but players called it the Lottery Chest.


    There could be 3 to 6 things in this treasure chest, and these items were numbered accordingly. The players who found the chest could roll for a number and would receive whatever they rolled.


    The chest didn¡¯t need Unlock and also allowed many players to roll for it.


    However, these changes didn¡¯t improve the quality of the drops. Lu Li looked around Thermore¡¯s Fall for a while and discovered three Treasure Chests. All of them were Steel ¨C even in high-level maps, it was rare to find Silver Treasure Chests, but Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to visit the Advanced Maps.


    He could fly, so he had a unique advantage in finding Treasure Chests.


    While the majority of players were still pursuing ground mounts, Lu Li was already thriving in the sky.


    Well, Hachi Chan could fly too. She had received the Archdruid¡¯s favor at the Howling Caves and could transform into a butterfly. Unfortunately, Hachi Chan still lacked control in the air.


    Of course, there were more than three chests in Theramore¡¯ Fall, but most of them had been opened. With the ability to transform into a crow, he could reach places that ordinary players couldn¡¯t.


    The three chests dropped three Steel equips, which were just a joke to Lu Li. After thinking for a while, Lu Li decided to go to a higher-level map.


    He was still upset and needed something to distract his mind.

 497 Tanaris’ Treasure Ches

    Lu Li was acting a little suicidal; he had chosen a level 40 map ¨C Tanaris.


    In Dawn, Tanaris was an endless desert.


    Under the cloudless sky was a bright expanse filled with patches of quicksand.


    Since the ancient times, Nozdormu, the Dragon of Time, had regarded this place as its home and had thrived in this vast inhospitable desert alone.


    The vast area of Tanaris contained many secrets. Most of the land was uninhabited, but there were many huge creatures wandering around like Kodo Beasts, Sand Worms and Tall Walkers.


    Speaking of the Kodos, Lu Li had almost forgotten to sell one of his Kodos.


    He didn¡¯t even need to think about who he was going to sell his Kodos to.


    Water Fairy was the best choice and he didn¡¯t even need to spend much time bargaining the price. The female tycoon was very generous in this regard and although she couldn¡¯t be taken advantage of, she would never be stingy when it came to her interests.


    He also didn¡¯t need to travel back as the place where Lu Li had sent the mount was not a small village that didn¡¯t have mailboxes.


    The mailbox was outside the hotel, and Lu Li directly sent the White Kodo Mount. He believed that the tycoon could understand what he meant and would repay him satisfactorily.


    Mounts were still a new thing at this stage, not to mention how difficult it was for players to obtain a Kodo.


    Moreover, it was pure white. Lu Li wasn¡¯t as stupid as the old Tauren thought he was; the albinism was of no value to hi,m but it was particularly attractive for females.


    After he sent it, Lu Li entered another bigger city.


    Gadgetzan was a high-tech city inhabited predominantly by Gnomes and Goblins. This was the hometown of numerous Goblins.


    The emergence of such a large city in the desert was in itself a miracle.


    Around the periphery of this settlement was a wall of copper. The city was famous for its Blacksmiths and Engineers, so naturally, there were also many knowledgeable Goblins Engineering Trainers here.


    Various machines whizzed around the streets of Gadgetzan and the sky around it was almost always covered in black smoke.


    Here, explorers were able to get the rest they needed, and were also able to escape the sun and the other dangers of the desert. Because it was a neutral city, players of the Alliance and the Horde were both present, which resulted in some conflict. However, the Goblin guards mercilessly attacked those daredevils who tried to provoke the other faction.


    In his past life, Lu Li had spent quite a long time here. The monsters in the desert were rare and cruel, but they were quite rich and would drop a lot of coins.


    It is said that this desert was filled with historical remains and mysteries.


    There was a huge underground tunnel network that was largely unexplored because very few players would explore such desolate areas. In addition, there were rumors of various prehistoric monsters hiding in the tunnels that would kill intruders without hesitation.


    Kodos, Tall Walkers and other giant predatory birds were common here. You could also occasionally see young and adult dragons flying over the heat waves that were lingering in the desert, despite the fact that the sea of sand dunes didn¡¯t seem like it could sustain any wildlife.


    Lu Li¡¯s choice could either be a big problem or a very exciting opportunity.


    There were quite a few flying creatures in this map. Vultures and Fire Rocs were both highly aggressive flying predators, while Dragons were more docile creatures, but who could guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t attack by accident?


    A single sneeze from an adult Dragon Boss could easily one-shot a player.


    Lu Li took off from Gadgetzan and headed towards the East Moon Ruins.


    It was likely that there was an ancient city here. Countless explorers wanted to find its treasure, but most of them ended up in the belly of a Sandworm.


    The Sandworms here were level 40 and their skills were very strong.


    One of their skills would suck players, monsters or NPCs directly into its stomach. There, damage would be dealt every second, but the target would be released if they weren¡¯t killed after 15 seconds.


    This skill had a 2-minute cooldown, and if you couldn¡¯t kill it within 2 minutes, it would swallow you again.


    Not many players dared to come here as this skill alone gave the Sandworm a significant psychological advantage.


    No one wanted to experience the feeling of being swallowed. Those who were timid were scared offline, and even those who knew that they would survive couldn¡¯t eat for a few days after they were swallowed.


    One moment, a player would be under the light and the next they would find themselves covered in mucus¡­


    What was worse was that equipment was worn down more quickly when fighting Sandworms. After fighting Sandworms for half a day, the repair costs would amount to a dozen gold coins.


    Lu Li walked cautiously; he didn¡¯t want to become Sandworm droppings. With his current level and equipment, he wasn¡¯t sure if he would even have the opportunity of being spat out.


    He was currently looking for some Treasure Chests in the East Moon Ruins.


    He remembered finding a Golden Chest in his previous life, but he was Druid so he couldn¡¯t open it and had to turn back.


    He had to track down a friend that was Thief before he could open the gold chest.


    Clearly, that person was tempted by the money and that ¡®friend¡¯ took the equipment without even offering to give it to Lu Li.


    From that point onward, he added a few Treasure Hunters as friends to sell the coordinates of Treasure Chests in accordance with the chest¡¯s grade.


    At the moment, there wouldn¡¯t be any Treasure Hunters in this area as they wouldn¡¯t know how to observe the movements of the Sandworms yet.


    Experienced players could determine the position of a Sandworm from the surface and could probably estimate its position even while it was moving.


    Lu Li was exactly that kind of person.


    He could accurately judge where the Sandworms were hiding and as long as he stopped lightly, he wouldn¡¯t be eaten by that disgusting skill.


    "Gold Treasure Chest¡­ where are you¡­?"


    Lu Li whispered as he slowly approached the weather stone walls which had not been visited by players for many years.


    This place, which used to be a city, was now a ruins that had been battered by rough winds and occasionally visited by the Wasteland Forces who were between level 38 to 40.


    The so-called Wasteland Forces were an ancient institution that were interested in exploring various historical ruins.


    There were three different occupations that could be found among them in the East Moon Ruins: Wasteland Survivors, which were similar to Warriors but could lay and disarm traps, Wasteland Trackers, which used bows, arrows and flares, and Wasteland Dark Mages, which were similar to the Warlocks.

 498 Gold Treasure Ches

    The Wasteland Forces were annoying because they would kill anyone that went to the ruins.


    In a certain sense, Lu Li¡¯s purpose was contrary to theirs, so meeting them would result in certain death. Lu Li was currently only level 34, so fighting level 40 monsters would be quite difficult. It was best for him to avoid them.


    These ruins made the normally flat desert terrain quite complex, so Lu Li had to be even more careful.


    It was hard to say whether there were Wasteland Forces hiding behind a wall. These monsters were basically gangsters and wouldn¡¯t reason with you.


    There was also a decent chance that a level 40 monster could see a Stealthed Thief that was 6 levels below them.


    Lu Li felt a decaying shell scratch the bottom of his foot; who knew why there was a shell here in the middle of the desert? However, not far away, a Wasteland Tracker dropped a flare at his feet.


    The Hunter¡¯s flare was a Thief¡¯s worst nightmare.


    Under these circumstances, Lu Li was unable to keep up the Stealth. A Wolf tooth flew and hit him in the knee, dealing over 300 damage.


    The level gap was so wide that a normal monster could deal 300 damage to him with a single attack.


    What was worse was that he had nowhere to go. He was surrounded by monsters, so he would run into one no matter where he ran. The longer he waited, the more gathered, so dying to these normal monsters was an actual possibility.


    Lu Li could only brace himself now.


    -89!


    His Shadowstrike with a Skill Completion above 85% only resulted in a double-digit amount of damage.


    Lu Li never realized how difficult it was to fight a monster that was much higher-levelled than he was.


    Fortunately, he could take potions and had a large number of crowd-control skills. He had lost half his HP, but he finally killed the monster that discovered him.


    After fighting for more than 10 minutes, he managed to kill five Wasteland Forces monsters. Lu Li still hadn¡¯t found the Gold Treasure Chest from his memories, but it still had left the strongest impression in his mind.


    It had to be around here somewhere. Although the refresh point was not fixed, it was bound to be somewhere in the area.


    Gold Treasure Chest¡­


    Lu Li looked across the golden yellow earth for the Gold Treasure Chest. Could it be that he needed to do some digging? Perhaps the chest had been buried under the sand?


    No, that was simply nonsense. Not only were the ruins so big that a player wouldn¡¯t find it after searching for years, but digging around in the sand would also disturb the Sandworms.


    Sandworms had no vision or hearing, so their perception was solely based on vibrations.


    Lu Li had no choice but to try and fight some monsters to pass the time. His targets were the Wasteland Forces that were roaming around, but fighting them was quite difficult. He had even tried to Pick Pocket them, but the level 40 monster¡¯s detection was so high that they knew he was there before he even got close. Then, the difficult fight would begin.


    The worst part was that despite fighting monsters that were 6 levels higher, he didn¡¯t gain much EXP.


    At least the drops were a consolation, as these desert monsters were quite rich. It seemed like these Wasteland gangsters were good at doing business.


    They were actually dropping Silver items. These were the first non-Boss monsters in Dawn to drop Silver items.


    However, after 30 minutes, Lu Li still hadn¡¯t achieved anything.


    Lu Li planned to keep looking for another 30 minutes, otherwise, he would go and kill the Southshore Sea Pirates. Those pirates were equally hard to kill, but they could drop some really good items.


    One such item was the ¡®Stealth Potion Recipe¡¯, which allowed non-stealth players to go into Stealth. The effect was far weaker than that of the Thief or Druid, but there was a big market for it.


    To complement that item, the corresponding potion was the ¡®Elixir of Detect Lesser Invisibility¡¯. That item was even more incredible.


    If you took that Potion, you could detect nearby Stealthed targets for some time. Of course, like the Stealth Potion, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily work on Stealth experts like the Thief or Druid.


    However, there was still a large market for it, as having a bottle of the anti-stealth potion would force Thieves to be more careful.


    There were also 16-space Troll Backpacks, Giant Strength Potions that gave 15 Strength, a variety of Blueprints, exquisite equipment and so on. The Southshore Sea Pirates were able to drop such good items because they were pirates.


    Killing them also had a chance of dropping a treasure map part, and collecting all three parts enabled the players to create a treasure map. They could also drop a Captain¡¯s key which was necessary to open the treasure.


    The most crucial part was that this treasure map could be repeatedly farmed, which meant that you would also gain a lot of EXP from this area.


    Right now, no one other than Lu Li knew about it.


    He could monopolize everything. He would be the first to open the treasure and enjoy its benefits. It was just like when he had gotten the First Clears on the Bosses.


    However, the Gold Treasure Chest was still a large temptation, and one of the regrets of his past life. A big reason for him choosing to play Thief this time was because of that.


    His luck with Treasure Chests seemed to be particularly good. He had found a lot of high-grade chests, but he could only watch as others opened them.


    After giving it some thought, he reasoned that the treasure chest couldn¡¯t be buried under the sand. After all, this was a game and the game company would design it such that the players would benefit.


    Burying it in the sand would make it very difficult for the players.


    Following that thinking, Lu Li began to pay more attention to the corners of the map.


    Tanaris didn¡¯t have a daytime. The sky was always starry and was complemented with a bright moon. As such, the yellow sand was permanently stained in silver.


    Under the moonlight, Lu Li glimpsed a metal sliver in the corner of his eyes.


    A chest!


    He had finally found the Gold Treasure Chest under the totem of a Viper.


    It definitely had not been easy to find.


    The golden totem, golden sand and golden chest was all unified with a layer of moonlight. If you didn¡¯t look carefully enough, you would never notice it.


    In his past life, he had found the Gold Treasure Chest of the East Moon Ruins because he had carelessly run into it.


    However, this time, it had taken him more than an hour of wandering around in the East Moon Ruins.


    System: Sorry, your Unlock Skill is not strong enough. Please continue to work hard.


    The cold system prompt doused his enthusiasm in icy water. Fortunately, he still had one Skill Point left, otherwise, he would have cried his way home.


    He added a point to the Unlock Skill, upgrading it to level 3 and enabling its use on Gold Treasure Chests. Although this was likely not the first Gold Treasure Chest discovered in Dawn, this was the first that Lu Li had seen.


    The channel was slow but steady and his heart finally let go of his sister¡¯s condition as he waited for the game in anticipation.

 499 Wirt’s Third Leg

    Would it be Gold equipment?


    For most Treasure Hunters, the thing they probably didn¡¯t want to see the most was equipment.


    Equipment like bracelets and earrings were very rare and highly sought after. Some players had opened hundreds or thousands of chests without even finding a single one.


    However, they would still prefer rare materials or Trade Skill Blueprints to appear in treasure chests. They would also take Skill Books as well, although Skill Books like the Warrior¡¯s Charge were already worthless.


    If it was a Steel Treasure Chest, the equipment dropped would only be Steel grade. Right now, even exquisite Steel equipment was not worth much money.


    As such, the Gold Treasure Chest would drop a Gold Treasure Chest. As long as the attributes weren¡¯t too bad, the item would be worth a decent amount of money. Gold equipment was still in short supply at the moment.


    Lu Li only had a few pieces, let alone the ordinary players.


    However, if there were other items in the chest, they would probably be more expensive.


    The skill channel didn¡¯t actually take that long; it soon completed and a ¡®kacha¡¯ sound could be heard. The Gold Treasure Chest slowly opened.


    Lu Li took a breath and reached into the chest.


    The item that he touched felt cold and a little tough. When he took it out, he realised that it was a pair of shoes.


    Lu Li sighed internally; his current shoes were the Tempest Leather Boots.


    Tempest Leather Boots (Silver): 25 Armour, All Stats+10, Movement Speed+5%, Special Effect: Escape. After activating, you instantly appear at a location within 15 feet. Cooldown Time: 180 seconds, Equipment Requirement: LV25. Durability: 50/50.


    They increased all attributes, gave a 5% move speed buff and even had an escape effect.


    They were simply perfect.


    Even though they were only a level 25 Silver, Lu Li could probably use them until level 35. Of all the level 30 Silver or Gold equipment, he had not seen any boots that were better.


    He had many reasons to love them ¨C they had a beautiful appearance and were comfortable¡­


    Now, he had received another pair of shoes, but they were just leather shoes. Lu Li was quite disappointed.


    Rebirth hadn¡¯t changed his luck; he was still very unlucky. After all, he was just an ordinary person and didn¡¯t have supernatural luck like the System¡¯s daughter Hachi Chan.


    His equipment wasn¡¯t that Heaven-Defying either. It was just a little better than that of the top players, so there was much room for improvement.


    If a player always found great items, but they were always shoes, then their strength would be limited. Even if they traded, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get the best items.


    Regardless, he had a look at the items properties.


    Wirt¡¯s Third Leg (Gold): Armor 35, Agility +20, Constitution +12, Movement Speed +8%. Special Effect 1: Fade into the shadows and appear behind a target. Increases movement speed by 80% for 3 seconds and increases damage done by the next spell by 20%. Reduces Threat by 50%. 120 second cooldown. Special Effect 2: Wirt¡¯s Fake Leg, Instant Cast, bound forward or backward by 8 yards. 120 second cooldown. Equipment Requirement level 35. Durability 82/82.


    There was also a long inscription on the boots which described Wirt¡¯s unhappy childhood. When he was young, he and a group of other villagers were kidnapped by a Dark Mage and experimented on.


    After a few years, he was fortunately rescued by a passing hero. However, Wirt had already suffered a lot of torture and had lost the ability to walk. As such, the hero gave him a pair of magical boots which were called Wirt¡¯s Third Leg, otherwise known as Wirt¡¯s Fake Leg.


    After his ability to walk was restored, he followed this hero and gradually became an Epic Thief. He then successfully killed the Dark Mage that had gone into hiding.


    Lu Li decided to take back what he had thought previously.


    The Tempest Leather Boots weren¡¯t perfect. They were a little weaker than Wirt¡¯s Third Leg.


    The Tempest Leather Boots added 10 to all attributes, but the only useful attributes were Agility, Strength and Constitution, in that order. Wirt¡¯s Third Leg added 20 points to the most important attribute, Agility. As such, it clearly had the best properties.


    Wirt¡¯s Third Leg also had 3% more Movespeed.


    As for the special effect, the Tempest Leather Boots only had one escape. It was very useful, but it was a bit awkward because it sent you 15 yards in a random direction.


    If the environment was complex, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t dare to use the effect, especially if he was near a cliff edge, a deep ravine or a volcano. If it placed him in a bad spot, the effects could be disastrous.


    Similarly, Wirt¡¯s Third Leg also had an effect called Wirt¡¯s Fake Leg.


    This only moved him by 8 yards, but he could control whether he wanted to move forwards or backwards. It was useful for both chasing and escaping.


    Additionally, Lu Li also thought that its first effect was very strong.


    It was almost the same as Shadow Cloak, and perhaps was even stronger.


    It included a 10% speed buff for 1 second, increase damage and decreased Threat by 50%. That was really good for Bosses, no matter how high your Threat was.


    He should have retired the Shadow Cloak a long time ago, but Lu Li had been reluctant to because of its effect. However, with Wirt¡¯s Third Leg, he could now find a new cloak. The clear increase in strength when changing from Tempest Leather Boots to Wirt¡¯s Third Leg made it easy.


    The only issue was the equipment level requirement. Suddenly, Lu Li felt motivated to level again.


    Unless if they were levelling maniacs like Sakura Memories, most players were like Lu Li. They couldn¡¯t just keep on levelling forever; the human psyche just couldn¡¯t stand it.


    However, with a goal in mind, anyone could enjoy the boring levelling process.


    Tanaris was not suitable for levelling, as the lowest-levelled monster was level 40.


    Before Lu Li left, he intended to take a look at the Southshore Sea Pirates.


    In his previous life, that place had quickly become a contested land and turned into a bloodbath between competing guilds. Later, negotiations arose and the decision was made by the strongest.


    He didn¡¯t know the specifics; an average player like Lu Li wouldn¡¯t know about this kind of thing.


    He had always heard about the Southshore Sea Pirates, but he hadn¡¯t killed a single pirate from there before.


    Right now, no one knew about the Southshore Sea pirates, so there was no one stopping him from farming.


    There were several camps of Southshore Sea Pirates, but the most important one was called the Lost Rigger Cove. This was the pirate¡¯s base camp, and was the filled with elite monsters.


    Lu Li spent a tremendous amount effort just to get to this place.


    However, he didn¡¯t have a choice; his level was low, so any monsters he fought would take a long time to kill. If he ran into any groups of monsters, he would have no choice but to run away.

 500 Calling Someone

    In fact, there was a huge Sandworm on the way.


    This disgusting monster populated a large area of the Tanaris sand; this place seemed to be their spawn point. Lu Li, who had come along, didn¡¯t know how many were here. He had accidentally stepped on one¡¯s head and was almost swallowed.


    Fortunately, he had the Tempest Leather Boots. This piece of equipment that he was about to replace had once again saved his life.


    There were also groups of Sunroc, but fortunately, Lu Li knew how these monsters behaved. If he attacked just one of them, the entire group would retaliate. At the current level of Dawn¡¯s players, even 100 players wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    At this point, there were monsters everywhere in the Lost Rigger Cove, so Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to go inside.


    He found monsters in the periphery to test, and discovered that monsters who could drop good items shouldn¡¯t be underestimated. These pirates had a strong attack and could also buff themselves with a variety of potions.


    They had an attack bonus, attribute bonus, move speed bonus, and Lu Li had even seen a Detection of Secondary Stealth potion.


    There was already a level gap, so with the Stealth detection, there was no chance for Lu Li to sneak into the camp. If the Southshore Pirates had musketeers, they would definitely line up on Lu Li¡¯s head.


    Later, he ran into an Elite monster with high HP and was unable to kill it, even after a long time.


    When Lu Li saw that his HP had dropped by two-thirds and that the monster was still on half HP, he decisively hit a Kidney Shot stun and vanished with Stealth to escape.


    After this, whenever he saw an Elite monster, he would go the long way around.


    The elite monsters were bigger than ordinary monsters, their amour was brighter, and the weapons they were holding were not pieces of scrap metal.


    After half an hour, Lu Li had killed over 40 monsters and had gained less than 0.1% EXP. He was levelling at a snail¡¯s pace.


    As for equipment, he had received many level 40 Bronze and Steel equips that were all destined for the shops. He had also received quite a few cloth materials, but the drops weren¡¯t as good as he thought.


    Lu Li quickly gave up the idea of killing monsters in this area.


    However, he wasn¡¯t comfortable with just giving up and leaving either. As such, he used Sudden Thrust towards the seashore.


    The Lost Rigger Cove was here, a natural occurrence along the seashore. There were three ships anchored in the cove and they were all relied on by the Southshore Sea Pirates. If an army came to siege them, they could also use the ships to retreat to sea.


    In the vast sea, they were simply untraceable. As such, piracy was a very popular business in Dawn.


    Lu Li jumped into the water and instantly transformed into a Seal.


    BOSS!


    The fish and shrimp were shocked by the sudden appearance of this monster and scattered in different directions. Only the carefree creatures like the eels continued to cruise around slowly. They were in a group and had good combat effectiveness.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with these eels. He was going to grab one later to cook when he was leaving.


    Instead, he moved along the coast and tried to find Treasure Chests near the campfire. There definitely would be one; the pirate camp was one of the most densely populated areas of the world.


    He quickly spotted a chest, but it was only a Steel one. It was unlikely that it would drop any good items.


    It was also surrounded by seven or eight pirates, and there were also two among them that looked like elites. It wasn¡¯t worth the risk, so Lu Li looked for another target. If he could find a Gold chest, he would assemble a few Thieves from the guild to distract the monsters while he opened it.


    In this land that no one had set foot on, the treasures of the Gold chest would be amazing and a worthy cause for other players to fight over.


    After travelling a little further, Lu Li paused. His gaze was drawn to a tall, red-bearded pirate with one eye.


    He was wearing a black captain¡¯s hat, a necklace with large pearls, wielded a gold-handled knife on his waist and was leaving deep footprints in the sand.


    It was a Boss!


    Why was there a Boss here?


    Lu Li remembered from his past life that this place should not have a captain Boss in it. However, he had heard of certain guilds trying to farm the pirates and warn that others should stay away for their own safety.


    He had never heard of a Boss being killed in this area.


    It was Andre Firebeard!


    Suddenly, Lu Li realised the name of this Boss.


    This was originally Lost Rigger Cove¡¯s only Boss, Andre Firebeard. He finally remembered reading about this Boss from this depth of his memories.


    The article he had read wasn¡¯t about killing Captain Andre, nor was it about how a guild managed to steal the Boss ¨C it was just a press release.


    He had no recollection of when Andre Firebeard had been killed by single player.


    He also had no recollection of what Andre Firebeard dropped.


    Lu Li only remembered on thing ¨C Andre Firebeard was not difficult to kill. In his previous life, a small guild had managed to defeat him, which was so sensational at the time that it afforded them some news coverage.


    However, one thing was for sure ¨C even if the Boss was easy to kill, Lu Li couldn¡¯t do it alone.


    If Andre called out some of his underlings, Lu Li would have no chance.


    It was a strange sight to behold at the Lost Rigger Cove. There was a Seal holding up its upper body and staring greedily at the pirate captain.


    He had to kill him!


    It would be too disappointing if he didn¡¯t.


    It was a level 40+ Boss that could only be killed once; it couldn¡¯t respawn. If the small monsters had decent drops, then surely the Boss would have good drops too.


    And there was also the chance of it dropping a treasure map¡­


    If he didn¡¯t kill it now, was he going to let that random small guild do it instead?


    He decided to immediately rally some other players to come and help.


    Lu Li had given up on fighting the Boss alone and was calling his guildmembers for help.


    "Make a group with all the elite players, but don¡¯t mobilise it yet. Keep it lowkey and wait for my message," Lu Li messaged Square Root 3.


    "Lu Li are you okay? Why are you getting the elite players?" Square Root 3 was puzzled.


    Normally, Square Root 3 wouldn¡¯t question the instructions, but today. he had to double check because his sister was on a hospital bed and couldn¡¯t be visited. Lu Li wasn¡¯t in a good mood and perhaps something was wrong.


    "We¡¯re killing a Wild Boss. Don¡¯t tell anyone yet, just in case the information leaks," Lu Li said seriously.


    "What Boss? Where?" Square Root 3 was interested the moment he heard the word ¡®Boss¡¯. He had organized the Star Moon Guild to kill a few Wild Bosses before. The benefits of Wild Bosses were usually lucrative.


    However, Ruling Sword was currently too weak and in a phase of rapid development, so they didn¡¯t have the strength to compete with the bigger guilds.

 501 The Scouting Party

    "It¡¯s a pirate captain that¡¯s level 40+ at Tanaris." Lu Li didn¡¯t speak in much detail when describing the location. After all, Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t see it anyway.


    "Heavens, you¡¯ve really gone mad. You¡¯re actually at Tanaris!" Square Root 3¡¯s whistle could be heard through the communicator.


    "Don¡¯t be so dramatic. I¡¯m still alive, aren¡¯t I?" Lu Li disagreed.


    "The map is massive, so there must be some other players exploring the area, but you won¡¯t even tell me where you are?" Square Root 3 really felt like something was wrong with Lu Li.


    It made sense that he could go a little crazy with all the stress he had been experiencing.


    The Tanaris Desert covered a large area south of Kalimdor and was said to contain several relics. There were treasures everywhere, and it was land full of opportunity. There was no way that the players would just leave this place be. There were already players who were trying to explore this location as soon as they hit level 30.


    However, all who tried died without exception.


    Despite this, death didn¡¯t bother them too much as they were mostly guild-hired death squads.


    Their main problem was the disgusting Sandworm which actually ate players.


    Those players who had experienced being swallowed refused to step back onto the sand, no matter how much money they were offered.


    Right now, Lu Li was actually going to try and kill a Tanaris Boss that was level 40+.


    "Gather the 100 elite members and give them notice that they will be doing some fighting soon," Lu Li instructed.


    He was very much aware of potential undercover players among his elite players.


    The Wild Bosses in Dawn were particularly difficult to fight. This wasn¡¯t necessarily because the Bosses were stronger, but that it was very difficult for guilds to keep the fight a complete secret. The news was bound to spread.


    Once two or more guilds got involved, the Boss fight would turn into a contest.


    "Alright, but how do you propose we get the 100 players to the Boss? Not everyone can go into Stealth like you, you know," Square Root 3 said, struggling to hold back from directly insulting him.


    Lu Li seemed to have lost his usual strategizing brilliance.


    "Three Bro, Xin Xin¡¯s surgery was a success and I need to make a lot of money right now to ensure that she has the best follow up and recovery. I wouldn¡¯t joke about the guild like this." Lu Li was clearly a little angry.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll get it done in 30 minutes."


    Square Root 3 immediately started arranging it obediently. He wiped the cold sweat that was on his forehead and cursed silently. Lu Li was actually quite scary when he was angry.


    "Sheesh, you needed to make me raise my voice before you would listen," Lu Li said as he shook his head and started heading back.


    However, Square Root 3¡¯s concerns were not unreasonable. It wasn¡¯t difficult to pull 100 players to Tanaris as they could just instantly transport to the city, but once they were out of the safe area, they were bound to have a hard time. Moreover, mobilizing so many guild members at once was bound to tip off the undercover players.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t worried about any of this at all.


    After he returned, he went to Gadgetzan and saw several players waiting there for him.


    There was Scarlet New Moon, a Thief from his Elite Group. In addition to levelling in Instance Dungeons, his main hobby was hunting treasure chests. He had several pieces of equipment on him that increased Stealth, so his Stealth ability was nearly comparable to Lu Li¡¯s


    He was also particularly good at avoiding reveal skills. Not only could he detect traps, but he could also find camouflaged monsters.


    There was also Cain¡¯s Left Hand, someone who Lu Li had once fought in the Warsong Canyon. His technique was very good and when Lu Li wasn¡¯t around, he was Fat Monkey¡¯s flag bearer.


    Hachi Chan and Sesame Rice Ball were also there, but these two didn¡¯t need any introduction.


    "Lu Li, look! This is my dragon," Hachi Chan proudly said as she showed off her elven dragon who was lazily lying on her chest. It looked quite flashy, but it didn¡¯t seem like a particularly strong defender.


    Even so, it was clearly very beautiful. The Elf Dragon was considered to be one of the most beautiful dragons.


    As of now, it was far too small to be a mount. Unless some miracle happened, Hachi Chan would have no chance of riding it in this life. On the contrary, she actually needed to hold it, so the dragon was really using her as a mount.


    "I hope you get to mount it one day," Lu Li said bluntly.


    "If I can find an adult Elven Dragon, the baby will grow up quickly. The NPC said that I needed to go into Emerald Dreams territory to find adult Elven Dragons," Hachi Chan said quietly.


    Adult Elven Dragons¡­


    Lu Li felt a bit of compassion, and thought that perhaps he could give it a try.


    However, right now it was more important for them to fight the Boss. There were a hundred players waiting to be called to their location.


    Lu Li¡¯s plan was quite simple ¨C he just needed to bring Sesame Rice Ball to the Lost Rigger Cove and then protect him as he used the Ritual of Summoning to bring all the other players there.


    ¡®Ritual of Summoning¡¯ was a book that Lu Li had received from Thaelrid after clearing BackFathom.


    It was a Warlock-exclusive skill that allowed the caster and two allies to open a portal that could be used to summon a squad or party members.


    It was simple to explain, but quite difficult to actually achieve.


    The most important part was to bring Sesame Rice Ball to the location, otherwise, everything would be in vain.


    Sesame Rice ball was currently level 33, which was 7 levels lower than the desert monsters. He couldn¡¯t go into Stealth, so he was going to be like a firefly in the dark.


    When the level gap was this large, the aggro chance was also significantly higher.


    Some monsters would appear very far away, but would still be attracted by Sesame Rice Ball.


    When Lu Li was alone, he could simply run away, but Sesame Rice Ball didn¡¯t have that option. Fortunately, he had brought two other Thieves with him.


    Scarlet New Moon was going to be responsible for scouting ahead, and would generally not participate in any battles.


    If Sesame Rice Ball pulled any monsters, Lu Li would be able to kill them with the help of Cain¡¯s Left Hand.


    If it was a Sandworm and they really couldn¡¯t escape it, Lu Li will would it away and escape with his boots¡¯ effect.


    As for Hachi Chan, she was solely brought for the Revive Skills which would come in handy if any of them died.


    A single monster would not pose a threat to such a team, as Lu Li could already kill one when he was alone.


    What he was most afraid of was the Sunroc. This monster was large and fast; they couldn¡¯t escape it.


    Scarlet New Moon even died one time because he accidentally entered a Sunroc¡¯s territory during his scouting. When they found him dying, Lu Li heartlessly refused to save him.


    They waited until he died and the Sunroc flew away before telling Hachi Chan to use her Revive skill from afar.


    Scarlet New Moon¡¯s deaths were the only way they lost team mates. He slowly felt like he was actually just cannon fodder that served to lead everyone safely, but Lu Li also occasionally led the way. Thieves had escape skills like Gale Steps, so they were much safer than Warlocks.


    After spending about an hour or so, they quickly crossed the quicksand plains, the beach and slowly approached the Lost Rigger Cove from along the coastline.

 502 Cleared Ou

    This route was quite long, but it was relatively safe. Not only did they avoid two Sunroc nesting grounds, but they also bypassed the Sandworm spawn points.


    The Sandworms didn¡¯t like water, so it was rare to see this creature on the beach.


    When the players became more familiar with the map, no one would travel directly through Tanaris anymore. However, there was still some skill involved with this path as they needed to travel through some crocodiles. The crocodiles on the beach were more ferocious. No one knew why they had abandoned the Swamp and decided to live near the sea.


    "Right here - it¡¯s a wide enough space," Lu Li instructed as he looked around before signaling everyone to stop.


    "What are we doing here?" Cain¡¯s Left Hand was puzzled. They didn¡¯t have a composition that could fight monsters; they didn¡¯t even have a Main Tank.


    "We¡¯re going to bring the players here. Rice Ball, open the gate," Lu Li said, not bothering to explain any further.


    Sesame Rice Ball quickly explained to his teammates how they were going to summon a tall, magical portal on the sand. Players who were in his party could then be summoned by this portal.


    It was quick and there was no cooldown time.


    When this skill became more popular, player mobility would be greatly increased.


    One by one, the elite players were summoned over. This piece of land was quickly crowded by dozens of players who were looking around blankly with the same puzzled face.


    "What is this place?"


    "I don¡¯t know. We were summoned here by the Boss, so there must be something happening."


    "Did you guys pay attention to how you got here? There was suddenly a prompt asking if I wanted to be summoned by Sesame Rice Ball, and I was immediately transported here when I accepted."


    "Sesame Rice ball is our guild¡¯s number 1 Warlock. He must be an expert, but this skill is just broken."


    "There are so many players here; this must be a big expedition. This is the first time the guild has gathered this many players, yet no one knows what the boss is doing?"


    "Kalimdor, Tanaris, Lost Rigger Cove¡­ we¡¯re actually in Tanaris. Haha, it seems we are going to be the first to explore this wasteland map. Looks like we¡¯re going to fight a Boss."


    As the players began to guess the reason for this dispatch, they started to become serious.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s current strategy was a slow growth. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to quickly expand, but they were afraid that it would cost them in the long run. The other guilds didn¡¯t want to them to grow too quickly, so if they started something in open, they would definitely be suppressed.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s activities had always been private. Most of time, they were contained within the Stadium or an Instance Dungeon.


    Given the isolation of this place, the big guilds¡¯ undercover players had no idea what to do.


    Lu Li divided the teams up. There were 110 players all together that formed 11 teams. The core team was his usual team of 10, which left the remaining 10 teams to be made up of the 100 elite players.


    The divided players would also have their respective party leaders. Starting from the arrival point, they cleared out all the monsters in the nearby area.


    According to Lu Li¡¯s orders, if there was a pirate, they could not let it escape under any circumstances.


    It was still a challenge for the players to fight level 40 Elite monsters, but fortunately, it wasn¡¯t a one-on-one. They surrounded the monster and the fights were over within a matter of seconds.


    All this came back to the saying that Dawn wasn¡¯t a single-player game.


    When Lu Li had first arrived, he was scared of fighting monsters and was avoiding the elites, but now that they had the numbers, the monsters didn¡¯t stand a chance. Their high attack had no chance of killing the Main Tanks with the support of their healers. There were also six or seven DPS players dealing as much damage as they could.


    Once the one hundred players were gathered, Lu Li spoke into the channel.


    "Our goal today is to get the First Clear on a level 40+ Boss. It should drop some good items," Lu Li paused before continuing, "I know that some of you will report this fight because there is no loss you nor will you be found out. Moreover, that single report will probably be rewarded with ten to twenty thousand dollars which can help you live quite comfortably."


    "But do you think you are only worth ten to twenty thousand?" Lu Li didn¡¯t like making speeches in the guild, so this was a rare sight. The players were all serious now, and the air of fun and games had gone.


    "Do you think you were born in the wrong time, or that you have been unable to realize your potential, or that the world is against you? But have you really worked hard to get it¡­"


    "This guild isn¡¯t mine alone ¨C it is everyone¡¯s. If you make that report for ten to twenty thousand, what do you take the guild as? What do you take yourself as?"


    Lu Li was confident that there would be someone among the elite group that would sell the information.


    In reality, this wasn¡¯t limited to Ruling Sword ¨C all big guilds were bound to contain undercover players.


    There were special intelligence traffickers that relied on selling information for their money. The big guilds didn¡¯t even have to come in direct contact with them, so they didn¡¯t have to worry about exposing themselves.


    Information about fighting a Wild Boss would be worth at least ten to twenty thousand dollars.


    In particular, it was Ruling Sword that was fighting this Boss. If the receiver of the information was a large and rich guild, it would definitely be worth at least twenty thousand.


    Twenty thousand dollars was more than a month¡¯s income for a white-collar worker in the city.


    If you were still a student, this was enough money to pay for one or two semesters.


    The channel was quiet for a moment after Lu Li finished his remarks. Then, the overlapping sounds of the players declaring their innocence and loyalty could be heard.


    They all understand that there was no permanent solution for something like this. The key was in taking real action.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s speech wasn¡¯t completely in vain.


    There were still many players who agreed with him. Lu Li was establishing that the guild belonged to everyone, and that everyone needed to be involved to propel the guild to glory.


    The sense of belonging in a guild was accumulated in these small details.


    "Go along the beach and kill all the monsters. The loot is to be picked up by the party leaders. The players in the party can then compete for it immediately, but otherwise, the items will belong to the guild warehouse."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything else. He wasn¡¯t in a good mood today and he had already said more than he wanted to.


    In fact, even if someone leaked the information, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be too worried.


    A part of him even hoped that someone would come and look for trouble. The more players came, the better. The Tanaris Desert would give those players a painful lesson to learn.

 503 The Underestimated Captain

    With their numbers, they soon cleared their way towards the captain. There were already hundreds of corpses left around Lost Rigger Cove, and they managed picked up some good equipment and materials along the way.


    These elite monsters dropped Silver grade equips; it was no wonder why people said that pirates were rich.


    Unfortunately, these were all level 35 to level 40 equips, so nobody was able to currently use them.


    "Don¡¯t go any further; we don¡¯t know the range of the boss. Everyone, step back. Go around and clear the monsters from the other side; I¡¯ll get closer to test his range," Lu Li instructed.


    Based on game settings, every boss had a range. Under normal circumstances, a Boss wouldn¡¯t attack you as long as you didn¡¯t step into its range, even if it saw you or if you were killing its underlings.


    To make the task of clearing monsters easier, it was a general rule of thumb to send someone to test the range of a Boss beforehand.


    At this level, any classes besides defense classes would probably be instantly killed by the Boss.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t delegate this task to someone else. He could if he wanted to; most commanders won¡¯t risk their own lives.


    Lu Li slowly approached the captain.


    As the distance between them shrunk, Andre Firebeard became more and more visible. He began to turn his vision in Lu Li¡¯s direction. Finally, he yelled and raised his foot to charge towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li had been keeping a close eye on the situation, and as soon as the boss saw him, he began preparing himself.


    The moment Andre Firebeard charged over, Lu Li used his Gale Steps. Not only did he gain Stealth, but he also gained a movement speed increased. The boss unwillingly stopped his footsteps and cursed as he returned to his original spot.


    If the distance was far enough, the Stealth effect of a Thief would cancel the aggro from a Boss. Lu Li also used his movement speed buff as an extra precaution.


    He didn¡¯t use the special effect on his boots. Since the effect was random, there was the probability of teleporting him forwards. That wouldn¡¯t be running away ¨C that would be committing suicide.


    "We¡¯re in the wild, so even if you are resurrected, you will still lose experience. I¡¯m hoping that everyone will stay focused. Even if you have a death wish, don¡¯t drag others with you. The safety distance is 36 yards. Everyone keep out of the 40-yard range. Anyone who attracts monsters before I start the fight will have 30 points taken off them. Three mistakes and you¡¯ll be kicked out of the team as a substitute."


    Lu Li¡¯s style as a commander was straightforward, but also forceful.


    He didn¡¯t think that he was the best commander, so if players under him were to fool around, there would be no hope for their victory.


    Deaths in the wild came with a 10% experience loss, but resurrection within a certain amount of time could reduce this penalty by half. However, if they couldn¡¯t wait until the healers left battle and had time, they would have to lose 10%.


    Lu Li¡¯s 10% was equivalent to one or two days¡¯ worth of work.


    Monsters within forty yards of Captain Andre Firebeard were cleared. The total number of these monsters was more than two thousand; only a guild would be able to clear out this many.


    Of course, these monsters would refresh, so Lu Li instructed two teams of ten to be in charge of clearing them.


    There were some monsters that remained within the 40-yard radius of the boss. Since these were within the aggro range, they would have to wait until the fight began to clear them out.


    "Distribute the potions. Each captain should distribute the potions accordingly to their team members. Three minutes preparation time. After three minutes, everyone follow my command," Lu Li said as he scanned around. His tone was stable, almost to the point that it was cold.


    Square Root 3 finally confirmed that Lu Li was normal; he hadn¡¯t lost control because of what happened to his sister.


    "Azure Sea Breeze tank. Monsoon, heal the tank. Hachi Chan, you¡¯re also looking after the health of Azure Sea Breeze. If the tank dies, you two will be in question. God of Destiny, you¡¯re the second tank... March Rain look after the health of the melee players. Alright, elite team nine and ten, once Azure Sea Breeze holds onto the boss, clear the monsters." Following Lu Li¡¯s instructions, the first wild battle of Ruling Sword began.


    "The Captain is level 45, and has 350,000 health points. His normal attacks deal around 600 points of damage to me," Azure Sea Breeze said after he charged forward and the captain landed a blow on his head.


    He was the main tank, so he needed to report the situation for his team members. This also made the situation easier for Lu Li to give instructions.


    Just his normal attacks alone dealt around 600 points which was a surprising amount. Lu Li was a little confused ¨C didn¡¯t the thread claim that the captain was really weak and that he had died to a small guild?


    He wasn¡¯t thinking on the right path, so he forgot about the time.


    The small guild had fought the boss a month later. At that time, the players mostly wore level 35 equips. Their level difference was also smaller, which made the fight much easier.


    Lu Li also didn¡¯t know about the exact details of the battle. The boss wasn¡¯t an easy kill for the small guild, and only the guild would know how many players actually died in the fight.


    "Darkness, go and heal Azure Sea Breeze. You two can make a combination; try not to over heal. Smoking Rain City, go and put down some mana totems for them¡­" Lu Li said, adjusting the distribution of the team.


    Smoking Rain City was a Shaman form the elite team and his techniques were quite good.


    He had come from the major guild Brotherhood, but what he had done to the executives of the guild remained unknown. After they entered Dawn, he secretly chose the Alliance Faction, standing on the opposite side of his previous contractor.


    With two healer Paladins and a main tank, they were able to make it through the situation.


    "Under my command..."


    A shout appeared, but this command wasn¡¯t from Lu Li. He was stunned, then saw the smoke that rose from the cannons of three ships.


    "Damage reduction! Everyone use damage reduction!" Lu Li called out loudly.


    This was a challenge of reaction time; not everyone made it in time to use their damage reduction skills.


    The sound of cannons filled the air as shellfire rolled around and exploded everywhere on the shore. A sea of damage text arose, and at the one minute and forty second mark of the battle, the first players were killed.


    Thirteen players died.


    The damage was too much; Lu Li had to admit that he had underestimated the strength of this level 42 Boss.


    Just this skill alone was enough to destroy most guilds. This wasn¡¯t a Boss that a small guild would be able to fight. He warned himself again to forget the conclusion about the captain being a weak Boss.


    Thirteen ¨C there weren¡¯t enough Druids to resurrect all of them.


    Lu Li calmly instructed his injured team members to reposition themselves. The three warships had 24 cannons that were aimed towards this shore. As long as they positioned themselves away from consecutive shellfire damage, they would be able to effectively reduce their casualties.


    A single cannon alone wasn¡¯t enough to kill a player instantly. Players with good game sense and technique would even be able to dodge the damage of the cannons.


    "Stay concentrated ¨C I don¡¯t want this situation to happen again. Their deaths were pointless and they lost 10% experience too. Since this was the first time, those who died can still participate to receive points. The next time this situation happens, points will be deducted by half," Lu Li mercilessly said in the guild channel.


    Ruling Sword was aiming for the first kill of Captain Andre Firebeard and the battle was intense.


    The other guilds, especially the major guilds, eventually received this information. Perhaps even before Lu Li talked about this event, some elite team members had already sent the information out.

 504 Surrounded by Troops

    Ruling Sword was taking down a level 40 wild Boss.


    The news spread around in a small group, but the impact was way more than it seemed because this small group represented the major guilds.


    Unlike the situations in the past, this information wasn¡¯t kept as a secret.


    This was Ruling Sword.


    Every group somewhat rejected intruders, even if the group had their own fights between each member. Peerless City had been around for three years and had the foundation that they needed to talk with the major guilds on the same level, but they were still often a target.


    These major guilds had never found a chance to target Ruling Sword.


    Their original form was just a small mercenary group of ten. However, this small mercenary group took down many First Clears, including all the First Clears of the public dungeons.


    Ruling Sword was also built upon the championship of Shadow Cup. At that time, the major guilds didn¡¯t even have the courage to show their faces.


    Whenever a minor dispute arose, countless bystanders would spite them. They said that these guilds didn¡¯t deserve to be ranked in the top 100, that they had been destroyed on the competition ground and could succeed by playing dirty.


    Now was their chance.


    Taking down Bosses in the wild was dependent on everyone¡¯s skills and tactics.


    This was quite standard in the gaming industry; it was normal for them to try and steal the Boss away from Ruling Sword. No one would be able to point out their fault.


    Soon, a dozen guilds had reached the same conclusion. Gangnam Royals was the main leader; these guilds sent a large group of strong players and quickly formed an alliance.


    Approximately 1300 players participated in this event.


    They were mostly elite members and were responsible for these kinds of dirty missions. Although the guild master of Gangnam Royals, Heart of War, wasn¡¯t in charge of any teams, he still gave specific instructions:


    Ensure that the elites from Ruling Sword all drop 10% experience.


    They had bought information about Ruling Sword killing a Boss, but at the same time, Ruling Sword had received information about the action of these big guild too.


    The price of sending messages was low. With a small amount of money, you could purchase any information first-hand.


    Compared to the trade in real life, the information trade was much harder in the game.


    "Lu Li, we¡¯ve received information; they¡¯re coming. If we really can¡¯t do this, I suggest that we come back later," Square Root 3 messaged Lu Li.


    "Why are we running? If they come, we¡¯ll make sure that none of them will be able to return." Lu Li wasn¡¯t moved; the daggers in his hands danced like shadows as it continuously dealt damage to the captain.


    "But..." Square Root 3 was worried ¨C this was 13 teams of 100 players that they were up against.


    "Shellfire incoming. Ready... defend." Lu Li¡¯s attention clearly wasn¡¯t on their attackers; his command cut off all the words that Square Root 3 was about to say.


    A row of plated classes, mostly defense classes, held their shields as they blocked the three warships.


    The shellfire landed on these iron shields and exploded into texts of damage.


    The first row lost a great amount of health, but none of them died.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s resources were all used on these 100 people which made them much stronger. After they had received the guide from Lu Li, they had also been to Scarlet Monastery. An average small guild wouldn¡¯t be able to set up an iron wall like that.


    Square Root 3 shook his head and returned to his position.


    "With me as the center, Elite team five and six, help teams nine and ten clear the refreshed monsters on the left. Shamans, pay attention to the mana regeneration of the teams. Everyone, don¡¯t hesitate to use potions either," Lu Li said as he calmly distributed these tasks.


    "Boss, a big group of players suddenly appeared in Gadgetzan. We estimate over 1000 players," someone from the guild reported.


    "Got it," Lu Li replied in the guild channel.


    "Do we need to stop them?" The other players in the guild were keen since they couldn¡¯t make it into the elite team or participate in this quest.


    "No, don¡¯t leave the safe zone. Those with spare time can go level up." Lu Li couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything harsh to these people. After all, these people just wanted to help the guild.


    If he was too harsh with his words, it would reduce the passion of these guild players.


    Gadgetzan suddenly became rowdy, as not only did groups of unidentified players appear, but there were also some Ruling Sword members.


    Some people were just too passionate; Lu Li¡¯s strict command didn¡¯t stop them.


    "Let¡¯s go." The player responsible for the big guild¡¯s alliance was a professional Paladin player. His ID was Nonsense and he led a mercenary group, often taking up similar quests.


    As he saw that the players from Ruling Sword were increasing, he realized that they weren¡¯t dealing with a small group.


    This guild also had thousands of players and if they were to attack at full force, even the major guilds will have to take them seriously. They needed to act quickly.


    The 13 teams of 100 left Gadgetzan and entered the desert of Tanaris.


    Lu Li strictly instructed everyone to stay in the safe zone; he was afraid to lose his players and had to use "kicking them out of the guild" as a threat in the end.


    There wasn¡¯t anything wrong with being passionate ¨C every guild needed these kinds of members.


    Perhaps it was because Lu Li rarely spoke so harshly, but the Ruling Sword players in Gadgetzan decided not to follow.


    However, they still paid attention to the entire situation; this was their guild after all. A 100-man team from their guild had been left stranded in the wild and was being threatened by thirteen 100-man teams.


    1:13 ¨C this was a hopeless ratio.


    "Melee players, stand back. Don¡¯t deal damage in such a rush. How many time have I said this? Let me see who is still attacking," Lu Li yelled as he picked up the names of a few melee players and had their points deducted.


    The boss had loss a third of his health. Besides the cannon attacks, the captain also began to use another skill as his Scimitar danced in a circle.


    Players from all angles lost a great amount of health. The skill also had a bleeding effect, and a few players had already died to it.


    Because of this, Lu Li decided on a more defensive approach for this boss. As soon as the boss was about to spin, he commanded everyone to stand back.


    "Boss, those people are almost here. If we don¡¯t hurry, we¡¯ll be stuck in between our enemies," someone urged, trying to talk some senses into Lu Li.


    It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to follow instructions ¨C they were in a desperate situation and their enemies were surrounding them!


    "What¡¯s with the rush?" Lu Li asked as he slowly raised his eyebrows.


    "Even if those people were to run here, it would take them at least half an hour. We might have already killed this Boss by then."

 505 Pretty Girls are Unreasonable

    There were areas in every city that only certain people were allowed to enter. These included places such as the Temple, Government Hall, Noble Mansions, as well as houses, mansions, manors and ancient castles¡­


    Water Fairy¡¯s own ancient castle was located at the North-West end of the Mage section near the Institute of Magic in Storm Wind Castle. For many years, this institution had been considered one of the best alongside the one in Dalaran.


    Here, there was also one of the largest gardens in Stormwind which was more beautiful and detailed than real life. Because of the great location, the price of land here was extremely expensive and only few players were able to afford it. Water Fairy, known as the game¡¯s most notorious pay-to-win player, obviously bought the most expensive and luxurious estate available.


    Water Fairy was returning home from a day of training. She took off her battle-scarred armour, had a shower, then put on a set of orange equips.


    This had been exchanged with candy from the Halloween shop during the event. She managed to collect a handsome amount of candy, but instead of exchanging it for equips that would boost her stats, she decided to exchange it for a new set of pretty Halloween event clothes.


    She strolled around on her mount in her large and white living room, preparing for a night of relaxation.


    If she had to get around on a mount in her living room, one could only imagine how big the rest of her castle would be. Compared to Lu Li¡¯s island, Water Fairy¡¯s castle was only be 2000 gold cheaper.


    Her mount was a tamed White Kodo.


    Water Fairy really liked white and was instantly attracted to this rare Kodo mount. Her mount was larger than Lu Li¡¯s, which meant there was more than enough space for a little girl like herself.


    "Are you really going to help?" Falling Star sat on the sofa in the living room with a glass of Plum Wine in her hand.


    "The other major guilds didn¡¯t ask us for help to gang up on Lu Li, so it¡¯s probably the best for us not to get involved," Water Fairy said as she lay on the Kodo¡¯s wide back; this was more comfortable than her own bed.


    "I meant help Lu Li, not to gang up on him as well." Falling Star was mad.


    "No one has ever been more disrespectful to me than Lu Li. He¡¯s done it so many times as well. I¡¯m¡­" Water Fairy raged. "He¡¯s lucky that we¡¯re talking via message. If it was in person, I probably would¡¯ve stabbed him by now."


    Falling Star couldn¡¯t help but remind her, "But you can¡¯t beat him."


    "Drizzle Court has several thousand players alone. With the other guilds, that¡¯s millions of players ready to hunt down Lu Li," Water Fairy shot back as she sat up on the White Kodo.


    "But you still can¡¯t beat him one on one¡­"


    "Oi, who¡¯s side are you on!?" Water Fairy puffed up her face and yelled.


    "I can¡¯t deal with this anymore!" Falling Star placed her cup onto the table and said angrily, "Need me to remind you who gifted you the mount that you¡¯re on right now? Plus, we¡¯re still in an alliance."


    "Gift?" Water Fairy spaced out for a second before she clapped her hands. "I¡¯ve decided, haha¡­."


    Falling Star was confused as to what conclusion she had come to. She watched as her friend rode the White Kodo around the living room like a maniac.


    Meanwhile, Ruling Sword was in trouble.


    The level 42 Captain would be a piece of cake if they were at a higher level. However, for the Elite Team of Ruling Sword, which had an average level of 33, it proved to be quite difficult.


    "Get the second team to come help," Lu Li¡¯s commanded as his heart dropped. He was beginning to feel the pressure.


    They had invested too much at this point to give up. Thirty or so players from Ruling Sword had suffered an EXP loss.


    Their second team was currently on standby. They only had 70 or 80 players in the team, but each and every one of them had been carefully selected and was fully capable of being an Elite.


    Sesame Rice Ball followed the orders and acted accordingly.


    "Lu Li¡­" Water Fairy¡¯s voice sounded out on the voice chat.


    "I¡¯ve decided not to give you money," she said while holding back a laugh.


    "Uh¡­ what do you mean?" Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure what she was talking.


    He decided to ignore her and focus on fighting the boss as she seemed to be trolling him.


    "The mount you gifted me ¨C I¡¯m not going to pay you for it. Hehehehe,"Water Fairy was living in her own bubble and thought that this would make Lu Li mad.


    "Why?" Lu Li was confused.


    "Oh nothing, because it makes me happy." Water Fairy imagined Lu Li being extremely pissed off as she said this. She knew that Lu Li cared a lot about money.


    "Whatever floats your boat," Lu Li said calmly.


    He tried to remain calm and acted as if he didn¡¯t care. However, deep down he was pissed off because a pure white mount would¡¯ve costed thousands of gold.


    He channelled his anger onto the boss and the Pirate Captain was abused.


    Another cannon ball was sent their way and Lu Li didn¡¯t react in time to command his team. However, they were already prepared since they had already experienced this and knew what to do.


    "But, I¡¯m not an unreasonable person." Water Fairy felt like she had gone far enough with her trolling and began talking about real business.


    Lu Li recalled a scene from Wuxia Novel where a mother warned her son, "My boy, when you grow up, remember to be careful of women. The prettier they are, the more likely they are to scam you."


    Since Lu Li didn¡¯t have a normal childhood, he learned a lot about life from these Wuxia stories.


    The words of warning from the mother in the story were more relatable than ever at this point. Pretty girls not only scammed people, but they were also extremely unreasonable.


    "Your guild needs help right now, right? I can send you 500 Elites from Drizzle Court that will be under your command." Water Fairy said decisively.


    A team of 500 Elites was more than enough to solve Ruling Sword¡¯s current predicament.


    This would minimize their losses, but more importantly, it would show the other major guilds that Ruling Sword was strong enough to stand their ground against them.


    "Actually¡­" Lu Li said quietly, "I¡¯d rather have the money."


    "¡­." Water Fairy was quiet. She would probably faint from being pissed off at any point.


    "Scarlet New Moon, report your status in the guild chat." Lu Li decided to ignore her, returning to the guild channel to send out orders.


    Scarlet New Moon was currently situated in Gadgetzan and had 1300 men at his disposal.


    "Boss¡­ it¡¯s happening." Scarlet New Moon¡¯s voice was course and trembling.


    As he activated video chat, hundreds of Sandworms could be seem devouring players and burrowing into the ground.


    The large-scale operation of the Major Guilds had finally attracted the Sandworms.


    It was a massacre!

 506 Snake King Doesn’t Cry

    Hunters dealt very high DPS and their skills were very loud. Additionally, they were many players that were clearing mobs along the way. This attracted the Sandworms to swarm in and ambush them.


    They happened to stumble across the spawn point for Sandworms that Lu Li had avoided at all costs.


    "What are their losses?" Lu Li asked while giving orders and explaining the strategy to the 2nd Elite team.


    The Sandworms were their biggest ally right now.


    Sandworms: "You want to mess with Ruling Sword? Over our dead bodies."


    "They haven¡¯t lost too many, but it¡¯s very disgusting." Scarlet New Moon¡¯s face was full of disgust. He had a very strong mental fortitude and wasn¡¯t feeling nauseous at all.


    "That¡¯s alright; it¡¯s just the beginning."


    Lu Li turned off his chat and concentrated on leading the team.


    The most annoying part about the Sandworms was their high defence and HP. They had a thick layer of keratin on their skin which heavily reduced any incoming damage.


    Although their attack wasn¡¯t considered very high, they were able to swallow players whole and regurgitate them repeatedly.


    Since there were a large number of Sandworms in the area, after being regurgitated by one, players would be immediately swallowed by another.


    The players would much rather have been bitten in half for a quick and easy death rather than being played around like a child¡¯s food.


    This was enough to cause certain players to go insane. In order to protect the players, the system would automatically log-off those who had an abnormal heart rates or brain waves. When the players logged on again, they would automatically spawn in the graveyard. EXP and equipment were still deducted and lost.


    While they didn¡¯t take much damage, they were probably traumatized from the never-ending horror of being swallowed and spit out repeatedly.


    Many of them tried escaping by running away, but ended up falling victim to the claws of Wolves or the poison of Lizards.


    The desert was an extremely dangerous place because of the huge level gap, especially if you strayed off alone.


    When they managed to regroup again, they found out that more than 100 people were missing.


    Some had logged off and others respawned in the graveyard, unwilling to respond and participate in the mission anymore. They decided that the reward wasn¡¯t worth being regurgitated multiple times.


    The players that ventured into the Fire Rocs¡¯ territory suffered heavy casualties and deaths.


    Fire Rocs breathed fire when attacking, setting the yellow sand in the desert ablaze. The Major Guild Alliance had finally figured out why the land here was burnt and black compared to other parts of the desert.


    After they narrowly escaped the Fire Rocs¡¯ territory, they had lost more than a thousand players.


    They were still quite far away from Lu Li¡¯s location and had already suffered such devastating losses. The commanders were afraid of reporting back to the major guilds.


    Commanders were rewarded based on their performance. The more your team achieved, the better the reward.


    The best possible outcome was to defeat Ruling Sword without suffering a single casualty. However, the situation could not get any worse for them at this point.


    It was tough being in the commanding position, especially because there were even stronger monsters waiting for them.


    In maps like Grey Valley and the Barren Lands, the monsters were weaker and less intelligent.s


    However, Tanaris was completely different because it was home to powerful monsters such as Sandworms, Fire Rocs and Desert Rattlesnakes.


    These monsters caused massive amounts of casualties and dramatically slowed down their speed. The commander had no other choice and was forced to sent scouts to inspect the journey ahead.


    They decided to avoid these monsters by continuously altering their routes.


    Besides the players from the major guilds, there were a few solo players that were following them and scavenging any dropped equipment to sell for gold.


    They thought that they would be safe if they followed them closely. However, many of them also suffered the same fate.


    Since these solo players were weaker, they stood no chance against the Sandworms. Many people on the gaming forums were discussing how Ruling Sword had baited the major guilds and caused a bloodbath in the Tanaris deserts.


    Ruling Sword needed to take responsibility for this!


    Instead of apologising to the public, Lu Li decided to lure out the King Rattlesnake to mess with the Major Guild Alliance.


    The King Rattlesnake was difficult to defeat. It resided near a purple Poisonous Snake Flower on a small mountain top.


    Scarlet New Moon waited until King Rattlesnake fell asleep and snapped the Poisonous Snake Flower in half. When the Snake King saw the flower, it almost burst into tears.


    However, instead of tears, hatred filled its eyes and it appeared in front of the Major Guild Alliance.


    They were excited because the King Rattlesnake was by itself and they looked forward to the loot that it would drop when defeated. It was not until they engaged in the fight that they saw its level next to its HP bar ¨C level 50¡­


    As they casted spells, single-digit damage values began floating above the Snake King.


    Who knew that a snake so small could be level 50?


    This was at an even higher level than the Pirate Captain.


    The Snake King puffed up and spit out poisonous gas, infecting everyone in a large radius.


    There were 17 or 18 players that died in the poisonous gas, including a Healing Paladin who lasted for less than four seconds. Others died in less than three ticks, taking more than 2500 points of damage.


    As the poisonous gas spread, the damage decreased, but it was still very lethal.


    "Team three, stay behind. Everyone else run. The ones that die will receive compensation. If you guys don¡¯t want us to be wiped out completely, do as I say," the commander instructed. He had immediately given up on any hope of fighting back.


    If Lu Li was here to witness this, he would laugh in response.


    "Do you really think a mere team of a hundred players could stop the King Rattlesnake? Don¡¯t be na?ve."


    The Desert King Rattlesnake was said to be as powerful as the Bronze Dragon. It was very intelligent and could tell which team had the most players.


    The King Snake ignored team three and began chasing the large teams of the Major Guild Alliance, spitting out poisonous gas and infecting many players.

 507 Operation Failed

    The Desert Rattlesnake King¡¯s name was Taniya. It was more feminine, had a small head and looked rather cute.


    However, no one was underestimating it, as its Poison Fog was a high-level skill that couldn¡¯t be dealt with by their antidotes. In order to defeat Taniya and get to Lu Li, they needed to purely rely on their strength.


    Currently, there were no Main Tanks who were strong enough, no DPS players that could deal enough damage and no healers that could heal enough.


    As the poison fog continued to spread, players kept dying.


    The commander sent out another group of 100 players, instructing them to attack the snake as frantically as they could. They needed to provide safe passage for the main forces.


    Information was crucial here as he would soon realize that the Desert Rattlesnake King would attack the largest group of players.


    "How is it? Have they been attacked by the snake king?" Lu Li estimated the time and sent Scarlet New Moon a message.


    "Yep." Scarlet New Moon was still in shock after being instantly killed.


    In fact, he wasn¡¯t really instantly killed. He had been poisoned and died on the second tick of the poison. He looked at the System record which told him that he had been poisoned for 1200 damage.


    The poison fog dealt damage every second and seemed to have an indefinite duration¡­


    "How is the situation?" Lu Li was quite curious. It was his idea of getting them attacked, but he had no clue as to what the consequences would be.


    "I don¡¯t know Boss; I died instantly. There are so many other players who died as well."


    Scarlet New Moon had returned to the nearby cemetery and was numbly staring at the increasing number of players that were appearing.


    The battle was likely quite one-sided as players were choosing to revive at the cemetery rather than waiting for a healer to revive them into battle.


    Players who revived in the cemetery lost 10% EXP while those who were revived by their teammates only lost 5%.


    The guild coalition¡¯s battle was quite drawn out as the Snake King was chasing and killing them. There were also various smaller monsters along the way that were being poisoned and killed.


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t know what was happening in the desert.


    After her temper had subsided, she decided to talk to the players in the guild coalition and mediate.


    Heart of War received her contact; the president of Gangnam Royals had met Water Fairy on a number of occasions, but they hadn¡¯t really had the opportunity to talk directly. She was a person of wealth while he was just a working-class citizen.


    "Water¡­ Big Sister, why did you suddenly decide to contact me?" The phrase big sister was rubbish; why was a 30-year-old man calling a university student ¡®big sister¡¯?


    However, that was how it was in real life; it wasn¡¯t uncommon for older people to call younger people in leadership by older titles. Sometimes, they even used Master or Lord.


    Water Fairy had also been born with a golden spoon, so people like Heart of War didn¡¯t dare to insist on their own way.


    "Don¡¯t make me out to be so old. President Heart¡­ I hear your organisation is looking for trouble with Ruling Sword." Water Fairy was a little offended by her title and struck back appropriately.


    "Haha, why do you think that?¡¯ Heart of War obviously was going to just admit it.


    "We, Drizzle Court, are a big guild. We are usually part of the coalitions, so why have we suddenly missed out?" Water Fairy asked bluntly, ignoring his deception.


    "Uh¡­" Heart of War had nothing to say.


    He wanted to slam the table. Who was this woman, and how could she be so arrogant?


    She had already formed an alliance with Lu Li; they would be foolish to talk about cooperating with her.


    It wasn¡¯t even the first or second time she was helping him either; did she take them all for fools?


    "I¡¯ll pay for all the expenses of this operation. How about we settle on that?" Water Fairy seriously proposed.


    "I can¡¯t do that¡­" Heart of War didn¡¯t want to refuse, but he didn¡¯t want to offend Water Fairy. Even so, that didn¡¯t mean he would give up on his principles.


    Weakening Ruling Sword was good for their guild.


    "You¡¯ve sent 1300 players, and they are a mix of both good and bad. I¡¯ll work out how many you need to defeat the monsters," Water Fairy said sweetly. She didn¡¯t seem to feel like there was something wrong with working with the opposing guild coalition.


    Drizzle Court was really strong as they were ranked seventh, but they were still quite a few ranks lower than the Gangnam Royals.


    Of course, Water Fairy wasn¡¯t working aimlessly. She was simply a rich person and had fewer reservations than the other guilds.


    "Well, of course I believe that Drizzle Court has the strength," Heart of War said with a dry chuckle, "But it¡¯s too late. They have probably already started fighting."


    For over 1000 players to clear the way from Gadgetzan to Lost Rigger Cove would take about 20 to 30 minutes.


    "Actually," Water Fairy paused but didn¡¯t seem angry at all, "I don¡¯t think this task will be that simple. Lu Li is not someone who would willingly suffer a loss. I¡¯ve known him for quite some time, and he¡¯s never suffered a loss."


    Well, with the exception of the White Kodo, because she wasn¡¯t going pay him for that.


    "No one is willing to suffer a loss," Heart of War dismissed with a grin.


    He thought contemptuously of them. This relationship between them was growing as they were not only cooperating, but were also trusting each other.


    Alas, the pretty flower had fallen into cow dung. Who knew how many heartbreaks she would cause? Water Fairy was infamously the dream sweetheart.


    For some reason, he was also affected as well.


    At that moment, another call came, which for a president was quite common. However, when he saw that the call was coming from the commander Nonsense of the operation, he maliciously said to Water Fairy, "I got some news from Tanaris; do you want to listen in? You seem very concerned¡­"


    "I¡¯ll listen," Water Fairy responded.


    "It¡¯s me, Heart of War. How¡¯s the situation?"


    "Shame on you Brother Heart; we¡¯ve failed and couldn¡¯t claim the reward. I¡¯ll be seeing you personally about this." The voice was hoarse; it sounded like he had just directed a fierce battle.


    "What?" Heart of War felt like he had heard wrongly.


    "Almost the entire army has been annihilated; there are only 500-600 players left and we are returning to Gadgetzan." Nonsense had also died once, but he immediately commanded a revive and a retreat.


    The Desert Rattlesnake King was really powerful, but killing over a thousand players wasn¡¯t easy.


    In fact, those that were commanded to break the defensive line were few in numbers, but they found that the snake king had stopped attacking them. This was exactly what they wanted and they all promptly ran away.


    No one was willing to lose their own EXP.


    "How could we lose half of our units if Ruling Sword only had 100 players?" Heart of War simply couldn¡¯t understand how the troops dispatched by the coalition didn¡¯t make it.


    Where there were 1300 players against 100, they would still win, even if they just randomly threw their skills.

 508 Fortunes Rise and Fall

    Water Fairy was also very curious as to how such a big force sent by the coalition had lost to Lu Li.


    However, deep down, she felt like this was a natural string of events. When she recalled his calm execution of plans, it seemed like he was confident in doing all things.


    She had once again gotten to see Lu Li for who he really was - a seemingly average person shrouded in mystery.


    With Commander Nonsense¡¯s statement, Water Fairy and Heart of War slowly understood what had happened. They hadn¡¯t even seen Ruling Sword before the force had given up.


    "Nonsense, this isn¡¯t our first time working together," Heart of War said angrily. "How did this happen? You better have a good explanation."


    The complete failure of the operation was one thing, but he had also planned to show off in front of Water Fairy. Who knew that his expectation would be so far disconnected from reality.


    "We were too careless this time," Nonsense sighed, "but this task was also too difficult. We just kept facing one disaster after another. Some of our brothers are now too scared to even log on."


    Doing quests could result in psychological damage. Nonsense was a veteran professional player and had seen it several times in his career.


    "Someone mentioned that a monster was pulled towards you. Was this Lu Li¡¯s doing?" Heart of War suspected.


    He never believed in coincidence and always thought there was meaning or intent behind every event. Nonsense wasn¡¯t a foolish commander either; he had been trusted with many quests by large guilds before. Even Peerless City had suffered several losses at his hand.


    "Lu Li¡¯s doing¡­? President Heart, aren¡¯t you a little obsessed?" Water Fairy mocked.


    In reality, she also slightly believed that it was true, but she wouldn¡¯t say that out loud. If that really was the case, then Lu Li would be in even more danger.


    If that happened, those who were looking for trouble wouldn¡¯t be these small fry.


    Once you got past the hypocrisy of it, large guilds could unrelentingly suppress players.


    There were players that specialized in killing whatever you were trying to farm. This was considered a lighter version, but the suppression could extend to bribery in real life.


    As an ally, Water Fairy thought to lend Lu Li a bit of help seeing as it didn¡¯t hurt her. She definitely was going to pay for this White Kodo now.


    It was given to her; she didn¡¯t buy it.


    "I feel like other than that Boss, the other things weren¡¯t planned," Nonsense said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead and thought about what had happened. Given the evidence, it seemed like they had just sent themselves into the Sandworms, the Sunroc and the Rattlesnake King¡­


    As for the monster that was led to them, he thought about it, but there was no real way to tie it to Ruling Sword.


    "You can think of something. I¡¯ll explain this to everyone else." Heart of War couldn¡¯t bear to say anything more in front of Water Fairy in fear of her sarcastic remarks and dryly ended the call.


    One could only imagine the dumbfounded look of the guild leaders¡¯ faces when they discovered what had happened to their forces.


    Their hearts would be unwilling to accept it, but they didn¡¯t have much choice. Lu Li was just casually taking the Boss and had not even sent anyone to intercept, yet the combined forces of the coalition couldn¡¯t even get to them.


    Water Fairy was in her excessively large lounge; it made her seem a little lonely.


    She then decided to give Lu Li a call. "Lu Li, I¡¯ve spoken on your behalf and the big guilds have decided to let you off. Feel free to keep taking the Boss."


    Her opening words were elegant and well intentioned. Water Fairy felt a happiness that she hadn¡¯t felt in a long time.


    When she thought about Lu Li¡¯s puzzled face, she was pleased with herself.


    Her mentality was that if he had anything he was displeased with, he would say so.


    "Wow, thank you so much," Lu Li said through his clenched teeth. He had slowly begun to accept that this woman wasn¡¯t going to pay him back.


    He just couldn¡¯t have imagined such a famous person being so stingy with her money.


    For a stingy person like Lu Li, there was nothing more saddening than this.


    "I¡¯m curious about how you managed to transport your people to Lost Rigger Cove. Would you be able to tell me?" Water Fairy was very content with Lu Li so far and continued the conversation.


    "Nah," Lu Li replied dryly.


    Why would he tell her? She was supposed to be cold, proud and had no regard for money.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t hate Water Fairy, nor did he like her because of her beauty. Lu Li just didn¡¯t have the ability for those kinds of feelings within him; he just thought that he could earn some money from her.


    Water Fairy had done some stuff for him, but he didn¡¯t need these favours.


    "You must have some kind of item that can send 100 players somewhere. Is it some kind of Engineering item?" Water Fairy was very curious, but suppressed the urge to offer a price.


    "It¡¯s a skill, a Warlock skill." Lu Li suspected that no one probably had the skill anyway.


    In his past life, this portal skill hadn¡¯t gained much popularity, but large teams made use of its convenience.


    Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s skill book came from Blackfathom and was the product of a special circumstance that couldn¡¯t be replicated. It was probably the first one in the game.


    "Well¡­ can we borrow your Warlock? There¡¯s a boss nearby that we want to fight, but it¡¯s hard to get to it," Water Fairy asked a little sheepishly.


    How could she ask for help already? It hadn¡¯t been that long since she was being smug with him.


    "Haha, he probably won¡¯t do it. He¡¯s shy when it comes to girls, and probably won¡¯t even be able to cast the skill." Lu Li was in an unusual mood, not because he couldn¡¯t think of a better excuse, but because he had to use such a bad one.


    Sesame Rice Ball was a little shy, but he probably wasn¡¯t so shy that seeing a girl would cause him to be unable to cast his skills.


    "That¡¯s ridiculous. We¡¯re allies, remember?" Water Fairy was a little angry.


    "You¡¯re the one who just took my mount," Lu Li retorted.


    "You sent it to me and didn¡¯t say anything about money. I thought you gave it to me," Water Fairy said smugly. "There are many people who do that for me."


    Normally, she wouldn¡¯t accept these gifts and after three days, they would be returned to the sender.


    "¡­" Lu Li was speechless. Why was she suddenly seeing him as a fan, someone who would be willing give up money for her?


    "I couldn¡¯t give it back to you, even if I wanted to. How much do you want for it?" Water Fairy asked, deciding to yield to Lu Li.


    The White Kodo was her favorite colour and its back had enough space for a big cushion. She could comfortably lie on top of it.


    "It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to give it to you; just lend me some money," Lu Li said after a moment. He had still be directing the fight and hadn¡¯t paid much attention to this conversation until now.

 509 Policy Incentives

    "Borrowing money?" Water Fairy was surprised.


    No one had ever asked to borrow her money, nor had she ever lent her money.


    When guilds like Peerless City, Blue Universe and Concealed Empty Hand were just starting out, their founders had asked for and received Water Fairy¡¯s support.


    However, it was unusual for Lu Li to ask to borrow money. So many others had competed to help fund Ruling Sword, but none of them succeeded.


    Ruling Sword seemed to have taken a different path to most guilds and were not subject to the mercy of the capitalists.


    Perhaps Lu Li wanted to borrow money for himself?


    Water Fairy couldn¡¯t help but think of Lu Li¡¯s sister¡¯s illness as the reason for this request.


    This older brother seemed to care too much about his sister. Not only had he planned everything out, but he was also willing to give up his dignity to borrow some money. He was trulysacrificing himself.


    Water Fairy was a little jealous that Lu Xin had a brother like that; she never had anyone like that.


    "Think about it - I need to distribute the loot. The boss is about to die." Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure if Water Fairy would agree because of the long silence.


    Lu Li had defeated the Boss, and the Lost Rigger Cove¡¯s pirate captain Andrea Firebeard finally fell.


    He had 350,000 HP and it had taken Ruling Sword more than an hour to defeat him..


    Lu Li had been investing in the 100-man elite member group. However, they had been gaining so many players that he had also sent in the not yet officially formed second 100 elite member group.


    A total of 70+ players died and a considerable portion had exceeded the Revive protection period so they unfortunately lost 10% of their EXP.


    The Instance Dungeon Bosses had around 100,000 HP which was already quite a bit, especially for 10 players. Most level 30 Wild Bosses had more than 500,000 HP. Currently, the Boss with the highest HP that had been was the Rhino Boss Danath with 750,000HP.


    In contrast, the pirate captain didn¡¯t have much.


    Instead, he had high lifesteal, which forced players to constantly avoid his skills. Even if they couldn¡¯t hide, they couldn¡¯t keep casting their skills either as they simply couldn¡¯t afford to waste their resources.


    All this meant that Ruling Sword¡¯s victory was not easy.


    However, the good thing was that Ruling Sword didn¡¯t fail and managed to beat the Boss in one try.


    Fighting Wild Bosses wasn¡¯t like getting a First Clear, because you didn¡¯t lose EXP in Instance Dungeons. The EXP from Wild Bosses was heartbreaking, and most players would give up after losing the first time.


    System: Ruling Sword has successfully defeated Andre Firebeard, a level 42 Pirate Captain Leader Boss, under the leadership of Lu Li.


    Leader Boss referred to the captain¡¯s large group of subordinates or the Snake King¡¯s group of helpers. However, the difficulty of such a boss wasn¡¯t standardized.


    The Captain was quite weak without his underlings, but the Snake King was still very strong without them.


    Before he allowed someone to loot the Boss, he heard the System make the same announcement again but this time to the World Channel.


    System: Lost Rigger Cove in Tanaris¡¯ Pirate Captain has been killed, but throughout his life he had left behind many treasure maps. Many of them are held by his vicious subordinates. Brave adventurers, take up arms and join the cause of finding the great treasures!


    The second System prompt was beyond the expectations of Lu Li; he felt like he had been played.


    This System prompt exposed the existence of the pirate captain¡¯s treasure, but he thought that this was going to be the guild¡¯s exclusive secret for a long time.


    The monsters that blocked the coalition¡¯s forces didn¡¯t make a perfect defence.


    As long as the players spent some time to work out a safe path, they would be able to reach treasures that were beyond their expectations.


    "Dreamy, loot the boss." Lu Li calmed himself and took the opportunity before him. The other players would still need some time before they could work it out.


    Moreover, they had just defeated a Boss, so there was something to be happy about.


    Remnant Dream ran over eagerly. Most members of the guild treated her as a little sister because of her small size and didn¡¯t try to compete with her to loot the Boss.


    There were 100-200 players who were clearing out the monsters that were respawning and looking forward to the items that the Boss was going to drop.


    "Dark Gold!" Remnant Dream held up a big sword, her eyes sparkling. She was extremely excited with the equipment and didn¡¯t even consider the fact that she couldn¡¯t use it.


    Lu Li glanced over and immediately made a decision about it.


    "The first player in the guild to reach level 40 and is able to use this sword will be rewarded with it. I hope you will all keep working hard." Before he had even finished speaking, the crowd of players were already clamoring.


    The minimum attack of the sword was the highest attack of a level 30 Gold exquisite equip. It had instantly enchanted all of the melee players.


    Moreover, the weapon was also quite beautifully designed. It had very fine-detailed and purple- lectric effect on the edge. It made the player look more like a hero and was ten times more likely to turn heads on the street.


    Of course, the biggest reason for the clamoring was because it was going to be given away for free.


    Such a piece of equipment would normally be directly given to one of the core players like Moonlight. Otherwise, the regular members would need really high contribution points, so most players just didn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Lu Li¡¯s decision had subverted this rule.


    The only condition for receiving this sword was to be the first to reach level 40. Everyone had the chance for it as long as they worked hard to level.


    Most players didn¡¯t even have a Gold item, yet they now had hopes of getting a Dark Gold item.


    This also didn¡¯t come at a loss to Lu Li. By using this piece of Warrior equipment as a reward, the Warriors in the guild would level incessantly and increase the overall strength of Ruling Sword.


    "Gold Magic Staff. Can be used to summon a bear." Remnant Dream was now good enough to immediately identify the best aspects of an equip.


    With the Magic players waiting in anticipation, Lu Li lifted the Magic Staff over his head and said, "Summons a level 40 Elite Bear for half an hour. 3 hour cool down. Also comes with 10% Critical Hit. This item¡­ will be treated the same. All of you Magic Profession players, what are you waiting for?"


    "Healing Cloak." Remnant Dream handed the third item to Lu Li.


    "March Rain, this is for you." Lu Li didn¡¯t even show it to the others and immediately gave it to March Rain. It was better for the Club¡¯s equipment to be kept secret, so that it could play an unexpected role in battle.


    But why didn¡¯t Lu Li put this item up as a reward like before?


    The Healers felt like they had been wronged; this differential treatment made players unhappy.


    Lu Li raised his hand to stop the remarks and announced, "The first player of each profession to reach level 40 will receive a Gold equipment as a reward."


    All the emotion of that previous moment was immediately swept away.


    This kind of commitment meant that the guild would need to pay out at least 10 pieces of Gold equipment. Everyone¡¯s chances of winning suddenly got a lot larger.


    Of course, the big sword and Magic Staff didn¡¯t become inferior rewards because of this new offer. The big sword was a Dark Gold item and the Magic Staff that could summon a bear was also very rare.

 510 Finding Another Treasure Map

    The level 40 Gold Healing Cloak wasn¡¯t necessarily better than the previous two items, but Lu Li decided that March Rain should take it because she could immediately wear it.


    It had a -20% level requirement!


    This special effect was basically a hack, as it allowed level 40 equipment to be worn at level 32.


    Level 40 equipment generally had stronger properties and special effects than level 30 equipment, not to mention that this was still a Gold Healing Cloak.


    Other than the level reduction, the healing cloak also had two other special effects.


    One was a damage reduction skill that was similar to Pain Suppression, but its effect was slightly worse as it only reduced damage by 30%. The duration was also slightly lower at 5 seconds. However, the good part about it was that it could be held and used at any time, regardless of whether a player was stunned, feared or in any other uncontrollable state.


    The other special effect was called Spirit of Redemption.


    When the Priest who was wearing this died, they would transform into a Spirit of Redemption for 15 seconds. During that time, they could not attack, be attacked or be targeted by any skill or effect. However, they could cast any healing skill without consuming mana. After the effect ended, the Priest would die.


    Considering how important Priests were, this was a very strong skill.


    Many players called this state the Fairy Sister. After a Priest had this skill, they wouldn¡¯t immediately turn into a corpse upon death. Instead, they would live on in an angelic form and continue to provide healing.


    When the players saw a teammate doing that, they would always feel touched.


    This piece of equipment was very powerful and suitable for March Rain. March Rain was also a competitor in tournaments, so she naturally had priority.


    Lu Li also wasn¡¯t a greedy person, so he wasn¡¯t going to take this item for himself without compensation.


    They had lost a match in the Magic Cup and they could still lose another tomorrow. Lu Li could accept these defeats, but he certainly did not welcome them.


    "There is also a rare material ¨C Secondary Sea Essence," Remnant Dream said, before sullenly announcing, "That¡¯s it. I¡¯ll get more next time."


    "That¡¯s okay. One Dark Gold item, two Gold items and a rare material is pretty good. What more do you want?" Lu Li comforted as he patted her head and took the Secondary Sea Essence.


    Secondary Sea Essence could be used to make equipment that would allow one to swim in the sea.


    It acted like a permanent Underwater Potion, but was even more effective.


    For example, it could increase underwater agility or the amount of time spent underwater. These effects could allow a player to properly fight underwater monsters.


    Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t True Sea Essence. True Sea Essence was necessary was forging Giant Sail Boats.


    Azeroth¡¯s land was quite expansive, but it was nothing compared to the ocean. Players in Lu Li¡¯s previous life had spent fortunes forging fleets, with the ambition to enter the boundless Great Sea.


    The islands throughout the oceans contained innumerable wealth and bountiful rewards.


    Unfortunately, most fleets were swallowed by the endless whirlpool of the sea. The losses were not small; these huge ships required Sea Essence as their cores.


    However, that could be worried about in the future; it wasn¡¯t important now.


    When a First Clear on a Wild Boss was taken, not everyone received a reward, like in an Instance Dungeon.


    However, there was still a reward for Lu Li, who found that his backpack contained 3 items. One was a skill book ¨C Counterspell, which was one of the Mage¡¯s crowd-control skills.


    This skill required careful attention to the timing of skills.


    For example, if your opponent was a Mage casting Frostbolt, you could use Counterspell on them to interrupt their channel. Then, they would then be unable cast any ice-type skills, but natural and fire skills could still be used.


    Conversely, if Counterspell was cast when an opponent wasn¡¯t channeling a skill, it would have no effect.


    You had to wait for someone else to use a skill for it to produce an effect.


    This skill was particularly useful for PVP, but had limited uses in PVE. Lu Li gave this item to Fat Monkey.


    Given his current status in the competition, he obviously had priority.


    The second reward item was a rare material, but it was more common and had limited uses. Lu Li intended to just drop it off at the Guild Warehouse for someone else to claim.


    This was the kind of luck Lu Li had. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that his drop probability had been increased by the First Clear bonus, his luck would be no different to an ordinary person¡¯s.


    The third item was a little bit better, but after looking at the properties, Lu Li decided to let the players bid for it in the Guild Warehouse as well.


    It was a Silver level 35 Dagger with decent properties and three special effects. It also had bonus Critical Hit like most exquisite weapons, but Lu Li didn¡¯t need any weapons right now. This dagger wasn¡¯t good enough to replace the ones he already had.


    "Boss, there¡¯s something here," someone on the guild channel said as he sent over an item.


    This item was called Map Fragment (Middle) and looked like half a piece of parchment paper. It only had a name and didn¡¯t even have a description.


    Perhaps it was a part of something else; the original text and pattern was hidden. It seemed like once you found all the pieces, the whole thing would be revealed.


    "I have a top piece here," someone called out.


    "I have one here too, but it¡¯s just like that one. It¡¯s a middle as well."


    "You all saw the System prompt. This is a treasure map, but it is divided into three parts ¨C top, middle and bottom. You need all three pieces to make a full map. You also need a Captain¡¯s Key. Once you have all four items, you can go on a treasure hunt," Lu Li said, not bothering to hide it. Before long, someone would find out, so it was better for his guild to know first.


    "Do you mean this treasure can be repeatedly found? Is this a Treasure Map?"


    Wandering was a smart guy and quickly worked out what the items were. There were probably only a few of these Mag Fragments in Dawn right now.


    "That¡¯s right. When you have all the pieces, you can form a party and go searching," Lu Li confirmed.


    "Ha, you guys can go find someone else. I can¡¯t be bothered; I want to sleep." Wandering wasn¡¯t too interested in these half-parchments and started leaving for the city.


    He was a veteran and an elder, so no one objected to his decision.

 511 Technique To Grow The Elf Dragon

    Wandering wasn¡¯t dumb, nor was he some manic 10 year old girl. He was a smart person who easily realized that anything that could be commonly found was probably useless.


    These treasure maps weren¡¯t bad, but they were nothing compared to what Lu Li had.


    There was no limit the number of maps that could be found in the Lost Rigger Cove. As long as they gathered all three parts and the key, they could follow the treasure map to find the treasure of their dreams.


    The Treasure Map that Lu Li received was from an exceptional circumstance, but these maps were quite ordinary. They allowed regular players to experience the rush of finding treasure.


    Of course, if that was the case, then there wouldn¡¯t be anything particularly good in the chests.


    However, nothing was absolute when it came to a luck-based mechanic. In Dawn, there were always rumors of new players being exceedingly lucky and receiving a really good item.


    Lu Li was one of those people, as his Supreme Ring was created by the demigods.


    There was a story that Lu Li had once heard. He didn¡¯t know if it was true, but someone had apparently once found more than one Ghost Tiger¡¯s card from Captain Andre¡¯s treasure and sold it for a lot of money.


    The Ghost Tiger was a mount that appeared in Dawn¡¯s promotional material.


    In one video, Grand Mage Aegwynn rode this mount towards Sargeras and defeated him. As a result, many players regarded this as the ideal for Dawn¡¯s Mages and many female gamers treated her as their idol.


    If you wanted the Ghost Tiger, you needed to collect six different Ghost Tiger cards and find Landro Longshot¡­


    However, this was all in theory; Lu Li had never seen anyone with such a mount.


    In his previous life, he had clung onto that glimmer of hope. He had come here to steal a treasure map in the hopes of getting a Ghost Tiger card. As long as one dropped, he could make enough money for his sister to see a doctor.


    However, that experience taught him to never place his fate in fortune¡¯s hands.


    "You see, it¡¯s not too difficult to complete the treasure map quest, so the items shouldn¡¯t be too rare. But since the game company announced this to everyone, the items can¡¯t be that bad either," Lu Li said, leaving everything else to Square Root 3.


    He was just a commander for this event. Now that the event was over, he left the rest for him to deal with.


    "Alright. Hey Lu Li, there are quite a few nice places in Dawn and quite a few girls who admire you. I¡¯ll find one to help you relax." Square Root 3 didn¡¯t object, but he was still concerned about Lu Li¡¯s mental state.


    His sister was in a hospital bed, but he was still playing games.


    What was even more unexpected was that he was still playing so well. He had successfully led the guild to defeat a level 40 Boss on the first try and even held back the coalition¡¯s forces.


    It was said that several players who were part of the coalition¡¯s forces had been sent to a psychiatrist after going offline.


    The game company had bought insurance for every player. This kind of mental damage had costs that could be reimbursed in this way.


    However, now that this had actually occurred, it caused an extraordinary effect.


    The next time something was organized by a coalition of guilds, players involved would likely be more timid and their mental strength would generally be weaker.


    This was consequence of their actions.


    After having known Lu Li for some time, Square Root 3 knew that he wasn¡¯t actually a genius like Wandering. He was just a little more cunning, ruthless, careful, and perhaps a little lucky.


    However, all of this was enough to create the game¡¯s most amazing expert.


    "Lu Li, do you know how to make my Elf Dragon grow up?" Hachi Chan ran over and asked.


    Hachi Chan¡¯s dragon was very small and was quite timid. It was shuddering in Hachi Chan¡¯s pocket while they were fighting. Now that the fighting was over, it had come out and was sitting on her head.


    "Its fine like this too." Lu Li wasn¡¯t trying to be mean.


    Mounts and pets were a little similar, but not many girls were as interested in collecting mounts. They often preferred to keep a variety of cute little pets, so the prices of pets were much higher than mounts.


    Appearance-wise, this Elf Dragon pet was impeccable. It was the most adorable dragon and could better-express itself than the average low-intelligence pets. It acted in all sorts of ways that were very cute.


    "No, it¡¯s too timid," Hachi Chan said as she took it down from her head and kissed it. "As a dragon, this is a little shameful, but maybe it will become braver as it grows up."


    "Looks like you want to enslave it. Poor little guy." Lu Li recalled a few hazy details in his memory and gave her an approximate location.


    Hachi Chan looked at him blankly.


    "Keke, I think it¡¯s best if you take her when you¡¯re free," said Square Root 3, who was nearby. "Last time we sent her off, some guild members needed to go and escort her back. She¡¯s hopeless."


    "Why are you such an idiot? How many times do I have to tell you how to channel the return portal¡­?" Lu Li sighed.


    This was someone who was in the core team, yet she couldn¡¯t do something as simple as this.


    "When you¡¯re doing difficult quests, there are some maps that you can¡¯t channel the return portal from. Do you see this level 30 Dark Gold Staff? I got this yesterday from such a quest." Hachi Chan didn¡¯t care; she had been the object of worship for the guild.


    Although she had managed to get a Dark Gold Staff from a quest, she was still as na?ve as ever.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll take you tomorrow," Lu Li offered after remembering something he needed to do. It was also getting late, so he put it off until the next day.


    "Thanks, big bro Lu Li," Hachi Chan smiled sweetly.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t care much for her but quickly added a disclaimer, "I only promise to increase the Strength of the dragon which should increase its size. As for any other effects, you shouldn¡¯t get your hopes up."


    Those players who weren¡¯t involved with the treasure hunt had all returned to the city.


    Lu Li then contacted Water Fairy to continue the unfinished topic; he refused to let that woman cheap out on him. If he wasn¡¯t going to get a payment, he could at least get an interest free loan.


    Of course, he also knew that Water Fairy wouldn¡¯t really cheap out on him.


    With the few interactions he had with her, he could see what her personality was like. As long as you worked well with her, she wouldn¡¯t let you suffer a loss. Even if you did, she would reimburse you sometime in the future.


    In fact, this was actually quite similar how Lu Li got along with Azure Sea Breeze and the others. He never took advantage of his friends.


    Although Square Root 3 had said that Lu Li could ask him if he never needed money, Lu Li knew the guild¡¯s financial situation better than anyone else. In addition to the large costs of developing the guild, the signing fee for Mu Qiu had almost depleted the 1.8 million dollars that Ruling Sword had.

 512 Returning The Courtesy

    "It¡¯s already in your account," Water Fairy said as she sat down from across Lu Li. She didn¡¯t seem to come to this place often and also had a veil on to ensure that no one recognized her.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t brought his bandana. He kept a lower profile so not as many people recognized him.


    It was probably also because he was a male and wasn¡¯t handsome enough, so he wasn¡¯t that popular.


    This was the Southshore Tavern and it was always more relaxed as the day was getting late. Dawn had become a normal part of life, so most players treated it as such.


    Those players that levelled crazily from morning till night weren¡¯t normal people.


    "You didn¡¯t even give me any conditions before sending the money." Lu Li had to admit that this female tycoon really knew how to win the hearts of people.


    "If you don¡¯t pay it back, I¡¯ll let everyone know," Water Fairy said with a faint smile.


    "How much did you send?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t remember how much he said that he wanted. He wanted to borrow money from Water Fairy because it seemed like she wanted to grow closer to him.


    If she was so rich, then lending some of her wealth wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Come to think of it, if he had known this female tycoon in his previous life¡­


    When Lu Li thought about that he couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. At that time, Water Fairy was still Water Fairy, but he was just some ordinary Gold Miner.


    "5 million. That should be enough." Water Fairy wasn¡¯t worried about this money. Firstly, she trusted that Lu Li could pay it back and secondly, she believed that this would be a profitable long-term investment.


    "Thank you, that is enough. I¡¯ll return it as soon as I can," Lu Li nodded.


    "You don¡¯t have to be so polite; we¡¯re friends." Water Fairy had never felt so relieved about lending some money. It felt quite nice to be Lu Li¡¯s creditor.


    She was the creditor of the number one player in the game.


    It wasn¡¯t much different normally, but if he couldn¡¯t pay when the time came¡­


    "Players will soon start to play in Zul¡¯Farrak. What are you plans?" Tanaris currently struck fear into the players¡¯ hearts, but as long as they kept levelling, they would eventually come to this part of the map.


    Zul¡¯Farrak was a little boring for an Instance Dungeon; the players would mainly fight Trolls there. It was moderately difficult, but Lu Li hadn¡¯t spent much time there in his previous life so he didn¡¯t pay too much attention to its strategies either.


    As such, when they decided to try and take the First Clear, it would be no easy task.


    "We have to wait until the Advanced Healing Potion gets more popular. There is only one person in our guild that can make them, so if something happened, we would use them up very quickly," Water Fairy said.


    "True. We fought a Boss today, but it¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve done an inventory check," Lu Li agreed.


    "Why did you ask about this? Is Ruling Sword going to take the First Clear?" Water Fairy asked.


    "We might have to wait a bit more ¨C at least until the Magic Cup is almost over. I¡¯m still not in a great condition¡­" Lu Li shook his head.


    "Tch, if Nonsense heard that you¡¯re in bad shape, he would be pretty offended," Water Fairy immediately laughed out loud.


    "Who¡¯s Nonsense?" Lu Li thought that this name was very strange.


    "Oh him," Water Fairy explained, "He¡¯s a hideous guy who leads a Mercenary Group. He is often hired by guilds to deal with things and he has some leading ability. He was the one that led the coalition¡¯s forces this time, but he didn¡¯t even see your players before his entire army was lost."


    "You say he didn¡¯t even see me, but I can¡¯t take credit for that." Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to claim that he was completely familiar with the map.


    "Oh, so everything is a coincidence. I don¡¯t really understand ¨C most people wish they had abilities to be envied by others. You, on the other hand, have it the other way. You¡¯re obviously a very strong person, but you pretend to be weak," Water Fairy said, unable to wrap her head around this.


    "I grew up in the Common District." Lu Li wasn¡¯t his normal calm self and suddenly felt like pouring out his embarrassing origins.


    Water Fairy was surprised to hear that Lu Li had been born in the Common District.


    However, there was absolutely no feeling of contempt. Anyone who could get to where Lu Li was would be respected too.


    His distraught past clearly showed that his life had not been easy, so most people would think that his rise was an epic story.


    "The police don¡¯t care about things there, but in order to suppress the people, a certain ranking would be released periodically. Those who were the loudest and most aggressive made it high on the rankings. These people would then be sent to labor camps, and when they came back a few months later, they would only be a shell of their original selves. But that wasn¡¯t all ¨C those who they offended in the past would come knocking and seeking retribution."


    "So the reason you keep a low profile is because of this?" The truth seemed too simple to Water Fairy.


    "Yes. The principle is simple, but most people don¡¯t understand it," Lu Li said as he swiped the Shard of the Defiler with his index finger and felt its sharpness.


    "Rubbish." Water Fairy rolled her eyes.


    She was wearing a veil, so only her eyebrows were visible, yet the sight of her was still quite picturesque.


    However, Lu Li couldn¡¯t see her, so he finally moved onto the purpose of this conversation. "Do you think we could try this? We¡¯ll put our potions together and form three teams of ten. We¡¯ll then alternate teams. This way, we¡¯ll definitely get the First Clear."


    "Oh, that¡¯s quite an idea, but in that case, who gets the First Clear?" Water Fairy had to admit that Lu Li¡¯s idea was good.


    After the fourth system update, Profession Skills became harder. Skill cooldowns were no longer visible and there was also the introduction of Stamina, which required eating to regenerate. HP regen also became a more complicated process¡­


    With two players making the potions, they could produce enough for a big guild to consume while getting a First Clear.


    "You can have it if you want, as long as we split the rewards." Lu Li knew what this tycoon wanted.


    "Hrm." Water Fairy didn¡¯t want to refuse; equipment could be bought, but First Clears couldn¡¯t. Drizzle Court currently did not have a First Clear on the record yet. If they did get one, their popularity would be greatly improved.


    Regardless, Lu Li had the disadvantage here.


    Even without Drizzle Court¡¯s help with the potions, Water Fairy estimated that Ruling Sword was likely to get the First Clear anyway. They would probably take more time, but they would ultimately get the items.


    However, Water Fairy wasn¡¯t without integrity either. Although she hadn¡¯t payed for the Kodo, she immediately tried to help Ruling Sword with their crisis.


    The same was true of Lu Li. In recognition of her goodwill and trust, he wanted to give her a chance to get a First Clear.

 513 Critical Strike and Burning Effect Playstyle

    After a brief chat, the hostess finally got rid of a bunch of other players. She saw that Lu Li and Water Fairy were sitting together and was quite surprised, but she immediately returned to her normal expression before anyone caught her.


    As an assassin of a higher-level, Water Fairy¡¯s mask was non-existent to her.


    There was also a common skill in the game called Detection that could be learned by any class. This skill gave a certain chance of detecting masked, transformed and Stealthed targets.


    Of course, the drop rate for the skill book was ridiculously low; Lu Li had only heard of it in legends.


    "What would you like?" the hostess asked.


    "Wine."


    "Wine."


    They both chose wine and responded at the same time.


    The hostess¡¯ gloomy expression finally lifted a little; she was the one who made the wine.


    She liked the choice made by these two players and the tiny bit of unhappiness from being tricked completely disappeared.


    A man who liked drinking wouldn¡¯t choose wine as it wasn¡¯t strong enough. A classy girl wouldn¡¯t choose wine either as it wasn¡¯t classy enough, and also had a strange, grassy taste to it.


    "What was wrong her?" Water Fairy asked softly after the hostess left to pour the drinks.


    "She¡¯s a bit upset. She probably noticed that I was the one who brought you into Assassin League." Lu Li was paying close attention. After all, the hostess was the one who gave him his quests. Any details of their interaction could be linked with an important quest.


    "No way, she¡­ she¡¯s just a-" Water Fairy was surprised.


    "Yeah, there¡¯s plenty of them like that in Dawn." Lu Li didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with Water Fairy¡¯s way of thinking. At this stage, all of the players were still stuck on the same level of thinking.


    After they come into contact with more of these NPC, they would begin to discover that the design of these NPCs was sometimes even more complex than a human.


    "Now what?" Water Fairy wasn¡¯t afraid of any players, but she was afraid of upsetting an NPC.


    "Say thanks for the wine. How come you like this wine too?" Lu Li figured that their threat had already passed.


    The hostess wouldn¡¯t take revenge on them, and they could find some accessories to regain their reputation.


    "Because it has the taste of grass. No one played with me when I was a kid, so I liked to lie down in the garden and sometimes fell asleep there. Mum and dad spoke to me about it multiple times, but I couldn¡¯t get rid of the habit." Water Fairy seemed a bit lost as she recalled her childhood.


    The wine was quickly served and Lu Li picked up the wood cup, gently running his fingers under it. A note was in his hands.


    Water Fairy picked up on his action, but was stopped by Lu Li before she made a sound.


    "What¡¯s this?" Water Fairy followed Lu Li¡¯s actions and also received a small note.


    "Have you received any quests from Assassin League?" Lu Li asked.


    "No¡­ the hostess never bothered to talk to me. After I completed the entrance quest, she ignored me." Water Fairy was a smart person and quickly realized, "Was this how we were supposed to receive quests?"


    This was worse than not being given any quests at all.


    "Sh. This is a secret, so don¡¯t let other people notice. Look at the quest after you leave," Lu Li said as she placed the note inside his bag and began to drink his wine.


    "You know so much." Water Fairy¡¯s wasn¡¯t judging; she was impressed.


    In rising to her current position, her background was only one aspect. Otherwise, she would be no different from any other rich, second-generation child. What was most important were her abilities as an individual.


    Lu Li was one of the rare people who impressed her. At some point during their interaction, her subconscious had told her that this was someone with abilities. He was like her, and was worth her time as a friend.


    "There¡¯s barely any time left; let¡¯s talk some other time. If the quest is hard, you can consider my help," Lu Li paused, then added, "but my price isn¡¯t low, so be prepared."


    Water Fairy was stunned as she watched Lu Li walk out, most likely returning to Darnassus.


    After a while, she held her forehead and sighed; he just never stopped thinking about money. She began to question if she had become uglier and even spent more time in the morning looking in her mirror.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s persistence for money wasn¡¯t the kind that people would hate.


    He didn¡¯t steal, rob, or trick others for money, and followed the rules of the game and society.


    A man with a goal was always attractive.


    There was still some game time left, so most players were still leveling up or battling in dungeons. Players who were tired spent their time improving their trade skills. Lu Li, on the other hand, just wanted to sit outside his sister¡¯s hospital ward.


    He left the game and sat quietly on the couch outside the ward.


    He had spent millions, so the location that the hospital had provided him was quite decent. Lu Li could see what was going on inside from the small window.


    Lu Xin lay on a giant bed, her fragile face pale and with different kinds of tubes attached to her.


    Lu Li felt like there were two kinds of unbearable pain in this world.


    One was hunger, and the other was watching his sister suffer.


    Unfortunately, there were just some things in life that couldn¡¯t be avoided.


    There was an extra five million dollars in his account which was from the loan money. Lu Li was worried that something might happen and that he wouldn¡¯t have the time to borrow money. With this extra sum, he wouldn¡¯t have any worries.


    On the second day, there was another small surgery that was required to take place. Lu Li was worried and didn¡¯t go online for the whole day.


    According to his landlords, Ruling Sword had lost another round in the morning to Seventh Heaven. Lucky Southern Persian led the team and showed off his famous, but shameless planning.


    He used Fat Monkey¡¯s impatience and baited him to dive deeper into the enemy team¡¯s line, then killed him when he was too far away from his team members.


    They didn¡¯t lose the other round in the afternoon, mostly because their opponents were quite average. Most people didn¡¯t understand how The Great Qin Empire Union had made it into the round of 16.


    However, after this, their luck ran out. Fat Monkey, who was quite upset, forged a name for himself in this match.


    His positioning and lineup of skills caused a lot of trouble for the Warrior and Thief that he was facing. They became a target for Fat Monkey to show off his technique.


    Fat Monkey¡¯s Critical Strike and burning-effect playstyle consisted of a few burning skills with high damage, a pair of shoes with high movement speed, a set of equipment with high Critical Strike chance, and if possible, a special effect that could create distance. Apparently, all of the fire Mages on the stage were very emotional because they had finally found their position in PVP.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t surprised by this result; gold was bound to shine wherever it went.

 514 Play Your Game

    Lu Li hadn¡¯t been participating in the competition, until the third day of his sister¡¯s surgery. Her condition was now stable and he was notified in the morning that he could visit her.


    Since the surgery was very successful, her cardiac pacing device had already been removed.


    Of course, the tubes and testing equipment still continued to function.


    Lu Li wore a protective suit as he carefully approached her. With an isolation shield between them, his voice didn¡¯t sound real, but it was still clear.


    "Xin Xin, the doctor said you¡¯ll get better soon."


    Lu Xin¡¯s mouth moved and Lu Li had to get closer to hear her.


    "Don¡¯t worry about me. Play your game and earn money." There weren¡¯t many emotional words; Lu Xin was used to the harshness of reality.


    To prevent infection, Lu Li was soon requested to leave the ward.


    After Lu Xin¡¯s condition fully stabilized, she would be moved from the isolation ward to the transplant ward before leaving the hospital. During this month, she needed to remain isolated, and even her food had to be sterilized.


    If not for the consideration of the patient¡¯s mental state, it would have been best to turn down all visitors.


    The three lady landlords watched over Lu Xin behind the glass.


    Water Fairy said that she wanted to visit and Lu Li couldn¡¯t turn her down, but he suggested that she visit after a month.


    By then, Lu Xin would be in a completely healthy state. All that she would need is continuous treatment for her immune system and the regular check-ups.


    To be prepared for all kinds of accidents that may occur, the three best nurses in Jinling looked after Lu Xin. They took different shifts so that there was someone on watch every single moment of the day.


    After Lu Xin left the hospital, Lu Li also decided to hire a nurse to accompany her.


    At the same time, he would most likely rent a place in Jinling near the hospital. If anything was to go wrong, it could be solved as quickly as possible.


    Of course, the expenses weren¡¯t cheap either.


    The hospital was located in the wealthy section and Jinling was more urbanized compared to Jiangnan, so all of the living expenses were much higher.


    Lu Li took out his gaming helmet and linked it with the internet in the lounge outside the ward. He decided to play Dawn on the couch. Since he was an important customer, the hospital didn¡¯t restrict him.


    "It¡¯s impossible without you," Square Root 3 complained over the phone, venting out his frustrations.


    "We¡¯ve only lost two games; what are you worried about? Monkey did well and Mu Qiu did too. Everything is going in a good direction," Lu Li replied after he went online and continued to level up.


    "What do you mean we only lost two matches? If we lose another one, we won¡¯t even be able to make it into the top eight," Square Root 3 said.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll go on next match. There¡¯s another half an hour before that; I should be able to reach level 35." Lu Li picked up the copper coins that the monsters dropped and looked at his experience bar.


    Leveling up at his level was so hard for him.


    Besides the fact that a lot of experience was required, he was also affected by what was happening in real life.


    Lonesome Flower, who was currently second place, was already level 34 with half of his experience bar filled. There were also a few people who had reached level 34. Sorrowless was now ranked at the twelfth position, and had just reached level 34 this morning.


    When a level difference no longer existed and these celebrity players had all gotten used to the game mechanics, Lu Li could excel by working harder.


    However, Square Root 3 wasn¡¯t expecting him to attend the match.


    "How about you just rest up."


    Any mistake, even a small mistake, would be critical to the match¡¯s outcome. As such, the competitors needed to be intensely focused, but it seemed like Lu Li wasn¡¯t in his best state.


    "You¡¯re the one who claimed it was impossible without me," Lu Li sighed and was quite speechless.


    "You can stay as a substitute." Square Root 3 was rather worried; he subconsciously thought that this was the best decision.


    The next match was too important for Ruling Sword. If they lost, they wouldn¡¯t even make it to the top eight.


    Square Root 3 couldn¡¯t accept a result like this ¨C the Magic Cup was a medium-sized competition that only some major guilds participated in.


    "Sure, I might even be able to act as a surprise." Lu Li also couldn¡¯t accept the same result. He thought about what his fragile sister had said to him in the morning and was determined to work even harder.


    There¡¯s still about an hour until the match starts; be prepared." The weight on Square Root 3¡¯s chest had been lifted; he felt much easier with Lu Li.


    It seemed as if nothing would be a problem as long as Lu Li was there.


    "Oh, and who are we up against?" Lu Li asked.


    The most unfair part of Magic Cup was that they picked matchups in a random draw. If you were lucky, you might never run into a single strong team at all.


    "Majin Temple. They¡¯re pretty strong right now, so don¡¯t look down on them," Square Root 3 advised.


    There were two experienced players in the gaming industry that people often looked down on, one of them being Unforgettable Maple from Majin Temple. He was a cunning player who was capable of leading a guild that mainly consisted of middle-aged, casual players. It was not hard to imagine how smart he actually was.


    The other one was Wood Fearing from Gods of Dusk; he was a player who never gave up.


    Ruling Sword had fought Majin Temple before in the past, but Lu Li hadn¡¯t participated in that match. However, Unforgettable Maple didn¡¯t think that way. He was certain that Lu Li was sitting in the substitute section, waiting to beat him up when he wasn¡¯t expecting it. As such, he was very careful and restricted himself a lot with his playstyle. The results were imaginable ¨C Moonlight and the others won a strange victory.


    This time, they ran into each other on the match ground again.


    Unforgettable Maple laughed loudly after he received his draw results.


    His team members asked him what he was laughing about, to which he replied, "Last time I was tricked by them, but this time, I¡¯ll definitely beat them."


    "But we can¡¯t be sure if Lu Li will participate," his underlings said as they blinked their eyes in confusion.


    Unforgettable Maple patted his underlings on the head and laughed, "There¡¯s nothing to be worried about with Lu Li. From what I see, this is not training their new players. There¡¯s no reason for them to lose so many matches to train new players. There has to be a reason why Lu Li can¡¯t play in the matches. It¡¯s either because he received a chain quest that he can¡¯t leave, or something happened in reality."


    "But boss¡­" The little underling looked at Unforgettable Maple in admiration, but he was even more confused at this point. "Lu Li just levelled up."


    "Levelled up?" Unforgettable Maple looked at the level ranking and saw that Lu Li had just reached level 35.


    "Is he doing a quest? That¡¯s a lot of experience," the underling asked.


    "Yes, he must be doing a quest. I¡¯m going to destroy that Monkey; how dare he play a Mage class in front of me," Unforgettable Maple said with a look of determination on his face.

 515 Exchanging Pieces

    Substitutes weren¡¯t required to enter through the tunnel like the main players. Instead, they got teleported into the match when necessary.


    As such, nobody knew who stood would be the substitute player. This was one of the most interesting parts to the matches of Dawn. In the future, some guilds would even use the substitute position as their ace.


    After Lu Li levelled up, he immediately changed two of his equips.


    Wirt¡¯s Third Leg (Gold): Armor 35, Agility +20, Constitution +12, Movement Speed +8%. Special Effect 1: Fade into the shadows and appear behind a target. Increases movement speed by 80% for 3 seconds and increases damage done by next spell by 20%. Reduces Threat by 50%. 120 second cooldown. Special Effect 2: Wirt¡¯s Fake Leg, Instant Cast, leap forward or backward by 8 yards. 120 second cooldown. Equipment Requirement level 35. Durability 82/82.


    With the special effect from his shoes, he could finally switch his level 15 Shadow Cloak.


    The rating for the equipment in Dawn was very complex, but the special effects were always the most important. If a low-level equip had a good special effect, it would align with a level 30 Gold equip.


    For example, Lu Li¡¯s Shadow Cloak wasn¡¯t just an ordinary level 15 equip.


    It allowed Lu Li to teleport behind his opponent and go into Stealth mode. This enabled him to act aggressively and also gave him the upper hand.


    The most troublesome aspect of combat for melee players was switching targets. Warriors could use Charge, but Thieves would have to run. A skill like Sprint usually wouldn¡¯t be used for the purpose of switching targets.


    After his Shadow Cloak was replaced, March Rain used a mold to make a level 35 Silver grade cloak for Lu Li. She was quite lucky; it was a fine quality equip.


    Boulderfist Cloak (Fine Silver): Armor 40, Agility+16, Strength+8, Movement Speed+3%, Special Effect 1: Stealth effect +12%. Special Effect 2: Certain chance of reducing damage taken by 18%. Level Requirement 35, Durability 64/64.


    The attributes were fairly decent and it was serviceable as a substitute, but it wasn¡¯t the best.


    From this point on, Lu Li had four Dark Gold items and three Gold items. He also had a perfect Silver dagger that was equivalent to a Gold equips. His items might not have been updated to level 35, but even if he fought against someone with a set of level 35 Silver items, they wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him.


    A good player¡¯s equips should suit their own playstyle.


    After the match began, competitors from both sides entered the map.


    The map this time was quite strange; it was the battle map that players recalled as having a lot of unexpected surprises.


    This was a kind of map with too many exterior factors; a player¡¯s strength alone wasn¡¯t enough to decide the outcome. Most competitors weren¡¯t a fan of this kind of map.


    On opposite sides of the map were the basements of each team. There was a small level 35 Boss located in the base and the objective of each team was to kill the small Boss of the opposing team.


    Each basement would refresh and produce five level 35 soldiers every ten seconds. These soldiers marched towards the enemy camp and didn¡¯t follow any commandments or suggestions from players.


    There were also five arrow turrets along the way that the soldiers marched. They dealt 200 points of damage to all units and their attack speed was quite fast.


    There weren¡¯t any shortcuts for this map; all you could was to adapt to the situation.


    Fat Monkey played his usual aggressive style. He hastened the tempo of the team and had already knocked out a turret before the Majin Temple team even arrived at the center of the map.


    The price for this was him and Moonlight losing a sizeable portion of their health.


    Unforgettable Maple and his team walked with their five soldiers and towards the middle point at a slightly later time. When he arrived, he saw that he had already lost a turret. Although losing a turret wasn¡¯t a deciding factor for victory, Fat Monkey¡¯s playstyle reminded him of his defeat last time and he felt embarrassed.


    The collision of both teams was fierce; there was no testing of the waters at all.


    March Rain and Mu Qiu quickly healed Fat Monkey, especially Mu Qiu. Although he often complained about Fat Monkey, he was very precise with his healing.


    If they lost a team member too early, it could possibly cost them the match.


    "Alright, let¡¯s fight head on." Unforgettable Maple decided that he didn¡¯t want to play safe anymore. He and his Hunter team member locked onto Fat Monkey, who still hadn¡¯t fully recovered his health bar. They were determined to send Fat Monkey out first.


    "****, why do you guys have to be so passionate?" Fat Monkey cursed as he flashed to dodge an ultimate spell.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t his style to escape. His flash didn¡¯t send him back; it sent him forward instead, right into the center of the Majin Temple players.


    Frost Nova ¨C Fat Monkey laughed as he crowd-controlled all the opposing players.


    However, his life also ended at this point. Front Nova only snared people, but it didn¡¯t stop them from casting spells.


    Majin Temple¡¯s ranged players worked together and killed Fat Monkey.


    However, after Fat Monkey used Frost Nova, Moonlight had already charged in to cast a Whirlwind!


    The Whirlwind skill of Berserkers had a large cast range, high damage and could not be interrupted. All the players caught in Frost Nova took damage from the entire Whirlwind skill.


    The Hunter who was focused by Fat Monkey and Moonlight died, along with his pet.


    Moonlight didn¡¯t step back ¨C instead, he chased after Fat Monkey. Sakura Memories casted a Bloodlust and followed into the battle. Mu Qiu¡¯s damage was decent, but his main focus was healing. He needed to slow down the pace of the battle so that their damage dealers could take down the opposing team.


    Perhaps it was under the instruction of Unforgettable Maple, but the players from Majin Temple fought as they backed away. Soon, they were back under their turret.


    Moonlight, who was at the front, took damage from the turret first. One arrow took away 200 HP, which was far too much for his liking. He turned his head immediately and the opposing team started chasing after him. Their crowd-control skills almost took his life.


    "Damn. He¡¯s too good, but we didn¡¯t lose either. We just exchanged players," Unforgettable Maple said, thinking that this was a satisfactory result.


    Fat Monkey died and they had lost a Hunter.


    This result wasn¡¯t too bad. Fat Monkey was one of their main damage dealers; even Unforgettable Maple didn¡¯t dare to look down on his burning damage.


    Warriors were a strong centerpiece and one of the key damage sources of a team. They could attack their opponents directly or even control and disrupt the opposing players to mess up their positioning.


    Mages made up the frontline ¨C they directed their own team, suppressed their opponents and focused on a target.


    Thieves played on the sidelines ¨C they played an important role in certain situations, whether it be in attacking or supporting.


    Paladins and Shamans were capable of everything, and could attack or defend. Shamans were more aggressive while Paladins were more passive.


    The healing classes were a great back up support.


    What about Hunters? Hunters had an awkward position; they could be thought of as part of the backline. At least, in the current situation, they were mainly used to kill Mages and Thieves.


    Now that the opposing team didn¡¯t have any Thieves or Mages, the death of the Hunter from Majin Temple couldn¡¯t even be counted as a loss.

 516 Interception

    Lu Li entered the map as soon as Fat Monkey died, but it took him time to reach the scene of battle.


    The other substitute player of Majin Temple, who was a Mage, also entered the map.


    Of course, Majin Temple never lacked Mage players; their best players were mostly Mages too.


    These people played the class, not the game.


    After Lu Li entered the match, his first action was to cast Sprint. His movement speed was already much faster than an average player, and with his Sprint, he ran even faster.


    When this effect expired, he transformed into a panther, which was almost just as fast, and ran along the main road.


    The audience saw a Thief transform into a panther and run faster than a Druid.


    Many people already knew that Lu Li was capable of this, but seeing it with your own eyes was another thing. At least they hadn¡¯t wasted their ticket money this time.


    Of course, there were always people who would be envious of his ability.


    They thought that Lu Li was cheating and that this was a bug that affected the game¡¯s balance. His panther transformation had to be removed.


    Some people reported him in protest and rage against his extra ability.


    However, none of this affected Lu Li.


    Fat Monkey had taken around 40 seconds to reach the midpoint of the map at the start of the match, but Lu Li only took around 20 seconds.


    When he arrived at the scene, he didn¡¯t rush to join his team members. Instead, he hid in a bush nearby.


    Since the map was still new, it was only natural that there would be monsters in the bushes. However, there were plenty teams who had competed here, so most of the areas had been explored.


    The majority of players agreed that entering the bushes wasn¡¯t a good idea.


    There were no benefits in defeating these monsters, but if you couldn¡¯t kill them, they would cause you trouble.


    Level 35 elites were strong enough to threaten a player¡¯s life, especially when the two teams were fighting. Imagine having a few elite monsters chasing after you while fighting other players.


    Lu Li ran along the bush at full speed, even faster than before.


    He estimated the distance, imagining the layout of the map in his head. He shot past the enemy¡¯s second turret ¡ªthe first turret had been destroyed by Fat Monkey. Unforgettable Maple and his team was waiting for their substitute here.


    Their substitute ¨C a Mage ¨C was running towards them from base.


    If you exclude their Flash spell, Mages were actually quite slow in terms of movement speed. They mainly invested their attribute points into Intelligence, so they were much slower than Thieves, who invested in Agility.


    Since there wasn¡¯t a battle on the frontline, and their team had the advantage under the turret, the substitute Mage didn¡¯t hurry. He walked slowly and took his time to communicate and understand the battle situation.


    The battle had been a disaster indeed ¨C Fat Monkey was impatient and dragged everyone into fighting much sooner than expected.


    The result was that both sides lost one player each. Fat Monkey was a stronger player than the Hunter and this resulted in an advantage for Majin Temple.


    As for the turret, no one really cared about it.


    If you had common sense, you wouldn¡¯t fight under your opponent¡¯s turret.


    A light movement behind his head startled the substitute Mage out of his daydream.


    Anyone who could enter the competition wasn¡¯t a weak player. The Mage immediately realized that it was a Cheap Shot skill from a Thief. Unfortunately, his reaction couldn¡¯t keep up with his thoughts, and he was immediately tossed into the darkness.


    Lu Li slightly regained his breath.


    It was hard work for him to run all the way from base to intercept the substitute of the opposing team.


    Although he was out of breath, his actions weren¡¯t lethargic. After Cheap Shot, he used a Backstab and successfully applied an Armor Penetration effect on the Mage. He was attacking a stationary target, so it was natural that he had a higher level of skill completion.


    However, the opponent wasn¡¯t a newbie either. When Lu Li was about to follow up with more attacks, he found that the Mage had used the refrigerator skill (Ice Barrier).


    Fortunately, he stopped himself in time and saved his Ultimate.


    Of course, Mages couldn¡¯t attack anyone while in their refrigerator-state.


    Lu Li took a few steps back to exit battle mode and went into Stealth as he waited around the Mage.


    The substitute Mage couldn¡¯t make up his mind ¨C he couldn¡¯t decide if he should break the ice and fight with the Thief, or stay refrigerated and wait for his reinforcements.


    In the end, he decided that he should wait it out and fight.


    Waiting for ten seconds would ruin the element of surprise and would make him an easy target for crowd-control. The Mage cancelled his refrigerator-state at eight seconds, flashing an eight-yard distance away.


    Before he left, he even managed to cast a Frost Nova.


    Lu Li was frozen on the spot, but he didn¡¯t plan on dodging in the first place. After he was snared, he activated the special effect on his shoes.


    This special effect was a weakened version of Shadow Step.


    Lu Li instantly appeared behind the Mage, his dagger shining with a cold glimmer as he stabbed it into the Mage¡¯s head. He didn¡¯t have a lot of time, so he needed to end things fast.


    After another successful Cheap Shot, the Mage was stunned on the spot.


    His opponent¡¯s reaction time was too fast.


    There were a limited number of Thief players who could instantly appear behind their opponents ¨C Water Fairy, Lu Li, Blood Dagger, Wood Fearing...


    Their opponent right now was Ruling Sword, so this definitely had to be Lu Li.


    Damn it, Lu Li. Weren¡¯t you absent for the past few matches?


    Why do you have to participate now? Why did you have to pretend to be a newbie and sit on the substitute seat?


    After he realized the identity of his opponent, the Mage felt depressed. However, as a competitor, he had a strong mentality. He activated the special effect from his badge, turned around and casted a Cone of Cold.


    The Cone of Cold wasn¡¯t a freeze skill; it only applied speed reduction.


    Even such a humble wish didn¡¯t come true for the Mage. Lu Li followed each of his steps tightly and the Cone of Cold missed.


    The Mage was controlled again as Lu Li¡¯s Kidney Strike stunned him for a total of six seconds.


    There weren¡¯t many other options left ¨C what else could the Mage do to get rid of this demon?


    "Hurry, don¡¯t worry about the team formation. Thief, hurry and go save him!" Unforgettable Maple yelled as he raced towards them.


    The Mage had already notified his team members when he used the refrigerator skill, but it took time for reinforcements to arrive. Lu Li had used this time gap wisely.


    Lu Li!


    Unforgettable Maple was fairly upset.


    Since their entrance into the top 16, he felt like Majin Temple had been doing well. They even defeated the team from Star Union, a top 10 team.


    How good would their run be if it wasn¡¯t for Ruling Sword? The first time, he had overestimated them and Fat Monkey had messed up everyone¡¯s pace.


    This time, he had immediately sent Fat Monkey out of the match ground, but just as he was feeling proud of his achievements, he suddenly heard news that Lu Li had entered the battleground.

 517 Master Tactician

    Lu Li¡¯s strategy was bold and unpredictable.


    Fat Monkey and the Hunter from Majin Temple were killed at the same time, so the two subs were teleported into the arena together simultaneously.


    Before the Mage could prepare himself, Lu Li ambushed him immediately.


    The Thief from Majin Temple was running back to save the Mage, but Lu Li managed to get there first.


    Unforgettable Maple ordered the Thief to stop Lu Li from assassinating their backup Mage at all costs because numbers were the most important thing in a team PVP.


    Thanks to his shield, the damage after the 6 second stun from Kidney Strike wasn¡¯t enough to kill the Mage. However, because Lu Li was the best Thief in the game, 6 seconds was more than enough to burst him down to critical HP.


    When the stun duration ended, the poor Mage realised he was already at critical HP and almost burst into tears.


    He was also afflicted with Lu Li¡¯s Slow Poison, leaving him crippled like an injured animal in the jungle.


    The Thief from Majin Temple didn¡¯t even bother going into Stealth. As soon as he saw that his ally Mage was still alive, he recklessly pounced onto Lu Li.


    His plan was to crowd-control Lu Li so that he couldn¡¯t touch the Mage anymore.


    When the Mage saw that the backup was here, he decided not to run. Firstly, there was no way of out-running Lu Li since he was slowed. Secondly, running away exposed his back, which would allow Lu Li to deal extra damage.


    Since it was a 2-on-1, they were both confident that they could take Lu Li down.


    When Lu Li saw the Thief, he immediately went into Stealth and casted Sap.


    The Thief and Lu Li brushed past one another and he was stunned in place. However, he immediately cleansed the Stun with his badge.


    Lu Li turned around and ran towards the Mage again.


    The Thief was at full health, so it would be foolish to target him first. The Mage¡¯s HP was regenerating and the duration of Slow Poison debuff was over, so he was able to move freely again.


    When he realised Lu Li was still coming after him, all he could do was avoid fighting him head-on since he was low on HP.


    The most ideal scenario was to corner Lu Li along with his Thief teammate and stall until Unforgettable Maple and the others arrived for backup. Once the whole team gathered, they could work together to send this scumbag out of the arena.


    The Mage zoned out for a split second as he planned his next move in his head.


    Before he realised, Lu Li had switched his weapon to a Crossbow.


    Crystal Protector¡¯s Crossbow (Dark Gold): Damage 32-42. Agility +20, Strength +8. Special effect 1:


    Critical strike +15%. Special effect 2: Ranged attack speed +25%. Special effect 3: Slash 3, certain chance of causing a bleeding effect. Can be stacked 5 times. Level requirement 30, Durability


    72/72.


    This weapon was the reward from finishing the Pamela quest series.


    When he received this crossbow, he contemplated whether he should give it to Remnant Dream. After careful consideration, he decided that such an overpowered Crossbow would be a waste on Remnant Dream, since she relied on her pets to deal damage.


    She needed weapons that increased the DPS of her pets.


    Lu Li switched to the Crossbow and relentlessly shot out arrows towards the Mage.


    Shoo Shoo Shoo¡­


    Crossbows in real life were slow and inefficient because of their reload time. However, in Dawn, they automatically reloaded, therefore having an extremely fast attack speed and high accuracy.


    Even a Thief could use it at close distances. Lu Li was enjoying himself a little too much while chasing the Mage around.


    Even though the arrows did less damage, the Mage was already on low HP and continued screaming for help in the team voice chat.


    Unforgettable Maple watched from afar as his Mage ran towards him. "It¡¯s two against one! Why are you running?! Turn around and kill him," he scolded.


    The bleed effect from the Crystal Protector¡¯s Crossbow dealt a considerable amount of damage over time. A single stack dealt 10 or so HP per tick and could potentially ramp up in damage with more stacks, dealing up to 100 HP per tick.


    The Mage watched as Unforgettable Maple ran towards him. However, it was too late and he was teleported out of the arena.


    The Thief had been bothering Lu Li this whole time, so he was never able to catch up to the Mage. However, his quick thinking gave his team a huge advantage in numbers.


    Lu Li used his wits to slap his haters in the face.


    He showed off what it meant to improvise on the spot; his game sense and IQ was through the roof.


    He also taught a lot of new players a lesson ¨C melee classes could use ranged weapons as well, and could still deal a decent amount of damage.


    After this match, many melee classes would carry a backup Crossbow in their inventory, especially ones that applied slow or bleeding effects. The prices of godly Crossbows skyrocketed, and an exquisite one could sell for hundreds of thousands of gold.


    "Don¡¯t run!" Unforgettable Maple was furious as he continued running towards Lu Li.


    Majin Temple was now down one player on their team. If he didn¡¯t even out the numbers, it would be almost impossible for him to turn it around, no matter how great of a commander he was.


    "I have time to play with you guys," Lu Li mocked and did not try to escape like everyone expected.


    The obvious target for Lu Li was Unforgettable Maple. The Thief continued casting his crowd-control on Lu Li but was ignored completely.


    "You¡¯re wearing level 35 gear. That¡¯s a bit unfair," Unforgettable Maple bickered as he saw the damage of his Ice Lance on Lu Li.


    "How dare you complain about it being unfair when it¡¯s 2 against 1," Lu Li laughed as he cancelled his opponent¡¯s ultimate with his Stun.


    "Not just two. In a few seconds, there¡¯ll be two more players for backup," Unforgettable Maple threatened, but he was very unsure. Why was Lu Li staying to fight? It was clear that it was disadvantageous for him. If this continued on, Lu Li would be the first to die for sure.


    Lu Li¡¯s expression finally became serious. He began running and kiting them while thinking to himself, "What the hell is Moonlight doing? Does it really take that long to kill a healer?"


    "Goddamn, you¡¯re shameless!" Unforgettable Maple shouted as he received the information from his backline.


    The players from Ruling Sword had flanked them from behind and ganged up on their healer, who was begging for help in the chat.


    Every class had a different Movement Speed, with Priests being the slowest in the game.


    While Unforgettable Maple and the Thief were fighting against Lu Li, their other damage dealers were still on the way. The slowest Priest was left behind and was swallowed up by Ruling Sword.


    Majin Temple had tunnel-visioned too hard on Lu Li and had forgotten to protect their only healer.


    Unforgettable Maple felt completely outplayed by Lu Li and Ruling Sword. The reputation that he had built up for himself had been completely ruined in a single match.

 518 Attack from Both Ends

    They couldn¡¯t kill Lu Li in time and their healer was being ganged up on.Majin Temple had no other choice but to surrender this match.


    When Fat Monkey was killed, everyone assumed that Ruling Sword would lose because they had lost their main DPS. Who would have thought that Lu Li, who had missed the past couple of matches, would show up to be their substitute?


    When Lu Li entered the arena, everyone was surprised, but no one thought that his entrance would turn the game around this dramatically.


    No one understood why he had sprinted so quickly towards the enemy Mage until everyone realised that he was able solo kill him.


    After he killed the Mage, he was placed in a 1v2 situation. The crowd expected him to used Gale Steps to escape and regroup with his team, then take advantage of the numbers difference in the team fight.


    Instead, he hung around and fought in order to stall for his teammates.


    During this time, his teammates were able to ambush Majin Temple¡¯s healer from behind, taking the victory. Ruling Sword displayed their team work and their complete trust in Lu Li¡¯s strategy.


    Unforgettable Maple and others left the arena early, surrendering the match before they were killed to save some pride.


    He knew that in terms of being a leader and a strategist, Lu Li was on a completely different level. The strategy that Ruling Sword executed displayed Lu Li¡¯s talent and his impact on the game to the spectators once again.


    Casual players would say obvious things such as "make the substitute Mage walk faster" or "tell the Priest to keep up with the rest of the team".


    However, only the experienced players would understand how sophisticated the strategy was and how difficult it was to execute perfectly.


    "Congratulations to Ruling Sword who have qualified for the Magic Cup semi-finals."


    Fireworks filled the arena and the system congratulated the winner of this match.


    The Magic Cup was a long and gruelling tournament; it took several days just to determine the teams that would qualify for the semi-finals.


    Lu Li grouped up with the rest of the team, but didn¡¯t teleport out. They advanced forwards and destroyed the four remaining archer towers, then began fighting the mini Boss.


    Teams needed to defeat the mini Boss to secure the victory.


    The mini Boss in this map added another dimension to the game. For example, when the enemy team was fighting the ally Mini boss, teams could take this opportunity to surround and ambush them.


    However, Unforgettable Maple decided to give up instead of utilizing the mini Boss to its fullest potential. Since they were already down two players and had no healer, he thought it was impossible to win and surrendered.


    The mini Boss was relatively easy to defeat. Without any distraction from the enemy team, it would only be a matter of time before a team of five players defeated it.


    Lu Li wanted them to kill the mini Boss because it would reward them with a considerable amount of EXP.


    This was a bonus for teams that fought in this map. However, the mini Boss didn¡¯t drop any gear or give other rewards besides EXP.


    The mini Boss lasted for about a minute under the relent attacks of Ruling Sword. After this, Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar increased very slightly.


    "Lu Li, can we get an interview?" The media was following the team as they walked away from the arena. Fat Monkey was also with them.


    Before they had even entered the tunnel, there were already reporters asking for an interview.


    They all wanted to be the first to report Lu Li¡¯s return from his absence.


    "Go ahead." Lu Li stopped; he needed to maintain a good relationship with the media.


    Reporters that could enter the team tunnel were all the big names in the industry. They were all reporters from major media companies or famous gaming bloggers on the internet.


    "I¡¯m a reporter from the Game Nation; can you tell us why you were absent from so many matches?" The reporter was a female Mage and she was quite pleasing to the eye.


    "Sorry, that¡¯s private."


    Lu Li remained truthful and straightforward even though the reporter was beautiful.


    She hesitated for a second then recovered and asked, "There¡¯s a rumour going around that you were absent because you wanted to train up the rookies. What do you have to say about this?"


    "No, that¡¯s not true." Lu Li was bothered that she was still asking about the same thing.


    He wanted to keep his life private, but didn¡¯t want to lie about it either.


    "What are your thoughts on your new teammates? Ruling Sword has already lost two matches in the Magic Cup Tournament. If you weren¡¯t here to turn the tables around today, it might¡¯ve resulted in another loss." The female reporter was unsatisfied with Lu Li¡¯s previous answers and asked another sharp question.


    "No," Lu Li disagreed as he shook his head sternly, "You can never predict what the outcome will be. However, all I can say is that I am very pleased with some of the new guys we¡¯ve added to the team. They each have their own speciality and they work hard to improve themselves. We need more guys like them in Ruling Sword."


    "Uh, the community blamed Fat Monkey for messing up the tempo of your team. Without him, you guys might not have lost those two matches. What do you have to say about this?"


    Lu Li¡¯s answer was quite unexpected.


    Fat Monkey was often used as the scapegoat for Ruling Sword¡¯s losses and many speculated that there would be chemistry problems between him and the rest of the team. However, Lu Li publicly announced that he was pleased with his teammates, their individual playstyles and their work ethic.


    "Every player has room for growth," Lu Li said without elaborating.


    "What about Mu Qiu signing a $1.8 million contact to Ruling Sword? What are your thoughts?" the reporter asked.


    "He¡¯s worth the money," Lu Li said.


    Although it was simple praise, Mu Qiu was touched by Lu Li¡¯s words.


    When he was a free agent that no one wanted on their team, he wanted to sign a cheap contract so that he could prove everyone wrong in tournaments. However, not only did Lu Li raise his salary, but he also developed him into a player that was worthy of being a starter on their PVP team.


    "Where do you think Ruling Sword will place in this year¡¯s Magic Cup?"


    "We¡¯ll be the champions," Lu Li said without hesitation.


    "You¡¯ve already lost two matches, so it¡¯s not possible for you guys to win the championship." The female reporter was almost speechless. She thought that Lu Li was messing around with her.


    "Yes, but our hearts will always aim for the championship." Lu Li forgot where he had heard this line, but thought it was fitting for this situation.


    "Ok¡­" The female reporter was starting to get annoyed. Instead of asking about their next matchup, she began asking questions that would put Lu Li in an awkward position. "It¡¯s obvious that your relationship with Water Fairy is more than just normal friends. When did you guys start dating?"


    The female reporter had a way with her words, especially when it comes to gossip.


    Instead of asking whether he was dating Water Fairy, she asked when.


    "We¡¯re not dating¡­" Lu Li was annoyed with the word ¡®dating¡¯ and felt like he was in high school again.


    "Then do you dislike Water Fairy? She¡¯s on the Top Beauty Rankings in the game." The female reporter wanted to bait out a controversial statement from Lu Li.


    "I don¡¯t hate her," Lu Li said truthfully.


    "Ok, thank you. That is all; thank you for your time."


    Lu Li and the others were finally released from the interrogation.

 519 Explaining The Inciden

    Lu Li¡¯s question was answered the next day.


    Not long after logging on, he received quite a few messages from the couple of friends he had on his Friends List. Various players were expressing their sympathy and admiration for him.


    It was from these messages that he finally understood how that damned journalist had reported his story.


    The part about the game was satisfactory. It mainly emphasized that Lu Li was quite satisfied with his new teammates and wished Ruling Sword for future glory.


    As for the speculative section, even Lu Li couldn¡¯t interpret what it was trying to say.


    "When inquired about his feelings towards Water Fairy, Lu Li spoke frankly towards liking her¡­"


    This was the original published story; Lu Li was reading it from the official website. He also keenly noticed that this article subscription count had exceeded the one-million mark.


    The matter hadn¡¯t become completely widespread yet as Dawn had over one billion players, but there wouldn¡¯t normally be this many players subscribing to a digital magazine.


    For an article like this to break the one-million mark meant that it was doing quite well.


    Sure enough, other forms of media including the official Dawn forums also reposted this article.


    The reposts had a variety of titles including, "That boy and girl are really together", "The Toad wants to eat the Swan" and "The Counterattack against Ms. Perfect".


    Lu Li was a little confused, but he soon understood that he had been tricked by that reporter.


    Yesterday, he was asked if he hated Water Fairy. Of course, Lu Li didn¡¯t hate her ¨C she was a rich tycoon, so no professional player would hate her.


    However, that female reporter had deliberately misconstrued his words for some cheap gossip.


    From the reporter¡¯s point of view, this wasn¡¯t genuine, but it was surprisingly successful. She devised a linguistic trap and had caught Lu Li in it.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really care for what other people thought and couldn¡¯t be bothered to clarify himself. However, there was one person he thought that he should clear it up for.


    This person was the other main character of the news, the female tycoon Water Fairy. She had received news about it even before coming online.


    Upon hearing that Lu Li admitted to liking her when interviewed by the media, Water Fairy¡¯s first reaction was to laugh.


    She simply didn¡¯t believe that someone who was solely focused on making money would think that. At this point, Water Fairy more or less understood herself as Lu Li¡¯s younger sister.


    Lu Li sent a message, but he didn¡¯t really know how to explain it.


    "There has been an article published that was written badly. Don¡¯t take it seriously."


    "Which article? The one that says you like me?" Water Fairy asked.


    Lu Li nearly choked at her response and quickly explained, "At the time, she asked if I hated you. I said I didn¡¯t and I didn¡¯t know that the journalist would interpret it like she did."


    "Ah, I see." Water Fairy didn¡¯t appear to be too indignant.


    This was quite normal as a person like her would always be the subject of attention. That was the point this reporter was trying to reach. A brilliant professional player and one of the most beautiful women in Dawn getting together was bound to attract everyone¡¯s attention.


    "I hope this doesn¡¯t affect your regular life," Lu Li said.


    "I¡¯m already used to it. But you¡­ I took your Kodo, and yet you don¡¯t hate me. How strange," Water Fairy said before immediately letting out a laugh.


    "Do I need to clarify anything with the media?" Lu Li asked.


    If this was just the gossip of ordinary players, then no one would care, but this was different. It had to do with Lu Li, the best new player in the game and Water Fairy, an outstanding member of the Beauty Rankings.


    As long as something about these two came up, there would be a big fuss about it.


    "Don¡¯t worry about it. The more you care, the more popular it gets." Water Fairy didn¡¯t want to clarify anything. There were already too many people trying to confess to her.


    Moreover, he was the first person in the game to have confessed to her. Whenever she thought about his face during the confession, she would break into laughter without fail.


    However, on the outside, Lu Li and Water Fairy remained silent about this apparent public relationship.


    "Big bro Lu Li, I¡¯m online now. Let¡¯s go do some quests." Children were always the most carefree and someone like Hachi Chan didn¡¯t have anything like this to worry about.


    "What kind of quest?" Lu Li just remembered that he had received a note from the Southshore innkeeper, which was probably a quest.


    He took it out from his backpack and there were a few bright red words on it.


    Assassination Order: Mor¡¯Ladim!


    Quest Description: Go to the Twillight Forest, find Mor¡¯Ladim and kill him.


    Max players: 1


    Quest Deadline: 4 days.


    In fact, the Assassin¡¯s League often handed out these kinds of assassination quests. They would give you a goal, a general direction and an assassination target. The players would then receive a monetary reward upon their return.


    "Lu Li, you liar ¨C you promised me. You said you would take me on a quest that would make my Elf Dragon bigger and now you¡¯re asking me ¡®what quest¡¯!" Hachi Chan shouted angrily.


    "Oh right. Let¡¯s go try it now then." Lu Li only just remembered his promise.


    "Big bro Lu Li, I knew you were the best," Hachi Chan said as she ran over excitedly. She was so excited that she was like a dog with her tongue sticking out and her tail wagging.


    "You idiot. You¡¯re getting better and better at manipulating your emotions. You just called me a liar and now you¡¯re calling me Big bro Lu Li again? Do you have any moral integrity?" Lu Li was speechless.


    "I¡¯m still young; what¡¯s the point of having integrity?" Hachi Chan grunted. She had been pampered for all of her life.


    Lu Li took Hachi Chan away from Southshore and all the way into the Silverpine Forest. Their destination was Tirisfal Woodland and the Scarlet Monastery. There were no shortcuts there, so they had to slowly make their way across the land.


    The Silver Forest was vast; it stretched across the entire west coast of Lordaeron. It was also hostile territory that was controlled by the Forsaken.


    The last time he was here, there weren¡¯t many high-level monsters ¨C only the Son of Arugal posed a threat to him. However, he was alone that time, so there was a risk of him dying. Now that there were two of them, they didn¡¯t have any reason to fear.


    "Let¡¯s fly over," Lu Li said.


    "W¡­why?" Hachi Chan asked sheepishly.


    "It takes more than an hour to walk, but we can fly there in half an hour," said Lu Li as he transformed into a dark red crow.


    "But¡­" Hachi Chan said pitifully.


    "Stop messing around. Hurry up and transform," Lu Li said bluntly.


    Hachi Chan channeled for a moment before turning into a big butterfly. It was much better looking than Lu Li, but its flying form was quite pitiful, let alone its flying speed.


    "Surely you¡¯ve spent some time practicing right?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t bear to watch her.


    Hachi Chan had received this skill in the Howling Caves. It had been so long, yet she had barely improved at all.


    "I have practiced, but¡­ I keep hitting walls," Hachi Chan said embarrassedly.

 520 Elf Dragon Elegy

    "Fly a little higher and you¡¯ll get used to it. This skill is very useful." This little girl couldn¡¯t be spoken to too harshly, so Lu Li patiently advised, "If there¡¯s ever a place you can¡¯t reach on foot, you can just fly. Flying is faster than walking anyway¡­"


    Although Hachi Chan was still quite shaky, she was quickly learning as she went.


    As long as Lu Li was flying in front, all she needed to do was follow him in a straight line.


    "Why aren¡¯t we there yet? How long do we need to fly for?" Hachi Chan, who was still not comfortable in the air, had been complaining all the way.


    "Shut up. This is just how flying is. Why do you keep bothering me?" Lu Li was irritated.


    "Alright then, I just won¡¯t say anything." Hachi Chan felt bad and resolved to practice flying when she got back.


    Lu Li looked down at the earth and oriented himself using the memories of his past life.


    Currently, the Whispering Forest couldn¡¯t be entered by anyone as this place was situated in the hills next to the Tirisfal Woodland. Only players who could fly like Lu Li and Hachi Chan could come here.


    Lu Li brought Hachi Chan directly into the mountains and entered the Whispering Forest.


    He had no idea whether there were any secrets here. This place had not yet been completely explored, even after 3 years.


    "What is this place? It¡¯s got a nice scenery; I want to take some pictures." Hachi Chan was thoroughly enjoying herself here. She went back into human form and ran around taking pictures.


    "Don¡¯t run too far and don¡¯t fight any monsters," Lu Li quickly urged.


    There were monsters here, but they were all neutral with an unknown level. In his previous life, Lu Li had seen a level 45 Druid here accidentally hitting a deer. That deer was instantly killed.


    The Whispering Forest wasn¡¯t a big place; it was a little slice of paradise.


    Lu Li quickly found what he was looking for ¨C a large ring made up of a circle of mushrooms. The players affectionately called it the mushroom matrix.


    In order to explore the secrets of this map, many players had performed detailed studies of it.


    In European Legends, the mushroom rings that were formed in forests were left behind by winged elves. Wishes made within these rings would be granted.


    As such, countless couples came here to make wishes. More players preferred this over wishing on a meteor; that tradition had long since fallen out of fashion.


    Of course, there were some single people who came here to curse others. They would often wish to break up some other couple.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested in these mushroom rings; he had come here because this was where Elf Dragons appeared.


    Elf Dragons were born in the Emerald Dream, a place that could phase in and out of reality. This protected the Emerald Dream from outside magic.


    As such, outside of the Emerald Dream, there were few places where one could see an Elf Dragon.


    Moreover, there was no strategy for finding these dragons.


    This meant that Hachi Chan just had to be lucky enough to find a mountable Elf Dragon here.


    "Is this the place?" Hachi Chan had taken a few photos of the vicinity but dared not venture too far. She was probably aware of her bad sense of direction, and was just looking curiously at the mushroom ring.


    "Yep," Lu Li nodded, "Summon your dragon and put it here."


    "Nothing bad will happen, right?" Hachi Chan asked as she hugged her baby dragon; she didn¡¯t completely trust Lu Li. Given Lu Li¡¯s attitude so far, he didn¡¯t appear too sure of what was going to happen next either.


    "What are you scared of? It won¡¯t disappear; this is a game," Lu Li assured as he patted her head.


    Hachi Chan stumbled after she was patted and glared at Lu Li. She stood in the middle of the mushroom matrix and held on to her dragon, unwilling to put it down.


    Lu Li helplessly followed her in.


    Perhaps it was because of the baby dragon, but after Hachi Chan stood in the center of the ring, Lu Li saw a larger Elf Dragon emerge from the void.


    It was actually happening! Hachi Chan didn¡¯t dare to breathe.


    This Elf Dragon should have only been a projection made purely out of energy. Yet, Lu Li could still feel the pressure exerted by this creature of a higher order.


    The Dragon circled the mushroom matrix but didn¡¯t move in. Then, another one appeared, and another¡­


    A total of seven Elf Dragons appeared. The fact that they had done so on their own made a beautiful scene. They truly deserved the title of being the most beautiful dragons.


    "What do I need to do?¡¯ Hachi Chan was still holding the baby dragon. She had been silently standing in the mushroom matrix, feeling overwhelmed and dumbfounded.


    "Don¡¯t do anything. If they talk to you, speak the truth." Lu Li had never experienced such a scene before. Now Hachi Chan¡¯s nickname of ¡®the System¡¯s Daughter¡¯ made even more sense.


    The Elf Dragons didn¡¯t speak to Hachi Chan; they didn¡¯t even look at her.


    Once all seven dragons gathered, they spread out and stood in seven different points around the mushroom matrix.


    The Elf Dragons¡¯ wings flashed colorfully, shining a gold light into the center of the mushroom matrix. The light was shining where Hachi Chan was holding the baby dragon. A green light then bathed them while ethereal music faintly played in the background. Deer and other small animals gathered nearby and began to worship together.


    This was Nature¡¯s Miracle ¨C one of the top-ten most beautiful scenes of Dawn.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t standing too far away, but he stood quietly. In fact, he was also shocked by this scene. He had heard about how beautiful this scene was, but he had never seen it before.


    Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he had to admit that these were sacred grounds.


    The baby dragon that was hanging on Hachi Chan¡¯s elbow was staring at the seven dragons of its own kind.


    It didn¡¯t seem like it was comfortable or uncomfortable, nor did it seem like it was growing. It was really hard to tell whether this was having an actual effect.


    This ¡®Elf Dragon Elegy¡¯ would only occur once in a while. Players to whom it had happened reported no ultimate effect.


    However, one thing they could be sure about was that the presence of this baby dragon did have an impact.


    According to the original reports, you couldn¡¯t determine when the Elf Dragons would come, nor could you determine how long it would take for all 7 to arrive. If you were unlucky, you could wait six hours before you got to witness this stunning scene.


    After Lu Li had instructed Hachi Chan to hold the baby dragon in the middle of the mushroom matrix, the first one had appeared in less than ten seconds.


    They didn¡¯t need to wait hours for the second or third ether. From when the first one appeared until the last, there was only a span of a few minutes.

 521 Meatball

    Hachi Chan seemed to have gotten tired and simply put the baby dragon onto the ground.


    As the golden and green light intertwined, the music got louder. The Elf Baby dragon got up shakily before falling back down.


    It also let out a quiet cry that was cute beyond compare.


    The entire scene went on for about 10 minutes which was much longer than the 40 seconds that Lu Li remembered. In the last minute, Lu Li thought that it would go on forever.


    After ten minutes, the elf dragons became more and more transparent before disappearing completely.


    "Is your dragon any bigger?" Lu Li came over and squatted next to the baby dragon. He poked it and the baby dragon grunted unhappily.


    "Nope." Hachi Chan measured it with her hands but she was unsure.


    "It seems a lot fatter."


    Indeed, it was much, much fatter.


    Previously, it was like a thin sausage, but now it was more like a meatball.


    The baby dragon wasn¡¯t used to its new body either; it tried to get up and ended up rolling back down. Eventually, it managed to wobble its way back to its master.


    "Now that it¡¯s like this, it¡¯s even less likely that it¡¯ll fly." Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but sigh as they had achieved the opposite of their goal.


    "Don¡¯t say that; my baby dragon will fly one day. Wow, it¡¯s so heavy!" Hachi Chan bent over to pick up the baby dragon and suddenly let go as she was getting up.


    The baby dragon fell out of her hands as a result.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t panic at all as it was so fat that that there was no way it would die from this.


    Just as Lu Li was about to laugh about it, something completely unexpected happened before his eyes. The baby dragon that was about to fall actually spread its wings and started flying.


    Although it was a shocking sight, it was flying quite well, which was more than what could be said about its master.


    "It flies! Haha, it flies!" Hachi Chan exclaimed excitedly.


    "You¡¯re celebrating a little too early. Just because it can fly doesn¡¯t mean you can mount it," Lu Li said, bursting her bubble.


    "I can fly too, but I don¡¯t have to carry it now."


    Hachi Chan turned into a butterfly as she said those words. She had wanted to fly around the baby dragon, but almost accidentally flew into its mouth. She would probably be the first person in Dawn to be eaten by their pet¡­


    "If it works, you can come back here again on your own. It¡¯s not a dangerous route," Lu Li suggested.


    "Uh¡­" Hachi Chan sheepishly reminded him, "I don¡¯t have a good sense of direction."


    "That¡¯s right," Lu Li said helplessly, "You don¡¯t have a bad sense of direction; you just don¡¯t remember what the route is. Forget it; we¡¯ll come again when I¡¯m free. I need to get back; I still have a competition to participate in."


    The competition was the most important thing right now; helping this little girl with her quest was really only a quality-of-life improvement.


    The battle they had this morning was against Blue Universe. Blue Universe was a branch from Drizzle Court, and was likely funded by Water Fairy.


    However, this fact couldn¡¯t be proved as Water Fairy had never publicly acknowledged it, nor had Drizzle Court ever compelled Blue Universe to do anything. They had fought all throughout the Magic Cup with their own strength and didn¡¯t rely on anyone else¡¯s charity.


    They were competing against four other top guilds in this competition ¨C Peerless City, Seventh Heaven, Gale Legion and of course, Ruling Sword as well.


    However, Ruling Sword had been hurting itself as Lu Li had missed quite a few matches. This placed them 2 points behind everyone else.


    Peerless City and Gale Legion were still undefeated and were tied for first place. Seventh Heaven had lost one match to Peerless City and was ranked third. The following teams had all lost 2 matches each: Blood Red War Flag, Ruling Sword, Majin Temple, Blue Universe and Gangnam Royals.


    Among these, Blood Red War Flag and Gangnam Royals had sent a new line up, so they didn¡¯t have strong teams.


    Blue Universe was the current dark horse of the Magic Cup. Their party leader was Flying Fish Hater, a relatively-skilled, chubby man. Two years ago, he was afflicted by a serious illness and faded from the professional scene, but now, he was making a comeback in Dawn.


    It wasn¡¯t like they hadn¡¯t encountered strong teams either. The young team of Gangnam Royals consisted of star players who weren¡¯t much weaker than the main team. The ultimate issue was their coordination which was an opportunity seized by Flying Fish Hater to defeat them.


    Although they had lost to Gale Legion, Blue Universe still put up a strong fight. The remaining opposing team was two times the size of theirs, but they managed to drag the match on until they ran out of time.


    So of course, when they and Ruling Sword went up against each other, the audience was kept at the edge of their seats.


    "Monkey, crowd-control their Shaman. Memories, remember your Bloodlust; we¡¯ll focus fire their Mage." After Lu Li observed their composition, he gave out the instructions.


    The map was a large, circular hall with four pillars, but there wasn¡¯t actually that much space and all the players could see each other.


    "Why aren¡¯t you attacking the healer?" Fat Monkey asked.


    "That immortal priest¡­ have you ever heard of anyone successfully killing her?" Lu Li responded.


    Fat Monkey was stunned before he shook his head. "How would I know? I haven¡¯t seen their games. Is this immortal priest actually unkillable? Does such a person exist? "


    "You should watch other players¡¯ games if you have time; it¡¯ll be good for you." Lu Li took advantage of the few seconds they had in preparation time to explain, "It¡¯s not that this immortal priest is impossible to kill ¨C it¡¯s just very difficult. She has forgone the Intelligence stat and put all her attributes into Healing and Constitution. The equipment she has also increases her max HP and that¡¯s without mentioning her crowd-control skills¡­"


    "Is that the benefit of being part of a big guild?" Fat Monkey whistled.


    "Basically, we can¡¯t make any mistakes. If we can one-shot the Mage, this match will be ours." Lu Li never underestimated his opponent, even if his opponent was the rank 30 Blue Universe.


    Blue Universe was also trying to come up with a strategy against Ruling Sword, but the fact that Lu Li had replaced Mu Qiu was a bit of a headache for them.


    As long as Lu Li was around, anyone would feel under pressure.


    "Who should we attack first?¡¯ someone asked.


    Flying Fish Hater hesitated before gritting his teeth and saying, "Kill Fat Monkey first. Mage, you pressure March Rain."


    Lu Li was very difficult to kill. If they focused him, they would probably lose at least two to three members. No matter how you looked at it, it was difficult for them. Their only hope was to focus the Priest.


    The countdown began and both teams rushed into the hall together.


    "March Rain, stand behind a pillar." Lu Li took one look at their Mage and immediately knew what they were trying to do. "Monkey Bro, we¡¯re counting on you. Rush over there with me and make it look like we¡¯re trying to kill the Priest¡­"


    "Sounds good." Fat Monkey smiled, gave himself a shield and rushed ahead.


    Seeing that Fat Monkey was heading directly at the Priest, Flying Fish Hater relaxed a little and felt relieved.


    As March Rain was behind a pillar, Blue Universe¡¯s Mage had no choice but to Polymorph Moonlight. Although Fat Monkey was always the one to rush to the front, they just couldn¡¯t ignore the godlike Moonlight.


    Fat Monkey and Moonlight¡¯s classic combo was an ice ring and a whirlwind.

 522 Bloodraven Inn

    Fat Monkey didn¡¯t care at all about how Moonlight had been polymorphed. Both the badge he was carrying and March Rain¡¯s Dispel could easily remove that sheep crowd-control.


    He seemingly rushed straight towards the other pretty Priest.


    Most 5 v 5 maps were decided by good focus-fire. Generally, you would kill a Cloth-armored target first, starting with Warlocks, then Priests and Mages. In this match, there wasn¡¯t a Warlock, so they would naturally aim the Priest next.


    Both the Shaman and the Priest were standing quite far back. As Fat Monkey approached, he shot an icicle at the Blue Universe¡¯s Priest¡¯s forehead. The priest lost more than 100 HP, but her HP bar only moved slightly.


    How scared was this Priest that she would put this many points into Constitution?


    Lu Li, who was lurking nearby, cast Sap on the Shaman who was currently channeling Chain Lightning. Of course, the Shaman wasn¡¯t completely dumbfounded and quickly lifted the stun with his own badge.


    He then hurriedly tried to put down a totem!


    It was in this moment that Fat Monkey turned and casted Polymorph on the Shaman.


    The Shaman, who had already used his badge, turned into a little lamb and paced back and forth on the spot.


    Shamans had good area-of-effect elemental attacks which dealt particularly high magic damage. Their shortcoming was in their lack of crowd-control skills. Now that they had crowd-controlled the Shaman, Lu Li and Fat Monkey could turn to deal with the Mage.


    As for their Priest, she had retreated back to Sakura Memories, their melee Shaman.


    Blue Universe¡¯s Mage had only completed half of their objectives. They had turned Moonlight into a sheep, but March Rain was still safe and sound.


    As he was about to turn back and targeted Fat Monkey, he found himself being focus-fired. As his Ice Shield broke, he realized that he was in a crisis.


    It was after Moonlight removed the Polymorph debuff and casted Mortal Strike directly onto his back that his fate was sealed.


    Mortal Strike: A cruel attack that inflicts 175% of weapon damage onto a target. Also applies Lethality to the target, reducing all healing effects by 50% for 10 seconds.


    Moonlight, Fat monkey and Lu Li all crowded around Blue Universe¡¯s Mage. Their Shaman was still a sheep, but the Priest quickly removed the crowd-control. They had a Paladin, a Shaman and a Hunter also ganging up on a Mage; they were all focus-firing Fat Monkey.


    Now it was a matter of who would die first.


    The disparity between their strength was revealed through this situation.


    The ones who had acted decisively were Sakura Memories and March Rain. The former cast Bloodlust which improved their overall DPS, while the latter kept Fat Monkey alive with her powerful healing.


    The other Priest simply couldn¡¯t sustain their Mage, so the Mage was eventually sent back to base.


    The substitute for Blue Universe was a healer. As the map was very small, the substitute could immediately join the fight, which gave their team a double healer composition.


    The second target which had been specified by Lu Li was the Hunter. After some scrambling, they also managed to kill him.


    At this point, Ruling Sword had already secured their victory against Blue Universe.


    To Lu Li, the reason for their loss was because of their composition. It was only after the Paladin Arthas joined Blue Universe, giving them a double Paladin composition, that their team would truly start to grow stronger.


    Ruling Sword had managed to defeat Blue Universe, a rising underdog of the competition. However, this naturally didn¡¯t generate much excitement among the players watching.


    There wasn¡¯t much interest in this game, but the tickets were worth one silver each. The audience was all more interested in Lu Li¡¯s relationship with the female tycoon. Many players were discussing it while the match was in full swing.


    Throughout the match, there were also many players who shouted the names of Water Fairy and Lu Li from the stands.


    After competing, Lu Li went to do an Assassin League quest. Although there was a four-day time limit, it was better for his peace of mind to complete it earlier. Who knew what might happen if he waited?


    Assassination Order: Mor¡¯ladim!


    Quest Description: Go to the Twilight Forest, find Mor¡¯Ladim and kill him.


    Number of players: 1


    Quest Duration: 4 days.


    This was a solo quest, so he couldn¡¯t ask for any help, but Lu Li was quite curious as to whether Water Fairy had received a quest as well.


    Lu Li had not done this quest in his previous life, nor had he heard of Mor¡¯Ladim. He was also probably the only one right now that knew about the Twilight Forest.


    He transported to the Twilight Forest¡¯s night-colored town.


    The Twilight Forest was a chaotic and saddening area. It was officially under the protection of Stormwind, but it was too far away from the mighty fortress and bordered the strong evil Southern and Eastern neighborhoods. As a result, the place was in a perpetual state of fear.


    Speaking of the strong evil forces, this place was also quite unlucky.


    Ogres had appeared in the South while Worgens had appeared in the north. The Deadwind Pass was to the East and the West was a Ghost Town. The forest was ravaged by natural disasters and even dead souls appeared in the town. The Twilight Forest was currently one of the most dangerous Alliance locations in the region.


    The sky had probably also been affected by the magic, as Lu Li saw a thick fog that covered the land when he arrived. The whole scene was rather ghastly. There were gusts of wind blowing from the East that carried the same grimy smell as the air from Deadwind Pass.


    In his past life, Lu Li had no reason to set foot in this place. It had low resources, aggressive monsters and aggravatingly low drop rates.


    He pulled his cloak close and found the Bloodraven Inn along the chilly streets.


    This place was once a farm that supplied the Alliance large quantities of goods, but due to the pollution of the lands, many of these goods could no longer be supplied. Moreover, the economic downturn left many farmers and traders with nothing left to sell. Most of these people just spent their money and days at the Bloodraven Inn.


    As a result, the Bloodraven Inn was the busiest place in the entire town. It was also the place with the most people.


    Lu Li quite liked the name of this inn. His Crow Transformation that had been given by Medivh was a dark crow that was always bleeding and was otherwise known as a blood raven.


    Almost all taverns were the same, filled with the smell of alcohol and noise. However, the noise here wasn¡¯t because of dancing girls or a bard¡¯s happy laugh ¨C it was because of the people¡¯s complaints and sighs.


    The arrival of a young adventurer didn¡¯t attract any attention at all.


    Only the boss raised his hand and sharply asked, "Hey new guy, what do you want to drink?"


    Aoriana Goldtooth was a dwarf, or at least he looked like one. Lu Li couldn¡¯t really properly tell. He was one of the few rich people here and was also a well-informed mercenary.


    Through him, a player could have access to a few boring Mercenary Quests, but only those who were bored or had no money to repair their equipment would do these.


    "Anything is fine. I just wanted to get out of the damn rain." Lu Li shook his cloak and sat down at the counter. There was an alcoholic who was drunk out of his mind that was sitting next to him.


    "I already know you¡¯re not from around here; you have some good habits."


    The Dwarf Boss wiped the table with a rag and poured a large glass of orange liquid for Lu Li.


    How cruel, he had asked for anything and was given the most expensive stuff they had. Lu Li knew this wine; it belonged to the Goldtooth family who had been brewing wine for generations.

 523 Pitied and Hated

    Aoriana Goldtooth only dealt with two kinds of people ¨C guests and people who needed something from him.


    Lu Li was both of those things, so he obediently threw 20 gold onto the table.


    But then again, the wine was indeed a very good drink. Lu Li wasn¡¯t a person who particularly liked wine, but he was quickly intoxicated by this one. He was simply immersed in the fantasy world and couldn¡¯t remove himself.


    "There really are fewer and fewer people in this town," Lu Li sighed.


    "It¡¯s all the same regardless, but seeing as you¡¯re here, what do you do?" The bearded Dwarf as quite shrewd as a merchant.


    "I make my living by being a bounty hunter," Lu Li said, starting to speak more carelessly.


    "Hehe, in times like these, competent people are still in demand. On the other hand, people like me are just left here, waiting to die," Aoriana Goldtooth lamented as he continued to tirelessly clean the wooden wine glasses.


    "Besides some buying and selling, this town doesn¡¯t seem to have any quests. Is it just too peaceful here?" Lu Li asked.


    Most villages or towns had a sign outside with some quest information on it.


    Many players or even NPCs would receive quests there. Bounty Hunters also often got their information from these boards.


    "Peaceful?" the innkeeper scoffed, "If this place is too peaceful, then the whole continent must be too peaceful. It¡¯s not that there are no quests, but the rewards for them are too high to list. Althea¡¯s been so worried that almost all her hair is gone."


    Althea Ebonlocke was the daughter of the Dimlight Town mayor. She managed the Night Watchmen, which was the only defensive strength in this town. They were the ones fighting the monsters who attacked this place.


    "If you have anything you need, now is the time to ask." The old Dwarf was very experienced and had long since noticed Lu Li¡¯s tricks to become closer.


    "I do have some questions I want to ask, but this wine is really good. Thank you for your hospitality," Lu Li said as he bowed slightly. "Have you heard of Mor¡¯Ladim?¡¯


    He had no clue how to find his target in the large Twillight Forest; even spending four days looking wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    "Mor¡¯Ladim¡­" The bearded Dwarf was puzzled at first, but then he suddenly raised his head. "Oh, you¡¯re talking about Morgan Ladimore. So that¡¯s your target."


    "The helpless have made their cry, the blood of the innocent must be washed with blood," Lu Li murmured quietly.


    The Dwarf Uncle poured himself a glass of wine and said, "In fact, he was once a great and noble Paladin who sought to defend the innocent and impoverished. For years he travelled to all the remote areas of Azeroth, bringing comfort to the people there and punishing those who were committing evil."


    "Then what happened?" Lu Li asked.


    He had never heard the name Morgan Ladimore before. He had already rarely come here, so he didn¡¯t know much about the strategy for this place either.


    "He later fell in love and married a girl named Liza. She gave birth to one son and two daughers¡­" Aoriana Goldtooth seemed to have lived through that period, perhaps even with the people in the story.


    If the story really did have a happy ending, then it should have ended there.


    But, Lordaeron¡¯s war broke out.


    The story was being drawn out a little, but in short, Morgan was conscripted into Paladin Uther Lightbringer¡¯s unit to fight Orcs and the Undead for a few years.


    The Noble Paladin saw the dissolution of the Silver Hand Paladin Regiment, witnessed the death of Uther and the spread of the plague.


    The thing that kept him going was no longer faith in the light, but the belief that one day he would reunite with his wife and children. That drove him to overcome countless obstacles.


    "What happened next?" Lu Li asked.


    The Dwarf swallowed the last of the golden yellow liquid and slowly put the cup on the counter. "No wine left."


    "Fill me up too." Lu Li was wondering what happened next, but he could already guess.


    "Once you¡¯ve seen it all, this almost seems normal," the old Dwarf said as he poured himself another cup.


    It wasn¡¯t far from what Lu Li was thinking.


    When Morgan finally returned home, the sight he saw was no longer familiar to him.


    The once lush woods was now a withered, desolate field. The houses and farms were all destroyed, and there was a cemetery near Raven Hill that occupied a large part of the land.


    In his shock and confusion, Morgan struggled to return home, only to find that his home was in ruins.


    "Did his wife and children all die?" Lu Li asked.


    "What do you think?" The Old Dwarf looked lazily at Lu Li before continuing, "He saw many familiar names on the tombstones near Raven Hill¡­"


    That day, Morgan Ladimore saw a name in the cemetery that he didn¡¯t want to see.


    Liza Ladimore


    The wife and mother that we all loved.


    The Paladin¡¯s faith became a frustration and he plunged into unparalleled grief. He looked at the tombstone for hours, begging for forgiveness against the tombstone while crying.


    "The story keeps going right?" Lu Li threw a small bag of about 50 gold onto the counter in anticipation.


    This couldn¡¯t be the end of the story, otherwise, he was going to be put in a difficult position. Killing a Paladin that was grieving for the loss of his loved one wasn¡¯t something he could do.


    "Yes. Morgan was enraged and it blinded him. The three cemetery keepers who heard him were killed by him. They were innocent," the Old Dwarf said as he angrily slammed the cup onto the table. "One of them was my friend."


    "Is this how he became corrupted?" Lu Li wondered how the dwarf could act so depressed when receiving money.


    "You think this is the end? Young man, you¡¯ve underestimated Aoriana." Aoriana Goldtooth wiped his lips and said in a deep tone, "After he killed them, his rage dispersed and he returned to normal. He saw his own sword embedded in the chest of one of the watchmen. After a while, he suddenly pulled out the sword and stabbed himself in the heart."


    It was common for people to think that the only way back to their loved ones was by killing themselves.


    In that case, who was Mor¡¯Ladim, the one wandering the Twillight Forest?


    This time, the old Dwarf continued without waiting for Lu Li to prompt him as he recalled, "When we found the bodies and understood what had happened, we buried them."


    "Then, did Morgan resurrect?" Lu Li asked.


    Aoriana Goldtooth looked at Lu Li with surprise before nodding, "Yes. A few days later, a Night Watchman found that his tomb was destroyed and his body had also disappeared. A few nights later, some people had run into him and according to a survivor¡¯s description, Morgan Ladimore now calls himself Mor¡¯Ladim. He now roams the Twillight Forest, filled with hatred, killing anyone he sees."


    "What a poor, yet detestable guy," Lu Li concluded.


    "That right.It¡¯s sad, but infuriating. Young man, where did you get this bounty request from?" the bearded Dwarf asked curiously.

 524 Night Watchmen

    "Stormwind City... probably." Lu Li hadn¡¯t said anything for a while, so just made something up.


    "Stormwind City? Pah, nonsense!" a cold voice snapped behind him. Lu Li turned around to see a fully-geared woman standing behind him.


    "Greetings, I¡¯m not sure what you mean," Lu Li said, maintaining his composure.


    "Stormwind has long since withdrawn their troops from here, and we can now only rely on ourselves," the woman said indignantly. "Why would someone place a bounty on Mor¡¯Ladim now?"


    Aorinana Goldtooth introduced this woman to Lu Li, "This is Althea Ebonlocke, commander of the Night Watchmen, and a brave and pretty woman."


    "Esteemed Warrior, I extend my highest respects to you." Lu Li¡¯s formal greeting wasn¡¯t in vain as he spoke honestly, "My quest really does come from Stormwind City and it is from a businessman whose son was killed at the Twillight Forest. The businessman who lost his only son issued the bounty."


    The best way to tell a lie was to believe it yourself. In that moment, Lu Li truly believed what he was saying.


    Perhaps there really was such a person who had lost a loved one and had sent a note to the Assassins League for the assassination of Mor¡¯Ladim.


    There was nothing more saddening in this world than losing a loved one. Good guys and bad guys had nothing to do with it.


    Althea was beautiful, but she had a cold temperament. Her dark eyes seemed to be able to see through a person¡¯s heart. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t continue to question Lu Li; she nodded and said, "Alright, I believe you."


    "Can you give me the whereabouts of Mor¡¯Ladim?" asked Lu Li in anticipation.


    The person before him was definitely the leader of this town. If she didn¡¯t know, then Lu Li could only count on a miracle to find and kill Mor¡¯Ladim.


    "You don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re facing," Althea hesitated before shaking her head saying," Young man, go back to your elven place. This is not your fight."


    "Please forgive my presumptuousness," Lu Li said firmly, "But I am going to kill Mor¡¯Ladim, no matter what the price."


    This was an Assassins League Quest, not a small-town quest. Lu Li had attached a great importance to it and did not consider failure as a possible outcome.


    "Are you alone?" Althea was clearly strongly disapproving of Lu Li.


    "Yes, no matter what. Even until death." Lu Li secretly hoped that the person before him would arrange for some men to fight the Boss until it was almost dead and allow him to take the kill.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to reveal that shameless thought to anyone.


    The determination and cunning of Lu Li seemed to contradict how comfortable he was right now.


    "Even until death¡­ Alright, come with me." Perhaps Lu Li¡¯s words had touched Althea, but she turned and led him out.


    Lu Li saluted the inn¡¯s Old Dwarf and followed behind her.


    In the square outside of town, there was a group of rowdy NPCs waiting for their commander to arrive.


    "Actually, things are not as simple as Aorinana made them out to be. But before that, I need to test your ability," Althea said as she straightened her back. "Go to the quiet garden south of the town and kill eight Skull Warriors and six Skull Mages. You have 15 minutes."


    Lu Li nodded and left without saying a word.


    He knew the location of the quiet garden. It was a little south of the night town and had been a part of the front line during the Undead Invasion. It took Lu Li 2 minutes in Leopard form to get there, so if he accounted for the two-way travel time, he would only have 10 minutes to kill the monsters.


    It would be difficult to kill level 35 Undead monsters unless he was a Paladin.


    The Paladin¡¯s Holy Harm was very effective against these Undead. Not only did it increase damage, but it also greatly increased critical hit chance. As such, this night town was actually very suitable for Paladin activity.


    After two minutes, Lu Li encountered the first Undead monster. It was a Skull Warrior holding a sword.


    It had quite a few simple skills like Charge, and a state that increased its own attack. Lu Li prepared his daggers and skills to properly farm it.


    The Wristwraps of Undead Slaying on Lu Li¡¯s wrists were an exquisite Silver equipment that gave 18% damage against the Undead..


    It was easier for a Thief to fight the Skull Mages. They had less defense, so they died before he even got through a single rotation of skills.


    He quickly defeated the required 8 Skull Warriors and 6 Skull Mages, but Lu Li didn¡¯t want to hang around for any longer, so he left without picking up the copper that was left on the ground. The sooner he returned, the more qualified he would be.


    When he returned, the watchmen were kneeling in a circle around a flag.


    "The night is coming and I will now keep watch, even until Death. I will not marry, I will not have a wife, I will not have a child. I will never wear a crown and I will never have glory. I will be dedicated in life and death to the watch. I am a sword in the dark and a guard in the night against the cold until the light of dawn. Awaken the bugle horn and protect the kingdom¡¯s stronghold. I dedicate my life to the Night Watchmen, tonight and the nights to come," they recited.


    As the cold wind blew over him, Lu Li opened his mouth and sheepishly joined them.


    He felt like he was a mere shadow to these people who were real warriors.


    "It looks like you¡¯re stronger than I thought," Althea said, interrupting Lu Li¡¯s meditation. "If you aren¡¯t afraid of death, then there will be a lot of hunting for you to do tonight."


    After the plague had spread to this area, the night town was always dark.


    "Rest assured, I am willing to contribute despite my meagre strength. Even if it means giving up my life," Lu Li said generously.


    With the help of an NPC, this quest was going to be much easier.


    However, it was only by good luck that Lu Li managed to meet Althea.


    Althea pointed toward the open desert outside of town and said, "My spies report Mor¡¯Ladim wandering through the Twilight Forest through a path that curves around the cemetery. He had buried his body in the mountain near there; it¡¯s possible he is aware of it."


    "Enemies that are conscious are even more frightening," Lu Li sighed.


    "You¡¯re right, but not exactly." Althea beckoned as a Night Watchman ran over. She wore a hood over her head, but he could tell she was a female from her figure.


    "This is¡­?" Lu Li didn¡¯t quite understand.


    "Morgan thought his whole family had died, but this is in fact his daughter, Sarah Ladimore. She is now a Night Watchman. After hearing about the things happening since her father¡¯s death¡­ it¡¯s been hard for her." Althea¡¯s last few words were left ambiguous, as if she couldn¡¯t bear to think back to what had happened.


    "My dad killed innocent people, people who were kind. One of them saved me, so I owe very much to them¡­" Sarah Ladimore said painfully.


    This was what they called the impermanence of fate.


    What kind of effect would his surviving daughter have on the fallen Paladin?

 525 Mor’Ladim

    Most of the Night Watchmen were here, besides the others who were scouting around the town. Around 145 people had gathered; the only defense left were town soldiers who barely had any combat skills.


    "If we can¡¯t find it and slay it within five hours, we must retreat and defend," Althea said.


    "I understand. I¡¯ll do my best," Lu Li responded as he scanned Sarah Ladimore, who stood behind Althea. His voice was soft but determined as he spoke, "I¡¯ll do my best to kill him."


    The girl slightly shook, but the determination in her gaze did not.


    The townsmen watched as the Night Watchmen orderly marched out. Most of the members of these troops were around level 35. Some of them were level 38, and only the commander, Althea, was level 40.


    However, there were no specific set rules for them with regards to level and death. Sometimes, they could be killed with one shot, while other times, they would be able to battle for a long time with many injuries and still survive.


    It all depended on the location and the storyline. The storyline today included protecting a home, revenge, saving a father and an army looking for a fallen Paladin.


    As for Lu Li, he had received a quest from the Assassin League. The fallen Paladin had most likely done something to trigger the nerves of the Assassin League.


    They walked in the dark forest, with only the sound of bugs ringing in their ears. These insects had already adapted to the pollution; they were even able to devour corpses.


    "He only just passed by not long ago," a scout said as he broke off a branch from a tree and carefully investigated the level of moisture of it.


    "How can you be sure that he was the one who broke the twig, and not some sort of animal?" Lu Li was curious about the abilities of these scouts.


    Scouts were also a branch of the Thief class, but he had never heard of this ability.


    The scout took a breath in and said, "It has the smell of corpses and dread."


    "This is an isolated area; only Mor¡¯Ladim would pass by here," Althea added.


    "I see." Lu Li had to accept the reason and asked: "Mor¡¯Ladim has already killed so many people. Why haven¡¯t you gotten rid of him yet?"


    Lu Li didn¡¯t think so highly of himself that he expected the whole storyline to be paused for him.


    Dawn had its own running system, so even if players didn¡¯t participate, the events that were meant to unfold would still occur. Some people would receive quests and wait around for a long time until they attempted to complete them. It wasn¡¯t a rare event to find that the quest had already disappeared.


    "Mor¡¯Ladim isn¡¯t our biggest threat. We have on desire for revenge; we just want to protect our town. The main quest today actually wasn¡¯t Mor¡¯Ladim," Althea said calmly.


    Was it the meeting at the inn that had caused this commander to change her mind?


    Lu Li thought this was quite unrealistic; he had no clue what he had done. Or rather, he had no clue why the rational commander had changed her target.


    "If you have any needs, perhaps I can help," Lu Li probed.


    There were quests in Dawn of a big scale that revolved around defense, with the most common ones being against monsters or opposing faction players. Players who were called upon could participate in the defense, and would receive a great amount of reputation and experience in return.


    "You?" Althea asked uncertainly, "Are you willing to join the Night Watchmen?"


    Was this the key to joining the small faction?


    They had a famous and passionate vow ¨C "The night is coming. I¡¯ll stand to watch from this point on until death sets me apart¡­" Lu Li had the urge to join at the thought of this vow, but unfortunately, he was already a part of the Assassin League.


    Players could only join one small faction. If they abandoned the faction, they would have to complete a high-difficulty quest for forgiveness, or else they would be hunted down.


    Lu Li could not bring himself to imagine his name on the wanted list of Ravenholdt Manor. If that happened, he wasn¡¯t sure if he would have the courage to continue playing.


    "I¡¯m sorry; I¡¯ve already vowed to dedicate everything to the Hunter¡¯s Guild," Lu Li apologized with a smile. "I was referring to my friends; they have nothing to do all day (Square Root 3: Damn you), but if possible, I think they will be able to help protect the town."


    The Twillight Forest was a great place; monsters were mostly level 35 and above, and there were a few higher-level maps around the area. With the rewards from the quests, this was a place that players could stay for quite some time.


    Not to mention, the Night Watchmen would soon become the Night Watch Army, which was a major force.


    "Are they strong?" Althea¡¯s eyes lit up.


    The defense of this town was too weak. All the nobles in Stormwind City had already given up on the defense here. The armies had already left and only the soldiers from this town stayed. They were called the desertion soldiers, but they stood their ground as they grew from battle to become great Night Watchmen.


    "Slightly worse than I am," Lu Li laughed.


    Most importantly, players were able to level up and loot equips. On the other hand, NPCs leveled up slowly. Unless the system was updated or the map was upgraded, they would remain at the level that the system had given them.


    "Alright, we welcome them to join. I have about a hundred spots left for the Night Watchmen," Althea agreed.


    Lu Li estimated that this was probably the most number of players that the Night Watchmen would recruit. Small factions were known as small factions for this very reason.


    The Night Watchmen was a fairly decent small faction. Their enemies were the Scourge army, and they would give their players quests in this direction every now and then. The rewards were quite decent.


    "It¡¯s around here; he only just passed by."


    The scout stayed low on the ground and ran his fingers along the marks on the grass, then ran back and reported to his commander.


    "Alert!" Althea shouted.


    At the same time, a shadow jumped out from the bushes.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t find too many descriptions for this monster. He maintained the form of a human, wore Paladin armor and held onto the long sword of a Paladin. However, his entire head had become a skull and a scary light glistened in each socket.


    Without a second word, Mor¡¯Ladim sliced his sword towards one of the Night Watchmen.


    That Night Watchmen was an experienced soldier, and blocked the strike with his own Paladin sword.


    Unfortunately, the difference between their strength was too great. The Night Watchmen was sent flying as a ¡®-1685¡¯ appeared above his head. There was a chance that there were other effects from Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s attack; the Night Watchmen could barely get up.


    On the other hand, Mor¡¯Ladim only received around 200 points of damage.

 526 Got Played?

    Lu Li could feel cold sweat running down his back. This was a single player¡¯s quest?


    He was certain that his defense was no better that that level 38 Night Watchman¡¯s. He felt like the hostess had really played him this time.


    Was this revenge for sharing the Assassin League with Water Fairy?


    He wondered what quest Water Fairy had received. Hopefully, she would be able to complete it.


    Mor¡¯Ladim was level 40 with 500,000 health points and also had an Evil Ring!


    Evil Ring ¨C buffs movement speed and health regeneration. This had no effect on the players, but it was useful for the Boss. Most bosses with this effect were very hard to deal with.


    Bosses who didn¡¯t summon side-kicks usually came with more health than those that did. However, it was rare for them to have this much health. Even the level 45 Pirate Captain only had 350,000 HP.


    Lu Li wanted to turn back and kill the hostess.


    To be fair, he still underestimated the seriousness of his actions. Ravenholdt Manor was a secretive association whose members were scattered around the entire continent. Most of the outer members didn¡¯t even know who they were working for, and it was all because of their strict policies.


    After the hostess took in two players consecutively, the executives had begun to pay extra attention to them.


    There were only ten spots available for all players throughout the entire continent. There were up to a hundred quests in different locations that a player could trigger to join the small faction, and yet, the hostess had two in a row.


    From the moment the hostess saw Lu Li and Water Fairy together, the quest had immediately been upgraded to Nightmare mode.


    It had nothing to do with the hostess.


    While Lu Li raged, Althea¡¯s sword had already sliced into Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s back, dealing around 800 damage. Her sword was slimmer than the average Paladin¡¯s, but her damage wasn¡¯t any weaker.


    It was hard to imagine that the commander had such strong combat skills. Lu Li went into Stealth and snuck beside Mor¡¯Ladim. As Mor¡¯Ladim turned, Lu Li¡¯s dagger dug into his spine.


    Cheap Shot had no effect, while Lu Li¡¯s Ambush only dealt around 100 points of damage.


    The five-level difference wasn¡¯t too much; 100 damage meant that this was a Boss that Lu Li could deal with. The other level 35 elites did even less damage compared to Lu Li.


    Mor¡¯Ladim fought Althea head-on without fear. In terms of strength, Althea was much weaker than Mor¡¯Ladim. As for health points¡­ Lu Li scanned her and was disappointed to discover that Althea only had around 250,000 HP.


    However, she had a pack of subordinates to support her. These subordinates were all elite models and two of her best men were semi-bosses. They were well-coordinated in their fighting and kept up with the pace of the battle.


    The main damage dealers were the level 40 Althea and the level 38 elite Night Watchmen. As long as the level difference wasn¡¯t greater than three, there would no damage reduction. The level 38 elites dealt slightly more damage than Lu Li.


    However, Lu Li had skills. When his combo points reached five, he waved his arm and drove his dagger hard into Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s back. Not only did he deal more than 200 damage, but he also applied a short paralysis effect.


    Ambush was an average skill, so even with a high completion level, it wouldn¡¯t apply any special effects onto the Boss. However, Backhand Backstab was a different story. With a high completion level, there was a chance that the skill would paralyze a Boss for a short amount of time.


    The boss paused slightly and turned around to slice his sword down.


    Lu Li felt like this slice would be enough to destroy him, so he dropped to the floor without any hesitation and escaped from the attack range of the Boss.


    Mor¡¯Ladim didn¡¯t pursue; he was still focused on Althea.


    As he turned around to hack at Lu Li, Althea had already stabbed him a few times.


    "I... What have I done wrong... Why... Why... Did I end up like this?" the deceased whispered to himself. Everyone could feel his rage and helplessness.


    As they were distracted by his question, Mor¡¯Ladim stomped his foot. Black flames rose from the ground as everyone received burning and corruption damage. Two Night Watchmen, who were at low health, immediately lost their lives.


    "Die!" Althea saw the death of her subordinates and her eyes flashed red. She jumped and aimed straight for Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s head from above.


    Her blades drove into his helmet, dealing massive damage and also applying an additional stun.


    Everyone tried to deal as much damage as they could while those who were injured were brought to the side for bandaging. Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s high damage left everyone in danger of losing their lives at any moment.


    Lu Li had also lost around half his health. However, he could drink potions and he wasn¡¯t the main target of the boss, so his health was bound to recover at some point.


    The Evil Ring was a strong effect indeed; Mor¡¯Ladim moved fast like the wind. Just his speed alone was enough to cause great trouble for the Night Watchmen, not to mention the health regeneration.


    Lu Li felt like the boss healed himself more than the damage that he dealt.


    "Everyone watch out. Prepare to block," Althea warned.


    Lu Li used his damage reduction skill. At the same time, everyone saw Mor¡¯Ladim raise his giant sword over two seconds. Countless soldier illusions ran out from behind him in the formation of a fan. These soldiers ran across the entire battleground, and all those who touched them took a great amount of damage.


    Fortunately, the boss himself didn¡¯t move; he stood on the spot as casted this skill.


    Despite this, three Night Watchmen still lost their battle ability, and their team members quickly carried them out of the fight.


    Lu Li used his damage reduction skill and focused intensely on dealing damage to the Mor¡¯Ladim. As a level 35 expert player, his strength impressed Althea once again.


    To be fair, poison also played a large role in Lu Li¡¯s DPS.


    The poisons that Thieves used were classed under Alchemy. Lu Li¡¯s poisons were all Advanced level; he had a speed buff on his left and critical booster on the right. Sesame Rice Ball had specifically gone around to collect these recipes and had made a few spares for Lu Li.


    Of course, he still wasn¡¯t comparable to Althea.


    Althea had already lost her cool; she was battling with Mor¡¯Ladim without much care for her own life.


    The Night Watchmen weren¡¯t players, so once they died, they would disappear forever. Emotionally, she couldn¡¯t handle the death of the subordinates who followed her.


    Althea didn¡¯t bother to dodge Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s strikes, provided that they wouldn¡¯t be fatal. She focused on attacking, as if she wanted to kill him right on the spot.


    When Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s health dropped to half, Althea had less than 50,000 health!


    Was the commander going to die? Lu Li was really panicking this time.

 527 Holy Light Radiance

    The Boss still had a little less than half of his health, but Althea was about to die. Lu Li¡¯s quest was basically hopeless.


    Fight the boss alone?


    That was only achievable in specific cases and specific conditions.


    Currently, his reincarnation couldn¡¯t help him. He couldn¡¯t change the results, even if he was the game designer or the son of the game owner.


    If you could kill bosses by yourself all the time, what would be the point of other people playing the game? If people no longer played, what profit could the gaming company make?


    The gaming company allowed you to be better than others, but not the only one who was better.


    If Althea died, then Mor¡¯Ladim would be able to kill Lu Li within minutes.


    When Mor¡¯Ladim had about one third of his health left, Althea was on the verge of death. No matter how much Lu Li tried, and no matter how hard the Night Watchmen fought, they could not stop what was about to unfold.


    The disparity in strength between the two sides was too great.


    Sarah Ladimore, who Lu Li had high expectations for at the start, finally made a move. She took a step forwards and began to cast a spell. Holy light radiated from her and covered over Althea.


    Althea¡¯s health bar began to rise at a visible rate.


    She was a healer!


    No wonder why Althea didn¡¯t give a damn ¨C there was a healer that stood behind her.


    However, a price had to be paid for this. Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s attention was immediately attracted to Sarah Ladimore.


    The game was a world made for players. Players had all kinds of benefits, including a specific aggression system. Most of the time, healers would be ignored by the boss, or else the game would be too hard.


    However, this wasn¡¯t the case for Sarah Ladimore; her healing made her a priority threat to Mor¡¯Ladim.


    This was probably why Sarah Ladimore didn¡¯t heal from the start. However, the situation had spun out of control too fast and if she continued to remain passive, the Night Watchmen would disappear from the continent.


    Although Althea tried her best to interrupt him, Mor¡¯Ladim was determined to kill Sarah Ladimore.


    "Sarah, run!" Althea panicked. It seemed that Sarah Ladimore was an important person to her. To stop the Boss, she didn¡¯t even dodge the sword that aimed at her chest.


    Sarah Ladimore shook her head and sounded like she was about to cry.


    "If this is fate, then let me die with those innocent souls."


    Althea was sent flying black, while Mor¡¯Ladim charged in front of her daughter and raised his sword that dripped with blood.


    Sarah Ladimore raised her head to look at her father as she wept, "Dad, is it you? Is it really you?"


    The blade stopped on top of her head. In the hollow eyes of Mor¡¯Ladim, his world was spinning. Many say that this happened when an Undead felt strong emotions. It was as if the Paladin, husband and father from the past had heard a call from the other side.


    That year, when he left home, his young daughter had only begun to learn how to walk. The words barely formed in her mouth, but they spelt out what she wanted ¨C she wanted her father to stay home. The child¡¯s cry echoed in his ears during every cold night.


    The image of his wife and daughter had been engraved deep inside him, right into his very core. This was something that even death could not take away from him.


    "For you both, I will return." In every near-death situation, this was the thought that kept him going. Mor¡¯Ladim, or rather, Morgan Ladimore, always believed that he would make it back home to his door, even if he died, just to see his wife and daughter one last time.


    Men always grew stronger when they were protecting something!


    This was also why he had fallen apart entirely when he saw those tombstones.


    "Dad, is it you? Is it really you?" Sarah Ladimore couldn¡¯t find the right words to say. Many years had passed, but the father that she waited for had become a demon. She believed in the light, but darkness slowly seeped through into her heart.


    Althea climbed up from the floor, but she was afraid to charge forward. She could only wait and watch carefully from the side.


    Lu Li watched as Mor¡¯Ladim¡¯s health rapidly regenerated, but he, too, was scared to take any action. He felt sympathetic towards this scene; it was as if Mor¡¯Ladim had become a father in this moment.


    "Sa¡­ Sarah, my¡­ good¡­" Morgan Ladimore seemed like he was trying his best to say something, but it had been too long since he had made such a gentle sound.


    "Dad!" In the horrified and worried glance of Althea, Sarah Ladimore pounced onto her father and hugged his rotting corpse tightly.


    Was there any wisdom left?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know; he had no clue what would happen next. All he could do was stand there and watch the storyline unfold.


    Perhaps everyone had their own story and redemption was the cheapest offer. Only the stronger ones had the right to be sympathetic, but right now, he couldn¡¯t help but let his emotions ride with the storyline.


    Following a clear sound, the long sword dropped onto the grass.


    Mor¡¯Ladim bent down as he carefully hugged his daughter.


    It had been a long time since the Twilight Forest had seen any sunlight. The Night Watchmen were used to carrying a sword in one hand and a torch in the other. Darkness was the only unchanging scene of this map.


    At this time, Lu Li saw light.


    Light radiated from Mor¡¯Ladim, soft and bright. It was slow, but it was determined to slowly rise.


    "Liz, my beloved¡­ do you know our daughter is still alive? I can finally rest in peace. Please accept my most humble blessing. May you rest in happiness alongside the light, and as for me, I will rest in the deep abyss¡­"


    This night, a holy light radiated throughout the entire forest.


    Mor¡¯Ladim was cleansed entirely by the light.


    After a long time, Sarah Ladimore finally stood up from weeping. She held onto the wedding ring that her father had left her; this was evidence of her parents¡¯ love.


    Lu Li looked up to see that the healer had become level 40 and now had 200,000 HP. She was now equivalent to a Boss.


    This was probably the only thing that the father had left his daughter.


    Althea walked over and held Sarah Ladimore tightly as she tried her best to comfort her.


    Morgan Ladimore had already long since passed away; what happened before was the redemption of his soul. It was something that should be celebrated.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what happened to his quest, and he didn¡¯t really care either. What happened had already happened, and it seemed like there was no hope for him to get the head of Mor¡¯Ladim.


    "I¡¯m fine, thank you." After Sarah Ladimore and Althea embraced, she seemed to feel better and walked over to pick up the long sword that her father had left behind.


    Lu Li was dumbfounded; he thought that since the boss wasn¡¯t killed, nothing would drop. It was only now that he realized that the long sword was the loot.


    A level 40 sword from a super Boss definitely wouldn¡¯t be something average.

 528 An Upgradable Equipmen

    Mor¡¯Ladim was definitely the strongest level 40 monster that Lu Li had seen. Even the level 45 Pirate Captain would probably be an easy victory for him; his Evil Ring buff was too strong.


    If he was killed and dropped a ring, spell book, or an equip with the same special effect, that would be¡­


    "Greetings, respected adventurer."


    Sarah Ladimore interrupted Lu Li¡¯s day dream. He only just noticed that the female healer had walked in front of him with the long sword in her hand.


    "Is she¡­" Lu Li¡¯s breath paused slightly. If he couldn¡¯t complete the Assassin League quest, then he would have to be removed from the league. There were other small factions that he could join; the Night Watchmen was a good place. Lu Li really liked their army song; it was full of passion and loyalty.


    However, it was a little depressing that he had spent so much time to receive nothing in the end.


    "This sword has been passed down to us from our ancestors and has been through countless battles. My father would definitely not want it in an average person¡¯s hands. You¡¯re a strong adventurer, so I¡¯ll pass it to you. I hope that you¡¯ll find a good owner for it."


    In that moment, Lu Li felt slightly ashamed for his dirty thoughts. He carefully took the long sword and said, "In the name of Moon Goddess, the Paladin¡¯s glory shall never fall."


    After healing, Althea¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t too severe. The greatest damage done was to the injured Night Watchmen. They weren¡¯t players, so healing magic could only so much for them. The two lucky ones were fine, three were left with more serious injuries while two of them had lost their lives forever.


    The Night Watchmen performed a simple funeral for them and their army rang once again around the tomb.


    "The night is coming. I¡¯ll stand to watch from this point on until death sets me apart. I¡¯ll remain loyal as I stay on watch through life until death. I¡¯m the piercing sword in the darkness. My life and glory all to the Night Watch. It will be so tonight and all the nights that are to come."


    Sarah Ladimore performed a holy blessing on the simple tomb so that they wouldn¡¯t be interrupted by the undead. Althea used her long sword to engrave the tombstone.


    The tombstone wrote: He watched in life and ended when death set him apart.


    A cold breeze swept across the forest and the crows sang in the tombs. Lu Li suddenly understood why they refused to relocate; this was the home to the Night Watchmen.


    "Elf from afar, thank you for all the things you¡¯ve done for the Night Watchmen. May the dawn of light be with you on your journey."


    Althea gave a formal farewell to Lu Li in thanks for his participation in the battle, despite him not actually doing much.


    System: You¡¯ve received the friendship of the Night Watch Army. Experience gained, Night Town reputation earned. One skill point awarded.


    System: Night Watch Emblem x100 received.


    "May the Night Town remain in peace forever." Lu Li returned the formalities and left.


    He returned to Southshore and hesitated outside the inn for a bit before he entered.


    Southshore was as popular as it always had been. It was a great contrast to Night Town, where players barely stayed. Lu Li sat in his old spot where no one noticed him.


    Was the quest a success or a failure?


    This quest, an obvious trap quest, didn¡¯t cause him any loss. Instead, he had received the friendship of the Night Watchmen and a hundred entrance tickets to the small fraction. On top of this, he had also received a Paladin¡¯s long sword.


    Archeus (Gold): Damage 40-62, Strength +32, Agility +16, Critical Strike +12%, Special Effect: within 8 seconds after you kill an enemy who can give you experience or glory points, your next attack has a 50% critical strike chance increase. The damage dealt will be the amount of health restored to yourself. Level Requirement 35, Durability 72/72.


    Without the critical strike chance, the sword would have one special effect. This didn¡¯t seem right for its level 40 Gold grade identity.


    However, there were two lines of text under the description. Lu Li had to say that luck and fate were both untraceable. If he was a Paladin, there was no way he would be able to give this sword to anyone else, even if the sword didn¡¯t suit his playstyle.


    First row of text: Morgan Ladimore¡¯s sword.


    Second row of text: Upgradable (1/3), Undead units (0/100,000 Elites)


    Lu Li had always known that he wasn¡¯t favored by Dawn; he definitely wasn¡¯t the only one with upgradable equipment. It was easy to identify who had an upgradable equip ¨C if someone had an equipment that they never swapped out, it would definitely be upgradeable.


    Of course, there were also some players out there who had some sort of strange passion for particular equips, or had simply just changed the outer appearance of their equipment.


    At first, he was slightly annoyed, but he didn¡¯t worry too much about it. Lu Li believed that his success wasn¡¯t built entirely on luck; he never worried about facing a challenge.


    Hard work payed off and Dawn was always a fair game.


    He planned to let Mu Qiu use this weapon, but it still belonged to the guild. In the future, even if Mu Qiu left, he couldn¡¯t bring this weapon with him. He was one of the formal contestants of the guild, so he would make more money for the guild if he became stronger.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t think about tying Mu Qiu down with Ruling Sword with a single weapon.


    A single person¡¯s charisma alone wasn¡¯t enough to bring everyone together. The same passion, the same goals and the same beliefs were the most solid foundation for the team.


    "Square Root 3, what are you up to?" Lu Li quickly contacted Square Root 3 before the hostess came.


    "Busy ¨C lots of things going on. If you have something, spill. If not, don¡¯t bother me." Square Root 3 was probably quite busy; he didn¡¯t bother with any chit chat.


    "Thanks for the hard work. A lot of it is thanks to you that Ruling Sword is developing greatly," Lu Li said, giving a slight compliment before moving onto the important topic. "I have a hundred Night Watch Emblems here¡­"


    "Night Watch Emblem? What does that do?" Square Root 3 was confused.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was uncultured ¨C barely anyone knew about small factions at this point. Even in Lu Li¡¯s previous life, only some people knew about small factions. At that point, the game had already been released for three years.


    This was something that was more available for high-end players.


    "With this, you¡¯ll have a chance to join a small faction. After you join, there will be special quests. These special quests usually give more rewards than average quests. Most importantly, these quests will come automatically every now and then; there¡¯s no need to find ways to trigger these quests."


    Dawn didn¡¯t sort out their quests, so players had to sort them by themselves. Quests with extra rewards were known as special quests, while quests hidden to most people were called hidden quests.


    Most quests from small factions were these types of quests. It was rare for a small faction to give out quests with average rewards.


    "There are these sorts of things?" Square Root 3 wasn¡¯t stupid; he instantly understood.


    "Find some reliable Paladins, preferably those who can sign a contract with us. This small faction is most suitable for Paladins," Lu Li said.


    After a few more game updates, Night Watch Riders will be released. Paladins would have a certain chance to change their class into this new class. The new class came with amazing mobility abilities and would have great influence in guild wars.


    Of course, to keep the game in balance, this class also came with its downsides.


    Although a contract couldn¡¯t restrict a player entirely, it was better than giving things out for free.


    At the same time, with the friendship that Lu Li and Althea currently had, he could even make the betrayer pay a price by being kicked out of the small faction. Betrayal was one of the things that the Night Watchmen looked down on the most.

 529 Feeling Frustrated

    "A hundred might be quite difficult to find."


    Usually, when there was an opportunity for their guildmates to benefit, they would randomly select a few players that had decent equips. However, based on Lu Li¡¯s description, the small faction was enough to alter the future of a player¡¯s career. Players that could enter the small faction would be able to accept special quests that rewarded much more EXP than normal.


    "Take your time. I¡¯ll send the items to you." Lu Li decided to take it slow as well.


    It didn¡¯t matter if they entered the small faction later on; the important thing was that he had obtained the item that allowed them to enter.


    "There are two more matches tomorrow. Are you doing ok?" Although Square Root Three was busy with other matters, he still cared about the tournament.


    Even though there were a variety of events that were offered in Dawn, for someone who was in charge of a guild, the most important thing was taking care of their players and making sure that they were ready for tournaments.


    "I¡¯m fine; don¡¯t worry about me too much. I just need to relax a bit more. Got to go, talk later," Lu Li said, then hung up as the hostess approached him.


    The hostess was still as beautiful as ever, but she wasn¡¯t interested in Lu Li at all.


    He knew that he had a gloomy and scary expression on his face. Anyone that had to fight a level 40 Boss alone to complete a quest would be as exhausted as Lu Li.


    "What would you like to drink?" The hostess was not afraid of Lu Li at all.


    "Ale."


    The hostess smiled and left his table.


    Lu Li was frustrated at himself for being so careless; he shouldn¡¯t have come to this place with Water Fairy. He let his guard down because everything in life had been going well for him recently. However, he had to learn the hard way that life was full of obstacles.


    "Here¡¯s your ale. You seem quite gloomy; was the quest too hard?" Instead of leaving, the hostess sat down in front of Lu Li and started a conversation.


    "Not just hard," Lu Li sighed, "The quest told me to defeat a level 40 boss by myself¡­"


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t blame anyone and had nowhere to release his frustrations.


    "That¡¯s impossible," the hostess exclaimed in surprise with eyes wide-open. "How could they expect you to complete the quest by yourself?"


    "Complete?" Lu Li said. "You mean completed."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mention that he had completed the quest with the help of an NPC. If Ravenholdt Manor wanted to punish him for this, he would use this as an excuse to be kicked out.


    He hadn¡¯t even brought back the head of the boss that he was supposed to kill. In reality, he had barely touched it at all.


    "Although I don¡¯t know the details of the quest, I know whether the quest has been completed or not. I can¡¯t believe you were able to solo kill a level 40 boss¡­" the hostess said.


    The hostess was amazed because she knew that she had no chance of solo-killing a level 40 boss.


    "So, I finished the quest?" Lu Li asked as he let out a sigh of relief. There were better small factions than the Assassin League, but not many were suitable for him. As long as he had finished the quest, then everything would be fine.


    "Yep, you¡¯ve completed the quest," the hostess confirmed and nodded.


    He then received a system notification: "Mission target eliminated, assassin quest complete. EXP and rewards will be given. Ravenholdt Manor favourability increased."


    Although SP hadn¡¯t been rewarded, Lu Li was not disappointed at all. He had previously received some SP from Althea Ebonlocke. As long as he received his EXP reward, he would be completely satisfied.


    He had just levelled up to Lv35 and gained a large chunk of his EXP bar.


    These quests were the definition of high risk high reward.


    "This is for you; you might like this."


    The hostess placed some leather armour on the table and Lu Li instantly took it.


    In the corner of the dim-lit bar, no one could tell what they were doing.


    Voodoo Chest Plate (Gold Grade): Mould.


    Lu Li¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he sipped on his ale, but internally, his heart was dancing in joy.


    If he crafted this, he would be able to obtain another level 40 Gold Grade equip. He didn¡¯t expect himself to become so excited over a piece of equipment.


    Only Lu Li knew that the Voodoo Chest Plate was part of a level 40 Gold Grade Set.


    The only other place that the Voodoo Chest Plate could be obtained from was the level 35 Instance Dungeon boss Zul¡¯Farrk, but the chances were very low.


    Equipment Sets were always the strongest because of the set effects.


    This was a concept that most Dawn players were aware of. No matter how weak the individual pieces were, the set effects were always enough to compensate.


    There were four pieces in the Voodoo set ¨C a chest, head, cape and shoulder guard. The set effects depend on the quality of each piece.


    If all four pieces were collected at the Perfect grade, the set effect would be out of this world.


    However, the chances of that happening would be incredibly low. Since leather armour required tailoring, Lu Li could not craft it himself. The chances of a casual tailor crafting a perfect grade item was very poor.


    As such, Lu Li decided to wait until he found a qualified player with high tailoring mastery.


    He decided that he would go and complete a difficult quest that rewarded an item which increased the chances of crafting a higher-grade equip. The item was equivalent to a forging hammer in smithing.


    However, before he undertook this, he would have to prepare himself because the quest was quite troublesome.


    "Looks like you¡¯re very satisfied with this equip," the hostess smiled and said. "Who knows how your female companion is doing? I wonder how difficult her quest is¡­"


    Lu Li began to feel worried because Water Fairy had accepted the same quest. What would her quest be like? Did she use a NPC to help her just like Lu Li did?


    If Water Fairy didn¡¯t complete the quest, Ravenholdt Manor would banish her or even try to kill her. Would she hate Lu Li for this? Would she be sad and depressed? Would she ask Lu Li to pay back the money he owned and prevent him from making money? The more he thought about this, the more anxious he became.

 530 Hachi Chan Learns To Feign Death

    As soon as he began feeling frustrated, Azure Sea Breeze brought some good news.


    "Lu Li, let¡¯s do a dungeon."


    The only thing Main Tanks loved more than levelling up in Dawn was attempting dungeons. Their reliable shields gave them high defence, allowing them to look cool while tanking Bosses.


    "If it¡¯s the Scarlet Monastery, go and find someone else like Mu Qiu or Fat Monkey. Oh yeah, how¡¯s Mu Qiu doing?" Lu Li remembered that he had a two-handed sword in his bag that would be perfect for Mu Qiu.


    "Mu Qiu should be doing fine. Brother Three designated four Mages to help him level. He¡¯s definitely being treated like a star player," Azure Sea Breeze said enviously.


    "If you want, you can experience the same treatment," Lu Li offered calmly.


    Azure Sea Breeze declined immediately without giving it a thought. "Nah, it¡¯s ok. I like to solo-level anyway."


    "Then don¡¯t be envious of others. Is he fitting in well?" New players would often need time to adjust and fit in with other players when joining a new guild. Although the general atmosphere in Ruling Sword was quite friendly, no one would go out of their way to make someone feel welcomed.


    "He¡¯s doing ok I guess. Star players tend to be a bit arrogant. Oh yeah, he got into a fight with Fat Monkey. Guess how it went?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "Fat Monkey lost," Lu Li replied instantly.


    "Eh, how did you know?" Azure Sea Breeze was slightly surprised. When he first heard about this, he was surprised about the outcome. He thought that Fat Monkey would win since he was a pure DPS Fire Mage, while Mu Qiu was a low DPS and healing Paladin.


    "Fat Monkey is too impatient, and lacks strategy and tempo. It was obvious that he would lose," Lu Li explained plainly.


    "Anyway, let¡¯s go do an instance dungeon," Azure Sea Breeze said as he sent another party invite to Lu LI.


    "I said I¡¯m not doing Scarlet; go and find some other people. You guys can finish Nightmare Mode without me anyway. I¡¯m going to go level." Lu Li declined because he wanted to get to level 40 as soon as possible.


    "Unless¡­Do you want to do Nightmare Shadowfang Keep?" Lu Li asked excitedly.


    "Are coming or not?" Azure Sea Breeze smirked.


    "Wow, where did you guys find the Nightmare Mode Scroll?" If it was the Nightmare mode Shadowfang Keep then Lu Li was more than happy to go. Even though he had collected enough White Wolf Fangs, he was still missing a Glutton Shackle and was hoping to obtain one from the dungeon.


    There were only a few useful items that dropped from Shadowfang Keep, but each one was rare or overpowered.


    Lu Li wanted to get his hands on the Book of Ur.


    The Book of Ur was a summoning equip that allowed the player to summon an Elite Magic Wolf to fight for them. Alternatively, it could temporarily turn the player into a Werewolf, boosting their stats significantly. It could be equipped by all classes and could be use as a Trump Card in tough situations.


    It would be very weird to see a Thief with a battle pet.


    However, the pet could be used for levelling up, drawing aggro from monsters, or distracting enemy players when running away.


    He happily accepted Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s party invite, said goodbye to the hostess and began heading towards Shadowfang Keep.


    Lu Li was level 35 and was almost too high to join the others for this dungeon. There were level restrictions for dungeons under level 30. This prevented stronger, higher-levelled players from helping lower-levelled players with clearing dungeons.


    Dawn was all about progressing slowly with other players around a similar level. Levelling too fast in the game would cause players to quickly lose interest once reaching max level.


    "Hey, you guys," Hachi Chan said as she held onto her chubby Dragon Pet, "This forest is very dangerous; everyone should be extra careful."


    "Oh, how¡¯d you know?" Lu Li asked half-heartedly.


    "The last time I was collecting some flowers for a quest, I came across a terrifying Werewolf¡­" Hachi Chan¡¯s expression was like a little kid listening to a ghost story.


    Lu Li believed her and said, "You mean the Son of Arugal?"


    "I think so. It was very tall and its body was furry. When I bumped into it, it immediately started attacking me." Hachi Chan was traumatised.


    "Hachi Chan, you came here all by yourself? Did you get lost?" Remnant Dream knew her friend well and was more surprised that she didn¡¯t get lost than about her encounter with the Son of Arugal.


    "My Dragon Baby knows the way. After the NPC explained the quest, it remembered where to go," Hachi Chan said as she held up her Baby Dragon proudly.


    Her sense of direction was worse than an in-game pet.


    "Did you die when you got attacked by the Son of Arugal?" When Lu Li killed the Son of Arugal, he had to try really hard and barely managed to finish him.


    "No I didn¡¯t; I know how to play dead." Hachi Chan was even more proud of herself now.


    The terrifying Werewolf was known as the noob killer. It was rumoured that no one had ever escaped when they took aggro from it.


    However, the notoriously stupid Hachi Chan had managed to avoid death. Who was the dumb one now?


    "How is that possible¡­" Lu Li was confused. Playing dead didn¡¯t stop a monster from killing you. Even if you were a little baby, if you managed to aggro the monster, it would attack you no matter the circumstance.


    "Look at my new equip," Hachi Chan said as she showed off her new ring.


    Bounty Hunter¡¯s Ring (Silver): Agility +10, Intelligence +5, Special Effect: Play Dead, instant cast. Chance for monsters (apart from Boss Grade Monsters) to ignore you. Lasts for 6 minutes, 24-hour cooldown. Level requirement: level 25. Durability 25/25.


    "Is this an equip for hunters?" Lu Li was surprised at how terrible this item was


    Besides the agility, the intelligence was useless for hunters. Additionally, the single special effect was useless as well, because Hunters had a similar skill called Feign Death.


    Feign death was quite useless because it could only trick Elite Monsters, but not Boss-level monsters.


    Usually, this special effect would appear on other equips such as body armor. However, if the special effect was on a ring, anyone could use it.


    As such, even a Druid could have the ability to use Feign Death.


    This was an extremely rare special effect and Lu Li had never seen it in his past life.


    No wonder why people called Hachi Chan the Darling of the System.


    She always managed to find these rare and bizarre, but useless equips.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t jealous at all because Feign Death didn¡¯t work on bosses. As for normal monsters, he had never found himself in a situation where he had to run away from them because he would always kill them first.

 531 Ravaging the Son of Arugal

    "You shouldn¡¯t be so proud; you need to replace some of your gear and not just hoard all of this impractical equipment. No wonder you don¡¯t fight very well ¨C your equipment is so bad," Lu Li said as he angrily hit the back of her head.


    This girl¡¯s equipment was all over the place. While it was full of surprises, it made her very bad at doing Instance Dungeons.


    "I know! Don¡¯t hit me or I¡¯ll tell my dad," Hachi Chan screamed as she ran away from Lu Li. Lu Li had a habit of hitting a girl¡¯s head when he was annoyed with them; he deserved to spend his whole life single.


    There was still a long way to go to get to Shadowfang Keep, and travelers would occasionally bump into Horde players.


    After all, this was place was filled with Horde activity as the Undead base camp was here. There were many low-levelled Undead players crawling out of the catacombs and beginning to explore the area.


    They never thought that they would have met the hostile faction¡¯s players so soon.


    A hostile faction player had a layer of red light surrounding them. Individually, it wasn¡¯t too obvious, but when ten hostile faction players stood together, the red light could clearly be seen. Players called this ¡®blood lust¡¯.


    The poor Undead player was just dumbly staring at the passing hostile travelers, waiting for his inevitable death.


    When these two factions met, the fighting was usually endless. As such, most players had heard of the Horde player 3 Season Rice, the Alliance¡¯s Hogg and the Horde¡¯s Son of Arugal. These were the top three noob killers.


    Of course, Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t stoop down to killing noobs. They just kept their eyes forward and moved past them, not regarding them of any importance.


    Killing noobs wouldn¡¯t benefit them in any way, so why bother?


    Of course, there were also some very passionate noobs. They were surprised for a moment when they saw Lu Li and the others before charging right at them.


    One noob hit Azure Sea Breeze in the head for -1 damage which was quickly followed by +1 from his HP regen. This kind of damage to Dawn¡¯s number 1 Main Tank was no big deal.


    Azure Sea Breeze casually waved his shield and turned this hothead into a blob of white.


    If they didn¡¯t fight back after being attacked, things would be difficult for them. As long as they weren¡¯t the initiators, Lu Li didn¡¯t mind sending these players back to their graves.


    After spending an hour walking, they were still on the road.


    Private Instance Dungeons were so troublesome. Public Instance Dungeons could be transported to, but this was not the case for Private ones.


    Lu Li was getting quite bored when a group of players started running towards them in a stampeded. Were they looking for trouble?


    In fact, those players seemed panicked, but they were all Undead players with skulls for faces, so it was difficult to make out their facial expressions. The only way to work it out was the way they were running over.


    Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t attack them and just watched.


    The few players didn¡¯t attack them either. They just ran around them and shouted as they were leaving, "The Son of Arugal is coming! You guys should run too."


    Everyone was just playing the game and didn¡¯t actually know each other in real life. They were just placed in opposing factions, so there wasn¡¯t any real hatred between them.


    Lu Li froze for a moment. How was he so lucky to run into the Son of Arugal every time?


    Wasn¡¯t it supposed to wander through the entire Silverpine Forest?


    In fact, the Son of Arugal wasn¡¯t actually the son of Arugal. They were experimental products of Arugal, and there were similar creatures in the Shadowfang Keep.


    As such, there were a couple roaming through the Silverpine Forest. Even so, the fact that Lu Li had encountered it twice was a special stroke of luck. Not every Horde player here had run into it even once yet.


    "What do you guys want to do? Do you want to circle around?¡¯ Lu Li asked.


    "What are you afraid of? You could kill it alone, so we should be able to achieve the same result as ten players. Maybe it¡¯ll even drop a Gold equipment." Azure Sea Breeze was keen to give it a try.


    The others had also heard of the infamous Son of Arugal. Knowing that Lu Li had almost died the first time, they were also quite curious about it.


    "That works too. Breezy, you get ready. I¡¯ll give you all numbers, and you¡¯ll interrupt the Son of Arugal¡¯s skills in that order. If you fail to do so, immediately call out so the next person can try," Lu Li instructed, immediately started giving them their roles.


    If one person could kill the monster, it would be no problem for ten players.


    The Son of Arugal¡¯s skills were so strong that they needed to be able to be interrupted. The Mercenary Group that couldn¡¯t defeat the Son of Arugal was too under-levelled, and their probability of interrupting its skills was too low.


    As the Son of Arugal chased another group of players, it appeared within sight of Lu Li and the others.


    Azure Sea Breeze shouted and led the charge. He went straight into the players that were running away and was immediately hit.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately put up a big shield and was dealt 40 damage, while Lu Li received 100 damage. This was unsurprising as Azure Sea Breeze had about 3 times Lu Li¡¯s Defence.


    "Hahaha, what kind of noob killer is this?" Azure Sea Breeze laughed as he hit the Son of Arugal¡¯s face with his shield.


    Those who were running away couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing. They thought that these players simply weren¡¯t afraid of death. They were actually not running from the Son of Arugal.


    However, when the Son of Arugal hit Azure Sea Breeze for a 2-digit value, they knew they were wrong.


    The Son of Arugal did extra damage to those who were lower-levelled than it, otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be called the noob killer.


    The average noob was usually killed in a single hit.


    The Son of Arugal shook its head and was completely unaffected by Shieldstrike. He shouted, "Mortal, you have enraged me. Now, I will repay my anger."


    "Riceball, Interrupt!" Lu Li shouted.


    Sesame Rice Ball did not expect for the monster to immediately cast a big skill the moment they engaged and was a little slow to react. However, the moment Lu Li shouted, he subconsciously cast an interrupting skill and successfully interrupted the Boss¡¯ channel.


    "It¡¯s not a Boss; you can use crowd-control skills on it. Once you have interrupted it, deal as much damage as you can. We still have an Instance Dungeon to do," Lu Li said.


    Although it was an elite monster with tens of thousands of HP, Lu Li¡¯s team, with the lowest member at level 33, managed to put it down in a minute.


    The players that were nearby watching were so shocked that they nearly forgot to tell their friends.


    "Why are they so strong? Is the Alliance really this strong?" asked a frustrated Horde newbie.


    "That can¡¯t be possible. These are just strong players. They were probably all level 30 or higher. We are only level 20, so this monster is unbeatable to us. That¡¯s what being level 30 must look like," a friend quickly comforted.


    "Don¡¯t kid yourself ¨C even level 30s will die to that monster unless there is a big group of them." In reality, all they needed to do was frequent to forums to know what had happened.


    "That¡¯s the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, the team with the most First Clears in the game. You guys are so ignorant. From now on, you should never talk to me again."


    The noobs were just chatting away, with no fear for what might happen if they offended Lu Li and the others.

 532 Clearing Shadowfang Keep

    "Dreamy, come loot the body and see if there is any Gold equipment," Lu Li beckoned.


    This elite dropped items that were even better than those from a Boss, but that had to do with the rarity of the monster. A level 35 Boss wasn¡¯t necessarily going to drop a Gold equipment; the current mainstream grade was still Silver.


    The moment Remnant Dream heard the phrase ¡®Gold equipment¡¯, she immediately became excited.


    "Liar! There isn¡¯t even one." After looting it, the little hunter threw the item at Lu Li with contempt.


    Lu Li grabbed it and had a look. He then realized that it had dropped a level 35 Steel equipment and frowned speechlessly. "It was just this one thing?"


    "That¡¯s it." Remnant Dream shook her head and showed her empty hands.


    If it didn¡¯t drop anything then there wasn¡¯t much Lu Li could do. The previous time was probably the first time that this elite monster had been killed, so perhaps dropping Gold equipment wasn¡¯t normal.


    They had killed the Son of Arugal so easily, so they couldn¡¯t really say that they were disappointed either.


    They stood before the entrance to the Shadowfang Keep and ripped open the Nightmare difficulty Instance Dungeon scroll. A gleaming blue portal appeared before them as Lu Li and the others stepped into the level 25 Instance Dungeon.


    The monsters at the start were level 28. Lu Li and the others easily steamrolled through them and quickly reached the first Boss ¨C Prison Guard Rethilgore. He was accompanied by three minions outside the Shadowfang Keep dungeon. The dungeon held a number Horde and Alliance scouts, but they were really just level 30 elite mobs.


    "How will we fight them?" Azure Sea Breeze looked at the sharp jaws of the four monsters and maintained his composure.


    "We¡¯ll go in directly. Attack!" Lu Li commanded as he gave him a kick. This was a level 33 Boss with level 30 minions; they didn¡¯t need to worry about strategy at all. He had initially come here alone to farm.


    Azure Sea Breeze rushed past and cast Trample. Rethilgore was unaffected, but the three minions were stunned.


    Lonesome Flower then immediately cast Blizzard. His level 6 Blizzard was quite oppressive; it dealt a lot of damage and caused the monsters¡¯ HP bars to rapidly fall.


    The other players didn¡¯t bother with the minions and just targeted the Boss.


    After the minions recovered from the stun, Moonlight calmly went up and cast Trample to continue the crowd-control. By the time they had recovered, they had already been killed by Lonesome Flower¡¯s attack.


    In two and a half minutes, Rethilgore died.


    Even though they were fighting him on Nightmare difficulty, he didn¡¯t drop very good items. He dropped a level 30 Silver item which didn¡¯t have good attributes. The Xin Xin Mercenary Group didn¡¯t even bother with it; Remnant Dream put it directly into her own bag.


    "There¡¯s a Horde NPC here." Hachi Chan had seen someone who was locked up and was dumbfounded.


    "Open the door and kill him," Lu Li said, immediately deciding the Horde NPC¡¯s fate. When he was clearing this place alone, he didn¡¯t have time to do something like this.


    The Horde NPC was a troll that immediately went Berserk the moment it got out.


    "Damn Alliance pigs! Accept Walter¡¯s trial and die!"


    Without completely understanding the situation, the NPC charged in and started a fight that it would inevitably lose.


    Without spending too much effort, Lu Li and the others eventually beat the NPC to death.


    Once they had dealt with him, they released the Alliance NPC. The NPC said a few things about helping before opening the door to allow them to continue and disappearing.


    "Don¡¯t hesitate to kill any ghosts you notice," Lu Li said.


    Azure Sea Breeze, followed by Moonlight, rushed right into the group of monsters and casted Whirlwind. This was followed by Blizzard and other area of effect attacks. Lu Li didn¡¯t have one, so he just hit them casually.


    However, it seemed like area of effect attacks were the most effective here. Lu Li watched as the other did the job and was a little envious of them.


    Before long, the area was completely cleared out.


    These elite monsters also dropped equipment, but most of it was quite average. There were a few Steel and Bronze equips that were kept by whoever wanted them.


    If you took this kind of equipment to your stall, some poor players would buy them, but the price wasn¡¯t going to be much more than the official shops. No one there was bored enough to do that, so they didn¡¯t take many items.


    "To the stables," Lu Li said as he led the way.


    "Hey, can these horses be mounts?" Lonesome Flower asked.


    The reason why he cared was because his sister didn¡¯t have a mount. It was currently very difficult for a mount to drop, so only a few players had them.


    Even Hachi Chan¡¯s Elf Dragon couldn¡¯t be mounted yet.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s Kodo was given to her out of pity by Lu Li because she had been drooling over Hachi Chan¡¯s Elf Dragon for so long. The others didn¡¯t say anything about it at the time.


    Cute, well-behaved girls were always well loved.


    However, March Rain and Sakura Memories didn¡¯t have mounts yet. In particular, Lonesome Flower had been helping his sister find a good mount. He had even spent a lot of money to buy a junior riding skill book for her.


    "There is a chance, but I wouldn¡¯t bet on it," Lu Li said sensibly.


    After killing a few horses, only a 16-space bag was dropped. This was a good item as 16-space bags were becoming mainstream. Even so, many players still used 14-space bags, so this could be sold for well over 100 gold.


    Everyone wanted it, so they just rolled for it.


    Lu Li had the lowest roll ¨C a pitiful 5 points. Everyone ridiculed him for it.


    "Treasure Chest!" Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s eyes lit up.


    "Move aside; you can¡¯t even open it." Lu Li didn¡¯t have the patience to be polite after what had just happened.


    "What¡¯s so great about being able to?" Azure Sea Breeze retorted as he resentfully stepped aside.


    Lu Li opened the chest and reached in to loot it. He pulled out two items, one of which was a Skill book for "Critical Strikes" that increased critical hit chance by 10% after using it.


    It was a very good skill book, but unfortunately, it was exclusive to Shamans. Lu Li had no choice but to give it to Sakura Memories.


    The second was a level 30 Steel equipment with decent attributes and even had a special effect. Lu Li threw it at Azure Sea Breeze and said, "You take it, it suits you."


    "Please, how can you give me Steel equipment?" Azure Sea Breeze took a glance and threw it aside.


    The next Boss was Razorclaw the Butcher who was in the kitchen. The meat that lined the walls was infested with maggots which filled the room with a stench. Almost everyone was about the vomit, especially the young girls.


    Poor Razorclaw the Butcher then became the object of their rage after he died.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s lucky hands managed to loot the Butcher¡¯s Boning Knife, which was a level 30 Silver equipment with very good attributes. Warriors would be happy to pay a significant amount of gold coins to buy it.


    There was also a rare material ¨C Maggot Meat.


    You couldn¡¯t determine its value solely based on its name. There were actually several recipes for cooking that required this weird material. For that reason, Maggot Meat could easily sell for 100-200 gold coins.

 533 Another Blizzard +1

    The drops of Razorclaw were regrettable. This Boss had a chance of dropping the Thief¡¯s ultimate skill ¡®Eviscerate¡¯. While there were quite a few other Thieves who already had this skill, Lu Li, despite being a top Theif, still didn¡¯t. There was nothing else to say other than it was unfortunate.


    ¡®Eviscerate¡¯ and ¡®Blind¡¯ were skills that Lu Li really needed right now.


    When they entered the dining room, everyone became more focused. The monsters here had area-of-effect Fears and they could lose some members if they weren¡¯t cautious.


    Since they were paying more attention, the ghost monsters here didn¡¯t post much of a threat to him. It took some time to clear them all out, but eventually, Lu Li and the others came before Baron Silverlaine.


    "Why do I not see evil in your eyes, young man? Why did you choose to make such a visit?" The Baron still had the same lines and didn¡¯t seem to remember Lu Li.


    Instance Dungeons in Dawn were usually generated only for that run, so most of the plot had no implications for the world.


    The fate of these Instance Dungeon monsters was to be constantly spawned, killed and respawned.


    "Don¡¯t waste time with him. Breezy, attack!"


    The battle kicked off and the Baron felt a little offended, so he cast Shadow Curtain. Compared to Elite difficulty, the Nightmare difficulty version of this skill was much more overpowered.


    Not only was the damage significantly increased, but the range of the reduced healing effect was also extended. More than half of them were affected by it.


    Moreover, the Baron¡¯s next move was even worse. He started to cast a strong area-of-effect attack, which caused everyone¡¯s HP to start rapidly depleting.


    "Everyone take potions. March Rain, heal Breezy. Hachi Chan, heal March Rain and yourself." Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with everyone else. Although he spoke loudly and confidently, he was afraid of his team dying here.


    This skill that Baron Silverlaine was using dealt more damage to players with lower HP.


    If you had less than half of your HP remaining, you would most likely immediately die.


    No Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty was easy.


    After the Boss dropped to half HP, he began to summon Ancient Demon Worgens.


    "Wandering, get ready to pull the small mobs. Hachi Chan, get ready to heal him. If you can¡¯t tank it, then use your damage reduction skills," Lu Li immediately called out.


    When the Ancient Worgens started spawning, Lu Li directed Sesame Rice Ball and Lonesome Flower to kill them while the others continued to damage the Boss.


    Lu Li¡¯s strategy enabled them to successfully deal with Baron Silverlaine¡¯s skills.


    When he finally went down, Lu Li immediately looked to Remnant Dream in anticipation.


    If he could just drop another Silverlaine¡¯s Family Seal¡­


    This level 30 Silver Ring had a Blizzard +1 special effect. Lu Li had previously received one during his solo run and had placed it in the Guild Warehouse, but Lonesome Flower was currently using it. A level 6 Blizzard dealt significantly more damage than a level 5 Blizzard.


    Players could only upgrade their skills to a maximum of level 5. If they wanted to reach level 6, they needed to rely on skills and equipment like this.


    "Keke¡­" Lonesome Flower had a cold expression as usual, but there was some tension in his face. Although he had a Silverlaine¡¯s Family Seal, it didn¡¯t really belong to him.


    If one dropped now, he would definitely receive it according to Lu Li¡¯s principles of distribution.


    "Why is everyone looking at me?" Remnant Dream had planned to loot the body, but was flustered by everyone¡¯s stares.


    "Loot it quickly." Lonesome Flower couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    Remnant Dream dejectedly went over and began to search the corpse. She reached around and pulled out a rare material ¨C Spirit Remnants, which were used for Warlock equipment. Most Ghost Bosses dropped this, so they weren¡¯t worth much money.


    There was one more item.


    Remnant Dream clutched this mystery equip in her palm and secretly looked at it. She then revealed a cunning smile and said, "Give me 50, no, 100 Gold. Otherwise, I won¡¯t give it to you."


    "Here, have it." Lonesome Flower was overjoyed and immediately threw away 100 gold coins.


    This little girl actually had the audacity to make such a request, even though everyone already knew what the equip was.


    Remnant Dream was entranced by the 100 Gold and handed over the equip. With this much money, she could buy lots of meat for her pets, as well as fruits, mushrooms and even dried fish. She was overjoyed.


    The Hunter profession was quite expensive to maintain for someone like Remnant Dream who had a group of pets. It was rather expensive to feed all of them. If the pets weren¡¯t fed, they would become inactive and wouldn¡¯t fight mobs or would they listen to their master.


    The church was full of monsters, but that didn¡¯t stop the Xin Xin Mercenary Group at all.


    Commander Springvale was a Boss that Lu Li had avoided in his solo run because he had high HP and damage. He also had an invincibility skill, a healing skill and a summoning skill. However, now that he had brought a party, there was no reason to avoid him.


    Springvale hit Azure Sea Breeze for only 200 to 300 damage. He had 95,000HP in total, and when he reached 50,000HP, he used his invincibility and healing skills to bring himself back up to 65,000HP. This happened three times.


    After the third time, he stopped and eventually dropped to 10,000HP. This was when he started summoning minions.


    Lu Li did not ask anyone to focus on clearing the minions this time. Instead, they all just focused on the Boss and finished him off in a matter of seconds. Without the Boss, the minions all disappeared.


    Springvale didn¡¯t drop anything good ¨C just two pieces of Silver equipment.


    After the Chapel came the city wall. The group swept past it and found themselves in the storage room where there was a Boss made of three monsters. Lu Li didn¡¯t use the bug this time as it was too time-consuming.


    Wandering pulled the two smaller monsters aside, while Azure Sea Breeze pulled the big boss for the others to violently attack.


    The only danger came when the big Boss let out a howl and increased its attack by 60%. Azure Sea Breeze was almost beaten to death, but survived by casting his damage reduction skills.


    After all, he was a level 34 expert player, so the Boss¡¯ high level was not enough to deal bonus damage to him.


    After seven minutes, the Boss let out a cry and turned into ashes, dropping two items.


    The first was a Silver equip. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t Audou¡¯s Magic Staff, but an ordinary piece of Plate armor. The three Plate Armor profession players didn¡¯t even look at it, so Lu Li gave it to Azure Sea Breeze to pay for equipment repairs.


    Previously, this Boss had given Lu Li Glutton Shackles.


    He was still missing one Glutton Shackles, so he watched Remnant Dream in anticipation.


    "Rare Material"


    Remnant Dream had actually managed to loot it!


    Lu Li was overjoyed, but that was before he found out it was actually a White Wolf Fang.


    He already had the two White Wolf Fangs he needed.


    The last time he wanted a White Wolf Fang, he had receive a Glutton Shackle. This time, when he wanted a Glutton Shackle, he had received a White Wolf Fang. His luck was such an infuriating thing.


    Still, it was better than nothing. White Wolf Fangs were exquisite Rare Materials and could be sold on the market for 350 gold.


    The next Boss was Fenrus the Devourer. This was another Boss that also really liked dropping White Wolf Fangs.


    "Dreamy, do you want a Wolf pet?" Lu Li asked.


    Previously, he was here alone, but he had a team this time. With Remnant Dream here, the dream of getting a Wolf pet could become a reality. An Instance Dungeon Wolf as a pet was very strong; it was one of the Hunter¡¯s best pets.


    However, the difficulty of taming a pet wolf in Nightmare Difficulty was much higher than taming it at Elite difficulty.

 534 Bye Arugal

    There were several ways that a hunter could receive an exquisite pet.


    The first was by capturing it, which referred to a Hunter taming a monster in the wild. However, the strength of the pet greatly varied when using this method. Some pets were stronger than Elite monsters, while others couldn¡¯t even compare with regular monsters.


    The second method was by completing a quest. Hunter quests had a chance of rewarding exquisite pets, but the odds were usually quite small. A pet that was the same level and strength as an elite monster was already quite difficult to come by.


    The last method was through an Instance Dungeon.


    When Fenrus the Devourer split into two wolves, a Hunter could capture one of them.


    Of course, all the of outcomes were based purely on luck. It was necessarily the case that a Boss would become an exquisite pet. In reality, most pets were more decorative than they were useful. There were also three measurements for determining whether a pet was good.


    In Dawn, these measurements were the pet¡¯s Defence, Attack and Skills.


    Of course, for the players who really liked cute pets, their three measurements were cuteness, more cuteness and super-duper cuteness!


    When Lu Li asked whether she wanted a wolf pet, Remnant Dream shook her head as her eyebrows furled.


    "It so ugly; I would be ashamed to take it outside."


    "Psht," Lu Li snorted as he rubbed her head, "You can just summon it if someone is trying to kill you. It has a strong area-of-effect skill called Everyone Hit Me. It forces everyone to attack it instead of you, giving you time to run away."


    On that same vein, Hunters could have multiple pets, but could only summon one at a time. The speed at which a hunter swapped pets depended on their skill.


    "Okay, that sounds good," the petty little hunter reluctantly agreed.


    The Devourer wasn¡¯t difficult to kill and with everyone here, it was really just a joke. Even its strongest bleed skill didn¡¯t help.


    In the second phase when it split into two wolves, Lu Li told everyone to slow their damage output.


    The two wolves that it split into were its two sons ¨C the mythical Hati and Skoll. Hati was a small white wolf that chased the moon, while Skoll was a small golden wolf that chased the sun.


    Remnant Dream hesitated for a moment before decisively choosing the more adorable Hati.


    Skoll¡¯s attack was higher, but Lu Li didn¡¯t stop her. Everyone had their own way of playing games and from a cuteness point of view, Hati was the one to go for.


    Remnant Dream cast Tame Beast onto Hati again and again.


    Hachi Chan stood as far away as she could; she was going insane as she watched the skill being used.


    Players couldn¡¯t be captured as a pet, but in a virtual environment, it still made a Non-Human-form Druid feel drowsy.


    Eventually, the Tame Beast succeeded and Hati turned white and vanished.


    The orphaned Skoll didn¡¯t last much longer. After losing a certain amount of HP, it transformed into back into the Giant Wolf state. However, as Fenrus had lost one half of itself, it was significantly weaker and was quickly killed.


    It dropped a level 30 Silver equipment that had average attributes, but it wasn¡¯t suitable for anyone.


    The other item it dropped was a Rare Material. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t a White Wolf Fang and wasn¡¯t worth much money.


    The next Boss was another wolf ¨C Wolf Master Nandos. It was much stronger than Fenrus but it didn¡¯t have as many attack patterns. As such, it couldn¡¯t escape the hands of Lu Li and the others.


    When this Boss fell, it dropped a level 30 Silver Wolf Master Cloak. It was quite similar to what Lu Li had, so it was given to March Rain.


    After defeating the Wolf Master, they finally arrived at Arugal.


    Lu Li and the others had placed all of their expectations about the Shadowfang Keep onto this guy.


    The Rare Material, Glutton Shackle, had a certain probability of dropping from Arugal. This probability was likely increased due to the Nightmare difficulty.


    There was also the Book of Ur; this upgradeable item was almost legendary. Lu Li didn¡¯t have much hope in obtaining, but he couldn¡¯t help but wait in anticipation.


    If he had the Book of Ur, he would be safer when exploring more dangerous places.


    The Book of Ur could summon three Giant Wolves. One was a high-attack wolf that only had 1000HP. It had a heinously low Defence, but its attacks were not much weaker than that of an ordinary Boss.


    There was also a high-defense wolf which was extremely tanky. Even Lu Li¡¯s group of ten players couldn¡¯t hope to defeat it in less than half an hour.


    Conversely, this one didn¡¯t have much combat-effectiveness.


    The last one was more balanced, with decent attack and defense. It was a useful help to solo players, but could only be summoned once a day. It also only lasted for 5 minutes at a time, but it could still be very effective.


    Additionally, the Book of Ur could also transform him into a Worgen.


    This was not a simple transformation, but it gave him other bonuses like Attack, Defence, HP and Speed, based on his own attributes.


    Even if it only lasted for 10 seconds, it was more than enough time for Lu Li to defeat anyone.


    Of course, the probability of the Book of Ur dropping was very low, even with Arugal on Nightmare difficulty. He was a level 35 monster with 160,000HP, which was an unusually high amount for a Mage Boss.


    "How are we gonna fight it?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "Main Tank pulls it, Healer heals and everyone else deals damage," Lu Li said as he rolled his eyes. They really thought that he knew everything.


    Although Arugal was only generated for this Instance Dungeon, he was a famous figure in Dawn¡¯s history. There was no good strategy to deal with him and even in Lu Li¡¯s past life, there were few players who could beat it.


    Private Instance Dungeons weren¡¯t like Public Instance Dungeons where you could keep trying.


    After failing three times, the Instance Dungeon scroll would vanish and you wouldn¡¯t be able to revisit it.


    Azure Sea Breeze looked solemn but still charged ahead. Lu Li not having a special strategy was a testament to the fact that this was going to be a difficult Boss.


    "Sniff¡­ I can smell strangers," Arugal muttered as he lowered a test tube and turned around.


    He had a creepy laugh that was typical of a villain.


    "Smell yourself!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he smashed him with his shield and rudely began the battle with the final Boss of Shadowfang Keep.


    "Ignorant mortals. Soon, you will be crawling before my feet and I will turn you into little baby wolves ¨C the most perfect creatures in the world." Arugal was just spouting nonsense as he fought.


    Lu Li jumped up and kicked him in the abdomen.


    The skill that he was channeling was suddenly cancelled and exploded. Lu Li was definitely pleased with himself when this happened. Arugal was a high-level monster with high-level skills, but this made interrupting them even more effective.

 535 Arugal’s Wrath

    When his first skill was interrupted, Arugal became angry and lifted his hands as he summoned a black mist.


    The physical attacks coming from Lu Li and Moonlight began missing while the attacks that did hit were significantly weakened. This was an instant cast skill that couldn¡¯t be interrupted.


    Arugal¡¯s personal strength was said to be greater than any individual Kirin Tor Mage. However, for the players, this was a welcome surprise.


    Many professional Mages wanted this skill.


    Once they learned this skill, almost all physical threats against them could be neutralized.


    "Dammit, how do we fight like this?" Azure Sea Breeze cursed. He felt like he was unable to keep the Boss¡¯ aggro as none of his attacks were hitting.


    "Ranged players, attack slower." Lu Li was helpless too.


    At least half of his attacks were missing, which made his damage output lower than Remnant Dream¡¯s.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li didn¡¯t speak quickly enough and Lonesome Flower¡¯s DPS shot up too high. Not only did he take the Boss¡¯ aggro, but he also further aggravated the Boss.


    Arugal stopped to cast Shadow Bolt directly at Lonesome Flower.


    "Ah!" March Rain suddenly exclaimed as her brother turned into a Worgen. For a moment, she even forgot that this was a game and immediately rushed over to her brother. A skill like this was bound to cause chaos.


    After transforming into a Worgen, Lonesome Flower could only watch as he attacked his sister.


    When Arugal was aggravated, he would immediately turn the player with the highest DPS into a Worgen to attack the other players¡­


    Fortunately, Lu Li had already anticipated this situation. This was one of the biggest obstacles he had faced in his past life. At the time, the way they handled it was by killing the one who had been controlled.


    Although they would lose a member or two, it was better than the Worgen wreaking havoc on the rest of the party.


    The difficulty in facing Arugal was in the duration of his skills. Both the melee debuff and the Worgen transformation skill lasted for a long time.


    "March, pull your brother away and hide around a pillar. Don¡¯t forget to heal yourself," Lu Li commanded. As Lonesome Flower was a Mage, the Worgen version of him didn¡¯t have that much physical strength so March Rain could survive if she just healed herself.


    With the eight remaining players, Hachi Chan had now become the main healer.


    "Hachi, your healing is¡­" Azure Sea Breeze couldn¡¯t even finish what he was saying as he was completely focused on damage reduction.


    After a slow two minutes, Lonesome Flower finally returned to his original form. Both the brother and sister were now back to their respective roles, but Lonesome Flower was much more conservative and made sure he didn¡¯t take aggro.


    Shortly thereafter, the melee debuff also wore off.


    Taking Lonesome Flower¡¯s lesson into mind, Lu Li and Moonlight didn¡¯t dare to deal too much damage either. They all made sure they didn¡¯t take aggro, just in case they were selected to become a Worgen.


    "It would be nice if Polymorph was that strong," Lonesome Flower said coldly.


    After playing for so long, he had grown to really love his profession. When he had nothing to do, he would study his profession¡¯s skills, but now that he had seen Arugal¡¯s Polymorph, he couldn¡¯t help but envy it.


    Turning your opponent into a Sheep and then making it attack their teammates¡­


    This was a ridiculous request. If such a skill existed, Mages were truly rule the world.


    "Do you want me to cast Bloodlust?" Sakura Memories usually casted Bloodthirst before fighting a Boss, but Lu Li hadn¡¯t asked for it this time, so she was a little confused.


    "No, we need to fight this Boss slowly," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    This Boss had 160,000 HP and also had Regeneration. If they fought it slowly, it would be years before they would be done. They also didn¡¯t know what it would do when it got to low HP, but Lu Li didn¡¯t have a choice ¨C he didn¡¯t know how to deal with its Polymorph.


    In fact, there wasn¡¯t a strategy to defeating all Bosses in Dawn.


    Sometimes, the slow and steady approach wasn¡¯t the most optimal, as it depended on a team¡¯s endurance. Fortunately, everyone¡¯s level was close to Arugal¡¯s so there was no disadvantage. This meant that there wasn¡¯t much extra pressure on March Rain either.


    They continued fighting Arugal like this for another 20 minutes before he was finally reached low HP.


    At this time, Arugal revealed a new skill ¨C Worgen Summoning. This summoned seven Worgens, but they were all pulled away by the secondary-tank Wandering. They then quickly turned on them and cleared them out.


    During that time, Arugal also started spouting more nonsense.


    "What did I do wrong? When Dalaran was captured and High Mage Antonidas was killed, who protected the Mages? Was it Kel¡¯Thuzad, the one had had long betrayed the faith, or was it the pretty Jaina? No! It was me, Arugal!" the old Mage shouted angrily.


    Lu Li had never done this dungeon at Nightmare difficulty before, so he had never seen such an intelligent Arugal.


    Dawn was really too realistic; it even gave NPCs real human emotions.


    They looked at each other and didn¡¯t know how to respond to this Mage who seemed to have gone astray like Kel¡¯Thuzad.


    "I studied at Dalaran from an early age, but everyone despised me. They all said I had no magical talent and that I should just water the flowers in the garden. The High Mages didn¡¯t take notice of me and neglected my insignificant life. In this world, everyone has their own story. Some are recorded and some are forgotten."


    "I want my story to be recorded by the future generations. I don¡¯t want my name to be forgotten, because, I, too, have a vibrant life. No truth should ever be ignored. It is like the wildflowers that you see ¨C small but real."


    After Arugal finished his rant, it almost seemed like it wasn¡¯t nonsense after all.


    The players that were present, even the inexperienced girls, were all touched.


    Arugal was not in the same class as the famous Mages like Antonidas, Kel¡¯Thuzad or Jaina. He was just a servant of magic who loved magic and had slowly gotten this far.


    As his HP depleted, he became more and more angry. "I will become a god! I will create life! I will subvert the laws of this world to my ways! Look at these Worgen¡­"


    Another group of Worgen were summoned, but unfortunately, they weren¡¯t a threat to Lu Li and the others at all.


    At this moment, Lu Li decided that there was no need to stall anymore. He ordered Sakura Memories to cast Bloodlust as they attacked together to drain old Mage Arugal of his last bit of HP.


    When Arugal finally fell, all of the Worgen dissipated like spirits.

 536 Little Liar

    "I¡¯m so tired I don¡¯t even want to move." After the fight, Azure Sea Breeze sat onto the dirty ground with a sigh.


    The others also felt a similar way; only Remnant Dream went up to loot the body.


    The battle had lasted a long time because they had restrained their DPS to avoid being transformed into a Worgen. Although they ultimately didn¡¯t lose anyone, they were all physically and mentally exhausted.


    "Do you guys think Arugal was wrong?" Lonesome Flower asked quietly.


    Everyone was a little surprised at his question.


    Lonesome Flower wasn¡¯t someone who said much; he would usually quietly stand by his sister, looking like a servant.


    "Woah, Flower, you actually asked such a deep question!" Azure Sea Breeze laughed.


    Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t laugh, but continued asking, "Where is Dalaran? Now that it has been destroyed, are there still Kirin Tor Mages there?"


    Some players in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had developed the habit of reading as Lu Li had attributed all of his extraordinary strategies to these books.


    Lonesome Flower was quite an eccentric person; he spent most of his leisure time reading. Many taverns had books to read and with the increasing number of big cities, there was also an increasing pool of books to choose from.


    To him, the Kirin Tor Mages were the final authority on magic.


    "If you go to the Stormwind library, you can find a book called ¡®Roland¡¯s Notes¡¯. That book describes the events you¡¯re talking about," Lu Li recalled before explaining, "Dalaran was the capital of magic, but it was captured by Arthas and Kel¡¯Thuzad. However, the mages did not give up on the city and used powerful magic to make it float into the sky. Now, they continue to hold off foreign enemies from that town."


    "Is it a small camp?" Lonesome Flower asked.


    "Uh¡­ probably¡­" Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure. His previous profession was a Druid and he was interested in Thieves, so his memory was selective in what was remembered.


    He didn¡¯t know much about the Mage profession.


    Dalaran was a mysterious, magical paradise, but Lu Li didn¡¯t know how to get there.


    "I have decided to go to the Kirin Tor camp," Lonesome Flower said with a rare look of determination. The magic that these mages wielded gave him a strong interest in finding out more.


    Arugal¡¯s insistence had touched Lonesome Flower¡¯s hesitant heart.


    He even admired Arugal¡¯s ability to mix monsters of different races. He could imagine Arugal as the servant of some Dalaran Mage a long time ago, perhaps even the servant of the Grand Mage Ur, who was researching Worgens.


    He could imagine Arugal holding onto the magical materials he had bought and walking through the alchemy wing of Dalaran. While walking, he could see the spotless portraits of various High Mages which spoke of their numerous achievements. As he did this, Arugal probably made up his mind about no longer living a humble life.


    He was going to live life to the fullest, not ignoring any truths!


    These were just the thought of an ordinary person. Many others would have had the same ideas that faded away over time. Arugal, on the other hand, was unwilling to live ordinarily, so he persevered and struggled for what he believed in.


    "You can go to Theramore in Theramore¡¯s Fall and do the quests there. Gain some reputation there and see if you can contact Jaina," Lu Li suggested. "She is probably the current spokesperson of Kirin Tor."


    With regards to Mage NPCs, Lu Li preferred Aegwynn.


    Unfortunately, Aegwynn was already dead and her son Medivh was living a rather peculiar life.


    "Hey, do you guys not care about the equipment? I¡¯m about to loot it." Remnant Dream had been squatting over the body, drawing circles on the ground.


    When the little girl was looting, no one was allowed to talk because she needed to focus. The anticipation that everyone felt while watching also made her feel a great sense of accomplishment.


    "Loot away. If you can find something good, I¡¯ll reward you," Lu Li offered as he waited in anticipation.


    "Liars are dogs," Remnant Dream said as she looked at Lu Li with some skepticism.


    "Who offended you? Dammit, just get on with it." Lu Li wished he had a whip in hand.


    "Pressuring children to do things¡­" Remnant Dream muttered before squatting before the Boss.


    She groped around for a moment before taking out an item and saying, "The Book of Ur¡­"


    "Really?" Lu Li immediately jumped up.


    "Haha, I got you," Remnant Dream laughed as she triumphantly shook the item in her hand. "It was the ¡®Mirror Image¡¯ skill book; it looks pretty similar. Flower big bro, you owe me a prize¡­"


    Lonesome Flower was quite satisfied with this skill and threw her five gold coins.


    Remnant Dream was the poorest member of the team. She didn¡¯t like participating in competitions, but she still had to support a large group of pets. These pets ate a lot every day and were a heavy burden, so the other members would often try to support her.


    Mirror Image was a Mage ability that at level 1, could summon a clone of the caster. This clone could cast spells and attack, had 20% of the caster¡¯s attack power and lasted for 14 seconds.


    It was regarded as a very good skill and was rightly dropped at the Nightmare difficulty of Shadowfang Keep.


    However, Lu Li was quite irritated. He couldn¡¯t wait to bully Remnant Dream some more; she was lucky that he didn¡¯t hit girls. For a moment, he actually believed that the Book of Ur had been dropped.


    After a bit of laughter, the little hunter continued looting.


    "The Book of Ur!" Remnant Dream¡¯s eyes widened as Lu Liglared angrily at her. She then leaned back and laughed, only to reveal that it was just a Rare Material. It wasn¡¯t even the Glutton Shackle that Lu Li had been looking forward to.


    Magic Soul Fragments were used to create Mage equipment and were very valuable.


    Although Lu Li¡¯s mind was occupied with the Book of Ur, he didn¡¯t look down on this item that was worth 100-200 gold. This little hunter really needed a beating and Lu Li really wanted to be the one to do it.


    "Well, it¡¯s the Book of Ur," Remnant Dream called out again for the third time.


    Lu Li suddenly stormed over. This girl needed to be disciplined; this was too much. She had heard Lu Li say that this item was exquisite, but she probably didn¡¯t understand how good it really was.


    "Hey, what are you doing?" The little hunter saw Lu Li walking towards her and started screaming while hiding behind the others.


    "Don¡¯t run, I need to teach you some discipline. It¡¯s not good for a child to lie."


    Lu Li chased her while considering what her parents would think if he caught her.


    Seeing this cat and mouse situation play out, everyone else thought it was just a joke.

 537 Lucky Hands

    Of course, Lu Li wasn¡¯t really going to hurt her, or else he would be able to catch the little liar easily with his movement speed.


    "Alright, stop it. This is inappropriate," Wandering said in a lazy tone.


    The real reason for this was probably because he wanted to sleep. He had been leveling well lately and was already LV 34 with half an EXP bar. He was a higher level than Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream, so he could afford to slack off again.


    He spent time sleeping outside of the game, sleeping inside the game and he liked to sleep in places with beautiful scenery.


    It was quite special for him to be able to sleep all day, but still keep his level with the others. Lu Li decided to be nice and let Remnant Dream off this time.


    "But¡­this really is The Book of Ur!" Remnant Dream was speechless.


    "Alright, quit playing. Let¡¯s hurry and divide the equipment. We have to compete in the competition tomorrow, so we should all rest up early." The time was getting late and Lu Li planned to visit his sister after he logged off.


    "You guys..." Remnant Dream was furious. She pouted her lips as she shared the attributes of the equipment.


    The Book of Ur (Gold): All attributes +15, Critical Strike +10%. Special Effect 1: Summon a giant wolf, lasts for five minutes, cooldown 24 hours. Special Effect 2: Worgen Transformation, instant cast, transform into a Worgen, lasts for ten seconds, cooldown 24 hours. Level Requirement 35, Durability 120/120.


    There were two rows of small text underneath.


    The first row wrote:We¡¯re all real lives. There¡¯s no reason for us to be ignored.


    The second row wrote: Upgradable (1/3), number of kills (0/50000 same or higher-level monsters as the owner).


    Lu Li stared blankly at the equipment in Remnant Dream¡¯s hands; he didn¡¯t even notice how dumb he looked. After he had been disappointed multiple times, it was hard to describe how he felt when he finally saw the equipment that he wanted.


    The Book of Ur wasn¡¯t as great as his Supreme Ring; they were two items on two entirely different levels.


    It wasn¡¯t even as good as Archeus. After all, Archeus was a weapon and its attributes were godlike. The Book of Ur was an accessory; it wasn¡¯t one of the main equips.


    The five-minute summon of the giant wolf wasn¡¯t much use for average players.


    Although players could grow stronger when they transformed into a Worgen, this only lasted for ten seconds. What could you do with such little time? Most players wouldn¡¯t be able to accomplish much with the special effect.


    As for the all attributes +15, most players would prefer attributes that actually mattered to them, for example, Agility +20.


    It was only the Critical Strike +10% attribute that didn¡¯t make the item look too bad.


    "Hmm, Dreamy, this is fifty gold coins. Go and treat yourself." Lu Li finally came back to his senses. He bent his back and patted the little Hunter¡¯s head.


    "Hmph, no." Remnant Dream felt like she was being teased.


    "Uhm, well, how about I¡¯ll give you a little more? I only have 150 gold with me right now; you can have all of it. Don¡¯t be upset." One hundred and fifty gold coins was actually quite a sum.


    Lu Li really valued The Book of Ur, so he was willing to bribe the little girl with 150 gold.


    This wasn¡¯t a First Clear, and even in Nightmare mode, the chances of The Book of Ur dropping was no higher than 1 in 100,000 chances. Even in his previous life, he had barely heard anything about The Book of Ur.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s hands were very lucky indeed; plenty of the good items from their team had been looted by her.


    Should she continue to be upset, or should she accept the "bribe"?


    The little hunter hesitated for about three seconds and made up her mind.


    "Lu Li, you can¡¯t be mad at me next time."


    "Of course not. Extra love to our little lucky hands in the future," Lu Li said, trying to make it up to her.


    The Book of Ur wasn¡¯t so important for the others, since none of them enjoyed going on adventures alone. Even Hachi Chan wasn¡¯t interested.


    As such, Lu Li distributed the item to himself.


    The Book of Ur was easier to level up than Archeus, as it didn¡¯t require Undead or Elite monsters. It even reduced the number of monsters required by half.


    This item would only take Lu Li about a dozen days to upgrade.


    An upgraded Gold item would become a Dark Gold item. If Dark Gold items were upgraded again, they would become Legendary equipment. All of this was only a matter of time.


    Their dungeon trip had ended perfectly; the only let down was that he was still missing his Glutton Shackle. He could only hope that Square Root 3 and Shen Wansan would be able to find it in the markets.


    After Lu Li went offline, he returned to his sister¡¯s side.


    Even if there was a glass wall between them and he could only watch her quietly, he felt at peace.


    In the past, this would be his bed time by now, but he found it hard to sleep well over these past few days. He only rested through the light sleep mode that the gaming device placed him in.


    "What are you looking at?" Willow asked as she sat beside Lu Li.


    "Xin Xin is sleeping quietly. This means that she¡¯s recovering well, right?" This was the explanation that the doctors had given him. They said that if the patient remained in good condition during the adaption phase, it would be better over the long run.


    The compatibility level was high and he had found the best surgeon in the world for her too.


    Based on the comments from the experts, this was the most successful surgery performed within the recent few years. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the family member was too cautious, Xin Xin could have been moved to the care ward by now.


    The price of an isolation ward wasn¡¯t cheap; it was hard to imagine how the poor siblings could afford all this.


    "Yup." Willow nodded, then she shook her head and said, "You should go and rest. I¡¯ll keep an eye out; the nurses are here too. Even if the nurses aren¡¯t paying attention, I¡¯ll be here to watch."


    People were on watch 24 hours a day in the ward, and even if anything was to happen to the staff, the three female landlords would be watching from outside.


    However, Lu Li just couldn¡¯t feel secure about it. Every time he left the game, he would come here to keep an eye out.


    During gaming time, players were put to light sleep. Theoretically, playing Dawn could replace a certain portion of one¡¯s sleep time. However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t an average player ¨C he was a competitor and a dungeon commander.


    He spent more energy in his gaming time compared to other players.


    "I¡¯ll feel better if I sit here and watch; I can¡¯t sleep anyway," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    Willow couldn¡¯t do much about this; she could only call someone to send over some healthy food. Lu Li knew that he had to look after his body, so he didn¡¯t decline the offer.


    While they were offline, Square Root 3 had come from Gangnam city. He didn¡¯t enter the ward, but just stood outside and looked at Lu Xin for a bit.


    The bubbly girl wasn¡¯t weakly lying on the hospital bed.


    He felt more understanding towards Lu Li as he sighed, "The match tomorrow ¨C if you don¡¯t want to participate, then don¡¯t worry about it."


    After he arrived, he found that Lu Li actually wasn¡¯t resting well and that he was under a lot of mental pressure.


    "It¡¯s fine, you have to believe me," Lu Li said as he smiled calmly, but his eyes never left his sister who rested on the other side of the glass.


    "I can¡¯t force you to do anything, but I just hope that you get more rest. It wouldn¡¯t be good if Lu Xin got better and you tired yourself out instead," Square Root 3 said as he patted Lu Li¡¯s shoulders. "I¡¯ve finally realized, the victory of the match doesn¡¯t really matter. What¡¯s most important is our journey from here onwards¡­"


    These words weren¡¯t just words of comfort for himself; they were also to reduce the pressure on Lu Li¡¯s back.


    "We¡¯ll win." Lu Li looked at him, his voice soft but determined.

 538 Taunting

    The current map was very strange; it was the first time that it had appeared in the Magic Cup this season.


    This was the most debated map across all competitions in Dawn because it was made up of five smaller maps. The five players from each team were each sent into one small map.


    This meant that the players would be playing one-on-one.


    The worst part was that nobody knew who their opponents were, so there was no way they could strategize.


    If you were unlucky, you might even run into a class that countered your own.


    Could anything be worse than that?


    Occasionally, teams ran two healers and focused on tiring out their opponents. Once a team like that entered a map like this, the healing classes would become their disadvantage.


    No matter how bad the damage-dealing class, they generally wouldn¡¯t have any trouble playing against a healing class.


    The opponent for Ruling Sword this time was Blood Red War Flag. Floral Paralysis was bringing their new competitors into the match to train them.


    Other major guilds often used this method to train their newbies. They weren¡¯t interested in the little prize money that the Magic Cup offered, but participating in the match was still beneficial. As such competitions like the Magic Cup, which weren¡¯t too important, became the training ground for these new competitors.


    Plenty of new competitors had gone through this stage and some of them shone brightly in the process.


    Good examples were Deadly Green Orange, from Drizzle Court and Wendelian, who originated from Glory Capital, but was now a major player in Gale Legion. They had both proved themselves in these small matches.


    "My ****, why this map?" Floral Paralysis couldn¡¯t resist the urge to curse.


    He had done an amazing job to lead five new players into the top eight, but he was quite unlucky this time to run into Ruling Sword.


    He wasn¡¯t in a good mood. Even their main team had trouble against Lu Li¡¯s team, not to mention his team was filled with newbies. Their chances of victory were even smaller.


    To make matters even worse, they had been placed into a map like this.


    The new team members not only had space for improvement on their techniques, but they also lacked in mental fortitude. They wouldn¡¯t perform as well when they were up against celebrity players.


    "I, I see Moonlight¡­" One of the team members sounded like he was about to cry; he was entirely lost. He was a Warlock player, so he normally wouldn¡¯t be afraid to play against a Warrior, but even an average player knew that Moonlight wasn¡¯t an easy target.


    Moonlight was the number-two player in Ruling Sword. Anyone from the group of professional gamers knew that he had been around for a very long time.


    The title of the Blood Demon wasn¡¯t just a joke. At the very least, none of the professional players were able to say that they could easily win against him. Even Sorrowless couldn¡¯t say that.


    Sometimes, Lu Li and Moonlight would play a friendly match against each other. Although Lu Li won most of them, it was never an easy win for him.


    For a newbie to play against someone like Moonlight, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if they lost and remained traumatized from this in the future.


    "How have you guys been trained!?" Floral Paralysis shouted in their team channel. "What is there to be afraid of? At most, you just lose a match. Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re all competitors; you¡¯re bound to run into these famous players. These famous players started off as newbies too, so pay attention. We don¡¯t have competitors who forfeit in Blood Red War Flag."


    The new Warlock player finally calmed down.


    Floral Paralysis himself couldn¡¯t calm down; he had already seen his opponent. His opponent was also a Thief, but the Thief didn¡¯t go into Stealth mode. Rather, he just walked over to him.


    "Floral Paralysis, come out and play." Lu Li¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t focused on any particular spot, but he estimated that Floral Paralysis would be somewhere around here, based on his movement speed.


    Floral Paralysis didn¡¯t know what Lu Li wanted, so he didn¡¯t respond.


    "I know my opponent is you. We¡¯re both Thieves and this isn¡¯t a small map. How about we both don¡¯t use Stealth and we¡¯ll end this match quickly? Your other team members are waiting for you to comfort them," Lu Li smiled as he spoke.


    "They might not lose. It¡¯s difficult for your Priest and Shaman to win," Floral Paralysis replied.


    March Rain was a Priest that focused on healing, so she was quite average in terms of fighting. Unless she was also matched up against a healer opponent, any professional competitor who played a damage class would be able to win against her.


    There was also Sakura Memories, who leaned towards buffing the strength of her entire team. It wasn¡¯t easy for her to win a one-on-one match.


    "Even if you guys win two matches, Fat Monkey and Moonlight will definitely win for sure," Lu Li said, not bothering to argue. "We¡¯ll be the deciding factor for today¡¯s match. Are you afraid to lose?"


    "Haha, Lu Li, where does your confidence come from?" Floral Paralysis asked.


    However, he finally walked out from his Stealth and stood about 30 yards away from Lu Li. This was enough distance for him to take any action.


    "That¡¯s right, you¡¯re also one of the best Thieves around. You shouldn¡¯t be afraid of a challenge," Lu Li laughed happily.


    Floral Paralysis had also gone professional early in his career and had been famous for a long time. He was a high-leveled player and was quite stable in terms of playstyle. This was also the reason why he was often sent out to look after the new players.


    Usually, his main opponent was Unforgettable Maple. They often spent a lot of time fighting each other in every single game.


    In Dawn, they battled each other in the arena. In the gaming circle, there was a rumor that they were best friends. Although they spent a lot of time killing each other, they actually really cared about each other...


    Of course, these were just some wild imaginations.


    Floral Paralysis was on the same level as Unforgettable Maple, so he wouldn¡¯t weaken himself in front of Lu Li.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that he was being tricked.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t in his best state right now. When Thieves fought against each other, it was often a big test of their will. Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure that he could catch Floral Paralysis, who was also a top Thief player, from his Stealth state.


    In a fight between Thieves, it was hard for the player who lost the upper hand to win.


    Lu Li felt like he might even lose, unless Floral Paralysis made a mistake.


    As such, he would rather not go into Stealth and walk over for a battle. He wanted to taunt Floral Paralysis.


    If it was some other class who asked Floral Paralysis to not stealth and fight head-on, he would look down on them. However, Lu Li was also a Thief like him, so it was fair for both of them to not go into Stealth.


    At the same time, Lu Li was known as the number one Thief in Dawn...


    Blood Dagger wasn¡¯t impressed with this title, and Floral Paralysis wasn¡¯t either!


    Why should this random player who had come out of nowhere be called the number one Thief?


    "How are we doing this?" Floral Paralysis was ready.


    "We won¡¯t use any Stealth or escape skills; we¡¯ll rely solely on positioning and skill completion. By the way, I¡¯m very well known for my high completion levels," Lu Li said in a proud tone.


    At this point, there was no way Floral Paralysis would back out. Hence, a strange fight between two Thieves was set.

 539 Fatal Trap

    Without Stealth and escape skills, they were no different to two Warriors. Even a fight between Warriors would be more interesting.


    However, the audience still gave them a round of applause; the male and female analysts were excited to share the sportsmanship with the audience.


    "It¡¯s always a classic battle when the top players make their own rules for a competition!" the male analyst exclaimed.


    "Think about it ¨C the last time this happened was back in last year when Unforgettable Maple battled Cloudy Leaf in Shadow Realm," the female analyst said with admiration. "Now, we¡¯re about to see a match between the top two Thieves. Floral Paralysis is one of the best, most well-known Thieves, while Lu Li¡¯s is a new top gamer. What will the results be between these two top players? We¡¯ll have to wait and see."


    The analysts that the Magic Cup hired weren¡¯t as professional as Dark Wind. They were happy that such a classic battle would take place in a competition that they were commentating.


    Perhaps, this could become the top news of the competition this season.


    "Classic my ***! You got played!" In the audience, someone stood up and yelled with rage.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis were both celebrity players from Azure Guard. Perhaps as a bystander, he was more aware of what Lu Li was plotting.


    Now that he thought about how Lu Li was missing in the previous matches, he quickly came to a conclusion.


    Floral Paralysis was being baited into a trap.


    However, the two newbie analysts were explaining the situation as if they were about to see a classic match.


    There were still some smart players amongst the crowd. Maybe some of them already had a good idea why Lu Li had done this.


    This wasn¡¯t a match between the top two players ¨C Lu Li was hiding his disadvantage with the competition restrictions.


    Unfortunately, no one outside was able to contact the players on the match ground. Stellar Union Silver Radiant could only watch as his fellow companion fell into the trap.


    "The fame!" Square Root 3 saw what was happening too and was laughing happily at this.


    Originally, he was worried when he saw Floral Paralysis match up against Lu Li. Lu Li hadn¡¯t been as great these past few days compared to his best condition, but he used a few words to change the tide of the situation.


    There were also plenty others who figured out what was happening.


    Everyone had mixed feelings for this, but they were also impressed by Lu Li¡¯s wisdom.


    The match between Lu Li and Floral Paralysis began.


    Both of them wielded daggers in their hands and started attacking each other as soon as they got close.


    Their skills required energy, which was similar to mana, but it was slightly different. Basically, skills could not be used limitlessly, so their battle relied heavily on auto attacks.


    Lu Li¡¯s attack speed was slightly faster since he was using a level 40, Dark Gold dagger ¨C the famous Shard of the Defiler.


    However, Floral Paralysis wasn¡¯t weak either. He was particularly good at his blocking skills, and many attacks from Lu Li were blocked by his off-hand.


    Once an attack was blocked, the damage would be reduced by a certain amount.


    Both players lost health at a steady rate; it was hard to predict the outcome of the match.


    System: Shadow Strike 65% completion level, dealt 72% skill damage.


    Lu Li¡¯s Shadow Strike didn¡¯t do much, and was also blocked when the skill landed. It didn¡¯t even have a higher completion level than 80%, so it didn¡¯t apply any effects either. This was the case for most of his other skills.


    He couldn¡¯t enter Stealth either. While he restricted his opponent, he also restricted himself too.


    A lot of Thief skills required the support of Stealth mode, especially control skills. Without control skills, it would be hard for them to deal high damage.


    Lu Li was hesitating if he should activate The Book of Ur.


    If he transformed, he would be able to deal a large sum of damage within ten seconds.


    At the same time, he would lose his hidden ace too.


    Most of the main teams from big guilds like Glory Capital hadn¡¯t been sent out yet. During this season of the Magic Cup, Peerless City was his greatest opponent. He was planning to give them a big surprise when they matched up.


    "Lie down!" Floral Paralysis yelled as the radiance of a special effect flashed on his dagger.


    Lu Li knew something was about to happen, but his body had already lost control as he fell backwards. He remained calm and judged that this was most likely a knockdown kind of special effect.


    These special effects usually weren¡¯t so simple; it was possible that there were other follow up effects.


    As he expected, when Lu Li fell down, Floral Paralysis had already dug his dagger into Lu Li¡¯s forehead. This was his way of using Kidney Strike.


    Everyone on the audience seat saw that Floral Paralysis was dealing crazy damage to Lu Li.


    The two analysts were lost for words ¨C someone had already informed them of the truth behind the match, so now they were too ashamed to say anything.


    "Looks like Lu Li is currently disadvantaged," the male analyst said, pretending to maintain his calm. "Floral Paralysis is a professional Thief player who has been around for a long time. He has been an agile player in his previous games and has forged many classic strategies. Although Lu Li has been amazing since the start of the game, he was a new player after all..."


    "Competitions are always full of surprises. Perhaps the title of the first person can¡¯t be owned so easily." The female analyst didn¡¯t hold back on her words.


    It was imaginable that the forums would have a discussion about Lu Li¡¯s tactics later, so they would most likely hear some spiteful words then. Maybe this was why they were a little upset with Lu Li and didn¡¯t hold back on their words.


    Right in this moment, Lu Li bounced up from the spot. As Floral Paralysis was sent flying, Lu Li used a Backhand Backstab to stun him.


    Even if they agreed not to use Gale Steps (Stealth and escape skills were banned), equipment effects that dispelled control effects weren¡¯t included. He didn¡¯t use it immediately, but instead waited a bit for a more unexpected result.


    After he stunned his opponent with Kidney Strike, Lu Li began dealing his damage.


    "Most competitors already have their badge."


    The analysts felt rather awkward as they tried to change the topic. They began to explain how to obtain the badge to the average players.


    They had only learnt about this during their training period by the hosts of the competition. Based on the politics of the analysts, these things that only went around between the master players weren¡¯t something that they were allowed to share. Or else, the master players wouldn¡¯t welcome them.


    The more these two analysts spoke, the more mistakes they made. It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine the downfall of their professional careers.


    Since they both had a badge, Floral Paralysis wasn¡¯t entirely at a disadvantage either. He quickly dispelled his controlled status and they clashed together once again.


    It was as if they were performing martial techniques with their dagger. Even if real dagger masters came, they would probably be impressed too.


    Techniques, speed, timing, damage and skill completion level ¨C these were all factors that affected the results of this fight. Lu Li¡¯s better equipment began to show its worth.


    Floral Paralysis had lost more health than Lu Li.

 540 Newbie Danger

    Floral Paralysis changed his expression after he blocked Lu Li¡¯s attack.


    He felt like Lu Li had been acting strange today and he finally realized what was wrong.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t in his best form; he had been played!


    As a Thief, he was usually very calm, but it was hard for him to maintain his calmness at this point. After he realized that he had been played, this became the source of his rage and his attacks suddenly became more aggressive.


    This kind of aggression wasn¡¯t a skill or a special effect; it was purely his mentality that allowed him to perform beyond his usual standards.


    Lu Li instantly felt the pressure, but he maintained his composure. With a close eye for detail, he figured out that this aggression wasn¡¯t something worth fearing. When a Thief lost their cool, they would often begin to make many mistakes.


    Finally, Lu Li found his chance and used Shadow Strike.


    This was a skill that he had been practicing on purpose ever since he had entered the game. He even gave up some time for other skills to perfect this one. Because of his reincarnation, he knew that 100% completion wasn¡¯t the peak for this skill.


    When a skill¡¯s completion level reached above 100%, there was a certain chance of upgrading the skill.


    This included buffed Shadow Strike, buffed Backstab, buffed Slit Throat...


    Of course, it was possible to buff these basic skills with skill books too. However, these buff-type skill books only dropped at around level 50. Level 50 bosses weren¡¯t only far away from them in terms of progression; none of them were easy targets either.


    System: Shadow Strike completion level 90%, dealing 150% skill damage, target stunned for 1 second!


    Completion level of 90%!


    Not only did the spell do 1.5 times damage, but it also stunned the target for a second.


    For two Thieves that were constantly dodging and blocking, this was quite incredible.


    "I¡¯ve warned you, my completion levels are very high." After Lu Li stunned his target, he was relieved. He had never found a chance before, but now, he finally dealt a critical strike.


    The critical strike was because of the one second stun.


    The one second stun wasn¡¯t much; it wasn¡¯t enough to kill his opponent. However, under this one second stun, Floral Paralysis became a living target.


    If Lu Li¡¯s Shadow Strike didn¡¯t stun his target, he would¡¯ve immediately used The Book of Ur to end the battle.


    Since they were at the critical point of the fight where both of them only had a few hundred health points, there was no guarantee that the other player didn¡¯t have any aces hidden up their sleeves. If Lu Li lost because of an unexpected surprise, he wouldn¡¯t be impressed.


    It was normal to keep an ace, but if he lost a match because he was hiding one, this would be a silly move.


    Ambush: Instant Cast, 30 second cooldown. Ambush target from behind, dealing 280% Weapon


    damage, awards 2 combo points. Current proficiency: 5/5.


    Lu Li never used this skill because he wanted to use it at the most critical moment. The 280% Weapon damage would destroy any class. Since he was hitting a still target, his completion level reached 92%. Not only did this increase his damage, but it also applied a 1.5 second paralysis effect.


    Floral Paralysis gave up.


    He only had around 300 HP left. With the extra 1.5 second paralysis, he would have lost even if Lu Li just kept auto attacking.


    After the death of Floral Paralysis, their match ended.


    The other players on the other mini maps were teleported into the big map alongside the substitutes.


    The results were similar to what Lu Li had expected. Moonlight, Fat Monkey and Lu Li won the one-on-one matches. March Rain and Sakura Memories lost, and with Mu Qiu as the substitute, they now had four players on their side.


    Azure Guard was in a disadvantaged position.


    They only had two players left from the battle and even with the entrance of the substitute, they only had three players on their team.


    They were already outnumbered, not to mention they were newbies. None of the players from Ruling Sword was an easy target and Mu Qiu was a competitor who could heal.


    However, the newbies from Azure Guard didn¡¯t forfeit.


    They played the match seriously, as if they were really fighting for victory.


    Lu Li had to admit that these big guilds really had their special way of training. From these newbies alone, he could see the professional player qualities that were instilled within them throughout their training.


    It wasn¡¯t wrong to say that Ruling Sword wasn¡¯t as professional as the other guilds.


    They didn¡¯t have an actual coach to back up their training, and they haven¡¯t developed a systematic training regime for their new competitors either.


    Lu Li could only envy as he fought.


    He didn¡¯t look down on these newbies either. None of the players held back; they played as if this was a regular match and did what they were supposed to do.


    After a few years time, when the old competitors retired or were disqualified from professional gaming, these newbies would become the new main force. Their loss against Lu Li would also become a part of their journey and growth.


    Once upon a time, they had fought Ruling Sword in the Magic Cup and lost with glory.


    "Thanks for the win, bro."


    Lu Li waved after he came out from the competition. The two sides of the competitors shared the same tunnel, so if they were to communicate, this was usually the location for it to happen.


    Everyone was well-trained and no one fought just because they had lost the match.


    Lu Li felt like he had to say something. After all, they had worked together before. It was only right to maintain some sort of sportsmanship after victory.


    Floral Paralysis smiled bitterly as he shook his head; he really wanted to punch Lu Li in the face.


    His reputation had really dropped after this battle. For quite some time, he would be used as a textbook example ¨C a bad one, that is.


    In the future, Thief players would teach their Thief newbies to not learn from Floral Paralysis. He had played a restricted match with Lu Li and had given up his chance of victory.


    "We¡¯ll beat you next time," one of the newbies from Azure Guard said, unable to hold back.


    Lu Li laughed and didn¡¯t mind. Even if this newbie became a regular member in the future of Azure Guard, he was confident that he would still maintain his superiority.


    "Don¡¯t worry about it, they¡¯re new." Floral Paralysis patted the newbies shoulder to stop him from saying anything else.


    He didn¡¯t have anything against Lu Li. Even if he had lost the match, it wasn¡¯t a big deal either. The competitors were actually quite friendly with each other. Although they were opponents, they didn¡¯t do anything dirty. There was no guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t work with each other in the future.


    Not to mention, competitors often had some sort of issues with their bosses, so a lot of the times, they teamed up for their own benefits.


    "Your newbies are fairly good. Impressive." Lu Li was truly impressed by these newbies from Azure Guard; he silently decided that Ruling Sword would be the same someday in this regard.


    A person¡¯s thoughts were often linked with their position. At the start, Lu Li was only playing for money, but now, he was no longer the same. With a chance to develop further, he wanted Ruling Sword to become even better, an old guild with a tradition that lasted for a century.


    Generations and generations, their glory and story would be passed down ¨C this didn¡¯t sound so bad after all.

 541 Water Fairy’s Ques

    After defeating and eliminating Azure Guard, Lu Li did not go back to levelling.


    Their last match against Unforgettable Maple was relatively effortless because all he had to do was to execute his plan at the right time. However, this match was much more different; his duel against Floral Paralysis lasted around a minute or two. The time wasted was extremely crucial and could be the difference between a win or a loss.


    In a PVP duel between two top-level Thieves, there was no room for mistakes. His recent lack of sleep and anxiety had finally caught up to him during the match, exposing his weaknesses and mistakes.


    Lu Li decided to catch up on some sleep in the comfort of his home in Danassus because he had another match in the afternoon. Their opponent had yet to be decided, but if they were up against Peerless City, Lu Li had to ensure that he was at his optimal condition.


    Water Fairy was the one that woke him up.


    There were settings that allowed close friends to wake him up at any time. Besides his old friends in Ruling Sword, only Square Root Three and Water Fairy had such privileges.


    Lu Li felt a slight headache and was considering whether he should ignore her or not.


    Do you think good looking people can do whatever they please? What if waking him up affected his condition for the match this afternoon? How would she compensate for this? This would be a problem that could only be resolved by gold.


    "Lu Li, are all the quests in Assassin League this hard?" Her voice sounded like she was about to cry. It was very rare for Water Fairy to reveal her vulnerable side, which made it hard to get mad at her.


    "Oh yeah, what¡¯s your quest?" Lu Li had just remembered the quests.


    "They want me to go solo-kill a level 35 boss called Ripscale, the River Crocodile boss in the Dustwallow Marsh Wetlands. It has to be soloed as well¡­Why? Why did I receive such a hard quest? I¡¯ve already died twice today because of this. I tried fighting the boss in different terrains, but it makes no difference at all." Water Fairy was usually elegant and graceful, but today, she sounded like an annoying old lady.


    Lu Li could almost imagine the expression on her face.


    Even though she had asked a healer to hide nearby so that she could be revived as soon as she was killed, she still couldn¡¯t defeat the boss and her EXP had dropped significantly.


    "Am I doing this wrong somehow? If an NPC gives out a quest, it must be possible to complete, right?" Water Fairy asked while panting.


    "What makes you think that?" As Lu Li lay on his bed, he let out a sigh of relief.


    "Oi, a game is designed so that players can progress. How can they create a quest that¡¯s impossible to complete?" Water Fairy yelled. "What are you doing now? Why do I hear weird noises?"


    "Uh¡­ I was sleeping before and was woken up by you," Lu Li said, holding back his anger.


    He had finally been able to force himself to fall asleep and was abruptly woken up by her after an hour in game. He felt even more tired now.


    "Why are you sleeping in broad daylight? What¡¯s your quest by the way?" Water Fairy asked.


    "I had to kill a boss as well," Lu Li said, half asleep. Falling asleep to Water Fairy¡¯s nice voice would be quite therapeutic, if only she wasn¡¯t complaining and angry.


    "So you haven¡¯t completed it either then? What happens if you don¡¯t complete it?" Water Fairy asked.


    Soloing a boss was quite a difficult feat for normal players.


    "Who said? I¡¯ve already completed the quest and it was a level 40 boss as well."


    Because he was half asleep, he had forgotten that he was trying to stay lowkey.


    "That¡¯s impossible!" Water Fairy screamed.


    How was it possible that Lu Li had been able to defeat a LV 40 boss while she struggled with a LV 35 one?!


    "Stop being so competitive ok? Girls should be well behaved and have good manners." This was Lu Li¡¯s approach to educating his little sister. He was responsible for earning money and taking care of the family, while Lu Xin was responsible for being cute and adorable.


    Water Fairy had to breath slowly to restrain herself from killing Lu Li.


    The female lion stomped the grasslands in anger when she heard Lu Li¡¯s comment. The Elite groups from Drizzling Court also heard Lu Li and waited for him to experience the wrath of their older sister boss.


    This was Lu Li¡¯s lucky day because Water Fairy managed to restrain herself from exploding.


    If there was one person in the world that could help her, it was this annoying guy. Without her realising, she had developed a deep sense of trust towards Lu Li.


    "Big pro, how did you kill the boss? Can you tell me please?" Water Fairy tried extremely hard to sound gentle and well-mannered.


    Since she asked nicely, Lu Li decided to explain to her his experience with the quest step by step.


    However, because he was still half-asleep, he left out many details and the explanation was messy and hard to understand. However, her main takeaway was that Lu Li had employed the help of a NPC.


    "Where can I find NPCs to help me in Dustwallow Marsh Wetlands? Lu Li, can you help me complete the quest?" Water Fairy asked embarrassingly.


    Her voice was soft like a feather, tickling Lu Li¡¯s ears. He felt a sense of numbness in his ears, making him even more sleepy.


    Lu Li was about to fall asleep but tried hard to come up with a solution for Water Fairy.


    "Send some players to lure some guards from the Northern Output. Remember the one we went to together?"


    "Those guards are so weak; I don¡¯t think they can defeat the boss," Water Fairy said.


    River Crocodile Ripscale was actually a Lv45 boss. However, it had recently suffered some injuries and dropped to Lv35. This was why the Assassin League had given her a quest called "Hit him while he¡¯s down".


    "Yes, I know, but this is part of the quest," Lu Li said, then closed his eyes and continued, "Then go find Azure Sea Breeze and ask for something called a Bloodstained Badge. Take this to the coastlines of Rattan City, head south and you¡¯ll find a little house¡­¡¯


    Water Fairy felt like she was listening to a bedtime story, but she had complete trust in Lu Li.


    "If the old mage sees the Bloodstained Badge, then talk to him and ask for a letter of recommendation. This way, Jaina will be more inclined to help you. However, if the old mage isn¡¯t there, then you¡¯ll have to go straight to Jaina and test out your luck. Oh yeah, what¡¯s your quest time limit?"


    "Three days. I must complete this by tomorrow afternoon. Otherwise, I fail," Water Fairy said miserably.


    "Then go as soon as possible. You can only pray that Jaina helps you, because there is no one strong enough at Dustwallow Marsh Wetlands besides her." Lu Li provided her with as much information as possible. Since it was a solo quest, this was the most he could do to help her.


    "What¡¯s your relationship with the old mage?" Water Fairy was curious as to how Lu Li had met such a mysterious Mage.


    "Medivh ¨C he taught me the Crow Transformation skill. You should be respectful to him because he¡¯s powerful beyond our imagination." Lu Li reminded her, hoping that she would behave herself when meeting Medivh.


    In Dawn, whether she could meet such a legendary character or not was based on pure luck.

 542 Dark Circles

    Water Fairy went about her way merrily and Lu Li went back to sleep.


    By the time Square Root Three contacted him, his days of fatigue had disappeared. Before this, his lack of sleep made his body feel slow and unresponsive.


    When he woke up, he went into his sister¡¯s room.


    There was some makeup on her table that Lu Xin had bought from other players for cosplaying.


    Lu Li had an urge to put on some makeup. There had to be someone that liked this look.


    "Our next match is Majin Temple; they managed to pull off a massive comeback this morning and defeated Gale Legion," Square Root Three laughed bitterly.


    "Tsk, there¡¯s going to be some rivalry between our guilds," Lu Li sighed.


    In the Magic Cup alone, Ruling Sword and Majin Temple has faced off three times already. Each match was an important decider match as well.


    In the first match, Majin Temple had lost to Ruling Sword, ending their winning streak in this tournament.


    In the second match, Majin Temple had lost again and was almost eliminated from the Quarter-Finals.


    If they lost the third match, they wouldn¡¯t qualify for the semi-finals.


    "Poor guy." Lu Li felt sorry for the famous Unforgettable Maple who had already establish his name as one of the top shot callers. He probably had nightmares about Lu Li at this point.


    "Don¡¯t underestimate Majin; all their players are famous star players as well." Square Root Three wasn¡¯t sure whether he should feel happy or sad.


    Majin Temple¡¯s only losses were against Ruling Sword. Their team was very formidable, and they had even managed to defeat Gale Legion.


    Gale Legion was consisted of Gaze, Cloudy Left, Wendelian and three rookie players. Despite their solid lineup, Unforgettable Maple had an excellent performance, completely outplaying them and killing Gaze right in front of Cloudy Leaf.


    "Don¡¯t worry, we can deal with Majin Temple. Oh yeah, who¡¯s up against Peerless City?" Lu Li asked.


    "Gangnam Royals¡­" Square Root Three answered.


    "Interesting, a match-up between different generations of top guilds. What was the outcome?" Lu Li laughed.


    He despised Gangnam Royals and looked down upon them because of their past differences and disagreements.


    "Gangnam Royals lost convincingly and were immediately eliminated from the competition. I predict that Gangnam Royals won¡¯t be able to secure their No.2 ranking and might drop below the Top 5. Heart of War is too arrogant. He managed to ruin such an established guild in a couple of years. I doubt he would be able to stay as the Guild Leader¡­" Square Root Three rambled on about Heart of War¡¯s incompetence.


    Lu Li did not tell him, but he knew that Heart of War would continue to stay as the Guild Leader.


    The gaming society wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed. There were many factors that contributed to Gangnam Royals¡¯ regression. Even though Heart of War was incompetent, he was able to push the blames onto others and convince their sponsors to continue supporting him as their guild leader.


    Lu Li knew that Old Man Power was going to carry all the blame this time


    This drove him to quit the guild and join Blood Red War Flag.


    In order to fit in with his new team, he switched Specializations from a Restoration Druid to a DPS druid. Although he wasn¡¯t the top player in the game, he made a name for himself amongst the Druid community.


    Lu Li had played Druid in his past life and read many guides that were written by him.


    "How many teams are left?" Lu Li asked.


    "We eliminated Azure Guard, Peerless City eliminated Gangnam Royals, Seventh Heaven eliminated Blue Universe and Gale Legion lost to Majin Temple. However, Gale Legion has enough points to prevent them from being eliminated. The remaining teams in order of points collected is currently Peerless City, Gale Legion, Seventh Heaven, Majin Temple and us," Square Root Three explained.


    Peerless City had yet to lose a single match, so they ranked first in points. Gale Legion and Seventh Heaven had both lost a single match. Ruling Sword and Majin Temple were the only teams with two losses.


    As such, there were five teams that would want to qualify for the semi-finals.


    In other words, the match between Ruling Swords and Majin Temple was a must win.


    "Everyone¡¯s here already?" When Lu Li had arrived, the other starters were already waiting for him. His chilled and relaxed attitude contrasted with his teammates¡¯ intensity and concentration.


    "Sorry, if it weren¡¯t for my screw-ups, we wouldn¡¯t have to play this match," Fat Monkey apologized guiltily.


    The champions of the Shadow Cup, having to crawl their way into the semi-finals and barely making it to the quarter finals¡­.


    This was quite embarrassing, and many of the Ruling Swords fans were were directing the blame to the rookie Fat Monkey on the community forums.


    They thought that it his extreme and risky playstyle that had caused the ¡®Lu Li-less Ruling Sword" to fall.


    In reality, there were no reasons for them to have lost those matches because their opponents were relatively weak.


    "Monkey, what are you talking about?" Lu Li was between laughter and tears, interrupting his self-criticism. He then said in a joking tone, "Do you not know who our opponent is? It¡¯s crazy girl; we completely counter them¡­"


    "Who¡¯s sorry?"


    Lu Li turned around to see Unforgettable Maple¡¯s dark face right in front of him and laughed, "Oh, what a coincidence! Are you guys about to enter as well?"


    "Look at your dark circles," Unforgettable Maple laughed coldly. "Winning with cunning strategies and cheap shots is unreliable. I¡¯m not as dumb as Floral Paralysis, so don¡¯t think you can trick me so easily."


    "Same goes for you. My relationship with Floral Paralysis is pretty good. So what if I tricked him?" Lu Li had a face of innocence.


    "How long has it been since you¡¯ve had proper rest? If your performance is going to be as bad as this morning, then I suggest that you come of the bench as a sub," Unforgettable Maple mocked him as he led his teammates into the arena.


    As he walked away, he continued to stare at Lu Li.


    "Crazy sister¡­" a confused teammate began to say.


    "Sister, sister your ass." Unforgettable Maple was furious and threw a punch towards him. Did they all call him crazy sister behind his back? He even treated them so well.


    "Brother Fong, Brother Fong, my bad." The poor guy had made a simple mistake but was beaten up for it.


    "Go on, what did you want to ask?" Unforgettable Maple felt refreshed after he punched him a couple times.


    "Why do you always stare at Lu Li¡¯s face¡­.? Brother Fong, I¡¯m not trying to suggest anything." The teammate shrivelled up when he received a cold stare from Unforgettable Maple.


    "His eyes were really dark," Unforgettable Maple said with a mysterious tone.


    The same conversation was happening over within the Xin Xin Mercenary group.


    "Big boss, your dark circles are pretty bad," Sakura Memories said worriedly.


    "It¡¯s worse than this morning," March Rain agreed. She hesitated but then asked, "Should you sit this match out?"


    The others were worried as well. The game had created the perfect facial details for Lu Li ¨C pale face, lifeless eyes and extremely dark eye bags.


    "Sh, I¡¯m tricking them," Lu Li laughed with a wink.

 543 Everyone Has Their Own Plans

    Lu Li didn¡¯t make meticulous plans like Unforgettable Maple. When he got up, he didn¡¯t know who his opponent was and when he found out, he made a tired gesture.


    He was familiar with this player and already knew where his strengths lied.


    Unforgettable Maple was very meticulous and liked to take advantage of every opportunity. Sorrowless had suffered at his hands because of this. In the morning that Lu Li worked with Gale Legion, they had relied on this trait of his to win.


    From one perspective, this was a strength, but from another, this was also a weakness.


    After waking up, he played with his sister who put some make up on him. She added dark circles, disguising him with a tired complexion, and Lu Li almost believed it himself.


    However, Unforgettable Maple wasn¡¯t fooled.


    These details were a small part of his calculations. After all, victory would stem from true strength.


    The map this time was quite fair. It wasn¡¯t too large and the players could see the other side. There wasn¡¯t too much cover in the middle; there was just a river and a bridge over it.


    There weren¡¯t many rules for the fight within Dawn; all the players had to do was confirm the match.


    Attacks from a higher position dealt more damage while attacks from a lower position were easier to miss.


    "Take the bridge area," Lu Li ordered the moment the match began.


    Unforgettable Maple instantly understood the features of the map. Both teams were rushing to get to the middle of the map.


    However, it was Fat Monkey who got there first as his shoes were very good. Not only did they give him two flashes, but they also provided a speed buff which lasted for quite a long time. The moment he arrived, he immediately climbed onto the bridge.


    "Fall back Monkey." Lu Li hadn¡¯t used any speed buffs, so he fell behind, but he was shocked to see that Fat Monkey was so aggressive.


    By the time he heard this order, Fat Monkey was trading skills with his opponents. He was standing on the bridge so confidently that he looked like he was going to take them all on. Unfortunately, as the rest of the team started arriving, he had no choice but to fall back.


    The two teams stood by the respective ends of the bridge across from each other.


    Under the bridge was a river ditch, but no one wanted to go there as it would place them in a lower position.


    "Everyone, take a moment to recover. Lighty, cast your damage reduction skills, then a rotation of skills and jump into the river." Lu Li had seen countless matches in his past life, so he knew how to fight on this map.


    "Alright." This was Moonlight, a man of few words and one who never questioned his instructions.


    "Monkey, you can attack from behind, but never completely cross the bridge. Be ready to retreat if necessary. That goes for you too, March Rain. I will look for an opportunity to cross; you all be careful," Lu Li said.


    Moonlight prepared himself for a moment while everyone got into formation behind him.


    Unforgettable Maple was immediately cautious and arranged for his players to stand in position, putting a Paladin on the side to intercept Moonlight.


    "3, 2, 1¡­" Lu Li started counting down on the channel.


    The moment he finished, he immediately used his shoes¡¯ effect and appeared behind the Paladin before casting Sap.


    The Paladin took a while and by the time he had removed the Sap with his badge, Moonlight had already run into them and cast Trample, followed by Whirlwind.


    Although the Paladin also had Plate Armor, he still wanted to avoid those attacks and pounced onto Fat Monkey.


    This interrupted Fat Monkey¡¯s attack. Of course, he didn¡¯t like that and lifted his Magic Staff to cast Frost Nova. This Paladin had already used his badge and still dared to run at him.


    The Paladin was frozen in place, but he quickly freed himself and smashed Fat Monkey on the forehead with a hammer, stunning him.


    Lu Li had now gotten to the rear of Majin Temple. His goal was to Cheap Shot their healer and then cast a rotation of his skills.


    However, at this level, it was impossible to win with just one rotation of skills.


    Lu Li had initially wanted Fat Monkey or Moonlight to help him, but after glancing back at his teammates¡¯ situation, he put that thought out of his mind.


    When Moonlight had finished casting Whirlwind, he jumped into the river and didn¡¯t continue attacking his victims. This prompted Fat Monkey to fall back, resulting in the clean retreat of Ruling Sword.


    "They¡¯re gone." After being hit by a sudden attack, there was still a lingering fear among the Majin Temple players.


    "That¡¯s not necessarily true."


    Unforgettable Maple looked at Moonlight climbing out of the ditch on the other side and gave up on his plan to rush through the river. He then turned to look at the miserably beaten up players around him and advised, "Lu Li may not have returned yet, but he is no longer at full HP. Everyone be careful."


    Lu Li was hiding behind them, not far away. He only had a bit more than 50% HP.


    This wasn¡¯t too critical of a situation. Although he couldn¡¯t take potions because of the tournament rules, there was nothing wrong with entering a state that improved regeneration.


    "We both still have so many players¡­" said the healer who had been previously attacked by Lu Li.


    As the chatter subsided, the healer felt a wind behind his head.


    "Hey, you¡¯re acting like I don¡¯t exist," Unforgettable Maple called out as he turned and fired an ice bolt at him. As the ice exploded on Lu Li¡¯s body, he casted Gale Steps and vanished.


    It hadn¡¯t even been that long and he was attacking again. It was the same target too.


    Majin Temple¡¯s players already knew that they were attacking from both sides, so they had been carefully paying attention. This made Lu Li¡¯s attack futile once again.


    "What is he doing?" After being attacked again, the healer patted his chest in fear.


    There were five players on this side; it was ridiculous for him to think that he could kill someone.


    "I¡¯m going to kill him; you guys stay here. If anyone rushes over, immediately attack them. Just make sure you don¡¯t cross."


    Unforgettable Maple thought for a moment decided not to let Lu Li harass them.


    This kind of harassment was would take a toll on the players.


    The team on this side was on high alert, as if they were still fully engaged in a fight. Lu Li just needed to stall until his team¡¯s cooldowns were back up.


    He felt like Lu Li was trying to slowly wear them down with one attack after another.


    Unforgettable Maple walked out from his own team, planning to fight Lu Li. This would be a Thief¡¯s best chance to attack a Mage.


    He and Lu Li had fought a 1v1 before during the Shadow Cup, but because of the difference in equipment and levels, he had lost that time. However, this was different ¨C Lu Li was only on half HP and he seemed to be in a bad way.


    Yes, Unforgettable Maple even treated Lu Li¡¯s dark circles as a weakness.


    Now that he had finally come out, Lu Li¡¯s efforts had not been in vain. When Lu Li saw him moving, he immediately started tailing him.


    The two commentators in the morning had been joking around so much that they had been replaced by two more experienced commentators for this match.


    "Actually, Unforgettable Maple doesn¡¯t need to do this alone," one of the commentators said conservatively.


    "But he seems quite helpless. Lu Li¡¯s harassment tactics won¡¯t have much of an effect on competitive veterans, but now that he has successfully baited out the boss, they both need to be completely focused," the other commentator analyzed.


    "Lu Li¡¯s situation isn¡¯t very good. He is already on half HP, so maybe Unforgettable Maple is taking that opportunity," the commentator responded.


    "But then why would Lu Li allow his opponent to think that? If he just attacked Unforgettable Maple now, he would be dead. Both players have their own plans and it¡¯s hard to say who is falling into whose trap," the other commentator disagreed.


    In fact, both commentators didn¡¯t dare to push their opinions too hard and just left the audience to decide for themselves.

 544 An Ice Bolt That Slows

    Unforgettable Maple walked back 100 yards before stopping.


    This was a carefully chosen distance. It wasn¡¯t too close to the bridge, so they could have a proper 1 v 1, but it also wasn¡¯t too far that if Lu Li attacked his teammates, he could go and help them.


    He truly was worthy of being called a professional veteran. Lu Li gave up on his plan to attack the four other players and followed Unforgettable Maple into the space.


    Unforgettable Maple lifted his hand and summoned a Water Elemental.


    Not everyone had the Water Elemental skill, but most professional Ice Mages would.


    The Water Elemental stretched out its arms and covered the area that Lu Li was standing on with ice. This Water Elemental had Frost Nova; it was truly luxurious and could only be afforded by Majin Temple.


    Most Mages didn¡¯t even have Frost Nova. Not only did Unforgettable Maple have it, but so did the Water Elemental.


    As a result, Unforgettable Maple effectively had two Frost Novas.


    "The level difference isn¡¯t as big anymore, so it won¡¯t be so one-sided this time," Unforgettable Maple said with a smile. It was hard for him to calm himself; he was glad that he found Lu Li so soon.


    "There¡¯s no pressure in playing dead, crazy girl¡­" Lu Li used Gale Steps before the Frostbolt could hit him.


    "Crazy¡­ girl. I hate it when people call me that. You¡¯re dead." Unforgettable Maple¡¯s whole body trembled as he carelessly shot another ice bolt at where Lu Li was just standing.


    Of course, this was just bravado. How could a veteran be so easily angered?


    In his recent years, so many people had called him crazy girl that he had long since become desensitized to it. His performance was solely to lull Lu Li into a false sense of security. This was part of Unforgettable Maple¡¯s expertise.


    It seemed like Lu Li had taken the opportunity.


    "I¡¯m not trying to bully you." Unforgettable Maple suddenly spun around and cast Cone of Cold at Lu Li with great precision.


    Cone of Cold dealt 130% frost damage to a target in a cone in front of the caster. It also applied a 60% movement speed reduction for 6 seconds.


    Not only could it deal a significant amount of damage, but it also significantly reduced the target¡¯s movement.


    It didn¡¯t matter how strong any profession was if their movement speed was reduced by more than 50%. Unless you had some way to remove this debuff, you would be at the mercy of Unforgettable Maple.


    Unforgettable Maple felt like a cat manipulating a mouse¡¯s fate.


    He wanted Lu Li to use up all of his escape skills and would deal the fatal blow once he did.


    Lu Li took two more steps with great difficulty before being forced to use Vanish.


    Vanish caused a player to disappear and enter Stealth. For the first 3 seconds after Vanish was cast, damage and other effects would not cancel Stealth. It also lifted all movement debuffs.


    Another escape skill had been used, and Unforgettable Maple¡¯s lips curled slightly.


    He silently calculated where Lu Li had fled to and his initial tense heart began to slowly relax. He could even vaguely sense Lu Li¡¯s position; he was wandering around a short distance behind him.


    As Unforgettable Maple became more comfortable, the player representing Ruling Sword continued to let him feel even more comfortable.


    What would Lu Li use to lift the next Frost Nova?


    In that moment, Lu Li, whom he thought was still far away, appeared right behind him. Unforgettable Maple was startled, but quickly worked out what had happened.


    It had to be the effect of his cloak ¨C the Shadow Cloak. Majin Temple had two of those, but they were just level 15 equips.


    Unforgettable Maple used Ice Barrier to counter Lu Li¡¯s surprise attack. He looked coldly at Lu Li, who was unable to continue attacking him, then started thinking of ways he could finish him off.


    Lu Li must have felt helpless as he backed away, as a Mage with Ice Barrier was invincible.


    It looked like he just had to wait until this Ice Barrier expired.


    Unforgettable Maple sneered in his heart at how Lu Li kept coming and going. He hoped that Lu Li would stay this time.


    He decisively cancelled the Ice Barrier that had not yet expired and chased after Lu Li. There was no time to mess around for much longer; it was time to finish this.


    He was in such a bad state and still wanted to be singled out!


    Ice appeared at Lu Li¡¯s feet as Unforgettable Maple casted another Frost Nova from his Magic Staff. He then started channeling his ultimate skills, forcing Lu Li to escape with his badge.


    Lu Li¡¯s body suddenly shrunk as he became a leopard.


    Stampeding Roar!


    "Dammit," Unforgettable Maple silently cursed; he had forgotten about this skill. Although the situation was unfortunate, he remained calm. Now, both he and Lu Li had one escape left, which made them evenly matched.


    Lu Li then instantly approached Unforgettable Maple with the special effect on his gloves ¨C Sudden Thrust.


    Kidney Shot!


    He had saved several combo points and was now using them all on Kidney Shot.


    Unforgettable Maple had thought that Lu Li wasn¡¯t feeling well. He thought that he had everything under control, until this Sudden Thrust and Kidney Shot.


    Fortunately, he was still a proficient player and used the badge the moment Kidney Shot landed.


    Completely unaffected by the Stun, Unforgettable Maple laughed coldly before shooting a flame at Lu Li from his left Bracer.


    This Frostjet Flame was definitely no ordinary attack. Flame attacks were instant and he was so close that he didn¡¯t have any time to react.


    After being hit by the flame, Lu Li¡¯s body went stiff which meant that this was some kind of crowd-control skill or special effect.


    After being hit by two ice bolts, Lu Li eventually used his badge to cancel this state. Both players¡¯ crowd-control and crowd-control removals were almost completely exhausted.


    "I can just keep kiting you to death." Unforgettable Maple didn¡¯t know what else Lu Li had, but he knew that his instant ice bolts had a slow effect.


    The kiting that he was referring to was simply keeping a set distance and attacking from afar.


    This was probably his finishing blow. Even if he couldn¡¯t keep up the slows, it was enough to deal with Lu Li, who was already at one-third HP.


    Lu Li was silent.


    "You¡¯re only asking for backup now. It¡¯s too late, isn¡¯t it?" Unforgettable Maple had received a notification that Ruling Sword was rushing across the bridge. Contrary to being panicked by this information, he was actually relieved.


    Lu Li was soon going to be killed by him, which was why they were rushing now. Otherwise, when else would they attack? Surely not after Lu Li was dead?


    "You¡¯re so confident that you¡¯ve won?¡¯ Lu Li was speechless.


    "Your Gale Steps, and other crowd-control removals are on cooldown. There¡¯s no way that your Shadow Cloak is already up. You¡¯re not even close to me," Unforgettable Maple laughed.


    Just because he laughed didn¡¯t mean he was being arrogant; his attacks didn¡¯t stop.


    The ice bolts didn¡¯t have a cooldown; they just needed a target for him to hit. They hit their target almost instantly, but dealt less damage. Each hit only did a dozen damage to Lu Li.


    Unforgettable Maple thought that he could finish him off with these slowing ice bolts.

 545 Reversal

    Normally, the ice bolts didn¡¯t slow, otherwise, mages would be too strong.


    Unforgettable Maple¡¯s ice bolts slowed because of his Magic Staff ¨C Illusionary Rod. It was originally an exquisite Gold Magic Staff that had now been upgraded to Dark Gold.


    The Illusionary Rod was dropped from the Scarlet Library on Nightmare Difficulty. The drop rate was so low that Lu Li didn¡¯t even think about it when completing the First Clear.


    Unforgettable Maple had only successfully upgraded the staff yesterday. This gave it a new effect which allowed him to shoot ice bolts that slowed for 60 seconds. Although they dealt relatively low damage, the high fire rate and the 60 second duration made it quite strong.


    Of course, this assumed that the target wasn¡¯t able to escape.


    He had saved this effect until now because Lu Li had no other way to escape and even if he did, he would still be able to catch him. To him, Lu Li was no ordinary professional player.


    Lu Li was constantly being hit by the ice bolts and his speed had been reduced by at least 30%. After struggling for a few steps, he activated the second special effect on his shoes.


    Wirt¡¯s Fake Leg, Instant Cast, leap eight yards forward or backward. 120 second cooldown.


    Lu Li¡¯s whole body shot towards Unforgettable Maple, shocking him so much that he almost dropped his Magic Staff.


    Gouge!


    After Lu Li stunned Unforgettable Maple, he grinned and circled around him.


    The shocked Mage was still trying to wave his hand, but they weren¡¯t responding to him.


    Lu Li went into Stealth and casted Shadowstrike followed by Premeditation and Cheap Shot. He then casually strolled around the mage to make sure he didn¡¯t have any more escape skills.


    Now, Lu Li was sure that he didn¡¯t have any left!


    Unforgettable Maple had thought he was playing a game of cat and mouse, that he was depleting Lu Li¡¯s escape skills while conserving his own.


    However, all that had happened was according to Lu Li¡¯s plan. He wanted to Unforgettable Maple to leave his team and fight a 1 v 1 with him, and had deliberately exposed himself to two of Unforgettable Maple¡¯s crowd-control skills.


    The audience was mesmerized by this whole process, but they didn¡¯t know that Lu Li had been faking his condition.


    No one knew, until now, that Lu Li was actually feeling perfectly fine.


    After getting hit by this crowd-control, Unforgettable Maple hesitated. He didn¡¯t want to call for help as his teammates were fighting a fierce battle of their own.


    However, it was only then that he realized that Lu Li had asked his teammates to charge not because he needed rescuing, but to stop Unforgettable Maple¡¯s teammates from helping him. He could now only pray that Lu Li¡¯s rotation of skills wasn¡¯t enough to kill him.


    The moment Unforgettable Maple recovered from the stun, Lu Li cast Deep Defile (an effect from the Shard of the Defiler) onto him.


    Deep Defile. Instant Cast. Reduces the target¡¯s Armor and Movespeed by 25% for 6 seconds. 360 second cooldown.


    This applied 6 seconds of slow and armor pierce, and Unforgettable Maple resented it. He now knew the despair and suffering of being slowed. To make matters even worse, Lu Li¡¯s attacks also often came with silences or interruptions.


    In order to maintain his sustained attack, Lu Li finally activated his cloak.


    For a short time, he became immune to magic effects which naturally included crowd-control effects.


    When a Mage was that close to a Thief, all they could do was block and try to get as far away as possible. However, seeing that his HP was higher than Lu Li¡¯s gave him hope. He just needed to wait for his flash¡¯s cooldown to reset.


    As for Lu Li, it didn¡¯t matter whether he could kill Unforgettable Maple. He was just thinking about dealing as much damage as possible.


    It was only when Unforgettable Maple was about to cast Polymorph that Lu Li stopped and gave him a Kick.


    "I¡¯d like to see who would die first," Unforgettable Maple said as he started attacking Lu Li alongside his Water Elemental.


    After this long battle, neither of them had particularly much HP left.


    "I can heal. Can you?" Lu Li grinned as he activated Pamela¡¯s necklace and instantly recovered 20% of his HP.


    Only a Dark Gold equipment could regenerate that much HP.


    "Damn you, you cheater," Unforgettable Maple cursed in his heart before waving his hands and flashing away from Lu Li.


    Now that his flash¡¯s cooldown had reset, it was easier for him to escape. He intended to keep his distance from Lu Li and use his Water Elemental as an obstacle.


    He was going to let the Water Elemental reduce Lu Li¡¯s HP while he waited for his crowd-control cooldowns¡­


    Suddenly, he felt like something wasn¡¯t quite right. He looked back at Lu Li to see that he was also moving away.


    Could it be that he was going to find a place to regenerate all of his HP and start over? If that were the case, then all their efforts would be wasted.


    But wait! Why was Unforgettable Maple still bleeding? He had suddenly lost 100 HP which shocked him, and he didn¡¯t have much HP left.


    Lu Li smiled at him and quickly left the attack range of the Water Elemental.


    Arugal¡¯s Nephew¡¯s Gift. Instant Cast. Curse the target so that it loses 100HP every 5 seconds for 300 seconds. 30 minute cooldown.


    This was a special effect on the exquisite pants that the Son of Arugal had dropped.


    Unforgettable Maple looked back at his teammates. They were too far away and Lu Li probably wasn¡¯t going to let him go back for support. He thought about all the skills and effects he could use and sadly resolved to sitting and eating bread to survive.


    But was Lu Li going to give him the opportunity to have any bread?


    No, of course not. Unforgettable Maple looked at Lu Li angrily to see him take out a strong Dark Gold crossbow.


    It was difficult for Thieves and Warriors to get high damage on crossbows, but Lu Li didn¡¯t need damage. He just needed to shoot Unforgettable Maple occasionally to stop him from eating bread.


    He had decided on dragging out Unforgettable Maple¡¯s death.


    Unforgettable Maple didn¡¯t hesitate either; he quickly gave himself a shield and started retreating.


    Lu Li continued to shoot at his back, slowly chipping away at his HP and triggering the crossbow¡¯s special effect.


    The fighting at the bridge was quite intense. Although the four Majin Temple players weren¡¯t as strong as Moonlight and the others, they defended the bridge fiercely and stayed in formation. They had been playing very well.


    Both sides had a healer and were able to tank high amounts of damage. They were on almost equal footing.


    "You won¡¯t be able to reach your team; you still have 70 yards. You might as well stay with me," Lu Li teased.


    "You¡¯re really annoying," Unforgettable Maple said. He was trying to dodge Lu Li¡¯s shots while also healing himself as he ran towards his team. However, he didn¡¯t want to directly ask for his healer¡¯s support, otherwise, the line they were holding might collapse.


    "Hey, you were so arrogant before. I should get a chance too," Lu Li said, trying to infuriate him with this psychological attack.


    "You knew from the very beginning," Unforgettable Maple coldly grunted.


    "Oh, were you thinking about these dark circles? I put them on for fun." Lu Li almost burst into laughter.


    The Majin Temple players soon found out about their situation. Their Boss was being chased around by the monster, Lu Li, even though it was not too long ago that he seemed to have the upper hand.


    With Lu Li sticking behind him and berating him, Unforgettable Maple unfortunately never returned to the rest of his teammates.


    After losing a player, Lu Li collapsed onto the rest of Majin Temple at the bridge. Although he didn¡¯t survive until the end, he had already won a significant advantage for his team which allowed Moonlight to defeat their opponents and win the match.


    Peerless City, Gale Legion, Seventh Heaven and Ruling Sword had made it into the semi-finals.

 546 The Goddess’ Insults

    A day after the quarter finals began, Lu Li was made clearly aware of his sister¡¯s condition. It was a doctor who gave him peace of mind and forced him to rest after logging off.


    It was the old hospital director that told the Lu siblings to get out of the isolation ward.


    According to the director, Lu Xin¡¯s recovery had gone so smoothly that there was no need for her to say in the suffocating isolation ward. She could now go into general care.


    However, Lu Li rejected the director¡¯s suggestion and insisted that his sister only leave when she had fully recovered.


    The director of the hospital was actually also thinking about Lu Li; one day in the isolation ward cost tens of thousands of hospital fees. It wasn¡¯t affordable for the average person. Moreover, the Lu siblings didn¡¯t seem to come from a rich family.


    The day after the match with Majin Temple, Water Fairy finally completed her quest.


    Lu Li received the message about it while training. To help him level faster, Ruling Sword had sent eight of their best Mages and divided them into teams so that Lu Li could continually gain EXP.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t lazy ¨C almost all professional players received such treatment.


    He didn¡¯t waste that time either, using it to practice his skill technique and familiarizing himself with the other professions. There were some PVP maniacs in the guild who weren¡¯t as good as the professional players, but they were more-skilled than ordinary players. As such, they would come and train with Lu Li.


    This meant that there were at least a dozen players around him.


    Some might feel like the players who had been chosen for these tasks would be upset. However, in reality, the opposite was true; these positions were snapped up by the guildmembers.


    The eight Mages who were responsible for levelling Lu Li also received some EXP and were reimbursed by the guild for all their expenses, such as potions.


    As for those who loved PVP, they didn¡¯t receive any EXP, but it was a prime learning opportunity.


    For the professional player, this was the kind of treatment that most people dreamed of.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t incompetent in his knowledge of any of the professions, but there were some unique insights that he could still learn. Sometimes, an inadvertent phrase made by a player could help him improve by leaps and bounds.


    "Thank you so much," Water Fairy said gratefully and excitedly.


    "Looks like you¡¯ve finished your quest." If there was anything that could make this tycoon so grateful, it would be the Assassin¡¯s League quest.


    "Yeah, thanks to your Bloodstained Badge. Jaina looks pretty, but she¡¯s too cold. I just couldn¡¯t talk to her without Medivh¡¯s letter of introduction. She must be jealous that I look better than her¡­" Water Fairy said angrily.


    Lu Li began to sweat a little. Why did he always run into this topic? When two females came face to face, did they first check to see who was more attractive?


    "Theramore simply doesn¡¯t let any strangers in. You needed to start from a quest given by the guards," Water Fairy continued to rant in frustation.


    Who could imagine a goddess like Water Fairy would go on an insulting spree like this? She was attacking everything from the muddy swamp, to the Theramore soldiers and even Jaina¡¯s arrogance¡­


    "This is a normal thing; it¡¯s a game after all. If you don¡¯t reach a certain level of prestige, the NPCs won¡¯t care about you," Lu Li weakly consoled.


    "You¡¯re actually speaking in their defense?" Water Fairy got even madder.


    This Lu Li guy really didn¡¯t know how to talk to girls; he was definitely going to live his life alone.


    "Keke, how did you solve it then?" Lu Li really wanted to change the subject. While he was speaking, he was also crazily attacking another Thief from the guild.


    Ever since he saw what Floral Paralysis had done, Lu Li had begun to take blocking much more seriously.


    This skill couldn¡¯t be upgraded with Skill Points; it had to be controlled manually in Manual Mode. If he wanted to use it more efficiently, he needed to practice it. He needed to make it part of his sub-conscious.


    Once his blocking ability was improved, he could be almost invincible when in close combat.


    In close combat, a Thief could fight another Thief, a Warrior or a Paladin. A successful block would greatly reduce the damage taken and also have a chance of preventing a crowd-control effect from activating.


    "It was thanks to your Bloodstained Badge. I took it to the place you told me and ran into an old man¡­" Water Fairy started to thank Lu Li again¡­


    Old man¡­


    Lu Li sighed and thought about how Medivh really was just an old man if you ignored his vast magical ability.


    "I¡¯m sorry," Water Fairy spoke weakly as she suddenly remembered something.


    "What happened? Why are you apologizing?" Lu Li was immediately on alert. He didn¡¯t expect for the female tycoon to act like this.


    "Your badge has been taken away, but I¡¯ll definitely repay you with something better," Water Fairy said, patting her chest as a show of guarantee.


    "Uh¡­" It would be a lie to say that the loss of the badge wasn¡¯t distressing. It wasn¡¯t just a badge; it was a token given by Medivh. He didn¡¯t think that the old man would be so stingy as to take the badge as part of the transaction for a letter of introduction.


    Aegwynn¡¯s book of Enchanting was a relic that belonged to his mother.


    "Who is Medivh? Jaina attached such a great importance to him that when she received my letter; she came out to talk to be personally. She even said I had to fight the crocodile king and sent a regiment to help¡­" Water Fairy didn¡¯t quite understand Lu Li¡¯s loss and was immersed in trying to understand Jaina.


    "Medivh is a prophet, comparable to that of Tyrande and Malfurion. He is Jaina¡¯s guide."


    What¡¯s happened had happened, so Lu Li could only just try and stay calm.


    Of course, he was still a little annoyed.


    This loss would sooner or later be recovered from the female tycoon. As for Medivh, he was a 100-year man (or God) but he had turned out to be quite difficult to predict.


    "So that old man was really strong," Water Fairy was a little surprised.


    "Did you get anything good from killing Ripscale?" Lu Li asked curiously. The Boss was supposed to be level 45, so even if it was 10 levels lower, it would still drop decent items.


    "Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t get the last hit EXP," Water Fairy said pitifully.


    "I asked if it dropped anything good." Lu Li was furious with her casual tone. He wanted to know what it had dropped; her EXP gain had nothing to do with him.

 547 Changing Equipment Again

    "Why do you always ask whether I got any good items? They¡¯re mine; all the items are mine. I fought very hard, so don¡¯t even try to take them¡­" Water Fairy was also on alert.


    "Lend them to me, just like last time," Lu Li asked weakly.


    He had been able to defeat Glory Capital and win the Shadow Cup because Water Fairy had lent him several pieces of equipment. As a result, he was able to defeat Sorrowless and Blood Dagger effortlessly.


    "I¡¯m a girl; I can¡¯t just keep lending my equipment for you to wear¡­" Water Fairy was embarrassed. Last time, it was an impulse decision that she had regretted for a long time afterwards.


    "Oh, do you know how valuable that badge is?" Lu Li asked sorrowfully and gave her a half truth, "Medivh promised me that I could ask him for a favor with that badge. I didn¡¯t think it would be used up on you."


    Water Fairy was immediately moved after hearing that.


    At first, she thought that it was just some magical badge. However, after listening to Lu Li talk about Medivh, who was a man on par with Tyrande, she finally knew how much she owed him.


    "In that case, we can even change two pieces if you want, but you can¡¯t let anyone know," Water Fairy offered, then thought for a bit and continued, "If someone discovers it, you must never admit it. Just say that our equipment looks similar¡­"


    "Don¡¯t worry about it," Lu Li responded calmly and gave her a location.


    The Feralas Teleportation Channel soon ushered in Water Fairy, who was riding the white kodo.


    This place was only suitable for players who were higher than level 35. The map was also quite small, so after the Ruling Sword players arrived, other players rarely ventured here. Moreover, this part of the map had no one else at all.


    Lu Li was here waiting for Water Fairy.


    "Will someone suddenly appear? How about we find a place with no one else," Water Fairy suggested as she cautiously looked around.


    "¡­" Lu Li was speechless. What was this girl thinking? She was a tycoon and he had come from the Common District. Why would anyone care about what was happening to them?


    "Go, go to the tavern," Water Fairy said as she headed straight into the tavern.


    The two of them sat in the corner of the tavern and secretly started negotiating what equipment to trade.


    In fact, most players wouldn¡¯t reveal to anyone else what kind of equipment they had. This was especially so for players like Lu Li and Water Fairy; secrecy was instrument to their success.


    Water Fairy also asked to see Lu Li¡¯s equipment and Lu Li didn¡¯t think much about it.


    The two of them analyzed the equipment that the other was wearing. Lu Li then realized that she truly was a tycoon ¨C most of the equipment she had was Gold!


    Even if Lu Li added up his Dark Gold and Gold items, he still wouldn¡¯t have as many as she did.


    However, Water Fairy¡¯s shock wasn¡¯t much less than his. "Goodness, you have two upgradeable equips. Where did you get them? You even have three Dark Gold items while I only have one. Why do you even want to trade equipment with me? Peerless City and I are roughly the same in strength; you¡¯re just being a bully now," she exclaimed.


    "I want the cloak and ring." Lu Li completely ignored her.


    "You want the ring too¡­" Water Fairy was a little reluctant. Growing up, she had received all kinds of gifts, but never a ring. To most people, a ring had a special significance.


    "It¡¯s not as though you¡¯re not getting it back," Lu Li said as he took off the Legionare¡¯s Band from his own hand and threw it over.


    Water Fairy¡¯s Dark Gold ring had several silencing and disarming effects, in addition to the 25% Vampirism. Its effect was quite strong.


    However, the cloak was even better; it was an upgradeable gold equip.


    This wasn¡¯t actually that unusual, considering Water Fairy¡¯s family and wealth. It didn¡¯t seem that unacceptable that she would have at least one piece of upgradeable equipment.


    "The ring was dropped by the crocodile. You can use it, but remember to return it," Water Fairy said as she reluctantly handed it over.


    Lu Li immediately equipped it without a second thought. This was a game and there were only a few specific equips in Dawn that were restricted to men or women. Otherwise, if it wasn¡¯t equipment for a profession, anyone could wear it. There was also no need to consider whether it would fit.


    Zom¡¯s Rain-Stained Cloak (Gold): Armor 36, Agility +20, Constitution +14, Stealth Effect +20%. Special Effect 1: Shadowstep Skill +1. Special Effect 2: Summon Fog, Instant Cast. Summon fog in a 4-yard radius. Attack of caster within fog increased by 20% and armor of target within fog reduced by 20% for 10 seconds. 120 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: level 35. Durability 72/72.


    There were two lines of small text on the equipment. The first line read: the sky is stained with tears, while the second line read: Upgradeable (1/3) kill a number of monsters 0/80,000 (Monsters must be no less than the holder¡¯s level)


    The sky is stained with tears. It sounded sad, but its properties were indeed quite strong.


    The most impressive part of the equipment to Lu Li was the Shadowstep Skill +1. This was a heaven-defying property. There weren¡¯t players who knew Shadowstep right now, but it was definitely an important skill for a Thief¡¯s mobility.


    As for the 20% Stealth effect increase, that was truly worthy of its Gold equipment classification.


    The second effect could be summed up as buffing yourself for 20% and debuffing your opponent for 20%. The increase and decrease created a huge gap, but this effect hinged greatly on its timing. Most players who had this skill would not be able to use it well.


    As for the other equipment on Water Fairy, there were a few that were better than what Lu Li had.


    However, Lu Li knew he couldn¡¯t go too far. On one hand, Water Fairy still needed equipment to level, but on the other hand, Drizzle Court and Peerless City had a good relationship and she was already taking a risk by doing this.


    Despite Peerless City¡¯s interests, Water Fairy had decided to lend her equipment to Lu Li.


    "Are all the Assassin League quests this difficult?" Water Fairy was a little worried and couldn¡¯t help but ask Lu Li before she left.


    "Other tasks will also have some level of difficulty, but nothing to this level," Lu Li answered as he shook his head.


    "How did I offend the pretty Southshore host?" Water Fairy asked.


    Lu Li chose to ignore the adjective ¡®pretty¡¯ and just explained, "Anything that she knows, the Assassin¡¯s League knows. She saw us together and must have thought I divulged information I shouldn¡¯t have. They probably intentionally wanted us to not be able to complete our quests."


    "Ah, "Water Fairy frowned, "Why did I get strung up with you on this? How do we solve this problem?"


    "If the next quest isn¡¯t too hard, then it¡¯s probably fine." The game was designed for players after all, so it couldn¡¯t be too unreasonable. Lu Li felt like they had already passed the test.


    "You have to help me next time too." Water Fairy decided to continue to rely on Lu Li.


    Lu Li looked at the ring on his hand and sighed. He didn¡¯t really have a choice because he didn¡¯t want to go against her. As such, he just accepted it and told her to find him if she needed his help.

 548 Weak Players

    In the first match of the quarter finals, Ruling Sword was up against Seventh Heaven.


    Lu Li quietly entered the arena like Water fairy had asked him to. In fact, not many players were concerned with the change in Lu Li¡¯s cloak.


    As for the ring, that was even less obvious.


    Lucky Southern Persian, Empty, Hornet¡¯s Nest and Vast Silence were the four experienced professional players, alongside a new player, Rainy Season. This was Seventh Heaven¡¯s lineup.


    It was simply unrealistic for a team of newbies to win in the quarter finals.


    All four clubs from Peerless City, Gale Legion, Seventh Heaven and Ruling Sword had sent their strongest players.


    In the Magic Cup, the championship prize was not even 1 million dollars. As for the ticket revenue, only the winning team received that money; the game company and organizers took a large cut.


    There was also the popularity effect, where advertisers could contact players about endorsements.


    This couldn¡¯t be measured quantitatively, and most players didn¡¯t think you could gain much popularity in any individual match, unless you did something extraordinary like killing Lu Li or taking out Unforgettable Maple.


    The map was nothing special; it was a circular arena with four symmetrically placed columns.


    "Lu Li, fight me alone," Empty shouted.


    He was just a Shaman, so Lu Li didn¡¯t really understand why he wanted to single him out. However, he soon understood.


    "No, you can¡¯t fight him alone," Lucky Southern Persian also shouted.


    "Why is this happening?"


    The match had begun, but no one was advancing. Instead, they were just standing there and arguing. The audience was speechless, but they were familiar with Seventh Heaven¡¯s style.


    "Don¡¯t you know how strong he is? Players that have faced him are still afraid of him," Lucky Southern Persian said as he hid behind a pillar.


    "Who are they? I didn¡¯t know Lu Li was that good. Will I be in danger?" Hornet¡¯s Nest asked as he put on a surprised look.


    "I think their name was Floral Paralysis," Lucky Southern Persian said with a smirk.


    "Heavens, even Paralysis? I¡¯m so scared now." Empty put on a weeping voice and pretended to tremble with Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    After hearing all this chatter, Lu Li almost couldn¡¯t hold himself back from rushing over and killing these three players.


    "The crazy girl must feel pretty bad; he¡¯s lost to Lu Li twice now. I don¡¯t know why Lu Li keeps bullying him."


    This was Vast Silence speaking. She looked like a cute little girl, but it was unfortunate that she associated with Seventh Heaven because she had now been corrupted by them. She was even a very popular streamer.


    "It must be love!" Empty, Hornet¡¯s Nest and Lucky Southern Persian unanimously answered.


    The newcomer, Rainy Season, probably hadn¡¯t been with them for long and had not yet been corrupted. He was just standing around, smirking at the whole situation.


    "Dammit, Southern, you¡¯re definitely dead," Lu Li angrily shouted.


    Of course, this anger was also just an illusion. Lu Li then turned his head and began to calmly instruct his team.


    "Area of effect crowd-control is the most important. Monkey, you go first. Moonlight, the moment something happens, you intercept it and cast Whirlwind. I want Empty to die first."


    "What if they just hide behind the pillars and never come out?" Monkey was rash, but not a fool.


    "They¡¯re just as worried of us doing the same thing. What do you think they¡¯re doing right now?" Lu Li asked as he looked at Lucky Southern Persian carefully.


    The two sides held back for a while before Seventh Heaven decided to take the first shot.


    If neither side attacked, the System would determine the victor by percentage-HP remaining. Lu Li¡¯s team had Fat Monkey and Moonlight, alongside himself to deal a high amount of burst in the last moment.


    A battle quickly broke out between both sides in the arena.


    The audience had seen several matches of the Magic Cup with Lu Li in it. This time, he was more decisive than ever; there was almost no retreating as they casted all their skills.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal was very clear ¨C it was to kill the opposing Shaman Healer, Empty.


    Empty was the strongest professional Shaman in Dawn. His Bloodlust was stronger than Sakura Memories¡¯ and he could even heal. Although a Shaman¡¯s healing skills weren¡¯t as powerful as a Priest¡¯s or a Druid¡¯s, they had the strongest area-of-effect healing.


    Moreover, he also had all kinds of totems that could make a significant difference in fights.


    Sakura Memories was also being targeted by Lucky Southern Persian. He used Polymorph to turn her into a lamb for the first time.


    March Rain wanted to save her, but she was sent away by the Fear that Hornet¡¯s Nest used on her.


    However, Fat Monkey¡¯s instincts enabled him to land a Frost Nova on three players, which set up Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind to hit all three of them.


    The goal target the three strongest players of Ruling Sword was Empty.


    Empty soon fell, but so did Sakura Memories. Fat Monkey was now on low HP and this was only the result of the first fight.


    Lu Li¡¯s wide range of crowd control and escapes made the Seventh Heaven players curse. Lucky Southern Persian quickly regretted not making Lu Li their second target. Fat Monkey managed to get away with a slither of health which meant that March Rain could heal him.


    March Rain had Gold grade healing gloves with a special effect that instantly casted the next Priest skill used.


    Her powerful heals could restore more than 400 HP and when complemented with Fat Monkey¡¯s damage reduction skills, saved his life.


    In fact, it was a mistake for Lucky Southern Persian to have made Sakura Memories their first target. Although both of them had lost a Shaman, Sakura Memories was a melee fighter while Empty had healing that affected the entire team.


    The reason why Lu Li had brought the lower-levelled Sakura Memories instead of Mu Qiu was to give his opponents a difficult choice.


    If they didn¡¯t attack her, she would use Bloodlust. Under its effects, Lu Li, Moonlight and Fat Monkey could kill anyone together in seconds.


    On the other hand, if they did target her, Lu Li would be even happier with that outcome.


    To put it simply, Sakura Memories was a weak player, but you couldn¡¯t ignore her. However, once you killed her, you would realize that you had done more harm than good.


    "Continue fighting. Kill Fat Monkey and stop them from getting away!" Lucky Southern Persian shouted. With their main healer dead, the result of both sides resting was clear.


    Lucky Southern Persian, Fat Monkey and Vast Silence all had incredibly high damage output. Fat Monkey¡¯s recently restored HP was quickly dropped back down to low again.


    "Southern, what¡¯s wrong? I treated you like an idol, but you¡¯ve been too passionate. I don¡¯t really swing that way," Fat Monkey said as he used the badge to remove the crowd-control before turning to escape.

 549 Tiring Out the Opponen

    The competition ground was only so big; it was hard to run away. As soon as Fat Monkey appeared with his Flash, he was immediately frozen by Lucky Southern Persian¡¯s pet. Ice Mages had the upper hand in terms of control when it came to a battle between Fire and Ice Mages.


    Lu Li pounced onto Hornet¡¯s Nest and instructed Fat Monkey to keep running.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest wasn¡¯t afraid of Lu Li at all; his magic damage dealt rows and rows of damage on Lu Li. Warlocks relied on damage-over-time, and these skills posed a high threat to Warriors and Thieves.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with the damage that he had taken; he just kept on attacking.


    As long as he could distract Hornet¡¯s Nest, he could save Fat Monkey.


    On the other hand, his own safety was a concern. While Hornet¡¯s Nest attacked Lu Li, his Succubus also followed. Vast Silence and her pet also focused on Lu Li; they planned to kill him together.


    Suddenly, there was a flash of light and two Lu Li¡¯s appeared.


    The special effect of his dagger had been triggered! Not only did this shadow deal 30% damage, but it was also capable of mimicking his actions. It would be hard to tell which one was the real Lu Li without testing the waters.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest raised his staff and casted Shadow Bolt Volley.


    "Attack the one that I¡¯m attacking."


    The armor of the duplicate was different to the armor of the actual Lu Li. Master gamers could tell the difference between the two by looking at the damage they dealt to both targets.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest had half his health left, while Lu Li had 30% health remaining.


    Water Fairy¡¯s cape¡¯s Silence effect was perfect for dealing with Warlocks ¨C Hornet¡¯s Nest suddenly lost his ability to cast spells.


    However, since Vast Silence and her pet were still focusing Lu Li, his health continued to drop.


    The silence lasted for three seconds, and in this time, Hornet¡¯s Nest was quite helpless. He had lost a portion of his health from Lu Li¡¯s damage, but he also had faith that Lu Li would die before he did.


    March Rain went over to help Fat Monkey; the battle had been dragged quite far apart.


    Lu Li smiled and placed a shield on himself as he kept stabbing at Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest and Vast Silence didn¡¯t take long to pop the shield. The shield was a special effect from a Silver grade equip, so it only absorbed 300 damage.


    Disarm ¨C a special effect from the ring. If Water Fairy was watching this match, she would most likely ask for a reward from Lu Li.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest suddenly found that his staff had disappeared. This wasn¡¯t as simple as reducing his damage, as a lot of the skills casted by Warlocks required a weapon of some form. He could only wait while the two-second duration of this effect expired.


    Vast Silence tried his best during this time and managed to drop Lu Li¡¯s health to an extremely low point.


    To his excitement, the staff returned to Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s hands. If they killed Lu Li now, they would have a great chance of winning.


    However, another problem occurred at the exact same moment.


    A shroud of black mist appeared before his eyes and he lost his vision. It took some time for him to notice Lu Li, who was glowing red from the Berserk effect.


    This was the special effect from Zom¡¯s Rain-Stained Cloak ¡ªSummon Fog, Instant Cast. Summon a fog in a 4-yard radius. Attack of caster within fog increased by 20% and armor of target within reduced by 20% for 10 seconds. 120 minute cooldown.


    This was yet another equip from Water Fairy.


    Lu Li was still fighting with the two of them because he wanted to bait and kill Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    As soon as he summoned the fog, he applied a Pollution effect to Hornet¡¯s Nest.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s armor dropped even lower and he became a fragile target.


    However, he still had thirty percent of his health left, while Lu Li only had 200 HP. With Vast Silence chasing behind him, it would be impossible to complete his task before he died.


    Lu Li silently activated the special effect from Pamela¡¯s Gift.


    Pamela¡¯s Tea ¨C activation required, instantly recover 20% of health and regenerate 2% of health each second for the next five seconds. Cannot be interrupted, cannot be used on other targets. Cooldown 30 minutes.


    The instant 20% health regeneration brought Lu Li back in the game.


    Almost in an instant, he appeared behind Hornet¡¯s Nest with the special effect from his shoes. This was a similar effect to the one on his Shadow Cloak.


    This effect also allowed him to go into Stealth. He stunned Hornet¡¯s Nest with a Cheap Shot and began dealing insane damage.


    The fog lowered Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s armor by 20%, while Pollution lowered his armor and movement speed by 25%.


    A single Ambush removed around 300 HP from Hornet¡¯s Nest¡¯s health bar.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest wasn¡¯t a newbie ¨C his equips had been specifically prepared for him by his guild. What he was using was unknown, but Lu Li¡¯s Backstab after the Ambush only dealt around a hundred points of damage.


    He also woke up from his stun.


    Kidney Strike!


    Once again, Hornet¡¯s Nest woke up from this stun effect. It seemed like he had more than one way to remove crowd-control.


    Vast Silence knew that the situation was urgent, so he used his control skills on Lu Li as well, but most of them were dispelled. He had more than one way to free himself from control effects.


    Son of Arugal¡¯s Gift: Cast. Curse a target, causing it to lose 100 HP every 5 seconds for 300 seconds. 30 minute cooldown.


    As soon as Lu Li casted this effect onto Hornet¡¯s Nest, he had to run for his life.


    After all, there were two players chasing him with two pets. He had used up almost all of his damage reduction and escape skills, so if he still couldn¡¯t kill Hornet¡¯s Nest, then there was nothing more he could do. Fat Monkey was already safe anyway.


    Hornet¡¯s Nest was helpless. He realized that he couldn''t stop Lu Li, who had transformed into a panther.


    Stampeding Roar was also an escape skill, and his control effect was dispelled as soon as he used it. Lu Li ran towards March Rain, seeking the protection of his healer.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t die, but neither did Hornet¡¯s Nest. Substitutes from both parties had entered the match.


    Lu Li received some healing from March Rain as his team surrounded them, forming a defensive wall.


    Ruling Sword had lost Sakura Memories, but Lu Li, Moonlight, Fat Monkey, March Rain and Mu Qiu still remained. They had a very solid and stable combination with three damage dealers, one healer and a Paladin class that was a jack of all trades.


    In comparison, Seventh Heaven had lost their main healer and was now stuck with a combination of four damage dealers and a support healer.


    Although their team combination didn¡¯t affect the damage they dealt, they lacked sustainability. Once Lu Li and the others made it through their strongest barrage of attacks, even the newbies would be able to guess the end result.


    To make the situation even worse, Lu Li decided to kite. He used the abilities of the Thief class to his advantage and constantly harassed the opposing team.


    They waited until most of their special effects and skills were off cooldown.


    After another round of battle, Fat Monkey was killed first. The four damage dealing classes focused him down with all sort of control effects. Even March Rain couldn¡¯t save him from that one.


    However, the players from Seventh Heaven were in bad shape too. Their Paladin, Monsoon, could only do so much for them.


    Lu Li and his team dragged out the fight with four against five until Seventh Heaven lost the match.


    The result was an unfortunate defeat for Seventh Heaven. In the next round, Ruling Sword was up against Peerless City and Gale Legion.

 550 Giant Wolf

    Peerless City still had one more round with Gale Legion.


    There was even more attention for their match than the match between Ruling Sword and Seventh Heaven. Since they were playing under point system, the champion would be decided between Peerless City and Gale Legion.


    Both matches were played at the same time, so Lu Li couldn¡¯t spectate.


    However, Square Root 3 sent others to spectate their match.


    Around a similar time in Lu Li¡¯s previous life, the champion was Peerless City.


    Peerless City had defeated Gale Legion by the skin of their teeth ¨C only one player was left standing.


    Although the importance of the next matches wasn¡¯t as great as the current one, the system still sold out the tickets in no time.


    If Ruling Sword won against Gale Legion, Ruling Sword would be placed second and they would also receive a chance to challenge Peerless City.


    Of course, the result of this match wouldn¡¯t affect Peerless City from being crowned the victors.


    Gaze, Cloudy Leaf, Wendelian and Windy ¨C Gale Legion played a very classic combination of Warrior, Mage, Priest, Paladin and Hunter.


    Windy was one of their new members, and was a very strong Paladin player who played a different style to Mu Qiu. He barely had any healing skills, but was able to deal insane damage.


    The other new player was a half-blood. Unfortunately, he chose to play the Troll race so no one could tell what he looked like. He was well-known for his dirty playstyle, and his positioning skills were textbook-level amongst the professional players.


    As soon as the match began, Gaze brought his team and charged over.


    An arena map layout really didn¡¯t require much in the way of strategy and planning. The only thing that everyone could do was charge into the middle and fight each other.


    "You all remember, right?" Lu Li¡¯s face was serious.


    In a map like this, he didn¡¯t have any advantages over a Hunter or Paladin. There weren¡¯t many chances for him to control anyone.


    Fat Monkey didn¡¯t rush out this time. The other team had four damage dealers, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to even stand the first wave. Once he died, Ruling Sword would be placed in a difficult situation.


    The target for Ruling Sword was very obvious ¨C the healer.


    Gale Legion also selected the healer as their target.


    March Rain was quickly sent out of the map first. She didn¡¯t have any immune skills, so it didn¡¯t matter how many damage reduction skills she used.


    Lu Li and the others weren¡¯t fooling around either. With the Bloodlust buff from Sakura Memories, they also killed Wendelian.


    "Cloudy Leaf." Lu Li seized the chance of both teams missing their healers and used Son of Arugal¡¯s Gift on the opposing Mage. The Mage dropped a hundred points of health every five seconds, which wasn¡¯t a lot, but was still troublesome.


    As soon as Lu Li called out Cloudy Leaf, everyone else from Ruling Sword switched their target to him.


    Despite being equipped with a badge, Cloudy Leaf still couldn¡¯t survive. Lu Li didn¡¯t hesitate to use his control skills, and their ten-second Bloodlust effect was also still useful. They killed Cloudy Leaf almost in an instant.


    The substitutes then entered the match.


    If they could protect Fat Monkey until Mu Qiu arrived, it would be a guaranteed win for Ruling Sword.


    Unfortunately, Fat Monkey didn¡¯t make it.


    Both substitutes from both teams were support healer classes. The opposing team had a Shaman, while Mu Qiu was a Paladin. It was four against four.


    Both sides lost their main healer and a Mage.


    Moonlight and Gaze were longtime friends, and had already begun their battle with each other. Sakura Memories fought alongside Mu Qiu, facing off against Windy and the Shaman from Gale Legion.


    Lu Li chose to hunt down the opposing Hunter.


    The Hunter¡¯s playstyle was simply too dirty. It would be problematic to leave him hanging around.


    Flare was a very useful skill for Hunters when they fought against Thieves. However, with Lu Li¡¯s level of skill, this also required a mastery of technique. Flare only allowed the Hunter to see Thieves in Stealth, but it couldn¡¯t cancel the Stealth. Even if you saw the Thief, you would still have to hit them to bring them out of Stealth mode.


    Lu Li¡¯s special effect from his shoes gave him the upper hand.


    Both parties were battling intensely; it wasn¡¯t easy for Lu Li to try and kill his strange opponent within a short span of time.


    Moonlight and Gaze were very familiar with each other. The gap between their gear and level also wasn¡¯t too large, so they would most likely take even longer than Lu Li.


    The more troublesome parts of the match were the 2v2 fights on the other side of the map.


    The Shaman from Gale Legion was called Raging City. He focused on his element tree and placed the other points on healing. He and Windy were a strong, two-man combination.


    Ruling Sword had Sakura Memories paired up with Mu Qiu, but Sakura Memories was slightly weaker since she didn¡¯t have Bloodlust anymore.


    They were still in the game thanks to Archeus, the Gold-grade sword in Mu Qiu¡¯s hand. This was a weapon with extremely high damage.


    Of course, it was only a matter of time before Mu Qiu and Sakura Memories lost.


    With a Gale Step, Lu Li blocked off the Freezing Trap under his feet and caught up to his opponent.


    The audience, analyst and competitors all made a special discovery.


    Lu Li disappeared and was replaced by a giant wolf.


    The Book of Ur (Gold): All attributes +15, Critical Strike +10%. Special Effect 1: Summon a giant


    Wolf that lasts for five minutes. Cooldown 24 hours. Special Effect 2: Worgen Transformation, instant


    Cast. Transform into a Worgen, lasts for ten seconds. Cooldown 24 hours. Level Requirement 35,


    Durability 120/120.


    Lu Li finally used this skill.


    He had been practicing this while no one was around to familiarize himself with the transformation.


    The giant wolf form doubled his attack and came with three skills.


    One of the skills was Slam, which dealt damage. It also knocked down and stunned the target for seven seconds. The second skill was Shred. The damage wasn¡¯t as high as the first skill, but it applied a bleed effect.


    Fierce Attack, the last skill, was like an ultimate skill. Both claws were waved together and six attacks were dealt to the target in rapid succession.


    Lu Li closed the distance between his target, but as soon as the Hunter tried to retreat, he suddenly saw Lu Li transform into a giant wolf. Instinctively, he knew that trouble was coming, but he was slammed onto the ground before he had the chance to react.


    He could only watch as the giant wolf casted Shred on him.


    The bleed effect damage was much higher than the damage from Son of Arugal¡¯s Gift, and the tick-rate was much faster too.


    What was worse was Lu Li¡¯s ultimate ¨C as his claws waved, blood spilled everywhere. Perhaps some of the audience members would have nightmares of this scene at night.

 551 Target Selection

    Instant death!


    At least, to the others, the Hunter was instantly killed with half of his health remaining.


    The gruesome wolf raised his body, roared loudly and charged right at Gaze.


    Even though Gaze was a big man, he was still shocked by this scene. Subconsciously, he turned and ran, but Moonlight gave him an axe and stunned him on the spot.


    The giant wolf had an incredibly fast movement speed ¨C as soon as Gaze used his badge to dispel his controlled state, it had already pounced on him.


    He was attacked as he ran.


    Within a short three seconds, he had lost around 1100 points of health, which was also helped by Moonlight. Gaze realized that they were most likely going to lose this match.


    Their Shaman, Raging City, wasn¡¯t as skilled as the other professional players, but was good enough to play in the match.


    Raging City saved Gaze¡¯s life. After Lu Li¡¯s transformation ended, he couldn¡¯t kill Gaze with Moonlight since the healer was protecting him.


    However, the numbers in the match had changed once again.


    Gale Legion had Gaze, Raging City and Windy, while Lu Li, Mu Qiu, Moonlight and Sakura Memories remained on Ruling Sword¡¯s side. The balance had already been tilted.


    Gaze and Windy exchanged glances and pounced at Sakura Memories together.


    This Shaman had to die ¨C her totems provided decent sustainability for her team and her Bloodlust was too much impact.


    The ten seconds of Bloodlust wasn¡¯t long, but the cooldown wasn¡¯t long either ¡ª it was only eight minutes.


    If a second Bloodlust was to be used after eight minutes, Gale Legion would have nothing left to save themselves. Their Shaman didn¡¯t have a Bloodlust skill. There were no more than three Shaman players in the game who had the Bloodlust skill.


    Sakura Memories wasn¡¯t the strongest player in Ruling Sword. In fact, many thought that she held the team back.


    However, if people paid enough attention, they would notice that her existence had caused a headache for two teams already ¨C Seventh Heaven and Gale Legion. Both of these teams saw her as a major threat in the Magic Cup.


    "We¡¯ll aim the Shaman too." Lu Li decided not to worry about Sakura Memories; their target was the opposing healer.


    As long as they focused on the healer, they wouldn¡¯t lose.


    Sakura Memories could also transform. She had already been warned by Lu Li, so when Gaze and Windy went to chase her down, she morphed into a Spirit Wolf.


    This was a skill that had a casting time, so it was best if she used it earlier.


    The Spirit Wolf transformation was simple. It came with a 30% movement speed buff and had no time restrictions. As long as Sakura Memories focused on escaping, she could constantly run with a 30% movement speed buff on her.


    Gaze and Windy also had their own movement speed buff effects and skills. However, if the time ran out and they had failed to control Sakura Memories, they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to her.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t worried about Sakura Memories.


    Even if Sakura Memories died, things would still be okay. They had a numbers advantage and they weren¡¯t afraid to exchange players.


    After a few moments of intense battle, Lu Li, Moonlight and Mu Qiu killed the Shaman together.


    This marked the defeat of Gale Legion.


    Ruling Sword had proven their strength once again and many people had high expectations for their match tomorrow against Peerless City.


    The match wasn¡¯t the final, but there was even more talk about than the finals.


    The hosting parties also hired a great amount of people to talk up the event. Originally, the Magic Cup wasn¡¯t as big as the Shadow Cup, but it still made it into the header on the gaming board.


    It was in the second half of November that the last day of the Magic Cup arrived.


    Lu Li¡¯s sister was still in the ward. He had visited her already and spent some time with her before he went back to the competition.


    Peerless City vs. Ruling Sword.


    Both guilds were very new to the gaming scene. Peerless City had only been around for about three years, while Ruling Sword had been established less than a month ago.


    Who was the best newbie?!


    Peerless City had a shocking team of Deadly Golden Underwear, Professional Healer, Green Flag Wine, Chanelle and Vegetarian Mosquito. This was a combination of Warrior, Priest, Paladin, Warlock and Hunter, and all five of them were professional level players.


    Immortal Priest was a girl who had started her career in Peacetime Dynasty.


    Although she had already been quite famous a few years ago, her technique wasn¡¯t as great as Hornet¡¯s Nest, the current king of Warlocks.


    As for Vegetarian Mosquito, he had joined Peerless City after Shadow Cup. He originally served under the Gangnam Royals, but didn¡¯t manage to land a main position with them during the Shadow Cup. He also didn¡¯t like the rules within the guild and decided to join Peerless City. His price was around $1.8 million, which was similar to Mu Qiu.


    "Don¡¯t worry about killing Professional Healer; he¡¯s too hard to kill," Lu Li said, turning down everyone¡¯s suggestions.


    "Then who do we kill first?" Fat Monkey was probably inspired by recent events; he had toned down a lot and didn¡¯t stand his ground too firmly anymore.


    "Chanelle ¨C we¡¯ll kill her first. We¡¯ll kill Deadly Golden Underwear after her, but if he uses berserk skills, we¡¯ll kill him first," Lu Li had already thought about his tactics for Peerless City.


    Professional Healer was well known amongst Priests for the amount of health he had, which made him the hardest Priest to kill. Vegetarian Mosquito was a survival Hunter, so it wasn¡¯t worth it to kill him first. Green Flag Wine had made a name for himself as the Tire Killer, so focusing him would be suicide.


    Chanelle was a Warlock, and was equivalent to a Mage in that they were both strong, magic-damage-dealing classes. Her existence was a threat to everyone.


    "Golden Underwear? We¡¯re killing a Warrior?" Sakura Memories was surprised.


    "Deadly Golden Underwear is a little different to your average Warrior. He¡¯s Berserker solely focused on damage." It was Moonlight, the professional Warrior player, who made the explanations this round. "Even though I also care a lot about my damage, I¡¯d never sacrifice my defense and health for it," he said as he pointed to himself.


    Based on the investigation of "professionals", Deadly Golden Underwear had a strange ability. He could sacrifice half of his armor and health and receive a 100% attack buff.


    In this state, almost every single attack of his would be a critical strike.


    "If he was slightly weaker, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to take three hits. I¡¯ll use Intervene on March, and March, you have to make sure you use your damage reduction skills," Moonlight continued.


    They weren¡¯t going to be the champions this time, so nobody felt good about this match.


    "Besides March, who will they focus first on our side?" Fat Monkey asked.


    Everyone turned their heads towards him; this wasn¡¯t something that needed an explanation.


    "Why me?" Fat Monkey was unimpressed.


    "Because your playstyle is the same as Deadly Golden Underwear ¨C you¡¯re both players who only focus on damage and don¡¯t care about your own lives," Lu Li replied. Did Fat Monkey still not know why he was always the target.


    "Why don¡¯t you guys have a discussion on how to keep me alive?" Fat Monkey asked as he looked at his team members with glistening expectation in his eyes.


    "Sorry, can¡¯t do," the usually quiet March Rain joked.

 552 A Raining Map

    The map this time was a little complex. It was the sort of map with irregular geography, peculiar monsters and strange weather.


    When Ruling Sword entered the match, they found themselves standing in a cottage. Outside, rain poured down heavily. Fat Monkey¡¯s face immediately turned green ¡ª how could you make a Fire Mage fall in love with a place like this?


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t impressed either; he was a Thief. His tracks were much easier to spot in the rain.


    Of course, the rain wouldn¡¯t cause his Stealth to fail, otherwise, there would be no Thieves left. What the rain impacted was the effect of Stealth ¨C there was a greater chance for his opponents to detect his.


    "Is this bad luck?" Fat Monkey asked helplessly.


    A fireball appeared from the tip of his staff and flew out. It landed onto a dried branch on the side and only caused a spark.


    The damage was reduced by at least 10%.


    "We have a lower visibility too ¨C around forty-five yards, which is less than half the usual range¡­Movement speed¡­skill casting speed¡­" Moonlight was very professional and calculated the impact of the rain.


    "Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re affected, but so are they. I¡¯ll scout ahead in front," Lu Li said as he pulled on his cloak and headed into the rain.


    As soon as he entered Stealth, it was as if the rain had disappeared, along with all sense of sound and touch. The rain followed the strength of the wind and dropped straight down, going through his body and onto the ground.


    His footprints left a light mark on the grass, but it soon returned to its original state.


    What Lu Li had to worry about was not tripping over. In that case, even an idiot would be able to discover him.


    The players from Peerless City was still in their little rooms, and were not in any better condition than Ruling Sword. By the time Lu Li scouted his way to the area, he saw them come out into the rain.


    There was a Warrior, Priest, Paladin, Warlock and Hunter, alongside two pets. The pet of the Warlock was a Hellhound, while the Hunter had a black lion.


    Humar!


    Lu Li recognized this rare and exquisite pet immediately.


    If you wanted to see Hunters fight each other, the Barrenlands, which was the location of where Humar refreshed, was definitely the place to go. Countless Hunters wandered around the place all the time, just so they could catch this pet as soon as it refreshed.


    Even Remnant Dream went there for a few days, but unfortunately, she caught nothing.


    The most interesting thing was that players there didn¡¯t approve of any guild that tried to take control of the place. Any guilds who attempted to do so would be hunted down by all the Hunter players. The first guild that attempted this tactic had already been destroyed by all the Hunters.


    Vegetarian Mosquito¡¯s pet was no easy target, but this was quite normal if you thought about it. Vegetarian Mosquito was a survival Hunter, so if his pet wasn¡¯t good, he wouldn¡¯t be able to deal damage.


    "Damn the rain; we can¡¯t even see clearly. Flare probably won¡¯t be of much use." Vegetarian Mosquito didn¡¯t like the weather either.


    In this Match, only Lu Li played a Stealth class, so he was capable of locating his opponents at all times.


    Under his instructions, Ruling Sword and Peerless City began to play hide-and-seek. They constantly moved, positioning themselves far away from Peerless City, while Peerless City could only carefully search around.


    Both parties brushed pass each other countless times and the audience was anxious for them.


    This match was like the championship match, and included enough space for millions of viewers. With virtual technology, all seats provided multiple perspectives to spectate the match.


    Both parties were popular, especially Ruling Sword ¨C there was a lot of focus on them.


    One of the parties were the champions of the Shadow Cup, while Peerless City were the champions of the Magic Cup. There were bound to be interesting things happening when two champion teams collided against each other. The crowd wanted to see something unexpected, and besides some loyal fans, most of the audience wanted to see the victory of Ruling Sword.


    It would only be fun if the champion lost.


    Of course, the professionals were looking for something else; most of them were reevaluating the Thief class.


    Thieves were never a weak profession. This type of class always had its own way of demonstrating itself in different games. A great number of these professional players also appeared in the competitive scene, for example, Blood Dagger, Water Fairy and Wood Fearing.


    However, people also discovered that once the teams reached a certain number of players, the use of Thieves became restricted.


    They weren¡¯t as useful as plated classes such as Paladins and Warriors. Most teams could still do well without a Thief, but they definitely had to at least have a Warrior or a Paladin.


    Once again, Lu Li¡¯s actions redefined the Thief class.


    To be fair, he was always known as the textbook for Thieves.


    "Stop going ahead ¨C there¡¯s an ambush!" the fans which supported Peerless City shouted on the inside.


    Unfortunately, the players from Peerless City couldn¡¯t hear them; there was no communication between players in the match and anyone outside. The audience could only watch as Lu Li instructed Ruling Sword to place down a sneaky trap along a little hill where Peerless City was bound to pass by.


    Although there were no trees, the grass was above knee length.


    Lu Li had chosen to set up an ambush here for a simple reason. The players from Peerless City had just passed by a forest, which was ideal for an ambush, and had been on guard the entire time. As such, they were bound to drop their guard to a certain extent after they passed through it.


    The second reason was that the geography gave Lu Li and the others an advantage.


    The slope of the hill would be useful for Moonlight, and they would be moving with the wind when they jumped out.


    On the other hand, Peerless City would be moving against the wind and the rain, which would severely limit their vision.


    No matter what the audience thought, the battle erupted just the way that Lu Li had planned.


    Moonlight and Fat Monkey charged out. One of them casted Frost Nova while the other used Whirlwind. Moonlight chose to Charge at Chanelle, the target that everyone agreed to focus on.


    A part of the reason why they chose her was because girls were more likely to have a worse mentality and a slower reaction time.


    Lu Li had already snuck up close.


    As soon as the battle began, he stunned Chanelle and the girl took an entire Whirlwind.


    Deadly Golden Underwear yelled and as soon as Moonlight appeared, activating some sort of effect as a blood-red glow covered him.


    He didn¡¯t try to save Chanelle, which was a smart move.


    There was no guarantee that Chanelle could be saved, and he couldn¡¯t stand through Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind either.


    He rushed towards March Rain and attacked, instantly dealing a third of her health. His attack was doubled with a critical strike on top.


    This was expected from the Berserker with the highest damage.


    If everyone did their own thing, it would be a guaranteed death for Chanelle.


    With the Bloodlust effect from Sakura Memories, Lu Li, Fat Monkey and Moonlight could kill anyone that they focused on.


    However, if they killed Chanelle, March Rain would be in danger. Deadly Golden Underwear in Berserk mode was too powerful, and March Rain probably couldn¡¯t make it past the fifth attack.


    Peerless City also had other players too.


    Once their main healer died, it would be a guaranteed loss for Ruling Sword.

 553 The Art of Switching Targets

    Lu Li did not second guess himself; there wasn¡¯t even a split second of doubt or hesitation.


    As planned before the match, all four DPS classes from Ruling Swords switched onto Deadly Golden Underwear and dumped all their skills onto him.


    Chanelle only had a sliver of HP remaining and would be teleported out of the arena if they all attacked her.


    However, everyone acted according to Lu Li¡¯s strategy and decisively stopped attacking Chanelle, switching their focus to Deadly Golden Underwear. In order to prevent himself from being crowd-controlled, Lu Li even activated his Cloak, as well as his damage and armour penetration buffs.


    Deadly Golden Underwear was not expecting the sudden and synchronised attack, so the only thing he could do was to try to stay alive.


    However, something happened that silenced the entire arena.


    Could Warriors be instantly killed?


    Normally, this was impossible, even if the Warrior was focused by 3 to 5 other players. This was something that the developers of Dawn had taken into account in their patches to balance the game.


    The only possibility of this happening was if the Warrior was in Berserk mode.


    The Berserker class was one of the most popular classes in Dawn, as well as other games. The developers of Dawn worked hard in balancing Berserkers so that they could keep up with PVP titans such as Mages and Thieves. Their background lore read: "Berserkers will do anything beyond reason in pursuit of becoming stronger and more powerful."


    The best description of the Berserkers was ¡®unrivalled¡¯.


    The reason why they were such a powerful class was because Berserk mode sacrificed half of a player¡¯s HP and defence to increase damage output. This made them the definition of a ¡®glass cannon¡¯. Deadly Golden Underwear only had 2,000 HP and half of his normal defence when he was jumped, so he was killed almost immediately.


    After they killed Deadly Golden Underwear, they immediately shifted their focus back to Chanelle.


    Professional Healer had almost 3,000 HP, which was higher than most Warriors. Additionally, he had many skills that increased his survivability. Many teams would tunnel vision on him too aggressively and lose the game because they took too long to kill him.


    Chanelle¡¯s HP was already back to full. This showed how difficult she was to kill with Professional Healer¡¯s healing.


    Peerless City made an immediate decision to retreat after losing one of their players unexpectedly.


    There were times to be decisive and this was one of those moments. Decisiveness was a key factor in determining whether a group was well-trained or not. For example, Ruling Sword had followed Lu Li¡¯s commands to switch targets from Chanelle to Deadly Golden Underwear without hesitation. Peerless city also showed off how decisive they were by running away and avoiding the disadvantageous fight.


    A 4-on-5 fight would result in a complete slaughter, especially against Ruling Sword, a PVP powerhouse.


    Chanelle and Professional Healer¡¯s crowd-control, Vegetarian Mosquito¡¯s Frost Trap and Green Flag Wine¡¯s Slow were enough to help them retreat from the fight.


    Lu Li and the others continued chasing, but the opposing Crowd Control was too much for them to catch up to. They could only watch as they disappeared into the fog of war.


    "Screw it, let¡¯s stop chasing. We killed one of them, so we have the upper hand right now." Lu Li was calm and collected. His shot calling was often compared to a commander in ancient war times, because he always made the right calls and was always a few steps ahead of his opponents.


    Even though they had created an advantage for themselves, Lu Li decided that it was best to regroup and plan their next move.


    "In the next stage, we¡¯ll fight them with equal numbers. We can sub out anyone, except for March Rain" Lu Li said.


    Everyone in the audience wanted to see one team slaughter the other, even if they had a difference in numbers. However, Lu Li¡¯s strategy basically nullified the numbers advantage that they¡¯d created.


    In reality, Lu Li had a more despicable way of winning, but decided against it for other reasons.


    Since the map was very large, they could to stall out the game and embarrass Peerless City by playing cat and mouse. They had already killed an enemy player, so they would win by default after the remaining 38 minutes was up.


    However, there were no rewards for winning this match, so Lu Li decided to win in a special way, which would attract more players to join Ruling Sword.


    The Pro League at the end of the year would form an even larger and more powerful Gaming Committee. The first rule that they would introduce would be to limit the number of participating guilds to only 10.


    As such, several hundred guilds would have to compete for the top 10 spots in the tournament.


    To determine the top 10 guilds, several factors were considered. Firstly, the strength of the Guild would take up 20% of the criteria.


    Secondly, past guild tournament performance would account for 50% of the total criteria. Of that 50%, 30% was their performance in the Pro League, 10% was from past, smaller-scale tournaments, and the last 10% was from their in-game PVP performance in the PVP arena and their battleground rankings.


    Lastly, the player vote accounted for 30% of the total criteria.


    Many believed that the player vote affected the qualifying criteria too much. However, the committee ignored the criticism and would eventually pass the rule.


    Lu Li wanted to keep the fight fair and not embarrass Peerless City because he cared about their feelings. In order to be voted in by the other players in the Pro League qualifiers, Lu Li had to get on everyone¡¯s good side.


    "Are we still targeting Chanelle?" Fat Monkey asked.


    Even though Fat Monkey wasn¡¯t being targeted in their last fight, he could tell that Deadly Golden Underwear and his teammates were all strong players. He was unsure whether he could survive their attacks if he was on the receiving end of their damage instead of March Rain.


    "Their substitute will probably come in soon. It¡¯s too bad we¡¯re too far away from their spawn and can¡¯t ambush him on his way," Lu Li sighed.


    "Their substitute is an arcane mage called Half a Cigarette. He doesn¡¯t get much game time, but his mechanics are pretty decent. I¡¯ve encountered him twice in Arena, and our current record against each other is 1 win and 1 loss. My equips are better than his though," Fat Monkey recalled, telling the others what he knew about him.


    If he could to defeat Fat Monkey with an equipment disadvantage, he was likely to be quite formidable.


    There was a feature that allowed players to invite others to duel them in Arena. Lu Li received several invites a day from random players, but he would usually ignore them. However, the system sent a special notification if the player sending the invite was registered in the tournament player list.


    Fat Monkey had also recently been registered with the help of Square Root Three.


    This was why Fat Monkey accepted Half a Cigarette¡¯s duel invitation. Upon hearing Fat Monkey¡¯s past experiences, they respected Half a Cigarette even more since he was able to defeat a starter in Ruling Sword.


    With the substitute Mage, Peerless City regrouped as a team of five again, but their morale seemed to have taken a hit and they no longer looked like the championship team they once were. Peerless City decided to camp at an advantageous position and waited for their opponents to find them.


    "If we don¡¯t go over there, then wouldn¡¯t they lose?" Sakura Memory asked as they observed Peerless City from afar.


    "Yeah, but that would be boring."


    Lu Li came up with a new attacking strategy after observing them for a short while from afar.


    "I¡¯ll Stealth in. Lighty instead of charging in, I want you to advance slowly towards them. March Rain, make sure you keep your heals on him. Remember not to engage in a fight, but retreat when you are around 20 yards from Green Flag Wine and repeat this continuously. Wait for my attack as a signal to back me up." Lu Li disappeared into the fog and approached Peerless City, being cautious of traps in the bushes.


    Hunters could set traps which caused damage, a snare effect, and revealed your position to the caster. The only way Lu Li could escape a trap was with Gale Steps.

 554 Demon Transformation

    The five players of Peerless City felt hopeless.


    Besides Green Flag Wine, who was a plate armour Paladin, and Vegetarian Mosquito, who was a mail armour Hunter, the other three players were all cloth armour classes. Green Flag Wine wasn¡¯t even a main tank, but an off-healer Paladin. Their current line-up was too squishy to compete with Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li had identified this weakness from the very start of the match.


    Although they had insane DPS and a healer that was extremely difficult to kill, they lacked players that could tank and receive damage for them. Once Deadly Golden Underwear was taken care of, their whole team fell apart completely.


    Green Flag Wine had no choice but to stand guard at the choke point in case of a surprise attack from Ruling Sword.


    Vegetarian Mosquito has a pet called Xiuma which had the ability to reveal Stealthed targets. However, since it was raining and wet everywhere, the black lion couldn¡¯t be summoned.


    Vegetarian Mosquito casted Flare, but it only revealed a small area.


    "I bet Lu Li is right besides us as we speak," Vegetarian Mosquito said in a deep voice as he wiped away the rain on his face.


    They could see Moonlight and the other players from Ruling Swords approaching them slowly. Lu Li was the only player missing from the enemy team.


    "Be careful ¨C if Lu Li appears, then everyone jump on him and send him out immediately," Green Flag Wine said.


    "He wouldn¡¯t reveal himself if he was alone, would he?" Half Cigarette asked nervously. Mages were the most vulnerable to Thieves, so he was terrified of the idea that a top-level Thief was lurking beside him. Even his idol, Sorrowless, had been completely outplayed by Lu Li.


    "Stop talking so softly; we¡¯re talking in our own voice chat." Green Flag Wine was annoyed that his teammates were being overly careful and scared.


    They had to put up a fight, even if it was impossible to win. If an athlete feared losing before the race even started, then all the training and hard work they put in would be useless.


    "I¡­ I understand." After being scolded, Half a Cigarette randomly casted Arcane Missiles into a nearby bush, nearly hitting Lu Li.


    Lu Li saw the Arcane Magic flash before him and thought that he was playing against an expert with ridiculous game sense.


    He had come so close to being hit by the Arcane Missiles. If he didn¡¯t stop to observe his opponents, he definitely would have been revealed. Fortunately, Lu Li knew that he was an ordinary Mage because of Fat Monkey¡¯s past experience.


    Lu Li backed off and decided to stay away from Half a Cigarette,


    Moonlight and the others continued to approach Peerless City slowly. The players of Peerless City immediately casted all of their ranged skills as soon as they were in range.


    Numerous damage and crowd-control skills landed in the bushes in front of them. However, Moonlight and the others stopped at a distance of 20 yards, then slowly ran away.


    Why were they running away?


    Twenty yards was the distance that most offensive and control skills could not reach.


    Peerless City thought about chasing them, but changed their minds.


    Running away without reason was definitely one of Lu Li¡¯s cunning strategies.


    Aided by the distraction from his teammates, Lu Li managed to make his way to where Peerless City was camping at. He was Stealthed nearby in an unexpected hiding spot, in case Half a Cigarette randomly casted Arcane Missiles again.


    His target was Chanelle, but before that, he had to greet the Mage who rudely tried to interrupt his plans.


    Sap!


    Accounting for Moonlight and other¡¯s distance and movement speed, Lu Li sent out his signal to his teammates while casting Sap on Half a Cigarette.


    There was yet another face off between the two powerhouse PVP guilds.


    Peerless City¡¯s morale was lower than ever with their backs against a wall.


    Half a Cigarette tried casting his skills, but realised that he was unable to move. Although he was a bit new, he was no noob and immediately knew that he had been hit with Sap.


    Lu Li!


    The Mage¡¯s worst nightmare finally appeared, and he was terrified. However, he had be training and preparing for this very moment and used his trinket to remove the Sap, then retaliated with Arcane Blast.


    Although his decision was correct, the skill still missed.


    Lu Li¡¯s target had been Chanelle from the very start and he had no intention of attacking the substitute Mage.


    Half a Cigarette realised that he had been Sapped and immediately informed his teammates on voice chat.


    However, Lu Li was faster than the wind, and before Chanelle could react, she had already been hit with Ambush.


    Backstab! Backhanded Backstab!


    Lu Li¡¯s Shoulders had a special effect ¨C Backhanded Backstab +1. With this special effect, his skill was above the cap at level 6.


    Out of all the ultimate skills, Backhanded Backstab dealt the most damage in the game.


    -412HP!


    More than 400 points of damage appeared above Chanelle¡¯s head, and everyone in the audience was left speechless.


    Chanelle calmly used her trinket which allowed her to transform into a Demon. This was similar to the Demonology Warlock ultimate skill and increased the damage of demonology skills, as well as defence for a short time.


    Lu Li did not expect her to have a trinket like this.


    How could Lu Li not know of this? Had Peerless City been hiding a trump card like this the whole time?


    In reality, Chanelle had received this trinket the night before the tournament. This was the first time she had use it in a tournament setting.


    The Warlock skill made her impossible to kill, at least for now.


    Lu Li decisively changed his target onto the Mage that he had sapped before.


    At the same time, he had to endure the massive amounts of damage that the Demon-form Chanelle was dealing to him. He immediately activated his defence effects, and March Rain made it in time to heal him.


    The most vulnerable player on Peerless City was the Mage.


    Professional Healer was a high-health Priest, Green Wine Flag was difficult to deal with and Vegetarian Mosquito was a Survival Hunter. The only squishy target left was the substitute Mage.


    Lu Li was like the light that illuminated his team¡¯s path. Whoever he attacked, would be piled onto by the rest of the players.


    Fat Monkey reacted the same as Lu Li as soon as Chanelle transformed into a Demon. He immediately switched onto the Mage that he had lost to before, excited to get his revenge.


    Half a Cigarette¡¯s HP dropped extremely quickly under the focus of Ruling Sword.


    Fat Monkey¡¯s item level was the lowest in Ruling Sword, and Half a Cigarette¡¯s was even lower than him. Even the healing from Professional Healer wasn¡¯t enough to keep him alive for long.


    Chanelle continued to attack Lu Li, but couldn¡¯t even bring his HP down to half. With March Rain¡¯s expert healing, there was no chance of anyone killing Lu Li at this point, especially with all the Gold and Dark Gold equips on him.


    The second match-up sent Half a Cigarette out of the arena.


    Peerless City had lost another player, and even though the rest of their team was formidable, it was too late for them to turn the game around.


    The match between Peerless City and Ruling Swords had been stalled out for a long time. Ruling Sword ended up taking the victory and with this win, the champion of the Magic Cup was finally determined.

 555 The Treasure Chest On The Cliff

    Like any other competition, there were some players who had done well. Veteran players like Deadly Gold Underpants and Unforgettable Maple had amazing performances and the new teams were flourishing.


    Fat Monkey, Half a Smoke, Vegetarian Mosquito, Windy and the other talented club reserves were also showing promise.


    In terms of professions, Hunters were becoming more and more valued.


    Vast Silence and Vegetarian Mosquito were among those players, along with Hot Twitch and other veterans. These players come into the spotlight by making use of classic strategies.


    However, that was ultimately their flaw as well. As expected, Peerless City were defeated by Ruling Sword.


    The champions, Peerless City, lost at the hands of Ruling Sword.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the champions were decided by the number of points, Peerless City definitely wouldn¡¯t have emerged victorious.


    Ruling Sword had only lost those two points because of Lu Li¡¯s absence, and had ended up in second place. They were followed by Gale Legion in third place, while Seventh Heaven had lost their position in the top three and was now in fourth place.


    The 500,000 dollar prize and the ticket sales from the matches totalled several hundred thousand dollars of income.


    This money would mainly be used to manage the guild with the leftovers being distributed among the players. Lu Li had missed out on a few games which reduced his portion, but he was also an important part of the games he had played in which increased this. In the end, his portion was still about the same as everyone else¡¯s.


    It was a total of $700,000.


    They had so easily made an amount that he couldn¡¯t even have imagined in his past life.


    Although they didn¡¯t take the championship, everyone was quite satisfied. The Magic Cup was small and could only have around 100 guilds participating. Many of these guilds had been long-established, so for such a new guild to take such a position made them many times better than Peerless City.


    There was only one person who wasn¡¯t happy.


    Fat Monkey!


    In this competition, Fat Monkey was named the second-best newbie and best newbie Mage. From the perspective of a newcomer, this should have been a satisfactory result.


    However, this was his problem ¨C without Fat Monkey, could Ruling Sword have achieved the same result?


    Lu Li¡¯s response was simple. Without Fat Monkey, they probably wouldn¡¯t have even entered the final four. This was affirmed through his portion of money.


    As for whether Fat Monkey would actually listen to him, Lu Li didn¡¯t have the energy to bother with that.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t join the post-competition interviews either. He realized that he didn¡¯t really like doing that kind of thing, and also found all sorts of reasons to reject endorsement offers.


    This was the benefit of being his own boss. If he was an ordinary player that rejected offers like this so boldly, he would have been fired long ago.


    He planned to find a skill book that was an area-of-effect attack. Dawn¡¯s Thieves didn¡¯t usually have area-of-effect attacks; they were professions with high damage and high mobility. Area-of-effect attacks didn¡¯t really fit the archetype.


    As such, these kinds of skills were rare, but they did exist and Lu Li knew a few ways to obtain them.


    He hadn¡¯t thought about this before because the skill he had in mind was garbage. It had really low damage and a squishy Thief couldn¡¯t fight a group of monsters anyway.


    Now, Lu Li had decided to get this skill book so he could upgrade the Book of Ur.


    The low damage didn¡¯t matter as he planned to time his attacks for when the monsters were close to dying. If he was able to rush into a group of monsters that were low and take the last hit, he would receive the EXP and the opportunity to upgrade his equipment.


    The first place he travelled to was Thousand Needles.


    This place used to be a river, but it had dried up after topographical and weather changes, gradually forming a unique landscape.


    Thousand Needles was mostly dominated by Taurens. They were split into two separate factions ¨C the friendly Cliff Walkers and the combative Grimtotems. Regardless of how they were normally, they were unfriendly to Alliance players.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t even be directly transported to the location; he had to go through Rattan City.


    Lu Li¡¯s direction was clear and he didn¡¯t need to search around. His target was the Silver Treasure Chest that was above a steep unclimbable cliff. There was a great probability for this chest to drop a Thief and Druid area-of-effect attack skill book.


    If he was lucky, there was even the possibility of finding a Gold Paladin weapon.


    That particular weapon didn¡¯t have the best stats and probably couldn¡¯t compare with any Dark Gold weapon, but it looked really cool. There were many tycoons who would be interested in flashing this weapon around; the record sale price for it was over one million.


    When Lu Li entered the map, he was cautious.


    In a place like this, danger was self-explanatory. He had to scale a cliff that was guarded by level 50 Grimtotem Shamans and Warriors that would attack regardless of whether he was an Alliance or Horde player.


    In his previous life, those that wanted to open the chest needed to send quite a few players to help. Some players were needed to pull the Grimtotem away while the others would attempt the scale the cliff.


    It was only until players had learned to fly or were able to defeat level 50 mobs that they would finally be able to open this chest alone.


    Actually, flying didn¡¯t completely mitigate the risks either. Thousand Needles were the Wyverns¡¯ paradise and they had nests all along these high cliffs.


    There was once a group of egg robbers that tried to steal eggs from these nests, but it was said that their fates were miserable.


    The Centaurs regarded the Wywern as sacred creatures and burned the thieves who stole the eggs alive. Some of the thieves even took out some meat to cook while they were in the fire. Fortunately, when they had lost all their HP, they would just return to the Revive Point. Otherwise, they would have been eaten by the Centaurs.


    Lu Li hoped that he wouldn¡¯t attract the attention of the Centaurs or the Wyvern. Ideally, he wouldn¡¯t even alert the Grimtotem Shamans.


    Conservative actions could make you rich; he was really only here to steal some items.


    There were monsters here in the Thousand Needles, but they were sparse. Even when everyone was the right level, no one would come here to farm. This situation was convenient for Lu Li as he was able to walk right through this level 42-45 area to his destination.


    After finding a hiding place, Lu Li squatted there and waited.


    Wyverns whistled through the sky from time to time and the Grimtotem Warriors looked depressed. They occasionally threw their javelins into the sky in an attempt to attack the flying dragons.


    However, those attacks were quite weak. Some of the dragons would fly off with a grunt while others would even reduce their altitude.


    Lu Li quietly watched as the Grimtotem tribemembers attacked again. No one else knew, but that there were always a few Wyverns that died in Thousand Needles every day.


    Most of the times, it was at the hands of a Centaur.


    As a result, the Tauren and Centaurs had a long hatred for each other. How could the Centaurs allow them to mess with such holy beasts?

 556 A Godsend

    The Wyvern was a small dragon that only had two clawed feet. They also had feathered wings and a barbed tail.


    They were descendants of dragons and griffins, and could attack their enemies with their sharp and poisonous claws. The ones in Thousand Needles were also worshipped by the Centaurs, so they could have also obtained some magical powers like Fireball or Self-Destruct.


    There was a young Wyvern that seemed to want to prove itself. It quietly broke formation and dove downwards, then flapped its wings as the air in front of it began to sizzle. A dark red fireball shot out from its mouth towards the location of several Tauren.


    It was likely because of the Centaurs, but the Thousand Needles¡¯ Tauren also hated the Wyverns.


    Fireballs looked ferocious, but they were in fact useless. A few javelins were thrown at the fireball, completely dissipating the young Wyverns¡¯ attack.


    The young Wyvern was furious. It took a deep breath in and charged towards the Tauren.


    Lu Li smiled from his hiding place; everything was going as he had expected.


    There were always a few ignorant dragons who wanted to challenge these seemingly vulnerable Tauren.


    Yes, airborne units did have an edge of ground units. However, the stupid dragon didn¡¯t consider the fact that if these Tauren were such easy targets, why were the Centaurs still fighting them?


    The Grimtotem Shaman who had been sitting on the floor cross-legged raised his hand. A shadowy object appeared and entered into a nearby Tauren Warrior¡¯s javelin.


    The warrior then nodded before throwing quickly throwing the javelin.


    Awhooosh!


    There was a shrill sound as the javelin flew through the dragon¡¯s neck at an extraordinary speed, then vanished on the horizon.


    The young dragon tossed about in the air and cried out pitifully before crashing into the ground.


    It first hit the rocky cliffs before tumbling onto the ground. Its strong regeneration prevented it from instantly dying, but this ability that the creature was usually quite proud of was now the reason for its suffering.


    It hadn¡¯t fallen too far from Lu Li.


    If he was in any other situation, he wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to kill this Boss-like creature. The EXP alone would be great, let alone the equipment that it would drop.


    Lu Li suppressed his urge to profit and quietly watched as the young wyvern writhed about before finally going quiet.


    The Shaman blessing not only increased the javelin¡¯s strength, speed and penetration, but also applied a vicious curse and a virulent poison. The dragon, who had the ability to spray poison, had been killed by poison.


    The time between it leaving the pack and making its final whine was not more than a single moment.


    The small group of 78 Wyverns had only just realized what happened. Their child, perhaps their only child, had just died right under their noses.


    Using anger to describe the emotion of these dragons was an understatement.


    A resounding wail high in the sky sounded as the Wyverns lined up in battle formations. Their eyes were a resentful blood-red as they dove towards the earth.


    They were on the verge of engaging in battle!


    In all honesty, Lu Li didn¡¯t think that the little dragon would be killed so easily. He wasn¡¯t sympathetic to these distant relatives of the cruel dragons, but he was worried that if the battle became too intense, he might also be affected. Regardless of whether it was Grimtotem or a Wyvern, neither of them would mind taking him out in the middle of the fight.


    However, he was already here and he had to take some risks for rewards. As such, there was no reason to leave.


    As both sides started to fight, the battle-hardened Wyverns fought far better than the baby dragon. They were able to gracefully avoid the javelins that soared through the air.


    The Grimtotem warriors began to take casualties.


    As the Shaman became angry, a huge Chain Lightning lit up across the sky. Almost the entire sky was covered with this supernatural energy. Of course, this wasn¡¯t the work of one Shaman, but the collaboration of four Shamans.


    The dragons started dropping like flies, with many of them losing at least half their HP.


    However, even with their crippled wings, they would still continue fighting. Evidently, they were still quite strong.


    Lu Li quietly turned into the Blood Raven and started slowly flying up the cliff. He had to be careful to avoid the flying skills and javelins. The dragons could afford to tank some of these, but if he was hit by one, he was definitely done for.


    Fortunately, the fighting was so fierce for both sides that no one paid attention to the small raven.


    Compared to the huge size of the dragons, Lu Li was no different from an ant.


    This so-called cliff was actually more like a large stone wall. There were cliffs all around it, so there was no other way to get up onto it.


    When Lu Li reached the top of this stone wall, he still hadn¡¯t left the vicinity of the battle.


    Occasionally, a fireball would hit the cliff and some of the splash damage would hit him for over 300 HP. There were four statues on this wall and there was a crude altar in the middle. The altar was bloodstained with decaying meat and was giving off the strong, metallic smell of blood.


    Lu Li endured the nauseating stench and went straight to the altar where the Treasure Chest was.


    The altar had a very sensitive warning device in order to stop someone from intruding. If triggered, the Grimtotem guards would quickly arrive. This window wasn¡¯t enough to open a Silver Chest.


    However, he didn¡¯t need to worry now.


    There were 78 angry dragons causing a tremendous amount of trouble for the Grimtotem Shaman, giving Lu Li an opportunity for the steal.


    He stepped on a skeleton as he found the bloodstained Silver Chest.


    Unlock!


    After channeling for 1 minute, he was becoming anxious.


    Fortunately, there was no one guarding the chest. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to open it before some Grimtotem showed up.


    The Shaman who was fighting seemed to realize something and suddenly turned his head. He quickly turned around and saw Lu Li through the layers of obstacles in his field of field of view. Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but feel a shiver.


    Dammit, that was probably a Big Boss!


    Dragon brothers, please endure! Lu Li didn¡¯t want to die here; there was no one here to save him. Losing 10% EXP would take him a long time to make back.


    After hesitating for a moment, the black-robed Shaman assigned a seemingly young Tauren Warrior to dealt with Lu Li.


    This was the main caster of the Chain Lightning and the leader of this Grimtotem Tribe. Of course, some aggro was gained from trying to steal from them, but it was nothing compared to the grudge they had against the Wyverns.


    A level 40 Elite Tauren Warrior was deemed enough.


    The Warriors in the tribe would sneakily only give the young ones old blood, as only fresh blood would allow them to fully grow up.

 557 Killing the Boss’ Son

    In this urgent situation, Lu Li didn¡¯t know that a small Tauren was coming to him up an elevator.


    The most important thing right now was opening the Treasure Chest.


    As long as he could open the chest, it would mitigate the cost of dying. That level 50 Shaman had struck fear into Lu Li¡¯s heart; he no longer felt like he could escape.


    As time slowly went by, a minute felt more like a year.


    Lu Li had to thank the Wyvern that decided to attack the little Tauren in the elevator.


    Thanks to the construction-quality of the lift, it wasn¡¯t destroyed by the dragon, but its speed was seriously affected.


    When Lu Li heard the sound of the Treasure Chest opening, he also finally saw the calf coming up with an axe.


    At first, he was scared, but then he realized that this Tauren wasn¡¯t that tall. He suddenly came up with an idea.


    Dawn had an interesting mechanic where everyone was the same size ¨C no one was abnormally short or tall. Similarly, there were no small Taurens ¨C only young Taurens.


    Their youth meant they were weaker and lacked combat experience.


    Lu Li quickly fished out the items from the chest. He didn¡¯t have time to look at them before turning to the Tauren Warrior.


    The bloodstained calf Warrior climbed out of the lift, just in time to see a masked thief stealing some Grimtotem items.


    The Grimtotem¡¯s inherent predisposition led him to regard anything other than Tauren as an enemy. A burning anger flared up within him in an instant.


    He dropped his weapon, raised his head and pounded his chest as hard as he could.


    Perhaps this was something he had seen Orcs do, but it was the best way he could think of to express his feelings.


    Delusional was the only word Lu Li could use to describe this Tauren. He ran up behind it and casted a Cheap Shot with Premeditation to stun it.


    The Tauren left with its arms stiffly in the air, completely embarrassed.


    After the attack, Lu Li knew that the Tauren was weaker than he thought. A level 40 Elite monster would have 12,000 HP but this one only had 6000 HP.


    Upon looking at the tattered elevator, Lu Li thanked the Wyvern again.


    A level 36 Lu Li couldn¡¯t stun a level 40 Tauren for 100% of the duration. Cheap Shot¡¯s stun only lasted for two and a half seconds, so Lu Li wasn¡¯t able to deal sufficient damage to it.


    However, the ultimate result was no surprise.


    A level 40 elite monster, even the stronger ones, were usually no match for Lu Li, let alone one that was already on half HP.


    When the Tauren recovered, Lu Li hit it with a Shadowstrike.


    As his target was completely stationary, he had no problems in achieving a high Skill Completion and managed to stun it for another full second.


    The moment the young Tauren recovered again, it immediately punched Lu Li.


    -124!


    This amount of damage astonished both of them. Lu Li almost thought that he had an amazing amount of defense.


    After a moment of the young Tauren scratching its head, it finally realized that it had dropped its axe to pound its chest. He quickly ran back to grab it before turning to face Lu Li again.


    Lu Li felt a bit of regret for not getting rid of the Tauren¡¯s weapon before.


    Then again, when a Tauren died, it would drop its weapons. Those weapons weren¡¯t the player¡¯s loot and couldn¡¯t be picked up, let alone thrown off the cliff.


    The calf attacked with its giant axe and hit Lu Li for 300-400 damage.


    This was more like a level 40 elite. This calf wasn¡¯t like those wild elites either ¨C it was from a tribe, which meant that it had been training all its life and probably even had a battle instructor.


    Lu Li dealt a bit over 120 damage to the Tauren with his normal attacks. His ultimate skills and other skills with high completion could deal 200 to 300 damage, but the most important thing was that Lu Li could take potions and apply poisons. Moreover, he also had equipment that gave him a range of special effects like Armor Pierce.


    The young Tauren was being completely crushed!


    "Young lamb, give me your weapon and I¡¯ll spare your life," Lu Li sneered at the Tauren with a cold smile.


    Threatening monsters like he just did was uncommon, but not impossible. In fact, for an intelligent monster in a pitiful situation, it could work.


    However, this just made the calf even angrier.


    Warriors of the Grimtotem tribe had no concept of surrendering their weapons. Instead, it just became angrier at Lu Li and actually went Berserk.


    Lu Li had to temporarily retreat and activate Pamela¡¯s special effect to heal himself and provide some protection.


    During this intense fight, Lu Li saw the elevator creaking.


    He was suddenly shocked as he turned to see five or six scarred Wyverns flying away. The Grimtotem Tauren seemed to have repelled the Wyverns.


    Lu Li had to pick up the pace. He used up all his skills as quickly as he could.


    The calf roared as his HP emptied. Lu Li picked up the weapon that was dropped, but he didn¡¯t have time to channel his crow form. He just rushed to the edge and jumped off.


    Right about the moment he jumped, the elevator had come back up.


    A few Tauren rushed out of the elevator and arrived at the body of the calf to see the chest that had been opened on the altar.


    "No!" the Old Shaman cried in despair.


    This was his son, his only son, who he thought could easily defeat this thief. He did not expect that this would cost him his life.


    This was an intelligent Boss, a mighty Shaman in the Thousand Needles.


    If nothing had happened, his son would have sooner or later become a powerful Boss too.


    But now, it was all meaningless. The Shaman seemed to remember his son¡¯s final roar. Perhaps it was calling out to him, or perhaps it was just his imagination.


    The old Shaman looked around the scene and quickly found bloodstained footprints among the wreckage.


    His rich battle experience enabled him to determine that these footsteps led to the edge of the cliff. He quickly rushed over, only to see a white flash of light.


    Space magic?


    In fact, Lu Li didn¡¯t have any space magic. He had counted how long it took for the elevator to come up and decided that there was no time to perform the 30 second channel to transform into the crow. Moreover, transforming into the crow wouldn¡¯t guarantee his escape anyway.


    As such, he decided to jump off the cliff.


    Fortunately, the Shaman Priest didn¡¯t see him as he used Child of the Forest just before he hit the ground. While in the gold leopard form, his fall damage was greatly reduced.


    Even so, he had lost over half of his HP.


    He then pushed his dying body and started channeling to return to town. This required time, but the Shaman would take a while before finding him.


    With the advantage of having experienced Rebirth, Lu Li managed to successfully open the chest with the use of some incredibly quick decisions.

 558 Darkmoon Card

    There was nothing in the world that didn¡¯t require effort to obtain, and if you wanted more, you would have to take some risks. This was true, even for someone like Lu Li had experienced Rebirth.


    However, it didn¡¯t actually end up costing Lu Li anything to open this chest. He was walking a tightrope the whole time and could have easily died at any moment. What was worse was that if he died without achieving his goal, this truly wouldn¡¯t have been worth it.


    In reality, the main difference between experts and regular players was that experts rarely operated at a loss. Quite often, this happened only because of bad luck.


    Now that he was safe in the city, Lu Li was free to see what he acquired after his narrow escape.


    It definitely wasn¡¯t the skill book that he wanted. Although he didn¡¯t see what item he had looted, he could feel that it wasn¡¯t a book.


    Darkmoon Card: Void (Special): Instant Use. Has a 50% chance of Revive. Upon a successful Revive, HP and Mana regen increased by 20%, EXP increased by -5%-10%. Number of uses remaining: 5/5. Effective when item is placed in backpack. Equipment requirement: Level 10.


    Lu Li looked over this small and light card again and again. He couldn¡¯t believe that this was the legendary revive card.


    The Darkmoon set of cards were very famous. They were a set of eight cards that could be combined into one card. Each of them had a different effect. The Revive card was one of the special ones, and could only be dropped by monsters that were level 40 or higher. Its main function was to revive, but the players were more concerned with the strange EXP gain.


    -5% to 10% was quite an unusual range


    The -5% was understandable. Although you could be successfully revived, you would still lose 5% EXP, which was still better than the usual 10%.


    But what about the 10%?


    That¡¯s right, you could potentially be rewarded with 10% EXP, which was quite the substantial amount. It was even more EXP than you could gain by killing a Boss.


    Of course, the actual value could be anywhere between -5% and 10%.


    This was simply a Fate card that was abnormally strong for this world.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t acquired a Revive Card in his previous life, but he had killed someone who had one. The memory was still fresh in his mind. After he killed that person, he suddenly jumped up again.


    Cheater!


    At the time he was so shocked that his heart started beating frantically, and he was about to run away.


    Although he didn¡¯t find the skill book he wanted, this was definitely worth far more. If he sold it¡­


    Why did he always think about Water Fairy when he was considering selling something?


    This item was very valuable ¨C it could easily for somewhere between 100,000 to 200,000 dollars. Most players were willing to bet on this kind of thing.


    Although Lu Li needed money, this amount wasn¡¯t going to solve his problem. As such, after a moment of hesitation, he decided to keep this card for this own use.


    10% was a long time of farming for him. He looked at his EXP bar and saw that he could reach level 37 in less than 10%.


    The competition was getting quite fierce and it was getting difficult to hold rank 1 in levels.


    His next goal wasn¡¯t to unlock more chests, and there was basically no danger in this one. He just wanted to burn some time on it, so Lu Li gave himself a time limit ¨C 3 hours. If he didn¡¯t fin


    anything in 3 hours, he would give up.


    There was one part of the Thief profession that was often overlooked: Pick Pocket.


    Dawn had made this skill really bad, at least from the perspective of the Thieves.


    First of all, you couldn¡¯t Pick Pocket other players or Bosses, which was already quite a restriction.


    Moreover, you couldn¡¯t Pick Pocket targets that were too high of a level. The greater the level difference, the higher the probability of failure. If your target was more than 3 levels higher, you simply couldn¡¯t Pick Pocket them.


    As such, Lu Li chose the level 35 monsters in Stranglethorn Vale. If he successfully used Cheap Shot, he could easily kill them, but the EXP gained was almost negligible.


    Three hours was the maximum amount of time Lu Li was willing to spend ¨C anymore and it wouldn¡¯t be worth it.


    The Stranglethorn Vale was probably the largest area of Azeroth, so naturally, it was filled with all sorts of monsters. The level of the monsters widely varied, from level 10, all the way until level 50.


    It was also rich in herbs and mineral resources. The endless beasts that could be found in the forest convinced some players who invested in the Skinning Trade Skill to make this place their temporary home.


    Lu Li had been here several times, but he didn¡¯t really like it.


    The first reason was because the confrontation between camps here was unlike Gray Valley. It was very chaotic and killings weren¡¯t always justified.


    The whole quality of life was quite low.


    The second was the regular rainfall which created an unbearably humid environment.


    Thieves generally didn¡¯t like a climate like this. When Lu Li came out of the Teleportation Channel in Booty Bay, he ignored a businessman goblin¡¯s enthusiastic attempt to sell him an umbrella.


    That item was impressive, but useless. It probably couldn¡¯t even resist a Voodoo Potion.


    Lu Li¡¯s goal was a group of trolls who specialized in espionage and assassinations ¨C Troll Assassins and Troll Scouts. These were Trolls with the Thief Profession.


    No one ever approached these monsters because they were just too hard to kill.


    Lu Li slowly approached a troll who was crouched by a tree and saw the Pick Pocket prompt appear.


    System: Pick Pocket succeeded, obtained Sinister Rogue Leggings.


    The name sounded impressive, but it was just a common equip. No monster would produce Gold equipment.


    Lu Li had actually managed to steal this monster¡¯s pants as the green skin underneath was revealed to him. Fortunately, he couldn¡¯t steal the underwear, otherwise, the monster would be walking about completely exposed.


    Without any pants, the troll suddenly stood up.


    Lu Li quickly reacted and stunned him with Cheap Shot before he could turn around. He then went through a rotation of his skills and quickly dealt with this level 35 monster.


    It was almost no trouble at all.


    The drop was even worse ¨C it was a dozen of copper coins. If it weren¡¯t for the habits that had been drilled into him in his previous life, he probably wouldn¡¯t have even taken the time to bend over and pick it up.


    After picking up the coins, he looked for his next target.


    This was Lu Li¡¯s simple and boring Pick Pocket Skill.


    There was a decent chance of pick-pocketing a Skill Book from these Trolls. However, it was almost impossible for them to drop one.


    In fact, when it was widely known that these skill books could be pick-pocketed from these trolls, this place would become a common destination for Thieves.


    Regardless of how bad the attack was, it was still an area-of-effect attack.


    Fighting in the rainforest was quite difficult, and Lu Li spent most of the time drenched. He could even feel his mind becoming numbed by his environment.


    He hoped that something would happen so he wouldn¡¯t need to deal with this boredom and loneliness, even if it was a group of mercenaries sent to kill him.

 559 Three Season Rice

    As Lu Li numbly continued to Pick Pocket the Trolls, he would manage to steal their clothes or their weapons from time to time. He would then have to quickly kill those trolls.


    Suddenly, a Frostbolt exploded on his chest, dealing over 100 damage. At first, he didn¡¯t react at all; it was difficult to remain vigilant in this rain while doing this really monotonous task.


    It was only when the second Frostbolt hit him that he reacted.


    Was there someone attacking him?


    Who could it be? Unforgettable Maple, Lucky Southern Persian, Wild, Sorrowless¡­


    It couldn¡¯t be any of those guys; his attacker only dealt 100 damage to him. His HP pool of 2800 was only being reduced by a little bit.


    Lu Li turned around to find a Mage behind a tree, whose body was half exposed, charging another Frostbolt. Lu Li wondered who this person was and how they were brave enough to attack him.


    The Mage hadn¡¯t stopped. After firing the second Frostbolt, they were already channeling the third one.


    Frostbolt was one of the most common Mage skills. It was like an icebolt, but it needed a channel period and did much more damage. If his attacker¡¯s equipment was at the same level as his, it could easily deal 300 damage.


    "Why are you attacking me?" Lu Li asked.


    "Do I need a reason to fight?¡¯ the Undead Mage said mysteriously, not seeming to notice that Lu Li wasn¡¯t actually taking that much damage from his attacks.


    It was said that when a PVP maniac was wildly fighting, their blood boiled, and they stopped caring about anything else.


    Lu Li increased his speed as he approached this Mage with the intent to kill him. He then smiled at this Undead Mage as he was walking and asked, "Do you think you can kill me in a few attacks? Don¡¯t you have a stronger skill?"


    Judging from his damage, this Mage couldn¡¯t be at his level. This was obvious, as Lu Li was currently first in the Level Rankings.


    His equipment was bad as well; he was wearing level 30 equipment that was quite common.


    "You¡­" The Undead Mage¡¯s hands started shaking a little.


    "I think you¡¯d need at least 15 hits before you can kill me, assuming I don¡¯t fight back."


    Lu Li turned over his Shard of the Defiler and was ready to go.


    He wasn¡¯t but a PVP maniac, but he wasn¡¯t bad at it either.


    He also knew that this person was rather unlucky. They had unfortunately run into someone who was more powerful than they were.


    "Your equipment¡­" Lu Li paused, then shook his head. "You¡¯re not worth my time. What level are you?"


    "Level 33. I could have been higher levelled." The Undead Mage put away his Magic Staff to show he was friendly.


    The Thief before him had the ability to kill him, but didn¡¯t seem to have plans to do so. The Mage liked killing, but he wasn¡¯t dumb. He wasn¡¯t going to do something pointless that would lead to EXP loss.


    "Looks like you¡¯ve died quite a few times," Lu Li observed.


    With all the killing that happened here, players in Stranglethorn Valley took a longer time to level up. They were lucky that Dawn didn¡¯t allow players to demote; once they were on 0 EXP, they wouldn¡¯t keep losing EXP. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to stay at level 33.


    "I¡¯ve been playing since the opening of the game, and I¡¯m in the top 100," the Undead Mage said with a smile. "Oh yeah, who are you?"


    "How about you tell me your name?" Lu Li asked.


    "Three Season Rice," said the Mage after a moment of hesitation. He didn¡¯t seem to want to, but he wasn¡¯t distressed about it either. It was just like they were meeting for the first time.


    Three Season Rice!


    Lu Li immediately knew where he had heard this name from.


    He was one of the three noob killers ¨C Son of Arugal, Hogg and Three Season Rice. This was the legend that was spread among the players. To some, these three names were even more dangerous than the rank 1 player in the game.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t appreciate this player¡¯s behavior, but now that he had committed to not fighting, it would be hypocritical for him to attack.


    "I¡¯m Lu Li," the masked Thief said quietly.


    "Lu¡­Lu Li." Three Season Rice¡¯s lip became a little dry. He had killed countless players, but he had never run into a professional one before.


    He didn¡¯t realize that the first one he would meet would be the best one.


    "It was fortunate to meet you; we¡¯re both considered celebrities,¡¯ Lu Li joked as he got up to leave.


    It had already been quite generous of him that he hadn¡¯t killed this noob killer. However, there was no way to him to become friends with him. If players found out that he was close with Three Season Rice, they would misunderstand Three Season Rice¡¯s actions as part of Lu Li¡¯s intentions.


    Three Season Rice watched as Lu Li headed back to the monsters. He paused and shouted, "Thank you."


    It would take days for him to farm 10% of his EXP. After all, there wasn¡¯t really a stable levelling environment here. Those who had been killed by him were always trying to gather a group to kill him.


    "The rain is just too heavy." Lu Li waved his hand and ended the conversation.


    "I will not kill Ruling Sword players in the future," Three Season Rice muttered. He didn¡¯t mean to say that to Lu Li as he spoke very quietly.


    "I¡¯d be very thankful for that." Lu Li¡¯s hearing clearly wasn¡¯t affected by the rain.


    It would be best if he didn¡¯t further provoke this lunatic.


    Three Season Rice killed noobs regardless of who they were. Lu Li didn¡¯t fight him, so he couldn¡¯t be sure, but he seemed like he had good technique.


    Lu Li continued to steal from the Trolls with Pick Pocket and Three Season Rice turned away to continue his murderous undertaking.


    With the interruption of Three Season Rice, Lu Li felt reinvigorated. He never really understood those PVP maniacs ¨C they didn¡¯t gain a reward from PVP and yet they still enjoyed it.


    In comparison, he decided that perhaps Pick Pocketing wasn¡¯t that boring after all.


    Good equipment couldn¡¯t be stolen from ordinary level 35 monsters, but he could obtain all kinds of ordinary materials and skill books that were worth a small amount of money. These skill books were mostly for Thieves, Shamans or Warriors.


    Two hours passed as Lu Li continued to mechanically Pick Pocket and kill monsters.


    He would occasionally open up his backpack to have a look, but he found something that he didn¡¯t expect.


    Fan of Knives: Instant Cast, consume some energy and throw countless blades at all targets within 10 yards, dealing 10% weapon damage. Proficiency 1/5.


    It only dealt 10% of weapon damage, so the damage was quite pitiful.


    It also consumed a small amount of Energy. With 100 Energy, Lu Li could only use this skill three times at the very most. It also costed more than many of his other skills.


    However, it was said that upgrading Fan of Knives was quite worthwhile. The damage could be greatly improved, and the countless blades could trigger a poison effect.


    To learn and upgrade Fan of Knives, you needed the skill book and 4 Skill Points. Lu Li didn¡¯t have that many Skill Points to spare.

 560 Ancient Demon Eyes

    Perhaps it was the rain that was messing with him, but he had no idea when he had found this Skill book. He had wasted more time than he needed to.


    Lu Li could finally leave the beautiful scene of Stranglethrone Vale that he didn¡¯t really like.


    Everyone had things that they hated, and there were two things that Lu Li hated the most ¨C being poor and being in the rain. It was probably because he was poor that he hated the rain.


    Now that he had acquired Fan of Knives, he abandoned the rest of his plans, because there was no longer any need for them.


    He then spent the next two days levelling. His main strategy was to pull the monsters and get four Mages to cast Blizzard together. When the monsters were about the same HP, he would rush in and cast Fan of Knives.


    The damage of Fan of Knives was quite low, so it would be considered quite good if he could kill at least ten of the twenty monsters in every wave.


    In fact, Lu Li was quite satisfied with how efficient the system was. Without Fan of Knives, he would normally only kill 4-5 of the monsters.


    The Mages didn¡¯t wait too long for him to get the last hit either.


    After tediously levelling up, Lu Li reached level 37 and was slowly making his way to level 38. At this level, he could already go to Zul¡¯Farrak, but his teammates¡¯ levels weren¡¯t high enough.


    He had instructed Square Root 3 to find exquisite anti-toxin equipment from the Market for them, but there was little progress, even after a few days.


    He could find anti-toxin equipment, but their other properties would be lacking. Most equipment that had anti-toxin had lower attack and defense. There was nothing that was as good as what they already had.


    Without that equipment, their levels just needed to be higher.


    Level 35 was the absolute minimum. Otherwise, they simply wouldn¡¯t be able to tank all the different kinds of powerful toxins that those ancient monsters had.


    It wasn¡¯t as if there was no one attempting Zul¡¯Farrak right now. In fact, there were actually many players in Zul¡¯Farrak trying to complete it. There were even some elite teams that had defeated the first Boss on Elite difficulty.


    The loot was said to be quite bountiful; the team that had achieved the First Clear had received a level 35 Gold equip.


    For a Gold equipment to drop at Elite difficulty was unthinkable.


    With such a precedent set, thousands of players flooded into the demonic ruins in order to reap some of those rewards.


    Even the major guilds couldn¡¯t wait much longer. They drafted their Instance Dungeon teams and officially announced Zul¡¯Farrak as the current main objective of the guild.


    Only Ruling Sword had held back their players and continued to strenuously farm.


    According to what Lu L had told Square Root 3, there was no point in doing this Instance Dungeon if you weren¡¯t level 35, unless if you had Anti-Toxin equipment.


    When he was free, Lu Li would go to the Mercenary Hall.


    Since Zul¡¯Farrak¡¯s first Boss had been defeated, perhaps a team had been able to find the Ancient Demon Eye rare material. He hoped to be able to upgrade his ring before they started doing the Instance Dungeon.


    The materials that it asked for this time were ridiculous. Everything together would probably be worth around one to two million.


    For a rich person, this one to two million wasn¡¯t even enough for clothing. Yet, for a poor person, this money was enough to radically improve their lives.


    The Mercenary Hall was quite a lively place.


    In his past life, Lu Li really liked coming here and talking to the mercenaries who would just squat around in the corner of the hall.


    They would sit around and watch the players coming in to find a suitable target. They would then relentlessly sell themselves in hopes of earning a hiring fee.


    This game was like a society for many reasons. One of them was because there were so many players who were living at the bottom of the economic ladder.


    "Brother, do you want someone to farm for you? I have a party of four ¨C 3 Mages and 1 Warrior. You can take potions and continually be levelled up. You¡¯ll catch up to the mainstream in no time," a Warrior said, pushing in and pulling at Lu Li.


    As the others weren¡¯t as quick, they had no choice but to back off.


    There were few players that would pull out a knife if they didn¡¯t have their way. As this was also a safe zone, most players knew that friendliness was more likely to attract business. Their employers were often wealthy tycoons that didn¡¯t like killing.


    "Sorry, I¡¯m not looking to farm," Lu Li shook his head as he replied out loud.


    He saw that these players were all being so friendly and that they were just making money to sustain themselves, so it wasn¡¯t easy for him either.


    "Well¡­ do you need a quest to be completed?" The warrior was a little disappointed. His party¡¯s main purpose was for farming. All they needed to do was add the player and go farm. It was relatively risk free and also didn¡¯t get in the way of their own levelling progress.


    Some of Dawn¡¯s quests were quite complex and it was difficult to guarantee the completion of every single one.


    If they ran into an unreasonable employer, not only would they not be paid, but they would also receive a bad review in the Mercenary Association.


    Players here could see another player¡¯s previous employment record. As such, unless you set a really low price, there would be very few players who would hire someone who had been poorly reviewed. As for setting a low price, it was already difficult to maintain yourself, so a low price meant that they probably couldn¡¯t even pay for the potions used.


    "No, I¡¯ve put up a quest and I¡¯ve come to see if anyone has accepted it," Lu Li said as he pointed inside.


    The Warrior reluctantly let him go and continued looking for the next target. He couldn¡¯t help anyone who could spend 20 gold to scroll through the quests in the main hall.


    Lu Li entered the hall and looked at the monitor in the employment hall.


    There was all sorts of information on it. Lu Li waited for his quest to come up. He didn¡¯t actually have any hope that it would be accepted, but he was surprised to find a pair of golden wings on it.


    This meant that someone had left a message.


    Perhaps that person really did find the Ancient Demon Eyes!


    Not all players could leave a message. You needed to have the employer¡¯s item or some useful information. It needed to be inspected by the Mercenary Association before a message could be left for the employer to contact them.


    The authenticity of the information was divided into three classes ¨C red, gray and gold.


    Red was unreliable, gray had some credibility, but was unconfirmed, and gold meant that the person had the item on hand.


    Lu Li found a self-service check in machine and after passing authentication, he quickly saw the message.


    Laugh into the Heavens ¨C what a strange name. Lu Li frowned as he tried to send this person a private message. As long as he had the item, Lu Li didn¡¯t care what his name was.


    System: Sorry, your message has been rejected.


    Dammit, Lu Li was speechless. He hadn¡¯t been rejected for a long time, so it was unusual when he heard the prompt. What was this player doing? He wasn¡¯t playing properly.

 561 Strange Terms

    It couldn¡¯t be helped; he had to add him to his friend list. It was rare for Lu Li to add anyone to his friend list, so even up until this day, he only had a few players on it.


    Celebrity players sometimes contacted each other, but everyone mostly talked in chat rooms, so there was no need to add each other. The last friend request he had accepted was from Unforgettable Maple two days ago.


    Some people played games to socialize, but Lu Li never felt like he was good with his social abilities. He trusted these issues to Square Root 3; all he needed to do was constantly improve his strength.


    The other player immediately accepted.


    "I heard you have an Ancient Magical Eye?" Lu Li asked, getting straight to the point.


    "Yes, I have one. You must be the one who placed the quest up in the Mercenary Hall. Wait¡­you¡¯re Lu Li ¨C the Lu Li who is ranked number one on the level rankings!" Laugh Into the Heavens exclaimed, realizing who had added him as a friend.


    "Yes, I¡¯m Lu Li," Lu Li confirmed.


    Players who were friends could check each other¡¯s level and online status; there wasn¡¯t a way to fool anyone else with this.


    "Oh goodness, it¡¯s you! No wonder why you needed this Ancient Magical Eye." Laugh into the Heavens took a while to calm himself down; his voice was still high pitched.


    "I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m any different to anyone else."


    Lu Li spent most of his time in an isolated state. Due to his upbringing, he had also become used to ignoring the negative attention of others around him. He still hadn¡¯t realized that no one looked down on him and his sister anymore. At least, in the game, no one could ignore his presence.


    "Let¡¯s meet up, master gamer," Laugh into the Heavens sugggested.


    "I feel like¡­ you talk a lot like Shen Wansan."


    Lu Li always had accurate instincts, which were especially helped by the way that this player talked to him. He sounded a lot like Shen Wansan.


    "You know Shen Wansan? Then that¡¯s even more reason for us to sit down and have a good talk. I¡¯ve known Shen Wansan for many years¡­"


    "You¡¯re in sales," Lu Li realized. If there was anyone who owned an Ancient Magical Eye at this stage of the game, it was either a lucky player who had received it from a quest, a mercenary group or a businessman.


    "Half, only half-a-businessman," Laugh into the Heavens explained.


    "Sure, I¡¯ll be in the Elf City. There¡¯s a Elven tea bar there that¡¯s quite decent. Come over, I¡¯ll pay," Lu Li said before finally adding, "Might as well bring the Ancient Magical Eye too."


    "Of course, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d lie to you," Laugh into the Heavens laughed.


    Elf City was a business district in Darnassus. It wasn¡¯t as rowdy as Stormwind City, but it was special in its own way. The shadows under the green trees danced with a magical color, and many players liked this area.


    Stormwind City and Ironforge had the best bars. Those who enjoyed drinking didn¡¯t like the fruit wine made by the Elves. However, the Elves made good tea.


    The servers in the tea bar were all players. When Lu Li entered, he thought that he had entered into a restaurant in the real world.


    "Someone else is coming. Find me a quiet spot and bring us two cups of tea with four random desserts," Lu Li said as he followed the waiter into a booth.


    He waited for a while and saw a buff man enter.


    "Hi, I¡¯m Laugh into the Heavens."


    The man was a human, but he had the figure of a Tauren. It was hard to tell if he was buff in real life, or if he had used some kind of item.


    This was someone who was completely different from Shen Wansan. Shen Wansan¡¯s style was rather deliberate ¨C people could easily tell he was a businessman.


    Laugh Into the Heavens, on the other hand, was dressed like a battle-class player.


    "Nice to meet you. Do you have the goods?" Lu Li shook his head, but he was most concerned about the Magical Ancient Eye.


    "Of course. Look, this is the real deal," Laugh Into the Heavens said as he showed Lu Li the item. Light moved around within it, making it seem as if the eyeball was still alive.


    "This is the real one indeed. How did you get it?" Lu Li was confused.


    "Hehe, it was a very complex quest¡­" It was hard to tell what Laugh Into the Heavens was thinking, but he described the entire process of the quest in detail. He wasn¡¯t the least concerned that Lu Li would ditch the transaction and do the quest himself.


    "So it really is a quest¡­" Lu Li took some time to slow down his racing heart beat and asked, "how much?"


    "I don¡¯t want money!" Laugh Into the Heavens waved his hands.


    "Brother, if you don¡¯t want money, then what do you want?" Lu Li asked calmly as he relaxed himself into the chair.


    "Talking about money damages our relationships," Laugh into the Heavens slapped his thigh and sighed. "I was going to give this to you for free as a gift for our meeting. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s good enough as a meeting gift though."


    "Cut to the point¡­" Lu Li found it hard to put up with aimless talk.


    "Hehe, I have a small request for you if that¡¯s possible. It¡¯s about a quest¡­" Laugh Into the Heavens explained the trigger of the quest, the process and what he needed Lu Li to do for him.


    "Sounds like a strange quest, but is it worth this rare material that you can only get from a level 35 dungeon?" Lu Li didn¡¯t quite understand.


    "Oh, so this is a rare material from a level 35 dungeon. I¡¯d expect nothing less from a master gamer. If you feel like this material is worth something more, then can I ask for another request?" Laugh Into the Heavens didn¡¯t hold back at all.


    Lu Li wanted to slap himself in the face for talking too much.


    "I¡¯ll just tell you, but if you feel like it¡¯s inappropriate, you can refuse. It definitely won¡¯t affect our current agreement," Laugh Into the Heavens quickly added after seeing that Lu Li¡¯s expression had changed.


    "Yes?" Lu Li could only have a listen to what he wanted to say.


    The Ancient Magical Eye was too important to him. Even though the quest that Laugh Into the Heavens had shared with him was quite difficult, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him.


    "It¡¯s so hard to make friends with a master gamer," Laugh into the Heavens smiled bitterly and sighed. "It¡¯s my first time adding a master gamer as a friend."


    Lu Li pulled the corner of his lips slightly, unsure where this player was trying to get at.


    "Hmph, my request is very simple. I only ask that you don¡¯t delete me off the friend list. If there¡¯s any chance in the future for any sort of business, place me on a higher priority. Perhaps no one can beat you in terms of battle, but when it comes to business, I can guarantee that I can do everything that Shen Wansan can do. In fact, I can even do the things that he cannot do¡­"


    "I thought you were friends." Lu Li was speechless; this was a strange request.


    However, he also had to admit that he had underestimated this businessman. He wasn¡¯t any worse than Shen Wansan.


    "Of course we¡¯re friends, but unfortunately, Shen Wansan doesn¡¯t share any resources with me, so we¡¯re also competitors," Laugh into the Heavens said calmly.


    "Sure, I¡¯ll agree to this too." Lu Li nodded his head and agreed to this term which barely had any restrictions for him.


    It had been a long time since Lu Li had come into contact with Shen Wansan. It was now Square Root 3 who was in charge of contacting him. Shen Wansan could already make enough money from the guild.


    As for the player in front of him, he didn¡¯t mind working with him in the future if the chance arose.


    If he really could achieve the things that Shen Wansan could not, then this was a player who was an expert at his job.


    "This is the Ancient Magical Eye that you wanted." Laugh into the Heavens was very generous; he was about to trade in the rare material.


    "Not yet. We¡¯ll do your quest first," Lu Li refused, turning down his kind offer. They didn¡¯t know each other well yet, so there wasn¡¯t a need for them to be too close for now.

 562 Drifting Bottle

    It wasn¡¯t hard to trigger Laugh Into the Heavens¡¯ quest. When killing the Bloodsail Buccaneers around the shores of Stranglethorn Vale, have you ever come across a half-buried bottle in the sands?


    Perhaps some players had walked across it, but never bothered to pick up the bottle.


    Although Laugh Into the Heavens seemed like a buff man and only thought about money, he was someone who was capable of discovering and seizing opportunities. After he opened the bottle, he found a slip inside.


    Tales around drifting bottles could often be found in a variety of fairytales. They could be about treasure, a romantic love story, or perhaps a bored demon who lived within the bottle.


    When Laugh Into the Heavens found the bottle, he was excited ¨C he thought that he had had a chance to marry a princess.


    It was indeed from a princess; the beautiful writing was very princess-like as well. However, it had nothing to do with love.


    To anyone who can help me: Please, I desperately need help. A giant Skymane Gorilla has captured me and locked me on an island along the South shore.It thinks I¡¯m cute and wants to keep me as a pet. How can a princess from the Kreego household be kept as someone¡¯s pet, not to mention the pet of an ugly gorilla? I need a hero to save me, but I¡¯m not sure where I am, so I can only describe what I see.


    The night view from this location is unlike any other nights that I¡¯ve seen in my life. The island is filled with thick forests of trees, but when the weather is good, I can see the shore in the Northwest direction. There were also a few ships that passed by and sailed towards the Southeast.


    When Lu Li saw the slip, he felt a similar emotion towards Laugh Into the Heavens.


    Any man with the slightest bit of sympathy probably wouldn¡¯t leave the Gnome princess to be caged up by a gorilla on an island.


    Yes, that¡¯s right ¨C she was a Gnome princess. Kreego was a prince in Ironforge and was also a powerful Gnome caster.


    A caged princess had placed all her hopes inside this tiny little bottle. How could the players not go and save her?


    Hence, Lu Li and Laugh Into the Heavens returned to Booty Bay in Stranglethorn Vale.


    Booty Bay was a harbor city owned by the boss of the Blackwater pirates, Baron Revilgaz. It was a part of the Hot Sand group and their worst enemies were the Bloodsail Buccaneers.


    Even though they were pirates, they were a neutral faction.


    Along the north side of Booty Bay, Laugh Into the Heavens pointed at a section of the beach and said, "This was where I found the bottle."


    "No one else found the bottle?" Lu Li investigated the area and didn¡¯t see any other bottles.


    "I haven¡¯t heard of anyone else with the bottle. I only found it a few days ago while I was killing the crabs here. I like crab buns; the crabs here make good buns," Laugh Into the Heavens explained as he gazed at the crabs along the beach with interest.


    Lu Li quickly stopped him, "Don¡¯t worry about the crab buns. Have you tried to search for the island?"


    "Of course I¡¯ve tried, but the monsters in the sea are too dangerous. The sailors in Booty Bay refuse to change their course, so I haven¡¯t found the island yet. Do you have a solution?" Laugh Into the Heavens asked as he spread his hands.


    "She said she saw the shore and ships. Perhaps it was an illusion," Lu Li guessed.


    From the descriptions of the paper slip, he pictured a self-obsessed princess. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t so bad for her to be a gorilla¡¯s pet. She could probably only reach up to an average human¡¯s waist in terms of height. The two might even look cute together.


    "Maybe it¡¯s because of the weather. The weather in Stranglethorn Vale is horrible and there¡¯s mist everywhere." It seemed like Laugh Into the Heavens didn¡¯t like the environment. "We need to set sail. Do you know anyone who could take us?¡¯


    "There¡¯s no need for so much trouble. We only need to prepare two things." Lu Li felt like he was taking advantage of Laugh Into the Heavens.


    This quest had no level of difficulty at all.


    "Which two things?" Laugh Into the Heavens had already tried many different solutions. He had even brought some mercenaries to steal a ship, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t succeed and lost EXP in the process.


    "Head over to the Black Bear bar in Stormwind City and look for a guy with an eyepatch. He should be there drinking all the time," Lu Li said.


    "Doesn¡¯t he ever pee?" Laugh Into the Heavens asked.


    "Uhm¡­" Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure how he should answer him; Laugh Into the Heavens had a strange way of thinking. Of course, a person who kept drinking would have to eventually head to the bathroom, but this was a game. Did anyone ever need to go to the bathroom?


    Lu Li quickly stopped himself from his drifting thoughts. It was too dangerous for him to be around someone like Laugh Into the Heavens.


    "A guy with an eyepatch, right? I¡¯ll keep this in mind. If he goes to the toilet, I¡¯ll just wait for him in the bar. What next? Are we taking him on an adventure after I find him?" Laugh Into the Heavens asked, trying his best to cover his silly personality.


    "Buy a telescope from him. How can you set sail without a telescope?" Lu Li tried to remain patient.


    "What about you? What are you doing?" Laugh Into the Heavens didn¡¯t want to be the only one doing something.


    "I¡¯ve got to go and find a ship." Dawn didn¡¯t support technology creation yet, so players couldn¡¯t build their own ship, even if they knew how to. Lu Li had multiple ways to find a ship ¨C he could buy one, borrow one or even pick one up.


    Speaking of picking up ships, Lu Li instantly remembered the worn-out ships that floated around in Feralas Dalmond Lake.


    This was one of the few ways to obtain a ship with the least cost. These ships didn¡¯t belong to anyone, so players could take them, fix them and use them for themselves.


    After they dragged the ship away, they would refresh and players could then continue to collect them. The gaming company wasn¡¯t impressed by this, so eventually, they turned those ships into a part of the scenery.


    "Good luck." Laugh Into the Heavens felt better; he could easily buy a telescope. The hardest part of this quest was finding a ship. He was happy that Lu Li had done so much for him for the cheap price of a rare material.


    They both headed off to make preparations. Lu Li gave a heads up to Square Root 3 and asked him to steal a ship at night.


    The ships weren¡¯t just simple piles of wood ¨C they were worth quite a lot.


    As for Lu Li himself, who could catch the coattails of a top Thief?


    Feralas was beautiful as usual. The reflections of the ships looked identical to reality, but underneath, it was an entirely different world.


    Lu Li jumped under the surface and swam towards the ships.


    None of these ships were in good condition. One of them was on the verge of falling apart ¨C half of the hull was filled with water. The other ships were in slightly better condition, but none of them were seaworthy.


    Lu Li had already cleared his bag, apart from his important items.


    He picked a ship that looked to be in the best condition. The sail had already rotted away and the roof of the cabin was broken, but the majority of the structure was still fine.

 563 Picking Up A Ship

    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure if he could really fit the ship in his bag, so he could only make an attempt.


    To his surprise, the looting process wasn¡¯t difficult ¨C the ship disappeared before his eyes. However, at the same time, he quickly sunk towards the bottom of the lake.


    He checked his carry weight and found that he was overweight by 325%.His movement speed was decreased by 80% and he was taking 21 damage each second.


    Lu Li quickly transformed into a seal and swam up to the shore. After he was on shore, he immediately drank a potion and returned to the city.


    At the same time, he asked Square Root 3 to assign a Healer to Stormwind City. Fortunately, Hachi Chan happened to be around the place at the time, so she made herself useful.


    Upon returning to Darnassus, he immediately teleported to Stormwind City.


    When Lu Li left the portal, his movement speed was incredibly slow. It was as if he was walking in outer space. Although the system said that his movement speed was decreased by 80%, he felt like he only 5% movement speed.


    Thieves had such a low amount of carry weight.


    Hachi Chan rested her cheeks on her hand as she sat on the side of the road. After she saw Lu Li, she asked, "Gosh, did someone hit you?"


    "Why are you asking this?" Lu Li checked his health bar; he was still in the safe zone. There was also a Healer beside him, so there was nothing for him to be afraid of.


    "You can¡¯t even walk. Did someone hit you?" Although she spoke nonsense, her face was very serious and she had a look of sympathy. Lu Li was about to choke.


    "Heal¡­"


    "What?" Hachi Chan blinked her eyes, unsure of what Lu Li was asking.


    "Heal me ¨C can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m about to die?" He only had one-third of his health bar left. Lu Li finally gave up on the thought of this girl healing him without him asking. That was him being unrealistic.


    "Oh dear." Hachi Chan finally noticed that Lu Li had been constantly dropping health. She quickly threw some skills at Lu Li and topped up his health bar. At the same time, she angrily said, "Who did this to you?! There aren¡¯t any debuffs on you."


    "I¡¯m carrying something very heavy," Lu Li explained weakly.


    "What is it? Show me." The little girl was very curious.


    "Tell me how you leveled up first." Lu Li talked to her as he walked with difficulty to the ship repair store from his memories. The location was quite far, so he had to take Hachi Chan with him.


    "I just did a few quests," Hachi Chan said lightly.


    "A few quests made you reach level 36? Are you about to hit level 37?" Lu Li wanted to slap her, but he was afraid that if she got cranky, she would run away. Then, he would be in trouble.


    It had taken him so much effort to reach level 37, but it was as if she had cheated.


    "I wrote some guides for them. They all leveled up so fast afterwards; there¡¯s nothing I can do about it." Hachi Chan¡¯s daily routine involved quests, quests and even more quests. She could pick up quests even if she was just shopping around.


    Perhaps the system thought she was too stupid and decided to show her some pity.


    In her spare time, she wrote some guides about the quests that the members of the guild could follow. However, the rewards they received were never as good as hers, since she was the first one who had completed these quests.


    There was a small dock in the harbor near the store that produced some smaller ships. The dock mainly supplied ships for nobles and players to set sail for entertainment purposes.


    The dock didn¡¯t sell ships yet; this was something that players had to wait for in a System update. After the future updates, private ships would become the new trend. When the time came, the gaming company would profit greatly from it.


    An old sailor by the name Elvis greeted Lu Li.


    Elvis wasn¡¯t the owner of the dock, but had been a free sailor in his early days. Apparently, he had earned a gambling debt later on and hid in this dock. In the future, he would hand out a very famous trap quest.


    His debt owners eventually tracked him down here and often sent people to threaten him.


    He would use treasure as an excuse to borrow money from the players, which fooled countless people.


    Lu Li was one of those players. He gave the old man 20 gold coins and didn¡¯t receive anything in return. Some say that it was because they didn¡¯t give enough gold coins for the old sailor to return his debt that he couldn¡¯t reward the players with a treasure map.


    What kind of players would spend ten thousand gold coins on an old gambler to return his debt?


    "What¡¯s wrong, little girl?" Although the sailor was in his old age, he was still quite healthy. With his white hair and friendly appearance, he was well-respected by the players.


    But why were his eyes staring right at the little girl and ignoring Lu Li? He was the one who walked in front.


    Lu Li was upset and counted the mixed emotions that ran through his head.


    "Grandpa, we have a request¡­" Hachi Chan scratched her head and realized that she had no idea why they were here. She could only turn around to look at Lu Li for help.


    Lu Li took a few steps back and brought out the broken ship from his bag.


    If this was real life, there was no way he would be able to do this.


    The massive item caught Hachi Chan by surprise. Elvis wasn¡¯t disturbed at all as he came closer to carefully inspect the ship.


    "Good stuff. Where¡¯d you get it?" Surprisingly, Elvis didn¡¯t think that this was a bad ship at all.


    "A gift from someone." Lu Li obviously wasn¡¯t going to tell the truth.


    "You¡¯re not very honest, but that¡¯s alright. You¡¯re fixing the ship, right?" Elvis wasn¡¯t angry. If Lu Li didn¡¯t know about the quest in the future, he would probably be impressed by Elvis¡¯ manners.


    "This ship is so broken." Hachi Chan was very curious about the goods that Lu Li was carrying. She didn¡¯t expect it to be a broken ship and was quite disappointed.


    "Haha, little girl, you don¡¯t understand ships. Although this ship looks broken, the main structures aren¡¯t damaged at all. These messy engravings have all been made by masters. Just a slight fix, and you¡¯ll be able to set sail again with this ship." Elvis touched the broken ship gently and didn¡¯t hide the envy in his tone.


    Most sailors dreamed of having their own ships, even if it was a small ship like this one.


    "Then we¡¯ll leave it to you, grandpa." Hachi Chan¡¯s admiration on her face placed Elvis in a good mood. He didn¡¯t say anything else and began his work, testing, designing, picking the materials¡­


    "Wait, how much does it cost to fix this ship?" Lu Li wasn¡¯t so sure about the whole situation yet.


    "Cost?" Elvis was stunned as he looked down on Lu Li. "For the sake of the little girl, I¡¯ll just charge you for the material fees. That¡¯s a total of 132 gold coins."


    Only a little more than a hundred gold coins ¨C this was much lower than Lu Li¡¯s expectations. He immediately handed over the money.


    It seemed like bringing Hachi Chan around was quite useful. At the very least, the NPCs didn¡¯t set down traps for him. Although the System¡¯s daughter was a little dumb and had no skill in terms of PVP or PVE, she was still a useful team member.

 564 Island

    Since this was a game, fixing a ship wasn¡¯t as troublesome as it would be in real life. Elvis did some knocking around with his few apprentices for a few dozen minutes before the ship was fixed.


    "This ship is so pretty!" Hachi Chan exclaimed as she pounced onto it and refused to leave.


    It was no wonder why she liked the ship so much. Elvis was clearly a perfectionist ¨C the ship was now a piece of art.


    Lu Li¡¯s biased opinion towards Elvis had been shook once again.


    Although what he did was a heavy and dirty job, his appearance was tidy. He wasn¡¯t greedy ¨C he had perfected the broken ship to this extent, but only charged 130 gold. This was definitely only the cost price of the materials. He was skilled as well ¨C Lu Li noticed that his apprentices showed great respect to him.


    It was hard to imagine why such a well-mannered artisan would be a gambler who hid from his debts.


    Was there a story hidden in the dark? Perhaps players from Lu Li¡¯s previous life had misunderstood the quest.


    With this confusion in mind, Lu Li paid the sum and left the dock.


    He still needed Hachi Chan to heal him, so he agreed to take this curious little girl to save the princess in return for her service.


    "Why isn¡¯t it a prince that¡¯s saving her?" Clearly, she had been reading too many fairytales.


    "You should be the one captured by an evil dragon, waiting for the prince to come and save you," Lu Li said in annoyance. When his sister was young, she often nagged him to tell her bedtime stories, so Lu Li was quite familiar with these.


    "Never mind then. I honestly don¡¯t understand why the dragons don¡¯t eat the princesses, but instead lock them up in castles so someone can save them," Hachi Chan said.


    When they arrived at the meet up point, they found that Laugh Into the Heavens had already been waiting there.


    "Seems like the single eyed pirate didn¡¯t go to the toilet. You¡¯ve got the telescope, right?" Lu Li asked after briefly introducing Hachi Chan.


    "I got it." Laugh Into the Heavens nodded and was enlightened by Lu Li¡¯s words. "So he¡¯s a pirate ¨C no wonder why he sold telescopes. If I report him to the general hall, would there be a bounty for him?"


    "Pirates are bad people, right?" Hachi Chan said as she nodded her head quickly. "Let the policemen catch him."


    "That¡¯s enough of the silly talk," Lu Li interrupted. "He¡¯s a character that sells products that pirates loot. Players can buy goods that the system doesn¡¯t sell. Why would you report him when he provides so many benefits? Even if you reported him, pirates would send out others to sell the items. It won¡¯t be easy to find them again next time."


    "Such a small ship. Can we sail in this?" Laugh Into the Heavens watched as Lu Li placed the ship into the waters. This wasn¡¯t as bad as a raft, but it was better to set sail with a big ship like the pirates.


    "Take this. Llet¡¯s go." Lu Li tossed a bottle at him and pushed the ship into the water.


    He didn¡¯t know how to paddle in real life, but since this was a game, he only had to look like he was paddling. The ship moved in the direction of the paddle and the sail.


    Laugh Into the Heavens looked at what Lu Li had tossed to him and was at a loss. It was an Underwater Breathing Potion. What was the point of this item? Even if you went into the water, the monsters nearby would instantly shred you into pieces.


    It seemed as if Hachi Chan rarely went sailing ¨C she was very happy and jumped around a lot.


    She wasn¡¯t the least concerned about the chances of the ship being sunk.


    "We¡¯re not going too deep into the ocean. What could possibly happen? Use your telescope to find the island; I¡¯ll look after the directions of the ship," Lu Li instructed as he controlled the ship, trying not to steer too far away from the shore.


    Although Lu Li was in a hurry to upgrade his ring, he had taken up a deal, so he had to search patiently.


    The search ended after two hours of finding nothing.


    "What are you two looking for?" No matter how interesting the quest sounded, it had lost its fun after two hours. Hachi Chan finally stopped jumping around.


    "An island." Lu Li hesitated for a bit then suggested that Laugh Into the Heavens t show the slip to Hachi Chan. After all, she was good at quest. Perhaps she could solve the situation.


    Hachi Chan took the slip and looked at it for some time. It was rare to see so much concentration on her face. After some time, she pointed in a direction and said, "Try there."


    Lu Li and Laugh Into the Heavens followed her request.


    Laugh Into the Heavens wasn¡¯t too sure about trusting Hachi Chan ¨C this little girl didn¡¯t seem reliable at all. However, Lu Li nodded his head and pulled the sails, steering the ship towards the direction that Hachi Chan had pointed in.


    The surface of the sea was filled with mist, which greatly impacted their vision. Even the telescope wasn¡¯t of much use.


    However, this wasn¡¯t a quest that could wait until the weather was better.


    Dawn¡¯s quests had always been like this. If the quest wasn¡¯t triggered, the Gnome princess could stay there for months and nothing would happen to her. However, once the quest was accepted and you arrived too late, the gorilla may have already cooked the princess.


    Although they didn¡¯t find anything at first, after half-an-hour, Laugh Into the Heavens jumped in excitement with the telescope in his hands. He pointed in a direction along the surface of the sea like a madman.


    "Look, over there!"


    Lu Li and Hachi Chan turned in the direction that he pointed but they saw nothing.


    Without the telescope, there was only so much that they could see. The ship sailed for a little longer and the black outline of an island began to appear on the horizon.


    They were located about three to four thousand yards away from the shore and the air was thick with moisture. Lu Li had passed by this location before, but they didn¡¯t venture out far enough to see the island. Laugh Into the Heavens also wasn¡¯t paying much attention.


    "This is all me," Hachi Chan reminded after seeing that the two men were too busy being happy. They didn¡¯t even bother to thank her.


    "Yup, yup, yup, all you. I¡¯ll buy you a lollipop when we get back," Lu Li replied without much care in his voice.


    He thought that this was unfair. He had analyzed the situation again and again with Laugh Into the Heavens, looked around together for more than two hours and found nothing. Then, this little girl ¡ª a little girl who was dumb ¨C only took half-an-hour to find it.


    Laugh Into the Heavens was truly grateful to Hachi Chan; he almost thought that he was going to fail the quest.


    He complimented her in different ways and promised her great things to finally satisfy her. Laugh Into the Heavens then looked at Lu Li and asked, "What now? Do we directly approach it?"


    "Wait for a bit first. After we reach the shore, I¡¯ll go and scout around. You can wait on the ship for a bit with Hachi Chan," Lu Li said as he began to slowly steer the ship towards the island.


    There were some reefs around the island, but fortunately, their ship was quite small. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to approach the island.

 565 Giant Gorilla

    When they got closer, they realised the island was covered in thick woodlands, just as the Gnome Princess had described. The dense trees made it difficult to see the beauty of the island from afar.


    The subtle calls of monkeys could be heard as the sound was carried over by the sea breeze.


    There were probably a lot of monkeys and gorillas on the island. There was also a giant ape that had a hobby of keeping Gnomes as his pet.


    This was the Elite Boss of the island. Lu Li didn¡¯t understand why it liked to keep Gnomes as pets, but he knew that the Monkey King wasn¡¯t a normal monster because it was intelligent enough to have a hobby like that.


    When they got even closer, monkeys could be seen jumping around on the beach. They appeared to be smashing seashells and eating the flesh on the inside.


    Lu Li docked his boat at a safe and secluded part of the island. He specifically chose this spot so that it wouldn¡¯t be discovered easily, and it would also be easier for him to escape if necessary.


    As Lu Li stepped onto the soft beach, the first thing he notice were the countless crabs and lobsters on shore. They were all passive monsters and wouldn¡¯t attack players unless provoked.


    However, something made Lu Li¡¯s heart sink.


    These harmless passive monsters were as high as Lv40, meaning that the level of aggressive monsters on this island would be even higher. He felt uneasy because he was still only Lv37.


    He had to be more careful and plan his escapes when the monsters were too strong.


    The beach only occupied a small part of the island. The rest of the island was the perfect environment for large trees and plants due to the humidity. A distinct and thick, rotten smell wafted out from within the jungle.


    The monsters that Lu Li had to watch out for the most were the Gorillas. These Silver Back Gorillas were mostly above Lv40.


    The scary part was that these Gorillas tended to hunt in groups. When faced with danger, they had the ability to call out other Gorillas for reinforcement. Lu Li watched from a distance as a group of Gorillas took down a two-headed Core Hound.


    Working together, the group of Gorillas made the Core Hound look like a small puppy.


    After exploring for more than 10 minutes, Lu Li found the location of the Boss by looking at the levels of the monsters nearby. From afar, he saw a giant Gorilla sitting on a flat piece of land.


    It was more than 3 meters tall with a dense body of oversized muscles.


    Lu Li did not find the boss intimidating because it was doing something interesting.


    In his hand was a bamboo woven basket which contained the Gnome princess inside. The Boss was whistling at the princess, trying to entertain her.


    He was like an old man playing with his dog in the morning. It looked like he was trying to teach his pet tricks.


    Lu Li felt disgusted at whoever designed this Boss to have such a disturbing fetish. Even though he was judging the giant Gorilla, he knew not to let his guard down because the Boss was at a much higher level than he was.


    What could he do to steal away his precious pet?


    The most direct way was to face him head-on and kill him. However, anyone would know how difficult it would be to deal with him ¨C even his underlings were higher than Lv40. He had to be extremely powerful to be crowned as the king of the island.


    Outsmarting him was unlikely as well. Lu Li couldn¡¯t remember a short cut to rescuing the Gnome princess.


    On this island, the Giant Gorilla had every advantage over Lu Li.


    "Big boss, why are you so quiet? Did you get eaten by a monster?" Laugh Into the Heavens finally asked after holding in his question for so long.


    "The Blue Haired Gorilla is an Elite Boss which is at least Lv45. I have a feeling that if he roars, all the monkeys on the island will come and protect him. There¡¯re at least a couple of thousand monkeys on the island, maybe even ten thousand," Lu Li sighed.


    He thought that the quest would be easy.


    "What are you going to do then?" A Lv45 Boss wasn¡¯t impossible to defeat with a team, however, if the boss could summon underlings, it would make the fight much more difficult.


    Send in the guild to clear the area?


    That would take much too long. Besides, in Dawn, the monsters in the area near the boss had an increased spawn rate. This was to ensure that the difficulty of the boss wasn¡¯t lowered.


    Of course, this was all Lu Li¡¯s speculation.


    Lu Li observed the boss for a while longer and couldn¡¯t find a way to complete this mission alone. As such, he decided to turn around for backup. On the way back, he found the a safer and faster route to the Boss and drew it on his map to show Laugh Into the Heavens.


    "I¡¯ll take you there. Wait for me to lure the Boss away, and you can go and save the princess. After that, follow this route back to the ship," Lu Li said.


    "That won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll lure the boss and you can go save her. I¡¯m a Druid, so I run faster¡­" Laugh into the Heavens stopped and realised that Lu Li could transform like a Druid as well. "If I die and lose some experience it¡¯s fine. You¡¯re number one on the rankings so it¡¯s important that you don¡¯t lose EXP.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t expect him to be this loyal. He thought about it but refused, "I¡¯ll go lure the boss ¨C you might not be able to lure it away."


    Laugh Into the Heavens began tearing up. Was Lu Li saying that he wasn¡¯t good enough?


    However, this was the hard truth. If the Boss was Lv50, then even Lu Li wasn¡¯t confident that he would be able to lure him away. Laugh into the Heavens was only a Lv30 Druid, so it would be even more difficult for him.


    They left Hachi Chan behind to look after the ship as Lu Li led Laugh Into the Heavens along the safe route to where the Boss resided.


    Along the way, Laugh Into the Heavens¡¯ expression changed.


    He did not realise how many monkeys and gorillas were on the island. If they all aggroed onto them, the results would be catastrophic.


    "I¡¯ve marked all the coordinates of the monsters on the map. When you rescue the princess, follow this road and you should be fine. Transform into Cat Form and let the Gnome Princess ride on your back. If you encounter any monsters, just ignore them and continue on."


    NPCs were able to ride on the back of Cat Form Druids, but other players could not.


    Many people liked to invite Druids for escort missions. Usually, the escorted NPCs were beautiful girls, so the Druids would happily accept.


    After everything was set up, Lu Li approached the Boss in Stealth mode.


    The Boss appeared to not have an aggro range. When Lu Li was next to him, he was still whistling casually. Lu Li looked at his dagger and thought about slitting his throat with it.


    He came across a small bead on the ground and picked it up without hesitating.


    Usually, the loot around the Boss could only be picked up when the Boss was killed. However, this wasn¡¯t the case this time and Lu Li picked up the bead without any restrictions.


    The whistling stopped, and without making eye contact with the Boss, Lu Li immediately activated his speed boost skills and ran as fast as he could.


    The Boss roared loudly and saw the little Thief that had stolen his precious jewel. It got up from its spot and jumped up high into the air, landing right behind Lu Li.

 566 Chased by Monkeys

    The Gorilla jumped several yards and easily closed the distance. It jumped high into the air and landed, shaking the earth and creating a mini-earthquake that almost made Lu Li fall over.


    There was no point of being in Stealth anymore, so Lu Li transformed into Cat form and ran away.


    The Blue Mane Gorilla hesitated for a second when it saw Lu Li¡¯s transformation. In order to add realness to the game, the System gave the Bosses real-life intelligence. It acted surprised and slightly confused when Lu Li turned into a cat.


    With the split second of delay, Lu Li managed to increase the distance between them again.


    The Gorilla felt ridiculed and appeared to have become even more angry. It grabbed a boulder near him and threw it towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li never looked back, but heard the swooshing sound of an object piercing through the air at high speed and immediately changed the direction he was running in.


    The momentum made him fall and tumble to the ground. He got up, turned around and saw something that was terrifying.


    The boulder thrown by the Gorilla had formed a huge crater where Lu Li would have been if he hadn¡¯t changed direction. If the boulder landed on him, it would have surely been an instant kill.


    At first glance, most people would assume the Blue Mane Gorilla to be a melee, close-combat boss.


    Lu Li had made the same assumption, but reality slapped him hard in the face when the Gorilla threw the boulder. The throw wasn¡¯t random and reckless, but calculated and precise.


    Lu Li decided not to run away in a straight line anymore, but to change directions in order to avoid the ranged attacks.


    The Gorilla kept missing the boulders it threw at the little pest in front of him and became irritated. It roared and grabbed more boulders, raining them down towards Lu Li. If this was a skill, then why didn¡¯t the developers add a cooldown to it?


    This made things much more difficult for Lu Li.


    He wasn¡¯t sure whether he was playing the game or if things were the other way around.


    Lu Li finally figured out why there were so many boulders ¨C all the craters on the island had been created by the Gorilla.


    Mistakes were unavoidable, even for a top-level player. A boulder finally tracked Lu Li down and sent him flying.


    What happens when a small stone collides with a big boulder?


    Some would predict that the stone would crack like an egg, but no one had really tested this out before. In this case, Lu Li was the small stone, and instead of cracking, he was tossed into the air.


    His HP dropped by a third and the impact sent him flying over 70 to 80 yards.


    The only upside to this was that he was now further away from the Boss. He also realised something that he had not thought about this whole time.


    Instead of running around aimlessly out in the open, why not run into the forest nearby? Not only would the trees hide his small frame, but they would also block the boulders from reaching him.


    Lu Li left the open fields and snuck into the forest nearby.


    The Blue Maned Gorilla was too large and his movements were restricted by the trees. Although the trees weren¡¯t enough to stop him from chasing Lu Li, they limited his ability to throw boulders.


    "Lu Li, I¡¯ve rescued the princess and I¡¯m heading out towards the beach. Is the Boss stilled aggro onto you?" Laugh Into the Heavens yelled in voice chat.


    "Be quiet ¨C I can hear you. It¡¯s still chasing me." Lu Li hid behind a tree and avoided another boulder. He was still able to respond despite being chased.


    "I¡¯ll leave first." There was no way that Laugh Into the Heavens could help.


    "I¡¯ll go in a full circle around the map and come back to the boat. Tell me when you guys get on and boat and are ready to leave." Lu Li was flustered at first, but now that he had gotten better at avoiding boulders, he was confident that he could easily outrun the Boss. However, he needed to keep aggro in case he returned to his spawn.


    Artificial intelligence would never catch up to human intelligence¡­


    From a different perspective, it was quite sad to give an in-game Boss artificial intelligence. As Lu Li glanced back at the boss, he saw that it was howling and pounding its chest hard, frustrated at the whole situation.


    The Blue Mane Gorilla had probably never felt these emotions before.


    The developers gave the Gorilla King luscious forests and clear blue skies on the island it resided on. However, it was the same trees that decreased the power of his boulders throws.


    It had terrifying strength and insane durability, able to trample the giant trees that stood in his path.


    Even so, the Gorilla wasn¡¯t invincible because the trees slowed him down and decreased his HP. It tried so hard to catch up to Lu Li, but the distance between them continued to increase.


    The Giant Gorilla was so frustrated and was about to burst into tears.


    Lu Li stared at the dumb Gorilla that was howling in frustration and knew that he had discovered the limits of this seemingly unconquerable Elite Boss.


    Lu Li might not have been able to kill the Gorilla, but it couldn¡¯t do anything to him either.


    Just as he thought about taunting the boss again to reset the aggro, he heard countless monkey calls from behind. Lu Li discovered that there were monkeys everywhere that were swarming towards him.


    Some were running on the ground, while others swung along the trees and vines. There were so many of them in sight that it was impossible to estimate how many there were.


    Lu Li was wrong¡­ he shouldn¡¯t have underestimated the developers of the game, and he shouldn¡¯t have underestimated the power of the Blue Maned Gorilla.


    He didn¡¯t even have time to stop and shed the tears in his eyes. All he could do was run with all his might while still avoiding the boulders raining from the sky.


    The monkeys were truly like a family unit and they all had the same skill.


    They were throwing small rocks and stones at Lu Li, hitting him and causing his head to swell as if he was being stunned by bees.


    Apparently, before dying, people tended to have random thoughts and memories flash before their eyes. Lu Li was experiencing this, even though it was just a game.


    When the monkeys appeared, his fate was already sealed.


    Many people might ask, how come the bullets never kill the main actor in movies? This was because the director had to create a random plot to fill up the 2-hour movie time.


    Lu Li could only run through the areas that had less monkeys standing in his way. His original plan of running away and circling back to meet others was ruined.


    Now, he had no idea where he was going anymore.


    Every second counted and the longer he could survive, the better. He had already used an agility potion, as well as a healing potion to help him escape. He had also used the active effect on his shoes several times to avoid the stones, one of which was the huge boulders from the Boss. Lu Li dared not to tank another boulder throw because the next could be lethal.


    From a bird¡¯s eye view, Lu Li appeared to be running without a clue and in a random direction.


    However, he continued to make his way towards the centre of the island, almost as if there was something drawing him in.

 567 Secret Area

    He had to make a last stand!


    Lu Li laughed at himself when he realized that he had run in the wrong direction.


    The trees here were obviously ancient and there were countless layers of fallen leaves on the ground which greatly affected his move speed.


    As a Thief who had lost his move speed, what else did he have left?


    Going to kneel and wait for the big monkey to beat him to death?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t give up; he didn¡¯t want to give up until his HP bar was empty. He wasn¡¯t afraid of death, so what else was there to be afraid of?


    As such, he kept running for his life. Everything else that was around him didn¡¯t matter.


    There was only one thought in his mind ¨C keep running.


    "My life belongs to myself, and I make all my decisions willingly and freely."


    Skymane was getting tired of this chase as well. Why was this flea-like creature always able to escape its grasps?


    Obviously, he couldn¡¯t just give up on it.


    He was the owner of the island and for as long as he could remember, no one had dared to offend him or his territory.


    All intruders had to die!


    With such thoughts in his mind, the gorilla continued chasing.


    Lu Li was finding himself with fewer and fewer ways to escape. He walked into a narrow corridor which was surrounded by even thicker vegetation. The stone path underfoot was the only thing saving him.


    "Guru, we¡¯re on the boat. You can come over now." Now that Lu Li had pulled the Boss away, Laugh Into the Heavens had finally managed to get the Gnome Princess to board the ship.


    Now that she was on the ship, the quest was basically completed.


    It was likely that they didn¡¯t know a super-difficult level 45 quest would be completed by these two or three individuals.


    "You¡­." Lu Li paused before gritting his teeth and saying, "Go first; just leave now. Just in case something else happens."


    "Oh¡­" Laugh into the Heavens exclaimed, "What about you?"


    "I¡¯ll think of a way to escape. Once I find an opportunity I can return to the city," Lu Li said quietly. Even if he died, it was just 10% EXP.


    He just didn¡¯t know if he would lose any equipment.


    With the exception of his ring, all of his other equipment had a chance of being dropped.


    "Alright then, we¡¯ll head off.¡¯ Laugh into the Heavens didn¡¯t have any choice either, so he didn¡¯t say anything else. Obviously, in this current situation, completion of the quest was their top priority.


    As the thousands of large and small gorillas chased him, Lu Li kept moving forward.


    He didn¡¯t know what was ahead, but he knew it was better than the gorillas that were chasing him. As such, he just kept running towards the end.


    No matter how long a road was, it would always inevitably end.


    Even if the road didn¡¯t end, Lu Li couldn¡¯t run forever; those damned gorillas had injured him greatly. Fortunately, he was quite fast, and he had skills, effects and potions.


    At the end of the road, there was an octagonal altar that looked a lot like a door.


    The altar looked like a simple door frame, and there was a faint blue magic energy that made up the door itself. The door swirled and looked like a whirlpool, giving off the illusion that Lu Li¡¯s soul would be sucked in.


    This was likely a portal, but he didn¡¯t know where it would take him.


    Suddenly, Lu Li heard the System prompt.


    System: To discover the secrets of Haraku Island, use the secret orb.


    The orb that Lu Li had placed into his backpack started shining as he approached the portal. He finally understood what this item was for.


    It was a secret area!


    Unlike Instance Dungeons, secret areas were even more mystical. Each of them were unique and hard to find.


    So this was the legendary Haraku Island ¨C the one that was supposedly perpetually surrounded by fog. Players in his previous life had tried to come here to farm gorillas to sell as pets. Groups of mercenaries have sailed these waters in search for this place, but had come up with nothing.


    He should have known it would be here.


    As a boulder whistled towards Lu Li, he knew he didn¡¯t have time to think and just entered the secret area. It was certain death outside, but only the possibility of death inside, so the choice was clear.


    At first, everything was just black.


    The secret area was really dark ¨C he couldn¡¯t even see his hands. Lu Li quietly went into Stealth and crouched on the floor, motionless. His eyes eventually adapted to the dark and he could a little bit in front of him. He could only vaguely make out things that were a few yards ahead of him.


    The ground felt like scorched earth and there was a heavy smell of sulfur.


    Fortunately, those gorillas had no way of entering this secret area.


    Right now, he needed to decide whether he would just go home or explore what was in this place. This was a secret area after all, so it would be dumb to just walk away.


    Lu Li was struggling to overcome the temptation to explore. Although he knew it was going to be very dangerous, he still decided to go deeper.


    He cautiously pushed ahead and tried not to make any noise in this deathly-silent place. His Stealth was quite convenient as it reduced the possibility of him being discovered.


    After looking for a while, he found the first monster.


    It was a Double-Headed Hellhound.


    Lu Li finally understood why he saw a group of gorillas beating up a Double-Headed Hellhound on the island. It turned out that the monster was from this secret area.


    So, what was this secret area?


    He had read many books about the game¡¯s lore and quickly narrowed it down to two possibilities.


    The first was a prison ¨C perhaps a demon prison. In that case, Lu Li didn¡¯t have much to gain here as the imprisoned demons couldn¡¯t be directly killed and could easily kill him.


    The second possibility was a small abandoned world.


    In the cosmos, Azeroth wasn¡¯t the only world ¨C there were many different worlds and creatures. Some of these creatures were very powerful and evil, addicted to the pleasures of destruction. In their lust of destruction, those cruel creatures destroyed one world after another in this endless cosmos, until they came face to face with the Bronze Titan Sargeras.


    At the time, Sargeras was not the biggest enemy of Azeroth.


    In fact, he was actually a good person at the time. He was a member of the Bronze Titans and one of their strongest warriors. He was responsible for conquering these evil creatures.


    Although those evil creatures were strong, they couldn¡¯t stand up to Sargeras and most were executed by him. Only a few of them were taken away and imprisoned by a few different Lords.


    These worlds that had lost their masters would inevitably break down.


    Even after Sargeras betrayed the Pantheon and released the demons that he had defeated and imprisoned, he didn¡¯t allow them to return to their homelands. As such, these small abandoned worlds continued to degrade.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t seen one before, but based on the literature, he guessed that this was like one of these small abandoned worlds.

 568 Monster In The Magma River

    If he could farm this world, he could make quite a bit of profit from it.


    Lu Li wanted to use the Double-Headed Hellhound as an experiment. If he could defeat it, then he could farm this place. If he couldn¡¯t defeat a monster that he just randomly found, then he would just forget it.


    The Double-Headed Hellhound itself wasn¡¯t uncommon ¨C they could be found all over Azeroth at varying degrees. Some of them were between level 10-20, while others could be up to level 50-60. Some of them were even Bosses.


    Lu Li quietly snuck around to the back of this monster.


    Before he had even attacked, the monster¡¯s snake-like tail swung at him. It was such a surprise that Lu Li didn¡¯t have the chance to avoid it.


    However, after being hit, Lu Li actually felt less worried.


    The attack only dealt 100 damage to him; its attack strength was really low.


    Even so, after being oppressed by those gorillas, he put that thought out of his mind. He didn¡¯t want to underestimate the Double-Headed Hellhound before him.


    Although he hadn¡¯t been careful, Lu Li was confident in his Stealth ability.


    As such, he concluded that his Stealth somehow didn¡¯t work on this monster. Could it be that because it had two heads, it had better Detection than most monsters?


    After the Stealth failed, Lu Li didn¡¯t retreat, but instead went on the offensive. He stabbed the dagger deep into the Hellhound¡¯s head and dealt more than 200 damage.


    At the same time, he also saw the Hellhound¡¯s level. It was actually only level 32 ¨C five levels below Lu Li.


    For a common monster at this level, it was already quite impressive that it could deal 100 damage to Lu Li. It seemed that the strength of the monsters here was quite high. Lu Li hoped that there wasn¡¯t a Boss around.


    He then took two steps back, waiting for the Double-Headed Hellhound to make its move.


    He wasn¡¯t just trying to kill the monster; he was trying to thoroughly determine the attacks of monsters in this secret area.


    The Double-Headed Hellhound that was attacked let out a cry before the two heads started shaking. The two heads then shot fiery red fireballs from their mouths at Lu Li.


    They weren¡¯t slow, but Lu Li felt like he could dodge them.


    However, he didn¡¯t dodge them this time and instead allowed the two fireballs to hit him.


    -245, -230.


    The attacks were quite strong and did about twice the damage of a normal one, but the two-second cast time was more than long enough for Lu Li interrupt it.


    He could finally rest assured knowing that this monster wasn¡¯t stronger than he was.


    With that in mind, Lu Li used Sudden Thrust to approach the Double-Headed Hellhound before using Kick to interrupt its skill¡­


    What happened next was almost comedic. After the skill was interrupted, the Hellhound couldn¡¯t release the fireballs, so it was forced to swallow them. Two damage values of over 300 appeared above its head.


    Moreover, it also applied a burn effect that dealt 20-30 damage per second.


    Was this the legendary magic reflection? What a pleasant surprise.


    After killing the Double-Headed Hellhound, Lu Li received a few coins and some random materials. He didn¡¯t see any equipment, but when he thought about how it was just a common monster, this was no surprise.


    Surprisingly, it turned out to be exceptionally rich in EXP ¨C it gave three times more EXP than usual monsters at level 35.


    All of these things weren¡¯t too surprising given the circumstances.


    These level 30+ common monsters dropped some kind of demon emblem in addition to the materials and common equips. Although Lu Li had experienced rebirth, he didn¡¯t know what these were.


    This item looked like money and didn¡¯t have a high drop rate. Only one dropped for every dozen monsters he killed.


    Lu Li guessed it was some kind of secret currency. Perhaps it would be useful after he left this place, but he never really paid attention to things like this in his past life, so he didn¡¯t really know.


    After a while, he finally saw the second monster ¨C a lava monster that was covered in red hot stones. It used physical attacks, but these attacks would come with burn damage. These were quite effective against a Leather-armored Thief.


    Moreover, because its body was covered in stones, Lu Li¡¯s damage was greatly reduced. Sometimes, some of his damage was even rebounded to him.


    Fortunately, this monster didn¡¯t have any skills, so as long as he didn¡¯t run into a large group of these, he would be okay.


    Lu Li was more and more convinced that this was an small abandoned world. He hadn¡¯t even seen two monsters together, let alone a group of them. Lu Li initially wanted to farm here, but perhaps that was a happy misunderstanding.


    As for the items, those monsters could drop Strengthening Stones.


    These stones could increase the overall quality of an equipment. Lu Li had collected 20-30 of them, but hadn¡¯t had a chance to use them yet.


    In one graceful step, Lu Li used his familiar Backhand Backstab and the lava monster stopped moving. Its body started fragmenting as burning lava flowed out of it.


    Lu Li picked up a Strengthening Stone from the lava body and nodded with satisfaction.


    It was good EXP and he had found a Strengthening Stone. This trip was definitely worth it.


    Every time Lu Li stopped, he would mark the map so that he wouldn¡¯t get lost.


    "It looks like this secret area isn¡¯t small. Who knows how many times I can use the orb to come in here? If it¡¯s just once, that would be too unfair." Lu Li knew that this place wasn¡¯t going to be this simple. The monsters near the entrance would definitely be the weakest ones and they would get stronger as he progressed further. There could even be a Boss here, just like in an Instance Dungeon.


    It appeared there was even a river in this small abandoned world.


    It was hard to see it, but Lu Li could hear the sound of moving liquid.


    Lu Li was reinvigorated by the sound; he was about to going crazy from this place. There was no wind, no sound of birds, no trees and no grass. He had no idea how living things survived here.


    At the very least, this river was something he was familiar with.


    "Dammit!"


    When Lu Li reached the river, the heat wave that he felt was suffocating and caused him to immediately retreat. The river was actually filled with magma, and there was no way he could approach it.


    The temperature was so high that anyone who approached it would probably be burned to ashes.


    The air was filled with sulfur, and Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but bend over and cough.


    After a while, he felt better. Lu Li then saw a shadow creeping around him. He didn¡¯t want to wait to see what it would do, so he tumbled away and started running.


    However, that shadow was quite flexible and quickly caught up to Lu Li.


    It was cold!


    Feeling the terrible chill of the shadow, Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but shiver.

 569 A Land Of Milk and Honey

    Why did the monster have such a cold body in such a hot environment?


    Lu Li tried to pull away, but he was horrified to find that the monster was pulling him in the direction of the magma.


    He also found out that this monster that he initially thought was a snake, wasn¡¯t actually a snake. Beyond the thing that was wrapped around his body, the rest of the monster was still far into the darkness.


    This meant that what he could see was only a part of the monster.


    ¡®Stay calm, don¡¯t panic!¡¯


    Lu Li tried to grasp onto anything he could nearby to avoid being dragged away with one hand, and was beating at the monster with his Shard of the Defiler with his other hand.


    There were many rocks jutting out on the ground and Lu Li grabbed as many of these as possible to reduce his speed.


    The monster was slippery, so his attacks often failed, but it seemed quite sensitive as he could see it quivering with every hit. He could also hear screams in the distance.


    Playing video games tested your awareness, patience and mental fortitude.


    At this point, he needed to depend on his mental fortitude, as the rocks in the ground weren¡¯t fully preventing him from being dragged away.


    He was slowly being pulled towards the lava river. The temperature was rising and the situation was becoming critical; he didn¡¯t need to imagine much to know what would happen if he was pulled in. He was definitely going to burn to death.


    Lu Li calmed himself, held his breath and started attacking the monster again.


    Sometimes, when his attacks failed, he would hit his own body. Although there was no pain in doing this, the game did not advocate any kind of self-harm.


    This was a test of his will.


    Lu Li had determined at least one thing ¨C the monster attacking him wasn¡¯t a snake. The thing that was tightly coiled around him was a long tentacle that had suction cups on it that prevented him from prying it off. The monster was in the lava; he could hear it screaming inside.


    Lu Li suddenly saw a big rock on his left side and was overjoyed. He struggled and managed to roll behind the rock.


    The big rock was quite close the lava river, which made things rather uncomfortable, but Lu Li endured it and continued to attack the tentacle.


    Hopefully, the monster would be unable to handle the pain and would decide to give up Lu Li as its prey.


    The monster released the suction cups and seemed to want to retract its tentacles.


    Was it going to leave?


    Lu Li obviously wasn¡¯t going to let this tentacle get away so easily. He took out a dagger from his bag and stabbed it into the tentacle that was retreating.


    Worried that the tentacle would get away, Lu Li found a few other items and stabbed them into it to lock it in place.


    He then drank a Health Potion while attacking at the same time.


    Lu Li was also afraid that this tentacle would be severed. If the tentacle was cut off, he would have no way of reaching the monster in the lava river.


    Fortunately, the monster didn¡¯t have that kind of courage, or perhaps, it was just too painful to do so.


    After attacking it for over a dozen minutes, the tentacle no longer struggled and laid there completely deflated. There was also a body by the river that was smoking and covered in ashes.


    Lu Li was sure that this weird tentacle monster was dead.


    This was because he had received EXP ¨C a whole 5% of his EXP bar. The EXP was so good that it was almost unbelievable. If someone told Lu Li that this monster was a Boss, he would believe it.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any way of retrieving the loot.


    The tentacle monster¡¯s body was in the lava and was being burned up. The dropped items had probably sunk to the bottom of the river, or were perhaps being burned with the body. In any case, Lu Li couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    After killing the tentacle monster, Lu Li immediately ran away from the lava river to get a breath of fresh air.


    Breathing was required in this game. He was previously holding his breath, which not only made things difficult for him, but also made him lost HP. The HP loss was equivalent to suffocating in real life.


    Even though he didn¡¯t receive anything else, the 5% EXP was absolutely worth it.


    Lu Li estimated that if killing a monster like this took 15 minutes, he could gain 20% EXP in an hour. That meant he could level up in 5 hours, which was ten times faster than farming in the outside world!


    Even the inconvenience of killing the Boss didn¡¯t matter.


    This was a land of milk and honey!


    Of course, all of this was predicated on there being enough monsters in the lava river for him to kill, and that he wouldn¡¯t need to spend too long finding one.


    However, it was easy to verify this ¨C Lu Li guessed that the monster likely used its hearing to find its prey. It was his coughing and choking in the smoke that led to the monster attacking him.


    Lu Li walked along the river for some distance before finding a similar geographical spot. There was a big rock that could keep him in place.


    The next part was simple ¨C he just needed to make a sound.


    It was only a few seconds before Lu Li heard a noise reaching for him.


    ¡®Come, be bolder! I¡¯m a tasty piece of meat.¡¯


    He pretended to not be aware as the tentacle wrapped around him. Once everything was in place and it had a firm hold on Lu Li, he began to attack it.


    Lu Li was nervous too ¨C he was worried that the rock wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to hold him. If he was pulled into the lava, then everything would be over.


    The tentacle monster was very strong, but its weakness was obvious. It had a great fear of pain.


    As it was attacked by Lu Li, it kept crying out and pulled with less and less strength. This meant that Lu Li was safe behind the stone. Following the same pattern as before, he quickly completed another kill.


    He had received another 5% EXP.


    In half an hour, he had received a whole 10% EXP. Suddenly, Lu Li felt invigorated.


    As long as a person was motivated, it would be rare for them to fail. His tactics also changed over time. At first, he would always find a big rock, but later, he simply plugged a double-headed spear into the ground. As long as he had something to hold on to, he wouldn¡¯t be pulled away.


    One by one, the tentacles were lured to their deaths. Lu Li¡¯s EXP was quickly rising.


    Before long, the common double-headed spear had been used seven to eight times. It was surprisingly durable, but Lu Li estimated that it would be consumed by the end of this.


    This rubbish equip wasn¡¯t worth anything, but he was worried that he would run out of things to use. He didn¡¯t have much equipment in his backpack.


    Monsters often dropped equipment like this, but Lu Li was so stingy that he didn¡¯t throw them away. The money that he would receive from selling it was so little anyway. It was only when his bag was completely full that he would sell some of the more useless items.


    This time, in order to fit the sailboat, he had cleared out his backpack.


    As such, his backpack was only half-full of rubbish from the Double-Headed Hellhounds and the lava monsters.


    The weapon that they dropped most often was the double-headed spear that could be used by Hunters, Druids, Paladins and Warriors. Lu Li knew that this kind of equipment often dropped in demon areas.


    He threw away the old double-headed spear and stuck new one from his bag into the ground.


    His cautious approached actually saved his life once. When he saw two tentacles wrapping around him, he was eternally thankful for the durable support he had set up.


    However, it was still two tentacles!


    Was it two monsters working together, or one monster with two tentacles?

 570 Abyss Undead Bug

    This made Lu Li very cautious as he plunged another double-headed spear into the ground.


    The two tentacles weren¡¯t far apart and they had wrapped around him at the same time.


    This was a strange, but inevitable battle.


    Lu Li was a player trying to cash in on the rich EXP, and these monsters were being instructed by the system to hunt players. It was kill or be killed.


    This was a game, but it was ultimately a test of survival. Lu Li was attacking with all his might, desperately trying to survive, while the tentacle monster was more like a hungry best, reluctant to give up on its food.


    However, this food was far too difficult to eat. The tentacles pulled at Lu Li for a few minutes before giving up.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to give himself up to be eaten, but that was okay. There was no grass in this environment, but this monster could probably catch a Double-Headed Hellhound elsewhere to eat.


    The two tentacles released one after the other and retreated into the shadows.


    The now-experienced Lu Li immediately stabbed the tentacles into the ground with his spear and kept them in place.


    The ground was very hard, so Lu Li had to use all of his strength to stab with the Double-Headed spear.


    Fortunately, this was a game and the spear had a certain attack and penetration ability. The monster did not have the strength to pull itself free.


    When he had pinned down one of the tentacles, the other tentacle actually came back. It appeared as though it was trying to save the pinned tentacle. Lu Li was now convinced that these two tentacles belonged to the same monster.


    Some of these monsters could only have one tentacle, but others could have two or maybe even three or four¡­


    Lu Li shivered at the thought of more tentacles wrapping around him, but with only two, he was still able to deal with it. After all, one had already been pinned.


    This time, it took longer for him to deal with the tentacles, but they gave higher EXP ¨C almost 8%.


    Lu Li silently took a moment to compare the cost-effectiveness of killing a single tentacle monster.


    He hoped that these monsters with additional tentacles wouldn¡¯t appear too often, no matter how many of them they had.


    In fact, these two-tentacle monsters were much rarer. He would usually face one after 3 ¨C 5 encounters of single-tentacle monsters. He hadn¡¯t seen a three-tentacle monster yet, but that was a good thing ¨C he definitely wasn¡¯t looking forward to it.


    After four hours, Lu Li rose to level 38.


    On the level rankings, Lonesome Flower was at second place, following Lu Li with his level 6 Blizzard. His levelling was generally quite quick, and if he didn¡¯t spend so much time with his sister March Rain, he probably would have long since surpassed Lu Li.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t account for the fact that Lu Li had now entered this secret area.


    As the number 1 player levelled up again, the players immediately began to discuss this on the World Channel.


    Had Lu Li killed another Boss? He just levelled up yesterday and he had levelled up again today. Why did it feel like they had such a hard time levelling up compared to him?


    There was also Hachi Chan and Laugh into the Heavens.


    The others were curious and envious, but they must have been insanely worried.


    Laugh Into the Heavens was okay with this, but he felt slightly guilty. The great guru had given himself up for the sake of completing the task, and now, who knew what he was up to?


    Hachi Chan was about to cry. Although Lu Li bullied her, he was still her partner and friend.


    Now, they couldn¡¯t even contact him, as the System coldly told them that the player was not within map range. This kind of situation was rare, and had only occurred during the competition at the start of the game.


    Both of them knew that Lu Li had been chased away by the gorillas.


    In Hachi Chan¡¯s mind, the gorillas had captured Lu Li and put him in a box. The gorillas could even whistle.


    She had even asked people who were with Lu Li in reality. Their landlady Huan Huan went to look and saw that Lu Li still had his helmet on, which meant that he was lost somewhere in the game.


    However, after seeing that Lu Li had levelled up, she let out a sigh of relief.


    After rising to level 38, the number of monsters dramatically decreased. They knew that the fat piece of meat on the shore was a trap; not a single tentacle attacked him for a dozen minutes.


    As such, he marked the place on the map and decided to look elsewhere.


    Based on where he had explored, this abandoned world was quite big. There were rivers, mountains and what looked like the remains of a forest, but the most breath-taking thing was the huge skeletons.


    One of the bodies were so big that Lu Li thought it was a mountain.


    The body had not yet decayed and still maintained most of its shape. It was a Double-Headed Abyss Demon. It looked quite frightening and Lu Li could still see its anger, unwillingness and desperation on its face.


    He had no idea if he was looking at Sargeras himself.


    The stronger the creature, the better-preserved it was. Lu Li also saw a bunch of smaller, incomplete skeletons scattered around.


    There was still flesh and blood residue on some of these, and when Lu Li approached, a shadow hurled towards him.


    The silhouette made a great leap and landed above Lu Li¡¯s head.


    Lu Li watched his assailant calmly.


    This was a small beast that had strong hind limbs. Its forelimbs had knife-like, bony claws and it also had a very long tail with a barbed tip.


    Abyss Undead Bug!


    Lu Li recognized this monster at first glance because he had personally seen it before.


    Although this was called an Undead Bug, it was more appropriate to call it a beast, based on its body type. It was said that these creatures had come from the void and were able to travel around this chaotic universe.


    They liked staying in the bodies of powerful creatures.


    Lu Li used his dagger to block the Abyss Undead Bug¡¯s claws which made a clashing sound.


    It was a level 40 elite monster that had 4300 HP. Its attacks did 300-400 damage to Lu Li, while his ordinary attacks only did 100 damage to it. Although it had high damage, it had rather low HP.


    Such a monster gave Lu Li no reason to run away.


    He poured a bottle of Antidote into his mouth and prepared himself to fight.


    Many players who died in battle with this Undead Bug died because of its Corpse Poison. This was a very powerful one-time poisoning effect that was the Abyss Undead Bug¡¯s most powerful weapon.

 571 The Center Of The Secret Area

    Its sharp claws grabbed Lu Li¡¯s shoulder and pulled down.


    Lu Li lost a large chunk of HP, but he refused to admit defeat. He stabbed his dagger deep into the Abyss Undead Bug¡¯s eye and twisted it. This attack wasn¡¯t enough to blind the target, but it did hit its weak point.


    The Abyss Undead Bug let out a cry as it took double damage and lost a significant amount of HP.


    Neither man nor beast had the advantage at this point.


    The Undead Bug wasn¡¯t easy to fight. It had a lot of combat experience and wasn¡¯t like the monsters that took turns with the player to attack.


    After taking a heavy hit from Lu Li, it fell back and kept some distance between them to prepare itself.


    Lu Li already knew that it was going to use its poison, but he didn¡¯t rush forwards. Instead, when he saw the attack coming, he quickly drank an Advanced Antidote.


    The attack dealt more than 400 damage, but the deadly poison did not trigger.


    In fact, his rebirth had completely changed things for him. The knowledge alone allowed him to perform much better than he did in his previous life.


    In his last life, he had died to this monster at least a dozen times, but now, he wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake.


    Although Lu Li¡¯s HP and Attack wasn¡¯t as much as the Abyss Undead Bug¡¯s, he had more skills, more potions and more intelligence.


    After a little over a minute, the Undead Bug exploded into pool of blood.


    Lu Li had already rolled away before this happened, so the poisonous explosion didn¡¯t hurt him.


    A lot of players were very wary while they were fighting the Abyss Undead Bug and knew when it was dead because they would receive the EXP.


    However, the Undead Bug relied on this and would often kill the player after it had died.


    The Undead Bugs were harder to kill and only gave a little more EXP than the lava monster. There was almost no difference in terms of EXP bar growth.


    However, the Undead Bug¡¯s drops were free for him to pick up.


    When Lu Li fought what he suspected was a Boss, he reasoned that it must have dropped some good items. Unfortunately, they had all fallen into the lava and he had no way of getting to them.


    Lu Li bent over to pick up what was left of the Abyss Undead Bug.


    He picked up an Undead Bug Carapace, which was a Rare Material that was good for making leather armor. Even if a Mold didn¡¯t specifically ask for it, it could still be added.


    Adding the Undead Bug Carapace would provide some damage reduction properties.


    This kind of Rare Material wasn¡¯t necessarily needed for any equipment, but adding it would yield some unexpected benefits. Some players thought that this was an exotic kind of material because they were not necessarily dropped by a Boss, but by a specific type of monster.


    The Undead Bug had dropped nothing other than the Undead Bug Carapace.


    After Lu Li had killed a dozen Undead Bugs and acquired five Undead Bug Carapaces, he decided to leave. He didn¡¯t have much time and was bound to be kicked out when he logged off. When he came back online, he might not still be here.


    Moreover, there was a display over the secret area that said 1/2, which probably meant that Lu Li only had one more chance to explore afterwards.


    He planned to explore as much as he could at this time, but next time, he could be more prepared. The Undead Bug Carapace was good, but five of them was only enough for Lu Li to use.


    In general, the exit point would be in the center of the secret area.


    Lu Li worked out where he needed to go based on what he had explored so far and headed there.


    He wanted to find out what the most powerful presence was in the area. As such, his movements were bold and unrestrained; he didn¡¯t even stop when he saw monsters.


    His high movement speed afforded him the luxury of being able to do this.


    As long as it was not more than 10 levels ahead of him and it wasn¡¯t a Boss, Lu Li was confident that he could take it out quickly.


    Lu Li encountered more than one monster during his travel. There was a one-footed ostrich creature that had an amazing jumping ability, but it was very silly. It jumped over Lu Li and landed face first into the dirt before taking a long time to pull its head out.


    The lava monster was the most common thing here and each of them was a Strengthening Stone in Lu Li¡¯s eyes. It would be a waste not to take them.


    There was also a massive worm that could shoot silk. It almost captured Lu Li, but he managed to use his Shoes¡¯ Direct Thrust to get far away from the attack.


    After crossing several of these strange areas, Lu Li arrived at his destination an hour before the day¡¯s playtime finished.


    At least, this was where he thought the center of the secret area was.


    There was a big tree here. This was the first time that Lu Li had seen a big tree like this in the secret area. It was also probably because of the tree, but visibility was much better here.


    The tree was so big that Lu Li couldn¡¯t really find the words to describe it.


    If he had to compare it with something, he could only think of the world¡¯s biggest tree ¨C Teldrassil. One could only imagine what it would have looked like when it was alive.


    Yes, this tree was already dead.


    From afar, the silence of this tree could be felt. Although the leaves had lost all their moisture, they stubbornly refused to fall. Like the demons who had died in this abyss, this tree hadn¡¯t rotted.


    Lu Li was now even more convinced that this was a destroyed small world.


    He escaped into the shadows and stayed near them cautiously, inching forwards to see what else was left around this tree.


    Lu Li felt like the difficulty of this secret area probably wasn¡¯t as high as he had initially thought. After all, the world had been destroyed, so the strong creatures that hadn¡¯t died would have slowly lost their strength as there were no resources.


    Although Dawn was a game made for playability, any designer would hardly refuse the temptation of creating an entire world.


    A world could be called a world because it had its own rules.


    After getting closer, Lu Li found that there was actually a creature under the tree.


    Burning Legion!


    It actually was the Burning Legion!


    Lu Li almost peed himself. He immediately wanted to slap himself in the face. How was the Burning Legion not difficult? Was he a Titan God?


    The Burning Legion was one of Dawn¡¯s major villains in the lore. Sargeras was originally the most powerful warrior of the Titans, but he lost himself in the conquest. He became convinced that everything he had done was wrong and set out the fix it. He also wanted to destroy the order that was established by the Titan God.


    As such, he released these mighty creatures in captivity, all of whom groveled under his feet.


    That was the Burning Legion, Azeroth¡¯s most deadly enemy. Characters like Tyrande and Medivh racked their brains and were barely able to defend themselves from what was considered the root of all evil.


    The Doomguard and Hellhounds were the Burning Legion¡¯s strongest units and they were loyal to an even more powerful Demon.


    Lu Li was currently only level 38; he was in no way close to being able to fight the Burning Legion.

 572 Doomguard

    After calming down, Lu Li found some inconsistencies with his conclusion. He watched for a while, but only found Doomguards and Hellhounds. There weren¡¯t any higher-end Burning Legion units.


    In the center was what seemed like an altar.


    Lu Li slowly approached it, but he didn¡¯t dare to get much closer. Not only were the Hellhounds capable of absorbing mana, but they were also quite strong. If they found him, the sheer number of Doomguards would be enough to gang up on him, even though this was just a Burning Legion scouting party.


    There was the dead tree, an altar and Doomguards in this abandoned little world. Lu Li kept speculating.


    Sargeras or his men were probably here killing the Abyss demons that were resisting. They had destroyed the world tree and forced the indigenous species of this world to follow him as he went on destroying other worlds.


    These Doomguards and Hellhounds might have been the ones that were too weak to escape.


    However, that couldn¡¯t be right ¨C these had to be the descendants of those survivors. No one had studied the lifespan of these things, so he couldn¡¯t be sure.


    Right now, it seemed as though they were trying to summon a formidable ancestor.


    He didn¡¯t know that there wasn¡¯t a Boss here, but it was reasonable to assume that monsters that could build an altar weren¡¯t weak. Furthermore, it would be impossible for the population to reach this size without a leader.


    Lu Li observed as he walked around the tree and finally found a bigger Doomguard.


    It was said that Doomguards were able to evolve when they became strong enough. It was even possible for them to become Demon Lords. Obviously, this Doomguard had not yet evolved, and Lu Li speculated that it might not even be a fully-fledged Boss.


    Lu Li wandered around, then picked a Doomguard that was furthest from the others.


    He wanted to test out the strength of the Boss, but there were too many monsters around it. Moreover, Hellhounds were particularly sensitive creatures. He was also worried about the unknown level of the Boss.


    If the Boss was too strong, he might just instantly lose 10% EXP.


    In fact, most experienced players could guess a Boss¡¯ level based on the monsters¡¯ levels.


    Some players thought that the Bosses of the same species would have the same skills. The only differences would lie in the Boss¡¯ occupation and unique skills given by the System.


    Lu Li had already seen quite a few Doomguards before.


    He also chose a Doomguard that had a Hellhound following it. In the Burning Legion, the Doomguard was the combat unit and some of them had Hellhounds as hunting dogs.


    Lu Li planned to stun the Doomguard and kill the Hellhound first.


    Unfortunately, he was discovered by the Hellhound before he even got close. The monsters here had to be much higher-levelled. Lu Li took out his crossbow and shot an arrow at the Doomguard¡¯s body.


    -13.


    The damage was quite low. One reason was because Thieves weren¡¯t crossbow users, but it was also because of the level gap.


    After the attack, Lu Li saw the target¡¯s level and HP. The Doomguard was a level 45 Elite, while the Hellhound was level 42. The former had 12,000HP while the latter had 8,000HP.


    These two were not going to be easy to deal with, and he didn¡¯t have much time left either.


    Lu Li activated the effect on his shoe ¨C Wirt¡¯s Fake Leg, Instant Cast, leap forwards or backwards 8 yards. This time, he chose to bounce backwards before he used Vanish. This successfully put him outside the Hellhound¡¯s detection range.


    The Hellhound sniffed around for a while, but was ultimately unable to find him.


    The Doomguard waved his double-headed spear and couldn¡¯t help but roar. The other Doomguards came and explored the area, but Lu Li had already left, so they were just looking in vain.


    These Doomguards were actually capable of summoning their allies, so Lu Li felt like it would be very difficult for him to overcome this secret area.


    Because monsters were around level 45, the Boss would likely be level 50. After all, it ruled an entire clan of monsters and was likely at the top of the food chain in this small world.


    Lu Li hoped that he would be able to bring other players here ¨C there was not much that he could do alone.


    The other thing he was concerned about was the gorillas that were outside. He didn¡¯t want to be chased like a dog again, so he needed to kill the gorillas with the guild¡¯s main force.


    The gorilla Boss was level 45, and it was unlikely that throwing rocks was all it could do.


    Lu Li retreated in Stealth until he was a safe distance away before channeling the return portal.


    When he returned to Darnassuss, the world suddenly became blindingly bright, and he received a whole variety of messages.


    "Lu Li, get rid of the Boss quickly. The monkeys have discovered our ship¡­"


    "If you don¡¯t come, we¡¯ll have to go."


    "Lu Li what happened to you? Why aren¡¯t you showing up on the map?"


    "Lu Li¡­"


    "Lu Li¡­"


    Most of them were from Laugh Into the Heavens and Hachi Chan, who were wondering why he hadn¡¯t returned yet. They asked about where he had gone and why they couldn¡¯t contact him, before finally asking about how he suddenly managed to level up.


    Lu Li then remembered to open up the level rankings. He was first on the list and was the only level 38 player.


    He was probably going to be in the lead for quite a while now. As he thought of those players who had several teams working to level them up, Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of superiority.


    ¡®You guys keep going ¨C I have a technique that¡¯ll make you eat the dust.¡¯


    These messages obviously couldn¡¯t be ignored. Lu Li just gave an excuse, saying that it was too late and that it would take too long to explain. It was probably better for him to keep this a secret.


    He pleaded Laugh Into the Heavens to keep the gorilla island a secret to avoid the Boss being taken by someone else.


    Of course, Laugh Into the Heavens had no problem with that ¨C he had already saved the princess. Lu Li and Hachi Chan had received some EXP for helping him, but he had received a larger EXP reward, a Skill Point, a Gold equipment and a Skill Book. It was a huge harvest for him.


    He proposed giving Lu Li the equipment and the Skill Book, as he had played a decisive role in getting the boat and pulling the Boss away.


    However, Lu Li refused without hesitation.


    He just wanted the Ancient Demon Eye, and now that he had it, he didn¡¯t want anything else that didn¡¯t belong to him. He wasn¡¯t being pedantic; it was just a basic professional ethic.


    Moreover, the equipment was only decent. For someone like Lu Li, it was far from exquisite. The skill book was also for a Druid skill that couldn¡¯t be considered as being too rare either.


    Additionally, Lu Li had received countless congratulations from his acquaintances. He also saw a message from Water Fairy.


    This female tycoon didn¡¯t beat around the bush and got straight to the point ¨C she wanted to pay Lu Li to share his levelling method.


    Lu Li was helpless. Even if he wanted to take her, he needed to wait until he was ready before going back to the secret area.


    However, Water Fairy also had another purpose for sending the message. She said that she would visit Lu Xin tomorrow at the hospital, which meant that Lu Li would get to see the legendary Water Fairy in real life.


    He wasn¡¯t terribly excited about this ¨C after all, he wasn¡¯t interested in that way. However, he definitely was curious. Would Water Fairy wear a veil in real life just like in the game?

 573 Enchanting

    Water Fairy came over; this had already been decided a few days ago.


    Lu Li never really understood why Water Fairy insisted on visiting a little girl that she barely knew. He could only interpret this as Water Fairy trying to secure the relationship between Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li had tried to decline her request, claiming that his sister didn¡¯t need any visitors.


    However, Water Fairy had her own excuses ¨C she lived in Jingling, she should visit a friend¡¯s sister when she lived so close to them, especially when Lu Xin¡¯s condition was quite serious¡­


    Besides Water Fairy, the elites in the guild also decided to visit.


    Even though Lu Li didn¡¯t care too much if there were any visitors for Lu Xin, it was only natural for the guild elites to show their care towards their boss. They worked under him after all.


    Those who were close to Lu Li had even more reasons to visit.


    Hence, a crowd of visitors appeared on the day that Lu Xin was moved out of the isolation ward.


    Others thought that someone of great importance was staying in the hospital, and the security personnel were on their best behavior.


    Square Root 3 was the one who was in charge of this event. It wasn¡¯t an easy task, but luckily for him, there were only two elite groups in the guild. If this was another big guild with dozens of hundred-man teams, the police would definitely have been alerted.


    The second hundred-man team of Ruling Sword had already been formed. It most consisted of guild members who had good performance on average.


    This time, they weren¡¯t as strict with the terms and conditions. Those who couldn¡¯t move into Jiangnan city because of study or work reasons were still given a chance, as long as they came to Jiangnan to sign their contract.


    The guild also paid for their traveling expenses.


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 didn¡¯t really have a choice in this matter. At the start, they planned to have the first few elite groups as full-time workers. That way, they would be more efficient in the game and more secretive. Ruling Sword had developed too fast and it was important for them to set a stable foundation.


    Unfortunately, in the process, they had found that this kind of procedure caused them to lose some good potential guild members.


    Some people needed to wait until they graduated to join the elite group, or even quit their unwanted job. However, not everyone was patient enough to do this and they demanded for the elite group to accept them.


    There were also some players who had successful careers in real life that didn¡¯t clash with their gaming time. It was unrealistic for them to quit their job to play a game.


    There was a Thief player with the ID Bai Renyou who was a young politician and was the only child in his political family. However, he also had good gaming skills and was one of the deciding factors that led to Lu Li and Square Root 3 changing their minds.


    The second elite group mostly consisted of guild members who had good skills, but also could not live in Jiangnan city due to certain reasons.


    The past two days of the weekend had been their peak travel time to sign their contract in Jiangnan city. As soon as they had heard that Lu Li¡¯s sister was staying in the hospital, they were determined to show up for a visit.


    Flowers and gifts quickly filled the guest room in the hospital.


    Apparently, all the bouquets near the hospital had been totally sold out.


    Of course, Lu Li didn¡¯t let these people through the door to visit Lu Xin. Although she was in a much better condition, there was no way she would have enough energy to greet such a great number of people. Everyone entered in small groups, had a short chat, placed down their bouquets and left.


    No one felt like they weren¡¯t being treated fairly ¨C they were well aware of how many people were still lining up downstairs.


    Lu Li had begun allowing visitors since 9am in the morning and the process had extended for an entire two hours. Even he felt tired dealing with so many guild members.


    This was also the time that Water Fairy chose to arrive.


    Lu Li had spent some of his time imagining how Water Fairy would show up. Perhaps a limo with a row of body guards on each side would arrive, and a pack of suited guests would instantly fill the hospital.


    However, after he saw her in real life, he realized that he was overthinking.


    Rich people didn¡¯t always put their luxurious life on display. Water Fairy wore some slightly lose sports clothes with a backpack. A white scarf was wrapped around her neck, and only her forehead and bright eyes remained unhidden.


    There wasn¡¯t a ridiculous group of body guards around her ¨C only a young and pretty girl stood behind her.


    While the young girl behind her was already very pretty, she still wasn¡¯t as beautiful as Water Fairy herself.


    It was very easy to tell which girl was Water Fairy.


    Even with active wear and her forehead above the scarf, you could still tell that Water Fairy was an enchanting girl.


    Someone like her was always the focus of all attention. Regardless of age and gender, those who were near the entrance of the hospital all turned around to look at her.


    Lu Li had never received this kind of treatment ¨C he was the type that was easily ignored and blended well within a crowd.


    Water Fairy waved her hands as soon as she saw Lu Li came out.


    She had stood there only for a little while, but four or five people had already walked over to ask for her number. All she did was give them a cold look and they backed off.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t really didn¡¯t want to walk over. He felt like she had already seen him, so she could just walk over herself.


    Perhaps it was because Water Fairy had a pair of eyes that could talk, but Lu Li subconsciously walked over to her. Suddenly, he also became the center of focus.


    Everyone discovered that the mysterious and pretty girl was smiling at Lu Li.


    The smile wasn¡¯t too noticeable, since the majority of her face was covered by a scarf.


    However, everyone was paying attention to her every move, so they could tell that she was smiling at the guy who had walked over towards her.


    "Wait, isn¡¯t that Lu Li?" The one speaking was one of the Ruling Sword guild members who had just visited Lu Xin.


    Not all the players who visited Lu Xin left immediately. Some of them went around Jingling to look at the scenery, while others gathered around the entrance of the hospital to talk. They chatted about interesting events that happened in the game and bragged about their own adventures. Then, they saw an outstanding beauty appear, but none of them had the courage to approach her. All they could do was laugh in silence at those who attempted to talk to her but had no luck.


    Then, they saw their boss.


    There was no way they would be mistaken; it was Lu Li for sure.


    They had only just seen Lu Li and talked to him for a while. Some of them had even talked to him alone, so there was no way they would recognize the wrong person.


    "No way, our boss knows her?" It was normal for them to be surprised. Although Lu Li was amazing, that was only in the game. His accomplishments probably wern¡¯t enough to make an impact in real life.

 574 A Meeting in Real Life

    "So you look the same as your character in the game."


    Water Fairy checked out Lu Li, but she wasn¡¯t disappointed.


    From her first impression, Lu Li was someone who didn¡¯t stand out. He was the type of person that you could find in an office or on a construction site.


    In simple terms, he wasn¡¯t the type to stick out like a sore thumb.


    "That isn¡¯t important." Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested in adjusting his face in the game; he would much rather spend that amount of time to kill a few more monsters.


    Dawn didn¡¯t provide players with the option to change their original features, but gave players some other choices to adjust their appearance.


    For example, players could place a scar on their face. Most Night Elves had face tattoos, and could also change their hair color. There were races in the game that would totally change a player¡¯s appearance, for example, Orcs and the Undead.


    "This is Falling Star, our guild master. She insisted on coming along," Water Fairy said, gesturing at the pretty girl who stood beside her.


    "Welcome," Lu Li nodded his head, feeling a little strange to have these words come out of his mouth. He then changed his tone and said, "Thanks for coming by to visit my sister. She¡¯s quite weak at the moment and is still resting. If you guys don¡¯t mind, there¡¯s a guest room available over here¡­"


    Lu Li gestured with his fingers and Water Fairy immediately understood what he was trying to imply.


    The two girls followed behind Lu Li and entered the guest room provided for him by the hospital.


    It was rare for hospitals to organize these kind of things, but Lu Li was willing to pay. There were also too many visitors, which could possibly cause an impact on other patients. This was why the doctors gave them special considerations and provided them with a guest room.


    "This is actually a pretty good place." Water Fairy was pleasantly surprised.


    This was the best hospital with the best wards, but there were also other better treatment methods. Good examples included family doctors and services provided for special groups of people.


    "It¡¯s all thanks to you," Lu Li said as he brought the two girls into the guest room.


    Square Root 3 and a few others were casually chatting away in the room. They were a little dumbfounded when they saw Water Fairy and Falling Star. Even Square Root 3 had never seen Water Fairy in real life, not to mention that she had half of her face covered up.


    As soon as they heard that it was Water Fairy, they all widened their eyes.


    Unfortunately, Water Fairy wasn¡¯t interested in removing her scarf; she just sat there in silence.


    In real life, Water Fairy wasn¡¯t as friendly as she was in the game, and it seemed like she was more stubborn and cold. She didn¡¯t simply interact with anyone, but this was also closer to the first impression that she gave Lu Li.


    It wasn¡¯t until the two of them started working together that Lu Li had changed his opinion of her.


    "Nice to meet you." Square Root 3 shook hands gently with Falling Star, but he was smart and didn¡¯t bother Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy only nodded her head and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.


    "You¡¯re still as good as ever, but unfortunately, our guild only takes girls. Otherwise, we would have invited you already," Falling Star said, breaking the awkward silence. She was too familiar with this situation; it was almost always like this whenever they went out.


    "Luckily, I didn¡¯t go ahead and recommend myself. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve made things real awkward," Square Root 3 laughed.


    Everyone understood the joke and laughed too. Only Lu Li and Water Fairy remained. One honestly didn¡¯t find the joke funny at all, while the other probably wanted to maintain her image.


    The few guild members that Square Root 3 brought in laughed to save his face, but their glances landed on Water Fairy every now and then.


    People were always interested in mysteries.


    Although people would be amazed by her beauty if Water Fairy took off her scarf, they wouldn¡¯t be as curious.


    "I¡¯m going to take them out. You guys talk." Square Root 3 was very capable in social situations and was aware that he wasn¡¯t welcomed here.


    He still didn¡¯t believe that Water Fairy was the type to visit a patient in real life.


    Rumors often went around, and different people would be interested in her. These people included rich tycoons or powerful men, but it seemed like nothing ended well.


    Square Root 3 had some connections in that section of the world and understood that these weren¡¯t simply rumors.


    Falling Star tried to ask him to stay back, but she wasn¡¯t too persistent about it.


    Square Root 3 brought the others with him and left. Now, there were only three people left in the room. Water Fairy let out a long sigh and removed her scarf.


    As expected, she was beautiful ¨C God had really spent a lot of time on her.


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t too surprised. The expression remained on his face and his eyes only briefly scanned across Water Fairy¡¯s face, not even pausing.


    He preferred the Water Fairy in the game over the one in real life.


    In the game, they synchronized well. They had completed quests together, escaped from assassinations together and had also assassinated others together as well. However, the situation was different in real life ¨C they were almost strangers.


    "We¡¯re here mainly to visit your sister." Falling Star looked at the two of them; the silence was giving her a slight headache.


    "The doctor said she¡¯ll be able to leave the hospital after some time." Lu Li still didn¡¯t mention a single word about taking them to visit Lu Xin.


    Falling Star was quite curious as to what Lu Li¡¯s sister looked like, but she wasn¡¯t someone who would cross that line. If Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested in taking them to see his sister, then she wouldn¡¯t bother him with it either.


    "What do you plan to do with the first kill for Zul¡¯Farrk?" Water Fairy asked.


    Her voice was nice ¨C it wasn¡¯t sexy, but it wasn¡¯t coarse either. It was special, and it sounded better than her voice in the game. After all, no matter how advanced technology was, it couldn¡¯t fully replicate real life.


    Lu Li thought about the question for a moment then said, "We¡¯ll do our own thing, but we can share the guide. After I¡¯ve fully constructed the guide, you guys take the First Clear. Then, we¡¯ll complete the dungeon."


    This meant that even if Lu Li could get the First Clear, he was going to give it up in the very last moment and share the complete guide with Drizzle Court.


    "Sure." Water Fairy had no complaints to this.


    She was a proud person and it was already embarrassing enough for her to ask Lu Li in order for Drizzle Court to get a First Clear. She couldn¡¯t ask for anything more.


    "The player levels for the team have to be 35 or above. You need one Priest that can cure disease and control the Undead, one Shaman¡­" Lu Li began explaining the class structure of the team.


    "We don¡¯t have Bloodlust. The drop rate is too low," Water Fairy pouted. She felt like there was a big difference between her and Lu Li. and this caused her to feel a little down.


    "You guys can at least dispel disease status, right?" Lu Li asked.


    "Probably?" Water Fairy turned to Falling Star, then after Falling Star nodded her head, she confirmed, "Our Shaman knows how to dispel disease status and dispel magic effects."


    "That¡¯s better. Is there a Mage who has learnt Arcane Explosion?" Lu Li wasn¡¯t going to change his own team, but he wasn¡¯t too sure about the strength of Drizzle Court. He hoped that they had the very best team composition.


    Arcane Explosion was a group-damaging spell that could be casted while the Mage moved. It was suitable for clearing smaller groups of monsters with high movement speed and a low amount of health.


    "A Mage who can cast Arcane Explosion, yup." Water Fairy remembered Deadly Green Orange. As a professional competitor, Deadly Green Orange had more skills than the average player.


    Arcane Explosion wasn¡¯t a rare skill, but most Mages wouldn¡¯t spend too much time looking for it. Blizzard did way more damage compared to it.


    "The others don¡¯t matter as much, but the stronger they are, the easier it will be. Make sure you pay extra attention to interrupting spells..."


    A meeting that would have caused an uproar in the gaming world became a discussion on how to complete the Zul¡¯Farrk dungeon. Interestingly enough, neither of them felt anything weird about the situation.

 575 No Place to Go

    A topic that would seem plain and boring in the eyes of many became an interesting discussion between Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    After they settled the details of the dungeon, they moved onto how they should play against different classes. They shared their tactics with each other, tactics that they usually wouldn¡¯t share with other people. Falling Star was almost about to fall asleep.


    "Take me to your sister," Water Fairy said as she stood up, ignoring Lu Li¡¯s reluctance.


    Some people were used to commanding others around them. If they wanted something done, it would be done; they didn¡¯t easily take no for an answer. Water Fairy had come to visit the patient, so her trip wouldn¡¯t be complete if she didn¡¯t see the little girl.


    Lu Li could find ways to deal with other people, but it wasn¡¯t so easy to turn down Water Fairy.


    He slowly began to discover that once someone became your debt owner, unimportant matters were no longer unmovable.


    "It should be alright for Lu Xin to just see one person. Lu Xin also really liked Water Fairy anyway," he thought to himself.


    Lu Xin finally saw her first visitor after the few hundreds of people who had visited the guest room beforehand.


    Lu Li had seen his sister every day over the past few days. The little girl wasn¡¯t as fragile as she was before, and the nurses would often walk her around the ward as this helped with her recovery.


    The medical world had developed greatly over the past few centuries in terms of healing injuries.


    Usually, after three days, the patient wouldn¡¯t be threatened anymore by infections, and their injuries would fully heal after one month. Lu Li was just being overly anxious by keeping his sister in the isolation ward for a week. This had nothing to do with the hospital¡¯s choice.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that there weren¡¯t any patients who urgently needed the isolation ward, the siblings would have been kicked out long ago.


    Lu Xin didn¡¯t have much sleep ¨C she was lying on the bed with her head sticking out of the blanket. The boredom on her face was quite obvious. As soon as she heard someone enter, her eyes immediately looked over.


    "Water Fairy..." The little girl immediately recognized who had come.


    Everyone enjoyed looking at beautiful things; this had nothing to do with gender. Lu Li was slightly jealous that his sister easily recognized Water Fairy, considering that she wasn¡¯t too good at recognizing faces.


    "Xin Xin, are you alright?" Water Fairy walked over, bent down and gently held Lu Xin¡¯s hand which was sticking out of the blanket.


    It was very easy for girls to get along ¨C sometimes, it would only take a single meeting for them to bond like sisters.


    If Lu Li was the one who was lying in the hospital bed today, there was no way he would receive this kind of treatment.


    "I¡¯m already much better, but my brother is still making me lie down here," Lu Xin complained.


    "You¡¯ll be able to get up after a few days. You should rest up." Water Fairy didn¡¯t have much experience with children; her actions were solely based off what she felt from the bottom of her heart. A fragile little girl would always cause people to feel sympathetic towards her.


    They talked for about half an hour and until Lu Li finally managed to kick the two guests out.


    Water Fairy and Falling Star were busybodies and left as soon as they came out of the ward. Lu Li didn¡¯t leave the hospital, so he didn¡¯t invite them for a meal either. They said their goodbyes at the carpark.


    "Little girl, you¡¯re misbehaving, aren¡¯t you?" Lu Li came back as soon as he sent the guests away.


    They weren¡¯t in the isolation ward anymore, so there was no need for strict protections. Outside of the time that Lu Xin needed for rest and sleep, Lu Li would sit on the couch of the ward to accompany her.


    "Why did Water Fairy come?" Lu Xin pulled up her blanket and only left her eyes out to gaze around.


    "She¡¯s here to visit you," Lu Li answered as he sliced an apple, spinning his knife as if he was holding the Shard of the Defiler in his hands.


    "Why? I don¡¯t know her that well, bro¡­" Lu Xin lowered her voice, but there was actually only the two of them in the ward.


    "What?" Lu Li gave her a strange glance, but he still moved his ears closer.


    "Everyone is saying that you two are together. The forums called you guys¡­ a couple," Lu Xin whispered as she suddenly became a little emotional. "If you two are together, can I still live with you guys?"


    Time spent in the hospital was quite boring. There was nothing for her to do and Lu Li didn¡¯t allow her to play games, so she spent a great deal of time overthinking.


    She had already begun to imagine the moment when Lu Li had his own family and she became unimportant. She would wander alone in the streets, cold and hungry, with shoes that showed her toes.


    "What are you even thinking about?" Lu Li said as he knocked his sister¡¯s head gently. He could tell that she was letting her imagination run wild.


    "Water Fairy is so pretty. It would be so nice if I can grow up to look like her." The admiration was clear in Lu Xin¡¯s eyes.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter if she¡¯s pretty or not. You don¡¯t have to become like her."


    Lu Li rubbed his sister¡¯s soft hair. Because of the surgery, the doctors had trimmed the little girl¡¯s long hair, so she looked even more pitiful.


    "She¡¯s so pretty. Don¡¯t you like her at all?" Lu Li didn¡¯t believe in this.


    "It doesn¡¯t matter if I like her or not. She doesn¡¯t belong in our world, and your brother is only playing games to earn money. I haven¡¯t thought about anything else," Lu Li explained.


    "And you say you haven¡¯t thought about it¡­If you haven¡¯t thought about it, then how would you know you two don¡¯t suit each other?" Lu Xin pouted and yawned.


    "Just one more week and I¡¯ll let you play games." Lu Li didn¡¯t want his sister to sleep all day long either; the doctors advised against this. It wasn¡¯t good to have too much rest.


    "I want to go home." There was only one more week, but she didn¡¯t feel any happiness.


    "Home? Which home?" Lu Li didn¡¯t think that his sister would make such a request. Where was their home?Could the house that the lady landlords owned count as their home?


    "I don¡¯t know either," Lu Xin said as she rubbed her cheeks against her brother¡¯s palms.


    They already given their old home away and had never gone back since. The house of the lady landlords didn¡¯t seem like it belonged to the two of them either. Now that they thought about it, they actually didn¡¯t have a home.


    "Don¡¯t worry." Lu Li felt sympathetic towards the helplessness of the little girl and promised, "I¡¯ll earn enough money soon, so we can buy a big house. We¡¯ll plant flowers in our backyard and I¡¯ll buy you a little dog and a cat..."


    "I like hamsters too," Lu Xin¡¯s eyes were glistening.


    "Sure, we¡¯ll have a couple of them. If we only buy one, it won¡¯t have any company." Lu Li wasn¡¯t too sure if hamsters could be kept with cats, but if this was his sister¡¯s request, he wouldn¡¯t say no.


    Water Fairy was pretty indeed; Lu Li had to admit this too. He wasn¡¯t stupid and he didn¡¯t have different taste to most people either.


    However, he just didn¡¯t feel like her beauty had anything to do with him. He was just another average human, a brother who wanted the best for his sister and a man who wanted to develop his own club.

 576 Bloodfang Worgens

    December came, but the weather was nowhere near being cold, especially in the South. Lu Li had barely seen snow in his life, which probably had something to do with Global Warming.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t too concerned about these issues. He added another bed in his sister¡¯s ward so he could play games on it.


    They had spent their lives together with the support of each other and felt safe in each other¡¯s¡¯ presence.


    "These are Advanced Healing Potions, these are Antidotes, bonus Agility potions, bonus Constitution potions and bonus Intelligence potions. I¡¯ve prepared everything that I can possibly think of for you," Square Root 3 said as he traded a bunch of items to Lu Li. He was like a reliable concierge.


    Compared to his previous guild, his position in Ruling Sword was higher.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know how to be a proper guild master, so Square Root 3 took over the responsibilities. He moved from an elder straight to the guild master.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t get to enjoy his time relaxing as a guild master. He had more tiring details to look after than before.


    "Thanks for the hard work," Lu Li said as he patted Square Root 3¡¯s shoulder¡¯s in a sorry manner before he continued, "About me giving away the First Clear this time..."


    "Don¡¯t worry about it. Hehe, we all get it," Square Root 3 laughed as he cracked a smile across his face.


    "Don¡¯t joke around ¨C I¡¯m using the profit of the guild to return my own personal debt. This isn¡¯t a right thing for me to do." Lu Li shook his head with a bitter laugh and insisted to apologize.


    It wasn¡¯t right for him to pretend nothing had happened.


    What if Square Root 3 felt like Lu Li was giving away the First Clear of the guild so he could please a girl?


    They had agreed to work hard together, to form the biggest guild and club in the game, to change everyone¡¯s living standards.


    If the guild master was unhappy, the others wouldn¡¯t be happy either. It wasn¡¯t like everyone was going to betray him, but this could be a seed that grew into something horrible in the future.


    "It¡¯s really nothing; it¡¯s only one First Clear of a dungeon. We¡¯ve already have quite a lot of these." Before Ruling Sword was formed by Lu Li, he had already scored countless First Clears, but these were all attributed to the guild.


    In terms of First Clears in Dawn, Ruling Sword was definitely the first place in the game.


    "It¡¯s not right to mix personal issues with the guild." Lu Li had to admit this ¨C he might be the boss of the guild with superior authority, but it wasn¡¯t right for him to abuse his power.


    "It¡¯s not as big as you think, I feel like it¡¯s better to give our First Clear to Drizzle Court," Square Root 3 said with a smile.


    "¡­" Lu Li didn¡¯t understand what he meant.


    "Think about it." Square Root 3 held onto Lu Li¡¯s shoulders and explained, "Look at all these big guilds. Some of them have already spent two days to try and complete this dungeon. Which one of them are capable of saying that they¡¯ll give the First Clear to Drizzle Court."


    The first boss was an easy kill, but most people were stuck on the second.


    There were plenty of people in the major guilds, so they weren¡¯t afraid to waste time. The elite teams could take turns to explore the dungeon, but they had already spent two days doing this and none of them had any hope of completing it. Apparently, even Sorrowless had entered the dungeon, but came out empty-handed.


    "Uhm, the First Clear won¡¯t even be ours. Don¡¯t you think this will impact our reputation?" Lu Li asked.


    "Somewhat, but barely," Square Root 3 assured. "I¡¯ll tell you something ¨C ever since we¡¯ve formed an alliance with Drizzle Court, our guild entry applications have increased by at least thirty percent every day."


    "Why? Is Drizzle Court really that impactful?" Lu Li was confused.


    It was just an alliance, and there were plenty guilds in the game who had formed one. However, in desperate situations, the alliance was always only a weak bond that could easily be broken.


    "Drizzle Court is filled with girls. Not only do they have a lot of them, but all of them are of the best quality. Don¡¯t look down on something like this ¨C it¡¯s the most popular thing in the game," Square Root 3 explained as his eyes lit up. Lu Li almost thought that he was the type of guy who was willing to do anything to get a girl.


    "Alright, enough chit chat," Lu Li said as he punched him. "I¡¯ve got somethings to do; I have to go first."


    "So early today?" Square Root 3 was confused ¨C some of the players from Xin Xin Mercenary Group weren¡¯t even online yet. There was probably still some time until Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan logged on.


    "The dungeon run is at ten; I¡¯ve got some private issues to resolve." Lu Li didn¡¯t wait for Square Root 3 to ask any further; he said goodbye and left.


    He used the remaining Priestess¡¯ Blessing on his shoulder to teleport to Moonlight Forest.


    As the home of the Demigod Cenarius, this place was showered eternally by the moonlight. It was as beautiful as it always had been, and was so quiet that some would think they were walking in their dreams.


    Lu Li felt like if he just laid on the grass for a nap, he would be able to enter the legendary world of Emerald Dreams.


    Because of the Priestess¡¯ Blessing, Lu Li only needed to express his request for him to be brought to Remulos. Although Lu Li knew where Remulos was, it was impolite for him to run around and intrude into someone else¡¯s territory.


    "Good to see you again." Remulos wasn¡¯t sleeping this time.


    "I¡¯m glad to see you, son of Cenarius. I¡¯ve come to upgrade my ring," Lu Li said as he bent down to express his most sincere gratitude to this great existence who had helped him. He was about to see the results of his hard work.


    "Don¡¯t be in such a rush, young one. You have a long way to go." A faint smile appeared on Remulos¡¯ strange face.


    "Sorry, I¡¯ve lost my composure, but I¡¯m guessing Malfurion behaved similarly," Lu Li said.


    "Haha, that¡¯s¡­ I guess you¡¯re right." Remulos found that he couldn¡¯t disagree.


    He wasn¡¯t there when Malfurion had upgraded his ring, but it was possible that the ArchDruid himself would have been very excited to finally harvest what he had sown.


    "Follow me, child," Remulos beckoned as he brought Lu LI towards the entrance of the temple.


    The temple of Remulos was simple; there were only a few strangely designed totems inside. At the center of the temple was a giant tree with a similar face to Remulos; it could even smile at Lu Li.


    Remulos brought Lu Li towards the big tree, which suddenly began to cast spells.


    A ruin appeared in front of them.


    "This place belongs to the Bloodfang Worgens; you may have heard of them before. We¡¯re going to trade with them."


    Remulos walked in front as he led Lu Li towards the ruin that lay ahead of them.

 577 Altar

    The dense fog of night time made this place feel like a ghost town.


    Lu Li followed Remulos into the ruins. Only their footsteps could be heard, apart from the disgusting squelching when they stepped on a rotten corpse. This place was the Blood Fang Ruins ¨C the origin of the Blood Fang Worgens.


    A pack of werewolves sat quietly under the moonlight. Anyone that saw them for the first time would be shocked and left speechless.


    However, for the players, they were merely mobs from Shadowfang Keep. They were known for their savage and irrational nature, and were designed to hunt and kill mindlessly. As such, it was quite a rare scene to see them sitting down quietly and resting.


    "The moon is beautiful tonight," Remulos said, breaking the silence in the night. He wasn¡¯t nervous at all and strolled towards them casually.


    He approached the biggest Worgen, who was most likely the leader of the pack, and they sniffed each other.


    Lu Li knew that this was their custom ¨C it meant that there was a close bond between the two and was a form of greeting like a handshake. If their relationship wasn¡¯t solid enough and he sniffed him, it would have resulted in a bloody mess.


    "It¡¯s not as beautiful for us anymore."


    One of the Worgen opened his eyes and also sniffed Remulos.


    His pupils were different from any other werewolf that Lu Li had met before. The werewolves from Shadowfang Keep had blood-red pupils filled with destruction and madness.


    However, this Worgen had a brown pupil with streaks of silver.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure whether his pupils actually had a silver streak, or if it was reflection of the moonlight. The moon was even brighter and more beautiful here than in the Moonlight Forest.


    "Yeah, you guys are used to it now," Remulos sighed and began talking seriously, "Lord Krug, I come here seeking for help."


    "Please don¡¯t refer to me as Lord anymore. Most of my people have been taken away from Leila." Lu Li could see anger and a thirst for revenge in the werewolf¡¯s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.


    Leila¡­


    Lu Li felt like he has heard this name before. Leila was the first name, but what was the last name?


    Leila, Bloodfang Ruins, Leila Blood Fang¡­


    Lu Li put two and two together and remembered who Leila was. She was part of ancient Druid sect called the Druid of the Scytheor and was also known as the person who had caused the downfall of Bloodfang.


    Many thought that the Mage Arugal was the one who used Dark Magic to summon Worgens and caused them to spread in numbers.


    But where did he summon these Worgens from originally?


    Lu Li read in a book that the Worgens originated from the Druids in Kaldorei. These Druids used the power of Goldrinn the Wolf God, which allowed them to shapeshift into werewolves to defend themselves against the Burning Legion.


    However, because of the wild and untamed nature of the wolves, the Druids lost control. This forced Malfurion to use an item to banish them into the Emerald Dream, submitting their energy to the Scythe of Elune.


    Years later, Ur, a Mage of Dalaran, found the Scythe of Elune and worked with Arugal to summon Worgens.


    After this, Leila created a religion known as the Bloodfang Worgens. Many people of Gilneas betrayed their own country to join this secret organisation. They acted in secret without the knowledge of the King of Gilneas, spreading the curse to more and more people.


    This was the impression that Lu Li had of the Bloodfang Worgens.


    The group of Worgens before him were a different pack that disagreed with Leila.


    "No, you will always be the leader of the Bloodfang Worgens. Leila walked a on path of evil and you¡¯ll be remembered as the one who resisted against her."


    "Why did you come here for today? I have nothing left besides the moonlight," Krug asked as he looked at his claws.


    "I need to borrow your altar," Remulos said, then continued before he could be rejected, "I brought some materials that you need. It might not be much, but these were all collected by this young man."


    "Greetings, faithful worshippers of the moon." Lu Li knew that these Worgens weren¡¯t infected by the curse.


    They needed the moonlight in order to neutralize the violent and savage nature in their blood which was why they were gathered here. Calling them the faithful worshippers of the moon was extremely fitting.


    They were evidently pleased that they had been addressed like this. Krug reached out his claws and placed them on Lu Li¡¯s shoulders.


    Lu Li brought out the materials, as well as the Gold-grade Staff. Altogether, there were 16 pieces, which was exactly what Remulos had ordered. Including the Blood of the Bosses that he had killed before, there were 40 or so pieces.


    He didn¡¯t feel the need to collect the blood of Bosses that were a higher level because that would be a waste of time.


    The bosses from the Burning Legion expansion were impossible for him to even attempt right now.


    He had seen the Demon Vanguards yesterday which were the weakest monsters in the dungeon and didn¡¯t even have the guts to aggro them.


    Every Worgen opened their eyes wide, including Krug, and Lu Li saw a faint redness in their pupils.


    It was obvious that this pack of Worgens was struggling to get by.


    "These materials are very important to me. I can¡¯t lose any more of my people," Krug sighed as he accepted all the materials.


    With Remulos around, Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid to get scammed.


    Krug led the way, followed by Lu Li and Remulos, as well as four other Worgens.


    "Lord Krug, maybe you can grant a quest to this young man. He is a smart and brave child."


    Remulos began recommending and praising Lu Li as an adventurer.


    Lu Li had to complete the quest in order to build trust and reputation in the Dark Abyss area.


    "Him?" Krug glanced at Lu Li. It was obvious that Krug thought the small rogue was weak.


    "Don¡¯t judge a book by its cover Krug. You¡¯ve got nothing to lose," Remulos said with a smile.


    "In order to thank the Bloodfangs for letting me borrow the altar, if there¡¯s anything you need me to do, I¡¯ll try my hardest to help you. I have many other friends that can help me," Lu Li offered.


    Krug thought about it and came to the conclusion that this wasn¡¯t such a bad idea.


    He was impressed with Lu Li¡¯s humble and grateful attitude.

 578 The Curse of Worgens

    "Alright, young man. Do you want to listen to a story?" Krug asked as they continued walking.


    "My Lord, I think your past is more than just mere stories," Lu Li nodded his head. "I would love to hear about your legendary experiences."


    Everyone loved being complimented and praised; this was a very important skill to have in a social setting. Compliments should be straight to the point and not overly done to the point that they feel fake or even sarcastic. With the advantage from his past life, as well as his natural-born talent in flattering people, Lu Li was a genius at knowing how to please these in-game NPCs.


    "The Burning Legion caused a catastrophe¡­" Krug began talking about the origins of the Worgens.


    In order to protect their homeland, they borrowed the powers of the ancient demi-god Goldrinn. They were able to shapeshift into feral-worgens and fought valiantly in battles.


    However, these Druids eventually lost their minds to the violent nature of the wolves.


    The power of Goldrinn became a curse and it began spreading to other Druids. More and more Druids were afflicted with the curse and were given an unquenchable thirst to kill.


    It wasn¡¯t Goldrinn¡¯s fault that the curse started.


    Goldrinn was an Ancient renowned for his ferocity in the battle during the Burning Legion invasion. The wolf god slaughtered hundreds of demons during the invasion and was one of the few demi-gods that survived.


    Although it was because of his powers that the Curse of the Druids began, it was never his intention from the beginning.


    He had no idea how or why the curse started, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    The Druid NPCs in Dawn were divided into factions based on their respective shapeshifting forms. For example, the Deer form allowed them to transform into a white deer which was granted to them during the Battle of Ancients by the spirit of the demi-god Malorne. The Bear form was granted by the twin bear gods Ursol and Ursoc, while the Bird form was granted by Aviana the falcon goddess, who was revered by all winged creatures in Dawn.


    Lu Li¡¯s shapeshifting form was granted by Medivh, which made it slightly different from that of Druids.


    The Worgen form had granted by Goldrinn during the invasion. These Worgens were the same as the ones standing before Lu Li today.


    They still believed and abided in the fundamental spiritual nature of life.


    "Do you now know what I want you to do?" Krug stared into Lu Li¡¯s eyes, searching for any signs of fear or doubt.


    The Bloodfang Lord was doubtful about Lu Li¡¯s capabilities, but deep down, there was a small seed of hope.


    The Worgens could always use more help and that was exactly what Lu Li was offering.


    This was the last pack of Worgen Druids.


    However, instead of finding fear and doubt in Lu Li¡¯s eyes, he saw a strange and unfamiliar expression on Lu Li¡¯s face.


    Lu Li was finally granted the quest by the system ¨C Curse of the Worgens.


    This quest was¡­


    Too easy!


    Lu Li felt a sense of relief when he was granted the quest and knew that it would be very easy to complete.


    Although it was simple, he decided not to complete it immediately.


    If he told Krug about the solution to his problems, the quest rewards would be greatly reduced.


    This was similar to how doctors treated their patients.


    If a doctor simply prescribed a drug to cure their patient¡¯s cold, then all he could charge them for would be the medicine. However, if the doctor put in more effort to treat the patient and ask him to visit multiple times, he would be able to charge more money.


    Lu Li reminded himself that he was playing a game and supressed his emotions, then sternly said, "My Lord, I will do my best.


    "Thank you, young man. I believe that you¡¯ll bring great fortune to my clan," Krug nodded.


    System: You have accepted a quest from Krug Bloodfang ¨C "Curse of the Worgens." Time limit: 3 months. If you fail to complete the quest within 3 months, your level will be decreased by 3.


    Taking away 3 levels would waste a lot of time for Lu Li.


    Since there was a limit of 3 months, he could wait a few days before starting. Because of his rebirth, this quest was quite straightforward for Lu Li. However, there were a few things that he needed to prepare beforehand, and some of them were quite troublesome to obtain.


    They quickly arrived at the ancient altar.


    According to Krug, this altar was based on the altar that stood during the Battle of the Ancients. They had depended on the moonlight, as well as the altar, to prevent them from being controlled by the violent nature of their Worgen side.


    "It¡¯s thanks to my good friend Remulos that the altar remains in a good condition," the leader of the Worgens said with gratitude.


    It was quite depressing to hear about the struggles and hardships that the Worgens had endured over the past years. The cause of this curse was because of their effort and willingness to defend Azeroth, yet they had been forgotten and discarded like trash.


    Lu Li was tempted to reveal his solution to lift the curse, but decided against it for his own personal gain.


    Lu Li placed down the materials that he had brought and the Bloodfang Altar was completely lit up by the silver moonlight.


    "You can now take out what you want to upgrade," Krug said as he held out his hands towards Lu Li.


    "This is the ring that I wanted to upgrade." Lu Li showed him the ring because he couldn¡¯t take it off his finger.


    Krug lightly tapped on the ring with his claws, thinking that it would come off Lu Li¡¯s fingers, but it did not budge at all.


    Krug was embarrassed.


    "Uh¡­ I think the ring is already soulbound to you. If you take it off forcefully, it might cause irreversible damage," Krug explained.


    Lu Li turned around and looked at Remulos.


    He remembered that when he had first met Remulos, he was able to easily take off the ring.


    However, Remulos ignored Lu Li and remained transfixed on a plant that was growing near the altar. Lu Li knew that he was ignoring him on purpose.


    "What should we do then?" Lu Li asked. He wasn¡¯t sure why Remulos didn¡¯t want to take off his ring for him, but he couldn¡¯t expose the fact that he was the son of a demi-god Cenarius.


    "Since you¡¯ve accepted my request, I¡¯ll allow you to sit on the altar," Krug decided.


    Was there a benefit of being on the altar when performing the ritual?


    Lu Li saw Remulos fluster and had a good feeling about this.

 579 Equipment Spoken About In Legends

    Lu Li stepped onto the Altar as per Krug¡¯s request.


    The air above the altar felt a lot thicker. Some of it was drifting away, but Lu Li knew that it was energy condensing around him.


    Compared to the Twilight Altar and the Altar of Tides that he had used to upgrade the ring previously, this altar was of a much higher quality. The guardians of the altar were also much stronger ¨C five Scythe Claw Druids.


    Krug may not have been as powerful as Remulos, but he had been involved in the battle against the Burning Legion. His four subordinates must have also defeated thousands of Undead to have survived.


    To still be alive was clear proof of their strength.


    The ring became hot and Lu Li seemed to see countless magical elves singing softly around him. No matter what the result was on this altar, Lu Li had to admit that what he could receive as a Thief would never be as much as if he was a Mage.


    If he was a Mage or Warlock, such an altar blessing could permanently improve his magical power.


    System: Obtained the blessing of Bloodfang Worgen. An EXP and Glory reward has been acquired. Resistance to magic increased by 1%. Resistance to natural magic increased by 5% permanently.


    If a Thief could only increase their magic resistance, then surely a magic profession could directly increase their magic damage.


    The 1% resistance increase didn¡¯t seem like much now, but when his base resistances got higher, its true effect would be revealed. This was a long-term investment that was actually very powerful.


    The 5% resistance to natural magic was targeted against Druids and Shamans. Most skills from these two professions involved natural magic.


    This altar had been repaired by the Scythe Claw Druids, so naturally, their attributes would be a big part of it.


    However, that wasn¡¯t all ¨C he also received an EXP increase. Lu Li had stood on the altar for 5 minutes and his EXP had gone from level 38 at 7% to 87%. He had received exactly 80% EXP.


    To gain 80% EXP while at level 38 probably required five days of farming. Even with the guild¡¯s Mages, it would take at least three days.


    In a short five minutes, he had saved himself 5 days of hard work.


    Lu Li finally understood why Keeper of the Grove Remulos didn¡¯t take the ring from him.


    Without the ring, how could he possibly have received these blessings?


    Lu Li only needed two more days of casual farming before he could reach level 39. While others were rushing to get to level 35, he was already considering reaching level 40.


    Of course, that was just a minor matter. He was more concerned about other things.


    Supreme Four Ring (Epic): Agility +50, Strength +30, Constitution +30, Critical Hit +30%, Vampirism +30%.


    Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle¡¯s Protection, Instant Cast. Summon a natural Shield that absorbs all damage in one attack for the caster. 6 hour cooldown.


    Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle¡¯s Blessing. Stealth +30%.


    Special Effect 3: King of the Jungle Cenarius has granted you a special ability. You are able to learn three Druid Transformation skills and four skills within those transformations.


    Equipment Requirement: None


    Durability: None


    When he saw that the name of the item had become purple, Lu Li¡¯s breathing became a little faster.


    After experiencing countless hardships to collect all the rare materials, he had finally seen the pay-off.


    He was satisfied!


    Lu Li was extremely happy with the current attributes of the Supreme Ring.


    The original three attributes had all been increased by 20. Strength and Constitution both reached 30 while the Agility soared to 50. The increase of these three attributes alone would have significantly increased Lu Li¡¯s strength.


    There was also 30% Critical Hit and 30% Vampirism!


    He really couldn¡¯t be happier. His critical hits were basically capped out now ¨C when he attacked an ordinary monster, every one in three hits would be a critical hit.


    The Supreme Ring had a Vampirism attribute at one point, but it was lost at the Altar of Tides when he upgraded it.


    However, with these five powerful Scythe Claw Druids, he didn¡¯t lose a single attribute while also regaining the Vampirism attribute.


    If he was fighting a monster that was at the same level as him, Lu Li could farm it without taking any consumables, as long as it didn¡¯t have particularly high attack.


    In fact, when most players were farming, a considerable part of their time was spent eating bread, fruit and other supplies to regenerate themselves.


    Even most tycoons couldn¡¯t afford to pay to take potions while farming.


    For example, the Intermediate Health Potion could be used in battle, but it was still ridiculously expensive. Ordinary players were only willing to drink two bottles when fighting a Boss or in a life-saving situation.


    Lu Li was most satisfied with the new effect, which was a legendary invincibility effect.


    King of the Jungle¡¯s Protection, Instant Cast. Summon a natural Shield that absorbs all damage in one attack for the caster. 6 hour cooldown.


    Although it was only one attack, there was no upper limit to what it could absorb. Lu Li could even face an attack from Malfurion or Medivh and be guaranteed not to die.


    After all, the game had to pay crucial attention to game balance.


    From the moment of his rebirth, Lu Li had benefited from this ring. It was inseparable from Lu Li¡¯s efforts and achievements. He had achieved countless First Clears, built a large guild and found many rare materials.


    "Oh, I see you are satisfied." Krug was happy to see that Lu Li was happy.


    The originally energy-filled altar was now dim. It seemed like it needed new materials, even only after a short period of use.


    "I will remember my promise to complete the quest as soon as possible," Lu Li said.


    "Thank you, young man. We¡¯ve been here for endless years, so we don¡¯t expect too much. However, if you receive a punishment for failing the quest, we will try our best to compensate you," Krug kindly said.


    The Worgen¡¯s Curse quest would decrease his levels by 3 if he failed. It was the most punishing quest he had ever received in his life.


    Lu Li felt like he was indebted towards this Bloodfang Worgen, but Krug felt a similar sheepishness towards Lu Li. He felt like Lu Li didn¡¯t have the strength to complete this quest, so he would destined lose his levels. That was why he allowed Lu Li to stand on the altar, and even volunteered to put more energy into the upgrade.

 580 The Boss’ HP

    If you couldn¡¯t come up with the real materials, it seemed that the Chief Lord wouldn¡¯t believe in you.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t found the materials in an hour and a half, nor did he have the Alchemy level required to make this Moonlight Grass Potion.


    Yes, the Moonlight Grass Potion would fix the Worgen¡¯s problems.


    After giving them a Moonlight Grass Potion, these crazed Worgens could overcome their inner evil and transform themselves once again into humans, while still retaining the strength of the Worgen Transformation.


    They would be free to use that ability with the wisdom that came with being a human.


    In fact, this was the start of the Worgen race quest which could be completed by a player of any race, as long as they were from the Alliance. Once they fully completed this quest line, they could transform into a Worgen.


    The strength increase wasn¡¯t that great, as balance still needed to be maintained, but many players fancied the idea of such a transformation.


    In a year¡¯s time, this quest could easily be acquired and completed. It had the same name as what Lu Li¡¯s had right now ¨C the Worgen¡¯s Curse ¨C but it didn¡¯t have the three-level-drop punishment and its rewards were not nearly as lucrative.


    In a year¡¯s time, this quest wouldn¡¯t be as good anymore.


    At least for now, no one¡¯s Alchemy level was high enough. Lu Li estimated that Sesame Rice Ball was probably one of the leading Alchemists, but it would be a long time before he could make the Moonlight Grass Potion.


    Moreover, this assumed that he would somehow be able to get his hands on a formula.


    He needed the material, the formula and appropriate Alchemy level.


    Of course, the three month deadline was a joke. How could someone that had experienced rebirth take so long? Lu Li felt like he could do it in two weeks at the very most. He was going to give Sesame Rice Ball some gold coins from the guild so that he could increase his Alchemy level.


    During this time, he would organize some players to find this formula. That would make this extremely punishing quest much easier.


    With the support of a large guild, many things became a lot simpler.


    The penalty for failing this quest was losing three levels, so the reward wouldn¡¯t be too bad. Dawn¡¯s reward system wasn¡¯t too unfair, so hopefully, the reward would be something like a three-level increase.


    Lu Li had never heard of anyone completing this quest in his previous life. Azure Sea Breeze was the previous owner of the Supreme Ring, but he didn¡¯t make any contact with Remulos and didn¡¯t come into contact with Worgens either.


    After bidding farewell to the Bloodfang Worgen, Keeper of the Grove Remulos sent Lu Li back to the Moonlight Forest.


    "You really need to thank Krug for saving you this time with the ring upgrade. He¡¯s actually a very stingy person," Remulos joked.


    "He really is a very generous elder," said Lu Li, who didn¡¯t think that the Bloodfang Worgen was stingy at all.


    It was likely that Krug had done many stingy things because of a lack of resources. Perhaps he was meaner to old friends like Remulos, but he definitely hadn¡¯t been stingy when dealing with Lu Li.


    Lu Li knew what he had received.


    "If you really think this way, he would be very pleased," Remulos nodded before seriously saying ,"I remember telling you this before, but this is a killing ring. You need to take the blood of 40 Bosses before this ring can be upgraded again."


    "Yes, I remember."


    Lu Li was a little anxious. He did have 40 Boss kills, but they just weren¡¯t strong enough. There weren¡¯t any Burning Legion Bosses on his record.


    "If it weren¡¯t for Krug¡¯s generosity, and using a regular sacrificial altar to upgrade the ring," Remulos remarked as he looked over at Lu Li, "You might even be regretting getting the upgrade right now."


    "I understand." Lu Li knew that everyone upgrade opportunity was invaluable.


    However, he was a pragmatic man who didn¡¯t pin his hopes on something unachievable. A single bird in the hand was better than a thousand birds in the forest. Of course, it would have been best to have collected the blood of Sargeras, Kil¡¯jaeden and Archimonde, but this was unrealistic.


    "I¡¯m glad that you know. It¡¯s bad when young people get impatient," Remulos warned.


    As a Keeper, the best part about Remulos was that he was a good teacher. When the Moonlight Forest became the Druid holy land, many Druid NPCs and players would come and listen to his teachings.


    "So, what should I do next?¡¯ Lu Li asked cautiously.


    Rising to the Supreme Four Ring meant that there was a great mountain before him if he wanted to upgrade it to the Supreme Five Ring. What grade was after Epic?


    Legendary!


    Normally, there was a grade before Epic called Half-Epic. If it weren¡¯t for Krug, Lu Li¡¯s Supreme Four Ring could have just been a Half-Epic.


    Legendary was the most advanced grade of equipment. Among them were mythical names such as Frostmourne, Warglaive of Azzinoth, Zhar¡¯doom ¨C Greatstaff of the Devourer, Gorehowl, Ashkandi ¨C Greatsword of the Brotherhood¡­


    Each of these weapons had an extraordinary history which resulted in a heroic legend.


    As for Demi-Divine and Divine, these items would not necessarily be stronger than Legendary equipment. However, most of them had come from the hands of demigods or ancient gods that had invested countless time and energy into them.


    Lu Li¡¯s Supreme Ring came from Cenarius, one of the most powerful demigods in Dawn¡¯s history, and the Druid responsible for establishing the Druid doctrine.


    As such, the Supreme Ring had a good chance of at least becoming Demi-Divine.


    As for Divine items, they generally didn¡¯t belong to players. At the very least, Lu Li thought that it was impossible for a player to acquire Divine equipment.


    Regardless, thinking about those things right now was pointless as they were too far away.The key was just to continue upgrading the Supreme Ring. Lu Li didn¡¯t want everyone to already have Epic gear before he could make the upgrade.


    "To upgrade the ring¡­" the Keeper of the Grove Remulos thought for a moment before saying, "You might want to go and find Malfurion."


    "Didn¡¯t he go into the Emerald Dream?" Lu Li¡¯s heart sank.


    "He¡¯ll come back soon enough," Remulos said as he squinted his eyes.


    "I¡¯m not a Druid," Lu Li said helplessly.


    Although this ring granted him some of the conveniences that came with being a Druid, he ultimately didn¡¯t have a real connection with Druids.


    "As long as you keep killing Burning Legion Bosses and taking their blood, the ring will slowly become stronger, even without a proper ceremony. I¡¯ve written down how to fuse the Boss¡¯ blood with the ring; make sure you kill lots of Burning Legion Bosses from now on," Remulos instructed as he scribbled some words on a leaf.


    Lu Li always felt like this guy was trying to make him kill Burning Legion units.


    However, his deep understanding of history allowed him to appreciate the hatred of these Azeroth Tribes towards the Burning Legion.


    He didn¡¯t doubt that the blood of a Burning Legion Boss could increase the power of his ring. In fact, most upgradeable equipment required upgrade experience which, in general, came from killing monsters.


    It was just that the target Remulos had set him was a little high. He needed the blood of a Boss, and a Burning Legion Boss at that.

 581 Zul’Farrak

    "The more Burning Legion you kill, the greater the improvement at the next upgrade. I¡¯ll give you a free transport to the Moonlight Forest; this is the Ally of the Cenarion Circle¡­"


    Remulos¡¯ words echoed temptingly in Lu Li¡¯s ears, but he was already in Gadgetzan.


    His teammates had been waiting here; they were about to start Zul¡¯Farrak. They wanted to get the First Clear on this Instance Dungeon.


    However, they first needed to accept a few quests for the Instance Dungeon. The first one was from Krazek in Stranglethorn Vale, who directed them to Tran¡¯rek in Gadgetzan. Tran¡¯rek owed a shipment of scarab shells which was due a few weeks ago.


    Krazek: He is my brother, so I don¡¯t want to send debt-collectors to Gadgetzan. Please help me go and ask Tran¡¯rek what is happening? He¡¯d better send them to me quickly before I really freak out.


    The two rogue goblins were basically a perfect pair.


    Tran¡¯rek was also a rogue goblin.


    He said that the scarab shells were hard enough to sell as building materials. Due to how valuable they were, the scarabs were hunted extensively and almost went extinct.


    As such, Tran¡¯rek told the players that there were many scarabs in Zul¡¯Farrak.


    Their quest was to gather enough scarab shells in three days. Otherwise, Tran¡¯rek would smash their heads in.


    This wasn¡¯t a joke ¨C the penalty for failing this quest was death, which meant 5% EXP.


    There were some other quests that Lu Li and his party had accepted as well. Regardless of whether these quests gave equipment, the EXP reward alone meant that they couldn¡¯t be missed.


    There was a long way to go from Gadgetzan to Zul¡¯Farrak, but the path was relatively safe with Sandworms rarely appearing.


    If the road to the Instance Dungeon was already risky, most players just wouldn¡¯t do it.


    This road was a transit route for goblins in the desert who explored ancient ruins, looking for ore. They did what they could for as long as they thought they could make money from it.


    As for the Sandworms, if you observed the area carefully, you would notice quite a few goblin devices installed in the sand.


    These devices constantly emitted an ultrasonic sound that dealt high damage to the Sandworms and deterred them from the area.


    Heavy fighting also occurred on this path, which was perfectly in line with the game company¡¯s vision. From the moment players had access to this place, Horde and Alliance players had been locked in endless battle.


    However, for a while now, no one from either faction had been killed.


    Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t dare to be too conspicuous. If he openly declared himself to be Lu Li, he probably wouldn¡¯t be welcomed the whole way. There were surely countless players that wanted to kill him.


    They would be able to kill him and force him to drop an item without too high of a cost.


    There was one Sorrowless fan that worshiped Sorrowless, so much that he had watched each of Sorrowless¡¯ technique videos dozens of time.


    However, when he was asked about why he was following a band of players to kill Sorrowless, he innocently replied, "What¡¯s the issue with worshipping someone and killing them to take their items?"


    After clearing out a few waves of players looking for trouble, Lu Li and the others soon reached the entrance of the Instance Dungeon. There was a goblin there that would give them a buff for two gold coins.


    The buff was Voodoo damage -20%.


    This was quite strong, especially against the Trolls, and had the potential to be life-saving.


    Of course, it was unrealistic to expect the -20% damage to negate the entire Voodoo Troll family. Otherwise, teams wouldn¡¯t be getting killed on the second Boss.


    "Nightmare?" Azure Sea Breeze, who was responsible for picking the difficulty, turned around and asked.


    "Yes, Nightmare!" Lu Li nodded and confirmed.


    Zul¡¯Farrak wasn¡¯t a particularly difficult Instance Dungeon. Only the second and last Bosses were considered as demigods, and required all members of the party to be level 35 and higher.


    "Gee, this is going to be fun." Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t afraid of a challenge and was even more courageous with Lu Li around.


    The others weren¡¯t too worried either. As long as it was Lu Li who picked the difficulty, they would be able to do it. As for that girl who was obsessed with her pets, she probably couldn¡¯t tell the difference between Elite and Nightmare difficulty anyway.


    "Hey, that team that just went in didn¡¯t pick the Elite difficulty," a Mage in the team behind them said as he saw Azure Sea Breeze making his choice.


    The rune that was displayed on the Instance Dungeon for Nightmare was different to when it was Elite difficulty.


    Between Nightmare Difficulty and Elite Difficulty, there was also the Heroic difficulty. Most players were attempting the dungeon on Elite Difficulty right now, with others trying it on Ordinary Difficulty to get used to it.


    When they suddenly saw that someone had selected Nightmare difficulty, they were completely shocked.


    "No way! How can someone choose Nightmare Difficulty?" A Paladin who was holding a large sword was unconvinced.


    "I saw it with my own eyes; I can¡¯t be wrong," the Mage sneered. "I¡¯ve learned about Runes, and that definitely was one for Nightmare Difficulty."


    Runes were a trade skill that enabled players to be very sensitive to the inscriptions on Instance Dungeon entrances.


    "Maybe they just picked Nightmare to get a reaction out of us. I can pick Nightmare Difficulty too." The Paladin was still too stubborn to accept it.


    Everyone was the protagonist of their own fantasy world.


    How could they still be playing at Elite if someone else was playing at Nightmare difficulty?


    "It¡¯s Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze and the others. It¡¯s the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Ruling Sword is finally doing Zul¡¯Farrak," someone finally realized after thinking about the professions and general appearances of the players who had entered.


    For the Wild Bosses, there were a number of competing guilds who would take the Boss 80% of the time. Occasionally, someone lucky could also take one of them.


    For Private Instance Dungeons, gaining access was based purely on luck.


    On the other hand, Public Instance Dungeons were different. Ruling Sword was dominating the Public Instance Dungeons. From the Spider Nest, to the Death Mines, the Howling Caves, to the Scarlet Monastery¡­ they had gotten First Clears on Public Instance Dungeons many consecutive times.


    "Lu Li is doing the Instance dungeon!"


    This news spread like a tide throughout all of the player-base.


    Regardless of whether they were Alliance or Horde, they all dropped what they were doing and began to discuss counter-measures.


    "Ruling Sword cannot get the First Clear again," declared Dust Dragon, the president of Blood Red War Flag.


    "I trust you," said Sorrowless, who had connected several Instance Dungeons commanders with Glory Capital.

 582 The Goblin’s Ques

    Drizzle Court, who had been quiet for a while, finally began to make their move. With Water Fairy personally leading them, the most elite players were chosen before they entered the Instance Dungeon, not long after Ruling Sword.


    "Will Lu Li and the others be able to do it? The other guilds have been going at it for a few days now," Star Baby remarked in worry while she continued her healing.


    "I hear that Glory Capital and Peerless City are about to defeat the second Boss." Deadly Green Orange didn¡¯t want to spread information about other players, but there were some things worth doing a reality check on. She had always been optimistic about Ruling Sword.


    Why didn¡¯t she contact Peerless City? Their progress was going quite well and they were also an ally.


    "Did I allow the two of you to talk?" Water Fairy¡¯s cold glare successfully shut down the conversation between the two star players.


    Water Fairy¡¯s Goddess status was something that players would kill for at any time.


    No matter what the guilds tried to do, it didn¡¯t matter. Ruling Sword¡¯s Instance Dungeon run could be difficult, or it could be smooth sailing.


    The Public Instance Dungeons were independent spaces that couldn¡¯t be interrupted.


    Instead, some players unusually started killing Ruling Sword members. Square Root 3 soon determined their purpose ¨C it was the make sure that Lu Li couldn¡¯t complete the Instance Dungeon wholeheartedly.


    This was simply an unreasonable situation.


    Although he didn¡¯t know which guild organized this, Square Root 3 quickly put together a taskforce to retaliate.


    Even if the best of their guild had been sent away, a player¡¯s mere level could provide some strength. Everyone wanted to be the protagonist of the story, so they were willing to sacrifice themselves.


    Moreover, Ruling Sword was not some average guild that could be provoked without consequence.


    Lu Li had acquired several First Clears, but what the players of the guild enjoyed more was PVP. They were the Shadow Cup champions and the Magic Cup runners up. Many players who hoped to develop their PVP skills joined Ruling Sword.


    The fact that there was a big group of PVP players in Ruling Sword causing trouble all day was a headache for Square Root 3.


    However, when these players were provoked, they were relentless.


    As such, the game of hunting and being hunted began in full swing. Both sides were just relentlessly killing each other.


    Square Root 3 quickly narrowed down the suspects to the Gangnam Royals, given their connections and capabilities. Moreover, their president, Heart of War, had already targeted Ruling Sword twice before.


    He didn¡¯t have direct evidence, but the PVP madmen found themselves unintentionally, or perhaps intentionally, mostly targeting Gangnam Royals players.


    As for the actual elite players that needed to level, they were not affected, as there was the concept of a private land. In his previous life, Lu Li thought that this was abhorrent, but now that he was a guild leader, he had naturally included it as part of the conventional way of doing things.


    Whoever had organized this whole thing was an idiot! All of them!


    When they entered the Instance Dungeon, they came face-to-face with an NPC.


    "Heroes, please help me, a poor little helpless goblin," the small goblin pleaded, trying to gain their sympathy. Unfortunately, he was a male goblin, so most players just didn¡¯t care.


    "Let go of me, or I¡¯ll beat you to death." Azure Sea Breeze, who was walking in the front, was trying to shake off the goblin from his leg.


    "Hero¡­" the goblin continued.


    "Dammit, if you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise, I¡¯ll actually kill you." Azure Sea Breeze couldn¡¯t stand this NPC¡¯s cooing; it was so ugly.


    Gnomes had smaller heads than goblins, but their big eyes made them look cute. They often looked like small, old men.


    "Alright," the goblin shrugged helplessly and began speaking, "One of my good brothers, Weegli, went with Sergeant Bly and his men to attack Zul¡¯Farrak. They wanted to get the legendary Susaus. It was going well until they underestimated Sandfury Trolls. Now, they have been captured, and are awaiting execution!


    "If you save them, they could help you blow a road leading into the Ukorz¡¯s private Hall, where the last part of the treasured sword is kept. The ones who caught them were Nekrum Gutchewer and Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz. Kill them and clear their disgrace¡­ then I will pay you your reward."


    After giving his big speech, the Goblin NPC asked, "Heroes, are you willing to help me out with this small task?"


    "Please, how can you possibly call this a small task? It sounds very dangerous." Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t so easily tricked; he was actually quite good at driving a bargain.


    "Seventy silver coins. I can¡¯t give you more," the goblin said, sounding extremely grieved.


    "Old man, I make a few dozen gold coins every few minutes. What use do I have for 70 silver coins?" Azure Sea Breeze wanted to spit on the goblin¡¯s face before saying to the others, "Let¡¯s get out of here."


    "Oh, my gold," Goblin Sariko clutched his chest before saying, "I¡¯ll give you two explosive packages, no more. Otherwise, I¡¯ll just find someone else."


    "Alright." Lu Li had been standing there quietly, this was the first time he spoke.


    This item was connected to the Instance Dungeon. Without Sariko¡¯s explosive packages, the road to Ukorz¡¯s private hall couldn¡¯t be opened, which meant that they would have no way to fight Boss Ukorz. They would also lose the Treasure Chest that was inside Ukorz¡¯s hall.


    "In that case, I have a small request," Sariko said as he looked at Lu Li greedily.


    He knew that this was the true master of the group.


    "I can help, but it depends on your price," Lu Li nodded.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t really like quests that were given by goblins. They were naturally calculative and didn¡¯t know what it meant to be generous.


    "I hear that there is a Troll, by the name of Hydromancer Velratha, who owned a rare and beautiful jewel called the Abyss Crown. She used it to control the mighty Gahz¡¯rilla. Yes, and Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s scales are said to be full of energy. Do you know what I mean, friend?"


    "I need it! Kill Velratha and take the Abyss Crown. Kill Gahz¡¯rilla as well and bring some of the scales. If you bring these things back to me quickly, I will reward you."


    Sariko waved his arms and his eyes were full of longing for wealth.


    "I need to know you are sincere, my friend," Lu Li said, remaining unmoved.


    Many of the quests could be bargained for in Dawn, especially on Nightmare Difficulty. As long as you had the ability to do so, you could even convince the NPC to help you fight.


    "I have four pieces of equipment here. You can pick out one of them." Sariko¡¯s heart was conflicted, but he knew the principle of an Emperor not starving his own soldiers. He had had no choice but to reveal the possessions he had.

 583 Scarabs

    "That¡¯s no good. You have to give all four of them to us," Lu Li said with bright eyes.


    The four items included were Leather armors which were suitable for different professions. They were all Gold-grade equips, and even Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to look down on them.


    "That is impossible!" Sariko gasped and shrieked, "Greedy, stupid, arrogant¡­"


    "Well, when I get the Abyss Crown, I¡¯ll go to your goblin friends who are more generous. I think they will understand its worth," Lu Li said calmly.


    His words dumbfounded the poor little goblin.


    "You can¡¯t do that ¨C you would be betraying your friend." Sariko was angry just a moment ago, but now he was worried.


    No one in Gadgetzan knew about the secret of the Abyss Crown right now, but once news of it spread, it would be too late.


    "I don¡¯t want to do that either, but Mr Sariko, you of all people should know about this quest," Lu Li said as he smiled mischievously. "Or do I need to remind you about your friends who had been captured by the Sandfury Trolls? Were they not encouraged by you to come in here?"


    "No, no¡­ you, you¡¯re simply a demon!" Although Sariko denied him, his expression betrayed him.


    "You need to promise me. None of us are good people; we can betray out friends if we have to. Not to mention, we aren¡¯t even proper friends," Lu Li said as he bent down and patted him on the shoulder. "I remember that friends and transactions are the same for goblins, isn¡¯t that right?"


    "Woo¡­" Sariko started crying sadly.


    "That¡¯s a deal then. Quickly release the quest." Lu Li was quite satisfied that he had made this goblin cry. "When you get the Abyss Crown, you might be rich. It¡¯s just four Gold Items. O, great Sariko, what would you like to buy from the gold that comes in the treasure¡­" Lu Li comforted.


    "Treasure." This was the last straw the crushed the camel; Sariko signed the contract under Lu Li¡¯s persuasion.


    Lu Li and the others had now received the quest. They were to give Sariko the Abyss Crown and Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s charged scales. They would then receive four pieces of Gold equipment as a reward, likely in addition to an appropriate amount of EXP and Prestige.


    It wasn¡¯t that Lu Li didn¡¯t want this treasure for himself, but that it was useless to him.


    There was no information about the Abyss Crown for the players. It was merely a quest item dropped by Boss Veratha. Even if they got it, it had no value to them, but the fact that they were able to trade it for four Gold equips made Lu Li very satisfied.


    Sarika dejectedly left as he needed to prepare the explosive packages.


    "Well, let¡¯s get started with the Instance Dungeon," Lu Li reminded his friends who had been completely dumbfounded.


    "Lu Li¡­ you didn¡¯t say anything at first, and now this¡­"


    Lu Li had forced the NPC to give up so much. Azure Sea Breeze had initially tried to do something like this, but had only forced out two explosive packages. However, when Lu Li tried, he managed to get four gold equips.


    "That¡¯s assuming we clear the Instance Dungeon," Lu Li reminded.


    "Alright then, let¡¯s start." Azure Sea Breeze was excited by the four pieces of gold equipment. He waved his shield around and welcomed the first wave of monsters.


    There was a Sandfury Witch Doctor, a Sandfury Shadowmage and three Sandfury Bloodthirsters. These five elite monsters formed the first line of defence for Zul¡¯Farrak. If you looked at their composition, it was about the same as the players¡¯.


    This city that was under the sun was home to the Sandfury Trolls. They had always been known for their ruthless and dark magic.


    The Sandfury Trolls were a capable tribe. They had survived years of sandstorms and other things that covered the place in sand all year round.


    These small teams of monsters couldn¡¯t be underestimated. When Nightmare Difficulty was compared to Elite Difficulty, not only was the strength of the monsters increased, but also their numbers and their ability to work together.


    The Witch would apply debuffs and heal while the Mage would use its skills. Additionally, the three Sandfury Bloodthirsters were very powerful warriors.


    Lu Li choose to attack the Witch Doctor as it was the most ridiculous monster ¨C it healed, gave special buffs, and could even drop totems which could heal. The players didn¡¯t have a Witch Doctor profession, but it could be seen as a combination of Priest and Shaman.


    The key to fighting the Witch Doctor was in its totem.


    This healing totem was most troublesome when it was placed at the front. You could spend a lot of time and energy dropping the elite monster to half-HP, but when this totem was dropped, it would be healed back to full in a few seconds.


    As such, the moment the totem appeared, Lu Li needed to immediately destroy it. This was his primary role.


    This way, the others could peacefully fight the monsters. After all, no matter how strong they were, they ultimately couldn¡¯t stand against such a strong team.


    "The first Boss is pretty easy to fight. Most players probably already know about it," Lu Li explained as he fought the monsters.


    "It¡¯s the scarabs, right?" Azure Sea Breeze had studied the other guilds¡¯ strategies.


    Right now, even the ordinary players were trying to find out the strategies for this Instance Dungeon, but the oldest strategy was to kill the scarabs.


    There were at least a few hundred scarabs and just one attack could draw the entire crowd. This tested a team¡¯s area-of-effect attacks. If there was a Mage that could perform a large area-of-effect attack, it would make the situation a lot easier to handle.


    However, as long as there were two or more Mages or Warlocks attacking, there wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    If the scarabs weren¡¯t killed first, the Boss would give them special buffs. Those scarabs that were easily killed at first would now become very strong.


    After receiving the buffs, those scarabs would be comparable to those Sandfury Bloodthirsters. With hundreds of them rushing over, even the strongest players couldn¡¯t deal with them.


    There were lots of teams that had died to the scarabs at the start.


    Fortunately, this problem wasn¡¯t difficult to solve. Once they had dealt with the scarabs, the first Boss was also quickly dealt with.


    However, Lu Li was doing this at Nightmare Difficulty, so the rules of the Instance Dungeon couldn¡¯t be interpreted the same. Theka the Martyr wasn¡¯t so easy to kill here, otherwise, everyone would be doing it on Nightmare Difficulty.


    As for Theka, the description of Zul¡¯Farrak gave him a brief introduction.


    A long time ago, Theka the Martyr was unfortunate enough to die in the battle between the Trolls, but due to his heroic sacrifice, Zul¡¯farrak still stands. Even after his death, he still vigilantly guarded his beloved city. It is said that the warriors who killed him were cursed to become brainless Scarabs, forever running around the martyr.


    In other words, Seka was an Undead, and had died a long time ago.


    This kind of Boss didn¡¯t have high intelligence, so the key still remained in the scarabs.

 584 Exploding Corpse

    The monsters were quickly cleared out and they soon reached where Theka was.


    It was an open space among the rubble, but there were scarabs packed tightly everywhere. Those who were afraid of enclosed spaces could now rejoice, but those who were afraid of bugs would be terrified.


    Among the scarabs, there were also a couple of Sandfury monsters, but Theka was sitting by a slate.


    This was Theka¡¯s Slate, and was required in a Horde Quest. The quest had decent rewards, but it was inaccessible by Alliance players.


    "Kill the Sandfury Mobs, but don¡¯t use area-of-effect skills. Turn off anything that can damage in an area." Lu Li had been silent while they cleared out the other monsters, but now that they were before the Boss, he started to exercise his responsibility as a commander.


    If this was on Elite Difficulty, the scarabs would be easy to kill, even if the Sandfury mobs were mixed among them. They could just use area-of-effect skills to solve the problem.


    However, they had to be extremely careful on Nightmare Difficulty. If anything went wrong, their entire team would be instantly wiped.


    There was a monster called the Sandfury Soul Eater that had a unique ability called Exploding Corpse. It waited for a pile of dead Scarabs to collect before raising its hand and exploding them. This ability was fully capable of wiping an entire team.


    As per Lu Li¡¯s requirements, they led the mobs over one at a time.


    The three Sandfury Soul Eaters were specially taken care of by Lu Li to make sure that they were dead.


    As this was on Nightmare Difficulty, the Sandfury Soul Eaters, which were elite monsters, actually dropped some exquisite Silver equipment. The properties were very good, and at level 35, it was stronger than level 30 Gold equipment. Sesame Rice Ball was happy to take the equipment.


    A special effect on the equipment was the legendary Exploding Corpse.


    This was a one-use that allowed the player to explode up to ten monster corpses, dealing 300% of their damage. This effect alone would double the value of this Silver equipment, and made it better than most Gold equipment at the same level.


    The only problem was that this was more suitable for players who levelled often. PVP players would never have so many bodies to explode.


    Moreover, it could only detonate up to ten monsters. Compared to the Sandfury Soul Eater¡¯s skill, this was obviously a weakened version ¨C the monster had no such limitation.


    After the few monsters had been dealt with, they prepared to kill the scarabs.


    "Flower, use Arcane Explosion and run all the way down and back. Be careful not to pull the Boss," Lu Li indicated at Lonesome Flower after everyone had rested for a moment.


    In fact, the Scarabs had a chained-aggro mechanism, which meant that as long as one of them were attacked, they would all flock towards the attacker.


    Lu Li told Lonesome Flower to run because the Scarabs needed to be hit by a few Arcane Explosions before they were killed and he would be attacked by too many scarabs if he stayed in one place.


    Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t say anything, and just raised his hand to release an Arcane Explosion.


    The scarabs were rather weak and immediately dropped to a third of their HP when hit by one Arcane Explosion. This meant that Lonesome Flower could deal with a group of scarabs in three to four seconds.


    However, what they thought was a perfect plan turned out to have a few flaws.


    Lu Li noticed that Lonesome Flower wasn¡¯t running fast enough and that he also needed to stop every time he wanted to cast a skill. As such, he was slowly being surrounded by more and more scarabs.


    His HP was obviously dropping quite quickly, but what was more troublesome was the Scarab Plague that was being stacked onto him.


    The Scarab Plague didn¡¯t deal high damage; it was just 4-5 damage for one stack, but they stacked up quickly. This, in addition to the Scarab bites, meant that Lonesome Flower couldn¡¯t last for more than 3 seconds.


    Lonesome Flower died!


    March Rain struggled to break free from Lu Li¡¯s hand.


    He had stopped her from healing, and made her helplessly watch as her brother died within the swarm.


    "You don¡¯t lose EXP in an Instance Dungeon," Lu Li said quietly. "You can Resurrect him now. You died to a couple of bugs. Are you sure you¡¯re not messing around Flower?"


    Lonesome Flower was silently revived before he sat down to eat some bread to recover his HP and Mana. He wasn¡¯t angry at Lu Li at all, and instead calmly responded, "I just got the skill yesterday and haven¡¯t had the chance to use it yet. When I use it, it feels a little clunky, but that might be because of the Skill level."


    "It¡¯s not because of the Skill level; it¡¯s an Instant Cast skill. Next time, try casting the skill like this," Lu Li had learned a bit about Mages and how to walk while asking Arcane Explosion.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t cast Arcane Explosion, but he could imitate the action. When Lonesome Flower saw him, his eyes lit up.


    Lu Li knew how to use Mage skills too!


    What Lu Li was trying to show was simple. He wanted Lonesome Flower to lift his Magic Staff a bit before he cast the skill, so that when he did cast it, he wouldn¡¯t have to do it again. After casting a skill, the Magic Staff would automatically be pressed onto the ground, but at this point, he would immediately cast it again.


    This was actually a trick for Half-Manual Mode for Mages. Lu Li had studied a few of these skills in his previous life.


    Instant Cast Skills didn¡¯t technically exist for Mages or Thieves, as the release of a Skill required an action. These actions were assisted or forced by the System.


    However, if you completed the action before the System forced you to, it would greatly reduce the time to complete it.


    All true Mage experts were always exploring the actions that were required for their skills.


    "You can go and find a space to practice. We can wait for you." Lu Li saw that Lonesome Flower already understood and decided to give him some time.


    If they didn¡¯t wait, they might just fail again, so why not wait and let him get better at it?


    Lonesome Flower practiced for a few minutes and was ready to go again. He once again started attacking the swarm and performed much better this time. He didn¡¯t pause for as long as wasn¡¯t being surrounded.


    The Scarab Plague was released at close range, so as long as they were killed before they got close, he wouldn¡¯t need to worry too much about them.


    After successfully dealing with the Scarabs, Lu Li and the others went to pick up what the monsters had dropped.


    The Scarab Shell was a quest item that paid out a lot of EXP. In fact, this quest could be completed multiple times as the NPC was always willing to accept the players¡¯ scarabs.


    It was around this time that a new phenomenon began to emerge ¨C the sale of Scarab Shells.


    Those who didn¡¯t have money would fight these Scarabs for their shells to sell for gold. They would then convert that into real money for rent and food¡­


    Those who were rich bought Scarab Shells for the quest which helped them continually gain EXP. They could only hand in 20 a day, but they could usually only gain half a level each day anyway. As such, this greatly accelerated the levelling of the rich.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind this industry and had made a small fortune with it in his previous life.


    Everyone started in this game with nothing and was placed in a relatively fair environment, but naturally, the game could never be completely fair.


    The world was never really fair to begin with ¨C those who were rich had the resources to make it easier for them to succeed. But did that mean that the average person should just give up?


    Lu Li never gave up on himself, and was sure that he would become rich sooner or later.


    As the saying goes, "I am not part of the rich second generation, but I hope to be a father of the rich third generation."

 585 Theka the Martyr

    Lu Li collected around forty scarabs, which was enough to complete the quest twice. The drop rate in Nightmare mode was very high ¨C on average, every single monster would drop one quest item. If this was Elite mode, everyone would probably only receive enough quest items to complete the quest once.


    These forty quest items were worth about 400 gold coins, or in other words, it was 40,000 dollars.


    During the few weeks where this dungeon matched the mainstream player levels, the gold-collecting players would have better income. Unfortunately, players were only allowed to enter Elite mode dungeons once a week, otherwise, they would be rich already.


    Azure Sea Breeze planned to purchase some scarabs to level up; he had earned quite a bit of money recently.


    Moonlight had similar plans too; he wasn¡¯t a fan of leveling. His current levels were mostly gained from his time spent in the battlegrounds, but compared to expert level players, his level wasn¡¯t really an advantage at all.


    Square Root 3 was busy trying to purchase more scarabs as well. If he purchased enough of these quest items, Lu Li decided that he might take the shortcut too.


    There wasn¡¯t anything for him to hesitate about the situation. If he didn¡¯t participate, he could likely keep his number one spot on the level rankings.


    The maximum number of times that the players could complete the quest was a hundred.


    While a player was level 35, they could gain around half a level by completing this quest 20 times. As such, if they handed in the quest a hundred times, they could only hit a maximum of level 37.


    For a player like Lu Li, who was almost level 39, he might not even reach level 40 with the maximum number of quests.


    Lu Li began instructing everyone on where to position themselves.


    "Everyone, position yourselves four yards apart from each other. Remnant Dream, make sure no one is standing between your pet and you, otherwise, the disease will spread to the others when your pet dies."


    Theka would be an easy boss, as long as they positioned themselves well.


    Its first skill was a debuff that dealt damage every second and reduced attributes.


    This wasn¡¯t too much to handle, as long as your equipment was decent.


    The most important aspects of this skill was that it was contagious. If players stood too close to each other, the debuff would spread in a radius of three yards, and it could also stack.


    The situation would become dangerous if a player had more than three stacks.


    The other skill was Theka¡¯s Summon. When Theka¡¯s health reached 30%, it would summon Skeletal Warriors from the corpse of the bugs.


    Theka¡¯s Summon was a skill that belonged in Nightmare mode.


    In Elite mode, Theka would use Theka Transform when it reached 30% of his remaining health.


    It would turn into a giant scarab, becoming immune to all physical and shadow damage. This meant that classes like Warriors, Thieves, Warlocks and Shadow Priests couldn¡¯t deal any damage to it.


    At the same time, any scarabs that remained alive would attack the players.


    In Elite mode, as long as you killed all the scarabs, things would be fine. However, in Nightmare mode the scarabs would fight for Theka regardless of whether they were dead or alive.


    "March, group fear!" Lu Li shouted.


    March Rain had a much better game sense than her brother. She walked over to cast a Soul Shriek and all the monsters caught in it began to scatter.


    Without the instructions from Lu Li, Lonesome Flower casted Arcane Explosion, while the others helped with their own group damage spells. Even Lu Li used his Fan of Knives.


    Countless knives were tossed outwards from him, dealing damage to the monsters that they hit.


    Unfortunately, the damage wasn¡¯t too significant.


    Moonlight¡¯s Whirlwind was very useful in a situation like this. This spell dealt high damage and also provided him with good mobility. However, he became the target of the monsters when he got too close to them, so March Rain had to follow behind and heal him.


    At this point, the Boss was immune to shadow and physical damage.


    The main tank couldn¡¯t hold the aggro, so the other classes couldn¡¯t output damage either. Lu Li and the others gave up on attacking the Boss and started killing the monsters instead.


    On the first cast of Invigorate, the strength of the monsters doubled.


    On the second cast of Invigorate, the monsters¡¯ strength doubled again. These monsters had now grown strong enough to reach the standard of Elites.


    If too many monsters remained after the third cast of Invigorate, they were guaranteed to wipe at this first Boss.


    "Spread out and try to hit all the monsters. Don¡¯t panic ¨C stay focused on your skills and try to hit as many monsters as you can," Lu Li instructed.


    Invigorate had already been cast on these skeleton monsters twice. They were only a few dozen seconds away from the third Invigorate, and there were still many monsters left.


    "Use your equipment effects, increase your damage, use anything you have! You don¡¯t need to hold back anything for later." If the team wiped, there would be no point in keeping these skills.


    Everyone understood how urgent the situation was and they all began to use their strongest abilities.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have many of these special effects, but his damage wasn¡¯t low in the first place. He could kill one monster within three seconds, so he was still positively contributing to the team.


    "Thirteen, twelve, ten, alright, nine¡­" Lu Li kept calculating the time and finally took the monsters down to nine before the third Invigorate was casted. They wouldn¡¯t definitely wipe if more than ten monsters remained, but the chances were still quite significant.


    "Stop. Wandering, hold onto the monsters. Who¡¯s still doing damage? Do you want to lose points?" Lu Li yelled, catching everyone by surprise.


    The third attribute that was given to the monsters by Invigorate was critical strike chance.


    Wandering was the secondary tank. His equipment was built for defense and he also had damage reduction, so he could tank these monsters.


    After this wave of monsters had been successfully killed, Theka became an easy target.


    A few minutes later, he became a pile of dust of dust on the floor.


    He had already been dead for too long, so his corpse returned to the ground. The only thing that kept him battling was his will. After he died, his will disappeared and his body instantly went through centuries of time.


    The experience given was quite decent; this was Nightmare mode after all. However, it still wasn¡¯t enough for Lu Li to reach level 39. He probably had to wait for the next boss.


    No one received any extra skill points either; skill points were even rarer than rare materials. Moreover, the dungeon had already been previously completed and this wasn¡¯t the First Clear.


    "Alright, Remnant Dream, go loot the items," Lu Li said.


    "Alright, I¡¯ll show you guys my magic." Remnant Dream didn¡¯t mind how dirty this pile of dust was and eagerly looted the corpse.

 586 Lily Necklace

    The first item was a rare material ¨C Shriveled Troll Heart.


    This was a fairly common rare material from Zul¡¯Farrk, so it wasn¡¯t worth a lot of money.


    The second item was a Fortified Stone. Lu Li already had around 60 of these stored in his bag, and planned to use them in the next few days for his equipment.


    These Fortified Stones were distributed based on a roll. Unfortunately, Lu Li only rolled 32, which made him the second last.


    The third was a Silver equipment with decent attributes. This was given to Wandering.


    "Alright, let¡¯s head to the second boss. If there are other scarabs behind, make sure to quickly kill them. We¡¯ll distribute the quest items evenly," Lu Li said as he walked in front to lead the team.


    There was a narrow walkway that was blocked by sand which led to the second Boss.


    The first people who had completed the dungeon had spent quite some time to find the position of the second Boss. Lu Li didn¡¯t have any issues with this ¨C he had entered this dungeon multiple times in his previous life.


    A giant monster emerged from a pile of sand.


    Sul¡¯lithuz Sandcrawler!


    Was this a sign of luck? Lu Li was surprised to encounter this monster. By his own standards, Sul¡¯lithuz Sandcrawlers were a ¡®good¡¯ monster.


    Monsters could be split into good and bad?


    Of course, those that dropped good items were good and the rest were all bad.


    Although Sul¡¯lithuz Sandcrawler was only an Elite monster, it had a certain chance to drop the exquisite necklace "Lily". This was a level 35 Silver necklace with a special effect called ¡®Lily¡¯, hence its name.


    Lily: Create a Lily. After consuming the Lily, recover 13% health and mana. Can be casted on other players to restore 10% health and mana. If female players cast this on another female player, the effect is increased by another 10%.


    The gaming company sometimes created strange items and this was one of them.


    Lu Li¡¯s Dark Gold necklace only restored 20%-30% health and mana, and was the reward from an extremely difficult chain quest. This necklace was a Silver grade equip dropped by an Elite monster in a dungeon. Sul¡¯lithuz Sandcraweler was a good monster indeed.


    Unfortunately, the monster never dropped the necklace, not even with Remnant Dream¡¯s hands. s


    Sul¡¯lithuz Sandcrawlers didn¡¯t refresh often and most of them were located around the mountainous areas of the dungeon. There was an invisible barrier that blocked the players from entering the mountains, so they had to wait for these big lizards to come down themselves.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t going to waste his time and slow down their progress for this necklace.


    They eventually arrived at the location of the second Boss ¡ª Antu¡¯sul.


    Antu¡¯sul was actually a zookeeper; he kept a bunch of Sul¡¯lithuz lizards.


    Sul¡¯lithuz Sandcrawler was the mature version of all his little pets. They weren¡¯t strong on their own, but were deadly when they came in a pack.


    Antu¡¯sul hoped that his lizards would grow to be big and vicious, so he treated them like his own family. Anyone (even Trolls) that tried to harm his children would face his merciless rage.


    Antu¡¯sul never left his enemies in one piece; he allowed his lizards to eat up their corpses.


    He lived in a cave, and it was possible to see his big pot from afar. The pot was boiling and the smell of fresh meat wafted in the air.


    Before you knew what was boiling in the pot, you would think that this was a delicious smell.


    Lu Li frowned and decided not to say anything about what was in the pot, or else it would make the dungeon too difficult. Perhaps he could take these players inside later to let them experience it.


    "I smell living human. Your lunch is here, children, eat them!" By the time they had approached, Antu¡¯sul had already noticed Lu Li and the others.


    This was the Boss that had halted the progress of many major guilds. No one dared to underestimate it, including Lu Li.


    He had attempted this dungeon with a team of random players in his previous life and it was a tough experience for them. At that time, their average level was 38, more than half of the team members were level 40, and there was plenty information on the forum about this Boss.


    Azure Sea Breeze help up his big shield and remained on guard, staring at the entrance of the cave and waiting for the Boss to come out.


    "Behind the mountain," Lu Li reminded. He was facing in the wrong direction.


    "Oh." Azure Sea Breeze turned around as he was instructed and saw six Sul¡¯lithuz babies rush down from the top of the mountain. They were lizards with crocodile genes, but at that moment, they looked like wild horses.


    This was one of the traps set down by the second Boss. Most players thought that the monsters would rush out from the cave, since everyone heard the Boss inside it.


    The changing of formation revealed the true standard of a team. When an unexpected situation emerged, a good team would move around their main tank. As soon as the main tank moved, everyone would adjust their positions accordingly.


    Lu Li had already trained his team members in this aspect, so everyone moved according to Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s movements.


    Of the six monsters that appeared, four of them jumped on to him and the other two bumped into Lu Li and Sakura Memories. Lu Li lost half his health from this, while thing were even worse for Sakura Memories, who barely survived.


    These lizards weren¡¯t actually babies ¨C they were all level 38 and had a skill called Charge. This Charge was an upgraded version of the Warrior¡¯s Charge.


    Targets who were charged by them would receive damage based on their level. The lower their level, the more damage they took. This was why Lu Li had asked that all players on the team be above level 35.


    Sakura Memories loved leveling up and was also a professional competitor right now. She had guild resources to back her up and was currently level 37. If it weren¡¯t for all of this, she would have died in an instant.


    These lizards were actually the biggest reason why most teams wiped at the second Boss.


    They would rush down from the mountains every now and then, leaving destruction in their wake. The Antu¡¯sul Guardians were also an issue; they were the grownup children of the Sul¡¯lithuz and their attacks were even stronger.


    "Hand over the monsters to Wandering. Breeze, get prepared for the boss," Lu Li instructed.

 587 Antu’sul

    Just after he spoke, Zul¡¯Farrk¡¯s second boss, Antu¡¯sul, rushed out with a spoon in his hand and a spring onion in the other.


    A giant spoon landed on top of Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s head.


    Poor Azure Sea Breeze was caught by surprise by Antu-sul¡¯s choice of weapon; it was the first time he had seen anyone carry a spoon out to battle.


    He couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like for Boss to fight with a spring onion in their hands.


    "I¡¯m going to start assigning the order of skill interruption. Once I call, make sure you interrupt the skills accordingly." This Boss had many skills and even Lu Li himself could not guarantee when it was going to use them, so he was prepared to fight a long battle.


    Interruption skills were very useful. A lot of Bosses were immune to stuns, but they weren¡¯t immune to spell interruptions.


    "More monsters are rushing down." As she healed, March Rain also paid attention to Lu Li¡¯s instructions and looked at the hills on both sides. She warned everyone as soon as she saw more Sul¡¯lithuz babies rush down.


    "Eight monsters. Wandering, go to the left. Make sure you run into at least three of them, and don¡¯t forget your damage reduction. Moonlight, you take one ¨C number four on the right. Breeze, you¡¯ll have to take two of them. I¡¯ll take one along with Flower. Make sure to use your shield. Start moving." This was another urgent moment, and Lu Li assigned everyone¡¯s tasks accordingly.


    Eight monsters didn¡¯t mean that they would increase by two each time. If that was the case, no one would be able to pass this dungeon.


    How many monsters appeared depended entirely on luck. There was no way that only one or two monsters would run down, but lucky teams had a record low of four.


    This made the dungeon very easy; it was as if the System was on their side.


    Lu Li¡¯s call was a little late. Everyone was about to move, but an Earthgrab Totem had already been placed in between them.


    This totem was usually quite useless, but in this case, it had an incredible effect.


    No one could move.


    Lu Li quickly took out his bow and shot an arrow at the totem.


    The totem only had ten points of health, so one arrow was enough to finish it.


    Even so, Lu Li knew that this was the end. With the totem already in effect, everyone could only pray for luck.


    This luck also heavily relied on everyone¡¯s reaction time. Lu Li could switch weapons within a second to take out the totem and get away with Gale Steps, while also blocking one monster as he had instructed himself.


    Unfortunately, not everyone was as fast as he was. The first one to die was Sesame Rice Ball. Azure Sea Breeze should have been in front of him to block the monster.


    After Azure Sea Breeze had been snared, two of the lizards ran into Sesame Rice Ball, killing him instantly. They didn¡¯t slow down at all after this and continued running around.


    Remnant Dream died.


    Lonesome Flower died.


    Even Wandering died because he ran into an extra lizard.


    At this point, six of their members had died, so Lu Li had to announce a reset. Everyone came from the graveyard to collect their bodies and they sat around to regenerate their health with bread.


    "What a crafty boss ¨C he snared us together so his minions could run into us." It wasn¡¯t an honorable death, and everyone felt a little cheated by the System.


    "My instructions came a bit too late and so did my attack. Next time, I won¡¯t be blocking the monsters; I¡¯ll just focus on the totems." Lu Li scanned across his team members and still wasn¡¯t too sure about everyone.


    Either the totem had to be taken down first, or everyone had to position themselves beforehand. If everyone was in good position, nobody would have to move and the totem wouldn¡¯t be of any use.


    Blocking the monsters wasn¡¯t a big issue; anyone could block a single monster. In the very worst case, they could just use their damage reduction skills.


    Now that everyone had recovered, they were ready again for a second attempt. This time, Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s reminder to block the monsters that were rolling down the hill.


    This time there were only four, so he easily dealt with them.


    Lu Li studied their surrounding geography and noticed that no matter how the monsters rushed down, there were always one or two that passed a set position. He assigned a range class to be responsible for that position.


    "Lonesome Flower, move a little to the left, around two yards. Yup, a little more forward. That¡¯s right ¨C stand there and don¡¯t move. If you see a monster rushing towards you, just use your shield."


    It wasn¡¯t convenient for him to assign the melee classes to block the monsters.


    "Alright, get ready. Everyone start moving. Wandering, move to the left a little. Breeze, step back one step and get ready for the monster coming on your left. Remnant Dream, make your pet stay there. Alright, everyone, get ready." As soon as a few black dots appeared at the top of the hill, Lu Li began to assign everyone to their positions.


    This was very challenging ¨C the monsters were far from them and the geography was complex. It was hard to tell where they were coming from.


    As soon as the monsters charged, an Earthgrab Totem was immediately placed down. It tried to snare its targets so that these lizards could devour them.


    This time, although things went much better, Lonesome Flower died. He hadn¡¯t forgotten his shield ¨C two monsters ran into him at the same time, while another ran past him and into Wandering.


    "Don¡¯t panic. Hachi Chan, resurrect up Lonesome Flower. We¡¯ll keep going." Lu Li didn¡¯t mention anything about resetting this time.


    They only lost one team member and still had two more revives left. It was too early for them to surrender.


    After Hachi Chan resurrected Lonesome Flower, everyone continued to deal damage. It didn¡¯t take long for the Boss to drop to half-health.


    Every now and then, monsters would run down. Most of the time, they came in groups six. There was one group of eight, but since everyone was prepared, no one died.


    While the other teams were being tortured by this Boss, it was a miracle for Lu Li¡¯s team to be able to achieve this.


    As the commander, Lu Li was the key to their success.


    "Sul¡¯lithuz¡¯s children will protect their master. You all have to die!" Antu¡¯sul shouted as he casted a heal on himself.


    The new wave of monsters that were about to die instantly recovered more than half of their health.


    "Memories, why didn¡¯t you interrupt?" Lu Li¡¯s voice was a little strict.


    "Sorry, it was too fast for me to react." Sakura Memories didn¡¯t expect this healing skill to be so strong ¨C not only was it a group heal, but the casting time was also in the bat of an eye.


    "Be more careful next time. Keep going and increase your damage output." Lu Li was sometimes very strict, but he wasn¡¯t the type of leader who would get angry over something minor for an entire day.

 588 Don’t Underestimate Stupid Ideas

    Fire Nova Totem, Healing Totem and Earthgrab Totem ¨C these were the three totems that Antu¡¯sul knew how to use.


    The Earthgrab totem snared everyone, the Fire Nova Totem dealt a high amount of AoE damage, while the Healing totem, as its name suggested, healed the Boss and his minions.


    The advantage of totems compared to regular skills was that they would remain in effect until they timed out. However, they barely had any health and could be easily taken out.


    Besides dealing damage, Lu Li paid attention to the totems.


    He could one-shot the Earthgrab Totem and the Healing Totem. The Fire Nova Totem was the only one that was a bit little troublesome ¨C it had 300 points of health and decent armor. Lu Li needed two or three hits to destroy it.


    It was easier for Hunters to do this job compared to Thieves, as they were the fastest with their arrows. Unfortunately, Remnant Dream¡¯s game sense and reaction time didn¡¯t qualify for this.


    At around 30% health, Lu Li and his team ran into another wave of the lizards. This time, the wave was much larger, and they were wiped a second time.


    "Nope, this tested our luck too much." Azure Sea Breeze was depressed.


    This was the first Boss they had fought that required luck to defeat.


    Other major guilds were stuck at the same spot.


    Lu Li soon received a message from Water Fairy; she was also enquiring about how to deal with these lizards.


    How would Lu Li know the solution to these monsters? He had entered the game after about a year of its release. At that point in time, Silver grade items had already depreciated by a lot in price. Although they didn¡¯t have any Dark Gold or Gold equips, the teams were much stronger than they currently were.


    Any team member would be able to tank the damage of two monsters without using their damage reduction.


    Before he had entered this dungeon, he had already read some guides, but he still felt like he had underestimated these monsters.


    The third wipe came even quicker and it was still the same issue.


    At the same time, countless teams were struggling at the second boss. Lu Li and his team had wiped three times and they all felt quite down. However, no one would claim that they were exploring a new dungeon without dying three to fifty times.


    Exploring!


    This was a term that appeared more and more often into the lives of players. When people hired others in the world channel, they had to first announce their dungeon exploration system. A guild that didn¡¯t explore a dungeon had no hope at all.


    However, only those who had actually explored a dungeon would understand how hard the task was.


    The amount of time that people could focus was limited, especially after repeated failures. Their rate of exploration would gradually become worse and worse.


    "Everyone, take a break. I"ll have a think about what to do with these monsters."


    Lu Li had thought about dragging the boss into the cave, but the space was too small to fit all of them.


    Or perhaps, he could drag the Boss somewhere else, but it wasn¡¯t as though no one had tried this. If he was dragged too far away from the cave, Antu¡¯sul would take his spoon back to the pot to stir his human flesh soup.


    At last, Lu Li thought up a very stupid idea. He decided to let the healers and the players who couldn¡¯t tank the monsters hide in the cave.


    March Rain, Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan and Sesame Rice Ball ¨C these four stood at the entrance of the cave, while the others stood outside. In order to prevent themselves from being rushed by multiple lizards, Lu Li asked everyone to position themselves apart from each other.


    "Don¡¯t worry about it when you¡¯re hitting the monsters. As soon as the monsters appear, make sure to stand at the position that you were assigned to. This time, Flower¡­never mind. Moonlight, you¡¯re in charge of observing the movement of the monsters." In a situation like this where a strong game sense and reaction was required, Lu Li trusted Moonlight more since he was a professional competitor.


    Moonlight had to deal damage while paying attention to the monsters that could appear on top of the hill at any given moment. Lu Li had to deal damage while ensuring that he took out the totem as quickly as possible. Two strong damage dealers lost half of their damage output because of this.


    March Rain was stuck at the entrance of the cave. Her vision was affected and it wasn¡¯t as convenient for her to heal.


    This was a virtual reality game, after all. It wasn¡¯t possible for a player to have their back facing another while healing them. The direction, hand movement and vision were all important.


    This kind of positioning seemed like a failure right from the start, but the lizards had already been aggravated and they could only fight, regardless of the outcome.


    "Monsters!" Moonlight wasn¡¯t the type to talk much, and it was the same when he was making calls.


    Six lizards kicked up a cloud of dust as they charged down the mountain.


    With this formation, they didn¡¯t need instructions from Lu Li. Everyone paid attention to the number of monsters that ran into them.


    Although there was a wide gap between each player¡¯s position, there was no way that the lizards would miss them completely. They changed their direction depending on the positioning of the players, so there would always be someone who would be caught.


    Someone tried to dodge at the very last moment.


    The results weren¡¯t great ¨C the lizard changed directions slightly and ran into the Boss, instantly dying while the Boss recovered a large amount of health. A monster that didn¡¯t run into a player was like a big, moving healing potion for Antu¡¯sul.


    "Flower, shield and damage reduction," Lu Li reminded after estimating that two or three lizards were coming in Lonesome Flower¡¯s way.


    Lonesome Flower used his shield and damage reduction skills as he was asked. He was a proud man, but he wasn¡¯t someone who would turn down the suggestion of a professional player. If Lu Li asked him to use his damage reduction, then he would use it. He could even save energy since he didn¡¯t have to think about it.


    This time, six monsters charged down from the mountain. Two of them ran onto Lonesome Flower. Wandering caught one, Lu Li caught one, and Azure Sea Breeze caught two. Sakura Memories and Moonlight were lucky ¨C they didn¡¯t run into any.


    "Seems alright so far. We¡¯ll slightly adjust our positions so that it¡¯s easier for March Rain to heal and wait for the next wave of monsters." This stupid idea had its benefits ¨C it was much more reliable than depending on luck.


    As long as eight monsters didn¡¯t rush out at the same time, they would have a chance to take out Antu¡¯sul.


    Lu Li never relied on luck.


    There was no guarantee for the number of monsters in each wave. Sometimes it would be four, sometimes six, and the maximum was eight. In Zul¡¯Farrk, eight was the number of death. Even Lu Li and his team wiped when eight monsters came out. Unless your team consisted entirely of main tanks, it was a guaranteed wipe.


    Eight monsters finally appeared after the boss reached half-health. There were four on each side as they ferociously charged down.

 589 Stay Dead If Your Bloodlust Is On Cooldown

    Lu Li looked past the dark brown rocks and saw a few mobs hidden by the smoke and dust.


    If they continued to stampede in the same direction they might¡­


    Lu Li¡¯s felt a shiver run along the back of his spine. He appeared to have become the target of these monsters. He counted three¡­ no, four monsters that were charging towards him.


    Two monsters were already hard enough for him to handle; having to deal with three meant certain death, even with all his defenses.


    Four monsters¡­ God, have you no mercy?


    These monsters were charging towards Lu Li at an incredible speed, almost as if they were rolling down the mountain rather than running towards him. Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have enough time to call for backup.


    He took in a deep breath and used his past experience to estimate the time it would take for these monsters to reach him. He knew that the monsters would reach him at slightly different times due to their distance and positioning.


    However, although the difference in timing was minimal, it was a crucial factor in determining his chances of survival.


    The first one collided with him and immediately took away 60% of his HP, even with his defenses activated. Lu Li immediately used Pamella¡¯s Gift and restored 20% of his HP. The second monster made contact, leaving with a sliver of health.


    If there were more monsters on Lu Li¡¯s side, his teammates would have it easier.


    As the third monster approached, he activated Gale Steps!


    The invincibility effect prevented Lu Li from taking damage and the monster was stunned due to the effects of the collision.


    If Lu Li remained in Stealth mode, he would have an additional two seconds of invincibility.


    However, he had to stop the monster in order to prevent it from healing the Boss.


    As such, he reappeared from Stealth and allowed the last monster to collide into him.


    Hachi Chan was prepared to resurrect Lu Li and continue with the Boss fight, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, Lu Li managed to stay alive without taking any damage.


    "You survived?" Wandering asked incredulously as he pulled the aggro of the monsters that had almost taken the life of Lu Li.


    "I¡¯m obviously still alive; what are you waiting for? Heal me back to full HP!" Lu Li yelled because he was on a sliver of HP and could be killed by gentle breeze. "Take this opportunity to finish off the Boss; I don¡¯t want to deal with those monsters again."


    Lu Li managed to survive four of the charging monsters, a feat that even Azure Sea Breeze cannot achieve!


    The timing between each impact was too short for the healers to heal him, especially because each hit took away 60% of his HP.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had many tricks up his sleeve.


    Activating Gale Steps at the exact timing prevented him from taking any damage due to the invincibility. His legendary ring also allowed him to avoid taking damage once every 6 hours.


    Additionally, Pamella¡¯s gift provided him with an additional 20% HP to tank another hit.


    He had almost died!


    Lu Li may have appeared calm, as if he knew what he was doing, but in reality, he had no idea whether he could survive the second hit or not.


    Having survived this stage without any members dying, the Xin Xin Mercenary still had two resurrect skills that they were able to use for the Boss fight. This brought hope and motivation for the members as they became determined the finish off the Boss.


    The most important factor in a successful First Clear was not the difficulty of the dungeon, but the morale of the team members.


    "The next totem is probably a fire nova totem. Moonlight I need you to kill that for me." Lu Li¡¯s was very concentrated. Not only did he have to look out for what totem Antu¡¯sul summoned, but he also had to interrupt his healing skill, as well as shout out commands to lead the team.


    Multitasking was a skill that was required of a player in Dawn. Additionally, Lu Li was still topping the DPS chart, which made Lonesome Flower quite frustrated.


    Lonesome Flower was a prideful person and had been a genius since he was little. He¡¯d always been the idol that his little sister looked up to. Although he had a rough start to the game, he was still able to become one of the top Mages with his hard work and determination.


    Despite not participating in PVP, Lu Li was sure that he would make an impact.


    With the protection from his teammates, Lonesome Flower was like a human cannon. He was able to dish out crazy amounts of damage that no player could survive.


    However, even though his specialty was dealing damage, he still remained below Lu Li on the DPS charts. Not only was Lu Li dealing the most damage, but he was also contributing in other areas of the Boss fight which made a huge impact on their overall success.


    His bitterness made him distracted, causing him to forget to turn on his defensive skills when the monsters rolled down from the hills for the second time.


    Lonesome Flower was killed!


    Antu¡¯sul was still on 41% HP, which was a very awkward number.


    "Hachi Chan, revive him." Lu Li did not scold him at all but was calm and collected. Lonesome Flower was ashamed and decided to rid himself of all the distracting thoughts in his head.


    Lu Li knew not to scold the older brother in front of his younger sister.


    When Antu¡¯sul dropped to 28%, he began using Earth Shock, which caused all players in a 40 yard radius to be silenced.


    This silence only applied to Mage classes because the other classes could still DPS without their skills.


    At this very moment, Moonlight reminded everyone that the monsters on the hill had respawned. Lu Li felt extremely frustrated and cursed at the boss.


    It was no wonder why so many guilds were stuck on this boss.


    In his past life, this boss was a piece of cake, as long as all of the players piled on their DPS. Antu¡¯sul¡¯s skills were relatively easy to deal with and he would usually be killed before he could summon the monsters that would charge at the players.


    The most annoying skill was probably Earth Shock.


    "Everybody stay calm ¨C there''s only six monsters this time. Azure Sea Breeze can tank the majority of them. Prepare to activate your defenses!" Lu Li had no time to coordinate their positioning and could only command them to use their damage reduction skills.


    This time, they suffered more casualties. Sakura Memories was hit by two monsters, while Moonlight was hit by three. Both died instantly. Azure Sea Breeze was low on HP after tanking the last monster, and the Boss was still aggroed onto him. However, as the Main Tank, he was able to survive through all of this.


    The two second silence from Earth Shock had passed and March Rain could finally heal.


    "Sakura, what¡¯s the cooldown on your Bloodlust?" Lu Li asked.


    "Seven more minutes," Sakura Memories replied.


    "Ok, sorry, but you¡¯ll have to stay dead for now." Lu Li shapeshifted into Cat Form and battle-resurrected Moonlight.


    "Why do you have to be so straightforward and abandon me like this!" Sakura Memories cried.


    "Hehe." Lu Li rolled his eyes and continued to damage the boss along with others. As the Boss¡¯ HP continued to drop, they could almost taste the sweet, sweet victory.

 590 Six Times The Damage

    A Shaman without Bloodlust was more useless than a Berserker. Lu Li made the judgement call purely based on what was best for the team.


    Although they had lost a DPS player, the Boss was already on low HP. As long as the core of the group survived, Lu Li was sure of their victory.


    Other guilds may have attempted this reckless and head-on strategy. However, they would most likely have failed miserably because the Xin Xin Mercenary had the best tank and healer in Azure Sea Breeze and March Rain.


    The formation and positioning of the group members also increased the risk of them being charged by more than two monsters. Most classes, except for defensive tanks, couldn¡¯t survive more than two hits.


    "Hachi Chan, come stand here!" Lu Li yelled.


    "Oh ok." Hachi Chan came running over and stood over the corpse of Sakura Memories.


    "Stand here and heal the main tank. Do not move, no matter what. Do you understand?" Lu Li commanded, emphasizing the importance of this.


    "But¡­" Hachi Chan had finally realised Lu Li¡¯s plan and sobbed, "You¡¯re planning on using me as a sacrifice, aren¡¯t you? Lu Li you¡¯re a bad person."


    "Sacrifices must be made in order to achieve success. We will remember this, friend," Lu Li consoled sarcastically.


    When the next wave of monsters charged down from the hill, the Boss was on less than 13% HP. At this very moment, Antu¡¯sul casted three abilities at once ¨C Earthgrab Totem, Earth Shock and Healing Wave.


    These chain skills changed the tempo of the fight completely; it was Antu¡¯sul last ditch effort to defeat the intruders.


    Lu Li immediately interrupted his healing wave without hesitation.


    The Healing Wave of Antu¡¯sul was a Shaman skill that was much stronger than the normal version.


    Lu Li¡¯s kick landed onto Antu¡¯sul stomach and his skill was successfully interrupted. However, Earthgrab Totem and Earth Shock were both still unleashed.


    Everyone was trapped by the Earth Grab Totem as the monsters charged towards them.


    They were lucky this time because only four had spawned.


    Lu Li had to be in melee range to interrupt the Healing Wave, so he was rooted in place near the Boss. Unfortunately, two monsters targeted him.


    Lu Li was furious. First, he was hit with four, and now he had to face two more. He didn¡¯t have any damage reduction skills off cooldown because they had all been used up in his last encounter. Besides a 300HP heal from his chest piece, Gale Steps and his Ring¡¯s actives were both on cooldown.


    Lu Li¡¯s current HP was at 2981, so even with an additional 300 HP, he wouldn¡¯t have enough to tank 120% damage. It was certain death!


    Lu Li saw that there was only one monster that was targeted onto Hachi Chan.


    This must have been the System¡¯s way of punishing him for using Hachi Chan as a sacrifice.


    It was extremely unfortunate that he had been charged by so many monsters.


    There were four monsters and six players, so the chances of two monsters targeting him was extremely low.


    Lu Li could already imagine Hachi Chan¡¯s face when she started mocking him.


    Moonlight was the one that saved him in clutch moments like these. Even though Moonlight was quite a shy and quiet guy, he displayed his loyalty and friendship with Lu Li by tanking the second hit.


    Everybody survived!


    "We¡¯re so close to victory! Everybody burst the boss down with all you¡¯ve got," Lu Li said as he used up all sorts of curses, skills and actives in order to finish off the Boss.


    The Boss went berserk and Azure Sea Breeze lost almost half of his HP from one hit.


    "You piece of crap ¨C I bet you want me to die at the very end so that I miss out on the EXP! In your dreams!" Azure Sea Breeze seemed to have held onto his damage reduction skills until the very end and was able to survive for a very long time.


    4%.... 3%...


    What?! Eight monsters spawned?!


    It didn¡¯t matter anymore. Lu Li yelled with all his heart, "Ignore the monsters and burst the Boss! Everyone DPS the boss!"


    Three seconds were all that was needed to finish off the last 2% of the Boss¡¯ HP. Lu Li even casted a 96% Skill Completion Backhanded Backstab.


    He had never hit such a hit Skill Completion, not even with his favorite skill, Ambush. When the 1600 damage value popped up, everyone was shocked and speechless.


    Even though Lu Li was the same level as the Boss, it was still incredible that he was able to deal six times his usual damage.


    If his teammates didn¡¯t know any better, they would¡¯ve reported him for hacking.


    Most players that could deal triple their normal DPS would be bragging endlessly to their friends.


    The reason why he was able to deal such an absurd amount of damage was due to the combination of a high Skill Completion as well as critical strike.


    Usually, the higher the Skill Completion, the lower the chances of a critical hit. This had been implemented in order to decrease the gap between a casual player and an expert player.


    The gaming company was trying to make a game that was friendly to all players.


    Top level players could increase their Skill Completion rate in order to deal double, or even triple their usual damage. However, casual players didn¡¯t have the time and resources to do the same.


    This would create an even large gap between the casual and pro players, thus discouraging them to continue playing.


    Every game required casual players because they were the people that kept the game going.


    Without casual players, the game would eventually die off. As such, critical strike and skill completion were carefully balanced during Dawn¡¯s development.


    For example, if Lu Li casted a 93% Completion Shadowstrike, it would deal around 210% skill damage. If a casual player was to critically hit a monster, they would also deal around the same damage.


    Although high Skill Completion meant a lower critical chance, it was still very possible. This was exactly what happened with Lu Li¡¯s Backhanded Backstab.


    Themonsters on the hill vanished into thin air as Antu¡¯sul was defeated.

 591 Falling In Shame

    "Phew¡­"


    After many hours and being wiped many times, they finally managed to defeat the Boss.


    They were physically tired and mentally exhausted. Everyone disregarded the dirty floor and sat down, taking some time to rest.


    It was a common thing for players to just sit down in video games; some players even opted to lie down.


    Azure Sea Breeze threw down his bloodstained shield and laid down on top of it.


    There was only one girl who hadn¡¯t cried out or made any sound. She was looking intently at Lu Li.


    Lu Li nodded at her before she ran over to the Boss.


    Being young was probably really nice.


    He wasn¡¯t that old, but Lu Li had experienced so much. Even getting to level 39 wasn¡¯t that exciting for him.


    He had once again created a two-level lead ¨C Lu Li was the only player who was level 39. There were a dozen players who were level 37 and hundreds of level 36 players, but they were all far behind him.


    Of course, the introduction of the scarab shells would soon change the rankings, but it would take more than money to surpass Lu Li¡¯s position.


    In addition to the EXP, there were two lucky players who received Skill Points. One of them was March Rain and the other was Sesame Rice Ball. This shy guy had been a part of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group for quite some time now and had steadily grown stronger. His performance in PVE was striking.


    When he was thinking about Sesame Rice Ball, Lu Li suddenly remembered something that he had forgotten to mention.


    "Rice Ball, I need your help for something."


    "Me?" Sesame Rice Ball asked without confidence. He never felt like he was able to help Lu Li anything. To him, Lu Li was almost omnipotent.


    "Yes, how close are you from getting your Alchemist Skill to Advanced?" Lu Li asked.


    "Still quite a way. The recipes that I have now aren¡¯t that easy and the materials required are expensive." Sesame Rice Ball was a bit ashamed when he was asked about his Alchemy Skills.


    In fact, his Alchemy Skill wasn¡¯t actually that low; it was higher than most professional Trade Skill players.


    However, while Seventh Heaven had countless materials for him to splurge on, Ruling Sword limited him to only making useful things like the Intermediate Underwater Breathing Potion, the Advance Antidote and so on.


    This was the big difference between a major guild and an emerging guild.


    Seventh Heaven had its own Gold Collection Unit which farmed gold and cooperated with merchants to purchase items from the market at low prices. They even occasionally played around with the market prices.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s guild warehouse was often just a shabby pile of materials that were immediately redeemed with guild points.


    Sesame Rice Ball was one of the top players of the guild, but he did not receive any preferential treatment.


    His current level was somewhere before Advanced, which was partially the reason why it was difficult for him to increase it. However, he had to admit that Ruling Sword¡¯s lack of resources was also limiting him.


    "When we¡¯re done, find Brother Three and ask him for materials. Don¡¯t be afraid of wasting the materials; just get to Advanced as quickly as you can. I need you to help me with a quest."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know the consequences of his actions, but when the new Worgen race came out three months later, Sesame Rice Ball would be the first player to successfully become a Worgen Warlock.


    From then one, the Alliance would have a new race. With the exception of Shamans and Paladins, players could become part of the Worgen race by completing a quest.


    Sesame Rice Ball didn¡¯t know that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but the phrase ¡®first¡¯ always came with opportunity and great rewards. He promised without hesitation, "Rest assured Boss, as long as there are sufficient materials, I can get to Advanced level in three days."


    "I believe you. If you need anything, just ask Brother Three," Lu Li encouraged him as he patted him on the shoulder.


    Remnant Dream had already returned from looting the body.


    "What did it drop?" Her good sister Hachi Chan asked as she gave her a look.


    "A sword, a book¡­" Remnant Dream only had two things in her hand. She looked confused ¨C the Boss shouldn¡¯t have only dropped two items.


    "Is it a Skill Book? What profession is it for?" Hachi Chan wasn¡¯t interested in the sword.


    "It¡¯s not a Skill Book," Remnant Dream looked at her friend before licking her lips and smiling, "It¡¯s a ¡®Human Cookbook¡¯."


    She then showed everyone this weird recipe book.


    Human Cookbook:


    1. Find one or eight people


    2. Attack the people


    3. Continue attacking the people


    4. Throw the people into a fire


    5. Eat the people


    This terrified Hachi Chan. She decided that she would sleep alone for the rest of her life, even when it was cold.


    "Okay, that¡¯s a good item too. Players who have the Cooking Trade Skill can take this to an Ogre NPC to receive a quest that rewards them with Silver Grade Kitchenware. They have pretty good properties." Lu Li was quite well informed and immediately knew what this item was.


    The game could perfectly simulate the human senses, so those who knew how to cook would top that Trade Skill.


    But what was the point of this? Players didn¡¯t even feel full after eating.


    The ingredients available in the game were so comprehensive that real life couldn¡¯t even compare.


    "Who wants this book?" Lu Li asked.


    Everyone looked at each other, disgusted by its name and its weirdness. In the end, Lu Li took the item. He couldn¡¯t help himself if no one else wanted it.


    "A sword, Gold Grade," Remnant Dream announced as she waved it around in her hand. She was a Hunter, so she could equip a single-handed weapon.


    "Let me have a look."


    Lu Li look it and was a little puzzled. Why did this Boss only drop two items? The other guilds shouldn¡¯t have defeated this Boss yet, so it was a First Clear, and they had fought it on Nightmare Difficulty too.


    There was also no way Remnant Dream would steal something, as that could easily be discovered. The System kept tabs on all of this.


    Sang¡¯Thraze the Deflector (Gold): Damage 32-48, Strength +20, Agility +12, Critical Chance +7%. Special Effect 1: Chance of a slash attack causing damage over time and reducing the target¡¯s armor by 10%. Special Effect 2: Instant Cast, Movement speed increased by 20% for 10 seconds. First attack will deal 50% more. Equipment Requirement: level 35. Durability 46/46.


    This was also a good item ¨C the moment Lu Li read the description, he immediately wanted it.


    Although the attributes and special effects weren¡¯t that spectacular, all of them were useful to him. None of them would be wasted.


    Even so, Lu Li wasn¡¯t satisfied with this First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty. There should have been three to five items.


    Where was the rare material, the skill book?


    Something wasn¡¯t right. Sang¡¯Thraze the Deflector sounded a little familiar¡­


    Sang¡¯Thraze the Deflector!


    Jang¡¯Thraze the Protector!

 592 Sul’Thraze Whiplash

    Lu Li facepalmed himself.


    He recalled the text engraved on the top of the stone Instance Dungeon door.


    This city under the sun was home to the Sandfury Trolls, who had long been known for their ruthless dark magic.


    In Troll Legend, there was a powerful weapon called the Sul¡¯Thraze Whiplash. When even the weakest person wielded this weapon, they could defeat the strongest enemy.


    Countless people had ruined their lives in pursuit of this weapon.


    A long time ago, it was said to have split into two halves and lost in the boundless sands of Zul¡¯Farrak.


    It was likely because he was a Druid in his past life that he didn¡¯t pay too much attention to these complementing weapon ¨C Sang¡¯Thraze the Deflector and Jang¡¯Thraze the Protector. Together, they made the Sul¡¯Thraze Whiplash.


    The name of this weapon was derived from real life.


    A long time ago, there was a soviet fighter jet, the MiG 27, that was nicknamed the Whiplash. Sul¡¯Thraze was the name of a US underwater surveillance system.


    However, this Sul¡¯Thraze Whiplash couldn¡¯t be compared to the Archeus.


    There was no touching story behind it, nor could it be upgraded, but that didn¡¯t reduce its popularity. Lu Li remembered in his previous life the countless shouts that echoed around when he set foot on the yellow sands of Tanaris.


    "Missing one player for the Desert Instance Dungeon, looking for someone who doesn¡¯t want the God Sword¡­"


    After recruiting their healers and tanks, they would enter and fight. All the items found would be rolled for among the players, except for the God Sword¡­


    Those who already had the Deflector would only request the Protector. They would then become friends with someone who already had the Protector and fight together every week until they both had what they needed.


    Many friendships were born on this basis of this system.


    The shouts in Lu Li¡¯s memories portrayed Zul¡¯Farrak as a lively place like a market. There were many players who were level 60 and above here; they would travel all the way to farm both parts of the God Sword.


    The reason for this was because Sul¡¯Thraze was just too cool.


    It could easily transition between states and was a very aggressive weapon.


    At level 40, the Sul¡¯Thraze¡¯s attributes were still quite decent. They were much better than the un-upgraded Archeus.


    As such, Zul¡¯Farrak would suddenly become a holy land for Warriors and Paladins. This was especially the case for Paladins that were allowed to use two-handed swords, but were not permitted to dual-wield one-handed swords.


    Sul¡¯Thraze circumvented this rule. If you saw a Paladin with dual-wielded one-handed swords, they definitely had Sul¡¯Thraze.


    Sang¡¯Thraze the Deflector and Jang¡¯Thraze the Protector had a low chance of dropping. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have given the Warriors and Paladins so much strife. The former was dropped by Antu¡¯sul, who they just killed, while the latter was dropped by Chief Ukorz Sandscalp.


    "Wandering, Moonlight¡­" Lu Li paused, then looked at Azure Sea Breeze who was standing there with his arms crossed. "Alright Breeze, you roll for it too. Whoever gets the highest number gets it. You can¡¯t blame me for being preferential."


    If the item was truly overpowered, then Lu Li would have just given it to Moonlight.


    Moonlight was a professional player who had also previously saved them, but Sul¡¯Thraze wasn¡¯t the most overpowered weapon. All that could be said was that it was the most sought after.


    The three armor-profession players looked at each other. This sword couldn¡¯t be that good, right? Was this really necessary?


    Azure Sea Breeze scratched his face and pretended to elegantly say, "I am a defensive player; I don¡¯t want this sword. But, I don¡¯t believe that we didn¡¯t get a Dark gold weapon."


    The second half of that sentence was probably his main point. This guy¡¯s expectations were too high and he was looking down on this gold weapon.


    "I don¡¯t mind not having it." Moonlight didn¡¯t say much as usual.


    He was carrying a level 30 dual-wield Gold Tomahawk that had 30% Armor Pierce and also gave his teammates 20% Attack. This made him a force in the arena and out in the field; it was much better than this single-handed gold sword.


    "It¡¯s such an ugly equip, but if no one wants it, then I¡¯ll reluctantly take it. Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter what I use because I¡¯m already so good looking. I¡¯m like you guys, who have to think about what you want to wear¡­" Wandering exclaimed as he shook the Silver weapon in his hand.


    They really wanted to kill this guy!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t give the equipment to anyone. Instead, he explained its use and Sul¡¯Thraze¡¯s effect.


    The three armor-plated players¡¯ eyes lit up.


    Moonlight¡¯s first thought was that if he could switch back and forth, then his fighting tactics could become even more advanced. He could fight more aggressively, and those who weren¡¯t familiar with the fighting style would be at a disadvantage.


    Azure Sea Breeze was now drooling over it as well. With such a cool item, he could draw the attention of girls anywhere he went. But what if he attracted too much attention? How would he filter them out¡­


    Wandering was angry. "Lu Li, you idiot ¨C those two already said that they didn¡¯t want it. Why didn¡¯t you just give it to me? Only a perfect person like me deserves such a special weapon."


    Moonlight: "Roll!"


    Azure Sea Breeze: "I gotta roll too. I can use it, so why not roll for it?"


    Wandering: "Oh Heavens above, this item is mine! Give it to me."


    Lu Li smiled as he watched these guys squabble. They had gone to the tavern yesterday and after lots of drinking, had become sworn brothers. But here they were, fighting over the God Sword.


    Azure Sea Breeze even attacked Wandering¡¯s sense of clothing.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but think of Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood. There was a saying, "When the AL drops, there are no brothers".


    This was especially the case for a Wild Party leader. When players saw that sword, they were more likely to join him. Who cared about the number of players he had to kill to acquire it? Even some guild parties were like this; there were quite a few guilds that had disbanded because of this item.


    This was just a part of the game.


    No matter who got it, it didn¡¯t have anything to do with Lu Li. Thieves could also dual-wield one-handed swords, but he couldn¡¯t equip a two-handed sword.


    Eventually, the three Armor-plated players Rolled to solve the problem.


    They all seemed pretty confident, but the result was 6, 22 and the winning roll of 31, which came from Moonlight. This was easily one of the most unexciting rolls in history.


    Lu Li, who was also incompetent when it came to Rolls, also decided to give it a roll.


    He only got a 5 and was quickly berated by everyone.


    Lu Li gave the item to Moonlight and continued the Instance Dungeon. At the same time, he relayed the strategy for fighting this Boss to Water Fairy. As for whether Drizzle Court could actually defeat the Boss with the strategy, that was their business.

 593 Zul Bug

    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had just defeated Antu¡¯Sul ¨C a stumbling block that had stopped other guild players for days.


    This news quickly spread through the channels, but it wasn¡¯t because Square Root 3 released the information publicly. Nor was it because there was a rat in Ruling Sword. It was because of the changes on the level rankings.


    Lu Li was rapidly increasing in level, but this was just an accepted occurrence.


    However, he wasn¡¯t simply fighting monsters, as the players knew that fighting regular monsters didn¡¯t increase your EXP that quickly.


    Currently, most average players were struggling at around level 35. Only a small proportion of high-end players were at level 36, 37 and 38. Lu Li was the sole player that had reached level 39.


    No one could say that Lu Li had just gotten lucky. Even if he was lucky at first, the other players should have caught up to him by now.


    There were many players trying to contact Lu Li and buy his strategy.


    He was willing to cooperate with Drizzle Court, so why not them? There were many people who had lots of money, and there were also many people who were richer than Water Fairy.


    There was one thing they had forgotten ¨C Water Fairy was also a beautiful woman.


    However, did anyone really like such a heavy-handed female tycoon? Everyone had their reservations, as there were many other well-known female players who were willing to add Lu Li as a friend.


    Even so, Lu Li hadn¡¯t responded to a single one of them. He took his teammates across the ancient ruins to clean up an endless sea of goblin monsters.


    The monsters had also increased in difficulty. They had reached level 38, which meant that the next Boss, Witch Doctor Zum¡¯rah, would be at least level 40.


    The monsters they were previously fighting were level 36, and the Boss was level 38.


    The levels of the monsters in Zul¡¯Farrak were the same at Elite and Nightmare Difficulty; it was the Defence, HP and Attack that differed. For the Bosses, the difference was reflected in HP and skills.


    After bypassing a few openings, they came across a semi-collapsed courtyard.


    The starry sky did little to illuminate the dim place, but if you saw countless graves in an area, it would look eerie even under a bright light.


    "Is the Boss over there?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he pointed at the only building. He seemed to have recovered from the loss of the weapon.


    "Where else would it be? You should eat more walnuts," Wandering immediately fired at him as he hit him on the back of the head.


    Just because Azure Sea Breeze looked like he enjoyed messing around didn¡¯t mean that anyone could touch his head. It was only when Wandering touched his head that he wouldn¡¯t react, as he had grown used to it in childhood.


    "Breezy, attack. Go step on the mounds of dirt," Lu Li instructed.


    "Humph, you really like ordering people around." Although he was unhappy about it, Azure Sea Breeze still did it. These so-called mounds of dirt were the graves, and there were some skeletons exposed in some of them.


    He didn¡¯t directly step onto them, but stomped on them with one foot.


    A gray being popped out of the tomb. Its body seemed insensitive, and it was a typical representation of a Troll Zombie. There was light where its eyes were, its body was stiff and it seemed to be quite strong¡­


    In gaming terms, this Zul¡¯Farrak Zombie had high damage with slow attack speed and movement speed.


    Even though Azure Sea Breeze was quite strong, he was still taken aback. He glanced angrily at Lu Li before bracing himself and attacking.


    Zul¡¯Farrak Zombies were a little bit stronger than the average elite monster. As long as any of their attacks hit, there would also be some additional voodoo damage.


    This voodoo damage was called Red Voodoo damage. It could be stacked onto a player after damage from an attack was taken. The higher the stacks, the greater the damage dealt. Fortunately, there were only one or two zombies in each tomb. The zombies would only waste some of their time and didn¡¯t pose a significant threat to Lu Li.


    "There are so many graves. Do we have to clear them all?" Wandering hated this kind of boring work.


    "We can pull a few more at a time. The EXP is quite good; it¡¯s much better than farming elsewhere. Just be careful not to pull too many." Lu Li actually thought this was quite good.


    "Broken pottery." Azure Sea Breeze picked up an item that was dropped and was disappointed.


    This kind of useless item would sell for a few coppers at a general store. At this level, picking up this kind of stuff was just waste of space.


    "Get rid of it," Lu Li nodded and confirmed that it was useless.


    "How do we pull more?" Azure Sea Breeze had just heard what Lu Li said and noticed that the EXP gained was ridiculously high. It was almost three or four times the Elite Trolls.


    "Do you want to farm a bug?" Lu Li asked.


    "A Bug?" Everyone¡¯s eyes flashed as they thought, "Of course."


    "Quickly, tell us. I¡¯ve been trying to find a bug that¡¯ll make me rich. I¡¯ve looked for so long, but haven¡¯t found one," Azure Sea Breeze pleaded as he dropped his shield and hugged Lu Li¡¯s thigh.


    Lu Li was disgusted by this and tossed him aside.


    "What benefit can we gain?" Wandering was more rational. There wasn¡¯t a single game that didn¡¯t have bugs ¨C even Dawn had many bugs. However, most of these bugs were rather pointless. Moreover, Dawn had a strong self-checking system which meant that bugs were quickly patched after some use.


    However, gains that a player received through a Bug were not investigated. This was clearly stated in the Game Security laws.


    Bugs were the fault of the company and so was leaked information about them. In the era of a universal game, these were the crazy laws in place.


    "We can farm the monsters indefinitely," Lu Li said as he recalled the details of the bug.


    This so-called strategy was actually a meaningless article compiled by the players. Lu Li remembered reading it for fun, but it was somewhat vague in his memory now.


    The bug was found and then exploited by the players.


    The game company quickly discovered this and put in a patch, so the bug became history.


    However, Lu Li never thought that he would experience rebirth.


    After thinking about it for a while, he tried to replicate the circumstance that created the bug. He directed his team to move past the catacombs and squeezed into a crack in the building near the Boss.


    The crack was narrow, but long enough for everyone to squeeze into.


    "Do I go in too?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he pointed at himself.


    "You all go in. Only I need to stay out here," Lu Li said and let them in before going into Stealth. He slowly crept towards the Boss that was in the building.


    He was a little worried because his level was lower than the Boss¡¯s.


    Being at a lower level than the Boss meant that he was more easily discoverable. This was critical because Lu Li had to open the Witch¡¯s chest without the Boss noticing.


    Lu Li saw the Treasure Chest with a glance.

 594 Indefinitely Farming Zombies

    Make no mistake, there was nothing in there. There wasn¡¯t some kind of special artifact.


    Other than some bandages, there were some worthless, broken pieces of ceramic lying around. Of course, if they were lucky, they could acquire some Healer equipment.


    Lu Li carefully moved into the vicinity of the Chest. Just before he bent down to open it, the Witch Doctor Zum¡¯rah suddenly turned his head.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to activate his movement speed skills and run away, so instead, he chose to use Vanish. The Witch Doctor Zum''rah watched as the Thief that planned to steal his items disappeared. He let out an angry roar before returning to his original position.


    "Lu Li are you okay?" Azure Sea Breeze was watching Lu Li from within the wall and smiling.


    Several of the melee profession players couldn¡¯t move at all. To give the ranged players space, they needed to go all the way in. The Plate-Armored players even needed to remove their armor. It was all very uncomfortable.


    "Shut your mouth." Lu Li stayed completely still.


    After the Witch Doctor Zum¡¯rah returned to his original position, he began moving again.


    Zum¡¯rah wasn¡¯t standing completely still either; he also had his work to do. The Sandfury Warriors that had died couldn¡¯t just be left in the wilderness.


    He first wrapped up the body with bandages before sprinkling it with some unknown powder. Then, he cast a skill onto the mummies and the newly created Zul¡¯Farrak Zombie stood up beside him.


    They would then be buried in a tomb, waiting for the call of the Witch Doctor in order to help him fight.


    Lu Li knew that he was likely to be found because his level was lower than the Boss¡¯, but he waited until Zum¡¯rah let his guard down before getting closer.


    Unlock the chest!


    It was just a Steel Treasure Chest, so it wasn¡¯t difficult for Lu Li.


    The Chest opened with a light sound and Lu Li reached in, then put all the items into his bag. He didn¡¯t care what they were and just grabbed them all before quickly retreating.


    The Witch Doctor Zum¡¯rah had just wrapped another body. He patted the zombie¡¯s chest and seemed very satisfied with his craft.


    He turned to start wrapping another corpse, but suddenly stopped when he saw that his Treasure Chest, which was full of his stitching tools, was now open and empty.


    Who touched my Treasure Chest!


    He was filled with anger and his eyes widened. He wanted to find that little thief, but he had no way of doing so.


    Lu Li was already outside by now.


    Zum¡¯rah wouldn¡¯t leave the building just to look for someone. There were too many bodies in there that needed his protection and processing.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others were stunned by the incredible scene that had just unfolded.


    One by one, Lu Li stepped onto the graves just like Azure Sea Breeze did and summoned the zombies. However, what happened next was quite unusual.


    Firstly, the Zul¡¯Farrak Zombies that came out didn¡¯t attack Lu Li, but went straight to the players who were stuck in the cracks.


    However, the cracks in the wall were so small that they couldn¡¯t get in; they were scratching the wall outside.


    Secondly, when Azure Sea Breeze activated a tomb and a zombie jumped out, the grave would be shown as empty. To the players¡¯ eyes, the tomb would just disappear.


    However, this time, they didn¡¯t.


    "What are you looking at? Quickly attack it!" The way that Lu Li was stepping on the graves felt like he was playing a relaxed game of whack-a-mole.


    There were just over a dozen zombies gathered right outside the crack.


    Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball were now the main DPS players. Remnant Dream had a skill called Volley while Hachi Chan had a skill called Hurricane, so both of them could also deal decent damage. Everyone else was just useless.


    They didn¡¯t need defence, nor did they need healing. They just needed to dump their skills onto the monsters, so the farming was unusually efficient.


    Both Mages and Warlocks also had a way to regenerate their mana, so Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice ball didn¡¯t need Lu Li to worry about that. As for Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan, he could ignore them as per usual.


    As more and more monsters gathered outside the crack, Lu Li had to pause for a while.


    He couldn¡¯t attack them from the outside and had strictly avoided dealing any damage to any monster, which was why he had to be careful when opening the chest.


    If he failed to open the chest, he would inevitably need to face Zum¡¯rah, but if he hurt any of the monsters now, all of them would turn to attack him.


    No one knew who had come up with this exploit, but there were always some weird players doing all sorts of strange things.


    "Wow, the EXP is so good," Azure Sea Breeze took a deep breath and cried out.


    These level 38 zombies didn¡¯t provide an EXP bonus, but they were special elite monsters that gave 3-4 times the EXP of an average elite monster. If it weren¡¯t for the fact they were a little harder to kill, this would really be an EXP paradise.


    The items were dropping in the innermost area, but Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to go and pick them up. He had no way of getting past the monsters anyway.


    After half an hour, the first wave of Zul¡¯Farrak Zombies had been farmed and their drops had been taken. When Lu Li went to step on more graves, he saw that his EXP had risen by 11%. Normally, it would take at least three hours to farm this amount, even with four powerful Mages helping him.


    Remnant Dream, who was the lowest level player, had now risen to level 36.


    She was always taking care of her pets and rarely had time to farm. Fortunately, Square Root 3 needed to keep up the strength of the entire Mercenary Group, so he sent someone to help her keep up in levels.


    As a level 36 player killing level 38 monsters, she was benefitting the most out of everyone.


    "Hey, stop pushing. Wandering, you old man!" Azure Sea Breeze was in pain, but was also filled with joy. "Lu Li, can I come outside to join you?"


    "Stay there. There can only be one person outside," Lu Li said as he thoughtfully walked around the wall and watched his group of friends suffering inside.


    "Why won¡¯t you let me outside?" Azure Sea Breeze was chatty as usual.


    "Do you know how to Unlock Chests?" Lu Li asked.


    The Warrior was immediately dumbfounded. He could only wonder to himself as to why he chose to be a Warrior.

 595 System Correction

    After farming for an hour, Lu Li wasn¡¯t summoning as many monsters as he was before.


    "There are fewer monsters; some of my skills are hitting the ground. What a waste." Sakura Memories was a levelling maniac and hated it when things were inefficient.


    "Get a few more." Lonesome Flower wasn¡¯t a talkative person, but his sister, March Rain, was about to level up. How could there not be any more monsters at this moment?


    "I¡¯m worried that the bug will be discovered. If I pull too many monsters, we might get wiped." Lu Li had some understanding of how bugs were resolved by the System. If it was quick, it could be done in two hours, otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be much longer than three hours.


    Since they were at the top of the level rankings, their rapid increase in EXP was especially bound to cause the System to check.


    It wasn¡¯t the patching of the bug that Lu Li was worried about. Once the System patched the bug, they could find themselves face to face with hundreds of attacks from these Zombies. They would definitely be wiped if that happened.


    "What are you scared of? If we die, then we die. We¡¯re in an Instance Dungeon; we can¡¯t lose EXP," Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    The EXP was the most important thing; the death itself didn¡¯t matter much.


    "Fine then. Don¡¯t complain if something happens later." Lu Li didn¡¯t mind too much and continued on. He was the most likely to escape anyway as he was a Thief.


    With this bug, spawning more monsters was a simple thing. He just needed to step onto the graves.


    There was one thing that Lu Li needed to be aware when moving quickly. He had to avoid colliding with the Zul¡¯Farrak Zombies so that they wouldn¡¯t attack him.


    As Lu Li had expected, 2 hours and 27 minutes after they began exploiting the bug, the zombies who had been ignoring Lu Li and scratching the walls completely changed their behavior.


    A couple of them started running towards Lu Li and the others crammed into the wall.


    "Ah, ah, ah!" There was endless squealing coming from Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan.


    Lu Li simply couldn¡¯t attend to his teammates who were trapped in the wall. He jumped forwards with his shoes¡¯ special effect before using Gale Steps to disappear from sight.


    The zombies that now weren¡¯t targeting Lu Li turned around to further gang up on the unlucky ones trapped in the crack.


    "Like fish in a barrel." Lu Li shook his head sadly. His teammates were caught in a predicament that he had predicted.


    "Lu Li, come and fight them. We still have a chance." No one wanted to die and the players within the crack were no exception. Although they had been screwed by the System, only one or two monsters could get inside the crack at a time.


    "Don¡¯t waste your time. Die quickly; the voodoo debuff stacks," Lu Li said, sensibly explaining why he wasn¡¯t helping.


    "You stubborn old man¡­"


    After a while, everyone had been revived and were sitting outside the cemetery. They were sitting on the ground and eating bread to regenerate the last bit of HP.


    "What do we do now, can we not use the bug anymore?" Azure Sea Breeze was pouting, still in denial.


    "Yeah, the System isn¡¯t dumb. If we do the same thing again, we¡¯ll definitely die," Lu Li said calmly.


    This kind of shortcut could be taken occasionally, but it was impossible to truly stand out with exploits like these. The best way was still to put in effort.


    "In two and a half hours, we got EXP that would normally take more than 2 days to farm. I¡¯m happy." Sakura Memories was satisfied; she was an independent and confident woman.


    "I¡¯ll use my bow and arrows to pull the monsters, Breezy, you can tank it." Lu Li saw that everyone had almost finished regenerating. He shot at a Zul¡¯Farrak Zombie that was wandering around and three of them immediately came towards them.


    The Zombies that had been summoned hadn¡¯t disappeared. If they wanted to fight the Boss, they needed to slowly clear them out.


    There were still a few untouched graves as well. Azure Sea Breeze stepped on two of them each time, which summoned three to four monsters. This was an easy amount for them to deal with. Soon, they had cleared out the entire graveyard.


    If they were a stronger team, they wouldn¡¯t actually need to clear out these tombs.


    Later on, Zum¡¯rah would summon waves of these monsters, but a strong team could just quickly clear out the Boss¡¯ minions all at once.


    "How dare you invade my territory?! The desert will devour you!" After everyone walked into the building that Zum¡¯rah was located in, he instantly locked onto them as he had been unable to locate the thief.


    "Hey, we only just met and you¡¯re attacking us?" Azure Sea Breeze was quite surprised.


    Zum¡¯rah wasn¡¯t particularly intelligent. He kept using Shadow Bolt to attack Azure Sea Breeze.


    As for his stolen items, that had long since become insignificant to him. He had completely forgotten about the thief.


    In addition to Shadow Bolt, he could also use Shadow Bolt Rain which was an area-of-effect skill. It dealt damage to everyone and was quite a strong skill for a Boss.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t drop a Shadow Bolt Rain Skill book. Lu Li hadn¡¯t heard of this skill book before either.


    Additionally, he also relied on the Ward of Zum¡¯rah, which was similar to a totem and had the effect of a portal. A steady stream of skeletons came out from it. They were called Zum¡¯rah Skeletons and they were Zum¡¯rah¡¯s guardians.


    They had low HP, low defense and low attack, but they could add voodoo stacks onto the players. In order to distinguish these voodoo stacks from the Zul¡¯Farrak Zombies¡¯, the former was called green poison, while the latter was called red poison.


    Green poison reduced defense, while the red poison reduced HP.


    The individual poisons weren¡¯t fatal ¨C it was only until the red and green poisons came together that it would deal damage. In this case where their team wasn¡¯t strong enough to clear these small monsters all at once, Lu Li chose to completely clear out the Zul¡¯Farrak Zombies first.


    The Ward of Zum¡¯rah lasted a long time. It was invincible for the first three seconds, during which it produced three waves of monsters. Later on, it could be destroyed just like a normal totem.


    Lu Li would destroy it as quickly as he could each time it was placed.


    Overall, Zum¡¯rah wasn¡¯t a difficult Boss, but they also needed to be careful for his Polymorph. This wasn¡¯t like the Mage skill which would turn you into a sheep. Instead, he would turn a player into a frog, reducing their defense by half.


    Although this didn¡¯t mean they would instantly be killed, it would usually result in a lot of damage taken.


    During this time, they would need a Priest or Druid¡¯s help to remove the curse. However, by learning some simple strategies and following Lu Li¡¯s commands, there were almost no mistakes made as the Boss¡¯ HP was emptied.


    No one was awarded with any Skill Points, but they did receive quite a bit of EXP. After all, it was a level 40 Boss.


    From start to finish, Zum¡¯rah took about 3 hours. Two and a half hours at the start were used to exploit the bug, while the real fighting time was about 20 minutes.


    Now that Zul¡¯Farrak¡¯s third Boss had fallen, all that was left to do was loot the body for items.

 596 Brutal Extortion

    In fact, Witch Doctor Zum¡¯rah was actually quite a poor Boss. No one had ever heard of him dropping anything good.


    Zum¡¯rah¡¯s Magic Staff was his signature item and was considered to be exquisite, but only players who weren¡¯t at the top-level were interested in it. Someone like Lu Li would think that the Staff was quite mediocre.


    As for Zum¡¯rah¡¯s Bracers, not one Cloth-armored player in Lu Li¡¯s group even looked at them.


    "One handed¡­" Remnant Dream exclaimed as she looted the body.


    Was it going to be Zum¡¯rah¡¯s Bracers? Lu Li was already disappointed ¨C it wasn¡¯t as good as Zum¡¯rah¡¯s Magic Staff, which lots of players in the guild were willing to spend points to redeem.


    "¡­Mold¡­" Remnant Dream took another deep breath.


    Lu Li was shocked. That couldn¡¯t be right ¨C the Bracers didn¡¯t come in a Mold form. They were just regular cloth Bracers that enhanced damage.


    "Outfit!" The little girl was absolutely satisfied to see her teammates staring at her dumbly. They had no idea what she had just said.


    "It¡¯s a Mold for a Gold grade equip ¨C a glove." Now that she had her fun, Remnant Dream revealed what the item actually was.


    Witch Doctor Gloves (Gold): Mold.


    Lu Li then remembered that his backpack was still carrying a Voodoo Breastplate (Gold) Mold. There were only two sets for Zul¡¯Farrak and they now had part of both of them.


    It was too bad that the Voodoo set wasn¡¯t for Thieves.


    It wasn¡¯t that the Witch Doctor was bad, nor was it that Lu Li was so selfish that he only thought about himself, but the Witch Doctor set wasn¡¯t suitable for March Rain. She was purely a healer and didn¡¯t deal much damage. What made the Witch Doctor set stand out was its great healing potential and how it increased the Priest¡¯s Shadow damage output.


    "Give it to March Rain and see how effective it is," Lu Li said as he assigned the equipment.


    "There¡¯s also this skill book ¨C Shadow Bolt Rain," Remnant Dream announced as she squatted down and picked up a Skill Book.


    "Dammit," Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but swear. He had just thought that he had never seen anyone with Shadow Bolt Rain before and now it had dropped just to mess with him.


    The System was self-aware!


    This was a Warlock Skill book, which would with no doubt go to Sesame Rice Ball. There was no point in thinking about why a Witch Doctor would drop a Warlock Skill book; there was simply no explanation.


    Of course, even if a Warlock learned Shadow Bolt Rain, it didn¡¯t mean that they would fire a barrage Shadow Bolts. It was just a regular area-of-effect skill.


    In terms of lethality, this area-of-effect skill wasn¡¯t necessarily stronger than Rain of Fire.


    Additionally, the Boss also dropped a rare material ¨C Zum¡¯rah Bacon ¨C which was used for cooking.


    After thinking about how this guy dealt with corpses all day, few players had to courage to eat its bacon.


    "We did it, we finally did it!" While clearing the monsters on the path, Lu Li received a message from Water Fairy. The moment he opened it, he could hear the excitement of the female tycoon.


    "Congratulations. There are a few points to the next Boss you need to remember. When you step on the graves outside, a Zombie will come out, but don¡¯t step on too many of them at once¡­" Lu Li didn¡¯t expect this; Drizzle Court¡¯s party was evidently very strong.


    "Wait, you¡¯re talking about the next Boss. Have you already defeated the third Boss?" Water Fairy was so surprised that she simply couldn¡¯t hold it in.


    "Obviously." Lu Li thought for a while and decided not to tell her the truth, lest her pride was hurt. Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.


    "Lu Li you¡¯re really strong," Water Fairy found herself without energy to be jealous.


    To be told by a beautiful woman that you were strong would cause most players to puff up with pride, but Lu Li continued to focus on clearing up the monsters and wasn¡¯t bothered by emotions. He continued to calmly explain what points of attention were required. After that, he professionally ended the call.


    The fourth Boss was now the focus of his attention.


    Lu Li and the others had arrived at a big yard. This place was probably more appropriately called a square; it was a large venue for the celebration of festivals.


    There were many Sandfury Trolls living in tents within the square, along with domesticated beasts to defend the place from outsiders. In the innermost part of the square was a high platform with particularly tall steps leading up to it.


    A troll armed with a long knife stood on the platform; he was the Sandfury Executioner.


    It wasn¡¯t clear what was in the cages that were on the platform, but it was undoubtedly clear that the most important task now was to kill the monsters within the square.


    "Pay attention to the Sandfury Shadow Hunter. Flower, turn it into a sheep when you see it. Then, we¡¯ll focus fire it," Lu Li told Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze then rushed forwards with his large shield.


    The monsters here weren¡¯t that difficult to defeat, as long as you didn¡¯t aggro too many of them. For Lu Li¡¯s team, even the strength of two groups of monsters couldn¡¯t stand up to them.


    They spent a dozen minutes to clear out all the monsters in the square; even those that were sick or elderly were not spared.


    "Don¡¯t sit around. Let¡¯s go kill the executioner," Lu Li said, not giving them time to regenerate their HP and Mana. The Sandfury Executioner looked quite overwhelming, but he was really just another monster and wasn¡¯t that hard to kill.


    They quickly dealt with it and it dropped a key.


    "Oh, you¡¯re finally here. Quickly rescue us," a voice sounded from the cages. The goblin accent was very obvious.


    "Who are you guys?" Lu Li wasn¡¯t in a hurry to open the cage.


    "I¡¯m Weegli. It must be Sariko who told you guys to come save us. That¡¯s great! I almost thought I was going to die." The goblin was so moved that it was about to cry.


    "What do we gain from saving you? Sariko promised us two packaged explosives, but none of us would ever use something like that," Lu Li said as he twirled the key in his hand. He couldn¡¯t be blamed for blackmailing the NPCs as they were all mercenaries who hadn¡¯t done a single good deed since they were born.


    "Oh, you stingy man," Weegli cursed and cried out. "Look, we¡¯ve been captured and have nothing for you! What can we give you?"


    "Nonsense," Lu Li refuted confidently. "Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know you keep things in your backpack."


    "Alright, alright." It seemed that Weegli was acknowledging that Lu Li knew how to do business.


    "Gold coins, a large amount of gold coins," Lu Li said greedily, gesturing with his fingers. "And Gold equipment ¨C at least one, wait, at least two for each of us¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others were staring at him in admiration again. He carefully pulled at Lu Li¡¯s arm and whispered, "You don¡¯t have to be so greedy. How could they agree to give us 20 pieces of gold equipment? That would just be game-breaking, but I do like this situation."


    "No!" Weegli was screaming. He was quite frightened by Lu Li¡¯s conditions.

 597 Tactics

    This was a fraud!


    It was the first time that they were shocked by the shamelessness of players.


    "Of course, you guys can choose to stay in the cage." Lu Li didn¡¯t take a single step back; he was used to seeing these kind of people in real life.


    "Alright. As long as you let us out, I¡¯ll agree to any request. I¡¯m Sergeant Brad," a human in the cage next door said before Weegli opened his mouth.


    "But we don¡¯t even..." Weegli objected quickly.


    "Shut up, you dumb dwarf." Sergeant Brad was a handsome Warrior with a strong voice. "I can agree to your conditions, but you must help us defeat the enemies under us," he requested to Lu Li.


    Lu Li turned around to look; the monsters had already refreshed.


    There were also two bigger monsters at the back who looked like Bosses. These were the people who were trying to capture these mercenaries ¡ª Nekrum Gutchewer and Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others were shocked by the sight; there was at least three to four hundred monsters before them.


    "Looks like we¡¯re going to have to revive in the city now," Hachi Chan sighed as if she was familiar with the situation. "Greed is truly not a good trait, Lu Li. If you had let them out earlier, maybe we would¡¯ve already escaped by now."


    Lu Li didn¡¯t pay attention to the little girl. He used his keys to open the five cages and promised, "That¡¯s our enemy also, Sergeant. I¡¯ll accept your conditions; let us fight side by side."


    Sergeant Brad walked out from the cage and glared at Lu Li, but he understood the importance of teamwork in times like this.


    The five of them instantly changed gears. Lu Li didn¡¯t lie about their items ¨C they were still in their bags.


    "Lu Li, why did you ask for twenty gold equips?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, unable to hold himself back any longer. This was a question that tossed around in everyone¡¯s mind.


    "Oh, it was just a random request," Lu Li answered.


    "My goodness. Why did you ask for so many equips? None of these guys look like good people; they probably won¡¯t give it to us in the end." Azure Sea Breeze wasn¡¯t the brightest, but he could tell the difference between good and bad people.


    "I want him to breach the conditions. That¡¯s why I asked for twenty gold equips¡­"


    "What?" Azure Sea Breeze was lost again.


    "I asked for a crazy condition to upset Sergeant Brad," Lu Li explained. "Did you see the way he looked at me just then? Didn¡¯t he look extremely mad?"


    "Right." Everyone nodded their heads together.


    "After we clear these monsters, these people will attempt to kill us. Promises mean nothing to mercenaries. They won¡¯t be able to hold their anger and they¡¯ll want to kill us, the players who saved them. The truth is, I want them to attack us. Otherwise, it would be hard for us to have a good reason to kill them when we¡¯re so friendly with each other¡­" Lu Li explained in detail.


    "Wow, you¡¯re so crafty!" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed as he looked at him in disgust.


    If he let these mercenaries out immediately, they would part ways as soon as these monsters were killed.


    Of course, if these mercenaries were killed during the battle, there wouldn¡¯t be any after-story either.


    Unless if you brought up a crazy condition that crossed some sort of line and caused Sergeant Brad to hate you, he wouldn¡¯t attack you after you killed all the monsters.


    By playing this way, players got to kill another Boss, a hidden Boss.


    "Do you think we can clear all these monsters under us? Even if we can, will we still have the energy to kill these mercenaries?" Wandering asked as he looked at the monsters below.


    All of this was only possible under the condition that they remained alive.


    "Don¡¯t just judge by the numbers ¨C most of them are Sandfury Labourers and Sandfury Slaves. You¡¯ll be able to wipe most of them with a few group spells. There¡¯s less than one-tenth of them that are actually elite monsters. The ones you need to look out for are the Sandfury Cretin. We don¡¯t need to be at the front either; just make sure they don¡¯t die to these monsters," Lu Li said.


    "Aren¡¯t we being a little too mean?" It was hard for a young girl like Remnant Dream to understand the mentality behind this whole plot.


    "It¡¯s not as bad as you think ¨C these are all monsters created by the dungeon. You¡¯ll be able to see them every time you enter the dungeon, and none of them are good people. To put it nicely, they¡¯re mercenaries, but they¡¯re actually no different to bandits. And I¡¯m not sure if you guys have noticed, but that Warlock with a hat on his head ¡ª that¡¯s a Tauren." If someone else asked, Lu Li probably wouldn¡¯t have bothered, but he thought he should be more patient with an underage girl.


    It wasn¡¯t that all members of the Horde were evil, but that their mercenary group had a messy structure and would most likely have lower moral standards.


    "You guys sort out the left; we¡¯ll sort out the right. Charge!" Sergeant Brad commanded as he drew his sword and dashed towards the monsters.


    Their mercenary team consisted of Sergeant Brad, who was a Shield Warrior, Raven, a Thief, the Tauren Warlock Oro Eyegouge and a Dwarf Priest, Muerta. Weegli was only a guide; he didn¡¯t really have any attack abilities and was only capable of burying mines.


    The monsters didn¡¯t all charge forward at once.


    They split into groups of three, and about a hundred of them charged forward in the first wave. Five NPCs and ten players defended in a scattered formation. Under some subtle instruction from Lu Li, the players didn¡¯t give the fight their full strength.


    However, the mercenary group members had to fight with all that they had. They had finally tasted freedom, so there was no way that they would let themselves fall back into the hands of the Trolls.


    The battle was intense ¨C monsters were constantly killed and the five of them became wounded.


    Lu Li and the others couldn¡¯t let these five die in front of them, so in moments of danger, they would spare the time to help out.


    However, it seemed as if the five mercenary members were avoiding the elites on purpose and leaving them for Lu Li¡¯s team. They also wanted to reduce the strength of Lu Li and his comrades.


    Unfortunately, they had no clue who they were messing with.


    Players, or rather, adventurers, as the NPCs called them, had potions and never died. There was no way that they could out sustain real players.


    Even if they did, there was still the mana bar of the healing class.


    The first wave was quickly finished off by both parties.


    The second wave approached and the numbers of the elites increased.


    Now, they had to start casting spells. The Tauren Warlock used Rain of Fire, dealing significantly more damage than Sesame Rice Ball.


    The Thieves had an arsenal of stun abilities, so their coordination worked out well.


    Everyone had to use a little more energy in this wave, otherwise, the NPCs would definitely die.


    Now, the third wave was advancing, along with the two Bosses ¡ª Nekrum Gutchewer and Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz.

 598 Working with the NPC

    Nekrum Gutchewer was a little like Theka the Martyr ¨C he was also someone who should¡¯ve been buried underground ages ago.


    After Nekrum Gutchewer passed away, he continued to exist with an incredible method.


    This involved him staying with Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz. The two Trolls hunted for sacrifices together to offer to the mysterious beast that slept in the centre of the city. Countless Troll followers anxiously waited for the awakening of the beast, doing anything to see the ceremony with their own eyes.


    The Trolls who exited the great stage of history always wanted to restore their ancestors¡¯ glory.


    In the beginning, Trolls were the original race of Azeroth. They fought with the Azj¡¯Aqir empire for the throne of the continent. Besides them, the Humans, Dwarves and Goblins were all created by the Titans. Even the Night Elves were actually a part of the Dark Trolls.


    These Dark Trolls were originally a fierce race; they destroyed the last defense of the Azj¡¯Agir empire, but they also paid a price for it.


    The poison of the battle tainted their blood and turned their skin black. They were forced to bear the pain of the poison for the rest of their lives. Many of them chose to commit suicide, but some of them survived with their strong will. They then discovered that the poison had a strange effect ¨C it gave them immortality.


    These strange Trolls were not accepted by their own kind, so they migrated besides the Well of Eternity and was affected by its Arcane energy. Eventually, they evolved into Night Elves.


    In summary, Trolls were once the glorious race of the continent.


    Many Trolls couldn¡¯t accept the fall of their race, and it was this strong will that caused them to turn Undead. They were beings who refused to die.


    Lu Li always had a great respect for them, but he had to kill them regardless.


    There were two Bosses in front of them, real Bosses who were stronger than the couple from the Scarlet Monastery.


    Sergeant Brad was the only Boss model among his team, so he had to stand in front. Before he stepped forward, he still remembered to remind these adventurers, "Brave men, we fight for freedom!"


    Lu Li didn¡¯t ask his team to hold back this time.


    "Breeze, go look after the Shadowpriest."


    There were also other monsters in this wave, so if they let too many of the mercenary group die, Lu Li¡¯s team wouldn¡¯t be able to hold up against the two Bosses.


    Nekrum Gutchewer didn¡¯t have many skills. His most common skill was Fever, which was a little like Theka¡¯s, but stronger.


    The huge damage figures that popped up on top of Sergeant Brad¡¯s head were all thanks to the Fever status.


    The strong man instantly became weak. His Priest didn¡¯t use many healing skills; she spent most of her time attacking.


    From this aspect, it was possible to see that these NPCs had limited wisdom.


    The two Warriors fought intensely, but Sergeant Brad only had around 40,000 HP while Nekrum Gutchewer had about a 160,000 HP.


    Lu Li sent Hachi Chan over to heal Sergeant Brad, which evened out the fight.


    The other nine players from Lu Li¡¯s team focused on Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz. Sezz¡¯ziz was a caster who had around 180,000 HP, and was stronger than Nekrum Gutchewer.


    The most annoying part of his skillset was Soul Shriek. This was the crowd control skill that March Rain had also learned, and was what allowed Ruling Sword¡¯s team to pull off countless miracles.


    As Lu Li¡¯s team fought, they would suddenly run around like lost flies. Not only did they lose the ability to deal damage, but their team formation also became a mess. In the end, nobody bothered about the team formation; everyone just dealt damage whenever they could.


    Although Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz knew how to attack with Shadow Bolt, he was actually a healer.


    This was the truth that sent players crying ¨C he was a healing class and knew more than just a basic healing spell.


    Bosses that happened to have a healing skill would just heal themselves once when their health dropped to a certain percentage. At the very most, they would heal themselves two to three times in one battle.


    However, Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz was an actual healer.


    Not only did he heal himself, but he also healed his team mates.


    Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz had two healing skills. One was called Heal, which he often casted on himself.


    He also had a skill called Renew, which March Rain had also learned. This was a spell that regenerated its target¡¯s health every 30 seconds.


    If you didn¡¯t do anything about the status, Nekrum Gutchewer would always be constantly regenerating his health.


    Even if Sergeant Brad and his team tired themselves to death, they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill a Boss like this.


    Fortunately, Wandering was capable of dispelling his enemies¡¯ magic. As such, March Rain didn¡¯t have to divert her attention to Nekrum Gutchewer while she healed her team members. This would have been far too stressful for her.


    The scene was a mess ¨C there were two Bosses and countless monsters to clear against five NPC and ten players.


    Lu Li focused on taking down Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz. As soon as he died, Nekrum Gutchewer would become a piece of cake.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t order the NPCs around. It would save them a lot of time if both parties focused down Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz first.


    The battle lasted around half an hour. Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz¡¯s health finally dropped to 30%, which was good work against a Boss who constantly healed himself.


    The busiest player in this fight was March Rain ¨C she had to look after her team members¡¯ health and had to heal Sergeant Brad with Hachi Chan every now and then.


    Fever was a status that could be stacked, and upon a certain number, a strong heal had to be casted on Sergeant Brad. Thanks to the healing buff, Nekrum Gutchewer still had 70% of his health. These mercenaries were honestly too weak.


    "March, Hachi Chan, after this Boss dies, don¡¯t heal the mercenary group¡¯s boss anymore. Just make sure he doesn¡¯t die. The lower his health, the better the situation," Lu Li whispered quietly in the team chat.


    "Ah, but he only has 40,000 HP!" Hachi Chan was surprised.


    What she implied was that this was an easy boss with little health. They would be able to win easily, even if they turned against each other.


    Lu Li was speechless. "You¡¯re all daydreaming. What kind of level 40 Boss would only have 40,000 health points and nothing else?"

 599 Voodoo Se

    Everyone thought about it and had to agree.


    Apart from the wild Bosses and dungeon Bosses in Dawn, there were also quest Bosses.


    In summary, all the wild Bosses had a lot of health, so it usually took around 100-200 players to kill them. While the strength of the dungeon Bosses depended on the dungeon, overall, they were still weaker than their wild counterparts.


    However, it had been a while since they had encountered a Boss with 40,000 HP.


    Even a semi-boss in the wild had around 10,000 HP.


    A smart player like Wandering immediately understood what was going on.


    "I get it. After the Boss turns on us, his health points will change, right? Will he be full health then?"


    "Hehe, what if it¡¯s based on ratio? We don¡¯t have any losses anyway," Lu Li laughed.


    He couldn¡¯t tell the others that he had completed this dungeon before.


    The mercenaries didn¡¯t have their own team channel, but they were programmed with crazy thoughts. With an exchange of glances, they had already decided upon the fate of these adventurers.


    Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz eventually died, and the NPCs held down Nekrum Gutchewere. As long as the players dealt enough damage and the healers didn¡¯t run out of mana, they would eventually kill the boss.


    This was the value of these mercenaries.


    They could turn on the mercenaries as soon as the Shadowpriest died, but Lu Li wouldn¡¯t do that.It couldn¡¯t be helped that he had to attack a goblin when he first started the game, but anyone who turned on an NPC first would be unwise.


    Not to mention, the mercenaries were helping them with Nekrum Gutchew, so why not keep them around for longer?


    Nekrum Gutchewer didn¡¯t have a lot of health. At this point, he had around half of his health remaining and was killed within minutes with the help of players. After all, he wasn¡¯t capable of healing himself.


    Sergeant Brad had 1325 HP.


    It would be hard to control his health if it got any lower, since he was fighting a Boss. Although Nekrum Gutchewer didn¡¯t have many skills, his basic attacks definitely stood up to his Boss title.


    As soon as Nekrum Gutchewer fell, Lu Li immediately walked up to Sergeant Brad and asked, "Can you fulfill our agreement now?"


    He couldn¡¯t wait for long ¨C Sergeant Brad¡¯s health was rapidly regenerating.


    "You naive adventurers ¨C did you really think I¡¯d give you twenty Gold equips? You¡¯d only be able to profit off a mercenary over his dead body, haha¡­" Sergeant Brad laughed out loud.


    Following this, all his comrades turned into an attackable state apart from Weegli ¨C he was only a guide. He couldn¡¯t fully trust these mercenaries who had him caught by the Trolls. As such, he maintained his positive attitude with Lu Li and his team.


    "Hmmm? Weegli, you coward ¨C are you planning to fight against us?" Sergeant Brad¡¯s taunted as his health limit rapidly increased.


    "No, Mr. Brad. I¡¯m just a guide; I won¡¯t participate in any battles." Previously, they were fighting for freedom, but the battle right now didn¡¯t comply with the Goblin.


    "Then stay away. Watch how I teach these greedy adventurers a lesson. I¡¯ll show them the definition of regret," Sergeant Brad said as he waved his long sword, then commanded his three comrades, "Comrades, kill them. Their goods now belong to us."


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others looked on, as if they were watching a clown.


    The limit of Sergeant Brad¡¯s health increased up to 200,000. This seemed quite intimidating, but his health bar wasn¡¯t full. In fact, it was barely filled.


    "So it is based on ratio! 1500 health points would be equivalent to 40,000 health points. 200,000 health points was equivalent to 7500 health points. This is truly... this is probably the weakest boss in history," Wandering sighed.


    Azure Sea Breeze charged on like a crazy lion, mumbling under his breath.


    A Boss with 7500 HP was a piece of cake, even if he was level 40.


    Forty seconds.


    System: Sergeant Brad has been successfully slain. You have received a skill point reward.


    Compared to the experience that he received, Lu Li liked his skill point reward more. He had plenty of ways to gain experience, but there were no guides that gave him skill points.


    The rest of the mercenaries also had to be killed because they were in an aggressive state. However, they were only minions of Sergeant Brad, so they couldn¡¯t drop any equipment or experience.


    The ground was filled with corpses, but Lu Li and the others only paid attention to three of them ¨C Nekrum Gutchewer, Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz and Sergeant Brad. What would these three Bosses drop for them?


    This was Remnant Dream¡¯s happiest moment; there were so many corpses waiting for her to loot.


    She decided to loot Nekrum Gutchewer first. The first item was a weapon for her ¨C the Diabolic Skiver.


    This was a Gold grade longbow with high damage and a focus on Agility. It had a certain chance to buff the attack attribute of pets, as well as a movement speed reduction effect. This slowed the movement speed of a nearby target and helped with kiting in general.


    She placed this item into her bag without a second thought; this was a level 40 weapon that she couldn¡¯t equip yet.


    The second item was a Warrior spell book, and was distributed to Moonlight.


    Nekrum Gutchewer only dropped these two items. Since he had dropped a Gold grade weapon, it was hard to expect more. There were also two more Bosses waiting for the little Hunter.


    The little Hunter bent down beside Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz.


    Lu Li was a little anxious ¨C this was the Boss amongst the three with the greatest chance of dropping something worthwhile.


    This was the First Clear on Nightmare mode as well.


    "Voodoo Shoulder Plates. Oh, another mold, but it¡¯s a shame it¡¯s not a set with the previously looted glove," Remnant Dream announced in disappointment.


    However, there was nothing to be disappointed about.


    "This is my equip; I already have the chest plate. March, help me make this item in your spare time; you can ask for the materials from Square Root 3. If we don¡¯t have the materials, ask him to purchase it from the markets." Lu Li let out a sigh of relief; he had finally found the other piece of the Voodoo set.


    There were four pieces in this set ¨C the chest plate, shoulder plate, cape and helmet. If all four pieces were worn, two special effects would be activated. However, if only two pieces were worn, you would still gain access to one special effect.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have too much hope in obtaining all four; he was happy with just two pieces from the set.


    The rare materials used for these two pieces weren¡¯t cheap, but the materials weren¡¯t too hard to find either. Most of them can be found in the guild storage.

 600 Limited Invulnerability Potion

    At the start of the game, it didn¡¯t take long for Lu Li to decide that he wanted a team.


    There were many ways for him to level up alone and get good items by himself, so it wasn¡¯t hard for him to reach the same level as the top players.


    However, he couldn¡¯t just play the game free and alone ¨C he had a sister.


    His sister¡¯s condition was like a giant mountain that rested on his shoulders. The little money that he earned as a solo player wasn¡¯t enough to provide his sister the best treatment available. It was hard to predict what might happen in the future.


    Lu Li was sick and tired of being poor. He wanted to earn more money, to live in his own house, drive his own car and never worry again about not having enough.


    Hence, he made his decision to form a team. After he emerged victorious from the Shadow Cup, he formed Ruling Sword.


    At this point, he still didn¡¯t know if he was a poor person, but his major guild background did give him some advantages.


    He didn¡¯t need to worry about supplies and there would be players who would help him search for rare materials when he couldn¡¯t find them. He didn¡¯t need to waste time on finding ordinary materials for his equipment either.


    He didn¡¯t even bother to investigate too much into what he needed for these two equips; there would be someone who would sort this out for him anyway.


    This was the benefit of being in power; it was something that a solo player would never understand.


    March Rain collected the two molds and decided to make them as soon as this dungeon was finished. Lonesome Flower still glared at Lu Li out of habit; anyone who tired his sister was an evil person.


    "Are we done? If we¡¯re done, I¡¯m continuing," Remnant Dream announced as she reached out her little hands towards the Shadowpriest again.


    Everyone looked expectedly at her.


    "Bad Mojo Mask. This seems fun."


    Remnant Dream replaced her hat and popped the equip onto her face. A wooden mask appeared that was long and extended well under her chin. A strange and creepy smiley face was drawn on it.


    Unfortunately, she was too short, so the effect was lost.


    "Cloth gear classes including March Rain, you guys can roll for this." Lu Li had to admit that Remnant Dream was a lucky star. If he was the one who looted the Boss, it was likely that neither the Voodoo set or the Bad Mojo Mask would have dropped.


    Lonesome Flower, March Rain and Sesame Rice Ball rolled their die.


    Lonesome Flower rolled the highest and Sesame Rice Ball came in second, while March Rain was unlucky this time and rolled a single digit.


    The mask was allocated to Lonesome Flower, but everyone soon saw it on March Rain¡¯s face. It seemed like the quiet girl liked this strange mask and took out her mirror to look at it.


    Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz also dropped another rare material ¨C the Ancient Magical Eye!


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know if he should cry or laugh when he saw this familiar item. Previously, he had helped Laugh into the Heavens save the little princess for it.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t like he had received nothing in return. At the very least, his Supreme Ring had been upgraded earlier and he had profited from the secrets of Haraku Island.


    Now, only Sergeant Brad, the proud mercenary Boss and also the unluckiest level 40 Boss of Dawn, was left.


    He barely had any health when he turned against Lu Li¡¯s team, so he didn¡¯t get to display any of his strength.


    Usually, nothing good came without any hard work, so Lu Li didn¡¯t expect much.


    "Plated shoulder, Silver grade equipment." As Lu Li expected, the Boss only dropped a Silver grade equip. It was a level 40 item and none of them could wear it yet. Lu Li allocated it to Wandering.


    "There¡¯s also a recipe. Limited Invulnerability Potion..." Remnant Dream said as he reached out her hands again and grabbed a recipe.


    "What?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t accept what he had just heard.


    Remnant Dream shared the attributes of the recipe with the whole team.


    Recipe: Limited Invulnerability Potion


    Recipe: Alchemy


    Requirement: Advanced Alchemy (240)


    Use: Teaches you how to craft the Limited Invulnerability Potion


    Limited Invulnerability Potion: Use: grants immunity to all physical damage within the next three seconds. 30 minute cooldown.


    This was an exquisite item!


    Lu Li took the recipe and a complex expression was written all over this face. This was an item that only appeared in the legends; it was hard to imagine that he would see it so soon.


    In his previous life, he had first seen it around one year into the game. At that time, the Limited Invulnerability Potion could only grant immunity to half of the physical damage dealt, but it was still a popular item. After two years, when he reincarnated, this item was nerfed again and finally became useless.


    In the end, its effect was reduced to immunity to 500 physical damage in the next three seconds. The nerfing of this potion accompanied the development of the game.


    Currently, the item that rested in Lu Li¡¯s palm was still at its peak.


    Immunity to all physical damage for three seconds ¨C the possibilities were limitless. In PVP, many classes dealt physical damage, so if immunity was granted, even Lu Li would be like a tiger without teeth. In PVE, if they fought against a physical damage dealing Boss and used the potion at the right time, it could shift the tides in their favor.


    However, like most potions, it was banned in competitions.


    "Rice Ball, it¡¯s all yours now," Lu Li said as he passed the recipe to Sesame Rice Ball. It was safer to keep the recipe with his own men.


    "240? I can learn it. I can use it to level up my alchemy skill too, but the materials are too expensive," Sesame Rice Ball was timid, but when something came up that involved one of his skills, he could talk a lot about it.


    "Are the materials hard to find?" Lu Li hadn¡¯t paid too much attention to it before; his Alchemy skill right now was only used by him to make poison.


    "They¡¯re all rare associated materials. It¡¯s hard to produce a lot of them," Sesame Rice Ball said with pity in his tone, but this was quite normal. If everyone in the game had such a strong potion, it would make no difference with or without it.


    Associated materials referred to materials that appeared by chance during material collection.


    For example, you might dig up an Emerald as an associated material when Mining, but these were very rare.


    "Ask Square Root 3 for them. We¡¯ll just keep a few of them each as spares." Lu Li didn¡¯t plan to drink these potions like water either; he just wanted a few of them just in case.


    Remnant Dream looted the corpse again and found an item called Divino-Matic Rod. It was classed as an unknown item, but there was no way it would be an equip or weapon.


    "This could possibly be the item that goblins use to search for water," Lu Li said after inspecting it.


    "Then isn¡¯t it very valuable?" Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s eyes lit up. Water was the most valuable resource in the desert. The reason why the Gadgetzan goblins could survive in Tanaris was due to their technology and their development in water resources.


    "Possibly." Lu Li didn¡¯t deny it.


    This was actually a quest item. The quest would be given by the Chief Engineer Bilgewhizzle of


    Gadgetzan. Lu Li had forgotten to accept it, but he didn¡¯t expect the quest item to still drop. They should probably make a trip to the NPC after the dungeon ¨C the experience from the quest was quite decent.

 601 Blowing Up The Door

    After collecting the drops from the Boss, there were still the corpses of monsters that had yet to be looted.


    It was impossible to loot them all before they despawned. Who knew how many drops and materials they would miss out on? However, they weren¡¯t too worried about this because there was probably nothing valuable or special.


    "How is this.. How is this possible?" After the battle was over and all the spoils had been taken, the goblin NPC remained in disbelief.


    "Mr Weegli, should we have a conversation regarding our rewards?" Lu Li asked in a condescending manner, staring at the Goblin as if he was about to kill him.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn¡¯t actually intending on killing the poor Goblin. Otherwise, all the Goblins of Gadgetzan would despise him.


    Besides, Lu Li would nothing from killing him.


    "Gosh, I don¡¯t have 20 pieces of Gold Grade Equipment¡­" Weegli had no idea that Sergeant Brad would be so useless; he had barely even put up a fight.


    If he had known better, he would have sided with the adventureres to begin with.


    However, the battle was over and it was too late for regret. He did not have anything to reward them with.


    "Is that you, my brother? You¡¯re still alive!" A soft voice broke the awkward silence between Weegli and Lu Li. Weegli almost burst out in tears as he hugged Sariko.


    Sariko was the Goblin NPC that had given them the quest for this dungeon.


    Lu Li scratched his nose in disappointment and interrupted, "Mr Sariko, we¡¯ve completed your quest."


    Sariko looked at the battlefield and shook his head, saying, "How is this considered complete? I asked you to rescue them, but Sergeant Brad and the others are all dead. According to Goblin Law, the great Sariko refuses to give you your rewards."


    "They were after my wealth and belongings and attacked me first. Isn¡¯t that right Mr. Weegli?" Lu Li corrected and stared at the terrified Goblin intensely.


    "Yes, yes." Weegli said quietly as he shook uncontrollably.


    With Weegli¡¯s testimony, Sariko became less arrogant and unwillingly said, "Since my brother Weegli is willing to testify for you, I have no choice but to believe you. I¡¯ll give you your rewards and blow up a path for you guys to advance deeper into the dungeon.


    "Ok." Lu Li wasn¡¯t expecting to receive so much today and decided not to bully these two any longer.


    Sariko announced that they had completed the quest and rewarded then some EXP, as well as Gadgetzan reputation. Additionally, there was some gold and two explosive packages.


    Explosive packages were a lot more powerful than the bombs that Lu Li made. However, they were harder to use and less versatile.


    Having them in their arsenal was always better than not having any at all. Who knew what they could be put to use for?


    The two Goblins began setting up bombs on the door to next Boss, Ukorz. They both turned around, ran away at the same time, and seconds later, the giant, sturdy door was blown to bits.


    "Holy moly, that was powerful!" Sakura Memory was impressed.


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but agree; the Goblins¡¯ technology was truly impressive. Lu Li decided that he would continue to level up his Engineering.


    "Sariko has kept his word. Do you guys have anything else to say?" Sariko asked happily; he was pleased with the explosion.


    Long ago, Goblins were the native race on the Island of Kezan. They were slaves to the Trolls and were forced to mine Kaja¡¯mite, which was considered valuable to the Trolls for voodoo. However, these minerals had a side effect which caused the Goblins to become extremely sly and intelligent.


    Soon, these Goblins developed technology which they used to overthrow the Trolls and claimed the Island of Kezan as their own.


    They were clearly an impressive and mighty race, though they lacked order and common sense.


    "Thank you, great Sariko. Your explosive packages are too powerful. This is probably the greatest invention in history. Could you teach me how to craft them?" Lu Li asked with a smile.


    "Impossible," Sariko muttered, then jumped up and shouted, "In your dreams, you greedy bastard!"


    "I can give you lots and lots of Gold," Lu Li said, trying to tempt him. "You can use the gold to open up a store in Stormwind. You¡¯ll be able to make even more money and live the life of a royal."


    Sariko¡¯s expression changed and it was clear that he was contemplating it for a few seconds. However, he snapped out of his daydreams and declared, "You¡¯re like the devil trying to tempt me, but I will resist temptation because the great Sariko will conquer the universe!"


    "I want to build my own city and invent a rocket that can launch into space¡­"


    Lu Li didn¡¯t realize how arrogant and crazy Sariko was. He decided to leave the two Goblins alone as they talked about their unreasonable dreams and futures.


    Since the door had been blasted into pieces, they could advance to the next stage of the dungeon.


    With all the commotion outside, Ukorz was awaken.


    Along the long corridor were several Sandfury Shadowhunters, Bloodthirsters and other elite level monsters who were guarding for intruders.


    "Let¡¯s go!" Azure Sea Breeze charged in with his giant shield and began aggroing all the Elite monsters. Everyone else casted their skills and this wave of monsters was cleared instantly.


    Upon being ignored, the two Goblins finally dropped their conversation.


    Right before the fight began, Sariko reminded Lu Li with a loud voice to keep his promise of finding the Tiara of Deep for him.


    "I thought you said we can¡¯t use the explosive packages?" Wandering asked in confusion.


    "I was lying to him to see if I could extort an engineering recipe out of him. It¡¯s too bad Sariko came in and interrupted my plans. I won¡¯t have another opportunity like that in the future," Lu Li sighed.


    "What¡¯s the Tiara of the Deep? I heard you could exchange it for four Gold Grade Equipment," Wandering said, visibly impressed with Lu Li.


    "Yes, but it¡¯s not that simple ¨C the Tiara is a quest item, but the chances of it dropping are extremely low."


    If the chances of the Tiara dropping were high, there would be an oversupply of Gold grade equipment on the market.


    Gold grade equips were so rare that the top players in the major guilds might not even have a single piece.


    A level 35 Silver Grade Equip would only be slightly weaker than a level 30 Gold Grade Equip. As such, most players would choose the level 35 Silver grade because they were easier to obtain and were cheaper.


    When players reached level 40, level 40 Silver grade equips became available.


    There were many other factors that needed to be considered besides the grade of equipment alone.

 602 Another Double Boss

    As they walked down the corridor, they could see the two bosses from afar.


    There were too many bosses in Zul¡¯farrak, so the developers had to force them together to save space.


    Shadow Priest Sezz¡¯ziz and Nekrum Gutchewer were glued together like lovers, while Chief Ukorz Sandscalp and Ruuzlu were a couple.


    "Careful!" Lu Li shouted. Two Sul¡¯lithuz Abominations jumped onto Azure Sea Breeze from both directions and went straight for his throat.


    Sul¡¯lithuz Abominations were even stronger than Sul¡¯lithuz Sandwalkers and could instantly kill Azure Sea Breeze. Azure Sea Breeze was shocked by the ambush and jumped in fear.


    Everyone was now on high alert for any surprise attacks from other monsters.


    Ukorz Sandscalp saw this and laughed, "Who dares to step into my presence? Do you not fear death? Feel the fury of the sands!"


    Four Sandfury Guardians spawned before them, pitting them against a total of six Elite monsters. A team that came unprepared could easily panic and become flustered at the sight of this, which would lead to them being wiped.


    Sandfury Guardians were giant green serpents that appeared like rattlesnakes, but with a thicker body and sharp fins on their backs. They had cold, blue eyes that stared into the souls of players, instilling fear into them before the fight even began.


    In a virtual reality game like Dawn, the models and designs of the monsters would sometimes take a psychological toll on the players.


    All six of these monsters were difficult to deal with, unlike other normal Elites.


    Sul¡¯lithuz Abominations had high HP and critical chance, as well as powerful poison abilities. Sandfury Guardians could apply an Armor Pierce debuff and dealt a critical hit every third attack.


    Low-defense classes that wore cloth and leather were the most susceptible to Armor Pierce attacks.


    Lu Li was planning on collecting some anti-poison equips to make this dungeon easier. However, the game had only been out for 2 months and there weren¡¯t any available on the market.


    The poor little Hunter Remnant Dream was poisoned to death because of her lack of defensive skills.


    It took a lot of effort to finally slay all six of these Elite monsters. The poison lingered for a while after the fight and they were forced to stay back and heal until the debuff finally timed out.


    Then, they resurrected their fallen teammates and prepared to face the Boss.


    Like many other Trolls, Ukorz Sandscalp had heard the legendary stories of the Trolls during his childhood. Long ago, Trolls ruled the ancient lands without Goblins, Dwarves, Pirates, Ogres, or any other races that caused them trouble.


    Ukorz was obsessed with the past glory of his tribe and invited Ruuzlu to create a new chapter in the story of the Sandscalp tribe. They planned on doing this with the only way they knew how ¨C violence.


    He obtained Jang¡¯thraze the Protector, then sealed off Zul¡¯farrak in order to protect it from his own people.


    These new intruders caused Ukorz Sandscalp to be infuriated, so he picked up his hammer and shouted, "The desert be mine; the Sandfury reign begins! Feel the fury of the Sands!"


    This marked the beginning of the fight before the players were even ready.


    "Wandering, take aggro from Ruuzlu. Everyone aim him," Lu Li assigned. It was impossible for the Main Tank to tank both bosses.


    Normally, in a team of ten players, there was a Main Tank, a Sub Tank and two healers, with the rest being DPS classes. There were certain guilds that ran a more glass-cannon team composition with only one tank and healer. However, they would struggle in situations like these where there were two Bosses.


    Azure Sea Breeze was uncomfortable with tanking Ukorz Sandscalp by himself and constantly reminded March Rain, "Please don¡¯t forget about me. I feel pretty insecure right now."


    "I¡¯m healing you; don¡¯t worry," Hachi Chan encouraged while casting her spells on him.


    Azure Sea Breeze became less demanding, and responded nicely, "Hehe, I¡¯m just looking out for the team. If I die, the whole team gets wiped, right?"


    "Yeah, Azure Sea Breeze, be ready to use your damage reduction at any time." Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s worries were very much a possibility. Ukorz could be extremely strong in his Frenzy mode.


    Frenzy: Ukorz Sandscalp enters Frenzy mode, increasing Attack by 20% and Attack Speed by 60%. Lasts for 1 minute.


    This was more powerful than Berserk mode. If the Main Tank didn¡¯t time his damage reduction well, or if the healing wasn¡¯t enough, they could easily be killed. The healers also had to work in synergy in order to keep everyone alive.


    "March Rain, try to stabilize everyone¡¯s HP. If your HP drops below 50%, then make sure you drink potions," Lu Li reminded.


    Ruuzlu was also a formidable boss with an ability called Cleave which damaged the target and two nearby allies.


    As such, not only would Wandering¡¯s HP drop significantly, but those around him would be lucky to survive this attack as well.


    Usually, the healer would focus on healing the Tank up to full HP as a higher priority and neglect their other teammates. However, Ruuzlu had another skill that would cause the healer to regret this.


    Execute: Ruuzlu attempts to finish off a wounded enemy, causing 320% weapon damage. Execute can only be used on enemies that have 20% or less health.


    This was similar to the execute that Warriors had, but was much stronger. There were very few players that could survive this attack.


    With Lu Li¡¯s reminder, nobody dared to drop below 50% HP. No matter how strong Ruuzlu¡¯s execute was, if no one dropped below 50% HP, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it.


    Ukorz Sandscalp was much more difficult to deal with. In his Frenzy state, he randomly used abilities that rained down upon the players. Fortunately, it was Azure Sea Breeze that was distracting him instead of Wandering.


    "Help!" Even with his damage reduction used, Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s HP continued to drop at a scary rate.


    Lu Li felt guilty from his screaming and doubted his ability to survive Ukorz¡¯s attacks. If he fell, then the entire party would be wiped out and they would be stuck on this Boss.


    This wasn¡¯t impossible, as the dungeons in the level 50 to 60 range took major guilds months to take the First Clear. Even with guides and strategies handed down, around 60% of the total player base wouldn¡¯t be able to make it past these dungeons.

 603 Spies In Drizzle Cour

    March Rain¡¯s prompt support saved Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s life when he only had 30% HP remaining.


    Wandering, who was responsible for tanking Ruuzlu¡¯s damage, subconsciously cast his damage reduction skills. Although he couldn¡¯t be relied on for everything, he could handle his skill usage well. Otherwise Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have thought about adding him to the group in the first place.


    Just like that, the moment where their entire team could have been wiped quickly passed. Lu Li didn¡¯t even need to remind them.


    Lu Li had become less and less of a prophet for them, but this kind of situation really just required more awareness to avoid.


    After it happened the first time, it was unlikely for any party to be wiped by it again.


    Ruuzlu was relentlessly being attacked by a group of players. He had 180,000HP but no HP regeneration skills, so it was an easier fight. If it weren¡¯t for Chief Ukorz Sandscalp distracting them, the fight would have probably ended in a few minutes.


    Despite this, Ruuzlu was still defeated after 22 minutes.


    "I¡¯m exhausted!" Hachi Chan was about to cry.


    This time, she had been responsible for the main tank, and had been criticized by Lu Li for the entire fight. Although her progress had been quite significant, she still had the temperament of a little girl.


    "Read some strategies when you have time," Lu Li consoled as he patted her head and signaled for March Rain to heal.


    The amount of healing that March Rain could produce was terrifying. There were many moments when she had to take care of both tanks alone.


    Based on the principle of fairness, everyone would eventually receive the same number of Skill Points. As long as you worked hard, you would eventually be rewarded.


    This time, March Rain received even more skill points to put into her healing.


    Her equipment was also completely dedicated to this and was better than 99% of other Healers. Her presence on the team was an important factor in allowing them to take so many First Clears.


    While communicating the Boss¡¯ strategy to Water Fairy, Lu Li also corrected the minor errors in his team¡¯s positioning.


    "Watch out for his cleavers. Memories, stand behind the Boss. Moonlight and Wandering, stand on either side of the Boss and tank the damage."


    Drizzle Court had just defeated Witch Doctor Zum¡¯rah, and Lu Li honored his agreement by giving Water Fairy the strategy to the next Boss.


    They used text messages, so they wouldn¡¯t affect their teams in clearing the dungeon.


    "Seventh Heaven just defeated Antu¡¯sul. How did they do it so quickly?" Water Fairy suddenly said Although he couldn¡¯t hear her, her shock could easily be imagined.


    "When did this happen?" Lu Li couldn¡¯t believe it either.


    He wasn¡¯t questioning the strength of Seventh Heaven ¨C they had been stuck there for some time. Why would they suddenly progress now, so quickly after Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court had defeated him?


    Was there a spy?


    The two of them thought of the same thing at the same time.


    Both guilds had their core elite groups clearing the dungeons, but there was no reason why there couldn¡¯t be a spy within them.


    Water Fairy thought for a while before deciding that it couldn¡¯t be from Drizzle Court and had to be in Ruling Sword.


    "Not long ago. Isn¡¯t there someone from your party that used to be in Seventh Heaven?"


    Sesame Rice Ball?


    "That is absolutely impossible!" Lu Li denied. It wasn¡¯t because he knew for sure, but because he had experienced rebirth. He knew better than anyone else the reason why Sesame Rice Ball had left Seventh Heaven. Sesame Rice Ball and Seventh Heaven had a hostile relationship, right from the very beginning.


    As someone who had climbed up from the bottom of society, Lu Li had learned to understand people. How could someone fool him like this?


    "Are you saying the problem is on our side?" Water Fairy accused angrily.


    Lu Li¡¯s glanced at his teammates and replied categorically, "It¡¯s definitely on your side. Find a way to deal with it."


    He didn¡¯t give any hints on how to weed out the spy. She was a tycoon, so she wouldn¡¯t need tips like that.


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t eager to accept that someone she trusted had betrayed her, but after thinking about it for a while, she didn¡¯t even need to ask around. She could determine the spy from her teammates¡¯ daily behavior.


    Their motive probably wasn¡¯t for the money. After all, the risk was facing the female tycoon¡¯s wrath.


    Lu Li guessed that it was either for some real-life circumstance, or for some childish revenge.


    When Water Fairy saw how adamant Lu Li was, she finally accepted that the spy was on her side, but she didn¡¯t say anything.


    Lu Li had reached a critical moment, but he hadn¡¯t said anything because there was no need to.


    They were the only ten people in Ruling Sword that knew of the strategies.


    Other than Lu Li, they all owned a part of Ruling Sword and weren¡¯t in need for any money.


    Because March Rain was a competitive player, she and Lonesome Flower had earned millions in the game. Azure Sea Breeze would be loyal to his grave and would never betray him. Wandering was similar to Azure Sea Breeze and would hate to be bribed. Moonlight was also a professional player, while Sakura Memories came from a rich family and didn¡¯t need money. As for the two little girls, they could barely get through the dungeons themselves¡­


    "Pay attention to the Boss¡¯ berserk. Wandering, if Breezy dies, make sure you take aggro," Lu Li reminded quietly.


    "Lu Li please, stop jinxing me. I want to live and get the Boss¡¯ EXP too. Dammit, I always take the most damage." Azure Sea Breeze was a little hurt when he heard Lu Li saying that.


    Chief Ukorz Sandscalp was already going wild. Ever since his partner had been defeated, he had become more aggressive.


    However, the Sandfury Chief had also gone berserk, which added to their predicament. Azure Sea Breeze watched as his HP quickly dropped.


    Wandering didn¡¯t want to die either, but he was too lazy to do this again if they got wiped. As such, he reluctantly took the aggro.


    In order to reduce the aggro towards themselves, Lu Li used Vanish and Lonesome Flower used Ice Shield. Neither of them could take the aggro while in those forms.


    Wandering didn¡¯t last long and soon followed in the footsteps of Azure Sea Breeze.


    However, the Boss was almost dead and everyone pushed to finally finish off the battle.


    Of course, the two that died didn¡¯t gain any EXP, but that didn¡¯t affect the Skill Point reward. Azure Sea Breeze unexpectedly gained a Skill Point and was suddenly smiling, despite not having gained any Boss EXP.

 604 A Poor Girl Asking For Red Packets

    "We¡¯ve reached another season of harvest¡­" Hachi Chan said contemplatively, but her innocent face made everyone feel that this was cute rather than profound.


    "I¡¯m going to loot the body. Everyone be quiet," Remnant Dream called out.


    When she looted the body, she had to be the center of attention and everyone had to be watching.


    "All hail Dreamy," Sakura Memories said, looking very serious and respectful.


    All of their hopes were pinned on Remnant Dream¡¯s little hands as she looted the body. Even without her reminder, everyone would have watched her with their full attention.


    It had to drop Jang¡¯Thraze the Protector!


    The three Plate-armored players were almost kneeling and praying before the Boss.


    They had to pray, even though the item would ultimately belong to Moonlight. However, Wandering and Azure Sea Breeze weren¡¯t too concerned because they could always borrow the item.


    "I¡¯ll loot the Chief first." Remnant Dream understood where these three brothers were coming from, so she decided to start from Chief Ukorz Sandscalp.


    There were two Bosses lying on the ground, but only Chief Ukorz Sandscalp could drop Jang¡¯Thraze the Protector.


    Lu Li was also hopeful. Although the drop rate of Jang¡¯Thraze the Protector and Sang¡¯Thraze the Deflector was not very high, they had achieved First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty. This would dramatically change the drop rates.


    The item with the least chance of dropping in normal circumstances would be most likely to drop now.


    Without this kind of incentive, why else would anyone care so much about the First Clears?


    "The Chief¡¯s Enforcer. Wow, it¡¯s quite exquisite," Remnant Dream¡¯s announced as her eyes lit up. She didn¡¯t pay much attention to average equipment, so it was quite rare for her to say that an item was exquisite. However, when they heard its name, the three Warrios all sighed.


    "Please, the System just doesn¡¯t want us to have a good time," Azure Sea Breeze lamented.


    Although he was an atheist, he had just prayed to heaven, Buddha, the Greek Gods, Allah, Christ and a dozen other powerful beings. But none of them could help him!


    Wandering¡¯s beautiful face was filled with disappointment. If someone else had seen it, they would definitely go and beat up the game development team.


    Moonlight wasn¡¯t an outspoken person and usually just had a straight face on, but even he was filled with regret. This was comparable to when he didn¡¯t get to fight for three days in a row.


    "There are more than a dozen groups behind us ¨C maybe they got it. I¡¯ll talk to Square Root 3 and get them to surrender it," Lu Li comforted. "The Chief¡¯s Enforcer dropping is already not bad. I¡¯ll give this weapon to Fat Monkey ¨C any objections?"


    Remnant Dream showed everyone the properties of the weapon.


    It was Gold grade, and a typical offensive weapon with high intelligence stats. It had a total of three special effects: Critical Hit +15%, Fire Spell damage +15% and a chance for attacks to put the target in a Daze for three seconds.


    The fire damage increase was almost completely wasted on Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball, while third skill was almost a PVP-exclusive effect.


    This Chief¡¯s Enforcer was a very strong item for casters that dealt fire damage.


    Fat Monkey was also a professional player, which meant that his equipment needed to be prioritized. Lu Li didn¡¯t actually need to ask everyone for their opinion; no one would speak out against this anyway.


    Now that a Gold weapon had already been dropped, no one expected anything more.


    Remnant Dream no longer forced everyone to watch her, and just went on to loot the second item.


    "Well¡­"


    The little hunter squatted there without moving.


    "Are you lagging?" Hachi Chan patted the girl¡¯s head and grinned.


    "No, you¡¯re lagging," Remnant Dream said as she rolled her eyes and threw an item at Moonlight. "I demand compensation. I want lots and lots of gold. My pets are so pitiful; they just eat bread everyday¡­"


    Could it be¡­?


    Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. This little girl couldn¡¯t be so lucky, right? There was no way¡­


    But in fact, the item in Moonlight¡¯s hands was a Gold one-handed sword called Jang¡¯Thraze the Protector. The one-handed sword that could combine with Sang¡¯Thraze the Deflector to make the Sul¡¯Thraze Whiplash.


    Lu Li would never have expected a Boss to drop two Gold equips that were both weapons.


    This was simply unreasonable. It definitely was a Bug, but he would never be able to prove it.


    "That¡¯s it!" Remnant Dream had squeezed Chief Ukorz Sandscalp clean after taking two weapons from him. He didn¡¯t drop a Skill Book or any Rare Materials after that ¨C not even a piece of rubbish.


    However, no one there thought that Chief Ukorz Sandscalp was stingy.


    "If you don¡¯t give me gold, I won¡¯t loot good items for you next time," Remnant Dream pouted as she squatted before Ruuzlu.


    Unfortunately, no one was paying attention to the little girl. Everyone was trying to work out how to put the two one-handed swords together. Even Lu Li didn¡¯t know; he just knew that they could be combined.


    Putting them together didn¡¯t have any effect. They were still two separate one-handed swords, and they didn¡¯t possess the effect that Lu Li had described.


    "A rare material. Troll Essence." Remnant Dream saw that everyone was ignoring her and shyly handed the materials to Lu Li before continuing to loot. The little girl was just asking for a small red packet. Next time, she was going to ignore those ungrateful adults.


    Lu Li also studied the two swords for a while, but he couldn¡¯t find a way to combine them.


    Did they need to go to the Blacksmith?


    This was probably the most likely solution. No one knew about Forging more than a Blacksmith, but Lu Li wasn¡¯t completely sure. He still felt like they had missed something.


    Remnant Dream was carrying something and began to kick up a fuss.


    "Well, I have decided not to give this to you."


    A Boss had dropped two weapons, yet she didn¡¯t receive a bonus for it. This meant that she had worked so hard for nothing. When she thought about all her pets and her dream Pet Manor, she sighed because she couldn¡¯t afford those things.


    The Pet Manor, also known as a Pet Hut, was a mansion-styled building in the main city where you could place your pets.


    The number of pets that a player could have was limited. Most players could have 12 pets, but completing some quests could increase this to 24. However, Hunters didn¡¯t have the same pet limit. It was commonly believed that the tenfold increase of the Hunter¡¯s pet limit could never be reached.

 605 Pet Representative

    Remnant Dream was an exception; she had hundreds of different pets.


    The cost of feeding them each day was a staggering figure and finding different activities for them to do always haunted her. If she could buy a Pet Manor, she could stock it up and play with her pets.


    Of course, the Pet Manor was not cheap ¨C a luxurious one costed above ten thousand gold coins. A large one costed eight thousand, a medium one costed five thousand, and a small one costed three thousand. Even a mini one could be bought for one thousand.


    However, the mini manor couldn¡¯t hold many pets. Remnant Dream had her eyes set on a medium-sized Pet Manor.


    The most important thing was a pond where she could put some of her pets that lived in the water. The entire manor could easily accommodate one or two hundred pets.


    She was determined to save up her money to buy it.


    However, five thousand gold was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and Remnant Dream didn¡¯t make enough for that. Not to mention, she had a large group of pets to feed every day.


    "Stop that. Can I see what it is?" Lu Li asked.


    This little girl was getting louder and louder; she cleared needed to be scolded. Did she really think that she was the reason they got the items? Anyone could have looted the same items.


    "Voodoo Mask (Gold): Mold," Remnant Dream read aloud.


    Lu Li¡¯s mood quickly lifted and he took back his thoughts. This little lucky girl had to be taken care of.


    These two Bosses had dropped two Gold weapons and a Gold equipment mold that was part of a set. If it weren¡¯t for this lucky girl, there was no way they could have gotten these items. If it was Lu Li looting, they would be lucky to find a Silver item.


    "Here. This is all I have," Lu Li offered, emptying out his pockets. It was 326 gold, 45 silver and 8 copper. He didn¡¯t even save any to repair his equipment.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was afraid of being misunderstood as a perverted lolicon, Lu Li would have hugged and kissed this little hunter.


    Although the two Gold weapons surprised him, they weren¡¯t items that he could use. After he saw this Mold, he finally appreciated how powerful her lucky hand was. There was no way that the drop rates were this much better than normal.


    Remnant Dream was so surprised by the number of gold coins that she immediately ran over to Lu Li and gave him a kiss on his cheek.


    The little girl so happy that she wasn¡¯t even paying attention to her surroundings anymore.


    "Dreamy, this is my payment to you." Moonlight tried a few more times to combine the swords, but he was unsuccessful. He had given up before he remembered the bonus payment.


    He also gave Remnant Dream 300 gold coins.


    In fact, everyone knew that she wanted to buy the manor and this was a bit of charity for her.


    "Oooo, you guys are great." Remnant Dream remembered how she was fussing over it before and turned a little red with shame.


    Three hundred gold was nothing for Lu Li ¨C most of that was earned from this Instance Dungeon anyway. His main source of income now was the club¡¯s earnings, but he had no intention of cashing out.


    "Dreamy, if you want to save up money for a house, I have an idea for you," Wandering suddenly said.


    "Will it make a lot of money?" Remnant Dream asked as she looked Wandering in pleasant surprise.


    "You¡¯re not going to ask her to sell herself are you?" Azure Sea Breeze teased. "You don¡¯t need to work so hard. If you give me a Dark Gold shield, I¡¯ll give you a 300-gold red packet. How about that?"


    "I¡¯ll definitely loot it for you," Remnant Dream said as she determinedly clenched her fists.


    Wandering shook his head in disdain.


    "Please, your IQ is so low. You should eat more walnuts. Have you ever heard of Kirby?"


    Lu Li and the others shook their hands. What was this thing? They had never heard of it before.


    "I know! Our cat eats this brand of cat food." Remnant Dream was quite familiar with several pet food brands and described it in such detail that it was as if she had personally tried it.


    Wandering stopped her because he didn¡¯t really understand what she was saying.


    "Okay, it¡¯s basically a kind of pet food."


    "So?" No one understood why he was suddenly talking about this. Was it just to make fun of everyone¡¯s intelligence?


    "Kirby intends to find a representative in game. They are looking for a hunter with at least 30 rare pets and a good personality. I think Dreamy could try for it," Wandering finally said.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up as they realized that this was a real possibility.


    Although Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were dumb, most people couldn¡¯t tell.


    As for her personality, Remnant Dream had no problems in this area. She was a cute little girl and was a perfect fit for the pet brand. The 30 rare pet requirement was also no problem, as Remnant Dream actually had many more rare pets. Even if she didn¡¯t, she could easily just go out and catch them. She was backed by Ruling Sword, so that wouldn¡¯t have been a problem.


    Remnant Dream thought about it for a moment and was quite confident, but also a little hesitant.


    "As long as you get this endorsement, buying the Pet Manor should be no problem at all. You¡¯ll even be able to support more pets," Wandering concluded.


    After hearing that, Remnant Dream didn¡¯t hesitate anymore.


    For the sake of her pet army, she was willing to sell herself out.


    "Well, if there¡¯s anything else, you can talk about it after this Instance Dungeon. Go see if there¡¯s anything else."


    Remnant Dream repressed her excitement and went to loot. "That¡¯s it; this Boss is too stingy. It only gave two items even though it¡¯s a First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty."


    However, no one else thought that the Boss was stingy ¨C this harvest was inconceivable.


    "Hey, there¡¯s a person here," Sesame Rice Ball called out, just as they were about to leave. After the fight, he suddenly saw a body lying behind a stone tablet. The body was still slightly moving, so it wasn¡¯t dead.


    Lu Li was suddenly interested. Dead bodies were common in Instance Dungeons, but live ones generally played a unique role. They usually either gave a quest, completed a quest or provided a clue for a quest.


    He quickly rushed over and saw the person Sesame Rice Ball was referring to.


    If it weren¡¯t for the slight movement and the faint sounds, Lu Li really would have treated this body as a corpse.


    But this was a definitely a Troll.

 606 Mazoga

    Most of the Trolls in Zul¡¯Farrak were monsters designed for players to farm for EXP and equipment.


    However, that was not the case for the one that was before them ¨C it appeared friendly to Lu Li and the others.


    Lu Li asked Hachi Chan to talk to it. It was better for a quest-minded person to handle this type of NPC that could trigger a quest.


    "Uncle, are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you?"


    As Hachi Chan spoke, the Troll stopped its painful groaning and weakly said, "My name is Mazoga and I¡¯m about to die."


    Mazoga!


    Lu Li finally realized who this person was; he was the owner of Sul¡¯Thraze Whiplash.


    Mazoga¡¯s situation was quite pitiful. He was completely covered in blood and his mind seemed to be wandering. Assuming that nothing else happened, he probably wouldn¡¯t live for more than 30 minutes.


    "Uncle, you won¡¯t die. I will definitely save you." Despite the fact that he was a Troll, Hachi Chan quickly developed a great compassion for him.


    As a rich young girl, she instinctively felt sympathetic towards those that were pitiful.


    "Evil Essence¡­I need Evil Essence," Mazoga hissed after struggling.


    Everyone had some Evil Essence in their bag; it was material used for Alchemy and wasn¡¯t that expensive. There were quite a few Trolls that dropped this on the way here and they could be stacked, so the players just picked them up.


    Hachi Chan pulled out a few Evil Essences from her backpack and forced them into Mazoga¡¯s mouth.


    The Troll¡¯s body quickly recovered, and his pale color quickly regenerated into a healthy green.


    "How are you feeling now?" Hachi Chan asked happily.


    "Haha, do you think I¡¯ve come back to life?" Mazoga shook his head mockingly as he continued, "To survive in this harsh desert, the Sandfury Trolls must know all the secrets of the evil power. Drinking it will give me strength¡­ but surely you must know that it is also the strongest poison. Well, there¡¯s no going back now."


    "Ah, what should I do? If it¡¯s poison, why do you want to drink it?¡¯ Hachi Chan was dumbfounded.


    "If I don¡¯t have it I¡¯ll die, but if I have it I¡¯ll also die. What difference does it make?" Mazoga lamented as he sat up and leaned against the rock." They all said that I had betrayed the Sandfury, but they don¡¯t know the truth. I don¡¯t want to take the truth into the grave with me; I want everyone to know."


    At that point, Lu Li knew that the quest was about to start and felt relieved.


    "We¡¯re all listening. Tell us uncle." Hachi Chan didn¡¯t care that Mazoga was dirty and sat directly in front of him. She stared with her big round eyes as she held her cheeks, looking like she earnestly wanted to listen to the story.


    The Troll drank another bottle of evil Essence and looked at Moonlight. His eyes stared at the two one-handed swords in his grasp for a while before saying, "I see you have also come for these two swords. No matter, I am a descendant of Makaaria and I sought a sacrifice for the darkness. My father and I, with a few others, set out from Zul¡¯Farrak to look for the legendary sword Sul¡¯Thraze so we could restore the glory of Sandfury¡­"


    Mazoga paused, then continued his long story with a wry smile, "But what happened was one betrayal after another. I stabbed my own kind in the back for the sake of the sword and Chief Ukorz also committed atrocious deeds in order to protect himself."


    The story was very sad, but no party seem innocent.


    "Uncle, the two swords don¡¯t fit together," Hachi Chan couldn¡¯t help truthfully say. A group of them had tried to work out how to make the legendary sword for quite some time.


    "No, young lady, you¡¯re wrong," Mazoga said as he shook his head. "I know you probably don¡¯t feel any more compassion towards me now that I¡¯ve told you my story, but I assure you that the sword is real."


    "Uncle, you aren¡¯t a bad person. You¡¯re different from them," Hachi Chan said seriously.


    The other Trolls had attacked them the moment they saw them, while this Troll took the time to tell them his story. The System¡¯s daughter was telling the truth.


    Mazoga was a little moved when he heard her say that he was a good person. "Alright, since you¡¯ve killed Chief Ukorz Sandscalp for me, I have decided to give you this item."


    While he was speaking, he took out an item that was jet black.


    Lu Li and others weren¡¯t sure what they were looking at, so they waited for him to reveal what it was and what it could do.


    "If you put the two swords and this item together, they will combine." Mazoga¡¯s eyes were a little frantic as the sword should have belonged to him, but it was no use to him now.


    Moonlight placed the item onto the two swords and they slowly merged together. The System then prompted him that he had successfully synthesized the Sul¡¯Thraze Whiplash.


    The Sul¡¯Thraze Whiplash was an exquisite Dark Gold weapon that combined the advantages of the two Gold swords. It had the option to split and merge and could quickly do so with just a thought.


    Unfortunately, Moonlight couldn¡¯t equip this large two two-handed weapon.


    Although the two one-handed swords were level 35, the single large sword became level 40 after its synthesis.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight¡¯s plans to try it had failed as they were still level 37 and 38, respectively. They still had a long way to go.


    Mazoga watched the birth of Sul¡¯Thraze as his eyes gradually dimmed.


    He had struggled over a lifetime for this item, and he done it all in vain. The era of the Trolls really was over; the race that once dominated Azeroth was eventually going to come to an end. Such was the way that life unraveled itself.


    "Thank you. Uncle, do you need our help for anything?" Hachi Chan asked. This little girl was a pure hearted person.


    "Oh Nuoya, have you taken me out of this dirty city yet?" Mazoga seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness. The Evil Essence couldn¡¯t bring anyone back to life; it was just a poison that temporarily increased vitality.


    Lu Li and the others were silent as they didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Mazoga struggled for a moment before opening his eyes and flashing back to his usual insane look. "Gahz¡¯rilla! They have given it to Gahz¡¯rilla! My Nuoya!"


    "We will help you kill Gah¡¯zrilla," Lu Li said seriously.


    Gahz¡¯rilla was the last Boss of Zul¡¯Farrak. The objective of the Instance Dungeon was to kill all the Bosses, so this favor could easily be completed.


    "Soak the sand in blood; let Gahz¡¯rilla get what every Sandfury deserves ¨C an eternal death, forever stuck in an evil nightmare and incapable of awakening," Mazoga uttered.

 607 The Final Hostility

    "Uncle, don¡¯t worry. We will avenge you," Hachi Chan declared as she patted her chest before the dying Troll.


    "You must go the Hinterlands and look for the Altar of Zul where there are several Troll Worshippers. Kill them." Mazoga¡¯s innermost feelings that had been repressed for many years was now being expressed. "Take the Hammer of Zul from them and go the altar on top of the mountain of Jintha¡¯Alor. Charge the hammer there before sounding the gong by Gahz¡¯rilla. This will summon it from the holy water. Please kill it and make sure you use Evil Essence against it. It hates the taste of Evil Essence¡­" he erupted with enthusiasm.


    Evil Essence was a poison. Considering how much he had taken, it was quite impressive that Mazoga was still around, but his voice was clearly getting weaker.


    Then, he suddenly went silent.


    His body then turned yellow and crumbled as it was blown into the wind. He had returned to where he had come from; every Sandfury¡¯s fate should be so.


    "Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s fight the next Boss before finding the hammer," Lu Li sighed.


    Hachi Chan seemed a little sad, but she was pulled away by Remnant Dream and was kept from looking back.


    They felt compassion for Mazoga, even though he didn¡¯t really tell them much of the details. They didn¡¯t even know anything about Nuoya, other than that he/she had been sacrificed to Gahz¡¯rilla.


    Even so, it seemed as if each NPC was alive and had their own feelings and experiences.


    Although emotions had now become involved, the Instance Dungeon had to be continued.


    Lu Li had the third part of the set and his heart began beating in anticipation at the thought of the last two Bosses dropping the fourth piece.


    The power of First Clears was just too great!


    He passed on the Boss¡¯ strategy to Water Fairy while she was still stuck at the previous location. In the middle of their fight, a few more little monsters spawned.


    When she heard that Lu Li had defeated another two Bosses, she was filled with envy.


    She was confident that they would get the First Clear of Zul¡¯Farrak if it weren¡¯t for this Thief. However, she couldn¡¯t stick around congratulating him as two more of her members had just died.


    From when they had started the Instance Dungeon until now, it had been a little over half a day. Lu Li and the others took an extended break as they only had two more Bosses left to fight.


    In accordance to his agreement with Water Fairy, the last Boss¡¯ First Clear was to be given to Water Fairy.


    In order words, even if Lu Li had the ability to kill the last Boss, he would have to give it up so that Drizzle Court could get the kill.


    Seeing as Drizzle Court¡¯s progress was so slow, everyone could rest for a while. They could even go offline and eat something. Lu Li went to see his sister and spoke with her for a bit before returning to the game.


    The last two Bosses weren¡¯t far away; one could even say that they were basically in the same place. However, the players were lucky that they didn¡¯t need to face both at once this time.


    They moved through a series of desert buildings and killed waves of Sandfury mobs before arriving at a Shrine.


    This was the place where the Sandfury Trolls worshipped. It was surrounded by ancient and mysterious desert totems, most of which looked like snakes. They were statues of the multi-headed snake Gahz¡¯rilla.


    The first thing Lu Li and the others saw was a huge pool.


    The cold water shimmered with light and was so deep that the bottom couldn¡¯t be seen. It seemed to be connected to another world.


    There was a Priestess patrolling the pool; this was Hydromancer Velratha.


    Unlike most Sandfury Trolls, Hydromancer Velratha had travelled the globe to acquire knowledge and artifacts that would help her control Zul¡¯Farrak¡¯s holy water. In her quest to become a Hydromancer, she had made countless enemies in foreign countries, but she considered her amazing strength as consolation for her misdeeds.


    In addition to the Priestess, there were also countless Sandfury Troll Soldiers in this Shrine.


    "Let¡¯s clear the monsters first. Breezy, make sure you don¡¯t pull the Boss. If you do, we¡¯re definitely dead," Lu Li reminded.


    Players who came here for the first time were often careless ¨C they thought that the mobs were far away and would just attack the Boss. They didn¡¯t know that Hydromancer Velratha could direct all of the monsters to focus the players.


    "The monsters are so far away." Sure enough, the Instance Dungeon had been completed so smoothly that even Azure Sea Breeze was falling for it.


    "Well, let¡¯s attack the Boss first then. You can pull it." As the commander, Lu Li decide to give him a strict lesson as he signaled at the others to hold back.


    Additionally, the atmosphere was a little sad at the moment, so sacrificing the Main Tank would hopefully lighten up the mood¡­


    As Azure Sea Breeze charged at the Boss, everyone else ran away. Even Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan followed.


    The moment he entered Hydromancer Velratha¡¯s aggro, she started screaming.


    As if he suddenly knew what had happened, Azure Sea Breeze stopped moving before realizing that the mosnters were now all heading towards him.


    "Everyone¡­ run¡­" Azure Sea Breeze was taken aback as he tried to warn his companions.


    He then realized that his companions had long since taken off and experienced the worst kind of sadness there was. At this point, the main tank was still alive, but was absolutely crushed.


    March Rain later rescued Azure Sea Breeze, who had been beaten to death, with her Revive Skill.


    Azure Sea Breeze squatted on the spot like he was about to cry. Wandering came over and kicked him, then scolded, "What are you doing? Go and pull the monsters. We told you to run before, but you didn¡¯t listen."


    "Damn all of you guys," Azure Sea Breeze silently cursed.


    He sighed heavily before obediently heading out to pull the monsters.


    The monsters needed to be cleared one at a time, but they also needed to go around Hydromancer Velratha. The Boss¡¯ aggro range was too wide ¨C Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s life had demonstrated that.


    Azure Sea Breeze had been made a fool, so he spent the whole time cursing them under his breath, but that greatly improved their efficiency.


    After clearing all the monsters, everyone prepared to fight the Boss.


    Zul¡¯Farrak wasn¡¯t a difficult Instance Dungeon. There were only a few Bosses that were particularly hard, like Antu¡¯sul, Shadowpriest Sezz¡¯ziz and Gahz¡¯rilla. Hydromancer Velratha was not on that list.


    The only thing that was important when killing this Boss was making sure all the monsters had been cleared.


    Additionally, the monsters here respawned quickly which meant that the party had to kill the Boss within 20 minutes. Otherwise, they would have to kill those monsters that had respawned. If that happened, the Boss and monsters would attack the front and back line which would throw any team into chaos.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s team didn¡¯t need to worry about their damage output.


    After clearing out the monsters, Lu Li and the others took another 10 minutes to defeat the Boss. They managed to achieve this despite Velratha constantly using Hydrotherapy.

 608 The Zul’Farrak Hammer

    After the battle, Remnant Dream enthusiastically went to loot the body.


    Velratha dropped another part of the Witch Doctor Set, which was conveniently the one that they needed to gain the set bonuses. Lu Li immediately gave it to March Rain, but whether she actually decided to wear it was up to her.


    There was also a level 35 Silver leather Shoulderpad which was given to Hachi Chan.


    This equip didn¡¯t have great properties, but it had an interesting special effect. There was a certain probability of damage taken being transferred to a teammate.


    As for the negative consequences of forcing a teammate to take the damage, this wasn¡¯t something the girl considered at all.


    Hachi Chan had many strange items like this and everyone was used to it. This additional one was no big deal.


    They were now up to the last Boss, which was also the one that Mazoga had asked them to kill. Gahz¡¯rilla seemed to live in the pool. Azure Sea Breeze threw some rubbish into it in the hopes that it would summon the Boss, but it had no effect.


    It looked like they really did need to go to the Hinterlands to find the Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer.


    In fact, most players that reached this point would be at a loss.


    Many teams would be stuck here for a while before later finding out about the hammer.


    As someone who had experienced rebirth, Lu Li naturally knew how to find the hammer. However, he didn¡¯t want to make it too obvious, so he tried his best to look out for clues in the Instance Dungeon and would listen to his other teammates when they discussed this topic.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was running into Mazoga, who saved him from making up an excuse about why he knew the hammer was in the Hinterlands.


    This Instance Dungeon couldn¡¯t be continued without the Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer, which meant that everyone had to eventually go the Hinterlands. Right now, with exception of some explorers, there were few players fighting in that area.


    The players could be instantly transported to the Hinterlands Alliance Camp at the Eagle¡¯s Nest in Gadgetzan. Otherwise, they would have to travel for a few hours on foot.


    The Hinterlands were south of the Arathi Highlands, southwest of the Hillsbrad Hills, west of the Alterac Mountains and north of the Eastern Plaguelands. The area was filled with lush deciduous forests, tall oaks and maple trees.


    Most of the trees were ancient and thin flecks of filtered light shone through the treetop canopy.


    The ancient roots and branches were thick, and a river was gently washing over some pebbles.


    They had to admit that this was a beautiful place to look at, even more so than the nature reserves that had been established throughout the real world.


    A mountain of historical data, imagination and countless design geniuses were required to create this world.


    The Wildhammer Dwarfs ruled most of this area, but many High Elves could be seen within the Eagle Nest Alliance territory. It was likely due to their Elf identity, but the dwarfs didn¡¯t seem to mind their arrival at all. Hachi Chan even received quite a few quests which benefited everyone.


    Lu Li also received a quest.


    Some of Trolls had actually stolen some Griffin eggs from Eagle¡¯s Nest to train them for themselves. If they were successful, they would definitely impede on the rule of the Wildhammer. The dwarf pleaded for them to take the eggs back and punish the Trolls.


    Lu Li had completed this quest in his past life. At the time, many players though that you could acquire the Griffin mount through this quest.


    Unfortunately, that turned out to just be a rumor. This quest didn¡¯t even involve a Boss, so there was no way that the System would reward such a rare mount for it.


    However, once players reached level 35, they could buy their own horses in the main city. As this slowly gained popularity among the players, the horse would become a common mount.


    It was just unfortunate that the horse became the common mount, and not something like a Griffin which could run on land and fly for a short period of time.


    Lu Li had the Headless Warhorse, so he didn¡¯t want the Griffin Mount as much as he did before and wasn¡¯t distracted. His quest was easily completed with Moonlight¡¯s help.


    Only the two of them had received this quest; the others received different ones.


    In addition to completing this simple quest to save the Griffin¡¯s eggs, they were also responsible for farming the Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer from the Altar of Zul. As the monsters were only of an elite level, the two of them would be more than capable. They didn¡¯t require everyone to go.


    Lu Li thought that the idea of summoning Gahz¡¯rilla with a hammer that could only be found in a forest was quite far-fetched, but he could only blame the troll¡¯s ancestors for setting it up that way. There must have been some kind of groundbreaking event that caused the Sandfury Trolls to be isolated, as the Jungle Trolls were quite similar to them.


    There was no Boss at the Altar of Zul. The Boss of these Trolls was the Evil Priestess Hexx; she was currently at Jintha¡¯Alor.


    Lu Li planned to wait until the guild¡¯s elites were level 40 before going to kill the Evil Priestess Hexx. She had a good chance of dropping Gold equipment.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had participated in fighting this Boss, so he knew the strategy for her in detail.


    If you attempted to fight her without knowing the strategy, the System would eventually tease you by saying that the ground had been stained red. Even if you had 300-500 players, it would still be suicide.


    What if you sent more players?


    Well, if you packed all the players together, most of them wouldn¡¯t even be able to cast their skills onto the Boss. It would be easier for those players to just kill themselves.


    When they reached the ruins which contained the Altar of Zul, Lu Li observed the situation.


    "Their level is a little high. Let¡¯s take them one at a time."


    "Alright." Moonlight didn¡¯t object.


    The two of them rushed forwards and beat at the Troll Worshipper violently.


    The Troll Worshipper¡¯s level was level 45, Lu Li was currently level 39 and Moonlight was level 37. Fighting it was a little difficult, but fortunately, they both had exquisite equipment so the fight only lasted a minute or so.


    Lu Li looted the body and only found some Troll cloth.


    "It didn¡¯t drop. Let¡¯s do another."


    "Next time I¡¯ll loot; you¡¯re unlucky." Moonlight had silently watched Lu Li and didn¡¯t trust his luck.


    "As you like," Lu Li nodded indifferently.


    The Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer actually had quite a high drop rate; most players could find it within two or three monsters.


    However, Lu Li and Moonlight were so unlucky that they had killed over 30 monsters and still hadn¡¯t found it. They even needed to wait for the trolls to refresh twice before it finally dropped. Most of the others had finished their quests in the Hinterlands by now, and none of them needed to kill any monsters. The monsters here were quite high-levelled, so they could come back to farm here at a later time.


    Regular quests didn¡¯t have a time limit anyway.

 609 Troll Elder

    "Finally¡­ we¡¯ve got it. You call me unlucky, but your luck is just as terrible," Lu Li panted as his hands grasped onto their target.


    Countless Troll corpses laid behind him, but not a single equip had dropped.


    His bad luck, or rather, their bad luck, had been with them during this whole process. Moonlight was quiet; his luck wasn¡¯t any better than Lu Li¡¯s.


    "Let¡¯s go." Lu Li summoned his mount and charged out first. This was a terrible place for them, so he didn¡¯t want to stay any longer.


    Moonlight had his own mount too ¨C it was a dark-grey, armored warhorse, and was a reward that honored his champion position in Warsong Valley during the first week.


    Not only did he enjoy PVP, but he also had the technique and great team members to support himself with it. His number of kills easily surpassed the average PVP players.


    These mounts were limited to one per week, and everyone only had one chance. Fat Monkey had been spending a lot of his time in the battlegrounds and was aiming for the champion position of this week.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t interested ¨C he didn¡¯t have time to go to the battleground anyway.


    The second step was to recharge the energy of Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer at Jintha''Alor Altar. Lu Li sent Moonlight to help the others with their quests; it was best that he went to recharge the hammer by himself.


    A dark-red crow flapped its wings and rose into the sky.


    Moonlight could only watch in envy as Lu Li flew away. He wanted to this skill too, but there were only a handful of players who could fly, and each of them had their own unique story behind their abilities.


    Giant Gryphons patrolled the air of the Hinterlands, but these Gryphons had a strong relationship with the Wildhammer Dwarfs. They weren¡¯t wild monsters that would attack him at random, so he could fly straight to Jintha''Alor Altar. Otherwise, he would have to clear his way through the monsters below it.


    Of course, he had to watch out for the Troll archers, so he didn¡¯t dare to fly too low.


    Some of these Trolls had kept their habits of eating humans, and even though Lu Li¡¯s crow form wasn¡¯t much to feed on, it was still food. These Trolls were savages who wouldn¡¯t give up any prey that came knocking at their door.


    It was quite dangerous for Lu Li to fly in crow form since it had zero armor.


    Any attacks that landed on him would be equivalent to a critical strike. The Troll archers that were right under him were around level 40 and had high attack attributes. They could kill him within three to five hits.


    Lu Li had been hesitating about leveling up his crow transformation skill. Would leveling up the skill give him any extra defense, or should he visit Medivh again?


    Although he no longer had his Bloodstained Badge, he knew plenty of excuses that he could use to reach out to the old Mage. Not to mention, Aegwynn¡¯s Enchanting Book was an exquisite item, and contained the knowledge of an Archmage. Its value wasn¡¯t so little that a simple badge and flying skill would be able to compensate for it.


    While Lu Li plotted on how he could possibly profit more from the legendary Archmage, he also landed carefully on the altar.


    "Friend, have you come to rescue me?" a Troll that had been tied up whispered.


    The altar was more of a stone plaza with a stone coffin and a giant anvil in the center. It had a simple design and the NPC that just spoke was linked with a fairly good quest.


    This was a Troll Elder, but he wasn¡¯t from the Vilebranch ¨C he was a Revantusk Troll.


    The difference between the Troll tribes was a complex thing to understand. If Lu Li hadn¡¯t read enough books in his past life, he probably wouldn¡¯t have understood their history.


    As descendants of the Amani Empire, the Vilebranch returned to their ancestors¡¯ home after the war.


    They discovered that the Raventusk Trolls had taken their homeland first, so they built Jintha¡¯Alor on the other side. It was a Troll kingdom that was second in size compared to the Amani Empire.


    Compared to the other Trolls, the Vilebranch Trolls were more passionate about their worship of Hakkar, the God of Blood. Although they looked down on the Revantusk Trolls, the Vilebranch Trolls didn¡¯t hold too much of a grudge against their homeland being taken by them. It seemed as if they didn¡¯t hold a grudge because they were both Troll tribes, but they actually sacrificed Revantusk Trolls to Hakkar.


    The poor Revantusk Troll before Lu Li was about to be used as a sacrifice, and was an elder from his tribe too.


    Players would constantly receive quests from this Troll Elder to rescue him. He seemed to be a figure of importance and the Revantusk tribe would do anything to save him.


    There were no guards on the altar ¡ª the Vilebranch Trolls were confident about their defense.


    Lu Li agreed that they had a strong defense; it wasn¡¯t an easy task to make it through the army of Trolls below the mountain. As for the Wildhammer Dwarves invading with their Gryphons...


    This was why Lu Li didn¡¯t secretly release the Troll Elder.


    Although it seemed like it would be easy to release him, he was actually bound by the spell of the Evil Priestess Hexx. Once the spell was broken, the priestess would suddenly appear.


    The priestess was a level 40 Boss of a whole tribe; Lu Li would be killed in an instant.


    "Are you afraid of these demons too?" the Troll Elder asked, then continued as if he was about to cry, "Brave one, what changed your fierce passion into cold ice?"


    "Don¡¯t be hasty," Lu Li said as he pulled out the Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer and charged it using the giant anvil. "I¡¯m not strong enough to save you right now. Let me go and find some of my friends. We¡¯ll return to save you," he comforted.


    Lu Li was worried that the NPC would cause a ruckus and send the guards running here, but he wasn¡¯t lying entirely either.


    After the players in the guild levelled up, Lu Li would definitely bring them to slay the Evil Priestess Hexx. They would be able to save this Troll Elder then.


    "Will I be able to see the full moon of tomorrow?" the Troll Elder sobbed as he bowed his head in great sorrow.


    "Trust me, you can. I promise you in the name of the Moon Goddess that I¡¯ll return as soon as possible to save you," Lu Li sincerely said.


    "I believe you, Elf." The Troll Elder was touched. There was no need to question an Elf who made a promise using the name of the Moon Goddess.


    If he continued to question Lu Li, then Lu Li would have a reason to kill him.


    In the background story of Dawn, questioning an individual¡¯s religion was no different to slaughtering their whole family.


    Lu Li had finally finished recharging the Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer and was in the mood to make up stories for the Troll Elder.


    "I¡¯ll tell you the truth. I have a great bunch of comrades who are also adventurers. We¡¯re plotting to raise a war against these killers."


    "That¡¯s perfect," the Troll Elder said with hope in his eyes, then hesitated and continued, "I¡¯ve stayed in a little cave north from here for a while. It¡¯s on a little mountain. You can go and search it; I¡¯ve left a little box there. If the box hasn¡¯t been stolen by beasts, perhaps its contents will be of some help for you."

 610 The Treasure Chest In The Cave

    Treasure chest?


    This was a pleasant surprise; Lu Li didn¡¯t expect to get anything from the Troll Elder.


    A gaming master from the past once said, "The environment will return the favor based on how you treat it; this also applied to games. If you played the game seriously, the game would also give you a good reward in return."


    That¡¯s why he interacted with the Troll Elder in a serious way. He was playing the game as if this was a real world.


    If this was actually a real-world situation, there was no way you wouldn¡¯t say a thing to the victim before you left.


    "I¡¯ll come back as soon as possible. Don¡¯t give up hope," Lu Li said with more passion this time. He had to return the favor.


    "I¡¯m not sure how long I can survive for," the Revantusk Troll Elder sighed with a bitter expression. "There are only fifteen days until they worship Hakkar. If you can¡¯t make it before then, you¡¯ll probably be seeing my corpse after."


    Fifteen days!


    Lu Li thought for a bit and confirmed, "That¡¯s enough time. Wait for my good news."


    The elite teams of Ruling Sword consisted of players with an average level of 35 or 36. After fifteen days, they would be around level 40. With the guide from his previous life, Lu Li was confident that they would be able to take down the Evil Priestess Hexx.


    The Troll Elder was in tears as he watched Lu Li take his leave.


    Their interaction wasn¡¯t solely based on chance. Any player that stepped onto the altar and ran into the NPC first would have a chance of hearing about the treasure chest. Lu Li was the first player that the Troll Elder had encountered.


    After Lu Li returned to Eagle¡¯s Nest, he handed over the Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer to his team members and sent the others to interact with Gahz¡¯rilla.


    Lu Li flew towards the little mountain that the Troll Elder had described. Although there weren¡¯t any specific names or coordinates given, the Troll Elder had provided him with a very obvious clue ¡ª Moonkin.


    In the Hinterlands, there was only one location where the Moonkin refreshed. This was to the north of Jintha¡¯Alor, near Shaol¡¯watha.


    The Shaol¡¯watha village was a hotspot that the Horde and Alliance factions fought for. The Wildhammer Dwarves and the Revantusk Trolls wanted to take the control of this location. The former relied on their air advantage of the Gryphons, even successfully building their own frontline for supply and resting purposes.


    However, having an advantage didn¡¯t mean that they would win. The Revantusk Troll relied on their cunning minds and their witchcraft to hold their fort.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t concern himself with the war in the area; he wasn¡¯t at an appropriate level to participate in it.


    He circled around the war zone and successfully arrived at the refresh location of the Moonkin.


    There were two types of Moonkin ¨C the ones transformed by Druids and the ones in the wild. Moonkin transformed by players looked cute when they danced with their fat bellies and they were popular among female players. Many players didn¡¯t want to hurt them in the battlegrounds.


    The Moonkin in the wild were very vicious; it was hard to link them to the term ¡®cute¡¯. They were mostly around level 40, while the elites among them were as high as level 45. Lu Li couldn¡¯t fight against them, so he had to be secretive in his search for the cave.


    The habitat of the Moonkin was very limited due to the war between the Wildhammer Dwarves and the Trolls. Since their habitat was small, it wasn¡¯t hard to find the cave.


    Lu Li found the cave on a little mountain that was covered in golden-colored moss.


    The cave was discreet and blocked by a big stone. It seemed like the Moonkin hadn¡¯t noticed this place yet.


    Lu Li removed the stone and a rotting stench nearly sent him crying, but he was eager to see what the Troll Elder had left behind for him. Taking in a deep breath and holding it, he gingerly entered the cave.


    The ground was littered with rotting body parts. Lu Li suspected that the Troll Elder killed Moonkin and ate them here.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to imagine a Troll who enjoyed feasting on Moonkin.


    Lu Li now had more faith and expectation for the treasure chest that might be in this cave.


    The cave was deep and the interior was way more complex than it appeared from the outside. There were often intersections and Lu Li felt like he was walking through a maze. There was definitely some sort of secret within this cave ¨C there was no way that the game designers would design this kind of geography without some sort of purpose.


    Fortunately, the Troll Elder had left behind marks from the Revantusk tribe on the walls which led Lu Li to the treasure chest.


    Golden chest!


    There were no obvious threats nearby.


    Everything was too perfect that it all seemed unreal. Lu Li almost had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn¡¯t dreaming.


    A Golden chest was the best chest that he had seen so far. The chest would at least give him Gold grade equipment or Dark Gold equipment if he was lucky.


    It was a pleasant surprise for him to obtain a reward equivalent to defeating a Boss with a few simple sentences.


    Lu Li approached the chest and began to unlock it.


    Meanwhile, in the chat room, Azure Sea Breeze and the others had already used the Zul¡¯Farrak Hammer to summon Gahz¡¯rilla and had completed their first interaction with it. It was okay to fight it without Lu Li ¨C they had their main tank, healer and damage source, while Wandering covered for the commanding position.


    Wandering had already directed battles countless times.


    Dungeons were refreshed weekly in Dawn, so it was a waste to give up on those that existed.


    However, Lu Li had too many things that he needed to do, so it was impossible for him to re-do the dungeons that he had already cleared on a weekly basis. As such, Wandering was the one who led Xin Xin Mercenary Group to clear them once they had been refreshed. From this, they had managed to obtain some decent equipment.


    Although Wandering was usually slack, he was smart and had a great mentality. Directing a dungeon that has already been cleared was a piece of cake for him.


    Unfortunately, when he directed the fight with Gahz¡¯rilla this time, they were easily defeated.


    Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s most common skill was Icicle which froze the target and continued to deal damage to them. Frozen targets were unable to be targeted or healed by healers, and the ice was broken, they would also receive a huge amount of damage from it.


    This put a lot of pressure on the healers, who had to ensure that all team members had more than one-third of their health in Elite mode. In Nightmare mode, team members had to kept above 50-60% of their HP. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive long enough for the ice to defrost.


    Of course, the Icicle was a spell and could be debuffed. If the team was coordinated enough, they could assign someone to this role.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others had spent a lot of time with each other doing dungeons, so they were well-coordinated. March Rain wasn¡¯t the only player with debuff skills either, so countering the Icicle wasn¡¯t too hard for them.


    However, Gahz¡¯rilla had another skill that blew people right into the air.


    This was how Azure Sea Breeze and the others had been wiped, so they began to ask for the assistance of Lu Li.


    Lu Li happened to be unlocking the chest at that very moment, so he paid no attention to them. He only replied by telling them to look around the geography and come up with a solution based on it.


    Nine, eight, seven... chest opened!

 611 Assassin King

    The treasure chest slowly opened.


    Lu Li took a deep breath and reached into it.


    Bracers of Assassins (Gold): Armor 35, Agility+ , Strength+12, Attack+%, Special Effect 1: Attack increases by %, critical strike chance increases by 15%, lasts for 30 seconds. Cooldown 30 minutes. Special effect 2: Upon successfully slaying a target within thirty seconds, Attack increases by 1%, stacks up to %. Level Requirement, Durability 82/82.


    Lu Li was disappointed when he first saw that this was a Gold grade item.


    However, as he continued to read its description and understood its special effects, he realized what he had obtained.


    The legendary equipment for assassins!


    There were many types of assassin equipment for all classes, but what they all shared was that they increased the strength of their owner by killing targets continuously within a certain amount of time.


    Archeus could also be counted as a legendary assassin equipment, but it didn¡¯t gain stacks during battles ¨C it was just a rare equip that could be leveled. The bracers that he had just picked up were the first assassin equip he had ever seen.


    Upon successfully slaying a target within thirty seconds, it would increase Attack by 1%, which stacked up to %.


    What did this mean? If Lu Li killed a target within 30 seconds, his attack would increase by 1%, and if he killed another target within the next 30 seconds, his attack would increase by 1% again.


    As long as he could consistently kill his targets within thirty seconds, his Attack would continue to increase.


    If Lu Li¡¯s attack doubled, he would deal 500-600 damage to monsters instead of 300. At the same time, as his attack increased, he would be able to kill his targets with greater ease.


    This equip was extremely effective for killing monsters and in group fights.


    Combined with the Lifesteal effect from the Supreme Ring, this item gave Lu Li a chance to fight upfront with an entire group of Warriors.


    Of course, once the effects ended, it was best that he stayed hidden.


    Gold chests usually only came with one item; it was empty after Lu Li took out the Bracers.


    He teleported back to Gadgetzan and headed again to Zul¡¯Farrk. Although Azure Sea Breeze and the others had already warned him to be careful along the way, Lu Li was still surprised by the number of player fights that he ran into.


    The air flashed with all sorts of colors from skills and the sound of people fighting. Lu Li soon became one of the targets as Stealth had lost its effect in the area.


    "It¡¯s an Alliance player! Kill him!" There was no doubt that the player who shouted this belonged to the Horde faction.


    Lu Li was forced to use his Gale Steps, as there were many Mages here and they could kill him with basic ice spells. Not to mention, they had Water Elementals with them.


    Once he was controlled, it would be hard for him to escape.


    "Gale Steps!" These people weren¡¯t scared of him, but happy. "It¡¯s a big one! Freeze him with the Water Elemental; we¡¯ll split the money from the equipment that he drops."


    "****," Lu Li cursed; these damned mercenaries would do anything for money. He recognized these players as mercenaries because of the Frost Nova that they casted.


    Average players could not afford a rare skill book like Frost Nova, but this was a different story for the mercenaries. They were willing to invest in a skill like this to kill others.


    Most of these players would have learned some control skills, so it would be hard to escape them even with Gale Steps.


    They split their jobs so that each player covered a certain area with their own control skill. If there were no surprises on his side, Lu Li would be caught by these players.


    However, Lu Li¡¯s existence itself was a surprise. He boosted his movement speed with his boots which immediately set these players off their plan. Within a few steps, he had disappeared from their sight.


    He was a Thief that focused on Agility and had a whole set of exquisite equips, so he was too fast to be caught.


    One of the mercenaries had a loud voice, which he used to express his opinion. "****, son of a *****. Damn his fast legs."


    Lu Li¡¯s footsteps halted immediately.


    Blood rushed up to his head; he almost jumped at this player irrationally. He had lost his mother when he was young, but she had always been an important figure in his life.


    These people had to pay!


    Lu Li turned around and gave these people another glance, suppressing his anger as he sent Wandering a message that informed the others that he would arrive later.


    He silently moved and hid in the shadows of the desert. It was hard to pick up his footsteps that disappeared quickly.


    These players had taken over a large section of the pathway and they were scattered across the territory that they had claimed. They seemed like average players who were completing their quests nearby, but experienced players like Lu Li could tell them apart. There were hundreds of them.


    Most importantly, these players all had a mercenary badge which made them very easy to recognize.


    There was a huge amount of them, but this was quite normal. Without their numbers, there was no way that they would be able to stand their ground in a war zone like this.


    "Boss, incoming. Doesn¡¯t seem like the players from the major guilds. It¡¯s probably just a few random players that grouped together." These mercenaries didn¡¯t use their chat channel, so their voices reached Lu Li.


    Zul¡¯Farrk was a dungeon that everyone wanted to take part in at the moment, including all players with or without guilds.


    In order to increase their chances of survival, they had formed a large group of random players. They weren¡¯t expecting everyone to make it past, but they were hoping that they could run faster than the others.


    It would take another few months until random players formed an alliance. After the alliance formed, it became hard for others to bully them.


    Lu Li laughed coldly in his heart and began to patiently wait for his chance.


    One of the Warlocks from the mercenary group was attacking his target with excitement, but suddenly he was stunned by a Thief. Before his team members got to rescue him, he had already lost a great amount of health.


    Lu Li calculated his moves; he had already found his second and third targets.


    Without any delay, he pounced onto his next victim. These mercenaries relied on numbers; they died more often than PVP players and they often died in the wild. As such, their levels weren¡¯t high ¨C quite a lot of them were only around level 30.


    It didn¡¯t take Lu Li more than twenty seconds to kill these players.


    As he killed more and more players, his Attack stacked higher and higher.


    At first, he needed to use his special effects to ensure that he killed a player within 30 seconds. If Lu Li killed around twenty to thirty players, his Attack would increase by 30% and no one would be able to stop him.

 612 100 Man Slaughter

    There¡¯s a demon within everyone. Some hid it well, while some never bothered to hide it at all.


    Lu Li had always been hiding the demon within him because he knew that he had more to do than playing a game. This game was his job; it was his way to save his sister and ensure their living standards.


    However, these people had crossed over his line and his financial situation wasn¡¯t as desperate as before.


    The demon within him awoke and began to devour lives around him.


    It didn¡¯t take long for people to notice Lu Li. They quickly found that he was the player who had previously escaped. However, there was no time to pay attention to him since this was a large-scale fight.


    There was no way that the random players and those from smaller guilds would just rush past them.


    There would always be some players who enjoyed killing others in this confusion. Some of them had even been killed before by mercenaries, so this was their chance for revenge.


    A lot of PVP maniacs also seized their chance.


    Regardless of the end goal of each individual, this pathway to Zul¡¯Farrk had suddenly become a dense war zone.


    Unlike the Scarlet Monastery, the Horde faction didn¡¯t have any advantages. The desert also provided a wide, open space and the battleground extended for a long distance.


    These few hundred players from the mercenary group were very busy.


    Even so, there were still two to three of them who chose Lu Li as their target.


    A Frostbolt, a Shadowbolt and a Faerie Fire almost landed in sync onto Lu Li.


    Most control skills depended heavily on distance between their targets, so it was hard to control a single target that moved at a rapid speed. They chose to burst him down instead; it was three against one.


    -124!


    -110!


    The third skill, Faerie Fire, wasn¡¯t exactly a damaging spell. It was a spell that prevented Thieves from going into Stealth. The first two skills only took about two hundred points of health from Lu Li. The three players felt a cold chill down their spine ¨C they used spells with a casting time, so how could the damage be so low?


    What made the situation even worse was that they saw their target recover the lost health in an instant.


    If you paid close attention, you could see that as the Thief attacked, a blood-colored mist would fly from his target towards him and be absorbed.


    This was the Lifesteal effect.


    Whoever this was definitely had an equip with Lifesteal.


    Once the three players realized this, they no longer saw Lu Li as a free kill.


    As their mindset changed, so did their attitude and what they saw.


    Why did he move so fast? Why did he attack so fast? Why was his damage so high, and why did he have such a strong Lifesteal effect?


    They couldn¡¯t possibly imagine how much of a bug the Supreme Ring was.


    The Lifesteal attribute of the ring was more than that of a few equips combined.


    His attack speed was even crazier. The Shard of the Defiler was already a Dark Gold grade weapon that was known across the continent for its attack speed, and he also had other effects that also boosted this attribute.


    Lu Li¡¯s critical strike damage was much higher than the average players. Many players died within five hits without even realizing it.


    Of course, Lu Li noticed that he had been attacked.


    He finished off his target and pounced towards the Druid.


    The Druid was caught by surprise and quickly retreated, but his speed wasn¡¯t enough to interrupt Lu Li¡¯s plans. He stunned the Druid first with a Gouge, then used Shadowstrike. With three combo points, he casted Slit Throat.


    Slit Throat was a very useful skill against players and Lu Li had already upgraded it to level 5.


    Lu Li took no longer than 20 seconds to dispatch the Druid, while also tanking the damage of a Mage and a Warlock.


    His Lifesteal effect quickly replenished the health points that he had lost. Lu Li¡¯s health remained at a safe amount as he sent off the other two players with the same method. His health returned to full in the battles that followed.


    Although his hands never stopped moving, he wasn¡¯t blindly searching for any random target.


    Most of the time, he chose to attack in areas where there were little players, and most of his targets were Cloth-armored.


    As his rage boiled, he continued to kill.


    Because his attacks were too fast, his Lifesteal effect was often triggered. It was as if Lu Li was covered in a mist of blood.


    If he only killed a dozen players, he wouldn¡¯t be too noticeable. After all, this was a group-fight of thousands of players. However, after his attack had increased by 50%, he began killing players within three to five hits. He could even kill some players with two hits if he critically struck. These slain players began whining in their own channels.


    "I got killed by a Thief."


    "I got killed by a Thief too, his damage is so high."


    "I was also killed by a Thief. I had more than half of my health, but I died in two shots."


    "What was that before? I don¡¯t even know how I died. Why didn¡¯t you heal me?"


    "I¡­ I think I died too. I had full health ¨C how did I die in three shots?"


    This was the advantage that the legendary equipment of assassins provided. Lu Li could even stack up to 100% with this item. Among all of the other assassin equips, this bracer was one of the best. If he could consistently kill more than a hundred players¡­


    Can you imagine what it would be like if two Lu Li¡¯s attacked the same person?


    Low-leveled Cloth classes would die before they even got a chance to react.


    "It¡¯s him!" When the channel was filled with talk about this violent Thief, someone finally discovered Lu Li. This Thief was glowing with a red light and continued to harvest lives at an astonishing speed.


    After around half an hour, he had already killed more than a hundred players.


    The majority of the random players had already rushed past. At this point, everyone who was left was either too slow, or had come later. They were slowly being slaughtered by the mercenary group.


    Lu Li was a total surprise.


    "****, kill him! We¡¯ll do it together!" someone shouted as they led a group and pounced towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li could kill a hundred people because of his assassin equipment. However, the confusion in the environment also made the situation much more convenient for him. The majority of the players that he faced were by themselves.


    Once the situation changed, he glowed brightly like a firefly in the dark.


    Dawn was a game that focused on balance. With enough players attacking him at the same time, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t escape.


    The desert was crawling with players everywhere.


    These mercenary players thought they were strong with their few hundred men as they slaughtered the random players. But now, they finally saw true strength before their eyes and realized how small they were compared to the real world.


    "Kill all of them! Ruling Sword, charge now!" Square Root 3 sat on his mount and waved his hand as he signaled an attack.

 613 Mercenary Termination

    So many people!


    Ruling Sword swept across the area like the wind, leaving behind a floor covered in equips and loot.


    If it weren¡¯t for the equips on the ground and the scorched ground from the fight, it would be very difficult to believe that there were hundreds of players here. They were like hunters that had slaughtered a group of lost lambs.


    The mercenaries didn¡¯t have time to ask questions or fight back.


    Before they could react, the players from Ruling Swords had completely steamrolled through them without any reason or explanation.


    As Lu Li stood in the crowd, he felt the overwhelming power that he wielded. This was the power given to him by the players in his guild.


    For the players in Ruling Sword, he was their spiritual leader, their all-powerful god. Anyone who dared challenge them would have the face the 60,000 players under his command.


    This group of 500 Elite players was just an example of what Ruling Sword was capable of.


    As soon as they heard Lu Li¡¯s cry for help, they all immediately left Gadgetzan and forcefully removed any players along the way that tried to stop them.


    There were several mercenaries who hunted other players for equips along the way, but they were no match for the members of Ruling Sword.


    "You killed quite a lot of people," Square Root Three said as he unmounted while laughing.


    Lu Li¡¯s buffs were timing out and the active animations were disappearing. His achievement did not go unnoticed as his PVP points skyrocketed, surpassing several players on the PVP rankings.


    There were only three players with more than 100 PvP points, so most players in Dawn knew about them.


    PVP points were earned when a player killed another player outside of town. Players with high PVP points dropped more equips upon death and they were often hunted by bounty hunters. Once killed, they would be arrested and thrown into jail, where a large sum of gold could bail them out. Otherwise, they would be locked up for quite some time.


    One hundred PVP points equated to 100 hours.


    "I found a good piece of equipment for myself. The rest can be distributed amongst the members in the guild," Lu Li said as he licked his dry lips and calmed himself down.


    Square Root Three had no idea what Lu Li had experienced, but as long as he came out on top, he would always be unconditionally supporting him. To Square Root Three, it didn¡¯t matter who those players were, as long as he carried out his duty in helping Lu Li.


    He had been a part of Star Moon Union before and knew how major guilds operated. Although Star Moon Union operated like a major guild, they did not have the numbers to back this up. Comparatively, the current Ruling Sword had reached a total of 60,000 members and they were also in an alliance with Drizzle Court. They were capable of easily overpowering major guilds such as Blood Red War Flag.


    Lu Li and Square Root Three headed to the Zul¡¯Farrak Instance Dungeon.


    This time, no one dared to try and stop them. The mercenaries that were waiting for them up the road heard about the news and ran away as far they could from Lu Li and Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li contemplated and began typing in world chat.


    He was a professional player, so the font and color of his words was more noticeable.


    "Today I witnessed thousands of solo players defeated by a team of mercenaries with lesser numbers. Why can¡¯t you solo players team up and strengthen yourselves? If you don¡¯t like being oppressed by the major guilds, then create a chatroom and stand up for yourselves. Don¡¯t get bullied in a game guys. Stop embarrassing yourselves."


    When Lu Li hit send, many players were shocked.


    Many thought that Lu Li¡¯s account had been hacked or that this was some sort of a joke.


    No one knew that in Lu Li¡¯s past life, he was one of those solo players that had been bullied by mercenaries. No one understood how these solo players felt more than he did.


    It wasn¡¯t until someone explained the events that had unfolded near the Zul¡¯farrak dungeon over the past few days that they understood what Lu Li was going on about. Although the major guilds weren¡¯t afraid of these mercenaries, they never dared to challenge them. This was because they had to maintain a positive image within the general gaming community to thrive.


    The solo players felt the same and hoped that Lu Li and Ruling Sword could deliver justice for them.


    The mercenaries that had been defeated today were furious and began talking back.


    "Why do you care about how we play the game? What¡¯s so great about major guilds? From today on, we¡¯ll only hunt your guild members so that no one dares to join your guild."


    "Overpowered Dragon? He¡¯s a professional Mage and also the co-leader of Dragon¡¯s Peak mercenary group. Is he trying to declare war?" Square Root Three heard about this very quickly.


    Dragon¡¯s Peak was a large scale mercenary group consisting of several thousand players. All of their main players had the word "Dragon" in their ID and they were all quite arrogant.


    Since there was no laws enforcement or consequences in games, there were many arrogant people hiding behind their virtual characters.


    But for them to declare war against Ruling Sword?


    This was nothing more than a joke to them.


    If these rumors were confirmed, several players would immediately quit Dragon¡¯s Peak out of fear because they knew that they couldn¡¯t defeat Ruling Sword.


    Usually, Major Guilds would only associate with one another and leave the smaller guilds and groups alone. However, if the opportunity arose, they would go out of their way to show off what they were capable of.


    Overpowered Dragon wasn¡¯t overpowered enough and remained silent.


    There was a unique relationship between Major Guilds and other players. The image of a Major Guild was determined by their reputation among the gaming community, thus giving casual players power. However, at the same time, Major Guilds had power over these casual players because of their numbers and resources.


    Ruling Sword was very capable of not allowing anyone from Dragon¡¯s Peak to leave the safe zone.


    After threatening Dragon¡¯s Peak, Square Root Three began organizing the Zul¡¯farrak dungeon runs. The 500 players from Ruling Sword formed 50 teams of 10 players and began farming a considerable amount of EXP and equipment with the help of Lu Li¡¯s strategies.


    Besides numbers, equipment was important in building up the strength of a guild.


    Lu Li entered the dungeon and saw Wandering and the others, who had been wiped out twice, sitting in front of the Boss waiting for his help.

 614 Gahz’rilla

    In all honesty, Lu Li had acted rather rashly.


    He had nothing to do with the solo players who were being bullied by mercenaries. He was the leader of Ruling Sword with thousands upon thousands of men at his disposal. No one could stand against him.


    He was also too harsh with his words when he typed, "Don¡¯t get bullied in a game guys; stop embarrassing yourselves". Many solo players spoke out and told Lu Li to mind his own business.


    Even Square Root Three thought that he had gone overboard. There was no reason for him to provoke the solo players.


    The solo players were a unique ¡®group¡¯ of people. There were millions of them scattered around in Dawn, so if they were to join together, they could easily overpower many Major Guilds.


    However, the lack of trust and communication within this group of people made this impossible and thus, their strength was diluted.


    Even smaller guilds were able to take control of a map by removing the solo players in the area. Mercenaries also took advantage of them and continuously hunted them down for equips.


    The Major Guilds tried to be friendly to these solo players in order to attract them into joining. Otherwise, if they tried to challenge them, they would be faced with continuous bullying and griefing.


    Hunting down weak solo players was a fun aspect of the game that provided a thrill and something to do for the other players. You either remained a solo player and got bullied, or you joined a guild to bully other solo players.


    Solo players were spiteful, yet fearful of guilds, so the two parties kept their distance.


    Lu Li flamed these solo players because he wanted to empower them and encourage them to stand up for themselves. However, Square Root Three and other Ruling Sword officials agreed that this wasn¡¯t such a bright idea at the time.


    Understandably, Lu Li¡¯s image was changed again.


    He was the up and rising star that had skyrocketed into fame over a short period of time. He was unknown to the gaming community, just like any other solo player. He was the fan-favorite to win the competition because the general public felt like they could relate to him. This led to many people admiring him as a godly figure.


    Then, Lu Li participated in the fight.


    Soon, the whole world knew about this fact, whether they had heard it from the solo players that had witnessed this, the mercenaries that exposed him, or Lu Li¡¯s score on the PVP rankings. All of this pointed to the fact that Lu Li had participated in the slaughter of more than a hundred players in half an hour near Zul¡¯farrak.


    Who was the one that stood up for the solo players?


    It was Lu Li!


    Even though he had typed out those harsh and insensitive words, deep down, every solo player knew that it was Lu Li who was sticking up for them.


    Lu Li¡¯s words cut deep, but they changed their thinking and motivated them. They sparked their desire to become stronger so that they would no longer be like the useless side characters in the movies.


    Everyone had different ideologies and this was no different in a game.


    Unexpectedly, Lu Li found himself in the position of being the advocate of the Solo Player Alliance movement. He was sick of solo players getting bullied, but this was never his intention in the first place.


    Eventually, he arrived at the final boss in Zul¡¯farrak.


    The mobs surrounding the lake had already been cleared by Azure Sea Breeze and the others. Gahz¡¯rilla had returned to his original spot underneath the water and awaited for them to challenge him again.


    This was the golden age of virtual reality games. Impossibilities were made possible in the world of VR.


    A giant figure emerged from the waters. This would be a terrifying sight for a person suffering with thalassophobia.


    Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s silver scales sparkled under the moonlight and it looked at the intruders with its three heads.


    "Lure him over here, away from the waters," Lu Li instructed as he snorted disdainfully at the way Azure Sea Breeze approached the fight.


    Grahz¡¯rilla had increased attack in the water. Did no one realize this after being wiped so many times?


    Azure Sea Breeze pulled the Boss away from the water as Lu Li ordered.


    "There are pillars near the lake that we can stand against to prevent us from being blown away by the boss," Wandering explained.


    "Pull it over to where the hill is," Lu Li said as he casually pointed at a random spot.


    "Isn¡¯t that too far? Won¡¯t the boss reset?" Bosses in dungeons also had a range of aggro. Because of the terrain in Zul¡¯farrak, it was quite easy for Bosses to reset randomly.


    "How will you know if you¡¯ve never tried?" Lu Li shook his head.


    In reality, the whole area was in range, so there was no way of losing aggro.


    Lu Li then positioned his teammates in the most optimal formation.


    "Ranged classes, stand against the hill in pairs. Stack against one another and face the boss."


    Drizzle Court was catching up and was attempting to obtain the First Clear for Gahz¡¯rilla as well.


    Although Lu Li promised to give Drizzle Court the First Clear for this dungeon, he refused to wait indefinitely. After giving them his dungeon guide, he placed down a time limit of 2 hours. If they couldn¡¯t complete it in time, then Lu Li would take the First Clear.


    This was the arrangement that they had agreed upon since there was a spy in the guild that could give out information to the other guilds.


    If two players stacked up and shared the damage, there would be a higher chance of survival.


    "I¡¯ve got to admit, you¡¯re good. What if two icicles are randomly summoned and the damage is stacked?" Wandering asked. Usually, two spells animations meant that the damage would be added together.


    "Oh, nothing much. We¡¯d get wiped," Lu Li said calmly.


    "...." Everyone was left speechless. Other commanders would think of strategies to account for this. Lu Li, on the other hand, was more of a trial and error type of guy.


    "The Boss is about to blow us¡­" Wandering reminded.


    To his surprise, Lu Li¡¯s formation completely nullified Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s air attack. The player in front collided against the player behind, who collided into the hill and prevented them from being displaced.


    "Wow, I was blown away so many times. Poor me," Hachi Chan cried out from the pain.


    Wandering¡¯s strategy was to get everyone to stand in front of a pillar when Grahz¡¯rilla was about to cast his air attack. This was the more obvious and commonly-used strategy, but it wasn¡¯t as effective.


    For Hachi Chan, this proved to be difficult as she had to heal and move at the same time. She was terrible at multitasking.


    As such, she was blown away and had landed on her butt many times today.

 615 Drizzle Court’s First Clear

    "What about standing with our backs to the wall?" Wandering suggested.


    "I don¡¯t know. You can try it." Lu Li didn¡¯t mind his teammates playing casually. After all, they still had to wait for some time before Drizzle Court could catch up to them.


    With Lu Li¡¯s approval, Wandering actually went and tried it. It wasn¡¯t that he was bored, but as a commander, he had the need to know, even if it meant dying once.


    It turned out that even if there was a wall behind him, he would be blown away because there wasn¡¯t a player behind him. The mountain wall wasn¡¯t perfectly straight and there was also an incline.


    After dealing with the icicles and being blown away, it didn¡¯t seem too hard anymore.


    Even Lu Li had to admit that their strategy was quite strong. The advantages that it granted them were quite obvious and it would remain as the best strategy for quite some time. If they wanted to avoid taking the First Clear, they needed strategize a little less.


    Of course, as the final boss of the Instance Dungeon, Gahz¡¯rilla didn¡¯t wander around the area.


    Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s slam was quite a difficult move to deal with. It would start using it after 5 minutes, regardless of its HP. Its effect was simple ¨C it was a high damage attack that was always a critical hit.


    Gahz¡¯rilla had three heads and all of them were part of its arsenal.


    Its magic attacks dealt ice and air damage, while its physical attacks were made by the three skulls.


    As well as this, if the first attack was a critical hit, the second attack would be double of the first, but if the first attack wasn¡¯t a critical hit, the second attack would be five times the first¡­


    Wasn¡¯t this a cool effect?


    Assuming that the first attack was a Critical Strike and dealt 2 damage, the Boss would deal six (2 + 4) damage over two attacks. However, if the first attack wasn¡¯t a Critical Strike, it would still deal six (1 + 5) damage over two attacks. Either way, the System refused to allow you to take any less damage.


    Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s Slam was a brutal six-attack combo.


    If the Main Tank couldn¡¯t withstand all six attacks from the Boss, the best course of action was to give up and get some better equipment before attempting the Instance Dungeon again.


    With Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s current level and equipment, he was immediately killed the first time Gahz¡¯rilla used Slam.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything, but Azure Sea Breeze hadn¡¯t cast his damage reduction skills, so he deserved to die. However, after trying it the hard way, he would probably remember next time.


    Without Azure Sea Breeze taking aggro, Gahz¡¯rilla was like a runaway horse. Wandering couldn¡¯t stop it and it finally descended into the pool.


    Gahz¡¯rilla wasn¡¯t like the turtle that ran into the water for a while before coming back.


    It just stayed there and regenerated 5% of its HP per second.


    "Dammit, it¡¯s too strong. I can¡¯t tank it."


    After Azure Sea Breeze was revived, the Boss was long gone, but he didn¡¯t seem ready to face it again.


    "Haven¡¯t you noticed that there¡¯s a bit of red on the Boss¡¯ head? That¡¯s obviously a telegraph for the subsequent skill. Remember to cast your damage reduction when that happens," Lu Li said to Azure Sea Breeze before moving onto Wandering, "You couldn¡¯t pull the Boss just then because of your positioning and the amount of aggro you had. You need to make sure you have the third most aggro as the Secondary-Tank. You aren¡¯t just supposed to stand around."


    For Lu Li, these things were just common sense, but the others were only just realizing this.


    Fortunately, after Gahz¡¯rilla killed Azure Sea Breeze, it returned to recover its HP. If it decided to go around killing players, no one but Wandering would have been able to withstand it.


    As the fight continued, Drizzle Court¡¯s Main Tank was given advice from Ruling Sword, but their timing was off. Their Secondary Tank managed to hold onto the Boss¡¯ aggro, but their resistance wasn¡¯t enough and they were eventually wiped.


    It took two tries before their two tanks finally got a feel for it.


    Lu Li and the others were still going, but at a slower pace. Lu Li and Wandering were also periodically taking turns to command.


    Because they were taking it slow, March Rain would inevitably run out of mana. In that case, they would just get wiped, but by then, the Boss would have revealed most of its tricks already.


    Lu Li had already developed a complete strategy and was now just waiting for Drizzle Court to take the First Clear.


    System: Congratulations Drizzle Court members, Deadly Green Orange, Star Baby¡­ who under the leadership of Water Fairy, have acquired the First Clear of Zul¡¯Farrak on Heroic Difficulty.


    As the First Clear announcement was made, the world erupted.


    This was the first time that anyone had taken the First Clear before Lu Li. The phrase ¡®Drizzle Court¡¯ popped up in various channels and community forums for quite a while.


    Of course, there were a few players who knew that this First Clear was a result of a transaction, but they had no reason to disclose this. It would only serve Ruling Sword¡¯s interests anyway.


    "Let¡¯s try a bit harder now and clear this Instance Dungeon." Lu Li¡¯s expression hadn¡¯t changed. Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s HP quickly disappeared as he was returned to see his maker.


    Moonlight and Lonesome Flower were rewarded with Skill Points while the others only received EXP.


    Gahz¡¯rilla was level 42, but it was also the final boss, so the EXP received was quite high. Almost all of their EXP bars jumped up, and Lu Li was no exception.


    However, he still had some time before reaching level 40 and needed to take some time to train.


    There wasn¡¯t a First Clear announcement for Ruling Sword this time as Drizzle Court had already received it for the Heroic Difficulty.


    Azure Sea Breeze was a little dejected as he looked at the World Announcement.


    "It feels like we lost because we didn¡¯t get the First Clear."


    He had always been hailed as the number 1 main tank and was quite showy.


    "Stop being a grumpy old woman. Let¡¯s see what we got; we did it on Nightmare Difficulty, so it¡¯s also kind of a First Clear. The items shouldn¡¯t be that bad," Lu Li consoled, then instructed Remnant Dream to loot the body.


    The Boss was waiting for them to loot it, but for Drizzle Court, the items that the Boss dropped were handed out according to their agreement.


    Although they didn¡¯t get the First Clear, they didn¡¯t lose anything else in terms of their reward.


    The only regret he had was that he didn¡¯t get the Abyss Crown, which meant that he couldn¡¯t cash in on the four pieces of Gold equipment that the goblin had promised. However, they would definitely get some Gahz¡¯rilla scales, so it was no big deal.

 616 Voodoo Se

    The items that dropped were quite ordinary.


    There was Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s Tooth, which was a Gold dagger. This belonged to Lu Li, but after making some comparisons, he decided to give up on it.


    In addition to the Shard of the Defiler, he now had the perfect silver dagger ¨Cthe Corrupted Fang. Although its damage wasn¡¯t as high as Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s Tooth, its special effects were far more powerful.


    The Armor Pierce on it triggered quite often, which was a good effect regardless of whether he was attacking a monster or a person.


    The Phantom didn¡¯t trigger as often, but it was also extremely effective when it did. The main value of Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s Tooth was in its critical hit effect, but Lu Li had no shortage of that at the moment.


    Furthermore, levels had a big part to play when it came to determining how much critical damage was dealt.


    The second item was Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s Scale Armor. This was Chain Mail Armor designed for DPS players, and could be used by Hunters or Shamans. However, Lu Li decided to give this item to Sakura Memories, partially because she was part of the professional team, but also because it didn¡¯t give any benefit to pets.


    The rare material that dropped was a Threshadon Fang. It was an exquisite material used for daggers and one-handed swords.


    Finally, Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s Scales also dropped. This wasn¡¯t a rare material, but just a quest item.


    When they had just entered the Instance Dungeon, there was a goblin that had given them a quest to bring him the Abyss Crown and the Gahz¡¯rilla¡¯s Scales. There was no point in just bringing back one of the items; they needed both items to complete the quest.


    But at this point, they had already completed the Zul¡¯Farrak Instance Dungeon.


    Since the Hydromancer Velratha didn¡¯t drop the Abyss Crown, they had missed out on their opportunity to receive 5 pieces of Gold equipment. However, Lu Li¡¯s only regret was that he only got three parts of the Voodoo Set ¨C the Voodoo Breastplate, Voodoo Shoulderplates and a Voodoo mask. All he was missing was the Voodoo Cloak.


    The special effect of the Voodoo Set was +1 to Shadow Cloak and an increased spell duration. This was very useful for Magic Professions, but Lu Li also liked another one of the set¡¯s effects.


    If he acquired the four pieces of equipment and used Cheap Shot, he could gain an extra combo point and increase his first attack¡¯s damage by 100%.


    This was a very powerful effect as Thieves would often cast Premeditation before Cheap shot to gain 4 combo points. With an additional combo point, he could double his damage.


    Thieves were the strongest when they had five combo points, as their next skill had a 100% chance of being a critical hit.


    Killing things in one shot could be a reality!


    It was truly a pity ¨C the cloak was already one of the harder pieces to acquire and his luck was below average. Lu Li could only hope that the Elite Group that was behind them would find it.


    Moreover, for a Boss to ask for equipment like this was a little shameful.


    "Go, go and keep levelling," Lu Li instructed his teammates after the Instance Dungeon had finished. He had special equipment for farming and could deal with elite monsters within 30 seconds.


    "Is there any equipment?" Azure Sea Breeze couldn¡¯t help but remind Lu Li.


    The Instance Dungeon run had been unlucky for him this time. He didn¡¯t receive anything, but he still held onto the dream of finding a Dark Gold Shield.


    "Oh, yes."


    Lu Li remembered that the items dropped on Water Fairy¡¯s side would also be theirs. He quickly contacted her, hoping that a female tycoon like her wouldn¡¯t go back on her word.


    "You weren¡¯t so fixated on the equipment. I doubt you would have been the first to congratulate me on our First Clear," Water Fairy said with a detectable wry smile on her face.


    Although it was because of his own strategy, Lu Li still wholeheartedly congratulated her. "Congratulations on getting the First Clear."


    Drizzle Court¡¯s core elite group was quite skilled. They weren¡¯t as good as the Ruling Sword¡¯s, but after they received Lu Li¡¯s strategy, it was only a matter of time before they defeated the Boss.


    "Although it was only at Heroic Difficulty, the First Clear really does give quite a few good items," Water Fairy¡¯s remarked, her voice filled with emotion.


    Teams that had never received the First Clear reward before knew about it, but they couldn¡¯t appreciate the extent of the reward until they received it.


    It was one thing to get a First Clear on the Boss, but if you achieved a First Clear on an Instance Dungeon, everyone would receive a reward.


    It could be Skill Points, Skill books, or perhaps some exquisite equipment.


    "Keep working hard for next time," Lu Li said a little insincerely. He fully intended to take the next First Clear. Ruling Sword wasn¡¯t lacking in First Clears, but there was no reason for him to let them go.


    "As for the next Instance Dungeon¡¯s First Clear, if I were to pay for it, how much would you sell it for?" Water Fairy asked directly.


    For this woman, any problem could be solved as long as enough money was thrown at it.


    Drizzle Court¡¯s gains for taking the First Clear was not limited to the Instance Dungeon rewards. The most important thing was their fame as a guild. Their value must have at least doubled as there was a noticeable increase in the number of times that their name was mentioned in the community forums.


    "I¡¯m not selling it. I¡¯m not short of money," Lu Li responded decisively.


    "What a blunt rejection; you¡¯re really something else." Water Fairy wanted to throw up.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t respond to her and revealed his true intentions.


    "Where is the equipment? How do we get it?"


    "Wait and you¡¯ll get it in the mail. I wanted to invite you to have some drinks, but now¡­" Water Fairy wasn¡¯t in the mood anymore. She had wanted to try and pry at Lu Li to see if he would open up.


    "Well, that¡¯s fine then. Bye," Lu Li said before quickly hanging up.


    After this, they all returned to Gadgetzan. Lu Li and the others followed Hachi Chan and handed in their quests together.


    After picking up the Divino-matic Rod, Hachi Chan asked the Goblins and quickly discovered that it belonged to Bilgewhizzle ¨C Gadgetzan¡¯s Chief Engineer.


    Bilgewhizzle, a senior at the Gadgatzan Water Company, was in an unusual place on the map.


    He handed out quite a few quests. For example, he asked the players to deal with the Wasteland Nomads and recapture the wells that had been occupied or destroyed by robbers. However, it was players who did Engineering that were especially unable to avoid him.


    Gadgetzan Water Company¡¯s number 1 Engineer was not a title that was given lightly.


    He had a few rare engineering blueprints which attracted many players to him.


    "Uncle, did you drop this?" Hachi Chan asked as she handed the item to him directly.


    Not all NPCs in Dawn were good. Some races like the Goblins were quite mischievous.


    Most players would try to bargain for a payment before handing over a quest item. Hachi Chanm, on the other hand, just handed the item over without saying anything.


    Who else had charisma like her? The NPCs treated her like their own daughter.

 617 Noggenfogger Elixir

    Just like how it was nice to sit under a shady tree, it was very relaxing doing quests with Hachi Chan.


    Bilgewhizzle looked at the Divino-matic Rod with surprise and praised Hachi Chan, completely disregarding the players that had followed her.


    After a wordy speech of gratitude, Hachi Chan took another five or six quests from Bilgewhizzle and everyone acquired an EXP bonus.


    The EXP was actually a decent amount and it even made Lu Li¡¯s EXP bar jump. This was the first and only time that he would award that kind of EXP.


    Hachi Chan also received a mechanical squirrel that looked quite cute.


    Her luck was rather good, but it was far from game-breaking. Things like this mechanical squirrel had no effect on her strength.


    However, Hachi Chan really liked it and was happier than when she received equipment.


    As they walked around Gadgetzan looking at the Desert Science and Technological facilities, they were also tried to trigger a quest that would give them a lot EXP.


    Lu Li suddenly received a private message from a weekly publication company.


    This kind of large-scale media company worked with Dawn¡¯s creators and communicated through special channels. Most players couldn¡¯t pretend to do this.


    With that in mind, the person he was going to talk to probably wasn¡¯t a scammer. But why were they looking for him?


    The Gaming Weekly representative was very polite. After a formal greeting he asked, "Great Guru Lu Li, can you please write a strategy for the Zul¡¯Farrak Instance Dungeon? We will do our best to create a following for you."


    Lu Li suddenly realized what this was.


    The gaming Media seemed to have realized that strategies were a large and potentially profitable product, so they were starting to try and carve up a market for it.


    Regardless of whether they were the media or a social platform, the ultimate goal was to gain more users. Gaming Weekly was a magazine that was based electronically, but once upon a time, they had provided physical magazines.


    They wanted Lu Li to write a hot strategy for their magazine that would attract users to subscribe for the information.


    In exchange, they would also promote Lu Li and Ruling Sword. They might even conduct an interview one of the key members of the club. After all, the magazines required content to fill them.


    "Why didn¡¯t you ask Drizzle Court? They got the First Clear." Lu Li had read a lot of strategies in the past, but it would be difficult for him to write one. He didn¡¯t have time to dabble in something like this, especially something as unsubstantial as a magazine.


    "Uh¡­ Water Fairy told me to ask you." The representative at Gaming Weekly was having a hard time too.


    It appeared that he had been thrown under the bus. Lu Li squatted before a man on the streets of Gadgetzan and looked at his meagre merchandise before rudely saying, "There isn¡¯t actually a strategy for Zul¡¯Farrak. It¡¯s just a very difficult dungeon¡­"


    "Heavens, not this again," the representative who was called ¡®Gaming Weekly¡¯ lamented, then continued with some resentment, "Great Guru Lu Li, we have come to you in good faith to talk to you. Can you at least show some respect?"


    "Oh, sorry. Let me be a little more serious," Lu Li said. He rubbed his hands on a piece of pottery only to find that it was too rough.


    He wasn¡¯t an antique enthusiast ¨C there were few decorations in his house. It was only his sister who would bring home such boring things. He was going to collect a few strange items so he could tell her some stories to make her happy.


    "Although this is the first time we are doing this, our Boss is very confident in this idea and we intend to do whatever it takes to make sure it goes well," Gaming Weekly promised.


    "Alright, I accept. But go and discuss it with Square Root 3." Lu Li wasn¡¯t really interested.


    Gaming Weekly wasn¡¯t disappointed as his purpose had been achieved.


    As to whether Ruling Sword could offer the best strategy was besides the point. Many people were going to read their weekly magazine to find out the Instance Dungeon Strategy.


    Of course, the strategy wouldn¡¯t be given away for free. Gaming Weekly was bound to pay a certain price and Square Root 3 would negotiate that with him. Lu Li wasn¡¯t going to worry about something like that.


    His current attention was being drawn to a small bottle in his hand.


    A Noggenfogger Elixir?


    The reason he recognized this was because he had bought this potion in his previous life. He had purchased it for a small fee of 1 gold, and it could have one of three effects. The first was to transform into a skeleton, the second was to become smaller and the third was to become lighter. These three effects could be stacked and had a duration of only 10 minutes.


    If you became smaller, you could squeeze into spaces that you couldn¡¯t before. If you were lighter, then falling would deal less damage.


    As for the skeleton, in addition to being able to breath underwater permanently, you could look more handsome, cooler and more eye catching¡­


    In his previous life, there were many players who bought this potion for its effects, but even more players bought this potion purely for the skeleton model.


    "Sir, I¡¯m thirsty. Can I have some water to drink?" the Goblin NPC that was leaning on the wall asked with a sickly look.


    This was the opposite of the tycoon Goblin that Lu Li remembered from his past life.


    Speaking of tycoons, who else was more of a tycoon than Mr. Marin Noggenfogger?


    He was the only supplier of Tanaris. In the process of conquering Gadgetzan from the Trolls of Zul¡¯Farrak, he had visited the Caverns of Time and explored Uldum in the south, then travelled to the Forest of Un¡¯goro in the west and resisted the Silithus swarms. There was also the Hot Sand Group which controlled the Swampy towns in Theramore¡¯s Fall, the Winterspring Forevertown, as well as parts of Rattan City in the Barrenlands. It was difficult to estimate his true presence in the market, but it was definitely sky high.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t sure if Mr. Marin had bought the Hot Sand Group, but was certain that he had been slowly making his way into Gadgetzan the moment Lu Li started playing the game. Mr. Marin had already become the spokesperson for this city.


    His most common line was, "I represent the distinguished Hot Sand Group and I sincerely hope you have a good stay here. Remember that all are welcome at my Gadgetzan, all except pirates¡­"


    He was so arrogant at that time, which was quite different to how things were now.


    Lu Li suddenly took interest in this famous place and took many glances at the little Goblin before him that was about to die. It was definitely the future Gadgetzan tycoon.


    Marin Noggenfogger was horrified by what he saw.


    "This adventurer doesn¡¯t have some weird hobby, right? I¡¯ve been so weak recently that I won¡¯t be able to resist¡­"


    "What is this rubbish that you have here?" Lu Li asked as he threw a potion and smashed a jar.

 618 Desperate Mr. Marin

    "You¡­ you¡¯ll pay for that," Marin Noggenfogger gasped weakly. He compared himself again and again, finding that he was no match for this adventurer.


    "This damned adventurer ¨C why can¡¯t he be a better person?"


    "You dare ask for money for this rubbish," Lu Li said outrageously. He had grown up in an environment like this, so he didn¡¯t even need to pretend.


    He tried to keep his attention away from the Noggenfogger Elixir.


    The Goblins were cunning creatures. If you showed interest in a certain item, they would increase its value to match.


    If a Goblin sold an item solely based on the value of the item, they would be a disgrace to all Goblins.


    "That¡¯s at least five¡­ three copper coins," Marin Noggenfogger stammered. These were all beginner items that he had managed to swindle, but he couldn¡¯t even sell them to the shops.


    He had gotten sick and had lost his job, which meant his research projects also had to stop.


    "Copper¡­ Sorry, I don¡¯t have that kind of stuff. I only have this," Lu Li apologized as he took out a large handful of gold coins and scattered them onto the ground.


    "Just what kind of tycoon is he?" Noggenfogger thought to himself.


    In fact, this was actually all Lu Li had left; he had given most of it to Remnant Dream. If Square Root 3 saw this he would pity him and readily pay for Lu Li¡¯s equipment repairs. As the guild manager, he had hundreds of gold coins at all times.


    "Ooofff¡­" Marin Noggenfogger stared and was feeling suffocated from the gold coins.


    The poor Goblin was thirsty, hungry and ravaged by an illness. He had gone out in the hopes of gaining some coins, but he had dealt too harshly with people in the past and everyone seemed happy to see him die.


    "It¡¯s too bad that these things aren¡¯t worth my gold coins."


    Lu Li put the coins back into his bag and picked up the ones that had fallen onto the ground. He even blew the dust, that may or may not have existed, off the coins.


    "What do you want? I can give it to you. Please help me adventurer," Marin Noggenfogger begged as he watched the last glitter of gold disappear.


    The power of gold was truly formidable; this sickly goblin was still drooling over it, even in his weakened state.


    "Let¡¯s just talk; you can tell me about you. I¡¯m quite bored today," Lu Li said as he looked at the environment and his ordinary clothing before sitting down beside Marin Noggenfogger.


    If one didn¡¯t look carefully, they would think that they were two tramps sitting on the streets.


    "Really¡­? Sir, can you give me some water to drink?" Water was scarce in this desert environment. Both players and NPCs had to consume a lot of water here, but Marin Noggenfogger apparently didn¡¯t have the money to buy it.


    "Sure, consider it a reward for telling me your story." Lu Li took out a bag of water and put it into his own mouth. He had no intention of handing over the entire water bag.


    "Leave some! Leave some for me¡­" Marin Noggenfoggen was very distressed.


    After drinking two-thirds of the water, Lu Li handed the water bag to the goblin. He hadn¡¯t studied psychology, but he knew a few truths here and there. For example, when you went hunting, you couldn¡¯t let the dogs eat too much.


    The goblin held the water bag and greedily had a large mouthful followed by several small mouthfuls. He wasn¡¯t willing to drink more than half of this one-third of water remaining.


    Lu Li unsympathetically clapped his hands. "Now that you¡¯ve had some water, tell me your story."


    "I¡¯m just a researcher of the Hot Sand Group¡­" Marin Noggenfogger was much more comfortable after having some water, but still resented having to tell his story.


    His words were quite scattered as he talked about his study of alchemy and what happened on a day to day basis. He talked about everything in the past that would paint him as a decent person, including his unrequited love Sprinkle and how he had become distracted by a mother Goblin.


    "She must have seen you fall sick, and decided that you weren¡¯t worth loving," Lu Li couldn¡¯t help but interrupt.


    He would rather listen to the goblin¡¯s alchemical research to subtly discover the Noggenfogger Elixir formula, he didn¡¯t really care about Sprinkle.


    "I¡¯ve¡­ never spoken to her before¡­" Mr. Marin said sheepishly.


    After talking about her for so long, he revealed that Sprinkle didn¡¯t even know who he was. Lu Li was speechless and could only listen as he went on about the good side of Miss Sprinkle.


    Feelings could be a poison that made some people go crazy and reach outlandish conclusions.


    It took more than an hour for Marin Noggenfogger to tell the story of his underappreciated life. He was born into a slave family and had become an apprentice by chance, but because he had given up on engineering to pursue metallurgy, he was abandoned by his peers.


    And now, he was sick and had spent almost all of his money on alchemy, which was his life¡¯s hope. However, that, too, had stopped.


    "Is this your research?" Lu Li asked as he casually took the bottle of Noggenfogger Elixir, unscrewed the lid and drank it. He immediately transformed into a deep red skeleton.


    This was just a visual change. Lu Li hadn¡¯t really become Undead and the equipment on his body was still the same.


    "How is it? Is it not a great invention?" Marin Noggenfogger asked as he looked at Lu Li in anticipation.


    "Although this adventurer wasn¡¯t generous, at least he respected me and drank my potion. He was even willing to listen to my story. Even if I die tonight, at least I wouldn¡¯t die quietly," he thought to himself.


    "What¡¯s the point of it?" Lu Li tried to slow his heartbeat before cancelling the transformation to change back into a Night Elf Thief.


    He then used the Deception Orb under the stunned gaze of Marin Noggenfogger.


    Lu Li, who had been transformed into a skeleton, was now even more animated and was actually an Undead. Marin Noggenfogger couldn¡¯t see any traces of a transformation.


    Everything he then knew collapsed as he suddenly realized that the years of research he had done were in vain.


    This guy had just casually turned into a skeleton that his potion couldn¡¯t even compare to. Could it be that the years he had spent on the Noggenfogger Elixir were just a joke?


    He had thought of using this great invention to make a fortune, so he could make enough money to marry Miss Sprinkle.


    "No, that can¡¯t be right¡­" Marin Noggenfogger wasn¡¯t an idiot; he grabbed onto Lu Li¡¯s arm and asked, "What kind of item or potion are you using? Show me!"


    Lu Li showed him the Deception Orb.


    "Is this orb a common item?" Noggenfogger flipped it around and studied it, but couldn¡¯t uncover the mystery of the orb. He had no choice but to give it back reluctantly.


    "Who knows? I opened a chest and got the item by chance," Lu Li replied quietly. "But, transformation items and potions are quite common, such as the Steel Dwarf¡¯s win, Dartol¡¯s Rod of Transformation, Savory Deviate Delight¡­"


    Lu Li¡¯s profound knowledge of Dawn allowed him to recount these things, some of which Marin Noggenfogger hadn¡¯t even heard of, even though he had specialized in Alchemy.

 619 A Contrac

    "Everything I know in my life is wrong¡­" Marin Noggenfogger murmured.


    If he hadn¡¯t researched the wrong thing, he could have at least made a little money with his intelligence and ability. That way, he wouldn¡¯t be too poor to confess to his Goddess.


    "Mr Marin, Mr Marin¡­"


    Lu Li¡¯s voice sounded like it came from afar and awakened the Goblin.


    Lu Li wanted to beat this guy up, just in case his asking price was too high, but if he accidently killed this dumb child, who else would he ask for the formula?


    "Sir, you haven¡¯t left yet. Please don¡¯t bother me anymore; let me die in peace," Noggenfogger pleaded desperately.


    "Marin, I think you¡¯re on the cutting edge here," Lu Li said solemnly. "You¡¯re young and you can start your research again. Your current research isn¡¯t without value either. Do you believe that?"


    "What does it matter if I believe it? I¡¯m about to die from my sickness. I can¡¯t start over."


    Marin Noggenfogger felt like his life was fading.


    "You can find a good doctor to heal you. Then, you can continue your research or maybe start something new, but you need to make some money before finding Sprinkle so she will marry you. After that, she¡¯ll give you a son. How about that?" Lu Li was the devil who had climbed out of hell, and was showing him an ideal future.


    Marin Noggenfogger had been moved.


    He was unwilling to let his work be wasted and he didn¡¯t want to give up on Sprinkles. Marin Noggenfogger loved her so much that he was happy just to see her from afar.


    "Please adventurer, help me!" When he thought about how he would never see her again, Marin Noggenfogger struggled to get up.


    "I¡¯m actually a research fanatic with a particular interest in Alchemy. If you want my help, you need to exchange your knowledge for it¡­" Lu Li said as he touched his stubble, appearing quite sophisticated.


    What he was implying was that he wanted the formula!


    "Knowledge¡­" Marin Noggenfogger looked awkwardly before shaking his head and saying, "I have tried to write out my formula before, but I always failed, and it was never recognized by alchemists."


    Not all words written on a piece of paper could be called a formula ¨C they had to be System approved.


    Some formulas were unobtainable by players. Those kinds couldn¡¯t be written down.


    Lu Li tried to calmly hide his disappointment. Fortunately, it was late and Marin Noggenfogger couldn¡¯t see him very well. Otherwise, he would have re-evaluated the value of his research.


    In the end, there was no formula to be had ¨C it was just this guy and his research.


    Of course, there was no way to directly prove this, but it seemed to be the case. Lu Li racked his brains as the Goblin waited in anticipation.


    He wanted to take advantage of this Goblin¡¯s rise to power, but it was looking quite difficult now.


    "As long as you help me, I swear I will repay you a thousand times over. I swear on Sprinkles¡¯ name," Marin Noggenfogger promised through clenched teeth. Lu Li could wait, but he couldn¡¯t. He was most afraid of this live-saving rope deciding that he wasn¡¯t worth it and leaving.


    "Let¡¯s go to the tavern. I think you need to have some food," Lu Li suggested, then picked up the weak goblin.


    "Ah, no matter what, I give you many thanks," Marin Noggenfogger said gratefully. He was a little confused by Lu Li¡¯s weird and volatile attitude. He couldn¡¯t work it out, even with his high IQ.


    All the taverns were bustling with players, NPCs and adventurers. Although Lu Li blended in quite well, Marin Noggenfogger stood out.


    "It¡¯s another fool. Hopefully, he doesn¡¯t think that a quest will be triggered," said a player who recognized Marin Noggenfogger.


    There were many Gadgetzan Goblin NPCs, and while Marin Noggenfogger was one of the less eye-catching ones, there were many players that had approached him to try their luck. One by one, everyone slowly realized that this Goblin was so poor that he was just waiting for death to come.


    "Marin Noggenfogger has fallen to this point, and yet he is still clinging onto that ridiculous and unrealistic research?" This was the attitude of an NPC, and it couldn¡¯t be described as friendly.


    Lu Li indifferently place Marin onto a faraway table.


    They were in a remote place, but the service was still good.


    All kinds of fine drinks and even lamb chops were quickly served by the waiters. The other players shook their heads at Lu Li, thinking about how expensive this supposedly hidden quest was.


    Marin Noggenfogger was completely sluggish, but he suddenly felt his illness disappear as he grew an impulse to eat some beef.


    Lu Li quietly watched him eat while he slowly sipped a glass of ale.


    There was a large temperature difference in the desert environment. The ground was so hot in the day that you could cook eggs on it, but it was dead cold at night.


    The tavern was filled with food and wine, and the fireplace was lit with the finest charcoal. At this time, Marin Noggenfogger was lost in a moment of happiness.


    "You are so generous sir. I will definitely repay you in future," Marin Noggenfogger said as he wiped his mouth. The pale white goblin had finally regained some color on his face.


    "In the future? What will you be in future, Mr Marin? Are you going to go back and sleep on the dirty alley?" Lu Li asked as he kindly smiled.


    Marin Noggenfogger¡¯s heart fluttered; he hated the few days that he had spent living in that alley. He


    "I have a contract here." Lu Li felt like this was the moment.


    If he had taken this out while Marin Noggenfogger was still in the alley, he would have been able to think about it properly. However, while he was in this cosy environment where everything felt easy, he would never want to go back to that cold alley again.


    "Sir, you are a devil in a Night Elf¡¯s body," he said as he signed his name without even reading it and pricked his thumb to drip some blood over the runes on the contract.


    "I have given you the power of choice, Mr Marin. Our cooperation should be enjoyable."


    Lu Li suppressed his racing heart and took back the contract. The dagger he was holding was shaking, as if it was being blown by the wind.


    He impatiently cut his finger with the dagger and dripped his blood onto the runes.


    Now that the contract had been executed, it burned up and disappeared. Not even the little ashes were left behind.

 620 Monopolizing The Revenue

    "Dammit, it really is a local tycoon. He just used a contract."


    Some of the players who were sitting around the area knew what had just happened. They immediately recognized the burning object as the legendary contract.


    Dawn never advertised itself as a free game, but apart from the helmets, there were no additional fees that needed to be paid.


    However, there were some things that did exist, like this contract. It was just like an ordinary contract, but it wasn¡¯t governed by the world¡¯s laws. Rather, it was governed by the game¡¯s own set of rules.


    If a player and an NPC didn¡¯t trust each other, it was best to sign a contract.


    Players could sign them with other players as well. They weren¡¯t expensive, as they could be bought from the system for 100 gold coins. You could write whatever you wanted within them, but they had to be within the constraints of the system.


    Only for an important agreement would a player use this luxury item. No one thought that they would see a contract in this desert Tavern.


    "He just signed a contract with that NPC. That NPC isn¡¯t his slave now, is he?" someone speculated. If you could enslave a few NPCs and force them to farm for you all day, that would be quite worthwhile. Or perhaps if you were lucky, you could enslave a beautiful female NPC¡­


    "You wish. Dawn¡¯s system would never allow its NPCs to farm for the players. Moreover, to enslave an NPC is basically the same as killing it. It would provoke its entire race," another player immediately said, correcting his incorrect thinking.


    "But they just signed a contract¡­"


    Everyone saw it and hoped that he hadn¡¯t given this guy some hidden quest.


    Marin Noggenfogger hadn¡¯t read the contents of the contract, but the moment it came into effect, he immediately knew what it said.


    Cold sweat was pouring from his head, as if he was a pot of water. He looked to Lu Li with a strong hatred, but this quickly subsided as he calmed down.


    Noggenfogger didn¡¯t know where the adventurer had come from, but it turned out that he had wanted Marin Noggenfogger¡¯s research this whole time. He was convinced that the research would make a lot of money. Otherwise, why would he have forced Marin to sign this kind of contract?


    However, he understood the situation as well. He didn¡¯t have many other options left, so he voluntarily signed it. He didn¡¯t want to reject the contract that would protect him from freezing to death.


    Most importantly, the adventurer who wrote the contract wasn¡¯t completely ruthless.


    For every sale of a bottle of the Noggenfogger Elixir, Lu Li would take half of the profit. The remaining half would belong to Marin Noggenfogger, who had to make the potions.


    To support him, Lu Li would provide Marin Noggenfogger with a lab, experimental materials, manpower, resources and anything else that he needed to do his job.


    For the sake of the common good, neither of them would be slacking in their commitments.


    Lu Li never intended to sign a slave deal or to take all of the profit ¨C that was simply unrealistic. The System would never allow such a contract anyway. Why would a person who didn¡¯t profit work hard for you?


    Fifty-fifty was the proportion that he had decided on right from the beginning.


    The potion wasn¡¯t perfect at the moment and could only transform the user into a skeleton. The effect would also vanish when you got onto a mount.


    Marin Noggenfogger still needed to continue his research.


    "Here are 20 gold coins. Go and find a good doctor. I will send someone else to contact you in the future. Mr Marin, you will never be poor again." Lu Li was satisfied with Marin Noggenfogger¡¯s mood change as he handed over a small bag of gold coins before bending over for a hug.


    "I hope that our cooperation will go well," the green goblin muttered.


    Just like that, the future goblin tycoon of Gadgetzan, Mr Marin Noggenfogger, had joined Lu Li¡¯s merry band. Lu Li was a little surprised because when he first noticed this potion master, he had intended to steal the recipe from him.


    This money should have been his alone; he didn¡¯t want anyone else to have a part of it.


    The next day, Lu Li stationed Square Root 3 at Gadgetzan to set up a guild quest. There were so many players in the guild that many didn¡¯t mind spending half an hour to help Marin Noggenfogger gather the materials that he needed. Those players then got their reimbursement from the guild.


    As to whether this was using the guild for his own interests, Lu Li decided not to think about it.


    Many players on the street had a mount, but as Lu Li rode his Headless Warhorse, he attracted countless envious stares.


    The weekly mount for the battlefield champion was harder to acquire, but the Centurion 20,000 Glory Points Mount was relatively easy to afford.


    From this, a new job was created. A group of players would take two clients with them and spend their efforts to give them last hits to increase their Glory Points for a Mount. This was a decent way to make some money.


    Of course, you had to guarantee that you had a decent success rate. Otherwise, the client wouldn¡¯t pay.


    The reputations of these groups were spread by word of mouth. Those that were reputable lined up at the front for the clients, while those that were unreliable had to kneel and beg.


    Alternatively, players could be rewarded a Mount if they had enough Prestige with a race.


    Humans rewarded a Gray Horse, Dwarves rewarded a Goat, Gnomes rewarded a mechanical bird, Night Elves rewarded a Leopard, Draenei rewarded a Thunder Elephant, Blood Elves rewarded a Hawkstrider, Trolls rewarded a Raptor, Tauren rewarded a Kodo, Orcs rewarded a Wolf and so on.


    It was more common to see horses, as it was definitely easier to gain prestige with the humans.


    March Rain would often complete Prestige Quests when she had nothing else to do, and was almost able to receive a Leopard.


    The Night Elf Mount was one of the better-looking ones. Some of the others were actually quite scary, but they were probably worth more. However, if everyone had the same Mount as you, it didn¡¯t really matter how much the Mount was actually worth.


    Lu Li was halfway to levelling up, so he acquired some Scarab shell collecting quests, but only gained a bit of EXP. Eventually, he gave up and just started farming.


    With his new equipment, Lu Li had his sights on a new type of monster ¨C the Chimpanzees of Stranglethorn Vale.


    There weren¡¯t many of these monsters, but they respawned quickly and were mostly Elites. They had high base damage, but also could use Slap and Thunder Trample.


    Because there weren¡¯t many of them, Mages weren¡¯t that effective here. Moreover, because of their high damage and skills, most players had to take potions while fighting them. It just wasn¡¯t worth it.


    Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be too concerned with their numbers, as long as they respawned quickly. He was going to kill them one at a time anyway. He wasn¡¯t afraid of their damage; it wasn¡¯t as high as his¡­


    After picking a spot, Lu Li appeared in the misty valley of Stranglethorn Vale where there was a heavy fog. It was filled with Chimpanzees and Red Spotted Snakes, both of which were difficult to deal with when provoked.


    However, Lu Li had brought some antidotes with him, so he didn¡¯t need to worry about the venomous snakes.

 621 War In Stranglethorn Vale

    Lu Li had been leveling with the gorillas for the past two days and had finally reached level 40.


    All the players under him on the level ranking were still level 38, while those at the bottom were all level 37. The Scarab quest could only do so much for these players; they needed too much experience to level up.


    Lu LI felt relieved after he saw that he stood out from the rest.


    This was what it was like for professional gamers. You didn''t need to be ahead of everyone else by a lot ¨C that would be unrealistic and it would also catch too much attention. However, you need to at least be better than the mainstream players.


    Two days was enough time for the major guilds to complete the Zul''Farrak dungeon. Some mercenary groups and random players were also lucky enough to complete it.


    Countless guides for this dungeon had been released, with some of them being even better than the guides that Azure Sea Breeze had supplied to the gaming magazines. After all, his guides were rigged versions that Square Root 3 had told him to hand over.


    The gaming magazines began to interview Ruling Sword players after they received the guide.


    Of course, the first one to be interviewed was Lu Li.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li wasn''t very cooperative. The interviewers could only make up a biography for him based on the information that they had found and the information that Square Root 3 supplied.


    The biography included his First Clears of dungeons and Wild Bosses, as well as some unbelievable kills that he had obtained by himself.


    It also recounted his experience with his team and some comments that other top players had made about Lu Li.


    These players were either celebrities or team commanders from big guilds. Although they may not have liked Lu Li or felt like they could catch up to him someday, they had one thing in common ¨C they all agreed that Lu Li had his own specialty in each aspect of the game.


    The second player interviewed was Moonlight. After they received his consent, his old identity was revealed to the public.


    After him, March Rain and the others would be interviewed, and an overall description would be written as a summary for Ruling Sword. This was basically an advertisement for Ruling Sword on a large scale. Usually, the media wouldn''t be interested in making these kinds of advertisements, but Lu Li and his team had compensated them with a single guide that would become outdated sooner or later. This was a good trade for them.


    The number of guild members continued to increase; Square Root 3 planned to form a third elite team at the end of the year.


    Everything was going in a positive direction, but Lu Li found himself in a pickle.


    As players became more and more familiar with Dawn, all kinds of techniques and tactics for each class had been devised. It was no longer a surprise for the top players to cast a skill with a completion level of 80% or higher.


    This was especially the case with celebrity players. Most celebrity players were either extremely talented or had worked very hard to achieve their current positions. They improved even faster than the average experts.


    A completion level of 90% on still targets became the standard for a celebrity player. Celebrity players bragged about their completion level, especially the close-combat classes.


    There was also a portion of players who took another route. They didn''t worry about their completion level, but instead focused on increasing the number of attacks they could make with low-completion levels. Some also focused on a stable playstyle that involved high Strength and Critical Strike Attributes. Overall, everyone had increased significantly in terms of their strength.


    Lu Li had already planned his own playstyle right from the start.


    He decided that he would play with high skill completion and high number of attacks dealt. He combined the specialties of both classic playstyles, thinking that this was the best route for himself.


    However, his completion had already reached a limit for him and it was becoming harder to surpass it. He could often cast a skill and reach a completion level of 95%.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, he had heard of players who could surpass a 100% completion level, up to a maximum of 120%.


    Ranged magic classes relied on their powerful skills to kill other players, but these had a casting time to wait for. Close-combat classes relied on high completion levels, especially since players were increasing the amount of maximum health they had. They had also obtained more life-saving skills, so attacks without high completion wouldn''t do much to them.


    Lu Li methodically practiced the completion levels of all his skills as he continued to level up.


    "My posture is a little weird; I should be further away from the target. That way, I''ll have a bigger spin from my torso. There''s still room of improvement for Backhand Backstab," Lu Lu noted as he picked up the materials that the gorillas dropped and quickly charged towards his next target.


    There wasn''t a lot of time for him to think in precise details; his assassin gear required consistency in kills.


    The area that he had chosen was a wide, open space that refreshed around ten gorillas. The gorillas were packed tightly and as soon as he killed one, another would refresh. If Lu Li paused briefly, he could be caught by two gorillas.


    These gorillas weren''t the type of monster that you could take down in groups, because all of them had a skill that could stun multiple players.


    It took Lu Li a lot of effort to clear all these monsters; he had been here ever since he had logged online and hadn''t moved from this location for the past few hours. Even after he reached level 40, he didn''t choose to leave.


    "Aiya!"


    A dark shadow jumped out from the trees and into Lu Li''s vision. The dim red lights signaled to Lu Li that this was a Horde player.


    The Horde player didn''t expect to run into someone in this area; he was caught by surprise too.


    An Ice Bolt and a Shadow Bolt landed on him while he was caught by surprise. What followed him was a frantic flurry of other skills.


    There were a few other players who came out from the jungle ¨C a Paladin, a Priest and three damage dealers. This was a very classic combination for a small team.


    They were surprised to find a player here too.


    "He''s killing the gorillas. Seems like he has good gear. Should we..." one of the players asked his team leader. It was hard for average players to understand how good Lu Li''s technique was. Average players would only look at Lu Li and think that he dealt high damage because of his good gear.


    Not to mention, it was five against one ¨C it would definitely be easy for them to take down their target.


    "You wish," the leader cursed, clearly annoyed. "This is an Alliance player; we''re only killing Horde players today. Let''s go!"


    "Bro, Stranglethorn Vale is in quite a confusion today. You should leave if you''re not participating. It seems like your gear pretty good. If you''re brave enough, join us to fight the Hordes?" he bellowed at Lu Li before leaving.


    Lu Li killed the gorilla in front of him, as if he didn''t hear anything and pounced onto his next target.


    "*****, so stuck up. He''s ignoring us," the one who spoke previously he mumbled under his breath, clearly not impressed.


    "The Alliance are killing the Horde today. All Alliance members our brothers and all Horde members are our enemy. If you still want to kill someone for gear, then you better leave," the team captain yelled impatiently.


    Alliance killing the Horde? What did this mean? Was there an event today that he wasn''t aware of?


    Lu Li was paying attention to everything around him. He just didn''t want to disrupt his assassin gear effect and he also didn''t feel like these people were a threat to him.

 622 War in Stranglethorn Vale 2

    Lu Li thought the previous incident was just an accident, but the events that followed after were out of what he had expected. People constantly appeared in this empty area to interrupt him.


    This was Misty Valley of Stranglethorn Vale; players rarely came here because there were no minerals and herbs. Not to mention, these gorillas weren''t easy to deal with either.


    Even if these players had come to complete quests, Misty Valley was a big place, so there was no reason to specifically run into this area.


    If they were Alliance players chasing after Horde players, it would make sense. The Alliance players would just be surprised to run into him, but if it was the other way around, the Horde players would attack him without the slightest hesitation.


    With his assassin gear, Lu Li was capable of handling the situation while the intruding numbers remained in small groups, but when their numbers increased, the situation became different.


    In the end, he had to escape with Gale Steps, but also meant that he broken the consistency kills for his assassin gear. Lu Li needed to vent his rage, so he followed behind and devoured these intruding players one by one.


    These players dropped a few level 30 Silver equips which could be sold to make up for his maintenance fees. However, this was still not enough to make up for Lu Li''s losses.


    It seemed like he had been looked down on; he just wanted to level up!


    Lu Li then continued to encounter a wide variety of players. They were all battling each other and they were clearly divided by their factions.


    Since players from the same faction were able to fight each other, most of the time, they never bothered to check. It was normal for players to be caught in a conflict and raise their weapons at each other.


    While he was caught in between the confusion, Lu Li ran into his greatest threat today.


    Why was Gaze here? He wasn''t by himself either. When Lu Li saw Cloudy Leaf and Wendelian with him, he felt the urge to curse a million times.


    It wasn''t just these three players ¨C there were others too. There was a total of 30 to 50 of them, not including the other Stealthed classes that were probably hiding to the side as well.


    Gaze had risen to the peak of his fame last year when he sold himself out for four million dollars. Lu Li had encountered him a few times and wouldn''t dare look down on his technique.


    Warriors naturally countered Thieves, and as Lu Li''s level increased, he could felt this more and more.


    Not to mention, Lu Li didn''t expect all of these players to hold up to any level of sportsmanship.


    Both parties almost reacted in the same instant. Lu Li rolled towards the bush beside him as Gaze directed his Charge towards him. Cloudy Leaf flashed and immediately casted Frost Nova.


    Nobody else used any skills, but they all made their best reaction.


    A Charge and a Frost Nova was enough. If Lu Li didn''t cast Gale Steps, he wouldn''t have been able to make it out alive. If he used Gale Steps, then it didn''t matter how many spells they casted; it was better for the rest of them to stay put and block his escape routes.


    However, Lu Li''s reaction surprised them.


    Lu Li''s rolling motion to the bushes was only a bait. He bounced himself from the ground below him as he landed right back at his original position.


    Gaze had already charged out and Cloudy Leaf had already flashed; they all ran ahead of Lu Li.


    Lu Li ran away in the opposite direction. When he passed Wendelian, he didn''t even hesitate to kick her in the stomach, which successfully interrupted her Soul Shriek.


    All of this happened in an instant. All four professional players reacted based on their best judgement.


    As for the average players, they might have only just understood what had happened, but their technique and reaction time prevented them from taking any actions. They could only watch as Lu Li brushed past them.


    With his Shadow Cloak, the special effect from his boots and Gale Steps combined, he disappeared as soon as he appeared.


    "Don''t worry about it. Don''t chase. We can''t catch up," Wendelian called out as she calmly flicked off the dust and shoe print on her white Priest gown.


    "Such a shame," Gaze sighed. "It was such a great chance."


    "There wasn''t much hope to begin with anyway. He is very confident though, to travel alone by himself in an environment like this," Wendelian said as she shook her head. She didn''t feel any remorse for Lu Li''s escape.


    The number one figure in the Horde faction was Sorrowless. As for the Alliance faction, most thought that the number one player was Lu Li. Although he had a weak foundation, his level was too high.


    After Lu Li made his escape, he didn''t walk around fearlessly anymore. He hid in the shadows and investigated his surroundings as he moved in Stealth. He also opened the area channel, the channel that he had blocked for a long time.


    "My ***, I died again, fight me one-on-one..."


    "Killing Alliance dogs. Team of four missing one player. Need to at least have half Silver grade gear to be considered."


    "HAHA, keep talking you Horde pigs. Why aren''t you talking anymore? It must be fun losing all that experience. What happened to all the big talk when you guys killed me? I''m onto you guys; don''t come if you''re scared."


    Lu Li instantly lost track of the conversation from the spam in the area channel. Why was everyone so fiesty today?


    Although Stranglethorn Vale and Southshore were the areas where most of the fights occurred, it had never been like this before. This place was worse than the street markets.


    In Dawn, players weren''t allowed to talk in any channel whenever they wanted.


    The World channel was the channel that most people saw. To talk on it would cost players a certain amount of money, and they would also be restricted with the number of times they could talk. Players were also banned from swearing and advertising. Otherwise, it would be too hard to play the game in peace when Dawn''s population was so large.


    The Trading channel was specifically made for trading purposes, while the Faction channel was limited to players in the same faction. The Area channel was restricted to players on the map, and also required players to spend money.


    Besides these, there was also the team channel (5 players), raid channel (more than 5 players), current channel, guild channel, system channel¡­


    These were all free, but came with their own restrictions.


    Although the payment for talking on the area channel wasn''t as high as the world channel, most people wouldn''t talk on it. There was no reason to spend unnecessary money.


    Soon, Lu Li figured out what had happened; he didn''t even need to ask his friends.


    A dark red crow flew across the sky of Stranglethorn Vale, its feathers glistening under the sunset. The crow saw with its own eyes the various battles that were going on between the Horde and Alliance players.


    There was a massive war in Stranglethorn Vale!


    After a month''s worth of hate festering on both sides, the first major war in Stranglethorn Vale had finally broken out.


    Some players were reluctant to fight, but not everyone was this considerate ¨C they just rode in and attacked. As such, it was only normal that everyone held grudges. Some were even killed in front of girls they had a crush on, so they held a greater grudge. Other players had their siblings, friends or relatives killed.


    Stranglethorn Vale always had its own reasons for players to hold a grudge against one other.


    Hence, on this very day, countless players joined in and spilled each other''s blood in all corners of the map.


    Lu Li searched for his own army. Ruling Sword was part of the Alliance faction, so there was no way they would miss out on a war of this scale.


    This had become an area where no solo players could tread.


    Skills flew around everywhere; it wasn''t a surprise to be suddenly hit by a cold arrow. Even Thieves were forced to stay with the troops.


    Lu Li never felt like he was invincible, but if he was knocked out from his Stealth, he could escape with Gale Steps. However, if he was knocked out from his Stealth after his invincibility expired, he could still die if he was unlucky.

 623 War in Stranglethorn Vale 3

    As Lu LI flew from Misty Valley towards the Gorgrom Camp, he could see more and more players beneath him.


    Everything that was unfolding in front of him amazed him. Before his very eyes, countless players gathered and surrounded the Gorgrom Camp in waves as the smoke of war drifted through the air.


    There were hundreds of players fighting against each other. Countless white lights flashed and rose into the air; equipment and technique meant nothing here. With dozens of skills flying around, even celebrity players couldn''t do much.


    It was no wonder why Gaze and his other team members ran so far away ¨C they were scared to get close to the epicenter of the battle.


    There were also other areas that were a little messier; it was hard to tell Horde and Alliance players apart. Everyone just attacked whatever they could.


    Dawn had a mode called the Faction mode, which was specifically meant for situations like this. Players wouldn''t have to worry about their skills hurting the wrong players.


    Another important restriction was that players couldn''t run through each other. Even if you wanted thousands of players to rush in together, it would be impossible due to the limited space. Players could only extend themselves outwards from the camp, which caused the entire map to be filled with fire and smoke.


    From the conversations in the area channel, Lu Li discovered that the resistance force of the Alliance had already fallen.


    All of the resistance force had been slain and they would only appear again tomorrow after the refresh. This was also the cause of the war in Stranglethorn Vale.


    The camp of the resistance army was quite simple ¨C there were no inns, no portals and there weren''t even any decent Boss-level NPCs around to look after the area. However, even if they were slain, it wouldn''t do much harm to Alliance force ¨C most of these players had come from Booty Bay anyway.


    But that''s not what the Alliance players thought ¨C their pride had been bruised.


    If they didn''t fight back after their pride had been bruised, would they still be real men?


    Hence, a war that involved millions of players from both factions occurred and spread itself across the entire map of Stranglethorn Vale.


    There were countless small battles scattered throughout this map, with the center of the fighting being the Gorgrom Camp.


    The Gorgrom Camp wasn''t a small location like the resistance army camp.


    There were a great number of Gorgrom Sentinel, commanders, and prophets everywhere, and they were all high-leveled.


    The camp also boasted a number of Turrets, Dragons and Ships, as well as mercenaries hired from Booty Bay.


    Even without the Horde players, it wouldn''t be easy for a few thousand Alliance players to destroy this place.


    However, the number of players involved were more than a few thousand, so the battle was full of uncertainty. If Horde players didn''t help hold their fort, it would only be a matter of time before the Alliance took Gorgrom Camp.


    Fortunately for the Horde, the Alliance players were at an overall disadvantage.


    Stranglethorn Vale seemed to be the only area in Azeroth where the war hadn''t broken out. The ancient Gurubashi civilization of the Trolls built cities for themselves to live in which the Gnomes took over later. Their cities became ashes and the Trolls split into different tribes with complex relationships.


    After the third war, Thrall led the orcs and their allies, the Darkspear clan, to move to this land together.


    The Darkspear clan were the group of Trolls from the Jungle Troll tribe who had given up on cannibalism.


    Because of these Trolls, the Horde faction gained control of most of the Stranglethorn Vale. Alliance players had to teleport from Booty Bay first to enter the map and rush towards the battleground located at Gorgrom Camp. Horde players, on the other hand, could teleport from anywhere in the world into the Gorgrom Camp to join the battle.


    Resource supply and equipment repair also became other limiting factors.


    Ruling Sword stayed as a group and attacked the Gorgrom Camp from the Northeast side, managing to hold back a good number of Horde Players from joining the main fight.


    Sesame Rice Ball opened a portal and Ruling Sword players were constantly sent to the frontline.


    From a shallower point of view, it seemed as if this was going to damage the preserved strength of the guild. It wasn''t so much about the gear ¨C other players from the guild would pick it up.


    They were fighting in the wild, so if anyone died, they would lose experience.


    However, Ruling Sword had to join the war. This was a need from a deeper level.


    This was an event that brought players together. Player who participated in this war would never be the same again.


    In the future, if newer players asked them, these players who participated in the war could proudly respond that they had once fought alongside Square Root 3.


    This response was much more glorious than saying something like, "I was a part of the guild from the beginning."


    Square Root 3 couldn''t get in contact with Lu Li, who was too busy leveling. As such, he had to force himself to bring the majority of the guild to step into Stranglethorn Vale. It had only been half a day and most of the players in the guild had died at least once.


    It was no use for him to be sad about it; the battle had to continue. No one wanted to be known as a coward ¨C the major guilds valued their reputation.


    Every now and then, the Horde would yell, "War and glory, blood and thunder!"


    "For Queen Sylvanas!"


    "Embrace the darkness, HAHAHA!"


    "For the Horde!"


    On the other side, the Alliance responded with, "Glory for the Alliance!"


    "For the King!"


    Some also shouted words based on their class or race like, "Holy light above us" and "The Earth Mother guides you." Lu Li felt like he had a headache from all the ruckus that had been caused. He sped up and flew towards where his own base was located.


    "I''m here." With one sentence from Lu Li, the entire guild suddenly lit up. Their morale was boosted and the Horde players on the opposing side nearly lost their line of defense.


    "Where? Take over ¨C I really can''t take down this wall."


    Square Root 3 was relieved and he wanted to immediately pass over his responsibility. He was stuck and didn''t know what to do.


    "I''m above you guys in the sky," Lu Li said as he investigated his surrounding then sighed, "I don''t know what to do either; the Hordes have too much of a geographical advantage. Even if we break down their wall, how we face the players on the other end is an issue too."


    "Don''t worry ¨C just force our way in. No one has taken down the wall yet," Square Root 3 said, thinking that this was of no concern at all.


    He didn''t really think they could do anything to the Gorgrom Camp; he just wanted their guild to perform better than the others. That would be an achievement for Ruling Sword in the war; they were actually competing against each other.


    "Don''t move the right side; increase the attacks from the left side. Hmm, I''ll give you the coordinates," Lu Li instructed. He could see how their opponents spread their forces since he was up in the air.


    In this way, they made it through the outer defense, and the pressure on the Horde players was greatly increased. One time, Ruling Sword even pushed them up against the wall.


    The Horde players in the camp had good reaction and mobility. Although their turrets weren''t too strong, Ruling Sword still couldn''t entirely break through.


    Even so, the morale of the Alliance players was greatly boosted. Even the results of the surrounding battles improved. Everyone began to focus their attention on the Northeast side, where Ruling Sword was positioned.

 624 War in Stranglethorn Vale 4

    Ruling Sword''s advance didn''t last for too long.


    The Horde simply added some reinforcements which solved their problem. They easily killed many players with their turrets and Ruling Sword''s morale dropped by quite a bit.


    "This isn''t working." Square Root 3 could feel his heart aching.


    It felt good to have the Horde forced up against their wall, but too many of their players had died. Most importantly, you couldn''t pick up the equipment that you dropped. They were giving items away for free.


    "Play it safe. I''ll try to come up with something."


    Lu Li didn''t fly too close to the Gorgrom Camp; the turrets were too strong.


    Although most people wouldn''t be bored enough to aim a turret at a crow, their eyes were quite sharp. What if they realized he was a player? He would die in one shot.


    Ruling Sword had lost their advantage after their attack wave was successfully defended, so Square Root 3 informed all group leaders to tighten their defense line. The twelve groups sent out to attack dropped down to five.


    "Haha, talk more. Why aren''t you guys coming anymore?" On the walls, the Horde players were taunting their attackers.


    "Ruling Sword, you guys came to give us your equipment, right? I''ve picked up a weapon. Who dropped it? If you call me grandpa I''ll give it back to you."


    All sorts of spiteful words were hurled towards the Alliance. The Horde players instantly felt better about their previous defeat.


    The commander on the Northside thought that Ruling Sword was scared, so they sent out more Horde players. They didn''t like being on the defensive either.


    Around 700 to 800 Horde players swarmed out from the North gate. Some jumped down from the walls; their landing didn''t deal much damage to them. Besides, there were a bunch of healers on the wall tossing out healing spells.


    They grouped together with the Paladins and Berserkers at the front and ranged classes at the back, then charged towards Ruling Sword''s camp.


    If they couldn''t make an advance, the others at the back will definitely support them.


    These Horde players had wanted to make their move for a long time already. Ruling Sword had placed themselves in danger since there was no support behind them.


    Lu Li didn''t participate in the defense. Even in this small corner, there were thousands of players battling. If he jumped down, he would simply be asking for death.


    This battle was too hopeless, but he was the hope of the guild. He couldn''t jump in like other professional competitors and kill as many players as he wanted.


    However, he had to do something ¨C he was well and aware of the threat that the Gorgrom Camp posed.


    The resistance army camp had been destroyed, so the other Alliance defenses had a reason to join in now, but Lu Li didn''t really place his hopes in this.


    Most Alliance forces had their own responsibilities in different areas and usually wouldn''t leave. Those in the resistance army camp were Horde players, not the Horde faction itself. It was rare for NPCs to fight players ¨C this only happened when they were attacked first and they had to fight back.


    If the Alliance NPCs didn''t help them, they could only rely on Alliance players.


    Although there were millions of Alliance players in Stranglethorn Vale, there were just as many in the Horde. They also had the geographical advantage and could afford to drag out the battle.


    Lu Li thought for a while and felt like it wouldn''t be too hard for them to take down their frontline defense.


    After all, players weren''t real soldiers. If a few thousand elite players gathered and focused their attacks on one area, it wouldn''t be too hard to make a breakthrough. Lu Li had seen many of these instances in his life; this was quite a popular tactic.


    But what would happen after they made a breakthrough? He couldn''t possibly hope for these players to stand their ground and kill Aggro''Gosh or Mok''Thardin.


    Hence, Lu Li gave up trying to slaughter the Gorgrom Camp.


    To be fair, if they did make a breakthrough, it would make Ruling Sword look good. However, they would have to do this in the face of the great advantage that the Horde players have.


    They couldn''t afford to give time to the opposing expert players. Although Ruling Sword claimed to have 60,000 players, they didn''t have the qualities to stand up to their title. If they asked for reinforcements, they wouldn''t look as good.


    After he filtered out all possibilities, Lu Li bitterly shook his head. What was he supposed to do ¨C ask monsters for help?


    Right, why didn''t he think of that earlier!?


    Lu Li was so excited by the thought that he nearly dropped from the sky.


    In this case, a reference to a Thief called Shadow Wind had to be made. He wasn''t the typical solo player, but after the incident, he became more famous than the celebrity players.


    Apparently, on the day, Stranglethorn Vale was in good weather. Elevenless from Wings of Dawn brought groups of 600 men to take down a level 50 boss in the wild.


    Based on how major guilds functioned, what they were about to do was normal.


    At the time, Shadow Wind happened to be hanging around and had been cleared out from the area. He wasn''t impressed, and thought to himself, "You do you ¨C I''m not going to go over and cause trouble. Why did you clear me out? I''m a top player too; you can''t just take me out when you feel like it."


    Since he was upset, he used his technique to kill some players from Wings of Dawn.


    Unfortunately, he ran into Elevenless. Although Elevenless often died to others, he was still a top-ten Warrior player. If he was in a good state, he could even make it into the top three. Elevenless killed Shadow Wind after he casted Gale Steps.


    Shadow Wind was furious.


    It was strange how he could kill others but would get mad when other players killed him. Most players were like this though, but this was besides the point.


    More importantly, Shadow Wind had been in this area since he was level 15 and had stayed until he was level 50. He knew the map well ¨C every blade of grass, every tree and every single monster. He even knew secrets that others did not.


    He managed to lure out the Ogres from Mosh''Ogg.


    These were a strong bunch who could compete against the Trolls. Although they were lesser in number, they were strong enough to fight against the Trolls, and even captured some for their meals.


    They governed their surroundings and no one dared to intrude their territory. Even level 50 players didn''t want to catch their attention.


    The giant army, led by their two bosses Mai''Zoth and Roloch, followed behind Shadow Wind. The group from Wings of Dawn had no way to fight against this and they all died.


    Apparently, Gold and Silver equips were strewn all over the ground. A few players who heard of the news came and picked it all up.


    As for Shadow Wind, he died in the situation too, but this didn''t stop him from being a legend. For months, Wings of Dawn members hunted him down.


    Lu Li never really envied Shadow Wind ¨C he was someone who did whatever he wanted and wasn''t the best role model for a professional gamer. He was envious of the average players who had picked up the dropped equipment.


    As for the details of what happened with Shadow Wind and how he did it, this was eventually discovered by some other players. The system eventually fixed this bug in the patch after.

 625 War in Stranglethorn Vale 5

    Lu Li left Gorgrom base camp and began flying towards the Midza Ruins which were located in Ogre territory. Ogre Grunts occupied the outer ring while the higher-grade Elite Ogres resided in the center of the map.


    Lu Li had heard in his past life how Shadow Wind had Stealthed in from the outside and pulled the monsters. However, he had done this when he was already level 50.


    Lu Li dared not attempt this because Mosh''Ogg Witchdoctors could detect Stealth units. Unless he constantly stayed more than 5 yards away from them, a mere level 40 Thief would be killed instantly once detected.


    In his mind, he was thanking the developers for not designing an air unit for the Ogres.


    When he arrived at the Ogre Main Camp ¨C Mosh''Ogg Troll Hill ¨C he began to descend carefully.


    This was originally an underground palace for the Trolls, but the Ogres came and claimed it as their main camp. The defense here was quite scarce because they had placed all their manpower in the outer borders and were confident that no one could break through.


    In saying that, there were still a number of Mosh''Ogg Maulers, Witchdoctors and Spellcrafters patrolling the area.


    Lu Li Stealthed into the cave; this was the key factor in determining his success.


    Fortunately, most of the Ogres were asleep and there weren''t any Witchdoctors around that could detect him. There were some Mosh''Ogg Shamans, but Lu Li could easily sneak past them.


    After exploring the cave for a while, he finally found what he was looking for.


    Lu Li climbed onto a pillar so that he could overlook the palace. He almost scared himself to death when he saw Mai''Zoth. He had only seen him once in his past life, but Lu Li recognized him immediately because of his distinctive model.


    Mai''Zoth was one of the strongest Bosses in Stranglethorn Valley, along with Commander Aggro''gosh and Far Seer Mok''Thardin. He specialized in controlling souls with magic.


    His greatest achievement was luring the famous Coulson Special Forces, including their commander Colonel Conrad, into their downfall.


    Conrad was an experienced general and an outstanding tactician who had brought many great victories for the Alliance. Colonel Conrad, along with the Special Unit, was ordered by the Stormwind Kingdom to station in Strangelthorn Valley to carry out a classified task.


    The Special Unit codenamed "Coulson" was a team created to protect the royalty of Stormwind. The team consisted of famous commanders such as Chief Esquivel, Captain Doren, Jacob Anders, Chief Gaulus and Officer Mirenda. Each and every member of the special forces was an elite soldier and had received strict training prior to the mission.


    Unexpectedly, Captain Doren started a rebellion against Stormwind Kingdom by convincing his group to leave the campsite. They then engaged in guerilla warfare near the North of Strangelthorn Valley against the Special Unit.


    This was the former campsite of the Rebels who were defeated.


    Upon seeing a Mai''Zoth, a monster who was capable of wiping out an entire Special Force Unit, Lu Li was scared senseless. He dared not to look or feel anything; he even stopped breathing completely.


    After a while, when Lu Li could no longer hold his breath, the sound of Mai''Zoth''s staff hitting the ground as he walked became more and more distant.


    Lu Li waited even longer before peeking out to make sure Mai''Zoth was gone.


    It didn''t matter what the Trolls did here back in the day; this palace belonged to the Ogres now. A palace was incomplete without a king.


    The developers had yet to give the new king a proper name. He hadn''t been properly crowned as a king because he was still a child. The previous king was assassinated by Shadow Hunter Vol''jin, the chieftain of the Blackspear Tribe.


    Lu Li would not go easy on him, even though he was still a child.


    That''s right ¨C his target was the little Ogre. If he managed to kill the little rascal, the whole Mosh''Ogg Troll Hill would be infuriated.


    Lu Li carefully studied the pattern of the patrols and found the right timing to sneak past them into the palace. There were no guards or servants inside.


    The little Ogre was napping.


    Lu Li walked closer towards the tiny Ogre then casted Preparation and Ambush, stunning him immediately, then finished him off with the rest of his combo.


    Lu Li overestimated the little Ogre because he hadn''t realized that he was only level 10.


    Even though he was an Elite boss with 10,000 HP, as a level 10 monster, he was no match for Lu Li''s damage.


    Each hit dealt more than 2,000 points of damage and the little Ogre was killed before Lu Li could finish his combo. The sad part was that the little Ogre was crowd controlled the whole time, so it couldn''t scream for the guards for help.


    Lu Li slit the corpse open and collected two bottles of Fresh Ogre BLood.


    The level 10 Steel Grade Equip that he looted was thrown away because it was worthless and took up inventory space.


    After finishing his job, Lu Li left the Ogre underground palace as quickly as he could because the patrolling guards would check up on the little Ogre ever so often.


    Although he had limited time, Lu Li was the type of person to perform under pressure. He was able to remain calm the entire time, avoiding the Ogres along the way as he carefully sneaked past the cave.


    Right before he left the cave, he heard loud and chaotic cries of anger echoing behind, and the entire Ogre camp became frantic like a colony of ants.


    All of the Ogres began rushing into the cave, making Lu Li''s exit even harder. However, they were all distracted by the loud cries and screams and didn''t notice Lu Li, who was Stealthed right next to them.


    When he exited the cave, Lu Li saw Mai''Zoth rushing towards the cave from afar.


    Mai''Zoth was the Elite boss of the area and usually patrolled around the entire map instead of being stationed around the palace like the other Ogres. As soon as he had heard the news, he hurriedly rushed back.


    Lu Li avoided the Elite boss completely. He waited a while and took out the two bottles of Ogre blood in his bag, then threw them onto the ground. The unique scent of Ogre blood traveled through the air very quickly and immediately caught the attention of all the Mosh''Ogg Ogres.


    Lu Li shapeshifted into a Crow and rolled around in the blood before taking flight into the air.


    "Damn intruder! We''ll make you pay for this!" Mai''Zoth roared like thunder upon realizing that his king had been assassinated.


    He casted lightning bolts towards the crow, but Lu Li had predicted this and had already flew out of range.


    In his past life, Shadow Wind had run away on foot, but he was much higher level. Lu Li decided against this and took the safer route of escape in the air.

 626 Lu Li Insta-Killed

    "Brother Three, hurry up and tell everyone to stop fighting and retreat back to shore!" Lu Li notified Square Root Three as he flew as quickly as he could.


    He did not have the time to explain everything, but he was sure that Square Root Three would trust him. The reason for this entire plan was to bring honor and glory to Ruling Sword.


    What would happen if the Mosh''ogg Ogre army stampeded over the players?


    The answer to this question could be seen on the ground beneath Lu Li as he flew over the players fighting in Stranglethorn Valley. They had no idea that they would be ambushed by such a large army of Ogres and were instantly wiped out before they even had a chance to fight back.


    However, they had misunderstood. The Ogres weren''t planning on ambushing these players ¨C they were simply removing anyone that was in their way in order to avenge their fallen king.


    The players barely held back the Ogres for half a minute.


    "What''s happening?" Square Root Three asked as he commanded the Ruling Sword members to retreat.


    "I can''t explain right now. Can you contact the other commanders over at Gorgrom base camp?" Lu Li asked.


    "Yes, I can. I''m in a chatroom with them right now. Do you want to join?"


    Square Root Three was curious as to what Lu Li was up to. Was he capable of shifting the tides of this fight completely around?


    "No need. I''ll give you guys the signal to attack later. Make sure everyone attacks at full strength," Lu Li said.


    "Full strength?" Square Root Three asked.


    Although there were a lot of people in the area, the fight had progressed into a stalemate. The whole ordeal had taken more than half the day and most players had already grown sick of fighting. Despite this, neither side was willing to surrender.


    "Yes, wait for my signal. Don''t hold back because there''s only one opportunity for us to pull this off," Lu Li said as he changed directions and flew away from Grom''gol base camp.


    Although there was a large wave of Mosh''ogg Ogres, it wasn''t enough for Lu Li''s standards, so he decided to pull Roloch as well.


    Roloch was another Mosh''Ogg Ogre area boss. He was stationed with a smaller army of Ogres in the Wild, constantly harassing the supply line between the Stonard and the Orc-Troll alliance.


    Since he was covered with the scent of fresh blood of the young Ogre King, he instantly caught the attention of these yellow skinned Ogres.


    General Roloch and his subordinates roared and stomped in anger.


    The swooshing of a javelin being thrown could be heard as it headed towards Lu Li.


    Luckily, in Crow form, his hit box was much smaller and the javelin narrowly missed him. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Lu Li to react this quickly to the projectile. However, it still frightened him and made him flinch in fear.


    After some adjustments, he flew as quickly as he could towards Gorgrom camp without worrying about whether the Ogre army could keep up.


    If he was to aggro a Boss normally, it would usually return to its spawn once their target was out of their aggro range. There were special ways to increase the aggro range with different Bosses and Lu Li conveniently knew about this.


    Killing the young King was extremely embarrassing and a despicable way to draw their attention, but it needed to be done.


    Assassinating the king or the prime minister was a plot straight out of a movie. This was similar to Lu Li situation, except he got away scot-free because Ogres couldn''t fly.


    Ogres were a very interesting race. Like Orcs, they originated from Draenor and were a part of the Alliance in the battle for Azeroth during the second war. After the second war, the Ogres agreed that the Alliance was too weak, so they left.


    When they grew tired of hunting and eating humans, they moved on to other races.


    However, they picked the wrong enemies to make and began hunting for dragons. The powerful Ogre tribes succeeded at first; they hunted the smaller dragons and thrived. However, when the Azure Dragon King Malygos appeared, the Ogres realized how weak and small they really were. The Dragon army fought back, destroying the glory and power that the Ogres once had overnight.


    The remaining Ogres were nothing compared to the Orcs now.


    Lu Li could see Gorgrom base camp from afar and had to make sure that his teammates were safe.


    "Are you guys in position? I have thousands of Ogres chasing me; make sure you don''t kill our own men by accident."


    Although Lu Li said this, the Ogres would have killed many of the Alliance players on the way.


    "Thousands of Ogres?" Square Root Three gasped and immediately ordered everyone to stand back.


    Although they had heard the commotion from afar, they had only just found out the intention of these Ogres.


    The morale of the Alliance players rose. The Ogres were here to help!


    The Ogre army finally made their way towards the old and weak walls of Gorgrom base camp. These walls may have held back humans for a short while, but against an army of LV 50 Ogres, it stood no chance.


    Commander Aggro''gosh''s expressions changed completely as he cursed the damn Ogres.


    "He''s there! Kill him!" Far Seer Mok''thardin''s eyes met with Lu Li who was in Crow form as he soared over their camp.


    Aggro''gosh threw away his axe and picked up a large bow.


    Lu Li was terrified and flapped his wings as quickly as he could. He regretted not maxing out Crow form earlier when he had the opportunity to.


    Aggro''gosh wasn''t a hunter, but his precision would have embarrassed any Hunters that witnessed this scene. Before Lu Li could see him draw his bow, the arrow had already pierced through his body.


    The feeling was indescribable because Lu Li felt nothing ¨C he was killed instantly.


    "Go and save him!"


    Square Root Three pulled himself together as he witnessed this right before his eyes. He knew that Lu Li would be dead instantly, but if someone went and revived him, he wouldn''t lose as much EXP.


    A couple of Healers were escorted towards the sea.


    In Dawn, the waters were always the most dangerous environment because your movement was slower and there were powerful sea monsters. Besides, whether they would be able to find Lu Li''s corpse or not was a completely different question.


    "No need. Don''t come," Lu Li declined, not wanting others to risk their lives for him. Besides, he still had Darkmoon Card which he had been saving since he received it.

 627 Gaining EXP Even After Dying

    Darkmoon Card: Void (Special): Instant Use. Has a 50% chance of Revive. Upon a successful Revive, HP and Mana regen increased by 20%, EXP gain increased by -5%-10%. Number of uses remaining: 5/5. Effective when item is placed in backpack. Equipment requirement: Level 10.


    Lu Li was floating through the sea, his body being carried through the tides when he opted to use his Darkmoon Card.


    There wasn''t a 100% chance for him to revive with it, and there was another matter he needed to deal with if he did.


    Would he gain or lose EXP after this?


    As he confirmed its use, a card appeared in Lu Li''s mind. It was white on one side and black on the other, and it was spinning rapidly.


    Lu Li had heard about the Darkmoon Card and knew that if it stopped on the white side, the revive would be successful. If it stopped on the black side, the revive would be unsuccessful.


    This process took some time and it felt like an eternity to Lu Li.


    As the card slowed down, he nervously stopped breathing. The Darkmoon Card could only be used five times, so if it was unsuccessful, it would be quite a big loss. Aggro''Gosh''s arrow had been completely unexpected.


    He was a Warrior, yet he used a bow and arrow?


    While his mind wandered, the card had stopped spinning. Lu Li felt his vision fill with an endless white light as he woke up from the darkness.


    He then felt the water in his nostrils.


    Cough Cough¡­


    Lu Li turned over and quickly transformed into a Seal.


    His first instinct upon reviving wasn''t to leave the area, but to check his EXP¡­


    Did he lose or gain EXP!?


    He clearly remembered that he was originally at level 40 and 6.5% EXP. He knew that he could only lose 5% from the Darkmoon Card at most, but who would want that when they could gain up to 10% EXP?


    13.8% EXP!


    He had gained 7.3% EXP! Lu Li let out a long and relieved sigh.


    Gaining 7.3% EXP was already quite a bonus, considering that he had died and should have lost 5% EXP.


    Lu Li felt a weight lift off his shoulders and he swam to the coastline as quickly as he could.


    The creatures in this area of the sea were not ones he could provoke. Although nothing had come looking for trouble in the last half-an-hour, that didn''t mean he was safe. However, he was a little curious to see what would happen if he tried to aggro a few monsters.


    The sounds of fighting at the Gorgrom Camp could be heard all along the coast!


    The angry Ogres had already been pushed right up against the shabby walls. Countless Alliance players could be seen flooding in and outflanking the entire north side.


    The Ogres and the Horde were locked in a devastating battle.


    Numerous white lights lit up as players died and their corpses fell to the ground. There were wild colors shining all over as a myriad of skills were cast. There were no guilds or parties any more ¨C there were only enemies!


    Anyone who could hurt you was an enemy!


    Lu Li couldn''t see much beyond that, but as he rushed to try and get through the gates, he lost half of his HP and casted Gale Steps in a panic to quickly get away.


    When he thought about the distressing idea of losing any of his equipment, Lu Li thought it was probably better to just wait outside.


    In terms of contribution, had anyone done more than him? The Ogres had now let Lu Li go and were charging at the Gorgom Camp. This charge had clearly been sent by Lu Li.


    He messaged Square Root 3, who was remotely commanding the forces from outside the camp.


    This situation didn''t require much commanding; they were free to fight however they liked. The Gorgrom Camp was like a large city, but with tens of thousands of players flooding in, there would definitely be some congestion.


    When Lu Li found Square Root 3, he discovered that he wasn''t the only one there.


    In addition to Square Root 3''s escort, there were other high-level members from the other major guilds. There were also many experts like Hornet''s Nest, Innocent Child and Unforgettable Maple.


    Majin Temple was run by their president, but most things were handled by Unforgettable Maple.


    "Lu Li, did you pull these monsters? Why didn''t you say anything? We lost quite a few players to them," asked Heart of War, the President of the Gangnam Royals. It wasn''t clear as to whether he really did lose many players, or if he was just trying to find a fault with Lu Li, but he had an ugly look on his face.


    "Why? Do you want to take revenge on me?" Lu Li turned and retorted aggressively.


    "I¡­" Heart of War shut his mouth and didn''t continue speaking. He was a level 30 Paladin, so no matter how good his equipment was, he wouldn''t stand a chance against the level 40 Lu Li. He would be lucky to be killed in one hit.


    "Don''t you think it''s a bit shameful to challenge a non-combatant? How about we fight," the Thief expert Innocent Child scolded as he stepped forwards.


    Everyone knew that there was some tension between this star racer and the president of the Gangnam Royals. Even though Innocent Child didn''t like Heart of War, he couldn''t stand by and allow Lu Li to publicly insult the Gangnam Royals like that.


    "Oh. I don''t fight sissies," Lu Li bluntly said.


    "Damn you ¨C you''re a sissy. Your whole family are sissies!" Innocent Child yelled as he charged at Lu Li and didn''t even bother going into Stealth.


    The thing that he hated most was being called a sissy. No one really knew for sure, but whether he was actually gay was a matter continually discussed by the public.


    He didn''t have to fight back, but with so many players around he couldn''t just give up.


    Lu Li didn''t go into Stealth either. He took out his daggers and the two Thieves just went at it. In a short amount of time, both players demonstrated a remarkable amount of skill.


    Innocent Child was a dagger expert. In previous games, he wouldn''t always play a Thief, but he would always use a dagger if the option was available. If a game didn''t have a dagger, he would refuse to play it.


    As for Lu Li, he had actually used daggers in real life before.


    Being a child from a poor home, he lived in a kind of environment where he needed to know how to defend himself.


    From a technical point of view, the two players were quite similar. However, this was a game, and the balance of a game was different.


    Lu Li''s gear was undoubtedly better than Innocent Child''s. He had a few pieces of Dark Gold equipment and an Epic Ring. His Skill Completions were also higher than Innocent Child''s overall. As such, when Lu Li had reached half HP, Innocent Child was already at 30% HP.


    "Let''s stop here," Lu Li said as he pulled back and put his daggers away.


    "Come on! Why don''t you want to fight?" Innocent Child seemed to be unable to accept that he had lost.


    He had a skill that dealt more damage the lower his HP was and he was still waiting to cast it.


    "If I transformed into a Worgen, do you think you would still be able to one-shot me?" Lu Li asked with a laugh. Innocent Child was two levels below him and less-equipped; he didn''t stand a chance.


    Of course, for Innocent Child to get this far was already a demonstration of his strength.

 628 Bank Run

    Innocent Child was a little discouraged, but he still argued back.


    "Don''t think you''re the only with one a trick up your sleeve."


    He had seen Lu Li in competitions before and knew the horror of the Book of Ur. Against a profession with low Defense like a Thief, it was a nightmare to deal with.


    Lu Li smiled and didn''t continue the argument. Instead, he lifted his chin and asked, "I trust you''ve been well, Mage God. Aren''t going to try and fight Sorrowless?"


    Unforgettable Maple had been nervous because he was afraid that Lu Li would call him Maple Girl in front of all those people, but hearing his polite tone provided a sense of relief. After Sorrowless had been assassinated, the title of Mage God was back on the table. He had fought Sorrowless a few times for it, but had lost more than he won.


    He wasn''t looking for trouble with Sorrowless today. It wasn''t that he was scared, but that things were just chaotic at the moment. The timing wasn''t great.


    "I saw that you wanted to go in, but why are you here now?" Unforgettable Maple asked, trying to evade Lu Li''s question.


    "The situation isn''t for me. I prefer one-on-one fights," Lu Li said then continued, unashamed to make fun of himself, "I almost didn''t make it back. I wouldn''t have even known who killed me."


    An expert who was able to admit that he was afraid of dying was quite relatable and likeable.


    "I''ve died three times today," Hornet''s Nest sighed dejectedly. "I lost a piece of Gold equipment."


    With that remark, the meeting turned into a circle of confession. Most of the players here had died before, and some were even killed by noobs that were barely level 10.


    Many guild managers were not professional players.


    If they weren''t careful, they could be isolated and killed by a player that had been hiding on the side lines. They now understood why Sorrowless had transitioned from a manager into a fighter who was now level 38.


    Many players learned a similar lesson today and intended to place more focus on levelling.


    Even if they couldn''t become an expert, they could at least be wearing stronger equipment and wouldn''t be slaughtered so casually.


    "Lu Li, how did you pull so many monsters?" someone asked.


    Lu Li turned his head and recognized this person as Soul Eater, Peerless City''s Ice mage. He was here as a professional player, but also as the current president of Peerless City.


    Peerless City was a major guild, so his place here was well-deserved.


    Peerless City, just like Ruling Sword, was an emerging force pushing aside the older guilds. Given where Soul Eater was standing, he was clearly closer to Square Root 3.


    Peerless City, Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword had formed an informal alliance.


    However, there was still a bit of gap between Ruling Sword and Peerless City. They had clashed in both the Shadow Cup and the Magic Cup, so Peerless City still felt a little bitter towards Lu Li.


    Although everyone seemed to be surrounding Drizzle Court, their relationships weren''t very intimate.


    Soul Eater took the initiative to talk to Lu Li. He was quite friendly and also appeared to be competent; he wouldn''t be Peerless City''s president otherwise.


    Within the gaming circles, the guild president was not an easy position. They shouldered a lot of responsibility, especially in leading the guild.


    Seeing that Soul Eater was talking to him nicely, Lu Li wasn''t rude like he was to Heart of War. He laughed and said, "It actually wasn''t anything that special ¨C I just killed the Mosh''Ogg Ogre''s Lord and they refused to let me go. I then just pulled them all the way to the Gorgrom Camp."


    "That''s great; this is all thanks to you," Soul Eater praised.


    Praising Lu Li was exactly what he wanted to do. When this was done by one of the major guilds'' presidents, it reminded everyone who the greatest contributor to this fight was.


    Heart Of War''s complexion became even worse. He was originally the commander of the Alliance army and had been leading them all day with little to no progress. At least he had the limelight, ensuring that not one Alliance player in Stranglethorn Vale didn''t know who he was. There were also quite a few players asking to join the Gangnam Royals.


    However, when Lu Li appeared with an army of thousands of Ogres, everyone knew who the true star was.


    When that happened, players began to ask who was responsible for this. Heart of War couldn''t just claim it was him, so he had no choice but to pretend he didn''t know.


    Now that Soul Eater had said it out loud, no one could claim to not know.


    It was likely that most, if not all major guilds already knew about it. Lu Li''s reputation kept growing as he became a legend in the eyes of the Alliance players while the Horde players continued to feel more resentment towards him.


    "We don''t even know if we can clear them," Heart of War said bitterly.


    When he said that, even he thought it was a little silly. It was like he didn''t want them to successfully clear the Gorgrom Camp.


    "Far Seer Mok''Thardin has been killed!"


    As if the timing was purely to mock Heart of War, a cheer erupted throughout Stranglethorn Vale. The leaders outside the camp didn''t need any reports to know that victory had been achieved.


    Despite this, their faces didn''t show signs of happiness, as quite a few of them were annoyed at Ruling Sword.


    The guild leaders had been working together, but they weren''t making any progress. They initially planned to fight until it was night and then call a retreat, which would give them a chance to cut their losses. However, Lu Li had led in a large crowd of monsters which enabled them to push through the Gorgrom Camp.


    The credit to whom this victory was owed was clear.


    "Alright, Mok''Thardin is dead. We don''t even know what kind of items a level 50 Boss can drop. It''s in a completely different league from the last Boss we killed," Square Root 3 said a little regretfully.


    Ruling Sword''s foundations were still shallow, and they had placed an emphasis on equipment. The other top guilds didn''t really mind that.


    "If our guild picks anything up, we''ll hand it over to you. We only did this with Lu Li''s hard work after all," Soul Eater said appropriately.


    The other guild leaders'' faces immediately turned green.


    "Dammit, if you wanted to pay, then say it in secret. Why would you say it out loud in front of everyone?" they silently cursed.


    Although they were reluctant in doing so, every other guild had to bite the bullet and say that any items picked up would be returned to Lu Li.


    Lu Li''s impression of Soul Eater grew even better; he was truly a good person.


    Soul Eater had played this very well and it had barely even cost him anything. The other guilds made their promises and were disgusted at the fact that he had sided with Lu Li instead of them.

 629 Flames Of War Spreading Like Wildfire

    As far as he could tell, if Peerless City had picked up any equipment, they didn''t seem to mind returning it to Lu Li.


    This kind of level 50 Wild Boss would probably drop level 50 equipment, but Lu Li couldn''t use level 50 equipment for quite some time still anyway. By the time everyone was level 50, why would the guild leader of this major guild care about this piece of equipment?


    "What did it drop?" Square Root 3 asked on their internal guild channel.


    "Looks like it dropped a big shield and a Magic Staff," Azure Sea Breeze responded. He had been fighting the boss, and it seemed like he had done quite well.


    "Who picked it up? Was it someone from a major guild?"


    If it was someone from a big guild, then Square Root 3 would definitely ask for it.


    With so many people watching, there was no way a guild president would be able to sneak one away.


    "Huh?" Azure Sea Breeze didn''t understand, but after Square Root 3''s explanation he went around and talked to the people around him. He then cried out with a laugh, "The big shield was taken by the Gangnam Royals. They killed him, but it didn''t drop. It''s not clear who took the Magic Staff; they didn''t have a guild logo on them."


    Did they get away with it?


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 glanced at each other and saw the joy in each other''s eyes.


    Heart of War had probably just received the news that his guild had picked up the item because he looked like he was about to cry. He wished that his guild hadn''t gotten it in the first place.


    Unfortunately, they were the guild who had sent the most players, so they were most likely to get it.


    In fact, there were two items picked up by their guild ¨C a Dark Gold Shield and a Rare Material.


    No one noticed the rare material, but the Dark Gold shield was so eyecatching that it immediately become the focus of everyone''s attention. Even if you wanted to steal it, there were too many players watching.


    Heart of War took his image very seriously and couldn''t afford to not give the item up.


    "Oh, thank you President Heart of War," Square Root 3 said as he shook hands gratefully while the other party''s eyes narrowed.


    Far Seer Mok''Thardin was one of Stranglethorn Vale''s strongest Bosses, so it definitely wouldn''t have dropped a piece of rubbish, but they didn''t know it would drop such an exquisite piece of equipment.


    A strong shield made a more powerful Main Tank, and a more powerful Main Tank meant they could kill stronger Bosses. This item was of extraordinary significance.


    Heart of War had a dark expression, but he forced a smile and taunted Ruling Sword.


    "We will send the item to President Square Root 3. We, the Gangnam Royals, can do without these one or two items."


    Square Root 3 didn''t mind the boasting of the Gangnam Royals at all.


    Hornet''s Nest couldn''t stand this kind of posh posturing and false friendship.


    "Alright, let''s ask how things are inside and see if we can kill Aggro''Gosh as well."


    "It''s a bit harder. Aggro''Gosh has a lot of HP, far more than Far Seer Mok''Thardin," Unforgettable Maple said as he shook his head.


    "What about the two Ogre Bosses?" Hornet''s Nest frowned.


    "One of them, Roloch, is currently fighting Aggro''Gosh. Mai''Zoth has lost his opponent and now he is going around slaughtering the players. It''s all a mess; I''d advise to quit while you''re ahead," Unforgetful Maple answered with a bitter smile.


    Needless to say, they all knew that Mai''Zoth wouldn''t only kill the Horde players. All players were simply pests to it.


    Heart of War was still the commander and exercised his authority.


    "How much HP do they have? We can focus all of our attacks on Lord Aggro''Gosh."


    The order was soon released for the Alliance players to give up their fight against the Horde players and to attack Lord Aggro''Gosh.


    Square Root 3 then issued another order.


    Substitute!


    This didn''t mean that they weren''t going to send anyone, but that they were sending a different group of players.


    Originally, the players sent in were the elites, or those who were stronger than average. However, many of these players had died and didn''t want to go back in. As such, they sent their cannon fodder.


    Ruling Sword''s cannon fodder was a little pitiful ¨C they were only a little over level 30 and had joined the guild not too long ago.


    They had never foughtina war before and they were keen to join in. Now that they had been ordered to charge at this Boss, Ruling Sword looked like they were the most eager to fight. However, these players were often killed in one shot.


    Needless to say, the other guilds sent out their troops in a similar fashion, but it wasn''t clear as to whether Heart of War was going to follow.


    As they struggled on, they slowly realized that this Boss would be impossible to defeat. For whatever reason, the three Bosses had now started working together to kill the players.


    The flocks of players being killed were replaced by new arrivals who were in turn being killed.


    As the enthusiasm wore off, someone proposed a retreat.


    Heart of War wanted to keep going, but no one would support him, so he could only helplessly order a retreat.


    "Get out of there and leave the Boss to the Horde players."


    It had grown dark and both Alliance and Horde players began to retreat. After fighting the Horde for a while, Mai''Zoth and Roloch stomped out of the Gorgrom camp with the remaining Ogres.


    When the Ogres arrived, there were nearly ten thousand of them, but now, only one or two thousand were leaving.


    The two Bosses didn''t have much HP left either, so the players didn''t want to miss this opportunity. Thousands of players from both the Horde and Alliance surrounded them.


    The players'' levels were about 35 on average, and they were fighting a level 50 Boss. The two sides worked with each other to confront the Boss head on.


    It was at this time that they discovered the level gap was a serious disadvantage.


    There were certain levels in Dawn where your strength increased dramatically. These were level 10, 30, 50 etc.


    Countless players had been killed along the road.


    The two Bosses'' HP bars were slowly regenerating the whole time, so when they got back to the Mosh''Ogg Ogre Hill, they were almost at full HP.


    Along the way, players also walked by the dead bodies and picked up their dropped items. Following Lu Li''s advice, no one from Ruling Sword died because of this. No one knew the strength of level 50 Bosses better than Lu Li.


    Lord Aggro''Gosh was a warrior and was always available to fight if they wanted to.


    Ruling Sword didn''t need to do anything; they weren''t in the spotlight this time. The thousands of Ogres led by Lu Li had destroyed the Horde resistance.


    As for the Alliance, Lu Li''s legend grew even more fabled.


    The stories about him became more and more outrageous. Some said that Lu Li had killed three Bosses and that the two remaining ones had come to take revenge. Others said that Lu Li had taken a token that forced the Ogres to obey him¡­


    The Dark Gold Shield had been mailed over by Heart of War. Because it wasn''t known who had taken the Magic Staff, that item was lost.


    The consequences of the Stranglethorn Vale war were far reaching. This place gradually became a location where the factions would often clash. Small camps were often massacred as there was no long a Boss to keep order.


    In retaliation, the Horde attacked the camp in Gray Valley more frequently.


    Gray Valley, Stranglethorn Valley and Double Valley were now engaged in a constant battle. The Horde and Alliance were now hostile factions that kept relentlessly killing each other.

 630 Dull Dream

    Lu Li wouldn''t be involved in this kind of battle; most professional players wouldn''t either.


    In fact, as more players in Dawn turned pro, the difference between the two kinds of players widened.


    As long as you didn''t kill other players too often, your identity could remain a secret. You just had to put on a mask and no one would know that you were a professional player, unless you deliberately made yourself stand out.


    Lu Li was considered to be quite involved. He often chatted with other guild leaders and PVP enthusiasts.


    Of course, he would wear rather average equipment. Otherwise, no one would want to talk to him.


    With the exception of the Stranglethorn Vale, Scarab Shells were currently a hot topic. As long as you had money, you could use this item to farm experience. For a level 40 player, the amount required was too high, but for a level 37 player, it was not a problem.


    At Lu Li''s current level, this kind of short-cut farming method was not a good thing.


    Even so, he understood the design philosophy of the game. Dawn had to take care of the majority of its players. With the scarabs, the average players could catch up to the top players. If the gap between them just kept growing, it wouldn''t be fun to play.


    Moreover, by selling these Scarab Shells, many poor people found a new way to survive in real life.


    By farming and selling these shells for some money, many homeless people found a source of income and a glimmer of hope.


    There were also players who couldn''t afford a helmet like Lu Li and had to borrow one, so these debts could be repaid with this income.


    All of a sudden, almost everyone knew that you could make money in Dawn.


    It was about mid-December and it was ten days away from Christmas. This festival had come from the west, but had been accepted by everyone.


    It was freezing and the snow was quite thick this year. The air was fresh and clean as well. Ever since the relocation of the capital, environmental problems such as smog had been drastically improved over the last century. Many people believed that this city was being reborn and given a second chance.


    After its status as the capital ended, most of the population migrated to the new capital. All the people left behind made the city a far more laid-back place.


    There was a living room with a family of three watching television, completely absorbed by the story. The doorbell was ringing, but no one got up the answer the door. The mother''s eyes were stuck to the screen as she patted her daughter''s head and said, "Dull Dream, go and open the door."


    "I don''t want to! I want to watch TV!" the girl protested as she moved away from the mum while holding onto her bunny doll.


    "Husband, you go."


    Seeing that her daughter wouldn''t budge, she had no choice but to ask someone else. Her husband looked at her, and her hand stopped before she could touch him


    The authority of successful people could be seen purely through their gaze. The mother weakly withdrew.


    Although the father had looked at his wife like that, he still got up to answer the door.


    There were two men standing at the door, dressed in formal attire and carrying briefcases. When they took off their coats, they revealed that they were wearing dress shoes and pants as well.


    "What is it?" asked the head of the family. He thought that these were two sales men, and had no idea how they had made it past the front guard.


    "Are you Mr Shen?" the two visitors asked after exchanging glances. It was as though they hadn''t come here together.


    "That''s correct. I''m busy."


    The man in the blue coat knew that the husband was getting impatient and got straight to the point. "Well, in fact, I have some looking for your daughter. I represent the Kirby Corporation and have come to invite her to endorse our products."


    "Kirby," the father muttered with a nod; he was no stranger to the name.


    "But why are you looking for my daughter?" he asked.


    "I''m different from him. I''m a lawyer at the Starlight Law firm and my name is Zhang. Your daughter is a shareholder of Ruling Sword and there are some documents that need a guardian''s signature."


    They really hadn''t come together and just so happened to bump into each other.


    "Dull Dream, you did this. Come over here," the father said casually.


    Dull Dream looked carefully at the visitors and wasn''t sure what kind of trouble she was in.


    The two visitors introduced themselves and explained their intentions while producing many documents to convince them that they weren''t con-men.


    This father finally realized that these were the kinds of things that her daughter got involved with in her game. Although he had heard her telling him about all these things, he had never taken her seriously.


    Her nickname was even Dull Dream ¨C who knew that she would do this kind of thing?


    "Lawyer Zhang, who is your employer? Why is the name of the company so strange, and what is Ruling Sword¡­"


    She hadn''t sold herself away had she?


    Lawyer Zhang had been involved with many games and was an expert in the industry.


    "We are a very famous guild within gaming circles. Dawn has held two professional competitions and we have taken first place and second place¡­" he responded with fervor.


    "I''ve heard of Dawn before."


    The father''s work didn''t involve games, but he had heard about the hottest game of the time. He thought for a moment before asking, "But I want to know how my daughter got this shareholding. This is no small amount of money."


    This was clearly some kind of business; how did this this 16 year old girl do it?


    "Because¡­" Lawyer Zhang was a little sheepish and very envious. He glanced at the little girl before sighing, "She is very lucky and met Lu Li right at the beginning of the game¡­"


    Those who were familiar with Lu Li couldn''t stop talking about him. Lawyer Zhang talked about Lu Li''s legend with great enthusiasm.


    The father and mother listened to the stories, which recounted that the little girl had found this great leader and had followed him through his ups and downs. This resulted in her receiving a portion of this emerging club.


    "Oh, Dreamy, mum has underestimated you."


    The mother didn''t dare care her Dull Dream anymore.


    These shares weren''t worth much now as this family was quite rich, but when they thought about their daughter and how they had been raising her for so many years, it felt like they barely even knew her.

 631 A Business-Minded Father

    There was not much to oppose for this kind of thing. After the father understood what it was and made sure it wasn''t a contract for her to sell herself, he signed his name on it.


    Her cute little daughter had become a property owner, and a young one at that.


    "Congratulations. If a financier decides to invest in our club, your daughter''s wealth will increase a thousand fold," Lawyer Zhang said with zeal and envy.


    He was just a lawyer at Ruling Sword, and was only associated through their business together. He didn''t know that Lu Li didn''t accept company investments.


    As for Remnant Dream, she probably understood this, but she was more interested in being able to catch more pets.


    "Thank you. So, Mr. Kirby, it''s your turn," the father said as he sent the lawyer away and turned to Mr Chen of the Kirby Company.


    He had already planned to interrogate his daughter later; she had done all of this without letting them know. What if she really did accidentally sell herself? But, since there was someone here, he held himself back and stroked her head gently.


    "My name is Mr. Chen. We, as the Kirby Company, want to invite your daughter to act as our spokesperson in the game for a year. During her time, she will usually also participate in some simple promotional activities."


    As a minor, she couldn''t be forced to do anything.


    Mr Chen made sure to stress that point, as this father looked like he might not like this proposal.


    "Kirby is a pet food right? What does that have to do with my daughter?" the father asked very seriously. "Or do you think she ate this stuff when she was growing up?"


    "Please, why would you make a joke with such a serious face?" Mr. Chen thought to himself as he broke into a cold sweat.


    "Pfffshht," the father laughed and glanced at her daughter before breaking into a smile. He decided not to tell the story about how she had secretly decided to taste fish pet food. It wasn''t worth showing that off now; his daughter was a businessperson now¡­


    Remnant Dream scratched her head. She could already imagine the kind of mockery these men would receive after they left.


    She was quite unlucky to be born into a family like this. Hachi Chan was much more fortunate ¨C her parents were much more normal and never joked about how she was stupid.


    Mr. Chen explained with difficulty about why their company wanted to find a young girl to endorse their products. He also tried to explain how this business practice was quite normal and would have a significant influence on the game.


    She didn''t have to do too much and would have the experience of earning some money, so Remnant Dream''s father didn''t really mind.


    "Alright, how much will you pay her?"


    "This¡­" Mr. Chen hesitated for a while before saying, "I think your daughter could tell you the amount."


    The moment Remnant Dream heard about the money, she instantly came alive and used her fingers to count, "5600 gold coins¡­"


    She could buy the pet manor with 5500 gold, and she was going to use the remaining money on raising a big pet family. The little girl had a very specific vision in mind.


    Mr. Chen wasn''t sure if Remnant Dream''s father would understand, so he quickly explained the purchasing power of 5000 gold coins.


    "8000 and not a cent lower. If you want to have her, that''s the price," the father firmly said after pondering for a while. He understood his daughter very well ¨C she had always been one to only ask for as much as she needed.


    The reason why Mr. Chen didn''t say the amount himself was because Remnant Dream wanted a low amount.


    If she wanted such a low price, then it couldn''t be said that Mr Chen forced them, and the company could save some money. Even though he didn''t receive that money, he might earn some rewards at the end of the year.


    "My daughter has 87 pets. Thirty-two of them are rare and some of them are unique to her. You probably won''t be able to find anyone better than her in this regard. She is also a shareholder in Ruling Sword and has many very strong friends who can help her find more pets. Not to mention, she is also quite famous in game and even more so among the pet-keeping circles¡­"


    He indeed was a businessman ¨C these were all facts given by Mr. Chen previously and he had no way of refuting them.


    Even Mr. Chen knew that Remnant Dream was more suitable than anyone they else they could find.


    "This is what my daughter has decided to do, so I will support her. But, the price of such things must be fair, or you won''t have proper cooperation between both sides. Kirby is a very reputable company; I hope you will carefully reconsider," the father concluded calmly.


    Mr. Chen helplessly called his boss and went back and forth before agreeing on the new price.


    In fact, they had actually exceeded their company''s budget. Kirby was a pet food company, not a diamond mine. However, after hearing Remnant Dream''s father''s words, it would be embarrassing to let him down.


    Her father scoffed at the idea that she was using this money to buy a pet manor, but he also didn''t want to comment on this.


    Hachi Chan lived nearby and in that time, lawyer Zhang had also completed the shareholding contract with her.


    Ruling Sword had been established for some time now and there were various legal proceedings that flowed from the game.


    Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were special examples as they were minors. Minors had no capacity for liability and their contracts had to be signed by a guardian.


    Lu Li was the owner of the club and in reality, the founder of the company. Square Root 3 was the manager who was currently organizing the third Elite Group in addition to running the company for Lu Li.


    The third Elite Group was mainly going to be made up of players who displayed good performance.


    Just like the first group, they needed to work in Jiangnan City. If everyone played the game together, it would help increase their loyalty to the company and reduce the possibility of being poached by other guilds.


    However, Lu Li didn''t care about these things. After he lost his levelling spot with the Chimpanzees in Stranglethorn Vale, he had to find something else.


    He had originally thought that Tanaris was a good place as the monsters were an appropriate level, but it turned out that they were too overpowered. The Sandworms were very hard to deal with and he couldn''t kill them efficiently.


    The competition here had also become fiercer. The pirate captain that Lu Li had gotten the First Clear on was dropping highly sought-after treasure maps.


    As such, he spent most of his time in the Hinterlands, killing some of the Trolls that were around level 45. Occasionally, he would travel to the Southshore Tavern to pick up a few quests. The waitress there hadn''t released the new Assassin League quest yet.

 632 Historical Ruins

    A huge spider fell onto the ground from a tree. A damage number of over 10,000 appeared over its head and the spider was paralyzed. It looked quite miserable.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li was hiding among the bushes and remaining motionless. He had no intention of attacking the downed monsters.


    The big spider struggled while its formidable regenerative abilities healed its wounds. It then dragged its body back into the dense forest, not noticing the Thief nearby that was in Stealth.


    Logically speaking, it was supposed to be impossible for Lu Li to escape the detection of this Black Ring Spider.


    It could be up to level 55 and had natural detection against Stealthed units. Countless Thieves who had tried their hand against it had complained about how overpowered it was.


    However, this Thief wasn''t just in Stealth ¨C he had smeared a Hinterlands-specific grass pulp onto himself to mask his scent.


    Moreover, the fact that he was hiding in the grass gave him another layer of physical stealth. These factors combined were enough to put him beyond the spider''s detection abilities.


    The Darkmoon Card could be used four times, but he didn''t want to waste it on the journey.


    Right now, it was quite early in the game, and Lu Li managed to reach the next level after farming in the Hinterlands for a while.


    He suddenly remembered that this map had an ancient ruin to explore. Perhaps there was something good he could find in that place.


    After entering the forest, he realized that his level was a little low.


    The 10+ level difference between the monsters nearby and him made their attacks feel like Boss attacks. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was familiar with the terrain, he probably would have already died.s


    There was an underground ruins beneath this decaying forest in the Hinterlands. This was the legacy of the forest Trolls and had been abandoned for thousands of years. He didn''t know why it had suddenly been restored once again.


    There was a chance you would find some treasure there which could contain a random, but generous reward.


    After a month or two, this place would be quite sought after. Major guilds would contest this map and it would get quite busy, but right now, no one knew about it and Lu Li intended to make use of his advantage.


    As the first one to explore the area, he would make huge profit.


    However, there were also huge risks associated with it, the most troublesome of which were the high-level monsters in the surrounding area. There wasn''t a single team with enough strength to deal with them, and ordinary players who came here were basically asking to die.


    This was Lu Li''s dilemma as he approached the ruins, but he could only brace himself as he went in.


    The Black Ring Spiders, like the one from before, were lurking about everywhere. They hid on branches as they waited for their prey to pass underneath.


    Lu Li, who was still shaken from the previous encounter, decided to take a very careful approach. After moving a short distance, he would stop and observe his surroundings. Not only did he take the monsters into consideration, but he also took note of the plants.


    Man-Eating Vines were a common plant monster in this forest.


    They dropped their seeds upon death, which could be used by major guilds to boost their defenses. Later on, these Man-Eating Vines would be hunted for their seeds.


    Man-Eating Vines varied from level 20 to 50, and there was quite a distribution in this area. They lived in harmony with the animal monsters and generally did not attack unless provoked.


    Lu Li wasn''t afraid of this individual monster; he was more concerned about attracting the attention of bigger monsters if he started fighting.


    However, the good thing was that those monsters were plants, so they were fixed in a certain position. They posed little threat beyond their effective range, which wasn''t that large.


    Lu Li had to wait for the other monsters to leave before moving. In his previous life, he had spent some time here studying them. Others could be fooled by these camouflaged monsters, but not him.


    For example, there was a Man-Eating Vine in front of the big tree to his left. Its leaves were purple, which meant that it was at least level 40, so it had a relatively large range. It would be wise for him to try his best to avoid it.


    Another example was the patch of wildflowers that was further ahead. The white bulb with a yellow center indicated that it was a Man-Eating Vine. This plant was blooming, so it was at least level 50. The reason why Lu Li hadn''t moved yet was because he was waiting for the monkeys on his right to leave. He wanted to avoid the Man-Eating Vines that were to his left and ahead of him.


    He slowly moved around for an hour before finally reaching the gate of the ruins.


    As his shoes stepped onto the mossy slabs of rock, he knew he had finally reached his destination.


    All that remained was the key for entry, which could be obtained by killing the monsters nearby. Lu Li chose to kill the Man-Eating Vines that were below level 40 as they wouldn''t make too much noise.


    Man-Eating Vines that were about level 20 wouldn''t drop anything as his level was too high.


    He could kill ones that were at level 40, but that was too much effort. Moreover, Man-Eating Vines had a certain probability of splitting while in battle. Solo players didn''t want this kind of trouble.


    As for the Man-Eating Vines that were level 50 and above, you could think of them as Bosses, or even two to four Bosses combined into one.


    According to some incomplete reports, a player had once seen a level 55 Man-Eating Vine split three times. This meant that they had to fight 8 Bosses, which must have been a desperate fight.


    The first Man-Eating Vine that had been attacked by Lu Li was quite angry; it sent two of its whip-like arms at his face.


    No wonder they were a hated monster in his previous life ¨C did they really have to attack the face?


    Lu Li rushed forwards with his dagger indignantly and stabbed it. This damned monster was only level 35; how dare it do such a thing against a level 40 player like himself?


    He then found himself in an unfortunate situation.


    In his previous life, he was a Druid, but now, he was a Thief. This meant that his attacks and their effects had changed significantly.


    When dealing with this plant monster, claws were far more effective than daggers. Most of Lu Li''s direct attacks were misses and he cursed the damned designers. Why did they make the Man-Eating Vines so slender?


    This time, his efforts were rewarded with nothing.


    Lu Li was truly unlucky and began to miss having Remnant Dream around. Everything that that girl touched would almost always drop something.


    After spending a dozen minutes and killing seven or eight more level 30+ Man-Eating Vines, Lu Li finally found the key to the ruins.

 633 The Wheel

    After Lu Li used the key, a circle of light appeared under him and he was dragged into the ancient ruins.


    This was an underground ruin that belonged to the Trolls. The ruin was separated into levels, each guarded by a semi-Boss. Players entered the ruin on level one, which was the top floor.


    Lu Li took some time to get used to the dark and moved forward at a steady pace.


    All the monsters on the first floor were level 20, so there was no need for him to be in a rush.


    He entered the main hall from a hallway, raised his dagger and pounced onto a Gnoll, not caring about how many of them were grouped together.


    These dumb Gnolls were reflections from the ruin. According to legends, youngsters from the ancient kingdom had to train themselves in places like these and weren''t allowed to leave until they reached a certain standard.


    He could almost one-shot these level 20 monsters.


    Because of his assassin gear, Lu Li''s damage grew higher and higher. In the end, no one could compete against him.


    Of course, there was no experienc or loot for killing these monsters. If it wasn''t for the fact that he had to complete level 1 to enter level 2, he wouldn''t have ever bothered to waste his time here.


    The Troll ruins in the Hinterlands was a great location to help players level up.


    The huge crowd of monsters on first floor would translate to a great amount of experience for newbie players if they had the help of a group.


    After he killed hundreds of these Gnolls, a semi-Boss Gnoll appeared before Lu Li. This semi-Boss was level 25 and had 15,000 health; it was a piece of cake.


    It dropped a Steel equipment that Lu Li didn''t even bother to pick up.


    System: Congratulations to Lu Li for completing the first floor of the Trolls Trial Tower. Final grade SSS.


    Nice!


    Even though this was within expectations, Lu Li was still excited when he heard the system announcement ¨C SSS was the highest grade.


    There were a wide variety of attributes that contributed to the grading system. Lu Li wasn''t too sure about the system either; he just knew that the score was based on the number of players involved and the time taken to complete the floor. The less players and less amount of time used, the better the final grade.


    Although Lu Li didn''t get receive experience from the Gnolls, the SSS grade provided him with a pleasant little surprise. His experience bar moved slightly.


    A wheel also appeared before him.


    There were eight boxes on the wheel which contained eight different items. When he spun the wheel, he would receive the item that the pointer in the center landed on.


    The better his final grades, the better these items in the wheel would be. Lu Li had achieved an SSS this time, so not only was there a Slit Throat skill book, but there was also a basic mounting skill book. Besides these, the other items were Steel equips which could be ignored.


    Lu Li already had Slit Throat, but it was still currently one of the best skills for Thieves. There were still plenty of players who needed the skill book in Ruling Sword.


    As for the mounting skill book, it was now possible to obtain it through quests. However, these quests were complex and players had to wait for a week for it to refresh if they happened to fail. As such, this skill book could still sell for a decent amount.


    Not to mention, this was only the wheel for the first floor.


    When Lu Li had entered the game in his previous life, the gaming company had already reduced the rewards from this ruin. It was almost impossible for two exquisite skill books like these to appear in one spin of the wheel at the same time.


    "God bless," Lu Li said as he rubbed his hands and prayed like Azure Sea Breeze.


    Although Lu Li seemed like a master player in front of others, he was just another average human being when he was by himself.


    He held onto a side of the wheel and spun.


    The wheel spun quickly from slow to fast, then slowed down again after it reached a certain speed.


    Lu Li stared at the big pointer at the center of the wheel and hoped that it would land on a skill book.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li wasn''t lucky enough. The pointer landed on a Steel grade item and refused to move.


    Lu Li shook his head and sighed. He wasn''t angry; he always maintained a positive attitude.


    After collecting his prize, he entered the second floor. The monsters on the second floor were level 25 Slimes. They were slightly stronger, but not strong enough for Lu Li to be cautious about them.


    The semi-Boss for this floor was a level 30 monster that dropped a Silver grade equip. Lu Li picked it up; it was good enough to sell for his repair costs.


    The assassin equipment was too good ¨C he was able to quickly boost its effect to its maximum, giving him 200% base damage. It wasn''t hard for him to achieve another SSS grade.


    After receiving an experience reward, another wheel appeared before him.


    Lu Li''s eyes lit up; it was a grey kitten.


    When did he became so lucky? A rare pet had actually appeared on his wheel for the second floor.


    Kittens had always been popular among the pets available. Although this gray kitten was a slight downgrade when compared to white kittens, no one knew how to catch these kittens at this point. It was hard to estimate the value of this gray kitten.


    There were plenty of rich boys who would be willing to spend a load of money to buy this and impress girls.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn''t planning to sell it.


    He was going to give this to Lu Xin; she had always liked small animals. Lu Li didn''t care about how much this kitten would sell for ¨C as long as his sister liked it, he wouldn''t sell it, no matter what.


    However, this all depended on him spinning the wheel and winning the rare pet.


    The other very worthwhile reward was a skill point, which was worth as much as a Gold or Dark Gold equips.


    There was only one skill book ¡ª Backstab, which was totally useless, while the other five spots were level 25 Steel grade equips.


    For my sister!


    Lu Li grabbed onto the side of the wheel and spun it with determination.


    It didn''t really matter how hard you spun the wheel ¨C it would spin at the same speed regardless. There was no way for anyone to control the wheel; the final results were purely based on luck.


    The red pointer slowed down as it passed by each box with a ''tick''. Lu Li was so anxious that he almostforgot to breathe.


    "Please be a pet, please be a pet, a pet¡­"


    The pointer moved to the box before the pet, which was a Steel grade equip, but it was moving very slowly, as if it could stop at any moment. Lu Li had the urge to jump into the wheel himself to help the pointer move.


    "A little more, just a little more!"


    If someone saw the number one gamer in Dawn like this, they would probably be shocked. What kind of equipment could make him so eager and anxious? Was it Dark Gold? Or even legendary¡­


    The pointer stopped in-between the Steel equip and the pet.


    "It''s on the line! It''s on the line, right? No way it could be like this; just a little more!" Lu Li shouted in a crazed manner.

 634 Blind

    It wasn''t the first time that a pointer had landed on a line. After all, the wheel stopped at random, so even the lines were within the pointer''s landing range.


    However, it was still rare for someone to be in Lu Li''s situation, where the pointer landed on a line between the best and worst item.


    Once the end result of the wheel was in effect, it wouldn''t give you another chance to spin again. The system would reward you based on which side the pointer leaned towards.


    It was hard to tell which side the pointer leaned on with the naked eye, so Lu Li could only wait anxiously.


    It was no wonder why the wheel was often seen as the most exciting mini game in Dawn.


    Lu Li stared at the first empty spot in his bag which was where the reward would appear.


    Suddenly, a card flashed in the space and Lu Li''s heart dropped as he gasped for air.


    It was a kitten card! Players could obtain a non-battle purpose kitten pet after using it.


    Lu Li could only imagine how happy his sister would be as she cuddled the kitten. Even if he died here, the trip to the ruin would still be worthwhile.


    On level three, the monsters increased by five levels again. Lu Li couldn''t one-shot them anymore, but fortunately, this wasn''t a requirement for his assassin gear ¨C he just had to kill monsters within a certain amount of time. Without a doubt, Lu Li received another SSS grade. After he killed the semi-Boss, the wheel appeared again.


    After he obtained the grey kitten, Lu Li became much calmer. He felt like he wouldn''t lose his composure anymore, no matter what he saw. Of course, after he saw two of the items that could be won in the next eight boxes, he took in a sharp breath.


    Blind skill book.


    This was a control skill for Thieves and was also a skill that he urgently needed. He had obtained one last time with Water Fairy, but had given it away.


    It was rare for this skill book to appear in the auctions, and often disappeared as quickly as it was put up for sale. Moreover, its typical asking price was a thousand gold coins. Plenty of Thieves were willing to give up all of their wealth for a copy of this skill book.


    Blind was a good item, but compared to the Flame of Ragnaros, it was nothing.


    Ragnaros was the king of Flames and the Fire Elemental Lord that symbolized rage and destruction, like the flames of hell that created Azeroth.


    In order to protect the ancient god that he believed in, Ragnaros led an army alongside three other elemental lords: Therazane the Stonemother, Al''Akir the Windlord and Neptulon the Tidehunter to fight against the Titans. In the end, they were defeated and trapped in the Elemental Plane.


    After many years passed, when the elemental lords had faded out from Azeroth, the war between the three hammers erupted amongst the Dwarves.


    The Dark Iron Dwarves started the war, but they couldn''t hold up against the alliance army of the Ironforge and Wildhammer Dwarves. In order to gain victory, the defeated King Thaurissan began to summon powerful elemental creatures. Unfortunately, they summoned one of the strongest existences in the Elemental Plane: Firelord Ragnaros!


    Although the summoner himself was torn into pieces, the rage of the Firelord didn''t stop there. Ragnaros tore apart the Redridge and his great might shook the earth. A volcano was pulled up from the ruins as a result and became the volcano that connected the Searing Gorge and the Burning Steppes ¡ª the Blackrock Spire.


    The Dark Iron Dwarves paid a heavy price for their stupidity and became slaves to the Fire Elementals.


    After sleeping for thousands of years under the ground, Ragnaros gained more power, enough to surpass any race. Anyone who dared to challenge him was destroyed and any place that he passed by was set ablaze. The Redridge was turned into ashes and its remains formed Blackrock Mountain and the Molten Core.


    Ragnaros was the final boss for a 40-man, level 60 raid dungeon.


    Lu Li was used to playing as a solo player in his previous life and didn''t even have a team to enter dungeons, let alone a raid like the Molten Core. The Molten Core really required a good team; it wasn''t a dungeon that a team of randoms could take down.


    Dawn wasn''t a game that someone could play by themselves. In this life, Lu Li vowed to see these giant raids with his own eyes and to gain victory over them.


    Either way, it was strange for the Flame of Ragnaros to appear on level 3.


    The Flame of Ragnaros wasn''t an equip, but rather an enchantment-type item. However, after it enchanted an equip, it didn''t provide any attributes or special effects. It had one purpose ¨C it covered the weapon in flames.


    Flame of Ragnaros (Special): Sets your main weapon or off-hand weapon ablaze by the Flames of Ragnaros.


    Cool! It was super cool!


    Among all the items in Dawn, the rich players never really hungered for strong and useful equips. They wanted these useless, but special and strange things.


    There were other items which could provide a similar effect, but none of them were as good as the Flame of Ragnaros.


    Most importantly, the level of difficulty to obtain this item was insane.


    No matter how cool an item was, if it was everywhere on the streets, it would lose its attractiveness.. However, it your item was unique, or at least very rare, it would make you stand out from the crowd.


    There was also another box that contained an extra skill point. The other five boxes contained level 30 Silver grade equips. None of these were useful for Lu Li, but they were good enough to be sold to compensate for his gear maintenance fee.


    He thought for a bit and felt like this ruin was probably like a dungeon; the First Clear always gave better things.


    The ruin was located in an isolated area; the Hinterlands weren''t a popular map to begin with. The monsters in the forests were high-leveled, so it was hard for average players to even reach this place. He could almost be certain that he was the first visitor to this ruin.


    Lu Li looked deeply at the Flame of Ragnaros before he spun the big wheel.


    Hopefully it wouldn''t be a Silver equipment. Lu Li smiled bitterly; it was hard for him to believe that he would be lucky again. Fate had never really stood on his side.


    That''s why there''s a saying that you could earn luck through charity.


    While his thoughts drifted, the wheel had already reached a stop. The pointer landed on the box of a skill book, very far away from the Flame of Ragnaros.


    That was fine too.


    Lu Li was never the type to be a showoff; he wasn''t going to use something like the Flame of Ragnaros anyway.


    As for selling the item for money...


    Greed was a deadly poison. With Blind, he would have something extra up his sleeve when he battled against other players in the future.


    Blind: Instant cast. Blinds the target, causing it to wander confused for up to X sec. Any damage dealt to the target will cancel the effect. Blind also removes any damage-over-time effects previously placed on the target that may cancel the blind effect. Doesn''t cancel Stealth mode. Cooldown: 2 minutes, skill level 1/5.

 635 Level Five

    This was a strong control skill for Thieves that caused the target to lose control for up to ten seconds.


    To be blinded during a battle basically meant that you lost their ability to fight, unless you used your badge to clear the control effect, or a comrade dispelled you in time. Of course, the Mage''s refrigerator skill and Paladin''s invincibility skill could also cancel the effect.


    Despite this, Blind was still a very powerful skill.


    However, he needed to purchase some Blind Powder to use it. Lu Li learned the skill straight away, but he couldn''t cast it yet ¨C this was a skill that required some casting material.


    Blind Powder was an expensive poison, but Lu Li wasn''t too concerned about this.


    This wasn''t a skill that he would use on monsters, but rather, a skill for PVP. The players that he successfully killed would cover the cost for him with their equipment.


    After he said goodbye to the Flame of Ragnaros, Lu Li told himself not to be too concerned about it, but he was still a little disappointed.


    Usually, if he obtained a skill book like Blind, he would be very happy. His loot today was already fairly decent; he had obtained a pet kitten and the Blind skill book. These were items that could be sold up to 100,000 dollars in real life.


    It had been a long time since he had seen so many good items at once, and this was only after the first three levels. On level four, it was the Jungle Thunderers that awaited his arrival.


    Lu Li had the urge to puke.


    He had already spent days slaying Gorillas and was extremely sick of seeing these monsters that yelled and screamed. However, despite his dislike for these creatures, he still had to do his job. The system wouldn''t refresh these monsters just to lighten his mood.


    Luckily for him, these level 35 monsters gave him experience. At the same time, they weren''t elite monsters, so it wasn''t too hard to kill them.


    The wide hall of level four was separated into small rooms, so it took him a while to clear everything out.


    Hopefully he would still achieve an SSS final grade this time. When he had come here in his previous life, he was already around level 40, but only managed to achieve an SS at the time.


    He always had a stable mindset and wouldn''t lose his composure because he was in a rush, or grow lazy because of despair.


    One by one, the Jungle Thunderers fell to the floor behind Lu Li, who was rushing ahead. He randomly looted whatever he could and threw most of the items away, only keeping materials that were valuable and stackable.


    His sixteen box bags were no longer enough for him and he planned to upgrade his bag later.


    Lu Li couldn''t find any more monsters, so he let his assassin gear effect disappear.


    That was when he realized that he had cleared the stage.


    System: Congratulations to Lu Li on clearing level four. Final grade SSS.


    The system announcement had come a bit late, but Lu Li let out a long sigh of relief. Although he was in game, he could still feel the tiredness and weakness catching up towards him. The underground environment also made the area quite suffocating; he was drowning in sweat.


    As expected, the wheel followed and eight boxes appeared with different items.


    The skill points from the previous spins disappeared and were replaced by five attribute points. These were equivalent to the attribute points given after a character level up.


    The skill book was Fan of Knives, but Lu Li had already learned this.


    The rare item was a recipe for a Gold-grade Mage gown. With this recipe, the gown could be produced without a mold. It was quite a precious item, especially for a major guild. A recipe like this meant that they could create unlimited Gold equipment. Of course, the materials would cost quite a fortune, so there was no way everyone would receive one.


    The other items were all Silver grade equips. The descriptions of these included the names, but nothing about the attributes. Lu Li had seen two of the items from his previous life, so he knew that the attributes were decent enough to sell for some money. They could also be tossed into the guild storage; someone would probably need them.


    Lu Li spun the wheel without a care.


    With his eyes and mouth wide opened, the pointer landed on the recipe for the Gold grade gown.


    There was no way that Lu Li would turn down a good offer like this. Although it wasn''t cheap to create this gown, it would definitely be less expensive than buying a Gold equip from an auction.


    Level five consisted of level 40 monsters. This ruin was split into 8 levels and began from level 20, with each level increasing the monsters'' level by five.


    Lu Li estimated that he could probably achieve above an S grade in level five. In level six, there was no guarantee that he could even defeat the semi-Boss. If he couldn''t finish it, he wouldn''t be awarded a final grade, and without the final grade, there wouldn''t be any wheels for him to spin.


    Before he entered the next stage, Lu Li sat on the floor to take a rest. He had been repeatedly waving his arms in the same way and also had to maintain the effect from his assassin gear.


    The good news was that the monsters above level 40 would drop Fortified Stones. This was the main goal that Lu Li had in mind. He had already stored some Fortified Stones, but he wanted more to fortify his exquisite gear.


    Fortified Stones improved the quality equipment, but they also came with a chance of failure. The first few failures wouldn''t cause any damage, but the Fortified Stone wouldn''t be refunded.


    As players continued to level, fortifying equipment gradually became mainstream.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others have already fortified one or two of their items. They also had some spare Stones, but none of them could compete against Lu Li in terms of sheer numbers. Lu Li had also asked Shen Wansan to help him purchase them.


    Unfortunately, there weren''t many available in the market and they were priced ridiculously.


    After he killed thirteen monsters, Lu Li randomly picked up an item off the ground and pounced towards the next monster. He had to maintain consistency for his assassin gear, but he didn''t ignore any notifications of a Fortified Stone either.


    The chances were quite high, most likely because he was the first to explore this place.


    With the chance of finding Fortified Stones, Lu Li didn''t even mind if his final grade was slightly lower. He was also getting better at killing these monsters and felt like his clearing speed had increased.


    If it wasn''t for his assassin gear, he wouldn''t even try to attempt this place so early.


    After spending a few hours in the ruins, he felt rather worn out. This was when the semi-Boss of the level showed up before him. Although it wasn''t as strong as a real Boss, it was still more powerful than an average elite monster.


    In the last level, he had defeated the last semi-Boss easily, but Lu Li didn''t dare to lower his guard this time.


    Anyone who looked down on the semi-Boss on their first run always died a horrible death. Lu Li had already experienced this in his previous life; he failed the first time because he underestimated it.

 636 Backing Off

    The Murloc Mage was wielding a staff. The good news was that it didn''t have much health ¨C only 24,000. For a level 45 semi-Boss, this wasn''t a lot.


    The bad news was that it had up to 80,000 points of mana, which meant that it could almost cast spells endlessly.


    When monsters ran out of mana, they often resorted to physical damage. However, the physical damage of Mage-type monsters would often be very weak, which gave an extra chance and time to the players.


    With a simple wave, the Murloc Mage casted an Ice Lance. Lu Li didn''t have time to dodge, so he tanked the shot.


    -268!


    Lu Li tried to approach the boss with a movement speed reduction on him. He had only seen this skill used by Unforgettable Maple and the reduction time was quite short. However, the Murloc Mage didn''t seem to have this problem; it could cast the skill continuously.


    Theoretically, a Mage with Ice Lance could kite any opponent to death.


    Fortunately, Lu Li wasn''t battling against a player. Although monsters would subconsciously keep a distance between themselves and their target, they weren''t aware of the kiting theory.


    The Murloc Mage was closed-in on by Lu Li after three spells.


    Lu Li started off with a Gouge; he needed a skill with a high completion level to extend his control.


    Semi-Bosses weren''t immune to control spells. While the Murloc Mage was stunned, Lu Li moved behind it and used Shadowstrike!


    -362!


    This was quite a high value, and the stun also lasted for two seconds. This stun wasn''t like the control effect of Gouge or Blind ¨C it wasn''t something that could be cancelled by damage. Lu Li could continue to cast his other skills.


    Lu Li regretted not bringing Blind Powder with him. If he had the powder, he would have more variety to his attacks.


    The Murloc Mage woke up and backed away with difficulty, wanting to create some distance between itself and Lu Li. However, any effort that it made was futile because the Murloc Mage didn''t know how to cast Flash.


    After a few attempts, it gave up and started to engage in melee combat with Lu Li.


    Ice Lance had a targeted effect ¨C once it was locked on, it usually wouldn''t miss. However, this was based on the caster aiming the spell in the right direction. If Lu Li hid behind the Murloc Mage, it would have to turn around to recast it.


    Lu Li would change his position each time he attacked. The monster only had so many skills and could only maintain a 30% accuracy on him.


    It only had two spells that required cast times, but Lu Li used control and interruption skills to cancel them.


    He drank a potion and continued to keep his health above half as the health bar of the Murloc Mage slowly emptied. The battle ended after a minute and forty seconds.


    A level 45 Silver equip with decent attributes was dropped. There would probably be quite a few players who would be willing to purchase this with their points.


    System: Congratulations Lu Li on completing level 5. Final grade SS.


    He didn''t have to wait too long for the announcement and the final grade was better than he had imagined. He thought he could only achieved an S, but it seemed like he was much stronger in this life compared to his previous life.


    Because he didn''t get an SSS final grade, his rewards would be slightly worse. However, after Lu Li saw the eight items in the whell, he didn''t think that they were bad at all.


    The only mediocre items in the wheel were the four Silver grade equips. These were level 40 Silver grade equips with average special effects, and were no use at all for a top player like Lu Li.


    Surprisingly, there was something else besides these four Silver grade equips.


    There was a level 40 Gold grade belt, which was better than Lu Li''s current one. It had a damage reduction effect and an area silence effect.


    In terms of special items, there was a Raptor mount for Trolls.


    There was also a skill book for Slice and Dice, an ultimate spell, as well as an extra skill point.


    Lu Li was almost certain that everything he saw was the result of the First Clear. Otherwise, there was no way that the wheel would include mounts, pets and even items like the Flame of Ragnaros.


    After his reincarnation, Lu Li didn''t gain any abilities to conquer the political or business world, and neither did he remember any numbers for the lottery. Instead, he had a wealth of information about Dawn.


    At first, this information was a mess, and he didn''t really know how to use it.


    However, throughout his daily gaming life, it became priceless, and was constantly affecting his growth.


    In terms of talent, he wasn''t any better than the other celebrity players. In terms of determination, there were plenty others in the world who were even more determined than he was ¨C some people placed their lives on the line to play Dawn. At the very most, Lu Li saw Dawn as a way for him to earn money, and to improve his living standards.


    He was only able to make it here because he reincarnated.


    As the wheel spun, Lu Li guessed his last reward for the day. In the next level, he might be able to gain some Fortified Stones, but there was no way he could beat the level 50 semi-Boss. It was only Tuesday today; perhaps he could come back during the weekend.


    Even if he didn''t grow stronger by then, he would be in a better condition. He was already tired from battling five stages of monsters.


    The pointer eventually stopped; the world was quiet at that very moment.


    Followed by a soft and clear note, the pointer landed on the box for an extra skill point. Lu Li instantly felt happier. The next time someone claimed that he was a unlucky looter, he would show them a video of this.


    Skill points were a great thing ¨C Thieves heavily relied on their skills and equips.


    He could boost his attributes with equips, but it was hard to obtain skill points in the first place. You could only gain them after every second level, or through some very rare quests.


    A Blind skill book, a grey kitten pet, a skill point, a Gold grade gown recipe ¨C could anyone be luckier than he was?


    After feeling pleased with himself for a while, Lu Li returned to the city.


    "What are you all up to?" After he entered the chatroom for Xin Xin Mercenary Group, he found that the room was quite full.


    "Doing dungeons. Are you coming? I''ll give you my spot," Fat Monkey offered, taking the initiative. He wasn''t really part of the regulars, but he often came by when Lu Li wasn''t around.


    "What dungeon? You can stay." Lu Li didn''t mind.


    He only cleared each dungeon once, as going beyond this was too troublesome for him. If it wasn''t the First Clear, the dungeon wouldn''t drop anything extraordinary either. The Book of Ur was totally a surprise.


    "Razorfen Kraul. Breeze bought a dungeon scroll from the black market. We''re stuck on the third boss," Fat Monkey replied.


    It wasn''t that nobody else wanted to reply, but that everyone was too busy. Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were debating on tactics while the others watched on with interest, awaiting the final outcome of the debate.

 637 Cryptic Tome of Tailoring

    Lu Li joined in on the discussion and realized that they might have to get wiped a couple of times before perfecting their strategy. However, they were heading in the right direction, so he decided not to interfere and went on to find March Rain.


    He gave the Golden Gown recipe to March Rain and she was pleasantly surprised.


    As a Tailor, discovering a new recipe to craft was like an alcoholic discovering a fine wine. The gown was for healers as well, which meant that she could craft it for herself to wear. Not only would she receive a new equip, but her Tailor experience would also increase.


    She was in need of a Lv35 equipment upgrade and it had come at the perfect timing.


    "By the way, I''ve finished crafting two of your equips and I''m still waiting for materials for the other two pieces," March Rain remembered then asked, "Do you want them now?"


    "Not at the moment; just send it to me when you guys finish the instance dungeon."


    Lu Li thought about his current plans and getting stronger wasn''t on the top of his priority list. Since he was able to Stealth into the Ogre base camp and pull off such a difficult feat, his ego was at an all-time high.


    "Ok then. One of them came out fine and the other was superior," March Rain sighed.


    Fine, superior, exquisite and perfect ¨C this was the grading system for the quality of a crafted equip. A perfect Gold grade equip was extremely rare in the game.


    "Oh, superior grade is awesome. At least they didn''t all come out fine."


    Lu Li was easily satisfied and didn''t expect anything more. His expectation for others were much lower compared to himself because they didn''t have the overpowered Forging Hammer. Speaking of which, Lu Li remembered that he was trying to obtain the Cryptic Tome of Tailoring for March Rain.


    Although the Cryptic Tome of Tailoring wasn''t as overpowered as his Hammer, it was still much better than the default Tailoring Book that she had received from the quest.


    Without telling March Rain, Lu Li teleported to Exodar, the capital city of Azuremyst Isle.


    This was his first time in Exodar, which was located at the Westernmost part of Azuremyst Isle. In reality, ''located'' wasn''t the right word as the Draenei capital city was actually a space aircraft.


    The Blood Elves sabotaged the engine of the airship, causing it to crash head first into the mountains of Azuremyst Isle in the world of Azeroth. The remains of the spaceship and large crystals lay scattered around the area. For Draenei players, their beginning quests consisted of rescuing the survivors of the crash, eliminating the harmful side effects from the radiation and fighting against undercover Blood Elves spies.


    The city was very remote and the design wasn''t favored by other players, so not many people gathered here. However, this was the main city for new Draenei players and it was unavoidable for them to pass through.


    "We welcome the dark-skinned Elf," the guard said as they bowed in respect to welcome the arrival of Lu Li.


    Not every player received the same type of formal respect from the NPCs. You either required high-enough popularity in Azuremyst Isle, or numerous titles like Lu Li.


    In reality, not many players cared about your titles, but they were extremely important to the NPCs. As a commander of the team that had achieved the First Clear in numerous dungeons, the soldiers greeted Lu Li out of respect and admiration. If he wanted to, he could even ask these NPCs to protect him like bodyguards if enemy players were to hunt for him.


    Lu Li entered Exodar and walked towards a little hut without asking for directions.


    The Draenei were experts in architecture and their buildings made Lu Li gasp in amazement. The buildings were unique and Lu Li couldn''t help but admire the designer for creating such an amazing city.


    As he entered the little hut, he saw that the walls were filled with sewing materials, clothes and some leather armour.


    A young female Draenei sat on the ground, sewing amongst all the materials scattered around her. She was so focused that she didn''t hear his footsteps as he was coming in.


    Her concentrated expression made her extremely attractive. The female Draenei models were unlike the male models ¨C they were much more slender, petite and had pronounced facial structures, making them very attractive and charming.


    "Elize, how are you?" Lu Li interrupted her politely.


    There was a player in Lu Li''s past life that thought being ignored was some form of a test. As such, they would wait patiently for hours and hours for the Sewing Master to finish her work and attend to them.


    The poor guy waited from midday until night time when the game forced him to go offline and never managed to speak to Master Elize.


    Knowing this, Lu Li decided not to wait for her like an idiot and interrupted her even though it might have been quite rude. However, female Draenei tended to be a lot more forgiving and understanding compared to women of different races.


    "Elf¡­"


    The female Draenei started at Lu Li blankly; her eyes were filled with slight fear, but she also had an endearing expression on her face.


    "I''m a natural Elf from the forests, different from the ones that were corrupted by magic."


    Not many other races visited Exodar, so she was quite unfamiliar in distinguishing the difference.


    The slandering of Blood Elves was to gain her trust.


    Draenei hated the Blood Elves because of their past history and their heart sought to take revenge one day.


    "Yes, you''re the kind that worshipped the Moon," Elize sighed in relief and patted herself on the chest to calm herself.


    Lu Li tried his best to be respectable and say the right things to trigger the quest.


    "My lady, the caretaker of Naaru, I was wondering if I could ask for a small favour from you?"


    Lu Li knew that his approach was the only way possible to trigger the quest line as an adult male character. If he was a little girl like Hachi Chan, then all he would have to do was to cry until Elize held him in her arms and gave out all her quests in order to comfort him.


    "If it''s within my powers," Elize said unsurely.


    "This is my equipment, but it''s been damaged. Are you able to restore it?" Lu Li asked as he brought out an item from his inventory.


    This was a Silver grade cape that he had bought from the exchange hall. The design and stats were both decent, but the durability was near 0.


    "It''s been damaged too much. If I were to repair it normally, then I''m afraid it might lose some stats. However, if I have a special material, I might be able to restore it, but at a much higher cost," Elize said, then pointed at the cape on his back and continued, "That cape you''re currently wearing is much better; there''s no point in repairing this one.


    A Master Tailor could easily tell how good the stats of an equip was with their naked eyes.


    All Lu Li wanted to do was to trigger the quest ¨C why was she making this so difficult for him? Lu Li almost wanted to cry in frustration and lied, "This piece of equipment belongs to a very dear friend of mine and I want to restore it as a keepsake.

 638 Pickpocketing

    "It must be from a girl then," Elize said with a smile after a long pause. Lu Li thought that she had seen right through his lie.


    How could you possibly tell whether a piece of equipment was crafted by a guy or a girl?


    "Yes, Master Elize. Your wisdom brightens the world," Lu Li said, trying his best to follow up. He even faked an embarrassed expression to make it appear more convincing.


    "Love is great, no matter the age or the race. I give you my blessings," Elize said as she examined Lu Li''s equipment.


    "Thank you, and thank the Moon Goddess for blessing me with a reason for my heart to beat." Lu Li never finished school and had no poetic talent. He had learned a lot of these deep and meaningful sayings from watching TV and managed to memorize them for these kind of situations.


    Draenei in Eredun meant ''The Exiled Ones''. The Eredars had been hunted by Kil''jaeden for thousands of years. After running away, they visited multiple worlds and explored the vast universe in order to find a safe haven for themselves.


    Their culture became very rich and sophisticated because of their nomadic lifestyle and colorful life experiences. Even though they went through incredible hardship, this didn''t stop their longing to find love.


    Although Elize was a Tailoring Master, it didn''t take long for her to become an expert in her field. As such, she appeared to be a quiet, yet charming young lady.


    "I can repair this piece of equipment for you, but I will require some additional materials," Elize said with a serious tone. Even though she felt that this piece of equipment wasn''t worth her time, after hearing its background story, she knew that it would mean a lot to Lu Li.


    You had to admit that Lu Li''s acting skills were quite good since he had managed to convince Elize.


    "Thank you. Allow me to pay for all the expenses and materials required," Lu Li said happily.


    The quest was very close to being given to Lu Li at this point. After this, he would have to complete some side quests which would be a piece of cake considering his level and gear.


    As expected, Elize began to hand out the quest.


    "If you don''t mind, can you help me with some things?"


    "It''s my honor to be able to serve you, my lady." These quests were optional and didn''t affect the equipment repair. Many players would hesitate at this stage and miss out on the opportunity.


    Lu Li''s main goal from the very beginning was to complete these optional quests. The armor reparation was simply an excuse to start a conversation.


    "In Draenei villages, we like to recycle old fabrics and materials for patching up clothes or crafting light armor. However, most of my supplies were either stolen or destroyed in the recent raid," Elize explained.


    "May I ask who it was that invaded?" Lu Li asked as he faked a furious expression.


    If a player offered to buy new materials or give their own material to Elize, she would coldly accept their kind gesture. However, she would be quite disappointed and not give any additional quests after she repaired their gear.


    The phrase ''old material'' made it sound like trash, but this was just Elize''s way of describing any material that was left over. Leftover Dragon Leather from crafting Dragon Armor could still be classified ''old material''.


    Besides, being frugal was one of the defining characteristics of Elize.


    "It was those Blood Elves; they ambushed our spacecraft," Elize said angrily.


    When players reached level 70 and stood outside the walls of Stormwind, they could see a giant mothership from afar with three corners. Each corner of the mothership was occupied by one of the spaceships. However, one of the corners would be empty because that was where the Exodar had originated from.


    Long ago, when the Blood Elves took over Stormwind, the Draenei attempted to escape on the Exodar. However, the engine of the Exodar was sabotaged by the Blood Elves, causing it to hurtle out of control through the Twisting Nether and introducing a new race to the world of Azeroth.


    Lu Li knew about the history between the Blood Elves and Draeneis and decisively said, "I''ll immediately set out to kill those treacherous Blood Elves and bring back your materials."


    "Umm.. killing them¡­" Elize never intended for Lu Li to go and seek revenge for them and said, "There''s no need to kill them, as long as you bring back the materials. I¡­ I don''t want to cause the loss of lives because of some old materials."


    Lu Li saw the grace and mercy that Elize exemplified, but did not agree with her way of thinking, so he decided to remain quiet.


    "Ok, I''ll bring them back without shedding a drop of blood," Lu Li promised as he bowed in respected and exited the Draenei hut. He then summoned his mount and went about his way.


    In the more-remote South Western region of Azuremyst Isle was where the Blood Elf camp was situated. They worked as undercover spies and brought intel to Prince Kael''thas.


    These Blood Elves were only Lv10 and they posed no threat to Lu Li at all. However, the difficult part of the mission was that he wasn''t allowed to harm them.


    Since he had made a promise to Elize, he had to carry it out the best that he could.


    To carry out an agreement of a promise was an unspoken rule in the world of Azeroth.


    Since he was at a high-enough level, he could sap his target to stun it then use Pickpocket in order to steal the old materials. When the stun duration finished the Blood Elves were furious, but they couldn''t find the Thief because Lu Li had already escaped.


    After stealing a few pieces of useless trash, he finally received a piece of ''Old Material''.


    The developers were so lazy that they didn''t even give it another name. These items were completely useless outside of the quest.


    Elize did not specify how many pieces she wanted and Lu Li didn''t ask. However, he had seen in a strategy guide that acquiring 30 pieces would allow you to proceed with the quest line, while 300 pieces would greatly increase your popularity with Elize. To gather 3000 pieces was completely unnecessary and excessive.


    Based on the drop rate, 3000 pieces would take Lu Li more than an entire day.


    Lu Li was careful from start to finish and never killed a Blood Elf.


    Not being able to kill them and having to Pickpocket level 10 monsters was extremely boring and repetitive. Lu Li now understood why only a few Thieves would bother completing this quest.


    The drop rate was low and the quest was unexciting. Besides, not many Thieves would learn Tailoring as their profession.


    However, Lu Li''s intention was to impress March Rain ¨C otherwise, only an idiot would bother wasting their time on this.

 639 A Young Attendan

    Two hours later, Lu Li had collected 300 pieces of cloth. After stealing enough, he decided to leave as he didn''t want to deal with these Blood Elves anymore.


    "You''re a really good Elf."


    Elize was pleasantly surprised as she took the stack of cloth from Lu Li. There weren''t any stains on the cloth; the Master Tailor could see that from a glance.


    As for the scuff marks that were left behind in the morning, they had already been fixed when the equipment was repaired.


    "Before we undergo the trials of life, we must first respect life," Lu Li said modestly. Who knew where he got the courage to say something like that? Ever since he entered the game, he had killed countless monsters. He was hardly a poor and innocent creature in this situation.


    Just this morning, he had killed thousands of monsters to farm. They were low-level monsters that didn''t even have the strength to fight back.


    "Well, I''m glad you''ve said that. Thank you so much for bringing me all this cloth; it''ll be enough for me for some time," Elize said as she traced her finger over the cloth with great affection.


    "It was my pleasure to help. If you need help with anything else, just ask," Lu Li offered generously.


    "Please, give me another quest; I''ve already given you so much. If you don''t continue the quests, I''m actually going to die," he internally cried.


    "Really?" Elize looked at Lu Li with some hesitation.


    "Yes, its fine," Lu Li nodded stubbornly, then took the initiative to say, "It will take some time for you to repair this cloak and I''m so bored that I''m about to go crazy. It would be very good if there was something for me to do¡­"


    If anyone else was here to witness this, they definitely would have pay him out for his pretense.


    "I can understand how you feel," Elize replied. "When it comes to preparing gifts for a loved one, there will always be some anxiety."


    "This NPC could go and write a book," Lu Li thought as he nodded.


    "How about this ¨C there''s not much to do here, but my sister who lives on Blood Island wrote to me a few days ago complaining about something. If you''re willing, can you go and help her?'' Elize asked.


    "Of course, but I will need an introductory letter from you. The elves always get a look in this country," Lu Li said with anticipation.


    "Please wait a moment."


    Elize picked up an old piece of fabric and handed it to Lu Li after embroidering it. There were a few crooked words written on it that were irregular, yet beautiful, like abstract medieval paintings. Lu Li took the piece of fabric and clutched it in his hands.


    The system then prompted him that he had received a quest, which was to go to the secret Blood Island to find Scout Jorli.


    After leaving, Lu Li made his way to Exodar''s Teleportation Channel and was transported to Blood Island.


    Blood Island was the second major island in the Myrtle Islands and was located to the north of Myrtle. The main island was usually the next destination in an aspiring young Draenei''s journey.


    When the first Draenei landed, it was called Silver Wind Island and was as beautiful as Blue Island. However, it was polluted by the Exodar, the Draenei Ship, which caused red crystals to cover the land and a red fog to stretch across the sky. That was why the island was renamed.


    The Draenei set up outposts at the center of the island in the hopes of finding a way to revitalize it.


    Lu Li left the main camp and headed straight for the outpost.


    Soon after, he found a little Draenei girl kicking some rocks around. She had a cute forehead and small hoofs. (Draenei didn''t have feet; they had hoofs instead)


    The little girl looked like a teenager and was a loli by human or Draenei standards. She was a fighter Draenei, so she had left the Exodar to train.


    As her hoofs tapped around, she appeared absentminded and very unprofessional. It was good that this was a safe inner area ¨C otherwise, she might have fallen off.


    It was hard to imagine that such a small Draenei girl would later become the High Legion commander of the Draenei people who were stationed abroad.


    "Hello," Lu Li said as he stopped eight yards away and hailed the inattentive patrolling scout.


    "Wah," the little Draenei girl cried out and stared blankly at him with her eyes wide, as if she was shocked. If Lu Li was an enemy, he could have just walked up and killed her.


    "I''m a Night Elf from Danassus," Lu Li said as he quickly pulled out the cloth that Elize had given him. "I was sent by Master Elize to solve your problems."


    It was best not to underestimate this little Draenei. Even though she was small, if an actual fight broke out, the sentry could call out a large group of troops to destroy him.


    "Oh, you were sent by my sister," Jorli said as she tilted her head and looked at Lu Li, forgiving him for her scare. She took the cloth brought by Lu Li and began to give him the quest.


    "There are spiders in the eastern canyon of the Blood Island which give us Shadow Spider Silk. My sister needs that for her work, so I gather some with an older Sentry every week. However, a group of poachers have recently come here and have slaughtered the spiders, completely ignoring the long term impact their actions might have. The first task I will give you is simple: find them¡­ and end them."


    She was quite aggressive, which was completely different to her sister. No wonder one took the Trade Skills path while the other embarked on a road to battle.


    "As for your quest reward,'' Draenei said as she flipped out her pockets and coughed sheepishly, "You should just ask for it from my sister."


    It was quite exciting for to give out a quest for the first time.


    "You''ll definitely be happy with me work," Lu Li said with determination. After some formalities, he turned to leave, but it seemed like something was following him.


    "Wait for me, I''ll come with you. I can fight too," Jorli offered as she took out a small hammer. Clearly, she was eager to tag along.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure if he should slow down or use Gale Steps. This was a bit of a headache for him as it was originally a very simple quest. All he needed to do was kill some poachers, which were level 20-30 monsters. These monsters would barely even be an obstacle for him.


    However, he also needed to take care of Jorli.


    If she died, then Lu Li''s quest would end, but although this NPC could die, she would also respawn after a certain period.


    "I will one day become a great Draenei Paladin. The light will shine on us," the little loli said resolutely as she grabbed onto Lu Li''s clothing.


    Lu Li was a Thief and was destined to walk in the shadows. Why would he want any part of the Holy Light?


    After she grabbed onto him, Lu Li reluctantly agreed to the new conditions of the quest. The protection of Jorli was now just another part of the task he needed to complete.

 640 Newborn Calves

    Shadow Spiders were very valuable animals.


    Their venom was an important ingredient for making poison, while Spider Carapace could be used to make leather armor and Chain Main Armor. Many blueprints required the use of these their materials. Shadow Spider legs were also useful in cooking.


    However, the most precious of all was Shadow Spider Silk. This material was incomparable to the usual rare materials.


    The Blood Island Shadow Spiders made up a considerable proportion of the Shadow Spiders. Their levels were quite low ¨C about level 25 or so ¨C which meant that they could be easily farmed with some antidotes.


    Unfortunately, the Shadow Canyon on Blood Island was controlled by the Draenei and they had set aside a considerable force to kill anyone who hunted their Shadow Spiders.


    Despite this, there were many players who still tried their luck at the prospect of making some money.


    As they were able to revive, the loss of EXP was a small cost to those players that were only at level 25.


    The real danger was in the Teleportation Channel.


    Those caught would be marked by a guard, which would prevent them from using the Teleportation channel between Blood Island and Blue Island. This meant that they had to say goodbye to an entire map.


    Even so, there were plenty of ways to make money, many of which didn''t have to do with the Draenei.


    However, the poachers in this quest were not players ¨C they were human NPC mercenaries. They were humanoid monsters that were on a quest to kill whatever monster they were assigned to.


    They could be a wide range of professions, but most of them were Warlocks.


    Warlocks were good at controlling their magic and they also had Internal Pets. They were quite strong, and level 20+ players would struggle against them. The strategy that Lu Li remembered required level 30 players, but Lu Li was already level 40.


    "Follow closely behind me, but I will be the one doing the fighting," Lu Li said as he touched the little Draenei''s horns, trying to not make it sound like a command.


    At this age, children were said to be quite rebellious. You couldn''t be too tough on them because they would just resent you, which was even worse.


    However, Lu Li''s sister wasn''t like that. They had grown up in a bad environment, so she didn''t get a chance to develop those attributes.


    "No! I am a warrior; I want to fight!" Jorli immediately objected. She had heard many heroic stories and was like a bird that really wanted to escape its cage.


    Lu Li really regretted talking to this sentry. Perhaps he could teach this girl what the world was like.


    "If you don''t take me, I won''t let you help me."


    The Draenei girl seemed to be able to see Lu Li''s intentions and forced him to abandon the idea of leaving her behind.


    Lu Li didn''t even really want to help her, especially with that attitude, but when he opened his mouth he said, "Why would I do that? I''m happy to fight with you. I''m quite curious about the power of the Draenei."


    "You''ll see," she said as she slung her hammer over her shoulder and went first into the valley.


    Lu Li was startled as he hurried past her.


    The valley was filled with trees with purple leaves. The shrubbery in this area was mostly the same color, which might have been because of the soil. The Shadow Spiders preferred a habitat where the vegetation was of this color.


    There were many spiders climbing among the bushes.


    They were all neutral monsters and wouldn''t attack unless provoked, so they left them alone.


    In a sense, these Shadow Spiders were pets kept by the Blood island Draenei, who specialized in trading rare materials such as Spider Silk.


    "I smell a strange smell," Jorli announced after she knelt down and sniffed the area.


    Lu Li glanced around and patted the little loli Draenei''s head. He pointed ahead and said, "You don''t have to sniff ¨C just look ahead. Those are the poachers we are looking for."


    The targets could clearly be seen with their eyes, yet this girl wanted to use her nose to smell them. This girl was delusional. She wasn''t a Draenei; she was a dog.


    "Keke¡­I¡­" The poor Draenei girl''s originally blue skin started to become a little flush.


    Lu Li had a lot of experience with girls that age and knew that if he kept talking about it, it would only embarrass her, so he decided to drop the subject. He was afraid that the poacher would attack her, so he didn''t go into Stealth and directly approached them.


    When one of the poachers saw Lu Li, he raised his hand and continued applying his damage reduction effects. It wasn''t clear as to whether he was confident to take on Lu Li in a 2 v 1 or if Jorli''s level was just too low, but the Infernal Pet unexpectedly rushed past Jorli towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li immediately scattered the Blind Powder onto the poacher''s eyes. The blind effect was applied and Lu Li rushed at the Infernal.


    The Infernal and Shadow Spider Poachers were both level 25. Lu Li and a level 30 NPC were able to get rid of the Infernal within three hits before charging into the Shadow Spider Poacher.


    Unhappy at how quickly this was all happening, Jorli ran towards the Shadow Spider Poacher with her hammer, even though he was still blinded.


    If the hammer hit the Shadow Spider Poacher, the blind duration would end. Lu Li didn''t even know what would happen after that, but he knew that this girl''s head was empty.


    This baby wasn''t afraid of provoking a lion. She easily summoned the courage and struck the Shadow Spider Poacher''s knees.


    That''s right ¨C his knees¡­


    After hearing a cracking sound, Lu Li quickly realized that her attack wasn''t such a bad idea.


    The Shadow Spider Poacher let out a shrill scream, then raised his Magic Staff and casted Shadow Bolt right at the Draenei girl''s head.


    Jorli seemed frightened by her opponent''s scream; she didn''t expect for that to happen.


    "He was just hit by a child. Why is he crying like that¡­" she wondered to herself.


    Fortunately, Lu Li arrived in time and casted Gouge to stun the Shadow Spider Poacher. He then smoothly casted a few more skills in succession to finish him off before giving him a chance to retaliate.


    "We are partners, right?" Lu Li asked as he crouched down and looked at the small Draenei.


    He was shocked, but was still okay. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to save her. He didn''t even know if she would have died to that attack.


    "That sounds right."


    The little loli was still excited about the first time using her hammer. This was her first step to becoming strong.


    She even felt like she was now able to kill Shadow Spider Poachers because of her success.


    She had smashed the Shadow Spider Poacher''s knee to weaken him before Lu Li finished him off. Even if Lu Li wasn''t there, she thought she could have done the same thing.

 641 To Have Your Wishes Fulfilled

    "Since we''re partners, we have to work together," Lu Li said seriously.


    The little Draenei tilted her head for a moment, seemingly validated by Lu Li''s proposition.


    "Of course ¨C we did it just then. I cracked his knee and you finished him off."


    "You''re a Paladin; you should be the one to finish them off. I should go first¡­" Lu Li wanted to cry; it was quite a pain to deal with this little loli.


    "Why does the Paladin have to be the one to finish them off?" Jorli was puzzled.


    "The Holy Light will allow them to rest in peace. This is the power that has been given to you," Lu Li explained straightforwardly.


    "That makes sense. Alright, next time I''ll finish them off."


    The young Paladin still didn''t fully understand the Paladin doctrines, so she was easy to fool.


    In the second battle, Lu Li casted Sap on the Shadow Spider Poacher before using Premeditation into Cheap Shot on the Infernal.


    After the two monsters were stunned, the little loli ran over and smashed the Infernal''s knee with her heavy hammer.


    Lu Li could actually deal with both of these monsters on his own; allowing her to get the last hit was making the process less efficient.


    However, in order to appease her, he had to slow down and leave a bit of HP on the smaller monster.


    "I think we work together really well," the little Draenei said as she swung her hammer around and attacked. Her attacks didn''t deal much damage, but from a technical perspective, Lu Li was surprised to see how rapidly her strikes were.


    As she attacked the Shadow Spider Poacher''s knees, she was dealing consecutive critical hits.


    She was going to be a Boss! This girl had been born as a Hero Boss and was destined for greatness.


    "When you''re attacking, make sure you leave some space to react to the unexpected¡­"


    He didn''t know what was going through his mind, but Lu Li couldn''t help but point out the NPC''s errors. He was well-informed about fighting as he had studied many players'' fighting styles. He also knew a lot about NPCs from the Instance Dungeon Bosses. This meant that he knew how to fight well, and naturally, how not to fight badly.


    "If I didn''t have a teacher already, I''d make you my teacher," the little loli gushed, feeling a bit of regret that Lu Li couldn''t be her teacher.


    "That''s okay ¨C I''ll teach you even though I''m not your teacher. But who is your teacher?" Lu Li asked casually as he prepared more Shadow Spider Poachers for her.


    "Vindicator Maraad."


    When she said her teacher''s name, Jorli had a look of awe.


    Lu Li''s heart skipped a bit; he had almost offended Maraad''s disciple. He really did just narrowly dodge a bullet today.


    Maraad was one of the strongest Draenei Paladins. He was the youngest son of light, and in his long life, he had witnessed the infinite war of countless worlds against the Burning legion. This Paladin used his hammer to direct the other races of the Alliance towards the light.


    Knowing who this little Draenei''s teacher was, Lu Li finally understood her behavior.


    Maraad was probably so busy that he didn''t have much time to educate this young girl. Her lessons were probably limited to simple, basic and boring exercises.


    After farming for over an hour, Lu Li had completely cleared out the poachers in the valley. They were level 25 monsters, so the EXP was negligible and the items dropped were rubbish, but he did find quite a bit of Shadow Spider Silk.


    The Shadow Spider Silk was quite valuable ¨C each one would sell for at least 20 gold.


    There were at least 70-80 of them in Lu Li''s backpack, which was a huge fortune in any case. Even though Lu Li had no shortage of money, the thought still made his heart race.


    However, his excitement was quickly extinguished.


    All of the items had to be handed over, or his time would have been wasted.


    "This is for you; you can keep it. Send it to your sister when you can," Lu Li said as he handed the 76 coils of Shadow Spider Silk to Jorli with a tear in his eye.


    Jorli was touched. "Thank you so much, big bro. I will definitely put in a good word for you."


    Lu Li had been waiting for her to say something like that and let out a sigh of relief.


    Jorli took the piece of cloth that Lu Li had originally brought and placed a few fingerprints where Elize had embroidered the pattern. This was probably the way these sisters communicated.


    This was what Lu Li wanted ¨C the quest line to progress as per what the strategy had described.


    "Thank you, Jorli. You really are a brave little girl," Lu Li said as he took the cloth back and patted the loli''s head. The Draenei''s horns were cute, especially on this young girl.


    "No, I''m a brave Paladin, not a girl."


    Jorli twisted away from Lu Li''s touch and ran back into the camp. She was such a wild child; she wouldn''t even him touch her even after what he did.


    After Lu Li completed the second part of the quest, he took the Teleportation Channel back to Exodar. Tailor Master Elize was still sitting in the original position, concentrating on the production of more clothing. It was hard to imagine that such a quiet person had such a lively sister.


    Lu Li''s voice suddenly interrupted her work.


    "I''m back. I helped Jorli evict those poachers."


    "Ah, it''s you," Elize said as she rummaged through a pile of cloth and found a cloak for Lu Li. "I''ve fixed this for you. You can''t even see the mending marks; I''m sure you will be very satisfied.


    "Thank you very much, esteemed lady. I am very satisfied," Lu Li said, receiving the cloak with joy.


    "I''m glad that you like it," Elize smiled. To her, she had saved more than a cloak; she might have even saved a relationship.


    "I can''t wait to show her. Thank you so much, but I need to leave now," Lu Li apologized as he got ready to leave.


    It wasn''t that he was giving up on the ''Tailor''s Secret'', but the strategy warned against explicitly asking for items. This would arouse Elize''s suspicions.


    She was pure and good, but that didn''t mean she was stupid. How else would she have become the Master Tailor?


    "Wait a moment."


    Elize stopped Lu Li and took out a hardcover book. "This contains some of my experience as a Tailor. Seeing as your sweetheart is a tailor, I think she might like this. Give this to her, and may it bless you daily," she offered.


    "I¡­ I can''t thank you enough."


    Lu Li was pleasantly surprised; he had finally completed the quest.

 642 Wanting To Buy A Home

    Tailor''s Secret (Special): Intelligence +15, Sewing Speed +10%, Tailor Success Rate +10%. Equipment Requirement: level 10. Durability 36/36.


    This was an item designed specifically for tailors.


    In terms of attributes, the Intelligence stat could be ignored as it was negligible. The sewing speed property was okay; it was better than nothing, but the true value of this item came from the +10% Tailor success rate. This meant that equipment had a better chance of being completed, and there was a better chance of higher quality equipment being produced.


    Now that he had received this item, the last few hours were no longer a waste.


    In fact, this quest wasn''t difficult for any player higher than level 30. The challenge was that if you made a mistake, the entire quest line would be wasted.


    The failure rate for quest was quite high. Even with Lu Li''s knowledge of the strategy, he come close to failing in some parts.


    "Have you finished your Instance Dungeons?" Lu Li asked.


    "Almost. Wandering isn''t doing his part," Azure Sea Breeze joked. "I think we should replace him with Lu Li."


    "Old man, you''re really crossing the line. The Boss is about to go berserk, and it''s a good thing this is a virtual world ¨C otherwise, you would be sent to the hospital." Wandering rudely retorted as if Lu Li wasn''t even listening.


    "How many Bosses have you fought?" Lu Li was speechless.


    "We''re up to the last one; we''re almost done now. If we hadn''t quarreled, we probably would have finished by now."


    This was Fat Monkey talking; he was more collected.


    "That''s good. March Rain, let me know when you''re done. I have something for you¡­" Lu Li said.


    "What is it?"


    Lu Li hadn''t even finished before Lonesome Flower gruffly interrupted, "Mr. Lu, you better not be hitting on my sister, or else you''ll see what will happen!"


    Lu Li: ¡­


    March Rain: ¡­


    Everyone else: ¡­


    This sister-con was getting more and more serious.


    March Rain was a beautiful and refined girl, and ever since she had become a professional player, she suddenly had many more pursuers.


    Lonesome Flower was afraid that his sister would be taken away by a bad boy, so he had become even more tense recently.


    "I did a quest and got an item for a Tailor," Lu Li said, explaining the Tailor''s Secret to the sister-con. However, he didn''t mention how he had specifically gone out to look for this item, and made it seem like it was a bonus drop that didn''t cost him anything.


    "Thanks Lu Li," March Rain thanked Lu Li, then said with a hint of regret, "It''s too bad that those two equips have already been completed. Otherwise, I would have been able make them at a higher quality."


    "They''re already pretty good." Lu Li was content with what he had.


    He thought for a moment before sending the Tailor''s Secret to March Rain by mail. He didn''t want to give it to her personally ¨C otherwise, Lonesome Flower might try to defend her.


    Lonesome Flower made it seem like he was the only one with a younger sister, but Lu Li''s sister was cuter anyway.


    Lu Li went off and continued farming.


    After it was time to log off, he washed up and took his sister out for a walk as per the doctor''s instructions. Her wound had already healed, but her bodily functions had deteriorated after prolonged bed rest. If she didn''t exercise, not only would her muscles atrophy and scar, but more serious health problems might present themselves.


    Lu Xin was walking quite vigorously because of the scars on her body.


    Although the doctors had promised that they would gradually subside, 200 years of medical research ensured that this wouldn''t be an issue.


    "Brother, when will be able to go home?" Lu Xin had been asking this question often recently.


    "Where? To the rented house?" Lu Li asked as he carefully walked his tired sister to a chair.


    "I miss Huan Huan and the other sisters. They said that they were coming to see me today, but they didn''t." Now that Lu Xin had come so close to death, she was pretty good at manipulating her emotions.


    "That is just a rented house, and they''re just friends." Lu Li was a little jealous that she remembered them even though she had been under the anesthesia.


    "But¡­" Lu Xin furrowed her brow.


    "How about we buy a house in Jin Ling?" Lu Li suggested, taking her opinion into account. He was the master of their family, but she still had some power.


    "No!" Lu Xin opposed without hesitation. She stared directly at her brother''s face and asked, "Is it because Water Sister is in Jin Ling? That''s why you don''t want to go back¡­"


    They were a couple!


    "What are you thinking about?" Lu Li was dumbfounded and wanted to slap her but she was still a recovering patient. He made a mental note of it and would take it up again with her in future.


    "What else?" Lu Xin asked in response.


    "This is a convenient place. If anything happens, we can get to the hospital immediately. Although there are also hospitals in Jiangnan, this is where you had your operation," Lu Li explained.


    "Brother, how can you do this? Who buys a house because of a hospital?" Lu Xin was speechless about her brother''s train of thought, but she was also touched. She never had parents growing up and Lu Li was the only one she had. Even so, he would always try his best to make sure she lived a good life.


    "Alright¡­" Lu Li thought about it and realized this wasn''t the best way.


    In fact, the main reason was because he wasn''t as attached to the land as Lu Xin was. There was actually nothing wrong with Jiangnan in his mind.


    This so-called hometown was peaceful and was also his sister''s hometown.


    "Is it because we have no money left?'' Lu Xin asked cautiously.


    With information being so easily spread, the total cost of the treatment could easily be found online. It had been conducted in the best ward, with the best doctor and the best nursing care¡­


    At the very least, the cost would be among the millions!


    "We have enough money; your brother is better than you can imagine."


    Lu Li didn''t tell her that he had owed a debt to a female tycoon. He could have easily paid for the surgery, but it was the post-operation treatment that stretched him out a little.


    However, he didn''t want to compromise here. He wanted everything to be the best, so he borrowed five million dollars from Water Fairy. That was an amount he couldn''t even generate in his previous life, but he was thinking about it so casually now.


    He had no intention of returning that money any time soon. First of all, he needed to pay for the post-operation fees, but then, he had to buy a house.


    The Lu siblings needed a real home.

 643 Collectively Killing The Orangutans

    A nurse appeared in the corner of the room and prompted the Lu Siblings.


    "Lu Xin, you have a visitor."


    To prevent any radiation from affecting his sister, Lu Li wasn''t carrying any electronic items. As such, they could only communicate with him via the most primitive way.


    Could it be that the landladies were coming today?


    As they approached the ward, it was clear that it wasn''t Huan Huan and the others. The person who had actually come surprised Lu Li.


    Lu Xin looked dismissively at her older brother. How could he say he had nothing to do with this woman when she was here right now?


    "Why are you here Water Sister? Why didn''t you say you were coming? You wouldn''t have needed to wait," Lu Xin said bluntly.


    The person in front of them was definitely Water Fairy.


    "I came to see you; you look a lot better now," Water Fairy said with a smile. Her gaze didn''t lock onto Lu Li like Lu Xin had expected; it seemed like they weren''t even friends.


    "Thank you for visiting Xin Xin," Lu Li quickly said with a nod.


    "It''s nearby, so I can come over in the blink of an eye. I was in the People''s Park today," Water Fairy briefly explained.


    It really did seem like she had just conveniently come, as there was no one following her.


    The female tycoon was wearing a plain white dress, which was typical office attire.


    Her hair was different from last time; it was tied up, revealing the porcelain-like skin of her neck.


    Lu Li was completely different from a person like this.


    Water Fairy seemed to notice the strange gaze from the Lu siblings and asked, "We''ve had good business talks before. Are you not going to invite me in to sit?"


    "Of course, please come in," Lu Li gestured as he helped his sister back into the ward.


    "It looks like you guys will be leaving soon," Water Fairy said regrettably.


    Water Fairy had decided to visit in the afternoon; it was likely that she had been busy in the morning. However, Lu Li hadn''t brought any food and Lu Xin''s limited capability meant that she was unable to prepare a meal.


    The reality was that Lu Li''s focus was always on his sister. He hadn''t even asked about how the creation of the third Elite Group was going.


    When Lu Li hit level 42, it was approaching Christmas day and the registrations for the first Professional League had opened.


    Although the competition format hadn''t been completely announced, it could mostly be inferred by the registration method,


    Compared to the two previous competitions, the Professional League would last over a longer period ¨C this basically meant that it was an arduous long-term quest.


    However, Lu Li already knew all of this and he was very calm about it.


    As a professional player, participating in competitions was his responsibility. Glory, fame and honor all came from these competitions and most professional players enjoyed the thrill.


    But, Lu Li had now finally decided to start the exploration of the secret area.


    According to the information he had previously gathered, at least 20 players could go together. The only way to work out the maximum was to try. He didn''t have much else information as he hadn''t paid attention to this in his past life, nor was 30 minutes enough time to work it out.


    What he knew for sure was that 20 players were definitely not enough.


    The first obstacle that Lu Li had to deal with wasn''t the monsters from the secret area, but the extremely cruel level 45 Skymane Orangutans.


    The whole island was filled with their comrades, making them difficult to deal with.


    Even if the 20 players worked themselves to death, this wouldn''t guarantee that they could clear them all. The worst part would be if the monkeys respawned faster than they could kill them. They would get stuck in an endless loop and never actually get to face the Boss.


    Square Root 3 and Lu Li had agreed to talk to the guild about this.


    "There is a group activity today. Everyone who can''t attend should say something now."


    "Does everyone have to go? I''m only level 27," a guild member asked weakly.


    "If you want to go, you can. However, as a Trade Skill player, your contribution might not be very high, so don''t be disappointed by this later."


    Square Root 3''s memory was very good and he had formed an impression of each of the tens of thousands of players.


    "Really? Then I''d like to come. Where are we going?" Being a poor Trade Skill player, he wasn''t able to join in at the Stranglethorn Vale.


    As a member of the guild who saw the others celebrating and boasting about their achievements, it definitely was a depressing experience.


    He didn''t expect for an activity to sudden come up, especially one that anyone could participate in. He signed up without hesitation; he didn''t care even if he was going to be crushed by a powerful enemy.


    I will shed my blood for the party!


    "It''s not a fight. We''re going to clear an area," Square Root 3 explained.


    Guilds engaged in PVP, but they wouldn''t do it too often. Too many deaths within a guild would weaken its overall strength.


    When he heard that it was a PVP activity, he was a little discouraged.


    Some people had a demon lurking in their hearts, and a game world without legal constraints served to maximize the power of this demon.


    "Following the usual formation, a willing party leader will be typing the instructions into the Guild Channel," Square Root 3 explained after everyone had some time to digest the information.


    For the sake of better management and taking care of those who were struggling to level up, Ruling Sword used a very popular structural organization.


    The players were split into parties of 10, which was efficient for Instance Dungeons and farming. Among them would be a defenseless Warrior or Healer who would be able to share some EXP.


    As the parties were being set up, Lu Li, Hachi Chan and Sesame Rice Ball had reached the Orangutan Island and were summoning a huge portal.


    Following the guild''s request, Sesame Rice Ball had upgraded this skill to level 5, which greatly enhanced its efficiency when sending people through.


    In the past, they needed to send one person at a time, but now, they could send multiple players simultaneously.


    This was the equivalent of having many portals.


    The tens of thousands of players were quickly transported to the island. It was much faster than when they were fighting the Captain on Tanaris.


    At that time, they were only transporting 200 players and it had taken ages, but now, there were tens of thousands of players on the beach.


    What was it like, looking at tens of thousands of players? When a principal made their address to an assembly of children, there would be a sea of heads, but that was only just a few hundred people.


    The beach had been completely covered and there was no end to it. Many were shouting, "They''re still coming ¨C move in! Move in! Otherwise, we''ll fall into the ocean."

 644 Besiege

    It was rare for 60,000 players to be in one place for you to see with your own eyes.


    It was in this moment that the members of Ruling Sword understood how big their guild truly was. Many players who hadn''t experienced a large guild activity in a while were given a shocking reminder.


    Lu Li looked calm, but he was somewhat agitated.


    Most of his previous activities did not require these kinds of excessive numbers; this was the first ever guild-wide activity. Discounting the few hundred players that weren''t online, even the dozens of Trade Skill players were sprawled across the beach.


    However, the role of these Trade Skill players were not to be underestimated. They provided the guild with a large number of potions, equipment and other items.


    They also knew that they had limited effectiveness against the monsters, so their approach was different. They were going to harvest everything and leave nothing behind.


    After all, wasn''t this a new map? The herbs, minerals, animal skins and even the fish in the sea were all theirs for the taking. They vowed to take them all and leave nothing valuable behind.


    "Advance!" Square Root 3 issued the command and the tens of thousands of players swarmed in like locusts.


    The nearby orangutans quickly noticed the invaders, but they were just level 40 Elite monsters and were overwhelmed by the sheer number of skills being cast.


    The Trade Skill players had never enjoyed fighting monsters this much.


    These monsters that were able to one-shot them didn''t stand a chance against the large mob of players. As they were unable to fight back, the vulnerable Trade Skill players weren''t in any danger at all.


    Of course, Trade Skill players were generally low-levelled and had low attack. Many of them were only able to deal a single digit amount of damage, or missed their targets entirely.


    At the same time, even more Trade Skill players were already hard at work. The island was quite humid, which meant that all kinds of herbs could grow here. Moreover, the earth''s crust often changed which resulted in particularly rich mineral deposits. As for the Skinners, this was heaven ¨C there were countless orangutan bodies on which they could demonstrate their skills.


    The elite orangutan''s fur was one of the best Silver Items for a Tailor.


    "Choose a portion of players that are level 35 and above to fight the Boss with me," Lu Li instructed Square Root 3. He rarely participated in directing guild combat.


    Perhaps it was because of his abilities, but Lu Li had become notorious for his commanding ability. In reality, he was just good at making of use of people''s strengths.


    Square Root 3 was skilled at pooling resources and finding the most suitable player. As such, he was the management officer and wasn''t directly related to the fighting.


    The co-operation between the two of them had always been an unspoken understanding, and together, they constituted a very distinctive leadership team in Ruling Sword.


    Square Root 3 quickly assigned roles and pooled together 500 players who would go with Lu Li to fight the Boss. The others would continue clearing out the island and would keep an eye out for any fresh respawns.


    The 500 players were more and enough. Lu Li made the Xin Xin Mercenary Group the main offensive force while the other players were to provide support. They quickly arrived at the site of the Skymane Gorilla.


    Everything was exactly like before. Many days had passed, but nothing had changed.


    There were just a few higher-level elites, possibly because of the way Lu Li targeted them previously.


    If it was just Lu Li, he would have turned around at the sight of this line up, but now, he had basically made this island his home turf. In addition, he also had 500 players supporting him.


    With such a composition, a level 45 Wild Boss was no problem ¨C they could even beat a level 50¡­


    Well, perhaps not a level 50 Boss for now, but that was how they felt when they stood side by side with their fellow teammates.


    The Skymane Gorilla had discovered their presence.


    It didn''t have intelligence like the NPCs, but as a Wild Boss, it could recognize a threat when it appeared.


    It dragged its long arms along the ground and let out a loud, unceasing cry.


    The Orangutans everywhere on the island responded to its call, but they also let out a pitiful cry as they were blocked by an unstoppable force.


    If they were only 3000, they would have been defeated, but they had 60,000!


    The Skymane Gorilla''s blue hair turned red when it saw that it didn''t have the help of its brothers. In its desperation, it appeared as though its strength had actually increased.


    However, Lu Li couldn''t wait any longer; he rode his Headless Warhorse and calmly started assigning the quest.


    The Elite Gorillas were the first objectives that needed to be cleared. Four to five main tanks rushed directly at the Boss, each of them covered by several Healers to support them.


    This was the right way to fight the Boss!


    At this point, a vast amount of information had been relayed by the spies. There were other guilds who also had access to this area and they were rallying their members to steal and destroy¡­


    However, when they tried to determine the coordinates, they were dumbfounded.


    It was on the ocean?


    How was this possible? None of the System''s ship routes coincided with those coordinates. It was extremely difficult to make the System''s ships change course, so how else would they get to that location?


    They had no choice but to swim!


    It wasn''t like the distance to the shore was light-years away ¨C they could probably get there in an hour.


    They all jumped in quite quickly, but were also sinking quite quickly as well. A group of piranha-like fish rushed towards the area; it was a feast.


    The situation was even more desperate than when they were trying to get to the captain!


    Although there were monsters on the way, they could work hard and eventually get there. But, given how much sea there was between them, everyone could only look onwards with disappointment.


    The leader of this expedition sighed before helplessly commanding a retreat.


    Lu Li had also received the news about this, but he wasn''t worried at all. He was just focused on leading these players in fighting the Boss.


    It was a pity that this was a different situation ¨C otherwise, he wouldn''t have minded screwing over those players again like last time.


    "Those tanking damage, make sure you use your damage reduction skills. When you drop to half HP, pull out and let someone else take your place. Melee players stay back and fight the smaller mobs."


    Lu Li had arranged this with Square Root 3 previously, but the main offensive power of this force was in the ranged units. Excluding the Main Tanks, there weren''t many melee players around.


    The Skymane Gorilla had used a rock throw when chasing Lu Li, and was now mainly using this skill.


    As long as it hit, those in the center would most likely get one-shot, while those in the periphery would lose at least half their HP. He allowed those players to fall back and regenerate their HP before returning. They had so many players anyway, so they could afford that luxury.

 645 The Great Apocalypse For The Skymane Gorilla

    The members who came today weren''t elite group members, so they couldn''t keep up with the rhythm of the battle. They often moved left when they were instructed to move right and gathered when they were supposed to scatter. Mistakes were often made and team members constantly died.


    This was the price that they had to pay in order to get better. Lu Li wasn''t the least bit concerned about their experience losses; he continued to direct the battle heartlessly.


    After the health of the boss dropped below half, many of those who died had been revived already. Those who thought highly of themselves and were unhappy that they didn''t get selected for the elite group began to understand why. They realized what they lacked and the strength difference that was present between them. The elite group members weren''t chosen by two players battling each other ¨C the selection was mainly based on their ability to cooperate with the team.


    In a battle that involved hundreds of players, any mistake could be critical.


    "Team fourteen, I called you to gather. Did you not hear it? That''s three points deducted for ten players." Lu Li was beginning to lose his temper; he couldn''t tolerate a silly technical mistake that caused mass-casualties.


    The players from team fourteen were embarrassed; they couldn''t bring themselves to make any complaints.


    They were a randomly-formed team and weren''t sensitive to their title as ''team fourteen members''. When Lu Li had previously given instructions to team fourteen, they had no clue he was talking to them.


    "Don''t stress ¨C just follow instructions and remember your own team and class. Complete whatever instructions are given by the commander," Square Root 3 encouraged. He had to look after the mood of the guild members.


    The two of them balanced out each other and the guild members didn''t have any complaints.


    The Skymane Gorilla was covered in blood and its fur was bright red. Its attack could often one-shot players, but no matter how hard it tried, they simply kept coming.


    Five to six tanks simultaneously casted Taunt onto it, so it had no spare time to find more rocks to thorugh.


    It had lost its strongest attack tactic and was now no longer a threat.


    Within fifteen minutes, the Skymane Gorilla was on low health.


    The battle was fast paced, mainly because there were no interruptions. The other guild could only watch this from across the sea.


    Since other wild bosses dropped rare materials and exquisite equipment, there was always fighting amongst the players around them. Countless guild competed against each other for an opportunity to fight the Boss; their members couldn''t even tell if they had arrived to kill the boss or to kill other players.


    There was no one to compete against Ruling Sword, so they had less pressure.


    System: Congratulations Ruling Sword. Under the lead of Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and March Rain¡­ the Skymane Gorilla has been slain.


    The world announcement arrived as expected, and everyone was happy when they saw their own names included.


    Even if they couldn''t see their own players IDs, the guild name in the announcement was enough to make them proud. Anyone who dared to stand against Ruling Sword was bound to be crushed.


    "Alright, let everyone go back. Those who I point out need to stay," Lu Li said, then asked Remnant Dream to collect the equipment.


    "Can''t we all go in? We''re all still in a good mood," Square Root 3 asked with a bit of remorse.


    "Those mentioned can go in first. Then, you can instruct others to enter until its full."


    Lu Li wasn''t sure how many players were allowed to enter, so he could only make an estimate.


    Remnant Dream had already looted the equipment. The best item was a level 45 Dark Gold Shaman hammer.


    From the description given by the gaming company, Shamans were the leaders of Azeroth tribes.


    They were masters who controlled the elements and could destroy enemies, but also support their team members. With the help of their totems, Shamans were very capable in all aspects of battle.


    Shamans were provided with three paths of development. The elemental path was good for magic damage and could provide team members with totems to boost magic Critical Strike. The buff path Shamans were similar to Thieves and fought in close-combat. They could provide their team members with totems to boost Critical Strike. Finally, Rejuvenation Shamans specialized in healing, with both single-target and group healing spells.


    Besides these totems, there were other common totems that Shamans of different paths shared andwere all useful in different scenarios.


    This hammer was suitable for buff Shamans, so Lu Li assigned it to Sakura Memories. The other players received points to make up for this.


    This was especially so for the buff Shamans. They were the ones who were impacted the most by this assignment, so they received extra compensation. This was a popular way to sort out these kind of issues amongst everyone.


    After all, there were so many buff Shamans in the guild. There would be a huge sum of points involved if they were to compete against each other for the equipment.


    Ninety percent of the players didn''t have a chance anyway, so now that they had been compensated with points, they didn''t worry too much about it. Even if they were to compete for the hammer, Sakura Memories had the most points amongst them anyway.


    She was a professional player, and participation in a competitive match would win her a huge sum of points.


    There was also a skill book for Bloodlust. It was strange how the boss consistently dropped Shaman items. Sakura Memories had already learnt this skill, so all of the other Shamans were keen for it.


    Bloodlust was the signature Ultimate Skill of Shamans. Any Shaman could apply to join an elite group of any major guild once they had learned this skill.


    Since this skill book was distributed by the guild, if a guild member wanted it, they would have to sign a contract. If they wanted to leave someday, they would have to compensate for liquidated damages. Whether it was Ruling Sword or other guilds, no one would give such a skill book to an untrustworthy person.


    The competition for it was fierce. The skill book was eventually taken by a Shaman from the second elite team who paid a high price.


    This chubby fellow''s ID was Flying Fish Hater. It seemed like he was popular amongst the players ¨C otherwise, he wouldn''t have gotten the skill book so easily. Some players had more points than he did, but for some reason, they all owed him a favor.


    Flying Fish Hater was a chubby guy. He hadn''t adjusted his appearance when he entered the game, but he was known to be fleet on foot.


    He was a Rejuvenation Shaman with decent technique and took the main healer position in the second elite team.


    After he acquired the skill book, he immediately followed the other executives of the guild. Even without Lu Li saying anything, Square Root 3 would place him into the team that would later enter the guild''s secret zone.


    There were another two Gold-grade Warrior equips. One was taken by Moonlight, while the other was taken by Global Friendship.


    After they finished the distribution of the loot, Lu Li began to announce the players who were going to enter the secret zone. Everyone waited in excitement; even those who weren''t top players had a bit of hope in them.

 646 Entering the Secret Zone

    None of the ten players from Lu Li''s team would be left behind. This was without any objections, as they were the ones who had earned all the First Clears for Ruling Sword.


    Even players who were confident that they could do better than Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan paid great respect to the two little girls.


    After the nine players entered the secret zone, Lu Li began to call out, "Fat Monkey, Flying Fish Hater, Darkness, Beard Stubble, Global Friendship, Nuo Yu, Mu Qiu, Jaweika, Cain''s Left Hand and Rain Like A Wanderer."


    He called these names because these were all key players in his mind.


    There were also a few others who he didn''t call out because their classes repeated with other players. Lu Li wasn''t the type to explain these situations; this was Square Root 3''s job.


    Most of these ten people had cooperated with Lu Li at some point. Only Jaweika and Rain Like A Wanderer were exceptions.


    Jaweika was a dark Priest and a friend of Square Root 3 in real life. He had come from Star Moon Union and was often the top damage dealer of the guild in dungeons and Boss fights.


    Because he played a class that wasn''t focused on dealing damage, it was almost a miracle that he could achieve the things that he did. Although Star Moon Union was a horrible guild, it used to be within the top hundred.


    Rain Like A Wanderer, on the other hand, stood out from the average players.


    When he first entered the game, he was a trade skill player and excelled at it. He had his own specialty in the area and had forged a Perfect Silver grade equip before.


    Although the reason was unknown, he chose to become a battle player at some point. With his determination, he made it to into the list of top-tier players. He was currently level 39 and only needed a fraction more of his EXP bar to reach level 40.


    However, these weren''t the reasons why Lu Li had called him.


    There were other things about him that was impressive ¨C he was the first Paladin from Ruling Sword who had passed the test and joined the Night Watchmen faction.


    The Night Watchmen Commander Althea Ebonlocke was impressed by him. She thought that he was a man of humbleness, honesty, compassion, bravery, justice, honour and self-sacrifice.


    These comments were truly remarkable and surprised both Lu Li and Square Root 3.


    Lu Li assigned Rain Like A Wanderer as the leader of Ruling Sword''s Night Watchmen squad. He became one of the executives in the guild and Lu Li called him out this time to show that he valued him.


    After these ten players were called, Lu Li passed over to Square Root 3 and entered the dungeon as well.


    The system suggested that more players could enter, so Xiao Xiang, Machine Bro and Scarlet New Moon followed as well. After these three players entered the zone, the Magic Stone broke into pieces. This meant that even if they didn''t kill the Boss, Lu Li and the others only had one chance.


    "Wow, it''s so dark!" Remnant Dream gasped.


    "Don''t be scared Dreamy. Here, come have a hug," Hachi Chan said as she pounced on her.


    "Go away! You''re the one who''s scared; stop throwing me under the bus!" Remnant Dream squealed defensively.


    "Does anyone have any lighting?" Global Friendship asked.


    When Lu Li had first entered this place, he hated the dark environment and his new team members had the same issue.


    There was bound to be someone with a torch amongst the twenty-ish players. Lu Li had learned his least from last time and brought along two bundles of torches. Each bundle contained a hundred torches and each torch could last for an hour.


    One by one, they lit up the torches, and although the lights didn''t reach far, it was better than nothing.


    "There are twenty-three of us. Our job is to clear all the monsters in the secret zone. They will drop good items like Fortified Stones. There are no other places like this, so keep your eyes opened," Lu Li said as he distributed the torches.


    Everyone''s eyes glowed when they heard the words ''Fortified Stones''.


    Fortified Stones were a good item and no one would complain about having too many of them. They were one of the most-needed resources at the moment.


    "The small monsters are easier to deal with; we don''t need to work in such a big group. The best situation is to have two damage dealers with one healer, or two damage dealers with one main tank. You guys can choose your own group members. Wandering, come with me," Lu Li said, then began to assign the direction for each team.


    "You''re interested in my beauty, aren''t you¡­" Wandering said as he looked at Lu Li in disgust.


    Lu Li swallowed back whatever he was about to vomit out as he continued, "When you gather at the coordinates near the magma, don''t get too close to the magma itself. The monsters in there have strange attack tactics. If you die to them, don''t blame me for not warning you."


    Lu Li teamed up with Wandering because he wanted to rely on his defense. Although there were men who ignored Wandering''s gender and still took an interest in him, Lu Li was definitely not one of them.


    In fact, Water Fairy was prettier than Wandering.


    Lu Li and Wandering headed to an area that Lu Li was unable to explore last time while the others spread out.


    The land here was burnt and the little hills that covered the area looked like ancient tombs.


    Lu Li sent Wandering over, then discovered that there were monsters hiding in these little hills. They resembled ants, apart from the fact that they were half the height of a human. Their bodies were the color of fiery flames, and with their sharp teeth and feet, they looked quite intimidating.


    "Mate, you should go yourself. These things are too ugly," Wandering complained as he pulled the monsters.


    These Fire Ants were level 40 and dealt around 200 points of damage to Wandering, who was also level 40. It wasn''t a lot of damage, but if Lu Li was on the receiving end, he would quickly be in trouble.


    No matter how good his equipment was, there was no way he could compete against a main tank in this aspect.


    "It hurts! These monsters have extra effects in their attacks!"


    Wandering liked stimulation, so he had kept some senses in the game. Pain was one of them.


    Lu Li looked at the icon above his head and discovered a debuff effect.


    Pain: Causes great pain accompanied by bleeding damage ¨C 350 damage taken every five seconds, lasts for 20 seconds.


    This was probably just an entertainment effect and was reserved for players who kept their senses in the game. Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan not only turned off their battle senses, but they also changed their display settings. In their gaming world, everything was ridiculously cute.

 647 Wandering The Cannon Fodder

    Wandering served as Cannon Fodder which saved Lu Li a lot of trouble; he just had to keep dealing damage.


    These Fire Ants were covered in a thick layer of armor ¨C they excelled in defense, but also had a high attack damage. Their attacks were accompanied by effects such as pain, fire poison and Armor Penetration. If Lu Li was by himself, he would have to sit down and recover after he fought two monsters.


    However, the story was different with Wandering by his side.


    Wandering was a Paladin who specialized in Defense. He was a master of all aspects, able to tank, heal and also deal damage.


    The damage that the monsters dealt to him wasn''t much; he could heal himself back up and only needed to drink blue potions occasionally to sustain himself. However, the pain effect took a mental toll on him.


    "That stone is mine," Wandering said with hate in his voice.


    "You want a stone with an Intelligence attribute? What for?" Lu Li didn''t quite understand.


    The loot from the Fire Ants was quite good ¨C besides their shells, they also dropped Synthetic Stones. These stones could be embedded into equips, as long as there were slots available.


    Even if there were no slots in an equip, a Blacksmith could still learn the recipe to place slots in. Players could also spend money on materials to do this,but this wasn''t a cheap process and there was a certain chance that the original attributes of the equipment would be affected. Not many players were willing to take such a risk.


    "I''m going to use it to chase after girls," Wandering said as he rolled his eyes. This was a Synthetic Stone with bonus Intelligence attributes and he was a Defense Paladin with no use for it. He was just unhappy and wanted to take whatever he could.


    "Sure, sure, take it and go after girls, but put in some work now."


    A stone that only added attributes was pointless to expert players.


    "Damn you ¨C I''m the love of countless ladies out there, but you''re enslaving me like a dog," Wandering whined as he turned off his battle senses and pounced onto the next Fire Ant.


    "Not even ¨C dogs don''t bark as much as you do," Lu Li shot back.


    "My ***" Wandering swore as he took out his frustrations on the Fire Ants in front of him.


    "I heard you used to live with Breezy back in the school days. Who was on top?" Lu Li asked in a joking tone. He didn''t mind joking around when he was with old friends.


    "He was on top. ****, you baited me," Wandering replied subconsciously, he realized what had come out of his mouth.


    "I won''t judge you guys ¨C homosexual love is real love. Heterosexual love only exists for the purpose of reproduction."


    With the help of the internet, Lu Li had learned some banter ¨C he always had a good memory.


    "We shared top and bottom bunks. Top and bottom bunks. Do you hear me?" Wandering felt like he was going to die. Not only was he being attacked by the monsters, but also by Lu Li.


    "I already said I won''t judge you. Just focus on the monsters," Lu Li said, pretending to be serious.


    Wandering nearly puked up blood; he was contemplating to just the monsters kill him.


    The Fire Ants were spread across a wide area, so it took them about an hour to clear them all out.


    The most valuable items dropped were the dozens of Fortified Stones and a few decent Synthetic Stones.


    The Fortified Stones were split in half between the two of them. One of the Synthetic Stones was suitable for Wandering; it gave his weapon a boost to the effects of Taunt.


    There was another Synthetic Stone which increased the chance of skill interruption for weapons. Lu Li kept this for himself.


    There were two Synthetic Stones that weren''t useful for either of them, so Lu Li decided to put them in storage.


    The other Synthetic Stones had average attributes, but the regular players of the guild wouldn''t mind these. Some of them hadn''t even seen a Synthetic Stone.


    The best loot was picked up by the team of Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and March Rain. They had wiped out countless level 40 monsters and had already cleared multiple mini maps.


    Apparently, each of them received around 20-30 Fortified Stones, in addition to all sorts of materials and Synthetic Stones.


    They also looted an Eviscerate skill book. This was a strong ultimate skill for Thieves with a low drop rate. It would be a miracle for an average monster to drop this skill book.


    Eviscerate: Instant cast, Ultimate skill. Finishing move that disembowels the target, causing damage per combo point. Skill level 1/5.


    Based on the statistics given by the skill description, one combo point dealt 49.19% weapon damage to the target. Two combo points dealt 98.38% damage and three combo points dealt 147.57%, while four combo points dealt 196.76%. This was equivalent to the Critical Strike damage of other classes. Once the skill hit five combo points, it would deal 245.96% weapon damage.


    The skill was only level one as well. If it was increased to level five, three-times damage wouldn''t even be a question.


    Eviscerate was known for its consistent high damage and didn''t have a cooldown time either ¨C you could release it as soon as you had enough combo points.


    For Thieves who focused on their Strength attribute, this was their Ultimate skill.


    Although Lu Li had taken the Agility path, he didn''t mind this skill either. His attack was higher than an average Thief, so Eviscerate was just as effective for him.


    Lu Li planned to give the three of them some gold coins to make up for the book.


    It was Lu Li who had brought them to fame and taught them many things. He also distributed equipment to them generously, so it was nothing for them to give him a skill book.


    This was a moment where profit and money shouldn''t be involved.


    Was this a return for his investment? Lu Li didn''t think so, but he was slightly touched.


    HIs motives weren''t entirely based on his generosity ¨C Dawn wasn''t a game that could be played by a single player alone. Players had to work together for dungeons and most Bosses couldn''t be killed by solo players. That was why he had found reliable players and formed the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Although these players received profit, he was the one who benefited even more from the situations.


    The equipment that he had received from those First Clears were only worth so much and had a finite value.


    From those First Clears, he had gained his reputation and the championship from Shadow Cup, which eventually led to the formation of Ruling Sword.


    How much was Ruling Sword worth?


    Perhaps at this point it was only worth ten million, but if they continued to develop at this rate, it wouldn''t take long before the guild was worth billions. Lu Li had become the real winner of the game before he even noticed.


    If he played this game as a solo player, all of this never would have happened.

 648 Lava Essence

    "I''ll skip the rubbish. Thanks," Lu Li said as he received the exquisite skill book.


    "So you know you''re talking rubbish ¨C aren''t you tired from it?" Lonesome Flower asked in disgust. He hadn''t been particularly friendly to Lu Li lately.


    The secret zone wasn''t small, but Lu Li and the others had split into teams and eventually cleared out the map.


    There was no way this place was going to be as big as a real map.


    It was possible to judge the size of the secret zone based on the number of players that were permitted to enter it. A secret zone that allowed 23 players would only consist of around a dozen different types of monsters.


    Everyone cleared out their assigned areas and gradually gathered near the magma.


    "There''s a kind of tentacle monster in the magma. I killed some last time; the experience reward is very good. This time, we''re going to clear out all of them," Lu Li said, then continued on to explain how these tentacle monsters attacked.


    "Yuck!" Hachi Chan squealed as she rubbed his arms.


    Everyone shuddered in disgust at the thought of the cold tentacles dragging them into the magma. Normally, people wouldn''t be as calm about this as Lu Li was.


    "Don''t worry ¨C we have a lot of people, so there''s no way they''ll be dragging us all into the magma this time."


    Lu Li remembered the past and began to wait excitedly for the monsters in the magma to refresh.


    He made some noise with his spare weapons and a white tentacle extended from the magma towards him.


    "Catch it!" Lu Li shouted.


    Azure Sea Breeze was already prepared and he tied the tentacle down with a rope. The tentacle was covered in bumpy suction cups, so the rope was secured on very tightly.


    Previously, the tentacle monster wanted to drag Lu Li towards it.


    This time, everyone tugged the rope together to drag the monster out.


    The monster had great strength, but it was still no competition for 23 players. It screamed as it was dragged out of the magma and onto land.


    This time, Lu Li finally saw the true form of the monster.


    It was similar to what he had imagined ¨C the monster had more than one tentacle. It was a messy monster with a mass of tentacles, but there was only one tentacle that was long enough for it to reach onto land to catch food.


    Its main body was similar to an octopus, but was covered with countless eyes.


    The eyes were black and round, like puppy eyes. They were supposed to be cute, but they looked creepy with the sheer number that the monster had.


    Since it had been dragged on land by surprise, the tentacle monster''s eyes were filled with fear. It quickly recognized the situation and began to go crazy. As its basic survival instincts took over, it began waving its arms to attack the players.


    After he saw how the tentacle monster attacked, Lu Li felt lucky.


    Not only did this monster have tentacles to attack, but it also sprayed magma poison. Azure Sea Breeze was caught by the magma, and not only did he lose a great amount of health, but his face was also destroyed.


    As Lu Li listened to him scream, he had to remind him that this was only a game.


    Azure Sea Breeze then relaxed. The blind effect from the magma didn''t last for too long and he soon recovered, but the dents on his face would probably take a while to heal.


    These monsters had taken Lu Li around a dozen minutes to kill last time. Now that his level had increased and he had so many helpers by his side, this process was much shorter.


    The experiencing was very rewarding, but Lu Li had obviously received more when he killed the monsters by himself.


    Moreover, they had dragged the monster on shore, so they could loot it.


    The monster didn''t disappoint them ¨C Lu Li was delighted to see a Lava Essence. He began to question if Bosses were really the only ones that dropped rare materials.


    Lava Essence was a rare material indeed and also had a wide range of use ¨C engineering, blacksmithing, alchemy, enchanting ¨C it could be used almost anywhere.


    There were limited usages for the material at this current stage of the game. Once everyone reached a higher level, this item would become a rare and important resource.


    Of course, this wasn''t an exaggeration; it was worth around 300 gold coins on the market. Most importantly, it was in demand, but supplies were restricted. Most players on the market were buying; it was rare to see someone sell it.


    Lu Li silently cried over the Lava Essence that had sunken to the bottom of the river last time. Now that he calculated it, he had lost quite a sum.


    This time, he was determined to kill all of these tentacle monsters and take all the Lava Essence that he could.


    To improve their speed, he decided to split into four different teams of five to six people. Each team was in charge of one monster ¨C if they decreased the numbers any further, they wouldn''t be able to drag the tentacle monsters up.


    "What level of rare material is this, and why does every monster drop it?" someone finally asked.


    Even Lu Li was very surprised that every tentacle monster dropped a rare material.


    In such a short amount of time, they had already looted dozens of Lava Essence. It made these valuable rare materials feel cheap and he almost thought that he had remembered the wrong item.


    "Isn''t it good to have more? If you don''t want them, pass them into the guild storage as points. Or, you can sell them to me ¨C one hundred gold for each one," Lu Li said in the chat room.


    "One hundred gold!" Remnant Dream gasped.


    Although she had earned a decent income by becoming the spokesperson for Kirby, she was still quite financially burdened and had slowly become addicted to money.


    "Just take it," Azure Sea Breeze said without hesitation.


    "I''ll give you mine too. Just fight me a few more times," Fat Monkey said quickly. After entering Ruling Sword, he had fought against Lu Li a few times. Although he always lost, learned a lot every single time.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li was often too busy to battle him.


    "You discovered this secret zone. It''s already nice that you brought us here and we''ve all collected a lot of Fortified Stones from this trip. If you need it, you can take all of the Lava Essence."


    Even though Wandering wanted to kick Lu Li all the time, he had set lines when it came to serious things.


    Others expressed that they wanted to give these to Lu Li for free.


    Even Remnant Dream said that she was happy to give her Lava Essence to Lu Li for free.


    "What are you all doing?" Lu Li asked, not knowing if he should cry or laugh. "I''m not a leader who tries to squeeze every bit of benefit from his staff members. This is a very exquisite rare material that you can sell for up to three to four hundred gold coins in the future. It''s already a rip-off that I''m buying them off you for one hundred gold. If you guys don''t agree to it, then we''ll just split it evenly."


    Lu Li wasn''t leader-material, but he had his own opinions in this matter.


    In his previous life, he had never joined a stable group because all the leaders he ran into were selfish. Whenever they ran into something that they wanted, they would ask their loyal subordinates to give up the item. If the subordinates gave up, the others would either follow with the flow, or couldn''t compete with anything. The good things always fell into the hands of the leader.


    As for those subordinates, they apparently received better things afterwards.


    Those leaders weren''t concerned about you being angry and leaving either ¨C others would be ready to replace you after you left. They took all the benefits they could to increase their own gains.

 649 High-Crit Fire Mage

    Lu Li was very insistent about paying them back even though nobody saw the need for him to. If Lu Li wanted to pay everyone back for the Lava Essence, they wouldn''t dare to say no.


    However, in his current financial situation, he couldn''t afford paying everyone back for the large amount of Lava Essence he was borrowing. Therefore, all he could do was owe them a favor and pay them back when he earned more money.


    Azure Sea Breeze thought that Lu Li''s thinking was too feminine and girly.


    The newcomers who had recently joined such as Flying Fish Hater and Jaweika were more than happy for Lu Li to pay them back, even though they didn''t express their thoughts out loud.


    The leader of Ruling Sword was reasonable!


    They weren''t concerned about losing out on some money by giving their Lava Essence to Lu Li. Rather, they were more afraid that the leaders of Ruling Sword were selfish, corrupt and abused their power to take resources from their members for their own gains.


    Because Lu Li had acted in such a fair and honest manner, the new members let their guard down and fully trusted his leadership to provide for the guild and the rest of their gaming careers. No one wanted to work hard for an organization while being in fear of being stabbed in the back.


    "Crap, this bastard has two tentacles."


    When they finally came across the tentacle monster, World''s Best Friend shrieked and was almost dragged away.


    Luckily his teammates had very fast reactions and pulled him back before it was too late.


    The two-armed monster was very strong and had taken a while for Lu Li to defeat by himself.


    Now, they had strength in numbers, as well as a Main Tank and Healers, so it proved to be a piece of cake for them.


    They successfully killed it without much trouble.


    "Two Lava Essence!"


    "There''s also a Silver grade glove; it''s a level 40 Fire Mage equip which has a 30% burn effect. Looks pretty good!" World''s Best Friend shouted.


    "I want¡­ I want¡­" Fat Monkey cried.


    He was a Crit Fire Mage, so his DPS was much higher than the average Mage at the same level. If he gained an additional 30% increase in his burn damage, he would be overpowered.


    Did it matter if it was only silver grade? Even if the stats were trash, he would be willing to throw away his level 30 Golden grade Glove for the 30% additional damage.


    His equipment theme was pure DPS with no survivability.


    "What the hell Fat Monkey? Your voice is so goddamn annoying. Whatever, I won''t bother fighting you for it," Nuo Yu said.


    Nuo Yu was also a Fire Mage and good friends with Fat Monkey, so he didn''t mind letting him take it. Besides, he could borrow it anytime he wanted.


    "Good job everyone; kill every monster in sight. Since we''re in a secret area, there''re lots of good loot," Lu Li said.


    "I mined an Hematite! Wow, I didn''t know you could mine here!" someone else shouted happily before Fat Monkey could suppress his excitement.


    Mining?


    How could they have forgotten about mining in the secret area? Fortunately, they had gotten here quite recently and they still had a lot of time.


    Hematites were typically found in dormant volcanoes or near mountains due to volcanic activity. They crystallized under high heat and precipitated to form a rare, reddish ore. These ores were very useful in repairing high-level equipment, but because of their rarity, they often fluctuated in price.


    Although this place was very good for Miners, the environment was limited in herbs and plants.


    There were only some moss-like plants that were resistant to the high heat. However, without a recipe, no one knew how these could be used in herbalism or alchemy.


    After killing several hundred Tentacle Monsters, they stopped appearing and the party decided to leave.


    They had gained valuable resources including experience, rare materials, enhancement stones, synthetic stones and even skill books. Their loot from today would normally take days to farm in the wild.


    "Ok, if we encounter anymore monsters, ignore them, because we need to save enough time for the boss," Lu Li instructed.


    "We only have 20 or so people. Will we be able to defeat the boss?" World''s Best Friend was worried.


    "That should be enough. The boss won''t be higher than Lv50 and it''s only a Felguard." Lu Li was quite confident because of the Boss'' identity.


    The Felguard were powerful demon warriors with high armor, damage and HP. When they were introduced into Dawn, they were described as "Giant monsters wielding burning weapons that came from the depths of hell. They use their cruel magic to turn their enemies into ashes."


    In reality, the Felguard were one of the lower ranked soldiers in the Burning Legion and served as front-line troops.


    As the weakest troop in the Burning Legion, they come in large numbers and a fraction of them were used to train Felhounds.


    However, this was no reason to underestimate them. They were still very capable of splitting their enemies in half with their axe.


    These monsters were capable of using magic and also possessed strong physical attacks. In his past life, Lu Li had encountered Felguards many times, so he had a clear understanding of how to defeat them.


    "Wow, such a big tree! Is this the famous World Tree?" The first thing anyone noticed when they come here was the giant tree that sat in the middle of the map.


    "I feel like it''s even bigger than Teldrassil in Kalimdor. Who knows what awesome loot and drops it has in stall for us? The drops are so much better in the secret area compared to dungeons."


    Everyone was drooling just thinking about the resources they were about to obtain. They were extremely grateful that Lu Li had brought them here.


    This group of 20 or so players were extremely lucky. The leaders of other guilds may not have even heard about secret areas. Not only did these members of Ruling Sword know about one, but they even had the opportunity to experience it for themselves.


    "Wipe off your drool; we have to kill the Felguard boss first," Lu Li said, interrupting their daydream.


    "Whoever dares to stand in our way will be crushed to pieces!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted eagerly as he pounded his chest with his axe. His eyes were blood-shot from being too excited.


    "Start by killing the smaller monsters in the area. Beard Stubble, draw the aggro, but don''t pull too many," Lu Li ordered.

 650 Secret Area Boss

    The reason why Lu Li wanted a Hunter to draw aggro was because of their range. However, theyhad to look out for was to pull the right monsters and give away the aggro at the right timing.


    Beard Stubble had better mechanics than Remnant Dream, along with a better skill set to pull monsters from afar.


    Despite Beard Stubble''s capabilities, Lu Li would never kick out Remnant Dream off the party because she brought in so much more value to the team than her DPS. She was known throughout Dawn for her luck when it came to looting monster corpses.


    Remnant Dream from Ruling Sword ¨C the one who looted all those Dark Gold grade equips.


    She had received multiple, enticing offers from other major guilds. Lu Li wondered why no one wanted him this badly in his past life.


    Fortunately, Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were inseparable as friends. Since Hachi Chan was doing quite well for herself in Ruling Sword, both her and Remnant Dream couldn''t be bothered switching guilds.


    Because of this, Remnant Dream would always boast about her loyalty.


    Beard Stubble adjusted his positioning and angle of attack, then sniped the Felguard from afar. The crimson red Felguard turned and looked around for the intruder. With its Felhound pet by its side, it began making his way towards Lu Li and the others. None of the other monsters were aggro''d.


    Lu Li was pleased and nodded. He had heard about how Beard Stubble was always the one aggroing the Boss in his party, and now, he had actually seen it in person.


    "Azure, take aggro!"


    Azure Sea Breeze stepped in front of Beard Stubble, about to draw the aggro of the two incoming monsters.


    The Felhound immediately used Mana Drain in order to take away Azure Sea Breeze''s mana pool. However, this was basically useless as Warriors used rage instead of mana to cast skills.


    The Felguard immediately followed up with Intercept and stunned Azure Sea Breeze.


    Intercept: Run at high speed towards target. Intercept deals a small amount of damage and stuns the target for 3 seconds. 30 second cooldown.


    It had a similar skillset as the Felguards that were summoned by Warlocks. However, at level 45, its skills were much stronger and more difficult to deal with.


    Since Azure Sea Breeze was stunned for three seconds, he didn''t have enough time to draw the aggro of the Boss. The Felguard immediately switched aggro onto Lonesome Flower, who had been dealing the most DPS.


    Although Fat Monkey was a glass cannon Fire Mage and Nuo Yu was dealing decent DPS as well, they couldn''t keep up with Lonesome Flower. He had always been the one that had worked hard to keep up with Lu Li. He was currently wearing multiple Dark Gold items, as well as some Exquisite level 40 Silver items.


    As for Lu Li, he knew this would happen and had waited for a while before attacking the Boss.


    After switching aggro, the Felguard rushed towards Lonesome Flower and casted Cleave. Cleave could attack up to two enemies at once, but the damage was mainly dealt to the target.


    Lonesome Flower immediately lost two-thirds of his HP as the Felguard prepared for his next attack.


    "Flower, use your refrigerator!" Lu Li shouted quickly.


    It was too late to Blink away because the Boss would just chase after him. Lonesome Flower froze for a second and didn''t react.


    He had been in numerous dungeon runs with Lu Li, and although he would often look down upon him, he always followed Lu Li''s commands completely.


    He heard Lu Li shout "refrigerator" and subconsciously casted Ice Block. When the Boss attacked again, he was completely encased in ice and invulnerable.


    This stalled enough time for the stun on Azure Sea Breeze to time out.


    He immediately casted Charge into Taunt and the Boss began targeting him again. The ice melted away, revealing Lonesome Flower''s terrified expression. He waited to make sure that the boss was aggroed onto Azure Sea Breeze before he began attacking again.


    Lu Li didn''t criticize him in front of his little sister because he wanted to save his face.


    He had never fought this Boss before and decided to stick with a more conservative strategy.


    The most-commonly used skills used by the Felguard were Intercept, Cleave, Taunt, Felstorm, War Stomp, Cripple, Rain of Fire and Silence. However, the only skills that they had to worry about were Cleave, Felstorm and Rain of Fire. The others were crowd-control skills which would eventually time out after a few seconds, given that the player adopted a safer playstyle for the affected duration.


    Cleave was quite difficult to deal with and the only strategy was to stand in pairs to minimize the damage.


    Cleave: Strikes a target in front of you as well as a nearby target, dealing large amount of damage. Cooldown 6 seconds.


    The skill dealt a set amount of damage with each hit. The main target received the main chunk of the damage, but this could be split up between ally players. If a player was alone in a 3-yard radius, he would be instantly killed.


    Besides Azure Sea Breeze, World''s Best Friend and Wandering, there were no one that could withstand a Cleave strike by themselves.


    As for Felstorm, the Felguard would gain a 10% attack increase for each enemy hit after casting it. This stacked up to 10 times (100%) and lasted for 30 seconds. After casting Felstorm, the Felguard had the potential to deal double damage for a considerable amount of time.


    Even the Main Tank would not be able to tank this damage.


    Switching Main Tanks would likely be their best option. The two tanks had to be able to coordinate and switch aggo between the two of them ¨C otherwise, the whole team would be wiped.


    Rain of Fire was an Area of Effect skill that dealt damage and caused a burn debuff.


    As the commander, Lu Li needed remind everyone to use their defensive skills when Rain of Fire was casted. Otherwise, it was almost certain that someone would die from the damage.


    "World, you''re the second Main Tank. Cast Taunt 12 seconds after Azure uses his Taunt." Lu Li wasn''t sure when Felguard would cast Felstorm and decided to remind World''s Best Friend just in case.


    World''s Best Friend replaced Wandering as the secondary tank because Warriors were better at dealing with Demon monsters.


    His mechanics and game sense were pretty good. As soon as Lu Li gave him the task, he immediately maintained second place on the aggro bar.


    "World, take aggro on three and remember to activate your defensive skills!" Lu Li shouted.


    Azure Sea Breeze was on critical health when he backed out of the fight. March Rain immediately healed him back to full HP and the Felguard casted Rain of Fire straight away.


    There was no escaping this large area of effect skill and the fireballs landed on Azure Sea Breeze.


    Fortunately, March Rain had reacted quickly. It would''ve been certain death for him otherwise.


    There were four healers in the party this time. The Holy Paladin Midnight focused on healing the player that was tanking the Boss, while March Rain and Machine Bro watched over the whole team. Hachi Chan was in charge of healing those that were afflicted with the burn debuff.


    Azure Sea Breeze stood in the Felstorm for 9 seconds, causing the Felguard to gain a 60% damage increase.


    He immediately ordered Wandering to build up the aggro because someone might have to be sacrificed for the greater good of the team.

 651 Big Skill

    Wandering had a look of resentment, but he had been chosen, so he had no choice but to cast Taunt.


    "Come hit me!"


    Azure Sea Breeze could tank it for 9 seconds, but World''s Best Friend could only tank it for 7 seconds as his Defence and HP wasn''t as high. As for Wandering, he could only tank it for 4-5 seconds.


    After Azure Sea Breeze''s HP was restored, he jumped back in and the three tanks continued to rotate.


    It wasn''t that the players were afraid to let loose and attack, but that the Boss was very aggressive. Anyone who wasn''t a defensive profession would probably be unable to tank the damage.


    It was only until after the Demonic Storm had passed that everyone felt some relief.


    Lu Li saw that the Boss had stopped and quickly decided for his teammates to burst it as much as they could.


    "Memories, use Bloodlust."


    With Bloodlust in effect, the players gained a significant increase in attack power and casted their strongest skills as quickly as they could. They dealt a huge amount of damage and the Boss'' 50,000-point health bar rapidly dropped.


    The only troublesome thing was that Lu Li didn''t know what would happen if one of them died. If he had to guess, they would probably get kicked out of the secret area after dying unless they were revived.


    Without the Magic Stone, they would have fewer and fewer players, se had to be as conservative as possible. The three tanks and five healers in this party played the biggest roles. The others also had to ensure that they kept the Boss'' aggro under control.


    "Bloodlust is so strong!" Flying Fish Hater exclaimed with tears streaming down his eyes.


    After taking a look at the damage output, the team realized just how insane Bloodlust was. It was no wonder why Shamans were so valuable.


    Other professions had similar rage skills, but who else could benefit from rage? With Bloodlust, the entire team''s damage output could be increased.


    Flying Fish Hater had already learned this skill, and fully levelled it with his saved Skill Points without hesitation.


    He had never used it before, but after seeing its effect, he was immediately satisfied and filled with anticipation for it.


    "Use Bloodlust on my command. Just hold on to it for now."


    Unfortunately, Lu Li didn''t allow him to use it. Everyone had just received the Bloodlust effect and had to wait for a certain duration before they could receive it again. They also had to see how the Boss would react.


    If their damage was too high, the Boss had a chance of going Berserk even before it reached critical HP. It was best to wait until the Boss had just used a powerful skill as there would be a following rest period.


    "Mm, I understand." Flying Fish Hater wasn''t a rookie either.


    "I keep thinking about this¡­" Sesame Rice Ball, who was usually quiet, spoke up, "If we open a portal from within the secret area, can we pull in players from the outside?"


    "Oh yeah!" Azure Sea Breeze slapped his thigh and almost dropped his axe.


    "Do you want to try it?" Wandering was curious as well. If there were 200 players fighting this Boss, it would definitely be faster and they wouldn''t need to use him as cannon fodder.


    "Stop dreaming. That''s impossible," Lu Li said as he shook his head. "If you teleport someone in, then another person will be randomly kicked out."


    This was such a big game ¨C how could it have such a stupid bug?


    Everyone was discouraged and had no choice but to properly fight the Boss. Perhaps it was because of the frustration, but when the Boss cast the second Demonic Storm, Azure Sea Breeze and World''s Best Friend ran into some trouble.


    World''s Best Friend''s taunt missed!


    Taunt was a skill that could miss, but the probability was so low that it was negligible. This was especially the case for someone like World''s Best Friend who was a high-level defensive player.


    World''s Best Friend cried out and lamented in his heart; he was probably going to get scolded by Lu Li.


    "Dammit!"


    Without anyone to tank the Boss for Azure Sea Breeze, he had no choice but to helplessly kneel.


    "What are you guys doing? Get ready to take the aggro! Wandering you go first!" Lu Li''s clearly commanded, his voice not sounding panicked at all. As the commander, the others would just give up if he panicked.


    This wasn''t an Instance Dungeon ¨C it was a secret area. They had no idea what would happen after death, so they couldn''t just give up.


    Lu Li wasn''t the kind of commander that would get angry at every little thing. He of all people knew when it was appropriate to get angry and when it wasn''t. He wasn''t really angry to begin with anyway.


    Hachi Chan didn''t need Lu Li''s instruction this time, and immediately casted Resurrect on Azure Sea Breeze.


    After Azure Sea Breeze was resurrected, his HP was quickly replenished and he was ready to go again. It was too bad that Hachi Chan had to use Resurrect ¨C they had lost one of their safeguards now.


    World''s Best Friend went in before Azure Sea Breeze, who was still 30 seconds from being at full HP. It was risky, but they survived this wave of damage.


    "Alright, don''t get distracted and pay attention to the rhythm."


    Lu Li didn''t name or criticize World''s Best Friend. The others weren''t sure, but also decided to be polite about it. Even if Lu Li didn''t say anything, World''s Best Friend probably wasn''t going to make the same mistake again.


    These few players had a rare opportunity to team up with Lu Li, and they didn''t have much time to prove themselves.


    "Do you want to use Bloodlust?" Flying Fish Hater was becoming impatient.


    "Hmm¡­ wait a bit more!" Lu Li was just about to say yes before he saw a rain of fire spreading out.


    This damned Doomguard actually hadn''t played all of its cards yet. This was a completely new skill and it was giving them no breathing room; they couldn''t use Bloodthirst now.


    What was even worse was that this Rain of Fire was different from before.


    The previous one had a range of attack that was relatively small ¨C only a few players were affected by it. This time, the rain of fire enveloped the entire area.


    Lu Li glanced at the Boss'' HP; they had already dropped it down to half.


    No wonder it was using such a powerful move. Bosses that were higher than level 40 would often do this kind of thing. There weren''t many area-wide skills that a Doomguard could use, but Rain of Fire was one of them.


    The other was War Trample, but it hadn''t used it today. It seemed like it hadn''t learned that yet.


    "Healers, focus on healing and maintain everyone''s HP. Main Tanks, use your damage reduction skills," Lu Li had brought five healers with him, so it was possible to navigate this Rain of Fire. Moreover, even if they lost one or two players, it didn''t matter too much.


    It wasn''t clear whether Hachi Chan was surprised or scared when Lu Li asked her to perform such a tricky task.

 652 Tranquility

    The way that Remnant Dream later described it was that she looked quite elegant. Hachi Chan clasped her hands and went into a prayer position before the area around her started to rain.


    Of course, this wasn''t a change in the environment ¨C this was Healing Rain!


    Seeing as the Boss had decided to use an area-wide skill, she decided to use her area-wide healing.


    What was even more shocking was that this healing effect was even better than usual.


    There was a general rule in Dawn stating that a single target skill was always better than an area of effect skill. For example, the Mage''s Blizzard didn''t deal as much damage to an individual target than a Frostbolt would.


    This was supposed to be the same for healing, but Hachi Chan''s skill completely violated this rule.


    Everyone was covered by this healing rain and significantly replenished, but the skill just kept on going.


    It was Tranquility!


    Lu Li almost blurted out the name, but he realized his mistake. This wasn''t Tranquility ¨C Tranquility wasn''t this strong.


    Tranquility ¨C Channel, heals the lowest 5 (or 12 members for teams with over 10 players) players once every 2 seconds for 8 seconds. The Druid must continually channel their energy to maintain this skill.


    This was the ordinary Tranquility. Lu Li was a Druid in his previous life, and although he wasn''t a healer, he hadn''t mistaken the attributes of this skill.


    Tranquility was the Druid''s most powerful healing move, but it still followed Dawn''s rule. The four heals over eight seconds combined weren''t as strong as a normal heal. Moreover, in a team of 23 players, it could only heal 12 of them.


    Hachi Chan''s Tranquility not only healed everyone, but also healed for more in each tick than a normal heal would. It was a wonderful sight.


    The Boss had cast a powerful skill, but the players affected by it weren''t losing any HP at all.


    This was a Fortified Tranquility!


    Beyond the regular skills, there was also the Fortified skills. When an expert reached level 50-60, they would seek to replace their ordinary skills with Fortified Skills.


    However, at this point, everyone was still struggling to get to level 40.


    What was even more outrageous was that Hachi Chan possessed a Fortified version of an ultimate skill.


    Lu Li was so powerful, but currently didn''t have a single Fortified skill. He knew how to obtain such Fortified skills, but they all required him to be at least level 45 or higher.


    "What skill is that?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, unable to wait for the rain of fire to end.


    "Fortified Tranquility. It''s strong, right? I''m not as weak as you thought, right?" Hachi Chan said triumphantly. She felt like she had saved the entire team from disaster.


    The Xin Xin mercenary Group had maintained ten players for so long that there was some gossip about it in the guild.


    Although the other players were highly skilled, Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were always criticized as being ordinary. However, Remnant Dream''s lucky hands were known in and out of the guild, in addition to the fact that she was still quite young.


    Hachi Chan was skilled at completing quests, but was quite useless when it came to Instance Dungeons.


    When Lu Li gave her the task to heal everyone, she felt prompted to use her area-of-effect healing ability. There were actually three other healers who could use an area-of-effect heal, but none of them were as strong as her''s.


    Lu Li was actually trying to protect her.


    However, with this Fortified Tranquility, everyone was dumbfounded and this little girl could stand proud.


    "Where did you get this skill?" This was what Lu Li was most curious about. Although he had experienced rebirth, it was inevitable that something like this would happen.


    "It was a reward from the Moonlight Forest. I was the first Druid to get to the Moonlight Forest," Hachi Chan explained, then tilted her head and gestured, "There was a strange looking uncle there. His name was Re¡­. Re something."


    "Remulos!" Lu Li said through clenched teeth.


    Remulos was the Moonlight Forest''s Keeper of the Grove and the beloved son of Cenarius. He had huge antlers and a leafy mane, along with many supernatural abilities.


    Lu Li had encountered him multiple times when trying to upgrade his Supreme Ring.


    Damn that person!


    He was the one who was the first to visit the Moonlight Forest, but he wasn''t given anything because he wasn''t a Druid.


    Hachi Chan''s luck was so good. Her reward had played a vital role for the whole team, and Lu Li couldn''t help but envy her a little.


    "Yeah, it was Remulos. I helped him quite a bit; it''s been a tiring few days," Hachi Chan said sadly.


    To rub extra salt into the wound, she declared as a matter of fact that the NPC had given her tasks that lasted over several days. This was definitely the effect of being the System''s daughter.


    Maybe God was just being fair, giving the na?ve Hachi Chan a way of keeping up.


    Even if her technique wasn''t as good, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would still be strong enough with this skill. Moreover, their technique only looked bad in comparison to someone like Azure Sea Breeze. When compared with regular players, they were actually little experts in their own right.


    After being with Lu Li and the others for so long, Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan had made leaps and bounds in terms of progress.


    "Well done," Lu Li complemented her.


    The Doomguard''s skill had been defeated by Tranquility, but it wasn''t over yet. They had to learn from this experience and be more cautious for next time.


    There was no reason to think there wouldn''t be another powerful skill after this one.


    When the Boss'' HP had dropped lower than 30%, it casted the rain of fire again. However, Tranquility was still on cooldown, so they had to rely on the other healers to maintain the team''s HP.


    Unfortunately, poor Zaza and Nuo Yu were burned to death by the fire.


    Hunters had few damage reduction skills. Mages had quite a few, but Fire Mage had less survivability than Ice mages.


    Lu Li hesitated for a second, but decided not to try and save them.


    The two of them were damage output players anyway. If there was a Main Tank or a Healer that died and they didn''t have a Resurrect, there would be trouble. Lu Li was the only person left with a Resurrect as Hachi Chan''s was still on cooldown.


    After losing two of their damage output players, the decrease in speed when killing the Boss was noticeable.


    The Doomguard Boss still had a third of its HP, and was more frequently using Demonic Storm and Rain of Fire. The healers'' MP was beginning to become a little stretched.

 653 Like Moths To A Flame

    Lu Li estimated how long it would take to clear the Boss'' remaining HP and issued the instructions. It was a little early, but they had no choice ¨C if their healers ran out of HP they would get wiped and it would be over.


    "Memories, put down a Mana regen totem. Flying Fish, you go after her."


    All the professions had a way of restoring mana, but given the amount of HP they were collectively losing, it just wasn''t enough.


    "I can restore mana! I can restore mana!" Hachi Chan shouted excitedly.


    This girl''s time to shine had finally come. She had dumbfounded everyone previously and wanted that feeling again after working so hard for her quests.


    "You can put totems down?" Sakura Memories scratched her head in confusion.


    "Tell me ¨C whose mana do I restore?" Hachi Chan asked as she lifted her chin and puffed her chest with pride. She was ready to show off again.


    "Is it Innervate?" Lu Li couldn''t help but ask.


    "How¡­ how did you know?" Hachi Chan was dumbfounded. She was going to rub it in everyone''s faces, but someone had actually guessed it.


    "If it''s a Druid helping someone else regenerate mana, it has to be Innervate," Lu Li''s lip curled as he spoke. Innervate really was a good supportive skill, but it just couldn''t be compared to Tranquility.


    Innervate: Increase target''s mana regeneration to 400% mana regeneration for 20 seconds.


    If you had 400% mana regeneration for 20 seconds, you could almost fully regenerate your mana.


    "We''ll put the second totem down later; give March Rain Innervate."


    Since they had this extra skill, they didn''t need to use the mana totem so early. Lu Li and the others could go back to fighting normally.


    Attempting an Instance Dungeon was similar to this. As long as they could come up with countermeasures for any surprises, they could defeat the Boss.


    After half an hour, the Doomguard''s HP was almost cleared and it was entering the critical phase. This was the most dangerous stage as most Burning Legion Bosses could go Berserk.


    The Doomguard held a huge double-headed spear and as it slowly poised, its whole body began to turn red.


    "Attack!" Lu Li shouted.


    On this command, everyone launched a large wave of skills. Hachi Chan''s Tranquility had also come off cooldown, but at this critical moment, there was no reason to save any skills as it was now or never.


    Most Berserk forms would open with an additional skill, or would channel an ultimate skill. Even Lu Li had gathered 5 combo points and was ready.


    As the Boss roared, he jumped up and casted Eviscerate to deeply pierce the demon''s spine. Red damage figures floated up above its body.


    He had dealt more than 700 damage!


    He hadn''t achieved a particularly high Skill Completion as he had only recently obtained this skill, but the direction in which he had cast it was still acceptable, so he managed to deal at least 2.5 times the normal damage. With the reduced defense from the Boss'' Berserk form, dealing 700 damage wasn''t impossible.


    In fact, if that was deal to a player¡­


    If that player didn''t cast a damage reduction skill and was Cloth Armored, it would almost be a one-shot.


    The others were also dealing considerable damage because of the Boss'' reduced damage reduction.The remaining 5% HP quickly dropped to half of that.


    Rain of Fire!


    While in Berserk, Rain of Fire had real chance of instantly killing the players. It seemed like the Boss was also becoming tired of trying to kill them individually.


    "Stupid Hachi! Tranquility!" Lu Li cried.


    "No, you''re stupid!" the little girl retorted while promptly casting the spell.


    The Rain of Fire and healing rain fell on the players at almost the same time. Their HP rapidly fell and rose; it was quite exhilarating to watch.


    It definitely was the Fortified Tranquility ¨C the regular Tranquility wasn''t nearly as impressive.


    "Ahwooo! Stop wasting my time, you worthless creatures!" the Doomguard roared as he rushed towards Hachi Chan with his double-headed spear.


    "Moon¡­" Lu Li tried to tell Moonlight to help Hachi Chan, but the Boss had acted too quickly. Although Moonlight moved, he was a step too late.


    Hachi Chan died and Tranquility''s effect gradually dissipated, but the Rain of Fire wasn''t over yet!


    The remaining healers scrambled to start healing, and the others didn''t need Lu Li''s reminder to cast their damage reduction skills on themselves. They just needed to survive a little bit longer.


    Even before going Berserk, this Boss could already one-shot the players, so now, it was even easier. Wandering was stabbed to death by its spear.


    Azure Sea Breeze chassed the Boss from behind and casted Taunt, which was followed by several more Taunts from the other players, but the Boss completely ignored them.


    "Dammit Sea Breeze, body-block the Boss and give yourself up!" Lu Li''s spirit hadn''t faded at all; he commanded the two Main Tanks to stand right in the Boss'' path. The Boss couldn''t walk through them, so they could delay it for a few seconds at least.


    World''s Best Friend was first; he casted Charged and suddenly appeared in front of the Boss. The Boss was very annoyed at this player, but had to slow down to deal with him.


    World''s Best Friend knew that he was going to die, so he wisely casted his strongest damage reduction skill as several other healers desperately tried to heal him.


    He actually managed to not get one-shot.


    However, the Berserk Doomguard didn''t stop after one hit and easily cleared the rest of World''s Best Friend''s HP with its second attack.


    Azure Sea Breeze then went forwards, this time without any hesitation. This was a secret area, so if they died they, wouldn''t be able to get back.


    It was the same as the Wastelands ¨C they only had one chance to do this!


    Lu Li didn''t resurrect World''s Best Friend, nor did he resurrect Hachi Chan. Instead, he resurrected Bearded Zaza who had died previously.


    Bearded Zaza was a long-range hunter and with his Agility points, he was a little more agile than the Fire Mage. His attacks didn''t require much channeling and he could easily kite the Boss.


    Kiting was the idea of maintaining a safe distance from the Boss while still dealing damage to it.


    Azure Sea Breeze quickly died as well.


    "Darkness, it''s your turn."


    This charming female Paladin was said to be Sorrowless'' sweetheart. If he knew that Lu Li had asked his Goddess to be cannon fodder, a war might break out between Glory Capital and Ruling Sword.


    Darkness didn''t hesitate to move up and died just like the two other main tanks. She couldn''t heal anyone, so she was a good candidate as cannon fodder.


    She only managed to take one hit from the Boss, which stalled it for about one second.


    Darkness, March Rain, Machine Bro, Flying Fish Hater, Moonlight and Sakura Memories all died, one after the other. They were all trying to buy time for the other high-damage output players.

 654 Epic Equipment Reward

    In the end, even Lu Li had to block the Boss because it was increasing in speed and the other players weren''t able to keep up with it.


    After Lu Li died, he decided not to use the Darkmoon Card and just waited for the result of the fight.


    When you died, the world would become grey and you would lie on the ground. Lu Li could see his teammates scattered in the open, taking the opportunity to cast their skills on the Boss.


    They all knew that it would be defeated soon, but they couldn''t be sure of how many attacks they still had to make. It was a good thing that everyone Lu Li had brought today was quite competent ¨C even after commander Lu Li went down, they were all fighting with all their might.


    Sesame Rice Ball was caught by the Boss and died, along with Fat Monkey. Bearded Zaza, who had only just been resurrected, was also slain.


    In the end, there were only three players left ¨C Lonesome Flower, Remnant Dream and Jaweika.


    There was a Mage, a Hunter and a Shadow Priest.


    The Boss had 2000HP left, so their prospects weren''t looking too good. None of these players could tank the Boss'' attacks ¨C could this be the harrowing end of the secret area expedition?


    They had received plentiful rewards purely from the regular monsters. Everyone had received a large number of equips, precious stones and all kinds of materials. Their trip had been worthwhile, but none of the players here were fools. If the regular monsters gave such good rewards, that meant the Boss'' rewards would be even better.


    There wasn''t a single player who didn''t want to kill the Boss to get some of its items.


    "Look at my ultimate move!" Remnant Dream shouted and waved her hand. A mass of pets appeared behind here.


    There were even more than Lu Li had imagined.


    When Remnant Dream had made the endorsement for Kirby, she had received a huge sum of money. With that, she bought a Pet Manor and was able to take care of even more pets. She had gone on a taming rampage.


    She would venture out with her quest-maniac friend and complete quests together while she kept an eye out for rare pets.


    Her current pet count was 258. Even if you got rid of the non-combat pets, there were still more than 100 combat pets.


    When a player reached 100 rare pets, the System would suddenly generously reward them with another pet and this ultimate skill. However, after this, the System''s reward for collecting pets would be capped.


    Swarm of Beasts: Instant cast. Summon all your pets to fight a target for 4 seconds. Pets deal 15% of their normal damage. 2 hour cooldown. Proficiency 1/5.


    This skill had limited effect on an average hunter, who unlike Remnant Dream, couldn''t carry too many pets.


    If a player only had a dozen pets, the attack would be so weak that they would want to cry.


    First of all, each pet''s Attack was only 15% of their normal Attack, but what needed to be emphasized was that this was their normal dage. With the exception of some pets, most pets didn''t have a very high-damage basic attack. Even if a group of pets attacked at once, they might not deal the same damage as a single pet skill.


    Moreover, the duration was only for four seconds. By the time the pets ran from behind the pet owner to the Boss, two seconds had already passed.


    As Remnant Dream waved her hands, her pets cried out and rushed forwards.


    The Doomguard wasn''t particularly intelligent, but it knew that this many pets would be troublesome. It let out a roar and tried to use its double-headed spear to sweep them away.


    Obviously, his sweep attack landed, as there were so many targets.


    When his sweep attack connected, everyone envisioned the pets being tossed aside and knocked into one another. However, this didn''t happen - they just kept rushing forwards like the spear wasn''t even there. These weren''t the actual pets themselves; they were ghosts and couldn''t be attacked.


    Most of the pets only had the chance to attack once, while the slower ones disappeared before they could.


    Even so, the Doomguard lost over a 1000HP and more importantly, Lonesome Flower and Jaweika used this time to find a safe spot to attack the Boss.


    Both of them were DPS experts and when given such an opportunity, they easily dealt several hundred damage to the Boss.


    The Doomguard let out a final scream before its huge body fell heavily onto the ground, knocking dust into the air. The EXP from the final surviving Boss of this small world flew to the three surviving players.


    The EXP from a level 45 secret area Boss was quite plentiful, especially since it was only split between three players. Remnant Dream and Jaweika levelled up on the spot and Lonesome Flower also received a large chunk of EXP.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword! Under the leadership of Lu Li, they have completed the exploration of the secret Jaguero Isle and have been rewarded with one Epic Equip.


    Epic equipment!


    An Epic equip was truly a great reward.


    All the channels were suddenly ignited as players read about the Epic equipment.


    Why was it Lu Li and Ruling Sword again? Lu Li had to be a bug ¨C he was breaking the game balance. Some players asked the game company to get rid of this guy, for the sake of the game''s longevity.


    They hadn''t even discovered Dark Gold equipment ¨C how could Epic equipment appear already?


    What was this secret place, and how difficult was it? Why did it reward an Epic equip? Where could they find this secret place? Exploring a secret place seemed to be quite different from doing an Instance Dungeon¡­


    In fact, this wasn''t the first Epic equipment current in the game.


    Lu Li already had an Epic equip ¨C the Supreme Ring. However, he had focused a majority of his game time trying to upgrade it to this point, and it had been a strenuous process.


    Lu Li also estimated that it wasn''t impossible that other players had Epic equipment too.


    Someone like Hachi Chan could probably find one, especially with her fascination with the game''s stories which usually led to all kinds of fortuitous encounters.


    However, this instance was slightly different as it was directly given as a reward. System rewards were not generally announced to the World Channel, so in a sense, the Epic equipment had now been introduced to ordinary players.


    The question that was on everyone''s minds was what kind of Epic equipment was it? Even Lu Li was wondering because the equipment had been put into his backpack, but he couldn''t open it while he was dead.


    After hesitating for a moment, Lu Li gave up on using his Darkmoon Card to revive. He decided to keep it for a later, more critical moment.


    There were three other players that were alive anyway.


    Jaweika wasn''t a healer; he had purely invested in the Shadow skills. However, he was still a Priest, and had learned most of the Priest skills, including Revive.


    After the players that had died were revived, they were quite eager to see what the Boss had given. They all gathered around Lu Li and stared at his hand.

 655 The Widowmaker

    "No matter what the equipment is, I hope everyone can calm down a little." Lu Li was also becoming a little excited. He couldn''t help but have a selfish mentality, hoping that it was a Thief equip.


    The others weren''t saints either ¨C they were likely thinking of the same thing. It was just human nature; morality had nothing to do with it.


    Although it was hard to contain his excitement, he didn''t want his teammates to turn on each other. There weren''t many overlaps with the professions, and even two warriors like Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight had taken completely different paths.


    "Relax, it''s just a game. If it''s a defensive equip, then give it to World''s Best Friend. His equipment is so bad," Azure Sea Breeze unhesitatingly declared.


    He was quite a generous guy, which was why Lu Li had thought about him when he first formed a team.


    He was one who would never betray their teammates for the sake of profit, even for things that were worth more than an Epic equip. With that, everyone slowly recovered from the initial excitement and looked a lot calmer.


    Widowmaker (Epic): Damage 54-72, Agility +40, Strength +20, Constitution +10, Critical Strike +15%. Two slots. Special Effect 1: Disarm. 50% chance to steal an enemy weapon so it cannot be used to attack for 3 seconds. Special Effect 2: Bleed. There is a certain chance to cause a target to bleed for 50% of the damage taken for 6 seconds. Special Effect 3: Escape. Blink to a designation location within 15 yards in line of sight. 3 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: level 45. Durability 150/150.


    It was a dagger!


    Moreover, it was a dagger that specialized in physical attack. Scarlet New Moon, Cain''s Left Hand and Lu Li all started to become anxious.


    This dagger couldn''t be considered as overpowered, but it was definitely worthy of its Epic classification.


    The first thing was its high damage ¨C of the two daggers that Lu Li had, one was 24-36 while the other was 42-56. The Widowmaker''s damage would double his current damage, which was at 54-72. Even the Gold level 35 two-handed Archeus only had 40-62 damage. Generally, two-handed weapons would at least have more damage than a dagger. After all, a Thief could equip two daggers.


    However, there were also the bonus attributes. The Epic equipment gave quite a lot of the full range of attributes, including Agility, Strength and Constitution.


    The total value of this dagger was already more than the combination of his two current ones.


    Any equip that had Critical Strike +15% would already be considered exquisite, regardless of the other properties. This was also the first time that Lu Li had seen an equip with two slots.


    It even had three special effects on top of all that. This dagger really was something else.


    Lu Li thought that Disarm was the most powerful of the three effects. Although the target still kept the bonus attributes given by their weapon, they couldn''t use it to attack or cast skills. They were basically fighting bare-handed. After disarming a target, they could basically be considered as harmless.


    To be unable to attack for three seconds was the same as being stunned.


    As for the Bleed, although the damage was only 50%, the effect would last for 6 seconds which was a total of 300% damage!


    Additionally, the target wouldn''t be able to use skills that were interrupted by damage.


    This was an obvious advantage in a Thief mirror-match and the reason why Thieves were afraid of Warriors. They could prevent them from going into Stealth with a bleed that couldn''t be removed by Shadow Cloak.


    With this special effect, Lu Li would likely take more Thief matchups in the future.


    The last effect was an escape ability that any player would be jealous of. There were countless times when a player wished they could escape, especially when being chased.


    Lu Li previously had a shoe with a similar effect.


    Tempest Leather Boots (Silver): 25 Armor, All Stats+10, Movement Speed+5%, Special Effect: Escape, after activating, you instantly appear at a location within 15 feet. Cooldown Time: 180 seconds, Equipment Requirement: LV25. Durability: 50/50.


    This item was now in the Guild Warehouse but was always being borrowed.


    The Tempest Leather Boot''s Special Effect sent the player to a random location. However, the designated location being within line of sight was a much stronger effect.


    Whether it was to escape or to chase, Lu Li could use this to take further control of a battle.


    "Let''s talk about how we can allocate this equipment," Lu Li said as he sighed internally. In the end, he still couldn''t get over the obstacles placed by himself. In fact, most of the major guilds'' commanders had the right to designate one item as theirs.


    But where would be the closeness that they had developed as a group?


    Lu Li couldn''t do it. Everyone had worked so hard, and if he were to take this item with a command, that would be totally irresponsible.


    "I''m willing to let it go, but I have a request. Give me the dagger that you''re replacing it with," Scarlet New Moon suggested.


    His equipment was slightly worse, and he usually played the role of a scout. His damage output wasn''t particularly high because he was actually a high-level treasure hunter.


    "I''m willing to let it go as well. Boss Lu Li, you should take it and go compete with it," Cain''s Left Hand offered with a shrug. "I don''t have any requests for the time being; I just hope that Boss Lu Li will pick me for things like this more often. Also, this item is level 45 and we are only level 39. The gap is just too big."


    Lu L was currently level 42, followed closely by Lonesome Flower at level 41. The others were level 40. It was quite an achievement to be at level 39, but there was a long way to go before they could use the dagger.


    Lu Li hesitated before turning to Wandering and saying, "Split up my points and give the two of them 100 each. Also, give everyone else 30 points each."


    By doing this, he had given up 800 points. Lu Li initially had 1100 points.


    Ruling Sword''s points weren''t so easily given out. Even a secret area activity like this only yielded anpit 10 points. They usually needed trade-in their equipment or a potion material¡­


    A normal guild member who had gathered 100 points could consider themselves as a very important member.


    The reason why Lu Li had so many points was firstly because he was a professional player, and secondly because he was always the commander for Instance Dungeon First Clears. He had taken quite a few large payments because of that.


    But now, he had suddenly given out 800 points. Even if you deducted the value of the Epic equipment, it still wasn''t that much less in value.


    In particular, the two Thieves had suddenly received a 100 points could likely save this and their original points up to purchase a Dark Gold equipment some time in the future.

 656 Gnomish Poultryizer

    "This is the gear you wanted," Lu Li said as he unequipped the Corrupted Fang and gave it to Scarlet New Moon.


    Since the guy had taken a liking to his equipment, Lu Li didn''t mind giving it to him. He was now filled with a burning passion to level up, not wanting to wait a moment longer to reach level 45.


    Corrupted Fang (Perfect Silver Grade): 24-36 Damage, Agility +16, Strength +6, Critical Chance +8%, Special Effect 1: Chance to apply 20% Armor Pierce when attacking, lasts 15 seconds. Special Effect 2: Chance to summon a Phantom when attacking. Phantom has 30% of player''s attack damage, lasts 20 seconds. Level Requirement 25, Durability 50/50.


    This was only a level 25 dagger, which meant that its damage and attributes were slightly lower, but the +8% critical hit was very good.


    Moreover, it was the two special effects that really made this dagger great.


    There was a high chance for the Armor Pierce to trigger; it would happen once every few minutes.


    The Phantom attacks were something that Lu Li had become infamous for. The sudden appearance of a phantom not only confused the opposing player, but also resulted in a boost to his overall damage. It was also very useful when used for scouting.


    "If you give this to me now, what will you use?'' Scarlet New Moon didn''t think that Lu Li would give it to him so soon.


    "I have a spare," Lu Li said as he took a dagger out from his bag. He wasn''t lacking in such items, but it wasn''t as good as the one he had just given away.


    This dagger didn''t have such powerful effects, but its basic damage and properties were higher. After all, it was a level 40 Silver equipment ¨C there was a big difference of 15 levels.


    While the Epic equipment''s owner was being determined, everyone was still a little restless.


    A secret area Boss was lying there behind them and they were all anticipating what kind of items it would drop. Everyone had high expectations.


    It was a secret area Boss ¨C surely, it would drop some good items.


    "We''re counting on you, our little princess," Lu Li said as he patted Remnant Dream''s head. Once upon a time, Lu Li had thought that this little girl was just some idiot.


    "Watch carefully everyone," Remnant Dream instructed as she rolled up her sleeves.


    Azure Sea Breeze swallowed his saliva with a look of anticipation.


    "Get a Shield, Dreamy. Big bro will give you a red packet for it."


    "Bro, didn''t you say that if a Warrior item dropped you would give it to me? My equipment is so bad," World''s Best Friend laughed. When the Epic item was about to be revealed, that was exactly what Azure Sea Breeze had said.


    "Dammit," Azure Sea Breeze cursed as he slapped himself on the mouth. "What was I thinking?"


    "Wow, it''s a Dark Gold equip!" Remnant Dream announced as she picked up an item. It had been a long time since she had seen an item that wasn''t Gold grade. Back in Zul''Farrak, even the best items were only Gold grade.


    Sesame Rice Ball decisively dumped a red bag full of gold coins after its properties were shared.


    It was a robe for Warlocks and came with a special effect that strengthened their Doomguard pets. When he put the robe on, Sesame Rice Ball''s Doomguard would become stronger by a third.


    The second was also a Dark Gold item ¨C it was the long-awaited Dark Gold Shield.


    "Well, I said what I said."


    Azure Sea Breeze slapped himself on the mouth once again. He was in one of the best guilds and was Dawn''s best Main Tank, so how could he break a promise that he had just made?


    The shield was quite powerful; it had an aggro-increasing effect and a strong damage reduction effect. It also had an effect that transferred damage dealt to a target onto the wearer. Both the Main Tank''s mouths were watering after they heard about what it could do.


    World''s Best Friend and Azure Sea Breeze''s relationship appeared to be good. He wasn''t afraid of Azure Sea Breeze''s reaction and happily took the shield, then placed it into his backpack.


    This was a level 45 equipment, so no one could use it for now.


    The third and final equipment wasn''t Dark Gold, but a Gold leather helmet. It was much better than the one Lu Li currently had, but he gave it up after a glance and left it between Scarlet New Moon and Cain''s Left Hand.


    Lu Li still valued this helmet, as it was actually quite exquisite, but he was wearing the Voodoo Set that had been crafted by March Rain. One of the pieces was the headgear, so he couldn''t simply replace it.


    Scarlet New Moon was willing to spend money for it, and ultimately took the helmet.


    After the three pieces of equipment, Remnant Dream looted some blueprints for a variety of professions. Everyone''s expectations were suddenly reset again as they wondered what kind of blueprints a Secret Area Boss like the Doomguard would drop.


    Blueprint: Gnomish Poultryizer


    Recipe: Engineering


    Requirement: Advanced Engineering (240)


    Use: Teaches you how to make the Gnomish Poultryizer.


    Gnomish Poultryizer: Turn a target into a Chiken for 5 seconds. Uh, of course, this is based on the assumption that there is no sudden reversal of energy¡­


    This was actually a very advanced engineering blueprint, but when Lu Li read it, he didn''t know if he should cry or laugh.


    The Gnomish Poultryizer could transform its targets into a chicken that looked similar to the Mage''s Polymorph. However, it was different in that the target that was transformed wouldn''t regenerate HP.


    It also had a drawback ¨C there was a certain probability the effect would rebound.


    This meant that when you used the item, there was a chance that instead of turning someone else into a chicken, you would turn yourself into a chicken. This chance was said to be based on some character attributes.


    The side effects were fatal, but it didn''t affect the popularity of the Gnomish Poultryizer at all.


    The Gnomish Poultryizer was very useful in the wild. If you found that you couldn''t defeat a monster, you could turn it into a chicken and run away on your mount.


    Yes, using this Poultryizer meant that you could escape combat.


    However, these were just the blueprints of this item and its material cost was expensive. Moreover, it could only be used three times. As such, it was purely used by rich people.


    Despite this, what made Lu Li want to cry was that to make this item, he needed to train his Engineering Skills.


    Thanks to the Fool''s Bomb, his engineering level had reached Advanced level, but the Gnomish Poultryizer was Advanced (240) and he was currently at 191. He still needed 50 Engineering EXP before he met the requirements.


    In order to increase his success rate, he needed to increase his Engineering EXP even further. This meant that he needed to gain 50 more EXP on top of that.


    Fifty EXP couldn''t easily be acquired by making 50 items. According to Lu Li''s estimation, he would need to upgrade or make 500 items to achieve this.


    This was a large amount of money, and quite a long time.

 657 Nigh

    It was still important for him to upgrade his Engineering skills; there were plenty useful items that would require Engineering to use. As such, Lu Li decided to learn this recipe himself.


    He used some points and successfully took the Gnomish Poultryizer recipe.


    Since Engineering was such a luxurious and expensive trade skill, most players weren''t interested in it. There were 23 players here, but only Lu Li had learned engineering.


    "Rare material, Demon''s Horn," Remnant Dream announced as she reached out her hands and looted an item.


    Lu Li''s eyes lit up and he used his points again to take the item. Nobody fought for it with him anyway since he was the one who found this secret zone.


    This was a high-tier demon material, and based on what Remulos had told him, he could fuse this into his Supreme Ring.


    It was hard to say what would happen if he fused a single rare material into the ring. Lu Li planned to stock up on more materials before he headed to an altar to try this out. The best-case scenario was for him to find Malfurion as soon as possible.


    Besides these issues, the Demon''s Horn was still a very popular rare material.


    It could be used to forge weapons, particularly daggers and swords, and was also often used in Engineering and alchemy.


    There was nothing else afterwards.


    Lu Li wasn''t interested in the other average materials and gear. They were split by the main tanks and the healers as maintenance fees since they were constantly drinking a lot of potions.


    Unfortunately, there weren''t any decent weapon Molds. It had been a while since Lu Li had seen a good weapon Mold.


    With a Dark Gold Mold, Lu Li could forge a Fine grade or even an Exquisite grade equip. In terms of value, it would be even better than a Dark Gold equip by itself.


    Lu Li studied the corpse for a bit, then brought his ring beside it and began to chant spells.


    This was the method that was passed down to him by Remulos to absorb the blood of Burning Legion members ¨C it was a higher form of fusion.


    Although this demon hadn''t joined the Burning Legion, his attributes and bloodline were identical to the Burning Legion members.


    A mist of blood that glowed black appeared from the corpse and formed into a mini demon.


    It was as if this form had its own life. Everyone could hear its sad cry; it wasn''t hard to imagine that it feared for the ceremony ahead.


    Perhaps, from this point onwards, it would never live again.


    As the mist of blood was dragged into the ring, Lu Li felt the temperature of the ring rise and a blood-colored totem appeared on its surface. The cry of the demon had stopped.


    "Damn, this is too impressive."Scarlet New Moon was envious.


    They couldn''t tell what Lu Li was doing, but they could see that it wasn''t anything ordinary.


    "This is the artifact that can turn you into a panther, right?" Darkness asked Lu Li as she turned towards him. A pretty girl always had more of an advantage than other average people. Even if her questions crossed some lines, nobody would blame her.


    Lu Li didn''t deny it either; he nodded and explained, "It does allow me to transform, but it isn''t an artifact."


    "What tier is it?" she continued to ask, as if to test Lu Li''s limits.


    "Legendary," Lu Li replied after a pause.


    "Wow! Doesn''t that make two legendary items?" Darkness gasped.


    She wasn''t a girl of high profile, even though she was beautiful. If she wasn''t, Sorrowless wouldn''t be crazy about her either ¨C she wasn''t on the list of beauties.


    She was a sexy type of girl. The way she spoke, the way she moved ¨C all of it was enchanting.


    Most men would either not look at her, or keep their eyes locked on her at all times when they were with her.


    Many people didn''t believe that Sorrowless would fall for a girl like this; they thought he wasn''t the kind of man who would fall into temptation.


    However, this was the truth. Lu Li, who was reincarnated, was well aware of how crazy Sorrowless was for Darkness, and most of the higher end players knew about this too.


    They also knew that Ruling Sword had an expert Paladin ¨C the woman that Sorrowless loved.


    Lu Li was too courageous to take in a woman like this. Was he not afraid of Glory Capital and the war that might follow? There were plenty of leaders who would raise a war for a woman.


    Many were eagerly waiting for the war between Ruling Sword and Glory Capital.


    However, there was only disappointment for them ¨C a month had passed and both guilds remained peaceful. Darkness had even made it into the elite group of Ruling Sword and rumor had it that she was moving to Gangnam city to become a professional player.


    "You''ll get these items someday too. Legendary ones," Lu Li said as if he was talking to another normal guild member.


    "Hopefully." Darkness lost interest and stopped talking to Lu Li.


    "Is he afraid of Sorrowless'' revenge? Is that why he won''t talk to me?" she wondered. She was slightly disappointed in Lu Li, considering he was such a legendary person.


    After some thought, she conlcuded that this wasn''t possible ¨C Lu Li didn''t seem like the type of person to be afraid of Sorrowless.


    If he was, he wouldn''t have assassinated Sorrowless in front of the crowd. He didn''t say anything either when she joined Ruling Sword. Perhaps he didn''t know of the situation back then, but he probably would have known something by now. Under normal circumstances, he would have kicked her out to avoid a war between the guild and Sorrowless.


    After all these issues had been sorted, everyone walked under the dead tree.


    Although everything was deadly quiet, Lu Li and the others could still feel its giant aura.


    This was a giant that covered the land; they felt like ants in a vast universe.


    "Even the leaves of this tree would probably be a treasure," Wandering sighed.


    "Go out first. I''ll see if I can gain some profit," Lu Li said as he passed all his gear and anything valuable in his bag to Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Haha, I''m rich now. I''m quitting the guild after I leave this map," Azure Sea Breeze laughed uncontrollably.


    Lu Li gave him a look of disgust.


    "Get out!"


    "****, you wait here. I''m going to go offline right now," Azure Sea Breeze said as he returned to the city with the others.


    Was this the World Tree? Lu Li attempted to run around it on his mount, but found that he had been running for dozens of minutes.


    Even Teldrassil was only so big.


    This small world had to be a broken piece ¨C otherwise, there was no way it would have such a giant World Tree.


    Lu Li could imagine how prosperous it was while it was still alive; countless demon races bowed around it as the sought for its protection. Unfortunately, Sargeras had appeared in this world.


    The strong ones were either killed or imprisoned, leaving only the ruins behind.


    The world was broken and the World Tree slowly lost its energy. Of course, it could also be that Sargeras had destroyed the World Tree himself; the Titan Warrior probably didn''t think much of it.

 658 Seed

    Lu Li tried to ''loot'' this giant tree, but failed his attempt.


    To be fair, even if he could loot the item, there was no way it would fit into his tiny little bag.


    "This tree is probably the most valuable thing in this little world," he thought to himself. It was a shame that he couldn''t take it away.


    Lu Li drew out a single sword ¨C a single sword for Thieves.


    He wanted to take a few twigs with him because apparently, the branches of the World Tree were an excellent material for Staffs.


    He went around in a few circles and finally found some lower branches. Lu Li then raised his sinful weapon and began to hack away at this old World Tree.


    From what he expected, he thought he wouldn''t be able to damage the tree, and didn''t have much hope to begin with.


    Everything that unfolded before his eyes turned his world upside down.


    When Lu Li''s sword landed on the tree, the branch fell right off. Before Lu Li caught it, it began to break into ashes.


    It wasn''t just this branch of the tree ¨C the entire structure began to erode away.


    It was hard for anyone to imagine a scene like this.


    From a distance, Lu Li saw that the end of this little world had begun to break away like glass. The cracks formed, then it broke and fell apart...


    Lu Li held onto his sword as he stood his ground, dumbfoundedly watching the giant tree growing smaller and smaller.


    Then, he heard the cracking of glass from behind him. The torches from the previous battle were still lit up and allowed him to see what had happened.


    A lucky Hell Hound whimpered as it was dragged into a broken swirl and ripped into pieces within a second.


    "Time to leave?" Danger approached, and Lu Li subconsciously wanted to retreat.


    He had already gained too much from this trip. If he died here, even the Darkmoon Card wouldn''t do much for him ¨C you need to have a corpse to be revived.


    However, the scene before his eyes stopped him.


    The process was becoming slower and slower. It was as if something was fighting against the world falling apart; the tree that protected this world wasn''t willing to give up yet.


    This was a scene that an average player would probably never see in his gaming life.


    Lu Li decided that he was staying; he would just pretend like he was watching a scene from a movie. Even if he died, it was only ten percent of his experience anyway. He had already given all his valuables to Azure Sea Breeze.


    The entire process was truly remarkable.


    It was just as Lu Li had guessed ¨C the closer to the tree, the more stable the area was.


    However, the process didn''t stop. The dead tree had already died countless years ago, so it honestly didn''t have anything left to protect this world.


    Lu Li was touched, but there was nothing he could do.


    He didn''t regret exploring this secret zone either. Secret zones existed to be explored. The destruction of this small world wasn''t something that could be avoided. Even if Lu Li didn''t come today, it would probably disappear on its own sooner or later.


    Wasn''t it a form of respect to die with it?


    Lu Li sighed; he knew that it was too late already for him to leave. Returning to the city would take some time as well.


    Just as Lu Li was about to sit down and wait for his death, he found something surprising and jumped up without any hesitation.


    At the same moment, the transformation had become even more obvious.


    Originally, he thought that the tree would slowly become tiny ashes, as if it was never there to begin with.


    However, that wasn''t the case ¨Cthe giant tree was doing something strange.


    The ashes that had eroded away began to gather into one central spot. It had started out as just a single black dot, but since the world was dark, Lu Li didn''t notice anything.


    Right now, the dark spot was growing and it glowed green.


    What was this?


    Or rather, what was the tree of this small world doing?


    Lu Li didn''t dare approach carelessly. He decided to wait a patiently, only choosing to act when his life was threatened.


    A gut feeling told him that if he was to pounce on the green thing right now, the World Tree might see him as an enemy.


    Everyone was teleported outside, but they didn''t find Lu Li amongst them.


    They were more confident in Lu Li, so they all scattered to do their own things.


    Remnant Dream went off to hunt for her pets, while Hachi Chan continued questing. Sesame Rice Ball followed Lu Li''s request and was doing his last bit of work to upgrade his alchemy skills.


    "Lu Li died¡­" March Rain gasped, her sudden cry drawing the attention of a few others. They hadn''t disbanded their team yet and healer classes always paid attention to their team members'' statuses. As such, she instantly noticed when Lu Li''s health bar emptied.


    "Lu Li, Lu Li, what happened?"


    "Nothing. I''ve left all my good items with Breezy. I only lost some experience," Lu Li said as he returned from the revival point and was immediately questioned by the group of 23.


    "Wait up. I''ll go back and give you your equipment."


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t wait for Lu Li to decline him and immediately returned to the city.


    He was worried about Lu Li, but he was more interested in how he had died. He didn''t believe that Lu Li would give away ten percent of his experience for nothing.


    Lu Li stood outside the revival point and rubbed the green seed in his hands.


    That''s right, what the World Tree had left behind was a seed. In its very last moment, Lu Li pounced over and caught the seed in his hands. He was promptly torn into pieces as soon as he shoved the seed into his bag.


    This seed was the size of a fist, and was green and shiny. It made quite a contrast with the dead tree.


    Lu Li could feel the heartbeat of the seed by simply holding it. It was a strong heartbeat, as if limitless life was ready to sprout from within.


    A seed...


    It seemed like he had received one of these before.


    Lu Li brought the seed to his personal storage.


    Inside the storage was his personal collection, which mostly consisted of rare materials that he couldn''t use yet. His previous gear had already been tossed into the guild storage.


    The storage wasn''t too far away from the revival point. Because he had taken so many First Clears and had a good reputation, the NPC in charge of the place was very respectful to him and opened up his storage for him straight away.

 659 Devour

    A few other seeds appeared in Lu Li''s hands.


    The biggest seed was from Bathran; Lu Li had obtained it from a quest.


    Bathran was the unlucky one that had died in its sleep. It had actually participated in many wars to protect the forests of Azeroth.


    Treants lived long lives and they were often very friendly with Elves. Lu Li had helped Bathran complete some quests, so it gave the its seed to Lu Li when it passed away.


    It seemed like all plant-type organisms reproduced with seeds.


    There were also other smaller seeds which Lu Li had obtained from Hinterlands when he was inside the trial tower.


    As he held everything in his palms, the World Tree seed in his right hand began to hunger for the seeds in his left hand.


    Lu Li couldn''t hear the voice of the seed, but he could understand what it meant.


    The voice was saying that it was hungry!


    Lu Li hesitated for a bit and stored the other seeds away, apart from a very average Cannibal Vine seed.


    Lu Li was reminded of the event where he had let guild members attempt to clear a ruin as he looked at it. His loot from that event was quite good, but they wouldn''t receive as many rewards as he did. Even so, if everyone improved a bit from the experience, the overall gain would be too great to ignore.


    Unfortunately, that place was too dangerous ¨C even Lu Li hadn''t found it easy.


    If he was going to form a group for an event like this, he would have to bring Sesame Rice Ball, who was a Warlock that couldn''t stealth.


    The difficulty level¡­it was insane just thinking about it!


    Those level 50 monsters could kill anyone.


    Clearing out the map with sheer numbers wasn''t possible either. Even after the players reached level 50, everyone would still have trouble clearing the map.


    Lu Li had seen an event related to this concept in his previous life.


    The major guild that wanted to clear out the map was called Brotherhood. That event was one of a few that had led to the downfall of the guild ¨C all players who participated in it died at least two times.


    Lu Li had mainly run into level 40 monsters last time, along with a few level 55 monsters, but nothing higher than that.


    If there were more than ten players in the map, the spawns would likely change.


    Even during the time when Lu Li had reincarnated, that forest was never an easy place to come and go as players pleased.


    Can you imagine what it was like to see level 50 and 60 monsters all spawn out at once?


    It was like facing the Knights of the Tauren, or the sentinel troops of the Night Elves.


    It was simply too much for the players to handle.


    There was a chance that information might have been spilled if he only told Thief players within the guild. The route that Lu Li took was a safer route that the players would find a year later.


    He could only wait for a safer way to bring Sesame Rice Ball there in the future.


    Lu Li brought the seed of the Cannibal Vine next to the World Tree seed. The World Tree seed immediately flashed a green light and absorbed the seed of the Cannibal Vine. From its outward appearance, it seemed as if the green Cannibal Vine seed had suddenly dried out. Lu Li gently pressed on it, breaking it, then brought out his other seeds.


    These Cannibal Vine seeds were valuable items, but they weren''t hard to find. They were in no way as important as the World Tree seed.


    Lu Li''s ambition had grown quickly; he wanted to plant a World Tree.


    The Tree of Knowledge could summon other trees in the forest to fight for its master, so what about the World Tree?


    No one had done such a thing before, and neither had anyone dared to dream about it. Most people wouldn''t hang around to die anyway if they saw the World Tree collapsing. Lu Li was just an exception.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he had already given up his will to live and waited to the last moment, he wouldn''t have looted this seed either.


    He was still almost two levels higher than Lonesome Flower, who was at second place on the level rankings. He could afford to lose some experience, but it was someone else, they probably wouldn''t risk it.


    Of course, it wouldn''t be easy to plant the World Tree.


    There were a total of three World Trees in this world ¨C Nordrassil, Teldrassil and Vordrassil. Their seeds originated from G''Hanir, the mother tree of Azeroth, who was guarded by the guardian Crow Demigod Avena who had fallen in the Ancient War.


    In the Ancient War, the Well of Eternity fell apart. Illidan refused to give up his magic powers and used seven special bottles to contain the holy water from the well before it exploded. These bottles of holy water were then poured into a little lake.


    With the help of Cenarius, Malfurion locked Illidian inside a large underground cellar.


    The Life Bringer Alexstrasza planted a World Tree seed in the center of the new Well of Eternity. With the help of her magic powers, the seed grew into a new World Tree, Nordrassil.


    This was the only World Tree in Azeroth.


    Its growth was thanks to Illidan, or at least a part of it was thanks to Illidan. Without the seven bottles of holy water, there wouldn''t be a new World Tree.


    Lu Li couldn''t find the holy water from the Well of Eternity, so there was no way that he could grow a giant tree like Nordrassil. However, he didn''t need a massive tree like that either. He just needed some kind of defense for the basement of the guild that would eventually be built.


    The World Tree had to be a stronger choice than the Tree of Knowledge, right?


    Lu Li actually wanted to plant both of them, as this would greatly improve their defense. No matter who came or what race they were, it would be a guaranteed one-way ticket for them.


    He only kept the seed from the Tree of Knowledge and offered all his other seeds to the World Tree seed.


    Lu Li thought that this might be another way to plant it, since he didn''t have any holy water. However, the way that this seed devoured other seeds was quite strange ¨C he just hoped that he wouldn''t end up planting a demonic tree.


    In order to supply nutrients for the tree seed, Lu Li gave out a guild quest to collect seeds from other plants. He also hung up the same quest in the Mercenary Hall and he didn''t put a limit to it.


    When Azure Sea Breeze came, Lu Li didn''t hide it either ¨C he showed the seed to him.


    The man was truly shameless; he wouldn''t let go of it when he saw it. If Lu Li wasn''t there to stop him, he definitely would''ve swallowed it. Based on his theory, he thought that something like this might give him a hundred levels if he ate it.

 660 Voodoo Se

    Lu Li''s death caused a bit of a havoc, but no one was too concerned about it.


    Dawn really focused on keeping a balance between all players, so anyone had the chance to die. The only players who hadn''t died yet were either newbies in the beginner''s village or trade skill players.


    Plant seeds weren''t easy to find, and most players weren''t interested in them at the current stage.


    There was still a long time until guild basements would be built anyway. Without another one or two years of progress, Dawn wouldn''t develop to that stage yet.


    Lu Li took back his equipment and items and carefully placed the World Tree seed in his personal storage. This wasn''t something he could bring around with him; it would be sad if he died and lost it.


    He then proceeded to the mailbox to collect some items.


    The Voodoo Set that March Rain had made for him had finally been completed.


    He now had the Voodoo Chestplate, Voodoo Shoulderplate, Voodoo Mask and Voodoo Cape. The Voodoo Chestplate came from a chest, while the others were all from the Zul''farrk dungeon.


    For a dungeon with a moderate difficulty, Zul''farrk''s items were truly quite good.


    The Voodoo Set was a very popular equipment for Thieves at their current stage. Even though it was a Silver set, the four items combined were better than most average Gold grade equips.


    Among Lu Li''s four items, the Chestplate was Fine grade, with the Shoulderplates and Cape both being Superior. It couldn''t be helped ¨C there was no guarantee that every equipment could be made with the best attributes.


    The Voodoo Mask was an exquisite item that was only a step away from Perfect grade.


    This was the first time March Rain had crafted an exquisite item, which demonstrated how useful the Cryptic Tome of Tailoring was. Square Root 3 had already assigned a few trustworthy players to complete the quest in an attempt to loot more copies. Tailoring was one of the mainstream trade skills; there were an abundance of players who had learned Tailoring in the guild.


    Voodoo Shoulderplate (Fine Gold): Armor 35, Agility +28, Strength +14, Fire Resistance +10%. Special Effect 1: Parry, perform an extra movement. Special Effect 2: Backhand Backstab damage increased by 20%. Equipment level requirement 40, Durability 82/82.


    Under the last line of the equipment description, there was a row of text that said, "Voodoo Set, from the Ancient Trolls."


    The Attributes were good, while the fire resistance would be useful against some Fire Mages and Warlock skills. It was even more useful in PVE situations, as many monsters and Bosses liked to use fire-type spells.


    The first special effect was called Parry. There wasn''t a lot of text to explain it, as it was only a simple bonus action.


    As someone who had reincarnated, Lu Li knew about this special effect.


    In Dawn, the outcome of a physical attack would be one of the following ¨C Hit, Miss, Dodged, Blocked, Critical Strike and Parry. There were a few other results, but these were the major ones.


    A Parry occurred when a player reduced the damage they took by making certain actions (movements) when an attack lands.


    In simple terms, it just meant that an attack had landed on the wrong spot and was therefore unable to deal its maximum damage. The amount of damage reduced could vary ¨C on the lower end, it could only be 3-5 points, while on the higher end, more than a hundred points of damage could be blocked.


    In other words, this effect wasn''t particularly effective on single attacks. However, if damage was reduced on every single hit, it would definitely add up over time.


    Lu Li''s original Shoulderpads were a level 15 Silver grade, but they were an exquisite item. If it wasn''t for the fact that their level was too low, Lu Li would not even want to change them.


    Slayer''s Shoulderpads (Silver): Defence 18, Agility +10, Strength +6. Effect 1: Attack Speed +10%. Effect 2: Backhand Backstab Skill +1. Equipment Requirement level 15, Durability 42/42.


    This item added another skill level to Backhand Backstab.


    It was rare to find an equip that increased a skill level. An equip that increased the skill level of an Ultimate skill was even rarer.


    Backhand Backstab skill +1 or Backhand Backstab damage +20% - which one was better?


    Lu Li couldn''t really decide either. An additional skill level wouldn''t allow it to deal as much damage as an extra 20%, but increasing a skill''s level affected more than just its damage. It also affected the other special effects that came with the skill.


    With a high completion level, Backhand Backstab also paralyzed the opponent.


    The paralysis time of a level six Backhand Backstab was guaranteed to be better than a level five Backhand Backstab. The damage increase wasn''t as high as 20% though ¨C it was only around 7%.


    For the effect of the set and the overall improvement of his strength, Lu Li had to replace his shoulder piece. Even though his current Shoulderpads were only level 15, there would still be plenty of players willing to borrow or exchange for it with their tokens if he placed it in the storage.


    Voodoo Cape (Fine Gold): Armor 45, Agility +30, Strength +16, Movement Speed +6%. Special Effect 1: Stealth effect increased by 18%. Special Effect 2: Shadow Dash. Rush towards target with a 40% movement speed buff, lasts for 3 seconds. The first attack skill on the target is increased by 30%, cooldown 2 minutes. Level Requirement 40, Durability 115/115.


    There wasn''t much to say about this item. It was similar to Lu Li''s previous equip and provided a movement speed buff with an extra Stealth effect. The last line of the second effect was a pleasant surprise for Lu Li.


    This Shadow Dash was a skill for chasing; it only gave the player a speed buff after a target had been selected.


    Of course, if someone else was chasing you, this effect wouldn''t be useful.


    Voodoo Chestplate (Superior Gold): Armor 50, Agility +28, Constitution +15, Critical Strike +12%. Special Effect 1: Certain chance to transform 20% of damage taken into health. Special Effect 2: Strengthened Skin. Damage taken reduced by half, lasts for 6 seconds. Cooldown 2 hours. Level Requirement 40, Durability 120/120.


    It was quite common for chest equips to come with a damage reduction effect ¨C the two effects on Lu Li''s chest gear were both related to damage reduction. The first one transformed damage taken into health, while the second was a very powerful damage reduction skill. The six-second duration was an important reason why this Chestplate was classed as Superior grade. Its Attributes weren''t that high and it didn''t provide a lot of Critical Strike either.


    Others might have been happy that it came with such a strong damage reduction effect, but Lu Li was different ¨C he wanted more damage.


    Only the second special effect was useful; the first wasn''t meaningful to him. Lu Li already had enough Vampirism to sustain himself when he fought monsters. As long as he wasn''t caught in a mob, he wouldn''t lose too much health. If he ran into a Boss, then this small amount of transformed-health wouldn''t really save him either.


    Fortunately, there was still a Voodoo Mask. This helmet came with a powerful damage effect, which perfectly complimented Lu Li''s playstyle.

 661 Upgrading Equips

    Although the Voodoo Mask was called a ''Mask'', it was really a helmet equip.


    From a design point of view, not only did it protect Lu Li''s head, but it also extended out to cover parts of his face, giving him a fierce expression.


    The bandana could still be worn, and players could choose between wearing it on the inside or the outside of the mask.


    Lu Li decided to wear it inside the mask and only wear it outside when he needed to hide his identity.


    Voodoo Mask (Exquisite Gold): Armour +42, Agility +30, Strength + 18, Socket Slot +1. Special Effect: Certain chance of discovering Stealth units regardless of level. Special Effect 2: Icy Veins, Your mind is as calm as ice. When activated, become immune to psychological crowd control effects such as Fear. Special Effects 3: When user critically strikes opponent consecutively, your third attack has a 10% chance to deal the combined damage of your previous two attacks. Requires level 40. Durability 95/95.


    The first special effect was quite useless for Lu Li. Discovering Stealthed units near him regardless of level would only be useful against monsters.


    Since he was the highest level in the game, it was completely useless in PvP. There were also very few Stealthed monsters in the game and Lu Li rarely ever encountered any. As such, this special effect was next to useless for him.


    The random factor in Dawn made the game more fair. Some people were like gods and received equips that had overpowered special effects, but it was not a surprise or disappointment to receive a useless special effect.


    The second special effect was quite decent; it granted the user immunity to crowd control magic.


    If you sensed that your opponent was about to cast Fear or any other disabling ability, you could activate this to gain immunity.


    However, once afflicted by the Fear, you would not be able to nullify its effect with the active.


    These actives required higher mechanical skills and game sense in order to be used properly. Casual players would often struggle with these types of pre-emptive skills.


    However, Lu Li''s favorite active out of all three was the third one.


    When player dealt consecutive Critical Strikes, the third attack would have a 10% chance to deal the combine damage of the previous two hits. For example, if Lu Li crit for 400 damage twice in a row, the third hit would have a chance to deal 800 damage.


    400 + 400 + 800 = 1600.


    Most players had around 2000 to 3000 HP, so killing someone in three hits was entirely possible.


    Lu Li then equipped the other four pieces of the Voodoo set, activating the set effects.


    Set Effect 2/4: Cloak of Shadow Skill +1. Set Effect 4/4 After a successful Cheap Shot, gain one additional Combo Point. The following attack deals double damage.


    A Thief''s combo usually started with Preparation then Cheap Shot.


    Preparation gave two combo points, along with Cheap Shot, and now Lu Li gained an additional Combo Point from the set effect.


    Based on Lu Li''s mechanics, the success rate of Cheap Shot would be quite high. After each successful Cheap Shot, he would have a total of five combo points. He could follow up with a maximum damage Finality which would also deal double the damage.


    Lu Li felt so powerful to the point that he was almost afraid of himself.


    A tinge of emotion overcame him ¨C in his past life, he had only heard about stories this legendary set. Now, he was truly wearing it for himself, and he felt extremely accomplished and powerful.


    Besides his ring and gloves, every piece of equipment he was wearing was either Gold or Dark Gold.


    He was confident that even Sorrowless wasn''t up to his standard of equipment. High-level players would often sacrifice equipment grade and stats for special effects on their old Silver grade equips.


    Water Fairy was likely the only one who was keeping up with Lu Li; the tomboy was infamous for her willingness to spend money for equips. Whenever the Mercenary Groups would find something overpowered, they would immediately go to Water Fairy to sell it for money.


    What a waste of her parent''s money!


    Lu Li thanked March Rain and found a nearby level 40-50 map to test out his new DPS.


    He was level 42 and at 74% HP, but had died and lost 10% EXP at the World Tree. Now, he was on 46% EXP, so reaching level 45 would be quite a difficult task.


    He managed to upgrade four pieces of his equips in one go.


    Many of the special effects also changed, so he needed to familiarize himself with them.


    He chose to grind on a monster that was three levels higher than him. Although his Critical Chance was decreased, he still managed to crit consecutively and witnessed the power of the third special effect on his Voodoo Mask.


    It was so powerful! The monster was still on half HP but was instantly killed.


    The set effect also significantly increased his DPS. The monsters were being instantly killed before the stun duration was even up.


    If he could stun Sorrowless first¡­ could he instantly kill him with a full combo?


    This was a question that even Lu Li couldn''t answer. He was a man that firmly believed in results, so before he actually pulled it off, he could never be sure and could only speculate.


    Before the first Professional League, there was bound to be another opportunity for them to cross paths.


    How many of those Star Players would withstand a full combo from Lu Li? His heart was beating fast at the thought of this and his competitive nature was once again lit up as he looked forward to the next tournament.


    Lu Li continued on testing his equips while leveling up.


    When it was time to log off, he had only increased his EXP bar by 2%. However, he was more familiar and comfortable with his equipment effects and no longer needed to think twice about it anymore.


    After logging on the next day, he did nothing for the whole morning, apart from taking out all the Strengthening stones in his storage.


    He was hoping that luck would be on his side and that he would gain additional special effects when strengthening his equips. However, it would still be very beneficial for him to gain extra stats from upgrading.


    Strengthening equipment was something that players in Dawn both loved and hated to do.


    This was the game''s way of balancing out the available gold resources. Due to the large player base, if a fraction of the players decided to enhance their equips, the gold used would balance out that which was looted on a daily basis.


    Strengthening equips required both Strengthening stones and gold.


    The first enhancement required one Strengthing Stone and 10 Gold. The second enhancement required two Strengthening Stones and 20 Gold, and so on and so forth.


    The first and second enhancement only increased the stats on an equip. However, after the third enhancement, there was a certain chance to gain a new special effect.


    Lu Li decided to use up his Strengthening stones and gold to try and enhance every equip at least three times.


    He decided to stop at three because failing an enhancement at +3 would have a chance of decreasing the stats on the equip. Failing at +4 would decrease the stats even more and at +5, there was a chance to destroy the equip completely.

 662 Loch Modan

    Lu Li decided to find a proper blacksmith to upgrade his equips rather than finding a random one in Darnassus.


    If he didn''t utilize the information he had gained from his past life, then what was the point of having a second chance?


    Many would question why Lu Li didn''t go to Ironforge where all the blacksmith experts are.


    These Dwarf blacksmith experts were too arrogant to waste time on upgrading weapons. They would just sit by the hearth and tell players to upgrade their weapons by themselves while reminding them how much money they owed.


    If you dared to ask them whether it was possible to have a 100% success rate, they might jump up from their seats and spit in your face. They would think that you had just insulted the Great God of Forging because only he was capable of a 100% success rate.


    Only a god would hold such power!


    As such, Lu Li didn''t stay in Darnassus, nor did he go to Ironforge. Instead he teleported to somewhere else ¨C Loch Modan.


    Loch Modan was gloomy and cold all year round. The sunlight would barely penetrate the thick fog that covered the land. However, the never-ending rain made this place flourish with a variety of colorful flowers and trees.


    Although the warm air from the Eastern seas prevented the lake water from freezing over, the cold air would still bite through your skin every morning and night.


    The weather wasn''t ideal for sensitive races such as Humans and Elves, but it was perfect for Dwarves.


    The most well-known attraction in Loch Modan was the lake, which was the largest freshwater lake in the world of Azeroth.


    With rich wood and rare metals in the mountain ranges, as well as an abundant water source from the lake, this was the perfect place for the Dwarves and Alliance to mine, forge, fish and collect lumber on a large scale.


    Lu Li teleported to a town called Thelsamar.


    Thelsamar was located on the South Western part of the lake and was known for its blacksmith who created high-quality hand-crafted weapons and armor.


    Magistrate Bluntnose maintained the order of the town and ensured the safety of his people.


    "Friends from far away, welcome to the campsite of the Dwarves," the young Dwarf with thick black hair greeted Lu Li politely.


    Although he looked young compared to the other Dwarves, he was already a couple of hundred years old.


    "It''s my honor to visit such a beautiful place. I''m a mercenary; is there anything I can help with?" Lu Li did not state his initial reason for visiting. Although Dwarves were friendly, they weren''t exactly saints either, or the War of the Three Hammer never would have happened.


    Upon seeing his expression, Lu Li scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I travel the world to train myself and search for greater power. The road has been filled with hardships, but if I die, I die without regrets¡­."


    No one was better than Lu Li at acting. His passionate words and expression easily moved Bluntnose.


    Everyone, including Bluntnose, had dreams of living a life full of dangerous adventures, fighting against Ogres, meeting Dragons, exploring a land of different races, and searching endlessly for power and treasures that the world help.


    "Ok, I have something for you to help me with," Magistrate Bluntnose said as he stroked his rough beard then continued, "I was planning on asking you to hunt for some monsters, but based on what you''ve said, it might be too easy for you. As such, I have decided to give you something much more challenging to do, something much more exhilarating ¨C hunting Ogres."


    "As you wish sir. And the desired amount and location?" Lu Li talked like a cold-hearted mercenary.


    "We''re constantly harassed by Ogres in the North Western part of the lake and it''s giving me lots of worries. We never have the manpower to deal with them, so if you''re willing, please go and deal with every Ogre you come across. When you think you''ve done enough, come back and I''ll reward you handsomely."


    How much exactly was "when you think you''ve done enough"? This gave Lu Li a headache.


    Since he wasn''t a cute and lovable character like Hachi Chan, he dared not to ask any further.


    It was unrealistic for him to be able to clear out all the Ogres in Loch Modan. Unless he summoned the entire guild to the area, there was no way he could kill the Ogres faster than their respawn timer.


    He was more afraid of killing too many than killing too little. Either way, it might hinder the progression of the quest series.


    After half an hour, he brought back two sets of Ogre Heads.


    When he threw them on the ground, Bluntnose counted them and asked in disappointment, "How come there''s only 32? You''re such a lazy young man."


    "My elder taught me to be brave, but not reckless. The Ogres were grouping up together which made them difficult to kill. These are the ones that strayed off from the group; I assassinated them quietly. Let me drink some wine and have a good night of rest. I''ll return tomorrow and continue to hunt for them," Lu Li said, as if he was reading from a script.


    Lu Li''s excuse managed to ease his discontent and he ordered someone to pack up the Ogre Heads.


    However, he denied Lu Li''s reward and said, "These Ogres aren''t actually that much of a threat. On the other hand, if you could kill Chok''sul, I''ll acknowledge your bravery. Chok''sul is the leader of the Ogres who would often harass Thelsamar, Stonewrought Dam and the Digsite. Killing him would be a difficult task as a part of your adventure. It''s quite understandable if you are too afraid to go."


    Lu Li wasn''t sure whether Bluntnose was a good guy or plain stupid.


    He had tried to challenge Lu Li''s ability of completing the task. Lu Li would never fall for his psychological tricks, but for the sake of the quest series, he pretended to be angry.


    Although Chok''sul had a name, he wasn''t actually a boss -he was merely an Elite monster.


    Since he was located in the middle of the Ogre camp, it was more difficult to get to him than to actually kill him.


    However, for Lu Li, this was a piece of cake. He was confident that he could sneak into any place he wanted to in the entire game.


    Without taking much time, he brought back the head of Chok''sul.


    The Ogre commander would eventually respawn the next day, so there was no point of killing him except to progress onto the next stage of the quest.


    Magistrate Bluntnose was very pleased and almost kissed the head of Chok''sul.


    "Nice one, buddy. Your bravery has earned my respect."


    "Then, can I ask for my reward?" Lu Li asked.


    "About that¡­" Bluntnose hesitated, then explained with an awkward expression, "We Dwarves would never lie or go back on our word. However, we have lost the key to the storage."


    "Everyone makes mistakes once in a while," Lu Li said insincerely.

 663 Iron Dwarf Spy

    The story was quite bizarre, but it perfectly explained the game''s elements.


    A Steel Dwarf had snuck into the town and stolen the keys to the town warehouse. There had been numerous raids since, but he had not yet been found.


    The Dwarves were divided into three major tribes ¨C Bronze, Wildhammer and Iron. However, they all looked quite similar.


    The three tribes had a very long-standing hatred, but they were quite equal in strength, so none of them would never truly dominate the continent.


    This was because they all had some fatal personality trait. The Bronze Dwarves were too straightforward, the Wildhammer Dwarves were too independent and the Iron Dwarves were too cynical.


    The Bronze Tribe lacked strategy, the Wildhammer Tribe lacked diplomatic cooperation and the Iron Tribe lacked decisiveness. Because of this, they could never work together.


    Regardless, when Lu Li heard that the key had been stolen, he wasn''t surprised at all.


    For the sake of the performance, he acted like he was stunned and asked, "Maybe the Steel Dwarf is gone?"


    "He can''t be," Elon Bluntnose retorted. "That fool is trying to steal something from the warehouse; he won''t give up until he is successful."


    "Okay, what do you need me to do?" Lu Li asked.


    "Find him, dead or alive," Elon said before fiercely adding, "But preferably dead!"


    Was this really the kind dwarf that was spoken of in the legends? Lu Li wasn''t sure if this character had been represented well, but he didn''t reject the quest and respectfully said, "I''d be happy to, sir."


    Lu Li''s method was dumb, but effective. He was going to guard the door to the warehouse.


    Because this was a game, there wasn''t an option like digging a hole into the warehouse. If the Iron Dwarf wanted to get into the warehouse, he had to use the key. As for using an Unlock Skill¡­ that was basically impossible.


    In order to prevent this from happening, Thieves usually couldn''t open warehouse doors like this one.


    Otherwise, they would be able to steal from anywhere, and if a Thief could steal from a player''s personal storage, the game would be unplayable.


    Elon had originally stationed two guards to prepare for this Iron Dwarf spy, but after taking Lu Li''s advice, he went out and lit an old house on fire.This made the two guards run off in a panic as they tried to save the house.


    The Iron Dwarf would definitely be fooled by this, as this was their strategy to lure him out!


    It seemed simple and a little funny, but if you thought about it, this strategy would have been carefully constructed by players who had done some exploring. There was nothing simple about discovering it.


    This was Lu Li''s only advantage ¨C Rebirth.


    He lurked around the area and awaited the Iron Dwarf''s arrival. In order to properly fool the Dwarf, the two guards had gone to fight the fire, so there was no one else around to help Lu Li.


    Lu Li was level 42, while the Iron Dwarf would be level 45.


    However, since it was a quest, the Iron Dwarf was just going to be an Elite monster. Otherwise, no strategy would be good enough to overcome the sheer strength of the NPC.


    The waiting was a tortuous affair, but Lu Li had never been an impatient person. He sat quietly by the warehouse, waiting for this stupid Iron Dwarf Spy to appear.


    Suddenly, he felt like he had been caught.


    It was a vague feeling that someone was behind him, but he didn''t have much time to think before he tumbled forwards. He could feel a dagger behind his head as he moved; he had almost been hit.


    Lu Li then also realized that he had detected his opponent at the same time. That feeling he had wasn''t just a gut feeling, nor was it the System randomly deciding to warn him.


    The Voodoo Plate Amour had a special effect ¨C there was a certain chance that the user could discover Stealthed units regardless of their level.


    Lu Li hadn''t expected to use this special effect and didn''t know it would come in handy so quickly.


    After being attacked, he immediately realized that his attacker was at least level 48, which was three levels higher than what he had thought.


    There was a big difference in a six-level gap; even ordinary monsters would be difficult to fight.


    At level 50, even ordinary monsters would feel like Bosses to Lu Li. A level 48 monster was much weaker than a level 50 monster, but even if Lu Li had the upper hand, it was hard to say whether he could defeat it.


    This Iron Dwarf was a Thief.


    Lu Li put away his arrogant mentality and began to seriously face this elite NPC that was six levels higher than him.


    Elite NPCs were stronger than Elite monsters because they could use a wider variety of skills.


    As for why this monster was now level 48¡­


    Lu Li had previously entered the game after a year of its release, and the System had adjusted the level of quests countless times by then. It could be that this Iron Dwarf was level 48 at first, but too many ordinary players had died here so the developers had no choice but to reduce it.


    In the face of the level 48 Iron Dwarf, Lu Li didn''t hesitate the rush straight for its waist.


    Why didn''t he go into Stealth?


    With a six-level gap, his Stealth was useless. Besides, Lu Li was more worried that if the Iron Dwarf decided to use a skill like Vanish, Lu Li would probably have no way of finding him again.


    Fortunately, that didn''t happen and the Dwarf raised his two daggers against Lu Li.


    This Iron Dwarf was quite aggressive and he was also quite strong. Lu Li failed to block some of the attacks and lost quite a bit of HP, but as he got used to the fighting tempo, he started the circle around the Dwarf as he fought.


    He was an Agility Thief ¨C most players were agility Thieves. This meant that he had a faster Movement Speed and Attack Speed than the Iron Dwarf, which gave him an advantage, especially if he circled like this.


    In a situation like this without Stealth, Lu Li couldn''t beat the level 48 Elite in a straight fight.


    Fortunately, he was a player with poison on his dagger and Healing Potions, in addition to a variety of other special effects.


    The fight lasted for more than a minute, and both parties were trading blows.


    In the end, when the Iron Dwarf only had 20% HP remaining, he was cut by Lu Li''s dagger which triggered its effect. This effect had a low chance of activating, but was hard to survive against once it did.


    The Iron Dwarf dropped a quite a few piece of ore ¨C no self-respecting Dwarf wouldn''t have a few pieces of Ore on their body.


    In addition, there was also a single key, which was the key to the warehouse.


    The warehouse in Thelsama was right in front of them and he was holding the key to it. Fate seemed to be tempting him with a choice; endless wealth was waiting behind those doors.

 664 Moving On

    The Azeroth war only affected a few large cities, as well as a number of the smaller towns. These small towns were usually where most of the gameplay happened, so most players spent their time there.


    If an outpost was within the radius of a town, that town would be wealthier and have access to more materials, regardless of what faction or race that outpost was. Thelsama was located on along the resource-rich, lake-side Loch Modan.


    There were fisheries, mines and foragers, with the people of Khaz''Goroth providing logistic support to the Ironforge with their hard work and craftsmanship.


    There was no doubt that Thelsama''s warehouse would be filled with endless wealth.


    Lu Li could become rich on the ore and equipment alone, and there was no one stopping him from taking it.


    He inhaled slowly and sat cross-legged, waiting quietly.


    Lu Li was generally well-restrained; he wouldn''t let himself do something just because it seemed like a good idea. He wasn''t desperate to raise money for his sister anymore either.


    In a case like this where there would be no going back, he had absolutely no reason to take any risks.


    He had no idea what was in the warehouse and whether it could even be stolen. He also didn''t know how much he could even carry, or how he would sell the items. It was likely that before he could steal enough, he would be caught by the Dwarves.


    As a member of the Alliance, the Ironforge Dwarves had always lived in a low-key way, going as far as to reside in a completely underground castle.


    However, their strength wasn''t to be underestimated. Regardless of their relationship with the Humans and Elves, if there was an issue, no group would support Lu Li. Not only would there be trouble for Lu Li, but also for his guild as well.


    After waiting a few minutes, Elon came back with a group of others.


    These Dwarves had agreed to light a single house on fire, but it had spread so fast that they had to spend more time than they thought to put it out.


    "The key is here and the spy is over there," Lu Li said as he pointed to the body of the Ironforge Dwarf who he had killed.


    "Damned Dwarf."


    Elon, who was also a Dwarf, didn''t think twice about scolding the body and kicking it. He took the key to the warehouse doors from Lu Li''s hands.


    "Now, I intend to reward you handsomely!"


    "Thank you for your generosity," Lu Li said as he stood up and bowed. "I really admire the Dwarves'' skill and have gained many Forging tools and equips from my long adventure. Some of them have been made by a result of your teachings. See, this is one of them."


    Lu Li took out Cresso''s Hammer.


    Cresso''s Hammer (Special): Strength +20, Forging Speed +30%, Forging Success Rate +20%, Order +1, Lu Li Exclusive, Durability 100/100.


    The strategy didn''t mention something like this, but Lu Li personally felt that if he could get closer to the Dwarf, his requests were more likely to succeed. This was the case with any NPC.


    "Cresso''s Hammer¡­" Elon muttered, recognizing the hammer in a glance.


    Gabriel Cresso, the one who had given Lu Li this hammer, said that his grandfather had learned many skills from the Ironforge. Even the masters in the Ironforge thought that he was an excellent blacksmith.


    "Yes, I''m glad you know of it." Lu Li was relieved.


    "Is Cresso still okay?" the Dwarf asked as he stroked his black beard, reminiscing about his old days of learning at the Ironforge.


    That clever human had always learned faster than anyone else.


    "He died," Lu Li said pitifully.


    "He''s dead?" Elon didn''t seem to be able to accept the news, but after a while, he woefully said, "Oh yes, human lives are always painfully short. I really regret not visiting him in the Western Wilderness earlier."


    "He died in a war and his son died in a war. His grandson is my friend," Lu Li explained, then paused before saying, "He gave me this hammer before going to the frontlines. I don''t know what''s happened to him."


    "This damned war, damn it!"


    This was a very sad topic.


    Elon clearly not only knew of the Old Cresso, but had probably also studied together under the same master.


    "My condolences. May the dead rest and the living keep moving on," Lu Li comforted.


    "Thank you, Elf. Take care of yourself. I hope you can keep improving on your Forging."


    The excitement of catching the Iron Dwarf had now receded and Elon''s was upset. This truly was a sad situation; Lu Li couldn''t help but sigh in his heart.


    Now that he had gotten this far into the quest, it was likely that Elon would have given him a letter of recommendation to Ironforge to learn more advanced Forging techniques if he had better charisma.


    However, it didn''t look like Elon was going to do that at all.


    Lu Li had no choice but to brace himself and say, "I''ve recently had some troubles and I hoped you could give me some advice, Mr Elon. In the hopes of furthering my Forging, I am willing to give up my reward."


    "Of course. What would you like to learn?" This time, Elon wasn''t making it difficult for Lu Li.


    The moment he heard that he would give up his reward he had become enthusiastic about it. If anyone ever said that Dwarves weren''t sly, he would knock their teeth in. Lu Li was internally annoyed, but he respectfully said, "I am currently conducting research in strengthening equipment, but unfortunately, I keep failing. I believe that the great Khaz''Goroth must have the solution."


    For the Dwarves, complimenting Khaz''Goroth was better than complimenting them for anything else.


    The Forger Khaz''Goroth was an ancient titan and a member of the Pantheon. He and Eonar created Eartheans (the Dwarves and the Rockjaws) and the Mountain Giants.


    After the Eartheans became the Dwarves, they were regarded as worshippers.


    "Strengthening Equipment¡­" Elon had a very calm look, with perhaps a hint of contempt. He didn''t think that an Elf would have Forging Skills, but when he heard Lu Li talk about Strengthening Equipment, he was a little surprised.


    However, he had made a promise and Lu Li even mentioned their Forging God, so he could hardly back out now.


    "When I was in Moon Shadow Valley, I met a Dwarf named Qum. He talked to me about Strengthening Equipment and told me that only a skilled master could reduce the probability of failure. Mr Elon, could you teach me how to reduce that probability? The beautiful little stones are a masterpiece of Khaz''Goroth''s creation and I really don''t like hearing the sound of them breaking."


    Lu Li didn''t think before telling Elon about Qum, but it wasn''t like he was going to confront him.

 665 Strengthening Skill

    "Qum¡­" Elon thought a moment before asking, "Did that Dwarf know how to Enchant?"


    There was a hint of taunting and envy in that sentence; there weren''t many Dwarves who knew how to Enchant and Qum had inherited the technique from Aegwynn''s Enchanting Arts. It wasn''t something that most people could do, but in Elon''s eyes, it was possible that hehad tainted their profession.


    "He was someone who was very knowledgeable in Strengthening Equipment," Lu Li said, continuing to spout his nonsense.


    "Strengthening Equipment is a science. Those who try to just throw a piece of equipment into the furnace are stupid." After hearing that an Enchanting master couldn''t study Casting, Elon looked much better.


    "So, can you help me? I have come from the distant Moon Shadow Valley."


    Lu Li had actually just used a Transportation Portal, but he wanted to get more sympathy.


    Elon didn''t continue to shirk his responsibility and nodded, "Very well. I will teach you the skills of Strengthening Equipment."


    Strengthening Equipment in a cast was one of the things that players were the most excited about.


    This could improve the quality of equipment, thereby increase a player''s strength. However, all players who did this had to face the possibility of the Strengthening to fail.


    What they needed to invest in was a Strengthening Stone, some gold coins and their mental fortitude.


    The poor mental fortitude of most players meant that they simply did not dare to strengthen their equipment. It was great when you succeeded, but when you heard sad sound of a Strengthening Stone breaking, it was truly heartbreaking.


    The NPC''s strengthening skill involved many things ¨C there were specialized techniques for equipment, materials and so on.


    For a player, the process wasn''t that complicated as the game was made to be playable. You just needed to put the equipment into the furnace, then pay a Strengthening Stone and some gold. In the future, rare materials may also be required, but the player could then confirm the process and see the results.


    Elon''s so-called advice was actually teaching Lu Li a skill.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had learned a skill named ''Strengthen Equipment''. There were several places that it could be learned, but the quest in Thelsama was the easiest way to do it, especially because of its low level.


    The other quests were for players who were level 50 and above.


    The description of the Strengthen Equipment skill was simple. It increased the strengthening process to somewhere between 10% to 15%. In his past life, the number that he gotten was about 13%.


    Elon waved his hand at Lu Li and the System prompted him to learn Strengthen Equipment.


    He couldn''t want to open his skills panel to see how much he had received this time. The difference between 10% to 15% seemed small, but was very noticeable in application.


    Many players with a 10% success rate would choose to find a 15% success rate player to Strengthen their equipment.


    The price was worth it compared to wasting a Strengthening Stone, so there were certain players that just strengthened equipment all day.


    When Lu Li saw the number on his skills panel, he was dumbfounded.


    20%!?


    It wasn''t that he didn''t want more, but how could he get a number higher than the maximum?


    Lu Li was a little compulsive, or perhaps he just liked being in control, but he didn''t like it when something happened and he couldn''t understand it.


    "For the sake of Old Cresso, I''ve taught you a little bit more," Elon said with a look of exhaustion.


    "Thank you. I will not bring shame to Cresso''s name."


    It turned out that it was the NPC that had given him a little extra. This time he really was sincerely grateful.


    The System had set it up such that Elon could only give between 10% to 15%, no matter how lucky or charismatic a player was. However, Lu Li was the exception because he had used Cresso''s Hammer to trigger a deeper story. If he was a luckier person, perhaps his gains could have been even higher.


    Even so, Lu Li was satisfied. He now had a 20% success rate, which meant that his trip wasn''t in vain.


    Thelsama was a place famous for Forging, Fishing, Logging and so on. Naturally, there was no shortage of strengthening furnaces for his equipment. The quests here also involved monsters that weren''t as difficult, which meant that there were fewer players. As such, Lu Li decided to strengthen his equipment here.


    The strengthening furnaces weren''t the same as the casting furnaces ¨C they were vertical structures with many more complicated runes inscribed on their surfaces. The casting furnace was a horizontal structure that only had a few runes on its top and bottom.


    Although Thelsama was just a small town, the furnace was from the Ironfroge workshop and was no different from the ones in the large blacksmith workshop there.


    Lu Li looked at the equipment he had and first removed his necklace.


    Pamela''s Gift. This was a memorable piece of equipment, from the little girl in the Darong County. Lu Li hadn''t been back there ever since, so as to not arouse those sad memories.


    He put the necklace into the compartment of the strengthening furnace, placed in a Strengthening Stone and inserted some gold coins into the corresponding slot.


    The first strengthening required a Strengthening Stone and ten gold coins.


    He confirmed the process and after a few seconds, Lu Li heard the System prompt.


    System: Congratulations, you have successfully strengthened Pamela''s Gift for the first time.


    The first time really was the easiest, not to mention that Lu Li had the skill which gave him an increase in success rate of 20%. All of these factors added up meant that it was likely his chance of failure was not more than 20%.


    After removing the necklace, Lu Li looked at it and found that the Pamela''s Sweet Water Tea effect had been enhanced. It originally regenerated 20% HP, but this had been increased to 21%.


    For Lu Li who currently had 3200HP, 1% was 32 HP, which was better than nothing. Perhaps at a crucial time, it could save his life.


    He repeated his last few actions and put in two Strengthening Stones and 20 gold. This was definitely something that only a rich person could do; each strengthening cost a couple of thousand dollars.


    The second strengthening also upgraded the Pamela''s Sweet Water Tea effect. Now, the effect could immediately regenerate 23% HP.


    Lu Li stopped and walked around the furnace three times before starting the third strengthening. This kind of seemingly stupid behavior would become more and more common in future. Everyone would develop their own strategy for when they strengthened their equipment. Some, like Lu Li, would walk around the furnace a certain number of times. Others would stand on their head, or roll on the floor, or even cry and howl. If you could think of it, there was probably some player doing it.

 666 Success and Failure

    The third strengthening actually had a decent chance of failure. If he failed he would lose three Strengthening Stones and 30 gold.


    The current Strengthening Stone drop rate was quite low and there was no market price for them. If Lu Li wasn''t preparing for competitions, he wouldn''t have invested so much in them either. Later on, the battlefield system would be updated, and the player count for Arathi Basin and Eye of the Storm would be increased by 15 players. The drops in the battlefield would also increase, so it would be easier to find Strengthening Stones then.


    At that time, the price would naturally fall, as most players would have access to them and would be able to strengthen their own equipment.


    However, for now, besides receiving them as quest rewards, players could only obtain Strengthening Stones from Bosses. Even the major guilds'' elite groups would only have a few of them.


    This was the reason why Lu Li wanted to completely explore the vast secret area.


    The time taken for the third strengthening was long. Lu Li''s palms were sweating as he heard the prompt.


    System: Congratulations, you have successfully strengthened Pamela''s Gift for the third time.


    It was a success!


    Lu Li was elated; he couldn''t wait to take the strengthened item out of the furnace.


    The first two strengthenings were quite basic, but perhaps that just reflected the good quality of Lu Li''s equipment. If a normal equipment gained a few Attribute points, that would be considered a good upgrade.


    Pamela''s Gift (Dark Gold) *3: Critical Hit +30%, Damage +15%, Special Effect: Pamela''s Sweet Water tea. Instant Cast. Immediately regenerate 25% HP and regenerate 2% HP every second for 5 seconds. Can be interrupted and cannot be cast on anyone but yourself. 30 minute cooldown. Level Requirement: 30. Durability: 72/72.


    Behind the equipment there were three plum tree logos, which signified that it had been upgraded three times.


    There were two changes to this item. The first increased the amount of healing from Pamela''s Sweet Water Tea. Altogether, the three upgrades had increased it by 5%. It was already a very good effect, but what Lu Li was most excited by was the damage buff.


    The buff had increased from 10% to 15%!


    This was no small amount. It was hard to increase damage multipliers like this and Lu Li was hoping that the property would increase, even if it was just by 1%. However, it had actually increased by 5%, which was a huge amount that would add up over time.


    Lu Li now felt an impulse to continue strengthening it. If he kept strengthening it, would it eventually reach 100%?


    Of course, as quickly as the idea flashed into Lu Li''s mind, he remembered the people in his previous life who had gone crazy over strengthening their equipment. It was just as addictive as gambling.


    After strengthening three times, they would think about the fourth time, then the fifth time and so on¡­


    There was no end to the road ahead.


    The game company later issued a warning for players to be savvier about it. Lu Li even remembered the contents of the warning, which was for the players to only try what they were capable of.


    However, Lu Li was convinced that those who didn''t take any risks could never be professional players.


    He had already strengthened his necklace, and now he was about to strengthen his second piece of equipment ¨C the Voodoo Shoulderpad. The first strengthening went smoothly, but the bonus was quite small ¨C it only increased its Agility from 28 to 30. The second strengthening wasn''t that much better either; it only added six attribute points and they were all in Strength.


    Lu Li highly anticipated this third strengthening, which would definitely improve a special effect.


    Perhaps it might even add a special effect!


    With that in mind, he threw in three Strengthening Stones and 30 gold coins. Fortunately, he had taken a few gold coins from Square Root 3, otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to afford it.


    Whenever Lu Li needed money, he would ask Square Root 3 for some. No wonder Azure Sea Breeze made fun of him.


    System: Failure is the mother of success. Unfortunately, the third strengthening of the Voodoo Shoulderpad has failed.


    Lu Li was stunned. It failed? Why did it fail?


    Lu Li let out a wry laugh. His string of successes had distracted him from the scariest part of strengthening, which wasn''t getting a bad upgrade, but having it fail altogether!


    He picked up the equipment on which the strengthening had failed and was distressed to see that its durability had dropped by half.


    Fortunately, this was only the third strengthening, which wasn''t high enough to damage the equipment''s properties.


    Durability could easily be repaired and the blacksmith was nearby. Lu Li turned around and went to fix his equipment, but the gold-cost alone was enough to scar him.


    After fixing the equip, Lu Li placed it back into the furnace and slotted in new Strengthening Stones and gold coins.


    Just like before, he did three laps around the furnace. This superstitious action hadn''t saved him from failing his previous strengthening, but he didn''t lose anything by performing it.


    System: Congratulations, you have successfully strengthened Voodoo Shoulderpads for the third time.


    He had finally succeeded! Lu Li let out a sigh of relief; he didn''t really want to try and strengthen it again.


    After strengthening an item for the third time, there would not be any additional special effects. Lu Li was very satisfied with the strengthening results as the Backhand Backstab damage had gone from 20% to 25%.


    He had other equipment that were not Dark Gold or Gold sets, but he needed to change those in future, so there was no need to strengthen those.


    Other than his weapons and his ring, Lu Li spent almost two hours strengthening eight pieces of equipment, namely, the Voodoo Shoulderpads, Voodoo Headgear, Voodoo, Breastplate, Voodoo Cloak, Pamela''s Gift, Raider''s Leather Pants, Star Killer''s Bracer and Wirt''s Third Leg.


    If there wasn''t a single failure, the eight items would require 48 Strengthening Stones and 480 gold. However, Lu Li experienced two failures on the second strengthening and three failures on the third strengthening. This meant that he ahd spent a total of 61 Strengthening Stones and 610 gold coins.


    He didn''t have enough Strengthening Stones to strengthen all of his equipment, because he still needed to save some for his most important weapon and his Epic ring.


    After taking a look at the final results, his equipment''s properties had gone through a substantial overall upgrade. There weren''t any new special effects, as the third strengthening only had a very low chance of that occurring.

 667 A New Special Effec

    Seeing as the Strengthening Stones were in limited supply, he naturally had to upgrade his best equipment first.


    There were a few things left that he had to strengthen ¨C the two daggers, one of which was the Epic dagger that he couldn''t use yet, and the ring he always relied on.


    Lu Li first took out the Shard of the Defiler. This was a Dark Gold dagger that was originally level 40, but he had mounted a stone onto it that reduced its level requirement.


    It could be said that a considerable amount of Lu Li''s damage came from this dagger.


    Ravenholdt Manor once attempted to make a batch of Epic gear, but there were a number of failures and these were the failed weapons. Water Fairy had also acquired one under Lu Li''s instruction.


    Unfortunately, Ravenholdt Manor was a small camp, so Lu Li didn''t dare to introduce his guild to it.


    When he had brought Water Fairy in last time, the organization had given both of them a near-impossible Boss quest. Perhaps the fear was still lingering, because he hadn''t gone back to ask for quests since.


    Even so, he had to go in tomorrow to check ¨C he needed to upgrade his equipment as much as he could before the professional league.


    After being lost in thought for a while, Lu Li put the exquisite weapon into the furnace with the Strengthening Stone and ten gold coins.


    It failed!


    What? How did it fail on the first try?


    In principle, the success rate of the first attempt should have been at least 78%. With the bonus 20% success rate from his skill, there was almost no chance of it failing.


    Although the last eight items didn''t produce any special effects, none of them had failed on the first try.


    As someone who had a bonus 20% success rate, there was no way he would need to ask someone else to help him, right? Lu Li was standing there with his mouth wide open in shock.


    He first suspected his own bad luck and thought it was because of his character.


    When strengthening equipment, failure was just a normal thing, even though it was really unlikely in this instance.


    Lu Li tried again and succeeded.


    If it had failed again, Lu Li would have given up and left. For him to fail like that again would have meant that God had closed this door and even boarded up the windows.


    The whole process of strengthening his equipment had been filled with frustrations, but the results were worthwhile.


    In the first upgrade, the dagger increased by 15 attribute points. Its Agility went from 20 to 35 points.


    This was the kind of attribute that a level 40 Dark Gold equipment should have, but the dagger was too stingy to give it. Fortunately, the upgrade easily raised that stat.


    The second strengthening wasn''t as unlucky as the first, but Lu Li was a little apprehensive as he heard the system''s congratulatory voice.


    It was just that the result of the strengthening was slightly unsatisfactory. The Strength property had been buffed from 12 to 20, and it gave the first special effect a small buff.


    The attack speed had been increased from 30% to 35%.


    Lu Li had seen Water Fairy''s Shard of the Defiler; she was showing it off a few days ago after upgrading it three times. It was now at 40% attack speed.


    This meant that Water Fairy''s weapon was currently better.


    The Attribute increases weren''t bad, but Lu Li wanted an extra effect. He hoped that the special third strengthening would increase the attack speed a little more.


    Lu Li could understand if his third attempt wasn''t successful.


    In fact, there was a strategy to doing the third upgrade. If you had many Strengthening Stones available, you could upgrade all your items twice. You would attempt to upgrade an item until it was level 3 and repeat with different items until an upgrade failed. Then, you would take the important item and upgrade that.


    This was called ''padding'' because the probability of failure after failing was smaller.


    It was only those who were super unlucky that would fail multiple times in a row.


    However, as of now, Strengthening Stones were too precious and even someone like Lu Li who had acquired so many of them in the secret area couldn''t afford that. As such, he could only rely on his luck.


    System: Congratulations, your third strengthening of the Shard of the Defiler was a success.


    Shard of the Defiler (Dark Gold): 42-56 damage, +35 Agility, +20 Strength, Socket Slot 1(Enhanced). Special Effect 1: Apply a 20% Armour Pierce on a target for 5 seconds. 2 minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Attack speed +35%, Special Effect 3: Defile, active. Decreases target''s armor and movement speed by 25%, cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 4: Fatal Strike, when the target''s HP drops below 20%, chance to kill the target instantly. Requires level 40 (-8), Durability 120/120.


    When Lu Li saw that there was no improvement in the attack speed, he was a little disappointed.


    However, when he looked carefully, he was surprised to find that this equipment had four effects. It had gained a completely new effect.


    The newly added effect was quite a common one ¨C Armour Pierce ¨C but that didn''t mean that it wasn''t good. Armour Pierce was the top-ranking effect for melee classes as reducing your opponent''s defence was the same as increasing your own attack.


    This item now had four special effects, which was what the Shard of the Defiler should have been like.


    Lu Li barely managed to hold back the urge to send Water Fairy the properties of his weapon, especially since she had just shown off hers to him two days ago.


    However, he was a man and he had no reason to create additional opposition between them. Besides, if he showed her the properties, wasn''t he just losing his trump card? Lu Li''s thoughts were usually quite strange, but they weren''t exactly wrong either.


    Now, he was done with his dagger.


    The fourth strengthening would damage the equipment if it failed. It didn''t matter if he lost a few attribute points, but if he lost an effect, that would truly be depressing.


    There would be an abundance of Strengthening Stones in future, and when he could pad his other pieces of equipment first, he could increase his chances of success.


    Lu Li then began to strengthen his ring. The Epic dagger wasn''t particularly urgent as he couldn''t use it now anyway. It was also unlikely that he would be able to buy a stone that reduce an equipment''s level requirements any time soon.


    On the other hand, strengthening this ring was a little wasteful.


    If he strengthened it now, he would have to strengthen it again later if he upgraded it.


    In fact, any upgradeable equipment would be like that as the game took every opportunity to squeeze some money out of the players. This was one of the game company''s favourite ways to balance the wealth gap.

 668 Ten Pieces of Equipmen

    Lu Li took off his ring and put it into the strengthening furnace.


    This equip couldn''t be discarded, dropped or traded; it was basically bound to Lu Li. Although he couldn''t take it off, he couldn''t give it to anyone else.


    Now that he had placed it into the furnace, if he decided to walk away, the ring would fly out of the furnace and land on his hand after a few steps.


    The first strengthening was a success. Despite the fact that it was an Epic equipment, he didn''t dawdle with this minor upgrade. It had slightly increased the ring''s Vampirism.


    Its Vampirism was now 35%, which was 5% more than the original value. This would be quite useful when farming and could also be helpful in PVPs when he was on very low HP.


    The second strengthening failed, so he lost two Strengthening Stones and 20 gold coins.


    There was no shame in this; Lu Li felt that it was better that it had failed here rather than failing on the third strengthening. Of course, failing the third strengthening would cost him more.


    On his second try, the upgrade succeeded.


    Lu Li checked the ring''s stats, but it seemed like nothing had changed. All the properties looked the same; why would nothing happen after a successful strengthening?


    Was it a System bug?


    After reading the properties over a few times, he realized that he had missed a small detail.


    Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle''s Protection. Instant Cast, summon a natural Shield that absorbs all damage in one attack for the caster. 6 hour cooldown.


    This was the original description of one of the special effects on the Supreme Four Ring. It was a very strong damage reduction skill that could absorb the full damage of one attack and provided a window of invincibility.


    The one in Lu Li''s hand had a subtle change in cooldown ¨C it was now three hours instead of six.


    This reduction in cooldown basically doubled his ability to use it. Previously, he could only use this skill 3 times a day, but now he could use it 6 times a day.


    He was satisfied, very satisfied!


    A man who was never content was like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Lu Li had to admit that this was quite a special upgrade as it was equivalent to adding another special effect with the same six-hour cooldown.


    When he was about to strengthen it for the third time, Lu Li couldn''t help but take a moment to pray. This was the first time he was going to strengthen an Epic equip for a third time.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had never owned a piece of Epic equipment.


    He didn''t know if he had just imagined it, but he felt like the upgrade took a little longer this time.


    He glanced at the two remaining Strengthening Stones in his hands and the gold coins that were about to run out, and shook his head bitterly. If he failed this time, he wouldn''t have enough Strengthening Stones to go again.


    No matter how much money you had, the System wouldn''t let you strengthen your equipment if you were missing even one Strengthening Stone.


    After spending such a long time upgrading his equipment, he was physically and mentally exhausted. No one usually upgraded ten equips at a time like this, and especially not to the third stage.


    However, his strength had definitely improved.


    It was hard to say, but Lu Li estimated that he was one tenth more powerful than before. It was too bad that he didn''t have enough Strengthening Stones, because he still had a few items he would like to strengthen like the Book of Ur.


    Lu Li had spent a small fortune this time on his equipment ¨C it was at least a few hundred thousand dollars, all in the hopes of performing well in the professional league so that Ruling Sword could achieve a good position.


    The late prompt of the System finally came.


    System: Congratulations, you have successfully strengthened your Supreme Four Ring.


    Lu Li equipped the ring and couldn''t help but puff up in pride. He really was the best!


    Upgrading a piece of equipment and hearing the System''s congratulations truly was one of the most exciting things a player could experience in Dawn. Many players set that sound to their communication device or their alarms and never got tired of hearing it.


    Of course, now that the strengthening had been a success, there was only one thing left to do.


    Even if two players had the same piece of equipment, the strengthening effect wouldn''t necessarily be the same. There were some upgrades that were so weak that the player would cry, while others would be ridiculously strong.


    Lu Li wondered what kind of effect the strengthening had on his Epic equipment.


    Of course, he hoped that it would have received a new Special Effect. An Epic equip wouldn''t receive a bad special effect; the System would ensure this.


    Supreme Four Ring (Epic):


    Agility +50


    Strength +30


    Constitution +30


    Critical Hit +30%


    Vampirism +35%


    Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle''s Protection. Instant Cast, summon a natural Shield that absorbs all damage in one attack for the caster. 1 hour cooldown.


    Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle''s Blessing. Stealth Effect +30%.


    Special Effect 3: King of the Jungle Cenarius has granted you a special ability. You are able to learn three Druid Transformation skills and four skills within those transformations.


    Equipment Requirement: None


    Durability: None.


    There wasn''t a new effect, nor was there a great change in its Attributes. However, Lu Li was speechless when he discovered that both the second and third strengthening had enhanced the same thing.


    The first special effect''s cooldown had been reduced once again.


    Originally, it had a six-hour cooldown, but now, it was one hour. This was undoubtedly a good thing, but Lu Li was still unhappy because he didn''t get a new special effect.


    After indulging in his own fantasies, he collected his emotions and put the ring back on. Now all that was left was the Epic dagger, but he really couldn''t strengthen it now.


    It was unrealistic to think he could borrow or buy a Strengthening Stone from someone else.


    Strengthening Stones were a hot product being sold by merchants and organizations right now. They were at least three to five times more expensive than when exchanged in the Exchange Hall and at least ten times more expensive than their true market value.


    Borrowing one from someone would also be a real pain.


    If you borrowed one in the current market, things would become difficult when you later returned it. For example, if it was currently worth 80 gold per piece and later on was only worth 8 gold per piece, would you pay the normal price or return 10 pieces?


    Moreover, the players that Lu Li were familiar with like Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were all high-end players that needed their own strong equipment.


    Asking them for their Strengthening Stones would put them in a tough spot.


    After strengthening ten pieces of equipment, Lu Li decided to stop. He put the equipment that he had strengthened and went out to kill some monsters before finding a room in the arena.

 669 Fighting For a Room

    Lu Li hadn''t stepped into the Arena for a long time.


    The current Arena didn''t give any rewards, not even experience. Only players who were into PVP would spend their time in this place.


    The reason why Lu Li entered the Arena instead of the Battleground was because the arena didn''t have too many outer influences.


    When he chose an Arena channel, the System asked if he still wanted to use his previous ID, ''Unknown''. The name still kept his previous record of 23 victories. This record had caused a ruckus back then, but now, it was just one of the many records in the Arena.


    Currently, amongst all the players, Elevenless from Wings of Dawn had 1456 victories and 72 defeats, while Gaze from Gale Legion has 1127 victories and 66 defeats.


    Most of the top players among the rankings were mostly Warriors, Thieves and Mages. There were players from other classes who were scattered in between, but these three classes took up the majority.


    Paladins weren''t too bad either, but unfortunately, they took too long to finish a battle.


    Players had to focus on leveling and the arena didn''t provide anything besides a small amount of money, so no one would spend all day long here.


    Besides those who were passionate about PVP, players would only come if they really had nothing to do.


    After Lu Li entered, what appeared before him was a large, grand hall that resembled the Mercenary Hall.


    This was called the Honor Hall. It was a folded space, so although it only looked normal, you could never reach the end of it. There were also hundreds of mini portals; the area was large enough to contain up to a hundred thousand players.


    The Horde also had a similar area called the Honor Valley.


    This was the first time that Lu Li had entered this place in his current life. It had been a long time since he has stepped foot in the arena and his fake ID had probably been long forgotten.


    This place was as messy as it had always been. There were bars and dance floors, with some people even beginning to strip in front of others.


    The Honor Hall and Honor Valley were both areas that required players to be of legal age for entry. Since all the players here were legal adults, there was no way that this place would be innocent like a library in an elementary school.


    Lu Li dodged past two women who tried to ask him for drinks.


    These were players who relied on this kind of work for a living; their alcohol weren''t cheap. The best ones could take a few-days-worth of income within half an hour.


    Materials and equips were being traded on the black markets, and apparently, the alcohol business in this area alone was worth up to millions of dollars in real life.


    Lu Li had traded herbs here for a period of time in his previous life.


    He found a table for himself and ordered a cheap wine, then took out the number plate he had received after he entered the Honor Hall and pulled out the menu.


    Next, he randomly chose an arena room to enter.


    As long as there was a number plate on the table, no one else would take the spot.


    After Lu Li entered the arena, he found that the owner of the room was a Warrior. The Warrior wore a silver-white Chestplate, which made him appear strong and elegant, but Lu Li could tell from one look that it was only a Silver grade equip. It probably wasn''t even level 40 either.


    "Bro, why are you hiding your face?"


    The Warrior saw that his opponent was a Thief and he was relieved. Currently, Warriors had the best win rates in the Arena, with only extremely skilled Mages being able to kite and defeat them. Thieves were often easy targets for Warriors.


    "Just start. Don''t waste time." Lu Li really didn''t enjoy chit chat before battles.


    After the Warrior heard Lu Li, he misunderstood. He cracked open a smile and said, "Don''t be in such a rush; you might run into another Warrior too after I send you out. A lot of Warriors have opened rooms lately."


    "I want to quickly send you out," Lu Li sighed.


    Did he really have to make him say things so bluntly? He really didn''t want to be so straightforward. It would have been better if they quickly ended the fight and parted ways.


    "Geez, damn. Did I run into a master gamer? So shameless," the Warrior laughed, thinking that Lu Li was bluffing.


    Lu Li saw that the Warrior was about to waste more time, so he forced the battle to begin.


    This function wasn''t available the last time Lu Li had come, but if he lost, he would have to pay double the price.


    The Warrior''s expression changed; he held tightly onto his double-hand axe and stood on guard.


    There was no way he would be a bad player if he was brave enough to spend money on a room. He definitely understood that it was important not to underestimate his opponents.


    Lu Li also understood the same rule, but even if he didn''t go into Stealth, he was still almost certain that he could beat his opponent.


    After the Thief went into stealth, the Warrior didn''t panic. He seemed to be satisfied with the situation. Even if he got Stunned by a Thief, he was still confident that he could tank a whole rotation of skills. Most Warriors wouldn''t lose more than half of their health from this.


    The battle unfolded faster than expected; Lu Li didn''t even bother with kiting.


    He was here to practice his techniques and become more accustomed to battling against players. He wasn''t interested in players who were significantly worse than him. After his Cheap Shot landed, his dagger danced through a set of skills. His last Eviscerate cleared the entire health bar of the Warrior.


    After his victory, the room became his.


    Lu Li''s real goal was to take over this room. Creating your own room only costed one gold coin, but it would require the player to use their own ID. He wasn''t interested in attracting too much attention from other celebrity players.


    After he became the room owner, many other players entered to challenge him.


    Lu Li didn''t say anything, nor did he wait for these players to make any remarks either. Instead, he chose to use the force battle function immediately.


    The new challenger was caught by surprise ¨C he had only selected this room by random and didn''t expect to run into someone who was so impatient. Couldn''t they have a good talk first before they began to fight?


    Lu Li waited for the battle timer to finish and immediately entered Stealth.


    The Warlock player had brought a Succubus which was wearing leather armor that barely covered anything. Every single action of the Succubus would reveal a different part of her body. Her whip not only dealt a lot of damage, but her skills were decent as well.


    The Warlock player had lately been doing well in the arena, at least against average players.


    He didn''t expect to run into such a tough opponent this time. Lu Li Sapped him first then quickly killed the Succubus ¨C it was only a summoned pet and couldn''t take more than a few hits from him.

 670 Masked Against Masked

    After he defeated the Warlock, Lu Li also killed a few more other players.


    Then, the audience seat of the room began to fill up. It was only a matter of time before people noticed a room that constantly won. As the victory total of the room began to build up, the room would appear higher in the system rankings.


    These audience members only needed to pay ten copper coins to watch a match, but of course, Lu Li could set the price himself.


    Normally, people wouldn''t raise the price. Lu Li didn''t need this small amount of money either, so he didn''t bother wasting his time. He wanted his room to be popular so that its ranking would rise and it would catch the attention of better players.


    "Who''s this Thief? Why is he covering his face?" one of the newcomers in the audience asked.


    "Not sure. I''ve only watched one round, but this guy is pretty decent ¨C very clean. His equipment is really good too. He only just killed a Mage. The Mage had their shield up, but couldn''t even make it past the fifth shot," the player beside him explained.


    "Is it a pro?" another guessed.


    "No way ¨C why would pro players come here to trash on noobs? That''s too shameless," the previous player responded.


    If Lu Li heard this, he would probably be really embarrassed.


    It didn''t take long for the crowd to become familiar with each other. The audience commented on the players who battled against each other on the stage. Unfortunately, Lu Li was too quick; he ended another opponent with one set of skills.


    "This is the twelfth victory in a row. This guy has to at least be from a big guild, right?"


    These average players weren''t very skilled, but at least they were decent judges.


    "It''s a shame his gears is covered ¨C otherwise, we would be able to guess," a player said with disappointment. These players spent a lot of time watching others fight, so they had seen all sorts of equipment and were experts in the field. With one glance, they could tell the difference between equips and what dungeon they were from.


    It wasn''t until his 16th victory that Lu Li ran into someone interesting.


    "Worldly Cruiser! It''s Worldly Cruiser from Glory Capital!"


    By this time, his room was filled with around a hundred players in the audience. These players could name Lu Li''s opponent this time, which meant that he wasn''t a random nobody.


    Worldly Cruiser was a Paladin; he didn''t look old, but his expression seemed serious.


    This was another poor child who had been heavily influenced by Paladin novels.


    In Dawn, most of the Paladins had a serious face, as if all their emotions had been sacrificed to the holy light.


    This time, Worldly Cruiser started the fight before Lu Li forced it.


    It seemed like this guy wasn''t interested in chit chat with Lu Li either; he probably wanted to quickly get rid of Lu Li so he could enter the next room.


    As per usual, Lu Li immediately went into Stealth mode.It didn''t matter which class you were playing against; you had to Stealth first to find a chance to sneak up on your opponents if you were a Thief.


    The Paladin casted Consecration just in time. If he was fighting an ordinary Thief, they would have already been burnt.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t no ordinary Thief. He patiently waited for the cooldown time of Consecration and casted Sap.


    This was the moment you could tell players from major guilds and average players apart. After Worldly Cruiser had been Sapped, he immediately used his Badge and followed up with a Divine Storm.


    Even Lu Li wanted to applaud him ¨C with this reaction time, he would definitely be welcome to join Ruling Sword.


    Of course, this wasn''t enough to bring Lu Li out of Stealth. Lu Li moved aside by a few steps and easily dodged his AoE spell.


    As soon as the AoE spell stopped, Lu Li casted a Cheap Shot on him, using his mobility to his advantage.


    After this round ended, a few more noobs came along to sacrifice themselves. Although they couldn''t force out any of his trump cards, they at least managed to warm him up.


    Sixty-eight rounds ¨C all victories!


    Lu Li''s room had already made it into the top 20 amongst the arena rooms of the day and was also the room with the quickest rise.


    There were already around 700-800 players who had heard of what was going on and were seated in the audience. The tickets and winning prizes that Lu Li weren''t interested in had already totaled to a dozen gold coins.


    What surprised everyone the most wasn''t his 68 rounds of victories in a row ¨C it was that these victories had all been accomplished in less than an hour. This meant that Lu Li had only taken about a minute for each round.


    Master!


    There was no doubt ¨C everyone had already seen how master players fought against each other. Even the top players in the arena wouldn''t be able to do any better.


    Lu Li was becoming tired from all the fighting, so he chose to pause and drink some wine before he came back in.


    The audience seat was still fully packed ¨C in fact, more had turned up after his return. He opened the list of challengers listed by the system, and this time, there were dozens of players who were waiting to fight him.


    Lu Li un-paused and the System began to toss challengers into his room again.


    After he defeated another 20 players, Lu Li began to feel that the quality of his challengers was improving. By now, it was likely that the top arena players had heard of him.


    After his received his hundredth victory, his audience seats expanded by ten-times, so ten thousand players could now watch. This earned even more ticket money for Lu Li, but was also the limit of the arena ¨C the audience seats would no longer expand.


    After he defeated a Shaman, Lu Li was greeted by his 116th challenger of the day.


    The style of this 116th challenger was a bit strange.


    They were wearing the same thing ¨C Lu Li and the Warrior were both in hiding mode.


    Hiding mode could mask the true form of their equipment ¨C all equipment from the same class would look the same.


    They also covered their faces with masks, so that no one could find anything to identify them.


    "I know who you are, hehehehe," the challenger laughed.


    "But you don''t plan to tell anyone else?" Lu Li was about to force the fight, but he stopped. If his opponent was also in hiding, that meant that they weren''t interested in revealing his identity to the crowd.


    "Cut the chat. Let''s have a good fight," the challenger said as he stopped laughing.


    "Hopefully you won''t disappoint me."


    Lu Li nodded his head and began to believe that this person really knew who he was. Perhaps he would recognize this player later during the fight too.


    Everyone had their own special playstyle; this wasn''t something that you could change with a simple mask on your face.


    Lu Li had already fought around a hundred matches, and if someone paid attention to a dozen of them carefully enough, they would most likely be able to figure out who he was.

 671 Expert Game Sense

    Whether Lu Li knew him or not didn''t stop him from being cautious.


    If this player really was a professional competitor, any misjudgments could cost him the fight. Deep down, Lu Li still cared about his victory.


    Nobody liked losing, and Lu Li was not exception to this rule.


    As soon as both parties engaged, Lu Li no longer had any questions. From the way his opponent blocked and the speed at which he did so, Lu Li was sure that he was fighting against a celebrity player, and one of the top ones at that.


    Cheap Shot failed!


    Lu Li didn''t retreat ¨C his opponent would definitely use Charge if he did. If the distance was too short, he had no guarantee that he could dodge a Charge from an expert.


    Gouge!


    He aimed his Gouge at the forehead of the Warrior and attempted to stun him. Even half a second would be fine. The System wasn''t very strict with this skill and even a gentle brush would count it as effective


    Unfortunately, the Warrior lifted his arms and blocked the attack.


    The daggers only managed to leave a mark on his armor and dealt a few dozen points of damage. For a Warrior class, this damage was nothing at all.


    "****!"


    After the Warrior successfully dodged the Gouge, he cursed loudly.


    The reason was simple ¨C Lu Li''s Gouge was only a feint. In the meantime, he had sliced his other dagger across the Warrior''s eyes.


    Blind!


    Most people wouldn''t use such a strong control spell like Gouge as a feint.


    Within the short one to two seconds of their engagement, Lu Li had already used Premeditation, Cheap Shot, Gouge and Blind, and repositioned himself many times. The Warrior hadn''t done much, but his blocking skills were too good. He had used his arm to block the Gouge which looked simple, but was actually a big test of his reaction time. As for the Blind in the end, no one from the crowd could look down on him for not blocking it in time.


    "This is a master too!"


    The audience was completely absorbed in the match. Apart from in an actual competition, it was a rare opportunity to witness such a good fight.


    "It''s easy to understand when you''re watching the fight, but it''s hard to actually pull off these moves."


    This was how most of the players felt.


    Neither of the two had used any techniques that were too hard for the average player to understand, but none of them hoped to learn these moves just by watching.


    Lu Li''s Blind wasn''t of much use ¨C it only affected the Warrior for half a second before he used his Badge.


    However, this half a second was enough for Lu Li to Stealth again.


    He didn''t engage recklessly this time because he didn''t have enough time. Quite a few of his skills were also on cooldown.


    The players in the crowd felt sympathetic for him. Some of them thought that he should sneak up on the Warrior now ¨C who knew what could happen?


    In their first clash, neither of them lost much health. Lu Li had burned a few skills and had lost the element of surprise. The Warrior hadn''t used any skills, apart from his Badge, so Lu Li had the advantage overall.


    Because of this advantage, Lu Li wasn''t in a rush to engage ¨C the cooldown time of the Badge was quite long.


    Thieves were a class that needed patience. It was better to miss an opportunity than to put yourself in danger, especially when you had an advantage.


    With his back arched, only two careful eyes appeared from behind the mask of the Warrior.


    This wasn''t the first time that he had fought against Lu Li; they had already encountered each other in the match grounds. However, it seemed like Lu Li had become even tougher to deal with now.


    Before he challenged Lu Li, he thought that he had about a 60% chance of defeating him because of the improvements to his level and equipment. Moreover, Warriors heavily countered Thieves.


    However, under the current circumstances, he felt like he only had a 40% chance of winning.


    The cooldown time of the Badge was around two minutes, which wasn''t an easy time to drag out. The Warrior also knew that Lu Li was hiding around him nearby, waiting for his chance. There was no way that Lu Li would wait until his badge was off cooldown.


    Lu Li walked around in another two circles but had to admit that this player really knew how to guard against Thieves. No matter which angle he approached from, this Warrior would be able to respond within the shortest amount of time.


    However, there was no way that someone could stay on guard for such an extended period.


    This defensive status remained for another minute until the Warrior began to feel like he was losing it. He had to admit that Lu Li was a very patient player; it almost seemed as if he wasn''t worried about his cooldown time on the Badge at all.


    When the Warrior slightly relaxed, Lu Li was sharp enough to take this chance.


    He pounced and stabbed his dagger right into the back of the Warrior''s head, perfectly demonstrating what it was like to be as hasty as a rabbit. The audience had already become impatient from the wait and as soon as they saw Lu Li move, they cheered.


    The Warrior quickly turned around, but by the time he heard the wind behind his head, it was already too late for him to defend.


    Surprisingly, Lu Li''s Cheap Shot didn''t stun the Warrior ¨C he seemed to have more than a Badge to cancel control effects, which was the same for Lu Li as well. Lu Li had a Badge, Gale Steps, and even some conditional effects like Vanish and his Shadow Cloak.


    Kidney Strike!


    Although Cheap Shot didn''t stun the Warrior, it still provided the combo points that Lu Li needed.


    He had only stocked up on two combo points, but the Voodoo set provided him with another one. This was a perfect total of five combo points and his Kidney Strike was used at the perfect timing.


    Lu Li never thought that his Cheap Shot would Stun the Warrior.


    No matter how few skills Warriors had, they would at least have two spells that cancelled.


    The Warrior was Stunned and stood blankly on the spot.


    Lu Li casually moved behind him and attacked in a flurry. He stacked on his crowd-control and the Warrior was immobilized for around 8 seconds.


    As expected from a Warrior, he still stood there on the spot with half of his health remaining. If he was a Cloth-gear class, he would''ve already died.


    "Come back! Kill him!" the Warriors in the audience seats shouted.


    In the arena, factions weren''t so important ¨C it was the classes that divided the players. Although they couldn''t tell who he was, he was still a Warrior.


    Lu Li stepped back and went into Stealth mode.


    Almost at the same instant, the Warrior snapped out of being Stunned. He almost ran in the same direction that Lu Li had disappeared in and casted Whirlwind.


    Lu Li was knocked out of Stealth and took two hits of 200 damage each.


    Gale Steps!


    Not only did this skill allow Lu Li to forcefully enter Stealth, but it also came with an extra movement speed boost which allowed him to successfully escape from the Warrior''s Whirlwind.

 672 Dirty Play

    The Whirlwind stopped and so did the Warrior; his giant axe raised backward to block the dagger that appeared out of nowhere. The dagger touched the axe briefly, but Lu Li had already been revealed.


    The audience went wild ¨C regardless of their skill level, they could all tell how good that block was.


    It like a cutscene from a Kung Fu movie.


    "Caught you!" the Warrior roared as he Charged at Lu Li.


    With such a short distance between them, he was certain that he could hold back this number one Thief.


    Once a Thief was dragged into the battle tempo of a Warrior, it was only a matter of time before their defeat.


    Sixty percent!


    His estimate of his winning percentage rose again ¨C once his Charge hit, Lu Li wouldn''t be able to turn the tides, even if he had a Badge.


    It was true that Lu Li didn''t have the time to escape. Even if he used the special effects of his equipment, he still wouldn''t be able to make it. He could only use the Badge to remove the Stun from the Charge.


    As soon as the Badge removed the control effect, Lu Li immediately tried to use the special effect from Wirt''s Third Leg to escape.


    Trample!


    The Warrior''s skill combinations were well used; he Stunned Lu Li again and casted another Whirlwind.


    Two Whirlwinds...


    Elevenless!


    Lu Li immediately recognized who he was fighting against; it wasn''t a secret that Elevenless had two Whirlwinds. The audience could tell who the Warrior was too.


    Elevenless was the top Warrior of Wings of Dawn and held his own among even the best Warriors in the game.


    His win-loss ratio was 987 victories and 24 losses.


    Many of the audience members from the arena knew of him. However, he had worn a mask today and didn''t use any signature moves until just then.


    Now that he used his trump card, his identity was no longer a secret.


    A new question was placed before everyone ¨C who was this Thief who could battle against Elevenless?


    Anyone with decent eyes could tell that Elevenless wasn''t having an easy time; he was even at a disadvantage in the beginning. Elevenless had half of his health bar left, while the Thief had only lost a fraction of his.


    The second Whirlwind landed on Lu L, dealing 200 damage. The range of Whirlwind was quite large and Lu Li was Trampled on the spot, so he could only stand there and take the damage.


    Special Effect 2: Strengthened Skin. Damage taken reduced by half, lasts 6 seconds, cooldown 2 hours.


    Six seconds was enough for him to make it through Elevenless'' Whirldwind. Lu Li took four hits, which under usual circumstances, would be around a thousand health points for him. However, because of the damage reduction, he only lost 600 HP and still had around 2000 HP remaining.


    Lu Li didn''t run this time; he used Shadow Strike on Elevenless who had already stopped.


    Elevenless could stop his Whirlwind at any time, but no matter how fast he was, there was no way he could react to Lu Li who had already been waiting there. Lu Li tanked the damage of his Whirlwind to cast this Shadowstrike with an 89% completion level.


    Stunned for one second!


    Shadowmeld, Stealth, and then another Cheap Shot...


    Elevenless felt his heart sink slightly as he also activated his damage reduction skills.


    His damage reduction wasn''t as strong as Lu Li''s, but he was a Warrior, so his health and defense was better to begin with anyway. He wasn''t too worried about Lu Li ending him with a round of skills.


    Elevenless was also a Berserker.


    The less health a Berserker had, the more damage they dealt.


    Elevenless'' strategy was to wait until his health dropped to a certain percentage. Once he had the special effect from being at low-HP, he would be able to deal a percentage more than his usual damage. This effect lasted for thirty seconds, and also meant that every attack was three-times Critical Strike damage.


    Of course, Lu Li was familiar with Berserkers ¨C Moonlight had similar skills too.


    There was no way he would stop attacking because he was afraid of Elevenless'' damage. His attacks were even more frenzied than usual as he casted his skills endlessly on Elevenless. Even if Elevenless used his damage reductions skills, they wouldn''t be of much help.


    In the end, Lu Li used Slit Throat as an ending skill.


    Just this shot alone dropped Elevenless'' health from 23% to 14% - unfortunately, it wasn''t good enough to one-shot him. Lu Li now had to face the Berserker who was now dealing three-times his usual damage.


    Lu Li still had around 2000 HP left, so he wouldn''t make it past the fourth hit.


    "My turn, right?" Elevenless laughed recklessly. He had been holding back for so long and it was finally his chance to shine. This was the passionate moment for all Berserkers ¨C you push yourself to the edge and fight with all that you had.


    "You enjoy yourself," Lu Li said as he flung a skill at Elevenless and backed away as if he used Flash.


    This was the special effect from Wirt''s Third Leg ¨C Special Effect 2: Wirt''s Fake Leg, Instant Cast. Leap forward or backward by 8 yards. 120 second cooldown.


    "My movement speed is boosted to 300%," Elevenless said spitefully, about to lift his legs and chase after him.


    Then, he noticed that Lu Li had gone into Stealth and disappeared. With Lu Li''s technique, he probably would have been gone from the spot as soon as he went into Stealth. Even a master gamers might not be able to drag him back out.


    "I just need to keep my health like this. No matter how long you drag out the fight, there''s no use, and I''m immune to all control skills." Elevenless was very confident in his ability to win.


    He felt like the match conditions were favorable to him; Lu Li''s escape made him look down on him even more than ever.


    "Check your health."


    It seemed like Lu Li was moving around as he spoke so that he wouldn''t get caught.


    Elevenless was confused, then saw his health bar slightly bounce.


    He had dropped 40 points of health, but still had more than 900 HP remaining.


    "What is this ¨C is he trying to frighten me? Wait, that''s not right!"


    Elevenless suddenly remembered something and quickly checked himself, only to find that there was a curse on him.


    Son of Arugal''s Gift: Cast. Curse a target, causing it to lose 100 HP every 5 seconds for 300


    seconds.


    Elevenless was a Plate class, so he had a considerable amount of health regeneration and decent resistance in the first place. As such, the damage of the curse was reduced to about 40, but it was going to occur sixty times. That was equivalent to two thousand health points.


    "My ***, you ****! So shameless," Elevenless cried out in desperation.


    He knew what Lu Li was trying to do; he was certain that Lu Li was going to stay in Stealth and tire him out with the curse. Players were banned from potions in the arena; you could only rely on your own skills or equipment to regenerate health.


    With the amount of health that Elevenless had left, no matter how good his regeneration, he would still eventually die to the curse.


    It was hard to believe that such dirty play would be found in a match between celebrity players. No wonder why Elevenless was upset ¨C especially because he could deal 300% damage.

 673 Elevenless Defeated

    Elevenless was furious, but he didn''t do anything too stupid.


    "Are you in the honor hall? Come out and relax; let''s have a drink," he immediately messaged Lu Li after the match had finished. He had guessed that he was fighting against Lu Li based on his play style and asked him to hang out. Despite their differences, star players were usually on good terms with each other.


    Lu Li and Elevenless had teamed up before to assassinate Sorrowless,so they were already good friends.


    Perhaps it was because of their pride, but none of the star players would socialize with others unless they were very extroverted like Hornet''s Nest or Unforgettable Maple.


    Even though most of the matches were quite easy, Lu Li had already fought almost a hundred today. After the duel against Elevenless, he was even more exhausted.


    Lu Li agreed and sent his location to Elevenless.


    There was a coordinate for every location in the game. The teleporters located around the maps could transport players to their desired location or even coordinate.


    Not long after, the tall and beefy Elevenless arrived.


    "Long time no see," Lu Li said politely.


    "It''s a good thing we don''t see each other often," Elevenless rubbed his nose and laughed bitterly. "You should count the number of times that I don''t die when I see you."


    Lu Li recalled all the times and realized that he was right. He had crossed path with Elevenless on five or six separate occasions and he had been killed every single time. In two or three cases, Lu Li was the one that killed him.


    There were no friends on the battlefield, only enemies.


    Elevenless'' joke was self-deprecating and had no intention of blaming Lu Li.


    The NPC waiter came over and served a glass of Dwarf alcohol to Elevenless. He took the cup and gulped it down in one shot.


    Lu Li took a few sips as well and felt much better. The drinks in the game tasted excellent and grabbing a cold drink with your friends after a big fight was one of the favorite things that players liked to do.


    "Why did you decide to do arena matches?" Elevenless asked as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, then offered, "Do you want one?"


    "No thanks," Lu Li declined and explained, "I wanted to improve my skills for the Professional League that''s coming up. Aren''t you guys doing the same?"


    "I''m not as chill as you. We need to practice by playing up to twenty matches a day. Based on your win rate, I can tell that you don''t practice in the arena often, right?" Elevenless asked as he puffed on the cigarette; he was jealous of Lu Li''s talents.


    Lu Li was probably the most relaxed star player in the game. Even top players like Sorrowless needed to practice a few matches a day in order to maintain their mechanics.


    Similar to professional athletes, they had to train for years and years in order to excel at their sport on the big stage. Many top players would continuously grind throughout their entire careers just to maintain their spot in the game. Unlike other players, Lu Li barely played in arena and many would think that he didn''t practice or improve himself. However, this was a big misconception about him.


    Lu Li was an unorthodox player who would repeatedly set new records and complete First Clears.


    No one had the right to tell him how to act as a professional player. This was the same for the whole of Ruling Swords; they would never practice together until the tournaments because of the chemistry that they had built over the past few tournaments and dungeons.


    Since they wouldn''t be up-against good teams at the start of the tournament, they would eventually warm up as they progressed and play as a cohesive unit again. By the time they reached the semi-finals where they were up against stronger teams, they would be at the top of their game again.


    Major guilds not only had the professional players, but also had coaches, staff and even a training map¡­


    Lu Li had no idea that other professional players were grinding out in the arena to maintain and improve their mechanics and game sense.


    "I do play arena sometimes," Lu Li said, feeling bad.


    He decided to go ask Mu Qiu later about this. Mu Qiu and Moonlight had both received training from major guilds and were familiar with these kinds of things.


    Elevenless decided to move on from the last topic and complemented Lu Li''s gear.


    "Your equipment is so good. You still had many tricks up your sleeve when you were fighting me, right?"


    "Hehe, same goes for you," Lu Li laughed without actually acknowledging or denying his statement.


    Elevenless might have lost, but if you think he was fighting as his full potential, then you would have been gravely mistaken. Just like how Lu Li had saved a lot of his trump cards and actives, Elevenless didn''t show off his entire hand either.


    It was just a simple arena battle ¨C who cares about winning or losing?


    Trump cards were supposed to be saved for clutch moments. They should be used not to win battles, but to win wars.


    "Lame." Elevenless was unsatisfied with his answer, then glanced at Lu Li and asked, "Looks like you''re ambitious this time. Are you going for the top three spots?"


    Other fake professional players and guild elders would most likely put on a face and answer, "Haha, how is that possible? We''d be lucky to make it into the top one hundred." The majority of the players in the professional scene liked to play mind games both on and off the battlefield.


    However, Lu Li isn''t like that and replied while nodding his head, "Yes, we''re aiming to be the champions this time!"


    Elevenless opened his mouth and wanted to ridicule Lu Li''s naivety.


    Just because you said you wanted to be the champion didn''t mean that it would be easy. Hundreds of guilds and millions of players were competing for that honor. How could a guild that had only been established for a short while with sixty to seventy thousand players be so confident?


    However, when he thought about it, he realized that Lu Li was the only player in the game who could say such arrogant things.


    The Shadow Cup, Magic Cup and numerous dungeons had all proved the strength and capabilities of Lu Li''s team. The dark horse of the tournament this year was Ruling Sword for sure; it wasn''t entirely impossible for them to win the whole thing.


    "Cheers!" Elevenless decided to stay quiet.


    He was proud to be in his own guild, but couldn''t help but admire and envy at the glory that Ruling Sword had experienced. However, unless his guild stabbed him in his back, he dared not betray them and join Ruling Sword.


    He admired Lu Li''s drive and ambition to be the champion.


    While they were still drinking, the news that Elevenless had been defeated spread like wildfire.


    With thousands of players spectating the match, and the fact that he had been utterly defeated in a convincing manner, this easily made the top thread in the forums.


    Not only were the casual players talking about this, but the news had reached the expert player chatroom as well.


    Hornet''s Nest: "Elevenless, @Elevenless, come out."


    Hornet''s Nest wanted to get his attention by using @ so that he would receive the notification. Most top players would mute the group chat in order to minimize distractions, but @ allowed them to receive notifications in spite of this.


    Torrent: "Apparently Elevenless got wrecked. Who was it by?"


    Hornet''s Nest: "That''s what I want to know. What are you doing Elevenless? Come out and cry so big brother can comfort you."


    Marks: "Leave him alone Hornet''s Nest. If you were up against Elevenless, you''d lose for sure. Maybe you should stop talking you little girl."


    Hornet''s Nest: "Elevenless got shit on."


    Marks: "Have you never been shit on before?"


    Hornet''s Nest: "Elevenless got shit on so hard."


    Marks: "Goddamnit¡­"


    Marks and Elevenless were from the same guild so it was natural for a brother to defend his friend. However, he couldn''t defend the fact that Elevenless had been defeated so badly.

 674 One vs. Many

    Dark Destroyer: "I heard Elevenless got wrecked in arena."


    Raging City: "Haha, we were just talking about that. Good timing, brother Destroyer. There''s a video on the forums; what are your thoughts as a fellow Warrior?"


    Dark Destroyer: "I''ll go watch it now."


    Deadly Golden Underwear: "Elevenless, looks like it''s karma. The heavens must''ve sent an angel to avenge for my loss."


    Hornet''s Nest: "Underwear, why did you bring up the time you lost to him? We''d completely forgotten about that."


    Deadly Golden Underwear: "I''ve only lost to him once and we''ve never rematched because Elevenless is too scared."


    Hornet''s Nest: "Let''s not talk about you guys anymore. So, does anyone know who the mysterious player is? I''ve watched the video and I can''t out figure his playstyle. He doesn''t seem to be a very flashy player."


    Old Man Power: "@Blood Dagger, @Lu Li, @A Straw in the Wind, @Floral Paralysis, @Water Fairy, @Song of Sorrow, @Wood Fearing, @Midnight Ghost, which one of you Thieves was the one that defeated Elevenless? It''s not good to bully someone underaged.


    Songs of Sorrow: "Not me."


    Midnight Ghost: "Wasn''t me either."


    Floral Paralysis: "I wish it was me."


    Blood Dagger: "I never wear a mask."


    A Straw in the Wind: "Godamn, I was in a dungeon. You almost killed me."


    Water Fairy: "Lu Li."


    Unforgettable Maple: "Well, if Water Fairy says it''s Lu Li then it has to be Lu Li. This guy likes to be mysterious all the time and thinks no one can recognize him if he hides his face."


    Swirling Left Eye: "Disgusting couple."


    Hornet''s Nest: "Swirling Left Eye, keep talking and I''ll kill you out of the chat. The Imperial Secret Service might not even make the top 100 next year, so maybe you should shut up. Little sister Water managed to recognize Lu Li because she''s talented. Stop looking at them like a scandalous couple¡­."


    Water Fairy: "Hornet''s Nest, do you want to die?"


    Hornet''s Nest: "Cough¡­ I was trying to be nice and stand on your side. Whatever, let''s get back on topic. @Lu Li, @Elevenless, what are you guys doing? Come out and talk."


    Elevenless: "We''re getting a drink together."


    Lu Li: "We''re drinking right now."


    Unforgettable Maple: "Oh, let''s drink together. Such a beautiful love-hate relationship ¨C one minute they''re trying to kill each other on the arena, the next moment they''re having a drink together."


    Elevenless: "Don''t think I won''t kill you just because you''re older."


    Unforgettable Maple: "I''ll only 28, little bro."


    Elevenless: "I''m 18 years old, and I''m also 198cm.


    Unforgettable Maple: "Whatever, I''m busy, so I''ll get going."


    Hornet''s Nest: "Don''t leave. What''s your room number Lu Li? Fight me in the arena; everyone put down their bets."


    Lu Li: "Tired¡­"


    Hornet''s Nest: "I only challenged you because I knew you were too tired."


    Water Fairy: "Hornet''s Nest, let''s fight each other first."


    Hornet''s Nest: "Can you calm down? Why are you so eager to fight me?"


    Water Fairy: "How long do you think you get to live after insulting me?"


    Hornet''s Nest: "/(T o T)/~~ Please older sister, forgive me.


    At the end of the day, no one else challenged Lu Li again. Some players might have came across his arena room, but saw that he had played more than a hundred matches today and defeated Elevenless as well, so they decided give him a break.


    The professional players knew not to strike others while they were down.


    As for the scumbags like Swirling Left Eye and Staring Right Eye, even if they wanted to, they wouldn''t be able to do anything to Lu Li. Even though he was exhausted, he would easily handle the two of them without any problems. After their past interactions, the two from the Imperial Secret Service knew not to mess with him anymore.


    After a couple of drinks, Elevenless and Lu Li both left to do their own thing.


    Lu Li played a few more arena matches and changed the settings on his room.


    Everyone realized that the room that had soared to the No.9 place on the rankings had become a 2v2 room.


    There were two noobs that didn''t know any better and challenged Lu Li. They were promptly teleported into the arena. These two players were called Wild Dragon and I''m still Violent; they were both Mages and were ranked 22nd on the leaderboard.


    There were all sorts of weird and unique team compositions in arena ¨C even a double Mage comp could reach rank 22.


    The two of them were friends from the same class, so they didn''t care about composition. The only thing that they cared about was having fun.


    When they entered, they realized that there was only one Thief in the room.


    "Hey, where''s your teammate?" I''m still Violent asked.


    "I don''t have one; let''s start. Two against one," Lu Li said as he readied up and went into Stealth.


    Wild Dragon and I''m still Violent looked at each other and saw the anger in each other''s eyes. Although they weren''t considered professional players, how could someone look down on them so much?!


    The two furious Mages played even worse than they usually would. The first Mage was Sapped and crowd-controlled, while the other was instantly killed by a single rotation.


    Lu Li looked at the two corpses in his arena room and calmly prepared himself for the next fight.


    He had been in situations where he had to fight against two players many times. Based on the skill levels of those Mages, Lu Li predicted that he could probably take down five of them by himself with no problems.


    The second team consisted of a Warrior and an Offheal Paladin. Even though he was much better-geared and more mechanically skilled than them, it would still be hard for him because of their team comp.


    Fortunately, they were casual players and Lu Li was able to find an opening to instantly kill the Paladin, making the rest of the fight a piece of cake.


    After this, Lu Li continued to fight a couple more duos and easily defeated them all. Although they weren''t exactly expert players, he was still able to learn and understand how classes worked together.


    He quickly learned what skills combos to use against certain classes and developed the strategies that he could use against them.


    After more than ten or so battles, Lu Li rested for an hour and changed the settings on his room again.


    This time, it was a 3v3 room.


    The spectators gasped when they saw this and thought that Lu Li was being too cocky. The majority of people thought that he would experience his first loss when he changed the room to 2v2.


    However, he had still yet to lose. What was even more surprising was that he had changed the room to a 3v3 room, which meant that he was about to go up against three players by himself.


    Although this had been done before by other arena experts, they often lost more than they won.


    However, the spectators had already labelled him as the undefeatable arena god.


    The first team that entered was the classic Thief, Mage and Priest team comp, which was considered to be the best in the meta right now. Most teams that maintained an above-50% win rate used this particular team comp.

 675 A Band of Three Rascals

    The Thief, Mage and Priest stood there in a defensive formation.


    Even though it was a three-on-one, the trio didn''t dare to take the initiative, but they were being scolded by the players in the audience. There were obviously some higher-level players here as a Thief had cut down at least a dozen players.


    They didn''t think that this Thief, Mage and Priest combination was a particularly good one.


    The players had to be careful if they wanted to beat an expert. Although their conservative play meant that they hadn''t actually hit Lu Li, he had no way of attacking them either.


    They didn''t know how to attack him, so they were just going to stand there until he made a move.


    Lu Li was disgusted by this strategy and didn''t think that the first team he ran into would do this. He didn''t have a good way to engage because they were grouped together and had a healer.


    The Priest Dusk Paint slyly laughed, "The longer you drag this on the worse its looks. How about you drop some gold and the three of us will concede?"


    Mage Sky''s Limit also laughed, "You probably don''t want to waste your time. Just give us some money and get it over with."


    The other Thief whose ID was Careless Death was standing by his teammates in a triangular formation. He also appeared to be waiting for Lu Li to attack.


    To say that human nature was evil was not unreasonable.


    It wasn''t that they were malicious, but that they were using this situation to benefit themselves.


    This time, Lu Li was willing to pay some gold to resolve the situation so that he could bait them out of formation.


    If this Thief could kill Elevenless, he had to be an expert. As such, in addition to his good technique, he was probably also quite wealthy. A professional player was worth tens of thousands of dollars and it wasn''t uncommon for them to earn over a hundred thousand dollars each season.


    Lu Li almost broke out in laughter as he shook his head and retreated.


    He then circled towards the Priest that had run forwards.


    Cheap Shot!


    Cheap Shot had to be cast after Premeditation. This skill had a 20 second cooldown and could be used while in Stealth. No matter what, he would always cast this skill before his first attack.


    As a result, he had five combo points prepared.


    Lu Li chose to use Slit throat and the stunned Priest was completely unable to dodge. His Slit Throat had a Skill Completion of 92% and not only did the high damage drop the Priest to half HP, but it also applied a Bleed effect.


    It was only after the Priest shouted at his teammates to heal him that they began to react. The Mage used Cone of Cold to slow Lu Li while the Thief went into Stealth.


    Why didn''t the Mage use Frost Nova?


    The explanation was simple ¨C he didn''t have it. Frost Nova didn''t appear very often in the Exchange Hall and when it did, it was priced ridiculously or was instantly snatched away.


    However, the Cone of Cold was still effective in reducing Lu Li''s so that the other Thief could catch up to him.


    Lu Li Kicked the Mage''s stomach and pushed him back as he was channeling a skill. He then swung his dagger sideways, directly hitting the approaching Thief.


    The poor Thief player was just about to attack Lu Li and didn''t expect such a pre-emptive retaliation.


    In that short window, the Priest was dropped to half HP, the Mage was silenced and the Thief had lost his offensive power.


    He cast Shadowstrike on Lu Li and only dealt a little over 100 damage.


    He also knew Gouge, but it could only be used while not in Stealth and he wasn''t skillful enough. Lu Li''s blocking ability was too high and the Thief didn''t really know what to do with a non-crowd-controlled target.


    He didn''t know how to use Vanish or Gale Steps, and even if he went into Stealth, he could only run away.


    "Quickly, quickly, help me block him Mage," Priest Dusk Paint carelessly called out as he healed himself. He had totally forgotten that he could reduce the damage by walking.


    Mage Sky''s Limit retorted, "How do I block him? He''s not attacking me. There''s nothing I can do."


    Lu Li was targeting the Priest and had completely ignored the Mage. The Mage had tried to channel a skill, but it was interrupted which caused him to Silence himself. Lu Li then went into Stealth with Shadowmeld and hit him with a Sap.


    The expert was so skilled that he could deal with the Mage while focusing his attacks on the Priest.


    As for the Thief, he had lost track of Lu Li after Lu Li went into Stealth with Shadowmeld.


    Lu Li''s Stealth and Detection was so much higher than his that he had no chance of working out where he was. In the time between Lu Li going into Stealth and casting Sap, only one second had passed.


    The Mage loudly roared, "Dammit, you guys are terrible. How could you let me get Sapped?"


    "No, you''re terrible ¨C how could you get sapped like that? Didn''t you hit him with a Cone of Cold? You even still have your badge," the Priest immediately shot back.


    The Badge was quite common now and most players had one, especially those who played in the arena.


    The Mage felt embarrassed ¨C he had forgotten because he was anxious, but after hearing the Priest''s words, he quickly used the Badge to end the Sap''s effect. While he did that, he quickly planned his next move. He needed to move away and hit the Thief from afar¡­


    His idea was good, but his execution was poor. Before he even finishing thinking about his plan, Lu Li had already cast another skill on him.


    Blind: Instant Cast. 2-minute cooldown. Temporarily blind a target and cause them to wander around for up to 10 seconds. Any damage inflicted on the target will dispel this effect, but this effect will also cancel any damage over time effects that are on the target. Does not cancel Stealth. Proficiency 1/5.


    Although the cooldown was a little longer, this skill had an extended duration of a full 10 seconds.


    The poor Mage who had just used his Badge now had no means of recovering from this crowd control and could only watch as Lu Li beat away at his teammates.


    Ice Barrier would have been a good counter, but ordinary players like him didn''t have that skill.


    After Lu Li dealt with the Mage, he went back to attacking the Priest. The Priest''s healing ability was not bad, but he could only just barely keep up with Lu Li''s attacks.


    Everyone knew that this situation wouldn''t last for much longer.


    Priests had quite a bit of mana, but not as much as Mages. No matter what kind of mana regeneration they had, there was no way they would be able to endure through Lu Li''s relentless attacks.

 676 Using Up All Your Mana

    Even March Rain wouldn''t last against such a continuous barrage of attacks, let alone this poorly-equipped Priest.


    After Lu Li''s first attack dropped him to half HP, he had been desperately trying to heal himself while being attacked from behind.


    In order to stay alive, the Priest had to keep healing himself. The primary objective of a healer was to keep their teammates alive, but that naturally meant that they also had to stay alive.


    "Dammit, I''m almost out of mana," Dusk Paint cried out in panic after he noticed that he only had 25% mana left.


    In a tangle of limbs, he quickly summoned a Shadow Fiend that lasted for 15 seconds. Successful attacks by the Shadow Fiend would restore 10% mana to the caster.


    The moment the Shadow Fiend appeared, Lu Li decisively used Vanish.


    He was gone!


    The Priest was dumbfounded, his teammates were dumbfounded and the Shadow Fiend was even more dumbfounded.


    Lu Li had disappeared and the Shadow Fiend didn''t have any way of detecting Stealth.


    As a result, the Shadow Fiend was left spinning around for a while before it eventually vanished. The Priest''s mana hadn''t been regenerated at all and was now lower than 20% because he had to heal himself.


    The Thief, Mage and Priest looked at each other and felt absolutely powerless.


    They were all alive and had a solid amount of HP. The Mage had almost recovered from the blindness and the Thief now had the chance to discretely go into Stealth because Lu Li had disengaged.


    It seemed that they had gone back to the slow fighting like at the beginning of the battle.


    The only difference was in everyone''s skills. Most of their badges were on cooldown and their Priest had less than 20% of his mana remaining.


    They were unable to take potions in the Arena and could only rely on their own regeneration. However, Lu Li obviously wasn''t going to give them time to do that.


    Of course, it was impossible for a Thief to just turn up in a middle of a team and wreak havoc. Sap could only deal with one player at a time and the stunned player would recover while Lu Li was dealing with another.


    Moreover, Sap''s effect was decreased when consecutively used on the same target.


    Lu Li had just used it on the Mage, in addition to using it on him 30 minutes ago. This time, Sap''s effect would only last for half the time which was 10 seconds.


    Those ten seconds still proved to be fatal as Sky''s Limit''s blood sprayed all over the arena floor.


    However, that wasn''t all ¨C Careless Death suddenly appeared. Given the stance that he was in, he hadn''t de-stealthed voluntarily but had been stunned.


    If there was another Thief here, they definitely would have respected Careless Death''s Stealth.


    But compared to Lu Li, he didn''t stand a chance. Even Floral Paralysis was afraid to definitively say that he could compete with Lu Li''s Stealth.


    With Stealth came Detection.


    Lu Li quickly dealt with him as he started his rotation of attacks. This was why he had cast Sap on the Mage instead of him; Lu Li didn''t really see him as a threat.


    The Thief had been hit by Premeditation into Cheap Shot and suffered the same fate as the Priest. Lu Li was obviously trying to kill him, but instead of using Slit Throat when he reached five combo points, he used Backhand Backstab instead.


    Backhand Backstab''s effect not only gave bonus equipment damage but also triggered a two-second paralysis.


    After performing a few normal attacks, Lu Li cast Shadowstrike again. His Skill Completion wasn''t particularly high, but the Thief was stunned for another two seconds. Careless Death couldn''t take it anymore, so he used his badge to break free and gave himself a speed boost to escape.


    Was he going to the Priest?


    Dusk Paint was crying as he told the Thief that he was watching to take all the damage and used up all of his mana on him.


    The Thief used his speed boost, but Lu Li didn''t chase him.


    Suddenly, his body flashed and he appeared right in front of the Priest.


    Gouge!


    This was how Gouge was supposed to be used. An effective Gouge required positioning, timing and a surprise.


    After he was stunned, the Priest was quite easy to handle. Lu Li just casted all his skills, not caring if they triggered bonus effects or not. The Priest was so slow that Lu Li didn''t even need any speed boosts to keep up.


    Dusk Paint ran as quickly as he could.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t have time to heal himself, but that he was out of mana. At first, he was trying to heal himself, then switched his focus to the Thief. Now, he didn''t even have the mana to cast a mana-regenerating skill.


    When the Mage recovered from Sap, he saw that the Thief and the Priest were in a predicament. He quickly braced himself and charged back into battle.


    However, without the ability to heal, there was no way they could save the Priest. Lu Li was desperately attacking to finish him off.


    It would have been a significant threat to Lu Li if both players attacked him at once, but he touched his necklace and quickly regenerated a large portion of his HP. This was the upgraded version of Pamela''s Gift.


    At this point, when Lu Li''s HP surged, the Priest gave up.


    His opponent on a completely different level to them. Their combined strength wasn''t enough to deal with him, not that they cooperated much anyway.


    If these three were professional players, they wouldn''t have been so easily defeated.


    When the Priest fell, Lu Li was still on half HP. The Mage and the Thief glanced at him and started casting all their skills. This was their last attempt at salvaging the situation.


    Lu Li didn''t use any of his damage reduction skills and simply tanked the oncoming damage. When he killed the Thief, he had 30% HP remaining, and by the time he killed the Mage he only had 12% HP remaining.


    He was still holding out because he didn''t want to reveal all his cards. If he had used his Book of Ur, the game wouldn''t have needed to be dragged out for so long. He would have killed the Priest in their first encounter.

 677 Morning News

    In fact, there actually weren''t many highlights in this fight.


    Lu Li''s fighting was straightforward and forced the Priest to use up all his mana. The only talking point was about how a Priest could maximize their mana usage.


    Dusk Paint had become the negative example.


    In his panic, he had cast his skills randomly without discipline, which not only increased the speed of his healing, but also caused his healing to be inefficient.


    For example, he would first use his continuous healing skill, which was then supposed to be followed up with normal healing so he could stack them. However, he would instead cast the continuous healing skill again, which would cancel the first one.


    After fighting for three and a half minutes, he was already out of mana.


    This may have been the quickest time in which a Priest had run out of mana. A Priest that was good at controlling their mana usage could continue healing for more than half an hour.


    After the fight, Lu Li sold his arena room.


    The system would reclaim a player''s room for a price depending on the room''s ranking.


    Lu Li''s room sold for more than 40 gold.


    In addition to the audience tickets, there was more than 100 gold in profit. Even if he didn''t have the support of a guild, fighting in the arena was a good source of income.


    When it was almost time to log off, Lu Li and Water Fairy met up to discuss a quest.


    The last time the two of them were given a quest by Ravenholdt Manor, they had to fight a Boss. Although the crisis was probably over, they decided to play it safe and go in one at a time. If something came up, they would deal with it, then tell the other person about it.


    The next day, Lu Li went to the Southshore hotel.


    The town was fairly peaceful. The current number of players here was not high as the war had not yet reached this town. Moreover, this was where Ashbringer was born, which deterred players from either faction.


    Lu Li went into the inn and sat in his usual position.


    There were only a few people here, but they sat out in the open, wanting to be seen. It was only Lu Li that wanted to hide himself.


    "A glass of ale, right?" the hostess asked with a smile.


    If an NPC had this kind of intelligence, they would definitely be someone important. She was even able to notice the emotions of players, which in this case was Lu Li''s awkwardness.


    He hadn''t been here for quite some time, but the Hostess'' smile helped with his nervousness.


    "Yes, one glass of ale," Lu Li nodded.


    After waiting for some time, the hostess put down a glass and left. Lu Li stayed in his corner and watched as more players started coming in. These players probably never had breakfast in real life, but they had developed a habit of having breakfast at this inn.


    The inn was now playing game news, which was what that attracted players to eat here.


    Jungle Hut Announcer: Great Mage Meryl Winterstorm responds to some questions. At 1445, he is one of the oldest surviving mages, but a thousand years ago, he transformed himself into an Undead. As to whether he was still alive or nor, Meryl thinks that it is exactly like being alive¡­


    The next piece of news was about the Mage adventurer Sorrowless that had completed a chain quest and had gained some great power. According to eye witnesses, it was some kind of strong Mage ability. Jungle Hut was going to continue following closely.


    After accepting an interview, Majin Temple''s Unforgettable Maple was jokingly called a ''maple girl'' and angrily left, dropping the microphone.


    Yesterday, a mysterious master had appeared in the arena. Not only did he defeat Elevenless, but he even managed to defeat three players at once. Some game experts speculated that such an overwhelming victory of the expert players cast a shadow of doubt over the long-term sustainability of Dawn.


    Most of this news was about the players ¨C after all, few NPCs would be willing to deal with so-called journalists. If someone tried to have an interview with Sargeras, they might just get killed.


    The few bits and pieces that Lu Li heard were all about the star racers.


    Jungle Hut in particular specialized in content about star racers. They had friendly relations with most guilds and could obtain first hand inside information.


    The ordinary players were also quite curious about these high-level players, so the Jungle Hut radio station actually turned out to be the most popular one.


    However, Lu Li was bored when he listened to them as most of this news wasn''t even a secret. Some stories were even just hearsay or a creation of the writer''s imagination.


    Water Fairy was 30 minutes late to their appointment, but Lu Li wasn''t impatient.


    His mentality was quite good in this respect and when he finally saw Water Fairy, he calmly greeted her.


    At the same time, the radio was broadcasting a report about her. A professional player called Late Stormy Night had publicly proposed to Water Fairy and had called on his fans to help him seek her out. The woman had still not yet responded.


    "Sorry, I''m late," Water Fairy apologized as she sat across from Lu Li, frowning when she heard the broadcast on the radio.


    Her good mood was immediately ruined. This wasn''t some harmless confession, and Water Fairy couldn''t even help who decided to like her. This was rather high-profile and the fact that he called for his fans to help made it even worse.


    Water Fairy never thought that there was anything romantic about big groups working together like that.


    "I haven''t been here for long either; it''s only been 30 minutes," Lu Li said plainly as he shook his glass.


    "Heh," Water Fairy laughed suddenly and shook her head, feeling like Lu Li was really something else. The first half of that statement by itself would be a common and nice thing to say. It would have meant that he had only been here for a little while and that no one had to feel bad.


    However, when he added the second half, the meaning completely changed.


    No wonder some people said that this guy would probably stay alone forever ¨C he didn''t even understand a simple custom like this. There was definitely a huge drop-off between his IQ and his EQ.

 678 Zaetar

    Water Fairy didn''t usually laugh like that, but it was a very nice laugh. Her smile was undoubtedly very beautiful, but Lu Li didn''t know how to cherish this rare beauty.


    He waved at the hostess who put down the cup she was wiping and came over.


    "Do you want a glass of ale too?" the hostess asked with a gentle smile. She wasn''t surprised to see Water Fairy and Lu Li sitting together.


    "Thanks, but I don''t drink in the morning. Do you have other drinks?" Water Fairy rejected the hostess'' offer for the ale. She was a little arrogant and didn''t order ale every time like Lu Li just to better their relationship.


    The ale was decent, but it was still a cheap drink and having it too often would make you sick of it.


    "That''s fine. I recommend Stonard''s Herbal Tea. It''s my favorite drink," the hostess suggested, then continued, "The tea tastes quite good and its fragrance can mask the smell of blood¡­"


    Water Fairy''s eyes lit up.


    "Alright, that sounds good."


    If you played PVP, no matter how beautiful or ugly you were, you would be covered in blood. No one wanted to have blood stains on their clothes or the smell lingering around them.


    Moreover, a sense of smell was needed for perception. Your Detection would drop by quite a bit if you turned it off, so most players didn''t dare to do so.


    If such a drink existed, then Water Fairy wouldn''t refuse. She even asked the hostess if there was some she could take away. She intended to buy more and store it so she wouldn''t have to worry about the unpleasant smell any more.


    "We would both like to be sent out. Do you have any quests?" Lu Li interjected.


    "Wait don''t worry about that for now," Water Fairy interrupted, then continued, "You are an expert in botany. Is there anything that can help remove the smell?"


    There was no such thing as perfume in the game. After all, the alchemists weren''t able to make their own advanced recipes.


    "Of course ¨C there are many plants that do this," the Hostess said. She didn''t have a chance to address Lu Li''s concerns and was already talking about the possibility of making a perfume with Water Fairy.


    "Keke¡­" Lu Li hadn''t said much in the conversation but he couldn''t help but eventually ask, "Wouldn''t a Thief be asking for it if they smelled good?"


    Water Fairy: ¡­


    Hostess: ¡­


    It was true that a Thief''s top priority was to hide themselves. It was best that no one could find where they were and if they smelled fragrant, they might bring about their own destruction.


    This ended the topic and Water Fairy went back to her cold goddess self. It was like she had never been teased before.


    The hostess brought the drink to Water Fairy and handed Lu Li the quest that he had asked for. There weren''t many customers here and they were sitting quite far away, so the hostess didn''t need to avoid anyone.


    Quest; Zaetar''s Soul.


    In the depths of Maraudon, there was an evil and chaotic creature ¨C Princess Theradras. She was associated with the ancient Gods and she came together a long time ago with Cenarius'' eldest son, Zaetar. Their descendants were the centaurs that killed Zaetar and imprisoned his soul.


    Their quest was to kill Theradras and bring back Zaetar''s soul.


    "Is this an Instance Dungeon quest?" Lu Li asked with a frown.


    Although it wasn''t going to be as challenging as last time, this quest still wasn''t going to be simple. Maraudon was a level 40 Instance Dungeon with eight Bosses. There was little hope for just Lu Li and Water Fairy to complete it alone.


    "That is correct, but you can enlist other powerful adventurers," the hostess casually explained as she ate some pastries.


    It appeared that she had a better understanding of this quest, unlike the previous one.


    "Will the quest provide the Instance Dungeon Scroll? What difficulty will it be on?" Lu Li asked.


    "You can have it. You''re supposed to buy it, but since we''re so familiar you can have them for free," the hostess shrugged, then threw a piece of sheepskin in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li picked up the scroll and unfurled it so that he could read it.


    Unexpectedly, it was an Instance Dungeon Scroll for Maraudon at Nightmare difficulty. It allowed five players to enter this private Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li carefully put the scroll away and continued to ask, "Thank you for your generosity, but I''m curious to know why the organization wants to obtain Zaetar''s soul?"


    He had to clarify because he was afraid that Ravenholdt Manor was planning to do something evil with Zaetar''s soul.


    The ring he wore came from Cenarius and although he hadn''t seen the God himself, Lu Li''s growth was inseparable from the ring. He couldn''t bring himself to harm his son.


    That''s right ¨C Zaetar was one of the Cenarius'' sons.


    One of Cenarius'' sons would become the new owner of the Moonlight Forest and the Cenarion Circle. This was the Remulos the Keeper of the Grove who guided Lu Li to upgrade his ring. The other had combined with the Earth Princess Therdras.


    As a result, their children didn''t inherit the power of nature, but instead inherited the violent strength of the earth which resulted in them killing their own father. These were the centaurs.


    Now, the earth princess stayed with her husband''s body in Maraudon.


    Some believed that Princess Theradras trapped Zaetar''s soul and hid it to use its energy for some secret purpose.


    "This¡­"


    The Hostess didn''t understand why Lu Li would ask this.


    Members of the League of Assassins usually just did their quests and never asked why. If it wasn''t for the fact that this Ravenholdt Manor''s ambassador had a good relationship with Lu Li, they might even have fallen out.


    "I have obtained the approval of Cenarius'' will and had the privilege of seeing the Keeper of the Grove Remulous," Lu Li explained as he turned his finer to reveal the ring. He believed that Water Fairy would keep that information to herself.


    After seeing the ring and thinking about its origins, the Hostess suddenly shook her head.


    "You misunderstand. There is someone in the organization that wants to talk to Zaetar; no one wants to hurt him. After their conversation, you can take him away, regardless of the outcome."


    "Thank you very much, but I would like to talk to Remulos before completing this quest," Lu Li insisted.


    This small faction was very important to him, but it was nothing compared to the Supreme ring. For the Supreme Ring, Lu Li was even willing to betray Ravenholdt Manor.


    Moreover, he didn''t want to face the serious consequence of betraying the owners of the ring.


    Although Zaetar was a little pitiful, his father was the Demigod Cenarius, his brother was the Keeper of the Grove Remulos and his grandmother was the even more mysterious Moon Goddess Elune¡­

 679 Strange Brothers

    "This¡­"


    The hostess hesitated and seemed to be contacting someone. After a while she said, "I have asked the interested person, and he has agreed to your request."


    "Thank you," Lu Li sighed in relief.


    As long as Remulos was informed, there wouldn''t be a problem. Ravenholdt Manor was famous because of its mystery, but they were nothing compared to the strength of the Cenarion Circle. Almost every Druid was a part of that religious sect.


    Lu Li couldn''t even imagine the consequences if he accidentally got Remulos'' brother killed.


    "But Lu Li¡­" the hostess added, paused, then continued, "You need to be clear on what your position is. If you ask any more questions about the content of quests next time, there will be a real chance that you could offend someone. This is my advice to you, because you''ve had so many glasses of my ale."


    "Of course. Thank you for your advice," Lu Li said solemnly.


    Water Fairy didn''t say anything and watched on as Lu Li talked with the hostess. She had been eyeing his ring the whole time, and Lu Li could visibly see her swallowing when she did so.


    This female tycoon had a greedy heart for good equipment.


    Lu Li didn''t give her a chance to speak before maliciously crushing her greed.


    "It''s bound to me, so it''s untradeable."


    "You''re holding out on me," Water Fairy said bitterly.


    The Hostess left after giving the quest; if she stayed for too long the other players would get curious. As more players found out about this place, it would become more difficult to receive quests here.


    "Do you want to get players, or do you want me to? It''s a five player Instance Dungeon, so we can only have three other players," Water Fairy said.


    "Your guild has a tank called Deep Watersong, right? You get him, and I''ll get a healer and a Thief," Lu Li said decisively.


    "A Thief? Why do you want another Thief? The both of us are already Thieves," Water Fairy asked in surprise.


    With a regular composition, it would take at least one day for them to clear Maraudon.


    There was also the possibility that they would be wiped a few times. Maraudon''s Bosses weren''t that hard, but there were quite a few of them. Moreover, the small mobs were quite powerful. On average, players died ten times in Maraudon, with seven of those deaths being because of the small mobs.


    "Have you been to Maraudon?'' Water Fairy asked curiously.


    No one had heard the announcement for the Maraudon First Clear yet. Did that mean that Lu Li had tried and failed in the past?


    "Not really," Lu Li responded vaguely.


    The healer was obviously Hachi Chan, and as for the Thief, Lu Li called Cain''s Left hand. This guy had recently obtained some good equipment, which would be helpful for this task.


    Deep Watersong was considered one of Drizzle Court''s strongest players, but he wasn''t a professional player. He just played PVE, which allowed him to live at peace with the girls.


    Azure Sea Breeze was Dawn''s number one Main Tank, and Deep Watersong couldn''t really compare with him. However, he was definitely the number one Bear Tank, and was known for his extremely high HP. He also had quite a few damage reduction skills and could occasionally heal himself.


    Lu Li gave Water Fairy time to get some supplies before transporting himself to the Moonlight Forest.


    Outside the Moonlight Forest Temple, Lu Li saw the ever sleep-deprived Remulos.


    Prior to Lu Li''s, many Druids had gathered here and many of them were players. Ever since this place had been opened to the public, players of all races had gathered to try and gain something.


    Since it was open to all races, there was naturally no division between Alliance and Horde.


    Or at least, that distinction didn''t exist within the Moonlight Forest. The players could still attack each other, but they had to be prepared to face the wrath of a level 60 Druid NPC , who could basically one-shot any player.


    These players waited quietly for Remulos to wake up.


    They all had a deep reverence for this master, especially because of his great strength. Only a few individuals dared to wake up the Keeper of the Grove.


    In his past few encounters, Remulos opened his eyes as soon as Lu Li arrived.


    "Your Excellency, I have brought news of Maraudon," Lu Li said as he saluted the powerful Keeper of the Grove. His unfaltering attitude was a stark contrast to the trembling players around him.


    "Maraudon¡­" Remulos recalled before shaking head and sighing, "my poor brother¡­"


    "I have received a request ¨C a person wants to know about some things of the past. so I have been asked to bring back the Soul of the Esteemed Zaetar," Lu Li explained respectfully, then asked, "I have already received my employer''s guarantee that Zaetar will not be harmed in any way. Do you have any concerns with this?"


    "I''m not too worried about you," Remulos responded as he waved a twig in his arm, then said, "If you can, after you''re done with Zaetar''s soul, you can give him back."


    "Pff."


    Fortunately, Lu Li wasn''t actually drinking any water ¨C otherwise, he definitely would have spat it out.


    What was the meaning of this?


    Why was it so different from what he had expected? Although he thought that Remulos might not be that close to his brother, he would want to help because they were blood related. However, he didn''t anticipate for Remulos to ask him to send his brother back.


    "Yes," Remulos assured him. "Do you think I''ve never been to Maraudon?"


    "Then, did you defeat Princess Theradras?" Lu Li was very curious about the matters of these so-called immortals.


    "It wasn''t even a challenge," Remulos said as he shook his head. "Those petty creatures couldn''t withstand my strength, but I didn''t take my brother back because he didn''t want to leave."


    This was the son of Cenarius, a great demigod who was second to none. How could Remulos allow someone else to torture his brother?


    There had to be something that Lu Li didn''t know that was being kept from him.


    "In that case, I will act according to your wishes," Lu Li agreed. He was a little disappointed as he left, as he had not received a quest like he had expected.


    "My brother should be awake; you can ask him what he needs you to do. If there is something, do it and I''ll repay you," Remulos added.


    "Thank you for your generosity. I will do my best," Lu Li said before entering a Transportation Portal to leave the Moonlight Forest.

 680 Killing A Boss With Five Players

    Lu Li was transported to a Desolace where the other players were waiting.


    There were three Thieves and two Druids. All of them could go into Stealth, and one Druid was responsible for healing, while the other was responsible for tanking the monsters. The remaining Thieves were there for damage output.


    Druids were quite a strong profession and were definitely more than a jack of all trades.


    "Great guru Lu Li, if you see any good defensive Druid equipment in future, please remember me," Deep Watersong said, then paused before continuing, "Our Water Sister is quite rich¡­"


    This guy was completely shameless.


    "If you say one more word, I''ll kick you out." Water Fairy glanced at him and he immediately stopped.


    The female tycoon was the number one authority in their guild, so whatever she said was unquestioningly obeyed.


    After getting to know each other, Lu Li said, "Before going into this Instance Dungeon, help me kill a Wild Boss. It shouldn''t be hard, especially with five players."


    He had just thought of this idea when he arrived; there was a very special Boss in the area.


    There was a simple reason as for why Lu Li didn''t just kill secretly kill the Boss with his own guild. They had an alliance with Water Fairy and he didn''t mind giving her a share of the profit. If they didn''t do it today and there was a First Clear Announcement tomorrow, the female tycoon might have thought he did this behind her back. This would cause a divide between the two guilds.


    Additionally, the items that this Boss could drop were quite ordinary, so it wasn''t that important to Lu Li.


    Moreover, Lu Li didn''t want to unnecessarily waste resources. He had killed this Boss several times in his previous life and the major guilds generally weren''t interested in it.


    The other players didn''t believe what he was saying.


    "What kind of Boss can be defeated by 5 players?"


    Desolace was a level 40 area with Centaurs, Vultures, Kodos, Lizards, Elementals, Hyenas, Thunder Lizards, Demons and Burning Blade Clan Demon Followers. All of these monsters lived in a rather dense population.


    Most players were currently looking for minerals and resources, so there were few players training here. However, training here wasn''t very efficient anyway ¨C the monsters were hard to kill and the EXP wasn''t that great.


    "I''m going to try something unusual; it''s something I''ve recently come up with. But, if it fails, we might lose some EXP," Lu Li said half-truthfully.


    "There''s nothing to be scared of. If we can kill the Boss, then we''ll make up for the EXP," Deep Watersong said excitedly.


    His temperament was like most other players; he became excited as soon as he heard that a Boss could be killed. Killing a Boss meant that they could gain exquisite materials, equipment, skill books or even special items.


    Lu Li didn''t mention that the Boss was quite ordinary and just brought everyone out of the Nijel''s outpost in Desolace.


    The land here was originally a rich-green and was part of Feralas. However, after the invasion of the Burning Legion, most of the creatures were killed and the land had become barren.


    After the Burning Legion were defeated on Mount Hyjal, a large number of surviving demons retreated back here, along with the Warlocks from the Burning Blade Clan.


    While the regeneration of resources in the area was stunted, a team of adventurers built Nijel''s Outpost and used it as a base to fight the Maraudine Tribe.


    There were mercenaries everywhere, and most of them fought for money. However, these mercenaries were untrustworthy ¨C some even did business with Centaurs.


    After leaving the outpost, all five of them went into Stealth and followed Lu Li''s lead.


    They managed to detect two scouts, who were both level 45 NPCs. If they were engaged in battle, they would transform into monsters that were similar to bandits. After killing them, a player could plunder whatever they had.


    There was no way they could tail the scouts while remaining in Stealth, especially with all the monsters that were in the area. Eventually, they had no choice but to turn back.


    Lu Li believed that a simple plan was always better, so he decided not to engage.


    Water Fairy was eager to take on the NPCs,but was eventually convinced by Lu Li that it wasn''t worth it.


    As they approached Thunder Axe Fortress, they passed by Kormek''s Hut. The group had been travelling for quite some time before finally arriving at Lu Li''s destination ¨C The Mannoroth Assembly.


    These remnants of demonic architecture had been built by the Abyss Lord Mannoroth, and likely housed the Shadow Council that was used to summon the Burning Legion''s troops. The Burning Blade Clan had reopened the portal with the Hand of Iruxos, so a green fireball would periodically fall from the sky and hit the ground to form a weak fire elemental.


    "The System just prompted me that this is the Mannoroth Assembly. Are there many Abyss Lords here?" Deep Watersong asked as his face went pale.


    Lu Li found it quite admirable that he knew who Lord Mannoroth was, unlike Hachi Chan who was an ignorant and na?ve Druid.


    "Don''t worry, there aren''t any Abyss Lords here," Lu Li said.


    The Abyss Lords were said by some to have ''outstanding strength and the ability to destroy all life''. They were usually quite large, had a dragon-like appearance with a pair of abominable wings and came from the universe''s underworld.


    The underworld was a place that connected all the chaotic powers of the universe. Those that gathered there were bent on destroying all life.


    The Abyss Lords, who were obsessed with killing, would hone their fighting abilities in the underworld. As such, when Archimonde the Defiler asked them to join the armies of Sargeras, they gladly complied.


    Mannoroth was one of the best and was named the Vanguard at the time.


    He was a violent demon, and was particularly interested in death and destruction. He was one of the top three Abyss Lords and the leader of the Burning Legion. When Kil''Jaeden was trying to tempt the Orcs during the invasion, Mannoroth had played a crucial role.


    During the second invasion of the Burning Legion and under the advice of Lord Tochondrius, Mannoroth dripped his blood into a spring of water and lured the Orcs to that location. Hellscream succumbed to the temptation and drank from the spring which had been tainted Mannoroth''s blood. This greatly increased the strength of the Warsong clan and in one night, they destroyed the Night Elf''s guard and successfully killed Cenarius.


    Of course, the immortal demigod later resurrected from nothing and became even stronger.


    With the help of Medivh''s leadership and Jaina Proudmoore, Saar managed to reclaim Gorm Hellscream''s mind through a ritual. Realizing that he had almost brought the Orcs beyond redemption, Hellscream and Saar went to try and defeat Mannoroth.


    However, Mannoroth''s Strength was so great that he easily defeated Saar.


    In a critical moment, Hellscream gave himself up by relying on the demon''s blood once again and using his full strength to execute Mannoroth, but died as a result of Mannoroth''s final counterattack.


    With Mannoroth''s death, the demon''s blood in the Orcs was no longer effective and they were freed from his curse.


    This was what was written in most books, but some thought that such a powerful Abyss Lord couldn''t really die and instead was now in the Abyss gathering his strength to come back.


    The Mannoroth Assembly was one such place where they thought he would come back from.


    The Boss that Lu Li wanted to kill was the person responsible for the Ritual Of Summoning ¨C Jugkar, the Burning Blade Clan''s Highest Priest. He was a level 45 Advanced Warlock and the most powerful presence in this map.

 681 Infernal Power Core

    Zugra was not easy to defeat. It wasn''t level 50 yet, but there was a huge army of demons that served as its underlings.


    These demon soldiers didn''t fully obey it, but they relied on him to resurrect Lord Arethoc. If any intruders tried to attack Zugra, they wouldn''t mind fighting to protect him.


    There were players who formed teams to take down this Boss for gear, but they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of demons.


    Even teams from the major guilds were slaughtered.


    This information was readily available on the internet. Water Fairy quickly found what she needed and pulled Lu Li aside.


    "Are you sure you want to take down this one? What about all the monsters it summons?" she asked.


    It wasn''t that this Boss was impossible ¨C Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword were both capable of taking it down. They just needed ten hundred-man teams to clear out all the demons on the map, then about four to five elite groups to kill the Boss. It was almost a guarantee that the task could be completed before the other guilds had the time to react.


    After all, this was only a level 45 Boss and the other monsters were only a little over level 40.


    All monsters were designed to be killed by players and Zugra was no exception to this. The only reason that the other major guilds hadn''t attempted to kill it was because it wasn''t worth the effort.


    "We don''t have to take down the small monsters," Lu Li reassured her.


    "How can we ignore all these monsters? Are we just going to start the fight straight away with the Boss?"


    If it wasn''t for the amount of trust that Water Fairy had in Lu Li, she would have already kicked him out of the team.


    "Do you see those Fireballs?" Lu Li asked as he pointed towards the green sky.


    Magic swirled around the altars on the ground as the summoning gate continued to summon stronger demons. These Fireballs were the lowest life form in the other world; they would break apart once they landed or would take the form of an Inferno.


    Inferno were monsters made of stones, with spirits formed by demon flames. The slightest spark of demon flame would be enough to transform rocks into these brave soldiers.


    However, because the summon gate had been weakened, theses Infernos had also become weaker.


    "That''s a second-tier Inferno," Deep Watersong said, aware of what was around them. "Level forty-five, super high damage and defense ¨C their attacks also carry a burn effect and they''re not afraid of group spells¡­"


    "Any weaknesses?" Lu Li had to admit he was impressed.


    "Their weakness is very obvious ¨C their time of existence is incredibly short. They can only exist for a minute and thirty seconds," Deep Watersong answered, then added, "But their disappearance is equivalent to an explosion. They will deal group damage within a massive range."


    "Seems like you''ve done some homework," Lu Li said, then continued, "Our targets are these Infernos. We''ve got to kill them before they self-explode."


    "Although there''s only a minute and a half, it doesn''t seem too hard."


    Water Fairy was always confident in herself. They also had a strong damage dealer in Lu Li, so a level 45 elite monster was no match for them.


    "Make sure to not attract other monsters; we can''t touch the Infernos that land in a group of monsters," Lu Li said.


    Water Fairy was lost. It was rare for the Infernos to land in isolated spots, and sneaking past the other monsters would take time. The Inferno would have already self-exploded by then.


    Deep Watersong was quick to find the answer.


    "There''s a certain pattern to how the Inferno drop. There''s about twenty seconds before the Inferno lands on the floor."


    While the Inferno was hurtling through the air, it was actually just a burning rock. When it landed heavily on the ground, it either broke apart or became an Inferno.


    "That''s right. Once you see an Inferno land, you need to calculate its landing location. If it''s an isolated area, we''ll go there and wait for it. We can save a lot of time this way," Lu Li said, then began to assign tasks.


    "Left hand, you and the two Druids wait in a more isolated spot. If monsters land besides you guys, kill them. Water Fairy and I will go hunt down those that are further away."


    "No problem," Deep Watersong said, then asked in confusion, "But why are we killing these Infernos?"


    Wasn''t the goal to kill the boss? He thought he was a smart person, but he really couldn''t tell what Lu Li was trying to get at. He just thought that the entire situation was weird.


    "Our goal is to pick up the Infernal Power Core that drops from them. We need at least four, but five would be even better," Lu Li answered.


    The five of them split into two smaller teams. Lu Li and Water Fairy raced towards an Inferno that was just about to land. They were both Thieves who built Agility, so their movement speed was very fast, even if they were in Stealth.


    The distance didn''t seem very long, but it was actually much harder in practice.


    This was mostly because Lu Li had asked everyone to not disturb the demons. By the time they arrived at the location where the Inferno dropped, it had already self-exploded.


    This happened a few times consecutively, until one landed near them. Lu Li and Water Fairy managed to make it in time and quickly killed this level 45 elite monster together


    Unfortunately, the Inferno didn''t drop what Lu Li wanted.


    "What a low drop rate!" Water Fairy didn''t realize that the item didn''t have a 100% drop rate.


    "This is only our first one; it''s too early to say that the item has a low drop rate," Lu Li said as he rolled his eyes and ran towards the next location.


    "Would the boss fight be easier if we collect enough of the Infernal Power Cores?" Water Fairy''s movement speed was slightly slower than Lu Li''s, so took quite some effort for her to chase behind. She would often have to use speed buffs or drink some potions.


    This time, they managed to kill another Inferno before it exploded; Lu Li dashed past the and attacked it immediately.


    When the Inferno died, it dropped an Infernal Power Core, which was a green crystal with a demonic aura flowing out from it. When you held it in your hands, it made you dizzy, as if your spirit was being sucked into it.


    "You''ll know why later. Stop asking," Lu Li said as he placed the Infernal Power Core into his bag.


    Lu Li was probably the only one who dared to talk to Water Fairy like this without getting himself killed.


    Obtaining second Infernal Power Core took some time; they had to kill around seven to eight Infernos before it dropped. This annoyed Lu Li as well ¨C he thought that the Infernos were easy kills, but he neglected the fact that their numbers were limited.


    It took almost two hours before they collected five Infernal Power Cores.


    When they regrouped again, Lu Li handed out the Cores that he had collected. He then brought everyone deep into The Mannoroth Assembly and stood before Zugra''s altar.

 682 Controlling the Lord

    Zugra''s altar was gigantic, and was also the place where he often hung around.


    "Is this item reliable?" Deep Watersong was a bit worried. Although he respected Lu Li''s name, he hadn''t played with him much. He wasn''t like Hachi Chan, Cain''s Left Hand or even Water Fairy, who trusted Lu Li entirely.


    "Do you see that dead body?" Lu Li asked as he pointed towards the center of the altar.


    "That''s a...body?" Hachi Chan stood on her toes and stretched her neck to get a better look. It couldn''t be helped that she was short.


    "That''s a giant demon. I thought it was something else at first, but it looks like it''s a monster. What does this monster have to do with us fighting the boss?" Water Fairy asked.


    "This is Lord Arethoc," Lu Li said, then paused upon seeing that Deep Watersong had a confused expression.


    "Lord Arethoc was one of the demon guards, Ered''ruin. He was the strongest vanguard under Mannoroth, and led the demon guard army to take territories for the Burning Legion¡­" he explained.


    These ugly monsters with wings were strong and cautious, and their cruelty was well-known within in the universe.


    These frightening, burning Warriors were almost entirely immune to magic and were capable of destroying an entire army alone. Lord Arethoc was one of the strongest entities amongst them.


    During the war, Mannoroth had been slain, while Arethoc received fatal damage and had to rest here.


    Some legends said that he was waiting for the return of his master, while all the demons from The Mannoroth Assembly believed this. Zugra took energy from Arethoc''s body as a supply for the altar, planning to summon the return of the great Mannoroth with this.


    "This monster is still alive?" Deep Watersong''s asked as his face went pale.


    He didn''t know much about Arethoc, but he knew for sure that the five of them were nothing compared to high-tier demon who was favored by a strong Abyss Lord.


    "Don''t worry ¨C this monster is pretty much dead, and we have this Inferno Power core," Lu Li said confidently.


    "What''s the purpose of this item?" everyone asked as their eyes lit up.


    "After Zugra goes on a patrol, we''ll take the core near Lord Arethoc. Then, we''ll be able to control his body to fight. The five of us will control a part each..." Lu Li explained as he studied the movements of Zugra.


    "Wait, did you say the five of us?" Water Fairy asked. She wasn''t sure about what she had just heard.


    "That''s right. I''ll control the right hand, you control the left hand, Left Hand... Cain''s Left Hand, you and Deep Watering can control a leg each. As for Hachi Chan, you can control the main body," Lu Li said as he quickly gave everyone their roles.


    Zugra had already left the altar and was about to start on his patrol.


    Now that he had taken up a position in the Burning Legion, both the Alliance and Horde faction were out to take him down. If he didn''t spend the time to patrol over these demons, his own personal safety would definitely become an issue.


    "Why am I controlling the main body?" Hachi Chan asked out of curiosity.


    It seemed like controlling the main body was an incredibly important task. Was she finally a reliable team member in Lu Li''s heart now?


    "You have no sense of direction, so I can''t let you control the legs. The hands are mostly used to control the weapon to attack and you''re no reliable in this aspect either. It''s simple to control the main body ¨C you just have to keep the body in balance," Lu Li said bluntly.


    After he was done with Hachi Chan, Lu Li led everyone slowly up the altar.


    There was no one at the altar ¨C the Burning Legion was very strict and demon soldiers didn''t dare approach this place. As such, they came close to Lord Arethoc without running into any trouble.


    When Lu Li took the Inferno Power Core out from his bag, a voice whispered into their ears.


    This was a summoning call for power as the Inferno Power Core drew closer to the body of Lord Arethoc. From the way the voice spoke, you could tell that this was the essence of a summoned demon. An unexplainable and dangerous energy was breathing on its surface.


    As you looked at it, an image would appear in your head of you controlling a demon. The thought of being able to control such power would send a rush over your whole body.


    When you looked around, you would find that you had become Lord Arethoc himself.


    At this time, Lu Li and the others had already successfully controlled Lord Arethoc; they had disappeared from where they were standing and had become a part of the giant demon body.


    "My goodness! What on earth is this? I..." Deep Watersong cursed as the body of Lord Arethoc fell back onto the floor halfway during its rise.


    Lu Li quickly controlled the right hand to hold up the body. This was the only action that prevented the Almighty Lord Arethoc from falling face-flat onto the ground.


    Obviously, it was no easy task to control a demon Lord, especially considering that everyone was controlling a section each. Everyone needed some time to adjust to the new body.


    "Don''t panic; take it slow. Everyone relax," Lu Li said as he guided the two players who were controlling the leg area. They had to make the body stand up first ¨C otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to fight Zugra after it returned.


    After they finally stood up, Deep Watersong and Cain''s Left Hand controlled the legs to take a step forward at the same time.


    Thud!


    Hachi Chan, who was in charge of the main body, shrieked in pain. Lu Li, who was in charge of the arms, could feel a signal from the body and a strong urge to facepalm himself.


    "You two, sort out your coordination for walking," Lu Li barked in disbelief.


    He and Water Fairy didn''t have this kind of problem ¨C the arms were much more flexible than legs and they weren''t too important at this point.


    From standing, to walking forward and backing away, pursuing¡­ they spent dozens of minutes sorting this out. Meanwhile, Lu Li and Water Fairy also took the time to familiarize themselves with the control of the arm. This was especially important for Lu Li, who was controlling the double-headed spear. This was the main way this body attacked and was quite a difficult task. It wasn''t possible for people to read each other''s minds, so they had to spend more time to practice. Lu Li set up some commands as signals to attack.


    It was harder at the start, but once they became familiar with the situation, everyone thought that this was a fun way to play the game.


    To control one part of the body was an interesting experience indeed. This wasn''t something achievable outside of a gaming environment, not to mention that they were inside the giant body of a demon.


    When Zugra returned, he saw Lord Arethoc walking back and forth on the altar and was caught by surprise.


    Lord Arethoc had previously been sleeping and the two of them never had any form of communication. Even though he claimed that he could resurrect Mannoroth, he wasn''t too sure about the situation itself. Zugra was actually just a character who built his survival on lies.


    Now, he really had the urge to turn around and run for his life.

 683 The Almighty Lord

    Zugra soon realized what was wrong with Lord Arethoc.


    His aura!


    The aura of Lord Arethoc remained the same, but Zugra could tell that there were some adventurers mixed within. He quickly adjusted his mental state since he was very sensitive to the aura of demons.


    Otherwise, he probably would have become the first wild Boss to escape without a fight.


    "Defiler, leave Lord Arethoc immediately, or else you''ll face the rage of the demon army. You will be torn into pieces!" Zugra said in demon language first before he repeated itself in the common tongue.


    Hachi Chan, who was in charge of the main body didn''t think that she would be able to speak.


    "You''re the one who''s going to be torn into pieces."


    Lord Arethoc had a loud voice, like the sound of thunder on a summer''s day. It travelled far and all the demons nearby gathered.


    At first, they were caught by surprise too; they had the same reaction as Zugra.


    For them, the strangest part of the situation was the language that Lord Arethoc spoke, but of course, you couldn''t expect Hachi Chan to speak demon. The common tongue was a low-class thing in the world of demons.


    However, these demons didn''t attack the enemy as Zugra had hoped.


    At the very least, they wouldn''t attack the body of Arethoc. Instead, they stood around quietly, and some of them even turned to leave, as if they didn''t want to help someone who couldn''t even guard a corpse properly.


    This was the situation that Lu Li had been relying on.


    Otherwise, how else would he be able to challenge a level 45 Boss? It simply wasn''t possible with their team of unbalanced classes.


    What gave him the courage to take a risk wasn''t only these monsters staying out of the fight. When Lu Li controlled the spear to swing with force, a rain of fire shadowed over Zugra.


    Zugra couldn''t even react in time to summon an energy shield.


    -1642!


    -1589!


    -1655!


    Just this alone had caused the Boss to take a few thousand points of damage. It was only when the dark-grey Warlock energy shield formed that he finally escaped from danger.


    Arethoc''s body only had a little bit of demon energy left within. The main energy source was the Inferno Power Core, which Lu Li and the others were using to control the body of Lord Arethoc. These five power cores were enough to sustain them for an hour''s worth of battle time.


    If they couldn''t end the battle within an hour, they might as well quit the game.


    "Cain''s Left Hand, go forward," Lu Li instructed.


    His name was a bit confusing in relation to the section he controlled, which was the left leg. As such, Lu Li addressed him by his full name. When he heard the instruction, he immediately took a giant step forward.


    Lord Arethoc tripped for a bit, but since Lu Li was controlling the right hand, the spear still successfully sliced into Zugra''s shield.


    The damage wasn''t as high as before because Zugra had summoned an energy shield. These energy shields were similar to a Mage''s shield but was made of energy borrowed from demons.


    As Zugra was constantly attacked, he became increasingly enraged.


    He first summoned his pet ¨C a gigantic Inferno ¨C which wasn''t the same as those weakened Infernos outside.


    These pure-blood demon companions could help a Warlock sustain in a long battle.


    "Water Fairy, smash it!" Lu Li shouted as he continued to stab one end of the spear into Zugra''s face. He reminded her to use the skills on the left hand, which were the most suitable to deal with Infernos.


    The left hand jabbed across the air and quickly landed on the Inferno which was sent flying.


    This punch was Lord Arethoc''s signature skill ¨C Arethoc''s Straight Punch. It came with a multitude of effects such as Knockback and Smash, and would kill most players in one shot. Even if they didn''t die, they would be debilitated with the debuffs it applied.


    Lu Li didn''t stop here; he instructed the two legs to pursue and forced Zugra backwards.


    If they were fighting in their own bodies, they would have a very tough time. However, with Lu Li controlling Arethoc, the situation was entirely differeny ¨C they were pressuring the Boss instead.


    "Lu Li, we can''t defeat this boss within one hour can we?" Deep Watersong asked worriedly.


    He had calculated the damage that Lord Arethoc dealt and compared it to the 650,000 HP that the wild Boss had. He felt like Lu Li was being too optimistic.


    "Don''t worry, it''ll be easier later," Lu Li replied.


    After taking a few more blows, the dark-grey energy shield cracked apart like an egg shell.


    "The ones down the bottom, hold still" Lu Li shouted loudly.


    He then lifted the spear to his chest and jabbed it out consecutively with all of his strenght.


    -1624!


    -1745!


    -1822!


    -1949!


    ...


    The damage grew higher each time, totaling 20,000 damage after nine thrusts. This was just the beginning ¨C the bottom players continued moving the body forward and Lu Li''s attacks never stopped.


    Besides the high damage, Arethoc''s spear also applied negative effects like Bleed, Armor Penetration, Stun¡­


    In Lu Li''s previous life, players had once dreamed of controlling Lord Arethoc forever ¨C it would definitely be an invincible existence. Even if players could only fully control it for a few seconds, they would definitely be able to one-shot any opponents of the same level.


    "This is too good!" Water Fairy exclaimed.


    "How else could we kill this Boss? Even if we could tank the damage, we wouldn''t even be done by night time. Wild Bosses regenerate health too fast," Lu Li replied swiftly.


    "Why are you the one controlling the right hand?" From her tone, Water Fairy didn''t sound too happy.


    "Uhm¡­" Lu Li felt the sweat drip down his forehead; he had forgotten how violent Water Fairy was. No wonder why it felt like she wasn''t in a good mood today ¨C she was unhappy that she didn''t get to control the strongest right hand.


    "Can we swap now?" Water Fairy asked, envious of the damage that the spear dealt.


    "Sorry, it''s too late to change now," Lu Li apologized.


    "Hmph, next tine this refreshes, we''re coming back again for it," Water Fairy said grumpily.

 684 Was This Really Necessary?

    After Zugra dropped below half health, his Inferno was finally slain.


    Lord Arethoc had a total of six-million health points, so no matter how hard Zugra and his Inferno tried, they couldn''t even make a dent. Their only hope was to survive to the end of the hour.


    However, after his energy shield had been broken, Zugra didn''t have any more skills to defend himself.


    After another half an hour, his green blood stained the altar.


    Death became the final destination of the wild Boss for this week.


    Next week, he would refresh again, and perhaps would have to face the same fate.


    System: Under the leadership of Lu Li, Water Fairy, Deep Watersong, Hachi Chan and Cain''s Left hand have completed the First Clear for the wild boss, Zugra!


    The System Announcement caught a lot of attention like usual. Deep Watersong and Cain''s Left Hand were excited, while Water Fairy was more calm about it. As for Hachi Chan and Lu Li, it was hard for them to feel anything ¨C ever since they had entered the game, they had taken First Clear after First Clear.


    "Let''s kill monsters to level up," Hachi Chan said excitedly. She controlled the main body and seemed very tall, but she actually barely did anything. However, she enjoyed it regardless and still wanted to play a little more.


    "There''s still twenty-two minutes left. We might be able to," Water Fairy agreed.


    "Don''t even think about it," Lu Li said as he shook his head then explained, "Lord Arethoc can''t deal any damage to demon type monsters and we can''t leave this mini map either. If you guys want to keep playing, you''ll have to stay around here."


    There was no way that the System would leave behind a bug like this for players. In 22 minutes, they could definitely clear out a lot of monsters with the amount of damage that Arethoc could deal. Although the map wasn''t big, there were at least a few hundred thousand monsters in it. They would be able to take a huge amount of experience, material and equipment if they could continue using Arethoc''s body.


    Disband!


    Lu Li dropped out from the right-hand position first along with Inferno Power Core, which shattered into pieces when it landed on the floor.


    One by one, the others came out too. Only Hachi Chan still controlled Arethoc to wriggle on the ground.


    She had finally found such a fun toy, so there was no way she was going to give it up so easily.


    Lu Li pointed at the boss and asked, "Who of you guys is a lucky person? Go and loot the boss."


    They all stared at each other for a while, until Deep Watersong finally shook his head, "I''m really unlucky too, not to mention that we have an unlucky captain on top. I think I''ll pass on this one."


    Cain''s Left Hand expressed that he didn''t want to loot the Boss either.


    Although Hachi Chan was lucky, that was only for quests. She wasn''t lucky when it came to looting corpses.


    In the end, the task landed on Water Fairy.


    "If I don''t get anything good, don''t blame me. You guys are the ones who pushed me to do it," she said reluctantly.


    Everyone expressed that they didn''t mind, so Water Fairy looted the monster herself. In the past, she had never been the one to loot monsters; there were countless other players who would do the job for her.


    She had to admit, looting a Boss was quite exciting indeed.


    "Sil... silver equipment." Water Fairy was stunned.


    This was a level 45 wild Boss and a First Clear too, and she had looted a level 45 silver equip. Water Fairy was starting to consider if she needed to cut off her hand; this was beyond unlucky.


    Lu Li rubbed his nose and dryly coughed, uncertain how he could comfort her.


    He knew that Zugra wasn''t very generous, but he didn''t expect a First Clear to be this bad.


    "Maybe the goods are on the way," Water Fairy said, trying to encourage herself.


    Then, she pulled out another level 45 Silver equip. The Attributes were even worse than the previous one and it only had two, mediocre special effects.


    "Did you guys want to give it a try?"


    Everyone looked at Water Fairy and shook their heads; none of them thought that they would be any luckier than she was.


    Water Fairy had to bend down again to loot a third time. Based on what she had been picking up, there would probably only be three items. The two items before were rubbish, while the third one might be a useless material or a Skill Book¡­


    "Skill book..."


    Water Fairy pulled out the book and was too afraid to look at it, so she shared it to her team members.


    "My ****!" For once in his life, Lu Li cursed.


    The other also cursed as they saw what the item was; they were all shocked by what Water Fairy had pulled out.


    Was it so bad that everyone had to curse?


    When Water Fairy opened one eye and scanned the skill book, even she had the urge to curse out loud. Fortunately, her good education and upbringing stopped her. She wasn''t any less astonished than anyone else though.


    At this point, no one was envious of Ruling Sword''s First Clears. Lu Li was too far ahead of everyone else that no one could even be bothered to be jealous of him anymore. What people were jealous of were the members of the core group. First of all was the number one main tank, Azure Sea Breeze. He had participated in every single First Clear and was the walking textbook for PVE defense classes. The second was March Rain, who had started from a nobody and had developed into the best Priest healer. Next in line was the little lucky star, Remnant Dream, then the quest guru, Hachi Chan and the owner of Bloodlust, Sakura Memories.


    Finally, there was Sesame Rice Ball.


    This Warlock expert who had out from Seventh Heaven wasn''t as well-known compared to the others.


    However, he had gotten "lucky'' and had joined Lu Li''s team at the base of their meteoric rise.


    Although he wasn''t a celebrity player, in the hearts of average players, he wasn''t too far away.


    In countless battles, Ruling Sword had used his Summoning Ritual skill to display their prowess. If there were another two players with him, he could slowly bring in an army of thousands, regardless of the distance.


    What laid before their eyes right now was the skill book for Summoning Ritual.


    The proud Water Fairy began to beg; she even grabbed Lu Li''s arms and waved them.


    "Lu Li, can you give it to me?"


    The last time she did something like this was many years ago when she waved her daddy''s arms for marshmallows...


    "Okay."


    Strangely enough, Lu Li nodded and agreed straight away. Usually, he was a gold digger, but he didn''t mention a single word about money this time.

 685 Beautiful Like Flowers

    Lu Li''s heart wavered a little, but he did not lose his rationality. In his heart, there was nothing more powerful than money.


    The most important factor was that Ruling Sword already had the Ritual of Summoning skill in their guild.


    There wasn''t any point in having more than one copy the same guild. Drizzle Court was willing to pay more than 3000 gold for their first Ritual of Summoning, but they already had one, they might only be willing to pay 300 for it.


    Since Sesame Rice Ball already had the skill, Lu Li wasn''t as excited when it dropped.


    On the other hand, the value that it holds for Drizzle Court was monumental.


    The Boss had only dropped three items, two of which were completely useless. The excitement of looting the skill book made everyone forget about the previous two pieces of trash that Water Fairy had picked up.


    Zugra was both a Priest and a Warlock, so it wasn''t unusual for him to drop Warlock skill books.


    The chances of this skill book dropping were extremely low, which explained why Lu Li had never heard about this before in his past life. Zugra was known for his terrible loot, which was why many major guilds would choose to ignore him.


    After they divided the spoils of the battle, Lu Li reached into the corpse with his Supreme ring and casted Vampirism.


    Zugra was a member of the Burning Legion and had received the Demon''s Baptism. Since he was a magic wielding Warlock, he fitted right in to their ranks.


    Lu Li had put in so much effort to kill this Boss just to feed his blood to the Supreme ring.


    There was a thick trail of bloody mist coming out from Zugra''s corpse. The Orc that sold his soul to the Demons had finally been defeated. Of course, he would spawn again next week, but Lu Li''s Supreme ring was very picky with its food and would only accept the blood of each individual Boss once.


    After Lu Li was done, they left and headed towards Maraudon.


    The monsters in Maraudon were only Lv38 and the final Boss was only Lv40. Based on the level of the monsters, It was supposed to be a popular dungeon.


    However, Zul''farrak was a public dungeon, while Maraudon was a private dungeon. Public dungeons were opened to the entire world as long as you met the prerequisites. Private dungeons required a Private Dungeon pass in order to enter. These passes were extremely rare and would rarely drop from monsters or be awarded from quests.


    For a Lv40 Dungeon like Maraudon, only monsters Lv45 or above would have a chance of dropping the pass.


    Lu Li was the highest level in the game, but he was only Lv 42. There was no point of wasting his time grinding on Lv 45 monsters in the hopes of a pass dropping at a miniscule chance.


    For this reason, Maraudon was basically a no man''s land. There might have been some lucky people that had the opportunity to enter, but they most likely wasted their three chances and never even saw the Princess.


    "What does the Princess look like?" Hachi Chan asked curiously.


    "She''s an Earth elemental Princess, so I think her skin is probably darker¡­" Deep Watersong said unsurely.


    "Then, is she pretty?" Hachi Chan asked again. Little girls like her were always intrigued about what it was like to be a princess.


    The majority of the players that would bother attempting Maraudon were curious about this question. The description of Princess Theradras in the wiki read that she was a beautiful and slim woman who was adored by the Earth Elementals.


    "Of course she''s pretty ¨C she''s the beloved daughter of Therazane the Stonemother," Deep Watersong said. He strongly believed that she was beautiful,


    Therazane the Stonemother was one of the four Elemental Lords. Although she was very powerful, she was the most peaceful of all the Elemental Lords. She was patient, kind and loving to all creatures of the Earth, and enjoyed spending time with creatures that would make their homes upon her.


    However, she was constantly under battle against the other Elemental Lords. Al''akir the Windlord eroded her surface with his wind, Neptulon would use his waves to thrash against her shores and Ragnaros was a blazing furnace that churned at her very core.


    Therazane the Stonemother was the ruler of soil, dust, rocks and mountains. She was revered by every Earth Elemental and creatures that dwelled upon the earth. Druids of the Wild saw her as the embodiment of all that was peaceful and calm about the world.


    When the world that would become known as Azeroth was formed, it was ruled by the Elemental Lords.


    Therazane''s daughter had always be intrigued about the outside world. Many who had the privilege of meeting her would praise her for her beauty and knowledge. As soon as Zaetar saw her, he became infatuated by her beauty and swore to be with her no matter what the cost.


    Even his father, Cenarius, could do nothing about his son''s infatuation.


    However, based on their family background, they were a match made in heaven. It was impossible to find a more suitable couple in all the lands.


    The story of Princess Theradras'' beauty spread across the four corners of the world. Even after her father was killed by the Centaurs, many would still talk sympathetically about the young Princess.


    Deep Watersong liked to listen to stories told by travelers and poets in the inn.


    Even Water Fairy and Cain''s Left Hand were deeply moved by the story and had the utmost respect for the Princess. They felt bad about planning to disrupt the peace that Theradras had.


    The male players in the party were unsure whether they could bring themselves to be cruel enough to kill her later.


    Only Lu Li knew about the truth and wanted to speak out, but never said it. He was taught not to use derogatory words to describe a lady because it was extremely rude, even though it may be true.


    However, he hoped that these guys could handle what they were about to see.


    "There''s monsters up ahead!" Cain''s Left Hand shouted. He was scouting up ahead and had seen the monsters approaching while everyone was having a conversation.


    Everyone immediately became aware and quiet down; even Deep Watersong shut his mouth up.


    This was the difference between professional players and casual players ¨C being able to focus extremely quickly.


    "Centaurs¡­" Water Fairy said in relaxed manner.


    Centaurs were quite common in Barrenlands; most players had killed a few Centaurs during the War of the Centaurs.


    "Don''t underestimate these Centaurs ¨C they''re completely different from those in the Barrenlands," Lu Li reminded.


    "I''ll go and test them out," Cain''s Left Hand volunteered. He darted off towards a small group of Centaurs to try and scout out their attacks and defensive abilities.


    Lu Li sighed, but did not stop him.

 686 Rain of Spears

    This was the set up that players usually followed in a dungeon.


    When they come across a new monster, they would send someone to scout it out and come back with some information in order to come up with the right way to deal with it.


    Lu Li did not stop him because he was confident in his teammate.


    Losing him would impact the dungeon run negatively, but he trusted in Cain''s Left Hand''s mechanics and game sense. In Ruling Sword, Cain was arguably within the top 3 Thieves in the guild. There were only a few that were better than him and they would constantly practice against one another to determine who was on top.


    Since Lu Li was the number one Thief in the game, many of the top Thieves joined Ruling Sword to train under his guidance.


    Cain''s Left Hand aggroed the monster and stopped in his tracks as a few spears were thrown towards him. He also noticed that there were a few spears that had flown right past.


    If he didn''t react, then at least two spears would hit him directly. There were also three more spears being thrown from different directions, forming a triangle that would cut off his escape routes.


    He tumbled and dodged the two spears coming directly towards him, but was hit by one that landed deep in his left shoulder.


    -348HP!


    The damage was a considerable amount; these were Lv40 monsters after all.


    Lu Li was very pleased with Cain''s performance because he did exactly what he would have done. Cain then immediately got up and charged towards the two Maraudine Scouts.


    He had tested out their attacks, but hadn''t tested our their Defense.


    If he had used Gale Steps while he was being attacked before, he wouldn''t have taken any damage. This showed that he still had some way to go as a monster scouter.


    He activated his speed boost and appeared next to the monster almost immediately, then used Ambush.


    His positioning was on-point because it allowed him to attack one of the monsters while blocking the others because he wasn''t in line of sight. This way, only two monsters could attack him at once.


    The Completion on his Ambush wasn''t very high. At 71%, it dealt around 170 points of damage.


    "We can defeat it. Should we go and clean them up?" Deep Watersong asked Lu Li after running the numbers through his head. Even though Water Fairy was his leader, Lu Li was clearly the commander of this dungeon run.


    "Of course not ¨C let''s stealth past them. Cain, come back," Lu Li said.


    Deep Watersong was confused with Lu Li''s logic and reasoning, but he wasn''t a whiny type of guy and did not argue against the call. However, he was still interested as to why Lu Li chose to make this decision.


    Cain''s Left Hand Stealthed away and the aggro on the Centaurs was reset.


    When they crept past the group of Centaurs, Deep Watersong quickly realised why Lu Li had instructed them against fighting.


    There were countless Centaurs in sight!


    There were more than ten kinds of Centaur units all clustered around the same area. They were all in groups of more than 10, with some of them even huddled together in groups of 100.


    However, no matter what type of unit they were, they all carried the same spear on their back.


    There were five savage Centaur Tribes in Barrenlands that dominated all the other races with their sheer numbers and took control of the entire map.


    Each tribe had their own individual leader who was revered and respected by the whole tribe. These tribes were differentiated by their colors ¨C black, brown, green, red and yellow ¨C which were marked on their weapons and their faces.


    The tribal leaders would rarely interact with each other unless it was for a war.


    The Centaurs that were guarding the door to entrance of Maraudon were all warriors that excelled at both long range and close combat. Their culture was built on a strong foundation of trampling over their enemies in wars. In the Centaur community, only the strongest and most vicious individuals could survive, which resulted in a race that could endure any hardship and overcome any obstacles.


    This was why Lu Li wanted a team of Stealth players. It was impossible to get through the swarm of Centaurs by defeating them one by one.


    Lu Li did not want to explore the dungeon and eventually get run over by a bunch of Centaurs.


    If they were able to Stealth past these monsters, then none of this would be a problem to them.


    The monsters here were all Lv40 and the players in the party were all at least Lv40. As such, the Centaurs were unable detect them.


    With a guide that detailed the dungeon inside out, Lu Li quickly led them to the entrance.


    There was a large statue here with a sinister expression that was lying down on the ground. When they saw it, a chill ran down everyone''s spine. There was a group of monsters that patrolled the area, guarding over burial grounds of Zaetar.


    "Clear out these monsters," Lu Li ordered.


    Deep Watersong transformed from a Cougar to his Bear form and roared as he charged towards the Mauradine Priests.


    Bear form was one of the many forms that a Druid could transform into. In Bear form, they were much tankier with increased Armor and HP, as well as many defensive skills to help them excel as a Main Tank.


    It was impossible to complete a dungeon with a team full of Thieves. As such, Lu Li had brought along Deep Watersong and Hachi Chan who could both Stealth and provide utility.


    The Maraudine Priests began summoning Mauradine Maulers to help them fight, but they were interrupted by a stun.


    There were three Thieves, and all three used their Stuns on a different monster.


    After a few seconds, the group of three Centaurs were defeated. With a healer and a Main Tank, they could easily take down groups of five to ten Centaurs without too much trouble.


    There could only be so many monsters around the entrance of the dungeon and they were cleared out quite quickly.


    Lu Li took out the dungeon pass in his inventory and ripped it in half. The eyes of the statue began glowing bright-red and its mouth slowly opened up.


    "Let''s go; this is the place. Remember to stealth," Lu Li said as he transformed into Cougar form and jumped in.


    The others were creeped out about the way the dungeon entrance had opened, but followed Lu Li into the dungeon.


    Lu Li instructed everyone to Stealth because they would encounter monsters as soon as they entered the dungeon. These monsters were the ghosts and spirits of the deceased Centaurs.


    Even the dead continued to guard over the burial ground of their Demigod Father Zaetar.


    This was something peculiar about their lore. The Centaurs killed Zaetar, who fathered the five Centaur tribes. However, they revered and worshipped him, built him a magnificent altar and guarded over his burial grounds.

 687 Subterranean Beauty

    These Ghost Centaur attackers weren''t the same as the ones outside; they were elites that had up to 16,000HP. Fortunately, they had a max level of 40, so the players were able to sneak past them.


    This section was quite difficult with its windy path and monsters everywhere.


    If it weren''t for the fact that they were invisible, it would probably take them one to two hours to clear out these monsters.


    Moreover, these level 40 monsters had a poor EXP yield and their drops were even worse ¨C they only dropped a common Javelin that the players couldn''t even use right now.


    Ten minutes later, Lu Li and the others walked through the maze-like area and reached the outside where the real entrance to the Instance Dungeon was.


    In front of them were three shining objects. There was a purple crystal door on the left and a red crystal door to the right with another between them.


    A Centaur Prophet was standing there, and when Lu Li and the others arrived, it immediately turned and stared at this group of adventurers who were clearly in Stealth.


    Lu Li wasn''t worried at all at the fact that they had been discovered. He casually cancelled his Stealth and politely greeted the Centaur.


    "I see that you are foreign adventurers. You''ve come to the right place."


    The Centaur sounded like he was taunting them, but it was clear that he had no intention of fighting. He likely just felt as though Lu Li and the others were biting off a bit more than they could chew.


    "I had hoped to ask for your help," Lu Li said.


    "My help?" the tall Centaur laughed. "Haha, child, are you drunk? Do you not see that I am a Centaur?"


    "Sir, I can clearly see compassion in your eyes," Lu Li calmly responded.


    It was almost as if someone had pinched his neck ¨C the Centaur Prophet suddenly stopped laughing and stared directly into Lu Li''s eyes. When Lu Li and the others checked his information again, they noticed that his name had changed from Centaur Prophet to Centaur Outcast.


    "The other Centaurs looked like they have gone insane," Lu Li added.


    "Is that right? Maybe there is such a thing within me. No wonder they thought of me as a traitor," the Centaur said with a wry smile.


    His dark gray hair was very long and almost touched the ground; they could tell that this Centaur was clearly very old.


    A Centaur''s lifespan was not that long. While they couldn''t be compared to the Draenei, they definitely lived longer than humans. Elderly was the only appropriate term to describe the one before them.


    "Is there anything we could work together on?" Lu Li asked.


    "Although I have been exiled, I have kept to my faith which is what keeps me going. For the sake of my mission, I have been forced to seek the help of outsiders instead of relying on my Centaur brethren. This is really pitiful," the Centaur answered in frustration and resentment.


    "Oh, I see. This is the Centaur who was exiled. I read about him in a Centaur''s biography," Deep Watersong typed into the party channel.


    The other players who had found Lu Li''s initial response weird now knew the reason behind it.


    It turned out that all the clues could have been found in the biographical books. It would definitely be wise for them to read more in future ¨C education was rewarded in real life and it seemed like it was similarly rewarded in this game.


    "But how is this guy alive? He should be a character in the legends." Deep Watersong was mystified.


    "He has been dead for a long time and is just a ghost now, but he was very strong during his lifetime and practiced Buddhism prior to his death, which is why he appears so real," Lu Li explained to his party through text while he was talking to the Centaur.


    All of this was true, and it had all come from his studies.


    Just because someone had undergone rebirth didn''t mean that they knew everything. Lu Li had this knowledge because he had wanted a better future in his previous life.


    He had never received formal education, and what he did know was taught to him by his sister. Like most people who had never been to school, he felt that reading was an important thing. As such, he took the chance to read every book that he could collect in the game.


    The books in Dawn usually had to do with the game''s expansive lore.


    "We''re going in to do what we have to do," Lu Li said firmly to the Centaur. "I even have the approval of Remulos, the brother of his Excellency Zaetar."


    This name was clearly authoritative enough as the Centaur Outcast suddenly stopped.


    Then, Lu Li and the others received a ''Mark of the Chosen'' which gave them a +20% buff to all Attributes for 6 hours.


    This was actually quite a significant difference.


    Some other team that had come here would likely have killed the Centaur. It probably had the strength of somewhere between an Elite and a Boss, which would be no problem. However, that meant they would have lost the Mark of the Chosen.


    Gainig a +20% bonus on all attributes was quite a significant buff.


    "All three doors can be entered, but if you want to find Princess Theradras, you have to help Celebras craft the Celebras staff. He is standing on the other side of these doors," the Centaur Outcast explained.


    "Thank you. We will pay attention to that."


    Lu Li already knew that and didn''t really need to listen to the NPC''s wordy speech.


    The Centaur Outcast nodded before vanishing.


    "There are three doors. Which should we pick?"


    Everyone was just looking at Lu Li to see what he would say.


    "The middle one. Let''s go," Lu Li said without hesitation and was the first to step in the middle door.


    Their vision distorted for a while before they found themselves in another place. The first thing they heard was the thunderous roar of a gigantic waterfall . The water looked pure and refreshing, and the entire waterfall looked like a giant cloak.


    Everyone was taken aback by the magnificent view.


    Hachi Chan had her mouth open and had no idea she was drooling. She then excitedly clutched Lu Li and said, "I found where I want to live ¨C it''s right here. I want to buy this place!"


    "You can''t afford it, even if it was being sold," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    This was Maraudon ¨C its sheer size and grandeur made it unlikely that a player could afford it, let alone the fact that this was part of the Centaurs'' ancestral lands.


    There was no way that the Centaurs could be considered weak. How could you call a race that had come out on top in a fight against the Tauren for a thousand years weak?


    After dispelling Hachi Chan''s unrealistic ideas, Lu Li quickly led the players away. They didn''t bother with the mobs on the way because they yielded low EXP and had bad drops.

 688 Let Down

    Lu Li had chosen to go down this middle path because it was the fastest way to Celebras.


    Although this Centaur was called the Cursed Celebras, he wasn''t a normal Centaur ¨C he was actually a Keeper of the Grove.


    In fact, he was the son of Remulos.


    After hearing about his uncle''s miserable fate, the noble Celebras vowed to save Zaetar''s soul. However, this Keeper of the Grove was completely unprepared when he encountered the darkness in Maraudon. Celebras was quickly swept away by the darkness and his heart was filled with uncontrollable anger.


    Although Remulos knew what had happened to his son, he didn''t save him. This was not because he didn''t care, but because he wanted him to gain more experience.


    After all, immortal beings like them weren''t killed so easily.


    "Clear the small monsters first and leave the Boss alone. If we accidentally pull the Boss, don''t randomly try to run away," Lu Li instructed, then patted Watersong''s shoulder and said, "Stand there and let the Boss kill you. We''ll revive you."


    "Oh!" Deep Watersong cried out.


    In a game they all so passionately liked, how could they not help a teammate that was in trouble? Shouldn''t they do everything they could to not even lose a single member?


    Well, perhaps that was a little too far.


    In reality, the principles of playing Dawn were quite cold. It was better for one to die than for everyone to die. They wouldn''t even lose EXP ¨C it was just a loss of equipment durability. The Main Tank and Scouts had ways of mitigating the effects of death anyway.


    Deep Watersong disengaged with Stealth before turning into a bear and pulling a few monsters. The others then rushed forwards to kill them.


    After several rounds of clearing out the monsters, Lu Li gave everyone some time to regenerate before telling Deep Watersong to initiate on the Boss. The remaining mobs were left to Water Fairy.


    Lu Li and Cain''s Left Hand were responsible for attacking the Boss while Hachi Chan was responsible for healing them.


    Maraudon only allowed 5-man teams, which was unusual for an Instance Dungeon. In fact, the level 40 Boss only had 120,000 HP which was a surprise for Lu Li.


    Water Fairy came over to help them out after she had finished with the mobs.


    It was quite difficult for a Defensive Druid to control and maintain aggro , and with these three strong damage output players, Deep Watersong was struggling even more. In addition, Hachi Chan was the team''s healer and her equipment was all over the place, so her healing was a little on the low side.


    The Boss'' Defense was relatively high and it had an effect called Corrupt Force of Nature. This skill protected Celebras in battle and reduced its magic damage taken by 15%.


    However, this didn''t matter as all three damage output players were Thieves who didn''t deal magic damage.


    The Boss'' damage was also quite high, and it had some tricks up its sleeve. The first was Entangle, which bound its current target and prevented it from moving. It also dealt nature damage to the target once every 15 seconds three times.


    After using its crowd-control, it would then use its high-damage single-target skill ¨C Wrath. The Cursed Celebras would shoot an energy arrow at its target, dealing double damage to it.


    Although the description said double, the effect was actually more than this.


    Cain''s Left Hand was hit by it once and lost more than half of his HP bar.


    Hachi Chan had to promptly postpone her healing of the Main Tank and focus on Cain''s Left Hand.


    Although her healing wasn''t the best, her jumble of equipment didn''t come without its benefits. She didn''t need to heal herself as she would receive random bursts of healing, and she also didn''t to worry as much about running out of mana.


    After a few minutes of fighting, Lu Li discovered that she had she had only lost a quarter of her mana because her mana regeneration was amazing. Sometimes, the dumbest people were the luckiest.


    With all that being said, the most difficult part of the Boss fight was dealing with a skill that Water Fairy forced it to cast.


    Twisted Tranquility ¨C all targets within a 45-yard radius are cursed by Celebras and take double damage. Their movement speed is reduced by 70% and their attack cooldowns are increased by 300% for 5 seconds.


    This really was an overpowered skill. Not only did it deal damage, but it also slowed the movement and attack speed of the players.


    After the skill was cast, Water Fairy and Deep Watersong became desperate. Even if Hachi Chan''s healing was stronger, her cast rate had been reduced by 300%. How much healing could she really put out?


    "Tranquility!" Lu Li shouted.


    Hachi Chan immediately cast her Enhanced Tranquility.


    The Boss had used Twisted Tranquility which de-buffed the group and dealt damage to them, but Hachi Chan''s Tranquility provided them all with rapid healing.


    The two effects almost cancelled each other out; their HP bars were neither increasing or decreasing.


    After both skills ended, the Boss cried out as it realized that the five players actually still had full HP.


    "Wow! Hachi, your skill is too strong! This must be the legendary Tranquility! You''ve actually learned the strongest skill of the healing profession¡­" Deep Watersong said excitedly.


    Regardless of the fact that Lu Li had called out the name of the skill, a Druid that enjoyed reading was bound to know the Ultimate skills of the different professions.


    However, he had actually made a mistake. This wasn''t Tranquility ¨C it was the Enhanced Tranquility.


    "Little Hachi, come and join our guild. We''re all girls here," the female tycoon said, trying to poach Hachi Chan as she attacked the Boss.


    Unfortunately, the girl let her down.


    "Uh¡­" Hachi Chan didn''t think that someone like Water Fairy would try to poach her and shyly said, "I play with Dreamy, so if she doesn''t go, then I don''t go. Sorry."


    "That''s okay, you can both come," Water Fairy seriously offered.


    "That''s enough," Lu Li couldn''t help but interrupt. "Didn''t your teachers in school tell you not to talk to strangers? You can''t just follow someone after they''ve offered you something ¨C shouldn''t you reject it?" "But she doesn''t want to reject it," Deep Watersong laughed.


    Lu Li: ¡­


    "Treat Dreamy and I better from now on. Otherwise, we''ll be leaving," Hachi Chan vaguely threatened as she waved her hand.


    Cursed Celebras didn''t have any skills that were stronger than that, and it inevitably lost all of its HP at the hands of Lu Li and the others.

 689 Scepter of Celebras

    In fact, Cursed Celebras wasn''t actually difficult to kill. After all, it was the first Boss of the Instance Dungeon. The only potential it had to wipe their entire team was with that skill.


    "I think you should loot it," Lu Li said to Water Fairy.


    Although Water Fairy wasn''t particularly lucky, she was much better than the others. At least she had managed to obtain the ''Ritual of Summoning'' skill book.


    "Alright, but don''t attack me if I don''t get anything good," Water Fairy said with a grin.


    Deep Watersong was a little shocked. Drizzle Court''s eldest sister had always acted like a cold, unfeeling queen, but here she was, casually joking around.


    Attack her?


    Who would dare to lay a finger on her? There were hundreds of thousands of Drizzle Court players who would give up their lives for her.


    Water Fairy knelt in front of the Boss and looted a dagger. The first item turned out to be exactly an item that she needed.


    The Claws of Celebras were a weapon used by Thieves and were Gold grade with acceptable Attributes. They were decent for a level 40 weapon and would outperform the spare that Lu Li was using.


    However, Lu Li didn''t bother competing for it.


    There were better weapons out there, so why bother?


    Water Fairy gave up on competing for it as well; she didn''t care for the special effect of the weapon.


    As such, Cain''s Left Hand successfully received the first equip that they had acquired today. He promptly replaced the dagger that he was currently using. Although he was trying very hard to remain calm, it was clear that he was happy about it.


    The next item was the Keeper of the Grover Cloak. It added a lot of Constitution and Defence and so was given to Deep Watersong.


    Hachi Chan''s equipment was already disorganized enough, so if she was given Main Tank equipment, it would be even worse.


    There also a material called Wind Guard that looked like a green eye. Lu Li knew that this was a raw material for magic equipment, but its value wasn''t that high.


    After looting three items, Water Fairy suddenly screamed.


    Lu Li turned his head and saw that Water Fairy was running towards him at breakneck speed.


    He couldn''t help but be amazed at the speed she was moving at ¨C he probably couldn''t go that fast even after activating his effects. No wonder why there were some that insisted on the potential value of this game.


    When a player was completely emotionally invested, they could do more than their character allowed.


    Of course, what mattered most now was what had happened. Water Fairy frightenedly pointed at Cursed Celebras'' body and trembled as she shrieked, "It''s moving!"


    Lu Li had almost forgotten about this.


    "He actually isn''t dead. We didn''t actually completely clear his HP; he fell on his last drop of HP. Remulos gave him immortality and although it isn''t absolute, there''s nothing we can do about it as adventurers," Lu Li explained.


    "You seem to be quite knowledgeable," Celebras said as he slowly got onto his feet.


    "What do we do?" Water Fairy was a little embarrassed; she had just made a fool of herself. At this point, she was quite eager to stab Celebras in revenge.


    However, the fact was that she was still a girl. When she saw the body move, it would have been even more surprising if she didn''t react.


    "Don''t worry ¨C Celebras isn''t an enemy right now," Lu Li said while holding out the ring on his hand. "He''ll even help us find Earth Princess Theradras, right?"


    "Ancestor on high," Celebras affirmed as he lowered his head.


    Celebras'' face was very serious; he probably wouldn''t be this serious even if his father was around.


    It was the Legendary Supreme Double Ring!


    Most players knew about the Supreme Ring because of Malfurion. It was a ring that symbolized the Archdruid''s identity and was probably the only thing that physically demonstrated his status.


    Some players claimed Malfurion had only become an Archdruid because of this ring. After this, he was considered to be the symbol for Druids and the King of the Night Elves, then married Tyrande¡­


    With that being said, what was important was that there was another ring.


    It was a ring that no one could take from Malfurion, yet the Supreme Double Ring was currently unaccounted for.


    In fact, Celebras just had a chance encounter. One day, he managed to find his grandfather''s ring, and suddenly became one of the strongest beings in Azeroth.


    He had set out when he was quite young, though at the time, he wasn''t just trying his luck.


    Lu Li didn''t expect to see this ring here today, but there it was, plain and unadorned. Celebras'' eyes were clearly focused on it.


    "Celebras¡­ Celebras¡­"


    There seemed to be a call in the distance that finally woke him up. Celebras took a long breath before exhaling slowly, then looked up and said, "I''m happy to help you, but my Scepter has been destroyed. Its strength will allow you travel through these caves freely¡­"


    "How can we help you repair the Scepter?" Lu Li asked.


    "Noxxion took away the staff and the jewel has fallen into the hands of Vyletongue. The former is a Water Elemental and the latter is a Satyr. With your Strength you should be able to defeat them. Go, and hopefully, you will bring back good news."


    Without waiting for Lu Li and the others to respond, Celebras turned and disappeared into the void.


    "How can we find you?" Lu Li asked. He was a little anxious as this was different from the strategy he knew.


    In the guide he had read, there was no indication that Celebras would leave. He was supposed to stay here and wait for the player to pick up the two parts of the scepter. He would then fix the scepter and give the player some EXP.


    "When you get the items I need, I will appear."


    This voice had come from nowhere and had a hint of sadness to it. He wasn''t like an NPC at all, let alone an Instance Dungeon Boss, with the emotion that he was showing. Was there was a hidden story here? Lu Li was confused.


    Without any way to find out more, the group of players just kept pushing onward.


    This section was of the road was even more dangerous, mainly due to the fact that there were patrols everywhere. Their pathing wasn''t consistent and when they were alerted, they would call for backup.


    Lu Li and the others had to be careful, because it was too time-consuming to clear all of these monsters.

 690 Useless In The Critical Momen

    A monster suddenly emerged from a corner in front of Cain''s Left Hand and he ran right into it.


    Although he was in Stealth, getting so close to something was more than Stealth could handle.


    Stealth could be used to prevent a monster from noticing you, but you needed to keep a distance. If you collided with a monster, then even Stealth couldn''t save you.


    This was exactly what happened to Cain''s Left Hand.


    His teammates behind him held their breath as they hesitated on whether they should just leave him. The others that were further away stayed put so that they wouldn''t need to get involved.


    However, that wasn''t how the situation played out.


    Cain''s Left Hand was a Thief and he had many skills. In battle, a Thief often found themselves in unexpected situations, so this surprise didn''t stop him from activating a special effect.


    This was why Lu Li had asked him to come along.


    After he activated his special effect, Cain''s Left Hand turned into a dark cloud that the monster simply walked through, as if it hadn''t touched anything. It looked around before turning its head and going the other direction.


    The dark cloud rolled around for a bit before transforming back into Cain''s Left Hand.


    He had lost 50% of his HP!


    This was the price he paid. Hachi Chan quickly topped up his HP while the special effect went on cooldown. He could use it again in two minutes.


    However, that wasn''t the extent of what it could do. If Lu Li and the others were standing right next to Cain''s Left Hand, everyone would turn into the dark cloud. Lu Li had called him mainly to help conceal Hachi Chan and Deep Watersong.


    After this crisis passed, they quickly arrived before the Water Elemental Noxxion.


    "This water pet is so adorable," Hachi Chan said. Lu Li had no idea what she was talking about; its appearance was blurry and bloated. Lu Li really couldn''t tell what was cute about it.


    "Watersong, you go ahead. Just be careful, this monster¡­"


    Before Lu Li could even finish, Deep Watersong had already rushed in. The Water Elemental punched Deep Watersong with so much force that his Bear Form was flung into the air before slamming into a wall.


    This was quite a miserable sight.


    Lu Li shook his head, thinking that this child was quite impulsive.


    The Elemental''s attack damaged the Tank for a sizeable chunk of his HP and even had a Stun effect.


    "You dare trespass the territory of the royal highness? Now, you must die," Noxxion said as he launched a slew of Frostbolts towards them.


    "Get out of the way!" Lu Li shouted as he tumbled to dodge the oversized Frostbolt.


    Water Fairy and Cain''s Left Hand heard Lu Li''s order and subconsciously followed him. Hachi Chan wasn''t standing in the line of fire, so the Frostbolt couldn''t hit her anyway. As for Deep Watersong, he was still up against the wall.


    Without considering the damage value, the most important thing about the Frostbolt was the application of Frostbite. Frostbite would deal damage over time, slow movement speed, and reduce the effect of healing by 20%. This meant that if a healer could heal you for 100HP, they would now only heal for 80HP.


    "How do I avoid getting knocked away by him?"


    Deep Watersong had finally recovered, he had been hit so hard that he was still a little scared.


    "It won''t do that again for a while, but when it''s about to hit you, a white circle will appear at your feet. If you stand outside that circle, you won''t get knocked away," Lu Li explained.


    Noxxion wasn''t a difficult Boss, provided you knew the strategy. However, if you had to properly test it, you were bound to get wiped.


    Regardless, Noxxion had already used the attack and it wasn''t too unbelievable that Lu Li would be able to point out the white circle. Everyone simply thought that Lu Li had thorough observational skills.


    Noxxion also had a skill which summoned monsters, but they were quite weak and were easily dealt with.


    Additionally, he also had Toxic Volley, which was similar to the first Boss''s Twisted Tranquility. It was usually enough to throw the players into confusion and result in a team wipe. Unfortunately for Noxxion, it was cancelled out by Hachi Chan''s Enhanced Tranquility.


    While Toxic Volley''s cooldown was shorter, all five players were experts who had a few damage reduction skills. Lu Li even had a skill that made him completely immune to damage. They also had their own HP-regenerating skills and could still take potions, so it wasn''t so easy to kill them.


    After ten minutes, Noxxion fell and dropped Celebras'' staff. In addition to this, there was also a Silver Mold for a Mage item, a Gold Mage item and the Frost Nova Skill Book.


    Lu Li took the Skill Book and gave all the equipment to Water Fairy.


    In terms of value, the two pieces of equipment were worth more than the skill book, but in terms of rarity, the skill book was greater.


    There were few Frost Nova Skill Books being traded on the market because the demand was just too high. Everyone knew someone who played Mage, and most of them didn''t have this skill yet.


    After a break, they head over towards the next Boss ¨C Vyletongue. He was the Satyr ruler of the Amethyst Caves while also being a Burning Legion Messenger.


    After Satyr Lord Vyletongue heard about the corruption of Maraudon, he thought that this was the Burning legion''s chance and journeyed off into its depths.


    Princess Theradras was initially wary of the quiet demon, but Vyletongue quickly demonstrated his value. He created many evil servants for her, like Noxxion and Razorlash.


    As such, Princess Theradras drew out an area for him and made him the ruler of it.


    As for assisting or joining the Burning Legion, the Princess'' attitude was inexplicable, which meant the progress of negotiations had been halted. Vyletongue was currently quite anxious about it.


    Maraudon was a lush green area with beautiful scenery. It could even be considered as the most beautiful Instance Dungeon.


    However, the once-beautiful amethyst caves had been defiled by Vyletongue. The only thing that could grow here was the Vyletongue Vine.


    Vyletongue could use these vines to attack the players. The most direct and efficient way of dealing with them was with a Fire Mage, who could burn the plants and also destroy them at the roots.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li hadn''t brought a Fire Mage today.

 691 Getting Closer

    It would be difficult to kill them normally ¨C after two minutes, the Vine would Revive itself.


    This meant that the players had to clear waves of monsters while fighting the Boss.


    "Sprinkle this at the roots of the vines. Sprinkle more than you think we''ll need. Don''t be afraid of touching them," Lu Li instructed as he handed some gun powder to Water Fairy and Cain''s Left Hand.


    "Won''t it draw its aggro?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Relax. These Vines have really low detection, so as long as you don''t attack them and they aren''t commanded by the Boss, they won''t attack. They''re actually just like real plants," Lu Li said calmly.


    "That''s right; the Detection of plants are very low," Deep Watersong nodded. It wasn''t clear if he really did know or if he was just pretending to be wise.


    The three Thieves then crept around and scattered the gunpowder onto the ground. The area was soon filled with the pungent smell of sulphur, but fortunately, these plants were not sensitive to smell.


    There were about 17 plants in the area that were all level 40.


    Being vines, they also had high Evasion and variable defence due to their slender ''arms'' that had an attack range which covered the entire cave.


    However, their weakness was obvious ¨C their roots were the most important thing keeping them alive.


    Lu Li piled up some gunpowder at the root of a vine, fixed the lead, lit the gunpowder, then turned and ran. He wasn''t playing around ¨C it was a real explosive and could hurt the player.


    He didn''t get very far when he heard a muffled thump behind him and a wave of heat rushing out of the cave.


    Lu Li was staggered by the explosion and ran into Water Fairy who was in front of him, but she managed to catch him.


    He quickly rolled to one side in shock. If the System misunderstood, he would have been in trouble. There was a protective system for female characters in this game, and if the System determined that a situation was indecent, lightning would strike him, regardless of whether the female consented or not. The death wasn''t that bad; it was the public report later that was the problem.


    The System would make an announcement that someone had done something indecent to someone else.


    The other players would then come up with a myriad of stories for what had happened. This would especially be the case if the names were Lu Li and Water Fairy. That alone would be enough for their imaginations to run wild.


    When the two ran into each other, they were both wearing leather Armour, so it was unlikely that they had felt anything. However, it was impossible to play it off like nothing happened, so things became slightly awkward between them.


    "Go inside and watch for movement. Maybe we blew up the Boss!"


    This was the na?ve Hachi Chan. She was the only one who didn''t think much of what had just happened.


    Cain''s Left Hand was squinting his eyes; it looked like he had fallen asleep.


    Deep Watersong wasn''t very good at hiding his emotions and was just staring at Lu Li and Water Fairy. It seemed like he was almost going to ask the question directly.


    "Keke, the Boss wouldn''t die so easily. Watersong, get ready to take on the Boss," Lu Li said, pretending to remain calm.


    Deep Watersong saw that Lu Li and Water Fairy were both fine and began to think that he was just making a fuss about it. Shaking his head, he obediently ran into the cave.


    At this point, the smoke in the cave had not yet dispersed.


    The low-quality gunpowder was indeed quite powerful ¨C it had completely destroyed the vines and even burned away their roots. However, this was quite an ordinary thing.


    As for farming monsters this way¡­


    This idea was just wishful thinking. Without even considering how you would pile gunpowder at a monster''s feet, monsters that were killed without entering battle did not drop EXP or items.


    As for the Boss, Vyletongue, it had been bombed and appeared charred, but its HP was untouched.


    The Boss was similar to the monsters in this way. It hadn''t been damaged because Lu Li and the others hadn''t entered into battle with it.


    Still its pride had evidently been hurt, because the moment Lu Li arrived, it fired multiple arrows at him. After firing the arrows, it Blinked towards Water Fairy and began attacking her.


    Not only did Vyletongue use multi-shot Hunter skills, but he also used Mage skills like Blink.


    There was not much to say about this monster, so they just took their normal three-point formation around it. There weren''t very many Thieves who could transform into Druids like Lu Li.


    "Why is it shooting arrows?" Deep Watersong didn''t understand.


    He realized that Lu Li had quite a deep knowledge of this area. As long as he asked, he would get an answer.


    "It''s like a ranger," Lu Li said, then thought for a moment before continuing, "Like the Naga, the first Satyr was once a Night Elf, but since then, there have been other races that joined the Satyrs¡­"


    In fact, the origin of the Satyrs went back to an ancient battle that was quite an epic story.


    Among the High Elves, there was a Kaldorei named Havves who was the closest and most trusted advisor to Queen Azshara. Havves was one of the main driving forces behind bringing the Legion into Azeroth, but as the ancient war carried on, he brought more and more suffering to his own race.


    He was finally defeated in his encounter with the young Druid Mafurion Stormrage, who completely destroyed his body.


    Havves paid the price for his defeat and Sargeras tortured his lost soul for a long time, but eventually, he decided that Havves was still of some value. As such, he rebuilt a body for him with split hooves, gruff goat legs, goat horns, razor sharp claws and a lion''s tail.


    Later on, Havves died once again at the hands of Malfurion.


    This poor child had made the mistake of fighting Malfurion again, but his master was omnipotent and allowed him to be revived once again using the plague.


    As part of his corruption, Havves now had the ability to use a demonic curse to turn other creatures into Satyrs. This was why the second, third and many following Satyrs were born.


    "Can a player be turned into a Satyr?" Hachi chan asked. She always had a way of thinking that was different from the others.


    She was the first person that Lu Li had met that was interested in the strange Satyrs. Could it be that the beauty standards had changed dramatically from what he had remembered? He had to make sure to keep his sister away from her.

 692 Maraudon

    "Players can''t be changed into Satyrs, but it''s said that there are props that can turn the players into a Satyr for a short time," Lu Li said, acting the role of a professor.


    He didn''t like showing off his knowledge for no reason, but he didn''t want to pretend to be ignorant either.


    Vyletongue was the son of Havves and he had inherited a wide range of skills from his ancestors. He had a strong, almost Undead body, which made his Defense stronger than the previous Bosses.


    If the vines were around, he could command them to bind the players and prevent them from attacking. He could also sap the HP of the vines to heal himself. That was his Ultimate skill, but now that the vines were gone, Water Fairy and the others weren''t able to witness it.


    The Boss eventually dropped a piece of Gold Paladin equipment, which Lu Li took away.


    The rare materials were given to Water Fairy. As long as it wasn''t an item that someone needed, Lu Li and Water Fairy would take turns in who would get them. Lu Li could take a bit more if he wanted to because there were three players from his guild. Later on, they would divide their spoils up among themselves.


    Vyletongue also dropped the Celebras Gem; they had now collected the two parts of the Scepter of Celebras.


    Celebras'' ghostly appearance materialized in front of Lu Li. His image was more mysterious than before and he appeared to have been completely freed from his curse. Based on the green embers, Lu Li guessed that he had seen Remulos.


    Perhaps the experience of being trapped in Maraudon really did have a key role in his growth.


    "You have used dishonorable means in this battle," Celebras said while looking at the traces of the explosion left on the walls.


    "I don''t think any compassion is required when dealing with the Burning Legion''s messenger," Lu Li replied appropriately.


    For whatever reason, Celebras was making things difficult for Lu Li. Unfortunately, Lu Li''s answer made him speechless. He couldn''t say that the Burning Legion had rights too. Otherwise, he really would still be corrupted.


    His great-grandfather, Malourne, was killed by the Burning Legion, along with his grandfather, Cenarius. Although he was later revived, the seeds of hatred were implanted deep within him.


    Otherwise, why would Remulos tell them to kill a Burning Legion Boss?


    As a member of the family, Celebras resented the Burning Legion as well. As a result, he stopped talking about Lu Li''s disgraceful fighting methods and was instead thankful.


    "These are the two parts of the Scepter. Is anything else needed?" Lu Li asked.


    "Nothing else is needed. I will combine them for you now," Celebras said. An emerald glow appeared around the two parts of the scepter as they slowly combined together.


    The new Scepter of Celebras appeared in his hands.


    "Thank you, esteemed Keeper of the Grove," Lu Li said gratefully as he took the scepter.


    This quest actually had other extensions to it, like finding some kind of elixir or ore. These were all very troublesome and didn''t yield any benefits, but now that the scepter had been complete, there was nothing else to do.


    The Scepter of Celebras was an item that had simple properties and one effect.


    Cast: Creates a portal to send teammates to the Earth Song Falls in Maraudon. 1/1 Uses remaining.


    In other words, this was a one-use item. Otherwise, when you came here in future you could just go straight to the Princess. When players received this Scepter, they were often a little disappointed about this. Who wouldn''t want to go see a beautiful princess?


    As for seeing the princess¡­ That was something to be discussed at a later time.


    "There''s another Boss outside; do you want to fight it?" Lu Li asked.


    "Why not? It''s a Boss and we''re on Nightmare Difficulty. Seeing as it''s the First Clear, we have a good chance of getting Gold equipment," Deep Watersong said casually.


    The others nodded in agreement.


    Level 40 Gold equipment was still quite high-end. There was no one in the room that could say that they didn''t want something like that. Even if they couldn''t use it, they could take it back to their guild.


    Lu Li naturally agreed too.


    In fact, even if these players didn''t want to fight, he would still encourage them to fight Razorlash.


    Razorlash was a Botany Boss and wasn''t that smart, which made it very easy to defeat, but because of this, its drops were quite lackluster. However, there was a plant that grew near it called the Ghost Mushroom.


    The Ghost Mushroom was a fungus that could be collected to make Moonlight Herbal Potion. This was what Lu Li needed to complete the Curse of the Worgen quest.


    The Ghost Mushroom was also a very good neutral agent which could be used to enhance a variety of advanced potions. Not only did it neutralize poisons in some chemical elements, but it also provided at least a 30% increase in potency.


    This herb didn''t refresh very often, and Maraudon was one of the few places to find them.


    Razorlash fell quickly and Lu Li rushed Water Fairy to loot the body while he knelt down and took several of the Ghost Mushrooms.


    The others didn''t say anything as Lu Li had been collecting herbs the whole time. Water Fairy mainly studied Skinning, so she couldn''t let an opportunity to practice it pass.


    He managed to acquire six Ghost Mushrooms, which was a good number given their Nightmare Difficulty. Lu Li was very satisfied.


    As for the dropped equipment, it was lackluster as expected. Even the Gold equipment was rubbish, with three rather unappealing effects.


    If you couldn''t complete the Scepter of Celebras quest, then the Instance Dungeon would end here.


    Fortunately, they had finished the quest and were able to continue. Lu Li took out the Scepter and activated its effect. A purple portal appeared in front of them, and as they cross the portal, it vanished. The scepter didn''t follow them and dropped out of Lu Li''s hands as they went through.


    Lu Li could vaguely make out Celebras appearing again and catching his Scepter.


    There was no way that the Scepter could be an item with such a simple effect, but unfortunately, Lu Li had no way of asking. Perhaps he could mention it the next time he met Remulos.


    Everything that they had done so far was generally considered to be outside Maraudon. Now, they were finally inside Maraudon.


    It was only in Maraudon that the players would be able to the see the beautiful Earth Element Princess. However, Landscape of Maraudon was even more beautiful ¨C it was the most awe-inspiring scenery that could exist in an underground world, which fully embodied the control of life by the earth elements.

 693 The Princess’ Secret Admirer

    They immediately ran past some three-headed monsters in Maraudon.


    These monsters were probably the descendants of Hydras and and possessed great casting abilities. The abundant flow of magic in Maraudon was the reason that they served under Princess Theradras.


    "Don''t pull too many of them; we''ll kill them one by one," Lu Li said.


    "Why, can they detect Stealth units?" Deep Watersong asked in confusion.


    "Anything they drop is worth a good fortune. I thought you were knowledgable; you should read more books," Lu Li joked. There was no need to hold back now that they were all so familiar with each other.


    These Three-headed Serpents dropped Scales which were good material for forging armor. The armor made from these scales was light, with good Defense. Some people even sewed them on the backs of Mage gowns, which greatly increased their defensive Attributes.


    These Scales weren''t classified as rare materials, but they were definitely more valuable than some.


    One of the Three-headed Serpents snaked towards them and sprayed a jet of venom at Deep Watersong.


    "My *****! Its damage is so high!" he cried out.


    From the animation, it looked like it was frost damage. Not only was the damage high, but it also came with movement speed reduction and poison effects.


    No wonder why Lu Li had requested that these monsters be killed one by one.


    "Don''t be afraid ¨C you won''t die," Lu Li said casually.


    Deep Watersong was an expert tank, so there was no way that he would easily die to an Elite monster.


    The Three-Headed Serpent didn''t drop a scale when it died, but this wasn''t something that could be rushed. Lu Li signaled for Water Fairy to go up and skin the serpent, which netted them its hide and a Three-Headed Serpent Scale.


    They used the same method to clear out all of the Three-Headed Serpents along the way, and obtained few dozen Scales.


    Some people believe that Maraudon was a valuable dungeon. As long as you entered the Maraudon and farmed all the Serpents, you would have basically covered the costs for the dungeon.


    The expenses for the dungeon trip generally included potions and equipment repair fees.


    Lu Li and the others were quite strong, so they had less costs to cover. Other weaker teams would have to spend more on repairing equipment and might require valuable elixirs to attempt the dungeon.


    For many years, Landslide the Ancient Mountain Giant had been looking after the Crystal Garden in Maraudon. Ever since the day that Theradras had moved in, Landslide had felt a deep attraction for her.


    The giant who once had no desires now only had one wish ¨C to serve his new vicious master.


    "I''m so envious of Landslide," Deep Watersong sighed. "How many people out there can spend time with the person they like every day, watch the sun set and rise, and go to sleep satisfied?"


    "Don''t pull any monsters yet ¨C wait at the entrance. There are two Rock People that just went out for a patrol. We''ll kill them first after they return," Lu Li instructed as he pointed at the two Elite monsters that had just passed by.


    "No need ¨C they probably won''t come back into the garden if they keep on their current route," Deep Watersong said.


    "It''s better to be safe. It won''t take us much time anyway."


    Most of those who died here were players who thought like him. Lu Li was the only one who understood how cunning these two patrolling Rock People were.


    Even Landslide himself probably hadn''t killed as many players as these two crafty patrols.


    After they cleared out the Rock People, Lu Li pointed towards the corner of the wall and said, "Watersong, go stand there and pull the monsters. Make sure they don''t bump you out. Even if they do, don''t panic ¨C just remember to use your damage reduction skills."


    "Right. Rock Giants can knock up people since their fists are extra hard," Deep Watersong nodded.


    "You should think about joining our guild someday," Lu Li suggested with sincere eyes.


    The players in his own team either never asked why, or who always asked why. None of them were like Deep Watersong, who gave a perfect explanation for everything that Lu Li did.


    Of course, there were no results for this kind of invitation which sounded like a joke.


    Deep Watersong was one of the top three Main Tanks of Drizzle Court. He was well-treated and Drizzle Court was also a guild filled with beautiful ladies. It was a guild that male players dreamed of entering; only an idiot would leave it for Ruling Sword.


    The Rock Giants had high Defense and health, but their attacks were quite average.


    It dropped a Gold shield with decent Attributes that was distributed to Lu Li, based on the previous rules that they had formed. He placed it into his bag without hesitation.


    Druid tanks couldn''t use shields anyway, so none of the players here had a need for it.


    No guild would ever think that they had too many good shields. Although Azure Sea Breeze''s current shield was better than this one, Lu Li could still offer it to the other tanks in the guild.


    Although Water Fairy also wanted the shield, it wasn''t good enough to make her beg Lu Li for it.


    Once again, they ignored the monsters. The five of them went into Stealth and moved to their next destination. It only took them a few minutes to arrive at Tinkerer Gizlock''s Working Space.


    Some said that Tinkerer Gizlock wasn''t a native to the area. He had snuck his way into Maraudon with five other gem hunters to collect previous crystals.


    However, all of his other team members were slaughtered by Satyr. When he understood that their plans had failed and he was shrouded by the fear of death, he vowed his loyalty to Princess Theradras.


    Since then, Tinkerer Gizlock had become one of the Bosses in Maraudon.


    There was no way to earn coins here, so Gizlock became crazy and began to view himself as the new dictator of this underground kingdom.


    "What''s going on outside?"


    After he saw Lu Li and the others, Gizlock didn''t attack immediately. This seemed to be the first time he saw adventurers.


    "The old war has ended and the new war is about to begin," Lu Li replied.


    Gizlock thought for bit and found that he couldn''t find a reason to disagree with Lu Li. Azeroth had always been unlucky and was constantly ravaged by war.


    "Why have you come to my kingdom?"


    "Go and see Princess Theradras," Lu Li said.


    "Princess¡­" A trace of fear appeared on Gizlock''s face as he shook his head in panic.


    "No, I must stop you all, I must stop you all..."


    "Get ready to fight the boss," Lu Li said in a low voice.


    As expected, Gizlock turned on them. He charged at Lu Li and the others with his Goblin Dragon Gun, which dealt 120 points of fire damage per second to all players in front of it for 8 seconds.

 694 Goblin Jumper Cables

    The damage was surprisingly high, but it had actually been weakened.


    If it weren''t for the few useless words that Lu Li had spoken, Gizlock''s damage would be much higher than this. On Nightmare mode, each tick would deal 240 HP, which was enough to kill a player in mere seconds.


    Of course, normal players would converse with the Boss before the fight. As long as you didn''t try to provoke him, his damage would be weakened.


    The lines that Lu Li had used just then were one of the most reliable among those in the guides, as they decreased the damage of Gizlock''s Ultimate skill by half. They all had more than 2000 points of health, so this amount of damage wasn''t enough to threaten them.


    Just like Lu Li, Gizlock was also capable of throwing bombs.


    However, his supply was limited, and like most engineering bombs, there would be a long delay before they were set off. As long as Lu Li and the others quickly ran away, they would be fine.


    Lu Li''s bomb had originated from Master Ivy and was a very special recipe. He really wanted to toss two bombs back at Gizlock, but thought about their high cost and changed his mind.


    Gizlock was a Boss who stayed in Maraudon, but his heart belonged elsewhere, so he wasn''t really trying his hardest. If he attacked with his Engineering-based style, there would definitely be a few players who would die.


    With a sigh, Tinkerer Gizlock fell to the floor.


    "Don''t fight Princess Theradras ¨C her strength is beyond your imagination¡­"


    "Loot the body ¨C what are we waiting for?" Lu Li prompted.


    "Should we wait for a bit? What if he comes back to life again?" Water Fairy asked uncertainly. The surprise before had given her some trust issues.


    "Don''t worry ¨C he''s already dead. Celebras was a special quest; that''s why he didn''t die. There aren''t that many storylines to tell and this is only just a game. There''s no reason for you to be afraid," Lu Li comforted.


    Convinced by his words, Water Fairy looted the Boss and found an engineering recipe.


    Goblin Jumper Cables!


    Recipe: Goblin Jumper Cables


    Recipe: Engineering


    Requirement: Artisan Engineer (260)


    Use: Teaches you how to make Goblin Jumper Cables.


    Goblin Jumper Cables: Can sometimes resurrect an ally. Cannot be used during battles.


    Lu Li''s eyes suddenly lit up; he could almost feel himself drooling.


    This was one of the most popular Engineering items. Lu Li had resurrection skills, so he wasn''t too desperate for this item, but he could make them for his guild. Every team could carry one¡­


    "It''s my turn this time," Water Fairy said. She glanced at Lu Li and acted as if she was going to put the recipe in her bag.


    "Uhm¡­" Lu Li found it hard to open his mouth since he had shoved the Shield into his bag so quickly before.


    "Uhm?" Water Fairy played with the recipe in her hands and pretended as if she didn''t understand. She knew that Lu Li had learned Engineering, and had even bought some bombs from Lu Li in the past.


    "Can I have the recipe?"


    They had mentioned that equipment and skill books were to be distributed based on needs, but didn''t mention a single thing about trading skill recipes. No one expected to see the recipe for the Goblin Jumper Cables here.


    "Aiya, I really want this recipe too and it''s my turn," Water Fairy said, taking her chance.


    Deep Watersong watched from the side and wanted to laugh, but he didn''t dare.


    "How about I trade something with you for it?" Lu Li suggested.


    Even if this recipe was amazing and the drop rate was incredibly low, he had his ways to obtain it as someone who has reincarnated. For example, he knew a level 50 quest which would reward this item. Since he knew the guide for it, he was bound to get the recipe at some point.


    This recipe also required Artisan-level engineering, which he was still far away from, so he wasn''t in a rush.


    However, he still decided to talk to Water Fairy in a nice way about it.


    "I want a ring¡­" Water Fairy said as she pointed at Lu Li''s hand. She had been eyeing that ring for a long time already.


    Deep Watersong patted his forehead, beginning to feel embarrassed for his boss. How could a lady ask for a ring? Besides this, he also strangely felt like he had finally seen his little daughter grow up.


    "It''s bound. I can''t trade it."


    Lu Li was speechless ¨C why wouldn''t this girl believe him? Were the others right about girls being suspicious of everything?


    His sister was clearly better; she always believed him unconditionally.


    "What other goods do you have?" Water Fairy asked. She was almost going to pounce onto Lu Li to rip off his equipment.


    "None of them would be as good as yours. How about you can choose first from the rewards after we complete the quest?"


    It wasn''t that Lu Li didn''t have any good items, but that he had a use for all of them. Not to mention, the competition was about to begin and there was an alarm ringing in him that constantly told him that this girl would be his opponent.


    "Alright, you can have it."


    Water Fairy was mostly upset at the fact that Lu Li was too heartless, which was why she was being unreasonable. Now that Lu Li had promised her something and had displayed a good attitude, she stopped being unreasonable.


    Any smart person would have the common sense of when they should take a step back.


    The next monster was the crocodile Rotgrip.


    Some said that Rotgrip had lived in the waters of Maraudon for up to a thousand years. Even the famous Dwarf Hunter, Hemet Nesingwary, expressed that no one would be able to capture this best.


    Hemet Nesingwary was the most famous hunter in the entirety of Azeroth. He had participated in many battles and joined the Alliance in the second great war. Even in the third great war, Hemet joined the army to battle against the demons that invaded.


    After the third great war, the entire world flipped to a brand new page. Many sailing routes began to form between the two continents. At the same time, adventurers began to leave their homes to explore the secrets hidden around the world.


    While this was happening, Hemet began to undertake his greatest mission ¨C to hunt and challenge all of the most powerful creatures.


    Within a few short years, he had become famous with his spectacular hunting skills.


    He was friendly and sociable, and his adventurous character attracted many who were willing to follow him. All adventurers saw him as their idol.


    Many followers decided to accept the challenge from the King adventurer himself. They vowed to find this mythical creature, but none of them had returned since.

 695 Dreams and Reality

    Water Fairy had killed strong crocodile monsters before at Dustwallow Marsh when she was completing the quest for Ravenholdt Manor. It was originally an impossible mission, but she had followed Lu Li''s advice and completed it.


    Now that she thought about it, Water Fairy felt slightly guilty ¨C Lu Li was actually quite nice to her.


    However, when she thought about how merciless Lu Li was sometimes, most girls would probably hate him if they knew him.


    It wasn''t like she was expecting him to be overly nice, but there was no need for him to be so cold either.


    Lu Li had no clue that someone was cursing him behind his back for him to be single his whole life. He instructed everyone to dodge the crocodile Boss'' sweeping skill and ushered them behind the attack range.


    The damage from the skill wasn''t too high. What was worse was that the damage dealt would be multiplied by two and added to the Boss'' health.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had been instructing everyone on where to position themselves. The battle participants were all quite skilled and the fight took around half an hour to finish.


    In the end, the Boss went berserk and its Attack damage greatly increased.


    Lu Li and the others weren''t upset; they were happy instead. After the Boss went into berserk mode, its Defense decreased which made it easier to kill.


    After Rotgrip finally fell to the floor, it dropped a katar-type weapon. Thieves could use these weapons too, but all three of the Thieves in the party used Daggers, so they could only put this up for sale. Some Thieves liked to use strange weapons, especially katar-type weapons, because it made them look cooler. They would gladly take this for a high price.


    Rotgrip also dropped another rare material ¨C Crocodile''s Forearm.


    Lu Li watched as Water Fairy pulled off the crocodile Boss'' front leg and was astonished by how this material dropped. The animation was way too violent.


    However, this material was still very useful and in-demand.


    The Spicy Crocodile Leg was very delicious and could sell for up to a few hundred gold coins. Lu Li had the privilege of eating it at some point during his life, but didn''t realize how precious it was until he tried it.


    "Pass it to me," Lu Li said.


    "Sure." Water Fairy didn''t try to make it hard for Lu Li this time.


    "Shouldn''t you two ask for our opinions?" Deep Watersong laughed bitterly.


    "You got a problem?" Water Fairy shot back, giving him a side glance.


    "Not at all."


    Deep Watersong shook his head. Although Water Fairy looked more humane today, she was still the same boss.


    "I''ll make a Spicy Crocodile Leg later. Don''t forget to come and have some," Lu Li offered, then paused and added, "Everyone has a share. I''m sure you all know where I live in Danassus."


    It would best if no one showed up ¨C the leg wasn''t enough for everyone.


    "I won''t go. I''m busy."


    Cain''s Left Hand was a wise man. A good employee knew when their boss really wanted to treat them and when they were just saying things to look good.


    "I''m not eating it either. I like carrots," Hachi Chan said as he glanced at the crocodile leg that was still dripping with blood with disdain.


    She had fallen in love with Dolanaar Carrots and had obtained the recognition of all the civilians living in the area. She was allowed to eat them as often as she wanted, while other players had to pay a good amount of gold coins for one.


    Apart from being delicious, these Dolanaar Carrots also gave players a random Attribute that lasted for up to a day.


    The skill book that dropped was Rend, which was for Warriors.


    Rend: Inflict a grievous wound to the target and deal 600 points of bleeding damage over 8 seconds. After 8 seconds, the wound explodes, dealing another 150 points of bleeding damage.


    This was a decent skill which most damage-type Warriors would require before they were ready for PVP.


    Water Fairy took this skill book as she had given away two items to Lu Li already. If Lu Li took the skill book, even he would feel embarrassed for himself.


    After they took down Rotgrip, there was only Princess Theradras left in the dungeon.


    This admired Princess was actually the third daughter of Therazane, the Stone Mother. She was born with a high social status that only a few princesses in Dawn were able to contend with.


    There were plenty of princesses amongst the players that were famous, for example, the Kitty Princess Donna Anthania. She had a gentle name and a beautiful appearance, but strangely enough, she carried a blood-stained axe.


    Princess Tempestria was a giant Water Elemental and looked similar to the Mages'' pets.


    Princess Stillpine was a princess amongst bear-type monsters. She had been locked in a cage, so apart from the Draenei players in Bloodmyst Isle, no one else knew of her.


    The Blue Dragon Princess, Tyrigosa, was the descendent of Malygos. Her pictures were hung up around Stormwind City and her beauty was unrivalled within the region.


    Hence, Princess Theradras was a great topic of interest for many players.


    Even though this highborn princess was a widow, her husband had died a long time ago. This didn''t stop players of different races and social statuses from being interested in her.


    However, that would only last until the day when they reached the end of Maraudon.


    "I''m so excited, Lu Li. Have you seen the pictures of the princess?" Deep Watersong asked as he rubbed his hands together. They were in Stealth and were almost outside Princess Theradras'' private palace.


    As he imagined a beauty in there waiting to be rescued, his heart wildly thumped.


    Cain''s Left Hand stared at Lu Li too; he was a timid one and barely talked. However, Lu Li had seen how good he was at cracking dirty jokes in the guild channel. He knew that Cain''s Left Hand was probably interested too.


    "Not at all," Lu Li sighed again from the bottom of his heart.


    Hopefully, their mentality was strong enough that they wouldn''t be too shocked and never fall in love with woman again. If that happened, the gaming company really would get sued for it.


    "If I accidentally touch the princess while I''m attacking, the System won''t kill me, right?" Deep Watersong laughed.


    He was one of the main players in Drizzle Court and the guild was filled with pretty girls. A few of them had made it into the beauty rankings as well.


    "I hope that you''ll still be as switched-on when you see her¡­" Lu Li muttered.


    What if he decided to not fight the Boss, or if he got kicked offline from a heart attack? How would they continue with the dungeon then? This was a serious issue that he needed to take into consideration.

 696 A Great Disappointmen

    After they cleared the wave at the entrance, Lu Li led his team members into the Crystal Lair.


    Ever since Zaetar, the son of Cenarius, had been slain and his corpse brought here, Princess Theradras had been watching over her husband''s body. She never left this spot and even refused to see her sons.


    Anyone who wanted to enter the place had to face her guards outside, including the half-Centaurs.


    "Haha, princess, here I come! Haha... uhm..." Deep Watersong dashed in; he couldn''t wait to see the princess.


    What had he just seen?


    There was giant mud-colored thing, and if it was only the color, it wouldn''t have been too much of a concern.


    What kind of person would be nine meters tall with a nine-meter-wide radius? What kind of person would have such an ugly face with such a giant body shape?


    Strange voices began to come out from Deep Watersong''s throat as he fell to the side to vomit.


    Cain''s Left Hand''s face went pale, and the two hands that he used to hold his daggers were shaking. These were the hands of a Thief, so his heart must have truly been shocked.


    Water Fairy looked disappointed.


    When a beauty was going to see another ''beauty'', they would usually subconsciously preen themselves beforehand. Along the way, she had already tidied her fringe a few times, and even took the time to clear the stains on her forehead from battle.


    She thought that she would be seeing a legendary beauty.


    The game developers weren''t bad bad at making beautiful characters. Good examples were Carolina and Meisnera, who even Water Fairy was slightly intimidated by. She thought that this princess in Maraudon would be the same.


    Who would expect to see such an ugly monster?


    Hachi Chan tilted her head to study the looks of the princess. Perhaps she was the only one who didn''t find her ugly. Or perhaps, she was envious of Princess Theradras'' looks. She probably thought that it would be great to look so ''mighty''.


    "What''s wrong with Zaetar!" Deep Watersong cried out with tears flashing in his eyes as he steadied himself.


    This was the same question that everyone asked when they saw Princess Theradras.


    The love between Zaetar and the princess had never been blessed. The difference between their races had caused others to give them judgmental glances and comments.


    Why would a demigod fall in love with a monster like this?


    Some said that one of the reasons why Zaetar had left his kind behind was because Cenarius heavily favored his other son, Remulos ¨C the one who helped Lu Li upgrade his ring.


    Zaetar was deprived of attention which caused him to leave.


    Regardless of the truth, what was meant to happen eventually happened. Zaetar wanted to marry Princess Theradras regardless of all that stood in their way. For this very reason, he came to Maraudon to settle down with his loved one.


    "Perhaps they really loved each other," Lu Li said. He felt like the main reason was probably because Princess Theradras wasn''t a beauty.


    What if Zaetar and Princess Theradras lived in an underground palace of Maraudon, where they planted a beautiful garden and tended to all sorts of gentle animals together?


    Being the son of a Demigod and the daughter of an Earth Elemental, this wouldn''t be difficult for them at all.


    What if they then gave birth to many sons and daughters?


    These sons and daughters would have the wisdom of the Demigod, and the honesty and humbleness of the Earth Elementals. They would love their parents and live a peaceful life with them in Maraudon, a place where no one could intrude on them.


    This would be a beautiful love story that bypassed the judgement and racial differences of the world. Even if Princess Theradras was a little ugly, this wouldn''t impact the romantic side of the whole situation.


    Unfortunately, this had never happened.


    Their son had killed his father. After this tragic event, Princess Theradras took her husband''s corpse and sat in this cold palace alone.


    For once, Water Fairy spoke up.


    "I think it''s alright. She looks sad ¨C maybe she really did care for Zaetar. Would you not love a woman solely because of her looks?"


    "Of course not," the men said, standing their ground on the topic together.


    None of them spoke with certainty though; everyone loved to look at beautiful things. Before they found their real love, everyone and anyone could just be someone who was into looks. They could be attracted by a beautiful face and even mistake that as love.


    "Why did the son kill the dad?" Hachi Chan asked.


    This was a real and innocent question. She wasn''t interested or concerned about these relationship issues and neither did she understand them. This question, asked out of logic and reasoning, was right where the core of the situation lied.


    "This was how the gaming company designed it. It can''t be helped," Lu Li replied seriously.


    "These people are so perverted," Hachi Chan said in disgust.


    They studied the princess for a while, but they had to complete the dungeon regardless. There weren''t any monsters nearby, which would save them some time.


    "How do we do it?" Deep Watersong''s question was simple, but he sounded tired.


    "We just do it," Lu Li''s answered bluntly.


    There weren''t any guides needed for this fight. If they could do it, then they could do it. If they couldn''t, there wasn''t much they could do about the situation either.


    The princess was the final Boss of Maraudon and was also the strongest one.


    She had two signature moves ¨C one was a group knock up, while the other was a group fear. These gave her the ability to attack and deal damage. Not to mention, she was also an Earth Elemental Princess, so it wasn''t hard to imagine the amount of Defense and Health she would have.


    High damage, high defense, group control and group damage ¨C Princess Theradras was a true all-rounder.


    "My *****, only forty points of damage! This is so damn hard!"


    Deep Watersong''s face looked like he was about to cry as he barely scratched Princess Theradras. He had previously imagined a beauty, but now he wanted to kill himself first.


    "I dealt 170 points of damage with a skill¡­" Lu Li sighed.


    When Lu Li had attempted this dungeon in his previous life, this Boss wasn''t this tough. In one of the future versions, the game company would reconsider and weaken this boss.


    For now, they could only face the princess head-on.


    Princess Theradras could take out about 400 points of health from Deep Watersong with one hit. Hachi Chan had to use two Rejuvenation spells to bring his HP bar back up.


    "Watersong, don''t forget to drink potions. The same goes for the rest of you. Stupid Hachi, look after yourself. If you''re out of mana, we''re doomed," Lu Li said.


    "You''re the stupid one; I rarely get to finish my mana bar," she answered rudely. However, Hachi Chan was a good girl and began to save her mana. She even started to drink mana potions when her mana bar dipped below a certain level.

 697 Deepwater Song’s Trump Card

    "Poof!"


    Suddenly, there was weird, yet familiar noise, but no one could remember where they had heard it from.


    Then, everyone was sent flying high into the air, including the Main Tank, Healer and the Three Thieves who were busy attacking the Boss.


    Besides the pain from the landing, they were also Stunned in place.


    Princess Theradras de-aggroed from Deepwater Song and jumped onto the nearest target.


    "Gale Steps!" Lu Li shouted.


    Cain''s Left Hand thought that Gale Step would be a waste of a cooldown in this situation, but he still followed Lu Li''s instructions and casted it. Princess Theradras'' huge palms slammed onto the ground beneath him, but they did not deal any damage at all.


    Gale Steps was a skill that gave the caster both Stealth and Invulnerability. This stalled enough time for the Stun on Lu Li and others to wear out.


    Cain''s Left Hand quickly charged towards the Boss to reestablish aggro. It wasn''t his fault that the Boss had randomly switched targets before.


    There were walls in Princess Theradras'' underground palace, but since she was protecting the corpse of her deceased lover, she refused to be lured by the players. As such, there was no other way that they could prevent this skill that sent them flying away.


    "We''ll just have to kill her the normal way," Lu Li said.


    There were many commanders that wouldn''t know what to do in this situation. Besides using Gale Steps and other invulnerability skills, it was almost impossible to avoid her attacks. Every time their teammates were sent flying, there was a very high chance of them losing a player.


    Because guild members were used to taking orders from their shot caller, they were easily influenced by the state of their commander.


    Once the commander lost their confidence or panicked, the players taking orders would be in a predicament.


    Although Lu Li wasn''t as passionate as other commanders, he would never ever lose his cool and would remain calm and steady no matter what the situation was.


    "We''ve only taken down 7% of her HP. If she aims Cain''s Left Hand again, he won''t have Gale Step to save himself," Deep Watersong said, visibly distraught.


    "We''ll deal with that if it actually happens. Just keep dealing damage right now," Lu Li said determinedly.


    There weren''t any other possible solutions and the only way was to continue attacking the Boss. The problem that Deepwater Song raised was purely hypothetical.


    Private Dungeons were different from Public Dungeons. You couldn''t attempt the dungeon endlessly because there was only a maximum of three attempts. Once a team failed three times, they would be forcefully removed from the dungeon.


    "Why do you invade my home?"


    Princess Theradras'' voice was deep and penetrating, but it wasn''t harsh. This was the first time she had spoken since Lu Li and the others attacked her.


    Lu Li ignored her because Bosses did not negotiate with players, so there was no point in talking to her.


    "This is a robbery! Give me all of your possessions!" Hachi Chan shouted in a cute voice.


    "Careful. Stand back a little," Lu Li said as he grabbed her by her collar and dragged her back. If she got too close, she would probably be Princess Theradras'' next target. If that happened, she would be instantly killed for sure because she did not have invulnerability skills like Gale Step.


    If the healer died, the whole team would follow.


    Princess Theradras was outraged and let out a loud thundering roar which made the players scatter like flies.


    Repulsive Gaze: Roar at enemy units, causing them to be Feared for 6 seconds.


    Lu Li was unaffected!


    He had activated the special effect on his mask at the perfect time and avoided the crowd-control.


    Voodoo Mask (Exquisite Gold): Armour +42, Agility +30, Strength + 18, Socket Slot +1. Special Effect: Certain chance of discovering Stealth units regardless of level. Special Effect 2: Icy Veins. Your mind is as calm as ice. When activated, become immune to psychological crowd control such as Fear. Special Effects 3: When you critically an opponent consecutively, your third attack has a 10% chance to deal the combined damage of your previous two attacks. Requires level 40. Durability 95/95.


    The Icy Veins Special effect required the user to activate it before the oncoming crowd-control. Lu Li had predicted Theradras'' Repulsive Gaze and completely avoided the Fear debuff.


    After using the crowd-control skill, she immediately entered an channeling state.


    Although she couldn''t attack, Theradras could drain the Elemental Energy from the earth, and if left uninterrupted, she would form a shield around her body, increasing her Defense dramatically.


    The longer she absorbed the Earth Elemental Energy, the stronger her shield would become.


    This was the reason why Lu Li had activated his special effect to avoid being Feared. Since she was very close to Theradras, he immediately kicked her.


    This was no ordinary kick ¨C it was the special Thief skill which successfully interrupted Theradras'' channel.


    The thin shield was instantly destroyed by Lu Li''s daggers, and he took the opportunity to burst her while she was in her channeling state. Water Fairy and Cain''s Left Hand also took the opportunity to unleash a barrage of attacks.


    Thieves could use the Shadow Cloak active with a relatively short cooldown, so it was a no-brainer that they would use it as often as possible.


    The few seconds were precious in determining the outcome of this Boss fight. Princess Theradras'' HP continued to drop quickly and she wasn''t able to retaliate at all. They were glad that they had brought in three Thieves to this dungeon run.


    When Theradras'' channel was finished, she used another new skill.


    Triple Strike!


    This dealt more than 380 points of damage to Deep Watersong and he was almost killed instantly. Druids were had weaker Magic Resistance which made them inferior to a Warrior Main Tank.


    The melee skill Triple Strike was an Earth elemental magic skill.


    Hachi Chan immediately focused all of her healing onto Deepwater Song and Lu Li began attacking furiously in an attempt to draw aggro. Since he had the Darkmoon Card, he could afford to die and use it to revive again. However, Deepwater Song had to be kept alive no matter what because there were no secondary Tanks in the party and no one else could tank the damage from Theradras.


    "I can''t believe she forced me to use this!" Deepwater Song shouted when he was at critical HP


    A bright, green light filled his body as his HP was instantly restored and his Defense was also greatly increased.


    "That skill is so overpowered! Is that a special effect from your gear?" Lu Li was surprised. He knew that this wasn''t a Druid skill because he had played a Druid in his past life.


    "Yeah, I randomly got it from a piece of equipment. The stats aren''t great, but the special effect is very useful." Deepwater Song pretended to be humble, but in his mind, he knew that everyone was impressed with him.


    In order to create a realistic world, there were many imbalanced skills and special effects in Dawn. This was just like real life, where nothing was fair and not everyone was created equal.


    The game was affected by luck and randomness which made it all the more realistic.


    No one could predict what could happen next. Perhaps a simple equip, a random skill, or an unexpected turn of events could completely alter your fate in the game.

 698 Skill Blocking

    Deepwater Song''s active gave them the boost that they needed; it lasted for 15 seconds.


    Azure Sea Breeze was renowned as the number one Main Tank in the server, but even he didn''t have such an overpowered active in his arsenal. Lu Li estimated that the equip was at least Legendary Dark Gold grade.


    It was hard not to be envious.


    He was currently wearing a Legendary equip and had another in his inventory that was too highly-levelled to be equipped yet. Both of these Legendary pieces had taken blood, sweat and many tears to obtain. If he wasn''t because of his rebirth, he might not have even had the opportunity to obtain them.


    It wasn''t because he didn''t put in as much effort into the game in his past life ¨C he was just extremely unlucky.


    Monsters would never drop good loot, other players would often harass him and he always received the worst rewards from quests. Nothing he did in his past life went his way.


    If it wasn''t for his love of the lore and the captivating gameplay, he would have quit a long time ago.


    "How long is the cooldown?" Lu Li asked.


    "Thirty-five minutes, so it probably won''t be used again in this fight. I have other defensive skills that are similar but, they only last for two seconds," Deepwater Song revealed.


    "That''s good then. What about you guys? There are no shortcuts to defeating thisBboss and it will continue to randomly switch aggro. Do the best that you can to stay alive," Lu Li said.


    Princess Theradras interrupted their conversation and sent them flying again.


    On the gaming forum, this skill was known as Dust Field and was described as, "Shake the ground nearby damaging and knocking back nearby enemies."


    The players would often refer to this skill as Fart because of the animation.


    There no way of countering this skill in midair. All Lu Li could do was take the hit as he flew back several meters and landed hard on the ground. As soon as he landed, he immediately activated his Badge to cleanse the Stun, then charged towards the Boss. He was hoping that the Boss would attack him!


    He needed to prevent the Boss from attacking Hachi Chan, Deepwater Song or Cain''s Left Hand, because losing any of them would greatly increase the risk of them being wiped.


    After casting Dust Field, Theradras used another very annoying skill.


    In order to deal with Lu Li, she used her fists to send Lu Li flying again. Lu Li rolled along the ground like a ragdoll, then stood up, unharmed. Surprisingly, he did not lose a single point of HP.


    "What skill is that?" Water Fairy asked.


    It wasn''t Gale Steps because it didn''t have same animation and he wouldn''t have been knocked away because of the invulnerability.


    "Equipment active. Why are you asking so many questions?"


    Lu Li was cautious about revealing his secrets because they might face off against each other in the Tournament League at the end of the year.


    "You¡­ you''re so petty!" Water Fairy exclaimed in anger.


    However, there was nothing that she could do about this. Girls were always more emotionally attached than guys. Through all the time they had spent with one another, Water Fairy had begun to let down her guard with Lu Li. On the other hand, this was not the case for Lu Li.


    "Who cares about your stupid equipment active? Whatever, I won''t waste time asking you how much you want to sell it for," she internally ranted.


    In reality, even if Lu Li wanted to, he couldn''t sell it to her as it was one of the four actives on his Supreme Ring. King of the Jungle''s Protection: Instant Cast. Summon a natural shield that absorbs all damage in one attack for the caster. 1 Hour Cooldown.


    The shield had absorbed all of the damage which was why Lu Li was unharmed.


    The Stun duration on Deepwater Song ran out and he immediately regained aggro. For now, the danger had passed.


    The Boss'' HP was currently at a bit less than 50%, but three players had already used their trump cards to save their lives. No one knew if they could defeat the Princess or not.


    "Nightmare mode is too hard," Deepwater Song sighed.


    "But we''ve always attempted Nightmare mode. If we decrease the difficulty, it would be too easy," Hachi Chan said bluntly.


    "Psh¡­" Deepwater Song was visibly annoyed and sarcastically replied, "You guys are so cocky; stop showing off. You don''t understand how us commoners feel."


    It was true that not everyone attempted Nightmare mode. If they had lowered the difficulty to Elite, they would have finished the dungeon a long time ago.


    "Stop wasting time. Everyone, be careful ¨C the Boss is about to roar again," Lu Li interrupted them in a deep voice. He was mad that the two Druids would argue in such a dire situation.


    "Who will interrupt the Boss this time?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Cain," Lu Li answered without hesitation. Since Cain had already used his Gale Steps, he wasn''t as valuable anymore. Lu Li also didn''t want to risk losing Water Fairy''s DPS.


    Cain''s Left Hand activated his Shadow Cloak before the Princess roared.


    Shadow Cloak''s effect didn''t cleanse the Fear, but it was similar to Lu Li''s Icy Veins effect on his Mask. As long as it was activated and the user had a buff on them prior to the crowd-control, they could avoid being feared.


    Following Lu Li''s example from before, Cain''s Left Hand interrupted the Earth Elemental Princess with Kick.


    Lu Li and the others turned around and began dealing damage again, taking off a large chunk of her HP bar. For a team attempting the dungeon for the first time, this was basically a miracle.


    This Boss was very difficult, especially for a newcomer, because they had to predict what skills she would use.


    Dust Field!


    Everyone was sent flying again and Deepwater Song cried out in mid-air, "Why do you always do this to us? I hate you Princess; I hate all Princesses. It''s not very lady-like to fart."


    "Water Fairy!" Lu Li yelled.


    Lu Li called out for Water Fairy because she had saved most of her skills up until this point. She was also the closest to the Boss and had the highest chance of saving Hachi Chan.


    Without hesitation, Water Fairy stood before Hachi Chan. In Lu Li''s past life, someone wondered whether it was possible to form a team of Thieves with Gale Steps so that they could each take turn to block the Boss'' skills.


    And so, someone actually attempted it and recruited a team of Thieves with Gale Steps.


    The results were completely unexpected. Instead of entering Berserk mode, the level 45 Boss mutated and transformed into a level 55 Boss. The whole team was wiped and no one managed to make it out alive.


    Lu Li was worried that Princess Theradras would also transform.

 699 From Death to Life

    There was a theory in the early days that the players and the game company were natural enemies.


    One group would spend their time trying to take advantage of loopholes while the other was desperately trying to block them. If there were too many loopholes, their relationship would collapse and the business would fall apart.


    In this regard, Dawn had done a decent job. A lot of time was spent in early development to test all the different ways the game could be exploited. In addition, the smart repair technology was used very effectively, which allowed the last three months to run quite smoothly.


    If they wanted to use the skill-blocking exploit, they would be going up against the game company.


    However, in the moment, they were about to get wiped, so there was no time to discuss it.


    When the Boss mutated from level 45 to level 55, there was no hope left.


    From the perspective of Lu Li''s five-man team, they hadn''t violated any rules of the game. At this point, the Boss only had 5% HP remaining, but Princess Theradras was furious.


    It wasn''t clear if she had gone wild because of the skill blocking, but that was irrelevant. Princess Theradras'' brown skin turned bright red as she began to go crazy.


    "You shameless invaders! Don''t even think about taking away my husband!"


    Her first attack resulted in a two second stun, with the following two attacks completely draining Deep Watersong''s HP. After killing Deep Watersong, she rushed towards her next target.


    Frankly speaking, even Lu Li was a little dumbfounded.


    He had been to Maraudon in his previous life, but that was only at Hero Difficulty. The dungeon had been severely nerfed by the game company. While the Princess had gone berserk them, she wasn''t this strong.


    She had managed to kill the tankiest Druid Main Tank with three hits. There was no way anyone else could survive that barrage.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t easily scared and looked at the direction that the Boss was travelling. It was heading right at the silly little Druid.


    "Hachi, Shadowmeld!" he shouted.


    The healer needed to be kept alive, but at this point of the fight, her role was minimal anyway.


    "Oh!" Hachi Chan cried out in response.


    Using Shadowmeld was quite easy ¨C all you had to do was cast it and stand still.


    Normally, Shadowmeld couldn''t be used to escape a Boss'' detection. Otherwise, everyone would use this trick to escape death when fighting a Boss. However, in this case, the Boss was in berserk, which meant it had lower detection. Hachi Chan''s jumble of equipment would also help in concealing her and there was still some distance between her and the Boss. If she managed to vanish before the Boss, it would try to find another target.


    This new target was Lu Li.


    However, Lu Li couldn''t run away. If he ran away, then who would be left to fight the Boss? All the melee players needed to be close to hit it.


    "Hachi, Ressurect Watersong. Everyone else, damage the Boss. Don''t hold back; fight with everything you''ve got," Lu Li said, his instructions unusually descriptive.


    Cain''s Left Hand smiled as he casted a movement speed skill before appearing behind the Boss and unleashing his abilities.


    Water Fairy spat on the ground before buffing herself and attacking as well. Following Lu Li''s lead, the three damage players attacked with all they had. It didn''t matter whether they lived or not, as long as the Boss died before they got wiped.


    There were two things that could happen that made fighting a Boss more difficult. The first was whether the Boss had gone Berserk and the second was whether the Boss would cast an ultimate skill just before it died.


    This was the perfect situation to showcase the survivability of Thieves.


    Although none of them were Warriors, they all had ways to keep themselves alive. Lu Li managed to stall for seven seconds while Cain''s Left Hand lasted for five. By the time only Water Fairy left, Hachi Chan had already Resurrected Deep Watersong and fully healed him.


    As long as he wasn''t hit with a skill, he could take two to three hits, even if the Boss was in Berserk.


    Hachi Chan, Deep Watersong, and Water Fairy were all stubbornly fighting the Boss while Lu Li and Cain''s Left Hand lay dead on the ground.


    Lu Li didn''t revive himself; the opportunity was not right.


    After going berserk, the Boss would use an ultimate skill which he remembered very clearly.


    Repulsive Gaze!


    In a last ditch attempt, Princess Theradras casted her area of effect fear skill and went into a petrified state, absorbing the Earth Elements around her to form a shield.


    However, when Repulsive Gaze was casted, Lu Li decisively used his Darkmoon Card


    Darkmoon Card: Void (Special): Instant Use. Has a 50% chance of Revive. Upon a successful Revive, HP and Mana regen increased by 20%, EXP gain increased by -5% - 10%. Number of uses remaining: 4/5. Effective when item is placed in backpack. Equipment requirement: Level 10.


    He had used it once before in the Stranglethorn Vale Warm, so currently had four more uses.


    If he didn''t Revive, the remaining three players would have no chance of killing Princess Theradras. After all, the Boss was now steadily regenerating its HP and Water Fairy was the only damage player left.


    After using the card, Lu Li stood up.


    The Revive was a success!


    However, Lu Li didn''t have time to celebrate. He rushed towards the Boss while glancing at his EXP bar. It had dropped by 3%.


    This was an Instance Dungeon and you weren''t supposed to lose EXP if you died. Moreover, the 3% that he lost was quite hard to come by. He would need another an hour to gain it back.


    When Lu Li rushed back, he immediately destroyed the Boss'' shield.


    The shield needed to be destroyed first, otherwise, her high Defense and Attack would make her unbeatable.


    Lu Li stopped attacking the Boss after he destroyed the shield and started channeling Cain''s Left Hand''s Revival.


    The team that had originally lost half of its members had now been restored.


    If Princess Theradras was more intelligent, she wouldn''t want to fight them anyway. She had worked so hard to kill a few of them, but they just kept coming back.


    They had about three seconds left to damage Princess Theradras, but she didn''t have much HP left.


    Even so, for as long as she kept regenerating, the crisis was not over yet. As long as the Boss was still breathing, there was still a good chance that they could get wiped.


    In the face of Princess Theradras'' onslaught, Lu Li didn''t hesitate to use Gale Steps, which managed to buy two more seconds for his team.


    Deep Watersong managed to take the aggro again and died once more.

 700 Divine Intervention

    Main Tanks generally received bonus payouts because of the tough time they had in Boss battles. Apart from the fact that they were killed all the time, they would usually miss out on the final EXP reward.


    Water Fairy seemed to also have damage reduction skills. After the Boss killed Deep Watersong, she took a few hits without dying.


    "Die!"


    Lu Li''s body twisted around as he positioned an Eviscerate on the back of the Boss'' head. He didn''t know if this was going to be a fatal blow or an ordinary critical hit.


    Regardless, Princess Theradras fell after being struck.


    System: Congratulations to Deep Watersong, Water Fairy, Hachi Chan and Cain''s Left Hand, who under the leadership of Lu Li, have completed Maraudon at Nightmare difficulty.


    The moment the System Announcement was made, they all heaved a great sigh of relief.


    The first few Bosses in this Instance Dungeon weren''t difficult; one could even say they were easy. However, Princess Theradras was on a completely different level. She had high offence and defense, as well as several skills that were very hard to deal with.


    Lu Li''s team was quite powerful. If they had been replaced with an ordinary team or even a major guild''s elite team, all that would have been left at the end was a pile of bodies.


    "Stop looking at it and loot it," Lu Li said, interrupting Water Fairy''s dazed state.


    "You really are heartless," Water Fairy pouted as she turned to the Boss, leaving Lu Li a little confused. After what he did at the end, he still received such a harsh judgment.


    "Heartless!" Hachi Chan grimaced at Lu Li and stuck her tongue out.


    As for why Lu Li was embarrassed, this little girl had no idea, but as long as they were scolding him it was probably correct. Especially since he called her an idiot all the time.


    "It''s a good item! I want it!" Water Fairy cried out, holding onto a dagger as she turned to Lu Li.


    One moment she was scolding him, and in the next, her heart was suddenly filled with excitement. Lu Li had a good understanding of the fickle emotional changes that women went through. He didn''t really need the item, so he nodded and said, "You will need to consult with Cain''s Left Hand."


    Just because he didn''t want it didn''t mean that Cain''s Left Hand felt the same.


    It was unlikely that it was an Epic equip, but it would at least be Dark Gold grade. Otherwise, the female tycoon wouldn''t want it so badly.


    If Lu Li had guessed correctly, it was probably the Blade of Eternal Darkness. This Dagger boasted a powerful special effect that could steal a portion of the target''s HP and use it to form a shield. It was quite similar to the Princess Theradras'' absorption of the earth elements.


    The Blade of Eternal Darkness was undoubtedly Maraudon''s best drop.


    He just hoped that Cain''s Left Hand was going to be a bit stubborn about it. This was quite a good


    equip, but if he was insistent, even Water Fairy wouldn''t simply take it from him¡­


    However, what actually happened was nothing like he expected.


    He had no idea what Water Fairy said, but Cain''s Left Hand gave up the dagger without a fight.


    The next item was a pair of Gold Bracers of the Stone Princess which were suitable Warriors. There was also the Broken Jade Heart, which was a heart-shaped amulet with cracks on it.


    The attributes were geared towards offence, so neither Hachi Chan or Deep Watersong had any reason to ask for it. This meant that the remaining three players were competing for it.


    "This item looks quite nice."


    With a single touch, Water Fairy was already obsessed with it.


    Some women said that they don''t like jewelry, but these were either tomboys or women without any money. There wasn''t a single woman who didn''t like jewelry; their greed for it exceeded any dragon.


    "The attributes are pretty good," Lu Li said indecisively as he rubbed his chin.


    Such a beautiful item would also be suitable for his sister. He believed that she would love it.


    But in that case, its Attributes would be wasted. The effects mirrored a heartbreak ¨C the first was to belittle and the next was to go insane. The first effect reduced the target''s Attack and Armor while the second buffed the user''s own attack and Armor. When both effects were activated, there would a difference of 40%.


    Although the duration was short, it could be quite effective if used well.


    "Okay, I won''t be participating Water Sister."


    It wasn''t clear what Cain''s Left Hand was thinking, but he once again gave up on the item. Lu Li gave him an ugly look and resolved to talk to him later.


    "I¡­" Lu Li opened his mouth.


    "Lu Li, we''re friends, right?" Water Fairy''s expression was very gentle. It was quite an unusual gentleness that was very rare for her.


    "Why don''t you ask me how much money I want?" Lu Li was puzzled.


    "I know you don''t like that I always pay for things¡­" Water Fairy had remembered the countless times that Lu Li would always rudely cut her off when she had talked about money.


    Talking about money tended to result in hurt feelings, especially if it was between a man and a woman. This was what one of her Drizzle Court girlfriends told her.


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li was speechless.


    "Please, what are you trying to do? I''ve been waiting for you to name a price¡­ How can you suddenly pull this move? I didn''t name a price before because I knew that the item you wanted couldn''t be bought¡­" he thought internally.


    Now, Water Fairy was appealing to his emotions.


    In this case, Lu Li wanted to say that he wanted to be paid for it, but that was too direct. Although the amount of gold she had was heavier than she was, he was still a man.


    "Alright, how about I let you have it?"


    It was quite difficult for Lu Li to say that because on the one hand, this would mean he could solidify their relationship as good friends, but on the other hand, he would be giving up the rights to compete for it.


    The Broken Jade Heart wasn''t that suitable for him, nor did it fit his style. He already had Pamela''s Gift anyway.


    After the three equips were distributed, Water Fairy picked up a skill book ¨C the Paladin''s Divine Intervention.


    When they used this skill, the Paladin would sacrifice themselves and protect a target teammate from any harm. Nothing could attack the protected teammate, but they also couldn''t do anything for 3 minutes.


    Finding this book was rather unexpected.


    Although it couldn''t protect everyone, it was still the most used Paladin skill in professional play.


    It was also said that many Paladin players used this skill to get a girlfriend and escape the life of loneliness.

 701 Zaetar

    "Paladin, do you have the courage to sacrifice yourself for the greater good?"


    This was a question asked by most Paladin NPCs, and represented the Paladins'' virtues.


    Sacrificing themselves and saving others was the greatest expression of those virtues.


    Officially, the Paladin''s Divine Intervention gave a target an effect which prevented Bosses from attacking them. After the Boss left, the target player could then cancel the effect and revive the other players.


    If you heard your teammates asking you to use Divine Intervention, it was best to stay as far away from the monster as possible.


    If you were the target of Divine Intervention, you wouldn''t want the duration to end while you were in vulnerable position. If you were the teammate of a Divine Intervention target, you had to die quickly. Otherwise, if the Divine Intervention ended and you were still alive¡­ it would truly be a waste.


    For a Paladin, their ideal target for Divine Intervention would be another Paladin, followed by a Priest, a Shaman and a Druid. At the very worst, they would pick someone who could Revive, but never a Hunter''s Pet!


    There was once a Paladin, who in a guild battle, casted Divine Intervention on a pig.


    The screenshot of that happening went down in Dawn''s funniest moments, and that poor Paladin became infamous.


    Before using Divine Intervention, you had to have a Symbol of Divinity. Paladin monsters had a low drop rate for this item and it could also be purchased at the System Store for a high price. It was even more expensive than the Blind Powder used by Lu Li.


    There were two ways to obtain the Thief''s Blind Powder. The first was through the small chance of stealing it from monsters, and the second was to purchase it from the System Store.


    With regards to Crowd Control skills and items, Dawn''s pricing could be said to be exorbitant. However, most players weren''t dissatisfied with this as those who possessed Divine Intervention and Blind were tycoons who didn''t mind paying money to be stronger than the average player. Even Lu Li, who cared very much for money, was no exception.


    "Alright, you can have it," Water Fairy said, a little distressed.


    "Water Sister, please¡­"


    Deep Watersong was a bit annoyed. He knew they were working together, but he wished they weren''t so obvious. Even though he wasn''t a Paladin, this was obviously a really strong skill.


    At that moment, he hated the fact that he wasn''t a Paladin.


    When your beloved girl was in a crisis, you could protect her in a flash. She would have a tear in her eye as she watched your body fall over. That act of self-sacrifice would definitely move her heart, unless you did something really embarrassing. =


    "Well, I''ll just go for it then," Lu Li said as he took the skill book. There were certainly many players who wanted this skill.


    Then, a faint emerald mist slowly rose from the ground of the underground palace. It appeared faint and fragile, like a dream that was about to quietly fade away in the moments before dawn.


    A new dazzling human form emerged above the body of the Earth Princess.


    It was quite a strange being ¨C he was tall and had a dark complexion with an enigmatic face that gave off a frightening air. He also had a green beard and a pair of fiery, golden eyes.


    This was clearly recognized by everyone as a Night Elf.


    Apart from Cain''s Left hand, who was a Human, everyone else was a Night Elf.


    However, as his lower body became visible, it was clear that he wasn''t a Night Elf. A pair of giant antlers appeared on his head, and his lower body was clearly a deer body.


    He was a Keeper of the Grove!


    In this form, Lu Li was quite familiar with them. The Keepers of the Grove were half Elf and half Deer. They had huge antlers and leaf-like bristles, but their lower body was very different from the Night Elves.


    This being looked a lot like Remulos, but Lu Li though that this guy looked a little bit better.


    With that being said, he was in a complete mess.


    Lu Li had never seen Cenarius, the Demigod of the Jungle, neither in this life or the last. He had only ever seen Remulos, the son of the Demigod, but it was hard to imagine Remulos as a Demigod.


    Remulos'' path was to blend into nature, but this meant that his presence was very weak.


    Most players just thought he was an ordinary skill trainer, and there were some that described him as insane on the forums.


    This was because he always stayed at the Temple of Remulos!


    Lu Li was fairly certain that the person currently before them was Zaetar!


    This was Cenarius'' other son.


    Zaetar was said to be very much like his father, but even fiercer and wiser. He had shown extraordinary talent when he was young and might even surpass his father.


    Unfortunately, the Jungle Demigod Cenarius didn''t hide his favoritism.


    He had always been trustful of Remulos and gave him many tasks, but as for Zaetar, he never did anything for him and even after he had died at the hands of his descendants, there was no indication of Cenarius leaving the Emerald Dream.


    "Hello, I''m very happy to meet you."


    Although Lu Li was only talking to a deceased soul, he still maintained his respect.


    This was probably the most wronged person in Azeroth. It was said that he was attacked by his son in his sleep and killed over and over again until his physical body degenerated.


    This ''sleep'' was likely him visiting the Emerald Dream, which allowed Druids to pass through space and time.


    The parents of the Keepers of the Grove were clear, but Cenarius'' mother was Elune. Elune would never reveal herself in the world, so the person who took care of Cenarius was his adoptive mother ¨C Ysera the Dreamer.


    When Cenarius was born, an instability was introduced into the Emerald Dream. Ysera immediately knew about this and after guiding him into the dream, she taught him many of its secrets before eventually becoming his foster mother. In fact, the deep relationship between her and Cenarius caused many of the earlier races to mistakenly believe that they were mother and son.


    Because of this, Lu Li didn''t think that Zaetar was dead.


    If a Demigod like Cenarius could be revived by Ysera, then Zaetar could also be easily revived.


    It seemed like his presence here was a trial for the change from a mortal body to a stronger being. That was why Cenarius hadn''t asked about him and Remulos didn''t seem to mind.


    Lu Li''s only worry was that they had just killed the guy''s wife.

 702 Fight Between Brothers

    "Adventurer from a faraway land, your arrival has interrupted my peace," Zaetar''s boomed as his golden eyes glowed.


    This was the proper demeanor of a son of a Demigod. Remulos was simple, like an old man selling cotton candy by the road.


    "We have come to complete a quest," Lu Li said after bracing himself.


    "A quest¡­ that has something to do with me. That''s funny."


    The term was no stranger to Zaetar, but he shook his head as he scanned all the players present with his gold eyes before asking, "Are all of you here for the same thing?''


    "No, just the two of us," Lu Li answered as he pulled Water Fairy over and signaled for the others to return to town.


    No one knew what Zaetar was going to do, but currently it seemed like he was far less benevolent than Remulos. Hachi Chan got scared and obediently started channeling her return portal. Cain''s Left Hand and Deep Watersong felt like it was a bit anticlimactic, but there was nothing they could do, so they also channeled their return portals.


    "Who sent you two? I can feel a familiar presence on your body," Zaetar asked as he circled around Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    Previously, Carolina had given Lu Li the Moon''s Blessing which allowed him to visit the Moonlight Forest. Later, as he got closer to Remulos, this blessing was solidified and he was now a regular guest of the Moonlight Forest.


    Lu Li revealed his blessing and showed it to Zaetar.


    He hoped that after seeing the favor of the Moon, Zaetar would just listen to them and return to Ravenholdt Manor with them.


    "It can''t be this one¡­" Zaetar shook his head after a moment of silence.


    "I don''t know then."


    Lu Li decided to give up on the idea of flattering the Demigod''s son, as the two parties had no common ground at all. After all, he had just killed his wife.


    Zaetar then stared at Lu Li''s hand and there was a sudden flicker in his gold eyes.


    Lu Li even noticed that his body had been solidified further. He had no idea what was going to happen next and could only bitterly smile at Water Fairy.


    Paladins and Priests actually had an advantage against ghost monsters, but it was difficult for Shamans and Druids.


    It was also a little hard for Thieves to deal with such monsters.


    "We killed your wife ¨C aren''t you angry?" Water Fairy suddenly asked.


    Lu Li sighed internally. They were already past that, but she was still thinking about it. Lu Li really wished that Zaetar would forget about that.


    Zaetar looked away from Lu Li''s finger and answered Water Fairy''s question.


    "She isn''t dead; this is a special place."


    As per usual, the Instance Dungeon was just a copy of space and time from the outside world. After the Bronze Ancestor Dragon, Nozdormu, received the blessing of Aman''Thul the Highfather and became Azeroth''s Guardian of Time, he and the other guardian dragons created the unique Instance Dungeons.


    Now, an NPC was directly telling that everything in an Instance Dungeon was just an illusion. This new revelation would go on to puzzle players for a very long time, but it caused a strong sense of detachment for Lu Li.


    "What about you? Are you just an illusion?" Water Fairy asked.


    "When did I say I was an illusion? I said that this was a special place, not that this was an illusion."


    Zaetar was becoming a little impatient as he turned his head and stared at Lu Li''s hand again, then said, "Show me your ring."


    "Sorry, I''ve already received approval for this ring, so I can''t take it off," Lu Li complained bitterly. After the ring had been spotted by Remulos, he had come up with this phrase to prevent those who wanted it from stealing it from him.


    Approval?


    This was Cenarius'' Ring, so there was only one person to get approval from.


    This was just an imaginative reason, but it clearly affected Zaetar. His ghost body distorted for a while before re-stabilizing.


    "You''re so small and weak¡­ how did you get his approval?!" Zaetar''s said incredulously with a chill in his voice.


    "When I got it, it was just an ordinary ring, but in three months, I have managed to upgrade it three times. It is now called the Supreme Four Ring," Lu Li answered. He was feeling slightly angry; this guy had been killed by his own song and he had to audacity to insult him.


    Upgraded three times in three months?!


    Zaetar''s expression was one of surprise.


    If you considered his consciousness to be alive, then his life was basically endless. So, three months to him was just a quick flash of a moment.


    Malfurion upgraded his Supreme ring three times, but it took over a hundred years¡­


    Zaetar couldn''t help but recognize this little adventurer as a genius. Although Zaetar was arrogant, he had felt like he had been compelled.


    Lu Li saw that this was his chance and tried to complete his quest.


    "We have brought a message from the Ravenholdt Manor. Someone you once met wants to meet with you again."


    Zaetar was currently in a ghost form which made his voice inherently raspy, so his laughter was particularly creepy.


    He wasn''t sure why, but Lu Li suddenly remembered something.


    When he first entered the Moonlight Forest, he felt like it was a peaceful place. However, the Druids there were quite nervous as there was an unidentified assassin who had reportedly attacked Remulos. This caused the entire Moonlight Forest to fall into a state of tension. The enemies of the Cenarion Circle were also supernatural, which made the Druids scared and suspicious.


    If Lu Li had not received the Moon''s Blessing, he probably would have been immediately killed because he was a Thief.


    In this world, the Ravenholdt Manor''s Assassins were probably among the best. Could it have been that Ravenholdt Manor had hired an Assassin to assassinate Remulos?


    Lu Li felt chills down his spine thinking about who it could be.


    It was becoming clear that the two sons of Cenarius weren''t just fighting to be favored. After thinking about the way that both Remulos and Zaetar had acted, his suspicions were slowly being confirmed.


    However, this wasn''t a fight he could be part of. Although he was the number 1 player, even the strongest players were currently nothing to the NPCs. They needed to become much stronger before they could even have a right to intervene.


    By that time, attacking Stormwind or Orgrimmar wouldn''t be far from reality. But right now, the only thing he could do was complete this quest.

 703 Dwarf’s Reward

    "I''ve actually asked for the opinion of the Esteemed Remulos and he felt like the people of Ravenholdt wouldn''t do anything to you," Lu Li added tentatively.


    Of course, nothing was going to happen, especially if Zaetar was the one who asked the Master of Ravenholdt Manor to assassinate his brother. This was no ordinary relationship.


    In response to this, Zaetar''s mood was visibly fluctuating again.


    "Would you like to come back with us?" Water Fairy asked. She wasn''t very clear on the relationships between these NPCs, but her intuition told her that the quest was almost complete.


    "Okay, I''ll go with you. I haven''t seen my old friends there in years," Zaetar sighed.


    "Do you want to leave Maraudon and Princess Theradras?" Water Fairy asked. Regardless of whether Zaetar was a good or a bad guy and regardless of what their relationship was like, the female tycoon always believed in true love. This was a common occurrence for most girls.


    "She is my wife; I will be with her for all eternity," Zaetar said as he looked at the body on the ground, his golden eyes softening.


    It seemed that he really did have deep feelings for the Princess.


    "In that case, let us leave then. Let me apologize in advance for this," Lu Li said as he took out their quest item. It was an orb that was given by the Hostess to hold Zaetar''s soul.


    If Zaetar refused to enter the orb, it would be a tragic end to the quest.


    If they had to escort him all the way back, they would have to travel a span of more than half of Azeroth. Lu Li would rather choose to abandon the quest if that happened.


    Fortunately, Zaetar didn''t refuse; he turned into a cloud of smoke and entered the orb. Lu Li put the orb away and channeled the return portal with Water Fairy.


    They were quickly sent to Southshore and Lu Li brought the item to the tavern.


    "It seems that your quest has been completed. Go to the back of the tavern; someone is waiting there for you."


    The hostess was obviously not the giver of the quest and was somewhat indifferent to Zaetar''s soul.


    There was a small side-door next to the staircase on the second floor of the tavern that led to an old tree in the yard. For the curious players that decided to explore here, that was all they would see.


    However, when Lu Li and Water Fairy walked in from the side, they found that it was completely different. It was like a whole other world. There was water flowing from the mountains and an exquisite hut right outside the bamboo forest.


    There was also a blindfolded ''man'', but Lu Li wasn''t too sure if he was human because he was too short.


    It was a Dwarf!


    Lu Li was a little surprised to discover that there were Dwarfs in Ravenholdt Manor, but this was an ancient organization, so of course there would be other races in it.


    In fact, some players thought that the founder of the organization was actually a Titan.


    Lu Li stopped Water Fairy and greeted the Dwarf from a distance away. He didn''t want to get to close to the Dwarf, especially if he was very powerful.


    "Greetings, we have completed the quest and brought Zaetar''s soul."


    Some Dwarves didn''t like looking up at people, which meant that you could offend one without knowing it. Many players never learned this truth, but Lu Li would not make this mistake.


    "Thank you. You can now claim my reward."


    The Dwarf did not ask Lu Li and Water Fairy to come closer, implicitly accepting the current distance.


    "Mr Remulos said that we can take Mr Zaetar''s soul back after you''ve finished," Lu Li said.


    Regardless of what kind of dispute Remulos and Zaetar had, Lu Li didn''t want to be caught in the middle of it. Moreover, their family wasn''t one that Lu Li couldn''t easily mess with anyway.


    "Don''t worry about it. I will return him; you just leave him with me. Please leave now You really shouldn''t be here," the Dwarf said as he took out two items which flew towards Lu Li.


    Lu Li felt that this was a little unfortunate because he wanted to interact with this NPC. These kinds of NPCs could often give tips about the game or even change the game''s direction.


    However, he didn''t dare to defy the NPC, at least for now.


    After receiving the quest reward, Lu Li and Water Fairy heard the System Prompt that they had completed the quest. When he checked his EXP bar, Lu Li''s EXP was now past level 43.


    The reward was a Dark Gold Bracer. When compared against Lu Li''s Killing Star Bracer¡­


    Well, it wasn''t better than the Killing Star Bracer. After all, the Killing Star Bracer actually provided a 200% increase in strength, but it also had its shortcomings.


    Killing Star Bracer (Gold): Armor 35, Agility +20, Strength +12, Attack Speed +10%, Special Effect 1: Instant Cast, Damage increased by 20% and Critical Chance increased by 15% for 30 seconds. 30 minute -cooldown. Special Effect 2: Killing a target within 30 seconds increases damage by 1% and refreshes the timer. Max bonus of 100%. Level Requirement: level 40. Durability 82/82.


    After Strengthening the item three times, its Attack Speed and Power had increased.


    However, the one thing about this equip was that it was useless on in a competition as there would not be many opportunities to use the second effect. If there was a player that couldn''t withstand Lu Li''s attacks for longer than 30 seconds, they were likely an unworthy opponent anyway.


    Even if he did kill a player, it would only provide a bonus increase of 1%.


    This effect was only useful when levelling or fighting large groups, which was why Lu Li had been on the lookout for PVP-suited Bracers. This was exactly what the Thief Dwarf had given them.


    Stab Scar Bracer (Dark Gold): Armor 38, Agility +24, Strength +16, Critical Hit +15%, Special Effect 1: Instant Cast. Attack the target''s back of the knee to stun it for 1.5 seconds. 2-minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Bloody Slaughter. Instant Cast. Lose 20% of your own HP to deal 40% of your target''s HP. If the target would be killed by this effect, they are left with 1% HP instead. 2-hour cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 40. Durability 96/96.


    There was a small text on the back of the Bracer that read, "They can''t see you appearing, but they can see you leaving."


    Lu Li was very satisfied with this Bracer as it was much more suited for competitions.


    The first special effect was fantastic ¨C it actually directly targeted the back of the knee. This sounded quite confusing, but it was actually easy to find.

 704 Chatting With the Female Tycoon

    Lu Li suddenly realized that it was a Dwarf who had given him this item and almost laughed out loud.


    Dwarves were small and players often joked that they could only attack their knees. A Dwarf Thief could rarely attack the back of a tall target, so they had to find other weak areas.


    In fact, the Thief didn''t actually have to specifically attack the back. As long as the attack was coming from behind, it would work. Asking a tall Night Elf like Lu Li to attack the back of the knee was a little difficult.


    The second effect was much more normal.


    Bloody Slaughter was a standard aggressive effect, but was a bit more straightforward and brutal. It used 20% of your own HP to take away 40% of your target''s HP. The conversion would be completed instantaneously and was unaffected by Attack and Defence stats.


    The only downside was that this skill couldn''t kill a player. If your target was below 40% HP, you couldn''t instantly kill them as they would be left with at least 1% HP.


    Even so, Lu Li was already content. Dawn wouldn''t allow more damage, as this would break the game''s balance.


    It wasn''t clear what item Water Fairy had received, but based on her expression, it must have been good.


    Lu Li discovered that Water Fairy laughed often but didn''t smile very much. Most players also didn''t dare to look directly at her face, which was why she had acquired this reputation of being a cold goddess.


    When she laughed, her lips curled and her eyes closed slightly. The rays of sunshine landing on her face allowed Lu Li to clearly see the smile of the female tycoon appreciating her equipment.


    "What are you looking at?" Water Fairy asked when she noticed Lu Li''s gaze.


    "I''ve noticed that you''re pretty good looking," Lu Li answered honestly. Instead of looking away, he stared right at her, like he had nothing to lose.


    "Pft, how would you know what looks good and what doesn''t?" Water Fairy mocked.


    The man standing in front of her was the most insensitive person she knew. When he transformed into a normal person, or acted like a normal person, it was just to gain a girl''s favor¡­


    But then again, if Lu Li was a normal person, he would be affected by her beauty. She probably wouldn''t be so close to him otherwise.


    "My sister is very attractive," Lu Li said in a triumphant tone.


    "Why don''t you talk about the three landladies that you live with?" Water Fairy asked, then stared at Lu Li for a moment and continued, "You poached them from our guild. Don''t you know that the law still prefers monogamous relationships? Which one are you going to pick?"


    "Please, we''re just renting a house together¡­"


    Lu Li was sweating. These were the landladies she was talking about; she didn''t need to be so vulgar.


    "You''re the owner of a big guild now. Why are you still renting a house?" Water Fairy asked. The two of them stepped out of the town and quickly arrived at a place where level 45 Black Bears spawned. While they trained together, they kept on chatting.


    "Because I had to pay for my sister''s treatment," Lu Li answered. He thought about it for a moment and if it weren''t for his sister''s illness, he would have solved the house issue. Lu Xin was someone who was particularly valued at home.


    "What about now?" Water Fairy asked while observing Lu Li''s movements. She and Lu Li both often stole tricks from others by watching them.


    If Lu Li was paying attention carefully, he would have noticed that Water Fairy had embarked on a completely different path from his previous life. She should have taken the path of winning by relying on good equipment and attack speed. However, she had now been influenced by Lu Li, and was slowly copying Lu Li''s style. She took priority in attaining a high degree of Skill Completion, with only a minor focus on attack speed.


    However, even if she did decide the take the path of her previous life, she could probably still be an expert. With that being said, if she went up against another evenly-equipped player, the gap would be clearly shown.


    "I still need to pay you back. If we do well in the league, then I''ll almost be there. I should be able to buy a house next year, but I''m actually living quite comfortably right now," Lu Li said then added, "Xin Xin really likes the current situation."


    "You don''t have to rush to return my money. You can use it first; I''m not worried about your ability to repay me," Water Fairy said.


    "I don''t like owing other people money," Lu Li refused as he shook his head, even though he knew that Water Fairy was sincere and she didn''t need the money either.


    "It''s up to you. If there were three beautiful women living with me, I wouldn''t want to move either," Water Fairy joked.


    Upon hearing this, Lu Li decided to change the topic.


    "Does your guild have any thoughts on this league? It looks like the size of this competition will be a bit small."


    Drizzle Court had a lackluster performance in the first competition because they hadn''t paid attention.


    In fact, no guild expected the first competition to have such a strong influence. It almost overturned the entire gaming circle, set countless records and improved the industry as a whole.


    The biggest beneficiaries of the first competition were Seventh Heaven and Blood Red War Flag, followed by Glory Capital, who were the favorites of this one.


    "You should participate," Water Fairy suggested casually. She didn''t seem to care much about it.


    "We plan to fully prepare ourselves. This is our first event as a guild, and plus, there might not be any major competitions after this one for a while."


    Lu Li didn''t mention anything about the fact that the league had already gone international. The next league had already begun their global campaign. The national team had gathered major club experts from different countries all over the world.


    "You won the Shadow Cup and stole the limelight of the Magic Cup. Now, you want to compete in the League."


    Water Fairy didn''t really understand Lu Li. Even though Ruling Sword was in the building phase, they didn''t need to be so aggressive.


    The Chinese game circles often lived a philosophy of being tastefully ordinary to ensure long term survival.


    "If I said that the league would go international, would you believe me?" Lu Li couldn''t explicitly talk about it, so he vaguely referenced it. There were many games that went international, but because of the short life of virtual reality games, none had reached this milestone yet.


    "You really think quite highly of Dawn."


    Water Fairy shook her head disapprovingly, but she was actually uncertain about Lu Li''s words.


    "Oh yeah, Xin Xin and I want to return to Jiangnan," Lu Li mentioned, not wanting to say much else. If Drizzle Court wasn''t too keen on participating in the League, then that would mean one less opponent for Ruling Sword.

 705 The Great Tinkerer

    Lu Li brought his sister with him as they left Jiangnan, but not many people saw them off.


    Water Fairy was going to come. She was Lu Li''s only friend in this city, but she couldn''t make it in the end. Something had probably gotten in her way.


    Square Root 3 drove himself to pick up the siblings; he had always been a valuable man. After he had become the guild master of Ruling Sword, not only did he have a share in the guild, but Lu Li treated him well too.


    The car he drove was brand new and was also one of the safest models.


    "Do you want it? You can have this one; I have a lot of cars," Square Root 3 offered.


    "Three, are you showing off? I didn''t know you were so rich," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    "Hehe, speaking of rich, no one can beat her right," Square Root 3 laughed. "What I mean is that next time you come to Jinling, you should have your own car. You''re a public figure now."


    "How much is this car?" Lu Li asked. He was a little tempted, but then quickly waved his hand and said, "Never mind ¨C I don''t have a license!"


    Square Root 3 felt slightly sympathetic towards his new boss.


    There were no players in the game right now, but all the storylines proceeded as normal.


    "My friend, you should come out. Did you learn to play coy from the elemental princess?" the Gnome Thief finally spoke as he stared at the marble.


    "Does time hold any value to you?" Zaetar asked as he appeared on the chair opposite to the Gnome, choosing to come out of the marble.


    If Lu Li saw this, he would be very surprised because he thought that Zaetar would never have entered the marble. People with real power never let themselves fall under anyone else''s control.


    "My friend, why have you ignored my call?" the Gnome asked.


    "Thermaplugg, are you still dreaming about your kingdom? Is authority really so attractive to you?"


    Zaetar''s golden eyes were filled with spite. Although he was just in spirit form, he had no fear for the Gnome.


    Thermaplugg, Mekgineer Sicco Thermaplugg!


    Many people would know this name, especially Gnome players, and even those who weren''t interested in history. After all, he was greatest traitor of the Gnome race.


    Mekgineer Thermaplugg was once The Great Tinkerer, highly skilled and filled with wisdom.


    He wasn''t just any Tinkerer ¨C in the eyes of Gnomes, this title was symbolic of an authority, an authority which placed him as greater than all other Gnomes, except one. Besides The High Tinkerer, all Gnomes paid him great respect.


    For hundreds of years, the Gnome race never had a king or a queen. They preferred to choose their own prime minister to make and enforce their laws. The prime minister of Gnomeregan was The High Tinkerer, Gelbin Mekkatorque. The Great Tinkerer was his political and skill advisor, his right and left arm.


    Thermaplugg was a weak Gnome, even when he was younger, but he was talented and was destined to become The Great Tinkerer. He would eventually become friends with Mekkatorque and lead the rise of the Gnomes together.


    He pictured a vast kingdom outside of Gnomeregan, one that would split the entire west Dun Morogh. He even formed an alliance with the Dwarves nearby. It seemed like nothing could stop him.


    However, it was at the same time when an ancient and savage Rockjaw appeared from underground and invaded Gnomeregan.


    This was during the time when the Burning Legion had invaded. The Gnomes realized that their ally needed to focus on the Burning Legion, so they decided to use their own strength to battle the current threat.


    According to the legends, Thermaplugg used a radioactive poison that spread across the entire city. This stopped the invader, but it also killed even more Gnomes. The Great Tinkerer himself also stayed in Gnomeregan and was apparently afflicted with Leprosy.


    Whether it was true or not didn''t matter ¨C history was always written by the victor.


    "Don''t spread your rage onto me, Zaetar. I''m an Engineer and a Thief," the Gnome said slowly after a moment of silence.


    "But you''re still full of rage yourself," Zaetar laughed. "How does it feel to be betrayed by your friend?"


    "I wasn''t betrayed, Zaetar. You''re like a child who can''t get his toy, a shame to your identity as the son of a Demigod. Remulos is truly stronger than you," Thermaplugg shot back.


    "Not betrayed? Haha, Thermaplugg, everyone says that you set the bomb off. So many Gnomes died ¨C the old and the young..." Zaetar rambled on, laughing in a crazed manner.


    "I did set off the bomb, and not only did I set off the bomb, but I was also the one who invented it. Did I not receive a portion of Ivy''s inheritance? I saw with my own eyes, the children falling before me one by one. They all died because of me," Thermaplugg spoke through clenched teeth, his eyes beginning to glow blood-red.


    "And Mekkatorque became a hero ¨C the greatest leader of the Gnomes. You''re just a lowly rat to him," Zaetar continued.


    "I won''t kill you, Zaetar," Thermaplugg''s said as his red eyes returned to normal. "We''re friends, aren''t we?"


    "Yes, we''re friends," Zaetar affirmed as he formed his body, which looked nothing different from a normal Keepers of the Grove. At the very least, no one would think that he was only just a spirit.


    "Is it really worth it to kill yourself just to bait out your father?" Thermaplugg sighed as he pushed forward a cup of yellow looking liquid.


    "Apparently, it''s not enough to kill just one," Zaetar said as he pulled up the corner of his lips. He had perfectly inherited the appearance and composure of a Demigod; even a simple expression of his looked enchanting.


    "So you asked me to assassinate your brother, but unfortunately, he''s too strong."


    Thermaplugg pulled off his mask, revealing a deep injury that still remained on his face. The power of nature constantly eroded his skin; he couldn''t recover, no matter what he did.


    "Was this the reason why you''ve come to me?" Zaetar asked as he reached out his hand, pulling over a green glow from a far-away distance.


    It wasn''t that he was stronger than Thermaplugg, but that this power was the same as his. With the slightest thought, it left Thermaplugg, like a creek that eventually returned to the sea.

 706 Back To The South

    "Don''t you already know the reason why I''m here?" Thermaplugg was relieved. Although this force of nature wouldn''t kill him, it was constantly eroding away at his energy.


    "Yes, I saw the ring," Zaetar answered, instantly understanding.


    "That child ¨C he took the ring. It seems like you don''t have a chance anymore," Thermaplugg said as he sniffed the cup in front of him and carefully took a sip.


    "I don''t have a chance, but neither does he," Zaetar retorted angrily.


    The Supreme Ring!


    In order to stop Illidan from obtaining the ring, he even tempted him to focus on magic. The two brothers fought for so long, but the ring had fallen into the hands of a nameless little ant. Zaetar thought that he would be angry and upset, but he actually didn''t feel much of anything.


    He just told himself that anyone would be ok, as long as it wasn''t Remulos.


    "If the ring is here, then Malfurion would be able to receive the coordinates and come out from the Emerald Dream. You''d be able to know the whereabouts of Cenarius," Thermaplugg suggested in anticipation.


    "I''ve never guaranteed you this, Thermaplugg, but Malfurion would be the best chance for finding out the location of my father," Zaetar said reluctantly.


    In the eyes of his Demigod father, Malfurion was the only one he could trust, besides the Queen of the dream.


    Even his brother, the one that his father was impressed by, didn''t know his father''s whereabouts after the war ended. Thinking back, it had been years since they had seen him.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that the Emerald Dream still seemed calm, Zaetar would have suspected that he had died.


    "I''ve been waiting for this day for too long," Thermaplugg said as he pulled his mask back on. Even with the healing from Zaetar, his face was still unbearable.


    Leper Gnomes!


    This was one of the greatest prices the Gnomes had ever paid.


    At least half of the Gnomes were affected by the bomb and had been constantly dealing with the torture of leprosy. No one could save them, not even the Moon Priestess, but Thermaplugg believed that Cenarius could.


    If Cenarius couldn''t, then perhaps they would have to find Elune.


    "That adventurer, Lu Li¡­Were you the one who took him into Ravenholdt Manor?" Zaetar asked after a short silence between the two.


    "It was purely an accident. He only just recently knew about this new person. This little one is very lucky, but unfortunately, he''s an adventurer," Thermugg''s answered, his face filled with remorse.


    "Don''t look down on adventurers. The little team of adventurers that you sent cleared out Maraudon and killed my wife," Zaetar replied coldly.


    "It''s only an illusion. Regards to Nozdormu," Thermugg said as he raised his glass and almost finished the wine in one gulp. Luckily, he reacted in time and spat the golden liquid back out. Then, he pulled out a wine bottle and poured all the wine back in.


    Zaetar pushed the cup of golden liquid in front of him aside.


    "You should take it back; I have no use for these things. If I receive any news about father, I''ll inform you immediately."


    "Thank-you Zaetar. You were the one who saved my life."


    This golden liquid was very effective for his leprosy, and was probably the only effective thing too.


    "It''s been so many years. This is the first time I''ve heard you express your gratitude," Zaetar said as he waved his branch like arm and drew a magic circle on the floor. Vine-like plants spawned from the magic circle and wrapped themselves around him as they dragged him back underground. The plants that were left quickly withered and turned into ashes.


    Thermaplugg ¨C once The Great Tinkerer ¨C rested himself on the stone table as soon as Zaetar left. It didn''t take long until he began to moan in pain.


    Then, he called for a waitress.


    "Sir."


    The waitress didn''t dare look at Thermaplugg, although his position wasn''t particularly high and he never displayed his angry side.


    "Good work this time, and thank-you," Thermaplugg said as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead.


    Perhaps it was because the disease never stopped torturing him, but even someone as powerful as himself couldn''t refrain from expressing weakness.


    "It''s a part of my duty. Is there anything else you''d like me to do?"


    The waitress didn''t look down on Thermaplugg for his actions; she knew that everyone in Ravenholdt Manor wasn''t as ordinary as they looked.


    Many people thought that Thermaplugg betrayed his own kin and allowed the invasion to occur.


    Thermaplugg had once stated that Gnomes didn''t need to bother the outside world with their problems. Most of them thought that he wanted to ruin the reputation of Mekkatorque so that he could become the first true king in four hundred years to rule over the Gnomes.


    It was Thermaplugg who used the bomb to destroy the halls of Gnomeregan and kill the Rockjaw. If any Gnomes were to die in the process, it would be a sacrifice for saving their race. Afterwards, he trapped himself in the ruins of Gnomeregan with a bunch of crazy Leper Gnomes and fulfilled his sweet dreams of being a king.


    In reality, he had already become a long-serving member of the Ravenholdt Manor.


    Ravenholdt Manor supplied him with precious engineering recipes, which allowed him to become The Great Tinker so quickly. This was an organization that had survived through the passing of time and had such a vast, yet unapparent influence over Azeroth.


    Everything in the game continued in silence; no one knew anything that had happened. Lu Li had already brought his sister back to Jiangnan city, which was his real hometown.


    This was the place where he was born and where he grew up, regardless if the memories were good or bad.


    They still stayed in their original place, as there was a hospital nearby which was one of the best in Jiangnan City. If any emergency was to occur, they could sort it out immediately.


    The hospital from Jinglin also introduced them to a specialist.


    Lu Li would take his sister for checkups every week. He also hired a nurse with experience, one who was particularly experienced with these kinds of patients.


    Lu Li had already been considering to buy a house, but this wasn''t something that he could rush.


    His energy had to be focused on his first professional match. This was the foundation for his career and was also his way of ensuring that he and his sister could improve their living standards.

 707 Kitty Likes Mea

    First of all, he had to solve the problem about members.


    This was an area that Ruling Sword really lacked in ¨C they weren''t like other guilds that were brimming with talent.


    There wasn''t a solution for this, at least not a quick one. Regardless of how frustrated Square Root 3 and Lu Li were, there was no way for them to produce a bunch of top players out of nowhere and assign them into the competition.


    As for poaching from the other guilds, there was no guarantee that this would work. In fact, most professional players wouldn''t leave a guild that they had already established themselves in.


    They would have spent a majority of their time training and competing in their club, and would also be well-coordinated with their teams. For example, Fat Monkey finally synchronized his battle-style with Lu Li and the others. If he was tossed into a new club with a new team, it would be lucky if he could even display 70% of his true strength onstage.


    If they couldn''t perform at their best, it was almost guaranteed that their value as a professional player would drop. As such, it was very rare for professional players to leave their guilds.


    Even if Ruling Sword''s uprising was good enough to attract someone, they might not be able to afford the high contract breaching price anyway. Mu Qiu was an exception ¨C he was someone who had been given up on, so his old contractors didn''t bother too much with him.


    In a normal situation, a professional player had to pay three-times their value for breaching a contract.


    If Lu Li wanted Monsoon from Seventh Heaven, who was a ''cheaper'' player, Ruling Sword would have to pay around three million. He was currently worth $800,000, but the contract breach would skyrocket this price.


    Ruling Sword really couldn''t afford this!


    It wasn''t possible for them to poach, so they would have to find another solution.


    The competition this time was similar to the previous ones and was divided into two parts ¨C arena and group matches.


    In the arena matches, five players would be sent out to battle one-on-one until no one was standing on the team. Victory would be determined by points, which would be decided by the headcount of the winning team. The group matches were similar to before, and were still five players with one substitute player waiting outside.


    March Rain was a healer, while Sakura Memories was a supporting damage-dealer. Asking them to participate in the arena matches was equivalent to giving away free points.


    The only players who could currently fight in the arena were Fat Monkey, Lu Li and Moonlight.


    Mu Qiu''s skills and equipment wasn''t ready yet, so Lu Li didn''t think that he was suitable for an arena match.


    Besides the arena players, he also needed enough substitutes. These players would ideally be available to enter the match ground at any time and when they were not competing, be training buddies for the regulars.


    This meant that Ruling Sword needed another two damage-dealer competitors.


    Lu Li''s first target was a female Warlock. In arenas, Warlocks were a very popular class choice because they many skills that were suitable in a sustained battle.


    Drain Life ¨C deals damage while healing your own health bar.


    Life Tap ¨C sacrifices a portion of health and recovers double the amount as mana.


    Health Funnel ¨C sacrifices a portion of health and recovers double the amount of health to pets.


    Life Siphon ¨C deals damage to the target and heals the caster for 0.35% of their maximum health.


    Mortal Coil ¨C horrifies an enemy target into fleeing, incapacitating them for 3 seconds and healing you for 11% of your maximum health.


    Dark Refund ¨C heals you and your pet for 20% maximum health over 12 seconds; any healing received during this time will be increased by 25%.


    Spirit Link ¨C 20% of all damage taken by the caster is split with your demon; 3% of all damage dealt is used to heal you and your demon.


    Healthstone ¨C creates a Healthstone, which instantly restores 15% health after use.


    Well of Souls ¨C create a Well of Souls which lasts for 2 minutes. Team and raid members can click on the well to obtain a Healthstone.


    Soulstone ¨C store the spirit of a team or raid members to resurrect them. Can be used on a dead target. Target resurrects with 60% health and 20% mana.


    These were only the tip of the iceberg; there were still plenty of skills that Lu Li didn''t know about or understand. He only knew that Warlocks had quickly became the favorites for arena matches from his previous life. Almost any club had at least two professional Warlock players.


    As such, finding a professional Warlock player became an urgent task for him.


    Any guild leader would look far ahead from the present and train talent from all the different classes. These players wouldn''t be of a high value and had stricter contracts.


    Even if they wanted to leave, they would have to serve their old company for at least a year. The contract might even set a minimum number of competitions that they had to participate in. About a hundred years ago, when the laws were designed, there were plenty of clubs who didn''t send these competitors to the match grounds to punish them.


    These contracts no longer existed, but the mindset behind them remained.


    No one would want to spend time and effort to train someone and receive nothing in return.


    Lu Li wasn''t interested in any of these competitors-in-preparation.


    His target was a female Warlock with the ID Kitty Likes Meat. You could tell from her name alone that this was a girl.


    Kitty Likes Meat wasn''t a hidden star player blending in with the crowd. In fact, she had been a match analyst in the past and her technique was quite good. She was quite popular within the gaming industry.


    After she entered Dawn, she mainly played in the arena.


    Lu Li went to the arena a while ago to check her match records. She had a 79% victory rate and had played in around seven hundred matches.


    This wasn''t a very high win-rate ¨C real top players were all well above 90%. Professional players had a 95% win-rate in the arena, and a few players like Lu Li had never lost.


    As such, Kitty Likes Meat was still at the stage where she was underestimated.


    Her win-rate in the beginning was still low because she didn''t understand Warlocks when she first started playing. It wasn''t until her level, equipment and battle experience improved that her win rates began to shoot up.


    A few months later, she would be a part of the nine-five club (a special title for arena players with a win rate of over 95%).


    Although plenty of big clubs searched around, they gave up as soon as they heard that Kitty Likes Meat had a strict family and that she had to stay in her hometown city.


    Lu Li wasn''t fazed of this, because Kitty Likes Meat was from Jiangnan City.


    Jiangnan City was a small city in the South and had been around for less than a hundred years. It developed as a tourist city and only housed Star Moon Union as a top-100 guild.


    However, the reputation of this guild was average. They had nothing that could attract Kitty Likes Meat, a girl who didn''t need money or anything in general.

 708 Senior

    Lu Li wasn''t too certain either.


    From the memories of his previous life, Kitty Likes Meat had joined Drizzle Court in the end. Now that he thought about it, he felt a little bad for stealing Water Fairy''s people, since she was one of his few friends.


    However, since Kitty Likes Meat hadn''t joined Drizzle Court yet, he didn''t need to be too concerned about it.


    He wasn''t sure if Kitty Likes Meat already had her sights set on Drizzle Court yet; Drizzle Court was quite attractive to professional female players.


    Society had advanced over thousands of years and civilization continued to improve with it, but gender differences still existed. This wasn''t something that could be ignored in the gaming industry. Most female players even felt like they weren''t as skilled as male players.


    As far as gaming went, male players had an advantage.


    It wasn''t that girls from Drizzle Court thought they were superior, but that a majority of the guild was formed by girls. It was only natural that they would have higher positions.


    Drizzle Court was also located in Jinglin, which was only one or two hours away from Jiangnan City. This was probably the reason why her family had approved of her joining Drizzle Court to become a professional player.


    It was fine to talk in the game too, but they took into consideration that she probably didn''t have that much freedom. As such, after Square Root 3 found out where Kitty Likes Meat lived, they visited her house.


    Both of them went together because Lu Li wasn''t especially good with words.


    Square Root 3 wanted to use Lu Li''s reputation and popularity to show how much they valued Kitty Likes Meat.


    Kitty Likes Meat lived in a rich area; it wasn''t far away from Lu Li''s.


    However, even the garden was grander than the house that Lu Li currently lived in.


    It was a middle-aged woman who answered the door. Just as Lu Li and Square Root 3 began to wonder if this was actually Kitty Likes Meat''s mother, she opened her mouth and said, "You much be the guests that Kitty is waiting on. Come on in, I''m the nanny..."


    There was no way that they were poor people if they could afford a nanny.


    Job vacancies were limited these days. It wasn''t easy to find a job, but nannies still weren''t something that the average household could afford.


    Kitty Likes Meat looked similar to her gaming character; she was a girl with big eyes. Although she wasn''t beautiful enough to make it onto the beauty rankings, she was a clean, good-looking, and most importantly, cute.


    When Lu Li and Square Root 3 walked in, she was seated on a couch with a half-eaten platter of fruit in front of her.


    "Ah, hello. Do...do you want some?" she asked in a panic, offering them the half-eaten fruit platter. Who offered this kind of thing to their guests anyway?


    "No thanks. Where are your family members? Are you the only one at home?" Square Root 3 tried to sound as polite as he could.


    Apparently, this helped with establishing relationships; it would subconsciously leave a trustworthy impression in the other person. Square Root 3 had already mentioned this before to Lu Li in one of their conversations.


    "They''ve already left; you can just talk to me," Kitty Likes Meat said as she batted her eyes in preparation to listen.


    Square Root 3 explained the overall situation to her and Lu Li extended the invitation in the end.


    "We want you to join Ruling Sword as a professional player. We''ll be able to put you on stage in the immediate upcoming competition."


    "That''s so soon, but I''m not ready yet..." Kitty Likes Meat mumbled softly.


    "We won''t send you out immediately into arena matches. After all, those are scored by head counts," Lu Li explained honestly.


    "Ah, am I just a substitute?"


    Kitty Likes Meat was slightly disappointed; she thought that she was about to reach the peak of her life. Who would''ve thought that she was only a substitute?


    Suddenly, a voice from outside spoke out.


    "It''s more reliable to make you a substitute. I was about to say, who would be silly enough to make you a professional competitor?"


    A middle-aged couple entered; these were most likely Kitty Likes Meat''s parents. The one who spoke was the dad, who looked very friendly and was smiling from the corner of his eyes. He was completely different to what Lu Li and Square Root 3 had imagined.


    After formalities were exchanged, Square Root 3 explained the situation again.


    The dad was quite talkative and began to lead the conversation as he sat down.


    "That''s right, you should let the strongest go on stage first. This is how it''s been done for many years already, but this match system is very reasonable."


    "Oh, uncle seems to have a good understanding of the matches," Square Root 3 said in surprise.


    "My dad was a competitor in the past, but he retired after he married my mum," Kitty Likes Meat explained quietly as she continued to eat her fruits.


    "I see, I see."


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 quickly showed their respect towards Kitty Likes Meat''s father. In the gaming industry, professional players were replaced quickly, but they all respected their seniors. A majority of them had learned their skills and techniques from previous players.


    "It''s been so many years already; it''s not worth mentioning. I''m not as good as before, and I only made an account recently in Dawn. Right now, I''m level forty-one."


    Although Kitty''s father said that it wasn''t worth mentioning, you could tell that he was still quite proud from his expression.


    He was a poor boy when he was young and had unintentionally joined the gaming industry.


    Not only did he earn his position in the professional field, but he had countless beauties in the game chasing after him. He now had a wife, a daughter, expensive cars and a grand house. There was nothing more he could possibly ask for.


    "You''re level forty-one? Would you like to join us for our match?" Square Root 3 asked.


    If Kitty''s father was just a professional player from twenty years ago, he would not be interested. However, if he was a professional player from twenty years ago who had never stopped gaming and constantly paid attention to the industry, then he would be a person of great value.


    What did Ruling Sword need the most?


    They needed professional players for competitions, but they also needed a coach.


    In fact, Ruling Sword had no coaches at all. It wasn''t easy to find this kind of talent in the professional field without some sort of connections.


    "Haha, I appreciate your joke. I have my own shops already; gaming is just a hobby now," Kitty''s father said as he waved his hand.


    He was very satisfied with his current life right now. All he had to do was dawdle around, shop with his wife, raise his daughter and occasionally spend some time gaming when he felt like it. There was no need for him to trouble himself by becoming a coach.


    Over the past twenty years, he had already coached some clubs. It wasn''t anything interesting to him anymore.

 709 Square Root Three’s Strong Points

    Lu Li was quite disappointed.


    He knew that he had made a name for himself in the gaming community and he could at least consider the offer. However, he declined the position straight away without saving face for Lu Li.


    Ruling Sword was in desperate need of a coach. Lu Li was looking for someone who could pass on their experience while instilling a professional mindset in their players.


    "Let''s talk about your daughter then. Does she have the intention of playing for Ruling Sword?" Square Root Three asked, changing the topic straight away after being rejected.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure why he had decided to give up so quickly, but he remained silent.


    Despite his rebirth, in terms of social interaction, he could never compare himself to Square Root Three. This was because of their differences in upbringing and social class, as well as Square Root Three''s past experiences.


    "I¡­" Kitty Likes Meat looked at her parents.


    Her mother smiled while patting her head and saying, "If you want to join them, then go ahead. If you don''t want to find a job after you graduate, then you might as well find something to do at home rather than lying around all day with nothing to do.


    "Ruling Sword is located in a suburb close to the university. It''s a very safe and clean neighborhood."


    "Yes, we''ve research into this. There are only you guys and Star Moon Union in Gangnam now. Oh yeah, Little Three, weren''t you in Star Moon Union before?" her father casually asked.


    Square Root Three felt slightly bitter, but kept up his smile and answered, "Yes, I left Star Moon not too long ago and established a new guild with Lu Li."


    "Mmm, Star Moon Union doesn''t seem like they have a very bright future. You''ve got great insight and knowledge of what''s best for yourself. Drunkard is very capable of supporting a guild by himself anyways."


    Kitty Likes Meat''s father seemed to know about Drunkard as well. In his mind, he probably thought that Drunkard was more capable than Lu Li, who was newly emerging young leader.


    "Lu Li is not bad either. I don''t even play this game and I''ve heard about him." Mother Cat complimented, afraid that her husband''s words were too blunt and straightforward.


    "Our team has March Rain and Mu Qiu as our main healers, Sakura Memories, who has Bloodlust and excels in team fights, and Fat Monkey, who is basically a walking glass cannon. Moonlight and Lu Li are both capable of defeating most star players in the game in any given situation. We are looking to recruit two members that can provide DPS and give us more fire power, and we think that Kitty Likes Meat is very suitable and fitting for that role. We''ve come today with sincerity and hope to recruit your daughter," Square Root Three explained, getting straight to the point.


    Kitty Likes Meat was very touched by his speech. She was dying to get on the big stage, no matter how much she was paid.


    There weren''t any other guilds that could guarantee giving her playing time. Most guilds would develop their rookie players and only allow them to play when they felt like they were ready. Only small guilds that were lacking in numbers would allow their new recruits to start right away. However, these types of guilds never usually advanced deep into the tournament.


    Kitty''s mother was more interested in the fact that her work would be quite close to the university. As long as it was not too far away, she could always visit her and check up on her whenever she wanted.


    When you became a professional player, the game was no longer a hobby but a job.


    Anyone who had seen past matches of Ruling Sword would know the players that Square Root Three was talking about.


    Besides Moonlight, every member of Ruling Sword''s current team were nameless players that had suddenly emerged into the professional scene. All of these players were now worth over 1.5 million dollars. As such, there was no need for Square Root Three to make promises in order to please someone.


    "I can even promise that whenever your daughter wants to leave she can go," Square Root Three offered.


    "Ok, I''ll support whatever decision you make then. You can decide for yourself now Kitty."


    Kitty''s Father was a very intelligent negotiator. He knew when to push and pull, and if he pushed any further, he might ruin this great opportunity for his daughter.


    "Great, then it''s done." Square Root Three laughed joyfully and shook his hands.


    After leaving their home, Lu Li couldn''t help but ask, "Brother Three, I want to ask you something. It''s not that I don''t trust you; I just don''t understand."


    "You want to ask why I didn''t persist on asking her father to be the coach, right?" Square Root Three answered as he drove.


    "Yes, that was one of my questions," Lu Li nodded.


    Although the circumstances of his childhood were quite unfortunate and he had never received a proper education, his curiosity and desire to learn was respectable.


    "It''s simple. My goal was to recruit her daughter to join our team, but do you really think a father would let her only daughter who has been sheltered all her life to come out and experience the real world by herself?" Square Root Three asked with a smile.


    "Umm.. do you mean¡­" Lu Li wasn''t stupid and knew what he meant.


    "Exactly. When the time comes, he''ll volunteer to be our coach without us even trying to recruit him," Square Root Three said, then continued, "What was your other question?"


    "Why do you allow her to leave anytime she wants to?" Lu Li wasn''t sure about this either.


    It wasn''t that he was against Square Root Three''s promise, but that he just didn''t understand why he was so generous. If Kitty Likes Meat decided to break contract and leave, it could cost a lot of inconvenience and wasted money for Ruling Sword.


    Square Root Three did not answer the question directly but asked another seemingly irrelevant question.


    "Do you know why players leave?"


    "They leave because¡­ they''re unhappy, or because they''re not getting paid enough?" Lu Li guessed.


    "Yes, you just answered your own question," Square Root Three laughed. "Our guild has great people and we try to create a comfortable environment for our players. She also gets to start straight away as well. What else is there for her to be unhappy about?


    Lu Li thought about it and realized that his guild probably had the lowest rate of players leaving.


    This was one of the major advantages of a new guild. Everyone had the same goal and worked in harmony to build up their new project without quarrels or arguments.


    "As for the money, can you imagine how much their house would cost in that area?" Square Root Three asked.


    "I can''t put an exact price on it, but it must be very expensive," Lu Li said while he recalled the house they had just left.


    "Kitty''s father has got his own business and they have also hired a house maid. They''re extremely wealthy and don''t need the money, so it doesn''t matter how much money we offer his daughter. As long as his criteria are satisfied then we''re fine."


    With all his past experience of managing a guild, Square Root Three was very good at reading other people and knew how to manipulate them.


    Lu Li could probably defeat ten clones of Square Root Three in a fight, but in terms of managing and dealing with affairs, he was clueless.


    All that was left to do was for Kitty Likes Meat to sign the contract and move into her new home which would take about two days or so. Since the tournament was starting soon, she would need some time to gel with the other team members as well.

 710 Quilboars

    The second member would be quite hard to find. It was very rare to come across a player that was capable of being a backup for their team.


    Based on the three years of experience in his past life, there were very few players who started from being a nobody that eventually rose to fame and made a name for themselves in the competitive scene.


    March Rain was a good example. However, she was scouted and had trained hard to be where she was at right now.


    Fat Monkey was another example, but it would take him one or two years to finally discover a role for himself. Currently, he was considered to be a walking time bomb because of his explosive temper and recklessness.


    Even though he was starting to emerge as a star player, if he was offered in a trade to the other major guilds, they might not even want him.


    If Lu Li or Moonlight wanted to, they could easily agitate Fat Monkey until he wanted to kill himself.


    Lu Li originally thought that Kitty Likes Meat would be a good example. However, upon meeting her father today, he realized that she had come from a pedigree of professional players.


    If it wasn''t for Lu Li''s rebirth, he could be considered as someone like that.


    After he returned home, he went back to playing the game. His current goal was to train and grind to at least level 45 before the tournament started so that he could equip his Legendary Dagger.


    The rules of the first season of the tournament were much more lenient since everyone was still getting used to the setup.


    The applications opened at Christmas and the tournament would begin on Chinese New Year, lasting all the way to the Spring Festival. As such, Lu Li had plenty of time to reach level 45, assuming that everything went smoothly.


    At his current level, it would be inefficient to bring a party of Mages to grind on monsters because they were only strong enough to kill normal mobs. After reach level 40, most Rogues would opt to hunt Elite monsters to level up.


    Lu Li chose to train on the level 45 Elite Quilboars.


    Quilboars resided in the most Southwest region of the Southern Barrens and were the strongest monsters in the Southern Barrens.


    The current drop rate for dungeon passes in Razorfen Kraul and the Razorfen Downs were extremely low. Additionally, the area was quite dangerous, so very few people would venture into this part of the map. However, in about half a year, these two dungeons would eventually become public and there would be many more players in the area grinding for EXP and gear.


    The Quilboars had a chance to drop Wild Boat Meat when killed which was commonly used in the Cooking profession. Lu Li had recently decided to level up his Cooking expertise.


    After some time, there would be a patch that introduced more uses for the Cooking profession.


    Food would add special effects and allow the players to avoid the negative effects of hunger. Cooking was already quite popular, but once the patch came out, it would become even more so.


    The two most important professions in the future were Cooking and Harvesting.


    Lu Li chose Cooking because he could create delicious dishes for him and his sister. The in-game food tasted just as good as real life without the side effects such as weight gain or stomachaches.


    The dagger in his hand penetrated the back of a Quilboar''s head. This was Lu Li''s favourite place to aim when assassinating something; he felt a sense of satisfaction every time the bolded red number appeared.


    A piece of equipment dropped: Heart of Agamaggan


    It was obvious that this was a counterfeit version of the real item. This Silver grade equip was worthless compared to the Dark Gold Grade version that dropped from the Boss Charlga Razorflank in Razorfen Kraul.


    The average player would still be very surprised and pleased to find a new Silver Grade equip, but for Lu Li those days had passed. As he played the game more and more, his standards increased and all he saw was a useless piece of equipment taking up a slot in his inventory.


    Speaking of the Heart of Agamaggan, Agamaggan was a demi-god who was one the first and most powerful Ancient Guardians that ever lived. Legend had it that the Great Boar was one of the largest creatures that roamed the world of Azeroth.


    He could stomp the ground with his wagon-sized hooves, breathe corrosive acid at enemies and cast a rain of thorns that would detach from his back and cause considerable damage.


    His immense appetite made his body grow as years passed, making him a juggernaut of raw strength. Agamaggan was often hunted by the trolls, but unsuccessfully.


    During the War of Ancients, Cenarius sought the assistance of Agamaggan. He convinced Agamaggan that if the Burning Legion won the war, all life would be destroyed, including the Quilboars.


    Thus, they formed an alliance and assaulted the strongholds of the Eternal Palace Azshara, slaying thousands of Doomguards and Felguards with fury.


    The battle between Agamaggan and the demons was lengthy and ranged across the continent, towards the west.


    Agamaggan even fought the Pit Lord Mannoroth, who was Archimonde''s lieutenant and a servant of Sargeras.


    Although he fell before the Legion, his assistance was vital, allowing Malfurion and others to enter the stronghold of Azshara and reach the Well of Eternity.


    Although they were both fighting against the Burning Legion, the legacies of Agamaggan and Cenarius was completely different.


    Lu Li has received many blessings from Cenarius, but he had to admit that having a strong family background and connections with other people was much more important than working hard.


    If you had a wealthy father, you could easily obtain things such as cars and houses. However, if this wasn''t the case, then no matter how hard you worked to better yourself financially, the statistics showed that this was nothing more than a fantasy. You might not be able to buy a house, afford to go to the doctor or even hold a funeral for yourself. You would never have the financial stability to get married, nor would you ever have a child of your own.


    The fate of the descendants of Cenarius and Agamaggan were completely different.


    The sacrifices made by the demigod Cenarius earned him the respect of everyone in Azeroth. The Treants became the protectors of the forests, continuing to fight for the health and well-being of Azeroth.


    On the other hand, the Quilboars became increasingly hostile and savage, forced to fight for food against the Taurens and Centaurs. No one commemorated the sacrifices that Agamaggan made for Azeroth.


    This was the cruel reality.

 711 Dancing Star Dream

    Lu Li always knew that there was a bounty out for him. In fact, most professional players had some kind of bounty on them.


    Some just wanted to know the whereabouts of these players, but other adventurous Mercenaries would look for an opportunity to attack them.


    When a group of skills hit him, he barely had enough time to cast Gale Steps.


    7%!


    He only had 7% HP left. It had been a long time since he had lost that much HP so quickly. If it wasn''t for the fact that his equipment had been Strengthened, that wave definitely would have killed him.


    Strictly speaking, his use of Gale Steps there was quite bad.


    After spending a long time farming, his mind had become a little absent. No one could maintain complete focus under those conditions ¨C research showed that complete focus could only be maintained for 45 minutes at a time. This was why classes were scheduled for that length.


    In any case, he was still alive.


    All of these skills were used simultaneously and were high-damaging, so it was actually quite surprising that he had managed to survive.


    These were then followed by a new wave of skills, which were mainly instant-cast and crowd-control.


    However, as Lu Li had case Gale Steps, he had a window of invulnerability. Any skill that hit him was simply cancelled out.


    If he was any other average player, he would have thought that he was safe by now.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t an average player, and he had experienced the tactics of surrounding and searching in his previous life.


    As such, he didn''t run away. Instead, he rushed at those who had attacked him in the dark jungle and plunged his cold blade into the neck of a professional Warlock.


    If a large amount of damage was dealt, a red cloud would released.


    This fog masked the fact that Lu Li was making use of Vapirism to increase his HP. That attack caused his HP to increase from 7% to 13%.


    It then soared from 13% to 38%... 42%... 50%


    The first jump was because of Pamela''s Gift, while the second jump was because of his Advanced Health Potion. At the same time, he was still attacking and making use of Vampirism. Lu Li was also still within the timer for the Killing Star''s effect.


    The Warlock player was quickly killed without any time for him to react.


    However, this didn''t change the overall situation. Under such heavy pressure, Lu Li had no chance of killing ten players without dying. This was Dawn, not a game where a player could become like God.


    Around seven to eight years ago, there was once a game where a tycoon had spent tens of millions to obtain a whole exquisite set of equipment. With a single stroke, he was able to kill tens of thousands of players, but by doing that, he basically broke the game. The game company was also partially at fault for trying to take so much of the tycoon''s money.


    However, Dawn had a maximum threshold to prevent such a thing from happening.


    So far, there were a few players who had Strengthened Equipment and it was clear that they had collected information about him, his equipment and his skills. They understood some things about him and as long as they attacked in groups of three to five, it would be very difficult for Lu Li.


    Now, it was time for Lu Li to escape. He didn''t know how many players had come to trap him, but he knew that if he could misdirect their attention, he could escape.


    He didn''t flee blindly because he knew that the Wild Boar area would be full of players by now.


    As such, he ran against the expected flow, killing players with lightning speed.


    This was not just revenge; this was Lu Li trying make use of Vampirism as well. With all the skills he had used so far, he had already regenerated half of his HP. Even if a skill hit him now, he wouldn''t die so easily.


    The group of players weren''t dumb and would soon realize what was happening.


    They quickly dispersed, but while Lu Li was attacking, he stood near a Shaman and casted his damage reduction skills.


    Standing next to someone was a very useful and practical trick when fighting large groups. With the exception of skills that were targeted, most of them would either hit the Shaman or miss entirely.


    However, this wasn''t completely foolproof as teammates couldn''t harm each other. They could simply just switch to using area of effect skills.


    This tactic had been expected of Lu Li; they hadn''t underestimated their enemy.


    After using standing near a player for some distance, he then used Wirt''s Third Leg''s Special Effect to immediately push himself eight yards forwards, leaving all the skills thrown at him behind.


    As his HP continued to drop, he quickly found himself at 20% HP again.


    He then used his Cloak''s special effect and accelerated towards a target. This time, he had chosen a wild pigman. In PVP, there was no reason to limit yourself to other players. Innocent monsters and small animals could be used for escape.


    Elevenless had used Charge on a small animal to escape, and it was now a classic Warrior trick.


    Lu Li then used Van Cleef''s special effect, Sudden Thrust, to instantly approach a target within 8 yards. The Mage who had just entered the fight was unfortunately selected by Lu Li and Stunned immediately.


    With a 200% attack buff, Lu Li only needed to attack twice. He didn''t even need to go through his rotation of skills.


    "Don''t go."


    A figure suddenly appeared in front of Lu Li as ice emerged on the ground and spread towards his feet to freeze him onto the spot. This was not a normal Frost Nova ¨C it had been expertly casted. The player had to at least be a professional-level Mage.


    "Dancing Star Dream!" Lu Li had a good memory and remembered this person''s voice.


    Moreover, there were only so many guilds that had a bone to pick with him. Once you ruled out a few of them, you could work it out rather easily. This wasn''t the Imperial Secret Service, nor was it the Star Moon Guild.


    "Who''s Dancing Star Dream? I''m obviously Unforgettable Maple."


    The masked Mage certainly wouldn''t admit it, but he raised his hand to cast Cone of Cold, which dealt damage and slowed.


    Vanish!


    After breaking out of the ice, Lu Li used Wirt''s Third Leg''s other special effect and instantly went into Stealth. He appeared behind his target with 80%-increased movement speed.


    This was a player who had unexpectedly manage to surprise Lu Li, but he ended up giving Lu Li another chance to escape.


    Dancing Star Dream''s Blink skill had been used, and the equipment''s effect cooldown didn''t reset that quickly, so he could only watch as Lu Li ran away. His Water Elemental was nearby, but it couldn''t catch Lu Li to freeze him.


    "Don''t waste your energy ¨C there are hundreds of players in this Wild Boar Forest. Why are you running? Let''s talk about it one-on-one," Dancing star Dream said mischievously. It was unclear whether this was a trap or not.

 712 In the Same Area as the Wild Boars

    "Why are you trying to kill me? Didn''t we assassinate Sorrowless together and compete together? How could you bring hundreds of players to kill me?" Lu Li asked.


    Regardless of who you were, if you couldn''t defeat someone in a one-on-one, you would feel some shame.


    "As long as I kill you, I, Unforgettable Maple, will be famous tomorrow. Who cares about how many players I brought to do it?"


    This guy really insisted on putting the blame on Unforgettable Maple and Majin Temple. He simply did not know that Lu Li had already seen through his disguise.


    His husky male voice had betrayed him and Unforgettable Maple''s fighting style was much more refined. Besides, even if it was Unforgettable Maple, there was no reason to shout out his own name. He wasn''t doing some glorious thing.


    "Even if you have hundreds of players with you, you can keep dreaming," Lu Li laughed as he landed and barely managed to avoid a Hunter''s Concussive Shot. There really were players everywhere.


    Lu Li immediately changed direction and instantly transformed into a leopard.


    Why didn''t he turn into a Crow and fly away? Transforming into a crow took time, and he had to get out of combat. There was too much pressure from his attacker, so he had to use Shadowmeld to escape.


    At this point, Lu Li''s escape and Stealth skills had all been forced out of him. However, they were now faced with an impossible situation. They had a limited number of players and even if they spread out all their skills, the number of Wild Boars in the area would make it impossible to find Lu Li.


    After turning into a Leopard, he had become much smaller in size and his HP had stabilized at around 20%.


    He needed to find some kind of HP regenerating effect. Lu Li''s Vampirism was quite strong, but he needed to attack someone for it to work. All the players were currently looking for him, so he didn''t have a chance to attack anyone.


    Even so, being a leopard wasn''t without its disadvantages. For example, his line of sight was smaller, so it was harder to work how where his escape paths were.


    All the races had various advantages and disadvantages. Lu Li''s Leopard wasn''t actually that good when it came to escaping. However, he had chosen to be a Druid in his previous life, so this form was very familiar. He could close his eyes and still control his character with remarkable dexterity.


    It could be said that he was even more skillful as a Druid than as a Thief. By using the wind and humidity in the air, a Druid could detect enemies around him. With the Supreme Ring, Lu Li could make use of those Druid skills as well.


    "Hey, I''ve been to a Zoo before. Are you a rabbit now?" Dancing Star Dream was slowly than Lu Li, so there was no way he was catching up.


    After leaving behind Dancing Star Dream, who was his biggest threat, Lu Li kept charging ahead and ran into some Stealthed Thieves that were ready to fight. As this happened, his potion cooldown ended, so he quickly drank a bottle.


    The Killing Star Bracer effect had long since expired, and these Gangnam Royal elites wouldn''t be easy to kill.


    As such, Lu Li just Stunned them and attacked them a few times to regenerate some HP before running away.


    At this point, he could go into Stealth and channel his Crow Transformation. If he was uninterrupted for 30 seconds, he could then fly into the sky, and even 20,000 Gangnam Royal players wouldn''t be able to do anything about that.


    However, Lu Li didn''t do that.


    Thirty seconds was too hard to come by. The Wild Boar forest was full of players and if Lu Li was running around, he would probably get killed quite quickly. He couldn''t help but worry for his other guild members, and whether they would have to face an assassination too.


    There was no time to stop and ask the others, so Lu Li just kept running in a single direction.


    From time to time, someone would discover him and cry out. A wave of skills would then fly in that direction and many players would charge at his position to attack him, but they were spread quite thinly. Even if they had a thousand players, they couldn''t cover the entire Wild Boar Forest. Lu Li hid behind a tree and breathed a sigh of relief.


    The System then told him that he was no longer in combat.


    He quickly went into Stealth and sprinted away as his position was covered by a Mage''s Blizzard.


    The amount of coverage was quite impressive; Lu Li had to give it these damned players. Their response was so fast that they all had to be elite players.


    Just as Lu Li was about to accelerate in Stealth, something suddenly caught his eye.


    This kind of thing was generally just considered to be part of the environment; it wasn''t that useful and was generally treated with contempt. Plus, it was dirty and smelly, so no one looked into it.


    That''s right, Lu Li had seen the Quilboar''s small and crude tents.


    Right now, he didn''t really care about the dirtiness or smelliness. If he didn''t hide soon, he wouldn''t be able to run for much longer. There was a group of players behind him and there were more players around him, closing on his position. The circle was becoming tighter and most of his skills were on cooldown¡­


    After going into the tent, Lu Li cautiously avoided the Quilboar that was asleep.


    Quilboars were semi-active monsters, and would remain asleep as long as you left them alone.


    Lu Li stood in the corner of the tent and began to channel his Crow Transformation.


    Why didn''t he hide here from the beginning then?


    Well, there were only so many places to hide and these elite players weren''t fools. After finding out that Lu Li had used Vanish in this place, they could quickly work out where he was by process of elimination.


    "Where did he go?" Lu Li could tell that this was Dancing Star Dream from his unique voice.


    "He''s gone. He disappeared after going behind that tree," someone answered.


    "Did he climb the tree?" Dancing Star Dream asked.


    "Well, you can''t climb trees in this game unless you have specific items. But, we looked at it and it didn''t seem like anyone had climbed it."


    The player who responded was the same one who witnessed Lu Li vanishing.


    "Is there anywhere else he could have gone? Slowly close the circle, and don''t let him escape!" Dancing Star Dream shouted into the channel.


    There were only a dozen seconds left before the circle would be completely closed. As the voices went quiet, there were many players gathering and casting skills around randomly.


    Some of the skills even hit the tent.


    The Quilboar was awakened and rushed out of the tent before suddenly turning into a corpse.


    "Oh no!" When Dancing Star Dream saw the Quilboar''s body, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind and he raised his Magic Staff to cast Blizzard onto the tent.

 713 Escape

    Unfortunately, just as the Quilboar rushed out to attract their attention, a crow had rushed out of the tent with it. Dancing Star Dream''s Blizzard hadn''t even been cast yet.


    "Caw caw¡­"


    The crow couldn''t speak, but Lu Li''s laugh was converted into a mocking caw.


    . Dancing Star Dream''s mind was filled with emotion, similar to the first time he had lost a professional game. All the thoughts almost caused his head to explode, but he was a professional player, so he quickly calmed himself down.


    "Star Bro, what do we do?" an underling asked.


    "Didn''t I say that I''d kill anyone that called me that?" Dancing Star Dream threateningly said before he slowly pulled down his bandana and continued, "Look very carefully, I''m Unforgettable Maple. That damned girl''s voice is so hard to imitate; he probably guessed from it."


    "Oh¡­."


    They had suffered such a crushing defeat that they didn''t even know how to respond to that.


    "Let''s go home. Failure is the mother of success; we''ll get him one day," Dancing Star Dream smiled as he gave the command to retreat. The Quilboars of the forest quickly regenerated after they left.


    The Wild Boar Forests were once flooded by torrents from the mountains and were invaded for many years. The trees were dirty and the area was generally quite muddy.


    A dark crow sat among the trees, quietly watching the group leave. He didn''t try to catch up to them and retaliate. This wasn''t like his first run-in with the Imperial Secret Service ¨C back then, everyone was unfamiliar with the game and easy to kill. Now, they had more experience, so he probably couldn''t escape without getting hit by a Cheap Shot.


    Moreover, there was no reason for them to just leave one or two players behind for him anyway.


    There was also something else that he had set his mind on.


    After asking about it, Square Root 3 requested that he come back so they could talk it about it. The situation must have been more serious than he thought.


    "Moonlight died twice, Memories died once, Monkey died once and there were many elites who also died. The guild is in chaos at the moment," Square Root 3 summarized.


    "I see. Looks like it really was an assassination operation. Was anyone else targeted?'' Lu Li asked as he sat down with a serious expression.


    It was unexpected that Moonlight would die twice; he probably had something that revived him. However, given his temperament, it was unlikely that he would have just returned to the city either. Many players probably ended up dying at his hands.


    Although Memories was a Shaman, she happened to be farming on her own. Because she didn''t spend much time with other guild members, it was natural that she would be a target.


    As for Fat Monkey, he was quite an impulsive guy, so he was easily provoked and fell into a trap. However, he wasn''t as fearless as Moonlight, so he only died once.


    "Dreamy spends all her time taking care of her pets, so she''s fine. March Rain was farming with a large group of people. They were rushed by a group of players, but no one died. In fact, under Wandering''s leadership, they actually managed to kill quite a few of their attackers," Square Root 3 said, then paused as he made a weird face and continued, "As for those who targeted Hachi Chan, they got chopped up by an NPC and found that they weren''t even safe in the safe area¡­"


    "What about the Elite Group?"


    Everyone had been targeted, so this was no small operation.


    "The Elite Group took quite a heavy hit," Square Root 3 sighed. "We had at least a thousand players die today and many of them were from the three Elite Groups."


    At the thought of a thousand-death''s-worth of EXP lost, Lu Li''s stomach convulsed.


    This was a time when the major guilds were beginning to become more productive. With the League around the corner, the guilds needed to keep up their morale, but he didn''t expect something like this to happen.


    "Was it only the Gangnam Royals who were involved? What about the other guilds," Lu Li asked, bracing himself for the worst.


    "From the looks of it, there were probably five to six guilds involved, but we weren''t the only ones targeted," Square Root 3 answered. "In fact, a similar situation occurs each year just before the large-scale competitions. We weren''t well-known enough before the Shadow Cup, but this time they knew.


    "So what exactly happened?" Lu Li asked with a puzzled look.


    Rebirth didn''t make him omniscient. What he knew was from what he had heard and experienced in his lifetime. The game that the major guilds played and the game that an average player played were wildly different. There were always rumors floating around, but only those involved knew the truth.


    "Each year, the guild rankings are re-evaluated. There are many factors involved, but the main one is the outcome of the competitions¡­" Square Root 3 explained as he shook his head.


    There had been many competitions earlier in the year, but none had the influence of Dawn''s ultra-popular Shadow Cup. Even the Magic Cup, which no one had previously cared about, took advantage of Dawn''s popularity.


    This year, several major guilds were worried about their situation and the danger of losing their position.


    For example, the Gangnam Royals didn''t win any important competitions in the first half of the year and in the second half of the year, they lost the Shadow Cup and the Magic Cup. If they continued on like this, they probably wouldn''t even be able to place in the top ten. Last year, they had managed to place in second position.


    The Brotherhood, Peacetime Dynasty, Freedom Sky, Star Moon Guild and the Imperial Secret Service all faced a similar dilemma.


    After getting to the top, no one wanted to be pulled down again.


    So, at a time when the major guilds were at risk of losing their position, they would try various methods to cause chaos, either by killing or destroying things. Ruling Sword was just one of the guilds that had suffered at their hands today.


    Dancing Star Dream was an expert and was very popular in the gaming circles. He could even be described as a master, so for Gangnam Royals to send this person to kill Lu Li was a sign of respect.


    However, the next thing that Square Root 3 asked almost made Lu Li spit out his tea.


    "Did you kill him?"


    "Please, 3 Bro, do you think I''m some kind of God? He brought so many players; I was lucky to escape with my life."


    Lu Li was speechless. After thinking about how he had escaped, luck was all he had left to be thankful for.


    If Sorrowless had encountered such a situation, he definitely would have survived very easily. There was no expert in Dawn that could have survived that based on their skill alone.


    However, killing those experts was like fighting a Boss.


    They always had a large group of Elite players following them. Only a Thief like Lu Li would commonly be found on their own, which was why solo players like Moonlight and Memories were so easily killed.


    As for Hachi Chan, the players from Gangnam Royals shouldn''t have attacked her in front of the NPC.

 714 Declaration of War

    "What should we do? We can''t just hide. How about I ask Water Fairy?" Lu Li asked worriedly.


    If they were attempting an Instance Dungeon or a Quest, Lu Li could always think of a solution, no matter how difficult it was. However, when facing these guild-related issues, Lu Li was clueless.


    The Gangnam Royals'' top players were probably corrupted. There were several hundred thousand players altogether, with several thousand players in clubs. Lu Li''s Ruling Sword only had ten thousand players altogether and a very small proportion of them were professional.


    Did they need to form an alliance with Peerless City and Drizzle Court?


    It would be difficult for that to happen this close to the competition and they were really just asking for help. It would only make their future relations weaker.


    "That''s right. We can''t just hide," Square Root 3 said as he lit a cigarette. After giving it a puff, Square Root 3 smiled at Lu Li and continued, "As for asking Water Fairy, I don''t think you would do something like that. Otherwise, why would have you created Ruling Sword? You are like a sharp sword, destined to never to fit in a bag."


    "Pft, I didn''t know you were a fortune teller," Lu Li laughed with embarrassment before shaking his head and sighing.


    "If you were to make a decision, what would you do?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "I wouldn''t be impulsive. I know I can''t just put my focus on Gangnam Royals," Lu Li solemnly assured. He previously did feel like assassinating Heart of War and killing their star players.


    As a top-level Thief and an owner of the Book of Ur, killing a single player couldn''t be easier.


    However, he wasn''t a solitary man like Moonlight ¨C he had to consider his guild and the honor of those who stood by him.


    "No, no, that''s wrong," Square Root 3 said as he shook his head.


    "What are you thinking of then?" Lu Li was becoming impatient with him and wanted to teach him a lesson.


    "Declare war on Gangnam Royals, and we''ll fight them."


    Square Root 3''s teeth were very white and they could be vaguely seen through the smoke as he spoke. This person who was normally quite reserved never lacked the ability to make a firm decision.


    "You mean¡­" Lu Li wasn''t stupid; he started to become heated as well.


    "Even if we get first place in the League, we''ll still be limited by the guild''s growth, age, number of registered players and a range of other factors. It would be very difficult for us to make it into the top 3 guilds anyway. So why should we even aim for that?" Square Root 3 asked casually.


    If anyone found out that Ruling Sword''s leader was actually so ignorant about the professional leagues, who knew what they would think?


    "But we would still like to make it into the top 10¡­"


    Guilds that were in the top ten were treated completely differently to those that weren''t. Some called guilds in the top ten ''super guilds'', while others only considered a guild as being ''major'' one if they were in the top ten.


    Glory Capital, Gangnam Royals, Blood Red War Flag, Gale Legion, Seventh Heaven, Azure guard, Drizzle Court, Wings of Dawn, Peerless City and Stellar Union were the current top ten guilds of the game. Any guild on this list was massive and had high-quality players.


    "Bro, do you think we can succeed in the competition if we just accept this punishment?" Square Root 3 asked as he laughed bitterly. "Listen to what''s being said in the guild, or ask your friends."


    Lu Li was silent; he was already concerned about the internal reaction of the guild. After all, this was a big deal.


    Everyone in the guild was shouting for war, even the elite players. Some players had even snuck out to seek revenge for themselves already, like Fat Money who had been assassinated once.


    "Dammit, the shameless Gangnam Royals. They won''t even admit they attacked us." Those were the exact words from Fat Monkey''s mouth.


    Fat Monkey was loyal, zealous and liked PVP. There were several other PVP maniacs who he had gathered to seek revenge. Lu Li knew that he had done this for the glory of the guild, so he couldn''t blame him.


    "Wow, the tiger bit him to death. I killed one."


    This was the soft-spoken Remnant Dream who had randomly decided to go out and kill some players too.


    "Are you guys even serious? Why aren''t you attacking me? Come on, attack me!" Hachi Chan shouted. She was in the middle of a field camp and none of the hundred players around her dared to attack.


    An NPC who was a level 55 Officer was standing next to her. It was likely that these hundred players weren''t enough to kill him, not to mention there were several other officers in the camp.


    She had a very high reputation for questing and was consistently very lucky. The NPC''s were bound to help her.


    "If you look at any guild that has flourished over the last decade, none of them grew smoothly. They all fought tooth and nail to get to where they are," Square Root 3 said, then patted Lu Li on the shoulder and continued, "But, this is your decision to make. Whatever your decision is, I will be by your side."


    Lu Li thought for a moment and couldn''t think of any guild that had not participated in a guild wars.


    Even a guild like Drizzle Court which was completely made up of women had faced several attacks on their own. Everyone in this circle had been killed at least a dozen times over.


    It came down to iron and blood!


    Lu Li leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. After opening his eyes, he discovered that Square Root 3 had left. He then opened the guild channel and quietly said, "Let''s not fuss about it anymore. Listen to me."


    Immediately, silence fell upon the guild channel.


    "Dawn is a great game, we all love it and we all want to play it. Unfortunately, our scattered players are too easily bullied. I offended the Star Moon Guild, the Imperial Secret Service and even the Gangnam Royals in the past. So, I needed to gather some players to prevent them from harming us. At first, it was just a few players, but then we won the Shadow Cup Championship¡­" This was the first time that Lu Li had spoken at length.


    No one thought he was being too wordy. He was the spiritual leader of Ruling Sword and an undefeated legend.


    "¡­ they have many players ¨C a few hundred thousand ¨C which makes it easy for them to bully us. But, we are not cowards; we will let them know the consequences of messing with Ruling Sword," Lu Li said, then inhaled sharply and shouted, "From this moment on, I declare war on the Gangnam Royals!"

 715 Counterattack

    A declaration of war was easy to make, but it had a very significant impact.


    In the Hillsbrad Hills, there were many players slaughtering wild horses. These horses had a high refresh rate and also gave high EXP. If they farmed those monsters for a day, it was possible to get half-a-level''s worth of EXP


    Because of that, the competition for these wild horses was very fierce. It was basically impossible for small groups of players to train on them.


    The players who were currently occupying the best spot were from the Gangnam Royals. They had taken over three or four groups of wild horse spawns and other than stopping to have some food, they hadn''t taken any breaks.


    A few scattered players approached in the hopes of finding a spot, but as soon as they saw the Gangnam Royals guild badge, they immediately left the area.


    Of course, there was no way to reason with the major guilds, especially the Gangnam Royals.


    "What are you looking at? Leave," said a Mage who was sitting on the floor and eating some bread to restore his HP. He had seen someone come over and rolled his eyes.


    "I''m looking at you," the player shot back as he puffed out his chest and kept coming.


    "Damn it. I can''t believe we would run into trouble today. There are some people coming towards us; let''s get rid of them and find out where they came from. We''ll show them not to mess with us. How dare they offend the Gangnam Royals? Honestly¡­" The Mage hadn''t finished speaking before he realized that he was already under attack.


    If it was just those 7-8 players, he wouldn''t have been worried because he had a team of 12 Gangnam Royal Elites with him. The thing that made him panic was the movement that he could sense in his peripheral vision. His own party also had two to three Thieves lurking in the area and protecting them, but suddenly, he was attacked and took significant damage. There were on average two Thieves for each member of the Gangnam Royals.


    In a few seconds, a dozen players who were alive a moment ago were now dead.


    "Hoho, that''s it for this place. Leave two players here to farm and we''ll move on to the next location," the leader said with a smirk. He didn''t want to miss out on the fresh wild horse spawns, but there was also no rush to farm for levels.


    In a scenic lakeside town, a large group of players were completing party quests.


    Although the party quests weren''t difficult, they gave handsome rewards, most-notably, a high amount of EXP. A lot of players came here to party up and complete these quests, of which the escort variety were the most popular.


    There was a party escorting Stampy and fighting a group of Gnolls.


    Stampy was a merchant whose goods had been taken away by the Gnolls. As long as the players escorted him safely to retrieve his goods and returned to the lakeside town, they would receive a bountiful EXP reward. If they were lucky, they could also receive a rare potion.


    "Don''t run too far; remember to protect Stampy!" the Party leader shouted.


    Numerous Gnolls rushed from all directions, but they were all ordinary monsters and didn''t stand a chance against such a powerful group of elite guild members.


    "You see, Mr Stampy, our soldiers are very brave and competent. We will be able to escort you back to the lakeside town unscathed and your goods will be safe," the young party leader confidently said to the NPC.


    It was said that if the NPC and his goods were undamaged, there was a greater chance of acquiring a rare potion.


    However, he didn''t see the contempt in the NPC''s eyes. This merchant relied on mercenaries, but hated those who were manipulative. Stampy generally wouldn''t give a potion to those who didn''t have enough charisma either.


    "The flame of my anger ¨C burn it all! Ahahahah¡­"


    Accompanied with that cry was an overwhelming Rain of Fire, followed by various other skills which instantly killed dozens of players. Dawn had always insisted that numbers were more important than the individual strength of players, and this was proof.


    This was the result of a 100-man team against a 20-30 player group. The victims didn''t have the opportunity to react because they had been fighting for so long and had been attacked so unexpectedly.


    There was a look of arrogance on Stampy''s face as he saw the gang of robbers. Was there any better way to describe those players other than a gang of robbers?


    "Oh man, my fire crowd-control is pretty good, haha," the Fire Mage laughed with a look on his face that made the old NPC wish he was young again.


    "Big bro, step aside and let me," a little girl Druid said as she squeezed out of the crowd.


    "Alright, be careful Hachi Chan. I will stand next to you and protect you."


    Fat Monkey knew that the NPC wouldn''t just jump out at them, so they went to face him together.


    He looked quite angry; it seemed like it was going to be difficult to gain the NPC''s favor.


    "Hello Uncle, we''re the good guys," Hachi Chan said seriously as she leaned her head back.


    "Oh, you guys scared me. I thought I had lost my life today. Little girl, how could you be part of these dreary mercenaries¡­?"


    The quest that had been original; triggered by the Gangnam Royals was easily converted into Hachi Chan''s. The EXP reward was obviously given, but Stampy also offered Hachi Chan a bunch of rare potions.


    This kind of thing was happening everywhere. When Lu Li announced the declaration of war, all of the professional players began to gather together.


    There were many intelligence organizations who were happy to share information about Gangnam Royals with Ruling Sword. Most of them had some background with the major guilds and were happy to see Ruling Sword and the Gangnam Royals fight to the death.


    In fact, most wars were between old and new guilds.


    The new guild was inadequate in almost every way, but the thing that could help them turn that around was the help they would receive. Everyone was happy to help destroy the number two guild.


    Previously, Peerless City had defeated the Brotherhood and eliminated them from the top 10. They were unable to regain their position after that for 2-3 years. Before that, Drizzle Court had completely destroyed Gods of Dusk, and if it weren''t for Wood Fearing, they wouldn''t be in 30th right now. They probably wouldn''t even make the top 100.


    Right now, the Gangnam Royals were up against Ruling Sword.


    Ruling Sword''s progress has been unrelenting so far, and allowing them to fight the Gangnam Royals was a good way to slow them down. However, it could also be a way for them to catapult even further than before.


    Even Blood Red War Flag, which had always been a fair and strict guild, couldn''t resist sending a group of players posing as Ruling Sword.

 716 Revenge Doesn’t Happen Overnigh

    Lu Li himself wasn''t idle either. From the moment he had made the declaration, his blood was already boiling.


    Who was his first target?


    It was Dancing Star Dream of course!


    Those shameless players who had tried to kill him were cowardly and dishonorable. Lu Li wasn''t particularly honorable himself ¨C in fact, he was rather stingy and vengeful. He wasn''t going to let any one of them go; this revenge wasn''t going to be complete overnight.


    Where was Dancing Star Dream now? This information would soon be sent to Lu Li.


    He also went to the Mercenary Hall to receive a Bounty on Dancing Star Dream as the guy actually had a PVP value. Lu Li was then given his coordinates in detail.


    Dancing Star Dream was levelling in Tanaris.


    This desert had the most difficult monsters to deal with, but the effort was proportional to the harvest.


    "They jave more than 40 players there from various professions. There is probably also at least one squad of Thieves sapping EXP," Lu Li said as he looked at a simulation of the deep sandy map of Tanaris.


    "It''s hard for us to fight because this is a desert. There are small sand dunes everywhere and you can see everything from afar. Unless¡­ you took all the Thieves in the guild?" Cain''s Left Hand suggested. He now understood why Dancing Star Dream had chosen to farm in Tanaris.


    Having a bunch of players from the same profession wasn''t as good as people thought it was. If they had a hundred Thieves, there was no guarantee that they could defeat a group of fifty players who had a good composition.


    Those fifty players would have crowd control, healing, damage output and defense.


    The only way to circumvent this was to bring a relatively small number of players and hit them by surprise.


    "That''s unrealistic. The fighting is in full swing and the Thieves are going to be busiest at this time. They can''t all be taken just for one person," Lu Li argued.


    "What should we do then Boss?" Cain''s Left Hand asked.


    "Send a group to run at them," Lu Li said as he twirled his dagger in his hands. "Then, you and I will flank them and randomly start killing their players. Make sure we control them until they die."


    "Alright, that''s no problem. I will arrange it," Cain''s Left Hand said excitedly.


    When he heard that he was going to have a share in such a major quest, he was filled with joy. He was going to be involved in killing a star player, even if it was only an assist.


    There were many players who liked to ''chase stars''. Some of them just wanted to be in close proximity with them, while others were looking for blood.


    Cain''s Left Hand was obviously the second kind of person.


    A 50-man team was quickly assembled and given the task of creating an opportunity for Lu Li and Cain''s Left Hand to assassinate their target before withdrawing.


    There wasn''t a single cloud in the sky. Tanaris was an endless sea of sand dunes which was said to be the home of the dinosaurs. There were creatures living in nests in the caves, lying in wait for any careless travelers, while the ground crawled with bloodthirsty red wolves.


    Lu Li and the others started from Gadgetzan and soon arrived at the place where Dancing Star Dream was levelling. He was a star, so he couldn''t spend all of his time chasing other players ¨C levelling was his top priority.


    "I''ll go and see if it''s an ambush," Cain''s Left Hand suggested.


    "Alright, but be careful," Lu Li said in a relaxed tone. Cain''s Left Hand''s equipment was strengthened and his Stealth would make it difficult for him to be found.


    After two to three minutes, Cain''s Left Hand returned.


    "There is no one nearby, but there are about four or five Thieves around Dancing Star Dream," Cain''s Left Hand described. "The Thieves aren''t in Stealth."


    "They probably haven''t heard about our declaration. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be so bold," Lu Li said, letting out a sigh of relief.


    "Alright then. We''ll kill them in waves."


    Cain''s Left Hand was a little anxious. They had brought fifty players to do this, but they were only trying to kill Dancing Star Dream. If they successfully did this and escaped, there would be so much to gain.


    "Wait for my signal before going," Lu Li nodded at Cain''s Left Hand before going into Stealth.


    After Lu Li left, the next-in-command was Nuo Yu the Fire Mage. At first, he had been a spy sent by Heart of War, but was later converted by Lu Li. He was now the leader of a 100-man regiment and a relatively respected figure in Ruling Sword.


    "You, head towards Gadgetzan and watch over it. If more than ten players are sent over at a time, immediately let me know," Nuo Yu instructed.


    Not long after, Lu Li sent out the signal.


    "Alright, Warriors charge ahead and Mages follow behind them. Other melee professions, take the wings and try to kill their healers before their Mages. If you see Dancing Star Dream, focus fire him together!"


    About fifty players suddenly got up and started rushing forwards.


    Dancing Star Dream had failed to kill Lu Li and knew that the opportunity wouldn''t come up again in a while. However, the thought of Ruling Sword retaliating hadn''t crossed his mind at all.


    He just felt a bit uncomfortable, but this didn''t stop him from continuing his levelling.


    For the sake of the competition, he had to continually farm. On most days, he would be very careful to protect himself, but he didn''t have any extra protection today.


    He didn''t think that Ruling Sword would fight back, nor did he think that they had the strength to fight back. The gap between the two guilds was too great; there was just no way.


    The Gangnam Royals had over 400,000 players in their club, but the whole of Ruling Sword had less than 100,000 players in total.


    It was a ratio of 50:1; there was no competition!


    There was a large possibility that Drizzle Court would help them. The Gangnam Royals wanted to give these female tycoons some respect, but if they allied themselves against them, they would have no other choice.


    The once-dominant guild actually had some concerns now.


    Dancing Star Dream was a little depressed. Was it because Heart of War was an inadequate leader, or was it because of the conflict between himself and Innocent Child?


    While he was thinking about this and casting his skills, he heard the exclamation of his teammates.


    Karma really came around quickly. It hadn''t been that long since he had cast Cheap Shot on Lu Li, and now, it was time for Cheap Shot to be cast on him. He hadn''t seen how many players were attacking, but even if his fifty players couldn''t defeat them, he could probably channel his hearthstone for 30 seconds to return to town.


    There was no place to hide in the desert, and both sides were quickly locked into a fierce battle.


    On the whole, Ruling Sword had the advantage ¨C they had the surprise attack after all.


    Dancing Star Dream was immediately protected by the Thieves, which was typical for a star player.


    However, the few Thieves who were protecting him were not so lucky. They were either getting one-shot or receiving critical damage. For any of them to survive with more than half of their HP was already a testament to how good their equipment was.

 717 Desolation

    How could the attacks from Ruling Sword be so strong!


    "Lu Li, are you still a human? Why are you in such a rush?"


    Dancing Star Dream realized who his enemy was in an instant. He was surprised and angry, the revenge came too soon.


    When the fight broke out, the Gangnam Royals were already at a disadvantage ¨C a good sum of them had died.


    However, being elite players, it didn''t take them long to readjust to the situation. In the end, it wasn''t a one-sided battle.


    "Move!" Dancing Star Dream shouted as he pushed aside a Thief who was in his way and casted a Blizzard towards Nuo Yu and the others.


    The fight was messy, so he didn''t dare to flash into the crowd. Celebrity players valued their lives and experience bars more than others.


    With the equipment that Dancing Star Dream was wearing, his Blizzard dealt more damage than a Frost Bolt from an average Mage player. Lonesome Flower was probably the only one who could match up against his standards.


    Two players instantly died from Ruling Sword because they were already on low health from the fight.


    "Alright, that''s it. I''m returning the favor back to you."


    Lu Li suddenly appeared behind him, but unfortunately, Dancing Star Dream couldn''t move because he had already been stunned by Cheap Shot.


    How could a Cheap Shot land on him so easily? What happened to his high Detection? He even had two Thieves who remained beside him at all times.


    However, those two Thieves had already disappeared.


    The one who stunned Dancing Star Dream was Cain''s Left hand. His equipment enabled him to sneak closer to Dancing Star Dream without being noticed. Lu Li was responsible for the other two Thieves.


    One of them was low on health while the other was only at half-health, so it was hard for them to do anything.


    "****, come protect me!" Dancing Star Dream called loudly. He knew that the situation wasn''t right; his opponents had definitely planned this move.


    At the same moment, he used his badge in an attempt to remove the Stun, but another Cheap Shot instantly followed. He didn''t even have a chance to flash.


    Lu Li had been waiting for him to use the badge.


    Was this enough to control Dancing Star Dream until he died?


    That wasn''t even possible on an elite player, let alone someone like Dancing Star Dream, unless you could kill him before he had the chance to react.


    Ice Barrier!


    Dancing Star Dream froze himself, becoming immune to all damage. It wasn''t until later in the game when Priests learned their Empowered Dispel and Warriors had their Broken Toss that this spell would become less effective.


    While the refrigerator skill granted immunity, Dancing Star Dream was unable to do anything, and his health and mana bars wouldn''t recover in the process either.


    Lu Li immediately gave up on Dancing Star Dream and jumped on the players from the Gangnam Royals who had come to support him.


    Dancing Star Dream was caught in a dilemma; he knew that he was dealing with more than a single Thief.


    After Lu Li is gone, there would probably be another Thief waiting behind him.


    Once he broke the ice, the Thief behind him would definitely cast a Cheap Shot. Although it seemed like Lu Li had given up on him, who knew when he might decide to turn around?


    However, Dancing Star Dream couldn''t stay frozen forever.


    His refrigerator skill would time-out eventually and his team members didn''t seem like they could sustain the fight for any longer. If another average player was in this situation, they would have already lost.


    "****, what''s meant to be will be, I''m going in!" Dancing Star Dream shouted as he cancelled his immunity early.


    Cain''s Left Hand was tense; the dagger in his hand was ready to slash out at given moment. However, his reaction time was a touch slower than a professional player''s. Not only did he fail to cast Cheat Shot on Dancing Star Dream, but he was also frozen on the spot by a Frost Nova.


    Lu Li was just about to turn back to reinforce him, but frost also began to form beneath him.


    A Frost Nova couldn''t possibly cover such a big area; Dancing Star Dream had left a Water Elemental behind.


    "Trying to kill me with such a small amount of people? Lu Li, you''re still too na?ve."


    With his fast and decisive movements, Dancing Star Dream and his Cone of Cold wreaked havoc on the team members from Ruling Sword.


    With his contribution, the morale of the Gangnam Royals quickly rose again.


    "I''ll give you a chance to fight me one-on-one. I''m not shameless enough like you to bring a few hundred players into a fight," Lu Li said as he followed closely behind Dancing Star Dream.


    Wirt''s Third Leg (Gold): Armor 35, Agility +20, Constitution +12, Movement Speed +8%. Special


    Effect 1: Fade into the shadows and appear behind a target. Increases movement speed by 80%


    for 3 seconds and increases damage inflicted by next spell by 20%. Reduces Threat by 50%. 120


    second cooldown. Special Effect 2: Wirt''s Fake Leg, Instant Cast, leap forwards or backwards by 8 yards. 120 second cooldown. Equipment Requirement level 35. Durability 82/82.


    Of course, Dancing Star Dream wasn''t the type to sit back and do nothing either. He simply activated one of the special effects from his equipment and instantly appeared eight yards away. He often used this to escape from Thieves who behind him.


    It was best for a Mage to keep their distance from their opponents.


    What left him helpless was that Lu Li seemed to have a similar effect or skill; he continued to follow right behind him which sent Dancing Star Dream into a dilemma again.


    Should he use one of the hidden aces up his sleeves?


    These attacks only caused him some trouble; it wasn''t to the extent where he couldn''t do anything at all.


    But what would happen after he used one of his aces? This was something that he needed to consider.


    For example, he had a Duplicate spell which created three duplicates of him with 20% of his original damage. Although the duplicates could only cast Frost Bolts, their uses extended beyond this situation.


    Moreover, this spell couldn''t guarantee his escape today, so there was no point in using it.


    He also had a skill that dealt massive damage, but there wasn''t much point in using it right now either. At the very least, this skill couldn''t deal enough damage to kill Lu Li. Killing Cain''s Left Hand wasn''t worth revealing one of his aces, unless his remaining team members could protect him well enough for him to escape.


    The reality was that about half of the players from the Gangnam Royals had already died. Although Ruling Sword had suffered heavy losses, they still had more players standing than the Gangnam Royals.


    Mages were weak against Thieves; he didn''t have any effective escape mechanisms.


    In Dawn, the Agility attribute split the speed of players into a few different tiers. No matter what, Intelligence and Strength couldn''t outcompete Agility in this area. Not to mention, Lu Li was famous for his movement speed.

 718 Patience

    "Boss, why do I feel like he''s very weak?" Cain''s Left Hand asked as he stopped before Lu Li, clearly confused.


    There were only players from Ruling Sword left; everyone from the Gangnam Royals had died, including Dancing Star Dream himself. The floor was littered with dead bodies, equipmentsand potions. Ruling Sword had suffered heavy losses as well; they only had around a dozen players left. However, compared to their opponents, they could proudly say that they were the victors of this round.


    Lu Li played with the staff that Dancing Star Dream had dropped and shook his head.


    "Weak? He''s not weak; he just gave up."


    "Goodness, he''s a competitor. I''ve never heard of a competitor giving up. Don''t they all fight until the very end?"


    Cain''s Left Hand was stunned and began to look down on his opponent.


    "You think too much. Left Hand, you should eat more vitamins in the future," Lu Li said as he tossed the item in his hands to Nuo Yu. "Take a look and tell me your thoughts. This is Dancing Star Dream''s weapon."


    "Wow, he dropped a weapon. This trip is so worth it!" Nuo Yu exclaimed as he examined it, then passed it back to Lu Li.


    Lu Li was lost for words.


    "Don''t tell me you don''t like it; this is a Dark Gold equip and all three of the special effects are exquisite. It''s good enough for Dancing Star Dream. You won''t be able to buy this without two or three thousand gold coins."


    "Boss, you must be joking. How could I possibly not like it?" Nuo Yu said as he waved his hands then continued, "I''m not a competitor; it''s too much of a waste to let me have it. Give it to Monkey instead."


    "It''s his own loss for not coming."


    Lu Li was determined to distribute the item to Nuo Yu, and just as Nuo Yu was about to reject the offer again, he said, "You can lend it to Monkey during competitions. Our rules remain ¨C whoever comes takes the loot."


    Nuo Yu was on a high-priority list, but Fat Monkey was a competitor, so his priority was still lower.


    However, Ruling Sword had another rule ¨C those who showed up would have the highest priority. Nuo Yu had the highest points out of all the Mages who showed up, and he had also directed the group combat well. He killed all of his opponents with his team and didn''t let a single one escape.


    Nuo Yu didn''t persist since Lu Li was determined and gratefully took the exquisite Staff.


    "Alright, we''ve cleaned up the battleground. Let''s go," Lu Li announced then teleported back first.


    He was very satisfied with the result. Not only did they kill Dancing Star Dream, but they also looted his weapon.


    Twenty percent wasn''t a small sum of experience. Dancing Star Dream was currently level 42, so 20% would take at least half a day to regain.


    He had also lost his level 40 Dark Gold weapon. Lu Li was sure that even if he had a spare, it wouldn''t be as good as this one. The worst item to drop upon a death was definitely an equip.


    What Lu Li anticipated the most was Dancing Star Dream''s feelings.


    He had brought a few hundred players in the morning to kill Lu Li and failed, then died to Lu Li and the others in the afternoon. Moreover, this was under the circumstances where both parties had even numbers.


    "Nope, boss, I have to go make a post in the forums. I''ve recorded everything."


    Even after they returned to the city, Cain''s Left Hand was still excited. He still couldn''t believe that he was a part of killing Dancing Star Dream. He had taken both the first and last hits as well.


    "Uh, that''s a bit harsh."


    Lu Li could already feel the sweat pouring down his sides as he imagined the reactions of the Gangnam Royals after they watch the video. Dancing Star Dream had given up and didn''t use a single ace, so he would seem as if he wasn''t a good player.


    "Boss, if you feel like it''s too much, I''ll just keep it to myself¡­"


    Cain''s Left Hand was slightly disappointed, but he wouldn''t disobey Lu Li''s commands.


    "Why would you keep it to yourself? Go post it. Wait, find an editor and make it even better," Lu Li said. He wasn''t a very responsible person either.


    "Boss where are you going? It''s almost time to go offline. Do you want to come with us to the bar after game time is over?" Cain''s Left Hand felt like Lu Li wasn''t as distant at the moment as he usually was, so he extended an invitation.


    "Drinking?" Lu Li asked as he hesitated.


    "We''re going to a bar, the biggest one in Qingshan District. It''s filled with pretty girls from the schools nearby. Boss, you''re so cool already. You''d definitely be popular there," Cain''s Left Hand persuaded. He had taken Lu Li''s hesitation the wrong way and thought that he was interested.


    "I''m good. You guys go and have fun," Lu Li declined with a slight frown.


    He thought that everyone was just having a gathering to eat and drink. He didn''t want to have a closer relationship with the elites from the guild, but he didn''t expect them to go to that kind of place.


    "Alright," Cain''s Left Hand said as he scratched his hair, slightly disappointed.


    Lu Li checked the time; there was less than an hour left. There was no need for him to try and level up as it was still messy outside.


    Lu Li thought for a bit and ended up going to the Mercenary Hall.


    "Coordinates 3175, 14895, 24, Swamp of Sorrows. I didn''t think he would be the type to like such a scary map¡­"


    After Lu Li picked up the coordinates, he immediately headed towards the Swamp of Sorrows. Heart of War didn''t have any PK points on him, so his coordinates could only be searched every half an hour. If Lu Li was too slow, he wouldn''t be able to catch his location.


    That''s right, Lu Li was going to pay Heart of War a visit.


    For a majority of the time, the Swamp of Sorrows were wet and rainy. The ocean waters had seeped into the swamp, turning it into a salty wetland, while the trees that grew here were massive and helped to thicken the air with moisture. It was as if he had entered a rainforest.


    When the gaming company wrote an introduction for this place, there was only one line of description: The Swamp of Sorrows is no place for cowards.


    Lu Li quickly saw his target.


    In an area where the Swamp Tigers were gathered, around seven to eight hundred players were leveling.


    The Swamp Tigers gave great experience rewards and their loot was quite decent as well, so they were the favorite targets of major guilds.


    Lu Li went into Stealth in a nearby bush; monsters didn''t refresh in this location. The sky was already dark, so he didn''t need to worry about anyone discovering him.


    The seven to eight hundred players here were all from the Gangnam Royals and were protecting Heart of War. Once Lu Li saw the entire squad, he gave up all hope.


    There were plenty of torches placed near Heart of War. Lu Li could see him battling monsters with a sword and shield as he joked around with a girl nearby.


    What Lu Li couldn''t figure out was why his usual stuck-up expression had changed to a humble one.


    Perhaps it was because of his curiosity, but Lu Li didn''t back away immediately. There wasn''t much time left anyway, so couldn''t accomplish anything from going back.


    The guild members often pulled monsters past Lu Li, oblivious to the fact that their worst enemy was hiding right next to them.

 719 A Walk

    Previously, Lu Li had used the same tactics as Dancing Star Dream to exact his revenge.


    The only reason why the results were different was because of the classes that they played and the slight difference between their individual strengths.


    If Lu Li wasn''t a Thief, he wouldn''t have escaped from Dancing Star Dream''s assault.


    Since the situation was different, he couldn''t use the same tactics as before. Lu Li didn''t even need to count; he knew the maximum capacity for this area.


    There were at least 700 Gangnam Royal members here.


    If Lu Li took 3000 players with him, could he kill Heart of War too?


    Heart of War was the guild leader of the Gangnam Royals and wielded a lot power. There wasn''t anyone like Water Fairy or Lu Li behind his back who could influence his decisions.


    Killing him would have an even greater impact on the Gangnam Royals.


    However, Lu Li wouldn''t drag 3000 players over to kill these 700 players. Seven hundred was an entirely different concept to seventy ¨C trying to fight them would turn into a full-blown war. Moreover, it wasn''t possible for three thousand players to quickly spread themselves; only be a few hundred of them would actually be in combat.


    During the battle, Heart of War would have plenty of time to teleport back to the city.


    He wouldn''t stay back to die with everyone else ¨C that''s what a younger, foolish version of himself would do. If these cunning old players demonstrated any kind of resistance, it meant that their reinforcements were already nearby.


    As such, Lu Li could only stay hidden and spectate.


    He was almost about to give up; he was just here wasting his remaining hours until it was time to log off. He could take his sister out for a walk, who he spent his most of his time with after he logged out of the game.


    Time went by slowly, but Lu Li was very patient.


    It wasn''t right to say that he had given up entirely; he was still a little hopeful.


    After these players returned to the city, if Heart of War didn''t go first, he would take the risk and interrupt his teleport. Perhaps the Gangnam Royals would lower their guards since it would be log-off time.


    The more relaxed you were, the greater the chance for assassination.


    Countless cases from his previous life had proven this to Lu Li.


    The night was filled with a kind of wildness and the lights of torches flickered in the wind. Lu Li gradually approached Heart of War and waited in the empty spot behind him.


    There were still about a dozen minutes left.


    Usually, this was the time when everyone would be heading back, either to have a drink or to clean up their bags. They would also need to repair their equipment so that they could log on early the next day and head straight out.


    Heart of War had no clue that someone was waiting behind him.


    He was still joking around with the girl, trying to impress her. He tried to demonstrate his bravery by battling with the shield and sword against some monsters.


    Blood was sent splattering as the monsters were bashed by the shield.


    It seemed like he had good technique, but in the eyes of professionals like Lu Li, it was rather pathetic. He was a level 40 Paladin who focused on the Defensive Attributes; he couldn''t even fight more than two Swamp Tigers by himself. His usage of skills was also a mess.


    On the other hand, the girl was doing alright with her Mage class.


    When the monsters barely had any health left, she would correctly use an Ice Lance to end them. Newbies would often continue with Ice Bolt which would deal an unnecessary amount of damage.


    "Boss, should we go?" a player came over and asked.


    "Oh, is it time?" Heart of War laughed, then continued, "See, it''s too much fun leveling with you; I''ve forgotten about time. Brothers, you''ve all worked hard today. Let''s go."


    "Then Boss, you go first," the player said as he stood on the spot.


    This wasn''t him trying to get on anyone''s good side; he was just being professional.


    "Charmy, we''re not too far away from the camp. Should we walk back? I''m a Paladin; I''d definitely be able to protect you."


    Just as Lu Li was about to turn away in disappointment, there was a sudden turn in events. Heart of War wanted to walk back.


    "Walk back? What''s wrong with you? That''s just dangerous and totally pointless," Lu Li thought to himself. He couldn''t figure out the motive behind Heart of War''s actions.


    Taking a walk with a girl gave him a chance to protect her; perhaps she would be interested at some point during the process.


    "Mmmm, sure."


    The female player who was referred to as Charmy packed away her Hearthstone. She didn''t object to his plans; it seemed like she was interested in him too.


    "Uhm, I''ll go ahead then¡­"


    The player who was waiting for Heart of War to return to the city first didn''t know what to say.


    "No need, no need. What time is this already? There are no more threats. If we run into monsters, do you think Miss Purple Wind Chime and I won''t be able to handle it?" Heart of War asked as he waved his hands. The underlying meaning in what he was saying was for the third-wheelers to all take their leave.


    "Alright."


    The player thought for a bit and didn''t feel like there would be any threat in these last few minutes either.


    As long as they stuck on the main roads, the few monsters that popped out wouldn''t be able to threaten a Paladin with full level 40 Gold and Dark Gold equips. They might even help with their relationship too.


    Lu Li happily watched as the players from the Gangnam Royals teleported back to the city one by one.


    The noisy area quickly became silent, and only a few smoldering torches were left behind.


    Lu Li wasn''t in a rush to act; he waited for Heart of War and Purple Wind Chime to get on the main road first.


    "I''m so tired. It would be a lie to say that it isn''t tiring to manage such a big guild, but it feels good to watch as the Gangnam Royals recover each day under my lead," Heart of Wars sighed. Anyone could tell that he was bragging.


    Lu Li really wanted to vomit. His guild was originally number one and had dropped to where it was today under his lead. How could he even bring himself to say something like this?


    Although the Gangnam Royals always had an average reputation, their style was just to solve everything with money. At the very least, they didn''t play dirty tricks like Heart of War.


    "You''re a famous gamer. I''ve always admired you," Purple Wind Chime laughed softly.


    Purple Wind Chime, Purple Wind Chime¡­


    Lu Li looked at the girl who was smiling and was surprised by a thought that flashed across his mind.

 720 Super Liar

    It wasn''t impressive for anyone to be associated with the term ''liar''. However, if someone could be associated with both the term ''liar'' and ''Heart of War'', that would be impressive.


    Purple Wind Chine had not only managed to take half of Heart of War''s rare materials and exquisite equipment, but she had also managed to headhunt one of his best players ¨C Old Man Power.


    She had her ways of making Heart of War give her money and items freely, but apparently, he didn''t even get to hold her hands, not even once.


    After she thought her job was finished, or rather, after she felt guilty, she took Old Man Power, a celebrity player from the Gangnam Royals, and joined Majin Temple.


    Because of this, the public believed that Purple Wind Chime had been sent by Unforgettable Maple.


    After Heart of War made all sorts of attempts at getting Purple Wind Chime, including letting Old Man Power go for free, a war between the Gangnam Royals and Majin Temple broke out.


    The war went on for about half a year.


    Everyone thought Majin Temple would be done, but what shocked them was that they not only survived, but flourished. With Old Man Power joining them, Majin Temple finally made it into the top ten in the second season and accomplished their best result ever in a major competition.


    That was why as soon as Lu Li realized who was next to Heart of War, he nearly dropped to his knees on the spot.


    This was the real killer; it was just uncertain what her relationship with Unforgettable Maple was.


    "To be honest, those competitors were only so much. I''ll have Dancing Star Dream show you a few tricks tomorrow," Heart of War promised.


    "It''s alright. Star Dream was attacked by surprise by Lu Li today; he''s in a bad mood," Purple Wind Chime said with consideration.


    "Then¡­then, let''s wait until he feels better."


    Heart of War couldn''t command Dancing Star Dream anyway. There were other bosses in the club; he was only a representative. A competitor like Dancing Star Dream could ignore the guild.


    However, he was even more interested in Purple Wind Chime after this.


    "Even if you can''t find a satisfying job after you graduate from university, don''t worry too much about it. You can come work in my guild as a full-time assistant."


    Heart of War was even more impressed with the decision he made now.


    If everyone teleported back to the city together, they wouldn''t be able to have this alone-time walking together...


    "I need to think about it. After all, my family still wants¡­ Heart of War, what''s wrong?" Purple Wind Chime asked in confusion as she turned around and found that Heart of War wasn''t walking beside her.


    "There''s a Thief! Quick¡­"


    Heart of War was about to ask her to rescue him, but swallowed his words instead shouted, "Charmy, run!"


    "No, I''m not going. We''ll kill him together."


    Of course, Purple Wind Chime would stay; she had already seen the Thief who had appeared behind Heart of War.


    How could she run away at a time like this? Sharing hard times together would maximize Heart of War''s feelings for her. Although her plans won''t be affected if she ran, this was her chance to pick up on the progress. Why wouldn''t she seize the chance?


    Heart of War was touched indeed ¨C such a good girl!


    He had already decided to sacrifice himself to help her run, but he didn''t expect the girl to stay together with him in this.


    Was she interested in him too?


    This would be expected, right? Heart of War was in a position of power and was the guild master of a major guild in the gaming industry. Other figures of authority spoke about him with respect, not to mention, he was extremely wealthy. After so many years of hard work, he had saved up quite a bit, even though this was mostly money taken behind the backs of his investors. He also had a warm heart¡­


    Lu Li had no clue what he was thinking about; he might have puked if he did. He was just concerned as to why his opponent was still standing there after the Stun duration had ended.


    Paladins, especially those that focused on the Defense tree, really had a good amount of health¡­


    "Charmy, go first. I''ll hold him."


    When he finally realized that he was no longer Stunned, Heart of War waved his sword and tossed all his skills onto Lu Li.


    Lu Li just wanted to quickly kill him; they weren''t too far away from the camp.


    Heart of War didn''t actually call for any reinforcements. He was too deeply-invested into his character and act of saving a pretty girl; he was fighting for Purple Wind Chime''s survival.


    Lu Li went silent. Who said he was going to kill Purple Wind Chime?


    He hadn''t said a single thing since he had showed up. This was a script entirely written by the couple themselves.


    No matter how much health the Paladin had, he couldn''t handle Lu Li''s attacks. Not to mention, Heart of War had devoted all of his energy into his little play. He didn''t even get to use his Badge before he fell to the floor, slain by Lu Li''s daggers.


    The last thing he heard from the silent masked man was, "Have a safe trip, master War. The one who killed you was Lu Li."


    Lu Li was never a sheep ¨C otherwise, his childhood friends wouldn''t have respected him so much. From the moment he decided to start a war with the Gangnam Royals, he was determined not to hold back.


    He wasn''t a small figure either, so there was no need for him to be sneaky and keep things low-profile.


    "Your mum¡­" Heart of War spat.


    "Come," Purple Wind Chime said as she closed her eyes. If the one who had turned up to kill them was Lu Li, then any resistance became pointless. Her skills had only dealt a hundred points of damage when they landed on him.


    When she finally opened her eyes, her surroundings were silent and she realized that Lu Li had long since been gone.


    The Gangnam Royals were flung into turmoil because their guild master had returned by dying. After Dancing Star Dream, another important figure had died ¨C their guild master.


    Besides this, lots of news had arrived about their players being attacked.


    No one thought that Ruling Sword would enact their revenge so swiftly.


    After he returned back home, Lu Li proudly passed over his new video to Cain''s Left Hand.


    "Post this too."


    "What''s this?" Cain''s Left Hand was curious; their game-time for the day was about to finish. How could his boss assign an extra job to him?


    However, after he saw the content of the video, he was happy to oblige. Although he didn''t participate in it this time, plenty of people would follow his post. This was a proud achievement.


    When Ruling Sword pointed at the Gangnam Royals, both Dancing Star Dream and Heart of War died.


    This humble, but solid truth was posted as the caption of the post and it quickly rose to the top of the popularity list in the forum. The media wouldn''t let go of such big news either.


    Countless players in the forum pointed out that the greatest war of the year had begun.

 721 Noob Team

    Every year around this time, the Guild War went into full swing between two or so Major Guilds that were considered to be powerhouses.


    This year Ruling Sword and Gangnam Royals were the main powerhouses.


    One was a seasoned Guild that had been dominated the gaming community for more than ten years. The other was an upcoming guild that had only recently risen to the top this year. They seemed to be even stronger than Peerless City, who had also been considered a powerhouse in the recent years.


    At least Peerless City waited a two or so years before challenging the top dogs in the community. Ruling Sword had appeared out of nowhere and began wreaking havoc in the guild scene.


    Over the past few days, the most talked-about guild was Ruling Sword. Even people that didn''t play or follow the game knew about them.


    "Established this year¡­."


    "They''re a group of ten or so players who completed all the First Clears in dungeons and defeated all the other major guilds to win the Shadow Cup Championship. When the tournament was over, they established their guild and after a few days of recruitment, they were considered to be one of the best¡­"


    "They''re strong-willed and Lu Li is arguably the best player in the game right now. He killed both Dancing Star Dream and Heart of War from the Gangnam Royals. Thieves are so overpowered; I wish I had created one instead of a stupid Warrior¡­."


    "This is an all-out guild war. There are hundreds of players from each guild fighting again each other."


    "I don''t think Ruling Sword is showing any signs of letting down. It feels as if they''re completely overwhelming the Gangnam Royals."


    "I heard that players from the Gangnam Royals get reimbursed for their time and effort if they die on the battlefield. However, Ruling Sword doesn''t have that incentive for their players, but each and every one of them put in all their effort to win. I wonder what they''re feeding their players these days; it''s as if they''ve all gone insane and are not afraid of dying at all...."


    "No crap ¨C just take Lu Li as an example. If your guild master was willing to risk his life and go in to solo kill the opposing guild leader, how could you not put in the same effort?


    "The craziest guy is probably Fat Monkey. I heard that he''s been hunting down players from the Gangnam Royals for two days straight. I think he''s even more into PVP than Moonlight; no wonder his playstyle is so reckless and wild¡­"


    "You don''t understand. Moonlight has died more than three times, yet he''s still running around killing everyone¡­."


    "Fat Monkey is just a wrecking fireball; how dare you compare him to my idol Moonlight?! But, my favorite member in the guild is Lonesome Flower ¨C he''s good looking and acts cold towards everyone except for his little sister."


    "Oi, why are you guys fangirling over them? Can we get back on topic and talk about who''s going to win¡­?"


    "What''s there to talk about? There are players from the Gangnam Royals that are quitting the guild and you can tell that they''re more scared than anyone in Ruling Sword."


    In reality, there were also players that quit Ruling Sword. Square Root Three had compiled a list of all the players that left from the day that the war was declared. In a span of three days, more than 100 players had quit.


    There was even a player in the Elite group that wanted to break his contract.


    There were all sorts of people in life and they all had their reasons for doing certain things. Ruling Sword did not make the process difficult for that person and nullify his contract immediately. However, he would never have the opportunity to join again.


    The guild was better off without people that would hide away during the tough times.


    This hadn''t been an evenly-matched battle from the very beginning. The reason why Ruling Sword managed to last for so long was because of the support of their alliances. The most supportive guild was Drizzle Court, who had allowed thousands of PVP enthusiasts from their guild to join Ruling Swords.


    This was a secret that got out very quickly. Since there were so many players, it was impossible to hide it.


    However, there was nothing that the Gangnam Royals could do about this. They didn''t have the power to criticize Drizzle Court or declare war against them either. Declaring war against them would be foolish because Drizzle Court was a formidable major guild and Water Fairy was itching to fight.


    Although Peerless City wasn''t in an alliance with Ruling Sword, their friendly relationship with Drizzle Court led players such as Vegetarian Mosquito to join the fight. They wore masks to hide their identities and killed off members of the Gangnam Royals in several maps.


    Besides them, there were also another group of mysterious players.


    Lu Li had no idea where these people come from. He speculated that they were groups of players that had once been oppressed by the Gangnam Royals and wanted to seek revenge. There were also several groups of mercenaries that killed for equips.


    Usually, there were events during the Christmas period meaning that provided more things to do for the casual players. However, for the players who were actually invested in the game, this was the day that marked the beginning of the most important tournament of the year.


    Ruling Sword applied to join the League Tournament and paid the entry price of 700 gold.


    Every member participating had to pay 100 gold each; this was the new rule set by the tournament committee. Many guilds complained, but money wouldn''t stop them from applying for the tournament.


    Ruling Sword were the Shadow Cup Champions and could be seeded so that they wouldn''t have to play the qualifiers. However, the team needed to develop chemistry again, and they didn''t want to give up the ticket money. As such, they decided to fight their way through the qualifiers just like any other guild.


    The first match was a single elimination match.


    The tournament was based on cumulative points earned through kills and winning the match. For example, if there were five other players in the single-elimination match and Lu Li managed to kill all of them, he would gain a point per kill, as well as an additional five points for winning the match.


    If Lu Li was killed, the enemy team would gain one point.


    If two players were defeated from Ruling Swords and five players were defeated from the opposing guild, Ruling Sword would receive five points and the enemy would receive two points.


    At every new stage of the tournament, the points would be reset and the teams seeded based on their cumulative points from the previous stages.


    "Do you want me to go first or you?" Lu Li asked Moonlight. They were undoubtedly the two best PvP players in the guild. Based on the tournament rules, it was more advantageous to send out your best player in the first round.


    "I''ll go," Moonlight volunteered without hesitating.


    The application fee was a considerable amount of gold. The reason why the tournament decided to have an application fee was to weed out the players who only wanted to join for fun. They only wanted teams that were confident enough to make it deep into the tournament, but there were also going to be teams that joined because they had too much spare money lying around.


    The first team that Ruling Sword was up against was a prime example of this. It was obvious that the enemy Mage was geared up with overpowered equipment, but had no game mechanics at all.


    Without losing much HP, Moonlight finished off his opponent quickly.


    For teams that were looking to make it deep into the tournament, it would be extremely unfortunate to be matched up against such a powerful team in the very first round. However, most casual teams joined in order to have some fun and meet the professional players that they idolized. Being matched up against Ruling Sword in the very first round was a pleasant surprise for them.


    From now on, they would be able to brag about the time they were matched up against Ruling Swords and how they lasted more than three hours fighting against Moonlight.


    Moonlight regretted the decision to be the first to join the fight. What kind of competition was this? They were up against total noobs.

 722 Fat Monkey Betrayed

    According to the tournament rules, Moonlight had to stay on stage to face off against opponents until he was defeated.


    At the end of the first fight, his HP, cooldowns and actives all remained the same.


    His second opponent was a warrior.


    A fight between two players of the same class would usually be quite entertaining, assuming they were on the same playing field. However, the enemy Warrior could be described as mediocre at best and barely stood a chance.


    The fight last lasted for less than a minute before he went down.


    At the end, Moonlight was still on 71% HP; the two players he had fought had barely even scratched him. It seemed like the reserves for the single elimination matches wouldn''t be needed.


    After the Warrior, the opposing team sent in a Paladin, Warlock, and Hunter, but each of them was defeated in a matter of seconds. This marked the end of the single elimination matches. Moonlight still had 42% HP left over and he barely even bothered trying in the last few matches because he felt so bored.


    Ruling Sword received five points while their opponents received 0.


    The audiences were completely silent for the entire match because they were bored out of their minds. They were annoyed because they had spent a whole silver coin to watch Ruling Sword slaughter some random noobs.


    The ticket prices had increased from 10 copper coins to a silver coin.


    In the Preliminary matches, the arena could hold 10,000 people, which equated to 100 gold per match. The system and tournament committee took 60% of the profit, leaving 40 gold per match for the participating players.


    Moonlight was too tired to participate in the team elimination matches, so Ruling Sword''s team consisted of Lu Li, Fat Monkey, March Rain, Sakura Memories and Kitty Likes Meat, with Mu Qiu as a reserve.


    "Moonlight doesn''t want to participate. Let me initiate the fight later," Fat Monkey said as he entered the arena.


    "Um.." Lu Li hesitated, then nodded and said, "Fine, but if we''re up against a strong team, we''re following the order that we planned for. We''re also trying to develop Kitty Likes Meat more before the finals."


    "I''ll take turns with Kitty Likes Meat then." Fat Monkey was pleased.


    He didn''t mind if his opponents were weak; he just wanted someone to beat up.


    According to the order that they planned for, Lu Li would usually start. If he was killed, then Moonlight would follow, then Kitty Likes Meat, Fat Monkey and finally Mu Qiu.


    The enemy team consisted of a four-DPS-one-healer team composition which was the same as Ruling Sword''s.


    Fat Monkey was terrifying as usual; he immediately blinked into the enemy team and casted Frost Nova, followed by hail of Ice Bolts and Ice Lances. As he was unleashing his wrath against the enemy team, he suddenly felt alone.


    When he turned his head back, he saw his four teammates sitting there watching him.


    "What are you guys doing? Come and help me!"


    Fat Monkey was scared and casted Frost Shield to protect himself. Even though he was quite powerful and they were up against noobs, there was no way he could take on all five of them at once.


    "Look at how reckless you are. I thought you were going to kill them all by yourself," Lu Li chuckled.


    He had been waiting to teach this guy a lesson. Since this match was a guaranteed win, he decided to troll Fat Monkey and let him have a taste of what it was like to be beaten up by a group of noobs. Perhaps next time he won''t be so reckless.


    He had asked the others and they all agreed to help pull off this prank.


    Even the rookie Kitty Likes Meat was looking forward to this. It was human nature to find entertainment in the misfortune of others, especially if they were someone as arrogant as Fat Monkey.


    Fat Monkey''s face suddenly turned green as the Frost Shield was about to time out.


    As the invulnerability timed out, he used his item active and ran away as quickly as he could in a random direction. "Where are you going Monkey?" Lu Li yelled.


    "You guys are a bunch of dogs. I''ll never trust you guys again¡­" Fat Monkey felt wronged because he trusted them like brothers, and yet they had betrayed him like this.


    "Ok, let''s go."


    Lu Li never expected Fat Monkey to get killed ¨C he wasn''t stupid. If he couldn''t 1v5, he would run away.


    The first match finished quickly and they tallied up 10 points as well as 40 gold in ticket money.


    "We''re making bank! You owe me a drink!" Fat Monkey yelled angrily. If he wasn''t so good at running away he wouldn''t have survived.


    "Fine." Lu Li was quick to say yes.


    Although a fraction of the money had to be given to the guild, it was only natural for them to celebrate their first win.


    The seven of them entered the tavern and Fat Monkey ordered the most expensive wine.


    It costed 70 gold for a bottle. Lu Li laughed while Fat Monkey ordered.


    "Were you nervous for your first match Kitty?" Lu Li asked.


    "Not really ¨C I found it fun like I always have," Kitty Likes Meat answered as she sipped on the wine. She was an experienced arena player, so these types of tournaments were quite familiar to her.


    You could also kill other players in arena while spectators watched.


    "Get used to tournaments like these in the future. The team we were up against today was quite weak, but you still made some mistakes in the fight," Lu Li said, then began giving her pointers for what she could have improved on today.


    Kitty Likes Meat listened as she continued drinking. She became tipsy very quickly; it was obvious that she didn''t drink much.


    Lu Li decided not to stop her because he wanted to see her father''s reaction to her daughter returning home drunk. He wondered whether he would be worried about his daughter''s safety while hanging out with Ruling Sword.


    Square Root Three hoped that Kitty''s father would become the coach of Ruling Swords so that he could watch over his daughter closely.


    Was there anything more dangerous than a young lady getting drunk in public?


    Lu Li finished speaking with Kitty Likes Meat, then changed his focus to Fat Monkey. "


    Monkey, next time you have to wait for my call to initiate. Please be more humble and cautious. The professional players can easily exploit your recklessness and ultimately create a disadvantage for our team."


    "As long as you guys follow up next time¡­" Fat Monkey was still talking back.


    "Don''t look down on others. Let''s go and form teams; I''ll personally shut you down," Lu Li said as he finished his alcohol and left.


    Fat Monkey wasn''t afraid at all and followed behind.


    He recruited four players who were experienced in the arena while Lu Li asked random players from the guild and did not allow starters such as Moonlight or March Rain to join.


    Both parties entered the arena.


    The 5v5 arena was the most popular PVP mode. However, since there were still matches ongoing in the tournament, there were very few audiences that spectated them.


    The two sides created a chatroom and discussed strategies.


    Fat Monkey''s strategy was simple ¨C he was to initiate the fight while the others stayed behind him and blasted the enemy. This was the typical reckless glass cannon strategy that Fat Monkey used.

 723 A Wedge In The Partnership

    Lu Lu''s composition was a Thief, a Mage and a Warrior on a Mount. His strategy was also very simple ¨C let Fat Monkey rush at him, like he often did.


    When Fat Monkey started moving, so would his teammates. They would get into formation on their mounts, which was a tactic he often used. Generally, the other teams had no effective means of stopping that.


    However, this time would be different. When Fat Monkey and his teammates rushed in, they would be met with a Cone of Cold.


    Cone of Cold was a slowing skill that would be casted in front of the user. The more skilled the user was, the more powerful the slow they could apply. Lu Li had the better Mage on his side; he managed to hit all of his opponents.


    Unlike Frost Nova, the slowing effect of the skill didn''t disappear after being attacked.


    This certainly wasn''t some killer move like Whirlwind. The Warrior rushed over with Charge and began spinning wildly among the slowed opponents, dealing massive AoE damage.


    Fat Monkey''s team weren''t newbies; they quickly lifted the slow and escaped the Whirlwind.


    Overall, they hadn''t lost much HP, and were still relatively healthy.


    However, the purpose of the Mage''s Cone of Cold and the Warrior''s Whirlwind was not to kill. They had disrupted Fat Monkey''s supporting teammates, which allowed him to freely attack.


    Fat Monkey immediately rushed in, but was hit by Frost Nova and Stunned by Lu Li immediately after.


    At this point, Lu Li could easily crowd-control anyone. He had at least four or five different ways to do it.


    Fat Monkey also had means to lift the crowd-control, but as he did so, Lu Li could cast another on him. This quickly happened three times in succession. Lu Li wasn''t bullying him, as any other top-level Thief like Blood Dagger or Water Fairy would have done the same thing.


    Lu Li''s Mage had now regrouped, and the three teammates now attacked Fat Monkey together.


    In that moment, Fat Monkey''s ego crumbled.


    He finally understood what Lu Li was trying to tell him ¨C he was too easily to manipulate and if his supports were dealt with, he would be on the chopping block.


    It wasn''t as though no one had told this to him before, but he had just never listened to them.


    Ever since he had become a professional player, his self-confidence had been completely inflated. In his eyes, he was a bonafide star.


    However, after experiencing this crushing defeat, he finally realized how far away he was from becoming one.


    When he charged in and was completely crowd-controlled, it was like everything had been planned beforehand. Lu Li seemed like God when he so casually manipulated the whole situation into his favor.


    His HP was emptied and he had fallen!


    A Fire Mage that focused on dealing damage had very poor survivability.


    The remaining members of the team didn''t stand a chance. After Fat Monkey died, they gave up and didn''t resist.


    When Lu Li came out of the arena, he saw Fat Monkey sitting in silence.


    He went up and gave him a kick before asking, "What''s with the long face?"


    "Didn''t I just get rolled? There were three of you attacking me," Fat Monkey said as he got up with a depressed look on his face. He had big dreams, but it was like he had just woken up.


    "Let''s go. We''ll continue drinking," Lu Li said.


    Given the way he looked, the effect of this match had been very great. If Lu Li didn''t lighten the mood, this might negatively impact his future performance. He might even consider giving it all up.


    "Are you buying?" Fat Monkey asked as he looked at him.


    "I''ll buy. You''re so stingy ¨C there are so many people who want to buy me a drink, but they don''t get a chance. Let''s go and talk, but make sure you don''t do something like this again." Lu Li was speechless.


    "Boss, it''s you who''s stingy. You don''t even buy good wine. Don''t you know¡­ Dust Dragon serves the best wine there is. It costs a few hundred for just a small bottle. When he gave me some, I thought he might as well have just paid me the money."


    Fat Monkey''s emotions seemed to be unstable as he was quickly switching from topic to topic.


    "Dust Dragon?" Lu Li thought for a moment.


    Dust Dragon was the President of the Blood Red War Flag and the vice chairman of the Blood Red War Flag club. He was considered to be a relatively powerful figure and was said to be a retired veteran with more than ten years of military experience.


    Lu Li had always admired such people. He had wanted to be a soldier in his earlier years, just like most young men who had dreams of fighting in military battles.


    It was a pity that he wasn''t that kind of selfless person. His sister needed care and there was no one to entrust her to. His dream as a soldier now remained in his imagination, but his respect for the military never changed.


    He had great respect for the police and even more respect for the army. He never resisted when a policeman would try to arrest him.


    "Dust Dragon¡­"


    The two went into another tavern and when Monkey Fat heard Lu Li mumbling, he sheepishly explained, "A few days ago, he found me and asked that I work with him. He offered a big sum of money¡­"


    "Was he trying to poach you?" Lu Li was a little confused, but he wasn''t too worried. If Fat Monkey really wanted to leave, he wouldn''t have brought it up.


    As for whether he had accidentally blurted it out¡­ that was a possibility. Perhaps this guy was even trying to mislead him by pretending it was an accident. Although Fat Monkey was impulsive, he wasn''t stupid and was still a bit of a bookworm.


    "He wanted me to throw a game¡­" Fat Monkey said with a grin. "I used to admire him before, but it turns out he''s not a good guy."


    "So you''re telling me that he found you and told you to throw a game for some money?" Lu Li asked. He also thought that Dust Dragon was a good and honorable person.


    "Of course not," Fat Monkey said as he poured a glass of wine for himself and for Lu Li. He took a slow sip before continuing, "It took a few days of talking before he finally revealed his intentions. What should we do about them?"


    "It''s hard to tell, but you''re not a great person either," Lu Li joked.


    He could imagine how the situation played out. Dust Dragon must have felt like Fat Monkey was the way in and decided to contact. He then bought him some drinks and slowly put his plan into effect.


    But why would he think that Fat Monkey was the way in?


    The reason was simple ¨C although Fat Monkey had entered Ruling Sword and had become a professional player, he was not part of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Strictly speaking, the group was still made up of the original ten players.


    Lu Li''s First Clears were achieved with this group, and in the eyes of the outsiders, even Fat Monkey hadn''t broken into it.


    Perhaps Fat Monkey was discontent about something, but if the benefits were sufficient, he could be converted. Dust Dragon actually thought that it seemed promising at first and fell into the illusion that Fat Monkey could be bought.


    However, after a few days'' worth of effort, Fat Monkey had completely laid waste to Dust Dragon''s plans.

 724 Expert Alchemis

    The plan was quite simple, but it was despicable.


    The fact that he didn''t manage to poach Fat Monkey was a testament to how reliable he was. However, there were many other talented players out there, and Blood Red War Flag was second only to Glory Capital.


    Having a spy in Ruling Sword would be very useful. They could rely information and even sabotage matches.


    "How much did Dust Dragon promise to give you?" Lu Li asked. He was quite curious to see how much Blood Red War Flag was willing to pay for their plan to defeat Ruling Sword.


    "One million upfront, and I wouldn''t have to do anything while in the top 100. After sabotaging a match in the top 16, they were going to pay me another two million¡­"


    "Two million!" Lu Li felt a little dizzy.


    Did these big guilds have money printing machines? They were willing to pay three million for the sake of one match in the top 16?


    "Yeah, if I did it in the quarter-finals they would pay me three million instead, then four million for the semi-finals and five million for the finals," Fat Monkey said, then paused and shouted out, "Those damned dogs were really generous!"


    Lu Li was still in shock.


    Even he still didn''t have that kind of money. Yet, five million dollars was being offered for sabotaging a single match, which would add up with the initial upfront amount to a total of six million.


    As long as nothing happened, a family could comfortably live off this amount of money for the rest of their lives.


    "Why didn''t you agree? It''s 5 million dollars."


    Lu Li felt quite distressed. If he was offered this kind of money, he would be willing to do anything for it.


    "Boss, please, could you have a bit of faith?" Fat Monkey asked as he looked at him scornfully.


    "Sorry, I''m just a little shocked," Lu Li apologized with a wry smile, then raised his glass and continued, "But five million is no small amount. Fat Monkey, aren''t you still a college student?"


    "It''s not about my education ¨C If I did something like that and was found out, my career would be over. I believe that I can make five million over my lifetime. I''m only nineteen this year and if I play for another fifteen years, how much is that per year? I already make quite a bit of money and even if I didn''t get found out, I would still be pledging my allegiance to Blood Red War Flag. I don''t want to do such a thing," Fat Monkey explained.


    "It seems like you have considered betraying the guild¡­" Lu Li was speechless.


    If he had just flatly refused the offer, he wouldn''t have made such a nuanced reason for his rejection.


    "Hehe, thinking about it is a normal thing to do Boss. If it was you in my place, you might have already agreed, but the way I calculated it was whether this five million was enough to purchase my future," Fat Monkey chided.


    "Looking at the way you live, you should be okay. I won''t ask any more about it," Lu Li sighed.


    In fact, he was only a few years older than Fat Monkey and if he had gone to college, he probably wouldn''t have graduated. Even so, his mindset was that of a much older person ¨C he had more in common with Square Root 3, who had graduated many years ago.


    "You can rest assured Boss ¨C Fat Monkey wouldn''t be tempted so easily," Fat Monkey proudly said puffed out his chest. "I will defeat you sooner or later."


    The next few days were spent completing their matches, but after that first round, Moonlight was reluctant to participate.


    Lu Li didn''t really want to fight those newbies that had gone down after his first few attacks either. As such, Fat Monkey and Carnivorous Cat ended up representing them.


    Fat Monkey would take out two or three players and was followed by Carnivorous Cat after he died.


    This Warlock really demonstrated her strength here as she would wipe the remaining players without fail.


    Carnivorous Cat and Fat Monkey''s fighting styles were completely differently. Fat Monkey was like a rash little kid, while Carnivorous Cat was a slow old man.


    She took her time and made calculated decisions, which made it seem like she was moving in slow motion.


    Of course, her casual movements and her cute expression reinforced the illusion.


    There was no doubt that she had been trained very well by her father, who was both a coach and a star player.


    Lu Li''s rebirth had caused some changes in this timeline. The clubs discovered the strength of Warlocks in these kinds of battles much earlier and quickly poured in more research to devise new strategies.


    Meanwhile, the war between Ruling Sword and Gangnam Royals continued.


    Both sides were fully engaged in the war and even the professional players were involved. After their matches, they would participate in PVP and would kill up to a dozen players every day. Fat Monkey and Moonlight had killed so many players that they were basically permanently bloodstained.


    Even Lu Li couldn''t sit still and would occasionally go out to assassinate some important figures of the Gangnam Royals. However, most of the time, he would spend levelling himself.


    "My Trade Skill EXP won''t go up anymore. Lu Li, how do I get the last point of EXP? Am I almost at Expert level?" Sesame Rice Ball asked in a message that updated Lu Li about his latest development in training his Trade Skill.


    Lu Li needed his Alchemy to complete the Worgen Quest.


    "Yep, I''ll help you complete the quest for it. It''s a bit difficult," Lu Li said.


    Before reaching Expert level, the Trade Skill tasks were quite easy. However, once you reached Expert level, a lot more was involved in acquiring the new skills.


    Alchemy was a popular profession, and its Expert level not only added new potions, but even more branches to specialize into.


    Alchemy branched into Potions, Medicine and Items.


    The potion specialization allowed the alchemist to make additional kinds of Healing or Mana Potions.


    Many Trade Skill Experts chose this specialization as it could make a lot of money. The recipes required for those potions were generally cheaper and made for a quick turnover. While the margins of individual sales were smaller, it was the most profitable of the three branches.


    The Medicine specialization allowed the alchemist to create additional products that increased attributes like Agility or Strength.


    In addition to upgrading attributes, they could also buff damage, movement speed and defense, among others. This specialization was very popular and in high-demand by most guilds. Almost all guilds would deliberately train this branch.


    As for the items specialization, this allowed the alchemist to produce additional bonus items when performing alchemy.


    This specialization was also very popular for its luck element. If a player was lucky, they could become rich overnight. But it was hard for something to happen twice, so this branch didn''t really make piles of money like the other two.

 725 Darkshire’s Beneficiaries

    By the time Lu Li arrived, Sesame Rice Ball had already accepted the quest following his instructions.


    The quest wasn''t difficult to trigger ¨C anyone could do it as everyone would eventually have to specialize. However, the difficulty of the quest varied from player to player.


    For someone like Hachi Chan, the quest would probably be as simple as delivering a Basic Healing Potion.


    Unfortunately, Hachi Chan wasn''t free to help Sesame Rice Ball right now. Her Fairy Dragon could be ridden and she had apparently discovered a way to speed up the remaining process.


    Her luck was the source of much envy; even Lu Li admired her for it.


    Even in his previous life, he barely knew a handful of players who had a flying mount, and half of them were Druids. Currently, the game had only been running for three months, and she was about to gain a flying mount. However, she was probably one of the best players to give a flying mount to without breaking game balance.


    Regardless, it was likely that the game company wouldn''t pay much attention to her anyway.


    "What kind of quest is it?'' Lu Li asked. He hoped that the quest triggered by Sesame Rice Ball wouldn''t be too difficult.


    "I need to go into Darkshire and find Madame Eva. She has a task for me. I think this is just an errand, so it shouldn''t be too difficult," Sesame Rice Ball said happily.


    "Oh¡­ maybe," Lu Li sighed woefully as he held his forehead.


    "Dammit, it''s not just an errand at all!" he cursed inwardly.


    Darkshire was located within the Twilight Forest in the Eastern Kingdoms. Lu Li had come here for a quest and had dealt with the Night Watchmen of the town. Many players from Ruling Sword had joined this small camp, to the point where it could even be said that this small camp was owned by them.


    Madame Eva was a strange woman. She lived in the wild and always thought that someone was out to get her.


    The owner of the tavern had told Lu Li about her just before Lu Li left the town.


    The Twilight Forest had always been shrouded by a blue mist. As the sun shone over this massive forest, a tiny amount of dust could always be seen floating about in the air.


    The rainy season meant there was always a dampness in the atmosphere. There hadn''t been a sunny day in the area for a while.


    It seemed like it had just rained not too long ago, as the road was very muddy. This was a bad thing about virtual reality; Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball had to physically trudge through the mud while monsters would occasionally come looking for trouble.


    Their destination was an abandoned camp that was situated high-up where it was difficult for monsters to reach.


    Lu Li grabbed onto Sesame Rice Ball and knocked the door a few times with the handle of his dagger. A green mist appeared as Sesame Rice Ball took a few steps backwards. Suddenly, he lost a third of his HP.


    "What a ruthless trap," Sesame Rice Ball cursed as he took a deep breath.


    This kind of trap was rather devious. No wonder Madame Eva could live alone here in the wilderness.


    After the wooden door opened, a woman who looked to be about 40-50 years of age came out and introduced herself. After they had explained why they were there, she invited them in.


    The house had been built by the soldiers that were stationed here. It was completely made of stone and looked quite sturdy.


    However, the green moss on the walls made this ''home'' look more like a haunted house. It was hard to imagine why Madame Eva had decided to leave the safe town and live here.


    "Have you come to help me?" Madame Eva asked.


    "Yes, we have received a quest which mentioned that you had run into some troubles," Sesame Rice Ball responded. It was his quest after all.


    Madame Eva was silent for some time before saying, "I am an astrologer. I hope you will accept and believe in my divination."


    "Uh¡­ okay," Sesame Rice Ball a little unsure.


    The techniques of divination were once commonplace during the era of the trolls, but now, so few players knew about them that they were basically seen as a sham. If it weren''t for this quest, Sesame Rice Ball probably wouldn''t have agreed.


    "A few years ago when my husband died in the war against the Undead, I moved here with my granddaughter in hopes of forgetting those memories," Madame Eva said with a bit of embarrassment in her voice, then took in a deep breath and continued, "But recently, I feel that my granddaughter has gotten restless. Now, she finds herself in a crisis¡­"


    "What? Where is your granddaughter right now?'' Sesame Rice Ball asked curiously as he looked around.


    "I have sent her to a safe place. Please do not interrupt me. I used my cards of divination and saw that Death had its sights on my granddaughter. So, after further investigation I found a hint of what could be causing this terrible thing. A name had formed in my mine; it was Stalvan," Madame Eva explained.


    "Do you know this Stalvan?" Sesame Rice Ball couldn''t help but ask.


    "I''ve never heard of this person before, and my granddaughter doesn''t know him either. The people in the town don''t like me, but you can go to the clerk, Daltry, and ask for the records of the townspeople," After saying this, Madame Eva remained silent. She was a mysterious woman who had given a confusing quest.


    Sesame Rice Ball and Lu Li returned to Darkshire where Lu Li greeted the guards. After hearing about Lu Li''s arrival, the enthusiastic guards took him directly to the main administrative hall.


    As soon as he entered, he saw Daltry buried among a pile of books and documents.


    He looked up and saw Lu Li coming in before quickly stepping out from behind the table to pay respects to him.


    "Sir, it''s been a long time."


    "What''s going on?'' Sesame Rice Ball was a little confused as to why Lu Li had this kind of relationship with the NPCs.


    "I joined in on their hunting quests last time," Lu Li briefly explained.


    "Your companion worked with our Commander Althea to fight the mighty Mor''Ladim," the clerk said with a smile. "I didn''t participate in that battle, but everything you''ve done has spread throughout the town. Thank you everything you''ve done for the Night''s Watchmen. As an elf who watched from afar, please accept the respects of this humble non-combatant."


    After saying all that, the clerk greeted Lu Li once again.


    "I didn''t really do much. This is a bit awkward."


    Lu Li was a little embarrassed to just accept this. That night, the one who truly faced Mor''Ladim was Commander Althea of the Night''s Watchmen. The final crucial decision was made by Sarah, daughter of Mor''Ladim before he was corrupted. Lu Li had only just participated in the fight itself.


    After finally exchanging the formalities, Lu Li told him the reason why they were here.

 726 The Damned Errand

    "Madame Eva¡­"


    Daltry looked at them with a strange expression on his face. If it weren''t for the friendship between Lu Li and the Night''s Watchmen, he might have even taunted them.


    "I know you don''t believe in divination, but I received similar information from another source. I think we should take it seriously, just in case this is another Mor''Ladim," Lu Li said.


    This seemed to strike a chord with the clerk. Daltry nodded and agreed, "Alright, I''ll help you find out about Stalvan."


    In the game world where there weren''t any computers, searching for information was a difficult task. There was a huge room in Darkshire''s hall specifically made to store those documents.


    Fortunately, Daltry had been working in Darkshire for more than ten years and was very familiar with everything there.


    After only spending a little more than half an hour, he found a record of Stalvan.


    "The record shows that he''s just a teacher."


    Daltry was quite dismissive of Stalvan. What threat could a teacher pose?


    "My intuition tells me that there''s something wrong with this person," Lu Li pressed on, referencing his made-up intuition.


    "In that case, you can take these files. You can give them back after you''re done."


    Daltry didn''t insist any longer seeing as the work had already been done. The result didn''t have much to do with him anyway.


    "Thank you, and also thank the Night''s Watchmen," Lu Li said, showing his gratitude.


    He then led Sesame Rice ball away to a secluded place and began to study the files.


    In fact, it was just a very crude piece of information. There was only a simple description of his gender, age, history and appearance. It was the kind of information the clerk would record when a newcomer arrived.


    Moonbrook.


    Both Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball stopped on this word; this was probably the only clue to their next location.


    If they wanted to go to Moonbrook, they would have to travel past the Western Wilderness. Lu Li had been there before on foot, but it wouldn''t be too far with the help of the Teleportation Portals.


    However, he had a feeling that that wasn''t the end point. These kinds of specialization quests prior to the System update were not that easy to complete.


    The once-beautiful town of Moonbrook had now been completely destroyed and the river that coursed through it had dried.Only the ruins of houses remained, guarded by the patrolling guards and Mages of the Brotherhood.


    The inhabitants of the town had fled due to the constant attacks of the Brotherhood.


    Stalvan was a teacher and had worked at Moonbrook''s former school, but that had also been looted.


    "This place is really gloomy. Who can we ask for information here?" Sesame Rice Ball asked gloomily, no longer feeling like this was a simple errand.


    "How about you go ask those monsters?" Lu Li casually teased him.


    "But they''re just level 20 monsters ¨C how about we kill them?" Sesame Rice Ball asked disdainfully after some observation.


    "I completely agree. I''ll pull them and you can deal damage. Maybe they''ll drop some clues."


    Lu Li accelerated and did a lap around the school, leading a dense group of monsters.


    Sesame Rice Ball then casted his area of effect skills and a large number of critical hit values floated above the monsters as they fell to the ground.


    After quickly looting the bodies, all they found was rubbish equipment and low grade materials. These were all sold at the shop and even the NPC looked disgusted, but the item they needed was also dropped.


    It was a letter.


    Sir Flintley:


    I hear from my friends that you are looking for a teacher for your child. I am currently temporarily living in the Lion''s Pride Inn at Goldshire. Given the bad situation in Moonbrook, I was forced to give up my job as a teacher. I would like to be your child''s teacher and I hope you accept my offer. If necessary, Mr Murdoch can attest to my ability.


    When the rainy season passes and the road is suitable for a caravan to travel, I will personally look for you.


    See you then.


    Stalvan Mismantle in the Silverpine Forest.


    Who was Sir Flintley?


    Lu Li didn''t know either; he hadn''t completed this quest before in his previous life nor had he read the strategy for it. However, he deduced that Sir Flintley was a lower-class knight, who wasn''t notable enough to have a biography.


    "What next?" Sesame Rice Ball asked as he flicked his hair aside with a bitter look on his face.


    "I guess we''ll go to Goldshire to have a look. Did you think that this quest would be simple?"


    Lu Li wanted to run away when he heard this was going to be some errand quest. Dawn had some quests which were not only troublesome, but also had very vague clues. Lu Li would rather fight a Boss than attempt those.


    Goldshire was a small town near Stormwind. The environment was much safer and it wasn''t far away.


    The owner of Lion''s Pride was a man from the seas. Many players had interacted with him before and regarded this NPC as one filled with wisdom.


    "What can I help you with, children?"


    Lu Li was more experience in dealing with NPCs than Sesame Rice Ball, so he did the talking.


    "We''re looking for someone called Stalvan, Stalvan Mismantle. But, I don''t know if you''ll remember him ¨C he was a gentleman who lived in your inn a long time ago."


    Uncle Farley thought for a moment before slapping his forehead and saying, "I do remember, he stayed with me for a long time, together with one of his friends. He sent a letter and then left shortly after that. His friend also left at that time, and they haven''t been back since. I don''t remember much else; it was a long time ago."


    "Thank you, Uncle Farley," Sesame Rice Ball said sincerely. He could finally continue with his quest.


    Dear Murdoch:


    Hello, thank you for your recommendation. I am now the tutor of Aisina, Sir Flintley''s daughter. She is a charming girl who is very interested in math and she seems to adore me. You don''t have to worry about me anymore. Let me know the next time you''re in Stormwind and I''ll buy you a couple of drinks.


    Your friend Stalvan.


    Stormwind City!


    Sesame Rice Ball and Lu Li looked at each other and let out a long sigh.


    They couldn''t believe that this wasn''t over yet. Why couldn''t Stalvan just stay in one place? Why did he have to travel so much?


    Moreover, Stormwind City was bustling with aristocrats; it was going to be difficult to find a single knight there. Even if there were thousands of Dukes, the sheer number of them made the title worthless.


    After arriving at Stormwind, Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball began asking about Sir Flintley.


    They had already decided that if they couldn''t find anything, they would ask those in the guild who were free to help and would also post a task in the Mercenary Hall for information about Flintley.


    However, what surprised them was that Sir Flintley was actually very famous among the NPCs. Even the guards to the entrance of Stormwind knew him.

 727 The Case of an Extermination

    Lu Li lived in Darnassus, so he didn''t go to Stormwind City often. However, his reputation in the Alliance was relatively high, so the guard holding a long weapon answered his questions politely.


    Sir Flintley was a relatively average gentleman in Stormwind City, one who you wouldn''t be able to pick out if he was in a crowd.


    In smaller groups he was often brought up because of his beautiful and polite daughter. The Duke of Fulham had once proposed to her, but Sir Flintley had already promised her to someone else.


    However, the real reason everyone know about them was because of their tragedy.


    The guard looked frightened as he described how he was in charge of patrolling the city. He had followed the Chief and was met with the horrible fate of Sir Flintley. Even his famous daughter was also dead.


    "Who killed them?" Lu Li''s brow furrowed.


    This quest was so difficult; they had to solve so many mysteries. If they didn''t carefully analyze every clue, they likely would have been stopped halfway.


    "The murderer still hasn''t been caught, but what a pity it was for his beautiful daughter," the guard said with a look of regret.


    "Are there no clues, or any suspects?" Lu Li asked.


    "There is one suspect, but his whereabouts are unknown. The Brotherhood is very strong right now and no one has time to deal with that. It happened quite a few years ago. I advise you not to waste your time, but I need to get back to my patrols," the guard replied dismissively.


    "Yes, that person is Stalvan right, their tutor?" Lu Li pressed on.


    "Oh, how do you know?" the guard asked as he looked at Lu Li with surprise.


    "If you help me, these are yours," Lu Li said as he took out a handful of at least twenty to thirty gold coins.


    The guard hesitated for a few seconds before coming to a decision.


    "Alright, but you have to wait a bit."


    Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball waited for more than ten minutes before the guard came back.


    "I don''t know if this is important, but it was very risky for me to get it¡­"


    "If I tell the council about this, you''ll probably get executed. You know, greed is an unforgivable crime," Lu Li said rudely.


    This kind of greed was prevalent among guards everywhere. Stormwind City had long since been corrupted by the aristocrats who lived there. If you gave them an inch, they would take a mile.


    "Yeah, yeah, that''s it," the guard said dryly. "I was just trying to remind you that you needed to keep it a secret. Come on now, give me what I deserve."


    Lu Li took the document and handed the gold coins over the guard.


    The record was old and out of order; it even had a serious musty smell. Lu Li opened it and found a tattered letter within it.


    This is my second month living at Flintley''s house and there are some things I can''t help but write down.


    There is a boy named Tyler who is terrible and will prove to be a challenge, but his older sister Tilloa is a very intelligent child. Her beauty is also particularly eye-catching.


    I get along well with Tilloa and I found that I liked her. She always looked at me silently with understanding and as time went on, we could read each other''s eyes.


    I think I really have fallen in love. She admired my knowledge and I didn''t think I was much older than her.


    As I tutor Tyler, Tilloa would be out taking care of her garden outside and listening to me talk about the local customs of Azeroth. Once, she came in and placed a bright red begonia in my palm before smiling at me. I felt my heart beat violently¡­


    The letter had already rotted and had been eaten away by bugs in some places, so Lu Li had to guess some parts of it.


    However, he had already discovered the most important clue. They needed to go to the Summer Villa near the Eastvale Logging Camp in Elwynn Forest!


    "Do we need to go there?" Sesame Rice Ball asked as his face went a bit pale.


    "Congratulations, you got it right, but too bad there''s no prize," Lu Li sighed then continued, "Just treat it as a fun adventure. I''m curious to see if Stalvan killed his own employer and why he did it."


    The Eastvale Logging Camp was also a famous horse farm that bred a large number of military-grade horses. This was the first time Lu Li had been here, but he had come into contact with the horses from this place before. The NPCs here hired players to feed their horses for some EXP and a gold coin.


    Such an easy task to yield a gold coin was a great joy for those who were financial struggling.


    "Young lads, you should be out fighting for your future and not dealing with horse dung," Marshal Haggard said slyly with a smile.


    "Hrm, I do know about Flintley. There was a ranch fire one night and I sent someone to rebuild the ranch. But, you should know that no one has been there for a number of years and that means the wood would have been eroded by years of rain¡­" Haggard continued on.


    "Oh my heavens," Lu Li''s sighed as his legs went soft and he fell in front of the old man.


    This was the property of Stormwind City ¨C how did this uncle get the position of Marshall?


    Haggard avoided eye contact with Lu Li and mumbled, "Flintley didn''t have any heirs, so accoriding to the rules, the nearest power is allowed to take all his resources. This means it was all for the Alliance!"


    Lu Li''s blood was boiling as he weakly asked, "Did you pay attention to this Stalvan person while you were cleaning up the villa?"


    "Not very clearly; the place has been looted more than once," Haggard said, then suddenly seemed to think of something before recalling, "I remember now; I had picked up a box of things which was filled with books and things. Most people around here are illiterate, so they have no interest in that¡­"


    "Take us there to have a look," Lu Li interrupted him, hoping that this was the clue to the next step.


    Haggard took the two men into the cellar and rummaged through a pile of dusty debris to find what was supposed to be the last of Flintley''s family belongings.


    After searching for a long time, Lu Li discovered a piece of paper held by a book.


    It was in Stalvan''s handwriting, but the anger in his words could be seen through how disorderly they were.

 728 The Truth Coming to Ligh

    "I never thought I would be so angry!


    How dare she do this to me!


    When I was teaching Tyler mathematics, Tilloa came in with her suitor hand in hand!


    He was just some uneducated young man.


    Tilloa didn''t even introduce me properly; she just said, "Oh, this is my tutor, uncle Stalvan. He is a good old man."


    Old man! After hearing that phrase, my face went red. I was only a few years older than she was and she actually betrayed me¡­


    My heart felt like it had fallen into a bottomless abyss of despair. She had strung my feelings along and now she was engaged. This hateful liar pretended to fall in love with me, but she was only trying to hurt me. There is a dark feeling in my heart that grows stronger with every minute.


    None of these aristocrats had anything good to offer. I didn''t like them before, but at least I thought they were good people. Now, I realize I was wrong.


    I will go to Twilight Forest to settle some things, but after that, I will make her pay in blood. However, compared to the suffering I feel now, that is but a small price¡­"


    In this cold basement, reading words of such anger and despair made them seem even worse. Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball could now conclude one thing; the family had been killed by the tutor.


    After going in a big circle, they had now returned to the very beginning ¨C the Twilight Forest.


    "We''re stuck again. I think we should give it up and just re-trigger the quest in three days," Sesame Rice Ball sighed. "Why is my specialization quest so hard? Next time, we''ll need to bring someone lucky."


    This lucky person was Hachi Chan. As long as it was quest related, her powerful led NPCs to fall over one another to help her.


    If they needed equipment, the person to bring was Remnant Dream. She had looted all kinds of exquisite equipment from elite monsters, and Lu Li had significantly benefitted from her lucky hands.


    "Let''s go to Darkshire. I think someone there will give us another clue," Lu Li suggested. He had also began to feel helpless for this quest.


    However, he wasn''t someone to just give up. As long as there was still hope, he would relentlessly push on, especially if the truth was at stake.


    After returning to Darkshire, Lu Li went straight into the Bloodraven Inn.


    "Oh, look who''s here. Nice to meet you, my friend," Aoriana Goldtooth said, welcoming Lu Li with open arms.


    "Mr Aoriana, can you help me find this person? Also, one glass of your signature wine please. My friend has been stressed recently," Lu Li requested after taking Sesame Rice Ball to the bar.


    Sesame Rice Ball normally had an aversion to alcohol, but his depression caused him to cave in and decide to drink.


    "You''re so young yet you''re stressing," the Dwarf commented disdainfully as he poured the drinks. He also poured himself a drink, and put three glasses of wine on Lu Li''s tab.


    "This is what happened¡­" Lu Li started as he began to share the entire process of their quest to the listening Dwarf.


    "Stalvan¡­" Dwarf Goldtooth muttered as he stroked the letters, then continued, "This name is very common, but I know of an unusual person who lived in the north-eastern part of the forest. He is also called Stalvan and he rarely comes into the town. There are dead ghouls everywhere where he lived; it''s hard to imagine how he does it."


    "Take us there!" Lu Li was overjoyed; this was really no effort at all.


    "What''s the hurry? It''s not like he''s gonna run away," Aoriana mused. "He said that ''these nobles have nothing good to offer''. If he was some murderous maniac with a deep hatred for nobility¡­ then is it possible that he has something to do with the town''s missing nobles?"


    "It''s very possible," Lu Li affirmed.


    "But, we need evidence. Come, let''s go to Althea," the tavern owner said as he moved with excitement. He ran out with Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball, leaving his tavern unattended.


    Althea Ebonlocke, the commander of the Night''s Watchmen, had just returned from the outside with a team of people. It was clear they had just come back from a fight.


    "Salute!" The paladins immediately drew their swords and paid their respects to Lu Li.


    Even if these soldiers hadn''t personally experienced it, they had all heard of the fierce battle and Lu Li''s bravery. The most important thing was that more than a dozen players in the fifty-man team were from Ruling Sword.


    They eagerly looked at Lu Li, but because of their discipline, they also naturally paid their respects.


    There were more than 40 Ruling Sword players who had joined this small camp. They had integrated into the Night''s Watchmen force and almost become professional soldiers, spending hours each day following the NPCs and going out for combat patrols. This process had been difficult, but the benefits were also obvious.


    They acquired good combat skills, a lot of EXP and the standard service rewards¡­


    These players had already reached level 41 and were at the forefront of the level rankings. It was a very important hidden strength of Ruling Sword.


    After exchanging formalities, Lu Li got straight to the point. He and Night''s Watchmen were alike in that they didn''t beat around the bush.


    "Lord Commander, I have brought some clues about the murder case. Please have a look¡­"


    "We''ve been pursuing this murderer for many years, ever since he killed a few visiting aristocrats some years ago. I sent someone to investigate the handwriting that was left behind by the murderer. If the print is identical, we can convict him. Call Daltry," Althea Ebonlocke said, then appointed a soldier to quickly look for Clerk Daltry.


    Daltry was called to compare the handwriting. After being in charge of the town''s archives for many years, he was very good at recognizing handwriting. He gave a positive answer shortly after comparing the two documents.


    "Stalvan Mismantle is likely to be a vicious criminal. Friend, I''ll need to trouble you again and ask you to bring him here," Althea told Lu Li.


    He was just a teacher, so he wasn''t worth her time as a commander. Moreover, the System couldn''t just let her serve Lu Li''s purposes.


    "It''s our pleasure. This was our quest anyway."


    The truth had finally been revealed and Lu Li was also a little excited.


    "Is anyone willing to help?" Althea asked.


    This, of course, was a show of their good friendship. In his previous quest, Lu Li had won the friendship of the Night''s Watchmen, so there was nothing strange about this request.


    "Lord, we are willing to help," a dozen Ruling Sword players offered as they stepped forwards.


    Althea certainly didn''t object to other soldiers volunteering; she knew that her soldiers were strong and wouldn''t die easily. Even if these players died, they would be back soon anyway.

 729 Hatred

    The two-man team quickly expanded to a dozen people. They rode their mounts and charged out from Night City.


    After level 35, players would be able to purchase the most-basic mounts from each main city. However, the drop rate of the basic mount skill book was significantly lower. Sesame Rice Ball was a rich player, so he bought one himself.


    Each of the players from Ruling Sword who had entered the Night Watchmen had their own mounts. This was the benefit that came from joining a small faction.


    The dozen of them charged into the night and headed North-east for a while as they had been suggested. They soon saw the few simple houses that were covered by the bushes.


    "What monsters are in this area?" Lu Li asked a Paladin beside him as he sat on his Headless Warhorse.


    "Boss, Ghouls refresh in this area, but they aren''t stronger than most level 45 monsters. We should be able to handle them," the Paladin said, then hesitated before adding, "But, intel from the Night Watchmen have suggested that reinforcements may be arriving. The Scourge army was bound to reach Night City."


    "Looks like we need to put in more effort then. Prepare for battle!" Lu Li shouted decisively. He never underestimated his enemies.


    Dawn was famous for the uncertainty of its quests. From how the game quests usually ran, the difficulty would most likely increase because of the number of players contributing.


    The two Defense Paladins quickly changed equipped their Shields.


    Paladins were an all-rounder class ¨C they could heal, tank and deal damage. It was easy for them to blend into any formation.


    In many of the Western games, Ghouls were a classic, Undead type of monster, and this was no exception in Dawn. The structure of the Scourge Army mostly consisted of common Undead creatures such as Ghouls and Stitches. The Cursed Church and Undead Knights were rarer.


    One of the signature moves of the Undead Knights was to summon Ghouls.


    Overall, Ghouls were much easier to deal with. They had two common skills ¨C Stealth Detection and Plague ¨C which had no use at all on Paladins. Lu Li barely even had to move a finger as all of them died to the holy skills of a dozen Paladins.


    Then, Lu Li saw the most climatic thing he would see today ¨C Stalvan, or more precisely, the transformed Stalvan.


    At this point, you could no longer see the elegance of a tutor in him anymore; he had transformed himself into an Abomination.


    Abominations were formed from various broken body parts. These filthy monsters tore their enemies apart, then chose the parts that they liked and glue them onto themselves. Their mangled bodies of mismatched organs would drip with blood and reek of a foul, decaying smell.


    Abominations had always been the middle-tier soldiers of the Scourge Army. The Ghouls only thought about their stomachs and refused to move at all until their appetites had been filled, while the Crypt Fiends were more passionate about how they tortured their prey. Abominations had no thoughts of their own; they only obeyed their master''s commands, which made them the perfect machines for war. Hence, the Mages from the Scourge Army had been constantly trying to perfect this kind of monster.


    The Abomination that appeared before Lu Li and the others was around three meters tall.


    "Should we ask for reinforcements?" one of the Paladins asked Lu Li.


    "No need; this is only a semi-boss. At the very most, it''s just higher-leveled," Lu Li concluded after studying the monster.


    Without the dark magic support from Kel''Thuzad, Stalvan was only just a semi-boss. The only intimidating thing about him was the fact that his style was very exaggerated. However, all the previous scenes of gore that the players had seen were nothing compared to him.


    "Fearless!"


    As the Defense Paladins struck their shields heavily with their swords, a ring of visible light began to expand.


    Even Lu Li received the buff ¨C Attack +5%, Critical Strike +5%, Bonus 10% damage dealt to dark-type monsters. This was a very powerful buff.


    "Stalvan Mistmantle, do you repent for your sins?" Lu Li asked as he smeared some poison onto his dagger. The effects of the poison were average towards Undead creatures, but it was better the nothing. The prices for poison had reduced anyway; it didn''t cost him much.


    "Who are you people? I have nothing to do with you," Stalvan said as he looked at the bodies of the Ghouls that lay around in the area with a twisted expression.


    "Stalvan, in the name of the holy light, you shall receive the judgment of the Night Watchmen!" one of the Paladins behind Lu Li shouted.


    This player had become so indulged in the game that he thought he was actually in the situation.


    "Judgement? Why aren''t those noblemen judged? Why hasn''t Isara been judged? The crimes that she has committed are way worse than murder; she has destroyed me from the depths of my heart! When has the holy light ever displayed true justice?" Stalvan cried out.


    "Stalvan, you''re a joke. It was a one-sided situation," Lu Li said, trying to aggravate the semi-boss. "There''s no way that Tilloa would ever like you, an old and dumb tutor..." he laughed mockingly.


    All of these insults cut deeply into Stalvan''s heart.


    There was nothing wrong with love.


    The story behind Stalvan was linked with plenty of people and events from real life. When the love that you gave was not reciprocated, the emptiness in your heart would gradually extend. Stalvan, who ended up alone, was eventually devoured by this loneliness.


    How did Tilloa actually feel towards Stalvan?


    Lu Li thought she held a certain amount of responsibility towards this tragedy. Perhaps it was the pride of a young girl - she wanted to feel superior by being popular, so in the game, she led her tutor on.


    "No, she loved me. She betrayed me because I''m not a nobility. You''re all dogs of the nobility; you should all die. Come and join me ¨C we shall form a stronger existence together. The flames of the Scourge shall burn through the sky..." Stalvan rambled on as he waved the chains in his left hand in a crazed manner.


    "Boss, I feel like he''s going to go berserk," one of the Paladins commented in a worried tone.


    "Yep, that''s exactly what we want. A coherent Abomination is too hard to kill."


    There was quite a few Abominations in the Plaguelands, but they were all elite models. Despite this, there were barely any players who would cross them.


    The one before their eyes was a semi-boss, which meant that it was even harder to deal with.


    Lu Li combated the weak point of Abominations, which was their slow movement speed, by playing through his mobility. Although most of the players here were melee, the Abomination was a gigantic size. It was rather difficult for it to turn its body around. This made it easy for the players to attack and quickly dodge the Abomination after their attack.


    The battle began, and Stalvan, who had gone into berserk mode, had really high damage. However, all the players here were Paladins with plate armor, so he wasn''t capable of instantly killing anyone.


    As long as you weren''t killed immediately and retreated after you had been attacked, would be able to join the group battle again when you recovered.

 730 Blind Mary

    After a few minutes and sacrificing three Paladins, Lu Li and the others ended the battle.


    Besides the coins, the semi-boss also dropped another two items.


    Once of them was a Stalvan Coin. A small paragraph was engraved onto the coin that read, "You filthy infiltrators refuse to help two lovers be together just because one of them hasn''t realized that they were made for each other? I hope the worst upon all of you!"


    It seemed like Stalvan was living in his own world until the very end.


    Some people said that if a person''s love wasn''t reciprocated, they would need the same amount of hate to replace the empty spot in their hearts.


    Because the young girl had too many good traits that he didn''t have, his love became admiration, which then became his imagination. Once his imaginations were shattered, the pressure from the gap between their social status and his low self-esteem drove him insane. The average teacher picked up his butcher''s knife and he performed a violent act that no one else would have expected.


    This coin was a souvenir; it had no real value. However, rich players who liked to collect items would buy it for a high price.


    The other item was Sesame Rice Ball''s quest item ¨C The Mistmantle Ring.


    The hint from the quest suggested that the ring should be taken to Madame Eva.


    There had found many coins in Stalin''s house, along with a few average equips ¨C the best one was Silver grade.


    There were also some torn pieces of paper that Lu Li was more interested in. After carefully piecing them together, he discovered a hidden section to Stalvan''s story.


    Many years ago, when I first came, one of the Liches from the Scourge was interested in me. He could see the strong hatred I held within me. That''s right ¨C I hated this world. It could never treat everyone equally.


    But how I loved Tilloa¡­ I was willing to do anything for her...


    God, why did it become like this?


    Was all of this just a joke? My hatred began to magnify endlessly and I could feel the Lich from deep within the forest reaching out to me. "Trust me," he called out, over and over.


    I fell and became an Undead; my body died the moment I fell into the darkness.


    I killed the girl.


    I mercilessly killed her whole family. I''ve regretted this before because I loved her. Every time I was in pain, I had to hate to help release the pain. I hated every single nobleman and targeted every single one from Stormwind City that I saw.


    Lu Li felt fortunate that this semi-boss wasn''t level 50 yet, or else there was no way that the battle would have been so easy. They revived the dead team members and all of them dragged the giant body of Stalvan back.


    As for the Lich, it was like a lurking shadow on Lu Li''s mind, but there was nothing he could do about it.


    The giant corpse of the Abomination was transported back to Night City. A crowd of citizens and soldiers gathered to watch, constantly gasping and whispering praises. The reputation of Lu Li and the others had risen again.


    Stalvan''s corpse was cleansed by the Paladins and was buried in Raven Hill.


    Uncertain if he still had the chance to rise again, Lu Li waved Althea goodbye and took Sesame Rice Ball to see Madame Eva.


    "Thank-you. The results of my fortune telling has told me that my grand-daughter is now safe," Madame Eva concluded in satisfaction after trying to look into the future again.


    "Then we''ll go and hand in our task," Sesame Rice Ball said, instantly energized.


    This quest had continued on for dozens of hours, and he had travelled to so many places. If it wasn''t for the help of Lu Li, he wasn''t sure if he could have even completed it.


    "Thief, can you help me with something?" Madame Eva suddenly called out as Lu Li was about to leave.


    Lu Li had a massive impact on this quest that didn''t belong to him, but the System wouldn''t ignore his contribution. If he had high Charm, he would have received a reward, but most times, he would be given a quest.


    Sesame Rice Ball nodded to Lu Li and turned to leave.


    Lu Li really wanted to turn down the request. Madame Eva''s quest series for Stalvan was too much of a hassle. If it wasn''t for the fact that he had a high reputation and connections in Night City, perhaps the situation would''ve been even more troublesome.


    Could you imagine a quest that would take all day?


    Seeing Lu Li''s hesitation, Madame Eva tried to get him to pity her.


    "What should a poor, old thing like me do? I need these Ghost Hairs, but it''s too dangerous outside. I''m too old and too weak. Brave Elf, can you help me."


    "As you ask," Lu Li said reluctantly while trying to comfort himself. Perhaps this would be a really simple quest.


    "In one of the old farms, located in a hill south to Night City, there''s a pitiful and miserable ghost ¨C Blind Mary. Take this Ghost Comb and brush Blind Mary''s Hair, then bring the brush back to me and I''ll be able to pick off the Ghost Hairs. Be careful; darkness still surrounds that house even utnil today."


    Lu Li rubbed the goosebumps that didn''t really exist on his arms as he set off on a ghost hunting journey.


    Blind Mary was a ghost who lived in an old house towards the south of Night City. She wore bright, purple clothes which made her face seem even paler. Only two empty holes were left where a pair of beautiful eyes once resided.


    Although she was a passive monster, Lu Li approached carefully and took out the comb to brush her hair.


    Lu Li was quite confident in this aspect; he had brushed Lu Xin''s hair ever since she was a little girl. His best hairstyle was two piggy-tails. Classmates from her school was often envious that she had such a good, caring brother.


    Lu Li used the brush from Madame Eva to discreetly brush Blind Mary''s with light, delicate movements. Although Blind Mary couldn''t see, she still felt him doing this.


    She flicked her hair in a spur and cried out in horror, "No! Take it away! Take the brush away from me! I''m a monster ¨C no one else will find me cute anymore!"


    This was another tragedy.


    During a night many years ago, corpses killed by the Scourge Army rose from the dead. The first people who were impacted were the surrounding civilians. Blind Mary''s household was one of them.


    Blind Mary was protected by her family and survived, but her eyes were ruined. She was constantly in a fever and spoke nonsense. A few days after, she suddenly woke up, but it seemed like she had forgotten everything. The poor girl asked about her father and brother, but no one could bring themselves to tell her the truth. They just told her that they went on an urgent mission.


    Now, she had passed away and become a ghost, wandering around the area in anticipation of her family''s return¡­

 731 Wyrmbog

    Lu Li cursed their common enemy with Madame Eva, who had just received her Ghost Hairs.


    "Child, without a doubt, you''re a Warrior. I can only age away, sitting in this house as I pray for your safety in silence. I''ve spent a lot of effort to make this item. Hopefully, you''ll be able to wear it and kill more Scourge monsters," she sighed.


    Lu Li took the item, which was a beautifully-crafted pair of Gloves.


    Scourge Counter (Gold): Armor +40, Agility +30, Strength +16, Critical Strike +10%. Special effect 1: Deal 30% increased damage to Scourge units. Special effect 2: Certain chance of dealing three-times damage when your health drops below 30%. Level Requirement 40, Durability 84/84.


    Lu Li was still using his level 15 Gloves from the Death Mines.


    Van Cleef''s Grip (Silver): Armor +20, Agility +12, Strength +4. Special Effect 1: Critical Chance +5%. Special Effect 2: Sudden Thrust. Instantly dash to a target within 8 feet causing 150% Weapon Damage, Cooldown Time: 120 seconds. Level Requirement: LV15. Durability: 45/45.


    To be honest, this equipment was already below-average. If it weren''t for the special effects, Lu Li wouldn''t have kept it until now.


    He had a wider range of mobility effects now, so he didn''t need Sudden Thrust as much. If he switched his current Gloves to the Scourge Counter, his damage would see a noticeable increase.


    This also meant that he would have new options for training areas.


    There were Scourge monsters everywhere in the Plaguelands, and these Gloves boosted his damage by 30% against them. In addition to his Assassin gear, his leveling rate would be extraordinary.


    However, Lu Li had to complete the Worgen''s quest first.


    Previously, Lu Li had used the Worgen''s altar to level up his ring. He had agreed to complete The Curse of the Worgen quest within three months. If he failed the quest, he would be dropped three levels as punishment.


    If a quest came with such a heavy punishment, it was implied that the rewards would be excellent.


    Ideally, he would receive skill points ¨C Lu Li wasn''t in need of more equipment at the moment. He had even used his backup skill points on Blind already.


    To complete the quest, he just needed one Moongrass potion.


    There were three prerequisites to obtain the Moongrass potion. Besides an Artisan-leveled alchemist, you also needed the materials and the recipe.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, the recipe required the Artisan Alchemist to have a proficiency level of 260 to learn it. Sesame Rice Ball had only just reached level 250, so there were still another 10 bars of Trade Skill experience that he needed to fill up.


    During this time, he planned to steal the recipe first.


    Of course, it would be more difficult if he attempted to steal it by himself. Lu Li spent some guild points to assign some Thieves onto the task.


    The Gnolls in Badlands were in trouble.


    As soon as they refreshed, they were robbed and killed before they even had time to lament over their losses.


    "I got it! I got it!" a Thief cheered as he cancelled his Stealth.


    The whole process had only taken around 20 minutes. If Lu Li was by himself today, there was no guarantee that he would even find it before gaming time was over. These were the benefits that came with money and power.


    After the recipe came the materials.


    One of the main materials was the Ghost Mushroom. Lu Li had looted some from Maraudon, so all that he needed to consider was the other material, Moongrass.


    Moongrass was a rare material that didn''t refresh often. Since he couldn''t find it in the Auction, Lu Li had to gather it himself.


    His chose to search for it in Wyrmbog. This couldn''t be helped as Moongrass was very useful and was scarce because it had been picked out in other areas. Only in places like Wyrmbog where the player population remained low would there be a chance of finding it.


    Of course, this was what the game company stated. In reality, this was the only place where Moongrass refreshed.


    After the Worgen race became available, Moongrass would become even more precious. Many people would risk it all in searching for it, as it was an expensive commodity.


    The more troublesome part of this expedition was his level. Many of the monsters here were level 50 and there were even some Elites.


    It wasn''t very realistic for Lu Li to murder his way in ¨C if Emberstrife appeared, even the entire Ruling Sword wouldn''t be able to do much.


    Wyrmbog was a part of the Dustwallow Marsh map.


    The Dustwallow Marsh was as its name suggested ¨Ca foul marsh, overrun by grass, bushes and willows.


    The road through the marsh was wet and dangerous. Those who attempted to cross it on foot would sink into the thick mud. The number of players who had died in the marsh was almost equivalent to those killed by monsters.


    Lu Li also needed to be aware of the monsters that hid under the water or behind the bushes. They were set by the system to have a strong urge to attack, and they didn''t mind grouping together either.


    After he spent some time persevering through the marsh, Lu Li finally reached the entrance to Wyrmbog.


    Wyrmbog was probably the only location where the nest of a black dragon rested against the habitat of Humans and Tauren. The giant Emberstrife managed the daily lives of the black dragons in his nest. However, even a strong existence as himself was a servant to Onyxia.


    Onyxia was the black dragon princess.


    She hid under a false, noble identity in Stormwind City, corrupting the government from within. However, was found by Marshal Reginald Windsor and became a wanted character in Azeroth.


    In the depths of the marsh was a giant dungeon ¨C Onyxia''s Lair.


    Because of the fact that the dungeon could drop the Onyxia Dragon mount, it was very popular amongst the players.


    However, this was something that could only be considered after reaching level 50. At the moment, any monster inside could easily kill Lu Li, and he had no intentions of visiting the princess either.


    He was only interested in picking a few plants and leaving.


    After preparations were made, Lu Li snuck into Wyrmbog and soon encountered the most common monsters in the area ¨C Dragonspawn.


    Dragonspawn weren''t real dragons and they weren''t the products of cross-culture romance either. They were simply creatures created by dragon magic.


    These elites were level 48, which was five levels higher than Lu Li.


    This was a gap that left Lu Li very helpless. If he tried to fight these monster, he would be lucky to even deal half of his usual damage.

 732 Figh

    Lu Li hesitated for a split second and gave up his attempt of trying to test these monsters.


    These monsters didn''t look easy to defeat, so it was best if he didn''t have to fight any of them. He wasn''t here to kill ¨C he just needed to pick some Moongrass and make a Moongrass potion from it.


    Whether one potion was enough wasn''t Lu Li''s concern.


    The Clawed Druids were very strong, and if you could prove that these potions were useful to them, they would invest all of their energy into finding Moongrass. Perhaps they might even start a war with the Wyrmbog. Of course, these weren''t any of Lu Li''s concerns either.


    After some effort, he finally discovered the first Moongrass plant.


    This was a plant hidden within other plants. It had dark green leaves with a small, white flower and was hard to differentiate if you didn''t pay enough attention.


    However, there were two Dragonspawns that stood to the left of this Moongrass.


    It wasn''t realistic to wait for them to walk away, then pick the plant. One of them also had vision of the Moongrass, so there was no hope in trying to pick it discretely.


    It seemed like his only option was violence.


    Lu Li hesitated for a bit, but decided against calling the others. Authority was great, but if he gave up on his own strength and became comfortable with falling back on assistance, would eventually fall like Sorrowless.


    He was once a God Mage, but he had become so weak that even a newbie like Lu Li could kill him.


    For most players, Lu Li assassinating Sorrowless was just a legend, but it had a lot more impact on these two players as individuals. Sorrowless worked himself once again, trying to climb his way back. On the other hand, Lu Li constantly reminded himself not to become an easy target for others.


    He picked the most suitable route where there wasn''t too much mud or water, then slowly went into Stealth mode as he crept over.


    The Dragonspawn who was in closer proximity seemed to have noticed something and turned towards Lu Li.


    "Damn it, this monster''s detection level is so high," he cursed to himself.


    Lu Li gradually lowered his body and stopped moving; he even slowed down his breathing.


    Every Thief knew how to Stealth, but not many of them were actually good at it. Besides Detection and Stealth attributes, the other factor that affected Stealth was a player''s technique.


    Lu Li was particularly skilled in this; he adjusted himself and disappeared from the Dragonspawn''s detection. After the Dragonspawn scanned around in confusion, it turned back to do its own thing.


    With his lesson learned, Lu Li began to pay full attention. He snuck up behind the Dragonspawn and Sapped it. Because of the difference in level, the Sap only lasted for about ten seconds.


    For an excellent Stealth player, a perfect Sap would be casted on the target, even when they were fully prepared for it.


    The reason why Lu Li joined the Ravenholdt Manor was because he wanted to learn Empowerment: Sap. Ravenholdt Manor was probably one of the best organizations in Azeroth that was familiar with Sap.


    This had nothing to do with his reincarnation, rather, it was a well-known fact.


    Unfortunately, his reputation wasn''t high enough, so he couldn''t exchange for the skill book.


    After he Sapped one monster, his dagger quickly stabbed into the back of the second Dragonspawn''s head as he successfully casted Cheap Shot.


    This monster had 4500 HP and Lu Li began to calculate as he continued to deal damage.


    Of course, it wasn''t possible to kill the monster with one rotation of skills; he might not even be able to accomplish the task with two. What Lu Li was currently worried about was if these two monsters would call for help. If a few more of them appeared, he would have to make a run for it.


    The Sapped monster had only just woken up, but Lu Li had already tossed some Blind Powder at it, successfully blinding it.


    The monster that he attacked didn''t have much health left either. He even performed a critical strike when it only had a few hundred health points left, which was a waste. Lu Li looted the dropped items and went into Stealth, then pounced onto the other Dragonspawn.


    The experience reward was great, but it had taken him a lot of time and wasn''t efficient.


    While Lu Li complained about the System settings in his mind, he bent down low to pick up the Moongrass.


    He needed five of these to make a potion, so his task had only just begun. In order to find other refresh spots for the Moongrass, Lu Li was forced to venture deeper into Wyrmbog


    He found a second one with luck that had no Dragonspawns watching over it.


    However, Lu Li didn''t dare let his guard down because there were two Dragonspawn bodies nearby. Fresh blood dripped down the small, thin wounds as an irony scent mixed in with the foul stench of the marsh.


    There was no way that these Dragonspawn had suddenly died, and they certainly didn''t kill each other.


    They had likely been killed by someone else who was still lurking nearby. The player in Stealth probably had the same target in mind as Lu Li ¨C Moongrass.


    The other player had probably heard some noise and went into Stealth before he got the chance to pick up the plant.


    If Lu Li''s assumptions were right, the other player was sitting beside the plant, waiting for him to leave or for an opportunity to attack.


    Under normal circumstances, Lu Li would have left.


    Most players who weren''t interested in PVP wouldn''t cause extra trouble for themselves during their quests.


    However, Moongrass was such a rare item and Lu Li wasn''t afraid of a fight either.


    As such, he quietly snuck up beside the Moongrass, carefully probing around to see if he could catch the other player.


    Lu Li''s technique was good and his equipment also increased his Stealth and Detection attributes. However, he still couldn''t find his opponent.


    Had they already left?


    This wasn''t possible ¨C if they were strong enough to come to Wyrmbog for this plant, they would at least be level 40. Although Thieves around this level played dirty, none of them really feared anything.


    Lu Li decided to show himself to lure the other player out and bent down beside the Moongrass, as if he was really going to pick the plant.


    Regardless other player''s purpose, they were still here for the Moongrass anyway.


    Ding!


    As their daggers clashed, a pure, ringing sound chimed out. One of them had been patiently waiting while the other was prepared. Neither of them had the advantage, but at least Lu Li had gotten what he wanted. It seemed like his opponent really wanted to stop him.


    After their brief encounter, both Thieves showed themselves and the Moongrass sat quietly between them.


    "Undead!"


    "Elf!"

 733 Cross-Faction Alliance

    Blood Elves were quite common and Elves were one of the strongest race in the Alliance.


    What was surprising Was that the System did not consider them to be enemies, so they couldn''t attack one another.


    How could a Blood Elf and a High Elf not be enemies? This was something that shouldn''t have happened in Dustwallow Marsh since the map did not belong to either the Alliance or Horde.


    Usually, when an Alliance and Horde player encountered each another, there would be a blood-red glow around them, signifying that they could be killed for honor points.


    Lu Li quickly realized why this was the case before the other Thief did.


    "Raven¡­"


    "...Holdt" the Blood Elf finished the word in a husky voice.


    "Nice to meet you. I''m Lu Li," he said as he put his daggers away.


    Besides special maps or scenarios, the only time when an Alliance player could be friendly with a Horde player was if there were in the same sub-faction. Additionally, they had to also be attempting the same quest given out by the sub-faction.


    "Hehe, if it isn''t older brother Lu Li. I''ve lost to you before. I''m Song of Sorrow from Peacetime Dynasty; do you remember me?" the Blood Elf Thief asked with a laugh.


    "Ah, such a coincidence." Lu Li remembered this guy very clearly.


    Song of Sorrow was from the major guild Peacetime Dynasty. When they were in their prime, he was ranked as a top 3 player in the guild. However, they had recently some expert players and were no longer the powerhouse they once were. Song of Sorrow''s position in the guild naturally rose with the decrease in members.


    He was a famous star player in the gaming scene and was known to dominate with Thief or Assassin classes, earning him the nickname ''God of Thieves''.


    In the Shadow Cup, Lu Li had the privilege of fighting in a 1v1 against him and won with an edge in his mechanics and equips.


    Their match went down as an instant classic.Many new Thief players would re-watch the recordings and study their positioning and skill rotations.


    "I accepted the quest from Ravenholdt and it told me to collect some Moon Grass, but I accidentally aggroed the Black Dragon and died," Song of Sorrow sighed.


    "I was told to collect Moon Grass as well. Why don''t we work together?" Lu Li suggested.


    It was better to make friends than foes, otherwise, they would be competing for the Moon Grass and end up fighting against each other. Besides, if they accidentally aggroing the Dragon would be bad for either party.


    If it weren''t for the quest, Lu Li would have liked to have a rematch against him.


    Lu Li wouldn''t underestimate him, even though he had defeated him once. Even after such a long time, he wasn''t able to detect Song of Sorrow''s positioning while they were both Stealthed. This showed that Song of Sorrows had similar Stealth and Detection attributes to him.


    Song of Sorrow had previously lost because Lu Li had better Stealth and Detection, so he was able to get the first strike on him.


    "Sure, the monsters around here stay in groups so it''ll be easier for us to deal with them together. What about this Moon Grass?" Song of Sorrows asked as he pointed towards the one they had been fighting for.


    "You can have it first since you found it first," Lu Li quickly conceded.


    "Ok, the next one we find is yours then."


    Song of Sorrow was very courteous as well; they were both well-mannered.


    He needed a lot more than Lu Li, but he had been gathering around this area for a while now. If they rotated the Moon Grass harvesting, they would finish at around the same time.


    Their efficiency greatly increased when working with each other. It became so easy that they were able to multitask and have a conversation while killing the mobs.


    "This feels so weird. A Horde and an Alliance player are working together to kill monsters."


    "No one will see." Lu Li didn''t care.


    "Oh yeah, can''t you transform into a Blood Elf? Let''s see you do it," Song of Sorrows suddenly asked.


    "I''m not your slave. Why would I listen to you?"


    Lu Li picked up the drops and placed them into his inventory, then bent down and harvested the second Moon Grass.


    "What''s there to hide? Everyone knew that you transformed into a Blood Elf to get closer to Sorrowless, then decapitated him with ease. Let a brother see your trick, in case people see this and spread rumors," Song of Sorrow said.


    "You''re so annoying," Lu Li sighed, but reached for the Deception Orb in his inventory.


    A Blood Elf Thief appeared before Song of Sorrow. He inspected Lu Li and commented, "I now understand why Sorrowless was tricked. This is almost a perfect replica; there''s no way anyone could tell."


    "Stop trying to reveal my secrets. It''s not like we''re really good friends," Lu Li said. He refused to reveal any more of his secrets.


    "That''s not true. We can form an alliance together," Song of Sorrows laughed. "Just because we''re in different factions doesn''t mean that we can''t work together. It''s not like there''s a law that prevents us from doing so."


    "Stop trying. What does Peacetime Dynasty have left to offer?" Lu Li asked.


    They had lost around 70 to 80% of their professional players, the guild resources were running dry and their sponsors were nullifying the contracts.Peacetime Dynasty was the Titanic waiting to hit the iceberg.


    The current scene of the guilds in the Alliance and Horde were completely different. There were multiple major guilds in Alliance and everyone competed, but had a fairly good chance at thriving.


    However, for the Horde, it was Glory Capital that dominated the entire faction.


    The game had only been opened to the public for three months. After two more years, the only surviving guild would be Gale Legion. Peacetime Dynasty, Stellar Union, Brotherhood and Kingdom Eternity would all be completely dominated by Glory Capital.


    There had been many changes in his current life such as Sorrowless, who had returned back to the professional scene. However, Lu Li felt that changes like these would not alter the fate of those guilds.


    "Peacetime has been in the gaming community for almost a hundred years. How could it fall because we lost out on a single game?" Song of Sorrows was pissed off, but he knew that Lu Li was right.


    "I don''t mind working together to be honest. Glory Capital is developing too fast for us to keep up with."


    Although they were called a top 10 guild, Lu Li reckoned that combining the nine others together would still not make them as large as Glory Capital.


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    Sorrowless was a great Mage player, however, he was even greater at running guilds.


    Song of Sorrow knew what Lu Li meant and smiled while nodding. He began thinking about the potentials of having a cross-faction alliance.


    Many players had already left Peacetime Dynasty, however, one of the biggest reasons why he hadn''t left was because of sentimental reasons. Additionally, he also held a share of the guild.


    By working with Song of Sorrow, their efficiency greatly increased and Lu Li managed to gather the 5 Moon Grass he needed.


    Song of Sorrow finished earlier than him but waited until Lu Li was finished.


    Lu Li watched as Song of Sorrows disappeared into the shadows. He felt quite sympathetic towards him because, though he doesn''t want to admit it, Peacetime Dynasty was a dying guild.

 734 Moon Grass

    Lu Li spent so much time harvesting Moon Grass that Sesame Rice Ball was able to level his Alchemy all the way to Lv260.


    The failure rate for Alchemy was lower than the other professions, so Lu Li was able to receive two Moon Grass Potions.


    "I''ll buy you a meal next time," Lu Li thanked him as he patted him on his back in gratitude.


    Sesame Rice Ball was the first expert Alchemist in the guild. He was able to reach such a high level and he had done it even faster than the players who focused all their time on Alchemy. What was even more impressive was that he had achieved this without falling behind in levels. Lu Li knew that accepting him into the guild was the right move.


    With the two bottles of Moon Grass Potion in his hands, he teleported to Moonlight Forest.


    "You''re telling me that these potions will solve the problems my people have faced for years?"


    Remulos was very doubtful and thought that he had made a mistake in trusting Lu Li. How dare the little brat try to fool him with some potions?


    In reality, the Grove Keeper never believed in him from the beginning, nor did any of the other Worgens.


    They had only given out the quest because the System had designed them to. Without this quest, the players would never encounter a Worgen face-to-face in the game.


    "There''s nothing wrong with trying," Lu Li said casually, not putting much effort into persuading him.


    This made Remulos even more unsure and he began doubting his decision. His subconscious was telling him that the Worgen''s troubles and problems would not be so easily solved.


    When the Worgen transformed into werewolves, they lost all sense of self and control, revealing their uncontrollable, savage nature to harm and destroy anything in their path. After turning back to humanoid form, they wouldn''t even remember what they had done.


    However, they were aware of their transformation ¨C the pain was excruciating because their body structures were completely altered. When they transformed, they would lose their consciousness and rationality, much like when people faint. Parts of the brain would shut down, while areas that regulated hormones and controlled primitive instincts continued to work, resulting in a hollow body of destruction.


    The pain could be tolerated, but for inherently peaceful Druids, it was unacceptable for them to cause meaningless harm towards others. They would rather quarantine themselves and guard over the Bloodfang Keeps.


    Remulos teleported Lu Li to the Bloodfang Pridelands.


    Krug Bloodfang was resting when he felt their presence as they arrived. He opened his eyes and calculated the time that had passed and realized that it had only been three weeks since his last visit.


    "My friend, you shouldn''t step onto the holy grounds of the Worgen so regularly."


    Remulos gracefully approached the Great Lord and said with a bitter smile, "Though I do not believe him, this is my friend and he has claimed to have solved your worries."


    "Solved my worries?" Krug Bloodfang was also very doubtful, but managed to control his temper and looked at Lu Li expectantly.


    After days and nights of failure, disappointment and pain, the Bloodfang Druid had become an extremely impatient and bitter person. However, he had to at least give Lu Li a chance based on the effort he had put in.


    He was able to find a solution after three weeks, meaning that he was proactive and did not slack off.


    "This is the Moon Grass Potion that I found. Based on an ancient record, it has the power to appease and pacify the soul," Lu Li said confidently, then continued, "If this doesn''t solve the problem, then I don''t know what will. I''ll give up on the quest if this fails."


    "I need to test this on others if you don''t mind," Krug said as he waved his hand and summoned two younger-looking Worgen.


    One of them transformed from a Blood Elf to a wolf that kept certain human features. He suffered excruciating pain from the process of transformation and was shaking in distress.


    Right after he transformed, his blood-red eyes focused straight onto Lu Li, who was the closest person. Lu Li could tell that he was about to be ripped into shreds.


    "Bind."


    Krug waved his hand and the Worgen was completely wrapped up by thick vines which grew up from the earth. He then casted another spell which put him into a deep sleep.


    After this, he gave one of the potions to the other Worgen.


    The other Worgen took off the cap without hesitation and drank the light blue liquid, not leaving a single drop behind.


    A few minutes later, when the effects began to kick in, he began transforming into a werewolf as well. Remulos, Krug, Lu Li and the other Worgens watched expectantly.


    They had their hopes up despite being disappointed several times in the past.


    The Bloodfang Druids never gave up on having hope. They eagerly awaited the day when they would be able to walk through Azeroth freely without fear of causing damage and destruction upon the land.


    The first Worgen transformed and became a senseless animal.


    The potion appeared to have at least eased the pain of the transformation. This gave Krug hope and he became more trusting of Lu Li''s solution.


    After the second Worgen transformed, he appeared to be¡­ perplexed.


    This was possibly the first time he had ever been in this form while being completely conscious. He looked down at the sharp claws on his hands, the thick black fur that covered his body, and his athletic limbs and body.


    "Zuck, you¡­"


    This time it wasn''t the Worgen that was trembling; it was the Bloodfang Lord.


    The old Druid wanted to reach out to touch him, but was too scared to do so. He had already prepared his binding spells to restrain the werewolf, but what happened left him in complete disbelief.


    "My Lord, I think I''m¡­ completely conscious. My name is Zuck," the second werewolf stammered.


    "Yes, my child. I believe you."


    Krug opened up the other potion and couldn''t wait to experience what it felt like to be completely conscious while transformed.


    Lu Li became very nervous because he had no idea whether the potion would work on a Boss. Krug was not the strongest creature in Azeroth, but he was still someone that Lu Li had to respect.


    Fortunately, the game did not fail him.


    Whether they were a normal Worgen or a Boss-level Worgen, the potion worked perfectly.

 735 Main Ques

    Krug appeared sober after his transformation. The Worgen were like soldiers being called to attention as they stood upright when their names were called.


    Krug excitedly paced back and forth in the little square.


    He glanced over his subordinates over and over. Of course, he didn''t forget the person that had done all this.


    He gave Lu Li some words of thanks, and after thinking about how else he could show his gratitude, saluted him and said, "Young man, you are the Bloodfang Worgen''s most trusted friend."


    This was a simple title, so simple that some players would think that it wasn''t worth much.


    However, Lu Li was very familiar with Dawn''s NPCs and lore. He knew the implications of this title more than anyone else.


    Previously, he might have thought that the Night''s Watchmen were his closest allies, but the Bloodfang Worgen had now replaced them.


    Of course, this was still within the rules of the game.


    All sorts of things could happen in the game, but the company would absolutely not allow a bug to be exploited.


    Previously, the Night''s Watchmen had given Lu Li group of 100 troops.


    As a matter of fact, Lu Li really did provide a great service to the Night''s Watchmen. However, they just didn''t have the strength to repay him; they were just part of a simple camp.


    As such, they didn''t send Lu Li any equipment, help him fight any Bosses, or reveal the location of any treasures.


    Even so, Lu Li was already quite satisfied. For example, if he were to attack Hachi Chan in front of some other NPCs, they would probably kill him, but if he attacked her in front of these Worgen, they would at least pretend to be blind to it.


    Lu Li had simply recited the formula for the potion to the Bloodfang Worgen, not asking for anything in return.


    He could have chosen to, even though this was a quest. The time limit was 3 months long anyway.


    These Bloodfang Worgen had participated in the Ancient Elf War, so they must have acquired many rare items that they would be absolutely be willing to exchange for the formula .


    Krug cancelled the Worgen transformation, and solemnly kept the formula.


    "The Moon Grass that grows in the Dragon Swamp is guarded by a very powerful dragon¡­" Lu Li kindly reminded.


    Krug and his 300 Bloodfang Worgen probably would not be afraid of the young black dragon. Even Princess Onyxia would respect their strength, but there was more than one black dragon.


    Krug wasn''t a high-level commander either, so the Cenarion Circle would at least try to help them.


    Both parties had many friends that they could call on. If a war broke out, it would be a bitter fight.


    "Haha," Remulos laughed as watched all this unfold. "This isn''t something to worry about. Although forest is scarce, we will be able to distribute some. I do not expect that this unremarkable grass will be that important to the forest. I will give out some quests to adventurers too."


    "We will advance our race and the Worgen will become a force to be reckoned with," Krug whispered quietly.


    "Yes, the Dark Portal will open soon. This time it won''t just be the cruel Orcs, but all kinds of races that desire to sweep across the continent with destruction," Remulos sighed.


    It turned out that even the NPCs knew that the Dark Portal would open again.


    There had been three months of smooth gameplay so far, but after the six-month mark, the whole continent would be covered by the shadow of war.


    Due to paranoia in the ranks of both the Horde and the Alliance, several wars would break out throughout the game.


    The scourge of the Burning Legion would become stronger as they attacked every village and spread across the country. They would kill everything in sight and convert them into their own members.


    The Burning Legion''s main force had repaired the Dark Portal that had been destroyed. Various demons, aliens and berserk orcs would invade in flocks.


    In a war that no one knew how long would last, even a major guild could lose a lot if they made a mistake. The players just had to continue developing themselves and further cooperate with the NPCs so that they weren''t killed in the war.


    Lu Li had made allies with the Night''s Watchmen previously, and now with the Bloodfang Worgen. He was laying a foundation for the upcoming war.


    Of course, he was not arrogant enough to think that he was now going to be a dominant part of the war.


    The Night''s Watchmen were just guards of a town that had been repeated attacked by the Scourge over the years. The numbers of the Night''s Watchmen were naturally a disadvantage as they were only a small force.


    As for the Bloodfang Worgen, they didn''t have many members either.


    After these Worgen had used the Moon Grass to regain their reasoning, their ability to spread would be diminished. In future, Gilneas would be the Worgen''s home.


    At this point in time, Lu Li''s own strength remained his top priority.


    "You''ve saved our race, so I will give you a reward," a voice interrupted. Lu Li let out a sigh of relief that the NPCs hadn''t forgotten about him, though he did understand how excited they would be.


    "Thank you for your generosity, your Excellency," Lu Li humbly laughed.


    System: "The Worgen''s Curse" Quest from Krug Bloodfang has been completed. The Bloodfang Worgen''s reputation points, Prestige Points and EXP have been rewarded.


    System (World): Congratulations to player Lu Li for completing the main quest "Worgen''s Curse". The Worgen race is now open to the outside world. Players can now complete the relevant quest to convert to this race. For more information, please explore the area.


    It seemed like this was a big event in terms of the game''s history.


    As a player, Lu Li was a little excited. However, achieving so many First Clears, even an important historical event like this didn''t feel that special to him.


    Wait, did he level up?


    Lu Li quickly checked his EXP bar. He was original level 43 at 12% EXP, but now he was level 44 at 12%.


    He had received an entire level!


    This was the most EXP he had ever been rewarded with; it must have been because of the main quest. Why didn''t he look more carefully for main quests in his previous life!?

 736 Transforming Into A Worgen

    With such a burst of EXP, Lu Li was almost able to use his level 45 Epic weapon.


    He needed 80% more EXP, which was going to take about a week to farm. However, this was already much earlier than he had expected.


    His friendship with the Bloodfang Worgen was a little overstated as it mainly came from the 300 Claw Druids before him. Of course, the other Bloodfang Worgen wouldn''t feel the same indebtedness, but they would still be friendly to him.


    After all, he had solved their issue of losing their sanity after they Transformed.


    Things would be significantly different if they could keep their sanity. Without it, they could only fight with their basic instincts and would often easily fall into set up traps.


    The Prestige Points were a much better reward.


    "Many things have been lost on the battlefield. We haven''t been able to recover many items over the years. There''s just this book¡­" Krug said a little sheepishly.


    Was it just some of martial arts book?


    Lu Li''s eyes lit up as he saw the NPC hand him a Skill Book.


    "Enhanced Worgen Transformation"!


    Unexpectedly, it was a strengthened transformation skill. Lu Li''s eyes lit up after he started reading the attributes of the skill book; he couldn''t help but drool a little.


    Enhanced Worgen Transformation: Instant Cast. Tranform into Worgen Form. Movement speed increased by 10% and attack speed increased by 10%. Immune to other transformation effects. Reduced fall damage. 30 minute duration. 1 hour cooldown.


    After players completed the Worgen''s Quest, they would gain a skill book which enabled them to transform into a Worgen.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, the additional attributes should have been a 5% increase in movement speed and a 5% increase in attack speed. This enhanced version doubled the effects.


    Of course, there were advantages and disadvantages to this transformation. After becoming a Worgen, a player could still use their profession''s skills, but their race skills and items wouldn''t work.


    For example, Lu Li would be unable to use Shadow Meld.


    Everyone could add the Worgen Transformation to their repertoire, but not all players would use it. If Lu Li didn''t already have Vanish and Gale Steps, he wouldn''t be willing to give up his strong equipment effects or Shadowmeld.


    However, this kind of transformation didn''t require the player to completely abandon their original race. Lu Li, who had experienced rebirth, also knew that he could join the Pandaren family in future. Like the Worgens, he would also be required to complete a certain quest, but unfortunately, the opportunities were slimmer and the quest had a lower EXP reward.


    Lu Li learned the transformation skill without hesitation.


    He then tried to use it, transforming from a Night Elf to a Worgen in a dazzling light.


    The Worgen''s movements weren''t particularly graceful, but this form was very suitable for raids.


    The increase in speed wasn''t too noticeable ¨C after all, his movement speed was already quite high.


    However, Lu Li''s was mainly focused on the fact that he was immune to other transformation effects.


    This basically removed the possibility of being hit by a Mage''s Polymorph. Lu Li could imagine someone like Unforgettable Maple or Sorrowless begging for mercy before him.


    "Thank you for your generosity, your excellency," Lu Li said thankfully.


    Even the whole level of EXP was already enough to satisfy him; he had never been that greedy.


    "It is us who should be thanking you. The Bloodfang Worgen will always welcome you," Krug said as he pointed his finger at Lu Li''s shoulder and left a blood red stain that was the Bloodfang Worgen''s Blessing.


    The Bloodfang Worgen''s Blessing increased his movement speed by 20% and enabled him to be transported to the Bloodfang Ruins. It had a shared cooldown period with the Hearthstone.


    He had a 10% bonus from his shoes, a 10% bonus from his badge, and a 10% bonus from the Worgen Transformation. If he added another 20%, Lu Li would be naturally faster than most player who had activated their acceleration effects.


    After saying goodbye to the Bloodfang Worgen, Lu Li left with Remulos and received an invitation to have some drinks.


    They were back at the Moonlight Forest in the Temple of Remulos.


    This was the first time that Lu Li had tasted the legendary Jungle Liquor. It was said that the Keeper of the Grove''s brothers and sisters, the Dryads, used hundreds of different kinds of flowers to make this.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had seen this item on sale in a private auction.


    Jungle Juice. One use. Increases all attributes by 10. Only activates the first time this item is used.


    "Can I take this wine away?" Lu Li asked. He wasn''t willing to just drink it.


    "Of course not," Remulos replied shook his head. "Everyone has their chance, and your friends aren''t here sitting with us. This isn''t their chance."


    "Alright. Thank you, Keeper of the Grove," Lu Li said as he downed the Jungle Juice. The System prompted him as he received his +10 bonus on each of his attributes.


    "You deserve it. You are much stronger than I expected," Remulos said emotionally.


    "This time, I think it was purely up to luck. I just happened to know the formula and also happened to know where Moon Grass could be found, so I gave it a try and accidentally completed a quest," Lu Li explained modestly.


    "It certainly didn''t look that way," Remulos said, then waved his hand and continued, "Regardless, it''s good that the Bloodfang Worgen''s issue has been resolved. Our strength has increased and hopefully, we can resist the Burning Legion''s next attack. The Druids'' work has seen some fruit over the years and I don''t want to lose it."


    "Is there anything else I can do?" Lu Li asked hastily.


    In general, there wasn''t much room for players to intervene in situations like this, but all they needed to do was ask. In fact, some NPCs would wait for the player to volunteer.


    "Your strength is still too weak," Remulos said unsurely as he glanced at Lu Li.


    "I will work hard. I hope you can tell me what kind of quest it is so I can prepare for it earlier," Lu Li said with a serious look. Evidently, it must have been a very difficult quest, like the one at Blackfathom.


    Remulos mused and suddenly asked, "Do you know Saar?"


    "Of course," Lu Li answered, then straightened his back and respectfully continued, "He was the great Chief of the Horde. He is known to the world because he was a slave that unified the Horde."


    Saar was the Chief of the Horde and Lu Li was part of the Alliance, but that didn''t stop him from paying homage to the Orc Hero.

 737 Concerning Saar’s Ques

    The factions separated the game, but there wasn''t really a deep hatred between the players.


    At the very most, they would refer to each other as Alliance dogs or Horde pigs, but other than that, players from different factions would eat and drink together without any problems.


    There was even a family that had members in both the Alliance and the Horde.


    There were many Horde players who liked Tyrande, and there were many Alliance players who admired Queen Sylvanas.


    "Saar was actually a slave and his real name was Go''el. He inherited the Blood Chief status within the Frostwolf Clan. His father Durotan and his mother Draka were both witnesses of the dark period when the old Horde rose. However, because of their open opposition to Gul''dan, their tribe was ousted. Both Durotan and Draka were also tragically assassinated by an assassin sent by Gul''dan¡­" Remulos explained.


    "You''re not asking me to assassinate Saar, are you?" Lu Li asked as he felt his stomach cramp up.


    "How could I?" Remulos laughed. "I''m actually a friend of Saar; his Shaman ability is very deep and inspiring to me.


    "Isn''t Saar a Warrior?" Lu Li questioned, pretending to be surprised.


    In fact, many other players thought that Blood Chief Saar was an Orc Warrior because they felt that only a Warrior could be worthy of his reputation. However, Lu Li had read enough information in his previous life to know that he was actually a Shaman.


    Another way to put it was that he was a Shaman and a part-time Warrior.


    "Shush now."


    Remulos refused to answer his common-sense question and went on, "Go''el, who was still a baby, was almost killed. However, he was discovered by a human Sargeant called Edras Blackmoore. From then on, his extraordinary life began."


    Remulos profoundly narrated Chief Saar''s growth with a look of admiration in his eyes.


    Blackmoore adopted Saar and trained his fighting ability, but he also taught him that battles relied on the mind, and not purely strength. Sometimes, it was even necessary to show kindness.


    The Sergeant actually tried to train Saar as an educated leader that would one day take over the enslaved Horde Orcs and conquer the world.


    He was definitely a little ambitious, but in a way, he succeeded as Saar grew up to be a famous champion and slowly made his way to the top.


    He didn''t just conquer the mainland, like Blackmoore had wished.


    If his motives were pure, then Edras Blackmoore would have been an admirable man. He would be a Sergeant who had actually brought up a Horde Chief that changed Azeroth''s history.


    Unfortunately, the history books were merciless.


    "Lord Remulos, I don''t understand what you mean by this story," Lu Li said with a yawn. When he first heard about Saar''s experience, he felt a surge of emotion, but as someone who had experienced rebirth, this was just too much detail. Remulos'' lecture painted a complete and epic picture of Saar.


    "I want you to flee Durnholde with Saar¡­" Remulos said solemnly.


    Lu Li was stunned. In his last life, he had heard about a group of players who had completed a quest called Escape from Durnholde. They had somehow gone back in time to the moment that Saar fled, and protected him as he escaped Durnholde.


    As to why those players had the privilege of fighting side-by-side with Saar, there was almost no record of that.


    The participants must have been the top players of the gaming circle and didn''t find the need to publicize the information or write it down.


    But, he had just been selected!


    Lu Li then realized that it only made sense. He was the first person on the player rankings by a margin of two levels. There wasn''t a single piece of equipment he had that wasn''t unique and his technique was praised by countless players. He had also accumulated a significant amount of reputation, so there was really no surprise.


    What''s more, the power of election was in the hands of Remulos.


    They were now old friends and had a mutual understanding of each other.


    "Is it just me, or are there others?" Lu Li was curious. Was his effect on the game so great that he had turned a team quest into a solo quest?


    "There are others, but they are currently being recruited. When the time is ripe, you will be sent into the past. Before that, you must upgrade yourself as quickly as you can. The quest must not be lost and you only have one chance. You must succeed."


    Remulos was surprised at Lu Li''s calmness. He was so unafraid that he had actually asked to do this quest alone.


    "I will work hard, but I''m curious as to why we need to go back in time to help Saar escape. If he didn''t manage to escape, how else would he have become the Chief of the Horde," Lu Li asked inquisitively.


    Even in the game, time travel was no simple feat.


    Only Bronze Dragons who were authorized by the Titans had such powers. It wasn''t just a skill that they could simply use either; even the Bronze Dragon King Nozdormu wouldn''t use their powers excessively.


    "Surely you are aware that Azeroth has no shortage of people looking to stir up trouble?" Remulos asked.


    Lu Li nodded. There were indeed many such people, such as the Orc Shaman Gul''dan, Night Elf Vandal Staghelm, Tauren Magatha Grimtotem¡­


    "Because of these people, the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance is becoming more intense. It is slowly becoming unbearable," Remulos said with a pained look.


    "Dammit, have they found a way to go back in time too?"


    If those people had gone back in time to kill Saar, Lu Li would definitely turn away. The sky was falling and he was expected to hold it up, butLu Li only wanted to help his sister.


    "Of course not, but according to Nozdormu''s intelligence, they have only sent low-level time hunters to attack him," Remulos quickly responded.


    If the most powerful player didn''t want the quest, who else would there be left?


    "Low level? How low?" He didn''t believe that monsters that could kill him would be that low levelled.


    "Given the other adventurers who have been chosen, they will be level 50 and above. However, they aren''t that strong," Remulos answered, trying to play it down.


    "¡­" Lu Li held back his insults with great effort. They had such a good relationship and he didn''t want to ruin it.

 738 A New Levelling Method

    "If there''s nothing else, I''ll talk to you next time," Remulos said as he waved his hand, indicating that Lu Li could leave now.


    Lu Li stood up before stopping to ask, "Can I pick the players that I will be doing this quest with?"


    The first person that came to mind was¡­


    Lu Li was a little confused, but it was Water Fairy.


    How strange.


    Shouldn''t it have been Azure Sea Breeze, the number one Main Tank who could tank attacks from Sargeras himself, or March Rain, the powerful healer who Lu Li had always trusted?


    Why did he think of Water Fairy?


    She was a Thief, just like Lu Li. The occupation that a Thief hated the most was another Thief. She wasn''t that different from Lu Li and would want the same equipment and Skill Books.


    This strange thought made Lu Li feel ashamed and guilty towards his teammates.


    "Oh, sorry. I can only choose one," Remulos said while shaking his head. He was probably just responsible for finding an individual who could be their ''savior''.


    "Alright then. When can I upgrade my ring next?"


    He had asked before, but Lu Li wanted to ask again.


    In the future, it would be more difficult, but the stronger it was, the greater the benefits.


    He hadn''t earned enough money yet as he still had debts to pay and his sister to take care of. Perhaps in the future, he would also have to take care of her children¡­


    To put it simply, someone who was afraid of poverty always thought a few steps ahead.


    "Well..."


    The strange thing was that Remulos didn''t ask Lu Li to find Malfurion like last time. Instead, he thought for a moment before saying, "I think you should kill a Burning Legion Boss. After collecting the blood of the Boss, find the Bloodfang Worgen. They will allow you to use their altar to instill the strength of the Boss into your ring."


    "Why didn''t you say this last time?" Lu Li had been quite stressed recently about finding Malfurion.


    Malfurion was so hard to find that even his wife Tyrande couldn''t find her. All he could do was to wait for him to return from the Emerald Dreams.


    "Previously, the Bloodfang Worgen wouldn''t agree to it it, but now, you should be able to use the Bloodfang Altar," Remulos explained innocently.


    "Will it promote the ring?" Lu Li thought that if he gathered more rare materials, he could further upgrade the ring.


    "No," Remulos bluntly said.


    "Keeper of the Grove, are you messing with me?" Lu Li was speechless. He felt like his time was being wasted.


    "Your ring is able to convert rare materials into EXP and properties through the Bloodfang Altar, which is one of its benefits," Remulos said seriously.


    Lu Li hoped he wasn''t being lied to. If that was the case, he could just use rare materials to upgrade it.


    "Is it only the Bloodfang Altar that can do this?" Lu Li asked cautiously.


    "In the ancient times, a Night Elf Druid accidentally discovered a natural altar which was said to be the birthplace of the Druid''s Wolf Form. It had the full power of the Wolf Spirit and allowed Druids to transform into a Wolf, greatly increasing their combat effectiveness," Remulos said.


    "And then?" Lu Li had begun to believe him.


    "Malfurion opposed this power as he believed the form was uncontrollable and would devour the Druid who used it. He was right, but the Druids were unwilling to give it up. They used the Emerald Dream''s power to build a Blood Altar which resulted in the Druids of the Claw. They were brilliant in the fight against the Burning Legion, but Malfurion''s worries were not without reason. You know how that story ended," Remulos continued emotionlessly.


    "Will I face the same problem if I use the Bloodfang Altar?" Lu Li was a little worried.


    "Hasn''t the problem already been resolved?" Remulos asked with a smile.


    "Uh¡­ that it can continually produce Worgen that can be trained to Krug''s level of strength? If that was the case, the Burning Legion would be no problem.


    "Oh. If you wanted to raise an ordinary Druid to Krug''s level, the resources you would need would be unimaginable. A lifetime wouldn''t be long enough to gather those materials," Remulos smirked.


    Lu Li hated that fact, but there was nothing he could say.


    Dawn was just a very big game of chess, but the difference in power between the players and the NPCs


    was too great. The time that it would take to reach an NPC''s level would be far off into the future.


    Lu Li had fantasized about killing Sargeras, but the more he learned, the more he knew that he wouldn''t even be able to withstand his shadow. Not even if he was level 60, 70 or even 80¡­


    The early stages of Dawn were very important, but even though Lu Li had never experienced them before, he suspected that there was a level of Strength achievable in the end game that allowed the players to compete with the NPCs.


    "Can my friends use the Bloodfang Altar?" Lu Li asked, hoping to help his teammates.


    His level had soared compared to the rest of his team. In addition to the Trolls of the Hinterlands, he had hoped to find a safe and effective way to improve their levels.


    There were even members like Fat Monkey who had been killed by the Gangnam Royals and had lost some levels. If Lu Li didn''t ban him from PVP, he would probably be below level 40.


    "The Bloodfang Worgen are your friends, so that will open up their altar for you. As for the others, they don''t have a Supreme Ring, nor are they on good terms with them," Remulos said as he shook his head.


    The Bloodfang Worgen were actually a proud and secluded race, who had hidden away for many years. They had only talked to Lu Li because he had done something for them.


    "Alright, thank you," Lu Li said with regret.


    He decided to visit the Bloodfang Worgen to take a look at the altar. It was a bit strange since he had just left, but he needed to confirm Remulos'' words.


    After using the Blessing of the Bloodfang Worgen, Lu Li was sent directly into the ancestral land of the Bloodfang.


    Two patrolling Bloodfang Worgen saw Lu Li and quickly welcomed him. Their Teleportation Channel wasn''t fully open and was exclusive only to their friends.


    "The Lord has gone to find ingredients to the formula," the Bloodfang Worgen guardian said respectfully.


    When Lu Li asked if he could use the Bloodfang Altar, the two guards couldn''t give him an answer. However, they took Lu Li to find a Bloodfang Altar Priest who agreed with his request.


    They now didn''t need to rely on the Bloodfang Altar to suppress their Wolf Form, so it was far less important to them now.

 739 Exchanging Gold For Time

    "The way to use it is quite simple. Just put your materials in this groove, then stand on the altar and channel the skill like I did," the old Worgen High Priest instructed kindly.


    Lu Li didn''t expect to receive hope again for his Supreme Ring in a place like this.


    "Oh¡­ I''d like to ask, is it a big burden for you guys when I use the altar?"


    Lu Li was embarrassed. Although he had helped them, he quickly tried to find a way to repay them.


    "No," the old priest answered as he shook his head then continued, "Actually, anyone who knows the skill can just start the process. As for the process, it was born of the wolf God, so it isn''t as fragile as you think."


    "Can I try putting in one material at a time?" Lu Li asked. He wanted to try different materials and see if there were any differences in the results.


    The Worgen nodded and offered for Lu Li to start.


    "Thank you."


    Lu Li looked into his backpack and took out four rare materials. There were more in his backpack, even some which were worth a hundred gold each. However, the four he had taken out probably wouldn''t sell for 100 gold combined.


    The main thing to do first was to test to see what effect a large quantity of materials would have. If the effects were good, Lu Li would just collect more rare materials in future.


    The Worgen Priest inserted his Magic Staff into a slot of the altar and began to recite an ancient incantation.


    The first item he put in was a rare fur-like material. These were often dropped from beast Bosses and were used to make leather and Chain Mail Amour.


    The properties of the Ring didn''t change, but his EXP increased by 2%.


    Although Lu Li knew that the material was quite common, he couldn''t help but feel disappointed at the result. However, it would take at least two or three hours of farming to increase his EXP by 2% at his current level.


    Being able to spend a few gold coins for some materials which he could convert into EXP instead of farming for hours was a decent tradeoff.


    He then added an ore, which was valued slightly higher than the fur. The plant materials were worth less, while the Demon Blood was worth the most, increasing his EXP by 3.5%.


    If the Demon Blood had produced the best result, the blood of a Burning Legion Boss would truly be the way to go.


    Lu Li wasn''t surprised at this result at all.


    He searched his entire backpack for Burning Legion drops. Other than those that were particularly precious, he unhesitatingly put three of them in.


    These three materials gave Lu Li 13% EXP.


    In addition to the previous materials, he had received a total of 20% EXP from this process.


    At level 45 and 68% EXP, Lu Li couldn''t wait to collect more rare materials. What made him even happier was that the effect of his rings had subtly changed, though he didn''t know which material had caused it.


    Supreme Four Ring (Epic)*3:


    Agility +55


    Strength +31


    Constitution +32


    Critical Hit +31%


    Vampirism +38%


    Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle''s Protection. Instant Cast. Summon a natural Shield that absorbs all damage in one attack for the caster. 1 hour cooldown.


    Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle''s Blessing. Stealth Effect +30%.


    Special Effect 3: The King of the Jungle Cenarius has granted you a special ability. You are able to learn three Druid Transformation skills and four skills within those transformations.


    Equipment Requirement: None


    Durability: None.


    These were the current attributes of the ring. If Lu Li remembered correctly, the ring had received 5 Agility, 1 Strength, 2 Constitution, 1% Critical Hit and 3% Vampirism, while none of the special effects had changed.


    However, these small changes were not to be underestimated. Lu Li had only used seven materials which costed a total of 300 gold, but this was far below the true value of the Supreme Ring.


    It was a long-term task to earn EXP and upgrade the ring in this way. Lu Li suppressed his greed and politely bid farewell to the Worgen High Priest.


    After he returned, he found Sesame Rice Ball.


    Lu Li first thanked him for making the Moonlight Herbal Potion. It had helped him acquire a great skill and a whole level, but there was one other thing on the agenda.


    Lu Li had troubled him so much that he couldn''t not repay him.


    "Riceball, I''m going to take you somewhere, but the road is a bit dangerous. You might die a few times," Lu Li said, intending to make clear that Sesame Rice Ball didn''t have to go if he didn''t want to.


    "Where is it? Let''s go." Sesame Rice Ball didn''t even react before accepting.


    Lu Li was a little surprised. How could this guy trust him so much that he would immediately ask where the location was? If he wasn''t a guy, he would suspect that Sesame Rice Ball had feelings for him.


    "I''m a PVE Warlock, so my level isn''t that important. I''m also almost level 42, so I can lose some EXP," Sesame Rice Ball quickly explained.


    "I''ll try to make sure you don''t die. Wait here. I''ll get Cain''s Left Hand."


    Lu Li then sent a private invitation to Cain''s Left Hand, who quickly accepted. He was here to serve as an extra bit of protection in this operation.


    "Oh Boss, you underestimate us. We won''t miss this little bit of EXP."


    Lu Li laughed maniacally in his heart before smiling and saying, "We''re going to go to the Hinterlands and receive a bunch of EXP. Hopefully, this will be a smooth operation."


    They arrived at the Hinterlands, near to where the Troll Ruins were.


    Cain''s Left Hand''s expression suddenly changed as he asked, "Boss, you''re not thinking of going in there are you?"


    "What, has someone already explored this place?"


    Lu Li wasn''t sure if someone else had already discovered this area, but he was hoping to use this place to help Ruling Sword catch up on EXP.


    "There was a small guild that met up here and faced a jungle wolf that had more than 80,000 HP. They thought that it was a Boss and dozens of players were killed before they discovered it was just an elite¡­" Cain''s Left Hand sputtered; his face had gone pale.


    "It must have been a level 50+ monster," Lu Li said, feeling relieved.


    He had experienced rebirth, so he knew what level 50 monsters were like.


    "That''s right, it was a level 50 elite."


    Cain''s Left hand secretly admired him. It looks like the guild master had already encountered level 50 monsters before.

 740 Dead

    It was a level 58 Elite; no wonder it had so much HP.


    Above 50, every level was a significant leap, but most importantly, damage dealt would be reduced while damage taken would increase.


    "I hope we don''t encounter it. If we do, its best if we run away," Lu Li insisted. "Left, you scout out the way. I''ll give you directions."


    "Alright," Cain''s Left Hand agreed, nodding without hesitation.


    Following Lu Li''s instructions, he stepped into the forest in Stealth and saw a black bear beating a tree not too far away. The noise alone made it hard to miss.


    There were some large honeybees dancing around on the tree.


    "Fall back right now," Lu Li said urgently when he saw this scene.


    This was the Ringed Black Bear, which was a level 55 Pseudo-boss that had at least 180,000HP. Those bees were level 52 or 53 Golden Devil Bees and were venomous monsters that lived in colonies.


    The Ringed Black Bear and the Golden Devil Bees always attacked each other because the black bear was interested in the honey.


    Lu Li hadn''t encountered this last time, but now, they had to find a different way.


    They had no idea what other monsters were lying in wait for them, but Lu Li had no other choice than to withdraw.


    He then decided to take the risk of transforming into a Crow and flew through the forest. It was faster than going on foot, but the chances of dying were much greater. He was almost swallowed by a python as he flew through a thicket of trees.


    All kinds of birds, insects or monsters could try to attack him.


    Even a mosquito could defeat him if it was highly-levelled enough. This was the difference between a game and reality.


    Lu Li directed the two players following him in this way.


    "Walk to the left; there is a herd of monsters behind the right bush," Lu Li wrote into the channel.


    "Alright. Take care Boss," Cain''s Left Hand said as he took the lead, followed by Sesame Rice Ball. Rice Ball was a Warlock and couldn''t go into Stealth, so he had to wait until Cain''s Left Hand could confirm that it was safe.


    Although he was holding a bottle that could protect him from three seconds of physical damage, it didn''t guarantee that he would survive.


    "Dammit, there''s a monster Boss," Cain''s Left Hand cried out in surprise when he saw a Demonfang Crawler in the trees to the left.


    "Rice Ball, run. Left hand, go in the opposite direction and use your equipment''s effect to escape," Lu Li quickly instructed.


    The trip had gone smoothly so far and they were near their destination.


    Cain''s Left Hand did not have the time to activate his equipment''s effect, so he just fought to the death. Meanwhile, Sesame Rice Ball took the opportunity to run away and escape the Demonfang Crawler''s aggro range.


    "Boss, I''ll go back first and make my way back," Cain''s Left Hand said as he lay on the floor and watched the Demonfang Crawler slowly leave.


    "Wait a minute; let me see if I can sneak up and save you. Have a look around to see if there are any monsters," Lu Li said, stopping him. There were many monsters on the way and it wasn''t really a safe route.


    Lu Li found a place to land before entering Stealth.


    While he was on top of the trees, he carefully planned a route to bypass the Demonfang Crawler and reach Cain''s Left Hand.


    After transforming into a Leopard and leaping down, he casted Resurrect on Cain''s Left Hand.


    The two of them returned to the side of Sesame Rice Ball. This time, they didn''t alert the Demonfang Crawler. This wasn''t a monster that walked around; it sat around quietly and waited for its prey.


    "Boss, Rice Ball probably won''t make it. He can''t use Stealth and the aggro range here is too big. There''s a crawler that way and two Kaliri over there," Cain''s Left Hand said as he shook his head.


    Lu Li had seen the monsters as well and thought for a moment before suggesting, "I''ll pull the Kaliri and free up that way."


    "Isn''t that too dangerous," Sesame Rice Ball asked. He felt like he was being a burden.


    "If I die, you don''t need to come over. I can revive myself."


    Lu Li was still carrying the Darkmoon Card, and had several opportunities to resurrect himself. They had almost arrived at the destination, so he didn''t mind using it once.


    He also decided to go himself instead of sending Cain''s Left Hand because he moved a little faster.


    Only one-fifth of the total journey to the Troll Trial Tower remained; he had to succeed.


    The Kaliri were descendents of the Rukhmar, but the low-level Kaliri in the Hinterlands were far weaker than those. They had even lost their ability to fly and were only a little higher than level 50, which also made them far weaker than the Demonfang Crawler. This was the reason why Lu Li had chosen to aggro the Kaliri instead of the Demonfang Crawler.


    The two Kaliri fluttered their short wings as Lu Li approached.


    Lu Li began to accelerate, rushing towards an area he had previously spotted that was free of monsters. Meanwhile, Sesame Rice Ball and Cain''s Left Hand were able to sneak past.


    Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but just as Lu Li had left the Kaliri behind and was about to go into Stealth, a huge floral-like creature erupted up from the ground and swallowed him whole.


    As his vision went dark, his HP started dropping rapidly until he died.


    Of course, he didn''t dare to use his Darkmoon Card in an environment like this. If he revived, he would still be in the monster''s belly. Moreover, jungle monsters like this were very strong; even asking a hundred players to reinforce them might not be enough.


    Even after the players reached level 50, they would still run away if they encountered this monster.


    "Boss, what should we do now that you''re dead?" Cain''s Left Hand and Sesame Rice Ball asked after finding a safe position.


    "You guys go home first. We''ll start again."


    Just because they were in a safe area now didn''t mean that it would stay that way. It was unrealistic for both of them to just wait there for him.


    After returning to town, Lu Li looked at his equipment.


    He had so many things in his backpack, but it was still full. Instead, he had lost an equip.


    Captain Sander''s Belt (Gold): Armour 32, Agility +16, Strength +8. Special Effect 1: Critical Hit +10%. Special Effect 2: Evasion +15%. Special Effect 3: When hit, there is a certain probability of silencing the attacker for 3 seconds. Level Requirement: level 30. Durability 64/64.


    This was the original equipment dropped for killing the captain. It had very good properties and was useful against Magic Professions.


    Unfortunately, the area where the item had been dropped was so hard to reach that there was no chance of him retrieving it.


    Lu Li also knew that they couldn''t go on like this, so he gritted his teeth and started calling for members from the guild.

 741 A Cute Kind of Stupidity

    It was fine even if they lost some equipment; Captain Sanders'' Belt was level 30 and was going to be replaced soon anyway. What Lu Li cared about the most was his experience bar. A 20% experience loss nearly left him in tears; that would be equivalent to two days of effort for him.


    After using seven rare materials on the Blood Fang Altar, his experience bar had only increased by 20%.


    Guild members could edit their own statuses. For example, they could set their statuses as ''doing a dungeon'', ''PK'' if they were on the Battlegrounds or ''spare'' if they have nothing to do. Lu Li looked through the list of guild players to find Thieves who were on ''spare''.


    Most guild members set a status, especially those from the elite group.


    Four Thieves from the elite groups joined the team ¨C Wolf Fang, Scarlet New Moon, Insufficient Energy and Bloodlust Sun. They were chatting in the guild channel and seemed as if they had nothing to do, which was why Lu Li picked them.


    These four were among the earliest members to join the guild and were the first to enter the elite group. Lu Li had also met them in real life and they were more trustworthy than the others.


    "What''s up? Are we being invited to pick a fight with someone else?" Scarlet New Moon asked in surprise.


    "I''ll do anything ¨C no objections!"


    Insufficient Energy was a little too enthusiastic about gaming and was one of the regulars in Fat Monkey''s battleground team. His technique was quite decent; he was a very standard PVP player.


    "Since you guys are happy to do anything, come and be cannon fodder," Lu Li sighed.


    He had to apologize to them as he wanted to use these players as scouts. The reason why he had chosen players from the elite group was because the average Thieves couldn''t handle this task.


    "Sure boss. Give us the location," Bloodlust Sun requested with determination in his voice after a brief silence.


    After he grouped them, Lu Li called over Hachi Chan, who had been diligently working on her quests. Of course, a little girl like herself wasn''t going to be used as cannon fodder. If the circumstances permitted so, she would revive her team members if someone died.


    Self-resurrection resulted in a 20% experience drop, while there was only a 10% penalty when resurrected by someone else.


    A few dozen seconds later, they appeared at the portal of the Hinterlands.


    The team that had expanded to eight players set foot on their journey.


    The first one to die was Wolf Fang; his level was slightly lower and so was his technique. However, the location of his death was further away from the monsters, so Hachi Chan could still bring him back.


    With this method, it took them two hours to travel to the black Trial Tower.


    Quite a few of them died along the way. Besides Lu Li, the other five Thieves died at least twice on average, but not once did they even frown. They were truly valuable guild members.


    Lu Li gave them a decent number of guild points, enough to exchange for a Gold equip from the guild storage and still have some leftover points.


    In front of the Trial Tower, Hachi Chan looked up and asked, "What is this place?"


    "What''s the point of asking so much? Rice Ball, prepare the gate!" Lu Li instructed as he tapped the little girl''s head.


    He had already notified Square Root 3 beforehand about the entire situation.


    As soon as Square Root 3 heard that there was a place for everyone to train and loot, he grouped players together immediately without the slightest bit of hesitation.


    This time, they didn''t just target the elite group members ¨C any players who fought in the Gangnam Royals battle could also answer to the call.


    Sesame Rice Ball left the team and Square Root 3 replaced him. They gave him the team leader position and began to pull players over one by one.


    It wasn''t the first time that Ruling Sword had been teleported like this, so they acted in coordination.


    After about an hour, hundreds and thousands of Ruling Sword players were spread out in front of the Trial Tower. As instructed by Lu Li, they cleared out nearby monsters and keys to the turret dropped one by one.


    Almost no one was able to achieve an SSS grade like Lu Li did.


    As such, under the assignment of Lu Li and Square Root 3, the players formed teams of five to enter. One would tank the monsters and another would heal, while the rest dealt damage. They were more efficient compared to Lu Li who had attempted this alone.


    Lu Li had already done the trial once last week, which had refreshed again for this week, giving him another chance to enter the tower.


    This time, he formed a team as well. Hachi Chan was the healer, while Remnant Dream, Nuo You and Lu Li dealt damage. The one in charge of defense was Rain Like A Wanderer, who was the leader of Ruling Sword''s Night Watchmen squad.


    This wasn''t the strongest formation, but it was still strong enough to achieve the SSS grade.


    They quickly stormed through the first three floors. Even Hachi Chan, who was a healer, ran around chasing monsters. The reward for SSS grade was excellent; everyone saw a noticeable leap in their EXP bars.


    However, what they were most excited about was the reward for passing a stage.


    A massive wheel appeared in front of everyone and what they received was based on their luck.


    Lu Li''s rewards this time weren''t as great as those he had received the first time. His first draw was a Bronze equip, which he immediately tossed out. His second draw was a garbage skill book, the kind that nobody would want. However, his luck was better in the third round; he drew a Basic Mounting Skill Skill Book.


    Even though he didn''t need it, it would be useful for his guild members.


    Nuo Yu and Rain Like A Wanderer were similar to Lu Li.


    Nuo Yu''s luck was worse than Lu Li''s. All three of his rewards were equips and the best one was a Silver grade. Rain Like A Wandered drew a skill book for his own class, one that he hadn''t learned before, so he immediately used it.


    Although Hachi Chan was the daughter of the System, she didn''t have much luck here either. She only received an 18-space bag from her second draw.


    The one that everyone envied was Remnant Dream.


    If Hachi Chan was the system''s daughter, then Remnant Dream was probably the system''s sister. Perhaps if you were stupid enough you would receive other blessings to compensate.


    The first time, she received a skill book.


    The second time, she received a mount ¨C the White Riding Ram Mount.


    This was a mount that belonged to the Dwarves and required both reputation and gold coins to purchase. If other races from the Alliance increased their reputation enough, they could still purchase this mount at a luxurious price. It wasn''t an extremely rare item, but even the Dwarves themselves couldn''t afford it. This mount was enough to make plenty of players jealous.


    The third time, she received a skill point.


    Remnant Dream had as many skill points as Lu Li, and on top of this, her equipment was top-tier. Without considering any AoE spells, she could deal more damage than Nuo Yu, who was a Fire Mage.


    The little newbie who couldn''t even find someone to team up with at the start could compete against the very top players now.

 742 Working As A Team

    The fourth stage was full of level 35 monsters, but the pressure wasn''t too great. However, they could no longer storm through the trials at this point. Lu Li''s Assassin Gear had made a huge impact on their progress; he was even more useful than Nuo Yu.


    Lu Li''s team completed the stage with SSS grade again.


    Another wheel appeared in front of everyone and an extra skill point flashed before his eyes.


    Lu Li looked at the skill point and felt as if a kitten was scratching at his heart.


    He was desperate for skill points ¨C when the gap between equipment and technique grew smaller and smaller between top players, the difference between them would come down to their skill levels.


    During the Shadow Cup, the competitors were still adapting to the game. Dawn was entering its fourth month of public release, so if anyone was still unfamiliar with it, they might as well give up on being a competitor.


    "Dreamy, left or right?" Lu Li asked as he held onto the wheel.


    Remnant Dream thought hard for a bit before she replied, "Mmm, left for guys and right for girls. You should spin left."


    That was the conclusion?


    Was it really necessary to think so hard about this? Lu Li suddenly realized how pointless his question was. It was a mistake to ask her about it, so he didn''t keep his hopes up.


    However, since it didn''t matter if he spun left or right, he might as well do what she said.


    The others waited since no one was in a rush to spin. Everyone wanted to see what Lu Li landed on.


    The wheel spun hard and the needle rapidly ticked, from fast to slow and finally¡­


    "My god, it really happened!" Nuo Yu exclaimed as his jaw dropped. If Remnant Dream really did have this kind of ability, she would be more than just a lucky pet.


    Lu Li watched, dumbfounded, as he gained a skill point.


    "I''ll try too ¨C guys on the left and girls on the right. Let me get the skill book," Rain Like A Wanderer said as he followed closely behind. Among his eight slots, only the skill book was worth anything.


    Perhaps Remnant Dream''s good luck could be contagious.


    Everyone held onto their breaths, watching as the needle on the wheel spun from fast to slow and eventually stopped on a Silver grade equip.


    To be fair, the attributes of the equip were decent. It came with a damage reduction effect and a maximum Health +5% Attribute. However, for Nuo Yu, this wasn''t a useful item as he was beginning to aim for Gold equipment.


    He didn''t get the skill book.


    "Dreamy hasn''t said anything yet; we need to take turns. Dreamy, tell me how to get the recipe." Hachi Chan wanted the Accessory recipe, which would allow her to craft a Gold grade necklace.


    Necklaces belonged to the rare equipment category. The price for a Silver grade necklace was at least five times higher than other equips. Naturally, a Gold grade necklace would be worth even more.


    Even Hachi Chan, who didn''t really understand equipment attributes, knew that this item was definitely valuable.


    Remnant Dream thought seriously for a bit and said, "Mmmm, today is Wednesday, so you should spin to the right."


    What relationship did Wednesday have to spinning to the right? Everyone was confused and no one understood the logic behind it, but the suggestion was as clear as daylight.


    Hachi Chun spun the wheel hard to the right.


    "Why didn''t I get it!" she exclaimed as she held onto the skill book that she had already learned and looked begrudgingly towards her best friend.


    "Do you all really think I''m capable of this? Maybe I won''t even get something good myself this time," Remnant Dream said dismissively.


    She spun the wheel herself without a moment''s hesitation and landed on the best rare material among the eight slots.


    Nuo Yu didn''t want to give up and asked Remnant Dream for suggestions, but he still ended up with a rubbish equip.


    The final conclusion was that Remnant Dream''s luck was truly beyond average. However, her suggestions weren''t that reliable. Only Lu Li was able to get what he wanted, but this was likely a coincidence.


    Fifth floor ¨C level 40 monsters.


    Lu Li''s team finally began to feel the pressure. Previously, Lu Li had killed the monstesr on this floor alone and received a SS grade.


    However, more players meant more monsters too. It was hard to decide which was the better method.


    This time, Lu Li was in charge of aggroing, while Rain Like A Wanderer would tank.


    Remnant Dream and Nuo Yu became the main sources of damage. Nuo Yu was a Mage, so he had excellent AoE damage, while Remnant Dream only had a one decent AoE spell. The pet that she had brought this time was a Flame Bird which had two AoE damage spells.


    "Faster Lu Li! It''s up to you now!" Nuo Yu shouted as he drank a recovery potion and casted his skills frantically.


    "Pull more; I can tank them."


    Rain Like A Wanderer''s equipment wasn''t as great as Azure Sea Breeze''s, but all the monsters here were average.


    By moving as he taunted, he minimized the number of monsters that could hit him and survived.


    With Hachi Chan constantly healing him, he managed to keep his health bar above half. There was a distance requirement for this technique, so he asked for Lu Li to pull more monsters.


    "For the SSS! Let''s go!" Nuo Yu cried out as he gritted his teeth and drank another potion.


    This was an exquisite potion that he had received from one of his quests which increased his damage by 50% and lasted for five minutes. He only had one bottle and never used it, but there was no time for him to hesitate.


    The effects of the potion were very obvious; his damage greatly increased and the monsters rapidly died.


    Remnant Dream had something similar, and although the effects weren''t as great at Nuo Yu''s potion, it was better than nothing.


    With everyone contributing, the monsters on the fifth floor were quickly wiped out.


    The total time was shorter than estimated and the system announced that they received an SSS grade.


    "I have a Dark Gold grade equipment..."


    "I have a mount..."


    "I have an exquisite recipe..."


    "I have eight items here that are all pretty good..."


    The SSS rewards on the fifth floor were clearly better than the fourth floor. After all, they had fought against level 40 monsters this time.

 743 Goblin Rocket Boots

    The eight items before Lu Li''s eyes were quite good.


    There was a Demon''s Shadow which was a rare material that belonged to the Bosses from the Burning Legion. It was good for crafting equipment, levelling and upgrading his ring.


    Additionally, there was a skill book ¨C Empowerment: Shadow Strike. The moment that it appeared, Lu Li''s eyes went red.


    He had always wanted these Empowerment type-spells, but he only had a Worgen transformation at the moment. Although this was rare, it wouldn''t considerably affect his overall damage output.


    Damage always depended more on equipment than skills.


    Everyone would eventually have access to powerful skills such as Slit Throat, Backhand Backstab, Kidney Strike and Ambush. Lu Li didn''t have an advantage anymore in this regard. Players who had level five skills would also be able to deal more damage. Lu Li had some advantage here, but not enough to set him apart from his other fellow competitors.


    Having experienced rebirth, he knew how strong these Empowerment skills were. He wanted to obtain them before anyone else did and this Empowerment: Shadowstrike was one of them.


    Shadowstrike was one of his most commonly-used skills. The Empowerment would increase his skill damage by at least 20, which lead to an obvious improvement in his strength.


    Besides the rare material and the Empowerment skill, he also saw a recipe for Goblin Rocket Boots.


    Lu Li was hoping to see the Bike of the Mechanic, but he didn''t expect to see something like this so soon.


    The Goblin Rocket Boots weren''t real boots. Rather, these were an item that could be added onto shoe-type equipment, increasing movement speed and allowing players to jump over short distances.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, those who didn''t have these boots would be ashamed to call themselves PVP players.


    Of course, an exquisite item like this would require decent Engineering skills.


    In addition to three Gold grade equips and two Silver grade equips, these were the options that were laid out before Lu Li.


    What he wanted the most was the Empowerment skill book, then the Engineering recipe and the Demon''s Shadow. If not, it would be nice to at least receive a Gold.


    As for the two Silver grade equips, if he landed on one, he would consider commiting suicide on the spot.


    "Dreamy, which direction do I spin if I want this skill book?" Lu Li''s asked in a shaky voice as he looked expectantly at Remnant Dream, even though he knew that this wasn''t a reliable method.


    "Mmmm, I feel like you should spin left. Wait, no, spin right. Last time you spun left for the skill point, so this time you should do right," she answered earnestly.


    Her words gave Lu Li some confidence and he immediately spun to the right.


    The others all waited for Lu Li''s result; he had the best items available this time.


    "Dear Lord!"


    Lu Li shut his eyes and made a prayer of an unbeliever. He didn''t believe in God, likely because he had prayed countless times in his previous life for someone to save his sister, but all that awaited him was desolation.


    "Wow!"


    Judging from the sound of others, it seemed to be something decent. Lu Li opened his eyes in joy, but the needle before him was pointed squarely on the Engineering recipe.


    "My ****, why isn''t it a skill book!? If this broken needle just spun a little more, it would have landed on the skill book," he inwardly cursed.


    Recipe: Goblin Rocket Boots (Engineering)


    Requirement: Artisan Engineering (280)


    Use: Teaches you how to make the Goblin Rocket Boots


    Goblin Rocket Boots: Enchant your boots with a pair of wings, giving it the speed of a rocket. Movement speed +5%. Rocket Launch: jump 8 yards in any direction, cooldown 2 minutes. There is a certain chance of causing an explosion. After the explosion, the enchantment disappears. If you''re lucky, you might be able to retrieve some spare parts.


    Even a pair of simple boots would become an exquisite item with this rocket enchantment.


    However, the level 280 artisan engineering requirement pained Lu Li''s heart. After the Ivy Bomb, it had been a long time since he had gone to practice his Engineering skills.


    "Stop looking. I''ll make you guys a pair each later, but you guys have to supply the materials yourselves," Lu Li said as he waved his hands weakly.


    "Boss, don''t worry. We''ll find all the materials," the others responded with a smile. This was such a good item, so it was only natural that the material fees wouldn''t be cheap. However, none of them poor, so they all felt like this was a reasonable task.


    "No rush ¨C it''ll still be some time until I reach 280. You guys draw your prizes first," Lu Li said, then proceeded to list out the materials.


    Some of them had exquisite items in their wheels, especially one of the mounts in the slots. Lu Li felt like the mount could be sold at an unimaginable price.


    DK horse!


    The level 45 dungeon, Stratholme, had a certain chance of dropping this mount. Even during Lu Li''s old life, there were only a few who owned it. Those lucky ones had received it either through draws or special events.


    Not only did the mount have a low drop rate, but it was also very good-looking. It was better looking than the Skeletal Horse and Headless Paladin''s Steed of the Undead.


    "Wanderer, go get the mount," Nuo Yu encouraged as he patted Rain Like A Wanderer''s shoulder.


    It would be ideal if this was Remnant Dream''s wheel; her incredible luck would at least make everyone feel like they had a chance.


    "Don''t give me too much pressure," Rain Like A Wanderer said as he smiled bitterly.


    As expected, he didn''t receive the mount. He only received a Gold grade equipment, but was quickly cheered up by its good Attributes and happily swapped it with what he was currently wearing


    Hachi Chan''s luck was still average. This time she received Revive, a skill that most Druids had.


    Nuo Yu also drew an equipment, but it wasn''t as good as the one that Rain Like A Wanderer had. Everyone watched in anticipation for Remnant Dream to draw the Dark Gold grade bow. It came with three extremely good special effects and wasn''t far off from a legendary equipment.


    If she got it, it would probably be the most powerful Hunter weapon in circulation.

 744 Tain

    "Don''t stare at me like that; it''s giving me anxiety," the little Hunter said weakly.


    "Hurry up," Hachi Chan scolded as she slapped her on the head. Their fragile friendship could no longer be salvaged from her envy. She wanted to be like her best friend too, having anything she wanted.


    It didn''t seem like Remnant Dream was worried too much about spinning to the left or to the right; she just grabbed the wheel and spun it carelessly.


    Unsurprisingly, she received the weapon.


    When Remnant Dream equipped the level 40 Dark Gold Bow, her damage stepped up to the next tier.


    On the sixth floor, the level of the monsters was increased to 45. At this point, they had begun to surpass the players. The only player here who wouldn''t feel the effects of the level punishment was Lu Li, who was level 44. The others were all only either level 41 or 42.


    The level punishment in Dawn came into effect after three levels. Both damage dealt and damage taken became key factors that affected the efficiency of killing monsters. Previously, Rain Like A Wanderer had asked Lu Li to pull more monsters. This time, he asked Lu Li to stop before he had even begun.


    For a tank, the most troublesome part of these high-leveled monsters was their Critical Strike.


    "For this floor, it''ll be good if we can just pass it. We won''t be able to get an SSS grade, so we just need to try our best," Lu Li said. He hadn''t even attempted this floor last time.


    "These monsters give so much experience," Nuo Yu noticed as he looked at his experience bar.


    He was an executive in the guild now and was the type to be really passionate about guild events. Previously, when they had fought with the Gangnam Royals, he always charged ahead and died four times within the span of a few days.


    Even with his team members reviving him, he still lost half a level.


    This time, Lu Li had brought everyone to do the trial tower. The SSS grade not only gave them prizes, but also rewarded them with an abundance of EXP. Their Experience bars had already increased by around 30%, which was about as much as they had lost.


    The monsters in this stage gave even more EXP than an average elite monster.


    The last semi-boss was very difficult to kill. It had an arsenal of skills and high damage, as well as a frustrating amount of health regeneration. When you dealt 1000 damage to it, it instantly regained 500 HP back.


    Any other team wouldn''t be able to sustain through this Boss.


    When the system announced that they had completed the sixth floor and received an A grade, Lu Li and the others were surprised. They weren''t complaining that the grade was low, rather, they were shocked that it was so high.


    Regardless of the grade, they would receive a chance to draw a prize as long as they passed.


    The items were more average this time; they were nothing compared to the previous five floors. Among the eight items that Lu Li had, half of them were rubbish. Two of the slots were skills that he had already learned, while another was a weapon recipe for an average Silver grade equip. The materials weren''t cheap either, so making this weapon would be a waste of money.


    His needle landed on a useless equip, and the others shared similar results. Only Remnant Dream''s needle landed on a skill book. It wasn''t an exquisite skill book, but it was still one that she hasn''t learned yet.


    The seventh floor contained level 50 monsters. Lu Li''s team members wanted to try it, but he stopped them.


    It was true that all the monsters in the trial tower were average monsters, with only the last one being a semi-boss. However, level 50 monsters were not to be underestimated, especially by players who were eight to nine levels lower.


    Once you started the stage, you weren''t allowed to end it forcefully unless you died.


    Lu Li and the others exited from the trial tower, but there were still a great number of players inside. All 80,000 members of Ruling Sword were invited, as long as they participated in the events over the past few days. This came to a total of 60,000 players.


    Since this was such a major event, the other guilds had already heard about it.


    Not only did they know that the Ruling Sword players were frantically leveling, but they could even find out what their coordinates were.


    The Gangnam Royals, who had been aiming their spears at Ruling Sword, couldn''t sit still for any longer.


    They sent out an army, numbering in the tens of thousands. Not only did they want to taint this holy ground of leveling and loot, but they also wanted their revenge. Hear of War would never admit that they had lost their battle because they weren''t as good; he always thought that it was because Ruling Sword refused to fight them face on.


    He wasn''t being unreasonable either.


    If they really engaged in a full-out a battle with Ruling Sword, they could fight five to one and definitely destroy them.


    Thousands teleported into the Hinterlands and headed straight towards the forest that the trial tower was located at.


    Although the other guilds didn''t act, intelligence was floating around everywhere. They paid close attention to the Gangnam Royals and their advancement. As soon as the Gangnam Royals successfully entered the trial tower, it was fair game for the others.


    With a numbers advantage, level 50 monsters posed less of a threat. They immediately died under the flurry of skills landed on them.


    However, when the Gangnam Royals'' 100-man team ran into a level 60 monster and was wiped, all the guilds lost their cheerful attitude.


    This wasn''t enough for people to feel hopeless ¨C after all, there weren''t a lot of level 60 monsters. They could easily sacrifice some players to distract and pull them away.


    What really silenced the Gangnam Royals was the Raptor Boss, or rather, Raptor Bosses. They were only level 55, but who would expect three of them?


    The Gangnam Royals lost many members this time. Around 700 players were slaughtered during their trip through this forest of death.


    They soon reached the conclusion that if they sent in more than a hundred players at once, there was a good chance of a Boss appearing. As such, they decided to reduce the size of their scout team.


    Within a short hour, the Gangnam Royals had lost three thousand players. This was more than in their fight against Ruling Sword in a day.


    Eventually, the Gangnam Royals finally made it past the forest and to the trial tower. However, what welcomed them was a pre-emptive strike from Ruling Sword. Every last Gangnam Royals player died, having barely achieved anything.


    The rational guilds had already decided to temporarily give up the trial tower. Although they were upset, it was better than them dying like the Gangnam Royals. Drizzle Court was the only one who persisted.

 745 Sharing

    "Teleport three players from our guild there and we''ll pay for whatever the price you offer," Water Fairy said, her voice crisp and determined.


    "That''s a bit..." Lu Li found her request to be quite difficult; it was obvious that her motive wasn''t as simple as it seemed. One of the three that was teleported would obviously be a Warlock who had learned the same Teleportation skill as Sesame Rice Ball.


    Water Fairy had taken the skill book last time they found it together. If she wanted to be teleported in alone, based on their friendship, Lu Li wouldn''t hesitate for a second.


    However, he knew that if he agreed to her request and the Warlock from Drizzle Court was summoned, the rest of their guild would follow.This included Peerless City, who was a part of their alliance.


    After grinding in level six of the Trial Tower, Lu Li had gained around 14% EXP.


    Nuo Yu was at a lower level than them and had gained around 30%. Remnant Dream, who was the lowest level player in their party had gained more than 40% EXP.


    Although he had yet to gather the statistics, he could almost guarantee that most players would have leveled up at least once.


    This was their private way of leveling up, and not only was it very fast, but it also meant that Ruling Swords finally had a way of closing the gap between them and the other Major Guilds. Additionally, it could also be a feature that attracted more professional players to join their guild.


    "We''re not your enemy."


    Water Fairy knew that she was asking for a lot, but the Trial Tower was worth her efforts. In order to further strengthen her guild, she had to shamelessly ask Lu Li for this favor and was willing to do anything to get him to accept her request.


    Lu Li became silent, not knowing what to do except to consult Square Root Three.


    "Brother Three, what should we do?"


    Square Root Three was in a good mood today and decided to tease him about Water Fairy.


    "What happened to ''what''s yours is hers and what''s hers is yours''? Didn''t you make that agreement ages ago?"


    "Brother Three please¡­" Lu Li was speechless.


    "The numbers in Drizzle Court and Peerless City alone equate to about four major guilds. With their 600,000 members, we would be in such a better position to challenge Gangnam Royals," Square Root Three said after calculating and realizing how difficult this decision would be.


    Although Water Fairy was quite young, she took up the responsibility of managing the power and influence that her family had in the gaming community. She came from a wealthy and powerful background and was very willing to pay to win. After a few short years, she had helped her family grow even stronger and the presence she held in the community continued to develop. Drizzle Court, Peerless City, Blue Universe and Hidden Sky were four of the top 100 Major Guilds in the game. In addition to these, more than 10 medium-sized guilds and hundreds of mini-guilds all bowed before Water Fairy.


    "This was the opportunity to close the gap between us and the other Major Guilds though."


    "Be honest ¨C do you want to help her? Lu Li, let''s talk for real," Square Root Three said as he became very serious all of a sudden.


    "What do you mean?" Lu Li did not understand.


    "When you first heard her request, what was your initial reaction?" Square Root Three asked, then added, "This is extremely important and you must tell the truth because that would influence the decision that I make."


    "My first thought¡­" Lu Li began, then hesitated and continued, "I hesitated because I was well aware of the consequences and didn''t make a rash decision."


    "Haha, you almost agreed didn''t you? If it was someone else, say¡­ Dust Dragon from Blood Red War Flag, would you hesitate? Square Root Three was almost giggling.


    "Of course not," Lu Li answered immediately.


    He wasn''t friends with Dust Dragon and although Lu Li had the utmost respect for him, it wouldn''t have influenced his decision.


    "So, Lu Li, Water Fairy is different to you," Square Root Three remarked in a weird tone, then paused and suggested, "If you like her, you should accept her request. Maybe she''ll touched and accept your love for her."


    Lu Li almost choked from coughing.


    "What the hell are you talking about Brother Three?!"


    "Hehe, you can deny it all you want, but I can''t be bothered listening to your excuses. Just say yes," Square Root Three interrupted. He was in support of Lu Li''s decision to share the Trial Tower with Drizzle Court.


    "Why? Isn''t it better for us to keep the resources to ourselves?" Lu Li asked in confusion.


    "We probably can''t keep it to ourselves for long anyways; I''m afraid that people will start harassing us by next week. People from the Gangnam Royals have managed to find us already. Drizzle Court already has the Teleportation skill anyways All they have to do is escort the Warlock to the Trial Tower like we did. We can''t do anything to stop them, so it''s better to do this favor for them this one time," Square Root Three explained


    Lu Li wasn''t an idiot and knew what Square Root Three meant immediately.


    "Water Fairy is a very prideful person. If she owes someone a favor she''ll definitely return it. Go say yes to her; I look forward¡­"


    Square Root Three didn''t finish his sentence. He meant to say that he looked forward to Lu Li and Water Fairy becoming a couple. That way, Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court would merge and become strong enough to challenge Glory Capital.


    Lu Li wasn''t exactly young anymore, and eventually, he would have to start a family.


    Drizzle Court''s Warlock was teleported and the rest of them began appearing one by one.


    Although they were in an alliance, this was the first time that the two guilds had worked together. Since their leaders got along so well, the two sides got along fine too.


    However, the guys that admired Water Fairy began feeling envious.


    Apparently the rumors were true that Water Fairy and Lu Li were in a relationship. Otherwise, why would Lu Li share such a great leveling spot with them?


    Water Fairy did not enter the Trial Tower immediately. Instead, she went to Lu Li to ask about the Trial Tower and thanked him.


    "Thank you, how much¡­?"


    Lu Li didn''t mention anything about paying him, but Water Fairy didn''t like owing favors to others.


    "No need. We''re in an alliance," Lu Li dismissed as he waved his hands.


    Square Root Three was just making fun of him before, but now Lu Li felt uncomfortable around her. He felt that there was something different between him and her today.


    "Then¡­ we''ll just settle. You don''t have to pay me the five million that you owe me."


    For others, five million dollars was a large sum that they might never make in their entire life. However, this was nothing for her.


    She spoke in a serious tone because she didn''t want to let Lu Li think that she was being grateful.


    "We''ll talk about it later; I''m busy right now. If you have any matters, discuss them with Brother Three," Lu Li interrupted. It was never his intention to not pay her back because he had done her a favor. Borrowing money and paying it back wasn''t something to be ashamed of.

 746 Personal Working Studio

    After he returned from the Trial Tower, Lu Li went to the Administrative Hall.


    This was one of the busiest places in the city and there were countless NPCs and players that were running errands. That''s right, NPCs much like players, also had their own lives. It was actually quite difficult to tell the players and NPCs apart at first glance.


    Some windows had hundreds of people lining up for them, but the real estate window was not one of those.


    When Lu Li arrived, there wasn''t a single person in line.


    The value of property in the game was far beyond the realm of affordability. Very few people were willing to spend more than ten thousand dollars to purchase a virtual house. Ninety percent of the players lived in the inns and hotels that were provided in the game.


    The people who visited this window were mostly rich and had too much spare cash on hand.


    As such, Lu Li attracted a lot of attention from others, including a few girls that looked at him flirtatiously. They were planning ways in their mind to seduce this rich man.


    The NPC was sitting there in boredom until Lu Li came. He quickly stood up to serve him and asked, "Dear adventurer, how may I assist you today?"


    Even his mask couldn''t hide how cool he felt.


    Lu Li didn''t realize that his popularity was high enough to influence how NPCs treated him. NPCs in the main town would rarely be this well-mannered and courteous to players.


    This was an indescribable feeling.


    "I want to build a studio for myself and open up the family storage service," Lu Li said as he took out his deed for his house and placed it down.


    An in-game house could be customized by the buyer in any way they desired without permission from the officials of the game. However, the work studio that Lu Li wanted was too difficult to build himself, so he needed to spend money and employ the NPCs.


    As for Family Storage, it was basically a storage system for your house that linked to both personal and guild storages.


    However, the player needed authority to access the guild storage. Since Lu Li was the guild leader, he had full access to the storage which was very convenient for him.


    "What sort of functions do you want your studio to have?" the NPC asked in a pleasant tone.


    "All of it I guess, preferably with two working stations."


    Lu Li wanted one for himself and one for his sister, even though Lu Xin cannot play the game right now.


    "That''ll be¡­ 300 gold all together," the NPC announced after quickly calculating the total cost.


    Three hundred gold would be enough to buy a small house in an average town, but Lu Li had spent this on a work studio. Spending money so lavishly stunned all of the players around him.


    "What about the Family Storage? I need to link both my personal and guild storage to it."


    His intentions weren''t to brag or show off to others. However, in his past life, there were countless times where he was extremely envious of other rich players and wished that one day he could stumble upon a lottery win.


    "That will be¡­ another 200 gold. Five hundred gold all together," the NPC said in an excited tone.


    To make the game more realistic, NPCs were designed to be intelligent and had their own personal motivations and goals. Quite a large sum would be pocketed by him because of commission.


    Lu Li checked the numbers and confirmed the transaction, after which 500 gold was taken out of the 600 gold in his inventory.


    The money he had recently made was almost all gone.


    Although the price was high, so was the efficiency of the building process. As soon as Lu Li returned home from the Administrative Hall, there was a new house near his lakeside residence with a sign that read ''Alchemy Room''.


    Since it was a game, the work studio was built immediately.


    He opened the door and was greeted by a very spacious working area. It may have been slightly overkill because it was far too much for him and his sister alone. The inside of the house was built with space-compacting technology, which made it more spacious than it appeared from the outside.


    The 300 gold was definitely worth it.


    Lu Li could see rows of materials, rare items and his legendary dagger in his personal storage. The next panel was the guild storage.


    Although he was considered to be quite rich, the guild storage wasn''t as impressive compared to his personal one.


    Since there were more than 80,000 members in his guild, most of them would use the storage as a bin. They would throw in their useless junk, such as potions, items and materials in exchange for guild points.


    Because Lu Li was the leader, he was granted access to all the items in the storage. However, even if he wanted to, there was absolutely nothing in there for him to take.


    With a press of a button on his work station, the options for Engineering appeared. He decided to begin practicing and level up his Engineering while he had some time on his hands.


    Since he had first joined the game, Lu Li never had a break. It was non-stop leveling up, clearing dungeons, competing in tournaments and improving his PVP skills.


    All of his professions were lagging behind, including his Alchemy, Engineering and Forging. He had promised Water Fairy to forge three items a day, but never fulfilled it.


    Water Fairy couldn''t force a guild leader of 80,000 players to take time out to Forge items for her every day.


    Lu Li''s Engineering was currently at Lv174; he was six levels off becoming an Advanced Engineer. Currently, he had three advanced Engineering recipes waiting for him to craft ¨C the Gnomish Poultryizer, Goblin Jumper Cables and the Goblin Rocket Boots, which required Lv240, 260 and 280 respectively.


    He had also found an easier recipe from his storage ¨C the Goblin Mining Helmet


    Apart from increasing the user''s Mining profession by 5 points, it was absolutely useless. It would only be useful if the user came across a high-level ore supply and was a few levels off.


    However, that situation was very niche and the recipe was quite common as well. Most engineers would craft these just to level up their profession, so there was no hope in making money off them.


    The only upside to this recipe was that the materials used to craft them were a lot cheaper.


    Lu Li learned the recipe and smelted some dark iron ore in the furnace. The dark iron ore was taken from the guild storage. No one dared to say anything since there was nothing wrong with the leader taking some ore.


    While he waited for the ore, he took out his tailoring knife and cut some heavy leather.


    Sewing was quite easy and he didn''t need to learn the profession because he knew how to do it in real life. After making a basic hat, he poured the liquid iron ore into it.


    Seven minutes later, a Goblin Mining Helmet was made

 747 Gnomish Cloaking Device

    Training his Trade Skill was quite boring. It took approximately three or four Goblin Mining Helmets to gain one EXP point. Three hours later, he had only increased his Advanced Trade Skill by six levels.


    Now that he had reached level 180, the Goblin Mining Helmet didn''t reward him with any EXP, so he needed a more advanced blueprint.


    Lu Li threw more than twenty of the finished helmets into the warehouse, marking them to be one point each. He was basically giving them away for free.


    These Goblin Mining Helmets weren''t that precious, but they could be sold for a dozen gold coins.


    There were many higher-level blueprints in the Guild''s Warehouse, which gave Lu Li a decent selection to choose from. It didn''t matter whether the item itself was good or not, as long as he had the materials required for it.


    However, in the end, he was disappointed.


    Engineering was one of the hardest Trade Skills, partially because it was very dangerous ¨C you were constantly at risk of harming yourself. Another reason was of the expensive material requirements. To create the Goblin Mining Helmet, he needed to smelt ore and sew leather, which were Casting skills and Tailoring skills respectively. What was worse was that he needed to learn all these different things as a Thief, whereas a Mage would be better-suited for this¡­


    The last reason was because of the blueprints and materials.


    Ruling Sword had more than 400 Casting formulas and more than 700 Tailoring blueprints. In comparison, there were only 33 Engineering blueprints.


    Moreover, among these 33 blueprints, 80% of them weren''t suitable given Lu Li''s current Engineering level and he didn''t have the required materials for the remaining 20%.


    The materials used for Engineering were relatively complex and were often the products of Mining or Herbalism.


    For example, Lu Li needed a piece of red Malachite for this rifle. However, the rifle was a terrible weapon. If someone had a Malachite, they could sell it for quite a high price. Why would they waste it on crafting the rifle?


    The only blueprint that was suitable required Lu Li to be level 190. This meant that he had to increase his Trade Skill by another 10 points.


    The Goblin Mining Helmets were now useless in completing this task.


    After thinking for a moment, he dismissed the idea of going to the Exchange Hall. He could already imagine how poor the blueprints there would be. It was better to ask Shen Wansan for some help in this matter.


    "Engineering Blueprints¡­ Are you planning to upgrade your Engineering Skills?" Shen Wansan asked in some surprise.


    "Yeah, but there aren''t any blueprints. Let me know if there are any at a good price."


    The gold coins that Lu Li had in his backpack had almost all been spent upgrading the Workshop and the Warehouses. However, he and Shen Wansan were old friends, so he could just borrow the money for now.


    "It''s not about the money. Why did you learn Engineering? That''s the worst Trade Skill," Shen Wansan said bitterly.


    "Old Shen, do you think that the game would design a completely useless Trade Skill? Especially if the Trade Skill is so difficult to train?" Lu Li asked back.


    "Well, for now, the projected income is by far the lowest," Shen Wansan responded. Although he couldn''t refute him, he maintained his point of view.


    "In a few months, you won''t be saying this anymore Old Shen. You should just give me any blueprints you have, since you won''t be using them anyway," Lu Li said, not intending to explain further. He couldn''t tell people why he knew so much about Engineering''s future.


    By the time everyone was aware of the importance of Engineering, he would probably be an Engineering Master.


    Lu Li didn''t need to study Alchemy because he had numerous Alchemists under him like Sesame Rice Ball. He also wasn''t in a hurry to learn Forging as he had the Casting Hammer which gave him a high success rate.


    Lu Li valued Engineering the most because there would be many Engineering items in the future that couldn''t be traded. You would have to make those for yourself.


    "I have seven engineering blueprints here. Let me know if they''re of any use. Otherwise, I''ll throw them away."


    Shen Wansan had a good relationship with Lu Li, but he wasn''t arrogant enough to tell Lu Li how to live his life. After giving his two cents, he moved on.


    Lu Li looked at the blueprints that had been sent to him and chose two of them.


    Gnomish Cloaking Device ¨C this gave the user a short-term Stealth ability which lasted for 30 seconds and had a cooldown of 60 minutes. It could only be used in non-combat situations.


    This was quite useful, but 30 seconds was too short and it couldn''t be used in battle.


    However, many players were already using this item as it had the potential of saving them in certain situations. The most important thing was that this blueprint required an Engineering level of 180, which was exactly what Lu Li needed.


    The only drawback was that the main material required was Mithril.


    Of all the ores currently available to the players, Mithril was the most precious. It was likely that making use of this blueprint would cost many coins.


    The other blueprint was for a Self-Destructing Sheep.


    The Self-Destructing Sheep was more practical than the Gnomish Cloaking Device as it served the same purpose as Ivy''s Bomb. The player could direct the mechanical sheep into a group of monsters and detonate it. However, it was more expensive than Ivy''s Bomb and only tycoons had the luxury of using it.


    The Self-Destructing Sheep required an engineering of level 190, which placed it just ahead of the Gnomish Cloaking Device.


    The other blueprints were either lower than level 180 or had materials that were very difficult to acquire. Lu Li eventually gave up and stuck with these two.


    The main materials required to make the Gnomish Cloaking Device were Mithril and Emerald. The secondary materials were Moonstone, Topaz and a fuse.


    The production process was divided into two parts. The first step combined ''Mithril'' and Moonstone to make a ''Winding Sychronous Gyroscope''. More materials were then added to make the Gnomish Cloaking Device.


    Lu Li divided a Mithril ingot into one large and four smaller portions, then took the large portion and smelted it.


    The smelting process didn''t turn it into a liquid, but softened the surface so he could engrave the markings he needed for the main body of the Gnomish Cloaking Device. This step was the key to success and would take the longest time.


    Lu Li engraved the engineering markings and followed a similar process for the other small parts.


    After the pieces had been processed, the next step was to assemble them.


    It was necessary to combine the five parts with certain runes that locked together correctly. If there was an error in the locking process, there was a possibility that the creation of the Gnomish Cloaking Device might fail.

 748 Advanced Engineering

    In fact, the construction of the Gnomish Cloaking Device was very simple. As long as the engraving had been done correctly and nothing went wrong in assembly, all that it cost was a bit of time.


    Once the first part was successfully made, the second part would naturally follow.


    In the end Lu Li produced more than 30 items and failed seven times. Two of those times, the item exploded, but fortunately, it wasn''t enough to kill him.


    He quickly reached level 190 and started making the Self-Destructing Sheep.


    The Self-Destructing Sheep was a more complex item. In the words the NPC Engineers, it was one of the mysteries of Engineering.


    The main materials required were Wool Cloth, High Explosives, Lesser Moonstone, Bronze Frames and High-speed Bronze Gears, but the prices of these materials were much cheaper than those of the Gnomish Cloaking Device. The cost of making one Gnomish Cloaking Device could easily cover five Self-Destructing Sheep.


    Lu Li had valuable experience in making explosives from his time crafting Ivy''s Bombs. The Warehouse was still stocked with those.


    First of all, Lu Li ground the Lesser Moonstone into a powder.


    Lesser Moonstone was widely used in Engineering blueprints because it had good electrical conductivity.


    After this came the construction of the bronze frame components. The Hammer Of Cresso played a major role in this matter.


    While he was cutting the Bronze, Lu Li''s knife broke.


    Bronze was not the same as Mithril ¨C Mithril was a softer material and this so-called Superior cutter that he had purchased from the System store couldn''t take the strain.


    It seemed like it would be necessary to find himself a better knife.


    Lu Li sighed and tried to recall the strategy for obtaining this Engineering tool. It was difficult, but he remembered a certain quest that had a chance of dropping Engineering equipment or blueprints.


    The task wasn''t difficult to complete, but he needed to wait until he was between level 45 and 50.


    After pulling out his spare knife, Lu Li continued the engineering process.


    Now, he had to assemble the frame, wrap it with Wool Cloth and mount the legs. The original cold, metal skeleton was beginning to look more like a sheep, but Lu Li had not sewn it together because there weren''t any explosives inside it yet.


    It was called Self-Destructing Sheep, but the actual animal was irrelevant. The most important part was that it could blow up.


    The empty abdominal cavity was where the explosive device would be placed. Lu Li collected some unused items lying around and cleared out his work table before starting the next step.


    The next step in the process was the construction of the explosive. Lu Li dared not to do this carelessly.


    The explosives were placed onto a weighing pan where the desired components were accurately measured and put into individual pellets. A complete explosive device soon formed in Lu Li''s hand, which he carefully picked up and put into the belly of the sheep.


    The System then prompted him that he had successfully created the Self-Destructing Sheep.


    He had spent exactly 20 minutes on creating one sheep, which was much longer than he had expected.


    This was a big waste of time. No wonder everyone abandoned Engineering and practiced one of the other lucrative Trading Skills.


    However, no matter how hard it was, he had to keep going. He had almost reached Advanced level 200 and intended to complete his training by the end of the day. After that, he was going to ask his guild to help him find more blueprints.


    Lu Li also wanted to find an NPC to give the Ivy''s Bomb so that they could strive to research an even more-advanced explosive.


    Two thousand fire damage was very high, but it obviously wasn''t enough for the monsters that now had 5000-6000 HP. If you could research into higher-level bombs that dealt 10,000 damage, you could rapidly increase your levelling speed.


    One by one, Lu Li created an army of Self-Destructing Sheep. Once his backpack was full, he would transfer them to the warehouse. He had opened a personal warehouse, so he didn''t need to go to the bank to access one.


    He was so focused that he had lost track of time. When the System prompted Lu Li that the day was almost ending, his Engineering level had increased to 203.


    There was no more experience to gain from producing Self-Destructing Sheep.


    Lu Li packed up the workshop and asked Square Root 3 how the farming had gone today.


    Ruling Sword''s players had received quite a bit, not only in terms of EXP, but also in the prize items rewarded. Everyone had been quite fortunate.


    The basic feature of a Hawkstrider was its slender nick and wide beak. They also had two slender legs that were good for running, so they were often used as land mounts.


    The Blood Elves were the ones that used Hawkstriders for this purpose.


    Any other race would just need to keep farming reputation and they would eventually receive one. However, the Alliance players had no choice but just to keep dreaming about owning one.


    It was no surprise then that a place that produced Hawkstriders would cause a great commotion.


    Even the Trade Skill players were attracted to it. Square Root 3 had organized each group of combatants to also have a Trade Skill player. Not only did this allow them to gain some EXP, but they would also receive another turntable slot.


    As for the formulas, there had also been a great harvest of those.


    There were several Engineering blueprints that Lu Li could use which required level of 205. The materials needed weren''t hard to find either.


    The guild player who had drawn this Engineering blueprint first thought he had been unlucky as it was better to receive an exquisite item. He didn''t expect Lu Li to find him and ask to pay guild points for his blueprint, so he was quite excited when that happened.


    This was not only because Lu Li''s offer was quite high, but also because he was a big fan and was happy to interact with him.


    Additionally, but unsurprisingly, Drizzle Court had brought on Peerless City to this event.


    Lu Li was a little uncomfortable at this. He knew that Peerless City wasn''t his enemy, but it was unusual to help his rival guilds become stronger like this. However, Square Root 3 thought that it was perfectly fine.

 749 Floating Clouds

    The next day, Lu Li didn''t go levelling, nor did he go into the workshop.


    Although it didn''t look like he was doing much, he was actually watching a highly-anticipated match. Given the strength of Ruling Sword, most other guilds couldn''t actually pose a threat to them.


    It was their fifth match today, and they had scored a total of 40 points in the last four matches.


    Ruling Sword was up against Floating Clouds and had gained quite a lot of attention.


    Floating Clouds was relatively unremarkable, but they were considered to be a large guild. They were ranked 28th on the guild rankings and had made it into the top 100 of the Shadow Cup..


    There was no way to explain the previous matches. Many of them just involved Fat Monkey or Kitty Likes Meat, who both tended to end their fights within a few seconds.


    The difference between their strength was too great; that was clear to everyone. There was no reason for them to explain the small time-difference between each of the matches.


    However, Floating Clouds was different. They were an old guild with decades of history, a variety of support facilities and a large organizational structure. Many of their players had decided to compete in the tournament.


    Don''t Know Anything was a Paladin player from Floating Clouds. He was an off-tank that had strong damage reduction skills and contrary to his name, was actually a theory specialist.


    Soviet Purple was another Floating Cloud player who was a Mage. He was one of the younger generation and specialized in Arcane Skills.


    Wildcat was one of the rare Druids that focused on dealing physical damage with some Defense. He was particularly hard to deal with from the beginning to the end of a fight.


    In addition to these, Floating Clouds also had many other famous players.


    On the gambling black market, very few players believed that they would be able to defeat Ruling Sword. Those who placed bets on them only wanted to give the unpopular option a try.


    "The time is currently 8.30 in the morning. The match between Ruling Sword and Floating Cloud is about to begin," a caster called Rainy announced.


    "That''s right; I''m really looking forward to this game. Rainy, who do you think will win?"


    The person who responded was the industry-famous Pure White Season.


    "I think Floating Clouds look promising," Rainy smiled as he gave a neutral answer, then continued, "I actually quite like Floating Clouds; they have quite a positive reputation. It''s just unfortunate that they have run into Ruling Sword in these preliminary rounds."


    "The opening player for Floating Clouds is unsurprisingly Don''t Know Anything, but I don''t know who Ruling Sword will send out. In their last four matches, Moonlight has gone once, Fat Monkey has gone once and Kitty Likes Meat has gone twice. Lu Li has still yet to participate in a match," Pure White Season said, beginning the discussion on today''s match as he analyzed the lineup on both sides.


    "I feel like Lu Li wouldn''t appear in a preliminary match," Rainy commented with disappointed tone.


    "If the two sides played their normal lineup¡­" Pure White Season''s started, then suddenly raised his voice and continued, "The match has begun and both sides have chosen to go with their usual lineup. Floating Clouds has sent their Paladin Don''t Know Anything and Ruling Sword has sent Kitty Likes Meat once again."


    "Kitty Likes Meat is an expert who grew up on the arena. She has set a 40-game winning streak before and has repeatedly defeated many other professional players," Rainy said, quickly introducing Ruling Sword''s female Warlock.


    Both professions were quite mana hungry, so neither of them were going to use any stalling tactics.


    The first fight was all-out; Don''t Know Anything chased Kitty Likes Meat and attacked relentlessly, not giving her any space at all. Just as Pure White Season had explained, Floating Clouds wanted to achieve a decent score, but they also didn''t want to perform too poorly in this first round.


    Right from the beginning, it was clear that Kitty Likes Meat was in a weaker position as her HP depleted.


    However, when Don''t Know Anything''s movement speed buffs wore off, she pulled away with a Blink Skill while a Succubus replaced her Hellhounds.


    The Succubus'' damage wasn''t as good as the Hellhounds, but it had a charm skill.


    Don''t Know Anything was stunned and he had to deal with the Succubus. Fortunately, it had less HP than a Thief, so he was confident that he could kill it quickly.


    "I''m not sure if the master will win here."


    Perhaps it was quite clear to the on-lookers or perhaps Pure White Season was quite a skilled player herself, but she was quick to find that Kitty Likes Meat had set a trap.


    It was actually very simple ¨C if you attacked the pet, she would attack you.


    "Between a Paladin and a Warlock, it''s anyone''s game," Rainy noted.


    Although Kitty Likes Meat currently had the upper hand, both sides had a variety of HP-regenerating skills. It was still quite difficult to tell who was going to be the winner.


    After about five intense minutes of struggling, Kitty Likes Meat finally defeated her opponent. She only had less than 30% HP remaining.


    Floating Clouds'' next player was Soviet Purple.


    "Pure White, do you think that isn''t possible for Kitty Likes Meat to win this next fight?" Rainy mused whimsically.


    "I don''t think she can. If it was me, I would just try to deal as much damage as I can," Pure White Season replied promptly.


    Arcane attacks weren''t stronger than Fire attacks, but he still had so many bonus skills that he hadn''t used yet.


    Just as Pure White Season expected, Kitty Likes Meat didn''t delay. She casted all of her remaining skills as quickly as she could. By the time she fell, Soviet Purple had lost 40% of his HP.


    "We may have the privilege of seeing a match between ice and fire," Rainy said excitedly, raising the pitch of her voice.


    "Probably not¡­" Pure White Season responded with a shake of her head.


    When Moonlight appeared in the arena, it was clear why Pure White Season had become so well-known. Her predictions always seemed to come to life.


    Ruling Sword didn''t want to lose too many points in this part of the game, so it was inevitable that Fat Monkey would change positions with Moonlight. It was much easier for a strong Warrior to fight a Mage than it was for a Mage to fight in a mirror-match.


    Soviet Purple was immediately crowd controlled and almost surgically dispatched by Moonlight.

 750 Purchasing Ruling Sword

    Soviet Purple protected himself against Moonlight''s Whirlwind.


    Moonlight was among Dawn''s best Warriors, on par with other greats like Gaze, Elevenless, Sea Breaker and Deadly Gold Underpants. Gaze was best known for his Charge, Elevenless for his combos, Sea Breaker for his unstoppable Crowd Control and Deadly Gold Underpants for his bleed. For Moonlight, his most famous skill was Whirlwind.


    Not only did it deal extremely high damage, but it was also very hard to avoid.


    As Soviet Purple saw Moonlight approach, all her thoughts were focused on how she would deal with Whirlwind. She planned to hold onto her Blink skill until she was on low HP, but quickly realized that her opponent had no intention of using Whirlwind against her.


    If she had worked this out earlier, she would have just used Blink, but now, she just looked like a fool.


    When Soviet Purple was eliminated, Moonlight still had 85% HP.


    The third player from Floating Clouds was the Druid Wildcat.


    Wildcat''s Defence was higher than that of Soviet Purple''s, but his damage was vastly inferior. He and Moonlight fought fiercely for ten minutes, but Moonlight''s HP barely fell below 50%.


    Just as he wanted to change forms to regenerate his HP, Moonlight suddenly aggressively swung his left hand and cast a crowd-control skill, followed by a powerful burst skill. This rendered Wildcat completely powerless.


    Just like that, Kitty Likes Meat and only half of Moonlight managed to defeat three of Floating Cloud''s three star players.


    After their stars had been defeated, the remaining two Floating Cloud players didn''t stand a chance. Even if they tired themselves out, they still wouldn''t be able to defeat Moonlight. As such, Ruling Sword gained five points while Floating Cloud only gained one.


    If Ruling Sword had sent Fat Monkey out in the second round, the result probably would have been different.


    At the very least, Fat Monkey wouldn''t have been able to defeat Wildcat. There was no doubt about that.


    "What a pity; Floating Cloud has lost the duel," Rainy commented, voicing the disappointment of the audience. There was something embedded in human nature that made people root for the underdog. Many players had actually hoped that Floating Cloud would overcome Ruling Sword.


    Although most were indifferent at first, after they realized that they had lost an opportunity to make some money, they became frustrated.


    "In fact, Floating Cloud has done quite well, but they ran into Moonlight. Ruling Sword has one of Dawn''s strongest Warriors and Thieves, so this was a reasonable outcome," Pure White Season said.


    The case for the strongest Warrior and Thief was obvious, while for Mages, Sorrowless was considered to be at the top, followed by Unforgettable Maple and Lucky Southern Persian. The strongest Priest was considered to be Stellar Union Silver Radiant''s Wendelian, followed by Star Baby, Full-time Assistant, White Westhill, then March Rain. For Shamans, Empty was ranked the highest, while Innocent Child was the most powerful Druid and Green Flag Wine the most powerful Paladin. The top Warlock was undoubtedly Hornet''s Nest, while for Hunters, this title could arguably be given to either Hot Twitch or Tracer. These were all the current top players.


    With all things considered, Ruling Sword didn''t actually have that many top players.


    In fact, this was also the same for the truly dominant guilds. Blood Red War Flag had Wild, Scandalous and Jade Flower Lover, while Glory Capital had Sorrowless, White Westhill and Blood Dagger.


    "I am afraid that Floating Cloud will have no chance in the team battle," Rainy sighed.


    He was speaking the truth. When Floating Cloud saw the lineup of Ruling Sword, they realized they needed a miracle to win. They had to face Lu Li, Fat Monkey, Kitty Likes Meat, March Rain and Sakura Memories.


    If not for Moonlight taking a rest, the situation would have been even more desperate.


    In an office building in Jinling City, a middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses was sitting on a huge office chair, watching the scene projected onto the wall.


    There was s secretary standing next to him who was nervously introducing the characters on-screen to him. It seemed like they didn''t know much about the gaming circles and had gathered this information in the last minute.


    "This person is called March Rain¡­" the secretary said as he looked down at his folder.


    "She looks like a gentle girl. What''s her relationship with the boy?" the middle-aged man asked as he lifted his hand and interrupted the secretary. He wasn''t interested in March Rain''s experiences.


    "She''s just a friend," the secretary answered with uncertainty, then added, "She and her brother had partnered with Lu Li to complete an Instance Dungeon quite early on in the game."


    "Oh, oka. Continue," the man said with a frown, as though he was unsatisfied with something the secretary had said.


    "This is Kitty Likes Meat. She and Lu Li don''t really have a prior relationship. She had recently joined Ruling Sword and wasn''t a professional player before. After the competition system changed, Lu Li headhunted her," the secretary said as he pointed to the next person on-screen.


    Even though he had worked with this man for many years, he still didn''t understand his mind.


    Unless the live video of the game was broadcasted, people outside the game wouldn''t be able to view the matches. The secretary had done a lot of work to make this happen.


    His boss had suddenly asked to watch the game this morning and seemed particularly interested in this Ruling Sword.


    He was just secretary, not a god. How was he supposed to collect enough information in such a short period of time? His heart was beating quickly, but his voice remained steady and respectful.


    "Sakura Memories¡­ is also a girl. Most of this team is made up of girls," the middle-aged man said as his brows wrinkled so much that they could crush a fly.


    "Boss, from a business perspective, female players are more popular. Ruling Sword''s well-known female players are all very skilled¡­"


    The secretary thought that his boss wanted to use this guild to endorse a product or invest into. However, after speaking, he saw that his face had become even colder.


    "What good can come of so many women? I don''t like this Lu Li character," the middle-aged man shouted as he suddenly pounded the table.


    "You''re right Boss," the secretary quickly agreed after jumping in shock.


    "Go back and gather more information. Look at the possibility of buying Ruling Sword," the middle-aged man instructed slowly after a moment''s silence.


    "Alright Boss. I will talk to the people from the Ministry of Commerce."


    The secretary was now even more confused.


    Why would he scold Lu Li but also decide to purchase Ruling Sword? This was quite contradictory. Didn''t he know that the young lady had already done great things in the game? Why would he want to spend money on buying Ruling Sword?

 751 Trouble in the Lakeside Town

    Lu Li had no idea that someone had plans for them ¨C Square Root 3 hadn''t told anyone about Ruling Sword.


    Neither of them wanted to get money quickly, so they always had an independent negotiating position. They didn''t accept any commercial injection of funds, so most companies didn''t pay attention to them.


    The overbearing president also didn''t know that his baby had once again become mixed up with Lu Li.


    Because Lu Li had ''generously'' shared the farming tower with Water Fairy, she had returned with a quest. It wasn''t an official quest, but her Thief mentor was threatened and had asked their disciples to solve the problem.


    Water Fairy''s mentor was a strong Night Elf Thief who was associated with the King of Stormwind. Her Enhanced Backstab had been taught to her by this mentor.


    When Lu Li heard Water Fairy mentioned this, he remembered one of the most important sources of enhanced skills ¨C mentors.


    These mentors were not the same as an ordinary skill trainer. Skill trainers were public NPCs that everyone could learn basic skills from. However, enhanced skills or ultimate skills were unlikely to be available. Mentors rarely accepted disciples; they often only had a few or one disciple.


    Water Fairy''s mentor was a man from the Lakeside Town. She had been asked to deliver the letter of introduction to him.


    The Lakeside Town was located to the west of the Redridge Mountains. The mountains bordering the Burning Plains in the north had been destroyed. The south was adjacent to the Sorrow Marsh and the Deadwind Pass, while the west overlooked the beautiful scenery of the Irvine Forest. The reason why the lakeside town was named this way was because of the large Lake Everstill that lay next to it.


    Unlike the Crystal Lake in the Elwynn Forest, it accounted for one sixth of the total territory in the entire Red Ridge Mountains, from the lakeside town to the easternmost tower of Illgara. Looking down over the entire Red Ridge Mountains, the shape of the lake was like a dragon without wings.


    The waters of the lake were clean and temperate, making it the perfect environment for a variety of aquatic plants and animals. The most famous of these was the Spotted Sun Fish, a species of tender and plump fish. Merchants from other towns would purchase a large proportion of these fish from fishermen at the Lakeside Town.


    This lake was also one of the most famous tourist attractions in Azeroth; many gamers liked stopping by here to appreciate its natural beauty.


    If you didn''t count the players, the population of the Lakeside town was about 2000. The government in place was a democratic system and whenever something happened, a General Assembly would be called.


    However, the issue that had arisen this time was so difficult that it couldn''t be solved in a General Assembly.


    The mayor of the town was a male man who was over fifty years old. His name was Solomon and he was a high-ranking warrior.


    "Damned Gnolls are up to no good again. The Gnoll activity in the area has tripled recently and I fear they are planning an attack on the town," Solomon sighed sadly.


    It was he who had given the letter of introduction to Water Fairy, requesting an armed guard to protect the town.


    "What''s so scary about Gnolls? Aren''t you a high-level warrior? You should be able to protect the town," Lu Li asked as he walked along the road.


    "What do you know?" Mayor Solomon shot back as he glared at Lu Li. "The Lakeside Town is not as peaceful as you think. There are tarantulas in the East, Orcs in the north and Wolves in the forest. However, these aren''t the biggest threats. The real problem is the fallen Dwarves of the Blackrock clan. The Blackrock clan is much bigger than us and they have built their castle in the Easter Red Ridge, which is between the town and Lake Everstill. We need to ensure we have enough troops to guard against them."


    In fact, these Dwarves were the original residents of the Red Ridge Mountain. More than 200 years ago, when humans and orcs first migrated into this area, the fallen Dwarves of the Blackrock clan fought to keep them out. Eventually, many years passed and the Lakeside Town was established, but so was the castle.


    "He''s not going to get us to fight the Gnolls is he?" Lu Li sighed.


    "We still have many friends. We have the manpower to contribute to the Lakeside Town," Water Fairy said. She and Lu both had large guilds at their disposal that they could pull tens of thousands of supporters from.


    "I''m sorry; Lakeside Town doesn''t welcome outsiders. Even if it was just the two of you, I would still need a show of honor before I could trust you," Mayor Solomon said solemnly.


    "Old man, you''re way too proud," Lu Li thought to himself.


    A disaster was imminent, and Lu Li would much rather just leave them to attend to it.


    "Okay, Mr Mayor. What do we need to do?" Water Fairy asked as she looked at Lu Li helplessly. She had resigned to the fact that they couldn''t rally their guild members to help them with the quest.


    "I want you to go to every Gnoll camp in the area and collect as much information as possible. Check out the camps in the north, east and southeast. Bring back anything you find," the Mayor instructed. He was satisfied with the girl''s performance and completely ignored Lu Li''s frustration.


    Lu Li had no choice but to accept this quest and begin exploring the Gnoll camps around the Lakeside Town.


    The Gnolls around the area were between level 40 and 45, so they didn''t pose much of a threat to them. Lu Li and Water Fairy simply used their Stealth the whole way; the only requirement of the quest was to explore.


    After exploring several camps, they didn''t find anything useful. However, as they were travelling around, Lu Li and Water Fairy bumped into an Alliance Scout on the outskirts of a camp.


    "We were sent by Mayor Solomon," Lu Li quickly introduced when he saw that he was about to attack.


    They weren''t afraid of the level 40 NPC; they knew that he just needed some information. It was obvious that this guy had some clues.


    "This is the information I''ve gathered. You can bring it back to the mayor," the Thief said indifferently.


    After taking the so-called intelligence, Lu Li and Water Fairy quickly ran back to the Lakeside Town.


    Hopefully, this quest wouldn''t require them to visit countless areas like Sesame Rice Ball''s. Neither Lu Li or Water Fairy had that kind of time on their hands.


    "I asked you to investigate the Gnolls. Why are you back so quickly?" Mayor Solomon asked, instinctively thinking that the two adventures had failed.


    However, there wasn''t much they could do ¨C their charisma values weren''t as high as Hachi Chan''s.

 752 Buying a Lakeside House

    After handing over the intelligence, Mayor Solomon''s face softened.


    "It looks like the Gnolls have smartened up. The report says that they have formed a coalition with the Blackrock Orcs and intend to agree on a time to launch an offensive. I need more detailed reports. My friend, I want you to investigate the Rethban Cavern in the Western Red Ridge Canyon to find the dark-skinned Orcs," he said, then paused and continued intently, "If you find them, kill them and take any information on their corpses."


    "As you wish."


    The easiest task was to kill something.


    Although the repeated expeditions had reduced their numbers, the Blackrock Orcs were still quite strong under their iron rule.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t need to go too deep into the camp. They just needed to kill a single pawn on the outskirts. As long as there weren''t too many other monsters nearby, they could quickly clear out the remaining monsters as well.


    Their goal was obvious ¨C the Blackrock Attack Plan.


    Since every Blackrock Orc had a chance of dropping this item, why would they go through the trouble of


    finding a strong unit in the camp?


    The book that was dropped was unexpectedly written in Orcish, which meant that they would run into the problem of translating it. Fortunately, Mayor Solomon hadn''t forced Water Fairy or Lu Li to find a translator.


    Instead, he asked them to rest in the town and instructed someone else to send a letter to the Draenei in the Swamp of Sorrows for a translation.


    The Draenei people in the Swamp of Sorrow were self-proclaimed losers. Both they and the Orcs had descended from Draenor, but they were irreconcilable enemies. This was why they were able to interpret the obscure Orc language.


    After the meeting, they had no idea when the letter would be returned, so they couldn''t just go out training again.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy now had a bit of free time, which was quite rare for them. They chose to stroll the around Lakeside Town, which was generally a lively area filled with players.


    Although this cozy little town was quite noisy due to the travelers and the businessmen, the people here seemed content. There were people fishing or discussing the politics of Stormwind City while leisurely walking around the shops. Relaxed laughter floated above the bustle of the crowds, as if all the problems of the world could be easily solved.


    The Lakeside Town hosted two festive celebrations each year during the middle of Summer and the middle of the Winter.


    Although there were still several days away from the festival and the threat of the Gnoll attack made some people apprehensive, the atmosphere of the event was already firmly in place.


    Some travelers even decided not to go to Stormwind; they preferred to live in the Lakeside Town.


    The Lakeside Town was very welcoming of visitors. There were hotels and taverns where players could gather and drink together.


    Players chatted loudly in there and gossiped about the town. Mayor Solomon, whom Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t like very much, was very popular. Most of the residents felt that it was because of his protection that they hadn''t been disturbed by the Orcs and the Gnolls.


    "In the future, when players are able to take pieces of land, I will take the Lakeside Town," Water Fairy said as she tilted her head and looked at Lu Li. She was implying a question ¨C would he come and take it with her?


    "Yeah, I hope that that day comes," Lu Li nodded in agreement.


    He also felt like the Lakeside Town was very beautiful, but he didn''t intend to take it for himself. The reason this place was so lively was because it was safe. It was surrounded by beautiful scenery, the climate was mild and the surrounding dangers were easy to deal with.


    However, if life was too easy, people would get complacent.


    This was why Lu Li liked being in the front line of the war, regardless of the scenery. There were many areas in Darkshire that he had in mind for the future.


    However, the time when players could own pieces of land was a long way away.


    "I''m going to buy a house here. If you want, we can be neighbors," Water Fairy suggested. She was still thinking about buying some land and seemed to be very interested.


    All girls were talented shoppers, whether in reality or in games.


    This was also true for Lu Li''s sister Lu Xin. Even though their family had been poor, she would be very happy when Lu Li managed to buy her something.


    "Well, if I have nothing to do in future I wouldn''t mind living in this town."


    Seeing that she was so happy thinking about buying a house here, Lu Li''s heart was softened.


    "The moment the houses are cheap, we''ll buy them," Water Fairy impulsively said, not thinking about it for a moment.


    Lu Li was a poor guy; he didn''t have any money on him at all.


    However, buying a house wasn''t wasteful. The safest investment in the game was actually real estate, as evidenced by the small island on the lake in Darnassus.


    "Where are the best houses in the area?" the female tycoon asked.


    "The best properties, are of course, the cabins on the edge of Lake Everstill," the Clerk said eagerly. "If you two lovebirds get up early in the morning, you can enjoy the rising sun over Lake Everstill. The lake''s golden shine¡­"


    "What are you talking about, we''re not¡­" Water Fairy interrupted, unable to stand it.


    "Oh¡­ you guys aren''t together?" The Clerk knew that he had made a mistake, but he didn''t know how to fix it. How was he supposed to know? They were buying a house together.


    "Are you a real person NPC?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Ah, you''re aware of real person NPCs?" The Clerk was a little shocked. It seemed like this was a closely guarded secret.


    Lu Li was shocked too. What was this real person NPC? Even though he had been reborn, he hadn''t heard of such a thing before. Were there NPCs that were played by real people?


    "The NPCs that deal with players often are people hired by Dawn and put into the game. Most of them are injured soldiers, but they are just like normal players in the game," Water Fairy whispered to Lu Li.


    Lu Li watched the NPC with awe-inspiring respect.


    "I don''t know how you found out, but don''t say it out loud. I will give you a 10% discount," he said.


    "That''s okay ¨C just help us pick out two good houses together," Water Fairy said as she shook her head.


    Lu Li grinned but didn''t say anything. Since Water Fairy had rejected it, he couldn''t take up the offer now. This was the difference between the children of the rich and the poor.


    "Two?" The Clerk had just started to believe that these two people were innocent.


    When he thought about it, living in two buildings next to each other was not that different from living together in the same building. It would be very easy for them to get up to no good.

 753 Male and Female Mage

    The location of the houses was great, and the prices weren''t too high. The two buildings shared a small garden and also included a tower. This European-style structure only costed seven hundred gold coins, which was about sixty-thousand dollars in real life.


    That wouldn''t even be enough to afford a house in the middle-class section of town in real life.


    If Lu Li''s memories served him correctly, in about another two or three months, the housing prices in this area would rise greatly. This little town would become the dream town of many adventurers.


    "The two towers here are Mage towers. There are some alchemy-related magic circles within, and a few higher-tier Mages used to live here," the salesperson explained as he took Lu Li and Water Fairy to look around.


    "What about the Mages who use to live here?" Lu Li asked.


    "They died on the battlefield fighting against the Scourge Army. They were two great Mages ¨C a man and a woman. They loved each other, even though they didn''t live together since they researched magic separately, but..." the salesperson answered, then paused, pointed at the soft bridge between the two Mage towers and continued, "They built a bridge between the two towers and shared time together there each day before the sunrise¡­"


    Lu Li felt touched, even though he wasn''t quite certain why.


    "Hmmm."


    Water Fairy covered her mouth and coughed dryly. She felt too shy to ask about the rest of the story, but still wanted to know the rest of it.


    Later, the two answered to the Alliance''s call and headed to the frontlines to defend against the Scourge Army.


    It was a dangerous place, overrun with Undead creatures, while Prince Arthas manically slaughtered all the civilians that he had once sworn to protect. The two never returned, but they left the house to the town before they departed, as if they knew that they were walking to their end.


    "If they knew they couldn''t return, I wonder if they would still miss each other like that," the salesperson sighed.


    Water Fairy''s eyes watered; she was visibly touched by the story.


    "This is just a story ¨C a story from a game."


    Lu Li found it hard to understand why a tough girl like Water Fairy would become emotional over something like this and comforted her clumsily.


    "You..." Water Fairy glared at Lu Li and turned to leave.


    Although she was angry at Lu Li, she still paid for the two houses, including Lu Li''s house, because Lu Li didn''t have that many gold coins on him right now.


    After they finished the registration, they went to see the mayor. The Blackrock Invasion Plan had already been translated.


    "The Blackrock army is gathering. These damned Tauren ¨C the plans say that the Tauren and the Gnolls have gathered at the East. It seems like the Blackrock General Gath''Ilzogg plans to destroy Lakeshire with his troops and head straight for Stormwind City next," Magistrate Solomon said angrily.


    "The key is to solve the issue," Lu Li reminded him; there was no use in throwing a tantrum. It was hard to tell where this bald man had inherited his rage from.


    "Right. We need to get rid of them. Bring Colonel Troteman over."


    A sentry received the command and left, shortly bringing back another bald man. It was strange how there were so many bald NPCs in the Alliance.


    Colonel Troteman rushed over in a hurry, still stained in dried blood. He was gasping for air as he asked, "Sir, what brings you to call me? There are many Murlocs to the West of the town that have killed many civilians. I was just commanding soldiers to take care of them."


    "Take a look at this," Magistrate Soloman said as his expression grew darker.


    As expected, Colonel Troteman couldn''t provide any useful help either; they only had around a hundred guards in the town. This time, the Murlocs had invaded in great numbers, which already placed them at a significant disadvantage.


    "I can find someone to help," Lu Li offered quietly.


    "Right, we can find help. Have you heard of John J. Keeshan? I was his commander in all three wars. Let me tell you this ¨C the man has killed more Tauren than anyone else. If anyone can stop these Blackrock Tauren from invading, it has to be John J. Keeshan. We must get his help. Once the army passes through Elwynn, Lakeshire will be no more," Colonel Troteman recommended after Lu Li''s reminder.


    "Can you talk about this person in more detail, Colonel?" It seemed like they couldn''t call any other players for this quest, but Lu Li didn''t mind.


    "Hmph, you guys talk. I''m off." It seemed like Magistrate Soloman wasn''t a fan of Keeshan as he walked off grumpily.


    John J. Keeshan was born in Lakeshire and was a normal soldier in the twelfth army of the Stormwind Kingdom. During the first, second and third wars against the Tauren, he had completed 248 quests. Countless Tauren had died at his hands, and he became famous as a civilian hero within the Stormwind Kingdom.


    Unfortunately, in one of his quests, he was held captive by a Blackrock soldier. During the five years that he was held captive, he was tortured endlessly.


    However, Keeshan never gave in.


    Eventually, he managed to escape from the prison, and through much turmoil, finally returned home.


    The civilians of the Redridge Mountains should have welcomed and cheered for him, but his father despised him. He blamed him and gave him the nickname ''Tauren Baby Killer''.


    "These civilians of Lakeshire are all parasites bred by the peaceful environment," Lu Li chuckled.


    Compared to other places in Azeroth, the people here lived quite peacefully. They had never experienced suffering and even held some pathetic sympathy towards the Blackrock Tauren.


    They had no clue that other races couldn''t have the same heart as they did.


    "Keeshan''s personality was one of the reasons why he couldn''t get along with everyone else too," Colonel Troteman tried to explain.


    "He was a Warrior who walked out from a mountain of corpses and blood. Do you expect him to be the same as the average person?" Lu Li couldn''t agree with Colonel Troteman.


    "Young man, perhaps you''re right¡­" Colonel Troteman began, not wanting to argue with Lu Li.


    "You will probably get along with him; maybe you can convince him to help."


    "Where is he?" Lu Li asked.


    Not long into the future, the guilds would be able to set up their own fortresses. These would require some defenses, and besides guild players, they could also hire some special NPCs.


    Elite soldiers like Keeshan, who didn''t entirely belong to the gaming system, were the favorite type that players liked to recruit.

 754 King of Soldiers

    The recruit system was still far away, but it did no harm to establish some good relationships. If the relationship they built was good enough, the NPC might even come and join themselves without being asked.


    Lu Li had already planned on who he wanted to recruit, but if he could recruit Keeshan, he wouldn''t mind either.


    These sad heroes were suitable to his taste.


    "I heard he was fighting for the underground fight club, located in an inn below the Lakeshire. Find him, and tell him all that you know," Colonel Troteman said as he shook his head and sighed before leaving.


    This was one of the greatest dangers that Lakeshire had faced, but he could do nothing about it.


    Were the civilians of Lakeshire going to pay the price for their stupidity and foolishness?


    "There''s an underground fight club below the inn? Sounds high class," Water Fairy commented as she followed behind Lu Li.


    "There are players who go there to fight too, but most of them can''t beat the NPCs. After all, being AIs, they rarely made mistakes," Lu Li explained. He had participated in underground fighting in his previous life.


    All the underground matches that players could participate in were fixed.


    This meant that they had the same Attributes as the NPCs and fought until the other one couldn''t stand.


    It was rare for players to win in these kind of matches, similar to trying to beat a computer in chess.


    "Can I give it a try?" Water Fairy was tempted.


    "Best not to. Only woman with a flat chest would box," Lu Li said as he opened the small door beside the inn and entered.


    There was a long staircase that spiraled downwards. Water Fairy followed behind Lu Li and held back the urge to kick him down the stairs, but after thinking about it, she realized that Lu Li had complimented her unintentionally.


    The underground room was gigantic; it was a vast entertainment area.


    There were dance floors, bars and a ring for boxing. What left Lu Li even more speechless was that this wasn''t a safe zone ¨C players could be killed here.


    The town was in danger with the Murlocs, Tauren and Gnolls invading, but many of the civilians were still here wasting their lives away.


    Water Fairy was curious about everything.


    She was a good girl who had never been exposed to these things.


    Although they were wearing masks, Water Fairy''s figure still attracted a lot of attention. Her eyes were also very pretty, beautiful enough for people to want to take off her mask and see what was underneath.


    A drunk man, or perhaps a player who was pretending to be drunk, walked over clumsily. His target was Water Fairy.


    Just as a crowd began to gather, Lu Li activated the special effect on his shoes and flashed behind him. He hacked away carelessly, until the drunkard barely had health remaining.


    His dagger lightly rested on the quivering player''s throat.


    "We''re not allowed to PK here; are you looking for trouble?"


    The owner of this establishment was definitely a rich, strong person, and PK would influence his business. Anyone who killed someone else here would be viewed as challenging him.


    At first, Lu Li felt a little scared, but after he thought about it, he felt more confident about the situation.


    "You should''ve begged for mercy," Lu Li''s coldly said as he swiped gently across the player''s throat. Blood spilled to the as the player''s health bar cleared and he dropped to the floor.


    Even without five combo points, Lu Li''s Slit Throat skill was powerful enough to kill these kind of noobs who drank their time away.


    The audience began to get excited, as if they had already seen the bouncers kicking Lu Li out.


    However, to their surprise, the bouncers didn''t come for Lu Li. They acted like they saw nothing, even ignoring the body on the floor that hadn''t yet refreshed.


    "Let''s go. Don''t take my prey next time," Water Fairy said as she packed away her daggers.


    Lu Li ignored all the eyes that were about to drop to the floor and took Water Fairy to the boxing area.


    He could kill people here because this was an underground area. Underground areas usually didn''t have strict rules. As long as you were strong enough, you could do whatever you wanted. NPCs could see a player''s reputation, and Lu Li was the type of player they didn''t want to cross. At the same time, he was on a quest with Water Fairy, which had been given to them by Magistrate Soloman. There was no way that the NPCs would cause trouble for them.


    There was an ongoing match in the ring, and one of the contestants was Keeshan.


    How could they tell?


    It was simple ¨C the audience was even more excited than the boxers and constantly shouted their names.


    "Get down Keeshan!"


    "Weakling! Keeshan, go die!"


    "Scum!"


    "Why do they hate Keenshan so much?" Water Fairy asked as he watched in confusion at the hero who should have been praised.


    This was a king of all soldiers who had completed 248 quests. Yet, he was being watched like a monkey by a crowd of people and beaten around on the match ground by his opponent.


    "You''re a warrior!" Lu Li shouted as he grabbed the rope on the edge of the ring.


    Keeshan seemed to turn his head to Lu Li for a second, then roared and knocked his opponent out in one punch. It wasn''t hard to see from this that he wasn''t on the same level as his opponent.


    His punch was perfect; the angle and strength behind it were incredibly precise. However, no one cheered. Even the players were influenced as they cursed at something they knew nothing about.


    "We need your help," Lu Li said as Keeshan jumped off the stage and walked out without turning back. Lu Li was following closely behind him.


    "I already have money for today''s food. Come and find me again tomorrow," Keeshan responded as he tossed the gold coin in his hands. He didn''t have the slightest bit of interest in what Lu Li had to say. He wasn''t struggling to beat his opponent, rather, he had to pretend that they were of even strength. Otherwise, no one would fight him tomorrow.


    Lu Li''s sentence had sparked some passion in him, or else he wouldn''t have been bothered with this adventurer.


    "Lakeshire is coming to its doom," Lu Li persisted.


    "That is good news. We should celebrate," Keeshan said as he sat beside the bar and tossed two gold coins at the bartender. "Did you hear? Lakeshire is done. Give this brother one too."


    The bartender looked annoyed, but still passed two cups of low-quality alcohol in front of him.


    "Murlocs are attacking the town from the Northwest. Colonel Troteman took his men to resist against the enemy," Lu Li said. He didn''t mind the quality of the alcohol and took a sip from it.


    "Colonel Troteman is a strong man," Keeshan nodded as he took up his cup and toasted Lu Li, then calmly said, "Those ignorant Murlocs are no match for him, so you don''t need to worry."

 755 First Blood

    "Colonel Troteman might be strong, but he''s busy with the Murlocs now. The real threats are the Blackrock Tauren and Gnolls who have formed an army to the East of the town. They plan to invade Lakeshire¡­ The civilians of Lakeshire need your help," Lu Li explained.


    He thought that Keeshan would have been more concerned, but he only shook his head.


    "Help them? The people that would rather spit at me than smile at me?!"


    It seemed to be the nature of people to easily forget those who had once protected them.


    "..." Lu Li was left speechless.


    He returned helplessly with Water Fairy to Colonel Troteman, who was Keeshan''s old boss. Perhaps he would have a way for Keeshan to return to his old self.


    "He''s not willing to help; that''s completely understandable," Colonel Troteman said as he disemboweled a Murloc with a powerful strike.


    However, there were too many Murlocs pouring to fend them all off; the only thing he could do now was to guard the town.


    "Are there any other ways? I have many friends¡­"


    Lu Li had countless subordinates and so did Water Fairy. As long as these Blackrock Tauren and Gnolls weren''t over level 50, they had nothing to fear.


    "If you and Keeshan are going to defend Lakeshire, we''re going to need to find his old battalion. The last I heard of ''em - Messner, Jorgensen, Krakauer and Danforth ¨C they were captured by the Blackrock orcs. Search Alther''s Mill, which is east of here, for any clues," Colonel Troteman blabbered on, ignoring Lu Li''s suggestion. It seemed like they really wouldn''t be allowed to find other sources of help for this quest.


    This was how stubborn the NPCs in the game were; something like this would rarely occur in real life.


    "We''ll definitely rescue Keeshan''s old battalion. Colonel, we''ll be on our way now," Lu Li said as he waved his hand helplessly and dragged Water Fairy with him.


    "This feels like an old movie called First Blood," Water Fairy commented.


    "I didn''t think you were the type to watch old films," Lu Li said in surprise.


    "It''s an old film from a few hundred years ago. My dad likes them; he thinks that all the movies with CGI actors are uninteresting. He has a room full of old film CDs," Water Fairy explained, leading the topic into her family.


    "I really like old films too. I''ve seen some."


    "I really don''t understand people like you. Perhaps you''d get along with my dad."


    Alther''s Mill was a fair distance off to the east of Lakeshire, but fortunately, they both had mounts, which saved them quite some time.


    When they arrived, the Blackrock Tauren were changing guards. The entire camp was in a mess, so they blended in well. Lu Li went in first with Water Fairy following behind.


    Water Fairy discovered that Lu Li was a bit of a Machismo. When the two of them were together, he always took the initiative to walk ahead.


    If they ran into a monster that they needed to kill, he would act first. All Water Fairy really had to do was to follow behind.


    Although Water Fairy was a famous beauty, this was the first time she had been so protected in her life.


    "Focus. You take the left; I"ll take the right. We''ll use Sap together and kill the one in the middle first. That one is an elite," Lu Li instructed.


    "Alright," Water Fairy agreed, making an OK signal.


    Lu Li''s judgement was correct; this was the entrance to a dungeon. As he lifted the circular lid, a stench wafted out that sent Water Fairy reeling backwards.


    "Wait out here; I''ll go in alone. If monsters come, alert me."


    Water Fairy nodded in agreement; it was quite difficult for her to bear the smell.


    Perhaps the Blackrock Tauren didn''t like these rotten dungeons either. There were no guards ¨C just some NPCs who had been locked away here. When they saw Lu Li, their dead eyes immediately lit up as they smashed the bars and called for help.


    Lu Li wasn''t in a rush to help them, although he knew that saving these people would give him some reputation. He stood on the open walkway in front of them and yelled, "I''m here to find a few people ¨C Messner, Jorgensen, Krakauer and Danforth. Does anyone know them?"


    The dungeon went quite for a while, then someone asked, "I''m Messner. Why do you look for us?"


    "I''m here to rescue you," Lu Li said as he walked to the dungeon door and opened the lock. His unlock skill was already level 4, so these little doors were nothing to him.


    "And us, and us..." Besides the four that Lu Li was looking for, there were dozens of others who were locked away.


    They were from all different kinds of races; there were even two Trolls. It seemed like these Blackrock Tauren were quite strong, otherwise, they wouldn''t have been able to capture so many prisoners.


    Water Fairy picked up the four that they were looking for and helped them hide from the Blackrock Tauren patrols. Then, Lu Li opened the gates one by one.


    The captives escaped in a rush.


    These people were so rude ¨C none of them even said thanks to him. Lu Li rubbed his nose and all the guilt that he felt disappeared into thin air.


    He had let all of the captives out so that they would cause a noticeable distraction.


    "Alright, let''s run!" Lu Li shouted as he returned to Water Fairy''s side.


    "No, we must get our equipment back," Messner said in a panic; they were all wearing underwear.


    "We''ll buy some on the way back."


    Water Fairy thought that there wasn''t a need for such hassle on anything that could be solved by money.


    "That''s our equipment; we must get it back. I know where it is; come with us."


    The Thief, Krakauer, led ahead. He had no equipment, but he could still use some basic skills.


    Lu Li quickly followed from behind. If any fights were to occur, he and Water Fairy could step out immediately.


    These people were the key to changing Keeshan''s mind and were of great importance, so it would be a real pain if they died.


    Fortunately, the criminals that Lu Li had released before helped them out. The entire camp was a mess, no one even noticed that they had snuck into the storage.


    Lu Li''s favorite place was always the storage room.


    However, the locks for the storage room were much more secure than the ones used for the dungeons. Lu Li couldn''t open any of them. At this point, Krakauer made himself useful.


    It was hard to tell what level this NPC Thief was. He took out a strange item, used Unlock, and with a few picks, the door to the storage opened up.

 756 Past Soldiers Don’t Die – They Only Wither.

    "How good would it be if I could recruit this guy?" Lu Li thought to himself. No matter how powerful Keeshan was, he couldn''t compete against a Thief who could open someone else''s storage.


    "We only have a minute until the alarm goes off. Move!" Krakauer yelled as he rushed in like a rabbit.


    The second one that rushed in was Lu Li.


    It was hard for him to stay calm when an open storage was laid out before him.


    The Blackrock Tauren kept many things, but the most abundant of these were wooden logs ¨C they took up ninety-nine percent of the area. After all, this was a mill.


    Fortunately, the last one percent was quite valuable.


    Runecloth!


    From the lowest tier, to the most common ones on the market, Runecloth was of a higher grade than Mageweave Cloth. Usually, only monsters above level 50 would drop them.


    Level 45 or above monsters would sometimes drop them too, but the chances were low.


    The strength of level 50 monsters was at a whole new level, so the prices of Runecloth had always been very high.


    A whole set included 200 pieces and there were 17 here. Lu Li threw out some rubbish from his bag to pick all of them up. Water Fairy chose herbs instead, which were just as valuable, and stuffed as many as she could into her bag.


    Wood was valuable too, but was very heavy and would only slow them down. Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t even bother with it.


    "Go! Let''s get out of here!"


    The four NPCs had already found their equipment and gotten changed. Their classes were only identifiable after they wore their equipment.


    "Let''s go! If we don''t go, we''re going to be surrounded here!" Messner shouted as he flung a giant fireball into the piles of wood.


    Lu Li snatched a few sets of animal hide and was dragged away by the NPCs. The System probably couldn''t bear with him any longer; he had forgotten about everything the moment he saw money.


    The market price for Runecloth Cloth at the moment was around 90 silver per piece, so 17 sets was worth around 3000 gold coins.


    This had come as an unexpected surprise; he thought this was going to be an average quest.


    If he used all of this money to purchase houses in Lakeshire and sell them after a few months, he could probably return more than half of the debt he owed to Water Fairy.


    Lu Li was still overwhelmed by the joy of his profits and didn''t even realize that they had reached safety.


    "Thank-you for rescuing us. Is there anything we can do to be of service?" Messner asked. He was a wise person and knew that no one would save them without a hidden agenda, especially from a place like the Blackrock Tauren camp.


    "It''s about this¡­" Lu Li began, cutting straight to the point. It was always better to be blunt with soldiers.


    "John won''t agree to it. Even if you rescue us, there''s nothing we can do about it. He''s too sad."


    The few NPCs glanced at each other and shook their heads. They felt sorry that they couldn''t be of help, but there was no way that they would return to the cages on their own.


    "What is there to be sad about? We''re not girls. We''re asking him to kill some Tauren. Doesn''t he want to kill Tauren? Do you guys not want to kill Tauren?" Lu Li asked.


    The breathing of the NPCs became heavier, as they remembered being tortured in their cells.


    Only Water Fairy glared at Lu Li briefly and waved her dagger in a small motion. It took an immense amount of self-control for her to not stab Lu Li.


    "What''s wrong with girls? What did girls do to you? No wonder you''re still single," she cursed under breath.


    The group then made their way to the underground boxing club. This time, John J. Keeshan was in the ring with someone else. From way things looked, he was still the one getting hit.


    For who seemed reckless, he certainly wasn''t dumb. He was beaten brutally every time, but he always managed to earn his money in the end. His opponents walked away thinking they could win next time, so he constantly had business.


    What Lu Li didn''t understand was that he was still subjecting himself to pain.


    Unintentionally, Keenshan scanned across the audience and found familiar faces. He did the usual, and his poor opponent dropped to the floor before they even realized what had happened.


    Then, curses filled the air.


    "You guys," Keeshan lamented as he looked at Messner and his other old battalion members.


    The last battalion.


    There had been so many of them in Bravo Company, but nearly all of them had fallen on the frontlines while they battled against the Tauren.


    After some furious debate, they finally agreed that killing the Blackrock Tauren was their common goal. As for the civilians in the Lakeshire, no one mentioned them. The hearts of this military men had already been shattered.


    Past soldiers don''t die ¨C they only wither.


    Keeshan was a skilled Hunter, but he didn''t have a pet. He could barely keep himself alive, let alone have the money to feed another mouth.


    In the simple inn, they laid out a map and began to discuss their plans.


    "We can travel by water ¨C it''ll save us a lot of trouble and take us straight to the destination."


    "We''ll need a ship," Keeshan said as he turned to Lu Li.


    "I''ll sort that out," Lu Li nodded. He knew that these NPCs were broke, so he had to pay for this out of his own pocket.


    "We''ll set foot on land from the east shore of Lake Thresher. Then, all we have to do is to destroy their base, Stonewatch."


    "There are countless Blackrock Tauren inside and the Gnoll army are staying there too. Apparently, there are other unknown enemies as well," Lu Li said, trying to share all the information that he knew.


    "We can use bombs to destroy this base. I''m sure that damned Solomon would be willing to donate the Seaforium Bombs that he has been stocking," Keeshan suggested.


    Lu Li''s saliva almost drooled out of his mouth.


    These were the Seaforium Bombs that only the military forces had. If he could get his hands on a few of them and have someone figure out the recipe, that would be perfect. Although the power and stability of these Seaforium Bombs wasn''t as great as the Ivy bombs, they were enough to destroy buildings.


    Moreover, these Seaforium Bombs also dealt extra damage to Tauren. The poisonous salt in the bombs even stopped their powerful regeneration ability.


    "There''s no way Solomon would give us Seaforium Bombs," Jorgensen said angrily.


    "He will, because he still needs us to protect Lakeshire," Lu Li responded, causing the room to erupt in laughter.

 757 Scamming the Magistrate

    Water Fairy was surprised to see that Lu Li got along with the NPC so well so quickly. Her impression of Lu Li was that he was cool and somewhat arrogant; she didn''t realize that he had a humorous side to him.


    Lu Li had been raising his little sister since he was young, so of course there would be a sweeter and warmer side to him.


    The truth was, he was actually quite introverted. When Lu Li was around people that he wasn''t close to, he would often act cold or unfriendly. However, the NPCs that he met today got along quite well with him.


    They had common interests, such as mocking Magistrate Solomon together and despising the Blackrock Orcs.


    "According to my calculations, we need at least 46 Seaforium Bombs to achieve an explosive power capable of destroyying Stonewatch Fortress," Keeshan said as he pointed at different locations on his map, confirming where to plant the explosives.


    "You guys can go ask Magistrate Solomon for the bombs," Messner said to Lu Li.


    "What about you guys?" Lu Li asked.


    "It''s been a while since we last saw each other and we''re going to go for a drink. Are you buying?" Messner asked while laughing.


    "Never mind then. I''ll go ask him."


    There was no way he was getting out of this one. Lu Li had no other choice but to go find Solomon.


    "Why are you here? Have you finished the task? Do you not know that Lakeshire is in danger?" Magistrate Solomon was displeased when he saw them return so quickly. He had placed the safety of Lakeshire solely in the hands of the two players.


    "Sir, the quest is too difficult," Lu Li pleaded. "Colonel Todman said that only Keeshan can save Lakeshire, but he doesn''t care about the town at all. I''m afraid we might have to give up on the quest if there is no other way."


    "You can''t do this ¨C there are penalties to abandoning a quest!" Solomon''s exclaimed, his eyes wide open in disbelief at what Lu Li had said.


    Usually, adventures would bow and bend their knees in the presence of Solomon. How dare they try to abandon a quest given out by him?!


    "What''s the punishment? We''ll take it." Lu Li knew that he was calling a bluff. The punishment would clearly be stated in the quest log if they were to abandon it, but there wasn''t one listed for this quest.


    Magistrate Solomon regretted not setting a punishment from the very beginning.


    "What do I have to do to get that bastard Keeshan to attack? He''s a citizen of Lakeshire, yet he refuses to fight in order to protect his people. What kind of a hero is he?" he spat furiously.


    "Old man, you finally admit that he''s a hero. If he was truly a hero in your eyes, why did you mistreat him all this time? Do you only see him as a hero when your own life is at stake?" Lu Li mocked, not holding back.


    "He''s a soldier; it''s a part of his duty," Solomon replied angrily.


    "Yes, but now he''s no longer one and we aren''t either. We have no reason to stop the Blackrock Orcs from taking over Lakeshire," Lu Liu said with a serious face, then added, "If Lakeshire was overtaken and we were able to claim it back, Stormwind City would reward us with more than anything you could offer."


    "..." Solomon was speechless.


    For the adventures, it was a matter of how much they were rewarded with. However, to Solomon, it was a matter of life and death, as well as the future of Lakeshire.


    "We''ll find a way to reclaim Lakeshire from the Blackrock Orcs," Lu Li said in a calm, yet sarcastic tone.


    "No. Look at this city; look at the beautiful scenery. What about all the innocent people here? Are you going to watch as the damn Orcs slaughter them into shreds?" Magistrate Solomon asked anxiously.


    "No, I can''t bear to watch," Lu Li answered, then stared at the old man and said slowly, "That''s why I''m asking you to increase the rewards and give us 100 Seaforium Bombs."


    "I can increase the rewards, but 100 Seaforium Bombs is impossible," Solomon said.


    "If the Blackrock Orcs enter, then everything will be obliterated. You might try and call for backup from Stormwind, but based on how slowly they do things, by the time they get here, there won''t be anything left to save," Lu Li said, seeing right through Solomon''s bluff once again.


    "But there aren''t 100 Seaforium Bombs in the town," Solomon cried out, almost in tears.


    "My dearest Magistrate, lying will be the end of you and your beloved little town," Lu Li threatened.


    "I really don''t have 100 ¨C if I did, I would give all of them to you. There are only 50 in the storage. If you don''t believe me, then you can come see for yourself."


    Solomon was sweating. From this day onwards, he would always hold adventurers in contempt.


    "Ok, take me then." Lu Li was pleased, this was another great opportunity for him to raid an NPC''s storage.


    However, when he entered the storage room, he was disappointed. Besides some rotten dried fish, there were only 50 Seaforium Bombs left ¨C no herbs, clothes, rare materials, or any treasure that he had hoped for.


    "This can''t be all that you have. You must be hiding them somewhere else."


    "Being such a small town, we''re only allowed 50 Seaforium Bombs. These things are very unstable and can only be used by experienced veterans. These are all that I have. If you don''t believe me then there''s nothing more I can do," Solomon said sincerely.


    Lu Li didn''t want to push Solomon''s buttons anymore and decided to take all 50 bombs.


    "What is this?" There was a strange object in the corner of the room which was covered by a layer of dried fish.


    "Oh, that''s a Goblin Tank/ I think it''s broken. If you want it, you can take it, but I don''t think there are many people who know how to repair it."


    "Yes, of course I want it!" Lu Li thought excitedly to himself.


    A Goblin Tank was unlike the tanks in real life, but it had the same defensive capabilities and offered an extreme advantage in a fight.


    Lu Li cleaned up his inventory and stored away some valuables.


    The tank has a built- in anti-gravity technology which allowed him to store it in his backpack, but it was still quite heavy.


    "After we complete the quest, what sort of rewards are you planning to award us with?" Lu Li asked. He was still not satisfied.


    Although this was Water Fairy''s quest, she did not stop Lu Li from scamming the NPC. She simply smiled in the background without even realizing.


    "Damn it, I''ll double everything," Solomon cursed at him as he threw a glass bottle onto the ground, shattering it. "I''ll give you 20 gold coins and a lot of EXP."


    Only 20 gold coins, old man? Are you asking to be beaten up?

 758 Engineering Repair Skill

    "We risk our lives for Lakeshire and this is all you offer?" Lu Li asked angrily. He was getting ready to beat up the old man, but Water Fairy held him back.


    Of course, this was all an act.


    Solomon was a friendly NPC, so he could not attack him if he wanted to. Even if he was able to, he wouldn''t be able to defeat him.


    "The limit on this quest is 15 gold; there''s nothing I can do. The bonus 5 gold is coming out of my pocket," Solomon pleaded, then added, "I''m just the mayor of a small town, not some wealthy aristocrat."


    He was telling the truth this time; Lakeshire barely had any natural resources in its surroundings. Even so, Solomon had managed to build up his town and provide peace and happiness to his people. He was definitely not a corrupt and greedy scumbag.


    "Fine, what about the EXP?" Lu Li cared more about the EXP than the gold.


    Solomon gave him a number that Lu Li calculated to be around 4% of his EXP bar. This was actually quite decent for his level and there were very few quests that would give him this much, but Lu Li wanted more.


    Players who completed quests that involved protecting something or escorting someone were often rewarded based on how well they completed the task. The rewards were not set and players could bargain with the NPC to raise them. Solomon, being the cheapskate he was, would never offer anything higher than the minimum, which was why Lu Li was pushing him so hard.


    Lu Li continued to pester him until he finally gave up and agreed to a larger number. He was afraid that Lu Li would abandon the quest.


    Lu Li thought about it again and calculated it out to be around 9% EXP. This was his absolute maximum ¨C if Lu Li was going to abandon the quest and return back to Stormwind, he wouldn''t have cared anymore.


    20 gold plus 9% EXP.


    Solomon offered no other rewards like equipment or materials, but he did offer him stacks of dried fish, to which Lu Li declined. They were disgusting and almost rotten to the point that Remnant Dreams would not even feed them to her pets.


    "I sent a scout there yesterday; please go and contact him," Solomon said quickly.


    All he wanted was for Lu Li and Water Fairy to leave.


    "One last thing," Lu Li said, remembering something. "When we finish the quest, you have to give Keeshan and the others a proper job. They''re soldiers capable of protecting the town. Take this as a lesson ¨C next time, don''t neglect those who can protect you because you''ll end up having to go around begging for help again."


    Magistrate Solomon''s face turned red from the embarrassment and remained silent.


    After Lu Li left, the old man happily returned to his storage and looked at his collection. It was no longer filled with dried fish ¨C instead, there were stacks of Seaforium Bombs, armor, weapons, leather, fur, ore, rare materials and gold. Lakeshire was a busy town, so there was no way it could be as poor as he had described.


    The reason why Lu Li was so easily convinced was because of his personality and how rich he already was. Once people got to a comfortable point financially, they tended not to waste so much effort on a few extra pennies.


    Lu Li rented a small boat because he did not bring his portable one.


    Lakeshire rented out tour boats at a rate of seven gold for five hours of fun.


    When Lu Li and Water Fairy returned, Keeshan and the others were waiting by the lake. They had been responsible and did not overdrink at the pub and were suited up in their newly repaired armour.


    The Hunter Keeshan, Mage Messner, Paladin Jorgsen, Warrior Danforth and Thief Krakauer, as well as Lu Li and Water Fairy joined a single party. There were Three thieves and no healer. Although their team composition didn''t make much sense, it was actually more suitable since it was a stealth mission.


    "Can we use this at all?" Lu Li asked as he threw the Tank onto the ground to show the others.


    "Good stuff ¨C this is a CTF-2 Goblin Tank. You can use this Danforth, but you have to fix it first," Keeshan said as he examined the tank, clearly pleased with its condition.


    The usually-quiet Danforth inspected the tank and listed out some Engineering materials.


    Lu Li could find most of them because he was an Advanced Engineer himself.


    The repairing process was quite easy, and with a blink of an eye, the tank came to life. Besides being a skilled Engineer, Danforth was also an excellent driver.


    "If you want, I can teach you how to fix things with your Engineering. It''s not always that useful though," Danforth offered kindly.


    "Of course. Thank you." Lu Li was overjoyed.


    Danforth handed Lu Li a book and the system notified him that he had learned the Engineering Repair skill.


    This skill used up a certain amount of materials to repair broken items crafted by Engineers. It could only be used by Advanced Engineers and there was a chance of failing.


    The more skills he learned, the more opportunities he had to make money.


    Because of his rebirth, he knew plenty of locations where there were old, broken-down machines that could be repaired. If he managed to find some and repaired them, he would make quite a bit of money.


    Lu Li then brought out the Seaforium Bombs.


    "Forty-six Seaforium Bombs ¨C you guys did it!" Keeshan exclaimed as he took the bombs and pushed the rental boat out onto the water.


    Lu Li smiled and followed behind.


    Messner was in charge of steering the boat, using his fire Mage skills to propel it at a high speed. He was clearly experienced with doing this as the boat was very stable.


    "Once we''re done with this mission, I should just retire and become a fisherman," he joked.


    "I''ll probably become a farmer like my father and my grandfather. They both raised up their family that way." Although he was wearing a suit of bright silver armor, the Paladin wanted to be a farmer deep-down.


    These comments sparked a conversation about their plans after retirement.


    Keeshan stared at the surface of the lake and zoned out. After some thinking he said, "I¡­ I''ll probably become a boxer or something."


    "There''s no need ¨C I made sure that Magistrate Solomon would guarantee you guys a job after this," Lu Li said.


    Lu Li thought that he had brought them good news and that everyone would cheer in excitement. However, they all shook their heads quietly. Keeshan saw that it had become awkward and patted on Lu Li''s shoulders saying, "Brother, thank you. It''s the thought that counts."


    As they spoke, Stonewatch Fortress had been invaded.


    Stonewatch Fortress used to belong to the Alliance, but was occupied by the Blackrock Orcs in the Second War. It was situated on the East side of Lakeshire and provided many strategic advantages. The Blackrock Orcs that resided there would often raid passing travelers and harass the borders of Lakeshire.


    Even the Horde merchants and players would be attacked as well.

 759 Roasting People

    After finding a place with dense undergrowth, Lu Li decides to hide the little boat inside it and walked onto the bank of the lake with the party.


    He didn''t go to Stonewatch Fortress right away because of his uncertainty about the real situation of the fortress. Everyone first looked for Brubaker, the scout who Mayor Solomon had mentioned, then decide what to do next.


    After searching for a while, Lu Li found a tree branch from a large tree that had been shaved by a blade. A symbol of a plum flower could be roughly made out, just like what Mayor Solomon had mentioned.


    When they followed the direction of the symbol, Lu Li and others quickly found the second one.


    It seemed like this scout was quite cautious after all. Every direction that was being pointed in was different every time; only old soldiers like Keeshan could understand this. Furthermore, there were no traces on the ground.


    In this fashion, they searched the lakeside for more than ten minutes. Suddenly, Keeshan, who was walking in front of them all, swiftly crouched on the ground and indicated for them to stop advancing.


    No one dared to breathe as they inched forward at snail''s pace, following Keeshan''s actions while they looked out from the small openings inside the bushes.


    How cruel!


    Lu Li''s throat began to itch a little, and he sidestepped in front of Water Fairy. Just as she moved to see what was happening, Lu Li had blocked her field of vision. Shortly afterwards, she heard him sullenly say, "Don''t look ¨C the Orcs are roasting Brubaker on the fire."


    Water Fairy''s body trembled as she reached out to grab Lu Li''s shirt, not wanting to look anymore.


    Just past the bushes lay a temporary Orc camp. Several Orcs were resting around the fire, which was directly beneath a glossy-looking human body strapped onto a frame. The body had already been roasted to the point of crisping the skin and cooking the flash. Melted drops of fat periodically dripped into the fire with a sizzle as the smell of barbeque wafted through the air.


    Lu Li hurriedly took a glance at Brubaker, whose pained expression and blackened face etched itself into his mind.


    Lu Li did not understand why the game designers had decided to create this type of scene ¨C this could easily leave emotional scarring. Players with soft and unprepared hearts would definitely when they saw this.


    Lu Li, in his entire life, would not want his younger sister to see something cruel like this. As such, he decided to protect Water Fairy by embracing her in his chest.


    "Five Orcs, two Warriors, two Hunters, one Shaman. No more enemies surrounding the area," Krakauer quickly reported.


    "Kill."


    With a cold expression on his face, Keeshan rushed out first.


    The Orc Hunters'' pets were the first to find them. As the pets were just about to warn their owners, two arrows flew and tore their throats apart. Keeshan did not release two arrows at once, but fired them so quickly that it appeared simultaneous.


    It was already a one-sided massacre without Lu Li or Water Fairy joining the battle.


    From the start to the end, Water Fairy did not even glance towards the direction of the fire. After the battle had finished, she instantly opened the game menu and changed her positioning to shield herself from the gruesome scenery.


    Two of the NPCs laid Brubaker onto the ground and began to bury him.


    Brubaker''s garments and armor were all cast aside in a mess. After Keeshan had searched his belongings, he quickly found the scout''s information.


    "Friends, if I did not hand this note to you personally, then I most likely have already died.


    Tell my wife I love her. You must show no mercy to these insignificant beings.


    Apart from that, I found a black dragon inside the fortress."


    Indeed, the note had definitely belonged to Brubaker. He had drawn a crude topographic map of Stonewatch Fortress and somewhat inaccurately depicted the distribution of enemy forces. This wasn''t particularly helpful, as Keeshan had once been imprisoned inside Stonewatch for a long period of time as a prisoner of war. As well as this, he had been involved with the construction of Stonewatch Fortress. However, the letter had mentioned a black dragon inside the fortress, which was definitely shocking news.


    "No need to worry. Even if there is a black dragon, we''ll also all die," Keeshan said coldly.


    He dragged the corpses of Blackstone Orcs and discarded them in the fire. Immediately, the fire grew fiercer and larger.


    With heavy hearts and a gloomy atmosphere, everyone continued on their journey.


    As they journeyed closer to Stonewatch Fortress, they spotted the Orc soldiers on patrol. There were ten in a small squad ¨C four Warriors, two Hunters, two Shamans and two Wolf Riders. The squad composition seemed to be invulnerable and they were all elite soldiers.


    The five previous Orcs were most likely only half of a scouting squad.


    "The wolves have Detection abilities. You must be careful," Keeshan said to Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    The wolves that he mentioned were likely those that the Warriors were riding on. Although they were much smaller and their legs were extremely short, they were thick and solid with considerable strength. It was estimated that they had explosive speed and strength in short bursts.


    At this moment Lu Li was bewildered. They were all sorts of classes and professions between the five NPCs, but instead of worrying about themselves, they were worrying about these two Thieves.


    Then, he saw the five NPCs consume a bottle containing an unknown liquid and disappear completely in front of them. Not even Lu Li''s Detection abilities could locate the positions of the Hunters and Paladins.


    After this, Messner the Mage cast a spell on them which allowed them to see the five NPCs who had already advanced.


    This mission was likely quite easy, if all they had to do was to wait here.


    "Stop looking ¨C follow us," Messner whispered quietly. "Besides installing bombs, we must also kill at least half of the small squad captains to prevent them from escaping Stonewatch Fortress in an organised manner."


    "This time, we must wipe out the Blackstone Orcs," Jorgensen the Holy Knight said angrily. "Even after completing the mission, I will not return and work the land. I will go and kill all the Orcs and wipe them out."


    "Hopefully after I grow old, I will still have the chance to fish," Messner the Mage sighed as he shook his head hopelessly.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy followed behind them carefully. Despite the effectiveness of the NPCs'' Stealth, Keeshan and his party did not advance recklessly.


    The location of the first bomb installation was of course at the gate of the fortress.


    There were four Orcs standing guard here, so they needed to kill them in order to proceed. Under Keeshan''s command, the three Orcs that they were responsible for were instantly killed, while the Orc that Lu Li and Water Fairy was tasked to kill only lost a fraction of its HP.


    As soon as Keeshan''s bow changed direction, he fired a few arrows and killed the last Orc.


    "I''ll install the explosive. Messner, bring everyone else to the next position. From now on, we have 45 minutes to install 46 explosives. Kill as many Orc officers as you can and avoid entering the central hall as the commander is not someone who we can fight," Keeshan instructed in a commanding voice.


    The explosives were set at a certain time, but they were extremely unstable. Only elite soldiers like Keeshan could ensure complete safety while using them.


    Lu Li glanced over, trying to develop a shallow understanding of how to use the explosive.

 760 Black Dragon

    Lu Li''s bag still contained four Seaforium Bombs that he would be able use next time.


    He had expected a challenging, close-combat battle, but he had guessed wrongly. From the beginning, they had not been discovered by the Orcs at all.


    The stealth elixir was extremely impressive. Both him and Water Fairy were expert Thieves, so as long as the Orcs'' levels did not exceed 50 and they kept their distance, they would naturally remain undiscovered.


    "Number 46," Keeshan said calmly. "We have 35 seconds at max. The patrolling squads of Orcs will have already found that the soldiers standing guard at the gate are missing. We must leave now."


    As they had previously entered, they now had to exit from Stonewatch Fortress'' gate.


    This steel fortress had been built by the Orcs on the Redridge mountain range. The purpose behind the unrestrained hunting and capturing was for its construction. Otherwise, the Orcs would not normally feed and sustain captives who would waste their already short supply of food.


    "Will the commander die?" Lu Li asked. He was quite keen on killing the Boss.


    Judging from the levels of the elite Orcs, the Boss would not be too powerful. Furthermore, Keeshan was as powerful as a Boss and possessed a barbaric type of strength.


    "Whether the commander lives or dies does not matte ¨C we just need to kill enough Orcs to foil their battle plans. Even if they try and regroup, reinforcements from Stormwind castle will have already arrived." Although Keeshan appeared to not care about whether the Lakeshire Guard died or lived on the surface, the way he did things were obvious at a glance.


    "Alright then, when do we trigger the explosion of the bombs?" Lu Li asked begrudgingly.


    "They''ve already been triggered."


    As soon as he heard the voice, the whole Stonewatch fortress was immediately enveloped in a barrage of seemingly unending explosions. Lu Li and his party only just managed to run through the gate before it collapsed with a loud rumble.


    As he turned around and looked back, he saw that only rubble and the light of the fire remained.


    The crushed rocks and stones were the most effective method of reducing the destructive power of the Orcs. It was no wonder why Keeshan had strategically considered the positioning of the explosives.


    Suddenly, Lu Li discovered something miraculous.


    His EXP bar was beginning to increase!


    It had been a long time since his EXP bar had even moved, let alone by 7% at once.


    Five percent experience was equivalent to one block, so this change was glaringly obvious.


    Water Fairy also noticed this. Her level was lower than Lu Li''s by two, so her EXP rose even more. When it finally came to a stop, she had levelled up and reached level 43.


    As it turned out, the Orcs that were killed by the explosives had given them shared experience.


    If they could enjoy it alone, the high ranking Elite monsters in the fortress would have given them even more.


    By now, the party which consisted of Lu Li and the NPCs had already made their way in the direction of the lake. They did not dare to stop temporarily, as there would still be many surviving Orcs, along with a Boss.


    Unless it was unavoidable, even Keeshan would not want to face the Orc commander.


    Suddenly, a dark shape blotted out the sun in the sky, growing larger and larger as it flew closer to them. Lu Li turned around and was nearly frightened off his feet.


    Black Dragon!


    It had to at least be level 50. This was a real Black Dragon ¨C not a Raptor or Dragonspawn, and had the authentic bloodline of the Dragonkin.


    "Prepare for battle."


    Keeshan''s leg shifted as he turned his head and twisted his body, firing an enchanted green arrow towards it. It was a pity that it only grazed the large dragon''s neck, but it was enough to slightly interrupt its dive.


    After this, Messner unleashed a large Fireball that struck the dragon squarely on its head. Unlike the regular Fireball skill, Messner''s Fireball did not dissipate quickly. Instead, it enveloped the dragon''s head and continued to burn.


    "Spatial Lock!"


    Messner released the staff in his hand and tore a silverly-white scroll. A dense amount of magical energy began to rise from the ground that instantly enveloped the entire area. The large dragon then began to fall from the sky like a stone as a damage value of 50000 floated above its head. Compared to the large Fireball, the damage of this spell was significantly higher.


    A dragon that had lost its ability to fly was basically a giant lizard. It roared in suffering as it was immediately surrounded and violently attacked.


    Apparently, the dragon was not that strong after all.


    In his previous life, Lu Li was only an ordinary player. Even though he had attained level 50, he did not have a chance to encounter a dragon.


    Perhaps it was because these NPCs were too strong. The two spells that Messner had unleashed were extremely dazzling. Lu Li felt slightly regretful that he had not chosen to play a Mage as there were many powerful Mage NPCs. It would be much easier for him to receive guidance.


    While deep in thought, Lu Li had also found his own attacking position and proceeded to slash at the dragon''s abdomen a few times.


    "Be careful and protect yourself."


    Keeshan did not possess the carefree attitude that Lu Li had. He wore a grave expression on his face and stood poised to react at the slightest hint of danger. Perhaps even the strength and speed he was using to fire his arrows had begun to fatigue him, as his fingers were dyed in blood.


    The flame that was on the large dragon''s head had finally died out. In the meantime, it opened its eyes and saw a few small, weak humans attacking it. Then, it took in a deep breath.


    A large stream of flames surged out of the dragon''s mouth. The first to be hit was Jorgensen the Paladin, who promptly used his damage reduction. Even so, he was still badly burned and lost a large portion of his health.


    "This attack is too powerful."


    Lu Li finally understood why Keeshan''s expression was grave.


    Unexpectedly, a stream of black dragon flames could incinerate an NPC with Plate Armor and deal more than 1000 damage. If Lu Li had been hit, he would have been burnt to a crisp. Understandably, he was quite frightened and moved to another attacking position.


    "Attack its eyes!" Keeshan bellowed at the Mage as he also began to target the dragon''s eyes. After all, it seemed unfazed when they were attacking other parts of its body and only tried to dodge when its eyes were in danger.


    "We can''t fight it! Let''s run!" Krakauer yelled.


    "Krakauer, you go first," Keeshan cried out in pain as he rolled on the ground after being hit by the dragon''s claws. However, he quickly got up and returned to the fight.


    "I won''t go yet; you guys can escape first. I''ll keep it occupied and escape by myself afterwards," Krakauer said confidently.

 761 Withered Veteran

    The whole scene was quite contrived, but Lu Li didn''t even crack a smile.


    Even Lu Li could understand the intention of Thief Krakauer, so his comrades must have definitely understood too. There was no way that Krakauer and the others would be able to escape this dragon that was stronger than them. He said that he would fight so that the others would have an opportunity to escape.


    As the dragon''s scale-covered tail slammed down, Danfloss was thrown into the air.


    "The Tank!" Danfoss exclaimed at Lu Li.


    Lu Li quickly took out the tank from his backpack and helped Danfoss drive it, launching a barrage of shells as soon as he entered.


    The power of this mechanical tank was astonishing; direct hits to the dragon''s chest dealt more than 5000 damage.


    In pain, the dragon rushed towards the tank while the others desperately tried to slow it down. The powerful black dragon was soon covered in burns and bruises.


    Each shot would also produce a significant amount of recoil that pushed the tank in the opposite direction, further distancing itself from the dragon.


    It looked like there was hope.


    Lu Li was extremely grateful to Mayor Solomon for letting him keep this Mechanical Goblin Tank.


    Unfortunately, when the dragon dropped below half HP, the barrel of the tank exploded, rendering it incapable of firing any more shells. Everyone watched as the dragon caught up before destroying it with its claws.


    "Danfoss!"


    The others knew that the warrior had died.


    He was likely killed in the explosion, but he was a Warrior and was destined to serve his teammates. He never retreated and protected his comrades till his last drop of HP.


    This was the first time that they had lost a member, and it was the Warrior who had protected them all. A sense of sadness and regret came over the group.


    Without the Warrior to stall it, the dragon pushed its thick and powerful claws off the ground and rushed towards Keeshan, who had been dealing the most damage to it.


    Keeshan was caught off guard and had to use his longbow to stop the dragon in front of him.


    The claws of the dragon grabbed the longbow, which was at least Dark Gold grade and smashed it into pieces. For an equip to be destroyed that way meant that its durability had been depleted.


    "Everyone, get back. Jorgensen, send me in," Keeshan commanded as he rushed toward the Paladin.


    The Paladin hunched over at Keeshan''s feet and launched him above the dragon''s head.


    He caught the dragon by the horn with one hand and with a dagger in his other, stabbed the dragon in the eye as many times as he could.


    When the other saw that Keeshan was providing a distraction, they began to deal as much damage as they could to it. The more damage they dealt, the more likely Keeshan was to survive.


    They had already lost one; they didn''t want to lose another.


    However, the dragon became enraged, and despite Keeshan''s best efforts to stop it, shot Dragon''s Breath at Messner and Jorgensen. The two NPCs, who were already injured, both instantly died.


    In that moment, Keeshan''s dagger also finally managed to damage one of the dragon''s eyes.


    The giant eyeball popped in an explosion of fluid.


    The dragon was now even angrier and desperately struck its head on the ground as it rolled around.


    "The three of you should run!" Keeshan shouted. His legs had already been torn to the bone by the dragon, but he still tenaciously held on to its head.


    If the three Thieves attempted run away at this time, they would have a good chance of escaping, especially with the aggro being focused on Keeshan.


    "You guys can go; there is no need for you to die with us," Krakauer laughed. He used what seemed to be a forbidden skill, turning into a sword-shaped ghost before stabbing into the dragon''s head.


    The price he paid was a constant 500 damage counter.


    The dragon seemed frantic as it desperately tried to fend off the ghost. No matter how it swung its claws, all they caught was air.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t run away. They were players and could theoretically never die in this game.


    However, it was also a matter of honor. Why would they give themselves the shameful title of being a deserter? They looked at one another, gripped their daggers and threw themselves at the dragon.


    The sword-shaped ghost did far less damage than Keeshan, but sent the dragon into an uncontrollable rage.


    It seemed that all reasoning and thinking had been lost as its brain suffered a heavy blow.


    As it struggled, yelled and rolled around before finally getting up, its huge claws caught the dying Keeshan and threw him in the direction of Lake Everstill.


    The spatial lock effect had also vanished.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy then helplessly watched as the dragon flew up and vanished into the sky. It didn''t return to the scene, even after waiting for a very long time.


    The System then prompted them that they had completed the quest. They could now return to the town to find Mayor Solomon for their reward. However, the two of them were unsatisfied and speechless.


    Water Fairy wanted to ask Lu Li whether Keeshan had any hope of survival, but she didn''t say anything.


    "We¡­" Lu Li started, then looked at the battlefield in confusion and sighed, "Let''s bury them here ¨C this was the place where they fought and where their lives ended."


    There were only two corpses ¨C Messner and Jorgensen ¨C but both had been burned beyond recognition.


    The Thief had become a ghost and had completely vanished, while the Warrior''s body was no longer in a single human form. His remains were gathered and placed into a tomb.


    The only thing left of Keeshan was his broken long-bow. Lu Li didn''t care whether it was a good item or not, or if he could fix it or sell it. For the first time, he looked past the gold value and carefully placed the longbow into the grave.


    In a remote location on the shores of Lake Everstill, under a lush willow tree, several former comrades were buried.


    They were heroes during their lives, treated unfairly and died fighting for the people that ignored them.


    People often asked for heroes, but heroes were rarely cherished.


    After returning to the lakeside town, Mayor Solomon was very satisfied with Lu Li and Water Fairy''s reports. He praised them for the completion of his quest apathetically.


    There was no regard in his words for the deaths of Keeshan and the others ¨C it was as if they were just strangers to him.


    Lu Li even told Colonel Troteman about the deaths of Keeshan and the others.


    This veteran who had just returned from the Murloc battlefield covered in bruises was the only one who cried for Keeshan. As he wept, he lamented over how he had caused Keeshan''s death¡­

 762 MI7

    Colonel Troteman said that he would search for Keeshan''s body and Lu Li told him the direction that the dragon had flown towards. He then left the peace and tranquility of the lakeside town with Water Fairy.


    As always, the mottled walls of Stormwind City were a record of the passage of time, but also told a story of the three wars.


    Hero Valley was a splendid valley in the southern part of the city. Being the only way to Stormwind, every visitor had to journey through it.


    Statues of heroes stood on both sides of the road and greeted the visitors as they walked through.


    There was the Elf Ranger Alleria Windrunnner, Human Paladin Turalyon, Human Mage Khadgar, Dwarf Paladin Kurdran and Human Warrior Danath Trollbane.


    Each of them had an epic story that could never be fully told.


    However, none of them were Thieves. There was no hero statue or any hero at the entrance of Stormwind that was a thief.


    On the way, Water Fairy casually disclosed the way that she had managed to find a Thief mentor.


    To put it simply, it was a sunny afternoon and she had killed a dozen or so Horde players who had snuck into Stormwind. Her technique was clean and masterful, so she was recognized by one of Pasonia''s disciples.


    "Pasonia!" Lu Li felt that the name sounded familiar.


    It was a pity that no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn''t remember where he had heard the name before.


    "Aunt Pasonia is very powerful. She has taught me many Thief skills, particularly in way of assassinating. I think she is an Assassin," Water Fairy''s gushed as her eyes lit up.


    Fortunately, her teacher was a female. Otherwise, Lu Li might have felt a bit of jealously, but he didn''t understand why.


    "What''s her surname?" Lu Li asked.


    Water Fairy thought that Lu Li didn''t trust her, and was trying to convince him of her trustworthiness.


    "Shaw, Pasonia Shaw. She didn''t hide anything from me."


    "Shaw!" Lu Li exclaimed, then turned his head and asked Water Fairy, "Do you really not know who she is?"


    "I''m sure she was someone extraordinary, but now she just looks like an ordinary old lady. When I met her, she was picking some mulberries in the forest," Water Fairy explained, then asked in curiosity, "Do you know her story?"


    "Perhaps you haven''t heard of Pasonia Shaw, but have you heard of Madias Shaw or MI7?"


    "I''ve heard of MI7, but not of Madius Shaw," Water Fairy answered as she shook her head.


    "You really are uneducated¡­" Lu Li muttered weakly.


    "Quickly, tell me!"


    Water Fairy''s dagger was already at Lu Li''s neck. The female tycoon''s ego was on the line as this was the first time anyone had called her uneducated.


    "Okay, okay," Lu Li reluctantly accepted and began explaining, "MI7 is the Stormwind Assassin Corps, which is considered one of the oldest-existing organizations in Azeroth. Before the First Great War, the Stormwind City aristocrats felt like things were becoming difficult to achieve legally. To solve this problem, one of them by the name of Lovell Youngden secretly contacted a Thief in prison."


    "This Thief isn''t Aunty Pasonia right?" It was hard for Water Fairy to imagine that kind-hearted woman as a criminal.


    "Not only was she a criminal, but she was also a repeated offender. She had been repeatedly arrested and was quite notorious," Lu Li explained, ignoring the angry eyes of Water Fairy. "Lovell promised her that she would be dealt with leniently, but she had to form an organization that would carry out any dirty work required. She immediately agreed, but asked to do it her own way."


    "This was the origin of MI7, and Aunty Pasonia was the founder of MI7¡­" Water Fairy concluded. She wasn''t stupid a girl.


    "That''s right ¨C not only is she a powerful assassin, but she is also a capable leader. From a criminal to the mysterious leader of MI7, she created one of the most powerful organizations in the Mainland. You thought that she was just some former imperial guard," Lu Li said, unable to help but envy the good fortune of Water Fairy.


    The fact that she had met Pasonia Shaw and not Madias Shaw only further illustrated that she was fate''s daughter.


    If she had met Madias, the current leader of the MI7 and the grandson of Pasonia, she would have indirectly joined MI7 while also being part of Ravenholdt Manor. Once it came out that she was affiliated with both of these organizations, she would be bound to suffer.


    However, things were different with Pasonia Shaw. She had already retired and now had no relationship with MI7.


    Ravenholdt Manor would have no objections to Water Fairy becoming her disciple. MI7 also wouldn''t care as to who an old lady took under her wing.


    "I can ask for you next time, if Pasonia is still accepting apprentices," Water Fairy offered.


    Lu Li''s heart was touched and didn''t try to stop her, but he wasn''t optimistic about being accepted by Pasonia.


    They entered Pasonia''s residence in Stormwind, which was a simple, small, wooden house with two rooms.


    Pasonia had completed several assassination quests during the war.


    Keeshan had completed 248 quests, but Pasonia had completed a few more. However, many of them were conducted in secret and their details were unknown.


    She was quite old as well ¨C after all, her grandson was now the leader of MI7.


    However, Lu Li could still see in a glance that she was once a beautiful woman. She was kind and polite with a head of white hair, but she had kept herself quite well. There were a few wrinkles on her forehead and a faint scar in the corner of her temple which added some mystery to her appearance.


    "Aunt Pasonia, the crisis in the lakeside town has been averted. This is my friend Lu Li; he helped me a lot during the quest," Water Fairy explained.


    "A Thief always acts alone," Pasonia said in a serious tone, but in the blink of an eye, she changed her expression and laughed, "But if you bring someone you like, then there is no need to abide by this rule. When you''re young, regardless of whether if you''re a Thief or a Mage, love is more important than anything¡­"


    Water Fairy was slightly embarrassed and even Lu Li felt a bit uncomfortable.

 763 Teacher

    "Alright, I''ll stop making fun of you guys. The young man seems to be embarrassed. Please wait for a moment."


    Pasonia stepped into her room and came out with a book in her hand, saying, "You''ve wanted this for a long time, and now I''m giving it to you. Remember what I taught you."


    "Aunt Pasonia, don''t worry. I won''t open it until I am level 50," Water Fairy promised as she took the book.


    Lu Li glanced at it and saw that the cover was engraved with the word ''Backstab''.


    "Although the two of you completed the quest together, there is only one copy of the skill book. There isn''t much I can do," Pasonia said helplessly.


    This was purely nonsense. For a Thief at her level, there was no way she only had a single skill book.


    However, Lu Li and Water Fairy knew how stingy the System could be, so it seemed like they weren''t going to receive another one. Water Fairy hugged Pasonia''s arm and asked, "Aunt Pasonia, I will take this reward, but can you give the EXP to him?"


    Lu Li was shocked, but he wasn''t shocked that Water Fairy wanted to give him the EXP.


    He was shocked because Water Fairy was acting so coy. Could a person who was that cold act so coyly? Surely this was impossible for a star player like her?


    Lu Li was overcome with shock.


    Pasonia obviously loved Water Fairy, far beyond their mentor and apprentice relationship. She touched Water Fairy''s hair and agreed.


    Then, Lu Li and Water Fairy received the EXP and reputation from the System.


    When Lu Li left the Trial Tower, he was level 44 with 46% EXP. After completing the lakeside town quests, he had received 9% EXP from Mayor Solomon and another 7% from the Orcs of the Fortress.


    However, upon the completion of Aunt Pasonia''s quest, Lu Li was level 45 with 25% EXP.


    Being the main player to complete the quest, Water Fairy received even more.


    Killing monsters to level could never compare to this rare quest. Unfortunately, the opportunities were limited and they were not easy to trigger. Even someone like Hachi Chan wouldn''t be able to keep up with the highest-level players.


    The only reason why Water Fairy had asked Lu Li to complete this quest with her was to repay him for the Trial Tower.


    "Well, sit down if you''re not in a hurry to leave and spend some time with this immortal old lady," the old woman offered as she pointed at a chair and motioned for Lu Li to sit down.


    Water Fairy had snuggled up to Pasonia, as though she was her granddaughter.


    Lu Li was now very sure that although Water Fairy seemed cold and proud, she was in fact just a young girl that had developed a mask to protect herself because of the way she had been raised.


    In the past, Water Fairy probably wouldn''t have even seen him as a friend. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have worn the mask in front of him.


    "Yesterday, my Backstab had a 93% Skill Completion," Water Fairy said with some pride, like a little girl who had finished her chores and was now asking her parents for candy.


    "That''s better than the last time. Keep practicing and you''ll improve. Back then¡­"


    The common problem among old people was keeping their memory. However, her phrases often gave Lu Li and Water Fairy plenty of inspiration. They would even occasionally hear some funny things about the other legendary characters.


    For example, the Raven Ridge Village was filled with ghosts that couldn''t be seen or attacked. They would require SS Detection before they could even reveal them!


    Queen Sylvanas was also apparently not the first to escape the control of the Lich King.


    Among these tales, there were many other things that Lu Li had never heard of before.


    "Aunt Pasonia, can Lu Li be your student?" Water Fairy asked while they chatted, trying to take advantage of the mood.


    "Oh, my girl is becoming of age," Pasonia joked.


    "So you agree?'' Water Fairy heard her tone and thought that she had agreed.


    Pasonia shook her head and patted her back, saying, "This is impossible. You are a disciple of Ravenholdt Manor and it was already risky to take you as an apprentice. If I take another apprentice, I am afraid that neither MI7 nor Ravenholdt would be able to sit back."


    She had previously known about the factions that Water Fairy and Lu Li were part of, but nothing else. Perhaps it was the Shard of the Defilers they had equipped that betrayed their identities.


    MI7 and Raveholdt had no direct conflict; they were simply peers. However, they were both teams of assassins, so some conflict had naturally occurred over the years.


    "That''s okay Aunt Pasonia. He can find his own mentor," Water Fairy comforted.


    "He is much stronger than you and has been on many adventures. He already has much to be proud of," Pasonia said as she pointed at the mark on Lu Li''s shoulder.


    There was the Blessing of the Moon Goddess, as well as the Blessing of the Keeper of the Grover and the Blessing of the Bloodfang Worgen.


    These were invisible to the average player, but NPCs could see them.


    "Esteemed lady, I have a few questions. Can I ask them?" Lu Li was disappointed that he wasn''t accepted by this knowledgeable and powerful NPC as an apprentice, but he quickly adjusted his emotions.


    "Ask away," Pasonia nodded.


    "There are countless famous people on this continent. There are Mages like Aegwynn, Khadgar and Antonidas, and Paladins like Turalyon, Tirion Fordling and Uther. There also countless others for the other professions, but why are there so few Thieves?"


    It was worse than just a few ¨C Thieves were basically unknown.


    The assassins of MI7 were only famous they were part of an official organization.


    "Children, if an Assassin is known to many people," Pasonia said as she blinked, then paused and continued, "He is already dead."


    Lu Li was a little dumbfounded; he didn''t expect the answer to be so simple.


    However, he couldn''t think of anything to refute it. It was obvious ¨C how could a Thief who used skills like Cheap Shot reveal their identity?


    Perhaps he had already unknowingly passed by many famous assassins when he walked through the streets of Stormwind.


    "How can I find a teacher that suits me?" Lu Li asked.


    "Haha, that is funny. You''re a part of Ravenholdt Manor, so why are you looking for a mentor outside it?" Pasonia asked, then sighed, "Although I don''t want to admit it, MI7 is much smaller than the Assassin''s League. The number of Master Thieves are far too few, but more often than not, people don''t know how big the groups truly are."

 764 Garona

    "Then, who is the famous Assassin of Ravenholdt Manor?" Lu Li asked curiously.


    The two most advanced Assassin organisations are MI7 and Ravenholdt Manor, so these two organisations would definitely have information on each other.


    "Famous?" Pasonia shook her head and answered, "The Grand Master Thief is not very famous. Ravenholdt Manor is particularly known for their selectiveness. Why would you look for someone famous?"


    "It''s my personal bias I guess," Lu Li said as he smiled sheepishly.


    At the present, he only knew the basics of finding a mentor. Most players sought after the coolest, most-flashy person, but it turned out that reality wasn''t like that.


    It took a certain degree of skill to be a teacher. There were some pitiful mentors that were blessed with great technique, but not the ability to teach.


    The reason why Lu Li didn''t want to find an unknown mentor was because of this. It wouldn''t make sense for to him become the apprentice of a person like that.


    It was also impossible to find a new mentor unless you found a way to kill your prior mentor. Otherwise, you would need to find some other way to learn the enhanced skills.


    Lu Li had never seen anyone successfully kill a mentor before, not even in his previous life.


    There was once a star player who had chosen the wrong mentor. The mentor wasn''t bad, but he couldn''t teach any high-level skills at all. As such, his guild organized a powerful attack on him.


    It was said that thousands of top players were killed, and they even had the aid of several other major guilds.


    They were filled with confidence and believed that it would be like fighting a Wild Boss. On top of that, the NPC had far lower HP than a typical Boss.


    However, reality gave the players a slap across the face.


    Since then, no one had dared to attack a professional NPC mentor.


    "Child, you''re really making this difficult," Pasonia sighed as she rubbed her brow, not knowing if she should laugh or cry. "I can''t tell you who the Grand Master Thief is. After all, this is someone else''s secret. If I told you, I might not see the sun tomorrow."


    "Then don''t say it," Water Fairy urged as she quickly pulled at her mentor.


    She didn''t expect that asking her mentor to help Lu Li would carry such a big risk. However, it made sense ¨C a Thief who lurked in the darkness wouldn''t want others to know his identity. Once it was found, the consequences could be devastating.


    "With that being said, there are also Thieves who aren''t afraid to be known," Pasonia said.


    "If it won''t get you into trouble, then please tell me," Lu Li requested gratefully.


    "Perhaps you might know Valeera Sanguinar," Pasonia suggested, then thought for a moment before adding, "She is a strong Thief and I have a good relationship with her."


    "You''re not talking about the King''s friend are you?" Lu Li was puzzled.


    Valeera Sanguinar was one of Varian Wrynn''s party members. Her whole family had died at the hands of bandits and she was the only one lucky enough to survive.


    At the time, she had nowhere to go. The Scourge''s attack on the Elf''s main city, Quel''Thalas, had caused heavy losses to its people.


    The young elf continued to be a survivor until she was abducted by a Thief and sold to Rehgar Earthfury.


    Rehgar Earthfury turned her into a gladiator and made fight alongside the Night Elf Druid Broll Bearmantle and Orc Rodier Bloodfist. After Bloodfist''s death, Valeera and Broll welcomed a human Warrior as their teammate. This man was called ''Ghost Wolf'', but later remembered his name to be Varian Wrynn.


    The trio embarked on a journey to help Varian regain his memories and re-take the throne, fighting the black dragon Onyxia who was secretly controlling the human kingdom.


    After returning to the throne, King Varian invited Valeera to stay in Stormwind as his advisor. Valeera happily accepted, but under the condition that she did not pledge allegiance to the Alliance. She was only loyal to Varian Wrynn and his son Anduin.


    Valeera Sanguinar was an excellent assassin, skilled at using Cheap Shot and a master of poisons, which dealt exceptional damage with her attacks.


    Lu Li certainly knew of her, but he wasn''t very excited about it.


    "Valeera is currently at the palace. I can help you ask," Pasonia offered, then paused and continue, "But you better not be too hopeful. She''s lazy and doesn''t like many people in the Alliance other than the king."


    "Thank you. When should I ask about the good news?" Lu Li asked gratefully.


    "It''s not that troublesome; it should be quick," Pasonia answered, then beckoned a few times at the window. A green bird flew in from the outside, then fluttered away after she whispered something in its ear.


    Half an hour later, the bird flew back in and began calling out.


    To be able to understand birdsong was truly a mark of MI7''s intelligence gathering ability.


    Pasonia sighed in disappointment, "I''m afraid you''re going to be disappointed. Valeera Sanguinar has no intention of accepting other disciples because she already has one."


    Whoever this person was, they were quick.


    Lu Li really wanted to run his mouth. He had been born again and somehow couldn''t find a mentor? What other person knew Water Fairy, had encountered Pasonia and then managed to contact Valeera?


    Valeera Sanguinar was the security advisor for the King of Stormwind. With an identity like that, Lu Li would have been very satisfied.


    "Are there any other suitable mentors?" Water Fairy asked.


    "I have contacted my circle, but there is no one in the palace or in MI7 that is suitable for him," Pasonia said, feeling sorry too. She didn''t want to disappoint her disciple.


    "That''s okay. Perhaps my time has not yet come," Lu Li sighed, then reluctantly smiled and resigned to his fate.


    He had other things to do and time was running out, so he had to leave, along with Water Fairy. They couldn''t just stick around for too long, even though the NPC had given her a sense of motherly love that she had lacked.


    "If you find this person, she might be better suited as your mentor than Valeera Sanguinar," Pasonia said with some hesitation as she made her goodbyes.


    "Who is it?" They both wondered why she waited until now to bring this person up. Perhaps she had just forgotten because she was old.


    "Garona Halforcen¡­" Pasonia said with some difficulty. It was as if the name had a magical power that was suffocating her.


    Lu Li also felt the same suffocation; this name wasn''t foreign to him at all.

 765 Medivh’s Wife

    If there was any Thief in the mainland that everyone knew about, it had to be Garona.


    She was a legend in the world of Azeroth, not only because she had Orc blood, but also because she was regarded as the one who turned the wheel of history.


    Yes, Garona was a mixed breed.


    During the occupation of Draenor by the Orcs, many Draenei women were assaulted by Orc soldiers. It was in these tumultuous conditions that Garona was born.


    However, because she had Orc-like green skin and Draenei ancestry, the local residents didn''t put her to death and instead made her a slave. After she fled and tried to join the Orc camp, she was rejected because she was from a weak bloodline.


    Eventually, the deceitful Gul''dan generously took her in and allowed her to join the Shadow Council under his control.


    Growing up during that period, she was very well-versed in Draenor and Orc culture. This made her invaluable to the Shadow Council and she soon became the Chief Translator, as well as a private spy and an assassin for Gul''dan.


    After the Orcs invaded Azeroth, Garona''s experienced greatly helped them gain insight into their latest human enemies.


    She had been sent by Gul''dan as a secret spy to the Elwynn Forest, but was found and arrested by the humans. To rescue Garona, the Orc Horde raided the Horthshire Abbey, an important stronghold of the Kingdom of Azeroth, and turned it into rubble.


    Later, she was sent to assassinate Medivh, but a demi-god like Medivh was not so easy to deal with. He killed his attackers and left Garona to relay a message back to Gul''dan. Gul''dan sent her back to Medivh, but this time, Medivh kept her around.


    During her time with Medivh, Garona met Khadgar, his apprentice. He was also a spy from Dalaran sent to watch Medivh.


    Khadgar initially hated those of both Orc and Draenei blood, and the feeling was mutual with Garona. As time passed, a mutual trust formed between them, but Garona and Khadgar continued to attack other''s races. However, as they learned from each other, they soon suspected that Medivh was keeping from secrets from them.


    Eventually, they discovered that Medivh was actually the person who had brought the Orcs into Azeroth through the power of the fallen Titan Sargeras.


    As to why Medivh had Sargeras'' personality and strength, that was another story.


    Khadgar and Garona fled to the Stormwind fortress where they met Ryan and Lothar. The future king had no qualms with her Orc heritage and accepted her.


    They then organized a group of people to mount a surprise-attack on Karazhan and kill Medivh.


    In the next few months, Garona became King Ryan''s most trusted advisor. She told the Lord about the Horde''s inner workings, giving them an advantage that they used to deal with them.


    However, when the Stormwind Fortress fell, she assassinated King Ryan and brought his heart back to her master Gul''dan.


    No one knew what all of this was for, but what happened next surprised everyone ¨C Garona told the Doomhammer where the Shadow Council was held. The Doomhammer then raided the Shadow Council and killed all of its members but Gul''dan.


    Later, while Gul''dan was in the process of finding Sargeras'' eye, he was destroyed by the demon in Sargeras'' tomb.


    From that point onwards, Garona was truly free, but her story went much further than that. She had already become pregnant when she assassinated King Lothar, which was simply impossible for Medivh to imagine.


    In any case, her child survived, but because she had killed King Ryan, Garona thought she had definitely gone mad. In an attempt to not bring her misfortune upon her son, she found Meliri ¨C a Mage human soul that had lived for more than 3000 years. Garona entrusted her child to her and told her that the boy''s name was Med''an.


    Since then, Garona had never shown her face again to the world.


    "Why did Garona kill the King?" As a member of the Alliance, if Lu Li didn''t ask this question, he really wouldn''t have been paying attention to her story.


    "Who knows? Maybe it was because of Gul''dan''s manipulation, or maybe it was because of¡­ Medivh. In any case, it doesn''t matter," Pasonia answered as she shook her head. "All in all, it wasn''t her intention. She is actually a very simple girl."


    "Simple?"


    "She was the one who killed King Lothar of the Stormwind and carried Medivh''s son. Both of these things have already made her an incomparable legend¡­" Lu Li thought to himself.


    "Anyway, Varian has since pardoned her crime," Pasonia said.


    This was the key point. Although Lu Li did not know when Varian would give up on seeking revenge or what kind of pardon was given, Pasonia had a very close connection to the court and was unlikely to be wrong.


    "Where can I find her?" Lu Li asked.


    "No one knows where to find her, but I have an idea of where she could be," Pasonia started, then blinked before saying, "She''s in Ravenholdt Manor."


    "Ah!" Lu Li and Water Fairy were both stunned.


    "There were many speculations about the whereabouts of Garona. Some said that she was dead while others said that she had followed Medivh and disappeared. However, considering what is known, it would have been impossible for her to escape Doomhammer alone if she was seriously injured and pregnant," Pasonia reasoned.


    "So someone must have saved her," Lu Li guessed.


    "I once interrogated an Orc captive who was an eyewitness to the event. According to his confession, there were two Thieves that came out to repel Doomhammer and take Garona away. I''m afraid to say it, but only Ravenholdt Manor would have a Grand Master Thief like that," Pasonia explained a little uncomfortably.


    MI7 was still somewhat younger than the Ravenholdt Manor.


    In addition, MI7 consisted of Stormwind''s Assassins. Most of them were humans and the average human lifespan was often too short. They would often die before becoming a master.


    There were all sorts of races in Ravenholdt Manor.


    "Thank you, esteemed madam," Lu Li said, thanking her formally. This information was already enough.


    As for how he was going to find Garona in Ravenholdt Manor, he still had no idea, but that wouldn''t be too difficult. He was part of the Ravenholdt Manor, so he definitely had an advantage over outsiders.


    Lu Li said goodbye to Pasonia and went to the arena; there was an event today that he wanted to attend.

 766 Honored Gues

    It was actually a bit far-fetched to call it an event.


    Lu Li had been invited to be a guest at the competition by The League Association.


    Many players would accept such invitations, especially the top players who had been listed as celebrities. They would sit at the table together with the commentators to provide some technical explanation for what was happening.


    On one hand, it could expand their popularity and influence, but on the other hand, they needed to be entertaining.


    In addition to an appearance fee, the reason why players were attracted to these events was because they could obtain EXP.


    To avoid suspicion, the game companies normally did not participate in organizing professional leagues. This was all done by the league associations.


    However, that was not to say that the game company did not care.


    Under the rules of the game, the creation of the arena and the EXP awarded for players attending were all things that belonged to the company.


    EXP was a sacred and inviolable thing. If the game company stripped a player of EXP, this would inevitably be met with resistance.


    Otherwise, the game company could make money by taking bribes and only allowing those who paid to advance. What would be fair about a game like that? Dawn naturally wouldn''t make this mistake.


    Instead, the EXP was distributed by the audience.


    If the audience recognized the guest, they could also send gift packages that they received after entering the auditorium.


    Because there was a limited quantity, it was up to the player whether they wanted to award it. This system was favored by the players and had been welcomed by everyone.


    As a result, most players wouldn''t refuse this invitation.


    There were half-a-dozen commentators in the gaming circle, including Gale Legion''s Wendelian, Wings of Dawn''s Elevenless, Peerless City''s Green Flag Wine and Majin Temple''s Unforgettable Maple.


    This was the first time that Lu Li had received a commentary invitation, and he didn''t want to refuse the EXP.


    The game that he was invited to wasn''t a random one either ¨C it was between Peerless City, who had been ranked 9th, and Purple Lunar Paradise, who had been ranked 12th.


    Peerless City was currently one of the most powerful guilds.


    Purple Lunar Paradise was also quite formidable with their star players Dark Destroyer and Lone Smoker. Dark Destroyer was a Berserker, whose strength was almost comparable to Moonlight''s. Lone Smoker was very adept at his profession and had even beat Moonlight in the Individual round of the Shadow Cup.


    In the Magic Cup, Purple Lunar Paradise had defeated Ruling Sword, but Lu Li hadn''t played in that match.


    To most of the players, Purple Lunar Paradise and Peerless City were evenly matched in strength. Although most were optimistic about Peerless City, no one thought that Purple Lunar Paradise didn''t have a chance.


    When Lu Li was transported into the arena, he was immediately placed onto the stage.


    The other commentator that was present was the veteran Dark Wind. He had been commentating for nearly a decade and had an esteemed reputation.


    His partner for today was Pure White Season, who was also responsible for commentating the match between Ruling Sword and Floating Cloud.


    If the commentators were Dark Wind and Pure White Season, and the invited guest was Lu Li, it was clear that the league association valued this match.


    Hundreds of thousands of seats were filled instantly.


    As the match had not yet begun, it was impossible for everyone to just sit in silence. The commentary team and guests would usually start talking beforehand.


    "I am very glad that Lu Li has accepted the invitation to be the guest of this competition," Pure White Season said. It was clear that she was a fan of Ruling Sword and Lu Li was also an object of her admiration.


    "This is the first time I''ve been in a position like this. If I make a mistake, please forgive me," Lu Li said in a cold voice.


    Lu Li then saw that he had already begun receiving gifts on the monitor.


    These gifts could be directly converted into EXP. There weren''t many points individually, but together, they could reach quite an impressive level. Lu Li had already gained a sizable sum in the first few seconds after opening his mouth.


    He previously calculated that if a game had over 100,000 spectators, there would be at least 100,000 gifts in their hands.


    These gifts could only be sent to him, but the players could decide if they wanted to send them or not.


    In this world, who wouldn''t want to be liked by everyone?


    Dawn had millions of players in China; there were many who liked Lu Li and many who hated him.


    However, among the 100,000 players in audience, the individuals who hated him were probably in lower attendance. There might have even been some fans who deliberately bought tickets to the match after hearing that Lu Li would be the guest.


    If 100,000 players sent their gifts, this would be enough to increase his current EXP by 10%. Even if he tried to farm some monsters, he wouldn''t be able to achieve that in day.


    "What does Lu Li think about these two guilds?" Dark Wind asked.


    He had witnessed the rise of Ruling Sword in the arena of the Shadow Cup and had commentated several of those games. From their first match, he had been curious about Lu Li.


    "They are both very strong," Lu Li answered vaguely. He was naturally a bit uncomfortable at the beginning.


    Ruling Sword had fought both guilds before, but the results were wildly different. They had fought in two matches against Peerless City where Ruling Sword won, and had also fought in two matches against Purple Lunar Paradise, but had won one and lost one. If that was taken as an indication, Purple Lunar Paradise was stronger.


    "If you were an ordinary player, which guild would you like to be part of?" Pure White Season asked, trying to test Lu Li in a subtle way.


    "I would probably like to join Purple Lunar Paradise¡­" Lu Li couldn''t give a vague answer for that question.


    "Why is that?" Both commentators were curious.


    "I hear that Purple Lunar Paradise'' Mini Meow is very beautiful," Lu Li said suddenly.


    Mini Meow was Purple Lunar Paradise'' Professional Druid player. Although she wasn''t as strong as Innocent Child, she had excellent technique and was ranked 10th on the beauty rankings.


    Moreover, she was still young and could become more attractive as she grew older.


    In fact, these were the words taught to him by Square Root 3. He had become more concerned about Lu Li''s appearance then Lu Li himself. He knew that Lu Li''s arrogance and lack of education would cause him to say some dumb things.


    Even if you were just an expert, it didn''t matter what you did, as everyone would just think it was part of your personality.


    However, if you represented a guild, this became important. Lu Li had the potential of throwing away all of Ruling Sword''s efforts.


    "Haha, that''s a good response," Dark Wind laughed, feeling that Lu Li was quite a friendly guy. Every male who heard that response would have at least smiled.


    "I think¡­" Pure White Season began, then paused before saying coldly, "A man shouldn''t be so fickle."

 767 Top Analys

    Square Root 3 was certain that the analyst would ask Lu Li what he thought about these two guilds.


    Theoretically, Lu Li should favor Peerless City.


    Peerless City and Ruling Sword were both allies with Drizzle Court. Although these two guilds had no direct connection with each other, they were on good terms because of Drizzle Court.


    For example, if players from Ruling Sword had a dispute with another guild, Peerless City would definitely lend a helping hand, and vice versa.


    The two guilds would rarely fight each other for Wild Bosses. Rather, they would kill their competitors first and take down the Boss together. The loot would then be distributed between the two parties.


    The two only lacked the formalities to make them official allies.


    It was Purple Lunar Paradise who wasn''t on good terms with Ruling Sword. In fact, they were enemies because Purple Lunar Paradise was connected with the Gangnam Royals.


    If Lu Li showed his support for Peerless City, he wouldn''t look so good in front of the public.


    This was why Square Root 3 had instructed him to bring up Mini Meow, a female player on the beauty ranking. Most players from the game were male, so they would agree with Lu Li''s answer.


    However, he didn''t expect that one of the analysts would be Pure White Season.


    Pure White Season wasn''t a feminist, but she wasn''t tolerant of playboys. She had publicly criticized a playboy competitor in the past, claiming that there were issues in his private life and personality.


    Being criticized by a popular female analyst with an army of fans, the male competitor was harassed for a long time.


    Lu Li''s answer seemed to have crossed her slightly.


    However, he wasn''t too sure what had happened and dumbly asked, "Fickle?"


    "Hmph, I''m sure Lu Li was just making a joke," Dark Wind said, jumping out in Lu Li''s defense. He didn''t think there was anything wrong with hi answer. Mini Meow was a cute girl on the beauty rankings and there were plenty players who liked her.


    "I think it''s better for a man to stay focused," Pure White Season stated, not wanting to push further on the topic either.


    "But, I still don''t have a girlfriend," Lu Li sighed, feeling sorry for himself.


    He was too busy looking after his sister before to spend time with any girls. Although he now had the time to look for a girlfriend, he understood that if he didn''t continue to improve himself, he would eventually fall behind.


    "Aren''t you and Water Fairy dating?" Pure White Season asked.


    As soon as the topic was brought up, the audience became excited and presents began to flood through.


    People always loved to gossip.


    Although this rumour had been around for a long time, it was the first time that it had been addressed in public.


    "..." Lu Li was speechless and could only explain himself as best as he could.


    "We''re just friend; we''re not what you think. Oh, the match is starting."


    Everyone knew that he was trying to change the topic, but Pure White Season didn''t push further either because the competition was actually starting.


    "Our dear audience, the competition has now begun. Both parties have already sent out their strongest players. Peerless City have sent out Vegetarian Mosquito, known as the Solo King of Hunters in Dawn. The player that Purple Lunar Paradise have sent out is the Warlock, Lone Smoker Long. We expect this match to be an exciting one!" Dark Wind announced to the audience.


    "Lone Smoker Long and Hornet''s Nest are both top Warlock player, while Vegetarian Mosquito is also a well-known expert. Lu Li, who do you think will win?" Pure White Season probably felt that Lu Li''s feelings towards Water Fairy weren''t stable enough, so she was constantly badgering him.


    She was not only classmates in the same university with Water Fairy, but was also very good friends with her.


    They often went shopping together in real life and Water Fairy often mentioned his name. As such, Pure White Season guessed that she might be interested in Lu Li .


    However, she also took Water Fairy''s family background into consideration, so she wasn''t too sure about it either.


    Despite all this, as Water Fairy''s friend, she didn''t like Lu Li''s tone when he had spoken about another girl.


    To the audience''s surprise, Lu Li didn''t dodge the question this time and gave a clear answer.


    "Lone Smoker Long will win."


    Lu Li was certain that Lone Smoker Long would win! Why?!


    Even the players from Peerless City began to feel some animosity towards Lu Li. Why had he jinxed their competitor before the match had even started?


    Vegetarian Mosquito was known as the Solo King, not only because his techniques were good, but also because he had a very powerful spider pet.


    This spider pet boasted a range of control and poison skills, as well as movement speed skills.


    Most of the players at the moment thought that Hunters countered Mages and Warlocks.


    "Why do you say this Lu Li? Can you explain your reasoning to everyone?'' Dark Wind felt that Lu Li wasn''t the type to bluff. He was also afraid that Pure White Season would say something targeted at Lu Li, so he asked first.


    "Firstly, the spiderweb skill isn''t very useful against ranged classes. Vegetarian Mosquito isn''t a kiting Hunter either and doesn''t have any skills or items to increase his range. As such, it will be hard for him to create distance between him and Lone Smoker Long. Secondly, Warlocks have higher resistances towards poison and darkness, so this doesn''t give him much of an advantage. Finally, I think everyone has underestimated the Warlock class. In terms of one-on-one, Warlocks are almost unbeatable," Lu Li explained.


    Since many players had already figured out how powerful Warlocks were, there was no reason not to be straightforward about it.


    As the competition continued and Lu Li commentated, everyone began to notice the strength of Warlocks.


    "Does this mean Warlocks will come to dominate the one-on-one meta?" Pure White Season was quick to catch up; she was someone who valued her work morals. She wouldn''t sabotage her job just because of her own personal biases.


    "From a certain aspect, yes. However, a competition is a very serious thing, so something like a bunch of clubs suddenly investing in Warlocks won''t happen. There''s no such thing such as the strongest class, only the strongest player. I''m sure players will soon find ways to counter Warlocks," Lu Li said calmly.


    Many agreed with his words and presents were flung at him once again.

 768 Whoever He Predicts to Lose, Will Lose.

    "Aiya, he shouldn''t have used this badge. Lone Smoker Long barely has any ultimate skills left. Even if he let him attack, it wouldn''t do much. Not to mention, Vegetarian Mosquito still has a pet left uncontrolled," Lu Li regretfully said.


    Everyone thought about it for a bit and realized he was right. Another pack of presents came flying towards him.


    The purpose of analysts and guests was to help players understand what was going on in the match.


    "Vegetarian Mosquito seems to have made many mistakes this match," Pure White Season commented, feeling that Lu Li''s opinions of him had all been negative.


    He seemed determined that Vegetarian Mosquito would lose.


    At this point, both players had similar amounts of health.


    "Mmm, the impact of using the badge is coming into effect now," Lu Li said as he nodded and watched the match with focus. He then pointed at the Hunter who jumped around on the screen and added, "He won''t be able to jump soon."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Hunter was stunned by the Warlock.


    Having already used his badge, he could only watch as Lone Smoker Long casted his ultimate spell, which had just come off its cooldown.


    "If you were the Hunter, what would you do?" Dark Wind asked Lu Li


    "The first thing I would do is change my pet. Even though this pet is melee, it deals dark and poison damage. It would be better to switch to a pet that deals physical damage and can interrupt spells or Stuns. Currently, most Hunters try to deal burst damage, but I wouldn''t aim for the pet, unless it was a Succubus. A Warlock''s instant cast spells are faster than a Hunter''s battle resurrections. Lastly, I would be careful with the usage of the badge and fake death¡­" Lu Li patiently explained.


    His theories weren''t too in-depth, but they were very useful for the average players.


    Some had already begun to spend coins to buy even more presents for him.


    Besides the presents given by the System upon entering the match ground, players could also spend money to purchase them. However, there was a limit set on how many presents they could buy and the prices weren''t cheap. It would almost be impossible to spend money on experience.


    As Lu Li had predicted, Vegetarian Mosquito quickly lost the match.


    However, Lone Smoker Long wasn''t left with much health either ¨C his opponent was a skilled Hunter with an exquisite pet.


    As they waited for the next round, Pure White Season asked the question that was on everyone''s minds.


    "Who will Peerless City send out for their second match?"


    "If there are no surprises, it will probably be the Tire King," Dark Wind guessed.


    "It better not be the Tire King. Otherwise, Peerless City will be in danger," Lu Li said as he chuckled softly.


    His words caused a giant ripple in the crowd.


    "It''s Lu Li''s first time on the analyst spot; it seems like he has no clue how to fake things..."


    "Isn''t Peerless City their ally? Why does he keep supporting Purple Lunar Paradise..."


    "Some people think that they''re good and they can look down on others. I hate people like this. If he can''t explain himself, no more present for him."


    "Why do I feel like Lu Li seems to be right, but I have no clue why?"


    It wasn''t just the audience questioning this, even experienced analysts like Dark Wind and Pure White Season had their doubts. Even if you''re a master player, you couldn''t simply say anything you wanted.


    "Can you tell us why?" Pure White Season asked after taking in a deep breath to calm herself.


    "See, the Tire King is here. This is slight tactical failure on Peerless City''s behalf," Lu Li began, then stopped holding back and continued, "It''s better to burst down a Warlock who is on the edge of dying. Green Flag Wine''s burst is too low, and this will give the Warlock time to recover. If Lone Smoker Long doesn''t play too aggressively, the Tire King isn''t even guaranteed win."


    In simpler terms, Green Flag Wine''s damage was too low, and he couldn''t quickly burst down his opponents.


    Currently, Warlocks had far too many ways to recover their health. If you couldn''t kill them, they would slowly regenerate their health back. After this, they would turn the battle into a competition of endurance, and even if Green Flag Wine won, it would be a hard-fought victory.


    It would have been better to let Deadly Golden Underwear kill him with a Whirlwind.


    Those who questioned Lu Li fell silent, as what was happening on the stage proved his theory.


    Lone Smoker Long played like a coward. He sent out a Succubus to attack Green Flag Wine, while dodging around in the hopes of recovering his health.


    After running for a while, his Dark Refund skill went off cooldown.


    Dark Refund ¨C heals you and your pet for 20% of maximum health over 12 seconds. Any healing


    received during this time will be increased by 25%.


    He was originally on low health, but soon, his HP bar was raised above the alert line.


    Even though Green Flag Wine could occasionally hit Lone Smoker Long, his attack was too low. The damage he dealt wasn''t enough to outweigh Lone Smoker Long''s healing.


    "Is Green Flag Wine going to lose?" The analysts were shocked by how bugged the Warlock class seemed.


    "I don''t think so; Green Flag Wine already knows what to do," Lu Li said as he shook his head. He never guaranteed that this was a loss for Green Flag Wine.


    A top celebrity player might not even lose even if they run into a class counter. Not to mention, Warlocks weren''t a counter for Paladins, but Green Flag Wine probably wouldn''t be able to keep any skills up his sleeves for his next opponent.


    Green Flag Wine had originally planned to kill another player after Lone Smoker Long.


    After he realized that Lone Smoker Long was no easy target, he used his movement speed boost and burst skills. Under the right circumstances, he would toss them all onto his target without any hesitation.


    Most of Lone Smoker Long''s skills were on cooldown, and the same went for a few of his equipment effects. After he used up all of his skills, he would eventually lose the match.


    However, things weren''t easy for Green Flag Wine either. Having been constantly kited by Long Smoker Long, he had already lost 40% of his health.


    Overall, because of the order that these players were sent out, Peerless City was at a disadvantage. Everyone who was watching the match felt a newfound respect for Lu Li.


    What was it like to be called a top player?


    This was a top player, unlike the other guest competitors who only provided middle-ground answers. These answers seemed right at first, but after you thought about them for a while, you would realize that they were empty words that couldn''t be wrong either way.


    However, Lu Li was different. If he predicted that someone would lose, they would definitely lose. He said that Peerless City had sent out the wrong player, and now, they had to suffer the consequences.


    The second player that Purple Lunar Paradise sent was Dark Destroyer.


    Dark Destroyer was one of the best Warrior players, and was one of the two celebrity competitors that Purple Lunar Paradise had.


    Warrior versus Paladin ¨C this was a crowd-favorite fight between two plated classes.


    "Dark Destroyer can probably end the match with half of his health remaining," Lu Li said, beginning to make more bold predictions. Not only was he going to predict the outcome this time, but he was even going to guess their ending health.

 769 Harves

    If Green Flag Wine heard what Lu Li said, he would have definitely spit in his face.


    That''s right, Lu Li was correct again. Dark Destroyer, with 48% health remaining, managed to wear out Green Flag Wine.


    "Why did it end like this? Green Flag Wine should have a disadvantage in a one-on-one, and a fight between a Paladin and a Warrior is a counter match-up, right?" Pure White Season asked carefully.


    Between other classes, there were slight differences in strength, but this usually wasn''t too obvious.


    However, in the circumstance that their equipment and technique matched, a Paladin would definitely counter a Warrior. This was because they had similar defenses, but the Warrior couldn''t heal himself like a Paladin.


    "Very simple ¨C what is Dark Destroyer known for?" Lu Li asked back.


    "Moonlight has his Whirlwind, Gaze is famous for Charge, Elevenless'' Combo is one of the most feared techniques, and Deadly Golden Underwear often uses bleeding damage to defeat his opponents. Dark Destroyer''s best fighting attribute is probably his control..." Pure White Season mumbled, then quickly realized, "Oh, I understand ¨C it''s control."


    Pure White Season''s was a skilled player, so she quickly understood what Lu Li meant.


    Although Green Flag Wine could heal, his class didn''t specialize in it. Unfortunately, Dark Destroyer had suffocating control skills; he didn''t even give him a chance to heal.


    Now, it was Deadly Golden Underwear''s turn to come onstage.


    A fight between two Warriors!


    Warriors, Mage and Thieves were the classes that most experts chose. Among the top players in the Warrior class, Deadly Golden Underwear and Dark Destroyer were the cream of the crop.


    "What about this time? Who do you think will win? How much health do you think they will have left?" Pure White Season asked Lu Li.


    She had begun to have a kind of blind faith in Lu Li. It wasn''t just her ¨C even the audience stopped doubting him. They fell into a hushed silence in anticipation of what he was about to say.


    The two players in the arena may as well have stopped fighting and just listened to Lu Li announce their results.


    "How would I know?" Lu Li said as he wiped away his sweat then quickly added, "But, Golden Deadly Underwear would probably win."


    Everyone rolled their eyes; Golden Deadly Underwear was at full health, while Dark Destroyer only had half of his health. Being equally skilled, everyone could tell who was going to win.


    In the end, Deadly Golden Underwear proved victorious with 72% health remaining.


    Dark Destroyer had used all of his powerful skills on Green Flag Wine in the previous match.


    Conversely, most burst, mobility and debuff skills were on cooldown for Deadly Golden Underwear now. He was like a tiger without its teeth at this point.


    The Hunter that Purple Lunar Paradise sent out was "Crafty Young Master". He beat Deadly Golden Underwear with 30% health remaining.


    They both lost 70% health, which seemed like an even trade off. However, this was a match between a second-tier competitor and an expert. Moreover, a Hunter''s 70% health was only around 2000 HP, while a Berserker had around 4000 HP.


    At this point, people started to realize the importance of order in these matches.


    Peerless City shouldn''t have used Green Flag Wine to battle Lone Smoker Lone; the gap only widened from that point.


    Peerless City''s Mage ''Half Cigarette'' came out and defeated Crafty Young Master from Purple Lunar Paradise.


    The last match was between Half Cigarette with 50% health and "Pride Over the Floor", who was also a Mage.


    Without Lu Li saying anything, everyone knew that Half Cigarette would lose. Half Cigarette tried his best, but the HP difference wasn''t something that he could overcome by himself alone. He lost to his opponent miserably.


    Peerless City had lost to Purple Lunar Paradise in the one-on-one matches.


    Now, it was time for the group matches.


    The morale among the Peerless City fans was quite low. They had cursed Lu Li, saying that he had jinxed everything and some even made up their minds to not give presents to him. However, once the truth was laid out before them, they realized how accurate his judgements were.


    After the final results were out, another wave of presents came flying.


    Lu Li checked his own experience bar; he was at 85% towards level 44. This meant that he had gained 10% experience in hour or so that he had sat here.


    In his previous life, he had always been envious of these competitors who could sit here and watch their experience bars fly. Now, he finally had the chance to experience it for himself.


    Dark Wind usually didn''t dare talk too much in front of people like Lu Li.


    Before the group match began, he immediately listed out the things that everyone knew. There were no opportunities for mistakes at least.


    "I feel like Peerless City has the advantage in team-fights. They have Deadly Golden Underwear, Green Flag Wine and Professional Healer ¨C that''s three celebrity competitors. The other three players are decent as well. On the other hand, Purple Lunar Paradise only have two, and their main healer is Mini Meow, a Druid. In terms of group healing, she probably can''t beat Professional Healer, who is a Priest."


    However, Lu Li didn''t want to let him off easily.


    "I feel like Peerless City doesn''t have an advantage in the group matches. Their coordination is poor and their class setup is lacking too. On the other hand, Purple Lunar Paradise had always been known for their synchronization."


    Lu Li has played against Purple Lunar Paradise before, and there were also some things that he already knew from his previous life.


    In terms of competitors alone, Peerless City had better players. They had only lost the one-on-one matches because of the order that they sent them out.


    Lu Li couldn''t be too sure for the group matches, but he was leaning towards the defeat of Peerless City.


    The fans of Purple Lunar Paradise were happy, and began to use their coins to buy presents for Lu Li.


    Lu Li gained 1.2% experience from this.


    "Uh-hm¡­"


    Dark Wind wanted to cry; he felt like he was a newbie that only existed to make Lu Li look good. At one point, he was called a top-tier analyst.


    The difference between their judgements made him feel at a weaker position.


    In the past, he never talked about the victory or loss. This only drew attention for a short period, but it wasn''t very useful.


    However, everyone wanted to hear analysis from someone like Lu Li, who really knew what he was talking about.


    The match began and both parties engaged.


    With Lu Li''s words in mind, everyone paid extra attention to the coordination between the two parties. Most people gained nothing from it. Peerless City was a top tier club, so it was hard to find an obvious weak spot. Even if they had one, only top tier players would be able to spot it.


    Even the managers of the club gained some useful information from this. For example ¨C the strength of the Warlock class, the ordering of players, and the coordination between team members in a group fight.

 770 Referral

    Peerless City lost their group match.


    The Magic Cup champions had lost their first match, rudely waking them up from their daydream.


    They only lost a few points, so this wouldn''t impact them from proceeding to the next stages.


    If they couldn''t even make it past the first stage, they might as well disband.


    Lu Li gained 12% experience from being a guest this time; he was 13% away from level 45.


    This would take him one or two days if he followed his usual leveling procedures. At a time like this, no one really had the patience for that kind of effort.


    This was why Lu Li brought the rare materials that Square Root 3 had prepared and made his way to the Bloodfang Altar.


    "I believe you''ve heard of the Well of Eternity," Krug said. More healthy Worgen had appeared and had begun to spread afar. Gilneas Kingdom, once shrouded by darkness, was becoming known to increasingly more people.


    Apparently, some players had even learned the Worgen Transformation.


    "Of course I''ve heard of it; everyone knows of the Well of Eternity." Lu Li didn''t understand why he was being asked such a childish question.


    The Well of Eternity was once the center of Azeroth. It was a lake filled with mysterious energy and was the source of all magic and natural energy in the world.


    It drew energy from the endless darkness beyond this realm, providing nutrients for the living beings of the world.


    Later, the battle between Malfurion and Azshara would throw the magic of higher Elves into confusion. The swirl inside the Well of Eternity would eventually explode, initiating a series of unfortunate events.


    "In the ancient times, we were used to drawing energy from the Well of Eternity. This was so easy that we began to rely on it, uncontrollably," Krug sighed, then continued, "We call it a magic addiction, and what you''re doing now is no different to what we did in the past."


    Lu Li instantly understood what he meant.


    It seemed like Krug wasn''t supportive of Lu Li using the altar to gain experience.


    "Thank you for the reminder," Lu Li said as he packed away most of his rare materials, only leaving enough for him to reach level 45.


    Originally, he had wanted to gain more EXP.


    Krug was very right ¨C players an advantage with higher levels, but levels weren''t the deciding factor for everything.


    After Water Fairy retrieved the Empowerment: Backstab skill, her teacher advised her not to be hasty about using it. It would be best to learn the skill after she could achieve 100% completion level for her regular Backstab.


    One-hundred-percent completion required more than just good posture; you needed a deep understanding of the skill.


    Hosted by Krug himself, the altar devoured the rare materials.


    As the light emanated outwards and shrouded him, Lu Li let out a long breath.


    He was finally level 45.


    This wasn''t a big jump, but it gave him an extra equipment level.


    While the others were still struggling with their level 40 gear, he was already holding level 45 equipment.


    Widowmaker (Epic): Damage 54-72, Agility +40, Strength +20, Constitution +10, Critical Strike +15%. Two slots. Special Effect 1: Disarm. 50% chance to steal an enemy weapon so that it cannot be used to attack for 3 seconds. Special Effect 2: Bleed. Your attacks have certain chance of causing a target to bleed for 50% of the damage taken for 6 seconds. Special Effect 3: Escape. Blink to a designated location within 15 yards in line of sight. 3-minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: level 45. Durability 150/150.


    Control, bleeding and escape ¨C this was a dagger perfectly suited for Lu Li.


    The new dagger seemed slightly wider compared to his previous one and was also longer too. This was a suitable weapon for his main hand.


    It was a slightly darker shade with a streamlined design to minimize the flow of air during attacks. This made the user more capable of hiding and was a better dagger for sneaking up on opponents.


    After reaching level 45, it would become increasingly harder to level up. Lu Li was already two levels higher than the second-place player, so he wasn''t in a rush to train. It would be more beneficial for him to find someone who could empower his skills.


    If someone had a whole set of empowered skills, they would be able to defeat Lu Li, even if he was a higher level and had better equipment.


    Of course, most players would only have one or two empowered skills at this stage. Even someone like Water Fairy, who was highly favored by the teacher, only had one empowered skill book. Moreover, her teacher had asked her to maximize her completion level before she learned it.


    Lu Li waved Krug goodbye and teleported to Southshore.


    "I wish to find a teacher in the organization. Can you introduce anyone to me?" Lu Li asked. He had chosen a time when the inn was less crowded and invited the hostess for a drink.


    "Teacher¡­" The hostess was surprised at Lu Li''s request.


    "Do you not have a teacher?" Lu Li was curious as to how NPCs taught each other skills. In Dawn, there were many famous teacher and student combinations, for example, Cenarius and Malfurion, Antonidas and Jaina...


    "The name of my teacher is unspeakable, and he won''t take a second student either," the hostess said as she shook her head.


    "Is he a master? How many empowered skills has he taught you?" Lu Li asked.


    The hostess frowned. She wasn''t impressed by Lu Li''s persistence, but she still answered in the end.


    "Of course. You should find a master as your teacher too. My teacher taught me seven empowered skills."


    A total of seven! Lu Li realized he had underestimated these NPCs.


    The hostess wasn''t an important figure in Ravenholdt Manor, but she wasn''t a simple watchman either.


    "Can you introduce me to a master in the organization?" Lu Li requested.


    "Without the permission of a master, I cannot give you anyone''s name, unless you tell me who you''re looking for specifically," the hostess said, as a hint of fear flashed across. She didn''t even dare to mention any names.


    "Please, we''re friends, right?" Lu Li couldn''t do much.


    Ravenholdt Manor was one of the most secretive organizations in Azeroth. Even the people in the organization were not be aware of each other. Lu Li knew Duke Ravenholdt, who was the leader of the organization, but there was no way he would take Lu Li as a student.

 771 Gaming Kingdom

    "What if I give you a name?" Lu Li can only hope for the next best thing.


    "Even if you know their name, do not tell me. Write the name and what you want to say on this and I''ll give it to the esteemed Duke," she said as she brought out a sheepskin.


    "Do you really have to take things so seriously?" Lu Li thought to himself; he was speechless.


    However, he did not continue to bother her. Otherwise, she might get in trouble with the Ravenholdt Faction.


    After the hostess had left, Lu Li wrote a letter to Garona on the sheepskin. He wasn''t entirely sure whether she was in Ravenholdt or not, but he took a chance.


    When he finished writing the letter, he handed it back to her and left.


    On the second day of the tournament, Lu Li was the first to fight in the single elimination match.


    This was not because their opponents were difficult to deal with, but because he wanted to test out his new weapon. The team they were up against was a small, low-tier guild. This was Ruling Sword''s last match in the preliminaries and they had already accumulated enough points to advance to the next stage.


    The first player that entered was a Mage. He used his cleanse active as soon as he was crowd-controlled, but before he could fight back, he was stunned again.


    After a few skill rotations, the Mage was already on critical HP.


    The fight lasted no more than a few seconds before the Mage fell at the dagger of Lu Li.


    "Were you even taking it seriously? You''re not this bad usually. You could''ve casted Frost Nova after the cleanse, then flashed away," their leader ranted angrily.


    What was even more embarrassing was that he had barely even made a dent on Lu Li''s HP bar.


    Lu Li still had 90% HP remaining and was standing proudly on the battlefield.


    The Mage was ashamed, but felt like as if there was nothing he could do.


    "I know that, but that was Lu Li. Before I could do anything, I was stunned again¡­"


    "Don''t you have another active that cleanses?!" the leader shouted as he slapped the Mage across his face.


    "Brother, he still had Kidney Strike anyways. There was nothing I could have done." At this point, the poor Mage was close to tears.


    "Stop making excuses, you had no chance anyways. You should''ve just dealt as much damage as you could to him before you died."


    They were treating Lu Li like a Boss instead of another player, hoping to defeat him as a group. That way, even if they lost, it wouldn''t look as bad to the spectators.


    Even if they all attacked him at the same time, they might not be able to defeat him.


    The second to come out was a Warrior.


    Warriors naturally countered Thieves, but this one had no intention of defeating Lu Li by himself. They hoped they he could deal some damage to Lu Li''s HP bar in order to increase their chances of defeating him.


    Lu Li had just tested his damage on a Mage type class and now he could try it on a tankier Warrior.


    If the Warrior knew that he was only being used as an experiment, he would probably be furious.


    Lu Li had reached Lv45 yesterday and everyone had seen it on the level ranking. However, only the players who closely followed the professional scene would notice that his weapon had changed.


    The pros knew that such a drastic increase in his DPS meant that his newly equipped weapon was most likely a Legendary.


    Legendary equips were extremely rare and very few players had one. Apparently, Sorrowless'' wrist guards were Legendary, but a wrist guard could never compare to a weapon in terms of DPS.


    The Warrior knew that there were no chance of him winning, so he tried his best to deal as much damage to Lu Li as possible.


    When he was defeated, Lu Li only had 50% HP remaining.


    There was nothing that he could do about this. Most, if not all of his attacks were physical damage and Warriors had the highest physical defense in the game.


    Thieves were naturally at a disadvantage against Warriors.


    The classes in Dawn were somewhat balanced. Although Thieves tended to be stronger than most classes, they still had obvious counters.


    The third player was a Warlock who had a few Lifesteal skills. However, Warlocks can Lifesteal if they dealt damage to their enemies. Against Lu Li''s numerous crowd-control skills, he had no chance at all and barely lasted longer than the Mage.


    When their fifth player was defeated, Lu Li finally finished his clean sweep.


    However, this did not mean that his opponents were weak. Anyone who was willing to spend money to join the tournament was a decent player. They would at least be good enough to compete for a spot on a Major Guild PVP team.


    After this match, Ruling Sword completed their perfect preliminary matches and advanced into the Promotional Series.


    The Promotional Series were much harder. No matter how lucky a team was, it was impossible to match up against weaker teams every time. As such, the teams that made it to the Promotional Series were mostly from the major Guilds.


    The competition rules for the Promotional Series hadn''t changed. However, the stadium had been upgraded and the number of spectators had increased to a million. Additionally, there were commentators for each individual match, which made the tournament even more professional and intense.


    Based on tickets alone, the total profit came to around a $10 million.


    The winner received 30% and the loser received 20%, while the remaining 50% went to the gaming company, sponsors and tournament association.


    It was all business for the gaming company and tournament association ¨C if there was no profit from holding these tournaments, they wouldn''t bother at all. The costs involved included paying the commentators and the special guests that were invited.


    As long as you participated in the Promotional Series, you would earn at least $2 million per game.


    This was why everyone wanted to start a major Guild.


    Profit!


    Although most of the profits went towards the guild, the players who participated in the tournament would still earna few million dollars after a season.


    The gaming scene had become a large-scale business.


    After his rebirth, LU Li knew that the best way to earn money was to build up his own kingdom before Dawn rose to its true potential.


    Because of the advancement of technology and new ideas, there had never been a game that continued in popularity. However, Guilds could last forever, switching from game to game under the same name. Some of the major Guilds in Dawn had a history of over 100 years.


    If he could build up a kingdom of his own, he could pass this onto his children, grandchildren and generations to come.


    He had been poor in his previous life, but had sworn that he or his descendants would never go back to that life.


    After the match was finished, Lu Li returned home to work on his Engineering again.


    He had invested all of his time and effort into Engineering for the past few days. Through sheer willpower and his nearly unlimited resources, he managed to grind his Engineering up to Lv240.


    He could now craft useful items such as Goblin Poultryizer.


    Goblin Poultryizer: Turns target into a chicken for 5 seconds, assuming the transmogrification polarity has not been reversed¡­


    Lu Li had been looking forward to using this.


    For some people, this item might have given off the impression that it had the same effect as the Mage''s Polymorph skill.


    While they shared similarities, there was a chance of failing, which could turn the user into a chicken. Not only would that turn the fight against you, it would also be extremely embarrassing.


    However, the chances of that happening were quite slim and didn''t stop Lu Li from crafting it.

 772 It’s a Secret to Everybody

    Although they could both control a target by transforming them into an animal, Polymorph restored the target''s HP over time, while the Poultryizer didn''t.


    This was why so many Mages disliked the skill. Once their opponent was on critical HP, Polymorph became useless because it would heal them.


    Additionally, Polymorph could only be casted on Humanoid targets, while the Poultryizer could be used on a variety of races and targets including Humans, Beasts, Undead, Demons and even certain Bosses.


    Lu Li looked forward to killing some Bosses with this contraption.


    If he could interrupt a Boss from channeling its ultimate skill with the Poultryizer, it would basically become a toothless tiger.


    Poultryizer was also instant cast, whereas Polymorph had a cast-time of 1.5 seconds.


    Finally, although Polymorph had a longer duration, this would decrease with each successive cast on the same target. The Poultryizer didn''t have this restriction. If everyone in the same party had a Poultryizer, the target could be turned into a chicken indefinitely.


    The downside was that it couldn''t be used in PVP, which was quite a shame.


    Another disadvantage of the Poultryizer was the 5-minute cooldown after casting.


    It also had a limited number of uses and the materials required for crafting one were quite expensive. One of the materials called Khorium Ore was extremely difficult to find. It rarely spawned in the wild and there were few quests where it was given as a reward.


    There were only 13 pieces in the entire storage of Ruling Swords. Because of how rare these ores were, Lu Li tried whatever he could to minimize the failure rate.


    He decided to complete a quest to try to obtain an Advanced Crafting Knife.


    Engineers could use Crafting Knives or Wrenches to increase their success rates, similar to Crafting Hammers and using the Hearth in Blacksmithing. These were all essential items to levelling up your profession.


    The quest was quite annoying, but given how rare and expensive Khorium Ore was, Lu Li felt like it was worth his time and effort.


    It was called "It''s a Secret to Everybody" and was given by an NPC nearby a lake in Un''Goro Crater.


    A little broken raft bobbed up and down along the shoreline, but Lu Li had no idea why it was there. Looking at the watermark left behind on the trees, the tides had not changed.


    In the little boat was an old and torn up map piece.


    Everyone had different starting points and the quest locations were randomized on the map for each player.


    Lu Li followed the map and dove into the lake water. He found a leather bag hidden under the sand at the bottom of the lake, which activated the quest.


    After he accepted it, he was teleported out of the water.


    If you declined the quest, the bag would not open and you wouldn''t be able to advance.


    The quest hinted that there was a group of lost travelers in Marshal''s Refuge; perhaps an exploration in area would uncover more clues.


    When Lu Li arrived at the refuge, all the clues pointed towards a Gnome with amnesia named Linken.


    "I have no idea why I''m even here. No one knows. It''s a mystery to everyone. I can''t remember anything¡­" Linken said while scratching his head.


    "Maybe there''s something in your bag that might help you remember," Lu Li suggested.


    Only Linken could open the bag ¨C otherwise, Lu Li would never be so kind and patient with him.


    Linken opened the bag and carefully examined its contents, then said with a perplexed expression, "What you''ve brought made me remember something. My Sword! I remember now ¨C I was on my way to strengthen it, but I forgot why I was doing that. Sorry I can''t give you more information; I really can''t remember!"


    "Winterspring is a long journey. I can help you Linken; just give me the crafting knife," Lu Li said as his eyes lit up.


    "Young man, this is my Crafting Knife and I really like it, so I can''t give it to you," Linken refused unwillingly.


    "My friend, I found it for you. Without me you would''ve never seen this bag again. It probably would''ve been taken away by a Gnoll or a Forest Ogre," Lu Li argued.


    Damn it, was his Charisma really this low?


    If Hachi Chan was here, Linken probably would have given the Crafting Knife to her without her even completing the quest.


    "Maybe I can give this compass to you. Look, it always points towards the same direction. How interesting," the little Gnome said as he brought out a compass to tempt Lu Li.


    The knife had been underwater for so long, yet it was still shiny and radiant. It was obviously a special item.


    Linken had lost his memories, but he wasn''t stupid.


    "Whatever. Give me that sword then. If you like the Crafting Knife so much, you can keep it. I would''ve never thought you were such a terrible person. I should''ve never returned the bag to you," Lu Li said, pretending to be unhappy.


    "Oh no, I don''t want to give you that either."


    It was an expensive looking sword and it was in a very good condition.


    "I''ll give you two options ¨C you either give me the sword or the crafting knife. Otherwise, I take the bag away. I''m an advanced Engineer in need of a crafting knife, so I''m willing to spend some money to get it." At this point, Lu Li wanted to stomp the Gnome to death very badly.


    He couldn''t understand why female players found these midgets adorable.


    "Ok, ok, I''ll agree, but first, you have to deliver the sword to Donova Snowden in Winterspring. You can find her by the hotsprings. She''ll instill the power of the springs into the sword," Linken compromised.


    "Will she agree to help you? Do I need to say or give her anything?" Lu Li asked.


    "No need; the sword alone will do. If she sees the sword, she won''t decline your request. I can''t remember well, but I think I''ve done a lot of favors for her and this is her way of repaying me."


    The little Gnome was getting impatient and waved his hands, signaling for him to leave.


    "So, if I bring the sword back, I get the crafting knife?" Lu Li was worried.


    His charisma was too low and he had no idea whether the NPC would lie to him or not.


    Linken guaranteed that the deal had been set up and assured him before he left for Winterspring.

 773 Linken’s Carving Blade

    This quest was one of the most complicated in Dawn, moreso than Stalvan''s quest that Lu Li had completed.


    Fortunately, Lu Li did not plan on completing everything.


    His goal was very clear ¨C it was to obtain this carving blade. If he could successfully enhance Linken''s Sabre and exchange for the carving blade, the outcome wouldn''t matter to him.


    Even if the quest wasn''t completed, there wouldn''t be any punishments. Lu Li had no pity for Linken, who had lost his memories.


    After paying the fees to the transporter, Lu Li was teleported to Everlook, in Winterspring.


    This town was the last save point when arriving at the peak of Mount Hyjal. It was really just a street of goblin-owned inns, which were used to demonstrate that they were neutral to any race or power.


    Lu Li did not loiter in the town. Instead, he quickly summoned his mount and rushed along, following the road.


    The monsters in Winterspring were high-levelled and posed a great danger to Lu Li. Fortunately, the goblins had constructed a fence which followed alongside the road. At the very least, this could fend off the less-ferocious wild monsters.


    After riding for a while, Lu Li eventually found Donova Snowden.


    She was at the eastern part of Everlook, next to a small, irregularly-shaped lake. In his previous life, Lu Li had jumped into the lake to wash himself while Donova Snowden was not paying attention.


    At that time, there was a theory that the water, which could imbue a weapon with certain enhancements, would impart the same to a person who jumped in.


    The outcome? Absolutely nothing. To add insult to injury, if a person jumped in, they would also lose health.


    "Halt!" a dwarven lady shouted as she ran from a tent at the travel-worn Lu Li.


    "I''m Linken''s friend. I was entrusted to bring this sword," Lu Li said as he quickly gathered himself. He did not want to have a conflict with this NPC who was above level 50. Furthermore, Donova Snowden was an important NPC with many quests, so he tried his best to not insult her.


    "Why are you only here now?" Donova asked as her facial expression eased a little.


    "Linken has lost his memory. He''s currently recovering at Marshal Camp in Un''Goro Crater. He wishes for you to enhance this blade in accordance to the original agreement," Lu Li explained as he transferred the sabre over.


    "What? Linken has lost his memory? Oh, what an unfortunate man. Alright, this is his sword, but it''s not complete. I know someone who can make this sword complete. However, it might be difficult to talk to him," Donova Snowden said.


    "Linken is my friend; I will try my best," Lu Li promised vehemently.


    "Listen, I know someone who can assist you, but you must first acquire the Videre elixir. Gregan Brewspewer can help you with this. His whereabouts are not definite, but I do know that he''s been watching over Feralas."


    Gregan Brewspewer could create this type of elixir, but he required one crucial ingredient ¨C Evoroot.


    This herb was guarded by Miblon Snartooth, a Gnoll Bos. However, it could instantly kill Lu Li, so his only choice was to outsmart it


    When normal players attempted this quest for the first time, they would be at their wits'' end.


    However, Lu Li already had previous experience from rebirth and had a strategy. He had already prepared some large chunks of fresh meat in his bag beforehand.


    He would throw these near Miblon Snarltooth, and the smell of blood would attract it away. Using this method, Lu Li stealthily dug out the Evoroot.


    Gregan Brewspewer then used the Evoroot to create the Videre elixirs.


    After returning to Winterspring, Donova Snowden instructed Lu Li to bring the Videre elixir to Tanaris'' Grave.


    Videre Elixir was known by players to be a suicide elixir. After consuming it, the player would immediately fall unconscious, but would not lose anything.


    Only once he was in a spirit-state would it be possible to find the person that Donova Snowden wanted him to find. Gaeriyan was quite hostile towards Lu Li when he arrived. After all, they would not let him rest, even after he had died. However, he was quite lonely, so when Lu Li told him some of his adventure tales his mood began to lighten. It was only after this that he agreed to repair the sword.


    After the sword had been repaired, Lu Li confirmed that he would revive.


    Because of the effects of the elixir, he did not lose experience, or experience the side effects of a normal revival. With the sword in his possession, Lu Li returned to Donova Snowden. Even after running around like a dog, this dwarven aunty still complained that Lu Li had been dawdling.


    "Excuse me, if I give you some compensation, can you also enhance my weapon?" Lu Li asked carefully while she was busy working on the other weapon.


    "Boy, this isn''t something that a few gold coins can buy," she laughed.


    "Go ahead and request anything. If I am able to complete it, I will try my best to."


    Surprisingly, this NPC looked down on Lu Li, despite him being the number-one player on the level rankings and the leader of a major guild. Tens of thousands of players would willingly fight and die for him.


    "The quota for this month has already been filled. Come and try again next month," Donova said as she shook her head.


    However, she had not rejected him, which gave him some hope. His equipment was already extremely strong, but who could complain about an upgrade?


    After the imbuement of the sword was complete, the appearance of the weapon was greatly changed. The nature and attributes of the sword were also greatly increased, but unfortunately, Lu Li was unable to see its properties. The only things shown were the words ''quest item''.


    After returning to Marshal camp at Un''Goro Crater, Lu Li met Linken once again.


    "Wow, you''re very tall," he murmured, looking up at the figure that was approaching him, but after seeing that it was Lu Li, he quickly said, "Oh, it''s you. Hurry up and give me my sword."


    Unexpectedly, he did not even mention the carving blade.


    Lu Li coldly sneered, "Mr. Linken, I quite like your sword. I feel that the carving blade might not be comparable to it."


    "No, you damned tall man ¨C that is my property! That is my sword!" Linken shouted desperately.


    "I fished it out of the water. As for returning it to you, that was due to my good personality. If I don''t give it to you, it''s because you''re unlucky," Lu Li condescendingly laughed.


    "You¡­" Linken''s face quickly turned red.


    "What? Give me the carving blade." Lu Li felt that he needed to further assert himself. He did not plan on completing the rest of this NPC''s quest. It still required Lu Li to help him recover the memories, so he couldn''t complete it, even if he had grinded until tomorrow. Furthermore, nothing good was going to come out of the quest anyway.


    From the start, the Linken did not intend for Lu Li to get the carving blade that easily. Sadly, his sabre was now in Lu Li''s possession. He was in the wrong as well, so it would not be wise to cause a conflict. Being a level 45 NPC with no memories or weapon, Lu Li wouldn''t hesitate to kill him if he had dared to initiate a fight.

 774 Khorium Ore

    Dawn did not restrict players from insulting NPCs. If an NPC initiated a fight and you were able to overpower him, you could take their loot.


    However, most NPCs were definitely not stupid. Linken hesitated for a moment and decided to give the carving blade to Lu Li. According to the system rules, when players finished a quest, there had to be a reward regardless.


    System: Completed the imbuement of the sword. Gained experience, fame, gold and Linken''s carving blade.


    The experience, fame and gold that was rewarded was pitiful. Only the carving blade was worth anything in Lu Li''s eyes.


    Linken''s carving blade (Special): Agility +15, Carving speed +20%, Carving success rate +10%, Durability 75/75.


    Out of the many tools that would be useful for Professions, this was one of the best. Not even Lu Li had heard of a better tool, both in this life and his previous one.


    Of course, this Carving Blade would never be able to match up to Lu Li''s hammer.


    Cresso''s Hammer (Special): Strength +20, Forging speed +30%, Forging success rate +20%, Rank +1, Owned by Lu Li, Durability 100/100


    The differences in properties were obvious. Furthermore, the Rank +1 in Cresso''s Hammer made it incomparable to anything else; it was truly an invaluable treasure. However, Lu Li did not have any complaints about the Carving Blade and was extremely content with it.


    The most time-consuming aspect of Engineering was not smelting ore or modelling and putting the contraptions together.


    If one item took 10 minutes to make, eight of these 10 minutes would be spent on the carving process. If the carving speed was increased by 20%, it would save more than a minute at the very least.


    Furthermore, there was also the increase in success rate. Usually, if there was a mistake in the process of carving, it was best to just leave it as it is and not bother with fixing it.


    Unless you were an Engineering master, it would all be a waste of time.


    "Next, I would like you to help me recover my memories," Linken said as he confidently grasped his sword.


    From his perspective, he was the one giving the quest, and the players only had the option of slaving away for experience and rewards.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li was clearly not that type of person. He put away the carving blade, glanced at him in contempt and lazily said, "I''m sorry, I have no time to play with you. You can go and amuse yourself."


    Linken was filled with rage and his face became extremely red.


    Players would try and gain favour with the NPCs simply because of what they could gain from them. As soon as experience and rewards no longer attracted them, they would no longer care.


    Lu Li packed up his things and boldly left the camp.


    Linken''s quest was known as a ''bait'' quest. In the beginning, people would think that there might be some good rewards after completing it. However, they would quickly realize that it was a fruitless endeavour, apart from the Carving Blade.


    Being a player who had undergone rebirth, Lu Li obviously would not go and complete the quests. He only wanted the Carving Blade that was rewarded at the very start of the quest.


    Now that he had the Carving Blade, he was free to do whatever he wanted.


    The Gnomish Poultryizer was known as a luxury product in Engineering. Compared to the Explosive Sheep that Lu Li had created, this was much more intricate and complicated. As soon as it malfunctioned, it would instantly be rendered useless, and the materials would not be able to be recovered.


    Lu Li withdrew 10 different materials from his storage and lined them up on his workstation, then switched off all external channels.


    The Gnomish Poultryizer consisted of three parts ¨C a Hardened Adamantite Tube, the Khorium Power Core and the main structure, along with some pieces on the outside.


    The main part was the Khorium Power Core. Khorium Ore Nuggets were smelted to make a Khorium Bar, which would then have an Engineering Circle carved into it. After activating the circle, energy would begin to flow out.


    The Hardened Adamantite Tubes were used to harness the energy, which could then be directed towards the target.


    Lu Li carefully adjusted the temperature of the furnace, removing the impurities from the Khorium Ore. This process was actually quite easy, which was completely different to real life.


    Purifying ore was a large industry in the real world.


    In the game, it had become simplified to the point of triviality. Very soon, a solidifying bar of Khorium appeared in front of him. The gold colour had a soft, white lustre and it was extremely hot.


    This was the result of releasing the energy. Khorium ore was definitely the most suited to making the power core.


    As Dawn sprung up, internet slang also appeared with it. Among these terms, there was one that said, "So bright that it blinds my Khorium eyes," which signified a blinding, awe-inspiring feeling.


    Lu Li first tried using a normal Carving Blade. This type of Carving Blade that could be bought in the shops was quite inefficient. Even after exerting a lot of pressure, it barely made a scratch.


    The clarity of the line would not only affect the success rate, but would also affect the overall use of the product.


    As soon as he changed to Linken''s carving blade, he felt an obvious increase in accuracy and sharpness. Lu Li was extremely happy. If it gave bonuses like this, the increase in speed would be far more than 20%.


    After drawing the Engineering Circle over the Khorium bar, the original light had disappeared. Only after activating the bar would the original light appear once again. Furthermore, the Engineering Circles were not only used for controlling energy. Lu Li could not explain it, but he reasoned that there had to be something in there that could turn a living being into a chicken.


    After this, the Hardened Adamantite Tube was crafted. First, he smelted the ore down into a liquid, and poured it to cool in a mould.


    An Engineering Circle also needed to be carved onto the Hardened Adamantite Tube. However, it was simpler than the one on the Khorium Power Core because Adamantite was softer and more malleable.


    Lu Li made another 10 Hardened Adamantite Tubes in one go, since he would need them later.


    As he completed more and more of these carvings, he became more efficient.


    After that, there were some small parts to make ¨C the shell, ignition device, glue, etc. The last step was putting it all together, which was followed by troubleshooting if necessary.


    Lu Li closely examined each part of the machine and began to assemble them once he felt reasonably confident.


    It was good that Lu Li had possessed enough materials instead of being like his former poor self. He was quite excited and his heart was rapidly racing. After all, this was something made out of Khorium. If it failed, he would lose a lot of gold coins.


    Tens of gold coins would equate to an average person''s salary over one or two months.


    System: Congratulations, you have successfully created a Gnomish Poultryizer. Engineering Experience +1.

 775 Wild Gaze

    Since the System had told him that it was a success, the Gnomish Poultryizer could now be used. He didn''t need to experiment any further.


    He had made a total of ten and only one of them had failed. Some mistakes in Engineering caused energy cores to become unstable and explode. Fortunately, the hundreds of gold he had spent upgrading the workshop hadn''t gone to waste and the explosion was contained to a small area.


    He then left the workshop as the game time for the day was almost over.


    Over the course of the day, Lu Li had made a small knife for a quest and ten Gnomish Poultryizers. It felt like a waste.


    He didn''t even have time to level, which was an extremely important job for an expert player like him.


    When he logged out of Dawn, it was day time in real life. When the players entered the game, their bodies were put into a light form of sleep. This meant that they didn''t have to sleep after logging out if they didn''t want to, but for the sake of his health, Lu Li still rested for 2 hours.


    He was woken up by his cell phone ringer; it was Square Root 3 calling him.


    Lu Li suddenly remember that there was something important on today. It had to do with Kitty Likes Meat''s father, who was a former player and coach. Now, he was just a guy who trained his daughter at home.


    When they were talking about him, they referred to him as Cat Dad.


    Cat Dad had come to see his daughter today. She had left her home half a month ago, but he had already come to visit her over forty times. He wanted to accompany his daughter in the morning, take her out to dinner, walk with her to buy something¡­ there was always a reason.


    As such, Square Root 3 decided to invite him to be Ruling Sword''s coach, to which he reluctantly accepted.


    Lu Li was going to meet with him and come up with some kind of training program.


    When Lu Li was about to leave, he ran into his sister. Other than her restriction on vigorous exercise, Lu Xin was no different to a normal person now. The doctor also advised her to go out more, but not alone.


    "Big bro, are you going out? I''ll come with you!" Lu Xin said excitedly; she had waited for Lu Li for a long time.


    She knew that her brother was very busy, so she hadn''t bothered him much over these last few months. She only asked to go on walks with him after he had logged out of the game.


    "Sure. I''ll grab a coat for you," Lu Li said, carefully watching out for his sister as they left.


    Lu Li didn''t live far from Ruling Sword headquarters, but it was still quite a long walk. Lu Xin could not walk quickly, so it took a while before they arrived at their destination ¨C a French-inspired BBQ restaurant.


    Regardless of whether it was French of Japanese, Lu Li wasn''t particularly fond of it. Although he enjoyed the taste, he couldn''t stand this kind of pretentious behavior.


    Fortunately, he wasn''t an unreasonable person. Just because he didn''t like it didn''t mean that everyone else had to not like it as well.


    Square Root 3, Kitty Likes Meat, Cat Dad, Cat Mum, Lu Li and his sister made up a total of six people.


    Kitty Likes Meat knew that Lu Xin had surgery recently, so she was particularly nice to her. She pulled out a chair and offered for her down to sit next to her. Lu Li saw that her sister was being included, so he did nothing to stop this.


    "You must have been waiting for some time. Why haven''t you guys ordered?" Lu Li asked as he picked up the menu and began looking through it.


    "It hasn''t been that long and it''s not even noon yet. It''s normally so hard to get a meal with you, so I don''t mind waiting," Square Root 3 answered with a smile before turning to take care of Lu Xin.


    "Don''t get any ideas about my sister. You''re too old," Lu Li said uncomfortably.


    This was definitely discrimination ¨C Kitty Likes Meat and Lu Xin could hold hands, but Square Root 3 couldn''t even care about her.


    The atmosphere started off light as everyone engaged in casual conversation. However, the topic quickly shifted towards the game and the major clubs.


    "It feels like new players really like going to Glory Capital," Square Root 3 commented.


    "But for the newcomers, Glory Capital is not the best place to be. Their knockout system is too cruel," Cat Dad couldn''t help but say when he heard that.


    It was like they were talking about chess in front of a chess expert; there was no way he was going to stay quiet.


    "Because they are the number 1 guild, their requirements for new players are much more demanding. Most of the professional players there spent their childhoods in the Glory Capital training camp," Lu Li chimed in.


    "There is Freedom Sky''s Midnight Ghost ¨C he was part of the same generation as Blood Dagger, but was ultimately eliminated. There is also Blood Red War Flag''s Innocent Child, Seventh Heaven''s Southern Persian, Gale Legion''s Gaze¡­" Cat Dad recounted all the notable players that had been eliminated, some of which Square Root 3 and Lu Li didn''t even know.


    "In fact, my dad was at the Glory Capital youth training camp," Kitty Likes Meat said, revealing her father''s identity.


    "I''ve never seen you before. What generation were you from?" Lu Li asked. He and Square Root 3 immediately realized that they were before a great senior of theirs.


    "Haha, it''s not actually worth mentioning. Glory Capital''s youth training camp isn''t such a big thing. There are a dozen new players in every rotation and all but one or two would be eliminated by the end. The rest would just join the other guilds ¨C that group of people would be in the hundreds," Cat Dad laughed.


    "We were planning to set up an academy, but we wanted your thoughts on it," Square Root 3 said.


    "You guys?" Cat Dad was quite surprised. He didn''t think that Lu Li and Square Root 3 were so ambitious. Youth training camps and training players were not simple tasks; they were systematic and long-term development strategies. Not every club could afford to or had the courage to invest in such a thing.


    "That''s right; we plan to start from the basics and build our own Glory Capital in future," Lu Li said.


    He didn''t say that they would exceed Glory Capital; that would just be arrogant. Glory Capital had been around for so long and had endured through so many declines that they had become gaming legends.


    "This is not a small sum of money. Can your family afford something like this," Cat Dad asked unsurely.


    "We can do it little by little. It''s not just the training camp ¨C we want to have whatever Glory Capital has. And if they don''t have it, we''ll still try to do it. We don''t want our guild to be short-lived. Would you like to join forces with us?" Lu Li asked slowly, but confidently.


    Cat Dad smiled bitterly and looked at Cat Mum, but she ignored him and talked to Lu Xin instead.


    He had once been too obsessed with the game and had almost lost her. Afterwards, he announced his retirement, but after so many years, this was his chance to chase his old dream again.

 776 Training Camp

    "Dad, you''ve got nothing to do anyway," Kitty Likes Meat said as she pulled at her dad''s arm.


    "What do you mean I have nothing to do?" he asked, clearly unimpressed. "When you talk like that, you make me out to be some kind of delinquent. Dad is a good person, okay?"


    "Those stores don''t need your work. Let dad become a coach. Otherwise, he''ll go crazy. Please mum?" Kitty Likes Meat pleaded as she turned her head to her mother who was smiling, but not speaking.


    Cat Mom hesitated, then looked at her husband and finally said, "Take the offer if you want to, but it will be difficult."


    "I don''t really need to coach, and I''d rather spend time with my wife. Let''s go to La Plagne next week; we haven''t been skiing in a long time. Kitty is busy, so we don''t need to take her," Cat Dad laughed.


    "Who will buy food for me?" Kitty Likes Meat was a little annoyed; she really hated public displays of affection.


    Seeing as her father was trying to please his wife, it was obvious that he would eventually become Ruling Sword''s coach. Lu Li and Square Root 3 now also knew about his glorious past.


    Cat Dad was also considered as a pretty good professional player for his time. His ID was Star Spirit and he had entered Glory Capital''s training camp 25 years ago. He was formally recruited and made great contributions to the guild over a three-year period. Later, he joined another guild that was hostile towards Glory Capital out of an internal conflict.


    At that time, Glory Capital had nearly destroyed all of their enemy clubs and Cat Dad had played a very important role in that.


    In total, Cat Dad had played competitively for over 5 years before retiring and living a peaceful life.


    Of course, his love for video games was never lost, as he continued to coach and consult many large clubs over the next 20 years. However, he never returned to the game.


    Over the course of the meal, they continued to chat and talk to each other about gaming. When everyone had eaten their fill, Cat Dad was expected to be on duty. However, he had to make sure to take care of his wife, as she didn''t like him being absorbed in video games.


    Lu Li sent his sister back home and rushed back to the guild headquarters.


    The offices for the guild staff had just been renovated. They took up an entire floor and had several sections. None of this was visible to the public anyway, so there likely wouldn''t be any problems with it.


    "This is the integrated training room. Do you think there is anything here that needs improving?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "Hmm, it''s not bad¡­ very professional. Who helped you design it? It would be best to add a screen to the place," Cat Dad commented as he looked around with a satisfied smile on his face.


    "Star Moon Guild also had an integrated training room, but they never really used the equipment," Square Root 3 said in disappointment.


    With the rise of the gaming industry, there were bound to be ambitious people, but not everyone''s ambitions were supported by their hard work.


    Originally, Lu Li had wanted to spend money on things that even the big clubs didn''t have.


    "Equipment is easy to buy, but you''ll probably run into a bunch of problems," Cat Dad said seriously. "You will need a video input, which costs a lot of money. It''s probably about a million all up; I hope you''re prepared."


    Official games couldn''t be recorded and could only be watched live. Clubs registered in the game were allowed to purchase game footage from tournament officials. The price of these varied from match to match, ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.


    If they bought a few hundred of these, the total price would truly be astronomical.


    "What are some of the training systems that you have now? Have you found any promising new players?" Cat Dad impatiently asked Lu Li as he walked around.


    "It''s not that easy ¨C the members that currently need training are the club members themselves," Lu Li said in distress.


    "Fat monkey is okay, and Kitty is probably about that of a second-rate player," Cat Dad said. He was quite critical towards his own daughter.


    "What about March?" Lu Li asked. He was actually quite curious to hear his evaluation on her.


    "Well, that little girl is a treasure. I haven''t seen someone so talented for quite a few years now. The most important thing is her ability to put in the effort," Cat Dad praised.


    "So, you''re saying that these three players need training?'' Lu Li asked.


    "How could you miss your little Shaman?" Cat Dad chuckled. "I know you think that she isn''t particularly talented, but haven''t you noticed that she has quite the mental fortitude and is very good at seeing opportunities in fights?"


    "I''m not sure about those things. Cat Dad you''re quite optimistic about Memories," Lu Li said in surprise.


    "Do you know why the proportion of female players is so low?" Cat Dad asked. This seemed to be an unrelated question.


    "Because they are generally unsuited for it? If a woman can make it into the gaming circles, they are already considered a top player," Lu Li responded.


    Among the experts, there were players like Wendelian, Deadly Green Orange and Star Baby. They were popular, but were far from being at the top.


    "Yes, the general quality of female players is inferior to male players, particularly in terms of mental fortitude. Sakura Memories''s is excellent in that regard and her technique is also not bad. She can probably become a second-rate, or even a first-rate professional player after some training," Cat Dad explained emotionally.


    A strong mental fortitude was the foundation of a good player.


    "In that case, concentrate on training those four," Lu Li nodded.


    "You guys can come along too. Moonlight is fine, but Lu Li, you actually need the most training. I''ve seen your matches and have noticed a few problems," Cat Dad said rather bluntly.


    "Please elaborate," Lu Li replied respectfully.


    However, his heart was unconvinced because his experience from his past life and his hard work in this one made him feel like he deserved to be a top player. There wasn''t a single player in Dawn that he didn''t have the confident to challenge.


    "You seldom make mistakes," Cat Dad started by affirming Lu Li but then slowly continued, "But when you make a mistake, it''s a low-level, common-sense one."


    "Hmm¡­" Lu Li scratched his head and didn''t have anything to say in response.


    He had just been an ordinary player in his previous life. He wasn''t part of the competitive field, so he didn''t understand everything that was happening. As such, after presenting himself on-stage, he had actually made quite a few rookie errors.


    Fortunately, he was stronger than most of the players such that these errors weren''t fatal.


    What''s more, because these errors were so obvious, his opponents were always afraid to capitalize as they always felt like it was some kind of trick that he was playing.

 777 A Great Investmen

    "There are also many tricks in the field that you don''t seem to know about. That is why I think you are in need of the most training," Dad Cat said as he pressed his knuckles onto the table. "Much of your skill is learned from Moonlight, but some things that are suitable for him are not suitable for you. I need to train Kitty anyway, so I don''t mind taking you on too."


    "I''ll be making things a bit more bothersome for you, so I will try my best to pay attention," Lu Li agreed; he had no intention of refusing.


    "I am very strict," Cat Dad joked in an angry tone. But, in the end, he couldn''t hold back his smile and everyone started laughing.


    "I plan to advertise in the World Announcements that we are recruiting potential students to join the guild. After the youth training camp is set up, you will have to work hard," Square Root 3 said.


    "Pft, I won''t be tired. Coaches that are tired after coaching aren''t very good coaches," Cat Dad responded proudly.


    "Do you have any friends that can help you?" Square Root 3 asked with a grin.


    As the saying goes, ''an old man holds a wealth of wisdom.'' Square Root 3 hoped that someone like Cat Dad, who had been involved in gaming for so long, would be able to help establish the foundations of the club. What he coveted most about him were the 20 years of experience he had accumulated in this field ¨C experience in coaching, sparring, psychological counselling, guild management, equipment designers, business and so on.


    "Well, I know a couple of old guys. I''ll ask them, but don''t get your hopes up. I haven''t worked with them for years," Cat Dad answered humbly. He didn''t want to make a promise that he couldn''t keep.


    After this, they decided to go to Jiangnan City to buy some equipment together.


    The device they were after would replicate a setting within the game, and was almost like a server. It had important functions, like editing maps and recreating virtual scenes.


    Training activities were often completed through the interactions between this server and the game.


    The shopping mall''s representative recommended the best to them, which would cost more than 5.4 million dollars. He also gave an exaggerated account of the functions that this server had.


    Fortunately, they had gone with Cat Dad.


    After hearing this, he fiercely said, "This is a rip off."


    Cat Dad must have gone through a rebellious period when he was younger; he had numerous tattoos on his arm. He also seemed to exercise regularly, as his arms were thicker than the representative''s thighs.


    The shopping representative''s face darkened, thinking that he had run into a gang member. He dared not to respond and was planning to call the security guard.


    "Get your boss; it''s been a while," Cat Dad said with a sneer and sat on a couch as he waited.


    Before long, the boss came out.


    The moment the boss saw him, he immediately rushed over and gave him a hug.


    "Wow, how do you have time to visit? Normally you''re with your wife and daughter, and you always cater to them. You''re almost like their maid."


    "Please stop," Cat Dad complained. "Can''t you see there are these young people with me? Can''t you be a bit more polite?"


    Seeing that the Cat Dad and the boss was were close, the shopping representative was a bit embarrassed. He saw that they were eager customers, so he had suggested a luxury product that would get him a high commission.


    "You wouldn''t spend your free time here. Surely there must be a reason you''re here?" the boss asked as he glanced at Lu Li and Square Root 3.


    "We''re looking to buy training equipment to train players for a guild. Do you have any recommendations? You can forget about that 5-million-dollar one," Cat Dad explained, but left out that they were setting up a youth training camp.


    "Come on; don''t taunt your old friend. Have a look at this one," the boss suggested as he gave the shopping representative a look.


    The five-million-dollar server was purely for new generation rookies. To offer a product like this to Cat Dad was already quite insulting, so it was good that he wasn''t angry.


    "What new guild has appeared in Jiangnan City?" the boss asked. He didn''t seem to care for Lu Li and Square Root 3.


    "It''s just a small guild ¨C not really worth mentioning. Have you heard of Ruling Sword?" Cat Dad casually asked while testing the equipment.


    Ruling Sword!


    The boss was dumbfounded.


    "Oh, so those two¡­" the boss was a little embarrassed.


    It wasn''t that he looked down on Lu Li and Square Root 3, but that he noticed that they were in the younger generation. Seeing as he and Dad Cat were from the same generation, he didn''t really want to talk to them.


    If he hadn''t heard Cat Dad''s voice, he wouldn''t have come out.


    "This is Ruling Sword''s Square Root 3¡­" Cat Dad introduced.


    "President Square Root 3," the Boss smiled, knowing that this was an important customer. He then eagerly looked at Lu Li.


    "This is Lu Li¡­"


    "I''ve seen you in competitions. You''re absolutely amazing. I play Thief as well," the boss gushed as he grabbed Lu Li''s hand and shook it. It was almost impossible to meet Lu Li in game, but he didn''t expect to meet him in real life.


    "Nice meeting you," Lu Li responded casually.


    He never thought that he would be worshipped by people. Because of his previous life, he had grown accustomed to being ignored, so the enthusiasm that the boss showed made him a bit uncomfortable.


    Cat Dad had come here because he knew that he wouldn''t be ripped off, given their many years of friendship. The boss was also very friendly towards Ruling Sword.


    In the end, they purchased a top-level training server that was appropriate for Ruling Sword. It cost 1.4 million dollars, which included free delivery, installation and maintenance.


    The two biggest costs were this server and the videos purchased for analysis and training. Lu Li couldn''t help but feel the sting of spending so much so quickly.


    However, it seemed like spending this kind of money was something that was going to happen more often in future.


    Fortunately, he was no longer burdened by his sister''s condition. The money he borrowed from Water Fairy was still there; that was a special fund for his sister''s recovery process.


    The next day, Lu Li entered the game and announced the good news. The club''s training schedule was quickly specified, and in addition, Cat Dad also introduced a special system.


    The members of the guild would also have a chance of joining the youth training program and train with them.


    To the ordinary players, this was a good goal to strive towards and was very well received.


    In fact, these were Cat Dad''s exact words: "Since finding a sparring partner is difficult, why not find one in the guild?"


    After the announcements, Lu Li''s life would finally go back to normal. He was back to playing in competitions, levelling up, training his Engineering and receiving some basic training from Cat Dad.

 778 Temple of Hakkar

    "Everyone, everyone!"


    It was very early in the morning but Hachi Chan was already yelling in the chatroom.


    Lu Li, who was out levelling, retorted, "Did your dragon die again?"


    The successful little maiden suddenly got angry and shot back, "No, your horse is dead. My dragon is fine; it''s even about to fly."


    As flying skill books were currently unobtainable, and the System had not enabled flying mounts yet, Hachi Chan''s dragon could only run along the ground like an ostrich.


    She had tried to help her baby dragon learn to fly, going as far as to climb all the way to the top of a mountain and throw it down. The poor dragon ended up half-dead.


    She said that she had searched the internet on how young birds learned to fly and tried to follow that method. As a result, her Elf Dragon lived through days of constant suffering.


    This became the most discussed topic in Ruling Sword.


    "Hachi it''s very early. What is it?" Only March Rain would be so gentle, given her patient personality.


    "March Sister, I got an Instance Dungeon Scroll for a quest. Let''s go to the Instance Dungeon ¨C it''s said that there are many dragons in it. Maybe we can find a way for them to get my baby dragon to fly," Hachi Chan said with enthusiasm.


    "Is it the Temple of Hakkar?" Lu Li asked.


    "Oh, how did you know?" Hachi Chan was surprised.


    "No one else is as ignorant as you. What difficulty is the Instance Dungeon?"


    "Elite Difficulty."


    "An Elite Instance Dungeon is better than an ordinary one, but this is an Instance Dungeon that starts at level 45. If it was Nightmare Difficulty, we probably wouldn''t be able to beat it. Gather, everyone ¨C we''re going to beat it. If anyone can''t make it just say so," Lu Li announced on the Xin Xin Mercenary Group''s channel.


    "Get someone else; my sister will be with my today," Lonesome Flower immediately responded.


    As long as something wasn''t compulsory, he would much rather level with his sister. Recently, March Rain had been part of so many matches and training that she had simply forgotten about her brother.


    "I''m not going either," Wandering said lazily.


    "I will be training with Cat Dad today; get Kitty to go in my place."


    Sakura Memories had responded very well to her training and had become entranced. She quickly tried to find someone else when the possibility of missing out came up.


    "No PVP there ¨C I don''t really want to do this kind of small Instance Dungeon," Moonlight said.


    "Uh, I won''t be going either. I''m doing Alchemy work and I''m in a critical phase," Sesame Rice Ball said sheepishly. He had recently received an Exquisite Alchemy formula and had been upgrading his Alchemy for several days in a row.


    "Oh, I''m catching more pets. You guys¡­"


    Before Remnant Dream finished speaking, she heard Lu Li yell, "Dreamy, you have the weakest reason, so get over here. Otherwise, I''ll take all your pets and eat them."


    Nobody wanted to go, since it was just a simple Elite Instance Dungeon. If this lucky girl didn''t go, there would be no reward at all.


    Remnant Dream was somewhat proud that no one else had to go, but that they couldn''t go without her.


    "Since you want me to go so badly, I will take on this difficult task."


    Since so many members had backed out, there were quite a few positions that needed to be filled. Even if it was only an Elite Instance Dungeon, it was still level 45. The lowest level mobs would be level 45 and the Boss would be level 48.


    The core members who were willing to go were the two girls, Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li. This meant they were missing 6 other players. Lu Li intended to casually find a few people in the guild to join them.


    Drafting Rain was an outgoing Paladin and was the head of the Ruling Sword Paladins.


    There was also Machine Bro, who was a Healing Priest. Although his technique wasn''t as good as Hachi Chan''s, he was competent enough for this level of Instance Dungeon. Moreover, Hachi Chan had her Tranquility skill.


    The third player was Nuo Yu, Ruling Sword''s third ranking Mage.


    After this, Lu Li recruited Jaweika, a Shadow Priest who was a friend of Square Root 3 and had come out of the Star Moon Guild. In Star Moon Guild''s Instance Dungeon and Wild Boss battles, he was often the person who dealt the most damage.


    Mu Fish, an Ice Mage, was just lucky enough to get selected.


    The last person was Kitty Likes Meat. She wasn''t nearly as keen as Sakura Memories to train and was happy to escape it.


    Because Sesame Rice Ball wasn''t around, everyone was first transported to the Fortress of the Cursed Land and walked all the way to the Swamp of Sorrows. The Swamp of Sorrows was located on the East coast of Azeroth, bordering on the Redridge Mountains. The Alliance only had a weak control over this part of the map, as the Horde Town Stonard was here.


    However, Lu Li and the others didn''t need to be too quiet as the Horde players rarely visited this place.


    The Swamp of Sorrows wasn''t suitable for players who were timid like rats; this foul mud pond was filled with monsters. There was also no place where you could firmly set foot on, as the ground had been inundated by swamp water.


    Most of the time, this place was dark, wet and rainy. The trees growing here were huge and the swamp continuously made the air more and more humid. It was like being in a rainforest.


    Lu Li took off his wet leather armor and sighed softly.


    He was the only Thief here and they had taken this path in order to prevent them from encountering the Lost Ones Boss.


    The Broken and the Lost Ones were two types of mutant Draenei. They had lost the noble appearance that the Draenei was born with. Their skin had loosened, their limbs had wasted away and they began to grow tendrils. They had lost the protection of the holy light and their minds were no longer clear. The difference was that the Broken had found Shamanism, enabling them to retain their mind and wisdom, while the Lost Ones had completely degenerated.


    The most threatening thing about the Swamp of Sorrows was that these Lost Ones were generally Elites and even Quasi-Boss levels. There were several that were even actual Bosses.


    However, regardless of whether they were Elite, Quasi-Boss or a Boss, they all looked the same.


    You simply wouldn''t know whether you were fighting an Elite monster or a Boss. Because of that, players that tried to farm the Lost Ones often died because they had unknowingly run into a Boss.


    Lu Li also had no way of determining whether they were Elite monsters or Bosses. As such, he could only lead the party in a different direction.


    The last thing that they saw was a lake with a little building poking out of the surface of the water. This was the Temple of Hakkar, where the Blood God Hakkar had been suppressed.

 779 A Shadow in the Water

    "Wait here and pay attention; I''ll go into the water and lead the monster away. Then, you guys can quickly swim to the temple," Lu Li instructed grimly.


    "Is there a monster in the water?


    "There are Sawfin Frenzies. Don''t get attacked by them; their attacks cause Bleed which will attract even more fish. If this happens, you will definitely die."


    Lu Li actually felt like these fish were harder to deal with than the Boss of the Instance Dungeon for this very reason.


    He could only pull away these bloodthirsty monsters and offer his teammates a chance to survive.


    Fortunately, this was just a game ¨C some of them might refuse to get into the water otherwise. After hearing that there was a monster in the water, most people would refuse to get in, even at knifepoint.


    Lu Li dived into the water and quickly transformed into a small seal.


    He swung his tail and propelled himself forwards. As soon as he saw a monster, he immediately swam dashed it, causing it to aggro onto him.


    The others tried their best to follow him. Hachi Chan was the only one having an easy time as she could


    also transform into a seal.


    Female baby seals were pure-white and very cute, but their swimming speed was no different. Her job was to protect everyone. If there was a fish that got through, she had to lead it away from the group.


    Lu Li was soon being followed by dozens of Sawfin Frenzies and had to swim faster.


    Previously, he was afraid the others wouldn''t be able to keep up and had been deliberately limiting his speed. However, he could no longer take this into consideration and his figure shot through the water like an arrow.


    Lu Li accidentally went deeper than he wanted to and his heart almost stopped; a huge shadow was beginning from the depths below.


    "Dammit, what is this monster and how is it so big?" he thought to himself.


    This definitely wasn''t a Sawfin Frenzy; even a whale wasn''t this big. Lu Li started to become desperate as the Seal Transformation basically made him an unarmored target.


    How could there be such a big monster in a lake?


    "Lu Li, why are you going so fast? We can''t keep up!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted from behind.


    "Hachi, go and pull the rest of the monsters. Get to the temple as quickly as possible. I have a problem to deal with here."


    Lu Li felt like the shadow was gaining on him, but he couldn''t ask his teammates to help. It was too late and he didn''t know how strong the unknown monster was.


    Was he going to die here?


    If he died here, he would lose a level as he had only just reached level 45. However, the more important issue was that his teammates couldn''t Revive him in the lake.


    Most of the monsters were being pulled by Lu Li; Hachi Chan had considerably fewer. Soon, everyone had safely reached the ruins in the center of the lake.


    They stood on the ruins and watched in horror as the giant monster chased Lu Li under the water.


    It hadn''t reached the surface of the water, so they couldn''t see what it was. The reason why Lu Li hadn''t been killed yet was because it was devouring the Sawfin Frenzies behind him.


    The Sawfin Frenzies saved Lu Li''s life. When he saw that his teammates were safe, he quickly fled while the underwater monster ate the fish.


    "What is that?" Mu Fish asked with a cold look. He had a phobia of deep waters and his face was pale.


    "I don''t know, but I imagine it would be difficult to deal with. I don''t intend to fight it," Lu Li said. His face looked quite uncomfortable as he had almost been swallowed by the monster.


    In general, the larger the monster, the stronger it was. This one would have been at least level 50 ¨C 60.


    In the end, the group managed to enter the ruins of the Temple of Hakkar without losing anyone.


    It was said that a thousand years ago, the mighty Gurubashi Empire split due to a civil war. A group of high-level trolls called the Atal''ai Priests tried to summon an ancient bloodthirsty deity known as Hakkar, the Spirit Reaper.


    There were always some groups in Dawn that had fanatical thoughts like this. They were generally stupid, na?ve demons that met tragic ends.


    Hakkar the Spirit Reaper ¨C a Bloodthirsty God ¨C heard the call of the Trolls and decided to help them. He gave his blood to the Gurusbashi and helped them expand their territory to most parts of the Stranglethorn Vale, as well as some of the islands of the South China Sea.


    Although he made the Gurubashi Empire much stronger, Hakkar also sought to receive more and more from them.


    This cruel God required daily sacrifices and dreamed of coming to the material world so he could use reap even more souls. The Gurubashi slowly realized the true intentions of the God that they had been diligently worshipping and rose up to fight it. The most powerful tribes rebelled to resist Hakkar and his faithful disciples ¨C the Atal''ai.


    The Priests were eventually defeated and exiled, while the great Troll Empire collapsed due to further civil unrest.


    They fled to the Swamp of Sorrows in the north, where they built a giant temple of Hakkar to try and summon him into to material world.


    One day, the Atal''ai Priests felt that Hakkar''s strength had once again been awakened and became enthusiastic. They shouted the name of their evil God and waited for Hakkar''s presence to re-enter the already ravaged Azeroth, so that darkness could once again envelop the continent.


    However, troops from various cities suddenly appeared.


    The great guardian Ysera had learned of the Atal''ai''s plot and had sent the Green Dragon Corps to destroy the temple under the swamp.


    They bravely fought against the Trolls under the leadership of the Green Dragon Eranikus as green and black blood stained the Swamp of Sorrows¡­


    As they were fighting, Hakkar''s huge and evil figure appeared on the battlefield. The tides of the battle shifted and the green dragons looked defeated.


    In this critical moment, the Green Dragon Warrior Eranikus gave a snarling roar and released all of his energy. This resulted in the creation of the Dragon''s Call, the symbol of the Green Dragon''s strength.


    Hakkar was then driven back into the Twisting Nether, but Eranikus also died.


    Azure Sea Breeze initially wasn''t keen on coming, but when Lu Li told him that the Instance Dungeon would drop an Epic one-handed sword ¨C the Dragon''s Call ¨C his face lit up.


    However, Lu Li had lied to him. This was just an Instance Dungeon at Elite Difficulty ¨C how could it possibly drop an Epic equip?


    It would be good enough for it to drop Gold equipment, and would be quite a pleasant surprise if it dropped a Dark Gold equip.


    Along the way, the bodies of Trolls lay everywhere. Some of them were killed by the Green Dragon Corp, but some of them had volunteered to die.


    In order to summon Hakkar, they had to pay a heavy price.


    Lu Li was also very interested in Hakkar.


    The descendants of Hakkar were the Wind Snakes that were spread all over Kalimdor. They often attacked the adventurers and bothered them daily.


    Even if he wasn''t a true God, his status as a deity made him worth studying. However, Lu Li didn''t know if he could improve his ring by defeating this being.

 780 A Blocked Perspective

    The entrance of the Temple Instance Dungeon was guarded by some fallen guardians who appeared similar to the dragons. They were completely green and stared at the entrance, attacking anyone that attempted to enter the temple.


    Lu Li had also visited this place several times in his past life and had once died at their hands.


    Logically speaking, the monsters at the entrance of the Instance Dungeons were all lowest level. This was the common instinct of most players, but Dawn used this subvert their expectations.


    Of course, these fallen guardians didn''t compare to the stone men at the Molten Core Instance Dungeon.


    As long as they didn''t underestimate their enemy, they wouldn''t be too much of a problem.


    There were many flaws to Azure Sea Breeze, but he never underestimated his enemies. When he didn''t know his opponent''s strength, he would carefully take out a long bow and shoot at them.


    Two of the fallen guardians began running towards them, butthe group rushed in and killed them effortlessly.


    However, they soon realized a new problem. These two fallen guardians did not collide with each other and could stand on top of each other. Did this meant that there were many of them stacked on top of one another?


    Regardless, they slowly grinded through the guardians and eventually cleared the path.


    "Hachi Chan, is there anything about the Instance Dungeon quest that you would like to share?" Lu Li asked.


    "There are a few quests. Would you like to do them with me?" Hachi Chan reported.


    The number of quests in her list was greater than the number of players present.


    Of while completing a quest, you could continually trigger several other related quests. Hachi Chan could keep doing quests every day without worrying about running out of them.


    Lu Li received a System Prompt asking if he would accept the quest sharing.


    The general gist behind them was that the many dragons who were responsible for guarding the temple had been corrupted. The Blood God''s spirit grew stronger every day and the players who entered the temple needed to prevent this disaster.


    There were also a few named Bosses that they needed to kill.


    The first was Prophet Jammal''an, a Hakkari and Atal''ai Troll leader who had received a portion of Hakkar''s blood. He had injected some of the blood into the body of a Green Dragon, allowing him to generate enough blood to bring Hakkar into Azeroth.


    Of course, such a thing couldn''t be allowed to happen. They needed to kill Jammal''an the Priest before he made any further progress.


    There were many obstacles before that had already been completed by Hachi Chan. Now, all they needed to was kill Prophet Jammal''an.


    The second quest involved Eranikus, who was one of King Ysera''s main spouses and a Temple Watcher.


    The blood of Hakkar that had been injected by the Atal''ai trolls into the Green Dragon''s body had a devastating effect. The dragons, who were initially the wardens of these Atal''ai Trolls, were corrupted by Hakkar''s essence and transformed into nightmarish creatures.


    Eranikus had been injected with the most blood and as a result was distorted beyond imagination.


    After Jammal''an''s death, they would be required to find Eranikus and get rid of him.


    If they were successful, they would be rewarded with the Dragon Blood essence of Eranikus. This was the reason why Hachi Chan had wanted to complete this Instance Dungeon in the first place ¨C it was said that her dragon could grow by eating it.


    There were ten players here and if each player received one, she would have a total of ten.


    "When we complete the quest, everyone should give this item to Hachi Chan. Is everyone okay with that?" Lu Li asked in advance. If he was with the usual crew, he wouldn''t bother, but since there were so many new members around, he had to be fair. Otherwise, they would complain about the corruption in Ruling Sword leadership.


    This was not an unreasonable request anyway. After all, the Instance Dungeon Scroll had been provided by Hachi Chan and so were the quests. As such, everyone happily agreed.


    The final quest was for the Blood God Hakkar. The Atal''ai Troll Priest had obtained most of his bones and was ready to let him die and be reborn.


    His children had already begun to appear in the area.


    Hachi Chan had a Hakkar egg in her hand. Lu Li and others needed to place this sacred egg in the holy place of the temple, which would forcibly call Hakkar ahead of time.


    This was the only way to summon the incarnation of Hakkar. Hachi Chan had acquired it during the process of acquiring the Instance Dungeon Scroll.


    The entrance led to an open hal,l and in the dim light, they could already see the corrupted dragons. Most of them were hatchlings, but there were also a few actual dragons.


    Of course, these monsters were all fallen and had to be killed.


    Azure Sea Breeze shot an arrow to aggro some of them and was met by a spray of venom and magic.


    These ranged monsters generally kept their distance from the players. If you ran towards them, they would continue to retreat until they were at a safe distance away.


    "Block their line of sight," Lu Li reminded.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately ducked behind the corner, blocking the Dragons'' vision of him.


    They would eventually run around the corner to continue their attack, but would then be in melee range. This also forced them to stand closer together, allowing the others to safely attack.


    There seemed to be some kind of boundary in the road ahead; it looked like a dead end.


    The Boss on the upper level of the temple had to be defeated in order to advance to the next stage. As Lu Li looked around, he noticed a few staircases to the upper level in the hall. He did not waste time trying to find the way and decisively chose the second one on the left hand side, which was the correct route.


    This Upper Temple was completely filled with Trolls in groups of three or five. Each of group had either Ice or Arcane attacks and were all ranged units. However, due to the terrain of the area, it wasn''t difficult to pull all the monsters and clear them out.


    After a few moments spent regenerating, Azure Sea Breeze rushed down the nearest passageway.


    As everyone followed behind, they came face-to-face with the first Boss ¨C Zuroll. It was a bit of an overstatement to call him a Boss, but he did have 70,000HP. His skills were rather mild, and they just needed to be wary of his debuff stacking too many times.


    After the Boss fell, Remnant Dream happily looted his corpse.

 781 Trash Boss

    She was destined to be disappointed; no one could expect to pull a legendary item from a weak boss like this.


    "A silver grade," Remnant Dream said as she frowned and tossed the equipment to Azure Sea Breeze in disgust. Usually, these items were handed to team leaders to sell, and the money would be distributed. However, Lu Li didn''t bother with these administrative business, so Azure Sea Breeze was in charge instead.


    "Getting picky there ¨C some other players can''t even manage to find themselves a whole set of Silver equipment," Azure Sea Breeze chided. He wasn''t sure if he should be crying or laughing.


    Remnant Dream had spent too much time with Lu Li and barely had to worry about her equipment. Even other professional Hunter competitors might not be as well-equipped as she was.


    Remnant Dream always had lucky hands. Half of her current equips were Gold grade and a few of them were Dark Gold grade. The rest were Silver grade and had extremely good attributes.


    "Let''s go; we''ll quickly kill the other bosses too," Lu Li said, urgingeveryone to stop wasting time.


    This wasn''t a popular dungeon and the scrolls for this dungeon wasn''t valuable in auctions either.


    The Temple of Hakkar had many small monsters that refreshed quickly. If these monsters gave high experience, then it wouldn''t be too bad, but they were quite average.


    The six bosses on the top floor were particularly weak; many who entered the dungeon weren''t impressed by them at all.


    Including the monsters in the main hall and the six bosses on this top-top floor, it would take around two or three hours for them to clear their way to Jammal''an the Prophet.


    When they came before the fifty boss, Zolo, Lu Li quickly stopped Azure Sea Breeze.


    The other bosses were trash, but Zolo was one of the rare exceptions.


    It didn''t have any strong attributes, but could summon Skeletons. Teams would often unexpectedly stumble here, due to a false sense of confidence built up by the previous Bosses.


    "What, is this boss hard?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "Your damage reduction is still on cooldown. What''s the rush? This Boss is way bigger than the other ones; I have a suspicion that it''s not as weak. Everyone, stay on guard," Lu Li said. He could simply tell them that this boss summoned skeletons, but he could find other reasons.


    When Zolo dropped to about 60% health, it began to wave its staff and waves of Skeletons were summoned. These monsters were all level 45 and were average with low Attributes, but they came in a swarm.


    "Pay attention to the red circles under your feet; don''t stand in them. Breeze, pull the boss into the circle." Lu Li instructed.


    All of the summoned monsters were near the boss. Before they were summoned, a red circle would appear on the ground. The player that stood in the red circle would receive all the aggro. An experienced commander would be able to deduce this, so Lu Li''s orders didn''t seem too strange.


    If players could dodge the circles, the only difficult part to deal with would be the sheer sum of these monsters.


    In the bat of an eye, their numbers continued to grow.


    "My ****, what now? Lu Li, say something!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted. Even if he had been instructed to step in the circles, he still couldn''t get past all these Skeletons.


    "Everyone else, stay in the corner. Breeze, go block them from the outside. Classes with AoE spells, clear the monsters," Lu Li said in a calm and collected voice.


    "We can''t kill them all; they''ll eventually suffocate us to death¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze felt hopeless and the others seemed to have agreed with him. It seemed like Zolo was unstoppable.


    "You''re thinking too much. How can it continue to summon without mana?" Lu Li had already replaced his equipment with his Assassin Gear and was able to kill a skeleton with a few hits.


    The team paid some attention and realized that the situation was like what Lu Li described. Zolo barely had any mana left since it kept summoning monsters, and in the end, it simply stopped.


    There many classes with AoE spells here, so these monsters were no threat for them as long as the summoning stopped.


    "Boss, you''re so observant!" Drifting Rain was impressed.


    Lu Li could only shyly smile and say, "Just a little more thoughtful, that''s all. You guys can do the same."


    Despite his reincarnation, he still worked a little harder than everyone else. It wasn''t about his talent, or else he wouldn''t have been so miserable in his previous life.


    Zolo only dropped a Silver grade equip, but this couldn''t be helped since they were on Elite mode and the Bosses were already known for their stinginess.


    Besides the equip, it did drop a rare material ¨C Skeletal Dust. This item could be used in Alchemy and would at least be worth a dozen gold coins.


    The sixth boss was Hukku.


    Like with Zolo, Azure Sea Breeze started the fight with care, but even until its death, the boss didn''t do anything out of the ordinary.


    The Temple of Hakkar was a very complex dungeon. Without Lu Li leading the way, they would be bound to make wrong turns.


    After all six bosses were slain, they returned to the main hall downstairs which had had become available again.


    The monsters that had previously been cleared in the main hall had now refreshed.


    If a team was wiped often, this refreshing speed would be the most troublesome issue for them. Someone would have to constantly go back to clear monsters.


    After the monsters in the hall were cleared, Lu Li ushered everyone into an entrance that led to Jammal''an the Prophet.


    There were a few monsters along the way that came in packs of seven or eight.


    The worst thing about them was that some of them could cast Fear. Azure Sea Breeze began to run around after he was Feared and would accidentally pull other monsters.


    Teams could easily wipe here if they weren''t careful enough.


    Mu Fish was accidentally controlled when she stopped to cast a Frost Nova. She was the first one who died on the team.

 782 I’ve Been Transformed

    The first real Boss, Jammal''an the Prophet, was actually located in The Chosen''s Nest.


    Jammal''an was a lecturer who spoke endlessly on the stage about how Trolls were the real owners of the continent and that the great Hakkar was bound to return some day.


    There were many students below that wouldn''t be too happy if their beloved teacher was attacked.


    Any student who applauded when their teacher was abused probably wasn''t a good student.


    These brain-washed students had to be killed ¨C otherwise, they would cause trouble later in the boss fight. Jammal''an was a level 47 Boss with decent strength. Lu Li and the others wouldn''t be able to defeat him if other monsters interfered with the fight.


    Atal''ai Deathwalker''s Spirits would appear from the corpses of the following monsters: Atal''ai High Priest, Atal''ai Corpse Eater and Atal''ai Deathwalker.


    They had extremely high damage, to the extent where an average players would easily be overwhelmed.


    Lu Li demonstrated this for his comrades and let the spirit touch him when it first appeared. Even he had damage reduction on, it still knocked out 70% of his health bar. If it wasn''t for the fact that he had dodged fast enough, he would have died to the second hit.


    It was normal for a team to wipe here, even if you knew the guide.


    As soon as Lu Li showed everyone the damage of these spirits, they immediately stayed away from it. Even Lu Li himself had nearly died and he was the best among them.


    As long as they didn''t fall into the trap of the spirits, the monsters here were quite easy to kill. It only took them a few minutes to clear them all out.


    As for the Atal''ai Deathwalker''s Spirits, they only lasted forapproximately ten seconds. There was no need to pay any attention to them as they would quickly disappear.


    What remained was the Boss itself ¨C Jammal''an the Prophet, who fough alongside his follower Ogom the Wretched.


    Jammal''an was the current leader of the Atal''ai. This was a cult formed of crazed priests who admired Hakkar. Apparently, one day during his prayers, Jammal''an had received the instructions from Hakkar.


    The Atal''ai were to use the blood of Hakkar''s enemy, the Green Dragons, to revive him.


    From then, Jammal''an and his Undead guardian Ogom the Wretched became determined to kill anyone who tried to stop the return of Hakkar.


    As such, in the quests that the players received, this Boss was always a target that had to be slain.


    Apparently, Ogom was a childhood buddy of Jammal''an. They had played together as kids, but after they grew up, Ogom died in a battle to protect Jammal''an. Jammal''an was in deep sorrow after and trained hard until he eventuallydug Ogom out of the grave and successfully revived him.


    Ogom was an Undead and barely had any sense of rationality. He was only an elite monster.


    Many times, players would focus on killing Ogom first. This was how most bosses were defeated ¨C you would kill the side monsters first, then attack the boss.


    However, if they did that, they were guaranteed to wipe.


    After his best friend died, Jammal''an would immediately go into berserk mode, regardless of his HP level. There were barely any teams who would be able to endure the damage.


    Lu Li shared the story of Jammal''an and Ogom with everyone else and brought up his theory that they should kill the Boss first. If it wasn''t for the fact that quite a few of his teammates were not part of his usual team, he wouldn''t even bother to explain.


    "Your call, Lu Li. Everyone else, make sure to not kill Ogom by accident," Azure Sea Breeze emphasized.


    "The Mind Flayer is about to come. Did you jokes come here to sacrifice yourselves?" Jammal''an the Prophet couldn''t seem to predict his future of being slaughtered; he was still full of confidence.


    "You want to die, you fool!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he smashed his shield into the Boss'' face.


    Once the aggro was set, everyone swarmed onto the Boss. Jammal''an instantly dropped a few thousand health points, but his total health was above 200,000, so this damage was nothing to him.


    Compared to Jammal''an the Prophet, the other six bosses were trivial.


    Jammal''an was an Atal''ai Priest, but most of his skills came from the Shaman class, interspersed with a few Mage skills. As such, it wasn''t possible for players to classify this Boss based on class.


    "Earthgrab Totem." Everyone felt thorns rise below their feet which it tightly bound them.


    "Dodge if you can. Look out for the ultimate skills from the boss," Lu Li warned. He knew what the boss was about to do.


    He didn''t need to dodge anything himself as he had already placed himself away from the team beforehand. Jammal''an the Prophet casted a signature Fire Mage spell where most of the team was standing ¨C Flamestrike.


    A gigantic pillar of fire rushed from beneath the ground and burned all those who were in its range.


    This was one of the boss'' ultimate skills, so its damage was quite high. Many of them were burned with half of their health bars remaining. Some of them who weren''t on full health before were left with a sliver of HP remaining.


    "Everyone, split up. Machine Bro, look out for everyone''s health. Make sure that no one dies to fire damage later," Lu Li quickly instructed.


    Everyone one of them paid full attention and began to scatter themselves five-yard apart from each other. This was the classic method for fighting unknown Bosses in dungeons.


    Drifting Rain was specifically assigned by Lu Li to focus on the Earthgrab Totems. He destroyed them as soon as they were summoned.


    The reason why Flamestrike had burned so many of them was because of their positioning and the totem. Everyone had been wrapped up, so unless they used an escape skill, they would have to endure through the damage.


    After assignments were made, the power of Flamestrike was greatly diminished.


    The health bar of Jammal''an the Prophet slowly dropped. After reaching around 70%, he suddenly shouted, "Join us."


    Lu Li found that he had a mark above his head ¨C Jammal''an''s Witchcraft. The description read, "You have been transformed." Besides the description, there was also a time stamp that counted backwards from six seconds.


    Lu Li used his movement speed boost and ran away.


    "Lu Li, what are you up to?" Azure Sea Breeze was clueless; he felt like Lu Li had gone crazy.


    "If I come back later, stay away from me, or find someone to control me. I''ve been transformed by the Boss."

 783 Jammal’an

    Lu Li had been transformed by the boss?


    Azure Sea Breeze was laughing about it at first; it was rare for the others to see their boss in such a state.


    Lu Li was transformed into a dark, purple Troll ¨C a massive one.


    He returned and slapped Jaweika, who was a fragile Dark Priest. Jaweika had just been attacked by the Boss with a Flamestrike and Machine Bro hadn''t healed him yet. This slap ended him.


    Everyone stared in disbelief, then began to run away while screaming.


    Lu Li could only watch; there was obviously nothing he could do.


    Thankfully, while his damage had increased, his movement speed decreased.


    Otherwise, no one would be able to escape from Lu Li with his speed. This status only lasted for fifteen seconds, so as long as they ran away from him, they would be fine.


    "Now you know why I ran," Lu Li said as he transformed back to himself and continued attacking the Boss.


    "Is it because you''re a god-tier player that you still do insane damage after you become a monster?" Nuo Yu was extremely impressed. He was standing beside Jaweika before and would have died if he ran any slower.


    "Everyone, be careful later. Once the boss shouts, join us. Check if you have a mark on your head. If you have a mark, boost your movement speed and run away as far as you can," Lu Li instructed as he revived Jaweika, who had fallen to the ground.


    The reason for this was so that they could waste more transformation time as they returned.


    Some of the few hard aspects of fighting Jammal''an were the transformation, and that you couldn''t kill Ogom first.


    After overcoming this, the rest of fight would be relatively easy.


    The total time of the battle was around twenty minutes. The experience reward was great; it exceeded all of the six previous bosses combined.


    "I got a skill point!" Kitty Likes Meat cried out. She was so excited that her cheeks flushed red.


    She rarely did dungeons, so it was rare for her to experience something like this. Hachi Chan and the others on the other hand looked quite calm.


    "Dreamy, it''s up to you now," Lu Li said as he looked over to Remnant Dream. There were only three real Bosses in this dungeon; the other ones didn''t really drop anything.


    Remnant Dream began to search Jammal''an and pulled out an equip on her first go.


    Gloves of the Atal''ai Prophet - a Silver grade equip. Everyone was disappointed; was this Boss only going to drop a Silver grade?


    "A set!" Nuo Yu exclaimed after he read the description ¨C ''Part of the Atal''ai Prophet Set''.


    If this was just a Silver grade equip, it wouldn''t be anything special.


    However, since it was part of a set, there was no way that it could be trash.


    Although Jammal''an the Prophet used a wide variety of Shaman skills, the set was actually for Mages. However, Dark Priests, Mages and Warlocks could all equip it.


    With two pieces, the first special effect would be activated ¨C Magic damage increased by 20%, Casting speed increased by 50%, lasts for 8 seconds


    This was a similar to the Berserk effect for melee classes. As long as you had spells with a short cast time, you would be able to instantly release a barrage of them in an instant. No one would be able to handle that kind of firepower.


    Just this effect alone was enough to make this set valuable.


    In fact, most players who chose to wear this set would use wear two pieces from it. The second special effect of the set wasn''t very popular ¨C it was Flamestrike Skill +1, so only Fire Mages would consider trying to complete it.


    The distribution of this item became an issue, as this was a short term team that couldn''t use points to decide.


    If they were able to lay their hands on a second piece, this equipment would become too good. Perhaps no one would even swap two of this set for two average Gold grade equips. Lu Li saw that no one was willing to give up, so he suggested an auction.


    "The bottom price is one gold coin. You''re only allowed to call your price once, counting down from now. 5, 4, 3..."


    He didn''t want to make this a real auction because they all knew each other and it wouldn''t be good for their relationships to fight over an item like this. As such, he set a rule, stipulating that everyone could only call out their price once. Whoever had the highest price could take it without everyone fighting over it.


    "Kitty Likes Meat, 180 gold coins. Jaweika, 65 gold coins. Nuo You, 80 gold coins. Uhm, it''s Kitty''s," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    It seemed like Kitty Likes Meat was determined to get this item. Perhaps it was because she had never done a dungeon and purchased most of her equipment from the auction. The prices in the auction hall were all rather exorbitant.


    In a guild team like this, no one would really offer a high price.


    Kitty Likes Meat didn''t think that this was expensive at all. Just like how Lu Li had guessed, most of her equipment had been purchased from the Black Market or the Auction Hall. The cheaper items were instantly purchased by others and those that remained were usually overpriced.


    She gave everyone 20 gold coins each.


    Twenty gold coins wasn''t a small sum; this was beyond the income of any average player.


    The second item was a rare material that Lu Li took. He gave everyone some points from his own guild points; this was much more popular than gold coins. Many tempting equips and items in the guild warehouse couldn''t be purchased with gold coins.


    The third item was the Head of Jammal''an. This was a quest item, so anyone who was completing the quest could pick it up.


    After they had looted the boss, everyone was about to leave, but Lu LI pointed at the body of Ogom that was left in the corner and said, "Dreamy, go and search this monster. You might find a surprise."


    This was when everyone remembered that Ogom was also a part of the fight.


    You couldn''t really blame them ¨C these side monsters usually didn''t drop anything. Not to mention, it was only an elite monster, so they weren''t expecting anything.


    "Blade of the Wretched ¨C it''s a Gold weapon!" Remnant Dream''s voice was filled with surprise.


    "Show us the attributes," Lu Li said calmly.


    The Blade of the Wretched was set to be Gold grade, no matter what level dungeon they did. However, the Attributes weren''t fixed, so there was nothing to be excited about, even if it was Gold grade.


    Surprisingly, the Attributes for this blade were quite decent.


    Besides a high Critical Strike chance, it also came with a Corruption effect. This effect caused the target to continuously lose health and decreased their Defense by a certain amount. This was a god-tier equipment for PVP.


    "*****, a magic sword," Azure Sea Breeze cursed.


    A magic sword would have to be equipped with an off-hand item like a Spell Book.

 784 Fall to Death

    "Are we going to bid for that too?" Kitty Likes Meat asked as her eyes lit up.


    Although she was already using a Gold grade Staff, it was only level 30. Compared to the rest of her items, which were all Lv40, her weapon was severely lacking. The special effects on it were quite useless as well.


    "You really are spoilt by your dad. Everyone, type out the stats on your weapon," Lu Li said.


    Every player that could equip the magical sword sent out their current weapon stats. Nuo Yu had a level 40 Dark Gold Staff, while Mu Fish had a level 40 Gold Staff. Almost every item was higher quality than Kitty''s and she was almost drooling at the sight of them.


    "It''s not like we''re a gold hunting party; we don''t have to bid for every item. Boss, just give the weapon to Kitty. She paid too much for the previous piece anyways," Nuo Yu laughed.


    Lu Li nodded and gave her the weapon.


    "I have a spare Offhand piece that I stole from Fat Monkey from the last Instance Dungeon. You can have it," Nuo Yu offered.


    Ruling Sword. currently had three expert dungeon parties. The first was the Xin Xin Mercenary group, who had completed many First Clears under the leadership of Lu Li. The second was a teamof Fire Mages called the ''Five Fireball Gods'', and were led by Fat Monkey. The last team was a newer team led by Ruling Sword''s second Main Tank, World''s Best Friend. All of these teams only attempted instance dungeons on Nightmare mode.


    These parties had strategies and guides passed down from the Xin Xin Mercenary group. Since they often attempted difficult dungeons, their equips were obviously superior to everyone else''s. They were constantly updating their gear from the drops, while their spares were passed down to other players or placed in the Guild Storage.


    Even though it had been passed down, the Offhand was still a Gold Equip with strong stats. It was one of Nuo Yu''s most prized possessions.


    "Instance Dungeons are so much fun, but my Dad and I don''t dungeon much because we don''t have a guild. That''s why most of my equips were bought from the Exchange Hall," Kitty Likes Meat explained. She was very pleased with her new equips.


    "We''re still missing players in my party. You should consider joining," Machine Bro invited.


    Machine Bro was in the same party as World''s Best Friend. Their team consisted of three Thieves, which was not the best class for dungeons, so they had been wanting to recruit a Mage or Warlock for a while.


    Kitty Likes Meat''s mechanics were more than good enough for PVE.


    Many players excelled in PVE but not PVP, such as Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball. However, most top PVP players could transition to PVE rather easily; Moonlight was a great example.


    "Goddamn, they spawned again," Azure Sea Breeze sighed.


    "Don''t charge in yet. Are you stupid?" Lu Li yelled as he held Azure back. In reality, no one else had noticed anything wrong.


    "What?" Azure Sea Breeze said defensively.


    "Do you not see the names above those two dragons?" Lu Li asked as he pointed up towards the two sneaky dragons in the hall who were trying their hardest not to be seen.


    "Eh, they really do have names! I''m going to make them my pet," Remnant Dream squealed excitedly, about to charge towards them with her whip.


    She had unexpectedly obtained this whip while completing a quest with Hachi Chan. It had a special effect that increased her chances of capturing pets.


    "This is a boss; you can''t capture bosses. Get your ass back here," Lu Li commanded as he pulled on her shirt and dragged her back.


    "Trying to fool me by blending in with other monsters, huh?"


    Azure Sea Breeze was angry, but he did not act irrationally and charge towards them. There was definitely a hidden trap; the game developers would not let them off so easily.


    "The left dragon deals physical damage; look at how sharp his claws are. The right dragon, however, has a magical aura surrounding it, so it must deal magical damage. If you had charged in recklessly, you would have been killed for sure," Lu Li explained, taking this opportunity to educate the best Main Tank in Dawn.


    After being lectured, Azure Sea Breeze was impressed with Lu Li''s observations. He never would have noticed the sharp claws. As for the magical aura, he didn''t even know what it was until Lu Li pointed it out.


    Obviously Azure Sea Breeze''s task was to tank the physical damage dealing dragon. Since it was only Elite difficulty, anyone on the team could tank the magic damage dealing dragon with their equipment.


    However, before fighting the two Bosses, they had to clear the other mobs in the hall.


    The problem was that they shared aggro with the mobs; the two dragons were able to control the mobs to attack. Because of this, the difficulty of this fight was greatly increased.


    The outcome of this fight would depend on their teamwork and chemistry.


    Surviving was their first priority, followed by clearing the mobs as quickly as possible. Otherwise, their team could easily be wiped.


    Everything was going quite well. Although he did not have his usual team members from the Xin Xin Mercenary group, each and every one of the players that had come today were PVE experts.


    "Try to kill the two dragons at the same time," Lu Li instructed.


    "Why?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "From today onwards, whenever there are two bosses, try to kill them simultaneously," Lu Li said, speaking from experience.


    "45% HP left on mine," Azure Sea Breeze reported.


    "27% HP left on this one."


    Nuo Yu was in charge of tanking the magic dragon. Since it had lower physical Defense, Lu Li and Drifting Rain were able to melt through its HP.


    "Ranged classes, focus on the dragon that Azure Sea Breeze is tanking," Lu Li commanded.


    With Lu Li''s careful micromanagement of DPS, the HP of the two bosses began dropping at around the same rate. These dragons did not have annoying skills to deal with and they both had under 100,000 HP, which meant that they could end this fight within 10 or so minutes.


    "AH!" someone screamed.


    "What''s wrong?" Lu Li asked as he stopped what he was doing and looked in the direction of the scream.


    "That sounded like Mu Fish''s voice. Eh, where is he?" Machine Bro was confused as to how someone could just randomly disappear. If he was killed by the Boss, there would at least be a body on the ground.


    "Crap, he must''ve fell down," Lu Li said as he ran towards the center of the hall.


    There was an underground sewerage system that was usually covered by a lid. However, the lid had disappeared, so Mu Fish must have fell from there.


    Lu Li looked at his name on the party interface and saw that it was greyed out. The poor guy must have fallen to his death.


    However, because was out of range, he could not Resurrect him.

 785 Unholy Weapon

    "Unlucky," Azure Sea Breeze said as he took a glance down the hole and stepped back cautiously.


    "How unfortunate," everyone else agreed.


    Since the two Boss were close to death, losing a DPS player did not change the outcome of the fight and the party successfully defeated them.


    After a short while, they heard Mu Fish''s voice from outside the walls.


    "Hey brothers, someone come out and help lead me back in ¨C I''m lost. There are so many forked roads and I can''t see anything because it''s so dark. I feel like I''m about to go crazy."


    The Temple of Hakkar was a complicated and confusing Instance Dungeon. Any casual player who didn''t know what they were doing would easily get lost in there.


    They had only managed to navigate their way through the dungeon with ease because of Lu Li, who had completed it a couple of times in his past life. After conducting a bit of research, he basically knew the dungeon inside out.


    Because of Lu Li''s leadership, Mu Fish did not bother memorizing the path that they took. Now that he was all alone, he quickly realized how impossible this task was.


    There was nothing that Lu Li could do but to go back and fetch him.


    The others did not bother waiting for him and instead began searching the corpses. Without Lu Li''s bad luck around, perhaps they would be able to find some good drops.


    "Dream, what''s wrong with you? What is this!?"


    Everyone was stunned at the loot dropped by the Physical Dragon, not because it was a good item, but because it was trash. They did not expect much from such an easy Boss, but they were certain that it would at least drop a Silver equip.


    What kind of a Boss dropped a Lv40 Copper Grade equip?!


    "It''s not my fault; I tried my hardest," Remnant Dream protested.


    Lu Li sprinted back to fetch Mu Fish. In reality, he knew that besides three particular Bosses in the Temple of Hakkar, all of the others dropped nothing but trash, which was why he had left without even bothering to check.


    When Lu Li led Mu Fish back to where the others were, Remnant Dream had finished looting the Magic Dragon.


    "We got nothing, only a recipe."


    Remnant Dream was beginning to doubt her abilities; she had never been so unlucky before.


    "What recipe?" Lu Li paused and asked quickly.


    "Unholy Weapon," Remnant Dream answered.


    "Ok, good stuff."


    Kitty Likes Meat had offered 180 gold for the previous equip before which was quite reasonable.


    The Unholy Weapon recipe sold for at least 600 gold in the market. If the rich players had a bidding war, the prices would be even higher. The highest price that Lu Li had heard of in his past life was 1,200 gold. This was an absurd amount of gold ¨C enough to buy a small house.


    The Unholy Weapon recipe permanently enchanted a weapon to often inflict a curse on the target, dealing shadow damage and reducing their physical Defense by 10%


    Nobody bothered to learn Engineering because the costs were higher and the materials were rarer.


    Comparatively, many players learned Enchantment to increase the stats on their weapons. Even though there weren''t too many Enchantment recipes currently on the market, it was still a very popular profession.


    The Unholy Weapon recipe did not increase the stats, but the Curse special effect made it extremely valuable.


    Warlocks preferred to use weapons that had curses on them because they were great for countering Thieves.


    The material cost for this recipe was extremely high.


    Even after a week of farming, you would barely be able to earn enough money to afford the materials.


    The real value of this recipe came from its animation when the effect is activated. Once the Curse was applied, the weapon would emit an eerie-green glow and two skulls would circle around it.


    "We''re rich! Sell this for no less than 800 gold," Lu Li said in satisfaction.


    Divided among ten players, that would be 80 gold each, which was equivalent to about 6,000 dollars. This was more than a month''s pay for most people.


    Although Lu Li would often make transactions that exceeded 500 gold, most players would rarely have more than 10 gold on themselves at a time.


    "Wow, so expensive."


    Everyone was stunned by its price, so Lu Li explained why it was so expensive.


    "I want it. I''ll give you 80 gold each for it," Azure Sea Breeze said as he pounced onto Remnant Dream and begged her for the recipe.


    "You don''t even know how to enchant¡­" Lu Li was speechless.


    Everyone was good friends with Azure Sea Breeze and if he wanted something, then usually no one would object. "I''ll learn it as soon as we get back. Lu Li, you''re right. We should have dreams and goals ¨C otherwise, we would just be lazy couch potatoes," Azure Sea Breeze laughed.


    "Fine, I''ll sell it to you," Lu Li agreed, then paused and added, "We''ll charge you 600 gold. Give us 60 gold each when we return."


    He would have given it to him for free, but it was a recipe that everyone had found together.


    If Lu Li said he didn''t want his share of gold, the others would probably be too ashamed to accept their shares as well. Since it was still quite a decent amount of money, Lu Li decided to charge his good friend regardless.


    In reality, Azure Sea Breeze was quite well-off himself. As the number one Main Tank in the game, he had made earned a fortune by following Lu Li around.


    Additionally, whenever someone found a ticket to a private dungeon, they would reach out to him for help. The unwanted equips that he found in these dungeons runs could be disenchanted into materials and used to level up his Enchanting profession.


    Once he learned the recipe, he would enchant his weapon first.


    When the other players saw the animations on his weapon, they would become curious and ask how he had obtained the effect. Then, he could gather up the materials and offer to enchant their weapons for 10 gold. After a short while, he would be able to make his money back.


    Because the game was still quite new, paying 10 gold for such a rare animation would be a bargain.


    Azure Sea Breeze could almost see himself becoming a rich CEO, marrying a beautiful wife and finally reaching the peak of his life. He happily put the recipe away in his bag and almost forgot that he still had to pay everyone back.

 786 Embrace of the Wind Serpen

    After this, they were off to kill Hakkar.


    Of course, the Hakkar here wasn''t the real thing ¨C otherwise, Lu Li and the others would be asking for death.


    They found themselves in a very spacious room with nothing inside besides an altar in the center. Around the altar were four fire torches.


    "Hachi Chan?" Now, it was up to the quest master. After all, she was the one with the Egg of Hakkar.


    "You guys should be careful. After I activate the egg, the side doors will be sealed and Flying Snakes will spawn in the center of the room. These Flying Snakes will drop the Blood of Atal''ai after they die. The Troll who gave me the quest said that you have to put out those flaming torches with the blood. At the same time, dragons will spawn and go to the center to steal Hakkar''s blood. We must kill them, or else Hakkar won''t be able to revive¡­" Hachi Chan explained as she tilted her head, carefully recalling what the NPC had said to her.


    Everyone was left speechless.


    When did these NPCs become so nice? Not only did they not set up traps for her, but they even taught her the dungeon strategy.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, he had no clue how amazing the Charm and Luck attributes were. Hachi Chan apparently was the type of person with an incredible amount of Charm. She had written many quest guides in the forum, but it seemed like not many people believed them.


    She could activate some quests, but others couldn''t, even though they followed her guide to a tee. Some quests could be completed in three steps by her, but others would take five and still not be done. The final rewards in the end were usually not even as good as what she had received.


    Needless to say, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were treasures that Lu Li picked up unintentionally.


    "Me, Nuo Yu and Kitty will kill the dragons; you guys look after the Flying Snakes. Memories and Hachi Chan, you two can collect the blood to put out the flame. I''ve changed the distribution mode already, so anything can be collected freely. Hachi Chan, start it," Lu Li instructed, distributing the tasks.


    The easiest mistake at this stage would be to not focus on the dragons. Once the dragons absorbed all the blood from the egg, Hakkar wouldn''t be able to be summoned.


    Hakkar also wouldn''t be summoned if the flames weren''t put out.


    However, Lu Li and the others had received the strategy from the NPC through Hachi Chan. Lu Li also knew how to do this stage already, so it would be difficult for them to run into any issues.


    After two minutes, all four flames were put out and Hakkar was revived.


    "Die, mortals!"


    The Avatar of Hakkar was actually just a level 48 skeletal Wind Serpent.


    Hakkar wasn''t a hard boss.


    The hardest part of this fight was retrieving the egg, which was a challenging and complicated quest in itself. Without the Egg of Hakkar, they wouldn''t be able to kill the Boss.


    Hakkar had four skills ¨C Wind Slash, Whip, Language Curse and Craze.


    Wind Slash and Craze were its ultimate skills.


    The former was a spinning attack that dealt insane damage and also harvested health points. However, as long as players weren''t being stupid, they would know to dodge it.


    Craze was similar to a previous skill from Jammal''an the Prophet, but the effect was slightly different. Jammal''an''s Witchcraft caused players to increase their damage, while decreasing their movement speed. Hakkar''s Craze would make a player lose control and cause them to attack their allies for six seconds. Players impacted by the effect would receive a 50% Attack Speed boost and their movement speed would be increased by 80%.


    Whip was a control-type skill which stunned a target for 2 seconds with a certain chance of disarming them.


    As for Language Curse, this was a skill directed at magic-type classes. They would receive a 50% cast speed decrease from the skill, which lasted for 15 seconds. The troublesome part of this spell was that Hakkar used it a lot, so it was almost a guarantee that there would always be at least one magic class player that was half-useless.


    The battle took no longer than a dozen minutes.


    The experience reward wasn''t too bad, but unfortunately, no one received skill points this time.


    "This boss drops good things, Dreamy, good luck," Lu Li said expectantly. In his previous life, he had seen someone sell a robe in an auction from this Boss called the Embrace of the Wind Serpent.


    It wasn''t a Legendary item, and the highest grade it could be was Gold, but it was still extremely valuable. This was especially so after a few months when the game updated and the designers deleted it from the database.


    This meant that the Embrace of the Wind Serpent would become the first out-of-print item in Dawn.


    The Attributes of this equip were average, but appearance-wise, it looked like clothing designed by the top international fashion designers. With all these factors combined, it instantly became one of the most expensive items in the game.


    At the same time, its drop rate was really low, so there weren''t more than ten of them in the entire game.


    As time continued to pass by, the few Embrace of the Wind Serpent became like artworks. Their value would only appreciate over time.


    "Embrace of the Wind Serpent," Remnant Dream announced, interrupting Lu Li''s thoughts.


    When everyone saw the attributes of this Gold equip, they didn''t feel particularly thrilled. The Attributes were so bad to the point that they weren''t sure if this was really a Gold grade equip.


    "Give it to me if no one wants it," Lu Li said.


    He couldn''t tell everyone else that this was an item that was going to disappear. He was afraid that others would take it and sell it, then regret it later.


    No one else really had anything to say about this, so Lu Li placed the robe into his own bag and gave everyone some guild points to compensate.


    The second item was also an equip ¨C Warrior''s Embrace. Even though it was Silver grade, its special effect made it clearly better than the Embrace of the Wind Serpent. Lu Li assigned Azure Sea Breeze to check if anyone else from the guild needed it.


    The third item was a rare material ¨C Bone Scale. These rare materials usually dropped from Skeletal Dragons, so it was an unexpected surprise to find one here.


    After they killed Jammal''an and the Avatar of Hakkar, the final boss ¨C Shade of Eranikus ¨C would then appear. The Shade of Eranikus was Hachi Chan''s quest monster. By sharing the quest, everyone else also received it.


    After being corrupted by Hakkar, Eranikus fell and became a Tyrant of the Dream, forgetting his own duties.


    Of course, the one in the Temple of Hakkar was only a shadow of Eranikus. It was still hard to judge the age of the queen''s partner, but from previous records, it could be estimated that he was older than Korialstrasz.


    Eranikus was guarded by two green dragons. They were no different to the two that Lu Li and the others had killed previously in the hall.

 787 Shade of Eranikus

    The two Aspect bosses had to be dealt with as they had an ultimate skill that deflected players away. If Lu Li had accidentally been flicked into a pile of monsters, he would have undoubtedly died.


    As such, he decided to go around the two Aspects to clear the surrounding monsters first.


    The Shade of Eranikus was the final Boss in the Temple of Hakkar and was one of the most difficult to defeat.


    It was a large green dragon, but what was strange was that its figure was transparent. This was similar to Illidan''s presence, which Lu Li had farmed many equipment and skill books from.


    "Let''s begin. Be careful." Lu Li didn''t want to say too much; he did not want to seem like he knew what was going to happen.


    Azure Sea Breeze took the aggro of the Boss, and was immediately put to Sleep.


    As the main tank had been crowd-controlled, the other members of the squad immediately became targets. One by one, they were killed by Eranikus'' Shade. This complete massacre had occurred in under a minute.


    Lu Li was not lucky enough to escape either. Using Stealth when facing this Boss was simply wishful thinking. He chose not to use his Darkmoon Card, as even if he died, he would not lose experience in an Instance Dungeon.


    The others were not discouraged and sat down together, eating bread to recover HP and MP. Being killed in an Instance Dungeon was not a rare occurrence anyway.


    "It affected me with Sleep, so what can I do?" Azure Sea Breeze asked with a face of misery.


    "It seems that this Boss is not forgiving; it might even use its Sleep skill from the start to the end of the fight," Lu Li sighed. This skill was simply too deadly.


    In inflicted deep Sleep on its target, rendering them frozen, but unable to be attacked for 8 seconds.


    The target of the spell was usually the closest player to the Boss, who was in most circumstances the Main Tank. In the eight seconds that the Main Tank was affected with Sleep, the Boss would be able to lay waste to their team and wiped them out.


    Even losing one member would be devastating, let alone the whole team. They might as well forfeit the mission at that point.


    "Let''s think of some strategies. Machine Bro, can you dispel the Sleep? If you can be quick enough, you should be able to control the aggro," Azure Sea Breeze suggested, looking like he was in deep thought.


    "I can''t. I already tried," Machine Bro said as he shrugged his shoulders.


    "If Azure Sea Breeze is affected by Sleep, would it be possible for another person to lure the Boss around until he recovers?" Nuo Yu asked.


    "It''s impossible. Didn''t you all see it before? The Boss also has ranged attacks, and none of us can tank more than a couple of hits. We definitely wouldn''t last for eight seconds. Even after the Sleep wears off, the Boss would instantly use it on another person," Lu Li said, rejecting the idea.


    However, he was quite impressed with all the strategies they were coming up with. In reality, a majority of teams operated like this. They would discuss strategies together, instead of having one sole commander.


    "Is it possible to have a person crawl underneath the Boss?" Kitty Likes Meat suddenly piped up.


    Unexpectedly, this PVP player was the first one to think of a strategy like this. It could be true that the game training that she had received from a young age had resulted her in being more outstanding than an average player.


    "Hmm, that sounds possible. Who''s willing to volunteer as tribute?" Azure Sea Breeze asked with a clap.


    "I have the highest DPS," Lu Li said quickly excusing himself from this role.


    "I''m a healer," Machine Bro added.


    "My DPS is also quite high." Nuo Yu was number two on the DPS rankings.


    "I need to use Bloodlust."


    Sakura Memories also found a reason to avoid the role. However, it was true that she was quite useful, and her DPS was decent as well.


    "Wow, why are you all looking at me like that?" Drifting Rain asked defensively. His DPS in his original team was among the highest, but with Lu Li and the others, he was at the very bottom.


    "Hold on. We can''t let Drifting Rain go. When the summoned monsters appear, there will be no one there to tank them," Lu Li said, stopping them.


    Drifting Rain was now acting in Wandering''s role.


    "Who are you calling to go? Even if you kill me I won''t go," Hachi Chan protested. She always thought that Lu Li would sacrifice her.


    "I didn''t ask for you to go," Lu Li said as he softly slapped her head, then pointed at Remnant Dream''s pet and continued, "Later, when the fight begins, let it crawl underneath the Boss and stay there."


    "No, not my pet! Remnant Dream cried.


    "Then you can go," Lu Li coldly commanded.


    "Actually, I don''t think there are negatives to being affected by Sleep anyway. There''s no need to waste energy fighting the Boss, so let my pet carry this responsibility."


    As soon as she heard that she would be the one to be affected by Sleep, Remnant Dream instantly sold out her own pet.


    Boss: Round Two.


    Remnant Dream had exquisite control over her pet and easily manoeuvred it underneath the Boss'' neck. Now that there was a large Spider between Azure Sea Breeze and the Boss, he would not be affected by Sleep at all. The Boss only casted Sleep on the enemy that was closest to it.


    After this problem had been solved, the next thing that they had to worry about was War Stomp.


    This skill damaged surrounding enemies and stunned them for four seconds, which also caused a headache for Main Tanks. However, they would maintain aggro after being Stunned, so the Boss wouldn''t go on a rampage through their team.


    On the other hand, Deep Sleep would clear all aggro.


    Lu Li was hit by War Stomp once and had to carefully reposition himself around the battlefield to avoid being hit again.


    Meanwhile, Remnant Dream''s large Spider pet had not woken up even once. It was constantly hit with War Stomp and affected by Deep Sleep. If it could speak, it would surely curse itself for its misfortunes.


    The Boss would also use Wing Flap occasionally, forcing all the players in the frontline backwards.


    Even the Main Tank and Remnant Dream''s pet would be repelled, so a quick reorganisation would be needed to avoid another massacre. The first time that everyone was hit with Wing Flap, they could not reposition themselves fast enough and were all killed.


    On their third attempt, they managed to shave off half of the Shade of Eranikus'' HP.


    However, a new problem had emerged ¨C the Shade of Eranikus would summon four large dragons to protect it. These were the same as the ones that they had faced before, but this time, they had evolved from small bosses into formidable monsters.


    Fortunately, Drifting Rain was still around to bravely tank the damage for his teammates.

 788 Dragon’s Call

    These four dragons that were summoned all had names: Dreamscythe, Weaver, Morphaz and Hazzas. Although these were only copies of the original small bosses, they were definitely not lacking in HP ¨C each of them had 35000 HP.


    Now that there were more to deal with, a single Paladin would find it much more difficult to control the situation. Furthermore, there were two enchanted dragons as well.


    As such, Lu Li could only choose to clear out the smaller monsters.


    "Sakura Memories, go and attack the other dragon. I''ll attack this one. Remember to use Interrupt," Lu Li commanded. These two dragons would heal the main Boss by 10% HP each time, so it was critical to interrupt them. Otherwise, all of their effort would have amounted to nothing.


    "Leave it to me," Sakura Memories said as she swiftly changed targets.


    "Alright, everyone, keep maintaining your ranged DPS just like you''re doing now. As soon as you are repelled, remember to return to your original positions," Lu Li instructed.


    The four dragons were all killed after a few minutes, and every attempt of healing the main Boss was cancelled using Interrupt. Without Lu Li''s reminders, more time would have been wasted."I must not allow these powers of evil to invade this world! Come! I will end all of your puny lives!" the Shade of Eranikus roared.


    The players who were present at the time instantly sharpened their focus. Every time that the Boss roared and made a commotion foreshadowed an ultimate skill that was about to be used. This time was no exception; it seemed like a full-map attack.


    Acid Breath: Inflicts Natural damage to target every 3 seconds for 15 seconds after Acid Breath is casted.


    "Hachi Chan, use Tranquillity¡­" Lu Li reminded.


    However, before Lu Li could even finish, Hachi Chan had already casted her upgraded Tranquillity. All of the poisonous acid suddenly was lifted into the sky and everyone''s HP bars began regenerating.


    This skill alone made Hachi Chan a valuable asset for any elite Instance Dungeon team.


    "Increase DPS! Sakura Memories, use Bloodlust!" Lu Li shouted after taking a glance at the Boss'' HP.


    If they were unable to lower the Boss'' HP to 20%, there would surely be casualties. If too many members died now, they would require a complete restart.


    "4% left, keep going!" After nine minutes, Lu Li was beginning to feel nervous.


    It was unlikely that they could shave off 1% of the Boss'' HP in a minute, so Lu Li decided to take matters into his own hands. He hesitated for a moment and unleashed the Book of Ur.


    The Book of Ur (Gold): All Attributes +15, Critical Hit +10%, Special Effect: Summons a large wolf. Lasts for 5 minutes. Cooldown 24 hours. Special Effect 2: Transform into a Worgen, lasts for 10 seconds. Cooldown 24 hours. Requirement: Level 35. Durability 120/120.


    Over the next 10 seconds, Lu Li alone dealt 2% of Eranikus'' HP.


    Lu Li''s strength left all the others speechless and in awe.


    The sharp-witted people would have already known that this was Lu Li''s trump card. As they stood in admiration, they couldn''t help but feel moved at the same time. Lu Li had clearly shown that they were more than acquaintances by revealing this skill of his.


    Lu Li was not aware of the effects that he had on them.


    He only wanted to clear this dungeon as quickly as possible so that he could return and fight in the competition.


    The match against Wings of Dawn was today, and they were one of their toughest opponents. If he, Kitty Likes Meat and Sakura Memories were not in attendance, Moonlight and others would be utterly destroyed.


    They successfully defeated the Boss after focusing and fighting cautiously through the final stage.


    Similar to before, no one received skill points as a reward. After that, they could only wait to see what legendary equipment would drop from the Boss. Azure Sea Breeze and Drifting Rain were the most excited out of everyone.


    Instance Dungeons that were under Level 50 did not often drop Legendary equipment, since it was so rare. Even if they did, it would be the same type of equipment as The Book of Ur, which could be upgraded to Legendary grade.


    The Shade of Eranikus would drop a single-handed sword called the Dragon''s Call.


    The real Dragon''s Call was a mythical blade with the green dragon''s symbol and was in the possession of the green Dragon Queen Ysera.


    Although the Attack Speed of the sword was slow, it was extremely powerful. The damage alone exceeded many dual-wielding swords of the same grade. This made it a highly coveted weapon among Warriors.


    While attacking enemies, the sword also had a chance of summoning three dragons to aid the player in battle, similar to Lu Li''s Book of Ur. An effect like this could be described as an instantaneous burst skill.


    Furthermore, if the wielder was harmed, there was also a chance of giving them a Draconian Deflector.


    Considering all of these effects, both DPS classes and Tank classes would want this weapon if they were able to wield it.


    Unfortunately, its drop rate was way too low ¨C the official website listed it as 0.08%. This meant that for every 10,000 clears of the dungeon, only eight would drop.


    In front of hopeful faces, Remnant Dream carefully the Boss'' corpse for loot.


    Dragon''s Eye ¨C an exquisite Gold grade Necklace.


    Unfortunately, everyone was so distracted by the prospects of finding the Legendary sword that no one realised that this rare necklace had dropped. They only wanted Remnant Dream to keep searching.


    Tooth of Eranikus ¨C a Gold, single-handed axe with decent properties.


    Originally, the appearance of Gold equipment would cause teams to cheer. However, in Lu Li''s team, no one was especially happy about it, since they knew that no more Legendary equipment would drop.


    Normally, Elite Instance Bosses would only drop two equips at the very most.


    After that, there were only a few chances at a skill book, a recipe, a blueprint, or a rare material.


    Remnant Dream kept searching and found a blueprint for the Green Dragonscale Breastplate, which was suited for Shaman healers. Usually, not even Nightmare Difficulty would drop these.


    "Nothing left," Remnant Dream said apologetically, like a child who had done something wrong.


    "That''s alright, don''t worry.The drop rate is extremely low anyway, so it''s normal that it didn''t drop this time. Let''s roll to split these two Gold equips," Azure Sea Breeze said, unfazed by their misfortune.

 789 Inspirational

    "Do you guys think we''re getting the First Clear bonus?"


    It wasn''t an equip for Lu Li, so he wasn''t paying attention.


    "I don''t know. Do you want me to check the game''s chronicles?"


    "Check it," Lu Li said as he went off to one side to recall the course of the fight. Perhaps it was dumb luck, but he had managed to achieve a 99% Skill Completion on Shadowstrike, causing more than three times the damage to the Boss. If he was on the same level, it would have been at least five or six times.


    Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, he could only achieve around 95%.


    The feeling was exhilarating, but he didn''t know how to do it more consistently. All he knew was that his dream of getting 100% could soon be a reality.


    As such, after the fight, he tried as hard as he could to remember how to replicate it.


    There shouldn''t have been a difference in his physical movements; he had used the skill tens of thousands of times. At this point, they had been tuned to an almost-robotic perfection.


    But what else could have effected the Skill Completion level?


    He had read many strategy guides in his previous life and had deeply analyzed Skill Completion. However, no one had never analyzed a Skill Completion level that was this high.


    On one hand, this may have been because he had simply become more advanced. Even now, most players could not achieve 95% Skill Completion, but Lu Li could consistently achieve 95% and was aiming for more.


    On the other hand, it could just be human nature.


    No one would simply share the knowledge they had worked so hard for. Not only was this knowledge precious, but they would also lose their advantage if they revealed it.


    Even within a club, a player might not share their secrets.


    In retrospect, it had all happened so quickly that he couldn''t even imagine what he had done. Lu Li had messed up his attack and in an effort to catch up on DPS, had somehow managed to cast a Shadowstrike with 99% Skill Completion.


    Often, the truth was thinly-veiled. He knew that he was very close, but he just couldn''t work it out.


    Lu Li had been thinking about it for some time, but still hadn''t come up with anything. Azure Sea Breeze then called him over, so he had no choice but to put this aside for now. He was eager for the next breakthrough, as after this experience, it was bound to happen again soon.


    "Boss, there isn''t a record. Maybe no one else has received this Instance Dungeon Scroll yet? Why didn''t we get a prompt for the First Clear then?" Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t work out what had happened.


    While there were a huge number of players in Dawn, there were also many adventures and quests. Not a single duplicate Instance Dungeon Scroll could exist at the same time.


    "This Instance Dungeon is difficult, but as for why we haven''t received the prompt, it''s because we haven''t finished it yet," Lu Li answered. He wasn''t surprised at all.


    The team lined up and Lu Li tried a different exit. If they were an average team, they would have been close to death by now, and would likely be finished off by what was coming next in the Temple of Hakkar.


    The most intuitive thing to do was to jump into the hole in the entrance hall. However, Mu Fish had already tried that, which resulted in his tragic death.


    As such, Lu Li took everyone through another entrance. The terrain was very complex; it was no wonder why the temple was one of the easiest places to get lost in.


    "Lu Li, how do you know the directions?" Kitty Likes Meat asked.


    She had previously thought that Cat Dad was the best player in the game and had admired him, but now she was a little shaken. After seeing Lu Li in command of the Instance Dungeon party, he was quickly catching up to her father in her mind.


    "It''s actually quite easy ¨C Dawn likes to add elements of reality into Azeroth. This Temple of Hakkar is actually like the Mayan God of Water in the Belizean Forest. If you look it up online, you would know. The terrain is roughly the same and you can follow it," Lu Li said, making up some answer.


    In the still forest of Belize, a deep pool hid the remains of the Mayans. They performed sacrifices in this pool to the Mayan God of Water, which made the answer plausible.


    If you searched online, you would see that the restored map of the Mayan ruins was just as complex as the temples in this game.


    The seemingly mysterious inscriptions on the walls were Mayan characters. Apart from telling the story of their history, they also gave clues to the right path.


    There were similar notes about this in the huge national library in Stormwind City.


    An NPC had once ventured deep into the temple, and there were many descriptions of the terrain in his biography. As long as a player could match them up, they could navigate their way through the temples.


    When they reached the bottom, they were left dumbfounded.


    "So many Bosses¡­"


    "Relax, they''re just quasi-Bosses. We''ll divide into two teams to deal with them. After you engage them, make sure you remember the serial number that is on the statue behind them. This is very important, so don''t get caught up in fighting," Lu Li instructed.


    The six quasi-Bosses were very weak, which meant that their drops were even worse. They were just there to protect the statues, but the most important thing for the players was to remember the sequence in which the numbers on the statues lit up.


    "Have you recorded them?" Lu Li asked after he had finished.


    "I got it. From my position and in a clockwise direction, it''s 264135," Sakura Memories quickly recalled. She was worried about forgetting the numbers, so she kept repeating them over and over.


    "You can just send the number to the team channel. That way, you don''t have to remember it," Lu Li sighed.


    "Oh yeah¡­" Sakura Memories wanted to cry.


    Lu Li then sent six players to each stand in front a statute. Following the numbers recorded by Sakura Memories, they pressed the, one at a time.


    The bottom of the Temple of Hakkar began to shake as if something was boring its way out of the ground. In the middle, the huge pool began to boil and bubble.


    "Intruder, I will eat your flesh and bones!" a figure boomed as it rose out of the water.


    It was a huge, sluggish-looking Troll, but it could not be underestimated.


    "How do we fight it?'' Azure Sea Breeze asked as he tightened his grip on his shield.


    This was the final Boss of the Temple of Hakkar. He wasn''t sure if they could finish it with the two chances they had left, and some of the party members like Lu Li needed to compete in a match soon.

 790 Elevenless’ Revenge

    Before Azure Sea Breeze even took aggro, Lu Li had already rushed forwards.


    "Just go for it; I''ll engage."


    It was like he had gone crazy!


    The others who looked at him thought he had a death wish. Who else was would be irrational enough to engage a level 48 Boss? It wasn''t even a stealthy engagement; he was directly charging at it.


    However, the performance of the Boss ultimately disappointed them.


    The giant Troll Boss attacked and only dealt a fifth of Lu Li''s HP.


    "His damage is so weak. I don''t even feeling like fighting it now," Azure Sea Breeze sighed.


    "He still has quite a bit of HP. We need to hurry to finish this Instance Dungeon; the match is starting in less than an hour," Kitty Likes Meat yawned as she waved her hand and casted some skills.


    "It is what it is. Boss, you need to stay back a bit," Machine Bro said. He didn''t want to let Lu Li die and began to rapidly heal him.


    The last Boss in the Temple of Hakkar was not the most difficult; one might even say that it was the weakest one.


    It didn''t even have any big tricks up its sleeve. The most powerful skill it had was a Trample skill that stunned two players in the area for two seconds.


    "Will this Boss drop good items?" Around this time in every Boss fight, someone would ask this question in anticipation.


    Lu Li immediately responded, "What do you think?"


    "Well, obviously I''d like it drop something good," Nuo Yu said with a bitter smile. The Boss was so weak and Lu Li''s tone seemed to suggest there was little hope for it to drop anything worthwhile.


    "The punishment I suffered is finally over. Let my blood flow onto the earth!" the unnamed Boss shouted as it finally fell.


    "That was quite a cool line. Does anyone know the story?" someone asked.


    "I only know that he had committed some kind of wrong and was suppressed by his own people. The specific incident was not documented, but he is described as a very strong warrior in some of his biographies," Lu Li recalled diligently as he shook his head.


    "Even I''m stronger than him. Dreamy, go loot the Boss," Azure Sea Breeze said with disdain.


    The late System prompt had finally arrived.


    System: Ruling Sword guild members Azure Sea Breeze, Kitty Likes Meat, Sakura Memories, Nuo Yu, Drifting Rain, Mu Fish, Machine Bro, Jaweika, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream, led by party leader Lu Li have acquired the First Clear for the Temple of Hakkar on Elite Difficulty.


    This was merely a First Clear on Elite Difficulty in a relatively easy dungeon, but it still caused a great uproar on the World Announcements.


    Lucky Southern Persian: Is this really okay? We are all in the arena and they are off getting First Clears.


    Wendelian: I can''t stand it. Elevenless, they''re disrespecting you. Ruling Sword is doing the Instance Dungeon now, but they''re going to come and give you a beating afterwards.


    Vegetarian Mosquitor: Who is Elevenless? Is there a reward for killing him?


    Lone Smoker Long: He is the number one ranking player after all. There are only 10 minutes until the match starts, and he''s actually still in an Instance Dungeon getting a First Clear. Wasn''t he afraid of missing the match because of the Instance Dungeon?


    White Westhill: If I was Elevenless, I wouldn''t take this. I would confront them about this.


    Storm Warrior: I just saw Fat Monkey and Moonlight playing on the battlefield. They have been going all morning without any breaks.


    Fall Sacrifice: Breaking news ¨C March Rain is levelling with a handsome guy. It looked very intimate.


    King: I know. That''s definitely her brother ¨C Lonesome Flower of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. I can''t think of another pair of siblings who are so inseparable. I think poor March Rain will be destined to never marry.


    Not a Primary Student: Wow, he''s definitely a Sister-con.


    God-level Newbie: It''s just like primary school students who pretend to be siblings when they like each other.


    Not a Primary Student was the most famous loli on the beauty rankings; she was the ultimate dream for lolicons. As soon as she appeared on the World Announcements, the crowd flocked to her. Even the First Clear of Ruling Sword was no longer relevant.


    In the lounge room of the grand arena, Elevenless let out a long sigh.


    He didn''t really know how to respond to a situation like this. Was he supposed to say, "Lu Li, I want to kill you slowly, so please stop running about?"


    Elevenless had quite a few connections, but he was widely known. As such, whenever a chance arose, there was always a group of people who would gloat at him. Regardless of whether they were a professional player or a regular player, they all treated him as a laughing-stock.


    "Relax, the next match is about to begin," the Mage Dreaming About Being Thirteen said as he patted him on the shoulder to calm him down.


    Dreaming About Being 13 was Wings of Dawn''s Mage and coach of the club. Although he didn''t have the best technique, he was the well-deserved leader of the team.


    They also had a professional player called Falling Smile, who was a flamboyant Priest. He really liked yellow and was considered a celebrity in the gaming circles.


    Beyond those players, the rest were newbies who had yet to experience the baptism of the arena.


    "I must make Lu Li pay."


    Elevenless struggled with his heavy metal armor, but his voice was filled with determination.


    He had died every time he ran into Lu Li, who was slowly becoming a nightmare for him.


    "I think we don''t have to take out our last resort now. There''s just no need," Dreaming About Being Thriteen sighed, but he was the only one objecting to it. Everyone else insisted on teaching Ruling Sword a lesson, so he had no choice.


    In some players'' minds, Ruling Sword had risen to the heights of Glory Capital, but most other players felt this comparison was ridiculous.


    However, if this was not the case, then Wings of Dawn wouldn''t have been so insistent on using their last resort in the qualifiers. This wasn''t even one of the later stage matches.


    A few minutes before the game started, Lu Li was still in the Instance Dungeon.


    In the end, the Boss didn''t drop anything good. It was just one rare material that could sold for a few dozen gold coins.


    The only thing that made everyone stay was the First Clear bonus. Everyone received a piece of equipment or item in their inventory.


    System: Congratulations, you have received a Skill Book.

 791 Golden Armored Wargod

    Although the Instance Dungeon was on Elite Difficulty, a First Clear was still a First Clear. The reward wasn''t lessened because it was set to Elite Difficulty, so Lu Li was looking forward to it.


    When Lu Li saw the word ''Disarm'', he breathed a sigh of relief.


    Disarm: Instant Cast, Ultimate Skill. Reduces the target''s armor depending on the number of combo points for a 10 second duration. 120 second cooldown.


    1 point: 5% Armor


    2 point: 10% Armor


    3 point: 15% Armor


    4 point: 20% Armor


    5 point: 25% Armor


    Lu Li didn''t hesitate to learn this skill before spending four Skill Points to raise it to level 5.


    After the upgrade, its Armor reduction effect significantly improved.


    Lu Li had heard of this skill before in his past life, which was why he upgraded it without a second thought.


    Disarm: Instant Cast, Ultimate Skill. Reduces the target''s armor depending on the number of combo points for a 10 second duration. 120 second cooldown.


    1 point: 10% Armor


    2 point: 20% Armor


    3 point: 30% Armor


    4 point: 40% Armor


    5 point: 50% Armor


    The Armor reduction had doubled!


    If he managed to build up five combo points, he could lower his opponent''s Armor by half for 10 seconds.


    Aaginst a Cloth Armored class, ten seconds would be more than enough for Lu Li to kill them.


    Of course, this was assuming that there was no one there to protect them. However, no one in Dawn was that foolish ¨C you couldn''t simply chase someone down and lower their Armor to kill them.


    Nevertheless, this Disarm skill book was still a rare find.


    Before heading into the match, Lu Li went to complete the quest of the temple and finally obtained the Dragon Blood Essence of Eranikus. Everyone then gave their quest items to Hachi Chan. The Instance Dungeon had been quite beneficial and since the Instance Dungeon Scroll had come from her, so they didn''t want to take her gold.


    She had also claimed that after her dragon absorbed the Dragon Blood Essence, it would be able to fly into the sky.


    No matter what Hachi Chan thought, Lu Li didn''t believe it anyway.


    They would have to wait for at least another year for flying mounts, and even then, they would be limited to a few areas. Lu Li was a Druid in his previous life and it had taken him a lot of effort to start flying. He didn''t even have the most basic flying mount.


    He quickly rushed to the arena, arriving there just as the match was about to begin.


    "What took you so long? We''re about to go in," Moonlight said in relief after seeing Lu Li arrive.


    "It''s my turn; you better not take it. Oh yeah, who is the guest this time?" Lu Li casually asked. In a high-quality match between Ruling Sword and Wings of Dawn, the invited guest would definitely be an expert.


    "You definitely won''t be able to guess it," Moonlight said. He was usually quite straightforward and didn''t like to play games like this.


    Lu Li saw that he wasn''t acting like his usual self and had a hunch.


    "It''s not Water Fairy is it? If it is, that would purely be a coincidence."


    "I didn''t say it wasn''t a coincidence," Moonlight sneered.


    Water Fairy was responding to similar questions from the commentators.


    "I think this is just a coincidence, but I am honored to participate in the showdown between Ruling Sword and Wings of Dawn."


    "So from a sentimental perspective, would you be biased towards Lu Li?" Pure White Season asked.


    Water Fairy was speechless.


    "Season, you really get on my nerves when you ask things like that again."


    Everyone already knew that their private relationship was good, but even in her irritation, Water Fairy spoke with elegance. Most of the males in the audience had already sent their gifts.


    The audience was dominated by males. When they heard that Water Fairy would be the guest commentator, they immediately bought their tickets.


    It was likely that the tickets for this match had sold out the quickest.


    Regardless of what the outcome was, watching Water Fairy and listening to her few words was worth the ten silver coins. It was even more satisfying than defeating a Boss.


    "Alright, who do you think they will send out first then?" Pure White Season had dropped her line of questioning.


    "No matter who is playing, I think it will be a fantastic game."


    This was what the guests regularly said. Regardless of whether it was Water Fairy or someone else, they didn''t want to speak their mind, for fear of being wrong.


    It was Lu Li who was the unusual guest.


    Of course, Lu Li had confidence in Ruling Sword and in himself.


    As for the Wings of Dawn, Lu Li guessed that it would be Elevenless or their star Hunter player.


    When Lu Li got on stage, he saw a Warrior standing there in golden Armor. It really was Elevenless from Wings of Dawn, but his outfit was little over the top. He looked like a God of War.


    There was no such thing as full-body Armor in Dawn. Armor was separated into different components: Helmet, Shoulder Pads, Breastplates, Belts, Pants and Boots.


    In order to achieve this golden effect, he needed to find matching equipment with the same color. However, this was a pointless exercise ¨C it didn''t matter what you wore if the properties were bad.


    Even so, Lu Li believed that Elevenless wouldn''t just focus on the looks.


    Which meant¡­


    As soon as the start of the match was announced, Lu Li''s figure flashed and suddenly appeared behind Elevenless. A number of damage values rapidly floated up.


    This move was so abrupt that it completely subverted the expectations of the audience. Elevenless was completely unprepared for this.


    However, this kind of damage was meaningless because it was simply too low.


    "Has Elevenless cast some damage reduction skills?" Dark Wind asked what was on everyone''s minds.


    "The Thief has moved in so quickly that I don''t think he had a chance. He didn''t even go into Stealth; how would there be enough time?" Pure White Season subconsciously disagreed, but her tone was not resolute because she couldn''t explain what she was seeing.


    Lu Li cast Shadowstrike and only took 23HP from Elevenless.


    Even if he was fighting a level 50 Boss, he wouldn''t deal this little damage.


    "I think," Water Fairy began, then continued seriously, "Elevenless didn''t have a chance to respond, but Lu Li''s damage is so low because his Armor is too high."

 792 Berserker Se

    Lu Li stopped and dashed 15 yards away from Elevenless. He stared intently at the golden shimmering armor and a horrible thought formed in his head.


    This was the Archaedas Berserker Set!


    Archaedas was one of the Bosses in the Uldaman Instance Dungeon.


    It was said that there was a secret room in the depths of Uldaman which contained one of the Titan''s greatest treasures, created by Norgannon himself.


    However, no adventurer had been able to acquire this relic because any movement would alert Archaedas the Watchman, who had army of followers. With such a powerful force behind him, he could easily deal with any thief.


    By molding the ancient stones from the depths of Uldaman, Archaedas was an ancient and very powerful opponent.


    This information had come from a travel note that Lu Li had read about Archaedas.


    The Titan''s treasure was complete rubbish, Archaedas dropped a Berserker Set. There were eight pieces ¨C a Helmet, Shoulderpads, a Breastplate, Bracers, Gloves, a Belt, Pants and Boots. This was the dream set for a level 50 player.


    If they were all silver-colored, they would be Common grade.


    If they were gold-colored, they would be Gold Grade, and if they were dark-gold-colored, they would be Dark Gold Grade.


    Elevenless'' armour was clearly golden, and he had all eight pieces.


    The drop rate for these items was not very high. If you wanted to obtain this set of equipment, you would need to complete the Uldaman Instance Dungeon on Nightmare Difficultly at least 300 times.


    Uldaman wasn''t even a public Instance Dungeon that anyone could access.


    This Instance Dungeon was just like the Temple of Hakkar and required an Instance Dungeon Scroll to enter. The Instance Dungeon scroll only gave the players three attempts, and if a group got wiped three times, they would fail.


    According to Lu Li''s knowledge, the original natives tended to and guarded the depths of the world. They did not care about the affairs of those who lived above ground until the Well of Eternity''s explosion brought Azeroth into the world. At the same time, these underground beings were also lifted from the ground.


    After suffering a great deal, then locked themselves in the stone chambers that they had created.


    Uldaman, Uldum and Ulduar were the first cities built by the earthen creatures and were named after the ancient titans.


    In these ancient cities, the earthen creatures had been sleeping for nearly 8,000 years. Although it wasn''t clear what exactly awakened them, one day, the earthen spirits of Uldaman arose from their slumber.


    It was then that they discovered the changes that their bodies had undergone during their deep sleep. Their originally tough skin had become soft and their ability to control the earth had faded. They were now much more ordinary creatures. This was the origin of the Dwarves.


    From a historical perspective, the Uldaman Instance Dungeon was pivotal.


    Logically, there shouldn''t have been so many Instance Dungeon Scrolls. Lu Li speculated that the Wings of Dawn had found a way to farm them, all of which were on Nightmare Difficulty or Heroic Difficulty.


    Lu Li had not yet entered the game at this point in his previous life, so he didn''t know what had happened. However, he did know that the Wings of Dawn''s rankings had significantly increased in the first league, before they were finally eliminated by Blood Red War Flag, which placed them in fourth.


    "What''s wrong? Hahaha, come Lu Li, let''s have a fight between men," Elevenless said arrogantly.


    He was very satisfied with Lu Li''s current expression. He looked completely lost, while Elevenless seemed like he was about to be the winner.


    "This is the Archaedas'' Berserker Set, right?" Lu Li asked calmly.


    "Oh, you know about it," Elevenless choked for a moment before quickly recovering and saying, "But it doesn''t matter. Come here; let me show my affection for you."


    "For that, you''ll have to look for Innocent Child," Lu Li said as he took two steps back and went into Stealth.


    "Why are you being so troublesome? Just let me kill you; you''re just wasting time. I was standing still and not attacking you before, and you still couldn''t kill me."


    Elevenless rarely had to chance to boast like this, and his arrogance was growing out of control.


    However, Lu Li simply ignored him. He kept his distance and waited for an opportunity.


    "What is the Archaedas'' Berserker Set? Have you heard of it Water Fairy?" Pure White Season asked.


    "Nope, but as the name suggests, it''s a Berserker set, so it must be very powerful," Water Fairy replied flatly. Her hands were clasped and she was beginning to worry about Lu Li.


    Dark Wind saw her nervousness and moved the conversation along.


    "I don''t know if you''ve noticed, but Lu Li is a very knowledgeable person. He was able to determine what Elevenless was wearing with one look."


    In any case, the two people at the table were being extra cautious as they couldn''t get into an argument now.


    "I do know this," Water Fairy said, then paused and continued, "He likes to study the history and stories of the game, regardless of whether the information is relevant."


    "I see. It looks like there is no other reason why Lu Li could have risen so quickly in this game. The books written in this game are said to have been written over tens of thousands of years. Everyone knows that there must be useful information in those books, but no was actually willing to read them," Dark Wind praised.


    "But why do you know so much about Lu Li?" Pure White Season didn''t miss the chance to tease Water Fairy.


    "Look, he''s about to engage," Water Fairy said, shifting the topic.


    There had indeed been exchange on stage. Lu Li had taken the initiative and was aggressively attacking Elevenless.


    -22, -25, -18, -36, -119


    A set of damage values floated up, but the total didn''t even exceed 200. Elevenless'' total HP with the berserker set was a little over 6,000.


    During this period, he had also mixed in a few of his crowd-control skills.


    After this, he used one of his escape skills to get away from Eleveless and barely outran his Trample.


    Despite what it seemed like, he wasn''t just making some last-ditch effort.


    The Archaedas Berserket Set was indeed quite an exquisite Warrior set. It could be used up until level 55 or even 60, but it didn''t come without its flaws.


    The first thing was that it had few escaping effects. This could be seen from the previous fight where Elevenless was mostly held under Lu Li''s crowd control.


    The second was that the movement speed was slow. Most boots increased movement speed, but the Archaedas Berserker''s Set reduced movement speed by 20%.


    This wasn''t surprising as this was the trade-off for the boots having the same armor value as the Breastplate.


    On top of these two drawbacks, there was also a third, and because of this third drawback, Lu Li was determined to fight Elevenless to the end. Then, they would see who had the last laugh.

 793 Stalemate

    Compared with other Berserker equipment, the Archaedas Berserker Set had a very obvious flaw ¨C it couldn''t regenerate HP.


    In addition this, it also reduced healing from other players and stifled the player''s own basic HP regeneration.


    It was not accident that this flaw existed. Dawn couldn''t have such an overpowered set of equipment, even if it was very difficult to collect.


    Any top piece of equipment still had trade-offs.


    For example, the potential of Lu Li''s Supreme Ring seemed to be limitless, but even if Lu Li learned Druid Skills in the Leopard form, would the damage output be higher than his Thief damage output?


    Moreover, the extremely difficult upgrading process was also problematic. The original owner, Azure Sea Breeze, was proof of this fact. If this problem couldn''t be resolved, not only would it be a bad piece of equipment, but it might even ruin a player who was at the top of the game.


    Taking advantage of the fact that the Archaedas Berserker Set couldn''t regenerate HP was Lu Li''s only opportunity.


    In the following moments, Lu Li''s performance perfectly embodied what it meant for a Thief to be like a ghost. He weaved in and out of the shadows, and every time he appeared behind Elevenless he would cast a rotation of skills, then escape.


    In the beginning, Elevenless wasn''t concerned; he thought that Lu Li was already done for.


    He had 7,000 HP, which was greater than most other Berserkers and every time Lu Li attacked him, he would only lose 200HP at the very most. He thought that this was definitely just a last-ditch attempt.


    However, there was one time when Lu Li attacked him and he lost 600-700 HP.


    As time passed, he soon realized that things would not be as simple as they seemed.


    Pure White Season had been watching for a while and was looking for a question to ask.


    "It looks difficult for Lu Li to win way this, right?"


    The game on stage looked ridiculous, but some of the Thieves could make out what was happening. Everyone else turned to Water Fairy for an explanation.


    There had been no sound coming from the commentators for quite a long time.


    After a few minutes of saying everything that needed to be said, the three commentators were also calmly watching the game.


    "In fact, winning this match is not the most important thing," Water Fairy began. She also didn''t feel like Lu Li had much hope of winning against someone with such high Defense. After a sigh, she continued, "I think he is playing for those after him to win. The more HP he takes now, the more likely the person after him will win."


    If Lu Li could hear Water Fairy, he would sneer at her.


    Winning the match wasn''t the most important thing?


    That was wrong; he had never given up hope of winning. Instead, he felt that Elevenless was less challenging to fight like this. After all, Lu Li had solo-killed multiple Bosses in the past.


    If you hadn''t experienced soloing a Boss, you would never know what it felt like to spend a few hours just repeating the same actions.


    There was no way that Elevenless was stronger than a Boss.


    Perhaps during the first few times he was at risk of being caught by Elevenless, but as time went by, he eventually learned all of his attack patterns. He paid careful attention to his movement speed, his reaction time and the skills that he would commonly cast.


    After learning this information, his attacks on Elevenless became even stronger.


    Elevenless'' forehead was soon dripping in sweat. This was not because of his full body armor; the internal temperature was adjusted so that it would be the same as the outside world. As he stood in the stadium glancing around at his surroundings carefully, he began to feel distressed.


    He was like a fish in a puddle, watching as the water around him disappeared.


    Every time he cast Trample, he would find that no one had been hit by it. It had been a long time since he had last damaged Lu Li. He had such exquisite equipment, but no chance of hitting this slippery Thief.


    However, Lu Li''s situation wasn''t that optimistic either. He had dealt one third of Elevenless'' HP, but had spent ten minutes doing so.


    Lu Li himself had about the same amount of HP, but because he was rarely caught by Elevenless, the gap between them was growing larger.


    The problemwasthat he was getting tired.


    Ten minutes didn''t seem like a long time; most players spent hours playing the game without getting tired. After all, virtual reality would place the players in a light sleep. However, Lu Li was still exhausted and Elevenless wasn''t a bad player.


    Although he looked impatient while Lu Li was attacking him from all sides, Lu Li knew better than anyone else that this guy was waiting for an opportunity to fight back.


    The commentators were no longer just talking about how Lu Li would lose and the players in the crowd were also becoming excited.


    Many of them were analyzing Lu Li''s actions, thinking that this very specific tactic was a good general strategy. They tried to take it on for themselves, thinking that one day they would be like Lu Li, running circles around someone like Sorrowless.


    However, only a small portion of players understood and admired Lu Li''s tenacity.


    This kind of tenacity had nothing to do with his technique. There was no training method to learn this ¨C it was simply a character trait. Regardless of whether it was an inherent ability or a trained skill, not everyone had this.


    "I probably couldn''t do this. If I had run into Elevenless, I probably wouldn''t him down to half HP," Water Fairy frankly admitted her weakness.


    She was a very cheerful girl and was very much liked by other players.


    At this time, Elevenless'' HP had been reduced to 20%, while Lu Li still had half of his HP. An almost impossible miracle had been performed before everyone''s eyes.


    Those who thought that Lu Li was going to lose badly had to face their superficial understanding.


    "Lu Li, you old man. You really are evil!" Elevenless shouted breathlessly as his tired eyes tried to find Lu Li. Although he hadn''t moved, he had still spent the same amount of energy because he had never given up trying to catch Lu Li.


    As Water Fairy put it, it didn''t matter whether this game was a victory or a loss. This was just one round and not a match-winning game. If you couldn''t win, it was best to try and create a better situation for the following player.


    Towards the end of the fight, both players were clearly fatigued, but things were clearly more serious for Lu Li. His attacks were less precise and he spent more time walking around beyond Elevenless'' attack range. There were several opportunities that he failed to capitalize on.

 794 Stalling Tactics

    "Take advantage of his tiredness! Go Elevenless!" the Wings of Dawn''s substitute player Bloody Sunset shouted as he waved his arms excitedly.


    Fortunately, he was in the competitor''s seat, which was equivalent to the backstage of the stadium. The audience couldn''t see him. Otherwise, it would have been embarrassing for him.


    Bloody Sunset squatted in front of the other players and walked around quietly.


    "Oh dear," the Wings of Dawn''s coach Dream 13 sighed as he looked at the club''s veterans sadly.


    "Coach, why are you saying that? I think Elevenless is about to make a comeback," Bloody Sunset asked in confusion.


    There were many others who were like him in the audience, especially those who were fans of Wings of Dawn. They were just a step away from jumping up and cheering for Elevenless.


    Humans were always sympathetic to the underdog because they liked seeing a great reversal of results. After Lu Li''s unusual performance, it was now Elevenless that was the underdog. The voices of support for Lu Li were becoming softer and those cheering for Elevenless were getting louder.


    "As a professional player, you can''t always just look on what''s happening on the surface," Dream 13 answered.


    "Is there a problem? You can see that Elevenless is about to make a comeback too, right?" Bloody Sunset said dismissively. Young people tended to not like listening to older people and believed only in what they saw.


    However, it wasn''t just him who didn''t understand. The two commentators Pure White Season and Dark Wind also did not realize what was happening.


    "This is just a last-ditch struggle," Water Fairy said coldly.


    This was the first time she had openly refuted the views of the two commentators.


    Water Fairy didn''t keep the audience in suspense and explained it for everyone who didn''t understand, including the commentators that she disagreed with.


    "Lu Li is tired, but that doesn''t mean that his skill level has decreased. Does no one see that he is now at 70% HP?"


    After hearing her say that, everyone else realized that she had a point.


    How did Lu Li''s HP suddenly go up? They all remembered that it had been well below 50% previously.


    Pamela''s Gift (Dark Gold) *3: Critical Hit +30%, Damage +15%, Special Effect: Pamela''s Sweet Water tea. Instant Cast. Immediately regenerate 25% HP and regenerate 2% HP every second for 5 seconds. Can be interrupted and cannot be cast on anyone but yourself. 30-minute cooldown. Level Requirement: 30. Durability: 72/72.


    After being enhanced three times, "Pamela''s Gift" could regenerate Lu Li''s HP by 35%.


    "Lu Li won''t kill Elevenless right away because he can take the time to regenerate his HP. This is why I say that Elevenless is fighting for a lost cause."


    Everyone was convinced by Water Fairy''s point, which also highlighted Lu Li''s ingenuity.


    In the beginning, when he could only deal a few dozen points of damage, most people thought that he was going to lose. Now, not only was he going to beat Elevenless, but he was also going to stall for time so that he could regenerate his HP.


    He was employing stalling tactics!


    This concept was well-understood by Lu Li and quite common on Dawn''s stages. In many future matches, the stronger party would deliberately not kill their opponent in order to prepare themselves for the next round.


    The Game Company would then have to modify the rules of the arena and enforce a time limit on matches. If a match went past a certain duration, it would be ended and the victor would be decided based on who did the most damage.


    However, at this time, Lu Li was abusing the stalling tactic to its fullest extent.


    From the moment the game began until when Elevenless finally fell, it had been nearly an hour, making it the longest game in the arena to date.


    When he stood on stage to receive the cheers and taunts of the audience, he had regenerated back to full HP, most of his skills were off cooldown and he was no longer exhausted.


    The cheers were for obvious reasons, but those who taunted felt like Lu Li had played dirty.


    Regardless, Lu Li had won the first round.


    Wings of Dawn''s second player was Tracer, who was a veteran professional player. Although he wasn''t the strongest Hunter in Dawn, he was notoriously difficult to fight. Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn''t have used the stalling tactics. He wanted to face this hunter in a more acceptable state.


    Both players clashed in battle and Lu Li once again found himself in the weaker position.


    The first reason was because his energy. Prior to this, he had gone through a whole day of Instance Dungeon exploring, then had depleted all of his energy fighting Elevenless.


    The second issue was their professions. Hunters had ways to restrain Thieves, but Tracer in particular had Flare and his pet was a Shadowmaw Panther with strong Detection.


    Shadowmaw Panthers were a very common leopard and could be found almost everywhere in the forest environment.


    Their attack power was far worse than the rare leopards, but they had a skill that some hunters particularly liked ¨C Stealth.


    When a Hunter threw a Flare, an area with an 8 yard radius would be lit up. Any opponents who tried to Stealth in this area would be revealed.


    Lu Li still had a chance to stalk around the area, but this was where the pet came in.


    Tracer could cover the front, while his pet could cover the rear. Once an enemy in Stealth was found, they could immediately engage.


    An ordinary pet could play such a role, but they still had some flaws in their perception. However, a real master often used their pet''s flaws to launch surprise attacks.


    If a pet could go into Stealth, the opponent wouldn''t be able to see the direction that it was looking at and wouldn''t be able to act with certainty.


    At this time, Lu Li knew that he couldn''t act rashly. He didn''t know where the hidden panther was looking and could only wait patiently.


    "Ha!"


    A wave of arrows rained down near Lu Li and almost hit him.


    This area-of-effect attack didn''t have high damage, but it did not have a cooldown, so Hunters often used this skill to probe areas. Tracer was trying to determine Lu Li''s position, but also trying to flush him out at the same time.


    Obviously, stalling tactics didn''t work against every profession. After all, there were so many different matchups.


    Elevenless might have struggled with Lu Li, but a ranged player with area-of-effect skills like Tracer would naturally have an advantage.

 795 The Apocalypse of Berserkers

    If Marks was lucky, he would have been able to bring Lu Li out of Stealth with a few random arrows. Lu Li knew that he was running out of time too. Once a Thief was caught by a Hunter, he would lose his advantage.


    Fortunately, there was a cooldown and duration time for Flare, which gave him a 10 second window.


    As soon as the Flare effect ended, Lu Li pounced onto Marks, aiming straight for his head.


    He had adopted a totally opposite playstyle in this match.


    Previously, when Lu Li fought Elevenless, he played like a dirty rat. Even his fans felt ashamed to cheer for him, but Lu Li was showing another way to fight as a Thief.


    His attack angles were sharp, his assault was decisive and his strikes were fluid.


    Marks'' pet pounced immediately onto Lu Li to bite him. Its job was to protect its master, but there was nothing more it could do besides biting Lu Li.


    An average Nightsaber like this one didn''t have any control skills.


    Marks had tried before to find an exquisite pet that could Stealth and use control skills, but without success. The best he could do right now was to use his Badge.


    Once his badge had been used, the first move he took was to pull apart the distance he had with the Thief.


    Lu Li was about to chase, but a glow of ice suddenly appeared under his feet and extended upwards towards his torso.


    Freezing Trap!


    Lu Li didn''t even notice that a trap had been set; he had to admit that he had underestimated Marks.


    The trap that he had set down was expertly placed.


    If it was placed down too early, Lu Li would''ve dodged it, but if it was too late, it wouldn''t have frozen anyone.


    Marks adjusted his position and created some distance between himself and Lu Li, who had been frozen. He also ensured that his pet found a suitable spot to attack and was planning to take down Lu Li in one go.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t let him do as he pleased. While his skills were on a cast time, he activated the special effects on his shoes and instantly appeared behind him.


    Marks watched as the ice statue in his vision exploded and the figure within disappeared. He was quick to react and pounced on the floor immediately, then rolled over, jumped up and shot an arrow behind him.


    Lu Li was unable to give chase because he found himself in another trap ¨C an Ice Trap. While it didn''t freeze as well as the Freezing Trap did, it greatly decreased a player''s movement speed.


    Lu Li had to helplessly escape with Gale Steps.


    He briefly glanced at his own health bar; he hadn''t gained anything from this round of engagement. Both parties had lost around 30% of their HP, and had blown some skills.


    Seeing as Lu Li had disappeared again, Marks calmly tossed out another Flare.


    Dodging Flare was a very basic skill; there was no way Lu Li would make these kinds of mistakes, but this meant that they were both back to square one.


    Marks used his group spells to limit Lu Li''s survival space, while Lu Li took every single chance to strike from the shadows.


    The match was coming to its end, Water Fairy made a judgement call at the request of the analysts.


    "Lu Li will probably still win this round, but he won''t have a lot of health left either."


    Her predictions were right; Marks didn''t manage to take Lu Li down, but Lu Li only had 13% health left.


    He had consecutively taken down two top gamers, and neither of them were easy targets. Lu Li had never been so tired from playing a game, especially because of his previous one-hour-long battle with Elevenless. His battle with Marks had lasted at least twenty to thirty minutes as well.


    The next contestant from Wings of Dawn was Dreaming About Being 13.


    He didn''t waste his energy on words and flashed forward with a Frost Nova as soon as the match commenced. This immediately froze Lu Li, who had only just entered Stealth.


    Everyone could understand his play; a huge round of applause echoed in the air.


    To be fair, under good conditions, Lu Li probably wouldn''t have let any Mage catch his positioning so easily.


    "It''s rare for me to be impressed by anyone, but I''m definitely impressed by you," Dreaming About Being 13 said.


    "Since you''re impressed, you might as well stop attacking me and surrender," Lu Li joked as he activated the special effect on his ring and blocked an Ice Bolt. He only had around a hundred points of health left, but he still tried to deal as much damage as he could.


    He had already used all of his survival skills and was near the end.


    "To show my respects, I''ll send you to the bench as quick as I can. I know your healing accessory is almost off cooldown," Dreaming About Being 13 laughed as flames exploded outwards from him. Lu Li was caught in the flames and lost the match.


    Although he lost, no one laughed.


    He had already defeated two opponents ¨C Elevenless and Marks ¨C who were top players. No one in Dawn at this current stage could claim that they could take on both of them on consecutively.


    Dreaming About Being 13 didn''t lose much HP, but those with sharp eyes could tell that his last skill was no ordinary one.


    On the surface, it looked a bit like the Warlock spell Hellfire, but he didn''t lose health when using it. The skill also did more damage, so clearly, it was a special effect from one of his equips.


    Wings of Dawn had been bullied hard.


    Dreaming About Being 13 seemed confident, but had used such this effect to prevent any unexpected surprises.


    After Lu Li lost, Moonlight came to replace him.


    "How unfortunate. I thought we''d be able to see a battle between two top Warriors, but now they''ve been separated," Analyst Pure White Season lamented.


    "Water Fairy, from the match today, what do you think about Berserkers?" Dark Wind asked with a complex expression on his face.


    He was a Warrior and had competed in matches before. In almost any game, Warriors were the most popular choice of class. It was hard to imagine seeing a Berserker like Elevenless, who was geared all the way up to his teeth, to be tired out to death like a fool.


    "Hmmm... I don''t think Berserkers will be influenced in anyway. They''ll probably just receive some minor adjustments," Water Fairy rambled; she was clearly focused on the match.


    From a class perspective, Mages countered Warriors, especially an Ice Mage like Dreaming About Being 13. Both he and his Water Elemental could cast Frost Nova.


    However, the situation on the stage was nothing like what the players had anticipated.


    Dreaming About Being 13 was at a massive disadvantage. Moonlight was like a piece of gum, sticking around Dreaming About Being 13 and sidestepping as he attacked.

 796 Steady Defea

    Perhaps it was because Moonlight wasn''t facing a Thief, but from this match, Berserkers sure looked impressive. The Berserkers in the audience seats felt reignited; this was what a Berserker should look like.


    High damage, high defense, great mobility, great burst with strong positioning¡­


    After Faker than Wind made his appearance, the brutality of the Berserker class would become even more apparent.


    When Moonlight was left with less than 20% health, it seemed as if he went into some sort of rage mode. A Paladin with half health remaining ¨C one who still had the ability to heal himself ¨C was slain by his Berserk mode.


    The Berserker was showered in a glow of blood red, like a hero who returned from battle.


    His gear didn''t match in terms of shape and color, especially compared to Elevenless'' set of golden armor.


    If Elevenless was a rich prince, Moonlight seemed like a beggar off the street.


    Strangely enough, everyone felt like he was the real Berserker.


    The last contestant from the Wings of Dawn defeated Moonlight, who was left at low health. After this, he was wiped out by Fat Monkey, which ended this match.


    There was a half-an-hour rest time before the group match commenced.


    Lu Li closed his eyes to rest. His expression seemed peaceful, but if you paid close attention, you would see that he was slightly frowning. He was clearly troubled by something.


    "Don''t worry; just do our best," Moonlight reassured as he tapped him on the shoulder.


    "We''re leading in points. After we win the group match, we will still advance over the other guilds," Fat Monkey said confidently.


    "Elevenless is a hard bone to chew on. Can you do it?" Lu Li asked as he opened his eyes.


    Fat Monkey''s face went pale at the question.


    The atmosphere in the Wings of Dawn was much more relaxed. Although they didn''t expect to lose so hard, they were confident in the upcoming group match.


    "For this group match, Wings of Dawn is probably going to win," Water Fairy predicted.


    Pure White Season was astonished at her apparent lack of loyalty to Lu Li.


    Dark Wind was a Warrior, so he understood why Water Fairy made her claim.


    "Here''s a little note for those who love the Berserker class ¨C persevere in what you''re passionate about and don''t back out because of the difficulties that lie ahead."


    The key was Elevenless.


    If someone thought that Elevenless was a failure because of the way that he fought Lu Li, they would be completely wrong.


    "Kill the healer. Try to take down their healer in one go," Lu Li said in a lowered voice as he looked at the timer.


    The greatest weakness of Elevenless was that he couldn''t heal, but what if there was a healer who could do this for him?


    A Berserker that even Lu Li couldn''t really kill with a Priest behind to heal him was truly an unsolvable conundrum.


    They had to kill their healer first!


    From another perspective, their opponents probably knew about the same thing. It wouldn''t be hard to imagine that their Priest would be their key target for protection.


    Hence, Elevenless, who had been seen as a joke by everyone, finally had the opportunity for redemption.


    As the battle began, Ruling Sword immediately targeted Falling Smile from Wings of Dawn. They were determined to get rid of him.


    "Ahaha, I''m a Priest with all Constitution Attributes. It won''t be easy for you guys to kill me," Falling Smile laughed. He was already mentally prepared and quickly popped a shield on himself.


    Lu Li knocked him out with a Cheap Shot, but this was cancelled by his Badge without the slightest hesitation.


    A four second stun was enough for Lu Li''s team to wipe out the Priest. If he hesitated, he probably wouldn''t have another chance to use it again.


    Lu Li, Moonlight, Fat Monkey and Sakura Memories chased after Falling Smile with the Bloodlust buff.


    Falling Smile had used his damage reduction, and had even found some time to heal himself, but his health still dropped rapidly. Just as he saw that he was about to enter the low health range, he was covered by a golden ray.


    Intervene!


    They often saw Moonlight cast this skill, so they immediately understood what had just happened.


    With Elevenless taking damage for him, Falling Smile finally had the chance to heal himself. After all, Wings of Dawn was a five-man team; they wouldn''t sit and watch as Lu Li and the others bullied their healer.


    After Elevenless casted Intervene, he used Charge at Lu Li and the others and immediately spun into a Whirlwind.


    At the same time, a Frost Nova was laid out under their feet, so they had to quickly leave the range of Elevenless. This meant that they couldn''t keep the same attack formation as before.


    Moonlight went head on with a Whirlwind too.


    Now, the audience was much happier. Not only did they get to see a battle between Berserkers, but they also got to see them fight with their signature skills.


    The Berserker at the center of Whirlwind couldn''t be controlled, but they could take damage.


    The difference between Moonlight and Elevenless became visible here. Moonlight took about one hundred points of damage while Elevenless only took about a dozen points of damage. Sometime, it even dropped into the single digits.


    They couldn''t kill the Priest, but they couldn''t stop Elevenless either. Ruling Sword was headed towards a sure defeat for the group match.


    Lu Li didn''t care about how the others fought and completely focused on Falling Smile.


    "My goodness, you''re so stubborn. You can''t kill me anyway with your surprise appearances ¨C are you trying to frighten me to death?" Falling Smile laughed coldly. He hadn''t actually put all of his Attribute Points into Constitution.


    March Rain''s maximum health was a little over 3000, but he had around 4000. His equipment was also heavily geared towards protecting him.


    "Don''t worry about me; kill their Shaman. The cooldown time on Bloodlust is about to end," Falling Smile reminded. As long as he wasn''t ganged up by the group, he didn''t think that Lu Li would be able to kill him alone.


    "Focus on the Shaman," Dreaming About Being 13 nodded; it was time to end the battle.


    When the group match started, he felt slightly anxious. He was worried that Falling Smile wouldn''t be able to make it past the first round of attacks. However, the truth was that he had thought too much. With the support of team members, Falling Smile successfully made it through.


    "Memories, try and drag on some time. You guys can go take on a player each; I''m going to take down their Priest," Lu Li suddenly said this in their own channel.


    Was he too tired and hallucinating? If it wasn''t for the fact that his team members really understood him, they would have thought so.

 797 Crafty

    Lu Li was playing a massive game of chess. Ever since he noticed that Elevenless was wearing the Archaedas set, he had been setting things up.


    He would rather spend more time bringing down Elevenless'' health, than use any Armor Penetration skills on him.


    With five combo stars stored, he could reduce Elevenless'' Armor by half. Regardless of how high Elevenless'' armor was, this would still have a massive impact, but Lu Li didn''t even use it once. It was as if he had completely forgotten about that skill.


    But if he didn''t care about it, why would he use all his leftover skill points on it as soon as he found the skill book?


    He had been waiting for a critical moment, just like this one.


    As soon as the group match started, Lu Li had a chance to use this skill to take out Falling Smile, but he had to consider the other influencing factors.


    Not everything was guaranteed to follow according to his plans.


    What if Wings of Dawn had some kind of ultimate skill that could turn around the match? Elevenless'' Intervene was a good example.


    This was why he had been saving the skill and was waiting for his chance.


    Now, he was clinging onto Falling Smile, but he can''t really kill him either. This gave the Wings of Dawn players a false impression that he was just resisting hopelessly.


    Lu Li had always been one who never gave up, so no one thought much of his actions.


    When the Wings of Dawn decided to focus down Sakura Memories, Lu Li knew that his long-awaited chance had finally arrived. He secretly stored up five combo points and prepared to unleash his Armor Reduction skill on Falling Smile.


    If a team wanted to focus down someone in a group match, they would go together.


    Falling Smile was following behind his team; he had to ensure that the health bars of his team members were maintained.


    At the same time, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He knew that Lu Li, who was in Stealth, had appeared once again to show himself. He had begun to look down on this so-called, number one player of Dawn.


    Most of the cloth classes could be easily killed by him, but a survival-type Priest in the match grounds were an exception.


    Falling Smile was Stunned.


    He knew the tricks that Lu Li used. A Shadowstrike with a high completion level was capable of Stunning ¨C this was no secret.


    But what could he achieve in one second? Even if Falling Smile couldn''t heal his team members for three to five seconds, they would still be safe, especially Elevenless, who had extremely high Defense Attributes.


    By the time Falling Smile realized that the damage of this Shadowstrike was beyond his expectations, it was too late.


    Two auto-attacks, three spells and an Ultimate skill ended Falling Smile in a split second. He didn''t have a chance to call for help.


    Falling Smile wasn''t the only one left in astonishment; his team members were confused too.


    The same scenario had repeated itself over and over again previously, but no matter what Lu Li did, he could only take down half of Falling Smile''s health bar. Once Falling Smile escaped from Lu Li''s control, he could quickly heal himself back up again.


    The results this time were an unexpected change.


    Lu Li had only spent a few seconds to take out Falling Smile.


    "Kill Marks. Memories, use Bloodlust now."


    Lu Li wasn''t left in astonishment by his damage and pounced onto Marks, who had the least amount of health. Under the circumstances where there was a Priest, 40% health wasn''t too concerning, but without one, this amount of health was nothing.


    The group match mode was a 5+1 mode ¨C there were five people at the start and a substitute player outside. Once someone died in the match ground, the substitute could immediately enter the match ground.


    This usually took about ten seconds.


    However, there would be some distance from the spawn point to the location of the fight, so Lu Li and the others had an opportunity to strike.


    For about a dozen seconds, Wings of Dawn had no healer.


    After Lu Li shouted Marks'' name, Moonlight charged in to control him. Fat Monkey''s Fireball slammed into his face and Lu Li also activated his movement speed boost.


    After the Priest had been killed, the tides of the match had definitely been turned, but it was still too early to call it a victory for Ruling Sword.


    As such, the more members they quickly eliminated, the more favorable the situation would. Lu Li had to chase their victory in a short span of time.


    Marks was an experienced competitor and tossed out everything that he could to protect himself. If he could hold up until the sixth player arrived, there was a chance that he could survive.


    The sixth player for Wings of Dawn was a Shaman healer named Lucky. As long as he could make it in time, they could still reassemble into their the golden formation at the beginning.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li didn''t give them this chance. He disarmed the long bow from Marks and focused a flurry of attacks onto him.


    A lot of Hunter skills required a bow to activate, so being Disarmed was no different to a Mage being Silenced. At the same time, there was nothing more that his team members could do to support him, so he was swiftly killed.


    However, the other players from the Wings of Dawn didn''t sit around and watch either. They managed to kill Sakura Memories before she had a chance to cast Bloodlust.


    The numbers were in balance at the moment on the match ground; both parties had four people. However, the sixth player of Ruling Sword hadn''t jumped on stage yet. The substitute this time wasn''t Mu Qiu; it was Kitty Likes Meat instead.


    Once March Rain was focused down, there wasn''t much difference that Mu Qiu could make either.


    If they had more damage output, they might stand a chance, despite the disadvantage in the group match.


    Lucky arrived just in time to stop Ruling Sword from killing another player. Lu Li had to give up on his target, Dreaming About Being 13.


    Because Dreaming About Being 13 had been focused, he had lost about half of his health.


    Elevenless, Dreaming About Being 13, Faker than Wind were all attacking him. If March Rain didn''t use a badge to debuff her Stun and heal him in time, he might have died.


    "Monkey, don''t rush in. Let''s play it safe and wait for Kitty," Lu Li called as Ruling Sword regrouped and waited for their reinforcement.


    The audience felt like this was a dishonorable move, but there was nothing that Wings of Dawn could do about it. Their only option was to initiate the fight first. If Kitty Likes Meat arrived, they would have an even slimmer chance of victory.


    However, they were unable to act quickly enough, and the arrival of Kitty Likes Meat ultimately decided the final outcome of this match.


    Ruling Sword won the match with full points, while Wings of Dawn only received two. This was their worst result of this season, and to rub salt into their wounds, their best tactic had failed them.


    Even so, Elevenless had still earned his title of ''The Golden Warlord''.

 798 Into Jintha’Alor

    Elevenless had been tired to death by Lu Li.


    Although he had lost, it was a glorious defeat to be tired out by someone like Lu Li. Not many could go toe-to-toe with him for such an extended period of time.


    As for the group match, Elevenless had totally displayed what it was like to be Berserker.


    What was the class that made blood boil the most? Berserkers!


    Ruling Sword against the Wings of Dawn ¨C this was without a doubt one of the most classic matches so far in the competition. It would be difficult for any matches after to surpass this one.


    Some said that matches were decided by star players, but this match had involved much more than just individual skills.


    According to Dark Wind, Lu Li won with tactics, while Elevenless relied on his aura.


    Those from the audience who enjoyed a bloody fight saw the Berserker, while enjoyed tactics saw Lu Li. As for those who liked to check out pretty girls, they got to see Water Fairy.


    After the match, the guild channel was filled with cheering.


    They shared the glory of defeating the Wings of Dawn, especially those PVP maniacs who were still fighting with the Gangnam Royals even now. They were keen to see Ruling Sword play against the Gangnam Royals in their next matches and achieve a complete victory.


    When Lu Li requested to form a team to attempt Jintha''Alor, countless guild members responded.


    This was morale ¨C you couldn''t see or touch it, but it definitely existed. With this exhilarating high, no one dared to stand before their way.


    When the word got out that Ruling Sword was headed for Jintha''Alor again, the major guilds who had previously fallen into Lu Li''s trap kept quiet this time.


    Lu Li didn''t head for the Trial Tower; there was still some time before it refreshed. His target for this expedition was the great city of Vilebranch Trolls, which was located in Jintha''Alor.


    Without a doubt, Jintha''Alor was currently the most preserved habitat of Trolls in Azeroth. The Desert Trolls (located in Zul''Farrak) and the Hakkari tribe (located in Zul''Gurub) couldn''t compare to this region in terms of population.


    They were blood-thirsty and cruel, but they were definitely obedient and extremely hardworking.


    A long time ago, before the great apocalypse, the Forest Trolls ruled over the Lordaeron Continent. Their empire was known as Amani.


    Both the Amani empire and the Gurubashi empire had fought with the merciless Aqir race, and eventually defeated them. However, they were sent into mourning over the great cost of their victory ¨C not more than a tenth of them remained.


    The High Elves arrived at Lordaeron for the first time, and with their magic, they casted out the Trolls in the north section and established their kingdom, Quel''Thalas.


    The Forest Trolls were determined to defeat these Elven intruders and overthrow Quel''Thalas. To achieve their revenge, they gathered the most respected Forest Trolls under Zul''jin and formed an alliance with the Horde in the second great war.


    Some Forest Trolls headed for the battleground with their Tauren allies, including the Evil Priestess Hexs.


    After the battle, Hex survived, but lost the majority of her subordinates. She was infuriated by the fact that the Horde didn''t fulfill their promise and without the slightest hesitation, abandoned Zul''jin and the Tauren.


    Even after the new Horde rose up, they still kept the hatred for each other.


    As soon as you entered the area, you were bound to see a Troll.


    The Vilebranch Trolls mostly had green skin, which was linked with their environment. Forest Trolls were also capable of growing plants on their bodies. Soon after they were born, their skin would be covered by moss, which pigmented their skin green.


    The reliability of this myth was questionable, since no one had actually conducted research into it.


    There were about sixty thousand Vilebranch Trolls in the area, and once one of them died, it would take about a minute for another to refresh.


    However, Lu Li was aiming for the Evil Priestess Hex today.


    His original aim was only to save the Revantusk Troll elder who had been bound on the altar.


    He didn''t want to cause too much havoc, but as soon as he tried to save the elder, Hex would immediately be alerted and teleport over.


    At some point, people had tried to use the bug to draw Hex out from the city and kill her on the altar.


    However, after they spent all of their energy to bring her down to about 20% health, she would teleport back, rendering their efforts futile.


    It was different fighting her in Jintha''Alor. She won''t leave her territory ¨C even if she was going to die, she would fight until her last moments there.


    Raiding a city!


    Even a one-hundred-man team wouldn''t be enough. After all, this was a Troll city and monsters refreshed constantly.


    This was why Lu Li had dragged on the event until now. If it wasn''t for the fact that his 15-day agreement with the Troll elder was coming to the end, he would have waited for everyone to reach level 45 to take any action.


    Most of the members from Ruling Sword were currently between level 41-45. Only Lu Li was level 45, way ahead of everyone else.


    "Those who we have sent out have returned. The average monsters here aren''t greater than level 45. Each team consists of a level 45 elite. An issue would be the complex geography; the boss is located at the very center of the city. Our people haven''t been able to reach the deepest part of the city yet," Cain''s Left Hand reported in shame. He was the one who had requested to spy out the city.


    "The fire pillars of this city have the ability to detect Stealth units. It''s normal for you guys to be unable to get near the boss," Lu Li said in an unconcerned tone.


    "Boss, why didn''t you say so earlier?" Cain''s Left Hand cried out. "Our Thief brothers were doing good in Stealth mode, but were suddenly found. We lost two of them¡­"


    "If a few of them were caught at the start, did you guys not bother to find out why?" Lu Li shot back with an unimpressed expression. How could they blame him for their own stupidity?


    "Uhm... we''ll watch out for it next time," Cain''s Left Hand mumbled in embarrassment. He realized that as a leader, he had made a mistake that he should have made.


    Ruling Sword had begun to form little groups by class like the other major guilds. These groups were all assigned a leader who was in charge of assigning these players roles to help sort out everyone''s issues.


    There were a lot of Thieves in Ruling Sword, many of whom were master gamers. For Cain''s Left Hand to be assigned as the leader, he needed to have excellent technique and interpersonal skills. Some claimed, however, that he had made dirty trades with Lu Li behind everyone''s backs.


    At this point in time, he still couldn''t differentiate the difference between an excellent player and an excellent leader.


    A player only had to watch out for mistakes. As long as they dealt with their mistakes accordingly, they could ignore everything else. On the other hand, a leader needed to understand everything to prevent mistakes from happening in the first place.

 799 Bones

    "Prepare for battle. Everyone, form groups of ten and don''t aggro too many monsters at once. The respawn time is fast," Lu Li commanded, listing out a series of instructions.


    Each group advanced into Jintha''Alor.


    This large city was built in the mountains and was divided into six levels. Each level was distinct and housed different Professions, such as Priests, Warriors and normal civilians. The rivers and waterfalls flowed down from the mountains and through the center of the city. If it wasn''t for the skeletons and corpses of the dead, this would be a place beautiful beyond description.


    The top floor was the altar and was where Vile Priestess Hex ruled over the city. She led the Vilebranch Trolls to defend against the Horde and Wildhammer Dwarves.


    When enemies attacked, loud gong noises would signal the whole city to prepare for battle.


    If a player or an NPC accidentally entered the city and triggered the defense system, they would be swarmed by Vilebranch Trolls and killed immediately without being offered a chance of explaining themselves. This made the city difficult to breach, and players could never take over because of how fast the monsters respawned.


    Lu Li entered Jintha''Alor along with his own group.


    He was surrounded by a sea of other ten-man teams; no one in the guild would want to miss out on a big raid like this.


    The Vile Priestess Hex was a level 50 Boss. Lu Li had heard about how annoying she was to deal with from other players in his past life. She would cast Hexes on her targets, along with Shadow Word: Pain, which was a damage over time skill. She could also heal herself continuously and had an army of Trolls surrounding her. Even experts in taking down Wild Bosses would be stumped in strategizing for this fight.


    As they entered the stone room and cleared the waves of monsters, Lu Li''s eyes lit up. There were rows of skulls lined up against the wall that they could loot.


    Items that could be looted or gathered by players were outlined by the game. Otherwise, the players would be


    able to take anything they wanted.


    Most Trolls still followed the tradition of eating humans. Trolls tribes such as the Mossflayers and the Vilebranches were infamous for their human eating habits.


    Since Jintha''Alor was their main city, there was no reason against eating humans here.


    After eating the flesh, the bones were thrown aside and littered the city streets. Even some of their buildings were constructed with human bones for decoration.


    Skulls weren''t thrown away because they were hung on the walls of their buildings as trophies of war.


    The more the deceased suffered, the more spirituality and magic their skulls contained. Trolls would often use these during transactions and exchanges; top-quality skulls sold for more than live humans.


    Lu Li looted the skulls and received three "Skulls filled with Resentment".


    In his past life, he had fought Vile Priestess Hex with a Boss-hunting team. Back then, Hex wasn''t as popular, so there weren''t many people competing with them. Their strategy was simple ¨C throw the Skulls Filled with Resentment at the boss.


    When these skulls hit, there was a certain chance of inflicting the target with a debuff.


    The people that the Vilebranch Trolls killed were filled with resentment. Before these people were executed, they made sure to curse the executioners, as well as the Vilebranch Troll tribe. This energy of resentment was absorbed by their skulls and when released, could inflict a great deal of suffering on a target.


    Leve 50 was a very important milestone in Dawn. For Bosses, the difference in difficulty between a Lv49 and Lv50 Boss was night and day.


    Even though Lu Li''s team could deal with three Lv45 Bosses at once, they would still struggle to deal with a single Lv50 Boss.


    Unless¡­ they had a guide.


    The Skulls of Resentment would not guarantee success, but they would make it much easier for Ruling Swords to defeat Hex.


    Lu Li quickly let everyone know about this strategy and instructed them to collect as many skulls as possible.


    Lu Li did not care whether the members of his guild would leak his strategy or not. Either way, he was aiming to achieve the First Clear for this Boss and wouldn''t risk failure simply because he was afraid of his strategy being leaked. Even if he did not reveal it, someone would eventually figure this out.


    These skulls were scattered around most of the rooms and everyone quickly gathered a few.


    However, Lu Li did not tell them how they were used, and even if someone asked, he wouldn''t let them know.


    The group slowly advanced through the city. From a bird''s eye view, they were a little circle that slowly made their way through a sea of Trolls.


    Even though they were surrounded by enemies, the members of Ruling Swords never doubted Lu Li''s orders and followed obediently. As they made their way through the city, they left behind countless corpses of Vilebranch Trolls while collecting the Skulls Filled with Resentment.


    Besides this, they also gained a large amount of EXP.


    If they weren''t so focused on defeating the Boss, this would be a great place to grind for levels.


    "We''re approaching the city altar where Hex resides. There are some Lv48 Elite Trolls and four smaller bosses. One of the brothers accidentally aggro''d one and was almost instantly killed," Cain''s Left Hand reported.


    "Wait until everyone gets here," Lu Li said as he took the high ground and looked back at the other group that was still trying to make it past the Troll swarm. However, he was sure that they would eventually all reach the altar entrance without trouble.


    "What are the skulls for? To throw at the boss?" Square Root Three wasn''t worried about how dirty they were as he tossed one up and down in his palm. He seemed fascinated by these skulls as he studied their anatomy closely.


    "Well, your guess is right."


    There''s no point of hiding it anymore now that they had reached the altar.


    He was worried that someone would leak what the skulls were used for and prompt the other guilds to steal them. However, now that most of the skulls were in their hands, he was much more relaxed. The skulls only respawned once every three days, so no one could steal their First Clear attempt now.


    "Nice, looks like we''re about to complete another First Clear," Square Root Three said excitedly. He had been hoping for a large-scale Boss hunt which involved the whole guild. Instead of fighting with the Gangnam Royals all day, they could finally build some chemistry together with this fight.


    Invading and taking over cities was fun and exciting, but it wasn''t something that guilds would often do. If it was so easy, why not just invade Orgrimar and kill Thrall to end the game? Of course, that would be fun, but they would fail miserably and might even be forced to disband because of the consequences.


    As for the invasion that Ruling Swords was attempting, it was well-thought out and orchestrated by Lu Li. There were very little risks and it was a great way to earn some honor for the guild.

 800 The Big Stage

    The effects of the Skull Filled with Resentment only lasted for five seconds, and the timer could not stack with multiple hits. However, as soon as it timed out, players could immediately throw another one to inflict a new debuff.


    Most of the skulls thrown wouldn''t have an effect.


    However, the system would notify the player that the skull had not been used and it would return to their inventory.


    Lu Li chose five players to focus on throwing and everyone transferred their skulls to them.


    The five players chosen all played Tank classes with high HP and Defense. They were also being focus-healed by Holy Paladins so that they wouldn''t be instantly killed by the Boss. In the event that they did die, a group of Druids would be there to Resurrect them immediately.


    Skulls of Resentment were the key to success and Lu Li would not allow any accidents or mishaps.


    "We need everyone to divide into four groups on four sides and surround the Bosses. Focus monsters that can summon totems first and take our their totems as quickly as possible. Nominate eight players out of the Hunter group, pair up and take one of the four sides. Your job is to focus on these totems. If they cause us any trouble then you can decide your own punishment," Lu Li said bluntly.


    They were in the Wild where players lost levels and EXP from dying. A group wipe could be detrimental to a guild''s growth and chemistry, as well as their loyalty to the guild leader.


    Long ago, Orgrim Doomhammer tried to persuade the Forest Trolls to join the Horde in order to help them defeat the High Elves and assist them in rebuilding Amani Empire.


    The leader of the Forest Trolls, Zul''jin, initially refused this enticing offering. He completed an extraordinary task by uniting all the Forest Trolls and proved himself worthy to be in command.


    The Forest Trolls were still determined to defeat the high elves, but he was skeptical about the Horde''s true intentions.


    Not long after, he was captured by humans and rescued by the Horde, which led him to join forces with them in the Second War. Zul''jin led his most capable warriors and assisted them in battle.


    Although Doomhammer did not keep his promises in the end, the Forest Trolls did not come out this alliance without benefitting at all.


    During this time, the Orc Shamans taught some Forest Trolls how to control the power of the elements. This was how the Troll Shaman class was created.


    These Vilebranch Trolls of Jintha''Alor were the troops that had followed Zul''jin, joined forces with the Horde and subsequently learnt Shaman magic.


    Not only were these Shamans proficient in the summoning techniques that they had been taught, but they had even created their own spells and totems. These totems could cause all sorts of crowd-control effects, such as Hex, Stun, Bind and Fear.


    Eliminating these Shamans would be their primary focus in taking over Jintha''Alor.


    Once the Shamans were killed off, the rest of the mobs would be nothing but walking EXP for them.


    As for the four Boss Troll Elders, if there was only a single team, it would be almost impossible for them to defeat them. This was because their aggro was chained together and they all attacked at the same time.


    If one of them was Taunted, the other three would also be aggroed and would charge towards their enemy with the surrounding Elites.


    That would be a total of several hundred monsters.


    "On my signal, each side must pull the Boss closest towards them. It''s important that we all aggro at the same time. Other Main Tanks, keep your eyes out for any monsters that try to attack your backline," Lu Li instructed. Then, after seeing that everyone had gotten into position, he signaled for the battle to commence.


    The gongs began banging loudly all throughout the altar.


    Vile Priestess Hex raised her staff and began casting her spells over the whole city. The newly-spawned Troll monsters became enranged and stampeded towards them.


    They advanced in a fast, but orderly manner, much like the armies of the ancient Troll warriors.


    The members of Ruling Swords occupied each sides of altar and prepared to defend against the thousands of Trolls. Each side was formed by a team of 100 players that would take turns coming in and out of battle to heal and repair their equipment.


    There were a few things that separated a guild member from a casual player.


    Firstly, Elite members received a salary for their work, as well as an incentive for extra rewards and bonuses. Casual members could also participate in these guild quests or activities to earn gold and equipment.


    Additionally, they had a hierarchy of commanders that were in charge of groups of 5, groups of 10, groups of 100 and groups of 1,000.While a commander was responsible for their own group, Lu Li''s authority would ultimately overrule them.


    Lastly, there was the team atmosphere.


    Humans were like sheep ¨C when everyone followed orders, they would instinctively follow along without thinking.


    Those who acted based on their own accord were punished.


    The Elite team prepared to fight the four Bosses.


    Lu Li signaled the Main Tanks and they all Taunted at the same time. However, the Tanks on the East and South side were slow by a beat, which created some chaos and confusion. Fortunately, the two Main tanks Taunted again to re-apply aggro and the situation was resolved.


    Since they were attempting to take over a city, there were bound to be problems and obstacles that they would encounter.


    The most important thing was whether the Main Tank could juggle aggro with the other tanks in order to reduce the damage taken. No matter how much Defense a Tank had, they could never survive being swarmed by hundreds of monsters at once. This was why Lu Li had decided to implement secondary Tanks that would take over if anything happened to the main ones.


    This sort of large-scale messy boss fights tested the capabilities of the main commander. The calls needed to be simple, clear and logical, otherwise, the whole team would be wiped.


    If they encountered any mishaps, the commander had to remain calm instead of yelling at his teammates for their mistakes. The more a leader yelled and was frustrated, the more easily the members would become nervous and panic.


    "Hunters on the North side, how come you''re not hitting the totems? Are you guys dead? You guys will lose a point for this. Can the other Hunters go and help them?" Lu Li asked.


    Taking away one point from them was not be much of a punishment, but it definitely made them feel ashamed.


    Throughout all of this, the commander also had to take notice of what color the spells that came out of Vile Priestess Hex''s staff were.


    She started with red, which would enrage the monsters in Jintha''Alor. Then they would turn gold, which gave the monsters increased Critical Strike. This was the best stage for the tanks to activate their defensives. Blue meant Defense, while Black gave the monsters the ability to Curse their targets.


    The commanders just needed to remind their teammates, and the other members would all be familiar with what to do.


    After ten or so minutes, the four Lv50 Bosses were killed by Ruling Sword. In reality, each of them had more than 100,000 HP. If it weren''t for the sheer number of members that were participating, this fight would have dragged on for much longer.

 801 Infernal

    There were only four 100-man teams to fight this Boss. This was not because Ruling Sword lacked members, but because the Altar could only hold so many people.


    After all, this was still a virtual game. The varying attack ranges of the classes all had a limit as well. Furthermore, it was impossible to have 50,000 people all rushing the Boss at once due to unit collision. Lu Li couldn''t even imagine a way of holding 50,000 people in this small Altar.


    The Main Tank role was obviously delegated to Azure Sea Breeze. However, using the bear-form of a Druid to Tank the boss would be a much better option. Unfortunately, there were no strong Druids in Ruling Sword.


    As a Druid in Dawn, the user needed to be accustomed to each transformation. There were vast differences between fighting on four legs and fighting on two legs. Moreover, good equipment for the bear-form of the Druid was also extremely rare.


    Lu Li had a few backup Tanks beside him so that he could inflict large amounts of damage during phase two without worrying about aggro. Similar arrangements were also put in place when facing the Boss in the other phases.


    Obviously, Lu Li would not reveal what would happen during phase two. He had only mentioned that these members were going to be backup Tanks, otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to explain his foresight.


    Vile Priestess Hex didn''t look too different to a normal Boss. She was wearing a mask similar to Zul''Farrak''s Bad Mojo Mask on her face, and was wielding a rather ordinary-looking staff.


    However, this was the Ivy Magic Staff, and could be dropped by the Vile Priestess Hex.


    It was a healing-type Legendary weapon known for its special effect that could heal 50% of a target''s HP instantly.


    "****, this Boss has 3.7 million HP. This is definitely the tankiest Boss I''ve ever come across," Azure Sea Breeze cursed.


    If he knew about the Ivy Magic Staff''s properties, he would be rejoicing instead.


    The level 50 mini Bosses that stood by Hex''s side all had a minimum of three million HP each. Hex also had a multitude of skills at her disposal, as well as an army of reinforcements. Taking everything into consideration, he HP bar was the least of their worries.


    This had already been proven to be true, as during phase one, the Boss had already unleashed her enormous strength.


    The most important skill to be wary of in this stage of the battle was Hex. This skill was lethal because it could turn groups of players into frogs at the same time.


    Was there anything else more terrifying than transforming a whole group of players into frogs?


    Of course, this could be compared to the Mage skill that turned people into sheep. However, Hex was instantaneous, while Polymorph could be disrupted by simple physical contact.


    Furthermore, if a player were transformed into a sheep, they would be able to regenerate HP.


    As a frog under the Vile Priestess Hex''s spell, the player wouldn''t heal or be transformed back, even when under attack.


    This was like a Bug in the game system!


    If you didn''t have a strategy to deal with Hex, the Vile Priestess became one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult Boss to fight in the level range of 50-60.


    The first transformed group of players were thrown towards the West side of the dungeon.. However, one of the Hunters panicked and fired a Distracting Shot, which dragged the Boss'' aggro away from the Main Tank.


    For the sake of defeating the Boss, Lu Li needed to set down a ridiculous rule.


    "DPS, control the aggro. Don''t be too greedy when dealing damage. There are no DPS rewards for this Boss. If the top ten DPS members drag the aggro away from the Main Tank, their original scores will be greatly deducted."


    It wasn''t hard to understand the reason behind it either, as he knew that the top ten DPS players wouldn''t make simple mistakes.


    However, Lu Li was more afraid of other DPS players being tempted to show off their strength by inflicting as much damage as possible. If aggro was pulled into a group of DPS players, the whole strategy would be ruined.


    Using Lu Li''s strategy, several groups of Tanks surrounded the Boss from all directions. If a group was turned into frogs, Lu Li would indicate for another group of Tanks from another direction to take aggro.


    As such, the Boss'' focus would be on the Tanks, rather than the ranged DPS players.


    Lu Li wasn''t afraid of the potentially lazy and apathetic players either. Although he had mentioned that the top ten would not be rewarded, he had not mentioned that the last ten wouldn''t be punished. Furthermore, the DPS rankings would be displayed on the Guild''s posts for a period of time for everyone to see.


    Lu Li would also participate in the role of DPS, but his position in the fight was different to the others. He usually stood with the Tanks who were responsible for attracting aggro.


    This meant that Lu Li would stand behind the Boss at all times, so he would not be affected by Hex. A few of the more sharp-witted players decided to follow suit, upon realising what he was doing.


    The highest DPS dealer was Lonesome Flower, while Lu Li could only place 7th. After all, he was a Melee class, and he needed to move frequently to avoid Hex.


    He was also the only Melee class in the Top 10 DPS ranking as well.


    Moreover, he was also the commander of the battle, so he needed to give instructions while fighting.


    When Hex''s overall HP neared 80%, she began to use an AOE effect spell which caused players to lose 10% HP every 2 seconds over a 20 second duration. If the affected players could not heal themselves in time, they would die.


    This AOE attack was only used on the Altar, and people began to think whether they could all retreat to the level below.


    However, to do this would result in a worse situation.


    During this stage of the battle, if the players from the Altar retreated to lower levels, they would be recognised as fleeing from the battle. This would lay a curse on them, which would manifest an Infernal when Hex began to dance, and was similar to the Priest''s ability to summon a Shadow Demon.


    However, the Infernal would continue to chase the player until the player killed it. Furthermore, only the player would be able to damage the Infernal. If a healer was affected by this skill, they would be utterly helpless against it.


    The healers without any offensive capabilities would be guaranteed death in this stage of the battle, and without healers, the whole squad would be annihilated.


    Lu Li instantly stopped everyone from retreating down to the lower levels. After all, it was not an instantaneous skill. If the healers could accelerate their healing while everyone regenerated HP, this stage would be passable.


    The curse would appear every time the Boss'' HP was lowered by 20%, for a total of six times.

 802 Making a Fuss

    As for why it appeared six times instead of four, that was unknown. After all, the Vile Priestess Hex would not unleash such a powerful skill from the beginning, and the skill would not affect a player that had already died anyway.


    This had to be because of the staff in her hands.


    After the Boss had unleashed two major skills on Ruling Sword, they had managed to lower her HP to 50%. Suddenly, Hex decided to swing her staff around.


    Being a Priestess, she had many skills and abilities that were conjured through the staff.


    The most common skill of all was Hex, so this motion left everyone wondering who the next target was. However, what shocked them was that this skill had not been casted on her enemies, but on herself.


    Full health!


    "Why did the Boss regenerate back to full HP?" a player yelled in surprise.


    "How can this be possible? What a joke!"


    When they witnessed the full recovery of Vile Priestess Hex, they couldn''t believe their eyes. She really had recovered back to 100% HP, rendering all their efforts futile.


    If this was the case, what would happen with the Priestess'' minions?


    "It''s definitely a Bug! It has to be!" The team members weren''t afraid of any challenges, but if there was problem with the System itself, then there really wasn''t anything that they could do.


    Besides the elite squads who were waiting for the commander''s instructions, the regular members had already lost their positions and structure.


    The monsters that had emerged from Jintha''Alor had already broke through their formation.


    Lu Li slowly raised his voice and shouted, "What are you all doing? The job has not been completed; did I say to give up?"


    The ones who had first lost their composure were now deeply ashamed.


    "This is clearly one of the Bugs in the System! So many people have already died! Even if you are the commander, surely you can''t play with our levels and experience like this."


    Obviously, there were some people who weren''t satisfied with the way that Lu Li was leading Ruling Sword. This was obviously a Bug, so why couldn''t they retreat and abandon the Boss fight?


    There were well over 10,000 people in Ruling Sword, and this number was increasing every day. The overall quality of the members in the guild was not elite, and there would be plenty of people volunteering to die.


    Since Square Root was the leader of Ruling Sword, he would step up and explain things when Lu Li wasn''t planning to.


    "There are quite a few of you who are joining a raid for the first time. In situations like this, there are only two deciding bodies if this is a Bug or not ¨C the company themselves, or the commander. So far, the commander has not said to retreat and abandon the Boss, even if it may be a Bug."


    In the heat of the moment, the guild was in a state of uproar and commotion.


    Although the absolute power and influence of Lu Li was recognised by everyone, this was the first time that it had been directly announced by Square Root.


    "I know that there are experts here, either publicly acknowledged or self-acknowledged. Even so, once you decide to join a Ruling Sword raids, you must submit to the commander''s instructions. The same situation would occur, even if the commander was not me," Lu Li added, after waiting for Square Root to finish speaking.


    "Our guild has always welcomed solo players, and we do not force them to participate in our raids. However, if they do decide to participate, then they must follow the arrangements made in place," Square Root continued. This was an excellent opportunity to reinforce their rules and regulations into the newer members.


    Their words and tone caused the guild to fall silent. Even Azure Sea Breeze, who was a veteran, didn''t dare to speak. However, they also were frustrated, as the disruption from before had nearly resulted in a complete massacre.


    Truthfully, the ones who didn''t heed Lu Li''s instructions were mainly newcomers who had thought of themselves more capable than they were.


    Lu Li''s words struck a chord within them. They had a choice ¨C to leave, or to fight. What was the point of causing a massacre in a coordinated raid? The levels of these newcomers weren''t that high either, with the highest among them being level 42.


    After this wake-up call, the Ruling Sword teams instantly became more organised. The number of mistakes that were made were also greatly reduced this time around.


    Other guilds had also implemented the idea of the commander being the sole authority in a raid. However, a major downfall of this system was that the players had to blindly follow the commander at all times.


    Dawn''s Bosses usually didn''t allow for a wide margin of error, and one small mistake could lead to a complete massacre. As such, the phrase "Please don''t DPS too much, and just listen to instructions," was one of the most used phrases in the guilds of Dawn.


    The second time fighting the Vile Priestess Hex was much more coordinated and smooth until the 50% HP mark. However, when she reached this point, she did not regenerate back to full HP.


    This could explain why the Infernals appeared six times in total.


    It was only after the second time that they had fought the Boss until 50% that they truly entered phase two.


    After entering this stage of the raid, Hex began using new skills like Shadow Blast, which inflicted a large amount of damage.


    Even if Azure Sea Breeze tried to tank it, he would be instantly killed.


    Obviously, the game designers would have designed a method to counter this skill. Players would quickly realise that this damage could be shared throughout the team.


    The players who were with the Main Tank could tank 20%, while the Main Tank would be able to absorb the rest.


    The overall aggro was used to determine how the damage was shared throughout the party. The player with the highest aggro would be targeted with the largest proportion.


    Obviously, even if there wasn''t a Tank beside the Main Tank, Hex would not ignore that player. They would still receive 20% of the damage.


    Even Lu Li would not be able to tank that amount.


    The Tanks that were beside the Main Tan were now in a difficult situation, as they were nearing 0% HP. Fortunately, Lu Li had called for another group to take the aggro, otherwise, they would definitely have died.


    Standing with the Main Tanks during a Boss raid in Dawn was one of the most dangerous roles.


    Unless it was absolutely necessary, Lu Li would never stand with the Main Tanks.

 803 Debuffed

    Lu Li instructed for the two Main Tanks who were at critical HP to be healed back to full. He then sent a small group out to Revive those who had fallen.


    Fortunately, Shadow Impact had a cooldown and couldn''t be cast whenever. Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn''t dare to bring this group of level 40 players to fight a level 50+ Boss.


    With a 7-8 level gap, there would be a significant amount of bonus damage dealt. The situation would be so delicate that if something went wrong, the party would be wiped.


    When the Boss'' HP dropped below 50%, its attack rhythm increased. In this state, Hex not only could cast Shadow Impact, but also had a skill called Chaos Hit.


    Chaos Hit ¨C targets that are hit by this attack will be put into a state of confusion and will attack their teammates. Also creates five clones of the target.


    If you were hit by this skill, you would become the Vile Priestess Hex''s minion, and there would be six of you.


    The five clones would each have one of your skills. If you were DPS character like a Mage, it would be Frostbolt, while if you were a Warlock, it would be Shadow Bolt. However, these mobs were usually rapidly dealt with as they were unable to heal.


    If the target was a Healer, things would be even easier. Instead of attacking their former teammates, they would choose to heal the Boss.


    However, if the commander was hit and the players couldn''t deal with him in time, it would only be a matter of minutes before they were wiped.


    Many big guilds had specific strategies for fighting Vile Priestess Hex.


    In order to complete this phase as quickly as possible, Lu Li chose to begin using the Skulls filled with Resentment.


    Although the previous stage was difficult, as long as they could maintain control of the Boss, there was little chance of wiping. As such, there was no need to use this item.


    However, it was a mistake to think that there were many of these Skulls filled with Resentment. They looted many corpses at Jinth''Alor, but the drop rate for this item was so low that they had only collected ten. These ten might not even be enough, and Lu Li still had to watch out for Hex''s Berserk form.


    On command, the designated players threw their Skulls, which hit the Vile Priestess Hex one at a time.


    Once these heads touched her, they immediately exploded into a cloud of gray smoke which was absorbed into her body.


    Hex let out a shrill cry.


    A debuff immediately appeared over her head ¨C Armor Pierce.


    "Keep going; don''t stop! We need to maintain five stacks!" Lu Li shouted.


    Armor Pierce was a useful debuff that would significantly increase the amount of damage that the Boss took. Unfortunately, this state only lasted for five seconds and most players could only two skills in this time.


    After stacking another five Skulls, the second debuff appeared ¨C Root.


    Root''s effect prevented Hex from moving, but she was still free to cast her skills. Hex was a Ranged Caster, so this debuff didn''t really affect her.


    Although a flurry of Skulls had hit Hex, many of them didn''t have any effect. Square Root 3, who initially thought that they had quite a few skulls and had urged Lu Li to use them, was now completely silent.


    However, it was interesting to see all the different debuffs of Dawn on display.


    In addition to the previous Armor Pierce and Root, there was a following series of debuffs including Silence, Curse, Fatigue, Sickness, Cripple, Slow, Fear, Sleep, Charm, Dazed and Disarmed.


    Some like Coma, Disarm, Sickness and Fatigue were useful. They prevented the Boss from attacking, or would reduce their damage and Armor.


    There were some that didn''t do anything, like Slow. It would have been better to reduce Hex''s attack speed rather than her movement speed.


    Of course, having these effects stacked together still helped.


    When the Boss'' HP dropped below 40%, she attempted to summon another demon when she was suddenly hit by Fear.


    As a result, Hex stopped attacking and began to aimlessly run about. Amidst the chaos, it casted Shadow Impact before it could fully recover.


    In that moment, there was a small group fighting the Boss made up of light-armor professions. The results were obvious¡­


    Ten players died and seven were left at critical HP.


    As luck would have it, the DPS players couldn''t get out of the way and the seven remaining players didn''t have enough time to recover.


    After this unfortunate event, there were only one to two players left.


    Lu Li let out a cry of distress before instructing the Main Tanks to pull the Boss away so that some of the Druids could Revive the stronger players. However, there was no way they could Revive them all. The Druid Resurrect skill was limited and there was nothing they could do after they ran out.


    On the ground, there were more than fifty corpses that were still lying on the ground. Lu Li hastily Revived some of the ones nearby.


    There were some small mobs around the area, but they weren''t too problematic as they were outside the range of the Evil Priestess.


    The other guilds had no idea. Even if they caught wind of it, they would still see the difficulty of their situation. No one could get in and no one could get out.


    In the second phase, they had lost many players and had also used up 80% of their Skulls.


    Phase 3 began when Hex fell to 20% HP and was a little simpler. Apart from the Chaos Hits, there were some other skills that dealt a lot of damage over an area.


    Even so, they still couldn''t afford to be careless. Bosses in Dawn could counter-attack, and would even have tricks at 1% HP.


    Naturally, Lu Li wasn''t the kind of person to do things carelessly. Those who didn''t know what was happening thought that everyone was going to get wiped. However, everyone else kept fighting and prepared themselves for whatever ridiculous things Hex decided to throw at them next.


    In fact, there were no major incidents until it reached 5% HP.


    Azure Sea Breeze was struck once by a Chaos Hit. Dealing with six Azure Sea Breezes took a lot of effort, but fortunately, he only had a lot of HP. He could tank a lot of attacks, but he couldn''t kill anyone.

 804 Ivy Magic Staff

    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, who under the leadership of Lu Li, have achieved the First Clear of the Vile Priestess Hex. They will receive one guild level as a reward.


    After being notified that they had acquired the first Clear on the Vile Priestess Hex, they were happy to hear that they were also receiving a guild level.


    It was very difficult for guilds to increase their level. After reaching 100,000 players, they a guild would need to increase their level for every 10,000 extra players. This was known as the second Order 2 Grade 1.


    Lu Li''s guild was the original Order 2 Grade 3, which made the maximum player count 130,000 and put them in 19th place for guild size in Dawn.


    This didn''t mean that the first-placed guild necessarily had 190,000 more players than them. In fact, Glory Capital, which was the biggest guild, was only five grades higher than Ruling Swod. At Order 2 Grade 8, they had a total of 180,000 max players.


    Most of the seventeen guilds in between were on the same level. There were four other guilds which were also on Order 2 Grade 3 like Ruling Sword.


    After the reward, they became Order 2 Grade 4, which increased their maximum players to 140,000 and placed them at twelfth. If their grade was increased once more, they would be in the top ten.


    Suddenly, Lu Li felt an urge to just go through with the reckless plans he had to increase their grade.


    When he was making the Gnomish Poultryizer, he had thought of using that item to kill a Boss or a wild NPC. If he could pull that off, Ruling Sword''s level would definitely increase.


    This wasn''t unreasonable either ¨C if they could kill the Vile Priestess Hex, there would be no reason why they couldn''t achieve it.


    Of course, not everyone Boss could increase the guild level. Only a Lord Boss or those that had a level of infamy would.


    If you were fortunate enough to kill Saar, you definitely would gain a grade reward, and it would definitely be more than one grade.


    The reason why he hesitated before was because he wasn''t sure whether he could increase the guild grade that way. The difficulty would have been around the same as Hex and he didn''t have many items to help him. If he used the Gnomish Poultryizer, the sheer volume of them that would be required would almost bankrupt him.


    However, if he was certain that the guild grade could be increased, it would be a different situation.


    The value of increasing a guild''s grade was difficult to estimate. He also had to consider the uproar that would result from the First Clear announcement. As well as this, the Boss would likely drop some items that would compensate for some of the losses.


    If Lu Li was an ordinary player, but knew about the strategy, he would definitely be afraid to do it.


    The Gnomish Poultryizer required gold ore to be crafted. Gold ore was one of the most valuable minerals in the game and using it on a Boss would definitely result in a loss.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t an ordinary player. He had to consider the importance of upgrading the guild; many guilds spent tens of millions per year just on PR.


    Of course, the few Gnomish Poultrizyers that Lu Li made a few days ago were definitely not enough.


    He needed more raw materials and time to craft more.


    Lu Li snapped out of his thoughts; the Boss'' corpse right before him was lying there ripe for the taking. The guild would definitely be handing out many points for this battle in addition to the death bonuses. If the Boss didn''t drop anything good, Lu Li probably wouldn''t be able to control his tears.


    As usual, Remnant Dream was the designated looter.


    Ruling Sword now had a total of 100,000 players, 60,000 of which were combatants. Over 10,000 players were with them, but none of them had heard of someone as lucky as Remnant Dream.


    According to the research conducted in his previous life, Hex had a great probability of dropping Epic equipment.


    There were a few hundred pairs of eyes staring at the petite girl standing over the Boss. Even those who were fighting off the mobs in the distance were watching the guild channel. If something good was dropped, it would definitely be announced so that everyone would know.


    Ivy Magic Staff (Epic): Damage 56-92, Intelligence +50, Constitution +30, Critical Hit +20%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Mana Regeneration +30%. Special Effect 2: Ivy Protection. Instant Cast, apply an Ivy Shield to a teammate that absorbs up to 1000 damage for the next 10 seconds. 2-minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Instant Cast. Absorb the vitality found in the natural world and restore a large amount of HP to a target. Can restore up to 50% HP of the target. Takes 24 hours to absorb vitality. Equipment Requirement: level 50. Durability 225/225.


    Remnant Dream froze for a moment before jumping for joy.


    "It looks like an Epic equip. I got an Epic equip! I got an Epic equip!"


    Lu Li saw the item that he had only heard of in his previous life and was naturally overjoyed. However, he suppressed his excitement and wrote in the guild channel, "In this event, not only did we defeat the Boss, but we also got an Epic equipment¡­"


    "Did I read that right? Are Epic equips already being dropped?"


    "Surely this isn''t the first Epic equip in the game."


    "Boss, you must be exaggerating."


    "Send out the details; let everyone see what an Epic equip is like¡­"


    The ordinary players had no idea which experts already had Epic equipment.


    Lu Li had never revealed his ring and his Epic dagger had come from the secret world. There were not many players who knew about them.


    "I will be giving this to March Rain. Her current item will be put into the guild warehouse. In order to keep the Attributes a secret, everyone will be compensated with more points," Lu Li declared, not asking for anyone''s opinion on this matter.


    No one objected to this decision when they heard that they were receiving additional guild points.


    In fact, there were few people participating in this event that actually wanted to get the item. In a large-scale operation like this, it was impossible to decide or roll to determine who the owner was.


    If such an equipment is given to someone, there had to be a special reason for it. However, it was obviously unfair for Ruling Sword to do this, so he had come up with a decent solution. This already made Lu Li much fairer than the other guild leaders. The rare equipment obtained by other guilds was not shared with the regular players at all.


    After all, it was guild members who were participating in these activities. On the one hand, they were obligated, but on the other, they had already received their reward.


    When Ruling Sword organized such an event, the amount of points spent could potentially be enough to purchase one or two pieces of Epic equipment. Of course, such activities helped the guilds development and earned it some money.


    The properties of the Ivy Magic Staff were only known to Lu Li and Remnant Dream. He directly gave the equipment to March Rain so that no one else would see it.


    Even if Azure Sea Breeze and the others really wanted to know, they understood the importance of the secret since Lu Li had decided not to share it. He would naturally have his reason for this, so they didn''t ask for it.

 805 The Wild Boss’ Generosity

    Lu Li didn''t hesitate to give the Ivy Magic Staff to March Rain, not because he was biased towards her, but because it was simply perfect for her. It was almost like it had been custom-made.


    Its main attributes were Intelligence and Constitution, none of which were wasted.


    In particular, the 30 points of Constitution were very valuable. Priests were often the target of focus-fire, so their HP and Defence often determined the result of a game. However, not all Priests could afford to put many points into Constitution, as this would naturally take away from their healing. As such, equipment with Constitution was extremely useful.


    An equip with +30 Constitution wasn''t easily obtainable.


    The first Special Effect increased Mana Regeneration by 30%. In the case of a stalemate in a fight, the outcome would often be decided by the amount of mana the healer had. The more skills they could cast, the more likely they were to win.


    The second Special Effect was even more remarkable.


    Absorbing 1000 damage in a second was not great against Bosses, as they could often deal more damage than that, but it was amazing in PVP.


    Even someone like Lu Li wouldn''t be able to deal 1000 damage with his ultimate skill. Five hundred damage with one attack was difficult to achieve.


    This meant that this Special Effect would enable March Rain to tank two to three high-damage skills. It was even more powerful than Lu Li''s ring. The ten-second duration was no issue for a fast-paced game-mode like PVP.


    As for the third Special Effect, it was like a skill that the Vile Priestess Hex had.


    When Hex dropped to half HP, her Magic Staff would completely fill her HP bar with a single wave of her hand. This usually caused an uproar among the players and was incredibly demoralizing.


    Of course, healing a player compared to a Boss from half HP was different, but it was still very useful. The only regrettable thing was that the cooldown period was a long 24 hours.


    However, this kind of cooldown didn''t mean that it could only be used after 24 hours.


    Dawn had many different kinds of chargeable equipment. Within a certain period of time, the longer it was given to charge, the better the effect would be. They could be used before the charge was completed, but without the full effect.


    For example, this Magic Staff needed to be charged for 24 hours, but at 8 hours, it would still heal 12.5% HP.


    Even so, under normal circumstances, this Special Effect would only be used after the charging was complete.


    When March Rain received this Magic Staff, she now had another trump card. However, it needed to be used in a key moment to achieve an unexpected effect. Naturally, Lu Li wouldn''t want to disclose its properties to the public.


    There were some other issues as well. The Ivy Magic Staff had a level 50 requirement and March Rain was currently only level 43. A seven-level gap couldn''t be overcome in a short amount of time.


    Fortunately, the Magic Staff had gem slots.


    There was a gem that could reduce an Equipment Requirement by 15% that was worth over 500 gold. A gem that reduced the requirement by 25% would cost several thousand gold. Both were in short supply, and they were very difficult to find on the market.


    Fortunately, March Rain only needed to use a -15% gem. Otherwise, Ruling Sword probably wouldn''t be able to afford it.


    "Keep going Dreamy; I''ll reward you with 200 gold later," Lu Li said, looking forward to watching Remnant Dream pick out more loot. Regardless of what the next items were, he had decided to reward this girl.


    "Two hundred!" Remnant Dream''s eyes widened in surprised before she blinked happily.


    She rushed towards the Boss and looted it again, hoping to find something even better than before.


    Hex''s Protobelt (Dark Gold): Armor 46, Agility +30, Strength +12, 1 Slot. Special Effect 1: 12% Critical Hit. Special Effect 2: Atomization. Instant Cast. The user''s body dissipates like fog and is forced into Stealth with a 20% increased Stealth effect. The user can walk through some obstacles. 2-minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Magic Power Field. Instant Cast. By distorting the surrounded magic environment within 4 yards, all magic within the field is silenced for 1.5 seconds. 24-hour cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 45. Durability 164/164.


    "Okay, you''re getting another 100 gold."


    Lu Lihad no way of making this equipment out to be a piece of garbage.


    There was not much to say about its Attributes; they were quite normal for a level 45 Dark Gold item. The second special effect was very powerful; a Thief could never have too many skills like this. Whether it was used to escape danger or take the upper hand, any opportunity to enter Stealth in battle was usually a good one and the ability to walk through obstacles was a bonus. Although it had limited use in fights, Lu Li could use this effect in many different situations, like exploring the complex terrain in some maps.


    The third special effect was the Magi Power Field, which was quite a potent silence.


    It was too bad that the duration of this effect was a little too short. If it was a little bit longer, it probably would have been an Epic piece of equipment. Lu Li couldn''t help but sigh.


    This Belt was undoubtedly his, and he treated it the same way he treated the previous item.


    It was a level 45 Dark Gold Item for purely defensive Paladins. Lu Li threw this item into the warehouse so that the guild members could spend their points to rent it. This was the first time that the activity had benefited the majority of the members.


    The fourth item was a Gold item for Druids with very good Attributes. A Druid spent 600 points to take it.


    Six hundred points for a piece of Gold gear was not cheap, but there was no way you could buy one at that price in the Exchange Hall. There would be dozens of Druids competing for it, so there would be no chance.


    In fact, Hachi Chan actually needed this equipment. However, this was a guild activity and not their club activity, so Lu Li couldn''t do much.


    Unless a club player specifically asked for it, Lu Li wouldn''t take it away, so it was left for the other players to bid on.


    The fifth and sixth items were Silver gear, but the Attributes were still excellent. One of them was a Mage item with a Blink skill, in addition to another special effect. It was purchase by a Mage for a little more than 70 points.


    After this, there were three rare materials. These belonged to the Guild. Even if Lu Li wanted to use them, he needed to buy them according to certain pricing standards.


    Of course, the price he bought them at would be different from an ordinary guild member.

 806 Oozeling

    Square Root 3 counted the number of people who were awarded Skill Points; there was a total of seven players.


    This was an indication of how rare Skill Points truly were.


    Lu Li shared the quest he was doing, but only a few hundred players could accept it.


    The remaining tens of thousands of players who were fighting in Jintha''Alor went their separate ways. Lu Li took the few hundred players to the Altar of Zul on a quest to find the Elder Trolls.It wasn''t clear what the Elders were thinking when they saw all those players, but their faces were blue anyway.


    Lu Li guessed that they probably suspected that all these players were there to kill them.


    The quest that Lu Li had shared wasn''t a Main Quest. When the little bit of EXP was distributed, Lu Li received the biggest portion. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have bothered with these elders.


    Regardless, the Tribe had a good relationship with the Horde and he was basically hurting the Horde by doing this.


    After Lu Li had set aside the other players, the Elder Troll was very grateful in thanking him.


    "Thank you for saving me from the Vile Demon Tribe."


    Lu Li had been gone for more than ten days and the tribe was about to sacrifice him. He thought that Lu Li had forgotten him.


    "I''m glad that you''re okay, my dearest friend," Lu Li said graciously. He wasn''t arrogant just because he was standing before hundreds of players.


    "Although you must have had a difficult time here, I thought that you should know the reward I have received before doing this rescue mission," he continued, deliberately revelaing the Hex''s Protobelt that was on his waist.


    "Heavens, you actually killed Hex! But, she had so many underlings¡­" The elder''s face looked quite grim, but he couldn''t complain.


    "How would I have rescued your excellency without killing Hex? I mobilized tens of thousands of experts to Jintha''Alor in order to kill her," Lu Li said, then paused before adding, "I plan to take some people to Shadra''Alor. Would you like us to escort you back to Revantusk? It''s on the way¡­"


    Shadra''Alor was the Dreadwood Trolls'' domain. The Deadwood Trolls and Vile Trolls had formed an alliance in Zul''Jin. However, after they returned to the Hinterlands, the Deadwood Troll settled in Shadra''Alor and no longer obeyed the Vile Trolls. Instead, they formed an alliance with the Highland Ogres and became enemies with the Vile Trolls.


    But, that was not the point. The point was that Revantusk was not on the way to Shadra''Alor at all.


    Lu Li''s words were translated in the elder''s ears to, "I saved your life. If your rewards do not satisfy me, I will take my people and level Revantusk.


    Even if he had said those words earlier, the elder probably would have been suspicious.


    At this time, Lu Li had just finished capturing Jintha''Alor and killed the Vile Priestess Hex. The elder felt a chill down his spine.


    He could imagine Revantusk being ravaged by these barbaric adventurers.


    Ruling Sword did have the strength to do this, and Revantusk didn''t have a level 50 Boss. Otherwise, the elder wouldn''t have been stolen away by the Jintha''Alor''s Vile Trolls to be sacrificed.


    However, Revantusk belonged to the Horde. Once Lu Li attacked Revantusk, the System was bound to send an alert to the Horde players.


    Unfortunately, the elder didn''t understand the broader situation.


    He hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "I actually have a treasure, but unfortunately, I lost it to Skulk Rock. Do you know Skulk Rock? Many years ago, there was a Horde Base that lay in its depths, but it has long since been abandoned. Now, there are disgusting Oozelings everywhere. They are irrational and corrosive beings, wandering around looking for things to eat. Are you and your friends brave enough?"


    "Are you sure that your treasure is worth me clearing out Skulk Rock, a place that even the Wildhammer Dwarves couldn''t overcome?" Lu Li was a little angry.


    Some of the others might have been confused, but he was no stranger to this place as he had experienced Rebirth. This was a strategic location that both the Wildhammer and Trolls wanted to occupy, but had been blocked by the Oozelings.


    Oozelings dealt a lot of damage to Trolls and weren''t affected by Hexes.


    The Dwarves weren''t willing to pay such a price to occupy a humid environment that made them so uncomfortable. As such, this place became a gap between the two forces. The Oozelings were about level 50, so it was best that the players didn''t provoke them until they were level 50 as well.


    "I swear that the reward would absolutely satisfy you. You know that I was taken prisoner, so my valuables were taken from me. If you still don''t want to believe me, then just kill me," the elder said helplessly.


    "Alright, I believe you." Lu Li knew when it was time to stop.


    This type of ''Quest Monster'' was just a poor old creature; killing him wouldn''t drop anything good. Although Lu Li still wanted something more, he had nothing left to say if this monster really had nothing.


    Those players who had been sharing EXP with Lu Li were reluctant to go.


    "Boss, we''ll come with you. Even if we can''t help, we can clear the mobs."


    It wasn''t because they were trying to get something, but the opportunity to play alongside their idol was rare.


    "That would be quite troublesome for everyone."


    Lu Li had no reason to reject their offer. The elder''s treasure was lost in Skulk Rock, and he wasn''t sure if it was in a treasure chest or in an Oozeling. Either way, he had to kill a bunch of monsters. With his current equipment, it wasn''t easy to kill level 50 monsters, so it would be good to have a group of players there to help.


    "No trouble; it''s not trouble at all!" The little group was overjoyed as they headed for Skulk Rock.


    A huge colony of Oozelings lurked in the mud that covered the entire area. As they moved around, bubbles rose and popped on the surface. After looking at the vegetation, Lu Li chose a path that looked to be the safest.

 807 Troll’s Treasure

    Some plants grew in soft soil, while others preferred more compact soil. Of course, there was also the wide range in between.


    The vast area of Skulk Rock wasn''t flattering. Apart from the disgusting Oozelings, the environment was also in a sorry state. There were hundreds of quagmires of all sizes scattered around. If you fell in, not even a player who had mastered their Revive skill could save you. Some thought that these quagmires were where the strange Oozelings were born.


    "Everyone stay behind me; don''t randomly walk around¡­"


    Lu Li''s reminder had obviously come a little late, as a hunter had already stepped into a soft spot and was engulfed.


    "Don''t panic if something goes wrong; panicking won''t solve the problem. Just hold tightly onto someone and don''t let go," Lu Li instructed as he quickly took out a Magic Staff from his backpack and handed it to the hunter.


    Anyone would be frightened in this situation, and this hunter was no exception. After losing his balance, he had started the struggle, but after hearing Lu Li''s steady voice, he caught the Staff and was eventually dragged out.


    The couple of hundred players looked at the quagmire and paled. It was like a giant mouth, threatening to suck them in.


    "Don''t be afraid. If you respond calmly, there is nothing to worry about. Find yourself a rope and tie yourself to another player. That way, you don''t have to worry about falling in," Lu Li said as he switched his weapon to a Bow and shot at a group of Oozes.


    When the group was attacked, it immediately wriggled and merged turned into a monster with eyes ¨C an Oozeling.


    This Oozeling was level 50 with high Attack and high Defense. It also spat venom and had a splitting skill, as well as excellent camouflaging abilities. If a player was alone here, they were at real risk of dying.


    Lu Li''s arrow only did a dozen damage, which was much lower than he expected.


    However, he also had many teammates with him, who backed him up with a barrage of spells. A sea of damage values floated above the Oozeling''s head, but only a few of them were greater than 100. Even so, this was more than enough to overhwhelm the Oozeling, which died before it could reach Lu Li.


    "Boss, it''s just a common equipment," a player announced.


    "That''s okay. Everyone, keep going. You don''t need that many people; just 20 in a group. Be careful not to fall into any quagmires," Lu Li instructed and began delegating roles.


    "I feel five players should be able to handle one. Most of the Oozelings had a splitting skill. If they can''t be killed in a short time, they will split into more monsters. These have lower HP, but the same high attack. It''s safer if we have bigger groups," he explained.


    "The Boss knows best."


    The area they were in was a basin with an uneven terrain and many boulders scattered around. Most of them were covered in sludge, while some of them were exposed and obstructed the players'' view. There were also many places where a treasure chest could be hidden ¨C behind a rock, or even in a cave that was made by a pile of smaller rocks.


    Under normal circumstances, the game designers wouldn''t place a chest in the mud. That wouldn''t be hidden ¨C it would just be troublesome.


    The troll elder said that it was a treasure, but Lu Li wasn''t sure. He was the leader of a declining tribe and had been taken prisoner. What kind of treasure could he possibly have? Lu Li could only hope to find it quickly so he could go back to levelling. If there were a hundred players searching, they could cover a lot of ground in one day.


    As time went by, Lu Li couldn''t help but say, "Alright, this is too hard. Thanks for your help everyone, but let''s go back now."


    "Boss you''ve got to the kidding. We''ve already been looking for so long; how can we give up now? We don''t have anything that important to do. Aren''t we levelling here anyway by killing these monsters?" Lu Li didn''t want to waste his guildmates'' time, but they weren''t happy about it.


    Lu Li would be lying if he didn''t feel moved, because saying that they were levelling here was obviously a joke.


    Dawn did not reward those who killed monsters that were much higher-levelled than they were. Moreover, 20 players were sharing the EXP at a time, which made the gains much worse than anywhere else. To say that they were levelling here was purely to make Lu Li feel better.


    This was a situation where they wouldn''t be happy if they couldn''t continue following him. As such, Lu Li had no choice but to keep killing the monsters and trying to find the treasure chest.


    "Boss, come over here! I think I found a treasure chest!" someone shouted out. The players that weren''t currently in a fight all rushed over. They had rummaged through the entire Skulk Rock area and killed countless Oozelings, but they hadn''t found anything for hours. Everyone had begun to suspect that Lu Li had been tricked by the Elder Troll.


    In front of them was two huge boulders pressed together. There was a gap in the middle, but no one could fit through it, not even a small girl.


    "You can see it from here. Boss, stand here," the player said as he gave up the position he was standing on.


    "Dammit, the chest is really well hidden."


    Lu Li only managed to catch a glimpse of the chest after following the player''s instruction.


    If it weren''t for the sun''s rays that were shining on the golden treasure chest and reflecting some light, he wouldn''t be able to see it. Even the angle was perfect, as it was otherwise pitch black in there.


    The next question was, how could they open the treasure chest?


    First of all, they needed a Thief who had a level 4 Unlock Skill, but they also had to be able to squeeze into this gap. Everyone looked at each other, somewhat dumbfounded.


    The players here were mostly considered elite players in Dawn, but they had no ideas.


    "Let me try," Lu Li said as he cast the Child of the Forest and turned into a golden leopard before squeezing through the gap. In fact, the fog effect on his newly acquired belt could enable him to walk through normally unpassable terrain. It was obviously easier to do that, but that would be overkill and he didn''t want to reveal another ability.


    Lu Li squeezed his way in with some difficulty before entering and realizing it was like a completely different place.


    The boulders were hollow, and the space could hold more than dozen individuals. Inside, the bround was covered by decaying, dry skeletons. The light leopard broke some bones on each step towards the chest.


    In the center of the room lay the shining, golden treasure chest.

 808 A Huge Monster

    Lu Li didn''t open the chest immediately, he knelt down and touched the wet ground.


    It was sticky!


    The first thought that flashed through his mind was there were Oozelings around. He had fought so many of them today, and this feeling was very specific to thems.


    The Oozelings didn''t have hands and feet, so they left a trail of this slime as they wriggled across the ground.


    The cave was very dark, but Lu Li could still see the trail. However, it wasn''t the same the ones outside ¨C it was huge.


    Was there a Boss inside here?


    Lu Li never knew that there was a Boss in Skulk Rock. This small map had never been properly explored, so no one had ever discovered this hidden stone cave.


    However, apart from the trail on the ground, he couldn''t see any traces of the Boss at all. Was the Boss not home?


    Lu Li had no other option but to settle on this ridiculous conclusion.


    Most of the Bosses in Dawn were not designed by the designers to be stupid monsters that stood around waiting for the players to arrive. They all had distinct behaviors and movement patterns.


    Sometimes, it even seemed as though they had their own lives and careers, just like normal people.


    It wasn''t clear what this Boss was up to, so Lu Li didn''t delay and quickly cast Unlock on the treasure chest. At the same time, he messaged the players outside, "Be aware of the situation around me; I suspect there is a Boss here. If you see it, help me stall it for 30 seconds."


    Sure enough, the entire Skulk Rock area began to shake the moment Lu Li began channeling his Unlock Skill.


    This wasn''t an attack, so it didn''t interrupt his channel, but it did affect the time. Lu Li forced himself to ignore what was happening and focused on unlocking the treasure chest.


    The shaking was growing stronger and stronger.


    "Boss, we can feel something coming out of the mud!" the players cried out in terror. It was as though an ancient monster was waking up from a deep sleep.


    "The Boss told us to stall it for 30 seconds. Everyone, get your attacks ready; we have to stall for the Boss!" someone shouted, finally taking charge of their task.


    The players stood their ground and prepared themselves ready to fight.


    "Don''t be stupid ¨C hurry up and run away. You just need to leave two Mages here," Lu Li couldn''t help but laugh. These players weren''t thinking straight; they weren''t going to kill the Boss, so why would they need all 100 players?


    Everyone suddenly realized that Lu Li had a point and began clearing a path to escape. Eventually, they had all left except for the two Mages left behind.


    Skulk Rock actually covered a large area. They initially thought they had completely searched, but they quickly realized how na?ve they were. One by one, the Oozelings in the ground burst out and were swarming everywhere.


    Due to the shaking from below, their movements were becoming more and more frantic.


    It was difficult conceive of the Boss that lurked in the depths of the quagmires in Skulk Rock. Or perhaps, Skulk Rock''s mud was part of the Boss.


    These mobs were higher than level 50, so the Boss would certainly be an even higher level.


    Lu Li felt like the two rocks that formed this cavern would fall apart. It was as though he was in a boat in a storm that could overturn at any time, but he stood firm and pressed on.


    His Unlock skill was slow, but he remained resolute.


    He was past the halfway mark!


    At that moment, time seemed to slow down. Lu Li felt like he had been waiting for his Unlock to finish for several minutes.


    Something was already coming through the cracks in the mud¡­


    "Boss, come again next time. We need more people to kill this Boss!" the players outside urged in desperation. This monster was a few dozen yards wide. From what they could see, its appearance was exactly like an Oozeling.


    Moreover, there were at least a few thousand Oozelings gathering towards it. Even the Oozelings that had just come out of the quagmires were creeping towards it.


    As they wriggled onto the body of the Boss, it continued to increase in size.


    Were they merging? Or were they being devoured?


    The Boss didn''t simply stay put to continue growing larger. Instead, it began charging forwards towards the boulder at an unnatural speed.


    The two Mages desperately cast their skills onto it, but it was unstoppable.


    It only had one goal ¨C to attack the Thief who had snuck into the area and was stealing their items.


    The treasure that the Troll Elder had hidden here now obviously had a new owner.


    Lu Li didn''t look up, and the voices in his ear had vanished.


    It wasn''t until he heard a ''bang'' that he returned to the real world ¨C the chest had been unlocked!


    Lu Li rushed forwards and opened the chest as the Boss engulfed the boulders. He grabbed whatever was in it and turned back into a leopard to run. Before transforming, he threw two bombs into the gap.


    After the Boss engulfed the boulder, it began the force the gap between them shut.


    It definitely wasn''t stupid ¨C it knew that as long as these two boulders were firmly pressed together, the Thief inside would have no choice but to give up.


    However, two bombs exploded one after the other.


    This created a crack that was slightly bigger than the one that existed before.


    The bombs thrown out by Lu Li didn''t cause any harm to him, but the pebbles that hit him dealt a string of damage.


    This natural damage was based on the level of the map.


    The explosion of a level 50 map did tremendous damage to Lu Li, and he lost a significant portion of his HP.


    Fortunately, he had thrown the second bomb a little further away, so he wasn''t as affected. Otherwise, he would have died on the spot. In the chaos, he rushed out and onto the muddy plains.


    "Retreat!" Lu Li shouted.


    The two remaining Mages were slow to react. They were relatively low-ranking and had already prepared themselves to die.


    However, the Boss had completely ignored them. Just when they thought that Lu Li was done for, they saw him rush out majestically.


    After Lu Li had become a leopard, his size was tiny compared to the huge monster chasing him.

 809 Vol’jin War Flag

    It looked inspiring, but Lu Li was suffering from things that he couldn''t quite say.


    The hardest part wasn''t how fast the Boss moved or its strength, but rather, the mud that was constantly stirred up by his four hooves.


    A slight mistake could mean the end.


    Even though he was focused entirely on escaping, Lu Li knew that his chances of survival weren''t too great.


    It was just one death anyway.


    However, he didn''t want to give up until the very end.


    "Damn it, save our boss!" a player shouted as he rushed back with all the Ruling Sword members behind him.


    No one backed out!


    "My ****, what are you guys doing? Get back there!" Lu Li yelled angrily in the team channel.


    He was truly shocked; did these guys think that levelling was easy, or did they truly expect to save him?


    However, none of them paid attention to him. Even those who usually never disobeyed him ignored him.


    They all raised their weapons with bloodshot eyes and raced past Lu Li towards the Boss.


    Foolish!


    Lu Li cursed as he tried to run faster. He would only have a shot of saving a few of them if he managed to escape from the mud.


    He cursed, but his eyes watered. It was hard to be rational when so many people were involved; they were bound to attempt things without considering the results first.


    This was exactly how friendships were built in games.


    When you were having trouble with a quest, they would immediately come over to help. When you were short on gold, they would sell their possessions to help you. When you were frustrated and angry, they would be there with a listening ear.


    The boss almost caught up to Lu Li.


    It had the absolute advantage in the mud, but it was constantly being attacked. It wanted to focus on the little panther that was running around, but it couldn''t ignore the attack from hundreds of people either.


    The Boss finally couldn''t stand it anymore and sprayed an attack towards them, killing around a dozen players instantly.


    This was so satisfying that it couldn''t help but attack again.


    Lu Li turned around just in time to see another dozen of his team members become a flash of white. He had the urge to turn back, but he had to consider why his team members had died in the first place.


    He had already scanned the Attributes of the item the moment he took it out of the box. This item wasn''t for him, or rather, it wasn''t for any class, but Lu Li had to take it.


    Regardless of the price!


    The Troll elder was right; this was a precious item indeed. It was even more valuable than the Assassin gear.


    The Assassin Gear wasn''t suitable for many situations, but the item that currently rested in his bag was an entirely different story.


    It was an exquisite war flag! Lu Li couldn''t believe his eyes when he saw it.


    Vol''jin War Flag (Special): Places a Vol''jin War Flag that boosts Attack and Defense of team members within 100 yards by 50%. Lasts for 60 seconds. Regenerates 5% of maximum health every two seconds for allies, lasts for 30 seconds. Cooldown 6 hours. Drops upon death.


    This war flag was an item that major guilds would fight over, even three years after Dawn''s release.


    A 50% boost in Attack and Defense was already excellent, but it affected all allies within a 100-yard radius.


    This was large enough to fit an entire one-hundred man team.


    Group healing was also part of the special effect, which made it even more powerful.


    Vol''jin was the new leader of the Darkspear tribe, but like the other trolls from the Darkspear tribe, he lived in the Stranglethorn Vale, north of Azeroth.


    This was likely the reason why the flag was in the hands of the Troll elde.r


    Vol''jin was not to be underestimated, even though Trolls were below Tauren in the newly-formed Horde faction.


    Vol''jin was famous for his constructive suggestions to Thrall, the Warchief.


    While he couldn''t contend against people like Thrall and Malfurion, an NPC like this was already a legend for players at the current stage of the game.


    Lu Li had initially thought that the item contained within the chest was simply a Gold or Dark Gold equip, but even a Legendary equip wouldn''t surprise him as much as this flag did.


    Of course, all flags shared the same problem ¨C they dropped upon death.


    If you died with this flag in your bag, it would be lost. Unless, of course, if your team members were there to pick it up for you, or if you could pick it up before your enemies or the System claimed it.


    This war flag was far too important for Ruling Sword at this stage. Lu Li had to grit his teeth and not look back at his team members.


    When the System alerted him that he had left battle, he turned back and saw the Boss in the distance, standing in the horrific mess that it had caused.


    None of his team members survived.


    Because of this, Lu Li wasn''t as excited as he would have been. He only felt the weight of the flag in his bag, dripping with the blood of his team members.


    Fortunately, he could sneak back after the Boss was gone, and cast a Revive on a healer.


    His dead team members were quickly revived and the equipment that had been dropped were collected. Their experience penalty was also reduced by half.

 810 Teleportal

    "Let''s go back and drink," Lu Li suggested after seeing that everyone was in a good mood. No one was upset because of their deaths, so he didn''t feel as guilty.


    He wasn''t the type to feel nothing towards the death of others.


    Even if they were part of a business, they didn''t need to sell their pride and life either. Lu Li didn''t think highly of bosses like that and he didn''t want to become one either.


    "Haha, boss is shouting! Now we have to go!" everyone laughed.


    It was normal to die in the game. What the average players were concerned about the most with their deaths was if they were worth it. Considering today''s events, even if they died again they wouldn''t have minded.


    That was not to say that they enjoyed dying, but they did it in the name of friendship.


    What was more interesting than friendship in a game?


    The boss was shouting, which was a rare occasion, regardless if it was Ruling Sword. It didn''t seem like Lu Li was going to buy cheap alcohol either, so everyone was in luck.


    In a rowdy line led by Lu Li, they headed straight for the famous Pirate Bar in Stormwind City.


    Dozens of tables were set in a big private booth, while drinks and alcohol were served. Lu Li spent thousands of gold coins without hesitating. He didn''t even bat an eye, which was rare for someone who loved money as much as he did.


    The relationship between these hundreds of players had strengthened after today.


    They had fought side by side, died side by side and were now celebrating at the Pirate Bar.


    Those players who missed this event were disappointed after. Many of them were sad as they asked, "Why couldn''t we be the ones to die?"


    This event organized by Ruling Sword concluded successfully. They had taken down Jintha''Alor, a level 50 wild boss, the Evil Priestess Hex, saved the Troll Elder, opened a Gold treasure box and obtained the Vol''Jin War Flag.


    While the War Flag was not allowed in competitions, it was useful in the battlegrounds, in the wild, in dungeons and in secret zones.


    Its effect was almost equivalent a Shaman using Bloodlust while a Druid casted Tranquility. The only thing they had to worry about was losing the war flag after dying.


    However, it Lu Li dying was a rare occurrence, and if by some unfortunate circumstance he did, he still had the Dark Moon Card.


    The chances of him losing the war flag were incredibly low.


    Of course, when they didn''t need it, Lu Li would leave it in storage. After all, it wasn''t possible for someone to not die at all unless they never left the safe zone.


    This had been a long day, but it was bound to come to an end. Seeing that there wasn''t a lot of time left, Lu Li didn''t bother going out to level up either.


    It was two days before Christmas and the atmosphere had begun to grow festive.


    The customers of the Southshore inn continued to increase, and there were always performances from the players and NPCs. These entertainers were guaranteed to profit if they were halfway decent.


    Those who could afford to drink at this time probably had money to spare.


    As an epic ballad came to a climatic end, the inn erupted in cheering. No one notice that a masked person had slowly entered the room.


    The ordinary players that entered the inn would stop and look around first, but this person didn''t. He headed straight to the corner.


    After he sat down, he didn''t remove his mask either.


    This forgotten corner had caught the attention of the beautiful hostess. She placed down her barrel and scanned around, then walked towards the forgotten corner with a plate in her hand.


    "It''s been a while since you last came," the hostess said as she placed a wine cup in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li picked up the cup and finished it, then placed it back down and replied, "I simply cannot understand why you would waste your time in a bar like this on these boring people."


    "This is my job," the hostess said with a smile, then added, "and I like this kind of lifestyle."


    Lu Li was speechless. Everyone had their own values and beliefs in life; he couldn''t just force his own on someone else. Not to mention, this was just an NPC.


    "You''re here to ask about it, right? I cannot answer you," the hostess said.


    Lu Li''s heart sank. If this didn''t work, he wouldn''t know how to find Garona. The other possible teachers were even harder to find than Garona, who was a part of Ravenholdt Manor.


    There weren''t many teachers in Dawn, and most players hadn''t contacted one.


    However, those who wanted to be one of the top players needed to have a teacher. The chances of an Empowerment spell dropping were way too low, not to mention that there were so many different skills for different classes.


    Lu Li currently wanted an Empowerment: Shadowstrike, but even if he killed ten thousand bosses, he wasn''t guaranteed to find one.


    "But, since your quest completion rate is 100%, the higher ups in the organization are willing to see you. I''m only here to pass on some words and this item to you. I have no clue who this belongs to," the hostess said, pushing a round-shaped item in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li let out a long breath. Others might have been confused, but Lu Li immediately understood what this was.


    This was a classic situation; perhaps even Garona was passing him a message. The hostess was left clueless, or at least she seemed clueless.


    Lu Li picked up a round plate and discovered that this was a teleportal.


    K13 Goblin Location Teleportal (Special): Use, teleports the user to a designated location. Goblin product, designated user Lu Li, usage 1/1.


    There were many items out there like this, but what was in common about them was that their settings could be predetermined by the owner. This was cutting-edge technology developed by Goblins. Each of these items were expensive, and players were currently unable to craft them.


    Those who could afford these items weren''t ordinary people.


    Not every higher up in Ravenholdt Manor could afford them either.


    Lu Li put the Teleportal in his bag and thanked the hostess. Even if she was just passing words on, there were still risks involved. After all, she was just a contactor and her job was limited to giving out quests.


    "I have a few quests on hand. If you have time to spare, you can consider them," the hostess reminded Lu Li before he left.


    It had been a few days since he had sorted out quests here.


    The Boss, competition, trading skills, leveling and other side quests had taken up a lot of Lu Li''s time.

 811 Trial

    The time was growing late. Lu Li didn''t use the teleportal, choosing to postpone this to the next day.


    As he casted it in his home, the teleportal quickly drew a magic circle on the floor. This magic circle automatically drew energy from the surrounding air, and within a short few seconds, it was ready to be used.


    Lu Li checked his supplies to make sure that his equipment was maintained and his potions were ready, then stepped into the circle.


    He didn''t block out the other player channels as he had previously told Square Root 3 about this and placed him in charge of things before his return.


    Lu Li didn''t experience too much discomfort in the teleporting process ¨C just some lightheadedness.


    Supposedly, teleporting technology was being investigated in reality too, in the hopes of exploring space even further. However, all of these things were still in their theoretical stages, and even before Lu Li had reincarnated, there were still no conclusive results.


    Technical research was no easy task, and there wasn''t much that he could do anyway besides playing games after his rebirth.


    The teleportation process had ended during his wandering thoughts, and Lu Li''s eyes took a while to adapt to the lighting of his new environment. This place was dark and moist, so it was clearly a packed forest.


    It seemed like the higher-ups in the organization wanted to test him, so they had tossed him into the Wild.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t brainless and quickly discovered a trace of human activity in the plantation. With some difficulty, he began tracking the marks on the forest floor.


    The thing about Dawn and its maps was that they had different timings and weather, so Lu Li couldn''t be too sure what the cause of all this darkness was.


    Fortunately, he had chosen the right path. At first, he could barely walk and had to use his weapons to pull apart the thorns, but gradually, the vegetation lightened and he could see further ahead


    The shadow of a building began to appear in the distance.


    Lu Li was relieved and hastened his pace; perhaps he would be able to find his answers here. While this was an abandoned house, he didn''t expect the game designers to put this much effort into nothing.


    The door was unlocked, and there was someone sitting at the center of the room with their back facing Lu Li.


    "Are you the one who has summoned me?" Lu Li asked as he stopped at the entrance.


    As Lu Li bowed in respect, the person who sat there suddenly disappeared.


    What followed was a cold flash behind Lu Li''s neck. This was the definition of speed and precision. What made it even more impressive was the fact that it had been well-timed.


    However, the attack still missed.


    Lu Li teleported eight yards away when the dagger was about to hit him. While he looked as though he had let his guard down, he was actually on high alert the moment he entered the house.


    He was certain that there would be a test for him in the process of finding Garona, so it was natural that he would be on guard.


    It was an Undead who had attacked him, most likely a Thief. At the very least, his movement to appear behind Lu Li seemed like Shadow Step. Lu Li had used his Shadow Cloak before to achieve the same effect.


    The Undead Thief seemed like it didn''t have any rationality, and kept attacking after the first strike missed.


    Lu Li didn''t instantly go into Stealth mode. Instead, he briefly blocked with his dagger with precise movements.


    If this Undead Thief could really kill him within seconds, there was no use to his struggle, but he didn''t believe that he would be placed on a trial where there was no hope.


    After he blocked successfully, a paltry -146 damage figure floated above his head.


    At the same time, he also saw the details of the Undead Thief. Level 45, 4300 HP ¨C this was similar to his level and health.


    As for the equipment, he didn''t think that his opponent would outclass him in this aspect.


    Lu Li never thought that he would lose against an NPC ''clone'' of himself. However, he wasn''t too happy either ¨C since he was facing an opponent with the level an HP, this trial had become too easy. However, the challenges definitely wouldn''t stop here; there was likely a harder task ahead of him.


    It was likely Garona who had summoned him over, or a Thief Master who was willing to teach him.


    Otherwise, why would he be put to so many trials?


    Lu Li didn''t take too much time with the Undead Thief before he found a chance to strike first. He easily controlled his opponent, not giving him a chance to escape. Although his opponent used multiple different tactics in an attempt to regain an advantage, they weren''t effective as Lu Li predicted his moves.


    It didn''t take long for 4300 points of health to disappear.


    The Undead Thief never spoke; it didn''t even leave a body after dying, so there was no loot either.


    As soon as the Undead Thief died, Lu Li saw droves of Undead monsters appear in his periphery.


    There was almost no difference between these Undead Thieves and real player; their equipment was as good as his and their technique was excellent too. It was hard fighting just one, let alone all of them at once.


    Lu Li ran out of the house without hesitation and even closed the door behind him.


    "There has to be some escape route if this is a trial," Lu Li reasoned, forcing himself to stay calm.


    This definitely wasn''t possible to face head-on, so the next step to this trial had to be centered around this house.


    As previously mentioned, it was too strange for a random house like this to be in such a forest.


    Lu Li quickly scanned the small room, and his eyes set upon the statue below the table. He felt like he had seen this before in one of the old ruins.


    The activation button was on the table ¨C the dusty and broken wine cup that sat alone.


    He grabbed it, tried to pull it, spun it...


    The statue below the table came back to life, and in a twisted space, a door made of light appeared.


    At the same time, the Undead Thieves tried to break through the doors and walls. Some even appeared from the ceiling, bursting into the house and rushing towards Lu Li without hesitation.


    As soon as he stepped through the door, Lu Li couldn''t help but curse. This was just a trial ¨C did it really have to be so difficult?

 812 Gnome Thief

    If Lu Li had been slightly slower, he would have been a corpse by now.


    After he entered the door, he found himself in a yellow land covered in withered grass.


    The Undead Thieves were blocked outside the door and couldn''t come through, which put Lu Li slightly at ease.


    He immediately decided that he liked this place, because it wasn''t as dark as the forest. Thieves liked to hide themselves in the shadows, but this didn''t mean that enjoyed the darkness.


    However, he still couldn''t let his guard down.


    Using his Detection, he felt someone tailing behind him.


    If his opponent had attacked him as soon as he stepped through the door, would he still be alive?


    Lu Li pretended that he knew nothing of the situation, as if he was an adventurer that had just escaped from danger and was carefully scouting his new environment.


    "Hi, let us fight like real men." Evidently, it wasn''t this mysterious person''s plan to sneak up on Lu Li.


    A Gnome!


    Lu Li was speechless. Fortunately, he had not attacked first.


    Usually, those who attacked Gnomes first ended up dead, because they were too short to deal with properly. Most of these people saw their height and underestimated them.


    It was hard to hit the critical spots of a Gnome, but they also faced this same problem when dealing with taller people. It was an exaggeration to say that they needed to jump to hit your knees, but it would be difficult for Lu Li to hit them behind their neck or head as well.


    "Who are you? What is this place?'' Lu Li asked.


    He had first been teleported into a dark forest and run into a pack of Undead Thieves. Everyone that he could possibly talk to ended up fighting with him. At this point, he was dying to knowing the truth.


    Most importantly, he wanted to know if this had all been set up by Garona.


    "I''m an assassin, as you can see. A Gnome assassin." This Gnome Thief seemed to possess an intellect, unlike the previous Undead Thieves.


    "What is this place?" Lu Li continued to ask.


    "That isn''t important. What you need to do now is to defeat me. Let us not Stealth, but fight head on," the Gnome Thief said, then raised his chin and continued, "Let me introduce myself ¨C I''m level 48 with slightly better equipment than you and ten thousand health. If you are defeated and die, you won''t lose experience either. I''ll even send you back."


    "What if I win?" Lu Li''s expression turned serious as he gave this Gnome more respect.


    "Alright, I suppose that''s not impossible either," the Gnome Thief mumbled. "If you win, I''ll count you as having passed this stage and you can head to the next trial."


    "I want to know who''s testing me," Lu Li demanded.


    He thought that the Gnome wouldn''t answer him, but he nodded and laughed, "You already know, don''t you?"


    Garona ¨C the legendary Thief who was rumored to be dead! She had been described as the closest existence to a demigod in many legends. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have been able to kill King Llane.


    "Let''s start," Lu Li said with determination.


    His opponent was higher level than him by three levels, with better equipment and more health, but so what? Lu Li had not made it this far with his level and equipment alone.


    Lu Li was confident in himself, even though he was facing a Gnome Thief that he knew nothing about.


    The Gnomish Thief took out two daggers ¨C both Shards of the Defiler.


    Was the Shard of the Defiler so common now? Lu Li could feel himself break down a little on the inside, but he was still confident. If a Thief lost their confidence, then they would have also lost their life.


    Regardless of the situation, they needed confidence, even if they were facing Sargeras.


    These were the words that Lu Li had read from a Thief''s notes. Apparently the one who had penned these notes was the director of an insurance company, a Goblin Thief called Lazduke.


    Lu Li and the Gnome began to duel with their daggers, each party testing out the other.


    By blocking alone, Lu Li appeared to be more skilled. His dagger struck the Gnome Thief right on the shoulder, while the Gnome''s only brushed passed the leather armor on his thighs. No real damage was dealt.


    From this short encounter, Lu Li seemed to have more combat experience.


    The Gnome Thief seemed stronger than he was, but was lacking in combat experience. Lu Li was slightly relieved.


    "I hope you don''t underestimate me," reminded Lu Li, as if he knew what he was thinking. In a flash, he launched an attack on Lu Li''s legs.


    Compared to the Undead Thieves, he was much faster, so Lu Li didn''t have time to react.


    Empowerment: Shadowstep?


    Lu Li was stunned; he didn''t believe that someone would learn something as unpopular as Empowerment: Shadowstep. Or perhaps, the Gnomish Thief just happened to have an equip with a similar special effect.


    Lu Li had dealt 76 damage to the Gnome previously, but this time the Gnome dealt 253 damage to him instead.


    This was quite a large gap indeed. Lu Li looked deeply at his target as he barely escaped from being controlled. As the Gnome rushed in front of him, he focused his energy and casted a Shadowstrike.


    This was his bread and butter; he managed to achieve a 97% completion level.


    -570!


    The skill even stunned for two seconds, but the Gnome Thief was three levels higher.


    Two seconds was enough for Lu Li to do many things. First, he used a Backstab for an Armor Penetration effect, then stacked on Ambush and Mutilate. Finally, with 5 combo points stored up, he applied an Armor Reduction effect before his target woke up.


    With 50% Armor Reduction, even the best equipment would be rendered useless. Over the next ten seconds, the Gnomish Thief was pressured under Lu Li''s intense wave of attacks.


    He had never encountered an opponent like this.


    Or rather, he didn''t have any real combat experience. Although he had a large, bushy beard, he was actually still quite young. The beard of a Gnome was like the height of a Dwarf ¨C neither could be used to judge their age.

 813 The Meaning of the Trial

    From this rotation alone, Lu Li was able to deal more than 2,000 points of damage to the Gnomish Thief.


    However, this wasn''t enough to swing the fight in his favor. The Gnomish Thief had 10,000 HP and still had upper hand, despite having a large chunk of his HP taken away.


    Nevertheless, his confidence had taken a hit.


    The Gnomish Thief did not know how long the cooldown on Lu Li''s Book of Ur was and was afraid that Lu Li would summon the large wolf again.


    He realized that Lu Li had a strange and unique playstyle, one that he had never experienced before. The confidence that he had once possessed was completely shattered.


    Being able to transform into a Worgen was something his master could never have prepared him for.


    This was the difference between a newbie and a true warrior. Newbies established their knowledge and confidence through studying books and receiving instruction from others. On the other hand, Lu Li had accumulated a wealth of battle experience over the years he had been playing Dawn.


    Stripping away the confidence of a Thief in training was the most brutal thing that Lu Li could have done.


    When he finally realized that Lu Li couldn''t transform into a Worgen again, the fight was already out of his control. Lu Li''s dagger stopped inches away from his neck, ready to cast Cut Throat with his five combo points.


    "You lost," Lu Li said coldly as he sheathed his dagger, unafraid that his opponent would back out of the deal.


    This had turned out to be a great learning experience for the young Thief.


    "Yes, you''re more talented than me," the Gnomish Thief sighed, looking down in disappointment. He was already small in stature, so this made it hard for Lu Li to see his face. However, based on the tone of his voice, it was obvious that he was sad.


    "Actually, I only have more experience than you," Lu Li admitted. "I''ve fought against countless people, all with different and unique traits. Some were sneaky and sly adventures; others were ferocious bosses. I''ve won many but have also lost some ¨C that''s life. I bet you haven''t even taken a single step out of Ravenholdt Manor."


    "I see¡­" the Gomish Thief murmured.


    "May I ask whether I''ve completed the trial? Or are there any other trials?" Lu Li asked.


    "I don''t know about other trials, but I have a mission. Come and inspect some things with me," the Gnomish Thief gestured as he summoned a Crow mount.


    Even his mount was extremely rare. Lu Li summoned his common Horsemen''s Reins mount and silently cursed at rich and privileged second generation.


    The Gnomish Thief''s mount was called ''Reins of the Raven Lord'' and was extremely fast.


    Not many players knew how to obtain it. It couldn''t be obtained from honor, dropped in dungeons or rewarded from world quests. In reality, it dropped at an extremely low chance from the Raven Lord Anzu in the Sethekk Halls for the Druid Epic Flight Form quest.


    Long ago, Raven Lord Anzu was cursed and had lost his ability to fly, which was why the mount was unable to fly, despite having wings.


    The mount had been given to the Gnomish Thief by his master, whereas Lu Li had obtained his by himself.


    The Gnomish Thief was actually quite impressed with Lu Li; he hadn''t seen that many players that looked as cool.


    "Are you one of Garona''s students?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course not; my master told me not to reveal his name. But, he''s also a Gnome, just like me. He''s very strong though; he might even be on Garona''s level," the Gnomish Thief said proudly.


    "Then, why is it you that''s in charge of my trial?" Lu Li asked.


    Technically, he had to pull out some tricks in order to beat the Gnome. Otherwise, he wasn''t sure whether or not he could''ve passed the trial. Truthfully, the Gnome wasn''t that much weaker than him.


    The Gnomish Thief''s face turned sour as he answered, "Because I''m the weakest."


    Lu Li mulled over this for a second, then realized how powerful the others must have been.


    "They''re here," the Gnomish Thief announced, observing the pack of Kodos from afar.


    These Kodos came in various shapes and sizes, but they all shared one trait. They were all walking very slowly and appeared to be weak and vulnerable ¨C it was obvious that they were old and about to die.


    Lu Li was able to figure out their location according to the Kodos.


    "Is this the Barrenlands?"


    He had been to Barrenlands, but he did not travel here last time by foot. There were scarce resources and few mobs in the area. All that the land had to offer were some scorpions that scuttled along the infertile ground. Even in Tanaris, under the blazing hot sun, there was still some semblance of civilization.


    He felt as if the barrenness was draining the life out of him.


    The Gnomish Thief patted the crow on the head and it began following them slowly.


    "That''s right; let''s follow them. Oh yeah, have you ever seen Kodos?"


    "I''ve seen them before ¨C some in the wild, and some used as mounts by Tauren. I used to own two Kodos," Lu Li answered, then proceeded to describe the mount.


    The story of Lu Li''s pure white Kodo mount made the Gnomish Thief full of excitement. He had developed a strong urge to venture out and discover the world for himself. The world was full of opportunities to better his skills and bountiful fortunes waiting for him to discover.


    "Let''s see where the Kodos are going."


    The old and dying Kodos were treading along very slowly. If it wasn''t because of his curiosity, he would have been bored out of his mind.


    In the corner of the Barrenlands, there was a place called the Kodo Graveyard. This was their final destination.


    The ground here was littered with nothing but white, bleached bones. There were occasionally some vultures that circled around in the sky.


    The aging Kodos lined up and quietly walked towards their graveyard, then silently waited for their lives to end. Lu Li would never have thought there would be such a shocking and impactful scene in the game.


    "My master used to take me here and we would watch the Kodos together," the Gnomish Thief said.


    "Thank you," Lu Li replied.


    Lu Li knew why he had brought him here to watch the Kodos after the trial. He might not have gained much from watching this, but it reminded him about his sister fighting for her life three years ago.


    Lu Li felt helpless and weak in the face of death; no one else would understand what he had gone through besides himself.


    This was his reason for not giving up.

 814 Cheating

    As they talked about his training, Lu Li learned a lot from the conversation.


    Firstly, the Thief was definitely not Garona''s student because his master''s name was Mekgineer Thermaplugg. When Lu Li had completed the Zaetar Tower mission, Thermaplugg was the Gnome that he had seen.


    If Lu Li had not passed his trial, he would never have found out about this.


    The Thief''s name was Jeramo and he already had three advanced skills. One of his most powerful was the advanced Shadow Step, which was Mekgineer''s signature move.


    He also had an upgraded Ambush. If Jeramo had chosen to Ambush him from the back instead of fighting him head-on from the very start, Lu Li''s lifeless body would have been lying on the ground.


    The last was an upgraded Cut Throat, which made Lu Li laugh out loud.


    The idea of a short Gnomish Thief trying his best to reach someone''s throat was hilarious to him.


    Jeramo asked about the outside world and Lu Li smiled as he talked about his countless adventures.


    It was easy to tell from his voice that the Gnome had a desire to go adventuring.


    All that Lu Li could offer was his blessing and wishes of good fortune. Jeramo led him to the entrance of the third trial.


    According to his description, the third trial was at the end of a convoluted underground tunnel with countless Stealthed monsters waiting to ambush any intruders. The monsters were all made by Mekgineer and were some of his most-advanced creations.


    It was quite obvious that Mekgineer and Jeramo were quite close.


    The tunnel was pitch black and was possibly some sort of an abandoned mine. Every few meters, there was a candle on the wall that flickered gently in the cold draught.


    The ground beneath him was uneven and rocks were scattered around everywhere.


    Lu Li knew what this trial was testing ¨C the ability of a Thief to fight while in Stealth.


    He checked his equips and potions, then entered into Stealth at the entrance. Like most other Thief players, he had been perfecting his Stealth mechanics.


    You could be a decent Thief even if you weren''t completely geared up, as long as your Stealth mechanics were well-trained.


    Lu Li detected someone on the left side of the wall in front of him. His opponent''s Stealth was likely very low because Lu LI was able to detect him from far away.


    What an insult!


    Lu Li pounced onto his opponent and accurately stabbed him in the back of his head with his dagger.


    Instant Kill!


    The situation was quite bizarre, firstly because the Stealth of his opponent was weak and secondly because his HP was low enough to be instantly killed. Lu Li was at a loss, trying to figure out what was happening.


    He had only dealt a single point of damage to his target, but was still able to instantly kill him.


    When he checked his stats, he noticed that everything had been lowered to 1, apart from his Defense, which was at 0. He had become the same as the target that he had just killed.


    Lu Li quickly calmed himself down and assessed the situation.


    If he had to guess, all the enemies that he would encounter in this trial would have 1 HP, 1 Attack and 0 Defense as well.


    This way, the playing field would be evened out. However, Lu Li quickly realized how difficult stage three would be.


    There was absolutely no margin for error.


    If he messed up even once, he would face certain death.


    Even though the mechanical Thief he had just killed was extremely easy to defeat, Lu Li decided he should concentrate harder.


    He knew that the trial wouldn''t be that easy, especially because this was the third stage.


    If the goal of the mechanical Thief was to stun him, then it had failed its job miserably.


    Lu Li quickly came across another mechanical Thief and proved his theory correct. This one was stronger than the previous one; Lu Li was unable to detect it until it had almost passed by him.


    He quickly took care of business and went into Stealth again.


    Not even a second had passed before another robot detected him and inspected the position he was in a second ago. If Lu Li''s reaction time had been a fraction slower, he would have died immediately.


    This mechanical Thief was also killed by Lu Li''s dagger.


    The robots were now becoming progressively stronger and harder to detect. They were even working together in groups and coordinating attacks. Lu Li began feeling the pressure of the trial and almost died a couple of times.


    However, he was strong, both psychologically and physically, which helped him avert any danger that he encountered. At the end of the tunnel, he finally reached a small underground hall.


    This was the final trial of the third stage and likely the most difficult one. He knew that there would be countless mechanical Thieves in this hall, which would make it almost impossible to traverse.


    At this moment, Lu Li did something completely unexpected.


    He took out a black, ball-shaped object and threw it towards the hall.


    The black ball exploded loudly, causing the whole mine to shake as the mechanical Thieves were blown into pieces.


    The robots stood no chance against the bomb.


    As the mines collapsed over the hall, the entire tunnel began crashing down. Lu Li ran out and appeared from within the smoke, leaving the ruined tunnel behind.


    "Cheating, that''s cheating¡­" Jeramo, who had been waiting nearby, muttered.


    However, the trial never forbade the use of items. Otherwise, the System would have prevented him from using it. "Hey pal, did I pass?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course you passed."


    Jeramo was definitely an upstanding guy. Lu Li knew this from the very start when he had decided not to Ambush and take advantage of him. He knew that there was nothing he could do anyway, since the entire mine had been demolished.


    "Thanks. Honestly, this is how Thieves should be," Lu Li said. Clearly, he did not think that he had cheated at all.


    Why would he waste time trying to complete an impossible trial when he could pass with one simple solution? This sort of ideology was something he had learned from the harsh environment that he had grown up in. As long as it wasn''t against his morals, he would do anything in his power to succeed.


    "I''m just a bit surprised," Jeramo said.


    "If you go out on an adventure one day, remember to place yourself above everything out there. We''re assassins, not warriors. Don''t be ashamed to use poisons, bombs or traps to help turn the situation into an advantage for yourself," Lu Li lectured, teaching him a valuable lesson.

 815 The Master

    "Thanks. I guess I''m still inexperienced," Jeramo said as he scratched his head in embarrassment.


    After closely examining the strategy, he had not found any problems with it. If they had charged straight into the cave full of enemies, it would have meant guaranteed death. Even Jeramo himself was wondering how to kill these many targets without receiving damage.


    However, Lu Li had solved the problem with a bomb.


    "People''s battle senses develop over time. Can you tell me about the next stage of the test?" Lu Li asked as he awkwardly reached down to pat the Gnomish Thief''s shoulders.


    Jeramo was a little surprised.


    "Next stage? There isn''t one."


    "There isn''t one?" Lu Li was a little shocked.


    "That''s right. Was it not satisfying? My teacher designed this test with three stages. The first stage was to test your ability to take precautions for unknown dangers ahead. The second stage was to test your Skill Completion, while having you experience the taste of death and its purpose. Finally, the third stage was to test your Stealth and combat abilities. You passed all of them with flying colors," Jeramo explained.


    "Then, when can I go and meet the teacher?" Lu Li asked, as he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.


    After experiencing the challenges that had been presented by each of the stages, the original excitement that Lu Li felt had now disappeared. However, after realising that he was about to meet the Legendary Thief Garona, he had begun to feel nervous once again.


    Garona might not have been an immensely strong expert like Medivh, but in the same vein, she had contributed to the advancement of Azeroth. All in all, she was a key element of Azeroth''s history.


    "You can go and meet her any time," the Gnome said, then made gestured towards an empty space and continued, "Master, I have already completed my mission. I will now return at once."


    Lu Li panicked and thought that there were others here with them. He was surprised at Jeramo''s sensing ability, as not even Lu Li himself detected the presence of another person.


    Just as Jeramo finished speaking, a voice resounded from behind him, saying: "Greet your teacher for me, especially for training a student."


    The Gnomish Thief promptly scratched his head, called for a mount, and left.


    Lu Li quickly spun around and saw a dark shadow standing behind him. Jeramo hadn''t actually known exactly where she was standing, but was aware that Garona was going to be present.


    The dark shadow was wearing a large cloak, one that managed to mask her figure.


    The cloak was weaved together in a way that the light could not penetrate it completely, but still showed its wearer''s silhouette. Although Lu Li could see the figure in front of him, he could not identify who it was.


    Her equipment would have at least been Legendary grade, or Demigod grade. This was more prestigious than Medivh''s cloak, which was made out of Demigod Feathers.


    "Greetings, highly respected teacher," Lu Li said as he bowed reverently.


    This was a sign of respect towards strong experts. A legendary Thief who had once stood at the pinnacle of Azeroth was now standing before him. The awe that he felt now was stronger than when he had met Medivh.


    "You passed my tests, so you may call me teacher," Garona''s congratulated in an extremely hoarse voice.


    "Teacher."


    Lu Li was ready to receive all types of advice and knowledge from his new Master. Now, he had an expert supporting him. Although this expert wouldn''t help him attack or harm others, she would at least be able to teach him some Thief skills, and he would have reinforcements from Ravenholdt available to him.


    "Show me the bomb that you just used," the Halforcen Master requested.


    Of course, Lu Li would not object. Due to a lack of Starwood, he had only brought four or five.


    After listening to how the bomb was created, Garona exclaimed, "Wow! It''s Ivy''s bomb! This is quite a rare item. No wonder why you managed to clear the enemies so easily."


    The Engineering profession could only manufacture a few types of bombs. Furthermore, all bombs manufactured by Engineers had their weaknesses and could not compare with Ivy''s bomb.


    "If Master likes it, then I am happy to gift it to you," Lu Li quickly offered.


    If he could please Garona, she might give him a skill book which enhanced his techniques. If he could swap ten bombs for a skill book, let alone one bomb for a skill book, he would be extremely happy.


    "It''s too weak," Garona said as she shook her head, then returned the bomb to Lu Li.


    "Master, I hope I am able to receive your teachings. Although my qualifications might be lacking, I''m working extremely hard to gain recognition. I''m confident enough to best any Adventurer out there in battle."


    "How do you know of me?" Garona asked, ignoring Lu Li''s words altogether.


    "I like to read many books. I coincidentally met an MI7 veteran, gained her recognition, then managed to find you in Ravenholdt," Lu Li answered truthfully.


    Even if this was an excuse, it was one that was extremely well thought out. As for the possibility of anyone in MI7 knowing information about Garona, she wouldn''t even need to ask who this was.


    "I agreed to be your teacher, not solely because of your excellent service in completing missions, but because of the ring on your finger. There was a time when I almost died, but was saved by the bearer of this same ring," Garona explained straightforwardly.


    "Actually, I did not meet Lord Cenarius before I had gained possession of this ring," Lu Li said.


    If this ring was supposed to be passed down to Cenarius'' heir, Lu Li would undoubtedly be worthy. However, Cenarius was not a Thief, and not many people knew of his whereabouts. Not even his two sons knew where he was.


    "I hope that you don''t dishonour Cenarius'' name. Treat this book as a gift," Garona said as she tossed a book at Lu Li.


    Lu Li caught the book and immediately opened it to browse its contents. He was extremely elated when he found out that it was actually ''Greater Stealth'', an extremely rare and precious skill book which enhanced the foundational Thief skill. Although enhanced skill books were rare, there were still good and bad ones, since some skills weren''t used often. However, those like Stealth were highly regarded and sought-after, since they were frequently used and were essential to the class.


    There weren''t any skills that were more important to a Thief than Stealth.


    For Lu Li, this Greater Stealth skill book was undoubtedly a precious item. After learning this enhanced version, Lu Li''s Stealth abilities would be abnormally strong.


    This type of enhancing skill book was not something that any equipment could be compared to. Furthermore, if the execution of the skill was further honed and improved, it was likely that the enhanced ability''s effects would change as well.


    Perhaps, by that stage, Stealth might not be Stealth.


    "If you can achieve 100% Skill Completion on any skill, then ask your liaison to request an audience with me. If there are any missions that need to be completed, I will also contact you through your liaison."


    Garona did not wish to improve their relationship, and planned to leave as soon as Lu Li had received the skill book.


    "Can I receive your personal guidance? Lu Li promptly asked Garona.


    Besides the skill books, the teachings of a Master were also extremely important, as many unattainable skills were passed on by them. It was also said that if one was able to receive personal guidance, their flow and mechanics would also greatly improve.

 816 Teaching

    Garona was somewhat surprised. Were adventurers not merely looking for enhancing skill books from their teachers?


    Lu Li was perhaps the first person to seek a teacher to learn from. To most people, NPCs and players used two completely different systems.


    "Alright, for 30 seconds, I''ll lower my strength to your level," Garona said as she removed her cloak.


    This cloak that could twist one''s line of vision seemed to be quite special, and even she couldn''t limit its power. Lu Li was only able to see Garona''s appearance after she took it off.


    Garona was of mixed blood ¨C both Orc and Draenei.


    She didn''t know who her father was, while her mother came from a prestigious house. From what Lu Li knew, Garona''s uncle was the Draenei called Maraad.


    Maraad was no ordinary person.


    He had witnessed many battles in which the world had resisted the Legion and was a role model to the Draenei people. With his incomparable battle skills and decisive displays of upholding justice, he earned the respect of the entire Alliance.


    In his hands he wielded the Hammer of the Naaru, one of the ultimate weapons of the Paladins.


    Garona, who was of mixed blood, had the physical characteristics of an Orc, but seemed much gentler.


    Some had thought that she was part-human and part-Orc, because back then, the Tribes did not know of the existence of the Draenei people. This was because her appearance resembled that of a human''s as well.


    After looking at Garona, Lu Li''s expression remained just as still and he did not reveal much shock, even though this was the first time he had seen someone like her.


    Garona had long passed the age for which she would mind the gaze of others, and there was a probing look in her slightly red eyes.


    This new student had surprised her.


    Before Lu Li had even requested to meet her through an intermediary, he had already caught her attention.


    Garona''s status within Ravenholdt was quite high, and it had been many years since she had appeared to anyone. She normally would not have taken notice of a weak adventurer, but Lu Li was the first person to enter Ravenholdt and had the ring of a Demigod, so nearly all of the high-level people were aware him.


    Even though Cenarius was a demigod, he was the only son (albeit an adopted one) of Elune.


    Out of his two rings, one of them had been turned by Malfurion into something that was more powerful than an ordinary Demigod.


    There were actually many people who wanted to be Lu Li''s teacher. Someone who had openly expressed this was Mekgineer Thermaplugg, who was once the most powerful Tinkerer in the Dwarf Race and a powerful Assassin who had stepped into the Demigod domain. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was afraid of Cenarius'' revenge, it was possible that he would have killed Cenarius'' son, who was under the protection of Keeper Remulos.


    However, Lu Li had chosen Garona.


    After much thought, Garona had decided to give some priceless help to this Thief who had limitless potential.


    Enhanced Stealth was her most famous skill, and she had never taught it to anyone before.


    After giving that book to Lu Li, she felt like she had completed her role as a teacher.


    Now, Lu Li was requesting more advanced teaching, and she did not refuse. She unsheathed her weapons that hung from her belt ¨C a dagger and a hatchet. Thief players were unable to use hatchets, but Garona ignored the rules of the System.


    "Be careful ¨C I hope you won''t die in just one exchange," Garona said as she began to attack.


    Lu Li had thought that Garona might use Stealth before he could, or cast Shadowstep to jump behind him. He never thought that she would directly attack him from the front.


    Lu Li quickly raised his hand to parry!


    This was a completely subconscious movement, developed through experience. In previous battles, this had always gone quite well for him. Within the Thief community in Dawn, his parry skill was regarded as textbook.


    "You''re too inflexible; sometimes your eyes will lie to you."


    As the half-Orc grandmaster teased him mockingly, her hatchet accurately sliced into Lu Li''s neck, resulting in a terrifying Critical Hit damage figure. Fortunately, she had weakened herself, or he would have died immediately.


    "I saw you attack right here though¡­"


    Lu Li couldn''t believe his eyes as he saw his parry miss.


    However, he had no time to dwell on this, and his dagger followed through with his momentum to slash towards Garona, but she did not parry. Rather, she simply stabbed forwards and accurately struck Lu Li''s elbow.


    Skill Completion 32%!


    Even though he had only been lightly grazed, this resulted in the lowest Skill Completion level that Lu Li had ever dealt. Even from when he had first started playing the game, he had never performed such a low Skill Completion before.


    "A technique that was learnt without proper guidance is hardly elegant," Garona reminded.


    Garona sidestepped, not only dodging Lu Li''s next attack, but also smashing into his back. It was as if Lu Li had allowed her to attack him on purpose.


    This attack dealt a massive amount of damage, and Lu Li suspected her Skill Completion was over 100%.


    "Look, positioning isn''t simply to attack and evade."


    Every time Garona would land a hit on Lu Li, she would give him some explanation and advice. These things sounded quite ordinary, but they provided a direction for Lu Li, who had reached a bottleneck.


    Lu Li lasted for 30 seconds, only because he could use potions and had damage-reducing skills.


    "Let''s stop here for today. If you want to find me again, just come here directly."


    Garona was not very surprised. She had not used her full strength and had suppressed her level to Lu Li''s, but still had many ways through which she could surgically dispatch him.


    However, she was very satisfied with the attitude that he had displayed in that short period of time.


    As she tapped Lu Li on the shoulder, a dark green mark flashed before disappearing. Following this, Lu Li received a System announcement that he had received Garona''s Blessing.


    Garona''s Blessing gave Lu Li a 5% Agility buff.


    There were also two teleportation skills ¨C one that allowed Garona to summon him to her side at any time, and another that was a request to be summoned by Garona. Garona could summon him whenever she wanted to, but there was a long cooldown time for Lu Li making a request to see her, which was 1 week.


    Games always emphasised balance, so it would be impossible for Lu Li to receive teaching from a grandmaster whenever he wanted.


    "Alright, you can leave."


    Lu Li had profited greatly and did not have any reason to shamelessly stay here anymore. He nodded and transformed into a crow, then flew away. Because of his excitement, he did not see Garona''s shocked expression when she saw him transform.


    The dark-red Blood Crow transformation was different to the Druids'' ¨C it belonged exclusively to Medivh.

 817 The Plaguelands

    After saying goodbye to Garona, Lu Li chose to practice his Stealthing technique.


    A player couldn''t easily Strengthen their skills, but there was no restriction on practicing them. Just like when Water Fairy received the Backstab skill, her mentor specifically asked her to reach 100% completion before learning it.


    Stealth was a basic skill that didn''t have degrees of completion, but Lu Li still chose to practice it for a while before Strengthening it.


    The location he chose to train in was the Eastern Plaguelands.


    There were a wide range of monsters here, ranging from level 40 to 50, including Abominations, Ghouls, Zombies, Warriors, Ghosts, Wizards and Lichs, with Gargoyles and Ice Dragons circling in the air. Most importantly, there were many monsters with high Detection like Bats, Spiders, Locusts, Undead Thieves and Assassins.


    Among the more perceptive were the Bats, the Lich and the Undead Thieves.


    For most players, these were anti-Stealth monsters that could see all invisible units. However, Lu Li knew that this was because of their high Detection ability.


    Natural disasters regularly afflicted the Plaguelands from the Lich King far north.


    Now that the Lich King has regained his Strength, all of the Scourge had completely surrendered to him. There were no more traitors like Lady Sylvanas and The Forsaken.


    Here, zealous crusaders and the Undead were locked in endless battles.


    The crusaders drew strength from the light, and were committed to eliminating the Undead and protecting human survivors. However, because of their zealously, this group gradually had to face the natural disasters that were afflicting the lands.


    Lu Li himself didn''t object to this crusade.


    Those aristocrats that accused them from afar were only the mouthpieces of the Paladins that came here to die. They had no idea how serious the situation at the frontlines was.


    Lu Li entered Light''s Hope Chapel, which was the only safe place in the Eastern Plaguelands.


    Light''s Hope Chapel was the base for the Silver Dawn Organisation''s activities in the Eastern Plaguelands. Negotiations between the Silver Dawn and the Scarlet Crusade were also held here.


    Both the Alliance and Horde players could receive quests here and exchange Silverstone for Silver Dawn reputation. As Light''s Hope Chapel existed as a neutral area, both factions had to access it. At the same time, guards of the area would harshly treat those who disturbed the peace.


    Commodity Officer Metz received Lu Li, the new recruit.


    The Plaguelands were no longer an inhospitable place as they had once been when Lu Li first came here. Many players who were now level 40 chose this place to train and fight in.


    This was especially the case for the Paladins, who would respond to the call of Silver Dawn and vow to fight the Undead.


    "Killing is the only way you can increase your rank. Go out and kill a number of Scourge; you might receive a number of Scourge Stones. As long as you bring these back, I will give you some rewards," Commodity Officer Metz said with disdain.


    "As you wish, sir," Lu Li bowed politely.


    Despite his impoliteness, Commodity Officer Metz was actually a brave warrior who had been paralyzed in battle and had lost both of his arms.


    There was once a wave of Scourge that attacked the chapel. In response, he raised a huge warhammer and charged right into them.


    After leaving the chapel, Lu Li immediately entered Stealth.


    In addition to the Paladins, there was also a Troll army in the area. They had come from Zul''Aman in the South and were seeking to regain their ancient kingdom.


    Tareshkin and his army had planned to expel the Scourge from the land. It did not matter that the land was barren ¨C the land had once belonged to them and he firmly believed that it would belong to them again!


    Although they were part of different camps, Lu Li didn''t attack him. He had his own interests to look out for.


    Among the Scourge, Princes Arthas was leading the Undead masses to indiscriminately butcher all those people he had once vowed to protect.


    Lu Li attacked two Undead soldiers from Stealth, hitting one with Sap and another with Cheap Shot.


    With one rotation of skills, the Undead Elite Warrior that had more than 8,000 HP died. In addition to Lu Li''s equipment, which dealt bonus damage to Undead, the fact that Lu Li was level 45 played a huge part in this damage output.


    The fate of the other soldier was the same.


    "Friend, do you want to party up? Thieves aren''t very good alone in the Plaguelands and we are lacking a damage output player¡­"


    "That''s okay; I''m fine alone," Lu Li politely refused. He noticed before his fight that this team had been fighting an Undead Warrior, and was impressed by their strength. After Lu Li had dealt with his two monsters, they had also finished their battle.


    It was a party of four players, but the strongest was a Paladin.


    The Paladin profession was a jack of all trades. They could play as a Main Tank, a Defensive Caster or a Healer. Although they weren''t very good at dealing with large numbers, their Consecration skill was still extremely powerful.


    Their Divine Skills also had bonus damage against the Undead.


    Many solo Priests chose to level up here, as their usually weak attacks received a considerable damage bonus.


    "Friend, it''s no trouble for us. We can take you in," the Paladin offered. He was fighting at the time and clearly didn''t see how Lu Li had just killed the two Undead Warriors on his own.


    "I''m really fine, thank you," Lu Li asserted.


    "No matter, as long as you help us kill some of these monsters," the Paladin said fervently.


    Lu Li was speechless.


    He wasn''t sure if it was this Paladin just had a very strong belief in the light, but it seemed like he had gone crazy. It was as though he couldn''t distinguish the game from reality.


    In the Plaguelands, these monsters belonged to the System. Even if you killed them, they would still refresh. Why would it matter if he killed one or two more?


    "If you need me, I''ll help out. I''m here to practice my skills."


    Although Lu Li was confused by the Paladin''s behaviour, he didn''t look down on these players. Instead, he simply assumed that they had pure intentions.


    "Then don''t stray too far from us, if something happens we can help you," the Paladin said worriedly as Lu Li ran towards the higher-levelled Lich monsters.

 818 The Thief’s Nemesis

    Frankly, Lu Li was quite touched by the proposal.


    This group was obviously not the kind that liked taking in weak players just to show off how strong they were. They saw that Lu Li was a lone Thief in this high level area, and knew that it would be difficult for him to level.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li''s intention wasn''t to train, so he could only disappoint them.


    The Lich that Lu Li had chosen to practice on had incredibly high Detection. Thieves that were at the same or lower level had almost no chance of hiding within eight yards of this creature.


    Even though Lu Li was three levels higher than it, he still had to be careful.


    The Plaguelands Lich was born thanks to Kil''Jaeden, an elder member of Eredar. The wisdom of this Demon Lord was as great as his strength, and his research into souls was particularly appreciated by Sargeras the King of Demons.


    He transformed his captive Spell Breakers and turned them into powerful Lichs.


    Although they were immortal and could perform powerful magic, they still had to obey Demon''s spokesperson in the Plaguelands ¨C the Plagueland''s Lich Lord Kel''Thuzad.


    In fact, Lichs not originally created by Kil''Jaeden.


    Over the course of the Spell Breakers'' research, some had managed to learn some secrets about the soul. They had discovered a way to prevent the soul from rotting away with their short lives.


    One of the people who managed to do this was Meryl Winterstorm.


    Being one of Lordaeron''s epic hero Mages, who had received the teaching of the elves in the Troll war 3000 years ago, she sacrificed herself when facing the powerful reborn army of Zul''Aman the Forest Troll. Due to how desperate the fighting became, Meryl was resurrected as a Lich.


    Or perhaps, she had understood the critical secrets of her life as she was dying, and turned herself into an Undead.


    However, the Lich Meryl and the Lich before Lu Li were completely different. Not only did Meryl gain immortality, but she also retained her original mind. No one was able to control her thoughts.


    Lu Li approached the wild Lich in Stealth. He was focused on every step he made and every breath he took.


    The Paladin and the others stopped to watch, visibly concerned about this Thief.


    Regardless of who it was, there were few players that were able to defeat the Plagueland''s Lich King. Even a party with four Paladins working together might not be able to cleanly kill a level 40 Lich.


    The Stealth that Thieves were generally very proud of was useless against the Lich, which was why they were the most vulnerable profession here.


    Lu Li''s actions made him seem like he had a death wish.


    Perhaps he had stepped on something, but the Lich suddenly looked up. Its eyes seemed to see past the bloody fog of the Plaguelands were staring directly at Lu Li''s body.


    However, Lu Li didn''t panic.


    He bent down slightly and slowly moved sideways, carefully observing his opponents eyes and breathing rhythmically.


    Some players claimed that the reason the Lich''s Detection was so high was because it could sense the movement of hot and cold air. That would explain why it was particularly insensitive to Undead Thieves.


    In addition, direct eye contact was also a contributing factor when it came to Detection. The experienced Thieves had long since learned to squint and use their peripheral vision.


    If you could obtain the legendary Sargeras'' Cursed Vision eye patch, you would be able to ignore all monsters that Detected Stealth with their eyes, as they would no longer be able to detect your gaze.


    However, Sargeras'' Cursed vision was something to be acquired much later in the game, and Lu Li didn''t know much about it. He would need a group of pets or a special item to trigger the quest.


    The Lich had not yet discovered Lu Li, even though he was within arm''s length of it.


    Even so, it felt uneasy and seemed to know there was a threat nearby, so it raised its Magic Staff and slowly charged up an Ice Skill¡­


    It was time!


    Lu Li rushed forward and circled around to cast Cheap Shot. He succeeded in interrupting the release of Frost Nova.


    This was the Lich''s signature skill, and was similar to the players'' Frost Nova but with a wider range. There was also a certain probability that it would apply the Plague debuff. The only drawback of this still was that it required a short channeling period.


    Most players didn''t think that the Lich''s Frost Nova could be interrupted, because the time between the appearance of the ice and the completion of the skill was barely more than 0.1 seconds.


    However, Lu Li managed to do it, because he already knew from the experience of his past life that when the first particles started to gather, Frost Nova was being cast. He didn''t have to wait until the ice started appearing, as even Lu Li''s mentor wouldn''t be able to escape in that time.


    Of course, a Frost Nova at this level might not even be effective on Garona.


    After the Lich had been hit by Cheap Shot, it was no different from the other monsters. At the very most, its resistance was slightly higher, which made the resulting Stun slightly shorter. However, Lu Li''s level was still higher than the Lich''s, which rendered this extra resistance useless.


    After successfully casting Cheap Shot, Lu Li followed up with an Ambush and a Backstab. He then took a step diagonally and reached around the Lich''s back to cast Backhand Backstab.


    This stunned it for another 2 seconds!


    As the stun was about to end, Lu Li casted Shadowstrike to a high degree of Skill Completion.


    It was another 3 second stun!


    Lu Li had saved his strongest crowd control for last, and used Kidney Shot with a five-point combo for the final stun.


    The Paladins weren''t Lu Li''s teammates, so they couldn''t see the damage values, but it was obvious that Lu Li had kept the Lich crowd controlled from the beginning until the end.


    The Lich suddenly let out a howl before disintegrating into ash.


    The Paladins now felt a little embarrassed and understood why Lu Li didn''t want to join them.


    If they had been in the same party, they wouldn''t have been helping him, but holding him back instead. He had killed this Lich so quickly that he was at least as efficient as the four of them.


    "Sorry brother, we didn''t know you were so powerful. We must have offended you before," they apologized to Lu Li, who had gone back into Stealth after he was finished.


    The candor of the Paladins was surprising. Most players would have continued doing their own thing and pretended that nothing had happened to avoid the embarrassment.

 819 Game Beliefs

    "Thank you for your kindness. I came here to practice my Stealth," Lu Li said in a friendly tone.


    The Paladins looked at each other and thought that he was joking.


    "You''re kidding. Even the Lich couldn''t detect you; I didn''t know you could practice Stealth."


    This Thief undoubtedly had the highest level of Stealth they had ever seen.


    There were no other Thieves in the Plaguelands at the moment, but all who did come usually had a bad experience. They would often be reduced to attacking directly, just like a Warrior.


    "Wasn''t I discovered just then? I had to rush ahead and attack sooner than I would have liked. That should prove that my Stealth ability is not good enough yet," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    "How do you plan of practicing it?" one Paladin asked curiously, then quickly added, "It''s okay if you don''t want to tell me."


    "Since I''m practicing Stealth, I was looking for the strongest Anti-Stealth monsters to fight," Lu Li explained matter-of-factly.


    "Anti-Stealth monsters¡­"


    "The Lich is one of these Anti-Stealth monsters, but I managed to get past it. Dawn doesn''t have any true Anti-Stealth monsters, even among the Bosses. As long as your Stealth is strong enough, you can deceive the senses of any monster."


    The official description of this skill was very clear. It didn''t cause the user to disappear ¨C instead, it tricked the senses of the target.


    "That''s so cool!" The Paladins were clearly impressed.


    "You can do it too. As long as you focus on your training, you can always improve."


    The difference between an expert and an average player was that they constantly set goals and knew how to train for them.


    "We''ll try it in a few days. We''ll be signing up for the games tomorrow," one of the Paladins mentioned.


    It was rare to find someone who didn''t want to improve themselves. Players who received such an offer from a master would be unlikely to reject it.


    Lu Li suddenly remembered the games that they were talking about ¨C there were some Christmas activities that were about to begin. Registration would take place on the day after tomorrow and the event would formally begin three days after that.


    There was a lot of content during these festive activities, the main events were the festival games and the festival Boss.


    The festival games included fishing competitions, cooking competitions, horse races, marathons and other traditional sports like virtual basketball, football, table tennis and so on.


    These activities were great for everyone.


    Take the marathon as an example ¨C even if a person was a cripple in real life, they still had an opportunity to come first.


    While events like traditional football did not use any equipment Attributes, virtual technology enabled a player''s in game ability to reflect their physical capabilities. This meant there was no difference between playing in the game and playing in real life.


    There were also some artistic competitions, like painting and singing.


    As long as you had some skill, you would be able to capitalize on it.The game would either reward you with some gold coins and a medal, or at least some EXP.


    If Lu Li was not mistaken, the grand prize for the marathon was a pair of Epic Boots. The grand prize for the fishing competition was also an Epic equipment¡­


    Of course, not all events produced Epic equipment. In that case, Epic equipment would flood the game every holiday season and break the balance of the game.


    There were several events that Lu Li had to attend, which included the marathons.


    "Brother, can we add you as a friend?" one of the Paladins straightforwardly asked.


    "Sure, but I often block random requests for things," Lu Li said, not hesitating to accept. He had a natural goodwill towards those that were innocently good and had no problem adding them as friends.


    "Don''t worry, we aren''t the kind to ask for things for no reason," the Paladin assured as he sent his friend


    request.


    This was the ordinary player''s life. They would do quests, then complete an Instance Dungeon and level. In doing so, they would regularly run into new players, and potentially add them as friends. Then, they could play together and enjoy themselves.


    This was also Lu Li''s experience in his previous life, but ever since his rebirth, things had been wildly different.


    The Paladin who had been added was pulled aside by his team, who was whispering excitedly to him.


    "If we need help in future¡­ what should we do?" he asked.


    "Lu Li ¨C it''s Lu Li. Look at the name," another said in cold sweat.


    Even though they might not have had big dreams, most players fantasized about being friends with a top player.


    "Lu Li!"


    "A great God!"


    "I''m just another player; don''t be so polite," Lu Li said as he waved his hand and began to leave. In reality, his status put him far above an ordinary player.


    He didn''t come online every day to have a drink and attempt Instance Dungeons, nor did he have to go looking for players to team up with.


    If their friends asked for help, most players to immediately set out to help them, regardless of what they were doing.


    Fortunately, Lu Li wasn''t that kind of sentimental person.


    "Great God, can we join Ruling Sword? We are all level 40," the Paladins quickly called out to Lu Li as he was leaving.


    Ruling Sword hadn''t been upgraded recently and had begun to restrict its player intake.


    Unless there was a member with authority who personally guaranteed a position, it was even more difficult for ordinary players to get into Ruling Sword than any other big guild. After all, everyone knew the great potential that Ruling Sword had.


    "Sure, find a Paladin called Drifting Rain and you should be okay," Lu Li responded.


    By now, Drifting Rain was almost no different from one of the Darkshire NPCs. He had been promoted to a Darkshire Vindicator and would travel with a group of Paladins to kill Undead monsters around the town.


    When Lu Li met him, he was patrolling the street with several other players. Some players thought he was an NPC and was chasing him for a quest.


    Each person had their own beliefs and playstyle with the game, but Lu Li neither encouraged nor condemned this. Occasionally, you could meet very respectable person like these Paladins. This was why Lu Li agreed to adding them.


    These Paladins felt that their responsibility was to kill the Undead monsters of the Plaguelands, which was exactly the same as Drifting Rain''s.


    Moreover, they were likely very close to other Paladins of the Plaguelands. This relationship would likely be helpful for Ruling Sword in future.


    Paladins who were active here had to be at least level 40.


    If there was a war, Paladins would actually be more useful than Warriors. It would be very beneficial if Ruling Sword had its own huge group of them.

 820 Tirion Fordring

    The four Paladins had unusual names, and Lu Li suddenly remembered who they were.


    Their names were Cross Resurrection, Flash of Light, Fearless and Death before Surrender. They were on the rise from the Plaguelands and would later create a guild that consisted only of Paladins ¨C the Holy Crusaders. Cross Resurrection would be their president.


    These Paladins who were active in the Plaguelands gradually lost their faith in the Scarlet Crusade. They slowly began to ponder over coming up with their own Paladin ideals.


    As a result, they abandoned the Scarlet Crusade and established the independent Holy Crusaders.


    Even some NPC Paladins accepted their new ideology and formed a huge Paladin base in the Plagueland''s Sodorir River Valley with them.


    Initially, the guild flourished, attracting many high-level Paladins.


    However, by the time Lu Li had started playing, the Holy Crusaders were already in decline. The leadership made many poor decisions and were often too rigid with their requirements. They also made many enemies, one of which was the Imperial Secret Service.


    The second problem was that their single-professional guild didn''t provide enough variation. Although they built several clubs later so that they could include other professions, they eventually fell behind in the raids.


    Lu Li''s unintentional move today seemed to have changed the fate of many.


    The four Paladins might not have even consider creating a guild now that they were going to join Ruling Sword. As such, the Holy Crusaders would never exist. Lu Li didn''t know what the future held in that regard.


    However, Ruling Sword would definitely not go down like the Holy Crusaders.


    The four Paladins weren''t the kind of players that would keep following a celebrity around. After their initial enthusiasm, they left Lu Li behind to continue his training and marched onwards to fight back the Scourge.


    He remembered that when he had first come to the Plaguelands, he was only a little over level 30. One misstep would have resulted in his death.


    Now, as long as he didn''t run into any quasi-Bosses, he was in no danger at all.


    Lu Li wasn''t just focused on killing Lichs and was willing take on all kinds of Anti-Stealth monsters. Each monster had its own way of dealing with Stealth. Some relied on detecting Magic, while others relied on detecting Temperature. For example, an Ice-wielding Lich fought alongside a pack of Undead dogs that had a very keen sense of smell. The Plaguelands Bats made use of sounds that even the more perceptive Thieves couldn''t hear.


    As he fought, Lu Li unintentionally approached the Sodorir River.


    The Sodorir River was famous for its waterfalls. Even if the sky was dark and the river was polluted, this majestic scene was still a must-see.


    The fifth waterfall of the was at the mouth of the sea, on the eastern coastline not far from Southshore. The fourth waterfall passed through the deep canyon of Alterac, which was south of the hills of Hillsbrad. The waters of Lake Dillon flowed southwards through the Alterac Mountains and down the third waterfall, which Lu Li could see in Sodorir.


    In terms of surrounding scenery, the third waterfall was the most beautiful. However, given the climate of Alterac, it was best to wear thicker clothing when visiting it.


    In the area where water flowed into Lake Dillon, due to the constant war, waste was continuously deposited, which formed a blockade over time. This interrupted the river from the north and caused the water level to rise until it overflowed, forming the second waterfall.


    The second waterfall was almost never visited because of its putrid smell and grimy waters.


    The most famous waterfall of the Sodorir River was the first, not only because of how magnificent it looked, but also because the Fireplace Valley''s Tirion Fordring had been exiled to that area.


    After remembering Tirion Fordring, Lu Li planned to visit him.


    Fordring might not have been a household name, but he was very well known among the Silver Hand Paladins. Although no one else knew this, he was a close friend of Uther Lightbringer ¨C the founder of the Silver Hand Paladins. Fordring was one of the most noble Paladins in that group.


    In fact, he was one of the five founding members of the Silver Hand Paladins.


    Like his Paladin comrades, Fordring had battled Orcs under the Burning Legion''s control in the Second World War. On the battlefield, he displayed great courage in taking the lead and defending the glory of the Alliance to keep the peace of the mainland.


    He was the hero of the people after the war and named Lord of the Fireplace Valley. This was the happiest time of Tirion''s life, but it didn''t last long. Eleven years after the Second War with the Orcs, the Horde reorganized and quickly destroyed the Alliance Orc Prisoner camps one after another. Saar, the Orcs'' new Chief, was a thorn in the Alliance''s side. Many people were worried that the Horde would start another war and rumors of this spread like wildfire.


    In the context of the Orcs'' reappearance, Tirion''s tragedy occurred as a series of coincidences.


    While he was horse-riding, he unexpectedly encountered a group of Orcs in his own territory.


    The two hadn''t met each other before and didn''t know about each other''s motivations. However, the Paladin went on the offensive without thinking. For a moment, both parties were evenly matched.


    During the battle, the ruins of a tower nearby collapsed, injuring Fordring and causing him to lose consciousness.


    When he woke up, he was lying on his bed and was surrounded by his deputies who were tending to his wounds. According to their reports, the search and rescue team found him a few days ago, lying on his horse and seriously injured.


    As he lay in bed, Fordring worked to sort out his thoughts. He was surprised discover that the only one who could have rescued him from the rubble and put him on the horse was the Orc!


    However, while he was puzzling over his memories, an ambitious deputy had other ideas. His Boss had cried "Orc!" in his coma, which convinced him that something unusual had definitely taken place.

 821 Quests That Shouldn’t Be Triggered

    After recovering, Fordring returned alone to the place where he was hurt. Surely enough, he met the Orc once again by the abandoned tower.


    The Orc used human language to tell Fordring that his name was Eitrigg.


    Later that night, Eitrigg told Fordring his story by a fire. He still remembered when the Horde were noble people who believed in Shamanism.


    After the war, Eitrigg realized how far they had fallen under the influence of the Burning Legion and escaped with his family to live a life of seclusion.


    This shook Fordring''s beliefs ¨C not all Orcs were bloodthirsty or cruel.


    The words of the Orc broke through hatred and prejudice, winning the respect of the Paladin. This was especially important for someone who regarded respect as one of the highest honors a person could have.


    Before the two parted ways, Fordring vowed to never reveal Eitrigg''s whereabouts.


    When he returned to the city, Fordring announced to his people that there was no threat of Orcs within the territory and that his previous incident had been resolved.


    However, his deputy ¨C a Paladin named Barthras ¨C was a man who had a deep hatred for Orcs because his parents had died in the First World War.


    He launched a raid with the help of a team of hunters.


    Fordring silently prayed for his friend in his heart as he watched. However, as the prisoners were being taken away, the Orcs who tried to break out of their cages were attacked by dozens of guards. This angered the noble paladin!


    Fordring then started furiously attacking his own men.


    Tirion Fordring, a former war hero, was accused of treason and sent to Strathholme for trial.


    Many of his friends, including his loving wife Calendra, pleaded with Fordring to lay down his sense of honor so he could blame the Orcs and defend himself before the jury.


    However, as he stood in court and looked at the Silver Hand''s banner, Fordring thought of his son ¨C Tyran Fordring. He had always wanted to become a paladin.


    As a Paladin, Fordring knew that his life was far from over, but as a Paladin, he wanted to use this last chance to set an example with his words and actions. The Paladin puffed his chest nobly and told the whole story.


    He didn''t think he had done anything wrong and had always stood by the Paladin''s creed.


    The deeply-touched jury could not give a reason to charge Fordring with treason, but the facts of the attack were unavoidable and he was promptly dismissed from the Silver Hand.


    Fordring''s old friend Uther personally took charge of the ceremony to extinguish his Holy Light.


    Despite Fordring''s argument, the court did not change its ruling. However, when the exiled Fordring learned that Eitrigg was about to be sentenced to death, he decided to save him, even if he had to pay for it with his life.


    He no longer had the power of the Holy Light and was overwhelmed by the sheer number of guards on Stratholme''s execution grounds.


    Suddenly, the Orc force pushed in and released all of the Orc prisoners. Fordring and Eitrigg scrambled out and fled away from the city. However, Eitrigg had taken a blow from Barthras and was already dying. Seeing that his Orc friend was about to die, the desperate Paladin held him in his hands and shouted at the sky. In that moment, a miracle unfolded ¨C a holy light descended from heaven and shrouded Eitrigg. The light saved him from his impending death.


    The force that had rescued the Orc prisoners came before them and the Horde''s new Chief, Saar, invited Eitrigg to return to the Horde.


    Before leaving, Saar solemnly presented Fordring with the Horde Warrior''s salute.


    It was in that moment that he uttered his famous words that were now written on the hearts of many Paladin players.


    "Ethnicity does not determine nobility. I have seen the noblest Orcs and the worst humans. I know some Orcs to be respectable like the noblest paladins. And I know some humans who have the cruelest souls ¨C they are as evil as the undead!"


    In his following days, the exiled Fordring lived a life of seclusion. It was only when his son Tyran joined the Silver Hand Paladins that he secretly returned to his hometown.


    When more players journeyed to the Plaguelands, Paladins would be able to receive a quest from Fordring.


    Players of other professions could also rest here. Old Fordring provided some resources and a clean source of water. He would also heal players that were seriously injured.


    This exiled Paladin had long since regained his strength.


    The holy light of a Paladin was a wonderful thing. It existed in a Paladin''s innermost heart and changed depending on their faith. This explained why Fordring could go from having his holy light extinguished to regaining his old strength.


    The players respected him very much and kindly called him old Ford.


    "Excuse me, can I rest here?" Lu Li politely asked the Paladin who was chopping wood as he looked away from the huge waterfall.


    It was a blunt axe, but he still had a large pile of logs. Anyone who saw him would assume that he was a strong man.


    "Of course! You seem a little hurt," Fordring said as he immediately dropped his axe. He went back into the hut behind him and came out quickly with a bandage.


    Old Fordring''s bandages had helped countless players.


    Players could use potions to heal their injuries in the Wild, but ever since the last patch, they could only heal after returning to the city. The city''s Priest and Paladin NPCs knew skills that the players didn''t, and this was a way to get the players to spend more gold.


    As for Instance Dungeons, it was better to just die and let a healer Revive you, since there was no penalty for dying. After being revived, all of your stats would be restored.


    Lu Li''s leg had been slashed by a Plaguelands dog and he was limping. This somewhat affected his ability to practice his Stealth and was one of the reasons he was visiting Tirion Fordring.


    "You''re well protected," old Fordring commented as he knelt beside Lu Li and saw the scratches on his leather armor.


    "But I still got hurt in the end, and by an ordinary plaguelands dog," Lu Li said in annoyance.


    Old Fordring helped Lu Li tie on the bandage and got a wooden stool for Lu Li to sit on.


    "It''ll get better after a while. My bandages work very well for rebuilding muscle."


    "Thank you for your help, how much should I pay you?" Lu Li asked casually.


    "Oh, gold? Do you think an old man living in a place like this has any use for gold?"


    "You are a noble person. If there is anything you need, I am happy to help," Lu Li offered sincerely. He truly admired the character of the old paladin.


    "Now that you mention it, there is something you can help with," old Fordring said as he picked up his axe and continued chopping wood.


    "There are some Carrion Bugs nearby; can you help me kill some? I need their mucus to make my bandages."


    Lu Li stood up and his complexion suddenly changed.


    This couldn''t be right. Wasn''t "Love and Family" a quest that could only be triggered by Paladins?

 822 The Old Paladin’s Trial

    In a sense, ''Love and Family'' was a Paladin''s rite of passage from selfishness to fairness, from cynicism to compassion. Paladins would learn what it meant to be truly faithful and know about the light''s glory.


    The players of other professions could only experience this touching quest through words, and would never truly understand this old Paladin''s experience.


    Lu Li was a Thief.


    Thieves walked in the shadows, and to most Paladins, this made them the most repugnant profession.


    As such, Lu Li didn''t expect to receive a quest from old Fordring at all.


    He had just come heal to have his wounds healed and to pay tribute to a celebrity. If he managed to strike up a good conversation, he planned to ask for a few of Fordring''s bandages.


    He didn''t expect for old Fordring to actually ask him to kill some Carrion Grubs.


    Carrion Grubs were not unusual; they were everywhere in the Plaguelands. They were large, bumpy bugs, with a thick layer of skin that was laced with poison.


    However, no matter how severe the poison was, it was only a level 40 monster and Lu Li could easily kill it.


    The reason why he was surprised was because the start of the "Love and Family" series of quests always required the player to kill Carrion Grubs, which represented a punishment for Paladins.


    Of course, Lu Li didn''t stupidly refuse, nor did he have any reason to.


    He felt that his injury had gotten much better and planned to start the quest.


    "Rest assured, I will bring back the Coagulated Mucus that you want."


    Although "Love and Family" wasn''t as tedious as the Staven series, it wasn''t any easier.


    Lu Li also hoped that he would be able to change the outcome of the story. Although he knew that there was a very small possibility of this happening, there was an important branch to the narrative that was otherwise doomed.


    Carrion Grubs, by definition, lived by eating rotting bodies.


    They buried themselves in shallow soil and sprayed a large mouthful of mucus on their prey as they passed by. This mucus was poisonous and would not only cause the attacker to corrode and bleed, but also had a strong decelerating effect.


    At this time, the attacking Carrion Grub would make a buzzing noise to call its companions. Usually, seven or eight Grubs would appear¡­


    Lu Li didn''t dare to test that out, so he took the initiative to attack first.


    He found a Plaguelands Dog nearby and after killing it, cut open its abdomen. Hot blood began to pool around its carcass as Lu Li hid by a slope from a distance.


    After waiting for 15 minutes or so, Lu Li saw two Carrion Grubs wriggling around.


    He moved forwards and attacked the one closest to him, decisively Stunning it. Its companion completely ignored him and continued moving towards the corpse of the Plaguelands dog.


    In fact, if one knew about the Carrion Grubs'' habits, killing them was quite simple.


    During this time, two more Grubs emerged. They didn''t care about their companion that was being attacked.


    Just like that, Lu Li took down more than a dozen Carrion Grubs with ease by using a Plaguelands dog as bait. He then gathered the Coagulated Mucus that old Fordring was looking for from their corpses and returned to old Fordring.


    "I knew I was right; you are a powerful warrior," old Fordring commented as his eyes scanned over Lu Li''s leather armor for scratches, but saw none.


    "Thank you for your praise," Lu Li said humbly, but then asked with some confusion, "Uncle Paladin, don''t you hate Thieves?"


    "I hate thieves?" Old Fordring was puzzled.


    Lu Li hesitated before explaining himself, "Don''t you know that most Paladins hate Thieves? I have never received a quest from a Paladin before."


    "Haha, true glory isn''t defined by race and profession, but is to be judged by a person''s behaviors," old Fordring laughed with eyes full of wisdom, then continued, "You have a lot of Glory in defeating evil (First Clears) and have won the respect of many races (Blessings). This shows that you are a noble person."


    However, this made no sense, as Lu Li knew more than anyone else that old Fordring usually rejected other professions from taking his quests.


    It wasn''t that old Fordring would treat other professions badly ¨C in fact, he would continue to heal any player that came by here. Even so, the ''Love and Family'' quest could only be given to Paladins.


    Lu Li had never heard of any exceptions to this rule.


    Next, there were two similar quests which posed no problem for him. He returned unscathed and brought old Fordring the quest items as quickly as possible.


    "Your strength is a little surprising. Will you let me tell you a story?" old Fordring sighed.


    "Of course. I will listen as best I can," Lu Li said as he sat down. Although he already knew the story that was going to be told, the secondhand version was obviously going to be different from Fordring''s.


    The beginning, of course, was the story of him being exiled for saving the Orcs.


    "Do you regret it?" Lu Li couldn''t help but ask.


    He admired old Fordring very much, but if Lu Li was in his position, he wouldn''t have made the same decisions.


    To him, his younger sister was the most important thing. For Lu Xin, he would break the law, renounce morality and naturally ignore the imaginary Paladin beliefs.


    Old Fordring was eventually not only deprived of all his territories, properties and powers, but was also expelled from the Paladin group. He was also exiled and deprived of his right to live with his family. His son was told at an early age that his father was dead.


    Perhaps old Fordring was a great Paladin, but from his family''s point of view, he was cold-blooded.


    Old Fordring heard Lu Li''s question and smiled as he shook his head.


    "Regret? I understand what you mean, but young man, I don''t regret it."


    "But your son¡­" Lu Li knew that little Fordring would have joined the Scarlet Crusade by this time, a group of radical Paladins.


    "Even if he isn''t proud of me, he isn''t ashamed of me. I recently returned to me hometown to see him. He has become a Paladin," old Fordring said with a smile, but it quickly faded.


    Lu Li followed up and asked, "What happened afterwards?"

 823 Lost Glory

    "When I first left home, my son Tyran had already began to understand his surroundings. My wife told him that I was already dead. He grew up without the love of a father," old Fordring sighed as he rose his head. His gaze passed through the mist of the Plaguelands, as if he was witnessing the upbringing of his son right before his very eyes.


    "You didn''t fulfill your responsibilities," Lu Li accused, not holding back.


    "You''re right, but my Tyran has still grown up and joined the Silver Hand as a Paladin. I''m proud of his achievements," old Fordring said proudly.


    What happened after did not result in a happy ending at all.


    Arthas took down Andorhal and killed one of the five Paladins, Gavinrad the Dire, who protected the grave of Kel''Thuzad. In order to obtain the ash of his father ¨C a key item to revive Kel''Thuzad ¨C he mercilessly directed his Undead army towards Uther.


    Uther was the teacher of Arthas!


    Uther, who was alone by himself, fought bravely, but still died in combat to Arthas. Arthas, a prince known as the hope of Lodaeron, became the one who brought the empire to its doom.


    He had killed his own father and his teacher.


    His father, Terenas Menethil, couldn''t rest in peace. His ash was melted down into the bones of a cult leader.The fall of Andorhal was the final signal of the fall of Lodaeron''s last shred of pride.


    From that point onwards, the Silver Hand became no more.


    Tyran Fordring tried all that he could to persist, when he was forced to retreat into the north valley that had been at war for a long time, he met his final resistance. One by one, Scourge monsters died to his sword, but he saw no hope.


    Was there a point if anyone else survived amongst the knights?


    With this thought, Tyran let go of his flag and turned his back against all that he knew. His glory was left abandoned on the blood-drenched soil, and he became a puppet of the Crusade. The Scarlet Crusade believed that as the son of the creator of the Silver Hand, he would be able to help them gather the remaining members.


    Tyran Fordring camped in the castle of Mardenholde.


    "Mardenholde castle¡­" Lu Li muttered as he repeated the name in his head, then said, "He has already fallen ¨C those are just a bunch of evil, fallen knights."


    "No, Tyran is a good man," old Fordring disagreed, shaking his head in certainty as he continued, "My son, he needs guidance ¨C he needs to remember the definition of honor and glory. I know that the belief still lies deep within him; he knows that what he is doing is wrong. If only someone can help him remember again¡­"


    "What should I do?" Lu Li wanted to ask why Fordring had not tried to do anything himself, but held this question.


    "Help Tyran find the things that he has lost; you must help him collect items of his past," old Fording began, as he described the details of the quest.


    "The first item was a toy that I gave him when he was seven. It''s a small war hammer ¨C a copy of mine. When he was informed of my death, he buried it along with my memories at my grave. You must make a trip to my tomb and bring back Tyran''s Hammer!"


    "I understand ¨C just tell me where your tomb is located," Lu Li said.


    Old Fordring gave a location and Lu Li took note of it. Anyone would be able to obtain the little hammer, so this wasn''t enough to earn Tyran''s trust.


    "You should go bring the hammer back first. Let me think of some other memorable items," old Fordring said, lost in his thoughts.


    Lu Li waved old Fordring goodbye and transformed into a Panther. He ran quickly, aggroing many monsters, but they couldn''t catch up.


    Fordring''s old land had already became a paradise for the Scourge; there were no more living in the village that used to exist here.


    Lu Li killed a few more monsters around the area and began to search for a tool to dig.


    After a few minutes, he found the hammer. As expected from an item made by old Fordring, it was still perfectly stored, despite being underground and contaminated by the Scourge.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t useable ¨C it was a quest item.


    Old Fordring took the hammer from Lu Li with a sad expression. He seemed to have realized how much that he had missed.


    It was a young child that heard from his mother about the death of his father.


    He may have snuck out in the middle of the night to cry in silence in front of his father''s grave. He could no longer see the father who would lift him high into the air and play with him.


    "Anything else that you want me to do?" Lu Li asked.


    "Tyran''s glory has already been forsaken on the blood-drenched lands of the north valley. I want you to go to north valley and find the flag that represents the lost glory," old Fordring instructed.


    "As you wish," Lu Li said as he turned to leave.


    For anyone else, finding the lost flag would be a difficult task. After all, the battle had occurred a long time ago. However, Lu Li was different. He quickly found the item in the lake and returned to Fordring.


    "Alright, you''ve challenged my knowledge again," old Fordring said, visibly impressed. "Now, you must head to Caer Darrow Island to find the hint to a painting. Do you know of this island?"


    Lu Li nodded as he answered, "In the center of a lake located south to Plaguelands. I''ve been there."


    "That''s right." Old Fordring had a soft expression on his face as he continued to recall, "When Tyran was still a child, our whole family used to go to Caer Darrow Island for holidays. The last time we went there, an artist named Renfray drew a portrait of us all walking along the lake. This is the item that can bring back the most memories of the good times our family spent together. Back then, I held the hands of my wife and my son. My heart was filled with love¡­"


    "So you want me to find an artist named Renfray? I understand."


    Fortunately, Caer Darrow Island was located at the edge of the Plaguelands. It seemed as though Lu Li was being directed to many different places, but he had actually never left the Plaguelands.


    Caer Darrow island had not been taken over by the Scourge army. The lake was teeming with Water Elementals; there was no need for the Scourge to make enemies with them.


    However, it seemed that Renfray was no longer there. The remaining survivors told Lu Li that she may have been lost in Stratholme.


    Then, Lu Li received the next step for the quest ¨C he was to head over to Stratholme and find the portrait "Love and Family" in the Scarlet Crusade Castle. This portrait had been hidden behind another portrait of two moons.

 824 Bat Transformation

    A dungeon at last! Apparently, lucky Paladins could obtain the portrait through other methods. As for Lu Li, it appeared that he didn''t have such luck.


    Stratholme was probably level 50, based off the level of the boss.


    Despite this, the levels of the monsters didn''t average out to be level 50 ¨C they were around level 47 to level 48. Stratholme was also a dungeon well-known for its difficulty and was nothing like Zul''Farrak.


    It was located on the Northwest side of Eastern Plagueland, and there were two entrances. The first entrance, known as the front door, was located in the blood zone. On the Eastern walls in the Undead zone was the other entrance, known as the back door. Those with the city keys, or a Thief with the Unlock skill would be able to open them.


    For Lu Li, it was more convenient for him to take the back door. His Unlock was fully capable of opening it as well.


    All sorts of monsters gathered at the outer ring of the dungeon. When Lu Li had previously practiced Stealth, he didn''t dare to get close because there were too many of them.


    Even until now, when everyone was preparing to explore Stratholme, a standard team of ten was the basic requirement to pass through the area.


    At the same time, they had to be cautious of players from the opposing faction. They were more frightening than monsters, but Thieves usually weren''t seen as a threat because there were Scourge Bats everywhere. It was best for Thieves to hide themselves and stay low.


    Lu Li looked at the Scourge Bats that covered the entire road towards the dungeon and felt a headache brewing.


    The term ''Scourge Bats'' was just a common name ¨C there were actually many different types of them. They ranged from level 40 to level 50 and could either be Magic or Physical type. However, all of them shared one common characteristic ¨C great Detection skills.


    The design team of the Plaguelands and Stratholme had no mercy on Thieves.


    Lu Li had no choice but to persevere through. He couldn''t try to take a detour either, since there would be even more bats. If he was unlucky, he might even run himself into a nest.


    All that he could do was to be more cautious than ever.


    He hesitated briefly and took out his Empowerment skill book, then confirmed to learn it.


    System: Discovered Advanced Stealth. Would you like to learn it? Costs 1.2 million EXP, 120 gold coins and 4000 points of Faction Reputation.


    When Lu Li checked his experience bar, reputation and the gold coins in his bag, he shook his head and laughed bitterly. No wonder why everyone said that only the rich could afford to learn Empowerment skills.


    1.2 million EXP would almost cause him to drop a level. A player below level 40 might even be forced to drop more than one level.


    A hundred and twenty gold coins was equivalent to ten thousand dollars in reality, which was more than some people could earn in a few months. However, most major guilds would usually pay for their members to learn Empowerment skills.


    This encouraged players to go and collect Empowerment skills, which were a determining factor in the future of the guild.


    Of course, if you weren''t part of a guild, you would have to come up with your own funds.


    As for the 4000 points of reputation, this was the limiting factor to how many empowerment skills could a player learn.


    There were only so many ways to obtain faction reputation. Besides completing faction quests, the only other method was to participate in influential events, such as First Clears.


    Lu Li''s current faction reputation was a little more than ten thousand, so he could only afford to learn one more skill.


    After he confirmed the System''s prompt, Lu Li''s experience bar heavily dropped again. This was what hurt him the most.


    Empowerment Stealth: Instant cast. Hides a Thief until Stealth mode disappears. Increases effect of stealth. In shadowy environments, the Stealth effect receives further improvement. Random special effect: Bat Transformation. After the use of this special effect, the caster will turn into a bat to fly to a designated location within a certain range. Cooldown 2 minutes.


    Bat Transformation! Lu Li was stunned.


    He knew that Empowerment skills sometimes came with a special effect, just like equipment, but this was not certain.


    He had two Empowerment skills in his previous life, but one of them had nothing.


    The reason why Lu Li was left in astonishment was because his random special effect was Bat Transformation.


    This would become one of Unforgettable Maple''s signature moves in the future. It was the skill that made all the little girls scream every time it was used.


    What Unforgettable Maple had learned to obtain this was the Empowerment: Flash skill.


    Not only were the visuals impressive, but this special effect was actually very useful too.


    Unforgettable Maple''s Mage God title was heavily supported by his incredible mobility.


    Being surrounded by monsters would no longer be an issue ¨C as a bat, you can pass through obstacles. Moreover, the Bat Transformation could even Dispel Frozen and Snare effects.


    Since it wasn''t an actual skill, it had no mana cost, so even a Thief like Lu Li could use it.


    Either way, Lu Li was completely satisfied; the experience that he had lost was definitely worth it.


    Of course, he had chosen to learn this Empowerment because he felt like his Stealth had been practiced enough. At the same time, he also needed to deal with these Scourge Bats before him.


    With an Empowerment on Stealth, he had a better chance of hiding from the Detection of these bats.


    The results were even greater than he had anticipated, mainly because the effects were further enhanced in shadows. The Plaguelands were perpetually shrouded in mist, so it was categorized as a shadowy environment.


    Unless these bats physically bumped into Lu Li, they would not be able to Detect him.


    Eventually, Lu Li approached the back door to the dungeon.


    Unlock!


    If someone else was here, they would be surprised by his bravery since he was entering a level 50 dungeon by himself.


    Some had already entered the dungeon to explore it, hoping that the Bosses inside would be like those in Zul''Farrak.

 825 Stratholme

    After he activated the special effect of the skill, Lu Li turned into a little gray bat and flew away from the approaching Skeletons.


    When the Skeletons began to search for him, Lu Li had already left battle and entered Stealth mode.


    The location he wanted to find was inside the Scarlet Crusade castle and he had to take a detour. If he followed the usual path, he would have to defeat all the Bosses, except for the last one.


    Even if he had his whole team here, he wouldn''t be able to take down a single Boss. The level difference was made glaringly obvious in Stratholme.


    The Bosses could instantly kill anyone in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group without using any skills.


    Lu Li had never planned to initiate any Boss fights anyway.


    However, there were bars blocking the path that he couldn''t get through.


    The monsters would become frantic as soon they saw someone attempting to open the locks. Even if you could defeat these monsters, you couldn''t possibly open Unlock these bars without defeating the Bosses.


    This was an unsolvable problem for most people.


    The only reason that Lu Li didn''t give up this quest was because he was confident in one of his items.


    Hex''s Protobelt (Dark Gold): Armour 46, Agility +30, Strength +12, 1 Slot. Special Effect 1: 12% Critical Hit. Special Effect 2: Atomization. Instant Cast. The user''s body dissipates like fog and is forced into Stealth with a 20% increased Stealth effect. The user can walk through some obstacles. 2-minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Magic Power Field. Instant Cast. By distorting the surrounded magic environment within 4 yards, all magic within the field is silenced for 1.5 seconds. 24-hour cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 45. Durability 164/164.


    The Atomization effect not only allowed Lu Li to enter Stealth by force, but also granted him the ability to ignore some unit collision.


    If Lu Li hadn''t gone through rebirth, he would have died many times already. Besides the elite Skeletons, there was another type of monster that could kill him before he had a chance to react.


    The cockroaches!


    Although they were ordinary level 40 monsters, their threat was in their numbers.


    They were also tiny and often hid in cracks, so players were often taken by surprise.


    Of course, Lu Li had a strategy for dealing with them ¨C he could boost his speed or use damage reduction.


    The monsters in Stratholme were densely packed together. He would definitely run into trouble if he wasn''t careful about his escape route. Lu Li couldn''t even defeat some of the monsters in the dungeon in a one on one fight.


    However, a previous player had discovered a secret solution to this problem ¨C the holy water found in the supply boxes of the building.


    Normally, the holy water of Stratholme was used to boost damage dealt towards the Undead, but if you painted some on your shoes, the cockroaches would be deterred.


    Lu Li entered the dungeon, but he wasn''t in a hurry to explore. Instead, he went into Stealth and hurried over to a corner to dig around the old supply boxes.


    There were some loaves of bread inside ¨C expired of course.


    Some of the boxes contained potions, that were usable if you didn''t mind their age.


    If you were lucky, you would even be able to find some equipment in there, but most of them came with terrible Attributes.


    The holy water drop rate was quite low and Lu Li also had to be careful of the rats or cockroaches that might pop out from the boxes. The rats weren''t troublesome as they came in small groups, but if he accidentally opened a hive of cockroaches, that would be a disaster.


    Fortunately, Lu Li found a bottle of holy water in his second supply box, which was enough for him.


    With the protection of the holy water, Lu Li no longer had to worry about running into cockroaches.


    Once he reached the first set of bars, he atomized and passed through.


    The monsters nearby didn''t even react.


    After around forty to fifty minutes, Lu Li entered the Scarlet Crusade castle.


    When he arrived in the File Hall, his next task was to steal the hidden portrait in front of Instructor Galford. Instructor Galford was a Boss.


    At some point, he had been proud of his job, looking after the precious files of the Crusade. Before he died, he watched in horror as his precious files were completely destroyed. Balnazzar used this painful memory to instill a burning passion into his servant.


    Galford was level 50 with four 400,000 HP and three high-damage skills.


    Lu Li was no match for him, but he had to take the quest item from behind the portrait and safely escape with it. This would require at least thirty seconds.


    Fortunately, he had come prepared.


    Lu Li shook his head; it was hard to imagine how anyone else would complete this quest.


    The Book of Ur (Gold): All Attributes +15, Critical Strike +10%. Special Effect 1: Summon a giant


    Wolf, five-minute duration. Cooldown 24 hours. Special Effect 2: Worgen Transformation, instant


    Cast. Transform into a Worgen, lasts for ten seconds. Cooldown 24 hours. Level Requirement 35,


    Durability 120/120.


    After the first wave of patrol monsters left, Lu Li flipped open The Book of Ur and as his fingers slid across the silver wolf on the page, a giant wolf appeared before him.


    The giant wolf was a summoned pet. It was gentle and stayed low on the ground to show its loyalty.


    Lu Li patted it on the head and pointed to the file hall as he said, "Buddy, go and lure out the one inside. Be careful not to die."


    After this, Lu Li hid behind a pillar.


    The giant wolf gave Lu Li a look of disgust, but still followed its master''s instructions and raced into the File Hall.

 826 The Secret to The Book of Ur

    Lu Li hid behind the pillars and casted Empowerment: Stealth, along with the Atomization effect on his belt. Atomization increased his Stealth by 20%, while the special effect from his ring ¨C Blessing of the Jungle King ¨C gave a +30% bonus. His cape also increased his Stealth by 18%, which with the other two items combined was enough to slip past the Detection of the Boss.


    If he had no bonuses, then even a level 50 monster would be able to see him, let alone a level 50 boss.


    Lu Li''s cautiousness was wise; when the Boss spotted a giant wolf running into its territory, it immediately went berserk, lifting its staff over its head and charging towards it.


    "****," the giant wolf cursed and as it ran away.


    It dug its claws into the ground and leapt to the side, barely dodging the Pyroblast that was flying towards it.


    As Lu Li had commanded, it could only continue to escape, but it couldn''t run too fast in case the boss returned. At that point, not only would Lu Li be dead, but as a summoned pet, it wouldn''t be able to escape either.


    Lu Li snuck into the File Hall while the Boss left.


    He didn''t spend much time looking around, since he was familiar with the strategy. There was no time for this either, as he couldn''t pin all of his hopes on the giant wolf.


    Lu Li ran straight for an easel in the hall.


    On the easel was a painting with two moons. There was nothing special about the painting, but there was something hidden behind it.


    Suddenly, a voice sounded out next to Lu Li''s ears which caught him by surprise, and his hands froze.


    "****, are you done? I''m about to die! Are you dead? There are so many monsters left and you want me to pull a boss¡­"


    Lu Li could feel his hair standing on end, but he was quick to react. He pulled out the quest item from behind the twin moon painting; it was the "Love and Family" portrait that he had been looking for.


    Run!


    Lu Li hid just in time to see the Boss return angrily.


    The Boss was Undead, so there was nothing different about his expression. However, from the wild air of magic around him, it was safe to say that he had failed to catch the giant wolf.


    Lu Li was confused.


    The giant wolf was sent out as cannon fodder but it survived?


    Who was it that had spoken into his ear? When Lu Li thought about it, the voice didn''t sound like a real person. It was a strange experience, but he definitely heard and understood the words.


    Was it¡­


    At this moment, he saw that something move from the direction that the Boss had returned from. It was the injured wolf running, with two Scarlet Crusade Warriors tailing behind it.


    There were possibly other monsters following; Lu Li saw a Fire Bolt fly to hit it on its behind.


    "What are you staring at? Come and help!" the voice shouted again. Lu Li''s previous suspicions had been answered; the voice was indeed from this strange giant wolf.


    Lu Li charged in and stopped one of the monsters.


    With the help of the wolf, he dealt with them quickly.


    "Ai, I still have another 3 minutes and 47 seconds to spend outside," the giant wolf sighed as it sat on the ground.


    "A legendary beast?" Lu Li asked.


    Although there were many races in Dawn ¨C so many that Lu Li couldn''t quite count all of them ¨C he had never heard of any animal, especially a summoned one, that could speak. Was this a legendary beast like the ones in the novels?


    "Legendary my ***. I''m just a human, a human trapped in this body. Damn Ur, you''ve all been fooled by his appearance. He''s the most wicked wizard out there. **** his ****! How dare he seal me up in this damned book¡­"


    The giant wolf didn''t open its mouth to speak, but its voice echoed inside Lu Li''s head.


    "Are you a Mage?'' Lu Li was a little lost; he had no clue about any of this. He wondered if the person who had obtained The Book of Ur had encountered the same wolf as he did.


    This was too strange. If the wolf told Lu Li right now that he was a player, he would believe this too.


    Lu Li felt like this wolf had been looking down on him before, and now he understood that he wasn''t imagining things.


    It was the first time that Lu Li had summoned this giant wolf; he had only used the other special effect of The Book of Ur in the past, which transformed him into a Worgen.


    Lu Li was hopeful about the situation ¨C perhaps this summoned pet would be useful.


    "Mage?" the wolf asked as it shook its head, then continued, "What kind of Mage am I? I only know of one spell. Don''t you dare hope that I''m some sort of great Berserker ¨C I''m just an average mercenary. It was a lovely and sunny afternoon¡­"


    Either way, he was originally a "kind" mercenary who had been saved by an evil wizard from a group of beasts.


    The kind mercenary immediately decided that he needed to befriend this Dalaran Mage and swore to serve and protect his savior with his life.


    The old Mage agreed to the mercenary''s request. Since he was of old age, there were things in life that the mercenary could help him with.


    This was supposed to be a perfect match.


    The poor mercenary had met someone who could offer him protection, while the old Mage had found someone who could look after him.


    Who would''ve thought that this Kirin Tor Mage, one who was familiar with summoning and shadow magic, would never give up on studying Worgen. Perhaps he wasn''t as evil as the giant wolf described. After all, he didn''t touch any forbidden arts like Arugal.


    This old Mage always gave off the impression that he was against summoning Worgen.


    In The Book of Ur, there were some texts that read, "I hope that there are no more Dalaran Mages who can summon Worgen ¨C this is for the greater good. As long as no more contracts are signed, no more secrets will be spilled. These beasts do not bring us any good; they should stay in their own world forever. If they came to our world, we would be facing a disaster for sure..."


    However, no matter how rational he was, he was still a Mage.


    When a Mage became passionate about something, they were scarier than anything that walked this world. Their desire for knowledge was enough to bring a world to destruction.


    Secretly, he began to experiment his theories on the poor mercenary that was always by his side.

 827 Silly Husky

    No one would expect a Great Mage to murder his own servant, especially one that came from Dalaran the Magic City.


    From the Worgen''s description, Lu Li could tell there was something that he wanted to avoid talking about. Lu Li suspected that he was most likely about to die from an illness or had suffered a serious injury.


    The Great Mage Ur needed a soul and so naturally, he chose his beloved servant.


    Sosa Modnaire - that was the Worgen''s name when he was still a mercenary. His soul was transported to a Worgen''s body by Ur''s dark magic.


    He wasn''t a simple Worgen like the others; he was a creation of Ur''s hard work and dedication to his passion.


    Sosa Modnaire was sealed away in the book by a curse. Even the second owner of the Book of Ur did not even know about this. Arugal, in fear of the book being stolen, hid it away in Shadowfang Keep.


    In terms of how this relates to the game, only monsters from Shadowfang Keep had a chance of dropping the Book of Ur.


    However, the chance of it dropping was extremely low.


    Lu Li was lucky because the Book of Ur that he had obtained was the same one used to seal away Sosa Modnaire. The Worgen he had summoned was the poor mercenary that had been locked away in the book for years.


    He had been locked away for so long that he had no idea what had become of his master.


    "I can set you free," Lu Li offered.


    Though not many would agree, Lu Li always saw himself as a moral person. He would feel too uncomfortable ordering a male servant around.


    "You''re setting me free?" the Worgen asked as he stood up suddenly, but his face was full of rage. "How can you set me free?"


    "That''s right ¨C you can live however you desire."


    Lu Li expected for him to thank him in gratitude, but the Worgen did not seem like he was pleased.


    "Look at how I am now. What kind of a life do you think I would be living, besides¡­" the Worgen began, then almost burst out in tears and sighed, "I can only stay out for a short while."


    Lu Li was reminded of the effects of The Book of Ur: "Summon a Worgen, 5-minute duration. Cooldown 24 hours."


    "Then, I can''t save you," Lu Li said in regret.


    He did not empathize with the Worgen very much since he was an NPC, and besides, he was a little blunt with his words. If it were anyone else that had treated him so rudely, Lu Li would have destroyed them.


    "Just let me out occasionally and if you level it up, I can stay out for a bit longer," the Worgen said.


    "I can let you out, but it''ll be like situations like today. Since you''re a summoned monster, you don''t face the danger of dying like me."


    In simple terms, he would be a punching bag!


    The Worgen was angry when he heard this but there was nothing he could do.


    "Also, the next time you swear or be rude to me, I won''t let you out for an entire month," Lu Li threatened. Having a stranger swear at him was one of his pet peeves that he could not accept. If it were Azure Sea Breeze that had insulted him, he would have been fine with it.


    "I¡­ I..." the Worgen stuttered, then dipped his head down in shame and said, "I agree completely."


    "Another thing ¨C your name is too long and difficult to say. I''ll change your name to Silly Husky," Lu Li said with a serious expression.


    "What does Silly Husky mean? It sounds pretty nice." He was completely oblivious.


    The Worgen was nothing more than a series of code put together by the game developers. Although they had instilled in him a lot of human traits and past experiences, he was still far from a real human. He couldn''t understand how evil Lu Li was and naively accepted his new name.


    "Silly Husky means to be a Hero. Don''t worry, I wouldn''t trick you," Lu Li assured as he patted him on the head and watched as he disappeared.


    The five-minute duration was up.


    Obtaining a Worgen subordinate was completely unexpected, but Lu Li was rather indifferent to it.


    Silly Husky wasn''t a very powerful summon and had a short duration; the only thing he was good for was being a meat shield.


    Although he was intelligent, this wouldn''t be very useful in a practical sense.


    Since the Worgen was summoned with the Book of Ur, he would have to obey Lu Li''s order, so it didn''t matter whether he was intelligent or not.


    Lu Li brought the Painting of Love and Family with him and left Stratholme.


    Soon, he would return to this place with his teammates to defeat all the Bosses in the Instance Dungeon.


    "Look, I brought the painting you wanted," Lu Li said as he took it out from his backpack and gave it to Tirion Fordring. The old Knight looked nervous.


    "Thank you, Elf," Tirion said as he placed the painting on his knees and slowly spread it out.


    Lu Li didn''t have the chance to look at the painting for himself because he was so focused on obtaining it.


    He handed the painting over to Tirion and looked at it closely.


    It was a very simple portrait, without any complicated artistic techniques. However, there was an unexplainable warmness that could be felt from the family depicted.


    A family of three ¨C a man, a woman and their son.


    During this time, he wasn''t the founder of the Knights Legion, nor was he the leader of Hearthglen. He was simply a husband and a father that brought happiness and peace to his family.


    His expression was kind and loving as he held both his wife and son''s hands firmly.


    Tirion Fordring sighed and looked his hand. The hands that once played with his son on the island were still as strong as ever, but they had lost their warmth over the years.


    "If your son was to see this painting, would he believe me?" Lu Li asked.


    "Yes, for sure. I believe the good times we''ve had wouldn''t be replaced by anything," Fordring nodded.


    "Let''s hope so. I''ll head towards Hearthglen then," Lu Li sighed in relief.


    There were others that were less fortunate than him and had to collect more items to prove themselves.


    "Wait," Fordring stopped Lu Li and said, "You can hand over the items you''ve collected to Tyran, but he and his Scarlet Crusade will attack you immediately when they see you."

 828 Disguise

    "I trust that you have a way for me to get to him," Lu Li said.


    Hearthglen wasn''t a very friendly place. It was located in Northern area of the former kingdom Lordaeron and had once been ruled by Tirion Fordring. After he was exiled, Hearthglen was inherited by his beloved son Tyran Fordring.


    When the Plague of the Undead covered Lordaeron, Hearthglen was fortunate enough to avoid it. However, it swept through the neighboring towns and destroyed them.


    Prince Arthas reinforced the town of Hearthglen and held off the Undead long enough until Uther and his knights arrived. The people in the area sought refuge in Hearthglen and Tyran Fordring accepted all who came.


    In the coming days, Arthas'' soul was corrupted and he assassinated his own father, allowing the Scourge to engulf the kingdom of Lordaeron.


    Perhaps it was the human nature that remained in his corrupted heart, or perhaps he did not want to return to the place that he had fought so hard for, but Hearthglen miraculously survived the plague while the land around them became corrupted and barren.


    After Uther fell to the Army of Undead led by Arthas, the Eaastern area of Lordaeron was completely defiled.


    The leader of Tyr''s Hand and the elder of the Silver Hand Knights, Alexandros Mograine the Ashbringer, along with the High General Abbendis and the High Priest Isillien, created the Scarlet Crusade. ''Scarlet'' meant that they sought the blood of the Undead for revenge against the destruction of their land. This religious order bloomed and quickly grew in dedication to the eradication of the Undead.


    Humans, Dwarves, Elves joined because of the family, friends and homes that they had lost to the Scourge.


    Tyran Fordring, who was one of Isillien''s prot¨¦g¨¦s, adored his tutor and his general. He offered his family''s keep and land, which was untouched by the Undead, for their base of operation.


    Tyran naturally became the leader of the Hearthglen Scarlet Crusade.


    However, the Scarlet Crusaders began straying from their original holy path and became corrupted from within. Tyran Fordring also drowned in guilt and sadness after many failed attempts of eradicating the Scourge, causing him to become nothing but a meaningless puppet.


    Eventually, Isillien became in control of Hearthglen.


    He was a High Holy Priest, one of the creators of Scarlet Crusade and also the tutor of the great commander Tyran Fordring.


    Lu Li knew what level the Scarlet Crusader Knights were and knew he wasn''t strong enough to face them.


    "There''s only one way to deliver these items, which is to disguise and blend in," Fordring said, then went back into his house and came out with a map. "Follow this map and head South. There, you can find the Tomb of Uther. I have a trustworthy old friend Myranda the Hag who resides there. Find her, give her this and she will assist you."


    Lu Li received the quest item ¨C Tirion''s Gift. It was a small box and he didn''t know what was inside.


    Lu Li summoned his mount and followed the directions on the map.


    The Tomb of Uther wasn''t difficult to find.


    Whether player or NPC, many would come here to pay their respects to the great Paladin.


    Uther''s body was buried by followers of the Alliance in a great tomb in Western Plaguelands. The Plaguelands were constantly gloomy and dark, yet a bright Holy Light still shone upon Uther''s tomb.


    Uther was a symbol for Paladins and their source of hope and will to fight.


    During the war, Arthas ordered Uther to purge the city of Stratholme. Uther was horrified and refused to do so, at which point Arthas charged him with treason, relieved him from command and suspended the Paladins from service.


    They followed Uther and resigned from battle, in order to prove their faith and loyalty to him.


    Though Arthas was the king, in the many of the Paladins'' eyes, their true leader was Uther.


    The death of Uther was devastating to many ¨C they had lost their mentor, their idol and all hope. Many could not cope from the grief, becoming corrupt and degenerate.


    When Lu Li had arrived at the Tomb of Uther, there were two Paladins who were kneeling on the ground and praying. Based on their appearances, they seemed like wandering Knights and did not belong to an order.


    They might have been Silver Hand Knights in their past and refused to join the Scarlet Crusade.


    Their bodies were covered in scars and wounds, but they weren''t refugees.


    "Begone, Thief," the Paladin said when he noticed Lu Li and pulled out his sword.


    Lu Li did not plan on fighting them and quoted Tirion Fordring.


    "True honor is not defined by race or class, but by one''s character."


    The two level 50 Elite Paladins looked at each other and turned away in shame.


    Suddenly, a voice sounded out.


    "Well said. It feels as if I''ve heard that before."


    A figure appeared from behind the tombs; she was short and was clearly a Gnome.


    "Tirion Fordring sent me," Lu Li said as he dismounted, bowed to the Gnomish Magician and handed over Tirion''s Gift.


    This was the person that Tirion had wanted Lu Li to find ¨C Myranda the Hag.


    "Tirion Fordring?" The old Hag was surprised and quickly tore open the gift. Inside were a few sticks of Candied Fruit.


    Lu Li knew what this was ¨C it could be crafted with fruit and honey. However, both of these ingredients were impossible to find in plaguelands, so Tirion had obviously put a lot of thought into this gift.


    There must have been some sort of background story or inside joke between the two to send her such a bizarre and random gift.


    Myranda the Hag refused to share the story, but she was very pleased with the present. She looked at it for a while and put it away safely.


    Lu Li had many questions but decided to ask about his main reason for visiting her.


    "I heard that you can use your magic to help disguise me as a Scarlet Crusade Knight so that I can sneak into Hearthglen. Is this true?"


    "That''s right," Myranda nodded. "I''m the one you''ve heard of ¨C an Illusionist. Although I can create a disguise for you, you must know that there is a limited amount of time, for my powers are not unlimited. Also, if you stray too far away from the area, your disguise will also disappear."


    "How long?" Lu Li asked.

 829 Tyran Fordring

    According to what he had seen in his previous life, the lucky ones would have ample time to complete missions, while the unlucky ones would not, even if they had rushed.


    "There''s only a short amount of time. Call me when you are ready to begin," Myranda said.


    Lu Li was a little worried, but he had a mount this time, so things would be much easier. If he did not have a mount, then there was no way that this mission could be completed in time.


    Lu Li summoned his mount, which indicated to Myranda that he was ready to begin.


    Myranda casted a spell that transformed Lu Li into a Scarlet Crusader. His mount had also been turned into one of their horses.


    "During this time, you cannot dismount or battle. Otherwise, you will lose the disguise," Myranda warned.


    "Got it. If there is nothing else to address, I would prefer to hurry," Lu Li said as he shook the reins. Time was of the essence, so he needed to rush into action as quickly as possible.


    "The next time you see Fordring, please relay this message for me," the witch requested, then turned around, walked towards Uther''s Tomb and continued, "We must trust that Uther''s spirit is watching over us. Although the darkness envelops us in this fallen land, his light is the guide of all people. As long as we are always honourable like him, everything will not wither¡­"


    Although her words were not clear, Lu Li could sense a hint of sadness and dismay in her voice.


    As Lu Li rushed towards the Scarlet Crusade''s fortress, he passed by many Scarlet Crusaders who were around level 50.


    The entire fortress reeked of alcohol, and the stench was so thick that it could make a person vomit. It was unbelievable that this was indeed a fortress for Paladins. The knights in the Fireplace Valley were already incomparable to the Crusaders fighting against the Scourge day in and day out.


    Perhaps it was because of their extreme faith that they were so brave and ruthless in battle.


    However, they had not forgotten about their calling to destroy the Scourge. Their ruthlessness had not affected their use of the Holy Light, and they wouldn''t kill indiscriminately.


    Lu Li had already seen many corpses of commoners and villagers who were slaughtered on his way to the fortress.


    The fall of the Paladins had occurred rapidly.


    These knights did not look to trouble Lu Li. Most knights would not dare to challenge a real, high-standing knight, like the one that Lu Li was disguised as.


    Lu Li had arrived at the main section of the fortress, which had been built specifically for Fordring.


    Tyran Fordring was inside with four high-level guards ¨C two Knights, one Mage and a Priest.


    "I request an audience with Lord Tyran; I bring information about the Plaguelands," Lu Li said arrogantly.


    "Why don''t you see the High Inquisitor instead?" one of the guards asked in suspicion.


    After all, no one had seen Tyran as the real leader of the Scarlet Crusade. If there was any military information, it would have been received by the High Inquisitor, not this figurehead.


    "I only came here after I had visited the High Inquisitor," Lu Li explained as he tried to push forward. If they had attacked him in his current state, he would instantly lose his disguise. Furthermore, these four Level 50 elites would have no trouble disposing of him either.


    However, the four guards couldn''t refuse him. After all, they did not know that he was a fake.


    Lu Li rode his horse into the main castle towards Tyran Fordring''s position. Shortly after, he saw Tyran drinking alone in the foyer. It was clear that this retired Paladin was in a state of despair and hopelessness.


    Many game analysts ranked Paladins as the weakest early-game class in Dawn.


    Paladins were a ''jack-of-all-trades, but master of none'' type of class. There were not elite at DPS, Tank or as a general support, while their skills greatly limited their ability to display their strength. As such, many Paladins had given up, or had fallen to the dark side.


    Paladins also had more difficulty in finding an elite Teacher than other classes.


    When their faith had been shaken to its core, the Paladins NPCs lost a lot of their manpower. Unless a player had sided with an extreme faction, such as the Scarlet Crusade, no one would dare to approach any ruthless Paladin teacher.


    "What is it?!" Tyran yelled gloomily.


    "Are you still awake?" Lu Li asked as he sat on top of the war-horse, looking down at this hero of the past.


    Tyran snorted, slammed his glass on the table, and roared, "Who are you? How dare you use this kind of language and tone to speak to me?


    "Tyran Fordring, do you swear to protect the honour and glory of the Silver Hand for eternity?"


    "Do you swear to answer the Holy Light''s grace, and share the wisdom that was imparted among your followers?


    "Do you swear to protect the small and innocent with every ounce of your blood whenever and wherever you encounter evil?


    "Who are you?" After being asked these three questions by Lu Li, Tyran''s expression changed.


    The three questions that Lu Li had asked him were part of the oath that new recruits into the Silver Hand would swear when they were inducted. This process was led by Uther himself, and Uther had once said to him with a hand on his shoulder, "Become a man like your father, my child."


    "I brought some items which might cheer you up," Lu Li said as he tossed them to Tyran.


    The first was a small but intricate hammer that Tyran had received from his father.


    There was also a flag that had been abandoned by him on the battlefield. From that moment onwards, he had lost his teacher and his faith.


    He had lost his father early on as well. Old Fordring had left behind Fireplace Valley, a mother in mourning, and nothing else.


    The old man had taught him the ways of the Paladin, and had led him onto a path to pursue the Holy Light. He had grown stronger every day, dreaming of when he could eradicate all evil and allow the Light to shine upon the land of Lordaeron.


    However, this had all become nothing.


    "There''s also this. I think you might recognise this item," Lu Li said, handing a picture towards Tyran that made him shed a few tears.


    "This¡­this¡­it''s impossible. These items were¡­." Tyran was surprised and at a loss for words. Shortly after, he knelt on the ground with the large sword supporting his weight.


    Tyran knelt there for a long while, as if time had stopped in his deep thoughts.


    "My father is still alive¡­"


    "Lord Tyran, what has happened?" the four guards asked as they rushed into the castle, disturbed by the commotion they had heard inside.

 830 High Inquisitor

    "According to your father''s will, I came to bring you to him. The Holy Light will never be extinguished," Lu Li said, then gently added, "The spirit of the Paladins must be continued. Although darkness envelops this fallen land, the Holy Light is still guides all people. As long as our faith does not waver, all things will not wither.


    These were words from Myranda. Lu Li had only relayed them to Tyran, since he thought that they would be encouraging to him.


    "Who are you?"


    The four guards were filled with anger, even before Tyran had spoken.


    Their real objective was not only to guard Tyran, but also to spy on him for Isillien. After hearing Lu Li''s words, they had instantly become enranged.


    They were about to attack Lu Li, but were interrupted by Tyran, who stood in front of Lu Li, and commanded, "Stand down. I have business with this man. He is not our enemy."


    "This cannot be! The High Inquisitor requested for your protection. Attack!"


    Lu Li was dressed as a Scarlet Crusader, so he appeared to be one of them.


    They did want to engage Tyran Fordring in battle, as he was the figurehead of the Scarlet Crusade, but they planned to go around him and kill this traitorous soldier.


    Lu Li began to worry as he could be attacked, which would cause him to lose this transformation.


    Fortunately, Tyran Fordring wouldn''t let anything happen to Lu Li, either out of compassion or the code he had sworn by as a Paladin.


    He drew his longsword and began to fend off the four guards.


    From Lu Li''s perspective, Tyran Fordring was truly strong. However, he could not unleash his full strength, perhaps because of his wavering faith or the alcohol.


    However, he was still fully capable of defeating the guards.


    The Four Paladins could not hope to break Tyran''s defense, unless they unleashed their ultimate skills.


    "We should finish this quickly. Otherwise, reinforcements will arrive and we won''t be able to escape," Lu Li quickly reminded.


    "Stand down. I am leaving this place now. Please do not stop me," Tyran Fordring said.


    "What led to the fall of your faith? Are you going to betray the Crusade?" one of the guards yelled, then swung his blade and said, "Kill this traitor."


    Although he was a figurehead leader in the Crusade, he was still quite capable in battle.


    Tyran Fordring was enraged. He did not want to kill anyone, but this did not mean he was a complete pacifist.


    The four guards were no match for him at all. After all, there was a massive difference in skill level between a normal soldier and a Boss.


    "We will kill our way out," Tyran Fordring said as he wiped his blood-stained face and rushed out from the castle.


    What the heck? Why did it have to be like this?


    Lu Li was a little gloomy. He couldn''t hope to stop this impulsive man in time to escape before they had sounded the alarms for reinforcements.


    Even though he was a puppet, it would have been easier for him to be stopped than to fight their way out.


    If they had followed Lu Li''s strategy, they might have escaped Fireplace Valley with no conflict or injuries.


    Perhaps this had been designed by the System. If that was the case, Lu Li could not do anything but follow closely.


    He waited for an opportunity to attack.


    No one would have expected that Lu Li was actually a Thief in his current disguise, whether in game or in real life.


    "My Lord, please count your life as something precious," a Scarlet Crusade Commander said.


    Behind him was a line of Scarlet Crusaders, and he was by definition a Boss as well. The collaboration of all their strength posed a great threat to Tyran Fordring.


    However, Tyran was not afraid at all; he was yearning to return to his father. As he raised his blade with a smile, he said, "All this time, I was the puppet of the Scarlet Crusade. What led you all to rebel like this In these 10 years, I have not forgotten any of my memories with my father. These precious things had allowed me to continue to live."


    "I often dreamed that my father was with me. He stood beside me proudly and watched on as I joined the knighthood. All of us rallied in battle against the Scourge, and brought glory and honour to the Alliance and Lordaeron¡­"


    Lu Li was a little moved, and this clearly showed by his expression. He had hoped that these soldiers would also be moved, just like he was. He had hoped that there would no bloodshed, and that they would give way to Tyran.


    However, Lu Li ended up disappointed, since the spirits of these soldiers had already been lost. Their ruthlessness was not only used against the Scourge, but against all those who opposed their ways of thinking.


    "Don''t obstruct my way home, you bastards," Tyran Fordring spat. He knew that this was going to happen, so he rushed forward first.


    His desire to return to his home had unleashed a considerable amount of strength in him, and he cut down the Boss-like Commander along with his soldiers. None of them were strong enough to match him in battle.


    All the Scarlet Crusaders had been ordered to kill Tyran Fordring on sight.


    Fireplace Valley was not the main camp of the Scarlet Crusade, but was only used to spy and confine Tyran Fordring.


    However, he would be held captive no longer. He was like a lion that had awakened from a deep slumber; there was nothing that anyone could do to stop him. There was only one goal on his mind ¨C to return to his father''s side.


    His eyes were red with rage, and he did not spare any Scarlet Crusaders that entered his line of sight.


    Lu Li reminded him again and again about not wasting time, but he ignored even that. The will and determination of a Paladin could not be shaken after they had set their eyes on something.


    As strong as he was, Tyran was still mortal. However, he had healing abilities, which


    made things a lot easier for Lu Li.


    They escaped the camp after crossing one more outpost and two more intersections. When they arrived at the edge of a forest, Tyran could not hold back his urge to speed up due to his emotions.


    The guards here were weaker than the ones in Fireplace Valley, but Lu Li was more nervous.


    Suddenly, a cold, sharp voice resounded through the air from the outpost as three people walked out. The one who led the three was the High Inquisitor himself, Isillien.


    "You aren''t going anywhere, you traitor!"

 831 Tyran’s Death

    "I must see my father. Do not force my hand, teacher," Tyran Fordring said as he clenched his sword.


    "You have disappointed me Tyran," Prosecutor Issilien smirked. "It was only a matter of time before your dirty blood revealed itself."


    As the fighting began, two Scarlet Elites came from behind the prosecutor and rushed forwards to block Tyran''s momentum.


    All of them were Paladins and knew what was happening. Presumably, the High Inquisitor Issilien was aware that a day would come when his puppet broke free of his control.


    The two high-level elites were strong and caused Tyran Fordring to panic.


    However, they were not actually a threat to him ¨C the real threat was prosecutor. He had begun accumulating and condensing energy in his body, then released it with a breath towards Tyran.


    The two elites had obviously been training for this moment for some time and focused on crowd-controlling Tyran.


    If this charged Holy Light energy hit Tyran, he was unlikely to survive. This wasn''t a heal but a destructive attack.


    It was at this moment that Lu Li made his move.


    He didn''t go for the High Inquisitor Isillien. He was a level 50 Boss, so Lu Li had no chance of interrupting his skill.


    Instead, he jumped from the warhorse and leaped unusually high into the air.


    The power of the Holy Light hit him and instantly engulfed him.


    Yes, Lu Li''s intention was to intercept the skill. This directional skill didn''t have a tracking effect and since it could be avoided, it could naturally be intercepted.


    He was definitely dead!


    No one in the area thought that Lu Li could survive an attack like that. Tyran Fordring''s eyes were red with emotion; he wasn''t that close to Lu Li, but Lu Li was willing to die for him¡­


    However, what fell onto the ground didn''t appear to be a corpse.


    Theoretically, even a corpse could be purified by the Holy Light, but Lu Li wasn''t dead, and he didn''t even have any visible injuries.


    Supreme Four Ring (Epic) *3:


    Agility +50,


    Strength +30,


    Constitution +30,


    Critical Hit +30%,


    Vampirism +35%.


    Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle''s Protection. Instant Cast. Summon a natural Shield that absorbs all damage of one attack for the caster. 1-hour cooldown.


    Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle''s Blessing. Stealth Effect +30%.


    Special Effect 3: King of the Jungle Cenarius has granted you a special ability. You are able to learn three Druid Transformation skills and four skills within those transformations.


    Equipment Requirements: None


    Durability: None


    Summon a natural shield that absorbs all damage for Lu Li ¨C even if Prosecutor Isillien''s damage was insanely high, as long it was a single attack, it could be blocked.


    This was an invincibility skill.


    What was Dawn''s most ridiculous special effect? There was no doubt that it was invincibility.


    Paladins could also eventually learn a heaven-defying invincibility skill. At that time, the most popular method of fighting was to cast it, then activate their hearthstone. The other professions would only be able to watch on as the Paladin channeled. Of course, the invincibility skill was not available to every Paladin.


    The High Inquisitor Isillien was not shocked or scared by Lu Li. He gently waved his Magic Staff and casted a fire attack that had no cast-time. Lu Li was speechless. He could only use his damage reduction skill and hope that he could survive this attack.


    -2688!


    More than half of his HP was gone, and this was only because he had barely managed to activate his damage reduction skill. Lu Li thought it was over for him, and was about to beg for mercy.


    This was the strength of a level 50 wild Boss. An ordinary skill had almost taken Lu Li''s life.


    Tyran Fordring yelled and broke through the Paladins before charging at Issilien. If it weren''t this timely attack, Lu Li probably would have died.


    However, Tyran Fordring was clearly no match for the High Inquisitor.


    Not to mention, Issilien refused to engage in direct combat. He maintained a distance and exclusively used skills that didn''t require a channel period. Perhaps he was afraid Lu Li could intercept them again, but he slowly chipped away at Tyran.


    Lu Li was starting to become a little worried.


    Why hadn''t old Fordring come yet? He had blocked the fatal blow of the High Inquisitor and should have reversed the story to some extent.


    Something had to be done ¨C otherwise, Tyran Fordring would still die.


    Because Lu Li couldn''t deal any damage to the High Inquisitor, he couldn''t see the HP bars of the NPCs engaged in the fight.


    Even so, he was certain that Tyran Fordring would definitely have less HP.


    Lu Li could only brace himself as he used the special effect of his shoes to instantly appear behind the High Inquisitor. He moved his dagger around the Magic Staff and stabbed him in the back.


    "Leave!" the High Inquisitor yelled as he turned to deal with Lu Li.


    Lu Li suddenly began to wander around like a headless chicken. This was a Fear skill cast by the High Inquisitor, and it lasted longer than the regular Priest version.


    Lu Li quickly activated his badge, and was left on critical HP. Even after using the effect of his necklace, he was still at the risk of dying at any time.


    Nevertheless, he had to do this. He was a player and could be revived.


    Even losing a level wasn''t a big deal!


    However, when four Scarlet Crusaders starting rushing in, Lu Li began to feel like the situation was hopeless.


    He barely managed to fend off the attacks of the level 50 Elites.


    "Old man, do you want to save your son?!" Lu Li cursed inwardly at Tyrion Fordring.


    As a dazzling light suddenly appeared, Lu Li could only watch helplessly as it passed through Tyran Fordring.


    A loud cry filled the air as Tyran Fordring struggled to get up, but failed. Lu Li could not believe that the invincible Tyran Fordring had fallen like this.


    It was unclear when Isillien had managed to charge up that attack again, but he had mercilessly unleashed it when it was ready.


    Tyran''s pale face had lost its brilliance and looked lifeless. This seemed like indisputable evidence to Lu Li ¨C Tyran Fordring was dead.


    Even after all of this, he had still failed to protect the Paladin. His own strength was too weak; he was unable to change anything.


    The sounds of hoofs came from afar, and weeping pierced through the air.


    Old Fordring was coming!


    It was a pity, because if he had been a moment earlier, this could have been a reunion of father and son rather than the loss of a child.


    If only he was a moment earlier!

 832 Dathrohan

    Lu Li was quite discouraged, and completely ignored the Scarlet Crusade Warrior that was attacking him.


    "Why are you so late, Lord Tirion!?"


    Lu Li had worked very hard and had stalled for quite some time. Any other player wouldn''t have lasted for nearly as long.


    "My son, my son!" Old Fordring cried out as he climbed down from his warhorse and ran across the battlefield to his son''s side.


    Fordring wasn''t young anymore, but constant exposure to the Light gave him a youthful appearance. Lu Li never thought of this character as an old man.


    However, in this moment, he appeared just like an old man, an old man who had lost his son.


    His hair was white and he sobbed as he clutched his son''s body. The father and son couldn''t even see each other for one last time.


    When Tyran was born, Tirion was fighting a bloody battle with the Silver Hand Paladins.


    After he returned from battle, he couldn''t wait to see his son. His wife scolded him for not tidying up the house, but he grinned when he saw Tyran smile at him.


    He wasn''t at home often, but every time he returned, he would always hold his son.


    Every time he was in danger on the battlefield, Tirion Fordring always told himself that he had to return to see Tyran. He was still too young to be without his father.


    And thus, with this belief, he always found a way to survive.


    Tirion Fordring still remembered what little Tyran had innocently asked him when he was five years old.


    "Daddy, are all the Orcs as mean and as cruel as everyone says?"


    "Well, son, this is a very difficult question to answer. I think some Orcs are good people, but they are just harder to find. That''s it."


    "Really dad?"


    "I think so. Sometimes, we shouldn''t be too hasty about judging whether people are good or bad son."


    Unfortunately, he had failed to fulfil his responsibility as a father. Because of his own philosophy, his son had lost his father at a very early age.


    He could imagine Tyran burying his beloved little hammer in front of his grave. No one told him that his father was still alive, watching him from a distance. In order to prevent breaking his mother''s heart, he could only hide and cry in secret.


    "My father is a great man; he is a real Paladin," he would say, defending his dad when he was bullied by others.


    "I want to be a Paladin like my father and protect our homeland!"


    With this determination, he was sent to receive the way of the Light with other children who were much older than him.


    Old Fording watched his son grow up a little at a time. His secluded life was simple and poor, but it was extremely peaceful.


    "Ah ¨C what have I done!?"


    Old Fordring''s cry of desperation and resentment resounded through the valley and shook the earth around him.


    The Grand Prosecutor realized that a powerful enemy had arrived, so he and the Scarlet Crusaders gave up on trying to kill Lu Li and turned to old Fordring.


    "You lowly traitor ¨C why couldn''t you just quietly stay in your corner? Have you come out to die?" Grand Prosecutor Isillien asked contemptuously as he looked at the old Paladin.


    He had once witnessed Uther taking away Tirion Fordring''s Holy Light. Although he later heard that Fordring had regained the Holy Light, he never took this old Paladin''s faith seriously again.


    It would be better if he just died here, since Uther, who protected him, was already dead.


    "Thank you for teaching my son, Isillien, but now I will show you the strength you once believed in!" old Fordring shouted as he set his son aside.


    A Holy Light shot out of him, forming a giant beam.


    This light was stronger than the one at Uther''s Tomb. Old Fordring had been set off like a deity, but this didn''t mean that he was more powerful than Uther.


    Regardless, this was enough to make Isillien''s face fall.


    "Attack! Kill this despicable traitor!"


    "You once fought for the people and for your faith Isillien. Now, you desecrate your own past. In the name of the Holy Light, I now declare your crimes," Tirion Fordring said fearlessly, raising the huge sword in his hands.


    The wrath of the Holy Light exploded and covered the Scarlet Crusade, including Isilien¡­


    All of them had disappeared!


    "Tyran, my child," the old Paladin sighed as he once again returned to his son''s side. He was filled with grief and couldn''t help but begin to cry.


    He did not shed tears when he was surrounded by strong enemies. He had not cried when he was accused of being a traitor. This Paladin was not weak by any means, but before his beloved son, all of his strength had been sucked dry.


    Tirion Fordring had not arrived in time; he must have had a reason.


    Looking at the sad old man, Lu Li couldn''t say anything. He didn''t even know how to comfort him.


    Tirion Fordring cried for a long time as he recounted the brief past that he had shared with his son, though it wasn''t clear whether this was for Lu Li or just for himself.


    Even Lu Li began to tear up after listening to him.


    "Someone stopped me and I couldn''t get here in time," Tirion Fordring finally explained.


    "Who was it?" Lu Li was suddenly paying attention.


    "Dathrohan. He led a squad of troops towards me, but I eventually rode away," Tirion Fordring said with a heavy heart.


    Sadan Dathrohan was one of the proud disciples of Archbishop Alonsus Faol. After the outbreak of the second war, Faol created the Silver Hand Paladins. Dathrohan, Uther Lightbringer, Tirion Fordring and Turalyon, among others, became the first Paladins to resist the Orc invasion.


    During the second war, Dathrohan served as general commander of the Silver Hand and was second only to Uther in the Paladin group.


    After the war, and after learning about the relationship between Tirion and Orc Warrior Eitrigg, Dathrohan led his troops to pursue Eitrigg and accused Fordring of treason in court.


    Due to Dathrohan''s insistence, Tirion Fordring was finally convicted.


    Even so, Tirion Fordring never thought that Dathrohan had done anything wrong. He was just a devout and overly pious Paladin that refused to look past his beliefs.


    When Dathronhan stopped Tirion Fordring, he had no intention of killing him.


    But who would have thought that this would prevent the rescue of his son? Tirion Fordring was remorseful and blamed himself, but he didn''t ignore the part that Dathronhan had played.

 833 The King of Paladins

    "So it was Dathrohan," Lu Li murmured, feeling a sense of powerlessness. As the saying went, invisible enemies were the most terrifying. He didn''t expect that such a sinister character had been behind all this.


    "What happened to Dathrohan?" Tirion Fordring asked, noticing that Lu Li''s expression was different.


    Lu Li didn''t give a direct answer, but began describing a story.


    "With the invasion of the Undead Scourge and the betrayal of Prince Arthas, Uther Lightbrighter died in Andorhal, and the Silver Hand Paladins quickly fell apart¡­"


    Tirion Fordring knew about all of this and didn''t understand why Lu Li was bringing it up.


    "The surviving commander-in-chief, Dathrohan, proposed that Stratholme should be recaptured first. At that time, the Highlord Alexander Morgraine had returned from Ironforge with the Ashbringer and came to an agreement with Dathrohan. The remnant of the Silver Hand Paladins quickly assembled their troops to launch a full invasion on Stratholme. What happened then?" Lu Li asked.


    Tirion Fordring shook his head; he was a wise man and knew what Lu Li was asking. This was something that he couldn''t answer.


    "The Strength of the Undead Scourge in Strathholme exceeded their expectations. Dathrohan, who was a melee combatant, escaped from the large force and encountered the Dreadlord Balnazzar who was thought to have been destroyed in the battle between the Scourge and the Forsaken¡­" Lu Li continued as he looked at old Fordring sympathetically.


    "He¡­ he¡­" old Fordring stammered as his face turned pale.


    A terrible plot seemed to be unfolding before him.


    "That''s right ¨C Balnazzar easily absorbed the Paladin''s life force and occupied Dathrohan''s body. Lord Tirion, the person you encountered was the Dreadlord, not your old friend," Lu Li sighed.


    "How did this happen¡­" old Fordring trailed off in disbelief.


    "Dathrohan died a long time ago, and Balnazzar, who occupied his body, began to secretly carry out his plan to corrupt the Scarlet Crusade. His first target was Alexandros Mograine," Lu Li carried on. He had decided to tell Fordring everything.


    He hated that all these things were bound to happen. Despite his rebirth, the future was full of events that were locked into place.


    "Alexandros was not killed by Dathrohan. He didn''t have the strength to. The Ashbringer''s strength was so great that even I couldn''t overcome it," Fordring said as he shook his head.


    "Yes, Highlord Alexandros Mograine was a strong and faithful Paladin that was hard to corrupt and kill," Lu Li sneered, "but Balnazzar secretly influenced his eldest son, Renault Mograine, to go from respecting his father to hating him. Eventually, Renault secretly collaborated with the Scourge to defeat his father. After being betrayed by his family, Mograine and the Ashbringer fell into the hands of Naxxramas'' most powerful Death Knight. After that, Balnazzar cast a spell on Isillien¡­"


    "Balnazzar then led the Scarlet Crusade''s most elite force into Stratholme under the guise of Dathrohan and began ''fighting'' the Scourge for several years. Throughout the war, he continually selected the most powerful soldiers as part of his evil plan."


    "Everyone thinks that he has been fighting at the front lines all this time, but they don''t know that he has long since been a member of the enemy."


    To put things simply, Dathrohan was just a piece in Balnazzar''s plan.


    "I see," old Fordring sighed as he closed his eyes and vividly remembered his friend, the Highlord Alexandros Mograine.


    "Now that he has killed Isillien, his next target is obviously you. Ever since your fall, I fear that you are no longer any match for him," Lu Li prodded deliberately.


    A hero should die on the battlefield, not due to heartbreak.


    The Old Paladin picked up his son and graciously said, "I have spent too much time in the chaos and pain to feel sadness for what could have happened or should have happened¡­"


    "Where are you going now?" Lu Li asked. Surely, he wasn''t going to seek revenge on Dathrohan.


    "I hope to have a new dream tomorrow. A dream that will cause others to stir in their sleep, the kind that can never be blotted out. Young man, I promise this to you!" old Fordring declared as he kept up his pace and threw an object behind him.


    "I hope I can see you on that day," Lu Li said as he caught the item, then shouted back, "I have a lot of friends who are Paladins. I hope I can get some of your advice."


    "Tell them to find me; you know where I live."


    Lu Li had left a good impression. Surely, his friends wouldn''t much different from him.


    In order to do what needed to be done, he would need a lot of help. He didn''t mind a few extra adventurers joining him.


    Lu Li had gained a mentor!


    In the not too distant future, Darion Mograine, who was Alexandro Mograine''s beloved youngest son, would carry the fallen Ashbringer under Arthas'' command to lead a huge army of Death Knights, Ghouls and Plague Giants to attack Light''s Hope Chapel.


    Under this assault, almost all of the Silver Dawn troops at Light''s Hope Chapel would be lost.


    At that time, Tirion Fordring would make a magnificent appearance and come in to slay the Undead.


    He would acquire the fallen Ashbringer and use the power of the Holy Light to purify the artifact in an instant, becoming the third owner of the Ashbringer.


    Then, the Lich King Arthas would appear, but would underestimated the old Fordring who was already in control of Ashbringer.


    Old Fordring would attack and successfully repel Arthas.


    The old Paladin who controlled the artifact would then become the King of the Paladins. Countless Paladins would eagerly anticipate him to lead them onwards.


    Tirion Fordring would then announce the merger between the Silver Hand and the Silver Dawn into the Argent Crusade. Together, they vowed to defeat the Lich King and make him pay for what he had done!


    To the players, the Argent Crusade was a small, but very powerful faction that most Paladin players were attracted to.


    The players of Ruling Sword also had the opportunity to take this King of Paladins as their mentor, which would give them a tremendous boost to their Strength.


    Of course, not all Paladins were eligible, so Lu Li didn''t take this opportunity for granted.


    He stood on the blood covered battlefield as the icy wind blew and sung for the dead. It was like a prayer for the lost souls to be at peace.


    He had gained a lot from this quest, but he couldn''t really say that he was happy.

 834 Paladin Hear

    There was nothing that he could do now. It was getting a bit late and Lu Li''s mood wasn''t great, so he quit the game half an hour earlier than usual.


    It wasn''t until the next day that he thought about the quest reward that old Fordring had given him.


    Yesterday''s quest wasn''t a huge failure. In addition to the huge amount of EXP, there was also a prestige reward that Lu Li was surprised to receive. It was the kind of prestige that could be used in certain camps, but they were usually only awarded for main quests or important side quests.


    Currently, Lu Li had no choice but to pay attention to these prestige points


    If you wanted to strengthen your skills, skill books were very important, but so were prestige points.


    Lu Li also took out the item that Old Fordring had thrown at him. At the time, he had stuffed it into his bag and forgotten about it. Unsurprisingly, it was a Dark Gold Badge.


    Unsurprisingly, it wasn''t an Epic item.


    Epic items were not easily obtainable, not to mention that the game had only been out for three months.


    However, more Epic equips were bound to drop in the upcoming festival.


    For example, there was a Fisherman''s Hat which allowed retirees to casually make a fortune by fishing.


    A single Epic equipment didn''t make a set Epic, as all items had to be of the same grade. In his past life, Lu Li had never heard of a complete Epic set before.


    Many players who thought of themselves to be weak would focus on the Trade Skills and have nothing to do with PVP.


    The boots awarded for the marathon were the only Epic item in the entire Christmas event that could be part of an Epic set.


    Of course, the tens of millions of players would participate in the Christmas event, so it would be impossible for it to only award one Epic item. As long as you could kill the Festive Boss, you would have a chance at acquiring exquisite materials and rare equipment.


    However, Lu Li did not intend to allow his guild to participate in the Boss hunting this time around.


    This year''s Christmas Elk was impossible, and would remain impossible even next year. These 99 Elks would set the record for the most players killed by a single Boss, even considering all of the public Instance Dungeon Bosses.


    The equip that Lu Li received for completing Tirion''s quest was actually quite ordinary in comparison.


    Paladin Heart (Dark Gold): All Attributes +20, Special Effect 1: Prayer, Instance Cast. Sacrifice your HP to give HP and Mana to a teammate. 2 hour cooldown. Special Effect 2: Four Paladin Auras available: Crusader Aura ¨C Increase riding speed of all squads and team members within 40 yards by 20%. Devotion Aura ¨C Increase Defense of all squads and team members within 100 yards by 10%. Retribution Aura ¨C Inflict Fear onto monsters that attack teammates. Focus Aura ¨C Concentrate nearby teammates to reduce cast time for attacks. Only one aura can be active at a time and this effect cannot be stacked with other items with a similar effect. Equipment Requirement: None, Durability: None.


    On the back there was an inscription: Race does not determine nobility. I have seen the noblest Orcs and the worst humans. I know some Orcs to be respectable like the noblest paladins. And I know some humans who have the cruelest souls ¨C they are as evil as the undead!


    This was obviously a Paladin item, as the 20-point increase to all Attributes was the most useful property for Lu Li. The remaining effects would just be secondary for him.


    Even so, Lu Li was quite impressed by the four auras.


    The Crusader aura was an accelerating skill that only applied to mounts. Both the Devotion Aura and Retribution Aura reduced damage dealt, while the Focus Aura was very useful for Magic professions that were struggling to cast their spells because they were being constantly attacked.


    It was just a pity that they couldn''t be used at the same time.


    Lu Li currently didn''t have a better Badge, so he decided to use this one for now.


    His other badge was the so called PVP badge.


    Adventurer''s Exploration Badge (Special): Agility +10%, Movement Speed +10%, Special Effect: Instant cast. Dispel all movement restrictions and debuffs on your character. 2 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: None. Durability: None.


    Tirion Fordring had actually rewarded him with something worthwhile. According to the strategy guides, the reward for this quest was actually just an ordinary Gold equip; it wasn''t supposed to be a Badge.


    Badges and Necklaces were rare equipment, so most players just used whatever they could get their hands on.


    Lu Li sighed emotionally when thinking about the old man as he set off on his trip back to the main city. He had to participate in the marathon, as the reward was a pair of Epic boots.


    If he remembered correctly from his past life, the winner of the first pair of boots was Innocent Child.


    Druids could turn into cheetahs, which gave them an inherent advantage. However, Lu Li''s Child of the Forest Transformation was faster than the ordinary transformation.


    Lu Li wouldn''t hold back this time; his Child of the Forest skill wasn''t a secret anymore.


    Of course, the marathon wasn''t so simple that the fastest runner would win. There were many factors involved, such that even Lu Li was unsure if he could win.


    After completing the registration, Lu Li joined the competition of the day.


    There were two matches on today, but the players were to be determined by the System through drawing lots.


    Ruling Sword''s first was against a medium-sized guild and their second was against a guild that wasn''t even in the top 500. Lu Li and Moonlight were the only two players who fought.


    When Lu Li''s stalling strategy was revealed, the experts of Dawn''s major guilds followed suit.


    If they were about to win, they would stall and restore some of their HP and skill cooldowns.


    Of course, this was only suitable for situations where the skill gap was quite large. Otherwise, the tactic would not only be ineffective, but it might even cost them the round.


    In the team matches, Lu Li sat one out while Moonlight sat the other out. This was used to train other players in the guild.


    New players in Ruling Sword could participate through these team matches, but this was assuming that they were registered with the professional association. Otherwise, they could only play for an assigned club.

 835 Killing a Dragon

    After the matches, Lu Li and his teammates went training together. As promised, he summoned the Silly Husky.


    The Silly Husky was a giant silver wolf that looked mighty and powerful, but had a friendly, rather amusing expression. This began to attract the attention of some onlookers.


    "Hey, what are you looking at? I''m stronger than all of you; I could kill you all," the Silly Husky said. It had come from a mercenary background, so its character was a little crude.


    "Dammit, it can talk," Azure Sea Breeze commented as he blinked.


    "Is it supposed to attack people like that?" Wandering asked as he lazily raised his hammer and squinted at Lu Li. "Clearly, a pet is exactly like its owner."


    "Wow, this pet is so cool! None of my pets can speak," Dreamy said, immediately feeling a bit insecure.


    "Psht, what''s the big deal? My dragon will probably speak a foreign language," Hachi Chan pouted, but she wasn''t lying. Ever since her dragon had received the essence of the Green Dragon, it had become much smarter and was able to carry out some orders autonomously.


    As for whether the dragon would speak a foreign language in the future, this wasn''t an impossibility.


    "Why don''t we go kill a dragon? Maybe it''ll drop something that your dragon pet can eat," Lu Li proposed.


    "What dragon?" Azure Sea Breeze was suddenly interested.


    Many people fantasized about being a Dragon Warrior when they were young, but some continued to, even after they grew older. Azure Sea Breeze obviously belonged to the second group.


    "Azshara has an Azure Dragon Boss and I have a way to kill it," Lu Li said. He was a little anxious to use his Gnomish Poultryizer.


    "What level is the Boss?" Wandering asked.


    "It should only be level 45 right now," Lu Li answered unsurely after thinking for a while. This was a Wild Boss, so its strength would increase from time to time.


    At the beginning it would have been level 30. Many players tried to kill it early on, but were unsuccessful.


    By now, it was probably level 45,but this wasn''t the Boss'' final form. When Lu Li faced had him in his previous life, he had become a level 70 Boss and had killed plenty of players.


    "Well what are we waiting for?" Azure Sea Breeze''s big axe had been thirsty for a long time.


    "I agree. If we can kill it, it would be a waste not to," Hachi Chan said as she waved her fist. Her brain cells had been completely captivated by the word ''dragon''.


    She was intent on making sure that Dragon Essence was dropped so she could feed it to her dragon pet.


    "Let''s go ahead and teleport to Azshara then."


    Lu Li could only hope that the Wild Boss would be generous enough to compensate for some of the Gnomish Poultryizer''s costs.


    The Gnomish Poultryizer used a lot of exquisite materials. It was like he was using gold coins to fight the Boss.


    Azshara was also the name of an early ruler of the Night Elves in the lore, and was the so called ''Queen Azshara.''


    The point of her character was to demonstrate the grief that came with a woman ruling the country.


    Azshara was a strong woman; her aura alone was strong enough to knock down other men in battle.


    According to a bard, she was a "woman deluded by Sargeras and deserted by her own people, "a lonely sensual animal", and "a woman whose intelligence was crushed by her loneliness."


    In fact, at the beginning of Azshara''s recorded story, she wasn''t that unbearable.


    At that time, she treated her people with kindness and love, and her beautiful appearance and heart was adored by all.


    Later, Azshara built a palace on the edge of the Well of Eternity and studied it with her servant ¨C Quel''dorei, the narrow minded High Elf.


    Although the civilians of Kalimdor continued to love Azshara, they were arrogant, self-righteous, complacent and self-serving. They seemed a lot more like Quel''dorei.


    However, even these circumstances didn''t explain the queen''s misconduct.


    Later on, Sargeras appeared in the Well of Eternity. As everyone knew, Malfurion led a counter-attack as to destroy it.


    This devastating attack rippled through the entire world and threw Azshara and her unruly followers into the sea.


    In the aftermath of the explosion, the strength of the Well of Eternity twisted Azshara and her followers, transforming them into the Naga.


    Although Azshara lingered under the waves, she and her followers continued to patiently wait for the day of their return and revenge.


    Prior to the Great Cataclysm, the Night Elf City Adilas was thriving.


    Many believed that this once prosperous castle ruin was home to many powerful ancient High Elf relics.


    The Azure Dragons had been guarding these powerful relics and magical knowledge for generations, ensuring that it didn''t fall into the hands of mortals. It was only until much later that the High Elf relics would be obtainable Legendary items.


    However, the emergence of the Azure Dragon Azuregos seemed to imply that some of the most powerful relics were buried in Azshara''s wilderness. Perhaps even the legendary Bottle of Eternity was there.


    Regardless of what Azuregos was looking for, one thing was for sure ¨C the Wild Boss had a target on its back.


    This was the target that Lu Li wanted to kill, and it was a rather unique one.


    First of all, he was the only dragon that could be transformed by the Gnomish Poultryizer. This was shameful for a dragon, so much so that some dragon NPCs would refuse to talk about it.


    It was only until later that a certain System update would finally smooth out this fatal flaw of the dragons.


    Before that, Lu Li would be able to use the Gnomish Poultryizer to kill this Wild Boss.


    Officials didn''t seem to think that this was a bug. They seemed to want to tell everyone that Engineering was good and encouraged people to invest in it.


    However, no one listened, because the Gnomish Poultryizer was just too expensive. The cost of a Gnomish Poultryizer was 70 gold coins and it would be used at least ten times in this fight. Lu Li estimated that he needed at least a dozen more of these. He had used up all the materials in the warehouse in order to make them.


    This battle was going to cost more than 100,000 dollars, an amount that a smaller guild simply wouldn''t be able to afford.


    Even the major guilds had to consider whether this was something worth the price, but this assumed that they had an expert engineer who could produce a Gnomish Poultryizer.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn''t rely on this small party to kill the Boss ¨C that would take years. Instead, he had instructed Square Root 3 to assemble a group of the guild''s best damage output players.

 836 The Price Of Curiosity

    The reason why he asked for a physical damage team and not magic damage players was because Azure Dragon Azuregos did not take magic damage. The Gnomish Poultryizer was not considered a magical item. The way it worked was very complicated and couldn''t be understood with reason.


    However, things were a little awkward for melee players who dealt physical damage. The size of the Boss wasn''t that large and there was no unit collision. As such, there was a limit as to how many players could attack the Boss at once.


    What was even more problematic was the Gnomish Poultryizer.


    It could turn the Boss into a chicken, which meant that it would shrink significantly.


    In addition to the two Main Tanks, the most players they could bring along was only 16. However, to ensure that they could achieve adequate levels of Skill Completion, twelve melee players was the optimal number.


    Lu Li asked Square Root 3 for 40 melee players, 20 Druids who had Resurrect and almost one Healer per player.


    The main force of the fight wasn''t limited to these players, as Lu Li also requested for a large team of Hunters.


    Azshara''s Azure Dragon was quite well known, but it didn''t attack unless provoked, so players would often mess around with it. They would strike poses next to it and take photos for the thrill of potentially accidentally attacking it.


    "This is the price of your curiosity!"


    Nearly the entire Azshara map could hear this announcement, so the players knew not to mess with Azuregos.


    The only thing in the players'' advantage for this fight was its low HP.


    Currently, the level 45 Azuregos had 650,000HP, which was considered very low for a Wild Boss and especially low for a dragon. Dragons often caused players a lot of grief because of their high HP.


    Unfortunately, its complicated and powerful skills completely made up for its flaws.


    Lu Li divided the Gnomish Poultryizers into the hands of several other high-ranking players and gave them a number. When Lu Li called their number, they would use the Gnomish Poultryizer on the Boss.


    A player didn''t need to know how to make the Gnomish Poultryizer to use it, but the success rate would be affected by their level. The higher the level, the greater chance of success.


    After Lu Li had given everyone their tasks, he gestured at Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Quickly ¨C otherwise, the other guilds will find out and we''ll be in trouble," Lu Li said quietly.


    As the battle officially started, Azure Sea Breeze stepped up first to tank the damage.


    "This is the price of your curiosity!" the Boss boomed as Azure Sea Breeze provoked it. All of the players in Azshara heard this.


    It casually swung at Azure Sea Breeze, who was an Armor Plated Warrior and took out 1100 HP. If this attack had struck a squishy target, they probably would have instantly died.


    Two healers immediately rushed to Azure Sea Breeze''s side and healed him back to full health.


    The most-commonly used skill in the first stage was Cleave, which damaged melee players around it. Fortunately, Ruling Sword had no shortage of Healers.


    Square Root 3 began setting up defense-teams in the surrounding areas to alert them of players from other guilds. If necessary, they could fend them off from the area.


    After spending over 100,000 dollars to kill a Boss, it would be a true tragedy if it was snatched away.


    It wasn''t as though Azhsara was an empty map either.


    Geographically, it was close to the East of the Grey Valley Forest and the Northern part of Durotar. Both Alliance and Horde players often ventured here.


    The Alliance Camp at Azshara was called Nandis, and was where the Alliance players gathered.


    In addition to the Trade Skill players, there were a number of combat players travelling to the Coral Sea. Not only did it boast a beautiful landscape, but it also produced a deep-red seaweed used for Alchemy and Cooking.


    The Horde''s camp, Grim Batol, was a commercial town with many Goblin merchants looking to make some money.


    There were many players in Azhsara, but when the Azure Dragon Azuregos made the announcement, no one paid attention. This happened everyday when some guild tried to kill the Boss, but inevitably failed.


    It was fortunate for Lu Li that almost everyone thought that Azuregos couldn''t be killed.


    "Machine Bro!" Lu Li shouted.


    Priest Machine Bro had been waiting for a long time. When he heard his name, he immediately started the Gnomish Poultryizer and a green ray shot from the item into the Boss.


    Azuregos stopped and helplessly transformed into a chicken.


    It wasn''t clear what the designers were thinking, but this chicken was taller than a normal person and was quite bloated. Even so, it looked just like a newly-hatched chick.


    "Attack! Keep attacking and cast whatever you''ve got!" Lu Li shouted.


    When the players saw that the Boss had been transformed, they all stopped attacking. They were afraid that attacking the Boss would transform it back, which was the case with Polymorph.


    Lu Li became anxious when he saw this as it was precious money being wasted.


    Fortunately, everyone was paying attention and they explosively began attacking the Boss again.


    They were all quite curious as to why the transformation was still intact after their attacks, but Lu Li didn''t intend on explaining this.


    The players who were responsible for transforming the Boss were Ruling Sword''s core players like Machine Bro, Cain''s Left hand, Friends of the World, Flying Fish Hater and some others in the Mercenary Group. This was intended to keep the secrets of the Gnomish Poultryizer.


    If another guild found out about this, it wouldn''t be long before they could also kill Azuregos.


    The biggest drawback of the Gnomish Poultryzier was that its duration was too short and it had a five-minute cooldown. Fortunately, this cooldown only applied to the caster and the Boss that had just recovered from the transformation was immediately transformed again.


    "This is so much fun! There''s no Boss that we can''t beat if we use this," Azure Sea Breeze laughed in glee.


    "It costs a lot to use it," Wandering said bluntly. He had taken one glance at Lu Li and immediately knew why they couldn''t do that.

 837 Thorn

    "We need to put in more effort," Lu Li urged as he held his chest, then shouted with a coarse voice, "Team one, get back! Team two, go forward! Team one, stay within 30 yards of the boss!"


    The first team had used all of their burst and special skills, so it was time for them to get some rest.


    The reason why they weren''t allowed to leave a 30-yard radius around the Boss was because they had already entered battle. If any players in combat were to exit this zone¡­


    "You! Why are you so far away?" Lu Li yelled.


    One of the players who had backed away didn''t seem to understand Lu Li''s words; he had nearly walked over to the others who were waiting on standby.


    The player was stunned, and weakly explained himself, "I don''t have much health left. I was going to leave combat to recover some health."


    At this time, a blue, radiant light began to glow on the claws of Azuregos. All the players suddenly felt dizzy and found themselves below the dragon''s stomach.


    While they didn''t take any damage, their aggression to the Boss was reset back to zero.


    The aggression system in Dawn was no different to the traditional system of most games. It ranged from high to low and all players in combat were assigned a value. Once the aggression of the players within 30 yards was reset, any player outside the radius with the slightest aggression would draw the Boss'' attention.


    Azuregos had already abandoned those who were under his belly and glided towards a player who was further away.


    "Breezy, quickly rebuild the aggression. Whoever that is, stop running ¨C just stand there and die," Lu Li instructed. There was no better solution that he could think of.


    However, the player still seemed as if he hadn''t understood a single word and continued running towards the crowd. Once he got close to them, the attack of the Boss would spread to the others.


    Without the effective defense from a main tank, they were bound to lose a lot of players.


    Everyone watched as Lu Li''s figure flashed a few times in a row and he instantly caught up to the player, but his next actions shocked them even more.


    Blind!


    He had already kicked the runner from the team during his chase as he couldn''t attack anyone on the same team.


    The blinded player could only spin around on the spot.


    Blind wasn''t as simple as taking someone''s vision ¨C it also completely removed a player''s sense of direction, so there was no way he could keep running towards the crowd.


    The reason why Lu Li had not killed him yet wasn''t because he was a guild member; he just didn''t want to do anything that might attract the aggression of the boss. However, he wouldn''t be the one to deal with this elite team member ¨C that was Square Root 3''s business.


    There was one thing for sure, though ¨C he definitely would not remain as an elite.


    Square Root 3 would also investigate to see if he was a spy sent from another guild because his actions were too suspicious.


    Azure Sea Breeze had come in time to build aggro, but there were still a few unfortunate players. They couldn''t take an attack from the Boss face-on, and six of them died in one go.


    This was the first time that players from Ruling Sword had died to a Wild Boss and it was six of them in one go.


    All of this was because a single guild member had failed to follow instructions.


    Azure Sea Breeze pulled the Boss back to its original position and everyone returned to their previous formation. With Lu Li''s strategy, no deaths should have been involved, only money.


    Square Root 3 quickly received the news.


    He felt quite sorry as he sent a message to Lu Li to explain who the player was.


    This was a top gamer that he had personally recruited. He was a little arrogant and had possibly been a commander a few times. He often had his own thoughts in group events and most of the time, these had a positive impact.


    This time, he was in the guild event and he most likely felt like it was best if he left combat to recover himself.


    This wasn''t uncommon in Wild Boss fights. For example, if someone was poisoned, they could retreat to the safe area to drink potions. This would also allow their cooldowns to reset and take some pressure off the healer.


    It wasn''t that he had not heard Lu Li; he just thought what he did was the better choice.


    "How do you plan to solve this?" Lu Li asked. He wasn''t surprised to have run into someone like this. They were in a game, and their groups weren''t going to be as organized as a real company. Even someone who had signed an elite group contract wouldn''t listen to someone else for everything.


    "He can''t stay in the elite group," Square Root 3 said, feeling some regret.


    "Kick him ¨C we don''t need someone like this," Lu Li said coldly, then added, "We''re a big guild. It''s not that we don''t allow different opinions, but following orders is a basic requirement for guild events."


    "Uhm, he''s also brought some friends¡­" Square Root 3 mumbled, feeling like this punishment was a little harsh.


    Those with some talent were bound to have a temper.


    "I asked him to stand there to die, but he ran towards the crowd. Clearly, he thinks he''s more important than everyone else. He actively searched for others to sacrifice themselves for him; he''s too self-centered and we don''t need someone like this. If his friends want to go, then they can go too."


    Lu Li didn''t feel pity at all. He knew better than anyone else how groupwork functioned in Dawn.


    It wasn''t so obvious now, but it definitely would be when they attempted the level 60 dungeons and Bosses. If one person made a mistake, the whole team would often be wiped as a consequence.


    As for PVP battles, those were fast-paced. If there were two voices on the team, who would everyone listen to?


    Even if you were right, by the time everyone analyzed the situation and reached a conclusion, they would be dead. As such, any commander should not be questioned during combat.


    If Wandering directing the battle and asked Lu Li to stand there and die, Lu Li wouldn''t hesitate at all.


    After the accident, the battle began to proceed as Lu Li had planned. The Boss was about to use its ultimate skill, so Lu Li walked up and transformed it with a Gnomish Poultryizer.


    If they fought the usual way, they would need two mobile tanks.


    One would fight the Boss face on while the other had to stand out of the thirty-yard range and shoot with a bow or crossbow. After the players within the thirty-yard range cleared their aggro, the Boss would attack the main tank who was standing outside. In this way, the tanks would constantly switch.


    This was quite an effective method, but the problem was that the Boss had too many skills and players died too quickly. Oftentimes, the Boss wasn''t killed, but most of the players had already been lost.

 838 Caugh

    Azuregos refreshed on a passage where it was unblocked. It was easy to see the entire scene from afar, so Lu Li and the others dragged the Boss into a small mountain ridge.


    However, this wouldn''t protect them from everything. Players who were trying to mine or gather herbs would often wander into isolated places like this.


    This time, what found them wasn''t a miner or gatherer ¨C it was a Thief who was hunting for treasure chests. His ID was Wu Qin.


    Wu Qin had discovered that a Silver chest often refreshed in this small mountain ridge at a set time, so he came here every single day.


    Over time, he had built up some wealth, even managing to pay off his mortgage and buy a car in real life.


    Anyone could get far in the game. Just because Lu Li had reincarnated didn''t mean that he owned everything.


    Wu Qin was relatively ambitious ¨C after he sorted out his financial issues, he bought some decent equipment and joined Freedom Sky.


    Freedom Sky was currently ranked sixteenth on the guild rankings and were quite established.


    Like usual, Wu Qin came to open his treasure chest. He had repaired his equipment at the campsite when he teleported here, which caused him to be slightly late.


    He heard the Azuregos announcement on the map channel and he laughed at the unlucky player that had probably run into it by accident.


    However, when he approached the mountain ridge, he noticed that something wasn''t right.


    In the beginning, he thought that his secret had been discovered.


    He hadn''t even shared this secret after he joined the guild. Silver chests often gave good equipment and materials, and were a stable income that was much better than anything his guild could offer.


    There was no way that a single Silver chest could attract so many people. These were all players from the same guild too.


    Ruling Sword!


    He remembered how this guild had risen to its position, and a scary thought appeared in his head.


    Ruling Sword was slaying the Blue Dragon, Azuregos!


    For most players that were active in the nearby maps, Azuregos was a legend. The average players agreed that there was no way to take him down before reaching level 50.


    Wu Qin had seen with his own eyes how this boss slaughtered players indiscriminately; it was a massacre.


    One frost skill brought all targets within ten yards to critical health, while a blizzard would finish them off.


    What disgusted the players the most was the Frost Mark.


    Anyone who died to Azuregos would have a 15-minute Frost Mark that cannot by dispelled. When the Blue Dragon casted ice spells, any targets who had the mark within its 70 yard range would be frozen for 2 minutes. This was a frozen effect that cannot be dispelled, and would not disappear, even if you went offline or committed suicide.


    This meant that if someone died, they were guaranteed to keep dying, even if they were resurrected. Besides using Ice Block, other skills couldn''t do anything.


    It was hard to believe that Ruling Sword was going to challenge this Boss.


    Wu Qin realized all the players that he had encountered were outer ring players who were on alert to prevent other guilds from interrupting them.


    This was a chance!


    Wu Qin trusted his own invisibility skills and quickly ventured into the mountain ridge. He had to understand what was going on with the Boss so that he could hand off the intel.


    This would be a great profit for him, regardless if it was handed to his guild or to information traders.


    Ruling Sword could only use melee players and Hunters for this Boss. The other classes didn''t do much damage so they were assigned to guard around.


    When the Boss first shouted, the players from Ruling Sword became anxious. They were worried that the other major guilds would attempt to disrupt them.


    However, to their surprise, none of that happened. No one actually believed that they were trying to take down Azuregos.


    There were even some players in the local chat joking that ''Azuregos Daddy'' was out on the hunt again. They wondered which loser was going to drop their equipment and experience.


    So, as time went by, their guard started to drop.


    Wu Qin was a decent player; both his equipment and level were elite. When he entered the mountain ridge and remained undiscovered, he began to look down on Ruling Sword.


    This was a new guild without a firm foundation.


    Usually, major guilds had a set amount of main members who started a new game together. These players were much more skilled and of a higher quality than the ordinary players.


    Wu Qin had to hold himself back from the urge to knock out the Ruling Sword members who were standing on guard. He quickly followed the passage way and approached the battle zone.


    Waves of heat!


    Wu Qin was blown away, and horrifically found that a Mage in a gold robe had casted a spell on him.


    He had only just landed on his feet when frost began to climb up his body.


    Wu Qin quickly used his badge to dispel his frozen state.


    Some might have questioned his move, since Frost would be removed once he was attacked. However, if he didn''t defrost himself, the Mage would have time to channel a powerful spell. Moreover, there were also other Ruling Sword players waiting around.


    Wu Qin was just about to make his escape after he broke the ice, but was faced with the fiery, roaring head of a golden dragon.


    This was Dragon''s Breath, a signature Fire Mage skill! It dealt decent damage and also came with a Confusion debuff.


    The Ruling Sword players gathered around, but strangely enough, none of them moved. They just held their arms and watched on from the side; none of them seemed interested in helping.


    "One on one?" Wu Qin asked as he blinked his eyes in confusion.


    "You want to fight me one on one? Sure ¨C if you can beat me, I''ll let you go today," the Mage in gold robe smirked.


    There were so many players here and he insisted on a one-on-one fight. Did he have no shame?


    Wu Qin liked it this way, and silently wiped some poison on his dagger as he planned his battle strategy.


    He didn''t know if the other player would keep his words, but this was a chance for him regardless. No one wanted to lose experience and possibly a hard-earned equip.

 839 Big Brother

    The bystanders brought out their stools and snacks so that everyone could enjoy the show.


    "Big brother is going to kill some noobs again!"


    "Start the bet, start the bet! My money is on the battle ending in two minutes; 1:3 for every extra minute." Clearly, this person was confident in the gold-robed Mage.


    "Your ****, as if you''d ask for a bet on two minutes. I''m betting a minute; 1:3 for every extra minute; 1:5 once it goes past the extra two-minute mark and 1:10 if it goes beyond the extra three-minute mark. As for a time limit beyond that, does anyone even think that''s possible?"


    There were plenty of players who liked to bet like this, especially if they had money to spare and nothing to do. The gamblers who gathered at the gate of Orgrimmar all gambled more than hundreds of thousand gold coins each day.


    "I''m betting ¨C big brother, did you hear that? Be gentle and take him down after three minutes. I''m going to bet a hundred gold coins; we''ll split the profit!" someone shouted at the Mage.


    The one who started the bet went pale and quickly added, "Big brother, you need to watch out for your image."


    Seeing that they were shouting and screaming without even paying attention to him, Wu Qin wasn''t angry; he just felt bitter.


    Big Brother!


    The Big Brother in Ruling Sword was Fat Monkey.


    The brightest new star in the gaming industry was probably this player. Perhaps March Rain was more valuable than he was, but that girl kept a low profile and she was also a healer.


    As for Lu Li, no one took him as a new player, despite his meteoric rise to the top.


    Fat Monkey lifted his chin and asked, "Are you ready? My words count ¨C if you can beat me, I''ll let you go."


    "You''re Fat Monkey," Wu Qin said. His expression wasn''t impressed.


    "That''s right," Fat Monkey confirmed, then put down his staff and laughed, "Did you lose your courage as soon as you heard my name? This is just a game; don''t be a pussy."


    Wu Qin immediately felt insulted by these words.


    Even though Fat Monkey was a celebrity player, Wu Qin was still an elite of a major guild. The gap between wasn''t unsurmountable.


    Wu Qin felt like all he lacked was just a chance.


    He pounced on Fat Monkey and didn''t even bother going into Stealth.


    "My goodness, there''s nothing worth seeing!" the bystanders cried out as they covered their eyes and refused to watch.


    "Big Brother''s tactics are too good; I bet the battle will be finished in thirty seconds. My ten gold coins are going down the drain now," another bystander sighed, looking heartbroken.


    The banker player was proud of himself and saluted Fat Monkey. "Thanks brother, I''ll shout rounds next time."


    "Damn, this is no fun. I thought he was good. What are the others doing out there, they let such a weakling sneak into us," these were all elite players.


    "Wait, that''s not right¡­ Why isn''t Big Brother using Scorch? I thought he maxed it," someone pointed out after noticing that something was off.


    Only Wu Qin, who was in the battle, remained clueless.


    He thought that his advantage came from his surprise attack ¨C once a Mage was within in melee range, they would be forced to dash away.


    As such, Wu Qin focused entirely on Fat Monkey and didn''t dare to let him go.


    The battle lasted longer than thirty seconds, which left the audience speechless. In their eyes, Fat Monkey wasn''t giving it his all; he was fooling around so that he could split some of the profit from the gamble.


    How shameless could big brother be!?


    A minute, two minute, five minutes...


    The one who had made the first bet had already fainted on the floor. No matter how people patted his face or nudged him, he refused to get up. He simply couldn''t handle the 1:10 ratio.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that everyone lived in a dorm together, he would have considered going offline and disappearing forever.


    By now, Wu Qin noticed that something was wrong too.


    "He''s wasting time!"


    Wu Qin wasn''t stupid; he quickly dragged out his private chat and sent a message to his guild leader.


    You couldn''t kill players to keep intel from leaking, since they would revive after they died. Fat Money had provoked Wu Qin so that he wouldn''t think about sending information away.


    Even though Wu Qin had come to this realization, five precious minutes had now gone down the drain.


    Fat Monkey noticed his expression change and sighed. His staff waved quickly and Wu Qin immediately dropped to the ground, along with one of his daggers.


    "Square Root 3, are we ready to welcome some guests?" Fat Monkey asked as he picked up his victory loot.


    "The guide master is already prepared, but boss also said that we don''t have to fight them face-on. There are only a few minutes until the Boss is slain. Once the announcement is out, those guilds won''t be coming."


    "That''ll be best. It takes some time for the major guilds to gather their forces anyway. How was my acting before?" Fat Monkey asked as he waved his fancy gold robe.


    Those who earned some income rained down their compliments; Fat Monkey had earned them.


    "Big Brother, you''re amazing, fabulous, graceful, fantastic..."


    In fact, Freedom Sky arrived slower than Ruling Sword had anticipated. They couldn''t gather enough top players so quickly and they didn''t dare challenge Ruling Sword alone.


    As such, they dragged another big guild in to be their comrade.


    Two thousand players were on their way, but before they even reached the mountain ridge that Wu Qin had described, the System had already made its announcement.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, who under the leadership of Lu Li, have successfully slain the Blue Dragon, Azuregos for the First Clear. Reward: Guild level 1.


    As expected, they were given a guild level reward. Azuregos wasn''t a territory-level Wild Boss, but it was still quite famous among the dragons.


    In all of Dawn, Azuregos was the Boss with the most player kills, and remained on the top, even after two years.


    Hexx, the Boss that Lu Li and the others killed previously couldn''t even make it into the top hundred.


    Blue Dragon Azuregos had been slain?


    Those who didn''t know anything were surprised; another Wild Boss had been taken down. However, for those who were aware of its true strength, the first thing they wanted to find out was how Ruling Sword had achieved this.

 840 Legendary Claws

    Wu Qin regretted telling his guild. He thought that if he managed to pass the information faster, his guild master''s expression wouldn''t be so green, even if they were unable to steal the Boss.


    This was a real dilemma!


    When they arrived, both parties saw each other, but the System announcement struck Freedom Sky by surprise.


    Of course they didn''t want to return empty handed, but what else could they do?


    Ruling Sword wasn''t an average new guild. Although it had only just been formed, but they have been fighting against the Gangnam Royals for half a month already.


    Some players had even noticed that as soon as the Ruling Sword members came online, they would seek out Gangnam Royal players for a fight. Those who were clueless thought that they were bonding over these fights, but most of the Gangnam Royals had begun to hide.


    Although new guilds often struggled, there were also some advantages that they had.


    The Gangnam Royals were in a tight spot, and had apparently asked Drizzle Court about a peace treaty. They wanted to end this guild war that had dragged on for too long.


    There was no way that Freedom Sky would claim to be stronger than the Gangnam Royals, so there was nothing to gain here for them. They could only smile and say hi, as if they were just strolling by and quickly left.


    Lu Li wasn''t surprised by this outcome.


    On the other hand, he was beginning to view Fat Monkey in a new light. Although the tactics were plain and simple, it was great to see someone with such a heated temper become more rational instead of jumping headfirst into a fight.


    After they obtained the First Clear, the next task was to split the loots.


    Remnant Dream went over to loot the body.


    Someone had conducted a test and had asked other lucky players to loot the bodies of the same monsters. After thousands of trials, Remnant Dream was unanimously proven as the best.


    Luck wasn''t an attribute that could be seen, but it definitely existed.


    It wasn''t so obvious on small monsters, but Bosses were a completely different story.


    Almost all guilds had someone who was in charge of looting, while other players were required to stay away after the battle. Those who touched the corpse without permission were punished. While this often resulted in the deduction of some guild points, in extreme cases, the offender would be kicked out of the guild.


    Lu Li wasn''t certain if Azuregos was going to drop a Legendary equipment.


    However, the chances were bound to be good ¨C after all, this was the First Clear of a Wild Boss.


    Eskhandar''s Left Claw!


    When those three words left Remnant Dream''s mouth, the atmosphere in the Ruling Sword camp began to boil.


    Lu Li was slightly disappointed, but he didn''t let it show. This was definitely an exquisite item; Shamans can use this all the way until level 60 at the very least.


    Eskhandar''s Left Claw was suitable for buff Shamans and melee Shamans. It leaned towards physical damage and its main specialties were speed reduction and bleed.


    There was a total of three special effects on this weapon; two of them were linked with movement speed reduction while the other was bleed-related. Any class that fought a Shaman with this equipment would be in a lot of pain.


    This equip was assigned to Sakura Memories. She was currently a competitor for Ruling Sword and this reason was more than enough.


    Thieves could use this weapon too, but Lu Li was too accustomed to his daggers. He would consider replacing them them with a short-sword but definitely not with claws.


    Typhoon ¨C a two-hand giant sword.


    This came with a Whirlwind special effect that didn''t share a cooldown with the same Warrior skill.


    Of course, the damage from the special effect was nowhere close to the actual skill.


    This was a weapon that Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t use and Moonlight didn''t like. Moonlight thought that Whirlwind wasn''t the type of skill that was better with more usages; it was more important to use it at the right timing. As such, Typhoon was up for grabs.


    Although it wasn''t Dark Gold grade, giant swords were a popular choice of weapon.


    The players who could equip giant swords went wild. Lu Li could only sigh at the fact that they just haven''t seen a bigger world. Were those points really free? They didn''t count how much this weapon was worth in real money.


    But then again, who really cared when they were in a heated atmosphere like this?


    Those who dared to call prices were players who were rich in real life; they didn''t mind spending money to buy a weapon they liked. Not only did this improve their strength, but it also made them look better.


    A Berserker with the ID ''Lady Tears'' ended up taking home the giant sword.


    Lu Li immediately took note of this player. He was a battle maniac who was affectionately called ''Lady'' by his friends. He often went to the battlegrounds with Moonlight and Fat Monkey, and apparently, his techniques was quite good.


    He had completely used up his own guild points for this equipment, and had also borrowed some from others.


    The points in Ruling Sword could be lent, but the transferal process would incur a 50% tax. This meant that if 100 points were transferred, only 50 would be received.


    Under normal circumstances, no one would lend out their points.


    Lady Tears seemed to have purchased points from another player at a high price; it seemed like he was quite rich as well.


    The third equipment was also Dark Gold, but it wasn''t a weapon this time. It was a cape instead ¨C the Drape of Benediction.


    A Dark Gold cape was very rare; even Lu Li only wore a Gold cape himself. However, his was a part of the Voodoo set, so it couldn''t really be compared.


    The Dark Gold cape made everyone''s mouths water, but unfortunately, this was a Warlock exclusive, so none of the other magic classes could equip it.


    Why did the System have to make it Warlock only?!


    This was a common situation in Dawn and would grow even more common as equipment became higher grades.


    Sesame Rice Balls had the most points because he often teleported people in team events, especially the Trial Tower. He even had to die a few times to get past the dangers, so he was generously compensated.


    Theoretically, this equipment should have been given to Kitty Likes Meat, who was still in the beginning stages of being a new competitor for Ruling Sword.


    However, Lu Li had to take Sesame Rice Balls'' feelings into consideration.


    There was no way that everyone would actively give out the equipment that they wanted to someone else; that was too political.


    Lu Li also didn''t think that he was charismatic enough to have someone give away their profit and still be thankful for it.


    Sesame Rice Ball was someone who had followed him from the very start. If he didn''t consider his wellbeing, then the others might think that he was shallow.

 841 Bad Cop

    "I¡­" Sesame Rice Ball froze when Lu Li asked him. He wanted the cape as well but wasn''t sure whether he should take it or let someone else have it.


    "Should we start bidding?" Lu Li nodded.


    Azure Sea Breeze began the auction; whoever offered more would take home the item.


    If a player was popular among the guild members, they might be less insistent and allow them to take the item without spending many points. However, no matter how well-like someone was, they could never get the whole guild to concede.


    Besides, the more points you used on an item, the less likely you would be able to bid for another one later on down the track when more equips are dropped.


    In the end, Sesame Rice Balls won the bid with 800+ points.


    In reality, this was quite a low amount for the quality of the equip that was being auctioned. No one wanted to get on the bad side of the best Alchemist in the guild. Everyone needed potions from him and most members owed him favors.


    Compared to the Golden Druid armor that was bought for 600 points when they killed the Vile Priestess, Sesame Rice Ball had gotten an amazing deal.


    After he received the equip he gave it to Kitty Likes Meat and said, "You can use it first and return it to me after the tournament."


    Kitty Loves Meat was ecstatic and everyone thought that Sesame Rice Ball was very kind and generous.


    The others that were secretly competing with him in the bid felt ashamed that they did not think of doing the same.


    The reason why Sesame Rice Ball lent her the cape was because of his loyalty and dedication towards further improving the guild. It was the little things that he did which contributed to their performance in the tournaments. If they performed well in all aspects of the game, the entire guild would benefit, including himself.


    Ruling Sword would never mistreat the members of their guild, but the players on their Elite teams only received half the salary of the players in the Gangnam Royals.


    The reason for this could only be explained by their limited financial resources.


    The fourth item was a Mold for a Dark Gold Grade equip called ''Frozen Belt'', and was also one of the rarest drops that Azuregos dropped.


    If the Mold was crafted perfectly, the stats on the belt would be comparable to that of a Legendary equip.


    Azuregos also dropped a a Tailoring Pattern: Bottomless Bag.


    The Bottomless Bag was an upgraded version of the Netherweave Bag. Not only did it give the player an additional 18 slots, but it was also relatively cheap to craft as the materials were quite common.


    The Pattern was given to someone else because March Rain did not have the time to craft thousands and thousands of bags. She was too valuable to be put on bag crafting duty as it would take months for her to finish.


    The guild had its own tailoring department, so the task was naturally assigned to them.


    The last three items were all rare materials and this was one of the reasons why major guilds enjoyed hunting Wild Bosses.


    "I suggest giving the rare materials to Lu Li," Square Root Three interrupted. "You may not know, but the contraption that transformed the boss was handcrafted by Lu Li himself!"


    "Wow, you''re so awesome boss!"


    "Transforming such a big boss into a tiny little chicken ¨C only Lu Li is capable of doing something like that. I''m very impressed."


    "Just give the rare materials to Lu Li; he deserves it. Besides, who knows whether we''d be able to defeat Azuregos without his Poultryizer.


    Most players agreed to Square Root 3''s suggestion. Since Ruling Sword was still a relatively new guild, the members were less greedy and scheming.


    However, there was still a particular group of players who were salty about this.


    There was a player that had been kicked out of the guild by Square Root Three because he failed to obey Lu Li''s commands and placed his teammates in great danger, almost resulting in a completely team wipe.


    When he was kicked, a few of his friends followed and left the guild voluntarily. However, there were some that did not leave and stayed on for no particular reason.


    They made sure their voices were heard and began trash-talking.


    One of them muttered angrily, "If you want to keep all the profit to yourself, then just do it. Why are you making up an excuse about some stupid Poultryizer? Wasn''t that crafted by the materials in the guild storage?!"


    "Yeah, three rare materials is quite a large sum; you can''t just take it all yourself."


    This caused a great commotion in the guild and made some other members question the same thing.


    Fat Monkey was already quite temperamental and when he heard them trash talking, he just exploded without holding back.


    "Blah blah blah blah, just kick them."


    He muted everyone and only allowed himself to talk.


    Although Fat Monkey was a hothead, he definitely wasn''t stupid. He was the one who had discovered the Thief Wu Qin that tried to steal their Boss kill.


    "Check the guild storage records and look at how many points Lu Li used up to exchange for the materials. Think to yourself whether he took advantage of the guild or not. Besides, each Poultryizer can sell for 70 to 80 gold and we used 17 today, which equates to around $10,000. Do you really think the three rare materials can cover his expenses?"


    "What equips did Lu Li gain from today?"


    "Without his shot calling today, ask yourself whether we could defeat this boss or not."


    "The two friends of XxWhores, it was because of his unwillingness to follow the shot call that made so many players die. He''s lucky that we didn''t punish him for his misdoings, yet you guys hang around and mess with our guild''s peace and harmony. Don''t forget that even though this is a game, we can still take legal action against you in real life if you continue to stir up trouble."


    Even Lu Li wanted to clap for him. He was touched because he now knew that Fat Monkey had his back completely.


    In reality, Fat Monkey was annoyed that Square Root Three did not speak up about this matter. He never intended on taking up the role of the bad cop. Besides, he was in charge of leading the Mages and needed to uphold a leadership image.


    The two players who were trash-talking wisely decided to shut up.


    Not everyone had the courage to stand up for their friends, especially when it came to such a sensitive topic such as kicking a member from the guild.


    After the entire ordeal, Lu Li decided it was best for him not to argue and to just accept the three rare materials.


    Although they were not worth as much as the money he put into crafting the Poultryizers, he was still pleased nonetheless.


    Out of the three, there were two rare materials that only dropped from Azuregos. Even if you had the money, you couldn''t buy them on the exchange hall.


    One of them was called Mature Blue Dragon Sinew and could be used for cooking. Hachi Chan looked at Lu Li with desperate eyes because she wanted to feed it to her pet dragon.


    Lu Li obviously refused because Mature Blue Dragon Sinew wasn''t food, but a quest item.


    Many Hunters would do anything to defeat Azuregos because the quest that required the Sinew rewarded a Legendary Hunter weapon which had amazing stats.

 842 Weather-Beaten Journal

    After the spoils were distributed, everyone left and went on to do their own thing.


    Such was the life of gamers; they only come together when called by the guild. The rest of the time, they usually travelled alone or in small groups and trained to make themselves more powerful.


    By travelling alone, they had the drops to themselves and were also paid by the guild,meaning that most of these players were pretty well off.


    They could also train in large groups where guilds members willingly partied-up to take up an entire map by kicking out outsiders.


    However, Ruling Swords rarely did this because the land of Azeroth was vast and open. There was no need to fight over normal monsters unless there was a map full of weak monsters that offered good EXP or if a guild was hunting a particular monster for a rare drop.


    Lu Li decided not to train today and chose to spend his time with his little sister instead.


    This was the first time that Lu Xin had logged on since her first surgery. Lu Li only allowed her to play after consulting with the doctors.


    According to Lu Xin''s doctor, she needed to be happy in order to recover quickly from her surgery. Keeping her cooped up at home all day would negatively impact both her mental and physical health.


    However, she was unable to go outside yet and Lu Li was too worried to let her wander around anyway, so gaming was the perfect solution.


    Today was the Christmas Fishing Event and she wanted to come on to spectate.


    Fishing was one of the most fun professions in the game. Levelling up your Fishing allowed you to fish in higher-level areas to catch rarer species and other creatures.


    The fish caught were mostly used as ingredients in cooking or sold to other players for special missions. There was also a low chance of receiving rare items such as equipment, materials, treasure maps, pets and mounts.


    During fishing events, countless players would gather around the shores of Stranglethorn and fish all day.


    Fishing in-game was not completely the same as real life, but the skill was still somewhat transferable.


    Since Lu Li had grown up in poverty, he never had the luxury of going fishing.


    However, in his past life, he did invest some time into Fishing and knew about a very useful book called the Weather-Beaten Journal.


    This book taught the player how to find fish.


    There were usually less fish in clear bodies of water, hence the Chinese idiom ''No fish in clear water''. As such, the veteran fishermen would search for murky water, or use other techniques they had learned over the years to find schools of fish. The casual fishmen didn''t have the same experience and would likely never be truly efficient in this profession.


    The Weather-Beaten Journal would solve this problem.


    Lu Li was behind in his Fishing level, so he couldn''t compete against those who practiced everyday without this book.


    Although there were several ways to obtain it, Lu Li never managed to get his hands on one in his past life.


    His best chance right now was to find the one located in Southshore.


    Besides Darnassus, this was probably the place that Lu Li had visited the most. There were countless mysteries hidden away in this timeless town.


    Two people were walking towards him he entered ¨C one was Kel''Thuzad and the other was Helcular. Kel''Thuzad was trying to convince his pupil to learn Nethermancy. The real Kel''Thuzad had already become the second in command of the Scourge.


    Lu Li decided to go visit Tyran Fordring, who he had failed to save in another quest.


    When he arrived at the house, there were people inside discussing the Scourge. When he entered, Lu Li saw all the big names of the background lore of Dawn, including Scarlet Commander Mograine, High General Abbendis, Isillien and Tirion Fordring. Arcanist Doan of Scarlet Monastery was also present; he was the one that Lu Li had killed to receive his Ravenholdt Badge.


    Lu Li did not interrupt these people and went straight to the second floor instead.


    Tyran was only around 5 years old at this time. His father never had enough time to spend time with him and forged this hammer for him to play with, hoping that one day he too would follow the Holy Path.


    "Hello Tyran," Lu Li said as he knelt down to be at eye level with him.


    "Who are you? I''ve never seen you before."


    The little boy was holding his hammer, on guard of the person he was talking to.


    "Your father is a great man. Remember to always trust him and not let evil devour the Holy Light in your heart," Lu Li said sincerely.


    "Of course my father is a great man, but why would I listen to you? You''re just a Thief. I hate Thieves because you''re so sneaky and cunning," Tyran sneered in contempt.


    "Child, true honor is not defined by race or class, but by one''s character. Goodbye."


    Lu Li patted the child on his head, stood up and left with a sense of sadness.


    Before he reached the dock, he heard two fishermen talking nearby.


    Nat Pagle: "Hal¡­"


    Hal McAllister: "What''s up, Nat?"


    Nat Pagle: "I had the same dream last night¡­."


    Hal McAllister: "Which one?"


    Nat Pagle: "The one where thousands of people looked down and mocked our dream from the sky. It was like we were puppets controlled by them. We were dancing and crying and fighting for their amusement. Sometimes, I think they''re watching us, even when we''re awake like right now¡­"


    Hal McAllister: "Shut up and fish, Nat."


    It was a very weird conversation between the two fishermen. Lu Li wanted to hear the dream about Tyran, so he stayed and kept listening.


    Nat Pagle: "Hal¡­"


    Hal McAllister: "Yea, Nat?"


    Nat Pagle: "I had that dream last night again¡­."


    Hal McAllister: "Which one?"


    Nat Pagle: "That one where I''m in Durnholde and Orc orc that Blackmoore keeps as his personal slave breaks out. He ends up destroying the whole keep, Orcs we''re keeping in the camps, and rising to power as the king of Orcs... Warchief or somethin''.Crazy, isn''t it?


    Hal McAllister: "Impossible!"


    This wasn''t the answer that Lu Li wanted, but his heart skipped a beat. This was a prophecy about Warchief Thrall escaping from Durnholde and becoming the king of Orcs.


    Back then, no one had listened to Nag Pagle''s dreams.


    Nat Pagle: "Hal¡­"


    Hal McAllister: "Yea, Nat?"


    Nat Pagle: "I had that dream last night again¡­."


    Hal McAllister: "Which one?"

 843 Fishing Master

    A young Nat was conversing with his good friend about his dreams. What he did not know, however, was that his dreams were all connected with the many events in Dawn''s history.


    These included: the reformation of the society under Tyran, the Legion''s invasion, Archimonde''s destruction, Thrall''s escape and eventual succession as the leader of the Orcs, the fall of Arthas which caused the destruction of Lordaeron, and the invasion of the Scourge.


    All of these represented most of Dawn''s history. Furthermore, the dreams had all coincidentally come from mind of Nat Pagle, who was just a young fisherman.


    That was why Southshore was known as a place that was lost in the river of time.


    Lu Li''s sudden words had interrupted the conversation that Nat Pagle and his friend was having.


    "I believe that you''ll be a fishing expert. People coming from the corners of the world will come and pay respects."


    "Oh, look at this young man who''s full of vigour!" Hal McAllister exclaimed in surprise.


    Although Hal McAllister was a fisherman now, he would eventually become a fish merchant. His life was not going to change much, and he would become much like the other commoners.


    However, Nat Pagle, who was destined to be a great fisherman in the future, did not flinch or show excitement at Lu Li''s words.


    In Azeroth, many of the fishing equipment was associated with Nat Pagle, such as Nat''s Lucky Fishing Pole, Nat Pagle''s Extreme Angler FC-5000 (Limited Edition) and Nat Pagle''s Extreme Anglin'' Boots. These were all extremely prestigious and high-grade items.


    At the same time, if a player''s Fishing profession level exceeded 250, they would be eligible to receive a mission from Nat Pagle, who would ask them to fish for different rare species around the world. It was only after the completion of this mission that Nat Pagle would be willing to teach them an elite fishing technique.


    However, Nat Pagle was not bound to Southshore.


    He always appeared in areas which had no connection with fishing at all, and gave extremely vague, riddle-like responses. As a result, the players who liked to investigate the lore of the NPCs and characters in Dawn were drawn towards his character. They grew to be suspicious of his background and identity.


    Lu Li had already learned about Nat Pagle in his previous life.


    Nat Pagle could also be found in Theramore, and was associated with the book ''The Despicable Creatures of the Deep Sea''. While he was arrogant, he was also an extremely knowledgeable expert on sea creatures.


    Dustwallow Marsh also had a Nat Pagle NPC. Although it was in the territory of the great Mage Jaina, she only controlled the north side of the area.


    The black dragons controlled the Southwestern region of Dustwallow Marsh. Their leader was a fearsome dragon called Onyxia, who was the daughter of Deathwing and also the sister of Nefarian, the king of the Blackrock Spire.


    The dragons in Theramore were much more dangerous, as they were much more organised in battle.


    However, Nat Pagle still dared to fish there, separated from them by a mere mountain range. He was seemingly not afraid of these savage and powerful beasts.


    There was yet another Nat Pagle in Zulgurub who was hunting a three-headed snake Boss. He might have failed though, since Nat Pagle''s Broken Reel was left behind in the Instance.


    He was the owner of an exquisite fishing pole called Nat Pagle''s Fish Terminator. There was a sentence that was carved into the wood that read, "Fishing is a sport for women." Clearly, Nat Pagle was not merely a normal fisherman in saying this.


    As for his character, it did not worry Lu Li. He still dared to try for the Weather-Beaten Journal.


    According to Lu Li''s strategy, the interruption of their conversation would successfully attract both of their attentions.


    ''What are you doing here? Young men like you should be working hard outside," Nat Pagle said with a frown, ignoring Lu Li''s statement.


    However, Lu Li had already known that he would not buy into it. He smiled and answered, "I have already battled for too long. Look at this wound that I received from slaying a dragon."


    While Lu Li talked, he also decided show him Mature Blue Dragon Sinew.


    "Blue Dragon Azuregos!"


    Nat Pagle''s facial expression quickly changed.


    Lu Li had only needed to show that he wasn''t weak, but he had been a little excessive this time. Fortunately, Nat Pagle was only an NPC. Otherwise, he might have had a heart attack.


    If a player had simply said, "I love fishing! I vow to be the greatest fisherman in the world," this would have meant nothing to him. After all, Nat Pagle himself had claimed that fishing was for women, which indicated that he did not enjoy it, despite being a renowned expert.


    "I also occasionally fish to satisfy my hunger," Lu Li said as he sat down beside them.


    Each bait cost 10 silver coins, and they didn''t provide any special properties. The baits were also of the lowest grade, which was why he had openly denounced his own profession.


    Lu Li sitting down with them was normal. After all, fishing was a social activity. There was even the possibility of becoming a couple.


    What if it was a man?


    Could a man not become a couple with another man? This was not something that was out of the ordinary.


    Through fishing together like this, Lu Li was able to gain favour and improve his relationship with Nat Pagle and Hal McAllister.


    However, they managed to find other things to criticise.


    "Your fishing position is wrong, and your grip on the rod is too tense. Your hands will ache after a long period of time," Hal McAllister said, sharing his own opinion.


    Furthermore, Nat Pagle was not impressed with Lu Li''s fishing equipment and scoffed, "Even a child wouldn''t use equipment as basic as this."


    "There isn''t much good equipment in the cities. Everyone treats the fishing profession in contempt. Furthermore, no one is willing to pay the standard market price for the fish sold by merchants," Lu Li lied.


    The truth was that fishing is actually a highly sought-after profession.


    Fishing was especially popular for the mature-aged players, as they did not need to travel far, like they would need to in real life.


    "Fishing is actually extremely useful," Nat Pagle sighed.


    "Nat, why don''t you give him the equipment that you had made a few days ago?" Hal McAllister asked. He seemed like a generous old man, but he would not lose anything if Nat gave Lu Li the equipment anyway.


    "No!" Nat Pagle rejected the proposal immediately.


    Lu Li was disappointed. However, his goal was not to gain new fishing equipment, but the Weather-Beaten Journal, so he was still in good spirits.

 844 Prestigious Fishing Equipmen

    He didn''t even wait for Lu Li to answer and proceeded to say strictly, "You know what I hate the most? People who don''t work for their gains. If you want my fishing equipment, you must use 300 gold coins in exchange, and not one less."


    "Can I have a look at the properties first?" Lu Li asked.


    Three hundred gold coins was not a small amount in Dawn; this amounted to around 20,000 or 30,000 dollars. To use that much money on fishing equipment was insanity. Furthermore, 300 gold coins was the price of an exquisite Gold grade equip at that time.


    Even NPCs tried to strike bargains.


    In Dawn, 80% of the players who were scammed were tricked by the NPCs themselves. The fishing equipment that was placed in front of Lu Li at this current moment was a typical scam.


    As soon as any player heard that this is worth 300 gold, they would think that it was incomparably powerful.


    However, the truth was that this was only a little better than what could be commercially bought in stores, and it was non-refundable as well.


    "Of course¡­" Nat Pagle hesitated, then said stubbornly, "Of course not! If you don''t want it, then leave!"


    "Alright, alright. I want it, but I have a request," Lu Li said, seemingly without choice. Fortunately, he had a generous amount of coins on him. Otherwise, he would have just turned around and left.


    "What is it?" Nat Pagle asked as he nodded his head slightly, thinking about repairing the leak in the roof of his house.


    "You must teach me how to fish like an expert," Lu Li said slyly.


    "Teach you how to fish? How do I teach that? Nat Pagle and Hal McAllister both asked at the same time. Although they were fisherman in Southshore, they weren''t experts yet, and no one had approached them for lessons.


    "Well, then teach me what you know, like the location of the fish, the abundance of fish..."


    "This¡­well, if you can''t pick it up even after a long time, then what do we do?"


    "Then you keep on teaching me, until I know it," Lu Li said shamelessly. These types of requests were extremely annoying to NPC and players, since they basically said, "You can''t blame me if you''re dumb."


    "Alright, I agree," Nat Pagle said as he took out a fishing rod, a pair of boots, a hat, and a bag of lure from his bag. In addition to these, he also transferred a book to Lu Li.


    There were quite a few items in his bag; Lu Li was beginning to worry about their quality.


    He was calm when he saw the rod and the lures, but when he saw the book, he became increasingly excited. The strategy to get this book was right on the money! As long as the player stuck around Nat Pagle and was determined for him to teach the player how to fish, he would give them the book.


    The strategy that he had employed for this particular scenario was a little different to what he had expected. Fortunately, the outcome was the same.


    If the coins and the book were to be compared in a vacuum, the coins might have been worth more to Lu Li after all. However, if he was a passionate fisherman who wanted to be an expert, then this book had a much higher value. Three hundred gold coins did not take long for him to farm anyway.


    Lu Li did not have a lot of time to fish, so this was a little extravagant on his part.


    "This book tells you where the fish are. Alright, time for you to go. Don''t intrude in my conversation with Hal," Nat Pagle dismissed, then turned his head and said, "Hal¡­"


    "What is it, Nat?"


    "The other night, I dreamt about that dream again¡­"


    Lu Li, once again, was out of the scene. As a player who had experienced all of this already, he did not bother himself with learning useless information.


    Weather-Beaten Journal: Use ¨C Identifies shoals of fish on a mini-map within 300 yards.


    After using the item, Lu Li learned how to identify the locations of fish. He tested this by opening the mini-map function, then tried the skill out for himself. After this, he found that there was a yellow sign which indicated the presence of fish around 100 yards from his position.


    Lu Li rushed over to the point on the map, and saw that there was a large, dark circle over the water.


    When he was about to cast out his original rod, he suddenly remembered the equipment that the book had come with.


    Nat''s Lucky Fishing Pole (Special): After equipping, fishing proficiency +50 levels. Requirement: Journeyman level 110.


    What? Level 110?


    Lu Li was confused, before he quickly realised that the ''110'' referred to his Journeyman level, and not his actual level.


    Nat''s Lucky Hat (Special): After equipping, fishing proficiency +30 levels. Requirement: Journeyman level 80.


    Nat''s Lucky Boots (Special): After equipping, fishing proficiency +20 levels. Requirement: Journeyman level 60.


    These were some excellent items indeed!


    This whole set raised his fishing proficiency by 100 levels! Lu Li was delighted at the fact that he didn''t need to raise his fishing level to 110 to equip all of them.


    His current level was at 68, which was considered one of the lowest among players who fished. After all, he did not have that much time that he could invest into it.


    Even so, a fishing level of 68 actually allowed him to equip Nat''s Lucky Boots, which then increased his level to 88 and allowed him to exceed the Hat''s requirements. Since his fishing levels were boosted again, he was then able to equip the fishing rod.


    After equipping all of the bought equipment, the original beginner suddenly became level 168.


    Nat Pagle had also given him a bag of fish lure. However, this was quite common and could be bought in fishing stores, as it was a necessity. The difference between a common bag of lure and this one was in the quality.


    The lures that were sold in shops had only cost 5 Copper per bag, and only increased fishing level by 5.


    Aquadynamic Fish Lens: +50 Fishing.


    There were 10 in one bag, and each could be used for 10 minutes each. Obviously in real life, the lure would need to be replaced after every catch.


    Lu Li did not use these lures, not just because of the lack of fish in the area, but also because the fish here did not require high fishing levels to catch.


    In Dawn, players could not just cast their rods into the sea blindly. Different maps and towns had different level requirements. According to Lu Li''s memory, the level requirement was 80 in Southshore. Since he was now at level 168. he had far exceeded the requirements.


    After casting his rod into the sea, Lu Li began to fish.

 845 Fishing Competition

    In these circumstances, Lu Li had to pay attention to his casts. He had to land the hook in the small circle that represented a fish, otherwise, he wouldn''t catch it.


    The ability to land it in the circle was the difference between successful and unsuccessful fishermen. Fishing within these small circles was more likely to yield exquisite fish species, mounts, pets, equipment and materials.


    The floater bobbed along the clear waters of the lake. Just like in real life, you had to wait patiently.


    After a while, it would suddenly jerk, which was quite realistic. In real life, this didn''t always mean there was a fish on the line, but in the game, your odds were high.


    Lu Li''s current fishing level wasn''t that high, but he had landed perfectly in the circle. He pulled the rod without hesitation and a five-inch-long Bristle Whisker Catfish jumped out of the water.


    The System them prompted that he had received a fresh Bristle Whisker Catfish and gained 2 Fishing EXP.


    The reason why it was 2 points instead of 1 was because the Bristle Whisker Catfish was usually caught at Intermediate (85). Although Lu Li was Intermediate (168), his level was only (68) after removing the fishing tackle bonus.


    Of course, a higher-class fish would grant more EXP.


    The fishing competition was held on the shorelines of Stranglethorn Vale and required a fishing skill of 150. Lu Li had already reached this threshold, but he didn''t mind increasing his skill a little further.


    Each area had a minimum Fishing Skill requirement. If you didn''t meet that requirement, you wouldn''t get any bites at all. Moreover, if your skill level was less than the requirement by 50, you would find that the fish would escape.


    As such, the higher the level, the greater the success rate of landing a fish.


    Lu Li didn''t stay in Southshore to for his sister to come online. There was fewer fish there and they were capped at level 80, which didn''t satisfy him.


    Instead, he decided to wait for Lu Xin at Booty Bay, where the fish were much higher-levelled.


    When Lu Xin came online, Lu Li''s fishing level had risen to 125, which meant he was at a total of 225 with his equipment bonus. However, he had not been using lures. Even the lowest-level bait could add at 5 levels, which would put him at 230.


    "Big bro, I want to join too!" Lu Xin begged as she pulled at Lu Li''s arm.


    "You can''t. It''s too exciting and the doctor said you can''t get too excited," Lu Li refused.


    "But the doctor said it was okay to play the game¡­" Lu Xin whined. She felt hurt as she looked around at other players joyfully holding the fish that they had caught while she was being talked down to.


    "Sorry. This is non-negotiable," Lu Li said sternly. In his eyes, he was protecting his sister from any risk of harm.


    "Hey, Lu Li, Xin Xin!"


    Someone was calling out to them. Lu Li turned his head and saw that it was Water Fairy. Even through her veil, he immediately recognized her. In fact, he also had his mask on.


    "Water Sister!" Lu Xin exclaimed as she ran over and grabbed Water Fairy''s hand.


    "Xin Xin, how are you?" Water Fairy asked. She was also happy to see Lu Xin, and her facial features softened.


    "The doctor said that I was recovering well," Lu Xin said, then pouted and added, "Water Sister, you lied. You said you would visit me, but you haven''t in so long. Every day, I just sit in the house reading. I felt like I''m going to suffocate."


    "Sorry, I''ve just been very busy lately. I promise to see you in two days," Water Fairy said apologetically.


    "Stop bothering her; you know Water Fairy is busy," Lu Li scolded, holding his sister back in embarrassment.


    "Oh yeah, my brother is also bullying me. He won''t let me go fishing," Lu Xin complained.


    "Don''t bully your sister," Water Fairy chided, before turning back to Lu Xin and saying, "How about you come fishing with me? I have a complete fishing set that gives me more than 100 fishing levels. Xin Xin, what level is your fishing¡­"


    The two girls then began to chat away, completely ignoring Lu Li''s existence.


    "Hey, the competition is about to begin. Are you going to try and get first place?" Lu Li asked. He felt embarrassed about interrupting Water Fairy, who seemed occupied with his sister, but he couldn''t help it.


    "Please, you''re kidding," Water Fairy said as she shook her head disdainfully and continued, "How do we stand a chance in getting first place? There are people who do this all day, every day. I wouldn''t be surprised if there were Fishing Masters by now."


    Lu Li was stunned and had to admit that she was right.


    He was a combat player and no matter what equipment he had, those players had spent all their time perfecting their Trade Skill.


    If the other players who practiced this every day could be caught up to by Lu Li, then this game would be completely imbalanced.


    Moreover, fishing was the easiest of all the Trade Skills to upgrade. It didn''t have a high cost, as rods and tackle were fairly inexpensive, and it didn''t require any formulas. Most importantly, it was always exciting, as you never knew when your next bite would come.


    Lu Li''s had matched his Engineering level in three days, but those old men had been fishing the whole time.


    Even a fishing level of 230 wouldn''t be enough to compete against them.


    "Quick, it''s starting," Lu Xin said as she pulled her brother''s hand with one hand and Water Fairy''s hand with the other.


    When they reached the water''s edge, a small Booty Bay goblin could be heard shouting, "The Fishing Competition has begun!"


    In that moment, a special Scrumptious Fish spawned along the coast of Stranglethorn Vale. This was a designated species for the match, and whoever caught the most Scrumptious Fish would win. The waters didn''t have this fish prior to this.


    Lu Li kept protecting his sister and quickly caught fish.


    "Look at where I''m casting my rod and follow me," Lu Li said to Water Fairy. "I have a skill that lets me¡­"


    After hearing Lu Li''s explanation, Water Fairy was flabbergasted, but she thought that this skill was a waste on Lu Li''s. If he was a fishing professional, the effect would be ten thousand times more efficient.


    "Big bro, its moving! Quickly, pull it out!" Lu Xin shouted. She seemed like the most excited person there.


    Lu Li looked her deeply in the eye and said, "Xin Xin, if you carry on like this, I won''t let you continue playing the game."


    He was the one who was most scared for this girl. The doctor said that it was fine, but how could he feel relieved after the desperation he had felt in his previous life?


    "Okay," Lu Xin agreed, sticking out her tongue.

 846 Little Sister

    "The best time to pull is three to five seconds after it bobs," Lu Li said as he slowly pulled up a purple Scrumptious Fish that was desperately struggling on the hook.


    He had caught his first fish!


    The old man standing near them watched Lu Li''s group in envy. They were all young, so he thought that their fishing level couldn''t have been very high.


    He watched as they had a jolly time, but he didn''t expect Lu Li to actually get anything. It was said that the Scrumptious fish was very difficult to catch.


    The old man had excellent fishing skills and had already made two catches, but neither of them were Scrumptious Fish. The fishing competition only counted the Scrumptious Fish, so the others were useless.


    When Water Fairy also pulled up a fish, the old man''s face turned green with envy.


    It was another Scrumptious Fish!


    Lu Xin clapped her hands happily and Water Fairy''s face also lit up. Of course, they were able to catch two Scrumptious Fish in a row because they knew the trick to it, but to those who didn''t, it definitely looked very impressive.


    "Grandpa, there''s something on your hook," Lu Xin kindly reminded this old man who seemed to be dreaming.


    "Oh¡­oh¡­"


    The old man regained his composure and gave his rod a yank.


    A Scrumptious Fish!


    He quickly put it away and regained some of his confidence.


    However, in the next moment, this was crushed as he watched Lu Li pull out his second Scrumptious Fish.


    Then, Water Fairy caught another one, and Lu Li yet another!


    The poor old man, who had experienced so much in his life, was now being so easily beaten like this.


    However, after successfully pulling up four fish, Lu Li picked up his fishing tackle and began to leave with Lu Xin and Water Fairy.


    "Why are we leaving such a good spot?"


    Both Water Fairy and Lu Xin didn''t want to go ¨C they had managed to catch four fish in less than a minute. If they continued on, they were bound to get the Epic equipment.


    "There''s no more fish; a fishing spot can only be fished from four or five times. At most it would be six. That would be too imbalanced otherwise," Lu Li laughed. There had to be some restrictions on how they could find fish.


    Later, they found two more fishing spots, but both were occupied. Those players didn''t know that it was a fishing spot, but some were lucky and stumbled upon it. Stranglethorn Vale was now quite filled with players.


    Water Fairy didn''t know what else to say.


    "Maybe I''ll just find a quiet spot to continue fishing."


    "Let me keep looking," Lu Li insisted. After a few minutes, they finally found a place that was less crowded.


    One Scrumptious Fish!


    Two Scrumptious Fish!


    The third should also have been a Scrumptious Fish, but when Water Fairy pulled it out, something didn''t feel right.


    It wasn''t the blueish-purple Scrumptious Fish, but a red monster with claws.


    "It''s a lobster!" Lu Xin exclaimed.


    She really liked eating lobster, and back when they were poor, having it was quite a treat. Unfortunately, one of the kinds of foods that she couldn''t eat after the surgery was crayfish.


    After Water Fairy picked it up, she put the so called ''Mr.Claws'' into her backpack.


    "Why did I get a lobster instead of a Scrumptious Fish?" Water Fairy asked in disappointment. Although she didn''t expect to win, she was still hoping to walk away with a decent catch. After all, the Scrumptious Fish was the currency of the fishing competition and could be traded to the NPCs for EXP, money, equipment, clothes, pets and more.


    "Keep fishing, and don''t throw away Mr.Claws. I''ll show you a trick with it later," Lu Li said as he shook his head. This woman had no idea what she was doing.


    "What kind of trick?" Water Fairy asked.


    "You''ll see in a bit. I actually wanted to catch one myself," Lu Li sighed.


    "I''ll give it to you then," Water Fairy offered generously.


    When he heard this, Lu Li looked at her in surprise.


    "You can''t. Don''t you know that fishing loot can''t be traded during fishing competitions?"


    "I¡­ I forgot," Water Fairy muttered, then went back to focusing on her floater and pulled up a black fish.


    "Big bro, I want to fish too," Lu Xin begged in a cute voice. Particularly since she was recovering, this was the only weapon she could use.


    Perhaps she had just been spoiled by the landladies and Lu Li was too busy playing the game to notice.


    "Alright, but you have to follow my instructions. Don''t get too excited ¨C otherwise, I''ll send you to bed," Lu Li said helplessly, then took out a rod and tackle.


    In fact, he already had the equipment ready, and was just waiting for Lu Xin to calm down before giving it to her.


    "Big bro is the best!" Lu Xin exclaimed as she gave her brother a kiss.


    "Hey, you already have a fish!" Lu Li pointed out.


    Lu Xin was a casual player and would fish from time to time, so she was naturally more proficient at this than Lu Li and already had quite a high Fishing level.


    With the three of them using it at once, the spot wasn''t sustainable. However, Lu Li quickly thought of a idea ¨C he would find a fishing spot for Water Fairy, then find one for Lu Xin before finding one for himself¡­


    "Hey, little girl, are you alone? Do you want me to help you?"


    Lu Xin was a cute little girl and was bound to attract some attention. These two players with fishing rods had seen her as they were walking along.


    Perhaps they had come up to talk to her because they saw that Lu Xin was alone.


    "That''s alright. My big bro is here," Lu Xin replied seriously because she was focused on fishing. She didn''t notice any malicious intent from them at all.


    "Your brother? Where is he? We can''t see him. How about we stick together? We are both fishing experts with high level floaters and lures. We''ll share what we get with you; we''re both good people," the two players offered. They seemed like decent people; the taller one even looked quite gentle like a middle school teacher.


    "I don''t want to ¨C you''re both bad guys. I''m staying with my big bro," Lu Xin said as she stared at him.


    Anyone that tried to take her away from her big bro was a bad person ¨C there was no question about it!


    "Hey¡­"


    One of them felt like the reason she had for thinking that they were bad guys was not quite right.


    "Little girl, your little face is so cute¡­" the shorter player said with a smile, but he was afraid to attack her. If the System determined that they were harassing this young girl, the punishment would not be as simple as being killed. They might even lose their accounts.


    However, these kinds of actions and words were already harmful for an underage girl.

 847 End Of The Competition

    Lu Xin was a little scared, but she wasn''t completely afraid because she knew that her brother wouldn''t let her get hurt.


    Even though he needed to find the right fish, Lu Li couldn''t completely relax because he needed to keep an eye on Lu Xin.


    "I think you''re crossing a line."


    There once was a time when a child bullied Lu Xin, so Lu Li went to school to teach him a lesson.


    Lu Li needed to work to support them, so he couldn''t just spend his time watching out for her at school. As such, he decided to deal with the problem permanently, and broke both the legs of that kid. By doing this, he dealt with anyone else that thought they could cross them.


    Lu Li really appreciated a line in an old move, "You must protect your family at all costs, even if it means killing again. If I had to do this, I would destroy the world in exchange for my family."


    "Who are you? Don''t you see I''m busy?" the tall gentleman asked as his expression changed. I


    "I am her brother. Xin Xin, you turn around and catch your fish," Lu Li said slowly.


    "Big bro, I''m not scared," Lu Xin boldly declared as she stared at him. She had been born in a poor world and had seen it all. She liked watching her brother beat people up; it gave her a sense of security.


    Sap!


    As the taller gentleman was frozen, he watched as his partner was hit by a Cheap Shot. Even though Lu Li didn''t use an Ultimate Skill, he still killed him in one hit.


    After this event, both of them would think back and wonder how they managed to make someone so angry. If this had happened in real life, they probably would have been killed as well.


    The taller gentleman didn''t escape death either and was quickly dealt with.


    For taking advantage of Lu Xin, Lu Li was forced to draw arms and take extreme measures. Even the spectators around them didn''t dare to voice any objections.


    Most of them were Trade Skill players or ordinary players.


    When considering Dawn''s huge player base, the number of elite and star players was negligible. When they saw Lu Li kill the two men in three attacks, they felt a cold shiver down their spines and forgot for a moment that this was just a game.


    When Water Fairy came over, she saw the two bodies that hadn''t disappeared yet.


    "What happened?"


    "There were two people who seemed like they had nothing better to do. I''ll help you find more fishing spots, and I''ll stay with Lu Xin," Lu Li explained as he threw a hook into the water that Lu Xin was standing in front of.


    "It''s okay if we fish together. It doesn''t really matter if we don''t get anything out of a Trade Skill event like this," Water Fairy said, obviously understanding what had happened.


    "Alright then," Lu Li agreed.


    He was starting to consider the possibility of hiring a few bodyguards, like many of the major guild leaders did.


    Of course, this couldn''t be done in an ordinary game, as everyone was just messing around.


    But why would a guild member waste their time greeting a nobody? As such, with the rise of virtual games, what was impossible had become commonplace.


    If a guild leader was assassinated, it wasn''t just a matter of losing equipment or EXP ¨C it was a slap to the guild''s face. Assassinating a guild leader was like slapping the board of directors of a top-500 company in the face.


    Normally, the most common profession chosen as a bodyguard was a Thief or Assassin.


    They would hide in the shadows and follow their employers to protect them if necessary. Most of the time, they would be divided into several teams and would rotate between being a bodyguard and playing casually.


    It was said that Sorrowless had more than 100 bodyguards, and it cost a fortune to pay them.


    However, given their infamy, this amount of money spent was worth it.


    As a new guild leader, Lu Li hadn''t set up anything like this so far. Lu Li did not want bodyguards for himself, but to protect his sister.


    To him, his younger sister was more important than the guild''s image.


    Fishing as a group of three was actually quite enjoyable and they happily chatted away.


    Two hours quickly passed and the small goblin''s voice sounded throughout Stranglethorn Value ¨C the first fishing competition was over.


    Players flocked to the NPC that had appeared in Stranglethorn Vale, and after they registered their items they would be entered into the rankings. The reason they were rushing was because a tie was decided by whoever registered first.


    Fortunately, there were plenty of NPCs that spawned, so there wasn''t a stampede.


    Lu Li counted his own fish ¨C he had caught a total of 46 Scrumptious Fish, but that probably wasn''t enough for a high ranking.


    Over the duration of the competition, he had also acquired some thorny algae, which was an Alchemy material, along with some fur, cloth, ore and other types of fish.


    These types of fish didn''t have any effects and couldn''t be cooked, but they could be sold in stores for money. Some could sell for up to hundreds of gold coins.


    Of course, the few that Lu Li had were ordinary and weren''t worth much.


    He hadn''t managed to find any Saddles for mounts; it seemed like the drop rate was too low. However, he had found two Fishing equips. Neither were better than what he already had so he gave them to Lu Xin.


    Water Fairy was in a similar situation, but she had Mr. Claws.


    Lu Xin''s luck was a little better ¨C she had acquired a box that had a ''White Beach Ball''. It came with a note: Prepare to play on the sunny beach.


    Lu Li knew that this could be played with like a real beach ball.


    Soon after, all the players had registered and the results of the fishing competition were announced. The outcome was exactly as Lu Li had remembered ¨C the winner was an old man.


    He had won the championship with 245 Scrumptious Fish. Lu Li couldn''t even imagine how he had achieved this.


    There were only 120 minutes in 2 hours, so he had to catch at least two fish every minute. Surely that was impossible, but part of Dawn''s slogan was that ''miracles could happen anywhere'', and this old man received the System''s recognition.


    The second-place player was very surprising, or at least Lu Li was shocked.


    It was Remnant Dream!

 848 Daddy

    There was no way it was this girl!


    Lu Li''s rebirth must have changed some things. The third-placed player was correct, but the second-place player shouldn''t have been this little hunter.


    Lu Li''s group didn''t make it onto the list; they weren''t even on the top 100.


    Most of the winners were professional fishermen. They spent all day by the waterside, learning all the intricacies of fishing. As such, it was to be expected that they would win.


    In fact, Lu Li suspected that he wasn''t the only one who could see the fishing spots.


    If an amateur like Lu Li could win something at this competition, then there would be a real problem. The game wouldn''t be fair at all.


    However, Lu Li couldn''t be bothered messaging Remnant Dream to ask her how she did it. He wasn''t that curious about it.


    After the top 100 were announced, they began to hand out the awards.


    At the Fishing Competition Award Ceremony, a fishing master was responsible for handing out the awards. It wasn''t Pat Nagle, but an NPC called Hemingway.


    He lived in a house on the right side of Booty Bay, and players would often go looking for him. Lu Li''s fishing skill book ''Whales and You'' had been purchased from him.


    The old fisherman obviously represented the writer Ernest Hemingway and ''Whales and You'' was a parody of his famous novel ''Old man and the sea''.


    This famous book described a strong old fisherman trying to catch his prey while fighting against the sea. People who liked fishing had a lot to learn from this book.


    In addition, Stranglethorn Vale''s creative naming had also come from another one of Hemingway''s masterpieces ¨C Green Hills of Africa. There were many other similar Easter Eggs in the game.


    Hemingway didn''t appear just to give these players their prizes, but also rewarded them with fishing EXP.


    The old man in first place received the most EXP and was immediately made a Fishing Master. This was probably the first Fishing Master among the players and likely the first master of a Trade Profession, so it was a quite a grand scene. The entire Stranglethorn burst out in fireworks and a World Announcement was made.


    The Epic Fisherman''s hat was also awarded to the Master Fisherman as the crowd enviously looked on.


    The second place went to two little girls, but they were quarrelling as they walked up. Lu Li didn''t want to talk to them at first, but it looked like he would have to step in.


    These two girls had grown up together and said that they were even in a double stroller as babies. How did this happen?


    "What are you two doing?" Lu Li asked after adding them into a chat room.


    "Lu Li where are you? Come and decide between us," Hachi Chan said furiously.


    "Explain what happened," Lu Li said curiously.


    "I gave Dreamy some fishing equipment so she could win first place, and the prize would be mine. But now, she won''t let me have it. Dreamy you can''t be like this; you never keep your promises," Hachi Chan whined. She had a reason to be angry.


    "You already know I wouldn''t keep my promise, so why would you believe me? Humph," Remnant Dream snorted. She was a little embarrassed, but this girl had thick skin.


    "See, look at her," Hachi Chan cried.


    She had acquired many items through her quests, including a set of exquisite fishing equipment. Lu Li got them to send the details of the equipment to him and almost exploded in shock.


    These two girls had planned to use this equipment to participate in the fishing competition and beat out all the other competitors to take first place.


    With the equipment''s special effect of finding fishing spots, they quickly raised Remnant Dream''s fishing level to expert. Combined with Remnant Dream''s little bit of luck, the two little girls had created a miracle.


    There were only three non-fishing professionals in the top 100, and the other two were ranked about 50th.


    However, the problem was now apparent.


    The two young girls were having a falling out about how to distribute the prize.


    According to their original plan, the Epic equipment would be given to Hachi Chan. Remnant Dream didn''t mind helping her friend achieve her dream, but the problem was that they hadn''t come first, so they didn''t get the Epic equipment.


    The second prize could be selected from a pool of three options.


    There was some exquisite fishing tackle, which included a hat, fishing rods, fishing hooks, fishing lines and fishing shoes. These weren''t much worse than the Fisherman''s Hat. The second was a book, the ''Weather Beaten Journal'', and finally, there was a pet Turtle.


    However, when a pet turtle was included as one of the options, Remnant Dream immediately lost all moral integrity. She decided that she wanted it, especially because she could mount it.


    Hachi Chan felt that her friendship had been betrayed, because they clearly had an agreement.


    As a result, these two girls appeared to be quarrelling on stage. Fortunately, Hemingway was very patient and smiled at them while they discussed their choice.


    The two young girls were also interesting to the crowd. Most of the other players waiting to receive a prize were also very old and were fairly patient as well.


    "What do you want me to do so I can choose the pet?" Remnant Dream asked after she calmed down.


    "Is the pet more important or am I more important?" Hachi Chan shot back. She didn''t really care about the equipment. The transformation effect that it had was not important to her, as she was a Druid.


    When young children are jealous, it would often be a matter of choosing one friend over another. This was exactly what was happening here.


    "I really like the turtle; can''t you just let me have the turtle?" Remnant Dream begged, trying to act coy. It seemed like Hachi Chan was softening up.


    Suddenly everyone saw one little girl use Tame Beast on the other little girl.


    "Dreamy!" Hachi Chan cried out as she stamped her foot, "I won''t let you choose the pet, unless you call me daddy!"


    "Daddy!" Remnant Dream exclaimed as she rushed forwards and hugged her.


    They didn''t have this conversation privately, so everyone could hear what they were saying and laughed. Even the NPCs couldn''t help it.


    "Can you guys hurry up and decide? Don''t go around telling people you''re from Ruling Sword after this," Lu Li scolded, wishing that that he didn''t know these two idiots.


    Hachi Chan had created the conditions of their agreement, so she blamed herself for underestimating her friend. In the end, she had no choice but to let Remnant Dream pick the turtle.

 849 Magical Crawdad

    The little turtle was cute, had big eyes, and could be mounted. It appeared quite awkward and slow, but when moving in water, it was faster than any other mount.


    If you wanted to upgrade it so that it could move faster on land, that was possible too.


    You just needed dangle a carrot it in front of its head while sitting on it. The little turtle would then desperately run forwards, trying to eat the carrot.


    But of course, it was still a turtle at the end of the day. This meant that speed would always be its greatest disadvantage.


    Remnant Dream didn''t need a mount, so she would probably just treat it was a pet.


    After the awards were handed out, Lu Li set up a stall at Booty Bay, attempting to buy the Scrumptious Fish at a high price.


    The Scrumptious Fish couldn''t be traded during the event, but became tradable after it ended. However, they had a time limit of seven days, after which they would vanish.


    The Scrumptious Fish couldn''t be used for anything ¨C they couldn''t be cooked or used in Alchemy.


    NPCs also didn''t accept them both during and after the event, no matter how low of a price was offered.


    As such, it was rational to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Even if they weren''t worth much money, it was still something. However, Lu Li wanted to buy them at a high price. Before long, there were hundreds of players around him clamoring to sell their fish.


    This so called ''high price'' was actually just one Silver coin, but it was indeed quite expensive compared to the Common Squid that usually cost 50 Copper.


    The Ruling Sword Trade Skill players were tasked with buying up all the fish; Lu Li didn''t bother to stay there himself.


    It was obvious that anyone who would buy the fish at this price was going to be considered stupid. If Lu Li was present, they would certainly think that there was something wrong with him.


    For a player like Lu Li to do something like this, it would be analyzed to no end.


    Lu Li took Water Fairy and his sister to a secluded place, and asked Water Fairy to take out Mr. Claws.


    After the event, Mr. Claws became an item as well.


    Mr. Claws ¨C Use: Talk to Mr. Claws and you might be able to make a wish! You might be granted good luck¡­ or bad luck¡­ Even Mr. Claws doesn''t know!


    The number of Uses were 3/3, and they had a 2-minute cooldown.


    In other words, it was an item that could be activated. As for what happened, Lu Li had no intention of explaining it.


    "Can I do it?" Lu Xin was eager to try.


    "No," Lu Li resolutely refused. The poor girl couldn''t persuade her brother and had no choice but to move back to a safe distance.


    Water Fairy used the item, and after the cloud of smoke dissipated, a giant lobster appeared.


    "What''s this?" Water Fairy was puzzled.


    "Careful, it''s a monster," Lu Li warned after quickly determining that it was an enemy. He rushed forwards and cast Gouge at the lobster.


    This reliable skill somehow failed, probably because the lobster''s claws were too long. It then countered with its own attack and sent him flying.


    The fact that it had sent Lu Li flying did not bode well.


    Fortunately, the frightened Water Fairy reacted and began to fight off the lobster whose attacks were still cooling down. Even Lu Xin took out her bow and arrows and began to fire at it.


    This big lobster was probably the highest-level creature around; it was three levels higher than the next player at level 48.


    Even if Water Fairy was on her own, it would be a little dangerous, but she still had a chance of beating this elite monster. With Lu Li there, it wasn''t even a suspenseful encounter.


    After the battle, Water Fairy didn''t receive any loot.


    On the second use, there was the same flash of smoke which gave Water Fairy a scare as she took a few steps back.


    This time, there wasn''t a large lobster, but a small box. After opening it, she found four bottles of potent HP potions and five bottles of potent MP potions. Both of these restored more than the potions that were currently available.


    As for why there weren''t five HP potions like there were MP potions, this remained an unsolved mystery.


    "Ah, these are good items ¨C they regenerate 2000HP. Xin Xin, do you want them? I''ll give you two to protect yourself," Water Fairy offered.


    Lu Xin shook her head. She was only level 10, and had no use for such an item.


    "How about we split it between us," Water Fairy suggested to Lu Li.


    "You caught this item yourself. Why would you split it with me?" Lu Li refused, but took one HP potion and two MP potions in case of an emergency.


    If he didn''t take any, the female tycoon wouldn''t be happy.


    Now, they were down to their last try. Everyone understood what was going to happen, but unfortunately the outcome was completely random. Anything that it produced just came down to luck.


    There was the same cloud of smoke on the third activation.


    After it disappeared, there was a small crayfish on the ground. Water Fairy was disappointed as she picked it up and prepared to kill this ''monster''.


    "Hey show it some mercy," Lu Li said in surprise.


    "Why?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Don''t you see how cute it is?" Lu Li responded.


    "Oh, what do you know about being cute?" Water Fairy mocked him. Of course, anyone could tell what was and wasn''t cute, but calling this crawfish cute was too much.


    It didn''t have the dark red shell of the previous lobster. Instead, it was pink and very small.


    It even spat bubbles from its mouth that floated through the air and popped. This made it even more appealing, and Water Fairy held back.


    "You don''t seem convinced. Does this seem like a monster to you?" Lu Li asked.


    "Sure, it doesn''t seem like one. It didn''t attack us¡­unless¡­" Water Fairy nodded and suddenly realized why it looked the way it did.


    "That''s right ¨C it''s a pet."


    Lu Li was glad that Remnant Dream wasn''t here. Otherwise, she wouldn''t be able to sleep or eat, knowing that there was a lobster pet and that she didn''t have one.


    "It''s pretty cute, eh Xin Xin? Come catch it and you can have it," Water Fairy said.


    "Oh, Water Sister, don''t you want it?" Lu Xin asked in astonishment.


    "Me? I''ve never kept any pets; they don''t really mean much to me¡­" Water Fairy mumbled as she shook her head.


    How could a woman not like keeping pets?


    "It''s just a game, so it doesn''t really matter," she added as the Lu siblings listened in admiration.

 850 Ludicrous Business Practice

    In any case, Water Fairy didn''t want to keep this pet.


    Lu Xin thought for a while before patting it and saying, "How about we give it to Dreamy? She likes pets the most."


    Lu Xin was actually quite close to Remnant Dream. After all, their age difference was the smallest, and Remnant Dream had a lot of pets. Lu Xin had spent a lot of time taking care of those pets with her.


    "Alright, I think she will like it," Water Fairy agreed; she didn''t seem to mind.


    Remnant Dream was already quite happy because she had received a cute turtle pet. She didn''t think her day could get any better until she suddenly got news that she would be getting another pet.


    "Where is it?" Remnant Dream asked after quickly arriving.


    "It''s this one. It''s a bit small; do you want it?" It wasn''t that Lu Xin didn''t like the little crawfish, but she wasn''t online enough to take care of it. If she took it for herself, it probably wouldn''t survive for long.


    On the other hand, Remnant Dream was different. She loved her pets and had bought a huge manor that all of them would be free to roam around in.


    Besides, if Remnant Dream had a pet, Lu Xin could play with it too.


    "Wow, what kind of lobster is this? I''ve never seen it before. It even spits bubbles," Remnant Dream said as she immediately tossed her turtle aside and picked up the crawfish. This little pink creature had completely captured her heart.


    "It''s called a Magical Crawdad," Lu Li explained before adding, "It''s a rare pet."


    Although the turtle mount and pet were rare, acquiring them was guaranteed with the second prize at the fishing competition. They could also be found in other fishing related activities.


    However, the Magical Crawdad could only be obtained from Mr. Claws. Mr. Claws'' drop rate was already very low, and the chance of him dropping a Magical Crawdad was even lower.


    Remnant Dream caught this new pet and happily played together with Lu Xin.


    Lu Li had instructed Cain''s Left Hand to gather a group of Thieves to follow his sister around and protect her. He only required two Thieves to be on duty at a time and they could rotate between members.


    In fact, Cain''s Left Hand had already started to build up Ruling Sword''s security team.


    Almost every guild had a similar organization. This group would travel alongside the top members of the guild, or be tasked with important escort missions. They could also accompany Trade Skill players to dangerous locations for fishing, collecting herbs, mining minerals or generally collecting items that would yield a great profit.


    It was a little unusual to have bodyguards in a game, but this wasn''t without its benefits.


    After Lu Li and Water Fairy separated, Lu Li went back to inspect the harvest on Booty Bay. The situation had turned out better than he expected.


    There were a few things that had happened in the process. The Trade Skill player in charge was called Aunty Scallion, and she reported the situation to Lu Li.


    In the beginning, things were progressing smoothly. Everyone was wondering about what they would do with the Scrumptious Fish and was happy to oblige when someone decided that they wanted to buy them.


    When they saw this, others quickly followed suit. Dawn had plenty of players with extra cash, and when they saw someone buying up these fish, they thought that there might be a business opportunity.


    However, they didn''t dare to raise the price, so they just followed the Ruling Sword pricing.


    Although they didn''t receive many fish, most of them had not even participated in the competition and saw this as an opportunity.


    These players just wanted to hold onto a few before they could see what the true use for them was.


    This meant Aunty Scallion had no choice but to raise the prices to beat their competitors. The price rose from one silver coin to five silver coins, but these circumstances were short-lived.


    The people who were following the prices saw the increase, which further solidified the value of the Scrumptious Fish. And the price only continued increasing ¨C from five, to six, to seven, to eight, to nine and then ten silver coins.


    The market suddenly became confused, and even those who originally intended to sell began to hesitate.


    Many players decided to stop selling for a while, and Ruling Sword''s Scrumptious Fish intake dropped, but Aunty Scallion was in no hurry.


    Her team was fortunately filled with many novel ideas on how to acquire even more of these fish.


    While everyone was raising the price of the Scrumptious Fish, a message suddenly began to spread.


    According to the views of an insider, the Scrumptious Fish couldn''t be used for anything. It was just businessmen who saw this as a business opportunity, which was why they had bought the fish for a silver coin.


    When the other players saw the fish being bought up, they followed suit.


    When the price was increased by the businessmen to five silver coins, those who were following naturally did the same.


    The problem was that the businessmen who initially bought up the fish with one silver coin, was now dumping them at five or ten times the price.


    Some managed to turn 1000 gold into 10,000 gold, just like that!


    The insider thought that this was such an abhorrent practice that he had to say something. He appealed to everyone in the hope that these black-hearted businessmen would not succeed.


    Some players were skeptical, but most players believed it.


    These businessmen already had a bad reputation, and the practice of selling low-value items for an inflated price was exactly what they were good at. Moreover, there was no one who knew exactly what these Scrumptious Fish were good for.


    As a result, the players who were involved were pushed to action.


    They didn''t care about the money, but they didn''t want to be fools either. They stopped buying the Scrumptious Fish and tried to get rid of as many as possible while the price was still high. Perhaps they could still make some money.


    Then, one player after another began undercutting the prices, and soon, the whole market was filled with sellers¡­


    The Ruling Sword players then jumped on their opportunity to lower the market price. Although they didn''t reach the one-silver-coin mark at the very beginning, they were able to purchase the Scrumptious Fish for two silver coins.


    This was the scene that Lu Li was watching.


    There were many players currently selling Scrumptious Fish, and not many of them were competing with Ruling Sword.


    As for where the Scrumptious Fish market was actually going, everyone was now very skeptical about it.


    "Boss, we''ve spent too much money and we now have over 300,000 Scrumptious Fish. The average price is now 1.8 silver coins which means we will have spent more than 6000 gold coins. All of these expenses will come from the guild. What was the point of this?" Aunty Scallion asked curiously.


    "The numbers still seem a bit small. Are there no more fish out in the market?" Lu Li said, avoiding the question.


    "Of course there are more, but not as many as there were before," Aunty Scallion answered. She didn''t dare to ask again. She was the person in charge of the Trade Skill players of the guild and understood the importance of the matter. If Lu Li didn''t explain it, that meant that she didn''t need to know.

 851 Group Experience

    "Raise the price or think of something else. Get as much as you can."


    Lu Li was happy, but he wasn''t entirely satisfied.


    Three hundred thousand Scrumptious Fish would be a crazy number for him in his previous life, but they were now within his reach.


    Aunty Scallion hesitated, but she didn''t object.


    She wanted to change Lu Li''s mind, as this wasn''t an insignificant sum, but 6000 gold coins. That would be equivalent to thousands of dollars, but they had spent it all on Scrumptious Fish. Was this really worth it?


    "Lu Li, what are you trying to do? This is no joke; we''re running low on our liquidity," Square Root 3 said.


    He thought that Lu Li had discovered some secret to turn a profit out of this, but at what risk?


    Human resources were money too, and Ruling Sword had already invested hundreds of people in purchasing Scrumptious Fish.


    What Square Root 3 didn''t approve of the most was the use of their assets. The guild was already short on funds, and if they suddenly needed money, they would be forced to purchase gold coins from the market.


    "Don''t worry, Square Root 3, I won''t mess up. Give all the money to Aunty Scallion, and I''ll borrow some more money from Old Shen," Lu Li assured.


    Shen Wansan was quick to answer to his call; Lu Li had always had a good relationship with him.


    He had his own shops now and worked with Ruling Sword; he had been doing well for himself in the game.


    "You''ve got to be kidding! Ruling Sword is so big now; you can get anything you want. Why are you asking me for money all of a sudden?'' Shen Wansan asked in surprise.


    "The one purchasing Scrumptious Fish on the market is me," Lu Li explained.


    "Tell me, tell me! Are the prices for these Scrumptious Fish going to rise?" Shen Wansan had been waiting for his next big opportunity ever since he began working with Lu Li.


    "No, you''re thinking too much. I have these for another purpose; it''s nothing of much value to you," Lu Li answered.


    He could have said nothing, but he was positive that Shen Wansan would have been able to figure out the truth based on the current situation in the market.


    Although Shen Wansan did not understand what was going on, there was a good chance that he would stick his foot in the business.


    However, Lu Li didn''t hide anything and chose to reveal his intentions. That way, Shen Wansan wouldn''t interfere with the situation as he wouldn''t want to upset Lu Li.


    "How much did you need?" Shen Wansan asked.


    "We''ll take five thousand gold coins first. I''ll return the extras," Lu Li said.


    Before long, Ruling Sword received their funds. With the rest of the gold supplied by the guild, they made another mass Scrumptious Fish purchase.


    By the afternoon, the buying frenzy was over. Although there were still some fish left, they were all in the hands of random players. They didn''t care about the money they could earn; they would rather keep them as a souvenir.


    "That''s a total of 526,422 fish purchased. They''re all in the guild storage; have a check boss," Aunty Scallion reported. She looked exhausted.


    "How much money did you spend?" Lu Li asked.


    It would be a lie if he said that he wasn''t slightly pained from spending all this money.


    "The prices rose in the end. On average, they were about five silver coins each. Adding on the six thousand gold coins spent before, that''s a total of seventeen thousand gold coins," Aunty Scallion said, feeling breathless.


    She was the one who was in charge of managing this business that was worth 1.5 million dollars in real life. "Nice, everyone can go back now. You''ll have to work a little more and split these by guild points."


    Lu Li was very satisfied as he nodded his head; he felt like he had really scored a bargain.


    The Trade skill players from Ruling Sword closed their shops and instantly disappeared.


    "Lu Li, can you tell me why now? The products are in the guild storage. Only you, me and Wandering have authority to access them now," Square Root 3 begged. He was very curious.


    "It''s simple ¨C these items can be used for experience," Lu Li answered with a smile.


    "Experience..."


    This was an unexpected answer; Square Root 3 thought that they could turn a massive profit from these purchases.


    "Are you disappointed?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course not!" Square Root 3 exclaimed, then continued, "I''m just surprised. Experience is good; you can''t even purchase it with money. How do you plan to sort this out?"


    "I''ll give you a list; tell them to come to Booty Bay," Lu Li said.


    The list included players from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group, competitors for Ruling Sword and some executives from the elite group. There were about a hundred players in total.


    Square Root 3 didn''t agree entirely.


    "Why don''t you use it for yourself? Wouldn''t you get more from it?"


    "That wouldn''t be right," Lu Li said as he shook his head, "These things are similar to the Scarabs; their use decreases after you reach a certain level. I wouldn''t reach level 50, even if I used all of them."


    "I see what you mean."


    "What''s the point of me being the only one who was high-leveled? Competitions rely on the combined strength of the club. In dungeons, I would still die instantly to the Bosses, no matter how high my level was. It''s more efficient for everyone to grow stronger together."


    The players were quickly gathered, but no one knew what was going on. Since it was Lu Li who had asked, they all dropped whatever they were currently doing and rushed over immediately.


    Some were quite keen for what Lu Li had in store for them.


    "Tell us ¨C who are we taking down this time!"


    "Hold onto these items and find a particular NPC in this house," Lu Li explained as he passed some Scrumptious Fish to Azure Sea Breeze and did the same for the next person.


    They were outside an isolated house in Booty Bay that looked like a store.


    They followed Lu Li and found another door behind the building that was linked with the body of the mountain. The building was split into a front and yard court.


    There was only one person at the back of the house; his name was Hemingway. He was the NPC who was in charge of handing out rewards for the fishing competition this season.


    Azure Sea Breeze had no clue what he was walking into, but he still opened the door and went in.


    After he came out, he was stunned with himself, mumbling, "****, I''m suddenly level 45 now. Am I dreaming? I''m not dreaming right?"


    The next person had the same response.


    One, two, three...


    One by one, the level 43-44 players walked in and walked out as level 45 players. Their only task was simple ¨C pass the fish to the NPC.

 852 An Impact Too Grea

    Their target was level 45, so extra Scrumptious Fish were to be given back to Lu Li.


    Although they had a lot of Scrumptious Fish, he couldn''t possibly make everyone level 45. It was better for him to save as many as he could and ensure that the top players were taken care of first.


    Lu Li was selective about who got the priority for this. For example, his group members would definitely be included. Only when they reached level 45, they would be able to attempt Stratholme.


    Then, there were also the competitors like Fat Monkey, Mu Qiu and Kitty Likes Meat. Their priority level was even higher than Lu Li''s group.


    The others were selected based on class, particularly those who were playing as Tanks or Healers since it was harder for them to level up. Such players included Global Friendship, Instant Millennia, Darkness and Machine Bro, who would all be future dungeon explorers.


    Besides these three groups of people, the other core players also received a set portion, but for most of them, this wouldn''t be enough.


    However, they were still very excited. In the blink of an eye, they had obtained enough experience for a week''s worth of effort.


    Regardless of their status, players often checked their own positions on the rankings.


    For top gamers, this was a method of collecting data. For casual player, the rankings gave them a goal to pursue.


    Hence, the massive swing on the rankings was immediately noticed.


    Old Man Next Door: God, there''s a bug on the level rankings; the game is about to shut down. Everyone, be quick and sell your gear.


    Storm Warrior: Everyone come out and see God!


    Painted Feathers: One, two, three... 22 level 45s, 76 level 44s¡­Ruling Sword has taken the entire top-hundred positions of the rankings¡­


    Lovable Bookworm: This game is impossible; there are too many bugs.


    Interstellar boy: If there''s no explanation for this, we''re not playing anymore. Is Ruling Sword a guild made by the game company itself? Lu Li must be the son''s owner...


    I am Richy Rich: You should talk about the matter itself. He''s too poor to be a son of the owner, especially when he can''t even afford a gaming helmet?


    Man of Darkness: What is going on? Why are all the players from Ruling Sword leveling up so fast? This isn''t normal at all. Don''t tell me there''s a quest that allows a hundred players to level up at once.


    Empty Forest: Obviously, it has to be some kind of repeatable quest.


    Zurich: Think about what happened today. What is something from the fishing competition that can be used to level up? It has to be the Scrumptious Fish. Clearly, the ones purchasing all the Scrumptious Fish today were the Ruling Sword players.


    Showgirl Chunnie: Haha, I still have some Scrumptious Fish left unsold. Please tell me how to use them.


    The world chat was a mess. Everyone was discussing the top hundred players on the rankings and objections were growing. They demanded an explanation from the game company.


    The game company kept quiet. Their phones were constantly ringing, but no players received an actual explanation.


    Was it because Dawn had already grown so great that they no longer cared about what the players thought?


    Of course not!


    It wasn''t that the company didn''t notice, but that they couldn''t do anything.


    As soon as the level charts started to change, they immediately called for a meeting.


    They obviously didn''t want the top hundred positions to be occupied by players from the same guild, especially when a competition was just about to take place.


    When all the competitors from Ruling Sword were one level higher than the competitions from other guilds, the results almost seemed set in stone.


    They couldn''t allow Ruling Sword to be the set winner for the competition. This was a loss that the company cannot afford, and the gaming associations would also be in trouble.


    Once the champion team was confirmed, the attention that the competition received would at least drop by 30%.


    This was equivalent to billions of dollars in revenue lost.


    Gaming companies had established strong relationships with the gaming association over the years. They profited and lost together so they desperately needed to find a solution.


    But what could they do?


    Block all players who have reached level forty-five?


    Even though everyone demanded an explanation, if they really banned the players from Ruling Sword, they would be in even deeper trouble. The fairness of the game would be challenged.


    In the era of virtual gaming, fairness was highly valued.


    The company couldn''t interfere with the game itself and they definitely couldn''t punish players without a good reason.


    Ruling Sword players had not done anything against the code of conduct.


    The location of the quest NPC was very well hidden. Originally, they thought that a player was going to find the NPC first, and that everyone else would follow. That way, the excitement around the fishing competition would improve in the future.


    No one thought that the first players to find it would be from Ruling Sword. Not only had the guild stayed silent, but they even purchased all the Scrumptious Fish off the market.


    Throughout this entire process, they had played by the rules.


    "...this is our current problem that we''re facing right now," the assistant explained the entire situation and sat back down.


    "Should we contact the players of Ruling Sword? We can talk about a solution with them."


    The one responsible for the gaming association was very chubby man, and was gasping from just speaking a few sentences. He had gained his position not just with his wealth, but also with his intelligence.


    "No," the representative for the gaming diplomatic department refused. Although her makeup was well done, everyone could still tell that she was young.


    "Then what should we do?" the chubby man asked before opening his palms and adding, "Ruling Sword has really caused a headache for us this time. Are you guys, as the game company, really going to allow them to continue on breaking the rules like this?''


    The association didn''t really like Ruling Sword; they favored the other major guilds since they played by the rules.


    A regular major guild started out small and slowly grew under the supervision of the association. The top guilds even had their help.


    However, Ruling Sword had never played by the book. It was as if they had grown into a giant and fearful existence overnight.

 853 Gaming Company

    "Ruling Sword has never broken any rules. At most, they''ve just broken your rules," the female representative corrected him coldly. "This is our mistake this time. We''ll take some responsibility for it, but we''re definitely not doing anything to Ruling Sword."


    If they had designed the event better, they could have prevented this awkward situation.


    For example, they could have set the quest item to be untradeable. However, there would still be some problems with this as it was mostly the trade skill players who competed. They weren''t interested in leveling up, so there was no use giving them experience. Usually, the items that they fished were sold in exchange for some retirement money.


    Another method was to publicly announce the use of these Scrumptious Fish right from the beginning along with the location of Hemingway. Perhaps there would still be a mass-purchase of the fish on the market, but there was no way that Ruling Sword could obtain 80% of them like they had this time. At the very least, there wouldn''t be such an influx of level 45 players.


    What was the difference between level 45 and the mainstream level 43?


    The level 45 competitors could equip level 45 equipment. Every guild would have a few prized pieces in their storages.


    It was the difference in gear that would predetermine the result of the match.


    The most exciting part of a competition was its unknown outcome.


    If everyone knew what was going to happen, filling the audience seats would definitely be a challenge.


    The profit of a competition was more than just a simple match; it was also dependent on the satisfaction of the investors and sponsors. The long-term impact that competition could have also needed to be considered.


    "Then tell us what we should do. You''re the expert," the chubby man said grumpily.


    In his opinion, they had to find an excuse to make life hard for Ruling Sword. That way, they would behave themselves after this whole debacle.


    "We''ll double the experience for Christmas and triple the monster refresh rate¡­"


    One by one, suggestions were brought up and a group of experts and game designers discussed the possibilities.


    Since this was going to be an unplanned maintenance, they also had to persuade their bosses.


    Three days after the mass-leveling of the Ruling Sword players, another announcement arrived late for Christmas.


    Firstly, from the 25th of December all the way until the new year, EXP would be multiplied. This included both monster experience and quest experience.


    This was the first time that the game has given out experience for free, besides the event at the start of the game which existed to balance out the level difference between players who had just joined and those who had been playing for a while


    Second of all, there would be Reindeer Event with a Boss that was refreshed in all areas of the game.


    These Bosses would be between the range of level 1 to 50 and would refresh in all maps of the game. Even the Bosses in the dungeons were going to refresh faster.


    Reindeer were split into three types. The first were Experience Reindeer, which as their name suggested, provided a significant amount of experience. The second type were Equipment Reindeers, which had the potential to drop exquisite equips. The third type were Reputation Reindeers, which would give the players Reputation points.


    Another thing worth mentioning was that the level penalty during the event was slightly changed.


    Players like Lu Li, who were level 45, would normally gain nothing from killing a level 1 reindeer. However, this rule had now been changed. Regardless of the level difference, you were bound to receive something from a kill.


    Experience Reindeer and Equipment Reindeer ranged from level 1 to 50 and spawned everywhere, while the Reputation Reindeer were level 50 Bosses and refreshed on every map once.


    There were also other minor events. In a Western game like this, Christmas was definitely a major deal.


    People could tell that the gaming company had lowered their leveling difficult by a surprising amount. It was unusual for a game that had only been released for three months to do something like this.


    Apparently, the gaming company had planned to keep the game updated for at least twenty years They wouldn''t offer something like this so easily when they wanted the game to go on for so long.


    Everyone couldn''t help but be reminded of the rankings; it was probably Ruling Sword who had changed the company''s mind.


    "Shouldn''t they do something about the players from Ruling Sword? They''re not getting rid of them either; they can gain the double experience too. Things are probably easier for them as well, since they''re already level 45."


    "Haha, are you pretending to be stupid or are you actually stupid? Do you not know how much of a difference there is between level 43 and 45? Even if the Ruling Sword players reached level 49, they wouldn''t have much of an advantage over a level 45 players."


    Lu Li understood this too, but he didn''t expect a outcome like this.


    He knew of the secret to the Scrumptious Fish and had used it to gain some experience for his own people.


    What was wrong with taking an advantage?


    Others in the game were upset about their levels, but did no one see the money that they had spent on it too?


    He didn''t think that the company''s reaction would be so big to the extent that they would change the Christmas event.


    The Christmas event in his previous life was quite similar over the years. Lu Li wondered if the standard for future Christmas would be similar to this.


    There were three matches in these two days, and Ruling Sword easily stomped through them.


    Lu Li''s equipment was carefully chosen for each match. He didn''t even change to the level 45 equips in the storage because they weren''t as good as his current ones.


    However, it was a different story for the others. Almost everyone upgraded what they were wearing.


    Kitty Likes Meat replaced seven of her equips as nearly everything in the storage was better than what she had found by herself in the Auction.


    Not to mention, Ruling Sword had slain so many bosses, so among these seven equips, at half of them were Gold or Dark Gold grade. Now, she was the definition of a human bomber.


    Not only could Warlocks tire people to death, but their burst damage was just as impressive as a Mage.


    Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat with Moonlight on their side stomped through the group matches. Their commanding victories frightened the major guilds.


    Fortunately, the double experience had arrived just in time.


    For Lu Li and Ruling Sword, any further levels they gained were just a luxury, but for the major guilds, this was a life and death situation.

 854 Backstab

    "Follow the corners of the map, especially the foot of the mountain. Attack the Experience Reindeer as soon as you see them, and attack the Equipment Reindeer that are level 40 or 45. Avoid the Reputation Reindeer," Lu Li instructed everyone in the guild.


    Of course, others outside the guild would know since he was publicly announcing this; there were bound to be spies in a guild this size.


    "Why are we avoiding the Reputation Reindeer? As long as you do some damage, you can get some reputation," Azure Sea Breeze asked; he didn''t understand. At this point in time, many of them had already began to empower their skills, so they understood how important Reputation was.


    In Azure Sea Breeze''s eyes, the gaming company was giving out free reputation.


    "That''s true, but only if you can kill the reindeer. It''s a level 50 super boss. Even with all the players in the game, we probably can''t take one down, let alone our guild," Lu Li explained.


    "No way! Why would the gaming company design a Boss that we can''t slay? Are there no strategies for it?" Wandering asked.


    "Who knows? I''ve gone to test it, but it''s definitely not what the current players can handle right now. I almost couldn''t make it back," Lu Li said.


    "Why didn''t you say so earlier? I died thinking I could get something, even though I saw all the dead people. I thought since I was a Hunter and I could deal ranged damage that I would be able to fight it. Who knew the boss would be so strong," Xiao Xian, a Hunter, sighed in sorrow.


    "There''s no need to take on low-level Equipment Reindeer. What do we do with this level 5 gold equipment?" Rain Like A Wanderer also questioned.


    He was lucky that he hadn''t run into the Reputation Reindeer; he had just run into a low-level Equipment Reindeer outside of Night Town. A pack of Paladins pounced on it and destroyed the monster, but the equipment left them speechless.


    While it was Gold-grade, who would spend money on a level 5 equip that they wouldn''t use for long?


    "The level one Experience Reindeer still gave quite a decent amount of experience, haha..." someone soon reported in.


    Lu Li and his team were in a forest in Grey Valley killing a level 45 Experience Reindeer.


    This Boss had high Attack and high Defense. Azure Sea Breeze took around a thousand points of damage from one hit, while the others received a few hundred points of splash damage.


    Fortunately, the Experience Reindeer''s HP wasn''t as high as a typical Wild Boss. It only had around a hundred thousand points of health.


    "Deal more damage and watch out for people who might come and steal it," Lu Li commanded with a hint of worry as he glanced at the few groups who were standing near them. He had chosen this area because the map refreshed Experience Reindeers more often and the trees were useful for hiding behind. They would reduce the chance of them having a fight with other players.


    It was best to avoid fights at a critical time like this.


    After the Experience Reindeer in a distance was killed, a bunch off players began to slowly approach them. When they saw that this Experience Reindeer was level 45, they couldn''t stop themselves from asking.


    "Do you guys need help?"


    "No, thanks," Azure Sea Breeze declined.


    They were disappointed, but they didn''t want to back away like this and stood around to watch. Lu Li''s team only had ten people, so in their minds, their chances of defeating the Reindeer were slim.


    "Bro, should we..." a Thief player walked up to his team leader and whispered.


    "No rush ¨C the boss hasn''t reached low health yet.''


    This leader was in charge of twenty people, but even if they worked with the Reindeer, there was no guarantee that they would be able to walk away unscathed.


    What they didn''t know was that Xin Xin Mercenary Group was also having a small chat amongst themselves.


    "Why are they still here?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "They want to see what they can get out of the situation; they want to see you die to this reindeer," Wandering laughed coldly.


    "*****, let''s go kill them!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was enraged as soon as he heard that these people wanted him dead. He wasn''t the least bit concerned about numbers.


    Moonlight wasn''t concerned either, but he wasn''t as reckless as Azure Sea Breeze and asked for Lu Li''s opinion with his eyes.


    "Take down the Boss quickly; we''ll talk about it after we take it down. Be on guard, March ¨C watch out for your positioning. Don''t let them kill you instantly," Lu Li instructed as he glared at Azure Sea Breeze.


    March Rain adjusted her positioning and the others also moved accordingly.


    If these people snuck up on them, they would be able to react in time. Although there were two different threats, they weren''t worried at all.


    There were so many players in the game, so there was no way that elites and competitors would be everywhere. At the very most, these players would only be a little above average, so they likely posed no threat to them at all.


    The Attack of the Experience Reindeer became higher and higher, and Azure Sea Breeze had to use his damage reduction skills more often to ensure that his health was maintained above 50%. The Reindeer then began to use some area-of-effect spells.


    This was the reason why the other party was willing to wait.


    Lu Li was also aware of the situation, but he was confident ¨C the Experience Reindeer was different to the Reputation Reindeer. Although these Bosses were found in the Wild, they didn''t have ultimate skills like Wild Bosses did.


    The group spell dealt a significant amount of damage; everyone on Lu Li''s party lost around 30% HP.


    "Do you need me to use my heal?" March Rain asked.


    "I can cast my Tranquility too, but I''m worried that they might interrupt it," Hachi Chan said. Empowerment: Tranquility was a strong spell, but it required a channel-time. If she was attacked over this duration, the spell would go to waste.


    "Don''t, just stay as you are. March, act like you''re struggling," Lu Li instructed in the channel.


    March Rain was smart and followed Lu Li''s instructions, haphazardly throwing her healing spells around the battlefield.


    "This is too fake," Azure Sea Breeze commented.


    However, the other team did not seem to notice in the heat of the battle.


    "Now''s the time! Go!" the team leader shouted as he charged at March Rain.

 855 Trouble from Outsiders

    The captain was a Warrior and immediately used Charge. He most likely had a special effect on his equipment that increased the range of his Charge. Even though March Rain was very far away, he was still able to catch up to her.


    At the same time, his teammates followed up on their captain.


    Three Warriors, four Mages, two Warlocks, two Paladins, two Priests, a Shaman, two Druids, two Thieves and two Hunters ¨C Lu Li had already familiarized himself with their team composition.


    "Azure!" Lu Li yelled.


    When Azure Sea Breeze used Shadowmeld, the Boss immediately aggroed onto March Rain and began running towards her. It found itself in between March Rain and the enemy Warriors that were Charging over.


    The Boss was hit!


    Charge wasn''t a skill that took aggro; it was a crowd-control skill.


    However, the Experience Reindeer was different to other Wild Bosses that were immune to crowd-control effects. The Reindeer became Stunned and the aggro was switched onto the enemy Warriors.


    Lu Li and his teammates had not been using crowd control skills because they were afraid of stealing the aggro off the Main Tank.


    The Reindeer was now on critical HP and rammed its antlers straight into the captain, immediately taking out a large chunk of his HP.


    He wasn''t a tank at all and even if he was, his equipment would be worthless compared to Azure Sea Breeze''s.


    If Azure needed to activate his defensive skills against the Boss, then there was no question that the enemy captain would lose more than half of his HP from a single hit.


    "Heal!" the captain screamed like a little girl, begging his healers to keep him alive.


    There were multiple Priests on the team and they immediately healed the Warrior back to full HP.


    Stealth, Ambush! The first healer was crowd-controlled.


    Gouge! Another healer was crowd-controlled.


    Blind! A third healer was crowd-controlled.


    Lu Li wasn''t able to crowd-control all of their healers, but Moonlight ran around, Stunning all of them in a row.


    The captain was now vulnerable to the Boss'' attacks. Although he was able to tank the second hit, it would be impossible for him to survive any longer.


    Their Main Tank immediately casted Taunt and successfully pulled aggro, but he was too late and couldn''t save his own captain.


    The Boss began casting AOE skills and continued attacking relentlessly.


    The team captain was dead! Who would the Boss aggro onto?


    Obviously, it aggroed onto the Main Tank that casted Taunt.


    The poor Main Tank had not only failed at saving his team leader, but was now the one who was in trouble. Though he was a tank, it was clear that his gear wasn''t up to standard with Azure Sea Breeze and he too took a beating from the EXP Reindeer. The healers were still stunned and couldn''t do anything to keep their Main Tank alive.


    When the stun duration timed out, they were focused on keeping both themselves and the Main Tank alive, buying some time so that they weren''t instantly wiped out.


    Instead of focusing on the backline, Lu Li decided to attack the Main Tank as well.


    Eventually, the Main Tank was killed and there was nothing that the healers could do.


    After he was killed, the Boss aggroed onto the healers and immediately pounced on them. They could only watch as the Lv45 EXP Reindeer stampeded in their direction.


    Lu Li let out an evil laugh and signaled his team to attack the enemy DPS classes.


    It was unwise to underestimate Xin Xin Mercenary based on numbers alone. Each and every member in the team were some of the best players in the game. Even Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were formidable in their own way. Because of the gear that they were wearing, average players dealt laughable damage to them, while they were able to retaliate like cannons.


    Players like Hachi Chan were able to burst their target so quickly that they wouldn''t even realize what had killed them.


    Those that attempted to attack Azure Sea Breeze would all ask the same question: "Is this Main Tank even human!?"


    Sakura Memory might not have been the strongest Shaman in Ruling Sword, but compared to a group of average players, she was like a fierce lioness. Her mechanics and game sense were extraordinary and completely dominated the enemy Shaman and Druid.


    As for Moonlight and Lu Li, they required no further explanation.


    The team of twenty or so players were all killed, leaving behind a field of corpses and drops. They had all died before they were even able to react in time. Weren''t they the ones that were supposed to attack Ruling Sword with the help of the Boss?


    The EXP Reindeer regenerated some HP while the Xin Xin Mercenary Group finished off their enemies. However, under their relentless and focused attacks, it stood no chance.


    The EXP Reindeer already offered a lot of EXP when killed to begin with. In conjunction with the double EXP event, Lu Li and the others watched on in glee as their EXP bars filled up. It was mesmerizing and almost surreal.


    Unfortunately, the EXP had been shared between ten players. Otherwise¡­


    "Everyone clean up the loot, then spread out to find our next suitable target," Lu Li said as he picked up a rare material from the ground, transformed into a crow and flew away.


    He was able to see more clearly in the sky and found his next target in no time.


    They only focused on Lv40 to Lv45 EXP reindeer, as each kill gave them a considerable amount of EXP. Those that focused mainly on the EXP Reindeer would gain the most out of this event. Lu Li knew this based on his experiences in his past life and made sure to steer his team onto the right direction.


    Instead of closing the gap, the elite players in Ruling Sword advanced even further than the other players. However, the gaming company did not do anything to prevent this.


    They didn''t believe that Ruling Swords abused the System; their goal was to even out the playing field of the upcoming tournament.


    This had been achieved as the other teams were able to gain an EXP boost. As long as the other guilds reached Lv45, they would all be wearing equipment of the same tier.


    Ruling Sword had crushed their competition in the current tournaments without any trouble and maintained their reputation as one of the strongest guilds in the game.


    "Might as well give up if you''re up against Ruling Sword!"

 856 Level 47

    On the last day of the Christmas Double EXP event, Lu Li let out a long sigh as he watched the Lv50 Experience Reindeer fall.


    Level 47!


    This was the result of their hard work; they had been grinding non-stop for the past few days. Besides sleeping, eating and tournaments, all their time was spent on the Christmas event. Ever since they were raided by a group of players, Lu Li even went as far as organizing some players in the area to protect their kills.


    In other words, they had reserved the whole area for themselves.


    "Ruling Sword has reserved this area; if you don''t want to die, then leave immediately."


    "This Boss belongs to Ruling Sword, so don''t loiter around. If we accidentally attacked you, then that''s your fault!"


    "That''s just how cool Ruling Sword is ¨C if you don''t follow our rules, we''ll organize people to kill-steal you. I doubt any other guild would dare to try and protect you."


    "Law, what is the law? Go ask Heart of War ¨C he''d know a lot about this topic."


    As an educated scholar, Square Root Three would never allow his subordinates to utter such rude statements as those above. However, it didn''t matter how they said it ¨C it was about what they were saying.


    Power. Whether in real life or in a virtual game, human beings craved power over others.


    No.1 on the Level Rankings! Level 47!


    Based on this title alone, Square Root Three wasn''t afraid to show off their dominance.


    The level rankings were still dominated by the members of Ruling Sword, who were all around Lv47 and Lv46. There were very few players from the other guilds that had reached Lv46, and the majority of celebrity players were around Lv45.


    The Gaming Company was pleased with the outcome.


    They had managed to even out the playing field in a fair and reasonable way. Although they still weren''t sure how balanced the upcoming tournaments would be, at least Ruling Sword''s advantage had been slightly decreased.


    Both Ruling Sword and the players from the other guilds would be wearing Lv45 equipment. Even if Ruling Sword had a slight advantage in levels, this wasn''t enough to be the determining factor.


    While they would have a few more Attribute points, in the setting of a professional tournament, these differences were minute and not enough to give one side a greater advantage.


    "Too bad. No more free wins for us." Square Root Three said bitterly.


    "What did you expect?" Lu Li laughed.


    "Brother Three, don''t be angry. I think it''ll be fine," Shen Wan San said as he sat down beside Lu Li. The three were having a drink together and discussing the current changes that had been introduced into the game.


    "What''s fine about this? I thought Dawn said that they wouldn''t interrupt with the progression in the game? Isn''t this what they said they wouldn''t do? Screw this," Square Root Three couldn''t help but swear.


    They had spent 17,000 gold in-game to place themselves in a favorable position to win the Professional League. Additionally, with their previous accolades, including the Championship of the Shadow cup, Ruling Sword would have definitely made it into the top 10 Guild Rankings.


    Top 10 did not sound all that impressive, but it wasn''t to be underestimated.


    Peerless City took many years to break the Top 10, but had to completely rely on Drizzling Court now to survive. Who knew how many unfair contracts they had been forced to sign with Water Fairy? On the other hand, Ruling Sword took 3 to 4 months, which was almost a tenth of a normal guild''s progression. This was completely unheard of in the history of gaming and could quite possibly be a record for the quickest rise to power.


    "Brother Three, it''s because you''re blinded by your anger and can''t see clearly when you''re in the situation yourself. Sometimes it''s better to see things from an observer''s point of view, like me," Shen Wan San laughed.


    Square Root Three calmed down and wanted to listen to why Shen Wan San thought that this could be good for them.


    "Mr. Shen, stop beating around the bush. I''m all ears for what you have to say."


    "The gaming company''s goal is very obvious ¨C to have the League Tournaments function without a clear advantage on one side," Shen Wan San said as he tapped the table with his fingers. "The balance of the game is much more important than whether Ruling Sword is first place or not. Think about it like this ¨C the major guilds are like fish and the gaming company is like water. When big fish like Ruling Sword and the other major guilds fight for their survival, the water becomes murky and dirty. What''s the point of fighting for your survival if the environment has already gone to complete and utter chaos?"


    "Heh, it''s very hard to tell that you have such insight," Lu Li said in surprise.


    Square Root Three sipped on his wine and sighed, "Mr. Shen, well said, but I''m still quite worried."


    "Stop worrying," Shen Wan San assured as he patted Square Root Three on the shoulders with his chubby hands. "Besides, it''s not like you guys lost all your chances of winning the championship. Have you lost all your confidence just because you lost the level advantage?"


    "Cheers."


    Square Root Three said nothing and raised his cup to drink more.


    Ruling Sword faced off against a Lv45 team on New Year''s Day and also the 2nd last day of the Double EXP and Reindeer Event. They were up against a guild called Warp 13.


    Though they were ranked in the Top 100, they weren''t well-known. However, they were backed by a guild that was well-known to everyone in the game.


    Blood Red War Flag!


    Blood Red War Flag was ranked third on the Guild Rankings. Because Gangnam Royals were currently in a slump, they could be considered as a Top 2 guild in the game. They were even more powerful than Drizzle Court.


    There were no celebrity players in Warp 13, but no one dared to underestimate any team in a tournament setting.


    These players were all reserves that did not make the main PVP team for Blood Red War Flag.


    Up until now, Warp 13 had amazing results and hadn''t lost a game yet in the tournament.


    If they knew that they were up against Ruling Sword two days ago, it was quite possible that they would''ve given up all hope. However, the EXP event had given them the confidence to give them their best fight.


    "Warp 13''s team composition is rather weird," Dark Wind commented.


    "Why do you say that?" Pure White Season asked.


    "Two Thieves, two Mages, a Priest, a Warrior and a Hunter ¨C that''s a team full of DPS players. They''ve always played an aggressive and offensive-focused play style. I wonder if it''ll miraculously work against Ruling Sword!" Dark Winds exclaimed.


    "It seems like Mr. Winds isn''t very keen on Warp 13," Pure White Season chuckled.


    "Warp 13 have performed well this season. Even if they lose this match, they will still advance into the Top 100. Their players Crimson Ashes and Convex are quite formidable ¨C they''re almost on the same level as celebrity players," Dark Winds explained. He clearly favored Ruling Sword over Warp 13.


    Even Blood Red War Flag has lost to Ruling Sword before.


    "If there''s a will, there''s a way I suppose. Warp 13 has made a name for themselves in this tournament and they managed to reach Lv45 in time to put up a good fight against Ruling Sword. We are looking very forward to this match up," Pure White Season said. All the teams that could potentially go up against Ruling Sword looked forward to observing them in this match.

 857 An Expert’s Demeanour

    Arena Competition!


    As Lu Li stepped onto the arena, he was met with an extraordinary eruption of cheers. However, there were also those who showed displeasure at his appearance.


    You could say that he was a bully ¨C the fact was, he was a level 47 Thief fighting against a level 45 opponent.


    Lu Li knew why they were unhappy in the first place. Obviously, they had wanted to see beautiful women, instead of people like himself.


    For the sake of training new recruits, Kitty Likes Meat and Sakura Memories were usually the ones deployed. They were quite attractive, and their skills were decent. During recent times, these two, along with March Rain, were extremely popular.


    However, on the arena, there was no such thing as bullying.


    Warp 13 had also deployed a Thief to battle, one of the Twin Thieves called Convex.Apparently, he was already proficient using multiple new equips that had only been recently introduced into Dawn.


    Convex had actually strongly requested to be sent out into the Arena.


    There was not an undisputed ''top player'' in any of the classes, so the title of the best was still in contention. Furthermore, the competition for this title was also the fiercest among the Thieves.


    Both sides exchanged a greeting and shared a handshake, then moved until they were at a safe distance from each other. Before the judge had announced the beginning of the clash, they were both already in Stealth.


    Convex was not arrogant and egotistical. In fact, he could match up with Song of Sorrow, Midnight Ghost, Bloody Dagger and the rest of the elite Thief players. Although he had a record of more losses than wins against them, he still was not to be underestimated. As long as he completed a high level of execution, he would have no reason to lack confidence.


    Furthermore, out of all his skills, he utilised Stealth the best. He was able to gain the upper hand in most of his battles using Stealth, so even if he did lose, he would not be completely destroyed.


    Because of his emphasis on Stealth, he wore many equips which increased its ability. As such, he was also slightly lacking in DPS and overall Defense.


    After he saw Lu Li enter Stealth first, he followed suit.


    No matter what, he had to get the upper hand and burst Lu Li first to win the fight. At least by successfully doing this, he would be able to diminish Ruling Sword''s morale.


    "Looks like Convex has prepared himself thoroughly. He is hoping to gain an advantage over Lu Li during Stealth! He''s using his own strengths to attack his opponent''s weaknesses! Good thinking!" Dark Wind was an exceptional analyst, as he was extremely prepared and knew the style and habits of every competitor. Naturally, he also knew what Convex had in mind.


    "Actually, I think everyone has mistaken," Pure White Season said in disagreement.


    "Oh? Do you have other ideas?" Dark Wind asked. He was an experienced analyst who did not like being questioned for his analysis, even by a fellow partner.


    "We''re only used to seeing Lu Li''s might, technique, positioning, offensive abilities and flexibility. When comparing his level of Stealth to all of the other top players, we automatically assume that it''s his weakness. I don''t think that Lu Li''s Stealth ability is actually as weak as we think it is, since he''s never completely lost at the first clash."


    "Ah, I know what you mean. Let''s just wait to see the outcomes of the clashes between these two."


    Below the stage were many people from the major guilds, including Bloody Dagger, who viewed Lu Li as his number one rival. He had never missed any of Lu Li''s matches. Beside him sat White Westhill, one of Glory Capital''s Priests, who was exceptional at devising strategies.


    "I heard that this Convex''s Stealth ability is strong?" White Westhill asked.


    "That''s right," Bloody Dagger answered while in deep thought, then continued, "I think that Lu Li might lose early on, but if he tries to defeat Lu Li purely by using Stealth, that would be impossible."


    "If he''s able to damage Lu Li''s reputation and image, he would proclaim it to the world," White Westhill said as he rubbed his chin. "Furthermore, if he can make this fight extremely difficult for Lu Li to win, then his status as an elite Thief would be propelled to the top. As of now, Lu Li is definitely the benchmark for Thieves to surpass, so don''t be frustrated, Bloody Dagger."


    "I know. Actually, I want to see Lu Li fail," Bloody Dagger said.


    He felt as though Warp 13 had devised a well-thought strategy to defeat Ruling Sword. After all, if they had deployed anyone from their guild, they would lose anyway. To have a chance at countering, they had sent out a Thief who was exceptional at using Stealth to try and pull out an early win.


    Many people thought that Convex would be able to best Lu Li in combat while in Stealth, especially those who had fought him before.


    However, no one knew what Convex was experiencing in the Arena.


    He could not find Lu Li at all. He had walked over the entire grounds again and again, and yet he still could not even find a trace of Lu Li''s steps. If this was due to his opponent''s good luck, they would have eventually met on the battlefield after such a long period of time.


    This had that Lu Li''s Stealth was even more developed than his, to the point where it had seemed like he was toying with him.


    A few champions from the previous battles had activated a spectator''s field of vision. They could see both players on the battlefield using this.


    As expected of Lu Li, he had managed to detect Convex''s movements on the arena and purposely distanced himself from him when they were about to collide. He was not the type of person to toy with his opponents.


    He was testing his enhanced version of Stealth, since the chances of meeting a player who had invested so much into Stealth were rare.


    Analysts like Dark Wind and Pure White Season did not expect this outcome, let alone the other elite players like Bloody Dagger and White Westhill. They were all stunned by Lu Li''s display of his expertise.


    Why was it that Convex, a Thief who had prided himself on his sensing and Stealth ability, could not detect Lu Li at all?


    Lu Li was tired of ''playing around'' with Convex, so he instantly gained control of the battlefield by finishing the battle extremely quickly. He had not only dominated Convex physically, but the defeat had also taken a mental toll on him.


    This was definitely the most demoralising type of defeat.


    There was nothing more humiliating than defeating a player using the very skill that he prided himself on.


    "My Stealth is an enhanced version, so don''t beat yourself up over it," Lu Li whispered, letting Convex in on his little secret during the end of the battle.


    "Thanks," Convex said, then surrendered and left the Arena.


    Lu Li took a deep breath and was speechless at his own kindness. He no longer was the ruthless man from the past after things had taken a turn for the better.


    Convex was nearing the stage of total mental defeat. After this battle, Lu Li had become his greatest rival, and this motivated him to improve his skills every day.


    However, Lu Li had softened his heart at the last minute.


    After all, he had told Convex about his secret, which gave him a reason for his loss. It was not himself that was lacking, but the level of skill that was lacking. If he had learned the same Enhanced version of Stealth, he would be able to defeat Lu Li in their next meeting.


    Of course, Lu Li was still his goal as a Thief. On the other hand, he had also greatly respected Lu Li.


    This was an expert''s demeanour and humility!


    Lu Li did not push himself to fight five battles in a row, but he had still fought three and retired from the Arena. After Lu Li came Kitty Likes Meat, who had equipped herself with new items to test out their special effects.


    Squad battles were not that exciting anyway. After all, neither Lu Li or Moonlight had fought in them.


    The ones who were battling were: March Rain, Mu Qiu, Kitty Likes Meat, Fat Monkey and Sakura Memories. These 5 struggled against the other 5 respected elite players, but they had still won in the end.

 858 Bear Hunting Competition

    After defeating Warp 13, Ruling Sword''s total points allowed them to instantly progress into the Top-100 Battle.


    Although some guilds were lucky enough to not encounter any elite guilds, it was still unlikely for them to progress any further.


    Dawn ended up becoming an extremely popular game. From January to September, there were only around 40 to 50 gaming organisations. Over the next 3 months, this had blossomed to 300 gaming organisations investing time and money into Dawn. Furthermore, a large number of these organisations had legitimate companies backing them.


    With money, it was much easier to progress and find high-levelled experts. Small organisations would also have a chance at recruiting experts if the money they could offer was alluring enough.


    After the period of Double EXP had ended, the Athletics were about to begin.


    From Christmas to Chinese New Year, there were many events that were held in Dawn. However, Athletics was one of the most popular events throughout the year.


    This was a legitimate event, with all the traditional competition rules implemented.


    Lu Li entered the Marathon first.


    The Marathon had 3 stages ¨C the Preliminaries, Promotion Race and Finals ¨C that were arranged in intervals. The first race was on Day 1, the second race on Day 2, and the final race on Day 3.


    There were hundreds of thousands of players that joined the Preliminaries. Naturally, the designers would not have allowed everyone to participate at once.


    A total of 100 tracks for every region was provided.


    The Marathon in Dawn had rules in the flavour of an MMORPG; they were vastly different to real life.


    Firstly, the participants were only allowed to retain some Attributes, equipment, mounts and techniques to use in the Marathon. The concept of Stamina would also be introduced.


    Flying consumed the most stamina, followed by horseback, then running and so on.


    Furthermore, the tracks were not regular and flat tracks ¨C there were mountain roads, rivers, and even maps that were engulfed in flames.


    All in all, the terrain in Dawn was impossible to replicate in real life.


    The Preliminaries were fairly easy to advance past. The 100 people who were placed in the same map as Lu Li were not experts; he did not even have to resort to cheap tricks to win first place.


    The main benefit of coming first was not the abundant EXP, but being able to progress to the next stage of the race instantly, unlike the others who would have to wait after each race. Out of the many people who had registered for the marathon, only around 10,000 would be eligible to participate in the next stage.


    During the remaining time, Lu Li chose to participate in another event.


    The event that Lu Li had chosen to enter this time was a rare event that only appeared once in a blue


    moon.


    Bear Hunting Competition!


    The sport of Hunting had originated from cavemen times. Most cavemen were great hunters, since their lives depended on their ability to hunt and provide food. However, after the development of agriculture, hunting became a leisure activity.


    Although this Hunting competition took place in virtual reality, there were aspects that were closely modelled after real life. There was no artificial increase in health; one shot was sufficient to kill.


    As for the weapons that could be chosen, there were different points for melee or ranged combat. The ranged weapon options included a Crossbow, Bow and a Hunting Rifle. For melee weapons, there was a Hunting Knife, Dagger and a Rod.


    Lu Li ended up with a Crossbow and a Hunting Knife.


    Many people would be inclined to choose a Hunting Rifle and a Bow because they were clueless about the extreme similarities between real life and Dawn.


    The Hunting Rifle required the player to manually reload bullets, as opposed to being automatic. Furthermore, the Bow did not have aim-assist, which made it extremely difficult to use for beginners. Only the Crossbow was a beginner-friendly weapon. It might have been lacking in firepower, but the level of precision was much higher.


    Everyone had a horse to ride on, which were different to the normal mounts. To ride them, the player required ample horse-riding skills in real life. These horses were easily spooked by wild beasts, and could be injured by attacks.


    Lu Li chose a horse that was not too large and looked like it had a temper, but had calm and solemn eyes. Horses like these would fare better in the wild when dealing with beasts, as they were more likely to remain.


    The Bear-Hunting Competition had only appeared once in the very first Athletics. The second time that it appeared, it was changed to a more unrealistic version, and the beasts were replaced with monsters in the Game.


    During Lu Li''s previous life, he had heard rumours of this event being a vicious competition.


    The strategy he had read described what horse to select, weapons, and also emphasised on the importance of bringing sufficient water and rations, as this competition lasted for 6 hours. During this time, water and rations needed to be consumed regularly. Water was extremely important, as the mount also benefitted from the water consumption of the player. If the mount did not receive enough, there was an 80% chance that it would faint and be unusable.


    Once Lu Li had confirmed all of his preparations, he entered the hunting ground.


    There were many people gathered at the entrance. When they competition commenced, they would slowly disperse into the large hunting ground.


    Lu Li had made his way there extremely quickly, as he knew that the entrance site would be a massacre between players. This was because of the game''s rules, which labelled both participating players and the monsters as hunted ''game''.


    A grey shadow suddenly entered Lu Li''s field of vision. Lu Li instantly loaded his crossbow while on horseback.


    Lu Li began to tread along, gradually increasing his speed. The grey wolf had noticed him, and began to explode towards him. He was prepared, so he fired a volley of arrows towards it.


    The crossbow was able to fire multiple arrows consecutively, so Lu Li was confident that he could quickly kill this wolf.


    However, only one arrow had successfully struck the wolf''s hind leg. If this arrow had been fired from a longbow, the wolf would have been pierced and nailed to the ground.


    The grey wolf was ferocious, but also cunning.


    Its immediate action after being struck by the arrow was to escape, which forced Lu Li into pursuit on horseback.


    Fortunately for Lu Li, the arrow had struck the wolf''s hind leg, which greatly affected its mobility. There was no way for the wolf to escape Lu Li''s arrows, so it was struck again and again until it fell to the ground.


    Lu Li gained four points after this, which was an extremely decent reward. He did not bother with the corpse and turned around to leave.


    After all, this was a hunting ground, so the corpses could not be looted for equipment.

 859 Slaughter

    Four wild wolf points was not bad, but the real points were in the bears. Even the weakest Grizzly Bear Cubs gave ten points.


    Of course, Grizzly Cubs weren''t easy to kill, and adult Grizzlies were a serious threat.


    Lu Li took in a deep breath and smelled a fragrant scent in the air. His face then broke into a smile as he realized that it was the smell of honey.


    Bears loved to eat honey; this was common knowledge to everyone. In the past, hunters had used this to their advantage, which made catching bears an effortless task for them.


    As Lu Li followed the scent, he saw a large beehive attached to a towering tree several hundred meters ahead.


    Collecting honey was also a simple task. Lu Li used the smoke method and gathered a large amount of honey in a short amount of time, albeit with a few stings. After all, he was not a professional beekeeper.


    A bear''s vision was not great, but they had a keen sense of smell.


    According to strategy guides, Lu Li was supposed to choose a big tree where the bears would often appear. Then, he needed to dig a hole under the tree and bury a pot of honey, leaving the top of the pot exposed. Finally, he had to cover the mouth of the pot with a rock.


    When a bear passed by, it would be attracted by the sweet smell of honey.


    The stone on the pot would also be attached to a larger stone on the tree. In order to reach the honey, the bear would move the stone aside, causing the larger one to fall onto its head and stun it.


    Lu Li didn''t have much faith in this method, but he could see the benefit of it.


    Instead, he placed the honey, and crafted a snare trap. This trap wasn''t useful for capturing a grizzly bear, but it could limit the bear''s movement for ten seconds.


    If Lu Li couldn''t kill a grizzly bear that was immobilized, he should just stick to killing small animals.


    Bear hunting in real life was a dangerous sport. It wasn''t like the game at all, which mostly depended on the player''s level and equipment. A few hundred years ago, bear hunters would take a pledge before leaving for hunts that they would bring everyone home, regardless of what happened to them. T


    Lu Li waited patiently in a haystack nearby for about ten minutes before a huge, black bear finally meandered over. The ground shook with every step it took, and Lu Li began to think that he had perhaps been a little too ambitious.


    Fortunately, the black bear was completely entranced by the smell of the honey and didn''t notice Lu Li at all.


    It reached out and licked the honey in the hole, unaware that it was now wrapped in vines.


    It was time!


    Lu Li jumped out of the grass and shot the bear with a crossbow in its back leg with the intention of wounding it. As long as he could hurt it, the bear wouldn''t be able to run away, even if Lu Li couldn''t kill it in time.


    The target of his shots was the bear''s eye.


    Despite its menacing roars, he shot the arrow into its left eye at close range. Unfortunately, he couldn''t deal any direct damage to its brain, which would immediately kill it.


    The black bear was now going berserk.


    This was a test of mental strength. Hunting a bear in virtual reality was modelled after real life. Even if the player kept reminding themselves that it was fake, the scene still appeared quite realistic.


    Nevertheless, Lu Li stubbornly remained steady and aimed at the black bear''s other eye as he continued to pull the trigger.


    When it managed to break free from the snare, he still had time to shoot it in the heart. However, this was no longer necessary.The second arrow that shot into its eye had fully penetrated its head. The bear thrashed about for a few seconds more before crashing into the ground.


    50 points!


    This huge black bear was undoubtedly deserving of 50 points. Lu Li picked up his items and quickly left the area. The smell of blood was bound to attract more beasts, and greed was often the greatest hunter-killer.


    He rode his horse for a while before using his honey to lay a second trap.


    After a while, another lone black bear wandered nearby. This was no smaller than the first one, but it was covered in blood. Its wounds looked like the result of a struggle, so Lu Li reasoned that it had killed a hunter.


    This kind of injured beast was actually more dangerous, but Lu Li decided to continue anyway. It was too late to run away now.


    In fact, he had been quite fortunate far. Honey didn''t always attract lone black bears ¨C sometimes they would come in groups. If that happened, he would have no choice but to run away.


    The black bear was soon tied up by the snare that he had placed. Lu Li than ran up and successful hit its eye, but the second arrow as blocked by its paw.


    In the face of a black bear rushing straight at him, Lu Li didn''t panic. Instead of shooting the last arrow, he dropped the bow and pulled out his hunting knife.


    When righting beasts like this, the main difference between regular and great hunters was not their strength, but their ability to overcome their fear. As long as he was not afraid, Lu Li would have no trouble with this injured bear.


    After avoiding the initial charge, Lu Li flexibly dodged around a tree and cut open the bear''s waist.


    It then rushed towards him furiously, and the thick tree trunk was almost snapped by the force of its body.


    Lu Li then jumped away and waved his knife again. He was like an annoying flea that the bear couldn''t seem to rid itself of.


    Most players who entered the hunting grounds gave up after their first encounter.


    How could someone who grew up in the city overcome a beast like that?


    When the black bear died, Lu Li found that he had also been injured. His back had been slashed by its claws and it was just a flesh wound, but the bloody appearance made it look serious.


    Ping!


    Lu Li lowered his head and saw that an arrow had grazed his neck and hit the ground not far from him. It was a great shot, and he immediately knew that it wasn''t an amateur attacking him.


    However, he didn''t panic and rolled to hide behind a big tree.


    He also conveniently managed to get his bow back. Lu Li tucked himself into a ball in an attempt to make himself as small as possible as he tried to work out where his attacker was.


    His opponent was a man with a bow and arrow, and he looked like he was in his mid-thirties. He also seemed surprised that Lu Li managed to escape his attack.


    If he hadn''t taken a bow with a slow attack speed and had a crossbow as strong as Lu Li''s, Lu Li might already be dead. After all, he had just fought a tough battle and was injured.

 860 Misunderstanding

    "Sorry bro, it was a misunderstanding," the man apologized with a grin.


    Lu Li didn''t believe him; the man hadn''t loosened his grip on the string of his bow.


    However, simply hiding here wasn''t a solution either.


    "Oh, since it''s a misunderstanding, I''ll be coming out then," Lu Li said innocently as he rushed out from behind the big tree.


    Lu Li was moving quite quickly. Even without any speed bonuses, a target sprinting at full speed was still quite hard to hit. The man was obviously worried that if he didn''t hit his target, he would soon become a target himself.


    As such, he refrained from shooting and waited for a better opportunity.


    Lu Li dashed behind another tree. It was bigger and had thicker branches, which made it easier to shoot from.


    The other player was standing in the open and was now vulnerable.


    "Since you don''t trust me, I guess we''ll just be minding our own business then," the man said, beginning to regret provoking Lu Li, but maintained his shooting position as he slowly retreated.


    However, Lu Li didn''t give him a chance; he stretched out his arm and pulled the trigger. The small crossbow he had could be operated with one hand, but was still powerful enough to be lethal.


    The arrow missed and landed a distance away from the man, but he didn''t dare to relax after that.


    "Don''t go; let''s talk," Lu Li said as he adjusted his shooting position and stretched out his arm again. He was in a better position this time, and his enemy was not afraid to move.


    "Spare me this time; I really didn''t know you were a person. I made an honest mistake," the man said as he smiled bitterly.


    He also had to fully draw his bow, otherwise, he would be completely defenseless.


    Although this was a game, it was really quite difficult to keep a bow drawn. He had previously regretted attacking Lu Li, but now his arms regretted it too.


    "That could work, but you will have to pay for your life. My horse was killed by a bear, so I want your horse. If you give it to me, I''ll let you go¡­" Lu Li shouted.


    Would he believe what Lu Li was saying?


    "Alright, I''ll put my weapon done, and you can come out."


    The man knew the urgency of the situation. The longer he kept his bow drawn, the worse off he was. His hands were becoming numb, and he knew that the moment he let go of the bowstring, he would be dead.


    "Send it over," Lu Li laughed coldly.


    "No way!" he refused angrily.


    "I can get your horse just by killing you as well," Lu Li said casually. He didn''t seem to care much for the other player''s tone.


    "Fine, fine, I''ll do it," the man agreed helplessly. He let go of the arrow and threw his long bow away.


    Lu Li slowly came out from behind the tree, but didn''t lower his crossbow.


    The man reached for the dagger by his waist, but his face suddenly filled with anguish as he saw an arrow fly out and thrust directly into his chest.


    "You gave me your word!"


    "You did too," Lu Li said as he let a second arrow loose and hit the man on the chest, killing him.


    The Bear Hunting competition was more realistic than the game. Blood sprayed out of the wound, just like in real life, but Lu Li was completely unfazed.


    The System prompted that he had received 47 points, which was almost equivalent to killing a black bear.


    You could also get points for killing players!


    In this way, Lu Li discovered the true nature of the Bear Hunting competition. Not only was killing the other players not prohibited, but doing so would also transfer all the points that they had gathered to their killer.


    The man had a total of 47 points and was obviously a hunter who had plenty of fighting experience.


    Unfortunately, he still died at the hands of Lu Li. Crossbows were 10,000 times better than bows in a confrontation like this, and Lu Li had also managed to confuse him by leading him to believe that he actually wanted his horse.


    In fact, Lu Li''s horse was tied to some trees not far away from here.


    After Lu Li received the System prompt, he didn''t need to check if the player had really died. He walked over to the corpse and collected the loot that had dropped. The man had some arrows, a long bow, a dagger, some fresh water and a few pieces of dried food.


    The best reward he received were the points.


    47 points plus the 4 Lu Li had received for killing the Wolf and the 95 for killing the two black bears meant that he now had a total of 146 points.


    Lu Li also found the other player''s horse and sold it to the System. He received 2 points for it, but it was better than nothing.


    As the hunting became more dangerous, Lu Li had to be more careful.


    After waiting for two hours, a third bear finally appeared, but Lu Li was hesitant to face it as it was followed by another slightly smaller one.


    Lu Li knew that this was its mate, and not just a friend.


    Everyone knew that tigers lived alone, unless there was one male and female tiger. The same could be said for these black bears.


    The two black bears were now not far from him. They were following the fragrance of the honey, and if he ran now, he probably wouldn''t reach his horse before he was intercepted by them.


    Lu Li set aside his crossbow, and picked up the longbow.


    Along the way, he had tried shooting a few arrows with it and had to admit that virtual weapons were far superior to those in real life. In terms of strength and accuracy, they far exceeded their real counterparts.


    The two bears ran together towards the honey, but Lu Li didn''t shoot his arrow immediately. Instead, he calmly waited for an opportunity. He knew that the timing of his attack was key, otherwise, he would have no chance.


    He now regretted not killing other players earlier. If he had the rifle from before, his chances of success would be higher.


    The rifle was more lethal than the crossbow, but it was very loud and made him vulnerable to being ambushed. It also needed to be loaded with bullets, which were in limited supply.


    The two black bears rushed the side of the big tree, and began reaching into the honey pot.


    The moment they stopped moving, Lu Li''s fingers released the arrow. It whistled through the air and buried itself deeply into the side of the larger one.


    It was clearly suffering, but didn''t die immediately. It waved its claws around wildly and hit the other black bear.


    Lu Li lined up another shot, and aimed it at the second one.


    When it turned around, it saw Lu Li standing in the grass. It was clear that this man was an obvious threat to them, so she came running towards him with a low growl.

 861 Not an Elementary Studen

    Lu Li now had no choice but to fire the arrow, even though he hadn''t fully drawn it.


    The arrow weakly stabbed into the black bear, and didn''t penetrate deep enough to deal any real damage. Not only did it fail to kill the bear, but it also provoked it. Its scarlet eyes stared at Lu Li as it rushed towards him with even more speed.


    Lu Li threw the longbow down and grabbed the crossbow, then prepared to shoot.


    Although he had to do this quickly and decisively, Lu Li didn''t panic at all. The greatest strength he had in this Bear Hunting competition was his mental fortitude. Compared to the other players who had grown up in cozy, urban environments, he had seen many cruel and dark things.


    Unfortunately, the black bear was moving so quickly that he was unable to hit it in a vulnerable spot.


    Its giant paw swung through the air and Lu Li barely had time to drop the crossbow and roll aside. The bear towered over him ferociously, preparing to go in for the kill.


    Lu Li raised his hunting knife and thrust it into its stomach.


    However, it didn''t seem to realize it had been stabbed; the pain must have been numbed by its bloodthirst for this player.


    When it finally realized what had happened, it wanted to run away, but in that moment, Lu Li pressed the knife deeper into its abdomen and quickly rolled to the side.


    His arm had been severely injured, and felt like it had been put in an unusual position. Fortunately, it wasn''t a fracture, or at least, Lu Li didn''t hear the sound of any breaking bones.


    In addition, his leg was also stuck under the bear''s body, and there was a good chance that it had been seriously hurt.


    However, these two black bears gave him a total of 90 points, which was quite the reward.


    The last few seconds had been thrilling, and Lu Li could feel his rapid heartbeat and the adrenaline surging throughout his whole body.


    He was a man, and what man didn''t enjoy a satisfying rush like this?


    But now, with such serious injuries, it was going to be very difficult to continue hunting.


    Moreover, in the second half of the Bear Hunting competition, almost all the players would be fighting each other. Lu Li had to find some way to keep himself alive.


    He tested where his arm had been dislocated, and used the corpse of the bear to rest it on. Thanks to past experience of fights, he knew that this kind of injury wasn''t too difficult to recover from.


    The craft of bone-setting was an amazing field of medicine, even in traditional Chinese medicine.


    There were also similar depictions in movies, but they were quite inaccurate. You couldn''t apply too much force to this kind of dislocation, otherwise, it would be difficult to reset the bones.


    As such, Lu Li took the effort to pull his leg out from under the black bear''s body.


    He was covered in blood, his arm was injured, and one of his legs was paralyzed.


    After climbing out, Lu Li immediately collected his things and quickly left the battlefield. He then rode his horse in a single direction, towards where he had hunted the first bear.


    There were no other large animals in that area as it was quite remote, and the trees could provide him with cover.


    After arriving at his destination, Lu Li immediately sold his horse.


    Even if the horse was hidden well, it was still an animal and was likely to reveal itself.


    Lu Li limped into the woods and gathered some grass to cover himself. He kept his crossbow and dagger in one hand so that he could attack enemies that tried to come at him.


    In 2-3 hours, the Bear Hunting competition would be over.


    With Lu Li''s current number of points, it was unlikely that he would win the competition. After all, those who had come in as a group could stack all their points onto a single person.


    However, his 200 points would be enough to secure a top position.


    Regardless, the main part of this competition for Lu Li was how exciting it was.


    It must have been because he was in pain, but he didn''t notice a figure walking towards him until it was too late.


    It was a young girl who looked smaller than Lu Xin, which caused Lu Li to lower his crossbow. He closed his eyes and hoped that she wouldn''t find him.


    The little girl would hopefully just walk away and wouldn''t force his hand. Even if he was forced to, he still didn''t want to kill a child because of his relationship with his sister.


    The little girl came to Lu Li and looked at him, who was bloody all over.


    If she had a lot of hunting experience, she would have immediately noticed something strange. Despite how bloody Lu Li''s was, he didn''t smell like blood at all. In these hunting grounds, the smell of blood was an important sense for the beasts.


    The little girl stepped quietly to Lu Li''s side and reached out to the water bottle by his waist.


    Lu Li couldn''t hold it in anymore and asked, "What are you doing?"


    "Ah!" the girl screamed, and kept screaming for a while. Lu Li was going deaf from the screaming and almost picked up his hunting knife.


    Fortunately, she looked so young that even the cold-blooded Lu Li couldn''t tolerate the idea of killing her. However, he still extended his hand to cover her mouth.


    "I''ll let go of you, but please stop screaming¡­"


    The little girl desperately nodded and waited for Lu Li to let go of her. She then retreated in a hurry before saying, "I thought you were dead."


    "How old are you? Why are you here?'' Lu Li asked with a frown as he looked at her.


    The dress she had on was still neat, and she clearly hadn''t seen any battle. With a glance at her physical appearance, Lu Li felt like she was a junior high school student, but now that he could see more closely, he thought that she was perhaps only in primary school.


    The Bear Hunting competition had an age restriction, and only those above 18 were allowed to join.


    After all, this was where people came to experience what true hunting was like.


    "I¡­ I''m 18. My horse is thirsty and so am I," the little girl said.


    "18?"


    Lu Li didn''t believe her; she was way too child-like.


    The girl thought that Lu Li wouldn''t believe her, so she told him her ID.


    "I''m really 18; my ID is ''Not an Elementary Student''."


    After hearing her ID, Lu Li realized who she was.


    She wasn''t a primary school student ¨C she was ranked highly on the beauty rankings and was the ultimate loli.


    This girl''s technique was fairly average, and Lu Li wasn''t a lolicon in his previous life, so she wasn''t much of a concern for him. Naturally, he didn''t immediately recognize her.

 862 King of Cuteness

    "Do you believe that I''m 18 now?" the little girl asked as she squatted on the ground and stared at Lu Li. "Big bro, can you give me some water to drink? You can kill me after I''ve had a drink¡­"


    "Heavens, who would actually want to kill such a cute kid!?" Lu Li thought to himself.


    Fortunately, he didn''t have any intentions of killing her. Otherwise, if he killed her after seeing her weeping face, he probably wouldn''t be able to live with himself.


    "I didn''t say I was going to kill you," Lu Li said as he took out his water bag and threw it at her.


    Not An Elementary Student caught it and noticed that Lu Li had another one attached to his waist.


    "Thank you. Why do you have two of these bags?"


    "Loot," Lu Li responded casually.


    In the end, no matter how cute she was, she wasn''t his own sister. If she dared to attack him, Lu Li wouldn''t think twice about killing her.


    "Are you going to kill me? If you try it I''ll cry," Not An Elementary Student threatened. She seemed scared as she pouted her lips and her big cartoon-like eyes began to water. It really looked like she was about to cry.


    If he had loot, that meant he had killed someone else before, but he had said it so nonchalantly.


    "If you''re so afraid, why did you choose to participate in the Bear Hunting competition?" Lu Li asked. He refused to believe that this girl was as weak as she seemed.


    Presumably, the people running the event must have tried to persuade this little girl not to join. After all, who would be heartless enough to let someone who looked like a school girl into this bloody hunting ground?


    "I¡­ I like baby bears," Not An Elementary Student answered.


    "Oh."


    Lu Li almost vomited blood; this was the most ridiculous reason he had ever heard.


    "I know I made a mistake; I realize it wasn''t what I expected when I got in here," Not An Elementary Student''s sniffled with red eyes. "The bears want to kill me, and someone who tried to save me got killed. I was running for a long time before I finally got here."


    "Don''t worry, you can stay here and wait with me until the competition is over," Lu Li offered before he


    realized what he was saying. What made him even more worried was when he reached out to touch the girl''s pony tails.


    This definitely wasn''t his intention!


    Perhaps it was because she was a bit like his sister.


    However, Lu Li took comfort in the fact that Not An Elementary Student was nothing like Lu Xin. Lu Xin was sensible and cute, like a glimmer of sunshine in his dark life, while Not An Elementary Student was a plague that had been brought onto him.


    "Thank you big bro!" Not an Elementary Student beamed as her facial expression changed and she happily sat next to Lu Li.


    This girl really seemed familiar.


    Lu Li glanced over at the dagger on her waist as she slowly closed her eyes. Obviously, he had no intention of having an extended conversation with this player who was from Blood Red War Flag.


    Dancing Flower Beauty was the spokesperson for Glory Capital, and Not An Elementary Student was one of Blood Red War Flag''s greatest assets.


    "You haven''t said what you name is. Big Bro, what''s your name?" Not An Elementary Student whispered.


    Her voice had a certain magical power to it. When people heard it, they would usually do or answer to whatever it said, but Lu Li wasn''t vulnerable to this kind of thing.


    "Either stay quiet or I''ll throw you out," Lu Li said.


    Not An Elementary Student was a little angry, but she didn''t pull out the dagger by her waist. She was adorable, but that didn''t mean she was stupid. The man in front of him had been injured, yet he was calm and resolute. It was obvious that he was very experienced in battle.


    What''s more, she truly did need this little bit of shelter.


    Perhaps it was treason to think so, but among the layers of protection provided by Blood Red War Flag, Not An Elementary Student''s gaming life was so safe and stable that it lacked the excitement of an ordinary player.


    That was secretly the reason why she had snuck over to participate in the Bear Hunting competition.


    When she first came in, she told herself that she was going to catch a baby bear.


    However, it was so difficult to find a baby bear, and when she did stumble upon one, it couldn''t be convinced by her words. That''s right, she didn''t use her rifle at all and planned to talk to the bear. That baby bear who didn''t understand obviously started to become angry.


    In the moment of crisis, a hero came to rescue the damsel in the distress. A male player saw that such a beautiful little girl was about to die to the bear''s attacks, and immediately came to save the day.


    Unfortunately, he underestimated the strength of the baby bear. The wounded bear killed the would-be hero and turned back to Not An Elementary Student.


    However, she had run far away enough that she managed to escape.


    Later, she ran into many other dangers. Most of them were beasts, but she also came across a few hunters. The players who participated in this competition were usually abnormal in the sense that they liked to destroy things that were beautiful.


    As she ran away from everything, her horse quickly died of thirst.


    After crying for a while, she walked into Lu Li. At first, she thought that he was a dead body, and resolved to take his water bag. Fortunately, he had not turned out to be a bad person.


    Although Lu Li didn''t seem to care much for her, at least she was safe here.


    There was a sound of a horse neighing, and Lu Li suddenly opened his eyes.


    He could hear a mix of sounds very clearly, which indicated that there was a group of people.


    "Bro, someone''s coming again," Not An Elementary Student whispered. This loli wanted to get revenge and had previously tried to talk to him so that he would be on her side, but Lu Li had ignored her.


    "This might be troublesome ¨C hide yourself," Lu Li sighed.


    He was two very different things in Dawn and in reality. In the game, he was a strong, unstoppable Thief, but in real life, he was simply a fool that had fought a lot.


    He had never been a mercenary, or killed anyone.


    The leg injury was bad, and the dislocation of his left arm meant he couldn''t fully utilize it. He also couldn''t use his equipment here, so if there were more than three players, they would be in trouble.


    The Bear Hunting Competition evened the playing grounds, and Lu Li didn''t know if he could kill all his opponents.


    Hopefully these players were just passing by!


    Unfortunately, they were heading right for him. The group were laughing and talking as they entered the forest.


    "Do you think they will kill you? How about you use your cuteness on them and save me the trouble," Lu Li suggested as he turned to the loli.


    "Uncle, no, big bro, you have to protect me, wah¡­"


    No matter what expression she made, it was still adorable.

 863 Using a Loli as Bai

    "Hey, go into the thick grass," Lu Li said. He didn''t really want to leave this girl behind either.


    The players who came by were speaking loudly and didn''t seem to have a care in the world. Given all their swearing, they were probably young players who thought they were invincible.


    "I want to taste roast bear paw. When my dad was young, he would go hunting with a second-generation bear hunter¡­"


    "I''ve had a good time today. I don''t know if there are any bears in reality, but if there are, we should organize a group to hunt them. I can find us some guns¡­"


    It turned out that they were here for a barbeque.


    Lu Li didn''t know how to respond to this, but they were in the Bear Hunting competition after all, and the players here were very strange.


    He had no other choice but to begin preparing for battle. If they were here to barbeque, it was obviously because of the wood that was all around them. However, if this group continued to travel deeper into the woods, they probably wouldn''t be able to co-exist peacefully.


    The hunting knife was large and had an advantage against the bears, but Lu Li still liked using his dagger.


    He decided not to bother with his long bow as he probably wouldn''t be able to get more than one shot off, but still held on to his crossbow.


    The only problem was that he didn''t have many arrows left ¨C there were only 12 remaining.


    Lu Li had to take the initiative to attack and slowly approached this group of unusual people.


    Sure enough, they were definitely quite eccentric. He could smell the irony scent of blood from afar, and as he got closer, it turned out that their faces were smeared with blood.


    Lu Li held his dagger in his mouth and aimed his crossbow at the player closest to him.


    He hesitated and didn''t immediately pull the trigger. He wasn''t sure that he would hit the guy in the head, but this was definitely attract the attention of the others.


    There were a total of 13 players carrying all kinds of weapons, and nearly all of them were holding onto more than one. This group of young players must have killed quite a few other players.


    Lu Li slowly retreated back into the woods.


    He leaned against a tree and waited patiently. Not An Elementary Student was sitting in the grass not far from him and thought that he had fallen asleep.


    Finally, he heard footsteps. The person who had walked into the trees was foul-mouthed and seemed to be dissatisfied with being assigned the task of collecting firewood. He wasn''t even carrying any large weapons with him.


    Lu Li estimated his position given where his voice was coming from and slowly walked over to him.


    He couldn''t use the Stealth that he would normally use in-game, but he still couldn''t help but perform the Stealth action that he would normally.


    The player gathering firewood didn''t realize that someone was standing right behind him.


    When he stood up with his dry sticks, he felt a hand on his mouth as he was clutched tightly. He then felt a coldness on his neck and lost consciousness without even feeling any pain.


    Lu Li slowly lowered his target and dragged him off to the side before returning to his original position.


    Not long after, another player entered the words. He was sent to see where the firewood gatherer had gone, but instead was greeted by a dagger in his neck.


    Just like that, Lu Li managed to kill a total of four players.


    This was just a group of ordinary players after all. Even though there were 13 of them, they had no idea that there was an expert hiding in the woods, waiting to ambush them.


    "We can escape," Not An Elementary Student whispered quietly.


    In fact, they could have quietly run away by now. After all, this group of players hadn''t rushed into the woods yet.


    "No, we don''t have horses, so we can''t get far. We need to deal with them," Lu Li said as he put the body down and pulled his dagger out.


    Not An Elementary Student was a little scared.


    "That''s no surprise; you''re obviously addicted to killing."


    Lu Li''s approach was too clean; he had killed four players in a matter of minutes which caused her to suspect that he was a murderer in real life.


    "You can run along the forest ¨C go, quickly," Lu Li said he pointed in a direction.


    After four players had died, the group quickly realized that something was wrong and decided they would approach it together.


    Not An Elementary Student was very obedient this time, and marched her short legs all the way out.


    "Over there, over there!" the group shouted upon discovering the little schoolgirl and fired two shots at her. This scared the loli and she began running even faster as the rest also started to follow her.


    Lu Li didn''t stand up to fight like a hero so that she had time to escape ¨C that would be too melodramatic. He had no intention of sacrificing himself for her, and was using her as bait. He carefully hid himself behind a bush and waited for this group of players to walk by him before aiming his crossbow.


    His targets were moving quickly and were harder to hit.


    Lu Li aimed at the last player running along and held his breath.


    Ptfew!


    The player was hit in the neck and let out a quiet sigh, but his companions were so excited that they didn''t notice him falling.


    Lu Li quickly followed them and killed another one in the same way.


    In addition to the four, there was now a total of six players that had been killed by him.


    When he shot the seventh player, he was slightly off. Instead of silently falling to the ground, he let out a deafening scream which brought his teammates back.


    The remaining group members looked at him and couldn''t help but stare at each other in dismay.


    "There''s someone! Someone attacked me!" the seventh player cried in tears.


    The others felt numb and began to sweat. They had forgotten that this was a game, and that their companions that had been sent out weren''t really dead.


    However, the bodies behind them had not disappeared which made it obvious what had happened.


    "What do we do? How are we going to catch them?" someone asked.


    "How did this happen? The little girl in front was just a bait; the real snake is behind us," the tallest and ugliest one among them reasoned, then asked, "Did you see who attacked you?"


    "No, I was running and suddenly, my knee was hit by an arrow. I don''t even know where he is now," the wounded player shivered. Standing by the gates of death didn''t feel too good.


    "Let''s go back. After we kill this one, we can chase the other one on horseback," another suggested.


    Lu Li didn''t run too far; he was lying in a bush, but his face was covered in blood from all the scratches drawn by the thorns.


    This was a game, and any pain that was transmitted to the player was just electrical signals. He didn''t need to worry about disfiguring his face. Lu Li didn''t seem to care much about his facial appearance to begin with anyway.


    It was impossible to hunt all together, so the players slowly spread out. Some shot arrows at the bushes, but Lu Li remained calm and waited for his opportunity to come.

 864 Marching into Stratholme

    Not An Elementary Student had been running for a while and stopped to breathe. When she looked back, she discovered that Lu Li had not kept up with her.


    "Did he get killed?" she thought to herself worriedly.


    Perhaps Lu Li didn''t escape to save her, and fought until his dying breath. He was surrounded by a group of people and fought until his last drop of blood¡­


    She was touched by the image formed by her own brain and resolutely said to herself, "No, I need to go back for him. Even if I die, at least we will die together."


    The little girl then turned around and ran towards the woods, but before she reached the line of trees, she saw Lu Li limping out.


    Not An Elementary Student was stunned for a moment, before being overjoyed and rushing over to Lu Li.


    "Big bro, you haven''t died!"


    Lu Li''s arms and legs were injured and had been hit again just then. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that he was close to death. Now that Not An Elementary Student was all over him, he was about to collapse.


    "Yeah¡­" Lu Li sighed as he took a deep breath, and tried his best not to collapse.


    "What happened big bro? Do you have something to say?" Not An Elementary Student asked. She looked ignorant, she couldn''t understand why Lu Li wasn''t saying anything to her.


    "Get off me," Lu Li said. He really wanted to beat this girl.


    "Does it hurt? Where does it hurt?"


    Not An Elementary Student got off Lu Li and helped him quickly helped him check his body. Lu Li was like a tiger being harassed by a dog, and helplessly watched as she felt him down.


    Eventually, Lu Li survived the loli''s examination and found a horse for them to leave on.


    The strong smell of blood was bound to attract carnivores and other hunters for an easy kill. Lu Li was seriously injured and Not An Elementary Student couldn''t fight, so they wouldn''t be able to defend themselves.


    There wasn''t an area of shrubbery that was large enough for them to hide in.


    The thirteen that Lu Li had killed were not good players, but they had killed plenty of other competitors as a group. With the points gained by killing them and selling their horses, Lu Li''s total was now over a thousand.


    He couldn''t remember how many points the first-placed player had, but he definitely had a good chance now.


    "Big bro, the competition is almost over," Not An Elementary Student said as she lay down next to Lu Li and stared at the blue sky.


    "Yes, it''s almost over," Lu Li said. He had lost a lot of blood, and the game simulated the symptoms quite accurately.


    "I still don''t know your name; you haven''t told me yet. Please tell me? Please? Please?" Not An Elementary Student begged as she rolled over onto Lu Li again.


    "Hey, can''t you just let me rest in peace," Lu Li said in annoyance.


    "Oh¡­ I treat you like a friend, but you¡­you¡­"


    Not An Elementary Student blinked and started crying.


    "I''m not a lolicon; don''t waste your energy."


    This was a tried and true trick that worked on everyone ¨C man, woman, young and old ¨C but it was completely useless on Lu Li.


    "Oh, I know who you are," Not An Elementary Student said before whispering into his ear, "You must be Lu Li, right? You must be!"


    Lu Li was shocked. Was it because this girl knew that he wasn''t a lolicon?


    She was just clamoring about his name and wanting to know who he was, and now she had guessed correctly. If the positions were swapped, Lu Li probably wouldn''t be able to figure it out.


    "What do you mean you''re not a lolicon? Remnant Dream is the biggest loli out there. If you weren''t a lolicon, then that would be weird. One look and I knew you were a Thief, and you also played very well. You even managed to kill a large group of players. Even though I didn''t fully understand your technique or seen you before, I knew it was you," Not An Elementary Student explained proudly.


    "So you''re not a complete idiot." Lu Li didn''t deny it.


    He didn''t have to keep his identity a secret, but he didn''t want to share it either.


    "Can I find you later?" she asked? Perhaps it was because of Lu Li''s protection, but Not An Elementary Student had developed a bit of a reliance on him.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li was never the kind to get attached so quickly and plainly said, "I''m busy, and I won''t have time to play with you."


    Not An Elementary Student was shocked by this sentence.


    The duration of the Bear Hunting competition soon reached its end. All the players were transported out and their injuries were healed. When their equipment and skills were also returned, Lu Li felt a resurgence in strength.


    Following their agreement, Lu Li added Not An Elementary Student was a friend.


    This was Not An Elementary Student''s request, because she knew that Lu Li had disabled the ability for people to add him, so he had to be the one adding others. However, after Lu Li added her, he would just leave it to one side and stop thinking about it.


    The top three prizes for the Bear Hunting Competition were pieces of equipment, while the rest could only exchange their points for other items.


    Lu Li didn''t make it into the top three, but he didn''t change his 1000 points for EXP, as no one could surpass his level for now. Instead, he exchanged them for some Bear Bile.


    Bear Bile could be used to craft more advanced potions.


    "Sesame¡­" Lu Li began as he opened up a chat room.


    "Everyone is waiting for you in the Plaguelands. Your potions are ready, and the quest is ready as well. When you get here we can share it with you," Sesame Rice Ball said. He was the highest level Alchemist in the guild and was also the Mercenary Group''s logistics manager.


    "Let''s move out!" Lu Li summoned his horse and made his way to Light''s Hope Chapel.


    This mount could only be dropped by the Halloween Paladin Boss. It was very rare, and actually needed to be summoned in a chapel. The players around him watched in shock as it appeared.


    Even the Paladin NPCs nearby raised their weapons and performed a salute as Lu Li rode past them.


    Lu Li ignored these NPCs. This was happening because he had completed old Fordring''s quest and received his blessings, but he wasn''t going to use this to boss others around.


    The last time he entered this Instance Dungeon to do a quest, he had taken the backdoor. This time, he needed to go through the front door.


    At this point, Stratholme already had many players. The entrance to the Instance Dungeon couldn''t be considered busy yet, but it wasn''t easy to find his teammates.


    The main city could transport players directly to the Instance Dungeon, but entering from the Plagueland''s Hope Chapel would grant them a 10% bonus to Undead creatures.


    There was no time limit for this bonus, and it would remain with them for as long as they stayed in the region. As such, most players who were attempting this Instance Dungeon would enter this way.


    After Lu Li joined the others, he said, "After I set it up, we''ll go in together. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled."

 865 Slaying Sylvanas

    Although the Light''s Hope Chapel was neutral, the main city closest to it was Undercity.


    This maze was originally under the capital of Lordaeron. The Forgotten Ones had built tunnels, caves and all sorts of structures within it. Sylvanas dwelled in this city and directed her Undead army to resist against the Scourge Army.


    Sylvanas Windrunner was once a Ranger General of Silvermoon City; she protected Quel''Thalas, the Elf Kingdom.


    She died in the third war and her home was destroyed by Arthas and the Scourge Army, but death was not her final destination ¨C Arthas had taken her soul from her body and turned her into a hateful demoness. She had become one of the Scourge Army.


    When Illidan Stormwind''s attacks successfully weakened the Lich King, Sylvanas and other strong-willed Undead escaped from its control. They built a new home in the ruins of Lordaeron and called themselves the "Forgotten Ones", swearing their revenge to the Lich King regardless of the price.


    However, not all of the Undead Army were loyal to their Queen.


    From what Lu Li has heard, there was an organization called the "Royal Apothecary Society" that studied alchemy, poison, diseases and other evil alchemic arts. Their leader ¨C the Master Apothecary Faranell ¨C had sent out countless Forgotten Ones to Plaguelands.


    At the moment, Varimathras was the right-hand and advisor to Sylvanas. Varimathras was once Sylvanas'' greatest enemy, but he betrayed the Scourge Army and Burning Legion and joined forces with her.


    Without a doubt, Varimathras was in great position of power.


    Besides following the Queen''s commands, Varimathras also gave out quests to players in private, asking them to slay the Paladins in the Plaguelands.


    The Queen had been offended by the Scarlet Crusade, so all Paladins became her target.


    Besides the strong monsters in Plaguelands, the players who helped the Forgotten Ones were also a threat.


    With the Forgotten Ones leading them, other Horde players had a great advantage in this map. It was harder for Alliance players to try and set up a foundation here. This dungeon was similar to the Scarlet Crusade in the sense that they both favored Horde players.


    This was precisely why Lu Li had asked them to be careful of these players.


    They had a geographical advantage, casting spells on players that passed by and picking up the loot after they died.


    When Lu Li appeared in the outer ring, the Mage that was casting Blizzard from higher ground was immediately in trouble. Lu Li swiftly killed him within a few hits; his comrades couldn''t even catch him.


    These were all average players and had no proper organization. Naturally, they were no threat to Lu Li.


    Lu Li soon arrived at the entrance of the dungeon which was locked. The battle here was even more fierce and raged all around him.


    As he waited for the others to arrive, some Alliance players began to gather with them. Those who stood in their way only lost experience.


    People killed those who killed ¨C this was simple karma.


    Lu Li and the others attacked them from in front and behind, clearing out a safe zone in front of the dungeon before entering.


    Nightmare Mode!


    Lu Li wasn''t interested in the gears from Elite mode. His teammates were used to Nightmare mode already and were not surprised at all.


    Twenty years ago, the Scourge Army had begun to invade the Lordaeron Kingdom, releasing their deadly Undead corruption.


    The only son of King Terenas ¨C Prince Arthas ¨C was in charge of resisting the Scourge Army.


    However, as the war progressed, the numbers of the Undead only grew. More and more Human soldiers and civilians were corrupted and became new members of the Undead.


    As he faced an evil that could not be stopped, fear and hopelessness led Arthas to a crazy conclusion.


    To stop the civilians of Stratholme from joining the Scrouge Army, Arthas ordered the city to be slaughtered. This caused the disbanding of the Knights of the Silver Hand. Arthas and his teacher, Uther the Lightbringer, also parted ways at this point.


    The prosperous Statholme became hell within a night. The landlord of Stratholme, Baron Rivendare was meeting with King Terenas in the Capital of Lordaeron. By the time he received news that his city had been wiped out, half a month had already passed.


    On the way to the old capital of the Blood Elves, Arthas passed by the ruins of Stratholme again. There, he met Baron Rivendare, who had sworn to avenge all the civilians of the city.


    "Esarus thar no''Darador!" [TLN: World of Warcraft term that means with Blood for Honor!]


    The motto that had countless Paladins join the battle echoed in the air of that time.


    Under the leadership of the Brave Baron Rivendare, the Knights of the Silver Hand charged and engaged in a fierce battle with the Death Knight Arthas.


    In the end, Baron Rivendare was slain by Arthas, who seemed to have limitless power.


    The Baron fell off his horse and died in the city that he had sworn to protect.


    Not long after, he opened his eyes once again, but they were no longer filled with dignity and justice. Instead, they were filled with an evil surge of darkness and emptiness. His soul had been controlled by Frostmourne and he was now another Death Knight under Arthas, following him on his quest to take down Quel''Thalas.


    After these events, a seal that locked away the Lich King, Ner''Zhul, was broken by Illidan''s spell. Arthas was called back to Northrend in an emergency.


    Sylvanas Windrunner, who had escaped from the control of Arthas, led half of the Undead army in an attempt to revolt against Arthas'' dictatorship.


    In order to return as soon as possible to protect the Lich King, Arthas gave his authority over to his second-in-charge, Kel''Thuzad.


    Baron Rivendare was sent back to Stratholme City and commanded the Scourge Army that resided in the North of Lordaeron. Now, the Death Knight Baron Rivendare reigned alone in Stratholme as he continued to lead his Undead troops into war.


    Players had to kill this Baron who betrayed his loyalty in order to complete the Stratholme dungeon.


    Lu Li really enjoyed this dungeon. Even though the difficulty was high, it dropped a lot of good equipment ¨C even mounts.


    Baron Rivendare became one of the most slain Bosses because he could drop the Deathcharger''s Reins. The Runeblade of Baron Rivendare was also an exquisite weapon.

 866 Fras Siabi’s Cigarette

    Lu Li had two equips that were very suitable for this dungeon.


    Scourge Counter (Gold): Armor 40, Agility +30, Strength +16, Critical Strike +10%. Special effect 1:


    Deal 30% increased damage to Scourge units. Special effect 2: Certain chance of dealing three


    times damage when your health drops below 30%. Level Requirement 40, Durability 84/84.


    These were his gloves that dealt 30% increased damage to Scourge units!


    This wasn''t a special effect that required activation, but was ongoing.


    The other was a lower-level equip that he had found in the storage.


    Wristwraps of Undead Slaying (Exquisite Silver): Armor 23, Agility +15, Strength +5, Special Effect


    1: Berserk, Attack+18%, Lasts for 20 seconds, Cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 2: Deal


    extra 18% damage to the Undead race, Level Requirement 25, Durability 48/48.


    While this equip wasn''t as good as his others, the 18% bonus damage to Undead monsters was enough to persuade Lu Li.


    Both of these equips were suited towards fighting Scourge units; it was as if this dungeon had been designed specifically for them.


    The others had similar gear because the Scourge was the major villain of Dawn''s lore. As such, many other equips existed, but most of them just weren''t as powerful as Lu Li''s.


    This dungeon included many major and minor quests. Hachi Chan had taken up a number of them and shared them directly with the others.


    "There are quite a few high-leveled monsters; everyone make sure to watch out. Breeze, go ahead," Lu Li instructed as he opened up a metal door and signaled for Azure Sea Breeze start the fight.


    The monsters at the entrance were once civilians of the past, but now, they were just walking bodies.


    "Here comes another fool. Report him to the Baron; everyone get ready for battle!" an Undead monster shouted, announcing the start of the dungeon.


    In the past few years, both Holy Light Adventurers and the Scarlet Crusaders had entered Stratholme to battle with these fearsome monsters.


    Unfortunately, they all failed; there were almost no exceptions.


    There was a feature to this dungeon ¨C the monsters multiplied as the players died during their exploration. According to the lore, adventurers who died here would be resurrected by the Scourge Army, increasing its strength.


    Despite this, the NPCs still encouraged the players to participate in battle.


    In the not-so-distant future, Stratholme would grow to become one of the favorite leveling spot for players because of high monster population. Paladins and Druids with good defensive attributes, along with Mages who had group spells, often brought rich newbie players as a training service.


    Lu Li had also participated in such events in his previous life; he even found a bug to almost infinitely kill monsters.


    However, they weren''t strong enough for this yet, as no one could tank that many monsters. Once the Main Tank was unable to fulfil his role, only death would await them in the end.


    Azure Sea Breeze shot a single Undead, but to his surprise, a pack of them followed.


    Fortunately, these weren''t high-leveled elite monsters. Only two of them were elites amongst the six monster, while the others were all ordinary. Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering didn''t feel any pressure from them at all.


    Slowly, everyone''s attention began to shift towards the damage chart, because Lu Li''s damage was simply ridiculous.


    Theoretically, Lonesome Flower''s DPS should be higher than Lu Li''s before they reached the Boss because of his AoE spell. However, the number one spot on the chart didn''t belong to Lonesome Flower ¨C it had been Lu Li the entire time.


    In this dungeon, Priests could also make themselves useful. Besides healing, March Rain could also control an Undead monster to fight alongside them.


    As they continued their journey, they soon ran into a different type of monster, one that could summon more Undead as their helpers.


    In a haunted city of death such as Stratholme, there wasn''t a skill as dangerous as the ability to Summon Undead.


    As such, this was often the first place that players wiped in the dungeon.


    After a while, Lu Li stopped in front of a little house in the city. This was a very low house with a huge sign ¨C< fras="" siabi''s="" cigarette="" store="">.


    "This is it; the cigarette quest," Lu Li said.


    Hachi Chan nodded her head repeatedly as she explained, "The Dwarf at the Chapel seemed to claim that this was the cigarette store that he had been talking about. He''s very generous ¨C he said that if we came here, he''d give us some potions and repair our equipment for free, as long as we bring some tobacco for him."


    Lu Li shook his head without agreeing. He was the only one who knew about Fras Siabi''s Cigarette.


    Fras Siabi''s Cigarette was famous; even the people from Kul Tiras knew of it. Every important person who has visited Stratholme had tried it.


    King Terenas, Uther Lightbringer, Fordring ¨C they had all enjoyed a Fras Siabi Cigarette.


    After Fras Siabi''s Cigarette gained attention among the community, players would often come every week to look for some tobacco.


    When players requested something from an NPC that was a smoker, it would be a guaranteed success if they could give them some Fras Siabi''s Cigarette.


    The Dwarf that Hachi Chan had mentioned was Smokey LaRue. Only a silly players like Hachi Chan during the early game would attempt his quest. Later on, when players obtained Fras Siabi''s Cigarette, they wouldn''t give it to him anymore.


    "Breeze, go first. Watch out for the people inside," Lu Li said as he gave signal.


    Azure Sea Breeze was a little worried after he heard what Lu Li had said, but he raised his shield and pushed open the door. What welcomed him first was the sweet smell of tobacco, and of course, the most common scent of Stratholme ¨C rotten corpses.


    "Rawr!" a giant figure shouted as it jumped out from the shadows.


    When Stratholme was destroyed, Fras Siabi didn''t want to leave his precious stock. At first, he wanted to incinerate all of his tobacco before anyone could touch it. Unfortunately, not everyone was brave enough to face their death head-on. Fras Siabi became an Undead and was a small hidden boss in Stratholme.


    If players entered this building without being prepared, they could die to him.


    Since he was on guard, there was no way that Azure Sea Breeze would be taken down by such a small Boss. His shield had blocked Fras'' attack, so the damage he took wasn''t significant.

 867 Eye of Naxxramas

    Fras Siabi held onto a long tobacco pipe; this was the weapon that he was known for. While it didn''t have high damage, it had a high attack speed.


    Lu Li went up behind the Boss and immediately began dealing damage.


    His damage boost from his equipment was still useful against Fras Siabi, all the civilians of Stratholme had already become Undead.


    Fras Siabi wasn''t strong, but what made him difficult was his smoker ability. He could quickly put his tobacco pipe into his mouth and breathe out a giant circle of smoke.


    "Dodge!" Lu Li yelled. He had been anticipating this spell, and as soon as the smoke circle appeared, he immediately warned his team.


    Some reacted in time while others did not. Lu Li didn''t press the issue; as long as people could stay awake in this stage, that would be enough.


    All those who touched the smoke circle would fall into a long sleep. During this time, they would constantly lose health and if nobody woke them, a wipe was guaranteed.


    On the other hand, as long as someone stayed awake, they could wake up their teammates


    After they dodged the smoke circle, everyone quickly dropped Fras Siabi to critical health.


    Under normal circumstances, a Boss usually enter berserk mode the moment they dropped below this threshold, but Fras Siabi was different story.


    "I need to burn all my tobacco before their dirty hands get to them!"


    After saying, he suddenly took out a torch. His target wasn''t the players, but his precious tobacco.


    Perhaps the reason why Fras Siabi''s cigarette was so hard to obtain was because he always burned them.


    "Everyone burst him down!"


    The special effects and Ultimate skills that the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had saved were all used at once. They didn''t have any idea how precious the tobaccos were, but they knew that this was their quest item.


    The flames continued to burn the precious tobacco and the air was filled with a sweet smell, but Lu Li''s heart was bleeding.


    "Damn you thieves! Why have you entered my home?"


    Fras Siabi seemed to be completely unaware that he was dead; he was confused as to why Lu Li and the others kept attacking him.


    When the Boss died, Lu Li and the others quickly raced over to save the cigarettes.


    Twelve packs!


    The Xin Xin Mercernary Group were already a very strong team, but despite their best efforts, they could only salvage twelve packs.


    "It''s best not to hand this in for the quest. These cigarettes seem pretty useful. If you guys run into NPCs who smoke, they would probably come in handy," Lu Li said as he distributed the tobacco. Everyone received a pack, while two extra packs were given to Moonlight as he was a smoker.


    "I''m going to loot him," Remnant Dream announced as she quickly stooped low next to the Boss.


    Fras Siabi''s Cigar Cutter ¨C this was a two-handed weapon with decent Attributes, especially its Critical Strike. It wasn''t a large weapon, but it was definitely quite intricate. At the end of the description, there was a small row of text:


    "The man sure liked his smokes."


    No one wanted it, so Moonlight took it; he really liked the text description that came with the weapon.


    Smokey''s Lighter ¨C this was a trinket. It created a shroud of smoke that caused all targets within a range to sleep for three seconds. It seemed to be very useful, but it didn''t have any other Attributes that came with it. The effect duration wasn''t very long either. In the end, Lu Li took it as a part of his collection.


    There was nothing else left. Even though this was Nightmare mode, but Fras Siabi was only a minor Boss.


    After this, they left the house and soon ran into an Eye of Naxxramas.


    They had walked along this path previously, so Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t on guard. He failed to control the monster when he spotted it.


    Regardless, this was Azure Sea Breeze''s mistake.


    The Eye of Naxxramas was usually in a half-stealth state. When players entered its range, it would shout a very classic line: "There are people alive here!"


    If it wasn''t controlled immediately, it would summon two Gargoyles within a few seconds.


    These Gargoyles were pure magic-type damage monsters, which meant that the tank would be unable to hold their aggression.


    Players would have to watch out for their knock back in melee range. In times like this, some teams would find themselves in an awkward situation ¨C their hands were already tied from the surprise and the player that had been knocked away could pull another pack of monsters. It was easier to simply sit still and wait for the team to wipe.


    Lu Li had Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball held on to a Gargoyle each, while the others killed the Eye of Naxxramas first.


    As they continued their journey, they found that the Eyes of Naxxramas grew in numbers. There were also wailing demoness along the way that were just as troublesome. These demonesses cried, inflicting a Fear effect on nearby players.


    Another type of monster ¨C the Crypt Crawler ¨C were also notorious for being newbie killers. They threw around nets and had extremely high close-combat damage. It was hard for Mage players escape these monsters, and if enough of them gathered, a wipe would await them.


    Some thought that what made Stratholme hard wasn''t the Bosses ¨C it was these troublesome monsters.


    After they nearly wiped twice, Lu Li drank an advanced Healing Potion and had to warn Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Everyone watch out. Breezy, try and drag the monsters further back every time you initiate."


    "Don''t worry, I got this," Azure Sea Breeze said confidently.


    "Alright. As long as you''re aware, I''ll go and open the door. You can enter first," Lu Li laughed coldly as he unlocked the door that separated the two zones.


    In a giant city like this, each zone in the city was separated by a door.


    These doors weren''t heavy ¨C even a Thief like Lu Li who focused on agility could pull them open.


    Azure Sea Breeze packed away his weapon and shield and he grabbed a hold of the door. Following his instructions, he pulled the door up and laughed proudly as he walked in.


    The moment he stepped in, the door behind him fell and made a loud noise.


    There was also another door in front of him; he was trapped right in the center.


    "What is going on¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze was left in shock. Before he even had the chance to figure out what had gone wrong, countless rats began to flood into the locked zone.


    Damn you, Lu Li!

 868 Baroness Anastari

    Too evil!


    Everyone else watched as the rats flooded over Azure Sea Breeze. They could feel cold sweat drip down their foreheads.


    After they thought about the whole event, even the simple-minded Remnant Dream knew that Azure Sea Breeze had been baited, and the one who had baited him was the innocent-looking Lu Li.


    The girls took a few steps backward; they didn''t like rats and even the guys looked uneasy.


    They warned themselves not to cross Lu Li in the future. Clearly, he had known what awaited them beyond the doors; he was simply too evil.


    At first, Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t concerned about these seemingly harmless rats, but he soon figured out that he was wrong.


    "Dammit, what are you all looking at? Come and save me!"


    It was true that the rats had low damage, but they had incredibly fast Attack speed and were swarming over him. Even after he used his damage reduction, he couldn''t stop his health from rapidly dropping. His HP bar was almost about to drop below the alert line.


    He had punished Azure Sea Breeze enough and didn''t want him to actually die, so he dragged open the door and asked Lonesome Flower to cast a group spell.


    "Flower, use a Blizzard."


    Lonesome Flower nodded his head coolly and casted a Blizzard in Azure Sea Breeze''s location.


    The way in which the rats packed themselves tightly together left them vulnerable to group spells. They quickly gave up on Azure Sea Breeze and began to charge towards their new target.


    Unfortunately for them, Azure Sea Breeze used a Trample which stunned them all.


    Within a dozen seconds, all of the rats had turned into corpses on the ground. Poor Azure Sea Breeze was riddled with bite marks and he stared at Lu Li with bitterness in his eyes. He couldn''t believe that he had stooped so low as to being used as rat-bait.


    "Hmph, I didn''t think there would be danger. Luckily, you''re still safe Breezy," Lu Li mumbled, then turned his face away awkwardly as he continued to spew nonsense.


    "You¡­" Azure Sea Breeze was speechless.


    "Nobody knows what''s ahead. Breezy, be careful when you initiate, just in case you die," Lu Li said carefully.


    "He''ll probably die to you," Wandering quipped as he rolled his eyes. "Are you guys still going? If we''re still going ,then hurry up."


    Azure Sea Breeze continued to initiate monsters, but this time, he was more cautious. Although their clearing speed decreased, they were taking less risks.


    The dungeon often dropped Scourgestones, which could be exchanged for Reputation with the Light''s Hope Chapel.


    These days, Reputation had begun to become more and more important to players, so this was quite a precious item. Unfortunately, it could not be traded, so there was no opportunity for making money.


    Ever since he reincarnated, Lu Li no longer had to worry about finding sources of income.


    He planned to use all of his Scourgestones in exchange for Reputation. His empowerment skills would cost him a lot in the future.


    "Breezy, go and break those two boxes on the side," Lu Li said as he patted Azure Sea Breeze''s shoulder and pointed to the two broken wooden boxes on the corner of the road.


    "Oh¡­ no. Are you going to bait me again?" Azure Sea Breeze questioned as he stared at his heartless commander. He understood the bigger picture now ¨C it was because he didn''t listen to his instructions that he was pushed into a hive of rats.


    "What are you on about? When have I ever baited you?" Lu Li shot back with a face of indignation. He would never admit to it.


    "Then you go and step on it and I''ll see." Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t so easy to fool.


    "Ai, people these days. Why are their minds so dirty?" Lu Li sighed as if he couldn''t understand, then walked straight over and broke the two boxes.


    One of the boxes gave him a magic potion and the other gave him Stratholme Holy Water. Lu Li waved the loot in his hands and gave Azure Sea Breeze a look of disgust. The others also let out a breath of relief; these boxes were often a nest for cockroaches. However, he had opened them twice now and hadn''t yet run into them. Perhaps he was just too lucky.


    Instantly, Azure Sea Breeze felt guilty.


    He took over the bottle from Lu Li and drank it without looking at the description.


    Fortunately, Lu Li wasn''t planning on baiting him this time. He gave him the Stratholme Holy Water and passed Lonesome Flower the Magic potion.


    The Stratholme potion increased the user''s damage to Undead units, along with the aggression that they would take. The other effect that it had was that it repelled insects.


    However, Lu Li didn''t tell Azure Sea Breeze this, because if the insects avoided him, this would mean trouble for everyone else.


    All along the way, it was smooth sailing, and they soon saw their first mailbox.


    Players who entered this dungeon for the first time wouldn''t have noticed these mailboxes. The Undead didn''t require such civilized things.


    Perhaps it was because of curiosity, but some attempted to open these mailboxes. If you did so, there was a high possibility of dying to the postman that would attack you soon after.


    If anyone accidentally opened a mailbox during a battle, then the extra monsters that appeared could wipe out an entire team.


    After defeating a wave of monsters, Lu Li went up to open the mailbox.


    Of course, it wasn''t possible to open one with specific keys, but the postmen that immediately appeared distracted everyone. Azure Sea Breeze roared and drew all of the monsters to him while the others immediately attacked.


    "Remnant Dream, check the bodies," Lu Li said..


    There were six mailboxes in Stratholme, and if three keys were gathered, they could summon the Malone ¨C a hidden boss that dropped excellent loot.


    Remnant Dream didn''t disappoint ¨C she had managed to find a key.

 869 Disgusting Silence

    "Everyone, drink a bottle of Holy Water and any other potions that might be useful. Even though the Boss isn''t Lv50, it''s probably not much weaker than one," Lu Li said as he applied the poison onto his dagger and drank a Potion of Dexterity.


    These investments were essential for Instance Dungeons ¨C without spending money, achieving a First Clear was just wishful thinking.


    "The pills that I''m taking are at least 10 gold each," Azure Sea Breeze said with a painful expression. As the Main Tank, he was expected to do whatever he could to be at his best condition.


    From an outsider''s point of view, Ruling Sword must have been delighted at all the First Clears that they were achieving. However, what they did not see was the amount of effort and resources they put in. It was not uncommon for Azure Sea Breeze to use up almost 100 gold per fight.


    "If you don''t take any loot, then I''ll reimburse you when we get back," Lu Li joked.


    "No way! This amount of money is nothing for me."


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately stopped complaining. There was no way he would give up obtaining a new piece of equipment from the dungeon. A new piece of equipment would be worth so much more than the potions that he had used up.


    "Stop complaining then and clear out the mobs in the area," Lu Li said as he pointed towards the wandering mobs in the distance.


    "What''s the point of killing them if they''re so far away. It''s not like they''ll interrupt the fight," Wandering questioned. As one of the commanders in the guild, he needed to understand so that he too could lead others in clearing the same dungeon in the future.


    "Do you guys know what a Banshee is?" Lu Li asked.


    "You mean female fairies?" Hachi Chan said with a weird expression.


    Lu Li decided to ignore her and explained, "Legend has it that when beautiful women were killed, they turned into Banshees. Their restless spirits wandered the world for many ages in silent, tortured lamentation. Over the years, they became jealous of the living and form a deep hatred for all life. When the Lich King became aware of them, he gathered them together and promised them vengeance upon the living..."


    "Wait, why are you telling us all this?"


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t like stories like these. Lu Li was interested in the background lore of the game he played, but Azure Sea Breeze found this boring and dry.


    "The Lich King gave them terrible voices so that the living would finally hear their timeless anguish. They use their evil shrieks against enemies causing them to scramble in fear. Do you guys understand now?" Lu Li asked, finishing off his story in one go.


    Because of the Fear debuff that was used by the Banshees, they had to clear out the monsters within a large vicinity.


    Even if Lu Li didn''t know this from his past life, he would have figured it out from his general knowledge.


    In reality, this was how strategies were created in games ¨C by thinking outside of the box and taking into account of everything in the surroundings.


    Every mob that could be seen in the area was cleared out, then rested for a few minutes. After this, Azure Sea Breeze switched into his magic resistance gear and charged towards Baroness Anastari.


    Professional Main Tanks had more than one set of gear. When training alone, they needed a DPS equipment set, but when fighting physical-damage Bosses, they needed gear that specialized in physical defense. On the other hand, if Azure Sea Breeze wore physical defense gear against a magic-damage-dealing Boss, he would be instantly crushed.


    "Who dares awaken me in such a lonely night?" the Baroness roared as Azure Sea Breeze slammed into her voluptuous body.


    "What is the meaning of this?!" she continued as she whipped Azure Sea Breeze without holding back. Whips were usually used by Hunters to tame pets, but they were the weapon of choice for Succubae and Banshees.


    Whips were less predictable and as such, it was difficult for Azure Sea Breeze to read her attacks.


    Lu Li blinked behind Baroness Anastari and used Sinister Strike. If his memory served him right, this Boss could be temporally crowd-controlled for a short while in the first stage of the fight.


    However, this was implemented a few months after Lu Li had joined the game.


    During this time, there were multiple patches that nerfed the Bosses in order to make the game more noob-friendly. As the starting Boss in Stratholme, she too received some nerfs.


    Completion Rate 96% ¨C Lu Li''s damage was quite high, but she did not get stunned.


    He had a feeling from the start that Baroness Anastari wouldn''t get crowd-controlled. Even Kick likely would not work on her.


    "All life shall tremble at my voice!" the Banshee lifted her head and screamed.


    "Everyone get back! Run as far away as possible!" Lu Li yelled as he activated the special effect on his boots and ran as quickly as he could away from the Baroness. The others reacted quite quickly, especially the ranged classes who had been standing far away from the very beginning.


    The members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had their individual flaws, but the reason why they had completed so many First Clears was because no one was bad enough to drag down the entire team.


    In the end, the only ones who were feared were the two Main Tanks and Remnant Dream. Even Lu Li himself couldn''t believe it.


    In reality, this was somewhat expected. The ranged classes could get away easily because of the head start they had. The melee members were all reliable players; Lu Li and Moonlight were the two best players in the team. Even Sakura Memories, who had been the weakest link of the party, had received intensive training from Father Kitty and greatly improved her mechanics.


    March Rain could cleanse Fear and she used it immediately on Azure Sea Breeze.


    Since all the surrounding monsters were cleared out, it was safe for Wandering to stray away because he was only a secondary tank.


    Even so, March Rain also kindly cleansed his Fear.


    Wandering was such a prideful person. Running around like a headless chook would make him lose his usual grace and elegance.


    "This is my land. If you dare to challenge me, I will shut all of you up. Everyone, silence!" the Banshee screamed. She had just finished using her fear and began casting another.


    Lu Li knew what skill she was going to cast but did not tell his teammates how to react.


    This was because the Silence was a large area-of-effect skill. Unless you were to leave the Instance Dungeon, you


    would definitely be affected.


    Silence: Baroness Anastari silences all players within 10 yards, preventing spell casting for 10 seconds.


    10 seconds!


    This was quite ridiculous as 10 seconds would be more than enough to wipe an entire team. The next patch would nerf this skill, changing it to only affect Magic classes such and reducing the duration to 6 seconds.


    They couldn''t simply sit around throughout the whole duration of the silence.


    This was the moment that tested the Main Tank of the party. If he was to fall, then the entire team would be wiped for sure. Many other major Guilds that attempted this dungeon failed at this particular stage.


    Azure Sea Breeze continued to attack the Boss to maintain aggro. The others could only sit and watch as their Main Tank fought for his life.

 870 Possess

    "I don''t know if we can survive; 10 seconds feels so long."


    Their HP was dropping fast, but no one could cast skills to survive.


    Lu Li was afraid to be in melee range as well ¨C Baroness Anastari could easily instant kill him. However, Azure Sea Breeze''s survival was much more important than his, as once the Main Tank was down, the entire party would be doomed.


    As such, he decided to attack the Banshee head-on, albeit reluctantly.


    With normal attacks alone, Lu Li easily out-damaged Azure Sea Breeze and he quickly stole aggro off him. Lu Li was unaffected by the Boss'' first strike as the special effect on his ring made him invulnerable for one attack.


    Lu Li activated his defensive skills which formed a translucent shield around him and tanked the second hit.


    Power Word: Shield was March Rain''s signature move. She made sure to max it out for situations just like these.


    This bought enough time for the duration of the silence to end. Azure Sea Breeze swiftly Taunted the Boss to retake aggro.


    He was rather proud of his quick reaction. Although tank classes couldn''t deal a great amount of damage to Bosses, they had various Taunt skills that could control who the Boss attacked.


    "Thanks," Lu Li said with a breath of relief. He had narrowly escaped death.


    "Next time you troll me, just remember that I saved your life."


    "Just hit the boss. Everyone, be careful of her crowd control skills," Lu Li said as he continued to deal damage and carefully observed her every animation. Baroness Anastari had not yet used all the tricks up her sleeve.


    "How much more suffering must I endure? Feel my pain!"


    After countless rotations of Fears and Silences, she used a new skill ¨C Possess.


    Possess: Take control of a random player no more than 10 levels higher, increasing their maximum health by 200% and damage dealt by 200%. Two-minute duration.


    The Banshee did not have an Ultimate skill that dealt massive area-of-effect damage, but her arsenal was still well-stocked.


    Possess was one of those skills that took control of a player, increasing their maximum HP and damage dealt. If Lu Li and the others weren''t careful, they could easily get blindsided by their own teammate.


    Lu Li had been waiting for this moment; he turned around and kicked Lonesome Flower in the stomach.


    The others were confused ¨C what was happening?


    Why did Lu Li attack his own teammate?


    Then, Lonesome Flower began retaliating. The red border that surrounded his character model suggested that he was an enemy unit.


    "Haha, hit him! Hit him hard!" Remnant Dreams laughed as she began to attack Lonesome Flower. Lu Li couldn''t help but feel like his teammates were bored of killing monsters; they seemed to be a lot more enthusiastic when attacking one of their own.


    "Dream, stop. I''ve got this," Lu Li said.


    Lonesome Flower''s HP had increased by 200%, but since he was a Mage, his HP was naturally low and Lu Li easily bursted him down.


    Lu Li did not stop Remnant Dream from attacking Lonesome Flower from the very start because the controlled player needed to be attacked until critical HP and he couldn''t do it quickly enough by himself.


    Otherwise, they would have to wait for the entire two-minute duration for the controlled player to return back to normal. Since he had gained a 200% damage bonus, he was powerful threat. The only other solution was to crowd-control him, but Lu Li couldn''t be bothered with that.


    There were no other options but to attack him.


    When his HP reached critical level, the spirit of Baroness Anastari would leave his body.


    Before other players had figured out the strategy, there were many times where the controlled player was killed accidentally. This was exactly what Lu Li was worried about.


    After Lonesome Flower had regained his consciousness, he only had a tiny bit of HP left. He was at the point where if anyone were to simply touch him, he would die.


    Besides the Fear, group Silence and Possess, the Baroness also had a few debuffs that she could inflict on the players.


    She could cast Banshee Curse, reducing everyone''s chance to hit by 30% for 12 seconds.


    Probability outcomes in games were determined by a random number generator and as such, were very unpredictable. Even though the hit chance was only reduced by 30%, it was very possible for a player to miss multiple times consecutively.


    There weren''t any short cuts or special strategies that could be used on her besides persevering through the fight. The only good news was that Baroness Anastari couldn''t heal herself.


    After more than half an hour, Baroness Anastari was near critical HP.


    "Okay, everyone stop and attack her slowly. Don''t let her reach critical HP," Lu Li instructed, stopping his teammates. This was the stage of the Boss fight that had the highest chance of wiping out the entire team. Lu Li did not want that to happen and have to restart the entire battle again.


    As a majority of the players would know, when the Bosses in Dawn reached critical HP, they went into Berserk mode.


    This was the hardest stage to survive, especially for Baroness Anastari. If she were to cast her group Silence during Berserk mode, the entire team would be wiped for sure.


    Lu Li was waiting for her to cast the Silence right before she was in critical HP so that she could not cast it again for a short while.


    "This is my land. If you dare to challenge me, I will shut all of you up. Everyone, silence!"


    As expected, after a short while, Baroness Anastari casted her Silence again.


    "I think what she meant is¡­" Azure Sea Breeze cleared his throat and began mocking her, "This is my land. When I''m being a bitch, you should all shut up!"


    He was attacked almost immediately after saying that, almost as if she understood what he had said. Fortunately, Azure Sea Breeze was prepared this time.


    After the 10 second duration, Lu Li signaled everyone to burst her down.


    Sakura Memories activated her Bloodlust, while Remnant dream casted Pistol Aura and Hachi Chan used a group buff which increased attack speed and magic damage. Lu Li had his Retribution Aura constantly up from his Paladin Heart.


    Paladin Heart (Dark Gold): All Attributes +20, Special Effect 1: Prayer, Instance Cast. Sacrifice your HP to receive HP and mana to a teammate. 2-hour cooldown. Special Effect 2: Four Paladin Auras available: Crusader Aura ¨C Increase riding speed of all squads and team members within 40 yards by 20%; Devotion Aura ¨C Increase Defense of all squads and team members within 100 yards by 10%; Retribution Aura ¨C Inflict fear onto monsters that attack teammates; Focus Aura ¨C Concentrate nearby teammates to reduce cast time for attacks. Only one aura can be active at a time and this effect cannot be stacked with other items that have a similar effect. Equipment Requirement: None, Durability: None.


    Lu Li and the others managed to burst her down before she was able to cast another skill.

 871 Shields

    Baroness Anastari might have seemed easy as there were not any casualties during the fight. However, it was only after experiencing it that they were able to understand just how difficult it actually was, as the whole fight had been riddled with traps.


    From the terrain, to the minions, to the Boss herself, Stratholme embodied the game designers'' mission of making things difficult for the players.


    If they had not cleared out their surroundings before engaging the Boss, it was absolutely certain that they would have been completely been annihilated from attracting all the other minions. If the Main Tank could not withstand 10 seconds of Silence, they would also have lost the fight. If the Banshee had possessed the players and caused a disruption, that would have also led to a complete loss. Furthermore, if they had been silenced when they were initiating their squad burst DPS, they would have certainly lost.


    In the end, these possibilities did not matter. They were extremely lucky and had gotten the First Clear of Baroness Anastari.


    As such, the potential equipment that could be dropped was extremely exciting.


    Unfortunately, no one was rewarded with a skill point, which were becoming increasingly more difficult to come by. Because of their scarcity, Lu Li had wanted to complete more missions that would have a chance at granting them after completing this Instance Dungeon.


    Screeching Bow ¨C this Dark Gold weapon possessed quite an impressive unique effect, so this was a welcome drop from the Boss.


    Remnant Dream had an extremely lucky hand. After all, the first equipment that had dropped was for Hunters.


    It was unfortunate that Remnant Dream had taken a liking to crossbows, and both Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li had no use for it. Lu Li decided to place it up in the guild storage for the Hunters to auction using their points.


    Anastari Heirloom ¨C this was no ordinary Gold grade equip, because this was a necklace.


    Accessories like Rings and Necklaces were rare drops, so they were often worth more than other regular equipment.


    This necklace increased the damage of Shadow-type attacks and also possessed a special effect that allowed massive burst damage at the cost of the user''s HP. This was given to Sesame Rice Ball, since March Rain did not need anything else besides Healing equipment.


    Lu Li was sure that the previous teams that had attempted Baroness Anastari had failed, since equipment of this calibre would not have dropped from the Boss otherwise. If they had been fighting a Wild Boss out in the fields, then these equips would not be surprising.


    The two types of Bosses were on completely different levels in terms of difficulty.


    "These people are too incompetent. They couldn''t even finish off an Elite Level Boss," Wandering suddenly said in an arrogant voice. He had also just realised that they had taken the First Clear in Stratholme.


    "Can''t blame them. After all, just look at our own equipment," Lu Li responded as he signalled for Remnant Dream to continue.


    Their party, despite being small, was among the best of the best. Their equipment had been gained from the First Clears of Nightmare difficulty dungeons, and they had many rare and powerful skills that were not easily acquired.


    These included Azure Sea Breeze''s damage reduction, Sakura Memories'' Bloodlust, Remnant Dream''s Trueshot Aura, March Rain''s various healing abilities and Hachi Chan''s enhanced Tranquillity, among many others.


    Banshee''s Curse (Consume): Upon using, chance of decreasing target''s HP by 30%. Lasts 12 seconds, no effect against enemies past 10 levels of user''s level. Uses left 5/5.


    Why did this have to drop from Baroness Anastari?


    Truthfully, Lu Li wanted to curse out loud.


    Why was it not Banshee''s Wail or Banshee''s Silence? Why did it have to be the useless Banshee''s Curse?


    Banshee''s Wail was a crowd-control ability, and the other was a mass-silence ability. Why did it have to be the one that merely decreased the target''s HP by 30%? It wasn''t that this item was completely worthless, but that the other two had far exceeded it.


    No one wanted it, so Lu Li decided to put it in his own storage.


    He had brought a 4x18 bag, and adding onto the innate 10-space storage, he had a total of 82 spaces. Even so, he was beginning to run out of space.


    After defeating the Baroness, they immediately set out to conquer another Boss.


    During this time, Hachi Chan would be able to complete a quest called ''The Restless Souls''.


    It was said that during the fall of Stratholme, many people had died tragically. Many had committed suicide just to avoid becoming one of the Scourge.


    While they achieved their goal, they did not end up in a good place either.


    Now, they lived on as restless souls, wandering the shores and streets of Stratholme.


    This was not even the worst thing that had happened to them. They were constantly being tortured and harassed by the crooked Scarlet Crusaders.


    The Scarlet Crusaders drew their powers from their hatred of spirits. After all, their goal was to eradicate all the spirits in the world. Naturally, they would not have a sliver of compassion towards these restless souls either.


    Hachi Chan had met a man called Egan through her own mysterious ways. Other players would not be able to develop a friendship with NPCs even after days of sticking around, but Hachi Chan had managed to receive a quest from Egan with a few words.


    Egan had conducted extensive research in the world of spirits and souls, and through this, had invented a type of machinery that could put spirits to rest.


    It was Hachi Chan''s mission to put these spirits to rest.


    While this quest was not difficult, the catch was that they were not to attack these spirits. As a precaution, Lu Li prevented the party from using Area of Effect skills that attacked multiple targets. In doing so, they would avoid harming the spirits.


    Of course, they could not belittle the strength of these spirits.


    If the spirits were enraged, they would unleash a terrifying curse on the players. Those who had been inflicted by this curse would be marked and constantly attacked.


    "What a peaceful feeling."


    The first spirit that had been struck by the weapon had a dazed expression on its face.


    As Lu Li watched on, the shroud of darkness that had previously enveloped the spirit''s body began to lighten and gradually became transparent. After this, it had transformed into a white light, like the Holy Light, and dissipated into Stratholme''s thick air.


    Slowly but surely, they had come to the next Boss to slay.


    Nerub''enkan was a terrifyingly strong soldier in the War of the Spiders. However, she had suffered such a grave injury that she had to retire, and became a pawn of the Scourge.


    This spider was now guarding a Ziggurat in Stratholme, willing to sacrifice her own life to protect it.


    Nerub''enkan was easier to kill than Baroness Anastari, if the players that were fighting it had good enough equipment.


    Otherwise, Nerub''enkan would entrap them in its webs, then summon many spiderlings which would slowly devour the players.


    As of this moment, Lu Li was not sure if his party was able to fight Nerub''enkan face to face.


    "According to my sources, this Boss will drop an exquisite Shield," Lu Li said, trying to encourage Azure Sea Breeze. Apparently, Main Tanks were growing reluctant to fight this Boss due to its sheer size.


    "Ah, screw it. This Boss drops a shield, damn it! Brothers! Let''s go!"

 872 Nerub’enkan

    Nerub''enkan was terrifyingly large and emitted a strange metallic light. This Boss was like the kind of monster to descend upon the unfortunate characters in a horror movie.


    "I have awakened. Receive my wrath, mere mortals!"


    Azure Sea Breeze began to rush towards the Boss, but was suppressed by its claws. Then, Nerub''enkan unleashed a spray of poison directly at his face.


    Fortunately, Azure Sea Breeze was wearing a full face-covering mask. Otherwise, he would have been completely grossed out and lost his composure. Even so, he was surprised at the sudden attack and lost his footing.


    Nerub''enkan was quite different from a normal spider. It was a Crypt Fiend, which was a hybrid between a spider and a human.


    These savage creatures had conquered the Northern Kingdom of Azuo-Nerub through their dominant forces that were led by Ner''zhul.


    Now that the kingdom was under Crypt Fiend rule, the original spiders that resided there fought for Ner''zhul.


    These creatures had the ability to summon spiders and use webs to ensnare their enemies. In a large-scale battle, Crypt Fiends could use this to their advantage against flying enemies.


    It was rumoured that their webs were so strong that they could pull down a Gryphon.


    However, these were useless against Lu Li and his party, since none of them were going to take flight.


    Nerub''enkan was still a difficult Boss to deal with, and was not to be underestimated. Even many veterans had underestimated it and paid the price for their arrogance.


    After a short while, the Boss began to weave its webs, trapping the players in them.


    "Look at my webs! They''re so beautiful!"


    The whole process had unexpectedly taken place in a blink of the eye. Nerub''enkan was frighteningly stronger than the normal spiders that they had previously faced.


    Web Wrap: Nerub''enkan traps a player in its webs, leaving them unable to move or attack for 15 seconds.


    This skill was not merely a crowd-control skill, but also had the side effect of decreasing accuracy.


    The first one that had been trapped was Sakura Memories.


    "Sakura Memories, use Damage Shield!"


    The party made sure to closely follow Lu Li''s instructions, as Nerub''enkan would use two more skills in rapid succession after casting its webs.


    Pierce Armour: Nerub''enkan pierces the targeted enemy, causing Armour to drop by 50%. Lasts for 10 seconds.


    Crypt Scarabs: Nerub''enkan summons a group of scarabs and unleashes them on its enemies causing Nature damage.


    While the scarabs didn''t do much damage, they moved quickly and in swarms. A normal player would be easily overwhelmed by them


    Furthermore, it almost seemed as though these three skills had been cast at the same time. Sakura Memories quickly found herself entangled in webs, afflicted by Armour Pierce, and had a group of scarabs surrounding her.


    Luckily for her, Lu Li''s instructions came just at the right time, so she casted the Damage Shield instantly.


    March Rain''s battle mechanics and perception was also gradually improving; she had also instantly healed Sakura Memories. If it were not for March Rain''s quick reactions, Sakura Memories would most definitely have died.


    Players would often die because of these three consecutive skills. Many gaming organisations and communities had criticised the game company for designing such powerful Boss mechanic, but as expected, there was no response.


    Some players had just accepted this fact ¨C Dawn had never limited how Bosses attacked. The simple tactic of using HP and time as indicators for skills would no longer work against high-level Bosses such as Nerub''enkan.


    After saving Sakura Memories, another dilemma quickly became apparent. The aggro of Nerub''enkan had been lost in the heat of the battle. As such, it began on a rampage across the battlefield, pursuing its enemies closely.


    Lonesome Flower was positioned the furthest away, but still became the first target. He was instantly killed by Nerub''enkan without even having a chance of deploying his shield.


    Some said that Lonesome Flower was not an elite player, and that other Mages with his equipment would have done better.


    However, success in gaming depended on luck just as much as strength. Lonesome Flower was extremely hardworking and diligent, as displayed through his ranking of 2nd place behind Lu Li. No one else in the guild could say much about his qualifications.


    His PVE skills weren''t that bad either. In fact, they were remarkable. He was just unlucky that the Boss had suddenly rushed at him, which was completely unexpected.


    After all, no one had expected that the Main Tank would suddenly lose aggro with the Boss. Furthermore, they were completely unaware of Nerub''enkan''s skills, unlike Lu Li. Any Mage from another guilds would also have died to this.


    Lu Li was not going to let another member of the party die in this fight. After he revived Lonesome Flower, the rest of the party continued to fight against the Boss. The last thing that they wanted was to drag out the fight longer than it needed to be as deaths would be a regular occurrence.


    Lu Li and Hachi Chan had the ability to revive teammates, but what would happen after they ran out?


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had an average player level of 46, which was only three levels below the Boss. Individually, they were as strong as any other elite team of a major guild. While the fight would be difficult, victory was almost certain for them.


    After a few more deaths, including Lonesome Flower, Remnant Dream, Moonlight, Sesame Rice Ball and Sakura Memories, they finally defeated the Boss.


    Fortunately for them, Nerub''enkan did not go Berserk at the end of the fight. Otherwise, they may not have escaped the dungeon alive.


    This time, Lu Li did not care about the equipment that were dropped. When the System notified him that he had gained a skill point, he was elated.


    He was not the only one who had received a skill point ¨C Sakura Memories had too.


    Chance was a huge aspect of the game, and it definitely showed in the inconsistencies between rewards. Baroness Anastari had not given any skill points, but Nerub''enkan had given two.


    Of course, Lu Li was not so delusional as to expect a skill point from every Boss, but that didn''t stop him from hoping for good drops every time.


    Remnant Dream was restless as she wanted to go see what items had dropped. Although the last Boss had dropped decent equipment, no one could use the Bow and the necklace was only Gold grade. This time, she swore to find something better.


    The best items were those that people would fight over as she could get a small reward for looting them.

 873 Dirty Head of All the Equipmen

    "It''s a Shield; it dropped a Shield! An exquisite Shield!" Remnant Dream exclaimed excitedly.


    At the beginning of the fight, Lu Li had mentioned this shield. Now that they had actually managed to get it, Azure Sea Breeze was ecstatic.


    He immediately looked at the shape of the shield, then at its properties.


    Blood Shield, it really had Blood Shield!


    Husk of Nerub''enkan (Dark Gold): Armor +125, Constitution +45, Shield Block +15%, 1 Slot. Special Effect 1: Nature and Fire resistance +10%. Special Effect 2: After being hit in combat, there is a 10% chance to reflect 10% of the damage. Special Effect 3: After being hit in combat, there is a 30% chance to steal 350 health from the target. Equipment Requirement: level 45. Durability 220/220.


    This shield wasn''t as defensive as the one he was currently wielding; its Constitution wasn''t as high.


    However, Nature and Fire Resistance were considered the best in addition to Dark Resistance. In many strategies for Bosses, it was a requirement that the Main Tank had some of these resistances.


    The reflection damage also served to increase the Main Tank''s damage output.


    As for the last special effect, there were varying views on it, but even without it, this shield would still be worthy of a Dark Gold level 45 item.


    Its appearance was also quite coveted, with a skull in the center that gave it a menacing appeal.


    "I''ve been quite poor lately, but you can have 20 gold to take care of your pets," Azure Sea Breeze said, clearly in a good mood.


    In fact, 20 gold was already quite a large sum. Many players could farm for a whole day and wouldn''t necessarily make 20 gold. It was only because their group was always in contact with the latest and best equipment, and were also regularly paid by the guild.


    Remnant Dream didn''t think it was too little either, and happily continued to loot the Boss.


    The second item was a Gold Insect Husk Leg Guard. They were on Nightmare Difficulty and had achieved a First Clear, so finding a Dark Gold item and a Gold item was not that surprising.


    Unfortunately, this Gold item was a Sustain Item, and there were no Sustain players here. Lu Li had to put it away for now, and ask if the strongest Sustain player in the guild wanted it.


    Nightedge was now associated with Ruling Sword and was a top-ranked beauty, but no one knew that Sorrowless liked her.


    Lu Li had no idea what she was thinking, but didn''t stop her just because of her history with Sorrowless. Since she had chosen Ruling Sword and hadn''t done anything wrong, he chose to support her.


    The third item was a Strengthening Stone.


    Everyone rolled for it and it was taken by Wandering, who managed to roll 93 points. Hachi Chan, who rolled 92 points, watched bitterly as it was taken away. As for Lu Li, he rolled less than 90 points right at the beginning and knew that there was no hope.


    There was also a fourth item. It wasn''t the rare material that Lu Li expected, but an Eye of Arachnida.


    Eye of Arachnida (Consumable): Use this item to summon Kilrogg''s eye and observe the world through it. Kilrogg''s eye is Stealthed and moves quickly but is very fragile. 2 minute duration. 5 minute cooldown. Remaining uses 5/5.


    The Eye of Kilrogg was a Warlock skill that could be acquired through a class-specific quest.


    If players from other professions wanted to use it, they would have to use this item.


    Kilrogg was a member of the Bleeding Hollow Clan. When his family was about to exterminated by Arakkoa, he was unwilling to submit. Instead, he discovered the hidden chamber that his clan was named after and performed a terrible ceremony.


    During the ceremony, Kilrogg foresaw that his death was still far away, so he knew that he would survive this catastrophe.


    Inspired by fate''s encouragement, he seized control and led the Bleeding Hollow Clan todefeat the Arakkoa threat and later won numerous battles.


    This terrible ritual required him to dig out his left eye and turn it into a magical item. For Kilrogg, it could predict the dangers of the future and was indeed a Godly item.


    The Warlock ability to acquire Kilrogg''s eyes didn''t require them to dig out their own eyeballs; that would be too gory. With that being said, the task was not easy either.


    For players of other professions, there was simply no way to trigger that quest. As such, everyone else had to settle on using the Eye of Arachinda. The only drawback of this item was that there were a limited number of uses.


    This Instance Dungeon was available for everyone to do every week, so it didn''t cost them anything to farm the eyes.


    "I think this will be useful in future. I will keep it and we''ll split the future ones," Lu Li said, then explained its role to his teammates.


    "He''s the dirty head of all the equipment, dirty head of all the equipment," Azure Sea Breeze muttered. He was back to his strange self.


    The head of all the equipment put the Eye of Arachnida back into his backpack. When he was on an adventure and there was an inaccessible or dangerous place, he could use the Eye to explore it first.


    After killing the second Boss, Lu Li didn''t head straight for the third spirit tower. Instead, they went around and cleared a few waves of monsters before running into an elite monster ¨C Stonespine.


    Stonespines were wicked gargoyles that were natural killers and followed the Scourge into battle. They had hard skin to protect them from their enemies and could land on the ground to disguise themselves as stone statues. In this form, they couldn''t attack, but could regenerate HP quickly.


    This was a monster that was often forgotten by the players, as it didn''t drop good items and wasn''t that easy to kill.


    However, Lu Li knew that it could drop a ghost-like cloak. Seeing as this was the First Clear, the drop rate would even be higher. Moreover, since it wasn''t a Boss, a Hunter could capture it as a pet. Its attacks caused Bleed, which was very useful against Bosses.


    There was no conflict between these two goals as the Hunter could only have 3 attempts at catching it. If they failed three times, they wouldn''t be able to try again.


    "Can¡­Can I refuse?" Remnant Dream asked nervously as she glanced at the huge stone monster in front of her.


    "Why? Don''t you like taming pets?" Lu Li felt a bit hurt as his good intentions hadn''t been received well.


    "Haha, Dreamy has always been afraid of bats," Hachi Chan said unceremoniously, "And she only really likes good looking pets."

 874 Priest T0

    It turned out that Remnant Dream decided her pets based on their appearance. Lu Li couldn''t understand why she would rank them by their looks, but he still patiently explained how good the gargoyle was. When set to Manual Mode, not only did it have good damage output and Defense, but you could also turn it to stone when it was low on health to regenerate its HP.


    It was simply a strong, effective pet that did not require too much work.


    Remnant Dream continued to reject Lu Li''s reasoning, but eventually agreed reluctantly. She thought that if all three chances failed, she wouldn''t have to run around all day with this bat.


    She couldn''t see herself running along with a Stonespine desperately following behind her.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group was so strong that it was only a few minutes before its HP was low enough. Lu Li motioned for Remnant Dream to use Tame Beast.


    Remnant Dream held her hands together and prayed devoutly.


    The little girl''s attitude seemed positive; Lu Li couldn''t see anything wrong given the look on her face. Even if she failed to catch it, he couldn''t blame her.


    However, if he knew what Remnant Dream was actually praying about, he would have vomited blood everywhere.


    "Dear all the Gods and Goddesses, please don''t let me catch this ugly monster¡­" she whispered under her breath.


    It wasn''t clear whether it was one of the Gods or Goddesses that decided to make fun of her, but she actually succeed on her first attempt.


    The Remnant Dream watched helplessly as the gargoyle turned to her and became one of her pets.


    "Dreamy is so powerful!" everyone praised.


    Deep down inside, Dreamy was about to cry.


    The third Boss was Maleki the Pallid, who was in fact, the weakest of the three spirit towers. He didn''t have as many area of effect skills as the banshee, nor did he have a wide variety of skills as the Nerub''enkan.


    Maleki was the first to join the Cursed Church, and displayed extraordinary talents in manipulating the dead. He was later entrusted with responsibility by Kel''Thuzad and became the leader of Thuzadin.


    His never-ending thirst for strength drove him to hone his dark magic abilities, preparing for the day when he would meet the reincarnation of the Lich.


    Unfortunately, even after studying for many years, his magic ability was still as pale as his face.


    "Same as usual; clear out the surrounding monsters," Lu Li said, then turned and asked, "Hey Dreamy, why have you put your gargoyle away? Its magic resistance makes it perfect this coming battle¡­"


    Remnant Dream: "¡­"


    After clearing out the monsters, they started with deal with the Boss.


    The difference between this one and the first two was that it had two minions by its side. They weren''t the type that could be pulled away from the Boss and had to be fought together.


    However, the two Mage minions didn''t have many skills, and Remnant Dream''s new pet could hold off one while Wandering could subdue the other. Azure Sea Breeze would tank the Boss, and they would to kill the minions after killing the Boss.


    Lu Li didn''t immediately enter the battle. Instead, he used his Pick Pocket Skill on Maleki.


    System: Pick Pocket Successful; you''ve acquired "A Steamy Romance Novel: Forbidden Love".


    This was exactly what Lu Li was looking for and he was delighted, but he didn''t show the others the ''A Steamy Romance Novel: Forbidden Love''.


    This Boss was supposed to be a Neromancer, but instead of spending his time studying magic to reincarnate the Lich, he was wasting his time reading romance novels like this.


    This item seemed like a purely aesthetic prop. In fact, it had no practical purpose.


    However, in Lu Li''s memory, it had caused a commotion when it first appeared. It was known as the ultimate weapon to woo girls with, but no one knew where to find it.


    It wasn''t until later that someone discovered the secret that it had been originally stolen from this Boss.


    In general, Dawn''s Pick Pocket was of limited use and couldn''t steal anything from Bosses. In fact, if the player was the same level as the Boss, they couldn''t steal from it at all.


    It was unimaginable that this old Mage actually liked reading romance novels.


    No one would find out how Lu Li did this for a very long period of time, and he had no intention of sharing it. He was going to give it to Shen to sell later. Who knows? Maybe some foolish tycoon looking to woo a girl would pay a lot of money for it.


    In more than 10 minutes, the Mage Boss, which had the least HP of the three Bosses, laid on the floor. It didn''t really provide much of a challenge.


    Moonlight received a skill point and had an ugly smiled on his usually expressionless face. He was more eager for a skill point than anyone else, because he had many skills waiting to be upgraded.


    Remnant Dream was in a bad mood. She was afraid of the gargoyle that was now following her.


    If the gargoyle had feelings, it definitely would have felt hurt. As a pet, it would naturally follow its master, but it was just getting the cold shoulder.


    Fortunately, when it came to looting the body, the little Hunter was revitalized.


    Although Maleki was easier to fight, its drops were not as good.


    Darkbind Fingers ¨C these were exquisite Dark Gold magic gloves that were very suitable for both Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball. The solution to this dispute was simple ¨C one of them could use their guild points to purchase them.


    This would prevent an arbitrary decision and would also spread some of the points around for the others.


    In the end, Sesame Rice Ball won. After all, he was an expert Alchemist and was also able to take players to the Troll Trial Tower. Both of these things granted him guild points.


    However, the gloves did not come at a small price.


    In addition to the large number of guild points, he also gave the lucky girl a reward of 20 gold coins.


    He didn''t simply do this out of superstition. There was no rule that a Boss had to drop Dark Gold equip, nor was there a rule that the Dark Gold equipment had to be exquisite. Everyone had all seen plenty of rubbish Dark Gold equipment.


    The second item was a Gold leather shoe Mold.


    Priest T0!


    The only thought in Lu Li''s mind was that the T0 equipment had finally been dropped.


    For now, the game was still in its infancy, but there would gradually be a lot of equipment sets after a year or two.


    Those that were geared towards PVE would have the letter T, while those biased towards PVP would have the letter S. PVE suits could only be dropped by Bosses, and they had very low chance of dropping. The equipment that was made from these Molds also had wildly varying Attributes.


    However, as long as it was part of an equipment set, its Attributes couldn''t be that bad.


    These leather shoes were part of the T0 set, and weren''t that good on their own, but once they received the second item from the set, their advantages would begin to show.

 875 Magistrate Barthilas

    This Mold was naturally given to March Rain, to whom Lu Li also explained the T0 equipment sets.


    Although the real T sets started from T1, the T0 set demonstrated that the player had fought in Strathholme in a time of need. The fact that T0 was a generation of classic equipment had its merits; this set of equipment could be further upgraded by doing other quests.For now, if you could equip an item from the set, it would probably be a few points stronger than whatever you were wearing before.


    Lu Li also wanted to have one. The Thief''s T0 was called the Shadowcraft set, and when all eight parts were equipped, it would double his strength.


    In the first three months of the game, Lu Li had emerged as a force to be reckoned with.


    After two years of experience from his past life, his various in-depth studies of the game had been rewarded in his rebirth. Most called him the number one player of the game.


    Even legendary players like Sorrowless, the God of Mages, had to step aside.


    Only Lu Li knew what had truly happened. Some of the outcome had been the result of his hard work, but it had mostly been because of his rebirth.


    Without rebirth, he wouldn''t have been able to obtain the Supreme Ring, nor would he have been able to achieve so many Dungeon First Clears.


    Compared to Lu Li, the other experts needed to learn to slowly adapt. They had to improve a little at a time and break their old habits.


    Now, three months had passed.


    Although Lu Li was still making progress, his progress was much slower than the other experts.


    Among the elite players, there were a few that had been born to play games. Players like Sorrowless, Water Fairy, Deadly Gold Underpants, Full-time Assistance, Floral Paralysis and Wood Fearing were all progressing at astonishing speeds. Some, like Moonlight and Unforgettable Maple, had been playing games for so many years that they had been ingrained into their lives. There were others who weren''t that talented, but had been playing for as long as ten or twenty years, clawing their way to the top. These were players like Green Flag Wine, Lucky Southern Persian, Dancing Star dream¡­


    The gap between Lu Li and the others was closing, and he had to continue arming himself through various means in order to maintain his advantage.


    The rich players were going to continue becoming richer, and the poor were going to get poorer.


    Capital was everything, and Lu Li now had a foothold on which to take advantage of it.


    After the commotion with the set, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was overcome with exhaustion.


    It was only after clearing out the nearby monsters that they discovered that the spirit towers hadn''t been properly dealt with. This meant that the next Boss couldn''t be seen because the towers were still standing.


    Lu Li had also been too rash, and had no choice but to take them back to clear it all again.


    Fortunately, the monsters in the towers were just elites. The Boss had been killed, so they weren''t much of a threat.


    The System prompted them that the Ash''ari Crystal had been destroyed, and the slaughterhouse had been reinforced.


    The slaughterhouse door opened and a new Boss appeared outside the game. It was the mayor of Stratholme, Barthilas.


    Barthilas was one of the many innocent people who had been killed when Arthas and his troops were purifying Stratholme. The Lich King eventually awakened the former mayor from his tomb and ordered the Undead monster to guard his home.


    Lu Li had read the biography. The author who wrote about the mayor of the town did so critically.


    Barthilas once followed Tirion Fordring as a Paladin. He was one of the few insiders to the events of Old Fordring and the Orc Eitrigg.


    Old Fordring had abandoned the hatred between races, but Barthilas, whose parents had died in the First Orc War, did not stop. He hated the Orcs so much that he abandoned all principles of honor.


    Upon hearing Fordring shouting about the "damned orcs" in his sleep, he and Dathrohan launched the raid. When Fordring saw Eitrigg being escorted back to the city and was being beaten, he attacked Barthilas'' subordinates. Barthilas took this opportunity to sue Fordring in court.


    Afterwards, Barthilas finally settled on the position of Mayor of Stratholme after a few setbacks.


    In Old Fordring''s widely circulated quote, "Ethnicity does not determine nobility. I have seen the noblest Orcs and the worst humans", it was widely known that the Orc in question was Eitrigg, while the human in question was always said to be this mayor.


    In the end, nothing survived the onslaught of the Scourge, and even the dead weren''t allowed to stay dead.


    "Wandering can take this Boss," Lu Li said as he stepped forward and stopped Azure Sea Breeze. Although Magistrate Barthilas used physical attacks, the nature of Paladins allowed them to avoid more critical hits.


    This rule would be slowly explored by the players ¨C an equipped Paladin were stronger here than an equipped Warrior.


    The Paladin that became a ghoul seemed to have retained some fear of the Holy Light. Even those who had been reanimated didn''t completely forget their past.


    Someone that couldn''t do any critical hits did not pose much of a threat to a Main Tank.


    After hearing Lu Li talk about Magistrate Barthilas, everyone felt a righteous indignation towards the Mayor.


    Would they have let him go even if he was a good person?


    Wandering didn''t object to Lu Li''s instruction. Since Lu Li had specifically asked him to fight, he didn''t mind it. They just needed to exchange some equipment and the greatest asset of this group was their equipment.


    The equipment that he exchanged was exquisite. Even Main Tanks from some mid-range guilds were not as well equipped as him.


    "The city belongs to me, the great Barthilas. I will become nobility and my glory will pass from generation to generation. Are you ready to face my anger?" Magistrate Barthilas boomed as he opened his dark red eyes.


    "Wandering, be careful and listen for my command to cast your damage reduction skills," Lu Li reminded.


    Magistrate Barthilas was not that powerful, but he was definitely stronger than the previous three bosses because he was level 50!


    Level 50 Bosses were in a different league. No matter how weak a level 50 Boss was, it would still be stronger than a level 40 Boss. The Mayor wasn''t that weak, so no matter what happened, the group was bound to get wiped a few times.

 876 Taunts Can Also Miss

    The first five minutes of the battle were very relaxed; Magistrate Barthilas didn''t do much and lost a large amount of HP.


    However, after this, it was like he suddenly woke up. He released several area of effect attacks and all of the melee players lost a significant amount of HP. Some players who were already low almost died and even Lu Li needed to retreat to regenerate.


    When a level 50 Boss used a skill, it was like a level 40 Boss'' Ultimate skill.


    Lu Li was level 47 and the Boss was level 50. There was a 3-level gap, which meant that there would be a penalty applied. In Instance Dungeons, this affected a lot of things like Attack, Defense, Evasion, and most importantly, Critical Hits.


    Otherwise, why would the early explorers of new maps not just take all the First Clears of the Bosses?


    All players from major guilds were familiar with the idea that the Main Tank needed to be of a suitable level. It was only when the Main Tank and the Boss were within 5 levels of each other that a First Clear could even be attempted.


    Fortunately, Paladins were rarely struck by critical hits, so Wandering was actually surprisingly unaffected. He only lost a small measure of HP.


    Azure Sea Breeze, who was next to him, had been hit by three bursts of damage and was left on critical HP. He didn''t feel like he could tank much more after that, but in fact, he had been quite negligent. Not only had had he replaced much of his defensive equipment, but he had also forgotten to use his damage reduction skills.


    "Everyone be careful. If that happens again, all melee players should spread out," Lu Li said, unable to stay silent.


    If they continued to stand so closely together, they would all continue to be affected by these skills.


    But even then, when Magistrate Barthilas used his ''Mighty Blow'' skill, Azure Sea Breeze, Moonlight and Sakura Memories were still sent flying.


    Moonlight seemed to have taken the brunt of the attack and died mid-air. Sakura Memories was lucky enough to have sliver bit of HP remaining, but unfortunately lost it after taking fall damage.


    Azure Sea Breeze actually benefitted from not using his damage reduction skills earlier, and managed to survive.


    Wandering was alright once again. Lu Li wasn''t hit by the main attack, but he hesitated before deciding not to Resurrect his two teammates.


    In the strategies for fighting Magistrate Barthilas, melee players suffered from the highest mortality rate. Being revived now didn''t mean that they would continue surviving. Lu Li needed to hold on to his Resurrect for a critical moment later.


    As for Sakura Memories'' Bloodlust, it had already been cast even though she was now a corpse on the ground.


    The melee players had now been reduced to the remaining three players. Wandering, Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li stood in a triangle formation, ensuring that there would only be one person to get hit next time.


    The next person to get hit was Lu Li. He cast his damage reduction skill the moment he was struck, which ensured that he survived when he landed on the ground. This happened very suddenly, which meant that his damage reduction skills needed to be timed well.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t blindly optimistic.


    Furious Anger: Debuff applied to a target. Physical Damage increased by 50%, Attack Speed increased by 40%, and Critical Hit increased by 20% for 12 seconds.


    Wandering''s HP was almost completely lost after that skill was cast on him. Lu Li hurriedly called Azure Sea Breeze to pull the aggro, but it was too late. Wandering had died, despite not receiving any critical hits.


    After Wandering died, Azure Sea Breeze had to tank the Boss, but his damage reduction skills were just not strong enough and he eventually died too.


    The two Main Tanks had fallen, and the Boss began to methodically kill the rest of the party. After all, he still had about half of his HP and they were simply unable to stop him. Barthilas killed most of the players in a single hit.


    Even so, getting wiped like this was normal for a party that hadn''t reached level 50 yet. Lu Li had already prepared himself for this outcome.


    The first three Bosses weren''t that much higher in level, and they had various skills that could be avoided. This was also true for the Main Tanks of other guilds.


    However, for them to defeat a level 50 Boss without being wiped was absolutely impossible.


    On their second attempt against the mayor, Lu Li had nothing more to say. The mayor had two tricks that everyone had already seen, but he had no clever means for them to evade them.


    When it came to clearing Instance Dungeons, you needed to look at the levels, equipment, skills and the skills of the Boss. Of course, there was also a bit of luck involved.


    The reason why they got wiped the first time was only partly because of the level difference. Even if everyone was at level 50, the number of players sent flying would be the same. If Moonlight and Sakura Memories had cast their damage reduction skills on time, they wouldn''t have died. Of course, they couldn''t have known what the Boss was going to do, so it was unrealistic for them to have prepared for it.


    If the Boss hadn''t killed Azure Sea Breeze so quickly, Lu Li would have been able to Resurrect Wandering to continue the fight.


    That was chalked up to bad luck.


    In preparation for their second attempt, the melee players began to cleverly separate themselves. Wandering even pulled the Boss to a corner so that at least three players could stand by the wall. If they were hit now, they would be pressed against the wall and wouldn''t take fall damage.


    It was actually just a simple attack that sent them flying; they just needed to cast their damage reduction skill and no one would die.


    In fact, there was actually some telegraphed actions leading up to the attack that could be noticed with careful observation.


    The first attack in this attempt only caught two players ¨C Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze. There was no danger this time, as Lu Li was mentally prepared for it, while Azure Sea Breeze had high Defense.


    The second attack hit Moonlight and Wandering.


    It would have been very troublesome if the Main Tank was sent flying. If it weren''t for the fact that Wandering was standing in the corner, the Boss would have started killing the others after knocking him away.


    Although Moonlight was sent flying, he was a PVP player and wouldn''t die so easily to fall damage.


    After this, the Boss cast Furious Anger, which made him significantly more powerful.


    "Dammit, you were supposed to take the aggro! Why didn''t you take the aggro?" Lu Li began to scold.


    "I¡­ I actually missed my skill¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze felt particularly aggrieved because it was such a critical moment.


    "Damn it. If you didn''t get it, then do something else to get it!" Lu Li shouted.


    Unfortunately, Azure Sea Breeze was so shocked by missing the Taunt skill that he couldn''t continue his role. Lu Li, who was naturally first in damage output, was going to be the next target. After Wandering fell, he let out a long sigh.


    Even with a ring effect that blocked damage, he couldn''t stand up to a Boss whose physical damage had been increased by 50% with a 40% bonus attack speed and a 20% increase in critical hit. Lu Li was almost instantaneously struck down.


    After losing two members, Azure Sea Breeze finally succeeded in landing his Taunt before Magistrate Barthilas could turn to Lonesome Flower.


    "Keep fighting and don''t be discouraged; there is still hope," Lu Li continued to instruct from the floor. "Hachi, hurry up and resurrect me."


    Hachi Chan eventually went over and Resurrected Lu Li. After Lu Li got up, he didn''t say anything else and immediately went over to Wandering to revive him.


    "Now that all the Resurrects have been used, no one can make any more mistakes," Lu Li said seriously.

 877 Double Berserk

    Mistakes weren''t things that could be avoided just because you wanted to avoid them. Or at least, Lu Li hadn''t gotten to that point yet.


    When everyone got wiped again, they were exhausted.


    This time, it couldn''t really be blamed on anyone. The Boss'' critical hit damage was too strong and its attack speed was inhumanly fast. When it critically struck a few times in a row, even the two Main Tanks couldn''t withstand it.


    In Dawn, there were two common ways for a party to get wiped. One was when someone made a mistake and added to the death count, and the other was when the Main Tank died.


    The former could be blamed on the person who made the mistake, and would be dealt with either by reprimanding them or deducting some points. On the other hand, if the latter situation arose, the leader would have to hold back. The Main Tank was treasured so much that unless they made an obvious and crucial mistake, they wouldn''t take the blame.


    Lu Li thought through the last two attempts and tried to address the reasons of their failure.


    "Breezy, how about you take off all your Main Tank equipment. Wandering, see if any of them are useful for you and take two. Breezy, equip as many defensive equips as possible; we have no shortage of damage output."


    If they had failed because of the level difference, the best thing that they could do was increase their resistances.


    In fact, there were several pieces of equipment that reduced damage taken. Dawn wasn''t the kind of game that could be played with only one set of equipment. Players needed to have several sets of equipment to rotate through depending on the circumstances.


    "Take it slow and steady. We have already killed the first few Bosses, so even if there are other competing guilds, they won''t catch up so quickly," Lu Li encouraged.


    They couldn''t be too stressed or too relaxed; this was the balance that a party leader had to deal with.


    Despite Lu Li''s words, Wandering was still very serious about his role. This was arguably his first time taking such a heavy responsibility in the Mercenary Group. As someone who cared about face, he obviously didn''t want to die.


    The start of the attempt was a little rocky; two players were almost immediately sent flying.


    Lu Li wanted to get everyone to stand against the wall. Although this would mean that they would be hit more often, they would be less likely to die as they would be left at critical HP. As long as they casted their damage reduction skills while airborne, they wouldn''t be in much danger.


    By the time Furious Anger came around, if someone had asked how Wandering was feeling, he would have undoubtedly told them how nervous he was.


    "This is my anger!" Magistrate Barthilas boomed as he was enveloped in flames, and couldn''t help but attack more violently.


    "One, two, taunt!" Lu Li shouted loudly.


    Azure Sea Breeze bit down and used his Taunt against the Boss. This time, he didn''t miss.


    In fact, a Warrior didn''t actually need to buff their accuracy. With Azure Sea Breeze''s equipment, the possibility of missing was extremely low. The only explanation for what had previously happened must have been some kind of divine retribution!


    "March Rain don''t hold back; make sure the tanks don''t die," Lu Li instructed. He had considered, but decided against using Hachi Chan''s healing skill.


    Hachi Chan''s ultimate healing skill was powerful, but this was not the last crisis they would face. After all, there would be even more crucial moments later down the line. If March Rain couldn''t heal through this part, their best course of action was to give up and go back to training.


    After what seemed like a painfully long time, the Boss'' skill duration ended, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.


    "Everyone did well. Keep it up," Lu Li praised.


    Everyone liked compliments, especially from Lu Li who said these things so rarely. As such, when they heard his words, they were reinvigorated once again.


    Even after two more heavy attacks, they didn''t suffer a single casualty. When Remnant Dream was accidentally hit, she managed to cast some skills to save herself.


    During the second Furious Anger, the target was Wandering.


    The advantage of the Boss attacking him was that he generally didn''t land critical hits. However, even without the burst of critical hits and with the healing of March Rain and Hachi Chan, he barely sustained the attacks of the Boss.


    Although Wandering was at half HP, if they let up for a second, he would have been instantly killed.


    Magistrate Barthilas had dropped to one third of his HP.


    Was it going to be over?


    All up, they still had two unused Resurrects and a heal from Hachi Chan. March Rain and Hachi Chan still had plenty of mana, and the Main Tanks still had their damage reduction skills¡­


    They just needed to avoid any further accidents. Lu Li started to pray for a victory in his heart.


    However, whether an accident arose was beyond the control of the player. In many cases, the Boss would wipe a party in the last moments of its life.


    Because of this, not everyone was suitable for taking First Clears.


    Although it was normal to get wiped repeatedly like this, it was quite a painful experience. They had started the Instance Dungeon a little late, and could only afford to get wiped two more times.


    Also, as they repeatedly died, the players would get more tired and would play worse.


    Lu Li just asked that the other players remained calm. He also demanded this of himself and was always restraining his attacks. He didn''t want to pull the Main Tank''s aggro, especially given this Boss'' skills.


    Sakura Memories was finally the first to die. Lu Li had no choice but to Resurrect her as her Bloodlust had already refreshed and he didn''t want the skill to be lost with its master.


    Bloodlust!


    This was followed by a wave of frenzied attacks, which caused the Boss'' HP to drop rapidly.


    "Don''t hold back. If you have skills, use them now," Lu Li said, trying to burst down the Boss as quickly as possible. According to Magistrate Barthilas'' previous attack patterns, he would not use another skill for a while.


    Magistrate Barthilas reached critical HP by the time Bloodlust timed out.


    Lu Li wasn''t worried about whether the Boss would go Berserk; he was more afraid of the Boss going Berserk while using Furious Anger, which was in order words a double Berserk. If that happened, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would probably be wiped again.


    Suddenly, Magistrate Barthilas roared as his body began to change color.


    "The Boss has gone Berserk. Wandering, be careful. March Rain, keep up the hard work. Hachi Chan, get ready to use your healing," Lu Li said as he carefully stared at the Boss, watching whether it was going to cast its second Berserk.


    Wandering had experienced Furious Anger twice and was able to deal with regular Berserk quite easily.


    "Dammit."


    Just as the Boss'' Berserk was about to end, he suddenly saw Magistrate Barthilas'' expression change. At the same time, he noticed Lu Li shouting loudly at Hachi Chan. Then, Wandering''s vision immediately turned black and white.


    The Boss had gone into double Berserk, and he had been instantly killed.

 878 Killing Each Other Out Of Love

    After Magistrate Barthilas killed Wandering, he immediately turned to Lu Li to make his next attack.


    "You guys stop fighting! Hachi, save him!"


    Lu Li knew that he couldn''t die now. Although Wandering was dead, they still had Hachi Chan''s Resurrect. He needed to buy as much time as he could.


    He used the ring to block the first attack that hit him, before activating his shoes'' effect.


    Wirt''s Fake Leg: Instant Cast, bounce forwards or backwards 8 yards. 120 second cooldown!


    Then, when the Boss was about to catch up to him again, he used the third special effect of his Epic dagger to escape.


    Blink to a specified position within 15 yards and line of sight, 3-minute cooldown!


    After travelling 23 yards, in addition to the bonus speed from running, he managed to delay the Boss by a second.


    Lu Li saw that Barthilas was approaching again and Wandering still hadn''t been revived yet, so he grit his teeth and used the Book of Ur. He didn''t use the effect that transformed him into a Worgen. That would make him faster, but nothing could outrun the Boss in this state.


    Instead, he chose the second effect.


    Silly Husky hadn''t been summoned for quite some time and was quite excited.


    "Haha, I''m back. Thank you, oh great Lord Thief. Wait, what do you want me to do? Oh no!"


    Unfortunately, what awaited him wasn''t a clear open field, but the firing range of Magistrate Barthilas'' attacks.


    His grief was unimaginable. He knew with one look that this ghoul was particularly strong ¨C otherwise, his owner wouldn''t have summoned him.


    Silly Husky''s guess was correct ¨C he had been called to be fodder.


    Magistrate Barthilas stopped and smashed him with an attack; Silly Husky disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. The precious time of being summoned had been abruptly cut short with a single attack.


    "Lu Li, that was cruel!"


    After dealing with the wolf, Magistrate Barthilas didn''t delay for a single moment and was soon right in front of Lu Li.


    Just when Lu Li cast his damage reduction skills on his Breastplate and waited for his death, Wandering


    stood in front of him, wielding his hammer and his shield. In that moment, the Holy Light seemed to be shining from him.


    Lu Li didn''t have to die.


    Wandering successfully took over the aggro of the Boss, and Magistrate Barthilas'' double berserk ended at around the same time.


    The first Berserk had a longer duration, but was about to end before Magistrate Barthilas cast Furious Anger.


    The double Berserk had almost wiped out Lu Li''s group.


    Lu Li had stalled long enough for Wandering to be rescued. Now, the first Berserk had expired and Magistrate Barthilas was only buffed by Furious Anger.


    As such, Wandering was able to resist his attacks.


    Even so, March Rain''s continuous healing and Hachi Chan''s Strengthened Tranquility was required before they finally reached the end.


    The System prompted Hachi Chan that she had acquired a Skill Point.


    There was also a wealth of EXP distributed ¨C after all, this was a powerful level 50 Boss. Lu Li was at level 47 with 20% EXP remaining and managed to level up.


    The others also hadn''t seen their EXP bar move like this is a long time. Even Remnant Dream, who was very tired at the time, was filled with energy.


    The process of obtaining this First Clear had been so difficult. Lu Li and the others hadn''t taken any breaks, and had been going on like this for half a day. Even a tenacious man like Lu Li was completely worn out, not to mention these teenage girls.


    Yet, they didn''t complain about how tired they were and pushed on until the very end.


    "Dreamy, are you okay? Do you want to loot the Boss?'' Lu Li asked, then found a place to sit down and rest before saying, "You guys should take a break. You can go offline and get something to eat. We''ll continue in half an hour."


    "I don''t need to eat, but I need to sit down for a bit," Azure Sea Breeze sighed as he removed a few pieces of his heavy armor and leaned them against the Boss'' corpse.


    The others did the same, each looking for a place to sit down without a care for the harsh Stratholme environment.


    "I don''t feel tired when it comes to looting," Remnant Dream said to Lu Li before kneeling down before the Boss.


    Her first attempt yielded a hat.


    After seeing its shape, Lu Li almost cried out ¨C it was the Crimson Felt Hat.


    The Crimson Felt Hat was known as one of the best level 50 hats, and was comparable to an average Epic Magic hat. Its drop rate was said to be one in ten thousand.


    Either this girl truly was really lucky, or the First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty had increased drop rates a hundredfold.


    By now, most other major guilds were sending their core teams to do Instance Dungeons at Nightmare Difficulty. They would usually only send one or two of the weaker teams to compete for the First Clear on the Elite Difficulty.


    The Crimson Felt Hat''s effect was mainly to reduce the cooldown of Blink, making it the most important escape skill for the Mage. Naturally, this played an important role in both PVE and PVP. The second effect increased spell damage, which buffed all Magic skills. As for the third effect, it was a shield that absorbed some damage taken and converted it into HP and mana.


    When the hat was dropped, Sesame Rice Ball and Lonesome Flower, who always had a good relationship, were both eyeing each other.


    "Big bro, the hat you have is already so strong¡­" Sesame Rice Ball said boldly. He was trying to say that Lonesome Flower''s equipment was good enough, and that he should give it up.


    "Oh, now you''re calling me big bro. You weren''t so nice when you were fighting me for the Gold gloves," Lonesome Flower sneered.


    "How about I give you the Dark Gold gloves?'' Sesame Rice Ball was willing to adapt.


    "But it''s not even that rare¡­"


    Sesame Rice Ball had spent a lot of points for the Dark Gold gloves, so Lonesome Flower wasn''t intimidated by him.


    "Dammit. Fine, you win," Sesame Rice Ball conceded, regretting his earlier decision.


    He really shouldn''t have spent so much trying to get the gloves. He should have known that the equipment dropped later would only get better, like this hat. The Dark Gold gloves were good, but nothing compared to this.


    The second item was Magistrate Barthilas'' Wristband.


    This was a Gold grade bracer that could be used by Thieves or Druids. It was worse than Lu Li''s Stab Scar Bracer, but still worth equipping.


    The only problem was that it had a level 50 requirement, so Lu Li was going to put it in the Guild Warehouse. It didn''t require many points, but the main idea was that they had to be level 50. This would motivate the Thieves in the guild to level as quickly as they could.

 879 Postmaster Malone

    The third item was a Silver equipment with decent Attributes, but no one was interested in level 50 Silver equipment anymore. This was an equip that was destined to lay at rest in the guild storage.


    The fourth item was a rare material ¨C Essence of Undeath. This was quite a common item, but it had always been expensive as it had many uses.


    There was nothing else besides these.


    Lonesome Flower had received something worthwhile, so he handed Remnant Dream some money as a reward. This had her eyes glistening and motivated her to keep going, but everyone was already tired so they all rested first.


    After the break, Lu Li gave up trying to enter the door.


    There were two remaining Bosses ¨C both of them were level 50 and they were even stronger than Magistrate Barthilas.


    "We''re stopping? It''s still early."


    While everyone was relieved, they were also slightly disappointed. They were all anxious for the reward from the First Clear ¨C what if someone took it before them?


    "We''re not stopping; we''re just not going further. There''s a detour ¨C we''ll go kill the smaller bosses there and complete our quests," Lu Li said.


    To the left of the door was the route that Lu Li had come from. They had already killed four bosses along the way. To the right of the door, there was another path that awaited them.


    What Lu Li referred to was the route on the right of the door. For those who wanted to just complete the dungeon, it was okay to ignore the side bosses, but for those who aimed to complete dungeon quests, they were a requirement.


    Lu Li had originally planned to take all the First Clears and complete the quests later, but it seemed like he had underestimated the Bosses of this dungeon. It was impossible for them to take anymore First Clears today.


    However, he wasn''t too concerned as the other guilds would likely run into the same problem.


    There were all sorts of monsters along this path, including Demonesses, Gargoyles, Spiders, Shadows, Monks and Grudges. Fortunately, they were quite different to the Undead that they had previously faced. While they were all packed closely, their aggression was separate from each other. As such, the main tank could drag them apart and to be killed individually.


    After the torture of dealing with Magistrate Barthilas, Azure Sea Breeze had already lost the passion that he had when he first entered the dungeon. At this point, he no longer minded leisurely progressing through.


    March Rain had a variety of crowd-control skills, so whenever the situation got out of hand, she would help out.


    It was Hachi Chan who instead became the main healer here. She was now capable of healing the whole team, especially when they were just clearing out monsters.


    "Breezy, go open the mailbox and bring out the postmen," Lu Li instructed.


    Azure Sea Breeze pursed his lips as walked up to the mailbox and broke it open. The postmen came out to attack him, but they couldn''t harm him as he had already activated his damage reduction.


    Lu Li didn''t approve.


    "Don''t waste your damage reduction."


    There were still no rewards from the second mailbox ¨C just some advertisements. These items had nothing to do with their quest, but to compensate them, the experience that the postmen gave was quite decent. This was as good as any training spot in the Wild.


    After they opened the third mailbox, Lu Li began to pay attention ¨C they had run into Postmaster Malone.


    Malone was a name with a hidden story behind it.


    In the past, when Basketball was still popular, many of the players were well known celebrities.


    Although each player had their own horrible stories to tell, they were nothing compared to Stockton, Miller, Bowen, Oakley, Laimbeer and Malone.


    The six of them combined were known as the ''bad boys'' of the NBA.


    Stockton was agile and nimble, deconstructing his opponents with an arsenal of moves and passes.


    Reggie (Reginald) Miller was famous for his mouth that constantly spewed trash talk.


    Bowen was a dirty player that always charged right at his opponents, often seriously injuring them.


    Oakley was famous for his style and was also known to be violent on the court. Oakley was part of the crew not only because he was vicious, but also because he was cunning.


    When Laimbeer stood under the hoop, none of the guards dared to challenge him ¨C no one wanted to risk their career for it.


    Karl Malone was an old player for Utah Jazz, and he was also the one that the game was parodying. Regardless of who it was that ran into Malone''s elbow, the one that got hurt would never be Malone himself.


    If a mini car ran into an eighteen-wheel truck, what would the result be? Unfortunately, Malone was that eighteen-wheel truck.


    On the 7th of April, 1998, he broke one of Donyell Marshall''s ribs with his knees. Marshall was out of the competition for the rest of the season.


    On the 22nd of November, 1998, the Utah Jazz were up against the Spurs (San Antonio Spurs). Malone elbowed David Robinson, who unfortunately passed out and was sent to the hospital. Malone received a serious warning from the NBA.


    During 1998-1999, the Utah Jazz were playing against the Houston Rockets. Malone''s infamous elbow took down Charles Barkley, who was confirmed with a muscle tear.


    On the 8th of December, 2003, the Lakers were matched up against the Dallas Mavericks. Malone''s elbow smashed Nash''s face, breaking his nose. Malone was also ejected from a match as a result.


    On the 27th April, 2004, the Lakers played against the Houston Rockets. Malone once again struck another player, Yao Ming, with his elbows, sending him to the floor in pain.


    Postmaster Malone, the side boss from Stratholme, was a mirror version of this Malone from real life. After three mailboxes were opened, he would appear. He was a strong character with powerful curses, and would often cast Fears.


    The curse that Malone casted would reduce a player''s accuracy by 45%, while the curse from his subordinates lasted for 60 seconds and dealt 600 points of damage. All Attributes would also be reduced by 20%, and the effects could stack. Lonesome Flower was capable of dispelling curses, but he was the only Mage and this would be a very tiresome task for him.


    However, compared to Magistrate Barthilas, he was simply no match.


    It only took Lu Li and the others twelve minutes to take down this sports legend.


    Although this was just a side boss, this didn''t limit his drops. Postmaster Malone was even more popular than the magistrate because he was the only boss who dropped Magister''s Boots, which were part of the Magister''s Regalia set for Mages.

 880 Teebus Blazing Longsword

    "This is for you."


    It was hard for Lonesome Flower to say anything more ¨C he wanted to keep his pride intact, but his actions sold him out.


    His sister already had her T0 set, and he didn''t want to fall behind.


    Remnant Dream looked at the 50 gold coins in the trade bar and felt pressured.


    "Flower, I''ve already earned enough today. This... mmm, I can''t take it."


    "It''s okay ¨C take it. Even if you don''t loot the item, it''s fine too. Use this to buy some good crocodile meat for your pet. Look at your pets; they''re so skinny," Lonesome Flower urged, his expression unchanging. It was rare to see him say something like this.


    Remnant Dream hesitated, but she still took it in the end.


    She wasn''t greedy; she barely had any clue about how valuable money was. She had never exchanged gold for real dollars, and was a typical child from a well-off family.


    As she began to loot the body, everyone stared intensely at her hands.


    With a quick motion, she pulled out an equipment.


    "Malone''s Slam ¨C a Gold tier hammer. It''s not part of the set," Remnant Dream sighed as her shoulders drooped. "Flower, I''ll return your coins to you."


    "It''s fine. Keep them ¨C it''s not much."


    Lonesome Flower didn''t want to hurt the little girl, so he acted as if he didn''t care. The first item was a Gold grade, so it was most likely that the second would be a Silver. After all, this was a minor, side boss.


    "Who wants it?" Remnant Dream asked as she shared the details of Malone''s Slam.


    This immediately sent everyone into a laughing frenzy, because the special effect of this equipment was hilarious ¨C "Knocks target silly for 2 seconds and increases Strength by 50 for 30 seconds."


    Not only did the designers make a Boss that parodied a sports player, but even this weapon was a joke.


    It was easy to understand ''Stun'', or even ''Paralysis'', but what did it mean to knock the target silly?


    "Let me try this hammer on you. Let''s see if I can knock you silly," Azure Sea Breeze said seriously as he packed away his shield and changed it to the hammer. Wandering rolled his eyes and couldn''t even be bothered to reply to his stupidity.


    The Attributes of this hammer were decent, but it still wasn''t good enough for Lu Li and the others.


    Since Azure Sea Breeze wanted it, they gave it to him as a toy. The special effect was suitable for his personality anyway.


    As expected, the second equipment was a Silver grade.


    Lonesome Flower continued to pretend as if he was indifferent to the situation, and no one mentioned it either. After the dungeon was explored, plenty of elite groups would come in to repeat it. When the item dropped, he would be able to exchange his unwanted lower-level equipment for it. After all, a level 50 set wasn''t that easy to collect anyway.


    "Let me steal off the next monster first," Lu Li said as he looked at the Blacksmith shop to his left.


    "Steal off the monster? why?" Azure Sea Breeze was confused ¨C why was he stealing from a small monster? Why didn''t he start stealing from the beginning of the dungeon?


    "Among these Undead, one of them might be a Blacksmith. One of the books hinted that he might have collected an exquisite sword," Lu Li explained.


    "How good is it?" Wandering asked.


    He knew that Lu Li was someone of character and wouldn''t do anything random. If Lu Li stole off each monster one by one, they would definitely waste a lot of time. He subconsciously thought that this sword might even be a Legendary equipment.


    To everyone''s surprise, Lu Li shook his head.


    "No. This sword isn''t exquisite at all, but it''s very valuable. Very, very..."


    When they heard this, everyone began to anticipate what was about to happen.


    They were curious as to what made this sword "very, very, very" valuable.


    This sword was called Teebu''s Blazing Longsword!


    After Qual''Thalas had been destroyed, the remaining High Elves referred to themselves as Blood Elves in remembrance of their lost comrades. They placed their hopes in the Alliance, hoping one day to possibly reclaim their homeland.


    However, after they saw the downfall of the Alliance, the Blood Elf Prince, Kael''thas Sunstrider, became disappointed in them.


    Finally, their natural desire for magic caused them to join Illidan. They followed him out of Azeroth and into the unknown.


    There, the Blood Elves encountered countless demons and other evil forces, losing many of their members.


    To keep the rest of their kind from danger, Teeb''los Fireleaf, a high-tier Bloodmage with Kael''thas, decided to cast a strong, but fearful spell. It was a spell that sacrificed a life for a Legendary item.


    With the approval from Kael''thas, Teeb''los began to chant the spell that had been written in an ancient language. His body was immediately engulfed by the red flames after he had finished his chant.


    As Teeb''los'' life ended, a long sword was born within the flames that consumed him. In remembrance of him, Kael''thas named this sword after him ¨C ''Teebu''s Blazing Longsword''.


    In the times that came after, Kael''thas used this sword to protect his fragile Blood Elf comrades.


    In the battle where Illidan attacked the Frozen Throne and was defeated by Arthas, the Blood Elves and the Nagas retreated quickly into the unknown.


    Teebu''s Blazing Longsword lost its powerful magic and became an average longsword.


    The sword was abandoned by Kael''thas and eventually fell into the hands of a Blacksmith in Stratholm.


    Countless bards had heard stories of it and travelled great distances to see it in real life ¨C a sword that had been crafted with the life of an Archmage.


    "Can it be repaired?" Wandering was interested as he was sword-user.


    "No," Lu Li said as he shook his head, then added," The Attributes of this weapon are quite average and the incredible special effects that it once had have already been lost."


    "****, just tell me the whole story already."


    Fortunatley, Azure Sea Breeze''s passion laid in collecting shields. Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball were only interested in collecting high-end equipment. Although Lu Li could use swords, it seemed like he only liked gold coins and his sister.


    "This sword seems to be covered in flames. The books claimed that it was the leader of the four great lightsabers. The aristocrats who loved to showoff came many times to Stratholme for the sword, and some even thought about taking it by force. However, they were all weary of each other, so none of them took any action in the end."


    Lightsaber¡­


    "What do you mean showoff?" Wandering asked, then urged Lu Li, "Go steal it ¨C I''ll give you money when you come back."


    For the sake of Wandering and his showoff career, Lu Li snuck up in Stealth mode to steal from these monsters. On his way there, he could even hear Wandering mutter, "If people don''t showoff, what''s the point of living in the first place?"


    Fortunately, he had already learnt Empowerment: Stealth. The monsters didn''t even realize Lu Li was nearby, even those who claimed to be able to detect almost anything.


    Stealing from these monsters usually gave you a heavy box. Anything could drop from these boxes, but most of the items were indeed rubbish.


    However, Teebu''s Blazing Longsword was also hidden amongst the trash.

 881 Wandering’s Lucky Day

    Teebu''s Blazing Longsword was hard to obtain. Many people often went through this dungeon multiple times, but received nothing in the end.


    Lu Li didn''t have much hope.


    It just wasn''t possible for everything in life to go as according to plan, just like the Postmaster Malone from before. They wanted the equipment, but the System didn''t give it to them.


    There were only a certain number of chances that Lu Li had to obtain Teebu''s Blazing Longsword.


    Besides some red and blue potions, the other items were useless, like Ripped Cloth. This was the kind of equipment that a shop might not even take.


    The others were killing the monsters that Lu Li had already stolen from. This was how the Theft skill worked in Dawn ¨C all monsters that had been stolen from could not be stolen from again.


    It wasn''t possible to steal unlimited Legendary weapons from a Legendary Boss.


    Scroll: Damage increased by 20%, lasts for 8 seconds.


    It was a surprise for Lu Li to find such an item when there were only a few monsters left. While this wasn''t the most powerful buff, it was useful for providing a short amount of burst.


    Unfortunately, it was a scroll, which meant that it could only be used once.


    After Lu Li finished stealing from the last two monsters, he signaled for his team members to clear them out so that they could move on to the next side boss.


    The last few monsters only gave him one Heavy Rubbish Box. As he opened the box, he waved to the others and said, "Hurry and clear this wave of monsters."


    "You make it sound easy. We''re going to die from pulling so many monsters," Azure Sea Breeze snapped back out of habit, but still continued to aggro more monsters. They were all humanoid Undead units, which were the weakest type of Undead.


    "What did you steal?" Wandering asked in a disappointed tone.


    "A scroll. It increases 20% damage, but it only lasts 8 seconds and it can''t be stacked. I''ll give it to Flower."


    These scrolls were more suitable for Mages¡­


    Wait!


    What is this?


    As Lu Li held onto the scroll, his hands froze on the spot


    At the bottom of the stacked items, a sword-like icon caught his attention.


    He felt his hands shake.


    The details of this item quickly entered his brain ¨C virtual gaming didn''t require players to mouse-over their items for its details.


    Teebu''s Blazing Longsword?


    This was crazy! It had to be a joke! Or perhaps, he was just too tired and was hallucinating.


    The higher he had his hopes up, the more it would hurt him when he was ultimately disappointed. People often refused to believe a surprise that was right before them.


    What laid at the bottom of his bag was Teebu''s Blazing Longsword ¨C the priceless weapon that sword-wielding classes dreamed of.


    "What, you don''t want to give the scroll to Flower anymore?" Wandering joked, but was met with a swift punch to the chest.


    "My god, what are you doing!" Wandering cried out as he stared at Lu Li in fury.


    He hated it when others touched his chest. Many people didn''t believe that he was a man and would often touch his chest to confirm it. In order to punish these people accordingly, Wandering had even taken the time to learn Taekwondo in real life.


    Unfortunately, he just couldn''t beat Lu Li in the game.


    "Does it hurt? If it hurts, then it''s not a dream anymore. I''ll show you something," Lu Li said as his dagger was instantly replaced by a longsword.


    It seemed as if the entire street of Stratholme had been lit up.


    Teebu''s Blazing Longsword emitted heat and light; it was even more dazzling than the lightsabers in Star Wars.


    Teebu''s Blazing Sword (Gold): Damage 32-45, Strength +16, Agility+12, Accuracy+15%. Special Effect 1: Chance on hit: Blasts a target for 118 Fire damage. Special Effect 2: Flash, teleports castor 8 yards ahead. Can be blocked by an obstacle, only usable when out of combat. Cooldown 60 seconds. Level Requirement 45, Durability 120/120.


    The Attributes were all as expected and were quite average. However, this was a weapon that''s worth was in its aesthetics.


    Wandering swallowed hard with an audible gulp; he regretted cursing at Lu Li.


    "Hehe, my god indeed," Lu Li laughed as he waved the fancy sword around a few times.


    "Uhm... what do I have to do for you to give this sword to me?"


    Wandering was addicted to all that was beautiful, and this sword was a piece of art for sure.


    "Get on the floor and bark like a dog," Azure Sea Breeze joked, trying to take advantage of the situation.


    "Let Lu Li feel you!" Sakura Memories suggested eagerly.


    Make him give you a bunch of gold coins!" The little Hunter Remnant Dream was a big fan of money.


    "Tell him to call you daddy."


    Little Hachi Chan had been acting strange lately; she had been asking people to call daddy a lot.


    The others just smiled and stayed quiet.


    Lu Li just tossed Teebu''s Blazing Longsword to him and said with a smirk, "Sorry, I''m not gay, so you can still keep your love for Breezy."


    Wandering was overjoyed; he didn''t even care about what Lu Li said. In an instant, he changed his weapon.


    Fancy, beautiful, cool ¨C either way, it seemed like all descriptive words combined wasn''t enough to describe how good Wandering looked with Teebu''s Blazing Longsword.


    Nobody mentioned a single word about gold coins.


    Lu Li wasn''t the type to be concerned over every petty detail either. He now had enough money to cure his sister, the guild was developing well and his annual income was no less than a million dollars.


    He wasn''t someone who kept his wealth to himself ¨C otherwise, no one would have respected him in the past. Those who counted every single cent wouldn''t be able to make it anywhere.


    "Play with it later. The Attributes of that sword are way too average," Lu Li said.


    It seemed like Wandering couldn''t bring himself to pack it away. This sword had weak damage with mediocre Attributes. The first special effect was already bad enough, but the second special effect was even worse. Flash was a decent effect, but it wasn''t useful at all when you could only use it out of combat.


    Wandering packed away Teebu''s Blazing Longsword reluctantly and everyone began to clear monsters again.


    Not long after, they saw a Ghoul-like figure wandering on the street.


    It had a name, so it clearly wasn''t an average monster. Even though it was alone by itself, everyone immediately focused when they saw what it was called.

 882 The Two Stories of Timmy the Cruel

    It wasn''t hard to imagine the prosperity of Stratholme many years ago, where the citizens once walked along the streets filled with flowers and Hummingbirds. They greeted each other and would perhaps drag their old friends into the bar if they ever happened to bump into each other. They listened to the instruments of the Bards and drifted away in the air that was filled with the smell of Fris Siabi''s tobacco.


    Then, the Scourge invaded and everything became nothing more than just shadows from the past.


    The little Ghoul that approached them was called Timmy the Cruel. Originally just Timmy, he had grown up on a beautiful farm and had two interesting stories to share.


    The first story began when he was a kid.


    At that time, Arthas was still the prince. On a day where he patrolled the lands, a mother rushed forward to ask for help, claiming that her child Timmy had been lost.


    Although Arthas was a noble prince, he brought his men to find Timmy at once. In the forest, he saved the child who was almost killed by a Gnoll.


    Arthas brought Timmy back to his mother, who was grateful to him.


    At the time, the prince still loved his people like his own children. He was as Uther had described ¨C filled with the Holy Light and love.


    People watched has he grew older, day by day. They anticipated the day when he would take over the throne and rule over this country.


    Young Timmy asked Arthas at the time, "What about those who have been captured by the Tauren?"


    The tall and strong Arthas bent over to look at the child in the eyes and spoke with a gentle, but firm tone, "Don''t worry, my child. I''ll bring them home."


    There was no arrogance or presumptuousness of a Warrior in his voice; there was only selfless love for his people.


    However, fate played him again and again. First, the Tauren went against the rules of war and killed the diplomat that had been sent, flinging him into great sorrow and fury. He was unable to rescue his people and at the very last moment, he even slaughtered Stratholme himself. Arthas never managed to fulfill the promise he made to little Timmy.


    "Your majesty, will you always protect us?"


    "Yes, I promise!"


    This left him feeling despaired and guilty, even though this wasn''t completely his fault.


    However, no matter how bravely or fiercely he fought, he was still a young man who had ventured into war for the first time, a young man that had enjoyed love and happiness in the palace ever since he was a child.


    People had two kinds of reactions upon encountering fear. One was to run, while the other was to battle. Someone like Arthas clearly expressed the latter.


    The reason why he chased down Mal''Ganis later was because of both fury and the urge to end his origin of fear.


    Perhaps he was naive and thought that once he killed Mal''Ganis, the frightful Undead creatures would vanish from his nightmare and reality. However, fate played him once again, and the rest of the story unfolded as the background of the game that was revealed to its players. He became the Lich King, the enemy to those who he once swore to protect.


    His hands were stained with the blood of people.


    The second story also began when Timmy was a child.


    He remembered that when he was young, he liked a little girl whose name was Pamela.


    To draw the attention of Pamela, little Timmy often hid her doll. When Pamela cried, he would stand up bravely and offer to help her find it.


    In return, Pamela always proudly said that Timmy was amazing.


    What Timmy never expected was that Pamela would move away after a few years. She moved far away from where Timmy lived, to Darrowshire.


    Ever since then, Timmy had wanted to visit Darrowshire everyday, but he never got the chance.


    Later on, Timmy also moved, he ended up even further away from Darrowshire.


    Two years went by, and Timmy could finally help with his family''s farm work. He no longer brought his toy gun around everyday; he left it in a cupboard and would only sometimes bring it out to look at it.


    One day, Timmy''s new house was attacked by the Scourge. Timmy wasn''t afraid; he held onto his Pitchfork and fought back bravely.


    That was when he saw a man who rode a white horse with long white hair charge towards him.


    "This man looks a lot like Prince Arthas. It''s a shame that his hair is white."


    Timmy had been rescued before by Prince Arthas when he was a child, so naturally, Prince Arthas was his idol. He swore to become a knight someday when he grew up, so that he could protect and fight for him.


    However, when this person ran to Timmy, he knocked out his Pitchfork with a single blow from his sword. Timmy looked up at him, and all of sudden, he saw his face clearly.


    "Prince¡­Arthas?"


    The sword wielder also saw Timmy''s face and paused, but in the end, he still stabbed him mercilessly.


    After what seemed like an eternity, Timmy woke again from the darkness. He looked at his withered body and glanced around at his surrounding cluelessly. All he could remember was that he was called Timmy; he couldn''t recall anything else.


    Timmy cluelessly joined his comrades who happened to be around. Together, with the others, he listened to a man called Rivendare.


    They took down cities after cities, villages after villages, devouring delicious flesh. Soon, singled memory of his name was replaced with mindless slaughter.


    The target today was a place called Darrowshire.


    "Darrowshire¡­that sounds familiar¡­" Timmy thought to himself amongst the army of Ghouls as he dragged his body forward.


    Darrowshire appeared before him and a new round of slaughter began. Timmy crazily chased after a man, all the way into a house. The man was cornered, without escape, and Timmy ripped apart his neck. When the warm blood spilled everywhere, the corner of his vision caught a shivering body. It was a girl who held onto a doll, and tears constantly dropped out of her pretty eyes.


    Timmy suddenly felt a tearing pain in his left chest, which was quite strange, since he no longer had a heart.


    "Pamela! Pamela!! Pamela!!!" Timmy cried out, although to anyone who was listening, it sounded just like any other noise made by a Ghoul.


    Timmy couldn''t resist against the will of the Scourge and killed Pamela, but he didn''t want her to be contaminated as well. He didn''t want to see her become a monster like himself.


    Before he left Darrowshire, he hid away Pamela''s doll one last time.


    Many years had passed and Timmy, like his other monster comrades, became the subordinate of Baron Rivendare and camped in Stratholme. The simple and tasteless life gradually numbed him.


    Now, he saw a pack of strange people. The will of the Scourge commanded him to slay them.

 883 Lil Timmy’s Peashooter

    "The Boss is here. Squishy players, be more careful when you''re dealing damage. Make sure you don''t enter the top three on the aggro chart. Wandering, make sure you''re up there on the aggro chart, but don''t draw aggro away from the Main Tank accidentally," Lu Li reminded everyone as the little ghoul charged towards them.


    Although he was only a mini boss, Timmy was definitely a lot stronger than he looked.


    He might not have been much of a threat for Plate Armor classes, but because of his high Attack and high Armor Penetration, the Cloth Armor classes would usually be one-hit. Timmy was infamous for being a Cloth Armor class killer.


    Even after the players progressed through the game, when high-level mages revisited this Boss, they would still have a very high chance of dying.


    There was actually a small shortcut behind the nearby house which allowed players to avoid this Boss. As more and more players heard about Timmy''s background story, they could no longer bring themselves to kill the little ghoul, but Lu Li wasn''t much of a sympathetic person. From his perspective, he thought that Timmy would probably prefer to die rather than to live on like a zombie.


    Lu Li recalled a quest that could help Timmy pass on to the afterlife and make him an NPC in Undercity.


    Unfortunately, the quest could only be complete by Horde players, so there was nothing he could do to help him. If he could attempt the quest to help Timmy, he would have.


    Azure Sea Breeze charged forwards and the Ghoul''s sharp claws scraped into his shield with a piercing metallic sound.


    More than 170 points of damage appeared above his head.


    "He''s got really high Attack, but not much defense. He doesn''t have any healing either," the Main Tank reported back to his team.


    Lu Li knew that this was only the beginning of the fight. When Timmy entered Berserk mode, his physical Attack and Attack Speed would both dramatically increase. When that happened, it wouldn''t matter what kind of armor you wore.


    Timmy had a skill called Ravenous Claw that inflicted physical damage and healed 400 points of HP. If it wasn''t for his low defense and HP, Timmy would likely be extremely difficult to deal with.


    However, since he was only lv47, his HP rapidly dropped under the relentless assault of Lu Li''s party.


    Timmy did not say anything and remained silent the whole time.


    Sometimes, he would stop attacking, revealing his dark and eerie eyes to the players.


    They could see traces of his former human form; he wasn''t as ugly and disfigured as the other ghouls. Taking into account his appearance and the knowledge of his background story, the girls in the party couldn''t help but sympathize with him.


    Because of his Lifesteal skill, it still took around 20 minutes to defeat him. The EXP reward was quite plentiful, but there were no skill points awarded.


    Remnant Dream looted a hunting rifle.


    Lil Timmy''s Peashooter (Dark Gold): 62-88 damage, +42 agility, +36 strength, +20% accuracy, +2 Enchantment slots. Special Effect 1: Chance of causing the target to fall over when attacking, disabling them for 2 seconds. Special Effect 2: Jump - Allows the user to jump 15 yards in a chosen direction, cooldown 30 minutes. Special Effect 3: Enrage - Physical Damage +30%, Attack Speed +20%, 20 second duration, 10 minute cooldown. Requires Level 45. Durability 115/115.


    Engraved on the side of the rifle were the following words: "When Timmy was little, he liked to hide in different parts of town to scare others with his peashooter."


    Remnant Dream looked at Lu Li with her big puppy eyes.


    The most valuable piece of equipment wasn''t dependent on its price but on its suitability. The stats on this weapon were excellent, including high attack and 20% accuracy, along with crowd-control, mobility and attack buff special effects. This was a perfect weapon for Remnant Dream, especially because she had always struggled with accuracy.


    The gun was only slightly better than her previous bow, but she was extremely happy with it.


    The second item was a Synthetic Stone ¨C damage increased by 10%. This was quite a useful stone and Lu Li decided he might as well give it to Remnant Dream because there were two sockets on her new weapon. She planned on looking for another stone when she returned back to town.


    The next Boss was also a mini Boss ¨C his name was Forresten from Darrowshire. He had a beautiful and enchanting voice like a nightingale, and would often stand by the glowing blue lake underneath the moonlight, singing to the love of his life.


    The Culling of Stratholme claimed the lives of innumerable people, whose only crimes were being in the doomed city. Forresten, a traveling singer and piccolo player named was one such victim. He continued to wander the city in death, unable to accept his tragic fate. As a ghost, he was still able to play the instruments he once loved, however, he could no longer sing as there was no one to listen to him. Music and freedom was no longer a reality of his; everything that happened seemed to be no more than a dream.


    Forresten was a Yellow Health monster.


    Yellow Health was a term that originated from other games and had remained in the gaming community. This basically meant that the monster was passive and would not attack unless provoked.


    However, he needed to be killed because he dropped good loot.


    Azure Sea Breeze smashed his shield into Forresten''s face, enraging him. Though he used to be a gentleman, he had lost his patience and kindness over the years.


    Forresten immediately casted Multi-Shot, taking out a chunk of everyone''s HP. March Rain reacted quickly and began to cast an group heal, but she was stopped by Lu Li. Multi-Shot had a large area-of-effect, but the damage was quite low and it had a long cooldown. It would be a waste to use up the AOE heal skill at this point.


    There were very few AOE heals skills at this stage of the game; March Rain only had two.


    Forresten''s signature skill was a powerful crowd-control ability called Enchanting Lullaby, which sang the target to sleep for up to 20 seconds and dealt 5% HP per second.


    If left alone, the target affected by Enchanting Lullaby would be dead for sure.


    Lu Li wanted March Rain to save her AOE skill for a more dire situation.


    After taking down 1/3rd of his HP, Forresten put away his crossbow and took out his piccolo. Azure Sea Breeze was not aware of the Enchanting Lullaby and laughed, "Haha, look guys ¨C he''s given up because he knows he can''t win. He''s gonna play us a song while we beat him to death."


    Forresten did as he was told and everyone fell into deep slumber. Their HP began dropping rapidly as time went by.


    "March Rain, use your badge active and heal everyone," Lu Li said instructed


    March Rain followed his orders and casted an AOE heal skill, saving them from danger.

 884 Piccolo of the Flaming Fire

    Being a mini Boss, Forresten wasn''t that difficult to defeat. The only annoying part of the fight as that he would cast Enchanting Lullaby every time he lost 30% of his HP. However, since March Rain was a professional healer, she had more than one way of cleansing crowd-control skills and managed to keep everyone allive.


    Forresten was even easier than Timmy and they took less time to defeat him. They received quite a large chunk of EXP since it was in Bightmare mode.


    "Piccolo of the Flaming Fire," Remnant Dream announced, reading out the description of the loot. "Play to invoke the spirit of dance in those around you."


    "Good stuff, but this is more of a toy. If you want it, then roll for it," Lu Li said. He decided not to roll for it because he wasn''t interested in these type of items. He thought of giving it to his sister, but she wasn''t the type of girl to prank others.


    "What does it mean by invoking the spirit of dance?" Wandering asked.


    This was such a niche item, and although they explanation was quite simple, it was difficult to understand exactly what it meant.


    "Play it, Dream," Lu Li said.


    Remnant Dream placed the piccolo near her mouth and blew into the instrument. She didn''t know how to play it, so it naturally sounded like a dying cat. However, despite how awful it sounded, everyone was still enchanted by its special effect.


    The nine other players around her began dancing uncontrollably. However, Lu Li knew this was going to happen and managed to shake himself out of it.


    "Wow, what a cool item!" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed as his eyes sparkled.


    "It''s like a magical piccolo in the fairy tales!" Hachi Chan also wanted it.


    Most people felt the same way; even Moonlight was tempted to roll for it. Making someone dance uncontrollably whenever you wanted would make for a hilarious prank. The poor victim would look like the biggest idiot, especially at the right timing and location.


    "I won''t roll for it ¨C up to you guys. Whoever gets it can pay for the repair fees for this dungeon. There''s still one last mini Boss left. After that, we''ll call it a day and you guys can have free time," Lu Li said as he waved his hands and went ahead by himself.


    Eventually, Sakura Memories was determined as the lucky winner of the piccolo, but she gave it to Hachi Chan straight away rather than putting it away in her own inventory.


    "I was gonna give it to you as well," Azure Sea Breeze said.


    Taking care of the younger players was part of the culture that had been developed in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. Even if Azure was lying through his teeth, they still didn''t call him out on it.


    The last boss was called The Unforgiven.


    Lylia was a blade of righteousness among her people. She followed her prince to conquer land, slaying countless and various enemies including Gnolls, Murlocs, Trolls and Thieves. She admired her prince and would give her life away for him and for the king of Lordaeron.


    After Arthas commanded his forces to purge the city, her sanity was ripped apart from seeing countless innocent civilians die by her hand. She fell on her sword to escape the madness around her, and now existed as a spectral being, forever denied absolution for her heinous acts, forever wandering in Statholme.


    The fight would be difficult from the very start because Lylia was a Mage-type boss. Her skills included Frost Shock, which blasted the players with ice, inflicting Frost damage and reducing their movement speed.


    Azure Sea Breeze was already quite slow and was now basically immobile because of the movement speed reduction. He also had lower Magic Resistance than Physical Defense.


    No one dared to deal too much damage in case they accidentally drew aggro. Additionally, because of the debuff, it would take Azure Sea Breeze quite a while to get it back because of the movement speed reduction.


    "What the heck, this Boss is so hard to deal with," Azure Sea Breeze complained.


    "This is a matter of skill. Are you going to give up just because she deals magic damage and slows you down a little?" Lu Li mocked him. Azure Sea Breeze had finally realized his weaknesses. There would be many Bosses in the future that counter him; it was impossible to simply stand there and face-tank the Boss as he had done in the earlier levels.


    "What should I do then?" Azure Sea Breeze asked with a painful expression.


    "Let Moonlight help you. Go and ask him how to deal with Frost Mages. You can also switch your gear around to increase your flexibility," Lu Li suggested. He couldn''t be bothered teaching him. Besides, there was no way that he would know more than Moonlight about tanking.


    Moonlight obviously obliged and pointed out some positioning and mechanical flaws that Azure Sea Breeze had.


    Lu Li also gave his two cents; most of his knowledge about tanking came from his past life.


    The Unforgiven dropped an axe called the Soul Breaker.


    The stats were decent, but it had a very unique Special Effect. When attacking, it caused the target to lose an additional 50 points of health and mana.


    "This weapon is pretty good against classes with low mana," Moonlight observed. It was clear that he had good insight and knowledge about the game.


    The Soul Breaker would be useless against a Mage or a Warlock because they had more mana than HP, as well as a fast MP recovery. A PVP fight would last around a minute or so, making it impossible to empty their mana pool with the Soul Breaker.


    However, against Paladins, who used up large amounts of mana, this weapon would be devastating.


    "Take it ¨C I don''t think there''s anyone else that wants it," Lu Li said as he gave the weapon to Moonlight. Soul Breaker was only useful in PVP settings as its stats were mediocre for PVE. The special effect was also useless against Bosses.


    "There''s one more item. It''s only Silver grade but,¡­" Remnant Dream began, then paused and yelled.


    "What? What?" Whenever Remnant Dream had this reaction, everyone became excited because of what was to follow. Lu Li was also excited, but he knew that a Silver equip wouldn''t usually be enough for Remnant Dream to go crazy like that.


    Remnant Dream hastily shared the details of the equipment.


    Mask of the Unforgiven (Silver): Defense +5%, All stats +10, Special Effects 1: Increase Stealth effects by 10%. Special Effects 2: Allows the user to transform into another class. Effect will expire once the user enters battle. Requires Level 40, No Durability.


    It was a mask!


    This was an extremely rare item. The mask that most players wore had no stats and was only for aesthetic purposes.


    Lu Li was lucky because he had purchased a decent one from the Exchange Hall when the game first tarted. However, compared to that, Mask of the Unforgiven was much better.


    Nameless (Steel): 1 Defence, All Stats +1, Special Effect: Hides Information (can be


    toggled), Level Requirement: LV1. No Durability.


    The Mask of the Unforgiven allowed the user to transform into another class, which was a very attractive feature for Lu Li. Additionally, it provided a passive that boosted his Stealth, which was very beneficial for Thief classes. Not to mention, the stats completely outclassed his previous mask.


    However, Lu Li did not want to force them to give it to him.


    Although the item provides a special effect that increased Stealth, the 5% Defense could also be very beneficial for the Main Tank.


    Moonlight could also benefit from this item. As a Warrior, he had much higher base Defense than a Thief and the additional Defense would be helpful in a PVP setting.

 885 Assassination Mission

    Fortunately, the mask was not class-specific, so everyone could wear it.


    "Let''s go."


    Lu Li instantly thought about wearing the uniform of the leader, but he decided against it. After all, wearing a mask was not that bad anyway.


    Everyone could betray their morals to a certain extent; it was only a matter of how much.


    "Nope, I can''t do it," Wandering said as he touched his own face while grimacing. "I''m sorry, it just feels wrong to wear a mask like this."


    "I don''t want to do it either. This helmet already blocks everything; the piece of cloth is just too much," another member complained.


    "I have a better one¡­" Hachi Chan began as she proceeded to take out a pink mask.


    Everyone had already teared up and refused to ask about the properties of this pink mask.


    "Lu Li, go ahead and use it. You attract the most attention out of all of us anyway," Sakura Memories said. "After all, even if we were just walking around, no one would attack us randomly. You''ll be safer."


    "Dear sister, why did you have to say something like that?" Lu Li thought to himself.


    Lu Li took a deep breath and gave Sesame Rice Ball his original mask. Because he possessed a gate that could teleport players, Sesame Rice Ball had target painted on his back. If a player from an opposing guild was given the chance to assassinate him, they would most definitely jump on it.


    "How about trying the next Boss instead?" Azure Sea Breeze suggested, to which everyone agreed.


    At this point, they were feeling at the top of their game. After all, they had just killed a number of Bosses in succession. Even the previous neglect from the mayor had been forgotten already, and they were extremely eager to fight the next Boss, which was Ramstein the Gorger.


    "Alright then, we''ll stop here for today. You''re free to do whatever you want for the rest of the time. Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan, log off and rest," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    "Why? It''s still early," Hachi Chan protested.


    "Stop complaining. It''s for your own good. Young people need to rest earlier ¨C otherwise you''ll grow up to be ugly like that guy."


    Lu Li had learned how to scare young children, since he had a young sister in real life. Lu Xin had heard many of these tales from her older brother.


    "What the¡­what do you mean by that?" It appeared that Lu Li had offended someone else instead.


    After leaving his party behind, Lu Li decided to shop around for rare items that they could use in the future. With this in mind, he had already borrowed a few hundred gold coins from Square Root 3. Square Root 3 was the guild''s ATM; he would always have an abundant collection of gold coins at his disposal at all times.


    Major organisations, especially entertainment companies, would usually host activities where gold could be exchange for guild points.


    Smaller organisations could not afford to do this, as their points had little value.


    Ruling Sword''s storage contained many prestigious items, equipment, tools and herbs. As such, the guild members would not hesitate to trade away their money.


    Square Root had also implemented a limit as to how much they could exchange in order to give everyone a fair chance.


    Because of this, Lu Li would usually have more than enough gold coins in his possession. Recently, he had gone on a massive spending spree and was indebted to Shen Wansan. However, this was recovered over a span of two days when they held an exchanging event.


    Of course, the guild points were not that expendable. If the guild storage items were all taken, then the overall strength of Ruling Sword would be affected.


    Furthermore, the price of each item could not be set recklessly.


    Savory Deviate Delight!


    For 6 gold coins!


    Lu Li instantly grabbed it at first sight.


    For this recipe, even 60 gold would have been worth it. Savory Deviate Delight was an extremely delicious dish, and could also transform the consumer into a pirate or a ninja.


    This recipe could be found throughout the Barrenlands, but it was an extremely rare find.


    Although every monster there could drop this recipe, people could grind there for days on end and find nothing. Once everyone found out about the value of this recipe, even the newcomers would rush there.


    During the previous Instance dungeon clears, Hachi Chan had mentioned this item. Sadly, Remnant Dream hadn''t been able to loot it, even after all this time.


    After buying the recipe straight away, Lu Li did not plan on selling it. After all, it was only worth a few hundred gold coins. Instead, he planned to give it to Hachi Chan.


    Hachi Chan''s pet dragon had been in deep slumber after consuming Eranikus'' dragon essence. Due to this, she had been constantly worried and saddened. As such, Lu Li thought that this would cheer her up a fair bit.


    Suddenly, he received a message from Water Fairy.


    "What are you doing right now? I need help with something."


    "Well, I''m free at the moment. What do you need?" Lu Li asked. They were allies, so it would not have looked good on his part to reject her request. He had finished browsing the markets anyway, after spending a few hundred gold coins on rare materials and the Savory Deviate Delight.


    "I''m doing a quest at Ravenholdt. It''s not too difficult, but it''s a little troublesome," Water Fairy explained.


    "Why don''t you look for your guildmates?" Lu Li asked.


    Straight after he closed his mouth, he realised that this was not the smartest question. After all, he had known that Water Fairy would not come to him if she could help it.


    "Assassinate an NPC in the Orc camp. I called you because only a person in the inner circle of the Ravenholdt organisation can share and party up in this quest," Water Fairy said, then continued to explain the details of the quest as Lu Li hurried towards the location.


    1. Kill the employees of Gadgetzan Water Survey!


    2. Steal the resources of Gadgetzan Water Survey!


    3. Rob Gadgetzan Water Survey''s wealth!


    Two adventurers at Ravenholdt had already accepted this quest before Water Fairy had, but both had failed. Their loss in experience points were negligible in comparison to the prestige and popularity that they had also lost with the Ravenholdt organisation.

 886 A Wealthy Lady’s Position

    "There''s still around an hour left on the clock. Is that enough for you?" Lu Li asked after meeting Water Fairy.


    "Shouldn''t be a problem. I have already scouted out the distribution of soldiers as well as the surrounding terrain," Water Fairy said, then continued, "This mission must be completed by tonight, when the stars shine the brightest. After all, this was where Gadgetzan Water Survey was at their weakest."


    "You should''ve told me earlier."


    After mulling over the details of the quest, Lu Li proceeded to summon his mount along with Water Fairy, and rushed towards the Wastelands.


    There was a huge contrast between the different parts of Darnassus that they had travelled through. One was blooming with greenery, while the other was a desert. There were still cacti dotted over the dunes, which was why Lu Li had thought that this was somehow connected to the underground water supply at Ungoro.


    It was already nighttime, but they did not need to worry about visibility. This was because the moon had illuminated the entire area.


    Steamwheedle Cartel was a small peaceful area that many small and large monsters dwelled in. These creatures spent most of their time either fishing, or fighting back against pirates.


    They had developed some form of machinery to remove the salt from the saltwater, but this was only used occasionally. The one thing that was most dangerous about living in this area was the lack of freshwater. On the other hand, the residents did not need to worry about the abundance of food. This region boasted the best and freshest seafood that exceeded the standards of Rut''theran Village.


    "What were the levels of the monsters there?" Lu Li asked.


    "Around 45 to 50. There are a lot of them, and they can move freely around the map. They''re like real life pirates, but there was a story of two players treating them as normal monsters. They got annihilated," Water Fairy answered. It appeared as though she had already prepared everything.


    "Alright then. We''ll meet up later when it''s go time."


    Lu Li did not like doing these types of missions as they were often very frustrating.


    According to the rich lady, they were not to treat these pirates as normal monsters. If they were not to do that, then how would they fight them? In a real-life situation, the best method was to call the police!


    "Are you guys attempting the Stratholme Instance dungeons? Water Fairy asked as she rode her mount beside Lu Li.


    Lu Li did not feel the need to hide this from Water Fairy.


    "Yeah. We''ve already cleared the first few Bosses, but the last few are more difficult."


    He recalled that when he attended school, there were always a few students who had claimed that they did not do well on the test after comparing answers with each other. However, when the results were released, they all achieved 100%. He felt that this type of behaviour was extremely fake, so he hated it.


    "A few¡­ we haven''t even cleared the first one."


    "You guys are also going at it?" Lu Li was surprised, since he knew that Water Fairy was at level 46, and their Main Tank was at level 45. With those levels, even exquisite equipment might not be of much help at Stratholme.


    Levels were the reason why Ruling Sword had been able to progress through the Bosses.


    "Yeah of course. Other guilds have already started as well."


    Water Fairy knew that the players in her guild were not strong enough to fight Stratholme''s Bosses. However, when the other guilds began to prepare themselves, Drizzle Court could not just stand by and watch on. It would have damaged their reputation within the guild.


    After all, the players wanted a guild that was constantly advancing, and not one that was retreating.


    "I think that it''s best to wait for your Main Tank to reach level 48," Lu Li advised, then stopped his mount upon spotting the Wastelands Bandits Camp.


    After Water Fairy called back her mount, she had glared intensely at Lu Li.


    "Level 48 isn''t that easy to achieve though. Furthermore, we lack in manpower right now. Unfortunately, all the elites were stolen by someone."


    Lu Li nearly choked on his saliva after hearing that.


    "Are you not a man? Can you not own up to it?"


    "I didn''t say that it was a lie. You also know that we need to consider a lot of things before we proceed." Sweat began to bead on Lu Li''s forehead. He did not think, in a million years, that Water Fairy would interrogate him at a time and place like this.


    On one hand, they were allies. On the other, they were friends. You could go as far as saying that there was a little hint of romance as well. Although neither side had confessed, they had kept their relationship as it was to prevent any hurt.


    However, he had never thought of telling things like that to Water Fairy.


    He would not have said those words, even if he had another rebirth. This would have affected Ruling Sword''s overall strength, which was a heavy price to pay.


    Ruling Sword had fought the Gangnam Royals many times, which had come at a massive cost. It was difficult for guilds that were falling behind to regain their footing and advance forward.


    It was estimated that the average level of elite squads of high-ranking guilds and organisations were approximately level 44, while Ruling Sword''s was around level 43.


    Even if Lu Li was just an overall low-life, he would not underestimate the other guilds.


    Water Fairy just ended the conversation, and decided to start on another topic.


    "The Gangnam Royals would pay you money, but you can''t announce it to the world. How much would you be willing to take?"


    Water Fairy was not in a position where she was able to demand Lu Li to do things for her. Being from a business background, she understood this well.


    "Any amount really, but not being able to announce it¡­" Lu Li began to hesitate.


    The reason that they had fought so much with the Gangnam Royals was not because they hated each other, or for the sake of revenge. Rather, they fought because they each had goals in the future. After all, Lu Li was a very logical and realistic person.


    If they were not going to announce it, then the temporary truce would not have been worth much.


    After all, other people would think that Ruling Sword were the ones that had surrendered.


    "If you guys keep going at it like this, it''s still not a solution, is it? Although the Gangnam Royals are much weaker now, they''re still not pushovers. Even if you don''t announce it, other people will find out with other means," Water Fairy said as she tried to convince Lu Li.


    Gangnam Royals had invited her as a negotiator with Lu Li. However, her intentions were not to gain


    for herself, but truly for Lu Li''s benefit.


    Besides Ruling Sword, even guilds like Drizzle Court with Peerless City and Blue Universe as allies had joined the fight. Although they had all of these people, they still wouldn''t be able to topple the Gangnam Royals straight away.


    Ruling Sword would certainly not lose against the Gangnam Royals, but they would definitely have an impact.

 887 Heart to Hear

    Lu Li was silent for a while, but he had to admit that Water Fairy was right.


    He wasn''t marching out against Gangnam Royals to get rid of them. He just wanted to secure Ruling Sword''s position and continue building it up.


    Ruling Sword was growing too quickly and that wasn''t a good thing.


    "I suggest you ask for more money. That''s probably all they have left, or¡­" Water Fairy paused and made a face, then continued, "You could also ask for their star players, like Innocent Child or Dancing Star Dream. They don''t have a good relationship with Heart of War."


    "I see."


    Lu Li wasn''t sure at first, but he suddenly realized that she was right ¨C and a vicious woman.


    "Since he is a leader that is incapable of seeing the big picture, why don''t you give him an easy way out? If you push them hard enough, the Gangnam Royals probably wouldn''t fall, but Heart of War would be left in an unstable position. If he was replaced with a more competent leader, they would know that the loss wasn''t worth it," Water Fairy explained with a mocking smile.


    "I see that you''re ruthless," Lu Li said sincerely.


    Lu Li had no talent in these strategic aspects, as he hadn''t received a basic education. Even Square Root 3 was much better than him in guild management and managing daily affairs.


    "It won''t be¡­ easy for us either," Water Fairy muttered. She seemed to have realized something and suddenly looked vacant.


    "What else do you have to worry about?"


    In Lu Li''s eyes, people like Water Fairy were walking goddesses. She could be appropriately described as the Queen of Drizzle Court, but here she was talking about how it wasn''t easy for her. The words that were coming out of her mouth seemed unnatural.


    "I don''t really want to talk about it. Is Xin Xin okay?" Water Fairy asked, changing the subject. Apparently, she didn''t want to continue the conversation.


    "She''s okay ¨C just bored at home. She''s recently learned to act more spoiled," Lu Li''s answered. His face softened when his sister was mentioned.


    "You two have a very good relationship," Water Fairy said with admiration.


    "Don''t you have siblings?" Lu Li asked.


    "No, but¡­" Water Fairy frowned and said, "That woman ¨C my stepmom ¨C recently got pregnant."


    Stepmother?


    Lu Li didn''t know if he should congratulate her. Normally, no matter how selfless a stepmother was, if given the choice between a step child and their own child, they would always choose their own child.


    "I''m afraid I can never treat my unborn sibling the way you have to your sister," Water Fairy continued with abitter smile.


    "Your dad doesn''t just want a son, right?" Lu Li knew that this was a thorny subject as well.


    "I don''t think so. I have been trained strictly by him since a young age, so he wouldn''t give up on me now, but there will just be more variables in future," Water Fairy explained. She had mixed feelings about it.


    When she was young, she enviously watched as other children freely played, while she had to stay in her house and receive tutoring from several family teachers. At her most rebellious age, she was eager to escape her fate and even had thoughts of running away from home.


    Just as she was ready to accept her fate, she was told that her position might be replaced.


    What a joke!


    Lu Li didn''t really understand was it like to be rich, but he already knew what they would say.


    "It will take a long time for him to grow up. How about you start your own business so your future will be yours?"


    Water Fairy considered this idea seriously and nodded.


    "You seem to be pretty good that that. There''s no reason I couldn''t do it too, right?"


    "As this game gets more popular, you can come to take advantage of it."


    Although Lu Li had only been reborn three years earlier, he knew better than anyone else how this game would change over the coming years.


    The gaming and entertainment industries were booming. With the mainstream surge of intelligent robots, the gaming industry would continue to make rapid progress while all other industries began facing issues.


    "Everything in the game right now is mine to manage. It seems pretty easy to get stuff like this," Water Fairy said.


    "It''s a bit too early to start worrying¡­"


    Lu Li felt like the situation was a bit absurd. Water Fairy had just found out that her stepmother was pregnant and already felt like her survival was threatened. In fact, most of these thoughts were just a product of her paranoid mind.


    "Alright, let''s start our quest. We''ll go in and attack them to create a diversion," Water Fairy said as she stopped at the edge of the camp.


    Lu Li looked at the camp and felt like this seemed difficult. The camp was just too big for a diversion to work, and as Water Fairy had said, the monsters here were intelligent.


    "We can actually send for players to lead the small monsters away," he suggested.


    "If the organization finds out that we asked for help, we''ll fail the quest," Water Fairy said helplessly.


    "Gadgetzan''s Chief Engineer Bilgewhizzle has two regular quests. One requires the players to kill 10 Wasteland Thieves and the other to kill 10 Wasteland Robbers. If they accepted those quests, they would be detected," Lu Li explained as he began to contact some other players.


    Ruling Sword''s Thieves soon arrived after receiving their orders.


    Hundreds of players rushed over after they took the quest. They were about to log off for the day, and didn''t mind helping the Boss with something.


    "Boss, you''re¡­"


    When they arrived, they saw the graceful female tycoon standing by Lu Li.


    The Thief''s stature was very revealing, and even though her face was covered, the players could immediately see through it. Many players personally came afterwards to greet her. They had never done a quest for the cold female tycoon before, and thought it was an amazing opportunity.


    "Is this Water Fairy?"


    Someone was in the group was bound to know who she was, especially given the rumors of their relationship.


    Water Fairy didn''t hide anymore and greeted the players that were around her.


    "You''ve all worked hard to come here so late in the day."


    "Haha, it''s no problem, haha¡­" a Thief nearby laughed foolishly. They had all heard the rumors, but seeing these two in person confirmed it for some.


    "Quickly go and do your quest. Your goal is to pull the monsters as far away as possible," Lu Li said as he waved his hand and started giving out instructions.


    "Alright Boss, you can have a nice chat with Miss Water, hehe," the Thief laughed as he left with the others. It was likely that there were few more around in Stealth.


    Lu Li was speechless, but he wasn''t an idiot. He knew what these players meant, but he never thought of Water Fairy like that.


    Before he entered the game, he and Water Fairy were two people from different worlds, but even now, they were still quite a distance apart.

 888 Working Together in Harmony

    As the distractions began, the number of monsters in the camp reduced little by little. Water Fairy and Lu Li who had been lurking outside the camp looked at each other and started heading towards the middle of the camp. The game time for the day was ending in 45 minutes.


    Caliph Scorpidsting looked like a 40-50 year old and had quite a gentle appearance.


    He was said to have been a bard in his early years, but he had been castrated because he offended an aristocrat. In his anger, he threw away his harp and picked up an axe.


    He was likely to be a quasi-Boss. After all, this quest was supposed to be completed by two players. There was no way the System would give them an actual Boss to assassinate.


    "Wait a minute," Lu Li said as he held on to Water Fairy''s arm.


    Water Fairy was almost pulled out of Stealth by Lu Li and couldn''t help but stare at him angrily as she waited for him to explain himself.


    Lu Li pointed at the ground and motioned for her to observe.


    "Why are there footprints?'' Water Fairy asked as she suddenly realized what Lu Li was pointing to.


    "If an NPC is in Stealth, they will leave foot prints. This doesn''t happen to players. There must be elite monsters that are capable of Stealth here," Lu Li explained by typing in the party chat.


    "What do we do?"


    Water Fairy hadn''t realized that when she played with Lu Li, she wouldn''t bother thinking as she knew that Lu Li would give her all the answers.


    "You go over there. I''ll stand here and pull all the Stealth monsters out of the camp, but first, we have to determine how many of them there are," Lu Li said.


    However, just because these Stealth monsters were outside of the camp didn''t mean that they couldn''t affect the targets inside the camp.


    Lu Li moved around the area in Stealth, attempting to scout out the bodyguards. Their role was not only to protect the target, but also to act as a warning. If a fight started, they would inform the target and the rest of the camp.


    The intelligence of the monsters here was not to be underestimated.


    If their Boss was in danger, the monsters that had been pulled away would rush back as quickly as they could.


    Lu Li walked along the left side and discovered a Stealthed target in front of him. It hadn''t noticed Lu Li, but he also hadn''t attacked it yet. Instead, he observed its movement speed before leaving to find the others.


    Lu Li quickly memorized the number and locations of the Stealth units.


    "I''m here," Water Fairy said after they met up again.


    "We''ll wait until they are far apart, and then focus on killing that one," Lu Li said. He was worried about raising the alarm, so it was best to ensure that it was crowd-controlled until it died.


    Ravenholdt Manor''s quest failure penalty was very high, and no one wanted to lose Reputation points within that small faction.


    The two walked about in Stealth before finding a monster, then tactically used their crowd-control skills to kill it before another arrived.


    "What did it drop?"


    The item had been quickly picked up by Lu Li, but Water Fairy saw it.


    "You can have it," Lu Li offered as he threw the item at her.


    "You''re really unlucky; you shouldn''t loot the Boss," Water Fairy sighed as she looked at the equip in her hands. Lu Li was so unlucky that he had actually managed to find a Common equip.


    It was a level 50 Elite monster ¨C how could it possibly drop a Common item?


    "Alright, you can loot it later," Lu Li said sheepishly. The System had completely embarrassed him.


    After the second elite monster died, Water Fairy looted the body. Unfortunately, she didn''t receive anything particularly good either ¨C just a piece of dried meat covered in yellow sand. After eating it, you would gain an Attribute bonus at the cost of losing HP continuously. This could kill a player, but it was generally accepted that the loss of HP was a low price to pay.


    Lu Li maintained his composure and didn''t laugh at the female tycoon, but he was the first to enter the tent.


    The moment he entered the tent, he immediately wanted to retreat, but it was too late. Caliph Scorpidsting coldly stood up at his desk with his eyes fixed on Lu Li.


    "How did this happen?" Water Fairy asked.


    "There is a special lamp on his desk; it''s similar to the Hunter''s Flare. We should knock the lamp down," Lu Li quickly said. He had heard about this item and knew the strategy behind it, but it was too late.


    Caliph Scorpidsting was a Thief, but he was holding a crossbow and could shoot at any moment.


    "Seems like a good item. Can we take it away?" Water Fairy asked.


    "We''ll have to kill this guy first. Attack!" Lu Li shouted as he charged ahead.


    Caliph Scorpidsting raised his hand and let an arrow loose. The first shot barely grazed Lu Li, but as the second shot struck him, he turned into a bat. By the time Lu Li had reached the Boss, he had transformed back.


    "Wow, that''s pretty cool. Is it a skill or a special effect?'' Water Fairy asked in admiration.


    She was often cold when interacting with others and would normally never make a fuss like this. However, neither Lu Li or Water Fairy really knew the true extent of their skills and abilities.


    Enhanced Stealth: Instant Cast, hide in Stealth. The effects of Stealth are improved and will gain a further bonus when in a shadowy environment. Special Effect ¨C Bat Transformation. After using this Special Effect, the caster will be turned into a bat and will fly a certain distance to a designated location. 2-minute cooldown.


    Lu Li had been revealed by the lamp, but his Stealth had not been cancelled. After landing, he cast Cheap Shot and successfully stunned his target, then stacked his skills one after another to deal damage.


    At the same time, he also explained the skill to Water Fairy.


    "An Enhanced Skill!? Where did you learn to Enhance your skill?" Did you find a mentor?" Water Fairy gasped in shock.


    "Garona ¨C it turns out that she hadn''t died."


    Water Fairy was very interested in Garona''s story and wanted Lu Li to give her more information. Even her mentor, Pasonia, was curious about her.


    "Get ready to take over the crowd0control. She really isn''t dead; maybe I can take you to see her next time."


    In fact, Lu Li hadn''t actually seen his mentor for a few days since becoming her apprentice. Before setting off for the next Stratholme Instance Dungeon, he intended to find her for some quests. He might even be rewarded with an Enhanced Shadowstrike.


    "Enhanced skills are really strong," Water Fairy said with a tinge of regret. "Unfortunately, my Backstab skill still hasn''t reached the required level yet, and the book has just been sitting in the warehouse."

 889 Beaten At Their Own Game

    The two top Thieves continued to attack the Boss in a precise rhythm. Even if there was an occasional lapse in crowd-control, both Lu Li and Water Fairy had damage reduction skills and ways to regain HP.


    However, this quest wasn''t as simple as it appeared.


    "Please wait," Caliph Scorpidsting suddenly pleaded as he threw down his weapon and stopped resisting.


    What now? The two of them had never faced a situation like this before and didn''t know what to do.


    There was no shortage of highly intelligent NPCs in this game. Some of them were intelligent all the time, like Keeper of the Grove Remulos and Garona, while others only gained intelligence during specific circumstances required for the plot.


    "I have decided to surrender. I am willing to be your servant. Please spare me," Caliph Scorpidsting begged.


    "Servant?"


    Water Fairy looked at this seemingly insignificant make and wondered how he could be used. If she could take him to fight for her in the next Instance Dungeon that would be very useful. He was a quasi-Boss, which meant he had great Attack and Defense. His few skills weren''t that much weaker than a regular player''s either.


    "Give us all your equipment and we''ll believe you," Lu Li said.


    "Of course. Why didn''t I think of that?" Water Fairy laughed. If Scorpidsting really gave up all his equipment, this would be very profitable.


    Caliph Scorpidsting bowed his head and seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying, "You must guarantee my safety. You can''t do anything to me. Maybe you should make a pledge."


    "Dammit, he''s just spouting nonsense. Let''s kill him quickly," Lu Li snorted, pretending to be angry as he raised his dagger.


    Poor Caliph Scorpidsting had already abandoned his weapon ¨C how could he face Lu Li now? The little bit of HP he had left started to dwindle even further.


    "Wait, wait, I''ll do it! Is that not enough?" Caliph Scorpidstring asked helplessly when he watched Lu Li raise his dagger again. He knew how ruthless this guy was; he was completely destroying him a moment ago.


    "Lu Li¡­" Water Fairy didn''t speak directly, but sent a message through the party chat.


    "Don''t worry, I''m counting the damage,'' Lu Li responded quickly. He knew what she was worried about it. This was no ordinary monster; they had taken a quest from the Ravenholdt Manor and they couldn''t afford to not complete it.


    "You can take both of these daggers. I''ll leave them on the ground for you, alright?" Caliph Scorpidsting asked with a pained look.


    He likely didn''t have the best equipment ¨C it probably wasn''t even Gold grade. At best, he would drop Silver equipment, which was now useless for players like Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    However, there were also many blueprints that could drop from these quasi-Bosses, and there was also a small chance of them dropping rare materials.


    "I don''t have¡­" Caliph Scorpidsting hadn''t finished speaking before Lu Li flashed behind him and once again put his HP in a critical state.


    Water Fairy was shocked as she watched. She had to admit that Lu Li was indeed a ruthless person. He was happy to kill someone even though they had already surrendered.


    "Stop! I''ll give you everything else," Caliph Scorpidsting whimpered. He sounded really scared this time.


    "I will count to three. If we don''t see the things we want, we will take them ourselves."


    Lu Li stopped, but he didn''t move his dagger away from Caliph Scorpidsting''s neck. He was ready to finish the job.


    "Here!" Caliph Scorpidsting cried out as he dropped a formula indignantly.


    Lu Li grabbed it and glanced down; it was a valuable Enchanting formula.


    Although Lu Li himself didn''t know how to Enchant, most of his equipment had been Enchanted. There were several Enchanting specialists in the guild. He just needed to give them equipment and they would use various materials to add Attribute bonuses to it.


    Lu Li had previously received a blueprint to Enchant demonic weapons.


    The effect of the Enchantment gave the weapon the ability to curse a target, causing continuous Shadow damage and reducing their Defense by 10%.


    The Enchantment he had in his hand was called the Demonslaying, which would give a melee weapon the chance to stun a Demon and deal additional damage.


    Although Demonslaying was not necessarily as powerful as a Demon weapon, it was a very worthwhile Enchantment. Moreover, the flaming effect that it gave was similar to that of Wandering''s Teebu''s Flaming Longsword. The appearance was quite impressive and highly sought after.


    "There are two of us. How can you expect us to let you go with one item?" Lu Li asked as he put the formula into his backpack and continued blackmailing him.


    Water Fairy thought that what Lu Li was doing a bit disgraceful; there seemed to be no end to him extorting this monster. Her eyes had been opened today.


    "You bastard elf, die!"


    Suddenly, there was a loud bang, as though some bombs had been detonated. In addition to the damage, those in range of the explosion were also stunned. Water Fairy and Lu Li were both affected, which allowed Caliph Scorpidsting to jump eight yards away.


    At the same time, a group of monsters swarmed in from outside the tent.


    There were Wasteland Rogues, Wasteland Assassins and Wasteland Mages, all protecting Caliph Scorpidsting who was in the middle of the group.


    Caliph Scorpidsting said angrily, "Damn elf, did you really think I was going to surrender? Stop dreaming ¨C I was just stalling for time."


    Lu Li and Water Fairy looked at him dumbly. Neither of them knew that he was stalling, and it wouldn''t have mattered anyway. Even if he really did surrender, Lu Li would have made an excuse to kill him to ensure that the quest was completed.


    "Kill them all!" Caliph Scorpidsting shouted as he waved for his minions to attack.


    Lu Li activated the special effect of his shoes and instantly appeared behind the Boss'' defenses. He cast a series of skills which stacked up his combo points, then gave up on dealing more damage and instead turned into a giant wolf.


    Lu Li had used a skill that he normally tried to hold back on. Caliph Scorpidsting, who had already been hurt from before, couldn''t withstand it.


    The monsters heard the final screams of their boss, before turning their heads to find an adventurer cutting at his head with a dagger. He then put the items that were dropped into his backpack and left the dead man behind on the floor.

 890 A Cloak

    Now that their Boss had fallen, the other minions were naturally disorientated.


    These monsters were all at least level 40, and some of them were already level 50. Lu Li and Water Fairy weren''t necessarily able to defeat them all, so they calmly retreated instead.


    The process of finishing the quest was simple ¨C they just needed to head to Southshore and talk to the hostess.


    The rewards for this quest were bountiful indeed. Water Fairy received three Strengthening Stones, along with a great amount of EXP and Reputation.


    As the person who shared the quest, Lu Li only received EXP and Reputation, but it wasn''t as much as what Water Fairy had received. Even so, he was satisfied anyway as it hadn''t taken much time or effort.


    The Ravenholdt Manor was an assassin organization whose main business was to assassinate people.


    As long as you were willing, you could receive plenty of assassination quests. Some were to kill bandits like Caliph Scorpidsting, while others were to kill businessmen and were generally funded by their competitors. There were even some quest to kill military officers.


    The last one was often the most worthwhile, and would award Epic PVP equipment.


    Of course, assassinating an officer was difficult. Even if a group of Thieves worked together, their chances of success would not exceed 10%.


    Water Fairy gave Lu Li a Strengthening Stone, and when he saw that she insisted, he happily accepted it.


    In fact, the actual value of a Strengthening Stone for players at their level was not much, but it was the thought that counted.


    After they completed the quest, both Lu Li and Water Fairy went back to Darnassus through the Teleportation Channel. Soon afterwards, they saw a large group of people pointing in a direction. When Lu Li glanced over, he was speechless.


    He knew the person at the center of attention, and it none other than Wandering.


    Wandering would turn heads normally, but now that he was carrying a flaming sword at his waist, it seemed like he had come out of a fictional movie.


    From time to time, someone would come forward to ask what it was and where it was dropped.


    "Isn''t that Wandering from your party? Where did he get that weapon?"


    Even Water Fairy was interested in the weapon.


    The players around were like animals crowding around him. Everyone liked good items, especially those that looked good too.


    "It''s called Teebu''s Blazing Longsword. There are monsters by the Stratholme''s blacksmith that mostly drop rubbish, but they can drop this item too. Don''t expect too much though ¨C if you''re unlucky, you could probably spend half a year there without getting it," Lu Li explained, not bothering to hide the information.


    This was considered a big secret and Water Fairy recognized its value. She looked at Wandering and saw that he was obviously not telling the truth.


    "Thank you. I will try it later," Water Fairy said gratefully.


    "You''re welcome."


    Lu Li didn''t care much for it. Teebu''s Blazing Longsword was mostly for aesthetic purposes, so giving up the secret didn''t affect him. There were so many little secrets that the players could find in Dawn.


    "Oh yeah, you''re attending the marathon right?" Water Fairy suddenly asked.


    "Yep, are you going to join as well?"


    "Nope. I heard of people in my guild joining though, but since you''re participating, you''re probably going to win."


    "I don''t know for sure, but I will definitely try."


    "Druid is just too strong for this competition, which makes it hard for the other professions, but I guess you''re an exception," Water Fairy said, then began listing off Lu Li''s advantages, "You can fly, and turn into a leopard¡­You have child of the forest¡­"


    Lu Li was actually a little entranced by Water Fairy''s white slender fingers.


    Even people who were slow and ignorant would be attracted to the opposite sex after they reach a certain age, just purely out of instinct.


    Unconsciously, Lu Li''s gaze towards Water Fairy had been accompanied with a look of awe that was slowly building over time.


    "What''s wrong?" Water Fairy had said something, but didn''t get a response, so she curiously gave Lu Li a push.


    "Nothing. I was thinking about something."


    Water Fairy was a little upset when she heard that. This man was too much. He didn''t listen to her when she was talking and could even get distracted while walking with her. She had never experienced this before with anyone else, but it was commonplace with Lu Li.


    "Although you have so many advantages, I have heard that Innocent Child is predicted to win the championship," Water Fairy said.


    "That''s normal. Everyone has a different way of evaluating who will win the championship," Lu Li responded indifferently. While Innocent Child thought he could win, this wasn''t necessarily true.


    "He has a skill or special effect with a very short cooldown. It''s something that gives him bonus speed in Leopard form. He has the same Leopard Transformation as you, and he can also fly, but the distance is limited."


    These were all secrets ¨C how did the female tycoon know about this?


    Lu Li was finally paying attention. If he had a way of accelerating the Child of the Forest Leopard Transformation, then he could run slightly faster than Lu Li. And when had Innocent Child learned to fly?


    As far as Lu Li knew, Hachi Chan was the only other player who could fly.


    However, this was still entirely possible as Dawn was such a big game with so many opportunities. He has been on so many adventures, so he could barely begin to imagine what the other players had experienced.


    "What advice do you have?" Lu Li asked. He knew that the female tycoon wouldn''t talk about this for no reason.


    "I have a cloak that I can lend to you," the female tycoon offered. During the Shadow Cup, Lu Li had defeated Glory Capital by relying on equipment borrowed from Water Fairy and had become the champion.


    "What are the conditions?" Lu Li asked.


    "Do I seem like the kind of person to fuss over small matters like this?" Water Fairy gave him an irritated look.


    "Alright, lend it to me and I''ll give it back later," Lu Li gratefully said. This was no small matter ¨C after all, it involved a very good Epic item.


    Even if Water Fairy said that there were conditions, Lu Li still needed to repay her if he got the chance.


    It was one thing for him to ask for it, and another thing for her to offer something anyway.


    Lu Li actually thought that Water Fairy would ask for the Stratholme strategy. Even though their guild''s Main Tank was at a relatively low level, there was still hope of defeating several of the Bosses at Elite difficulty.


    Water Fairy directly traded the cloak to Lu Li.


    It was white and very soft in his hands, but his first impression was that it was useless. After all, a Thief needed to have a very low-key style.

 891 The Female Tycoon’s Goodwill

    Lu Li didn''t care that much about the appearance that he would reject an item because it didn''t match his aesthetic.


    In Dawn, the same piece of equipment would automatically change its appearance when worn by a male or female. When transforming into the female form, it could even gain some extra features like flowers.


    Of course, Lu Li paid more attention to the Attributes of the equipment than its looks.


    Phantom Cloak (Dark Gold): Armor 65, Agility +40, Strength +20, Constitution +10, Movement Speed +15%. Special Effect 1: Phantom Swiftness. Increases movement speed by 200% for 30 seconds after use. 2-minute cooldown. Can only be used out of combat. Special Effect 2: Phantom Assault. Three illusions appear behind a target. Each phantom has 40% Attack power and lasts for 20 seconds. 30-minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Hidden Mirage. Enter Stealth upon use. Stealth effect is increased by 200% and movement speed increased by 300%. Equipment Requirement: Level 45. Exclusive for Thieves. Durability 150/150.


    After seeing its Attributes, Lu Li couldn''t help but take a deep breath. He had seen this cloak before.


    This kind of cloak wasn''t unique, and the last time he had seen one was during his previous life in an Instance Dungeon run.


    At the beginning, the leader said that everyone had the opportunity to roll for an item they wanted. However, when this cloak was dropped, he completed abandoned all his morals. This single item completely corrupted him.


    This was the nature of wild parties. The leader of the party had the right to all the items, and he could shamelessly take them all if he wanted to.


    This was why Lu Li valued his team so much in this life, even at the expense of his own interests. He had managed to convince some players to join him, and he had never been greedy because of equipment.


    Lu Li''s current cloak was far worse than this one.


    Voodoo Cloak (Superior Gold): Amour 45, Agility +30, Strength +16, Movement Speed +6%. Special Effect 1: Stealth increased by 18%. Special Effect 2: Instant Cast. Increases movement speed by 40% when running towards a target, and increases the damage of the first skill to the target by 30%. Lasts for 3 seconds. 2-minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: 40. Durability 115/115.


    The reason Lu Li held onto it was because it was part of a set. Unless he could find an item that could replace not only its Attributes, but also the bonus Attributes of the Voodoo set, he had no other option. Without the set effects, the Voodoo items were fairly average.


    One of the biggest benefits of the Phantom Cloak was its increase in movement speed.


    The fact that it couldn''t be used in combat would normally limit the effect''s usefulness, but that didn''t matter for Lu Li''s participation in the marathon.


    "Thank you. This equipment is quite exquisite. How did you get it?" Lu Li asked in curiousity.


    "I killed someone who dropped it," Water Fairy said arrogantly. As an expert female player, she had naturally received much skepticism. Many believed that her reputation was solely due to her appearance.


    "Did that poor guy delete his character and restart?" Lu Li suddenly felt some sympathy for the murdered man.


    "It was Peacetime Dynasty''s Song of Sorrow. I don''t what happened, but I was levelling and he used Cheap Shot on me. Eventually, I ended up killing him and he dropped this cloak. I don''t know what kind of star player he is," Water Fairy explained proudly.


    Song of Sorrow from Peacetime Dynasty was a highly regarded Thief player. His rise to fame was a bloodstained one; the bodies of numerous players paved his way.


    "Did he not ask you to return it?'' Lu Li asked jokingly.


    "He probably wouldn''t; he wouldn''t be able to bear the shame. When he was coming up, I was still a novice," Water Fairy grinned and continued to gloat.


    "When we get back, I''ll give you a copy of Stratholme''s strategy," Lu Li offered. He hesitated for a moment before deciding that sharing the strategy wouldn''t really affect him anyway. The two following Bosses were even more difficult to deal with, and they were already several Bosses ahead.


    "Alright."


    Water Fairy''s lips smiled slightly and she did not refuse.


    The two then went their separate ways; it was almost the end of the day. Before leaving, they agreed to do another quest next time.


    What was supposed to be a very difficult quest turned out to be fairly easy when Lu Li joined.


    The next day, Lu Li completed his daily quests within the Plaguelands, and prepared himself to participate in the marathon qualifiers. If he could stand out in the three rounds of qualifiers, he would be chosen as a part of the top 100 from which the three final winners were chosen.


    Lu Li was aiming for one of the top two positions. Even if he couldn''t get the Epic equipment, he would at least rise a level.


    The third place reward was said to be a combination of EXP and equipment. The amount of EXP was nothing like the amount received in second place and the equipment was a far cry from what was offered in first place. Lu Li wasn''t really interested in any of it.


    Everyone was standing at the start of the track. After the loud bang of the gun, all of the players rushed out from the starting line.


    The distance was 26 miles and 385 yards, which was equivalent to 42 kilometers. The length of the track in the game was even longer, and the terrain was also extremely complex.


    There were rugged mountain roads, muddy swamps, deep waters¡­


    For the marathon, the game also specifically included a stamina bar. Each participant had a stamina


    value of 100 points.


    The faster they ran, the quicker the stamina fell, with leopards and horses consuming more stamina than staying in humanoid form. If you flew, this would also consume more stamina. Otherwise, Lu Li could just become a crow and cross the finish line.


    The stamina value wouldn''t just run out after it was used either. Depending on your Attributes, your stamina value would constantly regenerate.


    The fastest way to regenerate stamina was by standing. If you flew, there would be almost no regeneration. As such, the challenge for the players was to allocate the correct timing for moving


    and resting.


    However, the players were quite intelligent. In the first round, by the time they had finished, most had slowly formed a set of feasible strategies.


    Of course, none of these strategies that were figured out in such a short time could compare with Lu Li''s. He did not participate in these competitions in his previous life, nor did he specifically study them, but he had heard more than enough from other players talking about it.

 892 Marathon Skills

    At the beginning, the Druids immediately started sprinting, but Lu Li was jogging at a leisurely pace. The road near the start was very smooth and almost completely straight.


    Jogging consumed very little stamina, but he was quickly overtaken by nearly everyone.


    After running for a few minutes, the road began to roughen up. It wasn''t just a bumpy road ¨C there were piles of rubble which forced the players to run around them. The Druids'' ability to sprint was no longer an advantage.


    Without any other alternatives, they had to revert back to human form to reduce their stamina loss.


    Lu Li then summoned his Headless Paladin''s mount. These Undead Warhorses were very suitable for this terrain as they could almost hover. Even if Lu Li couldn''t fly, his mount could easily avoid the pits.


    The difference in mounts was obvious here.


    The velociraptor had the strongest jumping ability and had the greatest advantage in this terrain. There would also be a variety of flying mounts in the future.


    The previous gap between Lu Li and the others had now greatly reduced, but he had significantly more Stamina than them.


    Once they had passed through the rough road, they were presented with a section of water.


    A marathon in the real world was nothing like this. People who attempted an exercise this strenuous might actually end up dead.


    Normal players would use an Underwater Breathing Potion to swim through the water. There was also some high-end equipment that could increase their swimming speed, along with a fishing rod that was awarded in the fishing competition that transformed a player into a fish. This gave them unlimited underwater breathing and swimming.


    Druids didn''t have any trouble here, and simply transformed into Seals.


    The same was true of Lu Li, but he was much faster than an ordinary Druid, despite his Stamina consumption remaining the same.


    After they passed the body of water, the path became relatively smooth again. Lu Li was no longer jogging this time ¨C instead, he transformed into a crow and flew in a straight line.


    Although this section of the road was smooth, it snaked around several mountains.


    As was common knowledge, the shortest path between two lines was a straight one. The constantly twisting and turning path was not nearly as efficient as the straight path in the sky.


    However, Lu Li discovered that there were actually other players who could also fly. One of them had a pair of red wings, but they flew much slower than him.


    If Lu Li''s flying increased his movement speed by 60%, the long-winged person had only gained 15% to 20%.


    At this stage, Lu Li finally managed to make it into the top group of players and had become the leader of the pack. Almost none of them were faster than him, yet all of them had sprinted past him at the beginning. Their initial efforts had definitely not paid off.


    The mountain section was quite long, and after a while Lu Li no longer had the Stamina to fly. He didn''t even have the Stamina to sprint.


    Dawn was a virtual reality game, which meant that movement speed was really just data. This piece of data could change according to a person''s choice of movement. However, it was divided into three categories, which were made especially evident during a marathon ¨C walking, jogging and sprinting. Sprinting consumed Stamina the fastest and walking the slowest, but you could recover stamina while walking.


    While the players around him were jogging, Lu Li decided it would be better for his Stamina to walk.


    Sprinting could of course give him a quick burst of speed, but it consumed Stamina too quickly. On the contrary, walking was slow and most players could overtake you. As such, experienced players knew how and when to alternate between the three states.


    In the later stages of the race, Lu Li kept up his lead and didn''t suffer any more significant losses in position.


    Even if someone could increase their speed to reach him, it was only a matter of time before their Stamina was exhausted and they would fall behind once again. Lu Li didn''t even need to change into leopard form; he won the race by making sure he maintained his Stamina.


    By the time he crossed the finish line, his Stamina was almost exhausted and had been used almost perfectly. This competition wasn''t about beating the other players; this was something Lu Li now knew from experience.


    Of course, there were many other marathons running at the same time.


    The temptation of an Epic equipment was quite strong, and most players didn''t mind trying if they thought they had even the slightest chance of winning.


    It was human nature to try and leave it up to luck, even when they weren''t particularly good at something. Most players were unlike Water Fairy, who knew herself well enough to skip the competition.


    It wasn''t just Druids who won in the different matches either.


    There were Mages who had learned flying skills, Paladins with special auras or even some with flying mounts. There were Warlocks who could summon Flying Gargoyles, and a few special pets that could increase their owner''s speed.


    Lu Li had been very conservative in today''s game.


    He didn''t even need to use any of his skills, despite knowing that skills and equipment effects did not cost additional Stamina.


    Even by the time that the first marathons concluded, it was still too early. High school students like Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan and Sesame Rice Ball still hadn''t come online.


    The virtual game was almost like a second world. Game companies designed every aspect of their game in an attempt to make it something more than just a levelling game.


    From Christmas to the Spring Festival, there was some kind of activity almost every day.


    No one had the energy to participate in all the activities, even if all of them had great rewards.


    Lu Li had decided to join a murder game today. He was put into a modern city with numerous other players who were participating.


    There was a large number of local people in the city who looked no different from the players and were almost as intelligent as them. According some posts Lu Li had read in his previous life, many players suspected that the NPCs here were controlled by people in the real world.


    After entering, Lu Li quickly found an NPC that was similar to him and Stunned him.


    This poor guy was carrying a piece of bread that he had a bite taken out of it and a laptop book. He looked exactly like a person who worked in the city.


    After changing into his clothes and fixing his hair, Lu Li picked up the laptop bag and bread. He carried the laptop bag in one hand and the bread in the other, strolling down the sidewalk. Not too far from him, a player was surrounded by the NPCs and killed.

 893 Killer Game

    This city could be viewed as a special dungeon.


    The aggression system no longer assessed the identity of the unit, whether it be player or monsters. Instead, aggression was now assessed by an intelligence. Once the NPCs discovered that you were a player, then it was game on.


    The other difference was that players weren''t allowed to kill the local people who lived here.


    If they killed them, a red name would appear above their heads for five minutes. This would make it obvious to everyone that you were a player.


    As such, Lu Li chose to only knock out the NPC.


    The winning condition for the match was to have the highest score, and points could only be obtained from killing other players.


    Most people died during the first minutes that they arrived in the city because they didn''t know how to camouflage themselves.


    Lu Li wore the clothes from the NPC as a disguised. While he paced himself to seem like he was in a rush, he would sometimes lower his head to take a bite from the bread in his hands. A policeman stood beside him with no idea that he was actually a player.


    These policemen were crucial in the game.


    The most frightening NPCs in the game were these policemen, who were the enforcers of law. They were equipped with weapons like tasers or guns, and players had almost no chance of survival if they were up against them.


    At the same time, the police were extremely observant, so it was best to just avoid them overall.


    Lu Li stood beside the policeman to wait for the red light, then walked across after the lights changed. During this whole time, his expression didn''t change in the slightest.


    Perhaps it was because of his past in real life, but Lu Li wasn''t unfamiliar with the police. He knew exactly what would cause them to suspect him.


    After passing a street, he walked into a shop on the corner.


    "Is the manager here? Can I get a pack of cigarettes? The usual," he asked as he took out some money from his pocket and placed it on the glass counter.


    "Take your own cigarette. Just leave the money there."


    "How can I do that? You need to come and give me change. Things were fine with you yesterday; what''s wrong with you today?"


    With the slightly-blinding white light, he scanned the floor carefully.


    "I''m busy, I''ll give you change next time," the person inside responded impatiently.


    "Fine, I''m in a hurry home anyway."


    In the house, a young man was putting on clothes. A dead man was stripped next to him, only left with his underwear. The young man didn''t expect someone to come in and purchase something now; he knew that he should have closed the door.


    Now that he heard the footsteps of the customer leave, he let out a sigh of relief.


    The young man put on some clothes and inspected the tiny room in an attempt to find anything that could be useful.


    Suddenly, he froze.


    In this quiet room, he seemed to have heard the breathing of a second person. It was light, but audible enough to catch his attention.


    He turned and waved his fist in one smooth motion, but unfortunately, he missed. He didn''t get the chance to see who was behind him as he felt a pain rush up from his throat.


    The structure of the human neck was too fragile; it broke instantly upon impact.


    He tried to lift his head to see his attacker, but his consciousness wouldn''t let him as it began to fade. The pain he felt from his body made him curl up like a little shrimp.


    Of course, his attacker was Lu Li. He had only made footsteps to trick the player inside into letting down his guard.


    The leftover bloodstains on the floor told Lu Li that the real manager of this store was gone. Although it wasn''t that obvious, Lu Li was observant enough to catch on.


    His previous action of buying a cigarette was just a test.


    After he entered, what he saw in the room was enough to explain everything, not to mention, the young man had a red name. Lu Li didn''t have to worry about killing the wrong person at all.


    He tossed the two corpses onto the bed and covered them with a blanket. Lu Li discovered a small, but sharp knife next to the bed. Insecure people would use such weapons to protect themselves, but this one had obviously failed.


    It wasn''t smart to stay at a crime scene for long. Lu Li wasn''t as presumptuous as the young man; he left the place as soon as he found the knife.


    The System had also rewarded him with five points just then. His reward was slightly better because he had killed someone with a red name.


    Lu Li left the store in a hurry with a pack of cigarette in his hands.


    He didn''t actually try to find a place to pretend that it was his home; that would make things messy. Some players though of these NPC as stupid people and often got themselves in trouble because of this.


    At the same time, there was a time limit to this game, so it was better to earn as many points as possible.


    There were some people who decided to hang around the court. As Lu Li walked past, a person dropped to the floor with a quick and fluid movement of his knife.


    These were the sort of things that he wouldn''t dare to imagine or do in real life. Virtual reality almost seemed too real.


    The man that dropped to the floor was quickly carried away by two policemen. Everyone else didn''t seem to care; they continued with what they were doing. This was probably the only difference between the game and reality.


    The person that he had just killed had changed his clothes, but unfortunately, the sizing didn''t match up. Moreover, many of the actions he made were out of a normal NPCs function. The most dangerous place wasn''t always the safest. Being surrounded by NPCs would emphasize how unnatural a player''s actions seemed, unless they were someone like Lu Li.


    Along the rivers of the city, plenty of people were fishing. Lu Li placed his work bag beside him and watched an old man fish from the stone steps.


    He struck up a conversation with the old man. This wasn''t a usual scene, but there was definitely nothing wrong about it. No player would dare to be so close with a local.


    As long as the conversation and actions weren''t too forced, and you really thought of yourself as a local, you would be safe most of the time.


    Lu Li used the old man as a cover for himself as he continued to inspect how many players smuggled themselves into this zone.


    After he had investigated enough, he made a stretch and waved goodbye to the old man in a friendly manner, then walked towards the closest player, pretending to not be aware of anything.


    The player pretended he was fishing; he had already seen Lu Li coming towards him.


    However, because Lu Li was talking to the old man before as if they had known each other for a long time, he didn''t suspect that he might be a player. When Lu Li walked behind him, he wasn''t on-guard, which ultimately led to his own downfall.

 894 Hun

    Lu Li pushed his dead target into the water and immediately turned around to leave. He didn''t even bother with the two other potential targets that he suspected to be players.


    In this game, while you inspected others, others were also inspecting you. While Lu Li was chatting up the old man, he had the image of an NPC, but as soon as he killed someone, he became suspicious.


    Sometimes, what exposed a player would not be his actions, but his greed instead.


    Lu Li blended into the crowd and quickly disappeared from this area.


    Although he would have other chances to kill in a similar setting, that would expose him too much. Once he was caught by another NPC or players, he would be in trouble.


    He called a taxi and entered it as if he was really tired, like a businessman who had just gone through a whole day of work. As he placed a cigarette into his mouth, he said, "Mr. Driver, I''ve just arrived here for work. Is there anywhere nearby for me to relax?"


    "Hehe," the taxi driver laughed, understanding the connotation behind Lu Li''s words. He turned and winked at Lu Li, then asked, "What are you into? How much do you want to relax?"


    Lu Li appeared to be very interested, but he still shook his head in the end and declined, "No thanks. Just anywhere will do. Is there a bar nearby? There have to be plenty of girls of course!"


    "Leave it to me. I''ll show you where all the pretty girls are within 15 minutes," the taxi driver said, pushing his foot onto the accelerator.


    Others probably would have thought that he was the one who was on the way for a happy time.


    Lu Li checked the time on his watch. It was already nine o''clock at night, but he didn''t feel surprised at all.


    If combining the System with the human nervous system was a new development, then time technology was a mountain that everyone was trying to tackle.


    Immortality ¨C this was something that everyone had dreamed of.


    From the past until now, besides those who wanted to commit suicide, most people did not want to die early.


    People anticipated virtual reality to be able to twist time. For example, spending three days in the game would be equivalent to spending one day in reality. Or perhaps even spending a whole lifetime in a game would actually only be an instant in real life. This would probably be the closest that humans could get to achieving immortality.


    There had been a certain amount of development in this aspect, but unfortunately, this was a dream that still couldn''t be accomplished, even after dozens of years.


    The dungeon today employed this kind of premature technology. In the killer game, players felt like they had spent twelve hours in the game, while only three had passed in real life.


    As the taxi driver had promised, Lu Li stood outside a massive club after fifteen minutes.


    Lu Li saw the bouncer behind the doors nod discreetly to the taxi driver; sthey most likely knew each other. Perhaps the taxi driver even earned some commission for bringing people here.


    "How many?"


    "One," Lu Li said, appearing to be very natural. A single hundred dollar note successfully distracted the bouncer''s gaze from himself.


    He pushed the door open and entered a loud and lively world, mixed with the smell of make-up and alcohol. There was some sort of blood-boiling passion that filled the air.


    This was a giant area, surrounded by bars and tables. You could choose to drink alcohol by yourself or you could choose to be accompanied by some girls.


    There was a giant dance floor in the middle where men and women who were most likely strangers danced against each other. In the center, there was a stage with a group of scantily-clad dancers.


    Lu Li chose to seat himself at the bar and had the bartender pour him a drink.


    "Sir, do you need us to get you some girls?" the bartender asked, upon seeing that Lu Li was a new face.


    "No need ¨C pour me another one," Lu Li said as he finished his alcohol in one gulp and placed the cup in front of the bartender. "I like to do things myself. Give me another one and look after my alcohol. I''ll be back for it."


    The bartender laughed and told Lu Li not to worry about it.


    Lu Li staggered around like a drunkard and quickly blended into the crowd.


    There was more than one hunter here!


    A player who didn''t seem to be familiar with this kind of environment accidentally exposed himself. He was strangled by a strong man, who brought him back to a table and made him pose as if he had fallen asleep.


    Careful, and smart ¨C but unfortunately, he didn''t realize that that he had also became someone else''s prey.


    It didn''t matter how strong a person was; the neck would always be a fragile weak spot.


    When Lu Li''s knife slit across his throat, he could only struggle and ended up in the same pose as his previous target.


    After killing this guy, Lu Li quickly left ¨C he was careful not to make the same mistake. This was a club and countless drunkards rested on the tables, so these two weren''t going to be caught too soon.


    Lu Li''s total score now sat at eleven points.


    The strong man had killed more than one person, so the reward for killing him was only a little less than a red-named player. Lu Li''s target from the river only gave him two points, but he was more interested in his own safety. He didn''t care too much about how many points his target gave him.


    Once he was discovered, he might be caught by the NPCs.


    Lu Li blended into the dance floor, then approached the stage where the dancers were and found a target there.


    It was no wonder why this player had become Lu Li''s target. As a player, he was attracted by the beauty of these dancers and wanted to climb up on the stage to touch them.


    Lu Li went up and dragged him off, apologizing as he did so.


    "Sorry, my friend drank a little too much, I''m sorry."


    In reality, his knife had already pierced through the heart of his target.


    He brought the body to somewhere less crowded and disposed of it, then continued to search for more possible targets. In order to prevent himself from becoming the target of other players, he changed locations every time he killed, never staying in one place for too long.


    System: Assassination quest activated. Mr. A ¨C man in yellow t-shirt, 173cm tall, weighs 67kg, 5 body guards, rewards 15 points.


    This was an unexpected quest, and a quest that rewarded 15 points no less. Without the slightest change in expression, Lu Li avoided the hand of a local lady. His eyes darted towards the entrance and quickly spotted his assassination target, protected by the few body guards around him.


    All the players in this setting would have received the same quest prompt, so it wasn''t going to be easy at all.

 895 Professional

    Regardless, as a 15 point mission, it was too good of an opportunity to miss.


    Lu Li accepted the quest and moved his eyes away from Mr. A. He carefully inspected the people around him to check their reactions when Mr. A entered. Clearly, he wasn''t going to be satisfied with just accomplishing this quest; his targets were the players he was competing against.


    A player was forcing his way towards Mr. A and Lu Li happened to be blocking his path.


    Lu Li didn''t look at him, but he cursed loudly when they bumped into each other.


    "Watch out ¨C you wanna die?!"


    The player didn''t mind too much that a local had sworn at him. All he could see right now were the fifteen points that were floating before his eyes. He even began to apologize, without pushing away the hand that touched him.


    Suddenly, he felt a strong sense of pain, and when he tried to look for the local again, he couldn''t find him.


    With a bitter smile on the corner of his lips, another player had been disqualified.


    Mr. A became Lu Li''s best helper; anyone who approached or looked at him was most likely a potential target that he didn''t have to worry about killing by mistake. Within the span of a few short minutes, Lu Li had killed another seven people and his score had reached a total of 32.


    The body guards protected Mr. A as he entered the area. They chose a table for him to settle and soon, some pretty girls approached to accompany him.


    Lu Li remained near him within a one-hundred-yard radius, but he never actually got close, even if he had a few chances to brush past his target.


    He wouldn''t do something like that. Firstly, he wanted to keep hunting for points. Secondly, he knew that he would have a red name status for at least five minutes after he killed his target. He definitely wouldn''t be able to make it out of this crowded place with a red name on him.


    As such, he continued to kill players while he searched for other possible escapes once he completed his quest.


    Finally, a player successfully approached Mr. A. He pretended as if nothing was going on and seemed as if he just needed to have a talk with him.


    The bodyguards of Mr. A had begun pay attention to this player as soon as he approached.


    Lu Li shook his head in the dark and his heart was filled with pity, because this player overestimated himself.


    Clearly, Mr. A was someone of status. From all the tattoos on his body, he was most likely a high-ranking gang member.


    How would a normal person act when they ran into a gang boss?


    Humble, nervous, anxious, perhaps with a bit of anticipation ¨C why else would a normal person approach someone like this?


    Just when the player thought that he had earned himself some temporary trust, two bodyguards suddenly held him from left and right. Another stronger bodyguard walked over and punched him in the chest.


    Sssss!


    Even Lu Li couldn''t help but take a deep breath. Although this was a game, the scene in front of him was still a little rough to take in.


    This poor player had begun to vomit blood by the second punch, and had most likely lost his senses by the last few.


    His corpse was tossed to the side, but all the locals gave no reaction to this scene. They continued to express their passion and kindness in this rowdy and dirty environment, as if they had seen nothing at all.


    The other two players who were about to approach halted themselves and began to re-think their approach.


    Lu Li didn''t have this kind of issue to worry about, because these two players had become his next targets.


    However, he was still cautious. Even if all the players had their attention on Mr. A, he could still expose himself if he made things too obvious.


    After he took down the two players, Lu Li''s total score had reached 50.


    He had earned himself almost 40 points in such a short span of time, more than double the reward for assassinating Mr. A himself.


    These players were all focused on Mr. A; they had lost sight of everything else.


    Lu Li continued his hunt in this night club as time slipped by. In the end, he still couldn''t find a way to escape with a red name on his head.


    He checked the time and wiped the bloodstains on his knife, then packed it away and found some clothes on a couch to change his bloodstained shirt. After this, he walked out of the night club.


    There was no punishment for not completing the quest, so it wasn''t worth it for him to take the risk.


    Lu Li stood on the road to have a smoke after he left, just to confirm that Mr. A wouldn''t be coming out anytime soon.


    There were some slight differences between the game world and reality. Assassination attempts had been made consecutively and one of his bodyguards had even been killed, but Mr. A was still enjoying his time in the nightclub.


    Lu Li complained silently while he called for a taxi.


    In the next few hours, he wandered around in the city, visiting various bars and nightclubs.


    He also took up multiple quests that were similar to Mr. A''s quest. Lu Li managed to complete one of these because everyone around his assassination target ended up dead and there was an escape route available. None of the other quests were completed.


    For Lu Li, his first priority was his safety, then the points.


    From the entire night''s efforts, he had amassed a total of 360 points.


    If he remembered correctly, the champion of this game during the first season had won with around 200 points. It wasn''t that 300+ points had never been achieved, but those who had exceeded this total couldn''t resist the temptations in the end and failed in the last step.


    The later the game, the more dangerous it became. It was as if the System was trying to trip up the players.


    Three gangsters found Lu Li''s hideout.


    These were all locals, but they wouldn''t go gentle on Lu Li just because he seemed like one of them. As for the reason why they were fighting, they were looking for people to rob.


    Lu Li didn''t bother with begging for mercy. His fist struck out even before these gangsters had finished their sentences.


    He was even better at fighting than playing his Thief class.


    He had only played as a Thief for 3 months, but he had fought for dozens of years against all sorts of different opponents.


    Soon, these three gangsters dropped to the floor and Lu Li pulled out his knife. He cruelly broke their arms and legs, filled their mouths and tossed them into the bins nearby.


    If they didn''t die, Lu Li wouldn''t have a red name and could continue to hide in this alleyway until the game time was up.

 896 Lu Li Cooking Sweet Potatoes

    Lu Li sat in the alleyway to kill some time, then suddenly heard some sirens.


    This was when he remembered that he had forgotten something. The last two hours of the game were the hardest to endure. There was nothing wrong with hiding, but he wasn''t supposed to be hiding from these gangsters.


    The sirens reminded him that all the police in the city had begun to move too.


    Lu Li quickly left the alleyway, but was met with a dead end. If he was caught in a dead end, there would be no escape, not to mention, he couldn''t explain why he was there.


    After walking back onto the street, a number of police cars rushed past. Apparently, these models were popular around 200 years ago.


    Lu Li tried his best to avoid them, because it didn''t matter how innocent he seemed. Chances were, he would be stopped and questioned. If he was caught, then all his points would be gone too.


    In the beginning, there were only a few cars, but they increased in number.


    Lu Li even saw some players who got stopped by the police. They were either exposed and beaten to death, or were killed while running away. Lu Li began to panic.


    In this game, Lu Li thought that his biggest advantage was his mentality, then the fact that he was familiar with the rules. All the guides that he had read in his previous life weren''t actually too useful ¨C after all, this was a competition with many variables.


    As he was walking around, a policeman even spotted him. Fortunately, another player nearby suddenly started running, which caused a distraction.


    Lu Li had to run further away from the city. All those who were behind him were players who thought they had hid well, but ended up being found and killed. The scenes were horrific.


    Dawn was a game that didn''t really torture their players, but they still had to attract them in some way.


    In this special kind of scenario, they didn''t receive any kind of special treatment because they were players.


    Some might have thought that this would cause the players to dislike the game, but in fact, these competitions were extremely popular. The more violent the game was, the more attractive it seemed.


    As he was thinking, Lu Li had already run through the entire street.


    At the end of the road was an even wider path. Police cars were packed and they even began to invade the homes where the civilians lived. They checked these houses one by one, as if they planned to leave no route of escape for the players.


    Lu Li checked the time; there was still about an hour left.


    This was when he saw a little stall nearby and his eyes lit up.


    There was an old guy who was definitely an NPC, standing in the cold wind as he cooked his sweet potatoes. There was barely anyone out at night, but he had to keep going to survive. He needed to sell his potatoes as quickly as he could ¨C the more he sold, the less he lost.


    "I have something to discuss with you," Lu Li said as he walked over and picked up a sweet potato to eat.


    "What do you want? It''s not right to eat food without paying," the old man responded, staring at Lu Li cautiously. These young men often liked to take things without paying.


    It wasn''t that they lacked money, but that they enjoyed the feeling of dominating weaker people.


    "Here''s some money ¨C I want to buy your stall. You can push it back tomorrow morning," Lu Li said as he took out all the money he had with him. This was thousands of dollars; it was all of the money that he had taken in the process and had no value to him.


    "Why do you want my stall?" the old man asked nervously.


    His stall wasn''t worth so much, but it was his means of survival. Without this stall, how was he going to keep his wife alive?


    "You can have this watch too. When I was a child, I was always envious of those old men who sold sweet potatoes. I thought they were the richest people in the world, so tonight, I want to pretend to be one of them. If you don''t want to, I won''t force it either," Lu Li explained, playing it smart.


    The old man hesitated but he still couldn''t resist the temptation of the red notes.


    "Sure, sure, take over for today. Just don''t break it."


    Lu Li let out a sigh of relief as he watched the old man walk further and further away.


    He picked up a few logs and tossed them into the furnace with one smooth action, then placed two sweet potatoes inside to cook them slowly. As the power of the fire grew stronger, the smell of the sweet potato grew stronger too.


    "Who are you? Where''s the old guy from before who was cooking the sweet potatoes?" a policeman asked. After exiting a house, he had carefully walked over since he suspected that Lu Li was an intruder. These intruders were very dangerous; they killed whenever they wanted to.


    "My father went back; he''s old now. It''s not good for him to stay up," Lu Li replied calmly.


    "Your dad?"


    The policeman looked at Lu Li in curiosity, trying to find anything that he could pick up about him, but there was nothing. However, he didn''t want to give up so easily either.


    "You look like a businessman. Why would you even bother with this little money? No one really sells sweet potatoes anymore."


    "My dad is a farmer. He''s honest ¨C the potatoes that haven''t been sold today won''t taste good tomorrow. He didn''t want to throw out these potatoes either, so I guess I just have to takeover instead," Lu Li said as he picked up a cooked sweet potato and smoothly tossed another in.


    "Give me one," the police said. Upon seeing how professional Lu Li looked, he was more than convinced, and even decided to buy one in the end.


    "Alright."


    Lu Li took a paper bag from the side and placed one in, then passed it straight to the policeman.


    "Bro, just take it ¨C you know it too. I don''t need this small amount of money, but me and my father think it''s such a shame to just throw them out."


    "No way." The policeman felt a little ashamed, since he had suspected Lu Li before.


    "You guys are working so hard at night ¨C just take it. The faster I sell them, the quicker I can go home. I have to work tomorrow too," Lu Li laughed, determined to pass over the sweet potato.


    "I have to pay, or else it''ll be against the rules," the policeman said as he passed over a twenty dollar note. "Regardless if it''s enough, this is all I have."


    "Sure. Hold on tight to the potato, and be careful out there."


    Lu Li took the money and placed it into his pocket. It seemed as if he was an open guy and the policeman liked him even more.


    Not far from here, another few policemen had just killed a player. They saw the scene here and came over. Even before they got to interrogate him, the policeman who had purchased the sweet potato pointed at Lu Li and said, "My friend ¨C he''s helping his father here sell some sweet potatoes. You guys should have some too. The faster he sells them, the sooner he can go home."

 897 EXP Exchange

    Police officers had different tricks up their sleeve to expose the players and very few could deceive them or escape once they were caught.


    However, because the police officer vouched for him, the suspicion that the other police officers held was completely erased. They were nice and bought some sweet potatoes, then went to chase after more players.


    Lu Li continued to cook the sweet potatoes, not letting his guard down, even though the police officers had left.


    It wasn''t until the City Slaughter competition had finished that he decided to leave. A bright flash of light appeared around the sweet potato vendor and the next second later, he had completely disappeared out of thin air.


    System: Congratulations on winning the City Slaughter Competition with a score of 363. You are also rewarded with 200 points, as well as some Reputation and Experience points.


    Lu Li stood near the green tree in Darnassus and looked at the City Slaughter Competition tab where the prizes that could be bought were displayed. These included EXP, Reputation, equipment, rare materials and ingredients.


    He looked at the rare materials list, then quickly skipped over this option.


    Not only were the rare materials the more readily-available ones, but the exchange rate was absolutely absurd. Lu Li had only received 563 points altogether.


    The best equipment that could be exchanged for was Gold grade, which was a pleasant surprise for casual players. However, for Lu Li, there were nothing that caught his attention, so he also decided against exchanging for a piece of equipment. There weren''t any rare ingredients either, leaving Reputation points and EXP as the only options.


    There were many different ways to gain Reputation and he knew most of them because of his past life, so he decided to exchange all his points for EXP.


    Although this wasn''t enough for him to level up, his EXP bar was nearly full. He estimated that he would be able to reach level 48 once he complete the Stratholme Instance Dungeon.


    In Dawn, even if the higher-level players did not spend their whole days training, they would still stay ahead because of competitions and events.


    After the competition had ended, Lu Li gathered his teammates and began to make his way to Stratholme once again. Since Ruling Sword did not have any other matches for the day, their main goal right now was to finish the dungeon and complete the First Clear.


    There was nothing wrong with spending two days on a dungeon. The higher-level dungeons in the future would take months to complete.


    The rest of the community had discovered that Ruling Sword were already attempting Stratholme, and many players began swarming into the Plaguelands. The map was no longer as empty as it once was. However, many of them were still too weak to fight the monsters here, so the map was littered with the corpses of dead players.


    In order to make sure Xin Xin Mercenary could travel to the dungeon safely, Lu Li decided to be cautious.


    Ruling Sword''s PVP team, led by Fat Monkey, arrived at Stratholme and successfully eliminated the surrounding players.


    The map was too large for Ruling Sword entirely clear out because it was shared by both the Alliance and the Horde. Besides, Ruling Sword did not want to anger the players here.


    Nevertheless, Fat Monkey and a couple of hundred more guild members was more than enough to ensure the safety of their dungeon group.


    After they entered the dungeon, they cleared out some side monsters. Fortunately, the Bosses did not respawn until the dungeon timer reset.


    When they arrived at the Bosses that they had previously killed, the corpses were no longer there.


    "Everyone, come here and enter this gate," Lu Li said after he carefully examined the pattern of the monsters that were wandering around. He had to ensure that they did not draw aggro as soon as they entered.


    When the players entered, the gate behind them would close immediately once the monsters aggroed onto them.


    The worst case scenario was that only one player entered while the rest of his team was locked behind the gate.


    This had happened to Lu Li once in his past life when his team''s healer was locked outside. The healer almost burst into tears while watching each of his teammates die to the swarming monsters.


    They could either pray that all players entered at the same time, or wait behind and observe the monsters.


    Because of Lu Li, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group easily progressed through together without leaving anyone behind.


    The gates closed behind them when the monsters noticed them and Azure Sea Breeze charged forwards to draw aggro.


    The details that the game designers had put into these monsters were very realistic. The Undeads that they had faced before were difficult to look at because of how hideous they were. However, the monsters here were enough to make anyone puke from disgust.


    Their bodies were amalgamations of various creatures sewn together. They were bullied and alienated by the other Undead because they were small, weak and did not contribute to battle.


    Then, they began thinking of ways of mutilating and changing themselves in order to grow bigger and stronger. In this way, they could reach the peak of the Undead hierarchy and become close servants to Arthas.


    As such, these once small and weak monsters began stitching the remains of other creatures onto their own bodies, hence their name "Stitches".


    Stitches became powerful machines for battle, usually wielding a hook in one hand and a heavy weapon in the other. They would hook enemies close to them with one hand and then bludgeon them to death.


    Because of their high Health and Defense, they were quite difficult to kill and it would often take more time to deal with one than to deal with a swarm of smaller monsters.


    "Everyone run towards the walls and corners of the room!" Lu Li yelled.


    Azure Sea Breeze had also realized the problem at hand. There were too many monsters wandering around in the room and they needed to clear a way to the entrance for the Boss. However, if they attempted to force their way through, they could easily get overwhelmed by the other groups of monsters nearby.


    Hugging the wall protected them and decreased the chances of them aggroing too many monsters. In this way, they were able to clear a path without much difficulty.


    Occasionally, a few Patrol monsters would also appear around the map. They were usually referred to as ''911'' because they are able to alert the other monsters for backup.


    These 911 monsters included the Bile Spewer, which spit out poison and spawned more monsters from its belly, such as spiders. While they appeared small, they could potentially wipe out an entire team if there were no strong AOE skills that could deal with them.

 898 Nathanos Blightcaller

    There were many classes with AOE skills in the party. Lonesome Flower was a Mage with numerous AOE abilities, while Sesame Rice Ball, Remnant Dream and even Wandering all had at least one.


    The spiders that spawned had very little HP, but their strength was in their numbers and their speed.


    After they had cleared out the entire field, the gates that led to Baron Rivendare opened up.


    Footsteps grew louder and louder as the Boss approached. As difficult as it was to believe, the Boss was even uglier and more distorted than the Stitches.


    This was Baron Rivendare''s number one subordinate, Ramstein the Gorger ¨C an elite Abomination and the final Boss that Lu Li and the others had to defeat to complete the First Clear.


    Ramstein was one of the Scourge''s most infamous Abominations, a horror stitched together from numerous corpses and empowered by a ceaseless hunger. This monster had committed unspeakable atrocities on countless innocent souls when the Scourge forces overran Stratholme.


    There was a quest for Ramstein which Hachi Chan shared to everyone else: "Ramstein the Gorger lies deep within Stratholme and has brought upon nothing but violence and destruction. You will make him understand the wrath and take vengeance for the countless innocent souls that he has murdered. Do not hold back and do not let calm the rage burning inside of you."


    When Lu Li was told that there was a quest here, he realized that the chances of them successfully defeating the Boss had increased from a paltry 30% to 50%.


    When Ramstein the Gorger appeared, the System notified Lu Li and the others that they received a buff called Nathanos Blightcaller''s rage. This increased their HP by 20%, Attack by 20%, and also gave 20% Armor Penetration against Ramstein.


    Nathanos Blightcaller was the NPC that had originally given out the quest. He, too, was an Undead, but Hachi Chan wasn''t afraid to approach him.


    His real name was Nathanos Marris, and there were very little records of him in Dawn''s literature. There were very few people that knew of him as Marris often kept to himself.


    He lived in his old and humble home, the Marris Stead in Eastern Plaguelands.


    Nathanos Marris could be seen conversing with two Paladins named Raleigh the True and Bilger the Straight-Laced in the Old Hillsbrad Foothill Instance of the Caverns of Time.


    The invasion of Lordaeron changed the fates of many, including Raleigh, who joined the Scarlet Crusade.


    Eventually, he left after witnessing innocent people being tortured simply because they weren''t members. He then moved to Southshore where he gave out quests to players that often involved assassinating high-ranking officials of the organization.


    Lu Li suspected that Raleigh was a member of the Assassin League, but he had no proof to back it up.


    On the other hand, Bilger the Straight-Laced was traumatized from the war. He became an alcoholic and was no longer a Paladin knight, referring to himself as Brewmaster Bilger of the Southshore Inn.


    Bilger had a quest that was well worth the time, but Lu Li was too weak to accept it as of now. He planned on waiting until Lv50 to attempt it with others.


    Nathanos was the only Human Ranger Lord in the history of Dawn, and was a disciple of Sylvanas Windrunner. However, the truth behind this had its doubts.


    The High Elves left after the Second War and stayed in Quel''Thalas and Silvermoon City, secluded and separated from the rest of the world. It would be quite bizarre for the High Elves to train up and give so much attention to a mere human.


    It was even stranger that he was close to Sylvanas Windrunner and was a pupil that had trained under her. However, the fact that Nathanos had become a powerful ranger lord was undisputed.


    Kael''thas Sunstrider opposed his inclusion in their ranks, but Sylvanas was impressed with his abilities and insisted on it anyways, thus taking him under her wing.


    Though he had recieved training from the High Elves, Nathanos spent the majority of his time in his home north of Quel''Thalas called the Marris Stead.


    There weren''t many records of him, but the respect and acknowledgment that he had received was similar to that of heroes such as Highlord Fordragon and Anduin Lothar.


    Nathanos was responsible for many of the Alliance''s victories spanning a decade of conflict. However, after the fall of Stratholme and the death of Terenas and Arthas, the Scourge swept over the once-great nation of Lordaeron.


    Under the relentless attacks of the Scourge, towns and cities were destroyed one by one. Nathanos stood his ground in the Marris Stead and prepared to fend off the Scourge army.


    Despite his training and bravery, his efforts were futile and he was murdered by Ramstein the Abomination. He rose as a mindless thrall of the Scourge, bound to the will of the Lich King, spreading the plague of death through the kingdom of his birth.


    It was a gruesome sight to behold, but this happened all over the kingdom of Lordaeron.


    When the power of the Frozen Throne grew weaker and Arthas lost his control over the majority of the Scourge, Sylvanas became free from his grasp.


    She succeeded in using her abilities as a banshee to repossess her corpse and became a corporeal Undead creature.


    Sylvanas planned her revenge against Arthas, but he fled to Northend. She then scoured the Lordaeron for signs of Nathanos and when she found him, she tore him free from the Lich King''s will and named him her champion.


    He was no longer called Nathanos Marris but was given a new name ¨C Nathanos Blightcaller.


    Nathanos gave out a quest to Horde players which instructed them to find the Quel''Thalas Registry, but not to read through it. However, players would often curiously skim through the registry in order to discover more about his past life.


    Lu Li has also read through the Quel''Thalas Registry, which included Sylvanas'' high praises towards the human ranger lord.


    "Nathanos has the greatest potential I''ve ever seen, despite being a human. I''m pleased to have had the privilege of training him."


    "For centuries, High Elves have segregated themselves from the outside world, but I will be the first to own up to this mistake. Though it''s true that there are certain magics and sorceries that shouldn''t be exposed to Humans, I will not allow the choices that my ancestors made to continue any longer."


    "Quel''dorei and the rest of the races in the world should live together in peace. We must practice our patience and acceptance."


    As the commander of the rangers in Silvermoon City, Sylvanas insisted that Nathanos be included amongst the ranks of the ranger lords.


    Sylvanas came back for her disciple because of their inseparable bond and the hardships they had endured together.


    Nathanos became cold and full of vengeance after becoming an Undead and spoke to players as if they were dirt.


    However, in front of Hachi Chan, he was much nicer and acted like a gentleman. Based on her descriptions of him, Nathanos had a warm and kind side to him and he would often play fetch with his two loyal dogs.


    King Varian Wrynn of Stormwind once asked in a public event to honour Nathanos, "Do you know how many ranger lords there are in the world and how many humans there are within them?"


    He was once a tactical genius and had led the Alliance to countless victories, but now he was a forgotten warrior. Eventually, Varian Wrynn would send out an order to assassinate him. Nathanos will become a future raid boss and would require more than 40 players to slay him.


    Usually, players would skip the quest that Hachi Chan had just shared, even though the rewards were quite handsome and included a piece of Dark Gold equipment.


    Hachi Chan was quite close with Nathanos and he even wanted to take her under his wing as a disciple, much like what Sylvanas had done to him in the past.


    However, he was a Horde NPC and had a bounty directly offered by the king of Stormwind. Lu Li wasn''t sure how appropriate this was.

 899 Disease Cloud

    It was not surprising that Hachi Chan had rejected Nathanos Blightcaller, nor was it a big deal either.


    Hachi Chan had rejected so many NPCs'' advances, even the Archdruid Fandral Staghelm in Darnassus.


    However, it was Lu Li who had suggested to reject Fandral Staghelm.


    Fandral Staghelm was an Elder of the Night Elves, and his name was known across the ends of the earth. He had been a prominent member of the Cenarion Circle since he was young. Staghelm''s large stature and explosive temper made him of the hardest beings to interact with, and he was also a powerful Druid.


    Because of his personality, he often had conflicting views with his master. Even so, he was still recognised as a prodigy by Malfurion.


    When his son Valstann died in battle, he fell so far into the darkness that he was beyond help.


    As soon as the surrounding monsters were cleared out, Ramstein the Gorger instantly appeared, not giving them time to rest and regain composure. Fortunately, Lu Li had already known that this was going to happen, so he instructed his party to rest and recover their HP and MP as quickly as they could.


    Ramstein the Gorger had the highest Attack in Stratholme, besting even his master, Baron Rivendare.


    His strength grew gradually over time, so it would be wise to avoid unnecessarily prolonging the battle.


    Many teams died here because their DPS players were not strong enough.


    However, Lu Li''s squad had the Rage of Nathanos Blightcaller, which increased their HP and Attack by 20%, and critically also gave them a 20% chance of ignoring Ramstein the Gorger''s Defense.


    Ignoring Defense was a highly regarded Attribute when battling Ramstein. Lu Li had planned to burst him when his Defense was at the lowest, so that they would be able to deal maximum damage.


    Furthermore, when the Ignore Defense did activate, the chance of Critical Strikes would be increased as well.


    "Fight!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he grabbed his shield and rushed at the Boss. It seemed like he had shaken off the harsh treatment of the mayor the other day.


    "Wait! Let Azure build sufficient aggro before rushing up," Lu Li frantically called to his team with sweat dripping down his forehead. They had fought with him for so long, so it was surprising that they would be so reckless.


    One of Ramstein''s hands was replaced with a hook which immediately latched onto Azure Sea Breeze, who was then pulled in and bludgeoned.


    "Screw you!" he cursed before being Stunned.


    At this moment, Azure Sea Breeze had already lost the Boss'' aggro. If it was not for Lu Li preventing everyone else from rushing into the battle, they would have been victims of the second skill that was cast.


    This stage of the battle was difficult, especially for the ranged attackers because of their comparatively low Defense.


    Fortunately, only Azure Sea Breeze had managed to draw aggro, so he was the only one targeted by the Ramstein at this moment.


    "Alright, let''s begin. Flower, let Wandering pull second aggro and I''ll pull third," Lu Li instructed, immediately distributing roles to the party. When the player who held first aggro lost it, it would be passed to the second player.


    Wandering was a secondary Tank, so he had the role of backing up Azure Sea Breeze.


    As for Lu Li, he was able to escape the Boss in a myriad of ways. On the other hand, Lonesome Flower had to read the Boss'' attack patterns and time his escape.


    After setting up the Aggro order, Lu Li was about to set up their formation as well. However, he was not able to explain why, so he decided against it. After all, the Boss'' next move was not enough to kill everyone, so he waited.


    As they fought the Boss, they also chatted among themselves. After a short while, they began to talk about the killing competition that had taken place.


    Besides Lu Li, Moonlight had also entered the competition. However, because the city was just too large and they did not have a way to communicate, one was at the north of the town, while the other was at the south.


    As there was an announcement when a champion had been crowned, everyone knew that Lu Li had won this time.


    Lu Li''s response was quite simple; he claimed that it was all luck.


    Moonlight, however, fully understood why Lu Li''s victory was extremely difficult to come by.


    Moonlight actually had around 300 points as well, and had reached this point faster than Lu


    Li had. However, he was much more rushed and rigid when doing things, instead of being relaxed like Lu Li. Because of this, he was shot after killing a few police officers in the game.


    When he died, his score was reset back to 0. Moonlight became extremely bored of the competition quickly after.


    Ramstein the Gorger seemed irritated that his enemies were talking among themselves while they were battling, so he decided to use an ultimate skill.


    A thunderous boom sounded throughout the map, then another, and another as Ramstein furiously stomped on the ground. This skill caused the players around him to be stunned, but this was merely the beginning of his assault.


    During this time, he would cast a skill called Disease Cloud that afflicted nearby players with a status ailment. In addition to being poisoned, their HP would rapidly decay over time.


    It was imperative that they all escaped the poisonous cloud immediately, otherwise, its effects would grow and they would quickly die.


    According to the strategy, Lu Li should have placed everyone 5 metres apart from each other, so that only a maximum of three people could be hit by Stomp at a time.


    Unfortunately, seven people were stuck inside the Cloud, and Azure Sea Breeze was in an even worse position. Not only was he inside the Cloud, but both healers were stunned and unable to help him.

 900 Happiness Comes to an End

    "Use the badge! This clears the effect for seven seconds!" Lu Li shouted as he activated his and swiftly escaped from the Disease Cloud along with the others.


    March Rain did not care about her own HP and had furiously healed Azure Sea Breeze in that time, saving him from the jaws of death.


    Hachi Chan was not the type of player to panic under in a frantic situation either. She had given March Rain a life-steal buff, then proceeded to heal the others. The first dangerous situation had passed with no casualties.


    Disease Cloud only lasted for 10 seconds, so it was not long before it had dissipated.


    This time, Lu Li did not arrange them in their positions; they had to figure it out for themselves. It was a simple formation, and they correctly separated themselves five metres apart so that Stomp would not be able to hit all of them at the same time.


    After taking critical damage from Azure Sea Breeze, the Boss suddenly became enraged.


    "Try this on for size!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was taken aback, since he did not realise what was happening. After all, they had not even eliminated one quarter of Ramstein''s HP. If the Boss became enraged before his HP even reached 75%, then there was really no need to continue.


    Flurry: Ramstein the Gorger''s next three consecutive attacks are 30% faster after receiving critical damage.


    This was only an increase in Attack Speed, not an increase in Attack.


    "Hurry up and increase your DPS! Haven''t you all realised that the Boss is becoming stronger and stronger?" Lu Li shouted. He did not look too optimistic.


    In this situation, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group would have found themselves in hot water if they had not realised that the Boss was growing stronger as the battle ensued. Most of them thought that there was a limit to Ramstein''s strength and that his ultimate skills were not powerful enough to eliminate them, so they had become complacent.


    Everyone in the team trusted Lu Li with their lives. They did not question any of his decisions, so they instantly increased their DPS after his instructions.


    The second Disease Cloud was still not that devastating yet. However, the first casualty resulted when Azure Sea Breeze was stunned by Ramstein and lost aggro. Shortly after, the Boss rushed towards Wandering, who despite activating a damage shield, was still unable to hold on. Games did have an aspect of luck to them, and Wandering was just unfortunate that he had been struck by consecutive Critical Hits.


    Ramstein the Gorger''s Flurry skill was not that strong, but it should not have Critically struck so many times.


    After consecutive Critical attacks, there was an increase of 60% in Attack Speed. Originally, there would have been two strikes each time, but now there were three. Wandering never had any hope of being able to tank this in the first place.


    Lu Li was ranked third on the list of aggro, so the Boss had instantly rushed towards him after killing Wandering. He could only run using his many skills, and tried to escape the Boss'' grasp until Azure Sea Breeze had recovered.


    In Dawn, it was nigh impossible for one person to take on a Boss.


    If there were no members to help, he would not be able to even clear out 10% of the Boss'' HP. However, he was able to stay alive for a longer time than the others. This was intentionally allowed by the game designers, and enabled Thieves to be able to last longer in co-op battles.


    Hachi Chan had successfully revived Wandering and everyone else continued the fight.


    During this time, Ramstein the Gorger''s strength was already terrifying. However, it was fortunate that he did not have much HP remaining.


    Lu Li did not know whether it was possible to burst the Boss down in such a short time. He had devised a few strategies to try out, but they required a bit of luck. Firstly, the Boss could not perform any consecutive critical strikes. Secondly, the Disease Cloud could not envelop two healers at the same time. Last of all, the backup Tank needed to hold the Boss'' attacks for a few seconds after the Main Tank was stunned.


    However, Lady Luck did not favour Lu Li just because he had been reborn. No one expected Wandering to go down a second time. As a result of this, Lu Li nearly died as well.


    His ways of escaping were slowly running out, along with his HP.


    If he had died, a disaster would have ensued. Hachi Chan had already used her Revive and Lu Li would not be able to Revive Wandering if he died. Losing both main members in the party this early in the Boss fight would make things problematic.


    Lu Li had to praise his own foresight and judgement in this dire situation.


    He recognised that Azure Sea Breeze would likely go down as the greatest Main Tank in Dawn. Of course, without Azure Sea Breeze''s existence, Lu Li would not have been where he was today.


    Azure Sea Breeze had used his antidote that was equipped on his belt to eliminate the status ailment, just as Wandering was beginning to crumble under Ramstein''s attacks. However, the side effects of the antidote decreased his maximum HP by 30% for two minutes. This was a huge penalty for the Main Tank, but it was more favourable than a complete wipe out.


    Lu Li barely escaped from the jaws of death and rushed over to revive Wandering.


    He should not have let Hachi Chan use Revive first, as he was in much more danger than her.


    If Hachi Chan still had her skill available, she would have been able to easily revive Wandering and continue the Boss fight. After all, losing Lu Li would only mean that they lost DPS.


    As such, this fight depended greatly on Wandering. Although Lu Li had not given verbal praise to Wandering, he had begun to praise himself.


    "Hachi Chan look at your big brother and how much he''s done! Come on! Don''t you want to bring me on some quests?"


    "Remnant Dream, help me loot a good item later, since I''ve done so much for the fight!"


    "Lu Li¡­"


    Who could shut these kinds of people up? No one, except for the Boss. Ramstein began rampaging around the battlefield when he merely had hundreds of HP left. He landed three Critical Hits consecutively, instantly killing some members on the squad.


    Everyone was dumbfounded. Did Ramstein also hate people who talked too much?


    Lu Li wanted to shake Ramstein''s hands, just for managing to silence Wandering. However, the fight was nearing an end and a complete wipe at this stage would be completely devastating.


    Wandering took over the main aggro, fully understanding that he was going to be alone in tanking the rest.


    It was after this that everyone had realised the might of Wandering. Usually, they did not think much of him, so they were speechless at his strength and contribution to the team. Lu Li then decided that he was going to use him much more often in Boss fights to showcase his ability and develop his skills. "Boss¡­Boss¡­my experience..." Azure Sea Breeze was extremely disheartend, and laid on the ground as if he was crying.


    These level 50 Bosses, if defeated, rewarded a tremendous amount of EXP. As Azure Sea Breeze had already died, he would not be receiving any of it.


    It was unfortunate that he had died extremely late into the fight. Furthermore, if there were no items of use to him after completing the fight, this Boss would have been a complete waste of time.

 901 Fire Resistance Equipmen

    "You mortals don''t understand the greatness of death at all," Ramstein the Gorger sighed as he took his last breath before his decaying body fell to the ground.


    His last words actually had some meaning to them, and there were some that did understand.


    Azure Sea Breeze definitely understood. He had died and his expression was dark when he was finally revived, especially when he heard that Wandering had been awarded with Skill Points. Not to mention, he had missed out on a great deal of EXP.


    The Bosses in Dawn usually awarded a great deal of EXP, but after the last System Update, the EXP that each player received was fixed. They wouldn''t receive more just because they had a smaller group of players.


    This was to prevent players from sacrificing themselves to give a single player the full EXP.


    Lu Li didn''t receive a Skill Point either; it seemed that they were too difficult to get at the moment. The fact they had more EXP meant that they had more skills to upgrade, which made the scarcity of Skill Points even more obvious. Lu Li didn''t even dare to upgrade the skills that he had recently received.


    "Quickly, go," Azure Sea Breeze directed Remnant Dream at the Boss and looked her in anticipation.


    For someone who had fought so hard for the Boss and had not received any EXP for it, he could only comfort himself in the equipment that could potentially come out of it. Perhaps he would get an exquisite item.


    Remnant Dream looked at him helplessly, and reluctantly knelt by the Boss to loot it.


    "Slavedriver''s Cane ¨C it''s a Magic Staff for me! It increases the chance of a successful Taming by 30%. Wow, this is a really good item. I want it! I will give myself 50 gold coins!" Remnant Dream cried out happily. Everyone then watched, dumbfounded, as she took out a gold coin and passed it from her left to her right hand.


    Hachi Chan thought that her friend had gone mad, and thought that they wouldn''t be able to continue playing this game anymore.


    Recently, she had been reading light novels on a website, and there were many stories about a Hunter catching a cute little Druid to keep as a pet. Perhaps this would one day become a reality for her.


    The Slavedriver''s Cane was indeed a poweful item. It had high Attack and well-rounded Attributes which enabled the Hunter to engage in close combat. It also increased the success rate of Tame Beast, which was incredibly valuable.


    In addition, there were also two other special effects. One had the chance of repelling an enemy, while the other could be casted to send the user to a specified location.


    While this was a Dark Gold equipment, Ramstein the Gorger had failed to drop an Epic item. It had a chance of dropping an Epic item, but this was so small that the item was often forgotten.


    "Alright, keep going," Azure Sea Breeze said as he patted the girl''s head and pointed at the Boss'' corpse. "Keep looting ¨C I''ll give you gold if you get something good."


    The temptation of gold was just too strong. The 50 gold reward that she had just given to herself hadn''t actually increased the weight of her purse.


    Remnant Dream''s face was instantly filled with disappointment.


    "It''s a gold¡­"


    To an ordinary player, Gold equipment had unimaginable strength, but no one here was going to generously reward her for it.


    "Oh, the Elemental Circle. That''s pretty good," Lu Li said with admiration.


    It was then that everyone else began to seriously look at its Attributes. Lu Li didn''t usually say things like that, so he must have had a good reason for doing so.


    Elemental Circle (Gold): Constitution +40, Fire Resistance +30%, 1 Slot, Special Effect 1: Reduces Fire Crowd Control effects by 30%. Special Effect 2: When the user''s HP is less than 10%, there is a certain chance that a shield will be created that can absorb up to 1000 damage. Level Requirement: Level 50. Durability 142/142.


    This was a ring, which had a lower drop rate compared to other equipment.


    As such, it was already comparable to other Dark Gold equipment. If you looked at its properties, it would be difficult to miss why Lu Li had said it was good.


    The 40 Constitution wasn''t anything special, but the 30% Fire Resistance was.


    Even if the ring had nothing other than the 30% Fire Resistance, Lu Li''s opinion would remain unchanged.


    When the players reached level 60, they would be unable to continue levelling. However, they wouldn''t be complaining about this, because they simply wouldn''t have the time or energy to anyway.


    Molten Core, Blackwing''s Lair, Onyxia''s lair, Temple of Ahn''Qiraj, Naxxramas¡­


    Any one of these dungeon Bosses could easily lay waste to them, which made resistance items very valuable, particularly those that provided Fire Resistance.


    He could easily sell this ring for a few hundred thousand dollars. Only the major guilds had the financial ability to purchase and use equipment like this.


    The second special effect was also particularly strong. The ability to absorb 1000 damage was already very impressive.


    The first special effect was useful against Fire crowd-control and was powerful in its own right. Of course, someone like Moonlight would likely prefer to reduce the crowd-control duration of Ice Skills.


    "In other words, this ring can only be used against Bosses that use fire skills?" Azure Sea Breeze heard the explanation and was inevitably disappointed.


    A truly strong item would be useful in all cases and would bolster the tank, no matter what the Boss was.


    "If you don''t want it, then I''ll sell it," Lu Li said as he reached out his hand.


    "You can have it then¡­ wait¡­" Azure Sea Breeze about to give it to Lu Li but quickly changed his mind. "This isn''t right. You''re a smart guy, so this must be worth a lot of money. How much is it worth?"


    "Hmph, are you going to sell it yourself?" Lu Li shook his head and raised his hands to indicate the figure.


    "500,000?" Azure Sea Breeze muttered in disappointment. If the actual value was 500,000 dollars, he didn''t feel like he was losing out on much. That would be the price of an exquisite Gold equip, or perhaps even a Dark Gold equip.


    "You missed a zero," Lu Li said, rolling his eyes. There was definitely something wrong with this person.


    "Something is coming!" Moonlight called out.


    How could there be a monster already? It had already been a few dozen seconds since they had looted the second item. Everyone was still sitting on the ground and had not yet fully regenerated their HP.


    "Stop staring and go hold off the monsters."


    It had been a long time, so he had forgotten some of the details. Then, he suddenly recalled that a wave of monsters would arrive soon after Ramstein the Gorger was killed.

 902 Codex: Prayer of Fortitude

    Fortunately, everyone had developed battle sense under Lu Li''s influence. Everyone other than Remnant Dream, who was looting the Boss, began eating bread and drinking water as soon as the fight concluded. They quickly drank their potions and prepared themselves for the oncoming wave.


    "Should I continue looting?" Remnant Dream asked as she took out her bow.


    "Keep looting ¨C it''s just a few monsters," Azure Sea Breeze said as he held up his shield and began swatting at the monsters.


    A normal player''s Shieldstrike could only hit one target, but this attack could hit all the monsters within his attack range. The title of Dawn''s number one Main Tank was no joke. Of the five monsters, the three that got hit were Stunned, trapping the two behind them. They were then greeted with a Blizzard from Lonesome Flower, which was followed up by attacks from the others.


    Remnant Dream looted a rare material, which had quite the repugnant name ¨C Ramstein the Gorger''s Liver. Lu Li had to believe that this was some kind of joke inserted by the game company, because it was supposed to be a cooking material.


    Although there was no official description, it was generally agreed that players who completed the ''Dark Cuisine'' quest became Dark Chefs.


    Although their official title would only appear in some documents, these players would lose the ability to cook normal foods like bread. Instead, they would cook items like pickled peaches, ogre ears, C''Thun Fried Chicken, and so on.


    Ramstein the Gorger''s Liver was one of the items required to complete the ''Dark Cuisine'' Quest.


    Even if it had no current use, it could still be sold. There were many players who wanted it for its unique characteristics.


    "There''s a Strengthening Stone as well. My luck isn''t too good today," Remnant Dream sighed, expressing her dissatisfaction with Ramstein the Gorger''s drops.


    "Don''t beat yourself up over it; I''ll give you a red packet later."


    Azure Sea Breeze was actually quite satisfied with the ring, especially after Lu Li confirmed its value. He had no lack of money and was willing to give her a few coins.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group gave all the equipment that they didn''t want to the guild warehouse, so they weren''t poor at all.


    When players took the First Clear for a Boss and submitted their strategies, they would receive guild points for it. Azure Sea Breeze was the main tank and received more points than the others. He had no need for the points and didn''t intend to exchange them for real money, so he often bought gold coins instead.


    "The next wave is coming! Pay attention!" Lu Li shouted, forcing those who were beginning to relax into action.


    "Surely this is too soon¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t quite understand the mechanism by which these monsters were refreshing. Although they weren''t hard to defeat, it still cost them Mana.


    "Stop chit chatting and use fewer skills. Be prepared for a drawn-out fight," Lu Li commanded. He knew better than anyone else where these monsters were coming from.


    The first wave was just some small skeletons, but within the next wave was a group of Carrion. In addition to having higher Defense, they also had a number of poison attacks which made them more difficult to kill.


    Even so, the second wave was no match for the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    However, Azure Sea Breeze and the others had a dark look on their face. They had no idea how many waves were left and what monsters were coming. If they continued to stream in endlessly, they would eventually be wiped.


    In Dawn''s Instance Dungeons, many players thought that the game company would sometimes intentionally wipe some parties.


    Psychologists had attempted to provide some insight into this phenomenon. They believed that with a moderate amount of frustration, a player''s subconscious would be activated to produce an emotion that sought conquest.


    They knew that Stratholme would wipe them a few times ¨C everyone was mentally prepared for it. But, to be wiped by monsters was just insulting.


    "Wandering and Hachi, you will be the first to leave the fight and regenerate. Find a safe spot and come back after 15 seconds. Everyone else, take your potions as soon as you can," Lu Li said, watching as monsters continued to pour out of Baron Rivendare''s Castle.


    Since the monsters were coming out in small parties, why couldn''t the players do the same?


    For the sake of dealing with the monsters as quickly as possible, Lu Li tried to reduce the amount of time each damage output player spent in battle. Otherwise, if two groups gathered together, they would be even more likely to get wiped.


    He quickly found the correct rhythm and balance to extend this fight for as long as possible.


    After fighting for a while, Abominations began to appear. Ordinary players didn''t stand a chance against them.


    Even the five-man party had no hope of resolving a fight against them quickly.


    As such, all ten players in the Xin Xin Mercenary Group had to fight together. Their HP wasn''t in any danger because of March Rain, but their Mana was starting to run out.


    "Keep it up. I''ll revitalize," Lonesome Flower said before falling back to start channeling a Revitalization skill.


    This was a Mage Mana Regeneration skill that could recover up to 45% of their Mana. However, it took ten seconds to channel and would fail when interrupted. It also had a cooldown of four minutes.


    Of course, if you had the opportunity to strengthen it, then not only would it regenerate 70% of mana, but also 60% of the user''s HP.


    Warlocks also had a Mana regenerating skill, but it was not as powerful.


    March Rain had cast her Shadow Demon, slowing down her rapidly depleting Mana Bar. As for Lu Li, Moonlight and the others, they didn''t have the same problem.


    Lu Li used Energy while Moonlight used Rage, which were both regenerated over time. The only thing they needed to keep in check was their HP so that they could keep fighting.


    "Go harder ¨C another wave is coming."


    When he saw that the current wave hadn''t died yet, but the next wave had appeared, Azure Sea Breeze started to become anxious.


    It was wave of Venom Belchers.


    Venom Belchers were considered a type of Abomination; they were also large monsters with sutured


    bodies.


    The difference was that they attacked with long-ranged venomous arrows. These had high damage and a poison effect, which would place more pressure on the healers. They also had a chance of applying a slowing effect which was so potent that the afflicted player would be unable to run away.


    Against such strong foes, even a powerful elite group like this one couldn''t be blamed for being wiped.


    However, these were also the earliest mobs that could drop "Codex: Prayer of Fortitude". This book allowed a Priest to learn Prayer of Fortitude, which increased the health of all teammates.


    The amount of healing was determined by the skill level, the Priest''s level and the Priest''s Attributes.


    If they could get this book, it wouldn''t be a waste to die to these monsters.

 903 The Temptation of Epic equipmen

    In addition to "Codex: Prayer of Fortitude", the "Book: Gift of the Wild" was also an excellent find. This was a Druid skill that gave everyone bonus stats.


    There was actually a bug that could be exploited here that would enable them to farm Venom Belchers indefinitely.


    When there were five Venom Belchers and four died, the players could voluntarily wipe themselves. If there was a single player still alive, the monsters wouldn''t be replenished.


    This way, all the monsters would be refreshed when the players were revived, and they could fight against them again. If they killed all, but the last one and got themselves wiped again¡­


    This was the way to farm Venom Belchers indefinitely, but it was a difficult method.


    Many players that tried to farm the Venom Belchers were unsuccessful, and only those who had practiced for a long time could keep going without any mistakes.


    Lu Li did not intend to use this bug now. They were in the process of taking the First Clear, which meant that time was of the essence. Moreover, he was also not interested in struggling for several days just to obtain Silver gear. He had quicker ways of earning more money than to farm Venom Belchers.


    The five Venom Belchers were small Bosses that took more than ten minutes to defeat.


    However, they didn''t have time to loot the bodies, as the Bilespewers immediately attacked afterwards.


    They had faced these monsters before, and they were incredibly difficult to defeat. If they hadn''t slowly pulled them into a corner, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group might have been wiped.


    "There are a few more waves, and we can''t kill this one!" Sesame Rice Ball shouted. He was already about to run out of mana. Lonesome Flower was faring a little better, but his Regeneration skill had a four-minute cooldown.


    Fighting a Boss usually only required a single target attack, which typically costed far less mana than area of effect attacks.


    March Rain, who was well-disciplined, had managed to maintain a third of her mana. She rarely rushed the healing of any particular player, and most of them were maintained at about half HP.


    Hachi Chan was also playing a very important role; her strength was that her mana bar was almost never exhausted.


    Her jumble of equipment reduced her healing ability, but she was blessed with various damage reduction, vitality, mobility and other unique skills. This was why Lu Li wasn''t worried at all. If there really was a crisis, he could transform into a Worgen.


    As long as their healers survived, there was no possibility of the group being wiped. He and Moonlight could just slowly cut the monsters down.


    After all, the Bilespewers were the last wave of monsters.


    However, Lu Li didn''t say this, as he couldn''t explain where this knowledge had come from.


    It took a long time to kill the last monster. Everyone looked anxiously at Baron Rivendare''s old castle, afraid that more waves would come.


    Fortunately, it was really over and everyone let out a sigh of relief before falling into an exhausted heap on the ground.


    Fighting wave after wave felt more stressful and difficult than fighting a Boss.


    According to Lu Li''s understanding, most major guilds were able to progress through this part, but there were a few smaller guilds that were stuck here for a long time.


    "We''ll take a break for now and go in later. Dreamy, go and loot those monsters. They might have dropped something good," Lu Li said as he looked at the young hunter.


    Although Remnant Dream was very tired and was lying on the ground, when she heard Lu Li''s command, she obediently went over to loot the bodies one at a time.


    "Leather¡­ it looks nice. March Rain can use it to make clothes. A piece of meat ¨C so gross! Wandering can eat it¡­"


    As she looted the items, she chanted away and distributed the materials. This lucky girl was already more than qualified to do so; even Lu Li didn''t say anything to stop her.


    "Codex: Prayer of Fortitude¡­ errr, this seems like a skill book," Remnant Dream said as she looted a Venom Belcher. It felt like a skill book and looked like a skill book, but it had a very unique model.


    "Prayer of Fortitude is a skill for March Rain. Give it to her," Lu Li sighed with relief.


    Although he had a feeling it would drop, he had actually spent more than half a month farming here to find this book so that he could fund his sister''s tuition. In the end, he only managed to obtain "Book: Gift of the Wild", which was worth much less than the Prayer of Fortitude.


    "It seems like it''s quite strong," March Rain commented as she read over it a few times, then flipped over to the cover and drew some figures over it.


    The book suddenly emitted a pure white light which covered everyone, and they all received a buff called the Prayer of Fortitude. Lu Li looked at the effect and saw that it added more than 700HP for him, bring his total to over 4000.


    As for Nathanos Blightcaller''s Anger, which increased HP by 20%, Attack by 20% and provided a 20% chance of ignoring Ramstein the Gorger''s Defence, this buff had disappeared after Ramstein died.


    The rest of the Venom Belchers didn''t drop anything, but this was expected as there were only five of them.


    Lu Li suddenly regretted choosing not to abuse the bug. If their luck was so good, they might have found a few copies of the "Codex: Prayer of Fortitude" and made a large profit.


    "Get up when you''re reading to fight the Baron; there are a few things in there you might be interested in," Lu Li said as he started moving, then continued, "He drops a powerful two-handed sword ¨C the Runeblade of Baron Rivendale ¨C and it''s an Epic equipment¡­"


    The Runeblade of Baron Rivendale was a two-handed sword that increased the user''s movement speed and HP regeneration. It was simply the upgraded version of the evil aura that some special items carried. If you wanted an impressive and ruthless weapon, this would have been your first choice.


    The Plate Armor professions in the group immediately became exited. While they all had exquisite weapons on hand, none of them were Epic.


    There wasn''t a single person that didn''t want an Epic sword, especially one that could lay waste to a battlefield of monsters.

 904 DK

    Speaking of the Baron, all players, whether they were new or experienced would always return back here, no matter what level they were. And it wasn''t because of this Epic Sword.


    No matter how powerful a weapon was, a player''s level would increase over time and eventually render it obsolete.


    What attracted everyone crazy to this place was the Warhorse that he rode on ¨C Rivendare''s Deathcharger.


    This was Dawn''s first mount that could be farmed in an Instance Dungeon. When mounts became commonplace later on, owning an exotic mount would make you the object of envy and perhaps even help you find love.


    As such, when the first Rivendare''s Deathcharger dropped from Stratholme, it became the most popular Instance Dungeon in Dawn.


    Regarding the Deathchargers, they were divided into a few groups. There was the Forsaken Skeleton Warhorse, the Warlock''s Felsteed, the yearly Halloween Paladin''s Headless Warhorse and Rivendare''s Deathcharger.


    Unless you are an Undead player or had taken up the Warlock profession, there was no way to acquire the Skeleton Warhorse or the Felsteed.


    The Headless Paladin''s mount could be obtained during Halloween, but there were so few opportunities because the event only took place once a year.


    Only Rivendare''s Deathcharger could be farmed, and many players did not miss a single weekly opportunity. Many players ran the dungeon every week for three years, and were determined to farm it for another twenty, or whatever it took for it to drop¡­


    Each of these four types of Undead mounts had its own unique characteristics. Rivendare''s Deathcharger was no exception.


    The Deathcharger rode like the other Undead Warhorses, but had an accelerating skill. When the skill was initially cast, the entire mount and even the player on it would be covered in crimson flames like a demon that had been summoned from hell.


    The idea for this look was said to have come from an old movie called ''Ghost Rider''.


    It was amazing how popular this mount was. Even Dawn''s Game Company didn''t think that such a simple design would attract the players like this.


    "If it drops, who will take it?" The group seemed ambitious and completely unworried by the drop rate.


    "I have the headless one, so I don''t need it," Lu Li said.


    After talking so much about it, Lu Li had repeatedly emphasized how difficult it was to obtain one. He hoped that if his friends tried to farm it, they wouldn''t kill themselves if it didn''t even drop after a few years.


    Remnant Dream wrinkled her nose and decided against the Undead horse.


    "Screw it, I don''t want it either. I don''t like dead things."


    Naturally, March Rain refused it as well. Moonlight was indifferent to these kinds of cosmetics and Hachi Chan gave it up after seeing that some others wanted it. All she really wanted was the best for her Elf Dragon.


    Finally, the only members left were Wandering, Lonesome Flower, Azure Sea Breeze, Sesame Rice Ball and Sakura Memories. They all fixed their eyes on Remnant Dream.


    This scared the little girl to no end.


    "As long as you get it, we''ll give you 300 gold. That is 300 gold from each person. The person who successfully rolls for it will give you another 300 gold," Azure Sea Breeze spoke for the group.


    That was 1800 gold!


    Lu Li was silent as he heard these players treat gold like it was just some pet food. This was more than ten million dollars being given out as a red packet.


    Remnant Dream''s mind was in a blur as she tried to work out how many pets she could take care of with that amount.


    "Alright, stop dreaming and get to work," Lu Li interrupted them. There were many Bosses in Stratholme in addition to the Red Zone, so if they delayed now, they would never finish it.


    "The Boss drops are going to make you drool with envy," Azure Sea Breeze laughed as he proudly patted Lu Li''s shoulder.


    Lu Li wanted to remind him that he was as unlucky as they came. Even if it dropped, he wouldn''t win in the roll.


    As they walked into this ancient human castle, it was quite surprising to find that there were no other monsters in it. It seemed that all the monsters had rushed outside in waves to die.


    Baron Rivendare was alone in this empty hall.


    After becoming a Death Knight, his face had turned pale, but he still had the color of an aristocrat. His white hair fell by his shoulder and his head was wrapped in a scarf. He rode on a horned warhorse, wore a black cloak and wielded a magic sword surrounded by a purple light.


    A sinister light hung over him that seemed to affect any creature that got too close to him.


    Rivendare was the former Lord of Stratholme. Magistrate Barthilas was basically an administrative staffmember to him, and would usually be humbled before the Baron.


    As the early pioneers of the Silver Hand, Baron Rivendare, Turalyon and the other Paladins were seen as the hope of the Alliance.


    The reason why the Silver Hand Paladins received unanimous praise was because they possessed the valuable qualities that embodied a true Paladin ¨C Humility, Honor, Sacrifice, Heroism, Compassion, Spirituality, Honestly and Fairness.


    While still appeared elegant, the noble qualities he once had were unfortunately now gone forever.


    "Before the battle, I want to introduce myself," Baron Rivendare began as he politely saluted on the horse, but before he could finish speaking, Lu Li was already next to him with a knife to his back.


    "Let''s just fight. Why are we wasting our time with his nonsense!"


    "Hey¡­"


    Everyone was dumbfounded. Lu Li normally interacted so closely with the NPCs and was now being so bold with one. Moreover, he was a squishy Thief that would probably die after receiving two hits from this Boss.


    If a certain Boss took out enough players, they would become infamous for it. But what about a Boss that had been killed by too many players? Baron Rivendare was one of these Bosses. There were countless strategies to defeat him, and Lu Li remembered reading someone who was bored enough to calculate the statistics.


    There were more than 300 kinds of strategies to kill Baron Rivendare, and about 40-50 of them were very effective.


    All of these strategies emphasized one very important point ¨C don''t listen to the Boss'' talk.

 905 The Origins of the Death Knigh

    Baron Rivendare was enraged; he must have thought that fighting was a very noble matter. Even after turning into an Undead Paladin, he had still retained his pride.


    He didn''t expect someone to be so shameless.


    Not only had Lu Li interrupted a civilized conversation, he had also appeared behind him and used Cheap Shot.


    Despite the courage that Lu Li had shown, he wasn''t the kind of person to lower himself just because he was angry.


    Before the dagger could cut him, the Baron teleported behind Azure Sea Breeze, which gave him a bit of a scare.


    The battle had officially begun!


    Baron Rivendare was a Death Knight, and players rarely came into contact with this profession. Although many Paladin players could trigger the Death Knight quest early on, most of them didn''t fully complete the chain of quests to become one.


    According to the official definitions, a Death Knight was just a human Warrior, Paladin or Orc that admired the Shamanism of the ancient Draenor World.


    They either accepted the call of darkness and gave up their glorious past to sell their souls, or were helplessly resurrected and enslaved after being killed by the Lich King. In short, they were all given eternal strength.


    In the same way that there were rare races like the Pandaren, Worgen and Goblins, the Death Knights and Monks were popular professions in the west, but only a small number of players managed to become them.


    Hundreds of years ago, the simple and harmonious Draenor World was inhabited by a group of Orcs who admired simple Shamanism.


    Before the darkness fell, the Demon Deceiver Kil''Jaeden lured the old Shadowmoon tribe to sacrifice Ner''zhul and abandon Shamanism, which advocated for the use of natural elements. This created the first Warlock that used chaotic arcane power.


    After his subordinates were given dark power and eternal life, he became a wicked creature that lived on in the Blood Shadow Valley with a bloodthirst known as Gorefiend.


    This dark Strength continued to spread among the Orc tribes, and the Shamans eventually accepted the new doctrines. The simple Orc race gradually became more corrupted and their society which was once driven by heroic warriors and wise shamans collapsed.


    The Orcs began to drink the blood of the demons and started killing the innocent Draenei.


    Although Ner''zhul became the leader of the Horde after forming various tribal alliances, he found that the bloodthirsty way of the demons was ineffective and refused to work with them.


    The demons then found a young apprentice, Gul''dan, to create a Shadow Council and replace Ner''zhul as leader of the Horde.


    Gul''dan led the Orc army through the Dark Portal to launch an attack on Azeroth and its World Alliance.


    After their defeat, Ner''zhul returned to save his Orc compatriots who were enslaved in Azeroth. He led the Blackwater Marsh army through the Dark Portal to wage war on the Alliance Army, but was eventually defeated.


    Once again, he used the power of darkness to open a number of doors that led into the Twisting Nether. He led his subordinates to flee into them, hoping that they could escape into a new world.


    In the Twisting Nether, the Demon Legion was waiting for him. As punishment was acting against the will of the demons, he and his subordinates were stripped of their flesh, but their souls were persevered and tortured. Under the torture, Ner''zhul was once again corrupted. He was given a new strength and was frozen before the throne at the top of Northrend, becoming the Lich King.


    His trusted subordinates, the Gorefiends, became Death Knights and the Lich.


    These were the first generation of Death Knights.


    The second generation was actually made up of humans, who were led by Prince Arthas.


    A number of adventurous humans who lived in the mainland of Lordaeron used part of the fleet to explore the northern part of Northend, establishing towns in the area. The Lich King Ner''zhul quietly chose to kidnap some of these humans and conducted experiments on them. Eventually, he managed to establish a skeleton regiment of a reasonable size.


    They ran into the Arachnid Kingdom that lived deep underground for tens of thousands of years. The brave Arachnid army attacked the earliest Scourge regiment that had just been established.


    Because the Arachnids were immune to the mind control of Ner''zhul, this battle almost caused himto mobilize all the Lichs and Death Knights that were still loyal to him. In the battle, there were a great number of Arachnids died, and their bodies were manipulated by his Gorefiends. As they continued to fall, the number of Scourge increased. With this tactic, Ner''zhul finally won the war and achieved dominance of Northrend.


    He deceived the Mage Kel''Thuzad, who had similar ambitions, and created a cult sect in the country of Lordaeron which continually grew in believers and spread various plagues.


    Word of this eventually reached the Lordaeron government at the time. The Paladin Arthas and his mentor, Uther, were ordered to find out what was happening.


    The young prince fell into one trap after another, which grew his hatred of the Scourge and finally led him to embark on a journey to the Northrend. There was no turning back from this journey, as he pulled out the cursed Frostmourne and sacrificed his subordinates to defeat the fearsome Demon Mal''Ganis of the Scourge. With his mission completed, he was left alone and wandered around aimlessly in the cold.


    After a few months without any news, Arthas returned triumphantly and the plagues receded. In the celebrations, he met up with his father and personally killed him. This disrupted the local politics, and heralded the start of the second generation of Dark Knights.


    This was the origin of the second generation of Dark Knights and also the height of their power. During this period, Arthas defeated Uther, the invincible leader of the Silver Hand.


    However, there was an important point to be made here. A pure Paladin could not be summoned by a Necromancer, even after death.


    The Strength of a Paladin came from their soul, but Uther''s defeat made his Paladins lose their loyalty to the faith. All the converted Paladins had actually changed their minds before dying.


    Many of the Paladins died in anger, despair and fear. This meant that they could be summoned to join the ranks of the second generation of Death Knights.


    The remaining Silver Hand members then either established or joined the Scarlet Crusade.


    The Scarlet Crusade was splendid for a while and blossomed like a flower. Its leader, Mograine, forged the Ashbringer from the Shadow Crystals of the Draenei people who had been captured during the Orc invasion. Later, he was sold out by his son when he raided the city of Stratholme and was slain, filled with anger, sorrow and vengeance. He joined the Death Knights, and from that point onwards, the main force of the Scarlet Crusade was devastated as they were controlled by the Scourage and the Dreadlord.


    All this had happened prior to the emergence of the sad character of Illidan.

 906 Defending Honor With Blood

    During the invasion of the Grey Valley by the Burning Legion, Illidan absorbed the energy of a powerful Warlock artifact called the ''Skull of Gul''dan'' and transformed into a demon-like creature. In the process, he acquired incredible strength and part of Gul''dan''s memories, particularly those concerning the Tomb of Sargeras.


    He then met Kil''Jaeden, the demon responsible for what had happened. The Lich King Ner''zhul had become too powerful and was now too difficult to control. Kil''Jaeden ordered Illidan to eliminate Ner''zhul. As part of the deal, Illidan would receive more power, and be granted a place as a leader within the Burning Legion.


    The corrupted Illidan immediately agreed and began his preparations to destroy the frozen throne that imprisoned the Lich King''s soul. He needed a powerful artifact, so he summoned the Naga from the Dark Deep Sea Lair to find the island where the legendary tomb of Sargeras was.


    Illidan succeeded in stealing the Eye of Sargeras and went to Dalaran to take advantage of the powerful energy that could be found in the city.


    With a devastating spell, he smashed through the Lich King''s defenses, which also split the bridge between worlds. However, he was stopped at the last moment by Maiev, who was supported by Malfurion and Priestess Tyrande.


    Maiev was actually his sister-in-law, and Illidan didn''t seem to be attracting anyone''s goodwill.


    In the end, Illidan ended up creating the Queen Sylvanas, a Death Knight, and freed many others from the control of the Lich King, but no one was grateful for him.


    When the Lich King lost control of the Death Knights, they vowed to seek revenge on him for the horrors that they suffered under his control.


    Additionally, the Death Knights also found themselves without purpose or a home, so they entered various human territories in an attempt to find new companions. As they travelled, they were strengthened and their undead bodies manifested an evil anger within them.


    They had witnessed countless atrocities, and those who looked upon them could feel the warmth being pulled from their bodies as it was replaced by a steel-like coldness.


    Death Knights fought in close combat, and used dark magic to enhance their weapons, increase their strength or weaken their enemies.


    Baron Rivendare was a typical second-generation Death Knight, but there was something special about him. Because of the favor he had with Kel''Thuzad, his status was much higher than that of an ordinary Death Knight.


    Even Lu Li didn''t know that the former Stratholme Lord had killed his son here to resurrect him as a Death Knight before embarking on a journey to find Alexandros Mograine, Sir Zeliek, Lady Blaumeux, and Thane Korth''azz to form the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.


    Now, he was only a level 50 Boss sitting alone in Stratholme, directing his undead troops to fight.


    Of course, his fate was to desperately resist as the countless players sought to take the Deathcharger that he was sitting on. However, the loser would eventually always be the Baron. As the mount became more popular, he would be humiliated even further as more players acquired it.


    "Intruder, leave my territory!"


    "Dammit, these little monsters actually give the Boss HP!"


    As a War Commander, there was no doubt that Baron Rivendare would have high HP and powerful skills. The players had struggled to damage him, before discovering that he had summoned a wave of six skeletons. These monsters didn''t charge at the players, and instead went straight for the Boss.


    As everyone stared in confusion, Rivendare''s HP suddenly increased as the skeletons fell to the ground.


    "That is so overpowered," Azure Sea Breeze complained. He had tanked a Mortal Strike from the Boss and had to use his damage reduction skills. He was already afraid of this Boss, and felt like he was always taking the abuse.


    "Make sure you pay attention and kill the small monsters. Flower and Rice Ball are responsible for them when they spawn," Lu Li said.


    Baron Rivendare could use Mortal Strike and Opportune Strike at close range. At long range, he had learned Shadow Bolt from an Undead Mage and was able to summon Undead servants. As well as this, he could use the life force of these Undead creatures to regenerate himself.


    Mortal Strike was one of the Warriors'' signature skills. Its damage usually wasn''t that high, but it was most effective against Main Tanks as it applied Lethality.


    If a target had Lethality applied to them, all healing effects would be halved. This meant March Rain, who originally could give 400 HP per heal to Azure Sea Breeze, could now restore 200HP. This effect lasted for 10 seconds.


    The Undead Servants were naturally summoned for the sake of HP regeneration. The players that faced Rivendare for the first time usually found themselves helpless against them.


    However, none of these tricks would work against Lu Li.


    As previously mentioned, Lu Li had over 300 strategies for fighting this Boss. He knew exactly what needed to be done for any stage of this Boss fight.


    Rivendare was probably the most unfortunate Boss in Straholme. All the obstacles designed by the game designers were easily overcome by Lu Li''s decisions. Even if someone was actively monitoring their battle, they would only feel like this team had just been lucky.


    "Drink Holy Water."


    The Holy Water that they had prepared beforehand was now playing a huge role in the fight. Baron Rivendare''s Undead Brutality was now completely ineffective against them.


    Undead Brutality was similar to a Berserk skill, and even the strongest Main Tank of a major guilds probably wouldn''t be able to survive it. However, when the Stratholme''s Holy Water was used, it was more or less negated.


    In fact, Lu Li had several other ways of dealing with Undead Brutality, but they were much more troublesome and needed some items that had be acquired outside of this Instance Dungeon.


    "Let us defend our glory with blood!"


    After ten minutes of extended fighting, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group finally progressed to the third stage of the Baron Rivendare Boss fight. There were now phantoms spawning behind him; these were souls of Paladins or former Paladins that were now Death Knights.


    These Death Knights rushed over to the players with a cavalry charge in multiple rows, dealing huge damage when they hit a target. If they used a conventional defensive strategy, they would inevitably lose a few members.


    Fortunately, Lu Li knew of a bug that could solve this problem very simply.

 907 To Be Beaten By A Guide

    Lu Li had four people stand in the first row, three in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth. This was the perfect formation for ten people.


    The back row could move forward to replace the front row when they needed to rest, while the healers could remain focused on their task.


    "This guide is so basic; there''s no skill involved in it at all," Wandering said, unable to hold in his thoughts. He felt like even a three-year-old knew would be able to do this.


    "Even though it''s simple, it doesn''t mean it''s easy to think up. People often like to complicate things."


    Lu Li and the others were still a little under-levelled, so many of the guides weren''t suitable for them.


    Without Lu Li, it would probably take about a month for someone to think up a childish guide like this.


    "Life has no meaning. Only death can reveal the truth of humanity..."


    After a long and arduous battle, Baron Rivendare no longer looked like a proud aristocrat, but the words from his mouth were still philosophical.


    The battle would be all but over after the next wave, but his mount had joined the fight, which made things troublesome. Lu Li asked Wandering to aggro it while everyone continued to attack Baron Rivendare. They


    The strongest Boss of the zone had finally been taken down. He did go into Berserk mode in the end, but they only lost two players.


    Lu Li still resurrected them, even though they had enough players to end the fight.


    "Sometimes, death is the best salvation..."


    "Goodbye, Azeroth!"


    The light in Baron Rivendare''s eyes began to fade away as he died once again. Although he would awaken again not long in the future under the Lich King''s power, this had nothing to do with Lu Li and the others anymore.


    The words he had uttered before he died almost moved everyone to forgive him for his downfall, but ithey weren''t enough for them to actually spare him.


    Lonesome Flower leveled up to level 47 and was now only a little behind Lu Li. It seemed like he needed to kill all the Bosses in the Blood Zone to reach level 48. On the bright side, both him and Sesame Rice Ball received a skill point this time.


    The rest of it all came down to Remnant Dream.


    It was a strange sight. The others weren''t as anxious as Lu Li, who had begun to show some mixed expressions on his face.


    This wasn''t hard too understand after some thought.


    Baron Rivendare had been too easy. Who would''ve thought that this famous level 50 boss would be taken down by them in one attempt? The guide had made things too simple, so they all subconsciously thought that he wouldn''t drop anything decent.


    As for the mount, Lu Li had already given them a heads up about the drop rate.


    "Magic, magic, magic¡­" After performing her pre-looting ritual, Remnant Dream pulled out a sword with her hands.


    "Is this a Legendary equip?!" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed. They had only seen Dark Gold grade equips so far in this dungeon. Although dungeon Bosses were inferior to Wild Bosses, they had still taken the First Clear.


    Lu Li was anxious as well, because the one of the swords that Baron Rivendare dropped was a Legendary one indeed.


    Even if they didn''t loot the mount, the sword would compensate for it.


    However, Lu Li was soon left disappointed.


    This was indeed one of Baron Rivendare''s swords, but it wasn''t the sword he was looking for.


    The sword that they looted was a single-handed weapon with a skinny body. It lacked the dark radiance of the Legendary sword and didn''t look all too impressive. The attributes were much weaker as well.


    "Skullforge Reaver, Dark Gold, single-handed sword ¨C who wants it?" Remnant Dream asked.


    This item was still quite decent, since it was a Dark Gold grade. The special effects weren''t terrible either, but since everyone was anticipating a Legendary equip, they were all quite disappointed..


    Most of them could equip single-handed swords, but none of them actually wanted to take it.


    It wasn''t a good habit to waste things, so Lu Li decided to place it in the guild storage in exchange for points for everyone.


    No one was too hopeful for what was to come next.


    "Dreadmist Leggings, Dark Gold¡­ set!"


    Remnant Dream instantly became excited. With the knowledge she had by now, it wasn''t hard for her to calculate the value of this piece. As expected, when everyone heard that this was part of a set, they all gathered around.


    "What class? Is it mine?" Azure Sea Breeze desperately wanted a set too.


    "Warrior sets usually have names that had something to do with courage; this isn''t yours. Dreadmist is a Warlock set," Lu Li explained, then continued, "Warriors have the Courage set, Priests have the Sincerity set, Paladins have the Lightforge set, Hunters have the Beast Tamer set, Shamans have the Elemental set, Druids have the Heart of Nature set, Mages have the Scholar set and Thieves have the Shadow set¡­"


    NPCs often mentioned this and some books even drew out their styles.


    "Thank you, Dreamy," Sesame Rice Ball said happily as he handed her 20 gold for it.


    It wasn''t unreasonable for Remnant Dream to take some tips; there were plenty of players who had asked her to loot Bosses for them. With consent from Lu Li, Remnant Dream had gone out to help Drizzle Court kill a level 50 boss. She ended up looting a Legendary item, as well as three Dark Gold equips. As their agreement stated, Drizzle Court gave Ruling Sword 1600 gold coins in exchange for her service.


    Even if she left Ruling Sword, Remnant Dream would still be a rich girl if she helped people loot Bosses.


    There were too many guilds out there who wanted her, and even her parents often got harassed for this.


    "Synthetic Stone ¨C magic damage increased by 5%."


    While 5% didn''t seem like a lot, it was still a noticeable improvement. No one would even consider using it unless it was for a Dark Grade or above weapon.


    "Skill book ¨C Icy Veins," Remnant Dream announced as she pulled out a fourth item. Everyone besides Lonesome Flower were disappointed, like a balloon that had lost its air.


    Ice Veins, instant cast: Accelerates your spellcasting for 20 sec, granting 20% casting speed increase and preventing damage from delaying your spells. Cooldown 30 minutes, current skill level 0/5.


    This was most useful in situations where there were a lot of monsters or when a Boss was dealing group damage. That way, the user''s spell cast time would not be delayed or interrupted by taking damage.

 908 Dropped a Moun

    "There should be some other things; keep going," Lu Li prompted, upon seeing that Remnant Dream had stopped.


    The mount could be classed as a Legendary item for them due to its level. However, there was no guarantee whether it would come out as the first or last item.


    This rule also applied to equipment; Dawn had never set a specific rule for the order of loot.


    "Alright, alright, I''ll stop when I''m sure there''s nothing else," Remnant Dream muttered. She wasn''t too hopeful ¨C based off her experience, the more she looted, the less likely the Boss would drop good things.


    At the very most, it would be a rare material. These were precious too, but she couldn''t comprehend their value at all.


    "Oh! It seems to be a tag or some sort," Remnant Dream said as she pulled out a black, metal tag with a few inscriptions on it. The inscriptions could only be felt by hand.


    "Horse tag!" Lu Li exclaimed, then he shook his head in spite of himself. He had already said that he wasn''t going to compete for the mount, so this had nothing to do with him. At the very most, it would be exchanged for points to be divided amongst everyone.


    This notion mostly had to do with his past life.


    Ever since Lu Li was capable of attempting Stratholme, he had never missed a single refresh for the dungeon. This wasn''t because he wanted the horse; it was more about the money.


    If he found one and sold it, he could have removed himself from the life of poverty and started anew.


    Dawn had provided many opportunities for large businesses and had also changed the lives of poor people. The game was another world that was fairer than reality.


    Everyone had a chance to change their life.


    Unfortunately, the System had been cruel to him at the time. In this life, he was no longer desperate for money, so the horse was just like any other mount to him.


    In terms of appearance, The Horseman''s Reins was not as cool as the Deathcharger, but it allowed its rider to fly while the Deathcharger did not.


    "We''ve known each other for dozens of years, right?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he held onto Wandering''s shoulders.


    "So you''re going to give the mount to me! What a real bro! Thanks!" Wandering laughed coldly, feeling like his intelligence had been insulted. Azure Sea Breeze was like an open book to him.


    "Get out. We''re rolling for this." Friendship had always been a weak ship to sail.


    "How about both of you quit this round?" Lonesome Flower said impatiently.


    "Never mind, I don''t want it. I just took a part of a set and my mount quest has already been activated. I can get myself a mount in about one or two weeks," Sesame Rice Ball said after thinking for a moment.


    "Flower, you''re too shameful. You just got a skill book," Azure Sea Breeze accused as helooked at the Mage with glistening hope in his eyes, hoping that Lonesome Flower would feel some guilt.


    Lonesome Flower didn''t even move; he rolled his die straight away.


    72!


    This was an average score. If two players were rolling, he would have some hope, but it would be far from a guaranteed victory if four players were involved.


    Sakura Memories tried not to laugh as she began to roll her die.


    35!


    He expression instantly fell; she couldn''t even beat Lonesome Flower.


    "You first, or me first?" Azure Sea Breeze looked fearless, but he was still anxious. Only at this point did he remember that he wasn''t a lucky guy either.


    In their spare time, the two of them would often gamble their money. A lot of the coins from his wallet had gone to Wandering.


    He shouldn''t have suggested to roll the die. Azure Sea Breeze regretted his choice; it would have been better if they used their points.


    "Is there any difference?" Wandering didn''t even bother with insults. He rolled the die with so much confidence that everyone was stunned when they saw the result.


    6!


    Azure Sea Breeze held onto the wall and laughed so hard that he could barely stand straight.


    His worst enemy had already lost; who else would be able to compete against him? He seemed to be able to see the mount waving at him, as he dreamed of patrolling around Stormwind City with all the pretty girls watching him. Even the King would probably have to pay some attention to him.


    "Wipe your drool. If he doesn''t roll anytime soon, can I take that as him giving up?" Lonesome Flower asked.


    "Theoretically, yes," Lu Li said as he shrugged his shoulders and decided to not take sides.


    "No, no, I''ll roll now."


    Azure Sea Breeze was caught by surprise and quickly tossed out his die, looking at the mount tag in Remnant Dream''s hands with anticipation.


    "Haha!" Wandering laughed outrageously; he probably wouldn''t be as happy even if he had won the mount.


    Azure Sea Breeze felt his heart sank as soon as he heard the laugh. He didn''t think that his horrible friend would be happy for him winning the mount, which was confirmed when he turned and saw that his die had landed on the number 71.


    Azure Sea Breeze almost felt like puking out blood.


    It wasn''t a surprise for him to lose to Lonesome Flower; he knew that 72 had a decent chance of winning.


    But why did he have to roll 71?


    Damn, this was only one-point difference.


    This was probably the toughest thing for him to face ¨C he had lost his Deathcharger because of one single point.


    "If this story goes out to anyone else, I''m unfriending them," Azure Sea Breeze said with bloodshot eyes, then added, "From now on, I''m unfriending anyone who is still laughing!"


    Everyone immediately held back their laughter; those who had trouble began to recall their unhappy memories.


    "Breezy, are you okay?" Remnant Dream asked as she looked at him with sympathy. She felt bad for giving the horse tag to Lonesome Flower.


    "I lost to my gamble ¨C give it to him. Hopefully, he falls off his mount someday," Azure Sea Breeze said, then turned his head and asked March Rain, "March, do you like the kind of mounts that only have bones? Maybe there''ll be chunks of leftover meat hanging on it too, and the foul smell of dead bodies¡­"


    "No¡­not really," March Rain mumbled as she shook her head subconsciously.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t say anything else, but Lonesome Flower wasn''t happy.

 909 Righteous Orbs

    However, Lonesome Flower wasn''t stupid either. If his sister didn''t like it, he would rather never use it then to let Azure Sea Breeze have it.


    After they took down Baron Rivendare, the next zone became available to all of them.


    In the beginning, the Highlord Alexandros Mograine and Saidan Dathrohan led their troops to attack the Stratholme ruins, fighting the Undead army head-on. In the battle, Dathrohan led his troops and was attacked by Balnazzar. While he tried his best to attack, he was easily captured by the demon and his life force was drained. The demon possessed his body and took over his identity.


    He baited Renault to kill his father, which further corrupted the Crusade.


    Later on, after Mograine had been slain by his son, Balnazzar led the Scarlet Crusade with its new identity to enter Stratholme again. He then fought against the Scourge army for years and through this war, selected his best men for the next step of his evil plans.


    The Scarlet zone still followed the morals of the Scarlet Crusade, but it was all just part of a greater plan.


    Although items like the Deathcharger were very attractive, there were other things in the zone that were worth everyone''s time ¨C for example, the Righteous Orb.


    The Righteous Orb had many uses. There were at least around 30 Dark Gold grade equips that required it, in addition to a variety of Enchantments and Alchemy recipes. Most importantly, the Design recipes clearly stated its effects.


    Besides this, the Archmage Angela Dosantos also had a quest that required Righteous Orbs to complete.


    The Righteous Orb was one of the rare materials that even normal monsters would drop, but at the same time, this didn''t diminish its value.


    The price would occasionally fluctuate, but it had never fallen under 50 gold for a single Orb.


    "This place reminds me a little of the Scarlet Monastery," Azure Sea Breeze commented as he stepped into the Scarlet zone with a strange sense of familiarity.


    "Watch out for packed monsters; don''t underestimate them," Lu Li reminded him.


    "I know," Azure Sea Breeze said.


    However, he didn''t take his advice to heart and they wiped right at the door. The weak image of the Scarlet Crusade had been embedded deeply into his subconscious. No matter how on-guard he was, he just couldn''t help it.


    In all honesty, the monsters here had constantly fought with the Undead in the Undead zone. The ones that had survived were the strongest and were equivalent to mini Bosses.


    They had passed Baron Rivendare in one attempt, but ended up being wiped by a few small monsters. Everyone was concerned, but only Lu Li looked calm. A wipe was nothing ¨C they weren''t even level 47 on average. Even a team of level 50 players who managed to make it here would be wiped out too.


    As for the strategy, it was simple ¨C just go slowly.


    There were two troublesome parts to the dungeon. Every wave of monsters had their own scout that would report the situation back.


    "The Undead Scourge has broken through; they''ve reached the post!"


    Their every move had been reported. The threat of this was that another wave of reinforcements would soon arrive. If they couldn''t clear out the first wave in time, they would be wiped with the increasing amount of monsters.


    The other problem was a common one for humanoid units; they ran once their health dropped to a certain level.


    If they ran into other monsters during the escape process, the aggression would spread and other monsters would be drawn over. It was like a child running to their parents for help.


    Since all these monsters were level 50, and their aggro ranges were very wide, they had to ensure that they didn''t let any of them escape. It took Lu Li and the others a full hour to clear out the hallway.


    After this, they reached an intersection and Azure Sea Breeze led everyone to the smaller path on the right.


    No one had been here before, so they had to explore the map by themselves.


    There were no bosses at the end; it seemed like they had arrived at a forge room that had been deserted a long time ago. Half-made equipment were scattered everywhere and barely any of them were in good condition.


    Under normal circumstances, they might have been able to find something here, but they were all quite unlucky this time. None of them found anything worthwhile.


    At the very least, they could sell these half-made equips to the blacksmiths in the city. It would be hard to sell them for a good price though ¨C the best that they could produce would probably be Silver grade.


    Lu Li searched around and reached his hand out to a scroll on the table that had been covered by dust.


    This was one of the main reasons for him to come to Stratholme.


    He needed a quest item to improve his Forging that could be found in this particular dungeon. It wasn''t hard for Lu Li to find it since he had already been reincarnated.


    After he activated the scroll, he immediately heard an angry shout.


    "Fool, let go of your hands!''


    A muscular man who wearing a red shirt suddenly appeared out of nowhere. This was the Blacksmith that Lu Li had been looking for.


    This guy was a monster for Trading skill classes. If players didn''t actively seek him, he wouldn''t pop out, even if his half-made equips were to be sold.


    Lu Li calmly packed the level 50 Silver grade Mold into his bag. The item that it produced had decent Attributes; it was comparable to a similarly-levelled Gold grade. Most importantly, the materials for the Mold weren''t too expensive and it could be produced in great quantity.


    The others wouldn''t need them, but the weaker players in the guild did.


    "Get out of here!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he slammed his shield into the NPC''s face without the slightest hesitation. He didn''t even need to take the time to decipher if this was a good character or not. Anyone who appeared with such a strange manner was suspicious to begin with.


    Hence, the battle commenced, but it was an easy one.


    The NPC that had appeared was a small Boss. He was the weakest boss in Stratholme, and wasn''t even as threatening as five average monsters combined.


    They ended the battle in about ten minutes.


    The loot was very basic ¨C a recipe for a Gold grade hammer. On the recipe, was mark that read ''3/3''. This meant that it could only forge three hammers, which was common for high-end recipes.


    Besides this recipe, the boss also dropped a small mineral. It was a rare material that Lu Li was very satisfied with.


    What it dropped in the end was a Righteous Orb. No one would complain about him dropping this, and Lu Li even wished that it had dropped more. There was not a single guild that could complain about having too many Righteous Orbs.


    After this, they turned back and ran into other monsters again. When they finally cleared them, they began to make their way to Cannon Master Willey, an actual Boss.

 910 Cannon on the Monsters

    Cannon Master Willey was a sad character; he had already turned Undead at this point.


    However, he had no clue what he had become. He still believed that he was alive and was fighting for his own beliefs. When he appeared in front of the players, his lines revolved around how all evil would eventually perish.


    It was strange for an Undead to talk like this, but he was so serious that it was hard to find it funny.


    As such, players felt sorry for him, but soon, they would begin to pity themselves.


    Balzannar was thrilled to discover that Cannon Master Willey was still capable of using his superhuman strength after he had become an Undead. As such,he gave his useful servant a new name ¨C Willey Hopebreaker. Balnazzar twisted the souls of Willey and the other Scarlet Crusaders, turning them into his minions.


    The Hopebreaker was an appropriate name for the Boss. This became apparent when he began to cast his skills.


    Summon Reincarnated Cannon Master: Every five seconds, Willey Hopebreaker summons three reincarnated cannon masters to help him in battle.


    This meant that a monster would appear every two seconds. Besides the insane damage that they dealt, they were also harder to kill because they had more Health and Defense.


    It was impossible for them to kill a monster within two seconds. At first, Lonesome Flower used his AoE skills, then Sesame Rice Ball began to do the same. In the end, everyone was following suit,


    They hadn''t taken down much of Cannon Master Willey''s health, but were flooded by monsters instead.


    This was how one of the wipes occurred.


    "This is too hard," Wandering complained. After performing a few calculations, his expression didn''t look promising. He felt like they had run into an unsolvable problem.


    Lu Li sat on the floor to eat his bread and shook his head as soon as he heard it.


    "An unsolvable boss wouldn''t exist in a dungeon. There has to be something that we haven''t discovered. We''ll save the boss for later; we should have an investigation first."


    Dungeons were designed for players to complete, so there was no way that an unbeatable Boss would exist.


    Wild Bosses or cities were a different story. Did the System really have to give players a chance to take down NPCs like Medivh and Thrall too?


    There were also Strategists that were investigating the situation outside the Dungeon.


    They would obtain video footage in real-time from Wandering, so they understood as much about the dungeon as those who were actually inside. All guilds took the opinion of their Strategists to heart.


    Their wipe didn''t make them upset or surprised. Instead, they were relieved.


    Previously, when Lu Li and the others had killed Baron Rivendare, they were astonished.


    Players like them who were in charge of crafting guides didn''t have high-levels, and their techniques were most likely average as well. However, those of them who were asked to join had a good general game sense.


    They had studied Stratholme extensively, so they knew that Baron Rivendare was a major Boss. Based on their estimations, it would have already been a victory for them to take down Baron Rivendare at the end of the day.


    What surprised them was that Lu Li and the others had passed the Boss in one go. The guide they had come up with didn''t even involve anything that was too technical.


    Now that Lu Li and the others had wiped, they finally felt like he was a normal human as well.


    Lu Li said that there had to be something left uncovered, so everyone began to look for clues.


    "A wipe right at the start, and this guy is a cannon master. Aren''t we going to die even more later?" Azure Sea Breeze sighed. He didn''t mind being in the thick of the battle, but it was a big ask for him to find clues.


    "Cannons, cannon!"


    Someone in the strategy team had something click in their minds. Lu Li was also relieved to hear this. This was the downside to employing Strategists, but they definitely needed a team in the long run.


    The cannons were definitely a key point; it took talent for someone to discover this so quickly.


    Of course, Azure Sea Breeze''s complaint had probably helped too. Since these monsters were too strong for the players, that meant that they would have to rely on other items in the scene.


    There was a cannon place right in front of these players and it wasn''t too hard for them to spot.


    However, just finding the cannon was not enough, because everyone discovered that it contained no artillery shells. What were they supposed to do ¨C lift the whole thing and ram it into the Boss?


    "There have to be some artillery shells hidden somewhere. We should look around," Lu Li suggested. He felt like he was a God looking down on mere mortals; it was a special experience.


    However, they still had not found anything, even after half an hour. If it wasn''t for the fact that they couldn''t beat Cannon Master Willey, they probably would have already given up trying to find the shells.


    "Here! This place can be opened!"


    A scarlet colored painting on the wall had been pushed open by Hachi Chan, revealing a deep, black space full of artillery shells.


    "There''s a total of 24. We''ll need someone to use the cannon ¨C anyone want to be in charge?" Lu Li asked as he looked at everyone.


    Azure Sea Breeze: "Me!"


    Lu Li: "Get out!"


    "I''ll do it," Sakura Memories offered. She was a buff Shaman, and at this stage, had a slightly awkward role in a team. They couldn''t out-damage Thieves and Warriors, and also didn''t have any AoE spells. At the very most, they could only place down some totems.


    "Alright. Pass all the artillery shells to Memories. There''s only 24 of them, so use them when the monsters are more packed," Lu Li instructed.


    After this, they entered battle again. Wandering went out to gather the summoned monsters while the others dealt as much damage as they could to the Boss.


    When Willey began to summon monsters, Wandering gathered them in groups of 30, then shouted, "Memories, you can start now! I can''t hold on any longer!"


    Sakura Memories aimed her cannon and fired away.


    With one loud bang, the entire group fell to the ground.


    Fortunately, Wandering was a part of the team and couldn''t take damage from the blast.


    Nineteen of the twenty-seven monsters had died, while the rest had about half of their health remaining. A few hammer-strikes from Wandering managed to strike a couple of them down. The remainders were nothing to be worried about; he just had to wait for next round cannon-fire.


    Seeing that the situation was under control, those who were fighting the Boss were finally able to focus on their task.

 911 Blocked

    "We''re out of bombs. I was having too much fun and didn''t account for the ammo," Sakura Memories said.


    Everyone was speechless and Lu Li sighed, signaling everyone to forfeit because they would get wiped anyway. The Boss still had a third of its HP and the side mobs were enough to stomp over the entire team.


    Lu Li patiently taught Sakura Memories about the cannon timing and angles while explaining to Wandering the best way to round up the monsters to maximize the use of cannon bombs.


    After gathering themselves again, Lu Li started the Boss fight.


    This was their third attempt at Cannon Master Willey. At this point, there weren''t many concerns besides dealing with the side monsters without letting them get out of hand.


    "Why do you disturb us when we''re about to defeat the Scourge?" Cannon Master Willey asked in confusion.


    He had no idea that he was already dead and was living in a dream that the Dreadlord Balnazzar had created for him. In his dream, the Scarlet Crusaders were in a midst of a tough battle and were about to defeat the Scourge army. They had to take back all the land that they had lost and reclaim the glory that Lordaeron once had.


    "Why can''t I see the lilies of Stratholme? This question always bothered me, but maybe I won''t have to worry about it anymore."


    Cannon Master Willey may have already realized all the problems of the virtual world that he cannot escape. The Dreadlord Balnazzar had not been considerate enough to put his favourite Stratholme Lilies into his dream. However, there was nothing that Willey could do and the sadness he felt could be seen on his expression.


    He was willing to accept his death rather than to live a life of lies made up by his enemy.


    He did not go into Berserk mode, but instead peacefully faced his temporary death.


    He was a slave of the Dreadlord and would rise again even if he was defeated. After he rose again, his memories would be wiped and he would continue to question why the lilies were not blooming in Stratholme as the cycle repeated itself.


    Their third attempt was finally successful and they defeated Cannon Master Willey.


    The Experience was quite handsome since he was a Lv50 Boss, but he did not reward skill points.


    "Dark Gold Mold for Shadowcraft Spaulders and it''s part of a set!" Remnant Dreams exclaimed as she passed the item to Lu Li and waited for him to praise her.


    In reality, Lu Li wasn''t very interested in sets because it was too difficult to collect all eight pieces. He also had a lot of gear that he was wearing which would be hard for him to give up. However, if he did somehow manage to collect all the pieces, it would definitely be an upgrade.


    He patted her on the head and rewarded her with 20 gold.


    The second item was called a Cannonball Runner, and was a Trinket.


    Classes that excelled at levelling up such as Mages, Warlocks and Hunters might not have thought that Cannonball Runner would be a useful item. It fired a cannon every 30 seconds, but it was much weaker than those used in the dungeon.


    However, many were still interested in it because of cool the effect was when it triggered.


    There was also a Warrior skill book which was given to Azure Sea Breeze.


    The next Boss was Commander Malor.


    Malor was a former battle commander of the Scarlet Crusade and was regarded as one of the most talented soldiers in their younger generations. Many people held high expectations for him and hoped that he could lead them to reclaim the lost cities of Lordaeron.


    However, the Scarlet Crusade was eventually controlled by Dreadlord Balnazzar, so Malor never had the chance to grow up and live out his full potential.


    Malor and a handful of other courageous Warriors risked everything to protect the Scarlet Bastion from being desecrated by the Undead. Tragically, they failed and Balnazzar corrupted the fearless commander into one of his servants, transforming him into a mockery of his former self.


    He then became an Undead Boss and was regarded as the second-most difficult Boss in the entire dungeon. Only the final Boss Dreadlord Balnazzar was more of a challenge to defeat. The worst part was that Malor had terrible loot.


    However, if he was not killed, the door to the Dreadlord would not open.


    Malor was difficult to kill because he had too many skills. There were very few Bosses that had three or more large AOE skills.


    If the players were higher level than him, the AOE skills would be easier to deal with because the damage would be split amongst them. However, when the Boss was a higher level than them, the AOE skill could easily wipe out multiple players at once.


    Malor immediately casted Shadow Bolt Volley and missiles of dark magic began to rain down upon them.


    The missiles covered almost the entire map and everyone had to chug potions to keep themselves alive.


    A single wave of Shadow Bolt Volley took everyone''s HP down to at least half, with the Cloth-Armored Classes dropping down to 20%. If they were level 45 or lower, the entire party would have been wiped for sure.


    Without Lu Li''s reminder, everyone began drinking potions to survive.


    Not even a minute after, another wave of Dark Bolt Volley was casted and their HP bars immediately plummeted.


    The short interval between the skills caused everyone to become terrified. Although they had healers that could heal them back up to full HP, at the current speed that Malor was casting his skills, it was impossible for their Mana pools to keep up.


    Lu Li knew that everyone was about to give up and decided to give a few words of encouragement.


    "Don''t worry ¨C look at his MP bar."


    Commander Malor''s weakness was his low Mana pool. Although he casted his skills quite often, teams just needed to survive past the initial stages of the fight.


    He could only cast Shadow Bolt Volley a maximum of four times, and Lu Li''s party was more than capable of surviving this.


    When his Mana pool was completely empty, Commander Malor finally took a break.


    Sakura Memory then casted Bloodlust and the entire team began dealing as much damage as they possibly could. Because Malor was out of Mana, Lu Li and Lonesome Flower did not have to hold back on their DPS or worry about drawing aggro.


    After two minutes, Malor''s mana pool refilled and he began casting skills again. This time, instead of Shadow Bolt Volley, he use Ground Smash, leaping into the air and smashing his fist into the ground.


    BANG! Lu Li and the others were sent flying due to the impact.


    When they finally managed to get back on their feet, the Boss began chasing after Lu Li because he had been dealing the most DPS.In situations where Azure Sea Breeze didn''t have aggro, Lu Li was often the next target.


    "Heal me," Lu Li said as he successfully blocked the Boss'' hammer with his dagger.


    While was able to block almost every single attack, he was quickly forced to an unfavorable position with his back against the wall.

 912 Soul Stone

    Lu Li activated his shoes and appeared behind the Boss; March Rain was able to heal him in time.


    Azure Sea Breeze then rushed over and drew aggro, forcing the Boss to unwillingly turn his attention towards him.


    This stage was quite dangerous because it was very hard to tell who the Boss would aggro onto. Not everyone had skills and actives that allowed them to kite the Boss like Lu Li, nor defensive abilities like Azure Sea Breeze.


    When Malor casted another wave of Dark Bolt Volley, March Rain was already on low HP and was killed because the skill had Critically Hit her twice. Unfortunately, as soon as she was revived, the Boss casted another wave of AoE skills and wiped them completely.


    As they continued to reattempt the Boss, they were able to read his patterns and advance further. After being wiped two more times and on their fourth attempt, they finally reached the last stage of the Boss fight.


    During the last stage, Malor began using another AOE skill called Head Crack, where he smashed the ground multiple times with a hammer. This dealt a considerable amount of damage and stunned everyone for 5 seconds of complete horror and helplessness.


    While they were stunned, Malor decided to give up on attacking the annoying Main Tank and focus on the squishy Warlock instead. Poor Sesame Rice Ball could not move and was killed within a few hits.


    "Azure, remember to use your badge next time to cleanse the stun. You need to improve your reaction time," Lu Li reminded, then instructed Hachi Chan to revive Rice Ball.


    "How was I supposed to know he was going to do that?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, feeling wronged.


    "The Boss only has around 10,000 HP left; let''s take advantage of this run and finish him off once and for all."


    Since there were stronger Bosses waiting for them later, Lu Li decided not to transform into a Worgen. However, he had plenty of other tricks up his sleeve to deal damage since DPS was his forte.


    Malor sighed and collapsed onto the ground.


    "Check out his loot. He better drop something good because he was such a difficult Boss."


    The Main Tanks and Healers were exhausted, but this was just another normal Boss fight for the DPS classes.


    Lu Li did not have his hopes up because Commander Malor was infamous for his terrible loot. The other Bosses would drop Dark Gold equipment most of the time in Nightmare mode, but they would be lucky if Malor even dropped a Gold item. Lu Li wouldn''t even be surprised if he dropped two Silver pieces.


    "I can''t believe it''s Silver¡­"


    As expected, Remnant Dream pulled out a Silver grade equip.


    "We pour our blood, sweat and tears into this fight and get nothing out of it. We tried so hard in the previous Bosses and got nothing much either. Scarlet dungeons have such terrible loot¡­"


    Everyone was disappointed by the loot and wondered how much worse it would be if they had been playing on Elite mode instead of Nightmare.


    "Hurry up ¨C we''ve still got two more Bosses to go," Lu Li said.


    There was no point in complaining because it wouldn''t change anything. Rather than wasting time, Lu Li thought it would be much more beneficial for them to finish the First Clear as soon as possible and receive the rewards.


    "Skill Book, Soul Stone¡­"


    "What? Soul Stone? Are you serious?" Lu Li was surprised and thought he had heard incorrectly.


    Although the Skill Book drop rate was quite random, the rare Skill Books only dropped from higher level Bosses. Commander Malor shouldn''t have been dropping Skill Books of such rarity.


    Soul Stone wasn''t a powerful skill that could wipe out an entire enemy party; it wasn''t even an ultimate skill.


    Soul Stone, Instant Cast. Uses 5% Mana to store the soul of the target party or raid member, allowing resurrection upon death. 20-minute duration, target resurrects with 60% HP and 20% mana. Cooldown 2 minutes when out of battle. Can only be casted on a single player.


    It didn''t matter how much mana it used up because this was a skill that was used prior to battle.


    Warlocks could bind the soul of a player into the Stone and if they were killed, they would be resurrected immediately with 60% HP and 20% mana.


    A cooldown of 2 minutes when out of battle meant that the skill''s cooldown did not expire during a battle. Similar to the Druid''s Battle Resurrection, it could only be used once per fight.


    However, it could only target a single player, preventing Warlocks from resurrecting multiple players at once.


    If it weren''t for that limitation, Warlocks could easily bind 5 players in the span of 10 minutes, giving an entire party a second chance if they were to make a mistake.


    This was undoubtedly a useful skill and while it might not have been as rare as Sesame Rice Ball''s Ritual of Summoning, it was far more practical and would be a very useful addition to their dungeon runs.


    Sesame Rice Balls learnt the skill and transferred a large sum of Gold to Remnant Dreams as thanks.


    After this, they arrived at the Scarlet Archives where a Boss named Instructor Galford awaited them.


    Galford used to be an archivist who looked after important Scarlet Crusade documents. He saw it as an honorable job, but had to watch in horror as his precious documents and archives were burned to ashes. Balnazzar used this painful memory and enslaved him into an eternally vengeful and hateful being, waiting to unleash his wrath upon anyone who came here again.


    Because of the despair and hopelessness, the Mage was driven to insanity.


    When Lu Li was doing the Love and Family quest, he had Stealthed in here alone and was afraid to even look at him. He had only narrowly escaped because he summoned Silly Husky with the Book of Ur.


    Speaking of Silly Husky, Lu Li realized he had yet to summon him today.


    Silly Husky was let out.


    He examined his surroundings and almost peed himself.


    "Wait¡­ let me back in! Let me back in! I don''t want to mess with that Mage anymore. Master, please, I beg you. Let me go back this time," he pleaded.


    He had previously been summoned with the Book of Ur to distract the Mage, and was left traumatized from that experience.


    Everyone: "..."


    What a useless summon ¨C he had only just come out and was already complaining.


    Remnant Dream used to be envious of Lu Li''s talking pet, but now that she had met him, she didn''t even want him anymore.


    "Calm down, calm down ¨C we''re going to kill the Mage later. I was thinking that you could join us so that you can take revenge for what he did to you the last time," Lu Li said. He never intended on using him as bait again.


    "Goddammit, you scared me. I''ll beat him up for sure this time!" Silly Husky declared arrogantly.

 913 The Duke with a Dark Abdomen

    It appeared that Galford had forgotten Lu Li''s team during this meeting.


    He was enjoying his time reading amongst his bookshelves that were filled with his book collections. As soon as he had heard footsteps, he instantly regained his focus and exclaimed, "Flames are terrifying, aren''t they? They can burn all hopes, but now, it is your turn to understand the depth of this utter despair!"


    A large fireball instantly shot out towards the silly husky and hit it on the head. Who had let it walk at the front?


    Galford''s range of aggro was terrifying. Lu Li was extremely fortunate in choosing not to enter the archive library by himself, despite his Enhanced Stealth.


    Silly husky instantly yelled and ran but was killed on the spot.


    Azure Sea Breeze raised his shield and blocked the second fireball.


    This was a powerful skill called Pyroblast. It was similar to a Fireball, but dealt much more damage and applied a Burn effect as well. Those who could not deal with the Burn damage would have a miserable time.


    Fortunately, Galford was not a difficult Boss. If Azure Sea Breeze could deflect his Pyroblasts with the correct timing, he would take minimal damage.


    Instructor Galford''s ultimate skill was called Wind Burn, which had an AoE effect and also Stunned. However, it could be easily countered by forming a barrier of players at the front. This would prevent the winds from making contact with the ranged DPS and healers.


    Because it did not have the potential to instantly kill players, they could simply dodge it by avoiding the areas that the wind was striking.


    Galford was cleared on their first try. The only slight difficulty that they encountered was when Sakura Memories was Stunned in the flames. Her Badge had already been used, so she had to die. However, Lu Li had revived her anyway to give her the experience rewarded from the Boss.


    After killing the Boss, they began to retrieve their spoils of war.


    Tome of Knowledge, Mage off-hand weapon, Dark gold grade ¨C this was instantly exchanged with Sesame Rice Ball''s guild points that he had gathered.


    The secondary weapon slot was usually filled with either a Spell Sword, or a Magic-based Dagger. Weapons like Staves required two hands, so the player would not be able to equip a secondary weapon alongside. Secondary weapons usually had unique bonus effects when equipped, with weaker ones only providing one bonus skill. Decent weapons like the Tome of Knowledge had three, while the high-end ones like the Chronicle of Dark Secrets had five.


    It was already clear that no one else wanted it, as both Lonesome Flower and March Rain both had exquisite Staffs already.


    The second item that dropped was also Dark Gold grade ¨C the Devout Gloves, which were part of an equipment set.


    The Devout Set belonged to Priests, and March Rain already had a piece. Now that another has dropped, the set effect for two pieces would be activated after March Rain equipped it.


    An Instance Dungeon dropping two pieces of set equipment was a rare occurrence.


    Everyone else was staring with wide eyes and salivating. Lady Luck was definitely on their side.


    The last equip was Gold grade armour ¨C Ash Covered Boots. These were usually equipped by a Thief, but Druids could also wear them. However, Lu Li and Hachi Chan did not want them, so they were designated a place within the guild''s vault for exchange.


    The final item was a Righteous Orb.


    After looting everything, everyone remained for a while more.


    Hachi Chan had taken on a quest from Light''s Hope Chapel, which included an NPC called Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff.


    Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff was a highly regarded linguist whose homeland had been destroyed. Most of the quests that gave out regarded the killing of the fallen generals of the Scarlet Crusade. This was because his homeland was not merely wiped out by the Scourge, but also the Scarlet Crusade.


    However, his focus was now on his old friend, Instructor Galford.


    There were two types of people who would understand you the most. One was your friend and ally, while the other was an enemy. Instructor Galford had once been an old friend, but was now an enemy. As such, Duke Nicholas Zverenhoff sought for his destruction and torture.


    Zverenhoff had asked Hachi Chan to burn and destroy all the data in the Archive. These remaining files were personally scribed by Galford after the originals were destroyed.


    Even after becoming one of the Scourge himself, Galford still could not let go of his old occupation. This only went to show his dedication towards the Archive. It was purely because of his passion and dedication towards the Archive that Zverenhoff wanted to utterly destroy his hard work.


    Although Zverenhoff had lost his homeland, he was still a rich man that gave out great rewards for his quests.


    This quest had to be completed!


    Everyone watched on as the flames engulfed and tore down the walls of the Archive. Lu Li knew that they were going to be rewarded generously by Zverenhoff.


    Instance Dungeons usually were refreshed after every entry, but this one was different. The second party to enter this dungeon would be seeing the files that were copied after Lu Li and his party had burned everything down.


    Zverenhoff''s rewards depended on the number of files that were destroyed. One could only imagine the rewards that they were going to receive for burning down an entire house.


    Lu Li decided against participating in this quest to split the EXP given by Zverenhoff. High-levelled players like Lonesome Flower, Sakura Memories and Sesame Rice Ball chose not to participate either. This left players Remnant Dream, March Rain and Azure Sea Breeze. Being either students, healers or Main Tanks, training was generally harder for them.


    As for Hachi Chan, she was a questing expert. Her level was not low either, but without her, the mission could not be completed.


    Finally, it was time to tackle the final Boss, The Dreadlord Balnazzar.


    Similar to before, the party had to clear out swarms of smaller monsters beforehand, which was a mind-numbing task. However, the items that dropped from them were valuable enough to make it worthwhile.


    "Be more cautious if you don''t want to die," Lu Li reminded as he tapped Azure Sea Breeze on the shoulder and signalled for everyone to retreat a little. This was a precautionary measure in case Azure Sea Breeze had pulled too many monsters.


    "What''s up? I''ve been through much worse situations. Don''t worry about me," Azure Sea Breeze assured as he pounded his chest.


    The monsters here dropped many recipes and blueprints, but most of them were fairly common. Lu Li wanted an Engineering blueprint that produced mediocre items. He planned to use it to rapidly increase his Profession EXP, as the materials that were required would be much cheaper.

 914 Dreadlord

    Instead, many Righteous Orbs had dropped. There was a wave that dropped two Orbs from five monsters, but they would receive at least one from every wave.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, he had hunted and grinded at this place for many Righteous Orbs, but they were extremely rare.


    He had figured out what was going on.


    The amount of drops this time was not purely because of the Nightmare difficulty, but because of the greedy game company from his previous life. They had decreased the chance for Righteous Orbs to drop. In Lu Li''s previous life, his party had been unable to even find one, despite grinding day and night in groups of five to reduce the cooldown of the Instance Dungeon. It was because of this constant grinding that Lu Li had gained a great understanding of this dungeon.


    After clearing out all the smaller monsters, a total of 18 orbs had dropped. Adding onto the two that were previously hunted, there were enough for two per person.


    One could be used to complete the quest, while the others could be taken for personal collection.


    After reaching Balnazzar, everyone stayed outside of his aggro zone and decided to rest for the upcoming fight.


    The team that was in charge of the Strategies had collected information that was similar to what Lu Li was already aware of. After conducting an investigation, they suggested some tactics that they could use when fighting Balnazzar.


    However, the Balnazzar that they saw now was different. He was previously a human called Dathrohan.


    ''Dreadlord'' was not Balnazzar''s nickname, but ''Nathrezim'', which was his race. They were a group of creatures who had no sympathy and compassion as they took great pride in their strength and nothing else.


    Even though they were extremely large in stature, they were proficient in melee range and often used skills that would scare or deceive their opponents. This would result in them having complete control in the darkness.


    They had suppressed most of the world using a mindset of controlling their opponents and using their enemies to fight for them.


    Sargeras, one of the founders of the Legion, was converted to the dark side under their control.


    Dreadlords could not die and often possessed skills that would preserve their lives. even when it seemed like they had been slain. Furthermore, the prospects of internal killing within their own race were nearly impossible, as one Dreadlord could not kill the other.


    However, impossible did not necessarily mean that it could not be done.


    Dreadlord Tichondrius, their leader, died under the hands of Illidan, who had multiplied his strength greatly after obtaining Gul''dan. This made it possible for him to instantly kill Tichondrius, who was under the guard of many other Dreadlords.


    Not many people would know who the Dreadlord Mal''Ganis was. He was mostly credited for the ultimate fall of Arthas, but he had also died to Arthas'' Frostmourne.


    There were many other Dreadlords who occupied many other dungeons and places. Some had also already been slain by other powerful beings, so Balnazzar was not the only Dreadlord, or the strongest one.


    However, he had been extremely successful. His success could be attributed to his ruthlessness, as well as the cunningness of his heart.


    Balnazzar, being a Dreadlord, had pledged allegiance to the commander of the Legion, Kil''jaeden. Balnazzar was then arranged to spy on the Lich King Ner''zhul. However, he was then controlled by the Scourge, so he did not know who to pledge allegiance. It was because of this that he had stayed in Stratholme.


    He was an extremely difficult Boss to deal with, which was fitting for Strathholme''s final fight.


    It was absolutely impossible to clear Balnazzar on their first try, even if Lu Li went over the strategy with the team.


    Furthermore, he also wanted to further train his team in this Instance Dungeon, as well as the guild members in charge of formulating strategies and collecting information.


    "Hey there, big boy. Come fight me!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted as he jumped up and into the aggro zone.


    Balnazzar''s fighting style was somewhat similar to Dathrohan''s. The Dreadlord raised his large


    sword and charged towards the party, but was blocked by Azure Sea Breeze''s shield. However, the strike was so heavy that he was seemingly crushed under the immense strength and was forced to kneel.


    "What the hell? What overwhelming strength is this? My shield''s not going to hold. The durability has gone down by 3 points already!" Azure Sea Breeze lamented as he retreated.


    Balnazzar did not let him off. After absorbing Dathrohan, he had not only gained his body, but his strength and array of skills. This was why Balnazzar had been able to pretend that he was Dathrohan in the Crusade.


    "Don''t you have many other shields?" Wandering asked.


    "I still need money to repair¡­Even if I had many shields, I wouldn''t just use them like this." Azure Sea Breeze said in frustration.


    After a typical Boss fight, his repair fees were at least five times higher than players like March Rain. If that attack had been kept up all fight, his repair fees would be in the hundreds.


    "Try to avoid taking the sword blows directly on your shield. Try and analyse his focus points on his strikes," Lu Li suggested. Although he had not played as a Warrior, he had heard of many tips and tricks during his time in Dawn.


    Swords were easier to block than maces, as the focus point of swords were much easier to predict.


    Azure Sea Breeze was a Warrior with elite potential. Although Lu Li''s words were not hard to understand, he had grasped the meaning of them instantly.


    After mulling over it a little, he decided to test it out.


    As Dathrohan raised his sword over his head, readying for another strike, Azure Sea Breeze had tilted his shield a little.


    When his sword made contact with Azure Sea Breeze''s shield, it slid right off. Nevertheless, Azure Sea Breeze had still taken a large amount of damage.


    Although this conserved the Durability of the shield, he had not blocked the damage completely. He was fortunate enough to not be instantly killed after that.


    During the second phase, Balnazzar used his backhand to strike him. Azure Sea Breeze attempted to do the same thing, but he could not block the incoming sword strike as well.


    His HP had not been restored to full after the previous strike, and he did not have a shield to block a frontal attack. Dawn''s number one Main Tank had fallen at the hands of a level 52 Boss.


    Wandering had rushed forward in his place and took two or three hits from the Boss, then also died.


    Before dying, he looked back towards his team, as if to say, "I''m sorry everyone. I could not protect you all."


    But why was he the only one that was anywhere near the Boss? Everyone else seemed like they were running in the direction of the exit!


    Bloody hell! What a bunch of cowards!

 915 Addicted to Getting Wiped

    After Azure Sea Breeze died and Wandering was sacrificed, everyone else exited the battle safely. They revived the two players before sitting down to have some food.


    "Why didn''t you resurrect me earlier?" Azure Sea Breeze felt depressed.


    Wandering was frustrated and had no one else to take it out on but his good friend.


    "It''s all your fault. You can''t even tank properly, yet you call yourself the best tank."


    "Alright, let''s keep going. Wandering did a good job just then and sacrificed himself for everyone. We should all be grateful towards him," Lu Li said shamelessly, completely forgetting the fact that he was the first to run away.


    Then again, the battle had just started a few minutes ago. It was better for them to start over rather than waste Resurrect this early on.


    "Brothers, I will succeed this time," Azure Sea Breeze declared as he rushed at the Boss. This time, he tried to use the method that Lu Li had talked about. He realized that this technique was actually rather helpful, but it came at a cost. When he made a mistake and died, everyone else also died.


    "How many times has it been? This must be either the 18th or 19th time," Wandering said weakly.


    "Don''t you see that I''ve almost got it?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he went over to Lu Li''s Maintenance Robots so that they could fix his equipment for him. Most of his Shield''s durability was almost depleted.


    The Maintenance Robots here were a must-have for First Clears. Otherwise, they would have to waste time going back to town to repair their equipment.


    Of course, using robots to repair their equipment also came at a cost. It was at least 20% more expensive than doing it in town.


    In addition, the Maintenance Robots themselves were very valuable and were a luxury for most normal guilds. Although Ruling Sword was considered a normal guild, they had no shortage of money and Lu Li was making these robots himself.


    "Lu Li, we have no hope of defeating this last Boss," Hachi Chan sighed pitifully.


    After being wiped over and over, this little girl was physically and mentally exhausted.


    For someone who wasn''t that interested in doing Instance Dungeons, it was alright when the progress went smoothly, but they would be quick to get tired when they hit a wall.


    "This is definitely quite difficult, particularly because its sleep skill is too strong," Lu Li laughed bitterly. He had thought that they had a chance at defeating the Boss, but they hadn''t even come close so far.


    However, the situation was even worse than it seemed. They hadn''t entered the third stage of the fight yet, where Balnazzar was his most powerful. In this stage, he would turn into a terrifying demon that even Baron Rivendare didn''t stand a chance against.


    Balnazzar knew eight skills ¨C Rain of Chaos, Sleep, Psychic Scream, Vampirism Aura, Mind Control, Mind Blast, Earthquake and Painful Touch.


    Throughout the battle, Vapirism Aura, Sleep and Rain of Chaos were used more often. Mind Blast was introduced in the first stage, while Psychic Scream and Earthquake were introduced in the second. In the third stage, he would cast Painful Touch, which could instantly kill any Plate-Armored target, along with Mind Control, which could control one of the players. Earthquake was his area of effect skill, and it was used when the players couldn''t reach the third stage within 30 minutes. This was usually what wiped teams.


    Mind Blast and Rain of Chaos were manageable, as long as they had a good healer.


    However, Sleep would often the healers, limiting their effectiveness. If this ever happened, the entire team would have to give up and begin a new attempt.


    At this time, Azure Sea Breeze was level 47 and the Boss was level 52. He was frequently struck by Critical Hits, which often put him at risk of dying. As such, when March Rain was put to sleep, he was unable to withstand the Boss'' attacks.


    In all the times that they had gotten wiped, most of these was because their Healer was put to sleep.


    On their best attempt, they managed to reach the third stage, but they were mercilessly wiped all the same.


    The strategists outside had no idea either. After all, no strategy could solve the problem of the Main Tank being too weak to withstand the Boss'' attacks. Unless there were several significant changes to his already exquisite equipment, success was just a fool''s dream.


    Moreover, he still had a long way to go in terms of EXP. He would have to farm for at least 3-5 days to reach level 48, so narrowing the level gap wasn''t a feasible plan either.


    "Maybe we could try better Priest equipment. Strategists, collect some Cloth equipment from the guild and I''ll talk to Water Fairy," Lu Li said after thinking for a while. He felt like this was the only way.


    If they improved March Rain''s tenacity, she would be released from the sleeping state more quickly. This way, the Main Tank wouldn''t have to go for as long without healing.


    However, this would reduce her healing ability which could affect them in the long run.


    "What? You''re fighting the last Boss already?" Water Fairy asked. She was surprised to hear that Lu Li was talking about fighting Balnazzar.


    Drizzle Court was currently fighting Ramstein the Gorger and was stuck.


    "I have encountered some difficulties. Do your Priests have better equipment to escape crowd control?" Lu Li''s personal relationship with their Priests was not great, so he had to ask through Water Fairy.


    "So you''re looking for control equipment¡­ I''ll need to ask. Wait a second," Water Fairy responded awkwardly.


    When she said she would ask, she actually meant that she needed to talk to her guild about it. After all, their strongest Priest, Star Baby, was there with them trying to get the First Clear too.


    If they gave Lu Li her equipment, they might not want to try anymore.


    While explaining the situation to her own team, the Drizzle Court team was naturally surprised at Ruling Sword''s progress. They hadn''t even gotten past the Undead monsters yet, but ruling Sword was already fighting the final Boss in the Scarlet Zone.


    They were a little frustrated at their progress, but the question of lending equipment raised a huge disagreement in the group.


    Of course, the majority were opposed to the idea, especially their Strategists.


    Drizzle Court''s Strategists were facing more pressure than usual as they had been repeatedly attacked for using Ruling Sword''s strategies. They were now trying to prove that they were just as capable.


    Now, if they were to ruin their own progress to help Ruling Sword, it would put the Strategists in an even harder spot.

 916 Borrowing Equipmen

    "I think it''s okay ¨C we can use their strategy to clear this dungeon," Drizzle Court''s Main Tank Deep Watersong said with a smile.


    He had completely disregarded the Strategists that were opposed to the idea. The other guilds might not have operated like this, but Water Fairy had complete authority in Drizzle Court. If she had already made a decision, all they could do was follow her.


    "Doing it properly isn''t working either. How much longer do you think it will take the Strategists to come up with a strategy for this Boss?" Water Fairy asked. She seemed disappointed with the Strategists as well.


    Most of the Strategists in Drizzle Court were girls. While they were meticulous when playing games, they lacked creative thinking when compared to men.


    Although Water Fairy had recruited a few male players that had performed quite well, they wouldn''t be able to solve this fundamental problem for a while. If it weren''t for Lu Li''s previous help, their progress through the Instance Dungeons wouldn''t have been so fast.


    "We probably won''t get much further today. Our Main Tank''s level isn''t high enough at level 46," the chief Strategist sighed.


    "Glory Capital has already reached Magistrate Barthilas and their Main Tank is only level 46. Their equipment isn''t even as good as Watersong''s, so the level can''t be the problem. We''re missing something else. You don''t have to say anything else; I have decided to lend the equipment," Water Fairy said decisively.


    The Strategists were ashamed of themselves and didn''t protest any further.


    In fact, Water Fairy didn''t want to think about it anymore. The others thought that lending the equipment would affect their ability to clear the Instance Dungeon, but she begged to differ.


    Surely March Rain had exquisite equipment as well, so exchanging wouldn''t be that big of a deal. Her equipment could even give them a greater advantage against Ramstein the Gorger. After all, this Boss didn''t seem to have any strong crowd-control skills.


    In doing so, Water Fairy had also intentionally humiliated her Strategists; she hoped that this shame would motivate them to work harder. They hadn''t spent so much money on them just for Ruling Sword to give them the strategy.


    Before long, Lu Li took March Rain to see Water Fairy at Light''s Hope Chapel.


    "There are a total of six Dark Gold equips, each of them geared towards reducing crowd-control. I searched through all of Drizzle Court, Peerless City and even some of the other smaller guilds. Their usefulness isn''t only limited to crowd-control ¨C they have other good Attributes as well. The only thing is that little sister March Rain will have to get used them," Water Fairy said.


    "I''ll just take these five. I have a better option for the last one," March Rain said as she removed five of her own equips and handed them to Water Fairy, then added, "Don''t call me little sister; I''m one year older than you."


    Water Fairy laughed, "Ah yes, it''s big sister March Rain. I always thought you were younger than me -after all you¡­"


    March Rain indeed looked very young. This was the sentence that Water Fairy didn''t finish; it wasn''t the appropriate occasion to say something like that. The Priest standing next to Lu Li was someone that she had been interested in for a long time. Unfortunately, she also knew it was impossible to steal her away, no matter how much money she had.


    "I''ll send the strategy to you when we get back," Lu Li said, then summoned his mount and returned to the Instance Dungeon with March Rain.


    After they returned to the Instance Dungeon, March Rain was given some time to adapt to her new equipment. It was perhaps not enough to completely remove Deep Sleep, but it was no longer efficient for the Boss to use that skill on her.


    The only drawback was that this increase in Crowd Control reduction limited her healing capabilities,


    "I hope that we can get through it in one go. March Rain and Breezy, this will depend on you guys. Hachi you also need to work hard," Lu Li said, then mobilized the group and announced the start of the fight.


    Balnazzar began by putting Lonesome Flower to sleep, who didn''t hesitate to cancel it before dealing as much damage as he could. He didn''t think at all about what to do if he was put to sleep again.


    If they couldn''t even reach the third stage, there was no point in saving his skills.


    Moreover, the Boss had a 30% chance of targeting the healer with Deep Sleep. The remaining 70% was split up among the eight other players, which meant that there was less than a 10% chance for each of them.


    Lonesome Flower had two skills that could remove crowd-control in addition to his Badge; this was more than enough.


    "Rain of Chaos, Hachi!" Lu Li no longer warned his teammates in advance ¨C as the Boss raised his sword, he had already given the command. The moment Rain of Chaos came into effect, Hachi Chan''s area of effect healing began as well.


    "Breezy, damage reduction. Mind Blast."


    Lu Li examined the Boss'' visual cues to determine in advance what he was going to do, then shouted out instructions for his team. This reduced the damage dealt to Azure Sea Breeze to a small chunk.


    "Deep Sleep ¨C pay attention to March Rain!" Lu Li quickly shouted upon seeing the fingertip of the Boss.


    This time, March Rain was ready. She quickly recovered from her Sleep and started healing Azure Sea Breeze again, preventing him from dying after receiving a few successive Critical Hits in a row.


    As another Rain of Chaos came, Lu Li gave specific instructions as to what needed to be done.


    "Memories, use the Mana Regeneration totem. Everyone else, get ready to use your potions. Hachi Chan, heal the Main Tank. March Rain, heal anyone else that needs it. Don''t let anyone get lower than 30%."


    "We''re going into stage two now. Remnant Dream, you''re too close to the Boss. Make sure you watch out for Psychic Scream; it''s four seconds of Fear. There is also the Earthquake after the Fear, so everyone should make sure they are standing at least eight yards away from it," Lu Li called out as they smoothly transitioned into the second stage.


    During this period March Rain was put to sleep three times, but she dealt with it in stride.


    The area-of-effect crowd-control was very troublesome, particularly because Balnazzar''s skills had such a wide range. Even the ranged players had to be wary and ensure that they wouldn''t get hit by Earthquake.


    If they were caught within the range of Earthquake, they would be stunned and continually damaged.


    If the players were grouped together when this happened, the damage would be even worse.


    As such, Lu Li would occasionally ask everyone to stop fighting and disperse in an eight-yard radius. This ensured that there would not be more than three players affected by the Earthquake at any single time.


    If there were three or less people affected, the Healers would be able to cope with the situation.


    After playing around Earthquake and Deep Sleep in the second stage, there was basically nothing else to it. With the borrowed equipment, March Rain had become an unstoppable force that couldn''t be put to sleep.

 917 Divine Intervention?

    "Keep it up everyone; we''re going into the third stage. Let''s finish it in one go."


    They had previously reached the third stage, but they had never done it this quickly.


    Balnazzar was a very difficult Boss. If they didn''t enter the third stage in 30 minutes, it would start casting a perpetual Earthquake. Even the Painful Touch skill that the Boss would now use couldn''t compare. Lu Li didn''t know if any other guild had encountered this Boss yet, but he definitely knew that they were unaware of how powerful Painful Touch was.


    "Wandering, damage reduction!" Lu Li cried out.


    "Why?" Wandering questioned, but still cast it the moment he heard Lu Li''s instruction.


    At the precise moment the damage reduction took effect, a dark green light hit his body as he suddenly took 2000-3000 damage.


    If he hadn''t cast his damage reduction skills, he would have been lucky to stay alive.


    "This is Painful Touch. March Rain, heal him quickly ¨C there will be more damage coming soon," Lu Li explained quickly.


    There were many players who died here, and not for the reason they expected. Painful Touch caused a lot of damage initially, but over the next 15 seconds, it would deal a further four to five ticks. Each tick dealt about a thousand damage.


    March Rain quickly refilled his HP.


    "Don''t try to mess with the magic that is left behind by Painful Touch," Lu Li reminded March Rain.


    Once the 15 seconds of damage was over, Balnazzar would immediately find another target to cast his spell on. If he decided to target a Cloth-armored player, even activating their damage reduction skills wouldn''t save them.


    When Wandering''s 15 seconds were up, Balnazzar chose his next target. This time, Lu Li didn''t say anything because it was him.


    He chose not to use his Ring''s special effect ¨C King of the Jungle: Instant Cast, summon a natural shield that absorbs all damage for the user from one attack. One-hour cooldown.


    Although this would definitely prevent him from being harmed and would even render him immune from the delayed damage ticks, he had to consider the next target, just in case it was March Rain¡­


    March Rain had changed her equipment, which meant that her damage reduction effects were now significantly reduced.


    Fortunately, Lu Li''s equipment was good enough that he wasn''t instantly killed.


    March Rain then healed him to the best of her ability and he barely survived the following ticks of damage.


    The third Painful Touch was aimed at Sesame Rice Ball. After Lu Li issued the order, he quickly cast his damage reduction skills, then downed a rare healing potion because he didn''t feel confident in his chances of survival.


    Alchemists occasionally acquired some by-products while they were creating their potions.


    This particular by-product had a very powerful special effect, but it could only be used by the person who created it.


    The moment he drank the potion, his maximum HP increased by 30% and his HP regeneration increased by 20 per second for ten seconds.


    Of course, after making tens of thousands of potions, he had only received three special potions with similar effects. All three bottles were different, and this was the best bottle given the circumstances.


    With his bolstered HP bar, Sesame Rice Ball easily survived the attack. As for the subsequent damage, there was no need to worry as March Rain could always regenerate his HP.


    The fourth target was Remnant Dream. Despite her luck, the poor hunter could do nothing to escape her fate.


    This outcome was inevitable. There were few Plate Armored players that could survive Balnazzar''s Painful Touch, but the little Hunter used Chain Mail, which provided lower Defense. Not to mention, she was five levels lower than the Boss.


    "Memories, is Bloodthirst ready?" Lu Li asked loudly.


    They had to resolve this battle quickly. If they lingered in the third phase for too long, more players would die and eventually, they wouldn''t have enough manpower to kill the Boss. Balnazzar had a Vampirism Aura that passively converted some of the damage he dealt into HP.


    Lu Li resurrected Remnant Dream so that she could continue to fight with her pets. Having another player meant another damage source, not to mention that her many pets could match the damage output of Lu Li and Lonesome Flower.


    "Lighty, looks like you''re next. Hold on," Lu Li said in relief.


    Moonlight had Plate Armor and was wearing exquisite equipment. Being a PVP player, he highly prioritized survivability when choosing equipment. Even if Lu Li didn''t give an instruction, he would still be safe.


    Speaking of which, they had actually been quite lucky so far.


    They had entered third stage without losing a single member and several players had managed to survive the Boss'' Painful Touch. It was only Remnant Dream who had unfortunately died once.


    As the Boss'' HP dipped below 40%, Lu Li almost cheered ¨C the Painful Touch phase was now over.


    After Balnazzar''s HP dropped below 40%, the most common skill it would use was Mind Control. This would possess a player and force them to attack the others or heal the Boss.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group was most afraid of this trick. Whether it was Lu Li, Moonlight, Sakura Memories or March Rain, they were all star players, which would make things very difficult if they were Mind Controlled.


    However, it wasn''t as though they had never encountered a Boss with a similar skill. It turned out that the strategy for overcoming this was simple enough.


    Sakura Memories had just been afflicted by Mind Control. Lu Li appeared behind her before casting Premeditation and Cheap Shot to Stun her for four seconds. He then stacked a Shadowstrike on top with a Skill Completion of less than 5%, which gave him five combo points. When the initial Stun was about to expire, he immediately casted a Kidney Shot. This meant that Sakura Memories had no choice but to sit still for the entire duration of the Mind Control.


    Mind Control last for ten seconds, but Lu Li could mitigate this with ease.


    The battle continued for another 30 minutes. It was now that the issue of mana became an important restricting factor in their progress.


    "Everyone come closer! I have an item that can give mana to everyone!" Hachi Chan called out just as Lu Li was thinking about how he could maximize the duration of the battle.

 918 The Final Victory

    "That''s a great idea Hachi," Lu Li said happily.


    "Hey, don''t touch my head. You perverts can go away," Hachi Chan scowled as she made a face. When everyone who needed Mana had gathered around her, she tore open a scroll. A magical energy then swirled around them as they all received a powerful buff.


    5% Mana Regeneration per second for 15 seconds!


    "This must be the Mana Tide Scroll," Lu Li said, immediately recognizing this overpowered item.


    "Yeah, how do you know about it? Did that Mage Grandpa lie to me? He said that this scroll was very precious," Hachi Chan responded as she looked at Lu Li in surprise.


    Lu Li almost vomited blood, partially because of how strong this item was, but also because of how lucky Hachi Chan was.


    What the Mage had told Hachi Chan was not wrong. Not only was the scroll incredibly precious, it was also nearly impossible to find.


    There was a kind of scroll that only existed in legends. It was a scroll that only demi-gods or the most talented people of the world could ever hope of using. Lu Li didn''t know the exact name, but he had heard that it could regenerate all the mana of a Master Mage within 2 seconds.


    Other than this, the next best Mana Regeneration scroll was naturally the Mana Tide.


    The Mana Tide Scroll was the result of Dalaran''s research. It was said that it contained the Mana of five powerful Mages. Theoretically, this was equivalent to several hundred thousand mana points.


    The moment the scroll was torn open, they would be distributed among the players within a duration of 15 seconds.


    This item was incredibly strong, but Hachi Chan had decided to use it for Stratholme¡­


    Stratholme¡­


    This was just an ordinary level 50 Instance Dungeon!


    Lu Li swallowed the blood bubbling up in his throat and gave a weak smile. If the others truly understood what she had done, they would have definitely stopped attacking Balnazzar and attacked Hachi Chan instead.


    After regenerating 75% of their MP, everyone had the confidence to take this fight to the end.


    In fact, as long as the Main Tank and Healers could survive , they would eventually defeat the Boss if given enough time.


    "It''s down to 30% HP! Everyone, slow down a little bit and wait for your damage reduction skills to refresh!" Lu Li cried out as he stopped Sakura Memories from using Bloodthirst.


    The stages were not evenly spread out ¨C Balnazzar''s first stage lasted for the first 10% of his HP, while the second stage was slightly longer and lasted until he reached 50% HP. The last stage lasted the longest, but was also the most dangerous.


    First, there was Painful Touch, which was followed by a relatively simple Mind Control phase. However, after it dropped below 30%, it would turn into a demon.


    At this stage, the Boss wouldn''t go Berserk yet, nor would it use Painful Touch. It was just using Mind Control, so if they had the mana, they could slow down the fighting rhythm.


    Fighting Bosses wasn''t just about completing the fight as quickly as possible; it was also important to control the rhythm.


    Two minutes later, most of their damage reduction skills had refreshed. The Boss'' HP was also at 31%, so it was close to turning into a demon.


    "May Buddha protect us," Azure Sea Breeze muttered. He casted a Taunt skill as everyone else began to increase their damage output once again.


    "Bloodthirst!" Lu Li yelled out as he started to furiously attack the Boss, successfully achieving a number of Critical hits.


    "Now, you will wish for death," Balnazzar sneered. His body began to distort and his skin turned purple as a huge pair of wings spread from his back.


    "His damage is getting stronger. March Rain, pay attention to my HP," Azure Sea Breeze said as he started to struggle.


    A single normal attack almost forced him to cast his damage reduction skills.


    "Hachi Chan, heal Breezy. March Rain should focus on Breezy. You can heal the others, but just make sure that Breezy survives. We need him to beat the Boss," Lu Li instructed, deciding that some sacrifices had to be made.


    If someone died now at this point, there was not much they could do.


    Fortunately, Azure Sea Breeze was truly quite powerful, particularly after focusing on the techniques that Lu Li had told him about. He controlled the damage dealt to him and began to manage it quite well. He had almost singlehandedly turned a dangerous situation into a relatively safe one.


    The other Main Tanks were having a miserable time.


    Almost all the Demon Lords had some kind of splitting passive skill, which meant that a common attack could have an area of effect. Anyone who was injured had no choice but to take a potion or use a damage reduction skill, but they couldn''t ask for much help.


    After becoming a Demon, the Balnazzar''s attack power greatly increased, along with his Defense.


    The battle was beginning to seem like a stalemate.


    Without Hachi Chan''s scroll, all the Magic professions would have run out of mana by now and Lu Li probably would have given up on continuing Stratholme. Although not many players died to Painful Touch, Hachi Chan didn''t have another scroll up her sleeve.


    "Memories, remember to drop the mana totem," Lu Li said. He had to remind his teammates as they had just been wildly attacking. Everyone knew that they had reached a critical phase and were doing their best.


    "I have a skill to reduce damage, but I don''t know if I should use it now or wait for it to go Berserk," Azure Sea Breeze said upon seeing that he didn''t have many other options left.


    "Just use it now; we''ll deal with the Berserk when it comes. If we can''t pass this stage, then you would have saved it for nothing," Lu Li said calmly. He wasn''t actually that worried about Balnazzar going Berserk.


    Turning into a demon was in fact much more powerful than Beserk. After all, when a Boss normally went Berserk, it generally didn''t increase both Attack and Defense.


    Of course, going Beserk was not impossible, but the odds were fairly low.


    Eventually, Balnazzar finally reached critical HP and everyone held their breath nervously.


    If he went Berserk, then they probably wouldn''t continue playing today. However, if he did not, then the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was confident that they could survive this final stage.

 919 An Opportunity

    "I''m almost out of Mana."


    Despite having Hachi Chan''s Mana Tide, March Rain was still in an awkward position.


    If she was a Magic profession, they would have just lost some fighting power, but a healer without Mana couldn''t do anything.


    "Breezy, use Shadowmeld. Wandering, move up. Hachi Chan, heal him," Lu Li instructed. Although he knew that Wandering wouldn''t last long, he could stall for as long as possible with his damage reduction skills.


    "You best be careful," Wandering sneered.


    If Azure Sea Breeze was sent to his death, he definitely would have something to say about it. However, Wandering was different ¨C he didn''t seem to mind now, but he would have made a mental note to be repaid for this later.


    "We''ll give you a few more points later. Take it easy," Lu Li said as he waved his hand at the threat that was directed at him.


    Although Wandering was not the main tank and didn''t have equipment geared towards Defense, he was still a Plate Armored player and had a variety of skills that reduced damage. While he had been complaining all day, he was undeniably good at what he did when it counted.


    The moment that Lu Li issued the order, he took over Azure Sea Breeze''s role against the Boss.


    "HP, I need HP!"


    He didn''t mean to call out like this, but couldn''t help himself after he had cast his helmet''s damage reduction effect. The normally handsome and composed Wandering seemed to be covered in a thick and bloody fog.


    "When did you get that? It looks so flashy," Azure Sea Breeze asked virtuously. Wandering usually cared more about the way his equipment looked more than its Attributes.


    Lu Li had experienced this blood fog before when using the Vampirism effect on his ring. After Fortifying it three times, he had 35% Vampirism, but it was far worse than Wandering''s hat and had a slightly different effect.


    At this time, Wandering''s HP suddenly rose, and it obviously wasn''t Hachi Chan''s doing.


    Hoewver, it was still hard to say that this hat was better than Lu Li''s Epic ring. After all, the hat could only be used once a day while Lu Li''s Ring had a trigger effect. Moreover, Vampirism was only one of the special effects on the Ring.


    "Should I slow down? I feel like this guy can''t keep it up for much longer," Lonesome Flower said. He clearly didn''t trust Wandering as much.


    It seemed as though Wandering had wasted everything in the first few moments and would soon be defeated.


    "It''s okay; keep dealing damage. Breezy has almost finished regenerating," Lu Li said, but withheld what he was thinking. Even if Wandering couldn''t hold it and Lonesome Flower started getting attacked, he would just have to bear that burden.


    "Pull it off me, quickly!" Wandering cried out. He really couldn''t keep it for much longer. Despite his Vampirism, his remaining damage reduction skills wouldn''t help him resist the Boss for much longer.


    "March Rain, are you done? Give Wandering a bit of healing," Lu Li instructed helplessly.


    "I can hold it for a while, but we probably can''t wait long enough for Shadowfiend," March Rain said. She had just regenerated some Mana from potion and began to heal Wandering.


    "Bloodlust is done!" Sakura Memories shouted.


    Bloodlust had an eight minute cooldown, so it could be used multiple times in a drawn-out fight like this.


    "Cast it! Everyone, else attack with all you''ve got!" Lu Li yelled. The moment Sakura Memories cast Bloodlust, he immediately transformed into a Giant Wolf and began to attack the Boss furiously. He didn''t care about going Over Threat anymore.


    There was nothing more he could do now.


    The moment their Main Tank died, no one else would be able to hold up against Balnazzar. Moreover, when Wandering ran out of damage reduction skills, he would go down, so everyone had to take this opportunity to do their best.


    "Wandering remember to say something when you run out of damage reduction skills. Let Breezy take over after that," the Giant Wolf said.


    "My damage reduction skills still haven''t refreshed," Azure Sea Breeze called out as he unsheathed his one-handed sword and attacked the Boss so it didn''t look like he was doing nothing. Everyone was fighting the Boss, but why did Lu Li want him to go in again?


    He really didn''t want to die in this last moment; he had fought too hard to not receive the EXP now.


    "If you don''t go in, who will? Quickly, don''t let Wandering die," Lu Li urged. He didn''t care about who died at this point; they just needed to kill the Boss.


    Sometimes, the Main Tank just had to be the one to take the hit for his teammates.


    "Heavens, why do I have to die first again? Big bro Lu Li, my EXP. Can you resurrect me if I die?" Azure Sea Breeze pleaded. He looked as though he was about to cry.


    "My Resurrect has already been used; I can''t do anything for you."


    Lu Li couldn''t help here, but the phrase Big bro Lu Li gave him a shiver. He would rather Azure Sea Breeze die now than hear him say that again.


    "Hachi, sis!" Azure Sea Breeze cried out as he took over from Wandering. He had begun to look blue after taking a huge chunk of damage.


    Hachi Chan suddenly decided that now was a good time to pick a fight, which left everyone else speechless.


    "You''re a big pig. Call me father."


    "Hey¡­ I really can''t do that," Azure Sea Breeze sobbed with real tears.


    Lu Li''s transformation effect had ended and Balnazzar had just over 20,000HP. He looked at the Mana that March Rain had remaining and began to worry.


    "Hachi Chan, if you have another scroll like that last one, use it now," Remnant Dream suggested. She had also realized that the situation was dire. All the pets that she could summon had died, and she didn''t even have the Mana to revive them.


    "You dummy, do you think that was some kind of vegetable I got from the market," Hachi Chan spat.


    "Goodbye everyone," Azure Sea Breeze sighed as he fell to the ground.


    Wandering rushed to Taunt Balnazzar without saying anything, and the Boss killed him in two hits.


    "Execute, use Execute!" Azure Sea Breeze screamed at Moonlight from the ground. The Berserker''s Execute could cause a lot of damage when the target''s HP was less than 5%, but against a Boss, the damage was reduced and there was a very small chance of success.


    "It''s on cooldown; I just used it," Moonlight said calmly.


    Balnazzar quickly caught up to Lonesome Flower and killed him with a single attack. Next, it was Remnant Dream who was trying to run away with her short legs¡­


    "Feign Death!" Lu Li shouted.


    "Oh yeah," Remnant Dream remembered and immediately cancelled the aggro that had caused the Boss to target her.


    Balnazzar was confused for a moment, then resolutely gave up on the little Hunter and turned to the healer.


    Lu Li had used his skills at the beginning to cancel his aggro before he was selected. While all this was happening, he was attacking the Boss wildly and casting his escape skills.


    Like Moonlight, he could only wait now and hope for a miracle.

 920 Thousand Gold Moun

    "Execute!" Moonlight suddenly roared. Everyone watched in anticipation as the glowing white sword cut into the chest and abdomen of Balnazzar.


    -1689!


    This was the Strength of Execute. Normal attacks could never deal this much damage to the Boss; everyone''s attacks usually dealt a dozen damage each.


    However, this still wasn''t enough to kill Balnazzar, who still had more than 7000HP.


    If Lu Li used his skills, he could deal slightly over a hundred damage. With sixty or seventy attacks, he could finish off the Boss, but he didn''t have many teammates left. He probably had ten more chances at most, not sixty to seventy.


    After Moonlight dealt so much damage, Balnazzar responded by turning around and taking him out.


    Sakura Memories then died quickly afterwards¡­


    Remnant Dream, who had just gotten up from her Feign Death state, had been attacking the Boss the whole time, which caused him to turn to her. With a single swipe, she helplessly fell to the ground.


    "Riceball, run and pull it away!" Lu Li shouted when he saw the Boss chasing Sesame Rice Ball.


    "Haha, I''m back," Azure Sea Breeze said as a light shone around his body and he stood up. Lu Li then remembered that his body was tied to the Soul Stone that was on Sesame Rice Ball. The original plan was probably to wait until the Boss was almost dead before reviving him to share the EXP.


    Unfortunately, the current situation looked like they were going to get wiped, so there was going to be no EXP to share.


    Lu Li really wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but after recalling how he hadn''t received EXP for the last few battles he decided against it. This was also not the time to be teaching any lessons.


    Azure Sea Breeze had some damage reduction skills that had already refreshed, which gave Lu Li and Sesame Rice Ball the opportunity to deal as much damage as they could.


    No one was ready to give up yet!


    Balnazzar only had 4000HP left; they just needed a bit more time.


    -4623!


    A Shadow Bolt flew out of the fallen Boss and slammed into a wall further away, leaving behind a blackened mark.


    Was he dead?


    Azure Sea Breeze had estimated that he could probably tank one more of the Boss'' attacks, but definitely not more than two. They probably had 3 to 5 seconds left before the fight was over. It really seemed like their Instance Dungeon attempt would have had to stop here until he was level 48 or higher.


    He definitely did not expect the Boss'' HP to suddenly get emptied like that.


    "Don''t run to the corpse yet; let my Resurrect cooldown refresh first. The Boss isn''t going anywhere," Lu Li said as he sat down numbly.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword members, Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Sesame Rice Ball... who under the leadership of Party Leader Lu Li, have managed to acquire the First Clear on the Stratholme Instance Dungeon.


    The System''s prompt woke everyone up from their daze. It was only then that they realized the battle was finally over.


    Balnazzar, who had killed them over and over, was now a corpse on the ground. Its original bright, purple wings were now no different to the rotten ones of the Plague Bats in the Plaguelands.


    "I¡­ I got EXP!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was so excited that he was shaking.


    Lu Li had also reached level 48, and two of the three survivors were also awarded Skill Points. Unfortunately, these two players did not include Lu Li. He truly was unlucky, but after what he received from the second Boss, he no longer suspected that the System was oppressing him.


    The System then began to distribute the First Clear rewards.


    Whether they were alive or dead, everyone had a share.


    "Flurry Axe. Too bad it''s not an Epic, but this Attribute, hehe¡­" Azure Sea Breeze smirked as he received his reward and placed it into his backpack. Although it wasn''t an Epic grade, judging from the sound he was making, it was probably quite powerful.


    "I got the Royal Tribunal Cloak. It''s also Dark Gold, and the Attributes are pretty good," Sesame Rice Ball announced as he sent out the details of his item to everyone.


    Lu Li received his equipment, which was unexpectedly a sword.


    Hanzo Sword, Dark Gold.


    This was a force-sensitive dual-handed sword, with two slots and three special effects. It also had a very high Critical Hit and Attack Speed, which made it an exquisite item.


    Unfortunately, he was taking the Agility route. Even if this was a one-handed sword, he would still only consider those that improved his Agility.


    The First Clear Reward granted by the System wouldn''t give a Thief a Priest item, but it was unrealistic to expect items that always complimented their playstyle.


    Lu Li wasn''t too disappointed. As long as it was an exquisite item, there would be someone who would want it if he put it into the warehouse. That person would benefit from it much more from it than he would, which would benefit him in turn. After all, Ruling Sword belonged to him.


    After Resurrect refreshed, he revived the others, who were itching to see what they had received.


    Hachi Chan was given a piece of Druid Leather Armor which increased her damage output. This was useless to her, but she could still trade it into the Guild Warehouse for points.


    Wandering received a piece of Plate Armor, which was perfect for Defensive Professions. Azure Sea Breeze immediately tried to buy it from him when he saw it, since it was not that suitable for Wandering anyway.


    Moonlight got a two-handed axe ¨C Kang the Decapitator.


    Although it was a Dark Gold item, its Attributes were surprisingly good. It had two slots and three special effects on top of increased Critical Damage. One of the three special effects was a powerful Berserk effect, which made Moonlight want to equip it immediately.


    Unfortunately, it was a level 50 weapon, so he would have to wait a while.


    In fact, the Dark Gold Sul''Thraze Whiplash that he had now was already quite powerful. Lu Li hadn''t come across many items which were better than that.


    However, one of the reasons why Moonlight wanted to change his weapon was because he liked the heaviness of the axe. There was a thrill in splitting a target from head to toe.


    Remnant Dream¡­


    "I think I received a Mount, but why is it so bony?" Remnant Dream was particularly happy at first, but didn''t like it as much when she saw its name. She was wondering whether she could get a refund with the System.


    When she told everyone the name of the mount, they were left speechless.


    Most of the First Clear rewards were things that the Instance Dungeon could produce, which included Undead Horses.


    They had received one before, and now they were receiving another. Were these mounts really as rare as Lu Li said they were?


    Azure Sea Breeze saw his chance and went over, planning to make his move here.


    "Keke, Dreamy, I treat you well, right?"


    "Dreamy, I''ll give you 500 gold now, and another 500 gold when we get back," Wandering offered as he kicked Azure Sea Breeze aside and handed a bag containing 500 gold to Remnant Dream.


    "Okay, I''ll take it," Remnant Dream agreed. The 1000 gold coins were simply too tempting.


    "Uh¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze''s eyes rolled back in their sockets as he passed out. He shouldn''t have tried to smooth-talk this little girl; this was obviously something that should have been dealt with in gold¡­

 921 Book of the Dead

    Besides Lonesome Flower, who received a skill book, March Rain was the only one who didn''t get an equipment. She received a skill point instead.


    Including the ones from before, she had received aa total of two skill points in this Stratholme dungeon. Lu Li was envious ¨C in his opinion, equipment wasn''t that important, but skill points were priceless.


    The dungeon wasn''t finished yet, because there was another Boss on the floor waiting for them to loot.


    Balnazzar was the highest-leveled boss in Stratholme and was also the most difficult. It would be ridiculous if it dropped nothing. Lu Li had a feeling that it might drop a Legendary item.


    Stratholme on Elite mode had a chance of dropping Gold equipment, but it wasn''t a guarantee for all Bosses. It was after Difficult mode where the dungeon began to drop more Gold equipment. Stratholme on Nightmare mode had a set chance of dropping Dark Gold equipment, but there was little or no chance of seeing a Legendary item.


    The reason why the Bosses had dropped a Dark Gold equip almost every time was because they were taking the First Clears.


    At the same time, the highest chance of finding Legendary equips was also on a First Clear.


    Of course, this didn''t mean that it would be impossible for rare items to drop from now on.


    Lu Li and the others had taken two days to complete the First Clear of this dungeon. If the next team successfully completed it within a shorter timespan, the System would accept the new record. Even though the new record wouldn''t be as good as the First Clear, it would certainly improve the drop rate and provide a low chance for Legendary items to drop.


    "Alright, I''m going to start looting," Remnant Dream announced, rolling up her sleeves to reveal her chubby arms.


    "Good luck, Dreamy," Azure Sea Breeze said. Although it seemed as though he would never talk to Remnant Dream again, he still turned around to cheer for her again.


    "I think there''s a good chance for a Legendary equipment to drop. I wonder which class it''ll be for though¡­" Everyone was keen for the possibility of exquisite equipment. These days, Wandering had also discovered that sometimes, rare items attracted more attention than a handsome face.


    "You already have Teebu''s Blazing Longsword. What more do you want?" Lu Li asked with a shake of his head.


    Even if Balnazzar was to drop a Legendary item, it would have nothing to do with Wandering, who was a Paladin.


    As they spoke, Remnant Dream had already begun to loot to Boss.


    "Wow, wow, wow!" Remnant Dream looked shocked as she ecstatically ran up to March Rain with a wide smile on her face. "March, you have to thank me for this. I can promise you that no one will have a better item than you."


    "What is it? Show me too!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted. He was like an ant running on a boiling pot.


    The others were curious about the mystery item too; they were curious to see how good it actually was.


    Remnant Dream had seen her fair share of exquisite equipment, so it took some truly extraordinary to make her react like this.


    One of the reasons why Lu Li was so legendary was partly because of his equipment. This was followed by his leading ability and finally, his technique.


    "Wow, thank-you Dreamy!"


    March Rain, who was usually gentle, lost her composure after she quickly scanned the item. She hugged Remnant Dream and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, ignoring the darkened expression of her brother.


    If Remnant Dream was a little boy, she definitely would have been dragged out and beaten by him.


    After the excitement died down a little, they finally shared the equipment Attributes. Lu Li had already guessed what it was when he saw that it looked like a book.


    There were only so many Legendary items that Balnazzar could drop, and among the most popular was the Book of the Dead. It was known as the ultimate damage output equipment for Priests, and was also the Legendary item that was needed as a quest item to "change classes" to an Undead Mage.


    Of course, this was only a description. The Priests in Dawn cannot be actually transformed into an Undead Mage.


    Book of the Dead (Legendary): All Attributes +20, Intelligence +10%, 2 slots, Special Effect 1: Ring of Glory ¨C this ring-type ability boosts the mana regeneration speed of the user and their ally within the area of the ring. Special Effect 2: Earthquake, knocks up all enemy units within 8 yards, causing them to fall and stunning them for 3 seconds, cooldown 10 minutes. Special Effect 3: Summon Skeleton ¨C summon a skeleton that will fight for you for 5 minutes, cooldown 1 minute. Required Level 50, Priest only, Durability 280/280.


    It was no wonder why Remnant Dream had said that if March Rain had this item, she could take down everyone else.


    From the Attributes alone, this would be one of the most powerful Mage items. Unfortunately, this equipment was limited to Priests only.


    On the other hand, this was a good thing for March Rain. No one could use this item besides her. Remnant Dream immediately knew that this item belonged to March Rain, but at the same time, this condition lowered its value at least threefold.


    However, Priests was one of the most popular class in Dawn, so if they ran into a rich player, its price would be no problem at all.


    Because it was an off-hand equipment, it didn''t have any damage Attributes, like all weapons did. Nevertheless, it still boosted Intelligence by a considerable amount. This was more than the bonus Attributes given by two or three pieces of equipment combined. As the base Attributes of March Rain increased, this bonus Attribute would follow suit.


    The two slots had almost become the most basic asset to a Legendary item. If she could find a stone that could reduce the level requirement, she would be able to wear it immediately.


    Special Effect 1 was an effect that all magic classes had their eyes on.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had seen a solo Mage who was constantly invited by many major guilds to do dungeons just because of this effect. They even gave her first pick of the loot.


    With this ring, Hachi Chan could probably save some of her scrolls.


    However, the effect didn''t mean that Mage classes on the team would gain access to unlimited mana. That wasn''t realistic ¨C at the very most, it would just reduce their usage.


    Even so, the first two effects paled in comparison to the third.


    At a surface-level, the third effect didn''t seem to be anything special. There were plenty of skeletons everywhere in the Plaguelands, but none of them were strong at all. The description of the effect wasn''t too clear about it either; only Lu Li knew the secret behind it.

 922 The Calling From Afar

    Perhaps most would think that these summoned skeletons were weak, but only Lu Li knew their true strength. At the very least, they weren''t as weak as what the majority thought.


    These summoned skeletons were the same level as their users, so March Rain, who was level 47, would summon level 47 skeletons. As the level increased, so would their Health, Attack and Movement Speed.


    Additionally, these skeletons had their own skills.


    Prior to level 50, they came with a skill called Swat. This dealt a little more damage to the target than an average auto attack, and also came with a chance of stunning. Although the individual chances of stunning weren''t high, with four skeletons combined, a Stun was almost guaranteed.


    The Book of Dead summoned one skeleton per minute and each lasted for five minutes. The time frame was specifically designed so that the summoned skeletons wouldn''t disappear just because a new one was summoned. It would exist until the duration expired or until it was killed.


    This meant that March Rain would be able to keep at least four skeletons by her side at all times.


    There was also an extension to this effect ¨C not only did these skeletons have their own skills, but they also learned new skills as they levelled up.


    Once a Priest obtained this equip, they would instantly shift from a helpless character to a class with a surprising amount of combat ability.


    The ability to continuously summon skeletons was one of the reasons that the players went crazy over this item.


    Unfortunately, Legendary items were too hard to obtain. Lu Li had never heard of a second person who had this item. After all, it would take a First Clear or a new record for there to be a chance of dropping a Legendary item.


    "It''s a shame I''ve got no main weapon," March Rain sighed as she took off her staff and equipped the Book of Dead.


    Staffs were two-hand equips and could not be used at the same time as an off-hand weapon. In the circumstance where a Priest wanted to equip an off-hand weapon, they could only choose a hammer or a dagger. With such an exquisite off-hand, she would need a strong main weapon to pair with it.


    "Well aren''t you a hard one to satisfy. I"ll look around in the guild dungeon later. Just this off-hand weapon alone is better than your staff," Lu Li said.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make sure to help you find an exquisite main-hand equip," Lonesome Flower promised. He was probably the only one amongst all of them who was entirely happy that his sister jad obtained such an exquisite item.


    "Dreamy, I''ll give you a red packet later."


    By later, she meant that the gold coins in her bag weren''t enough to express her gratitude.


    "March, don''t worry about it ¨C I have a lot of gold coins now, more than enough. I haven''t even thanked you for making my bag. If you keep bringing up gold coins, I''m going to get angry."


    Although everyone often claimed that Remnant Dream was hungry for money, in reality, she couldn''t quite grasp its value yet.


    A few bags, a legendary item, one thousand gold coins, a valuable mount ¨C as long as she felt like they were of the same value, it wasn''t a problem for her at all.


    After she managed to turn down March Rain, Remnant Dream bent down again to continue looting.


    "Wow!"


    Lu Li felt his heart race; it was almost about to burst.


    "March, this one is yours again. Take a guess as to what it is!" Remnant Dream was ecstatic; she wasn''t disappointed at all that these weren''t her equips. She was a simple girl, holding onto a Dagger as she asked if March Rain knew what had dropped.


    Gift of the Elven Magi, Dark Gold grade ¨C this was a magic class weapon with strong special effects.


    One of the special effects was extraordinary ¨C it allowed its user to store a skill that had to be used within half an hour. However, this skill didn''t take up cooldown time or Mana, so it was effective for both PVE and PVP.


    Now that she had both off-hand and main-hand equipment, March Rain''s equipment quality was instantly elevated. If it wasn''t for the fact that Lu Li had the Supreme Ring, he couldn''t even say that his were better.


    Lu Li had already wanted to change his weapon ¨C although his current one was good, it was a little under-leveled.


    However, after the battle against Balnazzar, he changed his mind.


    The last hit for Balnazzar was no accident ¨C it was the third special effect of Shards of the Defiler, Fatal Strike. When the target''s HP dropped below 20%, there was a chance of killing them instantly. The advantage of this effect wasn''t too obvious against average monsters, but it made a big difference when it came to Bosses. It could possibly decide whether the battle concluded in victory or defeat.


    In his previous life, he had already heard of some possible routes to upgrade the Shard of the Defiler. Lu Li decided that he would pursue this if he had some spare time.


    If only he could increase the chances of success¡­


    "Grand Crusader''s Helm, Dark Gold Plated equipment. Who wants it?" Remnant Dream asked, looking obviously disappointed.


    "I don''t want it," Wandering declined without the slightest hesitation.


    "Don''t tell me this is a Legendary helmet," Azure Sea Breeze said as he reached out his hand to touch Wandering''s head. Not only was Wandering''s helmet very powerful, but it also had an eye-catching style.


    "Nope, but not far from it either."


    Wandering tried to act humble, but he really couldn''t keep his face straight at all.


    If Wandering didn''t want it, then it would be given to Azure Sea Breeze. Although this equipment wasn''t as exquisite as the previous two, it was still a level 50 Dark Gold grade. Just the Armor stats alone were good enough for Azure Sea Breeze to take it, let alone the two damage-reduction special effects.


    "Wyrmtongue Shoulders, Gold Leather Armor, Lu Li, do you want it?" Remnant Dream asked as she displayed its Attributes.


    Lu Li shook his head, clearly uninterested.


    Although his equips right now were also Gold grade, they were part of the Voodoo set. These average Gold items didn''t interest him at all, even if they were level 50.


    Remnant Dream shrugged her shoulders and tossed the item into her bag to be thrown into guild storage later. Then, she bent over and pulled out a Recipe.


    "Recipe: Flask of Distilled Wisdom."


    "Good stuff. Give it to Rice Ball," Lu Li said, quite satisfied with this outcome.


    Flask of Distilled Wisdom: Increases maximum Mana by 2000 points, lasts for 2 hours. This effect is a unique buff effect.


    The effect was useful, but the materials were slightly more expensive. An ordinary player certainly would not be able to afford it. However, the Xin Xin Mercenary Group was not limited by money, and they bore the weight of exploring dungeons on their shoulders, so these kinds of investments were definitely necessary.


    From now on, the magic classes from Ruling Sword would be able to drink one each time before they attempted a major Boss.


    The last two items included a rare material and a Synthetic Stone. At last, the Stratholme dungeon finally came to its end.


    After they returned to the city, Lu Li felt himself being summoned before he even had a chance to repair his equipment. This power source was gentle, pulling him bit by bit from the main city towards another unknown place.


    Lu Li blinked his eyes in confusion; who was it that was calling for him?

 923 The Quest From The Trainer

    There was no way that players could summon each other; the average NPC didn''t have this ability either.


    Could it possibly be Remulos?


    He was the most likely to summon him, or perhaps it was the Elder of the Blood Fang Worgen. After the curse was lifted, his strength grew and he was no longer to be underestimated.


    Lu Li wasn''t left confused for too long; the changed environment put him on guard.


    He knew that the few NPCs who could have possibly summoned him had no bad intentions.


    But...


    Lu Li didn''t even hesitate to dive forward, regardless of what was ahead of him. The piercing feeling of danger told him that if he didn''t move, he would surely die.


    His reactions surprised his ambusher, even though that was his intention. If the ambusher wanted to kill him, he would have made his move in silence. After all, this was an expert Thief who had assassinated King Llane.


    Lu Li had already figured who had summoned him here. When they previously parted, the female Thief had left a mark on him, but he had been so busy over the past few days that he had almost forgot that he had a trainer.


    "Teacher," Lu Li said as he climbed up from the floor.


    Upon looking around, he found that he was in a cave-like place. Judging from the temperature and the soil, he suspected that he was located somewhere in the heart of a mountain. An oil lamp supplied them with light and behind him stood Garona, who glowed light-green.


    Garona had no weapons in her hands; what she had used to sneak an attack on Lu Li was her fingers. With her strength, she no longer needed to use weapons like players to cast skills.


    "Looks life you''ve already learnt Empowerment: Stealth," Garona said with certainty as she looked at Lu Li.


    This time, Garona wasn''t wearing her exquisite cape ¨C it was hung on the wall, but Lu Li didn''t dare risk anything.


    "Yes, but unfortunately, I haven''t learnt its essence," Lu Li lamented.


    "Oh, you know the essence to stealth? Let''s hear it."


    Garona walked to the wooden stool nearby and sat down, planning to listen to the theory of her student.


    "I just spoke randomly¡­"


    Lu Li felt a little awkward to discuss something like this in front of such a great Thief.


    This wasn''t his field of expertise at all, not to mention he was a Druid in his previous life. His knowledge of being a Thief was very limited.


    "Speak," Garona commanded bluntly.


    "That would be, regardless of the level difference, others not being able to detect my stealth," Lu Li answered honestly.


    Garona shook her head in spite and said, "That is quite shallow indeed. You should know ¨C Stealth is the foundation of the Thief class. If you master it to its absolute extent, you wander through endless space¡­even time."


    "That''s too insane¡­" Lu Li felt like his brain capacity wasn''t enough for this.


    How could Thieves possibly be so strong. Wasn''t that the ability of dragons?


    "I called you this time so that you can do one thing for me," Garona continued, redirecting the topic. She hadn''t summoned her apprentice just for chit chat.


    "Please, I''ll try my best," Lu Li promised.


    However, if it was beyond his ability, he most likely wouldn''t be doing anything.


    It seemed like Garona wasn''t paying attention to Lu Li''s mind games; she just began to share the content of the quest.


    This quest was liked with the Twilight Hammer. In the previous battle at Meisnera Outpost, the spark to the flame was the result of a plot by the Twilight Hammer. Lu Li had some contact even before this battle with the organization because he needed to upgrade his ring with the Twilight altar.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure if Garona was suspecting his relationship with this organization.


    The Twilight Hammer was huge, but if the quest was achievable to Lu Li, then it was probably not even worth noting to someone like Garona.


    Fortunately, Garona''s next words gave him answers.


    "This is just a trial. You''re not dealing with anyone particularly important, so you don''t have to feel pressured. If you encounter any problem that you can''t solve, you can ask for assistance from SI:7 Intel or The Brotherhood of the House."


    The SI:7 Intel was understandable, but why was the Brotherhood a part of this? It didn''t take long for Lu Li to think things through.


    The Brotherhood was an elite organization that belonged to the royal family of Stormwind city. They accepted a wide range of classes, including Hunters, Warriors, Thieves and Paladins. They had made a large impact in the first and second war against the Tauren, but at an equally large cost.


    During the second war and enraged by the death of Lothar, the Alliance sacrificed 950 soldiers and 480 Brotherhood members to chase the Tauren under the foot of the Door of Darkness.


    This wasn''t an insignificant number ¨C all the members of the Brotherhood were elites, and 480 members was nearly their entire force.


    After the war, Stormwind city was rebuilt and the Brotherhood reformed.


    Unfortunately, their status wasn''t the same as before. Compared to the Brotherhood, who had lost their status, the royal family was of more interest in the Stormwind Knights.


    King Varian had asked the two to combine. Although the majority of the Brotherhood members thought that this was some kind of betrayal, they still respected the decision of the king.


    However, after the two groups merged, they weren''t as unified as before and still worked separately.


    As a man of multiple statuses, Anduin Lothar left behind an organization. The entire Alliance paid their respect to the organization and even the king wouldn''t make things too hard for them.


    Lothar was the seventh master of the Brotherhood. Garona, Lothar, King Llane and Khadgar


    were all friends, so it was natural for them to all be recognized by the Brotherhood.


    The reason as to why Garona could still direct the Brotherhood, even after she killed King Llane, remained unknown. Perhaps, only a limited number of characters in this world would know the story behind it. Even though Lu Li had reincarnated, he was also lost in the dark about this situation.


    However, this wasn''t something that Lu Li was in place to ask about either.


    After she gave out the quest, Garona pointed at a flower tree nearby and said, "This kind of flower is called the Flash of Darkness. I found it a long time ago with them when I was on an adventure and now, it has finally blossomed."


    Lu Li had a habit of studying his surroundings, but he didn''t notice the plant at all.


    He followed Garona''s steps and soon realized the reason behind this.


    It was no wonder why this flower was called the Flash of Darkness ¨C this peculiar plant seemed to be absorbing the surrounding light to achieve its illusory effect.


    "Never believe what your eyes see," Garona said as she reached her hands and pulled out the flower. It had finally bloomed for the first time and she had plucked it just like that. Lu Li was left speechless by her actions.

 924 In Remembrance of Lothar

    Although the Flash of Darkness absorbed light, it was still visible to the naked eye when you looked at it closely.


    This was a special flower, born through the imagination of game designers. Its beauty was beyond the description of words and its mere sight had ability to soothe the mind.


    "Place it with Lothar; I promised him," Garona said, passing the flower to Lu Li.


    "Alright, if you have nothing more for me to do, I''ll head out and start investigating."


    Lu Li carefully packed the flower away in his bag. He didn''t ask anything more, even though he was very curious.


    Lothar, Llane, Garona, Khadgar, Medivh...


    These were all legendary figures, but he could only wonder what had happened to them in the past.


    Apparently, Lothar fancied Garona, but King Llane was also interested in her. However, Garona ended up killing King Llane and gave birth to a son with Medivh.


    Lu Li had been summoned here, but it was easy for him to leave ¨C a Hearthstone was enough.


    He planned to sort out the Flash of Darkness first, then travel to Stormwind city and figure out who the traitor was. Based on the requirements set by Garona, he felt like there was nothing else more important than this.


    Lothar had already died inthe second war against the Tauren, at the hands of Orgrim Doomhammer.


    Eventually, Uther and Turalyon managed to take down an important Tauren base, the Blackrock Spire, and chased them deep into the Marsh. Even the tribe leader, Orgrim became a prisoner of the Alliance, but this didn''t change the fact that Lothar had died during the war at Burning Steppes.


    Regardless, this was a place of sorrow for both the Horde and the Alliance.


    Many creatures lived at the Burning Steppes as they enjoyed slaughtering travelers. This place was a disaster for any players who were under level 45. As soon as Lu Li walked out of the portal of the town, he immediately entered Stealth mode, until he arrived in front of the statue of Lothar.


    The statue of Lothar was gigantic; anyone who stood underneath it would feel like a tiny ant in comparison.


    There were many who stood before the statue to admire him, including not only the NPCs, but also players who were influenced by the lore of the game.


    Although most of these people were young, some were elderly. Perhaps, they had been Warriors at some point in their lives.


    Lu Li saw an old man who had lost both of his feet climb over with his hands to place down a little white flower before he left again.


    The old man barely had any expression. Perhaps he didn''t feel the need to be sad, whether it was for Lothar''s death, or the two legs that he had lost in war.


    Without a doubt, Anduin Lothar was one of the most admired heroes of Dawn. His charisma alone was worthy of people''s respect.


    Loyal, determined and religious ¨C when people sank into the valley of despair, it was Lothar who reached out his arms and called upon the old, but noble morale to shine its light again. He was a milestone in the history of humans, signifying the respect and pride that their race had.


    Some even wrote poems for him on the stones boards nearby.


    For example:


    "I have a secret.


    It blooms quietly in the mountain of red leaves.


    Silently, it floats in the silent kingdom of snow.


    Gently, it travels through the creek.


    Fiercely, it burns the red earth beneath my feet.


    Softy, I lay down my secret and this fresh flower by your tomb.


    Someday, it will rot away, leaving behind its scent to warm this empty space."


    This was perhaps written by a traveler who had been to many places. One day, he passed by the statue of Lothar and decided to leave his poetry behind, along with a flower that had since rotted away a long time ago.


    Lu Li took out his Flash of Darkness and placed it in the center amongst all the flowers. He thought to himself that no matter how rare the flower was, it would rot away eventually.


    To him, his flower seemed no different to the others.


    "Young one, are you here to see the master too?"


    Perhaps it was because he had completed too many quests, but his average charisma had finally begun to rise. At the very least, there were some NPCs who were now willing to initiate a conversation with him.


    "Yes sir. I''ve come in the honor of my teacher, to put down a flower of remembrance for Lothar," Lu Li answered as he nodded his head.


    The old Paladin heard this and his gaze quickly scanned across towards the pile. There, a flower glowed with a dark light, constantly consuming the light nearby. This drew his attention and he lifted his head in surprise, saying, "This is no ordinary flower. May I have the name of your teacher?"


    "This¡­" Lu Li hesitated. Although Garona never said anything about this, he felt like she wouldn''t be too impressed.


    "Never mind; you don''t have to force yourself. I have to go back too," the old Paladin said as he summoned his mount and jumped on. He then turned around and asked Lu Li, "Would you like to hitch a ride? I feel like we''d get along."


    "Thank you, if it''s not too much trouble." There was no reason for Lu Li to decline.


    From the way the old Paladin addressed Lothar, it wasn''t hard to decipher his identity. He called Lothar master, so he had to be a part of the Brotherhood.


    It was probably the Heart of the Paladin that he wore which made the old Paladin interested in him. At the same time, he was also associated with the Night town and old Fordring, which were all representatives for the Paladins.


    Needless to say, Lu Li was quite familiar with Paladins.


    The old man rode a giant Gryphon, big enough to carry two or three easily. However, its hair had already turned white; it was clearly at an old age.


    The Gryphon leaped into the sky as it flapped its wings in the direction of Stormwind City.


    They only needed to pass through Elwynn Forest to get to Stormwind City from the Burning Steppes. On the way, they encountered some flying creatures, but the Gryphon had no interest in chasing them. However, if any flying creature dared to challenge it, it wouldn''t hesitate to rip them apart with its sharp claws.


    At a time like this, not only would it be hard to balance on the Gryphon, but you would also be drenched with blood.


    At first, Lu Li really hated this feeling, but after he saw the passion on the old Paladin''s face, he slowly began to understand.


    It took them less than half an hour to arrive at Stormwind City. If he had walked, including the possible battles that he may have ran into, it would have probably taken him more than half a day. Of course, the Hearthstone was another story.

 925 Twilight Apocrypha

    Outside Stormwind, the Old Paladin got off his Gryphon and the guards led it over to the Flight Master where its resting spot was.


    Stormwind was like the usual today. Compared to Darnassus, Stormwind was much more lively and noisy.


    The noise did not only come from the blacksmiths who were forging weapons on their anvils near the hearth. Though this was like music to the Dwarves'' ears, to others, the rhythmic banging was quite annoying. As the busiest city in Azeroth, the main source of the noises came from the NPCs and players in the city.


    It must have rained earlier on in the day. The air was filled with the moist fragrance of soil as well as the hint of freshly cut grass.


    There were many players that challenged each other to PvP fights outside the gates of Stormwind.


    Players in the same faction could challenge each other by planting a flag in the ground. It was different from normal PVP as the loser did not drop loot or lose EXP.


    The guards at the gate would sometimes teach them a lesson or two. They were not to be underestimated as they were all veterans with a wealth of experience in battle. If the players were lucky, they might even be able to learn rare skills from them.


    Lu Li and the Old Paladin entered the gates and saw the five familiar statutes.


    "There should be a place here for Lothar," the Old Paladin sighed as he looked up at the statutes. He was sad but not indignant. The five statutes that stood here were all legends that deserved his utmost respect and were all intertwined with Lothar.


    Khadgar was represented by a statute of an old man. In reality, he wasn''t naturally old, but his youth was taken away by magic during the war. However, his wisdom and courage earned him the name of one of the greatest and most accomplished Wizards in the Alliance.


    Below his statute, the inscription written by Arch Mage Antonidas read, "Never did one delve into the dark hearts of magic and warfare. We wish you well, bold wanderer, wherever you are."


    Ranger Captain Alleria Windrunner was the oldest of the three Windrunner sisters. Her inscription was written by her sister Sylvanas, Ranger General of Quel''Thalas.


    It read, "Your heart flew straight as any arrow upon the wind, sister. You were the brightest of our Order. You were the most beloved of our kin."


    The third statute was General Turalyon and was inscribed by Lord Uther the Lightbringer.


    "Esarus thar no Darador - By blood and honor we serve. You were the right hand of justice and virtue, old friend. Your name will be honored in our halls always."


    In the second war, Turalyon was tasked with assisting Lothar in the defense against the advancing Horde. Turalyon was also introduced to Alleria Windrunner and they had mutual feelings towards each other.


    Because of Turalyon''s talent in combat and strategy, Lothar chose him as his lieutenant. In the Battle of Black Rock Mountain, Lothar was killed in combat by Orgrim Doomhammer. Turalyon took up Lothar''s shattered sword, disarmed Doomhammer and struck him unconscious. As Lothar''s lieutenant and sub-commander, no one questioned his right to lead and he led the Alliance Army to victory over Doomhammer.


    The fourth statute was of Kurdran Wildhammerm, the Dwarf Gryphon Master of Aerie Peak. The Lord of Aerie Peak Falstad Wildhammer had written, "We will hear Sky-Ree''s calls upon the winds. We will hear your hammer thunder across the mountaintops. Ride hard into the hereafter, brother. The halls of our ancestors await you."


    The last statute was the Militia Commander of Stromgarde, Danath Trollbane. The inscription had been written by Lord of Stromgarde, Thoras Trollbane and read, "We honor your memory, nephew, and your sacrifice. Since the founding of our glorious empire, the path to valor has always been drenched with the blood of heroes."


    The five were also referred to as the Five Heroes of the Dark Portal or the Sons of Lothar.


    They weren''t actually the children of Lothar, however, to commemorate their fallen commander in the Battle for Blackrock, they called themselves the Sons of Lothar.


    As they were about to part ways, Lu Li bluntly spilt out his request.


    "I came here because I was instructed by my teacher to investigate someone and I might need your help, sir."


    Though the quest was not a main quest, it was an important one to advance in the game.


    "I don''t know who your teacher is, but I accept your request. The Brotherhood of the Horses will be at your service," the Old Paladin declared as he blew on his whistle and a few fully armoured Stormwind Guards came running over.


    Lu Li was ecstatic because he knew how powerful these Stormwind Guards were. Based on the pattern on their chest plates, they were all members of the Stormwind Knights.


    "Where do you want to go?" the Old Paladin asked.


    "Do you know someone called Major Samuelson?" Lu Li only knew the name and not where he was located at.


    A Major in a small town or village would most likely be the highest ranked officer in the area. However, in Stormwind City, which was the largest human city, there were Majors and Commanders everywhere.


    "Samuelson? What''s his full name?" The Old Paladin hadn''t heard of this name.


    Lu Li shook his head. It appeared that the quest wouldn''t be as simple as he first thought it would be.


    "I know a Samuelson, but I don''t know if he''s the one you''re looking for. I heard his hometown was invaded by Ogres. He was moved from Silithus to Stormwind a couple years ago. He''s usually a pretty low-key guy and doesn''t go out of his house often. I don''t think he would have anything worth investigating over," one of the knights mentioned.


    "Silithus?" Lu Li''s expression changed as he recalled what he knew about this place.


    Lu Li has been to Silithus. There were two large groups there ¨C the Cenarion Circle of Elves and followers of the Twilight Hammer.


    The followers of Twilight Hammer were mostly members of the Horde and had very few humans. They would perform bizarre rituals and investigate old ruins in an attempt to gather information about the Ancient Gods.


    "That''s who I''m looking for; please bring me to him," Lu Li said confidently.


    He was told to investigate a spy of the Twilight Hammer and according to the descriptions given by Garona, this human soldier was likely a dangerous person.


    Everyone saw the stern expression on Lu Li''s face and since their captain did not bother defending Samuelson, there was nothing they could do except to follow orders.


    As they approached the camp site, Lu Li decided to scout out the area and heard someone reciting something.


    "In the beginning was shadow eternal.


    Hate blazed forth, and FIRE was born.


    Wounds scabbed, and so begat EARTH.


    Cries of anguish birthed howling WIND.


    Wherein the skies wept seas of TEARS.


    We live in the shadow,


    The world we know


    Built of rage, hurt, anguish and sorrow."


    It must have been some sort of a chant that they recited as Followers of the Twilight Hammer. Lu Li was well-read in his past life of the lore in the game and read something similar in a camp post in Mount Hyjal. They called this the Twilight Apocrypha.

 926 Fake Samuelson

    "Is this some sort of a cult?" the Old Paladin asked, staying close to Lu Li.


    "He''s a Follower of the Twilight Hammer and he''s reciting the apocrypha. It talks about how the elements were formed. They not only worship the Old Gods, but also study about the elements," Lu Li explained quietly.


    This was nothing out of the ordinary because the Followers of the Twilight Hammer were convinced that Azeroth would one day be ruled by the Old Gods.


    Only true believes would be granted eternal life after judgement day.


    As the ones who were responsible for awakening the Old Gods to their former glory, they would become the royalty and rulers of the kingdom to come.


    "What should we do?"


    The Old Paladin clasped his sword firmly. He honored his knighthood by being devout to his religion and citizens of the nation of his birth. Anyone that would be a threat to these things would become his enemy.


    "Send someone back to notify the capital. Then, we''ll go in then capture or slay him," Lu Li suggested.


    His suggestion benefited himself in multiple ways. If the reinforcements were to arrive in time, he wouldn''t have to do much to capture Samuelson and he would receive a reward for his bravery regardless.


    If they were to fight head-to-head, then Lu Li was confident that he wouldn''t be killed because he had the Stormwind Knights that were protecting him.


    "Come with me and we''ll ambush them. The others can stay put and guard the surroundings to make sure no one gets away. The city is too big for us to find him again if he was to hide."


    As members of the Stormwind Knights, they had to follow orders and couldn''t act on their own.


    Lu Li and the Old Paladin opened the tent and rushed in.


    They immediately saw a man kneeling in front of a small stone statute. When he saw Lu Li and the Old Paladin, he knew that he had been caught red-handed and immediately reached for his sword and lunged towards them.


    Killing the two ambushers before him and escaping Stormwind was his only option.


    Unfortunately, his plan was far from reality; the Twilight Disciple''s fate was decided when he was found.


    The Old Paladin blocked all his attacks while Lu Li relentlessly attacked him on the side.


    In reality, the Twilight Disciple wouldn''t even be strong enough to take on the Old Paladin if he was by himself. He was able to fully overwhelm Samuelson without casting skills.


    Lu Li realised that the Old Paladin was far stronger than Commander Samuelson. He seemed inexperienced in battle, which was out of his character and was wounded badly in a few exchanges.


    "Give up now and I''ll spare your life," the Old Paladin said sternly.


    "I dare you to kill me; someone will avenge me on day. You mere peasants ¨C wshen the day of judgement comes, you''ll all be crucified on a fiery cross and condemned by the wrath of the Old Gods for eternity. You''ll¡­"


    As the young soldier rambled on, the Old Paladin stepped forward and cut off his head in one full sweep.


    However, there wasn''t an notification that the quest was completed. What was wrong?


    Lu Li wasn''t angry that the Old Paladin had killed Samuelson without consulting him first. Although Samuelson was quite weak, he was still a Lv55 Boss, meaning that Lu Li stood no chance against him if he was alone.


    "No! That wasn''t Samuelson!" someone shouted as they ran in soon after the young soldier was beheaded.


    "Then who was he?" Lu Li was confused.


    "I''ll bring someone from this campsite over," one of the knights volunteered.


    "That was Commander Samuelson''s little brother."


    Although the guard was angry that someone from his own campsite had been murdered, he still answered honestly because he was lower in the ranks.


    "Then where''s Samuelson?" Lu Li asked hurriedly.


    He thought that he would be able to finish the quest easily, but this was more complicated than he initially thought. He knew that something was off before because the man that they had killed was too weak. Lu Li should have known that if it was a quest given out by Garona, it wouldn''t be that easy to complete.


    "Sorry, we don''t know. I''m still on patrol duty¡­" the mumbled as his eyes shifted in guilt.


    "Speak!" the Old Paladin yelled as he held his sword against the guard''s throat, "Or¡­ die!"


    Lu Li was a bit shocked at how hot-headed he was. When the man dared the Old Paladin to kill him, he was probably trying to stall out time thinking that he would be interrogated by them. However, the Old Paladin had beheaded him cleanly without warning and hesitation.


    The poor guard was minding his own business and now he was being threatened to be killed.


    Lu Li was impressed yet worried about the Old Paladin''s determination and knew that he would kill the innocent guard without a second thought.


    The guard felt the sharp blade against his throat. Though he wasn''t afraid of death, he wanted to die in an honorable way, so he decided to give in.


    The Brotherhood of the Horses didn''t care whether you were an ally or not. Even if they were to murder an ally, they wouldn''t face any consequences because of the name ''Sons of Lothar''. There were countless people in power that would back them up.


    "He went to the palace. He said he needed to bring urgent news to the King," the guard answered unwillingly.


    "Shit¡­" Lu Li and the Old Paladin looked at each other and saw the terror in each other''s eyes. He didn''t plan on assassinating the King, did he!?


    The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed the Samuelson was going to do exactly that. Garona wouldn''t have requested Lu Li to investigate a random Twilight Disciple unless it was very important. There were countless Twilight Disciples spread out amongst the world of Azeroth and there were quite a number of Alliance members that still worshipped the Old Gods.


    "Notify Commander Hawks. Let''s move." The Old Paladin kicked the guard away, made sure the reinforcements were updated with the situation and ran off with Lu Li towards the King.


    "Nothing will happen to the King, right?" Lu Li was nervous. Even though there were no news of King Varian being assassinated in his past life, he still couldn''t suppress the butterflies in his stomach.


    Hypothetically, if someone else had accepted the quest to investigate Samuelson instead of Lu Li, and he didn''t go to Burning Steppes to commemorate Lothar, then they would''ve arrived earlier and caught Samuelson red-handed. That way, this whole ordeal that Lu Li was going through right now wouldn''t have occurred.


    If Lu Li failed the quest, then the history of Dawn would be re-written.


    "No, I won''t let King Wrynn''s son die at the hands of a mere Disciple!" the Old Paladin shouted in determination.


    Lu Li wasn''t convinced by his words because the old man was running for his life. If he was so sure that nothing would happen to the King, then he wouldn''t be so nervous himself.

 927 Faceless One

    Lu Li did not know what position he should assume when facing Varian.


    Varian''s father, Ryan, was undoubtedly a prodigious strategist and sovereign ruler. This was proven when he successfully defended Stormwind during the Scourge''s first attack from Azeroth.


    King Ryan was a hero in the eyes of many for both the Human Alliance and the Stormwind kingdom.


    However, he died before Varian could learn from him. Ryan''s most trusted covert agent, Garona, had been controlled by Gul''dan and was commanded to assassinate him. Varian witnessed his father''s death in front of his very eyes and the scene of Garona assassinating him was imprinted into his mind.


    According to Lu Li, if Varian hated a person with every fibre of his body, it would definitely be an Orc.


    Lu Li was concerned that if he mentioned that he was a disciple of Garona, he would most likely be cut down on the spot.


    Varian would not be slain that easily after all.


    This was the main camp of the Alliance. The castle was also heavily guarded by powerful warriors and mages.


    Lu Li would not accept an impossible quest, so there had to be a way to complete it.


    After a short while, they arrived at the entrance of the Hall. However, they quickly realised that all the guards were missing. The Old Paladin started to become anxious.


    Obviously, a Major would not be able to command soldiers of this calibre. Therefore, only a general could have followed suit with Twilight Hammer to betray the King. Lu Li hoped that the King could last a little longer.


    The Twilight Hammer consisted of many different races banding together because of the same ideals.


    Many people would feel that they, too, could achieve anything after joining Twilight hammer. The same reason would be used if they decided to join any other religion ¨C they needed a sense of purpose which would be given to them by people that were more heroic.


    After all, this thing called ''belief'' could not be understood by using common sense alone.


    Lu Li maintained his speed as he passed corridor after corridor.


    He began to think about the methods that he would take if he had wanted to kill the King.


    Obviously, he had also considered whether his group would be able to assassinate Varian, who was a powerful Boss. A large part of the Stormwind Knights'' main force would not be here in the Castle, as they would be either fighting outside, or causing disruptions in the markets.


    As such, they could methods of misdirection to lure the entrance guards to other places. After this, he would bring Sesame Rice Ball and charge into the main hall of the castle.


    "You might be right. A few of the noble groups are definitely parasites in the kingdom," Lu Li and the Old Paladin overheard as thy entered the hall. From the Old Paladin''s expression, this voice belonged to King Varian.


    Varian might not have been loved by the people as much as his father was, but he had experienced a great number of difficulties and suffering already.


    He had already lost everything due to the death of Ryan. The invasion of the Orcs had flattened and conquered his homeland, taking a large number of casualties. Fortunately, Anduin had rushed to his aid and provided reinforcements to safely transport the remaining refugees in Stormwind to Lordaeron.


    A young Varian had already begun to walk the path of a wanderer.


    "...How were noble groups created in the first place? Their ancestors were the ones who contributed to the kingdom, which guaranteed their descendants a piece of land and prosperity."


    King Varian had seemed to be conversing with Major Samuelson.


    Lu Li snuck around the walls and upon taking a peek into the main hall, found himself surprised at the scene.


    The floor was absolutely littered with corpses. Lu Li had not expected the battle to commenced. The ones who were speaking were not left without light injuries either.


    Unexpectedly, the one that had caused all of this was not Major Samuelson. Lu Li had not met him before, but according to his rank and his appearance, he could not be like his brother.


    The one that was sitting on the throne was a large beast ¨C a Faceless One.


    According to the Twilight Hammer, only the Faceless Ones, Twilight Dragons, Infinite Dragons and the Elementals would live to see the world that would be enveloped in darkness and be able to bask in the light of the Old Gods.


    However, the Faceless One which sat on the throne was not a real Faceless One ¨C it was just Samuelson''s transformation.


    Real Faceless Ones were created from the very essence of the gods and their appearances were also different to fake ones.


    As for the method involved in creating a Faceless One, no one was aware.


    However, the fact that Samuelson could transform himself into a Faceless One was already terrifying. It was no wonder why none of the guards stood a chance.


    "I have a few friends such as Edwin VanCleef who are nobles, Lord Varian. Please don''t say that you don''t know them," Samuelson said.


    "Rage is not a valid reason for betrayal and turning to the dark side. This sentence is suitable to be given to all of us here, so what''s the purpose of continuing this fight?" Although Varian had suffered from some injuries at the time, his voice was still affirming and strong. His expression also exuded a sense of magnanimity.


    Rage had caused a spark in Edwin VanCleef, but rage had also caused him to forget his own values and his integrity.


    Similarly, this same rage had caused the death of Queen Tiffin, which exiled many people in the process.


    Ultimately, who had used slaughter to profane the name of Justice?


    "Just die already, Lord Varian. Your blood will be used as sacrifice to the great N''Zoth."


    Perhaps it was because he was beginning to lose his form as a Faceless One that Samuelson was attempting to end this long conversation.


    Why was it that everyone had so much useless things to say?


    Lu Li watched as the Old Paladin, enveloped in an aura of divine light and flame, charged towards King Varian and stood in between him and his enemy. Lu Li instantly felt nauseous.

 928 Villains Talk Too Much

    The Old Knight was not one to be underestimated.


    During a war that involved the Brotherhood of the Horse, the members of the Brotherhood lost their minds after the death of Lothar on the battlefield. They were all suicidal, charging into the enemies, which led to their demise. This resulted in the annihilation of the strongest knighthood in Stormwind.


    However, the Old Knight survived without losing any limbs. His luck aside, he was already an extremely formidable Paladin.


    As soon as the Faceless One was exposed to the Holy Light, he instantly screamed in agony.


    Although the damage was not significant, the Faceless One hated the Holy Light. Samuelson was then absolutely enraged, and began to fight back in his Faceless One form.


    The Old Knight was bounced around the battlefield like a rubber ball.


    "What are you waiting for? Aren''t you going to come and help?" he asked, despite not believing that Lu Li''s puny strength was going to do much.


    "Alright then. Your wish is my command," Lu Li said as he prepared himself, then rushed forward.


    This Boss'' level seemed to be fairly high and furthermore, this was a transformation. Lu Li doubted his abilities to be able to tank a round of hits from the Faceless One. After all, the evidence of the Faceless One''s strength was already on display.


    These royal guards were all stronger than Lu Li individually.


    However, his transformation into the Faceless One seemed to be deteriorating. Lu Li used Cheap Shot on him, which led to no immediate effect, but the Sinister Strikes after that caused a fair bit of damage.


    Many villains were said to suffer under their own carelessness.


    Perhaps it was because it was difficult being an undercover agent. It was finally time for the harvest ¨C to kill the King.


    Samuelson was an ambitious man. He had joined Twilight Hammer not because of the fear of being eradicated during the end times, but because he thought that the liberation of the people from the aristocracy had been stopped.


    He had done this selflessly, for his people and his kingdom.


    As such, his goal was not to only kill the King, but to destroy the King''s mental fortitude. He believed that once this was complete, his own belief would be strengthened.


    However, one could not fail to mention that Samuelson was a prodigy ¨C a prodigy who had flown under the radar.


    He was inaugurated as a member of the Twilight Hammer while in Silithus, becoming one of the few who could transform into a Faceless One.


    As his belief in the Twilight Hammer grew, his determination to become a representative and prophet of the Old God grew as well.


    The doctrine of Twilight Hammer taught that, "The true disciples of the Old God will be reborn in the new world, and they will be remade with new bodies which will possess a power that exceeds the limits of flesh, as well as the limits of life and death."


    Unfortunately, all of this was going to be interrupted by two puny insects.


    "Samuelson, give it up," King Varian boomed as he sat upon the throne. "If you leave now, I can guarantee your survival."


    Lu Li began to frown in confusion, not understanding as to why the King had said that. After all, how could he not be worried about letting loose a person who could transform into a Faceless One? He had not met King Varian before, but he had heard that he ruled with an iron fist.


    Lu Li did not think that it was right in making a promise like that. Samuelson could go on a killing rampage in the area if Varian let him go.


    Where was the dignity and integrity of the King?


    Whether Samuelson was let go or not was completely unrelated to Lu Li. He was only worried that if Varian had let Samuelson go free, he might fail the quest.


    "You bunch of deceptive nobles. One day, you will all face the fires that burn on Judgment day and beg for mercy. I will watch as I am reborn into a new body and am granted an everlasting life and glory."


    Clearly, Lu Li''s worry was unnecessary. Samuelson was extremely zealous and passionate for Twilight Hammer, so he would not have retreated at this time.


    He exchanged a blow with the Old Knight, who wearily deflected him.


    Both of them were not at the peak of their powers, which meant that Lu Li''s existence in the fight was extremely important.


    As Samuelson grew weaker and the fight was prolonged, Lu Li managed to stun him for a mere 0.5 seconds. The Old Knight then used these 0.5 seconds as a window of opportunity.


    The Old Knight swung his blade and sliced off one of the Faceless One''s tentacles.


    The Faceless One was clearly in excruciating pain as he let out a deafening roar. After all, these tentacles would have originated from Samuelson''s original body. Perhaps they would find out after the battle.


    The Old Knight and Lu Li saw this and decided to use the most of this opportunity to finish him off.. Unfortunately, Lu Li could not use the Book of Ur since he had already used it earlier in an Instance Dungeon.


    Samuelson''s Faceless One form had clearly begun to deteriorate. The first sign was that his defence was dropping. After killing so many guards, then fighting the King, he had emerged from the battle seemingly without any injuries. Despite all that, he was now taking a lot of damage from Lu Li and the Old Knight.


    It was always better with someone there tanking the hits. Lu Li then consumed a health potion as he had lost some from the AoE hits from Samuelson.


    Lu Li loved this method of fighting Bosses. Alongside the thrill of the hunt, he was also extremely keen for the items that would drop.


    "Leave the rest to me. Go and tend to the King," he said. At this point in time, Samuelson was already extremely weak.


    He was extremely keen on finishing the battle as he had already poured out his blood and sweat for this fight.


    After hearing the King mutter a few words, the patriotic Old Knight instantly left the Faceless One and went to the side of the King. Varian closed his eyes to meditate and regain his composure.


    The Old Knight saw that the King was still bleeding from his injuries, so he desperately retrieved his antidotes and potions to try and help him.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li was clearly having problems with the Faceless One. He had seen how the Old Knight was tanking hit after hit with no problems. When it came to his turn, each hit from Samuelson was a Critical strike.


    The only way to prevent himself from dying was to decrease the damage received.


    Fortunately for Lu Li, the Faceless One''s speed and attack saw the greatest decrease. As soon as Lu Li was unable to tank another hit, he would retreat a little and recover. He also had many skills with Lifesteal, so it was not a huge problem.


    "Do you need help?" the Old Knight asked. He was nearly done with patching up King Varian. The Old Knight did not enter the battlefield without Lu Li requesting for assistance. After all, he could see that although it was difficult for Lu Li, he could still manage.


    "No need. I''m alright."


    If the Old Knight re-joined at this stage of the battle, Lu Li would not come close to sniffing the loot.

 929 The Marshall’s Fate

    The assignment mechanism in Dawn was very simple ¨C in the case where both players and NPCs were participating in battle, the players had to deal a certain percentage of damage or take the last hit. Otherwise, they wouldn''t receive anything from the fight.


    The old Paladin''s regular attacks were in the hundreds, while a Critical Hit was in the thousands. How could Lu Li''s two-digit damage possibly be enough?


    "Good. This is what young people should be like," the old Paladin said. He was very pleased with Lu Li''s performance and was completely oblivious to Lu Li''s concern about the drops.


    Outside the palace, a fully-armed group of Paladins arrived. These were the Stormriders.


    Lu Li was also afraid that the others would take the rewards. He tightened his grip and quickly tried to finish off the wounded enemy.


    Samuelson fell gracefully and his corpse turned into a puddle of water before it even hit the ground.


    There was a small item that looked like a body left behind in the puddle. Although it looked rather small, it emitted an amazing energy that felt suffocating. One could only imagine its power when it was completed.


    The zealous Paladins guarded the King as they left, denying Lu Li the chance to say a single word to him.


    As for the item, it was quickly taken away by an old Mage with a white beard. Given the solemn look of the Mage, the origins of the item must have been taboo.


    There was no EXP!


    Or any equipment!


    Surely, there should have been a reward for his escorting task? Lu Li wouldn''t have minded becoming an aristocrat. Then, he would be able to take land for himself and build a fortress, while also receiving a monthly salary. Unfortunately, he hadn''t been given anything!


    Why had he fought so hard? What was it all for?


    The old Paladin couldn''t see Lu Li''s disappointment and took him to the tavern. Paladins were not monks; they were allowed to enjoy women and wine.


    Prior to this, no one had heard of NPCs dragging a player off to fight, but under normal circumstances, it was common to go drinking together after a battle.


    Lu Li wasn''t an alcoholic, but he didn''t reject the NPC''s proposal. He hadn''t received any reward for this quest, so all he had left was the friendship with this old Paladin. Seeing the respect that the Stormriders had for him, he definitely must have been an important person.


    They were also affiliated with MI7, which meant that Lu Li, as a member of the Assassins'' League, did not want to deal with them.


    "I really didn''t think that something like this would happen," Lu Li began, opening with his feeling on the situation, but quickly turned to the topic he really wanted to talk about, "Oh yeah, I don''t know your name, despite the fact that we''ve been fighting together. Although, I didn''t help much."


    "Windsor. Just call me Windsor," the old Paladin said simply.


    "Oh¡­"


    The wine that was travelling down Lu Li''s throat came up again and spluttered through his nose. Lu Li stared at the old paladin and was dumbfounded.


    This was Reginald Winsor!


    Reginald Windsor used to be a soldier under Anduin Lothar and had followed him to the Medivh Tower decades ago. After the fall of Stormwind, he escorted the refugees with Lothar as they migrated to the north of Lordaeron.


    Reginald Windsor had a multitude of battle experience; he had participated in the Second Orc War during the Battle of Blackrock Tower.


    He was one of Anduin Lothar and Turalyon''s favorites. Through his own efforts, he was gradually promoted from a soldier to a Marshal of the Alliance''s Stormwind City.


    Lu Li had not learned that much about him, but he had definitely heard of his name.


    "Don''t look at me like that. I''m not really a Marshall I''m really just a veteran. This country has changed," Windsor sighed sadly.


    "Why? What happened?" Lu Li asked in confusion.


    He wasn''t surprised that Windsor was a veteran, but was very curious to know why he had gone from a Marshall to an ordinary person.


    Windsor often didn''t have anyone to talk to, and took this opportunity to share everything.


    "Ever since the disappearance of Varian, everything has changed. The aristocrats have become more and more corrupt and the king no longer manages much. If it weren''t for Prince Anduin and Regent Duke of Fordgen still helping to run things, this country wouldn''t exist¡­"


    Arthas had murdered his father and became the commander of the Scourge who attacked Lordaeron. Both the Alliance and the Horde were threatened by the Scourge.


    When Jaina Proudmoore came to contact Varian for a peace agreement with the Horde, Varian agreed to sign it. However, after the peace talks, he became a thorn in her side.


    Not long after, Varian disappeared. Almost no one knew about the reason why or where he was.


    The Duke of Stormwind City, Duke Bolvar Fordgen, was ordered to help the young prince inherit the throne. They were assisted by the beautiful and well-informed Countess Katrana Prestor.


    It didn''t take long for King Varian to return, but he wasn''t the same God-like king they had previously known.


    These past few years, Stormwind City had grown from bad to worse. The royal family was not in charge and the aristocrats were becoming more corrupted, while the soldiers were also beginning to burn out. Those who dared to raise objections encountered the wrath of Countess Katrana Prestor.


    Reginald Windsor was one of these people.


    "Why is the King so weak that he can''t even beat a faceless monster?" Lu Li asked. He was worried about this, as a faceless person could be killed by someone who wasn''t even level 50, yet King Varian had actually been wounded.


    "That faceless person was not an ordinary faceless person. If he was at his strongest, I fear that even I would not have been able to defeat him," Windsor said with a trace of fear in his eyes.


    Lu Li''s mind flashed back to the item left behind and couldn''t help but agree.


    "After a while, I plan to go back to the Burning Plains. It is said that there are a lot of black dragons there," Windsor laughed. "Maybe I should face my fate; I have put off this day for too long."


    Lu Li didn''t know what to say. There were some things he knew would happen, but he didn''t know how to stop them.


    This event involved the main story, and he couldn''t influence it as a single player.


    A few years ago, when Lothar attacked Medivh Tower, Windsor saw foresaw his death there. He died in the claws of a black dragon.


    It was a prophecy that told him about the final outcome of his life.

 930 Strengthening Shadowstrike

    Lu Li couldn''t help but give a subtle hint.


    "I think something might still be wrong with the king."


    Although he wasn''t his friend, they had fought side by side. Marshal Windsor was also a man of great integrity, so Lu Li respected him.


    "Young man, you''re a bit of a know-it-all aren''t you? I still have other things to attend to, so let''s leave it there," Reginald Windsor''s said. His face flashed with anger as he quickly got up and turned to leave.


    Perhaps that was his fate, and he would always choose to go that way. In fact, the prophecy that he had seen in Karazhan was actually the end that the game had designed for him. As such, all external factors would be compensated for to ensure that this end was fulfilled.


    As someone who had experienced Rebirth, Lu Li knew exactly what was going to happen.


    Reginald Windsor wouldn''t meet his fate in the Burning Plains. Instead, his supply line would be cut off and he would be captured by the Blackrock Dwarves, who would lock him away in the Blackrock Spire. One day, he would be rescued by an adventurer and discover the truth with the adventurer''s help.


    Windsor would return to Stormwind with the truth and attempt to expose the Countess. He would succeed, but the price that he would pay would fulfil his fate ¨C to die under a Black Dragon''s claw.


    "Goodbye Marshal Windsor," Lu Li said as he threw a few gold coins out into his cup. After putting on his cloak, he added, "See you in Blackrock Tower"


    When Lu Li was summoned again, he quickly went to see Garona.


    "Take a seat," Garona offered. She wasn''t in her cave, but had met Lu Li under the vast night sky.


    He spent a while trying to work out where he was. All he knew was that was on the top of some mountain, so after sitting down, he simply asked, "The view here is pretty good. What is this place?"


    "Deadwind Pass," Garona replied without saying much else.


    Lu Li didn''t want to say much more either, but he actually would have liked to ask whether she would like to look at Karazhan which was on the left, or the Dark Portal which was on the right?


    Karazhan was the Mage tower of Medivh, which Garona knew about. The Dark Portal was the passage that the Orcs had taken to get to Azeroth. She had nervously walked through when she used to follow them.


    That was many years ago, and she hadn''t been back since.


    "Presumably, you have completed your quest. How did it go? Tell me about it," Garona finally spoke.


    "If, and this didn''t actually happen," Lu Li began, fearing that his mentor would kill him, then continued, "If I was a step later, King Varian probably would have died. After the faceless person died, he left a little item and I suspect it is part of an ancient artifact."


    Garona was stunned by what Lu Li said.


    "Part of an ancient artifact? How do you know that it is part of an ancient artifact?"


    Lu Li was pretending to be na?ve and described Samuelson to be a very formidable foe, otherwise his reward would be worse.


    "Its energy is too great to be anything else. Mentor, it is only possible through the power of an ancient artifact for such a young officer to become so powerful in such a short amount of time."


    Although this quest didn''t take long, it was not easy by any means. Moreover, until now, he hadn''t seen a single copper coin or point of EXP for his efforts, let alone equipment or Skill Points.


    "If you thought that he was strong, that Samuelson really must have been a fanatic. Alright, tell me about Varian," Garona said, changing the subject. It seemed like she didn''t want to continue listening to her disciple ramble on.


    "Well, there is something wrong with Varian. That is the most appropriate way to describe him," Lu Li said truthfully.


    "Besides being defeated by the faceless person, what else was wrong with him?" Garona''s asked as her complexion changed. This was what she was really interested in. When it came to Varian, Lu Li and the old Paladin were unlikely to be able to harm him.


    "His character seemed a bit odd. He didn''t seem like he was suited to head a strong monarch. Well¡­ I don''t know if clumsiness is the right word. Perhaps ''weak'' is more appropriate," Lu Li answered after thinking for a moment.


    "Well, your quest has been completed," the half-Orc said as she hugged her knees and looked into the distance, at neither Karazhan nor the Dark Portal.


    "If there is nothing else, I will go then."


    Lu Li was helpless here, no matter how good he was. Even if she didn''t want to give him a reward, he didn''t want to ask for it either.


    "Take this. I hope you are able to find your way," Garona said as she threw a book at him.


    Lu Li grabbed it and grinned widely.


    Strengthened Shadowstrike!


    This had been his most-used skill from the moment he entered Dawn until now, but unfortunately, as the players'' levels increased, even three hits would not be fatal. The main problem was that the base damage was far too low. This was particularly evident when fighting a Boss, where it was not a very powerful skill because it had a low chance of Critically striking.


    Now that he finally had the Strengthened version of the skill, Lu Li couldn''t help but laugh.


    "Thank you teacher. I will definitely learn it well and not disappoint you," Lu Li said as bowed deeply, then vanished in the white light of the Hearthstone.


    After he returned, he needed to find a place to train his Shadowstrike. He had imposed a strict standard on himself for this skill. The other skills could be Strengthened in the first moment he had the opportunity to, but he was only going to strengthen Shadowstrike after achieving 100% Skill Completion.


    Besides, even if he didn''t strengthen his Shadowstrike, he was still confident in facing anyone.


    Shadowstrike was one of the Thief''s main attack skills. If you wanted to practice it, you had to find a monster with high Defense, low Attack and a constant movement speed.


    Lu Li thought for a moment before deciding to head towards Timbermaw Hold.


    Timbermaw Hold was at a junction in the Moonlight Forest between Winterspring and Felwood.


    Of course, he wasn''t looking to kill the Timbermaw Bear ¨C many other players who didn''t know better would make this mistake.


    They would either intentionally or accidentally attack members of the Timbermaw clan, which would result in their Reputation with them going negative. This would be particularly serious for some players who attacked them relentlessly without stopping to think.

 931 Timbermaw Clan

    Timbermaw Hold contained some extremely rare and useful items that players could only purchase if they had reached a certain level of Prestige.


    In addition, there were also other rare items like the Stave of Fur and Claw and the Defender of the Timbermaw. The former could turn the player into a bear while the latter summoned a bear monster to fight for them.


    However, the Timbermaw bears were arrogant creatures whose suffering had caused them to distrust all other creatures.


    As Lu Li approached Timbermaw Hold, he took the only path that led from Felwood to Winterspring. A huge bear stood in his way, blocking the path.


    "Elf, you shouldn''t be here, return to your forest!"


    "Fellow protector of nature, I think my abilities will be of use to you," Lu Li said gently. He wasn''t going to give up, but he wasn''t going to kill this bear either.


    If he killed it, he wouldn''t be able to do anything he planned to do. This clan wasn''t like the Goblins, who were easily swayed by money. If he killed an innocent Timbermaw clan member, his Reputation would suffer. Lu Li''s current Timbermaw Clan Reputation was Cold, but the next level was Hated.


    This was the last bear monster tribe, but they had once been very powerful.


    When the Burning Legion began to spread through the forest of Kalimdor, they were one of the first creatures to perceive this horrible power. Temperate animals went berserk and became fierce murderous beasts. Their bodies were corroded and their souls were desecrated until they completely succumbed to the influence of the demons.


    Soon after, the Timbermaw Clan also suffered the same fate. Their entire race was violently afflicted by four weeks of this corruption.


    However, in this chaos, a bear tribe escaped from the darkness and vanished from the Kalimdor continent. Within the safe Timbermaw Hold, the Timbermaw Bears suffered while they watched helplessly as the forest that they once loved was gradually twisted and corrupted.


    When the forest Elves stopped talking to them, the Timbermaw Bears finally realized that their home would never be the same¡­ it was gone forever.


    As the last bear tribe, the Timbermaw Clan resolved to maintain their spiritual practices to try and end the suffering of other bears.


    "There is a Deadwood Bear camp in the southwest filled with those that have fallen. I hope that you will be able to deal with them before they become a big problem. The Deadwood tribe are very evil as their minds have been corrupted by the demons. They were good by nature, but now, they have been irreversibly corrupted. I am saddened to have to fight my own kind like this. Elf, go and deal with them. Don''t tell me how you do it; I can''t bear to hear something like that."


    "Alright. What shall I call you, esteemed one? What do I bring back to prove that the task is complete?" Lu Li asked.


    "You can call me Nafien. Bring me the hearts of six Deadwood Den Watchers, six Deadwood Avengers and six Deadwood Shamans. The high priest wants to know what is going on with them," Timbermaw Bear Nafien said before turning back and walking into the cave.


    "So stingy. He didn''t even give me a buff," Lu Li muttered. His low charisma meant that he had low starting prestige with this clan.


    In fact, his main goal were the Deadwood Bears, who almost perfectly met his requirements. With the exception of a small number of Magic monsters who used long-range skills, all the monsters there had high Defense and average Attack.


    No one would reject the extra benefit of gaining some Reputation while honing their skills.


    The shamanistic customs of the Timbermaw Clan were still flourishing. They were proficient in their craftsmanship of equipment using a variety of animal furs and were also happy to give their friends special healing buffs.


    Of course, the requirement was that he had to prove himself as a friend first.


    Deadwood Village had now become a gathering place for monsters. It was hard to imagine that these cruel and irrational bears were once like the proud, but polite Nafien.


    The items that these monsters dropped were fairly mediocre, but the EXP was good.


    In the following fights, Lu Li used Shadowstrike as often as he could to defeat them. He would sometimes Stun his target first before using Shadowstrike, but more often, he would choose a target that was moving.


    The difference was that a large unmoving target was basically the same as a wooden stake. There were many wooden stakes in the city for the players to test their skills on. Lu Li had achieved a 100% Skill Completion on them before and could consistently reach 96%.


    The highest number he had recorded on a moving target was 95%, but he had to acknowledge that this was accounted for by luck.


    He could Strengthen his Shadowstrike at any time, but Lu Li had heard many mentors emphasize gaining more experience. The more skillful he was at performing the basic ability, the stronger the Strengthened version would be.


    This was because the effect of the Strengthened skill wasn''t fixed ¨C each individual player''s Strengthened skills would have their own characteristics.


    For example, Lu Li''s Enhanced Stealth had an extra useful effect of turning him into a bat. With Shadowstrike, he hoped to gain an effect that would increase its damage and crowd-control potential.


    It was said that these strengthened skills were the only way for the players to complete with the NPCs.


    For example, if Lu Li wanted to challenge Illidan, he had to fight the Shadow of illidan or attack an incarnation of Illidan in an Instance Dungeon. If he encountered the real Illidan, there would be nothing but defeat in store for him.


    At Lu Li''s level, other than aiming to fight the other players in the expert circle, many players were trying to fight the NPCs of the game.


    Typically, their goal was to capture enemy faction villages so they could plunder the resources and train their abilities.


    The Deadwood Den Watcher and Deadwood Avenger were both Warrior type monsters that Lu Li was focusing on.


    The Deadwood Shamans simultaneously also knew Priest skills. This meant that they could attack from long range and short range, while healing themselves and placing totems. This made them quite difficult to fight, especially at level 50.


    However, Lu Li didn''t deliberately avoid the Deadwood Shamans. In future fights, he would likely have to face an enemy like this anyway.


    If you always ran away from enemies that seemed difficult, you would never reach the peak of your potential.

 932 Money Machine

    To deal with this kind of ordinary, low-attack monster, Lu Li didn''t even need to sit down to regenerate his HP as his Vampirism was enough. He farmed dozens and dozens of monsters before finally collecting enough hearts.


    Of course, some of the hearts were rarer than the others.


    Given that this was a farming quest that could be repeated, he didn''t worry about which ones he had more of, as long as he had enough to complete the quest.


    "I''m back Mr Nafien!" Lu Li shouted as he stood by the cave entrance.


    It wasn''t long before he saw the bear come out. Perhaps it was because Lu Li''s face was covered with the blood of the fallen, but Nafien''s complexion seemed much better.


    "This is what I asked for. You now have the friendship of the Timbermaw Bears," Nafien said with a smile as he checked the quest items.


    The System prompted him six times that he had completed the quest, which meant that Lu Li had handed in six sets of the quest items. He had calculated this to be exactly the amount needed to gain the friendship of the Timbermaw clan.


    Dawn''s Reputation system was a very complicated thing.


    The relationship between the player and the NPCs could be summarized as: Hated ¨C Hostile ¨C Cold ¨C Neutral ¨C Friendly ¨C Respected ¨C Worshiped.


    Under normal circumstances, unless it was a faction camp or one that was hostile to your race, most would start from Cold or Neutral.


    If you did something that satisfied a member of the camp, your Reputation would improve. Conversely, if you angered a member, your Reputation would move towards being more hostile.


    Lu Li''s reputation with the Timbermaw Clan was originally Cold, but now, it had skipped past Neutral and was Friendly.


    In fact, at the beginning, it was fairly easy to use quests to progress to a Friendly reputation. However, to go from Friendly to Respected and then finally to Worshipped, required a ridiculous amount of Prestige.


    Even if Lu Li worked incredibly fast, it was impossible to rush to Worshipped without at least three to five full days of work.


    Fortunately, he was mainly here to practice his Shadowstrike, so the Prestige he had gained was just a bonus. The matter of whether he could get to a Worshipped Reputation wasn''t important to him.


    "You have done well. Will you continue to help us relieve the pain of those Deadwood Bears?" Nafien asked.


    "Of course," Lu Li said, then added in a sorrowful tone, "Those poor friends are completely lost, so returning to the embrace of the nature is the best option for them."


    "Well, I think I can help you with that," Nafien offered as he raised his hand and gave Lu Li a buff.


    The System prompted Lu Li that he had received Nafien''s Blessing mark, which gave him +40 for all Attributes and 20% movement speed for 3 days!


    Lu Li was not mistaken ¨C it really did last for three days. This was the Timbermaw Clan''s famous buff, which enabled players to speed up the process of improving their Reputation with them. A player could only receive it when they were on Friendly terms, and they only had one chance with it.


    In fact, this was why Lu Li had chosen to come to the Timbermaw Hold.


    He had to make sure that he could win the marathon. A 20% increase wasn''t that powerful, but the fact that it lasted three days was significant.


    This meant that Lu Li would have the 20% bonus throughout the entire marathon.


    He was already confident that he would win, but there was no longer any doubt about it.


    Of course, Lu Li knew that there were would always be someone who had surpassed even him, but he felt like the chances of that were quite slim.


    "Thank you Mr Nafien ¨C your blessing has filled me with strength," Lu Li said sincerely. He even thought that this ugly bear monster was more lovable than the Elf sisters of his race.


    "You give me too much credit," the bear said, then continued, "Keep working hard. Don''t put our forest ancestors to shame."


    Lu Li continued farming for a little while before receiving a call. He then handed over more quest items and immediately teleported to Gadgetzan. He wouldn''t be able to gain enough Reputation for a while anyway, and who knew how long it would take before he could attain the Skill Completion that he set for himself?


    In the midst of all these things, he needed to keep money in mind!


    Lu Li had been anxiously waiting for this moment for a long time.


    The sum for the tickets and bonuses for the first Professional League wouldn''t be settled for some time, and the contract for the endorsement also had a cool-off period. Plus, they had to pay compensation for the players who died to Gangnam Royals. They also couldn''t make the end-of-year payments because of their lack of funds. After all, there was no bonus money if there was none to begin with¡­


    In other words, Ruling Sword was about to go hungry!


    Many of the senior executives hadn''t received their own payments for a long time, and some even had to pour their own money into the guild. For example, Square Root 3 had used his own money to acquire gold coins for the guild.


    Lu Li had also placed a number of deposits into the guild, leaving only a bit of money to help with the recovery of his sister.


    His debt to Water Fairy was still there, although the female tycoon probably wasn''t missing it. Lu Li''s plan to buy a house by the end of the year had to be delayed, especially since his sister really liked the current place that they were staying at.


    Even so, Lu Li was still being plagued by the lack of funds.


    When he was trying to treat his sister''s illness, he worried about money. Now, he had thousands of people under him and he was still worried about money.


    Everyone in this world was always busy with money ¨C it was the reasons that differed. Fortunately, Lu Li had just heard some good news and he felt that his troubles would soon be solved.


    Mr. Marin Noggenfogger had been working on research and development with the financial and material support of Ruling Sword.


    He actually wanted to change the name of the Noggenfogger Elixir to the Lu Li Elixir to flatter his Boss, but Lu Li simply refused.


    Other than money, fame didn''t have much of an effect on Lu Li.


    To put it simply, Mr. Noggenfogger had made great progress. The first batch of the potion had been successful and was christened the Noggenfogger Elixir 1.


    The invention wouldn''t bring a huge amount of power to Azeroth, but it did represent a sizeable profit.


    Mr. Noggenfogger had long known that the entrepreneurial spirit in him had been taken advantage of by Lu Li. That Night Elf was even more despicable than him. He had accounted for his invention and had planned to take his wealth.


    However, the contract had already taken effect and he was dying at the time. He had no choice but to


    accept Lu Li''s help.


    After a few days, Mr. Noggenfogger saw the insidious Night Elf again in the tavern of Gadgetzan. He seemed to be bigger than last time, and was covered in a suffocating smell. It was the smell of blood.


    At first, he wanted to talk about terminating the contract, but now, Marin Noggenfogger didn''t want to say anything.

 933 Teamwork

    In Marin Noggenfogger''s eyes, Lu Li was very powerful and the boss of many other adventurers.


    Those players who worked hard for him never talked badly about Lu Li. If someone dared to, they wouldn''t hesitate to cross swords with them. This was what Marin Noggenfogger was scared of.


    "My friend, it''s been a long time," Lu Li said. He almost had to kneel down to give his Goblin friend a hug.


    "Of course, but now that we meet again, I fear I haven''t lived up to your expectations. You have transformed me from a poor wretch to an unfortunate soul," Marin Noggenfogger sighed. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.


    When he thought about the contract that he signed in the beginning, he felt like this was the biggest disgrace in all of Goblin history.


    Perhaps in one hundred years, someone would write his story down for the generations. Just because you thought that you had found a life-saving line doesn''t mean that it couldn''t be a poisonous snake. There was once a poor goblin named Marin. One day, he was just about to starve to death, but when he was at his most desperate, he met a demon more evil than Sargeras¡­


    "Don''t cry ¨C smile a little," Lu Li said as he hailed at the waiter. "My friend and I want four cups of the most expensive wine here, to celebrate the fact that Mr. Marin will soon be the richest person in Gatgetzan."


    Some of the other patrons began whistling for more cups of the most expensive wine as well. Lu Li had decided that the he would pay for the drinks of everyone at the tavern.


    Gadgetzan was a commercial centre, and the wines here came from all over Azeroth. All kinds of rare recipes could be found here ¨C even a dragon''s favorite drink ¨C but it obviously wouldn''t come cheap.


    There were two cups for Lu Li and Marin Noggenfogger, and anotherfor ''White Bread'', who was quietly sitting next to them. She was the current logistics director of Ruling Sword, who managed the delivery of materials for Marin''s research. All of the materials requested by Marin were almost exclusively provided by her.


    The last cup was for Shen Wansan, Lu Li''s friend and businessman.


    When Shen Wansan heard that there was a big project, he immediately came over to make an appearance.


    Upon seeing the wine that had been placed before him, his face broke into a wide smile.


    "It looks like it must be a pretty big project. Otherwise, big boss Lu Li wouldn''t be spending so much money on drinks."


    "Have a bit of elegance; there are girls here," Lu Li chided. He was helpless as this fat guy knew no limits. Perhaps it was also bad sometimes to get too close to someone.


    White Bread just smiled but didn''t respond. She was a very quiet girl and was not particularly beautiful, but had a temperament that made people feel comfortable when they were with her. She had a good relationship with most members of the guild and everyone else generally had a good impression of her.


    "Hey Bread, long time no see. Are you feeling better now?" Shen Wansan asked. He and White Bread seemed to be close.


    "Thank you Shen Big bro. I''m feeling much better," White Bread answered with a smile.


    "What happened? If you aren''t feeling well, then get more rest. If you need any help, just ask the guild." Lu Li had a sick sister, so he was particularly concerned when this kind of thing happened.


    "Thanks boss. I''ll let you know if I need anything," White Bread said in gratitude.


    She knew that Lu Li wasn''t just saying that to be polite. In fact, Lu Li never said anything to be polite. He wouldn''t say anything that he didn''t mean.


    "Who is he?" Marin Noggenfogger was a little worried after seeing Shen Wansan, who appeared to be a businessman like himself. There would always be a feeling of conflict between businessmen.


    "My friend. As you can see, he is also a businessman," Lu Li answered as he stopped the goblin who wanted to run away. "I will give him 10% of what has been apportioned to me, and he will be responsible for distributing the goods. Mr. Noggenfogger, his distributions channels are completely beyond what you can imagine."


    Half of a tenth would be a twentieth.


    "That''s fine. I''ve already signed the contract anyway," Marin Noggenfogger said, feeling his heart skip a beat.


    "White Bread, you can take another tenth from me as well. Thank you for all your hard work."


    Lu Li wasn''t a mean or stingy boss. He had seen all that White Bread had done for the guild and had been waiting for an opportunity to compensate her for it.


    A guild that developed quickly and healthily couldn''t be the result of people like Lu Li and Square Root 3 alone.


    There had to be some public servant that could coordinate relationships between guild members. This would guarantee a warm and welcoming environment within the guild.


    White Bread was talented in this respect.


    Right at the beginning, when she didn''t even have the title of Logistics Manager, she would spontaneously take a group of players out to do quests together and direct the Life Profession players to perform their duties.


    What Lu Li respected the most about her was her selflessness. The guild would occasionally reward her with some equipment and gold coins, but she was always giving out her own items and money to help those in need. Lu Li always wished that someone like that had come across him and his sister in his previous life.


    "No, you don''t have to. I haven''t done anything," White Bread refused.


    "I''ve already made a decision," Lu Li interrupted, before turning to tell Shen Wansan about the Noggenfogger Elixir.


    Shen Wansan was stunned and looked at Marin Noggenfogger in a daze.


    "You''re giving him half of the profits? Are you okay?"


    Marin Noggenfogger''s face was blue with embarrassment as he mumbled, "I was really desperate at the time. Mr Lu Li, given what your friends are saying, did you give me too big of a cut¡­?"


    "Cough cough¡­" Shen Wansan coughed twice and patted Marin Noggenfogger on the shoulder before saying, "But Mr. Goblin¡­ you have already signed the contract. Going back on your word is not a good look on your character as a merchant. Don''t allow us to look down on the Goblins like this. Come everyone, let''s have a toast for our future filled with gold coins¡­ cheers!"


    This was a big business, and it was also a long-term one. Shen Wansan was well-informed and already understood the profits that were to come.


    He didn''t even try to get a bigger share because he knew it would be too greedy. If he missed this opportunity, he would regret it for a lifetime. Besides, he still had other sales on the side.


    Lu Li also had no choice ¨C it was unrealistic for him and Marin Noggenfogger to sell these potions to every region of Azeroth.


    He couldn''t do this alone either; he was going to have to hire a large number of people to coordinate the sales for this project.


    Teamwork was the fastest way to quickly sell these Noggenfogger Elixirs and rake in cash. If you couldn''t engage in teamwork, you would never turn a big profit.

 934 A Formidable Marathon Competitor

    After all, Marin Noggenfogger was a Goblin and understood many business principles better than Lu Li. He quickly figured out this situation and saw the capability of this little group that Lu Li had gathered.


    White Bread was responsible for collecting and transporting the raw resources. Shen Wansan was responsible for maintaining the various channels of selling and advertising, among other business aspects.


    Marin Noggenfogger was the manufacturing machine. He would continually produce the Noggenfogger Elixir from his workshop, which would be sent off to the market.


    As for Lu Li, his biggest contribution was tricking Marin.


    This despicable Elf had done nothing. Marin had relied completely on White Bread, yet Lu Li was going to receive 40% of the total profit.


    "Demon, he''s a demon¡­" was what Marin Noggenfogger said to himself in the days that followed, cursing Lu Li every morning and every evening.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li was completely oblivious to all of this. He had gone offline to accompany his sister.


    The reason why he had so desperately levelled himself up wasn''t to maintain the top position in the rankings. He knew that there would be a time when someone would eventually overtake him; he just wanted to give himself more time to be able to spend with his sister.


    Lu Xin was always very happy when these opportunities came.


    She was like a puppy waiting at home every day. Other than her brother, it seemed like she didn''t have any other meaning in life. Although Lu Li didn''t want her to be like this, he simply didn''t have the time right now and didn''t trust her to expand her circle of friends on her own.


    The next day, Lu Li went back online, mainly for the finals of the marathon competition.


    No one could resist the appeal of receiving an Epic equip, so the number of participants had reached an all-time high. With the sheer number of competitors, most players had little hope of winning.


    After two elimination rounds, there were only 100 players left who had qualified for the finals.


    The live replay was broadcasted to all the players with two well-known professional marathon commentators. Of course, they were also players within Dawn ¨C otherwise, they wouldn''t understand the rules of the game.


    A marathon in reality was still vastly different from a marathon in-game.


    Lu Li didn''t know how to react to players that had a coach with them. The scene around him was no different from a marathon in reality.


    "This is my first experience in commentating a marathon in a game, but I must thank Dawn for this game. Some real-life sports that were in decline have now found a second life because of this game." The name of this player was Little Quincy. In reality, he was Li Yidong, a well-known marathon commentator.


    There were many activities that occurred at the end of the year, which often took inspiration from reality.


    Could you imagine a group of Orcs and Tauren playing football together? That rampage was the way one of the Dawn Cup finals had ended the day before. It was a match between a team of Orcs called ''Saar''s Football Club'' and a team of Tauren who were called the ''Mavericks''.


    Their competition was a huge success.


    After the game, both the Mavericks, who were the winners, and Saar''s Football Club, who were the runners-up, received massive advertising endorsement deals.


    Today''s marathon had also received a great deal of attention. Everyone was looking forward to seeing players from all races running through the mountains and the plains. It was an unusually cheerful occasion.


    "Actually, I think this marathon has incorporated too many game elements, which makes the competition less interesting."


    The other player was older, and was an internationally renowned commentator called Jiang Guzhen.


    In fact, he was quite right. The number of rounds had trivialized the competition to some extent.


    "There are many players participating in this competition. There are even 2 star players among them."


    Li Yidong didn''t continue on, otherwise, the audience was bound to lose interest.


    "That can''t be right. I only saw one star player enter the competition. I believe his name was Innocent Child¡­" Jiang Guzhen said in confusion. Although he was only a Trade Skill player, how could he not know Lu Li''s name? In fact, the reason he was doing this was for dramatic effect.


    "Among our marathon runners, there is a player who has not be officially certified as a star. However, he has definitely become a top player. He is¡­"


    Even without this explanation, there were countless players who already knew.


    "That''s right, it is Lu Li ¨C the dark horse of the professional circle this year," Jiang Guzhen confirmed with a nod. "He is also the most promising player to take the championship, despite not being a Druid."


    "Druids have accounted for 83% of the 100 players who have entered the finals. There were only 17 non-Druid players and 12 of them are Thieves. This shows how ruthless this competition is for the other professions and races," Li Yidong said just as the competition began.


    Lu Li kept the same strategy as before and maintained his level of Stamina.


    The other players had also reached this stage in their strategizing and knew the importance of this. As such, there weren''t many players who took the lead at the beginning.


    When there was no great burst of speed at the beginning, Lu Li''s advantage could clearly be seen. His normal speed was comparable to the speed of a Druid Transformation, which eventually took him towards the leading group of players.


    "Lu Li is currently in sixth place. Is he already speeding up right at the beginning? That doesn''t seem to be a wise choice," Jiang Guyu commented.


    "It doesn''t look like it, but that is his normal speed which is quite terrifying. Let''s have a look at Innocent Child; he is actually in fifth place. Amazing!" Li Yidong had played the game and had a deeper understanding of it. This meant that he knew what was and wasn''t difficult to achieve.


    "He has maintained this speed for 1 minute and 37 seconds already. It really does seem like this is his normal speed," Jiang Guzhen said emotionally. "How can there be such a big gap between the players?"


    This was the feeling that most older-generation gamers felt.


    "The rise of Lu Li truly is amazing. Let us look at the second stage of the mountain road. Will he be able to maintain his superior position?" Lu Yidong spoke with passion, which evoked the enthusiasm of the audience.


    If there were players running at full speed before the second stage, everyone knew that their Stamina


    wouldn''t last for much longer.


    The advantage that Druids had was that when they reached the mountain roads, they could transform into Leopards, which had great jumping power. This allowed them to overcome the rugged surface with ease, and put distance between them and the other players.


    "Look at Innocent Child!" a commentator shouted.


    When Lu Li was running wildly in the form of the Child of the Forest, he also took the time to observe the other players'' transformations. He had finally realized why Water Fairy said that Innocent Child would be a formidable opponent in taking the championship.

 935 Aces Up Their Sleeves

    "Did this guy install a spring under him?" Lu Li thought spitefully.


    Old Man Power, who was originally at the back, gradually made his way forward with his high jumps. It seemed as if the obstacle race was made specifically for him.


    Not only were his jumps high, but they were also very far as well.


    Lu Li guessed that this wasn''t a skill; it was most likely some sort of equipment or item.


    Lu Li transformed into a Child of the Forest. The average players thought that this was an upgraded version of the panther transformation, but it ran faster than the panther form, gave more Jump and had better damage reduction.


    Many Druids transformed into this form, but none of them jumped as high as Old Man Power.


    Lu Li was currently in fifth place, while Old Man Power had jumped from rank 50 to the top twenties as he continued to gain on the others. He seemed to have figured out where his advantages lied and wanted to seize this opportunity.


    "A smart man ¨C no one can compete against him at this stage. We''re still uncertain how far he can go," Jiang Gu complimented.


    "I''m assuming he''d have no problem making it into the top 5, but Lu Li sure is a steady player. He has currently dropped to the sixth place and he''s about to be taken over," Li Yidong responded, then tried his best to hype up the crowd. "We all believe that Lu Li still has some aces up his sleeves, but we just don''t know if he plans to use them at this stage."


    There was no way that someone of Lu Li''s level wouldn''t have an ace up his sleeve.


    From the start until the end, he had been running with his basic speed in the first stage. In the second stage, he only transformed into a Child of the Forest and continued to run at a consistent pace.


    "Past him! Old Man Power has run past Lu Li!" Jiang Gu exclaimed as he suddenly slammed the table. With a hoarse voice, he continued to dive deeper into his analysis and shouted, "Lu Li isn''t panicking at all! He only looks like he''s in his twenties; how can he still keep so calm..."


    "I think it''s because the second stage is almost ending," Li Yidong sighed.


    He was right ¨C Lu Li didn''t really feel any pressure at all. He completely ignored the fact that Old Man Power had overtook him.


    The third stage was a water-way, which made no difference for either Lu Li or Old Man Power because both of them were capable of transforming into Seal form.


    If they really had to pick who had the upper hand, it would be Old Man Power ¨C he was a real druid after all.


    "It seems like they will maintain their distance in the third stage. The third stage is like a natural habitat for Druids; the other professional players quickly fell out of place in this section."


    By this point, Lu Li was in fourth place. It wasn''t that he ran any faster than the two players before him, but that the two players before him had run too fast in the first and second stage. They had used up all their Stamina and now has to rest and recover. To stop and recover basically meant that they were out of the competition.


    "I think they''ll decide their places in either the fourth or fifth stage," Li Yidong said in disappointment.


    By the time the third stage had finished, Old Man Power was already in first place. All the players ranked among the top ten was all out of the competition; only Lu Li continued to follow up in a steady pace.


    He was currently ranked number four and had quite some distance to cover to catch up to Old Man Power.


    After Lu Li arrived at stage four, he immediately changed into his crow form. This was a stage with twisted pathways, so he could easily create a huge gap between the others if he just flew over everything.


    This transformation that he had obtained from Medivh was very powerful and fast. However, most of the players had no clue where it had actually come from. They all thought that this was some sort of special equipment, most likely the one that allowed him to transform into the panther and seal.


    If Lu Li was just an average player, others would definitely hunt him down at all times until they forced him to drop this equipment.


    Even if this was an item that couldn''t be dropped, you couldn''t expect to play the game normally either. The major guilds all agreed that any player that they couldn''t have was an enemy that they needed to kill before he started to bloom.


    "Seems like stage four is the stage where Lu Li will make his comeback. There''s no doubt about this," Jiang Gu said hopelessly.


    There was no way in real life for a marathon to have a strategy like this. A marathon not only challenged the competitors physically, but it also mentally. The current marathon seemed more like a joke; it only tested the strength of these players.


    However, something unexpected happened ¨C not everyone was helpless.


    A total of three players, including Old Man Power, thought of a method similar to flying. One of them used a kite, while the other was a Hunter who had an average leveled pet Hawk that could carry them. Old Man Power seemed to have a cape that gave him flying abilities of some sort.


    Lu Li was surprised by the results too; it definitely wasn''t right to underestimate everyone''s luck and wisdom.


    Fortunately, Old Man Power''s cape couldn''t last through the entire third stage. Instead, the Hunter took over his position, but unfortunately, his pet Hawk died not long after they landed at the goal.


    Lu Li assumed that this special pet wasn''t easy to catch - maybe it was even a unique one. Otherwise, all Hunters could just catch a flying pet and fly anywhere they wanted.


    The fifth stage was a completely flat path; it was the type of stage that encouraged everyone to use everything that they could.


    Lu Li was ranked number third at this point. The two players before him were the Hunter and Old Man Power.


    As for the other player who used a kite, he didn''t become as famous as he thought he would after the competition.


    Many Engineering creations weren''t as stable as they seemed, and his thrusters for the kite were no exception.


    During his flight, the Goblin Engineer slammed his head into a mountain in front of countless shocked players.


    The two analysts were caught by surprise too and had no clue what they could say about the situation. In the end, all they could do was to advise players to be careful with their creations ¨C otherwise, this would be their fate too.


    Besides the Goblin engineer who died in an accident, other top hundred players were still persisting. Although they knew that they had no hope in the last stage, they still valued sportsmanship. Despite the changes over time, there were some values that would never fade away.


    Lu Li, who was placed fourth, had no threat of being overtaken at all. However, Old Man Power had quite a gap between himself and the Hunter, so it wouldn''t be easy for him to win over the Legendary equipment either.


    Even he could manage to find a cape with flying abilities, it was not hard to imagine all the other aces that other players could have withheld.

 936 Torturing Old Man Power

    Oftentimes, you would just have to admit that some people were luckier than others. You could work tirelessly to achieve something, but for others, it would be simple and easy.


    From another perspective, you could only see what they won. How would you be able to understand how much effort they had given in the first place? As such, Lu Li never really bothered paying attention to what tricks the others had used.


    His rules were simple; he just aimed to do the best that he could.


    He logically combined his skills and special effects so that he could maintain a steady pace throughout the whole competition without using up all of his stamina.


    The Hunter who was originally ranked first place clearly didn''t have a solid foundation like Old Man Power. He quickly used up all of his movement speed boost skills and still couldn''t resist against the fate of being overtaken. Not only did Old Man Power overtake him, but even Lu Li quickly passed him too.


    The audience was divided into three parties.


    One party supported Old Man Power from the Gangnam Royals. Another supported Lu Li, who was from Ruling Sword, while the rest were hanging around to see the results. Whoever won the championship in the end didn''t really matter to them at all.


    Compared to the other parties, Lu Li was slightly more popular.


    After all, he was an average player from an average background who had managed to create miracle after miracle. In the hearts of the ordinary, Lu Li was like their textbook to success. Who knew? They could become the next Lu Li.


    On the other hand, the Gangnam Royals had always kept a high profile. No one knew how many people they had crossed over the years.


    It was not hard to find threads on forums that badmouthed the Gangnam Royals, or players in particular from the guild. The playerbase was nothing more than a herd of blind sheep who loved to follow others. It wasn''t hard for them to turn their backs against the Gangnam Royals.


    Regardless of how they felt, they couldn''t influence the results of the competition anyway.


    "More than half of the last stage has already been finished, but there is still a gap in between them. Is the champion for today going to be Old Man Power?" Jiang Gu was just a trading skill player. In this last stage, he could only analyze based on his own instincts.


    "What makes a competition exciting? A comeback ¨C I think Lu Li still has a chance," Li Yidong said. He was already saving some of Jiang Gu''s face for him.


    Any average player could tell that Old Man Power had casted too many skills and special effects too frequently. It wouldn''t be long before he couldn''t keep up anymore, but Lu Li had only used two to three average movement speed boost skills in the fifth stage.


    The gap between them was steadily closing.


    The fans who cheered for Old Man Power didn''t sound so enthusiastic anymore. Perhaps they had seen something, or perhaps they were just tired.


    "Then, Lu Li can still win?" Jiang Gu wasn''t unhappy at all; he wanted to hear the analysis of a professional too.


    "It''s hard to guarantee a 100% victory, but Lu Li definitely shouldn''t be performing like the way he is now. He must still have some incredible aces up his sleeves," Li YiDong said with a weird expression, then added, "But if he''s planning to make a final sprint, I''m worried that he might not succeed."


    This wasn''t a real marathon after all. In a match in real life, it wasn''t hard to make a good estimate on how much stamina a competitor had left, and if they could make another sprint at the end.


    However, this was a different story in a game. If Lu Li planned to make a final sprint as his comeback, but Old Man Power was withholding an ace, then he would not necessarily succeed.


    "He''s speeding up," Jiang Gu said, raising his voice.


    With one third of the track remaining, Lu Li began to increase his speed.


    He used anything that he could ¨C Wirt''s Third Leg, teleports, flashes - it seemed like a personal show for Lu Li. All the audience could see was a player constantly flashing forward at a rapid speed on the tracks.


    Old Man Power panicked; he couldn''t keep his ace anymore.


    A light emitted from him as he transformed into a Fire Druid and his speed received a big boost.


    Old Man Power''s new transformation was certainly powerful; it was even better than Child of the Forest form with another stack of Stampeding Roar on top. His overall speed was more than doubled.


    At this rate, he would be able to reach the final goal in less than a minute, so he still had some hope of winning.


    Phantom Cloak (Dark Gold): Armour 65, Agility +40, Strength +20, Constitution +10, Movement Speed +15%. Special Effect 1: Phantom Swiftness, increases movement speed by 200% for 30 seconds after use. 2-minute cooldown. Can only be used out of combat. Special Effect 2: Phantom Assault, three illusions appear behind a target. Each phantom has 40% attack power and lasts for 20 seconds. 30 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Hidden Mirage. Enters Stealth upon use. Stealth effect is increased by 200% and movement speed increased by 300%. Equipment Requirement: Level 45. Exclusive for Thieves. Durability 150/150.


    Lu Li used special effect three first, ignoring the Stealth. The most important aspect of this special effect was the 300% movement speed boost.


    After six seconds, he had successfully passed by Old Man Power.


    When the movement speed buff ran out, he used the first special effect.


    This was a cape that he had borrowed from Water Fairy. He didn''t get to use it last time during the preliminaries, but this was his real ace.


    A competition was a double test on both stamina and wisdom. You didn''t necessarily have to run fast ¨C you just had to run faster than the others.


    Lu Li believed that Old Man Power still had other aces. After all, he had never felt like he was facing any real threat from anyone else. Although Old Man Power never underestimated Lu Li, he was still baited by his temporary advantage.


    No one would use all of their aces in one go; this was the same for competitors.


    Even though this was just a marathon match, no one was specifically exposing their equipment, skills, attributes or techniques. Even so, you would still find a number of analysis threads on the forums later.


    These threads would detail Old Man Power''s jumping tactics, the possible equipment and skills that could match up against Lu Li''s seven movement speed boost effects, the eight-skill combination that could beat a mobile competitor...


    They would analyze you from the inside-out under a microscope.


    It wasn''t the best feeling at all, and if they got anything right, this was a handicap that your competitors could potentially use against you.

 937 Unfortunate

    Without any major threats, Old Man Power decided to play safe and hid some of tactics during the competition.


    When Lu Li used his Cape for a burst in the end, he knew that he had underestimated his opponent, but it was too late by then. None of his aces were good enough to edge out the Cape in such a short amount of time.


    Old Man Power had fallen into Lu Li''s trap.


    If they had both given it their all right from the start, then where the victory fell might still be in question. Even if Lu Li was guaranteed to win, he would have had to use more moves.


    "Alright! Lu Li ran past the goal! He won!" the commentator shouted loudly.


    "An amazing come back; totally unexpected."


    Jiang Gu was actually being spiteful that neither of these players had any sportsmanship. Even he could tell that neither of them had given it their all.


    The the audience, analysts and other competitors were all just bystanders compared to these two.


    "Congratulations," Old Man Power said as he completed the track. They were both teleported onto the award stage, and not only were the commentators there, but a special guest as well.


    There were only a few people standing on the stage, while many more were standing near the stage to witness this final moment.


    "I just got lucky," Lu Li responded humbly.


    "I thought I had this in the bag, but I still lost to you at the end," Old Man Power sighed, looking at Lu Li with a complicated expression.


    It was just as Water Fairy had told Lu Li; Old Man Power had some sort of skill or special effect with a short cooldown under his panther transformation. This was his fire cat transformation, which was a special effect on his equipment with a very short cooldown.


    If he had used this form right at the beginning, he would have been able to create a large gap. Lu Li wouldn''t have been able to catch up even with his final sprint in the end.


    However, regardless of the situation, the cooldown on Lu Li''s cape wasn''t that long either. It was only two minutes, meaning that it could have been used many times in the competition.


    Regardless, it wasn''t hard to imagine Old Man Power''s current mood.


    "I wasn''t expecting a Thief to win the championship at all."


    After the top three came out, no one bothered paying attention to the others behind them. At least, the two analysts had already redirected their attention to the award stage.


    There were three competitors on the stage. One was Lu Li, a Thief, the other was Old Man Power, a Druid, and the last was the Hunter, who had sacrificed his pet.


    As the first two rounds of the marathon began, the hosts were placed in quite an awkward position.


    If the top three were Druids, wouldn''t this mean that this was a competition designed specifically for Druids?


    However, the final outcome was much better than they had anticipated. Only one player of the top three was a Druid, so no one else would be able to make any complaints. On the other hand, Druid players had solely taken up the spots between the fourth place to the thirtieth. The host could only find some other ways to cover up for this.


    There were too many events at the end of the year, and not every player would be able to attend all of them.


    It was only natural that the gaming company would place more attention on this event, considering that this was the only competition that gave out a Legendary equip.


    When a figure walked out under the spotlight, the players, especially the male players, all began to jump up and down.


    Many pretty celebrities liked to refer to themselves as the ''Otaku Goddesses''. Some had even managed to earn reputations such as ''one-in-a-four-thousand-years kind of beauty''. However, Su Mei hated to be referred to as an ''Otaku Goddess''.


    She had only been a part of the industry for less than two years, played in a few movies and became one of the most famous female celebrities. She happened to be the guest for handing out the awards this time.


    "Hehe, seems like Ms. Su is much more popular than us," Li Yidong joked.


    "I can''t believe the gaming company managed to invite Ms. Su over this time. Last time we saw her, she had only just joined the industry and gave us all quite an impression."


    Even though Jiang Gu was middle-aged, that didn''t stop him from having a passionate heart.


    "Are you guys excited to see Ms. Su?" Li Yidong asked the three competitors who stood beside him.


    The Hunter was already so excited that he couldn''t say anything. Old Man Power was more relaxed ¨C he was a celebrity player himself, and was just as famous as her. He just smiled and said, "I''d be really happy to get an autograph from her."


    As for Lu Li, he wasn''t a fan.


    Not everyone could afford to live such a relaxed life; he had been busy throughout both his previous and current life.


    However, even he had heard of someone like Su Mei. She was someone that almost anyone would know about, but that was it.


    He didn''t really understand why everyone was so excited about her.


    Would it be better if he pretended to be a little more excited, just to fit in with the crowd? He just lived a more unfortunate life, but that didn''t mean that he planned to stay out of the crowd.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t a good actor!


    As such, all everyone saw was just Lu Li with his usual cold face, and when he was asked if he was excited, he just nodded his head. No one could tell what part of him was excited at all.


    "This guy is so good at faking it!"


    "We bet he likes boys!"


    "Let go of our goddess; let us hold on to her instead!"


    This was the thought process of nearly everyone in the audience.


    What occurred first was the standard speeches before handing out the awards. Then, Su Mei started to present the awards from the third place.


    The Hunter barely had any presence at all throughout the whole process; he was just the third place after all. He received some experience and an equipment, as well as a small trophy item presented to him by Su Mei. As he trembled in excitement, he was teleported away.


    "Power, kiss her! Power, kiss her!"


    All the supporters of Old Man Power went crazy, screaming in unison.


    Old Man Power''s expression looked very awkward. If he really pounced forward like some kind of perverted man, his reputation would definitely be driven into the floor. As such, he just took over the award calmly from Su Mei, maintaining his usual composure during the whole process.


    Then fans beneath the stage weren''t impressed at all.


    "No wonder why he has no girlfriend!"


    "Just go and **** yourself!"


    "I''ve been questioning your sexual orientation for a long time already. Now we finally know the truth!"


    With the huge sum of experience he gained from being the second place, he almost gained an entire level. However, he didn''t feel the slightest bit of joy at all. He just felt like the blue sky had suddenly turned pitch dark.


    The second-placed competitor was teleported away too.


    Besides the two hosts on stage, there was only Lu Li and Su Mei left.


    "Before we present the award, I have a small request," Su Mei said as she held onto the little present box that contained the Legendary equipment.

 938 The Best Trainer

    Lu Li wanted to decline, but he had to let her finish her sentence first, so he nodded.


    "I''ve signed a contract with the gaming company. The contract requires me to be a part of their filming of the gaming process. I''m hoping that you can train and help me level up; I have no clue about gaming in general," Su Mei explained with a slightly embarrassed smile. "It might sound like a joke, but I''ve never played a single game in my life before.


    Lu Li''s rationality told him that this was a lie; how could anyone not have played a single game throughout their life in this age?


    Even an old man, old enough to have stepped one foot into his grave, would have entered a virtual reality game to plant some gardens at least once.


    However, Su Mei seemed to have this strange aura about her that made others find it hard to doubt her at all. Even Lu Li was impacted, but he was still a rational person, so he quickly adjusted his mentality.


    "Sorry, I''m quite busy most of the time, and I think it might be better to start off as a clean slate."


    His messenger kept vibrating.


    Lu Li had blocked almost all channels; there were only a handful of people who could harass him at this time.


    He quickly scanned across and picked the two most important ones to read.


    The most important one was obviously from Lu Xin ¨C she had snuck online again. Next time, he needed to make sure to teach her a good lesson.


    Then, there was Square Root 3. It was as if both of them had reached an agreement; they had had both sent out the same message.


    "Say yes, say yes. If you don''t say yes, you''re dead."


    Of course, Lu Xin''s threat was more important. If he didn''t agree, she wouldn''t call him her brother anymore.


    For Lu Li, this was even worse than someone killing him.


    Lu Li was someone with his own standards and morals, but sometimes he would forget about these, so he quickly changed his tone.


    "But if you really need it, I guess I can consider."


    The crowd below the stage boiled.


    They had experienced three up and downs.


    First, Su Mei had invited Lu Li to play games with her. Without a doubt, countless people would have wanted to be Lu Li. Even if he was going to die tomorrow, they wouldn''t have minded.


    Then there was Lu Li''s declination, which they all cursed because of how ungrateful he was. However, now that he had declined, the opportunity had opened up to them.


    Then, when Lu Li changed his attitude entirely, everyone couldn''t help but curse out loudly.


    You ****, where are your values? You''re the key figure to Ruling Sword, a celebrity amongst the gaming industry. Where''s your shame?


    Su Mei laughed so hard that she bent over.


    She had a very, very slim waist. Her outfit especially showed her waistline, so it was very tempting from Lu Li''s angle.


    It was better for him not to look, so he turned away.


    For the first time, he felt like this girl was an absolute enchantress. He couldn''t help but compare her to Water Fairy.


    "Then let''s be friends first," Su Mei said.


    It wasn''t possible for them to send each other friend requests right now, and Lu Li didn''t want to continue wasting time on stage. There were too many people watching them and this was a livestream too. As a Thief, he felt more comfortable to stay out of the lights.


    Perhaps it was time for him to find an equip to change his name temporarily.


    Then, he quickly scanned to see Su Mei''s in-game-name, which was actually Ms. Su. He had no clue that this was the nickname that Su Mei''s fans had given her.


    It seemed like Su Mei was someone who could also read the situation, so she handed over the gift box and the award cup to Lu Li as soon as he agreed. Then, she even stretched out her hand¡­


    Old Man Power, who had already been teleported out, was quite disappointed. Although everyone referred to him as a homosexual, he actually liked girls. Su Mei was a famous celebrity, so if she offered to shake hands, there was no way he would''ve declined.


    Why hadn''t he received this treatment?


    Then he thought that Lu Li would decline, since he was always good at pretending to be serious.


    In that case, Su Mei would look bad, and would hate Lu Li.


    Although Lu Li had a strange kind of personality, that didn''t mean he was socially inept. In fact, after all that he had gone through, he had become smoother, so he didn''t turn down the handshake. It wasn''t that bad at all to shake hands with someone who was so pretty.


    "Send my regards to her. Oh, right. She''s called Water Fairy in the game," Su Mei said.


    Why did he feel like he had gotten caught in bed in the middle of an affair?


    Besides the experience, he also received an extra skill point.


    The experience that he received wasn''t much ¨C it was just enough for him to reach about 20% of his level 48 EXP bar. It wasn''t much compared to Old Man Power, but that was because the greatest reward for second place was the experience. The skill point was an unexpected surprise because no one else had it.


    The Legendary equip was inside the small gift box, but Lu Li wouldn''t take it out in front of everyone else, even though that''s what the majority wanted to see.


    He was grateful that the gaming company didn''t announce its Attributes. Besides those rich boys who wanted to show off, no one wanted everyone to know what equipment they had.


    After he was teleported off the stage, he opened the gift box immediately.


    It was a pair of shoes, as expected.


    Champion''s Boots (Epic): Armor 80, Agility +100, Constitution +50, Movement Speed +25%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Kick Skill +1. This has a certain chance of silencing a target for 3 seconds. Special Effect 2: Shadow Step. Break into the shadows and appear behind the target. Within 10 seconds, your next Ambush or attack has 30% increased damage and your movement speed is increased by 80%. Lasts 5 seconds, 2-minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Sudden Thrust. Cast to instantly move 15 yards in any direction. This deals 200% attack damage to all targets along the line, and the user is invincible while moving. 3-minute cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 60. Durability 375/375.


    There was a small row of gold text beneath that read, "In remembrance of Mr Lu Li''s outstanding performance in the first season of the marathon competition."


    Lu Li could feel his heart pound hard as he read through the long list of Attributes and special effects.


    Even though the last bit of the description that showed the level requirement slightly disappointed him, he was still elated. At the very most, he would just have to spend some money to buy a stone that reduced the level requirement. There was bound to be a lucky guy out there somewhere.


    He needed to find a stone with at least a -20% requirement level for him to be able to wear this equipment at level 48.


    This wasn''t hard ¨C it was very hard. The System had reduced the drop rate for these stones and the demand for them had increased. Even the -5% stones were becoming more difficult to find.

 939 Champion Boots

    Lu Li looked at the special effects and the stats and couldn''t help but admit that Dawn was doing a really good job at balancing the game. If he wore the boots right now at his current level, he would become overpowered beyond belief.


    The Armor was almost double compared to the Lv35 boots that he were currently wearing, as expected for a Lv60 piece of equipment.


    The stats alone were shocking to Lu Li; +150 points of useful stats would be a great boost to his damage and survivability.


    The 25% movement speed made it difficult for Lu Li to wipe off the smile on his face. Comparatively, his current boots only provided 15% movement speed.


    However, all these Attributes were nothing compared to the three special effects that they provided. The first effect gave him a free skill point on his Kick skill, which was the ultimate counter to Mages. It also provided a chance to silence the enemy, meaning that they would be completely useless.


    The second effect, Shadow Step, was one of his favorite skills. Up until now, his most coveted piece of equipment was the Shadow Cloak because it allowed him to use this skill.


    The third effect was why this piece of equipment was Legendary grade. No one would doubt the quality of these boots based on this effect alone.


    Li Lu had another piece of equipment with the special effect Sudden Thrust in the past, but it didn''t go as far as 15 yards. This skill dealt 200% damage to all targets along the path, which made it both a very powerful attack and repositioning option.


    If he casted it at the right time, it could also be used as a powerful multi-target skill.


    However, if that was all there was to the special effect, all the players who competed for this item would have died in vain.


    What made these Legendary boots so insanely overpowered was the phrase "the user is invincible while moving."


    Invincibility! Most Thieves had Gale Steps, which made them invincible for a short period of time. This made them notoriously difficult to catch.


    The general consensus was that Thieves were currently balanced and most players would be confident to go head to head against them in PVP settings.


    However, very few players could guarantee that they could catch a Thief. If a Thief had made up their mind to escape, then most of the time, they were able to do so with their invisibility and various mobility skills.


    What if Lu Li were to add another skill similar to Gale Step into his arsenal?


    This could be even more game changing than the special effect on his Legendary ring.


    Hypothetically, if a hundred skills were all thrown at Lu Li at once, he would be dead for sure. If he activated his Ultimate Ring special effect and avoided one skill, he would still be killed by the rest of them. However, Gale Step and Sudden Thrust were different because during invincibility time frame, there was absolutely nothing in the world that could harm or damage him.


    Lu Li almost teared up and immediately contacted Square Root Three. He was almost shouting when he asked him to find an enhancement stone that would decrease the requirement level of an equip by 20%.


    "Legendary item, Lv60 ¨C is it overpowered?" Square Root Three was a smart man and figured out that the boots must have been godly based on Lu Li''s description.


    "Yes, they''re god like," Lu Li answered honestly.


    "No problem, I''ll try my best to find one as soon as possible," Square Root Three said, then paused and asked, "What are you going to do with the boots that you''re replacing?"


    He knew how good Lu Li''s old shoes were because he was there when he had obtained them.


    "I¡­." Lu Li hesitated for a while, then said, "I want to give them to someone as a gift. If anyone in the guild asks for them, then apologize for me."


    This was an item that had been obtained through the efforts of the Elites from the entire guild. Even though Lu Li was the guild master, he couldn''t just give it away as a gift to an outsider or even possibly a contender. This was why he decided to discuss with Square Root Three beforehand.


    Surprisingly, Square Root Three wasn''t indignant at all and was quite supportive.


    However, he couldn''t understand Lu Li''s logic as he was planning on giving the equip to a girl. Although this was a game and there were no gender restrictions on the shoe, it would be quite strange to give a girl your old shoes in real life.


    They then discussed about training with Su Mei.


    Rather than training with, it was more like letting her leech of them. He looked up her profile and she was on Lv0.


    "Lucky you said yes to her," Square Root Three said. "Are you stupid? It''s Su Mei."


    "What about her?" Lu Li remembered the first time he bought a fake branded skirt for Lu Xin and it had a picture of her on it. Lu Xin was very happy, but Lu Li didn''t care about that stuff at all. You couldn''t expect a grown man who can barely feed himself to chase after celebrities and stars.


    Lu Xin was a big fan of Su Mei. It was no wonder why she was so desperate and even threatened to never call him older brother again.


    When they were struggling to get by, Lu Xin had collected a few fake posters of Su Mei. Some were handed down by her schoolmates who thought the posters weren''t printed well or defected. After they got back on their feet, Lu Xin bought a shampoo that endorsed her.


    "Do you know how many people want an opportunity like this?" Square Root Three asked enviously. "She''s considered a national goddess."


    "National goddess? Her?"


    "It would be a dream to be able to work with her," Square Root Three said.


    "What about Water Fairy?" Lu Li asked.


    Square Root Three had met Water Fairy a few times and had never been rude to her.


    In reality, when Lu Li compared Su Mei to Water Fairy, he thought that Water Fairy was prettier.


    From a personality point of view, Lu Li got along much better with Water Fairy and always thought that they complemented each other.


    Square Root Three was angered.


    "How can you compare her to Su Mei? They''re completely different types; have you seen Water Fairy smile before? Su Mei is always smiling and I think she has the best smile in the world."


    "Goddamn it, was this guy a total fanboy? Give me back the calm and intelligent Square Root three, the wise and capable guy who helped build the guild up," Lu Li thought to himself.


    "If you can get her to join the guild that would be even better. I bet a lot of enemy players would betray their guild to join ours just for her. We can raise the acceptance requirement and get even stronger players to push us to the next level. Lu Li, you HAVE to get her to join somehow."


    Square Root Three thought he had come up with the most genius idea.


    "Get out of here."

 940 Money-Less Transaction

    After Lu Li hung up, Square Root Three called him again and told him to go to Hyacinth Bar.


    The name of the bar made it obvious that it run ran by a player. It was located in the Ironforge and Lu Li rarely stepped foot there.


    Ironforge was the main city of the Dwarves and Gnomes, built upon the snowy mountain of Don Morough in the center of the surrounding mountain ranges. It housed an ancient race of strange Dwarves and friendly Gnomes.


    Countless blacksmiths, adventurers, miners and warriors gathered here.


    While it wasn''t quite as busy as Stormwind, it wasn''t as quiet as Darnassus. Many players enjoyed the banging sounds of the iron, the sweet Dwarven fine wine and the picturesque snowy scenery.


    Elves would rarely appear in a town like this because they disliked the environment.


    Lu Li didn''t particularly enjoy being here either; he would much rather be drowned in the busy crowds of Stormwind.


    Hyacinth Bar was located between two blacksmiths which was considered quite a good location. There were countless blacksmiths in Ironforge, but very few would offer their services to players as most of them were NPCs working for the Alliance Army.


    When he entered, he saw a crowd of short people in the bar.


    There were more Gnomes than Dwarves and barely any Humans, Elves or Draenei.


    Square Root Three led Lu Li to a Gnome, more specifically, a female Gnome. She wasn''t exactly attractive, but she was quite cute. Female Gnomes were considered cutest class in the game and most of the players who chose this class were creepy middle-aged men who were obsessed with lolis.


    If a little girl held onto your legs, called you older brother and begged you to train with her, most people would happily agree.


    However, the Gnomish race were not to be underestimated.


    The No.17 ranked guild on the Guild Rankings called "Jump to Hit Your Knees" was a Gnome/Dwarf exclusive guild. This guild was newly established and had only been in the gaming scene for around two years. In every game


    that they played, they would always choose races that were shorter than others, despite any advantage or disadvantages.


    It was difficult for a guild to thrive if they had so little variety as their versatility and flexibility would be much lower than the other guilds. The fact that they reached the No.17 rank said a lot about their individual skills and team work.


    As most of the players from this guild were from Ironforge, in Dawn, they would refer themselves as "The Ironforge."


    There were perhaps less than a million people in Ironforge, but most of them were solo players or minor guilds that could never compete with Jump to Hit Your Knees.


    Lu Li nodded at the female Gnome and ordered a rye wine.


    "That''s her ¨C she has a stone that can decrease equipment level by 20%, but she won''t sell it and I''ve tried everything to persuade her. You can go and have a try," Square Root Three said with a shrug.


    "If you want this stone, then I want you to kill someone for me."


    The Gnome''s voice was very sweet, but the words that came out of her mouth were very conflicting.


    "If it''s possible, I''d much rather buy it off you for a high price," Lu Li said, not wanting to waste his time.


    From his past experiences, he would much rather solve problems with money.


    "No, I don''t need money," the Gnome refused.


    Lu Li knew that she was a hard one to crack and so he decided to accept her offer and said, "Fine, we accept. Who do you want us to kill and how many times do you want us to kill them?"


    Killing someone wasn''t as simple as it sounds.


    "Drunken Heart from Ironforge. He¡­"


    The Gnome''s expressions were filled with worry; she stared into Lu Li''s eyes as the rest of his face was hidden behind her mask.


    The rest of the story explained why she wanted Drunken Heart to be killed and how much he deserved to die.


    It was quite simple ¨C Drunken Heart was attracted to the Gnome''s older sister and began chasing after her.


    However, unlike in Korean dramas where the handsome thug chased after the main actress, the Gnome''s older sister did not reciprocate his interests. Drunken Heart became frustrated and angry, so he began sending people out to harass her while she was playing. Eventually, she decided to quit.


    "Drunken Heart¡­"


    She was expecting Lu Li to have an expression of fear, but all he did was repeat the name and nodded to show that he accepted.


    "It''s Drunken Heart," the Gnome repeated again.


    "I know him ¨C he''s in charge of the Warrior squad in Jump to Hit Your Knees. Level 47 Warrior tank that likes to use a one-handed hammer and shield. He''s a primary tank and secondary DPS, right?" Lu Li said calmly.


    "You''re not scared of him?" The little Gnome thought she was dreaming.


    Drunken Heart was one of the top members of Jump to Hit Your Knees; his level was high and he had powerful equips. Wherever he walked, he would always be escorted by ten players.


    Jump to Hit Your Knees were the most powerful guild in Ironforge and would often abuse their powers to do whatever they wanted. As such, they had offended quite a number of people in the city. There were probably a lot of people that wanted revenge on Drunken Heart, but no one had the power or resources to take him down.


    Lu Li decided to contact someone that he hadn''t talked to for a long time.


    "Blacky, you there?"


    "Brother Li. It''s been a while." Blacky''s voice sounded pleasantly surprised.


    Blacky and Buggy were all old friends of Lu Li''s in real life. When Buggy was in trouble, Blacky sought out Lu Li for assistance. Lu Li had bought them gaming helmets so that they could play the game with him.


    When they heard that Lu Li was making a name for himself playing as a Thief, they all decided to choose the same class.


    Thieves weren''t as popular in dungeons and unless they recruited a party of their own, others usually wouldn''t invite them.


    Under Lu Li''s guidance, they entered the Grim Reaper faction, which consisted of mainly Thieves. The difference between Ravenholdt Manor and Grim Reaper was that they were a more underground assassination association.


    Many people know them as mercenaries that specialized in assassinating people.


    After they joined, they stopped attempting dungeons and began focusing on levelling up and accepting hitman missions for money and rewards.


    Besides Lu Li and Square Root Three in Ruling Sword, no one else knew about their existence.


    "Do you know Drunken Heart from Ironforge?" Lu Li asked, getting straight to the point. He didn''t really like to catch up with old friends. This was just giving them an opportunity to repay him back.


    Gang members heavily emphasized loyalty and they would do anything to return a favor from a past friend.


    "I know him ¨C a defensive warrior. He''s extremely arrogant; did he offend you in any way?" Blacky was always good at gathering information.


    "Not me, but I need you guys to kill him and send me the recordings of you doing so," Lu Li said.

 941 Good and Evil

    The little Dwarf didn''t know who Lu Li was talking to, but continued to talk about all the evils that Drunken Heart had committed.


    "Yeah, that''s pretty horrible," Lu Li said as he nodded his head.


    Truthfully, Lu Li did not have much interest in these things. There were too many things that were unfair in the world. He did not want to be the little Dwarf''s knight in shining armour, but she had what he wanted. Therefore, whatever the she said was correct.


    He did not even bother to find out the truth.


    You could say that he was heartless. However, he was a person who was already used to the lifestyle of doing what he had to in order to get what he wanted.


    Buggy and his team did not let Lu Li wait. After a few minutes, Lu Li received a System message indicating that a video was being sent.


    After confirming to accept the video, a CD-like item appeared in his hand.


    "This is what you wanted. Double-check and see if it''s correct," Lu Li said as he transferred the item into her storage. "If there aren''t any problems, then I hope we can make the exchange now."


    She had not expected Lu Li to send an item like that as confirmation, as she was still hoping for him to do his thing.


    After playing the CD, a hologram opened up in front of her.


    Drunken Heart was a Dwarf Warrior by class. At that moment, he was doing quests in Stratholme in a 10-man squad. However, there were other players around him who had donned the ''Jump to Hit Your Knees''.


    Suddenly, a few silhouettes appeared with masks on, wearing greyish-black leather armour. This group of people did not care about the other players and went straight for Drunken Heart.


    Drunken Heart was a player who had fairly good mechanics, and he immediately casted a Whirlwind.


    This kill could negate some forms of crowd control, so it would give his team some time to support him. The choice wasn''t bad, so he could not be faulted on it. However, before the Whirlwind''s duration was over, he had been killed.


    The whole process did not even last 5 seconds.


    The group of assassins did not even bother to dodge his attacks. After all, Drunken Heart had given up DPS for tankiness, so his attacks were not lethal.


    Moreover, his assailant''s attackswere terrifyingly strong.


    After killing Drunken Heart, a few people instantly looted the items as the team of assassins disappeared.


    Drunken Heart''s teammates stared in utter disbelief. By the time they had refocused, the assassins had already escaped.


    The little Dwarf was completely stunned. Her hands were shaking as she pointed at Lu Li in shock and stammered, "You¡­you guys¡­"


    "Are you satisfied with the result?" Lu Li was not angry at the fact that this was being showed in public since both him and Square Root were wearing masks anyway.


    As for what happened to the little Dwarf now, it did not matter to Lu Li.


    "Alright. We''ve killed him once already. Are you going to give us the reward?" Square Root asked as he looked at her straight in the eye with a smile. After all, he was worried that she would bail on the deal.


    Fortunately, after she had recovered from the initial shock, she gave them the rock.


    "Farewell."


    After Lu Li had received the item, he immediately left Jacinth. After all, these were all players in Ironforge. The people from Jump to Hit Your Knees were bound to receive this news very quickly.


    Square Root was not as cold as Lu Li, so he suggested a way for her to live.


    "Most people would have known that you hired hitmen to kill Drunken Heart. If you''re scared, then head to Darnassus and try joining Drizzle Court."


    "Oh¡­" The little Dwarf knew that she had created trouble for herself. She left shortly after paying for the drinks.


    After equipping the stone, Lu Li donned the Boots of Champions. He then decided to return the Phantom Cloak to Water Fairy and thank her for it.


    Upon arriving at the rendezvous point that he had agreed with Water Fairy, he did not see her there. He was standing in a grove in the region of Darnassus. Many unnamed white flowers grew here, similar to Peaceblooms. However, these flowers were much smaller than Peaceblooms and had a slight sweet scent.


    Lu Li had no idea about this place.


    "I''m here! Where are you?"


    Perhaps she had wanted to test and show off her Stealth abilities.


    "Up top!"


    Lu Li raised his head, then saw a female player wearing a white outfit sitting on the tree.


    She wasn''t wearing her usual grey leather outfit this time ¨C instead, it looked like Cloth. It wasn''t that Thieves could not wear Cloth-type Armor, but Cloth-type Armor did not have class restrictions.


    "I''m here to return your equipment," Lu Li said as he gazed upon Water Fairy while she was hanging on the tree. He had thought that high-class ladies like her were rare.


    Water Fairy then hopped off the tree and said, "I still haven''t congratulated you for winning the competition."


    "Thanks to your equipment."


    Lu Li was taller than Water Fairy by a fair bit, so he could see that she had some white flowers in her hair.


    On a normal person, this would not have looked good. However, Water Fairy was beautiful enough that she could make anything look amazing.


    "Is Su Mei pretty?" she suddenly asked.


    "Yeah, she is," Lu Li answered honestly. After all, if he had said that Su Mei wasn''t pretty, then there would not be anyone who was considered ''pretty'' in the world by his standards.


    However, Lu Li still thought that Water Fairy was more beautiful.


    "Oh, that''s right, she says hello!" Lu Li suddenly remembered, then asked her out of curiosity, "Do you guys already know each other?"


    "Yeah. We go to the same university and are in the same faculty. But why did she want you to say hello to me?"


    "Ah, I see. Then you guys must be good friends with each other. I''m not sure how she knew that we are familiar with each other."


    Water Fairy was hysterical after hearing Lu Li.


    "We''re not really friends. Anyway, just don''t get too familiar to her. She''s not that good of a person."


    "I mean, she came along to train with me since she said that she was an ambassador for the game." Lu Li was helpless regarding the complicated relationship between females.


    "Anyway, just don''t believe anything she says," Water Fairy said with an extremely serious expression.


    "What do you have against her anyway?" Lu Li felt like it was best that he understood the situation.


    "There''s not much between us. It''s more like I don''t want you to fall for her tricks. She''s extremely popular at the university, so a lot of guys go after her. However, none of them ended up well. Every single one of them were played like a toy," Water Fairy said, then stared straight at Lu Li and added, "Even people like you would be done in really quickly."


    "Alright then. I''ll ignore her in the future," Lu Li said, then returned the cloak and took out his old boots. "I''ll also give these to you."


    "Oh wow! Really?" Water Fairy did not suspect whether there were any abnormalities in Lu Li''s old equipment. She was the type of girl that wanted the best equipment. Lu Li had known that she would like this.


    Water Fairy was not like a normal girl. Had he taken Square Root''s advice and gave her things like flowers, she probably would not have even batted an eyelid.

 942 A Paladin’s Shortcomings

    After parting ways with Water Fairy, it was time for Lu Li to enter the arena.


    Today''s match was against Stellar Union. On the rankings, Stellar Union was ranked at number 10. They used to be one of the guilds that was able to fight for the top position with Glory Capital. However, their previous leader was too focused on the major events and did not care about the little battles that occurred. After this, Stellar Union then began on a downhill slide.


    As for the Stellar Union right now, they only had one professional player in their ranks, who was Twilight. However, although they lacked actual professional players, they were not lacking in players who were qualified to fight in competitions like this.


    To be a normal competitor, player just had to get signed by an agency. However, to ascend from being a normal competitor to a professional, they had to gain the approval of the audience. Players like March Rain and Lu Li were recognised as professionals because their mechanics and skills in the arena were widely approved.


    "Stellar Union used to be such a strong competitor. It was unfortunate that they lost a key player and was only left with Twilight to carry their squads. However, their overall skill as a team is not to be underestimated," Cat Dad said.


    After Kitty Likes Meat had joined Ruling Sword, her father decided to join too. He then became the main coach for the Ruling Sword teams.


    Usually, he trained March Rain and Sakura Memories inthe general knowledge that competitors should have. He would also teach them how to use the System to train. When there were matches that involved Ruling Sword teams, he would direct their entrance to prevent a sabotage of any kind.


    However, his impact in Ruling Sword was most obvious during Group Battles.


    Cat Dad knew the strategies that the opponent guild would take once he realised who their opponents were. He would then be able to instantly devise counter-strategies against them.


    This was something that Lu Li was unable to do, despite being reborn again.


    Vincent the Warrior and Kitty Likes Meat emerged onto the stage.


    "I knew that they were going to deploy him first. You guys were too rigid when deciding who to deploy for the matches. However, this has worked in your favour, since they had thought that it was either going to be Lu Li or Moonlight. They were hoping to use the Warrior to fight Lu Li," Cat Dad proudly said.


    "Why don''t we keep going with this tactic? We can then flip the tables during a big competition like Glory Capital," Fat Monkey suggested in bewilderment.


    "A small tactic like this isn''t going to trick anyone. Only overall strength matters," Cat Dad answered, then swiped at Fat Monkey''s head with his hand.


    Vincent was a decent player, but his strength could not be compared with the top Warriors.


    It was unfortunate that Vincent was facing a Warlock. It was worse for Warriors to meet Warlocks in battle than a Mage.


    After Kitty Likes Meat was done with him, she was still left with 50% HP.


    Her next opponent was the Thief called Bull Balls. A matchup between a Thief and Warlock depended on their mechanics and luck. However, Bull Balls was well-known for his ability to drag out battles while Kitty Likes Meat was a young player who was extremely keen on offense. Unfortunately, Kitty Likes Meat was defeated by Bull Balls.


    "Alright, that''s enough. Lu Li, it''s time." Cat Dad said as he nodded his head.


    Lu Li then emerged from the arena. This fight had become a battle between Thieves.


    There were only a few Thieves that had a chance at defeating Lu Li and Bull Balls was not one of them. Lu Li entered enhanced Stealth immediately as the battle began. Bull Balls had no chance at even striking Lu Li before collapsing.


    He had not even lost a sliver of HP.


    Twilight had a grim expression on his face as he watched the battle.


    Everyone had thought that this was purely because of Lu Li''s enormous strength. The gap between these two Thieves were ever more apparent when explaining how Lu Li had positioned himself and used his techniques.


    Instead, Twilight had thought that he had underestimated Lu Li. The improvements that Lu Li had made in such a short period of time had exceeded his expectations. He had originally thought that Bull Balls would be able to at least take a third of Lu Li''s HP. After all, his equipment was comparable to a professional player''s.


    Stellar Union were wealthy and prestigious ¨C after all, they did have tens of elite teams. How could they not train up even a single elite Thief?


    It was unquestionable ¨C Lu Li had gained new equipment.


    Lu Li''s next opponent was a Hunter called Purple Heart of the Sea. He was a newly trained player and had brought a prestigious pet that had the ability to ''Split''. This caused some trouble for Lu Li, who lost a third of his HP bar. However, he still managed to defeat him in the end.


    Lu Li''s next opponent was a Paladin called ''Cut Me 72 Times''.


    Many organisations had begun training Paladins to counter Thieves and Mages. This was because Paladins with good equipment dealt comparable burst damage to a Warrior, while having extremely powerful regenerative skills.


    Lu Li consumed Pamela''s Sweet Tea, which recovered around 30% of his max HP, enough to completely replenish his health bar.


    The ones who disliked Lu Li proceeded to boo him, as they thought that he was being a bully.


    Lu Li hated facing off against tank-type classes; his combo skills were not able to make a large dent their HP bars. After using his crowd-control skills, he began to shift his approach to being passive in the fight. After all, his equipment was only leather, while his opponent had plate armour.


    Cut Me 72 Times had chosen the pathway of a tough thank that slowly shaved off their opponent''s HP. He had managed to balance his offense and defence, while having a few strong recovery skills.


    As such, Lu Li found it more difficult this time around.


    "How does one fight in a situation like this?" Fat Monkey asked Cat Dad.


    Cat Dad mulled over the question with a hand on his chin, then responded, "Actually, these types of players are the easiest to fight against. Their mana is nearly always lacking. Also, never be afraid to go head to head with players like these, since they don''t deal a lot of damage anyway."


    "But Lu Li has already lost half of his HP!" Fat Monkey could not understand what Cat Dad was saying.


    Truthfully, Lu Li was losing. His health had already been shaved off by 50%, while his opponent was gaining HP after every strike. The Paladin still had near to 80% HP.


    "Do you know what grave mistake this Knight has made?" Cat Dad asked, in full lecturer mode.


    "Uncle, stop trying to give hope. I think that Lu Li''s going to lose soon."


    Fat Monkey had an impatient nature which had preferred to confront the enemy one on one. If he lost, then he lost and if he won, then he won. Strategy was not one of his strong points.


    "He has no mana left. Why do you think that he''s only using normal attacks?" Cat Dad asked as he pointed towards the stage.


    Cut Me 72 Times was in a bad position. He had realised that he should not have thought about winning quickly.


    Cat Dad was right. If he had fought with a mindset of slowly grinding Lu Li''s HP down by confronting him head on, then he would have been a serious threat. However, he had sought the glory of defeating Lu Li in front of such a crowd and had healed himself after every strike.


    As a result, he had burned through too much mana.


    The Paladin class greatly depended on mana. Now that he had none left, he was like a toothless tiger. Under Lu Li''s brutal and relentless barrage of attacks, he could not last any more than a few seconds.


    Lu Li''s first set of combos could not down him, but the second rotation told a different story.


    The Paladin had lost purely because of his insufficient mana regeneration. Even after his defeat, he still did not have enough mana for one recovery skill.

 943 Shameless

    Lu Li saw his next opponent and couldn''t help but smile.


    It really was Twilight!


    When Stellar Union and Glory Capital fought each other, Twilight was no worse than Sorrowless at first. It was only after Sorrowless continued to improve that he began to leave Twilight behind.


    With only 30% HP left, there was no way Lu Li could fight Twilight.


    In a battle between a Thief and a Mage under normal circumstances, the playing field was even and it mainly depended on their levels and skills.


    Lu Li was quite a well-developed Thief, but Twilight also had many crowd-control and damage output skills. He was also the first player in Dawn to have acquired an Enhanced magic shield skill.


    "You might as well admit defeat; I want to fight Moonlight," Twillight said proudly as he stroked his magic staff.


    "You''re so old, but you''re still trying to take the limelight from the young people. Your guild could never beat Ruling Sword; it''s time to admit that."


    Twilight was certainly not old, but he belonged to the same generation as Unforgettable Maple. They were only considered ''old'' compared to the main population of players.


    "Let''s see what you''re made of, number one player," Twilight grinned.


    Lu Li immediately entered Stealth. In the same moment, an ice blast rushed towards him and almost froze him in place.


    A slightly smaller Water Elemental appeared behind Twilight. It was supposed to counteract Lu Li''s Cheap Shot, but Lu Li was vigilant enough to notice its presence.


    The battle had officially begun!


    He had used Shadow Step, but Lu Li deliberately didn''t want attack immediately. He didn''t have enough HP, and if he was caught by the Mage, he could die with one rotation of skills.


    Still, the Shadow Step on his Champion''s Boots gave Lu Li the initiative to make an opening attack.


    Twilight didn''t expect Lu Li to be so aggressive, but he still managed to react in time, immediately using his Badge before blinking away and shielding himself right after.


    He knew that the badge was not enough to cleanse the crowd-control. After all, a Thief had plenty of different crowd-control skills.


    Lu Li followed up with Sudden Thrust, which helped him catch up to Twilight. He then used Kidney Shot to successfully crowd-control him. Unfortunately, he didn''t even break through the Shield, which mitigated all of his damage.


    Champion''s Boots (Epic): Armor 80, Agility +100, Constitution +50, Movement Speed +25%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Kick Skill +1. This has a certain chance of Silencing a target for 3 seconds. Special Effect 2: Shadow Step. Break into the shadows and appear behind the target. Within 10 seconds, your next Ambush or attack has 30% increased damage and your movement speed is increased by 80%. Lasts 5 seconds, 2 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Sudden Thrust. Cast to instantly move 15 yards in any direction. This deals 200% attack damage to all targets along the line, and the user is invincible while moving. 3 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 60. Durability 375/375.


    In fact, Sudden Thrust''s damage was still very powerful. Twilight was shocked when he saw that his magic shield had dropped by 400-500 HP.


    The thought of finishing off Lu Li without taking a single hit was no longer assured.


    Even though there was a shield in his way, Lu Li still continued to attack. Throughout this time, the Water Elemental was continually damaging him.


    Lu Li didn''t attack the Water Elemental because he knew that he had to deal with Twilight quickly. His goal was the deal as much damage as possible. He probably didn''t have the luxury of killing Twilight, but he could give his teammates an advantage over him.


    In the moment that Twilight''s Magic Shield broke, he decisively used Ice Barrier.


    Lu Li sighed and immediately disappeared with Vanish after that.


    The moment Ice Barrier expired, Twilight casted Frost Nova and ice rushed out from under his feet. If Lu Li had been lurking beside him, waiting to cast Cheap Shot, he would have been frozen.


    Unfortunately, nothing was caught in the ice.


    In other words, this Frost Nova had been completely wasted.


    Even so, Twilight was not discouraged. He walked around with his Water Elemental almost aimlessly, but he was actually evading Lu Li''s Cheap Shot attempts.


    "This guy can definitely see Lu Li!" Fat Monkey cried out. The players that weren''t on stage could see Lu Li, but Sorrowless seemed to understand what was happening.


    "Now do you know how strong he is? This is the difference between you and the older players. Twilight is really experienced and must have studied many of Lu Li''s videos, so he knows about his walking habits," Cat Dad explained.


    At this moment, Twilight emitted a shockwave and managed to hit Lu Li who was still in Stealth.


    In response to this, there was a thunderous applause from the audience. They cheered for his accuracy and how he managed to hit this Thief despite the Stealth.


    Lu Li immediately started a round of frantic attacks. His Gale Steps had already been used on the Paladin, so he no longer had a guaranteed way out after getting close to his opponent.


    "Ignite," Cat Dad whispered, just as Twilight used his skill on Lu Li.


    After being Ignited, Lu Li couldn''t use Shadowmeld to enter Stealth and had to use his Shadow Cloak instead. Twilight was forcing Lu Li to use skills that he didn''t want to. Of course, he couldn''t kite Lu Li, but eventually, Lu Li would be forced to attack him.


    "If I let you attack me, will you be able to kill me?" Lu Li was quite injured already, and Twilight didn''t think that he could pose a threat to him.


    Lu Li also knew that he couldn''t go on for much longer, but he remained determined. He had no concept of quitting, and continued to try to take more HP off his opponent.


    Just when Twilight wanted to use a special effect to hold Lu Li at a distance, he suddenly found that his Magic Staff was gone. Without his Magic Staff, he couldn''t use his skills or even the effects of his equipment.


    Lu Li''s Epic dagger''s special effect was Disarm. It had a 50% chance of stealing an enemy''s weapon, making them unable to attack for 3 seconds.


    Lu Li glanced at his HP. He had a little over 200HP left and even if Twilight didn''t attack him, the Water Elemental could finish him off in three attacks. As such, he shamelessly decided to use the effect on his pants without thinking ¨C Arugal''s Gift.


    The effect cursed the target, causing the target to lost 100HP every 5 seconds for 300 seconds.


    Twilight almost vomited blood.


    According to his original plan, he was going to refresh himself at the start of the next game. It was possible for him to regenerate most of his HP, and that would have given him the confidence to face someone like Moonlight.


    He didn''t expect that Lu Li would be so shameless as to give him a five minute curse.

 944 Frustration

    Because he had lost so much HP while fighting Lu Li, Twilight stood little chance against Moonlight. Ruling Sword eventually won the match.


    In team matches like this, Lu Li was more concerned about the map that the fight was on.


    Overly complex maps could be used to perform countless tricks, and also opened up the possibility of employing unknown tactics.


    Lu Li wasn''t a tactical expert; he was actually quite far from it. Moonlight wasn''t either ¨C he was just a PVP madman who enjoyed killing others. Fat Monkey, March Rain, Sakura Memories¡­ none of these players had a particularly tactical mind.


    Stellar Union was particularly renowned for their strong tactics. Glory Capital and the Mage Alliance had both lost to them before because of this.


    After the map was revealed, everyone discovered that they were in a vast empty room with no light in it. This was a rare map and was appropriately nicknamed ''the dark room''.


    "Do you want me to throw out a few fireballs to explore the terrain?" Fat Monkey asked.


    This time, Ruling Sword had entered the match with Fat Monkey, Moonlight, Lu Li, Mu Qiu and March Rain. It was a double-healer composition, as Sakura Memories was feeling unwell. Kitty Likes Meat was waiting in reserve.


    "Don''t do it," Lu Li said, quickly stopping him. "Regardless of whether we see them with the Fireballs, we''re more likely to expose ourselves. I will go ahead to explore; you guys be careful."


    Enhance Stealth made Lu Li very confident about his ability to remain undetected.


    He had defeated three players from the opposing Stellar Union previously, and his Stealth wasn''t broken once. When Twilight casted a skill to break his Stealth, that was purely because he had gotten lucky.


    The Dark Room Arena was a test of initiative. Once an opponent''s position was confirmed, players could often defeat them quickly with a single round of attacks.


    In fact, there were a pair of glasses that could be created with Engineering that had bad Attributes, but a special effect that was very suitable for this situation as it increased night vision. Unfortunately, the Engineering level required for it was too high, so it would be useless even if Lu Li could obtain the Blueprints.


    Nothing!


    He turned around and carefully searched the area, but soon heard a fierce battle breaking out in the distance.


    This was bad!


    He quickly realized that they were in a crisis and that he had made a mistake.


    Perhaps the initial rounds were too easy, or perhaps Lu Li secretly felt that Stellar Union had fallen from glory. Either way, he had subconsciously taken them as a guild to be hunted.


    This told him that Stellar Union was in fact no toothless tiger.


    Of course, this could have just been a coincidence.


    After Lu Li left, Ruling Sword slowly wandered around, looking for their opponents, and accidentally ran into Stellar Union. The fighting immediately broke out.


    Lu Li ran back as quickly as he could. With his invincibility skills refreshed, he was not afraid of ambushing his opponents.


    There was a quite a bit of distance between them, so a few dozen seconds had passed by the time Lu Li arrived. He immediately ran towards Twilight, who revealed his own position because of his magical light.


    "Withdraw!" Twilight shouted. He had long been wary of Lu Li''s return. In addition to the Water Elemental, he had two Frost Nova skills which he used decisively to stop Lu Li''s approach.


    The Stellar Union players immediately left on command, leaving only three bodies on the ground.


    Ruling Sword had lost Fat Monkey and March Rain, while the other side had lost their Thief, Beef Egg. This five-on-four confrontation had resulted in Ruling Sword''s defeat.


    This was the first time that the team had suffered such a huge defeat in this competition, and it fully exposed their lack of experience. The enemy had rushed in while Lu Li went out to search for their opponents. After he had left, Fat Monkey and the others chose to slowly walk in a random direction. Suddenly, there was chaos and they didn''t have enough time to form a defensive formation. They also didn''t have their commander with them to give out instructions.


    Lu Li knew some things about strategy, but he wasn''t a commander. This required talent and training.


    Mu Qiu, Lu Li and Moonlight were the only players left.


    On the other side, there was the Berserker Vincent, Mage Twilight, Priest Shining Stars and Hunter Purple Sea. They also had the Tire Killer on reserve.


    "What should we do?" Shining Star asked. He was stunned and had just healed himself after almost being killed when both Moonlight and Fat Monkey attacked him.


    "Sea, you and Vincent go and intercept their sixth member. Shining, follow me and we''ll engage Lu Li together. Tire Killer, come out quickly. We are slightly closer to our spawn point and we need to use that advantage," Twilight instructed, developing a complete strategy almost instantly.


    They couldn''t let the other parties meet ¨C otherwise, they might not win, even if it was a five-on-four.


    In order to give Stellar Union a thorough victory, Twilight had decided to take an offensive strategy.


    He simply positioned himself with his Priest to stall Lu Li, Mu Qiu and Moonlight. This way, they couldn''t help their new Warlock teammate.


    Their Hunter and Warrior would be able to defeat Kitty Likes Meat fairly easily.


    Frankly, the remaining Ruling Sword players were probably reflecting on how they had underestimated their opponents. However, that wasn''t going to be the end of their reflection.


    All of them, including Lu Li, felt like they had to wait for their sixth player to join them. They were all going to rest before engaging in their second conflict. If Lu Li was Twilight, that''s what he would have done. After all, this was the safest strategy.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li didn''t know Twilight very well.


    Twilight was older, but that didn''t mean that he preferred a safer strategy. He was deliberately going to attack at this time.


    When Lu Li was attacked by Twilight, he was shocked, but even though his opponents had four players, he felt that Kitty Likes Meat would eventually reach them.


    However, he quickly discovered that he was wrong again.


    There weren''t four players; there was only three ¨C Twilight, Shining Stars, and the Tire Killer.


    The Warrior and Hunter who were previously there had disappeared. Lu Li wasn''t an idiot; he immediately knew where they had gone. However, there was nothing he could do, other than to warn Kitty Likes Meat to exercise caution.


    Lu Li himself could get away; there was no doubt about that.


    After leaving, he could probably even save Kitty Likes Meat, but leaving behind Moonlight and Mu Qiu to face three opponents would put them in an impossible situation.


    Lu Li was also unable to kill their opponents quickly. The Tire Killer was a Defensive Paladin who specialized in taking as many hits as possible and Twilight had his Enhanced Magic Shield. Even the combined burst of him and Moonlight wouldn''t be enough. After all, there was also a Priest on their side. The only thing that was easy about this matchup was killing their Priest.

 945 The Strength of The Ca

    "Ruling Sword is finally going to lose!"


    This was what everyone was thinking. In the first season of the professional league, both Lu Li and Moonlight had been killed on stage more than once. The others obviously had too ¨C Dawn wasn''t a game where even the strongest players could get away without dying.


    However, Ruling Sword had a definite level and equipment advantage. They had also never lost a team match before.


    Lu Li was level 48, while the other players were all level 47. The Stellar Union players were, other than Twilight, all level 46. Although this level gap wasn''t as significant as a 3-5 level gap, it was still a gap nonetheless.


    Ruling Sword had also taken so many First Clears that Epic and Dark Gold equipment weren''t even that rare to them. Some of their players who weren''t particularly skilled made up for this with their exquisite equipment.


    However, they also made a lot of mistakes and combined with their current misfortunes, they were going to pay the price.


    The Warrior and Hunter were waiting to deal with Kitty Likes Meat before heading back to watch Lu Li''s group of three fight. If they made it a five-on-three fight, Lu Li wouldn''t be able to stop them, even if he was level 50.


    The commentators were speaking as they all witnessed this seemingly historic event.


    There was something being said that was quite true. An undefeated team always had to prepare to failure, and no team could remain undefeated forever.


    From the perspective of the audience, the dark room was more like a glass box. They could see everything that was happening. Naturally, they saw that the Tire Killer had immediately joined up with Twilight to intercept Lu Li''s group of three.


    However, Kitty Likes Meat appeared on the field with a completely ignorant look.


    She was a short distance from Lu Li and the others, but she was caught by the Warrior and Hunter on the way.


    This time, even God was standing against Ruling Sword.


    "Lu Li seems to have given up. In fact, if I were him, I would have gone to save Kitty Likes Meat. Mu Qiu and Moonlight are both Plate Armor players; they could have played defensively while they waited for him to return. It''s hard to say what the outcome would have been."


    Previously, the commentators would analyze every step that Lu Li took without question, but now, they suddenly had the guts to accuse him of making a mistake.


    Ruling Sword hadn''t just been pushed against a wall ¨C their divine reputation had also been shattered.


    "I think the squishiest person in this battle now is March Rain. Her character development is just too risky. She probably hasn''t added a single point of Constitution, which is why she could die from just one rotation of skills," the other commentator lamented.


    Both commentators were quite young, and had a carefree time talking about whatever came to mind. However, they had completely forgotten about the warning their predecessors had given them about not putting the players'' abilities to question.


    The reason those players were professionals was because they had been handpicked among countless others.


    It was at this time that Kitty Likes Meat ran into the Warrior and the Hunter.


    At about the same time, both sides noticed each other. After all, they were keeping vigilant, which meant that neither had the element of surprise. Basically, all three players cast their skills on their opponents at the same time.


    The Warrior continued his approach as the Hunter attached from a distance. This situation wasn''t easy for a Warlock to deal with.


    However, the scene that everyone was expected was slowly being subverted. Kitty Likes Meat constantly casted Fear on the Hunter as she dealt damage to the Warrior and kept walking. From the beginning until the end, she remained calm, completely unlike a girl her age.


    If you were a knowledgeable player, you would have immediately realized what had happened.


    This girl had the quality of a professional player!


    However, Vincent was not a rookie either; he finally closed the distance and reached Kitty Likes Meat. Now, he was at an optimal range to use his melee attacks.


    Kitty Likes Meat then cast another Crowd Control on the Hunter, as it was now impossible to prevent the Warrior from approaching her anyway.


    All that she cast on the Warrior were a variety of debuffs that made him continually lose HP.


    When all the players thought that she was going to die, she screamed as she turned into a cloud of smoke, becoming a tall demon.


    This kind of demon could shoot fire and had a pair of wings.


    Her Armor suddenly became far more resistant to the unprepared Warrior. She was also partially immune to Crowd Control effects, and her spell attacks had become melee-range. Additionally, her Attack damage had also been greatly improved.


    Of course, there was a time limit to this transformation, but the duration was more than enough for her to fight for a few rounds with this Warrior and Hunter.


    They were already unable to kill the Warlock in the first place. Now, the Warrior and Hunter found themselves in a particularly strange situation.


    They quickly discovered that Kitty Likes Meat''s equipment was actually really good.


    Initially, the Warrior thought that the debuffs he had were no big deal. At the very most, he would lose a bit of HP and could use his damage reduction skills if he really needed to. But in fact, he soon found that his HP was dropping far too rapidly.


    How could it not? Kitty Likes Meat''s equipment would cause all the Magic Profession players in the stadium to bow down to her.


    She was a Ruling Sword player, but she wasn''t Sesame Rice Ball or Lonesome Flower. There was no way that Lu Li would take their equipment to give to her, even if she was a professional player. They players of the guild would be disillusioned if they knew that had happened.


    However, that didn''t mean that Sesame Rice Ball and Lonesome Flower had never lent equipment to Kitty Likes Meat.


    That''s right, the key word here was ''lend''. This way, Sesame Rice Ball''s or Lonesome Flower''s interests were not impeded on, but they could still pool the total strength of the club''s players.


    Kitty Likes Meat was mostly wearing equipment that had come from both Sesame Rice Ball and Lonesome Flower.


    Sesame Rice Ball and Lonesome Flower had joined the Xin Xin Mercenary Group right from the beginning, and had their names on most of the Instance Dungeons. Their equipment combined was more than good enough for a professional player.


    Even Lu Li couldn''t say that he was much stronger than Kitty Likes Meat right now.


    After the demon began its counterattack, she started applying pressure on these two players. This made the Warrior and Hunter start to regret not taking a healer with them.


    "Vincent Big Bro, you should run!" Hunter Purple Sea yelled upon seeing that his teammate''s HP was quickly dropping. Now, the question wasn''t whether they could kill Kitty Likes Meat, but rather whether the Warrior could survive.


    "Dammit, I can''t believe this is happening," Vincent sighed depressingly as he thought about killing himself.


    The two young commentators also felt the same. They were now sitting in the commentating box sheepishly, with no idea how to continue talking about this situation.

 946 Regaining the Advantage

    Kitty Likes Meat didn''t specifically stop the Warrior from escaping; she just gave him a number of debuffs that drained his HP. That way, the Warrior had a chance of dying even if she couldn''t continue attacking him anymore.


    She then turned to deal with the Hunter. In fact, right from the beginning, she never had the intention of leaving these two players behind.


    Turning into a demon likely led the audience and her two opponents to believe that Kitty Likes Meat could take both of them on at once. However, they didn''t know that this was as strong as she could get.


    If the Warrior didn''t run and just tried to reduce the amount of damage he received while the Hunter continued to attack her, then the outcome today might have been different.


    A consequence of the demon transformation was that Kitty Likes Meat''s Armor was halved. Even with her current equipment, she wouldn''t be able to withstand the attacks from two players, not the mention the Hunter''s pet.


    But since the Warrior was running away, she had enough strength left to deal with the Hunter.


    She wasn''t afraid when it was a two-on-one, so this one-on-one was no problem for her. Kitty Likes Meat had powerful attacks and a seemingly endless supply of crowd-control from her Warlock Profession.This forced the Hunter to retreat as well.


    As mentioned before, Warlocks would soon become the favorite profession of the game because of their strong Vampirism skills like Drain Life.


    Drain Life caused damage and also regenerated the user''s HP.


    Mortal Coil caused the enemy target to run away in Fear for 3 seconds and could hea the caster for a maximum of 11% HP.


    Kitty Likes Meat''s two signature skills allowed her to attack the Hunter boldly despite being injured. Of course, the Hunter''s HP was no longer full and was now dropping quickly.


    The Hunter thought that he had a chance when he saw that she didn''t have much HP left.


    However, after she casted a number of HP regenerating skills, he discovered that he was losing HP more rapidly than she was.


    When both of their HP bars fell below a third, the Hunter finally panicked.


    He turned around to run away while calling for the Warrior who had just escaped. Kitty Likes Meat didn''t want to let him get away this time, so she started chasing him.


    The Demon Transformation was an ultimate skill and had a very long cooldown. There was no way for her to use it again within the span of this match.


    As such, to prevent Ruling Sword from fighting at a numbers disadvantage, Kitty Likes Meat had to take out at least one of their players.


    The Hunter wasn''t slow, and definitely had the potential of outrunning a Warlock if he wasn''t Crowd Controlled, but once he was Slowed, there was little he could do.


    Kitty Likes Meat had already anticipated that he would try and escape. The small Succubus she had alongside her had an unused Fear, and she had also unconsciously moved it into a more favorable position while they were fighting.


    The moment the Hunter was affected by the succubus'' Fear, Kitty Likes Meat gained an immediate advantage.


    After killing the Hunter, she instructed the Succubus to stall the Warrior while she began running away quietly like a little rabbit.


    Why didn''t she want to take another kill?


    There was no way she could do it. She was quite low on HP now, and the Warrior would have regenerated more than half of his bar by now. Some of his skills would have also refreshed as well. No matter how skilled Kitty Likes Meat was, she didn''t want to take that risk.


    The dark room provided her with a great environment to escape in.


    After the Warrior threw off the Succubus, he hurried back to rejoin his team. If the Warlock arrived first, the fight could very well be over.


    The current situation of players on the field was four a side.


    Kitty Likes Meat didn''t dare to wait until she had completely regenerated her HP, because she knew that the crisis wasn''t over yet. If the other Warrior rejoined his teammates first, then Lu Li would be put under immense pressure.


    Once Lu Li knew that the numbers overall had equalized, he began to think of a way to leave the fight. He first Stunned their healer and blinded their Paladin, then signaled for Mu Qiu and Moonlight to go and join up with Kitty Likes Meat.


    He was going to try and stop Twilight by himself. He didn''t care that he was now facing three players alone, as it would very soon turn into four anyway. He was a Thief, and if he wanted to leave ,no one could stop him.


    After rejoining with Kitty Likes Meat, Ruling Sword once again had regained their advantage.


    "We have to attack them in waves to win this match, but we have to learn from our last mistake. We can''t split up," Lu Li said calmly, completely unfazed by their previous defeat.


    "We are the stronger side. We have three strong damage output professions, so it is better if we try and kill their healer," Kitty Likes Meat suggested.


    "Alright. Let me engage first. Kitty, use your Crowd Control ¨C then everyone can attack together. Their Priest is a bit tankier than most, so we have to attack with all our strength," Lu Li instructed. He had tried to attack the Priest in their previous fights, but found that it was too difficult to do alone.


    As such, Lu Li walked ahead again, but this time, he didn''t go into Stealth so that his teammates could follow him.


    Perhaps if Lu Li had done this right from the start, they wouldn''t have lost Fat Monkey and March Rain. But despite their first failure, it still wasn''t too late to be bold..


    From the audience''s point of view, Stellar Union had employed a similar strategy. The Tire Killer was standing at the front with Vincent on the left and Twilight on the right. This effectively protected the Priest, who was in the middle.


    This made Lu Li''s strategy of attacking the Priest first difficult to execute. Stellar Union was an established major guild; why would they leave such a big opening for him to take?


    The two sides ran into each other a few minutes later, and a battle broke out once again.


    After seeing their formation and hesitating, Lu Li decided to choose the Priest as his main target anyway.


    He wasn''t someone who gave up easily, and it wasn''t an illogical move to target him. Lu Li used Blind on Twilight, who managed to use his Badge almost instantly, but the small window was enough for Lu Li to close the gap.


    Lu Li used Premeditation, Cheap Shot, Backstab and Disarm. Not only was his target now Crowd Controlled, by their Armor had also been reduced by half.


    Lu Li then transformed into a Giant Wolf. In the next ten seconds, he was going to deal a significant amount of damage to the Priest, unless someone Crowd Controlled him and allowed them to escape.


    However, Lu Li believed in his teammates. Kitty Likes Meat cast an area Crowd Control into their team and Moonlight came rushing in with Whirlwind.


    Mu Qiu didn''t have any damage skills because he was a healer, but the damage that was released in this short period of time was the straw that broke the camel''s back. Although Shining Stars struggled for a while, he eventually fell.

 947 Hameya’s Plea

    After the Priest fell, the remaining three persisted for a while, but eventually failed as well.


    When Lu Li heard the announcement of Ruling Sword''s victory, he wasn''t actually that happy. If it weren''t for Kitty Likes Meat''s great performance, they most likely would have lost this match.


    Upon defeating Stellar Union, Ruling Sword had gathered enough points to advance them into the top 100.


    Even if they didn''t play their next four matches, they would still be promoted, but no guild would choose this option.


    The matches were not long, so it didn''t make much sense to sacrifice that time to go levelling.


    Participating in the competition could train a guild''s players, not only in technical skill but actual combat experience. That way, they would now what to do when a problem arose in circumstances that mattered.


    Participating in the games was also a good way to make money, as the tickets were a good source of income.


    In this era, professional gaming was never about the Championship reward. For most ordinary players, that money was impossible to reach in a life time. Even if they won the championship prize of 10 million, the money had to first be used for the guild. People flocked to players like Lu Li because of their generosity and charisma.


    In addition, a sum of money also had to be left behind for the daily management of the guild.


    The rest was divided between the various players in the club. The resulting amount was probably not more than 30-50 thousand dollars, which was not nearly enough for the players to fight this hard for.


    The real prize was the fame ¨C otherwise the gaming circle wouldn''t be so important to the star players.


    The phrase ''star'' was not only a grant of popularity, but also conferred a number of benefits. The way that competitive players gathered fame was different to the way star players did it; they had to continually fight in matches to eventually solidify their stardom.


    After the match, Lu Li went with Ruling Sword to start their third expedition to the Trial Tower.


    The forest was still just as threatening here, and some players died on the way there. Yesterday, there was a group from a large group that was completely annihilated here. They had unfortunately met a level 60 Boss that was said to be a fallen red dragon.


    However, this was not enough to discourage the players. The Trial Tower not only gave them EXP and Prestige, but could also give them great items as rewards.


    The biggest advantage that Ruling Sword had compared to the other guilds was Sesame Rice Ball. His summoning skill had played a huge role in transporting the guild to take First Clears. There were only four guilds in all of China that had this skill ¨C Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court, Glory Capital and Wings of Dawn.


    These four guilds could easily transport their guild members to enjoy the EXP and rewards of this dungeon.


    However, Lu Li knew that this situation wouldn''t last much longer.


    The officials wouldn''t allow this to continue ¨C otherwise the distance between the four guilds and the others would grow too far.


    This time, Lu Li went into the tower alone. In the first few floors, he didn''t receive anything worthwhile, but after clearing all the monsters on the fourth floor, he got a scroll. It was a quest scroll and its name was ''Hameya''s Plea''.


    Lu Li didn''t rush to open it up, and instead continued to fight on the fifth floor.


    The fifth floor of monsters weren''t greater than level 40 and were all common monsters. Even the final quasi-Boss wasn''t difficult for Lu Li, who was awarded an SS evaluation for his efforts.


    When Lu Li had first farmed the Trial Tower, he received many good items, but his subsequent attempts had not been nearly as good. He just hoped that this last draw rewarded him with something rare.


    When the Skill Book ''Rupture'' appeared in his hands, he watched as the points he spent dissipated. This was quite an exquisite skill, so his heart was very satisfied with what he had received.


    Rupture was an ultimate skill that could be used after a certain number of combo points.


    Its final effect was continuous damage, which was extremely useful for Thieves in certain situations.


    Lu Li was not able to farm level 50 monsters yet, so the sixth floor of level 45 monsters was his last opportunity. The last time he was here, he didn''t make it past this floor, but he had learned a few things. This time, he had brought many potions with him.


    After a hard-fought battle, the System prompted him that he had received a D evaluation. Although his score wasn''t high, he had managed to clear the floor in time.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t receive an item he wanted. To be honest, no other players would think this of the level 45 floor of the Trial Tower. The items that could be dropped were surprisingly good; it was just that the two Gold items weren''t enough to draw Lu Li''s attention.


    The Trial Tower reward from this week was not just EXP; he had also received some kind of treasure map.


    After opening it up, Lu Li quickly realized that it had to do with Mossflayer.


    Mossflayer was a division of the Amani Empire that had arisen after the Troll War. Like other forest Trolls, Mossflayer had formed an alliance with the Horde between the two wars. When the Horde was defeated, Zul''Jin disappeared and the Forest Trolls abandoned their allies.


    Because of the Horde''s shameful defeat, the Mossflayers decided to cut off their relations with them.


    These Trolls instead concentrated on driving the humans out of Lordaeron.


    When the plague of the Undead began to spread over the continent, the Mossflayer quickly tasted the sweetness of the unfolding chaos because the plague only infected humans in the beginning. As the human defenses began to collapse, the Mossflayer slowly began to regain their hometown.


    However, as the plague swept across the continent, the Trolls discovered that things were not as good as they had initially thought.


    The once green hometown of the Mossflayer was now the northeast corner of the Eastern Plaguelands. There, the Undead Plants and animals were struggling with the plague. Although the environment had turned into a nightmare, the Trolls refused to give up their homeland.


    However, they began to panic about their food and their safety.


    A group of Trolls left base camp some time ago to find healthy food to bring back as most of the animals had been infected by the plague. Eventually, they came across some animals that seemed a little ill. They slaughtered those animals and brought them back to the camp for a feast.


    Unfortunately for the Trolls, those animals had been infected by a powerful Lich.


    All living things that ate those creatures soon would soon become Undead as well. Soon, the Lich climbed through the ranks of the Undead Trolls and under its command, a vast majority of Undead Trolls built camps in the Southeast Corner of the Eastern Plaguelands.


    These Undead Trolls had accepted a horrible quest from their new owner ¨C return home to infect their remaining companions.


    Hameya was one of the most powerful Trolls and the Lich had underestimated his strength. With the last of his willpower, Hameya scribbled some notes on a piece paper to give a reward to the adventurer who could complete his quest.


    This was ''Hameya''s Plea'', which was considered to be a quest scroll or a treasure map.

 948 Coordinates In the Sky

    Treasure Maps had their advantages and disadvantages. Their difficulties and rewards varied; some were much better than others. There were a few Maps that could get you rich overnight, while others would reward your hard work with a piece of rubbish.


    However, this kind of Treasure Map that came with a Quest was usually quite worthwhile.


    After reading the background information, Lu Li didn''t hesitate to use the Treasure Map. The System then started broadcasting that it had been activated.


    Dawn was a big game, and there were countless players who received Treasure Maps every day. But once the map was activated, it was no longer a secret.


    The same was true when Lu Li had received his first Treasure Map. The broadcasted information sent Lu Li and Water Fairy through many obstacles, but that was likely when their friendship had first formed. After all, being hunted together had a way of bringing people together.


    There were groups of mercenaries who dedicated themselves to watching the Treasure Map channel. Once new coordinates appeared, they would rush in to take the spoils. This kind of player was called a Treasure Hunter.


    Lu Li had been a Treasure Hunter in his previous life.


    However, after he had been deeply moved by an experience, he vowed to never treasure hunt ever again.


    At that time, he had almost grabbed his target''s treasure, but was attacked by another Treasure Hunter who killed both of them. In the end, neither Lu Li nor the original owner got the treasure, and they both lost EXP.


    Lu Li had seen plenty of people cry before, male, female, old and young, but he had never seen a man cry like this.


    He had spent a lot of time and energy on pursuing that treasure, and he had also pinned great hopes on it. He thought he could use it to pay the medical expenses of his old mother after he made the money, but it was now all gone.


    You didn''t know the circumstances of the person you were robbing.


    You also didn''t know how your actions could unintentionally affect someone else''s fate.


    Since then, Lu Li rarely did that kind of thing again. Even if he did kill a player, he never robbed them.


    Of course, even if he didn''t do it, it was likely that someone else would just take his place.


    "Kill me. Or it might be too late!"


    These were the last words on the Treasure Map and they were a little shocking.


    No one had ever made a request like this, so Lu Li couldn''t help but pause. In order to figure out the context of the request, he quickly read the rest of the text.


    "I am Hameya. When I was hunting with my companions, my brothers and I ate some corrupted meat¡­ We are changing; we have been infected. I have feel the Lich talking, asking me to go to Zul''Mashar and to infect my companions. I am unable to resist his orders, so I am writing this scroll just before I lose my mind.


    I have buried a box behind the crypt; there is a mound just behind it. But, only I have the key that can open it. The key is my hand, so if you want to get my treasure you have to come and find me.


    Kill me. Or it might be too late!"


    The message behind the Treasure Map wasn''t that difficult to understand. Hameya knew that he was dying and was about to be sent to infect his companions. He obviously didn''t want to do that.


    As such, he thought of a way to stop it, putting his treasures in a locked box and hiding it away.


    If the adventurer wanted to get the treasure, they had to get the key. If they wanted to get the key from Hameya, they had to kill him. After Hameya died, he wouldn''t be able to infect his companions.


    This kind of Treasure Hunt was a bit different from looking at a map, but the outcome was the same in the end.


    After understanding what his goal was, the problem that Lu Li had to deal with was finding Hameya among a group of Undead Trolls. The scroll also claimed that Hameya was one of the most powerful Hunter Trolls, which led Lu Li to doubt that he could kill him alone.


    Of course, he had to be careful when attacking these hunters.


    Lu Li knew about Zul''Mashar; there was an Altar of Trolls there and a cemetery below it.


    Suddenly, an intercepting team appeared. He didn''t even dare to fight them because he knew it would delay him even longer. This meant that more and more players would arrive.


    It seemed like the name ''Hameya''s Plea'' had piqued the curiosity of many players.


    However, the hunting party didn''t expect their target to be so slippery. Lu Li had disappeared so convincingly that they almost completely lost him. They had to wait for the coordinates to refresh before they could find him again.


    A black crow flapped its wings as it flew through the dark red sky of the Plaguelands.


    The ground was not safe for him, and having his coordinates in the air would shock some of the players. Perhaps they would be able to guess his identity ¨C after all, not many players in Dawn could fly yet. However, this wasn''t important anymore.


    Lu Li liked keeping things low-key, but not so much that he couldn''t do anything.


    "How are the coordinates of this person so high up?" a Treasure Hunter who couldn''t work it out asked as he scratched his head.


    "It might be on a mountain¡­" His companion wasn''t too sure either.


    "It can''t be; we''re standing on the correct longitude and latitude. Do you see a mountain here? If the System isn''t lying to us, that means the player is 80 yards directly above us."


    If you were looking for a group of players who understood coordinates well, it had to be the treasure hunters.


    They could still make mistakes, but they never made mistakes about the coordinates.


    "Unless, that player can fly¡­that person can fly¡­"


    "It doesn''t have to be him; there are a few other players who can fly. It could be anyone, so don''t scare yourself," the other person sighed, suddenly feeling like this treasure map owner would be very difficult to steal from.


    "Regardless of whether it is, we can''t deal with anyone who is able to fly." The Treasure Hunter wasn''t afraid; he was just cautious.


    These players were always cautious about provoking a major guild ¨C after all, they were just looking for some money. If they attacked a small player or guild, there wouldn''t be any problems, but if they attacked a major guild, they had to be ready for retaliation.


    "What do you think his goal is?"


    "I think it is better for us to give up now," said the more cautious player.


    "If it really is him, aren''t you curious about what is in the Treasure Map that he has decided to work on?"


    They both actually wanted this Treasure Map, because it had appeared in the hands of the number one player in the game.


    Was it an Epic equipment?


    An exquisite recipe?


    An Enhanced Skill Book?

 949 Baited

    Lu Li had no idea what was in the treasure box either.


    People always thought that these top players only cared about Legendary equipments.


    Zul''Mashar was spread out below him. It was a decent area with favorable geography, but this was all a long time ago. Ever since the Scourge invaded Lordaeron, the rich soil no longer prospered.


    Lu Li didn''t dare to fly for too long in the skies of Zul''Marshar, as this would attract predators.


    As such, he kept his route unstable, confusing those who constantly checked on his coordinates. However, they were all on the ground and none of them posed any threat to Lu Li.


    Some of the smarter players had already given up on this treasure map. From the coordinates, they had made a good guess on the identity of the owner. Besides Lu Li, there were only a handful of people who could fly, including Hachi Chan and others like Old Man Power. Most importantly, none of them were easy targets.


    Amongst all these names, it seemed like one didn''t quite fit in, considering that Hachi Chan''s PVP skills were quite questionable.


    However, she was still the little princess of Ruling Sword. Countless people would be happy to avenge her, and anyone who wanted to touch her would have to put their lives on the line.


    Regardless, many were stilling eyeing Lu Li. They tracked him from land, refusing to rest for even the slightest moment.


    No matter how high Lu Li flew, he had to come down eventually for the treasure.


    This was their chance. Some of them were even more ambitious, looking beyond the treasure. In their eyes, Lu Li was a moving treasure box himself; anything that dropped from him was guaranteed to be good.


    Needless to say, they were quite smart.


    "I heard you''ve found another treasure map. Do you need help?" Water Fairy messaged him.


    Lu Li, who had been circling for quite some time, had found the location of Hameya and was just about to ask for some help. Water Fairy''s message had come just in time. In his opinion, he had stayed in the sky for too long, and a good amount of people had an idea about his treasure map by now.


    It was easy to figure out the identity of the map owner; all they had to do was to check Lu Li''s position through the bounty method.


    If Lu Li''s coordinates were in sync with this ''Hameya''s Plea'', then everything would become explainable. This also explained the messages of Water Fairy.


    "Sure, I obtained a treasure map from the trial tower this week," Lu Li said, not bothering to hide anything.


    A treasure map could sometimes give an average player a great fortune, but regardless of what it rewarded, it would never be enough to make someone of Water Fairy''s status greedy.


    "Really? Then can I participate?" Water Fairy asked with interest.


    "It''s just a simple map; there probably won''t be too much obstacles," Lu Li said. He could figure out what Water Fairy was thinking. She needed something to spice up her average daily life and treasure hunting seemed like the perfect idea.


    It wasn''t so much about the gain; it was more about the process.


    "Why''d you drag out the process for so long if it was simple? Everyone knows that your treasure is in Plaguelands right now," Water Fairy said, clearly still interested.


    "The search process was slightly troublesome, but I''ve found the target now," Lu Li replied.


    "Are you sure you won''t be facing a heavy assault as soon as you land on the ground? There are plenty of people out there who want your equipment; they''re probably more valuable than the treasure map." Water Fairy seemed to have a clear idea of what was going on in the Plaguelands right now.


    "Then what do you suggest?" Lu Li asked.


    "You keep on flying in the sky and tell me the coordinates. I''ll help you," Water Fairy suggested. She wasn''t too dumb either; it wasn''t hard for her to come up with the same plans as Lu Li.


    "Alright, hopefully we can successfully get the treasure," Lu Li agreed.


    He didn''t mind giving Water Fairy a chance, although he had no clue why an important figure of a gaming company would have so much spare time in her hands. Not only did she have to look after Drizzle Court, but she also had to worry about the other guilds under their name.


    Tower of Smoking Rain, Two Dimensional Dorm, Hidden Sky and Blue Universe were all guilds with a chance of making it into the top 100.


    Lu Li passed the coordinates to Water Fairy and flew away from the target by himself. He was now a bait, being tracked down by a pack of hungry Treasure Hunters.


    "I see the Hameya you were talking about. What now?"


    "Kill him; he''ll drop a key," Lu Li said.


    "Kill him? The treasure map is called Hameya''s Plea and you want me to kill him?" Water Fairy couldn''t quite believe how this storyline was about to unfold.


    "Yes, that''s his request," Lu Li said, then briefly explained the background story behind this treasure map, "Hameya is now an Undead ¨C he wanted to die before he would become a part of the Scourge and bring disaster to his home."


    "But there are Undeads everywhere in Zul''Mashar right now. We''re most likely late."


    "That''s not the main point. The main point is, the key is on him. You have to get the key first for me to see the location of the treasure chest," Lu Li said with a smile. "Missy, aren''t you a bit too deep into the storyline."


    "You¡­" Water Fairy said in frustration, "You''re so cold-hearted!"


    Shouldn''t most people have been touched by this storyline? How many people would be able to write down their will, asking to be killed as they became infected and tormented by the plague.


    Hameya was a hero.


    Since Lu Li obtained Hameya''s scroll, he should be serving him, but unfortunately, they had come too late.


    However, Lu Li didn''t care about this ¨C all he cared about was the treasure. This was what Water Fairy couldn''t accept.


    "No matter what you think, we can''t change anything, so it''s better not to hesitate. It''s very tiring to fly in the sky."


    Lu Li didn''t want to argue with her; this wasn''t something that was worth an argument.


    They had a difference in terms of background. If Water Fairy wanted to change something, there would be plenty of people at her service. In fact, her attitude decided how her surrounding changes. However, it was a different story for Lu Li ¨C he was someone who had to adapt to his environment in order to survive, and this gave him a more realistic attitude towards life.


    Hameya was definitely an honorable man; Lu Li was impressed by him too. There weren''t many good reasons for a man to seek his own death.


    However, none of these were convincing enough to impact on Lu Li''s treasuring hunting process.


    At the end of the day, he knew that this was a game. He couldn''t be too influenced by the content that it presented.


    Not to mention, the destruction of Zul''Mashar had nothing to do with him. He had only received the scroll today and had come immediately without delay, so it wasn''t his fault at all for not making it on time.


    Water Fairy was just a bit emotional, but she wasn''t unrealistic either. She quickly got rid of her negative emotions and began to work.

 950 Flawless Arcanite Rifle

    Hameya was only a level 50 minor Boss and was the type of monster that had no intelligence. He was just like a punching bag with a bit more health, so it was only a matter of time before Water Fairy took him down.


    When Lu Li heard Water Fairy''s voice, she sounded like she was panicking.


    "Someone''s coming; what do we do?"


    "What are you worried about? They don''t know you have the treasure map. Just pretend you''re killing some quest monsters and scare them away."


    Lu Li found this a little funny; was Water Fairy feeling guilty?


    "Right," Water Fairy said, coming back to her senses.


    It was a Mage, a Warlock and a Paladin who had approached her.


    "You guys need something?"


    The female Thief who was killing monsters turned her head and revealed her beautiful face. The three players were left stunned on the spot.


    "No¡­no¡­" the Mage stuttered.


    It wasn''t a rare thing for players to steal monsters and kill other players, but it was rare for people to steal from a girl, especially she was pretty. The three of them had only come over out of curiosity, but they never expected to see their goddess¡ªWater Fairy.


    That''s right ¨C they immediately recognized Water Fairy.


    "If you guys don''t need anything, then please don''t disrupt me from my quest," Water Fairy said as she refocused her attention on the monster in front of her.


    The three players didn''t get angry at all for Water Fairy''s arrogance. In fact, this was the image that Water Fairy had displayed to the public. She was cold, arrogant and wasn''t interested in talking to anyone.


    "Do you need our help? I..." the Paladin mumbled, finally finding his voice.


    "No, thanks," Water Fairy declined. "I don''t like it when others watch me fight. If you guys don''t need anything, then please leave."


    "Alright, make sure to stay safe," the three players said, leaving worried, as if they had some kind of relation to Water Fairy. They were all too busy fawning over her to even pay attention to what kind of monster she was killing.


    "I got the keys. What next?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Pass them to me, then I''ll refresh the map. Tell me your coordinates; I''ll go and find you. Make sure you stay hidden from others, since you have to go and open the treasure chest later," Lu Li said.


    "That was easy. It seems like the treasure chest system has some loopholes ¨C you just need to ask someone else to help you obtain it," Water Fairy said after reporting her coordinates.


    "Not everyone flies, and these treasure bandits aren''t that stupid," Lu Li disagreed.


    However, what Water Fairy said wasn''t wrong either. After everyone figured out this method, life for treasure bandits wouldn''t be that easy anymore.


    In opposition to the treasure bandits were the treasure hunters. They accepted the requests from the owner of the treasure map to help find the treasure, then take commission from it in return. These two parties often fought against each other and there was no way to resolve the conflict between them.


    Lu Li didn''t even change back to his human form; he just landed on Water Fairy''s shoulder and requested for a trade.


    Water Fairy carefully tilted her head to study the crow on her shoulder. On one hand she was curious as to how a human could transform into a crow, and on the other, there was greed. Of course, it wasn''t greed directed towards Lu Li ¨C she just wanted to be able to transform like he could.


    It was only when Lu Li obtained the key that he would then be able to activate the location on the treasure map for the chest. This was an unavoidable step.


    "It''s a bit far from here ¨C looks like Hameya hid the goods where he used to hunt. The coordinates are xxx; you should bring the keys with you to open the chest."


    After they traded, Lu Li flapped his wings and left Water Fairy.


    He scanned the corpse on the floor; it was Hameya''s. He could imagine Hameya, who had lost his rationality, wandering amongst his fellow tribesmen as he attacked any players that passed by. By then, he wouldn''t have remembered the will that he left to the adventurers; he wouldn''t have remembered to go easy on those who had come to grant his final request.


    A man who wished for death for the sake of others was definitely an honorable man¡­


    In this land that was filled with the mania of the Scarlet Crusade and the coldness of the Scourge army, Lu Li sincerely apologized to the Troll who had passed away.


    "Ah, right, he also dropped a recipe," Water Fairy suddenly remembered.


    "What recipe? You can take it; I can''t let you do things for free," Lu Li offered, then thought to himself, "I''ll give you something now ¨C that way, you won''t be able to bring yourself to ask for something from the treasure chest later."


    "I didn''t learn Engineering ¨C this is a Recipe: Flawless Arcanite Rifle. It seems pretty good," Water Fairy said, then frowned and realized that she barely had any high level Engineers in her guild.


    "Wait, Flawless Arcanite Rifle? Are you sure?" Lu Li was caught by surprise and nearly flew into the tree ahead.


    "Yep, is it a good item? This is the recipe. I can''t see its attributes yet, and there''s a five-time limit to it," Water Fairy said. She didn''t think this was anything good. After all, this was a loot from a minor boss, and a weak one at that.


    "It is a good item; pass me the recipe," Lu Li said, going back on his words. "You can take something from the treasure chest later."


    "Don''t worry about what''s in the treasure chest; you can use this recipe five times. You might as well make one for me." Water Fairy wasn''t dumb; she wasn''t going to give up on anything that Lu Li said was good.


    "Alright, I promise that you won''t be disappointed.


    The Arcanite Rifle was a common item ¨C you could learn the recipe from an NPC, but the Flawless Arcanite Rifle was a different story.


    Not only did the Attribute change, but they also came with another special effect.


    Amongst all ranged weapons with a Snipe effect, the Flawless Arcanite Rifle was the one with the lowest level requirement. Any ranged weapon with this effect would be favored by close-combat players who weren''t Hunters, but could equip long-ranged weapons.


    The biggest advantage to the Snipe effect was its set true damage.


    With the same ranged weapon, a Hunter might be able to deal 300 points of damage, but a Thief or Warrior with the same mightn''t even be able to deal 30 points of damage. As such, the 200 extra points of set true damage from this Snipe effect became very precious.


    At the same time, it also provided a bonus attack range. The usual attack range for Hunters was about 30 yards, but this Snipe effect provided a range of 45 yards.


    This meant that players could pull monsters from a safe distance and have better ability to chase their targets in PVP situations.

 951 Generosity

    Being level 50 Dark Gold gun, this was already a decent weapon. But of course, the drop rate for it wasn''t high at all. When Lu Li first entered the game, everyone knew that these Undead Trolls in Zul''Mashar dropped a Dark Gold recipe, but no one tried to earn money with it.


    The reason was simple ¨C the drop rates were way too low.


    Water Fairy was too lucky to obtain this recipe by just killing one monster. Even if they obtained nothing from the treasure chest, it wouldn''t be a day wasted at all.


    Besides the low drop rate, the expensive materials required were another part of the reason.


    Just a single gun alone would cost about 300 gold to make, and this was only the price of production. The materials for this recipe weren''t common and if a player wanted to make one as soon as possible, they would have to add money on top to purchase them.


    Lastly, this recipe needed an extremely high Engineering level, so Lu Li would have to spend some time upgrading his skills again.


    Without any prior relationship, there was no way a master would make an equip for you for free. Hence, they would take a commission for the production. The less competition amongst these masters, the more expensive the production fee was. Sometimes these fees would be even higher than the value of the item itself.


    In this way, Trade Skill players still had a future for themselves. Players were capable of earning money as long as they reached a certain level in a particular aspect of the game.


    "Found it ¨C it''s a very old box. It''s probably been a long time already since the owner has locked it."


    Water Fairy doubted if she needed to use the key for the treasure chest; she could probably break it with a kick.


    "Open it, and look out for ambushes," Lu Li said, not bothering to fly around anymore. He also headed towards the location of the treasure chest.


    "No one would dare to challenge me," Water Fairy said as she took a breath in and reached her hands into the chest that had been unlocked. She was right ¨C unless it was a great temptation, most people really wouldn''t try to upset her.


    They would much rather make an enemy of Sorrowless over Water Fairy.


    This was because Water Fairy was a woman, and was no saint either. If you upset her, she would definitely chase you to the ends of the Earth.


    At the same time, most women weren''t rational at all. They didn''t care as much about the cost or gain of their actions and would do anything for revenge.


    Lu Li circled in the air above Water Fairy as he reminded her, "Incoming ¨C run as soon as you get the items."


    "This is a bit too easy. Next time something like this occurs, make sure to call me," Water Fairy said as she grabbed the items and immediately went into Stealth. She then returned to the city to share the loot with Lu Li.


    "Damn, we can''t refresh his coordinates anymore," the treasure bandits cursed.


    "******, when did he even come down to get the chest? Did anyone catch his coordinates when he landed?" They still couldn''t figure it out.


    "Was the chest in the sky? What the *****."


    "I don''t care what he got; I just want to know how he got it. Lu Li is really strange."


    The pack of players who usually battled against each other had all laid down their conflicts at this point.They all shared a strange confusion.


    "We saw Water Fairy¡­" someone added. Water Fairy wasn''t hiding, and there were more than a few who had seen her.


    "Why didn''t you say so earlier? Can you still see her now? Give us the coordinates..."


    "Coordinates please!"


    "Same!"


    "And you''re all still thinking about seeing a beauty! Did the damn couple work together? Doesn''t that make treasure hunting way too easy? Think about it ¨C in the future when everyone has a flying mount, will we still have a career?"


    "The damn couple is playing dirty; they''re leaving nothing behind for us!"


    However, their anger had absolutely no impact at all on Lu Li and Water Fairy. They were both Thief classes who came and went as they pleased. Not to mention, neither of them were average players ¨C both of them had a horde of underlings waiting for their command to kill.


    "There''s a total of six items. This treasure chest is pretty good," Water Fairy said happily.


    "Do you want this bow?" Lu Li took out a weapon and asked Water Fairy.


    "No," Water Fairy shook her head, she was eyeing something else as she waited for Lu Li to ask her about the item. Lu Li thought that kind of burning passion in her eyes was kind of cute.


    This was actually a Dark Gold bow with decent Attributes'' it was even better than the Flawless Arcanite Rifle for a Hunter.


    "A chainmail..."


    "No, no, hurry up¡­" Water Fairy was becoming impatient.


    "Rare material..."


    "Are you doing this on purpose? I want that piece of clothing!" Water Fairy demanded.


    This piece of clothing wasn''t an exquisite equipment. In fact, it didn''t even come with any Attributes. It was more of a fashion accessory.


    Although this was a virtual reality, not everything was in sync with the real world. For example, a tailor could probably make any clothes easily in the real world; the only difference was in terms of quality.


    However, this was a different story in the game.


    Without a recipe, even the best tailor wouldn''t be able to make anything.


    For this very reason, good-looking fashion accessories were quite expensive. The piece of clothing that Water Fairy was interested in was a formal dress. It could probably win an award from a fashion show in real life.


    "Hold on to it. Do you want anything else?" Lu Li really couldn''t turn her down. Although he couldn''t wear the dress, his sister could.


    "No, just this alone is worth it," Water Fairy said as she changed into her new clothes in a hurry. It seemed like she didn''t realize she was getting changed in front of a man. However, the changing process was only just a concept in the game; no one couldn''t actually see anything.


    "Two equips, two materials, and a skill book. If you don''t want any of them, then I''m taking them all," Lu Li said as he looked at her new dress speechlessly.


    He never really understood why these kind of things were valuable in the first place. However, Water Fairy did in fact, look prettier in her new dress. The difference between a grey armor and a pure white formal dress was quite visible.


    "Mhm." Water Fairy was still busy studying her dress'' intricate details.


    "Then, I''m off. Thank you for today."


    In all honesty, he could''ve found anyone else in his guild to accomplish Water Fairy''s task.


    "Goodbye. Make sure to call me next time you have something like this," Water Fairy said, then made a threatening expression. "I always call you when I have a quest, but you''ve never done the same. You have to be generous as a person."


    "Of course, of course," Lu Li said sincerely.


    Then, he moved his attention back to his loot. Although he said that he definitely would be generous, he was just talking to get by.


    Both the Hunter equips were good; he could toss them into the guild storage. The two rare materials were both usable for Flawless Arcanite Rifle. With these two materials, he would only needed to purchase a few more materials to make two Flawless Arcanite Rifles.


    The reason why he wasn''t being generous was because of the skill book.

 952 Mystery Ring

    Misdirection: Misdirects all threat you cause in the next 8 seconds to the targeted party or raid member.


    A Hunter could cast this skill on the main tank, then shoot an arrow at the target. Then, they would fake a death and all the monsters would charge to the main tank. This was very crucial when pulling monsters in a dungeon.


    This was just a humble description, but the importance of this skill was no less than Sesame Rice Ball''s Summoning Portal.


    The higher-leveled the dungeon was, the more likely that Bosses would summon minions to fight for them. At the same time, these minions all had the ability to wipe out a team, and this would be when Misdirection would come into play.


    Of course, not all minions could be misdirected.


    Lu Li returned to the city and called Remnant Dream to pass this skill book to her. Although she wasn''t the best Hunter, she was skilled enough to use it wisely.


    "Dreamy, don''t go yet," Lu Li said, stopping the girl.


    "What''s up? I still have to go and shower my little fox. He''s almost turned into a grey fox." Remnant Dream seemed as if she was busy.


    "I''ll take you on a trip to earn some gold coins. You wanna come?" Lu Li asked, using her weakness to keep her around.


    As soon as she heard gold coins, Remnant Dream was immediately interested. She had a big family to feed, although they were all animals. To make the gaming content even more immersive (and to earn more money), Dawn had added many things to the pet system.


    For example, when pets got sick, you would have to take them to the vet. Pets also had a mood bar, and if they''re raised poorly, they would become upset. But how could you make them happy? The answer to this question was simple ¨C all pets love to eat.


    At the same time, these pets can wear clothes too, which could be purchased at the pet costume store.


    Besides this, Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan and Lu Xin were planning to build an orphanage in the game. They wanted to take in all the homeless children on the streets.


    This was an even greater expense and they had no intention of relying on Lu Li, so they were all trying their best to earn money.


    "I''ll tell you a way to make some income; let''s split this 2:8. I''m the eight, you''re the two ¨C how''s that?" Lu Li asked, holding onto her little shoulders as he discussed the split.


    "What? You''re taking eight? That''s too much!" Remnant Dream complained as she twisted herself out of Lu Li''s arm and turned to glare furiously at him.


    "Then 3:7 should be alright," Lu Li said, taking a step back as he began to calculate how much he was losing from the profit. If it wasn''t for the fact that Noggenfogger Elixir had already began to make profit, he definitely wouldn''t have given up so easily.


    "I''m so young and you''re so old, but you''re asking for so much. You''re bulling children¡­"


    "Uhm..."


    What kind of logic was this? What did age have to do with profit at all?


    "How about 4:6? Young lady, don''t cry. I''m not bullying you at all."


    Lu Li couldn''t stand his ground anymore because the little Hunter looked as if she was about to cry.


    "You''re always ripping me off. I''m going to tell Xin Xin," Remnant Dream cried as she began to sniff her nose.


    "My ****, you have no clue what ripping off even means. Half, we''ll do half, okay? If you''re still not happy with it, then I''m not taking you anymore." Lu Li felt so tired. This little girl wasn''t cute anymore; she was like a little demoness when it came to money.


    He should have really asked Square Root 3 to have a look at this instead.


    "Alright, half will do I guess. Lead the way."


    Remnant Dream was at least somewhat reasonable; she knew when to stop.


    The place that Lu Li suggested wasn''t too hard to find. It wasn''t hidden in an alley, so quite a few people came by to pick up the gold coins from here.


    "What are they doing here?"


    The stall was crowded with people and the littler Hunter was only around 1.5 meters tall, so she couldn''t really see what was going on inside.


    "What''s the rush for? Are you worried that someone will recognize you?" Lu Li asked as he picked her up and took her aside.


    "Are we going to do naughty things?"


    "Put this in your bag and transform into a Gnome," Lu Li said as he passed over the Deception Orb to her.


    "Wow, wow! This is good!" This was the first time that Remnant Dream had ever seen anything like this. She felt like a brand new world has been opened up to her, but she soon began to worry.


    "But I''m already short enough ¨C if I transform into a Gnome, I''ll be even shorter."


    "Don''t worry, as long as people can''t recognize you, it''s good enough," Lu Li said. He couldn''t be bothered to comfort her about this.


    Unwillingly, Remnant Dream transformed into a slightly-shorter-than-average Gnome.


    Lu Li pushed apart the crowd and led the little girl with him.


    This wasn''t a special stall in particular. If it wasn''t for the fact that the stall owner was way too old, many would probably think that he was a player.


    All the items on the stall were Rings. Rings filled up the entire stall; there were at least hundreds of them, and they were all designed to be the same. There was still no names for these rings, or rather, the names were displayed as ''Mystery Ring''.


    Duke Spades'' Mystery Ring ¨C this was a recent item in Stormwind City.


    Orgimmar, a city in the Horde faction, also began to have similar stalls that sold Necklaces instead of Rings.


    Over the past few days, many players had uploaded similar threads into the forum. Most of them talked about how some players purchased a Mystery Ring and appraised an exquisite Attribute from it. The threads came with pictures to prove that this was true and many had witnessed the appraisal process with their own eyes.


    But of course, even more of them gained nothing. Most of the Mystery Rings that have been appraised turned out to have no Attributes at all, not even a single point of +1 in Strength. This meant that the consumers gained nothing from their purchases.


    The players only followed the steps of the successors. Not only did those failed appraisals not serve as a warning for others, but they actually attracted laughter and mocking.


    "Buy it, buy it, buy it! There''s a chance of appraising an exquisite Attribute from these rings. This boy had just appraised an exquisite ring before; you guys can ask him if you don''t believe me!"


    Duke Spade was the owner of the stall. He was a skinny and old man, but he looked very smart.


    "How much is one of them?" someone moved to the front to ask.


    "30 gold coins, just 30 gold coins. If you appraise a Gold ring, you can at least sell it for 300 gold coins," Duke Spade said with a smile. "I''m not gonna lie ¨C not only can you appraise Gold rings here, but there''s even a chance for you to appraise Dark Gold or Legendary rings. Just as long as you''re lucky enough!"

 953 Massive Scam

    When he said this, the people around him erupted and began chattering away.


    A Gold grade ring for 300 gold would be quite reasonable because Rings were considered to be special equips. The drop rates were around five times lower than normal items and a Ring with good stats was extremely rare. Most of the professional players were still wearing Steel or Silver grade rings.


    However, when they heard this, no one dared to pay the money straight away. Their initial reaction was doubt ¨C what proof did he have that he could identify Dark Gold and Legendary equips?


    "I''m not sure about Legendary rings but someone from my guild identified a Dark Gold ring," a bystander testified.


    "Why do I have a feeling that this old man is a scammer? There are heaps of people like him," Remnant Dream said. Although she was still young, she was quite clever.


    "Don''t be silly; go buy two and pray for the best," Lu Li encouraged.


    "Grandpa, I want to buy two. This one and this one," Remnant Dreams whispered as she handed him the gold coins.


    Duke Spade looked at Remnant Dream, picked up the Rings and gave them to her.


    "Do you want me to identify? If you let me do it, it''s free, but if you want an identification scroll, then it''s one gold coin.


    Most people would prefer Duke Spade to identify the Ring for them. There was nothing wrong with saving some money and you could also show off to the surrounding crowds.


    Normally, if other people received a good item from Duke Spade, they would immediately show off to the people that failed to get lucky. However, Lu Li was a lowkey type of guy and wouldn''t want to attract unnecessary attention.


    "Two Identification scrolls please. Thank you." Remnant Dreams said without hesitating.


    She wanted others to be envious of her items as well, but Lu Li warned her about getting kidnapped if the items that she received were godly. As such, she decided to buy the scrolls and identify the Rings in a secure place.


    The short, little girl ran away as soon as she received her items. Lu Li had to stop her before she ran too far.


    "I said to be lowkey, not to be a thief. Alright, let''s identify the items," Lu Li said.


    "Why don''t we buy more at one time?" Remnant Dream asked as she prepared to use the items.


    "They won''t sell it to us again if we buy more than two at once."


    Lu Li knew about this from his past life. Many players who were addicted to gambling had also realized this after they bought several rings in hopes of getting rich overnight.


    This was why the lottery businesses made so much money.


    They were all after the slim chances of spending a little amount of money in exchange for millions and millions of gold, enough for the rest of their lifetime. Then, they could use this money to marry a beautiful wife, buy whatever they want and achieve things they could never have done before.


    "Eh, why is he here? Isn''t he your friend?" Remnant Dream asked when she saw someone approaching them.


    "I called him here; he''s going to give us the gold," Lu Li said as he waved at him. "Over here, Mr. Shen!"


    Shen Wansan walked over with his overweight frame and complained, "I''m a very busy person and earn thousands of dollars in a matter of minutes. I''m not someone that you can just order around."


    "Woah, Mr. Shen, you''ve started using proverbs!?" Lu Li joked then pointed at Remnant Dreams and said, "These are the rings that we have. Duke Spade has taken too much money that people have earned from their blood, sweat and tears. Let''s hope we can get him back for this."


    "Haha, if you say it like that then I feel less guilty. Let''s head over to the tea shop ¨C my shout," Shen Wansan suggested. He didn''t want to stand out in the streets to make a deal.


    "Ivory Ring ¨C seems pretty meh," Remnant Dreams announced as she handed it to Lu Li.


    Lu Li looked at it briefly then gave it to Shen Wansan.


    "Seems like a pretty decent Silver ring. How much?" Shen Wan San asked with a chuckle. Although the Ring would be considered as decent for a casual player, Shen Wansan knew that Lu Li had his eyes set on a much bigger prize.


    "Two options ¨C you either pay to buy it, or you can be in charge of selling it. Then, we''ll split the money," Lu Li said.


    "Haha, I''ll just pay to buy it. You guys are probably in need of some money anyways. It''s almost the end of the year," Shen Wansan offered. He was quite considerate; this was a win-win situation since Lu Li got his cash and he could make some profit.


    "You can have every item that''s under Gold grade, but anything above that, I get to keep," Lu Li said.


    Lu Li wasn''t planning on buying Rings for the entire guild, but if there was a need, then he wouldn''t mind selling them for a cheaper price.


    Rings were very rare and there were many players who were in need of one.


    "Another silver grade ring; such bad luck. Lu Li, I think your bad luck is contagious."


    Remnant Dream were unsatisfied with the two Silver grade rings that she had identified.


    "Be grateful ¨C most items that other people identified were all trash," Lu Li said as he put the rings away in his backpack. "I''ll keep this one. It''s a decent ring for a Fire Mage, and it isn''t much worse than a Gold one.


    "Ok, 45 gold for the Ivory Ring," Shen Wansan said, placing the gold coins on the table.


    "I''ll go buy some more. Remember to give me my share of money."


    Remnant Dream ran back to Duke Spade to buy more Rings while Lu Li sat and sipped on tea with Mr. Shen.


    Not long after, Remnant Dreams returned with two more.


    She identified them again and uncovered one Silver and one Steel. Shen Wansan bought both for 50 gold altogether.


    Excluding the ring that Lu Li kept, they had spent 120 gold to buy four rings and sold them to Shen Wan San for 95 gold. They were losing money from doing this.


    Remnant Dream had failed to identify a good ring with four chances. Her luck didn''t seem to be working out for her today. It was no wonder some many people bought rings for Duke Spade and lost so much money without profiting in return.


    The players slowly realized that Duke Spade was an NPC created by the gaming company to balance the difference between the poor and the rich. However, there was still an increase of players who were gambling away by buying multiple mystery rings a week.


    "Wow, a Gold Ring!"


    After losing quite a bit of money, Remnant Dream was very pleased with the Draxleguage Ring.


    The Draxleguage Ring was a Mage ring. Although its stats weren''t amazing, it was still good enough to be considered a Gold grade. If Lu Li were to sell this on the market¡­


    "450 gold coins ¨C that''s a very good price for you guys. I''d sell it for 500 gold if I had to do it myself, but that would take a long time," Shen Wan San couldn''t help but offer. In reality, he wasn''t very hopeful because it was a Mage ring, which were very much in demand right now.


    "Okay, deal."


    Surprisingly, Lu Li accepted and gave the ring to Mr. Shen without hesitating.


    "Why don''t you keep it?" They had already gone through twelve rings and Lu Li had kept two for himself. The rest were all sold to Shen Wan San. The two that he had kept weren''t even as good as the Gold ring.


    "I told you, the goal of today is to make money," Lu Li answered honestly. "We don''t have many gold coins left.

 954 Transforming Into a Skeleton

    "Okay, I''ll give you a week''s time. If you regret selling it to me, then I''ll sell it back to you for the original price," Shen Wan San paused, then bought the item.


    Since they were business partners, there are certain unspoken rules that should be followed. Their friendship had to be taken into account when conducting business with each other. If Mr. Shen offered to give back the ring for free, then Lu Li would never take it back and it would affect their partnership in the future.


    Maintaining the friendship while still keeping it professional was the key to their long-term success.


    Since Lu Li was the supplier, the deal would always slightly favor him over Mr. Shen. However, he didn''t really mind because Lu Li was his best supplier.


    "Thanks Mr. Shen. Both of us will profit from today," Lu Li toasted as he raised his cup.


    "Cheers!"


    "Mr. Shen, we''re drinking tea. Please have some manners."


    "...."


    Duke Spade had seen the little girl countless times and remembered her face clearly. No one else would return so frequently in such a short amount of time.


    The surrounding players were stunned as they watch Remnant Dream buy yet another pair of Rings and run off into the distance.


    "Whose kid is that? So rich," they said enviously.


    Lu Li had now spent 400 to 500 gold on Rings. There were very few that had the money to do this, so the mystery player was either from a major guild, a second-generation millionaire or a rich businessman. One thing for sure, no one would keep buying them unless they were profiting off them.


    No one believed that the little girl was making money.


    Not counting the Gold ring that they sold to Mr. Shen, Lu Li and Remnant Dreams hadn''t actually lost much. They had sold more than 300 Gold worth of rings and Lu Li had also kept two for himself.


    "Silver again. So annoying!" Remnant Dream whined as she stomped on the floor then threw the Ring onto the table and ran off again.


    "Twenty for this one and twelve for the other," Shen Wansan offered, then said tiredly, "I think we should call it a day here. We should quit while we''re still up."


    "Hehe, a single Gold ring isn''t enough to make Duke Spade cry," Lu Li laughed. "Do you really think I brought my trusty lucky girl along just for a couple hundred gold?"


    Lu Li had brought Remnant Dream along because he wondered if her lucky hands would carry over.


    The truth was, lucky hands would always be lucky hands.


    After subtracting the cost of the Rings, they had profited 300 gold. If a normal person bought that many rings from Spiering, they would probably only receive a few Silver rings that were worth nothing on the markets.


    Lu Li had heard in his past life that if someone profited too much from Spade, he would deny selling anymore Rings to that player.


    At this rate, he would deny her tomorrow for sure.


    If they couldn''t buy anymore tomorrow, then why not make as much profit as they could in one day?


    "Two Silvers again! Hmph!"


    "What a shame; where are the Gold rings? I don''t even want Dark Gold anymore ¨C just one more Gold and I''ll be satisfied¡­"


    Again and again, Remnant Dream proved just how much of a con-artist Duke Spade was. Their profit was slowly diminishing over time.


    There was a rich second-generation millionaire who had bought Rings just like Remnant Dream was a couple of days ago. He sent out others to buy them for him and spent around 2000 to 3000 gold coins. In the end, the rings that he identified added up to around only 300 gold.


    Lu Li did not want to make enemies with the company, but he thought that the players deserved some sort of compensation for this.


    Dawn claimed to be a free-to-play game, but they had made more money than any other game in recent history.


    "Another¡­ eh, it''s a Gold ring."


    They had finally identified their second Gold ring and Remnant Dream''s depressed face brightened up.


    Lu Li checked his records; Remnant Dream had bought more than 30 Rings so far, which meant that they had spent over a thousand gold. They would have run out of money ages ago if it wasn''t for Shen Wansan who was buying their unwanted rings.


    "The stats are pretty underwhelming. 300 gold," Shen Wan San sighed.


    "No worries, keep going Dream. Do you have enough cash on you Mr. Shen?" Lu Li asked. He calculated and realized that he hadn''t lost any money overall. Because of Remnant Dream''s lucky hands, most of the Rings weren''t terrible and could be sold for some gold.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean if you don''t have enough cash on you right now, you should find a way to get more¡­"


    "Haha, don''t worry. If I didn''t carry a couple thousand gold coins on me then I wouldn''t be a merchant."


    "As expected of a rich merchant. If I were to mug you right now, then I wouldn''t be so worried about money anymore," Lu Li joked as he glanced at Mr.Shen''s money pouch and planned on emptying the entire bag today.


    This time, Remnant Dream was taking longer than usual. After a while, she finally returned, wiped the sweat off her forehand and whispered to Lu Li, "I think someone is following me and it won''t be long until Spade denies us from buying the mystery Rings."


    "Hehe, don''t worry ¨C we can''t PVP in town anyway," Lu Li assured as he passed a potion to her.


    "What''s this?" Remnant Dreams took it and asked.


    "Drink it and you''ll know." Lu Li was being mysterious.


    In real life, Remnant Dreams would never drink something from a stranger. However, this was a game and she trusted Lu Li like her own brother, so she took a sip without hesitating.


    "Ahhhh!" Remnant Dreams shrieked as she looked at herself in horror.


    After drinking the potion, her already-miniature body had shrunken by a third and now looked like a little pork bun.


    "Wow, as expected of the lucky hand," Shen Wan San gasped.


    There were three possibilities of drinking the Noggenfogger Elixir. The chance of transforming into a skeleton was the highest, and allowed the player to become as light as feather so that they don''t take fall damage.


    Although Noggenfogger Elixir was referred to as the shrinking potion by players, the actual chances of it shrinking someone were rather low.


    "Drink another one," Lu Li said.


    "Is this the Noggenfogger Elixir that I''ve heard so much about? It''s so amazing!"


    Remnant Dream was shouting in excitement. She rarely wemt outside and didn''t have spare cash lying around to buy one. As such, she had only heard stories about this enchanting potion.


    "Keep working for me today and I''ll supply you for free in the future," Lu Li offered slyly.


    "Wow, I''m a skeleton! So cool!" Remnant Dreams exclaimed as she examined her new body.


    The second potion had transformed her into a skeleton, so Duke Spade wouldn''t be able to recognize her at all.

 955 Circle of Hope

    "There''s someone following me," Remnant Dream whispered after she hurried back to Lu Li.


    "I already said to ignore them. We''ve already booked the place. After all, this is a tea house that''s owned by the System. People can only enter through my permission," Lu Li said. He was not worried about her safety, but he was worried about PKing in the towns.


    He was covering her this whole time as well, so there was no way that anyone would be able to check her information.


    Even if someone had suspected her, a large organisation would not wage war on a single player over such trivial matters. Small organisations would not be able to stand the wrath of Ruling Sword. The guild was now one of the pinnacle organisations in Dawn, so they would be able to offer protection.


    "But they seemed scary¡­" Remnant Dream mumbled as she rubbed her arms.


    "Even I want to take you home! Never mind them. How about you follow me, and I''ll feed all your pets," Shen Wansan joked.


    "What? Kiss my butt," Remnant Dream said as she made an ugly face towards Shen Wansan, then dropped the two Rings that were promised and ran off.


    "Throwing out a treasure like this for some gold? Aren''t you afraid that the game company would suspect something?" Shen Wansan asked Lu Li after Remnant Dream had left.


    "It''s the end of the year, so rewards must be given out," Lu Li answered as he sipped the bitter tea from his cup.


    "This is a fairly large sum of money," Shen Wansan noted. While he seemed extremely wealthy, his riches did not even exceed Lu Li''s.


    "I always thought that since China has so many people, as long as there is sufficient money, creating an organisation that had over millions of people would not be difficult," Lu Li sighed.


    "What an unrealistic idea. I feel that you don''t think that way anymore though," Shen Wansan chuckled.


    "That''s right. After building one myself, I realise that a majority of organisations will not even have ten thousand people. After all, it''s quite money-draining. Even very wealthy people wouldn''t be able to afford the demands," Lu Li said, finally acknowledging his difficulties to Shen Wansan, a person who was not even in the guild.


    "Although Ruling Sword''s numbers have grown, your elite teams did not grow, which is fortunate." Shen Wansan congratulated.


    A regular organisation would allow ordinary players to join the elite teams. Ordinary members did not receive a salary, so their benefits came from the guild activities and events that occurred. The guild points that the members accumulated could also be exchanged for gold. All in all, as long as the guild was sensible when it came to giving out rewards, it would be sustainable.


    However, the elite teams were different. After all, there was not much difference between an elite player and a salaried worker. Their contributions and sacrifices were much larger, so it was only natural that they received larger rewards.


    Ruling Sword had a 300-man elite squad. After splitting the rewards evenly, each person received around 50000 in game currency, which equated to around 1,500,000 in real life. Ruling Sword''s gains over the last 3 to 4 months had exceeded even that amount, and at this point, Lu Li thought that his own net worth was over a million. However, after giving out the salaries, this had diminished extremely quickly.


    Bosses that were more ungiving would usually give only ten or twenty thousand gold. However, this would be a bad choice in the eyes of a wise leader.


    Lu Li and Square Root had negotiated for a very long time until they had settled on the amount of 50,000. This was not considered an incredibly large sum of money in the gaming industry, so they could only reward the players'' efforts through other means.


    Other major organisations would usually ask for sponsors and investments from real life companies, so that they could receive a few hundred thousand per year to solve this particular problem.


    However, Lu Li did not want to involve big companies in Ruling Sword. He wanted to build a guild that was independent and could grow by itself, not being commanded what to do by a corporate sponsor.


    "Actually, it''s not too bad; Ruling Sword has been growing well lately. We have enough to pay the elite squads, so things have been manageable. I only wish to help the normal members grow as players. It''s these players who suffered and struggled the most during the fight against Gangnam Royals," Lu Li said.


    "I hope you''ll succeed."


    Giving salaries to the normal members was simply a preposterous idea. If an organisation had 10000 people in it, and each person was paid 1000 dollars, that would equate to a total payroll of one hundred million dollars. Even Glory Capital would not be able to afford this sum.


    "I plan to use a little bit of money to buy some materials and store them in the guild storage as welfare. When that time comes, I will need your assistance," Lu Li said, then voluntarily poured Shen Wansan a cup of tea.


    Some of Shen Wansan''s wealth had come after the establishment of Ruling Sword. He had the mindset that business was strictly business. However, he had also helped out Ruling Sword during their worst times by providing them an abundance of materials.


    "As you wish, my friend."


    "Thanks, mate," Lu Li said as he raised his cup and clinked it with Shen Wansan''s.


    "There are so many people asking me what my name is. Am I that cute in this form?" the little skeleton asked.


    "Hurry up and do your job. There are going to be more people later."


    Running back and forth and spending so much money to buy so many mediocre rings ¨C how was this not suspicious?


    Every time Remnant Dream had bought something, she appraised the item herself. This attracted the attention of many, to the point where there were rumours being spread that Remnant Dream could buy anything and make it Legendary.


    "Mmmm¡­." Remnant Dream''s hands were shaking


    "Don''t try and hide it. I can already see it. This little brat¡­" Lu Li scolded as he slapped her head softly and grabbed the Ring from her. Remnant Dream expressed reluctance by immediately pouting.


    She felt like a cormorant that was commanded to catch fish for the fisherman.


    No wonder this little brat had wanted to keep this for herself. If she had kept it, she would not need to worry about gold for the next year and a half.


    "Let me have a look," Shen Wansan requested as he held out his hand.


    Lu Li handed him the Ring in shock of its Attributes and properties.


    Circle of Hope (Legendary): Damage 25 -36, All Stat +35, Lifesteal +25%, Critical +25%. Special Effect 1: Secure of the Light. Target an ally, giving them Armor +100% and a Barrier that can absorb 10% of incoming damage. Cooldown 2 minutes. Special Effect 2: Unbound, Use: Cures user of any skills that prevent movement and attack. Cooldown 2 minutes. Special Effect 3: Judgment of Light: After using this skill, Undead and Demons are inflicted with 50% damage of the target as splash damage. 100% chance of Stun and Critical strikes. Lasts 3 minutes. Cooldown 20 minutes. Can only be used by Paladins. Level requirement: 50, Durability 225/225.

 956 A Prestigious Ring

    Among most other Legendary equipment, this Ring would be one of the strongest.


    Someone had once said that even the worst of the rarest equipment was worth more than one that was common and at the same grade.


    Obviously, this was a flawed statement. After all, if the bonus effects were absolutely rubbish, then


    a Legendary equip would not even be worth as much as a Gold one.


    However, this saying still generally held true. Shen Wansan had a look at the Ring and began to salivate. He estimated that this piece of equipment would still be relevant even after a year and a half.


    The bonus Lifesteal and Critical Strike Chance were among the best that an equip could provide. The first and third special effects were also extraordinary. It was qualities such as these that would prolong an equipment''s relevancy.


    Secure in the Light was a skill that granted the target 100% Armor and a shield that blocked 10% of incoming damage.


    If the target''s Armor was already extremely high, the effect would be even greater. Furthermore, this also applied to the damage absorption, as it was dependent on the target''s Max HP.


    It was because of these special effects which scaled off the original Attributes of the target that the value of this Ring skyrocketed. After all, the user of this equip would have no need of upgrading in that slot for the next year and a half, which equated to a large amount of gold being saved.


    The second special effect was similar to Lu Li''s Emblem, which dispelled status ailments. This was a fairly common effect and had nothing to do with scaling off levels.


    Normal Legendary grade equips were worth around thousands upon thousands of dollars in real life currency. Lu Li''s dagger for example was worth more than a million.


    "What a miracle."


    In Lu Li''s excitement, he suddenly thought about his past life. If he had found an item like this during his previous life, he might not have lost his little sister.


    The game had been growing, and so were the demands of the playerbase.


    During earlier times, when there were less than ten thousand players, one piece of rock would be worth 30,000 to 50,000. However, in more recent times, this sum was not actually considered to be that much. For the large majority, their experiences in regard to supply and demand would be the same, given that they had good luck. To be worshipped as a god among players, a person would need to at least have a net worth of at least one million in real life.


    Lu Li then thought about it, and decided to send the information of the Ring to Wandering, asking whether he was interested in it.


    According to some, Lu Li was a very rigid and straightforward person. He did not even send a greeting to Wandering before talking about the Ring.


    The best decision that would reap the most benefits would be to give it to Shen Wansan to deal with.


    If Wandering had paid for it, it still would not be enough, even though he was worth around a million. There was still a difference between the value of the Ring and the amount that Wandering could afford.


    Wandering had a look, then rejected the offer.


    "Where''d you get it from? It doesn''t look too bad, but giving it to me would be wasteful. You can handle it yourself."


    He didn''t play PVP, and he didn''t bring his Emblem with him sometimes. As such, the second effect would be useless if he had it.


    "If you don''t want this piece of equipment to flow around the market, I can recommend someone." Shen Wansan knew what Lu Li was thinking, which was to not let treasures fall out of his control.


    "Oh, you know people in the guild?" Lu Li was extremely surprised.


    "There''s someone in your guild who has already bought a couple of Dark Gold equips from me. His technique is pretty good, and he probably already has a full set of Dark Gold equipment," Shen Wansan suggested.


    It was already quite normal for players to have Gold equipment. As for a whole set of Dark Gold equipment, even a professional player might not have one.


    Lu Li knew who Shen Wansan was talking about; this person was a Paladin in Ruling Sword. He had finished off the Green Dragon from a while ago and was known as the Dual Wielder of the Dark Gold Blade.


    According to the other people, he had joined the game later, but had trained so hard that he was now on par with the first squad in terms of levels.


    The key point was that he was willing to fully commit to the game. As soon as he saw that a piece of


    good equipment would fit well with his playstyle, he would try his best to buy it.


    His commitment was firstly rewarded with an entry into Ruling Sword. After a short while, he joined the elite squad and had tagged along with Lu Li''s small squad a couple of times when they were clearing Instance Dungeons. When he was called to the arena, he would join Fat Monkey and Moonlight, and would then go on to be one of the more famous players in Dawn.


    The game could be played one way by the poorer players, and another way by the wealthier players.


    "He has wanted a Legendary grade equip for a while, even if the properties aren''t great. He''s extremely keen on improving, and he''s willing to fork out the cash. I have a friend who was selling a Legendary grade shield that was absolutely trash. If it weren''t for me, he would''ve bought it," Shen Wansan said.


    "Selling it to a member of the guild doesn''t look too good and is a little awkward," Lu Li said as he mulled over it.


    "Do you want me to ask for you?" Shen Wansan asked Lu Li.


    "Ah¡­no. There''s no need for that. Thanks though."


    Lu Li did not really care about it, but it would seem a little pretentious if he had asked Shen Wansan to do it for him.


    As they were conversing, Remnant Dream ran into the room, still in her skeleton form. She huffed and puffed, then said: "The old man Spade was so nasty! He didn''t only reject selling me theRrings, but he was going to call the guards on me!"


    Lu Li shared a gaze with Shen Wansan, then both acknowledged that this was the end of the day.


    "Alright, let''s see how much we gained today," Shen Wansan said. As soon as he said this, Remnant Dream immediately ran over to him.


    Remnant Dream had bought a total of 112 rings. Adding onto the gold spent on the scrolls, this had totalled to nearly 35 million.


    The Circle of Hope was by far the most valuable item they had appraised. Apart from this, there were Gold grade rings, and the rest that weren''t so great were given to Shen Wansan to handle.


    However, it was unusual that there weren''t any Dark Gold rings.


    Lu Li was not surprised at all. Spade spawned once a day, and in 300 rings, there would most probably only be one that was of Legendary or Dark Gold grade. If there was a Legendary grade ring, there would not be a Dark Gold one, and vice versa.


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    There should have been 5 that were available, and Remnant Dream had bought 3. This meant that in the remaining 200 or so rings, there were only 2 Gold ones.


    After taking out the Legendary ring and the 2 Gold ones from the heap of rings, Shen Wansan and his special appraisers went to work out the value of the remaining rings. "Alright, I''ve counted all of them. There are 109 rings, so the total is 4367 gold. I''ll lose out on a little and give you 4400 gold though."


    Every ring had a value of around 40 gold. Remnant Dream''s luck was not fake after all.


    After trading with Shen Wansan, Lu Li then turned to Remnant Dream and began to count the remaining.


    After cutting the initial costs, the profit of the entire operation was around 900 gold. Lu Li had split it 50/50 with Remnant Dream, so each person had received 450 gold.


    Lu Li had needed a lot more gold, but for Remnant Dream, this was enough to satisfy her. She was extremely excited and said: "Let''s continue tomorrow! Mum won''t have to worry about my savings now!"


    Lu Li could not bear to tell her the cold hard truth, that she had already been blacklisted by Spiering.

 957 Obsession

    Remnant Dream really had been blacklisted by the Spiering Knight. The next day, when she went to pick up another bargain, the old man was unrelenting in declining her purchases, even if she did have the money.


    Of course, this could be dealt with later. For now, they had to deal with the remaining three rings.


    The two Gold Rings were actually quite decent. One of them was for Moonlight, while the other was for Azure Sea Breeze. They were particularly suited for them, which was why Lu Li decided to keep them.


    Even if the rings were sold, they wouldn''t yield more than 500 gold. What was most valuable was the exclusive Epic Paladin Ring. Shen Wansan had estimated the price of this Ring to be about 16,000 gold.


    Epic equipment usually didn''t cost more than 5000 gold, not even if it was an exquisite item. While the Ring was worthy of belonging in the next category of rarity, even then, it shouldn''t be worth 16,000 gold.


    "We''re rich now, right?" Remnant Dream asked as she leaned over and stared at the two Rings in Lu Li''s hands.


    "Dreamy, do you think it would be bad to get our friends to pay for these?" Lu Li was a little hesitant.


    "We should get them to pay ¨C goodwill is harder to repay then gold," Remnant Dream said, then tilted her head upwards and sighed, "If it weren''t for the fact that I owe you so much goodwill, why would I come on all these strange adventures with you?"


    "Pfft, whatever," Lu Li snorted as he squeezed the girl''s face.


    The Attributes of the items were sent to Moonlight and Azure Sea Breeze, followed by a price of 300 gold.


    "Dammit, how can such a good item be worth 300 gold? Lu Li what have you done? I told you we can''t really compare to Drizzle Court, but you don''t need to sell your soul to catch up¡­" Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t help but say.


    Moonlight was relatively acquainted with the value of items.


    "Thank you, I saw a similar one yesterday, but the price was 700 gold."


    Seven hundred gold was a bit expensive, but 300 gold was an outrageously low price. He didn''t know where Lu Li had found this item, but his generosity was noted.


    After chatting with those two for a while, Lu Li asked Remnant Dream to mail the two items to them.


    "Give me the gold from these two rings, and I''ll let you have the last one," Remnant Dream stammered after scratching her head.


    "Are you dumb? The real value is in this Epic ring; the others are just pocket change," Lu Li said, unable to understand why this little girl was doing this. She was a high school student ¨C surely she could tell the difference between numbers, right?


    The two rings had a total value of 1,500 gold, while the Epic ring had been valued at 16,000 gold. That was a difference of more than ten times.


    But in fact, she wasn''t unaware of this.


    While they were calculating the values, she couldn''t believe that she was going to make so much money today. 16,000 gold was about one to two million dollars, which was a scary figure for her.


    "Alright, next time I''ll help you catch a really cute pet," Lu Li offered as he patted the girl''s head.


    "Boss, why have you come to visit me today?"


    Her Tears looked like he had been fighting on the battlefield as he turned around the corner covered in blood. He sat opposite from Lu Li and downed the tea that was there.


    Lu Li didn''t even have time to stop him, but that was the tea that Shen had ordered anyway. Regardless, Her Tears had left a good impression on him. His family was definitely well-off, but he didn''t have a playboy attitude at all.


    "I have a piece of equipment for you to see¡­" Lu Li said, getting straight to the point.


    They weren''t that close to each other, so talking too much now would just raise suspicions.


    "Oh, what equipment?" Her Tears asked as he squinted at the ring in Lu Li''s hands. He had always been envious of the equipment that Lu Li carried when he heard experts analyze on them. He could only fantasize about having top-level equipment, but it was usually only possible for the star players to acquire these items.


    "Here," Lu Li said as he handed it to him.


    "Oh, it''s an Epic! This is an Epic, an Epic, oh it''s an Epic..." he rambled incoherently.


    "I don''t think anyone can make counterfeit equipment yet," Lu Li reassured. If he had found an Epic equipment in his previous life, he would probably act like this. It was only because of his sheer amount of exposure to Epic equipment that he was able to maintain his composure.


    "The attributes are so good. Dammit, I must be dreaming. This item is really amazing¡­"


    It seemed like he wasn''t going to calm down for a while. Lu Li hailed the waiter for some more tea, and quietly waited for his excitement to pass.


    Her Tears'' equipment was pretty good, but he didn''t have a single Epic item. It wasn''t that he couldn''t afford it, it was just that he was never given the chance.


    Eventually, this formed an Epic equipment obsession within him as he dreamed of having the best gear.


    In this era, Dark Gold equipment could be found everywhere and if you had an Epic item, you could enter a middle-sized guild as an elder. If you offered a Gold item, you would be able to hire an escort.


    "Sorry, I''m being rude." Her Tears was still staring at the Epic ring, unable to conceal his excitement.


    "I understand," Lu Li smiled indifferently.


    "This equipment¡­ how do you intend to deal with it?"


    Although he had his suspicions, Lu Li hadn''t said anything yet, so he didn''t want to assume. Her Tears simply couldn''t believe that he had run into such a good item.


    He had a very clear understanding of his position in the guild. Wandering was obviously ranked higher as the vice president, Mu Qiu was a professional player, Darkness was the guild''s number one Paladin Healer and Drifting Rain was the head of the Paladins. All these players were ranked higher than him.


    He had invested a lot of money into the game. Although all this money was his own, he still had the image of a tycoon.


    There weren''t many players below him in the build, and the top management didn''t know him particularly well.


    "I was going to sell it and share the money around. Shen Wansan had told me that you are collecting Epic equipment, so I was going ask if you are interested?" Lu Li straightforwardly revealed. His reasons were simple ¨C Her Tears belonged to the guild, so Lu Li didn''t have to sell to a stranger, and he could afford it.


    "Yes, of course! Sell it to me!" Her Tears was so happy; he felt like this was a moment of divine intervention.


    He had been so anxious before, and was comforting himself on the battlefield. Even without Epic equipment, he was still able to kill a number of other players.


    "How much can you pay?" Lu Li asked.


    Lu Li was prepared for the case that this guy wouldn''t have 16,000 gold. It didn''t matter that much to him ¨C after all, he was part of the guild. Lu Li could always find other ways to make more money.


    "How about 30,000 gold? I only have this much," Her Tears said with his teeth clenched.

 958 People Who Dislike Lu Li

    When he heard this, Lu Li was put in an awkward position.


    Lu Li expected him to not be able to afford it, but 30,000 gold was clearly just a small portion of his wealth. In the entire guild, there were not many players could take out 30,000 gold like this.


    Shen Wansan probably didn''t even have more than 10,000 gold on him and he was a businessman.


    Not only were most players unable to afford that many gold coins, but they also couldn''t bear for their gold to depreciate. Inn a game like this, the value of gold coins would inevitably decrease over time.


    It was only someone like Her Tears, a true tycoon, who didn''t care about the price of gold.


    "Is it not enough? I can go to the black market to get some more¡­" Her Tears saw that Lu Li had a strange look on his face and quickly offered to increase his price.


    "Er¡­ it''s not that it''s not enough ¨C it''s too much. I asked Shen Wansan and he said that this was worth about 16,000 gold. You just have to give me 15,000," Lu Li explained, then continued, "If it weren''t for the fact that the guild''s funds are becoming a little tight, I wouldn''t even want that much money from you."


    "You just want 15,000?" Her Tears was shocked.


    Such an exquisite item couldn''t even be purchased at 25,000 gold, let alone 15,000 gold. It wasn''t that Shen Wansan was lying to Lu Li; he had quoted its value correctly. However, if there was no one in the market willing to sell an item, it didn''t matter how much money you had.


    Currently, only the star players had Epic equipment.


    The major guilds usually organized thousands of players and spent a lot of money on Potions and repairs to fight a Wild Boss for the very small possibility of getting an Epic item.


    "15,000 is fine. That should take care of the whole guild," Lu Li said.


    "Oh, thanks Boss," Her Tears said. He didn''t want to be too polite either, because he wasn''t an outsider. He happily accepted the Ring, but he currently had no way of wearing it. While it had a few slots, he would normally have to wait until level 50 before equipping it.


    Her Tears couldn''t wait to go training.


    Frankly speaking, this was the first time Lu Li had seen 15,000 gold coins. Although it didn''t affect him much, if he had received 15,000 gold coins like this in his previous life for the guild, he would have taken them and run. But right now, it was just an emotional feeling.


    After transferring what he had to Shen Wansan, the total amount of gold the guild now had was 40,000. This could be used to purchase equipment and materials.


    By the time the Spring Festival came around, all guild members would be entitled to a certain number of equipment and materials at a lower price than the market rate. This was how the major guilds rewarded their ordinary members.


    Lu Li recalled the painful discovery that there was almost no money left after the first half of the year.


    If it weren''t for the fact that Ruling Sword was currently under the scrutiny of various powerful companies, and he had managed to get treatment for his sister, his rebirth really would have been a failure.


    Her Tears wasn''t really going to buy an Epic ring that wouldn''t appear on the market for another 2-3 months for just 15,000 gold. He traded his 15,000 gold for items in the guild warehouse, then threw them all back into the warehouse.


    In addition to Her Tears, the other guild executives were also giving their best efforts. In short, Ruling Sword''s funds managed to reach 80,000 gold in a very brief period of time.


    Fortunately, all of this investment was not without its rewards. At least now, Ruling Sword would not be any worse than the other major guilds in terms of the New Year benefits.


    In fact, 80,000 gold coins was really only a drop in the bucket. On average, each member wouldn''t even receive 1 gold coin if it was evenly split. It was actually a change in attitude ¨C if the guild executives were able to gather 80,000 gold coins for the guild, that meant all the members of Ruling Sword were truly treated like brothers.


    They also knew that this amount of gold coins was the limit for what even the top players could do.


    In fact, this included the combined earnings of Wandering and Azure Sea Breeze over the past three or four months.


    Fortunately, after the end of the competition, there would be a prize as well as the ticket payments for each match. This large amount of money would be used to repay the executives and also bring in more funds for the guild.


    In the following days, Ruling Sword competed in a series of matches.


    If the schedule was too tight, it would affect the players. After all, everyone would feel tired after a day of fighting, especially if there were two matches in the same day. However, the good news was that Ruling Sword didn''t face any strong opponents. With this momentum, they soon made it into the top 100.


    After entering the top 100, the major guilds were now being pitted against one another.


    Ordinary players would often find that they were being completely outclassed, but they didn''t attribute it to any unfairness on the part of the game itself. Most of them were happy just for an opportunity to see a star player in action.


    Perhaps the main thing for attracting new players was the hope that they could be the new players to rise into stardom.


    Lu Li had run into a few new players. In the match of Ruling Sword against Eternal Kingdom, Lu Li defeated Thief Midnight Ghost in the single rounds, but lost more than half his HP. After all, Midnight Ghost was also a top Thief in the professional circle.


    Then, he encountered a Paladin player, who previously wasn''t the best Paladin in Eternal Kingdom ¨C Tears in the Wind.


    This was a name Lu Li had heard of, but couldn''t remember much about. Although he was guarding with much discipline, he was still being hit by some sudden attacks, which flustered Lu Li.


    Tears of the Wind actually managed to break through his Enhanced Stealth.


    Lu Li''s previous thought of defeating all their players at once disappeared.


    If this Paladin could break through a Thief''s Stealth, then there was a real possibility that he could defeat a Thief too.


    Lu Li knew that he didn''t have much time, so he moved decisively and rushed right into the Paladin from the front. Thieves couldn''t defeat Paladins in a frontal assault like this, but Lu Li wasn''t an ordinary Thief ¨C he had slightly more crowd-control ability.


    When Lu Li finally fell, the Paladin only had 20% HP remaining.


    Moonlight only needed 30 seconds after that to finish him off.


    In fact, other than his ability to break Stealth, Tears in the Wind wasn''t that much better. At least in terms of combat ability, Lu Li and Moonlight were still a cut above the rest.


    Even so, Tears of the Wind had now become one of the most convincing players to receive a promotion.


    He was a player who was a threat to Lu Li, who could keep Lu Li busy, who was perhaps was even hated by Lu Li and had defeated Lu Li in a fight¡­ Public opinion was a strange thing ¨C when Lu Li rose as a newcomer, the ordinary players loved him, but now, they hoped to see someone defeat him.


    Lu Li was left with a heavy heart after the match.


    He wasn''t worried about Tears of the Wind, even though he couldn''t defeat him withs a frontal assault. He was worried about his normal attacks.


    How did Tears of the Wind manage to break his Stealth? It couldn''t have been a Skill ¨C Lu Li had never heard of such a skill before, so it had to be an item effect. If an item like this fell into the hands of someone like Green Flag Wine¡­

 959 A Ridiculous Reques

    Just as Lu Li was worrying about it, many other players were thinking of the same thing.


    One clear consequence was that Tears of the Wind would be relentlessly hunted by players, even more so than Azure Sea Breeze in his previous life.


    Although no one directly did so, everyone was thinking about doing the same thing. Some were like Lu Li, worried that this item would fall into the wrong hands. Others wanted to get their hands on his equipment to deal with other Thieves.


    This development progressed further beyond everyone''s expectations, and even left Lu Li stunned.


    In the next two days, poor Tears of the Wind was killed three times. He lost some EXP and even dropped two pieces of equipment.


    Although Eternal Kingdom''s spokesperson announced that the item had been dropped, the players did not relent. The problem was that no one believed him and the public refused to give up until


    they saw someone else with it.


    However, since Tears of the Wind was still being targeted, Lu Li himself had no intention of doing it himself.


    There were actually other ways to do the same thing in Dawn, even when it came to revealing Thieves. Top Druids were able to do it with Faerie Fire, which wasn''t any weaker than any equipment effect. Unfortunately, Druids were weaker in other aspects and were uncommon in competitions.


    On the day of entering the top 100, Lu Li finally reached level 49.


    The vast majority of ordinary players had just reached level 45, while the elite players were still at level 47. The gap that the first ranking player had on them just felt oppressive.


    Without realizing it, Lu Li had been a dark horse in this gaming circle for almost four months.


    With the added income to the guild, the mini orphanage of the three little girls was basically complete. They had purchased a small place in the old part of Stormwind City. Although the house was simple and shabby, it could keep out the wind and rain.


    The main thing was that there was an orchard next to the house. The owner of the orchard, Ms Jennifer, had opened several chain fruit shops throughout Stormwind and was a wealthy widow.


    She liked children very much and Lu Xin had actually bought the house from her. Not only did she offer a very competitive price, but she also promised that the children would be allowed to go through the fence to play in orchard.


    As a brother, Lu Li didn''t oppose his sister''s way of spending money and tried to help her as best as he could.


    Lu Xin had grown up in the most dangerous parts of the Common District under Lu Li''s protection. Apart from how sensible she was, she was still a simple and kind child. Lu Li hoped that she would live this way forever.


    After setting up an orphanage in Stormwind City, Lu Li was going to help his sister take care of the orphans.


    NPC!


    Lu Li didn''t need to give any money to help the orphanage, as they received subsidies from Stormwind City, but they needed to make sure that they were certified.


    Otherwise, no one would know if you had kidnapped the orphans.


    In the beginning, they could only adopt three kids ¨C a Dranei girl who was cute and na?ve, a little Dwarf boy with a tall beard, and a human girl who was relatively normal, but seemed to have been sent from orphanage to orphanage.


    The girl didn''t object either, because she wanted to see the world.


    Although they were just small children, it wasn''t easy to raise them. The costs for their training needed to be paid for in addition to their food and clothes. All this was stated on the contract with the orphanage.


    Right now, no one was doing this kind of work because it was so difficult for what appeared to ahve no gain.


    However, after half a year, no one would think that the players at Ruling Sword were dumb. By that time, almost every guild would sponsor orphanages, nursing homes and medical centers. This was the quickest way to earn merits, which could be used to build a fortress if they accumulated enough.


    Lu Li had just walked out of the house after taking the children to their new home when he was confronted by a Thief.


    "Hey Elf, I''ve been paying attention to you for a long time and it looks like you''re good with children."


    It was an NPC!


    Lu Li didn''t believe that a player could follow him so stealthily.


    "Don''t be nervous; I don''t have any malicious intent," the Gnome Thief assured as he uncovered his face and showed that he wasn''t carrying any weapons.


    "How long have you been watching me for?" Lu Li asked.


    "Since yesterday. I followed you into the orphanage, then I followed you outside for some time. I don''t really understand why you adventurers are always repeatedly killing the same monsters. I saw you do it today too," the Gnome Thief said with a shrug.


    Damn, this guy had actually been following him for two days.


    Lu Li felt like the whole world was against him; why had so many bad things happened to him recently?


    First it was Tears in the Wind, then it was this NPC. Why would an NPC follow an adventurer?


    "What do you want?" Lu Li asked helplessly.


    He didn''t think that this NPC was malicious ¨C otherwise, he would have already been killed when he left the city yesterday.


    However, this was definitely a level 50 Boss NPC, who could track him without being detected. Not only did Lu Li have a powerful Stealth effect, but he also had high Detection.


    "You keep looking like you''re going to eat me; I just wanted to ask a favor," the Gnome Thief joked. Unfortunately, he had no sense of humor, so his jokes weren''t funny at all.


    A level 50 Thief Boss wanted to ask a favor?


    Everything that Lu Li knew this Gnome probably knew as well. Regardless of whether he was willing, Lu Li didn''t think he had the ability to help.


    "This is what happened ¨C I saved a guy a few days ago¡­"


    Lu Li quickly understood what this quest was; it had been triggered because they had adopted orphans for the first time. The timeline was a little distorted, but this story was set in the year that Gnomeregan fell. The Thief that was before him was named Haggle and he was part of the rescue team.


    He had given Lu Li a very simple quest ¨C to teach one of the children that he rescued a Thief Skill.


    "After following you into the orphanage, I see that you are very good with children. I don''t get along with children very well," Haggle sighed sadly, "So please don''t decline my request."


    "How absurd, this NPC is actually asking for the player to teach a skill," Lu Li thought to himself, feeling that he must have heard wrongly.


    He also accidentally mumbled what he was thinking aloud, including a taboo word like ''NPC''. Fortunately, the other Gnome didn''t seem to be bothered what Lu Li said.


    The phrase NPC was one that was used by the players often, but was considered highly offensive to those Indigenous to Azeroth. Some would even attack the players over it.

 960 Young Apprentice

    "I believe you can teach her; she is still a child," Haggle said with a grin. "Come with me. I hope you don''t mind, but it''s a bit far from here."


    It was indeed quite far; Lu Li followed Haggle straight into Ironforge.


    When he saw the so-called child, he saw she was a young Gnome who was no more than ten years old. She was like the smaller version of Remnant Dream after she had taken the Noggenfogger Elixir.


    After seeing this child, Lu Li vowed to never call Remnant Dream a dwarf again.


    "This is Shoni; isn''t she cute?" Haggle introduced as he squatted down and patted the little Gnome before pointing to Lu Li and whispering, "I found an elf to teach you."


    "But I want to be with my brother," Shoni whined. She was obviously the unwilling participant in this agreement.


    However, even if she was unwilling, what could she do? Adults generally didn''t take the opinions of their children seriously and Haggle still had other things to do.


    Lu Li was completely oblivious as to how he was going to teach this small Gnome NPC. He had no previous experience, no strategy and had never even heard of the quest. If Haggle wanted him to be a babysitter that would be fine, as he had been taking care of his sister all these years.


    But after thinking about it, he thought that it would be good for her to experience the dangers of the wild.


    There was almost no safety in the wilderness of Azeroth. Even the Moonlight Forest had monsters, and the Indigenous population had become accustomed to this situation.


    "Uncle, why don''t you have long ears?"


    "My ears are very long, but just not as long as you would imagine. The kind of ears you''re thinking of belong to a donkey¡­"


    "Uncle Elf, do you sleep on trees?"


    "Occasionally, but I think beds are more comfortable. There are snakes on the trees, and they might want to get close to you if you sleep on them."


    "Uncle¡­"


    "Do I look old to you? I saw you calling Haggle big brother before."


    "It''s not the same; I will marry big bro Haggle in future. If I wanted to be as tall as you are, it would take at least a few hundred years."


    "Child, even if you lived to be thousands of years old, you will never be as tall as an elf."


    "Oh."


    "Let''s talk about big bro Haggle ¨C why do you want to marry him? He doesn''t seem that charismatic. You''re also still young; you shouldn''t be thinking about this kind of thing."


    "Big bro Haggle saved my life in the year when the Rockjaws suddenly appeared in Khaz Modan¡­"


    The Rockjaws were a barbaric race that were closely related to cavemen. Despite their low intelligence, they had an astonishingly cruel disposition.


    The Dwarves'' ancestors were forged by the Titans. In the history of Azeroth, the earliest earth spirits were mutated into Rockjaws, but this was a catastrophic failure. The Titans then sealed away the failed product, and set out to conduct a second experiment in Uldaman. The resulting creature eventually began the race of the Dwarves!


    The main burial site of the Rockjaws was located in the ancient Titan City of Uldaman in Khaz Modan.


    The Rockjaws were there in deep sleep for many years until the Dwarves began to explore Uldaman. The Dwarves dug too deep and woke up them from their slumber. One by one, the awakened Rockjaws swarmed out of the caves, spreading horror in the Dwarf Kingdom.


    One of the most powerful Dwarf Cities, Gnomeregan, was raided.


    Although the Gnomes there fought bravely to protect the city they loved, Gnomeregan fell.


    Most of the Gnomes were killed during the fall of Gnomeregan ¨C at least 80%. The few survivors fled to Ironforge, which was nearby. There, they set out to rebuild their army, heal their wounds and prepare to recapture the city that they had lost.


    This little Gnome was hidden in the dense sewer network of the city by her family at this time.


    The dry foods that they carried were quickly depleted and they were subject to panic, hunger and the cold. This was the first time for many of the children to have gone through such an experience.


    "During that time, Nipsy would tell us these stories. He said that he used to be a pirate and was called Captain Nipsy. He would set sail¡­"


    Lu Li couldn''t help but imagine the children who were helplessly stuck in the dark damp sewer.


    "Then, Haggle came and gave us meat to eat," the little gnome said happily. "Obviously, we had a lot of rat meat. Haggle was an expert at catching rats, and we ate a lot of rat meat¡­"


    Lu Li suddenly stopped hating this quest. Perhaps he wouldn''t be able to teach this child very well, but he hoped that he could at least make this child happy.


    "Haggle has saved many people, right?"


    Haggle wasn''t special just to her, which also meant that she couldn''t decide her marriage based on that fact. Because this girl was like a sister to Lu Li, he felt like it was unwise to fall in love so soon.


    "Haggle comes to see me every few months, and always seems to be covered in radiated dust. I guess that he is recusing more Gnomeregan people and probably went through a great battle. When he does see me, he brings me more rat meat."


    Well, at least Lu Li now knew not to say anything bad about Haggle behind his back, but he keenly caught a phrase that she had said.


    "Did you said radiated dust?"


    "Yep!" The little gnome''s expression didn''t seem to match up with her age. She clenched her fist as she vowed, "I want to go back to Gnomeregan with Haggle to save our people one day."


    "Nonsense, that''s not a good idea. Shoni, do you think Gnomeregan is a place you can get to easily?" Lu Li asked as his face sank.


    At the time that Gnomeregan was about to fall, a great tinker named McNeill Thermaplugg used a special bomb to destroy the overwhelming Rockjaws.


    When the bomb exploded, it spread a lot of radiation. Not only did it kill countless Rockjaws, but it also turned many Gnomes into Leper Gnomes.


    "Waaah! I am worried about Haggle; he will definitely become a Leper Gnome," Shoni cried while holding her face. She might have been na?ve, but her fate had given her an understanding of many things.


    "You have to learn the Thief''s abilities first if you want to go to Gnomeregan to help Haggle. Shoni, are you willing to train for it?" Lu Li sighed.


    "Of course," the little Gnome said as she wiped off her tears and forced herself to stop sobbing, then stared at Lu Li with her eyes wide open.


    Lu Li found that his game interface had changed, and most of his skills had changed too.

 961 Lu Li The Good Teacher

    "Do you see that wild boar? Go and kill it," Lu Li said as he pointed at a level 5 monster in the distance.


    "I¡­I¡­" The little Gnome hadn''t done any training, so asking her to fight anything that was bigger than her was overwhelming. Other than rats, almost any other monster would be bigger than her, but her heart was obviously afraid.


    "Do you not want to go to Gnomeregan?"


    "Yaaaa!" the little Gnome yelled as she raised her two small daggers and ran towards the black wild boar with her eyes closed.


    She stuck her daggers into the back of the wild boar, which penetrated its skin, but was not fatal. This passive wild boar that had been attacked now turned around and began violently charging at Shoni. She had failed to pull out her daggers in time and was knocked down.


    When she got up, she saw that the wild boar was stamping its feet as it bulldozed towards her.


    The little Gnome could only stare in complete shock; she didn''t know how to attack it or avoid this attack.


    Fortunately, an arrow flew into the boar''s neck and nailed it to the ground.


    The little gnome licked her mouth and tried not to cry. When she turned her head, she saw Lu Li holding the bow. It was his arrow that had saved her from the wild boar''s mouth. From this moment onwards, she felt that Lu Li was also quite powerful.


    "If the wild boar is too difficult to kill, then try that deer over there."


    The deer was also a passive monster, so she didn''t have to worry about missing, and it was also at level 1.


    It wasn''t that Lu Li didn''t want to teach her any skills, but he wanted her to experience what it was like to kill monsters without regular attacks.


    "But this deer is so cute¡­" Shoni began, finding this difficult too.


    "Think about Gnomeregan¡­" Lu Li said manipulatively.


    "Ahh¡­" Shoni gripped her daggers again and screamed as she ran towards the harmless deer.


    She had said that she liked using hammers, as this was Haggle''s weapon of choice. However, Lu Li quickly vetoed that decision because he couldn''t teach a Thief to use a hammer. Moreover, the size of the little Gnome made her unsuited to wield one.


    The dagger that cut into the deer left a bloody mark.


    The deer''s HP was very low, but Shoni still couldn''t kill it in one attack. It used its antlers to topple the little Gnome, who fell onto the ground once again.


    "Get up and attack; don''t forget about Gnomeregan," Lu Li reminded her again.


    Shoni was just about to start crying as the pain and frustration was getting to her; she was also famous for crying back in her hometown. However, when she heard Lu Li say this, she decisively stopped herself.


    She bit her teeth and quickly attacked the injured deer, inserting her tagger into its neck. The level 1 monster twitched a few more times and finally stopped moving.


    "Beautiful. You will become a great warrior," Lu Li praised. He knew how to build up confidence in children too.


    "Assassin, I will become a great assassin," the little gnome sobbed, but was refilled with a new confidence. After failing one time, she had finally managed to kill her prey.


    Lu Li showed neither approval nor disapproval towards his apprentice and began to teach her skills. To progress in order, he first taught her to go into Stealth and Shadowstrike. This was almost exactly in the order that a player would learn these skills.


    When the little gnome tried to use Stealth, Lu Li looked at his EXP panel.


    He hadn''t noticed it before, but the System had prompted that he had received EXP. It was from the level 5 Boar and the level 1 Deer ¨C somehow, even those monsters had given him a EXP.


    It was quite a bit of EXP as well, almost as if he had killed a level 45 monster.


    Perhaps this was part of the quest reward. Lu Li was very happy with this outcome, as he thought he was wasting time by completing this quest.


    Not only did he gain EXP, but killing these two monsters also increased his Reputation by a slight amount.


    This quest¡­


    Was really good!


    The intensity of Lu Li''s teaching quickly increased. He first taught to little gnome how to go into Stealth, then taught her how to attack her target from behind.


    Although she was an NPC, she learned a few tips and tricks from Lu Li. For example, attacking a target from behind would deal more damage, and she would more likely be discovered if her target was higher-levelled than her.


    After killing a few dozen monsters, the little Gnome finally reached level 1.


    The level wasn''t that important, but her self-confidence grew as she killed more monsters.


    "You have a brave heart, so why did you stop in the middle of the fight? Was it because you thought you would die if you didn''t run away? Could you really have outran the wolf?" Lu Li had already taken her to kill a level 3 wolf.


    "But¡­" the little gnome still had a lingering fear.


    "You have to be faster and more ruthless than your target to live. Once the battle begins, escape is your last resort, even as an assassin," Lu Li explained, teaching her his own style.


    He very earnestly taught his apprentice and held nothing back.


    If his apprentice was a player, he would be worried that she would overtake him. However, since this was an NPC, he had no conflict of interest.


    Even so, Lu Li didn''t know who he was really training. This little NPC would later form the backbone of the Gnome revival as the Silent Shoni. She would restart another war for Gnomeregan in future and rid the city of the Rockjaws.


    If Lu Li hadn''t been reborn, she would have been the apprentice of Wood Fearing from Gods of Dusk. They would have been the first in the game to build a player-led orphanage a few months later.


    The little Thief would have learned to be calm and calculated from Wood Fearing, but now Lu Li was teaching her to be cunning and ruthless.


    Unknowingly, Lu Li had reversed this NPC''s fate.


    According to Wood Fearing''s teachings, Shoni''s current path would lead to tragedy. This was similar to Wood Fearing''s own experience. He could have been much better off, but he was an old-fashioned man. He rejected countless invitations and insisted on staying with Gods of Dusk, a guild that was going downhill.


    However, Lu Li was different. He was very realistic, cunning and would be willing to fight hard when appropriate.


    "Teacher, why do the monsters always know I''m there?" the little Gnome asked.


    Lu Li didn''t tell her it was because the monsters were higher-levelled than her, and made up a lie. "Because you are not good enough yet; you can do better. Keep working hard and think about your people in Gnomeregan who are still in the sewers."

 962 Taking The Little Apprentice Into An Instance Dungeon

    Because of Genomeregan, the little gnome pushed on no matter how difficult it was.


    Her efforts were not like that of a child.


    A country being destoryed tended to force their people to mature ahead of time. Lu Li listened as she constantly muttered the word Gnomeregan before helplessly sighing, "Shoni, take a break. We have to find the next set of monsters."


    Shoni was levelling up very quickly and would soon be at level 5.


    Lu Li didn''t know if the NPC could be brought into an Instance Dungeon. Otherwise, the Spider''s Nest would be an excellent option to continue levelling.


    It was not only a good place for the little Gnome, but also for Lu Li. The EXP he was gaining was still lower than if he trained himself, but the prestige he gained from each monster was unlike anything else.


    Before taking her to the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li had to prepare her.


    The monsters in the Instance Dungeon were much stronger than those in the wild and they were going to face Bosses. If Lu Li didn''t take care, Shoni might actually die. This was especially bad because NPCs couldn''t be revived.


    The first thing to take care of was her weapon. Lu Li wasn''t sure if it was because she was his apprentice, but she could now use player equipment.


    Lu Li scoured the Exchange Hall for a while and found two level 5 Steel Weapons.


    It''s not that he didn''t want to buy some Silver items, but they were now impossible to find. When they were at level 5, they were still using Common items.


    Lu Li continued to look for other equipment, and gave the ones he found to her. According to his teachings, a Thief needed to be very familiar with their weapons. They had to know their weight, length, cutting edge and even their shimmer.


    Shoni was very pleased with her new weapons.


    As an ally of the Dwarves, the Gnomes had some proficiency in Crafting though they were not nearly as skilled.


    While he was searching for leather clothing, Lu Li surprisingly found a level 5 Silver leather armor.


    This Armor provided ample Defense and, more importantly, it came with good damage reduction effects. As long as it was used well, Shoni wouldn''t be one-shot, even if she was attacked by the Boss. If Lu Li was there with her, then there was no chance that any monster would have a second chance to attack to finish her off.


    However, the price was a little high; it was actually listed for 20 gold coins. The seller was either crazy or was out to trick someone.


    Lu Li bought it anyway without hesitation; this was the benefit of not having to worry about money.


    After wearing her new clothes, the little Gnome was even happier. For a short time, she even forgot about Gnomeregan and reverted back to being a child.


    Her Steel Grade Hat was 2 gold, the Steel Grade Bracers were 1.3 gold¡­


    Lu Li had spent quite a bit of money to purchase the whole set, which was far more than most players had at level 5. Even the 20 gold item alone would have brought a significant amount of attention.


    After all, even Tycoons who wanted exquisite equipment wouldn''t spend overspend by so much.


    At their current levels and given their matching professions, clearing the Spider Nest at Nightmare Difficulty wouldn''t be too difficult. They just needed to have strong weapons so that the Instance Dungeon could be farmed efficiently.


    Lu Li even found a Ring and Necklace for the little Gnome.


    This cost was not going to be easy to recover ¨C even level 50 quests didn''t reward more than a dozen gold coins at a time and it was doubtful that they would find any good equipment.


    "Let''s go. I''ll take you into an Instance Dungeon," Lu Li said as he led Shoni away with a beaming expression.


    "But I haven''t become an adult yet, right?"


    "Of course you have; you''re doing well!"


    "No, what are you thinking of? I mean I am still not an adult and I can''t choose a combat career."


    The adulthood that she was referring to was part of the rules in the game. According to the rules, children under the age of 14 couldn''t choose a combat profession, and while under the age of 12 couldn''t even choose Trade profession.


    Although the players who had first entered the Novice Village had long since left, the Novice Village was still very lively. Even more so than when Lu Li entered the game.


    The combination of Lu Li and Shoni attracted a lot of attention. Lu Li hadn''t taken off his bandana, but even though the other players didn''t know who he was, they still followed him around.


    Lu Li took the small Gnome out of the safe area and watched as she chased some monsters in the mountains.


    Once she began slacking off, he would whisper ''Gnomeregan'' to her, which would refresh her attitude. This ensured that Lu Li was also consistently gaining EXP and prestige.


    Right now, it was just like training a pet as he was just idling and watching.


    However, as they slowly approached the spider''s lair, Lu Li was surrounded before he could even react.


    Lu Li was already nervous and was just about lash out to kill them all. Fortunately, he quickly understood what these players wanted and resisted the urge.


    "Sorry, I won''t be taking anyone," Lu Li apologized as he held onto the little Gnome and quickly sped up, leaving behind a group of players watching and crying out to him.


    It was rare that a strong player would come to do this Instance Dungeon, because it wouldn''t give them any EXP.


    The market was in short supply, so the appearance of Lu Li had likely caused the group to gather there. Moreover, he only had one person with him, so there were three other positions to be filled.


    However, they were all left speechless when they discovered that he wouldn''t even take one of them.


    Didn''t he know that going into an Instance Dungeon with a full party granted a bonus?


    Of course Lu Li knew, but he just didn''t want to reveal his secrets. He just preferred not to take anyone else.


    Since the last System update, advanced players could enter low-level Instance Dungeons. Lu Li let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the little Gnome had followed him.


    Shoni entered the black hold that was the spider''s nest with some fear, but after hearing Lu Li''s voice, she remembered that her master with her.


    "Wait, I will pull the monsters first so you can fight them one at a time. Okay?" Lu Li asked as he patted the little Gnome''s head.


    Although there were only two monsters, Lu Li still couldn''t let her take any risks. He had borrowed a Ring from Azure Sea Breeze that had mediocre attributes, but a low cooldown Aggro-generating skill. This way, he could easily attract the monsters onto himself.


    Of course, Lu Li didn''t always pull the monsters for the Gnome. His goal was to train her fighting ability after all.


    Only the aggro of the spider was taken by Lu Li; he hadn''t actually dealt any damage to them. As such, when Shoni attacked one of them, it turned around to start fighting her.


    So Lu Li, while continuing to pull the other spider, began to teach her more fighting techniques.

 963 The Real Trainer

    Lu Li didn''t forget to help the little Gnome wash her dagger under the bridge to increase her damage to the spiders.


    They quickly arrived in front of the first spider Boss.


    "This monster is dangerous; are you sure you want to fight against it?" Lu Li asked with a serious look as he bent down in front of the little Gnome.


    If he was teaching a player, he would have just tossed them in front of the Boss. However, this little Gnome was an NPC and would disappear forever if she died.


    Even so, Lu Li couldn''t have her battle against monsters nonstop, or else she would never get better.


    As such, he had to gather his trainee''s opinions first.


    "I...I''m not afraid of it," the little Gnome said as she lifted her head with a determined expression.


    "Alright, I''ll protect you, but you have to understand, I can''t protect you forever," Lu Li nodded, suggesting her to go ahead.


    If his little trainee didn''t take up the challenge, he wouldn''t be too disappointed either, but he probably wouldn''t put as much effort into teaching her.


    This time, Lu Li didn''t help her pull monsters. He was curious as to what she could accomplish.


    Lu Li had already taught her a few skills ¨C Stealth, Cheap Shot, Backstab, Backhand Backstab, and another skill that a level five player wouldn''t have been able to learn ¨C Gale Steps.


    She approached in Stealth mode but was caught early.


    Lu Li found that the little Gnome had a good mentality, most likely because she had already been through a lot since she was a child. She didn''t panic because she was in danger.


    Shoni dug her dagger into the lower jaw of the spider and dealt a critical hit. She even managed to roll away and dodge a retaliation at the perfect timing.


    This was a move that she had picked up from fighting those elite spiders.


    The lower jaw of a spider was their weak spot. This weak spot not only allowed the attacker to deal a Critical strike, but also slowed the movements of the spider. That way, she had more time to dodge the next attack.


    As someone who had reincarnated, how could Lu Li not know this?


    It wasn''t that he didn''t know, but that he was physically unable to use this to his advantage. As a Night Elf, he was too tall. Even if he bent down, it would be hard for him to reach the lower jaw of the spider; only a Gnome would have the ability to od this.


    Lu Li had constantly been keeping tabs on the situation.


    When the little Gnome was low on health, he would step in front of her and use a Taunt on the spider Boss. No matter how unimpressed the spider Boss was, it still had to turn around and bite Lu Li.


    Lu Li just stood there and let the comically weak spider attack him. He waited until the little Gnome''s health recovered and then proceeded to let her attack. By this point, the spider Boss had also recovered a good amount of health that it had lost.


    In terms of dungeon completion rate, this wasn''t even worth mentioning. Fortunately, Shoni improved rapidly which somewhat compensated for Lu Li''s time.


    They took some time to finally defeat the monster, and the little Gnome immediately leveled up after.


    Lu LI also received a good amount of Experience and Reputation. His Experience bar actually moved ¨C about 1.2%.


    The amount of Experience and Reputation that he had gained truly shocked Lu Li.


    "Teacher, why are you looking at me? It''s kind of scary," Shoni asked as she looked at Lu Li, frightened.


    "Hmph, alright, let''s get going. We''re going to train even harder. This time, you''ll have to deal with two spiders at once," Lu Li said more passionately. He even wanted to help little Gnome kill the monsters himself. Unfortunately, the System wouldn''t be taking any of this. Even if he left some health for Shoni to take the last hit, it wouldn''t work.


    The most he could do was to help her pull monsters.


    For the sake of efficiency, he contacted Shen Wansan so that he could find some exquisite, low level Thief equipment, especially pieces that could regenerate health. That way, Shoni wouldn''t have to run and regain health at the same time.


    It was a shame that Pamela''s Gift was a level 30 necklace, or else he would even take it off for his trainee.


    Shoni levelled up faster than a regular player, possibly because this was a quest. Either way, after they left the dungeon, she had already reached level 10 while Lu Li received around 5% experience ¨C an amount that he wouldn''t be able to gain without two hours of hard work.


    It was actually quite efficient for him to tag along with his trainee too.


    Not to mention, there was also a huge sum of Reputation for him on the side. Lu Li felt like if things continued at this rate, he would probably be the only player in Dawn who didn''t need to worry about his Reputation at all. At least, he had enough Reputation now to learn <empowerment: shadowstrike="">.


    Since his little trainee was doing so much for him, Lu Li grit his teeth as he pulled something out from his bag.


    Darkmoon Card: Void (Special): Instant Use. Has a 50% chance of Revive. Upon a successful Revive, HP and Mana regen increased by 20%, EXP gain increased by -5%-10%. Number of uses remaining: 4/5. Effective when item is placed in backpack. Equipment requirement: Level 10.


    He had kept this item in his bag for a long time already, but had barely used it.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t need it, but that he couldn''t bring himself to waste it at all. The Darkmoon Card series wasn''t something easy to obtain and Void cards were something that most players had barely even heard of. Unless if he really needed to revive on the spot, he would usually just climb up himself.


    If his Legendary dagger dropped, he could instantly revive on the spot to pick it up. The value of this item was too great.


    However, right now, he needed to ensure the safety of the little Gnome. The little Gnome was bringing him too many benefits, and long term wise, this seemed like a good trade.


    "Try it. See if you can use it," Lu Li said.


    "Wow, what a pretty card! Isn''t this the work of Mr. Silas? Of course I can use it!"


    The little Gnome grabbed the card in surprise and fell in love at first touch.


    "You know where this card came from?" Lu Li asked in surprise.


    "Of course! Silas Darkmoon is a Gnome. He''s a gentleman who loved peace with great passion. Unfortunately, he is always traveling around with his circus and rarely returns to where our people gather," the little Gnome explained. She seemed to have some personal admiration for this character.


    Lu Li had no comment for this.


    He had travelled to Darkmoon Island in his previous life and did not have a good impression of it. Lu Li also questioned the statement about how Silas Darkmoon loved peace.


    This was because the Darkmoon Island was enveloped by mist and mystery. From the moment you arrived on the island, all the dark and dense corners would send shivers down your spine. It was as if the fearsome trees either side of the road were extending their claws towards you. The purple-black atmosphere was thick and condensed, as if it wouldn''t ever disperse.


    In the center of the road, ravens, which were usually a sign of bad luck, were caught by surprise and all burst into the air in shock. You would find it hard to understand why a circus would purchase a plot of land like this for their show.


    The front door of the Darkmoon Island also shared a similar style to the Twilight Hammer''s eyes.


    Along with the dark shroud that constantly covered the island like a cape and the purple flames that burned in the torches, it was hard for people not to question the place. As a player who was passionate about studying the background lore of the game, Lu Li''s instincts told him that the Darkmoon Circus and its Boss, Silas Darkmoon, were bound to make a big move sooner or later.


    </empowerment:>

 964 Rockjaw Hive

    Even though Lu Li was a bit jealous of Shoni''s admiration towards Silas, he didn''t try to correct her impressions either.


    By the time his gaming time reached its daily end, the little Gnome had already leveled up to level 23 and Lu Li had gained 15% Experience in total. He had also obtained enough Reputation for him to learn another Empowerment skill.


    Then, Haggle appeared.


    "Thank you, Mr. Elf. Shoni has received detailed and generous teachings from you."


    It seemed like Haggle had been watching from the side for a bit and had already understood what the little Gnome was capable of. She was better than he had expected.


    "You flatter me; Shoni is a talented one," Lu Li said anxiously. He was just starting to have fun ¨C was the quest already over?


    "We''ll have to trouble you more in the future for Shoni''s to learn from you. This is the reward for today. Hopefully, it''ll be enough."


    Fortunately, neither of these two Gnomes were the type to use Lu Li and toss him away after. As soon as Lu Li heard that he had to be troubled, he almost followed up with the reply, "Come as often as you like ¨C it''s no trouble at all."


    The reward was a level 45 Gold Dagger with decent Attributes, but it was still a little far off compared to Lu Li''s Shard of the Defiler, let alone the legendary weapon in his main hand, the Widowmaker. Hence, this weapon could only be tossed into the guild storage.


    Then, there was a skill book ¨C Distract: Throws a distraction, attracting the attention of all nearby monsters for 10 seconds. Usable while Stealthed.


    Haggle had been a scout for a long time in Gnomeregan, so he was very familiar with his Distract skill. This probably explained why Lu Li received this skill book as a reward. It was quite far off from the Empowerment skill book that Lu Li had imagined.


    However, Lu Li knew that Empowerment skill books weren''t easy to obtain in the first place, so he wasn''t too disappointed.


    He had received other things too, like Experience and Reputation. Lu Li''s Experience bar had increased to 30% on level 49. He probably had a chance to reach level 50 within a week. However, because this section of the quest had already reached its conclusion, he probably wouldn''t receive an Experience reward in the future.


    "Wait, can I trouble you with one more request?" Haggle asked shyly.


    "Let me know if you need anything," Lu Li said without the slightest bit of hesitation. As long as he was given rewards, he would do anything.


    It was too hard to find an NPC like Haggle who gave quests on their own. Not to mention, all the quests that he gave were of a high quality.


    "I killed a Rockjaw a few days ago and obtained an underground map. It might be the gathering ground of Rockjaws, but I am too weak to go in alone. I want to find some helpers to explore the area. Would you happen to be interested?" Haggle didn''t feel like he was handing out a quest; there was no arrogance in his tone.


    "Glad to be of service. May I ask, how many have you found already for the team?" Lu Li asked.


    "Although I''m still unsure what dangers may lie ahead, I feel like it would be safer with greater numbers. I''ll try to find more people as soon as possible. I''ll let you know when I find them," Haggle said.


    After he heard that, Lu Li knew that this was no simple quest.


    There was no way an NPC would send a pack of players to a beginner''s village to kill one or two newbie monsters. There was an unspoken rule in Dawn ¨C a quest that required more players or higher-level players would be more challenging. Of course, the reward would also be better too.


    "I have a suggestion," Lu Li said, stopping Haggle.


    "Elf, I''m aware of your capabilities. Just tell me; there''s no need to hold anything back."


    "I have some friends. Although they''re not as strong as I am, they''re no weaklings either. If you agree, I''ll have my friends help us clear this area. The Rockjaws should receive what they deserve," Lu Li explained, stating his intentions clearly.


    "The underground passage is very dangerous. If they''re too weak, I might not be able to protect you guys," Haggle said. He didn''t want to lead Lu Li into a trap.


    "That''s okay; they''re all brave adventurers. For them, death is no final destination."


    What he meant was that his comrades were players. They could revive again after they died, so there was no need to worry about it.


    Haggle hesitated for a moment. It seemed like he wasn''t coded for such a situation, but he soon reached a conclusion.


    "Alright, you can come again tomorrow morning to find me. Bring your friends too."


    Fortunately, Lu Li and the others didn''t have to compete tomorrow.


    In the morning, Lu Li had already grouped his selected members and brought them to find Haggle.


    "Are you joking with me, Elf? I cannot believe you''re such a arrogant person."


    Haggle had seen who Lu Li brought along with him. Not only did he show an expression of disappointment, but he was also enraged, as if Lu Li had fooled him.


    He had already repeatedly mentioned the difficulty of this task yesterday, but Lu Li had brought a strange team with him instead.


    Besides Lu Li, there were also three Thieves, two Druids and one Warlock. Including himself, that would be a total of seven players.


    Did this Elf think that Rockjaws were as easy to kill as wild boars?


    Haggle was a Thief who walked alongside death all day, but there was no way he would be willing to explore an unknown area with such a group of unreliable team members.


    "My friend, don''t be so quick to judge," Lu Li said, then explained himself with composure, "I''ve always thought that Gnomes were a race of knowledge."


    With a slight hint of spitefulness in his tone, this was more useful than anything else to make Haggle calm down. He began to find excuses for Lu Li''s team composition. If Lu Li wasn''t being arrogant, or if it wasn''t because Lu Li had trouble finding players, then what made him think that he would be able to explore the zone with this small amount of people?


    Based on the map, Haggle knew that the end goal wasn''t the main base of the Rockjaws. It was at the very most a small tribe.


    However, since it was a tribe, there would at least be one Boss and thousands upon millions of tribe members. Based on the habits of Rockjaws, they would have to destroy all of them within a day too. Or else, the constant reinforcements would eventually kill them.


    "Warlock¡­" Haggle had seen a lot indeed. He thought for a moment before resting his gaze on Sesame Rice Ball.


    "That''s right ¨C we just need to escort him to the destination. Then, we can open a portal and thousands of reinforcements will follow. Do you still find me arrogant?" Lu Li asked with a smile.

 965 Underground World

    This time, Lu Li brought with him Scarlet New Moon, Cain''s Left Hand, Bai Renyou. This was a total of four Thieves, including himself. Other than them, there was Hachi Chan and I Love Big Boobs, who were both Druids. Along with Haggle, they were going to send Sesame Rice Ball down.


    As long as they didn''t run into strong opponents, they still had a shot at succeeding.


    They followed the lead of Haggle towards Gnomeregan. This city filled with the miracles of technology had long been the main city of Gnomes; its fall was a great loss for the entire race.


    "Everyone be careful; it''s under here. Try to avoid as many monsters as possible. I''ll try to keep a look out for you all," Haggle said as he sadly looked upon his own kind who had turned into lepers because of the radiation. He had some hope deep down that someday, salvation would come for them.


    Of course, Lu Li and the others had no reason to object; the only one they needed to look after was Sesame Rice Ball.


    The Invisibility Powder made through alchemy provided a certain amount of Stealth. At the very least, it didn''t make Sesame Rice Ball stand out too much to the monsters.


    Leper Gnomes and Rockjaws were both humanoid units. Leper Gnomes were Gnomes who had lost their rationality after the radiation, while the latter were the failed creation of Titans.


    This detail was important because of Sap, a Thief skill.


    Sap was a skill that could only be casted on humanoid monsters that were out of combat. The four Thieves paved the way ahead, while avoiding as many monsters as possible. Those that they could not avoid, they would Sap and continue on by.


    They soon reached the entrance, which was dark and isolated.


    "I''ve studied this place a few times and I''ve seen some Blackback Rockjaws return here. We should be able to find their hive based on the directions given by this map."


    It seemed like this wasn''t the first time Haggle had come exploring here. He might have even already searched the area by himself before.


    "What if we go in and run straight into the big base of the Rockjaws?" I Love Big Boobs was the captain of the Druid team in the guild, and was one of the first to enter the guild when it was first founded. Even though it seemed weak for him to be worried, everyone knew he had a point.


    "Don''t worry, their basement isn''t here," Haggle said calmly, but failed to hide his hateful gaze which revealed his real emotions.


    Because of the radiation, the Gnomes couldn''t even take back their city, let alone invade the Rockjaws.


    Lu Li patted his shoulder and said, "I believe the Gnomes will one day be able to reach their underground kingdom and wipe out their entire existence. Just don''t forget to thank us for our help at that time."


    Although the strength of the Gnomes wasn''t at its peak, they were still a powerful race. There was no harm in making friends with them.


    At the same time, participating in a war between two great forces was an easy way to obtain a bounty of rewards. Major guilds often liked participating in these types of storylines.


    Haggle led the way and the others followed him from behind into the cave.


    They could feel the obvious slope of the tunnel downwards. The bottom of the cave had been paved by the Rockjaws, so it was flat and easy to pass through.


    After around half an hour, the tunnel, which originally could only fit two people, began to expand. Judging from the geography of their surroundings, they were no longer located in an area that had been newly-developed.


    It seemed like the Rockjaws had spent a long time preparing for their attack on the surface.


    "Be careful. Prepare yourselves for battle at any time. I''ll walk at the front; you guys protect the Warlock. Speed up and make sure to not drop off the team," Haggle instructed in a serious tone. They had finally begun to reach the underground world.


    There was barely any light in the underground world, and many of the monster down here had already lost their vision.


    Instead, they had developed their listening, smell and ability to detect changes in temperature. This easily allowed them to detect any intruders.


    Lu Li and the others could navigate their way through glowing algae and minerals. He had a torch with him in his bag, but it was obvious that this wasn''t the right time to use it, as it would expose their location.


    Fortunately, Haggle was a very experienced Scout. Lu Li and the others just had to follow behind.


    "Pssstttt..."


    A splash of venom shot over onto Sesame Rice Ball. He paused for a bit and quickly started drinking antidotes and health potions.


    Lu Li looked towards the source of the venom and saw a giant head coldly staring at Rice Ball. The monster drooled; it wasn''t difficult to tell that it was hungry.


    "Ice Lizard! Let''s all go; quickly finish it!" Haggle shouted and charged on ahead.


    Lu Li and the others didn''t dare fall behind. Even though Haggle was still following them, they weren''t in a party with the NPC. As such, there was no guarantee that Lu Li and the others would get a share of what Haggle killed.


    These units that hid in the dark were similar to Thieves, and could only be detected when they attacked.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, he has heard that there were many Thieves who liked to visit the underground world. This was because the monsters here were capable of teaching them Stealth techniques.


    After the Ice Lizard attacked, it found that it was surrounded by a group of Thieves. It had finally sen some food, but it turned out to be a trap.


    Hence, it tried to escape even before its health dropped halfway.


    "Stop it, these monsters are good at hiding and tracking. They also live together in groups of hundreds and often seek revenge."


    It seemed like Haggle had dealt with these monsters before.


    As soon as they heard about the number of these monsters, Lu Li and the others hastened their pace. Having four Thieves, two Druids and a Warlock with a strong NPC on top, it didn''t take them long to take down the Ice Lizard. They obtained some materials from it ¨C a Dark Iron Ore and an Ice Flower.


    I Love Boobs was skilled in Skinning, and couldn''t resist himself from skinning such a rare specimen.


    The hide was definitely valuable, especially considering that it came with Attributes. The specialty of this skin was that when it was turned into an equipment, there was a certain chance that the equipment would have bonus Ice Defense or Ice Attack attributes.


    "Why are we running into monsters of such a high-level right at the start?" Cain''s Left Hand asked in a low voice.


    If all the monsters were level 52, didn''t that mean that they would be facing a Boss that was at least level 55? A level 55 wild Boss definitely wouldn''t be a piece of cake.

 966 Three Bosses

    "Don''t worry ¨C Rockjaws aren''t that powerful," Haggle said with a calm expression.


    "But don''t the books say that Rockjaws are the bosses of the underground world?"


    I Love Big Boobs didn''t quite understand, and the others were also lost.


    "The combat power of an individual cannot decide the overall rank of the whole species. The underground world looks at the overall strength of a race. These Ice Lizards are just food for the Rockjaws. You guys can grab some too; their meat is quite tasty," Haggle explained.


    These kind of quests were quite the opportunity for Ruling Sword. This was an unexplored map, and they might even have to take down a Wild Boss that no one else had touched before.


    However, this didn''t mean that the quest this time came without risks. The most direct risk was that the Boss would be too powerful. If it wiped all of them out, they would have gained nothing. Just the Experience alone would be a major loss for Ruling Sword.


    "Keep outputting damage. Be careful," Lu Li''s reminded. His expression was grim, but at least he remained calm.


    It wasn''t that he believed Haggle, but more of the fact that he trusted the System not to design a quest that could not be completed. After they walked a little further, the geography had changed greatly. Ot no longer seemed like a closed-up tunnel. If it wasn''t for the fact that they walked all this distance, Lu Li and the others would have thought that they had arrived in a brand new world.


    There was a giant tree that radiated a faint light which made the empty underground world seem less dark.


    In the distance, they heard screams and roars. Within the soft glow, Lu Li could even see a dog-like creature being eaten by a Python-like monster.


    "Fan formation; look out for high leveled monsters. Druids and Warlocks can walk in the middle," Lu Li instructed.


    Although Haggle was still at the front, there were also two Thieves on either side to help him. If they ran into a monster that was difficult to kill, they could bait it away. This way the Druids and the Warlocks wouldremain protected in the center.


    All the Thieves were master players in Ruling Sword; they had already trained their techniques in all sorts of environment.


    However, exploring the underground was a first for them too. The twist of the path made Stealth even harder, and the weak light source hamstrung their Detection ability. If it wasn''t for the fact that they had a high-leveled Scout like Haggle, they probably would have run right into a hive of some insect monster.


    Insect monsters were one of the scariest types in the underground world. No matter how weak they seemed, they were still led by the Ancient Gods and were beyond the ability of the current Ruling Sword.


    It was quite common for elite monsters around level 50 to appear.


    If the target looked weak, the team would pounce on it. Otherwise, Lu Li and the others would send out a Thief to direct the monster away.


    Monsters were monsters after all ¨C they weren''t smart enough to see through all of these tricks.


    The only accident that occurred was caused by Bai Renyou, when he tried to distract a Dark Wasp. He accidentally entered the aggression range of other Dark Wasps. Although he did manage to make it out of the swarm, he was afflicted with poison and died before he even got the chance to reach help.


    The usefulness of the Druids then came in; they could revive dead team members anytime.


    There were a lot of monsters underground which dealt Posion damage. Lu Li didn''t want to risk anything yet for this area before they developed better antidotes.


    At the same time, this also meant that once you solved the poison issue, this would be a leveling-heaven here since all the monsters had low Defense but rewarded high Experience.


    "There were a lot of Rockjaw tracks last time I visited this area. Looks like we''re getting close to them." After wandering around for what seemed like an eternity, Haggle finally halted near a little hill.


    Lu Li and the others looked down from the hill and found the habitat of the Rockjaws.


    They were standing above a mine filled with strangely-shaped rocks. Further ahead was giant palace formed with minerals and teeming with Rockjaws.


    The palace had likely been built for Khaz''goroth. Although the Rockjaws and the Dwarves fought endlessly, they still originated from the same roots.


    "How many Rockjaws are in this tribe?" Lu Li asked after studying his surroundings. He believed that Haggle hated the Rockjaws and would have done more homework that he could imagine.


    "About thirty-thousand; the average monsters are level 50. Their aggression is chained together," Haggle answered.


    Thirty-thousand with chained aggression. Lu Li suddenly felt like he may have been baited by the NPC. He couldn''t help but keep asking, "How many Rockjaw Bosses are there, and about what level?"


    "Three bosses. I didn''t manage to detect their levels," Haggle replied, slightly embarrassed.


    "Level 50 monsters¡­The bosses should be around level 55. How do we do this?" Cain''s Left Hand asked, clearly worried. There were three capable main tanks in Ruling Sword. One was Azure Sea Breeze, the other was Global Friendship and the last one was God of Destiny.


    These three were the only tanks in Ruling Sword who could withstand the attacks of a level 50 Boss.


    Wild bosses were also slightly stronger than dungeon bosses, which meant that they were only three options. Once a tank died, all of them would wipe.


    A wipe in the Wild was beyond imaginable.


    "We need at least six main tanks, ones who can survive level 50 dungeon bosses without dying."


    After they had a discussion, they all reached the same disappointing conclusion.


    This was a big cake that they couldn''t eat.


    Lu Li began to think about backing out; he had to consider all the brothers in the guild.


    "It''s a shame to say that this was a quest that we can''t do at the moment. If you all don''t mind, how about we wait for about half a month?"


    This was the Wild ¨C they could lose money, experience and equipment.


    After about half a month, the level of most players would have increased. They would probably have a few more level 50 tanks by then and the level gap wouldn''t be so large anymore. With their new equips, they would have a far better shot at the Bosses.


    "Half a month¡­" Haggle began as he held his fist and shook his head immediately, "We probably can''t wait half a month. If you and your friends can''t take this place down, I''ll find some helpers from my race and do it ourselves."


    Lu Li and the others exchanged glances; this was a quest that couldn''t be delayed at all.


    "Hmph, why don''t we contact Drizzle Court and Water Fairy¡­Hmmm¡­everyone understands."


    I Love Big Boobs was just as his name suggested. None of his thoughts were proper, especially his coughs. It was hard to not take things the wrong way with his words.

 967 Working Together Again

    Although I Love Big Boobs was being annoying, there was some truth behind what he said.


    Lu Li and Square Root Three discussed with the higher ups in the guild about this and agreed. Sesame Rice Ball began summoning players via his teleportation skill while Lu Li contacted Water Fairy, who apparently had a thing with Lu Li.


    It was definitely beneficial for both parties to clear a new map together. There was no reason for Water Fairy to reject his offer because they had worked together before and she knew that Lu Li was fair in dividing up the loot.


    The First Clear obviously belonged to Ruling Sword, but Drizzle Court would be compensated with loot.


    Because of how high the Boss'' level was, Drizzle Court assigned their No.1 Druid Tank Deep Watersong as well as two or three other tanky classes as backup.


    The Warlock who had learned Summoning Portal was teleported by Sesame Rice Ball and they worked together to double the speed at which the players were summoned.


    Ruling Sword assigned three Elite groups and five quasi-Elite groups, while Drizzle Court sent out five Elite groups. The two parties added up to more than 1,300 players. This sort of large scale expedition wasn''t unheard of in the past and was becoming more and more common as the game continued to expand.


    In actuality, when a guild sent out a thousand players to defeat a wild boss, eight hundred of those players were there to guard the main party and secure the perimeters from enemy players.


    There were very few players who had yet to set foot in the Underworld. Even if they had the coordinates, it was difficult for them to find the cave and therefore, they wouldn''t be able to enter. As such, Lu Li wasn''t worried about other players stealing their kill and the players from each guild could all be put to use in the battle.


    The number of players were a lot more than Haggle expected, which boosted his confidence.


    "Linked Aggro does not mean that if you hit a monster, all the monster will immediately swarm towards you and attack you. Once we attack a monster, each player will be on the aggro list and the monsters will attack whomever they have the most aggro towards. In other words, there will be countless waves of monsters attacking us once we begin fighting," Lu Li explaind.


    When there was a large group of monsters, this limit usually applied.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure whether the Boss would join in on the fight right after they began. As such, he would prefer to allocate some time for his teammates to get in position. Lu Li gathered up the small group leaders and explained to them the procedures and positioning for each individual group.


    Three sets of Main Tank and Healers were first distributed to each group, after which the DPS classes were filled in.


    This was quite easy because DPS classes were allocated based on the Boss'' weakness. For example, Mages were assigned to low Magic Resistance bosses. If there was a need to reassign mid-fight, then that wouldn''t be a problem either.


    Since there were three Bosses, it would be impossible for Lu Li to coordinate all everyone in the fight if he was in the battle himself. Instead, he decided to oversee everything with Square Root Three from vantage point upon a small hill.


    Water Fairy also chose not to participate.


    "Begin!"


    As soon as the commander gave his orders, one of the Hunters shot an arrow towards the Rockjaw monster and pierced through its body, taking a small chunk from its HP bar.


    After this, the stats appeared before Lu Li.


    As expected of a Lv50 monster, it''s HP was absurdly high.


    The battle had officially begun and all the monsters stopped what they were doing as their eyes filled with bloodlust and vengeance. Without any instructions at all, they began to swarm towards the players.


    A shield-wielding Main Tank stood between his party members and the monsters. When they were close enough, the ranged classes began raining skills upon them.


    There were monsters that were instantly killed before they even reached the Main Tank. Their Defense and HP were like nothing under the heavy fire of the ranged players.


    Some monsters were using ranged skills, including the Shaman Priests who were throwing thunderbolts and enraging the Rockjaw Troggs with their magic.


    Based on the initial encounter, the players had the obvious advantage over the monsters.


    Their planned-out positioning and extremely defensive front lines gave them a massive advantage, causing the Rockjaws to scatter and fluster, not knowing what to do. The monsters at the back began circling in place because the area was too crowded and they couldn''t reach the players.


    Suddenly, a gigantic Rockjaw monster called O''Brien appeared and let out a furious, thundering roar.


    "Prepare for the Boss fight. Remnant Dream, use Misdirect on Deep Watersong," Lu Li calmly commanded as he glanced at the Boss.


    Since the Bosses did emerge as one unit, the game plan was simple. The main team would focus on the Boss while the rest would focus on clearing out the monsters.


    "Why not use Misdirect on Azure Sea Breeze?" Water Fairy was worried. Although she was confident in her Main Tank''s equipment, he was only Lv47 and would take a lot of damage.


    "Usually, the stronger Bosses appear later. I''ve got two Healing Paladins assigned to healing him, so as long as he doesn''t get insta-killed, he''ll be fine," Lu Li explained.


    "The Boss is level 55 though; are you sure about this?"


    Level 55 would be six levels above Lu Li and around seven to eight levels above everyone else. If the Boss was more than 10 levels higher, then Deep Watersong would stand no chance.


    However, the damage that the players dealt to O''Brien was still reduced. O''Brien smashed his hammer onto Deep Watersong, dealing Critical damage.


    "I don''t have any other choice. It''s what''s best for the mission," Lu Li said as he looked over towards Haggle. The Dwarf was actually dealing a considerable amount of damage and didn''t seem to draw away the aggro.


    Haggle was dealing around ten times the damage of the players, not including critical hits.


    "Is that the NPC that gave out the quest? What sort of quest is it that we need to clear out a Rockjaw Nest?" Water Fairy asked.


    Lu Li didn''t want to hide it from her and explained to her how the three girls had built an orphanage. The mission was a one-time opportunity and there wasn''t much point in explaining it from the beginning.


    Water Fairy thought about this and could not hide the disappointment in her face. However, Lu Li knew that she would sponsor them for their cause anyways.

 968 One Boss After Another

    With the help of Haggle, the first Boss quickly dropped to below 50% HP. Although the Boss managed to take down a few players with him, the Main Tanks and Healers were all going strong.


    At this very moment, O''Brien decided to call for backup.


    Another Rockjaw Monster appeared. This time, it was slightly smaller than the first, but it had a very unique body.


    The first Boss was like a rugged tradesman while this one was like a rich man.


    His weapon of choice was a seemingly expensive staff with a large jewel at the end of it. The rest of the staff was embroidered with various rare stones. He wore a stylish golden robe, unlike the other Rockjaws who had torn up rugs to cover themselves up with.


    His name was High Priest Rockjaw Elfin


    As soon as he appeared, a bright light shone from his staff and he immediately healed O''Brien for 20% of his HP. A few Thieves attempted to interrupt him with Kick, but their efforts were futile.


    Ruling Sword''s second tank was World''s Best Friend. His gear was on par with Azure Sea Breeze, but he was almost instantly killed.


    "Switch Aggro! God Of Destiny, go aggro O''Brien. Deep Watersong, go and draw the aggro of Elfin. World''s Best Friend, once you''re healed up go and take the aggro of O''Brien again."


    World''s Best Friend was more of a physical damage tank and would have no problem tanking O''Brien.


    After Lu Li''s orders were given, the DPS players who were attacking O''Brien stopped so that the Main Tanks had time to switch aggro. Deep Watersong was able to switch aggro onto High Priest Rockjaw Elfin while World''s Best Friend switched with God of Destiny.


    God of Destiny was better at pulling large amounts of weaker mobs, while Deepwater Song would have no problem tanking High Priest Elfin. However, he was currently more worried about the cooldown of the healing skill and how often he could use it.


    Additionally, he wasn''t sure whether they had to wait for the third Boss to spawn and kill all three at once.


    This was the Wild and there was no time for him to test this. He didn''t have knowledge of these Bosses from his past life, so he was making calls based on his own knowledge and instincts alone.


    The Strategy Unit from both guilds were in deep debate about how to approach these Bosses. They were frantically researching into the lore of these Rockjaw monsters, giving Lu Li a lot more information to work with.


    "Play safe. Healers, keep note of the HP of your members in your respective parties and minimize casualties. Azure Sea Breeze, prepare to tank the third Boss when it spawns," Lu Li instructed as he watched the HP of the two Bosses drop at the same rate and began preparing for the next Boss to come.


    If you factored out his overpowered and annoying healing skill, Elfin was actually easier than O''Brien to defeat.


    His attacks were very flashy, especially his Chain Lightning Skill that was able to reach even the ranged DPS classes who were standing very far away.


    Because the area of effect on his Chain Lightning was so large, it''s damage wasn''t as high. As such, there wasn''t a very high chance of Elfin insta-killing someone.


    However, because O''Brien was Lv55 and Enraged, the squishy melee classes were having trouble staying alive.


    There were quite a number of Druids with Resurrect that had come on this expedition, but there was no way they could save everyone that was dying. To avoid losing any more players, Lu Li was forced to reposition them, instructing more melee DPS classes to focus on High Priest Rockjaw Elfin or clear out the smaller mobs instead.


    There were more casualties at O''Brien, but the players in charge of clearing out the small mobs had the most pressure on them. There were thousands upon thousands of Lv50 mobs that were swarming towards them endlessly.


    "Bring some more people here!"


    Square Root Three immediately recommended some Elite members to provide some relief for their struggling teammates.


    Lu Li nodded and told the Warlocks to summon more people to this area.


    The rest of the gaming community knew about the commotion that Ruling Swords and Drizzle Court were making. They were aware that they had organized a large-scale expedition involving more than a thousand players, but they weren''t exactly sure what they were there for.


    The thought of two makpr Guilds working together to defeat something sparked a lot of curiosity from the rest of the gaming community. However, there was no way they were finding out unless they became members.


    It was very difficult to be accepted into a Major Guild. Drizzle Court, for example, had several sub-guilds under them because they had reached the limit.


    As for Ruling Sword, because of the end of year financial difficulties, Lu Li and Square Root Three agreed to limit new recruits for now.


    Lu Li would ignore the guild requests but Square Root Three still looked through them from time to time.


    Elfin suddenly casted an AoE ultimate Skill.


    "Druids cast Tranquility and healers, use your AoE heals to keep everyone alive. The third Boss will probably come out soon."


    Hachi Chan''s enhanced Tranquility was quite reassuring to the DPS players as it was extremely powerful.


    Lu Li was right; the Third Boss appeared when Elfin''s HP dropped below 50%.


    He was a stone man, like the statues of the Titans.


    The Third Boss had a much cooler entrance than the two previous Bosses. It jumped up into the air and landed right in the middle of the battlefield.


    However, Lu Li had underestimated the effects of this.


    Everyone in the vicinity was sent flying, including Azure Sea Breeze who was waiting to draw aggro.

 969 A Titan’s Statue

    Lu Li''s affirming voice managed to dissipate the panicked state that everyone was in.


    "There''s no need to panic; just do what you''re responsible for. Just use Taunt when you''re near the Boss when we''re on the defensive."


    The first and second Bosses were easier to fight against compared to this third Boss.


    They were not able to build up enough aggro in time, which meant that the third Boss'' aggro was all over the place. In other words, it was extremely chaotic. The Boss ran after the escaping players, brandishing his large mace which was enshrouded in lightning. He had the ability to instantly kill any non-Tank classes.


    This Boss looked similar to Khaz''goroth, who was a member of the Titan race. The sculptor Khaz''goroth had scorched, greenish-bronze skin and was also equipped with a large mace.


    Fortunately, this was not the original. This Boss could not even be compared to a mere Shade.


    It was most likely to be the resultant work of a group of Rockjaws who had been abandoned by their original owner. All in all, this statue had gained his own strength and was willing to use this strength to guard the other Rockjaws.


    Under Lu Li''s directions, the surrounding tanks understood that they were being used as cannon fodder. As such, they all decided to use their strongest Taunt skills against the Boss.


    The fruits of the labour had finally appeared. The Statue of Khaz''goroth stopped chasing after the non-tank classes and decided to focus on these mere mortals who had attracted his attention.


    These Tanks were capable of leading normal teams to fight in Instance Dungeons.


    However, none of them were able to tank more than two hits from the Boss. When the Boss


    performed a Critical strike, some of the players were instantly killed. The first and second Bosses'' strength could not be compared with the third.


    Fortunately for the Tanks who were being punished, Azure Sea Breeze had rushed forward to provide support. Otherwise, they might have all had to pay with their EXP.


    Azure Sea Breeze was tanking, the Healers were healing, and the DPS classes were fully engaged.


    "Kick! Break! Use all the skills that are available!" Lu Li hadn''t lost track of the second Boss, even after the third had entered the battlefield.


    Lu Li had thought that the second Boss would use some skill to cause a large disturbance. After all, the first Boss only had around 20% HP left.


    Many players tried to use Interrupt to try and stop the High Priest from casting his skill, but they all failed.


    The first Boss recovered 20% HP, which meant that all their efforts had been wasted. Immediately after this, an extremely loud chant filled the entire floor.


    Truthfully, everyone was afraid of the despair that could consume them as the battle dragged on, and not the actual fighting itself.


    They had already cut his HP down to 50%, after which he had healed 20%. Now that he had healed 20% again, he was almost back to half-HP.


    "Should we kill the High Priest first?" Wandering asked Lu Li.


    The strategy team had also considered the possibility of killing the High Priest first. After all, this Boss was magic-based, which meant that he was not as tanky as the others.


    "I think there must be something that''s connecting either two or all three of them. There must be a trigger point which activates these skills."


    Lu Li had remembered the rule when they were fighting the smaller monsters which stated that, "As soon as the other Boss'' HP drops below a certain percentage, the High Priest will use a large-scale healing ability. The first heal will activate when the first Boss has less than half HP of the High Priest''s HP. The second heal will come at around the same point."


    Lu Li''s understanding was very simple ¨C just don''t let the first Boss''s HP drop below the second''s.


    As for killing the second Boss first, Lu Li was not sold on the idea


    "Can you guys guarantee that if the second Boss dies first, the other two Bosses won''t go berserk?" he asked.


    The safest option at this stage was to control both Bosses'' HP bars simultaneously.


    "Slow down on DPSing the first Boss. Stop on the second. Second and Fourth squads, begin fighting the third. After the third Boss'' HP is roughly the same as the others, we can begin on the other two." Lu Li''s strategy was much more effective than only aiming down the High Priest.


    The easiest fight was against the small monsters.


    The monsters were beginning to thin out, so they were able to send some more players to join the frontlines.


    It was still difficult for Azure Sea Breeze to tank hits from a level 55 Boss. Fortunately, Bosses in open environments did not have restrictions on the number of members in squads, so they were able to bring more Healers. Obviously, they needed to balance out the number of extra Healers and DPS, so they could not have infinite healing. The problem that came with having many members was also positioning around the map. They could not group everyone together since it was easier for the whole squad to die that way.


    The difficult part about fighting the statue of Khaz''goroth was that he dealt too much damage, so they needed a lot of healing.


    Main Tanks needed at least three dedicated healers ¨C a Paladin, Priest and Druid. Lu Li had arranged it this way. The melee DPS classes also needed Healers because of the flames that surrounded the Boss'' body.


    If melee classes were damaged by the flames easily, then why not use ranged classes?


    The statue of Khaz''goroth''s mace would create balls of lightning, which it would then fling into the group of ranged players. As such, Lu Li had arranged Healers to heal the ranged classes as well.


    This Boss was extremely troublesome for Healers. After all, they would be called upon when a member was down.


    Furthermore, they could not just go all out and spam their skills. Healing skills were categorised in two groups ¨C a heal with an additional effect, and without an effect. The commander of the squads did not like healers who spammed the normal heal effect and would deduct their guild points. After all, spamming normal healing skills were a waste of mana.


    The statue of Khaz''goroth''s HP gradually dropped as the battle went on, but Lu Li still did not seem relieved.


    The number of casualties had far exceeded his expectations, especially when the statue of Khaz''goroth entered the battlefield. The number of people who had died by his hands was more than the other two Bosses combined.


    One of the major problems was that he had AoE abilities that targeted both ranged and melee classes. The other problem was his arsenal of high-damaging skills.


    Lu Li was anxious every time Khaz''goroth jumped. When he landed, formations would be broken, which was undesirable since there were hundreds of people to be lined up.


    "Ready¡­Mitigate!" Fortunately, Lu Li was extremely perceptive, so he had recognised the pattern that led into Khaz''goroth''s jump.


    Lu Li found that if everyone activated their defensive shields just before Khaz''goroth had landed on the ground, their survival rates would be greatly increased. Even if the shields were on cooldown, they could still use potions to recover their HP.


    After using their offensive, defensive and ultimate skills, Lu Li would rotate them with another set of people to cover. Although it was more work to do, it did prevent more unnecessary casualties.


    In Lu Li''s eyes, this was an unsuccessful and unsatisfying battle. However, for the people in Drizzle Court, they nearly worshipped him as a god among men.

 970 A Crazy Gnome

    It was unlikely that they would have suffered no casualties. After all, this was a Boss battle in the open environment.


    A commander was judged on their ability to determine if a Boss could be defeated, and not over the number of casualties. Of course, the less the better.


    For Bosses like these which exceeded the party''s average level by five, the majority of commanders would not even consider fighting.


    As such, PVE Commanders like Lu Li were held in extremely high regard and admired by many. The loyal ones from Drizzle Court would not abandon their guild, but they still could not help but be envious of Ruling Sword as they had such a capable commander in their ranks.


    Sharp. Calm. Decisive.


    "Ready your Kicks!"


    Although the previous two attempts at Kicking had failed, Lu Li was still persistent with this.


    It was ultimately his commands that directed the teams. As for their outcomes, that was a different story.


    The third Boss'' HP was nearing the 50% mark. According to the state of the first Boss, it was now time to kill the Second Boss before he could cast the healing ability again. Lu Li needed thoroughly prepare accordingly. After all, he had no concrete evidence that the health of the Bosses was linked with the healing ability.


    Fortunately, his judgement was accurate.


    The third Boss, now at 50% HP, was ignored by the second Boss, who had a lower HP than the Third.


    "Focus attacks on the third; slow down on the first and second. Healers, if your Mana drops below one-third, heal yourself. If you go below that, your team points will be deducted by one. Backup healers, begin to prepare yourselves."


    They were now in the last stages of the fight. No matter what difficulties may come afterwards, the right thing to do was just to persist and fight stably.


    "Mr Haggle, please direct your attention towards the Statue. It''s extremely difficult to handle."


    Lu Li had already prepared and organised for the Third Boss'' fight, and he still had to interact with the NPC.


    Haggle''s DPS was extremely high, but was not focusing the third Boss, which was where they required the most help.


    "I¡­" Haggle was extremely hesitant.


    "Is it because the Statue is that much stronger than the others? So many of my companions have died already. Is Mr Haggle afraid?" Lu Li decide to provoke him, but not too much to anger him.


    The Gnome Thief''s face reddened upon hearing Lu Li''s words. While he was a Thief, he always compared himself to the standards of Paladins. Lu Li''s accusation had struck a chord with him, and he immediately felt extremely sorry. After all, it was because of his mission that Lu Li''s teammates were dying.


    "That''s Khaz''goroth¡­Khaz''goroth¡­" Haggle painfully murmured.


    As his race was also created by Titans themselves, this Statue of Khaz''goroth was given life by Eonar, who had also given life to his race. Therefore, for him to strike the Statue even once was an extremely difficult task.


    Lu Li realised that his problem was rooted in this, and suddenly asked, "Why would Khaz''goroth protect these minions of darkness?"


    "Khaz''goroth would not!" Haggle did not hesitate before retaliating.


    Originally, the Titans had breathed life into bodies of machinery and rock. However, the Old God had unleashed a curse which caused all the artificial bodies to become flesh. The machine bodies became Gnomes, while the Earth Spirits were turned into Dwarves.


    Rockjaws were a type of Trogg, which meant that Haggle was closely related with the Boss.


    In opposition to the alliance between Gnomes and Dwarves were the Troggs. This was because these races had fought for the sole love of their creator.


    How childish was this?


    "Then, can Khaz''goroth be created?" Lu Li continued to question.


    "No way in hell!" Haggle thought that Lu Li was making fun of his beliefs and values. To suggest that Khaz''goroth could be created? What a load of crap!


    "Then¡­" Lu Li began to say, "This means that the Khaz''goroth that you see in front of you is a fake one. As a devoted Gnome, you must destroy it."


    "Argh!!"


    The little Gnome began to release an aura of light around his body. He had maximised his offensive capabilities and charged towards the Statue of Khaz''goroth.


    Some people had heard the exchange of words between Lu Li and Haggle.


    Many people shot Lu Li a weird look and wondered who the hell had said that their interactions with NPCs did not matter.


    How cunning!


    This guy was so cunning that he could be a cheater in real life.


    Haggle''s original attack power was already much higher than the average player. Now that he had unleashed his abilities, his power was unprecedented. His Critical strikes were dealing more than a few thousand damage per hit!


    "Hold onto the aggro. Watch out for the NPC and protect him if needed."


    Lu Li was worried about Haggle dealing too much damage to the Third Boss, since if Haggle was the one to deal the finishing blow, the rewards would be much lesser.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had worried a little too much this time. The aggro did not change even after Haggle''s blistering assault.


    "Don''t hold back on the first and second Bosses! Full offense! Don''t stop until I say so!" Lu Li yelled.


    Haggle''s attack was too strong, as the third Boss'' HP was dropping faster than the other two. Lu Li had to make sure that the three Bosses'' HP bars stayed the same.


    Of course, this was undeniably a good thing.


    "30% left! Keep going! Activate the first wave of Bloodlust!"


    Lu Li kept a close eye on the battlefield; he also wanted to join the battle.


    The game was able to differentiate between each player''s contribution to the battle. As such, the rewarded Experience for Healers and Tanks would not be any lower than the DPS players. This was the same case with commanders.


    On average, the commander would usually receive around 5% more experience than the others.


    In a fight like this for a First Clear, Lu Li would receive more than an extra 5%. This was to make up for the fact that he was not able to perform the final hit.


    Obviously, if Lu Li had joined the battle and took up the responsibilities of a commander, his rewards would be even greater. This was how he had managed to stay ahead in levels in comparison to training freaks like Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower.


    Lu Li did not train anywhere near as much.


    "Meteorite!" some players exclaimed.


    Lu Li was surprised by this call and looked into the sky. He saw that there was a large, green meteorite heading straight for the players. This was not a normal meteorite, but Infernals that had been summoned.


    It appeared that this Boss had something else up his sleeve.

 971 Successive Berserks

    "Stand firm; don''t run around randomly. Cast your damage reduction skills if you have them and take your potions. Healers, use your area of effect heals and pay extra attention on the tank."


    Lu Li wasn''t afraid of the Boss'' skills, but the players themselves running around like headless chickens.


    Not only would that lead to more players dying, but the party could also be wiped because of


    their incompetence.


    Fortunately, most of them were elite players, and they had fantastic mental fortitude.


    These players weren''t afraid of the Boss'' skills either, but rather a commander''s silence. They didn''t really know what to do either, so when they were given instructions, they would just instinctively follow them.


    Several boulders smashed into the ground, colliding and knocking down a number of players.


    Other than the sudden deaths at the beginning, there were fewer casualties now because everyone had either cast their damage reductions skills or taken their potions.


    Once the players were in disarray, there was a high chance that they would die.


    "The mobs have finally been cleared," Water Fairy announced. Her team had finally killed the tens of thousands of mobs, at the cost of over twenty casualties, but all of them were eventually revived.


    The Revive Skill required most professions to out of combat before it could be used, so Lu Li had to separate a few Healers from the fight.


    Of course, there was a still a distance requirement that needed to be met.


    When they got close enough, they would invariably be forced into battle. This meant that only Druids had enough range to use their Resurrect skill.


    "Have a break before joining the relief team," Lu Li said without breaking his concentration on the battlefield. He watched carefully as Haggle''s Berserk ended, but he seemed to have taken some kind of medicine because he was still fighting in the same way.


    "It''s okay; I don''t need it. I''ll go fight the Boss," Water Fairy said, rejecting Lu Li''s kindness.


    Lu Li shrugged and said nothing about it.


    There were too many players here, so he couldn''t help but adopt a care-free attitude. He knew that every move he made could be blown out of proportion when it was gossiped about.


    Player X: Our Boss and Ruling Sword''s Boss seemed to have gotten closer over the years¡­


    Lu Li: I''ve only been playing video games for four months.


    Player X: This pretty boy has risen up so quickly'' no one can defeat him¡­


    Lu Li: This is the first time I''ve ever been called a pretty boy.


    Player X: That couple is obviously working together and doing things they shouldn''t be¡­


    Lu Li: I have no idea what you''re talking about.


    "The third Boss is at 20% HP and the second Boss is at 18% HP. You guys, slow down. I said slow down! Why are those ranged players still attacking? What''s wrong with them?"


    Lu Li had to deduct a few points from those players before they started paying attention again.


    Although he was commanding both guilds, the authority of Lu Li was almost entirely supported by Water Fairy''s command.


    Magus was a Magic Profession. Although he could occasionally heal himself, the sheer number of interrupting skills prevented that from happening.


    As a result, his HP dropped the fastest. However, Lu Li was worried that the death of Magus would cause the other two Bosses to go berserk, so he has been meticulously controlling his HP.


    "10% - we''re almost there. We will have succeeded soon enough."


    The battle had already lasted for too long, and many were starting to show signs of fatigue. However, Lu Li''s words caused a wave of excitement that revitalized the players'' spirits.


    Some commanders only liked giving their players bad news, for fear that the players would start to slack off.


    However, Lu Li was different. He always believed that people would put the most energy into something when they were in a good mood.


    When he said that they were going to be successful, everyone believed him.


    "Main Tanks, cast your damage reduction skills. Everyone else, do as much damage as you can. Be wary of the potential for a Boss to go berserk. If we can get through the Berserk, then we would have already won," Lu Li encouraged, but the players didn''t even have the time to question it. They were all preparing themselves to survive the Berserk.


    It was difficult to imagine that not one of the three Bosses would go into Berserk, especially since they were Wild Bosses.


    Wild Bosses were notoriously difficult, and always resulted in plenty of player deaths. Most of the deaths also occurred in the final stages when the Boss went Berserk.


    As the HP bars steadily declined, the Bosses appeared as though they were about to go Berserk at 5%.


    "Stop dealing damage to Boss one and three; just attack Boss two. Don''t worry about it and just let them go Berserk."


    No one had ever heard of this way of dealing with Berserk before.


    Although the players didn''t really understand it in the moment, they still obeyed his orders.


    As the second Boss dropped to critical HP, it went Berserk as they expected it to.


    "Be careful! Healers, support the players fighting Boss two. Everyone else, don''t attack and just stand firm. Try to stay alive."


    The smarter players quickly understood what he was doing; he was preparing for the worst case scenario. Lu Li had assumed that all three Bosses were going to go Berserk.


    If that happened at the same time, they might not get wiped, but they would lose at least half of their players.


    Berserk not only increased the damage of the regular attacks but also the damage of the ultimate skills. If all the Bosses cast their ultimate skills together, the result would be unimaginable.


    This was the worst-case scenario. It was probably not going to happen, but Lu Li didn''t want to take a chance with the EXP of over a thousand players and their time on the line.


    Following his assumptions, he planned to let the three Bosses go Berserk in succession.


    The first Boss to go Berserk was High Priest Rockjaw Elfin. He caused a number of casualties, but it was because those players were within his crowd-control range.


    After 30 seconds, the Berserk ended and he went into a sluggish state at 2% HP. However, he didn''t want to kill it in case the other two Bosses went Berserk.


    Next was Boss one ¨C Protector Rockjaw O''Brien, who also went into the sluggish state after going Berserk.


    Boss three, Rockjaw Khaz''Goroth, was even more aggressive than the previous two. His attacks fell upon almost the entire area, and players continually died. However, many others struggled and stayed alive with the help of the healers.


    This level of strength was to be expected; the only difference between Khaz''Goroth and the others was the coverage on his skills.


    Lu Li used his observation and experience here, potentially saving the group from getting completely wiped. He had overestimated the players, and thought that he could get away with successive Berserks. However, that single Berserk was almost as strong as the other two together.


    "Breezy, stand firm. Don''t you want the EXP?" Lu Li reminded calmly.


    Azure Sea Breeze, who was on the verge of dying, forcibly pulled himself together as he continued to persist in facing the Boss'' Berserk.


    "Attack with everything you''ve got, and finish the three Boss as quickly as possible!"


    The command to attack at will had been given. The three level 55 Bosses were now on the chopping block.

 972 The Older Sisters Are Kind to You

    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court who have successfully killed Protector Rockjaw O''Brien under Commander Lu Li''s leadership.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court who have successfully killed High Priest Rockjaw Elfin under Commander Lu Li''s leadership.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court who have successfully killed Rockjaw Khaz''goroth under Commander Lu Li''s leadership.


    Three kills!


    The System''s announcements sent the players into a frenzy once again.


    Getting one First Clear was obviously possible. Although it was rare, two First Clears at different times of the day had also been done before.


    However, they had acquired the First Clear on three Bosses at the same time, and these Bosses sounded quite powerful as well. The players all knew that Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court had combined forces to fight and defeat these Bosses.


    In addition to the World Announcements, there was a sense of great celebration when the three Bosses fell.


    Since they were in the Wild, the Healers were able to revive many players from beyond the combat range. There were also many Druids around, so the party leaders could easily arrange for their party members to be revived. In the end, there weren''t actually that many players who remained dead on the ground.


    The EXP of the three level 55 Bosses was split among everyone who had participated.


    Many players levelled up on the spot. Even if they had died once or twice, that EXP loss was very small in comparison.


    Among the two thousand players, there were a fortunate few who looked particularly happy. These were the players who were lucky enough to receive Skill Points. Lu Li, as per usual, only received EXP and some prestige.


    When he checked his EXP bar, he saw that he had already reached 35%. If he fought these Bosses every day, he could level up within a week.


    Having said that¡­ this wasn''t a completely implausible idea.


    As someone who had experienced Rebirth, Lu Li knew a lot about Hidden Bosses. The reason he hadn''t attempted them yet was because they were very strong with little benefit. However, if they were used to train against, that was another story.


    There was also the matter of the World Announcement. Lu Li had noticed something ¨C he didn''t think that the ordinary players would be so greatly affected by achieving a First Clear, but he had clearly just seen a number of players laughing, crying and celebrating.


    He didn''t have this opportunity in his previous life, but he had just become so accustomed to it now that he couldn''t understand their show of emotions.


    He was already starting to calculate who would take the kill for the Boss next time, as there were already some disputes about that. After all, they were two guilds and people were generally selfish. It was impossible for them to be completely harmonious.


    Drizzle Court was the subordinate in this relationship, but it was an indisputable fact that they had sent eight Elite Groups. These groups had a greater overall strength than Ruling Sword''s three Elite Groups and 9 quasi-Elite Groups. They didn''t even take a single casualty in the fight and had asked to take the third Boss.


    Under normal circumstances, it was understandable that they wanted the third Boss.


    Although the third Boss was stronger, it probably wouldn''t produce items that were much better. After all, the three Bosses were all at the same level.


    This was the agreement that Lu Li and Water Fairy had previously reached anyway.


    The reason why Ruling Sword was only willing to give up the second Boss and not the third Boss was because they felt like Lu Li''s command was irreplaceable. If anyone else was commanding, they would have been wiped at least one or two times before they succeeded.


    Even some players in Drizzle Court thought so, not to mention that Ruling Sword was originally already fighting this Boss.


    The two guild presidents were there, discussing the matter with a number of other high-level players, but Lu Li and Water Fairy weren''t saying much. Seeing that there was no end to the discussion, he sent a message to Square Root 3 saying, "Let''s not take this too far. We''ll give them the second Boss and divide the rare materials equally. We can cooperate more in the future."


    Without Drizzle Court, they wouldn''t have been able to defeat the Bosses even if Lu Li had sent out another 40 parties. The strength of their Elite Groups just couldn''t match Drizzle Court''s, not to mention the fact that they only had three of them.


    When fighting Bosses like this, Elite Groups were the main force. The quasi-Elite Groups sent out by Ruling Sword were only there to help clear out the mobs.


    Although Lu Li was talking about maintaining their cooperation, he was still worried about being stabbed in the back.


    This kind of thing was not uncommon in the gaming circle. No could even get offended over it anymore, because every guild was guilty of doing it at least once. Even Glory Capital, under the leadership of Sorrowless, had betrayed Peacetime Dynasty a number of times. This definitely had an impact on the decline of Peacetime Dynasty.


    However, as soon as Drizzle Court heard his proposal, they immediately agreed.


    When fighting Wild Bosses, obtaining equipment was one goal, but obtaining rare materials was an even more important one. The only condition was that they had to let Remnant Dream loot the Bosses.


    Neither party had a problem with this, and Remnant Dream enjoyed looting Bosses anyway.


    Since the Second Boss had been given to Drizzle Court, it was natural to start with High Priest Rockjaw Elfin.


    An Epic Magic Staff!


    As a Shaman, Elfin dropped an Epic Shaman exclusive Magic Staff. It had excellent Attributes, but was currently limited by its level 55 Level Requirement.


    Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Ruling Sword didn''t have any powerful Shamans. The strongest they had was Sakura Memories, but she wasn''t building to be a healer. The Epic Shaman Magic Staff was for Healers and could increase their strength by 30%.


    Drizzle Court had plenty of girls who played Shaman, and they were very satisfied with this equipment.


    The second item was a pair of Dark Gold Plate Armor Boots with strong attributes. Azure Sea Breeze and other Plate Armor professions looked at it longingly, but it also had a level 55 Level Requirement.


    The third item was a Dark Gold Leather Glove Mold, which Water Fairy took.


    The fourth item was a Gold Chain Main Amour Mold. If you paid attention to the name, you would know that it was a Shaman item. Although they couldn''t see its attributes, it was probably not that high-levelled and could be equipped at level 50.


    There was also a skill Book for ''Tranquility'', a rare material and two Strengthening Stones.


    There were nearly ten items dropped by Elfin due to the First Clear buff. This harvest was bountiful, but it was a shame that there were no Strengthened Skill Books.Of course, Lu Li felt like most of this was because of their lucky looting girl.


    Many other players thought the same thing, as Remnant Dream was receiving a number of private messages. They were all about her joining Drizzle Court ¨C how they would be kind to her, catch cute pets with her, make her more beautiful¡­


    The remaining two Bosses belonged to Ruling Sword.

 973 Nightslayer

    They started with the First Boss, O''Brien.


    The first item was a Dark Gold Polearm which had great attributes and special effects. It also wasn''t exclusive to any profession, so the Warriors, Paladins, Druids and Hunters who could use it were all competing for it.


    The player who managed to roll for it was ecstatic.


    The second item was a Dark Gold Leather Pants Mold. It was produced the Nightslayer Leather pants and was taken by Lu Li.


    "Is this equipment any good?" Water Fairy asked through private message.


    "It''s not bad," Lu Li said. He knew that he couldn''t seem too eager, otherwise, his emotions would expose him. In fact, he was incredibly excited about getting this item. He didn''t even think that this Boss would drop it.


    There were a number of sets that had been dropped so far, but this was where the T equipment sets truly began.


    At Stratholme, they had come into contact with a T0 set, which was a level 50 set. There was also a T0.5 set, which wasn''t directly dropped by monsters but had to be upgraded from the T0 set.


    After completing the T0.5 set, the pieces would be equivalent to level 55 equipment.


    This set was sought after by many players, but it couldn''t compare against the actual level 55 set. The Pants that could be created from the Mold were part of the Nightslayer set, which was the legendary T1 set.


    From level 60 onwards, there would be the T1.5 Madcap Set, T2 Bloodfang Set, T2.5 Deathdealer Set and T3 Bonescythe Set. Of course, the Attributes of these sets would keep becoming better.


    Lu Li didn''t plan to acquire the T0 set because it was just too troublesome and would soon become obsolete. Even if it was upgraded to T0.5, he still needed to wait until level 55 to wear it. It was better for him to start collecting the T1 set now. As for the level 55 Level Requirement, this could be solved with some level-reducing gemstones.


    As long as he could find a gem that reduced the level requirement by 10%, he would be able to equip this item at level 50.


    Although gems that reduced level requirement was getting harder and harder to find as everyone needed them, Lu Li knew of some methods to obtain them.


    This way, he would be able to maintain his lead in terms of having the best equipment.


    By maintaining his level and equipment lead, he would be able to perform well, even if he wasn''t particularly talented.


    In fact, there were many players who had the same idea, especially the star players and tycoons. However, the tycoons struggled the most, as they had no way to get these gems except through the market. All they could do was offer a large sum of money for them.


    The third item was a Dark Gold Magic Cloak.


    This time, there weren''t any skill books. Instead, there were two Gems, a Strengthening Stone and two rare materials.


    The first Boss had dropped eight items, which wasn''t much worse than Elfin. Of course, it hadn''t dropped an Epic item, which was a pity.


    It was a level 55 Wild Boss with the First Clear bonus ¨C how could it not have dropped an Epic item?


    However, there were not official promises about Wild Bosses, so the players couldn''t do much beyond complain. Soon, their attention was focused on the third Boss and the items it would drop.


    Lu Li hoped to acquire another Thief T1 item, but even he felt like this was just wishful thinking.


    The first item was an Epic Shield!


    After its name and grade was announced, the whole of Ruling Sword was filled with joy.


    Any fool knew that this meant Ruling Sword''s Main Tank could become even stronger, which meant that Instance Dungeons and Bosses would be easier.


    Lu Li was also surprised that an Epic Shield had been dropped.


    As long as the Shield''s Attributes weren''t horrible, it would be worth more the Shaman-exclusive Magic Staff that Drizzle Court had received.


    It was Earthen Guard!


    The Rockjaw were a kind of Earthen monster, so it wasn''t unusual for this item to be dropped here.


    This Shield was known for its superb Defence and Constitution Attributes. It also had four very powerful special effects, and was perfect for a Main Tank. The most important part was that it had a level 50 Level Requirement, so Azure Sea Breeze could immediately equip it.


    This kind of Shield had to be officially assigned by the guild, even though there was no doubt that Azure Sea Breeze should have it. The Dark Gold Shield that it replaced was still heavily contested by the other Main Tanks in the guild.


    Then, there was a Dark Gold Cloth Bracer, which was taken by Fat Monkey, and a Dark Gold Plate Belt, which was given to another Main Tank.


    A pair Gold Leather Boots were given to Scarlet New Moon, while the Priest Skill Book ''Enhanced Regeneration'' was naturally assigned to March Rain. Enhanced Regeneration was a supportive skill that gave the target a State of continuous HP regeneration.


    Two gems were also dropped, one of which reduced level requirements by 10%. In addition to those gems, there were also two Strengthening Stones, but no rare materials.


    This Boss had dropped Epic equipment, Enhanced Skill books and a gem that reduced level requirements. This was a surprise to everyone, and even the players that didn''t receive anything were encouraged. Someone would later evaluate the value of these items, and distribute points among the players accordingly. Better items meant that they would receive more points.


    Even the players of Drizzle Court were envious of the Ruling Sword harvest.


    They had all received huge rewards today, but the most valuable thing was not the equipment. It was the three First Clear World Announcements.


    That couldn''t be bought no matter how much money you had.


    The first Boss had produced two rare materials, the second Boss produced one and the third produced none. There were three rare materials in total, and Lu Li had generously given two of them to Drizzle Court.


    "The mobs also dropped quite a few equipment and materials. How do we split those?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Let''s just roughly split it evenly," Lu Li said. He didn''t care much about those items, but when he later saw that there were a few Darkmoon Cards, he regretted his decision.


    These cards were a set that could be combined to form a complete deck. For example, Lu Li had previously obtained ''Darkmoon Card: Void''. Most of these cards were drops from monsters that were level 50 or higher, and some could be obtained from Treasure Chests.


    In the end, Lu Li scored two of them. The price he paid was to tell Water Fairy what they were used for.


    "Thank you for inviting us to fight the Boss today," Water Fairy said softly next to Lu Li as they watched the players continue to clear the battlefield.


    "You''re welcome ¨C I should be thanking you."


    Lu Li walked with Water Fairy to Haggle, who was sitting on the floor.


    "I have to say, your friends are quite strong and you have quite a few of them."


    Haggle had suffered a minor injury, but nothing fatal.

 974 Level Requirement Reducing Gem

    "Mr Haggle, in this case, I think I should obtain an extra reward," Lu Li said bluntly.


    The Gnome race was never to be underestimated. They were famous mechanical engineers and technicians with a deep understanding of scientific knowledge. The result of this was an ability to produce amazing pieces of technology like tools, vehicles, armor and weapons.


    Gnomish Engineering and Goblin Engineering had their own characteristics, but were on par in the world of Azeroth.


    The high-level Gnome Thief in front of him could drop almost anything and it would make Lu Li rich. This was why Lu Li was so blunt about it.


    Haggle wanted to tell him that they had already stripped the Bosses and their camp for items, and yet he still wanted a reward from him. Did Lu Li have no shame?


    However, he didn''t say anything, because he didn''t have Lu Li''s thick skin. The items they had received from the Rockjaw''s camp had nothing to do with him, so he still needed to give a reward for his quest.


    A such, Lu Li received some EXP and Prestige; some of it was even given to Water Fairy.


    "This Blueprint was given to me by my father. Unfortunately, I don''t have any expertise in this area. If you like it, you can have it," Haggle offered as he took out an Engineering Blueprint.


    Lu Li''s eyes suddenly lit up. You could find Skill Books by killing monsters, but Engineering Blueprints were much harder to find.


    No one really knew what the Gnomes were famous for. Lu Li, someone who had hopelessly low charisma, was able to make this unreasonable request and even trigger this quest in the first place.


    These two tasks that Haggle gave out must have been because of the first orphanage.


    However, when Lu Li looked at the Blueprint, he was dumbfounded. It wasn''t because this Blueprint was bad, but because he would have had to pay at least a thousand gold coins to get something like this.


    Goblin Jumper Cables!


    These were exquisite Blueprints!


    However, the problem was that Lu Li already had one of these. When he was in Maraudon, Craftsman Gizlock had dropped one of these.


    Haggle called himself a Gnome, but had given him Goblin Jumper Cables?


    "I can only give out one reward, so think carefully," Haggle interrupted. He seemed to expect that Lu Li would say something.


    The Gnome had an ugly expression on his face. There were two thousand players around, and if he had to reward them all he would go bankrupt. Haggle would rather die than let that happen.


    Water Fairy had been standing quietly by as Lu Li and Haggle bargained with each other. At this time, she pulled Lu Li''s arm and privately messaged him, "Let Hachi Chan do this."


    Lu Li suddenly remembered the System''s daughter would be really helpful here.


    If a playboy was standing in his place, he definitely would have rejected Haggle''s proposal. He would have done everything necessary to ensure that the girl next to him would receive a reward.


    This was why you couldn''t blame some people for not having a girlfriend ¨C they just didn''t want to go through that trouble.


    After Hachi Chan heard the news, she immediately ran over and talked to the NPC before even greeting Lu Li.


    Hachi Chan had gotten to know Haggle through another NPC she knew in Ironforge. Haggle said that he had heard of Hachi Chan''s reputation as a kindhearted, gentle, lovely little adventurer.


    After that, more EXP, a piece of equipment, and a level-requirement reducing gem was awarded.


    There was no doubt that if this was Water Fairy''s reward, she would have wanted the equipment. She didn''t know if Hachi Chan had better equipment, but there was no way she could ask for that gem.


    The equipment was a level 45 Dark Gold belt for Thieves. Haggle said that he didn''t have any other kinds of belts, and apologized for giving her a Thief one.


    Hachi Chan gave the Belt to Lu Li, then walked away with the gem and a smile on her face. Lu Li''s current Belt was already pretty good, so he gave it to Water Fairy who was overjoyed to receive it.


    "The underground world seems to be pretty big. Can we explore the area?" Lu Li asked. He knew that Haggle was familiar with the place.


    "No, we have to leave as soon as we can," Haggle said as he shook his head. "After hearing about the Rockjaw camp, this place will be swarming Rockjaws soon. By the time we all leave, they would have started building another camp."


    Lu Li was stunned; this must have been the Rockjaw''s unique method of farming other monsters.


    The other Rockjaws seemed to be quite powerful, since even Haggle didn''t want to face them. In that case, Lu Li certainly didn''t want to push his luck. He told everyone to clear out whatever was left and use their Hearthstones to return to the city.


    Although Haggle was injured, he was strong and had a greater Stealth effect than Lu Li. As such, Lu Li wasn''t too worried about him.


    However, there were still many Thief and Druid players who had decided to stay a bit longer. Most of them had invested into Herbalism or Mining, and had discovered that the area was rich with rare ores and herbs.


    The underground world was vast anyway; as long as they avoided the incoming Rockjaw army they would be fine.


    Since the event was over, Lu Li chose not to interfere with these players and just returned to the city.


    He wanted to equip his T1 Pants, but he didn''t have the materials and also required a high-level Tailor. March Rain was almost there, but she still needed to spend some time and money. It would take three to five days if they rushed it.


    The materials that he was missing weren''t too rare either. There were some in the guild materials warehouse, and Lu Li could ask Shen Wansan for everything else.


    Lu Li gave the Mold to March Rain and eagerly awaited the finished product. When he wasn''t competing, he would spend most of his time improving his Engineering and Forging.


    Of course, he still needed a gem to reduce the level requirement for items.


    Hachi Chan''s gem reduced the level requirement by 5%, and she had placed it on her Ivy League Magic Staff. She then gave this Magic Staff to March Rain, impatiently telling her to equip it. Lu Li didn''t really want to fight with the girls over some equipment.


    The one that the Boss dropped was -7%. Lu Li assigned this to March Rain so she could equip her Book of the King.


    The gem that he needed was one that he had to find on his own.


    The easiest way to obtain them was through the arena. The reward for achieving Centurion rank and above was a level reduction gem. The amount of reduction was not fixed ¨C you could be unlucky and only receive 1%, or you could be lucky enough and receive 20%. Such gems were even rarer than the Artifacts.


    In fact, a 20% reduction was already Heaven-Defying. For example, a level 80 weapon would become level 64 after using the gem.


    Such a weapon could make someone rich overnight!


    Of course, by that time, the other types of gems would have greatly improved. Gems with exquisite effects on a level 65 weapon wouldn''t necessarily be worse than a level 80 weapon.


    However, the current gems didn''t add any special effects, so it was still more worthwhile to find ones that reduced the level requirement.

 975 Farming In the Arena

    Since he had decided to fight in the arena, he needed to be as efficient as possible.


    It was usually better for ordinary players to earn Glory by fighting on the battlefield. Even if you died, the battlefield handed out rewards and Glory based on kills. On the other hand, the arena calculated its rewards by matches, and you wouldn''t receive anything for losing.


    However, for an expert, this wasn''t a good solution.


    If a real expert wanted to earn Glory, they would go to the arena. It was as quick and easy as mowing the lawn!


    Fighting in the battlefield was also a 1v1, but it took longer to find an opponent. Who knew how long it would take before Lu Li would gain enough Glory?


    This time, Lu Li didn''t set up his own room, but opted to randomly match against other players. As his win percentage increased, his room would become more attractive to other experts, but Lu Li didn''t want that. Fighting an expert meant an increase in the duration.


    Since it had been a long time since he last went into the arena, Lu Li''s arena level had also dropped by quite a lot.


    At first, he was actually matched with a level 43 newbie.


    Fortunately, he had hidden his name and rank. Otherwise, this newbie would have been terrified at the sight of him. Regardless, he dealt with the player in three attacks, which must have been a traumatic experience for him.


    The second match was against a level 46 Warrior. It wasn''t a difficult fight, but it wasn''t over as quickly as the first.


    As such, Lu Li set up a filter which screened out Warriors, Thieves, Paladins and Druids. These four professions were annoying to deal with. Warriors and Paladins had tough Plate Armor, Thieves could go into Stealth, and Druids could also go into Stealth in addition to healing themselves.


    He also reduced the preparation time to 1 second. This way, things would be much more efficient.


    There were many Dawn players and matchmaking was quite fast; Lu Li would receive a match in a few seconds. It would take 1-2 seconds for the other player to confirm, followed by 1 second of preparation time and 10 seconds of battle time. Lu Li had reduced the whole process down to about half a minute.


    Lu Li''s rank was Centurion (14290) at the start of the day, but he rapidly rose to Centurion (20000) with a total of 5710 Glory gained.


    The arena calculated the Glory reward based on the equipment, level and battle time. If a match was won, he would gain a little less than 10 points, but sometimes he could it would be more. It was impossible for Lu Li to earn hundreds of Glory points with his level and equipment. On average, he gained about 20 points, which meant that Lu Li had to fight almost 285 matches to complete his goal.


    If a match took less than a minute, he would become a Senior Centurion in another 3 hours.


    However, an average person trying to do this would probably take a week. After all, not everyone could dispatch their opponents as quickly as he was, and not everyone would win every match.


    After earning the Senior Centurion rank, Lu Li immediately went to the quartermaster to get the Level Reducing Gem.


    Stormwind City''s Quartermaster was a bald muscular man, with a thick beard, but more closely resembled a Dwarf.


    Lu Li didn''t really understand why his hair was falling out when his beard was so luscious.


    "Oh, a new Senior Centurion. Would you like a Cheetah Mount? It''s only 20,000 Glory ¨C very cheap. You know¡­" Captain Captopril rambled on. He was very active in promoting his items.


    Currently, there were few players in Dawn who were able to attain first place in the Warsong Canyon each week, so the black warhorses were a rare sight.


    Although the Cheetah was not as good as the black warhorse, there were quite a Senior Centurions around and 20,000 Glory was well within reach for them. It was much easier to obtain than the black warhorse.


    "Sorry sir, I would like to get a gem," Lu Li said. He was too lazy to have a drawn-out conversation with this NPC.


    Captain Captopril couldn''t give out any quests, so even if a player invested in talking to him, they would have nothing to show for it. To make matters worse, his dialog options often gave players a sense of false hope.


    "Really¡­" the bald Captopril sighed, "let me tell you¡­"


    "Uncle, please hurry!" Lu Li interrupted him helplessly.


    "Young people these days¡­" the uncle muttered as he shook his head, opened the jewel bag and let Lu Li reach into it. "Don''t take more than you should; Captopril''s eyes are very keen¡­"


    "Uh, Uncle, can I go and wash my hands first?"


    Upon seeing that this was the way he would get the item, Lu Li was suddenly inspired.


    "Haha, all it takes is one look and I already know what you''re up to. Do you want to buy a ring that will help you get more items? Hahahahaha¡­." Captopril laughed and looked at Lu Li like he was an idiot.


    Lu Li almost swore at this old man.


    Anyone else would have gone red with embarrassment, buut Lu Li had thick skin and shook his head like nothing had happened.


    "Uncle, you misunderstand me, but since you''ve brought it up, I''ll go without it and just accept my fate."


    Quartermaster Captain Captopril just sneered at him.


    After getting the gem and deducting his Glory, Lu Li turned and left without saying a word. If he had time, he was going to start a thread complaining about this old guy.


    He later took out the gem and looked at its properties.


    It reduced Level Requirement by 5% and would only reduce a level 55 item to level 53, which wasn''t good enough. He was still only at level 50.


    Even if he used the -7% gem that the Boss dropped, he would still have to wait till level 52. However, Lu Li simply couldn''t wait, so he just continued to farm more Glory.


    He refused to believe that his luck would be so bad the next time.


    Unfortunately, he couldn''t get anyone else to do this for him ¨C otherwise, he would have employed Hachi Chan''s services. That little girl would finish two matches in the arena before becoming exhausted.


    After arriving back at the arena, Lu Li took a deep breath and got back into the rhythm of fighting players.


    At this time, there was another expert who was also farming for Glory in the arena.


    Glory Capital''s number 1 Thief, Blood Dagger, was already level 48. He was carrying an Epic level 50 dagger that he couldn''t wait for, so he was planning to use a Level Reducing Gem on it.


    Unfortunately, there were no such gems in his guild, and none of his friends in could find them in the market. As such, he had taken up the same strategy as Lu Li.


    However, his technique was still not as good as Lu Li''s. Lu Li was always efficient in his actions, no matter how boring and exhausting it was. After Blood Dagger had fought a hundred newbies, things were starting to become intolerable for him. All these players were just objects to him, and he was gradually becoming desensitized.

 976 Blood Dagger About To Explode

    Blood Dagger really wanted to give up, but he was only one to two hundred Glory away from becoming a Legatus. He could probably do it in within a dozen more matches, so he had to press on.


    For a Thief to be this impatient, but still be this good would require an immense talent like Blood Dagger''s.


    His next opponent was a Thief. Blood Dagger approached as usual without Stealth, just like his opponent. Blood Dagger could see the Thief''s appearance and equipment¡­


    Wait!


    Just as he was about to go into Stealth, Blood Dagger squinted his eyes.


    His whole body was suddenly filled with excitement as his blood boiled. He had finally met a real opponent, one greater than he could have imagined. He wanted to calm himself, but he just couldn''t!


    One could ask how he knew the identity of this person, but Blood Dagger had his ways.


    Lu Li had also recognized Blood Dagger ¨C after all, he hadn''t hidden his face. Blood Dagger was quite wary at this point, as he had run into someone who was much stronger than he was.


    Lu Li was also surprised.


    He had just upgraded to Senior Centurion, which meant the arena settings would refreshed. After reaching Senior Centurion, Lu Li wouldn''t match against anyone lower than this rank.


    Lu Li had forgotten to reset the filter that blocked certain professions.


    He didn''t expect to encounter another star player either. After all, he hadn''t opened up a room and the probably to match into one was quite low.


    Dawn was overflowing with players, so for two star players to match against must have been fate.


    Blood Dagger was prepared for a hard fight. Even though there was no one here to watch, this fight was bound to be a milestone in his personal career.


    At this time, his opponent nodded at him and vanished.


    "Alright then, since you''ve gone into Stealth, I''ll¡­Wait, what is this System prompt?"


    When Blood Dagger saw the prompt, he had an ugly expression on his face. He was filled with anger and helplessness, as though he was going to explode.


    System: Since your opponent has given up the match, you are the winner by default. Congratulations!


    If he was an ordinary player, he would have been happy with this situation. However, there was no sense of achievement when an opponent forfeited a fight, especially one who was worthy.


    Unfortunately, Blood Dagger was no ordinary player ¨C he was an expert.


    Experts should be treated with respect, and not so indifferently!


    He felt like he had been completely humiliated, so he went onto the World Announcements and shook his fist as he announced:


    Blood Dagger (World Announcement): Lu Li, what is this meaning of this? Are you looking down on me?


    The players who paid attention to the World Announcements were surprised, but knew that this couldn''t have been an impersonation. Blood Dagger''s name was certified by the game association; there was no way to fake that.


    The World Announcements hadn''t been very active recently.


    At the very least, it was impossible to chat on it, since the System patch had set the cost of posting a message at one gold coin. The only occasional announcements that were made were Guilds recruiting players and expensive items being sold.


    Blood Dagger was so upset that he felt like he had to ask Lu Li through the World Announcements.


    Lu Li usually blocked messages from all channels, but if his ID appeared in the World Announcement, he couldn''t block, even if he wanted it to.


    Elevenless: Hey, this is awkward. I just put you to sleep; did Lu Li put you to sleep as well?


    Within the gaming circle, to be ''put to sleep'' meant to be KO''ed. In that morning''s match ¨C Glory Capital against Wings of Dawn ¨C Elevenless had defeated Blood Dagger. This match was also the first time that Glory Capital had lost in the first round of the professional league.


    Elevenless'' Gold set was now much stronger.


    The level 50 Gold set could be equipped by Elevenless after inserting some gems into them. After he lost to Lu Li and to make up for his movement speed weakness, Wings of Dawn had spent a large sum of money buying a pair of Epic boots for him.


    The person that Elevenless wanted to kill the most now was Lu Li.


    Of course, killing Blood Dagger was a big factor in determining the final victory. This result turned out to be a surprise for most players.


    He had a Gold set, Epic Boots and Dark Gold items for everything else. Almost everything was equipped with Level Reducing Gems, which cost millions of dollars overall. They had to use all their connections within the game to acquire them ¨C otherwise, no amount of money could get them what they wanted.


    This year, Wings of Dawn was said to have received hundreds of millions in the form of investments, but the whole guild was still quite tight on funds, all because of this one competition.


    Their ambition was that Wings of Dawn would go right to the top to take the championship!


    After Blood Dagger saw Elevenless'' words, he became even more depressed. He realized how dumb the World Announcements were, but unfortunately, there was no way for him to take it back.


    Soon, all kinds of star players started to come out to ridicule Blood Dagger. It was very expensive; everyone had spent tens of thousands just to do this.


    Blood Dagger didn''t even see Lu Li''s words, because Lu Li just continued farming. However, as his name appeared time and time again, it difficult to avoid it.


    He quickly understood what had happened and was a little dumbfounded.


    Why did this even happen? He had no history with Blood Dagger and had admired the steps that he had taken to get to where he was as a star player.


    He just wanted to save some time, so he conceded the fight. How was Lu Li disrespecting him?


    After some hesitation, Lu Li spent a gold coin and explained to everyone on the World Announcements that he was just in a hurry and that he hoped that they could have a chance to fight in future.


    For celebrities, any little thing they said or did could become a piece of news. This was no different for the star players.


    The question that Blood Dagger asked while he was angry, "What is the meaning of this, are you looking down on me?", was printed in the news and even attached to a picture of him with an


    angry expression on his face.


    After Lu Li had given his explanation, he didn''t involve himself in the matter any further.


    From the beginning to the end, it was purely a misunderstanding. He didn''t think that there was any real benefit from a victory in the arena. Even if he won match, it was just Glory and EXP ¨C there was nothing record their performance.


    The Senior Centurion rank was also nothing special, and Lu Li soon reached became a Legatus after five hours.


    This time, his luck was a little better, and he managed to receive the -10% gem.


    In the past, he had sold a -10% gem.The demand for gems wasn''t so great then, so he had only managed to get ten thousand dollars. However, this was still a huge sum of money to him at the time.


    He decided to exchange the -5% gem with the -7% one that March Rain had.


    March Rain was currently level 48, and her level 50 Book of the Dead only needed a -5% gem to be equipped. They could hold on to the -7% for someone else in future.

 977 Gaming Textbook

    Lu Li only had two stones left ¨C a -7% and a -10%. For now, these would be enough.


    The arena was the same as a battleground; you gained a certain amount of experience upon victory. However, the arena rewards weren''t as great as the battleground rewards. After all, the arena was still more focused on solo-killing. Even with all the efforts that Lu Li had made, he only earned 3% EXP. This was worse than killing monsters in the wild for him.


    He continued to play in the arena for a little more after he received his rewards until an unexpected person messaged him. If it wasn''t for this message, he would have already forgotten that he added this person to his friend list.


    Ms. Su probably would have never imagined anyone forgetting about her.


    "What''s up?"


    Ms. Su was sure that although he didn''t sound impatient, he didn''t sound too happy either. With a sad tone, she sighed, "Perhaps you don''t remember what you''ve promised me."


    "I''m busy right now¡­" Lu Li lied. He wasn''t really busy; he was just playing arena.


    "Then when are you going to take me to level up?" Ms. Su wasn''t unreasonable ¨C if Lu Li was really busy, she didn''t mind leveling up another time.


    "Uhm¡­ What level are you planning to reach?"


    Ms. Su wasn''t his apprentice. NPCs leveled up fast, much faster than players. Not to mention, Ms. Su didn''t share any Experience or Reputation rewards with him, and Lu Li had no interest in taking her to level up just because she was pretty.


    "To be honest, I just want to discover some of the interesting things to this game, but I''m too low leveled. Hmph, I''m level 2 right now, but I''ve already been slain a few times by these monsters," Ms. Su said in a depressed tone.


    She was still at Horthshire Abbey ¨C the beginner village for the human race.


    "Alright, I''ll show you around," Lu Li offered. He felt guilty about letting a girl play alone by herself without any help.


    "Thanks. I owe you one," Ms. Su said gratefully.


    She actually really liked this kind of communication; it made her feel like a normal person instead of a famous celebrity.


    However, Lu Li never really thought much towards celebrities.


    Horthshire Abbey was located in the east direction of Stormwind City, in the valleys of the Elwynn Forest. Some said that this was the origin of the disasters in Azeroth. A wizard that had rested here for decades opened the dark door and unleashed a terrible disaster onto this continent.


    Conversely, some also said that it was the source of hope. Anduin Wrynn had escaped from the Death Mines and also rested here before he began to lead the Alliance.


    Regardless, many legendary figures had walked out from this quiet valley, including the founder of the Silverhand Recruits, Alonsus Faol. "Esarus thar no''Darador" (With blood for honor) was still spoken of by many.


    The fate of Horthshire Abbey had nothing to share with these stories. Despite all that it has been through, it was still the location where the human adventurers started.


    Originally, Lu Li was going to play as a human. The human race had many advantages that Elves did not, but he was more familiar with the advantages of the Elves from his previous life. The Supreme Ring was also another factor that contributed to why he decided to play as an Elf.


    Ms. Su was wearing average Paladin equipment; it was the set that came at the start.


    Although this was well known to be the ugliest set of plated gear, it wasn''t ugly at all on Ms. Su. She seemed to have some sort of magic that made her look good with anything.


    She wasn''t as miserable as Lu Li thought either. Lu Li had stood around to look from afar for about a dozen seconds. During this time, there were at least three players who had tried to come over and talk to her, but unfortunately, they were all deterred by a stern glare.


    Lu Li had the impression that she wasn''t as friendly as she appeared to the public.


    Just her glance alone would make others feel guilty for disturbing her.


    "Why Paladin?" Lu Li couldn''t help but ask. He was curious as to why a girl would want to play a Paladin role. Dawn had designed the Paladin role to be very manly, so it was rare for girls to play this class. Someone like Darkness, a girl who hated men, was a different story.


    "Ah, when did you come? You scared me, standing behind me so quietly like that," Ms. Su complained as she patted her chest.


    "I''m a Thief. It''s normal for me to be silent," Lu Li said as he scanned around their environment. He was amazed by Ms. Su''s ability to attract men.


    At this very moment, there were at least almost a hundred new players that were studying them from different positions.


    "To answer your question, it is because I want to join the Night Watchmen," Ms. Su answered, waving the new-player sword in her hands and nearly slicing it into Lu Li''s legs.


    It was hard to imagine that she was the type to have weird fantasies.


    Lu Li positioned himself slightly away from her, with no further comment about her dreams. He felt like maybe he should have a word with Rain Like a Wanderer, so that he could help her join the Night Watchmen.


    Once Ms. Su joined, it''s not hard to imagine how many male players with too much testosterone would flood into Night Town. Even if Ms. Su did nothing besides sleep in the inn of the town, it would still guarantee the safety of the place.


    "I''ll teach you how to play the game first. First, you''re holding the sword wrong; you should hold it like this..." Lu Li had no time to chit chat with her and immediately began to teach her.


    Unlike the little Gnome Hany, Ms. Su had no clue how to battle.


    "I''ve learnt to use a sword in real life..." Ms. Su wasn''t impressed; she felt like she didn''t have to start so low.


    "Shut up, watch me," Lu Li said.


    Ms. Su opened her mouth, shocked. She had never had anyone say those two words to her before.


    In the tutorial session that followed, Ms. Su was finally convinced that Lu Li wasn''t pretending at all. He really had zero interest in her beauty.


    "Next, I''ll teach you how to receive quests."


    Lu Li then proceeded to teach her the basics of the game, and began to explain to her what game quests were. He thought of this as a quest and did not bother chit chatting or joking around; he just passed his gaming knowledge on to this newbie.


    Ms. Su was actually filming the whole time ¨C she was the spokesperson for the game.


    As such, all of Lu Li''s explanations were recorded and studied by the gaming company. They concluded that these were definitely textbook-style explanations and uploaded them onto the main page, where they became the tutorial guide for beginners.

 978 Gossip

    Lu Li was known as the best teacher in the gaming industry, but that didn''t mean that Ms. Su would be the best student.


    She was wild and playful, and also didn''t have much talent for the game. She probably couldn''t even remember 10% of what Lu Li had taught her, but he never expected much from her anyway.


    To be fair, Ms. Su was the one who was really playing the game.


    She would stop somewhere because the scene was too beautiful, and become distracted by a pretty flower when she fought monsters. If the monsters were too cute, she would even refuse to battle them.


    Fortunately, her charm level seemed to be as high as Hachi Chan''s and so was her luck.


    This was a normal thing ¨C she wasn''t an average player, but the spokesperson for the game. The gaming company was already being fair by not instantly making her level 50 and giving her a god-tier set to wear.


    Her Charm level not only determined how well she could get along with NPCs, but also allowed her to possibly gain more experience from quests.


    This was also why Hachi Chan could spend less time leveling, but still be more highly-leveled than the majority of players. She was currently ranked tenth, in comparison to the other players who did nothing but train all day.


    "Can I not have this shield? You asked me to kill 12 Kobold Miners, but I killed 15 for you," Ms. Su said seriously.


    She didn''t play this like a game at all; she was seriously bargaining with the NPC.


    Marshal McBride, who handed out the quest, held his breath at what he had just heard. His intelligence level wasn''t set to be too high, so this bargain wasn''t something that he could process quickly. Perhaps it was Ms. Su''s Charm that took effect, but he exchanged another shield for her, one that was petite and with better Attributes.


    After a few times, Lu Li grew numb to this. He wasn''t playing the same game as these players with high Charm levels.


    He walked ahead and didn''t fight monsters either ¨C all he did was to protect Ms. Su from dying to the Defias Brotherhood. This was a clearing type of quest, one that was more dangerous amongst all the quests handed out from the beginner village. The monsters here were known to have a wide aggression range and refreshed quickly.


    "What''s your relationship with Water Fairy?" Ms. Su asked curiously. This was also the reason why she had chosen Lu Li to train her.


    "Nothing. Our guild works with her''s sometimes," Lu Li explained calmly.


    "Do you think I''d believe that?" Ms. Su said as she batted her eyes.


    "If you want to play a Paladin, I''d suggest you to take the healing path. They''re easier to learn in terms of technique. You''d probably do well, and you don''t have to worry about fighting monsters. You just need to learn a few damaging skills and have a set for damage. It''ll still be efficient."


    "Has anyone told you that you''re really bad at changing topics?" Ms. Su sighed.


    "I''m just trying to tell you that I don''t want to talk about it. This was something that never existed in the first place, so what did you want me to admit to? Ms. Su, if you don''t want a trainer anymore, I''m going first."


    Lu Li pulled the corners of his lips; he felt extra tired today being someone else''s nanny.


    "Wait, I''ve called a friend. They''re coming soon," Ms. Su said with a crafty smile on her face.


    "I''m already here, Su Mei. Why aren''t you doing your celebrity job, but here to play games instead?" a cold voice rang out behind Ms. Su. It caught her by surprise and she screamed as her face paled.


    She had just started the game and it seemed like she wasn''t familiar with Thieves who always appeared from nowhere.


    "What are you screaming about?"


    Water Fairy came out from the shadows and looked helplessly at Su Mei who was about to cry from being so frightened.


    Although half of her face was covered and only her eyes were showing, Water Fairy was nothing less compared to Su Mei in terms of beauty. However, her popularity in the game was nothing compared to Su Mei, who was a real famous celebrity.


    "You...You frightened me," Su Mei cried as he pointed at Water Fairy, so furious that she was almost speechless.


    "I''m sorry I frightened you," Water Fairy apologized without much sincerity. "You still haven''t told me why you''re playing games, or has everyone finally figured that you''re just a fake *****, and they''ve all stopped liking you?"


    "You''re a fake *****. Hmph, pretending all day and covering up your face as if you look good," Su Mei replied coldly.


    "Just a bit prettier than you," Water Fairy shot back.


    Lu Li stood on the side, a little stunned. He thought that these two were best friends and didn''t expect them to be so sarcastic to each other.


    "Don''t forget I was the top beauty of the university. You were just the top beauty of the course," Su Mei said proudly.


    "I can''t be bothered to talk about this with you. Why did you ask me to come here?" Water Fairy sighed. She really didn''t want to fight with someone else in front of Lu Li. It seemed like it would ruin her image, but Su Mei and her had been enemies from the day they entered university. This wasn''t something that would be solved within a short period time.


    "Help me level up! With two gaming masters helping me, I''d look so cool," Su Mei recovered quickly.


    "For someone like you, even if a hundred people trained you, you wouldn''t become a master."


    Water Fairy was still being sarcastic out of habit, but at least she didn''t turn around and walk away. Supposedly, she was more than just enemies with Su Mei.


    "I know," Su Mei said as she turned her gaze. "Ai, let me ask, what''s with you two? Why do all the people on the forums call you a damn couple?"


    "What does that have to do with you?" Water Fairy retorted. "Don''t ask someone to help you level up just because you''re bored. Don''t you know how precious time is for people like us? If you want someone to train you, just spend some money to find a trainer."


    "But I want him!" Su Mei ran over in an attempt to hold Lu Li''s arms, but he dodged her just in time.


    "If the two of you know each other, then I''m going first," Lu Li said as he looked deeply at Water Fairy, not wanting to be a part of this drama. He finally understood the situation ¨C it seemed like although these two girls knew each other, they most likely didn''t get along.


    "Ai, don''t go! You promised me," Su Mei panicked.


    She had fun in teasing the two. From what she knew about her old classmate, Lu Li definitely had to be someone different for Water Fairy.


    "Goodbye."


    Lu Li had already gone into Stealth and disappeared; he had no interest in staying to be a joke. Before he left, he also added, "I''ll try and level up my Engineering after two days. I''ll mail you the Arcanite Rifle after it''s done."


    "Eh... he really left. Is he really a man!" Su Mei was extremely angry.


    "I''ll train you, but don''t expect me to be your nanny."


    Water Fairy wasn''t surprised at all by what had just happened. This was how Lu Li was; he did things his own way and was never impacted by someone''s looks.


    "Why would you like this kind of person? Don''t tell me you really like him," Su Mei teased, keen for some gossip.


    "Trust me, I''ll kill you," Water Fairy coldly said as she squinted her eyes.


    "So you like him, or else you would''ve denied it! My God, I thought you''d never like a man in your entire life!" Su Mei squealed and shouted.

 979 Endless Polymorph

    "Seventh Heaven ¨C the match today is against Seventh Heaven. Is that too troublesome?" Square Root 3 asked after he returned from drawing the raffle.


    This was the third match of the competition. They hadn''t run into any strong players in the previous two matches, but now they were matched up against Seventh Heaven. No matter how confident he was about his own guild, Square Root 3 also knew that Seventh Heaven wouldn''t be an easy opponent.


    Not to mention, Lucky Southern Persian had become a legend now.


    With his Legendary staff, he had begun to dominate all the other Mages. His existence made players like Sorrowless and Unforgettable Maple seem dull; he was now the God of this class group.


    Lu Li immediately thought of Lucky Southern Persian the moment he heard that they were matched up against Seventh Heaven.


    His Legendary staff had a special effect; it made Polymorph into an instant cast spell. Once you pointed at a target, they would become a sheep, over and over again. This meant that he could render one opponent in a group match totally useless.


    Lu Li wasn''t afraid of him because he had a lot of ways to remove crowd-control effects and most of the times, Thieves struck first. He was confident that he could take down his opponent first.


    However, this was a different story for the others, especially March Rain. Once she was unable to do anything, Ruling Sword would face a situation where they had no healers, and they would lose the group match without a doubt.


    This wasn''t them overthinking; Seventh Heaven had already won multiple matches with this tactic.


    Elevenless from Wings of Dawn, Lucky Southern Persian from Seventh Heaven, Kitty Likes Meat from Ruling Sword ¨C these three were competitors this season that everyone discussed the most. They all had the ability to determine the outcome of a match.


    "It''s alright to lose one or two matches; it won''t affect us from entering into the top 16," Square Root 3 assured upon seeing that Lu Li''s expression looked very serious.


    "It''s best to not lose when we can avoid it. How long is it until the match?" Lu Li asked as he shook his head.


    "About another six or seven hours. The match is in the afternoon."


    Square Root 3 had no clue why Lu Li was so determined; the points would be reset after the top 16 had been decided. Some guilds would even lose matches on purpose.


    It wasn''t new for people to be controlling the wins and losses of competitions.


    For example, guilds like Ruling Sword with enough points to enter the top 16 could choose to lose a particular match on purpose. Of course, their opponent would definitely have to pay them a huge sum of money.


    There were plenty of guilds out there who were willing to spend money to not get disqualified. Not every guild was as poor as Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li contacted his own team members, a group of twenty players from the Xin Xin Mercenary Group and competitors from the club. He had also found a few trustworthy players from the guild.


    The Badlands were located in the eastern part of Azeroth. Over the ground flowed hot lava, and the air swirled with fire. There wasn''t even the slightest cool zone in this arid land. Only plants like cactuses could survive in such harsh conditions.


    However, the Badlands were rich with Mithril and Thorium, so there were still many players who were willing to withstand the heat here for the minerals.


    The Trolls patrolled this area and their footsteps shook the continent as they wandered and searched for those who were in trouble. The lions hid in the valleys, patiently awaiting their chance to move. Young dragons that were hunting flew past the sky, along with the Rockjaws and Dark Iron Dwarves. This was the reason why this place was referred to as the Badlands.


    The first thing that Lu Li and the others encountered upon arrival was a battle.


    This was why he had teamed up with so many players; even an average level 55 monster was beyond his ability. It was a death wish to try and Stealth between these monsters.


    "Who are we looking for?" Azure Sea Breeze didn''t like the weather here; he was covered in heavy, plated armor.


    "A Dwarf ¨C his name is Theldurin the Lost, originally a member of the Twilight Hammer. He later on left the Hammer and escaped with the help of his two friends," Lu Li explained. "In one of the stories about the Earth Elemental Princess, it said that when Theldurin escaped, he brought a Scroll of Myzrael with him.


    "What does the Scroll of Myzrael do?" Listening to Lu LI''s stories at least helped everyone redirect their attention from the heat.


    "Myzrael is the name of the Earth Elemental Princess. The scroll, of course, is used to summon her," Lu Li continued as he ripped off his face cover. In an environment like this, he wanted to take of all his equipment, but he knew that this was impossible. The dangerous monsters here prevented him from doing so.


    Their destination was on a hill near Aggramar''s Hammer. Once they climbed on, they would run into a trio of three NPCs, Theldurin the Lost (Dwarf), Lucien Tosselwrench (Gnome) and Martek the Exiled (Tauren).


    "Don''t worry, we''re not bad people," Lu Li said as he called for a halt.


    His team of twenty had frightened the NPC trio and they almost attacked them. They tried their best to contain themselves after Lu Li called stop, but clearly, they were still on guard.


    "Hachi Chan, come here," Lu Li beckoned as he took two steps back.


    This was how awkward it was to have a low Charm level. Not only did he fail to activate the quest, but they probably would have even entered battle if he didn''t react fast enough.


    "We''re wandering adventures. Do you guys happen to know an uncle called Theldurin?" Hachi Chan asked based on what Lu Li had told him. Her appearance immediately made the anxiety in the air disappear.


    "Mmm, I am child. What is it that you want?" the Dwarf asked as he placed down his weapon.


    Lu Li felt sorry for himself. Even if reincarnation didn''t make him invincible, at the very least, it didn''t have to make him so hated by all.


    "I heard that you have a Scroll of Myzrael. I want to know what it''s used for, uncle¡­"


    Hachi Chan asked for information straight up. If it was Lu Li who had asked like this, chances were, he would most likely get a punch in the face.


    However, Hachi Chan had no need to beat around the bush. The way that she attempted quests had always been simple and plain.


    She was a famous player in the forums and had written plenty of guides for quests, but no one dared to attempt them with her methods. Not only were the chances of failure too high, but they were also often accompanied by life threatening experiences.


    Not everyone was fortunate enough to be the daughter or son of the System.


    "Scr¡­Scroll of Myzrael?! Why would you want that for? Its strong magic summons Myzrael; we''d be in big trouble then!" Theldurin the Lost exclaimed.


    "Uncle, don''t worry. My friends will protect me," Hachi Chan assured as she patted her flat chest.


    "I''m not questioning the strength of your friends," Theldurin the Lost began. He had been placed in a bit of an awkward spot.


    "It''s just¡­unfortunately, it has been destroyed. The elementals stole the scroll and ripped it into pieces. If you could collect these pieces, we might be able to repair it back to its original form."


    "Where do these elementals live?" Hachi Chan asked.


    Theldurin showed her the location where the elementals spawned, and had the Gnome apply a refreshing buff onto Lu Li and the others. Everyone instantly felt the heat leave their bodies.


    This apparently was the blessing that the NPC gave to everyone because he felt sorry for Hachi Chan bearing with the heat.

 980 Dragon Taming

    The monsters weren''t too far away; they were called "Enraged Rock Elementals". There were plenty of Rock Elementals everywhere in Badlands, but there were only about seven or eight of these enraged ones.


    In Lu Li''s previous life when he had attempted this quest, it was a total disaster.


    When countless players fought over seven or eight monsters, it resulted in everyone fighting each other. Random players would take up to days to finally obtain their quest item, and if they weren''t careful, they would just become cannon fodder in the group battle.


    There were no such issues for them right now. There was barely anyone in the Badlands and certainly no one to steal their monsters.


    However, this didn''t mean that it would be easy for them to obtain twenty of the quest items either.


    "Let''s all split into groups of three to four. Once we all take a position, we''ll clear the monsters in our range. Two players attack, and one player can loot," Lu Li said, then briefly sorted everyone into their positions.


    The few level 55 monsters pounced on them as soon as they saw them. Enraged Rock Elementals had a high Defense, and a stronger Attack than the ordinary Rock Elementals. However, their weakness was obvious ¨C their health was much lower.


    With Lu Li''s damage, he could take down one with about seven hits. With two to three players attacking simultaneously, the Elementals would instantly be killed.


    "It didn''t drop." Azure Sea Breeze barely had any attack, so he could only loot.


    "It''s normal; the drop rate of the scroll pieces is a little low."


    There were still six hours from the match, so they would definitely be able to complete the quest by today.


    "Is it this Scrunched Up Scroll Piece?" Remnant Dream asked as she held onto a broken piece.


    As soon as Lu Li had mentioned the low drop rate, Remnant Dream immediately looted one. It was clear that her luck was far superior to the others.


    "Everyone, stop looting. Let Remnant Dream do it," Lu Li said, finally remebering that he had another secret weapon with him.


    They killed six monsters in the first wave, but only the two monsters that Remnant Dream looted dropped quest items. Everyone else either received white equipment or useless materials that weren''t even worth selling to the shops.


    With the help of Remnant Dream, a quest that would usually take about two hours was completed in around twenty minutes.


    Broken Scroll Pieces, Scrunched Up Scroll Pieces and Burnt Scroll Pieces ¨C they obtained all three different types and brought them to Theldurin the Lost.


    "Uncle, what do we do next?" Hachi Chan asked.


    "Let me repair these scrolls. Then, we''ll see what they tell us after we join them together."


    Theldurin the Lost didn''t even have the slightest intention of making the task harder for Hachi Chan, and simply began to combine the scrolls pieces.


    Everyone sat together and just watched.


    "God¡­my God! A misfortune is about to appear! It''s coming to me! A misfortune is coming!"


    After the scroll had been combined. Theldurin the Lost was immediately stunned.


    Everyone was confused by his words; did he really have to be so dramatic?


    "Excuse me, what''s this misfortune? There are so many of us."


    Hachi Chan was confident; she had never failed a quest before.


    "No, I cannot say¡­ I cannot say their name, or else they''ll hear it! But, if we...if we understand a bit more about them¡­we might know how to defeat them!"


    "What do we need to do?" Hachi Chan''s asked as her eyes glistened. The more difficult the quest, the more she was interested in it.


    Everyone had a niche that they excelled in. In terms of quests, she could without a doubt claim to be the master, even compared to the expert and celebrity players.


    "Go to Uldaman. You need to find the Tablet of Ryun''eh...yes, find it! Don''t let me mention that name again! It''s hidden deep within there, in an ancient box. This box is even more ancient than the Dwarves..."


    Uldaman ¨C this wasn''t an unfamiliar name, but rather, a private dungeon.


    Uldaman, Uldum and Ulduar were the first cities made by Earthen and were named after Titans. But now, they had been deeply buried underground while the Earthen had slept for almost 8000 years there.


    It was only recently when the Dwarf adventurers discovered this forgotten city and released the failures made by the titans ¨C the Troggs.


    "We probably don''t need that many players. I''ll go in there with Hachi Chan," Lu Li suggested after he estimated the distance and recalled all the monsters along the way.


    Most importantly, if they had locked in their route, the sky would be much safe than land.


    "I can''t ride my dragon yet," Hachi Chan said sadly.


    Her dragon has finally become capable of flying after all this time, but unfortunately, it wasn''t strong enough to take Hachi Chan along with it. The girl was short, but she was still too heavy.


    "I''ll carry you. Aren''t you capable of transformations too?" Lu Li asked as he rolled his eyes.


    This girl spent all her time on her dragon; she had probably already forgotten that she was capable of transforming into a butterfly.


    With the time she had for taming the dragon, she could probably spend it more on learning how to fly. She would probably be the only girl who would be capable of running into a tree after learning the flying skill.


    "Lu Li, don''t you think you''re like my mount now? Hahahaha," Hachi Chan laughed as she turned into a butterfly and sat on Lu Li''s crow head.


    "My ***..." Lu Li was mad about being a mount so he tumbled through the air.


    Hachi Chan wasn''t prepared and fell straight off Lu Li''s head.


    "Ah..." If someone could see clearly, they would find that Hachi Chan was erratically fluttering about. She had completely forgotten that she could also fly.


    Lu Li grabbed her with his claws before she fell into a pack of monsters.


    It was interesting to bully little girls once in a while. Lu Li would never admit that he was doing this because he was envious of how well Hachi Chan got along with the NPCs.


    Uldaman was currently a pile of ruins, so Lu Li didn''t need to enter the dungeon.


    He took Hachi Chan around in a loop, and pretended to accidentally find the cave that Theldurin the Lost was talking about.


    After they flew in, they found a large box inside. It was very obvious and was right at the center. There were four small totem poles nearby that were carved with an assortment of strange runes.


    After Hachi Chan landed on the ground, she was almost about to cry.


    "Let me down," she sniffed.


    "You should learn how to fly by yourself in the future. I''m doing all this for your own good; have you forgotten how to train dragons?"


    Lu Li was referring to was how Hachi Chan had dropped her dragon from a high place. What he had done today was almost identical to what Hachi Chan did.

 981 Stealing Food from the Lion’s Den

    Hachi Chan was furious and almost wanted to bite Lu Li. She became determined to learn how to fly and level up her dragon until it was strong enough to defeat Lu Li.


    Lu Li investigated the small cave, confirmed that there were no monsters hiding around and carefully approached the chest.


    The box was locked and according to the quest descriptions, the key could be obtained through the monsters in the Instance Dungeon. However, an Elite or better Dungeon Scroll was required to enter the Uldaman dungeon.


    Lu Li could avoid all that trouble because he was a Thief with high-level lockpicking.


    He casted Unlock and quickly opened the chest, revealing the tablet inside.


    There was a cooldown on the respawn timer of the chest. Powerful mercenary groups would often take over this area in order to charge players entry fees. However, Major Guilds would always be stronger and have more manpower than mercenary groups, so they would usually wipe them out if they dared to get in their way.


    Unlike other chests, this one only contained the quest item and nothing else. Otherwise, the mercenary groups would exploit this and continuously open the chest for some quick profit.


    They brought the tablet back to Theldurin, but they encountered another problem.


    Theldurin the Lost scratched the hairs on his head and was sweating profusely as he apologised to Hachi Chan, "I wish I had concentrated more in ancient history instead of always wanting to have fun. I know very little about ancient literature ¨C otherwise, I would decipher this for you."


    Lu Li and the others were speechless. After all this time and effort, this scumbag didn''t even know how to read the tablet.


    Fortunately, Theldurin knew exactly who to go to for these type of problems. He had quite a good relationship with who he had in mind and Theldurin was confident that he would help them out.


    Gerrig Bonegrip in Ironforge was not a person that everyone got along with. As his name suggested, he was a rugged man, and wouldn''t even waver even if a cute girl like Hachi Chan were to ask him for a favor.


    However, according to Theldurin, they had sat next to each other when they were still students in Ironforge. He was like a brother to him and they would often sleep together on the same bunk.


    It turned out that Theldurin wasn''t lying. Lu Li and the others arrived and gave Gerrig a Doomsayer''s Robe. He immediately teared up and said, "I thought he had been long dead. He left and went on to worship the Old Gods."


    "Uncle Theldurin is no longer a Twilight Disciple," Hachi Chan replied.


    "Apparently, he, Lucien Tosselwrench and Martek the Exiled realized the dangers and stupidity of the Twilight Disciples and decided to kill those that tried to control them. They escaped and have since been sworn enemies of the Twilight Cult. The three now reside in the Barrenlands and have made quite a name for themselves," Lu Li explained. He sounded quite sincere, so Gerrig decided to believe their explanation.


    "The Tablet of Ryun''eh is quite easy to decipher. It tells a lot, but not enough, not nearly enough!" Gerrig sighed then continued, "If you want me to read it fully, I need you to bring something to me."


    This was the next stage of the quest.


    According to Gerrig, Lu Li and the others had to travel to an Ogre Castle located in central Hillsbrad Hill, south of the Alterac Mountains and the bordering Horde territory.


    In order to save some time, Lu Li ordered the others to wait in a secluded place, opting to only bring Hachi Chan into the Ogre Castle. He found the target he was supposed to kill ¨C Grel''borg the Miser.


    Gerrig was after an item called the Star of Xil''yeh.


    However, since Grel''borg was known as a miser, he wouldn''t give it up so easily without putting up a fight.


    The only way of obtaining the Star of Xil''yeh was by defeating him. However, there was a high chance that they would be swarmed by the Ogres in the castle mid-fight. Additionally, their location was quite close to Tarren Mill and they would be dead meat if they were discovered by the Horde players. As such, Lu Li decided to let Hachi Chan check out whether the quest item could be bought from the markets with gold.


    "Ok!" Hachi Chan transformed into a cougar, but accidentally revealed herself next to the Ogre and had no choice but to use her sharp claws to fend against him.


    At first, the Ogre was confused, but then became enraged and swung his large bat towards Hachi Chan.


    Block!


    Lu Li''s two daggers blocked his attack and as he ordered Hachi Chan to run. When Hachi Chan successfully escaped aggro-range, he created some distance between himself and the Miser.


    There was nothing they could do but to kill him now. Lu Li called for backup and sent them his coordinates.


    "I thought everyone who sees you falls in love with you," Lu Li sarcastically quipped as he waited for his teammates to arrive.


    "I meant players and NPCs, not monsters¡­" Hachi Chan felt bad.


    His teammates soon arrived. but were followed by several Ogres behind them.


    Out of these Ogres, some were Elite monsters while others were mini-Bosses. The biggest Boss was located deeper inside the castle and would not attack players unless he was provoked.


    "Main Tank, control aggro. Everyone else, attack the Miser! We don''t have much time!" Lu Li yelled.


    Since none of them could Stealth into the Ogre Castle, they most likely would ahve been spotted by Horde players when they entered. They needed to kill the Miser before any Horde players could arrive.


    Grel''borg had 170,000HP so he wasn''t too difficult to defeat.


    A party of twenty or so players only needed around five or six minutes to defeat him. However, this was assuming that the Horde players didn''t come and meddle with them. This was obviously impossible because as soon as Azure Sea Breeze and the rest of the team arrived, they could already hear the Horde players outside waiting for them.


    As time passed by, more and more Horde players gathered outside the castle.


    Between Tarren Mill and Southshore City, there was a massive war zone called the Ashenvale where Alliance and Horde players would come and PvP against one another.


    As soon as they heard the news of Alliance Players entering the Ogre Castle, they acted like a swarm of sharks that smelled blood in the ocean.


    "Mu Qiu, Moonlight and Tears, let''s go."


    Lu Li heard the battlecry outside, gave up on the Boss and brought a few teammates with him to secure the perimeter. The rest of the team stayed and continued to attack the Boss.


    Her Tears was also included because he was a PVP enthusiast with top-tier gear.


    When they exited out of the Miser''s room, they were faced with a small group of Horde players.

 982 War Zone

    Moonlight reacted the fastest and charged towards the enemy healer, stabbing him multiple times. The Healer wasn''t a professional player, so under the relentless attack of Lu Li and Her Tears, he was instantly killed.


    The rest of them also fell one after another in a matter of 30 seconds.


    "Don''t go out any further; just stay here and guard the room," Lu Li said, stopping his teammates. Their main goal was not to kill as many players as they could, but to prevent the Horde players from disrupting their quest.


    In reality, he was afraid of running into a group of professional players.


    It would be fine if he was alone because he could just Stealth and escape away from the fight. However, since he was with his party, he couldn''t just leave them behind.


    Even though the professional players usually got along quite well and seemed to be on good terms, if there was an opportunity to attack and embarrass him to gain a bit of fame, no one would let it slip away.


    They had to take their job more seriously than friendship.


    "Cover your faces. Don''t let the them recognize who we are," Lu Li said to the others.


    Moonlight took out a bandana and covered his face, along with Mu Qiu and Her Tears.


    As for the players that they had just killed, they could only pray that they didn''t recognize them. Otherwise they would announce it to the whole Horde community and summon everyone to kill them.


    Another group of players entered and Moonlight immediately greeted them by Charging towards them, then casted Whirlwind. Lu Li and Her Tears immediately killed the enemy Healer and quickly finished off the party of 20 to 30 players.


    If they didn''t have the positional advantage, they would be no way they could go up against thirty and barely suffer so much as a scratch.


    "Boss, something seems off outside."


    Mu Qiu looked outside as he was healing back up and saw that quite a few players had gathered, but no one dared to enter. There were probably a total of forty to fifty people, excluding the Thieves that were in Stealth.


    "How you guys doing inside?" Lu Li asked in party chat.


    "Almost done. Just hold on for a bit longer," Azure Sea Breeze said, trying to encourage Lu Li. He was feeling quite frustrated as well because if it weren''t for the Horde players outside, they probably would have finished the Boss by now.


    Lu Li thought about it and decided to risk it.


    "You guys go up and help out. We''re running away as soon as we get the loot."


    He could''ve called for backup from Ruling Sword, but it was too late for that now.


    When Moonlight returned to the Boss fight, Lu Li decided to venture out of the Ogre Castle and carefully approached the group of Horde players.


    "Careful! There''s an enemy Thief around us!" a Horde player shouted upon seeing one of his Priests get stunned.


    They knew that a group of Alliance players had entered the Ogre castle, but they were unsure as to how many of them there were. The two group of players they had sent before were scouts. Since they were instantly killed, they knew that they were up against powerful enemies.


    The Horde players stayed alert in case a group of Thieves appeared out of nowhere.


    When the Stun duration was up, nothing happened for a while. However, as they were about to make their move on the Ogre Castle again, a Mage near the back of the formation was Stunned again. The Horde players began panicking and casted a flurry of spells towards the area he standing at.


    It happened again, before someone finally realized what Lu Li was trying to do.


    "Ignore him ¨C let''s go in before they get away! This guy is trying to waste our time!"


    "Crap!" Upon also realizing, they all stampeded into the Ogre Castle.


    They thought that the Alliance players were trying to kill the Lv45 main Ogre Boss and would take quite a while to defeat him. However, they were nowhere to be found


    When they arrived at Grel''borg the Miser''s room, there was nothing left besides his corpse.


    It was as if the Alliance players were never there.


    Lu Li''s team had also managed to obtain the Star of Xil''yeh from Grel''borg the Miser. Their next target was the Ogre Shaman, Mogh the Undying in Stranglethorn. He was located on a hill near the Ruins of Aboraz.


    There were quite a few annoying quests in Dawn that required the players to run around the entire world; "The Star, the Hand and the Heart" was one of these. However, the worst part was that all the places were war zones. Stranglethorn was similar to Hillsbrad Hill because there were many of PvP maniacs hunting players from the other faction.


    If casual players found out that their quest required them to travel to Stranglethorn, they would often choose to abandon it.


    Lu Li was no casual player though.


    Ruling Swords had plenty of PvP fanatics on their side who would often travel to Stranglethorn to practice their skills.Moonlight, Fat Monkey, Her Tears, Machine Bro and Bai Renyou were all there already.


    They immediately left their battles and gathered at the coordinates that Lu Li had sent.


    Very quickly, a group of up to a thousand players from Ruling Sword had gathered.


    The Horde players began avoiding them because only a powerful Horde Major Guild could go up against such a formidable force of players. It would be stupid to try to and even challenge them in any way.


    In a short amount of time, the Ruins of Aboraz became swarmed with Ruling Sword players.


    When Lu Li arrived, he did not see a single Horde player. He found his target and easily defeated him, completing the quest. It would have taken a lot more effort and time if he didn''t have an entire guild to back him up.


    He obtained the Legacy Heart which was the "heart" in the "The Star, The Hands and The Heart" quest.


    The third target that he needed to kill wasn''t in a Horde infested map. However, it was equally difficult to obtain.


    The Hand of Dagun came from Dagun the Ravenous. If it wasn''t because of the background story from the quest description, it would be impossible to find him. This was because he could only be summoned from an altar with Enchanted Sea Kelp.


    However, Lu Li knew that the NPCs would prepare the way for him and Hachi Chan. All they had to do was travel to the beach next to Dustwallow Marsh and prepare to kill their target.

 983 The Trapped Princess

    Dark Oracles were Murlocs, and the drop rate of Enchanted Sea Kelp was quite low. However, their respawn rates were above average, so Azure Sea Breeze could tank groups of them at a time while the AoE attackers wiped the monsters out.


    After grinding for around 10 minutes or so, they found what they needed.


    Lu Li then summoned a small boat, which was the same one that they had previously used to get to the island. The boat could not hold that many people, so Sesame Rice Ball only brought two other people with him, then summoned a portal for everyone else to follow.


    This island was previously inhabited by humans, but the Naga had taken over and claimed it as their territory. It seemed like they were guarding something.


    Rumours had flown around, but no one knew the truth behind them. Alcaz Island used to have a small Human village. This village had an underground tunnel system, which was most likely where the secret laid.


    The shore was inhabited by Hydras, which were either summoned by the Naga or had existed prior to their arrival.


    Lu Li and his party were attacked by the Hydras as they pulled onto the beach. These monsters were higher than level 50, so the ones who were attacked had nearly no HP left.


    Everyone panicked, activating skills that decreased damage-received and healing abilities. Hachi Chan also activated her Enhanced Tranquillity, so the three of them successfully made it onto dry land.


    If the Hydras had called for the Naga, things would have been unimaginably horrifying. It was fortunate that after they had landed on the shore, the Hydras had ceased their attacks. However, they were still screeching after, so it was wise to not dawdle on the beach.


    They then found a suitable place to erect the portal, which a 20-man squad walked through. If the Nagas had come now, they would just be free Experience points.


    "Man, these monsters are weird."


    They looked like snakes, but had human features at the same time. Apart from their strange appearance, their attacks decreased speed as well. For melee players like Azure Sea Breeze, these status ailments were torturous.


    "Alright, alright. Aggro is good to go. These monsters drop good stuff," Lu Li said, trying to motivate Azure Sea Breeze a little.


    "What do they drop?" Now everyone was curious.


    "Recipe: Elixir of Detect Lesser Invisibility. After using it, you will be able to detect people in Stealth. These Naga have a good drop rate for these recipes. With Remnant Dream''s luck, we should be able to find one," Lu Li explained.


    "There are items like that?" Everyone was excited.


    Elixirs could not be used in the arena, but there were no rules against them in the wild. This elixir would be the most useful for spell-based classes, as they were easily countered by Thieves.


    "It''s not 100% every time." Lu Li had to tell them the truth.


    Thieves were known as ''Dawn''s Stepchildren''. The game company would not release items that would work 100% against Stealth. These Lesser Elixirs were extremely limited in their use; high-levelled Thieves would render them useless.


    Although Lu Li had dampened their hopes a little, they were still extremely keen.


    The squad made quick advancements into the centre of the island. A broken altar stood in front of them, with the Naga and Murlocs roaming around the area as guards.


    It could be said that Lu Li had benefitted greatly every time he had encountered an altar. After all,


    his ring was upgraded thanks to them.


    There were no other altars that were of help to him anymore. However, Lu Li was still hopeful that there was still some way out there that had the ability to upgrade his ring.


    He could go back to Malfurion. After all, he did not believe that there would be another ring on Malfurion''s fingers that was of Legendary grade.


    "Clear out the surrounding monsters first. Remnant Dream, remember to loot the corpses. The drop rates here are higher than the ones from before," Lu Li instructed, then looked at the time, and summoned his own monsters to help clear.


    "I''ll go pull aggro," Her Tears offered, deciding to help Azure Sea breeze.


    The other Tank classes also followed suit. After the barrage of attacks from the AoE offensive classes, these monsters were cleared extremely quickly.


    The recipe that was dropped was given to Sesame Rice Ball. His Alchemy levels were extremely high, so he could learn Recipes as soon as he got them. He already knew how to brew Lesser Stealth elixirs, but now he could brew the opposite.


    After this, they placed the Enchanted Sea Kelp on top of the altar. After a short while, a Sea Giant appeared.


    This was a level 48 Boss, so the 20-man squad made quick work of him.


    After the Boss died, Lu Li''s party then received the Quest Item, which was the Hand of Dagun.


    The three quests were now completed and the items were relayed to Gerrig Bonegrip in Ironforge. However, the questline was still not over. After giving the items to Bonegrip, he would give them a book called ''Yagyin''s Digest''.


    According to the Digest, Lu Li and his party headed towards Arathi Highlands and arrived at Drywhisker Gorge.


    After passing through Kobold territory, they reached their destination. This gorge was extremely large and silent, with dense vegetation and a small river that ran from the mountains, forming a waterfall. At the end of this waterfall was a large pond.


    The Iridescent Shards that they had to find were located in a cave beside this pond.


    During Lu Li''s previous life, the game company had increased the quest difficulty, with many Rockjaws roaming the area. These Rockjaws were able to use Stealth, and could also stun their enemies.


    However, Lu Li''s team faced no difficulties as they came to this large crystal which had many cracks in it.


    Lu Li grabbed Yagyin''s Digest and began chanting over it. Then, the crystal showed a person''s face, but because it was fragmented and cracked, they couldn''t make out who it was.


    "My name is Myzrael. I am a princess of the earth, and my captors, the giants, have trapped me deep beneath the Arathi Highlands. These crystal shards are the only way I can speak with the surface world. Brave adventurers, please help me¡­"


    "And you''re underground?" Hachi Chan did not seem like she believed her. After all, it was hard to imagine who would such a cruel thing.


    "That''s right. I''ve been here for many moons. Will you please rescue me? I will reward you all abundantly," the face said as it twisted in pain.


    "How do we help you?" Hachi Chan asked.


    "You must destroy this crystal to release me. The Drywhisker Kobolds, the allies of the Giants, dwell to the east side of this Gorge. From them, you can obtain motes of Myzrael. You need to obtain twelve of them and place them here. After you have done this, I will be able to return to where the sun shines.

 984 Releasing the Seal

    "Wait¡­" Wandering could not help but say something.


    Lu Li held Wandering back, shaking his head vigorously to indicate that it was not the time yet and to let Hachi Chan do her thing.


    After everyone exited the cave to fight the Drywhisker Kobolds, Wandering then asked, "Don''t you guys think that the princess is pretty suspicious? What if she was trapped in there because of her evil deeds?"


    Lu Li was extremely grateful for Wandering; he was a smart guy after all.


    "I''ll propose an idea. How about we go and ask Theldurin the Lost about it? The scroll was in his hands during the start of this quest, so he could have a greater understanding around this whole situation," Lu Li suggested. He had not revealed the truth behind the Princess Myzrael. After all, it was illogical for him to do background research on an NPC who had been trapped in there for ages.


    As such, they made their way back to Theldurin the Lost, and told him about everything that had happened thus far.


    "What? You want to release Myzrael?" Theldurin yelled in surprise. His face wore an expression of disagreement and shock. This indicated to Lu Li and his party that Theldurin had a big problem with the Princess.


    "We haven''t released her. What''s the problem, Uncle? She seems quite pitiful," Hachi Chan quickly said to avoid misunderstandings.


    "Princess Myzrael is a deceiver and a liar and is extremely ruthless. She has been sealed for a long time. Are you sure that you guys saw the princess in the large crystal?" Theldurin asked with an extremely serious expression on his face.


    "Yes," Lu Li answered, then began to describe what Myzrael had said to them. He also mentioned the cracked and fragmented crystal.


    "If this situation is as you''ve described it, then we''re in trouble. It looks like the crystal is no longer strong enough to contain her. After all, she has already absorbed a tremendous amount of strength after being sealed for so long," Theldurin the Lost said, beginning to panic.


    According to Theldurin, his ancestors had already began guarding the crystal from generation to generation.


    Among the knowledge of the crystal that had been passed down, it was known that if it began to crack, the power of the seal would have started to weaken. It was during these dire times that Myzrael would be able to eventually break the seal and terrorise the Arathi Highlands. If she broken the seal and was freed, the whole land would be desolated.


    "Well, what can we do to help? Lu Li asked.


    "Hold on. Let us talk about this issue."


    Theldurin then gathered his companions, the Gnome and the Orc, and began to discuss.


    "What can this quest reward us with? This is so bothersome," Wandering asked Lu Li.


    They had already spent well over two hours on this quest. Most of their time was spent on running errands around different areas. It was fortunate that this was a game ¨C otherwise, they would have collapsed midway.


    "We''ll get something good," Lu Li reassured him.


    "Wow, if the rewards are enough to impress Lu Li, then it''s enough to get my hopes up."


    Her Tears had not found it bothersome at all; there was good equipment to entice them. Furthermore, according to how Dawn''s reward systems worked, the more they did in the quest, the


    more they would receive afterwards.


    Theldurin the Lost did not let Lu Li and his party wait for too long. He and his companions quickly devised a plan: "Alright. Follow what she says and release her. After she resurfaces, defeat her and retrieve the Eldritch Shackles. After this, place these shackles around the area of the fragments, and seal her again."


    "What if we can''t defeat her? Kitty Likes Meat asked, unable to suppress her curiosity.


    "Well, if that happens, then none of you guys will be able to walk out alive," Theldurin the Lost answered, then continued, "The moment that she resurfaces is when she is at her weakest. It is during that time that you have the best hope on defeating her. Otherwise, she will become even stronger."


    Her weakest point?


    This was the key strategy for the quest. Most people had absorbed what the NPC had said. If she was at her weakest, it would mean that this was the period where she would be most easily defeated.


    Had they not come back to Theldurin, they would not have realised to kill her right after she resurfaced.


    If they had waited for Princess Myzrael''s wrath to blossom, her strength would have already recovered to a point where a normal player would not be able to stand against her. Many underprepared squads had died here because of this.


    After this, they returned to Drywhisker Gorge with the intention of killing Drywhisker Kobolds.


    Kobolds were spread out over the entire continent of Azeroth. These creatures were known as the lowest of the low, as they were extremely ruthless and stubborn in their way of life to make up for their physical shortcomings. However, it was these qualities that made them successful mercenaries.


    The Drywhisker Kobolds had been hired to guard this place, which they had been doing for a long time.


    Their levels were not high, but they were not to be underestimated either. These Kobolds had excellent teamwork with each other, and their Weapon-based and Spell-based classes were extremely powerful as well.


    Ordinary players would not be able to do this quest.


    Fortunately, this was not a Solo quest. Lu Li had gone ahead to stun the healers, after which the rest of the party massacred the rest of the monsters. One wave of monsters usually dropped around one mote of Myzrael, so it only took a few minutes for them to gather what was needed.


    The motes of Myzrael were sprinkled over the crystal. This resulted in the already-fragmented crystal to crack even more as sounds began to echo out from within.


    It was as if something was trying to break out of the prison.


    After a while, the noise died down and the face had once again appeared on the crystal. Myzrael was extremely spent and began to huff and puff while saying, "No, it is not enough. The seal is too powerful. Four Stones of Binding were used to seal me here. The cursed giants¡­"


    Her reaction and constant cursing indicated to the players that she was not a mere human.


    "Alright then, what should we do next?" Hachi Chan cautiously asked.


    "To break the seal, you must destroy the strongest of the Stones, which is the innermost one. Firstly, you must find the other three keys of the Stones. These Stones are all under the protection of Guardians," the Princess said. "However, if you are clever or lucky enough, you will be able to find ways to destroy these Guardians."


    The three Guardians were all level 50 Giant Bosses.

 985 Getting Angry Firs

    "We shouldn''t be doing this; these giants are good people."


    Azure Sea Breeze and the others couldn''t take it. Now that they knew the backstory, they couldn''t treat these watchmen as monsters.


    "Don''t worry," Lu Li said calmly, "These giants were born from the earth and will be reborn in a few days."


    Although this was just a virtual world, everything still felt real. However, the game was still designed with playability in mind, so the quest could go as far as making the players question their actions.


    Although they were level 50, they weren''t difficult to kill.


    The three stone giants dropped the Flame Key, Ocean Key and Thunder Key. With these keys, they were able to unlock the corresponding stone lock that each giant was guarding.


    When the three prisons were opened, they returned to Myzrael.


    "The unlocking of the stone locks has unbound me, but there is still one more unbreakable lock that prevents me from moving," the little princess of the earth said insatiably, then asked, "Do you see the stone lock in the very middle? The key for that is in the hands of Fozruk. He is one of the giants who imprisoned me, but I think you will be able to defeat him."


    "That is impossible; we won''t be able to," Lu Li said, rejecting Myzrael''s flattery.


    "Elf, why do you have no confidence in yourself? You have already killed three giants; this won''t be much of an obstacle."


    The princess of the earth had become angry internally, but chose to suppress it. Now that her freedom was in sight, she didn''t want to quit.


    "The previous battles have made us exhausted, and we cannot fight another like that," Lu Li answered as he squinted. Seeing that Lu Li was trying to get them all something, his friends sounded in agreement about how difficult Fozruk would be.


    In fact, Lu Li wasn''t lying either. Fozruk was indeed going to be stronger than the previous three Bosses.


    It was ranked somewhere between a Boss and a quasi-Boss, with its specific strength being determined by the number of participants in the quest. For a team of twenty players like they had now, the strength of Fozruk would be no different from an Instance Dungeon Boss.


    In his previous lifetime, Lu Li had seen plenty of guilds use this characteristic of this quest to increase the level and difficulty of the Boss.


    They did this because the greater the difficulty, the better the loot.


    Lu Li was in a hurry today, as he needed to compete against Seventh Heaven in the afternoon, so he couldn''t spend too long fighting the Boss.


    "You¡­" Myzrael was naturally upset, but she didn''t want to give up either. As such, she reluctantly sprinkled a blue light from the crystal upon them. Lu Li and the others who came into contact with it received a System Prompt ¨C they had all received the blessing of the Princess of the Earth.


    The Princess of the Earth''s Prayer: Increases target''s Armor, Attack, HP and Mana regeneration by 20%. 20% reduction of damage taken from Earth attacks. 1 hour duration.


    There was no doubt that this was a powerful buff.


    After giving this buff to the players, Myzrael''s friendliness to Water Fairy suddenly came to an end. It was as if she had been working with borrowed kindness, because she suddenly screamed at them coldly, "What are you waiting for? Take the magic wand from Fozruk and unlock the final lock so I can go free!"


    Even if she didn''t tell Lu Li to hurry, he wouldn''t have delayed any longer anyway. His intention was to use the Princess of the Earth''s Prayer to deal with the guard.


    Fozruk was a huge silent giant, with a soft and compassionate face. He didn''t look like a bad person at first glance and didn''t even respond when the players surrounded him. He only started retaliating after he was attacked.


    Fozruk had high Attack and pretty good Defense. Fortunately, Lu Li and the others received Myzrael''s blessing, so the battle wasn''t too difficult.


    After twenty minutes, the battle came to its conclusion. Fozruk seemed a little anxious as he uttered with his final breath, "Children, you don''t even know what you are releasing. You may regret it."


    In addition to dropping the magic wand, which was to be used to open the lock, he also dropped a Silver equip with excellent Attributes.


    After Fozruk died, a huge stone pillar rose from under the ground. All of the Arathi Highlands could hear the excited whispers of the princess; she knew that she was going to be released soon.


    After endless years, she could finally see the daylight again.


    "Tears, you stay here and use the magic wand when we tell you to. Everyone else, follow me. We''re


    going to kill the princess but we have to do it before she regenerates her strength," Lu Li said.


    They were going to kill her right after releasing her; what a boring quest.


    After the signal from Lu Li, Her Tears used the magic wand in her hands while Lu Li and the others stood around the sealed crystal as it shattered.


    "Finally¡­ today, the damned giants will pay for their ignorance!"


    A huge palm pressed against the ground as the shape of a person took form. Soon, a tall stone giant woman was standing before them. Her pupils flashed red as she began to unfold her cunning plan.


    "Attack!" Lu Li didn''t wait a single moment longer than he needed to.


    The earlier they started fighting the better, as Myzrael would be weaker while Lu Li and the others would still have the buff.


    Princess Myzrael was immediately angered.


    "You damned adventurers! I had intended to let you live a little longer, but I didn''t think you would come looking to die. That''s fine, I''ll deal with you first, then the other giants."


    Azure Sea Breeze went up to cast Taunt and the others immediately followed up.


    Then, Princess Myzrael discovered that she was so weak that she could only deal three-digit damage values to Azure Sea Breeze. Moreover, the damage that the adventurers were dealing to her made her more and more frustrated.


    As time went on, Princess Myzrael felt like she had been led into a trap.


    If she hadn''t blessed them previously, she wouldn''t be so weak and the adventurers also wouldn''t have been so difficult to kill.


    Myzrael originally wouldn''t attack the players at the beginning. According to the normal narrative, the players would eventually save the fallen Princess of the Earth after a number of arduous quests. However, this beautiful narrative had been rewritten. The figure that woke up was not Snow White but a demon who had been imprisoned for thousands of years.


    The first thing she was going to do after being released was to gather her strength before killing the adventurers that had released her.


    There were some players that thought they could control her. But if she could be controlled, then why did the giants pre-emptively imprison her?

 986 A Strong Weapon Upgrade

    According to Lu Li, the Arathi Highlands were a very dangerous place because of Princess Myzrael


    Whenever the players failed to kill her at this part of the quest, the Regenerated Myzrael would chase them around until the System removed her an hour after she was summoned.


    After she regenerated her strength, Myzrael was almost unmatched. Anyone that stood in front of her would be instantly killed.


    "Increase your damage output. Did you guys not eat or something?" Lu Li knew how strong the princess was after she had regenerated, so he urged everyone to hurry up.


    Upon Lu Li''s urging, the team of twenty players spent a little over ten minutes to put the weak princess at Critical HP.


    "You sad adventures, why do you side with my enemies to deprive me of my freedom?" Myzrael had no more strength to fight and began to panic. She even put aside her pride and started to plead for mercy.


    However, Lu Li and the others were not fools. After everything they had seen, they already knew what she was up to.


    "Damn giants! I will return¡­"


    As the HP of the Princess of the Earth ran out, her huge body smashed onto the ground and turned to dust. The battle lasted for 12 minutes and Myzrael had barely regenerated any of her original strength.


    "Alright, everyone come and loot the body," Lu Li said as he took the lead.


    "Hey, NO!"


    When they saw that Lu Li was about loot the body, his teammates panicked. They already knew how bad the item would be if this unlucky person looted it.


    Lu Li was usually quite conscious of this fact, but he must have gotten confused today somehow.


    "¡­" Although Lu Li had always been unlucky, surely the item couldn''t have been that bad? Why did it seem like it would be the end of the world if he looted the Boss?


    However, since he had already touched the Boss, no one else could do it now.


    In fact, the Princess of the Earth didn''t drop anything other than a peculiar item that anyone could have acquired - The Myzrael Gem.


    This gem could only be set on a weapon, taking up one of its slots. Its effect was quite simple; it caused the user to lose 30HP every second¡­


    After seeing the attributes of the gem, everyone suddenly came to the same realization.


    Ordinary players generally didn''t use these kinds of gems because they would use up a precious slot on a weapon. The special effect also caused the user to use 30HP every second, which meant that a squishy player couldn''t use it.


    However, a PVP veteran like Moonlight immediately understood the benefits of this special effect a glance.


    There were a few similar situations that one could face in Dawn, such as stepping in a Hunter''s Trap, being Frozen by a Frost Nova, being hit by a Thief''s Sap or being Polymorphed by a Mage¡­


    The similarity between these crowd control effects was that they would be cancelled once the target was damaged.


    One of the biggest threats in the Seventh Heaven Club that they were going to face today was the Infinite Poly. He would repeated cast Polymorph on the same person, effectively taking that person out of the fight.


    However, with this gem inserted, you could turn on the special effect to overcome that crowd control.


    As long as you were continually taking damage, you could free yourself from the Polymorph. At that time, you might even be able to take Lucky Southern Persian by surprise.


    Of course, Lu Li had not forgotten to deal with the Princess of the Earth''s body.


    Myzrael was born of the earth and would always exist in Dawn. Eventually, her body would condense back into a Stone Giant. She had to be re-sealed to ensure that she would remain here after she was revived.


    After confirming that everyone had received their gem, Lu Li took out the newly unlocked shackles and used them on Myzrael''s body.


    The Princess of the Earth''s body gradually faded as the crystals regenerated. The runes along the Arathi Highlands once again lit up as the stone giant was resealed.


    The moment that the seal was completed, the entire Arathi Highlands were filled with Myzrael''s lamenting.


    "Let''s go claim our reward."


    Myzrael''s gems were only part of the rewards; the real quest was finding Theldurin the Lost. This long-winded quest was known for its great EXP and Prestige reward.


    When he saw Lu Li and the others again, Theldurin the Lost had completely abandoned his pride.


    He took the initiative and happily greeted Lu Li and the others, "My heroes, you have saved the world."


    It was a little bit embarrassing; they didn''t feel like they had done that much.


    Lu Li was completely shameless as he responded with an even more embarrassing line.


    "We only did what we had to do. We will try to continue getting stronger and making Azeroth a more peaceful place."


    However, he had no choice. If someone with a Charisma value as low as himself didn''t say something to this effect, they would lose a significant portion of their rewards.


    The Uncle Dwarf rambled on about a few more useless things before finally giving out the rewards. The first person he gave a reward to was Hachi Chan. There was nothing Lu Li could have said to prevent that from happening.


    She received an Enhanced Ray Blink and also managed to reach level 49, surpassing Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze.


    The others also gained EXP and some rewards. Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, Sakura Memories and March Rain all also reached level 49, which placed Ruling Sword on the top of the Level Rankings once again.


    Prior to this, Lu Li was the only player in Dawn that was level 49.


    Lu Li''s EXP bar moved forwards by quite a bit, but he still hadn''t made it out of level 49. There was only a bit left before he reached level 50, which he was aiming for before the finals.


    He wanted to use some level 50 equipment, as even the best level 30+ equipment couldn''t be compared to them.


    After he set the gem, he needed the practice using it. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to do it in a match. Square Root 3 selected a group of Mages from the guild who were responsible for casting Polymorph on the professional players.


    The most important aspect was the timing of turning on and off the special effect. They had to memorize the timings by heart.


    Losing 30HP per second meant that they would lost 300HP in ten seconds. Almost no profession could handle losing that much HP, so they couldn''t leave the Special Effect on for too long. Even Warriors and Paladins with a great amount of HP couldn''t leave it on for much longer.


    For a squishy Priest like March Rain, there was a risk that she might even end up killing herself.


    As such, Lu Li focused on learning how to make good use of this special effect. Lucky Southern Persian''s Polymorph could apparently be cast indefinitely, but that didn''t mean that the skill didn''t require time and coordination to cast. As long as he kept a close watch, he could deal with the Polymorph within one or two ticks of damage and not lose too much HP.


    The players outside of Ruling Sword were also becoming excited in anticipation for the match that was taking place that afternoon.

 987 Goodbye Hornet’s Nes

    In the first season of the professional league, there were a number of clubs that were recognized to be difficult to deal with.


    The first was Wings of Dawn with Elevenless, the second was Seventh Heaven with Lucky Southern Persian, then Glory Capital with Sorrowless and Ruling Sword with Lu Li. There were a number of other major guilds with comparable strength, but none of them made it onto this list.


    Elevenless was the best Berserker in the game.


    Since his rise to popularity, Berserkers, who had high attack speed and movement speed became one of PVP''s most popular professions.


    A few days ago, Glory Capital played against Wings of Dawn.


    Elevenless managed to defeat Blood Dagger and then went on to defeat Sorrowless as well. He managed to defeat two of the top star players in a row and subsequently went on to tear up his opponent''s defenses in the group round.


    Although Lucky Southern Persian did not reach this level, his Infinite Poly still gave him a moment of glory.


    Dawn players found that they didn''t need to be the strongest player. They just needed to have some kind of trump card that could distinguish themselves from the rest.


    So, from then on, more players started training themselves in an attempt to become professional players.


    These players weren''t particularly strong, but they had all sorts of strange strategies. When they worked together well, even a star player had a chance of losing against them.


    However, this afternoon, it was Ruling Sword against Seventh Heaven.


    The players wanted to see who Lu Li was playing against. There were some differing opinions, but overall the community thought that Elevenless ranked first among the PVP players.


    After all, Lu Li had clearly struggled against Elevenless before he discovered his weakness. Now that Elevenless had made up for his lack of maneuverability, how could Lu Li possibly kill him?


    Then, there was Sorrowless.


    Sorrowless had returned to the arena after being assassinated by Lu Li, and everyone was looking forward to them fighting. They wanted to see who the true number one player in the game was.


    This current match still wasn''t going to be easy for Lu Li.


    Wings of Dawn had defeated Glory Capital while Seventh Heaven had defeated Peerless City. This was going to be one of the most dramatic games as Seventh Heaven was up against Ruling Sword. Everyone wondered whether they would be able to continue their win streak.


    At the pre-match preparation stage, Seventh Heaven''s Hornet''s Nest was interviewed by the reporters.


    Reporter: Did you expect that you would be facing Ruling Sword?


    Hornet''s Next: It wasn''t that unexpected. We could have faced anyone within the top 100, and it was bound to happen eventually.


    Reporter: When you train, have you ever pretended like Ruling Sword was your opponent?


    Hornet''s Nest: Of course. With Ruling Sword''s current strength, everyone would want to defeat them, but I have confidence in Seventh Heaven to take this match.


    Reporter: Is it because of Lucky Southern Persian''s Infinite Poly?


    Hornet''s Nest: No, we won''t necessarily let Lucky Southern Persian fight Lu Li ¨C the Infinite Poly isn''t actually that useful against Thieves. In fact, I want the opportunity to fight Lu Li. It has been quite a long time since our fight at the beginning of the game.


    Reporter (suddenly looking excited): Did you know Lu Li when the game first started?


    Although Lu Li never deliberately kept his path to glory a secret, he always maintained a low-key profile and never said more than he needed to. As such, he was actually a very mysterious person in the eyes of the media and the public. It was like he had come out of nowhere.


    Hornet''s Nest: Lu Li and Moonlight were very close, and that''s how I got to know him.


    Reporter: Which one of you won?


    Hornet''s Nest: Sigh¡­ Lu Li won. I lost so badly that I didn''t tell many players about it.


    Reporter: Haha, you''re very honest. If you end up facing Lu Li again this time, what do you think your chances of winning are?


    Hornet''s Nest: I am a star racer. When I stand here, I have to have 100% confidence in defeating my opponent no matter who they are.


    The player from Ruling Sword that was interviewed was Fat Monkey. Although he still had a quick temper, he had now experienced two competitions. As such, if an opponent wanted to take advantage of his temper, Fat Monkey had a decent chance of countering it.


    He was the best newcomer in the last Magic Cup event.


    In addition to him, Ruling Sword had two other newcomers. March Rain was a newcomer in the Shadow Cup, while Kitty Likes Meat was the standout newcomer of the current competition.


    Her performance in this season''s league was better than that of veterans like Elevenless and Lucky Southern Persian.


    When playing against Stellar Union, Kitty Likes Meat had faced two players alone. She managed to kill one and cause the other to retreat. This cemented her position as the top rookie and the fight had received stellar evaluations by the major guilds.


    Majin Temple''s Unforgettable Maple said that he just couldn''t believe that a rookie would have such great mental fortitude.


    Lu Li, March Rain and Fat Monkey were all novices in one way or another when they first started. However, Kitty Likes Meat was perfectly calm. Otherwise, how could she possibly have defeated two players so convincingly?


    Even Lu Li was faced with such a situation, no one could confidently say that he could have produced a similar outcome.


    Reporter: As a rookie Mage, which of your seniors do you want to fight most?


    Fat Monkey: Sorrowless of course!


    Reporter: Haha¡­ I see you won''t be satisfied unless you''re the best. I believe that we will see you on stage against Sorrowless one day. What do you think of the upcoming Lucky Southern Persian?


    Fat Monkey: He is a powerful Mage, but I feel he is on the wrong path. A Mage should destroy everything with powerful attacks!


    The report''s expression immediately fell. The answers to both of his questions made him want to throw up, so he ended the interview with Ruling Sword. He wanted to interview Lu Li, the Boss of the Ruling Sword Club, but his request was directly rejected.


    Fat Monkey no longer had the na?ve image he once did; many players now thought of him as a cunning fox.


    But why would he so openly declare that his senior had taken the wrong path? It didn''t even seem like he was joking.


    In any case, the competition was just about to start.


    Hornet''s Nest was the first to appear. As a Warlock, he felt like he would have advantage regardless of whether Lu Li or Moonlight came out first.


    Ruling Sword had not let him down. He had said in the interview that he wanted to fight Lu Li, who had no reason to avoid this fight. As such, the two players who had fought once right at the beginning were now once again within the same arena.


    Hornet''s Nest summoned his rare succubus.


    This succubus was completely different from the normal one. According to information obtained by Lu Li, Hornet''s Nest''s succubus could learn a special set of Warlock skills.


    It had at least one Burn Skill, one Crowd Control Skill, one Deep Sleep Skill and one HP regeneration Skill.


    It was a pet that could learn actual skills!


    Against an opponent like this, Lu Li couldn''t hold anything back. He also couldn''t forget about Lucky Southern Persian. He needed defeat Hornet''s Nest and then find some way to create an advantage for himself in the next fight.

 988 The Demon’s Pupil

    "How about we just have a chat."


    Hornet''s Nest smiled and looked relaxed, which caused his fans to cheer.


    As the gaming industry was primarily about entertainment, strength and attractiveness were the two most important measures of an idol. Hornet''s Nest was a professional player who was just a bit too attractive; it actually affected the public''s determination of his strength.


    "¡­" Lu Li responded to him with a Sap.


    After the Sap, he immediately rushed towards the rare succubus. Lu Li had read an analysis of this rare succubus before in his previous life; its primary weakness was that it had less HP than an ordinary one.


    "Do you have no shame?!" Hornet''s Nest cried out as he pulled an ugly face.


    According to social conventions, shouldn''t there have been a friendly interaction between the two


    players first?


    He now regretted playing in the first game as he was in trouble. He didn''t want to use Demon''s Pupil so early on, but how could he let Lu Li defeat him so easily?


    Hornet''s Nest looked nauseous. He didn''t really want to use his badge just for a Sap, but watching the little Succubus get attacked was heartbreaking. As such, he had no choice but to escape and run towards his pet.


    Lu Li had already taken the Succubus down to half health without receiving much damage himself.


    The main skills that this Succubus had were crowd-control and burning. The HP that Lu Li had lost was due to this burn.


    When Hornet''s Nest arrived, Lu Li decisively used Vanish and disappeared.


    The timing was just right, as Hornet''s Nest had cast a skill that was just about to hit him. If the skill had connected, the continuous damage would have instantly removed Lu Li from Stealth.


    In this first round, Lu Li had failed to achieve his goal.


    Obviously, Hornet''s Nest didn''t gain much of an advantage either. His Succubus had lost half of its HP and it had used some of its skills which required a cooldown period.


    This time, Hornet''s Nest didn''t want to passively wait to get attacked.


    When he was challenging Lu Li previously, it wasn''t just an impulsive decision. What he said about his confidence in defeating Lu Li wasn''t just words for the interview. He really did have great confidence in this fight.


    Lu Li lurked outside a 15-yard radius from Hornet''s Nest and patiently waited for his next opportunity.


    However, he felt like something was wrong. He felt a chill down his spine and carefully examined his opponent for any indication as to what was happening.


    There was clearly something wrong with Hornet''s Nest.


    On the surface, he looked horrible. There were blue veins popping up across his face and it looked like he was about to explode.


    His two eyes were completely dark; there wasn''t even a single trace of white.


    Demon''s Pupil!


    A long time ago, when Lu Li and Hornet''s Nest were fighting, Hornet''s Nest had used Demon''s Eye, which was the inferior version of Demon''s Pupil. If it weren''t for Lu Li''s proficiency in the game at the time, he easily could have lost.


    Lu Li didn''t expect Hornet''s Nest to learn the Demon''s Pupil Skill.


    What Lu Li did next forced the audience to squint. While his opponent wasn''t doing anything, Lu Li transformed into a little leopard and ran away.


    Many Thieves who looked back on this footage openly declared that Lu Li was the very first speed king.


    Hornet''s Nest was dumbfounded, as he had deliberately turned to the side before casting Demon''s Pupil to prevent arousing Lu Li''s suspicions. He planned to lock Lu Li in combat by using Sudden Thrust towards him and then casting a number of skills that dealt continuous damage.


    However, he had no idea that Lu Li would try to run away from him.


    The arena for this competition wasn''t that large, but if one person wanted to avoid fighting, it was difficult to catch them unless the chaser was faster than they were.


    After 45 seconds, Lu Li wanted to use Shadow Cloak. He removed the damage de-buff that he had accidentally acquired, and went into Stealth. Apparently, he wasn''t just trying to run away.


    Hornet''s Nest turned to see what Lu Li was doing, but discovered that the effect of Demon''s Pupil had ended.


    Was Lu Li accounting for the duration of his own Demon''s Pupil effect?


    This discovery made Hornet''s Nest''s heart sink. Who really was this guy? He knew the timing of Demon''s Pupil better than the user.


    Even so, without Demon''s Pupil, Hornet''s Nest still didn''t feel there wasn''t any hope left and Lu Li didn''t feel like he had already won. At face value, Lu Li had lost 1/3 of his HP while Hornet''s Nest still hadn''t lost anything.


    The Veteran racer had already gotten closer to his performance in the last Magic Cup.


    The advantage that he had gained because of his rebirth has largely disappeared, and Lu Li was standing here now with his equipment and level because of his personal efforts.


    In the past six months, Lu Li had almost been like a machine.


    He didn''t have any entertainment or leisure, and barely had any contact with his sister.


    He had invested his time and energy in creating a super character. He could confidently say that even without his level advantage, he would still be a super player.


    He first activated his shoes'' special effect and appeared behind Hornet''s Nest, but only managed to get two attacks in.


    Lu Li calmly used Gale Steps to block an incoming ultimate skill from his opponent. He then used his movement speed advantage to escape and look for the next opportunity.


    The small Succubus lashed its whip and screamed, which periodically took some of Lu Li''s HP.


    Hornet''s Nest was in a better position than before, as there was a ranged unit to deal with the Thief when he appeared.


    No wonder he was ambitious enough to tell the media that he could defeat Lu Li.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li had almost completely outclassed him in terms of level and equipment. The difference in HP between them grew smaller, and Hornet''s Nest was eventually left with less than him.


    With only one-fifth of his HP left, Lu Li finally defeated Hornet''s Nest even through the attacks of the small Succubus.


    However, he had exhausted almost everything to do so. Gale Steps, his badge and his crowd control skills had all been used up.


    Seventh Heaven then sent out Lucky Southern Persian. Although it was an unfair fight, there was no doubt that Lucky Southern Persian would quickly deal with Lu Li. Seventh Heaven also didn''t want to make the mistakes that other guilds had made.


    Lu Li was quite persistent, and if he wasn''t dealt with quickly, he would just keep fighting. The moment his cooldowns refreshed, he would quickly make a comeback.


    "I don''t know if Southern Persian will use Polymorph, but if I could keep turning Lu Li into a sheep that would feel so good!" one of the spectators exclaimed.


    "Are you an idiot? Getting turned into a sheep is exactly what Lu Li wants right now!"


    His friend was clearly smarter than he was, but in fact, they had all guessed incorrectly. Lu Li didn''t expect Lucky Southern Persian to use Polymorph at all.


    That kind of thinking was typical of a low-level player. There was no way Lucky Southern Persian would make such a basic mistake.

 989 Acquired Treasure

    If there was any defect with the way a Mage casted Polymorph, the target would receive a HP Regeneration buff. This actually made the skill quite difficult to use.


    Picking the right timing when using this skill was one of the most hotly-discussed topics among Mages.


    Once Lucky Southern Persian used Polymorph on Lu Li, his HP would quickly start to regenerate. He would reach full HP in a matter of minutes.


    However, Lucky Southern Persian obviously wasn''t arrogant enough to presume that he had already won.


    He wanted to make the most of the advantage that his teammate had created for him, and planned to take Lu Li down as quickly as possible.


    Lu Li tried to hide as best as he could to refresh his cooldowns, but Lucky Southern Persian had high Detection. The most important advantage that he had was that he was experienced. Within three casts of Cone of Cold, he had caught Lu Li.


    The moment Lu Li appeared, Lucky Southern Persian closed the gap with Blink. He had already started attacking before he even got within range.


    At that moment, he was even more aggressive than Fat Monkey which forced Lu Li to retaliate. One of them was at full HP while the other was at critical HP with no skills. The result could easily be imagined.


    However, Lu Li was not defeated for nothing. He managed to take some of Lucky Southern Persian''s HP and forced him to use several of his skills.


    The one-on-one rounds were just like a relay race; each match played an important role.


    However, the strange thing was that Ruling Sword''s next player was not Moonlight, but Kitty Likes Meat. Once again, she had to face a star player in the first few matches of her career.


    Many players envied this girl.


    They felt like she had just gotten lucky. How else could she have earned Lu Li''s recognition among so many other players who were looking for it?


    Others envied her talent, and the opportunity she had to receive teaching from a great expert like Lu Li.


    Lu Li didn''t have much to say about Kitty Likes Meat''s talent, and as for his teaching ability¡­


    He was also just a player who found a bit of luck and had never taught anyone in the past or present life. The most he had done was to give some tips to March Rain. If he really tried to train someone to be a professional player, that player wouldn''t make it far.


    The fact that Kitty Likes Meat was such a talented professional player had nothing to do with him. It was really to the credit of Cat Dad, who recognized her talent when she was young and had been training her ever since.


    In the face of Lucky Southern Persian, Kitty Likes Meat clenched the borrowed Epic Magic Staff in her hand. She was filled with excitement because she had been training for so long and finally had to chance to taste the fruits of her efforts.


    However, Lucky Southern Persian was no pushover.


    He had become famous very early in the game, and had been in the professional gaming circle for many years. A newcomer like Kitty Likes Meat would be honored to be able to fight a match with him. Even if she lost, everyone felt like that was the appropriate outcome.


    But what if Lucky Southern Persian lost?? That would make headlines on tomorrow''s entertainment news.


    As such, Lucky Southern Persian fought with everything he had. Both the commentators and audience were influenced by this atmosphere, and they became cautious with their words.


    This was a battle between the old and the new, the veterans and the newcomers. It was a battle of dignity.


    "Are you anxious?" Lu Li asked Cat Dad in the lounged with a smile. The ordinarily confident coach seemed to be unable to hide his nervousness.


    "Maybe I''m too anxious, and gave Kitty too much pressure," Cat Dad said as he lit a cigarette.


    Being unable to reach the highest level, he had pinned his hopes on the next generation. This was the norm for Chinese parents and it seemed like the game industry was not immune to that culture.


    "Kitty is playing very well," Lu Li commented as he watched the game.


    "She still has a long way to go. She shouldn''t have used that skill so soon and she is standing too far forward. She needs to keep her distance when fighting a Mage. Kitty has taken a few too many continuous damage skills. She''s fighting purely on impulse; there is no strategy to it," Cat Dad said, listing a number of criticisms for his daughter, while withholding all the compliments he had.


    Perhaps it was too much pressure ¨C after all, it was important that Kitty Likes Meat defeated Lucky Southern Persian.


    If she won this fight, then everything would be fine. However, if Lucky Southern Persian won, no matter how much HP he had left, he would definitely turn his next opponent into a sheep. That way, he would have time to regenerate his HP.


    This was Lucky Southern Persian''s greatest strength. If he didn''t die, he could easily regenerate himself back into a healthy state.


    Another part of Ruling Sword''s strategy was not to expose the secret of Myzrael''s gems until the team match.


    When Kitty Likes Meat reached half HP, her opponent still had more than half of his HP bar. However, this was because Lu Li had already dealt some damage to Lucky Southern Persian beforehand. In that sense, Kitty Likes Meat was actually losing the fight.


    Regardless, there were still countless players cheering for her.


    Lu Li and Cat Dad, who probably understood her the most, had not given up on her. Kitty Likes Meat''s strongest feature was her tenacity and her stubbornness when it came to giving up.


    She shouldn''t be underestimated just because things looked bad from the outside, as this created the ideal conditions for a counterattack.


    Lucky Southern Persian was a little depressed. This was the first time he had encountered a younger player who was difficult to fight. He used to be able to easily defeat these rookies as long as he kept up his rhythm.


    But now, he had no choice but just to keep fighting.


    When they both reached 20%HP at the same time, Lucky Southern Persian was faced with a dilemma. If he Polymorphed his opponent to heal, then they would both be regenerating HP at the same time. What would be the point of that?


    He soon began to suspect that this situation had been intentionally caused by the newcomer.


    That was a very bold move considering that she was still a rookie.


    Even Lu Li and Cat Dad couldn''t believe that she had reached this point. Taking control of the rhythm like this required astute observation of the overall situation, which was generally lacking in female players.


    No matter how this happened, it was clear that Lucky Southern Persian had fallen into a trap.


    If Kitty Likes Meat had much higher HP than him, Lucky Southern Persian would definitely turn her into a sheep and both parties would return to full health. However, if she was at much lower HP than him, he obviously didn''t need to do that.


    In the moment that Lucky Southern Persian was lost, Kitty Likes Meat began her transformation. She let out a cry and her whole body became covered in smoke.


    Lu Li stared at the dumbfounded Lucky Southern Persian, and really felt like he had acquired a treasure in Kitty Likes Meat.

 990 A Harmonious Competition

    When the little girl transformed, Lucky Southern Persian bitterly realized that she was no longer a valid target for Polymorph.


    The main buffs of the demon transformation were in Physical Defense. There was also an increase in Magic Defense, but it wasn''t as much as Physical Defense. Her attacks also became more physical.


    In Dawn, Mages had the weakest Physical Defence.


    With his shield still on cooldown and his low HP bar, there was no way for him to survive Kitty Likes Meat''s demon transformation.


    In the moment that he fell, the entirely stadium was silent.


    It was an upset, a true upset!


    Lucky Southern Persian was one of the top players in the current gaming circle. He had won and lost matches against Blood Dagger, and even Sorrowless didn''t have a 100% win-rate against him.


    However, this top level player, was now a miserable corpse at the feet of a newcomer.


    Kitty Likes Meat didn''t have much HP left, and Lucky Southern Persian just had to hold on for a little bit longer. If he had done so, or used Polymorph a little earlier, he might not have lost the match.


    Seventh Heaven''s next player was the Hunter Vast Silence, who was another veteran player.


    Kitty Likes Meat, who was at critical HP, didn''t cause him too much trouble. He quickly depleted her health 24 seconds after the match started. These two guilds were just taking turns to send out their next player.


    Fat Monkey then killed Vast Silence before he was killed by the next Seventh Heaven player.


    Seventh Heaven''s final player was up against Moonlight, so there was no suspense in the match up. In the end, Ruling Sword won the individual rounds with a slight advantage.


    During the intermission, reporters went around interviewing the two most popular players after the individual rounds.


    Normally, this wouldn''t happen as there were still more matches to be fought and the players needed to rest and regroup. However, if the matches were exciting enough, then that would be another matter.


    Kitty Likes Meat was a newcomer and needed the exposure. Lucky Southern Persian didn''t need the exposure, but losing to a newcomer wasn''t a good look, so both parties ended up accepting the interviews.


    Reporter: Did you both expect the result of today''s match?


    Kitty Likes Meat: Of course not. I really wanted to win, but I wasn''t sure. After all, Southern Persian is someone I really respect.


    Lucky Southern Persian was relieved, as he was afraid that this newcomer would have a big mouth.


    In fact, there was a similar situation before. A newcomer had managed to defeat a veteran then insulted him, telling him that his time was over and that it was their time to take centerstage.


    That newcomer was young and a little immature; perhaps their personality also contributed to it.


    However, the veteran was frustrated and immediately announced his retirement. Although the newcomer might not have been the main cause, the public still blamed him.


    As a result, the newcomers in all other clubs faced bullying, and were generally resisted by the gaming circles.


    This lasted around three to four years. At a particularly tense time, the then-newcomer publicly apologized to the veteran, who told everyone that he had found a new life.


    That newcomer''s name was Green Flag Wine. It was hard to believe that such a reserved player like the Tire Killer would have been part of such a great controversy.


    Lucky Southern Persian wasn''t going to retire because he had lost to a rookie, but it still didn''t feel good.


    However, upon seeing Kitty Likes Meat''s humbleness, he didn''t feel so bad anymore. When the reporter turned the microphone to him, Lucky Southern Persian said loudly, "Kitty Likes Meat managed to win today and it wasn''t because she was lucky. I''m not even sure if I would win even if I faced the same trick again. She has great talent and mental fortitude."


    Reported: Do you think that she will get far in this industry?


    Lucky Southern Persian: I have no doubt that she will make great progress. It''s no secret that we are very jealous of Ruling Sword, having discovered the talents of players like March Rain, Fat Monkey, Kitty Likes Meat, Sakura Memories, Moonlight and Mu Qiu.


    Reporter: So, you think that several of the rookies in Ruling Sword have potential?


    Lucky Southern Persian: It''s hard to say. March Rain and Fat Monkey are making rapid progress, but If I had to pick one, I think that Kitty is a prodigy. She is much stronger than I was when I first started.


    Reporter: Wow, high praise from Southern Persian! Are you happy Kitty?


    Kitty Likes Meat: Of course I am. Thank you Southern Persian, but I am no prodigy. My dad used to be a professional player and has been teaching me since I was very young. You could say that I was raised on the influence of these games.


    Lucky Southern Persian: I see, that clears up a lot of things. Your father must be a great player.


    Reporter: Southern Persian, how are you feeling about the rest of the matches?


    Lucky Southern Persian (laughing bitterly): What are you trying to say? When facing someone like Lu Li, no one can be sure of anything. Let''s not forget that players like March Rain, Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat were all enlisted by him. I can''t even imagine how he managed to bring all these people together.


    Reporter: Between Elevenless and Lu Li, who do you think would win?


    Lucky Southern Persian: Lu Li, even though I don''t know how he would do it. There is a saying around the professional gaming circle right now that Elevenless always dies when he runs into Lu Li. There haven''t been any exceptions so far, no matter who initiates the fight.


    The reporter laughed before finally ending this harmonious interview.


    Kitty Likes Meat returned to the Ruling Sword lounge and was congratulated by everyone. If it wasn''t clear before from her 1 v 2, it was now obvious that Kitty Likes Meat was the strongest among the


    rookie.


    No one was really hung up on the fact that Lu Li had taken a bit of Lucky Southern Persian''s HP before he fell. After all, the public always tended to support the weaker side.


    Mu Qiu stood watching the crowd, and his face looked a little depressed.


    He had joined Ruling Sword this season, and had many opportunities to play, but it was always as an assistant healer. He was always standing behind someone, never in the spotlight.


    Ruling Sword had so many strong rookies that it was impossible not the feel the pressure.


    Lu Li lightly pressed his shoulder and said, "There will always be more opportunities in the future. As long as you are strong, you won''t be hidden for long."


    Mu Qiu smiled because he knew that Lu Li was right; there would always be more opportunities.


    He liked the atmosphere in Ruling Sword; there was no manipulation or empty flatter. Everyone was just working towards a united goal.


    But more importantly, as per Lu Li''s insistence, Ruling Sword wasn''t financially backed by any large companies. This meant that there weren''t any social events that they needed to attend, which was perfect for an otaku like him.


    As for a chance to demonstrate his strength, Mu Qiu believed in himself and in Ruling Sword.

 991 Polymorph Failure

    The battle between Ruling Sword and Seventh Heaven was destined to be a tough one.


    It was rare for both guilds to lose and now that Lucky Southern Persian had the ability to Polymorph endlessly, the victorious party seemed to be guaranteed.


    The group match also decided the total points, so it became the center of attention.


    The match ground was a sparse forest, so mobility wouldn''t be too much of an issue.


    "Focus fire."


    Once the two parties engaged, Lu Li immediately made sure that Lucky Southern Persian was their main target.


    Fat Monkey''s battle style was shocking as usual ¨C he immediately flashed into the enemy party and casted a Frost Nova to freeze as many players as he could. He was countless times faster than Lucky Southern Persian''s Water Elemental.


    All the players were thinking the same thing; perhaps ''Fire Monkey'' would be a more suitable name for him.


    After this, he Shielded himself and flashed away. During this whole process, Fat Monkey never left Lucky Southern Persian''s attack range. When Moonlight and the others arrived, they began to output all their damage onto Lucky Southern Persian.


    It seemed like Fat Monkey was not impressed by Lucky Southern Persian''s play style at all.


    While he was on stage, he was going to prove to everyone that a Mage should be focusing on their damage output.


    When Kitty Likes Meat and Lu Li began attacking, Lucky Southern Persian polymorphed March Rain and used his Ice Barrier. Even though he was a Mage who wore cloth armor, he wasn''t that easy to kill either.


    Although Mages became invincible after they casted Ice Barrier, few would choose to use up the entire duration of the spell.


    His best opportunity was when all of his team members focused on Fat Monkey. He could then break out of the ice to tie up all possible loose ends in the situation. That way, Ruling Sword''s plans of focusing him down would fail and it would be Seventh Heaven''s turn to counterattack.


    The Priest of Ruling Sword was still Polymorphed; how were they going to regain their ground?


    March Rain received orders from Lu Li to use her badge. Despite thinking that there were better opportunities to use it, she still followed her given instructions,.


    As Lu Li had expected, as soon as March Rain dispelled Polymorph, she was immediately turned into a sheep again by Lucky Southern Persian.


    Fat Monkey then became the enemy team''s target.


    He held his ground for a while before he had to use his Ice Barrier, which was when Lucky Southern Persian defrosted himself.


    Lucky Southern Persian wasn''t disappointed at all ¨C Kitty Likes Meat was also one of their priority targets besides Fat Monkey.


    If they could successfully take down Kitty Likes Meat, it would be a great advantage for Seventh Heaven too. However, Lucky Southern Persian also knew that she wasn''t an easy target, at least not before she used her badge and demon form.


    Even so, it was still important for them to focus down someone. After all, players wouldn''t use their special skills or items unless it was necessary.


    Once Lu Li and the others lost Lucky Southern Persian, they focused on their healer Empty instead. When Lucky Southern Persian defrosted himself, the Ruling Sword team immediately switched back to their target.


    Lucky Southern Persian was a little angry, he could tell that the opposing team was determined to send him out first.


    He was stuck in a moment of indecision. He had the ability to turn around the situation, but he also thought that they weren''t doing too badly either. As long as Ruling Sword felt like they had a chance to take him down, they wouldn''t let go of him.


    Meanwhile, Seventh Heaven''s target ¨C Kitty Likes Meat ¨C would also remain in danger.


    Both Lucky Southern Persian and Kitty Likes Meat were being focused, but the situation was entirely different for them. Because March Rain was consistently in sheep form, this meant that Kitty Likes Meat couldn''t be healed. However, the healer from Seventh Heaven could spare a moment to heal him every now and then.


    Kitty Likes Meat screamed. It seemed like she couldn''t hold back anymore as she changed into her demon form.


    "Focus, focus! Don''t worry about anything else; focus the Warlock down first!" Lucky Southern Persian shouted as he Polymorphed March Rain again, just in case she returned to her human form to heal Kitty Likes Meat.


    This was a crucial moment; Lucky Southern Persian decided to kill Kitty Likes Meat by brute force.


    On the stage, everyone could be friends, but once they were in a match, the outcome was far more important. He had no mercy for this new rookie player.


    "Now''s the time!"


    As Lu Li spoke, he flashed behind the opposing healer and stunned him.


    Although Empty wasn''t the best healer, he was young and had always been in good condition. He knew that this action meant that the opposing team was about to take make a move, so without a second of hesitation, he used his badge and casted an Earthbind Totem behind him in an attempt to get away from Lu Li and save Lucky Southern Persian.


    The one in danger currently was Lucky Southern Persian as opposed to Kitty Likes Meat, who was instead rapidly healing. During the entire match, March Rain had never been able to help, and now that she had returned to her human form, it only took her a few moves to save Kitty Likes Meat.


    March Rain was currently the main healer, and she had borrowed the Ivy Magic Staff from Hachi Chan.


    Ivy Magic Staff (Epic): Damage 56-92, Intelligence +50, Constitution +30, Critical Hit +20%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Mana Regeneration +30%. Special Effect 2: Ivy Protection. Instant Cast, apply an Ivy Shield to a teammate and absorb up to 1000 damage for the next 10 seconds. 2 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Instant Cast. Absorb the vitality found in the natural world and restore a large amount of HP to the target. Can restore up to 50% HP on the target. Takes 24 hours to absorb vitality. Equipment Requirement: level 50. Durability 225/225.


    With a shield and a heal, Kitty Likes Meat was given half of her HP back. The Legendary weapon was definitely proving its own worth.


    On the other hand, Lucky Southern Persian was in a very awkward position. He didn''t expect March Rain to break out of Polymorph so soon.


    In fact, he had guessed that March Rain would have other methods to dispel Polymorph, but he thought he could manage with those. At the very most, he would only have to cast Polymorph for March Rain to become useless again.


    However, when he casted Polymorph on March Rain twice and neither attempt worked, he knew he made an error.


    Why did things turn out like this!


    Lucky Southern Persian had played games for many years and had definitely seen it all, but he really could not find a way to explain what was happening before his eyes.


    Why was March Rain losing health constantly?


    Who was attacking her?


    Although the situation was a mess, all of his team members were elites. There was no way they would make an error of attacking a sheep by accident. Even a three-year-old child knew that Polymorph would lose its effect upon being attacked.

 992 Reason for Defea

    March Rain would always lose HP after he casted Polymorph, then stop after one or two seconds.


    Lucky Southern Persian took a deep breath and casted damage reduction on himself first to slow down the rate at which his HP bar was dropping. Then, he used his Polymorph on Moonlight, who was attacking him frantically.


    Moonlight had activated his Berserk mode and was also dealing physical damage. Half of the damage that Lucky Southern Persian had taken was generated by Moonlight.


    He actually wanted to Polymorph Lu Li more since he was chasing down their healer, but he also knew that Lu Li had more dispel skills than an ordinary player and wasn''t an easy target.


    He had to cast Polymorph on Moonlight first. At the very least, he would die slower this way.


    Each spin of Moonlight''s hefty axe would take out a chunk of Lucky Southern Persian''s health bar.


    The Berserker spells in Dawn were very elaborate and blood-boiling. Although their single-target damage wasn''t as high as Mages and Warlocks, their attacks were rapid and precise. Their damage output was definitely top three among all classes.


    Lucky Southern Persian''s attempt was successful; Moonlight had been turned into a sheep.


    Needless to say, his Polymorph was too strong. The average Mage needed a cast time, but with a simple wave of his hand, his target would be transformed into a sheep. Unless it was a player with a lightning-quick reaction, no one would be able to react to it in time.


    However, Lucky Southern Persian soon found that he celebrated the situation too soon.


    -30, -30, -30¡­


    Moonlight used his health advantage as a Warrior and refused to cancel the The Myzrael Gem effect. Lucky Southern Persian was at a loss in this situation.


    He wasn''t even so concerned when he lost his one-on-one match, but now, he felt like he was about to go crazy.


    He switched his target to Lu Li, but then realized that Lu Li had also begun to lose health. His strategy that had been called a ''bug'' by players had encountered a troublesome situation.


    Lucky Southern Persian finally understood the feelings of those players who played against him before.


    Bug! This had to be a bug!


    To cancel out a Limitless Polymorph with the Myzrael Gem was peculiar to say the least, especially at this stage of the game. When Lu Li had first started playing, these two effects had been remade.


    The effect of Limitless Polymorph was no longer like Lucky Southern Persian''s ¨C the duration of the second transformation would be reduced by half, then even less on the third time, until the effect became useless.


    On the other hand, Myzrael no longer dropped the Myzrael Gem, which instead became the Myzrael Necklace.


    Although this also allowed players to remove the Polymorph effect, this came at the price of an item slot, which meant that players had to choose carefully. In most situations, the majority wouldn''t be willing to change their equipment.


    But as of now, nothing has been changed yet in Dawn.


    The relationship between Limitless Polymorph and the Myzrael Gem was like the relationship between a spear and a shield. It was understandable that Lucky Southern Persian had been shook.


    "Captain, captain!"


    A call from afar reached his ears. He realized that he had spaced out and his team members were calling for him to use his damage reduction.


    Damage reduction...


    There was no need; Lucky Southern Persian sighed from the bottom of his heart. Under the attacks of three damage dealers, he couldn''t endure the situation after he lost his Limitless Polymorph advantage.


    At the end of the day, he relied on his advantage too much.


    He had given up his weapon advantage for his Limitless Polymorph. The only advantage that his Legendary weapon provided was the Limitless Polymorph. In terms of Attributes, it was no better than a gold equip.


    This was also the reason why he had lost to Kitty Likes Meat in the one-on-one match.


    Now, he was going to lose the group match too. Polymorph had been the reason for their victory, but also the reason for their defeat.


    With someone like Lu LI chasing behind him, Empty never found a chance to heal Lucky Southern Persian. Not even once. He could only watch as Lucky Southern Persian died.


    There was nothing left to reverse the tides; Ruling Sword successfully took a victory for themselves.


    The match ended, but its impact did not.


    Countless people wanted to learn of Ruling Sword''s secret, even the Trade Skill players.


    "One of the brothers from our elite group today came crying today, saying that his father was forcing him to share the secret behind it all. Otherwise, he was going to kick him out of the house," Square Root 3 reported as he shook his head, unable to do much about the situation.


    It was best when a whole family joined the same guild.


    However, in most situations, everyone played on their own. It wasn''t rare for family members to be in opposing guilds. Of course, threatening to disown someone was definitely an overreaction, but you could see the impact made by the match.


    "Just tell them. What is there to hide?" Lu Li said calmly.


    "Huh?" Square Root 3 was caught by surprise; the others in the conference were also confused.


    The conference today was to sum up everything for the week. People had decided to stay behind after all the important issues had been discussed, but no one expected Lu Li''s response. Was their boss doing okay?


    "The quest gives nothing in general, and there''s a lot of competition involved. You can group some people to do the quest, and shortly, everyone will know about it. Trust me, a lot of people will be fighting over the quest later and it will become a battlefield," Lu Li explained, feeling like he was being quite evil.


    "Lucky Southern Persian is going to hate us," Azure Sea Breeze mumbled.


    "Are you silly," Lu Li asked incredulously. "Do you think Lucky Southern Persian would still use Limitless Polymorph in the future?"


    "Ah, even if he lost to us, his tactic is still very strong. The other guilds can''t even handle it," Azure Sea Breeze said, not quite believing Lu Li.


    Moonlight, who had been quiet like a statue the whole time, finally spoke up.


    "It might be possible. Based on his personality, he might never use this tactic again."


    This wasn''t just about the pride of a competitor. At the cost of a match, Lucky Southern Persian probably would have realized that a tactic would only grant him some advantage. However, to win in the long run, it was true strength that determined it all.


    Limitless Polymorph didn''t help Seventh Heaven win against Ruling Sword. Instead, it had become their weakness.


    If Lucky Southern Persian hadn''t used his Legendary staff, he probably wouldn''t have lost to Kitty Likes Meat. If he hadn''t used his Legendary staff, he probably wouldn''t have been baited by March Rain into thinking that they had an advantage.


    If it wasn''t for the shocks that occurred in a row, there was no way that he would have spaced out in a match.


    Unfortunately, there were no "ifs".


    Now that everyone thought about, they felt he really would give up his Limitless Polymorph tactic.


    "Quickly, let everyone know how to do the quest. Once the news gets out of our guild, tell them not to meddle in this business anymore," Lu Li said as he stood up.


    "Isn''t that a bit too mean?" Rain Like a Wanderer asked hesitantly.


    "It is," Azure Sea Breeze laughed, "But I like it!"

 993 Evil

    The conference wasn''t for anything important. Other clubs held conferences at the end of the year, so Ruling Sword felt obliged to do the same. During this period of time, they often had gatherings outside of the game to build a connection with each other.


    The end of the year was often a good time for players to change guilds, as this was when competitors finished the last of their matches.


    More communication could definitely help to reduce the chances of competitors leaving the guild.


    Ruling Sword didn''t have the capability of head-hunting. They had only managed to pick up Mu Qiu, whose chances of appearing on stage increased significantly after he joined Ruling Sword. Fortunately, his performance had been stellar so far. No one could do the head-hunting job better than someone who has reincarnated, but Ruling Sword just couldn''t afford it.


    This was mainly because they had no financial resources to do so. They had to look out on how they spend money now, as Lu Li''s financial crisis seemed to be growing worse.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn''t actually poor, considering that he owned one of the largest guilds with the most potential. There was already a company willing to invest 30 million dollars in Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li just needed to nod his head to become a millionaire.


    Just half a year ago, he was still a poor man who saved every penny, willing to do anything to pay for his sister''s medical bills.


    In the age that they were in right now, gaming had become the biggest thing. This was why Lu Li didn''t hesitate at all to choose gaming as his career, instead of relying on things like the lottery.


    Of course, by now, Lu Li had set his gaze on something further ahead.


    Now, he wanted a stable title, not just one that could be easily replaced.


    Ruling Sword actually wasn''t short on players. At the very least, all the current competitors had lived up to their expectations. They were contributing well to their team and all they needed were backups.


    Lu Li had planned for Kitty Likes Meat''s dad to look after the team substitutes.


    Lu Li didn''t quite feel like players from his guild would leave. It would be rare for a competitor to give up a guild like Ruling Sword for a small profit. On the other hand, he was also confident about his comrades.


    The ones who were with him right from the start not only had a strong relationship with him, but had also been generously rewarded by him.


    As for Mu Qiu, he had already changed guilds once.


    It would be possible for him to change guilds again within the next two or three years, but no one would want a competitor who constantly moved around. Fat Monkey just wanted to battle everyone and didn''t have much passion for money. As for Kitty Likes Meat, it seemed liked her whole family was tied with Ruling Sword.


    The conference simply consisted of everyone chatting together and gossiping about things in the game.


    Afterwards, Lu Li would bring the others to Stratholme. The dungeons in Dawn refreshed once every week, so the new dungeons were available again this week.


    Completing the dungeons also allowed him to level up. He was only a step away from level 50 and would most likely reach it today. Most importantly, doing the dungeons would give him equipment for the next one. It was important for him to complete Stratholme a few more times.


    At the moment, there were others guilds that had cleared Stratholme. Some had even managed to beat the record that Lu Li and the others had first set.


    It was still Nightmare mode, but because everyone''s equipment had already been upgraded, the first few bosses were quite easy.


    Of course, the loot wasn''t fantastic either. Besides two Dark Golds and a Gold, the others were only good for the guild storage. However, this couldn''t be helped ¨C their loot chance had dropped by at least 20% since this wasn''t the First Clear. As they continue to repeat the dungeon, the equipment drops would only worsen.


    Despite this, the drop chance of the mount wasn''t affected, so they were still hopeful about Baron Rivendare.


    Lu Li''s team had obtained two mounts already from Stratholme, while the other guilds had also managed to find a few for themselves. There were plenty of players in Dawn, so there were bound to be a few lucky ones.


    Hence, the Deathcharger had become extremely popular. Its current price on the market was around a million, and it was so rare that even money didn''t guarantee that a player could obtain it.


    At the moment, only a few players could pass the dungeon. In about two months, most players would have managed to take down Baron Rivendare. When that time came, the world chat channel would explode with players trying to purchase a Deathcharger.


    Some smaller sized guilds even disbanded because of this. All the players who entered Stratholme always checked the loot distribution mode first; no one would join any team where the leader distributed the loot.


    Besides the expectation that everyone had for the Deathcharger, Lu Li''s team members also had to complete some leveling quests. The hardest of these was probably the one where they had to kill Baron Rivendare in 45 minutes and save Ysida Harmon.


    It was fine even if they didn''t have any T0 gear at the moment. As long as they completed this quest, the System would skip the quest for them when they needed to upgrade their equipment.


    Dawn was quite considerate in this aspect.


    Ysida Harmon was locked inside a room beside Baron Rivendare; not a finger has been laid on her.


    However, they had to kill Baron Rivendare in under 45 minutes, which was no easy task. There were hardly any teams out there that was capable of doing so.


    The second time Baron Rivendare appeared, it seemed like he had forgotten he was being killed by the same players last week. He still greeted them with an air of aristocratic grace, but was ruthlessly interrupted again by Lu Li and the others as they attacked him up.


    Lu Li knew at least three hundred different ways to defeat this Boss. Last time, they had managed to him down at the cost of two lives. This time, they only did better. The finished the battle in 38 minutes, faster than they had all anticipated, then rushed to loot the corpse.


    Baron Rivendare''s Sword or the Deathcharger would make the trip worth it.


    Unfortunately, the first item they looted was a pair of T0 gloves for Druids. Hachi Chan was overjoyed and gave Remnant Dream a little kiss.


    The other equipment was more ordinary; even the skill book wasn''t so great.


    However, after some momentary disappointment, everyone returned to their normal selves. This was a normal exchange of emotions in a typical Dawn dungeon.


    They obtained some usual things and a pair of keys that would only drop when Baron Rivendare was killed under 56 minutes. This key allowed them to gain access to the secret chamber besides the room to release Ysida Harmon.


    The Bosses afterwards didn''t drop anything worthwhile either, besides the Righteous Orb.


    However, the final Boss ¨C Balnazzar ¨C gave Lu Li a surprise.

 994 Hell’s Ghostclaw

    Balnazzar on Nightmare mode wasn''t easy at all, even for Xin Xin Mercenary Group after their increase in strength. The group was still wiped twice and most of the other teams in the dungeon were stuck in the same place.


    Balnazzar didn''t drop exquisite weapons or rare mounts like Baron Rivendare either.


    There were many who gave up and used the time to do other things such as leveling up, choosing to come back and do it later after their level increased.


    "I''m going to loot. I probably forgot to wash my hands today; so unlucky," Remnant Dream sighed bitterly. It was rare for her to be so unlucky. Not to mention, they have been taking First Clears so frequently that she had trouble readjusting to the drop rate of a regular dungeon.


    To be fair, the other guilds weren''t even doing as well as they were.


    In a large dungeon like Stratholme, the other guilds could only loot about two or three Dark Gold equips on Nightmare mode. On Difficult mode, they obtained almost no Dark Golds, while Elite mode only gave them Gold or Silver equipment.


    This was why everyone fought desperately over wild bosses; they had an excellent drop rate.


    "Hell''s Ghostclaw; what a cool name!" Remnant Dream exclaimed.


    "It''s for Thieves; pass it to me," Lu Li said, his heart pounding. He didn''t expect this to drop; this was an item that really surprised him.


    Remnant Dream held the equip and looked at Lu Li with a begrudging look.


    This made Lu Li feel a little embarrassed and he took a while to react, before quickly passing up 30 gold coins. Because there were many financial needs for the guild at the end of the year, he was so broke that he almost needed to borrow money to repair his equipment. Thirty gold already accounted for half of his possessions.


    Remnant Dream picked up her ''payment'' happily and passed the Ring to Lu Li.


    Hell''s Ghostclaw ¨C there were two items in Dawn that had this name. While the names were identical, one was a Ring and the other was a weapon, but both of them were used by Thieves.


    The item that Lu Li had obtained here was the Ring. It was Dark Gold grade and was one of the best Thief Rings before level 60. Some players would rather have this ring over a Legendary equip.


    Of course, this was mostly because people had no chance to choose between a Legendary equip in the first place.


    Hell''s Ghostclaw (Dark Gold): damage 36-48, Agility +42, Strength +28, Critical Strike +25%. Special effect 1: when your attacks Critical Strike consecutively, the third attack has a 50% chance to deal three times damage. Special effect 2: Slit Throat skill level +1. Special effect 3: Hell''s Ghostclaw, instant cast. Deals 600 points of damage to a target upon use. 50% of the damage dealt is transferred to the user as health. The target''s Armor is reduced by 30% for the next 15 seconds. Level Requirement 50, Durability 215/215.


    Below the equipment description, there was a small row of text that read, "The darkness forgives you, lonely soul."


    Hell''s Ghostclaw was a plain metal ring with no gemstone in the front. Instead, the front displayed a making that resembled a broken claw of a Ghoul.


    The number of special effects it had was common for an average equip, but rare for a Dark Gold grade Ring. Usually, only Legendary Rings would come with something like this.


    It''s ''3+1'' special effect meant that there were three special effects with an unofficial effect.


    The three special effects of the ring were obvious, but the unofficial effect was the Critical Strike +25%. Many equips also counted Attributes like Critical Strike and Accuracy as special effects.


    Special effect 1 was an activation-type skill. From what Lu Li knew, there was a hidden activation requisite for the effect. Apparently, the lower the target of the health, the greater the chance of it activating.


    The second special effect was obvious; it added damage to the Slit Throat skill.


    The third special effect was the reason why the Ring was named this way. The other item with the same name had an almost identical effect.


    The requirement for this Ring was level 50. When the Boss was defeated, Lu Li finally reached level 50. The timing of things had worked out perfectly.


    Lu Li, who was level 50, was the at top of the rankings.


    His reincarnation had changed many things. If the game had continued to develop as the way it was meant to be, the highest-leveled player at the moment would be level 48.


    Azure Sea Breeze was also not a part of the rankings.


    Originally, at this stage of the game, Azure Sea Breeze''s secret of transforming into a Panther had been discovered and he began his journey of hiding for his life. Lonesome Flower and March Rain also wouldn''t have made any professional appearances; this pair of siblings would still be exploring the game with other ordinary players. It wasn''t until much later when they were picked up by other clubs.


    Hachi Chan was well known from a long time ago, but no one ever knew about Remnant Dream and her luck.


    Sakura Memories did make it into the top 100 in the level rankings, but she was just a leveling freak. She never would have had the income and fame of a competitor.


    Wandering, who never really enjoyed levelling would be impacted by Azure Sea Breeze.


    Moonlight would become a murderer. All he would do was chase people around and in return, his enemies began chasing him. He wasn''t a Thief who could run away, so he didn''t appear on the level rankings either.


    The others in Ruling Sword would either become ordinary players, or enter other big guilds. All of them would have led a different life.


    The biggest change of all was the professional matches.


    Lu Li had always thought that the gaming company controlled everything, including the matches.


    After they defeated Seventh Heaven, Ruling Sword never ran into any other teams that had a shot at entering the finals. They mostly matched against teams that were much weaker.


    Without Square Root 3, Star Moon Union fell from its place and was never as great as Lu Li had remembered.


    Before Lu Lin reincarnated, Star Moon Union had made it into the top 50, obtaining the support of I''m Richy Rich''s family in real life. This also formed part of the reason why I''m Richy Rich had the courage to provoke Water Fairy.


    In this life, Lu Li''s counterattack damaged Star Moon Union heavily and things became even worse after Square Root 3 left.


    At the moment, Star Moon Union wasn''t even in the top 10000 after the first season of the competition. I''m Richy Rich ran into Lu Li once while Lu Li was alone, and although there was a crowd of guild members behind him, he was still frightened.


    All the arrogance from the past had disappeared into nothing but a dream for Lu Li.


    The Imperial Secret Service was still as strong as usual; this guild had always had a very good foundation in real life. After Dawn became famous, they had also received a few more investments.


    In a corner where there were no guilds with clubs around to dominate them, they were doing pretty well for themselves with the money they had. With the players they head-hunted, they even managed to enter into the top 100.


    In the second last round from the top 16, the Imperial Secret Service ran into Ruling Sword.


    They sent over a huge sum of money ¨C 15 million in total ¨C hoping that Ruling Sword would let them off this time and lose to them in the match so that they could achieve a better placement.


    Fifteen million was tempting indeed. After all the changes that had occurred, Lu Li had up to 70% of the stocks in the clubs and he could instantly become a millionaire.


    However, Lu Li and Square Root 3 turned down the offer before they even discussed it.


    They didn''t want to play a fake match with so much expectation on him. Most importantly, how could a guild like Imperial Secret Service even beat a guild like Ruling Sword? The public didn''t even need to think to know that they were playing a fake match.

 995 Determining the Top 16

    Lu Li defeated five players from the Imperial Secret Service in the single elimination matches. They completely destroyed them in the team match without even using up their reserves. Ruling Sword successfully eliminated the Imperial Secret Service and prevented them from entering the top 50.


    Around the end of the year, Ruling Swords managed to break through to the top 16.


    It wasn''t much of a surprise that they had made it to the top 16 unlike in the Shadow Cup, where they were the dark horse.


    On the point rankings, Glory Capital was leading. They had some very formidable players and were lucky because they hadn''t faced off against any particularly strong teams. Although they lost once to Seventh Heaven, they were still comfortably ahead.


    Coming in second was Ruling Sword.


    Ruling Swords wanted to train up their rookies. They had started Kitty Likes Meat and Fat Monkey in several matches and had lost some points because of this.


    However, at the same time, they managed to defeat Seventh Heaven and Wings of Dawn in the team matches, making them the only team in the whole tournament to have won every single team match.


    Coming in third was the Wings of Dawn, who had defeated Glory Capital but lost to Ruling Sword.


    Seventh Heaven came in at fourth, losing to Ruling Sword and Peerless City because Lucky Southern Persian had yet to learn his signature move. It was an extremely close match between these two teams and was considered to be the most exciting match so far in the tournament.


    Fifth was Peerless City and coming in behind them was Blood Red War Flag.


    Drizzle Court suffered tough losses against strong opponents including Peerless City, Wings of Dawn and Blood Red War Flag and was ranked at seventh.


    Following them were Gale Legion, Azure Guard, Majin Temple, Blue Universe, Purple Lunar Paradise, Stellar Union, Grand Hegemony Union, Eternal Kingdom, Brotherhood and Gods of Dusk.


    The point system did not determine the end results because anything could happen in the semifinals.


    The Top 16 mainly consisted of Major Guilds and they would continue to dominate the professional scene because of their resources and numbers.


    However, this was completely expected.


    What was unexpected was that the two veteran major guilds ¨C Gangnam Royals and Peacetime Dynasty ¨C had failed to advance into the next stage.


    In tournaments like these, people were always interested in the guilds that made up the top 100, because this would make the smaller guilds more relevant and more players would join.


    However, advancing into the Top 16 was a completely different story. The guilds that made the Top 16 were considered to be the top powerhouses of the entire gaming community and were treated as gods.


    The two veteran guilds had regressed from their former glory, but no one expected them to not advance into the Top 16, especially the Gangnam Royals. They were ranked second behind Glory Capital in last year''s guild rankings and now they had fallen to the 20th spot.


    Blue Universe and Grand Hegemony Union were the ones to replace them.


    Grand Hegemony Union had players like Drinking Alone, Northern Tang Dream and Northern Tang Kitty, who Lu Li met when he first joined the game. Their guild leader, Emperor Hegemony, was very ambitious but lacked talent, so his guild never flourished like the others.


    After the Shadow Cup, they were scouted by a large company who decided to sponsor them and bought them out.


    Although Emperor Hegemony was still the guild leader, he had no power over the major decisions in his guild. Their new owner held the majority of power in the guild and managed it in a very methodical manner, introducing huge changes to how they used to run things. Players would be awarded and punished based on their performance, they poached some professional players from other guilds with money and hired some of the best coaches in the professional scene.


    This approach had its pros and cons. The owner obviously didn''t have the same experience and understanding about the game that the other guild leaders had, but his methods had obviously paid off for him.


    Blue Universe was one of the biggest surprises of the tournament and came in at an even higher ranking than Grand Hegemony Union.


    This winter, Blue Universe leapt from No.33 on the guild rankings to No.11, almost breaking through the top 10. They were the dark horse of this tournament.


    The players from Grand Hegemony Union were all familiar faces; many of them were poached from various major guilds.


    However, Blue Universe had a completely new lineup and all seven of their team members were rookies. The first time they entered the stage, their whole team were trembling. Perhaps it was because they were nervous or excited, or maybe it was a mixture of both. Their female healer Almond Ice Cream was crying mid fight.


    This guild had been able to build itself up with financial support from Drizzle Court. They were basically Drizzle Court''s sub-guild in name.


    Their goal was to develop their younger players, so they created this guild to provide an environment for talented young rookies to be trained and participate in tournaments once they were ready.


    If they performed well, they would be added to the main guild Drizzle Court. If not, they would stay and continued to gain experience.


    Their training program had trained up seven new players this year.


    All seven of them wanted to form a team and participate in the tournament. Water Fairy thought that it would interesting and was pleased with their ambition, so she accepted their request.


    When the results of the Top 16 was revealed, Drizzling Court decided to establish Blue Universe as an individual guild, as opposed to a development guild. The members felt great because their efforts were validated by their results.


    The gaming community knew that Blue Universe had existed for two or three years, but it wasn''t really until this Winter that they had broken out.


    Lu Li observed them from afar but continued doing his own thing.


    He spent most of his time training and sometimes practicing his skills in the arena. The rest of his time was spent on Engineering and Forging. With his unlimited materials and recipes, as well as an Elite forging hammer, he easily levelled up to expert.


    Engineering has been much harder to level up as he was always either missing recipes or materials.


    However, after a long time of grinding, he finally reached expert level and could now craft things like Goblin Jumper Cables and the Flawless Arcanite Rifle.


    Goblin Jumper Cables!


    Recipe: Goblin Jumper Cables.


    Requires: Expert Engineering (260)


    Use: Teaches user how to craft Goblin Jumper Cables.


    Goblin Jumper Cables: Jumper Cables will sometimes be able to shock a dead ally back to life. Cannot be used in combat.


    The Goblin Jumper Cables required Expert Engineering Level 260, which was higher than the level required for crafting the Flawless Arcanite Rifle (250). As such, Lu Li decided to invest in five Flawless Arcanite Rifles first.


    Excluding the one that he promised Water Fairy, he still had four left.


    If he used one for himself, he could sell one to Moonlight and sell the rest to whoever needs it in the guild.


    After crafting these the rifles, he would reach around Lv260.

 996 New Years

    Goblin Jumper Cables were very profitable because the materials to craft them weren''t very expensive. Lu Li could auction them at a ridiculously high price and players would still fight over it.


    He could finally make some money with Engineering.


    Lu Li crafted five Flawless Arcanite Rifles but needed three more points of EXP to level up to Lv260. He decided to wait until he had time to find another recipe.


    The Flawless Arcanite Rifles disappeared from his crafting options.


    Using a recipe allowed the player to craft the item for a limited amount of times, so he needed to find a new one.


    Lu Li equipped the rifle and mailed one to Water Fairy while wishing her "Happy New Year" in the description. He mailed another to Moonlight and also sent his new year greetings.


    The last two were sold to Global Friendship and Azure Sea Breeze.


    Since Azure Sea Breeze was such a good friend, he only sold it to him for the cost price. He didn''t charge Global Friendship too much either, so Lu Li ultimately came out with a net loss.


    Fortunately, he could now look forward to making serious money off the Goblin Jumper Cables.


    With this item, anyone could become a healer and resurrect their dead friend.


    Unfortunately, they couldn''t be used during a fight and they weren''t as reliable as the actual resurrect skill. If the user was unlucky, the Goblin Jumper Cable could fail.


    The day before New Year''s, it began snowing in Gangnam.


    Apparently, around 200 years ago, it never used to snow here, but as time went by, the weather grew colder. The snow wasn''t as heavy as the Northern part of the country, but it still covered the city.


    This year, they received quite a lot of snow. When Lu Li left his house early in the morning, he saw that everything was covered in white.


    "Wow, it''s snowing!" Lu Xin exclaimed as she ran out of the house behind him and dived into the snow like a happy little bunny.


    She was wearing her furry pink jacket, white scarf and white beanie, only showing parts of her face.


    Back in the day during wintertime, the two siblings would cuddle up together in their cardboard house that Lu Li had made. During the cold and windy winter nights, they only had each other as a source of warmth.


    No matter how much Lu Li tried to seal up the holes, it always felt like there was a freezing draft coming from somewhere. They could only exercise to warm themselves up and hide under the blankets to keep the heat.


    There were fewer jobs available during the winter as well and they would often go without proper food for days.


    It was even worse during the times when Lu Li was still too young to work. If it weren''t for the uncles and aunties in the neighborhood sparing whatever leftovers they could offer, they would have definitely starved to death.


    "Brother, let''s go visit old man Lee and the others," Lu Xin suddenly suggested after playing for a bit.


    Lu Li was silent and said hesitantly, "Xin Xin, we finally made it out of that place ¨C why do you want to go back? Let''s forget about the past, ok?"


    "But brother, they were the ones that helped us when we were in need."


    Lu Xin pouted her lips; she was upset with Lu Li''s attitude and thinking.


    She was so innocent and Lu Li had done a great job of sheltering her from the dangers and evils of society. She was very forgiving to those who had done wrong to her, while always remembering those who had helped her in any way, even if it was a small little favor.


    "I can get someone to send them some things."


    Lu Li has always been so nice to her sister and didn''t mind her innocence.


    "Let''s just go see them since we''re free today. You always taught me to do more things when you''re capable," Lu Xin ran over and begged, holding onto Lu Li''s arms.


    When they were younger, Lu Xin loved small animals and would always want to bring stray cats and dogs home to take care of them.


    Lu Li hated to see the disappointment in her face when he refused. However, he was already struggling to take care of his sister, so how could they afford to take care of a pet? As such, he would always teach his younger sister to help others when she became capable of doing so.


    He can''t go back on his words now; it was too bad that Lu Xin was such a good kid.


    Lu Li thought about it and asked, "It''s true that we''re doing much better for ourselves now, but what exactly do you want to do for them?"


    He was unsure whether his younger sister was too innocent. If she wanted him to use the money that he had made from gaming to help those in the Common District, then he wouldn''t do it. He never considered himself a saint and this wasn''t his life''s philosophy.


    To be honest, besides his little sister, he always had some sort of a goal that he wanted to achieve when helping others.


    For example, when he first met Azure Sea Breeze and gave him the loot that he had obtained, his goal was to gain a trustworthy and loyal friend. He always had the best interests of his guild in mind and fought for their benefit because he wants a group of loyal players backing him up.


    "Hmm¡­" Lu Xin thought as she tilted her head and said, "Should we buy some meat and bring it to them?"


    Fortunately, her request wasn''t completely unreasonable.


    There was a market near where they used to live in the Common District. Since it was the end of the year, they would probably have plenty of business.


    It was not that Commoners couldn''t afford meat; they just couldn''t splurge on it because of the price. Their favorite things to buy were cheap vegetables.


    Lu Li calculated how much he would need to buy and got the butchers to deliver it to them. Most of the items were meats that residents of the Common District usually couldn''t afford, as well as some rarer and more expensive things.


    Although the economy had gotten a lot better in the recent years, many people, especially the elderly, would suffer in poverty because of their old age, illnesses or disabilities. Usually, their kids would take care of them, but the sad reality was that nobody wanted that burden.


    This was because there''s no solution for aging; the elderly would often suffer from an incurable chronic disease.


    There were still quite a number of people who managed to make it out of the Common Distract. These were usually the gangsters that would bully others for their own gains, or lucky people like Lu Li and Lu Xin who insisted on studying even though they were dirt-poor.


    Nearly the entire district knew that Lu Li managed to make it out of there with his younger sister.


    The gangsters also found their own way out.


    Now that Lu Li had returned with his younger sister, there was a sense of glory and accomplishment. The two trucks full of meat were a testament to how well they were doing right now and the citizens of the Common District gathered around to see what the commotion was all about.


    Lu Li watched from afar as his younger sister greeted the uncles and aunties that had helped them in the past.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t understand the joy of helping others, but as long as his sister was happy, that''s all that mattered.


    Lu Xin ended up playing too much and caught a cold.


    Lu Li was furious at his little sister for getting sick and locked her in the house for the rest of New Year''s.


    The pain from the hand surgery was long gone. Lu Li was worried about his younger sister, but a little cold wouldn''t do anything too severe to her.


    If his little sister couldn''t leave the house, Lu Li had no choice but to stay home as well to keep her company. This also gave him a lot more time to play Dawn.

 997 Everyone Has Aspirations

    After returning from the lower-class areas, Buggy and his group came and visited Lu Li. There was a tradition in Jiangnan where they would bring gifts for the elders.


    Truthfully, Lu Li had not expected any returns in loyalty when he first started to help them. However, Buggy and his group of people instantly saw Lu Li as a great benefactor and a big brother to them. Therefore, they decided to help Lu Li out by becoming a hidden strength and weapon for Ruling Sword. After all, Square Root also had the idea of having a presence like alongside them.


    Lu Li''s first impression of Buggy''s group was not a positive one; he thought that they were just wannabe gangsters and were not motivated to do anything. However, they had now changed drastically from their old ways.


    As of now, Buggy''s group were doing well in Dawn. They had managed to exchange some game currency to real life-dollars, allowing them to rent a fairly large warehouse for work uses in the civilian district. Similar to Lu Li and his sister, they had also escaped the life of poverty.


    They had brought back merchandise that was sold for Chinese New Year to their homes in previous years as well. Who knew that the ones who were looked down upon back then could succeed and do things like this?


    "Brother Lu Li, there are new bullies and gangsters in our old areas. How about you come with us and return there?"


    Lu Li was curious and asked, "Return? What for?"


    "If you''re there with us, they would not dare to do anything reckless like bullying innocent people."


    There would always be people like Buggy, who after succeeding in life, would want to help their old homes become better places.


    "Sorry, I''m not that interested," Lu Li apologized shook his head.


    After all, he wasn''t the leader of the gangsters. He may have grown up there, and a lot of people feared him, but he was not one of them.


    "Argh¡­we''ll do what we want then," Buggy pleaded in frustration.


    "Anyone else can go but you, Buggy," Lu Li said assertively as he shot him a cold look.


    When Lu Li was still young, everyone in the neighbourhood had supported him and his sister. However, the main benefactor was Buggy''s family.


    "I won''t go." Buggy had no words to say after Lu Li said that.


    "If you want to go back and be a gangster, then go ahead. However, be a good one with upright morals. If you don''t want to go back and be a gangster, then work hard in Dawn. As for the people in our old homes, help them out in the game," Lu Li began to say.


    The other people began to listen in silence.


    Without Lu Li''s words, these people were not able to make decisions for themselves.


    This was because it was Lu Li who had helped them to escape that place of poverty. Now that they wanted to return, they felt the need to seek his permission.


    Lu Li had become an unshakeable influence in their lives. Having said all this, he meant that they could now make their own decisions.


    Truthfully, Lu Li did not want to manage these people.


    "Oh right, I plan to build a school in my old area. For the people heading back there, you can help me out there."


    Lu Li thought of this idea in the afternoon. He did not feel compelled to help everyone there, because he had already repaid his benefactors.


    However, he had done this for his sister.


    He felt that building a school was the best way for paving a way to success.


    During his times in poverty, Lu Xin had to walk a long way to her school, which was extremely dangerous. As such, Lu Li decided to follow her every day to ensure her safety.


    Now that he had decided to build a school near his old area, many would benefit from it.


    "Brother Lu Li, rest easy on this matter."


    The few who wished to return slapped their chest and promised, "Our wish is always your command, Brother Lu Li. Feel free to send people to let us know if you want us to do anything. We''re always one of your people."


    "Ha," Lu Li chuckled a little and did not think much of it.


    Wow, the boring brotherhood mentality!


    After settling the matters with his sister, Lu Li then returned to his usual lifestyle of constant grinding in Dawn.


    Chinese New Year was the most important festival in the whole of China. Therefore, all the gaming competitions were postponed for at least half a month. All the big organisations had given their members a long holiday.


    During times like these, the largest organisations'' strengths were at an all-time low.


    The biggest impact of this change was the competition regarding Wild Bosses as everyone had gone home to celebrate Chinese New Year. The ones who were still online were also the ones with discipline and organisational mindsets.


    Ruling Sword also pursued the Wild Bosses during this period. However, Lu Li had only brought a small group each time, so they could not relax.


    During the night before Chinese New Year, Lu Xin sat on the couch and gazed in the night sky, while Lu Li wore the game helmet and was in game.


    This was an odd situation, but not unexpected.


    Lu Li was killing the Heartrazor in the area of the Thousand Needles. Heartrazor was a Wyvern with a large, copper-greyish body. It was known for its brutal Critical strikes and its tremendous AoE skills. It dropped a rare material called Bristly Whisker upon its death. This material was used in many areas of craftsmanship, so it was in high-demand among the organisations.


    "Second squad, use the hit-and-run tactic. Flee from the people from Blood Red War Flag," Lu Li instructed. He stood upon a smooth and solid rock so that he could command the squads while maintaining a maximum field of view.


    "Boss, the aggro''s not with me ¨C the Boss was taunted away. It''s one of the people from Glorious Paladins!" World''s Best Friend yelled.


    "How''d you lose aggro so easily? Thief Squad, go and kill their MT."


    Lu Li did not want to investigate further. After all, he could use the Thief Squad to disrupt the other team''s MT, while the enemy could do the same.


    "Alright!"


    After his instructions were received, the Thief Squad instantly jumped on the Glorious Paladin''s MT.


    "Boss! Be careful!" someone yelled.


    Lu Li felt that he was in danger. Without hesitating, he activated Gale Steps. While he was still struck by Arrow Barrage, he received no damage.


    He looked back and saw a group of Hunters with their bows raised at him.


    "Capture Lu Li alive!" one of the Hunters yelled. Although the Hunters were closely bonded as brothers, they had second-guessed themselves. After all, it was Lu Li.


    "You''ve just done yourselves in."


    Lu Li jumped down from the rock and entered Stealth as soon as he landed. Some rocks were placed too high above the ground, while some were too low. He was in a position where he was an easy target. Lu Li was the only level 50 player on the rankings. Naturally, there were more people out for his blood than people who wanted to kill Bosses.

 998 Broken

    "Boss, we can''t fight this."


    World''s Best Friend had barely escaped from death and came running to Lu Li with tears streaming down his face.


    The situation was truly too chaotic; it was as though every single guild and organisation was here. Heartrazor was only a level 45 Wild Boss, so it couldn''t be that popular.


    "It''s crazy, it''s crazy¡­"


    After barely escaping from the full blast of an ability, Lu Li was only left with a sliver of HP. The Ruling Sword squads had already been forced away from the Boss, so its aggro was lost to another guild.


    The leader of the Knights Squad of Ruling Sword, Drifting Rain, had received new information.


    "Ah¡­More guilds have appeared. Even the people from Glory Capital are here."


    "That''s not good. We''ll retreat," Lu Li said as he announced this into the guild chat channel.


    "No, I want to keep fighting. Purple Lunar Paradise killed me. I need to take revenge," Fat Monkey said restlessly.


    He did say that he wanted revenge, so why did it seem like he was overly excited about it?


    "You''ve already killed so many of their people. They only killed you once. Why are you going for revenge?" Wandering asked, then added, "Well, I don''t care. I''ll leave first. Don''t come complaining when you get killed again and again."


    This was true on the battlefield ¨C the organised squads, or the squads fighting the Boss, would be targets for everyone else.


    Ruling Sword decided to disperse and retreat. A large majority of the guild had retreated, while there were still some players who were filled with adrenaline and could not calm down.


    Lu Li killed a player and looted his equipment. After looting, he found more and more items.


    "What the hell? Why are we even fighting the Boss? Just loot the equipment!" he thought to himself.


    He was the pinnacle player in Dawn, the big Boss of Ruling Sword, the idol of many players. He was the last person who would be expected to do such a thing.


    In the beginning of all this chaos, he had killed players then looted their equipment. However, he found that this did not yield the best return nor was it the most efficient method. Instead, he thought that he might as well just go around and loot equipment. He looted everything, as long as it could be sold for a reasonable amount.


    "Fat Monkey, don''t fight anymore. Hurry here and help me deliver the equipment back!" Lu Li yelled.


    He could have called anyone to come help him, but he wanted to get Fat Monkey to try and calm him down.


    "Wow, Boss, how many did you kill?" Fat Monkey cried.


    Lu Li handed him a large bag of equipment with 40 to 50 items in total. Even if each killed person had dropped one equip, at least 50 would have died. When considering the drop rate of equipment, it would make more sense for one equip to drop for every two or three people killed.


    "Just have a look around you. There are so many people are killing each other, but no one is bothering to pick the drops up."


    As Lu Li pointed around the chaotic battlefield, he also had to dodge an arrow.


    "You should keep going," Fat Monkey said with a slight hint of distaste.


    Lu Li was a Thief, which was why he could survive in the midst of all this chaos.


    However, he was also a world-renowned and respected commander. If news had gotten out to the public that he was doing such a thing, he would lose his respect from the people.


    Lu Li chuckled and rushed back into the battlefield.


    "He''s looted one of our comrades'' equipment!"


    After someone yelled this, many players decided to attack Lu Li simultaneously.


    Lu Li felt that they were overreacting. After all, it was only one equip. He then proceeded to hide behind a rock in the forest area in of Thousand Needles. Although he had high-level equipment, he could not tank ten skills at once.


    After exiting Stealth and checking his surroundings, he then quickly shifted to a more secure position to check the equipment.


    No wonder these people were furious. He had looted a level 50 Dark Gold Mage equip with excellent properties. It was probably better than the one that Lonesome Flower had.


    As of this moment, this piece of equipment would have Lonesome Flower grovelling just to get his hands on it.


    This group of people were determined to get it back.


    Lu Li didn''t know how they would have gotten their hands on something like this. They had simply just received a quest for help, and then the person holding it had died due to the chaos. It was extremely unfortunate that someone had looted it right in front of their eyes as well.


    Lu Li had no intentions of returning it. After all, he had entered this battle in preparation that he could die and lose his items as well.


    The Dark Gold equipment was Ice-related, so Lu Li planned to save it for Lonesome Flower.


    Lu Li began to wander around the battlefield to loot more items, but he was beginning to get noticed.


    This could not be helped; he wasn''t the only one that was going around looting. However, there weren''t many people with Lu Li''s broad range of skills that could be used to escape. Therefore, people had begun to realise that there was someone who was extremely proficient at doing this sort of thing.


    Shortly after this, the clanging sound of metal clashing rang out.


    Lu Li just managed to block a strike from a Berserker''s Great Axe. He realised that he was much too engrossed in looting the equipment and had not realised that he was already revealed by Flare.


    Furthermore, it was a group of Hunters, which meant that they could constantly use the skill in a rotation.


    Were they looking for trouble?


    Lu Li was speechless. He wanted to keep his identity hidden, so he could not use any of his more flashy and powerful skills to escape.


    Of course, he would still use them if it was a life-or-death situation.


    "Oh? You''re not too bad. Let''s fight a fair battle of 1-on-1."


    The Berserker began to play with his axe and shot a condescending look towards Lu Li.


    "Ah¡­Met with a crazy person."


    This player wanted to fight with all of this ensuing chaos. If this wasn''t a sign of madness, what was? Lu Li began to point to his surroundings and began to chuckle, "In this chaos? I don''t see how that''s fair at all."


    The Hunters hadn''t stopped their barrage of Flares, so Lu Li could not use his Stealth.


    "You treating me like a kid? How is it fair if you can go invisible and run from me?" The Berserker did not feel that the situation as of that moment was in anyway unfair to either of them.


    "What happens if I win?" Lu Li gave up on trying to escape. Instead, he wanted to find out whether this Berserker was someone who just wanted to look good by fighting, or if he was someone like Moonlight who was a PVP freak.


    In the world of gaming, this was normal. The unpredictability of situations like these were exhilarating for players.


    "If you win, then I''ll give you two pieces of equipment. They''re confirmed to be prestigious ones. You don''t need to risk your life to pick up equipment if you win."


    The Berserker had used benefits to lure Lu Li''s interests, so he was not a stupid player.


    He displayed the items in the Area Chat, so anyone could see them.


    The properties were fairly decent; both pieces were Gold Grade. Had Lu Li been a normal player with decent skills and mechanics, he would have taken up the offer.

 999 Calling Him a Teacher

    Even though this was an unfair fight, Lu Li frankly didn''t care very much about this Warrior.


    After that one encounter, Lu Li already knew the level difference between them. The Warrior was a level 46 Berserker while Lu Li was a level 50 Thief. Even if Lu Li was wearing Silver equipment, he would win.


    "What if I lose?" Lu Li wondered curiously.


    "Lose...? If you lose, then you lose," the Warrior snorted.


    "Alright then, let''s get started. You''re fighting a Thief as a Warrior, and you''ve even got a group of Hunters to use Flare."


    Lu Li had attempted to go into the Stealth but was immediately revealed under the Flares that had already been cast.


    This obviously wasn''t the first time that this Warrior had done this sort of thing. There were also onlookers, pointing and watching.


    "Ruined Jimo really is shameless; look at that poor Thief."


    "Don''t talk nonsense ¨C Ruined Jimo is the child of a rich family but he still likes to play PVP. The only problem is that his strength and skills are quite weak, so he has to do this."


    "But this Thief looks quite calm¡­ Maybe there is some hope."


    "Why does it matter whether the Thief is calm or not? It''s not like he is going to beg for mercy; it''s just a game after all. The main question is whether he is going to drop an item."


    "He doesn''t even need to worry about dropping equipment. Ruined Jimo is actually kind enough to return any items that are dropped. Sigh, I don''t really understand the thought process of these rich people. They have it so good in real life, but they come into this game looking for trouble anyway."


    With all these players surrounding them, the battle had begun.


    Ruined Jimo opened with a direct Charge. He could clearly see Lu Li and the circle of players around them wasn''t that large. He was sure that he could land this ability.


    Despite the fact that everyone thought this was a foolproof move, he managed to miss it


    Lu Li didn''t even react at the moment he started the Charge ¨C this was an advanced technique. From the start of the game until now, 80% of all Berserkers chose to start every fight with Charge. The skill had been practiced by countless players for countless hours. Masters of this skill were actually able to change direction midway, so if you evaded too quickly, they would be able to re-adjust to hit you.


    Lu Li waited until his window to escape almost closed before moving.


    By taking just half a step, Ruined Jimo''s Charge flew right past Lu Li.


    Well, he didn''t really fly past, because he was stunned nearly immediately after. Lu Li had cast Sap at just the right time upon dodging the Charge.


    The Charge didn''t hit Lu Li, so naturally, he hadn''t entered battle yet and Sap was still available.


    Ruined Jimo stood there for a long time, patiently waiting for Sap''s duration to expire. The Warrior wasn''t afraid of Lu Li making the first attack. The moment Sap''s effect came to an end, he would launch his counterattack.


    It was almost time!


    Ruined Jimo was counting down; Lu Li didn''t have much time left to make his move.


    It seemed like Lu Li was going to attack at the very last second, but Ruined Jimo almost vomited blood at what happened. He had been hit with another Sap.


    This Thief was taking it too far!


    Technically speaking, the role of Sap was to guarantee the first attack. Why was he continuously using Sap? It was such a dumb thing to do.


    Lu Li had deliberately cast Sap again and intended to continue playing like this. Under the scrutiny of the players around him, Ruined Jimo must have wanted to die than to face this humiliation.


    The Warrior had started to become angry!


    Ruined Jimo simply used his Badge and immediately cast Trample. When Berserkers wanted to catch a Thief, this was generally the trick that they would use. All he had to do was stomp his foot on the ground.


    But was Lu Li going to give him the chance to use Trample?


    Just as he lifted his foot, Lu Li cast Cheap Shot and kept Ruined Jimo stunned.


    Ever since the start of the fight, he hadn''t had the chance to turn around to face Lu Li.


    Lu Li then quickly emptied out his HP and defeated him, after which he was quickly revived by a nearby Healer.


    Lu Li could see that these Hunters were well trained. It was likely that these players were trained for this kind of role. It didn''t seem like Ruined Jimo was an unreasonable person, so Lu Li didn''t immediately leave.


    After Ruined Jimo got up, he looked at Lu Li like they were still in battle.


    It was clear that he was angry at Lu Li; he had been humiliated by the back-to-back Saps.


    In fact, Ruined Jimo''s anger had already boiled over within him.


    He didn''t lose a single point of HP! Lu Li didn''t lose even a single point of HP!


    Ruined Jimo was speechless. Over the course of the whole battle, he didn''t have a chance to hit Lu Li even once.


    This was not just a slight difference in strength; they were in completely different leagues.


    "Uh¡­" Ruined Jimo''s gaze began to look more eager as he said in a flattering tone, "Master, can I call you teacher?"


    "Call me teacher?" Lu Li was a little moved, but didn''t show it on his face. "What teacher? I don''t think there is such a function in this game, right?"


    "Hehe," Ruined Jimo laughed,"Just because it''s not there, doesn''t mean it won''t be there."


    Lu Li just stared at him. He knew that it would appear later from his past experience, but he didn''t remember when. However, it was definitely not something that was coming soon. How did this person know that the teacher system would come out?"


    But after he thought about it, he came to a realization.


    Everything in this game, including the strategies, were created by people. As such, there was no such thing as a true secret.


    Nevertheless, information that came from Dawn''s company was bound to eventually leak out.


    "Don''t look at me like that. I know that there will be a teacher system too," Ruined Jimo said as he smiled bitterly.


    "Forget it." Lu Li shook his head.


    "Forget what?"


    "Forget about calling me teacher."


    "Why?" Ruined Jimo was dumbfounded. Although he wasn''t very strong, he knew about the teacher system ahead of time. Even a Master would want to know more about this information. Why would he still not want to be friends with him?


    Why would Lu Li reject his offer?


    In fact, it was even better to be a teacher than a friend; Ruined Jimo was basically giving Lu Li control over him¡­


    This wasn''t something that he would do casually!


    In Ruined Jimo''s heart, he sneered at Lu Li. Not only did he know that there was going to be a teacher system, but also a husband and wife system in future.


    Ruined Jimo watched dumbly as Lu Li took the two items from the pot and left. He soon realized that he had just been abandoned. He was the son of a high-ranking family in China, a president of a large group of companies who managed thousands of people, but someone had just turned their back on him.

 1000 New Years’ Eve Dinner

    It was impossible to continue playing at night; Jiangnan City regarded New Year Eve Dinner very highly.


    Fireworks had been prohibited in the recent years, so the city was quite deserted. The only things that could be seen were the huge red lanterns in front of the houses.


    New Year couplets were pasted all over the walls in Lu Li''s house. For the past number of years, they had no parents to tell them how to celebrate this day, so they just celebrated it however they wanted to.


    If you grew up in the Common District, you had the other children to celebrate with.


    However, in such a high-end residential area with a relatively small population, it was rare to see children running around. This meant that Lu Xin had nothing to do and could only sit on the sofa, watching Lu Li at work.


    The three female landlords had gone home for the holidays, and only she and her brother were there.


    Lu Li had personally cooked a whole table''s worth of dishes. While he was raising his sister, he had always somehow managed to use the worst ingredients to make the best food. Even though they had money now, he didn''t mind treating himself and his sister.


    "Big bro, what if we can''t finish all this?" Lu Xin asked as she touched her small tummy, feeling like she was already full just by looking at the food.


    In the past years, if they had a good year they would have two dishes to celebrate with.


    "If we can''t finish it, then we can put it in the fridge," he replied. Lu Li certainly wasn''t going to tell her that they would throw it away.


    "It''s too bad that the Huan Huan sisters aren''t here; it would be nice to have them," Lu Xin said.


    "They have their own families, so they naturally have to go back to celebrate with them. Aren''t I enough? Do you want to have more people around?" Lu Li asked as he put down the last place and started to pay attention to his sister.


    "No, my big bro is enough for me," Lu Xin said sincerely.


    "Hmph, it''s good that you know that. Your Huan Huan sisters might be leaving next year, and you won''t be able to see them after that too," Lu Li said.


    "Sigh, why do people always have to separate?" Lu Xin pouted and looked very sad.


    "It''s not like you won''t ever see them again, and they aren''t that closely related to you."


    Lu Li didn''t see the landlords leaving as a bad thing. He liked the life where he and his sister were staying alone.


    "Big bro, you''re too cold hearted. I hoped that you would chase after one of them so they would


    become my sister-in-law," Lu Xin said as she angrily started hitting Lu Li.


    Lu Li was stunned as he didn''t expect his sister to be thinking like that.


    "Xin Xin," he responded with a smile, "We are completely different people to them. You should know that."


    "Then what about Water Sis?" Lu Xin asked without skipping a beat.


    "Her¡­ what about her?" Lu Li''s face went blank.


    "Don''t act dumb big bro, I know you know what I''m talking about. You have a close relationship with Water Sis. I am your sister; you can''t lie to me!" the little girl cried out.


    "Well, I guess it still comes back to the fact that we are completely different people," Lu Li shrugged and looked indifferent.


    "This isn''t just a question of having money," Lu Li tried to explain.


    "Then why don''t you clear up the air? Why do you let people assume that you are a couple?" Lu Xin wasn''t so easy to manipulate.


    Lu Li was stunned; he didn''t know what to say. All he could do was wave his chopsticks and change the topic.


    "You better start eating, or I''ll finish the food. Turn on the TV too; the Spring Festival Show is almost on."


    Lu Xin stared at him for a moment before finally letting it go.


    Her brother clearly cared about things much more than he was willing to admit.


    "Silly girl, why aren''t you happy? Things will get better and better. In previous years, we couldn''t even pay the 100 dollars to go to the zoo. When the zoo opens again in the coming days, big bro will take you there. I heard that your favorite animal, the giant panda, is still there," Lu Li comforted her.


    "Really? Will I be able to see Dumpling?" Lu Xin''s emotions quickly recovered as she returned to her usual happy self.


    Apart from dogs, Lu Xin''s favorite animal was the panda. Unfortunately, there was no way for them to raise a panda, but Lu Li had promised that she could choose a small dog from the pet adoption center once she had recovered.


    "You can go wherever you want, and can have whatever you want," Lu Li said as he ate.


    "I want a sister-in-law," said the little girl.


    "Eat your food." Lu Li blinked at her before deciding to end the conversation.


    She really was good at hitting sore topics. This wasn''t something he was wanted right now and he couldn''t make any guarantees about it.


    As for Water Fairy¡­


    It would be a lie if he said that he didn''t feel anything when he thought about her.


    However, he also knew of the differences between him and Water Fairy. He had recently read a forum post about Water Fairy''s gaming background. Even without going into her real background, Drizzle Court was part of the top 100 guilds in the gaming circle. They had two players in the top 10 players and three more players in the top 20 players.


    Such influence was comparable to an old guild like Glory Capital.


    Ruling Sword was still so far from that, so Lu Li just couldn''t consider the possibility of being with Water Fairy.


    In such a festival, both the poor and the rich were celebrating the same thing. It was just the decorations and various atmospheres that were different.


    In the quiet residential area of Jinling, Water Fairy was eating quietly in a spacious dining room.


    Her father was sitting at the same table, and so was her stepmother¡­


    In fact, not all stepmothers were bitter and rude. Water Fairy''s stepmother had been married to her father for 10 years. Although she did not treat her like her biological daughter, she was at least respectful.


    They didn''t have any plans to have any more children, but she had accidentally become pregnant.


    Recently, her stepmother had become more attentive to Water Fairy. When Water Fairy was eating, she


    would give her food. She also cared about Water Fairy''s gaming life and regular life.


    Water Fairy''s father''s surname was Shen, which was naturally passed down to her. Mr. Shen put down his glass and glanced at his daughter who was quietly eating, then asked with a flat expression, "Why haven''t you brought your in-game boyfriend to have dinner with us?"


    "What boyfriend?" Water Fairy wasn''t just cold in game; she was like that to her father as well.


    "Hey."


    Mr Shen''s temper was quite bad, and he got angry very easily. The stepmother quickly touched


    his hand and shook her head at him with a pleading face.


    Because of his wife''s pregnancy, Mr. Shen felt quite guilty about his daughter. Today was New Year''s, so he endured his anger and continued asking, "I''m talking about that Lu Li guy; someone who comes from the Common District. I don''t like it!"


    "It''s not even your boyfriend. Only I have to like him," Water Fairy retorted.


    In fact, she originally intended to explain that she and Lu Li were just friends. However, her relationship with her father had always been rocky, and recently it had been particularly bad, so she just angrily shut down the conversation.

 1001 The Female Tycoon’s Family Affairs

    Mr. Shen was already dissatisfied but after hearing his daughter speak to him like that, he also dropped his chopsticks. Water Fairy''s stepmother quickly went over and start massaging him, afraid that he would have a heart attack.


    Water Fairy looked down and grit her teeth; she actually didn''t want things to turn out this way.


    After training and taking care of her for 20 years, it seemed like she treated it like it was nothing. As such, it was impossible for the father not to get angry.


    When she was two years old, she had begun her education. While other girls were still being pampered, she was studying. While other girls were playing, she was studying. While other girls were enjoying their youth, she was studying.


    She had resisted the role of being the successor since she was young, and dreamed of getting rid of it.


    However, if the day truly came where she would throw away what she had been trained for, it would feel like the first half of her life had been a waste.


    "Husband, don''t be like this. Your daughter is all grown up and is now looking for love. It''s normal to have a few boyfriends before settling down," her stepmother softly reminded him.


    "You''re always defending her," Mr Shen coldly replied.


    "I don''t need her to; I will decide these things for myself. You keep eating dad," Water Fairy said as she stood up to leave.


    "You¡­" Mr Shen''s father had spent a lifetime in positions of authority, so few people dared to disobey him. Now that this daughter who he had raised like a son who was being rude to him, he just sighed and said, "My child, your father won''t let you down."


    "Can you guarantee that? In front of Uncle Wang?" Water Fairy asked as she stopped in her tracks.


    The so-called Uncle Wang was their family''s lawyer. Water Fairy meant for him to establish his inheritance to her.


    "Husband¡­" Her stepmother''s face turned pale.


    Pregnant women shouldn''t be arguing with others, but once you were pregnant, even the softest-spoken women would become more abrasive.


    Mr. Shen couldn''t make such a guarantee. In his heart, he wanted to give his inheritance to his son. What if the son turned to be more promising than the daughter?


    Water Fairy sneered, "I don''t care about anything else, but everything I have in the gaming industry belongs to me. Don''t inject yourself into my business. I don''t want to move any of the money in my account and the thing my mum left behind¡­"


    "Silence!" Mr. Shen''s heart was angry and resentful when he heard his daughter start to talk about splitting up the family''s assets.


    When her mother gave birth to her, her body was already weak and was unable to have another child. Before her death, she forced her husband to swear that even if he remarried, he wouldn''t have another child. Regardless of whether it was intention, he had broken that oath.


    That, in addition to everything he had done over past twenty years, was the reason why Water Fairy was filled with resentment towards her father.


    After leaving the house, Water Fairy returned to the Drizzle Court residence.


    This place used to be a university, but it had since moved to another location. Mr. Shen had acquired the land, and Water Fairy had built it into a gaming city.


    This was considered to be the place where famous guilds in the gaming circle gather. Drizzle Court, Peerless City, Blue Universe, Concealed Heavens, Misty Story and Double Dimension were some of the famous major guilds here, alongside the dozens of elite groups and small clubs.


    The facilities here were excellent ¨C there were cinemas, playgrounds, amusement parks, water parks and so on.


    Most players went home during the New Year, but there were still some that were too lazy. The arrival of Water Fairy caused a bit of commotion.


    It was normal for the boss to go home for the New Year; this was common knowledge. There must have been something wrong if she had returned in the middle of the night.


    However, Water Fairy didn''t pay attention to what the other players thought. After returning to her home, she went straight into the arena. She didn''t even hide her identity; she just fought whoever to vent her anger.


    After she had calmed down, she realized that it was past midnight, which meant that it was the New Year.


    She just stayed in the game without doing anything, and received a few Happy New Year messages. When she opened her friend list, she saw that Lu Li was online.


    "What are you doing?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Training my Trade Skills ¨C Goblin Jumper Cables."


    Lu Li was obviously busy and Water Fairy could hear the sound of machinery in the background.


    "It''s the New Year. Why aren''t you spending time with Xin Xin?" Water Fairy felt a sense of peace when listening to the machines. She had finally calmed down, and wondered why her temper had flared up previously.


    "She is already asleep, I prefer for her not to stay up," Lu Li said, then paused before continuing, "Are you in a bad mood?"


    "You managed to get that just from my voice? And here I was thinking you were a blockhead when it came to these things." Water Fairy was surprised. She hadn''t deliberately concealed her feelings, but she didn''t think Lu Li would notice it.


    She had known Lu Li for so long, and had never seen anyone who was more insensitive than him.


    Other men who spoke to her were always quite receptive. If she ever became uncomfortable, they would immediately try to flatter her. They didn''t always have some motive and some of them were already famous, but none of them could bear to see her disappointment.


    After all, good looking people had that advantage.


    It was only Lu Li who allowed Water Fairy to feel like an ordinary girl. Because of this, she was very comfortable with him.


    "Why are you upset?" he asked.


    "I got into an argument with my dad."


    She had kept all this to herself for twenty years, but she suddenly had the desire to share. She told him everything that had happened at the New Year''s Eve dinner.


    Lu Li listened quietly and occasionally responded.


    Then, he began to understand Water Fairy''s family background, her upbringing, and her recent conflicts and experiences.


    In fact, Lu Li couldn''t help but feel for Water Fairy''s dilemma. He didn''t have any parents, and would give anything for them, even if his life would be worse. However, Water Fairy seemed like she had also grown up with her share of suffering.


    "He is your father after all. I''m sure he would be sad if you left the house on a day like New Year''s Eve," Lu Li''s said. His position was a little biased towards Mr. Shen.


    "But he betrayed his promise to my mother, and treats me like a joke," Water Fairy said angrily. Lu Li''s accusation grieved her, because she thought that he wouldn''t condemn her father too.


    "He did something wrong, but it is not the worst. Your stepmother might not have a son, and even if she does, he might not be a good prospect. Even if he was a good prospect, you still wouldn''t be given up. Moreover, weren''t you planning to build a career within the gaming industry anyway?"


    Lu Li was not good at comforting people, but he was good at directly addressing the heart of the issue.


    "But¡­ I''m still unwilling," Water Fairy said while muffling her voice.


    "The game industry is growing rapidly once again. If you can get a foothold in it, it might be even better than taking a place in an industry in real life," Lu Li reiterated.


    Only he knew what Dawn would truly being to the gaming industry.


    For example, Ruling Sword was valued at 30 million. If they didn''t fall downhill, they would become valued at greater than 100 million within half a year. Not long after that, they would soon reach a billion dollars. This was how quickly the companies were developing.


    Drizzle Court was already a behemoth in the gaming circle, and Lu Li couldn''t imagine an industry that was more promising than this.

 1002 Dumplings

    This topic had been unconsciously brought up, but Water Fairy and Lu Li started to talk about the development of the club.


    Her bad mood was quickly swept away.


    It was then that Lu Li found out how Water Fairy was planning to integrate a number of small clubs into a one big club that was comparable with Drizzle Court and Peerless City.


    However, because of the outstanding performance of Blue Universe this season, this plan had been stalled.


    Blue Universe was currently in the top 16 at eleventh place. They had been playing well beyond what they were expected to, so Water Fairy had decided to keep Blue Universe intact. There was a real possibility that they could become the next Peerless City.


    "Do you think I should merge the remaining clubs?" Water Fairy asked.


    "You must have another Blue Universe somewhere in there," Lu Li said. He remembered in the early days of Glory Capital, they had split their club into three to participate in various competitions.


    This kind of large-scale operation brought huge benefits, but it was a tremendous use of resources that couldn''t be afforded by every club.


    Lu Li had no plans to split up Ruling Sword yet because didn''t have the financial ability to do so, but the club was going to be an important tactic in the future.


    Water Fairy farmed for EXP while Lu Li practiced his Engineering, but both of them were having a good time while chatting.


    If the players at Drizzle Court saw this scene, they would be dumbfounded. They had have never seen a person who was able to talk to Water Fairy like this before.


    It was now the second day of the New Year.


    Most people should have been very busy on this day with visiting their relatives.


    However, the Lu siblings had no friends or relatives at all. The guild members who were still in Jiangnan City sent a message to Lu Li that they were free, so they all met up in game.


    There were also in-game events during the New Year.


    Whatever they did, whether it was fighting a monster, completing a quest, fishing, or training their Trade Skills, they would receive dumplings as a reward.


    Some dumplings would give bonus Attributes for a period of time, while others could regenerate a certain amount of HP or mana during battle. These could be used even after the event was over.


    Dumplings were an extremely worthwhile item. No one really understood in the first year, but from the next New Year''s Day onwards, almost all players would hoard a batch of them by doing quests and farming monsters.


    The key characteristic of these Dumplings was that they couldn''t be traded, so you couldn''t buy them no matter how much money you had.


    For Lu Li and his low Charisma values, triggering a quest was difficult. Even if he did trigger a quest, the quest chain would be more complicated than for someone with high Charisma. As such, he simply went out to fight monsters.


    If he kept fighting the same monsters in the same place, the probability of the drop would get higher.


    This was just common sense, but Lu Li was the only one who currently knew that.


    He chose to inform a few trustworthy players, but he didn''t expect this to last long. Sooner or later, someone would write a strategy guide for the wider player base. After some hesitation, Lu Li decided to tell Water Fairy.


    Theses multi-legged monsters were a type of spider that ranged from level 45 to 55, and were distributed all over the walls of the canyon.


    The Spiders were very squishy and could be dealt with by one round of Lu Li''s attacks, but that didn''t meant they were easy to farm. After all, they were poisonous enough to kill a Main Tank. Even Azure Sea Breeze supported by a Healer wouldn''t dare to farm here.


    Not only was the poison quite potent by itself, but it could also stack and continued to deal damage even after the player exited battle.


    Detoxification Skills had no effect, and only high-end Antidotes would work against them. However, because there were few high-end Antidotes and the multi-legged monsters didn''t give that much EXP, this place was an unpopular training destination.


    After Lu Li entered the canyon, he applied an attack speed buff onto his dagger and chose a position to start farming the monsters.


    If he could sneak past their keen detection, he would have the initiative to attack. He could then deal with the monsters with a few attacks and skills.


    Backhand Backstab!


    The spider he had struck screamed just before Lu Li went up to loot it. In addition to acquiring a multi-legged monster carapace, he also acquired a dumpling.


    Dumpling (Food): Instantly regenerate 500HP. 2-minute cooldown. Usage Requirement: Level 50.


    This was a good item, and the one Lu Li wanted the most. Other than the fact that it couldn''t be used in competitions, it could play an important role in many other situations.


    The spider refresh-rate was high and they were easy to kill, so Lu Li went through them quickly. He wasn''t that much slower than a Mage using an area of effect attack. Naturally, he started to acquire quite a few Dumplings.


    Dumpling (Food): After use, Prestige +300. 2 minute cooldown. Usage Requirement: level 45.


    Lu Li almost whistled out loud. He thought it was going to be impossible for him to find the Dumplings with good effects.


    There were a number of Prestige Scrolls circulating the market which gave 20-50 Prestige. No matter how much Prestige they gave, the conversion rate worked out to be about one gold coin per Prestige point. This dumpling gave 300 Prestige, which meant it was almost equivalent to 300 gold coins.


    He had made more than 20,000 dollars in ten minutes; this was just like a dream.


    Of course, the value in those Prestige Scrolls was that they were transferable. The non-transferrable nature of these Dumplings made them worth a little less.


    After acquiring a good item, it was natural that Lu Li would speed up the farming process. Even if he found the regular Dumplings, Lu Li didn''t mind because they also had a role to play.


    Dumpling (Food): Increases EXP by 2% when used. 2 minute cooldown. Usage Time Remaining: 5 minutes.


    After half an hour, Lu Li acquired his second exquisite Dumpling.


    This one gave the user an EXP bonus which was particularly good because it was a percentage increase. The bonus was better the higher-level the player, so a timer was added to restrict players from holding onto it for later.


    Lu Li decisively used the Dumpling and watched as his EXP bar visibly moved. This 2% EXP was equivalent to a few hours of farming.


    It was said that there existed an exquisite Dumpling that would give a bonus of half a level, but Lu Li had only ever heard of something like this. However, upon thinking about it, this was impossible ¨C otherwise, the game balance would be lost.


    There were a few different types of exquisite Dumplings.


    The first added Prestige and the second added percentage EXP, but the last added to the user''s Attributes.


    There were other less common types, but Lu Li didn''t care for those. He only hoped to find more of the common exquisite Dumplings.

 1003 Jet Glider

    Most of the other drops were just ordinary Dumplings, for example, increase damage by 5 for 20 minutes, or give a skill a fire attribute after use. These were somewhat useful, but a little too much for players like Lu Li.


    Fortunately, Lu Li was a tough person and wouldn''t be shaken even if he received a large number of worthless drops.


    He had chosen a monster that was a similar level to him, so even if he didn''t find any good Dumplings he would still be gaining decent EXP. Not to mention, the multi-legged monster carapace was widely used, so he could sell them for money or put them in the guild warehouse.


    "You people truly are shameless! How did you get that item?!"


    An angry shout interrupted Lu Li''s thoughts, but he didn''t stop what he was doing. He was a curious person, and not to mention he was currently in a buffed state from his weapon.


    "Give up the item and you will be spared. Don''t think that we can''t just kill you for it."


    It was clear that this wasn''t just one person. Although Lu Li was far away, his ears couldn''t help but listen out for more.


    Lu Li thought that the location he had chosen was quite remote. He didn''t think that trouble would come looking for him, but it was bound to eventually happen.


    Another closer group had already seen Lu Li.


    This masked Thief didn''t even go into Stealth. He continuous attacked the monster before him and moved on to the next systematically. He dealt with the monsters within three attacks, each taking less than 10 seconds. The monsters didn''t even have a chance to fight back.


    The players were also a little slow to take action; they knew the strength of the monsters that were in this area.


    There were level 50 monsters here!


    Most players had to avoid them, but they seemed to be completely vulnerable to this masked man.


    This player was able to kill level 40-50 monsters within three attacks. If they didn''t see it with their own eyes, they would never believe it. Even now, they wondered if they were dreaming.


    "Lu Li?"


    They asked this in a private chat, as the other party clearly didn''t want to reveal his identity.


    In fact, when an average person saw such a strong Thief, they wouldn''t feel like it was Lu Li because he had taken the Agility route. Only those Thieves that focused on Strength would not use Stealth and attack like this.


    "Are you here?"


    Lu Li didn''t even have to look; he could already tell who he was talking to by the voice.


    "Yep, I am following this group of players," Water Fairy responded. "Can you help me? My players won''t be here for a while."


    "Have a listen."


    Lu Li originally wanted to be here alone, but changed his mind after thinking about it. He couldn''t always just care about money. He had recently been making Goblin Jumper Cables, which were bound to earn him a handsome sum.


    If you already had food and shelter, that was enough.


    "Blood Red War Flag fought a Zodiac Beast, but its drop was stolen. It also always drops upon death. It is currently on the black armored Berserker in front of the group; come and help me get it," Water Fairy said.


    "Zodiac Beast?" Lu Li frowned.


    He wanted to tell Water Fairy that the Zodiac Beast didn''t drop equipment, only some peculiar items. Some of these were good, but most of them were pretty useless. It was hardly a thing worth fighting over.


    "It is said to be a Jet Glider thing that looks quite useful," Water Fairy explained before Lu Li even asked what the item was.


    Lu Li was stunned ¨C so that was the item!


    The Jet Glider was not a piece of equipment; you just needed to have it in your backpack. When you used, a set of mechanical wings would appear behind the player. Aesthetically, they looked quite good, but most players wanted it for its special effect.


    After the mechanical wings appeared, the player could choose to be boosted in any direction. Usually, a player would choose to fly towards the sky, which effectively helped them avoid grounds attacks.


    After rushing into the sky, the player could dive back down. They were also able to use crowd-control skills in the air, so this was very useful for both chasing and escaping.


    However, the Jet Glider wasn''t available to everyone. The item also had a 100% chance of being dropped on death, so most players who had this would just end up giving it to someone else.


    If it really was the Jet Glider, then Lu Li was interested. After all, turning into a crow required a certain amount of channeling time. It just wasn''t comparable to the instantaneous start of the Jet Glider


    "Are you helping or not?" Water Fairy asked.


    These players were running as they fought, and were just about to pass Lu Li''s location.


    Although they thought that Lu Li was strong, they didn''t worry much about him. He was just a single player, and he wouldn''t dare to engage such a large group of them.


    "We have to close in on the black Berserker and one shot him together," Lu Li said.


    "Wow, so direct¡­" Water Fairy was speechless.


    "Otherwise, there will be more players coming after us."


    Lu Li''s hands kept up the pace, so the effect of the Killing Star equipment remained on him.


    Killing Star Bracer (Gold): Armor 35, Agility+20, Strength+12, Attack+%, Special effect 1: Attack increases by %, critical strike chance increases by 15%, lasts for 30 seconds. Cooldown 30 minutes. Special effect 2: Upon successfully slaying a target within thirty seconds, attack increases by 1%, stacks up to %. Level Requirement, Durability 82/82.


    If he maintained the effect of the Killing Stars, each of his attacks would have double damage.


    "Three, two, one, attack!" Just as the group passed Lu Li and was about to leave, Lu Li moved in. He used his shoes'' special effect to appear directly behind the black-armored Warrior.


    The attention of the black-armored Warrior''s teammates was mostly placed on their pursuers. They didn''t think that Lu Li, a solo player, would so blatantly attack them from behind.


    At the same time Lu Li started attacking, Water Fairy had also come over to participate in dealing damage.


    Water Fairy''s dealt more than 300 damage per attack, but Lu Li''s attacks were almost 600-700 each. With these attacks, even a Main Tank wouldn''t last more than 30 seconds.


    Moreover, he was already being pursued by another group of players, so he didn''t have full HP to begin with.


    The black-armored Warrior let out an angry roar, but that didn''t stop his HP from dropping. The least it could do was attract the attention of his teammates.


    The group of badly injured players finally found out that the player they were trying to protect was almost dead.


    The Healer quickly started to heal while the others gave up on attacking the pursuing players to target Lu Li and Water Fairy. The chaotic scene had grown even more chaotic.


    The pursuers were now blocked off by a group of players who had turned their backs on them. However, they weren''t going to wait to see what had happened. Instead, they just attacked with all they had as well, making use of big area of effect crowd control and skills. This turned out to be quite convenient for Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    "Let''s go!"


    After taking the item from the fallen Warrior, Lu Li cast Gale Steps and fled.

 1004 Siege

    They had killed the Berserker in such a short amount of time that neither Lu Li nor Water Fairy lost much HP.


    Even if the damage of the individual players in that group was low, the numbers could have rapidly added up.


    Fortunately, they were top level Thieves and had crucial escape skills like Gale Steps. More importantly, they had high movement speed, which made it impossible for an average player to catch them.


    Regardless of who they were, they could only watch as the two Thieves made their escape.


    "Where are our people? Get them to block those players off. They won''t get away so easily; we''ll chase them on our mounts," the leader of the pursuers said as he stared at the body of the Black Armored Warrior. Those players that were originally being pursued had now also joined the pursuers.


    The moment the Jet Glider had dropped, the first player who picked it up immediately used it.


    However, this didn''t matter as they were immediately met with a barrage of attacks the moment they fell back onto the ground. They would be killed on the spot, and the item would fall.


    The second player who picked it up also died a few moments later. After that, the item continually changed hands until a strong guild intervened. However, it was still difficult to escape this pursuing force of players.


    After Lu Li had acquired the item, he knew why the Black Berserker didn''t just return to the city.


    A condition of the Zodiac Beast drop was that the player holding the item couldn''t use their Hearthstone for two hours after picking up the item. They couldn''t enter any safe areas and couldn''t even use their mounts to escape.


    However, the most outrageous thing was that a Thief couldn''t use Stealth!


    This meant that he could only wait until he was completely surrounded by other pursuing players.


    "We just have to persevere a little longer; my players are almost here," Water Fairy said as she followed behind Lu Li. She hadn''t summoned her mount either, and was obviously planning to stay and protect Lu Li.


    He could just give this item to Water Fairy and then leave her to it.


    The pursuers quickly approached and some players laughed as they shouted at them. Chasing after their prey gave them a sense of superiority.


    "Don''t run ¨C your two legs won''t be able to outrun the four legs of our mounts."


    "This is really troublesome," Lu Li frowned.


    "Sorry for dragging you into this situation."


    Water Fairy was a little embarrassed. She had asked Lu Li for help without thinking; this kind of dependence was quite out of character for her. In fact, her original plan was just to wait until her own party had arrived.


    "I will have to use my movement speed buffs. Be careful," Lu Li said. He used his movement skills and quickly changed directions, forcing a player to run into some bushes.


    The pursuers that were leading the chase were riding in the front, but their movement wasn''t very flexible. By the time they had ridden their horses into the woods, they could only see Lu Li''s shadow as he left them behind.


    The woods were thick with bushes and vines.


    Horses couldn''t gallop here properly and they quickly lost sight of Lu Li.


    In fact, Lu Li had already been rushing ahead for quite some time in leopard form. In addition to not being able to use his mount, he also couldn''t use his Crow Transformation.


    This section of woods wasn''t very big, and Lu Li quickly came out the other side.


    Dammit!


    The moment he ran out, he couldn''t help but swear because there was already a group of players there waiting for him. Lu Li immediately reacted and stopped himself from going any further.


    However, what surprised him was that this group of players didn''t immediately attack him.


    "Have you seen a Thief in these woods?" a Dwarf sitting on a mechanical bird asked arrogantly.


    Lu Li looked around and to show that he didn''t know who they were talking about before shaking his head and saying, "I didn''t see anyone. I am just here to train my Herbalism. Is it okay if I leave?"


    He was currently in leopard form, which most players wouldn''t associate with a Thief.


    "Go," the Dwarf players snorted, indicating for him to leave.


    Lu Li didn''t care about the other player''s attitude. Instead, he just shook his head as he chose a direction to leave in.


    "Wait!"


    Just as Lu Li was about to leave the area, someone suddenly stopped him.


    Lu Li smiled bitterly; there wasn''t much he could do here. If he couldn''t go into Stealth, there was almost no possibility of escape. After all, this wasn''t the type of game where he could take secret shortcuts to lose his pursuers.


    There were dozens of players around him; they could easily kill him within seconds.


    Fortunately, if he died, he would only drop the Jet Glider and not anything else. The only bothersome thing was that he would still lose some EXP. After getting to level 50, farming was becoming more difficult and so dying also became more stressful.


    "Boss, the item might be on him. Who knows if he didn''t go in there to meet with the Thief?" It turned out that there were some smart players among them.


    "What should do then?"


    "We should kill him and them we will know for sure."


    "And if it''s not him?"


    "Then he was just unlucky. Why did he come directly within our firing line?"


    Lu Li almost laughed at these players. It wasn''t that he couldn''t haggle with them ¨C he just didn''t want to waste time during this period where he could be farming Dumplings. But now, he was on the chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.


    "Are you from Knight''s Glory?" Lu Li asked.


    "Yes, I''m from a big guild, and the club of that guild too," the Dwarf said proudly. The other players looked at him with envy and respect.


    This was understandable; Lu Li was among the ordinary players in his last life.


    Regardless of the size of the club, they would be able to produce competitive players. Just registering a club already showed that a guild had the required financial resources.


    In the eyes of an ordinary player, a guild''s club was home to the top players in the game.


    "Don''t you have a president that tells you not to offend players that you shouldn''t offend?" Lu Li was using his words to stall for him, and also to find the right moment to escape.


    He was absolutely not going to sit still. Even if he died, he was still going to make them work for it.


    "Are you talking about yourself? Brothers, kill him."


    The Dwarf was so angry that he gestured for his companions to kill Lu Li regardless of whether he was innocent or not.


    In fact, the major guilds would often be the bullies in the game. It seemed like Knight''s Glory was no different.


    These new guilds were always keen to pick a fight. If this was a truly well-established guild, they would always want to place themselves on a moral high ground. They wouldn''t do anything without a good reason to.


    Lu Li was helpless. He was currently still in Leopard form but if he had to fight, he would have to return to his Thief form.


    In that case, his identity would be exposed.


    Just because his identity was revealed, it didn''t mean that he would escape this robbery. Once these players knew that they had surrounded Lu Li, they would definitely become even more excited. The prestige of killing the number one player in the game was even more alluring than obtaining the exquisite item.

 1005 Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group

    Woosh!


    An arrow shot into the head of a Gnome, dealing200 points of damage.


    The Gnome player was caught by surprise as he noticed that they had been surrounded discreetly.


    This was definitely karma ¨C they had ambushed people just before, and now it was their turn. However, the people that were ambushing them this time were clearly stronger and more organized.


    "Friend, the items are with this person. We''ll pass him to you guys now," the Gnome said as he pointed at Lu Li.


    He had to lay low because they were the weaker party. If he had enough people, he might consider a fight, but the difference was too great in strength and numbers. He could only hope to make it out alive.


    The Thief with a printed mask opened her mouth, but her words were violent.


    "Kill them!"


    In almost an instant, stored-up spells were sent flying across the battlefield. The players from Knight''s Glory were barely prepared for a battle.


    Soon, the ground was filled with corpses.


    Lu Li had escaped during confusion and was calmly looking onto the massacre that could have been avoided. He approved of what Drizzle Court had done because he would have done the same.


    "You...alright?"


    Lu Li was still a little panther while Water Fairy bent over him from above. This was a very awkward position, so he quickly changed into his human form.


    The others then realized why they were in such a rush, because the one they were saving was Lu Li.


    "Your stuff," Lu Li said as he handed the item to Water Fairy. He didn''t have to worry about whether she could keep the item. With the number of players that she had with her, there wouldn''t be anyone who would dare to try kill and her.


    "Thanks." Water Fairy smiled; she seemed pleased by the item.


    "If there''s nothing else, I''m going to train."


    Lu Li hadn''t obtained anything else besides the gratitude of Water Fairy from this.


    "Are you joining the Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Not sure yet. We''ll see."


    Lu Li wasn''t surprised that Water Fairy would ask him this. The Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group had caught a lot of attention ever since it had been announced.


    "Don''t tell me you''re planning to turn down the gaming company," Water Fairy continued.


    The Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group could be seen as an event for major guilds with clubs, supported by the gaming company itself.


    After Stratholme, there were a number of other dungeons that appeared for players to complete.


    What Water Fairy meant was if Lu Li intended on not participating in the event, and instead take his own men to complete the dungeon faster than all the other major guilds. This didn''t seem like an impossible task at all for Lu Li.


    Ruling Sword had the strongest Main Tank, Azure Sea Breeze, the best healer, March Rain, and the most-skilled commander, Lu Li.


    "Of course not," Lu Li said as he shook his head. "Even if we''re not participating in it, we''d still aim for the Scholomancer dungeon first. We''re not so silly as to play against all the clubs."


    Ruling Sword required a method to make themselves famous when they first formed and needed others to approve of their strength. That was why at the time, he didn''t mind playing against other major guilds. However, now that they had already set their foundation, there was no need for him to do this any longer.


    Just the Gangnam Royals alone were enough trouble for Ruling Sword. If they gave an excuse for all the other guilds to gang up on them, they would be in big trouble.


    Not to mention, these kind of yearly events usually had something to do with the gaming company itself. Playing against the gaming company was just silly since Dawn had yet to reach the stage where it could run independently.


    "I''ve decided to participate in the Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group. If you join too, I think there''d be no spots left for Blood Dagger," Water Fairy said.


    "I''ll think about it. Try and take more dumplings," Lu Li dismissed as he waved his hand, summoned his mount and rode off.


    Water Fairy watched as Lu Li went away, until he disappeared along the horizon.


    "Stop looking; he''s already long gone. You might as well chase after him," Deadly Green Orange from Drizzle Court giggled.


    "What are you on about," Water Fairy mumbled in embarrassment.


    "Lu Li''s not bad at all. He''s at the peak," Deadly Green Orange said. The first time that she heard about Lu Li was when he had taken the First Clear for the Spider''s Lair as a nobody.


    Within such a short amount of time, Lu Li had earned himself a super-club already.


    "What''s the peak?" Star Baby asked curiously.


    "To rise to position, get good pay, become the manager, become the CEO, marry a hottie¡­ That''s the peak..." Deadly Green Orange said wistfully. Her tone went a little weird when she mentioned marrying a hottie.


    "If you''ve got so much time to spare, do you want to help Starry level up?" Water Fairy glared.


    Starry was a player from Drizzle Court who really enjoyed gossiping. The amount of talking she could do was beyond imaginable and helping her level up was seen as the harshest punishment in Drizzle Court.


    Deadly Green Orange''s face went pale as she covered her mouth and looked like she was about to cry. Her expression quickly changed to one of innocence.


    She would shut up if this is a forbidden topic, but there was no need to threaten people. Water Fairy was the one fooling herself anyway.


    "But, if Lu Li was willing to join the Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group, he''d be the commander right?" Deadly Green Orange asked.


    "That depends. If Sorrowless goes too..." Water Fairy shook her head. She wasn''t too hopeful about Lu Li being the commander. The process would be live-streamed and the commander would gain a lot of personal reputation from it.


    "Glory Capital had lost so many times to Ruling Sword already, and most of the First Clears belong to Ruling Sword too. Does he have the audacity to command?"


    "If you ask the players to vote, who''d you think they''d vote for?"


    Deadly Green Orange went quiet. Without a doubt, the answer would be Sorrowless. No matter how amazing Lu Li was, he was only amazing within this game. Sorrowless, on the hand, was a legendary figure in the gaming industry.

 1006 Giving In

    Lu Li wasn''t clueless about Water Fairy''s concern.


    The commander position probably wouldn''t land on him this time, unless Sorrowless didn''t choose to participate in the Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group.


    However, there was no way that Sorrowless would give up the spot. A commander was equivalent to having another position, and the reward was sixteen Legendary equips. After the equips were divided amongst the fifteen players, the commander could obtain the last piece.


    Not to mention, the commander position helped to raise the personal reputation of a player.


    Based on the history of the gaming industry, any legendary figure needed to at least have some sort of ability to direct others.


    For a while now, Lu Li had been focusing on making Goblin Jumper Cables.


    Despite the chances of failure, these items still allowed anyone to revive others and helped prevent some experience lost when Healers weren''t around.


    Besides the small number that were supplied to the guild storage, most of the items were given to Shen Wansan.


    Upon entering March, Lu Li had earned around 6 million dollars in term of real money. Some of this was the profit made by the Noggenfogger Elixir.


    Lu Li had finished paying the sum he owed to Water Fairy.


    It felt freeing to not have any debts. His next target now was to save enough money to buy a bigger house; it wasn''t ideal to keep renting.


    The players in the elite group kept saying that Lu Li was lucky to be renting a house with so many beauties.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t interested in all these girls at all. He felt that it was inappropriate for him to keep living with them, so moving out became the next most important thing for him.


    Besides this, the rest of the money was invested into the game.


    The club was like a bottomless pit. After Lu Li had discovered his ambition, he needed a large sum of money to support it.


    All men had ambition hidden within them; they all wanted to stand on a peak and be admired. No matter where he ended up, he refused to be judged by others and didn''t want to beg others either.


    "I''m Shang Guan Yun Luo. You can just call me Shang Guan."


    The man that had come was traditional and arrogant, and sat down opposite to Lu Li


    They were at a location in the game with some dancers nearby. It was hard to tell if these dancers were real players or NPCs. The customers sat across from each other, drinking their tea with waiters beside them to serve them.


    Unfortunately, none of this mattered.


    Lu Li had never received any proper education; it was hard for him to understand these cultures.


    He had a mask on and there was barely any emotion in his eyes. If he kept quiet, no one would be able to tell that he didn''t understand anything.


    "Mr. Shang Guan, what brings you to me?" Lu Li asked.


    He didn''t really like people from the gaming company ¨C they were like the police force in real life. They never had anything friendly with lowlifes like himself.


    "I''m sure you would have heard about the recent forming of the Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group," Shang Guan Yun Luo said.


    "I''ve heard about it from some, but what does this have to do with me. I''m not a celebrity competitor yet." Lu Li sat tensely on the tatami; he didn''t seem as happy as Shang Guan Yun Luo had anticipated.


    "This is just a matter of process, haha..."


    "If you want me to go, I want to have the commanding position." Lu Li wasn''t laughing at all.


    Up until this point, he had never begged anyone, not even at his most difficult times. There was no way that he would try and befriend Shang Guan Yun Luo and find ways to obtain the commanding position.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo originally thought that he had misheard, but he realized that he saw nothing but determination in Lu Li''s eyes. This was when he asked in shock, "Do you have a clue what you''re saying?"


    "The commanding position¡­" Lu Li emphasized his point again.


    "Nonsense!" Shang Guan Yun Luo shouted as he stood up, then laughed coldly, "You''re just a newbie in the gaming industry and earned your position by being lucky. How dare you ask for this position..."


    "There''s no need to be angry," Lu Li said calmly. "It''s only a simple answer of yes or no."


    "Impossible! I think things are going too well for you lately ¨C you''re too arrogant. I didn''t expect you to be someone like this. Let''s wait and see," Shang Guan Fun Luo dismissed as he waved his hands and turned to leave. He didn''t feel like he had anything else to say with Lu Li.


    "In that case, let''s hope the Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group can finish the dungeon quickly," Lu Li said slowly.


    "What do you mean?" Shang Guan Yun Luo asked and couldn''t help but halt his steps.


    He had sensed some sort of threat from Lu LI''s words, in the exact same tone as his own.


    "Spider''s Lair, Death Mines, Howling Caves, Scarlet Monastery, Zul''Farrk..." Lu Li listed all of the public dungeons since the game had been released, then continued, "These dungeons were all completed first under my command..."


    "So what? The best players from the game are all participating this time." Shang Guan Yun Luo wasn''t too concerned.


    "There are currently twelve level 50 players in the China area, and nine of them are in Ruling Sword. I honestly cannot understand what threat those top players can pose to me. This isn''t a match," Lu Li said in a confused tone.


    He had been locked away these days, focusing on making Goblin Jumper Cables. The top position of the chart had been stolen by Lonesome Flower and even Azure Sea Breeze had rushed past him.


    Lu Li was currently ranked third, and number four to twelve were all level 50 players. Most of them were from Ruling Sword.


    "Their techniques are the best of the best," Shang Guan Yun Luo said, but he wasn''t so sure anymore.


    He had only just discovered that Lu Li wasn''t only arrogant, but he had evidence for his claims.


    But was he going to play against the gaming company just because of this?


    That was too irrational. The main job of Shang Guan Yun Luo was to sort out gaming-related issues. He often represented the gaming company and all the people that he came in contact with were either top players or club owners like Lu Li.


    However, each and every one of them paid him full respect. None dared to treat him like Lu Li.


    "If you''re so certain, then do as you say. We''ll see," Lu Li said, not bothering to debate with him. This was clearly someone who looked down on him and didn''t want to set down his position as a representative for the gaming company. His words were full of intentions for Lu Li to give in.


    Giving in?


    Lu Li wasn''t someone who acted on impulse, and neither was he someone of greed. This whole time, he had been waiting for the gaming company to step down while everything was under his control.


    There was no way he would give in on his own!

 1007 A Tough Spo

    Lu Li knew better than anyone else that Shang Guan Yun Luo only appeared to be tough.


    He had no clue about the game content and couldn''t possibly influence anything that the company decided. Even if he went and reported Ruling Sword, it most likely wouldn''t be enough for the gaming company to do something about them.


    The organization behind Dawn was probably the most determined to not abuse their power as the managers of the game.


    In a speech about two years later, something that an executive had said really made an impression on Lu Li. If the game company interfered on its own to pressure someone with special tactics, then the end of the game would be near.


    This was what gave Lu Li his confidence that Shang Guan Yun Luo wouldn''t play dirty.


    Not to mention, he wasn''t really that determined to play against the Blackrock Spire Celebrity Group. He just wanted a fair and square chance.


    Why was the commanding position passed to someone else in silence?


    Lu Li didn''t agree to this. His only weakness was that he had risen to his fame at a later point compared to everyone else. However, this shouldn''t have been a reason why he was excluded from being a commander.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo didn''t know what Lu Li was thinking. He wasn''t familiar with Lu Li and in his eyes, he was a typical man of luck and arrogance who dared to question his decisions.


    From another perspective, this was possibly a man who knew nothing at all.


    If Lu Li took the other players and completed the Blackrock Spire first¡­


    A cold shiver went down Shang Guan Yun Luo''s spine. He couldn''t imagine the consequence that would follow if that happened. He would definitely be the scapegoat for the game company.


    This wasn''t the first time a celebrity group had been formed. Similar teams had been formed in the past in many different games. The focus was to advertise the concept of celebrity competitors, to raise their value and to attract more players and industries into the game.


    The situation has never gone wrong before; all those who were selected were the best after all.


    The gaming company had invested a lot for this and just the reward of the Legendary equips alone was enough to make everyone go crazy.


    If an event with such great investments failed, the celebrity group would definitely be a joke.


    If possible, Shang Guan Yun Luo wanted to seal away the accounts of everyone on Ruling Sword, but unfortunately, he didn''t have this kind of authority. In fact, he might even lose his job for bringing up these kinds of suggestions. He had no information on Blackrock Spire and couldn''t help the celebrity group with the dungeon either.


    After he remained silent for a while, he sent a message to someone in the game that he was familiar with.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: Maple, you there?


    Unforgettable Maple: Yo, Shang Guan! Can''t believe you still have the face to hit me up?


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: Hmm, don''t be mad. I can''t help it; there were only two slots for Mages. One was definitely Sorrowless and I''ve tried to help you with the other one, but my bosses wanted Lucky Southern Persian.


    Unforgettable Maple: Don''t worry about it; I never had my hopes up anyway. What do you want?


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: I''m talking to Lu Li right now; I''m inviting him to join the celebrity group...


    Unforgettable Maple: This shouldn''t be a problem; he won''t decline it. The celebrity group is the best kind of advertisement for both the player and their clubs.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: But he wants the commander''s position.


    Unforgettable Maple: You guys are planning to give that spot to Sorrowless, right? This is tough. Based on what I understand about you guys, you''ve probably already turned him down, right? What did he say?"


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: He threatened me, saying that he might take the First Clear with others first.


    Unforgettable Maple: This guy... so crazy.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: What are the chances?


    Unforgettable Maple: 80% or above.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: How...How is this even possible? Aren''t you overestimating him a little? I''ve got a celebrity team here, filled with the best of the best from the game.


    Unforgettable Maple: My goodness, are you silly? You''re taking a bunch of competitors to a dungeon. This wasn''t the best situation in the first place, and now you''re comparing this messy team to the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: Isn''t he the slightest bit worried about the consequences?


    Unforgettable Maple: Lu Li was born in poverty. He had nothing to begin with and they''re at the peak of their popularity right now. There isn''t a single guild who will fight them just because they lost the dungeon First Clear.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: Are you unimpressed about the celebrity group?


    Unforgettable Maple: Not a single player from Majin Temple has been selected; of course I''m unimpressed. I''m not gonna lie, if Lu Li takes the First Clear and you guys gang up on him, I''ll definitely be on his side. You can only choose 15 players, so think about how many guilds are willing to side with you.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo: So I can only say yes to him?


    Unforgettable Maple: Say yes? What are you going to tell Sorrowless? Sorrowless isn''t a particularly agreeable person either.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo went quiet; all he could do was sigh.


    He finally felt like he was nothing but a joke. He couldn''t offend either parties but there was only one seat for the commander position. He had to offend one party for it regardless.


    Lu Li watched as Shang Guan Yun Luo went stiff and quiet. He immediately knew who Shang Guan Yun Luo was contacting and he could also tell that things weren''t going well.


    This was good news to Lu Li, it meant that Shang Guan Yun Luo was worried about his threat.


    "So, Mr. Shang Guan, what do you think so far? Are we continuing this tea session, or..." Lu Li asked as he watched the performance of the dancers on the side.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo looked deeply at Lu Li, then finally decided to walk back and sit down.


    He still wasn''t sure, so apart from Unforgettable Maple, he also asked a few other old friends. They all shared the same conclusion ¨C to not have the celebrity team match up against the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had always taken the First Clears. Lu LI was definitely a very talented commander.


    They also had the best Main Tank, the best healer and almost all of the top 10 players in the level ranking was on their team.


    Celebrity groups had been around the gaming industry for about a hundred years. If they lost to Ruling Sword, then it also meant the end of his career.


    "To be honest, I have no intentions of making it hard," Lu Li said with a smile.


    "..." Damn you, that''s the most shameless thing I''ve heard. If this isn''t making it hard, then what do you have to do to make things hard? Push me to the edge?"


    In the beginning, he had come with so much determination and arrogance, and now all he could do was sit back down. The tides had turned so quickly.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo wanted to cry!


    Lu Li saw that the timing was right, so he began to take the initiative.


    "The commander problem is actually really easy to solve¡­"

 1008 Playing Dirty

    A competition!


    Whoever took the First Clear of Scholomance would be the commander.


    This was the suggestion that Lu Li offered; he wanted a fair chance.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo left with a lot on his mind. He didn''t like result, but he also knew that this was what could possibly save him. If he didn''t seize this chance, he might not have a chance at all.


    Shang Guan Yun Luo went back to talk to his leader ¨C the Vice President of administrations in the Dawn Game Company, Huo Qing He.


    "This man is so hard to talk to; I can''t decide on my own. President Huo, what do you think?" Shang Guan Yun Luo''s expression was filled with guilt. It seemed as if he had just been through a traumatic incident.


    "Do you think it''s an embarrassment for a player to threaten you?" Huo Qing He didn''t seem angry at all.


    "Mr. Huo, now''s not the time for jokes. I''m really concerned as to how to solve this. Sorrowless has already been the commander for three celebrity groups. Wouldn''t it be bad to not give him the position this time?" Shang Guan Yun Luo looked troubled.


    "If he''s already had the position three times, then why are we giving it to him again?" Huo Qing He asked as he played with his little turtle that was crawling around on his office table.


    "Ah, what do you mean?" Shang Guan Yun Luo was confused.


    "Sorrowless has already reached the peak for his career. Even if he was given another commander position, it would just be a cherry on top for him. However, Lu Li is a different store. He is just a newbie that no one knew about until half a year ago. If he became the commander, we''d have a big story to tell for the celebrity group this time," Huo Qing He said.


    "I think I understand. Are you planning to make a new Gaming God?" Shang Guan Yun Luo asked.


    "Gaming God¡­this is a good way to put it¡­" Huo Qing He lifted his head and laughed, "The rise of an ordinary player ¨C isn''t this exactly what we need?"


    "But he isn''t easy to control," Shang Guan Yun Luo protested.


    Huo Qing He shook his head in disagreement, saying, "Control? Have to ever controlled Sorrowless? Shang Guan, you still think too highly of yourself. I''ve told you many times not to try and control players. Lu Li has Ruling Sword under his command, who are worth millions, and he also has some sort of relationship with the daughter of the Shen family. Yet, you''re thinking about how to control him..."


    "Sorry, Mr. Huo, I..." Shang Guan Yun Luo began to sweat.


    "There''s no need for apologies. Your task now is to try and persuade Glory Capital to accept the conditions. You won''t need me to teach you how to do that, am I right?'' Huo Qing He waved his hand and signaled for Shang Guan Yun Luo to leave.


    With a proper lecture, Shang Guan Yun Luo no longer tried to do anything on his own anymore.


    After a few days, the news of this spread quickly throughout the entire game. This wasn''t just limited to Sorrowless or Lu Li; anyone interested could participate and fight for the position.


    Scholomance!


    Scholomance was a level 52-55 dungeon. The levels of the current players were slightly lower, so what they had to do now was level up.


    Without reaching level 50, there would be no point in entering the dungeon.


    Stratholme had already taught everyone an important lesson ¨C the importance of levels in dungeons.


    Leveling was a boring task that really tested on an individual''s patience. However, for the sake of the dungeons, everyone persevered. Both Ruling Sword and Glory Capital were training frantically in each leveling zone. However, Glory Capital seemed to be falling behind a bit.


    Even so, they weren''t behind by a lot. They had two level 50s, while the others were all level 49 and only a step away.


    "Breezy has been ambushed; he just made it out," Square Root 3 messaged Lu Li.


    "This doesn''t seem right. March Rain and the others were ambushed too and now it''s Breezy. Looks like someone is targeting us," Lu Li said as another monster died to him.


    March Rain and Lonesome Flower had just been ambushed not long ago.


    Fortunately, there were other Ruling Sword players nearby who could help. The assassinations were very consistent, so if Lu Li and Square Root 3 were unable to detect them, their intelligence would be very questionable.


    "Feels like Glory Capital," Square Root 3 replied.


    "Sssss," Lu Li breathed out as he bit his teeth, then said, "This is difficult. Is Glory Capital doing this because they know we can''t fight them head on?"


    They had fought Gangnam Royals previously because the guild was going downhill anyway, and their players weren''t that loyal anymore. They couldn''t really have a long term guild war. However, Glory Capital was a different story ¨C they had both the age and strength. They were at their peak in terms of organization and enthusiasm.


    It would be an exaggeration to say that this was a hopeless war, but Ruling Sword really couldn''t beat Glory Capital at this point.


    Square Root 3 thought for bait and came up with a plan.


    "Should I initiate a negotiation with Glory Capital? Old guilds like them usually care about their reputation a lot. If we act a little weaker, they might stop it."


    They couldn''t fight head on, but it wasn''t okay to leave the situation be either. They might have a chance if they took a step back.


    "Sure, go have a try."


    Lu Li wasn''t the type to care too much about his face either. As long as the problem was resolved, he had plenty chances to get back at them.


    Shortly after, Square Root 3 sent a message back.


    "They refuse to admit that they sent people out to do these things, and we have no evidence either. This is tough. Maybe I can send out more players to look after you guys."


    To waste human resources at a time like this wasn''t an ideal scenario for Ruling Sword, who were rapidly developing.


    "You''re too nice and honest," Lu Li disapproved.


    "I''m not sure what you mean, or do you have a better solution?" Square Root 3 was confused.


    "Find players to go and spread some news. Say that Sorrowless is scared of losing, and is sending out people to cause trouble for Ruling Sword," Lu Li said, then added in a weird tone, "Find as many negative things as you can about Sorrowless. Isn''t he the Gaming God? He won''t be a god anymore after we taint him."


    "Uhm¡­" Square Root 3 almost choked.


    He wasn''t sure if he was talking to the real Lu Li. Since when did Lu Li become someone who played so dirty?


    "Didn''t he have some rivals in the past? Find someone to make up some stories; just say that he only won in the past with dirty plays. Glory Capital can''t afford to lose at all because they have no confidence in Sorrowless. They''re sure that Sorrowless would definitely lose..."


    Square Root 3 hung up the call, completely dazed.


    He felt like his mindset had been completely refreshed; this was such a strange way to sort out an issue.


    In a short amount of time, the entire gaming industry had heard about how Sorrowless sent players to assassinate Lu Li and the others. The situation got worse and worse as the media followed; this was bound to appear in the top searches for sure.

 1009 Scholomance

    "What the hell happened?!"


    Sorrowless was furious. The members of Glory Capital sat in the meeting room in silence with their heads down, not wanting to look at him in the face.


    Who would''ve thought that Ruling Sword would be so despicable! Dirty wasn''t enough to describe how they played the game.


    However, deep down, they knew that they would have done the same thing in their position.


    "Answer me! If none of you have anything to say, then all of you can get the hell out of here."


    Sorrowless had more power at his disposal than all of the Drizzle Court Organisation combined. Over the years, his power and authority continued to grow and nowadays, if he only slightly raised his voice, everyone would tremble in fear.


    "Guild master, I''m very sorry. This was my fault," a tall and lanky young man apologized as he stood up with an awkward expression.


    His name was Chopsticks and he had been following Sorrowless since the very beginning. Despite his lack of abilities and talent, he was quite close with Sorrowless and held quite a lot of power in the guild as well.


    "Speak!"


    "One of the teams under me planned to ambush them twice. We targeted Lonesome Flower, March Rain and Azure Sea Breeze, but we failed both times."


    Chopsticks was afraid to raise his head. In reality, if he had succeeded, he would have been extremely arrogant.


    "And then?"


    "Ruling Swords tried to make a deal with me to show them mercy, but I declined," Chopsticks continued as he scratched his head, "....and now we''re here."


    "All you do is fail!" Sorrowless wanted to slap him across the face so badly.


    "How dare they shift all the blame onto us! A lot of things that we didn''t do were spun to make it seem like our fault." Chopstick felt helpless.


    This was what Sorrowless was furious about. Their reputation as a guild was considered God-like and they were considered as one of the best guilds in history.


    Now, he would be known as despicable, fake, a hypocrite and a man who would do anything in order to get what he wanted, even if that meant he had to be dishonest. His path to success was tainted with rumors and fake news of his wrongdoings.


    For example, when he was contending for the title of the Mage God, he kidnapped Unforgettable Maple''s wife.


    That was complete bullshit because Unforgettable Maple never even had a girlfriend.


    When Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag were competing for the Shadow Cup, Sorrowless sent assassins to take out players from the guild, including the innocent lifestyle players.


    Besides this, there were rumors of him bribing the judges, bribing developers from the gaming company, bribing opposing opponents to lose on purpose¡­


    Normally, Sorrowless was an expressionless and calm player. However, he felt as if his world had come to an end, because everywhere that he went, there would be fingers pointing at him and accusing him of using unethical ways to win.


    "Don''t do things like that in the future!"


    "If you want the rumors to stop, we should probably stop everyone from harassing Ruling Sword," Chopstick said.


    As such, the PR team of Glory Capital sent out a letter addressing the recent rumors and denied any accusations by the gaming community. They also stated the Glory Capital valued fairness in competitions and if anyone dared to harass Ruling Swords anymore, they would do whatever it took to support them and punish the perpetrators accordingly.


    After a while, no one dared to mess with Ruling Sword.


    Those who were out of the loop thought that Glory Capital was being kind and just. However, those that were more involved in the professional scene found it extremely amusing. Glory Capital had been completely outplayed this time and were forced to protect their opponents.


    The embarrassment was enough for them to feel like killing themselves!


    Meanwhile, everyone went back to levelling up as soon as possible.


    Lu Li made it past Lv52 and became the sixth player to reach this level. Those that were ahead of him were Lonesome Flower, March Rain, Azure Sea Breeze, Hachi Chan and Sakura Memories.


    This was the first time that Hachi Chan had overtaken Lu Li and she made sure he knew about it all day and night.


    In reality, this wasn''t because Lu Li didn''t put in as much effort to levelling up. Recently, he had just been focusing his time and effort on training up his completion rate. His Shadowstrike was basically at 100% and the damage was ridiculously high.


    When Remnant Dream finally reached Lv51, Ruling Swords entered Scholomance.


    Glory Capital had already sent five small groups to scout out the Instance Dungeon for Sorrowless and provide valuable information about it.


    Lu Li was prepared as well because he sent Hachi Chan to scope out the dungeon.


    Since she was so favored by the System, she was able to accept all the quests available from the NPCs.


    Betina Bigglezink from Eastern Plaguelands gave out a quest called ''Plagued Hatchlings'' and requested that Hachi Chan to kill 20 Plagued Hatchlings.


    When the quest was finished, Betina then asked for a piece of Plagued Dragon scale.


    The scale was a quest item that was used to study what the plague did to the dragons. When everyone obtained a scale, they handed in the quest.


    Now, the most important part was the quest series from the Barov Family.


    The Scholomance that was hidden beneath the Caer Darrow castle ruins belonged to the Barovs.


    Back then, the Barovs were considered equal to royalties. They were in control of the land east of the Alterac Mountains and were a rich family with many cities and towns under their name. Their wealth was comparable to the Alterac Family of Caer Darrow castle which housed an ancient and royal bloodline.


    After the first war, the fate of the family was completely changed.


    The disloyal Alterac king formed an alliance with the Ogre army and attacked the Alliance army. They harassed the citizens of the Alliance while they invaded the Lordaeron army in Hillsbrad Hill so that they couldn''t provide backup.


    However, with the help of Uther, the traitors were dealt with very quickly.


    The remaining forces of the Alterac kingdom escaped to the land of the Barovs ¨C Caer Darrow.


    Barov stood with the Alliance and with the help of the Elven forces from Silvermoon City, they managed to surround the Alterac forces and handed the traitors over to the Lordaeron Alliance.


    The betrayal of the Alterac Kingdom stirred up the wrath of the Dalaran Mages. They sent out troops to completely eradicate what was left of the Alterac Kingdom and completely flattened it.


    As for the Barovs, who used to be a royal family of the Alterac Kingdom, they were spared for their help in the war.


    The war ended and the Lordaeron King, Uther''s father, made the decision to take away the Barov''s land, including Tarren Mill, Southshore and the other surrounding cities, with the excuse of making this area a strategic war location.


    The Barovs lost a lot of their power and wealth and began cursing the family of Uther.


    The other royal families of the Alterac Kingdom who survived the war began despising the Barov Family. From their point of view, the kingdom was defeated because they did not stand with their king. The Barovs became hated from both sides, but could do nothing except cower in the lonely island of Caer Darrow.


    Not content with their enormous holdings, the Barovs entered into a deal with the human mage Kel''Thuzad, leader


    of the Cult of the Damned, who tempted them with eternal life.


    The House of Barov was tempted and pledged their allegiance to Kel''Thuzad and the Scourge, becoming the horrific Scholomance, a school of necromancy.


    Ras Frost Whisperer oversaw the operation of the Scholomance with Darkmaster Grandling.


    The quest could be triggered by the NPC servant of the House of Barov.


    The first Boss was a professor of the Scholomance, Doctor Theolen Krastinov. Supposedly, he had sacrificed thousands of innocent lives in order to perform his undead experiments. He needed to be punished and deal with the consequences of his actions.


    In order to help them with the dungeon, Eva Sarkhoff handed them 15 bottles of potion called Eva''s Undead Whispers.


    The potion provided the players with a powerful buff which increased resistance against undead damage and decreased resistance to undead spells and crowd-control.


    The importance of this potion was not to be underestimated. Lu Li knew how powerful and crucial these potions were because they doubled their chances of survival.


    Why were there 15 bottles?


    This was based on the number of players that were allowed in the Instance Dungeon, which had been raised to 15.


    Besides the 10 players from the Xin Xin Mercenary group, Lu Li also invited Kitty Likes Meat, Mu Qiu, Fat Monkey, Her Tears and Jaweika.


    Two Warriors, two Warlocks, two Mages, three Paladins, two Priests, a Druid, Hunter, Thief and a Shaman ¨C even though the class composition wasn''t ideal, these were the top players in the guild.


    In the current patch, Thieves were strong in PvP settings but weren''t as useful in Boss fights, so they did not recruit another.


    Druids could be beneficial for boss fights, but there weren''t any powerful Druids in the guild.


    There were other Shamans such as Rain like a Wanderer, but the team didn''t require anymore healing. The main healers were March Rain, while the secondary healers were Mu Qiu and Hachi Chan.


    There were three Paladins, a tank, a healer and a DPS player.


    In this patch, Paladins were quite useful because of their party buffs which increased Defense, Attack and Tenacity.


    Jaweika was a shadow priest. Shadow Priests were decent in this patch, but the main benefit that Jaweika provided was that she could replenish the MP of other Mage classes.


    After the team was assembled, they each stocked up on their potions and began attempting to clear Scholomance.


    The entire gaming community knew that Ruling Sword was attempting this dungeon because everyone was keen to see who won the bet between Lu Li and Sorrowless.


    Ruling Sword and Glory Capital were head-to-head in the odds of winning the bet right now.


    Sorrowless had been crowned the God of Gaming in the recent years, holding numerous records in various games, and had rarely been defeated in his gaming career.


    Lu Li was a newbie in the gaming community but had proved time and time again that he was the best strategist and leader in the game.


    Both sides were similar in levels and gear because most of the players from Glory Capital were at least Lv50.


    After Ruling Sword began, Sorrowless also led a team of 15 players to the dungeon.


    The Scholomance was located in the center of the island.


    The dungeon was like a miniature maze, infested by Mages, Warlocks and other Cursed Disciples.


    Darkmaster Grandling taught the students here how to raise the undead in the name of the Lich King. He used to be a Dalaran Mage, but was obsessed with the powers of the dark arts, so he betrayed the Alliance to become more powerful.


    After a while, Sorrowless and his team made it onto the island and both sides wanted to win no matter what.


    This bet was followed by many players and other professionals in the scene. Sorrowless gave Lu Li a nod before the competition started.


    If he had known it was Lu Li who stirred up the rumors, Sorrowless might have killed himself from rage and frustration.

 1010 Livestream

    The two teams reached the dungeon almost simultaneously and entered at the same time.


    "We chose Nightmare mode, but what if they chose Elite mode? Wouldn''t we be at a disadvantage?" Azure Sea Breeze asked worriedly.


    "Do you really think they would be as shameless as you?" Wandering sneered, "Sorrowless is such a prideful person. Even if he wanted to win, he wouldn''t win in such a despicable way. He''s at least three times more prideful than Lu Li."


    "Go tank the monsters," Lu Li laughed as he gestured towards the two monsters.


    These monsters were called Reanimated Guards and wielded both a sword and shield with serious expressions on their faces. Their sharp eyes made it seem like they were the Bosses of this dungeon.


    "Sorry, I won''t speak again," Wandering said.


    "Azure, initiate the fight while the others attack the monsters."


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered dealing with his jokes. Since they had a team of the top players from the guild, there was no need for complicated strategies.


    If the team members were weaker, they probably would have only attempted to fight one at a time.


    After they dealt with the small mobs, they reached a steel gate. If they didn''t have a Thief with them, they would have to complete a quest to obtain the key. Lu Li forgot what the quest required the players to do, but he remembered having to pay 15 gold to complete it, which was more than what he had made in a week back then.


    They could completely bypass this quest with Lu Li''s lockpicking skills.


    After they opened the gate, they entered the actual dungeon of Scholomance. Rather than an institution, it was more like an underground torture dungeon straight from the set of a horror movie. There were body parts strewn across the ground and a number of horrifying Undead walking around.


    After walking down the corridor, there was a set of stairs with various monsters climbing it.


    Most people would want to skip this area by jumping down the stairs so that they could save time and avoid these monsters.


    Teams that attempted to do this would experience their first wipe because after jumping down, not only would all the monsters on the stairs follow them, but they would also land in a crowd of monsters.


    There was no way Lu Li would make the same mistake.


    Sorrowless also chose to clear the monsters on the stairs rather than risking it and jumping down. He had always been a cautious type of player and would rarely take shortcuts. It wouldn''t make too much of a difference if they cleared the monsters anyway.


    Both teams avoided the first possibility of getting wiped.


    "Sorrowless is livestreaming. What the hell; how dare he!" Wandering was furious.


    "What''s wrong?


    "They''re live-streaming their dungeon run on a streaming website with millions of viewers. Why didn''t we think of that? It would be such a great opportunity to advertise our guild," Wandering explained, feeling like they had missed out.


    "Why don''t we just set it up now? I bet there are heaps of streaming websites that want to collaborate with us," Her Tears suggested. He didn''t think it was such a big problem.


    "Nah, if we do it now, people will think we''re just copying them." Lu Li didn''t want others to watch their strategy and dungeons runs anyways since some of his strategies were from his past life.


    If he continuously came up with new and efficient ideas to complete the dungeon run, it would arouse suspicion from the gaming community.


    He wasn''t worried about the gaming company finding out his secret because there was no way they could do that.


    All they could do was to monitor a player''s statistics and see whether they were hacking or not.


    "Should we just give them this opportunity for free advertisement?" Her Tears was annoyed.


    There was nothing much they could do since they were in the dungeon anyway. If they wanted to do something, they would have to wait until they finished.


    "The higher you climb, the more it''ll hurt when you fall. Just leave them and we''ll see how they deal with the shame of losing in front of millions of people," Lu Li said coldly. It was obvious from his tone that he was displeased as well.


    After they climbed down the stairs, they reached a more spacious hall.


    "Sorrowless got wiped," Wandering laughed with glee, then continued to explain, "They came across a scouting monster, but got swarmed by almost 30 monsters and got wiped in a matter of minutes. The entire chatroom is spamming 666."


    This was the disadvantage of live-streaming, because if they were to get wiped, the entire chat would be sent into a frenzy.


    "Azure, go pull the scout monsters here one by one," Lu Li instructed as he pointed at the room. He pinned the position on the map in case he couldn''t find it.


    "Wow, they''re hiding so well. So these two are the scout monsters¡­" Fat Monkey said in surprise.


    The two scout monsters were different from the normal variants. They walked much slower, but it was very difficult to tell the difference between them.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t need Lu Li''s instructions and found a suitable place on the monster''s path, then waited with a ranged weapon.


    If Ruling Swords were live-streaming right now, the audience would be impressed with his positioning. This was definitely the perfect spot for him to wait at.


    Lu Li had contributed a lot to Ruling Sword''s success.


    However, something that others might not have realized was that each and every one of the members on Ruling Sword were extremely capable. For example, Azure Sea Breeze had improved his skills as the main tank to an elite level. At first, Lu Li needed to remind him of his positioning and give tips on tanking, but now, all he had to do was to tell him which monster to pull.


    The newcomers to the party had finally witnessed how the number one Main Tank in Dawn performed.


    He could pull whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He remained calm when they were ambushed by a monster; it seemed as if he was totally in control of the entire fight.


    After the second scout went down, the only remaining task was to clear the monsters in the center of the room.


    "Play it safe."


    Lu Li scanned across the room and sighed in his mind. The Scholomance dungeon that he had attempted in his past life had been changed twice in different patches.


    Dawn updated the dungeons in the earlier game in order to help the new players catch up.


    As such, the version that they faced now was much harder than Lu Li''s past life. There were many more Scholomance Acolytes that casted Fear to drive their enemies away.


    If they were Feared and ran around the room full of monsters, they would be wiped instantly.

 1011 Penelope’s Rose

    Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze''s chemistry was extremely good. After all, they had been in the same team for such a long time already.


    As soon as he heard Lu Li''s instructions, he instantly went into a defensive state and blocked the monster''s field of vision. Then, he began to unleash his DPS from the entrance of the stairs. He did this because if he was ''Feared'', the monster would still be trapped.


    A lot of time was used to secure the monster''s aggro and positioning with a strategy like this.


    Originally, everyone was worried about the possibility of achieving the First Clear, since Sorrowless and his team was also attempting this Instance Dungeon. Shortly after, Square Root joined the guild''s chatting channel.


    "Hahaha¡­they died again. This is so addicting. How are you guys going?" Square Root chuckled.


    "This monster is a little difficult to deal with, but there aren''t any casualties as of now," Lu Li answered, then asked how Sorrowless was doing.


    From the pairing and partnerships of the difference classes, Sorrowless'' strategy would be relatively straightforward, since they had people ready to rotate and tank hits from the Boss. However, in terms of skill, they were clearly lacking.


    Square Root then sent a video with subtitles into the guild chat.


    Lu Li nearly laughed; Glory Capital already had been annihilated twice. The video then showed Sorrowless becoming increasingly frustrated at the battle.


    However, it was obvious that Ruling Sword would not get the First Clear if Sorrowless'' team was not get wiped out.


    It was truly unfortunate that they had been wiped out twice even before seeing the Boss. However, this was always a possibility if someone in the squad was unlucky. Glory Capital would have sent people to scout the dungeon out, but they would not have known the details.


    Lu Li knew the strategy to clear this dungeon, so he could afford to be reckless and still have a favourable outcome.


    After clearing the monsters in the room, they proceeded down the stairs.


    Here, they could complete a quest that Hachi Chan had taken up previously ¨C ''The Barov Family Fortune''. This quest had originated from Alexi Barov, who was a brother of Weldon Barov.


    However, it was clear that these ex-brothers were no longer who they used to be.


    They were obsessed with the land and wealth of the Barov family, and had fought each other extensively over these things, to the point of constantly plotting murder.


    Alexi Barov had requested for the adventurers to steal the four pieces of the lease before his brother could do anything.


    The first piece was now in front of their eyes and everyone could take it once. After clearing this place out, they could then proceed to the second room, which was extremely large. This meant that the monsters were quite spaced out, which was rather difficult for them to handle.


    They needed to be wary of skills like Sap and Hex and also had to instantly crowd-control the Scholomance Summoners. Otherwise, they would summon an army of pesky little skeletons.


    These skeletons would self-destruct, and would not deal HP damage, but eat away MP.


    HP could be restored using Healing skills, but MP could only be restored by potions or taking a break from the battle. This would waste precious time for the First Clear.


    To achieve the First Clear, they could not be reckless for the sake of saving time, but still needed to be efficient. They had to gain control of the Summoner, then clear out the smaller minions. After clearing the minions out, they could then focus on the Summoners.


    "Follow the walls and clear out the smaller monsters first." After entering deeper into the room, the groups of monsters grew larger and stronger.


    This was a school, so there were many students and their summons, along with some Undead Nerubians. Lu Li did not know why there were these monsters around; perhaps they were for testing purposes.


    The most difficult part about fighting these Nerubians was their web-throwing.


    The players caught in the webs could not move or use skills.


    After clearing out the small monsters, Hachi Chan took a Quest Item ¨C a Vial of Innocent Blood ¨C and placed it under the brazier to heat it up. Once it was heated, a tense atmosphere began to envelop the room.


    "Let me devour your souls¡­" a large copper-grey bat hissed.


    This was Kirtonos the Herald, a monster similar to a gargoyle. It was said that he had been birthed artificially and was extremely loyal to his creator. As for the adventurers, he would devour any souls that came close to him.


    Kirtonos the Herald was not an overly-strong Boss.


    Although he was level 50 and had a matching HP bar, his main attack was Poison, so Sesame Rice Ball had them covered.


    As an Alchemy Specialist, Sesame Rice Ball''s antidotes were more than enough to dispel any poison effects from Kirtonos.


    By this time, Glory Capital had just encountered Kirtonos, weary and tired. When this happened, Lu Li was already telling Remnant Dream to loot the corpse.


    First try, First Clear ¨C they were not sure if Glory Capital was capable of such a feat.


    "Penelope''s Rose. What a beautiful flower!" Remnant Dream held a blood-red rose in her hands which was of the utmost beauty. No matter how you looked at it, if it was given to a female as a proposal, it would be perfect. Even from a mere glance, they knew that this was something valuable.


    Penelope''s Rose was an extremely prestigious Secondary weapon. It was Dark Gold grade and could be used by Spell-based DPS classes.


    The Rose was given to Jaweika. After all, most people used Staves instead of a Dagger like he did. Furthermore, his secondary weapon was not as strong as this one anyway.


    To receive an equip in his first run with the team was an honour. He did not say anything after this.


    Gravestone War Axe ¨C Gold grade. No one wanted it, so it was put into the Guild''s vault.


    Frightalon ¨C a Dagger-type weapon. Lu Li did not give a second glance and also placed it in the Guild''s vault. These weapons were extremely valuable for an ordinary player, but ever since they had cleared Stratholme on Nightmare mode and the three Bosses in the Underground, their standards of equipment had been unbelievably raised.


    Besides the weapons, there were also two Enhancement Stones and a rare material.


    Lu Li took one of the stones, but did not bother to use it on the equipment that he had now. After all, they would be replaced sometime in the future anyway.


    "They got wiped again. The MT was poisoned to death! Hahaha!"


    To Ruling Sword, the failure of Glory Capital was uplifting news. After all, they had resented and envied the fact that Glory Capital could broadcast their battles to the world.

 1012 Illusionis

    After this, they entered the third room. Similar to the previous one, they needed to be much more conservative when battling.


    In this area, the small monsters were not to be underestimated. If the Main Tank pulled too many to himself, it would be a guaranteed wipe. There was also the danger of Fear to consider. Azure Sea Breeze stood in the doorway, blocking the barrage of arrows. He pulled four monsters at a time, with one of them being an Undead Summoner.


    Undead Summoners were long-ranged attackers, so they needed to block their field of vision to be able to pull one over.


    After luring it to its designated place, Jaweika used Shackle Undead to disable its movements and actions. However, if the target took damage while the skill was active, its duration would end.


    This skill could not be used on players, even those who belonged to the Undead race. Furthermore, the Priest could not move or perform other actions while the skill was active. While it had its disadvantages, in Scholomancer, this skill was extremely important.


    Why? Shackle Undead was long-ranged.


    This was also why Lu Li had brought along an extra Priest. March Rain was the main healer, so she could not be assigned the role of controlling monsters.


    When Lu Li and his party reached the second Boss, Glory Capital had finally finished the first.


    The second Boss was called Jandice Barov.


    This lady was the head of the Barov family and the wife of Alexei Barov. Her soul had been contained within the Scholomancer for many years. Currently, she was overseeing the training of the new Mages because she had an excellent understanding of illusions. While she was a gifted teacher, for those who angered her, she would be a terrifying opponent.


    Lu Li knew her from his previous life. According to The Schools of Arcane Magic: Illusion book, she was someone not to be underestimated.


    In this magic book, there was a section which wrote:


    "A previous master at her art, Jandice Barov. Rest in peace. She is the pinnacle of role models for Illusionists. When she was living, she devised a skill which created illusions that were extremely difficult to differentiate from the original thing. These clones were able to exactly copy original actions, so her enemies could not identify her position. However, it was through this that I received a lesson."


    This was basically saying that she was not perfect at her craft. After all, Illusion was an art of trickery.


    Illusions of Smoke could render Mages unable to distinguish between what was real and not real. Furthermore, illusions were able to distort areas and landscapes.


    This art could be used as a disguise and to control others. However, these illusions were able to be dispelled, so she did not completely rely on them.


    Conversely to the traditional thinking towards spells, Illusions were not mere trickery.


    Invisibility was a skill that was invaluable to Battle Mages. This was because Battle Mages often found themselves in tight situations where they need to escape. To preserve their lives, they needed this skill.


    Illusions could be used to trick opponents of the caster''s position or even their opponents'' perception of who was friend or foe. It was not easy to achieve these things, but a powerful Illusionist would be able to escape easily and turn foes into allies.


    Researching into this Instance Dungeon was well worth it, because they now knew of Jandice Barov''s abilities.


    Lu Li and his party watched on as the Barov Lady of the House frantically tore apart body after body.


    "Souls! I need more souls!"


    She was already a Necromancer of the Scourge and was no longer a Master Illusionist, or the Lady of the Barov Family. In her eyes, only the bodies without souls were her allies


    Compared to the previous Bosses, clearing Jandice Barov in one try was nearly impossible.


    If there wasn''t a bet and livestream of events between Ruling Sword and Glory Capital, ordinary players would spend around one to two days to complete this dungeon. Even after spending that much time in here, they could only clear it with good luck.


    Lu Li could not reveal all of this to his team.


    He decided that they should wipe a couple of times, to prevent arising suspicion from other guilds.


    As an Illusionist, Jandice Barov had two HP trigger points. One was at 66%, while the other at 33%. At these points, she would disappear, then create multiple clones of herself which filled the room.


    During this period of time, the real body would be hidden among the clones and unleash AoE attacks.


    From the very beginning of the battle, she would use a skill called Wonder Rapidity that had a certain chance of triggering. When she cast this skill, she would swing her staff and unleash a monstrous amount of arcane magic onto her surroundings.


    There was no equipment that gave resistance to arcane magic, so this was extremely terrifying for the players. The Main Tank was expected to have enough Armor and HP to tank this hit.


    Azure Sea Breeze quickly adapted to the patterns of this skill after being struck a few times.


    As long as they did not stand in front of the Boss when the skill was activated, they would be able to avoid a barrage of damage.


    Besides this, she also used another skill that was of considerable danger to wiping out the squad. This skill caused players to gravitate towards Jandice, while dealing copious amounts of Dark damage and blinding them for 10 seconds.


    Players called this skill ''Black Water'', because it appeared as though black water was pooling around their ankles.


    Who would pay attention to their feet while concentrating on the fight? This was how Ruling Sword suffered their first squad wipe.


    Ruling Sword''s wipes were different to Glory Capital''s. Firstly, the pressure was not as heavy because they were not livestreaming their raid. The more Glory Capital did not want to wipe, the more panicked they became.


    "I realised that just before we got wiped, black water surrounded our feet. I think this might be the skill that''s destroying us," Lu Li said straight away.


    According to Lu Li''s observation skills, it would be much stranger if he had not realised. After all, Wandering had also realised this.


    "I''ll investigate this skill further. When the time comes again, I''ll yell for people to relocate themselves to places without the water," he suggested.


    Before entering the battle again, Square Root came with news in the guild channel.


    Glory Capital was also wiped out in the fight against the second Boss. However, they had died to Wonder Rapidity, since their Main Tank was much weaker than Azure Sea Breeze.


    When they entered a second time, the black water appeared quickly.


    However, because of Wandering''s constant warnings and directions, Ruling Sword was unaffected by it.


    When Jandice Barov reached 66% HP, she began to remember that she was an Illusionist and seemingly regained her abilities.


    "AoE Classes, speed up your attacks; don''t worry about anything else. Mu Qiu, keep healing. March Rain, use your AoE healing skills. If you really can''t heal, have Hachi Chan use Tranquillity!" Lu Li yelled for the players to hear.

 1013 Comparison

    Lonesome Flower, Fat Monkey, Kitty Likes Meat and Sesame Rice Ball were all area of effect Magic professions. After their area of effect skills were cast, the entire room was almost covered.


    The illusions that had appeared vanished one at a time.


    These illusions were all about to case an area of effect skill themselves, but they weren''t able to take much damage and were quickly destroyed.


    The players of Ruling Sword were quite powerful and the speed in which they could destroy these illusions was faster than the rate of their appearance.


    The death of an illusion also dealt some damage, and it wasn''t an insignificant amount. As such the players had to keep moving to avoid taking damage from the illusions.


    However, this wasn''t like when they had attempted the Death Mines. During that time, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream had required Lu Li''s direct instructions.


    Now, they were like two agile mice, constantly weaving between illusions and avoiding almost every death. The four area of effect Mages required the most attention from the Healers. After all, most area of effect skills required a channeling time to cast.


    As such, March Rain played a huge role here to ensure that everyone maintained an adequate amount of HP.


    Everyone''s HP was always kept above half, so that there was no way that they would get one-shot by the Boss. Azure Sea Breeze was also easily kept alive in this way.


    In this stage, Blackwater appeared.


    Wandering was responsible for observing Blackwater, but he still needed to avoid the damage from the illusions. It was hard to not notice the strenuous look on his face.


    This guy, who was usually quite lazy, only showed his strength when he was under pressure.


    Lu Li couldn''t do much to help him.


    After about a minute and a half, the illusions ceased to appear. The Boss was now below 60% HP and the skill''s duration had expired.


    "Monkey died. I will Revive him first," Lu Li said as he turned into a leopard and used Resurrect on Fat Monkey.


    Fat Monkey was always eager to deal as much damage as possible, so he hadn''t added any points to his Constitution. Even his equipment was completely focused on damage output. Although March Rain also focused on Intelligence, she still chose at least a few pieces of equipment that made her tankier. This had saved her life on more than one occasion.


    The price of high damage output was that he died more often.


    He was the only person who had died in that stage. If it weren''t for the fact that he was still useful, Lu Li wouldn''t have Revived him as he probably wouldn''t survive the next ultimate skill either.


    The Boss'' second ultimate skill was cast when it reached 33% HP.


    This was not too different from the first one, but since only Fat Monkey had died previously, there wasn''t much suspense as it played out.


    Fat Monkey managed to survive, but Hachi Chan had cast Enhanced Tranquility at the last second to save his life. He was one step away from death.


    When Jandis Barov reached 20% HP, she cast another illusion spell.


    This time, she only split into two illusions, which meant that they had to fight three Bosses. Unlike the previous illusions, these two looked exactly like Jandis Barov and had the same strength as her.


    Under normal circumstances, Scholomance would require three Main Tanks just because of this stage.


    However, Azure Sea Breeze''s equipment allowed him to take on two of the Bosses at once.


    Having more Main Tanks made the fight safer, but it would take up the DPS player slots. Without damage output, they couldn''t beat the Boss anyway.


    The previous illusions could be easily defeated, so they didn''t need to worry about which one was the True Boss. As for these three bodies, they had to separate the real one from the fake ones.


    Some players had tried fighting all three together since the Boss didn''t have much HP left at this stage. However, this resulted in all three going Berserk at the same time, spilling much blood and tears. This was sadly dubbed the Scholomance Limit.


    The only correct way to fight this Boss was to find the two illusions and get rid of them quickly.


    During this period, the HP of the real body could not be reduced to less than 5%. Otherwise, the real body would definitely go Berserk, which would be shared with the other two illusions.


    If one Boss went Berserk, Azure Sea Breeze could probably still survive, but if two of them went Berserk, he would have no chance.


    "Slow down ¨C we need to find out which is the fake one among these three," Lu Li said, deciding to get everyone to do it together. Perhaps they would be able to discover the fake bodies if everyone was involved.


    "I think the one on the left is a bit darker. The other two are a bit paler¡­" Sakura Memories said.


    Lu Li glanced at the pale lamp hanging on the right side and unceremoniously rejected her guess.


    "That''s just because of the lighting."


    "Nails on the one in the middle is a bit longer. Can you guys see?" Remnant Dream cried out.


    "Yeah, yeah I see it," Hachi Chan agreed.


    "Both of you shut up."


    Lu Li didn''t think that these two girls had any observational ability and didn''t expect that they would notice something as trivial as the nail length.


    After that, everyone eventually expressed their opinions on which ones might be the illusion.


    Not all of them were wrong. Wandering noticed that the one on the right had a different pattern on its cloak, which was different from the illusions. However, if you didn''t look carefully, you wouldn''t have seen it.


    "Actually, you should pay attention the aura under their feet," Lu Li finally said.


    This was the most effective method that was officially recognized in the Instance Dungeon strategy. Only the true body had a ring of light around it with an effect. The others just received a ring of light from


    that effect.


    As such, the real ring of light was more obvious, while the other two were a little bit smaller.


    After Lu Li told them, everyone could easily see the difference.


    It was only Wandering who snorted at it coldly, because he still felt like his reason was the best.


    Regardless of whether Wandering or Lu Li was correct, both methods pointed to the same body. As such, the group of players pounced onto the two illusions and fought with vigor.


    The illusions quickly dissipated after being attacked.


    The players then attacked the remaining body, which soon fell to critical HP. It then went into Berserk without any further incidents.


    During this time, Lu Li didn''t have time to read the information sent by Square Root 3. After the end of this experience, he needed to see how Glory Capital was progressing.


    Poor Glory Capital had already been wiped twice by Jandis Barov.


    The first time was because of Blackwater and the second time was because they had been caught off guard by the sheer number of illusions. They were preparing for the third attempt, but their tactic was to find the real body among the large number of illusions.

 1014 Rattlegore

    This was a common occurrence in the game; it even happened in reality.


    Not all efforts would result in a reward. Sometimes, if you choose to move in the wrong direction, you wouldn''t gain anything no matter how hard you tried.


    This was the problem with Glory Capital''s Instance Dungeon attempts. In the stage where there were innumerable illusions, it wasn''t feasible to look for the real body. In fact, finding the real body wouldn''t even help that much. It was best to just clear out as many illusions as possible.


    Additionally, Square Root 3 also passed on some news.


    There were some people keeping track of Ruling Sword'' progress from a guild called Promising Future. They weren''t particularly reputable, but they also weren''t completely unknown.


    "This guild is also located in Imperial City, not far from Glory Capital," Square Root 3 added.


    "You mean¡­" Lu Li felt like this was quite absurd.


    "Oh yeah, there''s a 7/10 chance that it is Glory Capital who is investigating us. I don''t know if they are trying to look at our live broadcasts, but it doesn''t seem to be working out for them," Square Root 3 said, not doing much to conceal his glee.


    "Three Bro, tell them!"


    "Huh?"


    It wasn''t just Square Root 3, but the other players in this channel were also shocked.


    Lu Li had actually taken the initiative to disclose information on his own side. They didn''t do a live broadcasting because they didn''t use a strategy group. As long as the fifteen guild members were silent about what they were doing, even Glory Capital couldn''t find anything.


    "Why aren''t you giving it to them?"


    Lu Li, who was sitting on the floor to rest, was smiling.


    "Let them know that we have defeated the second Boss, and make them even more anxious. Scholomance is an Instance Dungeon that you can''t be anxious in. The more anxious you are, the more likely are things to go wrong.


    "You''re evil," Square Root 3 sighed with relief before going to ''leak'' his guild''s information.


    Given how he normally operated, this information would also be sold for no small amount of money.


    "Glory Capital seems pretty weak." Her Tears couldn''t believe that all this was true.


    He wasn''t considered a new player as he had played through the age of Sorrowless. In these last few years, he had watched Glory Capital revive itself from the dead before finally reaching the peak as the number one guild.


    However, all this had happened so fast and under his watch that he thought he understood Glory Capital.


    "Weak? No, Glory Capital isn''t weak at all. They are much stronger than you think," Lu Li sighed before shaking his head.


    "I still feel like they don''t even have the power to retaliate," Her Tears said as he brandished the weapon in his hands menacingly while puffing up his chest.


    "You should compare your weakest attribute against the strongest attribute of others. Sorrowless has been at the top for too long," Wandering replied to Lu Li.


    "I think it basically comes down to this. Instance Dungeons are what we are best at; Glory Capital has never beat us at this. It is unwise for them to take a gamble like this," Azure Sea Breeze commented.


    "But if the fight was in the wild with the same number of players where both Lu Li and Sorrowless were commanding, Lu Li would lose," Moonlight, who had been silent this whole time, chimed in.


    PVP was what Moonlight was best at, so the authority of his words was hard to question.


    Lu Li thought about this point of view for a while before saying, "If there was a fight the wild, I think I would lose quite badly. Our players aren''t as good as their elite players. If he tried to fight us for a Wild Boss, we probably wouldn''t win, but he chose to fight us in doing this Instance Dungeon."


    If this was a 100-player Instance Dungeon, then Lu Li would definitely lose.


    It was unclear whether Ruling Sword could even gather 40 players to form an Instance Dungeon party with.


    However, in a small 15-player Instance Dungeon like Scholomance, Lu Li was bound to defeat everyone.


    "Hey, are you done talking? I am going to loot the body," Remnant Dream announced. She had been squatting in front of the Boss, staring at Jandis Barov''s body like it was a delicious meal.


    Dreadmist Mantle, Dark Gold Shoulderpads ¨C these were a T0 equipment for Warlocks.


    The probability of Shoulderpad drops was not high, even with the First Clear and at Nightmare difficulty.


    Now ,there was a problem ¨C there were two Warlocks on this team. One often worked hard to keep a portal open to transport everyone, while also being an alchemist master ¨C Sesame Rice Ball. The other was a little girl who was a professional player in the club. In theory, priority would be given the player who was going to fight in competitions.


    But who was this equipment to be given to?


    Remnant Dream obviously didn''t want to make a decision like that, so she just threw the item at Lu Li.


    Now that it was in his hands, Lu Li decided to just let them roll or bid for it with their points.


    Kitty Likes Meat wasn''t to be underestimated. She had gained a lot of points because of the matches she had played. Sesame Rice Ball had also been following Lu Li into Instance Dungeons for some time and also had plenty of points.


    "Give it to Riceball," Kitty Likes Meat said cheerfully.


    "Okay, I will give it to you when you need it for competitions," Sesame Rice Ball offered. He didn''t hide his joy as he really wanted this item. He had acquired a piece in Stratholme and another from someone in the guild. If he counted this piece before him, he would have collected three already.


    Since they had resolved it among themselves, Lu Li decided to let them do as they pleased.


    Wraithplate Treads, Dark Gold Plate Armor Shoes ¨C these were considered to be a powerful equip and were taken by Her Tears. He had previously seen Sesame Rice Ball give Remnant Dream a small bag of gold coins for his item and decided to do the same.


    The remaining two pieces of equipment were Gold, and no one needed them.


    In addition to another Synthetic Stone and a Strengthening Stone, Jandis Barov also dropped a Warlock Skill book. This time, Kitty Likes Meat took it as skills couldn''t be shared.


    The rare material that was dropped was Ghost Fog Essence. It was exactly the material needed to make Ghost Fog Shoulderpads.


    Ghost Fog Essence wasn''t that valuable, but it was still quite rare. The items that had been dropped from this Boss seemed to have mostly been for the Warlocks.


    In the next room, they were able to acquire the second deed ¨C Deed to the Tarren Mill.


    They also quickly ran into the third Boss ¨C Rattlegore.


    Rattlegore had no name, and could barely even be called ''alive''. They were just dead spirits that instinctively tried to kill.


    A long time ago, Andorhal had a Necromancer. He had experimented with a creature''s soul and bones to create a creation that would obey his will. However, he continually failed to do this, even well into his advanced years.


    Eventually, the old Mage became impatient, and snuck into the cemetery to use human bones.


    Later, he felt like the bones he took out of the graves lacked spiritual energy. This eventually drove him mad enough to strip off flesh and blood from the living.


    One day, all this was revealed, and people discovered the evils of this Mage. Dalaran sent two strong Mages to deal with this matter. It was said that one of them was Jandis Barov, who met the head of the Barov family at this time.


    People thought that Rattlegore had been wiped out in Andorhal, but Gandling had revived this manic and deformed monster.


    Now, Rattlegore was sent by Gandling to stop invaders. The Darkmaster had also made Rattlegore even more ferocious, greedy to take the flesh and blood of its enemies.

 1015 Getting Wiped Three Times

    At this time, Glory Capital was experiencing their third defeat at the hands of Jandis Barov.


    "Ruling Sword has already defeated the illusionist."


    The message that was taken from Square Root 3 had now been passed onto the Glory Capital.


    "Whose idea was this? How does getting their progress help us?" Sorrowless looked pale. Throughout his gaming career, he rarely showed his true feelings. His indifference starkly contrasted to Lu Li''s stubbornness that had developed from the countless sufferings he had endured. He just had an unshakable pride.


    His teammates were a little nervous. They didn''t know if their president was angry, but he undoubtedly wasn''t happy about what was happening.


    In fact, Sorrowless actually felt much more bitter than the others around him.


    He didn''t know that this was Ruling Sword''s forte, but he couldn''t just give up. Since the first moment he started playing games, he had forgotten what it meant to give up.


    Changes in the gaming circle were inevitable and it didn''t matter that he didn''t want to leave. Even if he stayed, he would be a porblem to everyone else in the gaming industry.


    The commercial value of any person would one day be exhausted no matter what.


    Sorrowless had initially planned for Dawn to be the last game in which he played professionally.


    However, his number one rank had been taken from him, and when he was assassinated by Lu Li, Lu Li''s name was made known to the other great gaming experts. This had sparked the bloodthirstiness of Sorrowless.


    The theory of gambling was quite complex, but one thing was guaranteed.


    It was a fair fight!


    Glory Capital would not hold back in this fight.


    With Rattlegore was in front of him, Lu Li announced at the start of the fight that they probably needed to get wiped once or twice before figuring out how the Boss worked.


    In fact, most First Clear acquisitions came with death. Any high-level Boss required careful observation and reflection to develop a strategy, as well as a bit of luck.


    Rattlegore wasn''t too difficult, but it was definitely worthy of the grade that it was given.


    If the illusions of Jandis Barov tested the area of effect skills of the group, then Rattlegore would be a test of the Main Tank''s kiting ability.


    "Dammit, the System just told me that I''ve been hit with Rust," Azure Sea Breeze called out.


    Originally, he was only taking four to five hundred damage, but after getting hit by Rust, he received seven to eight hundred damage. Moreover, when the Rust debuff was stacked, more than three thousand damage was dealt at a time. This didn''t give March Rain and the others much of a chance to heal. Azure Sea Breeze basically died immediately.


    Rust: Every successful melee attack will cause Rattlegore''s blunt sword to rust and increase damage by 50%. Its attack speed will be reduced by 5% and its movement speed reduced by 5% for 15 seconds. This effect can be stacked.


    This was the signature skill of Rattlegore.


    No matter what it was called, it was a very powerful effect. Two stacked Rusts was equivalent to a critical hit. With four of five hits, even a powerful Main Tank like Azure Sea Breeze would be killed.


    After the Main Tank died, the rest of the group got wiped. The battle hadn''t gone for very long so it wasn''t worthwhile wasting time to Resurrect.


    "This Boss seems to require you to kite," Lu Li said to Azure Sea Breeze. They didn''t have much time to waste here.


    "I''ll give it a try."


    It wasn''t like he had never kited before, but he wasn''t sure about doing it to this Boss. Its damage was so high and its movement speed was so fast.


    The first attempt went quite smoothly. After the aggro stabilized, Azure Sea breeze immediately took two steps back, successfully delaying the third stack of Rust. By the time the third stack of Rust applied, the first Rust''s 15 second duration had almost elapsed.


    "Don''t move too quickly, or you will drop the aggro," Lu Li reminded, watching as Azure Sea Breeze started moving too quickly.


    The reason he gave was so he wouldn''t drop aggro, but there was another reason behind it. After the Main Tank moved beyond a certain range, Rattlegore would use a ranged skill ¨C Bone Needle.


    Bone Needle: Rattlegore launches a powerful Bone Needle at a random player, causing a lot of physical and poison damage. It also knocks the player back a great distance.


    Of all the Bosses in Scholomance, Rattlegore had the least number of skills, even for a level 50 Boss. He only had two skills ¨C Rust and Bone Needle. This was extraordinary as these high-level Bosses usually had three to five skills.


    However, things that were rare were often more condensed in terms of strength. Perhaps it was for this reason that these two skills were very powerful.


    Rust was a stacking damage buff while Bone Needle was a powerful one-shot skill with continuous poison damage.


    With Lu Li''s equipment and level, a Bone Needle would remove 70-80% of his HP. If it was a critical hit, it would just one-shot him.


    As for March Rain, a Cloth Profession, she would die unless she cast her damage reduction skills. However, the Bone Needle was so quick that there wouldn''t be a chance for her to.


    Just as Lu Li spoke, Azure Sea Breeze took one step too far. Rattlegore let out a scream at threw at Bone Needle at him.


    They had been wiped once again!


    Before their third attempt to fight the Boss, Lu Li summoned Maintenance Robots to repair everyone''s equipment.


    "Sorry, I should have listened to you."


    The two times that they had been wiped were because of him, so Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t help but feel bad. Now, everyone had to repair their equipment. If the number of times that they got wiped was high enough, the gold received from the Instance Dungeon wouldn''t even be enough to cover the costs of repairing the equipment.


    "It''s okay. Next time just pay more attention to it. Once you''re rested we''ll start again. Sorrowless will probably have found the right strategy by now, and will probably clear the second Boss soon."


    There likely wouldn''t be any more problems with the Main Tank; Lu Li trusted Azure Sea Breeze to get the job done.


    The next problem they needed to face was if the Bone Needle was targeted at another player, particularly a Cloth profession. There was no way they could avoid a death in that situation.


    Even if the Main Tank didn''t die, if they didn''t have enough Healers or Damage output, they wouldn''t be able to defeat the Boss.


    Lu Li pretended to kick over the bones that were everywhere in the room. The piles of bones then started to float and rotate around him.


    Bone Armor: A series of rotating white bones around the caster; will absorb a white bone spell for 15 seconds.


    Lu Li told them the property of this buff and everyone immediately understood the role it served.


    The game couldn''t design an Instance Dungeon and Boss without a solution. The Bone Armor was obviously for the Bone Needle. As long as the Bone Armor was on you when the Bone Needle hit, the player would be safe.


    Then everyone else, including Azure Sea Breeze deliberately kicked over a pile of bones when necessary.


    With this information in mind, they used the Bone Armor in the fight. However, in the middle of it, Azure Sea Breeze made a mistake when trying to kick over a pile of bones, ushering in the third defeat for Ruling Sword.

 1016 Hidden Boss

    After the Main Tank died, the other players had no way of escaping death. They could run out of the Instance Dungeon, but that would take too long. Other than Lu Li, who could go into Stealth, everyone else was just waiting to get killed by the Boss.


    "Dammit, that scared me."


    Azure Sea Breeze was still little scared even after getting revived. When he kicked a pile of bones, he didn''t receive the Bone Armor like everyone else did. Instead, a pillar of fire appeared which shocked him into forgetting that he was kiting the Boss and also dealt significant damage to him. Poor Azure Sea Breeze was the reason they got wiped again.


    This Boss really tested the ability of Defense professions.


    However, after the group had been wiped three times, everyone basically understood what Rattlegore did. It only had two tricks ¨C Rust and Bone Needle. The former was used against the Main Tank, which forced him to kite. The latter was for everyone, but it wasn''t a problem with Bone Armor.


    The duration of Bone Armor was only 15 seconds, so the players had to ensure that their Armor was replenished on time.


    Moreover, in the process of acquiring the Bone Armor, there was a chance that it could be a trap.


    Soul Flame: The soul of the bones like to afflict the living. Periodically, a flame will arise from the heap of bones which deals significant fire damage. The area around it will also be covered by flames that will expand over time.


    This meant that not all the bone piles were safe.


    The fire damage from the bones was very high, so if the player didn''t escape in time, there was a possibility that they would spread the fire to the others.


    If they were burned by the fire, the plan was to cast their damage reduction skill while the healers focused on them.


    The group still got wiped a few more times after that, mainly because of the traps.


    Luck was also an important factor. After getting wiped five to six times, Ruling Sword managed to defeat Rattlegore through the sacrifice of a few players.


    By this time, Glory Capital had been wiped by Rattlegore for the second time.


    Remnant Dream found a piece of a set and was beaming from ear to ear.


    "Thief T0, Shadowcraft Boots. Lu Li, these are yours."


    Lu Li had previously told her that the probability of getting Epic equipment from Scholomance was very small ¨C even finding Dark Gold equipment was difficult. However, the most valuable equipment they could get were the Dark Gold set equips, as each could be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.


    "I don''t want it. I gave all the previous ones to other people in the guild," Lu Li refused.


    He had already planned to collect the Thief''s T1 set which was the Nightslayer set. The T0 set could be upgraded to T0.5, but this took time and effort. The set pieces that he had previously acquired had been left in the hands of Cain''s Left Hand.


    "I can''t believe you would reject this item," Remnant Dream snorted and frowned.


    Just as she was about to loot the Boss again, the environment quietly changed as a group of Flesh Horrors suddenly appeared in the room.


    The others were in a daze but Lu Li immediately reacted.


    "Plate Armor Professions, take the aggro. Hachi Chan ,cast Tranquility after casting your damage reduction skills."


    He felt a little bitter as he gave out those instructions. Why did the hidden Boss, Doctor Theolen Krastinov, who only had a 1% chance of appearing, decide to appear now?


    Normally, if they ran into a Hidden Boss, they would be excited.


    However, they were currently competing against Glory Capital, and it took a long time to fight a Boss like this. Although Lu Li was certain that he would defeat Sorrowless, he wasn''t arrogant enough to regard him as someone to be taken lightly.


    Hachi Chan had a quest related to Doctor Theolen Krastinov.


    The quest was generally quite difficult to complete, not because Doctor Theolen Krastinov was hard to fight, but because he was a Hidden Boss. If a player''s luck was bad, they might never see him.


    With so many monsters spawning in the group, there was just no time to escape.


    If they did not fight in an organized fashion, they were bound to get wiped.


    The professional training that they had all received allowed everyone to react quickly. The Plate Armor profession players quickly took the aggro of the Flesh Horrors onto themselves while the Cloth Amor professions tried to avoid getting attacked as best as they could.


    Even so, they lost two teammates in this first wave of attacks.


    March Rain and Sakura Memories were sandwiched in the middle of a group of monsters, and it became too crowded to escape.


    "Hold them. Main Tank, pay attention and cast damage reduction as necessary. Hachi Chan, focus on healing. Don''t save anyone yet; let me do that," Lu Li instructed as he ran over to March Rain to resurrect her. If Hachi Chan tried to save them, then Mu Qiu would be the only one healing.


    After March Rain replaced Hachi Chan''s healing, Hachi Chan was free to resurrect Sakura Memories.


    "Where are all these monsters coming from?"


    At this time, no one knew what the Flesh Horrors were, and simply thought of them as monsters.


    Only Lu Li knew the story behind the monsters created by Doctor Theolen Krastinov.


    Doctor Theolen Krastinov was a Sorcerer. In the past, he had studied Frost Magic for a number of years but had an accident while conducting some tests. His wife was a mortal and died on the spot.


    In the face of this devastation, Doctor Theolen Krastinov froze his wife''s bones and began to study Spirit Magic.


    Unexpectedly, his talent for Spirit Magic was far greater than Frost Magic and he soon became the most powerful Spirit Mage in Lordaeron. Dean Martin eventually learned about him, so he sent out an invitation to meet him with a promise to revive his wife.


    Doctor Theolen Krastinov then studied the Revival techniques taught by Dean Martin in Scholomance.


    To this end, he had taken thousands of lives to experiment on, and received the title of the Butcher.


    These bodies were made into flesh monsters, which were the Flesh Horrors that they were fighting. After these monsters were cleared, the Hidden Boss would make his appearance.


    "Stop!" Lu Li shouted as the Flesh Horrors were about to all die.


    Everyone was a bit confused, but still followed his instruction. There was only one monster left, and it was attacking Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Regenerate your HP and Mana. I suspect that there will be something coming after we kill all these mobs. Dreamy, got and loot the body," Lu Li said.

 1017 Falling Behind

    This was a loophole in the System.


    Although there was no way to take a break between the battles, that single monster was almost no danger, so everyone could slowly regenerate.


    If it was a normal Boss, there would be no need to do something so troublesome. It was no big deal ¨C just a little time lost and some costs in equipment repairs. However, Doctor Theolen Krastinov was not the same. As a Hidden Boss, he vanished as soon as the group got wiped.


    Who knew when the next time that they saw him would be?


    If they didn''t regenerate before facing the Boss, they would have little hope of defeating Doctor Theolen Krastinov.


    "Deathwalker Bracer ¨C it''s a Dark Gold Bracer that made up of Cloth Armor. Looks suitable for a Mage." Remnant Dream didn''t delay this time and quickly picked up the equipment. After Lonesome Flower declined the item, it was directly given to Fat Monkey. Of course, Lu Li didn''t forget to deduct some of his guild points.


    A Gold Plate Armor item with good Attributes was given to Her Tears. The rest of the items were to be left in the guild warehouse. These included some Rare Materials, a Paladin Skill Book and a Strengthening Stone.


    Azure Sea Breeze was also replaced by Wandering after a while. When they had finished regenerating and their damage reduction skills had refreshed, Lu Li announced for them to kill the last Flesh Horror.


    Kekeke¡­.


    A giggle that made their skin crawl echoed throughout the room as a man with a black hood appeared.It was the Hidden Boss ¨C Doctor Theolen Krastinov.


    "I will be taking this class," he said as he filled the room with a dark cloud.


    Lu Li and the others received a System Prompt that they were within a Plague Barrier and would lose 10HP per second in addition to receiving an Armor debuff.


    "Attack! Breezy, take aggro. Wandering, back him up. Everyone else, don''t take aggro from the Main Tank."


    Before he even finished, everyone already knew what to do. Even so, Lu Li specifically emphasized it this time because maintaining aggro was a key strategy for this Boss.


    Doctor Theolen Krastinov had a Mage Skill that would occasionally summon a wave of Flesh Horrors.


    This kind of attack intensity wouldn''t cause fatal damage to a team like Lu Li''s. Azure Sea Breeze didn''t even have many opportunities to cast his damage reduction skills. However, when Doctor Theolen Krasitnov summoned a Shadow Whirlwind to blow Azure Sea Breeze upwards, everyone understood the threat of this Boss.


    The whirlwind lasted 45 seconds, during which no Crowd Control skills could be used by the player.


    Fortunately, the second tank was Wandering and he was prepared. If anyone else with high damage output began tanking the attacks, they would definitely be killed by Krastinov.


    "Wandering, keep going; Breezy will back you up as soon as he can. Flower do you want to die? Stop attacking," Lu Li quickly warned Lonesome Flower.


    Lonesome Flower was currently the player with the highest damage output in this Instance Dungeon.


    In their current state, it was difficult for a Thief to surpass a Mage in damage output. Not all of Lu Li''s equipment was geared towards completing Instance Dungeons as well, so there was no way for him to compete with Lonesome Flower for first place.


    Lonesome Flower would often tunnel-vision on dealing damage and take aggro from the Main Tank.


    However, whenever the aggro was transferred onto him, he would freeze himself and immediately cancel it out. He was particularly fond of this playstyle, but Lu Li knew that Doctor Theolen Krastinov wouldn''t let him do that.


    The whirlwind skill wasn''t cast at regular intervals, but when the aggro was particularly high.


    As such, the most dangerous situation would be if both Main Tanks were blown up, because the Boss would turn to Lonesome Flower. However, if he froze himself to avoid the aggro, the Boss would go looking for March Rain.


    Although he wasn''t a defensive profession, Wandering still had some Taunt skills. One of them seemed to be very powerful as the Boss immediately turned to attack him.


    In general, Doctor Theolen Krastinov was fairly easy to fight. They just needed to control the aggro and keep their Main Tanks in the front. As long as there were no incidents and they could overcome the whirlwinds, they would be fine.


    The only other despicable thing was his ability to regenerate HP. When the bodies of the Flesh Horrors returned to him, he would devour them to recover health.


    This meant that the battle took a little longer than it should have. Within 10 minutes, Lu Li and the others had dealt with Doctor Theolen Krastinov, but Glory Capital had now finished with Rattlegore and were moving ahead.


    Just like that, Glory Capital had overtaken Ruling Sword.


    "Go loot the Boss."


    Lu Li wasn''t that anxious, and didn''t even mention that they had fought a Hidden Boss. Even if he had to fight another Hidden Boss, he was confident that they wouldn''t lose.


    "An Ancient Bone Bow¡­wow it''s really pretty!" Remnant Dream exclaimed. She had found an equip that she could use and was ecstatic.


    "It''s too bad that you''re not good at using bows," Lu Li said, bursting her bubble.


    "Says who? I''ve practiced and I can do it now."


    Remnant Dream was holding the crystal-white longbow in her hands. She had a keen eye for equipment, so who knew how powerful it really was?


    Even if she was not particularly skilled with a longbow, there was no way that she didn''t understand what +25% Critical Hit and +25% Attack Speed meant.


    With the bonus Critical Hit and Attack Speed, even a newbie could use this bow. She wasn''t lying either ¨C ever since the others had joked about her archery abilities, she had been practicing whenever she could. Her ability had now surpassed most other average hunters.


    "You can take it if you want it. This item is quite exquisite so it''ll cost you more points," Lu Li said.


    "Hmph, next time I won''t get anything for you." Remnant Dream made a face at Lu Li and put away the Ancient Bone Bow.


    Lu Li was very curious as to what she would do if she knew that the bow was actually made out of bones.


    Deathbone Chestplate, Necropile Leggings and Necropile Cuffs were the three Gold items that were subsequently looted. They were all part of sets ¨C one for Warriors and two Cloth pieces for Magic Professions, which was quite lucky.


    These sets were not part of the regular T series, but they didn''t necessarily have Attributes that were much worse. It was also much easier to acquire all the pieces.


    Because they were part of the same set, Lu Li simply bundled the two pieces together for the Magic Professions to bid for together.


    They were eventually taken away by Kitty Likes Meat.


    Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball both wanted a T series set, and Jaweika didn''t have many points. Fat Monkey didn''t really want to fight a girl for the equipment, so she actually managed to take the items at a bargain.

 1018 Marduk the Black

    There was also a rare material dropped ¨C Flesh Horror Essence ¨C which was used primarily for Alchemy and Enchantments.


    "What are these used for?" After the rare materials, Remnant Dream looted a bag called the Kasinov''s Bag of Horrors. There wasn''t much of a description for it, just two written lines:


    Use: Casts a number of skills.


    Can be used in water.


    "Use it and you''ll find out." Lu Li obviously knew, but couldn''t say.


    "Haha, it''s pretty fun," Remnant Dream laughed. She used the item on herself and turned herself into a small silly looking skeleton.


    "On the surface, this transformation looks similar to the Noggenfogger Elixir but there are some differences," Lu Li explained. "The first is that you won''t return to your original form after death. The second is that the form is contagious upon death, turning other players into skeletons as well¡­"


    If it was exactly like the Noggenfogger Elixir, it wouldn''t be that precious.


    At most, it would have fetched the same price as the Noggenfogger Elixir. They could just give it to Shen Wansan to be sold, but they didn''t care much for the little bit of money. However, this contagious effect made it much more interesting.


    Despite this, not everyone was that interested.


    Moonlight and Lonesome Flower didn''t want flashy items like this, so in the end, it was mainly the girls who decided to roll for it.


    In the end, it fell into the hands of Remnant Dream.


    Lu Li saw that the players who didn''t win the roll looked a little dejected, so he comforted them.


    "Everyone else, don''t worry. Do you see these green small bottles? Fill up the bottles with the liquid from this experimental tank. You''ll gain the same effect as Kasinov''s Bag of Horrors, but it can only be used three times."


    As soon as they heard what Lu Li said, everyone''s spirits lifted. Even the players who weren''t interested in the original item ran over the claim this reward.


    Each bottle could only be collected once, and its liquid couldn''t be poured into other containers or potion bottles ¨C it had to be the right bottle and liquid. These were the failed versions of Doctor Theolen Krastinov''s Bag of Horrors.


    After resolving the Doctor Theolen Krastinov quest, they put a torch to the two piles of bones and burned them.


    These two piles of bones were of the couple who had issued the mission. They died here and their souls were finally free.


    "Heroes, go and burn my body."


    This was a situation that only occurred in a game. The narrative of the two souls that managed to finally escape Doctor Theolen Krastinov''s grasp wasn''t something that Lu Li and the others took seriously.


    "Glory Capital has started fighting the next Boss, Marduk the Black. They''ve already been wiped once," Azure Sea Breeze mentioned. He was focused on whether they could still get the First Clear.


    "No worries. We''ll clear up the mobs here before pushing ahead," Lu Li said calmly.


    Marduk the Blackwas was dubbed by the players as the Zhao Yun of the Scourge. This was due to his ability to ride a Skeletal Warhorse and take down his opponents. There was a record from the Darrowshire War that read, "Captain Redpath led the militia to fight bravely. If it weren''t for the fact that the Captain was Crowd Controlled by the Death Knight, this battle could have been won."


    During the battle, Marduk rode towards Redpath and used his black magic to twist his will and


    soul into an evil shadow.


    The fallen Captain Redpath then spread his evil spirit among the defenders of Darrowshire. The infected soldiers immediately betrayed their companions and began slaughtering them. Finally, they turned to Darrowshire and slaughtered those who were hiding at home.


    It could be said that Marduk the Black was a Death Knight that completely reversed the outcome of the war.


    Although he only dealt with militia forces the first time, it was in the second demon war that he really began to shine.


    His evil Runic Sword took countless lives until he was defeated by the Dwarf Hero Brian Bronzebeard who wielded a Semi-Artifact Shield in the Battle of Colin''s Crossroads Outpost.


    Even though Brian Bronzebeard was the youngest of the Bronzebeard brothers, it was a miracle that Marduk the Black was able to escape with his life.


    During the battle, the Marduk Black Sword broke when it collided with the Semi-Artifact Shield. The top half fell into the earth and began to corrode the surrounded land. It gradually formed a canyon which was a mark of blade''s evil magic.


    However, because he only had half of the sword, Marduk the Black''s power was greatly reduced. He couldn''t take down opponents as quickly as he once did.


    Later, he accepted Kel''Thuzad''s instruction to guard Scholomance, taking up the opportunity to ask the Mage to find a way to repair his sword. Once his weapon was repaired, he would regain the glory of his past.


    In Dawn, any characters they fought in Instance Dungeons were considered to be mere projections. The strength of these characters was not representative of their true strength outside the Instance Dungeons.


    Even so, this Marduk the Black with his broken sword could still kill the players over and over.


    His cleave required at least three players just to tank the attacks. Lu Li didn''t even need to ask; he already knew why Glory Capital had been wiped.


    Lu Li seriously suspected that the Marduk Black Sword was a Semi-Artifact, or at least a Legendary weapon, when it was complete. Otherwise, it would be impossible for a broken blade to create the canyon that it did.


    As for why Brian Bronzebeard could break such an exquisite sword with a Semi-Artifact Shield, there might have been a number of reasons. Firstly, Brian Bronzebeard was much stronger than Marduk the Black. If someone like Medivh used a tree branch as his Magic Staff, it wouldn''t hinder his strength as a demi-god.


    Secondly, Brian Bronzebeard was a Dwarf. There was no other race that had a better understanding of weapons, so he must have discovered the weakness of the sword.


    The last possible reason was because the Brian Bronzebeard''s Shield was from the King of the Old Hills and was just simply too powerful.


    "According to the information broadcasted by Glory Capital, the Main Tank was basically one-shot. The game wouldn''t create an impossible Boss, so we just need to find a way to withstand its attacks," Lu Li said, pointing out the way that everyone needed to be thinking.


    Following behind someone was actually quite convenient for him.


    In a short time, they already knew that the Boss'' attacks were too high to withstand and had a corrosion aura that would reduce the players'' defense.


    "Maybe you need a different profession. Perhaps a Mage should tank the attacks?" Wandering thought out loud while looked evilly at Lonesome Flower.


    Lonesome Flower''s expression turned dark.


    "This is a Death Knight and you want me to fight it?"


    After discovering that Lonesome Flower had not played along like he expected, Wandering immediately said, "Since it had nothing to do with the profession, then we have to find some other way to share the damage around if we are to defeat this Boss."

 1019 Fighting Together

    "Nice, good work!"


    Wandering has said everything that he wanted to say; they were just so compatible.


    If people were to accuse that someone from Xin Xin Mercenary Group had reincarnated, perhaps Wandering might even be the better choice. Lu Li had already gotten used to having Wandering as a scapegoat.


    It was honestly not easy to find someone that was so convenient.


    He was smart ¨C too smart. Lu Li just had to mention a sentence or two, and he would immediately be able to pick up on something.


    Although he looked cold, he was certainly an attention seeker; he would jump at every chance he could to be under the spotlight. If it wasn''t for this character trait of his, there was no way he could command Wild Boss fights on a regular basis.


    "Mmmm, right, then you and Azure Sea Breeze can go together and face the boss," Lu Li followed.


    They didn''t get instantly killed this time; the tactic was effective. It probably wouldn''t take long for Glory Capital to realize this either, as it wasn''t very complicated.


    Regardless, it was still difficult for both tanks. Their health was constantly pushed to the danger zone and they were both in the skill range, which caused their Armor to drop by a great deal. Once a Critical Strike landed on them, the healers would take some time to recover the situation.


    "Xiaorou, go and help tank some damage. Make sure you use your damage reduction," Lu Li said.


    Plated classes had an advantage towards tanking physical damage, so they didn''t have to worry about Her Tears dying in an instant.


    After a few dozen seconds, Lu Li replaced him.


    His defense really wasn''t that good, considering that he was a Plated class. This was because he was aiming for a high damage output ¨C some of his equips even traded Armor for damage.


    It was actually Moonlight who ended up being much more helpful in this situation.


    "Servants of Marduk the Black, the massacre has begun!" As a Death Knight who had killed plenty, it was normal for Marduk the Black to summon his servants to help him with his work. These servants had high movement speed and a notable damage output.


    While the two main tanks were looking after the Boss, survival became a challenging issue for all the other players.


    "Damage reduction!" As Lu Li noticed the black mist that had begun to gather on the roof, he immediately began to instruct players to use their damage reduction.


    However, he was still a step too late.


    Shadow Bolts poured down like heavy rain along with some summoned monsters. All Lu Li could do was to helplessly announce a wipe.


    The monsters being summoned in sync with Shadow Bolt Volley had to be blamed on bad luck.


    However, it wasn''t a big deal to be wiped once; Glory Capital had already wiped plenty of times. Their main tank wasn''t as strong as Azure Sea Breeze, and even with two players splitting the damage, they were still no match for Marduk the Black.


    "Wandering, pay attention to the roof with me later. If black mist starts to gather, the Boss is about to cast a group spell," Lu Li said.


    Strictly speaking, it was Lu Li who had given the instructions too slowly ¨C no one could react in time. However, this was because he was trying to run away from three summoned monsters who were chasing after him. By the time he noticed the black mist, the spell had already been activated.


    "Sure, I''ll focus on the black mist," Wandering nodded.


    "The same three can go and tank the Boss. Everyone else, watch out for your positioning. If no monsters are hitting you, go and help take a monster from someone else. If there''s nothing else, let''s begin. Let''s aim to finish the boss this time," Lu Li said as he clapped his hands and announced for the battle to continue.


    As a commander, he had to pretend that he was confident, even if he knew that they still had to wipe another one or two times.


    One of the troublesome aspects of Marduk the Black was his Shadow Shield. Once Marduk the Black reached a certain amount of health, he would put a shield on himself. After this, he wouldn''t take any damage ¨C the players had to take out the shield first.


    The shield not only provided him with Defense, but also gave him a boost to his melee damage.


    If Lu Li wasn''t worried about getting caught, he would have asked all the Magic classes to stop dealing damage and let the physical damage classes do all the work. Then, the healers would just have to heal them the.


    In reality, the melee players all moved away once they saw the damage that they were taking, leaving the Magic classes to deal long range damage.


    Then, Marduk the Black''s damage quickly increased to the point where the three main tanks couldn''t withstand it anymore. Once all the tanks died, that would also mean another wipe.


    Marduk the Black''s shield actually absorbed magic attacks and transformed them to damage.


    The more damage the magic classes dealt, the more damage the Shadow Shield dealt to the players in return.


    This was a secret that could only be found through trial and error. If it wasn''t for that, Lu Li wouldn''t have had to go through so much trouble. He had plotted a few ways to secretly share his correct method with everyone.


    "It''s okay, Glory Capital wiped too. This time, we''ll try having the magic classes stop damaging and the melee classes deal damage instead."


    After they wiped again, Lu Li began to apply the strategies from reincarnation.


    The damage from the shield wasn''t deadly anymore to melee players after all the magic classes stopped dealing damage.


    "Haha, this is it! The game designers are so crafty!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted, clearly impressed by Lu Li.


    Whenever they ran into a tough situation, Sorrowless and Lu Li would both design a few different possible solutions. However, Sorrowless didn''t intend to have the magic classes stop at all.


    However, he couldn''t be blamed for this. There were so many bosses in Dawn with all sorts of different tactics, but Marduk the Black was probably the first one who could absorb magic damage and transform it into his own damage. Sorrowless probably didn''t even think remotely in that direction.


    After Marduk the Black''s health dropped below 50%, there was one Attribute of his that would be greatly boosted.


    He rode a Skeletal Warhorse at Darrowshire and was capable of going in and out of battle by himself due to his Lifesteal abilities. He would constantly drain the health of his opponents to heal himself, which was what kept him invincible.


    This began to test the damage output ability of players. At this point, the magic classes could finally start attacking again and fortunately, Lu Li''s team dealt enough damage to meet the margin. Although Marduk the Black''s heart dropped very slowly, it was consistent.


    The advantage that Glory Capital had gained from the hidden boss was taken away because of this one.


    "Wake up ¨C we have to pass this time."


    Lu Li didn''t just simply encourage everyone anymore. If they still couldn''t advance after they had gotten to this point, then it would be a waste of his team composition.

 1020 An Unwanted Sword

    "Such a shame! My sword!" The darkness faded from the eyes of Marduk the Black, as held his broken sword. If his sword was perfect, he wouldn''t have lost so easily.


    With this sigh, Ruling Sword had successfully defeated the fourth Boss in Scholomance.


    "Haha, skill points! I haven''t gotten a skill point in so long!" Azure Sea Breeze''s laughed.


    Scholomance was truly a worthwhile dungeon. The Bosses were different to the ones in Stratholme, which only chased after the tanks. This often caused Azure Sea Breeze to die and lose experience, but now he had received a skill point.


    He happily used it on one of his defense abilities and felt like his skin had grown another thick layer.


    Lu Li gave him the most disgusted look; there was no way he would admit that he was just jealous. On a side note, the four Bosses had given out 3 skill points in total. Why hadn''t he received a single one?


    As per usual, Remnant Dream approached the corpse.


    Ebon Hilt of Marduk ¨C a Dark Gold item, with high attack and a corrosive special effect. It seemed like a good weapon, one that an ordinary player could only dream of.


    If Lu Li had managed to lay his hands on this sword in his previous life, his problems would have been solved.


    But...


    "Hmm, how come no one has said anything? Who wants this sword?" Lu Li asked.


    "I''m a healer Paladin," Mu Qiu said, shrugging his shoulders. Even though he needed a certain amount of Attack from his weapons, his priority remained on healing.


    Meanwhile, Wandering was eyeballing the new weapon with disgust.


    "Mine isn''t too far away from this one, but it looks way better."


    "I''m used to double swords," Her Tear said as his eyes shifted.


    "Damn, why are you all looking at me?" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed as he jumped up. "Unless you guys aren''t deducting guild points for this, don''t pass me your junk. If anyone tries to force this on me, I''m gonna have a fight with them!"


    All the equipment distributed amongst this team wasn''t given out for free; they required guild points.


    Different levels and Attributes from the weapon would give it a different point value. The System also provided data, called Gear Points, to help players evaluate the loot. Usually, points were deducted based on this.


    The Ebon Hilt of Marduk was a level 50 Dark Gold weapon, but there was no way Azure Sea Breeze was going to take it.


    The others didn''t want it either and everyone else had no requirements for a single-handed sword. Hence, it was miserably forsaken.


    It could only end up in the guild storage, waiting until the day when someone would have enough points to claim it.


    The poor grew poorer while the rich got richer ¨C this was a prime example.


    "Death Knight Sabatons, Dark Gold equipment," Remnant Dream announced as she shared the data of the shoes with everyone.


    "Good stuff. I want it, I want it!" Azure Sea Breeze looked as if he was about to go up and snatch it.


    "You''re a defensive class ¨C why would you need a pair of shoes like this?" Moonlight wasn''t the type to talk. If it wasn''t for the fact that this pair of shoes was too tempting, he wouldn''t have jumped out to try and snatch them.


    The most valuable aspect of these shoes was the movement speed. They provided a 25% movement speed boost, which was the same as Lu Li''s Champion Boots.


    They also came with a jumping effect, which was useful for ambushes and escapes. With both speed and mobility, there were no better shoes for PVP.


    The distribution ended up being a competition between Moonlight and Her Tears.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering''s comments were completely ignored by Lu Li.


    "Share your guild point numbers to me. Don''t cheat ¨C show me the real numbers. I can check from my end," Lu Li warned.


    "There might be better things later. Do you have enough points?" Moonlight asked, worried for his competitor.


    "Yo, hard to imagine Moonlight would try and play mind games too. Xiaorou, don''t be scared. Do it, do it!" Azure Sea Breeze chanted, trying to stir the pot.


    In most teams, the leader would give a base price, and the others would bid on top of that.


    However, this would often end with two players fighting angrily, so Lu Li preferred to conduct the auction privately. All parties would put forward a number higher than the base price and whoever gave the bigger number would receive the item.


    The numbers were sent to Lu Li, who glanced at them and passed the shoes to Her Tears.


    "How many points?" Azure Sea Breeze asked keenly.


    "Moonlight 2000, Xiaorou 2333."


    Lu Li couldn''t bring himself to look at Moonlight''s desperate face. He probably thought that Her Tears would have listened to him and given out a low price. Who would have thought that he lost a pair of shoes, ones that were equivalent to a pair of Legendary shoes, with only a 300 point difference.


    "Haha, thank you Moonlight. I''ll lend it to you next time in the competition."


    Her Tears was overjoyed. He had used up nearly all the points that he had. If Moonlight really wanted to compete against him seriously, he had no chance at all. After all, Moonlight was a PVE player, but he also played in competitions and had plenty of points to spare.


    If Moonlight had asked around for Her Tears'' total points, there would be no way he could have lost that.


    "Glory Capital is still wiping..." Square Root 3 messaged. This made others feel sorry for them and also impressed with Lu Li''s directing abilities.


    "Find a way and sell the strategy to them," Lu Li said as he sent it over.


    "My God! Lu Li, what''s your problem?" Square Root 3 couldn''t believe his ears. Lu Li had to be crazy. There were only a few sentences sent over, but they were enough to save Glory Capital from their situation.


    "They''ll get there eventually; we might as well gain some profit from it," Lu Li explained honestly, then continued, "Giving it to Glory Capital isn''t all that bad either. First, it destroys the image of their celebrity players. Second, I''m also worried that he might take extreme procedures."


    Celebrity players were a concept that the community had just come up with.


    In the beginning, all of these players were just nerdy men who were broke.


    Then, clubs began to form and the value of these competitors began to rise with their income, but they were still regarded the same.


    It wasn''t until later when many industries began to collapse and gamers began to increase by a huge number that the new gaming industry formed and the concept of celebrity players began to emerge.

 1021 Selling a Guide

    Lu Li didn''t have any plans to challenge the industry, and destroying the concept of celebrity players wouldn''t do him any good either. As such, Glory Capital could lose, but they couldn''t lose too badly.


    If Lu Li killed the final boss while Sorrowless and the others were still stuck on Marduk the Black, then it would be a real embarrassment.


    It would be a shock to the industry''s core.


    Square Root 3 was a smart person; he immediately came to his senses and took action.


    Money!


    Of course, he would sell it anonymously. If he sold it under the name of Ruling Sword, it would look like an insult and Glory Capital would take offense from it, making life a lot harder than it already was.


    After trading the information with a few players, a dorky-looking Thief appeared before Chopsticks, who was an executive of Glory Capital.


    Chopsticks refused to believe it, but he wasn''t completely dumb either, so he still came to ask about the situation.


    "You say you have a guide, a guide for Marduk the Black. How is this even possible?"


    "My boss gave it to me. It''s up to you if you believe it!"


    As Square Root 3 had instructed, the dorky-looking Thief didn''t appear too eager either, and tried his best to look arrogant. You had to look arrogant to have others believe that you had something worthwhile in your hands.


    "Where''d you get the guide from. How many bosses are included?" Chopsticks asked reluctantly as he sunk back on his chair.


    "You guys have done the first three, and we only have the fourth one now. There might be some for the bosses to come after, but what''s important is what Glory Capital is willing to offer. Gu Gu Mercenary Group only talks with money," the Thief said confidently.


    Chopsticks was still in his chair, but his spine straightened up to this information as he asked without changing his expression, "How much money do you guys want?"


    If this Thief said that they had a guide for all the bosses in Scholomance, Chopsticks would have thrown him out immediately. This was because it would be impossible ¨C Dawn wouldn''t give up their ambition for such a small amount of profit.


    However, since the Thief only had the guide for the fourth boss, there might be some to come after.


    Could this be someone from Ruling Sword selling the intel? This person also had to be someone who had entered the dungeon. Apparently, Lu Li had brought another five new players into his team for this fifteen-man dungeon.


    Mu Qiu, Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat were all competitors, so there was no way they would sell any information out.


    However, there were still two unfamiliar faces ¨C one was Her Tears and the other was Jaweika. As an executive of the intel department for Glory Capital, he had their information on record.


    Jaweika was good with PVE, and everyone knew how useful a Dark Priest could be for a team.


    However, Her Tears was questionable. Apparently, his equipment was excellent, his levels were up there as well and he had a passion for PVP. It would be hard to imagine someone like this who wouldn''t be interested in competing in a match.


    If he had brought up a request and got turned down, would he have held some sort of grudge?


    The Thief that had come to share information said nothing at all ¨C the other details were filled in by Chopsticks himself. Square Root 3 had run into Chopsticks before, and had even done a dungeon run together too. He knew what Chopsticks was like.


    Chopsticks was someone who thought that everyone was plotting against him, and was very imaginative.


    The dorky Thief could feel his heart on the edge of exploding, but he still replied calmly, "If Glory Capital is really sincere about it, then Glory Capital should do the talking."


    "Hehe, you sure know how to bargain," Chopsticks laughed in slight disgust.


    He hated those who betrayed their own guild. Usually, he wouldn''t even waste his breath with these kinds of people.


    "I just want to remind you that every single minute you waste here will be another minute of disappointment to the public. Ruling Sword is probably knocking on the front door of the fifth boss by now."


    The dorky Thief sure knew how to act; this was why he was sent over in the first place.


    "..." After some silence, Chopsticks finally gave a number.


    "A million!"


    The Thief''s eyes glistened, but he quickly covered it up, then shook his head and said, "No, at least two million. My friend and I are risking our livelihoods for this."


    "Fine, two million then. Give us the guide, I''ll transfer you the money after it''s done," Chopsticks agreed.


    The dorky Thief''s expression changed from surprise to bitterness and regret. If he had asked for five million, perhaps Chopsticks would still have agreed.


    Square Root 3 had said before that he could have 1% of the money as commission.


    He didn''t doubt the credits of Glory Capital and Chopsticks, so the dorky Thief was quick to pass out the guide.


    "****"


    Chopsticks couldn''t imagine that the strategy would be so simple.


    "Don''t let your Mages hit the shield"


    It was so simple, yet Glory Capital had wiped countless times in front of millions of people.


    It was so simple, yet this shameless person before him had taken his two million.


    However, he was still rational and he knew what was important.


    Before Sorrowless received the intel, he felt like something was blurry at the back of his mind, that something wasn''t right. However, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn''t figure it out.


    After he received the words, he felt an instant sense enlightenment.


    He had thought that something was wrong with the shield ¨C the damage of the shield just rose higher and higher in time. There was no way the game designers would design something so powerful without a weakness.


    After this problem was solved, there was no way that Glory Capital would continue to stick around the same spot. They quickly killed the fourth boss, but because it wasn''t the First Clear, they only received a Dark Gold equip and two Gold equips.


    Chopsticks received news from the other end too. He took a deep look at the dorky Thief, and for the first time, asked for his name.


    "Oh, right, what''s your name?"


    "Just call me Streaking," the dorky Thief answered with a giggle. His real ID was Streaking Under the Moon.


    "Give me your account; I''ll transfer you the money now."


    Chopsticks sent him a friend request too. Although he didn''t like this person, he knew how important they were.


    From him, he could continue to receive intel about Ruling Sword. In fact, he might even be able to control Ruling Sword through this "Streaking" someday.

 1022 A Different Approach

    When Ras Frostwhisper casted Frost Armour on himself, Lonesome Flower felt defeated.


    His Frost Mage skills were basically useless against the Boss and he was dealing less damage than the Warlock pets. He felt ashamed when he saw that his sister was dealing more damage than him.


    The rest of the team wasn''t doing as bad as Lonesome Flower, but things weren''t going well either.


    "This is impossible; there''s got to be another way."


    At this rate, they would need the entire party to be at least Lv55 or above to defeat Ras Frostwhisper.


    Lu Li saw that the time was right and guided his team members to think from a different point of view.


    "Like I''ve said before, the gaming developers wouldn''t design a Boss that''s impossible to defeat. There must be something that will either help us deal more damage or make the Boss weaker. As soon as we find whatever that is, we''ll have a higher chance of defeating him."


    They began recalling the items that they had come across throughout the dungeon while the others searched for clues in the Boss room.


    "Quest! What about the quest?" Hachi Chan finally figured it out; Lu Li had been waiting for her to say this.


    Everyone began looking at the quest line given out by Eva Sarkhoff before entering the dungeon. After killing Kirtonos the Herald and Doctor Theolen Krastinov, there were new instructions for the next quest.


    It even mentioned Ras Frostwhisper''s undead body which meant that there was a high chance that this would give them the next clue.


    "Let''s stop fighting him for now and do the next quest," Lu Li suggested.


    Everyone was exhausted from being bullied by Ras Frostwhisper and as soon as they heard Lu Li''s suggestion, they all agreed to take a break from the Boss. Doing the next quest was better than wasting their time trying to kill the Boss and potentially falling behind Glory Capital.


    "Thank you for burning away our remains," Eva Sarkhoff thanked them sincerely. Their ghostly bodies appeared to be slowly fading away, meaning that they were closer to leaving this world forever.


    It was hard to say whether their current state was good or bad because there were countless Mages and Sorcerers in the past who had tried to turn themselves into ghosts in order to ''live'' forever.


    "No need to thank us," Hachi Chan said as she shook her head. "Anything else you''d like us to do?"


    "Thank you, child; you are so kind and cute."


    Eva Sarkhoff the lady ghost wanted to give Hachi Chan a hug, but she didn''t have the physical body to do so.


    She passed on a Spectral Essence to Hachi Chan and instructed, "Take this with you and you can see the dead in the town. If you need any help then you can ask the major. The major is located at¡­"


    She had explained everything that she wanted her to do in as much detail as Hachi Chan could have asked for.


    The first-time members were stunned by the NPC''s special treatment towards Hachi Chan.


    Jaweika was in disbelief and decided to speak to the NPC. Eva Sarkhoff glanced at him and coldly said, "Take the Spectral Essence and walk around town; maybe you''ll find out something."


    Jaweka was almost in tears and decided to always stick around Hachi Chan in the future for quests.


    With the Spectral Essence in their hands, the details of the real world became blurry, revealing a world of terrifying ghosts and spirits.


    Ghost World!


    There were those that had been wrongfully killed, those that had given their lives up for their country, and those used in unethical experiments. Men and women, young and old, people of different racial backgrounds and even some powerful elementals, they had all ended up becoming ghosts, walking around aimlessly and without purpose.


    Normally, Hachi Chan was hopeless in finding her direction, but with the help of her party, they managed to not get lost and made their way to the second level of Scholomance. The mobs here had been cleared before, but with the Spectral Essence in their hands, there was still a room full of people.


    This was obviously a bar.


    People would drink and eat here, boasting about their adrenaline-filled adventures while poets and singers would recite and sing their songs to the people.


    "Mr. Mayor." Hachi Chan saw her target straight away.


    "Child, how can you see me?" the kind old mayor asked as he bent down and rubbed her head with his ghostly hand.


    "Someone gave me this and I came to find you," Hachi Chan answered as she opened her palms and showed off her Spectral Essence.


    "Put it away, put it away!" the mayor said, then took a step back and coughed, "Why were you looking for me?"


    Hachi Chan did as the others told her to, changing the topic and asking, "Does Ras Frostwhisper really have an undead body?"


    "Haha, there''s no such thing as an undying witch. They just instilled their soul into something valuable to them." The ghostly mayor seemed to know a lot.


    "Then how do we find what''s valuable to Ras Frostwhisper? Where would he put it?" Hachi Chan wasn''t very hopeful because she knew she was asking for too much.


    As expected, the mayor shook his head.


    "I don''t know much about Ras Frostwhisper, but I suggest that you start from what he likes and his childhood. Most of the best times in a person''s life are had during their childhood¡­"


    The mayor''s instructions were actually specific enough.


    Lu Li and the others exited out of the dungeon and headed towards Stromgarde, where Ras Frostwhisper had grown up.


    "What does Ras Frostwhisper like?" Hachi Chan asked.


    "Power ¨C endless power and magic," Azure Sea Breeze said, overanalyzing.


    "Books," Lu Li interrupted him and gave the right answer.


    "Let''s go to a place that stores books then."


    The castle library had been cleared out, leaving behind rows of empty shelves.


    If this place was full of books, it would take them ages to find the right one.


    In reality, Ras'' valuable item was in the fireplace.


    When he was little, Ras would read books alone in the library. For some reason he left halfway through a book that he was enjoying and when he returned, it was nowhere to be found.


    He would often think about the stories in that book and was curious about how it ended.


    Many years later, when the Lich King took control of his body, his life flashed across his eyes and he realized that he had placed it in the fireplace. The weakness of his soul was taken away, leaving behind The Lich, Ras Frostwhisper.

 1023 Difficulties

    After searching for a while, Lu Li accidentally stumbled upon a book in the cracks of the fireplace ¨C Ras Frostwhisper''s Keepsake. The System then notified them that they had completed the quest.


    "Ras Frostwhisper''s Keepsake: It holds young master Ras'' real and simple side."


    The description was simple, but it was a usable item.


    This was the key to defeating Ras Frostwhisper. With this item, they have a much higher chance of succeeding. However, even with this advantage, the Lich was still incredibly powerful.


    Frostwhisper was a very beautiful name, but the skill that it referred to was extremely terrifying.


    Frost Whisper was the advanced version of Frost Mage''s Frost Nova.


    Frost Whisper: Freeze all enemies in a 30-metre radius. Frozen enemies can explode under absolute coldness. Surrounding units are damaged; movement speed and attack speed are slowed.


    Attack speed referred to both auto attacks and skill casting time, as well as skill cooldown time.


    Now, they stood before Ras Frostwhisper again. Apparently, Sorrowless had finally sent out another team to do the quest after being wiped twice. There were tens of thousands of players in Glory Capital, yet not a single one of them thought of doing the quest until after they had been wiped twice.


    Lu Li wanted to see how they were progressing with finding the Keepsake at Stromgarde.


    At first, the group of players that was sent to find the keepsake was ranting at the gaming designers on the forums.


    Lu Li approached Ras Frostwhisper carefully and tested his aggro range; the others were standing as far away as possible.


    Fortunately, he had done this before in his past life and was skilled at it.


    "What is that book," Ras Frostwhisper murmured.


    As he said this, he walked over towards Lu Li, who immediately ran very far away. He turned around as Ras Frostwhisper picked up the small book.


    The book returned to its original owner and he began reading it over again.


    It wasn''t very thick, so Ras Frostwhisper quickly finished the story.


    "It was a tragedy; I feel bad for the people. Maybe death was the best ending to the book. But where do I end?" the Lich pondered.


    He must have come to the realization of who he used to be ¨C otherwise, he would be hopeless.


    Ras Frostwhisper had become a lot weaker than before. Lu Li patted Azure Sea Breeze on the shoulders and prompted, "What are you looking at? Go."


    Azure Sea Breeze hesitated and wondered if he had wronged Lu Li in any way recently, but but charged towards the boss with his shield anyway.


    Lu Li wasn''t messing with him this time because Ras was dealing around a quarter less damage than before and Mu Qiu could keep him at a comfortable HP by himself.


    -164!


    This was Lu Li''s damage and it was from an auto attack. He was doing almost twice as much damage as before.


    -230!


    Lonesome Flower sighed. He still wasn''t the No.1 DPS in the party like usual, but at least he was doing more damage than two digits now.


    Frostbolt was the most basic Mage skill with a casting time, meaning that it should deal a lot more damage than a Thief skill. However, Ras Frostwhisper still had very strong frost-resistance in spite of his mid-life crisis.


    -677!


    This was Lu Li''s Enhanced Sinister Strike, which dealt a ridiculous amount of damage. If this was used on a player, it would take out almost a third of their HP.


    Since Lu Li had already learned enhanced Sinister Strike, he could learn two more enhanced skills.


    While he did not have the most Enhanced skills, he definitely had the most useful skill set for a Thief.


    Now that the Tank would survive and the DPS classes were doing enough damage, they just needed a strategy.


    Ras Frostwhisper''s main skill was Frostbolt, but this was not like the normal kind. It was a multi-target skill called Frostbolt Volley. Each Frostbolt dealt an insane amount of damage to the squishier classes and each volley sent the team into chaos.


    This put a lot of pressure on the healers.


    There was nothing Lu Li could do either because Ras Frostwhisper was a challenging Boss for the party. There weren''t any other shortcuts or strategies that would make the fight any easier.


    March Rain had many more AOE healing skills, but the most that they covered was five players. As such, there was a lot of pressure on Hachi Chan to cover March Rain. Normally, March Rain was able to cover the entire party while Hachi Chan had an easy job of healing whoever was left out. However, when the Boss fights were difficult, Hachi Chan had to step up her game.


    Fortunately, she had been practicing and was no longer an inexperienced newbie.


    They were most afraid of a chain attack, which unfortunately hit Sesame Rice Ball Even with his defensive buffs up, he still wasn''t able to stay alive.


    "Keep going ¨C don''t stop. Stay alive for as long as you can."


    Lu Li did not order them to stop this time. He knew that Ras Frostwhisper would be a difficult Boss to defeat and he wanted everyone to experience this so that they would have a better chance at the next attempt if they were to fail this time.


    "Dodge!" Lu Li yelled as Ras threw a few more Frostbolts towards them.


    As everyone was running away, he added, "Eight yards! Make sure to be at least eight yards away from the Frostbolts!"


    It was a bit too late as the Frostbolts exploded on the ground where they landed. Unfortunately, two more players were killed ¨C Sakura Memories and Hachi Chan.


    The ones who weren''t killed immediately were frozen in place for three seconds.


    This was the hardest stage of the Boss fight and around 60% of teams would get stuck on it for a few days. This was only the first stage and only the strongest teams would make it to the second.


    Lu Li had attempted Scholomance with other strangers in his past life because he didn''t belong to a guild. There were very few teams that could make it past the first stage and they would call it quits after being wiped multiple times.


    It was also because of Scholomance that he began studying and learning how to be a good shot caller in the hopes that he could lead a powerful team one day.

 1024 Stirring the Po

    Shortly afterwards, the fifteen people that were in the squad were halved. Even Mu Qiu was killed because he was focused on healing the Main Tank and could not get away. Lu Li had to yell for the healing to stop after he saw that it was having no effect.


    "How''s Sorrowless going?" Lu Li asked.


    "Let me have a look," Azure Sea Breeze said, then started laughing, "They''re still looking for the remnant or whatever. These guys are so dumb. So many people looking for it and yet they still can''t find it. Even we found it in a few minutes."


    Lu Li was speechless and really wanted to tell him, "If it wasn''t for me, you would still be here looking for that thing too."


    As of now, they had only taken three hours to reach the sixth Boss. This was quicker than what Lu Li had expected. Had they not wiped a couple of times, they would have finished it in two hours.


    However, Lu Li estimated that they had taken around one hour for Ras Frostwhisper, which went to show just how difficult he was.


    They could not break through to phase two, but it was still better than their first attempt. The first two snowball bombs did not kill many people, but the third was caught them off guard, so not many people could dodge it.


    After wiping the third time, they finally entered phase two. Besides the skills used in phase one, phase two added a Fear skill.


    This made it much more difficult as the Fear rendered the players incapable of dodging the snowballs. Unless the Priest could dispel the Fear in time, they would also find it extremely difficult to dodge.


    "To hell with this. There''s no way that we can fight," Azure Sea Breeze cursed as he sat while his equipment was repaired by Lu Li''s robot.


    This was already the fifth wipe. Their equipment was running out of durability, and if it wasn''t getting repaired, it would be in danger of dropping Attributes.


    "Sorrowless and co finally found the quest item, after the aid of millions of eyes scavenging for it," Wandering laughed with mischief.


    "They''ll realise just how strong it is." After Azure Sea Breeze thought about Glory Capital, he calmed down.


    No matter how difficult Ras Frostwhisper was to fight, they needed to endure this.


    Lu Li let everyone rest for a while, then found a clean place to them to eat the Dumplings that they had saved up.


    Having ice resistance and a boost in movement speed was important in this fight.


    "Should we still sell the clear strategy to Glory Capital after clearing this?" Square Root asked in the guild channel. He knew that the group was having difficulties, but he had confidence in Lu Li''s abilities to guide them.


    "They won''t buy it," Lu Li replied.


    "Why not?" Square Root thought that the buying and selling of strategies was normal, since the other group wouldn''t get the First Clears anyway.


    Now, the keen-eyed could see that this was a competition between Sorrowless and Lu Li. Everyone was curious about the differences in their skills. If the skill gap was not large, then it would be a battle between the best. However, if there was a large gap in their skills¡­


    "It''s common sense to dodge the snowballs. Why would they want to buy something so easy to figure out?" Lu Li asked.


    If the strategy was just to dodge snowballs, then it didn''t really have any value. If they wanted to sell it, they should have sold it earlier for a few hundred thousand.


    "Will you guys be able to finish before today?" Square Root was a little worried.


    "We should be finishing up soon. If there''s nothing more to say, we''re going to start."


    After cutting the chat off, Lu Li directed his squad into battle.


    Square Root Three had already stopped training, since he was too busy with guild-related administration. Since Lu Li was the main leader or Ruling Sword, so even if Square Root Three was killed a hundred times, they wouldn''t lose much.


    After dealing with the documents and guild affairs, he met his own assistant.


    The assistant was not hired based on gaming experience, but his ability to manage different things in the guild, such as the promotion and advertisement material for professionals.


    "Brother Square Root, there''s people spying on us again. Even Bureau Chief Huang has started to be restless. I hope we can deal with this quickly," the assistant said quickly.


    "Bureau Chief Huang? Ignore him. He''s not worth much," Square Root instantly blew it off.


    "It''s hard to say that this won''t snowball into something bigger. Why don''t we just consider financing? It''ll be better in the long run and has a high reward. From the way we''re going about now, we won''t make any substantial improvements," the assistant said in frustration.


    "I already said not to raise this anymore. If you''re unhappy with this, I''m not going to stop you from leaving."


    Square Root was a little angry. As someone who had accepted this job of management, the assistant liked to use scientific methods to analyse things. He thought that if Ruling Sword was willing to accept investments from outside, they could become as big as Glory Capital was in as short as 3 years.


    As for what Ruling Sword had done to Glory Capital, he did not think that it would shake them at all.


    He sighed, then asked, "What do you propose then?"


    He did not want to keep pursuing this. He knew that his position in the guild was easily replaced by others, since there were many that wanted his position.


    "Keep trying to stir the romance between Lu Li and Water Fairy," Square Root said as he rubbed his nose.


    "Are you sure? What if there aren''t anything between them? We don''t want to make things go south."


    He did not think that the high-class Water Fairy would take a liking to Lu Li.


    In his eyes, Lu Li greatly depended on this game to survive, while Water Fairy poured her money into it.


    He thought that Lu Li wanted to get close to Water Fairy because of her wealth. However, he feared that once the helmets were removed and their real identities were shown, her family would hate Lu Li.


    "Gaming has already satisfied Water Fairy enough. Lu Li is sufficient for her, while others aren''t." Square Root analyzed as he played with a gold coin in his fingers. "Even Sorrowless can''t fulfil her expectations, because he was beaten by Lu Li. As long as Lu Li is undefeatable, he will remain special in her eyes."


    He was speechless at these gaming freaks.


    Square Root did not want to bother with him and continued to play with the gold coin. After his assistant left, he then took a deep sigh.


    Maybe he was right. Maybe it was difficult for Lu Li and Water Fairy to be together.

 1025 Losing His Voice

    One wipe after another.


    Ruling Sword and Glory Capital were fighting the Boss at the same pace. Both sides began to adapt quickly to the rhythm of the Boss and gradually improved. From not being able to reach phase two, they were now planning to advance into phase three.


    However, while Ruling Sword was fighting in phase three, Glory Capital had only scratched the surface of phase two.


    They had fallen too far behind while fighting the 5th and 6th Boss, especially because of the time that they had spent to look for the remnant. During this time, Lu Li and his squad had already fought the Boss thrice.


    Lu Li forgot the number of restarts that they had gone through. He was beginning to lose his voice as a result of this, but had prepared a few lozenges to sooth his throat.


    Now, they were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but were wiped at Ras Frostwhisper''s signature skill: Frost Whisper.


    Frost Whisper: Freeze all enemies in a 30-metre radius. Frozen enemies can explode under absolute coldness. Surrounding units are damaged and movement speed slowed.


    This skill''s damage was similar to the snowballs, which had the capability to instantly kill players.


    However, the dodging for this skill was different.


    Frost Whisper could not be dodged, because it affected a 30-metre radius, while the players had to stand within a 20-metre radius to be able to damage the Boss.


    During this time, two players needed to be sacrificed by standing four metres from each other to maintain aggro.


    Otherwise, more players would die.


    To do this, they needed the members to be spread around the battlefield.


    If two players stood too close to each other, the other players needed to flee from them to minimize the damage.


    They tried this strategy, which worked to an extent. However, the second time they executed it, the Boss killed four people while at extremely low HP, so they just gave up afterwards.


    Not every Boss would deal critical strikes.


    This time, however, everyone performed well ¨C not even one player died. Lu Li still had two revives to use, so he was filled with hope.


    "Be careful about positioning since Frost Whisper can come any time now. Wandering, observe the Boss'' movements. Memories, stop DPS for a bit. Walk three metres to your right; it''s too dangerous where you were. Moonlight, you''re the same. Stop DPS for a bit, then retreat four metres. Yeah, just stay there."


    Lu Li was feeling extremely anxious for this Boss.


    Truthfully, they had focused more on melee damage for this Boss fight, so it was harder to spread out. If they actually did spread out, there would be no more DPS.


    They could only let Lu Li analyse the situation by his experience and judge for when the Boss would unleash his skills. Both Lu Li and Wandering retreated a little, since they did not want to make mistakes to risk more DPS.


    In his previous life, the Boss was not this hard to deal with. Each player only needed to spread out by three metres, so the melee classes had no problem with DPSing.


    However, all of this meant nothing, since they were going for the First Clear.


    "Mamma-mia! I''m a little nervous!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled.


    As he said this, Ras Frostwhisper began to utter a chant. Suddenly, a frosty air surrounded the chamber.


    "Remnant Dream and Kitty Likes Meat move away from March Rain!" Lu Li shouted at the top of his voice. "Other people, don''t move! Lonesome Flower, hurry up with the skill!"


    If this was the rookie Lonesome Flower, he would not have reacted in time.


    However, the moment Lu Li yelled a second time, he reacted and instantly activated the skill. When Frost Whisper was activated, he was only 2 metres away from Moonlight.


    "Wow, your throat''s not hurting from all that yelling?" Wandering was surprised.


    Lu Li''s habit of commanding was a relaxed one since he was not pressured from getting the First Clear. They had time to kill anyway.


    "You think I want to yell? Lonesome Flower, you just got deducted by 5 points. Learn from your mistakes next time," Lu Li said in slight annoyance.


    "Alright."


    Lonesome Flower knew that he had done something wrong; he panicked the moment he heard his sister''s name. He didn''t usually make mistakes when he was focused on the task at hand.


    "Focus. I''m going to initiate the countdown for the snowballs; dodge to the best of your abilities. Snowballs this time! Snowballs!"


    People began to lose concentration after a long time in an Instance Dungeon. This fatigue confused players about the incoming abilities, which had resulted in a wipe before. If they did not clear it this time, Lu Li planned to rest for 30 minutes.


    "Snowball!" Fat Monkey yelled quickly.


    "We''ll rest for 30 minutes after this."


    As soon as they heard this, everyone began to focus. They were tired, but they knew that today''s First Clear was important. Even the high schoolers were enduring it, so no one could complain.


    Azure Sea Breeze took this opportunity to bargain.


    "Increase the guild points given! Please!"


    "Alright. If we clear it this try, then the rewards will be increased. Everyone will get 200 gold packets," Lu Li said, deciding to motivate them even more with the additional rewards.


    As of now, the Boss only had 30% HP left.


    The snowballs flew erratically after Lu Li finished his countdown and few began to fall towards the ground.


    "Hachi Chan! Turn into a leopard and dodge these!" Lu Li was terrified for her after seeing three snowballs surround her.


    She was valuable to the team, so she could not die. Not only was her Tranquillity important, but she also had Revives and was a Healer. Lu Li would gladly sacrifice a strong DPS player for Hachi Chan.


    Hachi Chan was also surprised at her perilous situation.


    She had followed Lu Li for a long time, so she had developed a habit of instantly heeding his commands, especially when she was in a state of high concentration.


    She took Lu Li''s instructions a step further, and drastically increased her movement speed even more.

 1026 Death’s Clutch

    "Good, good, good, everyone did well this time."


    Lu Li said ''good'' three times in a row, which was a first in his commanding career.


    The Boss'' HP was about to fall below 10%; it probably only had one Ice Puck and Frost Nova left. As long as there were no major incidents, Lu Li was confident they could defeat this Boss that had wasted almost two hours of their time.


    "Should we save our best skills for the end?" Wandering asked.


    "Yes, save your ultimate skills, and just keep fighting consistently for now. Jaweika, help everyone regenerate their mana; you don''t need to focus on dealing damage. Her Tears, use your stronger shields if anything happens."


    Paladins didn''t have such an ability; it was actually a special effect of his equipment. It gave a shield to his teammates and provided a 20% damage reduction.


    "When should I use it?" Her Tears asked, suddenly feeling an enormous amount pressure on his shoulders.


    Previously, he was still only a small part of the team. He wasn''t familiar with Lu Li''s way of commanding and couldn''t cooperate well. All he needed to do now was to not make any mistakes, and cast the effect during a crucial moment.


    In fact, PVP players could easily be converted into PVE players. Most of them could adapt well ¨C after all, their fighting awareness would be excellent.


    However, the opposite was not true. PVE players were not necessarily suited for PVP.


    After the Frostbolt Rain, all the players had less than half HP. The ground was already beginning to freeze over as Ras Frostwhisper began to whisper her annoying incantations.


    Lu Li calmly looked at Hachi Chan and said, "Cast Tranquility. Jaweika and Kitty Likes Meat, you are too close. Keep a three-yard distance away from it. Alright, stop. If you don''t have the range to attack it, then stop attacking. Everyone else, don''t move."


    After all this, they still lost two players in this wave.


    If the Game Company wanted to make this Boss even more difficult, it wouldn''t be hard to. For example, in Stage 3, if there was a Fear skill cast with Frost Nova that would disrupt the players'' formation, this would result in even more casualties.


    However, Scholomance wasn''t the hardest Instance Dungeon before level 60 and Ras Frostwhisper wasn''t the last Boss.


    They also always needed to give the players some way to defeat the Boss.


    "10% left. Hachi, you revive Memories, and I''ll revive Dreamy. Next time, don''t use skills that make you move ¨C just fight on the spot."


    Lu Li saw that the Boss'' Ice Pucks were now ending and began to revive the two girls who died.


    There were fifteen players and the Boss was at 10% HP. It would only be able to cast one more Frostbolt Rain, and if they could survive through that, it would be dead.


    "Watch out for the Berserk. Memories, wait for that before you cast Bloodthirst. Her Tears, get ready to cast the shield on my command."


    Lu Li stared at the HP of the Boss. He hadn''t relaxed in the slightest, even though victory was in sight.


    "The Lich King has given me eternal life; how can you mortals think you stand a chance?" Ras Frostwhisper cackled. It was hard to imagine him as young aristocrat, sitting among a pile of books and smiling gently.


    "Bloodlust!" Lu Li yelled at almost the same time the Boss went Berserk, prompting Sakura Memories to decisively use her ability.


    Her Tears also cast the shield while Azure Sea Breeze was being attacked by the Boss. The others either


    cast their damage reduction skills or took potions while they were getting hit by the Frostbolt Rain. Fortunately, they didn''t suffer any further casualties.


    At 3% HP, Ras Frostwhisper threw the last Ice Puck.


    "Increase your damage output and don''t hide!" Lu Li stared at the Ice Puck that was about to explode and cast the special effect on the ring that made him immune.


    The Berserk Ras Frostwhisper''s Defence was lowered, and with everyone''s ultimate skills saved up, the final result was no surprise.


    There were a few casualties during this wave, but the Boss'' HP was finally depleted.


    The surviving players received a bunch of EXP, but there were six player who had unfortunately died.


    However, they died didn''t feel sad at all. Both Jaweika and Moonlight were both awarded skill points.


    "Go loot the Boss; we can rest after that," Azure Sea Breeze ushered. He was sitting on the ground and watching Remnant Dream.


    Remnant Dream was tired, but still she still wanted to loot the Boss for more equipment.


    "Wow, Epic, it''s an Epic!" Remnant Dream was tired but still almost jumped up with excitement. After fighting six Bosses in Scholomance, this was the first time they had received Epic equipment.


    Alanna''s Embrace, an Epic Mage equipment!


    Because there was a special effect of Burning Skill + 1, this item was characterized as a fire equip. The players could not understand why the Ice Mage Ras Frostwhisper would drop fire equipment; he hadn''t used a single fire skill from beginning until the end.


    Fat Monkey nearly fainted on the spot and was awoken with a kick.


    "I''ve finally seen an Epic equipment; I will finally have Epic equipment. Dreamy, my life is yours. Your wish is my command¡­"


    "Why would I want your life? Just give me a red packet," Remnant Dream said, shooting him down.


    "Hey Dreamy¡­ aren''t I worth more than a few gold coins?'' Fat Monkey was heartbroken.


    "The attributes are pretty good; you should find a gem to go with it."


    Lu Li knew the attributes of this item without even looking at it. Unfortunately, it was a level 55 item, so it had to be equipped with a Level Reducing Gem.


    In fact, there were many Ice Mages and female players who like this purple robe. The most valuable part of this item wasn''t its attributes, but its appearance!


    The same robe would have a different appearance on both genders. Alanna''s Embrace was elegant on the male players, but it was very fashionable for the female Mages.


    "Dreamy, loot another Epic item for me!" Fat Monkey urged as he immediately sent a red packet.


    The second item was a Leather Armor forThieves called Death''s Clutch.


    Death''s Clutch (Armor): Armor 55, Agility +40, Strength +24, Critical Hit +20%, Special Effect 1: Backstab +1, Special Effect 2: After Cheap Shot, gain a 50% damage reduction shield. The effect lasts against up to three skills. Special Effect 3: Exile ¨C prevents the target from making any actions for 2 seconds. The target is made invincible and only one target can be exiled at any time. The target must also be a lower level than the user. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 268/268.

 1027 A Smooth Trip

    This was indeed a strong item. It had three excellent special effects, with the third one being particularly powerful.


    Although two seconds wasn''t a long time, it was a flexible skill once mastered.


    The second special effect was specific to Cheap Shot. It had a narrow scope of application and only had a 50% chance of being effective, so it was a little unreliable.


    Lu Li''s current equipment was three times better than the Voodoo Shoulderguards.


    Voodoo Shoulderguards (Superior Gold)*3: Armor 35, Agility +30, Strength +20, Fire Resistance +10%, Special Effect 1: Increase the initiative of the user to make actions, Special Effect 2: Backhand Backstab damage increased by 25%. Equipment Requirements: Level 40. Durability 82/82.


    These Shoulderpads weren''t bad, but their level was just too low and the Attributes were also far weaker than the other high-level equips.


    Lu Li had already intended to get rid of his Voodoo set and replace it with these pants. He wanted to find as many items that were above level 50 as possible. There were two Dark Gold items in the guild that had been dropped by a Wild Boss some time ago, but no one was using them. He intended to use his guild points to borrow those items for some time.


    However, he needed to find more Level Reducing Gems again.


    The market prices were gradually becoming inflated. In addition to the official push for this to happen, wealthy players were investing more and more of their money into the game.


    However, Dawn still had to try to make the game fair. So, on one hand, it reduced the drop rates of Level Reducing Gems, but also reduced the drop rate of high-level exquisite equipment. Currently, unless it was for a First Clear of an Instance Dungeon or for defeating a Wild Boss, any high-level equipment acquired by the players was not very worthwhile.


    However, the third item that dropped was still a Dark Gold item. Ras Froswhisper was so difficult that it was no surprise that it dropped an Epic and two Dark Gold items, especially considering that this was a 15-man Instance Dungeon.


    Freezing Lich Robe!


    This was an exquisite Dark Gold Robe with excellent Attributes and a Frost Nova Skill +1 bonus which doubled its value. Many Mages would soon be equipped with this Freezing Lich Robe. Even if they couldn''t acquire the Dark Gold version, they would still use the Gold version.


    The Gold Freezing Lich Robes provide a weaker set of Attributes, but still increased Frost Nova''s level.


    Lonesome Flower took the robes, but they weren''t actually the most suitable for him. After all, Frost Nova was a much more valuable skill in PVP.


    The fourth item was the Shivery Handwraps, a Gold level Mage equipment. This was also given to Lonesome Flower, who was the only Ice Mage in the party. The Special Effect of a 5% damage increase to skills wasn''t enough to attract Fat Monkey''s interest. The two other Warlocks also sighed with disappointment.


    The fifth item was Bonechill Hammer, a Gold item that was given to Sakura Memories.


    The next was an Alchemy Formula for the Super Energy Elixir. This potion increased Spell Damage and was given to Sesame Rice Ball. This was likely the first Super Energy Elixir recipe found in the game.


    With this potion, all professions that relied on skill damage would receive a buff.


    Of course, it would be impossible to sell this Potion any time soon. Sesame Rice Ball would only sell them to members of the guild, and not at a heavily discounted price either. After all, they couldn''t treat their high-level alchemist poorly.


    The other drops were just rare materials and gems.


    The third Deed was also completed here, which was a relatively simple task.


    From the live broadcast of Glory Capital, Lu Li could see that they had entered the third stage. However, Lu Li didn''t seem to be concerned with their progress; it would be a miracle if Glory Capital was able to complete the third stage today.


    After a half-hour of rest, Ruling Sword re-entered the Instance Dungeon with revitalized spirits.


    As Lu Li had previously predicted, Glory Capital was having a lot of trouble dealing with Ras Frostwhisper in the third stage.


    However, he and the others were going to keep pushing ahead!


    The seventh Boss was Instructor Malicia. She was dubbed by the players as one of three beautiful woman of Scholomance because of her appearance. Being born as a Blood Elf and living as a Priest of Silvermoon City, she died in battle against the undead. However, she was later revived and became a member of the Scourge.


    While she was reasonably powerful, she was nothing like Ras Frostwhisper.


    Malicia lived in the icy Scholomance with only one little squirrel by her side. The arrival of the adventurers was perhaps even a relief for her.


    Within ten minutes, Ruling Sword had already defeated the Boss.


    A Dark Gold Warrior item that was dropped was given to Azure Sea Breeze as its Attributes were far better than anything he had equipped.


    The eighth Boss, Lorekeeper Polkelt, wasn''t difficult either. Lu Li received a level 50 Cloak of Eventide, which was a Dark Gold item. Its Attributes weren''t that great, but it still far outclassed the Voodoo Cloak he had.


    Cloak of Eventide (Dark Gold): Amour 55, Agility +40, Constitution +25, Special Effect 1: Movement Speed +10%, Special Effect 2: Instant Cast, release a smoke bomb with a radius of three yards. This increases the evasion rate of the caster by 30% within the smoke. 3 second duration, 2 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Petrify, allows the caster to reduce damage taken by petrifying themselves. Reduces damage taken by 60% for two seconds, 8 minute cooldown time. Equipment Requirement: Level 50. Durability 198/198.


    After he had collected enough items, he planned to swap out the Voodoo set entirely.


    The ninth Boss, Ravenian, dropped the Shadowcraft Bracer, a T0 Thief set item which Lu Li did not intend to use. As such, he tossed it into the guild warehouse for the other Thieves to use.


    The tenth Boss, Alex Barov, was the head of the Barov family.


    He wielded a lengthy sword bearing the emblem on the Barov family, and was stubbornly squatting over a tomb. He knew he was trapped by Kel''Thuzad but couldn''t do anything that violated the will of the Lich King.


    Alex Barov was part of a quest; his brother''s reward was given to the adventurers for killing him.


    Although this Boss didn''t give Lu Li any equipment, it rewarded him with a Skill Point which was completely unexpected. After fighting ten Bosses, Lu Li was glad it was finally his turn.


    The eleventh Boss was Lady Illucia Barov, Alex Barov''s daughter.


    This once beautiful woman now stood among the other Undead Mages. She had become a necromancer, waiting for the Lich King''s call to summon the Undead Scourge.


    In terms of difficulty, Illucia was even more difficult than her father. This was quite counterintuitive in terms of the lore, but this was the choice of the game designers.

 1028 Darkmaster Gandling

    However, the difficulty in this Instance Dungeon was quite relative. Compared to Ras Frostwhisper, Illucia Barov was nothing. Ruling Sword quickly discovered the Boss'' attack rhythm after two tries and defeated her.


    After the eleventh Boss, Lu Li had reached 50% of level 52.


    "Glory Capital has finally defeated it."


    Square Root 3 brought the news two and a half hours after Lu Li and the others had defeated Ras Frostshisper.


    "They''re quite lucky; they managed to do it faster than I expected," Lu Li responded.


    "It was indeed a stroke of luck. When they beat it, the Boss almost never cast Frost Nova and the positions of the Ice Pucks were quite scattered. They changed their team composition a number of times and still barely beat the Boss," Square Root 3 agreed with Lu Li.


    If they went back to Ras Frostwhisper again, Ruling Sword would have a 50% chance of defeating it, but Glory Capital probably wouldn''t stand a chance.


    "Are they going to rest?'' Lu Li asked.


    After Ras Frostwhisper, Ruling Sword rested for half an hour before defeating five Bosses in a row.


    Before facing the final Boss Dean Martin, Lu Li let everyone rest again. They had rested for a little over half an hour when Square Root 3 sent the message.


    "How could they not rest? Their players are almost completely exhausted. I don''t think they will even continue today," Square Root 3 said with some sympathy for Glory Capital. They all looked like they were about to collapse, and lacked their usual elegant demeanor.


    The most important thing was that all of this had been broadcasted live.


    Many viewers who watched them repeatedly typed "give up" into the chat, because they couldn''t stand Glory Capital. However, the number of people watching the live broadcast didn''t decrease. When Glory Capital finally defeated Ras Frostwhisper, the audience watching the live broadcast had exceeded two million.


    After all, this was the earliest broadcast for Scholomance in China and even in the world. It was very important for the guild to have.


    Glory Capital wasn''t to be underestimated just because they were losing to Ruling Sword. In fact, if they were swapped for any other guild, they would probably do worse. There was nothing wrong with Sorrowless'' commanding ability;it just couldn''t match Lu Li''s with his rebirth advantage.


    The final Boss was Darkmaster Gandling. Gandling used to be a Dalaran Mage, but in pursuit of more power, he betrayed the Dalaran to join the Undead Scourge. He was actually quite proud of his Undead body.


    Because he shared the same passion as Kel''Thuzad, he was assigned to be the Dean of Scholomance.


    However, Kel''Thuzad didn''t fully trust his colleague. Later, he sent Ras Frostwhipser to the school to help run it, but was really there to provide supervision. Gandling obviously understood what was happening, but remained willing to do whatever was necessary for the Scourge.


    All those who graduated from his teaching travelled to Stratholme, the capital of the Scourge in the Eastern Plaguelands.


    The recent defeat in Andorhal made Darkmaster Gandling feel terrible. Students in Scholomance were expected to give their all, and anyone who made the principal unhappy would be sent out of the classroom, either to work in the labs¡­ or to be experimented on.


    For the players, Gandling wasn''t a difficult Boss as long as their levels weren''t too low.


    However, this was a difficult premise to meet as the highest-level players were still three levels lower than Gandling. If there was more than a three-level difference in Dawn, a debuff would be applied.


    Fortunately, the Darkmaster could still be dealt with a strategy.


    Ras Frostwhisper required players to have absolute strength and combat awareness, but Gandling was different. As long as they knew his abilities and the corresponding strategies, he was a much easier Boss than Ras Frostwhisper.


    "Lu Li, they want to buy a strategy again," Square Root 3 sent a message.


    "It''s not going well for us either," Lu Li laughed.


    "Don''t pretend ¨C it would be weird if things really were not going well for you. Just tell me what it would cost them this time."


    Square Root 3 didn''t believe that Lu Li would refuse, especially since Ruling Sword was so close to


    winning anyway.


    "Of course, the more expensive you can sell it for, the better", Lu Li said.


    "Are you not afraid of their revenge later?" Square Root 3 was a bit worried. It was good that Lu Li was ambitious, but this was a matter of whether he was biting off more than he could chew.


    "They''re obviously willing to pay for whatever they''re asking for. Anyway, I think they are less concerned about the strategy and more concerned with using the transaction to get into contact with one of us." Lu Li had seen tricks like this before.


    The ordinary players who couldn''t imagine any other way to climb to the top had all seen tactics like this being attempted.


    "Who do you think it''ll be?" Square Root 3 wasn''t smiling anymore.


    "Xiaorou or Jaweika. If it was me, I would go for Xiaorou," Lu Li said while clearing out the mobs. The team didn''t really need his instructions for the time being.


    "What would they use to win him over? Money?" Square Root 3 didn''t think that that would work. Her Tears obviously wasn''t the kind of person who would sell himself for money.


    "Opportunity ¨C the opportunity to take center stage," Lu Li answered with certainty.


    According to normal players, all players who liked PVP yearned the spotlight and looked forward to becoming stars one day. Since Her Tears was a player who liked PVP, everyone would naturally assume the same for him.


    But in fact¡­


    "Don''t worry about it; he''s not interested at all. This guy prefers to fight freely rather than be limited by the various rules and regulations of the arena." Square Root 3 immediately assured.


    "It all depends on you. At least let them believe that Xiao Rou is dissatisfied with us. You and Xiao Rou can discuss it, and then all you have to do is wait for them to take the bait," Lu Li said.


    "This is pretty grim. We''re resorting such lows just to take someone''s money." Square Root 3 felt a little sympathetic for their opponents.


    "Oh yeah, don''t sell the strategies for all five Bosses at once," Lu Li quickly realized. If he didn''t guess wrong, they probably thought that they would sell the strategies for all five Bosses as a package.


    "Why not?" Square Root 3 didn''t understand.


    "If you tell Glory Capital that we''re on the last Boss, do you think they''ll buy our strategies?" Lu Li was speechless. Square Root 3 was usually savvier than this; how could he get confused by something like


    this?


    If they knew that Ruling Sword was down to the last Boss and there was no way for Glory Capital to keep up, then they would buy their strategies.


    Square Root 3 was a smart man, and quickly understood the point that Lu Li was making.


    He quickly handled this matter and, in a few days, Lu Li had more than two million dollars in his account.

 1029 Your Classes Will Now Begin

    Square Root 3 had only sold the strategies for three Bosses, but that was the limit anyway.


    This meant that Lu Li and the others had to rest in order to keep up the act. If Glory Capital, who had just defeated Ras Frostwhisper, was offered the strategies for more than three Bosses, they would know that Ruling Sword had almost finished the Instance Dungeon. There was no way Glory Capital was dumb enough to fall for that.


    It wasn''t bad for them to take a break anyway. The Boss that they were facing next could be fought whenever they wanted.


    "Glory Capital has defeated three of the Bosses already."


    These Bosses were already quite easy, but the strategies made them even easier. Each Boss after Ras Frostwhisper took them about 10-20 minutes to fight.


    "Alright then, let''s get started."


    Lu Li thought that this was a good time to get started on Gandling.


    The moment they entered the fight, Darkmaster Gandling boomed, "Your classes will begin now!"


    Although this line was short, it had a profound effect. Players who were students immediately tensed up when they heard it. They often heard this while they were in school, and now they had heard it too within the game. There was a huge psychological effect on them because of this.


    "Damn you and your class!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he rushed up to the Darkmaster and hit him with his shield.


    The Darkmaster responded bluntly with a Burnout, resulting in a bunch of injuries appearing over his head. However, Mu Qiu calmly continued to Heal and stabilized the Main Tank''s HP loss. Although he would work with the rest of the team, Mu Qiu was almost Azure Sea Breeze''s exclusive healer.


    "Deal as much damage as you can. Memories, use Bloodlust."


    This Boss had to be defeated as quickly as possible, which was why Lu Li asked her to use Bloodlust right at the beginning.


    He quietly positioned himself next to the Boss'' Magic Staff. This was actually a trick to fighting Gandling as the first skill was always directed towards the person standing closest to the Magic Staff.


    Of course, the Boss would cry out before this happened.


    "Arise!"


    This Boss must have really have thought he was a teacher. He said "arise" so convincingly that some of the players who were still students almost said "good morning" in response.


    In fact, this was Gandling''s signature skill.


    Arise ¨C Gandling summons a group of failed students to fight for him. These students will rampage the area, attacking everything in sight. While casting this skill, Gandling takes 50% less damage.


    On the one hand, this skill summoned a group of monsters to cause trouble and on the other hand, it also reduced damage caused to himself.


    Fortunately, these monsters were relatively weak. They were students who were not good enough for Scholomance and had been sent to Stratholme. As long as the Off Tank got there in time to use his long-range taunt, an area of effect attack would be enough to deal with them.


    After these students were defeated, the Darkmaster would revive them.


    These students were hopeless in life, but weren''t even allowed to die in peace.


    "Lu Li, come and see me in my office¡­" Darkmaster Gandling said as he pointed to Lu Li with his Magic Staff.


    The other players started to break out in cold sweat when they saw Lu Li vanish on the spot. It really seemed like Lu Li had been instantly transported to Gandling''s office somehow.


    In fact, this was the other skill that the Darkmaster knew.


    Harsh Lesson ¨C Darkmaster Gandling randomly sends a player to his study and teaches that player harshly.


    "Dammit, Lu Li, Lu Li!" Azure Sea Breeze cried out as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.


    "You guys continue to deal damage. I have been sent into a small room. I can probably leave once I''ve cleared out the monsters here," Lu Li said to his teammates through their private channel as he fought off a group of failed experiments.


    Failed Experiments: The Darkmaster saved these experiments in a room. These creatures will attack anyone who enters their room.


    In fact, these experiments were all Gandling''s students. They appeared quite bloody and it wasn''t clear what kind of perverse experiments had been performed on them. In addition, there were other subjects that were still conscious, but had been locked away. If these subjects tried to escape, they would be remotely detonated. Lu Li wasn''t a healer, so he didn''t bother helping them.


    However, this meant that a Healer could still get out if they were sent here, as they could free the subjects. The Healer just needed to make sure that the subjects survived the detonation.


    Harsh Lesson was the most difficult part of the first phase when fighting Gandling.


    When ordinary players were suddenly transmitted, they usually couldn''t respond quickly enough and weren''t able to kill so many monsters.


    After dealing with all the ''Failed Experiments'' in that room, Lu Li was presented with a glowing halo that transported him back to the Boss when he stood in it.


    The reason why he wanted to go in first was so that he could make an example of himself. Now that he had explained the skill to everyone, they would be able to deal with it more quickly if they were sent into it.


    It was most troublesome when the Main Tank was sent in.


    Azure Sea Breeze was known as Dawn''s number one Main Tank, but not matter how strong a Main Tank was, they didn''t have much damage. As such, it would be a little difficult for him to deal with the monsters in the room.


    Fortunately, he had learned a number of high-attack skills. Although these hadn''t been upgraded, he could at least use those to get some kills.


    If the Main Tank was transmitted at this stage, the off tank had to assume the responsibility of tanking the Boss.


    Ruling Sword got wiped the first time Azure Sea Breeze was sent away in this manner.


    In their second attempt, they successfully survived the first stage. After entering the second stage, Gandling began using a number of new tricks in addition to his old ones.


    "Assemble!"


    After the Darkmaster gave the order, all the players were forced towards the center as pillars of fire erupted around them.


    During this whole process, they had to withstand the damage from the two pillars of fire.


    After the two eruptions, the players regained control and had to quickly leave. Otherwise, the third eruption would hit and potentially kill many of them.


    Although Lu Li shouted for everyone to run, most of them didn''t seem to realize that they had been released.


    As such, the party was almost completely wiped here. Only a few players were left and they had no


    choice but to start again.


    Their third attempt went much better. Everyone knew what to do and they smoothly reached the third stage, where the Darkmaster gained new strengths. Not only did he cast the skills from the first two stages more often, he but he also had two more skills that truly tested the healers.


    The Darkmaster''s Fireball was used so often that it became an absolutely brutal experience.


    "Move around; don''t just stupidly get hit those!" Lu Li cried out at those being targeted by the Fireballs while he dealt with the large number of summoned monsters.

 1030 The Focus of Public Attention

    ''Chaos'' was the only word that could describe what was happening. Even a Commander like Lu Li wasn''t able to take care of everything. As such, the players had to use their own judgment for some parts of the fight. Although the fireballs were quite powerful, the attack didn''t lock on so they had the opportunity to dodge them.


    "Your soul is mine," the Dean said sinisterly as he pointed at Moonlight.


    The consequences of such an aggressive declaration was not to be underestimated. The Warrior, who had just been dealing damage to the Boss, immediately stopped attacking and turned to cast Whirlwind at the ranged Magic players.


    "Dammit, we have a traitor among us!" Fat Monkey cried out.


    His HP was already quite low, and now he was caught within Moonlight''s Whirlwind. He managed to use Ice Block just in time, but he was left with very little HP.


    The other ranged players didn''t fare much better.


    After all, most of the ranged players were Magic Professions and were most afraid of Physical damage, especially since it was coming from a professional Warrior player.


    Moonlight would only be released from the crowd control after fifteen seconds. During this period, Lu Li needed to find a way to control him ¨C otherwise, he would just cut down all their teammates. Moonlight also had some crowd-control skills that would make the Boss'' attacks even more potent.


    "March Rain, make sure you heal faster. Keep Hachi Chan and Wandering at full HP," Lu Li said suddenly.


    March Rain didn''t quite understand, but did it anyway. When someone was controlled again, it happened to be Wandering. At the same time, his HP was higher than everyone else''s.


    This was a minor tactic. After a long time of observation and experimentation by the players, Gandling''s choice of who he controlled was found to generally be the one with the most HP. Even if he didn''t pick that player, he would go for the second healthiest. That meant they could choose ahead of time which player would get controlled.


    Hachi Chan and Wandering both had relatively low damage output. Even if they attacked their teammates, neither of them had the ability to kill anyone.


    At this time, Glory Capital had finally reached Martin.


    They had bought three strategies from Ruling Sword and spent over eight million dollars. More than five million dollars went straight into Lu Li''s pocket while the rest was added into the guild''s development fund.


    Sorrowless hadn''t participated in the sale of the strategy at all, but he had obviously allowed Chopsticks to buy it.


    He was never a particularly principled person, and had no qualms with any means of ascending.


    However, if it weren''t for the fact that they were in a competition with Ruling Sword to complete this Instance Dungeon, Lu Li would only be able to sell the strategy to the entire Dungeon for only 5 million. In fact, he would be hard-pressed to even sell it for 1 million.


    Although the First Clear did result in significant bonuses in equipment and materials produced by the Boss, using the strategy to complete the Instance Dungeon wasn''t completely worthless.


    Lu Li and Sorrowless'' long-range confrontation had attracted the attention of many players. Almost all players in the gaming circle had their eyes on it. They were all paying attention to the progress of the two Instance Dungeons, waiting for the final result.


    Of course, this included much of the gaming media.


    Many celebrities in the circle also expressed their opinions to the reporters that were around.


    Lucky Southern Persian: I don''t think it is necessary to place too much importance on this competition. It is just a competition between individuals, and whoever wins won''t have much effect on the big picture. Regardless of who are the commander and players are, it doesn''t matter that much.


    This was characteristic of Southern Persian. His old-fashioned remarks avoided the subject and diminished the impact of the results.


    Gaze: Although Lu Li has managed a number of miracles, don''t forget that Sorrowless'' name is synonymous with miracles. If they both started competing at the same time, Sorrowless'' win percentage might even be higher.


    Unforgetful Maple: I support Sorrowless. After all, he has rarely been defeated in so many years.


    Green Flag Wine: Perhaps everyone has forgotten the despair of the Sorrowless era. If Sorrowless hadn''t gone to work behind the scenes, Lu Li wouldn''t have stood a chance. Now, Sorrowless has newly reentered the game and is working to reenter the gaming circle.


    Lone Smoker Long: Let me tell you who will win. I think Sorrowless will win. I don''t have any reasons, but I just think so.


    There were some others who held an opposing opinion, and felt like Sorrowless had been completely washed up.


    Most of these players were more casual players, and were just happy seeing Sorrowless losing. They were spectators who relished in the moments when Sorrowless'' team was on the brink of death.


    Deadly Gold Underpants: Sorrowless has overestimated himself and underestimated Lu Li.


    Cut Me 72 Times: If you take something you aren''t good at and combine it with another thing you''re not good at, what do you think the outcome will be? This is what Sorrowless has done.


    Innocent Child: A new generation has come to replace the old. Although seeing Lu Li makes me unhappy, I know he is really strong. Sorrowless can''t maintain the top position forever and one day will be driven away.


    Jade Flower Lover: Even if he loses, it doesn''t affect Sorrowless'' status. However, the same can''t be said about his influence ¨C it would show that he is not invincible. Now that his status as an Instance Dungeon commander has been subverted, next time it could be his status as a Field Commander. As for Ruling Sword, the impact of Lu Li''s victory over Sorrowless would be great, since they are in desperate need of glory like this.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant: This isn''t necessarily a bad thing. The fierce competitive environment is conducive to the development of the gaming industry. In recent years, the gaming circle has been the same for some time, so it is good that the pot is being stirred.


    In addition to the star players, there were also some industrial analysts who were given an opportunity to express their opinions.


    Of course, they had a different focus than the star players. While the star players mainly discussed the outcomes, the industrial analysts were interested in Ruling Sword, a guild without any supporting capital.


    Some of them even helped Ruling Sword by laying out a so-called development plan.


    Shanguan Yunluo, a PR manager of the game company, had a word with the media. Although this wasn''t a big issue, many people seemed to be interested in it.


    He first emphasized that he himself knew nothing about Ruling Sword''s situation. The game company did not have any ability to monitor the players'' progress in that way. He then emphasized that both sides were very strong, and this would be a tight match-up.


    In fact, the words he spoke revealed that they were waiting in anticipation of the results. The game company didn''t want Sorrowless to remain in the top position anymore, even if it had to be taken by Ruling Sword, a group they weren''t particularly fond of.

 1031 The Focus of Public Attention

    ''Chaos'' was the only word that could describe what was happening. Even a Commander like Lu Li wasn''t able to take care of everything. As such, the players had to use their own judgment for some parts of the fight. Although the fireballs were quite powerful, the attack didn''t lock on so they had the opportunity to dodge them.


    "Your soul is mine," the Dean said sinisterly as he pointed at Moonlight.


    The consequences of such an aggressive declaration was not to be underestimated. The Warrior, who had just been dealing damage to the Boss, immediately stopped attacking and turned to cast Whirlwind at the ranged Magic players.


    "Dammit, we have a traitor among us!" Fat Monkey cried out.


    His HP was already quite low, and now he was caught within Moonlight''s Whirlwind. He managed to use Ice Block just in time, but he was left with very little HP.


    The other ranged players didn''t fare much better.


    After all, most of the ranged players were Magic Professions and were most afraid of Physical damage, especially since it was coming from a professional Warrior player.


    Moonlight would only be released from the crowd control after fifteen seconds. During this period, Lu Li needed to find a way to control him ¨C otherwise, he would just cut down all their teammates. Moonlight also had some crowd-control skills that would make the Boss'' attacks even more potent.


    "March Rain, make sure you heal faster. Keep Hachi Chan and Wandering at full HP," Lu Li said suddenly.


    March Rain didn''t quite understand, but did it anyway. When someone was controlled again, it happened to be Wandering. At the same time, his HP was higher than everyone else''s.


    This was a minor tactic. After a long time of observation and experimentation by the players, Gandling''s choice of who he controlled was found to generally be the one with the most HP. Even if he didn''t pick that player, he would go for the second healthiest. That meant they could choose ahead of time which player would get controlled.


    Hachi Chan and Wandering both had relatively low damage output. Even if they attacked their teammates, neither of them had the ability to kill anyone.


    At this time, Glory Capital had finally reached Martin.


    They had bought three strategies from Ruling Sword and spent over eight million dollars. More than five million dollars went straight into Lu Li''s pocket while the rest was added into the guild''s development fund.


    Sorrowless hadn''t participated in the sale of the strategy at all, but he had obviously allowed Chopsticks to buy it.


    He was never a particularly principled person, and had no qualms with any means of ascending.


    However, if it weren''t for the fact that they were in a competition with Ruling Sword to complete this Instance Dungeon, Lu Li would only be able to sell the strategy to the entire Dungeon for only 5 million. In fact, he would be hard-pressed to even sell it for 1 million.


    Although the First Clear did result in significant bonuses in equipment and materials produced by the Boss, using the strategy to complete the Instance Dungeon wasn''t completely worthless.


    Lu Li and Sorrowless'' long-range confrontation had attracted the attention of many players. Almost all players in the gaming circle had their eyes on it. They were all paying attention to the progress of the two Instance Dungeons, waiting for the final result.


    Of course, this included much of the gaming media.


    Many celebrities in the circle also expressed their opinions to the reporters that were around.


    Lucky Southern Persian: I don''t think it is necessary to place too much importance on this competition. It is just a competition between individuals, and whoever wins won''t have much effect on the big picture. Regardless of who are the commander and players are, it doesn''t matter that much.


    This was characteristic of Southern Persian. His old-fashioned remarks avoided the subject and diminished the impact of the results.


    Gaze: Although Lu Li has managed a number of miracles, don''t forget that Sorrowless'' name is synonymous with miracles. If they both started competing at the same time, Sorrowless'' win percentage might even be higher.


    Unforgetful Maple: I support Sorrowless. After all, he has rarely been defeated in so many years.


    Green Flag Wine: Perhaps everyone has forgotten the despair of the Sorrowless era. If Sorrowless hadn''t gone to work behind the scenes, Lu Li wouldn''t have stood a chance. Now, Sorrowless has newly reentered the game and is working to reenter the gaming circle.


    Lone Smoker Long: Let me tell you who will win. I think Sorrowless will win. I don''t have any reasons, but I just think so.


    There were some others who held an opposing opinion, and felt like Sorrowless had been completely washed up.


    Most of these players were more casual players, and were just happy seeing Sorrowless losing. They were spectators who relished in the moments when Sorrowless'' team was on the brink of death.


    Deadly Gold Underpants: Sorrowless has overestimated himself and underestimated Lu Li.


    Cut Me 72 Times: If you take something you aren''t good at and combine it with another thing you''re not good at, what do you think the outcome will be? This is what Sorrowless has done.


    Innocent Child: A new generation has come to replace the old. Although seeing Lu Li makes me unhappy, I know he is really strong. Sorrowless can''t maintain the top position forever and one day will be driven away.


    Jade Flower Lover: Even if he loses, it doesn''t affect Sorrowless'' status. However, the same can''t be said about his influence ¨C it would show that he is not invincible. Now that his status as an Instance Dungeon commander has been subverted, next time it could be his status as a Field Commander. As for Ruling Sword, the impact of Lu Li''s victory over Sorrowless would be great, since they are in desperate need of glory like this.


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant: This isn''t necessarily a bad thing. The fierce competitive environment is conducive to the development of the gaming industry. In recent years, the gaming circle has been the same for some time, so it is good that the pot is being stirred.


    In addition to the star players, there were also some industrial analysts who were given an opportunity to express their opinions.


    Of course, they had a different focus than the star players. While the star players mainly discussed the outcomes, the industrial analysts were interested in Ruling Sword, a guild without any supporting capital.


    Some of them even helped Ruling Sword by laying out a so-called development plan.


    Shanguan Yunluo, a PR manager of the game company, had a word with the media. Although this wasn''t a big issue, many people seemed to be interested in it.


    He first emphasized that he himself knew nothing about Ruling Sword''s situation. The game company did not have any ability to monitor the players'' progress in that way. He then emphasized that both sides were very strong, and this would be a tight match-up.


    In fact, the words he spoke revealed that they were waiting in anticipation of the results. The game company didn''t want Sorrowless to remain in the top position anymore, even if it had to be taken by Ruling Sword, a group they weren''t particularly fond of.

 1032 Opponen

    System: Ruling Sword members Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Sesame Riceball¡­ have acquired the First Clear of Scholomance on Nightmare Difficulty under the leadership of Party Leader Lu Li.


    There wasn''t a First Clear before this that held the attention of so many players.


    When the results finally came out, many players were silent. They just couldn''t imagine such an outcome, even after all the public Instance Dungeon First Clears had been taken by Lu Li.


    What really shocked the players was that Sorrowless had been defeated.


    Sorrowless, the God of gaming, had finally tasted defeated. Although this wasn''t something he was the best at, he had still been defeated.


    How could a God be defeated?


    A God certainly wouldn''t be defeated!


    Sorrowless'' reputation had finally reached its end. Regardless of what they felt, everyone was aware of this new reality.


    Lucky Southern Persian said that the outcome of this showdown wouldn''t have much of an effect. However, he had severely underestimated the influence that this matchup would have.


    Lu Li still wasn''t comparable to Sorrowless in a number of other aspects, but they both knew what had happened in that Instance Dungeon. In any case, in the eyes of the world, it was clear that Lu Li had the strength to take on Sorrowless.


    Sorrowless was currently directing his teammates to fight the Darkmaster at stage two.


    He had seen the First Clear prompt on the World Announcements. At first, he thought he had read incorrectly, but after reading the same thing three times, he had to admit that he had lost.


    He had held onto the little bit of hope left, but now even that was gone.


    In fact, he should have expected this outcome since Chopsticks was able to buy strategies from them. This should have meant that Ruling Sword was well and truly ahead.


    Now that he knew he had underestimated the opposition, Sorrowless knew to treat Lu Li as a real opponent.


    He was able to climb to the top in the past, and now he just had to defeat his opponent to regain that position. The world seemed to think that he was getting old, but he wasn''t that old at all. In fact, many other star players were not much younger than him.


    The days he spent without a worthy opponent to face him were so boring. This was what it was like to be the God of games.


    Sorrowless was silent for a moment with his eyes closed, then took a deep breath. The feeling of having an opponent was thrilling.


    At this time, Lu Li was in the Book of Ur form. The Boss'' last move was fatal and had left a number of bodies lying on the ground. These weren''t just the minions summoned by the Darkmaster, but also Lu Li''s teammates.


    In a team of fifteen players, more than half of them were dead. If it weren''t for Lu Li''s burst at the end, they might have had to fight it again.


    "Revive everyone first; they can''t get their First Clear reward otherwise," Lu Li instructed, then reverted back into human form and sorted out the ragged equipment on his body. He didn''t want to repair the equipment with the bot, as doing so would reduce the maximum durability over time.


    The players who died missed out on the Boss'' EXP. There was nothing they could do about that, but they could still receive Skill Points.


    Kitty Likes Meat, who had died, managed to receive one.


    All fifteen players received some reward for getting the First Clear. This was one of the best ways to obtain exquisite items, which was how Lu Li could stay on top.


    "I levelled up!" March Rain exclaimed.


    This time, she didn''t receive equipment or a skill book, but instead was awarded with a large amount of EXP. Suddenly, the third place Priest had overtaken Azure Sea Breeze and her brother to take the top position on the Level Rankings.


    Lu Li was currently ranked fourth and had a long way to go to reach level 53.


    Both Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze were levelling maniacs, yet March Rain had managed to surpass them like this. She obviously was never that low-levelled, but jumping to the top of the Level Rankings wasn''t something she had ever imagined.


    The First Place was current occupied by a healer!


    For those who claimed to be levelling maniacs and had worked day and night to achieve their goals, this kind of result was always humiliating.


    The First Clear reward was quite mysterious as it could be anything. Lu Li had heard of other overpowered rewards, like increasing the player''s level by 1.


    Perhaps March Rain had taken away the rest of the team''s luck. Everyone else except for Sesame Rice Ball, who received a Skill Point, only received equipment and skill books. However, not a single piece was Epic.


    Lu Li was rewarded with a Dark Gold Leather Tunic.


    Charred Leather Tunic (Dark Gold): Armour 85, Agility 40, Constitution +20, Evasion +15%, Special Effect 1: Fire Resistance +10%. Special Effect 2: Has a certain chance of rebounding 30% of damage and transforming the remaining damage into health for the caster. Special Effect 3: Lava Shield. Grants the caster 60% damage resistance. Any enemies that attack during this period will take damage. Lasts for 5 seconds. 30 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 50. Durability 235/235.


    Although his Voodoo tunic wasn''t bad, it just couldn''t keep up anymore.


    Voodoo Breastplate (Fine Gold) Armor 50, Agility +28, Constitution +15, Critical Hit +12%. Special Effect 1: 20% of damage dealt will be converted into HP. Special Effect 2: Harden Skin. Reduce damage taken for 6 seconds. 2 hour cooldown. Level Requirement: Level 40. Durability 120/120.


    The Attributes were not greatly improved, but the +10% Fire Resistance greatly increased the value of this equipment.


    Special Effect 2 appeared to be quite powerful, but Lu Li was willing to bet that the probability of it activating was very low. Special Effect 3 was quite surprising ¨C after all, it was a 60% damage reduction, which was more than half of the damage taken. This was at least a 10% increase from his previous equipment.


    The most important thing was that this equipment could be worn at level 50.


    After equipping it, his original gray coat turned a yellowish color with a fiery pattern on the surface. At least in terms of appearance, this equipment was superior to the Voodoo Breastplate.


    The others mostly received equipment or skill books as well, so this wasn''t a worthless experience.


    Of course, their rewards weren''t limited to this. Gandling, the Instance Dungeon Boss was still waiting to be looted by Remnant Dream. Even if the old man wasn''t as difficult as Ras Frostwhisper, the final Boss of Scholomance wouldn''t drop anything useless.


    According to Lu Li''s knowledge, the best item that Gandling could drop was Headmaster''s Will.


    This was an Epic Magic Staff that was considered to be one of the best pre-level 60 weapons. It attracted the attention of countless players and many were willing to repeatedly die in Nightmare Difficulty just to acquire it.


    However, the drop rate of this Magic Staff was not high.


    It was officially given a 10% chance of dropping at Nightmare Difficulty, but according to the players'' estimates, it didn''t even feel like there was a 1% chance of it dropping.

 1033 Sunken Ship

    Lu LI still had some expectations for the loot, since this was the First Clear on Nightmare mode.


    "Searing Words ¨C a Dark Gold emblem. It seems pretty good," Remnant Dream announced happily as she held onto the badge.


    Searing Words (Dark Gold): Agility + 80, 1 Slot. Special Effect 1: There is a certain probability that the user''s attack will receive a 30% fire damage bonus. Special Effect 2: Casting this effect will increase critical hit by 60% for 12 seconds. 60 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Increase max HP by 10% and increase HP regeneration by 60HP per second for 1 minute. Can be interrupted. 2 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 250/250.


    "Who wants this? We''ll start the auction now."


    Lu Li was tempted to take this for himself, but fortunately, he wasn''t the type of person to steal equipment.


    "You can have it; I''ll have the next good one."


    Only Hunters would need the Attributes from the badge, but now that Remnant Dream had passed it up, it fell into Lu Li''s hands.


    Although he still couldn''t use it, at least there was something to look forward to.


    "Aiya, I''m not dreaming, am I?"


    The others were all watching her like criminals ready to hear their verdict.


    Legendary equipment!


    Lu Li was really surprised; he had no expectations for the Headmaster''s Will when something like Searing Words had already been dropped.


    Even though he couldn''t use the Headmaster''s Will, the Searing Words was an exquisite emblem for Thieves. It was suitable for Lu Li who was taking the Critical Strike path, so he wasn''t too upset about Headmaster''s Will not dropping.


    However, he didn''t expect the Boss to not only drop Searing Words, but also the Headmaster''s Will.


    In terms of overall strength, the Headmaster''s Will was far superior to the Searing Words, as this emblem was only useful for its Critical Strike Attribute. Players with this badge were known to be a "12 second hero".


    The Headmaster''s Will wasn''t just a high-level equip, but was also a very stylish one.


    However, the evaluation system for equipment wasn''t very flexible.


    Badges were rare items ¨C even rarer than necklaces and rings.


    As such, it was reasonable for the System to conclude that the Searing Words was a better equipment than the Headmaster''s Will.


    Regardless, both equips were exquisite and the next few minutes became a battle between the Mages.


    In the end, it was Lonesome Flower who claimed victory. His Staff was already fairly decent, so he passed it over to Jaweika. Kitty Likes Meat and Sesame Rice Ball couldn''t give out that many points, but they received a promise from Lonesome Flower that they could borrow the equipment at anytime.


    After this, the Boss dropped a Dark Gold equip, two Gold equips, three Silver equips, a skill book, a Synthetic Stone and a rare material.


    This was a worthy bounty from the final Boss of a fifteen-man dungeon.


    Lu Li had gained a lot from this run ¨C equipment, skill points and a hefty amount of experience. He was still about 0.25% away from a level up and would most likely be able to hit level 53 by next week.


    The other problem that he faced was still the level requirement stones.


    Back when his title was lower, it was easy for him to gain them through the arena. However, now that his title was higher and was running into stronger players, it became more difficult for him to win battles efficiently. As such, this wasn''t a possible method either ¨C he had to think of other ways.


    Lu Li thought for a bit, and a location came up in mind.


    Sunken Ship!


    In the Wild, there would be players guarding a treasure chest. Not only was the refresh slow, but he probably would have to go through plenty of fights for the chests.


    Some guilds even had hundreds of guards watching over a treasure chest near its refresh time. After all, the risk for a treasure chest was much smaller than fighting a Boss and the profits were more consistent.


    However, the Sunken Ship was a different story. At this stage of the game, not many were willing to dive deep.


    There were plenty of these sunken ships around the seas of Azeroth and they shared a few things in common. One of the most obvious things was that these ships were surrounded by monsters leveling 50 or above, in addition to elites, semi-Bosses and area Bosses blended in amongst them.


    Some sunken ships were still marked as deadly areas after two or three years of the game release.


    Many had wanted to dive underwater to find treasure, but only a few managed to return safely.


    It was impossible to ask healers to revive them when they died in a literal sea of monsters. They lost a significant amount of experience and also couldn''t pick up their equipment after it had been dropped.


    As such, players began to lose interest in the sunken ships.


    Lu Li also knew of the dangers, but he had a greater advantage than the other players.


    First of all, he was a Thief who could Stealth and had also learnt Empowerment: Stealth. Even though the effects would be reduced underwater, he was still a lot safe than the others.


    The range of aggression for a player had a lot to with levels. If the players were lower-leveled than monsters, the aggression range would increase and vice versa. As such, Lu Li wouldn''t be detected by the level 50 monsters.


    The last advantage was his memory.


    He knew which ships were dangerous and where the bosses were. Even though he didn''t know the area entirely, at least he didn''t have to risk his life exploring.


    He first chose the shoreline of the Darkshore.


    The Darkshore was a slightly lower-leveled map, and compared to the surrounding sea regions, it was a fairly quiet place. The sunken ships here were mostly shot down by the Night Elves in the second war, and there was a greater chance that the stones would drop.


    Lu Li didn''t even need to look and he knew there would be players guarding a few sunken ships near the shore.


    One of the sunken ships involved a quest. In his previous life when Lu Li obtained this quest, he was killed by a small guild. They suspected that Lu Li was there to steal their treasure chest.


    It was the first time that Lu Li had fought in a PVP, so he wasn''t the best at it. All he could do was follow his instincts.


    This time, he retuned to the same region as a famous player. Not only had he cured his sister''s sickness, but he also had plenty of money in his bank account and some businesses under his name.


    Things from his previous life had begun to fade away even more. Lu Li couldn''t even remember those little guilds who used to bully anymore.


    He wasn''t interested in fighting for the resources of these few sunken ships.


    Lu Li took out his own little boat from his bag. Because his level had increased, he now had more capacity in his bag to carry this boat around with him. Of course, this would still impact his movement speed and the boat took up a sizeable amount of bag space, so he usually wouldn''t carry it around.

 1034 Underwater Treasure

    His boat immediately caught the attention of nearby players.


    "Is that an NPC going out to the waters?" The ordinary players couldn''t comprehend at all what it was like to have their own little boat. There were plenty of boats docked around the shoreline and players who were also dragging boats to maintenance. NPCs wouldn''t let players fix their boats by themselves.


    "I wonder if there''s going to be a quest? It''s the first time I''ve seen this." Some quick thinkers were interested.


    "Don''t be stupid; that''s obviously a player."


    Some were much more intelligent and the quickly came to a conclusion from Lu Li''s actions and outfit. At least, not many NPCs were willing to mask their face like this.


    "But where did this little boat come from? He''s really going out to the sea; can such a small boat really sail out to sea?"


    "He definitely has a death wish!"


    Players could only watch in envy as Lu Li disappeared from the shoreline.


    The farther out he travelled into the sea, the higher the level of the monsters became. Swimming also involved issues with stamina, and the deep sea was unavailable to players at the current stage of the game.


    However, this was not a problem at all when you owned a boat.


    Ahead of him was a small island that only appeared only during the annual winter festival. It was usually hidden below the sea and there was a sunken ship next to it. The surrounding monsters weren''t too highly-leveled and were suitable for Lu Li.


    However, Lu Li couldn''t remember its precise location; he only knew that it was around this region.


    It would be difficult for people who had never been out in the sea to understand what it felt like to float around on water.


    If Hachi Chan was tossed into the sea, she might spend the rest of her life wandering.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had already made some preparations ¨C he had bought a compass and telescope from the Pirate Bar. Although the quality was questionable since these were all unwanted items from the pirates, they were enough for his situation right now.


    He packed away his boat after he chose a location.


    There was nowhere for him to tie it down as it didn''t have an anchor, so he had no choice but to pack it away.


    Lu Li fell right into water the moment his boat disappeared.


    Players could only stay about 10 minutes in the sea water without some sort of equipment to help.


    After 10 minutes, they would die from drowning. The Elixir of Water Breathing would only increase this time to half an hour before they died from running out of stamina.


    Although there were people in real life who could wander in the sea for hours and hours without dying, this was a game and it had to follow the rules.


    After he fell into water, Lu Li transformed into a little seal which greatly improved his vision. He could see his surroundings much clearer and could make out the schools of brightly colored fish.


    Lu Li wiggled his tail and dived further into the waters.


    The lower he went, the less light there was and the poorer his vision became. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was in his seal form, he probably wouldn''t have been able to see anything.


    He would encounter monsters every now and then under the water, but they were usually under level 50. This was because the area wasn''t too far away from the shore.


    After he dived down for another 10 minutes, Lu Li stopped.


    There were no sunken ships in this area and there weren''t any underwater islands either. He was in the wrong place.


    Although he had been mentally prepared, he couldn''t help but be a little disappointed. This didn''t stop him from resurfacing and searching elsewhere though.


    He needed to bring out his boat, not only because it travelled faster but also because it was safer. Monsters underwater usually didn''t actively attack ships or boats either, with some exceptions.


    He tried two places without gaining anything, but he had some luck during his third dive.


    A giant dark shadow lurked beneath the waters, looking like a giant monster from afar. Lu Li was overjoyed and quickly swam towards it; this had to be the underwater island.


    The closer he swam to the island, the more densely packed the monsters became. Most of them were Murlocs, but Lu Li even saw a few semi Bosses. However, he had no intentions of approaching them at all.


    He figured out the location of the island and moved towards the northwest side. As he had anticipated, he found the remains of an old ship amongst the reef.


    There couldn''t be anything remaining in this sunken ship since it was too broken. Lu Li was looking for an Oak Galleon.


    If he remembered correctly, it would be ''Mog''Lun'' of the Goblins. It was a ship that exported products between two continents, earning profit from the great price difference. The Mog''Lun family had earned plenty from this ship and quickly became famous amongst the merchants.


    Unfortunately, the Mog''Lun steered itself into the reef when it being chased by the pirates and sunk.


    The property of the Mog''Lun family then became history.


    "Damn!"


    Lu Li halted and quickly changed out of his seal form, then drank an Elixir of Water Breathing.


    Ghost Sailors!


    He had not been cautious enough. He didn''t expect to run into a monster and the reef had blocked his vision. It was too late for him to dodge it now.


    Ghost type monsters had an ability to detect Stealth and these level 50 monsters definitely saw Lu Li coming.


    The scimitar of the Ghost Sailor slit across Lu Li''s stomach and his blood began to spill. Lu Li didn''t hesitate to stab his dagger into his opponent''s chest either.


    This was a level 50 elite monster with around 5000 health, so it wasn''t a problem for Lu Li to take him down. What was more troublesome was that Lu Li''s blood was beginning to spread into the water, attracting the Murlocs. He hastily chugged down a healing potion and sped away.


    If he had any group spells, fighting monsters under water would be worth it. At the very least, he wouldn''t have to keep running after he attracted monsters.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t capable of wiping out monsters under water, so if it wasn''t necessary, he would rather walk a longer distance than fight.


    Gradually, he got closer to the sunken ship.


    The closer he approached, the more Ghost Sailors he saw. The battle back then must''ve been a nightmare.


    Lu Li didn''t plan to walk in from the entrance; it was too much work to fight his way in. He smashed a hole in the ship and went in through the cabins, then picked the lock of the first room that he found.


    Within the room were some daily items and a box.


    Sailor''s Storage Box: Within the box are the Sailor''s private belongings. Private belongings are personal and should remain untouched. Requires Level 3 Lock Picking to open.


    Lu Li rubbed his hands under water and used Unlock on the box.


    Black mist began to swarm out from the box and a scimitar appeared even before the mist had formed its shape. The scimitar hacked right toward Lu Li, but was met with a block from his Daggers. Lu Li was prepared this time.


    "Private belongings are personal and should remain untouched."


    This reminded Thieves that opening the box came with a risk.


    This was a Ghost Sailor who was guarding his things even after his death. It was a shame that he couldn''t overpower the intruder.


    The battle finished within a few rounds.


    Lu Li didn''t stop here either and proceeded into the next room.

 1035 Starving the Coward

    There were boxes in almost every room, but there was no guarantee about what was within them. Most of them had one or more Ghost Sailors guarding them.


    The Ghost Sailors weren''t hard to deal with; Lu Li got used to them after a while.


    Unfortunately, the box in the first room only contained daily items. These were the kind that even NPC stores wouldn''t take, and included items like Rotten Fruit and Ripped Cloth.


    The box in the second room contained three Ghost Sailors.


    It wasn''t until the third room when Lu Li finally found something useful ¨C a cloth Silver grade Chest Piece that was available to level 50 players. Besides this were a roll of bandages that could be used in battle to deal with wounds.


    Lu Li didn''t give up just because he hadn''t yet found the stone that he needed. There were three decks in total, with the bottom deck being filled with sailors.


    The chances of him looting a stone weren''t too high.


    Just as he was comforting himself, the System came to suggest otherwise. He looted the box and heard a chime ¨C the sound effect for a stone.


    However, it was a Fortified Stone.


    Although Fortified Stones were valuable, Lu Li wanted a Gemstone, especially the type that could reduce the level requirement on an equip.


    The T1 pants that he had asked March Rain to craft previously had already been made. Now, he just needed a Gemstone so that he could equip a level 55 item. He also had a few other equipment pieces which required these stones.


    There were 36 rooms in the bottom deck, but only three boxes dropped something valuable. If you excluded the Fortified Stone, then everything else was just rubbish equipment or broken sailing gear.


    These equips can be sold to the NPC shops at a very high price.


    However, Lu Li didn''t decide to do so ¨C he had plans for them when sea maps were made available to players.


    The top deck contained the least amount of rooms and Lu Li didn''t bother with the middle deck. He searched the few rooms at the top, finding more items and collecting quite a few broken equips and weapons.


    However, he still hadn''t found the level requirement reduction stone.


    Only the twelve rooms in the middle deck were left!


    It was actually the middle deck that held the most things.


    The bottom deck was where the lower leveled sailors lived, while the top deck belonged to people with specific roles, such as helmsmen and lookouts. Anyone with an important position lived in the middle deck, including the captains.


    Lu Li immediately noticed the difference in the first room; the boxes had names.


    Jenny''s Suit Case!


    A woman?


    Lu LI shook his head in confusion. If he remembered correctly, these kind of ships never took women, unless they were a Mage.


    Fortunately, there were no monsters that harassed him after he opened the box.


    The first item that popped out was a Gold equipment ¨C a cloth armor for magic classes with decent attributes. Lu Li packed it away and continued to loot.


    Ding!


    A Stone!


    Lu Li immediately began to pay attention as soon as he heard the sound effect. Hopefully, it wouldn''t be a Fortified Stone this time.


    Equipment Level Requirement -5%!


    Lu Li punched the air in joy. Something that he wanted had finally dropped.


    He had heard that sunken ships would drop these gemstones during the early game, but he didn''t quite believe it. It only felt real after they were in his hands.


    There were still eleven rooms untouched in the middle deck, like a personal treasure storage.


    Under normal circumstances, it would be hard for such a place to remain secret. Normal players couldn''t explore this place alone and once the guilds heard about it, there would be a mad rush to gain control of it. However, it would be almost impossible for anyone to horde this entire ship to themselves.


    Amongst the twelve rooms, it would be difficult enough for one party to have two rooms to themselves.


    Besides the stone, Lu Li also discovered a diary.


    The diary was still readable despite being soaked in the water.


    This wasn''t a valuable item, but if you tossed it into an Auction, players who liked to collect things might take interest in it.


    If you were lucky, you might be able to pick up a quest from reading the diary.


    Lu Li was one who enjoyed collecting books, so he could add this to his own personal shelf.


    He flipped through the first two pages and read them. Jenny was a Mage indeed, but quite an average one. Her job was to make fresh water and could help with monsters and pirates every now and then.


    Lu Li finished off two level 55 elite monsters and opened the door to the second Room.


    Sailor Chan''Risban''s Storage Box.


    Lu Li didn''t want to gamble on his own luck. He wasn''t sure if a monster would appear from the box, so he prepared himself for battle.


    Before the box was even fully opened, black mist had already begun to spill out and Lu Li immediately went into Stealth to use Cheapshot.


    The monster''s reaction couldn''t be faster than his.


    Lu Li was relieved when he saw its health bar ¨C it had around 25,000 health points. At the very most, it would be a strong elite monster, but not a semi-boss.


    However, he began to realize that although the twelve rooms were tempting, how many could he actually afford to open?


    Lu Li wasn''t prepared to die for the sake of treasure; he wasn''t the same poor boy from his previous life. His Experience bar at this point were very precious and a single piece of equipment of his was enough for an average person to live a year without any worries.


    Sailor Chan''Risban wasn''t hard to kill; Lu Li dealt with him at the cost of half his health.


    He defeated the defending monster and began to loot the items in anticipation. At this point, he was incredibly jealous of Remnant Dream. If only she could be here too.


    Sailor Chan''Risban''s Sword ¨C a Dark Gold single-handed sword that wasn''t any less valuable than a gemstone.


    The third room''s box was called Pack of the Nameless Old Sailor.


    This old sailor had to be powerful to be in a better position than the last room owner.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure if he could win the fight, but he didn''t like the idea of returning empty handed either.


    Open!


    Lu Li felt like he could fight a few rounds, even if it was a semi-boss.


    Nothing?


    There were no monsters this time. Lu Li let out a long sigh of relief that made a cloud of bubbles in the water.


    It was better that there were no monsters; he just needed to loot for items.


    It was just hard to tell if the Nameless Old Sailor would drop anything valuable.

 1036 Nameless Old Sailor

    He wasn''t expecting anything Legendary out of the chests, but he still had a tiny glimmer of hope within.


    This was how gaming was ¨C everyone would dream about looting something extraordinary. All those who dared to look down on them would be lining up to pay their price.


    It was rare for Lu Li to have these kinds of issues, but he was still slightly disappointed when he saw the item that he looted.


    Dismantle Armor!


    It wasn''t that this skill book was horrible ¨C in fact, it was one of the most popular skill books amongst Thieves. It was even more popular than some of the Enhancement skills out there.


    Only a handful of players had this skill in the China server, but one of them happened to be Lu Li!


    "Damn you, Nameless Old Sailor; why couldn''t you just slightly adjust your loot? Even if you changed it to something less valuable, it would still be more worthwhile for me.


    Most classes didn''t mind having a wide variety of skills. No matter how useless a skill seemed, it would prove to be of use under certain circumstances. The game wouldn''t design anything completely pointless.


    Unfortunately, this dilemma he was in had no solution.


    Lu Li packed away the valuable skill book and continued to loot the chest.


    Given that the first item was Dismantle Armor, the second item mightn''t be so bad after all.


    The sunken sea chests didn''t have any levels, or key requirements. They were one of the easiest chests to open, but the rewards were also lower than most treasure chests in the same level map. Usually, it would be good enough for these boxes to drop one good item. For example, all the chests that Lu Li had opened before gave mostly nothing but trash.


    Ding!


    It was the sound effect for a gemstone. For Lu Li, this was like heavenly music to his ears.


    He would probably even dream about this beautiful sound later when he went to bed after his game time.


    He clasped the gem tightly in his hands and opened his eyes slowly to check out the attributes. This was like a game that he had played before in the past. The game had a system where you could gamble and pay for a gem which came with all sorts of stats. Countless players who wanted to try their luck went broke from this.


    Equipment Level Requirement -10%.


    Lu Li was relieved to see that this was exactly what he was looking for.


    The Nameless Old Sailor was too kind to him.


    What Lu Li didn''t know was that these sunken ships had different tiers. The smallest ship would have one or two chests and a medium one would have given around ten, while a large ship might have had a dozen or more.


    The ship that he was on was definitely a large ship.


    All large ships had special rooms and these rooms were only available for players who explored the ship first. If Lu Li came again next time, he wouldn''t see the Nameless Old Sailor anymore.


    This was an incentive that the game provided for adventurous players.


    As for the losses that these players experienced in the process of their adventure, the gaming company had no comment.


    There was nothing else left besides a book called "Old Sailor''s Travel Dairy". Lu Li picked it up and packed it away carefully.


    Those who were uneducated often paid a lot more respect to books. This was the same both in real life and in game.


    There was most likely some surprise hidden by the gaming company in this diary to add to the lore of the game.


    The fourth room opened, revealing a chest called ''Plyfit''s Luggage''. When Lu Li opened it, a Mage-type ghost appeared. It seemed like the System was going to increase the difficulty for Lu Li.


    The monster was level 55 with ninety thousand health points and was equivalent to a semi-boss.


    Lu Li felt troubled, but he had to at least give it a shot.


    The two engaged in a few rounds of attacks and Lu Li lost 300 points of health while only dealing around 100 points to the ghost.


    Fortunately, control effects still applied or else Lu Li would''ve turned and ran.


    He performed a normal attack first, just to calculate the difference in power between him and Plyfit. Plyfit lost around 1/3 of his health while Lu Li was almost about to die.


    He first moved away from Plyfit and went into Stealth mode.


    Although the detection ability of ghost type monsters was great, as long as Lu Li went into Stealth a little further away, he wouldn''t get caught.


    Just as Garona Halforcen had said, there was no such thing as definite detection. The only reason you got caught was because you were unskilled, and the same rule applied on the opposite end. There was no absolute Stealth ¨C only inadequate detection..


    When Plyfit recovered his health from 2/3 to full, Lu Li watched, but wasn''t too annoyed about it.


    When you left battle mode, Plyfit''s health would return to full. This was a solid rule in Dawn, so players couldn''t fight monsters, then run to heal and come back to battle again.


    However, he managed to take down thirty thousand points of Plyfit''s health which gave him some hope.


    Although Plyfit had high stats, he didn''t have any powerful skills.


    Besides Shadow Bolt, he only had two others.


    One was Decadent Music, which was similar to a Bard skill. It reduced the movement speed of players and dealt no damage. The purpose of this skill was to pave the way for the other skill.


    The other skill created a puddle of poison that spread into the waters. Players needed to quickly escape the range of the poison to minimize the damage taken.


    Even if Lu Li lost 40% of his movement speed, he was still too fast for the poison. As suchm his damage taken remained consistent.


    Some said that players could use items, while under normal circumstances, monsters couldn''t drink potions.


    Others said that players had intelligence while the intelligence of monsters was capped.


    This was where Lu Li''s source of hope came from ¨C he was a player and could drink potions. He was also a Thief with control skills and his necklace also recovered health. He didn''t even use any special effects in his last fight.


    With the thought that he could still escape even if he lost, Lu Li began the fight again.


    Right before he was about to reach critical health, Plyfit was defeated.


    Without skills, magic type monsters were nothing but a piece of cake.


    Unfortunately, Plyfit wasn''t as generous as the Nameless Old Sailor. He only donated a Gold tier crossbow, which was worse than what Lu Li had anticipated.


    He thought that the deeper he entered, the better the rewards would be. The monsters that appeared seemed to support this, so he didn''t expect Plyfit to be so stingy.


    Next, he would probably be matched up against semi-bosses or even Bosses with a hundred thousand points of health.


    Lu Li didn''t feel like he could take down the next coming semi-Boss. He had almost given up on Plyfit.

 1037 Straight to the Captain

    When he opened the fifth door, he found a box inside called Chief Engineer Tomson''s Toolbox.


    Lu Li recalled the previous rooms and prayed that there wouldn''t be a monster hiding inside the box. That way, he could take the rewards without any risk at all.


    If Tomson was the Chief Engineer, there was a high chance of the box containing Engineering recipes.


    The boxed opened and a dark mist seeped through the cracks, summoning a monster that began to attack Lu Li. When he saw its level and stats, his heart sunk.


    Lv55, 15,000HP. Each attack dealt 680 points of damage to him, while he only dealt around 100 in return.


    Before he could even take down a fifth of the monster''s HP, he was almost dead. This wasn''t a fight that he could win and Lu Li decided to retreat when he only had 20% HP left.


    The Chief Engineer specialized in Engineering and machinery, and therefore would have other skills up his sleeve that he had yet to use.


    If Lu Li didn''t run away while he still had the chance, it was very likely that he would die here.


    There was nothing he could do but to accept the truth.


    The worst feeling in life was when there was something you wanted placed right in front of you, but at the same time, slightly out of reach. Lu Li had the urge to call up his guild and wipe out the entire shipwreck.


    However, he knew that it would be impossible because battles on land were different to battles under water. Mages weren''t able to cast their skills underwater, so they were basically useless. Conversely, bringing along a team of melee classes would be stupid.


    Besides, not everyone was able to sneak past the swarms of Lv55 monsters like Lu Li.


    Clearing the monsters would take too long and the benefit would likley not outweigh the risks.


    However, Lu Li didn''t want to just give up.


    There were 6 rooms!


    He had already obtained two Equipment Level Requirement gems but he still wasn''t satisfied. The thought of giving up the last few chests made his heart break.


    No, there had to be some other way.


    Lu Li drank another potion that allowed him to breathe underwater and checked if he had anything in his bag that could be put to use.


    Bombs were probably useless because they couldn''t be detonated underwater. Even if bombs did work, they probably wouldn''t be enough to kill Tomson.


    He continued searching through his bag¡­


    "Wait a minute; The Book of Ur?"


    Lu Li''s eyes sparkled. Was it possible to summon Silly Husky to lure the monster away while he searched the chest?


    If he received any damage while opening the chest, he would be immediately interrupted. This was the reason why Lu Li couldn''t just tank the Boss while opening it up. However, if there was something that could lure the Boss away, then he could do whatever he wanted.


    First, there were two requirements that had to be met.


    One was whether Silly Husky could swim while the other was whether the Underwater Breathing potion would work on him.


    For this whole operation to work, both requirements had to be fulfilled.


    Lu Li summoned Silly Husky, who tried to howl and almost choked on the water. Lu Li held onto him tightly and poured the potion down his mouth.


    The werewolf resisted for his dear life.


    "Master, what are you trying to do to me?"


    A voice appeared in Lu Li''s mind and he realized that Silly Husky was able to communicate with him through their minds. The Book of Ur was so overpowered!


    "We''re underwater right now. I gave you a potion to help you breathe; don''t drown on me."


    "Drown your ass. I''m already dead; how can I die again? Let go of me."


    Lu Li watched as Silly Husky swam around the water casually like he a professional swimmer and placed his potions away. He realized that only pets needed to breathe and summoned monsters did not.


    "What did you summon me today for? Wait..." Silly Husky began, then saw the Ghost in the room. His expressions changed as he muttered, "You want me to¡­"


    "Cough, cough, I summoned you to help me," Lu Li laughed.


    Lu Li felt a sense of guilt wash over him because summoned monsters were quite intelligent.


    "You can''t beat this guy?"


    "You make it sound like you''ve fought him before."


    "Hmm, back in the day¡­"


    "Back in the day you were just a servant of a Magician."


    "He was an Arch Mage ¨C Archmage Ur. Do not disrespect him."


    "Haha, stop wasting time. Are you going to help me or not?"


    "Nope, and you can''t force me!"


    "Then I''ll never summon you again."


    "Crap, please don''t do that. What''s so hard about luring a monster away? Watch me take him so far that you can''t see me anymore.


    Silly Husky agreed almost immediately after being threatened. The only time he was allowed out was when Lu Li summoned him. He was able to stroll around town and explore the dungeons with Lu Li. Even though it was only for a short period of time, it was better than nothing at all.


    It was not good for him to make Lu Li angry.


    Silly Husky tested his speed underwater. In reality, he was also a ghost, so he could move freely and would have no problem luring the Boss away.


    "Oi, wait a second," Lu Li stopped the werewolf.


    If he was going to lure the Boss away instead of fighting it, why not lure the final Boss away?


    Since Silly Husky only had a limited amount of time to be summoned, he might as well go to the final Boss room to lure it away. Then, all he had to do was to bring another Thief with him the next time to finish looting the other rooms.


    Lu Li''s idea was very brave, but risky.


    What if the Boss instantly killed Silly Husky?


    He opened a few more doors and came to the last room. He knew that this was the final room because the words ''Captain''s Room'' was written on the door. When he opened the door, he saw Captain Vinci''s treasure chest.


    The bags and satchels from the previous rooms were nothing compared to this.


    He looked around and saw that there were no monsters around. The Boss would most likely appear after opening the chest.


    There was also a chance of no monster spawning. If he got lucky and the Boss wasn''t summoned, then he could freely loot the chest and wouldn''t have to ask this favour from Silly Husky.


    Lu Li opened the chest!


    The chest was like a genie in a bottle, except the genie was a terrifying Boss. As soon as he opened it, he immediately transformed into a seal and went into Stealth mode.


    Thanks to the bonus movement speed underwater, he was able narrowly escape.


    Silly Husky was almost in tears as he unwillingly approached the Boss and attacked it. The number -1 appeared above Captain Vinci''s head and Silly Husky swam away as fast as he could.


    When the Captain was out of the room, Lu Li cancelled his Stealth and opened the chest.


    "Far out, why does the game always reward me with daggers?"


    Lu Li didn''t need daggers at all because he had the Shard of the Defiler in one hand and the Widowmaker in the other hand. Every other Dagger he had received thus far was thrown into the guild storage.

 1038 Narrow Escape

    Lu Li didn''t even have time to look at the stats and put it away in his inventory disappointingly before reaching back into the treasure chest.


    Captain Vinci was Lv60, with 1,950,000 HP, and would require an entire hundred-man squad of Lv58 players to defeat. He definitely had other drops in the chest that were much more valuable.


    The second item was a stone. Lu Li wasn''t sure what it was exactly and ran away immediately.


    This would be the worst time to be greedy.


    Even though Lu Li knew that there were likely more than two items, as soon as the System notified him that Silly Husky was killed, he had to run away as quickly as possible. Silly Husky only bought him around 20 seconds, which meant that the Boss probably one-shot the poor puppy.


    There was a common rule that most players knew about shipwrecks. When the chests were opened up, the Boss would immediately become enraged, completely trampling over anything that stood in its path. Lu Li was afraid of the Boss'' ultimate skill.


    Ultimate skills were usually AOE skills, meaning that they could deal damage to Stealthed players and had the potential to one-shot him as well.


    He ran out of the Captain''s room and watched as the Boss shot a volley of spear guns from afar. The spears were faster than lightning and created a huge splash around the entire room.


    There was no chance of him escaping, even with the bonus movement speed from the seal transformation.


    He had no time to think and had to react out of reflex.


    He activated his shoes and immediately dashed 15 yards ahead, dealing 200% damage to all targets struck while going into a state of invulnerability.


    Although he was still in range of the AOE attack, he managed to survive the 30-yard-radius Ultimate skill.


    However, he was still within the aggro range of the Boss. He quickly casted Gale Steps to enter into Stealth mode and activated Sprint to run as far away from the Boss as possible.


    The Captain was still in hot pursuit!


    His aggro range was simply terrifying. The Boss was determined to do everything he could to catch the Thief that had stolen his treasures.


    Disengage: immediately teleports the user 15 yards ahead of him, cooldown 3 minutes.


    While this was powerful mobility skill, it forced him out of Stealth because the effect was on his Dagger.


    Lu Li managed to create about 30 to 40 yards between him and the Boss, but it still wasn''t enough to escape the aggro range. He regretted not planning his escape route before attempting to steal from a Lv60 Boss.


    Despite this, Lu Li still had other tricks up his sleeve.


    Shadowmeld, Stealth then Smoke Atomization!


    Atomization: Instant Cast. The user''s body dissipates like a fog and is forced into Stealth with a 20% increased Stealth effect. The user can walk through some obstacles. 2 minute cooldown.


    This was the active on his Dark Gold Belt ¨C Hexx''s Belt.


    Not only did it increase his stealth effects, but he was also able to walk through obstacles.


    Captain Vinci was confused by the cloud of fog that was left behind while Lu Li was able to slip through a small crack and escape.


    However, his heart sank when he saw that the Boss was still behind him.


    "What the hell, is he going to keep chasing after me until I get back onto dry land?"


    Lu Li transformed into a Leopard and his movement speed greatly increased. He saw a monster around 20 yards ahead of him and activated the special effect on his cape, allowing him to increase his movement speed by 40% when running towards a target for 3 seconds.


    Before the monster could react, Lu Li casted Stealth again and disappeared.


    This time, the Boss stopped in his track and was more than 50 yards away from Lu Li now.


    50 yards was often regarded as a safe distance.


    Most monsters would ignore targets more than 50 yards away, especially if the target was a Thief with a high-level Stealth.


    Lu Li almost cried.


    If the Boss continued to aggro onto him, he would write a lengthy post on the forums, complaining about how terrible the game was.


    Lu Li swore to never aggro a Lv60 Boss again because the level difference was too much for him to handle.


    He was too afraid to show himself and slowly moved away to create more distance. He waited for the seal transformation to come off cooldown, then immediately casted it, zig-zagging through patches of monsters and swimming upwards. He rested above water at a place that was free of monsters for around half an hour for his skills to come off cooldown, then headed back.


    Why was he heading back?


    There were four more rooms with four more chests to open. As long as Captain Vinci returned to his room, he would have a chance at obtaining the loot from the other four rooms.


    He probably couldn''t defeat the Bosses in the rooms, but he was a master at the art of escaping from battles.


    If no monsters spawned when he opened the chest, he could freely search the room without any worries.


    The only concern he had was whether the captain returned back to its original spawn.


    Lu Li wasn''t very sure about the monster mechanics in the shipwreck since they had been updated many times since he started playing in his past life. However, his current understanding was that the Bosses returned to their spawn after around 20 minutes.


    He wondered if he should take a look at the items he looted from the previous run but decided against it.


    Instead, he decided to be adventurous and look at all the items at once after looting all the chests. He knew that there was a Dagger, but didn''t hold high expectations for it.


    There were four rooms left that he had yet to loot ¨C 6,7,8 and 9. He approached carefully and noticed that the two monsters that had spawned had already returned back to their respective rooms. He carefully opened the door to the sixth room and looked inside.


    Unfortunately, there was a monster in room 6, and another in room 7.


    Perhaps the System knew that he was benefiting too much from these chests and wanted to make things difficult for him. He took some time to catch his breath after escaping two more times.


    He wasn''t worried about not being able to escape, especially because the Bosses weren''t enraged. Even the captain in rage form couldn''t catch up to him, so the others had no chance at all. However, he had to wait for his cooldowns after each Boss room.


    Rooms 8 and 9 contained Bosses that were 2nd and 3rd in command, so naturally, they were just as powerful as the captain.

 1039 Felstriker

    When the third-in-command monster came out of the box, Lu Li was frightened and ran for his life.


    The monster was a Thief.


    The topic of the most feared class of monsters for Thieves was heatedly discussed on Dawn''s forums. Every class was mentioned, but for Lu Li, he was afraid of Thief-class monsters the most.


    High-levelled Thief monsters usually had Shadow Step, in addition to a crowd-control ability.


    They had the ability to instantly teleport behind their enemies and stun them. Once targeted, it was extremely difficult to run from them.


    The newly-materialised monster did not even have time to react before Lu Li disappeared in front of its eyes.


    He was too unfortunate; there was only a 50% chance of monsters spawning. However, a majority of boxes in this 12-room area had spawned monsters. There were two left, so if they spawned anymore, Lu Li would be utterly unlucky.


    Lu Li was in his leopard form as he carefully pried the chest open, ready to flee at the first sight of the monster.


    The second-in-command was a Boss that rivalled the Captain himself. As soon as the Captain died in battle, or was unable to continue its duties, the second-in-command would automatically be recognized as Captain. As for his health bar, it exceeded the millions.


    No monster!


    Finally, a monster did not spawn. Lu Li stood in front of the chest and nearly kneeled.


    He did not hesitate and instantly looted the items inside, hoping for there to be something worthy of his time since he had spent at least half a day in this place.


    Mistscale Leggings, Plate armour, Dark Gold. The Attributes were excellent and it looked like it was suited for Healing-based Paladins.


    The second item was a Mask. After seeing its properties, Lu Li instantly became excited. It was a T1 Level 55 Dark Gold Mask Thieves, called the Nightslayer Mask.


    He already had the Leggings of the Nightslayer set, so after equipping this one, he would have two pieces of the set.


    Two pieces of equipment from the set were enough to activate the first Set Effect.


    The third item was much more worse than the others ¨C it was a Nautical Compass.


    Lu Li sighed. A chest of such high-rank only had three items. The Captain''s chest would have had so much more, but unfortunately, he probably was not able to retrieve them.


    Lu Li had spent half a day to search this entire ship. He ended up with two Gemstones that had the effect of lowering the requirements of equipment. Furthermore, he had also gained many other high-grade equips, such as the T1 Head Armour. Such equipment could only be hoped to drop in much higher-levelled instance dungeons or from Wild Bosses.


    He still hadn''t checked the equipment he had received from the Captain.


    Lu Li took out a Stone. He had found it in the Captain''s chest, so it could not be a ''low-grade'' stone like an Enhancing Stone.


    In a normal player''s eyes, Enhancing Stones were in high demand, so the prices for them were outrageous. However, Lu Li considered them as rubbish. They would have killed him had they known that he said things like this. Lu Li was not wrong though ¨C in his eyes, only the Stones that lowered requirements were of worth.


    Transmuting Stone: After embedding, the user gains a Special Critical Hit Effect. 10% chance of doubling damage dealt to the target. 5% chance of tripling damage dealt to target. 1% chance of dealing 5 times the original damage. 0.01% chance of dealing 10 times the original damage.


    This was a Stone held in the highest regard by Mages!


    Of course, this could be used for classes other than Mage, but Mages prioritised Critical Strikes above anything else since their base Attack stats were already extremely high. After successfully dealing a Critical Hit, the damage dealt would be tremendous. Five times the original damage had the chance of instantly killing another player.


    As for the 1% chance, it was better to not depend on it.


    Truthfully, Lu Li was hoping for a Stone that lowered requirements. As he sighed, he took out a dagger and read the description.


    What? Felstriker?


    This could not have been Felstriker! Was the System trying to bribe Lu Li into something?


    Lu Li took back his words. Although he did not necessarily need a new dagger, when comparing his own daggers to the Felstriker, they were absolute trash.


    The Felstriker was a weapon that was a relic of an era, not just a mere dagger. This dagger was the dream of all Thieves. Before activating the special effects, it let the user experience what it was like to be a god.


    Furthermore, the drop rate of this dagger was abysmally low.


    In the first year that Dawn was released into the public, the drop rate was a mere 0.62%.


    Considering this and the fact that everyone wanted to get their hands on one, it was a miracle to be the owner of a Felstriker.


    It was harder for someone to gain enlightenment than to get their hands on this weapon.


    Lu Li recalled that when he had just joined the game, only a few players were strong enough to even think about owning this dagger. These people were at the absolute pinnacle of Dawn. When the drop rate was adjusted to being higher than 2%, Thieves who were around level 60 to 70 began to head towards Blackrock Spire to try and make their dreams come true.


    Furthermore, the Felstriker had to be crafted.


    Before owning one, many rare materials had to be gathered. Of course, the Felstriker was a dagger that could only be dropped in Nightmare-levelled instance dungeons in Blackrock Spire, which was only tackled by the Elite squads of major organisations.


    The Felstriker was a level 60 Legendary grade weapon.


    Lu Li had a high-grade crafting hammer, so he was confident that he could craft one. He was aiming to make 2 slots available ¨C one for the Transmuting Stone, and the other for the Critical Hit Stone.


    Why didn''t he use the Critical Stone on his other equipment?


    Precious stones like these should be embedded in equipment after much consideration. Normally, attack-based Stones were embedded in Weapons or Rings, while Defense-based Stones were embedded in Armor. Stones that increased movement speed would obviously be used on Shoes.


    If the Critical Stone was embedded in his Shoes, it would be a waste.


    After examining the dagger, Lu Li was extremely satisfied with his day''s work.


    Maps like these, where people had not yet tread, were the best. After half a day, Lu Li had already gained more than what a few hundred people could hope to gain from a Wild Boss. Truthfully, not even a level 60 Wild Bosses could drop this many items.


    A single Felstriker replica like this was enough to trump anything that could drop from a Boss that was level 60 and below.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li''s crafting level was a little low, and he did not have the required materials. It was impossible to craft a Felstriker within a couple of days.


    The best Stone that he had right now was one that lowered the level requirement by 10%. After equipping this stone on any equipment, a level 54 player could wear level 60 items. As such, levels were of utmost importance. When Lu Li reached level 54, he would have already crafted the Felstriker.

 1040 Spire Mercenary Group

    Lu Li did not return immediately; he still lacked at least three more of those Stones that lowered requirements.


    The Felstriker, the other two T1 equipment, the Deathlord''s Mantle and the emblem from before each required one stone. However, he only had two in his possession right now.


    Lu Li tried to think of more ways to acquire them.


    Shipwrecks would be a little difficult. He knew of five shipwrecks, and he had just gone to one of them.


    This meant that there were four more. Two of these were teeming with level 60 monsters, so Lu Li did not dare to try his luck. Of the remaining two, one of them was near Darkshore, and the other was near Stranglethorn Vale. However, these had already been explored by other players since the monster levels were much lower. Many people camped at the chests there, waiting for them to refresh.


    These chests did not refresh with set times, and could vary from an instant to a few days.


    As for those with small chests, Lu Li did not want to waste his time.


    He took his little boat and returned to the shore, then summoned a mount and raced along towards Darkshore. After arriving there, he examined the levels of the players training on the shores. He then started to move towards a group with a special insignia on their clothes.


    This was the mercenary group in the Spire and was one of the biggest in the country.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had encountered this group as well. The leader of this group was mainly in the business of farming gold, ore, leather and potions. There were tens of thousands of people who were loyal to this flag dispersed in various places. Boasting such an army was a testament to their extreme wealth.


    This shipwreck was likely in their control.


    Lu Li stopped his mount and gave them greetings.


    "Hey there, I have a question for you guys."


    "Who are you?" The power-levellers looked at the Headless Knight mount that Lu Li was on and did not dare to cause any trouble. In Dawn, people who owned mounts like these were rare.


    "My identity is not important. I have money," Lu Li said, assuming the identity of a wealthy man.


    "I''m in charge here. How can I help you? Feel free to request anything," a male Mage offered, as he stored away his staff. The other people went back to killing monsters. The monsters here were only level 20-30, so Lu Li deducted that the level of these people was not high.


    "I want Stones that lower level requirements," Lu Li instantly said.


    "Sorry, we cannot help you." The Mage was disappointed; he had seen that this exchange had gone awry already.


    "Why? I know you have these items," Lu Li chuckled. He knew they were lying, because mercenary groups like these often had items that they would keep until the price inflated.


    This Stone was clearly an item that would inflate to a terrifyingly high price later.


    There was a demand for these stones, but the mercenary groups like these held onto them so that the prices would continue.


    The Mage hesitated, then recovered from his initial surprise and said, "We really don''t have the item that you''re asking for. If we did, we would definitely do a trade with you, since we''re business people after all. We can''t help you if you don''t believe our words. Try looking for it in the market; you might find some there."


    "I''ll use equipment to trade with you. How about that?" Lu Li suggested.


    "Um, I''m sorry¡­" the Mage apologized, then turned and began to leave.


    "Are you sure you don''t even want to look at the equipment? These are Voodoo equips. Your group has no interest at all?" Lu Li asked as he displayed the equipment in such a way that they could freely examine it.


    Big Voodoo Cloak (Gold) 3 stars.


    Big Voodoo Mask (Gold) 3 stars.


    Big Voodoo Shoulder Plate (Gold) 3 stars.


    Big Voodoo Breastplate (Gold) 3 stars.


    The surrounding players took a deep breath. If Lu Li had only brought out one piece, they would not have had such a reaction. They were members of a mercenary group, so they would have already seen these things.


    However, to complete the entire set was no easy task at all.


    Furthermore, Lu Li had excellent or elite quality items. An ordinary player might not have even seen an Elite equipment before, let alone a Gold grade.


    However, the enhancement of 3 stars was what had impressed them the most.


    How wealthy was this guy? It was such a waste, spending enhancement stones on these!


    These level 40 equips were extremely strong!


    Not even the level 40-50 Elite Squads of major guilds donned equipment of this level. These four items, when worn, would instantly raise their strength by a tremendous amount.


    "How about it? Interested?" Lu Li asked.


    Lu Li had already planned to scrap the Voodoo set anyway. If he could receive what he wanted in return for these, he would be happy. As for placing it in the guild vault for the members, he was not that generous. He did not mind giving equipment like this to his members, but not at the cost of his own personal gains.


    "How much? the Mage asked as he swallowed his saliva.


    Although the Stones were rare, a 3-star full equipment set was just as valuable.


    "Money?" Lu Li chuckled, "Sorry, do I look like I lack money?"


    "No, not at all."


    The Mage bitterly smiled and shook his head. Lu Li was a person that owned a Headless Knight mount, so there was no way that he was lacking money at all.


    "I only want the Stones, or a Darkmoon Card with Twisting Nether as its properties ¨C if you guys have them, that is," Lu Li requested boldly. After all, he knew better than anyone of the difficulty of obtaining this set of equipment. If it was not for the First Clear and pieces from Water Fairy, even he would find it difficult.


    Voodoo equips were also extremely precious in his previous life.


    "Wait a minute. I''ll ask my superiors to talk to you."


    The Mage was only in charge of this small area, so he was not in the place to decide the exchanges of such items, even if he had them in his storage.


    His superior came quickly. He was a Thief player that was just shy of level 50 and rode atop an ugly grey horse.


    "I''m Qian Yu, the vice-leader of the Spire Mercenaries. I heard that you have a full set of 3-star Big Voodoo equipment. Is that true?"


    "Of course."


    "How do you wish to trade?"


    "5 8% Transmuting Stones that lower level requirement." Lu Li did not think that he was being harsh at all.


    "****! Sorry, but that''s not possible," Qian Yu said, then added, "We already don''t have many 8% stones, let alone five! Even four pieces of 3-starred equipment are not worth that much. After all, they are only level 40."


    "A Stone can only be used once, but equipment can be used continuously. Your organisation can use this set to power level players from level 40 to 50."


    Lu Li was not a person that could be easily shut down. He knew how to focus on the important points.


    For an organisation like this, the main selling point of equipment like this was its longevity, just like Lu Li had said.

 1041 Agreemen

    The five 8% Level Reduction Gems were just too much; it was excessive by a huge margin.


    "Brother, if you really want to do business, then let''s talk about something more realistic," Thousand Feathers said as he stared at Lu Li''s four pieces of equipment, finding it difficult to swallow.


    He was now regretting his decision. He should have volunteered to come and negotiate.


    He was a level 43 Thief; how could he refuse a level 40 Gold set!?


    "How much many can you produce?" Lu Li asked.


    Starting from a high price was just the way business worked. Of course, Lu Li didn''t miss Thousand Feather''s yearning stare, but his face didn''t give anything away while he laughed on the inside.


    "How about 2 5% Level Reduction Gems, and I can add a bit of gold. These items have a very low drop rate, so we don''t have that much stock," Thousand Feathers offered through clenched teeth. He would rather spend more gold coins than to waste the gems in the warehouse.


    Even an idiot knew that the value of gold coins was steadily dropping while the value of gems was steadily increasing.


    "I''ve always heard that the Mercenary Groups were very honest in doing business," Lu Li sneered. "I didn''t except this to be the case, but if you can''t offer five 8% Level Reduction Gems, then it''s likely that no one else in the whole game can make that offer either.


    These words seemed critical, but they were in fact words of praise.


    Thousand Feathers was pleasantly surprised. Although their Mercenary Group was less powerful than a major guild, they were businessmen and had confidence in their business.


    In fact, there were dozens of Level Reducing Gems in the Mercenary Group''s warehouse.


    Not long after the game began, they had discovered the potential value of these gems, so they invested millions of dollars in acquiring them. Over the course of the game, they had constantly researched how to find more of them. A Treasure Chest in a shipwreck was a place where they could easily be found, so they sent countless players to defend and loot shipwrecks.


    "It would be impossible for me to offer five pieces," Thousand Features said, still hoping to lower the price.


    "In that case, don''t worry about the 8% ones and just give me five 5% ones."


    Lu Li didn''t want that many to begin with anyway, so he retracted a little.


    He had given him some space by changing it from 8 to 5%, so now, Thousand Feathers had to respond with the same. Otherwise, the business deal would fall through. Thousand Feathers looked at Lu Li in cold sweat, finding it difficult to reject this offer.


    This was a not a vegetable market; the loss of business here was more than a few dollars.


    Whether it was five Level Reducing Gems or three Fortified Gold set items, these things constituted an enormous wealth that an ordinary player couldn''t even begin to imagine.


    "Perhaps you''re feeling that giving me 5 Level Reducing Gems are a bit of a loss. After all, the future potential of these gems is amazing. However, once you and I have done business, you''re more likely to have a regular customer," Lu Li said patiently.


    "Oh, what else do you need?" Thousand Feathers asked curiously.


    "Any valuables, medicinal materials, ores ¨C it could be anything. I''d buy rare materials too, and I would give you a high price beyond the market price," Lu Li explained, dropping a bombshell.


    "Are you a businessman?" Such a big deal was beyond Thousand Feathers'' expectations.


    "I''m not a businessman, but I am willing to purchase whatever you have."


    Lu Li knew how these Mercenary Groups operated. They couldn''t just dump huge amounts of an item into the market without affecting the prices. For example, if they placed 100,000 Peacebloom Flower Herbs on the market, their value would plummet due to oversupply.


    Not all goods were valuable like the Level Reducing Gems. If they were stored for too long, their value was likely to be lost due to changes in the market prices.


    "I have 40,000 pieces of Silver ore¡­" Thousand Feathers said, not believing it.


    "Well, I''ll take them for 30 Silver pieces each. The market price for one is 29 silver pieces, right?'' Lu Li offered without hesitation. Ruling Sword had more than 100,000 Trade Skill players and more than 10,000 players in the Forging divisions, each of which only had a few dozen pieces of silver ore. They didn''t have enough.


    Of course, if Ruling Sword purchased from Shen Wansan, it might be cheaper than the market price.


    "If you have the gold, I can just purchase them at market price," Lu Li said, trying to make Thousand Feathers feel at ease again.


    "Okay, we''ll follow what you said. If you collect our goods, then I will give you the five Level Reducing Gems," Thousand Feathers agredd, then quickly reported to the leader of the Mercenary Group.


    The trade was between Four Gold set items and five level Reducing Gems.


    When the deal was made, no one had really made a loss. Lu Li''s promised transaction was not a loss either; it was perhaps even more important than their need for the gems.


    Under normal circumstances, a large guild would have an additional group of players on top of the combatants and the Trade Professionals.


    Lu Li was originally hired as a Gold Miner for the Star Moon Guild. In addition to the Gold Miner position, there was the Cannon Fodder, Raw Material Collectors and many other roles involving logistics to serve the combatants. Any major guild was similarly constituted, especially the club guilds which had several groups of more than 10,000 players who were responsible for such duties.


    This was all inside information!


    However, Ruling Sword didn''t have these yet because they had built up so quickly. Lu Li and Square Root 3 hadn''t even settled matters for the combatants yet, so they didn''t have the time to set up all these other groups. These weren''t things that could be achieved quickly.


    However, when he saw the Spire Mercenary Group, he was suddenly inspired.


    These mercenaries couldn''t fight, nor could they match guilds in doing Instance Dungeons, but they could be relied on to collect gold and other necessary materials.


    "Are you sure you can take all these goods?'' Thousand Feathers still wasn''t sure.


    "I''ll take everything you have, as long as they''re worth something. I don''t believe in letting things go to waste," Lu Li decisively said.


    "Can you sign an agreement?" Thousand Feathers asked. He wasn''t going to let such a wealthy person walk away now.


    "That is absolutely no problem," Lu Li almost laughed.


    "Wait a moment, I will send a System agreement before we discuss the terms."


    Thousand Feathers was one of the deputy heads of the Mercenary Group and had the power to make such a decision. In fact, their leader was also paying close attention after receiving news on this deal.


    They had no ambition to dominate the world; they were just a group trying to make a living together.


    The market was constantly changing, making the business of selling these materials even more difficult, especially if they weren''t connected to a major guild. However, most guilds had their own Gold Collection Units and Raw Material Collectors. For these external groups, it would normally be almost impossible to receive the market price for these items.

 1042 Two Pieces of T1

    This transaction meant that Ruling Sword did not have to worry about having materials in the meantime. The bonus gems and rare materials were a fortunate add-on.


    Of course, Lu Li was still going to find ways to build Ruling Sword''s own Gold Collection Unit and Raw Materials Collectors. After all, from the perspective of cost and stability, this external Mercenary Group was not as reliable.


    Thousand Feathers drafted the system contract and signed it before directing Lu Li, "If there are no further issues, please sign here."


    The terms of the contract did not need to be too complicated, and a consensus was quickly reached.


    Simply put, Party B''s material production was to be preferentially supplied to Party A, while Party A had to pay 10% above the market price. Party A could not reject the materials on the grounds that there were too many of them and Party B had to guarantee production of various materials at a specified ratio¡­


    Lu Li took the pen and signed himself into the position of Party A.


    This was a System contract, which was protected both by the System and by law. This wasn''t just a contract within a game. If either party breached it, the network police could be contacted to force the parties to perform the compensation clauses according to the contract.


    "Lu¡­ Lu Li¡­"


    When he saw Lu Li sign his name, Thousand Feathers'' voice shook. He blinked and read carefully, but it still read the same words.


    Perhaps it was just a duplicate; Dawn allowed for the existence of duplicate names.


    "If there are no problems, then let''s start trading on Monday. You can set a location and my people will find you," Lu Li said as he sent a friend request.


    Lu Li, level 52!


    There might have been other Lu Li''s in the game, but there was only probably only one who was at Level 52.


    Thousand Feathers was finally convinced that he had just dealt with the game''s number one player. The group that he was now working with was none other than the emerging major guild Ruling Sword.


    In short, they had hit it big!


    Regardless, the agreement had been signed and Lu Li didn''t mention much else. He was already in a good mood now that they had five Level Reducing Gems and a long-term supply of materials backed by an agreement.


    He planned to go back to see if March Rain had completed his gear.


    In order to make this deal, he had lost four pieces of equipment. There was a competition tomorrow, so he couldn''t just go in naked.


    "It''s done, but unfortunately, it''s not Perfect," March Rain said in embarrassment.


    "Is it a Superior grade?" Lu Li''s asked as his heart sank slightly. He had hoped that the Mold''s equipment quality would be as high as possible. There was Superior, Fine, Exquisite and Perfect. If it could reach Perfect level, then it would be not much different from an Epic equip.


    "It''s actually an Exquisite and a Fine. Have a look," March Rain said as she traded two pieces of equipment to Lu Li.


    Lu Li hastily took them from her in excitement.


    Nightslayer Leather Pants (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 65, Agility +60, Constitution +35, Evasion +20%. 2 slots. Special Effect 1: Shadow Step Skill +1. Special Effect 2: After a successful block, there is a certain chance of blocking the damage that will be dealt to the attacker. Special Effect 3: Demon Transformation. Gain the power of the Demons. Decrease damage taken by 20% while ignoring all crowd control skills and gain a floating effect which prevents all fall damage. 120 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    If you inserted a 5% Level Reduction Gem into a level 55 equipment, then you would be able to equip the item at level 53.


    Although Lu Li was still at level 52, he only needed a bit more EXP to level up. He was going to find a team of senior Mages from the guild to farm EXP with so he could level up before the end of the day.


    This item was already much better than the previous pants that he had.


    Raider''s Leather Pants (Gold): Amour 32, Agility +16, Constitution +12 Special Effect 1: Critical Hit +10%. Special Effect 2: Capturing the Son of Arugal. There is a certain chance of stunning a target when attacking. The stun can last up to 1 second. Special Effect 3: Gift of Arugal''s son. Curse the target so that the target loses 100 HP every 5 seconds. Lasts 300 seconds. 30 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 35. Durability 64/64.


    In fact, these Raider''s Leather Pants were still quite powerful. If he sold them, they wouldn''t necessarily be much cheaper than a level 50 Gold or Dark Gold item.


    The two Son of Arugal effects were exquisite, and they could double the value of any equipment they were placed in. Unfortunately, the equipment level and its Attributes were just too low now.


    Raider''s Leather Pants gave 32 Armor while Nightslayer Leather Pants gave 65.


    The difference between the other bonus Attributes were like night and day. No matter how good the effects were, Lu Li had no choice but to give up the Raider''s Leather Pants.


    The Nightslayer Leather Pants provide Evasion. There was no concept of absolute Evasion in Dawn, but if a player had high Evasion, it would limit their damage and critical hits taken. When most players started to gain high critical damage, Evasion would become an important attribute.


    There was no Evasion provided by Armor, so there would often be cases where a player was killed after a number of continuous critical hits.


    The two slots perfectly solved Lu Li''s problem of one slot not being enough. A player could insert a Level Reducing gem into one slot and insert another gem into the other. For a T1 Dark Gold set item like the Nightslayer, Lu Li couldn''t just insert any piece of rubbish.


    The first special effect was Shadowstep +1. Lu Li hadn''t learned this skill yet, but his Epic shoes also had the same special effect.


    However, the special effects on the shoes would no longer take effect because of special effect 1. Lu Li had to find a way to obtain the Shadow Step skill book so that this effect could be put to use. Although the drop rate was relatively low, it wasn''t impossible.


    The second special effect was generally considered to be quite weak. For an ordinary player, there was no difference between blocking and gambling. Most players didn''t even know why some blocks were successful. Moreover, this special effect would only rebound the damage if the block was successful. As such, in most cases, this special effect would never trigger.


    However, this wasn''t an absolute matter. Players like Lu Li who were skilled had a very impressive blocking rate.


    If the damage of the skill itself was 300, a successful block from Lu Li could reduce it down to 180. With this special effect, it was possible to return the 120 damage back to the attacker.


    Lu Li was quite satisfied with this special effect.


    The third special effect was completely unexpected. The ordinary Nightslayer leather pants that Lu Li had seen generally didn''t have this effect. Demon transformations were generally a Warlock''s signature skill and someone like Kitty Likes Meat could use this skill to great effect. However, her transformation skill was different from Lu Li''s and was much more powerful.


    Lu Li''s demon form gave him 20% damage reduction without any attack buffs, but the fall damage protection and immunity from crowd control was the same.


    Lu Li didn''t care much about fall damage protection, as he could already transform into a leopard. However, he liked that it gave him immunity from crowd control, which was the real value of this inferior demon form. With this special effect, you could ignore more crowd control spells like Fear and Charm.


    Overall, these Level 55 pants were more than sufficient to completely replace the Raider''s Leather Pants.


    The other item was the Nightslayer Ghostface.


    Nightslayer Ghostface: (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 60, Agility 55, Strength +30, Dark Field of View +30%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Wild Roar. The caster roars, increasing base attack power of everyone within 30 yards by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Shadow Plunder. Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Void Gaze, Increases the probability of finding Stealth units for 60 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    If he had already decided to replace the Raider''s Leather Pants with the Nightslayer Leather Pants, then Lu Li could replace the Voodoo Facemask without hesitation.


    This Mask was just too strong.


    The increase in dark vision allowed him to better explore dark environments. The value of the first special effect was immediately apparent; it was an inferior Bloodlust. Its most valuable aspect was that it could affect an area around him.


    Special effect 2 was also an active skill. To put it simply, it could steal a buff from another player, but if you were unlucky, you could steal something worthless. If he stole an Intelligence buff, it would be completely wasted, but if you could steal a powerful buff that gave all Attributes +20, it would be immensely useful. There were many exquisite effects on monsters that could be stolen.


    The third skill was useful for catching Thieves, which meant it could be used in a mirror matchup.


    Lu Li was very satisfied with these two pieces of equipment. He didn''t mind at all that they were Perfect, as even he couldn''t forge a Perfect level equipment. These two Fine and Exquisite items had greatly exceeded his expectations.


    After receiving the equipment, he found someone from the guild to Enchant them.


    Enchantment was a very important Trade skill for Dawn. Players could attach Attributes to their equipment with certain recipes and materials. However, this Trade Skill was currently practiced by many players and there were a number of experts. Even so, there were not many players who wanted to Enchant their gear.


    The reason for this was simple ¨C the materials required to Enchant were too expensive.


    When Lu Li received Aegwynn''s book of Enchanting, he didn''t hesitate to give it to Medivh in order to learn the Crow Transformation because he already knew more than anyone else about how to learn Enchanting.


    In addition to the conventional sources, Enchanting materials were mainly derived from decomposing various equipment. Worthless equipment could only be decomposed for a small number of worthless materials. The more exquisite the decomposed equipment was, the more exquisite the materials would be. However, ordinary players often didn''t even have enough exquisite equipment to use, let alone decompose them for materials.


    In the same way, Lu Li wasn''t willing to decompose exquisite equipment to perform Enchantments either. The attached properties were often something like Agility +8, which was barely serviceable.


    It could be said that the Enchanting Trade Skill was the most pitiful Trade Skill in Dawn.


    After the Enchanting was ready, he placed the Level Reducing Gems into the level 55 equipment and Fortified them. He didn''t dare to strengthen them too much, and only used Fortify twice. This process had used up almost half of his inventory. In fact, Strengthening Stones were hard to come by, especially since the demand for them were continually increasing. The few he had were quickly used up by the fortification.


    After preparing his equipment, Lu Li began to look around for parties that were level 50 and above to level with. Lonesome Flower had taken March Rain offline and Fat Monkey told him he was playing PVP. In desperation, he could only ask the guild for help.


    "Boss, we''re killing spiders in the Searing Gorge," Nuo Yu replied quickly.


    "I''m coming to sap some EXP," Lu Li said bluntly.


    In fact, many professional players levelled in this way. If there were a group of Mages fighting monsters, they could cast area of effect skills together and farm very efficiently. Lu Li was personally strong enough to farm very efficiently as well since he had the Killing Star effect. However, he was trying to reach level 53 to use his new equipment and his Voodoo set had been traded to the Spire Mercenary Group. As such, he was currently farming half naked which meant that he had no choice but to join a Mage party.


    The Searing Gorge was an infertile land that suffered from heatwave after heatwave. Cracked cliffs and rifts were the only geographic features and there were very few road signs guiding lost travelers. Various scorpions, Iron Dwarves and spider monsters patrolled the gorge.


    Greater Lava Spiders, Searing Lava Spiders and Glassweb Spiders were the three types of spiders that were found in the Searing Gorge. They ranged between level 50 to 55, which was perfect for current high-level players to farm in. However, the most important thing was that there was so many of them. Their respawn rate was much faster than other level 50 monsters. After several battles, Ruling Sword had taken over the gorge and its several respawning points, prohibiting non-Ruling Sword players from setting foot in the area.


    The players in the area were very excited to see Lu Li''s arrival. It was rare that they would have to chance to see the big boss in person, let alone fight by his side.


    Lu Li didn''t just take up EXP without doing any work. After joining the party, he would run around and lead the monsters into specific areas so that the mages in his team only needed to cast Blizzard in their positions.

 1043 A Newcomer’s Comeback

    By the end of the day, Lu Li had risen to level 53 without any further incidents.


    In addition to the two T1 set pieces, he also equipped a new Badge and Shoulderpads.


    Searing Words (Dark Gold): Agility + 80, 1 Slot. Special Effect 1: There is a certain chance that the user''s attack receives a 30% fire damage bonus. Special Effect 2: Casting this effect will increase critical hit by 60% for 12 seconds. 60 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Increase max HP by 10% and increase HP regeneration by 60HP per second for 1 minute. Can be interrupted. 2 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 250/250.


    Death''s Clutch (Dark Gold): Armor 55, Agility +50, Strength +35, Critical Hit +20%, Special Effect 1: Backstab +1, Special Effect 2: After casting Cheap Shot, there is a certain chance that a shield that reduces 50% of damage taken will appear. This effect lasts for up to 3 skills. Special Effect 3: Exile, prevent the target from taking any actions for 2 seconds. During this period, the target is invincible. Only one target can be exiled at a time and this skill can only be used on targets that are lower-levelled than the user. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 268/268.


    In addition, he was wearing the Charred Leather Tunic and the Cloak of Eventide.


    These were the equips that he had recently replaced. Compared to two days ago, Lu Li''s gear


    had undergone a significant change.


    With the improvement of everyone''s levels, especially after hitting level 50, Lu Li''s equipment advantage was now almost non-existent. Elevenless, for example, was now wearing a level 50 Gold set, but surprisingly, he still had some level 30 items.


    Now that Lu Li had replaced these 5-6 pieces of equipment, his strength had dramatically increased.


    Even those star players who were previously better-equipped than himi couldn''t say that they were now. After all, not all players could find level 55 items and have so many Level Reduction Gems to spare.


    However, changing over did not come without its disadvantages.


    Due to the nature of the Nightslayer Ghostface, Lu Li could no longer wear his bandana.


    The Nightslayer Ghostface was similar to a bandana. The rendering effect was like a face hidden within a shadow. It looked quite frightening, but most players thought it was really cool.


    As the name suggested, the Cloak of Eventide was a hooded cloak. From the outside, Lu Li looked more like a sorcerer walking in the shadows.


    Lu Li went to try out his new strength on some monsters and found that his movements felt more fluid than before. The advanced equipment was noticeably different ¨C it was more suitable for combat and he felt much more comfortable in them.


    When fighting level 50 monsters, a group of Mages had to use several rounds of area of effect skills to clear them out. Meanwhile, Lu Li was able to defeat them within two or three rotations of skills.


    By the time Lu Li came online the next day, the results had been released and Ruling Sword was in the top 16.


    The top 16 this year was Glory Capital, Ruling Sword, Wings of Dawn, Seventh Heaven, Peerless City, Blood Red War Flag, Drizzle Court, Gale Legion, Azure Guard, Majin Temple, Blue Universe, Purple Lunar Paradise, Stellar Union, Grand Hegemony, the Brotherhood and Gods of Dusk.


    Ruling Sword''s first match was against the Brotherhood.


    Currently, the Brotherhood only had two competing teams, which was a far cry from what they had used to be. However, their strength was not something to be underestimated as they had previously defeated Azure Guard and Majin Temple.


    The Brotherhoods'' aggressive Hunter, Hot Twitch, was recruited from Peacetime Dynasty and had merely used two skills to deal with Majin Temple''s Priest Record. Lu Li had studied Hot Twitch in detail and thought that he must be using some kind of special effect to greatly increase his attack strength over a short period.


    During Chinese New Year, Hot Twitch had vowed to do the same to Lu Li as well, so he clearly wasn''t a fan.


    Now that the Brotherhood and Ruling Sword were going to fight, Lu Li began to feel anxious about what the outcome would be.


    As usual, the first round would be single elimination.


    Lu Li decided to send out Moonlight first. He was facing a professional Bersker named Canine. From the second they saw Canine''s ID, Lu Li already knew the kind of person he was. He was someone that wouldn''t let things go, and would relentlessly attack those who offended him no matter what.


    With this attitude, Canine wasn''t able to grow to become one of the greatest Berserkers. However, this also ensured that he was the last player that anyone wanted to offend.


    Most players had a habit of following in the footsteps of the veterans. They were always thinking about how those players were when they were younger.


    After all, the new players were constantly replacing the old.


    "Moonlight, I have wanted to compete with you for a while now. I hope you don''t disappoint," Canine


    said seriously as he brandished his double hammers.


    "Haha," Moonlight laughed before casting Charge without another word.


    "Shameless!" Canine was furious. He could be said to be a newcomer that had recently come into the limelight. The other party had completed disregarded his greetings and simply began fighting; he clearly wasn''t taking him seriously.


    Moonlight rushed to the other side but leapt away to avoid his opponent''s Trample. While doing this, he conveniently cast Armor Pierce onto Canine.


    After a few rounds of back and forth, Canine''s forehead began to sweat. He was beginning to realize the gap between himself and these great Berserkers. All of his moves had already been calculated by his opponent, while his opponent''s moves always seem to throw him into confusion.


    A battle between two Warriors was not the same as a battle between two Thieves.


    A battle between two Thieves often made use of many skills, while the Warriors were more inclined to use their normal attacks. In a fight like this, it was rare to see abilities like Whirlwind being used.


    In the eyes of the experts, the player who used their ultimate skill first usually lost.


    Canine eventually began to understand this. Originally, he wanted to kill Moonlight and dethrone this God, but as the gap between them grew bigger, he couldn''t help but start using his ultimate skills.


    Lu Li watched on for a while but soon found the match to be quite dull.


    The gap between the two sides was so large. It was surprising that he could have been so prideful before Moonlight. No wonder the Brotherhood would begin to decline in the next two years.


    The reputation of the club often dictated the fate of the guild and depended on the core players. The Brotherhood''s current star player was Hot Twitch, but he had been poached from beyond the club. In addition, Hunters weren''t mainstream star players, so it was going to be difficult for him to sustain the Brotherhood club alone.


    As each ultimate skill was used, Moonlight made use of every little opportunity between them.


    The battle went on for about 4 minutes and 25 seconds before Canine finally fell. This counterattack of the newcomer was a joke. Moonlight still had more than half HP, which was extremely rare in battles between two Warriors. After all, everyone had similar skills and they were both Plate Armored.

 1044 Level Up

    The Brotherhood''s second player was a Warlock named Encore. He was at level 52 and was quite a high-ranking figure on the Level Rankings.


    Encore could be regarded as a gaming celebrity, but he was particularly famous not because of his position on the Level Rankings, but because of his appearance. He was obviously a boy, but he was prettier than the average girl. It was the kind of beauty that was quite different from Wandering.


    Wandering was good-looking, but was also quite masculine.


    Encore looked like he had a girl''s face, which earned him the nickname ''sorcerer'', while others called him a ''fake girl''.


    Encore wasn''t lacking in strength either; his fighting style was actually quite cunning.


    Many players thought that he would be easy to kill because of his beauty, but they quickly changed their minds after fighting him.


    A Warlock''s skills were quite capable of controlling a Warrior. Sending Encore to deal with Moonlight was the right move. Although Encore was not the most skilled Warlock, he wasn''t a rookie in this game. Naturally, he didn''t give as many openings for a counter-attack like Canine and just kept fighting steadily. When Moonlight finally fell down, Encore had lost about half of his HP as well.


    "Boss, let me at him," Fat Monkey volunteered.


    "My guess is that their next player will be Hot Twitch. Are you sure you''re able to deal with him?" Lu Li asked, expressing his doubts. Although Fat Monkey was quite powerful, he probably couldn''t match the Hunter in attack power.


    "I''ll take at least half of his HP," Fat Monkey mumbled sheepishly.


    "Let me do it then. I''ll finish this up so we can all go back to levelling," Lu Li said, ending the discussion and began transporting into the arena. An opponent like Hot Twitch was hard to come by and Lu Li wanted to know how much progress he had made after changing his equipment.


    Encore saw Lu Li on the field and couldn''t help but take a deep breath.


    His profession was well-matched against Warriors, but the opposite was true against Thieves.


    At this stage, Warlocks still hadn''t learned enough continuous damage skills, which was important for someone like Lu Li, who had Shadow Cloak and many other mobility skills. A skilled Thief could render Encore completely useless.


    Lu Li didn''t even use Stealth normally, instead choosing to vanish from his initial position.


    Shadowstep: Break into the shadows and appear behind your target. Your next Ambush or Garrote damage is increased by 30% for the next 10 seconds and your movement speed is increased by 80% for the next 5 seconds. 2 minute cooldown.


    The inferior Shadowstep on his Champion''s Boots allowed Lu Li to lock down his opponent.


    Encore''s reaction time wasn''t sluggish either. The moment Lu Li vanished, he immediately rolled to one side and cast a Fear skill that he had already been channeling.


    This reactionary move made Lu Li''s eyes light up. No wonder people said that this was a cunning player.


    Unfortunately, this kind of reaction wasn''t that impressive when it came to Lu Li, who coolly used a Kick.


    Lu Li''s Kick was already at level 5, but the Champion''s Boots also added another level, which allowed it to cancel Encore''s Fear. This meant that his dagger could continue to work as he cast a very powerful Ambush that took a significant chunk of Encore''s HP.


    Encore was shocked and couldn''t believe his eyes.


    Since the beginning of the game, he hadn''t seen his HP drop like this, except when he was fighting a Boss.


    The gap between himself and the top player was so huge!


    Encore simply couldn''t believe it. He had sparred with Hot Twitch, who had extremely high attack, but he had never seen so much damage being dealt before.


    There were a number of reasons why Lu Li''s attack had been so potent.


    The first was because of Shadowstep, which increased his damage by 30%. The second was because of his equipment change and finally, the first attack that Lu Li had landed on Encore was a Critical Hit.


    After use, critical hit is increased by 60% for 12 seconds. 60 minute cooldown!


    This was the special effect of Lu Li''s new badge, Searing Words. It turned out to be quite powerful as Lu Li''s second attack was also a critical hit, which made Encore''s HP drop significantly again.


    Was the battle going to end just like this?


    Of course not ¨C Lu Li still had one more item to use before he could finish off Encore.


    Ghostclaw (Dark Gold): Damage 36-48, Agility +42, Strength +28, Critical Hit +25%, Special Effect 1: If you deal two critical hits in a row, the third attack has a 50% chance to deal triple damage. Special Effect 2: Slit Throat +1, Special Effect 3: Ghostclaw. After use, deal 600 damage to the target, 50% of which is converted into the caster''s HP. The target also has a 30% Armor reduction for the next 15 seconds. Equipment Requirement: Level 50. Durability 215/215.


    In the case of two continuous critical hits, there was a 50% chance of the third attack dealing triple damage.


    This time, Lu Li cast Slit Throat which in itself was already an Ultimate skill, but with the triple damage increase buff, it dealt more than 800 damage.


    Encore''s vision turned dark as he instantly fell.


    The two narrators who had been commentating fell silent. They had no idea what to say. The millions of players watching the game stared at Lu Li and began to feel like there was a bug in the game.


    Three attacks ¨C the Warlock with half HP had been killed with three attacks.


    This wasn''t some ordinary monster or an ordinary player ¨C this was the famous sorcerer!


    The number of players who have died to this player were at least in the high hundreds, if not the thousands.


    But just then, Encore was so helpless that he didn''t even have a chance to fight back. It wasn''t just the ordinary players who found this hard to accept ¨C even Lu Li''s teammates felt a chill down their spine.


    Lu Li stood on the stage with his expressionless face hidden behind the ghost mask, quietly waiting for the next opponent to come on stage.


    After quite some time, a hunter with a pet crow appeared on the other side. This was the core figure of the Brotherhood, and a well-known star player of the gaming circle ¨C the top Hunter known as Hot Twitch.


    Lu Li''s attention was first drawn towards his opponent''s pet.


    The dark red crow looked similar to the transformation that Lu Li had, but its head seemed much bigger. If Lu Li was correct, this was a rare monster found in the Twilight Forest.


    This Undead Crow was an exquisite pet that Hunters specifically used to fight Thieves.


    It had Anti-Stealth, Inner Fire, Poison Corpse and Knockout, which heavily countered Stealth. In addition to the Hunter''s Flare, Lu Li already knew that his opponent''s confidence hadn''t come from nowhere.

 1045 Forming an Alliance On-Stage

    Hot Twitch was confident in himself, but he knew that confidence alone wouldn''t be enough to influence the outcome of the match. He needed to actually defeat Lu Li to bring glory to his name and help the Brotherhood start over.


    But was Lu Li going to give him such an opportunity?


    Of course not!


    If he hadn''t recently changed his equipment, he might have been worried when he saw the pet Cro, but now, he didn''t feel any anxiety at all.


    When faced with true strength, all threats were meaningless.


    Lu Li knew that his Stealth was ineffective because of the Undead Crow, so he didn''t even bother using it. He instantly appeared behind Hot Twitch and began to attack him while tanking the crow''s attacks. At this point, the weakness of the crow became immediately apparent.


    Its damage was too low!


    This exquisite pet was famous for its ability to control Thieves, but it was also infamous for its low attack power.


    Dawn was a relatively fair game. If the crow could counter the Thief''s skills and still do high damage, then there would be nothing a Thief could do against it. Even someone like Lu Li wouldn''t be able to deal with it.


    Hot Twitch couldn''t do anything but try to create as much distance as possible between him and Lu Li.


    The ranged damage of a Hunter was one of their greatest strengths, but they were quite helpless in melee combat. This meant that if their opponent got close enough to them, their attack power would be greatly weakened.


    "Why are my attacks dealing so little damage?"


    Hot Twitch was horrified at this discovery. He normally dealt over 500 damage to Cloth Armored professions, but was somehow only dealing 300 damage to Lu Li. On the other side, Lu Li''s attacks were dealing over 500 damage to him.


    "Dammit, how many pieces of equipment have you changed?"


    "About four to five pieces."


    "That''s impossible. When it was New Years, I could still deal over 500 damage to you," Hot Twitch said as he jumped back and successfully created some distance from Lu Li.


    "You don''t have to believe it, but I really did change four to five pieces of equipment," Lu Li responded, then followed up with a Sudden Thrust. Not only did he catch up to his opponent, but dealt a significant burst of damage as well. He was telling the truth, but nothing he could say would convince Hot Twitch.


    Hot Twitch thought of the equipment that he had recently changed and considered the possibilities.


    "Is all of the new equipment level 55?"


    He had managed to equip a level 55 item by using a Level Reducing Gem, so he knew of the power-spike that came along with it. Now that he was experiencing the changes that Lu Li had undergone, the idea of Lu Li upgrading his gear began to solidify in his mind.


    "We are opponents; I shouldn''t need to explain these things to you," Lu Li said with a smile.


    "Hey, I thought the Brotherhood had presented me with a rare opportunity, but I guess I''m the fool here," Hot Twitch sighed sadly. He was still attacking as often as he was before, but his arrows weren''t as accurate. He obviously knew that his dreams weren''t going to be realized.


    "Well, you just ran into the wrong opponents. It''s not single elimination in the top 16 anyway, so hopefully you''ll have another opportunity against another guild," Lu Li consoled sincerely.


    "I guess I''ll have to take your word for it."


    Hot Twitch knew that his guild wasn''t going to win this time, and had almost completely stopped attacking.


    Lu Li saw that his opponent seemed to just want to chat, so he also slowed down the pace of his attacks. The strongest member of the Brotherhood had given up and they had already sent out three members, so Lu Li didn''t need to worry too much.


    "Would you like to have a few drinks after this match?" Hot Twitch asked.


    "What do you mean? You don''t mean to be switching guilds, do you? We actually do need good Hunters, but we can''t afford to pay the transfer fee right now," Lu Li said with a grin, but looked somewhat regretful.


    Hot Twitch came with one of the highest transfer fees last year. The Brotherhood had paid millions of dollars for breach of contract and millions more for the signing fee. They could have purchased a large guild in its entirety for that price.


    Ruling Sword just couldn''t afford that kind of payment at the moment.


    "You''re kidding ¨C my reputation would go down the drain if I jumped guilds again. I am probably going to stay in Brotherhood just like Wood Fearing, and I will probably die with Brotherhood¡­" Hot Twitch said with a wry smile.


    Hot Twitch was originally a star player in Peacetime Dynasty, but he wasn''t valued very much there. He wasn''t treated well and wasn''t given many opportunities to play.


    His relationship with the club wasn''t good and Peacetime Dynasty was going downhill anyway, so he naturally had no intentions of being tied down there. Unfortunately, there were too much contractual restrictions between Peacetime Dynasty and its players, so he had to pay a huge sum of money to leave.


    Most major clubs looked down on breaches of contract like this, but only the Brotherhood extended an olive branch.


    Lu Li wasn''t such an uptight person that he couldn''t express his admiration.


    The two contestants fought wildly on stage, but it was clear that the energy wasn''t in the game. The commentators couldn''t just say that they were disrespecting the game, so they just spoke dryly about the players'' past events.


    "Do you have any intentions to form an alliance with Brotherhood?" Hot Twitch asked, finally revealing the reason for the conversation.


    "An Alliance?" Lu Li was quite surprised when he heard this. He hadn''t really been looking for an ally. After all, the major guilds were generally unfriendly towards Ruling Sword as they were considered to be a threat.


    Hot Twitch misunderstood Lu Li''s meaning and looked a little disappointed.


    Even though the Brotherhood was greater than Ruling Sword in terms of numbers, they couldn''t compare in development potential. Even one of the oldest guilds couldn''t stand a chance against them, so it was no surprised that Lu Li didn''t want to ally with them.


    "Wait, I don''t mean it that way," Lu Li said as he shook his head, then asked, "Who are you representing when you are offering this alliance?"


    How could a mere celebrity player be qualified to determine an alliance between two clubs?


    "Our boss, Mr. Hong, is the director of the Brotherhood. The guild executives are currently undergoing changes under his leadership," Hot Twitch began to explain. He was almost ran out of HP, but fortunately, Lu Li stopped attacking just before he did.


    Lu Li was stunned before he suddenly remembered a story from his previous life.


    In his past life, Mr. Hong had made drastic reforms to the Brotherhood in an attempt to remedy their continuous decline. However, if Lu Li remembered correctly, it started well, but the outcome was not as they had intended.

 1046 Buying Tickets to Get On Board

    Mr. Hong''s reforms affected the interests of the majority shareholders, and he was eventually boycotted by the other shareholders as well. This eventually turned into a protracted legal battle, accelerating the destruction of the Brotherhood. At the time when Lu Li was about to be reborn, the Brotherhood wasn''t even making it into the top 100 anymore.


    "Let''s talk about it more afterwards. Introduce me to Mr. Hong," Lu Li agreed after giving it some thought.


    Hot Twitch let out a sigh of relief when he heard Lu Li''s response. He surrendered the match and reported to Mr. Hong behind the scenes. The players that the Brotherhood later sent didn''t even stand a chance against Lu Li.


    The group round was completely one-sided as well; Lu Li didn''t even participate in the battle.


    Instead, he met up with the legendary Mr. Hong in a bakery in Stormwind City. In game, this man was a full-time chef and Lu Li saw him baking some bread as he walked in.


    "Please sit down; I just baked this bread. If you don''t mind, please try it," Mr. Hong offered politely to Lu Li.


    He was a rich man, and had invested in a number of smaller guilds in addition to the Brotherhood. All of them have developed quite nicely since then and he was actually quite a powerful figure.


    His skills were very suited towards this industry.


    However, compared to the Brotherhood, Lu Li''s Ruling Sword was something that Mr. Hong was envious of. He dreamt of developing a guild to their heights.


    The era of the gaming industry was about to come, and Mr. Hong was very optimistic about the development of the game.


    "This is delicious. I''ve never had bread that was this good," Lu Li said sincerely. He wasn''t flattering Mr Hong; he had genuinely never eaten such delicious bread.


    Mr. Hong laughed and immediately felt closer to Lu Li. He initially thought that it would be shameful for him to contact Ruling Sword, but after having the bread, the tensions disappeared.


    "If you like it, you can come back in future. I have some bread that can regenerate HP and provide some decent effects."


    Mr. Hong was keen to recommend some other bread that he had. It really didn''t seem like this guy had thousands of employees working for him and depending on him for their next meal.


    "I hear that you want to form an alliance?" Lu Li asked, getting straight to the point.


    He was no match against such an experienced businessman anyway.


    "Yes, that''s correct. When I heard that our opponent was Ruling Sword today, I got worried," Mr Hong sighed then continued, "They still wanted to beat you, but I didn''t think it was possible. I don''t actually know anything about the game."


    "You have invested in so many different guilds in Dawn. Why do you want to form an alliance with us?" Lu Li was quite curious about this.


    "I''ve been investing in the Brotherhood for a long time," Mr Hong reminisced. "Glory Capital was on the rise at the time, and they had countless enemies, but no one could stop them. Glory Capital and their allies were like a huge wave crashing over anyone who dared to oppose them¡­"


    "Oh, are you saying that Ruling Sword is like what Glory Capital used to be?"


    "Don''t you feel that same confidence?" Mr Hong asked.


    "Never. I still think Ruling Sword has a long way to go," Lu Li said humbly.


    "Hahaha, now that is just untrue. Just look at Ruling Sword. It has grown faster than when Sorrowless led Glory Capital, and you haven''t accepted any external investments. There''s no way you''ve never thought about the decisions you''re making," Mr. Hong said as he stared at Lu Li without giving away anything in his expression.


    "Let''s go back to talking about this alliance." Lu Li touched his nose; he had no plans of continuing the topic.


    "It''s pretty simple. Ruling Sword will lead us," Mr. Hong said firmly.


    "I''m curious, are you now running the Brotherhood?" Lu Li wondered why an entrepreneur would be part of a power struggle within the game.


    "Not yet, but it will be fine. I just want to ask know if Ruling Sword would agree to such an arrangement," Mr Hong said.


    Lu Li laughed and shook his head.


    "What do you mean?"


    Mr. Hong stared at Lu Li. Had he read the situation incorrectly? He had felt that Lu Li was very interested in this alliance from the beginning. Why was he refusing it now?


    "Mr. Hong, you''re underestimating your opponents. The people in this game are much more shameless than in reality. They would rather destroy something than let you have it."


    Lu Li didn''t know how to say that he knew what would happen in future. He could only talk about it in general terms and hope that Mr. Hong would understand. As to whether this would change his future actions, that wasn''t something Lu Li could decide.


    There was simple no value in forming an alliance with a Brotherhood that was going downhill.


    The reason why he promised to see Mr. Hong was just out of curiosity. Of course, he didn''t actually mind cooperating with the Brotherhood, provided that Ruling Sword would benefit from the alliance.


    "You think that I can''t fix Brotherhood?" Mr. Hong asked as he raised his voice slightly.


    "Yes, you are a layman in this area. That is enough for me to conclude that you will not succeed," Lu Li said bluntly.


    "Well, if I can fix it, then will Ruling Sword promise to ally with us?"


    Mr. Hong thought about it for a moment, and suddenly didn''t feel as confident anymore. To him, Lu Li was a game expert.


    If an expert said that your couldn''t do it, but you refused to believe it, then it was no longer self-confidence but just arrogance.


    "That works. We just need to negotiate the terms of our alliance. If you want to get onboard, you''ve got to have a ticket."


    As for what the fate of Brotherhood would be, Lu Li didn''t know and only time could tell. He didn''t want to go poking in someone else''s business since the Brotherhood didn''t affect the big picture anyway.


    Even if they formed an alliance, it was impossible for there to be an equal alliance between the Brotherhood and Ruling Sword.


    Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court was a strong alliance because they were equals. In fact, because of their relationship when it came to Instance Dungeon strategies, Drizzle Court actually held a slightly weaker position. Even so, in the eyes of the outside world, no one thought that Drizzle Court was lower than Ruling Sword.


    However, the Brotherhood was different. Even if they managed to fix the guild, they would definitely be a subordinate in this alliance.


    Mr. Hong clearly understood this as he said from the outset that he wanted Ruling Sword to lead. He wanted to reap the benefits of Ruling Sword''s ascension just like countless other guilds did during the rise of Glory Capital.

 1047 Moving Treasure

    Ruling Sword defeated Brotherhood in the first match of the top 16, but this didn''t mean that they were guaranteed a spot in the top 8.


    The rules were set such that top 16 teams were to have three random matches. Ruling Sword defeated Brotherhood and would be facing another two opponents at random. The same rule applied to other clubs and the final tally would determine who entered the next round.


    From this match, Ruling Sword had obtained 9 points.


    There were five from the one-on-one and another five from the group match, totaling 10 points. The group matches were self-explanatory and the one-on-one matches were calculated by number of kills minus the number of defeats.


    In the one-on-one matches Lu Li and Moonlight killed all five opponents.


    However, Moonlight also died before Lu Li, which deducted one point from Ruling Sword''s total and added it to the Brotherhood''s. This wasn''t the end for the Brotherhood either; they still had a chance to turn the tide around in the next two matches.


    They wouldn''t be so lucky anymore in the next round though ¨C there would be a set of three matches instead.


    If Brotherhood ran up against Ruling Sword in the top eight, then they would be fighting against Ruling Sword all three times. One match would be conducted in the city of the Brotherhood, while the next would involve the Brotherhood coming over to the city of Ruling Sword. The third would be decided by random.


    Offline matches, which had disappeared, were coming into a resurgence a century later.


    A decision like this made the match a lot more complicated, but from a business angle, made the competitors more valuable in real life.


    There was the interaction between competitors and their fans, and between the clubs and the city. The new way of running things was changing the foundations laid down previously by the old system. As someone who has reincarnated, Lu Li knew better than anyone else how beneficial this system was for clubs.


    The match time for the top 16 had been dragged on for a lot longer; there was only one match each day.


    Each included a huge audience, professional analysts, endless topics of discussion and all sorts of tactics behind the scenes.


    Lu Li blocked an attack that almost landed on him with Gale Steps. He then rolled over behind a rock and by the time the attacker chased over, they were unable to find him anymore. They casted many spells at random but could only wait until the next time the System allowed them to track coordinates.


    If someone was on the wanted list in Dawn, then those who took up the quest to hunt them down would be given the chance to look up the coordinates of their target every half an hour.


    This search wasn''t available to multiple people at once.


    No matter how many players took up the quest, the coordinate search service would be made unavailable once someone used it. Others had to wait half an hour to search the coordinates up. Lu Li was often hunted, so his coordinates were never a secret to anyone. However, it was rare for anyone to actually come for him.


    Since the match from this afternoon, this was the seventh wave of players who had tried to kill him.


    The first and second wave had less players and were all slain by Lu Li, but the numbers increased greatly from the third wave onwards, involving many players with decent levels and equipment. Lu Li''s only option was to run away.


    "Help me find out what happened. Why are there so many people trying to kill me?" Lu Li messaged Square Root 3 hid behind a tree near the waist of the mountain.


    Square Root 3''s reply came quickly without much of a delay.


    "The situation is quite complicated, but it''s mostly because of your equipment. Some players think that you have something good on you and want to loot what you drop. These are mostly mercenaries and some are sent by the major guilds. They probably think that you''ll affect the balance in the upcoming matches..."


    "Major guilds? Do you know which ones?" Lu Li asked.


    Lu Li couldn''t do much about those mercenaries who cared more about money than their lives. However, if he knew which major guilds were hunting him down, he didn''t mind exacting his revenge. Anyone could be assassinated by him.


    "There''s no way they''d use their own players. These are just random players that they''ve kept out of the guild," Square Root 3 answered without much hope.


    "Well, this is quite annoying. Send some players to protect me I guess."


    Lu Li felt helpless. Even though the life of a celebrity player seemed enticing, there were still some inconveniences that they had to deal with. The only thing going for Lu Li was that the System had raised the prices for players to search up coordinates, and the price was adjusted based on the value of the target.


    For someone like Lu Li, it would cost at least ten thousand dollars to search him up once.


    Dozens of Thieves from Ruling Sword positioned themselves around him. In the same map, Square Root 3 also placed down a few hundred-man crews to level up together. They would come over to assist in battle upon signal.


    After dozens of minutes when everything was all sorted, Lu Li''s coordinates became available again for search.


    A Thief who was on guard in the outer circle sent a signal in the chat.


    "Boss, incoming. There''s about a hundred of them. It''s hard to tell which mercenary group they belong to; they''ve torn off their mercenary badge and have their faces covered."


    "Gather around. Kill them all," Lu Li commanded without a second thought.


    Lu Li wasn''t the slightest bit concerned with whether these people were targeting him or not. It didn''t matter if he killed the wrong players; this was how major guilds acted. They would rather kill everyone than miss their target.


    It would be even better if everyone around Dawn knew that anyone who got close to Lu Li would be killed. Things would be much easier.


    The Warrior that led the charge waved his axe around, his voice shaking from the excitement.


    "They''re just ahead. Everyone be careful; don''t let Lu Li escape,"


    They were a mercenary group who after watching the match in the morning, realized how valuable the equipment on Lu Li was.


    They just had to kill Lu Li ¨C any equipment from him was enough to fund their mercenary group for a long time.


    With their great goal in mind, they spent ten thousand real life dollars to look up Lu Li''s coordinates. To ensure that they wouldn''t fail, they had hundreds of players run this mission.


    In their sight, Lu Li was still leveling, as if he knew nothing about their appearance.


    They had no clue how hard it was to catch Lu Li ¨C all the seven waves before them weren''t capable of catching him at all. However, people always wanted to try their luck. They quickly forgot the invisible risks as they tunnel-visioned onto him.


    "Attack!"


    "Attack!"


    Both voices sounded out at almost the same time from the different teams as the battle was sparked in an instant.

 1048 Another Dark Moon Card

    The mercenary group found themselves miserably surrounded by a large group of players.


    They were stronger than them and came in greater numbers!


    As for those who tried to rush to Lu Li by force, they were caught and stopped by him one by one. Eventually, they began to give up all hope and scattered away.


    The formation broke and most of the members were chased down and slaughtered, besides the few Thieves and Druids who had managed to escape during the confusion.


    Death wasn''t just the end ¨C Square Root 3 also had these scenes made into videos and posted them on the forums.


    Although there were some who accused Ruling Sword for killing the innocent, the normal players were still frightened. There were hundreds of players who had died within a minute.


    Their target, Lu Li, did nothing but watch from the side.


    This meant that others who wanted to target Lu Li really had to assess their strength and make sure to not repeat the mistake. This tactic was very useful; no one attempted to kill Lu Li after.


    The next day, Lu Li was quickly summoned.


    There were only three NPCs who could summon him ¨C Garona, Carolina and Remulos. The environment of the Moonlight Forest immediately gave Lu Li an idea of who it was.


    Remulos!


    Lu Li was confused as to why he was summoned; Remulos usually wouldn''t summon him unless it was important.


    After the third war when the Eternal Well had been destroyed, the Dark Elves were blessed by Elune and built a home for the Druids in this place. The Moonlight Forest once again became the safe zone for the Elves. The Dark Elves who didn''t move to Teldrassil stayed in the Moonlight Forest, which was surrounded by ancient trees and had almost no connection to the outside world.


    However, for the players, this wasn''t a paradise.


    Most who came to try and activate a quest received nothing, including the Druids.


    As such, the gathering spot in this map for players wasn''t popular at all. Lu Li fixed his equipment and headed to the Temple of Remulos, which was formed by a few large trees.


    "You''re here, my friend," Remulos greeted Lu Li as he laid lazily in the grass.


    "You''ve summoned me to the Moonlight Forest. What is it that you ask?" Lu Li asked as he bowed respectfully. This was a Demigod that he was talking to and was worthy of his respect.


    "Hehe, it has been a while since we''ve met. You''ve become stronger," Remulos commented with a smile. He could see the stats of Lu Li with one glance. Everything became invisible before true strength, except for Lu Li''s Supreme Ring.


    Lu Li was the only one who confused him; he still couldn''t understand why Lu Li could wear Illidan''s Ring.


    "Just got lucky," Lu Li said humbly.


    "Do you remember the things I''ve told you last time?" Remulos asked.


    "Last time?" Lu Li was too busy; he had forgotten completely about the last conversation they had.


    "It''s about the Warchief of the Horde, Thrall. I could feel from the strength of time that a threat was approaching, until I saw you," Remulos'' said as his face brightened. "The strength of adventures always improves faster than I expect."


    "I''ve always been thinking, why don''t you just send out some guardians?" Lu Li asked. He suspected that the NPC had dug a hole and was waiting for him to jump in.


    "Eh..." An awkward expression appeared on Remulos'' face as he shook his head and said, "I won''t hide anything from you ¨C the magic circle that Nozdormu had set up was not entirely complete. It might cause the death of those who teleport with it."


    Lu Li was certain this wasn''t true. "That''s impossible. In terms of time magic, no one is better than Nozdormu. If he can''t send a group of people to another time and space, I can''t possibly imagine any of your opponents being able to do the same."


    "Of course. They aren''t more skilled than Nozdormu, but they don''t value life itself at all," Remulos said hatefully.


    The Lord of Time, Nozdormu, teleported people back, but at least half of them would die. However, things weres worse for their opponents, who only had about a 10% survival rate. The difference was that they didn''t want to sacrifice their own, but their opponents were willing to send out a great number.


    Remulos and his allies had been prepared to sacrifice some of their own to complete this mission.


    It was only then when they figured out that adventurers couldn''t die and were happy to help NPCs complete risky quests.


    Lu Li quickly figured out that they planned to use players as cannon fodder. As for the undying part, players didn''t die, but they lost experience and equipment too. As soon as Lu Li heard that he might die, he began to find ways to back out.


    The other players were right ¨C any equipment on Lu Li was priceless.


    He couldn''t afford to lose anything!


    "Maybe this might change your mind."


    Remulos understood that Lu Li had something on his mind holding him back, so he took out an ite and passed it to Lu Li.


    Lu Li took one look and couldn''t let go anymore; what he was about to say no longer mattered. As long as he had this, he wouldn''t be afraid to die anymore. Not to mention, it was only a 50% chance in the first place.


    Darkmoon Card: Void (Special): Instant Use. Has a 50% chance of Revive. Upon a successful


    Revive, HP and Mana regen increased by 20%, EXP gain increased by -5%-10%. Number of uses


    remaining: 4/5. Effective when the item is placed in the backpack. Equipment requirement: Level 10.


    Nobody knew better than Lu Li of the value and use of this item.


    He had a Darkmoon Card too, but he had given it to his little trainee. While his little trainee really did deserve his respect, he also wanted to impress the Gnome Thief that supported her so that he could obtain the information he wanted.


    He didn''t expect to receive this reward first, even before he completed the quest.


    Even if there were no other rewards, this was still a good trade.


    "Sir, can I also recommend a few other masters to complete this quest together? They are definitely the best of the bests," Lu Li asked passionately.


    "That would be a little hard. I only have one spot of recommendation," Remulos lamented.

 1049 Squad

    "Mr. Remulos, have you ever heard of a dungeon?" Lu Li was completely brainwashed by the Darkmoon Card; he wanted his own men to replace the others. If he could just have a few more of these cards, it would all be worth it.


    Remulos nodded his head.


    "Dungeons¡­ I''ve heard of this term lately. They are the works of Nozdormu, right?"


    "Countless adventurers have entered the dungeons to explore, and the best team of them all is mine. If you''re willing to choose us, we won''t disappoint you," Lu Li said confidently.


    In fact, if his team couldn''t complete the mission, Lu Li was certain that it would be impossible to rescue Thrall at this stage.


    The eyes of Remulos glowed gold and scanned across Lu Li before returning to normal. He knew that Lu Li was right because he was covered in the invisible bloodstains of the Bosses he had slain.


    "Who are the others? Can you negotiate with them for us?" Lu Li asked.


    Lu Li wasn''t interested in the quest at all before the Darkmoon Card was offered as a reward. The quest wasn''t easy in the first place and he also had a 50% chance of dying while working with players that he didn''t know.


    Darkmoon Card!


    Even if he dropped an equip, it would be worth it. A Darkmoon Card was even more precious than a Legendary equip. Lu Li already knew of its benefits.


    "We can try to negotiate, but for the positions that are already set, I''m afraid that we can''t do anything about that."


    Remulos knew that Lu Li was right, the quest might fail if they didn''t pick the best.


    If the players failed, it would just be another quest for them, but for the NPCs, the repercussions were much more serious.


    "Then give me the other spare spots," Lu Li said, not thinking about changing the decision of the NPCs.


    He was someone with a negative Charm attribute, and only Remulos valued him because they knew each other well. If this was another NPC, it would be a different story.


    As for true strength, this was of the least concern for the game.


    "Alright, hopefully the others aren''t as fast."


    Remulos used the branch that formed his arms to draw a few marks on the floor. A number of inscriptions quickly appeared and scattered in the air.


    Shortly after, all sorts of new symbols resurfaced from the floor. Lu Li guessed that this was some type of messaging method between NPCs.


    The reason why Dawn was so popular had to do with the amount of work that they put into designing the game.


    The company had created a detailed game setting with races and classes that had their own culture and stories to tell. They had even designed languages for the races and the inscriptions weren''t written randomly either.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li was illiterate, even in his own language, so he definitely wouldn''t be able to understand any of these magic words.


    Lu Li had thought about going back to school.


    Previously, he couldn''t afford it, but now that everything was set with his sister and he had the money and time to go, he was thinking about it.


    There was something about school that really intrigued him, so he always used the support money that the government gave him to send his sister to school.


    "Looks like you''re not very lucky," Remulos interrupted his thoughts.


    "Did¡­" Lu Li''s heart sank. Had all the spots been taken? That would be a tragedy indeed.


    "Some people are more stubborn; they''re determined to use the people they''re familiar with. They can''t cooperate even at this stage," Remulos reported with a disappointed expression.


    "How many are there? What classes?" Lu Li asked.


    "A Warrior, a Mage and a Thief. That''s three locked in. The others have agreed that I can take the other spots, so besides these 3, there are still 7 spots," Remulos replied.


    Lu Li let out a sigh of relief; he thought this was a five-man quest.


    He wondered who the other three were, that even Remulos had no influence on them.


    "Shall I ask them to come over now?" Lu Li asked as he looked at the time. Most over his team members were online, and he made a discussion group with everyone on standby. Sesame Rice Ball wasn''t online, so he pulled over Kitty Likes Meat over first.


    "Alright, I''ll draw out Nozdormu''s magic circle first," Remulos said as he turned to do his own thing.


    The few that Remulos mentioned quickly came; they were all familiar with Lu Li. This was normal, considering that this quest was too difficult for the ordinary players.


    The Mage was Unforgettable Maple, not Sorrowless.


    This was understandable, considering that Sorrowless spent most of his time leveling and barely completed any quests. This meant that he didn''t have much of a chance to interact with the NPCs.


    The Warrior was Elevenless. As one of the top Warriors, this was fair.


    The Thief was Water Fairy.


    The classes may have overlapped, but things became possible when Water Fairy''s trainer NPC was brought into the equation. Water Fairy also had a strong background.


    Placing the class of these three players into consideration, Lu Li quickly decided on the players for the team.


    The main tank would definitely be Azure Sea Breeze, while the healer position would go to March Rain.


    Lonesome Flower would be a must if March Rain was coming. Not to mention, his damage output was incredible.


    They needed a Warlock, and without Sesame Rice Ball, who seemed to be attending a wedding in real life, Kitty Likes Meat became the next choice. She still had the equipment she had borrowed from him yesterday for the match.


    Bringing Hachi Chan along seemed like a good idea too because they needed to hang out with the NPCs.


    They were going to take down quite a few strong bosses, so the loots would be excellent. Remnant Dream wasn''t weak either and she also had a 10% buff, so no one would object to her presence.

 1050 The Panicking Elevenless

    "Aiya. Hello, Water Fairy. I haven''t seen you since the last fight."


    Elevenless'' eyes lit up when he saw Water Fairy. All men would probably like such a beauty, and Elevenless happened to be someone who had zero immunity to beautiful women.


    Water Fairy looked over and waved.


    Elevenless was very passionate, but he wasn''t someone who was rude or too clingy. As such, all the female competitors had a good impression of him.


    "Water Fairy! Didn''t know you were coming too," Elevenless laughed.


    "Am I so invisible that you can''t even see me anymore?" Unforgettable Maple couldn''t help but feel a little disgruntled.


    "Aiya, Maple girl, you''re here too," Elevenless said as he scratched his hair and smiled.


    "I received a quest. Can''t help it..." Unforgettable Maple sighed and quickly changed his expression. "My ***, Elevenless, what did you call me? Do you want to die?"


    "Water Fairy, I heard your guild has been going around head hunting. You guys are developing really fast." Elevenless had already moved his attention back onto Water Fairy. Although Unforgettable Maple was affectionately known as ''Maple Girl'', he was still a man. It wasn''t interesting for Elevenless to talk to him at all.


    "Right. We''re going to fall behind if we still don''t develop," Water Fairy said.


    Lu Li watched the three of them approach from afar. Seeing that Elevenless was standing so close to Water Fairy, he suddenly felt uncomfortable. He was uncertain if it would be bad to kill Elevenless right now.


    "You''re¡­ on the quest too?" Water Fairy hadn''t been paying much attention, but was the first to see Lu Li.


    Lu Li couldn''t wear his mask now, and his equipment was also unique so everyone could recognize him easily.


    "Lu¡­Lu Li¡­" Elevenless was surprised.


    He was truly scared of Lu Li; this was a known truth. Every time Elevenless ran into Lu Li, he was bound to die. Even when he was wearing a level 50 Gold set, he still suffered from the same fate.


    There had never been someone who countered him so much; Elevenless was subconsciously going to run away.


    "Hehe, Elevenless, how''s it going? It seems like you haven''t changed equipment lately," Lu Li said as he rubbed his fingers along Shard of the Defiler and stared at Elevenless'' neck. Elevenless felt a cold shudder shoot down his spine.


    When Elevenless had previously fought Lu Li, Lu Li could barely damage him. Lu Li had to use his mobility skills to tire him out. However, it was a different story now ¨C Elevenless was still wearing the same thing, but Lu Li had already leveled to 53 and had upgraded his gear.


    "I¡­I''m not afraid of you¡­"


    Elevenless was about to cry; was it too late to drop the quest now?


    "Elevenless, you''re an embarrassment to competitors," Unforgettable Maple said. He had been in the industry for ten years and it was the first time he had seen a competitor be so afraid of another. Not to mention, this was a Warrior who was afraid of a Thief.


    "Just us four?" Water Fairy asked as she stood beside Lu Li and gave Remulos a curious glance.


    "No, there''s six more. They''re on the way," Lu Li answered, then paused and continued, "They''re all my usual team members, so you can rest assured."


    This time, there were seven Ruling Sword players out of the ten, so he was worried that that the others will have objections. He didn''t really mind the others, but he cared about how Water Fairy felt. They were in an alliance after all.


    Soon, the players from Ruling Sword arrived.


    The two Warriors were Azure Sea Breeze and Elevenless, while the two Mages were Unforgettable Maple and Lonesome Flower. Lu Li and Water Fairy represented the Thieves, while there was one Warlock, Kitty Likes Meat, a Priest, March Rain, along with Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan.


    This meant that 50% of the team were girls.


    "Hehe, hi guys. I''m Unforgettable Maple."


    Unforgettable Maple wasn''t interested in Water Fairy, but his eyes immediately lit up when he saw Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan who had approached. Everyone couldn''t help but glare at this pedophile; Lu Li even went ahead and stood himself between the girls and Maple.


    He viewed these two girls as sisters; he couldn''t have pedophiles taking interest in them.


    "Hehe, don''t misunderstand me," Unforgettable Maple''s said as his face blushed. This was a great misunderstanding; he had been famous for a while, but he has never been seen as a pervert before.


    "Then you should stay away from them. They''re still underaged."


    Lu Li quickly understood what was going on, but he didn''t plan on helping him at all. Lu Li realized that Unforgettable Maple wanted to steal their guild''s luck charm. One of them was a master at quests and the other had a pair of lucky hands. Over the long run, their value was even greater than March Rain, who was a skilled competitor. Unforgettable Maple probably forgot that Lu Li was still here.


    "I sure am aging. It took me a while just to draw such a simple magic circle, and it''s imperfect too."


    Remulos had finally finished the magic inscriptions that he was working with. He lifted his hand to wipe the sweat off his head and walked over slowly.


    All of the newcomers quickly greeted this powerful existence.


    Most of them were meeting Remulos for the first time, but Lu Li had already described his strength to everyone else, so they were truly respectful towards the NPC.


    Remulos smiled in return; he wasn''t pressuring at all for someone of his status.


    However, when it was Hachi Chan''s turn, Remulos immediately turned his head in anger. It seemed like he had a grudge against her.


    The others gazed on in surprise.


    Hachi Chan was famous in the game, as famous as Remnant Dream. She was known as the daughter of the System, and there was a long footage reel of NPCs taking revenge for her against players who crossed her. Almost everyone knew that she was close with the NPCs.


    It was as if the sun had risen from the wrong side of the earth.

 1051 Hachi Chan’s Mentor

    "Hehe, grandpa Remulos."


    Hachi Chan shamelessly went over and greeted him; she even had the audacity to grab him by the arm. The others players that were watching her were shocked.


    "Hmph, stop that. Who told you to come this time?" Remulos said coldly, but didn''t push her away.


    "Hamuul Runetotem," Hachi Chan answered with a bright smile, not willing to let go of his arm.


    Hamuul? How do you know him?" Remulos raised his eyebrows. Though he was the protector of the Moonlight Forest and worked closely with both Horde and Alliance members, when it came to speaking with adventures, he needed to be careful and keep an appropriate distance.


    Hamuul Runetotem was a Tauren and the leader of the Horde Druids as well as the head of the Runetotems.


    He was also the childhood friend of Cairne Bloodhoof, the high Chieftain of the Taurens.


    Based on Cairne Bloodhoof''s age, Tamuul was actually considered to be an elder. He had at least one child, Bashana Runetotem, as well as many relatives and connections in the Runetotem family. As the sole survivor of his generation of his family, he had witnessed the invasion of the Centaurs and the bloodshed that the other races had brought upon his people.


    During the Battle at Mount Hyjal, he fought alongside Cairne Bloodhoof.


    After the third war, Hamuul sought out the night elf Archdruid Malfurion Stormage, befriending him and asking to be taught the Druidic arts.


    Malfurion happily agreed despite the strenuous objections of his former student Archdruid Fandral Staghelm.


    After a few years, he mastered the Druidic arts under the guidance of Malfurion and rightfully earned the title of Archdruid for himself.


    As the elder of the Tauren, he resided in the Elder Rise of Thunder Bluff where he began mentoring young druids.


    Thunder Bluff was the Tauren Capital City and Hachi Chan had no idea how she had met Archdruid Hamuul, or even earned herself a place under his guidance.


    "It''s not that I didn''t want to be your student. It''s just that I already had become one without me even realizing," Hachi Chan mumbled sheepishly.


    Everyone was speechless.


    There were different tiers of mentors and different skills that could be taught to their students.


    Most players found it extremely difficult and an honor to find a low tier mentor, yet there were multiple famous legends that were fighting to make her their student.


    What was even more ridiculous was that she didn''t even realize that she had agreed to be mentored. This kind of luck had to be some kind of a bug; it was almost as if she was the main character of a novel.


    However, compared to some other players, this wasn''t as ridiculous. Consider the second generation millionaires, or those who became rich with only a little hard work.


    Those people had little to no talent or skills, but they managed to succeed without doing much at all.


    "Oh, who''s your mentor?" Remulos was curious.


    Remulos never planned on mentoring an adventurer since the class ''Forest Protector'' did not actually exist. His magical powers came from the Nature and the Moon Gods.


    He wanted to make Hachi Chan his student. Although he wasn''t a full Druid, as a demigod, Remulos thought that he was the perfect candidate to be her mentor.


    In reality, if a player wanted to learn skills from a different class, the easiest way was to seek out a mentor of another class.


    However, the demigod was rejected!


    He wanted to find out who it was that stole his student.


    "Ever since I received this weapon, I became Malfurion''s student," Hachi Chan explained as she took out her staff. She had already replaced her previous Legendary weapon and seemed to have obtained another one.


    "Oh, is that the Winds of Nature?!" Remulos exclaimed as he waved his arms and the staff flew into his hands.


    Remulos examined the staff just like he had done with Lu Li''s ultimate ring. Lu Li was curious as well and asked Hachi Chan what the stats on the staff were.


    Lu Li was shocked at the stats of her staff and felt ashamed when he looked at his own.


    Apparently Malfurion had used the Winds of Nature in his younger years. It had kept him company from when he was a young Elven child to being one of the greatest legends in Azeroth.


    This Lv50 weapon could also level up.


    It was the first time Lu Li had seen a Legendary weapon that could level up; he had never seen it before in his past life either.


    Hachi Chan had become Malfurion Stormage''s student. Even though he was still in a deep slumber in the Emerald Dream, as a close friend to him, Remulos dared not to steal his student from him.


    Remulos decided to let the whole matter go.


    "Okay, let me explain to you the details of this quest," Remulos said as he casted a crowd-control spell towards Remnant Dream, who was trying to Domesticate him.


    Remnant Dream thought that she could Domesticate him because he looked like some kind of a deformed deer. Remulos'' father was Malorne The White Stag, so it wasn''t exactly offensive to think that way about him.


    "Be my pet please! I can feed you and protect you¡­"


    Unfortunately, no matter how hard Remnant Dream tried, she wouldn''t be able to tame the demigod.


    After taking care of the naive little hunter, Remulos explained the details of the quest.

 1052 Twisting Nether

    The runes, hand written by the Azure Dragon Nozdormu, were activated and a portal appeared out of thin air.


    It looked just like any other Instance Dungeon, but it had no level restriction, name nor difficulty. The entrance to the instance dungeon was like a giant black hole, waiting to devour everything that came close. The arcane magic flowed through and around the portal as it tore through time and space, creating an entrance to another world.


    Remulos explained that there was 50% chance of dying when entering the portal, but he suspected that the chance was most likely higher.


    "This is something I got from the Darkmoon Faire. I''ll give one each to all of you, and I hope for a safe journey," Remulos said took out 10 Darkmoon Card: Twisting Nether. He definitely deserved the title of being the richest man in Azeroth.


    When everyone received their card, they were all shocked.


    The card granted the wearer a certain chance to revive with 20% health and mana, as well as decreasing EXP loss by 5~10%.


    With this item, the seemingly terrifying instance dungeon appeared to be much more tame and the fears of the players in the party were lifted.


    These guys were now fired up and recklessly entered the portal. Did they not realize that there was still a chance of losing 5% EXP? Since everyone was a higher level now, player kills in the Wild had become much less common and Major Guilds were much more organized when trying to take down a Wild Boss.


    However, the next patch looked to decrease EXP loss in the Wild, which would most likely start a trend and encourage players to be more active.


    Lu Li was the last to enter and saw the corpses of his teammates lying on the floor.


    There were six that were killed!


    Lu Li was one of the four lucky survivors, which included March Rain, Hachi Chan and Water Fairy.


    March Rain was able to revive someone since she was still alive.


    They weren''t sure whether dying would cause them to lose EXP, but it was highly like that they would. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have been given such an overpowered item.


    Those that were dead weren''t sure whether they should revive with the Darkmoon Card or wait for March Rain to revive them.


    They would lose less EXP with the Darkmoon Card, but it was probably best to save them for the Boss fights. In saying that, if they got March Rain to revive them, they would lose chunk of their EXP, and no one wanted that.


    They had no choice but to use the Darkmoon Card.


    Everyone''s EXP increased after reviving; Remnant Dream even gained 9% from the item. The only unfortuante soul was Elevenless, who was the only person to lose 3% EXP.


    What was even more worrying was that they had no idea what''s about to happen next. How many more times were they going to die¡­?


    Everyone was afraid that the Darkmoon Card''s five uses would not be enough for the entire dungeon.


    Before the universe was existed, there was Light which existed as a boundless sea of energy. As the sea of Light began to expand, pockets of cold nothingness appeared. From this, the Void and the Twisting Nether were born.


    The Twisting Nether was vast and held the unknown.


    Some said that the Twisting Nether connected worlds of the universe and were the origins of evil, dark energy and Arcane Magic. There were countless evil monsters that resided here and it was the place where the Burning Legion planned their invasion in different worlds.


    Visually, the colored clouds mixed with bright sparkles in the sky formed a world of mystery.


    There were no days or land, and they just floated in the air. Although they felt the weight of their bodies, gravity was not present in the Twisting Nether.


    They couldn''t see very far and darkness enveloped their surroundings. The atmosphere made them subconsciously start whispering when talking.


    "Lu Li do you think this''ll be dangerous?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he clasped his shield tightly. He was the only Main Tank in the party and held the responsibility of being the defensive anchor of the team.


    "Not sure. Let me look at the map first," Lu Li answered, subconciously lowering his voice as well.


    The Twisting Nether was a place where demons were free to run rampant and evil could be found in every corner. He had only heard about it in his past life and wasn''t very familiar with this place, but he was sure that they weren''t safe here.


    The map was provided by Remulos and they needed to follow it to where Thrall escaped.


    Remulos marked out a route that would be safer for Lu Li and the others based on his experience of travelling in the Twisting Nether in his earlier years. However, he made it clear that anything could happen in the Nether and it had been many years since he had stepped foot inside. It was very possible that everything had shifted or changed in the Nether.


    The powerful beings of Azeroth would often travel across worlds.


    For a normal traveller, the Twisting Nether was like venturing into the unknown where demons and other monsters threatened their safety. It was also very difficult to navigate around inside.


    "You done yet? Let''s get a move on because we have a time limit," Unforgettable Maple said.


    He tested his skills and surprisingly, found that his magic power had increased by around 10%. His arcane skills had increased even more than his normal skills.


    "Let''s head towards this way first. Everyone be on guard; apparently the monsters here are all really weird," Lu Li suggested as he examined the map, then warned the Mages, "You can test your skills, but do not open up a Summoning Portal. Otherwise, we might get stuck here."


    Summoning Portals used different locations in the Twisting Nether to teleport certain players to their desired destination.


    Remulos had warned them beforehand of an old friend who was an Archmage in Lordaeron. He used the summoning portal skill to head back home and was never seen again.


    "Okay, I understand," Unforgettable Maple agreed.

 1053 Void Monster

    Lonesome Flower looked at him condescendingly. He did not see them as equals, although Unforgetful Maple was older than him.


    Lu Li couldn''t help but recall when Lonesome Flower was being attacked by a wolf and was nearing death. There was no way that he could be so cold and ruthless back then.


    Azure Sea Breeze rose his shield and prepared for the incoming enemies, while Lu Li and Water Fairy instantly activated Stealth. The squad members could keep track of everyone''s positions in the team, so they did not have to worry about getting lost.


    "This doesn''t look like a place with monsters," Water Fairy said as she scouted the area with Lu Li.


    "It''s still better to be cautious. Although this may not be the main quest, it''s still an important side quest."


    Lu Li did not dare to relax, as they could land into deep trouble if they were unprepared when encountering monsters.


    "If it gets too dangerous, should we run?" Water Fairy asked.


    She asked this because this was an area where they would lose EXP if they died. Self-preservation actions were accepted, especially because they were players at the peak of the Level Rankings.


    "You think I can run? In this squad of ten, seven of them are mine and two of them are underaged females."


    "Then I''m not running either."


    Water Fairy did not think about the possibility of running away, since it was only a little bit of EXP. She could always grind the EXP back.


    Lu Li froze for a bit. These words from Water Fairy, although unnecessary, had warmed his heart a little.


    "Can you guys focus on your job? Stop flirting with each other. I hate it," Elevenless said in frustration. It was a


    wonder as to how he saw so clearly in this dark place.


    "Careful, your head." As Lu Li turned around to look at Elevenless, he suddenly saw a shadow that had nearly enveloped Water Fairy''s head. He instantly sprung towards her using Shadow Step.


    Because of the effect of Cheap Shot, the monster spread its wings out like a bat and froze, allowing Water Fairy to escape the claws.


    From its appearance, it was a giant bat, but it did not really have a clearly-defined shaped. Rather, it just looked like a ball of darkness. It had no skin, no feathers and no distinct facial features. It would be more fitting to call it a gathering of power.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately rushed over and took aggro of this monster.


    Level 50, 30000 HP, with high Attack and average Defence.


    The annoying thing about this was not the strength of the monster, but the thought that if this was only a regular mob, how strong would the Boss be?


    As for how it discovered Water Fairy and managed to sneak up to them in complete silence, he wasn''t sure. If it wasn''t for Lu Li turning around just before it struck, they would have only discovered it after the attack.


    After killing the monster, it dropped an item called Void Dust, which was a Forging or Alchemy material. Beside this, a Green-Bronze grade item that was level 50 also dropped.


    "Let''s speed things up. We''ll let the monsters attack us first," Unforgettable Maple suggested as he raised his shield.


    "Alright, let''s do it."


    Lu Li knew that it was dangerous, but he agreed as this quest had a time limit. As such, they needed to take a few risks. Furthermore, it was difficult to prepare for these attacks, but after analysing the bat, Lu Li realised that they were not strong enough to instantly kill a player anyway.


    After speeding up, the number of attacks definitely increased.


    Besides these bat-like monsters, there was also a snake-like creature. The attacking methods of the snakes was enough to scare the living daylights out of a player, since they would instantly wrap around their bodies.


    Even though this was a game, it was still terrifying when your movements are restricted.


    Fortunately, the items that the snakes dropped were decent ¨C they were Enhancing Stones.


    Everyone had already decided how they wanted to split the drops. The main drops were Void Dust and Enhancing Stones. As for the equipment, they were mostly rubbish, so no one wanted them.


    Hachi Chan would take the equipment that no one wanted. No one knew how large her storage was, since no one had ever seen reject an item for a lack of space.


    "Have you guys realised that that we''re all part of the Alliance, yet we have to go and rescue a Chief from the Horde? This game has no logic," Elevenless suddenly quipped.


    "Thrall is my idol. I regret not picking Orc so much. How fierce would I be? That''s a real man," Azure Sea Breeze regrettably sighed.


    "Orc people won''t find girlfriends," Unforgettable Maple chuckled.


    "You''re saying this like you have a girlfriend. You''re already pretty old, buddy, and you still don''t have a girlfriend." Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t a professional player, but after hanging with Lu Li for so long, the title of being a professional player did not mean much to him.


    "****. Can we not talk about this anymore?" Unforgetful Maple began to sigh and looked towards the sky.


    "Stop arguing and focus. Have you not noticed that there are many more monsters now?" Lu Li was speechless at their actions. There would not usually be this much back-and-forth between Azure Sea Breeze, Elevenless and Unforgettable Maple if they weren''t together.


    Truly, the number of monsters did increase.


    Lu Li, with his rich experience in battle, realised that they were entering an area where the levels and strength of the monsters were higher. According to Dawn''s game design, only new areas would begin to spawn different monsters.


    It was easy to understand why ¨C it was to make the Boss more difficult to fight.


    Lu Li told his hypothesis to everyone, then asked, "If there really is a Boss, should we fight or avoid it? "


    If this was an Instance Dungeon, they would definitely try and test their strength against the Boss.


    However, they were in the Twisting Nether, which was an open environment with no map.


    The Twisting Nether was different to the other areas. If this was a level 50 map, the monster levels would not exceed 50, but here, a random Demon Lord could be summoned at any moment.


    "These monsters are only level 50, so I think we could try it out," Azure Sea Breeze said as he licked his lips.


    People agreed with Azure Sea Breeze since they did not want to retreat, even if they were not strong enough. They still wanted to test their strength against the Boss. After all, the monsters were level 50, so the Boss was probably around level 52 to 55.


    "Alright then, let''s try it out. If we can''t, then retreat immediately."


    Lu Li saw that everyone was extremely determined, so he did not have a reason to retreat.

 1054 Nether Beasts

    After seeing the Boss'' actual body, everyone went silent.


    This water buffalo was gigantic; its height exceeded well beyond 20 metres, which was taller than a 6-storey building.


    "What the heck? This guy could be level 100!" Unforgettable Maple exclaimed as he stared in disbelief.


    "We''re not even bigger than its toes!" Hachi Chan cried out in despair as she measured herself against the size of the beast. She found out that if this Boss merely sneezed at her, she would be blown to the other side of the map.


    "Wow! How nice would it be if it was my pet!" Remnant Dream was beyond excited, drooling at the sight of the buffalo.


    "Let''s go. I can''t tank this. I don''t even want to try anymore." Azure Sea Breeze sighed as he imagined himself crushed underneath the monster''s foot with his innards spilled out.


    Water Fairy also did not want to try; their strength was on completely different levels.


    However, as she glanced over to Lu Li, she found that his gaze was a little different. Lu Li looked like he was trying to figure out a secret about the monster. This made her stop her words just before they left her mouth. This sense of trust in Lu Li was not always there, but had grown over time.


    "I''ll test it out. Wait here," Lu Li said imbued some form of poison on his daggers and rushed forward.


    "Oi! Don''t act recklessly!" Unforgettable Maple shouted, but could not stop Lu Li in time.


    Under normal circumstances, he would wish for Lu Li to keep dying until he reached level 0, but now that they were teammates, he had his best interests in mind. If this monster truly was level 100, then not even Lu Li would have the chances of returning.


    "Don''t worry."


    Lu Li did not bother explaining his plan to them. After rushing towards the beast, he plunged his dagger deep into one of its legs.


    Everyone felt that this was a redundant attack, since this Boss was so huge. Comparing to the Boss, Lu Li was a mere ant.


    However, it was hard to determine whether it did feel the pain, since even mosquito bites could be painful.


    As everyone was waiting to see what would happen, the beast that could seemingly kill any Demon Lord suddenly began to shrink rapidly. In the end, it transformed into a wolf, with a single horn on its head.


    From a 6-storey-tall Boss, it was now only half a metre tall.


    "What are you all looking at? Come and fight!" Lu Li yelled as he casted Gale Steps to avoid the oncoming attack and instantly began running away. The size of the Boss did not matter. After all, it was still at least a level 50 Boss that could make quick work of Lu Li.


    Azure Sea Breeze regained his focus and rushed to gain aggro of the Boss. The others were still trying to shake out themselves of their daze.


    "Did you already know earlier?" Water Fairy asked, unable to resist.


    She found herself admiring Lu Li more and more. After all, he was the unannounced ''leader'' of many big-name guilds.


    "Yeah. I wasn''t sure at first though," Lu Li answered as he fought.


    Truthfully, he had read something on a book that mentioned this monster. The book also mentioned something about an NPC who had experience with travelling within the Twisting Nether. Lu Li also reckoned that in a couple of years, this NPC would be either leading players personally into Twisting Nether or helping them enter the place.


    The monster that they had faced was a type of Nether Beast ¨C a Single-horned Nether Wolf.


    Nether Beasts had a special ability, which was to transform. They could choose to transform into a large or small beast. It was also possible for them to transform into other races. These were not mere appearance deceptions, but they were also able to emit the same type of aura as the things that they transformed into. That was why the beast was able to make itself seem much stronger than what it was.


    Players just needed to attack the beast for the illusion to be dispelled. However, this was easier said than done ¨C it required immense courage.


    Lu Li recognised that this was a Nether Beast fairly quickly. The reason behind this was because the monsters that were guarding it were all level 50, while it had made itself seem like a level 100 Boss.


    After recognising the strange situation, Lu Li figured it out.


    As for actual battling abilities, Nether Beasts were weaker than normal Bosses. However, players still needed to be wary of its illusion abilities.


    It was fortunate that the skills used by the Beasts were common ones. Lu Li believed that if they were cautious when battling, taking this Boss down was not impossible. However, while Lu Li was not worried about the Boss, he was worried about how to reveal his strategy for fighting, since the players here weren''t all from his own guild.


    As he mulled over this, the Nether Wolf had already begun moving.


    Shadow Clones!


    Three Nether Wolves all left Azure Sea Breeze and began to pursue other players.


    "I''ve got the real one!" Unforgettable Maple yelled.


    "I''ve got the real one too!" Kitty Likes Meat also yelled.


    "Damn. I think I''ve got the real one too!" Elevenless began to chuckle bitterly.


    Dawn had many monsters that could use Clone skills, especially Instance dungeon Bosses.


    The players present today were elite players and their reaction times were extremely fast. As they were being attacked, they would use the damage that they had received to identify the real body.


    Despite this, the three that were attacked all said that they had the real body.


    This meant that the damage dealt by the Boss was extremely high, whether clone or not. Azure Sea Breeze could not figure out what was going on, so he couldn''t decide on which monster to pull away. Fortunately for him, Lu Li''s instructions came just in time.


    "Pull the one with Kitty Likes Meat and ignore the others. Unforgettable Maple, stop using mitigation!"


    Lu Li had been partners with Azure Sea Breeze for a long time, so he had unwavering confidence in Lu Li. His body instantly moved at the command.


    Had it not been for Kitty Likes Meat mitigation skill, she would have died.


    "Argh, damn it! I''m nearly dead! Argh!" Unforgettable Maple was going crazy. He did not know why Lu Li decided that Kitty Likes Meat''s attacker was the real one, while he was here, tanking huge amounts of damage from his. He did not think that he could last any longer.


    "Ignore the other two," Lu Li said without wavering.


    "Lu Li, if I die, you''re going to need to compensate me." Elevenless was also nearing the end of his HP bar. Both of them weren''t Lu Li''s set teammates, so they did not have the basic foundation of trust in Lu Li.

 1055 Illusion

    The two wolves who were responsible for attacking Unforgettable Maple and Elevenless used their final skills. Both players were fighting as hard as they could, but they didn''t want to cast their strongest damage reduction skills now. They even closed their eyes as the skills landed.


    Huh?


    After two seconds, they opened their eyes to find that they unexpectedly hadn''t lost all their HP.


    In fact, somehow both of their HP bars were full.


    They looked around for the figures that were attacking them, and found that they had disappeared.


    Azure Sea Breeze was still pulling the Boss, but he looked smaller than before and his attack power seemed to be weaker.


    "Lu Li, how did you find the real body?" Unforgettable Maple asked eagerly. Although he wasn''t the president of Majin Temple, he wanted to know things regarding guild management. Majin Temple was very weak in terms of Instance Dungeons and Boss strategies. If there was an opportunity to learn, he would jump on it, regardless of his reputation.


    "There isn''t that much to it; you just have to look at the aura under their feet," Lu Li said calmly.


    Nowadays, most players liked to guess illusions by estimating their Attack and Defense. The reasoning was that the illusions had to be weaker than the main body. However, in a time-sensitive situation, how could they make such a judgment? Lu Li preferred to look at the Boss'' aura. Most of them had a different kind of halo or certain runes that made them stand out.


    The strength of this wolf Boss was in its ability to create illusions of itself.


    For example, it could make three players feel like they were fighting one Boss each.


    Previously, Unforgettable Maple, Elevenless and Kitty Likes Meat all felt like they were attacking the actual Boss. This wasn''t because of an error in judgment but because of the powerful illusions.


    However, when the illusions vanished, Unforgettable Maple and Elevenless discovered that they hadn''t actually lost any HP.


    After the first illusions, the players all attacked the wolf to take it down two-thirds of its HP.


    The wolf''s HP wasn''t higher than that of an Instance Dungeon Boss, but was closer to a Wild Boss. By now, it had lost significant amount of health, which was why they knew they could defeat this Boss with 10 players.


    The wolf had shrunk further and began to transform again.


    Lu Li and the others who had experienced this skill before were now ready and had no doubt that they could advance through this third transition quite smoothly.


    But surprisingly, the wolf didn''t create any illusions this time. Instead, it summoned two monsters ¨C one melee and one ranged. When they appeared, they looked confused for a moment before attacking Lu Li and his teammates.


    This form of attack was quite familiar¡­


    Lu Li could always feel when something wasn''t quite right, but he couldn''t quite work it out this time. As such, he just focused on the melee monster, planning to take it out quickly.


    Lu Li''s Shadowstrike went straight for the monster''s chest, but what surprised him was that it actually blocked his attack.


    How was this possible?!


    Lu Li almost yelped in surprise. He couldn''t believe that the game company could design a monster that could block his attack and still classify it as a regular monster.


    A celebrity player who was known for his technique had actually been blocked by a regular monster.


    He subconsciously looked over to the other players and wanted to know if anyone else noticed what had just happened.


    It didn''t seem like anyone else had discovered this yet; they were all focused on fighting.


    Lu Li dodged the counterattack of the monster he had just attacked and counted the number of players on the field.


    There were eight of them. Why were there only eight of them? Not including the Boss and the two monsters, there were only eight bodies left. Where had his two other teammates gone?


    He watched the monster that was chasing him before he finally realized what had happened.


    "Stop! Everyone stop!" Lu Li yelled as he jumped onto the voice channel. After yelling a few times, he noticed that the two monsters in his line of sight had also stopped.


    Damn this Boss!


    Not only did Lu Li want to swear, but he also felt a chill go down his spine.


    In reality, if such a scene occurred it would be because of a group hallucination. However, because this was a game, it was obviously one of the Boss'' skills.


    "Stop fighting the monsters. Everyone attack the Boss," Lu Li ordered in the channel.


    Those monsters were their teammates. He didn''t know what the Boss had cast, but it altered their teammates'' appearances and allowed them to deal damage to each other. The monster that Lu Li attacked obviously Water Fairy.


    Fortunately, his opponent was quite skilled as well and wasn''t easy to kill. Otherwise, he might have accidentally reduced their numbers.


    This illusion lasted for 30 seconds. After the duration, the monsters would return to human form, revealing Water Fairy and Hachi Chan as the targets.


    Once they realized who they thought their opponents were, everything became clear.


    This Boss was relatively difficult to deal with. If the commander wasn''t observant, they could have been wiped because of the illusions.


    "In any case, the Boss'' attacks aren''t that strong. It probably doesn''t have any strong attack moves, so everyone just keep fighting steadily," Lu Li said.


    However, the Boss began to use actual skills to fight back.


    When it started to expand again, Lu Li was forced to eat his words. He refused to believe that this was just a bluff like at the start of the fight. After all, everything was bound to be revealed if the battle went on for long enough.


    The current expansion was obviously a precursor to some kind of ultimate skill.


    "Full damage output!"


    Regardless of what it was, the rapid depletion of the Boss'' HP meant that they weredefinitely entering the next stage.


    Nightslayer Ghostface: (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 60, Agility 55, Strength +30, Dark Field of View +30%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Wild Roar. The caster roars, increasing base attack power of everyone within 30 yards by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Shadow Plunder. Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Void Gaze, Increases the probability of finding Stealthed units for 60 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    Lu Li activated special effect 2 in an attempt to steal the buff from the Boss that was causing it to expand.


    But obviously, the System couldn''t allow such a thing to happen. Instead, he received a buff for 10% Magic Damage reduction for 20 minutes.


    In order to increase their overall damage output, Lu Li also used special effect 1. In the absence of Sakura Memories, Lu Li had no choice but to step in for her role.

 1056 Watching With the Crowds

    The wolf''s HP dropped quickly, but it wasn''t quick enough to cancel its skill.


    Azure Sea Breeze was to first to be affected. Not only did the Boss'' attacks improve, but they now also had an Armor Piercing effect.


    If the Main Tank didn''t have any Armor, it would be a very bleak situation.


    Fortunately, he had a hefty amount of HP, despite already losing almost seven thousand HP. If this was any other Main Tank, they would have died already. It was in that moment everyone understood why a Main Tank needed to have a large HP bar in addition to Damage Reduction Skills and Armor.


    The aggro of the wolf was now no longer simply focused on Azure Sea Breeze as the aggression on each player had been altered..


    "Elevenless, use your damage reduction skills," Lu Li instructed as he watched as the wolf rushed towards Elevenless. Azure Sea Breeze cast two Taunt skills but was unable to force the Boss to turn back.


    He was a Plate Armored player with a Gold set and damage reduction skills, so tanking the attacks was no problem for him.


    Elevenless was definitely skilled, otherwise, there was no way he could have been the Wing''s Of Dawn''s core player and one of the top Warriors in the game. However, Lu Li quickly realized he had made a mistake. Since the attacks were piercing attacks, why did it matter that he was Plate-Armored or that he had a Gold set? Those things were meaningless in this situation.


    What was even more unfortunate was that Elevenless was being dealt critical hit after critical hit. Even March Rain couldn''t save him. It didn''t matter how exquisite his equipment was; it simply wasn''t enough.


    And so, Elevenless became the first player to die as a result of this fight.


    "Everyone, keep steady. Run away as fast as you can; don''t let the Boss hit you," Lu Li said, trying to calm down his teammates. He was glad that they were all quite mentally stable, or else they would have already descended into chaos.


    Water Fairy was a person who had worked with him before, and Unforgettable Maple was a seasoned gamer.


    The second person to get chased by the wolf was Hachi Chan, who screamed and turned into a leopard before running away.


    "Don''t run around randomly; run towards Breezy!"


    Lu Li was stunned and tried to draw the aggro, but it didn''t help. The wolf''s aggro seemed to be completely focused on Hachi Chan''s body.


    Hachi Chan panicked at first, but then she found out that the Boss was moving at the same speed as she was. She then slowly calmed down and did what Lu Li had instructed her to do.


    At this time, Lu Li was glad that the Boss was focused on Hachi Chan.


    In fact, it was more advantageous for the Boss to be chasing her than any other player here. He didn''t know how many movement speed buffs she had, but she had no problem creating distance between herself and the Boss.


    The wolf that had expanded to twice its original size soon reformed back to its original shape.


    "It still has 20% HP, but I don''t think there will be any new tricks," Lu Li said as he resurrected Elevenless. Elevenless seemed to be quite dejected, and his expression gave Lu Li goosebumps when he looked at him.


    "Why, why is it that every time I come into contact with you I end up dying? This is already the second time!" Elevenless exclaimed.


    "Hey, it''s a Boss," Lu Li said with a shrug.


    "Ooh, how shameful. I didn''t even die," Hachi Chan teased as she stuck out her tongue at Elevenless. He was completely speechless. A healer had managed to not get killed by the Boss, but he, a Plate-Armored Berserker, couldn''t even survive for 10 seconds with healing support.


    "Alright, pay attention everyone. The Boss will probably go Berserk. Remember to stay close to Hachi Chan and Azure Sea Breeze. Even if you die, you should die near them," Lu Li reminded everyone.


    After all, the aggro mechanism seemed to have been randomized, so no one knew who the Boss was going to attack. However, when the target died, the Boss would choose the target closest them.


    Of course, none of them wanted to lose EXP.


    The next skill was another illusion that made their teammates monsters again. However, this was no longer effective on any of them.


    By the time its HP dropped to 10%, the wolf went Berserk.


    Surprisingly, the target was Lu Li.


    Lu Li smiled and turned into a little leopard. If Hachi Chan could easily outrun the Boss, then so could he. If something went wrong, he still had Gale Steps and other skills to escape with.


    The wolf chased after Lu Li but couldn''t touch him. Even though it got faster in the final stages, Lu Li''s movement speed was still greater.


    Eventually, the Boss'' Berserk ended. Fortunately, it didn''t go into Berserk again before it died.


    When everyone got the prompt that they had received their EXP, they let out a sigh of relief.


    This was the first time they had done something like this with so few casualties; no one could believe it.


    It was somewhat true to say that this Boss was weak, but that didn''t mean that it wasn''t difficult for a ten player team.


    If Lu Li hadn''t found the real body in the First Stage, Kitty Likes Meat might have been killed by the Boss and it was likely that they would have gotten wiped not long after that.


    After the illusion were cast that caused the players were turned into monsters, it was Lu Li who had discovered this.


    If anyone accidentally killed a teammate after that, it would truly be impossible to believe.


    Piercing attacks were also an easy way for an ordinary team to get wiped. After all, the Main Tank wasn''t able to tank the Boss'' attacks after it grew bigger. Without Hachi Chan and Lu Li''s movement speed, the Boss would have caught them.


    In general, if you wanted to defeat this Boss, you needed to possess sheer strength and be incredibly lucky.


    The EXP that they gained was quite a bit more than most monsters in Azeroth. However, no matter how great it was, it was less that the EXP that Elevenless had lost. He had only made back half of the EXP and had to farm for a few days before he could make the rest back.


    After the fight was over, the cute little Hunter hummed as she went to loot the Boss.


    Water Fairy had experienced her lucky hands before, which why she wanted to poach this girl for Drizzle Court.


    Elevenless and Unforgetful Maple were also famous for their lucky hands, but they all let the girl complete the job. They wanted to see how lucky she truly was.


    Remnant Dream went to the Boss, oblivious to the other players who were praying for the Boss to drop something that they could use. She just went straight to looting the body, seemingly without a care in the world. Elevenless and Unforgetful almost choked at this sight.


    "Wow, it''s an Epic dagger!" Remnant Dream exclaimed happily.


    It was an Epic Dagger, but was it for Magical or Physical professions?


    If it was for Magical Professions, it could be for a Priest, Mage or Warlock. However, if it was for a physical profession, then it was probably for a Thief. Most players that were present cared about what kind of dagger this was. Even the female tycoon was eagerly waiting for the little hunter to announce the equipment''s Attributes.


    Remnant Dream didn''t stall for time, and shared the description to everyone.


    It was a Level 50 Epic Dagger for physical professions with high Attack and critical hit. It had three special effects that were decent and could probably be used until a player was level 60.


    Now there was the question of who this item should be assigned to.


    "Hey, there''s gonna be a fight. You guys should fight. The rest of us can watch."


    Unforgettable Maple felt depressed, but he knew of the rumors between the two players vying for this equipment.


    "Come, come, gather around," Elevenless gloated.


    Elevenless admired Water Fairy. In fact, Elevenless admired anyone who was a beautiful woman. It was his hope that one day, someone would reciprocate his feelings.


    But right now, Water Fairy obviously wasn''t interested in him, so he focused his mind on watching the events before him unfold.


    Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t a particularly moral person either; he could appreciate the drama. Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were na?ve, so they had no idea what was going on. They were just waiting so that they could continue looting the body.


    "How about you take it?" Water Fairy was a little upset at the players around them, and glared at those making the joke.


    No matter how greedy and thick-skinned Lu Li was, he couldn''t help but feel some embarrassment in this moment.


    What''s more, this item wasn''t even that attractive for him. The Felstriker that he had in hand was much better this item. Even the Widowmaker that wasn''t an Epic item was just about as strong.


    Not only did the Widowmaker have high critical hit, but it also had an escape skill which was far more suitable for Lu Li.

 1057 Tent Assignmen

    "You take it, I have a better one. I''ll take the materials that come later," Lu Li suggested.


    Water Fairy happy accepted the Epic dagger, but she could see the two smiling idiots off on the side. Even Lonesome Flower, who had never been one to gossip, couldn''t help but smirk at the process.


    Public displays of affection were one of the most annoying things!


    However, Elevenless and Unforgettable Maple were both shocked to hear Lu Li say that he had a better weapon!


    This guy was already so powerful. When he was fighting in the competition yesterday, many players already thought his damage was ridiculously high, but if he had an even better weapon¡­


    It seemed like he had to have spent a lot of money on equipment to obtain all these items.


    Unforgettable Maple felt quite bitter about this situation. Both Elevenless and Lu Li were engaged in an arms race. Elevenless had put together a Gold set, which meant that most players couldn''t deal much damage to him, while Lu Li was starting on a path of his own, which seemed like it required many Level


    Reducing Gems.


    If the other guilds didn''t want to be completely outclassed by their equipment, they had no choice but to follow suit.


    Water Fairy already knew the rules of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group. She sent a huge red packet to Remnant Dream which almost made her betray Lu Li to join Drizzle Court.


    The second piece of equipment was a Dark Gold Magic Cloak. It wasn''t an exquisite item, but it definitely wasn''t unusable. At first glance, Unforgettable Maple thought it was quite suitable for him. Unfortunately, there were Kitty Likes Meat and Lonesome Flower competing with him. There could only be one winner among three players, which reduced his chances of success.


    While everyone was looking around to see what would happen, Kitty Likes Meat offered in a regretful tone, "Maple sis, do you want this? It would be a pity just to sell this item."


    Unforgettable Maple almost vomited blood. This quiet and beautiful girl didn''t usually say much, but when she finally spoke, she was rude. If they kept this up¡­ if they kept this up, he was going home.


    Then, he realized what the she really meant.


    "You¡­ you don''t want it?"


    "Nope!"


    Every person he looked at shook their heads; no one else seemed to want this item. Suddenly, Unforgettable Maple had lost the excitement of potentially receiving something worthwhile.


    He realized that he had underestimated the benefits of the First Clear bonus. Lu Li''s team had acquired so many First Clears that even a level 50 Dark Gold item was passed up. How exquisite were the items that they currently had?


    "Hurry up, we don''t have much time left today," Lu Li urged Remnant Dreamt on as he assigned the equipment to Unforgettable Maple.


    In fact, if this was a mixed party, there would be very few equips that would be given up like this. Some players would participate in the roll even if they didn''t need it because they could give it to their friends or sell the item for money.


    However, everyone here was rather well off and didn''t mind giving up the equipment that wasn''t for them.


    There was still more equipment to come. The Wolf wasn''t an Instance Dungeon Boss ¨C it was somewhere between an Instance Dungeon Boss and a Wild Boss, so it probably would drop more than two to three items.


    The end result was an Epic item, two Dark Gold items, two Gold items, a rare material and a Synthetic Stone.


    The Epic item had been given to Water Fairy by Lu Li, while Unforgettable Maple and Remnant Dream took a Dark Gold item each. One of the Gold items was given to Azure Sea Breeze and the other was given to Elevenless as compensation for dying. Lu Li took the rare material and the Synthetic Stone was given to Lonesome Flower.


    Everyone was happy with these assignments, and they agreed to push onwards.


    After that, they had to clear five or six Boss areas in succession.


    Lu Li went ahead to test the strength of one of them, but he barely managed to escape with his life.


    This Boss was definitely beyond level 60. Even if a hundred players at Lu Li''s level gathered to fight it, they wouldn''t defeat it. The level difference wasn''t something their equipment could make up for.


    Everyone discussed it and decided to avoid that Boss. Otherwise, the time they had been given by Remulos simply wouldn''t be enough. If they kept delaying like this, they might not even be able to exit the Twisting Nether. Who knows what would happen then?


    Remulos had also suggested that they exit the Twisting Nether to take a break, but this was much easier said than done. There were several active monsters with a large aggro range that would follow the players for quite some time before giving up.


    There was even a very fierce Boss that almost wiped them.


    Fortunately, Lu Li used Silly Husky from the Book of Ur as bait. Other players had also learned similar skills and used their summons as well. Even then, they were still forced to sacrifice Water Fairy so that the rest of the party could get out of trouble.


    After the Boss left, Water Fairy used her Darkmoon Card to gain 6% EXP.


    In this way, it took everyone almost the whole day to travel the route planned by Remulos. It was laborious work, but they had gained a number of Strengthening Stones and materials. After returning to Azeroth, there was no longer any desire to continue exploring.


    However, they had no idea where they were, or what towns were nearby.


    They also didn''t know how the NPCs would treat them at this stage. Regardless, Remulos had given them five tents, so they could go offline in the middle of the wilderness without any issues.


    The Wilderness Tent was an item that was going to be released in the next patch. It was an expensive but popular item.


    If a player was in a certain area but didn''t want to return to the city, they could set up such a tent to protect themselves from the monsters at night.


    It was a very useful item, but it cost 100 gold coins and could only be used three times. As such, most players simply couldn''t bring themselves to use it.


    In the earlier days, to encourage players to buy this item, players who used it would receive a double EXP buff for 1.5 hours after resting in the tent. This was an hour longer than the buff received by staying at hotel or private residence.


    Half an hour of double EXP was already enough to attract players to spend a lot of money.


    Since this was a tent given by Remulos before they were officially released, they didn''t have the double EXP buff, but they were still good items.


    There were five tents, which meant each tent could house two players. There were five men and five women, so the question had to be asked ¨C how should they be assigned?

 1058 Lu Li is Going to School

    There had to be a tent that was shared by a man and a woman¡­


    Lu Li was a little annoyed. When Remulos was giving them these tents, why didn''t he think of this situation?


    Everyone else was looking at him to make a decision. After all, he was the party leader of the team.


    Lu Li''s eyes looked around before finally fixating on Lonesome Flower. He and March Rain were siblings, so they shouldn''t mind sharing the same tent. Lu Li had already checked out the tents. Although they didn''t look too promising from the outside, they were actually quite spacious. Moreover, after everyone logged out, it would just be the avatar left in game.


    The System would force them to go offline anyway, so there was nothing they could do about that.


    "Flower, let''s go before the System forces us offline. Us brothers have some things to talk about anyway," Azure Sea Breeze said as he picked up a tent and dragged him off.


    As Lonesome Flower was being pulled away, he kept looking back until he saw that Kitty Likes Meat had been paired up with his sister March Rain.


    Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were obviously going to share a tent; they were already standing hand in hand. The two girls did many things together, particularly Remnant Dream''s Pet quests and Hachi Chan''s chain quests.


    Unforgettable Maple and Elevenless sneered as they looked at Lu Li and grabbed a tent together.


    There was now one tent left on the ground, with Lu Li standing next to Water Fairy. All they could think of now was the cry of the crows flying overhead.


    The group of players must have done this intentionally to set them up.


    "How about¡­" Lu Li wanted to say that he could just go offline outside, but he wasn''t sure if that was a good idea. Who knew what would happen if he left his body in the wild? What if something attacked him and destroyed his equipment?


    "If you don''t mind, let''s just share one together. We''re just going offline anyway," Water Fairy''s mumbled, her voice getting softer and softer.


    This girl was usually cold and arrogant, and she hadn''t even had a boyfriend before, so it was quite impressive that she would take the initiative. If it weren''t for her bandana, he would have already seen her blushing.


    If there was nothing between these two players, then whether they were men or women made no difference.


    Dawn was very effective in preventing players from being intimate. Even if two players voluntarily wanted it to happen, it was impossible to do so in the current game.


    In the future, a System where more accurate sensations could be felt would be designed.


    If two players wanted to start a relationship, they needed to spend a year together to gain that status in game. Few players were willing to do this just for virtual intimacy, so this didn''t happen very much in game. (The designer who made this system was quite conservative in this regard)


    The two of them struggled for a little bit before finally getting into the tent.


    Lu Li had chosen the double sleeping bag mode in the tent, which placed two separate sleeping bags where the players were supposed to lie.


    There was still a little bit of time before the end of the day.


    Neither of them were in a hurry to go offline as that would make them look even guiltier.


    "How is Xin Xin doing?'' Water Fairy asked. This was quite a safe topic. She was concerned about Xin Xin''s health and had helped her over this process.


    "Pretty good; she will be going back to school in the next few days."


    When his sister was mentioned, Lu Li couldn''t help but reveal a bit of a smile.


    "She shouldn''t go if it will tire her out. It would be best if she completely recovered before going," Water Fairy said hurriedly. She had some knowledge about this, but she had also asked about it through her private family contacts.


    Lu Li was touched and gently responded, "Relax, she won''t be doing any early morning and late night studies. I will also go into the university town in future to accompany her after school."


    "Ah, so you are going to the university town?" Water Fairy was a bit confused.


    Given his tone, it didn''t seem to be as simple as just taking Lu Xin to school.


    "I plan to study myself and learn something," Lu Li explained. He couldn''t start from scratch and take the college entrance examination exam; that wasn''t feasible as he didn''t have that much energy to study.


    But as for whether the university would accept someone who grew up in the Common District and had never been educated, he had resolved that issue.


    After Ruling Sword entered the quarter finals, the competition system had undergone significant changes.


    The three games were divided into away games, home games and random areas. Under normal circumstances, the two clubs had to bring their helmets to three cities to complete the competition. The games were supposed to be tied back to real life.


    Although this increased the costs of running the competition, there were other benefits.


    Take Drizzle Court in Jinling City for example ¨C if they had a grand ceremony in a few days, announcing that Drizzle Court had become the representatives of the city, then some of the costs of the Club would be subsidized by the municipal government.


    After hundreds of years of ups and downs, Jiangnan city wasn''t even a second-tier city yet.


    Although it was often selected as the most livable city in the country, that was the extent of its fame. Its economy was not that great, and it didn''t take center-stage for cultural or political events. A considerable portion of Chinese people didn''t even know there was a city here, and naturally, this meant that it couldn''t attract any major clubs.


    The city had been in contact with the Star Moon Guild for a long time, and had helped the establishment and development of the guild.


    It was a pity that the fruits of their investment died before they could even harvest them.


    Fortunately, there was another way. Even though the Star Moon Guild was gone, the rising Ruling Sword was a guild that was disrupting the gaming industry.


    Even the top leaders in the cities were paying attention to them. After the new rules of the First professional league were confirmed, the municipal government immediately contacted Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li had been busy since the start of the year and had no time for this. It had always been Square Root 3 following these things up.


    He had told Square Root 3 that he felt like his level of education was too low and he wanted to learn something in college.


    If an ordinary unemployed person asked for this same thing, they would definitely be shunned for it. How could someone with a low education level enter university? What would that say about the university and the people who had worked so hard for the entrance exams?


    However, Lu Li was different.


    He was the leader of Ruling Sword and the most sought-after figure by the municipal government.


    Lu Li had established the Xin Xin Mercenary Group and then established Ruling Sword. This guild had become one of the strongest guilds within a six-month period. No one would think that Lu Li was just some unemployed person.


    If there was anything bad to say about Lu Li, it would only be his origins.


    He was someone who had come out of the Common District. His story was quite a mythical one to the


    general public, and was a bit of a slap to the face of the municipal government.


    Even so, Lu Li was able to enroll in Jiangnan University with almost no problems.


    Even Jiangnan University wasn''t irritated by the addition of this unqualified person. They actually looked forward to having this gaming legend attend their university and welcomed him with open arms.


    Water Fairy laughed as she listened to Lu Li until the System began to count down, prompting them that it was now the end of the day.

 1059 Disguise

    The next day, when Lu Li came back online, everyone else had already logged on.


    They were now on the Hillsbrad Hills in the distant past, when Saar was a slave in Durnholde castle and adventurers had never been seen before in Azeroth.


    In order to help them blend in, Remulos gave them a transformation potion before leaving.


    After downing the potions, they all transformed into humans.


    At this time, the Hillsbrad Hills were dominated by humans and it was very inconvenient for foreign races to travel through it, particularly rare races like Remnant Dream, who was a Draenei.


    Lu Li had not only become a human being, but had turned into a bald man like Unforgettable Maple.


    Lu Li wasn''t that ugly, but the transformation had made him quite unsightly. This was in addition to the baldness which truly made this transformation a sad affair.


    In fact, it was just the two of them that had received bad transformations.


    Water Fairy looked at Lu Li''s bald head and wanted to laugh but couldn''t bring herself to. She didn''t actually think he was that ugly; it was just a funny sight to see.


    Lu Li re-equipped his items and pulled his hood over his head to cover everything above his eyes.


    Unforgettable Maple was speechless. His headgear couldn''t properly cover his head and his cloak didn''t have a hood that he could use to cover his head either.


    The description of the quest was just a single body of text:


    "Time and space, past and future. These are never in the hands of mortals. There is only one master who controls time ¨C the Bronze Dragon Nozdormu ¨C along with her time and space guardians. She maintains the march of time and repairs the places that it has gone off track.


    But now the ancient dragon guardian has been awakened by a great threat. Dark evil spies have snuck into the path of time, trying to change the trajectories of past, present and future. As such, the Bronze Dragon Legion is rescuing heroes to prevent the destruction of key historical events.


    The balance between time and space is in jeopardy. Once history is lost¡­ that means there will no longer be a future."


    Lu Li''s goal was to protect the Saar chieftain and ensure that he would grow up safely and find his own path to become the leader of the Horde and the Alliance in resisting the Burning Legion.


    In any case, even though the Alliance and the Horde were enemies, this was a matter of internal conflict within Azeroth.


    When everyone was fighting for survival, they had a common ground. It was for Azeroth!


    The purpose of the Burning Legion was to destroy the order established by the Titans. Sargeras wanted destroy the world, kill all life in Azeroth and return the planet to its hollow state.


    "Why is the map gray? I have explored the Hillsbrad Hills before," Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "This is the real Hillsbrad Hills, exactly as it was many years ago. We were here yesterday when we went into the void and we will need to come back here to return. Everyone mark this place," Lu Li said as he took out his map and carefully made a home mark.


    "The map isn''t showing up properly. What do we do?" Unforgettable Maple asked.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy looked at each other before saying, "We can explore the area based on memory, but we will need a disguise. Otherwise, Blackmoore''s soldiers will treat us as spies. It''s best if we don''t get into any trouble before reaching our goal."


    Both of them were players affiliated to Ravenholdt Manor, which was located towards the south of this area, so they were quite familiar with this place.


    "How can we disguise ourselves?" Unforgettable Maple felt like all the years he had spent playing games was a waste, as he was asking such simple questions.


    "Find a person, and copy their identity. It is best to be a civilian. I remember there were several ruins near the Hillsbrad farm. There might be people living there at this time. These are small gathering places, so it shouldn''t be too difficult," Lu Li answered as he pointed at a location on the map with his finger, but there was just a black space there.


    The group didn''t waste any more time. They found the direction of that location and slowly followed Lu Li and Water Fairy towards their goal.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy led the way in Stealth. Hachi Chan was at the back of the group in Stealth as well, so that she would notice if anyone tried to sneak up on the group from behind.


    Water Fairy first discovered a village, but her decision to enter it was immediately vetoed by Lu Li.


    There were dozens of families in that village and even a small sentry tower. Even if they were a party, it would be difficult for them to deal with these people before a rescue signal was fired. Once they were discovered by the sentry tower, the news would soon be passed back to Durnholde Castle.


    "Best to find a small farm," Lu Li emphasized.


    After some exploration they discovered that the current Hillsbrad Hills were actually quite flat.


    In terms of Dawn''s background, this was the Alliance''s most prosperous period. The leaders during this time included Lothar, Uther, Windrunner and even Arthas. The Lordaeron Alliance had recently destroyed the Dark Portal in Azeroth, cutting off the Orc''s reinforcements.


    However, the Orc Ner''Zhul and other powerful Mages of the Horde would later use powerful artifacts in Draenor to reopen that path between Draenor and Azeroth.


    Fortunately, the Alliance would quickly respond to the new threat. The five heroes stood like great mountains and rivers at the gates of Stormwind City ¨C Turalyon, Windrunner, Khadgar, Kurdran and Trollbane took a force across the portal into Draenor to launch a counterattack on the Orcs, slaughtering them.


    The Orcs that were defeated in Azeroth were either killed or thrown into shelters, prisons or the arena¡­


    The region was still in a state of unity, and they were constantly on the lookout for more enemies from beyond the land. As such, the soldiers of Hillsbrad Hills weren''t really patrolling the land all the time.


    "Let''s keep looking for it, and we''ll tell them when we find something. Everyone, be careful. If you accidentally run into an NPC, just make up a fake name and do not attack. If they ask about you, just say you are a traveler from faraway lands."


    Lu Li decided to take a bit of a risk. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to complete the quest by the end of the day.


    After spending another half another, they had discovered the ideal target.

 1060 Carriage Robbery

    The place that was before Lu Li was some kind of workshop. It didn''t seem too big, so hopefully, there wouldn''t be that many people.


    At the entrance was a parked carriage and a manager who was shouting to get some things moved. As a student of the Engineering Trade Skill, Lu Li could smell the gunpowder in the air and guessed that this was a military gunpowder workshop.


    This type of workshop was different from the Blacksmith. It was obviously too dangerous to place these kind of workshops in the castle.


    "Everyone, stay put. Water Fairy and I will explore the situation first."


    Lu Li was still far away, but he was using a telescope to observe the workshop.


    The workshop was quite spacious. Both Lu Li and Water Fairy were masters of Stealth and would not be discovered under normal circumstances.


    However, this military workshop would have set up a number of traps. If you didn''t pay attention, you could trigger a trap and be discovered. There were so many workers and guards here that they probably wouldn''t be able to defeat them all. Lu Li estimated that the manager was also a quasi-Boss.


    He quickly worked out the number of workers in the area.


    It was exactly 60 people!


    This number scared Lu Li. He didn''t think there would be so many people ¨C initially, he thought there would be a dozen of them.


    They probably couldn''t fight these 60 people, unless some special circumstances arose. If Lu Li was correct and the Manager was at least a quasi-Boss, he would have an inspiration aura. If they fought a quasi-Boss leading 60 mobs, they would probably have be wiped before even running into Saar.


    "We don''t have to attack these workers. We can wait outside to hijack the carriage, right?" Water Fairy asked after hearing Lu Li''s explanation.


    "Oh you''re right, I didn''t think of that."


    Lu Li smiled and told everyone to prepare to intercept the carriage.


    "So there are some things that you don''t think of. I thought you always knew about everything," Unforgettable Maple was surprised. The status that Lu Li had in his mind slowly faded away as he realized that Lu Li was just a player too.


    "How can I know possibly know everything?" Lu Li reasoned, then silently added that even though he had been reborn, he still wasn''t omniscient.


    A group of players set up an ambush in the woods. Lu Li summoned two beasts that stood in front of the carriage as it was passing by. Although they didn''t necessarily pose a threat to the carriage, the Manager ordered the carriage to stop to prevent any damage to it.


    "Attack!"


    The group of high-levelled players immediately rushed out like highway robbers.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy both used one Sap each as they rushed the Manager. The remaining six to seven guards were also hit with various attacks.


    Before they attacked, Lu Li emphasized that they shouldn''t use any fire skills or anything that could cause a burning effect. In this virtual game environment, the barrels were flammable and explosive. They could be used to kill monsters, but they could kill them too.


    It turned out that the Manager really was a quasi-Boss; he was level 55 and had nearly 100,000HP.


    Everyone was already worried about detonating the explosives, but the Boss also gave the mobs a HP regeneration buff, which made killing them even more difficult.


    After a tremendous effort, they eventually killed all the monsters and quickly took the loot. They then buried the bodies in the woods next to them. They knew that the monsters would refresh but they just prayed that no one would pass by during that time, or if they did, that they would just ignore them.


    "How do we use the carriage?"


    This was the first time they had hijacked the carriage of the locals, and no one really knew what to do.


    "The driver must be equipped with this license item," Lu Li said as he took out the sign that he had taken from the Manager''s body. Without any further explanation, he equipped it as a badge.


    While there were fewer protection systems in place, the general population would soon gain a love for robberies like this. However, attempting to rob an NPC was usually a death wish. Lu Li only dared to do this because they were on a special quest. In this world, the rules that bound normal adventurers had not yet appeared.


    Of course, he wasn''t going to tell that to Unforgettable Maple or Elevenless. It would be best if they immediately tried this an NPC after they got back; they would probably be slaughtered.


    In Dawn, if a player robbed a carriage from the opposing faction, the NPC''s level would immediately increase by 20. If the carriage was from the same faction, its level would increase by 50 and the player would lose some reputation.


    Lu Li had never claimed to be a good person to begin with, so he didn''t feel much guilt in not telling Unforgettable Maple and Elevenless this.


    Everyone here might have good private relationships and would even have a drink together, but they would definitely sell out their opponents if given the chance.


    Lu Li checked the carriage and found 20 barrels of explosives and two hundred sets of silver ingots. No wonder the carriage was moving so slowly ¨C otherwise, Lu Li wouldn''t have been able to stop them anyway.


    There were ten players here, so each player received 20 sets of silver.


    Silver ingots were quite rare, but Captain Skarloc would probably let them into the Durnholde Castle with these items. These silver ingots would directly address the current Copper ore shortage.


    "How about these 20 barrels of explosives?" Unforgettable Maple asked uncomfortably.


    Of the two hundred silver ingots, Ruling Sword had managed to take 140 of them based on their numbers. Even if Unforgettable Maple didn''t like it, Lu Li also really wanted to split up these explosives. These weren''t something that even an Engineering player could make.


    "We don''t need to split up these explosives; we''ll need them later."


    Lu Li smiled and pushed aside his wishful thinking.


    As they rode the carriage, the group began to travel in the direction of Durnholde Castle.


    Occasionally, they were would be people or even soldiers on the road, but they didn''t pay much attention to Lu Li after seeing the mark on the carriage. This carriage was simply one of many in the Hillsbrad Hills.


    The Durnholde Castle belonged to the Alliance. It was quite unremarkable, but it had a strong significance in the history of Azeroth.


    The reason this was a special location was because it was used to hold the most Orcs that were captured during the Second Great War. Even the surrounding camps were controlled by Durnholde Castle. Sergeant Blackmoore didn''t actually have a high position, but he had real power in his control. The Alliance lost many fine officers in the Second Great War, which made it possible for a Sergeant to have this kind of control over the Castle and its surrounding camps.


    Of course, what really made Durnholde famous was the fact that it was the place where the great Chief Saar had grown up.


    Here, Saar learned fighting skills, tactics, literature and art. However, the most important thing he learned here was kindness because of the different way he was raised, even though this didn''t necessarily mean that he would go on to become a great person.

 1061 Thrall

    When they entered the castle, everyone held their breath, even Lu Li. Fortunately, the two guards were in a yellow status and they didn''t suspect anyone.


    The two horses were familiar with the route even without Lu Li''s guidance.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn''t really go to the storage house; it was bound to be guarded by heavy defences. All lords valued their possessions the most, and a majority of the troops would have been placed around the storage for gold or firearms.


    "Firstly, we need to locate the prison and talk to Thrall. I''ll do this with Hachi Chan," Lu Li said, beginning to assign roles. Hachi Chan had a high Charm attribute, so it was best for her to talk to Thrall.


    As for Lu Li, Hachi Chan was disorientated. He wouldn''t want to let her walk anywhere by herself.


    Who knew where she would walk to? The last time she did a quest without company, she nearly arrived at the main city of the Tauren. It was filled with Horde players, so it was a miracle for her to reach there in the first place.


    "As for the rest of you, bring the bombs. They will cause confusion, and that''s the best timing for Thrall''s escape," Lu Li instructed as he patted these bomb caskets, feeling like it was a shame to waste these valuable weapons like this.


    "My, we haven''t learnt how to set off bombs," Elevenless said, looking hopeless.


    "They have a trigger. As long as there''s no wind, just use the trigger at the right timing," Lu Li explained. He was very familiar with the bomb caskets.


    "I think we can use these bomb caskets to blow the sentries away. Maybe we can even kill the boss," Unforgettable Maple laughed.


    "I think your IQ is questionable," Lu Li chided, "You think you wouldn''t die when you put the bombs next to them?"


    "Uhm..." Unforgettable Maple went quiet.


    "Watch out ¨C we''ll get questioned if we don''t get moving, but don''t bring the bombs out in front of the NPCs. Just pick a location to place them down and don''t place them down where the NPCs patrol, or else it would be a waste. Thrall isn''t the same person either, so don''t expect them to have a lot of combat power¡­" Lu Li continued to explain.


    Lu Li took Hachi Chan and found the location of the prison.


    There weren''t a lot of guards; they most likely weren''t expecting any intruders to reach here. Lu Li sapped one and killed the other with Hachi Chan. Together, they easily took neutralized the defence of this prison.


    Thrall, at this point, was locked inside the prison. Lu Li had a good idea through the story background as to why he was locked up.


    His current situation was tied to the most important woman in his life ¨C Taretha Foxton.


    Taretha was the daughter of Tammis Foxton, who was a servant of Aedelas Blackmoore. She was a small girl who had never seen war, and was the first person to truly care about Thrall.


    After the death of the Durnholde, young Thrall was found by Blackmoore and was handed over to the Foxton family to nurture. After spending a long time together, Taretha developed a good relationship with Thrall. This was even more obvious after the death of Faralyn Foxton.


    She treated Thrall like a brother!


    She wasn''t afraid of Thrall and often taught him many things in private. She passed books and knowledge to him behind her master''s back and secretly wrote to him for many years.


    Taretha was like a merciful mother, as well as a gentle sister. This upbringing gave Thrall his compassion and charisma as a leader.


    However, there was no secret that could maintain hidden forever.


    Following some of the tracks that were left behind, Blackmoore felt like Taretha had betrayed him.


    At this point, Blackmoore already saw Taretha as his own and wouldn''t allow a mere slave to taint his possession, even if this was a slave who had the responsibility to fulfil his ambitions.


    Hence, Thrall was locked away.


    This was a form of torture, and a warning. If he was any other normal slave, he would have already died. Plenty of Tauren died each day in this place.


    "Go and talk," Lu Li said as he kicked Hachi Chan. It was her turn to shine.


    Hachi Chan rubbed her butt and greeted Thrall behind the bars.


    "Hi, Thrall¡­Mr. Thrall. We''ve come to save you."

 1062 Escape from Durnholde

    The locks on Thrall were troublesome. Lu Li''s lock-picking skills were good, but they didn''t work on these kinds of locks.


    At the same time, loud explosive noises sounded from outside; these were most likely the bomb caskets that had set off earlier than Lu Li had expected. Thrall''s cautiousness wasted some time and this lock was also a problem.


    "Step back."


    Thrall thought Lu Li was skilled when he easily unlocked the cell, but who knew that this Thief would be so weak?


    The loud noise outside led him to believe Lu Li and the others. Lu Li stepped back as he had been asked and Thrall picked up his chains that were linked to the wall and with a heavy pull, ripped them apart.


    "Hurry, or else we''re gonna get surrounded," Unforgettable Maple typed in the chat.


    Lu Li and Hachi Chan brought Thrall with them to leave the dungeon and were met with a team of enemies led by Lieutenant Drake.


    Lieutenant Drake was an ambitious soldier who had focused on his own glory during the second war. The size of his ambition was on par with his hate towards Tauren with green skin. These Tauren had killed too many of his subordinates and he channeled his hate into punishing the criminals in Durnholde.


    Amongst all, Thrall hated Lieutenant Drake the most.


    Countless of his own kind had died before him from the torture. Sometimes, even death was a luxury.


    Without a second word, Thrall charged forward; it seemed like he was determined for a revenge. He was a Tauren after all and his blood boiled for battle just like the rest of them. This didn''t change just because he had studied some books.


    "Gather towards me; let''s take down this boss first," Lu Li said as he sent his coordinates to the others.


    Everyone quickly gathered over; Lieutenant Drake didn''t have a lot of health but his attack damage was insane. Thrall had fifty thousand health points and half of it was lost from a few hits.


    Fortunately, Lu Li''s teammates came just in time. Azure Sea Breeze rushed up first and taunted Lieutenant Drake while Hachi Chan kept casting recovery-type magic onto Thrall. NPCs could receive player healing under this kind of situation.


    Lieutenant Drake''s attacks were truly powerful.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s damage reduction wasn''t enough. He could even die if a few critical strikes landed consecutively.


    "Don''t use too many taunt spells. If you can''t hold it anymore, let go of some aggro. It''s alright for Thrall to help us take a few hits."


    Although Lu Li hadn''t participated in this quest before or read the guide for it, he had common sense.


    In many situations, it was important to utilize the NPC that came with them. This younger version of Thrall was a good example.


    His health wasn''t much compared to the Boss, but it was a lot more than Azure Sea Breeze and his defense seemed quite decent.


    Thrall took over the tanking position and his fists landed heavily on Lieutenant Drake. One by one, huge damage values popped up over the Boss and for a short span of time, he became the main damage output of the team.


    Hachi Chan and March Rain healed him together.


    A battle that was supposed to last for 20 minutes ended in 7-8 minutes. Durnholde was set ablaze and was thrown into confusion.


    "Loot! Let''s go!" Lu Li shouted.


    The situation seemed urgent; it would be troublesome if they kept running into Bosses.


    "How can there only be one skill book?" Remnant Dream was in shock.


    She had never failed to loot valuable things and she had never experienced such a horrible record. The skill book wasn''t even that great either; it was a common one.


    However, everyone went silent at what Thrall did next.


    He walked over and picked up the hammer that Lieutenant Drake was using, then stripped of the armor and wore it himself. He even took the little grey horse standing by the side that belonged to Lieutenant Drake.


    An NPC was robbing equipment!


    No wonder why the equipment didn''t drop; this was how they were meant to be obtained. However, anyone could tell that this was a privilege for an NPC like Thrall. A player couldn''t replicate this.


    Thrall jumped onto the warhorse, which greatly improved the mobility of the team.


    "Mr. Thrall, we''ll protect you on the way out," Lu Li said as he summoned his mount to pave the way. Now that he had rescued Thrall, all he had to do was to escort him out.


    The team had already studied the geography of the area, but of course, Thrall knew it better.


    He had grown up here and he wasn''t as restricted as other slaves. He was familiar with everything in the area and was well aware of the patrols.


    Led by Thrall, Lu Li and the others successfully approached the gates of the castle.


    The attention of the patrols was drawn by the explosion and the confusion inside the castle, but they knew their jobs and none of them left them.


    Lu Li had thought about going over the walls, but Thrall quickly changed their minds. Durnholde was a military castle with prisons and high walls, which already made the task difficult. The walls were also built with all sort of magic circles and the gate would be their only way out.


    Lu Li was thinking of ways to silently pass through, but a few dragon-type monsters appeared before them. The Epoch Hunter was definitely here.


    There were so many of them. Was there someone who could explain why these powerful creatures had to come in a pack?


    After they engaged in battle, Lu Li then realized that these were just servants of the Epoch Hunter, possibly sent by the hunter himself to search for them. These monsters were average in strength and posed no challenge to the team.


    The problem was that their battle had caught the attention of the nearby patrols, and a pack of them had blocked the main gate even before Lu Li and the others finished off these Epoch Hunter servants.


    Captain Skarloc!


    It seemed like they had run into another Boss, so Lu Li had to order everyone to charge straight ahead.


    They had to rush out before these sentries closed up the gates, or else they wouldbe trapped inside.


    Thrall had also told them that once an accident occurred in Durnhold, the nearby camps of soldiers would all rush over to reinforce within the shortest timespan.


    Captain Skarloc was loyal to Blackmoore, along with his best friend Lord Aliden Perenolde.


    He became the most trusted companion and advisor for Blackmoore and won himself the title of ''Blackmoore''s Spear''.


    "You''ll pay for your choices!"


    He had brought about 20-30 men with him and blocked the way in front of Lu Li and the others. His eyes were filled with rage and arrogance, because in his opinion, this was a group of humans rescuing a Tauren, a lowly slave!

 1063 Taretha

    "Thrall, do you think you and your minions can escape from Durnholde? You''ll all die here."


    "Enough words, Skarloc. Come at me, like a real Warrior!"


    As Thrall moved, so did the chains that were wrapped around him. He looked like a moving castle; a strong will for battle burned in his eyes despite his terrible body condition. Everyone had their doubts as to whether he would be able to put up a fight against this battle instructor.


    Captain Skarloc didn''t seem like a big fan of torturing Tauren, so Thrall didn''t have as much rage this time. His damage output wasn''t as great as during the previous fight.


    Lu Li and the others didn''t sit around either, but didn''t join in on the battle between Thrall and Skarloc. Instead, they quickly focused on the two semi-bosses that Skarloc had brought with him.


    Skarloc always travelled with two subordinates ¨C one was a Durnholde Veteran and the other was a Durnholde Prison Guard.


    These two were no easy targets. Right at the start, Lu Li and the others were blasted by a Soul Shriek from the Durnholde Prison Guard and were all tossed into fear. This nearly caused a wipe, but fortunately, everyone had their own survival mechanisms so no one ended up dying.


    Thrall had Hachi Chan healing him the whole time, so he could sustain the fight for a little while longer.


    Thrall was actually much stronger than Captain Skarloc, but what caused him trouble was the System of Dawn. There was no way the System would give Lu Li''s team a Boss model ¨C in that case, the players wouldn''t be necessary anymore.


    Thrall was currently an elite model, and no matter how strong he was, he couldn''t win against a Boss alone.


    They focused down the prison guard first, the veteran second, and then turned against Captain Skarloc last. Skarloc was a Paladin class with high defensive stats and could also heal himself.


    However, top Thieves like Water Fairy and Lu Li didn''t give him the slightest chance to heal


    From the beginning to the end, Captain Skarloc never found a single chance to recover his HP.


    "Loot! Let''s go!"


    Lu Li watched as Thrall jumped on his horse and left. He didn''t even bother to wait for the others, so all Lu Li could do was to try his best to have his team members keep up.


    They had no time to recover, and had to utilize the gaps in between or participate in the battles later.


    Remnant Dream looted, but she had no time to check what she had picked up. As soon as she was done, she hopped on her mount and caught up.


    "Mr. Thrall, where are you going?" Hachi Chan was confused.


    "Thank you, my friends. Thank you for saving me. I apologize for my behavior beforehand, but I cannot escape yet. I need to find Taretha, do any of you know her location?" Thrall asked.


    "Sir, the situation is really urgent right now. I suggest you evacuate to a safe area first," Lu Li couldn''t help but interrupt.


    "I won''t do that; I won''t let Taretha stay in danger and escape on my own ¨C I''m no coward. We''ll head to Tarren Mill now!" Its wasn''t easy to change the decision of a great chief.


    "Alright, Tarren Mill it is."


    Lu Li just wanted to quickly finish the mission, but the System wouldn''t allow it.


    They would occasionally encounter people who tried to stop them, but none of them posed a real threat.


    Thrall suddenly stopped when they got close to Tarren Mill and made a signal to have everyone dismount. "Be careful, we''ll have to sneak in and find Taretha secretly."


    They then snuck into the stable, where the accident happened.


    A horse, which seemed to have been taken care of by Thrall, greeted him passionately when they entered. This was noticed by a group of patrols nearby and the others were exposed alongside.


    "Fight! Finish it as soon as possible, and don''t leave the vision of healers."


    The stable wasn''t an ideal place for battle; Lu Li could only pray that no one would die here.


    The Darkmoon Card was too precious, so it would be be best to not use it at all. Lu Li also felt like the Epoch Hunter wouldn''t be as easy as the two bosses from earlier. Blackmoore also hadn''t appeared either, but it was difficult to say when he would.


    Remulos had better be handing out some Legendary equipment after this quest.


    After they had taken down these patrols, Thrall didn''t bother hiding anymore. He brought Lu Li and the others straight to the position of the church.


    However, Taretha was nowhere to be found within.


    Lu Li felt like something was wrong; it seemed like someone else had stepped into this business before them.


    It had to be the Epoch Hunter; no one else would be able to do this.


    "This is a trap!" Thrall roared, then charged ahead and blocked all the sentries that were rushing in. They were surrounded by the soldiers of Tarren Mill.


    "Battle-formation! Block the entrance to the church. Mr. Thrall, please don''t rush out!" Lu Li shouted.


    Although Lu Li couldn''t command him, Thrall still listened to his advice. He wasn''t stupid; the soldiers could easily kill him with their numbers.


    Players could use potions and scrolls, and fought with intelligence under their commander. On the other hand, the NPC soldiers were just rushing in ahead. As long as they stood their ground, no matter how many soldiers came, they posed no threat at all.


    When the last soldier died to Thrall''s blades, the battle finally ended.


    "If she''s not here, then she has to be in the inn."


    Although Thrall looked like he was in a rush, he could still calmly analyze the situation.


    They rushed to the second floor of the Tarren Mill and Lu Li and the others finally saw Taretha there.


    She was bound by magic chains that could only be broken by a higher-level caster.


    Of course, you could kill the caster of the chains too.


    "Thrall, you''ve escaped!" Taretha was surprised to see Thrall.


    "It''s thanks to these friends, but what is this evil magic? Who did this?" Thrall said frantically as he attempted to tear off these magic chains but failed. Taretha even showed an expression of pain on her face.


    "As long as you''re safe, Thrall."


    Taretha wasn''t worried about herself at all.


    "Tell me, what do I do?" Thrall still hadn''t grown into a great leader yet; he was helpless before a situation that he couldn''t solve.


    Lu Li watched the scene and felt like something burdened his heart.


    After Taretha, Thrall would slowly approach the Great Chief position, but he never showed anyone the slightest hint of weakness. Unfortunately, this woman who could handle his weakness was bound for a tragic destiny.

 1064 Epoch Hunter

    "I found myself here when I woke up in the morning. A strange voice told me that I''d have to stay here for some time," Taretha explained as he she gently touched the arms of Thrall. "Leave with your friends, I''ll be find here."


    Of course, Thrall didn''t agree; he held tightly onto the weapon in his hands.


    "Thrall, come out and face your destiny, hahahaha..." a loud voice echoed from the outside. It seemed like a Boss had arrived.


    "What is this?" Thrall stared in confusion at the monsters that appeared before him after he rushed out. His knowledge came from humans, but he had never seen a dragon like this.


    This was the Epoch Hunter, or as some called it, the Dragon of Eternity.


    Appearance wise, the Dragon of Eternity looked like any other dragon. It had claws and wings, and was followed by other dragons of varying sizes.


    However, they were all black in color, and every now and then, black beads would surface from their body and spread out into the nearby space.


    These dragons had always been a mystery. They had the same capability as the bronze dragons to travel in time, but because they had made many attempts to change crucial events of history, they stood on opposing sides.


    Some also said that the Dragon of Eternity was a bronze dragon. Ten thousand years later, the bronze dragons would fall and travel back in time to fight against the current bronze dragons.


    "Taretha''s life is in danger; you must be worried. If you want to save her¡­beg me," the Epoch Hunter tempted as it flapped its giant wings.


    "No," Thrall refused, shaking his head. "I can achieve the same by killing you, can''t I?"


    A murderous intent immediately flashed across the eyes of the Epoch Hunter.


    "I wanted to finish you in a more subtle way, but it seems like an upfront encounter can''t be avoided. Your fate ends here, Thrall. You and all your friend will die here!"


    Lu Li and the others didn''t sit back doing nothing either. While the two were talking, they quickly ate their bread and drank water to recover their health and mana, while preparing all sorts of food, potions and poisons.


    They were about to face the hardest fight in this dungeon.


    Lu Li had fought against flying dragons before, so he had some experience that he didn''t hesitate to share with the others.


    The Epoch Hunter seemed to be brewing some sort of ultimate spell, and he summoned a wave of Dragonspawn to take damage for him. Once the first wave died, he continued to summon more. After a few waves, his ultimate skill finally ended and he flew towards Thrall.


    The dark bolt of energy was covered by specks of silver white lightning and looked terrifyingly powerful.


    Thrall was very cautious about it and took a few steps back. However, the energy bolt kept flying faster and faster, until it reached a speed that made Thrall''s anxious heart beat faster.


    "Let me handle it," Lu Li said as he flashed before Thrall and let the energy bolt hit himself.


    Immunity!


    However, the damage that resurfaced made Lu Li turn cold; it dealt damage more than once. He thought he would be safe due to the immunity provided by his ring, but he had underestimated the situation.


    March Rain couldn''t save him in time at all and he dropped to the floor.


    Activate Darkmoon Card!


    Lu Li made the decision without the slightest hesitation. Followed by a soft white light, his body began to float.


    A successful revival!


    He looked at his experience bar; it had only grown by 2%. As long as his experience didn''t drop, he was content. Lu Li wasn''t upset about losing a charge on the Darkmoon Card.


    "What do we do? The monster is channeling that spell again," Azure Sea Breeze said as his face went pale.


    "We''ll have to roll points. The one with the lowest number will have to block it. Anyone who has blocked it before isn''t counted."


    Lu Li couldn''t do anything about this either; they had to fight with their lives. The ultimate skill of the boss was called Death Timer, and dealt 7500 points of damage every 3 seconds over 15 seconds.


    There was no one at the moment who could take this spell and not die, not even Thrall.


    The only hope that everyone had was that this spell moved very slowly in the beginning. Although it was impossible to dodge due to its tracking nature, it didn''t prevent players from sacrificing themselves for Thrall. Lu Li tried to use pets to block the spell, but unfortunately, this didn''t work. The spell passed right through them.


    This time, Lonesome Flower had the lowest points. He flashed before Thrall and took the spell, not even bothering to defend since he knew he was going to die.


    He resurrected with the Darkmoon Card and even smiled.


    His experience bar had risen by 7% and his level surpassed his sister, March Rain. He was now placed at number one on the level rankings. As someone who was obsessed with his sister, he had to make sure she admired him.


    Lu Li finally understood why Remulos handed a Darkmoon Card to all of them.


    "All the ranged players aim for the Boss'' shield, while the melee players clear out the summons. Who''s next to block the skill?"


    "Me," Remnant Dream said as she raised her hands.


    "Why are your points so low for someone so lucky."


    Remnant Dream poked out her tongue and watched with interest as the third Death Timer was formed. As soon as the spell appeared, she boosted her movement speed and pounced on it.


    The skill landed on her and instantly killed the little Hunter.


    After using the Darkmoon Card, she smiled.


    "How much?"


    "10%!"


    "My goodness!" The team was surprised.


    Lu Li could comfort himself at first, but now that he had seen what happened to Lonesome Flower and Remnant Dream, he began to question if he had done something wrong in the past to be treated this way.


    "There''s still about 30% to the durability of the shield, and probably one more death timer. Make a decision," Kitty Likes Meat said as she attacked the magic shield on the Boss.


    This time, the lowest point total was Lu Li. However, he had already died once, so he wasn''t counted and the task landed on Unforgettable Maple.


    "Haha, give me a 10% too. Save me a few day''s work," Unforgettable Maple laughed.

 1065 Becoming Friends with Thrall

    Unforgettable Maple had no choice but to face his death and the squishy Mage was instantly killed.


    He fell onto the ground and got up almost immediately. This must have been the only time in Dawn when a player didn''t mind being killed. When he stood back up, his expression had changed completely.


    "What happened man?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he tanked the Boss.


    "Nothing. I didn''t get much EXP haha¡­" Unforgettable Maple forced a smile almost as if he was a robot. He had to save face in front of his teammates and lied.


    "Eh, why did you drop a level?" Water Fairy questioned, pouring salt on his wound.


    Lu Li tried holding back his laughter as well when he noticed that Unforgettable Maple had dropped from Lv53 back down to Lv52, even though he had just leveled up before. His EXP must have dropped by quite a lot because they had killed two Bosses since he leveled.


    "You guys are the worst¡­" Unforgettable Maple was almost in tears.


    "Why didn''t you tell us about it? This will be a great story to tell for years to come," Azure Sea Breeze laughed.


    "Careful, the shield is about to break and the Boss will come down. Azure, make sure you''re tanking the Boss well," Lu Li reminded.


    "Don''t worry ¨C as long as I''m here, I won''t lose aggro..."


    Before Azure Sea Breeze could finish his sentence, he was sent flying.


    "Crap, Elevenless, go!" Lu Li almost swore.


    The Epoch Hunter was despicable ¨C first, he started off the fight by instantly killing people with his ultimate skill, then followed that up by knocking Azure Sea Breeze away. It would take him at least a few seconds to come back and during this entire time, there was a very high risk of the team getting wiped.


    "Farout, I''m not dungeoning with you next time Lu Li. It''s always me dying."


    Elevenless was crying, but in the end, he unwillingly used Taunt on the Boss.


    "Stop pretending; I know you won''t die that easily. It''s not like this is a tournament; just show us all the tricks you have up your sleeves," Lu Li laughed.


    Elevenless tanked the Boss in Azure''s absence and managed to survive until he returned. In order to stop himself from being knocked away again, he listened to Lu Li''s advice and faced his back against a wall. However, the Boss had another skill called Sandbreath which decreased movement speed by 50% and attack speed by 100%.


    "Mr Thrall," Lu Li began as he stood next to Thrall on the left of Epoch Hunter, then whispered, "You can take Taretha away with you. Do you not want to take her away?"


    "It''s too dangerous outside." Thrall was tempted, but still had his doubts.


    "Durnholde Castle isn''t very safe either. Blackmore will undoubtedly unleash his wrath against Taretha. You have no idea how much time Blackmore will invest in you. His goal is to make you into the greatest Orc Warchief in history and use you to take over Azeroth," Lu Li explained, spoiling the plot to him.


    Of all the women that Thrall had and would come across in his life, he would never forget Taretha.


    She was a human girl that played a multi-faceted role in being his mother, sister and first love. She influenced Thrall with her love, kindness, compassion and taught him many things that Blackmore never would have allowed him to experience and learn. If it wasn''t for her, Thrall would have become the puppet that Blackmore so desperately wanted him to become.


    "Lu Li, why are you telling him all that?" Azure Sea Breeze was confused.


    "Because the next time Thrall returns to Durnholde, Blackmore would have killed Taretha.I thought it would be best to let him know and besides, I don''t think it will affect the future plot too much. Maybe Thrall will even be grateful towards us even though none of us are Horde players," Lu Li typed in the party chat.


    "Apparently, the players will join both the Alliance and the Horde in defense against the Burning Legion. Do you think Thrall will be a part of that?" Unforgettable Maple asked.


    "Haha, where did you hear that from?" Lu Li wondered how all this information was getting leaked. He was furious at the gaming company because all the knowledge he had from his past life would be useless if all the new features and news was leaked.


    However, he knew that it wasn''t the gaming company''s fault at all.


    No matter how powerful the Dawn Gaming Company was, it would be impossible to keep everyone from the developing team quiet.


    The gaming company did its best to keep the content from leaking and would often keep the updates within a very exclusive group of personnel. The CEO and the members of the board would punish whoever it was that was suspected of leaking the content.


    "If only Thrall will remember us," Elevenless said wistfully.


    "Then, we would become the honored guests of the Horde and we would be able to do Horde quests," Hachi Chan added as she drooled.


    "Then we could go to Horde territory and capture more pets.," Remnant Dreams murmured, stuck in a daydream.


    "That''s enough guys; focus on the Boss."


    Lu Li pretended to be serious but deep down, he thought of all the treasure chests that he could open up in Horde territory. However, he had to keep up his image in front of Water Fairy.


    Epoch Hunter must have felt left out from the conversation and began flapping its wings, creating a whirlwind towards the players that had their backs behind a wall.


    They had nowhere to go.


    They had lost their sense of direction and could no longer cast skills. The whirlwind also caused a considerable amount of damage, causing everyone''s HP to drop significantly.


    "Hachi Chan, use Tranquility," Lu Li ordered when he saw that March Rain was struggling to keep everyone alive. Lu Li was focused on surviving this attack for now and wasn''t worried about what other skills Epoch Hunter had up its sleeve.


    Lu Li managed to impress Unforgettable Maple and Elevenless again with his quick thinking.


    When the Whirlwind disappeared, the damn Epoch Hunter used Dragon Fire again.


    If Lu Li had not ordered Hachi Chan to cast Tranquility, then there was no way they could have survived, even with defensives activated. They would have definitely lost more than half the team.


    Everyone''s HP was restored to full and they became much more confident.


    Even in enraged mode, Epoch Hunter was never able to take down a single member of the party.


    "No! The master will¡­ not be¡­ pleased," Epoch Hunter gasped as he fell to the ground.


    It was Remnant Dream''s job to loot the Boss, but in the meantime, Lu Li decided to try and get closer to Thrall.

 1066 Wiping Memory

    "I''m free, thank you all!" a woman cried as she ran out of the inn and into the arms of Thrall.


    "Taretha, I''m glad you''re ok."


    Thrall hugged her tightly, turned his head and thanked them sincerely.


    "Thank you all, strangers. You''ve given me hope. If it weren''t for you all, I couldn''t have rescued Taretha by myself."


    "Are they your friends?" Taretha asked curiously as she stood beside Thrall.


    "They are now, but I had never met them before this."


    Thrall would have never imagined that a group of humans who he had never met before would rescue him from the tightly-guarded Internment Camp.


    "If you give me some time, I can explain everything for you guys," a soft voice said nearby. It was the half-Elf-half-Stag Keeper Remulos, the one who had sent out the quest.


    "Sir, who are you?" The players knew exactly who he was but Thrall and Taretha was confused.


    "It doesn''t matter who I am," Remulos said, then paused and continued, "It''s not even that important whether I explain it or not . You walk on your own path and we''re merely a small wave in the vast sea of time. Lu Li, what do you think?"


    "Yes, you''re right sir," Lu Li said, faking a laugh because he didn''t want to offend Remulos.


    Remulos casted a spell on Thrall and Taretha and the two fell in a deep slumber.


    "This spell will delete their memory of us and what happened before. They won''t remember that we saved their lives in the past. Thrall will continue to live out his life and travel, free his fellow enslaved Orcs and finally becoming the Warchief. As for Taretha¡­


    Unfortunately, I cannot change her fate."


    Lu Li caught a glimpse of the compassion that Remulos felt towards them but that was short-lived as he knew that this was the best thing to do.


    "If you can travel through time, then why do you need us to help?" Lu Li asked. The quest wasn''t easy at all and there were many times where they could have failed.


    "You''re wrong. Besides the Bronze Dragon Nozdormu, no one else can travel through time. My existence right now is merely a projection of myself," Remulos sighed, then added, "I don''t know why the Epoch Hunter was able to travel through time. This is a serious problem that needs to be investigated, but there''s no need for you guys to be involved for now. I can send you guys back once you''re ready."


    They still needed to loot the Boss which was why Remulos was waiting for them to be ready.


    Remnant Dream looted all the Bosses and they decided to split the bounty once they returned.


    Remulos activated the portal and everyone that stood on top of it were sent back to Moonglade in present time. A gentle breeze swept across their faces as the trees swayed in harmony. It was almost as if everything that had happened was a dream.


    They had gained a lot from this trip.


    The Darkmoon Card alone would attract top players like Lu Li to risk their life without any further rewards.


    Not to mention, the loot from the two Bosses had yet to be split amongst them. Lu Li knew that Remulos was a kind man and would be generous with the rewards. They had completed the quest almost perfectly and it would be difficult for the NPCs to point out any flaws or mistakes.


    However, there were still some disappointments.


    First of all, a majority of them had used the Darkmoon Card at least once and some had even used it twice. Secondly, because Remulos had erased Thrall''s memory, they wouldn''t be able to build a relationship with him.


    Another small disappointment was that they weren''t able to change the fate of Taretha


    Lu Li remembered reading Thrall''s biography, in which Taretha''s name was mentioned briefly. Even though she raised one of the Greats of Azeroth, she didn''t receive the praise and acknowledgement from the people of Azeroth that she deserved.


    Although it was unfortunate that she died, she must have endured many hardships, being a human girl in the middle of the war between the Horde and the Alliance.


    "You guys did very well," the giant Forest Keeper said as he nodded his head. Then, with a wave of his hands, everyone received their reward.


    Popularity!


    They were rewarded with a lot of popularity as well as some gold and EXP.


    A Main Story Quest like this would directly impact the game and therefore, it was expected that they were rewarded with a lot of Popularity.


    Enhanced Sinister Strike used up a lot of Lu Li''s Popularity Points. Although he doesn''t have any Enhanced Skill Books right now, he doesn''t mind storing up some points for the future.


    According to credible sources, Sorrowless has a team of experts who found the quests that rewarded the most Popularity Points for him to do.


    The top players knew what the most important thing to focus on was.


    They had also gained a considerable amount of EXP and Lu Li''s EXP bar had filled up to more than half at Lv53. Completing these quests rewarded a lot more EXP than grinding in the Wild. However, they were very rare and difficult to come across.


    Remulos rewarded Lu Li a Nightslayer Chestpiece.


    It was a Dark Gold equip, and although it wasn''t Legendary, Lu Li was more than happy. This would give him the third piece of equipment in his set. He quickly put it on, even though he was already wearing a Lv50 Dark Gold chest piece.


    Based on everyone''s reactions, it was likely each player had received equipment that they needed.


    "Are we going to split the equips? You guys won''t keep them all to yourself, right?!" Elevenless yelled in a loud voice as a joke. Everyone looked at him with an annoyed expression. If the word got out that Ruling Swords were scamming people, especially when the source of that news was a tournament player, their reputation would plummet.


    "There are three rare materials. Everyone roll the first one¡­" Remnant Dreams was good at looting and also good at splitting the spoils of battle.


    The first one was taken by Unforgettable Maple, while Remnant Dream took the second, and the third¡­


    The third rare material, which was a Chrono Shard that had been dropped by the Epoch Hunter, made Lu Li hold his breath. This was an important rare material for his Felstriker. He had been looking around for it for a few days now and found nothing, so it was very fortunate that he randomly stumbled across it.


    Lu Li prayed that someone from Ruling Sword would roll the highest number.


    Water Fairy¡­


    Why did it have to be Water Fairy? There were 7 players from Ruling Swords and she still managed to get it.


    The next piece was a Dark Gold Dagger called Time-Shifted Dagger. It was a Mage weapon that nobody needed, so everyone rolled for it and Azure Sea Breeze received it.


    Next was a Legendary Shoulder piece. Remnant Dream was the only Hunter, so it was given to her.


    After this came a Dark Gold necklace that was collected by March Rain, who rolled the highest number.


    Reaver of the Infinites ¨C since Azure Sea Breeze was a defensive class, Elevenless was the one that took this.


    Lastly, there was Enhanced Shield Wall Skill Book. Everyone''s eyes lit up when they heard the name of the skill book. Shield Wall was a staple defensive skill for tanks. The Enhanced version would allow for more survivability, enabling them to tank stronger Bosses. Stronger Bosses would drop better loot and so forth. This was the reason why defensive equips and skills books were so highly sought after.

 1067 Giving a Presen

    "Hehe¡­you all saw it. Don''t think about it too much!"


    Azure Sea Breeze took the skill book learnt it straight away. Everyone wanted the skill book; it was that valuable.


    "What a child," Unforgettable Maple muttered under his breath.


    After this, there weren''t any more important items, so they were rolled for fairly quickly. Everyone had ended this quest on a good note.


    "Although I die every time I see you, I have to say this ¨C partying up with you makes things a lot easier," Elevenless said as he slapped Lu Li''s shoulders lightly.


    He could not imagine doing a Boss fight without any wipes. Through this experience with Lu Li, he recognised that although Lu Li didn''t know much about the Boss, he was able to make the best decision in the shortest time needed.


    "As a commander of such an elite squad, I think that you''re better than Sorrowless," Unforgettable Maple laughed as he gave Lu Li a thumbs-up, then.


    After everyone left, there was only Lu Li and Water Fairy who remained.


    "Do you need me to do something?" she asked.


    "Could I borrow the material that you got just then?" Lu Li requested as he immediately shot out his hand; it would be weird if he was too polite.


    "I''ll give it to you," Water Fairy offered as she handed him the Chrono Fragment, then asked out of curiosity, "Is this for making the dagger?"


    "Let''s walk together for a while. I haven''t explored Moonglade yet," Lu Li suggested.


    "As if you go around and explore places."


    Water Fairy didn''t believe that Lu Li would go to a specific place just for the scenery. Of course, she would not turn down the offer anyway, since there weren''t many people who could converse with her. Perhaps this was because of her personality.


    There weren''t any monsters or people along the path they had chosen. There were only trees, flowers, and the occasional butterfly. It felt like a place that had not been touched by civilisation.


    If only there wasn''t someone bending down to pluck the plants¡­


    "If a dagger required Chrono Fragments or Shards to be crafted, then there would be speed-based properties," Lu Li answered Water Fairy''s question as he plucked the Mageroyals from the ground.


    "You''re quite knowledgeable, aren''t you?" Water Fairy had to praise him. After all, it was her first time meeting someone who knew the game inside and out.


    "I read, since I don''t do much of anything else anyway," Lu Li explained, then froze for a bit, feeling a little guilty. It was true that he had spent a great amount of time on this game, but there was no way that this amount of knowledge was accumulated over this half a year that Dawn had been released. It was from his previous life, where he would research Dawn and its mechanics in his every moment of free time. He did this for around two or three years, which eventually culminated in everything he knew at this moment.


    "Previously, you said that Taretha was unfortunate. Did you know much about that too?" Water Fairy asked.


    "She''s the daughter of Aedelas Blackmore¡­An enraged Thrall killed Aedelas Blackmoore, yet he couldn''t revive this woman who had left a deep imprint in his heart," Lu Li calmly replied.


    "Then¡­were they ever in love?" Water Fairy was distressed, so she decided to change topics straight away.


    "They probably did," Lu Li said unsurely.


    Thrall himself probably couldn''t pinpoint exactly what type of feelings he had for Taretha either. Furthermore, these feelings could not be categorised, since these could have changed because of time.


    "Is Thrall alone now?"


    "No, Thrall has a wife now; her name is Aggra. She''s a disciple of Thrall''s grandmother. She''s also Thrall''s Shaman teacher and his grandmother appointed her as his wife."


    Lu Li didn''t know why, but he felt that this was not a pleasant story at all, especially for Water Fairy.


    He was right ¨C Water Fairy froze after hearing this. Then, she managed to shake out of that state and ask, "What Chief? He''s just a playboy."


    Her father had remarried soon after the passing of her mother. At that time, his new wife was only the secretary. She didn''t know when they had gotten together. When her father remarried with her step-mother, they vowed not to have a second child and would only focus all their attention on her, but now, this had all changed.


    "Do you have any worries lately?" Lu Li asked.


    "Well, it''s always my dad anyway. He''s been messing with my things and affairs in the game. What''s


    more¡­never mind. There''s no meaning to this anyway." Water Fairy was evidently frustrated.


    Furthermore, her father had warned her to stay away from Lu Li, saying, "That boy who''s just walked out of that poor area, he would have an unbelievably rebellious heart. Look at him now. The next thing he would do is to come after your wealth in the game."


    Previously, Water Fairy could do no wrong in his eyes, but now she was an immature brat.


    Her father''s wish was once her command, but in his eyes, she did not want to be that ''good girl'' anymore.


    "Maybe you guys lack communication." Lu Li did not want to give too many opinions on other people''s family affairs. However, he was curious as to how her father was obstructing her progress.


    Lu Li was not an expert at relationships. From his perspective, this was primarily a result of a misunderstanding.


    Her father might have unknowingly gone back on his promise, which made Water Fairy angry. As a result, he would have felt guilty over it and realised that he was gradually becoming more and more distant from his daughter, leading to more anger. Lu Li didn''t know that he also had a small part in this, since his existence and closeness with Water Fairy led her father to believe that this bad guy was going to take away his daughter.


    To say that he had abandoned his daughter for his wife''s baby was unlikely.


    After all, the child was only a few months old and the gender was also unknown. Even if the baby was a boy, it wasn''t certain that he could be trained to be the next successor.


    "That''s right. I''m not sure when I can return the material to you. I''ll use this skill book as collateral," Lu Li said as he took out a skill book named ''Armor'' that he had previously looted from the Seafloor Shipwreck.


    Since there were many Thieves in Ruling Sword, this prestigious skill book could have been given to anyone.


    However, Lu Li had hesitated many times and kept the book until today. After taking the book out, he had not regretted at all.


    Demolish Armour: Instant. Ultimate skill. Ignores Armor of the target. The amount of Armor decreased scales by the level of the skill. Lasts for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 120 seconds.


    Level 1: 10% Armor ignored.


    Level 2: 20% Armor ignored.


    Level 3: 30% Armor ignored


    Level 4: 40% Armor ignored


    Level 5: 50% Armor ignored.


    A skill that ignores Armor!


    Water Fairy knew of this skill, so she obviously knew the value of such a book as well. She then realised that Lu Li could have given this skill book to the Thieves in Ruling Sword.


    No one had the right to tell anyone what to do regarding their loot and rewards. However, the usual protocol would be to give it to your own squad or guild members.


    "If it''s just for collateral, then don''t worry about it, but if it''s a gift, then I''ll take it," Water Fairy said as she raised her head and looked at Lu Li with eyes that reflected the moonlight.

 1068 Best Wishes

    "Alright, I''ll give it to you!"


    This was Lu Li''s most generous moment ever, in his reborn life. It was also his most willing moment.


    He had given people equipment when he was in desperate for gold. This wasn''t stupidity ¨C he believed in the mantra that if you didn''t give, you wouldn''t receive. When he placed the interests and benefits of others above his own, he understood that group unity was the most important, even if the thought of having everything to himself had crossed his mind.


    He knew from experience, that short-sighted people would remain at the bottom.


    However, this time was his first time being completely willing. Had she asked for something like the Felstriker, would he have given it to her? Possibly.


    Water Fairy removed her veil and revealed her joyful expression.


    "Remove that mask please. It''s a little horrifying," Water Fairy said as she stored away the skill book, instead of learning it straight away.


    Lu Li immediately removed his headgear. There weren''t many monsters or quests around this area, so there wouldn''t be people here anyway. Even if there were, missing one item wouldn''t make him easy to kill anyway.


    Furthermore, there was absolutely no one that could challenge both Lu Li and Water Fairy at the same time.


    Both of them had seemingly decided to go down this road, regarding their relationship. Although they had grown closer and closer over time, Lu Li did not dare to hold her hands, if he even knew how to at all.


    Water Fairy also did not initiate, since she was a reserved person who wished to maintain her pride.


    She hadn''t done anything like this while growing up, since her stare was enough to scare away most males. For those who decided to ask her out, she would look at them quietly for a while. Then, they would feel that it was better to return and think over it harder.


    While Lu Li and Water Fairy walked, it seemed like time had slowed down.


    They didn''t realise this, but there were others who had spotted them. After spotting them, they posted pictures onto the forums, captioning them with, "Best wishes to these two; may they be happy!"


    Suddenly, Lu Li and Water Fairy gained many fans who shipped them together.


    "When do you think that the Legion will come?"


    They couldn''t keep walking in silence like that, so Water Fairy decided to ask something. Since Lu Li was an avid researcher of the game, this would be an interesting topic to talk about.


    Once you start liking someone, you would gradually start caring about their interests and feelings. With romance and feelings, even the people involved were sometimes oblivious to it.


    "I think we need to wait for a while, but the Scourge probably won''t stay at the Plaguelands for much longer. There are many quests that involve the invasion of the Scourge on the forums. You can look forward to battling the Scourge," Lu Li said, deciding to tell her about what he had heard and seen.


    As of now in Dawn, there were only two large-scale battles in the game.


    One of them was the battle involving Maestra''s Post Sentinel. The other was the one involving the Horde, where the Centaurs had invaded. However, this third one was going to be the largest and the one that would last the longest.


    The Scourge had always existed. It was just that the only interactions that players had with them were through quests.


    It was different now, since the Scourge had begun to invade cities, thus disrupting the players'' everyday training grounds and lifestyle within the game.


    The Scourge-filled territories would be turned to complete wastelands. Even the players'' training maps would be affected by the plague. Furthermore, the Scourge had a sense of pride and patriotism.


    Of course, the idea of rich EXP, high drop rates and fame had turned players into fanatics.


    "After the next update, there might be a new Mentor system. Are you going to take students?" Lu Li asked.


    "Probably not. It''s too much hassle," Water Fairy answered as she shook her head. She was not an overly enthusiastic person. Even the people within the inner circle in her guild did not see her smile often.


    "Actually, it might be a good idea to take someone on, since you can grind for fame this way."


    Lu Li did not mind letting her in on some of the news regarding this update. Although, he probably would have hidden this information from her previously, since there weren''t many people who knew of this. He could not explain it, but his secretive side just did not work as it usually did.


    "I know that the System gives fame when mentors take students, but how does the grinding part work?"


    As for the mentoring system, many websites had already announced it. However, there was barely any information about this, so everyone was curious.


    The mentoring system could be activated between two players. The higher-levelled one would be the mentor, while the lower-levelled one would be the student. For every level that the student gained, the mentor would receive some fame and experience.


    When the system first started, there weren''t any level restrictions and the mentors could also take in many students at a time. As a result, this became a method of grinding experience points and fame. Unknown players would suddenly shoot up in the rankings with their extravagant fame totals. Fortunately, the game responded quickly, so this problem was contained.


    Lu Li already planned for this, as he asked Square Root to organise many batches of low-levelled players.


    The helmet used to enter the game was not expensive, so there were many new players that joined every day. Truthfully, the game company had implemented a Mentoring system to help the new players out. After finding a mentor, the mentor would give them gold and equipment and bring the student along to train.


    Despite the responsibilities, players were still extremely keen to take students.


    As soon as someone announced that they were taking students, people would flock towards the mentor.


    After all, everyone wanted to look like a big shot.


    Normal companies would advertise free or extremely cheap training services, then sell these players to larger companies who needed huge quantities of members. It was a win-win situation for both sides.


    After hearing this from Lu Li, Water Fairy realised that this could be exploited.


    This bug could be exploited for a day or two, after which it would be fixed. There would be a new restriction regarding the numbers of students that could be taken at a time, which was three. The rewards also increased as the students'' levels got higher and there were also large rewards for the mentor when their student graduated. However, the students could only graduate once they were within five levels of the mentor.

 1069 Tyrannical

    Lu Li saw that Ruling Sword''s opponent was Blue Universe and couldn''t help but grin. He didn''t make it obvious, but Square Root 3 was watching him and saw it.


    "What does that expression mean?" Square Root 3 was a bit shocked.


    There were 15 other teams in the top 16, and there were only two of them that he didn''t want to run into ¨C Drizzle Court and Blue Universe. He didn''t even care if he ran into Glory Capital, because they had to fight them at some point if they wanted to win the Championship.


    When the other players came over, they also had vacant expressions.


    "Hey boss, you won''t make us show mercy right?" Fat Monkey asked, his face looking constipated.


    "Oh dear, he''s going to be misled by a woman," Sakura Memories said as she spat to one side.


    Moonlight unexpectedly came over and gripped Lu Li''s shoulder. He sighed deeply before saying, "Brother, women really are troublesome beings. It''s best¡­ actually, forget it. You don''t have enough experience to realize it."


    "Oh, is that so? I guess men are just the best¡­" Sakura Memories slowly crept over and stared at Moonlight.


    Moonlight looked at her sheepishly and quickly fled in defeat.


    "Alright, let''s not fuss over it. We''re going to go all out," Lu Li said as he clapped his hands together, setting the tone for the upcoming game.


    "Go all out?"


    Everyone was stunned. What happened to their relationship? Did their relationship break down? Was he now going to take revenge in the competitive arena?


    "Yes, oppress them tyrannically. Don''t give them anything to work with."


    Lu Li didn''t bother explaining any more than that before getting ready to enter the competition.


    On Blue Universe''s end, they weren''t too happy about fighting an ally either.


    In fact, Ruling Sword didn''t even need to go all out in the top 16. As long as they didn''t make any crucial mistakes, they would get through this phase, especially with Lu Li''s sudden increase in Strength. There were very few players who were on Lu Li and Moonlight''s level.


    If wanted to take care of their ally, they could actually concede the individual rounds and the group rounds and it still wouldn''t affect their promotion.


    As long as it didn''t affect their promotion, the additional rankings beyond that didn''t mean much.


    In this case, the stronger team was supposed to let the weaker team win. Otherwise, players wouldn''t be so careful when forming alliances.


    If they could defeat Ruling Sword, the probability of Blue Universe qualifying for the quarterfinals was at least 20%!


    Unfortunately, Blue Universe had come to this conclusion on their own.


    The old team members and Flying Fish Hater had joined Misty Story to form the seven newcomers from Blue Universe''s lineup. They had proved themselves by entering the top 16, but they didn''t want to be a part of Drizzle Court anymore, so they accepted Water Fairy''s father''s support and become an independent club.


    Double Dimension made the same kind of choice, which gave them a certain kind of autonomy similar to Floating Clouds.


    When Drizzle Court funded them, they were taken to be part of the Shen Group. Since they had created other clubs within the Shen Group, it was easy for the Shen Group to manage them.


    Over the years, Water Fairy now only had influence over a few guilds left in the game ¨C Drizzle Court, Peerless City, Concealed Heavens and Misty Story. The number had dropped from eight to four, which was why she was annoyed at her father for inhibiting her progress.


    In fact, other people in the industry could obviously see that these clubs were very different. It could be said that Peerless City alone was more valuable than any of the other clubs.


    Peerless City''s performance had been amazing. In fact, their strength had most likely come independent of Drizzle Court. However, during their time of troubles, the high level members all had the same opinion and wanted to stay affiliated with Drizzle Court at all costs.


    Although they could still take out more capital from the Shen Group since they were still part of it, this would put more strain between the relationship between the father and the daughter. As such, they didn''t dare to take that too far.


    When Lu Li saw their opponents, he almost laughed out loud.


    They could easily defeat these players if they wanted to.


    Of course, it wasn''t that he was disgusted with the Blue Universe players. Everyone had to make their own choices and all efforts for glory at the championship were worthy of respect.


    In fact, what would happen if Drizzle Court and Peerless City met in the finals was a topic that everyone had talked about. Unfortunately, those circumstances had never arisen before.


    In the reserve area, Blue Universe''s new party leader was staring at the entrance. When he saw Lu Li walking in with his teammates, he felt like he was suffocating.


    Their professional Mage Sindra was a bit more experienced. He pushed the leader''s arm and said, "Party Leader, stay calm and go greet them. We can''t be afraid of them. Even if we lose, we can''t let them impose on us."


    Who would have thought that they would run into an ally so soon after forming an agreement with Water Fairy?


    They couldn''t help but think about the karmic cycle as they approached their opponents.


    And how was it possible not to fear Ruling Sword? Any team fighting Ruling Sword would feel some pressure, especially the new lineup of a B-grade team.


    "Hi Lu Li."


    The party leader was enthralled as he approached, and held out his hand.


    "Hello, we don''t have much time left, but we''ll see you in the arena."


    Lu Li didn''t say much and shook hands with the opposition before going back to make sure everything was in order.


    The two looked quite awkward from an outsider''s perspective.


    In addition to introducing the two teams, the commentators gave a description of the achievements each team had. There wasn''t much else to say because these teams had been introduced many times recently, so the commentators read out some messages left by players on the forums.


    One of the trending topics was obviously, "Boycott this match ¨C they are both affiliated with Drizzle Court!"


    Most players knew of the relationship between Blue Universe and Drizzle Court. They also knew that Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court were allies. Since Ruling Sword already had enough points to promote, they were definitely going to help Blue Universe.


    However, if Ruling Sword did that, then it wouldn''t even be a competition anymore. The players had paid to watch a match, not an act.


    The commentator didn''t really know how to respond to that. Instead he dryly said that he believed that the players today would fight in the spirit of the game and defend their honor to the best of their abilities.


    It wasn''t like they were part of the same family, so they didn''t have to help each other.


    However, when Ruling Sword''s player appeared, the audience was dumbfounded. Why was it Lu Li? Why did Lu Li appear?


    If they were going to throw the match, they had to select their players carefully. They couldn''t just casually throw the match because it would bring shame to the club and the player.


    Generally speaking, when Glory Capital threw the match against Stellar Union, they had made it a bad matchup so it wouldn''t be shameful even if they lost.


    However, Lu Li had appeared and he was the best player in the competition. He had to be planning to take down Blue Universe!

 1070 Removing Stealth

    The Mage Sindra was representing Blue Universe in the single matches.


    It was a Thief vs. Mage fight!


    Previously, he was comforting his Leader about Ruling Sword. Now that Sindra was actually facing Lu Li, he found that all his words were said in vain as he could barely hold his Magic Staff without shaking.


    Of course, he couldn''t regret his decision now.


    They couldn''t stay under Drizzle Court forever, so it was really important for them to be able to stand out.


    There wasn''t a single person who didn''t want to take the limelight. Right from the beginning of the game, they had dreams of becoming the champions. Wasn''t that why they trained so hard over the years?


    Sindra steeled himself and prepared himself to see how strong this Lu Li person really was. He stared at Lu Li, who immediately vanished in place.


    Sindra started calculating the angle that Lu Li''s attack would take, and when there would be an opportunity to make an attack. Professionally trained players were like meticulous instruments. After Lu Li had gone into Stealth, he started counting.


    But in fact, he was completely wrong.


    Lu Li didn''t do anything fancy. He directly appeared by the Mage and cast Sap before appearing behind the Water Elemental. Not only was Lu Li now behind the target he actually wanted to attack, but he had also managed to dodge the Water Elemental''s Frost Nova.


    His original position behind Sindra had been frosted over, but there wasn''t a player frozen there in place.


    Sindra''s reaction time was quite fast, but unfortunately, he was incorrect about Lu Li''s intentions.


    Lu Li intended to kill the Elemental that only had a little HP. As for whether the Water Elemental could remove Sap from Sindra, that was a different matter.


    In short, Lu Li was taking advantage of his current high attack strength and Sindra''s Water Elemental, which was still in its first stage and had low HP. Lu Li was adamant on dealing with this troublesome pet first.


    He began dealing as much damage as he could to the Mage''s Elemental, but this kind of strategy was not one many players were willing to use.


    In general, most Thieves wouldn''t be able to get rid of the pet before the Mage recovered. If the Elemental didn''t die, then its HP would be quickly recovered.


    Sindra originally thought that was the case, but when he saw the speed at which his Elemental''s HP was dropping, he was forced to make a choice. Lu Li''s attack had been greatly increased in the last few days. He had heard of this, but witnessing it first hand was an entirely different experience.


    He couldn''t beat Lu Li!


    Even though he knew he couldn''t win, he still had to try to create some opportunities for the players after him. Otherwise, Lu Li would defeat all five of their players, and leave them with a humiliating defeat.


    As Sindra became heated up, he ended the Sap effect and hit Lu Li with an Instant cast skill.


    Lu Li wasn''t a God and he wasn''t able to react immediately. Fortunately, instant skills were characterized by their reduced damage, so there was nothing to worry about.


    Moreover, he had been taking minor chunks of damage all this time anyway, but he no longer continued to attack the Elemental. Lu Li''s target had now changed to Sindra, who no longer had his badge.


    As for the Elemental, Lu Li honestly didn''t think that it would have enough time to cast Frost Nova again. Without Frost Nova, all it could do was deal some damage and slow a target.


    When faced with Lu Li''s aggressive advance, Sindra carefully adopted a kiting tactic.


    In a Mage vs. Thief fight, one of them would want to kite while the other would want to get close. The former required a degree of patience and mobility while the latter would have to pay attention to the positioning and timing of their attacks. The direction of a Thief''s attack mattered, so they needed to be able to surround the Mage, which required more skill.


    Sindra''s Elemental hadn''t died yet and its Frostbolt could slow down the movement and attack speed of Lu Li.


    However, no one would be able to explain to him why someone who had lost movement speed would still be able to run around him. Sindra had no choice but to turn and face Lu Li, because all Mages had to ensure that they didn''t leave their backs to a Thief.


    "It seems like Thieves are quite the Mage killer," the female commentator said sympathetically, making his loss look a bit more graceful.


    "Not necessarily ¨C Unforgettable Maple was a Thief in the previous game. In fact, the key is to watch a player''s usual habits and playstyle," the male commentator disagreed. It was meaningless to say which Profession was stronger than another. Unforgettable Maple rarely lost to Kitchen Knife, Hornet''s Nest and Blood Dagger in the first half of the year.


    "What professions do you think pose a threat to Lu Li?" the female commentator asked.


    "Any profession has the potential to do so, but with the current rankings and equipment, there are no more than ten players that can take him down. Particularly since these matches are heavily affected by the tactics in use," the male commentator answered. He was biased towards the players'' technical abilities as he was the head of fighting analytics.


    Warriors were considered to be a Thief''s greatest nemesis because of their bleeding effects which prevented them from going into Stealth. Paladins were also difficult because of their great HP and damage reducing effects.


    Nearly one-third of the top 100 players in the Level Rankings were Mages, followed by Warlocks, who had a Flare effect. Hunters with strong pets also posed a threat to Thieves.


    In all honesty, Sindra was fairly skilled Mage.


    It was just too bad that he was nervous. After being attacked by Lu Li, he quickly became passive in his fighting style. When Lu Li finished him off, he still had about 70% HP, and most of the damage had been dealt by the Water Elemental.


    The second player was Blue Universe''s Leader, a Warrior who now had to face Lu Li on 70%HP.


    Enthrall knew that he didn''t have time to waste, so he immediately cast Rain of Fire as he waved his weapon around. It had mediocre damage, but it could ignite his opponent and prevent them from using Stealth, Shadowmeld and Exile for 30 seconds¡­


    This basically meant that Lu Li''s Stealth had been temporarily removed.


    Without Stealth, it was just a competition of mobility, but Lu Li couldn''t face the Warrior head on. The hammer that his opponent was holding was probably an Epic that could deal significant damage to him, especially with the Berserker effects.


    As such, Lu Li watched and reacted. When Enthrall Charged, Lu Li blinked away, and when he accelerated, Lu Li followed suit¡­


    For the first few seconds, they didn''t come into contact at all. Lu Li had perfectly responded to Enthrall''s every move.


    Once thirty seconds were up, he stopped playing this cat and mouse game and just entered Stealth.

 1071 Double Kill

    When Enthrall saw Lu Li''s Vanish, he focused his mental strength to make use of the increased Perception effects from his equipment. He was determined to pull Lu Li directly out of Stealth.


    There was someone behind him!


    Enthrall cast Trample without thinking about it further, creating a huge crack in the ground. However, he didn''t catch anything.


    Trample was one of the most convenient ways to catch a Thief. It was instant, had a large range, and was applied all around him. As long as the Thief was standing next to the Warrior, he would be affected.


    Unfortunately, Enthrall''s Trample had fallen short.


    Those who had great knowledge in PVP knew how to deceive other players. They were familiar with the other profession''s skills and even psychological attitudes when in battle.


    Lu Li was indeed behind Enthrall, but he immediately retreated once he got there to bait out the Trample. This was the skill that threatened him most.


    The next thing he needed to bait out was Whirlwind.


    Sap!


    Enthrall didn''t move. As a Warrior, he wasn''t afraid of being hit a few times as he wasn''t going to die so quickly. His badge had to be used at the most critical moment..


    In fact, most players who used the badge to get out of crowd control didn''t use it well, unless there were special circumstances like a player needing to be saved¡­


    Lu Li obviously understood why his opponent wasn''t doing anything, so he cast a Premeditation + Cheap Shot + Shadowstrike. Now only did this cause Crowd Control and deal significant damage, but it also accumulated five combo points. These points were all exhausted by the his next skill, Disarm.


    However, Enthrall seemed to have used a Damage Reduction skill, as the damage he took suddenly became negligible while he recovered from the stun.


    In fact, Enthrall found himself in a conundrum ¨C he wasn''t sure if he should use Whirlwind or not. If he used it, he had to deal significant damage, but his opponent still had his badge and various escape skills. On the other hand, if he didn''t use it, he could already see his HP rapidly dropping. The worst scenario would be him dying without getting the opportunity to use Whirlwind.


    Lu Li cast Gouge, swinging his dagger directly at Enthrall''s face. After Enthrall was stunned, Lu Li leapt behind him and started attacking once again.


    Even a Plate Armored profession couldn''t withstand the crowd control and continuous damage of Disarm. Enthrall couldn''t find an opportunity to bait out Lu Li''s badge or escape skills, so he just clenched his teeth and cast Whirlwind.


    Lu Li was hit twice before he blinked outside of the Whirlwind range with his shoes'' effect.


    He slowly raised his dagger and licked it as a damage value of over 100 appeared over Enthrall''s head.


    Dammit, what kind of skill allowed a Thief to deal over 100 damage from range? Lu Li had even managed kite. After Enthrall stopped spinning, he cast Charge, wanting to fight Lu Li at close range.


    After the Charge, Lu Li went back to his original rhythm of fighting.


    Before Enthrall died, Lu Li also used his necklace''s special effect to recover some HP. In the end, his HP wasn''t any less than after he had killed the Mage ¨C in fact, he had even gained some.


    Lu Li wasn''t afraid of fighting in melee because he had a special effect that could rebound 30% of an attack and convert the damage into HP. This HP converting effect only worked in melee, but when coupled with Lu Li''s high Vampirism attribute, he had regenerated at least 10% of his HP in that battle.


    The way that Enthrall had lost was rather pathetic and even the commentators didn''t know what to say.


    In fact, nothing that they could have said meant anything anyway ¨C a loss was a loss. Enthrall failed to eliminate Lu Li, which meant that he could actually defeat all five of Blue Universe''s players.


    Of course, this had been done before, but not in this context. If a random team fought a celebrity player, this would obviously be what happened. However, this was a game in the top 16!


    Blue Universe''s next player was a Hunter who had brought a rare Raptor pet with him.


    Often, half of a Hunter''s strength came from their pet.


    An average player would use a general pet that they would bring wherever they went, care deeply for, and treat like family. Even if they couldn''t afford to repair their equipment, they would still buy food


    for their pet.


    However, professional players would focus on training a few different pets to target several common professions.


    A Hunter like Feather Enthusiast had a number of rare pets on hand to make up for his class'' shortcomings. He had to ensure that each of these pet''s levels weren''t too low.


    Although the Raptor was a dragon character, Azeroth distributed them quite widely. There was quite a complicated variety of them, but only a handful of rare Raptors.


    This one had a dark grey back and a scar on its face. Its greatest feature was its attack strength, along with its lightning-quick movement speed. It also had a Slash effect, which was useful against some Professions.


    "Hi Lu bro, I didn''t expect to see you in the arena," Feather Enthusiast beamed.


    "Hello," Lu Li couldn''t help but nod.


    "In fact, we are forced to do this," Feather Enthusiast said, scratching his head as he leisurely walked. "We signed with the Shen Group, and they saw that we performed well this season. As such, they forced us to work together. Otherwise, we would have to go to court¡­"


    The players outside the arena didn''t know what they were saying. All they could see was that the two players weren''t fighting but were talking.


    What was happening? Was he begging for mercy?


    Lu Li looked at this player and was puzzled. If they were going to concede, shouldn''t it come from their Leader, Enthrall?


    Moreover, Lu Li didn''t believe a single word coming from this guy''s mouth. Even if Water Fairy and her father were on bad terms, there was no way it would go to court. This was an internal family matter, so why would a big business leader make such a big thing out of it?


    "¡­so, Lu Bro, how about you just raise your hand and concede for us?" Feather Enthusiast asked as he gave Lu Li a smile.


    "¡­" Lu Li was too lazy to respond and just went straight into Stealth. He felt like his time was being wasted. He didn''t know what Feather Enthusiast had to gain from wasting time, as Lu Li''s HP and cooldowns were slowly regenerating.

 1072 Void Gaze

    Feather Enthusiast smiled and slowly turned around when he heard movement behind him.


    Lu Li then found himself frozen within a large ice block.


    Freezing Trap: launch a Freezing Trap to the target position. Any targets that walk within range of the trap will be frozen for 30 seconds, and any attacks will cancel this effect. The trap can only freeze one target at a time. The trap lasts for 1 minute.


    This was one of the Hunter''s signature skills that allowed them to use certain materials to create traps that no one could see.


    After Feather Enthusiast did this successfully, a burst of excitement rippled through the audience. He immediately appeared much stronger to these players, firstly because not many players had learned this skill yet and secondly because he had managed to hit Lu Li.


    Lu Li was also stunned for a moment but quickly reacted and decisively cast Gale Steps to launch his attack.


    All this had been done within Feather Enthusiast''s line of sight, because he had cast Flare the moment the trap had been set off. However, he couldn''t do more than watch as Lu Li escaped as not only did Gale Steps give the player a boost of speed, but also 1 second of invincibility.


    The 1 second was more than enough for Lu Li to escape..


    Feather Enthusiast had taken the initiative and forced Lu Li to escape!


    This made the audience erupt with excitement, especially the players who were supporting the Blue Universe team. The excitement was so great that it was palpable.


    Everyone finally realized what had happened. The previous exchange between Feather Enthusiast and Lu Li was just a delaying tactic. Feather Enthusiast was really laying a Freezing Trap behind him which Lu Li fell for when he tried to get behind him.


    "I don''t know if Feather can win," Enthrall sighed as he watched the game sadly.


    "It''s almost impossible," Sindra said as he shook his head with a wry smile. "Feather has used Freezing Trap and a Flare, which gave him the opportunity to attack, but he has used quite a bit for that opportunity. On the surface it seems like he has the upper hand, but what has Lu Li lost?"


    Enthrall burst out laughing. What had Lu Li lost?


    Freezing Trap and Flare were not offensive skills, and the subsequent offensive skills were all blocked by Gale Steps.


    Lu Li''s only losses were the Gale Steps and his badge; he had many other means of doing the same thing. The two players were really still on an even playing field.


    "I hope that Feather will be smarter. Lu Li will probably appear before the Flare''s cooldown refreshes to perform an all-out attack¡­" Sindra hadn''t even finished his sentence before Lu Li suddenly appeared behind Feather Enthusiast. This time, there was no Freezing Trap.


    Feather Enthusiast had predicted this move, but Thieves had the Shadowstep ability, which was quite difficult to defend against it.


    The Raptor pet roared and rushed towards Lu Li with Charge. Lu Li only had the chance to cast Premeditation and Cheap Shot before its claws started tearing at him. Blood had finally been drawn in this match between the Hunter and the Thief.


    Lu Li gritted his teeth and cast his damage reductions skills before continuing his attack on Feather Enthusiast.


    A pet didn''t have the same attack power as a high-level Thief with exquisite equipment. Not to mention, Lu Li had other various Armor Pierce effects, Disarm, and enhanced damage skills like Shadowstrike. Feather Enthusiast was eventually forced to use his badge when Lu Li used Kidney Shot.


    After escaping trouble, the Hunter cast Mark and Serpent Sting.


    The first skill was a buff that not only increased attack strength, but also enabled him to see targets that were in Stealth. The second was a continuous damage skill with a poison Attribute that prevented Lu Li from going into Stealth.


    However, Lu Li continued his pursuit. With his movement speed, there were few players who could truly escape his attacks.


    Feather Enthusiast rolled backwards and turned into a grey wolf as he landed. He then quickly faded away, going into Stealth.


    This was quite interesting. Lu Li couldn''t help but want to praise Feather Enthusiast. He had not expected this player''s technique, equipment and skills to be this good.


    Shadow Wolf was one of Dawn''s better effects. Any equipment with this kind of special effect would have a sky-high price. It allowed the player to transform into a Shadow Wolf and go into Stealth for 30 seconds. This effect would be cancelled when they attacked or were attacked.


    Feather Enthusiast couldn''t attack, but he still had his pet.


    The Raptor was constantly dealing damage to Lu Li. Although it couldn''t kill Lu Li in 30 seconds, it was enough to significantly lower his HP bar.


    Lu Li''s current health had fallen below 50%, but the attacks that Lu Li had inflicted on Feather Enthusiast had dropped his HP to 30%.


    Void Gaze!


    Lu Li''s two eyes suddenly turned black, sending out a brilliant dark aura. His vision also dramatically changed during this time.


    Nightslayer Ghostface (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 60, Agility 55, Strength +30, Dark Field of View +30%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Wild Roar. The caster roars, increasing base attack power of everyone within 30 yards by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Shadow Plunder. Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Void Gaze, Increases the probability of finding Stealth units for 60 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    With this effect, he found Feather Enthusiast hiding in the corner. Lu Li blinked to that location and easily started his chain of Crowd Control skills once again.


    Until his death, Feather Enthusiast was in a daze. He had used his trump card in an attempt to find victory, but these skills that he had never used before were somehow dealt with so easily.


    In fact, Lu Li had taken out a trump card of his own. If it weren''t for the Void Gaze effect, there was no way he could have found Feather Enthusiast. He had happened to have the right effect at the right time.


    The Shadow Wolf was nothing more than an ordinary Stealth unit, so there was no way it could escape Void Gaze''s effect. The skill was probably a bit of an overkill, but Feather Enthusiast ended up dead regardless.


    With 45% HP remaining, Lu Li welcomed the fourth player from Blue Universe.


    Each player became more and more eager to fight Lu Li. Blue Universe had not given up as they were a new team that wasn''t afraid of anything. They didn''t have any concept of surrendering.


    Post-Mortem Cook had an annoying name and an equally annoying playstyle.


    He had gone for the mobility build ¨C most of his equipment was based around mobility. Although his attack wasn''t very high, he had a number of continuous damage skills that he used to kill his opponents.


    Professions that were inflexible generally struggled against this kind of opponent.


    He was just like a fly ¨C before you knew it, you might have lost all your HP while trying to catch him.

 1073 Bleeding Thief

    In a Thief vs. Thief fight, initiative was incredibly important. The next most important thing was casting your Crowd Control skills onto your opponent. The player that got these things right would have a significant advantage.


    However, even if you failed, that didn''t mean you had to give up. Everyone here was a professional player after all, and the equipment gap wasn''t as great as compared to an ordinary player. By the time Post-Mortem Cook had a chance to fight back, he was already on 40% HP.


    He turned around and immediately cast Gouge!


    His angle of attack was quite precise and he successfully stunned Lu Li for a second.


    Many of the players who trained in this profession were very skilled at this. It was the result of endless hours of work, and even someone like Lu Li couldn''t react quickly enough to it.


    After being stunned for a second, Post-Mortem Cook didn''t even consider going around to cast Cheap Shot. This was a waste of time. He couldn''t give an opponent like Lu Li any further opportunities, so he cast his signature skill, Hemorrhage.


    A spray of blood flowed out of the wound in Lu Li''s chest as damage values continuously appeared over his head.


    The amount of damage was very low, so Lu Li didn''t have to worry about it for a while. However, the reason why Hemorrhage was so strong was because the effect could be stacked up to five times. It was said that enhanced Hemorrhage could even be stacked up to ten times.


    Hemorrhage could be cast almost instantly, so Lu Li had been hit with three stacks by the time he recovered.


    Lu Li then blocked his opponent''s next attack, which still caused damage, but prevented further stacks of Hemorrhage from accumulating.


    There was no way that Lu Li could afford to tank five stacks of Hemorrhage either.


    Now, the fight was simply a matter of the two Thieves and their four daggers as they started to grind each other down.


    Post-Mortem had saved up his signature move, but unfortunately, he wasn''t a particularly strong Thief in fights like these. He had weaker attack power and couldn''t stand up to Lu Li''s strength. When he finally died, Lu Li was still left with 18% HP.


    After four fights, even Lu Li was a little bit tired.


    However, he stood on the stage confidently, waiting for the fifth player from Blue Universe. The audience slowly calmed down, as they watched this usually low-key, but sometimes ridiculous Lu Li. They couldn''t help but respect him.


    There were two more players in Blue Universe ¨C one was a Shaman called Lucky, while the other was a Warlock called Voidwalker.


    The Shaman was an elemental Shaman who mainly focused on ranged Magic damage with some healing abilities. This profession had great benefits in a group fight, but in a one-on-one fight with a Thief, they had almost no hope of winning. The Warlock was a damage output profession, with no overwhelming advantage for either side.


    After some discussion the Warlock Voidwalker was sent on stage.


    Voidwalker was obviously a new ID, but this didn''t mean that he was a new player. He could have just used a different ID in his previous games.


    Dawn had a monster called a Voidwalker. It was an elemental monster, and was one of the Demons that a Warlock could summon. They were also known as ''fatty'', or ''blue fatty''.


    It was likely that when this player first entered the game, they had seen a Voidwalker on the forums and decided to name themselves after it. This was actually considered bad form among the Warlock circles.


    He summoned a blue fatty, which had relatively high Armor and Health, but the damage that it could deal was limited as it was a guard pet. His Voidwalker was said to have crowd control skills like Trample, Charge, a shield skill and a life-sharing skill. It was an exquisite summon and he had completed many quests to get it to its current state.


    Trample could help him catch Thieves, Charge was generally a good crowd control skill, the shield could reduce his damage taken and the life sharing skill meant that Lu Li couldn''t only target the Warlock. It was this life-sharing skill that made a fragile Warlock much tankier.


    In general, Voidwalker was capable of dealing with most Thieves, but now, he was facing Lu Li.


    Even if the blue fatty was there to share the damage with him, he would lose HP much faster than Lu Li would. Most of his damage would come from the blue fatty and some continuous damage skills. He wouldn''t have much of a chance to channel any of his powerful skills.


    However, Voidwalker didn''t give up. Lu Li''s HP was less than 20%, so that was all he needed to get rid of before he died.


    Lu Li engaged and used all kinds of skills and effects, trying his best to close the distance between his opponent''s HP and his own.


    With his residual HP remaining, Lu Li looked up to see that Voidwalker actually only had 30 to 40% HP remaining.


    He then calmly used a special effect on the blue fatty.


    Death''s Clutch (Dark Gold): Armor 55, Agility +50, Strength +35, Critical Hit +20%, Special Effect 1: Backstab +1, Special Effect 2: After casting Cheap Shot, there is a certain chance that a shield that reduces 50% of damage taken will appear. This effect lasts for up to 3 skills. Special Effect 3: Exile, prevent the target from taking any actions for 2 seconds. During this period, the target is invincible. Only one target can be exiled at a time and this skill can only be used on targets that are lower levelled than the user. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 268/268.


    Exile!


    For two seconds, Lu Li couldn''t attack the blue fatty, but the blue fatty couldn''t threaten him either.


    He turned towards Voidwalker and turned into a Giant Wolf in midair with The Book of Ur''s effect.


    Voidwalker''s Disarm effect had not yet lapsed, so he couldn''t stop Lu Li from dealing hundreds of damage. After landing, Lu Li ran around Voidwalker and didn''t hesitate to use his Enhanced Shadowstrike, even though the angle and preparation wasn''t great. However, he still produced a Skill Completion of greater than 90%, resulting in a 1 second stun.


    The blue fatty had now recovered, and was moving in to attack Lu Li.


    Lu Li only had a few hundred points of HP left. If the blue fatty hit him with a dozen more continuous damage skills, he would be dead.


    Even if the blue fatty didn''t hit him, the continuous damage that he was taking was bound to kill him as well.


    Of course, Voidwalker was now always in a critical state.


    "Dammit, Voidwalker shouldn''t have brought the blue fatty. If it was a succubus or a demon, one skill would have killed Lu Li already."


    The most stressed players was neither Lu Li nor Voidwalker, but the other players in Blue Universe.


    If it was a succubus and it cast Fear on Lu Li, there was a good chance that he would have nothing to respond with.


    If it was a demon, then a large fireball would definitely be enough to instantly kill him.


    Although the blue fatty was useful, it was melee and had low movement speed. It had to walk all the way to Lu Li to attack him.


    Backstab!


    The level six Backstab dealt 600 damage, which wasn''t much less damage than an ultimate skill. Lu Li then lifted his leg and Kicked his opponent to interrupt the life sharing skill. After Voidwalker was kicked, he would be silenced for a while. He stared blankly for a moment before lifting his Magic Staff and bringing it down on Lu Li''s face.

 1074 Ending in Victory

    The Magic Staff was a basic attack and was capable of killing someone like Lu Li, who only had a few points of HP left.


    Lu Li''s dagger and Voidwalker''s Magic Staff reached each other at almost the same time, and the two almost simultaneously turned into white light.


    Who had won in the end?


    Could it have been a draw?


    This was the first time that such an outcome had occured. From the audience''s perspective, there was no particular order to their deaths, but Voidwalker had attacked with his Magic Staff first. After all, Lu Li used his dagger after Kicking.


    Through the silence of the audience and the commentators, the System flashed with Lu Li''s image and Ruling Sword appeared in gold midair as fireworks exploded.


    "How is this possible? Voidwalker clearly attacked first; the System is wrong. This is cheating!"


    "I think it should be a tie. After all, both players died."


    "He managed to take on five players on his own. No matter who died first, I still think Lu Li is amazing."


    "Even Sorrowless doesn''t have a record like this. Green Flag Wine''s Tire Killer had done it the previous game, but it was during the qualifying rounds."


    "Lu Li was a Thief and could only last for so long. The question is whether Blue Universe is just too weak or whether Lu Li is just too strong?"


    "I think Vampirism played a big role. Lu Li has a strong Vampirism effect. When there is a red mist over his body, that is probably Vampirism working. Go back and hoard as many Vampirism items as you can. It''s likely that Vampirism equipment will increase in price after this match ends."


    At this time, the System started playing a slow-motion replay of the last moments of the game on the big screen.


    It was true that Voidwalker hit Lu Li first and took 32 points of HP. However, the 32 damage wasn''t enough to kill Lu Li. Lu Li had eleven HP after that and landed his attack. In the next moment, 15 damage appeared over Lu Li''s head which was the result of the Warlock''s continuous damage and caused him to die.


    Lu Li had actuallydied a few milliseconds after Voidwalker, and was therefore the winner of the match.


    There were no circumstances in Dawn where a tie was allowed, and now, Lu Li''s five-on-one attempt had become a reality.


    "Boss!" Fat Monkey was even more excited than Lu Li, who had won. He shouted, "I want to take on five players next time too! Even if they are just newbies, it looks so exciting."


    "You''re so embarrassing," Moonlight sighed as he shook his head in disagreement.


    He was still waiting to play, but he wasn''t even given a chance to. In his opinion, Lu Li had gone a bit over the line here and completely humiliated Blue Universe.


    Not only had they now lost their opportunity to get into the top 8, but they also had to explain to their Boss about what had happened.


    In fact, he and other players would probably misread the situation as there being some kind of conflict between Lu Li and Water Fairy. This was why Lu Li had decided to teach Water Fairy a lesson with this oppressive match.


    Although he didn''t have much emotional experience as he was quite an eccentric person, he knew that the girl would not be very happy about this. If Lu Li continued like this, there was a chance that his relationship with Water Fairy wouldn''t last for much longer.


    However, Lu Li couldn''t be bothered explaining Water Fairy''s domestic affairs to his teammates.


    Besides, Water Fairy had just sent him a message. It was just a short thank you, which clearly supported Lu Li''s attack on her father through this match.


    "Get ready for the team match. Mu Qiu and Memories are on stand-by. Everyone go in!"


    Lu Li, Moonlight, Kitty Likes Meat, March Rain and Fat Monkey entered the arena, forming a double physical and double magical damage composition. This was the strongest Ruling Sword lineup with Mu Qiu and Sakura Memories on stand-by.


    The map was a mountain with one team starting at the top and the other team starting at the bottom.


    There was an obvious advantage to starting at the top. Attacks had greater range and skills were easier to use. However, this was balanced by the fact that the team at the bottom who was trying to capture the flag had more options. All they had to do was clear the 5000HP on the flag, and they would win, even if they didn''t kill all the players.


    Blue Universe was defending the flag while Ruling Sword was attacking.


    Different professions had different strengths and weaknesses. Ruling Sword had two ranged players, which was satisfactory.


    If you were attacking the flag, the best tactic was to divide the team into two groups. However, Lu Li wanted to make a show of strength, so they didn''t bother with that tactic and just charged up the mountain.


    Blue Universe stood by the flag and didn''t move at all. They were waiting for Ruling Sword to come and attack them. They knew that Ruling Sword''s strong mental fortitude meant that they wouldn''t be afraid to attack. Even if they lost a member there, their substitute would appear almost instantly.


    However, if Ruling Sword lost a player, their substitute would appear at the bottom of the mountain and would take some time before they arrived at the top of the battlefield.


    The two sides slowly closed in distance before finally coming into skill range.


    "Lighty, Kitty!" Lu Li shouted as Moonlight used his damage reduction skills and Charge. Kitty Likes Meat immediately transformed into a tall demon and rushed in. These two meat shields braved the Blue Universe''s ranged attacks and skills. Soon, Ruling Sword had thrust themselves into Blue Universe''s formation. Lu Li and Fat Monkey were looking around for Blue Universe''s Priest, Almond Parfait.


    Almond Parfait''s technique was good; she had performed well this season and had been well received by many other celebrities in the industry.


    It was a pity that she was taking the same route as March Rain. Her equipment wasn''t as exquisite as March Rain''s, at least with regards to her damage reduction abilities. In the moment she was engaged on, she had already lost quite a bit of HP. Lu Li then started explosively dealing damage with Fat Monkey right next to him, and she also got caught up in Moonlight''s Whirlwind.


    This girl couldn''t stand the intensity of such attacks and became a corpse within 47 seconds of the start of the fight.


    Blue Universe''s substitute was Lucky. Although he could also perform some healing, his main focus was elemental damage. His healing wasn''t as high as Mu Qiu''s, which meant that Blue Universe was now lacking in a capable healer.


    As a result, there wasn''t much suspense for the rest of the match. The battle lasted for a minute or two and Blue Universe was completely destroyed. Ruling Sword hadn''t lost a single player.


    This was nothing short of a miracle when considering it was the top 16.


    This day was called the end of the Blue Universe. The dark horse had been completed halted just before entering the top 8. Although they hadn''t officially been eliminated, their hopes of promoting had been completely shattered.


    Unless they could win the next few games like Ruling Sword had today, they wouldn''t be able to gather enough points to promote.


    However, there were a few players within Blue Universe that still felt like fighting despite the fact that it was impossible for them to win no matter who they were matched up against.

 1075 Compulsory Ques

    The CEO office was simple, but spacious, with a few virtual figures projected onto the sofas around his desk. These were the images of the competitors from Blue Universe.


    "I couldn''t believe my ears when I received the news."


    CEO Sheng was around forty, which was quite young for an entrepreneur.


    He wasn''t strict either, but no one dared to disrespect him in this room.


    "Why aren''t any of you talking? Enthrall, you have a say."


    "Mr. Sheng, we''ve lost completely to Ruling Sword this time. There''s nothing to say."


    Enthrall didn''t want to try and explain himself, even though he knew that CEO Sheng knew nothing about games and it would be easy to fool him.


    "I wasn''t expecting you all to defeat Ruling Sword. They''re strong at the moment, but what I can''t comprehend is how you guys didn''t even score a single point."


    "It''s mainly because of Lu Li. He''s a miracle in the gaming industry," Enthrall explained.


    "Lu Li, right," CEO Sheng muttered as he made a gesture to his secretary. All of Lu Li''s gaming information, including rumours on the internet, appeared in the virtual space. These were all very detailed, but they didn''t include any of Lu Li''s information in real life.


    "This is someone who has barely played any games and was born into poverty. All of you have been through vigorous training, yet, he can beat you by himself. What do you guys think about him?"


    "He''s a genius. It seems like there''s nothing impossible to him," Sindra said bitterly.


    "From this, I can tell that you''ve already backed out. There''s no one who can be undefeated forever. Wasn''t Sorrowless the same before?"


    "Sorry, Mr. Sheng¡­" The competitors felt even more ashamed.


    "I don''t understand games, so I won''t reach my hands into anything in there, but I''m expecting all of you not to disappoint me. Ruling Sword will be your greatest opponent, whether you guys can beat them or not."


    After the virtual meeting, the secretary was smart and quickly brought a coffee over.


    CEO Sheng sighed and rubbed his eyebrows tiredly.


    "So difficult; I didn''t know that boy would be so strong in the game. I thought Blue Universe would be enough to make trouble for him in the game."


    "CEO Sheng, are you really going to oppose your daughter?" the secretary asked worriedly.


    "What do you mean I''m opposing her? She''s the one opposing me," CEO Sheng''s said as his face went red from anger. "Ever since she met that Lu Li, she''s become so rebellious. It''s all because of that Lu Li! What about the investment that I''ve asked you to make?"


    "They''ve declined any sort of investment. It''s impossible to sort out the situation in real life through the game."


    The secretary was helpless; there was nothing they could do about it!


    In the secretary''s opinion, it was time for the girl to get married anyway. Even if CEO Sheng didn''t want to lose his daughter, there were better ways to solve this. Not to mention, CEO Sheng''s wife seemed to be pregnant at the moment, which had caused a lot of tension already between him and his daughter.


    On top of this, Lu Li was really something, especially since he had been born into poverty.


    Compared to those rich second generation children, Lu Li was a great choice.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were quite close indeed in the game. They often grouped to level up together, and two Thieves levelled up like a team of Mages. In their spare time, they would complete quests from Ravenholdt together.


    From what Garona had shared with them, once they reached a certain level with their Reputation, they would be able to receive the method for upgrading the Shard of the Defiler.


    The upgraded version of the weapon would transmute it into a level 60 exquisite weapon. Although there were many choices for a level 60 weapon, a Thief would never complain about having too many Daggers. It was common for Thieves to use different weapons depending on the situation.


    Perhaps it was because the Scourge event was quickly approaching, but Ravenholdt Manor had begun to release related quests. These were quests that were compulsory and would result in a loss of reputation upon failure.


    Kill Nathanos Blightcaller!


    Lu Li had already interacted with Nathanos Blightcaller from the Stratholme dungeon.


    Unknowingly, Hachi Chan had activated a Horde quest from this NPC, which caused Lu Li and the others to receive a buff called "Nathanos Blightcaller''s Rage". The buff boosted their health by 20, attack by 20 and ignored 20 Defense of Ramstein the Gorger.


    Nathanos Blightcaller was actually Nathanos Marris, but his story had already been shared previously.


    He was the only Human race ranger in the history of Dawn, and was a hero of the Alliance. After the Scourge invaded, he was killed by Ramstein the Gorger and became an Undead.


    However, he escaped their control and became one of the Forgotten, loyal to Sylvanas.


    The Alliance had no clue about what had happened.


    The leader of SI:7, Master Mathias Shaw, received intel that Nathanos Blightcaller had gone missing and that the Forgotten Ones were very active in the area.


    He sent out five men to investigate, but only one had returned. The one who returned continuously mumbled "Nathanos" or "Blightcaller", and passed away a few days later in his dreams.


    They believed that Nathanos had been killed by someone called Blightcaller and sent out a quest to kill this mysterious figure.


    Although Ravenholdt wasn''t on particularly friendly terms with SI:7, they still gave out the quest to Lu Li and Water Fairy. They even marked it as a compulsory quest.


    If it was SI:7 that had given out the quest, Lu Li and Water Fairy might be able to decline it. Unfortunately, this was a quest given out by Ravenholdt, so they had no choice but to complete it.


    They were part of the Alliance, so it wasn''t really an issue for them to kill a Horde NPC. Not to mention, Nathanos Blightcaller was just a projection. He was the only Human Ranger in the Alliance when he was alive, and after his death, he was still one of the few close subordinates to Queen Sylvanas. Even if it was just a projection of him, he was still beyond the abilities of Lu Li and Water Fairy alone.


    Fortunately, the quest didn''t restrict player numbers.


    "Assign some players to help with Blightcaller and deal with the Horde players that might come to harass us. The battle might last for a while and we only have one shot. Once the Horde players gather, it might turn into a guild war," Lu Li said. He was very aware of the entire situation.


    This was currently a crucial time for the guild''s development and Lu Li wasn''t the slightest bit interested in fighting the Horde.

 1076 Heart of the Blightcaller

    A team of forty quickly gathered. Lu Li had the option of bringing more along, but the Blightcaller had a skill with effects that could spread. Players within four yards of each other would spread the status and the more a player was impacted, the more damage the skill did.


    A few others were placed in different locations to ambush Horde players.


    "Friend, how have you been?"


    Nathanos Blightcaller''s eyes glistened, and his voice was calm like still water.


    "Respected Ranger, we''ve received a command this time. We hope that your soul can once again return to peace," Lu Li went ahead and greeted him. This was quite awkward, considering they received help before from this NPC.


    "I saw this day coming. Come on, I''m not the type to calmly face death!"


    Nathanos Blightcaller blew a whistle and two Blighthounds appeared and pounced over. They grew to the size of bulls in midair, and Lu Li immediately had two tanks rush up to tank them.


    Shield Bash, ineffective!


    Global Friendship quickly used a taunt skill. Fortunately it was effective and he managed to pull one of the Blighthounds.


    The other one was pulled by God of Destiny.


    "We can attack now. Healers, look after everyone," Lu Li instructed as he held onto Water Fairy, preventing her from rushing into battle.


    The Blighthound began to cast Plague Cloud and the health of the two tanks dropped rapidly. Even Lu Li and Water Fairy wouldn''t be able to hold up for more than a few seconds.


    This was why Lu Li had all the melee players on the side to attack Nathanos Blightcaller, while the other ranged damagers were in charge of the two Blighthounds. Plague Cloud was instant death for any close-combat class.


    Azure Sea Breeze was in charge of pulling Nathanos Blightcaller. He had about six hundred thousand health points, and wouldn''t die any time soon.


    "Dreamy, do you want to catch a blue dog as a pet?" Lu Li asked; Blighthounds were blue in color.


    "Sure, sure," Remnant Dream agreed as she nodded her head, "Although, they''re a little ugly, and I''ve never seen dogs that are blue."


    "Then follow my instructions and don''t mess up, alright?"


    Lu Li was using private chat to communicate this. He didn''t plan to have anyone else know how to catch the Blighthound. If another Hunter tried, they were guaranteed a failing result.


    There wasn''t a trick to catch the Blighthound, but rather a bug.


    "Focus on the Blighthound on the left, and stop when it drops to around 50% health," Lu Li instructed.


    The two Blighthounds were semi-Bosses with around a hundred thousand health points, so they dropped to 50% relatively quickly.


    Lu Li had the players stop damaging the hounds for a bit, and had Global Friendship chip away at the Hound. Once its health bar reached 50%, Lu Li had Remnant Dream cast a Domesticate spell.


    Of course, it failed and everyone continued to attack.


    Remnant Dream casted Domesticate at 30%, but cancelled it halfway during the channel. She repeated it again at 20% health, but cancelled it at 1/3 of the cast bar.


    At 5% health, Remnant Dream went up once more to use Domesticate. This time, after Domesticate was completed, the Blighthound disappeared and became Remnant Dream''s pet.


    Although the tamed Blighthound wouldn''t have the same strength, it kept the Plague Cloud skill. The pet could cast the skill over 30 seconds and effectively boost the leveling speed of the Hunter.


    The second hound was caught by Beard Stubble. He was second to Remnant Dream and was a trustworthy team member.


    It was hard for these semi-Bosses to drop anything good, so it wasn''t a loss for the Hunters to capture them as pets.


    Seeing that both of his pets had been caught, Nathanos Blightcaller casted Soul Shriek. The range of the spell was large, and the players began running in all different directions.


    At the same time, he tossed a Plague Fever spell into the crowd.


    The first target was Lonesome Flower. He wasn''t impacted by Soul Shriek, but there were players within four yards of him. Some players affected by Soul Shriek even ran towards him.


    "Flower, refrigerate!" Lu Li shouted.


    Lonesome Flower activated Ice Barrier and turned into a block of ice, cancelling out the Plague Fever effect.


    However, Jaweika, who was nearby, was affected and passed it onto Nuo Yu...


    Just as this was unfolding, some Horde players finally found out that their NPC, Nathanos Blightcaller was being attacked by Alliance players.


    How could this happen!


    The Plaguelands were a shared map, so many Horde players rushed over as soon as they received the information.


    They were caught by the outer teams of Ruling Sword and died before they even saw their opponents. They could talk if they were on the same faction, and anyone who didn''t want to play against a big club like Ruling Sword would back away. However, there was no communication between the opposing factions; it was a situation of life or death.


    After a few waves of Horde players died, they began to realize who was ambushing them.


    It would be a silly to continue rushing to their death.


    Of course, the Horde players wouldn''t sit by and accept the situation. They began to call others in the faction channel.


    "Ruling Sword is attacking Nathanos Blightcaller in the East Plaguelands. Everyone come and help!"


    "Lu Li is killing Nathanos Blightcaller. Everyone come and kill Lu Li for his equipment!"


    Usually when Alliance guilds were killing wild bosses, Horde players would go and harass them. Now, one of their very own NPCs was in danger, so they began to show up in all teleport locations of the East Plaguelands. Even the elite group members of major Horde guilds became involved and the numbers continued to grow.


    If Ruling Sword was the only guild, they really wouldn''t dare to play against so many Horde players.


    However, Drizzle Court and Peerless City were also watching the map under Water Fairy''s command. Many random Alliance players also came to join the fight when they heard that a faction fight was happening in East Plaguelands.


    If there was any event that all players were interested in, it would have to be the faction war.


    They weren''t afraid of death or losing equipment ¨C they did it simply for their passion.

 1077 Dark Ranger

    "Stellar Union has appeared."


    This message came from the frontline, but Lu Li wasn''t surprised by it at all.


    Compared to Glory Capital, Stellar Union was much more competitive and always showed up in faction wars.


    "Find someone to write on world channel; say to come kill Hordes in East Plaguelands."


    Lu Li directed his team members to scatter and save those who had fallen. He also commanded some guild members to help with the situation through world channel. The most effective method at the moment was to drag other Alliance guilds into the situation.


    Square Root 3 quickly had some players complete this task. They were all random players from the outside and were all good at talking.


    Some even broadcasted the entire situation and specified which guilds had joined the battle.


    Those Alliance guilds who stood around to watch couldn''t sit still anymore. They had no reason to clean up the mess that Ruling Sword had made.


    However, as the situation worsened, they had to stand up.


    Many were questioning why Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City were the only ones standing up for everyone, while the other Alliance guilds remained passive.


    Some major guilds explained that Ruling Sword were the ones who had caused trouble because they fought a Horde NPC. Why should people sort out their own problem? However, this kind of talk was quickly shot down, because everyone thought it was a glorious thing for Alliance members to kill a Horde NPC.


    The battle spread far and wide. Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court had successfully blocked the Horde forces out of their defense line.


    Nathanos Blightcaller''s health dropped quickly, but his few skills also continuously killed members of Lu Li''s team. In order to prevent everyone from dying too often, Lu Li had players take turns to sacrifice themselves. There were so many in the team anyway.


    He himself had died once too and had to stand far away, somewhere where he wouldn''t be impacted by the battle.


    "We''re the forgotten ones. We''ve been casted out by our Alliance, hated by the living, but our enemy is the Scourge," Nathanos Blighcaller sighed.


    "In the days without the holy light and the church, only the Queen remains true. May all Scourge return to peace."


    After uttering his line, Nathanos Blightcaller fell helplessly.


    He was strong, but he couldn''t do much with all the reinforcements that Ruling Sword had.


    "Dreamy, take the loot. Mages, douse the area with spells."


    The moment Nathanos Blightcaller fell, Lu Li was quick to take action. He believed that there would be Horde Thieves hiding, considering they were fighting a Wild Boss with forty men.


    Surely, three Thieves made their appearance as the Mages blanketed the area with their AoE spells.


    "That way?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    He wasn''t good with PVP, but he liked these kinds of situations, so he was quick to rush out.


    "We can''t leave now; we''ll have to run through them," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    "Alright, I''ll go over now."


    Azure Sea Breeze was happy and posed as if he was ready to charge in bravely. Unfortunately, he had been stopped by Lu Li before he could take any action.


    "If you want to go in, change your equipment first. If you lose any of the Legendary items on you, you''ll be really upset for sure."


    "That''d be so boring," Azure Sea Breeze whined.


    "I wouldn''t even charge in myself in these kinds of battles. Stop trying to be a hero; do you really think you can''t die?" Lu Li tried his best to convince him.


    "Moonlight already charged in. Why didn''t you stop him?" Azure Sea Breeze asked defensively, feeling sorry for himself.


    Lu Li couldn''t deny that it was dangerous for Moonlight to charge in too. However, he was much better at surviving in these battles than Azure Sea Breeze and rarely died on record.


    Lu Li didn''t join in the battle alone either. He was now an executive of Ruling Sword and had to take responsibility for his position.


    In terms of directing a large-scale battle, Lu Li wasn''t as skilled as Sorrowless, but he didn''t fear the situation. Thing always had to be learnt gradually; he believed Sorrowless probably wasn''t even as competent as he was on the first time.


    Remnant Dream had already finished looting and none of the Thieves managed to lay their hands on anything.


    Besides the level 55 Legendary cape, there were another two Dark Gold equips. The cape was given to Remnant Dream, while the two equips were passed to Water Fairy.


    There was also a special item for changing classes to Dark Ranger. Hunter classes could use the item to change to a Dark Ranger when talking to Nathanos Blightcaller. The downside was that after this item was used, the player would instantly become one of the Forgotten Ones, which was an Undead race of the Horde.


    Besides the usual description, Nathanos Blightcaller also left behind a few words of his own:


    "That beautiful figure glowed under the sunlight of Silvermoon city, like an untouched Goddess.


    I cannot see clearly through the bright sunlight, but I felt something quickly grow in my chest, a tingling feeling with the slightest hint of pain, as if something erupted from my heart and flowed into every single one of my veins."


    He secretly admired his Ranger teacher, Queen Sylvanas, but this seemed normal. Back in the days, Nathanos represented the Human race to visit the High Elves. He gained the favor of the Windrunner and successfully became the only Human ranger. Sylvanas was already beautiful back when she was a High Elf. It was only normal for Nathanos to fall in love somewhere during the process.


    Under the control of the Scourge, he seemed as if he had no choice, but he was thrilled to be able to join his Queen.


    Queen Sylvanas seemed to be happy with her follower and called him the most loyal warrior.


    It seemed like this could only be sold for money. Lu Li wasn''t keen to see his own Hunters run to the opposing faction.


    Dark Rangers seemed appealing, but they were still part of the Hunter class. At the very most, they could learn a few Dark Ranger skills from Nathanos Blightcaller, but the other skills would all be from the Hunter tree and they would still wear Hunter equipment. Dawn didn''t truly have a Dark Ranger class.


    The faction war lasted for hours, and even though both sides fought, they still held back. If someone died once from Ruling Sword, they would leave the war. The situation would probably be the same for Sorrowless'' side.

 1078 All Celebrity Players

    They would have to cooperate with each other later after this war, so both factions made sure to hold back.


    There was a total of 15 players for this all-celebrity dungeon run and included the top players from both factions. They were to display their techniques in the Blackrock Depths dungeon.


    There were currently four large dungeons in the Blackrock Mountain area ¨C the Blackrock Depths, Blackrock Spire, Molten Core and Blackwing Lair.


    Of course, the gaming company wouldn''t be sending the celebrity team to complete all of these dungeons. They didn''t have the time and it would be a long and tedious task. They had to keep the game fun after all, so there was no way the company would allow the dungeons to be completed so quickly.


    After the celebrity players completed the run, everyone would have an idea of how it should be done.


    They needed to complete a chain of quests in order to obtain the keys to enter the Blackrock Depths. The quest was complicated, but it wasn''t difficult. Lu Li was the commander, so he didn''t have to do this himself.


    The dungeon was located in the Eastern part of the kingdom, in the depths of Blackrock Mountain.


    The history of the Blackrock Mountain could be traced all the way back to the War of the Three Hammers, which involved the Bronzebeard, Warhammer and Dark Iron Dwarves.


    The Bronzebeard Dwarves ultimately won the war, but the Dark Iron Dwarves weren''t willing to accept the defeat. They build the Thaurissan city in the Redridge mountains in an attempt to make their comeback.


    However, the Bronzebeard Dwarves weren''t interested in giving their enemies a chance. After they joined forces with the Wildhammer, they completed destroyed the Dark Iron Dwarves again. In this fight, they killed their Queen Modgud. In despair, King Thaurissan made a mistake that anyone could have made ¨C he summoned Ragnaros from the lava depths.


    As the ancient creature made its entrance, the Redridge Mountains also began to change in appearance. The mountains shook and flames blanketed the land as howling and wailing sounded in the air.


    Anything that rebelled would be turned into ashes and those who obeyed became slaves for eternity.


    A raging volcano rose from the ground and formed the Blackrock Mountains.


    Although Thaurissan was killed by what he had released, his kind had been enslaved by Ragnaros. Even till this day, they were still being kept in the Blackrock Depths while Ragnaros restd in the Molten Core at the deepest part.


    What Lu Li and the others were exploring this time was the capital city that the Dark Iron Dwarves had once built ¨C Thaurissan City.


    The Blackrock Depths were a super-sized dungeon that had cost the gaming company countless an enormous amount of effort to design. There were plenty of paths to take in the dungeon and these paths did not all lead to each other. As far as Lu Li knew, there were still sections in his old life that had remained unexplored.


    It was most likely for the purpose of advertising the game, but all the competitors this time represented all the common classes of Dawn.


    There were two players for the Thieves ¨C Water Fairy and Lu Li.


    Needless to say, Lu Li was the most popular player in the game. Without him, the celebrity team would probably be a joke.


    Water Fairy was chosen for her beauty, which she was famous for, while also being an extremely skilled player. Ever since she became famous, there was always a spot available for her in the celebrity teams.


    The team had the most spots for Warrior classes ¨C a total of three, which included Sea Breaker and Elevenless. Sea Breaker wasn''t any more famous than Moonlight and Gaze, but he had the most damage reduction, Defense and taunt skills. He had also added quite a lot of his attribute points to Constitution and all he needed was a set of exquisite defense gear.


    The team couldn''t be chosen just by fame alone ¨C they needed to be realistic in approaching the dungeon. It would be ridiculous to expect Moonlight and Gaze to tank a boss.


    The last Warrior was Azure Sea Breeze, who despite not being a celebrity player, was still chosen.


    Sea Breaker alone wasn''t enough ¨C he probably couldn''t even tank the Heroic mode, so they had to ask Azure Sea Breeze instead. He wasn''t any worse than a celebrity players ¨C he was the number one Main Tank after all.


    Besides March Rain, Wendelian was also chosen for the Priest class.


    Along with Stellar Union Silver Radian, she was known as the strongest support competitor in the game.


    Wendelian had served Glory Capital and was the reserved healer for Sorrowless. She rose to the top by his side, but eventually swapped guilds to Gale Legion. She was experienced in gaming, but she was quite young too.


    Apparently, what she had been best at was directing, but Sorrowless was already a renowned commander, so her specialty had been overshadowed.


    Besides Sorrowless, Unforgettable Maple was selected for the Mage positions.


    Mages and Warriors probably took up the greatest numbers amongst the competitors, but no matter how they ordered the players, they couldn''t move out Unforgettable Maple and Sorrowless.


    The Warlock representatives were Hornet''s Nest and Phantom Gaze.


    Hornet''s Nest was already quite famous, but Phantom Gaze was another story. His nickname was the ''retired craze''.


    He had played games for a good decade, and had retired plenty of times, but each time, he would return again because he couldn''t stand missing out. Each time he returned, he had always managed to make it back to the top.


    The Shaman representative was Jade Flower, while Old Man Power was chosen as the Druid. Green Flag Wine represented the Paladins and the Hunter class was represented by Hot Twitch.


    Lu Li, Water Fairy, Sorrowless, Unforgettable Maple, Azure Sea Breeze, Elevenless, Sea Breaker, March Rain, Wendelian, Hornet''s Nest, Phantom Gaze, Jade Flower, Old Man Power, Green Flag Wine and Hot Twitch ¨C there was a total of 15 players.


    The Main Tank was Azure Sea Breeze, who would be backed up Sea Breaker, while the main healers were March Rain, Wendelian and Jade Flower. Everyone else was just a damage dealer.


    Most major guilds only had one spot, but Ruling Sword had three.


    This was because March Rain and Azure Sea Breeze were the best players within their classes. They were a guarantee to ensure that the team could push through the dungeon.


    Celebrity players weren''t always the best choice to complete dungeons. If it wasn''t for the existence of Azure Sea Breeze, Lu Li didn''t think the team would stand a chance against Blackrock Depths.


    In fact, from the situation right now, he felt very pressured for his task of directing this dungeon run.

 1079 Blackrock Depths

    Before they left, they even hosted a farewell ceremony.


    It was a sight to behold as fifteen or so players on various rare mounts formed a line on top a mountain in the Searing Gorge near Blackrock Mountain.


    The whole ceremony was filmed and edited into the promotional video which also included some clips of their dungeon highlights. They posted the video onto the gaming forums in order to raise their popularity, as well as to promote their name.


    Unfortunately, the filming process was quite rough because there were too many monsters near Blackrock Mountain.


    The monsters here included the Black Dragon Army, Dark Iron Dwarves that were enslaved by Ragnaros, and the Orcs who had journeyed here during the Second War and settled near the volcano. There was a great battle between the Orcs and the Firegut Ogres that came from the South. The Alliance also sent out their troops to join in on this great battle between five different races.


    For the players that were attempting the Instance Dungeon here, all five races were enemies and therefore, monsters to them.


    This was the first inter-faction event in the game where both Alliance and Horde players had come together. The gaming company made some adjustments in order to accommodate for both parties.


    "If I knew it was you that was representing Seventh Heaven, then I wouldn''t have come."


    These players pretended to be friendly at first, but after the event officials left, they began showing their true colors. For example, Elevenless and Hornet''s Nest were arch enemies. Seventh Heaven and Wings of Dawn had many issues in the past.


    "Haha, do you really think I want to see you? If it wasn''t because Lucky Southern Persian would gag every time he sees you, I wouldn''t even have come," Hornet''s Nest chided, not holding back at all.


    Lucky Southern Persian attended the all-star team last year, but decided to let Hornet''s Nest attend this year since he had missed out for the last two years.


    "****! What''d you say, Dog''s Nest?" Elevenless shouted angrily.


    "Shut the hell up," Hornet''s Nest laughed coldly. "Call me Dog''s Nest one more time and I''ll come find you in real life."


    Elevenless decided to shut his mouth.


    The two had issues in the past and met up to settle their disagreements. Even though Elevenless was a fearless Warrior in game, he was actually a skinny midget in real life. On the other hand, Hornet''s Nest, who enjoyed playing Mage classes, was a 180cm-tall muscular man. This was why Elevenless was so scared of Hornet''s Nest whenever he brought up anything about reality.


    "You guys are so annoying; how old are you both again? How embarrassing," Unforgettable Maple said.


    "I''ll let you go this time because of Older Sister Maple," Hornet''s Nest muttered.


    "1v1 me in-game if you dare," Elevenless quipped.


    "What the hell! If someone calls me Older Sister Maple again, I will hunt you down with my life." Unforgettable Maple almost coughed up blood. As someone who had been around the gaming world for a while now, he felt like he was being disrespected.


    "Don''t worry Older Sister Maple; we wouldn''t do that to you," Wendelian giggled.


    "Yeah, we wouldn''t, Older Sister Maple," Innocent Child said, trying his hardest to keep a straight face.


    "Your face is all red Older Sister Maple. Are you blushing? Don''t be shy¡­"


    It was quite rare for fans to see these Star players poke fun at each other.


    Even Sorrowless appeared to be less cold than he usually was. He was making small talk with Azure Sea Breeze about the weather and what his favorite food was.


    When the group of players entered Blackrock Mountain, they immediately saw a large lava lake. There was a path that divided the lake in two and led to the Blackrock Depths


    The monsters here were around Lv55 to 60, which was barely low enough for the star players.


    In the lore of the game, the Blackrock Depths were more than just a dungeon. They represented the peak of Dwarven civilization and technological advancement.


    This was a city that had everything, including bars, banks, temples, an arena, a jail, a residential area, an industrial area, mechanical workshops, a forge, a large lecture hall and many defensive strongholds. It truly lived up its name of being one of the largest underground cities.


    Since it was a Dwarven city, the map of the Blackrock Depths was unbelievably complicated.


    It was difficult to figure out how many Bosses there were. There were some hidden Bosses that could be triggered with certain quest items or clues and even one roaming outside the dungeon.


    Usually, most players would skip the Boss that was patrolling outside the dungeon because players from opposing factions would take this opportunity to ambush their enemies.


    However, for the all-star team, this wasn''t a problem for them at all.


    Anyone in the right mind would avoid messing with this all-star party, which consisted of the fifteen top players from the Top 10 Guilds in the game.


    The Boss was called Overmaster Pyron and was related to a quest called ''Disharmony of Flame''. According to the description, the Dark Iron Dwarves had summoned a foul spirit into the world that threatened to plague the land with an eternal drought. Players were to travel to Blackrock Mountain, through Chasm of Flame, and into the quarry. It was there that they could find the lord of fire: Overmaster Pyron.


    Even though they didn''t have to kill it, Lu Li wanted to see what this group of all-star players was capable of. He hoped that they could somehow miraculously work well together.


    "Commander, what''s your order?" Unforgettable Maple asked as he briefly glanced at Sorrowless, then stared at Lu Li.


    Sorrowless stared at the ground so that the others couldn''t see his expression. No one really spoke up to ask if he was ok. Most of them were glad that he didn''t receive the commander position, but they couldn''t help but feel a little sympathetic in their hearts.


    Lu Li and Sorrowless hadn''t interacted much, but he knew that Sorrowless wasn''t as sad as everyone else thought he would be.


    This was because they were the same type of person. Their inner pride and narcissism were so strong that they wouldn''t care about other peoples'' opinions of themselves.


    "This is a Fire Elemental, so it should be able to use fire attacks, most likely a Fire Nova or Flamestrike. Melee players, be mindful of your HP and try to spread out a bit. No one stand near the Main Tank. Azure, you can go start the fight."


    Most of what Lu Li said was expected.


    This was a standard shot call since it was Lu Li''s first time leading such a star-studded team. Sorrowless, Wendelian, and even Azure Sea Breeze would have all said something similar.

 1080 Everyone’s Ulterior Motives

    Azure Sea Breeze rushed forward quickly and taunted the Boss. Despite the Boss being level 55, the now-level 54 Azure Sea Breeze only took around 400 damage from its attacks.


    Any other player would have had their HP halved from such an attack.


    Feats like these were the reasons behind there being no objections of putting Azure Sea Breeze on the All-Star team, despite him being not a professional player. They knew that he was truly one of the strongest tanks, even when compared to professional players.


    Lu Li rushed forward and began to activate his skills. However, he found that he began to lose HP quickly after getting close to the Boss.


    This was because of the flames coming from the Boss, which was a fire-based monster. These flames caused a Scorch effect that damaged enemies who were in close proximity. As a result, ranged classes could usually avoid these flames. However, a major part of their squad was melee, so they could not solely rely on the ranged classes to DPS.


    "Move away for a second. I''m going to place a Healing Totem," Jade Flower Lover said, then placed a totem in the middle of the melee players.


    Normal totems only healed once every 5 seconds and did not recover much HP. They were only suited to be used in training grounds, not in Boss fights like these. However, the one that Jade Flower Lover had placed was a totem that healed once every 3 seconds and also healed three times the amount that a normal totem would.


    "I didn''t realise that you had something like that up your sleeves," Green Flag Wine said, audibly impressed. If they met on the PVP stage, he would instantly target the totem.


    "Well, since we''re all fighting together in this Dungeon, we can''t hide things now, can we? I remember you having an Aura that increases damage by 30%. Why don''t you use that?" Jade Flower Lover chuckled.


    "These two sly foxes¡­" Elevenless muttered, then spread his arms and roared loudly.


    A Rage aura then appeared over the squad members, boosting the offensive capabilities of everyone by a significant amount.


    "My Aura can only be used for 30 seconds and has a cooldown of an hour. Lu Li, are you sure you want me to use it?" Green Flag Wine asked, redirecting the topic to Lu Li. After all, he hadn''t asked anyone to activate their auras.


    Lu Li took this opportunity to propose an idea.


    "Can everyone share what skills they have, in terms of raising offensive strength and defensive strength?"


    Squads like these weren''t much better than randomly-formed teams, because the Commander did not understand his own teammates. As such, his judgments were limited and would not be beneficial to the team. Furthermore, everyone here was a professional player, so it was disadvantageous to reveal their equipment properties and skills.


    "I''ll reveal mine first since all of you have hidden agendas," Old Man Power said.


    Since Old Man Power had revealed his skills, the others did not have valid excuses to hide. Even Sorrowless revealed his equipment that could mitigate squad-wide damage.


    Of course, everyone knew that people were still hiding things.


    As Lu Li dealt DPS, he also observed how the others were attacking. After all, these opportunities to observe professional players while fighting alongside as teammates were not common. However, it took skill to gain something out of observation.


    "I will be reborn. Lord Incendius will revive me from the ashes!"


    Overmaster Pyron was only a door guard in the eyes of these professional players. After uttering this line, he quickly turned into a corpse.


    "Leader, let''s loot the items," Sea Breaker said as he backed away from the Boss'' corpse. No one else approached the corpse. There were two things that were taboo in Dawn ¨C disobeying the commander''s orders and looting the corpse for oneself.


    Some squad leaders would loot the corpse themselves, then decide on a payment for his services.


    An All-Star squad like this obviously did not have a clear leader. However, it was still a wise decision to let Lu Li loot the items, since people trusted him the most.


    "Let''s not."


    "What? Are you joking?"


    "Do you guys not know how unlucky he is?"


    A few of the members who cleared Instance Dungeons with Lu Li instantly rejected the notion of him looting items. Among these few, even the quiet Water Fairy also objected. It looked like the reputation of the ''Leader with the Unlucky Hand'' had been well and truly been engraved in everyone''s minds. Lu Li was saddened; even his own teammates did not believe in him.


    In the end, it was Wendelian who went up and looted the body. Although her luck was not greater than Remnant Dream, she did not have a bad record.


    The Judge''s Gavel: Level 55 Dark Gold weapon. The properties were not bad either.


    However, not a single person here needed it. After all, being professional players, they all had Legendary grade items.


    The other loots were Gold grade items. Of course, no one wanted them either.


    There were also some rare materials, such as the Black Diamond. However, they weren''t worth much either, since they could be easily farmed at Blackrock Mountain. As such, the loot from this Boss was rolled for to decide who got what.


    After passing through the Quarry region, they would encounter many workers, guards and slaves. The slaves were all monsters, so players could choose whether or not to kill them. However, because the loot wasn''t worth much, they usually just ignored these monsters.


    After killing the guards, everyone quickly entered the Instance Dungeon.


    This Instance Dungeon had many routes for different quests and each route would lead to a different Boss. There was a shut metal door on the left side, so they decided to continue and quickly encountered two Dark Iron Dwarves, who had guard dogs with them. However, there was not much difficulty in killing them.


    Shortly after, they met the first Boss of the instance dungeon, Lord Roccor.


    Lord Roccor hated the betrayal and deception that had occurred within his own Fire Elemental companions. To avoid them in the Molten Core, this powerful being intentionally angered the Firelord. After this, the Firelord then banished Roccor from the Molten Core, so Lord Roccor was posted to guard the Blackrock Spires.


    He preferred the life of a ruler over a small region instead.


    It was unfortunate for Roccor that he could drop a Druid item, the Idol of Ferocity. Because of this item, he would be constantly harassed by players. On top of this, powerful Druid players would often venture to his dungeon alone to try and obtain the item.


    However, as of this moment, he did not need to worry about that, since there were no squads strong enough to fight the Instance Dungeons of the Blackrock Depths.


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    Today, he welcomed his first guests.


    "Friends who have come from far places, do you know the taste of terror?" Lord Roccor began to swing his stone arms around. This was extremely intimidating, even for these professional players.


    Realistically, Lord Roccor was a tough opponent.


    "Let''s try it out. We won''t lose experience points even if we die since it''s an instance dungeon anyway." As the commander, Lu Li did not try and show off straight away.


    There were tactics regarding faking an act. He couldn''t just immediately show off his capabilities straight away, since they would not have been surprised at his strength. However, he chose to let them feel that this Boss was an extremely hard one, so that once he overcame this challenge, he would seem even stronger to others.


    Lord Roccor was a Fire Elemental but was assembled with rocks. He had high attack power and defensive power. Furthermore, he also knew a few Fire-based magic.


    Skills like Earth Shock, Flame Shock and Ground Tremor all were AoE damaging and crowd control skills. The result of the first try at this Boss was a squad wipe because the healers were stunned, and the MT could not tank the damage without the healers. Therefore, the squad was completely annihilated.

 1081 What To Do?

    "Lu Li, why aren''t you commanding?" Innocent Child suddenly asked.


    This was the approach that Lu Li took when he was the leader of this squad. In the previous battles, he kept his silence and allowed the squad members to fulfil their roles according to their own judgment. The ones who were meant to engage monsters would engage and the healers would heal. "Oh, okay. I''ll start commanding now," Lu Li said as he glanced over and nodded his head.


    After hearing Lu Li say this, most of the players began to wonder how he would solve the problem of Lord Roccor constantly using his skills. Even the most elite commanders would have problems with Lord Roccor, since the range of his skills was too great. There was simply nowhere to hide.


    "March Rain, what level is your Levitate?'' Lu Li asked.


    "Level 1. This skill seems pretty useless. Should I raise it anyway?"


    Although she did not want to waste skill points on this skill, if Lu Li needed it, she would raise it without a second thought.


    After all, this was something that affected Lu Li''s reputation. Lu Li''s reputation was also Ruling Sword''s reputation.


    "Wendelian, how about you? Do you have Levitate?"


    Wendelian nodded his head and confirmed, "Yeah, I have it, but its also level 1. I don''t have any more skill points to raise the skill."


    "You don''t need to raise it. It''s enough. Later, when the Boss begins to use his skills, use Levitate on yourself and the Main Tank. March Rain, use your Levitate on yourself and the Shaman."


    Lu Li was satisfied because the Healers and MT would be safe.


    "Levitate will avoid the attacks?" Innocent Child was surprised.


    "Let''s try it out. Breezy, let''s go."


    Of course, Lu Li knew that it would work to avoid the attacks.


    When the time came for Druids to solo this Boss, they would use Levitating Potions. Unfortunately, the Alchemy recipe for these potions hadn''t yet been learnt by any Alchemists. Otherwise, the Priests would not be needed here.


    Lord Roccor had a very obvious animation sequence that led to the activation of the skill. There was enough time for both casters to use Levitate during this sequence.


    Lu Li was right. Although the Boss'' skills dispelled Levitate, the four players were not stunned. Since the Main Tank and healers were safe, the others were only stunned for a few seconds. After recovering from the stun, they continued to deal large amounts of damage. Besides the Stun, this Boss was not that difficult and they quickly finished the fight.


    Wendelian received a skill point, while others just received fame and experience.


    Innocent Child was a little reluctant to recognise Lu Li as possibly the greatest Commander. However, it had to be said that his decision making was extremely quick and he often made the correct judgement. Any other Commander in Lu Li''s position today would require multiple tries to discover the usage of Levitate.


    Innocent Child also wanted to see Lu Li fail because the Gangnam Royals and Ruling Sword had fought for so long.


    Wendelian moved forward to loot the Boss'' corpse. Besides the Idol of Ferocity that dropped, the only other notable item was a Dark Gold Fire-resistance robe.


    "Sigh¡­if only Remnant Dream was here," Azure Sea Breeze whispered to Lu Li. He wasn''t all too pleased about Wendelian''s luck. Furthermore, this was a level 55 Instance Dungeon, so a Legendary item could''ve dropped.


    "This was the First Boss. He didn''t have much HP and wasn''t difficult to handle. How would a Legendary grade item drop?" Lu Li replied.


    This squad consisted of mostly just one person from each guild, even Glory Capital. However, there were three people from Ruling Sword. If Remnant Dream joined, there would undeniably be an objection.


    After entering the Prison area, they encountered the High Interrogator Gerstahn, who was an extremely beautiful woman.


    It was said that before becoming a Twilight Disciple, she was an aristocrat.


    She pursued luxurious clothes, exotic foods and rare materials; even her tools were Gem-studded. In this area, there were shrieks and cries that rang out in the middle of the night. These were said to be made by her, as she sang and wrote music.


    "Wow! Nice to meet you, beautiful lady."


    Elevenless'' eyes shone as he nearly salivated in front of the Boss.


    "Retreat a little. Her aggro range is extremely large, especially when dallying around with her."


    Lu Li was anxious, since there were some female NPCs that they should not be conversing with.


    High Interrogator Gerstahn wore a purple dress and was extremely beautiful. It was unfortunate that she was a rose with hidden thorns.


    "Everyone, get ready. Breezy, be prepared to take aggro straight away. Let''s try this Boss out and see how far we can go."


    After all, he was clearing these dungeons with these professional players, so he could not reveal his hand straight away.


    The first try ended when Gerstahn let out a loud shriek. This shriek not only had a crowd control effect, but also opened a gate through which a tremendous number of small monsters rushed out and overwhelmed the members.


    On the second try, they managed to clear the monsters.


    When her health reached 55%, Gerstahn summoned a group of Shadowfiends. Their attack power was terrifying and they also had an Ultimate skill that silenced all the Magic-based classes. Obviously, this led to another wipe.


    "Leader, what do we do? We can''t fight anymore."


    Of course, Innocent Child would use this opportunity to try and make Lu Li look bad again.


    Lu Li was waiting for him to say something like that. He then replied with a chuckle, "I tried it just then. It looks like we can use crowd control skills on these Shadowfiends, then use an AoE skill to wipe them out. They don''t have much HP anyway."


    After this, the next wave was summoned near the Boss and the Shadowfiends rushed out to absorb everyone''s mana.


    Sorrowless'' Water Elemental could use Frost Nova from long range and freeze the Shadowfiends. After freezing them, he and Unforgettable Maple used Blizzard to wipe them out.


    Unforgettable Maple and Sorrowless did not wait for the Freeze to end and used another round of spells, eliminating the Shadowfiends.


    When they reached phase three of the fight, Gerstahn used her other Ultimate skills which were extremely troublesome to deal with. However, just when they were about to doubt in his abilities, Lu Li always thought of a solution. On one hand, they were genuinely enjoying this Instance Dungeon. On the other hand, they felt that Lu Li was insurmountably strong.

 1082 Prison

    High Interrogator Gerstahn finally dropped Legendary gear.


    Greaves of Withering Despair: Healing Armour.


    There was only one person who could use it, and that was Jade Flower Lover. Needless to say, he was ecstatic.


    "Thank you so much, beautiful lady!"


    Jade Flower Lover did not bother to hide his excitement. He did not care that this piece of equipment was only on par with other Legendary grade shoes, but was excited because he was the first one in the squad to receive the Legendary item.


    "Haha! Finally, there''s a Legendary item. Otherwise, I would''ve felt so unlucky today," Wendelian sighed in relief.


    High Interrogator Gerstahn was only a minor Boss in this Instance Dungeon, so when she dropped a Legendary item, Lu Li was extremely surprised. He realised that taking the First Clear probably greatly affected the drop rate.


    The remaining materials that dropped were all fairly common, so everyone just rolled for them.


    They also received a key for the prison from Gerstahn.


    After defeating Gerstahn, it was time to enter into the prison of Blackrock Depths. There were people from the Horde and Alliance, as well as many other races and aristocrats, such as Karan Mighthammer, an associate of Moira Bronzebeard, and Commander Gor''shak of the Kargath Expeditionary Force.


    As such, this quest affected both Horde and Alliance people.


    The reason behind calling the Horde to complete this quest was also surprising.


    They reasoned that this was an opportunity at an alliance. After all, helping the dwarves here would mean building a positive relationship with the Dwarven Kingdom and Eastern Kingdoms. Thrall, the Chief of the Horde, did not want the Princess to be hurt, so he devised a plan to return her back to Ironforge.


    Then, something completely unexpected happened.


    In the end, it was a tragedy. The Princess fell in love with her kidnapper and ended up pregnant with his baby. This was the brunt of the jokes that the Horde made while making fun of the Dwarves.


    Lu Li was not that interested in this quest, since it was a misunderstanding anyway. However, he met someone that he knew.


    As the others went to talk with Karan Mighthammer and Commander Gor''shak, he went exploring elsewhere.


    "Master, long time no see!"


    "Ah, it''s you."


    Many people in the prison recognised Lu Li quickly. The owner of the voice walked out of the shadows and let everyone see him clearly. He already had white hair and did not have clothes on him besides underpants.


    Marshal Windsor!


    Previously, when Lu Li was at the Burning Steppes, he met an old knight. This old knight was also part of the unveiling and defeat of Major Samuelson, who was a Faceless One. Later, he returned to remind his King of the problem within the castle. However, his words went unbelieved, since the King determined that there was no evidence.


    After parting with Lu Li, Windsor left Stormwind.


    Around the same time, the Blackrock Orcs at the Burning Steppes were getting closer and closer. There were also rumours that there was a black dragon, so Windsor could not sit still. He realised his own mission, and voluntarily asked to go to the Burning Steppes to help with the defence of the Blackrock Orcs and Dragon threats.


    Lady Katrana Prestor, who had a great influence over the ruling committee, greatly opposed his proposition.


    The Lady''s influence was strong enough to shake even Highlord Bolvar Fordragon. After a great conflict with her, Windsor went alone to the Alliance camp at the Burning Steppes to help with the war against the Blackrock Orcs.


    Truthfully, he could be considered to have been banished from Stormwind City.


    Stormwind City did not send any reinforcements to the Burning Steppes, so Marshal Windsor was defeated and captured by the Dark Iron Dwarves.


    Now, he could only sit there and ponder upon what had happened to him.


    When he was about to make sense of it all, he realised the warning that Lu Li had given him, which was the mysterious appearance of Lady Katrana Prestor immediately after the disappearance of the King.


    Unfortunately, he had no evidence.


    Now, he had met Lu Li once again. Lu Li was an extremely mysterious player to him.


    "That''s right, it''s me. I hope you still have some of that fighting spirit from before," Lu Li sighed, then realised the tremendous influence of history.


    It was lucky that he was an adventurer.


    Unforgettable Maple found Lu Li talking to an NPC, so he came over.


    "Lu Li, who''s this?"


    "A friend." Lu Li did not plan on revealing Marshal Windsor''s identity, since it would not be beneficial to know anyway.


    "Hmph¡­Fine then."


    Unforgettable Maple then tried to make conversation with Windsor, but realised that he was just getting ignored, so he left.


    "Bolvar Fordragon is scum. You were right. The King had a problem. However, the biggest problem was Lady Katrana Prestor," Windsor said in a sad tone as he walked to the corner once again. It seemed like he did not want people to see him naked.


    Unforgettable Maple was listening in on their conversation, and kept hearing mentions of a Lady, Highlord and even the King. He was extremely desperate to understand this situation.


    He reasoned that this NPC must have had a massive questline about the World. It was unfortunate that he could not get close to the NPC, and it was obvious that Lu Li and this NPC knew each other already.


    Every Alliance player knew of Highlord Bolvar Fordragon. He was the Regent of Stormwind City, a Highlord, Leader of a Camp and a Commander of the 7th Legion.


    How strong would a person need to be to say that Bolvar Fordragon was scum?


    "What do you have planned?" Lu Li asked as he looked at the lock of the cell and realised that he could unlock it.


    "I have been collecting information about ''it'' to utterly destroy it. It''s unfortunate that Bolvar is a brainless idiot. There is already so much evidence, and yet he can''t see it. If only I could find Ironfel and escape this place, I could return to Stormwind and split that garbage in half."


    "I''ll try my best to find the evidence for you," Lu Li offered. After all, he had not received any quest like that, so maybe he had to initiate more.


    "I can also help! I can!" Unforgettable Maple was shameless indeed.


    "I have misunderstood you." Windsor still ignored Unforgettable Maple and continued to converse with Lu Li.


    "Await my good news."


    Lu Li finally received a System message that said that he had received a quest from the main questline, Marshal Windsor''s Lost Information.

 1083 An Orderly Arena

    "We have the key in our hands; do you want to get out?" Lu Li asked while holding the item.


    "Forget it," Windsor said as he shook his head, "I thought that I would be safe here, but I didn''t think that they would even take my clothes."


    As a highly respected military commander of the Alliance and leader of the Brotherhood of the Horse, the Iron Dwarves didn''t dare to do much to him, no matter how arrogant they were. However, for Marshal Windsor to be left only with his underwear was quite surprising.


    "Hey, I have some clothes here, but I don''t know if you will be able to put them on."


    Lu Li took out some rubbish items he had acquired during the dungeon and passed them through the iron bars.


    Windsor took them and immediately put them on. He was finally clothed and had a better expression on his face. Lu Li then heard the System prompting him to complete the quest of Windsor''s face.


    The EXP and Reputation that he acquired was quite substantial.


    Since Windsor wasn''t willing to leave for the time being, Lu Li had no choice but to leave him in jail. At the very least, the assassin that the Black Dragon Princess sent couldn''t hurt him here.


    Meanwhile, Sorrowless'' side had triggered a new sub-plot while they were completing a quest for Moira Bronzebeard.


    The quest-giving NPC Commander Gor''shak seemed to be in trouble ¨C a group of Iron Dwarves apparently wanted to kill him. Lu Li had to rush in and join the fight. He crowd-controlled the monsters as he dashed forward and shouted, "Don''t let the monsters fight Gor''shak! Crowd control as many of them as you can."


    Gor''shak may have been a good commander, but he was a very squishy character when in actual combat.


    The monsters could easily kill him and if they did, the quest chain would be completely broken. If they wanted to continue, they could only wait until the Instance Dungeon refreshed. As a team commander, Lu Li felt like he needed to remind everyone of that.


    Lu Li already had some authority over this team, so everyone was obedient.


    Even if some of them had doubts, those doubts were immediately dispelled when one of the monsters got through their blockade and hit Gor''shak. With a single attack, the commander had lost a chunk of HP.


    If they protected Commander Gor''shak here, they would be able to progress through the rest of the quest without any problems.


    After finishing the quest, Lu Li brought everyone out of the prison and returned to the main hall. They took a different way and soon found many monsters just outside in the arena.


    "Everyone, come in quickly. Don''t stay outside!" Lu Li shouted.


    They were standing in a large round arena with a circle of noble Iron Dwarves sitting at the top. If anyone went in, High Justice Grimstone, who was in charge of the arena, would close it and release a wave of monsters to destroy the challenger.


    According to ancient legends, those who had been convicted could earn the forgiveness of their Dwarf ancestors as long as they could defeat the various ferocious creatures from around Azeroth presented in the arena. But so far, many had just paid the price with their blood. The rocky grounds of the arena had been dyed black and purple, but no one had ever succeeded.


    "You have been convicted of a crime against the Kingdom of Iron!" Grimstone screamed. "The subjects of Xorith will now watch you die in this arena!"


    "Dammit, that sounds difficult," Azure Sea Breeze said as he tightened his grip on his shield and looked at the NPC monster standing high above. He couldn''t help but gulp. These star players had plenty of experience, but they couldn''t help but feel uncomfortable with so many people watching.


    Who knew if these monsters would jump in and swarm them like bees? They were just a team of fifteen players.


    "Pay attention to the monsters. Watch our three o''clock."


    Just as Lu Li spoke, a large group of Dark Screechers emerged from the door at three o''clock.


    Dark Screechers looked like giant bats and moved at an incredible speed, while also being able to detect Stealth. Azure Sea Breeze was quickly being overwhelmed by them and the others couldn''t help but go numb at this creepy scene.


    Fortunately, the Dark Screechers were still monsters. So as long as there was a main tank to pull them, the others would have time to fight.


    After clearing out the monsters, High Justice Grimstone appeared again without giving them a moment to rest.


    "Did you think that that would be all? Don''t be na?ve. Ok''thor the Breaker will teach you true despair."


    Ok''thor the Breaker was a Boss, and was a double-headed ogre.


    The moment it appeared, it started channeling what they anticipated to be a powerful skill.


    In Dawn, the longer a skill channel, the stronger it generally was. This was the principle at work in this Boss. It was probably channeling a skill for an area of effect attack.


    "Breezy, pull it into a corner. Everyone else, just keep dealing damage to the Boss."


    Lu Li''s command came a bit late as the double-headed ogre had now completed its channeling. All the players were enveloped in an arcane storm and seven of them died at once.


    Lu Li really wanted to cry out loud.


    Losing half of their players like that was basically a death sentence, so the second time around, Azure Sea Breeze was smarter. When Ok''thor the Breaker appeared, he immediately cast Taunt and the others hid behind the Boss'' back.


    This time, they managed to persevere through the skill and finally cleared the second Boss.


    Perhaps it was because they were in an arena, but Ok''thor the Breaker dropped a Savage Gladiator Leggings for a Chain Mail profession. These could usually be traded in to the quartermaster for Glory Points, which was naturally what most players wanted to save.


    If the item was for Chain Mail Armored players, that meant that Hunters should have priority before Shamans. As such, Hot Twitch ultimately received the item.


    For an average player, this piece of equipment was a little weak. However, Hot Twitch was a PVP player and was quite satisfied with this item.


    There was also a Dark Gold ring for Mages. The fact that it was a Dark Gold item already made it quite valuable, which meant that both Sorrowless and Unforgettable Maple wanted it. The two players rolled for it and Sorrowless barely managed to win.


    The rest of the items were just rubbish and weren''t worth being mentioned.


    After a short rest, Spider Demon Anub''shiah and Hedrum the Creeper were summoned to the fight.


    These were two spider monsters that looked somewhat similar. They both had eight shiny black eyes and the only difference between them was their color. Lu Li and the others were facing both of these Bosses at the same time.


    "Breezy, Sea Breaker, you guys pull one each. Separate the Bosses," Lu Li said.


    "I don''t know if I can do it," Sea Breaker was a bit embarrassed. From all the times he had fought in an Instance Dungeon, he had very little experience in independently tanking a monster. Even though he had a set of exquisite defensive equipment, he wasn''t as good as those who were professional monster tanks.

 1084 Star Player

    "You have to do it even if you think you can''t. Quickly dammit!" Lu Li was speechless.


    They soon got wiped again.


    After they revived, everyone called Sea Breaker a fraud and blamed him for being too slow. The two spiders sprayed venom over everyone at the same time and they were all poisoned to death.


    If he had followed Lu Li''s instruction to pull the two Bosses apart, it wouldn''t matter if one of the spiders sprayed their venom as the damage would be very low. What really killed the players was the continuous damage that came afterwards. If they could escape from the venom, then the Healers could keep them alive.


    Sea Breaker now knew what to do, and earnestly pulled the Boss away in the second attempt.


    In fact, his technique while doing so was not bad. After all, he was a top-level player and had seen other Main Tanks do this before. He actually performed better than an average Main Tank.


    His main weakness was his lack of HP and technique ¨C he wasn''t a professional Main Tank.


    Lu Li arranged for two healers to back him up as Azure Sea Breeze could handle it with only one healer.


    When they reached phase two, Lu Li knew something difficult was coming, but he didn''t want to tell anyone about it because they had never seen the tricks of this Boss before.


    The previous venom spray net was a skill that spider monsters often used. The two spiders were well-coordinated and the others hadn''t thought much of it. What was unexpected was when the spiders shrunk their legs and flattened their bodies into a disc on the ground before rotating. This was a unique skill of these Blackrock Abyss spiders.


    By rotating, they sprayed a large area with their venom and covered all the players that were present.


    Because Lu Li hadn''t anything, everyone was caught off guard by this skill and they were subsequently wiped. This was a common experience when completing an Instance Dungeon. Even if not all the players were dead, they might as well be if no damage dealers had survived.


    "Fortunately, this isn''t being broadcasted live because that was quite shameful," Unforgettable Maple sighed.


    "Hey!" Sorrowless made a face when he realized this comment was directed at him, referring to the time when he and Lu Li went head to head to see who could clear an Instance Dungeon first.


    In fact, until now, he didn''t think that Lu Li was much better than he was in terms of commanding. Lu Li''s team had the strongest Main Tank and the strongest Healer. The other damage output players were also among the best in their professions


    If he could command a team of equal strength, he felt like he wouldn''t lose.


    However, considering how this Blackrock Abyss run turned out, Lu Li had done a pretty good job. If he had commanded this party, they might not have gotten this far.


    "Let''s stand in rows. Those who have higher Poison Resistance should stand at the front," Lu Li said without thinking. In his previous life, he didn''t have a team, so he didn''t have a chance to play in Blackrock Abyss, but these strategies were basically imprinted in his mind.


    If a little more time had passed, then more players would have the extra Poison Resistance items that they needed to deal with these two Bosses.


    Unfortunately, not everyone understood what Lu Li meant and couldn''t get into formation quickly enough. As a result, a number of players died and this resulted in the second time their team got wiped.


    "Let''s rest for 10 minutes. Everyone go outside and have a cup of tea," Lu Li said, not worried at all.


    Other players could only stop and rest for a short while, but there weren''t many who would go outside to have a drink. Everyone was just sitting outside the arena and chatting about the most recent match.


    "The highest score in the standings is held by Ruling Sword," Unforgettable Maple laughed. "Hey Sorrowless, is Glory Capital stressed about this?"


    Unforgettable Maple acted like this towards Sorrowless because they had a history. In Sorrowless'' time, Unforgettable Maple was his biggest rival and Sorrowless had defeated him to take the top position.


    "What is the difference in being first and eight?" Sorrowless responded faintly. "I hope you can make it into the top 8; it would be very sad if you were eliminated so quickly."


    Unforgettable Maple shut up instantly, as Majin Temple was struggling to enter into the quarterfinals this season.


    "You guys were too harsh on Blue Universe," Elevenless said as he touched Lu Li''s shoulder and blinked at Water Fairy. "Have you guys had a falling out? Hehe, then this is my opportunity."


    "Has the Wings of Dawn been faring very well recently?" Water Fairy retorted, making no attempt to hide her threat.


    "Dammit, no need to be like that," Elevenless mumbled, then continued to mutter about never joking with Water Fairy ever again. Although Water Fairy never showed it to Lu Li, she was actually a militant leader. Drizzle Court would often engage in conflict with other guilds for no reason.


    "There isn''t actually anything between the two of you, is there?" Wendelian asked curiously.


    Although it wasn''t explicitly said, Water Fairy knew that if she chose to be with Lu Li, everyone would think that she would be dating something beneath her.


    The main issue was that Water Fairy was so beautiful and polite while Lu Li was just so ordinary and blunt. As for his character, it wasn''t something that would be very popular with girls either. So as a good friend of Water Fairy, Wendelian would definitely think that way.


    Lu Li coughed and found himself somewhat nervous.


    In fact, following his own style and his status as a poor person, he would deny any relationship with her before Water Fairy did. Otherwise, it would be shameful. Lu Li didn''t want to deny it, but he wasn''t qualified to confirm it either, so he just clapped his hands and said, "Since no one is going offline to take a break, let''s continue fighting then."


    Water Fairy glanced at him and sighed quietly.


    She didn''t know if she wanted to deny it either. She actually wanted to confirm it, but the results of either case seemed the same.


    Before fighting the monsters, Lu Li took the trouble to arrange the positions where they should stand so they knew what to do when they reached the second phase.


    As a result, they managed to pass the second phase quite easily.


    "Haha, tremble before the horror of the spiders'' strength! Scream in pain as you meet your terrible end!" the two spiders screamed as they entered the third phase.


    "I don''t know what the spiders will do in the third phase, so everyone get ready to cast your damage reduction skills. Breezy, pull the spiders a little further away."


    Lu Li didn''t want to get wiped again. There were six Bosses in this arena that weren''t too powerful, but if you didn''t know how to deal with them, you could easily get wiped.


    "Would you like me to cast my shield?" Sorrowless took the initiative to ask.


    Although he wasn''t convinced of Lu Li, he still felt a sense of responsibility towards the team and wouldn''t remain passive just because of his individual sentiment.


    "Yes, on my signal. Make sure you cast it the moment I say to," Lu Li nodded.

 1085 Sorrowless’ Contribution

    "Now!" Lu Li shouted the moment he saw something appear at the foot of the spider.


    Sorrowless also noticed the two abnormalities with these two Bosses and a semi-circular shield quickly formed with him in the center. The others didn''t need an instruction for them to all run behind it


    A paralyzing venom rapidly spread throughout the arena.


    This kind of venom was not the same as the regular venom which traveled in a direction and could be blocked by players with higher Poison Resistance. As long as the players with higher Poison Resistance stood at the front, the effect on the others could be reduced or avoided.


    This venom floated through the air, silent and unpredictable.


    Its effect was damage and paralysis, and it was known as the team killer. A normal team would have to attempt this phase several times in order to determine how the venom worked so that they could take measures like casting damage reduction skills or area of effect healing.


    However, with Sorrowless'' shield that significantly reduced damage, the situation was dramatically changed.


    The biggest contribution to the defeat of these Bosses suddenly came from Sorrowless. He had allowed them to easily pass through phase three as the spiders were quickly defeated by everyone''s attacks. It could be expected that Glory Capital would easily profit from this Instance Dungeon in the future.


    In fact, this was what everyone was already thinking.


    Even without Sorrowless'' shield, Lu Li had a way to get them through this phase, but he didn''t want to reveal it so easily.


    The equipment dropped by these two Bosses was quite ordinary. There were no Epic items but a few Dark Gold items. They also dropped a valuable Warlock Skill Book, which was rolled for and taken by Phantom Glaze.


    "Your performance in the arena has been outstanding; it has been a very entertaining time!"


    High Justice Grimstone had reappeared and he had a grating laugh, but unfortunately there was no way to attack him.


    He was known for his fairness in the era of the King of the Mountains, Modimus Anvilmar.


    The death of Anvilmar resulted in the opposition of the three tribes. High Justice Grimstone followed the Iron Dwarf King, and dreamed of taking the Iron Dwarves to the top with his vision of justice.


    However, after the battle of the three Hammers, the Iron Dwarf King was enslaved by the Fire Elementals. Today, Grimstone no longer had the same ambition, and has been left with nothing to do but to watch the prisoners in the arena die in various ways.


    The next Boss that was summoned was the Eviscerator.


    The origins of the Eviscerator was a secret; no one knew how he had gotten here. There was a legend that the Eviscerator was once a human and had become a Worgen. He would use his powerful claws to gouge out the eyes of his opponents.


    When Lu Li saw this monster, he had a bit of a headache.


    Although you couldn''t actually gouge out someone''s eyes in this game, there was a similar effect designed to emulate it. After being successfully attacked by the Eviscerator''s Eviscerate, the player would be blinded for 30 seconds.


    This was when the player was most likely to die.


    However, as usual, Lu Li planned not to let anyone know in advance so that they could all experience it first.


    In phase one, the Eviscerator acted like an ordinary Worgen Boss. He had high attack strength, but he was easily tanked by Azure Sea Breeze. In phase two, the Worgen would transform into a sorcerer and summon a pool of Bilewater at the players'' feet. The players had to quickly leave the Bilewater, otherwise, they would rapidly lose HP and die.


    The players who had come into contact with the Bilewater would also be affected with a contagious infection. If they stood next to another player, they would both lose HP for a while.


    However, phase two wasn''t actually that difficult. Everyone here was a professional player and they were all able to react quickly. They immediately avoided the Bilewater as soon as they saw it.


    The real difficulty was in phase three.


    "Dammit, I can''t see! I can''t see!"


    Green Flag Wine was going steadily, but when lost his vision, he became flustered and began to frantically yell. What made matters worse was that the Bilewater appeared beneath Green Flag Wine''s feet at the moment he lost his vision.


    "Run forward!" Lu Li yelled.


    Unfortunately, Green Flag Wine was panicking and didn''t respond in time. He was quickly killed by the Bilewater and now it was Elevenless'' turn¡­


    "What should we do?"


    The group of star players felt helpless after they got wiped and looked to Lu Li. They all treated him like a light that would guide their way. Not all of them could escape the Bilewater just by listening to a direction that was given when they lost their vision, particularly for the girls, who had lower mental fortitude.


    "It''s actually quite simple," Lu Li sneered with a condescending look. "Everyone, pair up, and if one of them is blinded then the other will pull them away."


    "Is that it?" Sea Breaker was about to cry. He was a star player who was already underconfident, but now he had begun to doubt everything he knew.


    "Let''s give it a try," Lu Li said firmly.


    After trying it, the Eviscerator was easily killed. The blindness in the third phase could indeed be overcome by ensuring that there was always someone to guide the blinded player. Once the Bilewater was avoided, the crisis was basically over.


    "Don''t loot the body yet. Let''s regenerate our HP and mana first," Lu Li said as he sat down cross-legged and began to apply some poison onto his dagger.


    The rhythm of this arena was also one of the main reasons a group could get wiped. Once a Boss fell, the next Boss would be summoned almost immediately. This posed a serious challenge to Magic Professions, who needed Mana to be useful, let alone the physical and mental exhaustion that faced the others.


    This next Boss, who claimed to be Gorosh the Dervish, relied on his individual strength to reach the Blackrock Abyss arena and proposed to stay there so that he could live his fanatic pious life. High Justice Grimtstone realized that the large grey-skinned person before him was just a commoner, so he agreed.


    This Boss was a standard Berserker, with Whirlwind as his signature skill, along with a Bloodlust-like ability.


    His Mortal Strike was also very troublesome to deal with. After being hit by Mortal Strike, the player not only received double damage, but would also only receive 50% healing. This meant that a healing skill that originally restored 300HP would now only give 150HP.


    Lu Li and the others spent nearly half an hour and were wiped once before finally killing the Boss.


    The next Boss was called Lefty.


    He was more difficult to deal with than Gorosh the Dervish because he was a Dwarven Thief.


    Although he had a cute pink beard, he wasn''t to be underestimated. The pink beard was just a trick he used to deceive his opponents. When encountering an enemy, his left-handed attacks were often more powerful than his right-handed attacks, and you also had to be careful of his various tricks.


    The only good news was that this guy had a slightly lower amount of HP.

 1086 Flarethorn

    The Boss after Lefty was called Grizzle, who was a huge fighting Troll. His originally green body was now blood red because of the countless battles he had participated in.


    Perhaps he had spent too long in the Abyss, but there were some strange spots that gradually appeared on Grizzle''s body. He covered these up with tattoos, but they didn''t affect his performance in the arena.


    This Boss was probably going to wipe their team a few times, but as long as they worked out why they were getting wiped, they would be able to overcome this challenge. No matter how difficult the fight became, Lu Li had made it clear that there was always a solution to overcome it, and he had won the admiration of many star players by doing so.


    However, what was even more unexpected was the item that this Boss would drop.


    Flarethorn!


    Although it was only a Dark Gold item, it had good Attributes and a flashy appearance once it was equipped.


    Lu Li also had a valuable item called the Flame of Ragnaros in storage.


    The Flame of Ragnaros could Enchant a weapon and give it a fiery look. Even though it didn''t provide any bonuses to the Attributes, but players were willing to pay a large amount of gold coins for it.


    The Flarethorn''s flaming effect was not as impressive as the Flame of Ragnaros, as it was just a dagger. The Flame of Ragnaros was capable of enchanting any weapon and its effect was much more pronounced.


    Before the Flame of Ragnaros was readily available, Flarethorn was one of the most sought-after items in the market.


    It was just too difficult to acquire the Flame of Ragnaros. Even if you had thousands of teams farming it once a week, you wouldn''t necessarily find one after three months. Lu Li had just been incredibly lucky when he acquire this item. Perhaps that was why he was so unlucky normally.


    "Hey, this is a Magic Dagger," Unforgettable Maple noticed.


    Even with the Warlocks, there was only four Magic damage players here, so Unforgettable Maple thought that there was a reasonable chance that he would get it.


    He wasn''t young anymore and he wanted to find a partner. This item was so trendy that it was bound to help him find someone.


    "You can''t say that you need this item. Since no one can use it, we should all be allowed to roll for it," Elevenless immediately said with disdain. A dagger could be equipped by any profession, so why did the Attributes of the dagger matter?


    In reality, these star players were interested in trendy equipment too, as long as it would help them pull a crowd of spectators.


    After Elevenless said this, everyone else thought it made sense. The Attributes weren''t good enough so no one really needed this item. They all also wanted to mess with Unforgettable Maple, so everyone agreed to roll for it.


    "Let''s all just roll then."


    Lu Li didn''t care. His luck was so bad that he didn''t have any expectations when he rolled.


    Rolling for something was one of the most popular methods of apportionment in Dawn. Most players would roll for equipment, but it could also be used for other situations, like if two Thieves found a single Treasure Chest.


    There were also some gamblers that liked using the roll mechanic to gamble. Although gambling was not technically allowed, it was hard to verify when they used the roll mechanic. Sometimes, there would be millions of dollars at stake and in the future, the game company would take stricter measures to combat this.


    As of now, everyone was rolling for Flarethorn.


    Lu Li had rolled 46 points and was made ineligible as the roll was out of 100 points.


    As the rolls were revealed one by one, March Rain was eventually crowned the winner with the highest score of 99 points. This was one point less than the highest possible score.


    Unforgettable Maple was sad, but his grief didn''t last for very long. It seemed that he had discovered something funny and couldn''t stop laughing.


    "Maple, what are you laughing at? Have you gone crazy?" Elevenless was speechless.


    "I''m laughing at someone who would have received the item if not everyone was rolling for it, hahahaha."


    Unforgettable Maple was naturally talking about Sorrowless, who was the only Magic player that supported the decision of everyone rolling for the item.


    Sorrowless had rolled the highest number among the four Magic players.


    Originally, he wanted to make Unforgettable Maple feel bad, but he didn''t expect that it would backfire like this. He had an ugly expression on his face.


    At the end of the arena fights, a door opened which led into a room underneath the arena. Houndmaster Grebmar was guarding the location with a pack of hounds.


    This level 56 Boss was the first Iron Dwarf to successfully use Tame Beast, which later became a useful skill for them. He was also carrying a pair of axes named Bloodtooth and was surrounded by a pack of


    Bloodhounds which could be counted as his weapons.


    "Would you like to take turns commanding the next few Bosses?" Wendelian asked. He seemed like he wanted something to do.


    "Sure, you can go first."


    Lu Li didn''t mind. In fact, it was common for ordinary players to step up from time to time. All sorts of things could happen to a team each year, and sometimes the new player would do a better job.


    It was unwise to think that once you were chosen as commander, that position was secured.


    Everyone was a proud player, so no one would vote for you just because you thought you were the


    protagonist. You had to actually be quite strong to hold authority over the other players.


    "There are too many Bloodhounds; I think we should clear them out first."


    Wendelian was allowed to be the interim commander and began analyzing the situation at hand. Everyone listened to what she had to say and nodded. However, it was a waste of words as everyone could see such an obvious thing.


    Lu Li shook his head secretly. Did this guy really think it was going to be that easy?


    According to Wendelian''s instructions, Azure Sea Breeze rushed over to the group of six Bloodhounds. All of these were level 55 Elite monsters, so it was no problem for him to tank.


    After he had pulled the monsters, the rest of them started dealing damage.


    "Roar!"


    The six monsters obviously couldn''t withstand the attacks of such a large group of players.


    Unexpectedly, the rest of the monsters turned and rushed over to attack when they heard the roar of


    their companions.


    In just a few seconds, the team was completely annihilated. Only Lu Li and Water Fairy survived as they were Thieves and could use their mobility skills to escape the aggro range of the bloodhounds.


    "Wendelian, are you sure you can do it?" Water Fairy looked her companion who had been bitten to


    death by the bloodhounds.


    There was nothing wrong with dying in the game, but getting killed by a dog must have bruised her pride.

 1087 Escaping Boss

    Wendelian was scratching her head. She just couldn''t think of a solution to the dilemma in front of her.


    It was impossible for everyone to prevent these Bloodhounds from calling out to their companions. However, once they did, more than a dozen waves of Bloodhounds would arrive to wipe the players.


    Wendelian tried several other methods, but the result remained the same.


    Under her command, they had been wiped more times to these mobs than they had throughout the entire dungeon run. If she wasn''t a girl, they would have already been insulting her endlessly.


    Wendelian had no choice but to ask Lu Li.


    "Lu Li, what do you think we should do?"


    "I think we need to approach this from another angle," Lu Li said. He wasn''t going to make Wendelian step down, and pointed to the pack of bloodhounds, continuing, "The attack of these Bloodhounds is based on two conditions ¨C the first is when they hear the roar, but what is the second?"


    Wendelian was actually considered quite a skilled commander in the gaming circles.


    After thinking about it for a while, she blinked before asking, "Is it seeing its companion get attacked?"


    The others then recalled the situation they had been in and realized that when the Bloodhounds roared, the others would look around before finally rushing over to attack.


    "Breezly, pull the monsters behind the wall. We''ll fight the, there," Wendelian quickly suggested.


    Sure enough, when the monsters roared, the other Bloodhounds looked around but couldn''t find anything. All they could do was respond with roars of their own.


    Once the monsters had mostly been cleared, Wendelian began the attack on Houndmaster Grebmar.


    At this time, there were two dogs beside Grebmar. These were bigger than the ordinary Bloodhounds and they seemed to be always closely following their master. They weren''t able to pull these dogs away to defeat them.


    These two hounds were more important to Grebmar then the regular Bloodhounds ¨C they were basically Grebmar''s family. A long time ago, this Dwarf orphan began breeding puppies and used them as companions and watch-dogs.


    When nothing was happening and Grebmar didn''t need to bring his loyal followers to patrol Blackrock Abyss, he would usually feed them the best beer in the Iron Tavern.


    These two hounds were the reason why Houndmaster Grebmar was a difficult Boss.


    Under Wendelian''s command, the team got wiped three consecutive times during the second stage due to the Bloodlust Tooth skill. Bloodlust Tooth involved the two hounds biting a player, which would cause the player to go berserk and cast their ultimate skills at random targets.


    "This is even simpler. If you can''t fight the Boss, then you should kill the hounds first," Lu Li said. He couldn''t bear to just stand by any longer.


    "We tried that in the beginning. After the two hounds die, he will just recruit two more," Wendelian protested. She felt wronged because she had already thought of such an obvious thing.


    "But did you notice that the second set of hounds had less HP? We can just kill those again. We have plenty of time."


    AlthoughHoundmaster Grebmar would summon three waves of hounds in this way, each wave was weaker than the last. Once all three waves had been defeated, no more would be summoned.


    The difficulty of the third phase came from a very annoying skill that Houndmaster Grebmar had.


    ''Run! Run!'' was a skill Houndmaster Grebmar would cast when he reached 15% HP. As its name implied, the Boss would try to run away, but 15% was still quite a considerable amount.


    As he started running, the other players were left behind trying to catch up.


    The more troublesome matter was in the process of catching up, as the Boss would run past other monsters. It didn''t matter too much if it was just one or two waves, but if they ran into too many at once, their team could be wiped.


    "Hey, should we try to clear out the monsters first?" Wendelian asked as he looked back at Lu Li after they had been wiped again. She was now quite frustrated.


    "Why are you looking at me? There''s nothing wrong with clearing out the monsters first."


    The level 55 monsters were around everyone''s levels anyway, so it was a good opportunity for them to farm. If Lu Li was commanding, he would have instructed everyone to clear out the monsters at the beginning.


    In fact, this was actually one of the strategies, but there was no need for him to say so.


    After the monsters had been cleared, they chased and eventually killed Houndmaster Grebmar. Even though they had finally overcome this challenge, Wendelian was physically and mentally exhausted and resigned as the interim commander.


    "There''s an Epic item. I guess that''s not surprise since I commanded this one."


    Wendelian''s mood was immediately lifted as she looted the body to find an Epic item ¨C the Houndmaster''s Rifle.


    This gun was not particularly strong, but it was still a level 55 Epic item which generally made it better than most Dark Gold equipment. Hot Twitch decided to ask for it, as his level 50 Epic weapon was a little weaker.


    There were also a few pieces of equipment and rare materials. Lu Li didn''t manage to successful roll for anything, while Azure Sea Breeze managed to roll for all the rare materials.


    This was the benefit of having more players. March Rain previously managed to roll for Flarethorn and Azure Sea Breeze had now managed to roll for the rare materials.


    After leaving the area where the Houndmaster was, everyone began to search for the Monument of Franclorn Forgewright so they could complete their quest.


    Franclorn Forgewright was one of the greatest Iron Dwarf builders in history ¨C he was second to no one!


    He was the one who had supervised the construction of Blackrock Abyss, the city with great furnaces. Hundreds of years of hurricanes and war did not shake the walls of this city. Additionally, there was also a huge rock dam that all three Dwarf races would be immensely proud of. It was a grand building that shocked all other races in Azeroth.


    At this time, the Monument of Franclorn Forgewright was next to a kneeling Tauren.


    "Pyromancer Loregrain!" Lu Li cried out as he prevented his teammates from going any further. "The Twilight Hammer is one of our enemies."


    They had no reason to think that this Tauren would be friendly!


    Loregrain was once a respected member of the Ring of Earth, but he later joined the Twilight Hammer for unknown reasons. He eventually came to Blackrock Abyss and became interested in the famous Iron Architect, Franclorn Forgewright. No one knew exactly what he wanted, but Loregrain was very loyal to the faith, and would treat anyone who opposed the Twilight Hammer as an enemy.


    This naturally included the adventurers that had arrived in Azeroth.

 1088 Damn You For Not Warning Me

    "You can see that it''s wearing a Twilight badge," Lu Li said as he pointed at the purple badge on Loregrain''s chest before adding, "If they are wearing the badge, then they definitely are from the Twilight Council. It''s true that there are some who don''t wear the badge, but we won''t go wrong if we attack first."


    "Damn this guy. Why is he kneeling there so piously?" Azure Sea Breeze groaned before charging in.


    "Everyone else, wait," Lu Li said as he extended his arm to stop everyone else. They all trusted Lu Li, so no one objected. Everyone just gathered around to watch Azure Sea Breeze die.


    "Hey, Lu Li, are you just trying to get me killed?"


    Azure Sea Breeze was revived and found that his equipment was in the red again. (When the durability of an item became low, the players would refer to it as being "in the red"). After all that had happened, Azure Sea Breeze decided not to bottle up his feelings anymore.


    "Oh, do you feel like you died too quickly?" Lu Li asked.


    "Well if no one is healing me, of course I''ll die faster." Azure Sea Breeze was about to cry.


    "Well, quickly go and change into your Fire Resistant equipment. I''ll get my robot to fix your equipment. Everyone else can get their equipment repaired too."


    Lu Li already knew that Azure Sea Breeze wouldn''t be able to tank the attacks, and didn''t want everyone else to die too.


    The strength of Pyromancer Loregrain was that he was a master of fire.


    This strength manifested in the way of incredible fire damage. Under normal circumstances, almost no Main Tank could withstand his fire attacks unless they specifically wore Fire Resistance equipment.


    Stratholme, Maraudon and a few other Instance Dungeons that Ruling Sword had completed were places where they had a chance to acquire a number of excellent Fire Resistance items.


    From this alone, you could already see the benefits of having a guild and a team. If Lu Li was alone, it would have been impossible for him to have acquired such a variety of equipment.


    Once Azure Sea Breeze put on his equipment, he was finally able to stand up against the fierce firepower of the Boss. The next step was to discover the few skills that the Boss would use. The party was wiped a few times but eventually worked out the correct strategy and successfully killed the Boss.


    Compared with the other Bosses in the arena, Pyromancer Loregrain was considered a major Boss.


    Unfortunately, Wendelian failed to find any Epic equipment. There was the Burning Stave, Flamestrider''s Robes and Searingscale Leggings, which were all Dark Gold items. Their Attributes weren''t bad, and everyone who needed them rolled for them. As for the other two pieces of Gold equipment, they were given to Azure Sea Breeze as compensation.


    Over this entire dungeon run, he had died multiple times and would likely spend a few dozen gold coins just to repair his equipment. The defensive potions that he often drank weren''t cheap either.


    Lu Li read over the Enchanting Recipe, which was probably the most valuable item that was dropped by the Boss.


    Not only did Lu Li make his two teammates roll for this item, but even Water Fairy participated to ensure he would get it. Regardless, there was no one here that studied Enchanting anyway since it was thought to be a waste of time.


    Formula: Weapon Enchantment ¨C Heated Weapon


    Recipe: Enchantment


    Requirement: Advanced Enchanting (245)


    Use: Teaches you a permanent Enchantment for melee weapons, which can increase flame damage by 40%.


    Fire was a very powerful means of dealing damage, which was why Fire Mages had stronger attacks than Ice Mages. Many players would use this Enchantment on their weapons, regardless of whether it was against other players or just monsters. The 40% increase in damage triggered quite frequently.


    Additionally, this Enchant also had a hidden effect ¨C a chance of dealing burn damage to the target.


    "We''ll rest for half an hour and then fight another two Bosses before disbanding for the day."


    Lu Li saw that morale was not very high, so he gave everyone a break. Even if they decided to stop here, it wouldn''t matter too much as they weren''t in a hurry to finish this Instance Dungeon.


    It was impossible for any party to complete Blackrock Abyss in the same day, especially if they were getting wiped this often.


    Lu Li intended to go back and deal with the two Bosses by the Steel Gate. These two Bosses were more forgiving, which was more appropriate given everyone''s physical and mental fatigue.


    If they went back towards the entrance and turned left, they would soon reach a wide black road. This was the Steel Avenue.


    On the right side of the Steel Avenue was the path that led into Shadowforge City. To the left was the Gate that was guarded by one of Ironforge''s three lava giants ¨C Bael''Gar.


    The three Ironforge lava giants were Bael''Gar, Volchan and Magmus. Bael''Gar was not the strongest of these, but any creature guarding the Steel Gate was not to be trifled with. Bael''Gar''s strongest skill was Fission. Few people got to witness his power because those who did usually didn''t survive.


    This terrible lava giant was blocking the Steel Gate, which was a grand work created by the Ironforge Engineers. Ragnaros had sent the giant from the central part of Molten Core and ordered him to guard the door for all eternity. The legends said that only the King of Fire and the top members of the Ironforge knew what was hidden beyond the gate.


    Regardless of whether Lu Li wanted to explore or not, they had a quest that asked them to use the special black dragon skill to collect flame essence from Bael''Gar''s body.


    "Can I go in?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he looked at Lu Li in fear.


    He had decided not to charge in on his own initiative anymore. Lu Li wasn''t evil and would only let him die when he charged in on his own. Although the Main Tank was usually given compensation after the Instance Dungeon run, everyone would want to avoid dying if they could.


    "Put on your Fire Resistance equipment and go right ahead," Lu Li said.


    "Will I die?" Azure Sea Breeze didn''t feel assured.


    "Who knows? You''re a Main Tank, so dying should be normal for you."


    Lu Li was unsympathetic. He thought that Azure Sea Breeze had died so many times that he should be used to it by now.


    Azure Sea Breeze gave his commander the middle finger and slammed his weapon into Bael''Gar, who was shrouded in flames.


    Bael''Gar''s first ultimate skill was called Lava Splash ¨C players who attacked him in melee would receive fire damage every 3 seconds for 24 seconds. This effect could stack up to 3 times.


    This was a difficult skill for melee players to deal with as they would often die if they did nothing about it. Some teams didn''t like taking melee players into the Blackrock Abyss for this reason, thinking that ranged players were somewhat safer because they didn''t have to be so close to the burning elementals.


    Lu Li and the others had no choice as the team''s composition had already been decided.


    If there were more melee players, then they would need to retreat everyone once in a while. There was a waterway not far from that location. Melee players that were burning could jump into the waterway to stop the burning.

 1089 Different from Expectations

    Lu Li changed into two equips that had Fire Resistance Attributes so that he could sustain the burn damage. In return, this lowered his ability to output damage.


    This was only natural, considering that equipment focused on Defense would be weaker in other aspects. Dawn was a game that upheld balance and the Fire Resistance equipment on the market would probably rise in value because of this dungeon.


    Lu Li had already asked Shen Wansan to purchase these items for him a long time ago.


    Although he had stocked up some Fire Resistance equipment, there was no way that Ruling Sword will sell them. There were too many members and they might not even have enough for themselves.


    "Come out, my children," Bael''Gar beckoned as he summoned two fiery pillars.


    Bolts of fire appeared from his summon and rained down on the players'' heads. They would take damage over time if they were struck by any of these firebolts. The celebrity players easily dodged most of the flames with their fast reaction times.


    However, this wasn''t the end of it. You could tell from Bael''Gar''s lines that he was going to do more than just summon some flames.


    As expected, the flames that landed on the ground turned into miniature flame monsters. These monsters were formed entirely by fire and were constantly burning their life force. This made Bael''Gar even stronger as he dealt insane damage.


    "Melee players, pull the monsters into the waters," Lu Li instructed, then led by example and attacked two fire elementals, dragging them towards the water.


    He dived in, but made sure to not sink entirely, or else the fire elementals would lose their target and switch to someone else.


    Lu Li knew, but the others didn''t, so the situation became a little messy.


    Fortunately, everyone quickly discovered the secret and only two players died in the process. Thirteen of them were left standing, but the main tanks and healers were all alive, so they could still proceed.


    The fire elementals didn''t dare enter the water, but they were constantly burning their lives away. Once their damage dropped, you could rise out of water and attack them.


    "My God, Lu Li, what are you doing?" Unforgettable Maple was a ranged damage dealer, but the fire elementals still chased him into the water. He looked stunned as Lu Li bent over and waved his mining tools around. This didn''t fit the current situation at all.


    "I''m mining. These are good quality minerals," Lu Li answered honestly as he placed all the minerals that he had dug up into his bag.


    "No way ¨C you''re a guild master! Are you serious?" Unforgettable Maple was speechless. Most of the competitors here probably didn''t even know how to dig up minerals. They spent most of their time on training; there was no time for them to waste on trading skills.


    "These minerals are perfect quality. If you use them to forge equipment, they can boost base damage by about 20% with a chance to add on a fire damage special effect," Lu Li explained calmly.


    "****, sell it to me!"


    Once they heard about the 20% base damage boost, their eyes all went red.


    "I''m a guild master; do I really need money?" Lu Li asked as he tossed their words right back at them.


    Water Fairy smiled and didn''t mention a single thing about buying them. Lu Li had already messaged her, saying that when Bael''Gar''s First Clear was taken, two rocks would drop into the river. He planned to give one of them to Water Fairy to upgrade her Shard of the Defiler.


    Using Reputation, they could exchange for the upgrade recipe with Ravenholdt Manor and then remake it with some exquisite materials.


    The remake would probably be a level 60 Legendary weapon.


    "35% health. Old Man Power, resurrect Phantom Gaze," Lu Li directed as he jumped out.


    "What about me?" Green Flag Wine asked.


    The ones who died were Phantom Gaze, the Warlock and Green Flag Wine, the Paladin. They had been unlucky and were surrounded by the fire elementals with nowhere for them to run.


    "Just stay down I guess," Lu Li said without the slightest bit of sympathy.


    Green Flag Wine was saddened, not because he was eager to fight, but because of the large amount of experience from the Boss. Bael''Gar was level 56, so the rewards would have been great.


    "Burn! Let all return to the fire element!"


    Once Bael''Gar''s health reached 10%, he stood up and his body expanded.


    Lu Li''s eyeballs nearly fell out of his eyes; he had never read about this from any guides.


    Then, a ring of flame expanded from Bael''Gar outwards, and his body became smaller. He seemed extremely tired and if you kept attacking him, you would realize that his Defense had dropped by a few levels.


    Unfortunately, no one could attack him anymore, because all the players were killed in an instant ¨C even their corpses were burned to ash. Everyone had to revive.


    "This boss is too strong..."


    "That was at least ten thousand points of damage. I think unless you had a invincibility skill, or the Main Tanks used their damage reduction, no one would be able to make it through."


    "We were so close¡­that was less than 10% health¡­"


    Everyone discussed what had just happened as they all ate bread to recover. It was rare to have a Boss that obliterated everything in its path.


    "Lu Li, you said we would take down another two Bosses today. I feel like we''re going to be stuck here," Wendelian said hopelessly.


    "Wait, let me have a think."


    Lu Li sat on the floor with a twisted expression. He had never read about this in any guide. Bael''Gar was the type of boss that existed to give out equipment; even a random team could take him down without a problem.


    It couldn''t be some silly butterfly effect ¨C even if he had reincarnated, there was no way he could have impacted the game so greatly.


    The Blackrock Depths were such a classic dungeon, and the gaming company had poured in so much time, effort, and energy into it. They wouldn''t change anything at random, especially to make it harder for the celebrity team who was advertising for them.


    The only explanation would have to be a game version update.


    Lu Li imagined that this was how Bael''Gar was originally designed. It was likely too difficult to defeat, so the gaming company had to weaken the Boss.

 1090 By Force

    The game was designed for the average player, but unfortunately, this was no help at all.


    "I think the last stage is meant to be pushed through by force," Sorrowless suggested after thinking. "For such a powerful spell like this, even if you jumped into the water, it wouldn''t help. We would have to top up our health before the spell and everyone would have to save their strongest damage reduction for that moment."


    "Alright, we''ll give it a shot."


    Lu Li didn''t have any other suggestions, so he agreed with Sorrowless along with the others. Oftentimes, guides weren''t the final solution. You couldn''t pass the stage if you didn''t meet the prerequisites.


    This time, everyone was much more careful when starting the Boss. They all tried their best to not die, because there was a greater challenge ahead for them.


    Phase two went smoothly, but in phase two, three players died to the smaller monsters and Lu Li announced to restart the return. The others didn''t have any objections, but those that died had unhappy expressions on their faces.


    When they gathered before the Boss again, Lu Li told everyone to rest for an hour.


    Completing dungeons was a tiring task, especially on the first attempt. Everyone had to constantly be on guard for the boss using ultimate spells, which often brought down the morale of the team. It wasn''t suitable to restart fights in rapid succession.


    Lu Li looked at the time and said, "Everyone be careful this time; let''s fight to pass in one go."


    After saying this, he assigned a few players to focus on distracting the fire elementals. If anyone was caught by these monsters, classes with group spells were to distract them. They had to ensure that no one died before they reached phase three.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll pay attention."


    Hot Twitch was ready. Because his arrows fired rapidly, he was effective at distracting monsters.


    "Don''t hide any aces up your sleeves," Unforgettable Maple laughed.


    "Sorrowless has a group shield; what are you hiding?" Elevenless quipped back immediately. Unforgettable Maple went quiet; no one felt pressured at all when they used something they had revealed before. However, none of them wanted to sell out their aces so easily.


    Sea Breaker seemed to feel guilty for pulling the team behind, so he broke the ice first.


    "I can make someone invincible."


    "Group invincibility?"


    Everyone looked at him weakly. If they ran across someone like this in a match, then they really didn''t need to even bother continuing with the competition.


    "No way! Does Dawn even have something like that? Mine is just empowered Intervene. I can take 90% of the damage for a team member," Sea Breaker quickly explained. He was honest, but not stupid. If people thought that he had a group invincibility spell, countless players would be sent to assassinate him.


    "Alright, then use it on Flowers and Jade later."


    As far as Lu Li knew, Wendelian had a 70% damage reduction. March Rain was his own team member, so he knew her strength.


    After the signal, Azure Sea Breeze rushed to the boss with his shield.


    The first phase was easy, but one player died in phase two despite everyone''s best efforts. Eleveless was a Plated Warrior, but unfortunately, he was lacking in fire resistance, and he didn''t want to use his stronger damage reduction skills. Two monsters dropped him to the floor with a few hits.


    "****! What do?" Unforgettable Maple cursed as he stomped around on Elevenless'' corpse.


    "Piss off," Elevenless swore as he climbed back up. Unfogettable Maple remembered that this guy had a Darkmoon card, but was it really necessary for this dungeon? After all, you didn''t lose experience from deaths in dungeons. Unforgettable Maple always used his Darkmoon Card in the wild.


    "I''ve used my aces; let''s fight hard."


    Those who knew of the Darkmoon Card weren''t so shocked, but the others had different expressions. They were astonished at how he could climb up from the ground by himself.


    After phase 2 came phase 3. The busiest players at this stage were the healers, who had to try their best to top up everyone''s health. The Boss'' spells dealt at least 8000 damage, if not 10000. Current players only had around 3000 points of health.


    At the current stage, Shamans were the most effective at group heals.


    Priests had very balanced healing ¨C they were strong in terms of both singular and group healing. Paladins were invincible with singular healing, while Shamans were the best at group heals. Druids were the best at healing over time.


    However, in match situations, Shaman heals were weaker and they also had the worst survivability amongst all healers.


    "3, 2, 1, damage reduction!" Lu Li shouted. He carefully studied the fire ring and timed his spell very precisely. It was hard to block damage for other team members with a spell like this.


    Everyone activated their strongest damage reductions.


    It was simple for Lu Li and Water Fairy ¨C they just had to use Gale Steps. They would be untouched if they used it at the right time. Green Flag Wine was someone who could infinitely cast Hearthstones, so this was the least of his concerns. The damage reduction that Elevenless had stored could finally be put into use. Old Man Power turned into a giant bear, and with a sizeable health bar increase, he was left with a decent amount of health remaining. The two Priests made it through easily with a damage reduction spell ¨C in a situation like this, Priests definitely weren''t easy to kill. The two Mages simply cast Ice Barrier , while Jade Flower made it through with the help of Sea Breaker¡­,


    As for Azure Sea Breeze, his total health had reached more than 5000. As long as he was on guard, he could probably even take another few hits of this spell.


    However, the two Warlocks, Hornet''s Nest and Phantom Gaze, were unable to withstand it. Sea Breaker took the damage for two, so he died as well, along with Hot Twitch.


    That left 11 men standing!


    "Alright, healers, top everyone up. Max damage guys ¨C use everything that you''ve got," Lu Li instructed as he turned into a giant wolf and pounced at the Boss.


    Although so many had died, the Boss didn''t have much health remaining either. Even if it was to go berserk, everyone was certain that they could take it down. The most important thing right now was to end the fight before it casted the spell again.

 1091 A Return Gif

    The giant fire elemental finally fell to the floor, which erupted into flames. However, it had already lost the ability to harm players.


    The experience reward finally boosted Lu Li to level 54; he was the seventh one to reach this milestone. As a guild master and a competitor, this was nothing short of a miracle. Not to mention he had also completed many quests and invested a lot of time in his Trade skills.


    Green Flag Wine was quite lucky; he received a skill point.


    Wendelian looted a Synthetic Stone that reduced level requirement for equipment by 10%.


    All of the players on the team had at least one or two Legendary equips on them, but after they saw the Attributes of the stone, their eyes turned red.


    "Lu Li, are you going to keep the equipment for yourself? Oh my God, the captain is going to steal our equipment! Lu Li is going to steal our equipment!" Unfogettable Maple always liked stirring up trouble.


    "Unfogettable Maple muted for 10 minutes for spreading rumours," Lu Li said with a smirk on his face.


    Muting was a function that existed for teams ¨C the captain had the ability to mute certain players. Muted players cannot speak or type, but since point rolling was done with typing, Unfogettable Maple had also lost the chance to roll for this item.


    Unfogettable Maple was angry, but he couldn''t do anything besides keep his eyes wide open.


    Nobody pitied him; it was nice enough for them to not laugh at him for this. Everyone quickly rolled before he could speak again.


    One by one, the results were made apparent and each time a player saw someone with higher points, their expression would immediately sink. The player with the highest score was constantly on edge, like they were on a roller coaster.


    Lu Li rolled 77, which wasn''t a low score, but it wasn''t high enough to obtain the stone.


    The highest score so far was Elevenless at 95. He had a very good chance of obtaining the item. However, after Water Fairy rolled, everyone gave up, including Unforgettable Maple, who had been muted.


    100 points!


    Based on the rules set by Dawn, unless you also roll 100 points, you wouldn''t have another chance to compete against her.


    However, the chances were too low. 100 points weren''t easy to obtain, let alone having it occur twice in such a short time span.


    As expected, the next four players never even reached past 90 points.


    In the end, this Synthetic Stone landed in Water Fairy''s hands and others could only watch. No one offered to buy it off her; there was no way they were richer than she was in the first place.


    Wendelian watched as Water Fairy packed away the stone, then turned her head to continue looting the corpse.


    Lu Li suddenly felt someone pass something into his hands. He turned his head, only to see Water Fairy standing behind him. What she had passed to him was the Synthetic Stone that everyone had just rolled for.


    "It''s too precious," he said as he scanned all the other competitors who were on the team. No one had noticed so far.


    These kinds of Synthetic Stones weren''t as valuable as Legendary equips, but they were just as rare. No matter how much money you had, it wasn''t guaranteed that you would be able to purchase one when you needed it.


    "I don''t need it at the moment, and I have some spares. I haven''t thanked you yet for preparing the materials for the daggers for me," Water Fairy said, then paused and added, "I''ve accepted everything that you''ve given me, and this is something that I want to give to you. There''s no need to value it based on the market."


    A girl of strong will ¨C Lu Li liked people like this.


    He was never a fan of the other girls who relied on others to survive, the kind who played coy to beg others to help them level and give them equipment.


    Although Water Fairy didn''t decline what Lu Li had given her, she always found ways to return the favour.


    The materials that he had prepared for Water Fairy weren''t cheap either, especially the minerals that he had mined up today. If he sold them on the market, they wouldn''t be any cheaper than a Synthetic Stone with a reduce equipment level requirement Attribute.


    The others were still distributing the equipment. Perhaps it was because of what had just dropped, but Bael''Gar didn''t give out anything worthwhile after.


    Almost everyone participated in the point rolling of the few Dark Gold equips that came after. As for a skill book for Fire Mages, Lu Li exchanged for it with a Dark Gold equip. Both of the Mages here were Ice Mages, so they weren''t interested in Fire Mage spell books.


    Lu Li was the captain, and Sea Breaker, who rolled for the skill book, was easy to negotiate with.


    Once the others had completed their mission, everyone began to set foot on their journey again.


    Although they had spent quite some time on Bael''Gar, it was still 4-5 hours away from the end of their game time. It was enough for them to attempt the next boss.


    The East-West Military Camp was located on the two sides of the Black Iron Hallway and was linked mechanically through the centre. This was another great work of Franclorn Forgewright ¨C Shadowforge Lock.


    Unfogettable Maple could use the Shadowforge Keys to access the hidden door. After following the flaming spiral up the lock, the pathway that linked the East-West Military Camp would appear. The military camp was one of the places they had to pass in order to see the Black Iron King.


    Everyone went up the stairs and walked to the left passageway until they reached the end and ran into another passageway.


    In order to prevent his team members from dying for nothing, Lu Li scouted ahead.


    At the turning point of the pathway, there was a group of elite Dwarves and Fire Elementals. Using usual scouting methods, the team would have dived right in, and it would a matter of minutes before they wiped.


    Since Lu Li had scouted ahead and discovered the situation, it was only natural for the Hunters to lead them over one by one.


    Next, everyone had to face General Angerforge, who was one of the eight generals that served under Modimus Anvilmar. He was in charge of the security forces for Modimus Anvilmar and had many achievements to his name.


    Angerforge was used to battling with a double-hand axe called "Black Howling", and always dived straight into battle first. Even the Black Iron King could not be compared against him.


    His subordinates referred to him as ''the Rock'', as he was always fighting besides them. Unfortunately, after the War of the Three Hammers, Black Iron lost its glory of the past. Now, the Lord General guarded the East-West Military Camp, a location that players had to pass to reach the king.


    Everyone paid respect to the old general, but the first wipe happened so swiftly that no one dared to pity this friendly-looking old Dwarf.

 1092 General Angerforge

    "Anger bro is too powerful; he deals so much damage."


    Azure Sea Breeze had a saddened expression; he regretted choosing the Nightmare mode for this dungeon. That''s right ¨C he was the one who had chosen it, and his strange confidence caused him to make the decision.


    Of course, Anger bro referred to General Angerforge.


    "He is pretty strong, but your reaction time was too slow. The blocking from your shield should be faster," Lu Li said as he sat on the floor and chewed on the Spicy Raptor Flesh that Water Fairy had given him.


    To his surprise, Water Fairy was an amazing cook. The Spicy Raptor Flesh tasted amazing; it was more than just a product of the simple cooking system.


    This type of food also provided the eater with a 20% critical damage boost. Normally, it would only increase it by 10%, but both lasted for half an hour. For Thief classes, this was the most suitable type of food.


    When others came to ask for it, Water Fairy turned them down by saying that she hadn''t brought enough with her.


    "This guy understands tactics, and his aggression state can be quite messy, so to pass, we need to make less mistakes. Let''s pay attention and try to aim for phase two this time," Lu Li said.


    General Angerforge was a tactician, so he wasn''t as simple as the other Bosses.


    His double-hand axe ''Black Howling'' enabled him to deal the damage of a Berserker. If Azure Sea Breeze didn''t pay attention, it could deal consecutive critical strikes. If he didn''t use his damage reduction in time, it would only be a matter of minutes before the team wiped.


    After this came the aggression issue. General Angerforge often ignored the aggression on the main tank and attacked other players, especially the player with the most damage or the healer.


    There was nothing too special about phase one. As long as these two problems were solved, they would be able to progress to phase two. There wasn''t any guide to this either. At they very most, Lu Li could only watch the boss carefully and remind Azure Sea Breeze when to use his damage reduction.


    General Angerforge initiated the battle with a few slashes at Azure Sea Breeze.


    Both of the Priests healed Azure Sea Breeze continuously, and his health fluctuated like a roller coaster. The situation would be easier to manage if they had a healing Paladin. The best healing combination for the Blackrock Depths was a Shaman, healing Paladin and a Priest or Druid, but preferably a Priest. If it was too difficult to find a Priest, then a well-equipped Druid could also work out. After all, resurrection in battle was still very useful in a 15-man dungeon.


    "Damage reduction!"


    As soon as Lu Li''s voice rang out, two critical strikes floated over top of Azure Sea Breeze''s head.


    The critical strikes didn''t come without warning ¨C the Boss always moved the weapon close by his side before it happened. However, Lu Li didn''t plan to tell this to his team members; he had them thinking that he was instructing at perfect timing.


    The limiting factor of the first stage wasn''t the main tank, especially when the main tank was Azure Sea Breeze. If he couldn''t tank it, then no one else in Dawn could. Rather, the limiting factor was the healers and whether the Boss could one-shot them.


    This was a problem for their all-celebrity player team, but they were still more skilled than an average team. After all, everyone was a professional and they all needed to at least master their survival skills to play in a competition.


    As the boss rushed over, they either escaped with the fast mobility, or tanked it with their damage reduction.


    "I''m worried about the elite teams in our guild," Jade Flower sighed, barely dodging the axe in the Boss'' hands. As he watched the Boss being pulled away, his worried expression didn''t change at all. Even he was having a difficult time, he wasn''t expecting those in his guild to work a miracle.


    Not to mention, many of the healers out there were girls who didn''t enjoy PVP.


    "There''ll be ways," Lu Li replied calmly. The real solution was to have the healers bring an Engineered Mannequin.


    When the Boss rushed over, they would toss one out in front of them, which would keep them safe. General Angerforge would take out the Engineered Mannequins first, then find the healer.


    If the healers still couldn''t escape, then this would just mean that they had issues with their technique.


    Of course, this only worked for a few bosses like General Angerforge. If this wasn''t the case, none of the Bosses would be challenging.


    Similar guides were constantly being developed by everyone in the game.


    "Alright, we''ve entered phase two. I believe the boss will start to cast spells at this point. Sorrowless buddy, is your group damage reduction ready?" Lu Li tried his best to ask politely.


    "It''s ready. Let me know when you need it, but the cooldown time is an hour, so try to use it when you''re certain."


    Lu Li really didn''t want to waste his time on General Angerforge.


    The boss was difficult, but he mostly tested the strength of the players. There was nothing too special about him ¨C as long as your equipment, skills and techniques were up to par, progressing would be a simple manner.


    If they couldn''t even take down this boss, then they might as well just leave the dungeon and go home.


    The main damage from phase two was splash damage. General Angerforge''s Whirlwind was slightly different to the Whirlwind of normal Berserkers. It dealt ranged damage and as the Whirlwind spun, fire would fly from the blades of the axe. Anyone who touched the fire would take burning damage.


    Lu Li asked for Sorrowless to use damage reduction, and everyone else used their own accordingly. Even though the burning damage was quite significant, it didn''t result in any deaths amongst the team.


    Phase three commenced after General Angerforge''s health dropped to 40% and he began to summon his subordinates.


    It was common for Bosses to summon their subordinates, but it was sure rare for one to summon so many. General Angerforge really lived up to his title ¨C these soldiers loved him. It was easy for his summoned soldiers to go berserk at any moment if they weren''t careful.


    General Angerforge even used Battle Roar to provide his soldiers with some buffs.


    There were two types of monsters ¨C Iron Rage Trainees and Iron Rage Doctors. The prior were in charge of damage, while the latter were in charge of healing.


    Fortunately, the doctors directed the trainees, and they didn''t heal the Boss either. Otherwise, they could all just surrender and save themselves the trouble.

 1093 The Glory of Being the Main Tank

    On the third stage, Sea Breaker, who had been in an awkward position this whole time was finally put to use. Azure Sea Breeze was concentrating on staying alive and tanking the Boss, so he had no time to deal with the summoned mobs that were running rampant around the map.


    Sea Breaker became the hero that they needed.


    When the smaller mobs aggroed onto one of the players, they would run towards Sea Breaker for him to take the aggro away with Consecration.


    Green Flag Wine could help too since he was a Paladin. Paladins, like Druids, were all-rounders and very versatile in switching from Tank to Healer to DPS.


    "There''re so many small mobs," Elevenless sighed in frustration.


    He was mainly a PVP player and very rarely joined in on PVE events, unless it was for a First Clear or a dungeon. He couldn''t stand having to be extremely cautious all the time and hated the often-disastrous consequences of making small mistakes.


    Fighting other players was a different story ¨C all he needed to do was to deal damage and kill them as fast as he could.


    "Has anyone of you noticed that the monsters are getting stronger and stronger?" Lu Li asked. He wanted to wait until someone else pointed it out to him since these all-star players were supposed to be very aware.


    Unfortunately, he was the only person that noticed this.


    Compared to the monsters that were summoned at the start, these ones had higher attack and were gradually increasing in strength.


    "Uh, I thought that was normal," Elevenless said awkwardly. "Even if their attacks are getting stronger, they still can''t kill us. I can still kill them in three shots, so they''re not really bothering us much."


    The others felt the same; this wasn''t making things difficult for them.


    The monsters had low HP and Defense, which meant each wave was wiped out almost instantaneously.


    After a few more minutes and wiping out more than 10 waves of smaller mobs, Lu Li laughed coldly and asked, "Now do you think they can kill you?"


    Elevenless'' expression had changed; he was starting to feel overwhelmed.


    The pressure on the healers had greatly increased as well. Nobody expected the harmless mobs to be so powerful after only a few minutes.


    "Okay, from now on, ignore the small mobs. Sea Breaker, your job is to draw the small mobs into the corner. Wendelian, make sure you keep your eyes on Sea Breaker''s HP. Elevenless and Green Flag Wine, you''re in charge of dealing with the ones that Sea Breaker can''t aggro, but try your best not to kill them. Wendelian, watch all three of their HP. Got it?" Lu Li instructed.


    Wendelian hesitated for a second but nodded in response.


    "No problem."


    "Older Sister Maple, next time the Boss summons new mobs, don''t let them get close to the Boss. We''ll focus on attacking the Boss for now."


    Lu Li had an idea how to defeat this Boss and commanded his fellow all-stars accordingly. He had faced similar Bosses in other dungeons besides the Blackrock Depths in his past life.


    If killing the monsters meant that they were going to become stronger, then the smartest choice would be to divert their attention and focus on the Boss instead.


    There was another reason why Lu Li wanted the small mobs to be taken away from the Boss. Besides the fact that this opened up space for the other players, the small mobs also increased the Boss'' Attack power and Health Regen.


    Lu Li''s commands weren''t anything out of the ordinary and no one would suspect that he knew about this from his past life.


    After the small mobs were pulled away, the Boss seemed to become angry and immediately casted a chain of spells.


    Enrage, Sunder Armor, Flurry!


    Enrage: General Angerforge will become Enraged when melee classes deal critical damage. While Enraged, General Angerforge''s physical damage dealt is increased by 50%, and his Attack speed is increased by 30%. Lasts for 5 seconds.


    Sunder Armor: General Angerforge hacks at an enemy''s Armor, increasing their physical damage taken. Lasts for 20 seconds.


    Flurry: Increases melee physical damage dealt by 30% every time General Angerforge deals critical damage to an enemy. Stacks up to 5 times, lasts for 15 seconds.


    Azure Sea Breeze was already struggling to tank and he was barely holding on after the chain attack.


    "Godammit, don''t die on me. Stay alive!"


    Lu Li watched as Azure Sea Breeze''s HP fluctuate rapidly and felt his heart thumping. He suspected that this would be one of the first of many chain attacks, but there nothing he could do except to pray that Azure stayed alive.


    Azure Sea Breeze stopped messing around and his expression became very serious.


    He had all kinds of defensive and damage reduction skills up his sleeve. However, he had to be smart about using them because if he used them too often, there could be a window where everything was on cooldown. On the other hand, if he was too stingy with his skills, he wouldn''t be strong enough to tank the Boss. In these types of situations, Azure Sea Breeze always proved himself worthy of having the title of the Number One Main Tank in the game. The other star players were wondering whether it was possible to poach him from Ruling Sword.


    Sorrowless couldn''t help but wonder if he would be a better commander than Lu Li if he had a Main Tank like Azure Sea Breeze in his own guild.


    However, Azure had been with Lu Li from the very start of the game. Sorrowless wouldn''t even bother to try and poach him from Ruling Sword.


    After a few more chain attacks, he narrowly held on as the Boss'' went into critical HP. Now all they could do was hope that the Boss wouldn''t become Enraged again. An Enraged General Angerforge might be enough to completely wipe out the star-studded team.


    The first reason was that as a Berserker with two one-handed axes, even Azure Sea Breeze would find it difficult to stay alive if Angerforge attacked.


    The second reason was the awkward predicament that they were in.


    Besides the Boss, there were some very powerful small mobs that were still being pulled to the corners of the room. If the Boss were to become Enraged right now, it would be troublesome for them to deal with both sides at once.


    "If we can''t do it this time, there''s always a second chance. Don''t put so much pressure on yourselves," Unforgettable Maple said, trying to calm everyone down.


    "Yeah, next time we''ll ignore the small monsters and just focus on murdering the Boss. I can tank the first wave of small mobs by myself easily," Elevenless suggested.


    Lu Li wanted to correct them but couldn''t be bothered. Did they really think that the developers of the game would be that stupid?


    If this really was what Elevenless thought, Lu Li would have stopped them from killing the small mobs from the very beginning. However, he knew that if they didn''t kill a few waves of monsters, the attack power of the Boss would increase significantly.


    This was because the small mobs were able to cast Invigorate continuously, which gave Angerforge an Attack bonus.


    If they never killed the small mobs, who knew how much more powerful he would be right now?

 1094 Vacation Resor

    "Breezy, can you keep going?" Lu Li asked.


    "Go away. How can a man say that he can''t?" Azure Sea Breeze angrily retorted, without even turning his head.


    "Stop being stubborn. If you die, the whole squad will wipe. Do you have any skills on cooldown? We might be able to delay the fight for a little." Lu Li was worried. So far, since the beginning of this fight, they had been relatively successful. If they failed on this try, the next run might not be as smooth.


    "You''re the stubborn one."


    Azure Sea Breeze was a rebellious person and often had a different viewpoint to Lu Li. However, he knew of the consequences that came with being stubborn, so he listened to Lu Li and asked the DPS players to slow down a little.


    This did not mean that they could delay the fight as much as they wanted. The Boss'' attacks were relentless, which meant that the healers needed to keep healing.


    If the Boss unleashed consecutive skills on them, there would most definitely be casualties.


    After delaying the fight for two minutes, Azure Sea Breeze''s skills that were on cooldown were nearly ready to be used again, so everyone began to unleash a barrage of attacks.


    As Angerforge''s HP neared 0%, he became Enraged and began to deal critical hits frequently. Angerforge was likely to go into this Enraged state when he was about to die. This was the main reason why most squads were absolutely annihilated.


    Fortunately, they had the number one Main Tank in Dawn.


    No matter the fluctuation between low and high HP, Azure Sea Breeze still maintained his stance against the Boss, even when people thought he was definitely going to die.


    "Eh? Maple sister, why are you here?" Lu Li found that Unforgettable Maple had climbed up to where he was.


    Innocent Child already used his Revive on someone else, and Unforgetful Maple could not be bothered with the small monsters anymore since he could die fighting them. However, because the HP of the Boss was nearly empty, it did not make much of a difference with him out of the battle.


    "Hehe¡­I''m already on 90% EXP, and the Boss is going to give more," Unforgettable Maple said, extremely happy.


    He could not join the quest to save Thrall last time, so he was extremely curious about what was happening. As such, Jade Flower Lover also went over to ask what was going on. Unfortunately, he did not get what he wanted after being toyed with by Unforgettable Maple for a little while.


    "Alright, we''ve finished," Lu Li sighed in relief.


    He did not think that they would defeat General Angerforge this time, since they were still lacking in levels. Perhaps their success was because of their mechanics as professional players, or because of their overwhelmingly powerful equipment.


    General Angerforge''s wish finally came true, which was to bleed for the Dark Iron Dwarves. In the end, he died for them.


    His death rewarded them with an abundance of EXP, as well as skill points for a few lucky players.


    "Damn, even the unlucky captain got a skill point," Elevenless said as he shook his head. He decided that he probably wouldn''t attempt Instance Dungeons with Lu Li anymore.


    "Let''s go get that equipment! There will be a Legendary item this time for sure."


    Wendelian stepped up, took a deep breath, and crouched down to the Boss'' corpse. Although they hadn''t suffered through as many wipes, they knew that defeating this Boss had not been a simple matter.


    The harder the Boss, the higher the chance it had to drop Legendary items.


    "Lord General''s Sword, Legendary!"


    After hearing this, Lu Li was silent for a little while, despite the excitement from his squad members. This was because they did not realise what they missed.


    While it was also a Legendary grade weapon, the Lord General''s Sword was considerably worse than Angerforge''s Battle Axe. However, Angerforge''s Battle Axe was also considerably worse than the Dark Howl. This meant that Lord Angerforge had the potential of dropping three different types of Legendary weapons.


    Out of these three, the Lord General''s Sword was the least valuable. The properties of this weapon could not be compared to the other two, especially the Dark Howl. The Dark Howl was the ultimate dream for Warriors prior to level 60.


    After revealing the properties, the excitement of the Warrior players died down instantly.


    In the end, Elevenless and Sea Breaker gave up on the Lord General''s Sword, since their own weapons were better. Azure Sea Breeze received this Legendary weapon as compensation.


    To use a Legendary weapon as compensation for the Main Tank was almost unheard of. After all, even the worst Legendary weapon was better than a Dark Gold weapon.


    Every Main Tank had the dream of being able to deal high DPS. Who wouldn''t dream of wielding a two-handed sword and cutting down all their enemies in sight?


    After equipping this weapon and his other damage-focused gear, Azure Sea Breeze was now quite a powerful warrior.


    After the disappointment of the Lord General''s Sword, the two T0 set equips that dropped led everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. After this, three Gold items dropped, which were


    bound to be sold.


    The rare materials were rolled to Unforgettable Maple, while the skill books were rolled to Wendelian.


    Although it was not that late after completing Angerforge''s battle, Lu Li decided to wrap it up here. This was because the members were beginning to tire, and some of them also had competitions tomorrow.


    After logging out, Lu Li brought his sister to inspect a few houses. After thinking over it for a long time, they both decided to make a home that was truly their own. Although it was good to live with a few other females, that was still a rented place. It could not quench their desire to buy a house of their own.


    For Lu Li, there were many places that could be potential homes.


    Previously, he considered many factors, which led to him being undecided. However, after building partnerships regarding Ruling Sword, the choice became clearer and clearer.


    There was a place that was close to the university, which was an old teacher''s college. This place was too small to build a university, so the university was moved elsewhere.


    It had been bought and made into a private resort, which was managed year in year out. Unexpectedly, the investors fell into all sorts of trouble ¨C one of which was using this place as a gambling den.


    It was then seized by the government and was rented to Ruling Sword as their main headquarters. The rent was extremely cheap.


    Lu Li decided to buy a house close to this area. After all, it was extremely convenient going to and from the university, and there was also a small garden area to Lu Xin''s delight.

 1095 Mansion

    For Lu Li, the most important factor was the security. After interacting with other people in the area and talking to his agent, he found out that there were many retired people, such as ex-government workers and professors who lived here. There were also frequent security patrols.


    Of course, the houses here weren''t that cheap. Although this area seemed not that prestigious, the matter of fact was that the real estate here were much more expensive than most houses in the city.


    Furthermore, even those with money were not guaranteed a house in this area. However, once the real estate agent knew that Lu Li was interested in this area, he immediately reported this to his supervisor. Not long after, the ones who were managing this area contacted Lu Li''s agent.


    Truthfully, this was not that surprising.


    It wasn''t that they were trying to suck up to Ruling Sword and wanting to give them whatever they asked, but it was because the representation of property was different.


    The city organisation had investigated Lu Li''s background beforehand. Besides the admiration of his rise to the top, the possibility of his hatred towards the more wealthy and powerful would cause unwanted conflicts. After all, Lu Li''s words were Ruling Sword''s wishes.


    Fortunately, these things did not happen, since Lu Li was a man who did not hold many grudges and had a calm demeanour.


    However, partnerships like these were fickle. Ruling Sword would still be Ruling Sword, with or without external support. From the very beginning, they already proved their survival capabilities. On the other hand, if Jiangnan did not have Ruling Sword, then the city would be one without clubs and entertainment organisations. Star Moon Guild was deemed as a failing organisation, so Ruling Sword was their only hope.


    When Lu Li wanted to buy a house, he would look within the area that Ruling Sword had been established.


    If Ruling Sword was established in Jiangnan, then they would most likely represent Jiangnan in the eSports competitions. Therefore, after knowing that the boss of Ruling Sword wanted to buy a house, they would do their best to offer him one.


    Lu Li arrived to visit a 700-metre-square detached double-storey house with a garden and a pool. Furthermore, the required maintenance and renovations were already complete. The original owner was an architect and was planning on leaving this house for his son to inherit. Unfortunately, their son fell in love with someone who lived in Ireland, so he moved accordingly.


    Jiangnan was not a prestigious city, and the real estate prices did not fluctuate as much as others. However, the owner still set a price of 26 million.


    Too expensive!


    Lu Li still wanted the house, so he had to take a loan from the bank. However, the bank was not worried that he wouldn''t be able to pay it back.


    The organisation also sent a secretary who was responsible for these affairs. It seemed like everything was going smoothly; Lu Li inspected the house in the morning, then signed the contract in the afternoon. On top of this, he now had a 20-million-dollar debt.


    Without Lu Li, there would be no Ruling Sword. Without Ruling Sword, Jiangnan would not have entered the list of cities for eSports competitions. Therefore, it was only natural for the city to support Ruling Sword. To buy and gift a mansion to him would definitely make Lu Li obedient in this partnership.


    Unfortunately, no such thing was possible.


    Firstly, the huge amount of money would definitely be noticed and would not escape investigation, even under notable names and authorities. Secondly, no one would have the ability to simply gift a mansion.


    Then again, the prospects of securing Lu Li''s loyalty with a mansion were extremely unlikely.


    The maintenance procedures were already complete prior to their moving. Furthermore, there would be regular cleaners who would come in and tidy the place up. This was already all handled by the city organisation. Lu Li and his sister had never been extremely wealthy. Even when they did have money, they did not bother with buying unnecessary items. As such, when they moved out, they only needed to pack one bag each.


    The three female landlords were saddened at their departure, especially for Lu Xin. After all, they had built with her a strong relationship with her during her time there.


    However, they understood Lu Xin''s dream of owning her own house. After all, their own house was also a rented one that they only planned on living in temporarily.


    Of course, they had backup plans in place for when there would be available space. After Lu Li and Lu Xin''s departure, they contacted Ruling Sword, where there were a few females who were interested in renting a room.


    In Lu Li''s new house, after repeatedly warning his sister to not get too excited, he gave up.


    As of now, Lu Xin''s sickness was already nearly cured. Her day-to-day excitement would no longer damage her body. Last month during her monthly check up, the doctor was extremely happy regarding her recovery. In half a year, Lu Xin would return to normal and be able to live like a normal girl.


    Lu Li liked many small aspects of the house. He had to give kudos to the architect for his exceptional taste of lifestyle.


    Such aspects included a V-6 port used for gaming, which Lu Li even ordered the newest gaming system for.


    Previously, he had to work extremely hard just for a helmet, but now, he could buy a gaming system worth a few hundred thousand dollars with the click of his fingers. He even bought a customised one for Lu Xin to accommodate her body condition, although that one would arrive later than his.


    Lu Li''s system arrived that afternoon.


    He was ecstatic, so he entered the machine straight away.


    How comfortable!


    This was the main selling point. Compared to wearing a helmet and lying on the bed, this chamber-like machine simply was too comfortable. For the beta-testers of this machine, this must have felt like they were back in their mother''s embrace.


    However, Lu Li did not care much about this. He only wanted to know if this would affect his gaming experience.


    Lu Li did not have competitions today, so he went to the Blackrock Mountains to train. As long as he did not bother the Fire Elementals, he would be safe fighting these level 55 monsters.


    There were obvious changes, such as his field of vision. Lu Li expected this at the very least ¨C otherwise, no one would buy these machines. However, the change was exaggerated in the advertisements. All in all, Lu Li was not completely satisfied with his purchase.


    As he rushed towards a monster, he decided to test out his speed, sensitivity and other settings. However, he was disappointed upon finding out that there weren''t large differences in these. Perhaps it was because these were all coded into the game itself, so the machine did not affect it.


    The only noticeable change was the change in reaction time.


    To Lu Li, this was not a good thing as he felt uncomfortable and unsuited to this machine. His rhythm while grinding was not smooth and often sped up or slowed down. After all, he had spent half a year using a helmet, so it was expected that he would not be able to adapt to this machine immediately.

 1096 Flirting and Jealousy

    The Blackrock Mountains were a noisy area with strong winds. An ordinary player would not have noticed what was about to happen. However, as a seasoned veteran who had poured his blood and sweat into this game, Lu Li recognised the presence of an assassin behind him.


    He quickly dived forwards and rolled to the side, which allowed him to avoid the assassin that was closing onto his position. Despite this, the assassin managed to predict Lu Li''s movements and stabbed his back with his dagger.


    Lu Li''s dodging opened a window of opportunity to strike back. He reached for his dagger and blocked.


    Where was it?


    Lu Li attributed this to the change in reaction speed from the helmet to a full-dive machine. This change in reaction speed made him mistime the block on his enemy''s Cheap Shot. Fast reaction speeds were not favourable all the time. After all, reaction speed and the time of judgment needed to be paired to be effective.


    The effect of Cheap Shot caused a Stun. If Lu Li did not do anything now, he would be waiting to be killed.


    The assassin was definitely a strong player. He managed to deal a Bleeding effect in a small window of opportunity when Lu Li had froze for a split second. This Bleed effect prevented Lu Li from entering Stealth, since the damage over time would force him out of Stealth.


    Gale Steps!


    Lu Li never hesitated when it came to decision making. After he made a decision, he would always follow through, regardless of whether it was correct or not.


    The enemy saw what was happening, so he entered Stealth.


    In this first clash between the two Thieves, Lu Li was losing. He had lost a considerable amount of HP and had used Gale Steps. Furthermore, this was his first time using the new machine, so the slight changes placed him in a disadvantageous position, especially when faced with a strong player like this.


    As for the identity of his opponent, he was most likely an elite player.


    As of now, Lu Li decided that the most important thing to do was to reveal his enemy''s identity, then defeat him. Lu Li believed in honour upon defeat, so he believed that his opponent wouldn''t run away. This was the expectation of all strong players, especially in a one-on-one situation like this.


    The area they were in spawned new Fire Elementals, so the ground they were standing was scorched and smouldering. Lu Li had to be cautious, as the burn effect from these flames could expose his position.


    The enemy suddenly realised a cloud of ash that had been kicked up. He then found himself stuck in a trap as his dagger made contact with thin, despite slashing at the ash clouds that he thought Lu Li had left behind.


    Lu Li had a wealth of battle experience, so he gathered the ashes and dust to form clouds to lure his enemy to attack. He was successful in luring his opponent, and he immediately knocked his opponent unconscious.


    A female?


    After knocking her unconscious, Lu Li could see who the assassin was, in spite of her mask.


    Water Fairy!


    Lu Li then placed his dagger in the sheath. He had seen her yesterday, so it would obviously not be hard to recognise her today. Originally, he thought that it might have been Blood Dagger or Floral Paralysis, since those two had the tendency to attack players in the open environment, especially professional players.


    "Why did you stop fighting?" Water Fairy asked when she saw that Lu Li had already sheathed his dagger.


    "It''s not that safe in the Wild. I''m worried that there might be other assassins around, waiting for both of us at low HP, such as the one over there¡­" Lu Li said as he changed into a ranged weapon and fired.


    A person stumbled out of his hiding area. It was Unforgettable Maple.


    "Don''t misunderstand! I just came a little earlier and saw you guys slashing at each other, so I did not dare to approach you guys," Unforgettable Maple explained while raising both his hands, as if to surrender.


    He had to surrender. After all, he was a Mage up against two Thieves of his calibre.


    Lu Li decided to let this go, since they were going to another Instance Dungeon soon. Otherwise, Lu Li would have definitely skinned him alive.


    "Today¡­" Water Fairy suddenly said.


    "Ah, I moved houses, so I got myself a new setup," Lu Li immediately responded; he understood what she wanted to ask.


    "Moved houses...huh. Where''d you guys move to?"


    Previously, when Water Fairy passed Jiangnan, she visited Lu Xin, so she knew his address and also knew of the three beautiful ladies who lived with them.


    "A riverside town in Jiangnan. I bought a house there. Come visit when you have time!" Lu Li offered.


    "Alright then!" Water Fairy was clearly elated at his response.


    "Eh¡­are you guys done with flirting? Do you need to make me jealous?" Unforgettable Maple asked as he gritted his teeth. "A riverside town in Jiangnan, right? I also want to come visit, but I''m not sure if the master would allow me to come."


    "Wait until you come to Jiangnan for competitions. Otherwise, probably not," Lu Li calmly said.


    For Unforgettable Maple, this was salt in the wound twice in a row. They had already lost to Glory Capital this morning and consequently, their chances at the Top 8. Majin Temple became the second guild to be eliminated from the competition.


    The first guild to be eliminated was Blue Universe after being destroyed by Ruling Sword.


    In the Quarterfinals, there were Home teams and Away teams. Lu Li''s words meant that they would have to become Ruling Sword''s opponent to come. However, as they have already been eliminated, they would obviously not be able to battle Ruling Sword.


    Shortly after, other pro players began to arrive.


    It was the same batch of people. However, from yesterday to today, they seemed much calmer and had more chemistry together after seeing them kill some small monsters.


    Although Lu Li''s performance was different due to the change to a full-dive machine, it was not that noticeable. Furthermore, these small monsters were not going to cause him any trouble anyway. However, there were some that weren''t that happy, such as Unforgettable Maple. Majin Temple was eliminated by Glory Capital, where he faced his long-time opponent Sorrowless. They had also lost to Blood Red War Flag, so Jade Flower Lover was a sore sight.


    There was still a chance for them to enter the quarterfinals though; it just depended on what happened the next day.


    This unfortunate situation also fell upon Star Moon Guild, except that they did not have any players in the All-Star squad.


    Grand Hegemony had a match with Purple Lunar Paradise the next day. Sea Breaker did not seem worried against this dark horse of a guild and believed that they had a 100% chance of winning.


    After chatting amongst themselves about the morning''s matches, they quickly moved the topic to yesterday''s dungeon clear.

 1097 Some Luck Required

    In any case, the players could feel the energy and enthusiasm the game company had when they were designing Blackrock Abyss. This Instance Dungeon almost didn''t feel like a game.


    There were so many quests in it, but there were few quests that were required.


    The Blackrock Abyss existed to show the Iron Dwarves'' way of life. The game designers thought this meant that there should be a huge Iron Dwarf city in Azeroth. This city had prisons, taverns, mines, arenas, and royal palaces. There were members of different social classes performing their duties and maintaining order.


    As you walked past the steel gates and down the road, this feeling became particularly strong.


    They looked around casually, but the players could see the grandeur of the inner city. Its majestic buildings seemed to be looking down on them. It was almost as if the voice of Franclorn Forgewright''s voice could be heard, saying, "Welcome to Shadowforge City! Welcome to the heart of the world!"


    No matter how silly they thought the Iron Dwarves were, they had to admit that the creation of this place was nothing short of a miracle.


    The walls slowly narrowed as they advanced. There was a dazzling torch on the wall that blinded them as they finally reached the exit to an inner city circle. This place was guarded by Incendius, one of the four Fire Elementals sent by Ragnaros.


    Ragnaros'' four Fire Elements were Incendius, Overmaster Pyron, Pyroguard Emberseer and Shahram. Pyron had already been defeated before this.


    Incendius was responsible for guarding the black anvil. No one knew how long this burning elemental had lived; the legends said that Incendius would burn for all eternity.


    Barron Geddon had taught Incendius to harness his destructive power, but the Baron didn''t think that his student would pose such a great threat. As his concerns about Incendius grew, Geddon eventually decided to drive Incendius out of the Molten Core and ordered him to guard the black anvil of the Iron Dwarves. The Black Anvil was part of a quest line that Warriors had to follow to acquire an exquisite Epic axe.


    Incendius was purely made up of fire, so naturally, its damage would be fire damage.


    One of the most difficult parts of this fight was Curse of the Elemental Lord.


    Curse of the Elemental Lord: Incendius reduces fire resistance of all players within 45 yards by 10% for 30 seconds. This effect can be stacked up to 5 times.


    This effect could reduce their fire resistance by half, which meant that they would also take significantly more damage. Under normal circumstances, if a player''s fire resistance was reduced by half, they would be taking 150% damage.


    This problem was discovered as soon as Azure Sea Breeze began fighting the Boss. Within 30 seconds, he was forced to use one of his damage reduction skills to stay alive.


    Another difficult part about Incendius was a skill called Flame Eruption. Incendius would deal fire damage to all players in a fan-shaped area of about 20 yards. This area would slowly expand and players had to escape it as quickly as they could. Otherwise, they would probably die, even if they did have fire resistance.


    These two skills made up phase one of this Boss.


    Perhaps it was because this was the first Boss of the day, but the team didn''t cooperate well and many players died in this stage. Since so many players had died, Lu Li decided that they would try again once they saw the skills in phase two.


    The new skill in phase two was a marking skill. After being marked for three seconds, a player would be ignited. This didn''t deal a lot of damage, but the mark would spread to other players within four yards.


    The main threat of this skill was that the players could infinitely pass it between them.


    Before starting again, Lu Li gave an explanation of these skills. There was not much to say about the curse. It was just a test of fire resistance and those who couldn''t withstand it would die.


    Lu Li''s equipment was quite exquisite, and everyone had several pieces of fire resistance equipment, so there was little pressure on the team in the first phase.


    The second skill was fairly easy to deal with, even for ordinary players. After all, the flames would erupt in an obvious shape towards them. Lu Li had an array of escape skills and even the healers had a few, so Lu Li wasn''t worried about this skill.


    The most worrying aspect of the fight was the marking skill.


    Working around it required a degree of cooperation, along with good situational awareness.


    Of course, the players that were present had an advantage in this regard. No matter what the problem was, star players would always be more skilled than regular players.


    Otherwise, how could this messy composition of a team be sent to such a difficult Instance Dungeon like the Blackrock Abyss, and be expected to take the First Clear as well?


    The difficulty of the third phase was Flame Storm. On the one hand, equipment and strength was important, but on the other hand, dealing with it also depended on their luck.


    Incendius would deal fire damage to all players within a 10 yard radius. The total amount of damage was determined by the number of players in the area. The greater the number of players, the greater the damage. However, if the number of players was less than a certain threshold, Incendius would become Beserk.


    A 10-yard radius was not much space. If there were fewer players in the flame storm, then it would be fine.


    However, if there were three or more players in the flame storm, then they would be in danger. If there were five or more players, then they would need to escape the skill range and not rely on the healer. If there were ten or more players¡­


    Then there was nothing left to do ¨C they would inevitably get wiped.


    Many players hoped to join an elite team where they would never get wiped in an Instance Dungeon, but this was almost impossible in Dawn.


    Regardless of the difficulty of the Boss, each had its own way reducing moral in a team. Even the strongest teams could be wiped when morale was low.


    The first phase was cleared without any issues. Innocent Child died in the second phase, but he was easily revived and they continued the fight.


    After entering the third phase, the first Flame Storm wasn''t too destructive as it only hit four players. However, they weren''t so fortunate the second time as it hit seven players. None of them were prepared for the sudden amount of damage and they were wiped soon after that.


    Once they discussed how they would deal with this situation, Lu Li could only pray that everyone would perform better.


    Flame Storm would be cast three times. If you could withstand three Flame Storms, then you could defeat the Boss.


    They failed their second attempt, and the third¡­ and again¡­ and again¡­


    For more than an hour, they had made countless attempts to defeat this Boss. When Incendius cast a Flame Storm that was about to catch six players, they were able to quickly escape on time.


    Eventually, Incendius came crashing down, leaving a cloud of smoke and dust in the air.

 1098 Being Petty

    Incendius dropped an Epic Bracer ¨C Flameweave Cuffs. Although the Attributes were not the best, given the current state of Epic items, this was enough to amaze all the players present.


    Lu Li understood that his team wouldn''t let him assign it to Fat Monkey as most of the players here were competitors that used the same kind of equipment. If the Epic equipment was given to Fat Monkey, he would be able to reach a new level of strength.


    The stronger Fat Monkey was, the stronger Ruling Sword would become, and they had already been in the spotlight for the past six months.


    Although they weren''t as dominant as Glory Capital in their prime, no one wanted to re-experience the Dark Ages after the rise of Glory Capital. In those years, all the clubs could only keep a respectful distance from first place. Everyone could only really compete for second.


    If they had the chance, they would have stopped Ruling Sword from getting this far.


    "Alright, how about we all roll for it?" Lu Li said.


    "No, just let the Magic Professions roll," Sorrowless said with a pout. The others had a bittersweet expression on their faces as this would mean many of the players wouldn''t even have a chance. However, as long as Ruling Sword didn''t receive it, they would also consider that a favorable outcome.


    They were all able to talk and laugh together privately, but when it came to matters that involved the interests of the club, they had to put their personal feelings aside. This was the minimum expectation of professionalism among competitors.


    Water Fairy was just about to respond, but Lu Li waved his hand and stopped her before she could.


    At least this wasn''t an unreasonable request. This was a magic fire item, so it made sense that only the magic professions should roll for it.


    March Rain was a healer, but she could technically be considered a magic profession. As such, she was also allowed to participate in the roll.


    There were a number of magic professions present, but this was a Cloth item which meant that Druids and Shamans couldn''t use them. In the end, the six players to participate in the roll were Sorrowless, Unforgettable Maple, March Rain, Wendelian, Hornet''s Nest and Phantom Gaze.


    After three rolls, the current highest roll was Sorrowless'' 92 points. By the time it was March Rain''s turn, Lu Li was becoming a little nervous.


    Even if he didn''t receive this Epic Bracer, he just didn''t want the group''s wishful thinking to be fulfilled. Moreover, this item didn''t have any complicated effects or conditions. It just increased the user''s attack power, which was perfect for a player like Fat Monkey.


    93!


    She managed to roll 1 point more than Sorrowless, and Lu Li''s anxiety was relieved.


    There were two more players left to make their rolls. 93 was quite high, but it wasn''t a decisive figure.


    Unforgettable Maple took a deep breath and rolled ¨C 88!


    This was a very lucky number, but it wasn''t enough for him to win, which made him feel even more frustrated. It wasn''t worth it to offend Lu Li over a piece of equipment, but he just couldn''t help but feel some regret and that he had lost something.


    "Last one, make your roll," Lu Li said as he glanced around and had a look at everyone''s expressions.


    The Bracer eventually fell into March Rain''s hands, but Lu Li still wasn''t happy.


    Indeed, Lu Li was being the pettiest person in the world. He had intended to show everyone something great, instead decided to hide the secret bug of Blackrock Abyss in his heart.


    He was going to wait until he was farming with people he trusted to reveal it.


    The bug in Blackrock Abyss was found 8 months after the game was released, when a team at the Blackrock Abyss discovered the secret to infinitely farm the monsters.


    The monsters did not have much HP or Defense and their EXP wasn''t as high as an Elite monster, but they were much better than the mobs in the Wild.


    For whatever reason, the game company didn''t immediately patch the bug, so it existed for quite some time. Some players speculated that the game company did this in order to balance out the levels, allowing the lower-level players to catch up.


    Blackrock''s other Instance Dungeons weren''t appropriate for players that were below level 55, so it was necessary for the players to find some way to level up.


    Everyone would eventually know about this sooner or later, so Lu Li didn''t mind sharing this information.


    But now¡­


    Lu Li was only a little apologetic for his pettiness, but these other players would have to take their chances. Lu Li was only going to let his own teammates enjoy the first wave of EXP.


    The next item was a Thief T0 set item. Lu Li didn''t want it because he was already trying to obtain a T1 set, so Water Fairy was happy to take it instead. She made a mental note to repay Lu Li sometime in the future.


    After all the items had been distributed, they left the Dwarf''s Black Anvil and officially entered the industrial area.


    This was where the Iron craftsmen made their belongings; there was a range of art everywhere and statues that were still in progress. The Iron craftsmen were busy here, carrying their equipment and around working away. The leader here was the notorious Fineous Darkvire.


    To say that he was notorious was not an unfair assessment at all.


    Fineous Darkvire was the successor Franclorn Forgewright. Compared to his teacher, he was much less notable for his works. All he did every day was create statues of the Iron King to win his favor. In addition, he was a fully-fledged villain. When his teacher was alive, he was always jealous. After his teacher died, he took away his last relic, which was the Chief Architect''s symbol ¨C Ironfel.


    Speaking of Ironfel, it wasn''t actually that valuable. Cresso''s Hammer was a much more powerful item.


    However, the other players who invested in Forging didn''t think so. Until other options became available, Ironfel was the dream item for all players who specialized Forging.


    Because its drop rate was so low and Forging players tended to have lower fighting power, farming Fineous Darkvire would soon become a vibrant part of the market.


    They would pay to join the party and be quite obedient; the only issue was that they didn''t offer much fighting strength.


    Blackrock Abyss was always going to be a difficult Instance Dungeon, so many teams found themselves struggling when bringing a single rookie in with them. Many would opt to just take one rich player to earn a lot of money. If you were able to bring two at the same time, you could start calling yourself a professional gold group.


    Before beginning the fight, Lu Li pretended like he had chanced upon this small sculpture.


    This sculpture was quite inconspicuous among the larger sculptures of the Iron King. Even Lu Li, who had no eye for art, could see its crudeness compared to the others.


    However, when Lu Li approached it, the sculpture opened its eyes.


    That''s right, the sculpture opened its eyes!

 1099 Master Forger

    Lu Li pretended to be shocked and took two steps back.


    The others were eagerly waiting while Azure Sea Breeze raised his shield and prepared to charge in. However, he relaxed after he saw that the sculpture was falling apart.


    In fact, they didn''t need to be so alert. Such a shoddy sculpture couldn''t contain a powerful being.


    "Young travelers, welcome to Shadowforge City¡­"


    The sculpture was turning into dust, but the sound was clear and unmistakable.


    "I am sorry to disturb your deep sleep. We are a group of adventurers from Stormwind City."


    There was a Dwarf, an Elf and a Draenei on their team, but Lu Li didn''t mention this because it was easy to offend the Iron Dwarves.


    "Oh, Stormwind City. That is a fascinating place. I am Franclorn Forgewright, son of Douglas," the sculpture said calmly.


    "Did I hear that right? This is Franclorn?" the team was buzzing with excitement.


    Although not everyone was not as knowledgeable as Lu Li, they had prepared for this Instance Dungeon and knew who Franclorn Forgewright was. They knew that this city had been designed by him.


    "Your name is as bright as the sun and the moon," Lu Li praised him sincerely.


    The fall of the Iron Dwarves wasn''t enough to obscure the great feat of creating this city.


    "My name? Haha, the tomb of the King is more magnificent than the houses for the living. I have done many things in my life that I am satisfied with, but this is not one of them. Moreover, I hate my student the most. Fineous Darkvire is arrogant and unmotivated; he takes the work of other architects and claims it as his own. The grievances of these other architects cut straight to my heart, making it hard for me to rest¡­" Franclorn Forgewright ranted as he began to become worked up.


    "Is there anything we can do for you?" Although Lu Li had negative Charisma, he was still the one most familiar with the available quests, especially those relating to Franclorn Forgewright.


    "Kill him, and take everything back," he said, prompting them to take back the Ironfel from Darkvire and throw it into the magma behind them. The significance of this quest wasn''t large, which meant that not many players in Dawn were actually willing to throw the Ironfel into the magma, especially given how low the drop rate was.


    The reason Lu Li wanted to trigger this quest was simple ¨C it was because Franclorn Forgewright would then give them a buff.


    Because Franclorn Forgewright was Fineous Darkvire''s teacher, Darkvire still had some respect for him. With this buff, Fineous Darkvire''s attack power would be reduced by 10% until the third phase.


    "We will complete this task and kill Fineous Darkvire. If we see the Ironfel, we will definitely throw it into the magma," Lu Li promised as he bowed slightly.


    If not for the previous Bracer, Lu Li might not have promised to throw the Ironfel into the magma.


    He had a more exquisite Forging Hammer, but none of the others did. As such, Lu Li was okay with letting go of this quest item, and allowing the rest to decide.


    However, after the business with the Epic Bracer, he no longer considered what the others thought and promised to throw the hammer into the magma. By the time they saw Ironfel''s Attributes, it would be too late to turn back. After all, they didn''t know what the consequences would be if they didn''t follow the NPCs instructions.


    "Thank you, young ones," the sculpture said as he put his hand on Lu Li''s forehead. "May your wishes come true."


    The System then prompted Lu Li that he had received a quest reward and a Forging level.


    Lu Li''s other Trade Skill, Alchemy, had been left almost entirely untrained, but his Engineering and Forging had always been very strong. His Forging was particularly strong because he was using an exquisite Forging hammer, and was always crafting items for his guild.


    He was already an Expert Forger, and now that he received a level, he immediately became a Master.


    Progressing from Expert to Master was usually quite a torturous process. He didn''t expect Franclorn Forgewright to just put his hand on him and give it to him.


    With this reward alone, he would have thrown the Ironfel anywhere without any hesitation.


    The others didn''t suspect anything. They thought that it was lucky that they managed to trigger the quest. As for Franclorn Forgewright touching Lu Li''s head, they didn''t think much of that.


    Now they were finally facing Fineous Darkvire.


    Fineous Darkire was a Paladin with many auras. This meant that he had high attack strength, but the team was able to cope with the 10% damage reduction.


    Phase one was a grind as Fineous Darkvire would use Holy Light often to heal himself.


    Fortunately, these Holy Lights could be interrupted by Kicks. As such, with both Lu Li and Water Fairy, 80% of his Holy Lights were unsuccessful.


    Phase two was similar ¨C Fineous Darkvire didn''t use Holy Light, but used Seal of Reckoning instead. This applied a seal to himself and his allies, giving them some bonus HP for 30 seconds.


    Because this was a continuous state that couldn''t be interrupted, phase two of Fineous Darkvire was the most difficult one.


    If the team didn''t have enough attack strength, there was no way to deal any damage to him. Even with Lu Li''s had to fight for quite long to overcome his defenses.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had some countermeasures.


    Nightslayer Ghostface (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 60, Agility 55, Strength +30, Dark Field of View +30%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Wild Roar. The caster roars, increasing base attack power of everyone within 30 yards by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Shadow Plunder. Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Void Gaze, Increases the probability of finding Stealth units for 60 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    Shadow Plunder: Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown.


    Lu Li''s T1 equipment came with a special effect. This special effect was crucial here because Fineous Darkvire only had one buff, so Lu Li was guaranteed to take it away.

 1100 Dark Treasure Trove

    The only problem was that Lu Li would expose his equipment''s effect, and his opponents would be wary of it in the future.


    However, this effect wasn''t impactful most of the time, so he decided to use it anyway.


    Once they had cleared the second stage of Fineous Darkvire, they progressed to the third. After the party got wiped a few more times, they were finally able to kill this notorious character.


    Water Fairy received a Skill Point and everyone else received EXP. Sorrowless rose to level 54, officially entering the top ten on the Level Rankings. He usually worked with a group of Mages who allowed him to take the last hit of the monsters, so his level was already quite high.


    The so-called ''last hit'' method was only something the privileged had the opportunity of doing.


    It was one of the things that rich people were able to do to stay ahead. Sorrowless also had a sparring Mage and a number of other professions that farmed with him.


    These Mages weren''t the most powerful, and all had the exact same kind of equipment. The group was always finding ways to farm with monsters that were of an appropriate level and to calculate the rhythm and timing of their attacks so that these monsters would be left with a sliver of HP.


    Then, Sorrowless would cast an area of effect skill to claim the EXP for himself.


    Of course, an ordinary player wouldn''t be able to afford this kind of service. Even among the clubs, not all star players received such treatment. Or at least, Lu Li didn''t want to waste the time and energy to create such a group of Mages.


    In fact, Ruling Sword had already done quite well because of Lu Li. Their levels were not that low, and the other guilds didn''t seem to enjoy the same kinds of benefits.


    The players here were all at least level 53, which was not that far from level 54.


    Fineous Darkvire didn''t drop the Ironfel, which saved Lu Li from the possibility of offending the others. In fact, he was actually eager to see his teammates'' heartache and helpless expressions.


    Darkvire didn''t drop an Epic item, but he did drop a T0 set item for Hunters. There was only one Hunter present, so no one competed with him for it.


    After the items were distributed, Franclorn Forgewright didn''t appear again.


    It is said that if the Ironfel was dropped and thrown into the magma, Franclorne Forgewright would reappear to the players with a certain chance of turning one of them into an Architect.


    When the Strongholds System was introduced into the game, the construction of a Stronghold would require an Architect. However, this was a Trade Profession that most players had little chance of getting into.


    If a guild wanted to build their own Stronghold, they would generally have to ask the NPCs from the Architect Association to help. This meant that most guilds would go without a Stronghold for quite some time as the cost would just be too great. Those that didn''t have money could only dream about owning a Stronghold.


    The path from the Crafting area led to an upper area in the Shadowforge City. Another feature of Franclorn Forgewright''s architecture was the use of upper and lower areas. From there, they were able to see the body of Incendius that had not yet despawned.


    Not long after, they arrived at the Dark Treasure Trove.


    This was the place where the Iron Dwarves stored their rare treasures. There were six huge vaults, and each of them was protected by a Dark Keeper.


    There was a portrait on the wall with some visible text which told the players the location of the Dark Treasure Keeper. For example, the first one was of Dark Keeper Zimrel and his position was in the arena.


    In fact, even though this Keeper had a name, he wasn''t a Boss. He was barely strong enough to be called a Boss.


    Pretending that he didn''t know any better, Lu Li sent the two Thieves up ahead so that the team didn''t have to deal with the weak monsters along the road. Lu Li didn''t really have to explain much as this wasn''t the first time they had done this.


    The party cleared up quite a few of the monsters and arrived in the arena. There were many Iron civilians here that could be killed for experience, but the ordinary players chose not to because there were many Dwarf children here. Despite the fact that it was in virtual reality, even the most morally bankrupt players didn''t want to kill children.


    Zimrel was quickly killed by the team of 15 players. After he died, he dropped the keys that he was


    protecting.


    The next was Dark Keeper Uggel who was in the Crafting Area. Lu Li and Water Fairy went together to deal with him while the others went to the west side of the residential area to deal with Dark Keeper Pelver.


    Dark Keeper Ofgut was in the bar on the way, in the Southwest corner. This place spawned quite a large number of monsters, so it was handled together as a team.


    Dark Keeper Bethek was more troublesome ¨C he would walk around the area, so it took quite some time for the players to find him. Eventually, Lu Li discovered him behind a pile of rocks, using his golden finger skill. This was one of the easiest spawn points to find this Keeper.


    The last Dark Keeper was Vorfalk, who was also responsible for guarding the wine cellar of the bar.


    For any Dwarven race, even those of that have been enslaved, the most important thing to them other than ore was good wine.


    As such, Vorfalk was actually very much like a Boss.


    Under Lu Li''s leadership, the group walked through a suspension bridge and entered the pub area. There were many civilians drinking in the pub that appeared to be neutral even after the players had made their appearance. This meant that they wouldn''t attack on their own.


    However, Hot Twitch failed to control his pet, which caused damage to one of the Dwarves. This resulted in the whole pub of Dwarves rushing at them.


    This inevitably resulted in the team getting wiped.


    Fortunately, after everyone was Revived and returned to the pub, the Dwarves seemed to have gone back to being neutral, forgetting the adventurers that had attacked them just moments ago.


    "It seems like we can''t fight among the other Dwarves, or all of them will attack us," Lu Li commented, summing up the lesson they had just learned. It was just a roundabout way of saying, "We have to lead Vorfalk out of the tavern."


    "Why would he come out if he is having a good time drinking here?" Hornet''s Nest asked as he inhaled deeply.


    He was also a drunkard both in reality and in game, and had seen that they had so many different kinds of good wine here. If it weren''t for the fact that they were doing something, he probably would have already sat down to have a drink.


    "Yeah, I just tried to talk to him and he completely ignored me," Unforgettable Maple reported helplessly after he came back.


    They couldn''t fight in the tavern, but the NPC was completed ignoring them. How else could they possibly get the Treasure Trove Key that was on this Dark Keeper?

 1101 Sulfuron Slammer

    "Maybe we can have a drink with him," Lu Li suggested after thinking for a moment.


    In fact, there were several strategies that they could employ here, but this was the only one that made sense. The others required a leap of logic that was almost incomprehensible. For example, one of them required the players to stand at the entrance of the bar and yell:


    "Vorfalk, your mum is calling you home for dinner!"


    Vorfalk would then run out of the tavern within seconds. However, this strategy was quite strange and Lu Li felt like it wasn''t really his style.


    "If we need to drink to get close to him, I would be perfect for the job," Hornet''s Nest said as he licked his lips.


    He had tried some of Ironforge''s liquor before, but he hadn''t tasted their wine before. The Ironforge''s wine was slightly bitter, but it had a mellow barley aroma. As for the bitter taste, it was followed with a long, pleasant aftertaste.


    "Of course not," Lu Li couldn''t help but retort before explaining, "Vorfalk is the guardian of the Tavern''s warehouse. If you take out a drink from the warehouse that isn''t sold here¡­"


    Everyone suddenly understood what Lu Li was trying to do.


    "What we need to do now is to observe what wines are being sold in the tavern and write them down. We will then need to go to the pub warehouse downstairs and steal some wine," Lu Li continued.


    "I''ll go with you," Water Fairy said.


    "Alright, everyone else write the kind of wines that you can buy in the tavern onto the chat channel."


    Lu Li and Water Fairy then went into Stealth and began to follow a waiter down to the basement.


    The tavern warehouse was locked with three locks. The security measures used were quite thorough.


    Fortunately, the waiter opened the door of the warehouse which allowed Lu Li and Water Fairy to sneak into the wine cellar.


    "Should we kill him?" Water Fairy asked.


    If they didn''t kill the waiter, then the waiter would take the wine and leave, locking them both within the warehouse.


    The two Thieves engaged onto the level 55 Elite NPC. The fight was naturally effortless, but the NPC unexpectedly dropped something.


    ''Tarnished City Magazine''!


    It was so dirty that it looked like it had been run over by 10,000 horses that had been running in the mud.


    Why did this item drop when he was with Water Fairy? In the process of picking the item up, Water Fairy had also seen its name.


    "Uh, it''s just some item," Lu Li said awkwardly. If he threw it away now, would it look like he was trying to hide something? However, if he kept the item, that wouldn''t look great either.


    "So even the game would drop items like this. What does it do?'' Water Fairy asked calmly.


    "Yeah, there are some NPCs that like this item," Lu Li said after a moment. Only some monsters in Dawn would drop items like this, mostly pirates, sailors, robbers and bar waiters.


    Lu Li remembered that there were some NPCs that were difficult to communicate with, and these items could be used to trigger quests from them.


    He looked around in the wine cellar and quickly found what they were looking for ¨C the legendary Sulfuron Slammer.


    The seven bottles of Sufuron Slammer couldn''t just be taken out and sold casually. Sulfuron was the word of another race that meant fire. Originally, this wine could only exist in theory, as there wasn''t a flame hot enough in the world to make it. However, when Ragnaros was summoned, the Sulfuron Slammer became a reality.


    Lu Li couldn''t understand how Ragnaros helped the efforts to make this wine, but that wasn''t important.


    Each of the seven bottles was worth a thousand gold, and these bottles wouldn''t refresh after they had been taken away. Lu Li carefully observed the surrounding areas around the wine cabinet for any traps, and carefully took the bottles after dealing with them.


    "You have three bottles and I have three bottles. We can use the remaining bottle to lure out Vorfalk. All he needs is to smell the wine," Lu Li said, then gave three bottles to Water Fairy before adding, "Don''t tell them about this; this is between you and me. This might be petty of me, but they were being insincere first."


    Originally, Water Fairy didn''t want it because she didn''t drink.


    However, after hearing Lu Li say that it was between them, she felt moved and didn''t want to reject it. She took the three bottles of wine and put them into her backpack.


    After they returned, Lu Li opened a bottle and walked to the entrance of the tavern.


    The aroma of the burning heat slowly spread. Dark Keeper Vorfalk, who was drinking in the tavern, smelt the aroma and ran out of the tavern screaming.


    The other Dwarves who were still drinking were laughing and joking. They didn''t seem to care at all.


    "Breezy, go in. He seems a bit angry," Lu Li said as he stuffed the bottle back into his bag and kicked Hornet''s Nest to signal that the battle had begun.


    "Thieves! You despicable thieves!"


    Vorfalk who was brought out by the scent of wine was quickly forced to change targets. Under the System''s rules, he couldn''t ignore the Main Tank''s Taunt skills. However, he must have been really annoyed, because he immediately went Berserk.


    "Run away!" Lu Li cried out when he saw Vorfalk spurt a large amount of liquor onto the ground that flowed outwards and sizzled as it went. The liquor didn''t seem to have lost the aroma that it started with before Vorfalk drank it.


    Players that were hit with the liquid would not only be poisoned and receive continuous damage, but would also be mentally disgusted.


    Although Vorfalk was like a Boss, he was still only a Dark Keeper responsible for holding the key. It only took a little effort for Lu Li and the others to deal with him. They didn''t receive any decent equipment from him, but they had now acquired the key to all six treasures.


    Finally, they were able to return to the Treasure Trove and start dividing up the treasures.


    The six treasure chests all had the possibility of dropping Epic equipment.


    Of course, this was the theoretical probability. According to Lu Li''s experience of playing games in the past, it still took quite a bit of luck for a player to find an Epic item.


    The real value of these six treasure chests was in their rare materials.


    It was possible to obtain one or two rare materials in every treasure chest. These rare materials were also usually quite versatile. In particular, the Blood of the Mountain had a wide range of uses and Burning Essence was also a very precious material. There was not much else to say about the Blood of the Mountain. It was a product that could be acquired from mining, but there was a very small chance of it dropping. It was required for several items within Dawn, so its market price was continually climbing.


    As for the Burning Essence, it was important for those who wanted to progress through the Black Rock Mountain series of Instance Dungeons.


    With a Burning Essence, four Crystal Spikes, a Black Diamond and a Libram of Resilience Book, you could go to the Burning Steppes'' Flame Crest to find Mathredis Firestar and exchange them for a Lesser Arcanum of Resilience.


    The effect of the Lesser Arcanum of resilience was simple ¨C it gave headgear 20% fire resistance.


    After a while, when more players were able to fight in Blackrock Mountain, there were would more random groups formed. However, the first condition of forming a group was always whether the player had any enchantments on their headgear. Even if they didn''t have any fire resistance equipment apart from this gem in their headgear, it would generally be possible for them to fight in an Elite Instance Dungeon at Blackrock Mountain.


    In the first Treasure Chest, a Gold item was dropped. Wendelian, who was responsible for looting the chest, was quite frustrated.


    After looting it again, a Blood of the Mountain was dropped.


    This was quite a valuable item, so everyone rolled for it together. Eventually, it ended up with Hornet''s Nest.


    As they continued opening the chests, everyone would roll for the equipment and rare materials. Lu Li was quite unlucky and didn''t receive a single rare material. However, March Rain and Azure Sea Breeze managed to roll for a Blood of the Mountain and even two Burning Essences.


    "Hey Lu Li," Hornet''s Nest said as he came over and gave the Blood of the Mountain that he had rolled to Lu Li.


    "What do you want?" Lu Li asked coldly.


    "Don''t you have any emotions? Don''t you know the people who look up to you?" Hornet''s Nest muttered before forcing a smile. "What kind of wine did you have in your hands? It smelled different from a normal wine, and there is only one bottle, isn''t there? The Boss before seemed quite anxious about it; it''s because there is only one bottle, right?"


    "Yeah, there is only one bottle," Lu Li paused before lying.


    "How about I trade this for the wine?" Hornet''s Next asked as he threw the Blood of the Mountain into Lu Li''s hands.


    Lu Li caught it and hesitated before saying, "Not for one bottle; this wine is too rare. There was only one bottle in the entire cellar¡­"


    "Was there really only one bottle? Alright, how much do you want?"


    The more precious it was, the more Hornet''s Nest could help but want it. For those that enjoyed wine, the thought of trying a fine wine that they hadn''t tasted before could drive them crazy.


    "When we finish this Instance Dungeon, I can pour you a small cup¡­ Maybe if you give me something else, I can give you 1/10th of the bottle. How about that?"


    Lu Li''s performance was quite convincing.


    Hornet''s Nest sheepishly let go of his vision to have a full cup of that wine, exchanging it for a much smaller cup.


    The wine was not an ordinary amber; it seemed to really be burning with color. Perhaps another way to describe it was that it seemed like it was filled with vigor.


    Hornet''s Nest took a sip and slowly relished its taste. After a long time, he realized that this drink had also given him a buff.


    "Woah, I got a permanent 100HP increase! That''s so good!"


    In addition to the fact that the wine tasted great, he had no idea that it could give him bonus attributes.


    "Please, sir Lu Li, you have to share it. Its +100 HP permanently¡­" Unforgettable Maple sighed and pled with Lu Li. He was a Cloth Armored Profession, which were notorious for having little HP. For some players, 100 HP wasn''t much, but it was quite significant for him.


    There was a master chef in Stormwind City that ran an auction for food at 4.30pm every day.


    Among the meals was one that could add 50HP permanently. The highest record paid for this item was 600 gold coins, which was the price that Unforgettable Maple paid.


    600 gold coins was no small amount. It was 50,000 dollars, which was half a year''s salary for an ordinary white-collar worker.


    "The least I can give you for it to work is 1/20th and it will only work once. How can we split it?" Lu Li probably could have refused, but he would have offended a large number of people. This was also a good opportunity to earn a lot of money, and Lu Li was feeling unapologetically greedy.


    "How much?" Unforgettable Maple asked as he swallowed and suddenly felt afraid of Lu Li.


    The others were suddenly paying attention as well. Even Sorrowless couldn''t help but feel the temptation as he was also a Mage with low HP. He felt that he could do with a HP increase as well.

 1102 A Performance

    "Let''s not bother with gold coins. Those things don''t mean much to us," Lu Li said as he rubbed his hands together. "But Epic equipment on the other hand¡­"


    "You''re kidding. Even though it''s precious, there''s no way it''s worth an Epic equipment," Water Fairy interrupted fiercely before anyone else had a chance to speak. "At most, we would give you a few rare materials like Hornet''s Nest. The item is a drop from this Instance Dungeon, and even if you found it on your own, you shouldn''t be allowed to take it completely."


    Some of the players that didn''t know better like Sea Breaker and Phantom Gaze immediately felt that Water Fairy seemed quite cool in that moment.


    Although the others weren''t particularly cunning, they weren''t dumb either. Most of them suspected that this was just an act between Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    They could have just asked for a portion of the wine because it should be a shared reward of the Instance Dungeon, but now that option had been removed because Lu Li had found the item without any help. They could have continued to haggle down the price, but now it was locked in by Water Fairy who referred to the Blood of the Mountain that Hornet''s Nest had given. This ensured that no one could offer any less.


    Now that everything was in place, all the other players could do was either accept the price or reject the temptation of an extra 100HP.


    After a while, Sorrowless was the first to come over and hand Lu Li a Blood of the Mountain.


    Lu Li didn''t say anything more, and just poured 1/20th of the bottle into his cup. It was just enough for Sorrowless to gain the 100HP buff without wasting any wine.


    The others soon followed suit and everyone who had one of the materials had given it up for the buff.


    The five Bloods of the Mountain that had been dropped from the six treasure chests were soon almost entirely held by Lu Li. He now had all the main materials that he needed for his dagger Mold ¨C Felstriker.


    Meanwhile, they others had all received a 100HP buff and were satisfied. After all, this was a permanent enhancement which couldn''t normally be paid for in Rare Materials. There was no resentment against Lu Li, and they were quite happy.


    However, just as everyone was in high spirits, they soon got wiped again.


    "What an aggressive opening; why can''t it just be like normal? Why do these monsters cast such powerful skills so quickly?" Elevenless complained, unable to help himself from taking it out on the game designers.


    "Brother, this is normal," Azure Sea Breeze said in a comforting tone as he patted him on the shoulder.


    "Stop it; you should have pulled the monsters earlier just then¡­"


    "Hehe, how about you try it then¡­"


    "¡­"


    While they were in the Dark Treasure Trove, they suddenly ran into a Mage Boss. It immediately opened with a Frost Nova which froze everyone, then followed with a large area of effect skill. Most the players died after as neither the Main Tank nor the Healer had time to react.


    "Don''t fight it yet!" Lu Li called out to Azure Sea Breeze just before he was about to charge in again.


    Azure Sea Breeze looked at him blankly.


    "Please, don''t you remember how you just died? The Boss uses Ice attacks and you are still wearing fire-resistant equipment. Do you want to die again?"


    Lu Li now no longer thought that there was anything special about the star players anymore; they were actually just ordinary people too.


    When everyone heard what Lu Li said, it suddenly became obvious that they all had to change their equipment.


    Warder Stilgiss was indeed an Ice Mage, which was the complete opposite from the fire creatures that they had encountered in the Blackrock Abyss.


    After Stilgiss had remained loyal to Emperor Thaurissan for many years, the deceitful low-profile Mage finally won his trust and was ordered to guard the Treasure Chest of his tribe. His close friend Houndmaster Grebmar then gave him a murderous dog named Verek to express his congratulations.


    The Mage made good use of it and took it with him all the time to scare away any Thieves trying to steal his treasure.


    After Lu Li explained the origins of Stilgiss, everyone immediately realized they had to deal with his pet as well.


    There were very few pieces of Ice Resistant equipment in Dawn.


    This was because Ice Skills were generally based around crowd control. There were some equips that could reduce freezing time, but these were so rare that it was better just to wear your regular equipment instead.


    The difficulty of Boss Stilgiss was in his various slows and freezes.


    Frost Armor: A layer of ice wraps around the caster for 30 minutes. This thick ice increases the caster''s Armor and reduces the attack speed and movement speed of any melee attacker.


    This skill was a nightmare for melee professions. The effect of having your movement speed reduced was clear, as you wouldn''t be able to run if you were in danger. However, the most painful effect was the decrease in attack speed, as this would directly reduce your damage output as well.


    If you thought that this was all, you would have been very wrong.


    Freeze: If an enemy attacks the caster, there is a chance that their movement speed is reduced by 30%


    and their attack speed is reduced by 20%. It also has a chance of freezing the enemy.


    This meant that there was a further chance of a movement speed and attack speed reduction, in addition to the possibility of being frozen.


    Melee Professions would often be frozen while fighting this Boss.


    Given their team composition with many melee professions and the fact that Stilgiss would often give himself the Frost Armor, the first phase of this Boss was a slow grinding experience.


    Fortunately, the damage output of the Ice Mage wasn''t too high. As long as they didn''t fall for the suddenly attack at the beginning, there was little risk of losing players.


    When they reached the second stage, Warder Stilgiss summoned his dog, Verek. It was a rare breed and the tamer had spent a lot of time developing its murderous capabilities. It was quite ugly in appearance and was exceptionally brutal. Its Slash skill could deal an indescribable amount of damage to a Leather Armored Thief.


    Sea Breaker, who was responsible for tanking Verek, suffered from its attacks.


    "Verek, do what you''re meant to do!" Warder Stilgiss seemed to be quite dissatisfied with his dog.


    However, the dog seemed to respond to his words. It suddenly became aggressive and began attacking indiscriminately. In fact, this was when it was at its most dangerous. Lu Li immediately retreated after taking a hit and shouted for the other melee professions to do the same.


    Water Fairy knew to immediately retreat when Lu Li said so, but Innocent Child didn''t act as decisively.


    The little leopard was slashed by the dog several times. Just as he thought he had retreated to a safe area, he received a System notification tell him that he had died. The Healer didn''t have enough time to heal him.


    Lu Li had received two slashes and quickly cast his damage reduction skills while Water Fairy did the same.


    Most of the other melee professions were Plate Armored, so they could ignore the Slashes. However, they were particularly effective against Leather Armor.

 1103 Black Iron Bar

    They had only lost a Druid, so there was no need to restart the battle. Lu Li just reminded everyone to watch out for Verek''s Slash.


    At phase three, Verek was the first to be killed. After this, everyone focused on Warder Stilgiss. If they still couldn''t take down Verek this time, then it was basically a team wipe, because the Boss would begin to cast all sorts of spells as he pleased.


    This was no exaggeration ¨C being a Mage, Stilgiss had an arsenal of skills to choose from. This was the stage where Warden Stilgiss really frustrated the major guilds.


    As for the timing and order of these skills, the tacticians analysed it for half a month and came to the conclusion that there was no particular order. The Boss just did as he pleased, like an employee who just wanted to finish his job and go home.


    At this point, the commander of the team became very important.


    The timing to use damage reduction, when to group or scatter, and sorting out the situation when a team member was controlled by the Boss were all crucial to success.


    This required synchronization, so team wipes became a common situation. The entire celebrity team had wiped at least five or six times here already and had spent quite some time on this Boss.


    When they did eventually defeat him, Warden Stilgiss generously dropped a Legendary shoulder piece called Boreal Mantle. It was rolled for by Sorrowless, and Unforgettable Maple whined for a long time about it because there was only a one-point difference between their scores.


    The other equipment was a Dark Gold necklace dropped by Verek ¨C Verek''s Collar. Necklaces were rare equips and the price of a Dark Gold piece was no less than any other Legendary equipment.


    This was a necklace for defensive classes, and Sea Breaker didn''t want to fight for it against Azure Sea Breeze, so it fell right into the hands of Azure Sea Breeze. Azure Sea Breeze promised to give his current piece to him in return; the two of them weren''t like Sorrowless and Unforgettable Maple.


    The other equips were quite average, which made Lu Li a little concerned.


    Up until now, he hadn''t even encountered any worthwhile. Things were definitely tougher when Remnant Dream wasn''t around.


    Upon leaving, Lu Li glanced at a portrait on the wall which was of a character named Gug Firewhiskers. He was a past owner of the Black Iron Bar and had gone missing, apparently heading up North.


    If you had the relevant quest, you would be able to find a hidden door behind the portrait.


    It wasn''t a quest that was easy to activate, so it was best to let Hachi Chan attempt it next time.


    They returned to the Black Iron Bar and all of them were tired from the hours of dungeoning. Lu Li had everyone rest for half an hour before they continued. The bar sold Barley Wine which gave some Attributes that weren''t worth mentioning.


    As Lu Li drank and studied the movements in the bar, Sorrowless came and sat by him.


    "What makes you so interested?" Sorrowless asked.


    "Ribbly Screwspigot. I''m thinking about how to take him down in silence," Lu Li answered as he pointed at the Goblin businessman that was drinking wine in a corner. This was their next boss.


    "You''re quite hard working, even when you rest," Sorrowless commended.


    Lu Li had no comments; he didn''t think that Sorrowless would come over just to praise him. They were still competitors to each other and had used all sorts of tactics on each other multiple times.


    "My shout," Sorrowless said as he knocked on the bar table.


    "50 silver for a single Black Iron Beer. I''d say it''s too cheap. When I get the chance to head over to Orgrimmar, I''ll have some Tauren wine there."


    Of course, the Alliance couldn''t just stroll into Orgrimmar, the main city of the Tauren. The only way they could enter would be through an army.


    Orgrimmar was also the city that Glory Capital resided at, so he knew what Lu Li meant.


    However, he wasn''t angered like Lu Li had expected. Instead, he lowered his voice and sighed, "Darkness, is she doing alright?"


    Darkness?


    So this gaming legend also had his share of relationship issues. The Darkness that he mentioned was a healing Paladin in Ruling Sword who was also in the elite group. She was one of the earlier guild members.


    Apparently, Sorrowless had liked her since they were little, but for some reason, she didn''t feel the same. In order to play without him, she even made an account in the opposite faction and joined the elite group of Ruling Sword, moving over to Jiangnan City with a single suitcase.


    Interestingly, if she was levelling in the Wild, other guilds, especially those who had a relationship with Glory Capital, would walk the other way.


    Lu Li only smiled and left it at that when he heard about the situation. He didn''t stoop so low as to use her as leverage.


    Darkness received the same treatment in the guild as anyone else. She was rewarded when she did well, and was punished if she made mistakes. Darkness relied entirely on herself and was doing well.


    "She seems to be pretty good. I haven''t really been paying much attention."


    Lu Li didn''t really need to try and aggravate a man who was being hurt in a relationship. Truth be told, he wasn''t paying much attention to Darkness in the first place. From what he could recall, it seemed like she was a skilled Healer.


    As for her personality, what she liked to do in her spare time...


    Sorrowless would find a way to kill him if Lu Li could recall all that.


    Just because Sorrowless was lowkey about it, it didn''t mean that he wasn''t the type to be overprotective. If anyone killed Darkness in the game, the wouldn''t be having a good time in the future to come.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn''t scared of him.


    Sorrowless didn''t expect to find anything out from Lu Li either; he drank a sip of win and continued to look ahead with a cool face.


    "You, slacking off, hey? What are you two talking about?" From the tone, it was clearly Unforgettable Maple. Although he wasn''t as handsome as Sorrowless, his blue robe gave him a striking appearance. At least, it made Lu Li look even more dorky with his Thief outfit.


    "We''re talking about how we can join together and take down Majin Temple first," Lu Li said as he rolled his eyes.


    "Haha, tell me about it," Unforgettable Maple laughed dryly. "The two guilds that definitely won''t be forming an alliance right now are Ruling Sword and Glory Capital. There''s only one champion spot to begin with."


    Although he was joking, everyone can feel the loneliness in his tone. Majin Temple was once one of the best and most popular, but now they couldn''t even make it into the top 8. It seemed as if all his hard work had accounted for nothing.


    However, this was how life was ¨C no one could really comfort him about it.


    The competitors, who spent all their time fighting each other, finally had a chance to gather in a bar of a dungeon to drink some cheap wine and talk together.

 1104 Barman Shanker

    In the end, they still had a battle to return to ¨C they didn''t come for the alcohol. They came with expectations from players and the gaming company to complete the dungeon.


    Ribbly Screwspigot was Lu Li''s first target. Because he was in a more isolated location, it required less technique to pull him.


    Of course, they weren''t allowed to wipe here. In fact, they weren''t allowed to wipe at all at any of the three Bosses in this bar, or else they would have to face a more complex situation.


    Ribbly Screwspigot was a Goblin, a race that was ubiquitous in this world. Goblins left their footprints wherever they could find money, but Ribbly Screwspigot didn''t come for the money ¨C he came for his own safety.


    Like many Goblins, Ribbly Screwspigot had a bad habit. He liked to loan money and attempt to come up with a plan that could make him a millionaire overnight.


    His most recent failure ¨C the Screwspigot''s Chewable Bomb ¨C made him famous amongst Booty Bay. His life was wanted by Revilgaz, one of the great millionaires who resided there. Hopelessly, he returned to the Black Iron Bar, in an attempt to escape the Bounty Hunters and friends and family who might sell him out.


    His friends and family, including his brothers and sisters, all wanted to try and make some money through their useless brother. They even handed out some rewarding quests for this.


    With the money that he stole, Ribbly Screwspigot hired three Tauren body guards. All of them were well fed and kept at their best condition.


    "Hi, Screwspigot, I have some news from Booty Bay. Would you like to hear about it?" Anyone with related quests on the team could go up and make a conversation.


    "Who are you?" the little Goblin asked cautiously.


    "There are too many people here. How about we talk about it inside?"


    Wendelian tried her best to look harmless, and she did look harmless indeed. She was a female Priest; any one of Ribbly Screwspigot''s bodyguards could probably kill her easily.


    The Goblin took his three bodyguards with him behind a door and quickly shut it.


    Including Wendelian, the room was filled with fifteen people. Ribbly Screwspigot knew that he had fallen for a trap, but unfortunately, he was already caught and all that he could rely on was his three bodyguards.


    As for why the outside world wouldn''t hear about their fight, well, this was a game.


    The three Tauren Bodyguards were quite powerful, but they couldn''t possibly be too challenging.


    As for Ribbly Screwspigot, Lu Li has encountered these kinds of Bosses more than once and so far, they were all average in terms of combat power. They were more skilled in their abilities to scam or earn money.


    The Boss didn''t drop anything worthwhile for them.


    Lu Li''s next target was Hurley Blackbreath.


    Hurley Blackbreath was more than just a regular at the bar ¨C in the past 10 years, this alcoholic had only left the bar once. He had also attempted to steal the secret recipe for the Lightning Beer. Sometimes, Hurley Blackbreath would awaken from his drunken state and brew this alcohol himself, claiming that all who drank it would receive unimaginable strength and courage.


    There were people in Kharanos, a town located in Dun Morogh that wanted Hurley Blackbreath''s head. The reason was simple ¨C he had stolen the recipe for Lightning Beer.


    Hurley Blackbreath was generous, brewed good wine and was handsome ¨C not that Lu Li could comprehend what was handsome about that big beard. Regardless, he held a high status within the bar.


    The position that he sat in was almost in the middle of the bar. If you attacked him there, you would be rushed by a group of angry Dwarves in the next second.


    The group studied the situation for a bit, after which Lu Li suggested that he could go steal the Lightning Beer recipe with Water Fairy. If the game left any clues, then the Lightning Beer recipe had to be the only one.


    The Theft ability that Thieves had caused a certain amount of aggression, but what if their target was an alcoholic?


    Lu Li went up first and casted Theft. He stole a handful of coins, which seemed like a lot, but they were all copper. Moreover, it sent his Theft ability on cooldown. In order to not create more aggression, Water Fairy''s gave it a try, but she still returned with coins.


    They attempted this for a few minutes, and the situation remained the same.


    They stole all kinds of rubbish, but they didn''t manage to land the Lightning Beer Recipe.


    "My, I bet they''re almost about to steal his underwear, but they still haven''t stolen the Lightning Beer Recipe," Azure Sea Breeze said anxiously.


    "Dirty, this is too dirty," Unforgettable Maple sighed with a sorry expression. "Now that I think about the consequences of offending them, I feel horrified. What if they steal off me like this someday? Wouldn''t I have to run around naked then?"


    "What if he doesn''t have it with him?" Green Flag Wine asked. If that was the case, then it would be a problem.


    At this time, Lu Li''s voice sounded out in the group channel.


    "We got it. Everyone, get ready ¨C he''s about to go crazy."


    It wasn''t that Hurley Blackbreath was unaware that someone was stealing his stuff. In his tipsy mind, these were all small things compared to his recipe. He could go and brew some wine later and earn it back in an instant.


    However, the moment the recipe disappeared, he instantly woke up.


    He hadn''t left the Black Iron Bar once in ten years. He had to waste his drinking time for this recipe, and now someone had stolen it before he had even fully studied it.


    How dare they!


    As he watched the Thief run into a house beside the bar, Hurley Blackbreath picked up his giant hammer and walked over, wobbling from side to side. He had to let these little Thieves know who they were messing with.


    Just last time, Hurley Blackbreath found that he was surrounded after he entered.


    Poor Hurley Blackbreath ¨C he never got the chance to find out why these people were so horrible. Not only did they steal his recipe, but they also took his life.


    Hurley Blackbreath dropped a Dark Gold grade pair of boots with fire resistance attributes. The attributes on the boots were also decent, but the most important aspect was the fire resistance. From here onwards, main tanks would be willing sacrifice other stats for fire resistance in the Blackrock dungeon series.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy could both use it, but Water Fairy passed it to Lu Li.


    The third boss that they had to kill in this bar was the owner ¨C Plugger Spazzring.


    Plugger Spazzring was an honest businessman and was a well-known figure in the Black Iron Bar.


    The kind of friendship that developed in the bar was all thanks to Plugger Spazzring. He was a Leopard Gnome that had come to start a new life after the fall of Gnomeregan. Although he used to be a Warlock that interacted with demons all the time, now he was just a proud owner who ensured that his customers'' cups were always filled with wine.


    He was a popular Boss in Dawn, not just because he was one of the few who dropped Goblin Jumper Cables, but also because he had with him a Legendary weapon that many Thieves coveted ¨C the Barman Shanker.

 1105 Hehe

    Barman Shanker was the easiest Legendary weapon to obtain before level 60, despite the drop rate being low and the dungeon run needing to be on Nightmare mode. For most players, even a low drop rate still gave them hope.


    In the future, it was possible to see many wielding the Barman Shanker.


    The appearance of the dagger was like a broken beer bottle, the kind that people used to fight in bars. However, while it looked plain, it was made with Black Iron and Mithril. The broken edges were sharp and the damage it dealt was so high that even the best healers found it troublesome to deal with.


    One of the special effects provided a chance to reduce received healing by half, along with other special effects like bleeding and poison.


    Lu Li had the Felstriker and also planned to upgrade Shard of the Defiler, so he wasn''t short on weapons. However, he didn''t mind rolling it for his guild members.


    "What alcohol is this? It tastes horrible; let''s go."


    Hornet''s Nest, who was in charge of acting, smashed the wine cup on the floor and left angrily. It seemed like he wasn''t planning to pay up.


    No matter how kind Plugger was, he couldn''t simply watch on.


    Someone had insulted his alcohol, broke his glass and wasn''t going to pay. As such, Plugger chased after him, but was met with Azure Sea Breeze shamelessly slamming his shield into him from above and was nearly buried into the ground. The difference in height between Dark Elves and Gnomes made Azure Sea Breeze feel much more confident about himself.


    "Be careful Breezy," Lu Li warned.


    "Don''t worry, his attack speed is so slow. He must be a joke," Azure Sea Breeze dismissed. He had never such a small Boss in a long time.


    Some said that you couldn''t be too full of yourself, because bad karma was right around the corner. Even before Azure Sea Breeze could stop laughing, the angry little Warlock Gnome had banished him. Banish was a skill that rendered the enemy target unable to move, but unable take damage either. The effect lasted for 15 seconds.


    It wasn''t an issue to Banish anyone else, but it was problematic for Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Badge. Don''t let the Boss attack others," Lu Li instructed. He wasn''t concerned about the future; he was worried more about now.


    To be honest, it was rare for Bosses to banish the main tank straight away. All that could be said was that Azure Sea Breeze was too good at pulling aggression onto himself.


    Azure Sea Breeze was very obedient; he did exactly as he was told. He used his Badge without the slightest hesitation and instantly pulled back the Boss. From then onwards, Banish was used often, but not on the main tank.


    In phase two, Plugger began to use his Warlock area of effect spells, while in phase three, he casted Demon Armor himself. This ability boosted the Armor of the caster and also increased their health regeneration speed. However, this was far from the end of it all ¨C he also began to use Curse of Tongues.


    Curse of Tongues: forces nearby enemies to speak in the Demonic language, reducing their casting speed by 50% for 15 sec.


    This was a nightmare for magic classes and hence, the main damage output for this fight came from the melee players.


    Some teams chose to have less melee players for the sake of the fire elementals beforehand. This would be the time when they had to switch out members from the outside team.


    Lu Li had no issues with their melee players ¨C both him and Water Fairy were powerful sources of damage. There was also Elevenless and Old Man Power, along with Green Flag Wine and Sea Breaker to some degree.


    In the end, the Boss went Berserk. The berserk mode of a Magic class couldn''t be underestimated ¨C even with the little health that he had, he still took a few players down with him. However, the ones who ultimately won were the players, because they had the number advantage and could use items.


    Just like how the Hollywood movies depicted it, the police always arrived late to the event.


    Phalanx, who was hired by Plugger to protect the bar, came late.


    He was usually very useful, because the bar always had issues every day. Phalanx was a Golem bodyguard, responsible for maintaining the order in the bar and evicting guests by force.


    "What do?" Everyone looked at Lu Li.


    They hadn''t even looted the body yet or had the chance to regenerate their health and mana.


    "Regenerate on the spot," Lu Li said as he sat down and began to eat his bread.


    The others did the same, ignoring the War Golem that kept rambling on.


    Fortunately, it really did speak a lot. If it had engaged the moment it appeared, Lu Li and the others would have been in trouble. However, they managed to recover most of their health and mana.


    The Boss had high Attack and Defense Attributes, but it barely had any skills.


    Lu Li and the others had the strongest tank in Dawn, so these types of Bosses were the least of their concerns. They just had to be wary of the Boss'' chained Fireball.


    Upon entering phase two, Phalanx would choose a random player and cast a chain of ten Fireballs in total. The player would have to try their best to survive, but at the very worst, they would miss out on the Experience.


    As long as they didn''t lose too many damage dealers, Lu Li was confident that they could finish off this Boss.


    The last ones standing were still the players, but they had lost three members this time. Wendelian began looting the two Bosses after everyone had been resurrected. Everyone else sat on the floor and ate bread pre-emptively, in case another Boss unexpectedly showed up.


    "Legendary dagger!" Wendelian shouted. Lu Li knew that the Barman Shanker had dropped. He and Water Fairy exchanged glances and they both smiled.


    "That''s enough you two; stop showing off your relationship. Are you two going to sort this out by yourselves or roll numbers like usual?" Unforgettable Maple was impatient about these situations; he felt sorry for himself.


    "This is too low. Should we let her reroll?" Wendelian asked.


    Water Fairy had rolled 42 points and seemed to be surprised by the low number. Her expression must have been priceless, but unfortunately, it was hidden behind a mask.


    Lu Li laughed and rolled too.


    9 points!


    Everyone was stunned for a moment before they all began to laugh.


    "You guys need to rename your guild. Instead of Ruling Sword, it should be name Black Hand Team. You''re the team leader; no one can fight over the position with you."


    They had finally found something that Lu Li wasn''t great at, so this was their chance to crack some jokes.


    After the Barman Shanker, a precious recipe dropped ¨C Goblin Jumper Cables.


    Even those who didn''t practice Engineering knew of its value. Of course, they all wanted to roll for the recipe together, but after Lu Li showed everyone his Engineering level, the other distribution rule in the game took effect.


    Needs come first!


    He wasn''t just a fake Engineer ¨C he was a real Artisan Engineer.


    The others probably tried out some trading skills for fun, but none of them had even reached Journeyman Engineering, so it wasn''t a proper proof for needing this recipe.


    Hence, the recipe fell into Lu Li''s pocket.


    Then, Lu Li saw Water Fairy smiling at him, to which he replied with a blinking expression. Some things were better off unspoken.

 1106 Two Tough Choices

    Lu Li already had this recipe, and he had found it in a dungeon run with Water Fairy no less. But of course, as long as he didn''t mention it, no one else would know.


    Nobody felt tired from the events at the bar, so they all headed off to the next Boss'' location.


    Ambassador Flamelash!


    Lu Li watched the Cloth Armor classes who still had clueless expressions on them. He sighed silently at how things were about to change because of a fire ring.


    As games gradually grew to become part of daily living, more and more people gave in to obtaining useless things that looked pretty. All you could say to that was if it existed, it probably made some sort of sense.


    Ambassador Flamelash was incredibly loyal to Ragnaros, so he came as an important diplomat to the Black Iron tribe.


    He originally looked down on his Dwarven allies, but gradually began to respect them for their nature to destroy things. To show his loyalty, he began to take up the responsibility of protecting the Hall of Magic, the place that the Dwarves used to empower their weapons.


    The Summoner''s Grave rested behind him. Apparently, the seven Black Iron Dwarf ancestors that summoned Ragnaros rested in the tomb.


    "Damn, why are there fire elementals again?"


    Azure Sea Breeze looked bitter. He had just switched into his best gear, and now he had to switch back to fire resistance equipment. It was hard for him to adapt to the difference.


    "Most of the monsters in the dungeon are fire elementals; just get used to it."


    There were many dungeons after the Blackrock Depths that all included difficult Fire Elemental bosses. Ambassador Flamelash was one of Ragnaros'' close subordinates, so there was no way he would be a pushover.


    "What now? Just start?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he turned his head and gave Lu Li a strange look.


    "Start it. What are you looking at me for?" Lu Li responded.


    Azure Sea Breeze had a strange feeling that whenever Lu Li didn''t introduce the Boss properly, it was either going to be simple or extremely hard¡­


    He had hoped it was the prior, but reality told him that he was being way to na?ve.


    Ambassador Flamelash had a vicious looking face with a snake-like body. In one hand, he wielded a long blade that was set ablaze and splashed flames everywhere. In the beginning, the temperature was low, so everyone didn''t feel much. However, after seven inscriptions in the Hall of Magic began flashing and seven Fire Elementals appeared, everyone knew that they were in trouble.


    Were they to fight or hide?


    Everyone awaited Lu Li''s commands. He hesitated for a bit, but still instructed everyone to kill them.


    Of course, this was the wrong move. However, this was how an ordinary player would have thought. These types of summoned monsters that moved towards the Boss either boosted its Attack power, or healed it, so it was only natural to try and take them down.


    The first one to make an attempt was Old Man Power, but because he was a melee player, he instantly died when he attacked the Fire Elemental.


    "Ranged players, go and give it a shot. Melee players, don''t worry about it."


    Lu Li didn''t hope to pass this Boss in one go; there was nothing wrong in showing his team members how strong it could possibly be.


    This time, no one died and two Fire Elementals were slain before they even reached the Boss. As they died, flames spilled onto floor and continued to burn.


    The other four little Elementals successfully reached Ambassador Flamelash and were absorbed. After this, Flamelash grew bigger and gained increased Attack damage.


    "So we do have to take them down," Wendelian said, then continued, "I thought we couldn''t attack them at first. It looks like I''m just not good enough to command; I should learn more from Lu Li in the future."


    Lu Li had no comments. He didn''t stop people from taking down the second wave of Fire Elementals either.


    With the first attempt successful, they managed to take out even more Fire Elementals from the second wave. This time, only two of them successfully made it to the Boss.


    However, this also meant that more flames were left on the floor.


    At first, everyone was subconsciously careful not to step near them. Lu Li didn''t specifically instruct them to do this ¨C it was just common sense.


    However, as the fire on the floor grew, everyone finally discovered that something was wrong. Why was it that these flames dealt more damage than the Boss? The first one who figured this out was Sea Breaker, but he still died.


    After this, more and more of them died ¨C even the healers didn''t survive. The end result was naturally a team wipe.


    Ambassador Flamelash never used any ultimate skills. All he did was summon a few Fire Elementals, the type that could be slain with a few hits. Even so, it was enough to wipe out the celebrity team once.


    "These summoned monsters ¨C do we kill them or not?" Wendelian asked Lu Li, who was repairing his equipment.


    She had originally served in Glory Capital and learned from Sorrowless. Later down the track, she felt like she wouldn''t ever rise to a commanding position, so she left for Gale Legion. Nobody else knew if there were any relationship issues involved.


    "Mmm, I don''t know either. Let''s try not killing them this time," Lu Li suggested, not giving them a clear answer and playing things safe insteads.


    There was no need for him to expose himself when he was doing a dungeon run with his competitors. It was essential for someone like him, who had reincarnated, to hide his knowledge.


    It didn''t seem right to not kill these Fire Elementals, and some players on the team who had commanding experience began to calculate the result of Ambassador Flamelash absorbing too many. The Fire Elementals refreshed too quickly, and Ambassador Flamelash had a lot of health.


    Their expressions darkened after they figured out the results of the calculation.


    It was as if they were stuck in a loop ¨C if they killed the Fire Elementals, there would be more fire on the floor, and eventually, they wouldn''t have enough ground to stand on. However, if they didn''t kill the fire elementals, the Boss would continuously grow stronger and still lead to a team wipe.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, Ambassador Flamelash''s Burning Spirit looked something like this:


    Burning Spirit: When Burning Spirits enter a one yard radius of Ambassador Flamelash, they will sacrifice themselves, increasing his damage by 5% and size by 5%. Burning Spirit can be stacked up to 50 times.

 1107 Bullying the Star Players

    The key phrase was "stacking up to fifty times". Fifty times was a considerable amount, but it was much better than stacking infinitely.


    It was not that they could not kill the Fire Elementals; they just had to kill them strategically.


    However, Lu Li decided to play around with them to create a false impression that it was difficult for him to achieve First Clears. Other players would always struggle in dungeons, but the Blackrock Depths run seemed much smoother under the command of Lu Li.


    Even Sorrowless was completely impressed by him throughout this dungeon.


    In the second run, none of the Fire Elementals were killed and all the pressure was placed on Azure Sea Breeze''s shoulders. Slowly but surely, Ambassador Flamelash grew stronger and bigger in size.


    Fifty stacks meant that his attacks were 2.5 times stronger.


    When other Bosses became enraged, oftentimes the buff they received to their attack was not even close to 2.5 times. As such, they had to fight Ambassador Flamelash as if he was constantly enraged.


    When the Ambassador Flamelash actually became enraged¡­


    Azure Sea Breeze was unable to survive even with his defensives activated.


    Normal attacks were doing around 1000 HP in the beginning and 5000Hp at the end of the fight. They were on pace to be completely wiped.


    "Both strategies don''t seem to work; we have to look for an alternative strategy. What if we pulled the Boss away from the Fire Elementals?" Lu Li suggested.


    On the third try, Azure Sea Breeze kited the Boss and dragged it around the map while the DPS classes followed closely behind.


    After a long while, the Fire Elementals burst into flames, setting the floor ablaze. They were discouraged because this was no different from actually killing them.


    "Extinguish the fire, quick! Lu Li, what kind of terrible idea was this?" Azure Sea Breeze accused and gave up while the Boss continued to beat him to death.


    When they were resting at the bar, their moral was very high and each of them was filled with excitement. However, after being wiped three times, hopelessness became their number one enemy.


    Major guilds often had alternate First Clear parties to switch around in case the first team became discouraged and stuck. However, Lu Li never bothered with that.


    He had spent a lot of time in his past life studying different dungeons and he was able to conclude that there was not a single dungeon in the game that was impossible. This was because the game developers would be crucified if they were to create a dungeon that was impossible.


    The first two team wipes in this dungeon were opportunities to learn for future runs.


    "We''ll only kill some of them this time. Sorrowless, Hornet''s Nest, you two stand where I put the markings on the minimap. If Fire Elementals spawn there, you two must kill them as fast as possible. Unforgettable Maple, Phantom Gaze and Hot Twitch, you three do the same as well at the three locations that I mark out," Lu Li began to explain.


    This time he was serious. Although the strategy wasn''t too flashy, based on Wendelian and Sorrowless''s expressions, it was clear that this was a good plan.


    This was the next obvious plan of approach. If they were wiped, whether they kill the Fire Elementals or not, the next logical plan was to only kill a few of them. This way, the fire on the ground would not affect the Boss fight and the Boss could not absorb the Elementals to gain up to maximum stacks.


    In the end, the Boss only accumulated around 30 stacks, which was around 1.5 times the attack. Azure Sea Breeze was definitely strong enough to tank the damage.


    Usually, teams would bring more ranged DPS classes to this dungeon in order to save time. Ranged classes were able to kill the Fire Elementals from afar while also dealing DPS to the Boss. However, they didn''t have many class options in the All-Star team.


    Because of their lack of coordination and team chemistry, they were wiped again.


    However, this time, the morale was much higher because everyone realized that they had found the correct strategy.


    In Dawn, whether it was PvP or PvE, dying and running back to your dead body was a daily occurrence. It was almost impossible to reach max level without dying at all.


    This time, Lu Li moved around the personnel because he had realized that Hot Twitch had dealt more damage than Hornet''s Nest, possibly due to the attack speed of Hunters.


    As such, Hot Twitch was paired with Sorrowless and the other three were grouped together. That way, the two groups would be more balanced and efficient.


    As the battle continued, Ambassador Flamelash began using empowered Fire Blast.


    His Fire Blast was quite different from an average Mage''s fire blast. For Mages, Fire Blast was an instant-cast damaging skill, while Ambassador Flamelash''s version really emphasized the word ''blast''.


    Flamelash began bombarding the melee players who were standing far away. If it wasn''t for Lu Li''s strategy of instantly killing the Fire Elementals and containing the flames, the melee classes would have been completely incinerated. Everyone managed to avoid the fire except for poor old Elevenless.


    After entering stage three, the annoying Fire Elementals finally disappeared.


    Abassador Flamelash then began casting Conflagrate. This caused the players to take fire damage over time and would spread to surrounding players.


    However, everyone knew how to position themselves, retreat, attack and stay alive at the right timing without needing to be told what to do.


    Ambassador Flamelash was finally killed, leaving behind some spoils of war for the All-Star team.

 1108 Flame Wrath

    After defeating the Boss, everyone became abnormally calm. This was because no one knew what to expect from the drops.


    In the near future, players would be praying for the Circle of Flame to drop. If it dropped, everyone would be fighting over it, especially the Mage classes.


    There was a wide variety of Armor for people to wear. These were typically class-based, such as Plate Armor, Cloth Armor and so on. However, Circle of Flame could be equipped by anyone.


    As a Legendary headgear, the properties of the item were quite strong. For Mage-DPS classes, this was a dream come true. If it was to be rolled for, only Mage classes participated in the roll.


    Lu Li only had three members from Ruling Sword with him currently. Even after including Water Fairy, there were still no Mage-DPS classes, so they were less excited.


    "Flame¡­"


    Lu Li could not believe it; could it have been the Circle of Flame? Wendelian then read out, "Wrath."


    Flame Wrath and Circle of Flame ¨C two similar names. However, the value of Flame Wrath simply could not be compared to Circle of Flame. Since they were both Legendary items, the others'' eyes lit up at the sight of it, since they did not know of the Circle of Flame which was much more valuable.


    It was fortunate for Lu Li that it had not dropped. After all, the Circle of Flame would not make him stronger. He could only cheer himself up by thinking that.


    First Clears actually boosted the drop rate by a tremendous amount. It was designed this way, so that those who achieved First Clears had a much higher chance of receiving strong items. This would, in turn, lead to many people grinding that dungeon for the items. However, since the bonuses of the First Clear were no longer in effect, the drop rate became abysmal.


    This was Lu Li''s own idea, which did not affect the determination and drive of his party members to continue.


    Going forward, the team moved into a Metal Casting room, which was where the Dark Iron Dwarves smelted most of their Dark Iron. All the ore that was gathered in the Depths would often be turned into armor and weapons, or other equipment and items.


    A large Forge stood in the middle of the room. The smelted ore could be seen sloshing around inside, while the workers and puppets were hard at work.


    The team easily found the guard of this place: Panzor the Invincible.


    This Boss was not commonly encountered by the players. This was because sometimes, if you were lucky, you would meet him here. If you were unlucky, then you would only need to kill these workers and puppets before being able to move to the next area. However, no one could figure out the mechanics behind the Boss appearing.


    Panzor the Invincible was a robotic puppet, created by the Golem Lord Argelmach with the purpose of battle in mind. The loss in the War of the Three Hammers led to the redundancy of Panzor, so he was posted to this place as a guard.


    Hidden Boss were truly a rare sight. Only the lucky ones could encounter them, so the Boss difficulty wasn''t too hard either.


    In less than half an hour, the team had already crushed it.


    After examining its corpse, Lu Li acquired some materials that he could use in Engineering. The other players also received some materials, but they gave it all to Lu Li, since they could not be bothered with these small things.


    The drops were fairly mediocre anyway.


    The team did not waste time and moved to the next area, finding themselves in Golem Lord Argelmach''s territory.


    Panzor had created by this guy, so Argelmach was likely a formidable enemy.


    Argelmach was someone who pursued an undying body to the extent that he created a copy of his body from magic. There were even rumours circulating that he had used various types of dark magic to allow his new creation to take in his soul as a vessel after the destruction of his flesh body.


    Argelmach''s position in Shadowforge City was quite high, so his chamber was extremely spacious.


    At the entrance, there were high doorsteps for them to climb over. Lu Li did not understand why they would build these doorsteps for Dwarves, so he just attributed it to a weird preference of Argelmach''s.


    "The two sides are too far apart. We might as well not clear the monsters."


    Azure Sea Breeze hated fighting against ranged monsters, and these all had guns.


    "We should still kill them just in case. If you go over to the pole over there, you''ll be in the blind spot," Lu Li said, then quietly laughed. Argelmach would indicate for these small monsters to overwhelm them, which would inevitably lead to a wipe.


    It took at least ten minutes for them to clear the monsters, which was more time than defeating Panzor.


    After clearing these monsters, they faced the Golem Lord and two other Golem puppets.


    Truly, the Instance Dungeons in Blackrock Depths were often the topic of discussion within players. On one hand, these dungeons were designed masterfully. However, on the other hand, they had made the dungeons too complicated and easy to get lost in, not to mention the sheer number of Bosses.


    Nevertheless, this was not a problem since Lu Li was at the helm. Since Lu Li was a veteran, even if they did get lost, he would be able to guide them out quickly.


    There was not much resting time between each fight; there was seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. This time, after wiping around five to six times, they finally broke through to phase two.


    The tough part about phase was the erratic attacks from the Golems, so the main tank could not maintain aggro.


    In the end, Lu Li organised a triangle formation, where there were three points that the Golems could attack. Once one of the Golems approached the points, someone else who was capable of tanking it would tank the hit. It was through this method that they were able to pass the phase two stage.


    Golem Lord Argelmach began to act when they reached phase two.


    It was then that the team realised that they were deceived by his original appearance. After thinking about it, a Shaman would have definitely learnt how to use Chain Lightning, since it was one of their signature moves.


    Although the fight was difficult, there weren''t any squad wipes. After all, their equipment and skills were of a sufficient standard.


    It was safe to say that even after two months, there would not be any squads that travelled to the Blackrock Depths equipped with Legendary items, like this All-star squad.


    After reaching phase three, a squad wipe swiftly followed.


    A Lightning Storm, with its eye centred at Argelmach''s position, began to rapidly spread out and envelop the squad members. As a result, most of the team died, except the ones who recognised that Argelmach was about to cast a skill and mitigation before it hit them. However, they were left with barely any HP.


    After wiping at phase three, they had to start all over again from the beginning.


    They learned from this mistake and grouped together while Sorrowless used an AoE shield.

 1109 Golem Lord

    Sorrowless'' shield skill had a cooldown of one hour, with an active duration of 3 seconds. Naturally, once used, it probably would not be used for the rest of the battle. Furthermore, since the cooldown of the skill was so long, the team would not be able to count on this skill to save them from wiping every time. After all, Argelmach could still have multiple skills up his sleeves.


    After wiping two more times, Lu Li stood up and clapped his hands loudly. He decided that he was going to be the saviour of this team.


    "Breezy, do you see the four pillars in the hall?" Lu Li asked while pointing. "Drag the Boss to the middle. Then, when he''s going to use a skill, everyone should run behind the pillars. The pillars might be able to save our lives."


    "Is that possible? After all, this is a lightning attack." Wendelian was extremely suspicious.


    Everyone knew that for skills like this, it did not matter if they hid from the Boss. After all, they had seen that the Lightning Cloud had enveloped the whole house.


    "Just try it out. We don''t know until we try," Lu Li said, clearly determined.


    Since there weren''t any other better proposals, the others did not object to this suggestion. They had wiped so many times until this point.


    Azure Sea Breeze began to drag Argelmach and the other two golems in the middle. They had to start from phase one, so they had to use the triangle formation once again.


    This time, they did not start off as well as before. The moment the battle begun, Elevenless was immediately killed. As for why Elevenless always died, this was unexplainable. However, Lu Li did not call for the team to stop.


    Green Flag Wine ended up replacing Elevenless'' role of tanking the golems.


    After passing through phase one, things became a little easier. However, after phase two came phase three¡­


    "Ready¡­"


    The moment Lu Li yelled for the team to prepare themselves, they immediately stopped attacking. Then, when he instructed them to run, even Azure Sea Breeze listened and used his leap skill to escape.


    Fortunately, the Boss remained still when everyone was running. After all, he was channelling his skill.


    Waves of lightning bolts filled the room, turning it into a lightning cage.


    As soon as the lightning hit a member of the team, they did not bother to use any form of mitigation. However, they quickly found out that the lightning bolts that could one-shot them did not kill them this time.


    "Ah, I understand," Sorrowless remarked, understanding how they managed to take significantly less damage from the lightning. "The lightning bolts were less concentrated this time than previously. This was because we took shelter behind the pillars. The damage that we received was from the smaller bolts that extended from the main ones. Lu Li was correct in his judgment."


    Lu Li was happy that someone else had explained it instead of himself. He was just content at discovering the strategy.


    However, they could not let down their guard here. After all, Argelmach was known as the Golem Lord, so he could not only have had the two golems from the beginning.


    Argelmach began to summon golem after golem.


    During this time, the golems could be controlled by players after their HP reached a certain threshold. The players could control these golems and use their skills and bodies to fight.


    This was an enjoyable part of the fight as it was like playing with bumper cars.


    The ones with less DPS or less tanking ability could choose to control one of these golems and attack the Boss this way.


    Obviously, the main tank and healers still had to maintain their current roles.


    The damage that the golems received was not transferred to the player''s original bodies. Instead, the golems had a durability bar of 100 points. Many players would use them to attack Argelmach, since the damage was extremely high.


    The summoning of these golems only helped the players, instead of making it difficult for them. As such, Argelmach quickly used a new skill that was a form of black magic, which he used to separate souls from bodies.


    Argelmach used this skill on Unforgettable Maple, who immediately lost control of his body and became one of Argelmach''s puppets.


    He had quickly become the Boss'' weapon, but he alone could not do much. After all, they were all professional players who met with each other on a regular basis in the arena.


    The Boss began to use this skill on other squad members too.


    This stage of the Boss fight was extremely difficult and dangerous. After all, the number of players fighting against Argelmach was slowly decreasing. If this skill was cast on the main tank or the healers, then they would definitely wipe.


    Argelmach''s HP was already less than 10%, so if they wiped here, they would have to start all over again.


    "Those who have crowd-control skills, use them on the ones being controlled. The rest of you, focus on the Boss!" Lu Li was still yelling for the members to stop fighting the controlled players.


    As he spoke, he used Blind on Unforgettable Maple, then rushed towards the Boss.


    After this, even when the others were affected by Argelmach''s skill, the originally controlled players would return to normal. They realised that the maximum number of controlled players was five.


    Their most unfortunate moment came when Azure Sea Breeze was controlled. Sea Breaker hurried to take his role and tanked the Boss'' damage. Argelmach''s damage was horrifyingly lethal. Lu Li didn''t think that Sea Breaker could tank more than two hits, considering the healers were running out of Mana.


    "Alright, alright. I''m back," Azure Sea Breeze announced, then rushed to help Sea Breaker out.


    The three healers had used up all their mana in these few seconds healing Sea Breaker. Azure Sea Breeze felt sympathetic for them. After all, Sea Breaker was supposed to be a professional main tank.


    After Azure Sea Breeze took over Sea Breaker''s position, the battle immediately turned in their favour. The other players were managing fine, so the healers had a chance to rest for a little while.


    They were even more lucky, because Argelmach did not go into an enraged state this time. Lu Li decided to let Innocent Child use a revive on Elevenless so that the whole team could receive rewards and pass this Instance Dungeon together. Azure Sea Breeze and Jade Flower Lover also gained skill points as rewards.


    Even if an ordinary squad knew the strategies, they would still be grinding this dungeon for hours on end, with wipe after wipe. Smaller guilds could find themselves fighting here for days without any progress.


    Lu Li was content with this outcome already.


    He knew of two Legendary drops from Argelmach. One was the Naglering, while the other was Second Wind.


    Second Wind was an extremely powerful item for Mage classes. This was because once it was equipped, it could regenerate tremendous amounts of Mana during battle.


    The properties of the Naglering were not bad either and was popular among main tanks. There was a unique effect that had a chance to give a defensive barrier for the wielder. The maximum number of barriers that could be held was five. This ring gave main tank the capacity to tank a huge number of same level monsters at the same time.


    Of course, when used against a Boss, the effects of this ring would be rather insignificant. Even five barriers would not be able to tank one hit from a Boss.


    Lu Li was a little torn between which one he would prefer to drop.


    In terms of actual value, Second Wind was much more valuable. However, only March Rain could enter the roll for it, as seven to eight others would also want it. If the Naglering dropped, then Azure Sea Breeze would have a high chance of receiving it, due to his relationship with Sea Breaker.


    Even if Sea Breaker wanted to roll for it, Azure Sea Breeze still had a considerable chance of winning.

 1110 Second Wind

    "Ah, Second Wind," Wendelian said, reading out the name. A quick expression of surprise flashed across her face, then, while smiling ear-to-ear, she said, "I''ll give everyone here 500 gold in exchange for this item. How about it?"


    500 gold?


    Although the price of gold fluctuated, each gold coin was still worth around 70-80 dollars in real life.


    This meant that 500 gold would equate to 35,700 dollars.


    Furthermore, this 500 gold amount wasn''t for the whole team, but 500 gold per member. All up, this totalled around 500,000 dollars. This was quite a sum, even for a professional player.


    "Hehe¡­of course not!" Unforgettable Maple immediately exclaimed. "If you''re willing to fork out so much money for this item, then it must be a good one for Mages, not just Healers. Otherwise, you would only offer it to March Rain and Jade Flower Lover."


    "Sister Maple¡­can you not be like this?" Wendelian flashed Unforgettable Maple a glare.


    The other players were still trying to figure out what was going on.


    "Alright. Quickly share the properties of this item." Lu Li was beginning to become impatient. He could already imagine their reactions upon reading the properties. It was unfortunate that it was not the Naglering that dropped, but Second Wind. He could only pray for Lady Luck to smile upon March Rain.


    When Wendelian read out the properties, the tremendous regeneration of MP effect stole everyone''s attention. This resulted in many people wanting to buy the item straight away, turning the scene temporary auction.


    Unfortunately, nobody here was willing to settle for cash and gold, besides Lu Li. However, he was not qualified to have this piece of equipment. He would have made the greatest gain if they decided to settle on cash, since they had three Ruling Sword members here.


    In the end, they decided to roll it, with the Mage classes participating.


    March Rain was unfortunate this time around. The number that was rolled immediately eliminated her chances at getting the item.


    Lu Li began to pray that it would not go to Sorrowless. After all, Glory Capital was extremely powerful already, and with this, Sorrowless would grow even stronger.


    Jade Flower Lover then rolled a 98, which seemingly answered Lu Li''s prayers.


    Unless Sorrowless could roll a 99 or a 100, Jade Flower Lover, the Shaman healer, would end up with this item.


    As for whether Jade Flower Lover would give this item to the other Blood Red War Flag members to use in competitions, Lu Li was unconcerned. Even if the number one Mage of Blood Red War Flag equipped this item, he was certain that they would still win against them.


    91!


    Sorrowless did not have bad luck, just insufficient luck. It was unfortunate that there were two others who rolled higher digits than him, so he could only watch on from afar.


    "Wow, another Legendary. I''m too lucky!" Wendelian squealed in excitement. In this excitement, she accidentally revealed the item.


    Could it be? Lu Li closely examined the item in front of him, then suddenly had a realisation that Wendelian could be the luckiest person in Dawn.


    It was true that the idea of two Legendary items dropping could not be fathomed by any player at that moment.


    Legendary items were never in abundance. They were not in abundance in his past life and would not be for a long time. Although Legendary items were generally valuable, the levels of the items need to also be taken into consideration.


    Item levels were extremely important, regardless of grade.


    This was the case for this item, the Naglering, which was suitable for Defense-based classes.


    "Roll?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "You can have it." Sea Breaker was well-known for being just and fair person, so he immediately rejected the notion of rolling.


    It wasn''t that he did not want it, but he was not the Tank when he did Instance Dungeons. However, if he really wanted the item to give to his main tank, he could roll for it. It was just that he would be judged by others.


    The remaining items paled in comparison to the Legendary items that dropped.


    Moving forward, they came to a suspension bridge. There were Fire Elementals on the bridge in groups of three that they needed to kill to continue.


    Initially, they did not pay much attention to this and treated the elementals as regular small monsters. Azure Sea Breeze grouped all the monsters together, after which the team bombarded them with skills.


    However, this menial task turned out to be a struggle.


    A squad wipe against monsters like this, if broadcasted, would be extremely shameful. After reviving, Unforgettable Maple straightened his robe and said, "We need to ask them to snip out this whole section. Otherwise it would be so incredibly shameful."


    The All-Star squad of every year always had a series of broadcasts, which were recordings of their fights.


    Although the fans wanted to see the best players doing what they did best, they wanted to also see the All-Star players fail in a pitiful fashion.


    "Let''s just figure this out first," Jade Flower Lover said.


    "Don''t use AoE skills and focus one Elemental with single-target skills first," Sorrowless suggested. After coming so close to getting Second Wind and ultimately being unable to get it, he still presented his ideas properly and in a calm manner. "The reason behind everyone dying is because you guys are taking too much damage."


    After testing his strategy out, things began to work a lot better.


    A few small monsters were not enough to even cause an obstruction to a group of such powerful players.


    After crossing the bridge, they walked in a circle back towards the Forge room. The originally-sealed door was now open to the team. This was the Tomb of the Summoner.


    Seven of the most prominent Dark Iron Dwarves rested in this area. Aeons ago, Emperor Thaurissan brought along seven of his most powerful Dark Iron Dwarves with his subordinates to battle. During this time, they summoned Ragnaros into Azeroth and as a result, the whole race was enslaved. They then decided to sacrifice themselves for the survival of their race. However, their souls were unable to rest, so they remained in this place.


    It was hard to determine whether they deserved their recognition or not.


    If they did not exist, the Dark Iron Dwarves may have not lost in the War of the Three Hammers and may have not become enslaved.


    However, they had to be recognised as the strongest members in the Dark Iron Dwarven Kingdom at that time. Now, they served their new lord in Shadowforge City.


    "Wait here first. Don''t start a conversation with them. I''m going to go do a quest," Lu Li said as he stopped the others.


    The others had also completed some quests in this Instance Dungeon, so they weren''t surprised when Lu Li said that he was going to do the same.


    Even as Lu Li used Stealth while he went into the Tomb of the Summoner, he was immediately detected.


    Lu Li quickly raised his hands and said, "I brought a tribute. I wish to learn the Dark Iron way of smelting ores. Who can teach me?"


    A ghost of a Dwarven Knight, wielding a blade, came out and met Lu Li.


    "Young man, come to me."

 1111 Smelting Dark Iron Ore

    Although there was chance that he had to fight them, Lu Li decided to communicate with them politely first.


    In fact, even if he didn''t trade with the tribute, there was still a certain chance that he could get the Dark Iron Ore Smelting Skill Book from the body of this sword-wielding ghost, but Lu Li didn''t want to take that risk. He had almost collected all the materials for his Felstriker, and if it was delayed because he couldn''t smelt, then that would be a great loss.


    "What have you brought" Greed seemed to be a primary vice of the Dwarves, and it didn''t end when they died.


    "20 gold ingots, 10 silver ingots and two rubies, but I am not sure if this is enough."


    This was the standard price that anyone who wanted to learn Dark Iron Ore smelting had to pay.


    "Alright, you seem to be an understanding child, but¡­"


    Unexpectedly, this ghost Paladin actually had more to say. His empty eyes were facing Lu Li and his mouth seemed to be forming smile as he continued, "If you can give me twice this amount, I can teach you even finer smelting skills."


    Of course, this was all just part of the act, but Lu Li didn''t hesitate and immediately began taking out more items. In the end, he was missing a ruby, but he took out a better gem which satisfied the Dwarf.


    The System then prompted him to learn the skill of Smelting Dark Iron Ore. After the regular skill description, there was a paragraph of text which read that there was a certain probability that a player could obtain double Dark Iron ingot from each smelt. Any ordinary person who saw this would probably have been fooled by it, but Lu Li wasn''t.


    This was a bit like harvesting gems. If you were specialized enough, you could get a double harvest.


    However, the probably wasn''t so high that it would be considered an overpowered effect. Even so, it was still definitely worth a bit more than the price he had just paid.


    Perhaps it was because this was the first time that this ghost had granted this skill. It had been trapped in its tomb for too long, so it was being nice.


    Regardless, he would put it to rest soon enough


    Lu Li ushered everyone in and made sure that no one was left outside. Once the fight began, the door would be shut tightly and there would be no way in.


    With this many people pouring it, it became obvious that they weren''t here for simple business.


    Azure Sea Breeze was responsible for walking up and provoking the ghost. The Paladin Ghost that had just granted Lu Li his benefits then became very angry and immediately began the fight.


    "Perhaps your journey shall end today."


    This line was quite ordinary. It wasn''t particularly aggressive, but it was normally too late by the time they heard it.


    Many teams in the Blackrock Abyss were unable to take on the all of the Seven Bosses together. Part of the reason was because once they got wiped, the Instance Dungeon would come to an end and they would need to wait until next week when it refreshed.


    However, Lu Li had no intention of waiting, so he reminded everyone right from the beginning, "Don''t go all out ¨C there are still six more Bosses after this. Remember to conserve your strength."


    "Relax. As long as the Seven don''t gang up on me, I should have no problems," Azure Sea Breeze nodded.


    "I will make sure that everyone has enough mana," Jade Flower Lover said.


    The Paladin Boss wasn''t too strong, but just as Lu Li had said, there was no time for rest as the second Mage ghost soon left his coffin and approached the players.


    The second battle was a little more difficult because the area of effect skills of the Mage Ghost were quite strong and it was important to escape his Flame Storm. Although standing in the Flame Storm wouldn''t kill you, it placed significant pressure on the Healers. As such, Lu Li asked everyone to try to be self-sustaining in this battle.


    They also couldn''t become too anxious in this place. If they did, it would be easier for things to go wrong.


    The third was a Thief Dwarf who used extraordinarily sharp attacks and the occasional Blade Flurry. By this time, the Magic Professions had almost used up half of their Mana and began to use their various means of regenerating it. Lu Li and the other players had also occasionally needed to take their potions to restore their HP.


    The fourth was a Shadow Priest. This was the easiest of them all, but posed a problem because it could use Mana Burn.


    This skill was quite useless for players in an Instance Dungeon as you would probably be killed before you could finish burning a Boss'' mana.


    In PVP, it was definitely quite important for Priests. Many skilled Priests would balance between burning their opponent''s mana and healing their teammates. Without mana, the other team could be rendered completely useless.


    Now, in the hands of a monster, everyone could witness the potency of this skill.


    Fortunately, there were two Thieves. Lu Li and Water Fairy took turns to interrupt the mana burn skills of the Priest Ghost. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to fight the next Bosses.


    The fifth Boss was a Warlock, and they could play as usual for that. The sixth Boss was a combination between a Priest and a Warlock. It could heal itself, but that didn''t really matter as it couldn''t outlast the damage being dealt.


    The seventh, Doom''rel, was the one that posed the most deadly threat to the players.


    Doom''rel had the most HP, highest Attack and most powerful skills. It was the most like a Boss among the Seven.


    Ordinarily, such a Magic Boss wouldn''t be too big of an issue. An all-star team like this wouldn''t have any problems with it. However, after fighting six smaller Bosses, the situation was completely different.


    The magic Professions had fought six fights consecutively without the chance to regenerate.


    The reason why most teams got wiped in this Instance Dungeon was quite similar across the board. It was because they just couldn''t sustain themselves.


    The countermeasures that Lu Li had adopted were relatively simple. The damage output players would drink more potions in the earlier stages and the Main Tank would use more of his damage reduction skills at first. They also tried to save as many mana-regenerating skills and ultimate skills as possible.


    Doom''rel especially liked using Shadow Bolt Rain, which dealt damage to all the players at once. This meant that the healers had to use their group healing, which costed a lot of Mana. However, with three healers, this wasn''t an issue.


    "Sea Breaker, pull the smaller mobs," Lu Li instructed.


    When an ordinary Warlock summoned a pet, there would only be one. However, Doom''rel could summon three Voidwalkers which were all very powerful. If they were all hitting someone with low Armor, they could kill that player within two rounds of attacks.


    For example, Unforgettable Maple was currently already lying on the ground. Lu Li sighed with regret as his Mana had not been completely used up before he died.


    "Dammit, Breezy has been exiled. Sea Breaker, cast your damage reduction skills and tank the Boss. Healers make sure our tank is stays alive."


    As luck would have it, Doom''rel''s randomly-selected Exile targeted the Main tank before they could kill the three Voidwalkers.

 1112 Infinite Weak Dwarves

    Of course, everything was chaotic at first, but they quickly organized themselves once they figured some things out.


    Everyone was just dealing as much damage as they could while Sea Breaker continued using his Taunt skills. It was impossible for him to tank the Boss on his own as he just didn''t have the HP, but the others were helping him take some of the damage. It looked quite disorganized, but everyone had skills to keep themselves alive.


    One after another, the players began falling until the Exile effect ended and Azure Sea Breeze returned. This wasn''t an effect that could be cancelled with the Badge.


    Lu Li wasn''t feeling particularly benevolent either.


    Although he would definitely contribute to the fight, he would never be the first to die. Players that died wouldn''t receive EXP from the Boss, and would also have a reduced chance of getting Skill Points.


    You could say that he wasn''t honest or that he was too calculative, but a man''s personality was the product of his environment. He had grown up in a world where he had to protect his sister and himself, so that they could live a comfortable life. Lu Li would never become a passionate hero like Qiao Feng from ''Demigods and Semidevils''.


    There were some players who saw star players like Sorrowless in the same light as the gentle Ru Yu, an upright person who always did the right thing.


    Unforgettable Maple was representative of the old-school players who were also quite calculative, but were also easily affected by their surrounding environment. They had a strong sense of loyalty, and could also be regarded quite positively.


    However, Lu Li was different. To those who knew him, he was resolute and someone who persevered. However, to those who didn''t know him, Lu Li seemed quite enigmatic. It seemed like no one could truly understand him. There were some magazines that labelled him as the leader of the new generation of players.


    They thought that Lu Li''s every step was calculated, from being a lone player before establishing a team and then establishing a guild. Over a period of 6 months, he had established a guild that rivaled Glory Capital, who had been unmatched for a long time.


    Of course, losing a few positions on the Level Rankings was a little embarrassing for him.


    However, in an Instance Dungeon like this where it was life and death, it was better that they defeated the Seven. On the one hand, Ruling Sword had formed the foundation of this all-star team. Of the three guilds that were participating, all three had sent their commanders, so there was no way they could stop now.


    On the other hand, Lu Li had not yet received any good equipment until now.


    Blackrock Abyss was an Instance Dungeon with more than 20 Bosses, but he hadn''t received a single decent item.


    After the last Voidwalker was killed, Doom''rel was bound for defeat. His remaining skills were no longer able to kill any more players of this all-star team.


    Boss Cleared!


    They had all received a large sum of EXP, and some players rose to level 54. Lu Li''s current EXP was at about a third and this Instance Dungeon had brought it up to half full.


    The two days that they had spent here were more efficient than a week in the Wild.


    The two lucky members to receive Skill Points were Water Fairy and Innocent Child.


    There was a Treasure Chest at the end of the hall which held the spoils of this battle. When they opened it, they would see that it was equivalent to looting the bodies of the Bosses. Since the Bosses that they fought were just ghosts, the players wouldn''t have been able to loot them otherwise.


    Ghostshroud ¨C an Epic Leather damage output item for Thieves!


    This was the best equip that they could have received for defeating the Seven. This reward was truly worth the First Clear.


    Lu Li hesitated for a moment, before finally deciding to give up this equipment. He was already using the Nightslayer Ghostface, which was of the same level. Although it was only a Dark Gold item and its Attributes were slightly worse, it was part of the Nightslayer T1 set. There was no need for him to replace it.


    Besides, there were only two Thieves here, so this meant the item definitely wouldn''t go to someone else.


    Under the attention of everyone present, Water Fairy accepted the Epic headgear that Lu Li had given up. The equipment''s visual effect was similar to Lu Li''s Ghostface. For a female, it didn''t necessarily make them look more sinister, but definitely added an element of attractiveness.


    "Hey, I look quite handsome, why don''t I have a girlfriend?" Innocent Child asked in disappointment.


    "You''re not looking correctly," Unforgettable Maple said as he patted him on the shoulder.


    "Huh?" Innocent Child responded blankly.


    "You should look for a boyfriend," Unforgettable Maple smirked.


    "Hey, Maple girl, are you looking for trouble?" Innocent Child immediately started to get aggressive, but the others quickly consoled him. Everyone was waiting for the equipment to be drawn. The previous Boss they had fought dropped two Epics, and they were hoping that this wouldn''t be too different, especially after fighting seven Bosses in a row.


    Unfortunately, there was only one Epic this time. Among the rest were two equipment set pieces and some other spare equips. Everyone rolled for them, but no one had left this Instance Dungeon empty handed.


    After defeating the Seven, the door at the back slowly opened. This revealed two paths ¨C one that led to the advanced Molten Core Instance Dungeon entrance and another that led to the lecture hall which would become a source of nightmares for many Dawn players to come.


    Lu Li didn''t bother with the Molten Core Instance Dungeon as they would just die repeatedly if they tried. Instead, his focus was on the lecture hall which contained Iron Dwarf recruits. These were not elite monsters and could be cleared easily area of effect skills. Lu Li could kill most of them in one or two hits.


    Although they stayed there for about ten minutes, they couldn''t see the end to these monsters.


    "Egh, I was to throw up," Azure Sea Breeze said as he slapped his chest at the thought of facing more Dwarf soldiers. The others had similar looks on their faces. Anyone who had faced the overwhelming number of ordinary monsters wouldn''t be able to stand it either. Not only did they not drop anything, but they also didn''t give any EXP.


    It was quite infuriating to not receive any EXP at all!


    If there was EXP, they wouldn''t mind farming these monsters for as long as they could. However, since there was no benefit to it and the monsters seemed to go on infinitely, it eventually became a burden to these star players.


    Many players that had encountered this part of the Blackrock Abyss would complain about the countless Iron Recruits that would keep streaming in. It was more uncomfortable than fighting a Boss. Some people had even complained to the relevant government departments that this design violated the ''Gaming Mental Health Law'' and was causing mental injury to the players.


    "How about we fight and move over there?" Lu Li suggested pointed at a door on the opposite side.


    It was conceivable that if they didn''t move soon that they would eventually be overwhelmed by these monsters.


    It was quite difficult to move and fight at the same time as they were completely surrounded. However, everyone''s equipment was good enough, so as long as they protected their Healers, the two Warriors could take turns to use Whirlwind and clear out a path.


    Now that they had reached the door, their next problem was in opening it. They didn''t have a key, and their Unlock skills were useless.


    There were not many clues on the door. There were only two unlit lamps that contained some ashen remains.


    "I guess we need to ignite these two lamps," Unforgettable Maple said as he eagerly attempted to do so. "Let me try my mini Fireball, I haven''t used it in years."


    There was no difference between a Fire Mage and an Ice Mage''s fireball ¨C it was just that the Ice Mage''s fireball would be quite low levelled. It couldn''t even ignite the unlit lamps and the others didn''t have any tools that could start a fire.


    "I saw a monster before that looked a bit different. It seemed to be holding a torch that we could use to ignore the lamps," Lu Li said as he pointed into the dense group of monsters. Between all the monsters that were running around, no one could really see what he was pointing at.

 1113 The Lecture Hall

    In fact, Lu Li had discovered this torch monster in his previous life, but he hadn''t actually seen it yet this time.


    However, this was how Instance Dungeons were to be solved ¨C with a bit of observation to find the relevant clues.


    Another large wave of Iron Recruits came rushing over with their axes. The monsters with torches seemed to be wandering around, and even appeared to be consciously avoiding the players. They were also a bit shorter than the others, which made them even harder to find.


    "The two of us Thieves will go invisible to look for them. You guys just need to continue attracting the attention of the monsters, otherwise, it will too difficult to move around in Stealth," Lu Li instructed as he began assigning everyone''s roles.


    The most important Profession here was the Thief. A single Thief could do the job, but it would be much more difficult. After the first lamp was lit, the other lamp had to be lit within 5 minutes. Otherwise, the first lamp would be extinguished and a new torch would need to be found.


    If they were unlucky, they could be stuck here for quite some time.


    If the team did not bring a Thief, things would become even worse as it was purely a matter of luck as to whether they would be able to complete this quest.


    The all-star team included Lu Li and Water Fairy. The fact that there were two Thieves meant that there wasn''t too much of a concern.


    Prior to this, Lu Li had allowed for each team member to pick up items freely.


    There were three ways to distribute items in Dawn. The first was the allow everyone to pick them up freely ¨C whoever saw an item first would take it. The next method was by allocation. Those who could use the equipment would be given preference to compete for it. The third was by allocation of the leader.


    Generally, a party attempting to complete a First Clear would go with allocation by the leader. Everyone had the right to see what the item was, but the ownership of the item was purely in the hands of the party leader.


    There was also the special case where the Party Leader would give someone the right to allocate the equipment. The Xin Xin Mercenary Group was an example of this, as Lu Li would give Remnant Dream the right to allocate the equipment most of the time.


    Although there were many recruits in the lecture hall, they had not reached the point where they were cramped shoulder to shoulder. They were only crowded in the area where the players were because they were attracted to that location. This meant that it wasn''t too difficult for Water Fairy and Lu Li to remain in Stealth.


    Trying to find the monsters felt like a big waste of time, and Lu Li''s eyes began feeling sore.


    "There''s a monster here called an Iron Fury. He''s carrying a torch in hands," Water Fairy messaged.


    "Don''t kill it yet; just follow it. Wait until I find another and then we''ll kill it together," Lu Li said. He was afraid that he would have bad luck and would be unable to find another one within the 5 minutes.


    Fortunately, he found his target within two minutes. This Dwarf was shorter than the others and was indeed called an Iron Fury. The torch-bearer was holding small torch that was quite inconspicuous.


    Now that he had found it, there was nothing left to wait for. Both Lu Li and Water Fairy rushed in to deal with their targets.


    Although the Iron Fury was slightly stronger than the other monsters, it wasn''t strong enough.


    After a few seconds of fighting, Lu Li picked up the fallen torch and stuffed it into his bag. Backpacks in Dawn were a magical thing. Anything could be put in them, including a burning torch. Lu Li then casted Gale Steps to get away before the surrounding monsters could react.


    Water Fairy did a similar thing to Lu Li and the two returned to the door almost simultaneously.


    They lit the lamps at the same time, and immediately heard a rumbling sound. The Temple of Shadowforge City was soon revealed before them.


    Once they entered the area, the doors closed behind them. After they had cleaned up the monsters, everyone finally had the time to observe the last holy place of Blackrock Abyss.


    The first thing they saw was a long passage, which fire-breathing statues on both sides.


    A giant stone figure that was engulfed in flames walked along this long passage. In the silence, only its heavy footsteps could be heard and they weighed heavily on the players'' hearts.


    This was Magmus, a lava giant.


    Ambassador Flamelash had created the lava giant Magmus, who was responsible for guarding the throne room of the Emperor Dragan Thaurissan. Even so, the Ruler of the Iron Dwarves didn''t feel at ease. Out of fear of being assassinated, the Emperor allowed Magmus to control a number of statues that could shoot jets of flame outside his royal hall.


    "I''m glad it''s just one monster," Azure Sea Breeze sighed in relief somewhat ignorantly. After facing all those weak Dwarves in the lecture hall, everyone needed to take a break.


    "Go ahead then."


    Lu Li couldn''t do much about this guy''s ignorance.


    Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t tank the Boss for very long as he was taking damage from the Boss and the flames that were being spat out from both sides.


    Lu Li saw that there was a total of six jets of flame pointed at him.


    The others were stunned and quickly withdrew from the range of the flames. Magmus then snorted at Lu Li and the others before going back to his leisurely walk.


    This monster actually didn''t bother to chase them at all.


    After Azure Sea Breeze was revived, they began discussing what they could do. The first thing to do was to let Azure Sea Breeze go in first while everyone else dealt damage from a safe position. They could now see that the fire-breathing devices were mobile.


    They had also given up on the strategy of pulling the Boss away, as the Boss clearly wasn''t interested in chasing them.


    No matter how they thought about it, the only thing they could think of was to share some of the damage with the Main Tank. However, this would significantly increase the pressure on the Healers.


    This wasn''t too concerning, as they had three powerful healers.


    Lu Li gave everyone a pep talk to raise morale and announced the start of the next battle.


    "You don''t know what fear is!" the lava giant that was covered in flames boomed as it ran over. The flaming jets also started to spew hot plumes of fire.


    Lu Li had actually never been here before. He previously had the privilege of coming to Blackrock Abyss, but he never reach this place. There were very few wild groups that fought the Seven and it was rare even among Elite Groups. He also didn''t have much time to go to Instance Dungeons anyway. Although farming gold from elsewhere didn''t yield as much at a time, it was much more consistent.


    Nevertheless, Lu Li had read the strategies for it, and started to recall more information as the fight began.

 1114 Emperor Thaurissan

    Before long, they got wiped again.


    As Ambassador Flamelash''s prized creation and the last obstacle before Emperor Dragan Thaurissan, Magmus, who was able to control the spray of flames, had more than enough firepower to defeat the all-star team.


    However, Lu Li had managed to confirm some of his suspicions.


    After they all revived and were sitting together to discuss strategies, he was the first to suggest something.


    "First of all, there is a sign before the flames start firing. Has anyone noticed it?"


    "Yes," Sorrowless nodded. "The tip of the mouth turns red for 2-3 seconds before the fire erupts to deal damage."


    As one of the best commanders in the current gaming circle, how could he not have seen it? While the others stared blankly, he agreed with Lu Li and knew that this was the next thing they could take advantage of.


    "There is also the number of statues that shoot fire at a time, and I think I have discovered the rule. The first and second time will shoot 6 jets of flame while the third time will shoot 9 jets. This pattern just keeps on repeating," Lu Li explained further. He wasn''t afraid that they would think he was cheating as they could have noticed this for themselves.


    It was just that some players would notice it faster than others. There were some groups that needed to be wiped several times before noticing this.


    Sure enough, everyone was impressed by Lu Li''s keen observation. Even when Sorrowless was later interviewed by the media, he said that Lu Li was a sharp-minded man with an unparalleled gaming talent.


    These two rules were the key to any strategy for Magmus. Now all they needed to do was formulate a strategy around them.


    "Since the statues can''t move after they start to fire, you can avoid them to an extent. If you know that the pattern is 6, 6, 9, then you can prepare your damage reduction skills in advance for every third attack if necessary," Wendelian summed up.


    As such, the star players were now ready to fight once again.


    The waves of flame jets were not to be underestimated. There was no reason why they couldn''t be aimed at more than a single player at a time. In fact, the flames had a fanning effect which meant the players could take more damage as they were easily stacked. If all 9 jets of flame hit a player, they only thing they could do was cast their damage reduction skills. Even then, they would lose half their HP.


    "Breezy, you''ve gone out a bit far¡­ Alright, take a few steps back¡­ a few more¡­"


    Lu Li continued adjusting Azure Sea Breeze''s position just to make sure that he wouldn''t get sprayed by nine of the statues at once.


    Most of the other players were also under pressure by the statues, so this in turn placed enormous pressure on the healers.


    The benefits of Fire Resistance were particularly evident here. If they were using their normal equipment, Lu Li felt like they wouldn''t be able to defeat this Boss, even if they knew the strategy.


    Later, when the System was updated, the game company would choose to shorten the range of the statues which greatly reduced the difficulty of this Boss. If you stood on one side of the wall, you could avoid the flame jets from the other side.


    There was a saying that if you couldn''t defeat this Boss, then there was no point into going to the Molten Core Instance Dungeon since you wouldn''t have enough fire resistance to do so.


    This stage had also become a standard to test a player''s fire resistance capabilities.


    Most of Lu Li''s group had decent fire resistance, and those that didn''t could just use their damage reduction skills instead. After all, what kind of professional player didn''t have at least two or three effects or skills that reduced damage taken?


    Besides, damage reduction effects weren''t really something that could be used as a trump card. Everyone could only see that it was a damage reduction effect, and they wouldn''t know the details beyond that. The only thing was that some players might keep track of how many damage reducing effects everyone had.


    It was during this attempt that they finally managed to defeat the Boss.


    Magmus was a transformed giant, a guard dog for Emperor Dragan Thaurissan. It wasn''t a Boss that was particularly strong, and so its drops weren''t particularly valuable.


    After killing Magmus, they could finally enter the last level of the Blackrock Abyss ¨C the Shadowforge City Throne room.


    There was actually quite a lot going on here.


    Although they had now become servants of the Flame, the Iron Dwarves still retained their original social system ¨C there was still the Emperor, the nobles and the parliamentarians. But of course, these now included some Flame aspects and members of the Twilight Hammer.


    In the top and centermost area of the Throne Room, the Emperor Dragan Thaurissan was sitting next to the aristocrats, talking and laughing.


    When Emperor Thaurissan began ruling as the puppet of Rangaros, he might have considered restoring his race to the previous glory that their ancestors had. However, in the face of absolute strength, he was just desperately trying to hold on as he reached the end of his reign.


    This was the first King-level character that appeared in an Instance Dungeon. Everyone was wondering what kind of equipment he would drop.


    Beyond the throne, there was a huge sculpture of Emperor Thaurissan''s father, Old Thaurissan. He was one of the culprits who had summoned Ragnaros with the help of the Seven Sages from the underground.


    Underneath the sculpture was a plaque that had an inscription written on it.


    "It saddened me to betray you more than it did to destroy my race."


    When the Dwarves left Uldaman and established Khaz Modan, they formed different clans. Mage Prince Thaurissan had planned to overthrow his brothers in the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer tribes, but he failed. Instead, he summoned the Seven Sages of Iron to create a powerful summoning circle. He wanted to use the strength of the Elemental to win the war.


    However, he didn''t think that the creature he would summon would be his worst nightmare.


    Flame Lord Ragnaros was the King of Fire Elementals who was sealed away by the Titans during creation. He killed Mage Prince Thaurissan the moment he was summoned, and erupted from the ground to form a volcano north of the Searing Gorge and south of the Burning Steppes ¨C Blackrock Mountain.


    Then, Thaurissan''s son Dragan Thaurissan grew up and summoned the Seven Sages, who summoned the Elemental. Together, they snuck into the Molten Core to assassinate the Elemental.


    However, the young Thaurissan was discovered. Thaurissan was released because the Elemental needed Thaurissan''s power, but the Seven Sages of Iron were not so lucky. Their bodies were incinerated in the flames of Ragnaros and their souls were bound to the Seven Sages Hall to defend it eternally.


    It could be said that the entire Iron Dwarf family had been completely destroyed by Old Thaurissan''s decision.


    What could have possibly been more saddening than this?


    Compared to the others, Lu Li understood because he had read more in Azeroth''s history than they did. He had also read some of the decoded texts of these characters.


    In the long-running war between the Three Hammers, the Old Thaurissan did not actually intend to summon Ragnaros at first. However, after continual struggles, Old Thaurissan and his wife Modgud each led an attack on the Bronzebeard Dwarves and the Wildhammer Dwarves respectively.


    In the battle, Thaurissan was once again defeated by the Bronzebeards, but in order to survive, he gave up Modgud who was fighting the Wildhammer.


    Without Thaurissan''s support, Modgud was defeated by the Wildhammers and was killed by Kurdran Wildhammer in battle.


    Modgud''s death led to a lifetime of regret for old Thaurissan. Because of his temporary greed, he had given up his lifelong companion. When he returned to the Red Ridge Mountains, Old Thaurissan lived in painful recollection. His deep love had become the most intense torture. This led to his hatred for the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer Dwarves, which was why he summoned the King of Flames, Ragnaros.


    If his wife hadn''t been killed because he had abandoned her, perhaps Ragnaros wouldn''t have existed.


    In any case, the Iron Dwarves eventually become famous among the three Hammer Tribes as the ones who had become Ragnaros'' puppets.


    Lu Li and the others didn''t have much respect for an Emperor like Thaurissan.


    This time, Azure Sea Breeze had finally learned his lesson. In the final battle in Blackrock Abyss, he didn''t rush in on his own, but looked at Lu Li and the others for his orders.

 1115 Another Couple

    "First, we have to clear the aristocrats on the sides. No need to rush ¨C we can pull a few of them at a time," Lu Li said.


    These aristocrats were usually accompanied by a maid, an aide and a waiter. This meant that each of them would come in a group of four monsters. The maid was a Mage, the aide was a Warrior and the waiter was a Healer. The Profession of the aristocrat was uncertain.


    Regardless of whether they were noblemen or parliamentarians, they were not ordinary monsters.


    Generally, the noblemen and parliamentarians were quasi-Bosses, and the three monsters that followed them were Elites. If they came alone, it wouldn''t be too difficult to defeat them.


    If you didn''t clear these monsters and went straight for Emperor Dragan Thaurissan, it would only be a matter of time before you were overwhelmed by the aristocrats. You probably wouldn''t even be able to cast more than a single skill.


    This was a rookie mistake, and most experienced teams would not leave those mobs uncleared.


    It was actually good that they had three other followers as these were all reasonable strong monsters that dropped good EXP and items. They were capable of dropping some rare items that were normally only dropped by Bosses, so the team didn''t mind fighting them.


    Quite some time was spent on clearing out the noblemen and parliamentarians. In this process, they acquired seven rare materials, three Dark Gold equipment and a few Gold equipment. These were distributed among the team by rolling, while the rest were either given to the player with the highest damage, greatest healing or to the Main Tank to compensate for his cost of potions and equipment repair.


    Now, it was time for everyone to face Emperor Dragan Thaurissan. Moira Bronzebeard, who was standing nearby, was the person they needed to rescue for their quest.


    They had accepted the king''s commission to rescue the kidnapped princess, but Lu Li didn''t receive that quest.


    He hadn''t explored much of Ironforge, which meant that he hadn''t gained much Prestige there. In addition, his Charisma values were not that high, so he eventually gave up after a few attempts.


    The general story of the quest was that Magni Bronzebeard thought that his daughter had been kidnapped by Thaurissan''s magic. He asked the players to kill the Emperor and save his heir. This was the quest line for the Alliance and was similar for the Horde. They had a quest to pass some information to Saar and rescue the princess. The aim was to unite against the Burning Legion, which was about to make a comeback.


    Whether it was the Alliance or Horde version of the quest, the goal was essentially the same ¨C kill Emperor Thaurissan and make sure the princess stays alive.


    However, the reality was quite different.


    It wasn''t clear how this had happened, but when Thaurissan met Princess Moira, they fell in love with each other.


    Moira was a stubborn and independent princess. She knew that her father wouldn''t approve of her love, so she left home and moved to Blackrock Abyss to become Thaurissan''s queen. There was not much recorded about their life together, but it seemed like they actually had quite a good relationship.


    Magni Bronzebeard must have thought that the Iron Dwarf charmed his daughter with dark magic. Otherwise, how could his daughter have fallen in love with the King of a hostile tribe?


    And so, this was how the quest to save the princess came to be.


    The players who thought they were saving the princess were filled with a great sense of justice when fighting Emperor Thaurissan. The only thing that surprised them was that Princess Moira was actually a Priest, and she stood firmly by the side of Thaurissan.


    "Dammit, we are here to save you!" Elevenless shouted at her.


    The other players felt similarly, since they were all fighting to save her. It wouldn''t have mattered if she didn''t do anything, but why did she have to help the man that kidnapped her?


    It was as though Moira didn''t hear them ¨C she continued to cast Healing spells on Thaurissan as he took damage from the players. Their only conclusion was that the influence of the dark magic was too strong.


    In fact, there was no way for the players to interfere with how this battle worked. The System had been built around the lore and so the battle had to be fought according to the established rules.


    They could either give up the Instance Dungeon or kill the princess.


    The former was simply impossible. They were all professional players here and tended not to be swayed by their emotions. Even if Lu Li told them the truth, they would likely just laugh at the lore of the game. Lu Li himself wasn''t that emotional anyway.


    They could indeed kill the princess, but this would mean that they would have failed the quest.


    The quest''s reward was quite valuable ¨C there was at least a Dark Gold ring involved.


    However, this was not the most crucial aspect, as these top players could live with missing out on such a reward. Their Prestige with the Ironforge was already quite low and this was one of the hardest things to farm, especially after doing something like this.


    In addition, if you killed Princess Moira first, Thaurissan''s difficulty would be reduced by at least 10 times. The depressed Emperor Thaurissan wouldn''t put up much of a fight as the players killed him.


    Dawn''s equipment dropped based on the difficulty of the Boss. Lu Li remembered reading an article in his previous life which mentioned that reducing the difficulty of the Boss by killing the Princess first made the drops almost worthless. In the end, they didn''t even get any Gold equipment.


    This was a level 55 15-person Instance Dungeon, and the final Boss on Nightmare Difficulty dropped some Steel items¡­


    If this happened to an all-star team like this, they would become the biggest jokes of the year and their guilds would likely be affected.


    As such, Lu Li could only continually interrupt Princess Moira''s major healing skills. As to why he didn''t ask Water Fairy to do this, it was because he was considering her feelings.


    Lu Li thought that this would let her feel less guilty afterwards.


    Thaurissan the great was actually a very powerful Boss. The tricks he used in the first stage came from his weapon ¨C Ironfoe. His melee attacks had a chance to launch three additional attacks which had 20% increased critical hit for the next 10 seconds.


    After this came into play, Emperor Thaurissan would effectively be hitting a player four times with each attack.


    With Azure Sea Breeze''s current equipment, Emperor Thaurissan could deal 800-1000 damage in each attack. The four attacks would deal 3200 to 4800 damage with each swing. Azure Sea Breeze only had a little more than 5000 HP.


    What was even more troublesome was that he had 20% increased critical hit over the next 10 seconds. If no one healed Azure Sea Breeze, then he would definitely go down. As such, the three Healers couldn''t much other than keep healing him.


    Fortunately, the Boss had no area of effect skills at this stage ¨C otherwise, they would definitely start losing players.

 1116 Teamwork

    After entering the second phase, the pressure on the team immediately increased. A wave of Thaurissan''s hand could stun and deal damage to one of the ranged players.


    This effect didn''t matter too much, but Emperor Thaurissan could also go into his Avatar of Flame. This effectively turned him into a God, as he became immune to all magic and dealt constant fire damage to the melee players.


    This phase was quite difficult for both the ranged and melee players.


    Most of the ranged players used magic attacks and the Boss would become periodically immune to all magic. The other ranged players also had to deal with being stunned from range.


    When the melee players were being burned, sometimes they couldn''t receive healing support. The first time this happened, the all-star team got wiped.


    In their second attempt, Lu Li divided the three Healers into three positions. Each of them stood at a different point around Emperor Thaurissan. Two of them were as far as they could be, without being out of range of the Main Tank. However, one of them stood outside of the Boss'' range, and served as a backup Healer.


    When Emperor Thaurissan cast Thaurissan''s hand, he could only target the two healers at the very most.


    This way, they would always have a healer ready to cast a skill if they needed to save everyone.


    This strategy didn''t come without its disadvantages, but it was better than having three stunned Healers, which would ultimately result in their team getting wiped.


    In fact, if they had more Hunters, they could have used a bug to pull Emperor Thaurissan away from the throne. The princess wouldn''t follow him, so this meant that they could isolate him on the battlefield.


    However, this wasn''t a bug that was obviously exploitable, and Hot Twitch probably didn''t have the requisite skills.


    They had now reached the second phase for the second time.


    Some of the star players were starting to get impatient. They rarely participated in obtaining the First Clears because they thought it was too time consuming. They thought it was better to go farming until the Instance Dungeon''s strategies had been worked out. Then, they would enter the Instance Dungeon and do it according to the strategies that had been discovered.


    "The main problem is our melee damage. Don''t get greedy with it ¨C we can attack in close range, but we need to ensure our own safety. This is still the second phase, so losing anyone means we''ll get wiped," Lu Li said, speaking primarily to the melee players.


    Before the ranged players could laugh, Lu Li turned towards them and continued, "You guys who deal magic damage, you can''t deal any damage to him, so why are you just stupidly standing there? Why don''t you get out of the Boss'' range?"


    If they stood too closely, they would likely be attacked by Thaurissan''s area of effect skills. Princess Moira was also often finding ways to damage the players, which increased the pressure on the Healers.


    "This is too slow, especially with the princess who keeps healing him. If we can''t crowd control her or kill her, we won''t be able to do it," Wendelian commented, thinking about this differently.


    Lu Li was silent for a while before nodding. He then assigned Hornet''s Nest to Silence the Princess.


    Silences didn''t deal any damage, so it wouldn''t ultimately affect her.


    However, they only lasted for three seconds. After three seconds, Princess Moira would start channeling her healing again and would also cast Shadow Word: Pain on Hornet''s Nest. Hornet''s Next couldn''t take the attacks, so he immediately casted a two second knock down effect that also dealt damage.


    Although Moira wasn''t a Boss, she still had 150,000HP, so this kind of damage wouldn''t kill her anytime soon.


    However, Lu Li sighed silently in his heart.


    In an instant, Emperor Thaurissan started going Berserk. His hammer blazed with fire and a sea of flames rose from the ground as everyone was killed.


    The group of players soon returned to the main hall and were dumbfounded.


    If you attacked Princess Moira in the first stage before Thaurissan borrowed the power of Ragnaros, he wouldn''t do anything. In fact, when Princess Moira died, Emperor Thaurissan would lose all hope and this ultimate skill wouldn''t appear.


    However, after the first stage, Thaurissan was able to summon the power of Ragnaros at any time.


    As such, the group was always moments away from getting wiped.


    With Hornet''s Nest and Wendelian squatting there, Lu Li clapped his hands and said, "Now we know that we can''t attack the Princess after stage two. Nothing good will come from it."


    Just like that, they started over and quickly reached stage two once again.


    The reason as to why this stage was difficult was mainly because of Princess Moira. Most of her healing skills were interrupted by Lu Li, but there were some that were instantaneous and could not be interrupted.


    Regeneration: Iron Maiden Princess Moira Bronzebeard casts Regeneration on an ally, giving them regeneration every 3 seconds.


    This state was almost always active on Thaurissan, which greatly increased the duration of the fight. During this time, they had to stay on their toes because any mistake could result in their death.


    Emperor Thaurissan was a Boss that was extremely difficult for magic players. He could basically only be damaged by those who were close-ranged.


    Once one or two melee players died, it was almost impossible to enter the third stage.


    After being wiped a few more times, Lu Li declared for everyone to take a break.


    "Hey, this Instance Dungeon is really difficult. Sorry Lu Li, I shouldn''t have chosen Nightmare Difficulty," Azure Sea Breeze sighed as he sat down. He had to swallow his pride as Nightmare Difficulty was much harder than Elite Difficulty.


    "Don''t say that. How could Elite Difficulty be worth of a line-up like ours?" Elevenless comforted.


    "We have been making progress. I feel like we will make it into the next stage with a few more attempts."


    Lu Li shook his head, but not because he was offended. Even if he chose the difficulty, he would have also picked Nightmare.


    If such a team was placed in the later weakened Instance Dungeon, they would have already defeated Emperor Thaurissan even without the bug.


    At the present, the most crucial thing was that their teamwork wasn''t there yet. The synergy between the different healers, the melee players controlling their damage output and the ranged damage dealers hadn''t been developed. These were all important factors that determined the ability of a team to clear Instance Dungeons.


    It had only been two days since they had started together as a team. It was far from perfect, but it was still commendable. Otherwise, they wouldn''t standing here before Emperor Thaurissan.


    Wendelian thought that running between the Emperor and the Princess was a waste of time for Lu Li.


    "The princess'' healing can be interrupted by the magic players, so Lu Li''s damage output can be increased."


    "That works too. If you have a skill that can interrupt channeling, make sure you cast it," Lu Li agreed.


    In the end, it was determined that Phantom Gaze, Unforgettable Maple and Sorrowless would be the three players to interrupt the Princess. If they had any crowd control skills, they would also use them on her.


    After everything was ready, the battle began once again.

 1117 Dungeon Complete

    Lu Li''s damage significantly improved after he stopped worrying about the princess.


    He was ranked number two on the damage chart, just below Water Fairy, but now that he was focused on dealing damage, he quickly surpassed her.


    Empowerment: Shadowstrike surely gave him an advantage when it came to DPS.


    However, this wasn''t enough to overcome the gap between the team and the boss, so their next trial still failed.


    Through these constant wipes, some synchronization between the team began to develop. They were able to make it through to phase three on their next attempt.


    Phase three had its own separate issues. Besides putting the teamwork of the players to the test, it also challenged each individual''s techniques and game sense.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t afraid of this problem. Their team was limited in class variety and wasn''t the best at working with each other, but the least of their concerns were their techniques and game sense. This was what they had all made careers out of; they were the best of the best amongst all players.


    During phase three, Thaurissan finally began to cast some skills.


    One by one, rocks that burned in dark red flames were summoned before him, then unpredictably flew towards the players in waves.


    These rocks were around one meter in diameter and had more of an impact their just damage alone. They could also knock out players.


    Players could dodge the first rock, but run into a second by accident. Many would constantly die in this mess, which would inevitably lead to a wipe.


    Later on, to make the dungeon easier, the gaming company would reduce the speed of these rocks by half. Even so, many teams still struggled, so it wasn''t hard to imagine their current situation. The ones who had it the toughest would be the close combat classes. Sometimes, the rocks would fly right beside them, and push them into another. If this chain reaction continued, they would quickly find themselves dead.


    Apparently, clubs used this place to train the reaction time of their newbies.


    Lu Li''s job was to help analyze how to dodge each of these large rocks and propose how they were to survive if they were hit.


    As they all grew familiar with this, phase three became easier.


    Around the seventh, or possibly eighth attempt, they didn''t encounter a single issue until the third phase. Not a single player died, and Old Man Power''s battle resurrection was also still available.


    "Dodge! Melee classes, play safe ¨C don''t use any skills that will freeze yourself."


    "Unforgettable Maple, stop running. Just Flash, hurry!"


    "Elevenless, cancel your Whirlwind. Do you think you can really tank all that damage?"


    "Breezy, you''re done keeping your damage reduction. What if the boss goes berserk?"


    "Interrupt Princess Moira''s healing. Who''s turn is it? Why hasn''t anyone stopped it. Never mind, don''t worry about it ¨C pay attention."


    Lu Li felt like he was about to lose his voice. Not only did he have to guarantee his own damage output, but he also had to pay attention to everything that was happening while dodging the rocks. He really gave it his all; even his battle against Blue Universe wasn''t so tiring.


    Berserk!


    Thaurissan roared and his size grew by half.


    Fortunately, he didn''t have any buffs on him at this point, or else, this would have been a tougher situation.


    There was no way Azure Sea Breeze could tank Thaurissan while he was in Berserk mode. As long as the aggression was on him, he could kite and control the boss.


    The other players began to cast the burst skills that they had; some of them even began to use their trump cards that they had planned to hide.


    Finally, a special announcement appeared in the world channel.


    System: Congratulations to the Celebrity Team. Under the lead of command Lu Li, Sorrowless, Water Fairy, Unforgettable Maple, Azure Sea Breeze, Elevenless, Sea Breaker, March Rain, Wendelian, Hornet''s Nest, Phantom Gaze, Jade Flower, Old Man Power, Green Flag Wine and Hot Twitch have taken the First Clear of the Blackrock Depths dungeon on Nightmare mode!


    The major guilds finally had their chance to show off.


    Rows of congratulations quickly filled the world channel.


    White Westhill: Congratulations to the celebrity team from Glory Capital!


    Dust Dragon: Congratulations to the celebrity team from Blood Red War Flag!


    Square Root 3: Congratulations to the celebrity team from Ruling Sword. Good work, Commander Lu Li!


    It was inevitable that Square Root 3 was slower than the others since he didn''t have this sort of experience. However, he included Lu Li in his words and it stood out.


    At least, the others couldn''t say the same thing shamelessly. It wasn''t as though they could show off the fact that their players only had an average damage output.


    Even the guild master of Gangnam Royals, Heart of War, sent his congratulations. No matter how poor his relationship was with Old Man Power, he still had stand up for his guild.


    What was interesting were the words from Drizzle Court.


    Peerless City: Congratulations to the celebrity team from Ruling Sword. Good work, Commander Lu Li!


    All their related guilds also said the same thing ¨C even Peerless City followed, making it seemed like Lu Li was really their son-in-law too. Then, the world channel was quickly filled with words like "long live the dirty couple."


    The dirty couple had become trendy term in the game.


    The First Clear reward from the system was quickly sent to everyone. Wendelian also went up and looted the corpse.


    Time was slipping away and everyone was in a hurry to go home and analyze the dungeon for a guide. That way, their teams would be able to enter the Blackrock Depths sooner.


    Nightslayer Bracelets! A Legendary equip!


    "A Legendary set piece for Thieves ¨C isn''t the Nightslayer set supposed to be a Dark Gold set. When did it become legendary?" Wendelian asked, her voice shaking a little. It was the first time she had seen a set that was Legendary.


    Everyone glanced at Lu Li and Water Fairy, feeling envious of them both.


    But soon, they were ready to see some drama unfold. Even if this piece of equipment didn''t come with top Attributes, it was at least equivalent to an exquisite Legendary weapon.


    Would the dirty couple fight over it?

 1118 Enemy of an Enemy

    "I''ll take it first," Lu Li said, not trying to pretend.


    "Sure."


    Water Fairy nodded her head. Her tone was soft; she wasn''t the slightest unhappy towards this decision.


    Not only was everyone amazed, but they felt like they were watching a display of affection. What happened to the big fight that they were anticipating?


    Lu Li assigned this T1 set to himself. With another piece in the future, he would have four pieces.


    The Nightslayer set included a total of 8 pieces, but there was no way that Lu Li would really wear all of them. The difficulty in obtaining all of them was too great, and not to mention, better sets would probably be available to him by the time he completed the whole set.


    Water Fairy was currently wearing four pieces of a T0 set. Although she had nearly completed her quests, her gear would at best be upgraded to a T0.5 set. However, she wasn''t interested in fighting over this equipment with Lu Li at all.


    Seeing that the situation had played out amicably, no one could really say anything to provoke them. Lu Li was quite generous when he let Water Fairy take the equipment that dropped earlier.


    Wendelian continued to loot; the second piece was also a Legendary.


    This time, it wasn''t part of a set. Instead, it was a cape ¨C The Emperor''s New Cape. Although its value wasn''t as great as Lu Li''s piece, the most famous item that Thaurissan had to offer was this Cape.


    The drop rate of the Nightslayer Bracelets was too low. It was so low that almost no one knew that it dropped from this Boss.


    "Why is it for magic classes? Why?!"


    Elevenless, Sea Breaker, Green Flag Wine and the others were disappointed. Although Capes didn''t have a class restriction, there were still Attributes assigned to it. No matter how good the Attributes were, a Warrior wearing a Mage Cape was pointless.


    The Attributes of the Cape gave bonus Constitution and Intelligence. There were three special effects included ¨C one was a speed boost for survival, while the other increased damage and critical strikes, like Emperor Thaurissan''s Avatar of Flame. However, the immunity to magic attacks was altered to 5 seconds of immunity towards all control statuses and it also came some of damage reduction.


    This cape was available to all magic type classes, including healers.


    Lu Li looked at March Rain and sighed quietly.


    This was pure luck with so many competing.


    He couldn''t really help, but...


    In the end, Unforgettable Maple obtained the equipment. Besides Sorrowless, who was expressionless all the way, everyone else couldn''t help but look a little disappointed.


    While the others were hoping for Wendelian to loot another Legendary equipment, Lu Li began to private message Unforgettable Maple to borrow the new equipment.


    "Sister Maple, how about lending it to me for a bit?"


    Unforgettable Maple laughed incredulously, "Haha, what did you just call me? Is this how you ask others for a favor? Why should I lend it to you?"


    "Because I''ll use it against Glory Capital."


    Lu Li wasn''t the slightest bit affected by Unforgettable Maple''s attitude. He was sure that he landed his target on the right spot ¨C Unforgettable Maple''s poor broken heart. Majin Temple was enemies with Glory Capital, but they had run up against each other two times and lost both times during the competition.


    Since then, Unforgettable Maple saw Sorrowless and his Glory Capital as his worst enemies for life.


    "You¡­" Unforgettable Maple wanted to retaliate, but Lu Li had made a convincing offer.


    He was someone that really held onto grudges, and wasn''t so silly as to think that he had to get revenge through his own hands. Just the thought of Glory Capital winning the championship made his heart ache.


    However, he didn''t want to lend his new equipment to Ruling Sword for nothing either.


    There needed to be profit for Majin Temple as well with Ruling Sword''s championship.


    "We might have chances to work together in the future."


    It seemed like Lu Li knew what was going on in his head. There was nothing to gain, but there were also no losses for Majin Temple in this deal either.


    Plenty of people in this world were doing things that harmed others'' but didn''t benefit themselves either. With the first agreement, there would most likely be a second. In that way, Majin Temple would slowly grow to become their allies. As the old saying went ¨C the enemy of an enemy is a friend.


    Unforgettable Maple wouldn''t agree easily, his eyes rolled as he said, "It''s not impossible, but I need to see some benefits first. How about a few equips with fire resistance as the rent?"


    Lu Li wanted to spit at his face. Everyone needed fire resistance equipment at this point; they really didn''t have spares to lend out.


    "How about this ¨C I''ll give you two good items in the near future, items that can give pieces of equipment a 5% fire resistance boost. How''s that?" Lu Li thought for a bit and decided to offer a little more. This Cape was too good for magic damage classes like Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat. Their burst would hit another level higher.


    He could keep pushing Unforgettable Maple to give in, and he was almost certain too that Unforgettable Maple would give in at the end.


    However, a trade like this would surely upset him, and he might find a chance to get revenge in the future, so Lu Li was willing to give up some profit for him.


    Not to mention, these items that increased fire resistance were consumables. They would lose value after a while.


    "5% fire resistance¡­ is it an enchantment?" Unforgettable Maple''s eyes lit up; he immediately understood the key point to this. This was a boost for the equipment itself; it wasn''t just a piece of equipment with a flat boost of 0.05% fire resistance. These were two entirely different concepts.


    "It''s an Engineering item, not an enchantment, but you can think of it like that. The effects are the same anyway," Lu Li confirmed as he nodded his head.


    "Ten!" Unforgettable Maple was convinced.


    "No way, I can only get 5, and you want 10. Take it or leave it," Lu Li said.


    "Sure, sure," Unforgettable Maple immediately agreed. He didn''t believe that Lu Li could only get 5 of these, but he was happy with the conditions. As long as Glory Capital was in trouble, he was happy.


    The two of them traded the equipment in secret. On the other side, Wendelian had also finished distributing all the items. Azure Sea Breeze rolled for a rare material, which was equivalent to Ruling Sword obtaining it. He would obviously pass it over to Lu Li; he just wanted some guild points in return.


    Lu Li also obtained ''A Crumpled Up Note''. This was a quest item; he needed to head back to the cells for the quest.


    He hadn''t had a chance to see what the System rewarded, because the storyline for other people''s quests about the princess had already begun.


    They thought they would see the princess reawaken and would receive her gratitude, but to their surprise, they saw Princess Moira stare blankly at Emperor Thaurissan''s death. She slowly walked beside his corpse and lowered herself to gently caress his face, which was already cold.


    This was when the players realized that something was not right.

 1119 Sympathy

    "Why, why did you kill my husband! Now my child will be born without a father! You''ve ruined the lives of my father and my child¡­"


    The players were astonished by the turn of events.


    "We''re sorry to have made this mistake, but your father believed that you were under the influence of magic and he misses you dearly. Now, will you come with us back to Ironforge?"


    Why she didn''t say so earlier too? Why did she have to bring up the topic after they had slain her husband. Wasn''t this a bait?"


    "Thaurissan was a great king, one that was worthy of respect. He was also a good husband; I will not return with you all," Princess Moira declined the players'' request.


    The players who had received the quest were upset; their mission had totally failed.


    "I can guarantee you, this child will be the next successor to Ironforge," Princess Moira said, then angrily added, "But you and your kind will pay someday for what you have done today."


    A feud had established; the players had no interest in staying any further. One by one, they all left with their Hearthstones.


    Lu Li didn''t go as he still had quests to complete. Water Fairy didn''t leave immediately either; it seemed as if she had been influenced by the storyline. She stared blankly as Princess Moira cried beside Emperor Thaurissan.


    "Surely, my father was disappointed that I was born a girl. It was if I had done something to wrong him and I was constantly reminded about it. It made me want to escape."


    "He never believed that I fell in love with a Black Iron Dwarf. He thought the only possibility was that I was influenced by some sort of magic charm from my husband. Sure, he did charm me, but he did so with respect. He listened when I spoke, and he believed that I would be able to rule this country alongside him, even if I was a girl."


    "When my father shut me out, the Black Iron Dwarves welcomed me. This was the only magic that they casted on me."


    "My father thought that they were all lowly animals, that all they understood was battle and murder, but they were Dwarves, and they were no different to any other Dwarves. They were all descendants of mother Earth, and this was what I planned to do ¨C to remind all other Dwarves about this..."


    Princess Moira spoke softly to the corpse of Emperor Thaurissan, unconcerned about the two players that had remained behind. Perhaps it didn''t matter to her whether they stayed or went. These were enemies who had slain her husband and ruined her happiness.


    "So, this is the truth¡­" Water Fairy said as she lifted her head. Her eyes were wet as she stared at Lu Li and asked, "Was this why you wouldn''t let me help you interrupt Princess Moira''s healing?"


    At first, it was the Thieves'' job to interrupt the skill, and if their skills were on cooldown, Lu Li would sometimes accidentally miss the spell. However, he didn''t let Water Fairy help him.


    Water Fairy was curious, but she didn''t ask about it at the time.


    "This is just a game," Lu Li replied.


    "But it''s been made to seem so real. If I knew this was the story, I''m not sure if I would''ve been able to continue with the dungeon," Water Fairy laughed spitefully. She felt that she really related to Princess Moira. They were both an eyesore to their fathers, and this would inevitably cause a relationship problem in the end.


    "The gaming company did this on purpose. No one else can impact the storyline," Lu Li said, trying his best to comfort her.


    Water Fairy cursed the gaming company with rage for a while, but she was still a little unhappy. This was a rare sight for her.


    It was usually the unexpected that tended to touch people.


    "I still have an uncompleted dungeon quest. Do you want to come with me?" Lu Li asked as he waved the quest item in his hand.


    "Alright, what''s the quest?" Water Fairy''s attention was drawn by the quest and she agreed to leave with Lu Li.


    "It''s about Marshal Windsor," Lu Li''s said, his expression suddenly turning a little strange. He remembered that Marshal Windsor''s storyline wasn''t all that pleasant either. He had only just dragged Water Fairy out of Princess Moira''s story, and now he was about to take her into another one. Lu Li wasn''t sure if they were allowed to change the storyline for Marshal Windsor either.


    Shortly after, they arrived at the position of the cell. The monsters weren''t enough to stop two strong Thieves.


    They saw that the guards had been killed by a middle-aged man who wore ragged clothes and was locked away inside a dark cell. The other inmates helped Marshal Windsor find his clothes. Water Fairy couldn''t believe that he was the Legendary hero.


    "I knew you''d come! Glad to see you, friend!" Marshal Windsor cried out as he waved at Lu Li.


    "If I didn''t return, you would live¡­" Lu Li sighed deeply as the paper he held became even more scrunched in his grasp. He knew better than anyone else the fate of Marshal Windsor. If he gave up on letting Marshal Windsor out...


    The System would still pass the quest to other players who''d be willing to do the quest.


    For the current storyline of Dawn, the thing that Marshal Windsor was about to do became extremely important. If it wasn''t done, the following dungeon could not be made available.


    "Give it to me, my friend/ Why are you afraid?" Marshal Windsor asked as he held out his hand to Lu Li.


    Lu Li had to pass over the quest item.


    The quest item gave some hints; Marshal Windsor and his subordinates took great risks to obtain it. However, he didn''t get to see the end to it before his subordinates sold him to the Blackrock Dwarves.


    "As expected, the hints are on the two slates. Let''s go and find my equipment and mount first. I''d assume the Black Iron Dwarves have been taken care of by you two. You two are the best," Marshal Windsor said as he walked out happily with large strides. He had no clue about his worrying fate.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy followed; there were still some monsters along the way.


    Marshal Windsor''s equipment was military-style and his mount was a very weak, old horse. After he wore his clothes, he finally looked a little like a hero and soldier.


    They quickly arrived at the two hidden spots that held the slates he was looking for. The slates were covered in old inscriptions which gave them a mystical quality. Marshal Windsor stared at them for a long time, then rode his old horse and charged out.


    "Let''s go! Towards Stormwind City!"


    Lu Li told Water Fairy how he had gotten to know Marshal Windsor as they chased him from behind. There were some monsters along the way, but the three of them easily cleared them out. People likely didn''t think that Marshal Windsor would be able to escape, so there wasn''t much to stop them from reaching Stormwind City.

 1120 Exposed

    Stormwind City was still as magnificent as it was before, but Lu Li felt that the atmosphere was heavy.


    "Ok, here will do, I owe you big time. When all of this ends¡­" the Marshall trailed off as he dismounted his horse, patted it and left.


    Reginald Windsor used to be a soldier under Anduin Lothar. A few decades ago, he attacked the Tower of Medivh alongside him.


    Now, he was old and had come to terms with the fate of his life.


    "Yes Marshall, but I wish to fight alongside with you again one day. I want to follow you until my final days."


    Lu Li received a quest notification and completed the Escorting Marshall quest. However, he did


    not plan on leaving yet.


    "Soldier," Marshall Windsor began as he firmly gripped Lu Li''s shoulders and looked him sternly into his eyes, then continued, "I will accept your request, but please, be on your guard."


    "I will fight with blood and glory."


    A fully armored Warrior and a mysterious Thief made their way through the Stormwind gates.


    Water Fairy hesitated but followed shortly behind.


    She''d never seen this side of Lu Liu before. Was it because deep down in every man''s heart, there was a dream and a desire to be the hero? They would ignore all fears and obstacles that stopped them from achieving that dream.


    "Reginald, you know I cannot let you pass!"


    High Command of Stormwind Defences General Marcus Jonathan appeared with his squad. His hands held tightly onto the sword. He was facing an old friend but because of his duties, he had no choice but to stop him.


    "You must do what you think is right, Marcus. We served together under Turalyon. He made us both the men that we are today. Did he err with me? Do you truly believe my intent is to cause harm to our Alliance? Would I shame our heroes?"


    "Look at the five heroes behind you. Am I really mistaken?"


    Marcus Jonathan stared at Windsor as he hid away the pain that he felt. They had become friends when they both first joined the army and had survived through many wars time and time again.


    They were both humans and served as perfect exemplars as to how a soldier should be. They weren''t afraid of death nor hardships, willing to sacrifice everything they had in order to protect Stormwind, even their own beliefs and values.


    "I am ashamed, old friend. I know not what I do anymore. It is not you that would dare bring shame to the heroes of legend ¨C it is I. It is I and the rest of these corrupt politicians. They fill our lives with empty promises, unending lies. We shame our ancestors. We shame those lost to us... forgive me, Reginald.


    "Now, it is time to bring her reign to an end, Marcus. Stand down, friend."


    The soldiers who were assigned to stop the ''traitor'' were confused. Were they supposed to follow orders and attack this legend or put down their weapons and stand down?


    General Marcus Jonathan says: Stand down! Can you not see that heroes walk among us?


    General Marcus Jonathan says: Move aside! Let them pass!


    Marcus Jonathan yelled and the soldiers cleared a path for them to pass. They all knew about the story of Reginald Windsor and the sacrifices he made for the Alliance.


    General Marcus Jonathan says: Go, Reginald. May the light guide your hand.


    The soldiers bowed down in respect because they knew that Windsor was about to become a hero in Stormwind.


    The party then proceeded from the gates to the base of the keep. Along the way, the city guards stood and paid tribute to Windsor.


    "Light be with you, sir."


    "We are but dirt beneath your feet, sir."


    "You are the nerves of thorium."


    "Make way!"


    "A living legend¡­"


    The players in Stormwind noticed this and a crowd gathered to see what was happening. They saw the respected Reginald Windsor as well as the two players that followed behind him.


    Many were quick to recognize that it was Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    Before they entered the Stormwind Keeps, Windsor said, "Be brave, friends. The reptile will thrash wildly. It is an act of desperation. When you are ready, give me the word. The dragon hides behind a royal facade. The tablets will reveal her for what she is... If what I have seen holds true, I will not survive this battle, friend. It is you that must finish what I have started. Are your forces ready? Are you ready? We will begin on your command."


    "I am ready, as are my forces. Let us end this masquerade!" they both declared.


    The party then entered the keep.


    Marshall Windsor yelled out, "The masquerade is over, Lady Prestor. Or should I call you by your true name, Onyxia?"


    "You will be incarcerated and tried for treason, Windsor. I shall watch with glee as they hand down a guilty verdict and sentence you to death by hanging."


    Lady Katrana Prestor walked out, followed by a group of Human Royals.


    "As your limp body dangles from the rafters, I shall take pleasure in knowing that a mad man has been put to death. After all, what proof do you have? Did you expect to come in here and point your fingers at me and leave unscathed?" Katrana said as she stared at Windsor with a condescending look. The Marshal was nothing but an old and washed-up soldier in her eyes.


    "I may be hanged, but before that I swear to expose you!" Windsor yelled back.


    Windsor took out the two stone tablets from the Blackrock Depths, which were the reason why he came to Stormwind.


    "You will not escape your fate, Onyxia. It has been prophesied ¨C a vision resonating from the great halls of Karazhan. It ends now...The Dark Iron Dwarves thought these tablets to be encoded. This is not any form of coding; it is the tongue of the ancient dragon. Listen, dragon. Let the truth resonate throughout these halls."


    Reginald Windsor then began reading from the tablets.


    Lady Katrana Prestor''s expression changed completely after hearing where the ancient enchantment had come from.


    "Guards, seize him at once!"


    Highlord Bolvar gasped as Katrana Prestor shes her disguise and revealed herself as Lady Onyxia


    The black dragon Onyxia was the daughter of Deathwing and had political influence over the city of Stormwind. With her beauty and knowledge, she was appointed by Bolvar Fordragon and quickly earned his trust.


    She had finally been exposed.


    The aristocrats and Bolvar were all stunned.


    Lady Onyxia was surprisingly calm and asked, "I''m curious, Windsor ¨C in this vision, did you survive? I only ask because one thing that I can and will assure is your death, here and now."


    Lu Li jumped and appeared in front of the Marshal in order to take the hit for him. That way, the lore could be rewritten. Lady Onyxia had already been revealed and the dungeon Onyxia Lair would be available for them.


    It could be possible that the Marshal did not have to die.


    He could continue on his journey and die an honorable death on the battlefield as he would have wished for.


    Onyxia''s claws began glowing eerily as her guards morphed into reptilian creatures.


    Many players charged in with the same thinking as Lu Li. They would do anything to stop Onyxia from killing the respected veteran.


    However, no matter how many players stood before Windsor, Onyxia''s magic was like the bright morning sun after a night of snow, melting away everything in its path, including Lu Li, Water Fairy and all the players present.


    "No, Windsor, No!" Bolvar Fordragon cried out.


    Unfortunately, it was too late and no one could change the fate of the Marshall.


    Bolvar rose up and killed every guard that stood in his way; his eyes were determined and there would be no mercy.


    No matter how many he killed, he could not bring back Windsor. After the battle, Bolvar knelt down next to Windsor and cried, "Windsor¡­ I¡­ I''m sorry¡­"


    Lu Li was able to narrowly survive with Gale Step, but he did not feel happy at all.


    His heart was filled with bitterness as he helplessly watched Windsor die. At that very moment, he truly felt what it was like to be powerless and useless.


    Marshal Reginald Windsor, a legendary knight who discovered that Katrana Prestor was really the black dragon Onyxia, had paid for this knowledge with his life. He had slain countless enemies, been captured and tortured and had sacrificed all he had for the Alliance.


    The ground was scattered with dropped items, but no one was in the mood to loot them.


    "Onyxia!" Bolvar Fordragon yelled as he held onto Windsor''s still body tightly, "You will pay for this!"


    Following this came a System announcement: Congratulations to Lu Li and Water Fairy for unmasking the black dragon Onyxia. Onyxia''s Lair has now been open. Bolvar Fordragon has placed a bounty and reward for Onyxia and players are welcomed to join in on the hunt.

 1121 Harves

    As the crowd dispersed, Lu Li and Water Fairy left as well.


    Before leaving, he accepted the Bounty Quest set by Bolvar Fordragon which offered a reward for the head of Onyxia the Black Dragon Princess. Even if the rewards weren''t that good, he would have taken the quest. He intended to avenge Marshal Windsor.


    In his heart, Marshal Windsor was a hero and an NPC friend.


    This was the starting quest to a line of main quests that involved this black dragon. They were important for meeting the conditions to unlock Onyxia''s lair, so the rewards were particularly worthwhile.


    Lu Li had received a large amount of EXP. When this was added to the EXP received from the Blackrock Abyss Instance Dungeon, he managed to return to the top position of the Level Rankings with 85% of his EXP bar filled at level 54. Below him was Lonesome Flower, March Rain and Azure Sea Breeze. Water Fairy had also entered the top five because of this quest.


    There was also an enhanced Skill Book ¨C Enhanced Rupture.


    Rupture was an Ultimate Skill that slashed the target and applied a continuous Bleed. The damage and intensity were based on the number of combo points that were consumed. This would be further increased when the skill was enhanced. Additionally, an Armour Pierce Effect has also been added, which was applied after Rupture''s continuous damage effect ended.


    The percentage of Armour Pierce was also related to the number of combo points consumed.


    This skill was very powerful and had a greater effect than Enhanced Shadowstrike. After all, it was an ultimate skill.


    At this point, Lu Li had three Enhanced Skills ¨C Enhanced Stealth, Enhanced Shadowstrike and Enhanced Rupture.


    In fact, Lu Li was hoping to obtain an Enhanced Skill that purely dealt damage. Only such a skill could kill a target within one five-combo rotation. Rupture was a continuous damage spell and its overall damage would be far less than a spell purely focused on dealing damage.


    The third reward was a necklace.


    Lu Li''s current necklace was Pamela''s Gift that he had originally acquired from Little Pamela''s quest. Its Attributes were not that great, but even at level 80, this item would not be obsolete.


    Pamela''s Gift (Dark Gold): Critical Hit +30%, Damage +10%, Special Effects: Pamela''s Sweet Tea, Instant Cast. Immediately regenerates 20% of HP, then regenerates 2% of HP every second for the next five seconds. Can be interrupted and cannot be cast on anyone but the user. 30 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 30. Durability 72/72.


    However, as a professional Thief who was always trying to increase his strength, Lu Li couldn''t use this item at level 80. After all, the Special Effects of his equipment were just too ordinary. The only good thing about it was that it restored HP.


    The necklace awarded by this quest was called Dragonfire Amulet.


    Dragonfire Amulet (Epic): All Attributes +40, HP +800, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Fire Resistance +20%, Special Effect 2: Torrent of Life. Regenerates 1000HP upon use and receive +100% in Healing for the next 30 seconds. Special Effect 3: Return to Life. When this item is equipped, the user is given one chance to revive every day. When revived in this way, the EXP loss is halved and the user is invincible for three seconds after reviving. Equipment Requirements: Level 60. Durability 350/350.


    The fact that there was a such an item in Dawn dumbfounded Lu Li.


    This item was definitely worthy of being called an Epic and provided a great indicator of the items to come from the main line quests.


    It added points to all Attributes, as well as HP. Lu Li originally had a little more than 3000 HP, but now he had more than 4000. To his knowledge, Azure Sea Breeze had somewhere between 5000 to 6000 HP.


    When a Thief had 3000 HP, they could already be described as being ''tanky''. A Thief with 4000 HP was enough to make most Warriors and Paladins cry. From this particular point of view, this item blew Pamela''s Gift out of the water.


    Furthermore, the Dragonfire Amulet had Fire Resistance, which was a very important Attribute for the next Instance Dungeon.


    Torrent of Life was a skill that could make up for the lost regeneration effect from Pamela''s Gift. Pamela''s Gift could only increase his HP by a significant amount if there wasn''t anything to interrupt him. However, with the Dragonfire Amulet, you could gain a bulk of HP immediately while also receiving 200% healing. This meant that any skill which healed for 200 HP would heal him for 400 HP over the next 30 seconds.


    Unfortunately, it was a level 60 equipment, so Lu Li had to use a Level Reducing Gem. However, he did not intend to sell the replaced necklace. Pamela had given it to him, and when he looked at it, he would remember her. He had resolved to always take care of this necklace.


    There was also the bonus item from achieving the First Clear in Blackrock Abyss. Lu Li didn''t have the time to check it while they were in the Instance Dungeon.


    It was only now he discovered that it was a pair of level 55 Dark Gold Gloves ¨C Grasps of the Survivor.


    Grasps of the Survivor (Dark Gold): Armour 55, Agility +55, Strength +35, Critical Hit +15%, 2 Slots, Special Effect 1: Backstab Skill Level +1, Special Effect 2: When attacked, there is a certain probability that the attacker''s skill will be interrupted, Special Effect 3: Assault, instantly close in on a target within eight yards and inflicts a 1 second stun to the target. Equipment Requirements: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    Although they were Epic, all three effects were very useful. There wasn''t much to say about the first effect ¨C Backstab was a very common attacking skill, so adding a level to it was definitely valuable. The second effect had a chance of activating, so its utility was largely up to luck. If you interrupted a minor skill, it would be rather inconsequential, but if you were lucky enough to interrupt an ultimate skill, then it could turn the tides of battle.


    The third effect was Lu Li''s favourite. This wasn''t just a mobility skill like Sudden Thrust; it was particularly good for chasing players down.


    After the mobility effect, a 1 second stun would also be applied. This effect increased the value of Grasps of the Survivor by at least 30%. Lu Li decided to keep this effect as his trump card. He would save it to chase down an unsuspecting Magic player, like Sorrowless.


    Lu Li''s current gloves were a level 40 Gold item that had long since fallen behind.


    Scourge Buster (Gold): Armour 40, Agility +30, Strength +16, Critical Hit +10%, Special Effect 1: +30% damage to Scourge units, Special Effect 2: when the user''s HP drops below 30%, there is a probability that the user''s damage will triple. Equipment Requirements: Level 40. Durability: 84/84.


    The only thing that Lu Li liked about these was that they dealt a lot of damage to the Scourge. As for the second special effect, it was basically useless because there was such a low chance of it activating.


    He was still 15% from level 55, so he still couldn''t equip Grasps of the Survivor. Lu Li didn''t want to waste a Level Reducing Gem and planned to farm for the next few days since he didn''t have a match tomorrow anyway.


    The whole process of the all-star team had finally been edited. Now, it would be used as promotional material for the game. Once this advertising went live to promote Dawn, it would be a killing blow for all the other games on the market.


    The rewards for the star players for participating were sent to their respective mailboxes after they completed the Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li had received an Epic ring.

 1122 Ocean’s Breeze

    There were two choices. The first was to give Lu Li two different types of normal Legendary gear ¨C one item for his participation, and the other for his commanding. The other choice was giving him a Legendary badge, ring or necklace.


    Since Lu Li had already received a Legendary necklace, he picked a ring this time.


    Normal Legendary items weren''t hard to acquire; this was evident from their run through the Blackrock Depths. However, Legendary grade accessory items were extremely rare, even in much more difficult dungeons.


    Ocean''s Breeze (Legendary): Damage: 52-88, Agility +80, Strength +50, Critical +30%. Unique Effect 1: Incursion. Creates a Flame Realm. Players within this realm gains 20% Defence and 10% Fire Resistance. Duration: 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Unique Effect 2: When the Caster is struck with a critical hit, there is a chance of mitigating some of the damage from the hit. When successful, the damage received is reduced by 50%. Unique Effect 3: Teleport. After equipping, the bearer of this ring gains a chance to use Teleport, but the location is random. Equipment requirement: Level 55. Durability: 320/320.


    Ghostclaw (Dark Gold): Damage 36-48, Agility +42, Strength +28, Critical + 25%. Unique Effect 1: After dealing consecutive Critical hits, the third hit has a 50% chance of dealing 3x damage. Unique Effect 2: Skill Levels +1. Unique Effect 3: Burst use. After using, this deals 600 damage to target. 50% of damage dealt is restored as HP. After using, the target''s armor is reduced by 30% for the next 15 seconds. Equipment requirement: Level 50. Durability: 215/215.


    When comparing these two rings, Lu Li''s current ring was not worthless. It was just that the uses of these rings were different.


    It was clear that Ghostclaw was much more offense and DPS-focused.


    On the other hand, Ocean''s Breeze was a defensive item, aside from the Critical +30%. The Unique Effects mitigated damage and provided extra fire resistance.


    As for the last effect, Lu Li had only heard of it ¨C he had never seen it with his eyes.


    This third skill needed to be used with much caution, since the destination of the teleport was random. A player had once used this at Naxxramas'' Tomb (or NAXX for short) and ended up in front of Kel''Thuzad. The end to that story was obvious.


    Using this skill as a means of escape was an option, but there was always a chance of teleporting into another dangerous situation.


    Lu Li was extremely happy with this run of the Blackrock Depths'' Instance Dungeons.


    Firstly, he acquired materials to craft the Felstriker, which meant that he could have this Legendary dagger in his sheath. He was extremely excited at the thought of owning it since the properties were extremely powerful.


    After upgrading the Shard of the Defiler, he would have two Legendary daggers. Even Sorrowless would not be a match for Lu Li when he acquired these two daggers.


    Secondly, he had acquired the Nightslayer Bracelets. This was Lu Li''s third T1 equip and soon to be his strongest Legendary item. Furthermore, this was part of a set. Once he found another piece of the set, he would unlock the next set effect.


    He had also received a Legendary necklace from the quest, while the rest of the All-Star squad were rewarded with Legendary rings.


    In total, he had obtained four Legendary items during this run. After equipping these items, his strength would rise to a new level. This sudden rise in strength would cause chaos in the quarter-finals if his opponents did not expect it.


    After completing this run with the All-star squad, the first course of action was to go back and form elite squads to clear this dungeon.


    Lu Li did not want to waste potential runs since the dungeon reset at a certain server time. Furthermore, he would know where to go to fight the easier Bosses. All in all, it would still be beneficial, even if they only defeated a couple of bosses.


    Ruling Sword already had five elite squads, which totalled 500 players. They could probably create around 30 squads to fight the Blackrock Depths Instance Dungeon.


    They all picked Nightmare difficulty. After all, they were only fighting the first few Bosses, so it wouldn''t be too difficult. The other guilds all did the same. There wasn''t much PVP happening since everyone was busy with the Blackrock Depths Instance Dungeon. The strategy was no longer a secret anyway.


    When the dungeon reset the next day, Lu Li went to the university and filled out the paperwork.


    It wasn''t too complicated ¨C Jiangnan University was not a university that everyone could enter, but with the council''s secretary, the process went smoothly.


    He had an exchange student ID with him, so he could use the library and the cafeteria whenever he wanted to.


    Lu Li did not have set courses in mind when he was admitted into this university.


    His first class was an Advanced Maths class. This served absolutely no purpose.


    Because this was a large auditorium, there were many other students. Lu Li tried his best to keep attention away from himself, which was not difficult.


    He did not understand any of the content that was being taught in that class.


    As a result, he spent most of his time observing others in the auditorium. Some were studying, which Lu Li admired, while some were fast asleep.


    This was a school?


    Lu Li felt somewhat excited to be here, not because he wanted to graduate with a degree, but because he hadn''t experienced this type of atmosphere before.


    Although he did not understand anything, Lu Li was enjoying himself, so he stayed for the whole class. After class, he went to the high school beside the university to visit his sister. Lu Xin was recovering while maintaining a stable condition, so she decided to start going to school that day.


    Although Lu Li made enough money to support both him and his sister together, it did not matter if Lu Xin did not want to go to school and find work afterwards.


    However, because they were both instilled with a hardworking attitude, they would not just give up and be lazy.


    After eating lunch together, Lu Li went to another class. After going home with Lu Xin when classes finished, he finally logged in again.


    After a server reset, many places went through drastic changes with updates to game content.

 1123 System Rese

    First of all, there was the implementation of inns and motels.


    Most of the maps now had inns and motels which offered 2x EXP when resting there. This prompted merchants to set up stalls selling food and other things.


    However, the most important thing was that the owners of these inns would ask if you wanted to set this place as a ''home''. If said yes to, you would receive a teleporting rock that teleported you back to the inn whenever you wish to return.


    The game company hired renowned composers and musicians to compose the lobby music. In each inn, there were different music which reminded players of different cities and towns.


    You could hear the clashing of glasses and feet shuffling about in these lively establishments.


    Travellers, whether merchants or soldiers, would visit these inns to have beer and food. Many would listen to the warriors telling epic tales of their adventures by the crackling fireplaces.


    Entering into each inn was like opening a gate to a new realm. Human inns were full of flirts, while Dwarves were extremely passionate in guzzling down beer. There was the roughness and bluntness of the Orcs, in comparison to the elegance of the Elves. Although players were often involved with other businesses, they would always remember the memories made when they camped at night at an inn.


    The implementation of inns did not seem like a big change, but it definitely was. This was because the game company had decided to take a different approach to Dawn.


    Players were now encouraged to play the game like they would in life. Going to bars and idling around in towns was now acceptable and would not hinder progress too much, because the EXP would be doubled.


    However, there would still be a difference in EXP gained between a player who had been grinding and training for the whole day compared to a player who had wasted their time in an inn. It was just that the difference was not as large as people thought.


    Furthermore, the server reset had granted some professions with double EXP gain.


    This culture of frequenting inns and bars also led to the development of travelling and tourism.


    In this world where flight was not a common means of travel, you could ride horses with your companions through the Caverns of Time and head towards the Old Hillsbrad Foothills, where there was a small town called Southshore.


    On the way to this town, you could even see the human version of Kel''Thuzad, still wondering how to become a powerful Mage.


    Little Mograine and Whitemane were still running around playing games, while Nat Pagle was training his fishing skills. Walking into the inn, you would see many old heroes crowded around a mysterious orb, engaged in a heated discussion. Meanwhile, the owner of the inn would sell perfume and alcohol.


    This place, the Hillsbrad Foothills, was the birthplace of tavern culture. Other cities and regions followed suit.


    It was extremely interesting here, since there was a range of rewards that were available, such as EXP and Fame pouches. Furthermore, there were many NPCs with quests with interesting storylines were present. This was much better than grinding at the training grounds.


    The PVP system was also changed. It was now a collective rank, with each player''s ranks combined into an average when fighting another team. This change attempted at giving each player the same chance of obtaining a skill point after winning.


    There was also the release of S0 and S1 set equipment through the changes in PVP, which was mainly for the levels between 55 and 60. The first was Gold grade, while the other was Dark Gold grade.


    These equips had PVP rank requirements, so not even tremendous amounts of money could purchase these.


    However, ranks could also be bought through other players'' services, so paying to win was still possible.


    There were also a new addition to the arena maps ¨C the Arathi Highlands. This new map introduced a new way of fighting, and a new mount as a reward.


    On the other hand, this update not only focused on PVP, but PVE players too.


    There were many new quests, which eliminated the problem of players not being able to accept quests due to unfortunate circumstances. However, the rewards were obviously much less impressive.


    The company designed it this way because they wanted players to be more involved in the lifestyle of the game, which they were successful in doing.


    This new update introduced a multitude of new quests, and the numbers were still going to increase.


    Blackwing Lair had now been released!


    Nefarian''s Blackwing Lair could be entered from the Blackrock Spires. It was there that Nefarian plotted to use Ragnaros to command his army to destroy Azeroth. Blackwing Lair was an Instance Dungeon with a maximum of a 40-man squad. In this Instance Dungeon, there were many rewards and quests that would lure fearless adventurers into this mysterious temple.


    Zul''Gurub was also released!


    There were countless valuable treasures and a wealth of knowledge stashed away in this area.


    The Blackrock Instance Dungeons had now fully released, and were waiting for players to challenge them.


    Zul''Gurub was clearly an extremely alluring place. However, the players now weren''t qualified for it yet, since this dungeon required a minimum of level 60 and advanced knowledge of Instance Dungeons in general.


    There was also the Mentoring system, through which mentors could summon their students and take them around to play the game. The company encouraged this because they wanted to create a society within the game. This allowed people to recruit new players into the game.


    For example, men would want their girlfriends to enter and become their students, and vice versa. Similarly, there were fathers and their children, although it would be weird for the father to call his child a mentor.


    The EXP penalty for dying was also reduced. In the current state of the game, dying was a huge burden on players, since it would set them back days of training. This was especially problematic in Wild Boss fights, where not even major guilds could handle these setbacks.


    Now, if a player naturally revived, 5% EXP would be lost. If there was someone to revive them, they would only lose 2% EXP.


    2% EXP was negligible since it could be recovered within a couple of hours. This meant that Wild Boss fights would be much more exciting.


    After all, excitement would bring more players into the game.

 1124 Starting a Furnace

    These updates weren''t bad for Lu Li, but not everything made him happy.


    Thieves had been nerfed, along with Warlocks. The main nerf to Warlocks hit their brainless, continuous damage skills. On the other hand, Mages had received quite a significant buff. Ice Mages originally didn''t deal very much damage, but now, they had improved significantly in that regard.


    With each balancing patch, there would be different professions that came into the limelight. Ice Mages were now going to be the strongest profession.


    Lu Li had no choice but to accept that Mages were one of Dawn''s most important professions. Fortunately, the Thief nerfs were not too impactful ¨C they were only weakened in their Stealth. Currently, it was difficult for any other profession to make the first move against a Thief, which was not what the game company wanted to see.


    In addition, there was quite a bit content that had been added, which made this quite a large update.


    On the day of the System Update, Ruling Sword actually had a game to play against Gods of Dusk, but Lu Li did not participate in it.


    This guild, which was older than Glory Capital, had gotten by all this time by relying on their top player, Wood Fearing. Although they had gained a number of new players since entering Dawn, it was difficult to restore their former glory and compete with Ruling Sword. The match against Gods of Dusk was almost a completely one-sided affair.


    Moonlight could deal with Wood Fearing and the other Ruling Sword players were quite capable as well. As long as they won in the individual rounds, there was almost no possibility of losing the team match. Lu Li was farming while also Forging the Felstriker at the same time.


    His Forging level was high enough to Forge the Felstriker, but in order to maximize the result, he chose not to complete it for the time being and continued to increase his Forging level. He would also help his guild members create their daggers out of Molds to practice.


    After a long period of research, Lu Li found out that producing an exquisite item was largely up to luck. However, it wasn''t completely out of his control.


    For example, the Felstriker needed a skill level of Master (350), but if Lu Li continued to improve, the probability of making something Exquisite would greatly increase. In practice, most other Forgers didn''t have a godly crafting hammer, so perhaps this rule wasn''t applicable to them.


    The second factor was the choice of materials. Dawn''s Mold Forging required the correct rare materials. These were unique and could not be replaced by other minerals.


    However, there were some materials which could have a positive effect on the item. Ore was one such example. It was the most basic material for Forging, but different ores had different qualities and there were a few extremely rare variants. Lu Li had been searching for some time now and had finally found two pieces of the Thorium Vein Ore variant that he was looking for.


    Unfortunately, he hadn''t acquired any Dark Iron Ore and he was the only one who was currently capable of smelting Dark Iron ingots in the game.


    Lu Li had chosen quite a remote location ¨C Un''Goro Crater.


    There were only a few players here, and this environment was good for Forging. The Fire Plume Forge was the place where the Fire Elementals chose to reside after the Elemental war. The Fire Elementals here would burn anyone that approached them, so only the brave and careful adventurers dared to venture here.


    The huge volcano in the middle of the crater was quite unique. It was also the place where Rok''Alim had set the record for the highest known temperature. As a result, this attracted Fire Elementals to live her and even invade.


    The legends said that this was the site in which the Titans had created the world of Azeroth. The river that snaked around the area and the Earthens that were guarding it seemed to be a testament to that fact.


    There was a mine to the north of Marshall''s Refuge. Although it had been abandoned, some ores of very high quality could still be mined there. When Forging weapons, you could receive a little extra from this mine. Of course, Lu Li himself could not do any mining, so he had to bring some players to help him.


    Master Camogodo used the flames from Fire Plume Forge to create the most famous Forging Furnace in Azeroth.


    Un''Goro had some specialties that could not be found elsewhere, like the Bloodpetal Sprout, Un''Goro Soil and other multi-colored ores.


    It was a tropical rainforest with thick vegetation and large fierce beasts everywhere. There were all kinds of raptors, pterodactyls, stegosauruses, and gorillas. Because of these monsters, there was only a small group of greedy adventures, archeologists and exploration parties.


    Most of the adventurers who were here had come to complete quests and make money. They were here to collect resources that they were later going to sell. For example, players would kill the mud monsters at the swamp to extract their goo, collect furs from the gorillas and take the pterodactyls'' wings. These quests were mostly given by the Goblins.


    Lu Li had completed similar quests and was eventually allowed to use the Forging Furnace of Master Camagodo.


    Ruling Sword players were notified that they could find Lu Li there if they needed helping Forging weapons. The only condition was that their Mold''s Forging Requirements had to be greater than level 350.


    It wouldn''t be unreasonable to say that this condition was a bit harsh, as the level 350 Molds were not quite common yet. However, Lu Li was surprised to find that hundreds of players had come to the Un''Goro Crater. This map which was normally quite quiet was now very lively.


    "I have been waiting to Forge this dagger for a long time. Please Boss," a Thief pleaded as he threw a level 340 Mold into Lu Li''s hands, afraid that he would refuse it. After all, the condition was that it had to be higher than 350.


    "Put down the material and go to the mine to get some ores for me. When you come back, I''ll send a dagger to your mailbox."


    Lu Li''s Forging level had just passed 350, so this Mold would still grant him some EXP. There was no need for Lu Li to be too strict, but he had to pay a price for this exception. Otherwise, who else would help him mine?


    As luck would have it, the equipment that was produced was actually a Perfect Dark Gold. Lu Li licked his lips as he saw the first Perfect item that he had created today.


    The Perfect equipment gave him a lot of EXP. It was much more than an ordinary creation, so Lu Li was quite satisfied.


    Everyone was in a party with Lu Li, so that the Warlocks could clear out the monsters safely as there was no respawn point in Un''Goro. When the players saw that Lu Li had made a perfect weapon, the Thief who was mining became so excited that he almost cried.


    "You have to buy everyone drinks; this is basically an Epic item," the others said.


    "Definitely. When we go back, I''ll pay for everyone''s drinks in the Stormwind City Tavern."


    This equipment was originally worth a few hundred coins, but now its value had increased at least tenfold.


    Although the number of Perfect weapons he made was relatively small, Lu Li''s exquisite Forging hammer often produced great or exquisite items.


    Many of the newcomers now knew why the players were so excited when the Boss announced that he would be Forging items for them.

 1125 This Is Cheating!

    It took a long time for Lu Li to finish all the Molds that had been lined up by the players. Some of them were weaker than the others, but they were all satisfied with their daggers.


    Most of what Lu Li had produced was at least of Superior quality and Fine at the very worst. If these players tried to Forge their weapons elsewhere, a Fine quality weapon would cost an extra 20 gold and an exquisite item would cost an extra 50.


    As for a Perfect Item? It was almost unthinkable for a Perfect item to be made.


    Lu Li had reached Master (400)!


    He could finally start Forging the Felstriker.


    He had piles of ore on hand, as all the players who had come to get their items forged were mining for Lu Li. Although there were no unique variations of the ore, he had no shortage of superior quality ore.


    Lu Li intended to mix this Superior Quality Ore into the Mold''s Forging in certain proportions. An experienced Forger knew exactly what the ratios should be. An understanding of such techniques could result in a stronger Dagger being formed; this was called the alloy Forging technique. However, if it failed, the Forging would result in a pile of scrap iron.


    The flame had become very pure after half a day of Forging, so everything was ready.


    Lu Li closed his eyes and quietly tried to find the same feeling as before. In the moments that he created the few Perfect items, there was a strange but indescribable feeling.


    After a few moments, he grabbed a Dark Iron ingot and began beating it with his Forging Hammer.


    In fact, many Forgers didn''t dare to treat exquisite ores too roughly. They would always think that they would ruin them if they weren''t careful. However, Lu Li''s experience told him that true Forging required a measure of decisiveness. The outcome that resulted would be a combination of your determination and will.


    Of course, one also had to identify the grain of the ore and follow it.


    Although Lu Li''s hammer was an exquisite item that could improve the level of an equipment, it didn''t have a great probability of Forging a Perfect item. This came down to a thorough understanding of Forging.


    Lu Li had mainly studied two Trade Skills ¨C Engineering and Forging. He had put in great efforts in both these Trade Skills to improve at them.


    Most players, especially profession players, preferred to put their time and energy into levelling and quests. However, Lu Li, who had never felt a sense of security, didn''t want to do that. He wanted to continue learning, so even if he was one day removed from the Level Rankings, or if Ruling Sword was gone, he would be able to support himself and his sister with his two Trade Skills.


    After the Dark Iron Ingots had been beaten for some time, he began placing in the other rare materials.


    The shape of the dagger was gradually formed, and Lu Li was completely invested. In that moment, he had lost track of time and even the original procedure. He was completely focused on the materials that he had before him.


    The originally non-living bundle of items seemed to now be alive as they moved into position and became part of the dagger. They weren''t just being beaten into the item, but they seemed to be coming together in harmony.


    In that moment, Lu Li felt like he had gained a whole new level of understanding.


    Although he knew that it would be very difficult to repeat this experience afterwards, the feeling of having glimpsed at the truth was wonderful. Lu Li, who was quite knowledgeable compared to most, did not know if he would ever experience this again.


    System: The Forging was a success, Forging EXP +8


    The System''s prompt pulled him back to reality and Lu Li stopped swinging his hammer. If the item that had been Forged by him was then broken by his hands, that would be a cruel joke.


    Felstriker (Perfect Epic): Damage 88-120, Agility +120, Strength +100, Critical Hit: +35%. Three Slots. Special Effect 1: Ambush Skill Level +1, +1 Combo Points gained for using this skill. Special Effect 2: After the user lands a successful critical hit, gain 50% damage increased for 10 seconds. Special Effect 3: Phantom Shift ¨C Six Phantoms appear randomly that last three seconds each. The user can choose to change positions with one of them at any time. 2 hour cooldown. Special Effect 4: Bloodlust, Instant Cast, consumes 20% of HP to increase Attack Power by 50%, Attack Speed by 50% and Movement Speed by 50%. Lasts for 10 seconds. 2 hour cooldown. After using this effect, the user is satisfied and can no longer be affected by other Bloodlust or time warp effects for 10 minutes. Equipment Requirement: Level 60. Durability 320/320.


    This was a Perfect Epic. Lu Li had no words.


    This dagger had completely surpassed his imagination. He was skeptical as to whether he would be able to find any level 60 item that would be better than this.


    Of course, this all had to do with the fact that it was ''Perfect''. In terms of Damage, the lower boundary of the range was greater than the maximum damage his current Widowmaker could deal as a level 45 item.


    This weapon increased the user''s Attributes by 220 points. Sea Breeze only increased a user''s Attributes by 130 points, which was quite a significant gap.


    The first special effect which buffed Ambush was normal. All Felstrikers buffed Ambush, but they didn''t increase the number of combo points.


    Combo points were quite a precious thing. Under normal circumstances, they were accumulated with common skills. For example, Shadowstrike added a combo point, while Ambush now added three. This was the only skill Lu Li had seen that could add three combo points.


    The critical hit effect wasn''t very eye-catching for Lu Li, but considering his current critical hit frequency, it would be a useful effect for him anyway.


    Having 10 seconds of increased damage was quite valuable. If he landed another critical hit again within those ten seconds, the effect could be stacked. If it weren''t for the fact that this was a Perfect Felstriker, it would only increase his damage by 20%.


    The third special effect was an enhanced Phantom Shift, which normally only produced three phantoms.


    This skill had practical uses for both escaping and pursuing. Six phantoms randomly appeared within Lu Li''s visual range and he could teleport to any one of them as he chose.


    Special effect four was a personal version of Bloodlust, and it was also enhanced. This was even stronger then Sakura Memories'' skill. With this special effect, a Thief holding Felstriker would simply become a God within those 10 seconds. Most players would have no chance of surviving through the duration of the effect. Mages would immediately think of using Ice Block when they saw a Thief use the Felstriker effect against them.


    After a while, Lu Li quickly took out a -10% Level Reducing Gem that he had acquired from a shipwreck, and a 10% attack increase Gem.


    This gem had been given to him by Hachi Chan, who had gone through a number of very cumbersome quests to get it. As a result, Lu Li had to agree to some very demanding terms in exchange.


    This 10% increase wasn''t to be underestimated as it wasn''t a fixed buff. This 10% would apply even after Lu Li''s Attributes continued to increase and would accumulate over time.


    After placing in the three gems, Felstriker''s Attributes increased by another step.


    Just before he was going to Strengthen it, Lu Li suddenly remembered that he had something to do, but he was afraid he was too late.


    He couldn''t help but break out in cold sweat. He had been so focused on the Felstriker today that he had forgotten about the System Update where the Mentoring System would come out. When the Mentoring System was introduced, the most famous Potion Master of this generation would enter the game.

 1126 Master of Alchemy

    Cold Chill was a player at the top of Dawn''s Alchemy circle. She was very famous when Lu Li had entered the game in his previous life. Over the next two years, Lu Li witnessed the myriad of miracles she would perform.


    Lu Li had once read a transcript of an interview with her.


    This Alchemy master, who would later become unmatched by the countless major guilds, was a rookie who didn''t understand anything when she first entered the game. Her first experience with the game was so bad, that she almost gave up on playing.


    Fortunately, when the game introduced the mentoring system, she found a teacher.


    In fact, this teacher wasn''t a particularly strong player. He was just an ordinary player


    who couldn''t bear to watch these new players struggle. He took on three apprentices and taught them to learn about strategies on the forums. He didn''t know that he was directly contributing to the creation of Dawn''s greatest Alchemist.


    One of Cold Chill''s masterpieces was the Resurrection Potion.


    While Lu Li was playing in his previous life, this potion wasn''t too expensive. Even though Cold Chill''s Potion was not expensive, many players would beg to get their hands on a single bottle.


    The function of the Resurrection Potion was simple ¨C it was to Revive.


    In the morning, you could drink a bottle of the potion and if you died on that day, you could resurrect in the city without any equipment or EXP loss.


    Some of the places that the players explored were quite remote, and it wasn''t always possible to find a healer. However, if you drank a bottle of the Resurrection Potion, all this would be solved.


    Cold Chill would later join her teacher''s guild. Most of her potions would be supplied to her guildmembers and not many of them would make it onto the market.


    In addition, there were some other exquisite potions that made this Night Elf rookie the most popular player in the game. After talking about her experiences in the interview, many players were beating themselves up. They all wished they had picked up this rookie for themselves.


    Lu Li was reminded a few days ago when the System was being updated and wanted to intercept this rookie. However, he didn''t think that he would be so invested in the Forging that he would completely forget about it.


    Although it was a bit late to catch up, Lu Li decided not to give up. Cold Chill was too important for Ruling Sword. Although Sesame Rice Ball had a high Alchemy level, he was just an ordinary Alchemist. Lu Li had never heard of another Alchemist like her before.


    When Dawn''s Trade Skills were released, everyone just what the System told them to do. Whoever could complete the formulas would eventually have a high-level Trade Skill and become stronger.


    However, once you had acquired the rank of Master, a number of homemade recipes became available. It was said that Cold Chill had been born into a family of Chinese medicine practitioners. As such, after she became a Master, she went on to become one of Dawn''s most famous alchemists.


    This place was filled with magic and was always at a comfortable temperature, no matter what the season. Time was locked in an eternal dawn here. This was the perfect environment for Night Elves. The Dark Ravine''s trees were still as purple as the sky.


    On the ground, there was a carpet of green grass with flowers scattered everywhere. There were wild boars and black panthers coming and going. It was quite a harmonious scene.


    In the distance, the purple mist tinted the hills and the jungle.


    It had been a long time since Lu Li had set food in the Novice Village, and it felt quite intimate. There were even some newcomers who ran to him, asking for some copper coins to repair their equipment.


    "If you don''t have money to repair your equipment, you can fight the bear monster and sell the fur to the tailor shop¡­"


    "The bearskin is so hard to harvest, and it takes so long too. If you don''t do it well, the tailor won''t even take it. We might as well find some herbs to sell."


    "If you don''t want to harvest bearskins, you can also sell the bear monster''s manure to the blacksmith," Lu Li said.


    "Pfsht, why won''t you just give us some copper? Why are you even here?"


    When they heard what Lu Li suggested, they were unhappy. They thought that Lu Li looked quite glamorous, and didn''t expect him to put up any resistance when asking for some copper.


    Of course, this exchange still left the idea in their minds. They didn''t know that the manure could be sold to the blacksmith.


    In fact, a blacksmith accepted these items because they could be used to increase the purity of a flame. Lu Li didn''t mine providing some strategies for these novices, because he didn''t want to be stuck here handing out copper coins to newbies.


    Believe it or not, Lu Li was too lazy to manage these newbies. He summoned the Headless Paladin''s Steed and rode out of the safe area.


    "Woah, what is that? An Undead Warhorse! That''s so cool."


    The novices were stunned. Some of them had read about this on the forums, but nothing like it had ever turned up at the Novice Village. The mount was much bigger than they had expected.


    "No, I know someone who is playing as Undead and he took a picture of the Skeleton Horses. They don''t look as good as this one," someone immediately corrected him.


    "I know, it''s the Headless Paladin''s Steed!"


    The player wasn''t completely clueless. Some people really liked cars and in the same way, some players were obsessed with the various mounts. The Headless Paladin''s Steed had a very low drop rate, but almost all of them were owned by celebrities.


    "Wasn''t that the Halloween mount? Who was that person?"


    After Lu Li left the village and rode along the area where the monsters were, he dismounted and transformed into a Crow. He was now rushing towards Moon Shadow Lake at an even faster speed.


    In an interview with Cold Chill, she described her first experience of the game.


    She had entered the game to make some money to improve her life. Her family wasn''t poor, but in order to pay for the maintenance of their Chinese medicine practice, they had to live frugally.


    However, after entering the game, she realized that she couldn''t become rich overnight.


    This was especially because the monsters she fought rarely dropped any items and it was quite a burden to manage her potions and repairs. However, she also couldn''t bring herself to ask for money from the local tycoons like many other players.


    In those few days, she would sit on the shore of Moon Shadow Lake and stare at its blue waters, questioning her decision.


    This was the same Moon Shadow Lake where Lu Li earned his first bucket of Gold. He had found Frost Nova in the Treasure Chest in the lake, which made his progression much easier.


    No one was here?


    Lu Li was a little disappointed; there was no one here by the quiet lakeside. There were not many monsters here, so it wasn''t a suitable place for players to level up.


    The newbie who was staring at the lake, having lost hope in her gaming life ¨C had she already been taken away by her teacher?

 1127 A Newbie

    At this point, the joy of obtaining an exquisite item had completely faded.


    The Felstriker was extremely valuable, but it would eventually become obsolete. However, the Master of Alchemy was different.


    Lu Li was beginning to regret giving so much attention to Forging the item. In fact, he should have just sent someone here. After the System update, he should have immediately made his way over. He could have even sent other players here a few days in advance. Cold Chill was definitely worth the manpower and resources.


    Unfortunately, it was too late. Lu Li was hesitating on whether he should just send a direct message to her.


    But at this time, he spotted a dejected female Night Elf. She was quite good looking, but it wasn''t clear what profession she was.


    This was because all players were given cloth clothing at the start. The cloth clothing provided no Attributes and couldn''t be dropped. She also didn''t have any weapons on hand.


    After glancing at Lu Li, she searched the area around her, then made a disappointed expression. Then, she began to cast a Fireball. It seemed like she had dropped her weapon and had revived, but was unable to find it. Newbies respawned quite quickly, but it was also quite normal for them to be unable to recover their dropped weapons.


    The Fireball hit a little Grell''s body. Although Lu Li couldn''t see what the actual damage figure was, he could tell that it was quite weak.


    Lu Li smiled at the sight of this player as his disappointment was slowly swept away.


    The Grell''s level was quite low and this one looked even smaller than usual. Under normal circumstances, any player of the same level should have been able to easily kill it.


    Unfortunately, this player didn''t have a weapon, and it wasn''t easy to kill a Grell with just the Fireball.


    She also didn''t have any other skills, so she could only walk around and take damage from the monster as she waited for the cooldown to reset.


    The Grell was on half HP, but the player was quite bloodied. Her face was white and she knew what was going to happen next.


    She didn''t know what was wrong with her. Everyone else seemed to be able to play the game, but she was struggling. After playing for a few days, she still hadn''t made it out of the Novice Village. The money that she had brought in at the beginning had already been spent, and she was beginning to question everything.


    Previously, she had forgotten about her Mana. As a result, she couldn''t cast her skill and she was killed by the Grell.


    What was even more tragic was that she dropped the only weapon she had left.


    Now, she couldn''t even defend herself.


    Was she going to have to go back to fighting wild boar cubs?


    Those level 1 monsters now wouldn''t give her any EXP as a level 3 player. However, given her unluckiness, she probably wouldn''t find a weapon anyway¡­


    However, the death that she was expecting didn''t happen. Tracing the source of the sudden sound, she saw a person standing with a rifle. There was smoke trailing from the muzzle; it seemed like he had saved her.


    "Thanks for saving me," the female Mage said gratefully.


    "Why can''t you defeat even a single Grell?" Lu Li asked her.


    The female Mage was stunned and mumbled, "I dropped my weapon and I didn''t come back quickly enough so I can''t find it¡­"


    "What level are you?" Lu Li asked.


    "Level 3"


    "Level 3 isn''t that low. Getting from level 0 to 3 should give you 15 Attribute points. What did you add them to?"


    "Five points to Stamina, five points to Agility and five points to Intelligence."


    It seemed like she didn''t understand what the Attribute points were for. The System would always remind her when she leveled up, telling her that they could improve some of her strength.


    "I see¡­" Lu Li held his head in his hands. Fortunately, his helmet was more like a mask ¨C otherwise, it would be difficult for him to conceal his contempt.


    "Thank you for saving me; I''ll go and harvest some herbs now. I heard that I can earn some money that way."


    The female Mage was unexpectedly sensitive. She could hear Lu Li''s disdain from his voice, and she knew that something was wrong. However, her stubborn nature prevented her from asking.


    "The herbs in the Novice Village aren''t worth much and there are too many people doing the same thing here. You won''t be able to get much," Lu Li said.


    "Oh."


    Another wave of disappointment washed over the female Mage, and the thought of giving up became even stronger.


    "Alright, are you willing to become my apprentice? The system has just been added today and it just so happens that I haven''t had to time to find any other apprentices. I can teach you how to play, and send you a bunch of newbie equipment. I can also find someone to level with you."


    "Huh, why would you want me as your apprentice?" Despite her excitement, the female Mage was still cautious. She often encountered men in reality with malicious intentions.


    "If you become my apprentice and complete quests or get upgrades, I gain certain rewards and reputation. You have to listen to what I tell you to do, so I can get what I need. How about it?" Lu Li tried not to show how eager he was.


    Even if he wanted to take this female Mage as an apprentice, he would scare her away if he was too eager.


    The female Mage thought about it for a moment before deciding it was a ''fair trade''. She finally nodded and agreed, but what she didn''t know was people didn''t usually take on random apprentices, and even fewer players would take on a newbie like her.


    Lu Li pointed out how to send a request through the system and soon, he was prompted with "Player Cold Chill has applied to become your apprentice. Do you agree?"


    Surely enough, this was Cold Chill and Lu Li had no reason to refuse. After confirming the request, the future alchemist was now his own apprentice. This would be his first and only apprentice.


    "Now, you are my apprentice. Let me tell you something about Mages¡­" Lu Li was a now a teacher. Although he was excited, he had no intention of misleading her and quickly took on the role of a mentor.


    Cold Chill was listening intently to what Lu Li was saying. Lu Li''s simple explanation gave her an understanding of her profession and what mistakes she made after entering the game.


    "Now, cast your skill at the Grells," Lu Li said after a while, pointing at the Grells that Cold Chill couldn''t defeat previously.


    "But teacher, I can''t beat it," Cold Chill protested, clearly dumbfounded.


    "Relax, I''m here, so it won''t kill you."


    Lu Li was speechless. He was an expert at the top of the Level Ranking; how could he not protect this rookie?


    Cold Chill was slightly embarrassed, but she obediently cast her skills at the Grells.


    "Before the battle begins, you can actually take a few steps back so there is more distance between you and the monster. This way, you can increase the time it takes for the monster to reach it. This is a simple concept you can apply right away."


    It was such a simple strategy that it was surprising that this apprentice didn''t know it. It was hard to imagine that this rookie would go on to become Dawn''s greatest alchemist.

 1128 Dumb Apprentice

    "Ah yes," Cold Chill realized as she began to retreat.


    In fact, she did try to deal damage to the monster at the same time, but it wasn''t very effective. Eventually, she realized that moving didn''t do much for her and it was better for her to just stand still and fight.


    "Don''t panic, you have to move quickly but when you step back, immediately start casting a skill. Look at the Grell; why are you looking at your feet? It''s a flat grassland, there''s nothing for you to stumble over."


    Lu Li didn''t want to be too harsh. After all, she was the future Master Alchemist, so it was best not to offend her.


    However, at some points, he just couldn''t help it.


    Surprisingly, Cold Chill didn''t become angry at Lu Li''s harshness. Instead, she felt like this teacher that she had acquired mere minutes ago truly felt like a proper teacher. After all, the field of traditional Chinese medicine had always been taught strictly, so she quickly found herself embracing the apprenticeship.


    "Attack. Try to aim the Fireball as close to the monster as possible. Good, that''s good. Again, and don''t run. Uh¡­"


    Lu Li picked up the Flawless Arcanite Rifle and shot the Grell, dealing with the rest of its HP and saving this dumb apprentice once again.


    "Sorry master, I won''t panic next time. I told you, I was killed by this monster, so I have PTSD¡­"


    "Apprentice, I''m about to get PTSD too."


    "I''m sorry Master. How about you lend me some money, and I will buy a Magic Staff? When I''ve made some money, I will repay you then. In fact, I can kill the Grells, but every time I do it, I need to sit down to regenerate¡­" Cold Chill felt aggrieved; she was just a rookie after all.


    "Don''t worry about the equipment. Come on, just keep practicing," Lu Li said as he waved his hand and began to teach his apprentice fighting skills again.


    Compared to his previous NPC apprentice, Cold Chill was really dumb.


    She didn''t really understand what Lu Li meant when he said not to worry about the equipment, but she followed his instructions anyway. However, she was quite curious as to how a Thief would know about a Mage''s combat techniques. It was only when a player rode over that she finally understood what Lu Li meant.


    "Boss, I''m here." It was a female Warrior ¨C Ruling Sword''s Logistics Leader, White Bread.


    "You should have just sent someone else, why did you come yourself?" Lu Li greeted White Bread and received the equipment that she had brought.


    White Bread was responsible for supervising Ruling Sword''s logistics and finance. All Professional Trade Skill players ultimately reported to her. Although no one really knew her outside the guild, she was known by almost all guild members. In fact, the third executive member of the guild, other than Lu Li and Square Root 3, was not Wandering, but White Bread.


    Recently, she hadn''t been feeling well, which was why Lu Li asked her to just send someone else.


    "I was in the area to recruit more Trade Skill players into the guild when I heard that you had accepted an apprentice. I thought I''d come by and have a look at who was your first apprentice. I thought it would be Xin Xin," White Bread said with a smile as she looked at Cold Chill.


    "Why would I take her as an apprentice? She doesn''t have any time to play¡­"


    Lu Li was speechless. Did they really see him as that much of a sister-con, that he would do everything with her?


    "Well, I''ll leave you too it then. Oh, my name is White Bread¡­"


    White Bread then started chatting with Cold Chill, wondering how this person managed to win the favor of the game''s number one player. However, she was quite tactful, and wasn''t a person who liked to ask about someone else''s secrets.


    White Bread soon had to go. She was the busiest person in the guild, and it was difficult for her to find time to rest even while she was sick, so she couldn''t chat with Lu Li''s new apprentice for too long.


    Lu Li checked the equipment before trading each piece to Cold Chill one at a time.


    First, there were the five, 14-space backpacks. Many players that were over level 40 were still carrying the 12 space backpacks. Of course, Cold Chill didn''t know the value of these backpacks yet, but she was just happy about not having to worry about how she could store things in future.


    Then, there was a set of alchemy tools, which other players would normally have to earn by doing quests. An average player could not usually obtain these items.


    The next was a set of equipment. There were three weapons, with the first being a level 3 Green Magic Staff. It had high damage and was comparable to a Common level 10 staff sold in stores. The other two was a level 10 Steel Magic Staff and a level 20 Gold Magic Staff. Although this low-level equipment couldn''t be sold any more, there were always rich newbies who would pay for them.


    There was also a lot of other equipment, all of which were exquisite.


    Even Cold Chill, who knew nothing about the game, felt like something was wrong. She had entered the game to make some money and didn''t really understand the items she had, but all this in addition to the 50 gold that Lu Li had given her would add up to about 300 gold.


    300 gold was a bit over 20,000 dollars. Was this a normal teacher-apprentice relationship?


    "Alright, equip your weapon and I''ll continue teaching you fighting techniques."


    Cold Chill was deeply grateful, but had no idea what to say.


    Not only was she grateful for the tens of thousands of dollars worth of items, but she was also grateful


    towards Lu Li for teaching her. She was a rookie, not an idiot. Her master was obviously teaching her as best as he could.


    Lu Li was a high-ranking player while Cold Chill was an apprentice with some talent of her own. As such, she was able to progress quite quickly, especially with the exquisite equipment in hand. As she swept through the Grells map, her level quickly rose and her technique grew better.


    Lu Li taught her more in an hour than Cold Chill had learned all this time by talking to other players.


    Lu Li also subtly guided her interests towards Alchemy. However, he didn''t have to try very hard as Alchemy was the in-game counterpart to Chinese Medicine in real life.


    After Lu Li described the status of Alchemy Masters, she became even more determined to learn the trade.


    For example, Lu Li''s friend Sesame Rice Ball, held quite a unique position in the guild. Most players that saw him would greet him as Rice Ball bro, and no one dared to offend him. Even if he sold his potions at a very low price, he still earned a lot of money. It was said that he had managed to buy a car and a house in just half a year.


    After a little more than an hour, Lu Li''s goal had been achieved.


    Not only had he received an apprentice, but he had also introduced her to White Bread and guided her towards learning Alchemy. Finally, he had also accepted her into the guild.


    Lu Li couldn''t always be teaching this little apprentice as his time was too precious. However, he didn''t want to leave Cold Chill to her own devices, and instead asked several Mages from the guild to take turns teaching her. He also instructed some other players to collect Skill Books for her.

 1129 Wood Fearing

    After struggling for a whole day, Lu Li''s finally reached level 55. There was still a bit of time before the day was over, so he went to Thelsama to Fortify some of his equipment.


    His originally-full moneybag now only carried a single digit worth of coins. If he didn''t make more money sometime soon, he would have problems repairing his equipment.


    Fortunately, he was a guild leader, so he didn''t have to worry much about this. Square Root 3 would soon send him a few hundred gold and the names of the two other apprentices.


    Currently, players above level 30 could take on one apprentice, while players above level 40 could take on two and players above level 50 could take on three. Lu Li had already taken one, so he still had two slots left.


    He had no intention to waste the two slots and planned to make use of these apprentices to farm EXP and Prestige.


    Both of Square Root 3''s assigned apprentices were Mages. These players were veterans that had decided to stay in their previous games. However, now that those games were on the verge of collapse, they had finally decided to play Dawn.


    The fact that they would be apprentices to Lu Li was already a great benefit, but Square Root 3 also promised them a position in their Elite Group, which guaranteed their agreement.


    Lu Li didn''t really want to personally teach these two apprentices as he did with Cold Chill. They were also given some basic equipment, but Lu Li just didn''t have the time or energy. When these two players completed their apprenticeship, Square Root 3 would find two more to replace them. If Lu Li had to personally teach all these apprentices, then it just wouldn''t be worthwhile.


    The players would eventually discover the rich benefits of the mentoring system. In the future, players would pay to become an apprentice, giving rise to the apprenticeship agent who specialized in matching teachers and apprentices for a fee.


    However, Lu Li didn''t have to worry about any of this as the guild would deal with that for him. It also meant that he could enjoy the rewards from the mentoring system earlier than most.


    The game with Gods of Dusk played out as expected. Ruling Sword defeated Gods of Dusk with a score of 7-3, which also marked the completion of all the matches in the top 16.


    Ruling Sword ranked first on the standings and their opponent, Gods of Dusk, were unfortunately eliminated.


    Gods of Dusk''s core player Wood Fearing had been losing the quarter final matches for quite a few consecutive seasons. Although his fans were always comforting him, this was no substitute for actually winning. Even during the interview, this famously tough player choked on his tears several times.


    Wood Fearing was just a Gods of Dusk''s soldier; he was a professional player that still wanted to win. There was no professional player that didn''t care about becoming the champion.


    Wood Fearing had been in the guild for eight years now. When he was young, he had been rushed to the top. Even though virtual reality games meant that the age range of professional players was wider, now that he had reached the age of 30, his mental faculties had begun to go downhill.


    This time, he had spent so much time preparing and had such high expectations.


    His fans, especially those who had been following him for many years, were also looking forward to a miracle.


    Unfortunately, that miracle did not happen. First, they were defeated by Peerless City. Then, they were defeated by Seventh Heaven''s combination of Lucky Southern Persian and Hornet''s Nest. Wood Fearing had fought very hard, but did not give up. He defeated star players like Hornet''s Nest, Half a Smoke and Green Flag Wine to earn a few points for his guild.


    If they were matched against a weaker opponent, Gods of Dusk might have still had a chance.


    However, they were matched against Ruling Sword. Moonlight, Fat Monkey and Carnivorous Cat all had almost the same capabilities as Wood Fearing. However, it was particularly difficult fighting Moonlight with the Warrior-Thief match up, which prevented Wood Fearing from recovering.


    And so, Wood Fearing and Gods of Dusk had lost their final hope.


    Some players began attacking Ruling Sword, claiming that they had no sense of honor.


    With Ruling Sword''s current number of points, even if they had thrown this game again Gods of Dusk, they still would have been able to enter the quarterfinals. It didn''t matter whether they entered the quarterfinals at first or second place. All the points would be reset anyway as the remaining 8 teams would have to fight it out to take the top 4 places.


    If Ruling Sword had made some concessions, Gods of Dusk would have been able to hold on to their hopes in their last quarterfinals.


    After being accused online, Ruling Sword naturally couldn''t remain silent. They had to maintain their clean reputation. Square Root 3, as the executive manager of Ruling Sword, sent out a response to media as quickly as possible.


    "Wood Fearing is one of the players that Lu Li and I respect the most. Ruling Sword has no malicious intentions towards him."


    "Before the game, I spoke to Lu Li about it and whether he wanted to throw it¡­ but to my surprise, Lu Li asked me if I really wanted to insult Wood Fearing. As such, to avoid that scenario, Ruling Sword went all out for this match, which is out of respect for Wood Fearing, Gods of Dusk and the spirit of the game."


    "A lot of people think that we are just stubbornly fighting for the champion''s title, but in fact, we are just upholding the spirit of champions. It is not the name that we are fighting for¡­"


    "Wood Fearing is a very strong player, and we expected him to take Gods of Dusk into the finals. However, I also hope that more players would pay attention to Ruling Sword. We have many young and upcoming players. I hope that everyone can support them¡­"


    Lu Li didn''t know what Square Root 3 would say before the interview was released.


    However, he was very satisfied with Square Root 3''s response. Square Root 3 was quite skilled at PR, and Lu Li would not have been nearly as elegant in his speech.


    In fact, Lu Li had not participated in the development of this plan and had not discussed Wood Fearing with Square Root 3. Lu Li was not that sympathetic towards Wood Fearing anyway. One of the reasons that Gods of Dusk that reached this point was because Wood Fearing had been insistent in tying himself to the guild.


    When things went wrong and players left, the guild would be forced to improve.


    If Wood Fearing was willing to come to Ruling Sword, Lu Li would definitely welcome him. Wouldn''t he


    complete his championship dream that way?


    Lu Li''s origins and upbringing made him a very pragmatic person. If there wasn''t enough food, then what use was all this talk about emotions and integrity? Wood Fearing had received some favor from Gods of Dusk in the early years, but if it was Lu Li, he wouldn''t have repaid that favor with his entire lifetime. At the very most, he would find some way to repay them so he could be unencumbered.


    So this time, the public relations crisis was resolved. Wood Fearing also later publicly stated that Ruling Sword was a worthy opponent and that he greatly admired Lu Li.


    Now, Lu Li was going to lead his guild into the Blackrock Abyss again. But this time, he would let his guild members enjoy the bug there. He wanted the top of the Level Rankings to be occupied by members of his guild once again!

 1130 Announcement Of The Top 8

    Lu Li also went to the Troll Trial Tower. With his exquisite equipment and having reached level 55, he rushed to the eighth floor and finally encountered a level 60 quasi-Boss which he defeated after a difficult fight.


    As for the ninth floor, there was absolutely no chance of him defeating it. He couldn''t be bothered trying and humiliating himself.


    Hinterland''s Troll Trial Tower had a total of nine floors. It had become a must-visit location for the players every week. However, the System update had weakened it, which meant that there were fewer good items, but more EXP and Prestige to be earned. After defeating eight floors, Lu Li acquired a Synthetic Stone with a defensive Attribute.


    This item was better suited for defensive professions, so Lu Li couldn''t really use it. It only had a limited effect and was much better used on someone like Azure Sea Breeze.


    There were also several shipwrecks that Lu Li wanted to visit. This time, he took a few other Thieves from the guild along to clear out the area before looting them. Unfortunately, there were some places which had already been looted by himself previously. As such, if they looted those places again, the items would be much worse.


    However, there were a few valuable items that came from the chests that he couldn''t open in the last visit.


    A Warrior Dark Gold Shoulderpad was one of them. It had exquisite properties and Lu Li planned to give it to Azure Sea Breeze. After all, it was not much worse than a level 55 Epic item. Using a Level Reducing Gem was not a big cost, and the next Instance Dungeon would place even higher demands on the Main Tank.


    There were also Cloth Shoes for Magic Professions, which had the added effect of Rocket Boots, among several other useful effects. It was one of the best Dark Gold pieces of equipment.


    Finally, there was an Epic Leather item for Healers. Naturally, this was to be assigned to Hachi Chan. There weren''t many other healers in Ruling Sword to train up. Most of the young girls just liked wearing cute clothing, and they had to keep waiting before more Healers would join them.


    In the following days, the announcement of the top eight teams of the first professional league was finally made.


    In order of points earned, the teams were Ruling Sword, Glory Capital, Drizzle Court, Gale Legion, Blood Red War Flag, Seventh Heaven, Peerless City and Wings of Dawn. All the other clubs had naturally been eliminated.


    Ruling Sword was located in Jiangnan, Glory Capital was located in the capital, Drizzle Court was located in Jinling, Gale Legion was located in Chengdu, Blood Red War Flag was from Shanghai, Seventh Heaven was from Lingnan, Peerless City was from Qiantang and Wings of Dawn was from Star City. These eight teams represented eight cities.


    The clubs of each guild were generally backed by their respective cities. However, with only eight teams in the quarterfinals, there were only eight arenas to choose from.


    According to the new rules, each of the guilds would be assigned a guild to battle with. The four guilds that won would move on to the semifinals while the four that failed would be eliminated. This wasn''t really a fair system, but since it had been set by The Association, everyone had to abide by it.


    The status of the players was constantly growing, but it was still not at a point where they could influence the rules of the competition.


    Besides, the competition was quite a brutal affair, regardless of what system was used to decide the winners.


    Still, Square Root 3 was going to be the one to draw the lots for Ruling Sword. He had been quite lucky, and Ruling Sword didn''t have to encounter any threatening opponents in the previous rounds.


    "What if I get Drizzle Court?" Square Root 3 asked Lu Li before he left.


    "It would be best if you didn''t."


    Lu Li was a bit worried. Even though he felt like everyone was of equal skill and it would be no big deal if they drew Drizzle Court, Lu Li had a sister and knew that females could be unreasonable sometimes.


    In his heart, he also didn''t want Water Fairy to be upset.


    "I will try. I wonder when the two clubs will just merge¡­" Square Root 3 muttered as he left. He had spoken softly enough that Lu Li couldn''t hear what he said.


    Before long, Square Root 3 had returned.


    His complexion looked a bit strange as he approached the players waiting for him.


    "I have two pieces of good news and some bad news. What do you want to hear first?"


    "Three Bro, don''t mess with us like this. Just tell us," Lu Li said impatiently.


    If he had drawn an ordinary opponent, or even a guild like Glory Capital, he wouldn''t be saying it like this. In reality, the news was likely to be bad. Lu Li didn''t like where this was going.


    "Fortunately, we don''t have to travel too far¡­"


    If they didn''t have to travel too far, that meant their opponent was very close to Jiangnan¡­


    "It''s not Drizzle Court is it?" Fat Monkey asked as he jumped from his seat and looked at Lu Li''s face sympathetically.


    "Lu Li will have to choose between one or the other ¨C his career or love. In the many years to come, who knows how Lu Li will think about the choice he made¡­"


    "Monkey, if you don''t want to die, then you should shut up," Lu Li snapped back at him and signaled for Square Root 3 to continue.


    "The other good thing is that your opponent is not Drizzle Court, so Lu Li, you don''t have to worry. Though, I was curious as to how you would respond to that news, and I wanted to see the pained look on your face¡­" Square Root 3 said as he shook his head.


    "Dammit, Three Bro do you want to fight in real life?" Lu Li really wanted to take him out.


    Square Root 3 looked at him with disdain before sighing, "Out opponent is Peerless City. Although they are not an easy opponent, it is much better than Drizzle Court. Would you like me to send a message to Water Fairy and Soul Eater? We can all talk about this."


    Soul Eater was the president of Peerless City and he used to be a professional player. After retiring, he liaised with Water Fairy and created Peerless City with her human and material resources.


    He wasn''t a particularly strong professional player, but he was definitely an expert in developing a guild. Otherwise, Peerless City would not be among the greatest guilds in just a few years. Peerless City was now an equal match for Drizzle Court in terms of strength.


    Deadly Gold Underpants, Half a Smoke, Full-time Assistant, Green Flag Wine, Immortal and Vegetarian Mosquito were players that were no worse than the players of any other club.


    Even if Ruling Sword was fighting Peerless City, they couldn''t easily say that they would win.


    Lu Li thought about it and decided it was better for everyone to meet and talk about it. After all, they were allies. Regardless of how they were going to deal with the quarter-finals in future, it was best to sit down and communicate their views.


    During this waiting period, Square Root 3 reported to Lu Li the draws of the other clubs.


    Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag were up against each other. Both of these clubs were important opponents of Ruling Sword, so it was good that one would eliminate the other. Drizzle Court was against Seventh Heaven. On the guild list, Seventh Heaven was actually higher than Drizzle Court, so they weren''t sure what the outcome would be.


    Wings of Dawn''s opponent was Gale Legion.


    It was Elevenless that had bad luck this time, because Gale Legion''s composition somewhat countered Wings of Dawn. Even if Elevenless was a powerhouse, there was no way he could defeat Gaze, who was on par with Moonlight.


    Moonlight, Gaze, Elevenless, Sea Breaker, Deadly Gold Underpants were the top five Berserkers that were constantly changing positions. However, Gaze was generally in front of Elevenless.


    Of the eight teams, Elevenless preferred to fight Blood Red War Flag. He didn''t want to fight Gale Legion''s Gaze or Ruling Sword''s Moonlight. According to Square Root 3, Elevenless'' face was telling; he seemed to have accepted his fate.

 1131 A Competition Elsewhere

    Lu Li brought Square Root 3 to welcome Water Fairy and Soul Eater into his house in the game.


    This was private property; it was more hidden than a bar and was a very suitable location for a meeting.


    Opposite to them was a clear pond filled with colorful, docile fish and above them were tall maple trees. The Night Elves had casted magic upon this city and the Maple trees were constantly red.


    Water Fairy didn''t wear a mask; she smiled when she saw Lu Li and didn''t seem unhappy.


    Soul Eater, the guild master of Peerless City wasn''t too pleased, but he was in no position to be unhappy at all. It would be a lie to say that he had no thoughts about Water Fairy over these years, loyally following her steps.


    However, he had given up when he heard about Water Fairy''s background in real life.


    Then, he heard about what had happened between Water Fairy and Lu Li. At the start, he couldn''t believe his ears. Water Fairy was like a goddess to him ¨C how could such a person be alongside any ordinary human?


    In fact, there were many in Drizzle Court who had the same thoughts as he did.


    Now that the truth has been laid before his sight, Soul Eater was still slightly upset about them. Of course, he was a person of character, so there was no way he would have any bad intentions. He just wondered if he would have a chance if he was a bit braver in the past.


    "Please have a seat," Lu Li offered as he invited them in and poured some tea. He wasn''t like the other executives of the major guilds who would still hire service for private areas.


    Around March next year, someone from Gale Legion would hear of a secret while they were serving tea and would sell it out. She didn''t earn much from it, but it caused a huge loss for Gale Legion. If it wasn''t for the support of Glory Capital, the loss might have been enough to kick them out of the major guilds.


    "My hands are too unlucky. Sorry, Soul Eater," Square Root 3 said, smartly pushing the responsibility to himself.


    "Nonsense, no one can guarantee what they would get, and plus¡­" Soul Eater began, then pretended to be aggressive and continued, "Did you think Peerless City would be afraid of Ruling Sword?"


    The two of them laughed and the atmosphere turned lighter.


    "Because of how the competition runs in the top 8, the losing team will be eliminated," Square Root 3 commented. "No matter if it was Peerless City or Ruling Sword, it would be a disaster to end at top 8."


    Peerless City had started a few years before Ruling Sword, but they were still trying to set down their foundation. The influence of this competition was so great; it would be very beneficial to be able to make it to the top four.


    Ruling Sword''s need for the championship was even greater ¨C they hadn''t yet reached the top after one championship. There were plenty of clubs who had won once, twice or even three times. The top clubs had plenty of championships.


    However, many clubs began to lose strength after they won and gradually faded in time.


    Lu Li had to use these championships to arm themselves and defeat the other clubs, so that they would gradually be recognized by the gaming industry and someday reach the top.


    "We''ll battle this out; one of us will get eliminated anyway. The winner can borrow equipment from the same classes. What do you guys think?" Lu Li suggested. He brought up the idea not because he was certain about their victory, but because this was the most profitable tactic.


    "Uhm¡­" Soul Eater turned to look at Water Fairy, unable to make a decision.


    "You''re so greedy," Water Fairy chided as she looked at Lu Li, pretending to be upset. Although she couldn''t guarantee the results of the match, everyone knew that the chances of Peerless City winning were relatively slim. After all, they had matched up before in the past.


    "We''ll listen to your idea," Lu Li said.


    "We''ll do as you say. Let''s all try our best. After all, the audience will be watching," Water Fairy agreed after thinking it through briefly.


    "Even if we can''t get a trophy, at least we can earn the attention of the audience," Soul Eater said as he smiled bitterly on the inside. Perhaps there really was no hope, but the results hadn''t been decided yet. If they could defeat Ruling Sword, it wouldn''t be any less than defeating a guild like Blood Red War Flag.


    He was worried at first that Water Fairy would ask Peerless City to make way for Ruling Sword, but it seemed like he was just thinking too much. At the very least, Lu Li and Water Fairy only seemed like allies to the outside world.


    The first match was in another city, so Ruling Sword had to travel to Qiantang.


    The match time was in the afternoon the next day, and they would have to start travelling today if it was a long distance. However, Jiangnan was actually quite near to Qiantang. With the speed of current transport, they probably wouldn''t spend too much time on traveling. As such, Lu Li and the others decided to travel on the next day instead.


    As per usual, the arrival of a team would often be welcomed by the fans in the area, followed by a media interview. If they drove, they would have to organize another location for this.


    Besides the players from Ruling Sword, the plane also carried their gaming consoles.


    Although players could only bind with a gaming helmet and a gaming capsule, it was rare these days for competitors to use helmets. They all had their own gaming capsules. If they were to leave, they would all carry a portable capsule with them.


    It was the first time that Lu Li had participated in something like this, so he was a little bit anxious. The other competitors all had different reactions, but Moonlight was the only one who seemed calm. After all, he had been a competitor for a long time, and had probably done this too many times. Even if he had been anxious at the start, he would be numb to it by now.


    The plane to Qiantang this time carried Lu Li, Square Root 3, March Rain, Kitty Likes Meat, Mu Qiu, Moonlight, Sakura Memories and Fat Monkey.


    Of course, Lonesome Flower tagged along because March Rain was here.


    Cat Dad also travelled with them as the coach. Of course, he wouldn''t admit that he was following because he was worried about his daughter.


    The plane only remained for about an hour in the air before landing. The airport was particularly packed today and the tourists asked around before they heard about the event.

 1132 Airpor

    Teams were always welcomed by fans; it wasn''t news anymore for them to be as popular as celebrities.


    But who were Ruling Sword? Most people had never heard of them.


    Although Dawn was the most popular game at this point, there were billions of people in China, and plenty of them didn''t play games. It wasn''t impossible for people to not know about Ruling Sword.


    As such some began to share their knowledge, speaking proudly of this mysterious Thief player who began his journey with a Frost Nova skill book.


    "Someone can turn into a Panther? This game seems to be a bit different from what I imagined."


    "Only he can? Did no one chase him down? Are the players in Dawn so friendly that they don''t want to steal off others?"


    "No way! They won the Shadow Cup champion with just a few random players? Is he somehow related to the owner of Shadow Cup."


    "He established a guild within the span of half a year, and a guild with a club too?! Brother, are you sure you''re not exaggerating?"


    From the moment he walked out of the plane, Lu Li''s eyes nearly went blind from all the flashlights.


    Although the current camera technology was advanced enough to not warrant these, they were still kept around for the atmosphere. The flashlights were still just as bright as ever and just as exciting as before. At the very least, Fat Monkey, who was walking behind Lu Li, sure enjoyed waving his arms around and yelling at the top of his lungs. Lu Li regretted not walking behind him; he really wanted to kick Fat Monkey away.


    Lu Li covered his face with a pair of sunglasses that he borrowed from Square Root 3, who was much more familiar with the situation.


    Lu Li had an average looking face; only his eyes stood out amongst his facial features. People would probably remember his eyes in their first encounter with him.


    As for the others, March Rain wore a face mask while Moonlight wore a hat. Either way, they all had their own ways of keeping a low profile. Fat Monkey was the only show off who would probably be keen enough to strip himself naked.


    However, he definitely had a great number of fans; it seemed like his style was quite popular. People seemed to like celebrities who were straightforward and a little silly. Not to mention, he wasn''t too ugly either.


    The staff in the airport also seemed to have received notice and were sent to sort out the situation. There were a few people who were also in charge of transporting the gaming capsules to the hotel.


    "Thank-you everyone, thank-you," Square Root 3 said as he walked at the front and continuously thanked their fans. Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention. They weren''t here for him, and even if he was the guild master, barely anyone knew of him.


    The staff allowed a small group of lucky fans into the inner circle so that they could ask for autographs.


    Lu Li saw a little girl rush up to Moonlight. Moonlight was quite tall in real life, even taller than Lu Li. The little girl reached up to his chest and passed him a pink autograph book.


    Lu Li sighed silently; this girl was bound to be disappointed.


    To his surprise, Moonlight didn''t turn down her request or seem impatient at all. He took over the pen and signed his autograph, even reaching out his hands in the end to pat the little girl on her head.


    What a complete shock! What had happened to his cool demeanor?


    However, Moonlight didn''t express anything else besides this, acting like this was a daily job. Besides the occasional head pats or hugs, he didn''t engage any further with his fans. He was behaving like a standard competitor.


    Competitors weren''t just valuable because of how well they performed in matches ¨C this was also decided by their business value. For example, their abilities as spokespeople, in advertising and how much the media paid attention to them.


    Wendelian from Gale Legion wasn''t half as respected as Unforgettable Maple in the game, but her income was three times the amount of his. The reason was simple ¨C she had the looks and she was a girl. She also had her own online shop and took almost all advertising related jobs.


    Moonlight was also a good example ¨C he wasn''t a fan of socializing, but he didn''t hate the business operations to his career either. After all, these were what earned him his income.


    The others did the same things; they just signed away.


    Only the girls turned down requests like hugs. At the very most, they would just shake a hand.


    Ruling Sword was still just starting out, and the number of fans that were allowed in was also limited. As such, it didn''t take long for the signing to be done. Some people also wanted Lu Li to sign his autograph, but he definitely wasn''t the most popular. This was likely because he had average looks and kept a low profile.


    The signing was followed by interviews from entertainment media and locals.


    As the influence of the gaming industry continued to grow, more and more people would rely on it to survive. According to the statistics, the value of gaming industry had reached 3/4 of the entertainment industry and was continuing to grow.


    Of course, the two industries often collided with each other, so the statistics were questionable.


    A temporary location was set up for the event and a few competitors from Ruling Sword sat there for photos and interviews. Most clubs actually didn''t do this; they would just walk and stop to answer a few questions.


    However, Ruling Sword was still just a new guild, so there were limited things for the media to write about.


    A female reporter about 20 years old had the first chance to ask a question.


    "Apparently Ruling Sword has formed an alliance with Peerless City. Is this true?"


    There weren''t any negative intentions in her tone, but her question wasn''t a good one either.


    "Our club has formed an alliance with Drizzle Court and Drizzle Court is tied to Peerless City, so I guess you could say we''re an alliance," Square Root 3 answered.


    "Then can we believe that the match results won''t be affected by this alliance?"


    There should''ve only been one question allowed, but seeing that the second was an extension to the first, no one called for her to stop.


    "Everyone can rest assured about this. Our competitors are all very professional; there''s nothing that would stop them from giving the match their all," Square Root 3 replied seriously, then lifted his hand and pointed at another reporter, saying, "Next. Our time is limited, so please ask some important questions."


    "You were previously an executive of the Star Moon Union. These years, you''ve turned down the invitation to a lot of people. What made you join Ruling Sword this time?"


    This reporter seemed to have done some homework.


    Square Root 3 didn''t expect the question to be about himself, but there wasn''t anything that he needed to hide either.


    "This is a personal issue. Our visions were different, so I took a different path from my previous friends, and Lu Li¡­ we realized that we share the same goals after a long talk."


    "But according to the representatives of Star Moon Union, they say that you and Lu Li left the guild while taking a good number of executives with you, and this caused a huge loss to the guild¡­"

 1133 Away Game

    Lu Li couldn''t help but take a look at the reporter; it seemed like this person was chasing a major story.


    "I believe you may have a misunderstanding. Lu Li only stayed in the guild for a week and he signed a contract as a gold collection member," Square Root 3 began, then turned his head and asked, "I''ve always wondered. Why did you sign such a low contract back then?"


    This was the art of speech ¨C staying for one week wasn''t enough to explain anything, but the fact that Lu Li had signed such a low contract at some point would''ve been something worth talking about.


    At that moment, many focused their attention towards Lu Li as questions were tossed out one following another. The scene quickly became chaotic.


    "Everyone, please be quiet. I can confirm that I''ve worked as a simple gold collection member before," Lu Li said as he stood up and gestured for everyone to be quiet. He wasn''t the happiest about Square Root 3 dragging him out under the spotlight; he thought he could stay invisible.


    Unfortunately, the scene didn''t go quiet as he had hoped ¨C it became even worse.


    People wanted to hear the origin story of a legend, but no matter how many versions were told in the history of gaming, no one would have been able to beat Lu Li''s meteoric rise.


    This wasn''t an encouragement; this was insane!


    Why did someone so legendary start as a gold collection member? Was it just so he could come into contact with Square Root 3?


    The gazes made Lu Li and Square Root 3 uneasy; there were many girls into gay love stories lately. Lu Li quickly explained, "I couldn''t afford a helmet back then, so I had to start somewhere, and a gold collection member seemed like a good option. However, my time wasn''t as pleasant as I had expected, so we eventually parted ways..."


    Couldn''t afford a helmet?


    Couldn''t afford a helmet!


    Only a small portion of people knew of Lu Li''s background, and none of them were the type to run their mouths. As such, this made a lot of people guess about his background.


    Most thought that he had an affluent background, or else, where could he have found the resources to build Ruling Sword? The biggest evidence to support this was the fact that Ruling Sword had turned down many investment offers in the past.


    Besides having your own resources, what else could possibly explain this?


    Also, if he wasn''t wealthy, then how did he attract the attention of Water Fairy? Water Fairy was well-known for her affluence and just the slightest wealth that slipped from her hands would be enough to build a major guild.


    "This is part of the original contract. Everyone can take a look," Square Root 3 said. He was obviously prepared and took out the contract they signed with Star Moon Union in the past. Obviously, they won''t show the details, but this was enough to serve as evidence for Lu Li''s words.


    The questions grew messier and messier, but without a doubt, the focus was on Lu Li''s rise.


    What else could be more encouraging than this?


    After the morning had been sorted, they rested for half a day before they entered the game for the match. The time setting in the game was the opposite to reality; it was morning time.


    This was an away game for Ruling Sword against Peerless City, and a very exciting match up amongst the top 8 guilds.


    The few hundred tickets were almost sold out in an instant. Although many said that something fishy was going behind the scenes, many still wanted to see it.


    This time, the analysts were the classic Dragon and Phoenix. Dragon referred to a player called Four Seas Dragon. He was nicknamed ''big dragon'' to differentiate himself from another player called, Lone Smoker Long, who was nicknamed as ''little dragon''. Big dragon was a competitor that had been around for a long time. His time of fame was around 20 years ago. He would be in his forties by now, but was still doing well int he gaming industry.


    The ''phoenix'' referred to Jiufeng, a current competitor who belonged to Freedom Sky.


    Jiufeng was better with her analysis than her competitive talent; she was only a second or third tier competitor. However, she was a first-tier analyst ¨C otherwise, they wouldn''t have let her commentate for a top 8 match.


    Besides this, Jiufeng was an apprentice to Four Seas Dragon. They had about a 10-20 year age gap, and apparently had already been married in real life. Rumor had it that they had even already had children. Many fans were fond of this uncle and little girl couple, especially their daily interactions.


    "Big Dragon, who do you think we should support today?" Jiufeng asked. She always started the match in an interesting style; analysts usually didn''t pick sides.


    "I personally support Ruling Sword. I feel like Lu Li relates to me a lot," Four Seas said. He was a Warrior and was nothing close to Lu Li at all. Their styles were different and there shared nothing in common in real life. Four Seas Dragon had a wealthy family background and was also popular amongst girls after he became famous. He was famous for both his achievements and his flirtatious personality.


    "Hmph, then I''m going to support Peerless City. I think they''ve got a decent chance," Jiufeng said, deciding to pick the opposite team.


    At this time, competitors from both parties had already began to enter the gaming capsules and were preparing for today''s match.


    The current match style had two types of spectating mode ¨C one was from reality where most of the audience were local players. For them, it was like watching a singer in the center of a sports gym. Compared to the audience in the game, only 50000 tickets were sold as the space for the gym was limited.


    The gaming capsules were placed on a round stage at the center while a virtual projector revealed all 360 degrees of the match in real time above the stage. It would almost be no different to these players being in the match themselves.


    Lu Li took a deep breath and closed his eyes after he entered the gaming capsule.


    He didn''t really like this situation; he felt exposed lying here. Perhaps this had something to do with his quiet character, or perhaps he just wasn''t used to the way how these matches were conducted.


    After he made some preparations in the game, he confirmed and was sent away to the match grounds. They were welcomed with warm applause, as opposed to the near-silent real-life fans.


    After all, the attendees were locals and would support their own people. The scene was filled with fans screaming for Peerless City; the few fans that cheered for Ruling Sword could barely make a sound.


    This was probably the advantage of being the host.


    The audience seats in the game didn''t have this sort of issue. This were millions of players who could be fans for either side.


    For the one-on-one battles, Lu Li assigned Moonlight first!

 1134 The Great Warrior

    The top eight was starting to get serious and any club would give it their best.


    Not only did the live-streaming cost a huge fee, but what really attracted spokespeople and advertising jobs was also the performance in these matches. For example, Ruling Sword''s battle against Blue Universe was a classic, but it didn''t have such a huge impact on the fans.


    Against a top club like Peerless City, Moonlight would be the safest Bet.


    Deadly Golden Underwear!


    After Lu Li saw who was sent out first, he couldn''t help but smile.


    The opponents probably thought that he was going to come out first. Berserkers did have an advantage against Thieves, but they probably didn''t expect Ruling Sword to send out a Berserker first as well. This meant that they would be playing by their own power and nothing else.


    Without a doubt, Peerless City was a little greedy to send out Deadly Golden Underwear. They probably wanted to perform better in the one-on-one battles.


    With the class difference between Warriors and Thieves at this point, Lu Li really wasn''t too sure if he could win against Deadly Golden Underwear. Even if he could win, it would be tough and would cost him more than half of his health.


    An unbalanced game would not attract more players.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li didn''t appear first as Peerless City had hoped.


    If they hadn''t been so greedy and sent out their Mage, Half Cigarette, Moonlight would be in some trouble.


    Now that everyone had obtained more skills and upgraded their equipment, the specialty of all classes began to show. Theoretically, Mages did counter plated-Warriors, but it still depended on their technique.


    Peerless City was disappointed, but the players weren''t.


    All the Warriors in the audience seats yelled and shouted as if they had been injected with adrenaline. They looked like they were ready to jump in and help with the battle themselves.


    For these passionate Warriors, this was a feast for their eyes.


    The best players of each class had been a common and popular topic in the forums.


    In the usual threads, Gaze was often regarded as the best Warrior.


    There was always an ongoing debate about who was better between Moonlight and Gaze, and Deadly Golden Underwear also had his own supporters. Now that they were matched up against each other on such a formal stage, everyone felt like their tickets were worth it.


    The match began with an open encounter. Moonlight and Deadly Golden Underwear had battled each other a few times already in the past and knew each other inside out. Even players who couldn''t understand their techniques found this match interesting.


    Both of the analysts were either current competitors or competitors of the past, so most of their analysis was on point.


    Hence, the players began to understand that Moonlight had the upper hand.


    The reason for his advantage wasn''t because of his level or equipment. Although he had excellent equipment, he often unnecessarily involved himself in PVP battles. Not only did this cause him to lose his equipment, but it also caused him to lose his Experience points. This was why he was never found amongst the top 50 on the level rankings.


    Every competitor had their own style. Moonlight was wild and learned many things through his own battles, so Lu Li never tried to stop him.


    From Lu Li''s memories of his previous life, Moonlight had done way too many crazy things. He fought against professional competitors and even took on guilds by himself. It seemed as if he was finding all sorts of different ways to commit suicide.


    However, he never dropped back to level 0 and managed to produce miracles each time.


    How could Lu Li possibly try and stop him from his growth?


    On top of this, Deadly Golden Underwear''s technique and reaction time were still inferior to Moonlight''s.


    When Moonlight''s health dropped to about 2/3, Deadly Golden Underwear had already lost half of his health. His fans were emotional, but they couldn''t stop the situation from tilting towards Moonlight''s favor.


    However, Lu Li and Cat Dad weren''t too optimistic about the whole situation. Cat Dad pointed towards the stage and said, "The best situation would be an equal outcome. Deadly Golden Underwear has a risky play style; he''s going to get more aggressive later."


    "Mmmm," Lu Li agreed half-heartedly while watching, then said, "But I''m confident about Moonlight. He hasn''t disappointed us before."


    like Deadly Golden Underwear had received some sort of passive skill from a quest in the past. After his health dropped to 20%, his attack and movement speed were boosted based on his health level. His Lifesteal would also be increased greatly.


    This was no secret; he had used it a few times already before and its effects were publicly known.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure how Moonlight was going to deal with it, but he believed that he wouldn''t fight a battle where he had no chance. Moonlight also seemed to want the best player title in his class, so he knew more about Deadly Golden Underwear than anyone else.


    As Deadly Golden Underwear''s health continued to drop, his passive effect finally began to show.


    Lu Li''s eyes still shifted as he saw this skill with his own eyes. He couldn''t help but think about how he would deal with this if he was to replace Moonlight in this situation.


    He could only draw the conclusion that he would die if he tried to fight this head on. He could only use his strong control skills to slowly wear out his opponent''s health and escape when he retaliated.


    This wasn''t a very honorable play style and if it wasn''t carefully executed, he could get easily get killed instead.


    Moonlight didn''t back off, but moved his feet and dashed behind Deadly Golden Underwear.


    In a virtual game where they couldn''t pass through each other''s bodies, this move really challenged his techniques. Of course, there were skills that allowed players to do this, but for Moonlight, this was a move that he pulled out from his battle experience.


    His next action was really an eye opener for everyone.


    The handle of his axe spun opposite ways and landed behind Deadly Golden Underwear''s head, successfully knocking out his opponent for a second. This seemed to be the special effect of his axe. Then, Moonlight began to show everyone how a Berserker could control their opponent.


    Although Berserkers didn''t have as many control skills as Thieves, they were enough to incapacitate someone for a while.


    After Deadly Golden Underwear regained his movement, he began his counterattack only to discover that his opponent had jumped up. Not only did this cause him to miss his spell, but he now had to catch up to his opponent.


    However, he was speechless when he discovered that Moonlight was running incredibly fast.


    In fact, in order to deal with him specifically, Moonlight went ahead and borrowed Her Tear''s boots. The boots gave him a 25% movement speed boost with a jump effect. The boots weren''t useful for damage output, but they definitely gave a lot of mobility.


    After Moonlight created some distance, he used his Flawless Arcanite Rifle from Lu Li and shot it at Deadly Golden Underwear.


    Around 1-200 points of damage floated up above his head.


    Was this really a Warrior?


    Some Hunters probably wouldn''t even be able to pull this off. They had no clue how good the snipe effect of the Flawless Arcanite Rifle was. It dealt a set 300 points of damage to the target, and even if a part of it was deducted by armor, there would still be around 200 points of damage left.


    It was rare for current players in the game to have a weapon with this effect.


    Of course, it would be unrealistic for a Warrior to try and kite another Warrior to death. Not to mention, the snipe effect had a cooldown.


    Deadly Golden Underwear continued to chase Moonlight in an attempt to Lifesteal health through his attacks. At the same moment, Moonlight turned around for a counterattack.


    His axe shone brightly as he casted his signature skill ¨C Whirlwind.


    Now, two options laid before Deadly Golden Underwear. He could either run, or fight head on with Moonlight in the Whirlwind. Time didn''t allow him to think for too long, and he almost ran subconsciously, only to discover another awkward situation after he ran out of the Whirlwind range.


    He had a lot of Lifesteal at this point, possibly more than Lu Li. If he was given the chance, he could probably steal half of his health back.


    However, this required him to deal damage first!


    Now that he had taken a few hits from Whirlwind, his health was so low that he would probably die to the slightest touch.


    It seemed like Moonlight understood this too, so he charged towards Deadly Golden Underwear fearlessly. It was a competition to see whether Moonlight could attack faster than Deadly Golden Underwear could Lifesteal.


    Obviously, Moonlight''s attacks were faster. He wasn''t short on burst skills and Deadly Golden Underwear never got the chance to properly use his passive before he died.


    Deadly Golden Underwear might have been a little weaker than Moonlight, but the gap wasn''t too large at all.


    Moonlight had around 30% health remaining when the match ended, and on a stage like this, it was a complete victory.

 1135 Picking the Map

    The crowd erupted as the Warriors chanted their motto, almost as if they were the ones playing in the tournament.


    "This is so exciting! I thought that this would be a private match."


    "Who would''ve thought that Moonlight was better than Deadly Golden Underwear?" the players that favored Peerless City muttered. Moonlight was a very meticulous player and he had obviously planned his strategy ahead of time. He managed to completely destroy Deadly Golden Underwear and had clearly left an impression in his mind.


    Peerless City sent out Immortal to finish off the Warrior with only a third of his HP left.


    Without his defensives, burst spells, and having most of his skills on cooldown, if Immortal was unable to defeat Moonlight, she should retire out of the professional scene.


    She used to be in Peacetime Dynasty, but was offered a large sum of money by Peerless City and decided to jump ship. She was obviously a skilled player if Peerless City was willing to pay for her to join them and so was able to send Moonlight off, only losing 20% of her HP.


    When Moonlight returned, Lu Li gave him a nod of acknowledgement and went out onto the stage.


    Lu Li''s favorite class to hunt were Mages. They did not have an excessive number of crowd control skills and no matter how high their damage was, as soon as Lu Li was able to land a stun, the fight would be over.


    However, Square Root Three had discussed something with Lu Li prior to the match.


    He expressed the fact that Lu Li''s matches were very boring to watch. The match against Elevenless was very drawn out and the matches against Blue Universe were too clinical.


    From a spectator''s point of view, Moonlight''s last fight was much more interesting to watch.


    Square Root Three wanted to come up with a way to make the fights more interesting and dangerous for Lu Li without affecting the outcome.


    Lu Li was a simple man. As a child growing up in poverty, he had always been looking for ways to make more money and would do anything to fill up his pockets a bit more.


    Therefore, when Lu Li entered the arena, instead of going into Stealth mode immediately, Lu Li greeted Immortal.


    He raised his hand to wave at her, wanting to stir up a conversation. However, he had always been socially awkward, especially with girls and simply said, "Let''s have a good fight."


    Square Root Three face-palmed in the stands and regretted ever bringing this up to Lu Li.


    Did Lu Li have a thing for Immortal? If he wanted to greet her, he could just do it normally. Why did he have to make it so awkward?


    Immortal was taken aback as well. She had watched many tapes of Lu Li''s matches and most of the time, he would immediately go into Stealth and look for opportunities to burst down the enemy. He would only usually greet those that were close to him. Immortal was starting to wonder whether Lu Li had a thing for her¡­


    Lu Li was so talented and was able to challenge Sorrowless at such a young age. He was definitely easy on the eyes as well, but older sister Water Fairy¡­


    Eh? She had been attacked?


    As Immortal was having an internal dialogue with herself, Lu Li had already Stealthed behind her and bursted her before she could even summon her pet.


    "Despicable!" Azure Sea Breeze laughed as he slapped his thighs.


    "What the hell?!" Wandering didn''t know whether to praise or scold Lu Li.


    "..." Square Root Three was speechless. All he wanted to do was to be by himself.


    Immortal was not expecting this at all and before she could react, she was already sent out of the arena. Lu Li felt his cold heart pounding away.


    Green Flag Wine was his next opponent.


    Green Flag Wine was a notorious staller in the gaming scene. No Thief would want to go up against a Paladin, even Lu Li, who was the best Thief in the game. There was almost nothing he could do to win because it was such a hard counter.


    Green Wine Flag ended up with the win, but Lu Li did a good job of taking down his HP.


    Fat Monkey from Ruling Sword was up next and easily defeated the low-HP Green Wine Flag. Lu Li had almost taken out two players by himself.


    Both teams kept exchanging players for the rest of the match and it was very entertaining for the spectators.


    Ruling Swords defeated 5 players and Peerless City defeated 4, meaning that the score was currently 5:4 in favor of Ruling Sword.


    The Team Deathmatch was the most important match because those were the fights where one team could pull away in points.


    As the Home team, Peerless City got to choose a map out of the 9 maps that is available.


    There were hundred of maps available for Team Deathmatches, but only 9 were selected by the tournament officials. It was impossible for teams to learn the hundreds of maps available in the game.


    Therefore, there was a pool of maps that were often used in tournament settings. This meant that Ruling Sword has had a chance to practice on each map, though some more than others.


    Peerless City quickly made their decisions ¨C Dustwallow Marsh.


    The Dustwallow Marsh in tournament was different from the actual Dustwallow Marsh in the Wild, but there were still many similarities.


    There was the same disgusting stench, while the ground was muddy and difficult to walk on. There was some grass, reeds and willow trees and the atmosphere was very humid and moist. Fire damage skills were weakened in this map and it was harder for Thieves to Stealth around because of the ground.


    The three girls, March Rain, Kitty Loves Meat and Sakura Memories were on the edge of tearing up when they saw the map that Peerless City had chosen.


    Even Lu Li was impressed at the map because it was very disadvantageous for Ruling Swords.


    "This is nothing!" Sakura Memories declared bravely, trying to encourage the other girls.


    Sakura Memories was actually less talented than March Rain and Kitty Loves Meat. She was only a part of the tournament team because she was one of the original players who was there from the very beginning. If more star players were to join Ruling Sword, her position on the team would be in danger.


    As such, she worked a lot harder than the other players.


    March Rain looked like a very soft and vulnerable girl on the outside, but she actually had a very strong and determined heart. As for Kitty Loves Meat, although she was a bit spoiled, she knew that this was all a part of being a professional player.


    Lu Li made some changes to the lineup and entered the tournament map.

 1136 Fighting Ability

    Ruling Sword''s competition lineup consisted of Moonlight, Lu Li, Kitty Loves Meat, Sakura Memories and March Rain. Based on the map, these players made up the best lineup that Ruling Sword had to offer. The reserves were Mu Qiu and Fat Monkey, who was a fire mage and therefore not suited for this occasion.


    The last update had increased the impact of the map and terrain on fights. For example, fire skills would be less powerful on maps with bodies of water and ice skills would be less powerful in hotter and drier conditions. There were mixed opinions about this from the community, but most players were upset by the changes.


    As such, the gaming company had reduced the debuff on the current patch. However, since this was an Elite level competition, any reduction in damage would be game changing.


    Their goal was probably in trying to make the game more realistic.


    When they entered Dustwallow Marsh, the smell of sulfur shot up their noses. The sense of smell could be turned off in the options, but the sight of the rotten flesh and green, murky, bubbling water was enough to make them puke.


    Lu Li was coping well because it would often rain back home and the place he used to live in would smell of mold during the rainy seasons.


    The others were not coping so well. None of them grew up poor, so they were never forced to live in a place that smelled bad.


    Peerless City was probably planning on making them die of disgust rather than the actual fight itself.


    They quickly became serious and focused on how to end this fight as quickly as possible in order to escape the stench.


    Lu Li looked at the enemy line up from afar and quickly devised a plan.


    "Moonlight, protect March Rain. We''ll focus on killing Immortal. Kitty, watch out for yourself. If all goes wrong, just transform."


    Peerless City''s team consisted of Deadly Golden Underwear, Half a Smoke, Falling Smile, Immortal, Vegetarian Mosquito, and their backup Green Flag Wine. Since Green Flag Wine was put on the reserve team, Peerless City''s game plan was more focused on the offensive side of things.


    Their plan of attack was to burst one person and slowly kill off the rest.


    Their main target was most likely March Rain which was why Lu Li had given Moonlight the job of protecting her.


    Since Lu Li was able to observe the enemy team composition, Peerless City was obviously able to do the same.


    The two sides discussed their game plan and when the battle started, Lu Li immediately disappeared from sight.


    Although this map was not the ideal map for Stealth, Lu Li had learned enhanced Stealth, so his position would not be given away by the ripples. The fact that they could not physically see Lu Li placed a lot of psychological pressure on Peerless City.


    Immortal was wearing Cloth Armor and was positioned at the back left of the team. Falling Smile was in the center, heavily guarded by teammates. Falling Smile was the best healer in Peerless City despite being a Restoration Shaman, which was a more unorthodox healing class.


    Peerless City had another Shadow Priest that was a great DPS player, but he had likely something going on in real life because he was not present today.


    It was hard to separate real life from gaming because things that happened in real life would always have an impact in game and vice versa.


    Although Shamans were a leather class, their survivability was not be as high as Priests. However, as long as Peerless City did a great job of protecting their healer, the Shaman would be able to cast countless chain heals throughout the game.


    Lu Li was already lurking next to Peerless City.


    Because of the lack of practice, it was difficult for him to know which areas could be stepped on or avoided. If it wasn''t for his Enhanced Stealth, he would''ve been discovered ages ago.


    Despite him being extremely careful, Lu Li accidentally stepped on and aggroed a Marsh Crocolisk, which took a big bite out of him.


    The monsters were only Lv20 and the damage wasn''t very significant, but it was still enough to break Lu Li out of his Stealth.


    However, Lu Li''s reaction time was unmatched in the professional scene.


    He immediately dashed away from the Crocolisk and went into Stealth mode again. All of this happened in a matter of milliseconds and it was almost as if nothing had happened.


    He had to make sure that he wasn''t caught here since his teammates were still trying to get into position. If he was found out, Peerless City would rip into him without mercy; this wasn''t some amateur competition.


    "Lu Li!" Immortal cried out. She was on the very left of the team and as a squishy player, she had developed a keen eye for those who would try to ambush her. She was still pissed off about what had happened before and so she decided to chase after him.


    "Immortal, no!"


    Moonlight, who was very experienced in tournament settings, knew that this was the perfect opportunity for them to capitalize.


    He immediately charged forward, not afraid of using his mobility skills to close the gap.


    Peerless City had to change up their game plan and immediately followed closely behind to attempt to take out Lu Li first. Deadly Golden Underwear thought that this might actually turn out good for them.


    If only Green Flag Wine was here¡­


    Although Immortal managed to land her skills and force Gale Steps out of Lu Li, by that time, Ruling Sword was already behind them. Sakura Memories activated Bloodlust as a signal for Ruling Sword to attack.


    Lu Li laughed and turned around then immediately jumped onto Immortal.


    Drakefire Amulet (Legendary): All Stats +40, HP +800, Socket Slots: 2, Special Effects 1: Fire Resistance +20%, Special Effects 2: Flood of Life, instantly heals 1000 HP, for the next 30 seconds, user receives increased healing by 100%. Special Effects 3: Resurrection, allows the user to revive on the spot once per day, loss of EXP reduced by 50%, after respawning, player becomes invulnerable for 3 seconds after reviving. Level Requirement: 60, Durability 350/350.


    This was the trump card that Lu Li had been hiding up his sleeves this whole time.


    Flood of Life allowed him to survive for a while longer, buying enough time for March Rain to heal him.

 1137 Trading Two For One

    No other Ruling Sword member attacked Immortal. Because she was pursuing Lu Li, she was already too far away from Moonlight and the others.


    As such, they changed their target to Falling Smile.


    Falling Smile was protected quite well. Peerless City used this strategy to lure and kill many players who went after their Healers. However, now that Lu Li had made a mistake which resulted in Ruling Sword losing control of the match, they decided to focus on him first.


    Immortal''s discovery of Lu Li''s weakness was not a mere stab in the dark.


    They practiced a lot in this map and found that Thieves would leave traces of their movements behind. This was how Immortal managed to catch Lu Li.


    She should have been proud of herself. After all, not many could achieve what she had done.


    However, Lu Li was harder to kill than they thought. She could only watch as he got healed again and again, despite reaching 50% HP.


    Falling Smile was already calling for help. It wasn''t that he was unable to protect himself, but that the results were not ideal.


    He had no chance of survival if no one came and helped him. After all, there were three DPS players ¨C Moonlight, Kitty Likes Meat and Sakura Memories with Bloodlust ¨C that were attacking him.


    "Keep attacking!" Deadly Gold Underpants glanced at Lu Li''s HP and yelled.


    His team could only continue trying to kill Lu Li. They did not know if they would be successful in saving Falling Smile anyway, so they decided to trap him. If Lu Li could not escape, he would definitely die. Even if March Rain kept healing him, he still would not be able to survive. After all, Vegetarian Mosquito''s pet had already successfully suppressed March Rain on multiple occasions.


    Vegetarian Mosquito didn''t bring a pet that boasted high Attack power, but a pet with many different crowd control skills. These skills were specialised in rendering the opponent''s healer useless.


    Lu Li took a deep breath and just before the last hit landed on him, he used his Ring''s special effect.


    Ghostclaw (Dark Gold): Damage 36-48, Agility +42, Strength +28, Critical Chance + 25%. Special Effect 1: When consecutive critical strikes are made, the third strike will have a 50% chance of dealing 3x damage. Special Effect 2: Cutthroat Level +1. Special Effect 3: Ghostclaw, Burst effect. After activating, deals 600 damage to the target. 50% of dealt damage is restored back to caster as HP. The target''s Armor is also lowered by 30% for 15 seconds. Level requirement: 50. Durability 215/215.


    Although he had a Legendary ring with him now, Ocean''s Breeze''s effect was not ideal in this situation. He also wanted to show as few of his equipment as possible. Therefore, when he saw that Peerless City had picked this map, he changed his Ring to Ghostclaw.


    This ring made his Critical Strikes extremely powerful. Immortal was hit by two consecutive critical hits, then was hit by another. The third strike was 3x the original damage, so a significant chunk of her HP was gone.


    Then, he used the third effect of the ring, and dealt 600 damage to her.


    Although this did not kill her, it did restore 300 HP to Lu Li and also decreased her Armor by 30%.


    Deadly Gold Underpants could theoretically deal 300 to 400 damage to Lu Li and kill him, since he was hanging on at barely 200 HP. However, after activating the effect, he restored 300 HP and was now safe.


    Lu Li did not care that he was close to death. He took out his dagger and only managed a 3-star Cutthroat.


    Lu Li''s Cutthroat was already level 5. After adding the extra level given from Ghostclaw''s effect, it was level 6. A 3-star proficiency was sufficient to knock Immortal out of the match.


    Shortly after this, a white light rose up from the ground of the arena. Immortal died first, but Falling Smile quickly followed. He used up all his mitigation and dispel skills, then died shortly after.


    Trading one for two!


    Lu Li was extremely happy with this result. Although his offensive power was high, he still needed to attack first. Compared to other classes, Thieves were glass cannons and their usefulness in Dustwallow Marsh was limited.


    To be able to trade for the opponent''s Healer and Mage DPS was a win, regardless of how you saw it.


    For the rest of the battle, Lu Li became a normal spectator. He could observe his teammates'' performances more clearly.


    The audience was surprised that despite being one-down in members, Peerless City was not immediately finished. If that was the case, then it would be even more surprising. Peerless City was a team that was contending for the title. There was no way that they would fall apart instantly.


    Then again, if the points difference was too large between them and Ruling Sword, they would have lost a chance at improving themselves. What was the point of keeping Last Resort then?


    In the next season, these equips would be removed.


    Peerless City instantly suppressed Ruling Sword''s four members while Deadly Gold Underpants summoned an Earth Dragon, which created a sandstorm in the area. These sandstorms dealt damage with a chance of stunning enemies. Lu Li was amazed at this.


    If this was a special effect, then Lu Li needed to get his hands on it, no matter what the price.


    Deadly Gold Underpants probably did not expect things to change so quickly. Otherwise, he probably would have used it earlier.


    Both reserve members, Green Flag Wine and Mu Qiu rushed into the fray. Peerless City managed to gain an advantage from their moment of insanity. Sakura Memories, who lacking many defensive skills, was killed by Half a Smoke after he landed two critical strikes on her.


    As Lu Li watched his teammates fall one after the other, he was unexpectedly not that worried.


    However, he was extremely excited at the thought of possibly borrowing Deadly Gold Underpants'' Earth Dragon. Half a Smoke had also managed to cast his Ultimate skill, which dealt consecutive critical strikes. If this was also the doing of a special effect¡­


    Then it must be borrowed as well!


    The whole of Peerless City was like a treasure vault for Lu Li. He was fortunate that he had met with Soul Eater to negotiate beforehand.


    It didn''t matter if he had to give something up; Lu Li was only focused on the Finals. He believed that Glory Capital would do the same thing, but they had many more connections. Even if Ruling Sword managed to blast their way through to the Finals, it was still likely to be a hard-fought battle.

 1138 Trump Card

    After Lu Li outplayed his opponent, the situation now turned for the better. Green Flag Wine was not a dedicated healer either, so the tides of the battle did not change.


    However, a complete turn-around was not impossible. Ruling Sword''s Sakura Memories and Kitty Likes Meat died, so the points were distributed evenly with Ruling Sword at 6 and Peerless City at 3.


    Adding onto the points from before, the score was now 11 to 7.


    "Ruling Sword is ahead by only 4 points. The gap doesn''t look that big," Jiu Feng commented.


    "The gap doesn''t look big, but 4 points equates to 4 people. Unless Peerless City can exceed everyone''s expectations and completely outplay Ruling Sword, I don''t see a way for them to make it past this stage," Four Seas Dragon sighed.


    "That''s right. Did you also realise that Peerless City used a lot of new tactics this time around?" Jiu Feng asked.


    "This is their main map and they even used their trump card, yet they still could not catch up to Ruling Sword. This only shows the skill difference between Peerless City and Ruling Sword. However, if it was Green Flag Wine who was leading this squad battle, then the outcome may have been different," Four Seas Dragon said.


    "Why do you say this?"


    "It''s the style of play. Deadly Gold Underpants plays a Berserker and his style is also quite aggressive. He saw a chance to kill Lu Li, and he immediately went for it, which caused the original plan to fail," Four Seas Dragon explained.


    Jiu Feng was in agreeance.


    "Ah¡­Now that you mention it, that does seem like the case. He should not have rushed in straight away. However, if Green Flag Wine was the leader, he would not have given up a chance to kill Lu Li as well."


    "To kill Lu Li is a tempting prospect. Every competitor would at least consider it thoroughly. However, the choice of map clearly targets Thieves. Why would they not target Lu Li first, especially with the choice of map? That''s why I''m saying that it''s a failure on behalf of the strategy. I know Green Flag Wine. He would not have made a choice like this," Four Seas Dragon said bluntly.


    Jiu Feng quickly changed the subject of the discussion. After all, they were only analysts.


    "I saw that Lu Li''s critical chance was extremely high. He dealt a third consecutive critical strike, even after two hits! There was no way that she would die like that with over 3000 HP!"


    Deadly Gold Underpants'' decision was not unexpected. 90% of the competitors would go for Lu Li straight away.


    "Ah, you''ve also seen the critical strikes then. Actually, I think that the first two were luck, but the third hit was definitely from an item effect. He used a skill, then immediately critical hit. This was the same as Half A Smoke. This wasn''t something that would naturally happen," Four Seas Dragon deduced.


    He was an aged man, but he never gave up on his passion to play and investigate games. In terms of practically playing the game, he would probably lose to a normal player. However, as far as analysing gameplay went, he was definitely in a league of his own.


    "But their critical strikes should all be maxed, right?" Jiu Feng asked.


    "I''m not sure about Half A Smoke, but Lu Li''s critical strike is definitely already maxed," Four Seas Dragon said. "The testing shows that a level 50 Mage''s max Critical stat is 180. The same-levelled Thief''s max Critical stat was 150. I think that 150 is a fairly achievable stat, but 180 is a little high."


    The chance to land critical hits was not simply an addition of all the effects from items and equipment. If that was the case, Lu Li could lose some of his equipment and still have above 150.


    Shouldn''t 150% critical chance guarantee a critical hit?


    This was definitely not the case. Lu Li usually only had one critical strike out of five hits. To have consecutive strikes was unlikely, unless the opponent was three or more levels lower than him.


    As such, some players would conduct tests investigating this. Different levels and classes had different requirements for critical chance. For example, a level 50 Mage with a sub-180 critical rate would have room for improvement, but if they exceeded 180, then some points would be wasted.


    Thieves had a cap of 150. Lu Li now reached that cap, but because he was level 55, the cap was raised.


    As for the critical cap for level 55 classes, no one had the ability to test it, because there were only two players who were level 55 and above and they were both from Ruling Sword. There was no way that they would go out of their way and help random players to test things like this.


    If Lu Li swapped out Ghostclaw for Ocean''s Breeze, then he would add 10% more to his Critical chance.


    If he used one more item and added another 60% critical chance, then he would end up with 220% critical chance. Lu Li did not remember the cap for a level 55 Thief, but it definitely did not exceed 200. When he activated the effects, his critical chance far exceeded the cap.


    His whole body was equipped with exquisite items, so it was not unusual.


    The top Mages would pursue 180% critical chance at level 55, while a normal player would be happy with 100%. After all, the implication of 180% compared to 100% was not that different anyway.


    After the two analysts finished discussing, the points were counted and the battle concluded.


    Then, it was time for the press conference and post-game interviews for both teams'' players. The questions were usually about how the player felt about his or her performance, the performance of both teams, and what they would do in the future. Although Peerless City was a young guild, they had sufficient experience to answer these interview questions. On the other hand, some of the Ruling Sword players were newer to the spotlight, so they were more cautious.


    Fortunately, they did not say the wrong things. Competition remained competition and things were still peaceful on the personal end.


    Finally, it was time for Ruling Sword to interact with their fans.


    30 minutes seemed rather short, but it was an extremely valuable time. Professional players were either always grinding for levels, or busy with competitions. However, it was important to maintain a good reputation and gain more fans for the guild.


    After all, it was normal to want to celebrate after winning a match. Some guilds'' players would play a game with the fans.


    Others would tell jokes, such as Unforgettable Maple and Innocent Child. However, Innocent Child''s jokes were a little dirty. Bloody Dagger would occasionally tell jokes, but no one would laugh, because they were dad jokes.


    For Ruling Sword, Fat Monkey would usually be the one to interact with the crowd. However, since he did not participate today, the mood was a little cold.


    In the end, when the team entered the stage, the whole atmosphere was a little dead. Under the suggestion of the two analysts, the team decided to sit down with the fans and answer the questions that they had.

 1139 Interview

    "How about ladies first? We''ll let March Rain speak first," Jiu Feng suggested.


    March Rain had many fans. Out of everyone in Ruling Sword, she had the most. She was pretty and had a good temper, while also having an aura of elegance around her. Some people wanted a girl like her in their family, either as a daughter-in-law, sister or daughter. All in all, everyone loved her.


    "Dawn is my first game that I have committed to. I started playing because of my brother," March Rain answered rigidly. After all, she was facing so many people.


    Although she knew that hundreds of thousands of fans came to watch the matches, the players couldn''t see them. This was a completely different situation to be in.


    "March Rain''s brother is called Lonesome Flower. Let''s have a look at him now. Isn''t he super good looking? The genes in this family¡­Wow!" Jiu Feng exclaimed. "Although he''s always on the level rankings, unfortunately, he does not like to participate in matches. Otherwise, you guys would be able to see him fighting in the competitions."


    The others in Ruling Sword had to stifle their laughs. Flower loved to compete, but he was completely incompetent.


    "How did you meet Lu Li?"


    "We were in the newbie''s town and doing quests there. He helped us out with the quest monsters, and even fought with other people," March Rain recalled.


    At that time, both were new to games in general, so they had no chemistry or knowledge of mechanics. One simple quest caused their misery, let alone having other players compete for that same monster.


    However, Lu Li had changed their lives in this game. One of them was now a professional player, while the other had become a well-known player on the level rankings.


    "Ah¡­There''s another question that everyone has been extremely curious about," Four Seas Dragon said as he looked at Moonlight and asked, "Mister Moonlight, you faced Deadly Gold Underpants and successfully killed him. Your place seems to be much higher than his within every Warrior''s heart. What is your relationship with Drunkard?"


    "Well, there''s not much to say. I''m Drunkard," Moonlight answered.


    Everyone suspected that Moonlight was Drunkard, but everyone wanted him to confirm it himself.


    There was an extremely powerful guild back in the day that had suddenly disbanded. Not many people knew what had happened.


    From then on, the professional players from that guild either quit, or joined another guild.


    Moonlight was one of them, and he joined Ruling Sword. Now that he had regained his status, he would naturally be asked about this.


    "This next question is for Fat Monkey," Jiu Feng began as he took out a slip from the container and read, "Why is our big brother so uncool?"


    The audience laughed while Fat Monkey nearly fell from his chair.


    "Cough¡­cough¡­alright. I think you guys might be misunderstanding me a little. I might not be as handsome as some people, but I definitely have that cool aura! Look at my expression, is it not cool? Stop laughing¡­I''ll get angry¡­"


    After Fat Monkey, it was the others'' turns. The questions all were quite broad and general, so there were no chances of the interview becoming stale.


    Sakura Memories was asked about the Yaoi culture. Even her squad members had only found out about this now. She was a well-known member of a Yaoi forum, but the people who frequented it just hasn''t realised that the two Sakura Memories was the same person.


    Kitty Likes Meat was asked more normal questions, such as her age, star sign, and her relationship status.


    "Someone here wants to ask Mu Qiu a question," Four Seas Dragon said, then hesitated for a bit before asking, "Why did you leave Blood Red War Flag?"


    This question was a little dangerous. Ruling Sword and Blood Red War Flag were both in the same ship, since they were both pressured by Glory Capital. As such, there was not much animosity in their relationship.


    "Leaving Blood Red War Flag¡­" Mu Qiu shook his head a little and continued, "I wasn''t neglected. The atmosphere of the guild was good, but I just wanted to search for a better place to grow as a player."


    "Are you saying that Blood Red War Flag did not suit you?" Four Seas Dragon asked.


    "No. It''s not that Blood Red War Flag did not fit me, but I did not fit Blood Red War Flag. I was determined to follow my own path, and that path did not fit well with them. As such, I ended up choosing Ruling Sword. It''s not that complicated to want to change guilds, contrary to popular belief. Players, whether professional or not, will naturally look for guilds that fit them."


    Mu Qiu was eloquent, so he answered the question quite well.


    Four Seas Dragon bore no ill-will towards Ruling Sword, but he kept going because he saw that Mu Qiu''s attitude was quite positive. Otherwise, he would not have pressed this topic further.


    It was time for Lu Li''s turn.


    He did not have the most fans, but it was a mystery why he still wore a mask when he went out and hid himself from the public.


    His image was unclear to his fans. Some people tried to take pictures and videos of him, but they were all blurry or too dark to see.


    The more he hid, the more curious people were.


    Lu Li wore his full set of armour on stage, and his face was still covered by his Nightslayer''s Mask. Coupled with his quiet and calm demeanour, this gave him an aura of elegance, which was something that Fat Monkey wanted.


    "Alright, the first question. Why did you create Ruling Sword?" Jiu Feng was also extremely curious himself.


    "Well, it started from when I went into Spider''s Lair. I realised that Dawn could not be played alone." Lu Li was lying, but he had to lie. After all, he could not just say that he had a prophetic vision which prompted him to create the guild.


    "Who then, do you think, has helped you the most during this time?" Jiu Feng grabbed another paper and asked.


    "Probably brother Square Root," Lu Li answered, then quickly added, "Actually, everyone in my squad has all worked hard and contributed so much. There are also others that made contributions as well. The Ruling Sword of today has been built by the efforts of many."

 1140 Visiting Peerless City

    The reality was that Ruling Sword had been created by Lu Li. Although others had contributed, most acted on his directions.


    Lu Li was from the Common District, but he wasn''t lacking in organizational abilities.


    As a leader, you needed to know how to make your subordinates feel fulfilled and you couldn''t take all the credit for yourself. Although Ruling Sword was his, he didn''t want this title to mean anything.


    These two explanations prompted a whole new level of respect for Lu Li. These kinds of words would be unsurprising for someone who was older and wiser. Sorrowless had saved Glory Capital too and brought it to glory, but he also generally never took credit for himself. However, Lu Li, who appeared to be reclusive and eccentric, actually possessed high emotional intelligence. Perhaps the lesson to be learned was that no successful person could be deficient in this way.


    "It is said that you couldn''t afford a helmet in the beginning, so you went to Star Moon Guild to become a Gold Collection member. Later, you were forced out of the guild¡­ forgive my bluntness," Jiufeng began, then continued, "So, can you tell us about your living conditions before entering the game?"


    "Poor would be the one word to describe it," Lu Li sighed. "It wasn''t just that I couldn''t afford the helmet. If I didn''t work for a day, I would have to go hungry the next day unless my neighbors helped me. I am not a rich second-generation child, nor an outstanding student."


    "Wow, what about now?" Jiufeng asked, then added, "I don''t know how much you have in your accounts, but according to the game''s annual inventory, Ruling Sword is valued at about 45 million dollars. If Ruling Sword wins this season of the professional league, this number could double."


    "From nothing, you have created something worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Dawn now has a success story of an ordinary person rising to the top," Four Seas Dragon followed up.


    Lu Li was a little embarrassed, as he knew that he was being advertised for Dawn. However, he maintained his straight faced and went along with them.


    The so-called valuation didn''t mean that he could sell his guild for that amount of money. It also took into account things like developmental potential. Even if Lu Li wanted to withdraw from Jianghu, who would transfer 45 million dollars to him for Ruling Sword?


    There would be few people foolish enough to do that.


    Immediately after the interview, a large number of merchants turned up to talk to Lu Li about working together. Everyone now knew that Ruling Sword would not take any capital injections, but that was not the only form of cooperation. There was still advertising and endorsements, among other methods. There were some people who wanted to send Ruling Sword a floating car that bore their cooperate logo for more publicity.


    These issues were not things that Lu Li could be bothered discussing, so he left them to Square Root 3.


    After exiting the game, Lu Li saw Soul Eater. After all, he had come to the door of another''s home. Everyone here was an ally, and there was little space for privacy. Lu Li greeted him with a handshake, which was ordinary behavior among professional players.


    Lu Li was also planning to visit Soul Eater''s training location.


    Although Peerless City was still a new guild, they were supported by Drizzle Court. This meant that they had all the industry standard equipment. It was much more comprehensive than what Square Root 3 knew from the Star Moon Guild and more advanced than the set that Cat Dad had many years ago.


    "Hey, who is this visiting our club? It''s a wolf in the sheep pen," Soul Eater snorted.


    "Why? Are you angry because you lost?" Lu Li shot back as he glanced at him. In reality, he was much more mundane looking, now that he wasn''t wearing all the equipment. However, Soul Eater''s scornful manner immediately cast Lu Li''s mind back to the time when Soul Eater lost the match.


    Even though he knew that Lu Li was provoking him, he couldn''t help but respond, "Sorry, this is just the first match. We''ll see what happens in future."


    In the quarterfinals, there would be three matches. Whoever had the most points at the end of the matches would win. What Soul Eater said was not a lie, but they both knew that the chances Peerless City had for a comeback was slim. They had already lost on home turf; how could they win now that they going to be on the away team?


    Did they expect their opponents to be dumb?


    "If that''s the case, then lead the way," Lu Li said straightforwardly. Most of the clubs were located in the suburbs. The main reason for this was because the house prices were cheaper and they could take up more space. The suburban air was also of a higher quality. For example, the Peerless City Club was near the mountain ranges and waters. There was a lake to the left and a mountain at behind.


    After getting out of the floating car, Soul Eater took Lu Li and several other Ruling Sword players in.


    "We have a rowing competition here every week and we can also visit the temples in the mountains," Soul Eater said proudly. In terms of landscape, Qiantang was indeed quite unique. Even Drizzle Court couldn''t match them in this regard.


    "Hey Boss, this is a nice place. When are we going to change locations? Our place is too quiet," Fat Monkey said. He obviously preferred a livelier location.


    In fact, the place where Ruling Sword was located also had waters and mountains, but its original design wasn''t suitable for a club. They were still waiting for an internal designer to redesign it. For now, the guild''s professional players and elite members were still in small rooms in an apartment provided by Square Root 3''s friends. As such, the environment was not great.


    "The rent here is over a million dollars, and that is after the discount we received. Moreover, you couldn''t get this location on a whim even if you had the money," Soul Eater said as he shook his head, not hiding the amount they had paid for this environment.


    "Rent is always expensive, whether it is in Jiangnan City or Qiantang City. There are no low house prices. The suburbs are a bit better, but once the area improves, it will cost tens of millions more," Lu Li sighed. "Glory Capital bought a large piece of land within the capital. I can''t even imagine what that was like."


    "I have seen it, and it''s quite shocking. It''s hard to imagine that they have made this much money over all these years," Soul Eater said smugly.


    The group continued to walk inside. There were some players from the Peerless City Club, members of their elite group and their families. This area was open to many people ¨C otherwise, there wouldn''t be an officially sanctioned discount.


    Lu Li''s location was a little cheaper, but it was still a few hundred thousand, which was an incredible amount by a normal person''s standards.


    The money earned by clubs in these few years made many people jealous. They had managed to produce greater earnings than most large companies. However, these industries were usually made up of so many people that when it was divided up, there wasn''t much left to go around.


    For example, when Lu Li wanted to reward everyone during the last Spring Festival, giving 100 dollars to 100,000 players was the same as giving out 10 million dollars.

 1141 Team Uniform

    "Some people don''t actually live here. These converted homes are no different from apartments, so many people save up their money to find a better place nearby. They occasionally drive here for meetings," Soul Eater said.


    "I see," Lu Li nodded as he began to understand more about the operation of a big club.


    There were dozens of elite groups in Peerless City. The number of people was actually quite amazing, and these players were not different from the white-collar workers in society. Naturally, it was impossible for this many people to live in a dormitory. In fact, this was exactly what Ruling Sword was doing right now. They had tried to give everyone a small room, which could be bigger if they had family.


    After visiting the layout of Peerless City, Lu Li planned to return and build two apartment buildings with Square Root 3 to ensure that everyone had a place to stay.


    Fortunately, the technology has now been developed enough that the construction industry had achieved artificial intelligence in their machines. This means that buildings didn''t take long to construct and the Ruling Sword club would not have to wait long for a new home. However, Lu Li was still hoping to see the different layouts of more clubs.


    "This is a gym. This is probably the busiest place of the whole location," Soul Eater said with a smile, "Some would say that this is one of the locations where singles spend their time. The refectory is another one of those places."


    "Ah, so this is a necessity then," Lu Li blinked and quickly nodded.


    Video game players generally didn''t get out of the house very much. If you didn''t have many contacts within the game or in real life, then finding a partner would be very difficult. Now that he had been inspired by Peerless City, Lu Li also planned to enrich the social culture of the club.


    For example, he was going to add a gym, sports, board game rooms etc. In short, he was going to make it easier for men and women in the guild to get along.


    If both a husband and wife were in Ruling Sword, then the cost of leaving would be greater. Perhaps their children would even form part of the reserve for the club.


    According to the predictions of the gaming industry report, future gamers would go from being professional players to support members and eventually pensioners in the guild. When more clubs introduced health related facilities, this would be an indication of the aging gaming population.


    "These levels are all battle analysis rooms. The large ones can accommodate up to 600 people, while the small ones can only fit up to a dozen," Soul Eater explained in front of the big screen. "But this kind of large-scale analysis meeting is very rare. It is said that once Dawn introduces Strongholds, we will be able to have a virtual conference room that can accommodate all members of a guild."


    "Thank you very much Elder Soul," Lu Li said, changing the way he referred to Soul Eater.


    Soul Eater had been very candid. Since he had agreed to take Lu Li around, he had been very thorough in explaining everything. He even told him that it was a waste to build big meeting rooms.


    The times were always moving forward, and the game was also changing. This kind of conference couldn''t really play a role as it was difficult to gather thousands of people in one place. It was usually enough to make a small room for the usual club members to meet in.


    "Everything will eventually just be within the game in future. Perhaps even us humans will be in it too," Soul Eater said somewhat emotionally.


    After this, Lu Li walked with Soul Eater to visit many other places in Peerless City.


    The Peerless City members knew that it was Lu Li who had defeated them, but their relationship with Ruling Sword was still quite harmonious. Since the club boss was the one accompanying them, no one really bothered them.


    In fact, Soul Eater was also planning to engage in a networking event, but it was rejected by Lu Li. If the winners made this suggestion, it would be a generous thing to do, but it would also feel like they were taking advantage of their position. Peerless City had just lost a match against them, so the question was how would their relationship be going forward?


    After having a bit of food in the morning, Ruling Sword concluded their trip to Qiantang.


    The next match would happen in two days. Ruling Sword was still playing against Peerless City, but this time, the match would be located in Jiangnan City. The team that would have an advantage was Ruling Sword.


    The fact that Ruling Sword had won that match was celebrated both in game and outside of it. After all, it was the result of their hard work.


    Lu Li was really busy, not because he was busy farming, but because he was busy planning a uniform for the team. After all, Ruling Sword''s clothing was in a mess. Peerless City had a slick light-blue home team uniform.


    Generally speaking, regular clubs had two kinds of uniforms. A lighter-colored home team uniform and a dark-colored away team uniform. The team logo and number would be on the uniform, in addition to some club slogans.


    "Hey, does anyone here understand fashion design?" Lu Li asked in the guild channel. He was going to ask anyone in the guild that had experience in costume design so that he could gather their opinions. However, now he had given up and was just going to ask for a designer to do it.


    There were so many people in Ruling Sword that there was no way he could know what they all did.


    "Why are you looking for this?" Azure Sea Breeze was curious.


    "I''m trying to find someone to design a uniform for us," Lu Li said.


    "Oh, can I try?" Azure Sea Breeze tried to accept the offer.


    "Get out of here!"


    "I have won an award for art in primary school," someone said.


    "I studied a bit of design in university," another offered.


    This was unreliable as well. Azure Sea Breeze''s less-than-ideal start to the conversation led the guild members to offer skills that they didn''t really have.


    "Can we get someone reliable please?"


    Square Root 3 had to stop everyone. Although Ruling Sword seemed like it was managed quite strictly from the outside, there was always a light-hearted atmosphere.


    "Is there anyone here involved in the fashion industry? If not, students in fashion design are also okay," Lu Li asked, lowering the standard.


    Several members put forward that they were students or were in some way involved with the fashion design industry.


    With tens of thousands of people in the guild, they were bound to eventually find someone who could do it.


    "If you''re looking for a designer, don''t you know that I can do it?" someone type among the mess of text It was by sheer luck that Lu Li saw it.


    The player''s ID was Spring Breeze, which was an unfamiliar name. They were level 13 and was only Advanced in the Tailor Trade Skill. Obviously, this was a Trade Skill player, but they had not been doing particularly well. Although they filled the quota for the guild, they weren''t receiving any benefits. These players were also not very active, but the member list had never been cleaned out properly.


    "Who are you?" Lu Li didn''t feel guilty asking that because they seemed so weak.


    Dawn''s game target demographic was very wide. Many people would enter the game just to see what the new technology was like. There were many who didn''t take the game seriously, and just took it as a means of entertainment.


    Perhaps this Spring Breeze was a designer who just used the game to pass some time.

 1142 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    After a moment of silence, Spring Breeze responded, "I am Zheng Jifeng."


    Zheng Jifeng?


    This was obviously their real name, but who was Zheng Jifeng? Lu Li was stunned and thought that this was a little embarrassing. The other person obviously thought that he should know this name, but he didn''t¡­


    Fortunately, just because Lu Li was ignorant didn''t mean that no one else in Ruling Sword knew who Zheng Jifeng was.


    "You''re not the Zheng Jifeng the designer are you?" the player that mentioned he was studying design in college quickly asked, revealing the identity of this person.


    "Mr. Zheng, the Boss of the Jifeng studio?" a fashion designer asked cautiously.


    "Yep," Zheng Jifeng responded. He seemed to carry himself with pride.


    Lu Li quickly chatted in private with someone else who knew about Zheng Jifeng.


    "Boss, the Jifeng studio is one of the largest fashion design brands on the market. It holds a monopoly over at least 1/3 of the luxury brand designs. Zheng Jifeng is the head of the company. He is a talented person, but has not designed any new clothes recently¡­


    In short, he was an expert in fashion. He had become famous quite early in his life and was now already in his forties. Later on, he developed some issues with his mental health, but the Jifeng Studio had already become a leading brand in fashion.


    They couldn''t continue chatting in the guild chat, so Lu Li quickly put together a smaller discussion group with Zheng Jifeng, himself, Square Root 3 and the few other people who understood fashion design.


    After these people came in, they saw the two guild Bosses and Zheng Jifeng.


    They were quite excited by this group. They first greeted Zheng Jifeng before greeting Lu Li and Square Root 3.


    Although it was just a small formality, it was enough to demonstrate Zheng Jifeng''s authority in fashion


    design.


    "Hello Mr. Zheng. I didn''t think that our guild had such an expert."


    Square Root 3 was better at dealing with such people than Lu Li. He also knew more about the fashion design industry than Lu Li.


    Lu Li had never really bought designer clothing before. Previously, he had always just purchased clothes from market stalls. He and his sister would also never spend much money on clothing ¨C just one to two hundred dollars would be plenty. For them, clothes just served the function of covering them and keeping them warm.


    "Expert? You are an expert in the game, but within the fashion design circles, I am just an idler doing nothing," Zheng Jifeng said.


    "No matter what industry it is, there are few that can go as far as you have. Well, enough small talk," Square Root 3 said directly, "We would like to ask if Mr. Zheng could help us design our uniforms. We''re not sure if it is convenient for you. As for your pay¡­"


    It wasn''t that Ruling Sword couldn''t afford a high price, but it was still a guild that was undergoing rapid development. Most of their money was being reinvested into the guild, so Lu Li and Square Root 3 obviously couldn''t spend too much on this.


    If this didn''t work, then they were going to let the design students make the designs.


    "Don''t worry about the pay. I am a member of this guild after all," Zheng Jifeng''s offered, his originally cold tone warming up a little. "This guild''s atmosphere is something special, unlike some other guilds. I haven''t designed clothing in a long time now, but I have helped some other guilds with their uniforms before."


    "We would be very grateful." Lu Li and Square Root 3 were quite happy.


    Who wouldn''t like the fact that they were getting help for free, especially by such a big name in the industry? As for what he said about the guild''s atmosphere, Lu Li and Square Root 3 felt a little ashamed, as it was very unusual for the top-level players to care about the low-level players in a guild.


    When the guild was established, both Square Root 3 and Lu Li had the idea of regularly clearing out the low-level players.


    Almost all guilds with clubs were doing this. As the guild levels became harder to increase, each place in the guild became more and more precious. Kicking a low-level player would mean that the position would be vacated for a higher-level player.


    However, White Bread was quite opposed to this. In addition, Lu Li and Square Root 3 hadn''t been pushing it too aggressively as their guild was still growing, so they didn''t care much about the quotas.


    "Have you considered what color you want?" Zheng Jifeng asked.


    "Nope," Lu Li and Square Root 3 responded.


    "What about the style?"


    "Nope."


    "Alright then, go and do whatever it is you do. The rest of you can go as well."


    Zheng Jifeng couldn''t be bothered asking any more questions.


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 exited the chatroom and went to find White Bread.


    There were so many people in the guild from so many different walks of life. It wasn''t only the Elite Group that contained valuable players. Today, a truth had come to light ¨C that many players'' true identities remained hidden.


    After all, who could possibly imagine that a level 20 Trade Skill player would be a master of the fashion industry?


    Now, they decided that when they found a player like this in their guild, they would write it down as it could be useful in the future. No matter how the game went, Lu Li still lived in the real world, so who knew what would happen in the real world in the future?


    Paying attention to such people wasn''t the same as bothering them.


    Some people didn''t like to be bothered by playing games, and they also didn''t like other people getting too close to them. All Lu Li and Square Root 3 could hope for was that they felt a sense of belonging to the guild.


    White Bread certainly didn''t object to this. She had always been opposed to kicking low-level players. According to her, a truly healthy guild environment should be like a warm and welcoming home. As long as they had a good character, they could contribute to the guild.


    Of course, she still wasn''t unreasonable about it. She knew the importance of high-level players for the guild. White Bread was currently planning a branch in Ruling Sword where she could specifically accept professional Trade Skill players and casual players.


    Zheng Jifeng was very efficient, and he quickly designed the uniforms before showing them to Lu Li.


    The dark tone version was black, while the light tone version was white. These were the most ordinary colors, but it seemed that everything had come to life with his design.


    Lu Li was originally worried that the clothes designed by the fashion designers would only be suitable for wear in the arena. Many of the uniforms that were worn in the arena would not be worn in the real world for fear of ridicule.


    However, after seeing this design, he could let go of his worries. These were clothes that he didn''t mind wearing on the streets.


    Zheng Jifeng said that this could be a guild uniform, and anyone could wear it. He said that he would continue and design another set for the club players, but these were still tentative ideas. For now, the Ruling Sword players could wear these two sets for their next matches.


    The technology and design was all there, and the materials required were quite simple. Soon, everyone had a uniform that could be worn to show that they belonged to Ruling Sword.

 1143 Relentless Strikes

    Level 60 was a very important milestone for Dawn players. It unlocked a bigger map, the Stronghold system, Siege warfare and the couples system¡­


    However, level 60 wasn''t something that could be achieved overnight. Lu Li had to work hard to keep increasing his level; he had even been running around the map trying to do more quests. It didn''t matter that his Charisma value was low as there were quests that would be given if the trigger conditions were met. The only difficulties were finding the trigger condition and the location for the quest.


    The trigger condition was often the clearance of an Instance Dungeon. For example, clearing Stratholme triggered the Tanaris Bounty Quest and the clearance of Blackrock Abyss would grant access to the maps surrounding that area. As Lu Li had acquired the First Clear on Blackrock Abyss, many other players would not have met that condition yet. This was a rule imposed by the System, so the NPCs couldn''t release the quest even if it wanted to.


    However, these weren''t difficult things for Lu Li. He had acquired the First Clear in many Instance Dungeons in the past, and had found many unknown Hidden Monsters. Bounty Quests awarded a good amount of EXP and good quality items. It was said that if you were lucky, you could even get an Enhanced Skill Book, but Lu Li scoffed at that idea.


    After killing a rare monster in the hills of Hillsbrad, Lu Li suddenly thought of a way to quickly farm reputation at Ravenholdt Manor. There were many things he could have made use of from his previous life, but as time went on, his memories inevitably became a little blurry.


    This method was not difficult and it could be used repeatedly. It would just consume a few of his gold coins.


    This quest could be done by a single person, especially a strong Thief like Lu Li. However, Lu Li thought it would be easier with two people, so he contacted Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy was probably in an Instance Dungeon, and couldn''t leave it instantly, but she didn''t keep Lu Li waiting for too long and appeared before him after a few minutes. She had obviously handed over the task of commanding the Instance Dungeon to someone else. Blackrock Abyss had already been conquered, so there was no reason for her to do it again herself.


    After the two met, they went to the Southshore Inn together.


    The Assassins League''s hostess were already very familiar with these two, and knew that they often appeared together. As such, she calmly made herself known and began chatting with the guests.


    "You two haven''t been around for a while. I have a few quests here today; would you be interested?"


    "Of course, but before that I have something want to ask," Lu Li said, recalling the strategy for the quest. "I heard that Master Fahrad had been collecting heavy waste bins for recently. Is there anything we can help with for that?"


    Fahrad was one of the strongest Thieves of Ravenholdt Manor. The name made it sound like he was a man, but he was actually a Blood Elf girl. As for her face, no one had ever seen it before because she always covered it up, but she probably didn''t have an ugly face, especially given the figure that had been designed for her.


    "Fahrad? Have you seen her?" the hostess asked in surprise.


    "No, I just heard about it, but I''m not sure if it was true. As a member of the Ravenholdt Manor, I feel like I can contribute," Lu Li offered.


    Water Fairy glanced at him and grinned.


    "It seems that there is something that you could help with, but Fahrad is not easy to find. You might need to buy a map from me," the hostess said as she rubbed her hands together and took out an item.


    Sure enough, this was basically just a quest for money.


    If they didn''t have the hostess'' map, they wouldn''t be able to find Fahrad, even if Lu Li knew where she was. This was a rule imposed by the System ¨C the player had to pay to progress the quest.


    There was no room here for bargaining, so Lu Li paid 20 gold coins for the map.


    Although he couldn''t really afford the 20 gold coins, this was something he had to do. 20 gold coins was no small amount either. In the beginning, this was amount that he had sold himself into servitude of the Star Moon guild for.


    To see Fahrad, you had to enter the labyrinth from the northeast of Hillsbrad. The trail had been explored by many players. Lu Li and Water Fairy also saw many other players who wanted to become famous for their adventures. These players were all trying to find their way through the labyrinth. Most would get lost and would either kill themselves or be condemned to wasting time wandering around. Even if they spent the whole day in there, they still might not be able to get out the other side.


    The arrival of Lu Li and Water Fairy did not attract any attention. Everyone thought that these two players were just like themselves.


    "Should we have a look at the map?" Water Fairy couldn''t help but ask after she noticed that Lu Li hadn''t even looked at the map. Drizzle Court had a senior member who was good at deciphering maze-like terrain. However, after trying for a long time, he had to ask a Warlock from the guild to summon a door to get him out.


    "Didn''t you see it before? Just follow me and you won''t get lost."


    He memorized the map with just a glance like that?


    Water Fairy should have doubted, but she actually believed Lu Li when she heard him say it.


    As they walked along the trail, they went past countless crossings. After about half an hour, a magnificent manor was presented before them. It was in a remote place, and the terrain was very difficult to navigate. This seemed like quite a defensible position. From the outside, it seemed that there was a large number of crops planted in the manor. There were also many brightly colored herbs that could be used for poison making.


    A blue stone trail stretched out from the manor and vanished behind the shaded fence.


    Under normal circumstances, the people who came here would be drawn towards the Chest next to the blue stone trail. Its golden color and cool design made it difficult to ignore.


    But how did they deal with it this time?


    You could just open the chest. Perhaps it was Master Fahrad''s way to testing the player''s Unlock level. This wasn''t beyond the realm of possibility; there was no doubt that there were other Thieves here. The other professions couldn''t do much here even if they knew exactly how to find it. Lu Li, in his previous life, didn''t listen to everyone else and followed the route for several hours. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have remembered it so clearly.


    You could also pretend not to see it. Perhaps this Chest was a test of character. A Thief didn''t necessarily have to steal, and Fahrad might be someone who hated players that used skills like Pick Pocket.


    It was probably one of these two things, but Lu Li didn''t want to make a choice either way.


    If he opened it, a level 50 Elite would come charging out. It wasn''t difficult to deal with and Lu Li could easily kill it himself, but they wouldn''t be able to enter after doing so. That naturally meant that they wouldn''t be able to get the quest.


    The only way to prevent that from happening would be to stand still and be killed by the monster.


    If they pretended not to see it, the manor wouldn''t open for them either. Although the manor seemed undefended, Fahrad''s disciples were everywhere inside. Any reckless actions would definitely result in both of them losing EXP.


    "Have you learned any skills to detect traps?" Lu Li asked.


    Water Fairy shook her head. There was little need for such skills, as Hunters didn''t have any traps yet and the traps that the players ran into were rather numerous.


    Thieves that specialized in scouting could receive scout quests from specific NPCs, not only to learn this skill, but also skills that can disable traps.


    "I haven''t learnt any yet, but I have a way," Lu Li said, replacing the headgear he had on.


    Berserker''s Horned Helmet (Steel): Armour 15, Agility +8, Special Effect: after use, Detection +5 and has a certain probability of detecting traps. Level Requirement: level 15. Durability 35/35.


    This item had become obsolete a long time ago, but Lu Li actually managed to find it again.


    This kind of equipment with special effects wasn''t useful for Instance Dungeons, so he had just thrown it into the guild warehouse. Now, it had become useful again.


    Using this equipment at his current level made the probability much greater. It detected that there was a trap on the treasure chest. This was the trap that triggered the rune, which in turn summoned the monster.


    It was natural to use detect on the Treasure Chest. Lu Li then took out scroll from his backpack and began to cast it on the run. Soon, the trap was disabled.


    Now, they could open the Treasure Chest and acquire the gift that Master Fahrad had prepared for the players.


    After Lu Li opened the chest, he found two items. One of the Skill Book for ''Relentless Strikes'' and one was a scroll for ''Nirvana''.


    These items were much better than Lu Li expected, and it was likely because he and Water Fairy were the first ones to open this Treasure Chest. Lu Li recalled that Nirvana was one of Dawn''s most famous scrolls, as it allowed players to revive themselves on the spot with full HP.


    This kind of scroll couldn''t be used in the arena or in Instance Dungeons. It could only be used in the wild.


    It had to be used within 30 seconds of death to take effect, as it wouldn''t be effective afterwards. If a player wanted to die with this scroll and revive after his enemies had left, it wouldn''t work too well.


    However, the players didn''t mind these restrictions at all.


    As for Relentless Strikes, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that players with this skill could increase their total strength by 5% at least.


    Relentless Strikes: Passive, your Ultimate Skill consumes a combo point have a 10% chance of generating 10 energy. Proficiency 1/5.


    Energy for Thieves was the equivalent of mana for Mages. Many of Lu Li''s skills couldn''t be used too frequently because the energy wouldn''t sustain such frequent use. The regeneration was constant, but it still took time.


    Relentless Strikes allowed for players to quickly restore their energy, which increased the use of their skills and therefore their overall strength.

 1144 Grand Master Thief

    One item was a skill book and the other was a rare scroll, but both were very valuable.


    Now the problem was how they would divide it between them. If they were two strangers, then it would be simple as they could just roll for it. However, Lu Li and Water Fairy were at a point in their relationship where they obviously couldn''t just roll for the item.


    "If it weren''t for you, I don''t think I would have been able to reach this chest. You can take the items," Water Fairy said.


    She felt that if she had just directly gone for the chest, something bad would have happened. If Lu Li wasn''t there, she definitely would have just opened the chest. In fact, this is what 80% of Thieves would have done.


    "I''ll take the Skill Book then," Lu Li said. Although the Nirvana scroll was valuable, he already had the Darkmoon Card so he didn''t really need it.


    Of course, the value of Nirvana was not much less than Relentless Strikes.


    Water Fairy hesitated for a moment before taking the Nirvana scroll. She was often attacked by others in the wild, and would also face assassination attempts. With this scroll, she would have a little more survivability.


    This was also a gift given to her by Lu Li, which made her feel a little strange.


    This Treasure Chest was also incidental to what they were trying to do. If you wanted to enter the Fahrad estate, you had to face this chest and make the correct response. Otherwise, you wouldn''t be able to see Master Fahrad.


    This test set up by Fahrad was called the ''Deceitful Ceremony''.


    The Deceitful Ceremony was to specifically test Thieves that had arrived at this location and were faced with the unknown chest. Many Thieves would just open the chest and either be killed by the monster or fail the quest. If they wanted to continue, they would still have to die at least once. There were no situations where the Thief didn''t lose something.


    But why did no one warn the later players?


    The players who had already lost something reasoned that everyone else might as lose something too. Why would any player freely tell another player about their hard-earned lessons? They didn''t want to be the only ones to suffer¡­


    It was only quite some time later that someone would write a forum post about this which Lu Li had read.


    When you approached the manor gate, there was another test. However, this test was quite unusual, as no one had ever given an incorrect answer to this question, no matter what they said.


    The old man at the door would ask the question, "Is a Thief evil? Why?"


    Lu Li had been thinking about this for a long time. He had also thought about this in his previous life. It wasn''t as though he was better; he still shamelessly took any equipment that he could.


    After playing Thief in this life, he could consider this issue from a more personal perspective.


    Firstly, he didn''t think that a Thief was a particularly sacred or just profession ¨C that spot was reserved for the Paladin or the Priest. However, he didn''t think that the Thief was evil either. No one would think of him as evil because of what he was, but rather because of what he did.


    Finally, Lu Li responded by saying that the Thief''s profession was unattractive to some, but justice and evil were things that could be found within the profession themselves.


    This was a satisfactory answer. Water Fairy responded similarly but added an extra sentence. She felt that the Thief represented the dark side of the players'' hearts.


    The old man didn''t react at all, and just opened the door. He let Lu Li and Water Fairy enter, and told them that Fahrad was waiting for them next to the fountain in the center of the manor.


    There were many flowers and plants in the manor. There were some that Lu Li could recognize, but there were others that he had never seen before.


    It wasn''t clear what Fahrad''s expertise was in, but it seemed to be related to alchemy or some kind of poison production. Currently, there were ordinary poisons sold in some stores, but high-end poisons still required alchemists to produce them.


    Lu Li was still carrying the helmet that could detect traps, and could sense that there were traps everywhere in the garden. If the old man wasn''t leading the way, it would have been a very difficult trip.


    This was the home of a Master Thief, so it made sense that it was set up like a wolf''s den.


    Fahrad herself looked quite young and wasn''t shrouded in a cloak like Lu Li''s mentor. Her beauty gave the impression that the designer had poured their life into this design.


    There was no doubt that Blood Elves were rarely ugly. In reality, the ugly girls that chose this profession had also improved their looks.


    However, what was even more eye-catching was the sense of purity to Fahrad. It was like she was a princess who had never seen the outside world but from her glass tower.


    As she stood in front of the mountain, the ripples of the water produced a gorgeous rainbow around her, giving a holy aura to her presence.


    If the old man didn''t refer to her by Fahrad, no one would think that this was Fahrad, the Grand Master Thief of the legends. Most wouldn''t doubt it if they were told that this person was a Priest.


    "We are some adventurers from the Assassins League. I heard that you are collecting some heavy waste bins for research. I''m not sure if we have the privilege to help you," Lu Li looked down and greeted her respectfully.


    Water Fairy looked at Fahrad, then immediately turned to Lu Li.


    She saw the look of surprise on Lu Li''s face, but found that he had quickly scanned over Fahrad''s body. Lu Li hadn''t fixated his eyes on any particular part of Fahrad''s body.


    Water Fairy wasn''t sure if this meant that Lu Li was just completely unaffected or if he was a man of discipline.


    Ultimately, she was satisfied with her partner''s performance.


    Any woman was afraid of being compared with. This was a female instinct that was given to her when God created her. The more beautiful the woman, the more concerned she would be with this issue.


    "Oh, it was a failed experiment. I haven''t studied those bins for a few days now."


    Fahrad''s voice was not as charming or soft as her appearance. It was a little hoarse and she spoke a little bluntly, like someone who had suddenly started speaking after remaining silent for a while.


    "Have you already given up on this research?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course not. Those seemingly useless heavy bins might be able to teach me some other things. Right now, I lack the fund to continue research," Fahrad said regretfully.


    Her beauty in expressing her regret was so great that some players would immediately resolve to do anything they could to solve her problems.


    This was the reason why the game had decided to make Fahrad''s model so beautiful. If it was an elderly lady covered in a cloak, the players probably wouldn''t be so willing to pay.


    Lu Li''s heart was repulsed at the shamelessness of the System. It was obvious what this NPC was trying to get at, as much as he didn''t like it.


    Obviously, she wanted them to pay!

 1145 Intentions

    The quest really burnt a lot of money, and this wasn''t all that there was to it.


    After a certain fix during the year, the quest item would become tradable. In order to improve their reputation, rich Thieves would spend a great deal of money to purchase these quest items. As for the poor ones, they could only practice their theft skills.


    They could earn up to a few dozen grand a week if they just spent three hours to steal these Heavy Bin Boxes.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, he was around for the event, but he was a Druid back then, so all that he could do was watch. Perhaps, this was part of why he had chosen the Thief class in this life.


    "Some might not be able to understand why I keep studying these Heavy Bin Boxes," Fahrad began seriously, then continued, "I''m actually studying their mechanics ¨C why is our Theft ability capable of stealing some treasure chests, and where do the items in these treasure chests come from? What can we do to not get caught when we steal?"


    This Grand Master Rogue was filled with way too many questions.


    Lu Li had to pretend that he was listening carefully; he had to go through this quest progress. Whether there were other quests down the line or rewards was in question.


    Some players believed that there was, but most couldn''t activate it.


    "But a far and strong belief has always supported me up until now. I think I''m getting closer and closer to understanding this secret, but now I need some Heavy Bin Boxes and the coins to study them. After I complete my research, I''ll have the ability to return the investment. Thieves, are you willing to believe and support me?"


    "Gladly, Grand Master," Lu Li lowered his head and said helplessly.


    It didn''t matter whether he believed it or not; he just wanted the quest.


    "First, you need to understand the concepts behind the Theft ability. It''s a special skill for Thieves. It allows you to obtain special items off your enemies without a battle, but if you use it inappropriately, you will upset your enemy and put yourself in danger¡­.." Fahrad continued to speak.


    She had too much to say, but because her looks were truly beautiful, no one really disliked talking to her.


    Some could probably just watch her go on and on for a whole afternoon. However, Lu Li wasn''t fooled by her beauty; he heard something else from all her talk.


    Fahrad wasn''t just explaining Theft, but was also explaining Sap and Stealth when approaching targets. She explained Backstab and Cheap Shot after getting caught, along with some survival and escape mechanisms.


    Lu Li reminded Water Fairy to pay attention.


    Water Fairy was surprised to discover that, even with the temptations of beauty, Lu Li was still better than herself at picking up the hidden intentions behind the NPC''s talk.


    "Stealing is bad... that is, only if you get caught," Fahrad concluded.


    The System announced that Water Fairy had received a quest ¨C Stealing isn''t a Sin. Lu Li and Water Fairy were to each bring back 50 Heaving Bin Boxes for Fahrad. The quest rewarded a certain amount of reputation from Ravenholdt Manor and could only be accepted once per day. However, if you had a lot of gold coins, the System wouldn''t restrict you. Thief players referred to this quest as a ''money stealer''.


    The most important aspect of this quest was its time limit. Heavy Bin Boxes that were stolen after the set time frame would continuously decrease the amount of reputation that it would reward.


    "We can only steal from humanoid targets. Where should we go?"


    Water Fairy was used to asking Lu Li for advice. This trust had been built over a long time; Water Fairy wasn''t someone who''d usually let others make a decision for her.


    Humanoid monsters included more than just humans.


    This term broadly referred to Trolls, Elves and the Undead ¨C organisms with wisdom. It even included Tauren, Ogre and Murlocs. Under different circumstances, some humanoid monsters would be placed outside of the category.


    "Let''s go steal off the Syndicate Sentries," Lu Li suggested.


    If he stole from dungeon monsters, he would receive better rewards, especially the Heavy Bin Boxes from Stratholme. There was a certain chance that he would be able to obtain Teebu''s Blazing Long Sword by stealing.


    At the beginning when Ruling Sword explored Stratholme, Lu Li had managed to steal one and gave it to Wandering. Perhaps Wandering was too much of a show-off, as someone had offered $200,000 for the information, but he turned it down.


    It was uncertain as to how the information got out, but many people now knew that you would be able to steal Teebu''s Blazing Long Sword from the monsters in Stratholme. The location became the perfect place for Thieves to utilize themselves. Unfortunately, the monsters had a 30-minute cooldown before anyone could steal off them again. The cooldown would grow even longer if these monsters were killed.


    The monsters outside of dungeons were a different story. They only had a 10-minute cooldown for Theft and depending on area, they refreshed at different times. However, there was no way you would have to wait around for dozens of minutes.


    The refresh time for Syndicate Sentries was even lower than 10 minutes.


    Not to mention, the Syndicates were enemies to Ravenholdt Manor. There was a chance that they would drop Syndicate Emblems, which could be used to trade for more reputation in Ravenholdt Manor.


    The Syndicates had some bases spread throughout the Alterac Mountains and Hillsbrad. In a spot between these two areas, there was a Morfex Castle. The Baron of the castle had recruited many soldiers to fight for him.


    His army was mainly formed of bandits, and under the lead of Baron Morfex, who was a nobleman from the previous empire of Alterac, they fought together to regain their ancestor''s land.


    The Syndicate Sentries near the Morfex Castle usually came in groups of two. If two Thieves could work together, one could Sap while the other stole. Then, they would kill of the monsters together. After looting, they could head straight off to the next set of monsters.


    This was even achievable by one Thief alone.


    Lu Li had to admit that it wasn''t really that necessary for him anymore to take Water Fairy with him on quests.


    There were also so many members in Ruling Sword, and there were plenty of Thieves who had joined Ravenholdt Manor with Lu Li''s help. There was no way these Thieves could possibly turn down the request of their Thief God.

 1146 Snowy

    They turned back and ran into some players who were still trying to figure their way out of the maze. Lu Li wasn''t kind enough to help them out.


    Everyone had to pay for their own choice.


    There were some scouts around the outer circle of the Morfex Castle. These spies wore capes that would make them invisible every now and then. This kind of invisibility was different to the Stealth that Thieves had; there was no way they''d be able to be detected under any circumstances.


    There was also a blue eyeball symbol on top of the heads of these scouts.


    Water Fairy probably didn''t feel much towards these monsters, but Lu Li hated that symbol. He was a Druid in his previous life and had a stealth ability, but it was much worse than what Thieves had. He hated these monsters with these blue eyeball symbols on top of their heads.


    It was the symbol for stealth detection, a signal to run ¨C unless you were capable of killing it after you had been found.


    These scouts were level 60, and were semi-boss models. Lu Li and Water Fairy could only run if they were to get caught by them, or else they would attract more scouts. If they were surrounded by more than ten scouts, they wouldn''t be able to make it out.


    The biggest obstacle to Fahrad''s quest was these Syndicate Scouts. Of course, this was only because the players weren''t strong enough. If someone else came along, these would be nothing but a joke to them.


    After a horrible encounter with a scout, Lu Li quickly thought up a solution.


    He found a stack of bad quality copper, the kind that you could only sell to the shops for a few copper coins, and tossed them far away. The Syndicate Scouts would hear the sound and be distracted.


    These tactics weren''t useful on usual monsters, or else the gaming world would not work out at all. However, the Syndicate Scouts were different. This was their job, and any movements would attract their attention.


    After they broke through the zone of the scouts, there were no more of them in the inner ring.


    The Syndicate Sentries were only level 55, which was perfect for Lu Li and Water Fairy. If the monsters were any higher in level, Theft would become difficult, but if they were too low, the quality of the item would decrease and so would the drop rate of the Heavy Rubbish Boxes.


    From what Fahrad had said, they had to approach their target carefully from behind and try to avoid being caught within combat range.


    This was the guide that had to be followed by Theft beginners.


    If they were able to obtain a Night Walker Emblem, this would provide a great boost for their Theft ability. Not only did it increase its success rate, but it also movement speed while in Stealth.


    The best part was that this item was useful as long as it was in your bag, so it didn''t take up any equipment slots.


    "I''ll take the left, and you take the right. We''ll sap them, steal and kill them," Lu Li said, then looked at Water Fairy and added, "These monsters are quite strong. If they call for help, they might attract the Scouts, so it''s best to kill them in one round of skills. No problem?"


    "Don''t underestimate me," Watery Fairy muttered as a hint of red from embarrassment and slight anger appeared across her white face.


    The two Thieves both entered into Stealth and quickly approached two Syndicate Sentries from behind. With almost the same moves, they Sapped from afar and got closer to steal...


    Water Fairy''s face lightened up as a dark green square box appeared in her hands.


    Beginner''s luck!


    Monsters between level 50 and 60 could only drop Heavy Bin Boxes, which were also only dark green. As such, Lu Li immediately knew that this was a Heavy Bin Box.


    On the other hand, he was a little less fortunate. His Theft worked, but he only managed to obtain 2 silver coins.


    With Water Fairy smirking on the side, Lu Li helplessly tossed his silver coins into his bag and pounced towards this stingy sentry. He looked the same as the one next to him, and in fact, he was wearing even better clothes. Yet, he didn''t even bother dropping a box.


    Monsters that had been stolen from usually didn''t drop anything good, so Lu Li didn''t bother keeping his hopes up.


    The second sentry dropped a broken mirror. This was a well-designed mirror, and its use was just that ¨C a simple mirror that reflected the looks of a player. The edge of the mirror was broken, but a few gold coins to the hairdressers in the shops would fix it. After Water Fairy heard the description of this item from Lu Li, she took it off him.


    The item was worthless to Lu Li, but it was worth a lot in the hands of females.


    Water Fairy also stole some coins from the second sentry. A majority of the time, the loot from theft was coins. The coins would build up and it would still add up to a considerable sum of money. Many Thieves used this method to earn money.


    There were many professions that could go broke in Dawn, but Thieves were definitely not one of them.


    This was one of the things that Lu Li had in mind in this life when he was picking his profession for the game. No matter how poorly he was playing, he would at least be able to steal off monsters, which was better than nothing.


    Lu Li''s first Heavy Bin Box came from his fourth monster. His hands sunk at the weight and the corners of the item told him he had found what he wanted.


    "Uhm, did you just steal a Heavy Bin Box?" Lu Li asked.


    "Not one. This is my second one now," Water Fairy said proudly. At least, in the aspect of stealing, Lu Li seemed to be much worse than she was. This wasn''t just considering the Heavy Bin Boxes ¨C even the number of coins too.


    "And, what do you mean, uhm?" Water Fairy continued with a frown before Lu Li got the chance to reply. "Do I not have a name?"


    "Uhm...then should I call you Water Fairy?" Lu Li asked sheepishly as he opened his mouth.


    "Why does my name sound so weird coming out of your mouth."


    Water Fairy felt speechless and uncomfortable. She hesitated before she said again, "How about you call me Snowy? My name in real life is Shen ManXue."


    There were plenty in the game who knew her real name. After all, there were plenty players in real life who weren''t just ordinary people.


    However, it was the first time she had told someone her real name herself. She felt her cheeks burn after she said it, uncertain as to whether they were red. She regretted not wearing her mask today, but if she took it out now, it would be too much.


    "Snowy," Lu Li called out softly.


    He wasn''t someone who cared about details too much; he felt like names were nothing but just a combination of characters. Perhaps, he felt like only the name Xin Xin was important to him, but at this very moment, he felt that ''Snowy'' was different from the others.

 1147 Heavy Bin Boxes

    "I''ll show you how to open these Heavy Bin Boxes," Lu Li offered.


    "That''s not the difficult part. Should we really open them? The grand master will definitely find out, and if she refuses to take them, our efforts would be wasted."


    Water Fairy had already calmed down; she didn''t feel like this was a good idea.


    These Bin Boxes were the result of using Theft. The lower quality ones were called "Broken Bin Boxes", which were followed by the "Old Bin Boxes", "Sealed Bin Boxes", "Heavy Bin Boxes", "Big Bin Boxes"...


    Perhaps there would be better bin boxes in the future, but Lu Li didn''t know about them yet.


    These boxes had lockpicking level requirement, and most dropped the same few items, including silver coins, gems, potions, and spell books. There was even the potential for some very precious equipment, for example, Shadow Dagger, Teebu''s Blazing Longsword and Alcor''s Sunrazor...


    "If you immediately give it to her after you open it, of course she would find out, but once you leave it out long enough, she won''t realize it. Of course, you can''t touch the things in the boxes."


    Clearly, Lu Li wasn''t fooled by the beauty of the NPC.


    In fact, he had chosen this mission for another reason.


    Lu Li understood how to make sure that there were no valuable things in the bin boxes that were handed in. Many people didn''t want to complete the quests because of the cost and the possibility that they would be missing out on what was inside the Heavy Bin Boxes.


    This was how people were, even though Lu Li himself knew that the chances were slim.


    However, no matter how small the chances were, people couldn''t help but think about it and weigh out whether the quest was really worth it.


    It wasn''t until one day when someone discovered a little secret.


    Someone had accidentally opened a Heavy Bin Box that he had just stolen. It only contained a Healing Potion and some fabric, but because his bag was full, he didn''t take the items within. The Heavy Bin Box remained with the other unopened boxes.


    What was even more unfortunate was that he didn''t get to hand in the quest in time because he had other things to complete first.


    He handed in the quest two hours later, so the reputation reward for him was insignificant. However, this was besides the point ¨C Fahrad still took the bin box that he had opened.


    Because this was a one-hour quest, most players would have tried to hand the items in as early as possible. Who would wait for two hours to hand in the quest?


    After Water Fairy heard about Lu Li''s theory, she thought this was too wild, but she also knew that he wasn''t one to speak carelessly. Regardless if the information was true or not, it wouldn''t hurt to give it a try.


    They could just open the box without touching its contents.


    The Heavy Bin Box in Lu Li''s hand showed a level 50 bronze equipment with horrible Attributes. It was hard to understand why these game designers had even bothered spending time to design this rubbish. He carefully closed the boxes and left the box in his bag.


    Later, when he handed in the quest, he could just pass these items up in a certain order.


    Water Fairy''s boxes also contained nothing of value. These bin boxes were different to treasure chests. The treasure chests in Dawn rarely gave rubbish, but this was the complete opposite with the bin boxes.


    Since they had to wait for two hours, both of them continued to steal away.


    What was more troublesome was that their bag spaces were limited. Sometimes they would steal so much junk that they had no spaces left to store their bin boxes. At the same time, bin boxes that had been opened could not be stacked, which worsened the situation.


    Lu Li had about a hundred spaces in his bag. He had specifically cleaned out his bag before he came, but it wasn''t long before it was filled with junk again.


    As the number of boxes in their bag continued to grow, so did the variety of items within.


    Besides those precious items that only existed in the legends, a Ruby would be the most valuable item. Every time they saw a Ruby in a box, Lu Li would remove it and the box would disappear.


    Rubies were medium-tier materials that were quite valuable and useful for many different trading skills. These types of boxes were too valuable to be handed in for quest purposes.


    Water Fairy had opened a "Thief''s Diary", which was a light book that recorded a nameless Thief''s knowledge of the class. It was a single use item and disappeared after it was read. The item increased the profession level of a Thief skill, so it was a rather decent item.


    The most common way for players to level up their skills these days was to use skill points.


    Another way was to use the skill repeatedly. At this point, it seemed unrealistic to attempt to level up a skill by practice, unless it was one that was commonly used at all times. Lu Li''s Shadow Strike was a good example of this.


    The last tactic was through reading these items left behind from others.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy had spent their time listening to Fahrad''s nonsense. It was pointless at first, but they soon realized that her words contained knowledge of the Thief class. If you paid attention and listened, your skill profession level would also increase.


    Lu Li had read the "Thief''s Diary" in his previous life like a novel.


    There was only one book, so Lu Li wouldn''t ask to have it for himself. It wasn''t a boring book either, and if they opened enough boxes, there was bound to be another one lying around.


    They often found books during their theft. Most were worthless, but Lu Li didn''t dislike these things. He planned to collect all of them and read them at a later point in his spare time. As a poor kid who liked books, it was an enjoyable for him to read and gain knowledge about the game at the same time.


    Amongst all the collectable readings that could be obtained from the Theft skills, the most famous piece in Dawn would probably be "A Hot Romance". It told of the love story between General Marcus Jonathan and the female Mage Narnie, about how they hunted Murlocs together and eventually fell in love.


    It was a well-written piece of work and drew people towards it, but unfortunately, it was split into many parts.


    Some Thieves only read the first part and totally fell in love with the series. They stole like crazy, determined to try and steal the remaining stories.


    Unfortunately, even until the time when Lu Li reincarnated, the story was still incomplete. No one had collected all of the pieces.


    After two hours, there were more than a hundred boxes in Lu Li''s bag. Water Fairy had slightly more that Lu Li. Her bag space was about the same as his, but she had a bracelet that gave her extra bag space. Female players had some advantage in these aspects.

 1148 Night Walker Emblem

    It had been more than two hours by the time they returned to Fahrad''s Garden. Fahrad was still just as beautiful, but her expression¡­ not so much.


    "I can''t believe I misjudged you two. You''ve finally returned!"


    She gave an entire hour to two level 55 players to complete the quest. If they did so honestly, there was no way it would take more than 2 hours.


    "Grand master, please allow me to explain. Even my teacher, Garona, would not deem me guilty before she understands my actions. I have a reason to return at this time, and I believe that you''ll understand after you listen," Lu Li said with a serious face.


    "Alright, you''ve persuaded me."


    Perhaps it was Lu Li''s words, or perhaps it was Garona''s name, but regardless, Fahrad''s calmed down a little.


    Although they were both grand-master-tier Thieves, Fahrad was still below Garona, both in terms of their prowess and fame. Even amongst their ranks within the Assassin''s League, Fahrad was only ranked just high enough to know about Garona''s existence.


    "We''ve listened to your teachings of Theft and Stealth, and we feel that we have gained a lot from it. Although it was slightly different to what my teacher has taught me, I still thought that it was reasonable theory," Lu Li explained with a straight face.


    Then, he described the problems that he had run into during the process of his experiments, and began to ask Fahrad for help.


    Fahrad was only upset about Lu Li being late, but this was enough to cause the quest to fail entirely. As such the rage left as quickly as it had came. The fact that Garona''s student found her theories useful seemed to have pleased her, so she began to teach them her techniques with patience.


    If this was any regular Thief, she most likely would have ignored them.


    Such teachings were very useful. Lu Li wasn''t just entirely making things up out of thin air. During the listening process, both his and Water Fairy''s profession levels increased rapidly.


    After a while, Fahrad finally returned back to the topic of the quest itself.


    "Now, pass me your boxes."


    The first fifty boxes that had been opened and checked successfully passed as quest items. The quest rewarded them with some copper. Ravenholdt Manor had been trading their assassin service for years and had gained unmeasurable wealth from it, but they were still stingy with their money.


    Fortunately, Ravenholdt was generous with their Reputation rewards.


    Although their Reputation reward had been deducted because they handed in the quest late, the reputation they gained from this quest was still much better than the completion of a few quests. Not to mention, the Ravenholdt Manor quests were not easy to initiate or complete, even for someone at Lu Li''s skill level.


    "Thank you for your generosity, but I think these Heavy Bin Boxes won''t be enough to accomplish much," Lu Li said as he passed up 20 gold coins, then continued, "I''ll gladly offer what I can for your research. The same goes for my friend..."


    It costed 20 gold coins to refresh the quest, which was no small amount.


    Although the rates of the gold coins were still unstable at this time, 20 gold coins was worth at least a thousand dollars in real life.


    Fahrad agreed to Lu Li''s request reluctantly and asked them to hand in 20 Heavy Bin Boxes within an hour.


    It was a pleasant surprise for Lu Li. Fahrad looked so angry before that he was expecting another 50 boxes. It wouldn''t be impossible, but it wouldn''t be an easy task either.


    Regardless of the number of boxes, the reputation they received was set.


    The lucky ones might only need 20 boxes, and apparently, some had even obtained a quest for 10. The unlucky ones would just have to keep doing 50 boxes each time.


    They only had around a hundred spaces in their bags, so they can''t carry many Heavy Bin Boxes. Not to mention, it was incredibly tiresome to constantly run back and forth.


    Because they had saved up the Heavy Bin Boxes that had been opened from before, they could easily hand in 20 checked boxes on time. Lu Li and Water Fairy happily kept the goods in the boxes while they exchanged the junk for Reputation.


    Water Fairy opened up another box but was suddenly attracted by the item.


    What is this?"


    "What''s it called?" Lu Li asked in return.


    "Night Walker Emblem¡­ it doesn''t seem like an equipment though," Water Fairy said, reading out the name of the item.


    "Night Walker Emblem!"


    All sorts of items could be opened from the Heavy Bin Boxes; Lu Li couldn''t possibly know all of them either. However, he was definitely familiar with the Night Walker Emblem. This was the most popular item for Thieves that stole.


    Water Fairy took it out of the box. The Night Walker Emblem was in the shape of a silver-white gem. As a special item, it had its own Attributes.


    Use: Increase % Theft success rate by 20%. Also increases movement speed by 20% while in Stealth. Lasts for 3 hours.


    There was a certain chance of success for Theft, which was determined by the techniques and level of the user.


    Almost all Thieves had their own understanding of the technique, and Fahrad had also taught them previously. In terms of level, the greater the level gap between the user and the monster, the higher the success rate. However, once the level gap grew large enough, all that the monsters would drop would be rubbish. Stealing from a higher-levelled unit meant that the success rate decreased dramatically, and once the level gap grew high enough, Theft became almost impossible.


    The failure rate for Theft wasn''t too low for Water Fairy and Lu Li, considering that they were stealing from monsters at their level.


    With the emblem, it would greatly increase the rate of success.


    "Take it," Water Fairy said as she passed the Night Walker Emblem to Lu Li and smiled. "You''re seriously so unlucky with the boxes. Perhaps this might help."


    Was this some sort of sympathy? Lu Li laughed bitterly as he tossed the item into his bag.


    It was true that he was slower than Water Fairy at obtaining the Heavy Bin Boxes. With this emblem, he would be able to steal from a few more monsters, and their progress wouldn''t be as limited.


    For the whole day, they spent their time stealing and killing monsters. They enjoyed each other''s company and didn''t really feel the time slipping away. Sometimes, they would be lucky enough to obtain a Syndicate Emblem, which could also be used to exchange for some Ravenholdt Manor reputations.


    By night, the two of them had finally reached their goal.


    Once they found the relevant NPC, they would be able to purchase the recipe needed to upgrade their Shard of the Defiler.

 1149 The Grand Master

    "Upgrades for the Shard of the Defiler?" Fahrad was confused.


    "That''s correct, I was hoping you could teach us and give us some tips as to how to acquire the upgrades for my weapon," Lu Li said, repeating his request. If Fahrad did not know, then he planned on asking his master whom he hadn''t visited in a while.


    Shard of the Defiler was a special weapon from Ravenholdt Manor. Its upgrade would likely be a lot stronger than what Lu Li has right now.


    "If this was what you were referring to, I actually have one here," Fahrad said, revealing a variety of items from Ravenholdt Manor that could be purchased with enough Reputation.


    Besides the upgrade scrolls, the famous Thistle Tea was also available to purchase.


    Thistle Tea was a Thief specific item that restored energy when consumed. Similar to potions for Mage classes, many Thieves would increase their reputation with Ravenholdt in order to get their hands on Thistle Tea.


    Once the recipe was learnt, they would be able to craft them.


    The materials included Swifthistle, Wild Flowers and Refreshing Spring Water. Wild Flowers were very common, while Refreshing Spring Water could be bought from the supply shop. Swiftwhistle was rather expensive, but the profit margin was high. Since there were so many Thieves in the game, this was a great opportunity to make some spare cash.


    The profit margin was not enough for Lu Li to spend his time on this, but he did not mind learning the recipe.


    Besides this, there was a set of Thief armor which could be crafted into Golden grade armor. Although Lu Li and Water Fairy had much better gear, this set would be serviceable for a causal player in both PVE and PVP.


    Unfortunately, players needed a certain amount of popularity with Ravenholdt to be able to equip the gear. Otherwise, he would have purchased the set and given it to a Thief in his guild.


    Of course, the most important item was the Upgrade Scroll for the Shard of the Defiler.


    As expected, The Grandmaster offered the items for ridiculous prices. Thistle Tea recipe was 50 gold, while Upgrade Scrolls were 200 gold each. Though these items could be on sale elsewhere for a cheaper price, Lu Li and Water Fairy couldn''t be bothered searching for them anymore.


    Lu Li had most of the materials required to upgrade. The materials that he didn''t have should be in the guild storage. Lu Li decided to upgrade his weapon as soon as he bought the scrolls.


    Upgrading Items was different from Enhancing them. Upgrading cannot be done on blacksmithing tables that could be found on the streets of the main cities. He needed to head over to Ironforge in order to do this.


    Ironforge was like a paradise for players who were looking to become stronger. All of the best blacksmiths from different races gathered in this city, including Buliwyf Stonehand, who hid in the corners of the city, quietly perfecting his craft and researching new and unrivalled techniques.


    Unfortunately, Buliwyf Stonehand had yet to make a name for himself.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy opened the rusty gates and heard Buliwyf murmuring to himself, "Why did it shatter? I did it perfectly this time; there was no reason for it to fail¡­"


    "Are you sure we can trust this guy?" Water Fairy asked as she pulled Lu Li back, doubtful of the NPC.


    It was obvious that the Bearded Dwarf had failed many times before this. There were pieces of scrap metal everywhere and the shop looked very rundown.


    "Aiya, don''t leave yet. Do you have any useless weapons that I can forge for you?" Buliwyf Stonehand asked as his eyes lit up.


    The Grandmaster immediately noticed the weapon that Lu Li and Water Fairy were carrying. Though the weapons were quite low-levelled, it was obvious that they were of exquisite quality.


    Water Fairy held onto her Dagger and stared at him, unwilling to cooperate.


    "Don''t be tricked by my rundown shop, I''m actually very good at what I do," Buliwyf Stonehand said awkwardly as he rubbed his bald head. It was quite sad to see a Grandmaster in such a terrible state.


    "We currently don''t have plans of upgrading our weapons," Lu Li explained, ignoring the disappointed look on Buliwyf''s face as he continued, "I wanted to borrow your work station and buy some materials from you."


    "Oh? Are you a blacksmith as well?" Buliwyf Stonehand''s eyes lit up again.


    "I''m just a beginner and I''m nothing before the Grandmaster."


    Lu Li was being humble. Amongst the player base, Lu Li had the highest blacksmithing level in the game, but he did not want to appear boastful in front of Buliwyf.


    Buliwyf had the work station and some materials that were needed, so Lu Li was keen to get on his good side.


    Once you reached a certain level in Blacksmithing, you would be forced to specialized in weapon crafting or armor crafting.


    Grandmaster Buliwyf Stonehand was an important NPC involved in upgrading blacksmithing, so Lu Li knew it was important to not underestimate him for his lack of progress in his research. Buliwyf had already mastered his craft, so he decided to research into the science behind crafting weapons in order to fulfil his thirst for knowledge.


    "What do you need my workstation for?" Buliwyf Stonehand asked as he threw the scraps on his work station onto the floor and quickly cleaned up.


    "I want to upgrade this dagger with my upgrade scroll. What are your opinions on this?"


    Lu Li took out the scrolls and his dagger and handed them over to Buliwyf. Even with his overpowered blacksmithing hammer, Buliwyf was still on a completely different level compared to Lu Li.


    "Upgrading weapons¡­" Buliwyf immediately lost interested, then paused and asked, "So you don''t want me to enhance it?"


    "No, it''s okay. I need some Disintegration Liquid and some Kodor Bones¡­"


    Lu Li declined his offer politely because he knew that the chances of him successfully enhancing his weapon were miniscule.


    His dagger would join the scraps of metal on the ground if he handed it over to him.


    Disintegration Liquid was two for 6 gold and a bag of Kodor bones was 8 gold. Buliwyf decided to give up on asking him and decided to take his money. In order to get back at Lu Li, he sold the items at double the usual rates.


    Lu Li took out the gold from his pockets and unwillingly made the transaction.


    Some players would purchase trash weapons from the markets to please Buliwyf, but he could immediately tell the quality of the weapons and would become furious.

 1150 Upgrading Weapon

    Buliwyf Stonehand kept looking over Lu Li''s shoulder as he worked on his weapon at his work station.


    He hated to admit it, but the adventurer was doing a good job. He wasn''t making any silly mistakes like beginners usually would. He even took out a blacksmithing hammer that caught Buliwyf''s eye. A player wielding such a high-quality hammer would be a decent blacksmith for sure.


    "You''re not using the Disintegration Liquid correctly because you''re using it on a light weapon, which means you should dilute by half first," Buliwyf Stonehand said, finally finding a mistake that Lu Li had made.


    "Like this?" Lu Li was confused.


    He trusted in Buliwyf Stonehand because he knew that he had no intention of tricking him.


    Lu Li carefully diluted the Disintegration Liquid and soaked his dagger in there. The goal here was to remove the outer protective layers on the dagger so that the materials could be incorporated into it.


    Upgrading a dagger was much more complicated and difficult than crafting one.


    Fortunately, Buliwyf Stonehand the weapon Grandmaster was here to guide Lu Li and correct his mistakes. After he finished upgrading the dagger, he realized how ridiculous it was for him to attempt it when he had never done something like this before.


    System: You have succeeded in upgrading Shard of the Defiler to +3.


    Shard of the Defiler was a Dark Gold weapon and though it was quite overpowered when he first got it, the rest of his gear eventually caught up and surpassed it.


    Shard of the Defiler (Dark Gold): Damage 42-56. Agility+20, Strength+12. Slot 1. Special Effect 1: Attack Speed+30%. Special Effect 2: Deep Contamination. Upon activation, reduces 25% of target''s armor and movement speed. Cooldown 360 seconds. Special Effect 3: Fatal Blow. When the target health drops below 20%, there is a certain chance to execute the target. Level Requirement 40, Durability 120/120.


    With the upgrade, his weapon had transformed into a Legendary Weapon


    Shard of the Defiler (Legendary): Damage 82-96. Agility +80, Strength +60, Attack Speed +45%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Deep Contamination. Upon activation, reduces 30% of target''s armor and movement speed, cooldown 120 seconds. Special Effects 2: Fatal Blow: when the target health drops below 20%, there''s a certain chance to execute the target. Special Effects 3: Echo of Archimonde: Activate to transform into a demon, allowing the user to cast demonic skills. Lasts for 30 seconds, useable once per day. Level Requirement 60, Durability 240/240.


    Though the damage and stats may not be as good as his other weapon, the upgrade had caused it to vastly improve. The damage was also very consistent as the minimum damage is only 14 points less than the maximum. This was very rare for weapons that are above level 30.


    If the damage was consistent, then Lu Li can be more confident in his attack.


    Lu Li was most pleased with the attack speed increase, which had gone from 30% to 45%.


    The dagger kept the first two special effects and added a new active ¨C Echo of Archimonde.


    Lu Li had never heard of this skill before.


    Archimonde the Defiler was the second commander of the Burning Legion and considered one of Sargeras'' right hand men. If the special effect was named after Archimonde, then it was definitely going to be overpowered.


    Lu Li did not go and try out his new weapon, but instead decided to upgrade Water Fairy''s weapon as well in one go.


    Buliwyf Stonehand was even more impressed with Lu Li the second time around. He hadn''t seen such a calm and talented young man. Not only did he successfully upgraded the weapon, but the mistakes that he made from the previous upgrade were all corrected.


    He only corrected Lu Li once!


    Despite it being the same weapon, same upgrade scroll, same materials and same blacksmith, Water Fairy''s Shard of the Defiler was a tad better than Lu Li''s, but the difference was minimal.


    Water Fairy was pleased with the stats of her new weapon. Since Lu Li was the one that upgraded it, his name was engraved onto it, but Water Fairy couldn''t care less.


    "Hey kid, is this really your first time upgrading a weapon?" Buliwyf Stonehand asked.


    "Yeah, I thought the upgrade was 100% chance success with the upgrade scroll?"


    Lu Li had never upgraded anything in his past life and never thought that there was a chance of failing the upgrade.


    "Stupid!" Buliwyf Stonehand roared as he pointed towards the metal scrap on the floor. "If there wasn''t a fail rate, then tell me what are these things on the floor?"


    "I''m sorry Grandmaster. Forgive my ignorance," Lu Li quickly apologised.


    Lu Li thought that the dramatic bearded Dwarf was very cute and he had also gave him a lot of pointers while he was upgrading.


    Buliwyf was pleased with Lu Li''s attitude, and stroked his beard, saying, "Upgrading Weapons is one of the easier crafts in blacksmithing. The nature of each material in how they are ordered as well as the structure of each material determines the outcome of the weapon. Why?"


    "No idea," Lu Li answered truthfully.


    "Why are you so stupid? Answer this, how come the same material can be used to craft a big longsword, yet it can also be used to craft a small dagger?" Buliwyf was frustrated.


    "Because of the recipes," Lu Li said without hesitation.


    "No, forget that. Forget all of that. If you only think about the recipes, then your mind is limited by those recipes. You must forget about all that nonsense and really think about the nature of each and every piece of material.


    "Maybe you should go first, I''ll stay and listen to this guy''s crazy theory," Lu Li private messaged Water Fairy and looked at her. Since Water Fairy wasn''t a blacksmith, it would be a waste of time for her to listen to this crazy old guy.


    "Don''t worry, he seems to know what he''s talking about. Maybe this is a good chance for you to learn something."

 1151 See You Tomorrow

    @@


    Buliwyf Stonehand''s mouth was beginning to dry up, so he thirstily drank the water from the pond. Lu Li was stunned. Was he not afraid of being poisoned? The Titans had to be praised for such creations.


    "It''s already quite late. Do you want to rest? I''ll come in tomorrow again," Lu Li said, trying to stop him.


    The time allocated for gaming was already nearly over, and Lu Li needed to prepare for the fight tomorrow against Peerless City in Jiangnan.


    "Oh, it''s already late? You''re right. You adventurers are so privileged now, being able to go back to the inn and sleep. Back then¡­"


    "Then we''ll take our leave."


    If Stonehand was talking about Forging, then Lu Li could stay for longer, but he wasn''t, so Lu Li wanted to leave as soon as possible.


    "Wait, are you coming again tomorrow?" Buliwyf Stonehand asked.


    "Hm¡­"


    Lu Li said that he would, but that was out of politeness. He already had a lot to do tomorrow, so he did not know@@

 1152 No Luck

    @@


    "We''ve only practiced Water Park twice, so I don''t see how we would be advantaged by choosing it," Fat Monkey reasoned with a serious look on his face. He hated this map since he hated water in game and in real life.


    "Dark Room isn''t too bad. I think it''s a viable option. It''s not like we haven''t fought in it," Kitty Likes Meat suggested.


    The Dark Room was where she had gained recognition as a professional player. Back when they fought Stellar Union, Ruling Sword was in a bad situation. However, after Kitty Likes Meat successfully outplayed them, they swiftly claimed victory. This match led to her being named as the Best Rookie of the season. Some people thought that she wasn''t a rookie at all.


    The next few maps were cast aside and ignored. Even Lu Li was a little torn between the choices. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    Ruling Sword had only started proper training after Cat Dad joined.


    They spent all of their resources on buying Training Systems where they could virtually @@

 1153 Consumption

    @@


    "Hey, Great Guru, how many chances do you think I have?" Half a Smoke asked as he walked up to greet them.


    "Probably none," Lu Li answered. He couldn''t just pretend he didn''t hear it even though he wanted to end the battle quickly.


    "Great Guru, surely you''re being too confident. I have killed Blood Dagger before; this fight will be different."


    Half a Smoke was obviously not convinced; he felt like he was being looked down upon. Recently, playing against Thieves in the arena had been easy for him. In the minds of most players, Blood Dagger was someone who was comparable to Lu Li.


    "I think Blood Dagger should thank you," Lu Li dismissed him.


    "Why?" Half a Smoke asked.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "Because you were his practice dummy. If you fought him again, you probably would have no chance of beating him."


    Lu Li was sympathetic towards Blood Dagger. It was quite possible that Blood Dagger had gone to the arena after the System Update to adapt to the nerfed Ste@@

 1154 Losing a Fight to Win the War

    Lu Li was different from Half a Smoke. While he was consuming Deadly Gold Underpant''s skills and special effects, he hadn''t given up on defeating his opponent. The two players had different ways of doing things, but if Lu Li could tell the audience that he still intended to win, they would think he had gone mad.


    However, even he himself knew that the possibility of that happening was close to zero.


    Blocking was one of the most fundamental means by which a Thief was able to deal with physical attacks. A Thief that couldn''t block a Warrior''s attacks had no hope of winning. Or, from the other perspective, a Warrior that could break a Thief''s defense could be called a Thief killer.


    Lu Li was a blocking master. His blocking technique had been analyzed by his peers and studied from like a textbook.


    The Thief''s attack speed was also generally quite fast, especially with an off-hand weapon. In the dance of blades, not only could Lu Li block Deadly Gold Underpant''s skills, but he was also able to land several attacks.


    Deadly Gold Underpant''s mood was progressively becoming worse. He thought that he was just supposed to finish off Lu Li.


    Fortunately, he was a Plate Armored profession with high HP and blocking attacks didn''t completely negate, but rather, reduced damage. Overall, Deadly Gold Underpants still had Lu Li on the back foot.


    There was nothing much to explain in such a game that the audience didn''t already understand.


    Jiufeng lowered his voice as he gossiped, "I heard that Peerless City has gone to Jiangnan City this time, and Water Fairy was one of the players who traveled with them. It seems like Water Fairy lived up to her reputation and she is perhaps even more beautiful in real life."


    "Ahem, Drizzle Court and Peerless City are allies so it is a normal thing for her to help the team," Four Seas Dragon coughed a few times, not knowing what else to say.


    Did all women like to gossip like this? She should have at least considered the person and occasion that she was in. Water Fairy seemed harmless, but there were very few players in the entire professional circle that were willing to offend her.


    She wouldn''t be offending just anyone either. She would be offending a woman, and a beautiful woman at that. No matter what the outcome was, she was already doomed to lose.


    "In fact, it is a bit difficult because both sides here are allies," Jiufeng said, refusing to believed that the circumstances between Lu Li and Water Fairy were completely innocent.


    She and Four Seas Dragon had also discussed this issue privately. Four Seas Dragon thought that Water Fairy wanted to take back some glory from Ruling Sword, which was why she was getting close to Lu Li. However, Jiu Feng had always felt, based on her woman''s intuition, that there was something going on between the two.


    The audience obviously enjoyed Jiufeng''s gossip, no matter how enthusiastic they were for the game.


    As for Lu Li and Deadly Gold Underpants, the two players chopping at each other didn''t make for an exciting fight. Time seemed to drag on for a while and Deadly Gold Underpants was using a number of techniques to apply pressure on Lu Li because he thought the situation was going unfavorably. Even after going for some time, it was hard to say who had gained the advantage they were looking for.


    Lu Li finally fell and Deadly Gold Underpants was left on stage with less than 70% HP.


    His next opponent was Kitty Likes Meat, a highly qualified newcomer who was not to be trifled with. Deadly Gold Underpants made a face, as he had to admit that Lu Li had definitely influenced this next fight.


    He had used up too many of his crowd control and movement speed buffs.


    However, there was nothing he could do to change that now. He cursed under his breath, steeled himself and charged right into Kitty Likes Meat.


    Kitty Likes Meat immediately cast a number of debuffs onto him, including a Slow, Armour Pierce, Bleed and Charm¡­


    "Although Half a Smoke forced Lu Li to use up many of his skills, Lu Li managed to do the same for Deadly Gold Underpants. However, the result of these two attempts seem to have different effects."


    The audience members were watching excitedly while Jiufeng made these observations.


    "That''s right, Ruling Sword''s choice of player was perfect here. Lu Li, who had no skills and effects left, was bound to die relatively quickly. However, this would not be the case for Deadly Gold Underpants if he used his area of effect defense buff. Obviously, such an important skill would have a long cooldown period, so he would want to save it for the team round later. Even with those skills, the only profession that could kill him is a Warlock," Four Seas Dragon sighed deeply.


    Kitty Likes Meat defeated Deadly Gold Underpants and only lost a little more than 10% HP.


    On a surface level, she had taken a decisive victory, which could be seen as a devastating blow against a famous Warrior like Deadly Gold Underpants. There was some fear that some of the media reports would report this incident in this way.


    However, the players in the clubs knew what had happened on a deeper level.


    The order of sending out your players was very important, but this was often underestimated. In the future, everyone would try to predict the order that their opponents would send their players and develop their order accordingly in an attempt to achieve a similar effect.


    Kitty Likes Meat normally wasn''t capable of defeating Deadly Gold Underpants, but the foundation of her victory was laid down by Lu Li.


    In the next fight, Ruling Sword had the upper hand again. Kitty Likes Meat was up against Vegetarian Mosquito, but he was left on a remnant of HP after defeating her. Vegetarian Mosquito was then quickly finished off by the next player, Moonlight.


    Now, it was Immortal against Moonlight. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but this was the second fight between a Warrior and a Warlock.


    Deadly Gold Underpants had lost as a Warrior, but now that Moonlight was fighting, the Warrior players were relieved. Moonlight was going to show that Warriors could fight Warlocks, and it seemed like his hits on Immortal were quite effective.


    Immortal was constantly draining Moonlight''s HP, but Moonlight could not be outdone. He had many crowd control and movement speed buffs. Immortal also didn''t have the same skills that allowed him to kite like Kitty Likes Meat.


    As a result, Moonlight eventually won and demonstrated the gap of strength between them.


    Moonlight was now facing Green Flag Wine, which was one of the less exciting fights on this series. One had high attack, while the other had low attack but would heal themselves. Both of them had Plate Armor but the nature of such a drawn-out fight was that both would be significantly hurt even after a victor emerged.


    Green Flag Wine fared a little better, but he didn''t have much HP left either.


    Ruling Sword then sent Mu Qiu. This was the first time he had appeared in the individual rounds. His attack wasn''t high and he could heal himself, but Green Flag Wine had too little mana and HP left so he was eliminated.


    The end result of the individual rounds competition was five points to Ruling Sword and three points to Peerless City.


    The players in Peerless City had pulled out all the stops for this fight. If they couldn''t acquire at least three points, then all their growth before Ruling Sword existed would have been in vain.

 1155 Lu Li The Substitute

    After the end of the match, the audience roared with excitement.


    Although everyone enjoyed watching the star players fighting each other, it was still more exciting to watch the group matches with all the members participating and where these skill-consuming tactics couldn''t work.


    "Ruling Sword is sending five players out¡­ oh, Lu Li isn''t going to participate?" Jiufeng noticed, then yelled, "Where is Lu Li? Wait! He is sitting in the waiting area¡­heavens¡­"


    When she was counting through the number of players from Ruling Sword, she finally realized that Lu Li wasn''t participating.


    Moonlight, Fat Monkey, March Rain, Kitty Likes Meat and Sakura Memories were the five players on Ruling Sword''s side. Mu Qiu and Lu Li were not present. Lu Li was on the waiting list while Mu Qiu had exited the competition after competing in the individual rounds.


    "I guess it makes sense," Four Seas Dragon sighed.


    "Don''t keep us guessing; why isn''t Lu Li starting?" Jiufeng didn''t really understand, but she was perfect as a commentator as she laid out what the audiences'' questions were as well.


    "The start of the group round is when the fighting is at its fiercest as each side is at its strongest. Under those conditions, a Thief cannot play a very large role. He would be less effective than even Sakura Memories, so Lu Li has relegated himself to be a substitute," Four Seas Dragon explained.


    "Is there any other reason?" Jiufeng''s eyes widened.


    "If my guess is correct, this fight won''t be a drawn-out one. In such a close fight, there will be a sudden turn which will lead to a great number of casualties," Four Seas Dragon said confidently. "At that time, Lu Li will come in to start taking down his opponents."


    As they were talking, the match had already begun.


    The distance between the two teams was quite close, so they only needed to take a few steps before they could start casting their skills. Sakura Memories cast Bloodlust and rushed straight into their opponent''s formation.


    "Don''t worry about her; keep attacking our target."


    The Peerless City players were about to attack when they saw the Shaman move out of formation. However, when they heard Green Flag Wine''s order to ignore her, they all obeyed him.


    "Good. It seems like a veteran''s wisdom has come in handy here," Four Seas Dragon applauded the call.


    "Was Sakura Memories deliberately sent in to distract their attacks?" Jiufeng asked.


    "Yes, it was quite a clever move. Not only would it disrupt the attacking rhythm of Peerless City, but it would also allow Lu Li to come in when she died," Four Seas Dragon explained. He was obviously capable of seeing through such a tactic, but rubbed his chin and sighed, "Unfortunately, Ruling Sword was trying to use this strategy against the wise old Green Flag Wine, and so it failed."


    "I guess the older you get, the more cunning you become too," Jiufeng grinned as her words were clearly referring to the person next to her.


    "Ahem, this is just a basic tactic. You can hardly call it being cunning."


    Four Seas Dragon obviously liked this calculated style, so he appreciated the moves that a veteran like Green Flag Wine was making.


    Green Flag Wine, Unforgettable Maple and the other veterans had been in the professional gaming circle for about 10 years. Most players from that generation had already retired.


    Sakura Memories was ignored, so she had no choice but to try to attack her opponents'' healer.


    As such, Falling Smile and March Rain had become the objects of attack. Falling Smile struggled to defend himself, but the rest of the team was always ready to step in and help. March Rain was not protected at the core of the Ruling Sword team, but her exquisite equipment gave her considerable attack.


    The Shaman''s weakness in the arena wasn''t that their attack or healing was low, but that they had poor survivability.


    Although March Rain was more durable, she was still having a difficult time. She had never experienced such a strong threat before.


    Without hesitation, she passed the dagger from her left hand to her right hand, which sent a ripple of waves outwards from her.


    Everyone around her was sent flying and they were even stunned after landing.


    The Book of the Dead (Epic): All Attributes +20, Intelligence +10%, 2 Slots, Special Effect 1: Brilliance Aura, this aura can speed up the mana regeneration of the user and surrounding allies. Special effect 2: Earthquake, all enemies within 8 yards are knocked up and will be stunned for 3 seconds. 10 minute cooldown. Special effect 3: Summon Toothgnasher''s Skeleton to fight for you. Lasts for 5 minutes, 1 hour cooldown. Equipment requirement: Level 50. Exclusive to Priests. Durability 280/280.


    This was one of the trump cards that she had been holding, and she did not hesitate to use it in this critical moment.


    The players that were stunned tried to lift their crowd-control and restart their focus fire on March Rain. However, they had lost their chance ¨C Ruling Sword was going to get rid of their Healer very soon.


    "Dammit!" Deadly Gold Underpants yelled out as he used an area of effect crowd control skill to stall. He couldn''t let his own healer die first.


    "Watch my consecutive Fireballs."


    Half a Smoke had been stunned for a long time, but he was now able to cast an ultimate attack to deal significant damage to March Rain.


    The two sides exchanged area of effect attacks, which resulted in Falling Smile and March Rain dying one after the other. Fat Monkey, Full-time Assistant and Half a Smoke were also killed in the crossfire. Overall, Peerless City had taken a bigger loss since their Shaman died first. March Rain only survived for a little longer before dying after two more attacks.


    At this time, both sides didn''t have a healer and the substitute players could now enter.


    "Withdraw!" Green Flag Wine shouted. Deadly Gold Underpants obediently turned around and was dragging his axe on the ground.


    If they didn''t withdraw, their disadvantage would become even greater. If they continued fighting Moonlight and Kitty Likes Meat, Deadly Gold Underpants would probably die too which would make the situation worse once Lu Li arrived.


    Just because they had lost their healer didn''t mean that they had no more ways of regenerating HP. Green Flag Wine had a few healing abilities so they could prolong the fight.


    "Don''t chase them! Come back!" Moonlight shouted at Sakura Memories. There was no need to chase them. After all, if you caught up to them at their base, you would run into their substitute Hunter Vegetarian Mosquito. He had quite a high damage output, and could easily kill Kitty Likes Meat under the right circumstances.


    After leaving the fight, both sides ate some bread and regenerated their HP. They both basically had to start fighting again from the beginning.


    However, Peerless City was now down to three players ¨C Green Flag Wine, Deadly Gold Underpants and Vegetarian Mosquito. On the other hand, Ruling Sword still had four players ¨C Lu Li, Moonlight, Kitty Likes Meat and Sakura Memories.

 1156 Post-Match Party

    The disadvantage from their difference in numbers soon manifested itself. Although Green Flag Wine was able to heal some HP, the fans of Peerless City were obviously feeling down.


    Even their fans knew that Peerless City was going to lose again. These professional players obviously wouldn''t lie to themselves, but Green Flag Wine, Deadly Gold Underpants and Vegetarian Mosquito didn''t seem to care and did not intend to admit defeat.


    So what was the strategy in a four on three?


    Fight however you liked!


    It was so simple that Lu Li broke away from his team and pressed forwards. Now that there were fewer players in the fight, a Thief''s advantage began to grow.


    Vegetarian Mosquito quickly threw out a Flare to prevent Lu Li from appearing behind him.


    Peerless City had a Chain Mail Armor player and two Plate Armor players, but among these, everyone knew that the Hunter would be targeted first.


    Vegetarian Mosquito was about to cry. He had just gotten onto the field; why couldn''t they let him catch his breath?


    Obviously, the four Ruling Sword players wouldn''t do that. Without a single word, all four of them targeted him. To make matters worse, Lu Li was part of the four, and he had an arsenal of crowd control Skills.


    Green Flag Wine was trying to take on the responsibility of a healer, but his healing was insufficient. Even if no one was trying to interrupt him, he couldn''t keep Vegetarian Mosquito alive.


    At this time, the team rounds were quickly coming to an end and Peerless City was almost defeated. Ruling Sword had six points and Peerless City had two points.


    In addition to the points from the current match, the total score between Ruling Sword and Peerless City had reached 22:12. There was a distinct gap between the two sides.


    Unless Peerless City could win all five of the individual rounds and the team round without losing a single member¡­


    "Peerless City is defeated!"


    Jiu Feng couldn''t help but feel sympathetic. The guild that she was a part of had been defeated.


    Those who were in the professional circle could no longer dream of taking the championship.


    "There is still one more game, so they can keep on playing, "Four Seas Dragon said emotionally. "The next game might be insignificant for Ruling Sword, but it will be Peerless City''s last game for the season."


    "What do you think the result of the next game will be?" Jiu Feng asked.


    Before Four Seas Dragon spoke, she would have thought that Ruling Sword would win. After all, Ruling Sword had won twice and Peerless City had lost completely. If they wanted to, they could apply to the league for the third game to be cancelled.


    However, as Four Seas Dragon said, the next game was Peerless City''s final match of the season.


    There was a story about a hound that drove a rabbit out of its nest and kept chasing it, but it couldn''t catch it for a long time. The hunter saw this scene and said to the hound with a smirk, "That rabbit is so small and you should be able to run faster," but the hound replied, "But don''t you know that we are running for completely different reasons? I am running for a meal, but it is running for its life."


    For one team, the amount of effort that they put in didn''t matter when they were going to win no matter what. For the other, they were already destined to lose, so perhaps this was the time to give it their all.


    As such, the result of the third game was actually quite uncertain.


    Ruling Sword was still the host and ally of Peerless City, so they had to entertain their guests after the match. Having a meal together was the most appropriate activity to celebrate this.


    Ruling Sword had about 10-20 high level players while Peerless City had 30-40 players. They had to be divided into the tables where they would sit. Chinese people paid attention to this, and it was easy to offend someone if done incorrectly.


    Ruling Sword had booked out a medium-sized restaurant that served a Chinese buffet with many options. There were also drinks available and the atmosphere was quite lively.


    Most of them were professional players, and there were some guild executives. The guild executives sat in a corner to exchange their views on the current professional circle, while players were much freer to go around chatting with old friends.


    The professional circle was actually not that small, but many of them were already familiar with each other.


    Peerless City''s Warlock Immortal was quite innocent, but this added to her appeal as many otakus thought she was cute.


    The only girl that had no one around her was March Rain. Her brother Lonesome Flower was very diligent in standing next to her and giving death stares to anyone who dared to talk to her. This was enough to scare away the Peerless City players.


    Lonesome Flower was actually the person who had overtaken Lu Li on the Level Rankings. After all, he didn''t compete in the professional matches, and had all the time in the world to go levelling.


    As he was ranked number one, he had an equal right to be there even though he wasn''t a professional player.


    Kitty Likes Meat was eating the entire time, and would keep up with all the food that was being served. Whenever sometime greeted her, she would respond with her mouth full.


    As for Sakura Memories, faces of those who ran over to talk to her would quickly turn green.


    Falling Smile came over to say hello politely, originally wanted to talk about the Shaman Profession. After all, there were not more than ten Shaman players in the entire professional circle. However, after greeting her, Sakura Memories brought up the topic of Deadly Gold Underpants and Green Flag Wine being in a relationship. Was that true? Who knew¡­?


    Peer Falling Smile took a half step back in shock. He didn''t know her well and had no idea that she was such a mischievous woman.


    Of course, Water fairy had appeared together with Peerless City in Jiangnan City and naturally couldn''t move about without being surrounded.


    Most players didn''t ignore her, but they were still limited to saying hello.


    After all, Water Fairy''s reputation of being cold had no come out of thin air. She wasn''t very enthusiastic when she greeted people and would respond almost emotionlessly. Her expression wasn''t completely cold, but most people felt like she wasn''t really smiling.


    Moreover, she had a status that most players didn''t dare to violate. It was probably temperament of the kind of person that would be able to lead the guild.


    However, after Lu Li came in, she suddenly became more lively.


    "Sorry, something came up and I''m late," Lu Li apologized to everyone.


    "Did something happen?" Square Root 3 asked softly as he greeted him.


    "It should be okay; I contacted her family," Lu Li replied. After the game, he had learned that White Bread, the Logistics Manager, had fainted in the game. As such, he quickly logged out and called her family to confirm her situation.


    "It might have been too hard for her recently; I will help her more," Square Root 3 said. "There are people there waiting for you. Go and say hi."

 1157 Low Emotional Intelligence

    After all, the game was still a game. No matter how realistic the visuals were, there was still a voice that reminded you that it was virtual. This was just human instinct that was rooted deep in their subconscious ¨C otherwise, the players would likely start becoming schizophrenic.


    Although you could wear some fashionable clothing in the game, you weren''t able to achieve the same effect as you could in real life.


    Water Fairy was wearing a short white coat with fluffy white fur at the collar, as well as white trousers and a pair of white boots on her feet. She was completely white from head to toe.


    Her fashion in the game was almost mostly white; it seemed that this was her favorite color. Meanwhile, Lu Li''s clothing was closer to the rest of the people inside, who were wearing darker colors.


    "I thought you weren''t coming," Water Fairy said stood up from the sofa in the restaurant. Lu Li greeted her flatly but didn''t explain the reason for his late arrival.


    In the eyes of the others, the leader of Ruling Sword was interacting with the leader of Peerless City. It was indeed a very business-like procedure.


    Only the more sensitive people were able to discern that Water Fairy was giving off a slightly different air. The previous atmosphere that warned players against bothering her had completely dissipated.


    Lu Li''s expression was even more difficult to decipher, but he demonstrated his attitude by chatting with Water Fairy alone while in public.


    It was possible that there was truly something between these two now. Even Square Root 3 didn''t know if he should give his blessings or advise him to get out while he still could. Square Root 3 was getting older now and could be said to be quite well-informed. He had long since passed the age of innocence.


    Finding a suitable partner was not only about family status and materialism, but also about values and living habits.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were so far apart even in those regards. One was once a poor person struggling to find a way to survive while the other was a lady of high status that had received an elite education. If Water Fairy brought up a luxury brand, it was likely to bewilder Lu Li. If Lu Li talked about fighting someone for a few dollars, he would be met with incomprehension from Water Fairy. Lu Li tried to make a bit of money in everything he did, even if he was fighting.


    But now, they were talking about matters within the game.


    It vaguely sounded like Lu Li had made a weapon for Water Fairy which she was very satisfied with. She even ran into Wood Fearing in the arena and managed to defeat him. At that time, Water Fairy''s smiles and laughter made her no different from an ordinary girl.


    Square Root 3 suddenly decided not to bother with them. Funnily enough, he was taking care of the guild, but he was becoming more and more like an old mother. He even wanted to take care of his Boss'' emotional life.


    Perhaps that was what other people did.


    Lu Li did not expect Water Fairy to defeat Wood Fearing. If she had defeated Blood Dagger, Lu Li wouldn''t be surprised. Blood Dagger was strong in the beginning of the game, but would eventually be overtaken by Water Fairy. However, Wood Fearing was different. Lu Li had met so many Thieves, but none were like him ¨C he really was like a block of wood in terms of his tenacity.


    It could be said that Wood Fearing was Water Fairy''s nemesis.


    This defeat actually seemed like quite a heavy blow to the veteran.


    Most other people saw the professional circle as quite a glamorous thing to be a part of, especially since Dawn was so popular. However, this viewpoint neglected the sadness that most professional players had to face. After all, there could only be one player at the top spot.


    After sighing deeply, Water Fairy finally complained, "You guys really are ruthless ¨C I can''t believe this happened to Peerless City."


    Peerless City had developed beyond Water Fairy''s imagination in the recent years. Their population wasn''t worse than Drizzle Court''s guild numbers. She thought that even if Peerless City lost to Ruling Sword, it wouldn''t be by much. She didn''t expect these results. After two games, the outcome of the match had already been decided.


    "If we didn''t go all out, we might have actually lost by a little bit," Lu Li said fearfully.


    He didn''t say anything more. He didn''t talk about how during the team round, he had told March Rain to use her crowd-control skill to interrupt their opponents. There were very view healers in the entire game who had crowd-control like that.


    If March Rain didn''t use it, then she might have died earlier which would have allowed Peerless City to keep their healer. At that point, Lu Li wouldn''t be of much use.


    "I really want to meet you in the finals, so I can beat you down," Water Fairy said casually. If other players heard her say that, they would have thought she was spoiled. If Lu Li said anything to anyone else, she wouldn''t be too happy either.


    "It''s not impossible. You have a pretty good chance of getting there," Lu Li said as he smiled.


    Drizzle Court''s opponent was Seventh Heaven. They had their first battle the day before yesterday in Jinling City and had won by exploiting a weakness. The day after tomorrow, they were travelling to Lingnan for the second game. The chances of winning this second game was not great, so the pressure was on Water Fairy.


    "Hey, let''s not talk about this heavy topic. I have been to Jiangnan City a few times, but it''s always in passing. Since you live here, tell me what there is to do for fun."


    She had received an elite education from an early age. While others were still suffering to study for the college entrance examination, not only had she acquired a diploma of higher education, but she was even running the family business at home.


    Jiangnan city was famous for its tourism, but she had come here often for business and it was always rushed.


    Now that she had a falling with her father, who was trying to take things from her, the now unemployed Water Fairy had realized that she had missed out on a lot of things.


    "Actually, I don''t really know much about this city," Lu Li said calmly. "I lived in a relatively remote and backwards place for more than twenty years. People here call it the Common District that is west of the city. Recently, I have been busy playing games and never really got to visit anything."


    Square Root 3 leaned over while chatting casually with Soul Eater and listened to what the two were talking about. When he tuned in, he almost turned around to slap Lu Li. He shouldn''t have mentioned where he was born.


    It was not a glamorous thing!


    How could his emotional intelligence be so low that he didn''t know how to impress a girl by presenting the best side of himself? Water Fairy had just given him a chance to impress her, and all he needed to do was take her to a place where they could have a walk. Instead, Lu Li decided to tell her that he didn''t know the city very well.


    However, what shocked Square Root 3 even more was Water Fairy''s reaction.


    "The Common District ¡­ I don''t think I''ve seen it before. How about you take me when you''re free?"


    He had no choice but to conclude that perhaps he was just too old for this.

 1158 Touring Together

    "Sure," Lu Li promised very simply, without a hint of embarrassment that he was taking the ''ice goddess'' to the Common District.


    As the two of them left together, the rest of the room was silent. However, after a few dozen seconds, the conversations began to start up again, except at that time, everyone couldn''t help but gossip about the two that had just left.


    Although most people made fun of them, there were not many people that took the idea seriously.


    No matter how realistic Dawn felt, it was still a game, and the gaming circle was much worse than the entertainment circle. No matter how many people got together, there were countless couples splitting up. Moreover, most players generally felt like that ice goddess would never be won over by anyone.


    Water Fairy had started her career when she met the minimum age criteria for entering a virtual game.


    At first, everyone thought she was beautiful. At that point, the proportion of female players was quite low and the number of attractive female players was even lower.


    She then invested a huge sum of money into the game, somewhat revealing her background. It was inevitable that such a rich and beautiful female player would become a public figure. However, with her cold temperament, no one was able to take her on.


    When she created Drizzle Court and raised another super guild in Peerless City, she lost some popularity. Although everyone still thought of her as a goddess, her status began to decline.


    Water Fairy took the train with Lu Li, arriving at the edge of the city.


    At this time, it was raining. This was typical of Jiangnan at this time of the year and it was actually a characteristic of this town in addition to its gorgeous sunrises and blue rivers.


    However, Lu Li viewed the rain quite negatively.


    "It''s raining again. I used to hate this kind of weather because I couldn''t go out to work and make money," Lu Li said, taking the lead as they set foot on the narrow road. The rocks were a little mossy, but this was an exhilarating experience for Water Fairy.


    "I also used to hate rainy days. My mum left on a rainy day," Water Fairy sighed as she looked up and felt the cool rain fall onto her skin.


    When Lu Li heard her speak, it sounded like she didn''t hate it anymore.


    "What about now?"


    "Now I don''t hate it anymore. If I think about it, it''s like I''m with my mother when it rains." Water Fairy didn''t seem upset. The cold war with her dad had caused the stable life that she had led over the past ten years to collapse. However, with her education and the values that had been instilled in her, she knew that this was only momentary. All she had to do was to keep striving towards a goal.


    "Let''s go then. We shouldn''t stand in the rain," Lu Li said as he opened up his umbrella and walked nearer to her.


    It is said that a bomb was detonated somewhere close to this area. Not only did it level the area into a ruin, but it also polluted it for a hundred years. Even though it was later confirmed that the pollution had completely dissipated, no one wanted to live there. Those who were able to gradually moved to the other side of the city and only the poor remained, resulting in the formation of the Common District.


    "If the river was managed a little better, the scenery here would actually be quite nice," Water Fairy commented on Lu Li''s original residence.


    "There are very few people here who care about the scenery. This place is a little better; at least the laws are enforced. The life I talk about frequently was lived out here," Lu Li said, not shying away from talking about it.


    "It must have been very difficult."


    Water Fairy couldn''t imagine Lu Li''s life in this area.


    Lu Li continued as he talked about the time he had come to Jianghu when he was about seven or eight years old. Water Fairy was listening intently, particularly enthralled when Lu Li was talking about how he could beat up people that were a few years older than he was. She inadvertently stared at Lu Li''s somewhat thin body.


    Lu Li wasn''t short, but he didn''t seem strong either.


    At this time, a few other young people turned up. These people didn''t have umbrellas over their heads, but they walked with pride. Their clothes were messy and their neck and wrists were covered in tattoos. When they saw Water Fairy, their eyes widened as there were very few girls that were this pretty in the Common District.


    However, they also noticed the person standing next to the girl who was carrying an umbrella and had a familiar face.


    "Big¡­ big bro Lu¡­"


    Suddenly, all of them turned around and stared at Lu Li. It was as if Water Fairy''s charisma levels suddenly dropped past a negative number.


    "Hey."


    Lu Li wanted to say hello, but he couldn''t remember what to call these people. If he counted the time before rebirth, he had left the Common District behind well in the past. He had long since forgotten these unimpressionable faces.


    The three young men were dumbfounded. If Lu Li had pretended to not recognize them at all, they probably would have pulled out their knives right there and then.


    After all, was there anything more humiliating than someone pretending not to know you?


    However, they didn''t get angry, and the red haired one even looked apologetic. They bowed their heads and said, "Sorry, we got the wrong person. Big bro Lu, we won''t bother you. We''ll go ahead."


    They thought that Lu Li was on a date with the girl, so they pretended not to know him.


    After they finished speaking, the small group of people fled to the other side of the road.


    "They¡­" Water Fairy was really amused; she thought that those guys should become comedic actors. They had clearly said Lu Li''s name, but they still tried to pretend like they didn''t know him.


    "I might have known them in the past, but I don''t remember them anymore," Lu Li said as he sighed in his heart. To get to this point, he had given up so much. He always thought about what would have happened if he had stayed in the Common District. Would he have been able to save his sister''s life?


    Regardless, what was done was done and even if he wanted to go back now, it was too late.


    "I now believe you when you say that you can fight. I can stroll freely through this area because I know you''ll protect me from any difficult characters," Water Fairy laughed mischievously.


    "That''s fine as long as you don''t mind the dirtiness here. This is my house. I don''t know if it''s occupied by someone else right now," Lu Li said as he moved the umbrella closer towards Water Fairy so that her shoulder wouldn''t get wet.


    As they walked into the quiet alley, everything still felt quite familiar to Lu Li.


    "Hey, isn''t this Lu boy?" an old man asked as he came out with a pot of dirty water and saw Lu Li.


    "Zhao Bo, nice seeing you again," Lu Li nodded and greeted him.


    "I just got back from Dongxiang and got covered in mud there," Zhao Bo said as he came closer to find that the person standing next to Lu Li was not Lu Xin, then continued, "You''re not taking your sister out for a walk? Who is this? Have you found a wife already?"


    He had recognized Lu Li because they were close, but after seeing Water Fairy, he realized that this girl was very attractive.


    "Don''t joke about that Zhao Bo. This is just my friend."


    Lu Li looked at Water Fairy, who was just smiling without a hint of anger.


    "So she''s not your wife¡­what a pity," Zhao Bo muttered, then turned and poured the water from the pot into the sewer. He then seemed to remember Lu Li again and said, "Lu boy, you can''t come back here to live. Your house has been occupied by a lame old man and a ten-year-old boy."


    Lu Li paused and shook his head.


    "I haven''t come back to live here. I just wanted to see if it was occupied. I''m just here to have a look."


    It seemed like it would be impossible to bring Water Fairy into his former home. When he and Lu Xin left, they left this place without an owner. In the Common District, this meant that anyone who needed to live there could do so. This lame old man and the child now had a place to live.


    "This rain is getting heavier. Come and sit down."


    Zhao Bo went into his house first and didn''t ask if Lu Li wanted to. Lu Li was obviously used to this and went in. He was followed by Water Fairy who didn''t hesitate either. She was very curious about what people were like here.


    Zhao Bo''s house was actually a little bigger than where Lu Li used to live, but not by much. There were two rooms ¨C one small one for cooking and another for living. This meant that the living room wasn''t too messy. The living room was filled with all sorts of items, which were things that Zhao Bo had taken with him to sell.


    He took out two plastic stools and gave them to Lu Li and his partner to sit on.


    The old man and the Lu siblings were very close as he had taken care of them. It was just he had grown a little senile and he had a bit of a weird temper.


    After talking about Lu Li''s current situation, Lu Li had indicated that he was doing well.


    "Unfortunately, this isn''t your wife," Zhao Bo said once again, seemingly quite sad about it. "You look like you would make a good couple."


    Water Fairy was actually a bit stunned. She wondered how the old man considered her and Lu Li to be a match. Even though Water Fairy didn''t care, she had still heard what the players said about the two of them, especially the female players that she had a good relationship with in Drizzle Court.


    One of them had off-the-charts levels of attractiveness, and the other one was very ordinary.


    One of them had come from a rich family, and the other had just started doing well.


    "Cough, Zhao Bo, has Buggy come back? Have you heard from him recently?" Lu Li asked, changing the topic as he didn''t want to talk about that right now, especially in these circumstances.


    "Yeah, Buggy came back and even gave me some money for me to fix the house. He is a good kid. Seems like most of the people in your generation aren''t too bad. Unfortunately, the older I am, the more I am unable to relax. I''m worried that one day I''ll go to sleep and I won''t wake up."


    "It should get better in the future."


    Lu Li grew up in the Common District, but he didn''t like it.


    Buggy and the others couldn''t bear being here either, but they weren''t able to find a steady income stream in the game, unlike some other people who were able to use it to generate even more wealth.


    The three that they had met previously were all people who relied on Buggy to survive. Naturally, after what Lu Li had done, Buggy and the others would be more afraid of them.

 1159 Wrecked

    Zhao Bo was old, and his words were often jumbled and repetitive. Lu Li wasn''t patient enough to chit chat around with him and quickly took his leave.


    He didn''t bother to head back to the old house, in case the poor grandfather and grandson thought that he had returned to chase them out.


    Although the old house contained 20 years of Lu Li''s memories, there wasn''t much worth remembering for him about it. What mattered to him was his sister, not the house itself.


    Walking out of the alley, Lu Li held the umbrella as he continued talking with Water Fairy. Every now and then, he would point out the surrounding and tell her of the past things that had happened there. For example, the empty spot behind a bunch of rocks near the trench was now filled with vegetables thanks to Lu Li from ten years ago.


    The trench was low and would be drowned whenever it was rain season, so no one was willing to build anything near here.


    "So you can grow your own food and you can also cook them."


    Water Fairy was impressed by Lu Li, because she couldn''t do this. Everything that she had kept had died; she couldn''t even keep a cactus alive.


    As for cooking, she didn''t need to do that since she had servants to look after her.


    "My cooking is quite decent. You can tell from Xin Xin; it''s not easy to raise her up."


    Lu Li was proud about this. He could probably be proud about it for his entire life, especially the fact that he had finally reached so far in his current life.


    "It''s so nice to have a brother," Water Fairy sighed enviously.


    If she had a brother too, her father would stop pushing so much pressure on her and she would have had a happy childhood. Her brother would be there to protect her from harm.


    "Or, I can be your brother," Lu Li joked.


    Of course, Water Fairy couldn''t take it seriously. There was no way she could ever see him as a brother.


    After the stone bridge, Lu Li pointed at the little cave below the bridge and said, "There''s a cave there; I''ve got no idea how it appeared. Although the cave is a little damp, there''s no water in it. One time when I was a kid, I upset someone and had to take my sister to hide there for a few days until the issue was solved."


    "You can''t be serious."


    Water Fairy bent her back as far as she could, but she couldn''t find the cave.


    "Stop looking. Be careful not to fall down," Lu Li reminded her.


    The two continued looking around, spending almost their entire afternoon in the slum where Lu Li used to live. They didn''t even get to look at where Lu Li was living right now, or where Ruling Sword was located. This would have to wait until some other day.


    Later on, the people from Peerless City left. Square Root 3 went to the airport to see them off while Lu Li went back online to continue levelling up.


    He was currently ranked at the 9th place on the level ranking and was close to dropping out from the top 10. It was only a matter of time before this happened, but Lu Li didn''t want the gap between himself and the others to grow too large.


    After another two days, the third random match begun. The System decided where the match would be held and it was in Jiangnan City like last time. The only difference was that Ruling Sword didn''t have a choice of the map. The map was picked at random by the system from the nine available maps ¨C Dustwallow Marsh.


    Dustwallow Marsh wasn''t a good one; they were unlucky.


    Peerless City stepped foot back into this city again after two days.


    This time, Water Fairy didn''t come along. Drizzle Court was having their second match against Seventh Heaven on the same day.


    Regardless, there was no pressure at all for this third match. No matter what they did, they were guaranteed to make it into the final four.


    The situation was similar for Glory Capital, who had been pressuring Blood Red War Flag. Perhaps, the most unlucky team amongst all was Blood Red War Flag. They didn''t want to pick Glory Capital at all because of the strength difference, so there was almost no hope of victory for them at all. Glory Capital was their living nightmare.


    Wings of Dawn and Gale Legion were about even. One was from the Alliance faction while the other was from the Horde faction. The fans were constantly having a go at each other because of the faction difference, so it was probably the liveliest match amongst all.


    Apparently, the match grounds were even more troublesome in real life. The government had sent out a good number of police to maintain the order, and the audience was banned from bringing any fake or cosplay items because real items could also be mixed within. Most of these items were cosplay weapons from the game, heavy enough to knock out someone.


    The first player to battle from Ruling Sword was Fat Monkey. He was a Fire Mage and they didn''t need him later for the group match. As such, he had the first spot for the one-on-one matches.


    The results were pretty much set, but Lu Li still had to do what was best for him.


    As the first player representing Ruling Sword, Fat Monkey was placed against Professional Healer. It seemed like whatever went on between them in real life was solved and they were back to being their own selves.


    Seeing this match up, Moonlight shook his head first and sighed.


    "What? You''ve got no faith in him?" Lu Li asked.


    "Monkey can''t beat Professional Healer. It''s not just about the class; their prowess and battle style are some of the reasons too," Moonlight explained, then added, "And today is Peerless City''s final match. They''ll do everything they can."


    Professional Healer sounded like an ID for a healer, but he was actually a Shadow Priest.


    In the current stage of Dawn, Shadow Priests were rare. They needed good equipment and skills to be viable. Otherwise, they couldn''t heal or deal damage, and could easily be killed by monsters.


    In PVE, Shadow Priests could help with mana regeneration for magic classes, but this alone wasn''t enough for them to be wanted in a dungeon. As such, it was very rare to see any Shadow Priests at all in 15-mandungeons. It was only later down the track after 40-man raids were made available that Shadow Priests would start to be considered.


    Professional Healer had Peerless City behind him and had no problems with equipment and skills, so of course he was a strong player.


    It seemed like Moonlight had fought him before in the arena, so he was able to tell that Fat Monkey wouldn''t be able to beat him. He wasn''t wrong. Fat Monkey was quickly thrown off the stage. Although he took 30% of Professional Healer''s health with him, Professional Healer was also a Priest who could somewhat heal himself.


    Lu Li was the next one to come on stage, facing off against Professional Healer, who almost had full health.


    Shadow Priests were favoured for one-on-one matches, as they were similar to Warlocks. If you couldn''t kill them, they would eventually outlast you.


    Three minutes into the match, Lu Li took the victory. Professional Healer was taken down by three consecutive critical strikes in a row. Lu Li used quite a lot of skills and special effects to defeat him.


    Ruling Sword thought that Professional Healer was troublesome, but Peerless City thought that Lu Li was even more so. As such, they immediately sent out Green Flag Wine, who was obviously more certain about the situation since he could heal himself. It took him around a dozen minutes to finally take down Lu Li. His name and celebrity status obviously weren''t just for show.


    Green Flag Wine was then faced with Mu Qiu. Both of them had a similar play style ¨C they tried to tire each other out and the match dragged on for a long time. In the end, Green Flag Wine lost because he had less mana than Mu Qiu.


    The one-on-one matches ended with a 5 to 4, with Ruling Sword taking the leading point.


    At this point, Ruling Sword had already entered the top 4.

 1160 Trap

    Although the match between Ruling Sword and Peerless City had already been settled, the group match still needed to continue. Millions of players had bought tickets, and even if it was only a few dozen silver coins, it wasn''t right to have them leave halfway.


    Dustwallow Marsh was a map that had been used right at the start. At the time, the players from Peerless City chose the map confidently, thinking that they would gain an advantage with it. Who knew that they''d still lose the match regardless? Their eyes all went red when the map was chosen again.


    "Everyone, I''ve got nothing to say. This is our last match, so all the best," Soul Eater sighed as he batted his eyes in an attempt to force back the tears. He was the guild master and a manager of the club, so it was rare for him to be in such a state.


    "Don''t worry. We''ve got plenty of chances in the future," Green Flag Wine said encouragingly He was the captain of the Peerless City team and didn''t feel too good either. Like Soul Eater, his eyes were bloodshot.


    "Sort out the team. I''ll go and comfort our fans," Soul Eater sighed again as he ahead.


    Peerless City had lost and stopped at top 8, but no one in the professional gaming circle would think lowly of their final results. They were just a new club that had only been around for a few years. However, the fans won''t hold back their complaints because of this. They had a much higher expectation for Peerless City.


    "Nelle, you..." Green Flag Wine picked out Immortal first.


    In the first match on Dustwallow Marsh, Peerless City lost because Deadly Golden Underwear was too aggressive. However, Immortal had chased down Lu Li too far which brought the team with her and forced their formation out of place. This was what gave Ruling Sword a chance.


    At the time, if she had played it safer, the results of the group match might have been different.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "Maybe, this time, I''ll stay out¡­" Immortal lowered her head, she was about to cry.


    "What are you talking about? Who''s going to replace you if you don''t go? Don''t tell me you''re planning to let me fight for you instead," Green Flag Wine scolded as he widened his eyes. Having a calm temper wasn''t the same as having no temper at all; the little girl had truly upset him.


    "I... I''ll do my best," Immortal replied weakly.


    "You were partly responsible for our disadvantage last time, but that was last time. What''s important is to focus on the match before us. If you want to cry, you can cry after the match," Green Flag Wine comforted her, then turned around to Professional Healer and said, "Healer, look after them. Make sure we win, and that we win in the best possible way."


    "Mmmm."


    Professional Healer nodded; he wasn''t one to talk much.


    Green Flag Wine quickly assigned the team members for Peerless City. Deadly Golden Underwear the Berserker, Immortal the Warlock, Professional Healer the Shadow Priest, Falling Smile the Shaman Healer, and lastly, Half a Smoke the Mage. Their substitute was Vegetarian Mosquito, a Hunter.


    Green Flag Wine, who was the captain of the team, sat out for this match. They were going for a burst composition, so he wouldn''t be very useful.


    On the other hand, Lu Li''s team took the opposite approach.


    They had March Rain, Mu Qiu, Moonlight, Kitty Likes Meat, and Lu Li, with Sakura Memories sitting on the bench as their substitute. Fat Monkey sat out from this match.


    "Although this is the last match and it doesn''t affect whether we make it to the top 4, don''t forget that we still have millions watching us, so let''s give it our all."


    Lu Li was the captain and he could tell that his team members weren''t focused, so he had to give a little speech.


    As soon as he said so, everyone immediately paid a lot more attention. The number of audience members out there really did give them pressure.


    Dawn wasn''t just limited to Chinese servers anymore. Servers had been established for many countries overseas, almost at the same time as the Chinese servers.


    Although they couldn''t see each other despite being in the same coordinates on the map, the gaming content remained the same. The matches in China were made available for audiences from other servers and if they embarrassed themselves now, it would be an embarrassment for them globally.


    The analysts were still the dragon and phoenix combination. Four Seas Dragon started the match with his pity towards Peerless City.


    Then, he moved onto recalling the development of the professional circle. Only someone like him who had started gaming since the beginning of the VR technology would be able to describe such stories in such detail. There was no way someone like Jiufeng, who was still a competitor, would be able to tell the story in the same way.


    Of course, everyone''s goal for first place remained the same throughout time.


    When they entered the match ground, it was still the same dirty Dustwallow Marsh. Lu Li went into Stealth mode like usual, but he didn''t leave his group and fight by himself this time. Last time, it was purely luck that he managed to draw Immortal out of the team formation. This time, even if he wasn''t invisible, Immortal probably wouldn''t even budge.


    At the same time, Dustwallow Marsh was a map that Peerless City had trained in countless times. All of them were good at pinpointing where Thieves would often frequent. If Lu Li wasn''t careful, he would be a goner in no time.


    However, because the team of five seemed to be missing one, Peerless City couldn''t instantly tell where Lu Li was. Who knew when he would suddenly appear? No one dared to underestimate Lu Li''s burst damage.


    As soon as the Peerless City team saw Ruling Sword, they hurried over. Ruling Sword had no reason to back away, so it was only natural that the two teams engaged.


    Lu Li targeted Immortal. He wasn''t a pervert, and neither was he interested in her. He was just a Thief and had no way to breakthrough their defence line and jump on the healer. As such he could only pick an easy target, like Warlocks who wore cloth armour.


    Immortal was a little anxious at first; Lu Li had really scarred her.


    Fortunately, she had a good mentality, and it wasn''t her first time playing in a match. As soon as she realized that Lu Li was targeting her, she immediately moved beside Half a Smoke.


    If Lu Li still came to target her, then Half a Smoke would be able to freeze Lu Li with Frost Nova.


    Would Lu Li back away?


    Of course not, but if he could hold two magic classes by himself, that would be the best situation for a group fight.


    "Lu Li!" Professional Healer shouted.


    Everyone, including Deadly Golden Underwear, who had dashed towards March Rain, all turned back and focused on Lu Li.


    They used all the burst that they had, along with any trump cards that were available. Lu Li''s pupils dilated, and his reflexes told him to use Gale Steps.


    However, it was all too late.


    This was four players who had used their burst skills at once. Not only did they pinpoint Lu Li''s position, but they also understood his intentions and calculated when he was going to appear and attack. Some of them had even already started casting spells pre-emptively. The moment Lu Li appeared, all the ultimate spells were all tossed onto his face.


    Even Falling Smile changed his weapon to one with damage effects. No one could be invincible. Peerless City had planned ahead and they instantly cleared Lu Li''s entire health bar.

 1161 The Disciple in Trouble

    "Are they on steroids?" Jiufeng gasped.


    "Amazing, absolutely amazing!" Four Seas Dragon cheered for them as well. He quickly explained what Peerless City had done so that the audience could understand what had just happened and how much preparation they had placed into this match.


    "Lu Li died! Unbelievable!"


    If anyone was to tell them that Lu Li was going to die first in the match today, Jiufeng would''ve thought that the person had gone insane.


    "What is there to be surprised about? He''s a human being too, and a player as well. With so much planning done, if four people still can''t take out one player alone, then this game would be impossible to play."


    Compared to Jiufeng, Four Seas Dragon was much quicker to accept that Lu Li had been taken down.


    Ever since the beginning of the game, balance had been something that was constantly in consideration, especially after Dawn grew in value.


    Only a fair game would continue for long, but a boring kind of balance would make the game lose its attraction. The best designers in the industry thought about the game for generations to finally find the perfect balance. Dawn heavily focused on this aspect of the game.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    There had been research in the past into what made a balanced game.


    Bloodlust that gave invincibility, legendary weapons everywhere, players who could kill an entire street all by themselves or players with maximum luck attributes ¨C none of these seemed like part of a balanced game at all.


    However, to have two players hack at each other all day long and have nothing much happen would be another kind of extreme.


    Peerless City made plans to take out Lu Li and had broken the record, which was something to be proud of.


    With one less player, Ruling Sword instantly fell into a tough battle. Not only did they have to give up on Falling Smile, who was almost dead, but they also had to turn back and protect their own healer. Once March Rain died, then the match would definitely turn into a one-sided affair.


    They protected March Rain as they fought and moved around. Fortunately, they had Mu Qiu. The two healers supported each other, and finally managed to stay alive under the pressure of four damage dealers from Peerless City.


    At the same time, Peerless City had used too many things on Lu Li, so they wouldn''t be able to take anyone else within a short period of time.


    Sakura Memories entered the match, successfully joining her team and stabilizing the situation.


    Losing Lu Li was more than just losing a strong damage dealer. They had also lost a captain to direct them in battle and a support that they could lean on.


    The rest of the battle wasn''t too hard to predict; Ruling Sword only managed to take 2 points.


    The match ended with 7 points for Ruling Sword and 10 points for Peerless City. Overall, Peerless City claimed the victory for the third match.


    This was a bittersweet victory, because it didn''t alter the fact that Ruling Sword was going to make it into the top 4. With the two previous matchups on top, Ruling Sword and Peerless City ended with a final score of 29:22. Ruling Sword made it to the top 4, while Peerless City stayed in the top 8.


    However, the performance of Peerless City in the third match was truly brilliant.


    It was as Four Seas Dragon had said ¨C if they had done the same in the first match, then the results might have been different for the two teams.


    Over the next few days, the results for the other groups also came out.


    Without a doubt, Glory Capital took out Blood Red War Flag. The two guilds were known to be the strongest guilds in the gaming circle, but the difference between them was very obvious. Glory Capital had been the boss of the gaming circle for these few years; they were truly strong.


    Lu Li looked at the threads which analysed the teams, and his expression sunk.


    In the Shadow Cup, Glory Capital clearly didn''t put too much into the competition. For them, even the Magic Cup was just a place to train their team. The League competition was what they were really focused on.


    The levels of these competitors rose quickly each day. They had people to look after their equipment for them, including gems, empowerment, enchantments¡­


    The powerful equipment on the market rose in value because of them; it wasn''t rare for an exquisite piece to be sold at hundreds of thousands of dollars.


    The results of Drizzle Court and Seventh Heaven were no surprise either. Although the match points weren''t too far apart, Drizzle Court still won with all three victories and became the third guild to enter into the top 4.


    Gale Legion defeated Wings of Dawn.


    If Drizzle Court was on par with Seventh Heaven, then Gale Legion and Wings of Dawn would be almost even. They only had a one-point difference after all three matches were played, but this one point still counted. No matter how upset Wings of Dawn might have felt, they still had to take the result.


    The top four included Glory Capital, Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Gale Legion.


    Interestingly, two of these four guilds were from the Alliance Faction, while the other two were from the Horde faction. Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court were in an alliance with each other, while the Horde guilds, Glory Capital and Gale Legion, were also allies.


    What if the top four became Ruling Sword versus Drizzle Court and Glory Capital versus Gale Legion?


    They would fight amongst themselves first, then fight the outsiders?


    Regardless, all everyone could do was wait around. The top four teams had only just been determined.


    Lu Li took out some of his time to give some attention to his little disciple.


    Cold Chill had been a member of Ruling Sword for quite some time now and was level 15, but Lu Li wasn''t impressed by this at all.


    He thought that it wouldn''t be too hard to direct her towards Alchemy, but the problem was that she was no longer satisfied with being a Trade Skill player anymore. She wanted to become a great Mage.


    From Lu Li''s memories, he recalled that Cold Chill was a professional Trade Skill player who spent almost all of her game time on Alchemy. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have been able to become the top Alchemist of Dawn while entering the game so late.


    So, what went wrong?


    Lu Li thought about it for a long time. He wasn''t the type to force people into doing things that they didn''t want, but it was truly a shame if Cold Chill didn''t touch Alchemy. This was tied to the Resurrection Potion, something of great importance that would play a big role in the development of the guild.


    Lu Li took out some of his time to meet his little disciple who had become so dedicated to levelling up.


    At this time, she was levelling with some Mages from the guild.


    He studied from afar and noticed that his little disciple had improved greatly, compared from a few days ago. However, in Lu Li''s eyes, she was still a beginner, who was worse than an average player. The little girl had no gaming talent, and without the help of others, she might not even be able to take down a monster alone, let alone a whole group of monsters.


    After Lu Li came, Cold Chill stopped too. There were others who teamed with her to help her level up, so it didn''t hurt for her to pause.


    After some talk, Lu Li gradually realized what the problem was.


    In the end, he was the problem that changed everything.


    It Lu Li didn''t appear, Cold Chill would still have a teacher. However, her teacher would be the most average player out there, one who worked so hard to earn money but could barely earn anything.


    Of course, a teacher like this wouldn''t be of much help to Cold Chill. There was no way a teacher like this would be able to give her a huge amount of gold coins to purchase potions and fix equipment, or provide a whole team of elite Mages to level her up. For Cold Chill these days, killing monsters and levelling was as easy as drinking water.

 1162 A Shock to His Little Disciple

    "Hunting monsters is so fun!" Cold Chill cried out happily as she waved around her new level 15 gold grade staff. This staff was prepared for her by the guild with high damage and two powerful special effects. This was a weapon that could be sold for tens of thousands in real life money.


    "Really. Show me your improvement," Lu Li said. He had pulled some monsters along the way and pointed at an elite monster.


    "Easy. Watch me," Cold Chill said confidently.


    She had killed hundreds and thousands of these monsters today and none of them had managed to even reach her before they died.


    The few players who levelled with her shook their heads in silence. They had already started feeling sorry for her. These players all did fairly well in other games, and even after Dawn was released, they still wanted to stay in their old games. Unfortunately, these old games went downhill and their value plummeted. In the end, they had no choice but to change to Dawn. Fortunately for them, they had friends who were doing well in Ruling Sword and were recommended into the guild. Square Root 3 had assessed them personally before they were accepted.


    Of course, it was easier for them to level up together than on their own, but Cold Chill was a mission given to them from the guild. She was also a very nice girl, so they had no reason to turn her down.


    They were in charge of luring monsters and controlling monsters. All Cold Chill had to do was to cast some damaging spells at them. With her whole set of exquisite equipment, her damage was actually quite decent.


    On Lu Li''s end, Cold Chill tossed a Fireball at that elite monsters like usual.


    Originally, the elite monster was lured by another Mage, but because the other Mage hadn''t dealt any damage, the aggression was very stable. Now that the elite monster was attacked, it immediately rushed over towards Cold Chill.


    This was a level 18 wolf-type monster, called a Hecklefang Stalker. These monsters had cruel fangs and came in packs. They were known for their speed and were common around the Plaguelands. They were natural predators; even Lions didn''t want to fight them.


    The damage of the Fireball was impressive; it took out 70 points of the monster''s HP, but this was nothing in comparison to its 800 points of health.


    Cold Chill started to conjure up another Fireball. Because Frostbolt had a longer cast time than Fireball, she was used to casting this spell. When it came to AoE attacks, she would constantly use Blizzard. As for Flamestrike, she used it the least, because it was rare for monsters to even get within 8 yards of her.


    However, this time it was different.


    To her horror, Cold Chill discovered that the Hecklefang Stalker got closer to her than it usually did.


    She remembered the teachings from her Mage team members and tried to take some steps back to regain distance. However, by the time the third Fireball landed on the monster, she couldn''t avoid it pouncing on her.


    After the monsters got close, she recalled having being taught about what to do, but she couldn''t remember the details.


    Lu Li lifted his hands and took out the monster with one shot. If Cold Chill took another hit, she would probably be dead.


    "What now? What do you think?"


    "This is an elite monster; we need five people to kill it. You can''t kill it alone."


    Cold Chill wasn''t stupid either; she quickly found an excuse for herself.


    Lu Li stared at her for a while and called over a Mage. He didn''t call any names; he simply called for any of them to come.


    "Boss, what can I do for you?" a Mage with hair dyed white came over and asked. Hairdressers were everywhere in Azeroth and it only costed 20 silver coins to change your hairstyle. Another 40 silver coins allowed a player to change their hair colour. If they were to make any more changes after this, the price would be double each time.


    "Take down an elite and show her how it''s done," Lu Li said.


    The Mage with white hair smiled shyly at Cold Chill then turned to toss a Frostbolt at the Hecklefang Stalker.


    Then, it became a show of skill combinations and positioning. This Mage, who was similar in terms of level with Cold Chill, demonstrated his skill at taking down monsters. He didn''t lose a single bit of health in the entire process.


    Cold Chill watched in shock and was left stunned for a moment before she jumped up again to hunt for another monster.


    The results weren''t any better this time. Lu Li still had to save her life and of course she wasn''t satisfied. She couldn''t take the monster to below half health, even though she was very calm this time.


    "What''s going on? What''s going on?"


    Cold Chill''s worldview was almost entirely destroyed; her confidence had been totally shattered.


    "I''m telling you, you''re not as good as you think." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    Even if he didn''t want to force his stupid disciple into the path of Alchemy, Lu Li was still obligated to tell her the truth. Or else she would always be living in a lie, believing that she was a strong player.


    "..." Cold Chill was speechless.


    "PVE actually doesn''t earn you much money. How often do you see players get rich from PVE?" Lu Li asked.


    Lu Li wasn''t trying to tell her any lies. Although he and the others received a lot of exquisite equipment, that was because they had obtained too many First Clears. In normal levelling and dungeon quests, it was hard for players to store up many gold coins. Lu Li''s previous life was a great example of this. He was talented in gaming and was more persistent than anyone else, but because he entered the game too late and didn''t have a good guild to back him up, he could only earn just enough money to keep both him and his sister alive. He couldn''t even pay up the treatment fees for his sister.


    "How about, I''ll try PVP and be a competitor?"


    Beginners knew no fear; she was a good example of this.


    "Uhm, do you want to try the arena first?"


    Lu Li didn''t want to be too straightforward about it, but he knew that she wasn''t talented enough. Even if she reincarnated like he did, there was no way she would be able to become a professional competitor. However, it was best to let her discover this herself.


    Cold Chill paused her levelling and headed back to the main city with Lu Li.


    She entered the arena from the main city and Lu Li guided her to picking a level 15, one-on-one match. Because this was her first time, she entered into the lowest rankings.


    After 30 seconds, Cold Chill came out.


    "Mean, too mean! That Thief didn''t even greet me. I even said hi to him, but he ignored me and killed me in an instant. It was a sneak attack!" she cried.


    "You have his name on the record. You can choose to challenge him again."


    Lu Li was left speechless, he was so tempted to kill this disciple himself.


    Cold Chill thought for a bit and decided to challenge the player that had killer her one more time. It didn''t take long before the other player agreed to battle her again.


    The arena these days was much friendlier than it was before. It was common for players to ask for another round of battle if they weren''t satisfied with losing. However, what confused the Thief player was that he didn''t understand where the courage of this little weakling came from.


    Was she a Masochist?

 1163 Persuaded

    This time, Cold Chill learned not to greet her opponent. When the match began, she immediately began casting a large fireball.


    The skill hit the Thief directly and exploded on his body, taking away a considerable amount of HP. Fireball was a lock-on skill, so it would change its trajectory and follow the target around with 100% accuracy.


    However, she couldn''t cast a second skill because the Thief quickly appeared beside her.


    Instead of attacking immediately, the Thief took an extra step and positioned himself behind Cold Chill, making her lose line of sight and causing her Fireball to disappear in her hands.


    She had to continuously turn around to lock onto her target as the Thief ran circles around her while stabbing her relentlessly with his dagger. After a short while, Cold Chill was sent out of the arena, only able to hit her opponent once.


    After she was shut down, she decided to keep quiet and never asked to be sent in again.


    She sat quietly on the bench with a sad expression. Lu Li knelt down beside her and patted her gently on the shoulders to encourage her.


    "Sorry, I''ll give you some equips and organize someone to help you level up. I shouldn''t have sent you out there." Lu Li knew that it was tough for Cold Chill to accept such a cruel reality, but he had no other choice.


    No matter how skilled the master, if the student was talentless then there was nothing much he could do.


    Even if he kept helping her, dragged her all the way to Lv50 and gave her a set of good gear, it might still be a struggle for her to find a place in Ruling Sword.


    She could not even compare to Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball. Although these two struggled in PVP, they outshone other members in dungeons. Their positioning, team work and game sense was a lot better than some of the top PVP players in the game.


    "I shouldn''t have been so cocky," Cold Chill sighed as she dropped her head.


    "There are millions of players in Dawn. Making money might be hard but it''s not impossible," Lu Li said. He was trying to guide her into doing something else.


    "Do you mean trying a profession?" Cold Chill might have been a newbie, but she was not stupid. Lu Li had mentioned professions more than once to her, but she quickly shook her head and added, "No, I know that if I don''t excel then you won''t gain any popularity or experience rewards."


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li felt bad because when he first took her on as a student, he did mention that he was only doing this for the popularity and experience rewards.


    "I''ll keep trying hard to level up!" Cold Chill exclaimed.


    "You really don''t need to." Lu Li was getting a little frustrated.


    "I won''t let you down master! I won''t be cocky anymore."


    Cold Chill was determined to not let Lu Li down because he had been so nice to her so far.


    "Stop!" Lu Li interrupted his little student, then continued, "I think it would be better if you levelled up your profession while I get someone to boost you up to Lv30. Once you''re level 30, just concentrate on perfecting your profession."


    "But wouldn''t that be very unfair for the person who''s boosting me?" Cold Chill was worried. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    Lu Li was really becoming frustrated now and felt like he was about to cough up blood. He said in a serious tone, "Don''t worry ¨C it''s his job and as long as you craft potions for them, I''m sure they won''t mind."


    After persuading her for a while, he was finally able to convince her.


    This felt harder than completing a First Clear in a Nightmare Dungeon.


    "But I haven''t learnt Alchemy yet."


    Cold Chill had no confidence in herself anymore. She was bad at PVE, PVP and now she didn''t even have the confidence to learn a profession.


    Lu Li couldn''t tell her that she''ll eventually become the best Alchemist in the game and can only persuade her with words of affirmation.


    "Professions aren''t too hard to grasp. There are lots of materials in the guild storage so you won''t have to harvest them in the Wild by yourself."


    "Sounds pretty simple," Cold Chill said.


    "As long as you don''t get bored ¨C levelling up a professional is quite mundane and takes a long time."


    Lu Li let out a sigh of relief; he was finally guiding her on the right track.


    "Don''t worry, I''m used to it. I''ve had to memorize recipes for different medicine since I was little. I also had to sort out different herbs and plants, which would often take an entire day." Cold Chill was not worried about this because she just wanted to make some money to repay Lu Li.


    "I''ll take you to the exchange hall and let you know what the Alchemy mark is like."


    Lu Li''s mood had changed completely.


    When the two arrived at the Exchange Hall, Lu Li opened the market tab and showed Cold Chill a huge list of potions, herbs and medicines. Beginner potions and magic potions were worth a couple of coppers and the price slowly increased with each tier.


    The money made from Alchemy was all hard-earned, especially for those without a guild to collect materials for them.


    The real profit came from potions that boosted stats or provided buffs. For example, a simple +5 Dexterity potion could be sold for quite a decent amount of profit and recipes like those were monopolized by the top Alchemists in the game.


    Lu Li pointed towards the Attack +50% for 2 minutes potion and introduced it, "See this? This can only be made by an Alchemist from East Sea Fleet. It''s very rare on the market."


    "80 gold each for a tiny little potion? My goodness. Why would anyone pay 80 gold for 2 minutes of additional attack?"


    Cold Chill did not understand. Eighty gold in real life money was around 5000 to 6000 dollars.


    On a busy week, the little clinic that she owned might not even make that much money.


    "This potion is an All Stats + 3 potion. There only around five players in the game that can craft it, which is why they''re valued at 50 gold each. All stats + 3 is pretty useless to be honest.." Lu Li sighed.


    "Even if I can learn Alchemy, where am I supposed to get these recipes?" Cold Chill asked.


    "That''s easy, I have a friend who has a few rare recipes that he can give to you," Lu Li said with a smile.

 1164 Exquisite Recipes

    The friend he was referring to was obviously Sesame Rice Ball.


    He received Lu Li''s message while he was levelling up and was asked to meet up at the Exchange Hall in Stormwind.


    After a few minutes, Sesame Rice Ball arrived. Teleportation Portals really shortened the travel time for players. However, in a few months, these portals would be removed and the only way players could travel quickly from place to place was via mounts. In his past life, Lu Li would often hear about the veteran players complaining and reminiscing on the good old days with portals.


    However, it would be absurd for the gaming company to expect players to travel the vast world of Azeroth on foot.


    There would be many Fly Points added in the main cities that used mounts such as Gryphons, Hippogryphs, Wyverns, Rylaks, Fey Dragons, and Pterrodaxes to allow zone-to-zone transportation for the players.


    There would also be Teleportation services in the future that Mages offered in exchange for money.


    Sesame Rice Ball saw Lu Li with a little girl that wasn''t Lu Xin and became very suspicious.


    "Rice Ball, over here!" Lu Li saw him and waved at him.


    "Who''s this?" Sesame Rice Ball asked, then before Lu Li could answer, he said added, "Boss, I think you''re a decent man. Even though you''re out of Water Fairy''s league, she still chose you over her other admirers. How can you do such a thing to her?"


    "What the hell are you on about?" Lu Li wondered if Sesame Rice Ball was delusional. He pointed at Cold Chill and explained, "This is my pupil."


    "Sorry, my bad," Sesame Rice Ball apologized as he scratched his head, then said, "Where did you find such a silly looking pupil?"


    "You''re silly, you twig."


    Cold Chill never thought of herself as a silly or stupid person. She had memorized thousands of herbs and could even recite their individual uses and effects. She could treat diseases and symptoms and could even tell the difference between herbs by smell.


    She was a genius in what she did, yet she was called stupid by a random person she had just met.


    Sesame Rice Ball was furious that the little girl called him a twig.


    Lu Li was starting to get a headache and stopped the two of them


    "Okay, stop fighting. This is Sesame Rice Ball, a master Alchemist in our guild who has learnt more than ten Exquisite Recipes and is currently the best Alchemist in the game.


    "Oh, he''s an Alchemist?"


    Cold Chill had a bad impression of him because he didn''t seem very manly. However, upon hearing that he was one of the best Alchemists in the game, she began to pay him more respect.


    "What? Do I not look it?" Sesame Rice Ball asked as he flicked his cape and showed off the ruby-embroidered staff. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "Not really. Aare you a Mage? What level are you?" Cold Chill could not take her eyes off his gear.


    There were some pieces that she had never seen before, but it was obvious that his gear was quite extraordinary. He managed to gather so many powerful pieces of equipment while becoming one of the best Alchemist at the same time. It appeared as though Cold Chill had really underestimated this skinny and weak-looking man.


    "I''m a level 56 Warlock," Sesame Rice Ball said calmly, trying very hard to hide his cockiness.


    "What level are you, teacher?" Cold Chill turned around and asked.


    "55." Lu Li wasn''t ashamed at all. He used to be rank number one, but had been caught up with some annoying quests recently, as well as some tournaments, which was why he couldn''t keep up with Sesame Rice Ball who spent his entire day training.


    The Level Ranking was no longer dominated by Lu Li''s mercenary group. Besides the two Mages from Ruling Sword, the rest of the rankings were filled with non-professional players from Glory Capital and other major guilds.


    Cold Chill was even more impressed with Sesame Rice Ball now and decided to idolize him.


    "Sorry, I won''t call you a twig anymore. You''re so good!"


    Throughout her time playing, she would often hear people talk about the famous Lu Li and the incredible things he had achieved in this game. If Sesame Rice Ball was even higher level than Lu Li, then he was obviously even more incredible.


    "Cough cough, alright, alright."


    Sesame Rice Ball was blushing when he was complemented.


    "Rice Ball, you have some Exquisite Recipes, right?" Lu Li asked.


    "I put some in the Guild Storage before, but I still have ten or so recipes. I''ll go get them if you need." Sesame Rice Ball was straight to the point and he went to retrieve some recipes from his personal storage.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary group would often give their Exquisite Alchemy Recipes to Sesame Rice Ball, especially Hachi Chan, who had the best luck in the game.


    Sometimes, other players from the guild would give him recipes in exchange for special potions.


    "Why doesn''t he learn the recipes if he has them?" Cold Chill was confused.


    "Because he has to dungeon with us while grinding levels to keep up with other players. He barely has any time to practice Alchemy, which is why we''re giving you these recipes so that you can craft them for us in the future," Lu Li explained.


    "Are these recipes worth a lot of money?" Cold Chill couldn''t hide her excitement.


    "Probably. As long as you have the time, you''ll make heaps of money."


    Lu Li patted her on the head; the little girl was completely obsessed about money.


    Sesame Rice Ball returned quickly and brought with him 17 Exquisite Recipes. The ones he brought were all rare recipes that less than half the Alchemists in the game would have. In reality, Sesame Rice Ball only kept the rare ones and the common ones were all thrown into the Guild Storage.


    "Are you sure you want to give all of these to her?" Sesame Rice Ball private messaged Lu Li.


    "Yep."


    "Boss, why are you doing this? These recipes are worth thousands and thousands of gold." Sesame Rice Ball thought that Lu Li was insane.


    Lu Li explained Cold Chill''s family background in traditional Chinese medicine. He explained that he had very high hopes for her and knew that she would do well in Alchemy based on his observation of her in the past few days.

 1165 Levelling

    "You''re planning on becoming a Master Alchemist?" Sesame Rice Ball asked as he handed seventeen rare recipes to Cold Chill.


    "Yeah. I''m not great at training levels or PVP anyway," Cold Chill sadly sighed.


    Cold Chill wasn''t too surprised at these seventeen recipes. After all, she knew nothing of their values. In this situation, Lu Li should have signed a contract with Cold Chill, so that if she ever betrayed Ruling Sword, she would have to pay a tremendous fee for going back on it. From Lu Li''s previous life as a Gold Farmer, his contract fee was already extremely large. This had to be worth even more.


    However, Lu Li had a good impression of Cold Chill.


    In his previous life, he recalled that even after Cold Chill became the greatest Alchemist in Dawn, she did not forget about those who helped her. Although many large organisations gave her tempting offers to leave her small guild, she remained loyal in the end.


    She was most well-known for not being greedy and being easily satisfied, as long as her needs were met.


    Therefore, large binding contracts would do no good to pull her to their side. Lu Li planned to earn her trust by not signing a contract at all.


    "Hey Lu Li, what''s your Alchemy level now?"


    Sesame Rice Ball was a straightforward person. He was only different when he was in the labour squads, but after becoming more acquainted with Lu Li, he was now his normal self.


    This effect could only be given if the mentor was a Master-level in a Profession.


    If Lu Li took a student for Forging, then there would be a similar effect. However, Lu Li prioritised normal EXP over Profession EXP, so now that he had freed up a slot for a student, he would not waste this opportunity.


    Lu Li''s rank on the Level Rankings was drastically dropping. He was now barely in the Top 30. Many players were now level 56, and some were even nearly at level 57, while Lu Li was still at level 55.


    "You guys can keep talking. I''ll go and train first," Lu Li said as he waved goodbye and left.


    He planned on going to Sardor Island, which was an island off the southwest coast of Kalimdor. The eastern part of the island was much higher than the western part. The southeast part was where the cliffs were, while the southwestern part of the island had a sandbar near the shore.


    On the shore, there was dense vegetation and trees. Many active plants lived around this area. In the northeast area of the island stood a large fortress ¨C the Feathermoon Stronghold.


    This was an obscure stronghold in an equally obscure area. Many players would not touch this place in their lifetime. However, for elite players, this was the best levelling area for players before level 60.


    The level 55-59 Naga didn''t have much HP, so a few hits were enough to kill them. Furthermore, the experience given from these Naga were a few times more than normal monsters.


    Feathermoon Stronghold''s backstory made Lu Li deeply afraid. Shandris Feathermoon''s parents were killed in the War of the Ancients while battling against the Burning Legion. Tyrande Whisperwind met the then Shandris Feathermoon, who was not even a Priestess, and joined the battle.


    Today, Shandris Feathermoon was the commander of many warriors. She built the Feathermoon Stronghold in the Southern area and controlled many territories in the Feralas area.


    Lu Li recalled that the Horde and Alliance players loved to attack each other''s'' territories. A normal sentry or stronghold would not be able to withstand battles between players.


    One day, a massive group of Horde players decided to invade Sardor Island and storm into the Feathermoon Stronghold.


    However, it was unfortunate that they angered the Commander of this stronghold ¨C Shandris Feathermoon. Shandris, the Dark Elf, was unexpectedly powerful. She was so powerful that she completely wiped out these players.


    This battle led to the immortalisation of Shandris Feathermoon, who was acknowledged as an undefeatable Alliance NPC.


    Lu Li went straight to the Ruins of Solarsal, planning to stay for a long time to train.


    "Stop!"


    Lu Li halted as he watched two players jump down from the trees. Lu Li then grabbed the hilt of his dagger which sat on his waist.


    It was two players from the Horde! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    Sardor Island was in the territory of the Alliance, so why were there players from the Horde in here?


    "Sorry for the inconvenience, but this island is a training ground reserved for Glory Capital. You can choose other areas to train in. If you are willing to leave, I can transport you to the portal area." Although the tone wasn''t arrogant-sounding, the words themselves definitely were.


    "Glory Capital?"


    Lu Li paused for a bit. He finally knew how Glory Capital had managed to level their members up so quickly.


    One-third of the Top 30 players in Level Rankings were players from Glory Capital. A large majority of were their professional players and their Mage players. Sorrowless was already level 56, which was even higher than Lu Li. On one hand, Lu Li had a lot to do, outside and inside the game, so he didn''t have time to train. On the other hand, it was Glory Capital who had taken control of this area as their training ground.

 1166 Borrowing Backup

    Lu Li looked past the two guards. The place was crawling with Glory Capital players. The whole Ruins of Solarsal was probably already taken.


    Glory Capital''s players have already been levelling like crazy over the past few days. They must have accidentally stumbled onto this area and claimed it as their own training ground. However, this wasn''t the surprising part ¨C Lu Li did not expect them to bring along that many people.


    Compared to Glory Capital, Lu Li definitely would have been more cautious about bringing this many people. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    However, Glory Capital had managed to keep everything under the radar. Had Lu Li not come here to train, no one would have realised that they were here.


    "Please leave, or else," the players from Glory Capital suddenly raised their voices and began to become more aggressive.


    Lu Li did not doubt that Glory Capital would attack him if he pressed on. Furthermore, there were other Thieves that began to appear around him. After the nerfing of Stealth, it was easier to detect them. In the face of Lu Li, a Thief who was above other Thieves, they were instantly detected the moment they stepped into range.


    Lu Li stepped back, coughed, then smiled and apologized, "Ah, my bad. I''ll leave immediately."


    After saying this, Lu Li left immediately. He entered Stealth right away to make the other Thieves lose sight of him. As for whether they really would have attacked, Lu Li did not want to risk it.


    In the battle against Peerless City, Lu Li began to realise that he wasn''t untouchable. With enough attackers and skills, he might not even have had enough time to use Gale Steps.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t just leave Glory Capital there and train mindlessly. After all, Ruling Sword would eventually fight Glory Capital.


    However, he couldn''t just drag Ruling Sword over and start a war with Glory Capital, since they would most definitely lose. Even after adding on Drizzle Court and Peerless City, they would only be on even grounds. Drizzle Court and Peerless City were also only allies, so they wouldn''t follow Lu Li''s commands.


    Lu Li transformed into a crow and circled the Ruins. With this, he could get a good view of the Ruins.


    Glory Capital had brought along thousands of players here. Furthermore, they were all high-levelled players ¨C otherwise, they would not have been able to fight these monsters.


    He had to create some trouble for them!


    Lu Li then flapped his wings and left the Ruins. Then, he quickly sent a message to a specific group of people.


    One of the group of Thieves training at the Western Plaguelands received his message, then yelled for one of his team members, "The Blood Red War Flag member that you met last time ¨C are you still in contact with him?"


    "Yes, Brother Buggy," the member confirmed as he nodded his head.


    "Contact him and say that you have information on Glory Capital''s main powerhouses'' training grounds. The place is quite obscure. Ask Blood Red War Flag if they''re willing to buy this information," Buggy ordered his member according to what Lu Li said.


    "Alright, I''ll contact them immediately. Ah, that''s right. What''s the price going to be?" he asked, not wanting to make these decisions.


    "500,000 dollars," Buggy said, then added, "Tell them that once they receive this information, they will be able to ambush all the Glory Capital players who are above level 50 at the same time. The professional players are also among them."


    The little Thief quickly contacted the Blood Red War Flag member from last time.


    Of course, it was hard to trust the information, especially information of this calibre. After the update, it was much harder to track people without any PK points.


    For those with PK points, a fee needed to be paid for their position to be hidden for a certain period of time.


    Organisations would usually ask the players with PK points to either reset their points, or pay this fee to hide themselves, especially if they were involved top-secret guild activities. Not even the people in Blood Red War Flag were able to get this information, so how would a normal Thief obtain it?


    In these cases where the source was unverified, the deed would be done, then the payment would follow after.


    If it wasn''t for money, why would he lie? The Blood Red War Flag contact trusted the little Thief''s information, but he could not make the decision, so he also had to contact the higher-ups.


    After 20 to 30 minutes, the squad leader Jade Flower Lover and the director Dust Dragon appeared in Western Plaguelands to meet with the Thief. Buggy and the rest left the three of them to discuss. After discussing, an agreement was made. At the very least, Blood Red War Flag believed the information.


    Jade Flower Lover was already ready to leave, but Dust Dragon then walked over to the little Thief and tried to put him at ease.


    "Don''t worry. If your information is correct, we will definitely repay you abundantly."


    The little Thief used his tongue to wet his dry lips, then smiled and said, "I''m not worried about not being paid at all! I trust in the dignity of Blood Red War Flag to honour the agreement. If you guys end up reaping a huge benefit from this, I just hope that my brothers can also be rewarded.


    "Oh, you have a lot of people with you?" Dust Dragon was surprised. The information that he received was not complete, so he originally thought that this little Thief had only stumbled upon this.


    "Not many, just around a thousand. We just sell information to feed ourselves. This time, the information was much harder to get."


    The little Thief looked genuine, but none of the words were truthful.


    "Alright, don''t worry. I hope to work with you more in the future."


    Dust Dragon took a deep breath. A thousand players who specialised in obtaining information? Since when did this game have something like this?


    A thousand people was not much, but for a thousand players to do something that was not that profitable was abnormal.


    "We''ll have to see how you would repay us then. We only do it for the money," the little Thief said, putting on a perfect act of a money-hungry guy.

 1167 Killing

    Glory Capital had been practicing in the ruins of Solarsal for a week. Thirty of their Elite Groups had on average increased their level by one and a half. This was twice as fast as most other players that were farming for their level.


    After Lu Li left, they felt uneasy and continued reporting the situation to Sorrowless.


    "Boss, someone almost came in."


    Sorrowless was casting Blizzard on a group of Nagas. Damage values were continuously appearing over the monsters'' heads and many of them were critical hits. As the monsters fell, more were funnelled towards him.


    He was almost at level 57 and was about to enter the top 5 of the Level Rankings.


    The players responsible for pulling the monsters and protecting them from damage were not even part of the five Mage team in order to maximize Sorrowless'' EXP gain.


    "Who was it?" Sorrowless asked somewhat distractedly.


    "A Thief who seemed to be levelling. His face was covered, and he didn''t say very much. Once he heard that we were here levelling, he immediately left, so I don''t think there will be much of an issue," the player recalled.


    "You think?" Sorrowless snorted, then continued, "Then do you think that he came here consciously or by accident? What do you think his level and equipment would be like if he was here on his own? Stop thinking and tell them to expand the exclusion circle. Come back and report immediately if anything questionable happens."


    The player saw that Sorrowless was serious and didn''t dare to respond with a smile. After a call, he assigned a team of players to move out further into the valley.


    Meanwhile, a Thief was leading Dust Dragon, Jade Flower Lover and a Warlock from Blood Red War Flag through the Solarsar islands. They hadn''t travelled to the Feathermoon Stronghold, instead walking along the coast to reach the rear of the Ruins of Solarsal.


    "Let''s go in from here and attack them with surprise. We can then send someone to block the front door," the Thief said as he pointed at the mountain in front.


    Jade Flower Lover and Dust Dragon could only see the steep cliffs that used to be the Naga''s Stronghold. The location was very easy to defend and very difficult to attack. They couldn''t see how they could enter and catch them off guard.


    In fact, part of their plan was to send some Thieves to attack from the entrance once the chaos began. "Hey, there is a road here that goes straight into the Ruins of Solarsal that we found," the Thief said with a smile. "In order to stay hidden from the people inside, we will have spent a lot of time and energy on this."


    "There are shortcuts!" Jade Flower Lover exclaimed in shock. "Well, if we can enter the ruins unnoticed, then all your organisation''s efforts will not be in vain."


    They had decided to deal a significant blow to Glory Capital, and not just block their members. Their small team was no match for the members of Glory Capital in a straight-up fight, so they needed to capitalise on their advantage.


    Of course, it would be better if they could use this place for their own purposes somehow.


    "Just get everyone here first," the Thief said.


    "Alright, Warlock, open the door," Jade Flower Lover instructed the Warlock that was following them. It had now been half a year since Dawn''s release date and most clubs had a Warlock with this skill. Blood Red War Flag was no exception and they had no shortage of talent either.


    "The people in the front should be careful. The players maintaining the exclusion circle are on high alert," the Thief noted, temporarily taking the role of commander.


    Lu Li was flying high in the sky and saw that the area was completely covered. He even spotted the group of Thieves that had deliberately stayed in Stealth.


    Blood Red War Flag was also prepared for this moment. There were at least 80 Elite players among those who had arrived.


    These players didn''t really know what they were going to do, so they couldn''t sell the information. If they had known, it was unlikely that Blood Red War Flag could mobilize 30% of their Elite group without having their intel leaked to Glory Capital.


    As more and more players arrived, they hid in the valley behind the ruins so no one could find them.


    The 80 Elites were in place and the Thief began to move everyone. He quickly found a passage in the mountain wall that could fit five about five to six players side by side. It was very flat and was enough to let the troops travel through.


    Lu Li knew from his previous life that there was a passage there. Given the architecture and monster distribution inside the Ruins of Solarsal, it was hard to be seen when entering the valley as long as you stuck to the hillside. As such, these 80 Elite players were probably going to be able to completely surround the area. There were also a number of Summoning Gates still running outside, which meant that Blood Red War Flag could continuously summon reinforcements for the surround. The reinforcements would enter the battlefield from the rear.


    It could be said that the Blood Red War Flag had invested tens of thousands of people to ambush Glory Capital''s 3000 members.


    They had lost battles against Glory Capital before, so they didn''t need Lu Li to remind them how many players they needed to achieve their goals.


    To initiate the fight, a group of Thieves snuck into the area and tried to cause as much chaos as they could. They planned to drag as many Glory Capital players as possible into the battle, and prevent them from using their Hearthstones to escape. This was fairly unlikely anyway as the Glory Capital players were fighting monsters and were already in combat.


    After the Thieves entered, the Blood Red War Flag players began to spill in waves right into the middle of the area.


    Lu Li watched the battle from the sky. It looked just like boiling oil coming into contact with some water. Glory Capital''s initial losses were huge.


    Blood Red War Flag was three times as powerful as Glory Capital here and they had also surrounded them, but one side had not completely defeated the other. Glory Capital was quickly beginning to fight back and their players were consolidating a defence, greatly slowing down the advance of the other army.


    Lu Li was staring at one spot, where Sorrowless was standing with his iconic Blood Red Magic Staff in his hands.


    Lu Li didn''t know what this Magic Staff was, but all he knew was that he had it from the very beginning of the game. It was likely that it was upgradeable like his Supreme Ring ¨C otherwise, it would have been replaced by now.


    Sorrowless had been locked down. Although he had killed the player who attacked him, he had also lost the opportunity to escape with his Hearthstone now.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "What do we do?"


    "What else? Go get the Boss. Get all players that are level 55 and above to leave. We can get our revenge later," Sorrowless said calmly as he stood under the protection of a group of other players. As long as you didn''t fight and kept a distance from the enemy, you would be able to get out of combat and channel your Hearthstone. After 30 seconds of channelling, you would be able to leave the area.

 1168 A Fierce Fight Between Rivals

    How could Lu Li let them run away!?


    Of course, he wasn''t going to personally stop them. It wasn''t that he was incapable, but he didn''t want to expose himself. In fact, a Thief actually had the advantage in a fight like this as no one would be able to catch him in such a chaotic environment.


    He quickly pulled together a group who were tasked with stopping players who were trying to leave.


    Glory Capital was stuck in a bitter fight to the end. Whenever someone died, even a professional player, they had no choice but to revive in the city. In these circumstances, there was no way they would be battle-resurrected.


    The worst part wasn''t the EXP loss. After the System Update, even if no one revived them, they would only lose 5% of their EXP, which could easily be re-farmed.


    The worst part was dropping their equipment. Most of these high-level players had Epic equipment. Although the probability of dropping an Epic item was very low, Dark Gold items were still quite valuable. If they lost those items, not only would it cost them financially, but it would also cost them when fighting in professional matches.


    Lu Li landed on the ground and transformed inconspicuously as he quietly lurked near Sorrowless and the others.


    He was planning was looting the bodies and grabbing the equipment. If he could, he would take Sorrowless'' weapon, but Lu Li knew that was almost impossible.


    Sorrowless furious and his whole body was almost trembling.


    However, this wasn''t something that he hadn''t faced before in all his years of leading. He quickly adjusted his strategy, ordering his players to form a defence and quickly pull out the Boss from underground.


    The Ruins of Solarsal had three Naga Bosses ¨C a Mage, Priest and Warrior. This was a typical fighting composition, also arguably the most difficult combination of Bosses between level 55 and 60. They had attempted to defeat these three Bosses, but failed to take even 20% of their HP bars and lost many players in the process. They decided to hold off on fighting them, but in the face of this attack, Sorrowless thought pull these Bosses into the fight.


    He was obviously trying to take down the attackers with him, and ensure that everyone else died too.


    Lu Li remotely directed the Blood Red War Flag players to surround Sorrowless and warned them about his plans..


    The Glory Capital players were luck because they had received advance notice about the Boss, but the Blood Red War Flag players were not so lucky as a large wave of players were pushed back. The nearly one-sided battle had now been dramatically turned around.


    Lu Li carefully picked an item that had been dropped by someone.


    The quality of that Dark Gold item made Lu Li quite satisfied. It was likely that the original owner would have been quite satisfied with item too. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have Fortified a Dark Gold item three times. He had also inserted a very exquisite gem into it. The Enchanting likely would have cost a lot as well.


    Of course, this was possible for the Glory Capital''s players as the guild was rich and a lot of money was spent on the core Elite players.


    Just like Lu Li, there were other players all over the field picking up items from both Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag. Lu Li was a little worried that he would become a target, so he didn''t dare to take too many items too quickly.


    "Boss, these are Blood Red War Flag''s players. I just saw Jade Flower Lover," someone reported, having finally worked out who their enemy was. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "We''ll settle this with them in the evening. Let''s get out of here. Thieves, go scout out the area and get some other players to pick up the equipment with me," Sorrowless ordered as he grit his teeth. There was nothing he could do about his anger right now.


    He had long suspected it would be Blood Red War Flag, but their club normally wasn''t this strong, nor were they this disciplined. He wondered how they managed to quietly sneak into the valley to ambush them.


    "I have sent you Sorrowless'' coordinates. Don''t let him escape," Lu Li said to the Little Thief.


    Sorrowless, White Westhill and a number of other professional players were running from the battlefield as quickly as they could with the protection of some other players. There should have been a large number of their guild members heading towards them.


    The number of players present played a major role in this battle.


    Many of Glory Capital''s players were already at level 55 and were wearing level 55 equipment, but they were still killed by players who were lower levelled them than them. Even Thieves that tried to use Gale Steps couldn''t get away. Lu Li looked at the momentum of the fighting and moved towards the periphery of the area.


    Sorrowless was stopped near the exit as a large number of Blood Red War Flag players came in and cut off the last hope that they had left.


    What followed was a terrible battle. The Glory Capital players were eventually all killed, but Blood Red War Flag also paid the price. In addition to their opponent''s counterattack, sthey were also facing the wrath of the three Bosses. Blood Red War Flag had the most players present, so they naturally lost the most players to the Bosses.


    In fact, this was the ideal outcome for Lu Li.


    Allowing one strong party to fight another strong party was ideal, as both would be weakened.


    Lu Li initially estimated that even if the Blood Red War Flag players could kill all 3000 of the Glory Capital players, they would lose at least 3000 of their own players. Moreover, as the battle raged on, the reinforcements of both sides were desperately trying to enter the valley and get involved.


    In the end, the fate of Sorrowless and the others turned on one piece of information.


    The players of Glory Capital had noticed that Blood Red War Flag''s players were not reducing before discovering where they were coming from.


    Lu Li was rushing around grabbing pieces of equipment before sneaking back into the crowds.


    No one knew who this masked player was, but it didn''t matter as they would just cast their skills at him. If he died, then they knew he was an enemy. If he didn''t, they knew he was an ally.


    Lu Li, who was lucky enough to escape, was sweating. He took a few breaths before taking out the equipment he had just grabbed, which belonged to White Westhill. He was focus-fired by several players as he was protecting Sorrowless. When he finally ran out of mana, he died in the next chaotic exchange of skills.


    This was the equipment of a star player, which Lu Li had been keeping an eye out for.


    What he ended up fidning did not disappoint. It was indeed an Epic item and it was level 60 too. This was a much better item than what March Rain had, which made Lu Li reconsider the standard of equipment of Glory Capital.


    If he had just dropped an Epic, how many Epics did White Westhill have?

 1169 Making Money Is Too Easy

    After White Westhill died, Sorrowless was put in an even more dangerous situation.


    Lu Li held his breath and stared at the spot where the skills were landing. This was quite a difficult situation and he wasn''t sure if he could survive if he tried to grab the equipment. Even if he did survive, it could cost him in the future.


    Even if he could escape the attacks, Jade Flower Lover and the other players were watching, so he would expose himself.


    Jade Flower Lover was known for his tactical and observational mind. It could be said that he was the brain of Blood Red War Flag. With the combination of Lu Li''s body shape and escape methods, it was most likely that Jade Flower Lover would be able to guess who he was. This information would then be revealed to Glory Capital. Sorrowless was definitely going to hate Blood Red War Flag after this, but he wouldn''t let Ruling Sword go either.


    If it seemed like they had colluded to offend him, death would be brought to both of them.


    As such, Lu Li eventually decided it was best if he just let Sorrowless'' items go. Who knew what he would have dropped anyway? Lu Li didn''t believe that he was exclusively carrying Epic items.


    The battle in the Ruins of Solarsal had now calmed down a little. After all, the number of players on both sides was deceasing, especially on Glory Capital''s side. At the very least, 2000 players had died and the rest were retreating as they were pursued by Blood Red War Flag. They were currently trying to get out of the canyon and meet up with their reinforcements.


    "Hey, who brought the Boss here? Pull it away!" Jade Flower Lover yelled.


    No one had expected it, but the Bosses had actually wandered towards the players again. If it weren''t for the fact that he reacted quickly and used a damage reduction skill, he would have died.


    Lu Li''s eyes suddenly lit up as he saw an opportunity. He raised his gun and aimed it at the Boss. His gun was very special, as not only did it deal a fixed amount of damage, but it also had almost twice the range of other ordinary guns. The amount of damage dealt wasn''t worth anything against the Bosses, but it was enough to aggravate them.


    As such, the Bosses rushed straight towards Lu Li and stopped right in front of Sorrowless, Jade Flower Lover and the others.


    As one of the strongest creatures in Dawn, they were unable to walk around the players and had to first destroy all targets in front of them.


    After a burst of wild attacks, there were not many players left standing.


    Not only did Lu Li manage to retrieve Sorrowless'' equipment, but he even managed to get Jade Flower Lover''s too.


    Time was now running out, so Lu Li decisively withdrew before the area was blanketed in spells once again.


    He had a better understanding of the consequences of greed than most. Not only had he given up the other equipment, but he also chose to leave the area instead of sticking around and looking for further opportunities.


    Because of the concentrated attack mounted against Sorrowless and the need for additional forces to intercept Glory Capital reinforcements, Blood Red War Flag''s encirclement became increasingly weak. Eventually, a few hundred Glory Capital players broke through and rushed out. The Ruins of Solarsal now almost exclusively consisted of Blood Red War Flag players. If Lu Li stuck around, he would be asking for death.


    The battle quickly subsided and the people of Blood Red War Flag gradually withdrew. Glory Capital had lost and their only option now was to plan a later retaliation.


    Little Thief was smiling behind Jade Flower Lover like a junior high school student sitting in a classroom. Jade Flower Lover couldn''t help but feel a chill. If it weren''t for his report, then he wouldn''t have believed such an outcome was possible.


    Blood Red War Flag was one of the most powerful clubs in the recent years, but they had never been able to reach the top.


    For so many years, Glory Capital had stood like an insurmountable mountain, so much so that they were often pained in trying to think of a way to defeat them.


    Because of Little Thief''s intelligence, Glory Capital''s 3000 core Elite players had been humiliated. Most of them had died and had lost equipment. Among the dead included Sorrowless, White Westhill and Demigod Asura.


    "Who was the person that took my equipment?" Jade Flower Lover suddenly realized


    "Oh¡­" Little Thief felt the goose bumps rise up on his skin, but didn''t change his facial expression and remained calm. "That was my big bro. Did you want the item back¡­?"


    "Will you give it back?" Jade Flower Lover frowned as the suspicion in his heart was already building. He had seen the person with his own eyes. Although the player hadn''t used any particularly unique skills, their movements were very elegant and he could at least conclude that he/she was not a rookie.


    At first, he thought it was a professional player, but if it was the Boss of this intelligence organisation, then that was impossible.


    The professional players had to compete, so they needed to level up and spend time obtaining more equipment. How could they possibly have the time to build up an intelligence organisation?!


    "Hehe, you are one of our gold customers now. If you want to get back your equipment, it isn''t impossible. We just need a bit of compensation¡­" Little Thief had quickly sent a message to Lu Li and was relaying what Lu Li responded with. Jade Flower Lover''s equipment was nothing more than a Dark Gold item, so he had no problems giving it up for some money.


    "If it can be done for some compensation, then there are no worries," Jade Flower Lover said, then paused and added, "But your Boss should come and talk to me personally. Don''t look down on me just because I am just a Party Leader."Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "No, no, that''s not it," Little Thief waved his hand and lowered his voice as he spoke seriously, "Our Boss is a mute and can''t talk, so it''s usually up to me to talk about the business¡­"


    "Mute¡­" Jade Flower Lover almost swore in anger. This was a virtual world; how could there be anyone there was mute?


    "My Boss can''t speak in reality and although he can speak in game, he still doesn''t like to do it. He is quite shy. You don''t get it. He has been mute since he was a child¡­" Little Thief rambled on as he continued to fabricate this lie.


    He was really enjoying making up this nonsense!


    The final compensation was soon determined, and it would be a total of 3.5 million dollars. Little Thief had helped Blood Red War Flag retrieve a few pieces of equipment and Jade Flower Lover gave a bit more for their on-going cooperation. The whole transaction was worth about 5 million dollars.


    Even Lu Li didn''t expect the reward to be so high.


    In the beginning, his plan was to give Glory Capital some trouble as they were levelling so quickly. However, he didn''t want to get involved, so he found Blood Red War Flag.


    The results turned out quite well. Not only did Glory Capital lose a lot of EXP, but Blood Red War Flag was somewhat dragged down with them as well. Even then, he had still received a 5 million dollar reward. If he had received a 5 million dollar reward in his previous life, he could have saved Lu Xin.


    Sure enough, it took money to make money. Money was the hardest to make when a person was poor.

 1170 The Gap in Strength

    "Lu Bro, Buggy asked me to put the money on your card."


    Little Thief had completed his quest and was drawing it to a close.


    "You guys can spend it. Just make sure you look after the school I''ve sponsored."


    Lu Li had not been short of money recently, so it was better to support Buggy''s career.


    In reality, Buggy was already the godfather of the Common District, and all the gangsters were part of the same mob. However, all these players were now playing the game, and it was supported officially as they weren''t causing trouble in the real world.


    They were considered to be on the road to reformation. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    In the game, they were developing an intelligence agency that they intended to spread to all corners of Dawn.


    Clubs were generally reluctant to recruit these Common District gangsters as they thought they would lower their overall quality. Even if they recruited them, they would give them boring tasks, like being a Gold Collection member. These gangsters were generally not suited for those jobs and were better suited for doing things that ordinary people wouldn''t do.


    These players had been brought into the game by Lu Li. Because of their close relation to him, their strength was drawn from him.


    Obviously, this was a special kind of investment. Lu Li wasn''t just asking them to work for him. Lu Li also couldn''t just ask them to operate the organisation out of their own pockets because they were already friends. However, if this relationship was taken for granted, then they would have a problem.


    When Little Thief heard that Lu Li was giving them the five million dollars, he choked.


    However, Little Thief was still Buggy''s little brother, and he had been trained well, so he still reacted quickly and said, "Lu Bro, I don''t want to make this decision on my own. I will ask Buggy about it, but we didn''t even do anything. It''s not right for us to take this money¡­"


    "Then you can just take two million. Use it to repair the house you''re living in. Does it still leak when it rains?"


    The more Lu Li thought about it, the more he realized it was actually quite a bit of money.


    The place where these punks used to live was an abandoned warehouse. It was quite spacious, but the building was in quite poor condition. Although it was often repaired, it would leak during the monsoon season.


    "It doesn''t leak anymore. We changed the top a few days ago when it rained!"


    Little Thief was touched. He didn''t expect that Lu Bro, someone who had left for so long, would still remember that their house leaked. If it wasn''t for Lu Bro, they would have probably been freezing in the rain.


    "Go back and tell Buggy I''m giving you two million. Give the rest of me. I''m too lazy to discuss it with him," Lu Li said as he waved his hand and left.


    While talking to Little Thief, Lu Li had already roughly looked at the equipment that he had picked up. Apart from the Dark Gold and Gold items that were given to Jade Flower Lover, the rest of the equipment had belonged to Glory Capital.


    There were four Epic items!


    Even so, Lu Li didn''t feel the joy of a harvest as his heart was heavy.


    He had a total of eleven items which included the four Epic items. In addition to Sorrowless and White Westhill, he had also found two Epic items from two other players. A rough calculation of two Epics out of nine items was a probability that was slightly higher than 20%.


    Square Root 3, Moonlight and Cat Dad had been summoned by Lu Li.


    Moonlight was an old-fashioned player and didn''t pay much attention to the industry but he still knew more than Lu Li. Cat Dad knew a little bit about everything and Square root 3 was an important executive decision maker that had a thorough understanding of the current trends.


    "These must have been from players. They all have gems inserted," Moonlight observed just from his initial glance.


    If Lu Li had acquired these items from a Boss, he wouldn''t have strengthened them and placed in gems. With Lu Li''s current collection of gems and Strengthening Stones, there was no way he could have done it for all eleven items.


    As such, Lu Li took the time to explained what had happened today.


    "Wow, I''m jealous," Cat Dad said as he placed his hands on his forehead.


    "Lu Li, you¡­ whatever. As long as you''re happy."


    Moonlight had a more complicated reaction. He was more accustomed to a front-on fight and couldn''t accept such an underhanded fighting tactic, but he still didn''t look down on Lu Li.


    "How beautiful¡­how truly remarkable¡­" Square Root 3''s mumbled as he stared at Lu Li telling the story.


    "This is a classic strategy. If it was discovered, it probably would be listed in the annual list of strategies. Two great clubs being used to fight and weaken each other. What are you unhappy about?" Cat Dad couldn''t quite understand why he was there.


    In his younger years, he had wanted to excel in a similar way, but unfortunately, he lacked the character and intellect to do so.


    At first glance, Lu Li seemed harmless, but he was actually ruthless. The most impressive thing about what he had just done was that no one knew he did it, and he even took a 5 million dollar payout from Blood Red War Flag.


    "Do you think that 4 Epics out of 11 items is too high of a ratio? Even if Sorrowless and White Westhill''s items are removed, it''s still more than 20% Epic items for the Core Elites," Lu Li said anxiously.


    When Lu Li said those words, the other three looked at each other.


    The probability of how the equipment was dropped was quite mysterious. The Game Company had not given any official statements about it, but there was no doubt that the item dropped didn''t necessarily have to be the best item. This could mean that the Elite players of Glory Capital were carrying more than one pieces of Epic item each.


    Could Ruling Sword achieve such a standard?


    Of course not!


    Ruling Sword only had a few Epic items on a few players. Even Lu Li was still using some Gold equipment, let alone his Dark Gold equipment.


    If Lu Li died, he would have to be very unlucky to drop an Epic item. However, both White Westhill and Sorrowless dropped Epic items, so Lu Li had to wonder if they were only carrying Epic items.


    "Surely it''s not that bad." Square Root 3 just couldn''t believe it.


    "But it''s not impossible. If they had enough money, it could be done, right Lighty?" Cat Dad asked with a look of dignity.


    "It depends on how much they are willing to pay. After all, there are so many players in Glory Capital," Moonlight nodded and said with some certainty. "In the past, such things would often happen. A good outcome for a club is priceless, so if Glory Capital really wanted to win this time, they could have spent a lot of money for it. "


    For example, if they wanted to find as many 10% Level Reduction gems as they could, Ruling Sword''s 60,000 combat players meant that they had a decent chance of finding 60 reasonably quickly.


    For Glory Capital, these could be supplied by the overwhelming number of players in the guild. Even if they wanted level 60 Epic items, as long as they had the manpower to farm the equipment, there were plenty of Bosses in Dawn that could supply them.


    "The recent competition for Wild Bosses has been very intense," Square Root 3 sighed.


    "The matter of levels might also be an issue. Fortunately, you have interrupted this levelling location. Otherwise, they might have just surpassed us all," Cat Dad said thankfully. "Let''s not talk about the equipment for now; it''s not something we can solve without copious amounts of money anyway. We will focus on the levels ¨C for example, Moonlight, your level is too low."


    Moonlight had only recently reached level 55. If his opponent was level 57 or even 58, then the System enforced buffs would render him completely obsolete.


    "For equipment, 3 Bro should organise some players to go fight some Bosses. I will give you some information about the Bosses later. As for the levels, I recently discovered a quick way to level up, so organise some players to try that too," Lu Li quickly came to a decision.


    It was time to make use of a bug so they could start levelling as quickly as they could.

 1171 Infinite Summoning

    As soon as they heard that there was a way to level, everyone was re-energized.


    "This was discovered by a friend. When he was completing an Instance Dungeon, he accidentally ran into an Ironwrath Summoner, but at the time he was in a hurry, so he quickly finished up the Instance Dungeon without killing it. Upon reflecting and returning to the Instance Dungeon, he found that the Summoner was stuck in a hole. When the Summoner saw my friend, he began madly summoning Fire Elementals¡­"


    Lu Li had completely fabricated this so-called friend. However,s this a bug that would be discovered in the future.


    In fact, the bug had actually been discovered in a much more complicated way. If Glory Capital had not been rapidly levelling, Lu Li wouldn''t have wanted to exploit this bug so soon as it would get patched out.


    In the coming days, there were going to be big events that would have a major impact on the game, so most players wouldn''t notice.


    Lu Li could faintly remember people talking about it. It was more than a year later and when it happened, everyone thought it was a joke at first. An artificial intelligence had taken over the game, and had perhaps even taken the place of the Game Company?


    However, Lu Li wasn''t sure when that day would come. Until then, the Game Company still had the power to interfere with the game.


    If the Game Company found that the players of Ruling Sword were exploiting a bug, they had no right to punish Ruling Sword as the bug had come from the game. Nevertheless, they were entitled to patch out the bug as quickly as possible.


    "Is everyone ready?" Lu Li asked.


    "You just asked me to call them moments ago. I''ll get the players together now," Square Root 3 said excitedly.


    "It''s too bad I''m not a combat player, otherwise, I''d like to go have a look. I always thought that Dawn was the ultimate game. Who knew there would still be bugs?" Cat Dad said regretfully. Although he still played, he wasn''t a very high level and this meant that he couldn''t enter the Instance Dungeon as he would be taking up a valuable spot.


    "All games have bugs, no matter what," Lu Li responded.


    Even if an artificial intelligence takes over the game, there would still be bugs. One of the principles that artificial intelligence held was quite interesting. If there was a bug that made things convenient for some, but did not negatively impact the health of the game, the AI would choose to ignore it. Even if the Game Company was furious about this bug, they couldn''t do anything about it.


    But right now, Lu Li couldn''t wait any longer.


    When he saw his teammates that had been mobilized, all he could say was for them to train as much as they could. At the very least, he couldn''t let Glory Capital take any of the top three positions on the Level Rankings.


    Of the 15 players who entered, most of them were professionals. There was Lu Li, March Rain, Fat Monkey, Sakura Memories, Moonlight, Kitty Likes Meat and Mu Qiu. All these professional players were guaranteed a spot.


    The main tank was naturally Azure Sea Breeze, whlei the healers were March Rain, Hachi Chan and Mu Qiu. They had also brought Remnant Dream, Sesame Rice Ball and Lonesome Flower for damage output. Wandering had heard that he could level without moving, and also immediately turned up.


    This meant that they now had 13 players.


    In the end, it was better to match the players according to the Instance Dungeon. Since they were farming a bug, the more Mages they had, the more efficient it would be.


    Nuo Yu was a Fire Mage with decent area of effect skills. Lu Li was also convinced of his character; he knew that he wouldn''t disclose information about the bug to anyone. As such, he was given the 14th spot.


    Even among the club members of Ruling Sword, his damage output was well-known.


    The more important reason for Lu Li to take him was because he had a special effect that could passively regenerate mana. Any teammates surrounding him could also share this effect, which was very important when farming monsters.


    Jaweika was a very popular member of Ruling Sword. Any levelling team would ask him to follow their group, but he and Fat Monkey would always come in a package because they got along so well.


    Fifteen players entered the Instance Dungeon and they swept their way through it. They quickly reached the Lord General, but it wasn''t the First Clear, so there wasn''t worthwhile good loot. They received an Epic Magic item with passable Attributes which was given to Nuo Yu.


    They had killed the Lord General, but there was a monster that they couldn''t kill.


    There weren''t many teams that could miss this monster before killing the Boss. This was why the bug was difficult to find. However, the position of this Ironwrath Summoner was still a little unusual.


    This bug was only really discovered when many players reached level 60. The players had the level and equipment which made them strong enough to dare to ignore some monsters. Blackrock Abyss was still being explored by most players at that point, so these large sweeping teams only existed within large clubs.


    "Don''t kill the one that has a pattern on the back of its clothes," Lu Li said, pointing at a monster that was facing the wall.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    This monster''s clothes were different from the others and its posture was also quite strange. The other monsters were standing still or walking around, but this was the only one squatting and facing the wall.


    This monster was just an ordinary elite monster and it was very easy for the players to kill it. According to the monster aggro rules, it was quite easy to aggro it, but since Lu Li had explicitly asked everyone to avoid killing it, it wasn''t difficult at all.


    After the Boss was killed, Lu Li began to walk towards the Ironwrath Summoner.


    The others were arranged to stand in the corner so that they wouldn''t attract any aggro. This wasn''t really a logical position, but it was something that Lu Li had previously explored after a bit of experimentation.


    The first time, Lu Li couldn''t pull the Ironwrath Summoner and had to go in and out of Stealth.


    He then gave it a second and third try until the players were beginning to become a little impatient. The Summoner was stuck in a gap near the Lord General''s original position. Lu Li was trying to test the position of the monster and how close he needed to get.


    After Lu Li stopped at the right position, the Ironwrath Summoner started casting a spell that summoned a group of Fire Elementals. There were probably about 25 of them.


    After seeing so many monsters, Lu Li wanted praise himself. This bug wasn''t difficult to exploit, but the results were not always repeatable. There were about three situations that could arise. The first was six monsters, which was quite a small group that would only satisfy an average team. However, this was a party of experts, so six monsters wasn''t enough.


    There was also a situation where 12 monsters were summoned. Most ordinary players preferred this situation as it was good EXP without any danger.


    The 25-monster summon was the most difficult to achieve and was unwanted by most players. Not only were more monsters summoned, but the rate that they were summoned at was also increased. This wave of monsters that had just been summoned began running towards Lu Li.


    The spawn rate ensured that there was always 25 monsters present. Ordinary players that wanted to farm these monsters needed to be careful ¨C otherwise, they could get wiped.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t afraid here; this party contained Ruling Sword''s strongest players. Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were both here to pull the monsters while Lonesome Flower, Fat Monkey, Nuo Yu, Kitty Likes Meat and Sesame Rice Ball were all very good damage dealers. All they had to do was cast their skills on the monsters.


    Hachi Chan had a whole set of mana regeneration items which complemented Jaweika''s mana regeneration special effect. Mu Qiu also had a mana regeneration aura. This meant there was almost no need to stop and regenerate mana.


    Sakura Memories also possessed a very powerful mana regeneration effect.


    There was also very little stress on the healers. Azure Sea Breeze, to Lu Li''s surprise, seemed to manage these level 55 monsters almost effortlessly.


    The only regret was that these monsters didn''t provide that much EXP. After all, they were only level 55 and they were ordinary monsters. The EXP drop from a single monster was not that much higher than the same monster in the Wild.


    However, this way of farming wasn''t too tiring. Everyone was free to cast whatever skills they wanted and it was just a matter of time and energy.


    At the end of the day, even their will to chat was gone as they numbingly casted skill after skill¡­


    However, whenever someone levelled up, everyone''s spirits would lift a little as they checked how long it was before they would too.

 1172 Intelligence

    Lu Li wasn''t able to move much from his position ¨C otherwise, the Summoner would lose sight of him and stop summoning.


    This was quite a strong force, but Lu Li didn''t really have to participate dealing damage. Instead, he could take some time to tell Water Fairy about the bug. In another instance of the same dungeon, Water Fairy was leading an elite group of players to exploit the same bug.


    Lu Li hadn''t really thought of keeping this secret to himself, but it wasn''t because he was feeling particularly generous.


    When Drizzle Court had become an ally, that should have been enough reason to share some resources. Drizzle Court had a 1/3 chance of running into Glory Capital in the next round. It wasn''t realistic to expect them to defeat Glory Capital ¨C after all, they were weaker than Blood Red War Flag. Only Peerless City stood a reasonable chance, but the quality of their players was still weaker.


    Still, Lu Li hoped that Drizzle Court would be able to push Glory Capital into showing their hand so they would have an indication of how strong they truly were.


    The way that Water Fairy was exploiting the bug was not as effective as Lu Li. After she took a video of it, she sent it to Lu Li, who replied with some corrective instructions.


    Fortunately, Water Fairy was still cunning enough to maximize this bug. Even though there were only twelve monsters, she told most of the party members to quit, leaving behind the main tank and star players.


    Their Main Tank Deep Watersong was a Bear Tank, which was arguably the best-suited against monsters like these.


    After the players reached level 60, there was a defensive route that could be taken. There, the players could be levelled with three Mages and a Healer. A party of ten players could gain almost one level a day. This was currently an unimaginable speed for levelling in the Wild.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li knew that a day would come when this bug would be patched and the later players would be forced to fight for whatever monsters were left in the Wild.


    With all these players on the Level Rankings now desperately farming, it could be said that Glory Capital''s rush to gain levels has had a major influence. They were perhaps even the main focus of that day. After all, a battle had even broken out between them a Blood Red War Flag. Each side lost thousands of elite players.


    However, as the day went on, the next main focus was now Ruling Sword.


    From a simplistic perspective, their levelling efficiency was far greater than that of Glory Capital, so they found that their growth on the Level Rankings exceeded Glory Capital''s.


    In the beginning, everyone was still uncertain as to how they were doing it. Perhaps they had found a series of quest that granted EXP? But no matter how long the quest was, there was no way it could give continuous EXP for two days straight. The group of Glory Capital players were mostly level 56 on the Level Rankings, but now these players were almost all level 57.


    Drizzle Court''s levels were also following that same growth pattern.


    Soon, the other clubs couldn''t just sit around anymore. They were desperately trying to find out how they were doing this. The universally-hated coordinates system had now been abolished in the System Update, so they didn''t even know where to start looking for these players.


    However, there were particularly smart people trying to work it out as well.


    For example, Mr. Zhuge was one the forums discussing how this was happening when he made an observation. He notice that there were fifteen members of Ruling Sword receiving waves of EXP. With every wave of EXP received, it was always the same fifteen members of Ruling Sword. In other words, they was a group of fifteen players, so the most likely place for them to be was the Blackrock Abyss.


    If it was indeed the Blackrock Abyss, it would have to be an Instance Dungeon that could spawn a large number of monsters for them to farm. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be levelling so quickly.


    As such, the conclusion that Mr. Zhuge came to was that there was a bug in the Instance Dungeon. Regardless of whether it was Ruling Sword or Drizzle Court that discovered it, they had gone ahead of everyone to exploit it.


    Numerous other players supported these assertions, and urged Ruling Sword to share the strategy to exploit the bug. They said that they were all part of a big group of Chinese players, which meant that Lu Li had an obligation to share this kind of thing with everyone.


    However, Lu Li didn''t bother with them.


    Then, some players took it even further. If Lu Li didn''t come forward soon, they would report to the Game Company that there was a bug in Blackrock Abyss.


    Although an average player would be scared of the possibility of the bug getting patched out, Lu Li knew the habits of the gaming circle. As long as he didn''t do anything too drastic, they were unlikely to report the bug. According to Square Root 3, there had now been countless players who had gone to the Blackrock Abyss to the find this bug.


    That was why Lu Li wasn''t worried. It would take them a few days to even find the bug, let alone report it.


    However, what Lu Li didn''t know, was that Glory Capital had also sent many players into the Instance Dungeon. Sorrowless wasn''t too keen on it, as he was meeting Gale Legion''s president in real life.


    This president, who was called The Ordinary Life, was actually quite extraordinary. It was said that he used to be a talented professional player, but his status gradually declined over time. In the end, he was no longer good enough to compete and was forced to retire. Eventually, a tradition was started where players wouldn''t give themselves unlucky names, for fear that they would be eventually bound to the fate their name described.


    However, the world was often unpredictable and although he had been forced out, he had still not been abandoned by his Boss Sorrowless.


    Gale Legion was currently a very strong club that had recently changed leaders. The Ordinary Life was both the club''s leader and president of the guild. When he entered Dawn, he recruited Gaze and gave the club''s leadership to him.


    "Boss, this is not good," The Ordinary Life said with a long face.


    The top four guilds were Ruling Sword, Glory Capital, Drizzle Court and Gale Legion, but now, Gale Legion looked weak because their players weren''t even level 56 yet.


    "If your levels are low, you just have to keep working hard. Don''t worry about what is happening," Sorrowless responded as he continued casting his skills.


    "I plan to spend some money to find someone to find the bug for me. We still have quite a bit of money stored in the club''s account."


    The Ordinary Life hoped to gain Sorrowless'' support. After all, they were currently trying to make a deal with their biggest rival.


    "Don''t do that. I have already asked some players to contact the Game Company and report this bug." Sorrowless didn''t feel like this bug would have a big impact.


    "Boss, how could you do this?"


    The Ordinary Life was a Thief and he had not yet given up on levelling. In a flash of anger, he swiped at the monster in front of him and put it down. He wasn''t courageous enough to fight Sorrowless.


    "This is the best course of action. How much did you intend to spend on this bug?" Sorrowless asked, subtly trying to get at something, then paused before sighing, "Ordinary, don''t forget what Ruling Sword is missing right now. Money might be the only thing that is giving us an advantage, but once Ruling Sword gets that, they might be able to put it to much better use than us. In future, you should spend more time brainstorming before making decisions."


    The Ordinary Life''s face turned red as he angrily stomped his foot and left. He didn''t even say goodbye.


    Sorrowless knew of his temperament, so he wasn''t angry. He knew that The Ordinary Life wouldn''t violate his orders either. He was now just waiting for the Game Company to patch the bug.


    In fact, the Game Company was also in a difficult position. They were going to spend these few days testing the artificial intelligence that would eventually take over the running of this game. Then, they were sure that they would receive a great amount of investment from the community.


    However, they had no idea that something like this would happen at such a critical time.


    If they directly patched the bug without saying anything, they would just be shooting themselves in the foot. They said that they wanted an AI to take over the maintenance of this game, but they were clearly still intervening. There were already many people watching, so it was difficult to make such a direct move.


    In the end, it took a high-level executive to stand up and say something about it.


    "There is no absolute freedom in any game. All games must be operated under surveillance. Otherwise, no investor would dare to invest any money."


    "We want the AI to take over the maintenance of the game, but the AI was designed by us. Does it work? We don''t know, but our investors are not idiots, and they will be able to see through our act."


    "We should just put the AI on, and see how it handles this situation. There is no other more convincing way to show the investors that our AI is effective."


    As such, the bug was submitted to the AI, and all the top executives and investor representatives participating in this research witnessed as it coped with its first crisis. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    The biggest advantage of such an AI was that it could process problems quickly.


    This was unlike normal people who had to hypothesize, test, write solutions, seek approval and perhaps conduct relevant risk assessments before a real solution could be implemented a few days later.


    When Lu Li decided to exploit the bug, he was actually taking advantage of this fact as well.


    If he could have a few days, then he would be able to reduce the gap between Glory Capital and his players. How the Game Company then handled the issue was their business.


    However, the AI was completely different. When the problem was submitted, it took barely a moment to complete verification, development, implementation and other relevant steps. Suddenly, Lu Li felt like something was wrong with the bug that they were exploiting. It wasn''t summoning the right number of monsters.


    The number of monsters summoned all this time was 25.


    But now, only twelve had been summoned, which was half of the previous amount. The efficiency of their levelling had now been cut in half, and now they were levelling at a much slower rate.


    "What is going on? Did you move?" Azure Sea Breeze asked in confusion.


    "I didn''t. The other teams seem to be facing the same issue," Lu Li responded as he was verifying his suspicion. The bug had been patched.


    Except, the way that it had been patched made him a little confused. Wasn''t it normally the game company''s method to block the bug completely?


    At this time, in the game company, erupted in a thunderous applause after a moment of silence. Even if some people couldn''t understand what had happened, they joined the applause. They soon understood as the head of operations explained the subtleties of the bug resolution process.


    The AI didn''t feel that such bug threatened the health of the game, so it just reduced the number of monsters that the Summoner could summon, from the original twenty-five to twelve, twelve to six and six to three. Even if the bug continued to be exploited, the benefits would not be so extreme. The EXP that they received wouldn''t be that much more than farming in the Wild. This had effectively patched the bug.


    It was a much milder change than what the company had previously made, which was easier for the players to accept as well.


    Lu Li sighed helplessly while the group of investors were in awe of the AI. Lu Li then said, "Don''t worry about it and keep farming. The EXP we''re getting is about the same as farming in the Wild, but at least we don''t have to fight others for the monsters."


    However, by this time, Lu Li and the others had already received a huge amount of EXP.


    By the end of that day, Lu Li was almost level 57 and the lowest level, Moonlight, was only half a level from level 57. There were a number of Magic Professions that were higher-levelled than Lu Li, but only Lonesome Flower was above level 57.

 1173 Hacking Again

    The next day, Lu Li logged in later than usual; he had to take Lu Xin away for a check-up.


    Lu Xin was making good progress. She was young after all and had a lot of potential. The doctors estimated that she would be like any other average child in about a few months time, but they also suggested another better treatment, which meant Lu Li needed more money. Fortunately, no matter how poor Ruling Sword was, Lu Li no longer lacked the money to support his sister''s treatment.


    As soon as Lu Li entered the game, he received some bad news.


    "Glory Capital must be insane."


    Square Root 3''s expression was dark. Usually, when he had such expression, it meant that things were getting very serious.


    "What did they do?" Lu Li never underestimated Glory Capital, but he wasn''t afraid either. After all, he had set them up before in the past and the gap between the levels had basically been drawn even. It would be a pipe dream for Glory Capital to try and beat Ruling Sword by three levels again.


    Not to mention, Ruling Sword was new and had only been formed this year. Even if they lost, no one would say anything negative about them.


    "There are a few guilds who are hunting our people down. I''m assuming they''ve been hired by Glory Capital," Square Root 3 said bitterly. Although they were now much stronger, they still weren''t strong enough to deal with this.


    It wasn''t that the players from Ruling Sword were afraid, but as a leader, the first thing that Square Root 3 considered was the consequences.


    If there wasn''t any profit in this, then he would have to consider the costs. Any loss that members received from participating in the fight would have to be somewhat covered by the guild, or else no one would be loyal to them anymore.


    "We''ll use a bug for levelling. It isn''t any worse than levelling outside in the Wild and it''s very efficient," Lu Li said.


    "I know this, but how are we going to take down Wild bosses from now on. It''s hard for the Blackrock Depths to give us any Legendary equipment, and Dark Gold equipment is pretty much useless for competitors."


    Square Root 3 was troubled. It seemed like for the past two days, they hadn''t managed to lay their hands on a single Wild boss.


    Wild bosses were tougher than dungeon bosses and many people fought over them, but the loot was guaranteed to be better.


    Square Root 3 really put a lot of thought and heart into managing Ruling Sword.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "Right, that is a problem. They probably felt like they wouldn''t be able to drag apart the level gap anymore, so they''ve started to work on their equipment. Our equipment isn''t as good, and our technique isn''t any better either. This is tough," Lu Li sighed as he rubbed his face. He didn''t know how to solve the Wild boss problem either.


    Of course, there were still some unknown bosses around, but they were too hard to fight. Ruling Sword had limited time and they weren''t sure if everyone in the guild was really loyal.


    What if someone came to steal their loot after they had almost taken down the Boss. This would be worse than not fighting the Boss at all and this was definitely something that Glory Capital wouldn''t mind doing. As for Drizzle Court and Peerless City, it wasn''t impossible to drag them to fight Glory Capital with Ruling Sword, but it would mean that the war would escalate to an entirely different level. Perhaps this was exactly what Glory Capital was aiming for.


    "There''s only the two of us here. Lu Li, just tell me the truth. If we fight against Glory Capital, what are our chances?" Square Root 3 asked carefully.


    This was a very professional question. Lu Li thought for a bit before he replied, "A few days ago, I thought we had a 70% chance, but after I saw the equipment that Sorrowless and White Westhill had, I feel like we only have 40% chance left. If they''re all equipped with Legendary equipment, then we''d have about 20% chance. If things get even worse, and they change all of their sets to level 60 legendary equipment, then we have no hope at all."


    "****, **** this, let''s just do it. I''ll try and get the equipment. If I can''t, I''ll go and beg the other clubs." Square Root 3 was a little too anxious about the situation.


    "Bro, don''t be silly," Lu Li said as he held onto him.


    "You never know what will work out unless you try it. I feel like nobody wants Glory Capital to receive first place." Square Root 3 had a lot more to complain about.


    "Of course they wouldn''t want Glory Capital to take first place, but they don''t want us to get first place as well. Otherwise, you can go try if you want. I bet they won''t even be bothered to find any excuses to turn us down."


    It wasn''t that Square Root 3 didn''t understand the logic, he was just frustrated from the constant percentage drop that Lu Li had given him.


    "Then what do you say we do? I think even Peerless City won''t lend us equipment now, unless we''re fighting Glory Capital next," Square Root 3 said as he sunk back in his chair.


    "We can give Blackrock Spire a try," Lu Li suggested as his eyes glistened.


    In the past, the problem was that everyone was only level 55 or 56, so the Blackrock Spire wasn''t possible for them. The monsters there were above level 55 and the Boss was at least level 58 or even 60.


    The 3-level gap rule can''t be ignored, especially for defensive classes.


    There were usually two consequences of the level gap. Once the gap went beyond 3 levels, a player''s Armor will decrease below their usual Armor attributes. They would the highest possible damage, but this isn''t the worst part ¨C the worst part was that they would be more prone to critical strikes.


    It was dangerous for any tanks to take any critical strikes, not to mention if these strikes came consecutively.


    The other consequences was between the Boss and the tank. If the Boss'' damage was much higher than the base Armor of the player, then special attacks would deal 1.5 times the usual damage. The higher the attack went above the base Armor, the greater this special attack damage became.


    As such, when teams of random are looking for tanks, they usually considered how much Armor the tank had. Sometimes, they would also consider certain resistances, like Fire resistance, depending on the Boss.


    Of course, even if they no longer had the level-gap issue, it didn''t mean that the dungeon would be easy either.


    "Can we really do Blackrock Spire?"


    It was normal for Square Root 3 to question this. This was because many players wanted to do the dungeon, but no one had yet managed to take down the first Boss. Even Seventh Heaven''s dungeon explore team didn''t manage to get any further. When the team came out, they were cursing a lot, and that was when everyone knew about how tough the dungeon was.


    "You never know until you try."


    Of course, Lu Li couldn''t tell people that he had reincarnated, and that he wanted to use his hack again.


    The Blackrock Spire and Blackrock Depths were quite close to each other; they were split into a top and bottom level. Based on the strength of Lu Li''s team, it would be best if they did the bottom level because the monsters there were easier. At the same time, they didn''t need to complete a quest for the keys on the bottom level. They would need the keys for the top level though.

 1174 Blackrock Spire

    The quails in the Blackrock Spire looked cute, but they were actually quite evil.


    The Blackrock Mountain rested on the edge of Lakeshire, in the Eastern Kingdoms. The background lore of the Blackrock Mountain could be traced all the way back to the War of the Three Hammers, which involved the Bronzebeard, Warhammer and the Dark Iron Dwarves.


    The Bronzebeard Dwarves won the war, but the Dark Iron Dwarves weren''t willing to accept the defeat. They built the Thaurissan city at the bottom of Blackrock Mountains in an attempt to make their comeback.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    However, the Bronzebeard weren''t interested in giving their enemies a chance. After they joined forces with the Wildhammer, they completed destroyed the Dark Iron Dwarves again. In this fight, they killed the Dark Iron Dwarf, Queen Modgud. In despair, King Thaurissan made a mistake that anyone could''ve made. He summoned Ragnaros from the lava depths.


    Ragnaros had a fiery appearance.


    Because the fire element planes were linked to lava, you could imagine that Ragnaros appeared from the ground in a huge hole, dripping with lava. This was how Blackrock Mountain was formed.


    Then, Ragnaros proceeded to enslave the Dark Iron Dwarves and forced them to build the Blackrock Spire.


    Just because the Dark Iron Dwarves became slaves to Ragnaros didn''t mean they had the ability to swim in lava. The metal bridge on top of the giant hole was built for these Dwarves. Players had to take the same route in order to enter the dungeon.


    However, since this was a passageway, the bridge wouldn''t be small.


    As long as players didn''t attempt suicide, they wouldn''t fall off the bridge and die to lava.


    However, there would be quails hiding around the bridge that would blow at the passing players from the enemy faction.


    This created an AoE spell called Typhoon. The attack was fan shaped and not only did it deal damage, but it also had a chance of blowing away the victims that were hit. Theoretically, this would be a very strong PVP skill, but unfortunately, it required a relatively long cast time. As such, it was most useful when casted by these quails in hiding.


    Lu Li and the others had seen with their own eyes how a group of players got blown away.


    It wasn''t realistic to expect to survive after falling off the bridge, and this was the same for everyone, even Lu Li. Not only would a player have to lose 5% experience, but there was also no way of reviving the player. The player might also lose their equipment and wouldn''t be able to pick it back up. Even with their team members standing around, they would only be able to watch as the System refreshed the equipment.


    The reason why they were playing so carefully was because these quails were classed as Druids, so they could Stealth and ambush too.


    After taking out two of the enemy Druids, Lu Li brought everyone safely past the metal bridge. As for the players from the same faction who ambushed them, Lu Li would hide beside them and if they started casting Typhoon, he planned to take them out.


    Fortunately, the Druids that played here really cared about their factions and no one attacked their own allies.


    The entrance to the Blackrock Spire wasn''t easy to find, but this was no issue for Lu Li. After all, many players spent so much time hanging around Blackrock Mountain. Hachi Chan was still dragging onto Remnant Dream''s tail, afraid that she might accidentally get lost if she zoned out.


    After Ragnaros had been summoned, he enslaved the Dark Iron Dwarves.


    This well-defended spire was designed by the Dark Iron architect, Krokuun. As a symbol of Dark Iron, the Dark Iron Dwarves controlled this spire for hundreds of years until the Tauren army marched through the Door of Darkness and headed north.


    The Tauren in Azeroth could be divided by their skin colour. The most common skin was green, and were commonly found in Durotar. The most famous one amongst them was Thrall.


    Another type were brown skinned, represented by Hellscream and his son. They were known as the pureblood Tauren, and greatly admired strength. In the past, Hellscream managed to complete an almost impossible quest with his axe and became a hero. When they went berserk, their skin turned red and they looked thirsty for blood.


    Another type was the Blackrock Tauren. There was a hint of blackish-grey mixed in with their green skin. It was hard to tell if this was nature, but the only thing certain was that they didn''t belong to the Horde faction. They were more like the Tauren that had been cast out. Right now, they lived far away from the territory of the Horde faction and had become the most troublesome group to the human race.


    In fact, when they once belonged to the Horde, this group of Tauren followed the army up north.


    At Blackrock Mountain, they easily defeated the Dark Iron Dwarves and took over this Blackrock Spire. The Dark Iron Dwarves had to seek Ragnaros for help. However, he was still storing up his energy at the lava core, so the Dark Iron Dwarves had no choice but to retreat.


    The Tauren army rested for a bit after they captured the area, then proceeded ahead and left a portion of the army to stay here.


    In the battle of Blackrock Spire, Orgrim paid a heavy price to take down Anduin Lothar, the commander of the Alliance. The situation had turned too sour to save ¨C the Tauren had been defeated and most of them captured, including the Chief.


    The Tauren army was defeated, but it seemed like this had nothing to do with these Blackrock Tauren.


    They had been forgotten by Azeroth. If it wasn''t for the Dark Iron Dwarves that still fought with them or the arrival of Rend Blackhand and Maim Blackhand, these Dwarves may have still survived.


    Blackhand the Destroyer was the Warchief of the Horde, controlled by Guldan. Both Rend and Maim were his sons.


    Rend was the elder son of Blackhand, and had the battle talent and tactical thinking of his father. Along with his brother Maim, he was forced to age faster with Warlock magic that drained life force. The brothers and Orgrim were the important left and right hand of Blackhand.


    During the end of the first Tauren war, Durotan died to assassination and many questioned if this was the work of the Blackhand brothers.


    After Blackhand was killed by Orgrim Doomhammer, Rend and Maim were filled with fury and decided to take back the control of the Blackrock tribes. They swore to kill Orgrim and avenge their father. Although they earned some support from the Tauren and the tribes, even until this day, their wish remained unfulfilled.


    Then, they were placed in charge to protect the Dark Portal, but were defeated by the Alliance army. In the end, the Dark Portal was destroyed and the two brothers were captured by the Alliance.


    After a tough process, Rend finally escaped with his brother. Together, they gathered the remaining troops and took over Blackrock Mountain, using the Blackrock Spire as their main city. Over the past dozen years, they had constantly expanded their territory and threatened the peace of Stormwind City, located to the South of Blackrock Spire.


    During the war to gain control over Blackrock Spire, Rend lost his only family.


    Rend never managed to fulfil his dreams, and someone of great importance arrived within his territory ¨C Nefarian.


    Rend''s father was only a puppet leader and he also died. However, Nefarian''s father was the King of Black Dragons, the Earth protector of the past, and someone who could easily take on any other dragon protectors.


    The Black Dragon Army was the greatest threat to the mortal world.


    Under the lead of Death Wing, the Black Dragon Army had constantly invaded and destroyed the kingdoms of Humans and Elves over many generations.


    Although he was defeated during the war of Grimtotem, he was fortunate enough to escape from death. No matter if he was captured or in hiding, one thing remained certain ¨C he had no power over the evil Black Dragon Army.


    Because Death Wing was hiding, his eldest son took up leadership and now led the entire Black Dragon race. This elder son of Death Wing was Nefarian, who was cruel and cunning. He used the Blackrock Spire as his fortress and turned the Blackwing Lair into his nest.


    Nefarian used all sorts of dragon blood to experiment and finally created an army of colourful Dragonspawns.


    With the help of his sister in creating these special Dragonspawns, Nefarian took over the entire Black Dragon Army from his father.


    Alongside his fellow loyal dragons, Nefarian fought Ragnaros and finally took over the entire Blackrock Mountain and the surrounding areas.


    He tried his best to replicate the glory that his father once had. After Nefarian captured the elemental slaves of Ragnaros, he was pleased and used them for his own evil cause.


    When Nefarian conquered the Blackrock Tauren, he didn''t kill Rend. He needed a helper too.


    On the surface, it appeared that Nefarian had formed an alliance with Rend Blackhand, when in reality, he was only using Blackhand''s tribe for his own goals.


    The crazy desire of Nefarian to rule even drew out the Red Dragon, an enemy to the Black Dragon Army. Although Nefarian''s goals were clear, his tactics to accomplish his goal remained an unknown mystery.


    With his control over the Black Dragon Army and the support from the multi-coloured Dragonspawn, Nefarian began to plan his counter attack on other dragons and the mortal world.


    All of this meant that the Blackrock Spire was a part of the Tauren faction.


    Actually, Blackrock Spire and Blackwing Lair were both forces of the Black Dragons and the Blackrock Tauren. The Blackrock Depths and Molten Core were forces of the Dark Iron Dwarves and Ragnaros. The two parties constantly fought in an attempt to gain complete control over the Blackrock Mountains.


    Although the dragons possessed powers of dark magic, Ragnaros could use his fire abilities to give life to rocks. The two forces were on par with each other and the battleground became a mess.


    This was such a poor location. Lu Li had always questioned why these two Bosses constantly fought over it.

 1175 Skipping

    After Nefarian and Rend began working together, they also attracted new forces to join them, for example, the Troll tribes, Spider monsters, Smolderthorn Trolls and the Firebrand Legion. They also kept their army of Wolfriders.


    A portion of the old Horde faction had gathered in this dungeon.


    Lu Li clicked on Nightmare mode like usual and stepped into the dungeon under the shocked gaze of the other players.


    If he was by himself, Lu Li might choose to hide his tracks, but now that there were fifteen of them, there was no way to conceal themselves. There was no reason to not head straight for the entrance. On the way, even players from the opposing faction scurried away.


    Right now, Ruling Sword wasn''t something that an ordinary player could afford to upset.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, he had crossed a few major guilds. Even just some simple assassinations were enough to almost make him quit the game. Now, the tides had turned for him.


    If he wanted to hunt down an average player, he didn''t even need to do it himself. He could easily make the game much more difficult for them.


    They entered the Blackrock Spire under the eye of the public, so it was only natural that this news quickly reached all the major clubs.


    The dungeon was split into a top and bottom level, with the bottom level being easier. However, none of the guilds agreed with how Lu Li viewed the dungeon. If bottom level was ''easy'', then there was simply no point in attempting the top floor at all.


    The path for bottom level of Blackrock Spire wasn''t very long, but it was filled with Bosses and the loots was quite worthwhile. If they were all level 59 or even 60 players, then a ten-man team could finish the dungeon within a few hours. Of course, for a team like Lu Li''s, where everyone was around level 56 and 57, it was best to have fifteen people.


    There were quite a few quests available for this dungeon. Some could be activated while others remained hidden. Regardless, everyone tried their best to obtain all the quests that they could.


    The bottom level of the Blackrock Spire was like a maze and could be split into three levels based on height. When you entered the dungeon, you would be at the middle level, which opened up to a large area you could jump down to reach the lower level.


    Because of all the guides that Lu Li had read in the past, he was familiar with multiple different paths for this dungeon, each with their own pros and cons. No matter how you chose to run this dungeon, you would have to jump to the lowest floor from the middle floor at some point, because the other end of the middle floor could only be reached through the lowest floor.


    Different paths meant different monsters, and once you jumped down, you wouldn''t be able to return. However, you could keep travelling upwards towards the top floor, then jump down from the top floor and back to the middle flor.


    One major problem for this dungeon was that Warlock pets and Hunter pets couldn''t jump. As such, if anyone forgot to send their pet away, they would wander around in a huge circle, collecting all the monsters along the way while eventually reaching you at last.


    In these kinds of situations, you would often see a Hunter play dumb, or a Warlock cursing...


    As for the rest of the team, they might choose to kill their silly teammate. If they were feeling nicer, they might even let them choose their own way of dying.


    After they entered, they were faced with two Tauren sentries.


    There were plenty of strong monsters in Dawn that were tougher than Bosses, but these two sentries clearly didn''t belong in that category.


    After a round of skills, the two Tauren sentries were sent to the System for a refresh.


    They left behind some fabric, which was actually quite valuable. As their levels increased, the amount of fabric requried for tailoring also increased. Many quests also often used fabrics as quest items, but usually only humanoid monsters dropped these items. Hence, fabrics had always been popular on the market.


    When they reached to the top of a giant lava hole, Lu Li pointed at a stand below and said, "Let''s jump off from here. March, give me and Sesame Rice Ball Levitate. Moonlight, catch us. Everyone else, follow one-by-one."


    "Wait, don''t we take that path if we''re going to the first Boss?" Azure Sea Breeze asked in confusion.


    Although he had no clue about the progress of other guilds in this dungeon, some preliminary guides had already begun to appear on the internet. Th


    Some of them were written show off, while others were scams that forced people to pay to watch the video. With a decent number of viewers, this was a reasonable income.


    Azure Sea Breeze seemed to be one of these people who took the bait. Ten silver coins weren''t much to him anyway.


    "Who told you we''re doing the first Boss?"


    Lu Li found this to be laughable. He estimated that there were probably no guilds who could take down the first boss, Highlord Omokk, at this time, neither did he think that Azure Sea Breeze would be able to tank it at this stage.


    Omokk governed the Trolls in the spire. Many of his subordinates had suggested to fight him one-on-one, in the hopes of taking his Highlord title. However, all of them lost. There were no exceptions ¨C none of them could even touch him. This led to some mysterious rumors and some even claimed that a higher presence was protecting Omokk.


    Omokk was a Boss that needed to be killed. Many quests from the Blackrock Spire bottom level were tied to him, even those that gave players the key to the top level of Blackrock Spire.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    If they continued ahead, they wouldn''t be able to go around Omokk. With the usual way of thinking, players would think that they would have to take down Highlord Omokk first.


    Omokk had no special skills, not even an Ultimate skill. Most of the time, he just auto-attacked any player that that gained his aggression. The results were expected. If he was easy to defeat, none of the guilds would be trapped here.


    What was sad was that when the average players came into the Blackrock Spire, they weren''t thinking of taking the First Clear. They just wanted to kill a few Bosses for some equipment.


    Now that they were all trapped here by Omokk, all hope had been lost. Some guilds had given up continuing the dungeon for now; it was better to use this time on levelling. Glory Capital was a good example; they didn''t even send a single elite team for this dungeon.


    "You want to use Levitate to reach the stand on the opposite end?" Moonlight asked incredulously as he shook his head. "That''s impossible!"


    The Levitation skill of Priests only lessened a target''s weight, which reduced the landing speed and reduced the damage they would take upon landing. There were other similar spells and potions that had the same effect.


    "Of course, we can''t do it in one go, but we can do it in two tries. The important thing is to get Sesame Rice Ball there first. Then, we''ll just send over another two and that''ll be enough," Lu Li said.


    "What do you mean two tries?" Azure Sea Breeze was confused.


    "Do you see that bump there?" Lu Li asked as he poked out his body and pointed at the cliff on top of the lava. From his angle, there was a small bump indeed on the cliff walls, a tiny one that could barely hold a person.


    "You mean, to use that landing spot to change your direction?" Moonlight thought for a bit and realized that it wasn''t all that impossible.


    "How many times do you have to die to get there?" Azure Sea Breeze believed that Lu Li had gone mad.

 1176 Levitation

    "This is a dungeon; we won''t lose experience or equipment here. What are you afraid of?" As a man, especially a man who tanked monsters all day long, did Azure Sea Breeze really need to be so frightened?


    Azure Sea Breeze was speechless. It seemed like it would be hard to make him jump, unless someone kicked him from behind.


    "Let me try. I rock climb a lot in real life," Jaweika said eagerly.


    No one else opposed his suggestion. Although Lu Li made it sound easy, no one wanted to give it a try first. Just the height alone was frightening, let alone falling into the lava that would burn a player to death. Although the game had already removed 90% of all player''s senses to protect them, even that remaining 10% would linger on long enough to make anyone feel uncomfortable.


    "It''s not that bad once you get used to it," Lu Li mumbled.


    He often travelled with a group of random players in his previous life. Although they didn''t take out any Bosses, they had jumped quite a lot of times.


    The burning sensation wasn''t enough to traumatize anyone, but people still resisted overall. Of course, if someone was happy to stand out and set the example, Lu Li wasn''t that keen about jumping first either.


    March Rain casted Levitate on Jaweika.


    Jaweika carefully moved to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the red lava beneath him. He felt the heat waves from the lava on his face; it was similar to standing near a campfire.


    However, he wasn''t afraid. You could tell from his eyes that this guy seemed to be quite excited.


    "I''m off."


    Without any preparation or hesitation, Jaweika, the Shadow Priest, jumped down. It seemed like his body was dragged by some sort of mysterious force and like a leaf in the wind, he wobbled and drifted downwards.


    "Oh no," Moonlight sighed.


    The others watched closely and quickly realized why. Jaweika''s landing spot wasn''t close to the bump on the cliff, so there was no way he would be able to use it to change his direction. The results were inevitable.


    Why didn''t they choose another spot besides the bump to bounce off?


    The reason was simple ¨C other areas of the cliff had flames running along them. They would take damage as soon as they touched them.


    Levitate allowed players to float for a long time, but it came with one major fall back ¨C the effect disappeared once a player took damage.


    Once Levitation was cancelled by the burning damage, it would result in a failure.


    Jaweika discovered that he couldn''t succeed, so he simply cancelled his levitation and dropped right into the burning lava, turning into a flash of white light.


    Like Lu Li said before, they didn''t lose anything from dying in the dungeon. It was a shame that the healing classes couldn''t pull him back up because he was out of skill range. He had to re-run back and revive at the entrance.


    "Give me a Levitation." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    While they waited for Jaweika''s return, Lu Li decided to try it himself.


    He didn''t manage to succeed in the first trial. He wasn''t pretending ¨C even with his experience from his previous life, it wasn''t a 100% guarantee that he could land on the right spot.


    After Lu Li revived and returned, Moonlight was gone too. He most likely followed Lu Li and dropped into the lava. Jaweika was still half way in the air and Wandering actually came over to queue up. It seemed like he wanted to try his luck as well.


    Jaweika didn''t succeed this time, but everyone cheered for him, because he managed to step on the bump. However, his second jump wasn''t in the right position, so he couldn''t land on solid ground after.


    Wandering didn''t succeed either and Lu Li had already started his second jump.


    Lu Li continued to change positions in mid-air while explaining the mechanics to his team members. He slowly landed on the bump on the cliff, which couldn''t support him for very long at all. With a push from his feet, he flew into the air again.


    This time, he did better than Jaweika. He slowly floated across the lava and landed on solid ground on the opposite end.


    With Lu Li leading an example, the others grew interest too. Before Sesame Rice Ball succeeded, everyone jumped one by one. Even the girls who were frightened at the beginning took a chance.


    Obviously, the girls didn''t succeed because they jumped with their eyes closed.


    Lu Li didn''t need everyone to jump over. After Sesame Rice Ball succeeded, he opened up a Summoning Gate and pulled everyone across.


    "Alright, let''s go. We''ll head straight to the second Boss," Lu Li sighed in relief as he took the whole team towards the Troll''s territory.


    It wasn''t strange at all for Trolls to appear in the Blackrock Spire.


    All the Trolls here were either Flametree Trolls or Smolderthorn Trolls. They belonged to the two Troll tribes that were part of the Blackhand army.


    They refused to join the new tribes of Thrall and continued to follow Rend Blackhand. Although they were much smaller compared to Thrall''s tribe, they refused to give up their ancient conquest on Azeroth.


    In the minds of the Flametree and Smolderthorn Trolls, they still paid their respects to their ancestors. All other Troll tribes were simply traitors, especially the Revantusk tribe.


    The Revantusk Trolls spitefully believed that the Smolderthorn tribe were the real traitors for not leaving the Blackrock Spire. They were the true loyal members who followed Thrall to lead the true Horde. Either way, Trolls outside of the Blackhand army had believed from a long time ago that the Flametree and Smolderthorn Trolls were making stupid decisions. They were silly to continue fighting for an impossible cause ¨C if this could even be called a cause at all.


    Perhaps it was because these Trolls came from extraordinary backgrounds, but they were all incredibly strong. Normal teams needed to be careful around them; just their poison alone was enough to kill. However, for the Ruling Sword team, these monsters weren''t enough to take any of them out yet.


    "Lu Li, why didn''t we give the first Boss a try? We might have been able to do it. I still have a quest related to the first boss," Azure Sea Breeze''s suggested, his face filled with regret.


    "The first Boss requires Armor and fire resistance; you don''t have enough of that yet," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    If Azure Sea Breeze was wearing his best equipment, then he would definitely have no problems with his Armor. He almost had a whole set of Legendary equipment. In order to save some gems, he wasn''t wearing his level 60 equipment, but no one else from any other guild would be able to claim to have higher Armor than he did.


    The key was Fire Resistance.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t have Fire Resistance gears. If he changed into them, he would be able to tank Omokk''s fire attribute damage.


    However, with his Fire Resistance equipment, Azure Sea would not have enough Armor. If they wanted to kill Omokk, the tank needed to fulfil both the Armor and Fire Resistance requirements.


    This was impossible for Azure Sea Breeze at this point, and the same went for any other tanks.


    However, the second boss was a different story. Shadow Hunter Vosh''gajin was definitely more cunning, but Azure Sea Breeze could tank her.


    Vosh''gajin was famous amongst the trolls for her beauty and insanity.


    Perhaps in the eyes of Trolls, her giant teeth and size, along with her green skin were truly beautiful. However, she was also famous for her madness. As someone who specialized in the Shadow Hunter''s way, she was proficient in witchcraft, curses and healing magic.


    She liked to perform all sorts of rituals that claimed to communicate with the ancient gods. After a while, she truly believed that she could communicate with them and became mad.

 1177 Little Frog

    The Shadow Hunter class was not available for the players to play. They were similar to Shamans in terms of the playstyle and background lore.


    The Shadow Hunters were masters of voodoo and black magic, using spiritual powers to both heal and curse. They walked in the line of dark and light in the hope of saving and securing the future of Trollkind.


    Lu Li only knew so much about Shadow Hunters because he researched them in Scarlet Library.


    Knowing the background information helped them to better understand Shadow Hunter Vosh''gaijin. Lu Li informed his teammates of the relevant information about the Boss so that everyone could help brainstorm some strategies. Lu Li needed teammates that pulled their own weight; he expected them to be able to analyze and come up with their own strategies.


    Four Trolls surrounded Shadow Hunter Vosh''Gaijin and appeared to be performing some sort of a ritual. The ground beneath them was glowing eerily green and they could almost hear the screaming voices in the distance.


    "We probably have to fight all of them at once," Azure Sea Breeze said as he downed a potion. Others also took some potions that added to their desired stats.


    "Let''s try it."


    Lu Li knew that killing the Trolls was useless because they could only be killed once the Boss was defeated. There was actually no need to fight them at all because they would continue with the ritual and not bother attacking the players.


    Azure Sea Breeze grabbed aggro of the Boss while the secondary tank Wandering taunted the smaller mobs.


    The small mobs ignored the Taunt and even when skills landed on them, they only dealt 1-2 points of damage.


    "I don''t think it''s working. Focus on the boss," Lu Li said.


    "I feel uneasy with so many monsters surrounding us."


    Wandering switched his focus onto the Boss but he still kept his eyes on the Trolls since it would usually be his responsibility to deal with them.


    "What else can we do? We can''t even damage them."


    Lu Li was focused on attacking the Boss and was ranked second on the DPS chart. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    Wandering shurgged, knowing that there was no point of worrying about that.


    The HP of the four Trolls could never drop lower than Vosh''Gaijin''s HP, meaning that unless you focused the Boss first, the four Trolls could never be touched.


    Therefore, the strategy was to completely focus on the Boss.


    "How come Lonesome Flower is doing so much damage?" Nuo Yu asked in surprise. He was doing quite a lot of damage but was still trailing behind Lonesome Flower.


    "Mechanic,." Lonesome Flower said proudly.


    "Uhh¡­ Tell me please, old brother Flower," Nuoyu asked politely as he walked over to stand next to Lonesome Flower.


    "Okay, but this was something that I''ve worked on for a while. Don''t tell anyone else."


    Since Nuo Yu asked so nicely, Lonesome Flower decided to be nice as well and began explaining his skill combos, macros and mechanics. The other Mage players also listened carefully.


    Lonesome Flower didn''t like PVP, but he had never stopped researching about how he could improve his DPS. He''s also been hanging out with Lu Li ever since the start of the game and the two would often discuss and share different mechanical advantages that they found.


    Fat Monkey was more of a PVP player, but he still learnt a lot from Lonesome Flower''s explanation.


    "Careful, the ritual is changing," Lu Li reminded.


    The ground beneath the Trolls was now glowing bright red.


    "I''m just getting started!" Shadow Hunter Vosh''Gaijin roared with an evil laugh and summoned a swarm of insects.


    Summoning insects wasn''t anything out of the ordinary for one of the most intelligent species in Azeroth. More than 16,000 years ago, the Trolls split into the Gurubashi and Amani kingdom. They ruled over the majority of the land of Kalimdor, and during that time, their biggest enemy was the Aqir Empire


    The Aqir Kingdom was formed of an intelligent Insectoid species. They were one of the most ancient species along with the Zandalari Trolls, even existing before the times of Ancient Gods. The Insectoids ruled over the West of Kalimdor, but desperately wanted to expand their territory. They were also very evil, willing to take out their own kind in order to grow in power.


    Amani and Kurubashi Trolls fought against them for over thousands of years, but could never gain the advantage against the Aqir Kingdom.


    In the end, through the persistence of the Trolls, the Aqir Kingdom was split into two, forming the Azjol-Nerub of the North and Ahn''Qiraj.


    Lu Li''s team underestimated the Insectoids, which eventually led to their downfall and the first raid-wide wipe at Shadow Hunter Vosh''Gaijin.


    Lu Li never expected them to defeat her in the first try since she was a powerful Lv58 Boss.


    Highlord Omokk was already quite challenging for them, but Shadow Hunter Vosh''Gaijin was even more difficult.


    After the wipe, Sesame Rice Ball and a few other players had to make their way back all the way from the starting point. Lu Li was one of the few that managed to survive along with Moonlight. Moonlight was very sneaky and as soon as he realized they were about to be wiped, he hid in the corner and tried his best to stay alive.


    On their second attempt, they were a lot more careful about the Insectoids.


    Their damage wasn''t particularly high, but their attack speed was insane, to the point where it appeared as if there was no delay between each attack. They were wiped because they were stampeded by a swarm of Insectoids.


    "Flower, when the bugs come out later, freeze the first wave. When I shout out two, Big Brother, you freeze the second wave and Nuo Yu, you freeze the third," Lu Li instructed.


    "The Insectoids are so squishy. Why do we need three waves of freeze?" Wandering was confused.


    From his perspective, if they hadn''t underestimated the Insectoids, they could have easily killed the entire swarm since they only had a couple hundred HP each. There was no need for three Mages to freeze them at all.


    "Shadow Hunter¡­" Lu Li began explaining the Boss'' class and Wandering immediately understood. Most Shadow Hunters seemed to have a common skill called Healing Wave that healed friendly units once per second.


    Even if they damaged the Insectoids, they would be healed back up to full HP immediately.


    Lonesome Flower casted freeze as soon as Lu Li gave the order, which was why Lu Li had decided that he go first. The long-built teamwork and trust in one another had solidified over time. Nuo Yu might have decided to save the skill instead of using it because he saw that the Insects were on low HP.


    There were three waves of healing and the insects were healed three times.


    If it wasn''t for their third Mage, they probably would have had to kite the swarm of bugs in order to get as far away from them as possible.


    After the third wave of Healing, Vosh''Gaijin stopped and they were able to defeat the swarm of insects. This also signaled the second stage of the Boss.


    Stage two required two Main Tanks. Lu Li decided not to tell Wandering because he trusted in his ability to adapt.


    Vosh''Gaijin''s eyes began glowing brightly and Azure Sea Breeze became stunned. His whole world was changed completely and everything appeared abnormally large and unrealistic.


    "Wow, so cute!"


    Hachi Chan was excited when she saw that Azure Sea Breeze had been turned into a little frog.


    Remnant Dream was stupid enough to attempt to tame the little frog. She was really determined to finally have a pet frog.

 1178 Shadow Hunter

    "Pfft."


    Wandering held back his laughter. He wanted to go and make fun of Azure Sea Breeze, but he quickly reacted and grabbed the aggro of the Boss.


    "Happy, happy little frog, actually a Prince in disguise. The curse can only be broken with a kiss from the princess," Kitty Likes Meat began to sing.


    "Happy happy little frog¡­." Hachi Chan also started singing.


    "Happy happy little frog¡­" Remnant Dreams stopped trying to tame it and joined in as well.


    Azure Sea Breeze was still jumping around on the ground and probably wanted to die on the inside. Fortunately, March Rain was nice enough to cleanse the debuff.


    Transform - Transform an enemy player into a random animal, causing them to lose all abilities and skills.


    This was the Shadow Hunter''s Transformation skill and it was very powerful. Enemies affected by the spell lost all defensive stats and could not be cleansed nor dispelled by an active. It could only be dispelled by other players. Otherwise, the target would stay as an animal for a whole two minutes.


    As soon as Azure Sea Breeze transformed back, Wandering became a cute little bunny.


    "Is this a competition to be cute? Jaweika joked.


    "Haha, I''d rather be a frog than bunny. Move aside and don''t get in my way," Azure Sea Breeze said. He did not realize how stupid he looked before.


    Azure Sea Breeze ran towards March Rain with tears in his eyes.


    March Rain had to keep the entire party alive because of the chain lightning and had no time to save Wandering.


    "Don''t save him. I think if we turn him back, the Boss might turn someone else into an animal," Lu Li instructed, not realizing how much his words hurt Wandering.


    In reality, Lu Li was wrong about his hypothesis.


    Jaweika was transformed while Wandering was still a bunny. This time, Lu Li instructed March Rain to turn Jaweika back.


    "****, screw you!" Wandering thought to himself.


    "I thought you were happy to sacrifice yourself for the team."


    Lu Li knew Wandering would act that way.


    Transformation mechanics was very complicated and there was a lot of research put into it. In his past life, Lu Li read about relevant strategies which were written by players who gathered information through interviews and personal experiences.


    The Main Tank, as the player closest to the Boss, had the highest chance to get transformed. The rest of the party had a random chance of being transformed.


    Three players could be simultaneously affected at once, meaning that if Wandering was transformed then there could only be two other players that could be targeted. As a relatively useless secondary tank, it was be more useful for him to be one of the three that were targeted.


    Insectoids were also summoned in Stage 2 and this time, they were even more powerful.


    However, with their previous experiences, the Mages no longer needed Lu Li to give them the signal for freezing the insects. Lonesome Flower''s Water Elemental was very useful too because he could use Frost Nova as well.


    Fat Monkey and Nuo Yu didn''t have Water Elemental pets because learning Ice skills would decrease their Fire damage. They wanted to maximize their DPS as much as possible and didn''t want to sacrifice their damage for a Water Elemental pet, even if it could use Frost Nova.


    Stage 2 would be quite simple as well, as long as everyone remained calm when they were transformed.


    Lu Li and his teammates were quite powerful and even if they lost a few players, they were still able to deal with the monsters that Vosh''Gaijin summoned.


    The hardest stage was stage 3.


    "You crazy imbeciles, which one of you want to die first?" Vosh''Gaijin screamed in a high-pitched voice.


    As she waved her hands, lava erupted and a fiery monster appeared from the grounds beneath them. This was Shadow Hunter''s Serpent Guard.


    The Trolls were an ancient race with a rich history. They worshipped different totems that represented animals and Snakes were one of the most important ones. The Shadow Hunters'' ability to summon Serpent Guards was a demonstration of their ability to connect and converse with the spirits.


    Vosh''Gaijin was able to summon it because of the four Trolls that were helping her.


    This sudden change of events caused some panic in the Ruling Sword party. By the time they realized that Magic attack was useless against the Serpent, there were only a few players left in the party.


    The Serpent Guard only had 300 HP and could easily be killed with Physical attacks.


    Lu Li saw that everyone''s spirits were low and encouraged them.


    "Don''t worry ¨C we''ve only wiped twice."


    Vosh''Gaijin was actually quite easy to defeat, as long as you figured out all the tricks up her sleeve. Otherwise, there was no reason for Lu Li to skip the first boss and go straight for Vosh''Gaijin.


    Everyone responded but not many believed in what Lu Li said.


    This was a Level 56 dungeon; there was no such thing as a Boss that was easy to defeat. They were wiped as soon as they reached stage 3 and it seemed as if Vosh''Gaijin had more tricks up her sleeve.


    She had summoned Insectoids and Serpents; who knew what she was going to do next?


    However, on their third try, the quickly realized that they had overestimated the Boss. The first and second stages were like a piece of cake. In stage three, the physical attackers focused the serpents while the other classes activated their defensives.


    There weren''t a lot of physical AoE attacks, but they still had a few options in the party.


    Lu Li''s Fan of Knives was quite weak, but Remnant Dream''s Volley and Multi-Shot, and Moonlight''s Whirldwind were very powerful physical damaging AOE skills.


    Hunters were nerfed in the recent patch.


    Not only did the damage of the pets decrease, but Remnant Dream''s buffs were nerfed and could now only be useful for Physical attacking classes. Remnant Dream was depressed for a couple of days until Hachi Chan took her to a NPC to learn this new AOE skill.


    Now, she was as good as a Mage at mobbing.


    Of course, with the rise and fall of classes with different updates, Hunters would eventually become one of the best classes in the game. Lu Li remembered very clearly that he was very tempted to play Hunter because of how powerful they were at the time.


    During that time, Hunters were able to solo less-mobile Wild Bosses as well as low-level dungeons.


    The most important change was that they gained a new equipment in their gear slot called a Quiver which held their arrows. They were the only class in the game with an additional item slot and the benefit was that it came with stats and special effects.


    After a while, the game developers realized that Hunters were too overpowered and nerfed them again.


    All classes had times when they were very powerful as well as times when they were useless, including Mages and Warriors.


    Besides the Serpents, Vosh''Gaijin didn''t really do anything else that was too difficult to deal with. She managed to take out five members before her HP bar was depleted.


    Vosh''Gaijin wasn''t the final Boss of the dungeon and defeat was not broadcasted on world chat or announced on the news. Therefore, the players outside the guild had no idea that they had already defeated the second Boss in the dungeon. However, this doesn''t mean the other guilds weren''t keeping an eye on them.


    "Did you find it?" Sorrowless asked as he rubbed his eyebrows, not expecting an answer to his question.


    "We only know that someone sold the strategy to Blood Red War Flag. Our undercover members in the guild did not hear about this until the very last minute," the informant Castle Smokes said nervously.


    "Smokes, why do you have that expression? I''m not going to eat you or anything."


    Sorrowless was even more pissed off now.


    "Boss¡­ I¡­ I.." Castle Smokes scratched his head.


    "You''re one of the first that was with me since the start. Why are you so distant from me now?" Sorrowless sighed.


    "No Boss, I just feel bad for letting you down. I''m not reporting the information in time," Castle Smokes mumbled, almost in tears. "Boss, do you know how easily-irritated you''ve been for the past two days? Even big brother Blood Dagger was yelled at by you.


    "Even without any progress, at least now we know that Blood Red War Flag isn''t behind all of this," Sorrowless said, trying to calm himself down a bit.


    "I think someone is selling the information to them. We''ve been at it for over a week and it''s not impossible that someone discovered what we were doing. The most important thing is how that secret passage came about," Castle Smokes said. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "Yeah, if it wasn''t for the secret passage, we wouldn''t have lost over 2000 Elite players. Most of them were the core of the guild as well."


    Sorrowless was beginning to become furious again. They had lost around 1000 to 2000 players and even more after they tried to reinforce them. Glory Capital had more than a hundred thousand players, and losing 3000 was something that had never happened before.


    "Let''s just keep on a lookout and see who has the guts to trick two major guilds at once."


    Sorrowless'' voice was becoming lower and lower. He was very frustrated because he had lost so many players because of nothing.


    "I''ve already organized some men. As soon as we receive information, we''ll act accordingly," Castle Smokes said.


    "What are you going to do if you came across the person who''s been selling them information?" Sorrowless asked.


    "Depends on who. If he''s not affiliated with a guild, then I guess I''ll try to get on his good side," Castle Smokes answered after some careful thinking.


    "Okay, sounds good." Sorrowless nodded in agreement.


    "Also, Boss, Ruling Sword''s clearing team has entered the dungeon."


    Before Castle Smokes left, he also updated Sorrowless about Ruling Swords. He had sent out the orders to keep an eye out on Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Blood Red War Flag as these three guilds were the top threats for them.


    "How long have them been in there for and have they come back out?" Sorrowless asked.


    "It''s been almost an hour. Do you think they hearthstoned back to town inside the dungeon?" Castle Smokes speculated.


    "That''s a possibility, but Castle Smokes, as an informant, don''t always think positively about events that are happening. Sometimes we need to think of the worst case possible so that we''ll take more action," Sorrowless responded.


    "Okay boss, I''ll contact the person who sold us Dungeon strategies last time and see if I can gather more information."


    Castle Smokes saw that Sorrowless nodded and immediately ran away. He knew that Boss was in a bad mood and he had been stressed out because of this recently. Was it possible that Ruling Sword had defeated the first Boss?!

 1179 Pressure That Comes From Lu Li

    As for the people who were mentioned, that was when Lu Li had gone with Sorrowless to fight the Scholomancer. Lu Li judged that it wouldn''t negatively impact them if they sold this information, so he and Square Root agreed to sell a part of the strategy to Glory Capital.


    Lu Li and his party were now distributing equipment.


    Dawn had implemented a new looting system, so that there was a specific order of items that were looted. First were the Enhancing Stones, then the normal materials. After the normal materials came the skill books, then the rare materials. The last items were equipment.


    The first item that dropped was an enhancing stone, so Remnant Dream gave it to Lu Li to distribute it later.


    The second item was a skill book for Shamans, so this was given to Sakura Memories. Although she wasn''t an Elemental Shaman, she could trade this skill book for ones that she needed.


    The interactions in the game were extremely important. To make friends and work together just made things more enjoyable.


    It was simply unimaginable for people to join parties, fight together, then leave without trying to build connections and relationships. How could that be enjoyable?


    The third item was a Gold grade plate armour. Remnant Dream was clearly disappointed, as she tossed it to Azure Sea Breeze immediately.


    The properties of this equipment were still alright and there were even two additional special effects. Furthermore, it was also a level 55 equip. For an ordinary player, this would be quite an exquisite item.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, he only had one piece of Gold grade equip, and it was rubbish. The rest were even more garbage. For Gold items, this was an excellent one already. After all, it was from a Nightmare difficulty dungeon in Blackrock. Only picky players like Remnant Dream would not even consider an item like that.


    The fourth item was a Dark Gold grade equip ¨C a pair of gloves for Hunters. It was worse than the pair that she had, but she still put it into her storage regardless.


    As a 16 or 17-year-old girl, she had now learnt that money does not come easily. Being from a big family, their living expenses were much higher than most people.


    The fifth item was also a Dark Gold grade that wasn''t too special. The Lower Blackrock Spires and Blackrock Abyss'' equipment levels were similar, but the equipment was usually worse than what was dropped from the Upper Blackrock Spires. These looked nice, Attribute and property-wise, but they did not have much of power-raising effect.


    This item was for Spell-based Warlocks. According to the arrangements, this was given to Sesame Rice Ball, since his DPS was higher than Kitty Likes Meat. However, the next Warlock item would be given to Kitty Likes Meat.


    It was disappointing to have four pieces of equipment that were of no use. The gains from an Instance Dungeon were much less than what could be earned from a Wild Boss.


    The only positive was that there was no one to steal the Boss, and not that many people were required.


    "Not sure if there are more," Remnant Dream said with a gloomy tone. She hated the change of looting systems. Previously, the most exquisite item would drop first, then the rest would follow suit.


    "Should be nearly done. At most, there would be two more. Good luck," Lu Li encouraged.


    Normally, Bosses like Shadow Hunter Vosh''gajin would drop four equips at Nightmare difficulty. Five equips was a possibility, but this was rare. However, this time, there was no rare material, so the chances of five equips was quite high.


    "Yay! There''s finally a Legendary item. Sigh¡­Why does it have to be a Shaman equip again?" Remnant Dream suddenly became quite excited, but the excitement died down just as quickly.


    "Let me have a look," Lu Li said, then walked over and continued, "The Shadow Hunter Boss is a Shaman after all, so it''s normal for it to drop Shaman equipment. It''s unfortunate that it''s for Revive Shamans though, but the properties are quite good. Healing Wave skill +1¡­"


    In the end, it was a bittersweet feeling. After all, this item didn''t suit Sakura Memories.


    However, the problem was how they would distribute it. In normal situations, a Legendary item like this would never leave the guild because it was extremely likely that it would end up in the hands of competing guilds. However, if they left it within the guild, there wouldn''t be much use for it.


    "I think we should exchange it with someone else," Moonlight suggested.


    "Hm¡­Yeah. I think that would be the best. Let Square Root Three go and exchange this item for a good one. Memories, we''ll try and get you what suits you, but if we can''t, then we''ll have to find some other class'' item," Lu Li said after mulling over Moonlight''s proposal.


    It wasn''t that there weren''t a lot of Healing Shamans, but Glory Capital didn''t have any.


    Therefore, this item would be out of Glory Capital''s hands, who was their number one competitor. As for the other guilds'' Healing Shamans, they were no longer threats to Ruling Sword. In the future, there would be even better items, so a level 55 equip would definitely be useless when that time came around.


    After reaching level 60, there was an effect that would diminish the special effects and properties on equips when a player''s level rose.


    For example, a level 60 player wearing level 55 equipment would have their equipment effects decreased, compared to a level 55 wearing level 55 equipment.


    Of course, Sakura Memories did not have any objections to this. The number of Buff Shamans were definitely much lower than Elemental or Healer Shamans, so the chances of her receiving a Buff Shaman item in return were quite high.


    Remnant Dream then stood up and showed her hands, which meant that there were no more items to loot.


    Four items with one Legendary ¨C this was not bad at all. It was just unfortunate that the items that dropped were all useless to them. The drop rate of rare materials was also decreased. According to Lu Li, this Boss had a chance of dropping an extremely rare material.


    Although obtaining this Legendary item was not bad regardless, they had just been unfortunate.


    It was the same case with the T0.5 Shadowcraft set equipment for Thieves. Lu Li couldn''t use it, but it was in high demand for the elite squads in the guild.


    After gathering all the items needed for the quests, everyone left Vosh''gajin''s room and descended using the stairwell on the left side. There were two stairwells ¨C one on the left and the other on the right. The one on the right led to another room, where War Master Voone was. Lu Li commanded the party to clear all the monsters outside the exits, which prompted the appearance of the Troll Stalkers.


    At this time, his message system rang.


    "Aren''t you at Arathi? What''s up?" Lu Li asked.


    Lu Li had asked Her Tears to come with him to fight this dungeon, but he wanted to go to this new battlefield in Arathi, which could reward a mount. Lu Li let him go, since there was a lot to gain from that place as well.


    "Those people came and looked for me. From what I can tell, they said that I sold the strategy the last time I went to the Scholomancer. They said that Night Streaker was one of my people. This Streaker guy is a traitor! I''m innocent! I haven''t even talked to him that much!" Her Tears cried. He was full of desperation, not knowing what to do.


    "That''s right, Streaker is one of us. It was I who let him sell the strategy to them," Lu Li said, understanding his meaning immediately. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.


    "But why do they suspect me?" Her Tears asked in a calmer tone, but he still felt wronged nonetheless.


    "Well, this¡­I''m not sure about. Try listening to them and see what''s going on," Lu Li said.


    "I hung up on them straight away since it freaked me out. Wait a minute¡­Someone''s contacting me. It''s that guy called Chopsticks or whatever. What do I do now?"


    Her Tears took a deep breath and relaxed a little. He was extremely content with his lifestyle right now. He had a group of brothers who he could rely on and nothing offered from Glory Capital could tempt him, since he had so much money at the moment.


    "Have a listen to what he has to say," Lu Li suggested in curiosity.


    "He''s looking to buy information about our progress with this Instance Dungeon. How should I reply him?"


    Dawn''s message system was extremely well designed. As long as they were careful, Chopsticks would not hear what Her Tears and Lu Li was talking about.


    "Let him offer a price first."


    Lu Li began to salivate and licked his lips.


    "One million. Just to buy one piece of information? What the¡­how rich is this guy?"


    Her Tears was extremely surprised. This sort of money-dumping was simply unfathomable.


    It wasn''t that Her Tears was poor, but to buy a piece of information that could potentially be false and useless? That was too reckless.


    "Raise the price to 1.5 million and see if they''ll buy."


    Lu Li had to admit that greed was extremely bad, but the guild was fairly poor and earning money was quite easy since people were desperate. Therefore, he could not just let this gold mine flow without him gaining anything from it. He just needed to control himself when doing so.


    Soon after Lu Li said this, Her Tears indicated that the deal had gone through for 1.5 million.


    s1.5 million dollars in real life could buy a decent house in Jiangnan''s CBD area. For a normal person, if they had 1.5 million and had no accidents and unfortunate events, then they would be able to live comfortably with this money. Normal working-class people might not even have this much in their life time.


    "Let them know that we''re already facing the third Boss."


    Lu Li was extremely excited at finding out Glory Capital''s reaction to their progress with the dungeon.


    They would be completely outraged!


    Lu Li was correct. Glory capital was completely stunned in disbelief.


    "This can''t be!" White Westhill did not want to believe this. He himself had gone and fought in the Lower Blackrock Spires Instance Dungeon. After three hours, they gave up. Highlord Omokk was an undefeatable being.


    "What if they lied since we can''t verify it ourselves?" Bloody Dagger asked. He also did not believe the information.


    "I don''t know why, but this feels like it''s true," Glory Capital''s Information Leader said. He couldn''t confirm this, but his intuition told him that it was indeed real. Being someone who worked in the information-retrieval department, his intuition was usually quite sharp.


    "It doesn''t matter if it''s real or fake. The important thing is, how do we receive this news and move forward? If it''s fake, then we''ve only lost money at the most. If it''s true, then we''ll have to tackle this dungeon from the beginning again," Sorrowless said calmly.


    "Let me make the arrangements for this new attempt. If Ruling Sword really are fighting against the third Boss now, then we must have missed something while fighting against Highlord Omokk."


    White Westhill didn''t know what else he could do. Being from Glory Capital, they could not fall behind too much. They could attempt it at a later time, but not much later.


    "Ask that Paladin from before. If it''s possible, then buy the strategy from them," Sorrowless said, before leaving.


    White Westhill was a little reluctant. The feeling of buying strategies from others left a bad taste in his mouth. However, it had to be done. Following the losses that they had accumulated after the clash with Blood Red War Flag, they needed to restore themselves to their original status.


    Using a few million dollars to buy strategies to Instance Dungeons seemed to be a bad investment, but the aftereffects of this knowledge had to be considered.


    Glory Capital had an obscene number of elite squads. If they all went and grinded this Instance Dungeon, the drop rate of Legendary items would not matter.


    "They want to buy the strategy from me¡­Are they crazy?" Her Tears had a different perspective now.


    "Well, it''s not the first time anyway. How much do they offer?"


    Lu Li was a little torn whether to sell or not. He knew that the opportunities to sell strategies were gradually diminishing and extremely rare now.


    "The buying price isn''t low. They only want Omokk''s strategy for 5 million. I only just realised that this game has so many obscenely rich players. Do you want to sell? It''s only for the first Boss anyway, so it shouldn''t matter too much, right?"


    In the beginning, Her Tears was extremely against the idea of selling strategies, but now that the price was 5 million, his perspective had definitely changed. Although he was not part of the management of the guild, he was closer to the higher authorities, so he knew that the guild severely lacked funds.


    "Nope, not selling. After knowing how to defeat Omokk, the rest would be easy," Lu Li sighed.


    "Then I''ll go and let them know."


    After hearing what Lu Li said, Her Tears understood the importance of knowing how to defeat Omokk.


    "Hmm¡­don''t do that either. Just leave them hanging. Tell them that you didn''t go inside with the party, but you can give them some ideas. That''s right ¨C raise the price even higher so that you can gain their trust with your sincerity."


    The strategy would eventually be found out anyway, since they would need to release the information to their own elite squads to grind for equipment after the main squad cleared it.


    "Hehe¡­you''re too evil! Don''t worry, I''ll play around with them," Her Tears chuckled, then added: "Oh, that''s right. Boss, when will you take us to Arathi and fight there? I nearly got the Weekly prize."


    "Arathi¡­huh?" Lu Li thought about it for a little while. He felt that there was something not quite right there.


    "Originally, I was first, but then, someone overtook me. Their squad was extremely strong. There was a pro in there."


    Her Tears seemed to be quite sad and wronged. There was an eSport competition in the semi-finals, so many guilds trained hard during this time. Professional players wouldn''t go for prizes like the Weekly Number One rank, but normal players would use this time to train their own techniques and mechanics.

 1180 War Master

    Lu Li promised that he would go and help Her Tears out at Arathi, but now, he had to focus on the Boss in front of him.


    Previously in the Second War, War Master Voone brought his small squad and infiltrated deep within Elven territory. The reason that this cunning Troll decided to join the losing Horde side was because he wanted to be a Military Strategist and win Blackhand''s approval. In Voone''s eyes, this Elven camp, although seemingly weak, hid lots of powerful opponents. Voone looked forward to unsurmountable challenges, because the feeling of conquering them was incomparable.


    After losing in the Second War, he retreated into the Blackrock Spires and recuperated there. Occasionally, Vosh''gajin would even harass him a little.


    War Master Voone hoped to return to the battlefield as dying there would be much more honourable.


    Today, he felt a slight disturbance from Vosh''gajin''s direction, but he didn''t want to help him out. The Smolderthorn tribe already had no future, so he did not want to fight a pointless battle.


    The footsteps from outside grew nearer and nearer. Had Vosh''gajin already been killed by outsiders?


    Well, it was his turn now. He thought that he was already used to the concept of life and death, but suddenly, he felt his body tremble with fear.


    He realised that he did not want to die. Well, it would be more accurate to say that he did not want to die in a place like the Blackrock Spires.


    After clearing out all the smaller monsters on the way to War Master Voone, they were now in front of the Boss. Lu Li warned everyone to keep their distance from the Boss, because Voone had an impressively large aggro range which could be triggered after entering the doorway to his room.


    Lu Li ensured that all the preparations were made before they began.


    "You must''ve not heard of my name before. I will teach you the meaning of regret," the War Master boomed. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    He was a Troll Axe Thrower, which players could not choose as a class. This class was not only strong in their ranged attacks, but they were also extremely capable in melee combat. It was said that most of the Troll Axe Throwers were powerful combat specialists.


    "Let''s have a try first."


    Lu Li knew that this Boss would be more difficult than the Shadow Hunter.


    The War Master had many skills up his sleeves, especially crowd-control abilities. Once the skills are activated, the aggro would move from player to player, which meant that the Main Tank would find it difficult to maintain aggro and pull the Boss.


    This Boss tested the Main Tank''s ability to pull aggro, as well as the survivability of the players present.


    Azure Sea Breeze took up his shield and charged, but was struck by a flying axe and was stunned.


    War Master Voone was capable of instantly changing stances to throw an Axe, which would damage the player for 3000 nature-elemental damage and stun them for 3 seconds.


    This was War Master Voone''s signature skill. An Axe would materialise, then be at a nearly unavoidable speed. After landing the strike, the target would be stunned. According to Lu Li''s estimation, the stun time was 3 seconds. In phase one, only one of these Axes would be thrown at a time. In phase two, there would be two. Similarly, in the most difficult stage phase three, three of these Axes would be thrown simultaneously.


    As for how to deal with this skill, it was actually quite simple. They just needed to be able to tank it, then stay still for 3 seconds until the stun effect was dispelled.


    Although they were aimed at the players, it was not a homing-type of attack. Furthermore, two axes were thrown, it would be slower than a singular Axe. As such, a player''s reaction time was key to dodging them. Dodging would be the best way to avoid this skill, because the Axes'' damage increased when there were more thrown. The damage would definitely be higher than phase one''s Axe.


    The same could be said for the three Axes. As long as the players could read their trajectory and direction, this skill would not cause much trouble.


    Of course, to reach the end of the fight, many wipes would take place.


    After Azure Sea Breeze was stunned, Wandering immediately went and took over the aggro. These


    two had great chemistry, which usually prevented the squad from wiping in dangerous situations.


    Cleave ¨C War Master Voone deals nature-elemental AoE damage to a maximum of three targets.


    If Wandering had not pulled the aggro to him, the War Master might have used this skill. The damage of this skill scaled from the number of people it hit. Therefore, if three players were struck, it would be a case of instant death.


    However, now that Wandering had the aggro, Cleave would only hit him alone, so he wouldn''t die.


    This was the most difficult part of phase one. Now that they had passed this successfully, they would soon enter phase two. When the War Master reached 65% HP, he would change his stance and attack even more ferociously. He would also start throwing two Axes.


    The damage dealt from these Axes increased from 3000 to 4000.


    Furthermore, in this stage, the Boss had greater resistance to Taunt, which meant that he would wander around the map and kill players.


    Pummel, Uppercut and Kick ¨C these three skills would be used consecutively. Pummel would deal nature-elemental damage and silence the target for 4 seconds. During this time, if the target that was hit by Pummel could not escape, then there was a chance for an Uppercut to occur. Uppercut would deal natural-elemental damage to the target and cause a knockback effect.


    This was not the end of the barrage. If the player still didn''t make an attempt to escape, then the War Master would use Kick. Kick would deal nature-elemental damage to the target and stun them for 2 seconds.


    Anyone who was struck by all three skills would instantly die.


    The first one to get hit by this combo was Fat Monkey. He accidentally walked into it, then could not react in time to escape and was killed immediately.


    After this, everyone quickly learned. With Lu Li''s reminder, they knew that they had to run the moment they got struck by Pummel.


    However, the real problem was the throwing of the two Axes. One of the Axes struck Hachi Chan, while the other hit Kitty Likes Meat. These two could not react in time and was killed instantly.


    There was no way for them to keep fighting. Even if they could enter phase three, it was impossible for them to be able to clear the Boss.


    Lu Li did not give up immediately but chose to use this opportunity to teach.


    "Hold on for a bit longer. I''ll demonstrate how to dodge the Axes."


    The War Master immediately threw an Axe towards Lu Li, and the other towards Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze was planning on demonstrating his dodging abilities, but his body was too slow for his brain, so he was still struck by it in the end. It was fortunate that he was extremely bulky with a tremendous amount of HP, so he could tank 4000 damage without any problems.


    If Lu Li was struck by the axe, he would definitely die instantly. After all, a little scratch from before already left him with around 1000 HP.


    The healers were going to heal him, but he rejected the offer. It was clear that Lu Li was extremely confident in his dodging ability.


    As soon as the Axe left Voone''s hands, Lu Li had already begun to move. First, he stepped to his left, then exploded to the right. The Axe zoomed past his shoulders, but dealt no damage.


    "How''d you do that? That was incredible!" Everyone was shocked.


    "Heal me a little. The one who is going to be aimed at next time, listen to me."


    Lu Li never wanted to play the role of the hero. He wasn''t going to risk dying just to look good. After his HP was back to 100%, the next two being targeted were Moonlight and Sesame Rice Ball.


    "Rice Ball, walk a half-step to your left, then immediately return to your original position!" Lu Li yelled.


    Moonlight thought he could dodge it himself, so Lu Li just gave Sesame Rice Ball instructions. Unfortunately, Rice Ball was still a little late after hearing what Lu Li said, so he was instantly killed. The surprising death was not Rice Ball, but Moonlight.


    "Rice Ball moved too slowly, while Moonlight moved too quickly," Lu Li said, giving feedback on their movements.


    "Why did that happen? I thought I could dodge it successfully."


    Moonlight was feeling a little gloomy. After all, his reaction time and mechanics were not much worse than Lu Li''s. Furthermore, after observing Lu Li''s own movements, he thought that he would dodge successfully.


    "Throw Axe is difficult to dodge. Why? It''s because the instant that the Axe leaves the Boss'' hands the Boss can still control the direction of the Axe. If you dodge too quickly, then the Boss simply needs to readjust, which means that you''ll get hit and die. Rice Ball was the complete opposite. By dodging too slowly, Boss didn''t even need to readjust to hit you."

 1181 The Warmaster’s Bel

    In the future, there would be an expert programmer that specialized in creating virtual training rooms. After paying some money to the Game Company, his training room would be implemented within the game. Players could pay to use this training room. It would correct their posture when using skills, so it was an efficient way to get better technique.


    Even the most stupid players could achieve a high Skill Completion in this training room.


    Lu Li''s technique and reactions were already about the same as that of the program. None of his teammates were stupid either ¨C Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were a little na?ve, but not stupid.


    The battle against Warmaster Voone had come to an end after seven or eight defeats.


    This time, there was no gem or skill book. Instead, some powerful Demon Essence was dropped. There were quite a number of Bosses that dropped this item, but it was quite widely used so there was no fear that no one would buy it.


    The next item that dropped was an equipment.


    There was no gem or skill book, so Lu Li had reason to believe that there would be five pieces of equipment this time.


    The first item was Gold and so was the second. Lu Li just couldn''t remain calm anymore. Obviously, it wasn''t a guarantee that obtaining the First Clear at Nightmare Difficulty would yield Epic equipment, but it should have been dropping Dark Gold equipment at least.


    Finally, on their third try, they received a Dark Gold Hunter item.


    Remnant Dream compared this item to the one she already had, and helplessly stuffed it into her backpack. This was better, but not by much. If you counted the cost of her current equipment''s fortification, gems and enchantments, it wasn''t worth replacing.


    The fourth item was also a Dark Gold item ¨C a ring for the Magic Professions.


    This time, everyone was interested when the Attributes were revealed as Sesame Rice Ball, Nuo Yu and Kitty Likes Meat could all use this item.


    Rings were quite hard to come by, especially Epic rings. They were currently all wearing Dark Gold rings that were much worse than this one. If they equipped this Ring, they would gain a significant boost in strength.


    Although three players wanted it, it was only properly compatible with one of them


    As such, Lu Li it to Kitty Likes Meat, leaving the others without any options.


    A guild could only improve if they continued to do well in the competitive scene, which was clear to everyone. Therefore, priority would be given to the professional players.


    Remnant Dream saw that she was about to pick up the last item, but seemed to be confident about it.


    "The last piece of equipment is coming. Everyone, pay your respects to me,"


    "Dreamy, loot it quickly. If you get an Epic, we''ll buy you something to eat," everyone said in anticipation.


    Remnant Dream squatted and looted the item. As she pulled it out, she peeked at it and stared at Lu Li before asking, "Lu bro, was what you said before true?"


    Whenever she looted an Epic, the players would give her a reward anyway.


    Getting First Clears was often a boring and exhausting task. The biggest difficulty was often not the Boss but their exhausted minds. However, with Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan there, they were able to help keep up their spirits.


    Lu Li suddenly became excited, as this girl seemed to be talking to him¡­


    Did that mean that she had a piece of leather armor for him? As the party leader, he had the authority to check the equipment''s Attributes.


    Sure enough, it was a level 55 Epic leather belt.


    Warmaster''s Belt (Epic): Armour 62, Agility +60, Constitution +40, 2 Slots, Special Effect 1: Evasion +20%. Special Effect 2: Disarm. This skill has a certain probability to steal the target''s weapon, making it impossible to use the skills that require it. Lasts for 3 seconds, 2 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Escape. Shift to the specific position within 15 and within line of sight. 2 minute cooldown. Does not share cooldown time with other similar skills. Level Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    Lu Li couldn''t help but compare it to his current belt.


    Hex''s Protobelt (Dark Gold) Armour 46, Agility +30, Strength +12, 1 slot. Special Effect 1: Critical Hit +12%, Special Effect 2: Atomization. The user''s body becomes a mist and goes into stealth. Stealth effect increased by 20% and can pass through some obstacles. 2 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Magic Field. The magical environment 4 yards around the caster is twisted, causing all other targets to be silenced for 1.5 seconds. 24 hour cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 45. Durability 164/164.


    In fact, Hex''s Protobelt was excellent, but Atomization shared a cooldown with Vanish. This meant that if he used Vanish, Atomisation would also go on cooldown.


    There were also only some obstacles that could be crossed. This was useful when exploring but it was almost useless in an Instance Dungeon and in the arena.


    As for the magic field, it was quite a strong special effect, but it had a 24 hour cooldown. This meant it could only be used once per fight, so it wasn''t an outstanding skill.


    In contrast, this Warmaster''s Belt was a much more practical item, even if it wasn''t particularly strong.


    The relationship between Evasion and Critical Hits had recently been tweaked. Evasion now mainly affected the received damage when a player was attacked.


    On the one hand, a Manual Mode player''s Skill Completion would be lowered if an opponent had a particularly high Evasion stat.


    This meant that Lu Li''s original 95% Skill Completion would now be reduced to around 85%.


    On the other hand, when fighting against a Manual Mode player, this stat would reduce the probability of being hit by a critical hit. To an extent, it also reduced the critical hit damage.


    Critical Hits and Evasion were generally seen as opposites, and their relationship was as such.


    Now that players were beginning to gather quite a bit of Critical Hit and pay attention to these Attributes, it was important to have high Evasion.


    Lu Li''s Evasion wasn''t too high, so the Warmaster''s Belt had come at just the right time.


    The second Special Effect was something Lu Li had seen before. The probability of such a skill would depend entirely on the player he was fighting, so the effect wasn''t actually that strong.


    As for the third Special Effect, Lu Li was very satisfied. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    It could be said that this was the reason why this equipment was an Epic. Escape skills were a speciality of Thieves, and most importantly, they didn''t share cooldowns with other skills in the same category. For this reason, the Warmster''s Belt was very powerful.


    This so-called shared cooldown was a like a global cooldown. If two skills shared a cooldown, that meant that using one or the other would put both of them on cooldown. This meant that you could only ever use one of the skills at a time.


    If two skills didn''t share a cooldown, then you could use one and then immediately use the other.


    This concept was not that complex. To put it simply, it was better for your skills to not share cooldowns.


    The red packet that he was going to give Remnant Dream was not going to be small. Although he knew that Remnant Dream was joking before, he still gave her a sizeable reward. He knew how valuable this belt was and Remnant Dream probably realized as well.


    Lu Li quickly replaced his belt with this one, with no intention of giving his original one to anyone else.


    In the future, it might still come in handy particularly when exploring ¨C he could come across a narrow entrance that was difficult for a normal player to pass through.


    Lu Li wasn''t a selfish person, but he understood the value of his items. He didn''t like being too generous either, so he didn''t throw his items into the warehouse if they could still be useful to him.

 1182 Fire Resistance Recipes

    "Is the next step to find the fourth Boss? How about we take a break? This Boss was quite tiring," Azure Sea Breeze suggested.


    What was important was that they didn''t focus on what had just happened. Anyone who dwelled on how they had been wiped seven to eight times would feel tired.


    "We don''t need to rest. We won''t fight another Boss yet; let''s just clear some mobs."


    Lu Li observed the terrain before bringing his team to the other side. There was a winding road with monsters scattered along the path which were obviously optional.


    "Will these monsters drop something good?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, his spirits suddenly lifted.


    He had always felt that doing Instance Dungeons with Lu Li was very enjoyable. Lu Li always brought extra surprises along instead of just doing the regular run.


    "Recipes," Lu Li answered simply. He had no intention of explaining further as he was too lazy to do so. If his teammates asked him how he knew that these monsters would drop these, he wouldn''t have an answer either. He probably would have said that he learned the information from an NPC.


    In fact, everyone had become so accustomed to these surprises that they didn''t even ask at all.


    "Recipe? What kind of Recipe?" Sesame Rice Ball and March Rain were both now excited as well. Jaweika, who was invested in Enchanting, had also spent a lot of money on his Trade Skill. If it weren''t for the support of Ruling Sword, he wouldn''t be where he was right now.


    However, as time went on, the number of Enchanting recipes and materials would increase and players would become more willing to spend money on Enchantments. The golden age for Enchantments was still to come.


    "There is a powerful Fire Resistance Potion Recipe and a Mage robe blueprint. The robe is a Dark gold item and a single blueprint can be used to make five copies of the item, but the drop rate is relatively low. We are doing a First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty, so we have the best chance now," Lu Li said.


    "Let''s do it," Remnant Dream declared as she clenched her fist.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had spent some time here. Although he couldn''t find a team to enter the Instance Dungeon with, he didn''t actually need to fight any Bosses to get these items. There were two kinds of monsters that could drop these fire resistance items here.


    He still remembered the value of the fire resistance recipe and the mage robes. At the time, they sold for 380 gold and 100 gold in the Exchange Hall respectively.


    However, the former could be sold at an even higher price as there was great demand for it in the market.


    Unfortunately, while he was there, the drop rate of the recipes had been significantly lowered. Even after farming for three days, you wouldn''t necessarily be able to get the recipe. His equipment wasn''t that good either, so he would sometimes accidentally die here. Although he wouldn''t lose any EXP because he was in an Instance Dungeon, it would still cost him a lot to repair his equipment.


    Right now, he had both the initial higher drop rate and a strong team.


    "Kill the phantoms first. Don''t get greedy; the monsters are quite strange here," Lu Li reminded Azure Sea Breeze as he pushed ahead.


    These so-called phantoms referred to the patrolling monsters. These monsters would patrol an area according to a fixed or random route. If a group of players unexpectedly ran into them, it was not unusual for the team to fall into disarray. There was even the small possibility that the team would get wiped.


    Here, the monsters were part of the Firebrand. There was the Firebrand Warrior, Firebrand Darkweaver, Firebrand Mage, Firebrand Warlock and Firebrand Invoker.


    Among them, the Firebrand Warlock could drop the powerful fire resistance potion recipe and the Mage robe blueprint. The Firebrand Invoker could drop the fire resistance potion recipe. The other monsters couldn''t drop either of those items.


    However, the Firebrand Mage had a certain probability of dropping a Devout Skirt, which was a pair of T0 Priest Pants.


    If they were able to find those, they could sell them for a lot of money.


    If he was just a single Thief, he would only be able to kill the Warlocks because they were in a three-person team. The Firebrand Invoker was part of a team of five. There was no Thief that would be able to fight five monsters at once, no matter how well-equipped he was. Even Lu Li couldn''t do that right now.


    Flame Mark ¨C Increases fire damage taken by the target by 200 points. 120 second cooldown.


    Offering ¨C Ignite the target to deal continuous fire damage every 3 seconds for 21 seconds.


    Flame Shock ¨C Combusts the target to deal fire damage followed by additional fire damage every 3 seconds for 12 seconds.


    Because of these three skills, the players were almost always losing HP at a rapid rate. As such, it was no surprise that Azure Sea Breeze was constantly yelling for someone to heal him, but there wasn''t actually that much risk of him dying. After all, he was currently the strongest Main Tank in all of Dawn. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The fire wave of monsters contained a Firebrand Invoker, but nothing was dropped.


    Remnant Dream pouted sadly at this outcome.


    Lu Li smiled bitterly. How could these items be dropped so easily? When he was here in his previous life, the market price for these items were 380 and 100 gold. Right now, these items didn''t even exist on the market. These prices wouldn''t make any sense unless it was really hard to acquire them.


    There were several Instance Dungeons in the Blackrock Spire. One of them included the Onyxia Lair where you could kill the Black Dragon Princess. In these Instance Dungeons, Fire Resistance was a very important attribute.


    A fire resistance potion recipe increased a player''s fire resistance stat by the same amount that a piece of equipment would, so its market value was fair.


    "There are more of them in the tents, let''s go have a look," Lu Li said as he directed the wounded party to the nearby barracks.


    "Wow, it smells so bad in there. Let me turn off the smell first," Azure Sea Breeze gagged. If Lu Li hadn''t made the recipes sound so precious, he wouldn''t have gone into the tent just to drag a few monsters out.


    Recently, Dawn had added some characters that were like old and weak soldiers. These monsters could drop some items, and were much easier to fight. They were good for the lone player with poor equipment that needed to complete a killing quest. He was better off picking off these weaker individuals.


    Remnant Dream looted the bodies and seemed to have finally found something.


    "A blueprint!" she announced.


    "What kind of blueprint? Oh, it''s the Mage robes."


    Lu Li was obviously quite disappointed. Although this item was useful, it wasn''t as useful as the powerful fire resistance potion recipe.


    If they could get this potion recipe, then Lu Li might even dare to get the team to fight Highlord Omokk.


    "I will definitely get this recipe," Remnant Dream said with determination. She started praying to the system gods, asking for a particularly lucky draw today.


    After the monsters were cleared out, a T0 item was dropped, which made everyone happy. Lu Li had looked forward to getting the fire resistance potion recipe, but the items they had acquired today were already more than what he could have gotten himself if he farmed for two days.

 1183 The Crazy Little Spider

    Fifteen players were divided into two squads, which soon left behind a trail of bodies. Remnant Dream was like a hard-working bee as she looted one body after another. She had started sweating but she never got tired. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Most of these monsters would drop something, but usually, it would be a cloth item. Occasionally, there would be a Bronze item.


    Level 55 Bronze items couldn''t impress even the weakest players, as most quests would reward Steel or even Gold equipment. However, the demand for rubbish equipment hadn''t declined as more and more of them were required for Enchantments ¨C they were needed for decomposition.


    This group of mobs had dropped enough rubbish equipment to repair everyone''s equipment.


    "Hey¡­" Remnant Dream suddenly stopped. It seemed like the item that she had just thrown into her backpack¡­


    "It''s a recipe! I actually got the recipe!" Remnant Dream called out and jumped up and down. She was very happy, even more so than when she had found the Epic equipment.


    Sure enough, it was the powerful fire resistance potion recipe!


    Recipe: Powerful Fire Resistance Potion


    Recipe Type: Alchemy


    Requirements: Expert Alchemy (260)


    Use: Teaches you how to make the Powerful Fire Resistance Potion


    Powerful Fire Resistance Potion: Increases the drinker''s fire resistance by 10% for 30 minutes.


    Currently, there were very few potions that could even increase your fire resistance by 5%. Most of those recipes were controlled by the major guilds, so even if an ordinary player acquired this them, the major guilds would try and get into contact with them. If they didn''t want to join the guild, they would sign a very attractive but exclusive deal with them to stop these potions from getting onto the market.


    This formula was quite high-end, but it only required Alchemy 260 to learn.


    Most Alchemists could only reach this level if they had been training their Trade Skill. This was why the demand for Fire Resistance was so great. You needed an Expert Alchemist to make the potions. Even if you had the money to buy the recipe, you needed to know or become a Master Alchemist. Buying potions from an Alchemist would not make any money.


    "Rice Ball, you can go back and learn it. Work hard to make this fire resistance potion for us. Soon our guild will be able to farm this Instance Dungeon for equipment," Lu Li said, assigning the recipe to Sesame Rice Ball.


    Although Sesame Rice Ball accepted the recipe, he shook his head and said, "I won''t learn it. This kind of potion needs to be mass produced and I don''t have time to do that."


    "Then, you can just find someone in the guild who is reliable," Lu Li suggested, not insisting on it.


    "I don''t really need to find anyone; my apprentice will do it. This formula only requires an Expert, and she is already there. We''ll have this ready by tomorrow, and she might even become a Master by tomorrow afternoon," Sesame Rice Ball said.


    "She''s already an expert?" Lu Li was surprised.


    He was also an expert, but the main reason for that was because he couldn''t be bothered pursuing alchemy. He had purely relied on making poisons to get this far.


    "Yeah, she is even more talented than I am in this regard. The most important Alchemy skill is being able to withstand the loneliness. This kind of calmness is rare among girls of her age." Sesame Rice Ball was actually younger than Cold Chill, but since he was a Master, he spoke in a master''s tone.


    When Lu Li thought about it, it wasn''t a difficult thing to accept. It was no surprise that Cold Chill was talented. As for her patience, Chinese medicine practitioners needed to be so to ensure that no mistakes were made. As such, her patience was naturally better than that of an average person.


    Besides, Cold Chill was Sesame Rice Ball''s apprentice and was sponsored by Lu Li. She could have any materials that she wanted, so the speed of upgrading was not completely unusual.


    "I don''t really care how you do it, just make a bunch of potions as soon as possible."


    Lu Li didn''t want to interfere too much. If someone could replace Sesame Rice Ball, that would be better. As a party member of the core group, he needed to ensure that he kept up in terms of levels.


    "I will definitely get you a bunch of potions by tomorrow. I will tell White Bread to prepare the materials now," Sesame Rice Ball promised.


    "Alright, everyone work hard to get rid of this wave of monsters. We will be setting off for the Boss next."


    Lu Li did not expect anything from the rest of the monsters. If they got something, that would be welcome, but otherwise, it didn''t matter.


    After the last monster fell, there wasn''t another fire resistance potion recipe, but another Mage robe blueprint was dropped.


    These were all assigned to March Rain. Although she didn''t need this equipment, the process of making the equipment would increase her Trade Skill EXP. March Rain''s Tailoring level was quite high, but she wasn''t a Master like Sesame Rice Ball. However, Tailoring could be upgraded at a much faster rate than Alchemy.


    After clearing out the mobs, they headed onto the next area.


    The number of Trolls was becoming fewer and fewer. The players could see a mesh-like object, some mucus and some residual limbs on the ground.


    Judging from the wreckage, it wasn''t only the Trolls and Dwarves that were corrupted. There were some other races not found in the Blackrock Spire that were corrupted too.


    Then, they finally saw the culprit ¨C the spider.


    Why were there spiders in the Blackrock Spire?


    Lu Li easily knew the answer to this question. It was said that centuries ago, the Iron Dwarves drilled into the Smoulderweb spider''s nest which caused them to rush into this hall and take up the space. Since then, the spiders had stayed in this Spire and even the Iron Dwarves didn''t dare to walk through this area.


    The Iron Dwarves often did this kind of thing. In fact, almost all Dwarves liked to drill underground. The fact that they would run into things like the Smoulderweb Spiders did little to stop them.


    These spiders eventually became a line of defence for the Blackrock Spire. The earliest agreement between the spiders and Dwarves described a common defence, but if anyone entered the spider''s domain, even if they were an Iron Dwarf, they would meet their end.


    These were small spiders. It was unclear how many there were, but it was probably not just a single one.


    There were also the bigger spiders. When they first saw that spider, everyone thought it was the Boss. However, the big spider wasn''t actually that hard to skill, and a group of players could easily defeat it.


    After the spider was killed, a myriad of small spiders than crawled out of its body and covered Azure Sea Breeze.


    Then, they began to crawl over Wandering¡­


    With both tanks dead, was the team now bound to get wiped?


    "Lighty, Whirlwind!" Lu Li had no time to look for anyone else. Moonlight responded quickly enough and started up Whirlwind as he was the closest to these little spiders.

 1184 Spider Juice?

    Moonlight was going to use an escaping skill to avoid the little spiders, but when he heard Lu Li''s order, he decisively cast Whirlwind.


    He wasn''t sure if it was still worth doing, as Azure Sea Breeze, the tankiest person on their team, had already died.


    Everyone thought that Lu Li was going to leave Moonlight to deal with those monsters. As long as he could kill some or delay them, the others could focus on dealing damage.


    "No way! They''re so squishy!"


    Surprisingly, when Moonlight''s Whirlwind came into contact with the spiders, they immediately turned into corpses, unable to bear the strength of this attack. Moonlight hadn''t taken any damage at all.


    Before Whirlwind even finished, all of them had already died.


    "I guess the higher the attack, the lower defense they would have, especially since there were so many of them," Lu Li said as he pointed at a few spiders on the ground. "Go loot them, and remember that those who attack first always have the advantage."


    Wandering''s Consecration could be pre-emptively cast when the larger spiders were dying. The moment the spiders crawled out of the corpse, they would immediately take damage. As a backup, Azure Sea Breeze also had Trample.


    Blizzard could also solve this problem. The caster just needed to maintain the skill over the body of the big spider in order to deal with its spawn.


    The spiders could drop some web material, which was often used by tailors.


    After this, they quickly spotted the Smoulderweb Spider, which was much larger and green. At first glance, it didn''t look that much like a spider, as long as you didn''t see its face.


    The spider seemed to be anxiously walking around; the arrival of the invaders made it feel like its life was in danger.


    "Everyone, get some antidotes from Rice Ball ¨C the latest and strongest stuff."


    Lu Li was exaggerating, but there was still some truth to what he was saying. Spider monsters were generally armed with venom, and the Smoulderweb Spiders were no excpetion. However, the most important characteristic of this Boss was its continuous poison effect. If a player was afflicted and didn''t cancel it somehow, it would keep going until he or she died.


    There was quest called Spider Juice.


    Johan from Burning Steppes was a research fanatic. He mainly studied poisons, which was quite expected of someone who lived in his location.


    He had inadvertently heard some Blackrock Orcs talk about a deadly poison called ''Spider Juice''. These two words were whispered in a fearful tone as they referred to the Smoulderweb Spider in Blackrock Spire.


    It was said that many powerful Blackrock Orcs had succumbed to the venom of the Smoulderweb Spider.


    Johan was very interested in this as he had reached a critical stage in his research, and he didn''t have much time left. However, he didn''t have to courage to do what he wanted himself, so he posted a quest for the adventurers with a generous reward.


    "I need a sample of that ''Spider Juice''. The poison sac is not enough; you must let her inject the venom into your body. Then, come back to me, and I will have the Spider Juice!"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    This kind of request was quite demanding, but in order to obtain his reward, many players worked together to complete the quest.


    To complete this quest, you first had to be poisoned and keep yourself alive. You then had to leave the Instance Dungeon to find Johan so that he could remove the poison from your body. The worst part was that sometimes you wouldn''t be able to get poisoned without dying. Ocassionally, there would be a player who saw you doing this, and they would cast a disperse skill on you to cancel the poison.


    Everyone first had to connect their Hearthstones to the Burning Steppes so that when they were poisoned, they just had to channel their Hearthstone.


    Although poison dealt damage, it did not force the players to remain in combat. After everyone had completed the quest, they came back to kill the spider in one coordinated effort.


    One of the drops was a Strengthening Stone. Although the drop rate for these was rather high, it was often Bosses who dropped them. The demand for Stones wasn''t too great, but as long as you didn''t set a ridiculous price, there was no fear that you couldn''t sell them. Lu Li would occasionally browse the Exchange Hall and would often buy them if they were at the right price.


    You could never have too many Strengthening Stones.


    Smoulderweb Spider silk was a rare material that was dropped. This was the only Boss that could drop this item, so it was quite valuable. Lu Li put it into the warehouse of rare materials, where anyone could apply to claim it if they wanted it.


    The Spider Silk Robe was a Gold Magic equipment. It only had one Special Effect and its Attributes were quite ordinary.


    However, this piece of equipment was definitely valuable, because its special effect 40% poison resistance. Although this didn''t directly translate into a 40% chance of avoiding poison damage, this kind of resistance was definitely comparable to an Epic item.


    If you encountered a monster that was particularly poisonous and you had no suitable antidotes, you could wear this robe to almost completely negate it.


    Therefore, Lu Li decided that this should be placed in the guild''s warehouse, but no one could redeem it. It was to be regarded as public property, and whoever wanted to use it could rent it. After some time, it would then be automatically returned to the warehouse.


    There was also a Dark Gold equipment with ordinary Attributes and no notable effects.


    Lu Li assigned this item to Sesame Rice Ball because he had given everyone the antidotes which made defeating the Smoulderweb Spider a breeze.


    The next item was quite noteworthy ¨C the Wildheart Boots!


    A Druid set piece was something that required extraordinary luck to acquire. Unfortunately, Hachi Chan stared blankly before showing off the Epic boots that she had received in a quest.


    Hehehe¡­


    The players were shocked at how lucky she was and a little jealous about it too.


    "You guys can never say that Mages are favoured by the System ever again," Fat Monkey sighed with anger. The best item here for Mages was Gold and he didn''t need it at all.


    There were quite a number of players in the guild and they could all obtain T0.5 sets if they just completed the quests.


    "There is still one more item. Could it be an Epic?" Remnant Dream wondered, quite pleased with herself. She felt like she was getting luckier by the day, and the possibilities began to race through her mind. Would it be something she could eat?


    "Quickly loot it ¨C you''ll get a reward if it''s an Epic."


    The others were becoming anxious.


    "Wow, this is a good item! How can this even exist?"


    Remnant Dream was excited once again. The little girl was filled with energy, but some of the others found it to be a little overbearing.


    Lu Li couldn''t help but use his authority again to see what she had picked up.


    "Let me take a look."


    Sure enough, they shouldn''t have been so quick to believe this little girl. He looked at the egg with a dull smile. It was impossible to think that this was a ''good item''. It was just a pet egg and it wasn''t even a combat type.

 1185 Director Urok

    The spider egg had a translucent glittering surface. It was said that after it hatched, a Smoulderweb Spider could be obtained. There was no further quest required nor money to be paid to a pet shop.


    After confirming for the egg to hatch, Remnant Dream had a small pet spider breaking out of the shell.


    Its whole body was emerald green and clear like the purest crystal. If it couldn''t move, it would look like a work of art.


    Initially, it was quite frail, and it struggled to move about, but it quickly gained strength and learned to walk before everyone''s eyes. It then learned to run about and cry out. Its cry was not as loud as a big spider, but it could be clearly heard.


    The surrounding spider web was its paradise as it ran around. It was a spider, so it had natural spider instincts and there was no fear that it would fall from the webs.


    Since it was a pet that belonged to Remnant Dream, it wasn''t afraid of the players and once again fell onto Lu Li''s shoulders. It was such a small spider that Lu Li could have stabbed it to death with his finger.


    Upon a closer inspection, you could see its large eyes, which actually made it quite cute. Apparently, the designer wanted this spider to appeal to the female players. When you looked at such a small creature, it was hard to ignore its cuteness. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    However, in the future, this baby spider probably wouldn''t be safe. It was given in a quest and the players were able to let it go. The point of this spider seemed to just be to appeal to female players.


    Lu Li was thinking of killing this spider or asking someone else to kill it so that they could obtain its loot. It wasn''t going to hurt them, so they might as well get something out of it.


    After dealing with the other spiders, it was time to face King Urok.


    In this world, there were women called fujoshis who were very strange. Because of them, there was an alternative story, or fanfiction about President Urok pampering a few of his darlings.


    Urok was clearly something of a president, as he was the true leader of the Spire Ogres.


    This tyrannical character used his evil magic to charm his trusted assistant Highlord Omokk into taking his position. He had said things to inspire Omokk''s patriotism and sense of belonging. Urok had spared no effort in maintaining his pet''s position and cruelly destroyed any ogres that dared to question Omokk''s rule.


    Urok promised to destroy anyone that bullied Omokk.


    Lu Li had never paid attention to such gossip, but he had to face a slightly embarrassing situation. Urok was not a regular Boss ¨C he needed to be summoned with Highlord Omokk''s head.


    The problem was that they had skipped Highlord Omokk, so naturally they didn''t have his head.


    Since they couldn''t summon the Boss, they couldn''t fight it either.


    They could continue through and fight the other Bosses, but they were here for equipment as well. It just wasn''t economical to give up two Bosses in the same Instance Dungeon.


    However, in order to acquire the First Clear, this was no doubt much faster.


    If possible, they would just go straight to the final Boss. This was the fastest way to obtain the First Clera, but not all Instance Dungeons could be completed like this. In fact, if Lu Li hadn''t thought of that jump, Highlord Omokk would normally be a compulsory Boss. However, one could choose not to fight Urok ¨C all they needed to do was not summon him.


    If they didn''t kill Urok, then they could just head straight into clearing out the mobs. Ahead of them was a tunnel that led to a wolf cave.


    The wolves here were not ordinary wolves, but were Wargs.


    Wargs were the most common mounts of the Orc army. The Orc Wolfriders that Lu Li had seen before were riding them. These mounts didn''t run as smoothly as horses, but there were no horses that had the same explosive charge. It was very important for the cavalry to have short-ranged explosive power.


    As such, the Orcs had chosen to ride Wargs into battle. Their short-distance speed could create an impact that was powerful enough to destroy any human army formation.


    In addition, the Wargs themselves had some fighting ability and were at least better than human horses.


    Lu Li knew that the upcoming Boss Halycon had come from a great Warg family known for being heartlessly loyal.


    Over the years, the wolf mother had given birth to a number of offspring. It was rumoured that she was favoured by lord of the Burning Legion, who then acquired some of these Wargs for Rend Blackhand to attack the city.


    As such, this Boss was really a test for the Off-tank, as he needed to pull all the summoned Wargs from attacking the target that their mother was attacking. If they were given an opportunity to attack Azure Sea Breeze while he was tanking the Boss'' hits, he would definitely be one-shot.


    With the mother and children united, they had an unstoppable momentum!


    The first problem was caused by Azure Sea Breeze''s own hand. When he saw that the summoned Wargs were about to attack another person, he went to taunt and tried to tank them together with Halycon. The result was naturally a disaster.


    Lu Li revived him, but he soon died again for the second time.


    This time, it was Azure Sea Breeze again as he made a mistake which resulted in him dying once more. After the main tank died twice, there was no point in continuing the fight as they only had two resurrects.


    After fighting for a while, the team was going to get wiped anyway so it was worthwhile to spend their time preparing for the next attempt.


    After the first attempt, Lu Li could boldly say that the summoned Wargs and Halycon were going to try and attack the same target so they had to make sure that this didn''t happen. First of all, it would be best if they moved Azure Sea Breeze so he wasn''t surrounded by summoned Wargs. Then, Wandering had to move in to pull the Wargs and finally, Moonlight and Lonesome Flower were responsible for dealing with any leaks.


    Now that they knew the strategy, Halycon was a piece of cake.


    With a last sorrowful howl, the huge Warg fell onto the ground.

 1186 Avenging My Wife

    Lu Li immediately urged everyone to take a break. Remnant Dream also began looting the body as soon as she was done regenerating. There was a Strengthening Stone, a Hunter Skill Book and a rare leather material. Although it wasn''t a strong Boss, they still received something.


    Lu Li obviously didn''t want Halycon''s Gold leather boots, but they were still given to him so he could sell them for money.


    Pads of the Dread Wolf was a Dark Gold Chain Mail Armour Bracer. It was a decent item and was part of a mini-set. If you could find another Warg item, then you could gain the special effect of transforming into a Warg. There were many ordinary players that enjoyed using these two items as they weren''t as expensive as Epic items.


    Remnant Dream accepted this equip.


    Next was the Halycon Collar, a Dark Gold necklace and an exquisite item. If it wasn''t for the fact that it was the First Clear, the probability of it dropping was about 1/100. This Collar could be used by a Shaman or a Hunter, so it was given to Sakura Memories.


    Just as they had finished assigning the items, a shadow suddenly rushed in and ran straight towards Kitty Likes Meat, who was the closest player.


    "Hey!"


    There was loud smack as Kitty Likes Meat was knocked down. It wasn''t much damage, but it seemed to satisfy the figure, who then turned to Lu Li.


    Gale Steps!


    After all this, if Azure Sea Breeze still hadn''t reacted to pull the monster, Lu Li would have thought that he was asleep.


    When Azure Sea Breeze finally pulled it, everyone discovered that it was a larger silver Warg that looked sad and embarrassed. It was as if his wife and child were dead on the floor.


    Well, that actually was the case. Halcyon and the summoned Wargs were actually his wife and children.


    In the Blackrock Spire, there were few players who had seen the unpredictable Gizrul.


    He usually only appeared from his dark nest when he was summoned by Halycon. These two monsters had produced a significant number of ferocious Wargs, which was recorded in Orc history.


    Gizrul was not nearly as easy to deal with as his wife.


    First of all, his slash damage was among the top three of the currently known Bosses. If the Main Tank was not strong enough or the Healers couldn''t provide enough support, they would simply be overpowered.


    Assuming that the healers and Main Tank met these requirements, there was still the phantom image to consider.


    Unlike the kind of avatars that Lu Li once had, Gizrul could produce three, each with the same attack and defence as his main body. All the players could do in these situations was hope to survive.


    If you wanted to defeat Gizrul without suffering any casualties, you would have to wait until you were at level 60.


    "Dammit, why is it like this?" Azure Sea Breeze cursed upon suddenly finding that the monster he was tanking had suddenly split into four. He was stuck in a dilemma; should he taunt or not?Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    He didn''t know if all four of them were equally strong, but he probably wasn''t able to tank them if they were. With his experience and battle instinct, he quickly made a decision to taunt one and randomly pick another two. As such, he was pulling a total of two characters.


    Wandering wasn''t slow to react either. He suddenly kicked into action and tried to help cover for Azure Sea Breeze.


    Lu Li took the remaining one. He knew that he couldn''t hold it for long, but no one else could do it if he didn''t. If one of them rushed into his Magic Profession teammates, they would die within a second.


    However, Lu Li still overestimated his strength.


    Or rather, he underestimated the Boss'' strength before he got nerfed. He had forgotten that this was the Boss that would randomly appear and torment the players.


    Lu Li wanted to test this Boss, so he only cast one of his damage reduction skills and was instantly killed. Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were already barely holding on, so they couldn''t stop the last one from tearing through their team.


    After they got wiped, Gizrul didn''t vanish. Although he was summoned, he now replaced his wife to become the Boss of this Warg Cave. If they couldn''t defeat him, they would be stuck in this part of the Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li could only vaguely explain to his teammates that this splitting skill didn''t last that long.


    When they got back to the Warg Cave, Lu Li made everyone''s roles clear. First of all, the two healers would first focus on Azure Sea Breeze. After all, he had to resist two Bosses with life-threatening critical attacks. Then, they needed to remember Wandering before finally worrying about Lu Li.


    If anyone could find a solution, it would Lu Li and his team. Lu Li''s plan was quite simple. He couldn''t tank the Boss, but they had several escape and invincibility skills. The only problem was that one misstep would mean instant death.


    He instructed the three Mages ¨C Lonesome Flower, Fat Monkey and Nuo Yu ¨C to stand in the three corners of the room and take turns pulling the Boss. When the Boss got close, they would use Ice Block to become invincible.


    If they couldn''t remove the aggro that way, then Lu Li would go in and attack it.


    Lu Li had never felt like 10 seconds was a long time, but after the three Mages had dragged the Boss around for 5-6 seconds, the last 3-4 seconds felt like a year. He didn''t dare to use any of his escape skills as he was afraid that the Boss would just attack the nearest target.


    His Ring''s effects, Gale Steps and Felstriker''s special effects were only to be used as a last resort.


    Special Effect 3: Phantom Shift. Six phantoms that last for three seconds appear randomly. The caster can choose one of them to swap positions with. 2 hour cooldown.


    The Boss obviously wasn''t fooled by this trick and directly attacked Lu Li''s real body.


    However, Lu Li could still swap positions. The moment that the attack was about to land, he swapped with a phantom''s position. After the phantom was destroyed, the Boss gave up on the slippery Lu Li and turned to attack Mu Qiu, who was the closest player.


    Lu Li wasn''t worried at all. In the time that the Boss had left, it wouldn''t even have a chance to attack Mu Qiu.


    All the phantoms had now vanished, which meant that they had survived the most difficult phase. Although it would use this skill two more times before it died, their experience after the first meant that it was no longer overwhelming. Even though there were a few more close moments, they didn''t get wiped in the process.

 1187 Worg Pup

    They took out four Bosses along the way and received quite a lot of experience due to their levels. Lu Li finally managed to reach level 57, and the others were roughly the same.


    The highest-levelled player on the level rankings hadn''t reached level 58 yet either. Everyone was on level 57; it was just a matter of the percentage of their Experience bar they had filled up.


    Sakura Memories obtained a skill point. As a buff Shaman, not only was she required to output damage, but she also needed to use some Shaman skills as support. As such, she could never have too many skill points.


    Buff Shamans were actually a popular class right now. They had a higher victory rate in the arena. Shamans had an Earth Shock ability with a short cooldown that could interrupt Mage skills. They had Bloodlust, Clarity, and other spells to close in on Mages too.


    Of course, this was all in theory. Classes never made too much difference when it came to highly-skilled players.


    Not to mention, patches always changed things. A class might look powerful now, but you never know when a patch would nerf them. By then, that class would only be able to cry some tears in remembrance of their past glory. At the very least, Lu Li knew that Shamans would get fixed sooner or later.


    Synthetic Stone ¨C increases the damage of Frostbolt by 10%. This was a decent Synthetic Stone that buffed a skill. The only downside to the stone was that it could only be imbued on a weapon. Normally, weapons only came with two slots, so it''d be a tough choice to decide.


    There were no skill books, and the rare material that dropped was Evil Claw. It was an average kind of rare material, but because it had many uses, it was still an acceptable loot.


    The first equipment was Gold grade, and so was the second. Everyone questioned if Remnant Dream was reaching the end of her luck. The Boss was so difficult to kill and this was First Clear on Nightmare mode, yet the loot was so mediocre.


    "Hoho, this seems to be good. Giant Wolf Pants, Dark Gold, and it''s part of a set with the one before. Don''t tell me that I''m out of luck."


    Most importantly, the set allowed its user to transform into a Worg for a short amount of time. Even if the burst wasn''t great, it would still be a fun item to use.


    Seeing that no one was really complimenting her, Remnant Dream started praying for something good.


    Rhombeard Protector ¨C Legendary shield. However, after the attributes were shared, Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering nearly cried.


    This was a shield for Healers.


    "Mu Qiu, is this shield suitable for you?" Lu Li asked. He knew that Mu Qiu''s Healing Paladin was slightly different compared to the rest of his kind.


    "Suitable? It''s perfect!" Mu Qiu cried out as he took the shield in excitement. He needed high Critical Strike and high Intelligence for his playstyle. Not only was Intelligence the main Attribute of this shield, but it also included an extra 30 points to Critical Strike. Most importantly, the 3 special effects included one that boosted critical strike over a short period of time. This was ideal for his playstyle of both high damage and high healing.


    "Take it if it''s useful," Lu Li said patted his shoulders.


    Mu Qiu hadn''t actually been under the spotlight much in Ruling Sword. At least, compared to the other competitors, he wasn''t seen in the public as much. Even Sakura Memories had more opportunities for matches than he did. He also wasn''t part of the regular team for dungeons.


    After they looted, they left the room, headed straight and entered another hall. This was the Dragonspire Hall.


    They found the hall storage after they cleared out the monsters and saw a Blackrock Tauren officer ¨C Quartermaster Zigris.


    After the first war ended, Tauren Hunter Zigris was infamous for hunting down the refugees of Stormwind City for fun. Even until this day, his bounty still hung on the announcement board of Stormwind City, although it had decreased as time went by.


    After all, the victims had gradually forgotten about the initial pain, and the constant disappointment began to numb their hearts for revenge.


    In fact, Zigris actually hated the scary and enclosed hall within Blackrock Spire. However, he believed that one day, he would be able to stand on the battlegrounds again and slaughter out in the open.


    He was a Warrior who had no morals; no one would feel guilty for killing him.


    "I can often recall the blood from that day¡­"


    The battle began the moment he licked his lips. Azure Sea Breeze slammed his shield into Zigris'' face and sent him reeling backwards, almost falling on the floor.


    Originally, Zigris was a Wolfrider. If he still had his Worg, things would be much harder for Lu Li and the others, even if this battleground wasn''t suitable for Wolfriders. The two Worgs had proven the strength of their species and a Worg with its rider wasn''t as simple as a one-plus-one maths equation.


    Apparently, during the second war, his mount was decapitated by Lothar, but Zigris survived because the corpse shielded him.


    This murderer still remembered what it felt like when the blade slipped past his skin. From then onwards, he never dared to set foot out of the Blackrock Spire again. Although he hated the enclosed environment, it did make him feel safe.


    Without his Worg, players could even dodge his charge with a jog.


    Her Tears sent a message saying if they should sell the guide, but Lu Li never agreed. If he let Glory Capital knew about the lava cliff, the monsters after wouldn''t be able to stop them.


    After around a dozen minutes, Quartermaster Zigris finally ended his sinful life.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    What they looted first was his head. The head of Zigris could be used to hand in some quests. They could hand in bounty quests even without accepting them first and would be rewarded with a set amount of gold coins and Stormwind reputation.


    There were no rare materials this time, which was fine too. Zigris was a Quartermaster, and usually, these types of monsters dropped valuable things.


    Recipe: Annihilator. This was a forging recipe that could be used three times, which meant three Dark Gold weapons.


    The difference between a recipe and a Mold was the final outcome. The prior had a set outcome. There were no particular quality grade ¨C whatever was written in the recipe, that''s what determined the final outcome. Molds came with a lot more possibilities.


    The next item was a part of the T0 Warrior set. Nobody wanted it, so it went right to the guild storage.


    The last item was another pet ¨C a Worg Pup. Lu Li was amazed by the dungeon today. When did dungeons ever drop two pets at the same time? Rather than saying Remnant Dream was lucky, it was more like she was cheating.


    However, this time, Remnant Dream was too shy to claim the little pet to herself. After all, this wasn''t a battle pet, and players who weren''t Hunters could also use it.


    They used the roll method and in the end, the little Worg Pup went home with Kitty Likes Meat.

 1188 Come and Trick Us

    At last, came the final boss. The bottom floor had complex geography, but the area was actually smaller than Blackrock Depths, so the number of Bosses that it could contain was limited. On top of this, Lu Li and the others left out two Bosses. They had actually taken a lot of time to reach the end Boss.


    Now was a good time to sell their guide if they really wanted to.


    If the First Clear announcement was made, the value of the guide would decrease greatly, unless Lu Li wasn''t planning on selling it or if he was satisfied with this.


    Lu Li had been considering his options the entire journey, and in the end, he still decided to sell the guide.


    Ruling Sword was too poor, and they needed a huge sum of money. Usually, there would be some sort of rich business background to back up a club and a super big guild. However, Lu Li didn''t want to develop his guild like that. All industries had cautionary tales of the greed and short vision of businesses.


    But how much money should he sell this for? 5 million? 10 million?


    Five million was only enough for Ruling Sword to purchase materials for a month or compensate for a large scale Wild PVP. Ten million wasn''t too much better either. Previously, when Glory Capital pressured Ruling Sword with their alliance during the Wild Boss fights, Ruling Sword had already lost a few million.


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 discussed for a bit and finally reached a decent conclusion.


    Rare material!


    During the rest time, Lu Li had the others eat and relax a little while he contacted Her Tears. If Glory Capital believed that Her Tears was a traitor, then they might as well let this traitor ''betray'' Ruling Sword over the long run.


    "Are we selling it? These people have increased the price to 8 million, and they''re still willing to negotiate."


    Her Tears had waited around for a long time already. Glory Capital was beginning to lose their patience and had started handing out all kinds of promises.


    The price had already been risen to 8 million and they also promised on top that if Lady Tears left Ruling Sword, they would immediately give him an elite group member spot.


    They could even let him join the training of professional competitors, and as long as his results weren''t too poor, they would let him participate in the competition. On top of this, they also promised him all kinds of benefits in real life. Chopsticks even offered to introduce his cousin to him, and Her Tears was almost tempted.


    Fortunately, Her Tears didn''t lack any of these things that Glory Capital had offered.


    It wasn''t impossible for him to participate in the match. Lu Li had told him a long time ago that he could assign passionate PVP players to the match ground if the competition wasn''t too major.


    In fact, Glory Capital wouldn''t allow Her Tears to show up on major competitions either.


    "Sell it!" Lu Li let out a long breath, then sent a list across, "This time, we don''t want money. We''ll take the things on this list in exchange. The overall price of these items won''t be more than 8 million in total."


    "Ss¡­ damn, you''re good. This is a solid trap."


    Even if Her Tears wasn''t interested in dungeons, he was at least interested in Wild Bosses, because events in the wild often included PVP. He knew that the rare materials on this list all came from Wild Bosses.


    "They''ll agree to it," Lu Li said confidently.


    Glory Capital probably owned the most rare materials in Dawn. Once they set their eyes on a Wild Boss, other guilds would give up pretty much immediately. Only a few major clubs and guilds would be able to join forces with Glory Capital to share the cake.


    At the same time, Glory Capital was very precise with their calculations. They always made the best possible bargain for themselves, in which they maximized their profit without upsetting the major guilds that joined forces with them. Forming an alliance wasn''t easy in the first place, let alone splitting the profit afterwards. Besides Glory Capital, no one else really worked together.


    "Alright, even if they agree, this would be too obvious. I''d expose myself. Why would a traitor like me need so many rare materials?"


    Her Tears persuaded himself to agree to Lu Li, but his brain was still questioning things.


    Lu Li already had an excuse ready.


    "There''s no need to cover up ¨C just say you''re interested in the rare material market, and you want to horde up rare materials. Then, subtlety hint to them that you might build your own guild in the future and hope to receive some help from Glory Capital. They might question your intent, but once they get something from you this time, they''ll still come back to you next time."


    "Alright, wait for my news," Lady Tears agreed.


    "Keep some for yourself as reward. I can''t let you do all this for nothing."


    Lu Li felt a little sorry for him. Her Tears was a player who didn''t lack any money, so it was troublesome for him to participate in these kind of matters.


    "Haha, boss, don''t worry about it. It''s not like you can offer me more than Glory Capital," Her Tears laughed.


    Lu Li was left speechless. This guy was way too honest.


    "Didn''t you promise me before to help me with Arathi?"


    Her Tears still cared about this matter. The first week champion of Arathi not only gained a mount reward, but also received a title. This was a huge attraction to PVP players, especially prideful PVP players who loved to show off.


    The champion of a battleground was usually calculated by their KDA (Kill, death and assist) scores, glory points and number of victories.


    Although it was easier for competitors to obtain the champion spot, they didn''t have that much time like Lady Tears did. They had to compete, to train and to level. As such, a lot of them were still far behind. As the first season of the League competition gradually came to an end, more and more competitors were starting to join in.


    "Sure, I''ll make sure you get the first week champion," Lu Li promised.


    Arathi was a very classic battleground, but this battleground had some sneaky tips that could be used. Strictly speaking, these were more like bugs.


    Chopsticks and Castle Smokes were almost about to give up.


    However, they couldn''t give up so easily yet, because the guide team that was led by White Westhill had brought back news that Highlord Omokk was still invincible right now to all current players, even if they managed to lay their hands on some good Fire Resistance equipment.


    Either they needed to get everyone up to level 57, or they all needed to have an entire set of good Fire Resistance equipment. However, both options were impossible.


    Fire resistance equipment was currently in short supply. Usually, if an equipment included Fire Resistance, it would eat away into the other Attributes on the equipment. It was rare to find an equipment with good Attributes that also provided Fire Resistance.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Her Tears'' reply almost made them cry; they instantly felt like they had been dragged into a trap.


    "Take a look at this list. If you guys are okay with it, let''s trade. You guys have no clue how much energy I put in to steal this guide¡­"


    What were these rare materials in exchange for the guide?

 1189 Overlord

    They had imagined Her Tears to ask for a lot of things, but they didn''t imagine him to ask for rare materials. Chopsticks and Castle Smokes were at a loss when they saw the list. They realized that they had ran into insanity. This crazy guy wasn''t just greedy; he was too greedy.


    "I don''t need money. If you guys really care, then trade with me using the materials on this list," Her Tears said carelessly.


    "That''s impossible; there are too many materials on this list. I can''t authorize this," Castle Smokes declined without even thinking. Although the materials on the list didn''t seem like much at first, after he imagined how many Wild Bosses they needed to kill to obtain everything, he felt sick.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Even a medium-sized guild wouldn''t be able to drag this many rare materials out from their entire storage.


    How long had this guy been planning for? This wasn''t a list that any random would be able to write out. Even a specialist wouldn''t be able to write such a complete list, and it was filled with things that Glory Capital had. This meant that they had been keeping track of all the Bosses that Glory Capital had been taking down. This made Castle Smokes feel numb from the top of his head, all the way down to the bottom of his feet.


    "Then talk about it with someone who can authorize it. To be honest, if it wasn''t for the fact that I decided to do things on my own... hmph, I mean, I''m risking a lot for this trade. These materials are the price; there''s no space for negotiation," Her Tears said, standing his ground.


    "Do you know how much these materials are worth?" Castle Smokes asked incredulously, hiding his rage, even though he really wanted to choke Her Tears to death.


    "It''s about 8 million based on market price, I think."


    Her Tears wasn''t too sure; he didn''t participate in Auctions. He traded materials for guild points whenever he needed them.


    "You''re calculating this all based on the lowest price. Not to mention, most of the materials here only have trade records and no stock. How about, I''ll give you ten million, and you can buy this list of materials instead."


    As someone in control of intel, Castle Smokes was patient, but even he was beginning to lose his cool.


    "Well, if you feel like this isn''t worth it, then don''t worry about it. We can drop the trade but keep our friendship¡­" Her Tears interrupted his remaining sentence.


    There was no point in arguing now. He didn''t need to negotiate anything with Glory Capital and he didn''t plan to do so in the first place, unless Glory Capital really decided to give up on buying the guide.


    This sentence was like a pot of cold water down Castle Smokes'' hot head. It woke him up and he quickly called back Her Tears.


    "It''s not about the value; my position isn''t high enough to authorize this. Hold on, let me have a word with our guild master. I''s not our first time working together anyway; there''s no need to be in such a rush."


    Her Tears'' admiration towards Lu Li went up another level.


    If he was Castle Smokes, he would have already left, but Lu Li calculated the situation too well. This list of materials would definitely upset Glory Capital, but compared to this new dungeon that they could now access repeatedly, the price seemed to be within what they were willing to give up.


    Castle Smokes also wasn''t stupid. His attitude was probably some sort of diplomatic tactic, and if Her Tears showed any signs of weakness, they would probably decline this list.


    None of them were fools.


    Even if Her Tears had any intent do anything at all in the game, he had scattered that thought entirely.


    "We''ve pretty much agreed, but you know that these materials are rare, even for our guild¡­"


    It didn''t take long for Castle Smokes to return.


    "Wait, Brother Smokes, are you sure you want to discuss this slowly with me? Lu Li and the others are still in the dungeon right now, and I really don''t know where they''re up to. With this guide, you guys still have some hope to take the First Clear, but if we talk about this for another two hours, I''m not so sure anymore."


    Her Tears talked in a tone as if he was truly worried for them. He had aimed at the right spot; Castle Smokes instantly went quiet.


    "We''ll try and get the materials from other places and pass them to you as soon as possible, but can we get the guide?"


    Castle Smokes had given up trying to gain anymore profit for the guild out of this trade. Her Tears was right; what was most valuable to them right now was time.


    The trade was completed quickly and all the materials that Lu Li had requested were sent to Her Tears'' mailbox. The guide was sent at the same time to Sorrowless.


    "Ha." Sorrowless'' laugh sent chills down everyone''s spine.


    No one dared to talk in the chat room. Even the most trusted White Westhill and Blood Dagger went quiet. They had paid so much, only to receive the answer that they could skip past Highlord Omokk. They just had to jump down from a certain spot. However, they couldn''t call this a fake guide either, because it did in fact get them ''past'' Highlord Omokk.


    "Sorry boss, I thought too much inside the box," White Westhill said after mustering up the courage to break the silence. All he could do was to own up to his responsibility. After all, he had been the one in charge if the guide team this entire time.


    "Your brain is stuck. Did everyone else''s brains get eaten by dogs?" Sorrowless said without holding back. "Start the dungeon now. If we can''t get the First Clear of Blackrock Spire, bottom level, then the reward money of the guide team and related guild members will be reduced by half for this season. All of you, go back and think again if you''re really doing your best for the guild."


    After Lu Li confirmed that the trade had been completed, he began to buff himself and continue on with the dungeon.


    This last boss was surrounded by layers of monsters and was protected in the depths of the palace.


    Overlord Wyrmthalak was in charge of managing the army placed in the bottom level of the Blackrock Spire. He prepared them to attack the Dwarves at any time. He didn''t feel much for the defeated tribe and the cruel members of it. In order to protect his master, Nefarian, he didn''t care how many he sacrificed.


    It was because of his cruel personality. Not only did he have to be weary of the Dwarves'' counterattack, but he also had to be careful of his own allies.


    "Clean up. We need to clear all the monsters here," Lu Li pointed at the monsters and said to Azure Sea Breeze. Without a second word, Azure Sea Breeze rushed forward. Azure Sea Breeze never complained anymore these days; he had enough with the traps that Lu Li set down for him in the past.


    The monsters here were mostly separated into groups, with some patrol monsters around.


    "Aiya¡­"


    Sakura Memories was fighting a monsters, but was suddenly knocked out. She didn''t receive much damage from the attack, but she fell right into another pool of monsters which dragged a new wave towards them. Wandering was quick to take the aggression from this wave of monsters and save Sakura Memories.


    "Everyone, watch out. Don''t die to these monsters," Lu Li reminded them.


    The members of his regular team were all well trained. Once they realized that these monsters could knock people out, they all started to position themselves to avoid aggroing new mobs.


    Because the monsters knocked out people, Azure Sea Breeze was very careful when he pulled them. It took them around a dozen minutes to clear out all of them.


    Her Tears was still teaching the players from Glory Capital how to jump off the cliff. As such, Lu Li knew that the Glory Capital team was getting close to the second Boss. He throught for a bit and sent Drizzle Court a copy of the guide. He didn''t send out the guide immediately at the start because of his own reasons, but if Drizzle Court found the guide after Glory Capital, that would be too sad.


    Wyrmthalak wasn''t a real dragon; he was a Dragonspawn.


    Ten thousand years ago, during the war against the Burning Legion, the Earthwarder, Neltharion, was tempted by the ancient gods and fell evil. The remaining four dragons and their armies under them became the greatest barrier to Neltharion, who was renamed Deathwing, and his Black Dragon army.


    With the Black Dragon army alone, it was obvious that he wouldn''t be able to win against the alliance of the four dragons and its armies. In their series of defeats, the Black Dragon army grew weak, and only a few of them remained and stayed hidden amongst the mortals to hide from being hunted by the other dragons.


    Deathwing knew that the Black Dragon army alone wasn''t enough, so he began to research a new kind of dragon. He passed this mission only his elder son, Nelfarion. Nelfarion led his research in the direction of combining the abilities of all five dragons in an attempt to create a new breed of dragons that weren''t afraid of all dragon power. With the help of goblins and their technology to hasten the speed of the new species'' growth, he successfully created these multi-coloured Dragonspawn.


    Overlord Wyrmthalak was one of the products.


    Wyrmthalak was loyal to his master and was ready to sacrifice himself to his master at anytime. Anyone who dared to be in the way of his master''s plans would be put to death by him.


    "Go and have a try," Lu Li said carelessly. There was no way the last Boss would be easy. Wyrmthalak had at least a dozen skills and his physical defence wasn''t any lesser than Highlord Omokk. However, his greatest threat came from his wide variety of skills.


    Lu Li couldn''t immediately tell everyone how to take out this Boss. He had to fail a few times first and gather from the experience. This was how he could use his hack, his reincarnated experience.


    Poor Azure Sea Breeze; he would probably never know that he was nothing more than an experimental target.

 1190 The Things in His Brain

    Within minutes, Azure Sea Breeze was down. Even with the healers focusing on him, they couldn''t save him.


    The entire team wiped and returned. Lu Li patted Azure Sea Breeze''s shoulders and lectured, "Do you still think you have a lot of damage deduction spells? See, if it wasn''t for the fact that you wasted so many of them, I''m pretty sure you would still be able to hang on longer."


    "I know now! What a pointless lecture!" Azure Sea Breeze huffed as he turned his head to the side.


    Wyrmthalak was a Dragonspawn, but he was different to those Dragonspawns in the Wild. He could at least breath fire, and even if it was just a few sparks, it was enough to deal constant fire damage that stacked up.


    Things would be a lot easier if they had Fire Resistance potions, but unfortunately, they didn''t have any.


    "Switch tanks," Lu Li said. If he kept his mouth shut, Azure Sea Breeze would die again. It was best to have Wandering tank for a bit, then Azure Sea Breeze tank again after his burn effect wore off.


    If anyone thought that this was all that Wyrmthalak''s had, then they were definitely wrong. This was just his most common tactic; it wasn''t even a skill.


    "No one can challenge my master, not even you!" Wyrmthalak roared.


    This wasn''t just a regular line, but a skill ¨C Demoralizing Shout. It reduced the melee attack of nearby enemies for 30 seconds. This meant that within the next 30 seconds, melee combat was pointless. Lu Li''s damage went from around 200 to less than 40 and it was the same for everyone else.


    On top of this, Wyrmthalak also casted Cleave.


    This was a common skill, but it was anything but ordinary when cast by Wyrmthalak. He could attack three players with this spell. Dealing damage that was between 1200 to 2800. If the spell dealt any critical strikes, it could instantly take down a close combat player.


    "When the boss casts Cleave, all close-combats leave. Wait until the effect from Demoralizing Shout wears off, then come back and deal damage. Everyone, prepare your damage reduction spells," Lu Li said as he stepped back first. He didn''t want to die to this silly ability.


    Wandering''s health dropped rapidly from the burn damage and had to ask for help.


    "****, I can''t anymore. Breezy, help!"


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t have time to tease Wandering; he quickly went over to pull the Boss to himself. The burning effect on himself hadn''t worn off entirely, but he had to force himself to tank it regardless.


    "Wandering, back off a little more from the Boss to recover," Lu Li instructed. Under normal circumstances, it would take a long time for players to discover that the further they went from the Boss, the faster the burning effect disappeared. It was most inefficient to stand near the Boss and deal damage while waiting for the burn effect to disappear.


    Wandering was smart enough to realize this after he stood further away.


    "Hmph, Lu Li, how come you know that the further away I stand, the faster the burn status disappears?" Wandering was curious.


    "Oh really? Well, how would I know? I just thought that since you couldn''t deal damage anyway, you might as well move away and stop blocking me from completing my skills," Lu Li responded bluntly.


    Even a Thief like him with high damage could only deal 30-40 points of damage, let alone a defense Paladin like Wandering.


    "Damn you, do you really have to point that out?" Wandering cursed. What Lu Li said was true, but it did hurt to have it pointed out at him.


    "Stop chatting around and go help Breezy. He''s almost cooked."


    Lu Li had successfully fooled a smart man. He wasn''t entirely making things up either. The completion level of physical-type spells had a major relationship with a player''s movements.


    This strategy of alternating tanks could at least guarantee the team to pass phase one of Wyrmthalak.


    Then, Wyrmthalak''s health dropped to 50%.


    This brought in phase two, which was signalled by two waves of summoned monsters. The first wave of summoned monsters were Bloodaxe Veterans. They came in groups of four and had the ''Punches and Kicks'' skill.


    The skill was a common one for strong monsters. Punches dealt physical damage and also knocked the player away, while Kicks dealt damage and interrupted casting.


    The prior was aimed at close-combats while the latter targeted magic classes. Regardless of the class type, all players were affected.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Fortunately, all 15 of them were above level 56 with good equipment, so they didn''t have too much trouble taking down the 8 Bloodaxe Veterans. After the Bloodaxe Veterans, another two monsters were summoned.


    These two monsters weren''t really summoned monsters, because they dropped items. Normal summoned monsters didn''t drop anything.


    Based on their HP, Armor and Attack attributes, it was more proper to refer them as semi-bBosses. One of them was called Smolderthorn Berserker and the other was the Spirestone Warlord.


    "Breezy, pull another," Lu Li quickly told Azure Sea Breeze.


    If the Smoulderthorn Berserker and Spirestone Warlord pounced on Wandering at the same time, he wouldn''t be able to handle it. Because the melee players had reduced damage due to Demoralizing Shout and they were taking damage from Cleave, most guilds would have swapped their players and replaced them with a new formation of three defensive classes with healers and ranged damage dealers.


    Lu Li didn''t plan to swap any members out. The situation was tougher, but it wasn''t impossible. People just had to work harder and it seemed like Azure Sea Breeze was capable of tanking another monster.


    But why did he pull the Smouldering Berserker?


    The Spirestone Warlord was clearly closer to him, which was why Lu Li didn''t point out which monster he should pull. The Smouldestone Berserker would now teach him a lesson; pulling the wrong monster would definitely cause trouble.


    Mortal Strike ¨C this was a spell that allowed the Smouldestone Berserker to inflict heavy physical damage to a player and reduce their received healing effects by 50% over 15 seconds. Azure Sea Breeze had pulled two monsters. One of them was a boss and now that he had received an extra Mortal Strike status, which reduced his received healing, there was no way he could survive.


    A wipe!


    They had to start over again and this time Azure Sea Breeze finally knew that he shouldn''t pull the Smouldestone Berserker.


    The Spirestone Warlord wasn''t an easy target ¨C in fact, it even knew how to go berserk. However, as long as it wasn''t a real Boss, Azure Sea Breeze could ignore its Berserk mode.


    They finally passed this phase after some tough work. At the same time, Her Tears reported in that Glory Capital had taken down the second Boss and had begun to work on the third one. Lu Li had to admit that their group was very speedy. If both parties started at the same time, Ruling Sword might not win against them.


    Fortunately, he had strategies in his head that he could use for phase three.


    In phase three, Wyrmthalak began to show off his long weapon. The weapon seemed to allow him to constantly cast Sweeping Slam, an ultimate group spell. Their health bars dropped rapidly, even though the healers were spamming their healing abilities.


    Under normal circumstances, players would gain some sort of experience and enlightenment after many wipes.


    Sweeping Slam wasn''t an attack that had no blind spots; it dealt cone ranged damage. This meant that if the Boss targeted a certain player, this player would be at the tip of the cone. The fan shaped area from the Boss and that player would be the area of damage.


    In that case, if the other players stayed out of the cone, they wouldn''t take damage from the spell.

 1191 Black Rock Tower First Clear

    The problem was that it was difficult to find the perfect position to stand on. The Boss'' attacks were not perfectly symmetrical every time ¨C there were always variations in width, range and target. The Boss also walked around a lot, making his attacks more unpredictable. After the fifth wipe, Glory Capital had already reached the Wolf''s Den.


    They had butterflies in their stomachs because they were afraid of hearing the news of Ruling Sword completing the First Clear again. Ever since September last year when the game had just released and Ruling Sword were able to First Clear the Spider Nest, there had been countless times where similar news had been announced.


    Besides some Wild Bosses and some Private Dungeons, most of the public dungeon First Clears belonged to Ruling Sword.


    This might have been the reason why no one was surprised when Ruling Sword made it into the Final Four. It would be quite unlikely that another new Major Guild could manage to make it into the Top Four.


    Sorrowless knew that he had to do something to stop Ruling Sword from taking another First Clear.


    Besides the pro players, Glory Capital was focused on recruiting more players into their strategy team. After the competition was over, they planned on focusing all their resources into recruiting more strategy-focused players and has already been in contact with some of the best strategists in the game.


    "We''re doing much better than before," Lu Li encouraged his team members as they entered into stage three.


    He wasn''t worried about Glory Capital being ahead of them because he was confident that they could defeat Overlord Wyrmthalak. Glory Capital would eventually face the same struggles that Ruling Sword faced anyway.


    "Why is the Boss always moving around?"


    Everyone was tired from following the Boss around while maintaining their DPS.


    "Calm down. It''ll most likely be smooth sailing after we get past this."


    Lu Li was troubled. He had other strategies up his sleeve but they either didn''t have the items for it or it would be too obvious because he would be abusing a bug.


    All they could do was to put their heads down and attack the Boss.


    After several attempts, they finally reached the end. After the Boss used its ultimate skill, Wyrmthalak finally went into critical HP and there were still six players left.


    Azure Sea Breeze managed to survive unlike the previous runs, while Mu Qiu and March Rain were the only healers left alive. The DPS classes included Lu Li, Kitty Likes Meat and Jaweika. This lineup was actually perfect. They still had the Main Tank and two healers to support him, while the three DPS players were some of the most powerful in the party.


    "We can do it!" Kitty Likes Meat yelled as she jumped out of range of the Boss'' attack, narrowly escaping her death.


    Cat Dad loved his daughter, but he was very strict on her training and never let her off easily. This was why her fundamentals were a lot better than a player like Fat Monkey. Fat Monkey tended to make silly mistakes when he lost focus over time as the fight dragged on, but Kitty Likes Meat was able to stay resilient and fight through to the end.


    "Everyone play safe. Azure Sea Breeze, do not die; remember to activate your defensives. The Boss still has quite a bit of HP left," Lu Li said.


    "I''m trying to save my defensives for the enraged state!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted.


    "Worry about that later. If you die now, then we''ll have absolutely no hope. Jaweika, you''re standing too close; increase the gap between you and the Boss. The two Mages should play safe, but make sure you keep the DPS up."


    Lu Li was now the main DPS because the Boss was more vulnerable to physical damage, especially with his high completion rate.


    The special effects that comes with high completion of his skills did not work on Bosses, but the damage was significantly higher.


    Fortunately, Wyrmthalak doesn''t have much healing, but the enraged state was approaching. As soon as he dropped below 5% HP, he became enraged.


    Wyrmthalak''s attack increased by 50% and his critical rate and attack speed also increased significantly.


    Lu Li decided to run back a little in order to stay alive.


    He had left a lot of tricks up his sleeve for this exact moment. He hadn''t even used The Book of Ur, Gale Step and his other important skills.


    Azure Sea Breeze was mad when he saw Lu Li running away because he had no choice but to stay and tank the Boss, praying that he wasn''t killed randomly. He was hoping to stay alive since this was the last Boss and he really wanted the EXP from killing him.


    Lu Li avoided the Boss'' attack and immediately appeared behind his back.


    He unleashed a flurry of skills onto the Boss and when the Boss turned around, he disappeared and ran away again. When the Boss aggro''d back onto Azure Sea Breeze, he immediately jumped onto it.


    He needed to keep up the high DPS that he was dishing out because Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t tank his enraged state for too long. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    As long as Azure Sea Breeze doesn''t die too early then it would be fine. Otherwise, with Lu Li and the two Mages left, it would be impossible for them to defeat him.


    Lu Li was forced to use Gale Steps because Jaweika was killed. He wanted to save this skill until the very end but had no other choice.


    It was impossible for Kitty Likes Meat to defeat him alone since he was one of the strongest Boss in Blackrock Tower. Lu Li began dealing crazy amounts of DPS with the Book of Ur, critical buffs as well as the buff from Gale Steps.


    Wyrmthalak began aggroing onto Lu Li because of the damage, even though Azure Sea Breeze kept using taunt on it.


    Azure Sea Breeze no longer cared about staying alive because defeating the Boss was more important than getting EXP.


    Unfortunately, his taunt was ignored because Lu Li was doing too much damage.


    Lu Li put everything on the line and took advantage of the 1 second invulnerability from Gale Steps to dish out damage. After 1 second, he remained there and continued combining all sorts of ultimate skills. One of them managed to critically hit the Boss.


    Kitty Likes Meat was planning to transform into a demon, but because of Lu Li''s critical hit, she managed to take out the Boss and dealt the final blow.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword members Mu Qiu, Kitty Likes Meat, Azure Sea Breeze, Fat Monkey, March Rain, Moonlight, Sakura Memory, Sesame Rice Ball, Lonesome Flower, Nuo Yu, Jaweika, Hachi Chan, Remnant Dream and Wandering, who under the leadership of Lu Li have completed the First Clear for Blackrock Tower on Nightmare mode!


    The news was announced in world chat and Lu Li gained a skill point as a reward.


    The EXP rewards were handed out as well as some popularity points.

 1192 Arcanite Reaper

    The First Clear news was announced and it was Ruling Sword once again.


    Some were angry, while others were cheering and celebrating, but most did not care.


    The casual players did not care about the competition between the top guilds. Whether it was Glory Capital or Ruling Sword taking the First Clear, it made no difference for them whatsoever because neither of them would release the dungeon strategy.


    Glory Capital''s strategy team did not take this news very well.


    After all that they had been through, when the news came out, they completely lost their hopes and became flustered as Gizrul the Slavener who was almost dead completely wiped out the team.


    "Sorry, my bad."


    West Whitehill tried his hardest to hide it but the others could easily tell he was disappointed.


    "I underestimated Lu Li and Ruling Sword," Sorrowless sighed. He wasn''t angry, but continued in a peaceful tone, "Smokes, cut off communications with Her Tears. We got played by Lu Li."


    "Why?" Castle Smokes asked.


    "You know, people have this innate desire to do whatever benefits them the most. We just assumed Her Tears was unhappy with Ruling Swords because they never let him participate in competitions. What if he never wanted to participate and never betrayed Lu Li? The strategies that they sold to us would all be fake."


    "They scammed our money and our materials!" Blood Dagger was seething.


    "But why would he not want to participate in competitions?" West Whitehill was confused. He hadn''t had the smoothest professional career and had to work harder than anyone else to be in his current position.


    This was why he was accepted into Glory Capital and managed to kick out Wendelian, becoming one of the most important players in the guild.


    "Different people have different ambitions and goals."


    Sorrowless was also a grit and grind person. He''s been around the scene for a while now and when he found out that Her Tears was ranked second on the Arathi Glory Rankings, he knew he had made a mistake. He wouldn''t spend so much time in the Wild if he was trying to make it into the competition team.


    In terms of PvP players, there were some that were addicted to killing people, Moonlight the demon was a great example of this. However, the professional players usually wouldn''t bother doing PvP in the Wild because it was completely different from actual competitions.


    "What should we do now then?" Castle Smokes felt defeated.


    If both strategies that Lu Li sold to them were fake, then as the informant, Castle Smokes would be responsible for all of this.


    "Treat Ruling Sword as our biggest threat. I think they''re finally caught up to us," Sorrowless said seriously.


    Lu Li wasn''t aware that he had become Glory Capital''s biggest threat. However, in reality, even if he knew, he wouldn''t have felt pressured. He wanted to succeed in the gaming community, so overthrowing Glory Capital had always been part of his long-term goals. Sorrowless, being such a prideful person, would never allow such a powerful force to continue growing right before his eyes.


    Ever since the rise of Glory Capital, there hadn''t been a new powerhouse guild for a while in the gaming scene.


    Drizzle Court managed to get a solid footing because of their powerful and rich background in real life. It was impossible for Sorrowless to defeat a powerful and wealthy corporation.


    Lu Li just needed to lead a team and win the championship to show that it was possible to defeat Glory Capital. That way, the other Major Guilds will become more confident and there would be less pressure on Ruling Swords to take them down.


    Besides being able to appear on TV, the rewards for completing a First Clear were even more important.


    Fifteen players participated, which meant that there were fifteen sets of rewards. This was much better than random loot from the Boss'' corpse because the First Clear rewarded equipment for the classes of the players.


    Lu Li looked at his own reward, a pair of Legendary Thief Boots. The stats weren''t great and did not compare to the Champion Boots that he was currently wearing. Before learning Shadow Steps, his current boots were basically irreplaceable. They also added +1 to Kick which was useful in both PvP and PvE.


    That''s just how the game worked ¨C everything was randomly generated and not all items had godly stats and special effects.


    The Thieves in the guild on the other hand would go completely insane for this. They had probably never worn Legendary boots because they were much harder to find than weapons.


    Not everyone received something that could replace their current gear. Wandering probably received the best item ¨C a Paladin Chestplate with great stats that increased his Armor by 20%.


    Fortunately, it was only for Paladins. Otherwise, Azure Sea Breeze would have taken it.


    Azure Sea Breeze received a Dark Gold single-handed sword. He was so mad that he wanted to throw it away. Did the game not seen him get beaten around like a dog?


    It was Mu Qiu''s first First Clear and he received something decent which made him ecstatic.


    Moonlight''s luck was good as usual; he updated his weapon the most out of all the players in the party. He had received plenty of powerful weapons from killing other players and had multiple weapons for different situations.


    This time he received a crafting recipe ¨C Arcanite Reaper.


    This Legendary two-handed axe had two Special Effects. Although it wasn''t as good as Wandering''s Legendary Armor, it still had incredible damage stats. It would be difficult to find a Level 55 to 60 weapon that would be as strong as the Arcanite Reaper.


    In other words, he could easily burst someone with this axe.


    The weapon was the hallmark of a powerful Warrior between Lv50 to 60 and many players still had nightmares about it.


    The drop rate for this axe was incredibly low, so the materials needed to craft it were all more than 1000 gold. It would cost at least 5000 gold to craft it.


    Fortunately, Lu Li was a Master Blacksmith and Wandering only needed to pay for the cost of the materials. If he were to find a Master Blacksmith on the markets, it would probably cost all of his savings. Therefore, as a Warrior, few players would not even keep it for themselves because they wouldn''t be able to afford it. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Moonlight received the recipe and immediately gave it to Lu Li.


    When Lu Li told him that it would cost at least 5000 gold, his expression didn''t even change because he had earned a considerable amount of money in competitions. Taking out a portion of that to make such an overpowered weapon was nothing to him.

 1193 Mass Dispel

    The Mold was at least worth 3000 gold, while the materials would be estimated to exceed 5000 gold. Furthermore, only a Grand Master Alchemist could make this item. However, this weapon would definitely be useful in the upcoming matches.


    Lu Li mulled over it for a little while, then made the decision to support him.


    This Axe had the potential to one-shot Sorrowless. Sorrowless'' HP was just shy of 3000, since he had invested in high DPS, crowd control, mobility. As such, his HP was a little less than the average Mage. If this weapon had extremely high damage, an insta-kill would not be out of question with a critical hit.


    At this time, Mages around level 55 all had at least 3000 HP, while Thieves had a little more on average. In normal situations, no one from these two classes would exceed 4000 HP.


    Only Warriors'' could currently exceed 4000 HP. The rest of the classes added their points into other Attributes, while bulky Warriors focused on their HP. These types of Warriors were much tankier than other Warriors, which meant that their role was to tank monsters.


    When they hit level 60, there was a specialist class advancement, which would make this specialty class of Warriors much more prominent.


    After distributing the rewarded loot amongst themselves, they decided to move onto the next Boss. This was Blackrock Spires'' final Boss. The defeat of this Boss came at a price of wiping multiple times, so it would theoretically drop good items.


    Mark of the Dragon Lord was the best item that Overlord Wyrmthalak could drop.


    This item was extremely strong when they needed Fire Resistance.


    Remnant Dream didn''t receive anything valuable, so she wasn''t happy. Then, she walked up to Wyrmthalak''s corpse.


    The first item was a Fusion Stone which reduced equipment requirement by 10%. Lu Li held onto this precious Stone.


    He didn''t plan to use it any time soon; he just wanted to save up on these just in case the drop rate was lowered. After all, the drop rates were trending downwards with successive updates. In his previous life, there were few new stones being dropped. The stones on the market were mostly from earlier times when the drop rates were higher.


    Using one would mean that there would be one less circulating in the game. Lu Li predicted that after two years, new players might not even know the existence of these Stones.


    This was one of Ruling Sword''s trump cards. They used this time to stock up on these Stones when they dropped frequently, so that when they either used them or sold them in the future, there would be tremendous gains. There was a pre-requisite though ¨C they needed money to make this happen. Although these Stones dropped frequently, their prices continued to skyrocket.


    The second item to drop was a skill book.


    After seeing this skill book, even Lu Li was a little unsettled.


    Why would this skill book drop here?


    What class could DPS, Heal, buff himself, crowd-fear, burn mana and dispel immunity skills? There were no limits to the trickery of Priests.


    Priests had DPS, which was unquestionable, but March Rain didn''t place many of her skill points in DPS skills. Priests had the most stable and largest area of healing. They could buff others, or boost their own Armor. Mages were jealous of this, because they could only buff themselves. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    However, the Fear ability that Priests had was unparalleled by any other crowd-control skill at that time.


    Mana Burn was also extremely powerful, especially against Mages and Paladins. These classes all relied on their mana to do everything, so Priests completely countered them.


    As for the dispelling of immunity, this was what this skill book provided ¨C Mass Dispel.


    All Priests had access to Dispel, which was mostly used to dispel status effects and magic. Different types of Priests would be able to dispel different things, such as Sickness or Curse.


    In Dawn, Dispel could be categorised into two types: Offensive and Defensive.


    Offensive Dispel skills were used to dispel an opponent''s buffs, which made them much easier to kill. On the other hand, Defensive Dispel skills had the opposite effect and would be used to dispel debuffs on teammates.


    March Rain took the skill book and instantly learnt it. She did not realise how overpowered this would make her.


    Perhaps she just felt that it was as simple as dispelling multiple people at a time, instead of dispelling them one by one.


    Only Lu Li knew that this Mass Dispel was something that could be used to dispel Freeze status inflicted by Mages, or Immunity for Paladins. Even Gale Steps would be affected.


    All skills would be rendered useless under the effects of Mass Dispel.


    No one would be able to claim their technique as the ''Ultimate technique''.


    The game company would have preferred to avoid the scenario where an ''ultimate'' player would come along and join a fight while everyone ran away. Similarly, a Thief could just use Gale Steps to escape.


    A fight could only break out when there are two equal opposing sides.


    Of course, to have Mass Dispel did not mean that a Priest was invincible. Mass Dispel had a chance of dispelling immunity status, instead of it being a 100% chance. Therefore, in large-scale battles, the Paladins would rush in with their immunity status, after which the Priests would cast Mass Dispel. The unfortunate ones would have their status dispelled and would be quickly defeated.


    Lu Li planned to teach March Rain how to use Mass Dispel after they left the Instance Dungeon. He also planned to tell March Rain to not use it in public first, until the Finals when they faced Glory Capital.


    As for the rare materials, it was fortunate that a Black Dragonscale dropped.


    The reason why it was fortunate was because Wyrmthalak had a greater chance to drop broken Dragonscales. This was the case for most Dragon-type Bosses. These broken scales couldn''t be used for many things, so many people wouldn''t even take a second glance at them.


    Black Dragonscales were different ¨C these were outstanding materials. NPC quests that involved the collecting of these materials would give tremendous rewards upon completion. Furthermore, if these were used as crafting materials in Armor, there was a high chance of producing exquisite quality properties.


    Lu Li stored this away. As a Forger, he was extremely happy when he had received this material.

 1194 Mark of the Dragon Lord

    After looting these items, the real show was about to begin.


    The first equip was a Gold grade item. The properties were quite decent, and the special effects were powerful. This was also a Fire-resistance item. It was unfortunate that no one needed it, since it was only Gold-grade. No matter how powerful a Gold item was, the base stats given were still too lacking in comparison to Dark Gold items.


    The second equip was a Dark Gold item, but it was for Healing Shamans, so no one wanted it either.


    Lu Li planned to put these items into the guild''s vault, where the members could exchange for them items if they wanted to.


    The management of the vault was extremely important. If it contained many valuable equips, the guild''s members would feel motivated to rush into a PVP battle with the other players.


    The third item was also Dark Gold, but it was no ordinary Dark Gold.


    Heart of the Scale ¨C a Dark Gold grade Emblem.


    In Dawn, accessories dropped at a lower rate than others. From a value standpoint, this item would only be worth a little less than a normal Legendary item. Accessories were held in a higher regard than normal equipment, which meant that a Dark Gold grade accessory would be worth around the same price as a Legendary item.


    However, the value of this item was not merely a result of its low drop rate.


    First of all, it provided Fire-resistance. Fire-resistance Armor was already rare enough, and Accessories were even rarer. In a situation where the players were being bombarded by Fire-elemental damage, items that only provided Fire-resistance stats could not compare to Fire-Resistance equipment.


    Furthermore, this item didn''t have any Class restrictions. From an Attribute perspective, this was an all-stat item, so any class would be able to benefit greatly from equipping it. Besides Fire-resistance, this Emblem also gave a special effect of being able to instantly revive with a considerable amount of HP.


    After mulling over it, Lu Li decided to place it into his own storage.


    Lu Li did this because he was going to bring it out when the time was suitable. Such situations included giving it to Azure Sea Breeze or March Rain when fighting instance dungeons. When playing matches, they would need to consider if the opponent had fire-based players or not. Then, he would lend it to the suitable team members.


    "The next item should be a Legendary item. I''ll show you how it''s done!" the little hunter cried out, making a scene, then decided to begin looting.


    Everyone was stunned.


    They wanted to see her reaction if she failed, but they wouldn''t gain anything if that happened, so they had to endure this.


    "Wow! It really is a Legendary item! I''m so good!" Remnant Dream bragged as she raised an item into the air with pride. For Lu Li, being able to assassinate Sorrowless successfully would be much more satisfying than obtaining a valuable item.


    Lu Li glanced at the item''s shape and breathed a sigh of relief.


    He didn''t even need to read through the properties. He already knew that it was the Mark of the Dragon Lord, an extremely powerful Ring. Wyrmthalak was a Dragonspawn, so the fact that he had dropped a Mark of the Dragon Lord obviously made it the strongest item in Blackrock Spires.


    However, the Mark of the Dragon Lord was not originally Wyrmthalak''s, but had been given to him by Nefarian. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Wyrmthalak went to extreme lengths to obtain this Mark of the Dragon Lord. He became Nefarian''s most trusted and loyal servant and even carved into his armor, "For my lord, I am willing to give up my life."


    Mark of the Dragon Lord was similar to the Heart of the Scale. It also provided Fire-resistance stats, but the Heart of the Scale gave 10%, while the Mark gave 15%. Additionally, the Mark also gave a Fire-element shield, which gave an extra 5% Fire-resistance when it was active. Besides the mitigation effects that the Fire shield provided, it also deals damage to surrounding enemy players.


    Just from this effect alone, this was the best item that Wyrmthalak could drop.


    This was one of the strongest items that gave Fire-resistance stats.


    This item belonged to Main Tanks, because it did not give all-stat, but Constitution instead. Although other classes would frown upon it, Constitution was even better than adding a bit to everything.


    As such, this item was given to Azure Sea Breeze.


    This was the last item from the Blackrock Spires, which meant that the System announced their victory.


    They had achieved the First Clear, and everyone had gained something from this raid. Even Lu Li received a powerful belt. For a player of his calibre, it was hard to find equipment to replace his own.


    Actually, the greatest thing that was gained wasn''t even from the Instance Dungeon.


    The materials gained from Glory Capital were simply too valuable. Ruling Sword might not have been able to collect these materials from Wild Bosses, even if they spent a fortune.


    However, because of this, Lu Li already knew what would happen. Her Tears was targeted.


    There were people hiding to ambush Her Tears. If he was not a Paladin, he would definitely die over and over again, especially since he was at Arathi the whole time.


    Before Mass Dispel became known to the public, Paladins were like a ''cheat'' class.


    Although Thieves had Gale Steps, it was only a second of invulnerability. A wider AoE range skill would still hit them after. Ice Barrier was also quite limited since there was only so long they could hide. Once the Mage was surrounded, they would definitely be killed.


    Only the Paladin had an ''ultimate'' combination of skills.


    Invulnerability and Hearthstone!


    In the history of gaming in general, it was unimaginable that there would be such a method to play a game. If a Paladin could not be killed before he activates Invulnerability, then he could simply activate his Hearthstone during this time.


    The lengthy active duration of Invulnerability would provide enough time to use Hearthstone to teleport away.


    The assailants could only watch on as their target teleported back to town. Her Tears used this method to run away each time. However, he still felt uneasy about it, since he believed that he was being targeted, so he decided to talk to Lu Li about it.


    The main suspicion was that it was Glory Capital taking revenge.


    Lu Li decided to let Her Tears send a message to the Glory Capital contact from before, when they discovered that Her Tears had already been blacklisted.


    From this, they deduced that Her Tears played them, so they cut off all communication with him. There would no longer be any opportunities to work together. However, there must have been people who couldn''t swallow this humiliation, so they arranged for Her Tears to be killed.


    Although tracking was much harder now, Glory Capital had the funds and connections to make it happen anyway.

 1195 Set Out to the Battlefield!

    Lu Li could only comfort him with some kind words and try to keep calm. This guy rarely went out to farm anyway and would just gain EXP from the battlefield.


    "Boss, have you forgotten something again?" Her Tears couldn''t help but remind him.


    "Oh right. Arathi," Lu Li mumbled, suddenly coming to his senses.


    Her Tears had already mentioned this a number of times, but Lu Li kept forgetting, he had obviously forgotten his end of the bargain. Her Tears felt like he had been wronged.


    Arathi was originally a territory in the Kingdom of Arathor. After the invasion of the plague, the Arathi Highlands was formed. As a battlefield, it was called the Arathi Basin.


    A long time ago, humans travelled all throughout the south-eastern part of Lordaeron, but due to a threat of a powerful Forest Troll empire from the north, they gradually abandoned their ancient nomadic life. In the long battle against the Forest Trolls, one human called Arathi stood out.


    Not only did he unify the humans within six years, but he also established the first kingdom in human history. The Arathor Empire was established on the plateau in the south-east of Lordaeron.


    Later, the empire allied with the High Elves of Quel''Thalas to defeat their common enemy ¨C the Forest Trolls. At this time, humans began to learn the magic of the High Elves, and so the early Mages were created.


    The Arathor Empire was later divided into seven independent countries due to its rapid expansion and internal conflicts: the Kingdom of Stormguard, the Kingdom of Azeroth, the magic Kingdom of Dalaran, the Kingdom of Gilneas, the small mountain country of Alterac, the sea power of KulTiras and finally, Lordaeron.


    Among them, Azeroth and Lordaeron were the strongest. In the following period, the seven kingdoms were generally peaceful except for when dealing with the remaining scattered Forest Trolls.


    Unlike the original Warsong Canyon battlefield, Arathi was a new battlefield for parties of fifteen. That meant that no matter whether they were Alliance or Horde, they had to enter in parties of fifteen to represent their faction. The Alliance was fighting a war here for the natural resources.


    There were a total of five resources points ¨C the Pound, the Mines, the Sawmill, the Blacksmith and the Farm. The players'' quest was the occupy these resource points and obtain the resources. The two parties would fight and whoever acquired a total of 2000 resources first won.


    Fighting on the battlefield was a test of technique. On the surface, if you could kill the opposing players, then you could do whatever you wanted with the resources, but this didn''t just depend on your personal combat strength.


    Once the atmosphere of the battle became bloodthirsty, it was easy to lose the main objective without even knowing it.


    Therefore, strategy was very important on the battlefield of the Arathi Basin. Even though it was Lu Li leading Her Tears and a group of newbies, he would lose if he didn''t coordinate everything properly.


    Therefore, it was very important for everyone to be in a party before entering the battlefield.


    "There are fifteen players for this battlefield. Anyone who wants to come, just type ''1'' into the guild channel," Lu Li said habitually before realizing that he had done something very stupid.


    In his previous life, he was part of a small guild which didn''t have many players. Whenever he wanted to enter a battlefield, he would ask the guild first and then slowly gather the remaining players. For big battlefields like Alterac Valley which required 40 players, he might even send a message through the World Announcements.


    But now, things were different.


    He was the Boss of ruling Sword. The moment he said this, the guild channel was quiet for a while, before suddenly descending into chaos.


    A conservative estimate was that at least ten thousand players sent a ''1'' into the chat. There were several that shamelessly sent more than one, but this was the nature of online interaction. If this had happened a few years ago, it was likely that the server would have crashed.


    Lu Li didn''t dare to say anything further, and instead pulled up his friend list.


    Moonlight!


    If he didn''t invite Moonlight to this event, he might start secretly plotting to kill Lu Li.


    Fat Monkey!


    Fat Monkey was a very energetic person and was willing to do anything, whether that be an Instance Dungeon, the arena, a battlefield, a quest or even taking a girl around to see the sights.


    March Rain!


    Ruling Sword''s general consensus was that if they had March Rain, they wouldn''t need to fear death.


    Lonesome Flower!


    Lonesome Flower didn''t actually enjoy PVP much. When he wasn''t doing Instance Dungeons, he would be farming for levels. Otherwise, how else could he stay within the top three on the Level Rankings? But since he wanted to accompany his sister, he was willing to go to the battlefield. He was also fearless, since his equipment and level meant that he could oppress 99% of Dawn''s players.


    Sakura Memories!


    Although the Shaman''s Bloodlust wasn''t as rare as it was in the beginning, Sakura Memories had grown more skilled through the PVP training technology at Ruling Sword.


    Drifting Rain!


    This was the leader of the small Night Watchmen, which was predominantly made up of Ruling Sword players. The Paladins in this group all knew of Lu Li and were mostly from Ruling Sword as well. There were some who had joined the Night Watchmen without joining Ruling Sword, but they all looked to Lu Li like he was a God.


    Drizzling City!


    This was Ruling Sword''s elite Shaman healer. In fact, he had spent most of his time at the Brotherhood as part of their core elite. However, he had offended that guild''s top level players, so he came to Ruling Sword seeking refuge.


    White Traveller!


    This player wasn''t as good as Cain''s Left Hand, but he had a very important political status in real life. He had helped the guild through a lot of trouble, so they invited him to guild activities.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Machine Bro!


    This was another Priest healer in the guild. His equipment and technique were both quite good. Playing in Arathi required a certain number of healers, so he was chosen.


    Wandering was going to try out his new equipment, as he had received quite a few good items from the last Instance Dungeon. With Nuo Yu, Mu Qiu, Kitty Likes Meat, Her Tears and Lu Li, they had enough to form a strong line-up of players.


    Lu Li was the team leader. After he had set up the team, he created a chat room, then went to the quartermaster to register them.


    The entrance to the battlefield was different from an Instance Dungeon. The team leader needed to register with the quartermaster and would eventually be granted permission to enter the battlefield. Once this was confirmed, the whole team would be transported into the battlefield.


    There were two entrances to the Arathi Basin battlefield in the Arathi Valley. The Alliance entrance was at Refuge Pointe and the Horde entrance was north of Hammerfall.

 1196 Steamrolled

    There was a starting point at each of the respective base camps which was completely enclosed. The players were given a minute of preparation time. During this time, they were able to get their food ready, cancel any debuffs and buff each other.


    If you looked through the closed gate, you could almost see the opposite base camp.


    Both base camps were elevated while the middle of the battlefield was quite low; this was why the battlefield was called a basin. At the foot of their base camp was the Pound while at the corresponding position on the Horde''s side was the Farm. The Blacksmith was in the middle of the battlefield and the two sides had the Sawmill and the Mines.


    The Sawmill were higher up, while the Mines were quite low.


    It could be said that Arathi was a very well-designed battlefield that took into account the positions and altitudes of each of the locations. Each side could make use of the water, the cliffs and the line of sight.


    "This should be an easy fight," Her Tears said. He seemed to be quite experienced.


    "Why?" White Traveller was entering the battlefield for the first time and didn''t really understand much.


    "You can see the other team''s lineup. If they were a team, then they would have all appeared together. Even if they haven''t arrived yet, the names would still be there. But the fact that names are trickling in means that they are just random players," Her Tears explained.


    Since the opposing party was just made up of random players, they didn''t have to fight too hard.


    Regardless of whether they were made up of random players, the equipment gap between them was huge as well. This party of fifteen players was likely to have a combat strength that was multiple times better than a party of fifteen random players.


    In other words, if Lu Li entered the battlefield alone with a random team, running into another team that was well-coordinated didn''t mean they would automatically lose.


    "Let''s go! Wandering, lead your team to the mines. Teacher, lead your team to the Sawmill, and White, lead your team to the Pound. Team three and four, come with me to contest the Blacksmith."


    Lu Li had divided the team in advance so they could immediately rush out. There were fewer players contesting the side resource points, because the fighting would start in the middle.


    The fifteen Ruling Sword players were considered to be elite players, so they had mounts to get to their locations.


    On the other hand, their opponents were much worse off. Almost all of them had to use their two legs to get to their destinations. Naturally, it was impossible for them to have reached their locations at the same time. According to the game''s settings, the distance to the Blacksmith and the side resource points were the same on both sides.


    However, when they saw a group of players riding out on their mounts, they were dumbfounded.


    Soon, the System started giving out warnings: White Traveller has raided the Pound. If you don''t act quickly, the Alliance will occupy it within a minute. Fat Monkey has raided the Sawmill. If you don''t act quickly, the Alliance will occupy it within a minute. Moonlight has raided the Mines. If you don''t act quickly, the Alliance will take it within a minute. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The Pound, the Farm, the Blacksmith, the Mines and Sawmill were the five resources points marked with a grey flag. The players could occupy each of these locations when they arrived at them. It took 30 seconds to capture these locations and the capture would be cancelled if the player was attacked during this time.


    After 30 seconds of successful capturing, the flag would remain grey.


    It was only after a minute that the flag would turn into a side''s colour. If the Alliance captured the area, the flag would turn blue,if while the Horde captured the area, the flag would turn red. When an area was captured, it would grant resources over time.


    Arathi''s win condition was 2000 resources, and this could be slowly gathered by capturing resource points.


    "Uhh, do you still want to fight them? These are players that are contending for the championship in this battle. I don''t think it''s worth it."


    The players that saw the capture beginning would rush in to stop it from happening, but after seeing the names of who they were up against, there were some that immediately quit the


    match.


    It wasn''t just one player either. Four to five players almost immediately left the battlefield.


    "Woah, surely they could have at least tried? You can''t just quit the battlefield; there will be a 15-minute penalty if I remember correctly," Fat Monkey said as he rushed into a player, only to find that they had left the battlefield.


    When he turned around to find another target, he found that those that hadn''t left had already been taken out by his teammates.


    "I probably wouldn''t have subjected myself to the abuse either. Let''s just finish the fight."


    Lu Li hadn''t even gotten down from his mount.


    They pushed to the other side of the battlefield, where the Horde''s base camp was and took over the map.


    There were five Respawn points on this battlefield ¨C the Mines, the Sawmill, the Blacksmith and the two base camps. After a player died, they would revive at the nearest respawn point. However, if you lost control of all five points, you would respawn at home.


    Lu Li pushed all the way to the end and began fighting the players at their front door.


    There were two players that had just rushed out who had probably been killed at the Sawmill or the Mines. Lu Li didn''t even go into Stealth. He cast Gouge on one player and leapt behind the other to deal with them.


    After these two players died, they were revived again in their base camp. They were then immediately greeted by Lu Li and the others who were camping the area.


    "Make sure to leave someone at every point," Lu Li reminded the players behind him while he attacked a hostile Mage.


    "Relax."


    White Traveller snuck around below the flag of the Pound. Thieves were the best profession for guarding the flag. If someone tried to capture it, they could cast Sap without even revealing themselves.


    "They are already outnumbered. Why should we even bother with the resource points?" Fat Monkey didn''t really understand.


    "It''s just in case. How about you go to the Mines and Mu Qiu go to the Sawmill?" Lu Li suggested, assigning some players to be the flag protectors. It was best not to underestimate the team, as a Thief or Druid could easily slip out and capture the point.


    Although this kind of capture probably wouldn''t result in a comeback, it would delay their resource gathering which was an unnecessary waste of time.


    Under normal circumstances, you would have to assign more than a single player to defend the points. However, their opponents were so weak that one player was more than enough to defend everything.


    "Boss, why is it me? Please Boss, show me some pity," Fat Monkey cried. He obviously didn''t want to protect the flag, because he was unlikely to fight anyone that way.


    Although there were some players that didn''t like fighting, Fat Monkey was obviously not one of them.

 1197 Reward

    Lonesome Flower had never felt so cool!


    As a Mage, was it normal that he didn''t like PVP?


    For most players, this was quite normal as everyone had their own playstyle. However, for Lonesome Flower of Ruling Sword, it was anything but normal. He was often within the top three of Dawn''s Level Rankings and was the highest-level Mage. Even Sorrowless would pay attention to what he was doing occasionally.


    He was also one of the core players of Ruling Sword''s First Clear team. As long as there was valuable Mage equipment, he would have priority in receiving it.


    Most players thought that his equipment would be better than Sorrowless'', but this was impossible. There was no one who knew how much money had gone into Sorrowless'' equipment, especially given the size and strength of his guild.


    However, for some reason, Lonesome Flower didn''t know how to PVP!


    In fact, most elite PVE players wouldn''t fare too badly in PVP. After all, both were tests of skill and technique. If you could fight a Boss, then you could probably fight other players.


    However, Lonesome Flower seemed to be the exception. He was an otaku with social anxiety, so he would get nervous around people.


    Now, he was standing next to his sister with his arms open to continually cast Blizzard over the Horde players'' respawn location, baptizing them as they revived.


    His equipment and level were both very strong, so the damage from this skill was horrifying.


    Lu Li didn''t even need to do anything. He just watched as these poor casual players died and revived repeatedly.


    Glory Points were awarded for these kills, but these were also awarded to the killer''s accomplices, so they weren''t in a hurry to take them. Most of the players simply watched as their opponents were destroyed by the area of effect skill.


    The battle didn''t last long. After all, the Horde players had lost all the resource points.


    After the System prompted Lu Li that they were victorious, they were immediately sent out of the battlefield. Lu Li then quit the lobby and started queueing for the next round. This was in the interest of time, as it took quite a while to get into the battlefield. The matching process wasn''t always going to be so quick.


    The next match was once again in the same location.


    However, this time, their opponents weren''t just a mix of random players. They were a full party which was more appropriate for this team of professionals.


    From the matching menu, you couldn''t see the name of the players, but you could see their composition. After the battle started, it would keep track of the number of kills, deaths, assists, damage dealt, damage received and Glory.


    "Why isn''t it a team of random players again?" Lonesome Flower was somewhat upset. He had enjoyed the feeling of destroying those players.


    His kill count was several times higher than Moonlight''s. His sister, March Rain, looked at him with respect but seemed to be surprised that her brother was so bloodthirsty.


    "This is very normal. The System will intelligently match us with better opponents as we win," Her Tears explained. He had been playing in the battlefield recently and knew more about the system.


    This so called intelligent match-making was only for teams of five or more players. The data of their battles would be recorded and used to determine their next match, which would likely be another team that was very close in strength.


    Lu Li and the team had defeated the previous team in quite a short time, so this match was likely going to be much harder.


    However, it would have been quite difficult to find another team that was close to them in terms of strength.


    This match was filled with players that were at least level 55. It seemed that they were a group of Elite players from a guild. When they exited the gate, they hopped on their mounts and rushed to the Gold Mines, Sawmill and Blacksmith.


    Between this and the last match, they hadn''t changed their strategy. Lu Li still committed most of their forces to contesting the Blacksmith. The Blacksmith was located right in the centre of the map, so if you controlled this base you could easily get to the other 4 locations. It was quite a strategic position, which meant that the fighting was most intense there. Lu Li''s main attack on this location was to ensure they took control.


    When Lu Li arrived at the Blacksmith, he didn''t even have a chance to start capturing the flag before he saw a Mage rushing in on an ostrich.


    The ostrich was a mount from the Blood Elves, which ran quite strangely but wasn''t that fast. Its speed was similar to the ordinary mounts so both the Mage and Lu Li arrived at about the same time.


    Lu Li didn''t bother capturing the flag, and instead jumped off his mount and ran straight towards the Mage.


    The Mage was obviously not an unskilled player either. While retreating, he summoned a Water Elemental and just as Lu Li made contact with his dagger, his Ice Shield was already covering him. He then started harassing Lu Li as his teammates arrived to provide backup. Given their combat experience, it was clear that these players had been playing on the battlefield for quite some time.


    The battlefield was different from an arena fight; the battles here were much more scattered.


    As several players were attacking Lu Li, he had to step back and retreat to this own camp.


    "Drifting, get around them. Nuo Yu attack their healer!"


    Lu Li obviously wouldn''t just passively retreat, so he started instructed other more-survivable players like Drifting Rain to go in and for Nuo Yu to hold off the other team''s healer.


    The scariest thing for a commander when fighting in a battlefield was when the players didn''t listen to the commands and only wanted to kill players instead of targeting the healer.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Fortunately, Lu Li was the leader of Ruling Sword and such a thing had never happened before. Before long, the poor Druid Healer had died and the rest were finding the fight much more difficult. Moreover, Ruling Sword had two more players at the Blacksmith than the other players.


    "Sawmill! We need help at the sawmill! We''re getting pushed out!" Fat Monkey''s voice yelled out over the channel.


    Given the tone of his voice, it seemed like he was going to die but they couldn''t be sure.


    "Mu Qiu, Memories and Nuo Yu, guard the Blacksmith. Everyone else, come with me to the Sawmill. What is happening at the Gold Mine?" Lu Li asked as he summoned his mount to ride up.


    Flying mounts or other similar means of transport couldn''t be used in the battlefield, which meant that Lu Li couldn''t turn into a crow and fly into the Sawmill. Lu Li had to use his mount to run all the way to the Sawmill, but this was alright as there were some that couldn''t afford a mount and had to run on foot.


    "The Gold Mines are fine; they only sent two players," Wandering replied.


    It seemed that their focus had been to take the Sawmill, then prioritize the Blacksmith and abandon the Gold Mines.


    "There is a Thief in the Barn. What should I do?" White Traveller asked.


    "Don''t let him capture the flag. Lighty, go!"


    Lu Li looked at the positions of his teammates on the map and saw that Moonlight was close enough to provide support. If both of them were defending, it wouldn''t be a problem, even if there were two Thieves. However, Lu Li guessed that a Thief was sent to the Barn just to try their luck. It was unlikely that they would ordinarily be able to capture the Barn.


    "Dammit, I don''t want to be protecting a flag," Moonlight protested.


    "If you can kill the Thief in the Barn, then go to the Blacksmith or the Gold Mine. I assume they will go after those after they revive. Hey, Mr. Mage, why aren''t you dead yet?" Lu Li asked. It


    seemed strange that Fat Monkey, who was defending the Sawmill, hadn''t died yet.


    "Please, I wouldn''t die even if you killed me. I just used my items, but the second time they almost had me," Fat Monkey said as he pointed at a Shaman from the other team.


    Lu Li was stunned by the Shaman''s Thunderstorm, which could summon a lightning bolt to deal damage to all nearby enemies within 10 yards, pushing them away and reducing their movement speed by 40%. This skill wasn''t very common, and it could only be used for an Elemental Shaman that had trained in that element.


    "How haven''t you been pushed down this cliff? You should be dead or at least disabled."


    "I blinked to a safe location, and avoided the fall." Fat Monkey said proudly.


    He was a player that competed professionally; what was so noteworthy about doing that to some ordinary player? However, Lu Li couldn''t be bothered saying that to him and just went to deal with the Shaman with a rotation of skills. He then summoned his mount and left.


    He hadn''t received any other calls for help, so he went back to planning their next strategy as he went towards the opponent''s Farm.


    The Arathi Basin was a valley with mountains of varying heights. There were a few fertile farmlands in the Eastern Kingdoms, and these were generally closer to the Horde''s camp.


    There would generally be players left behind at those areas. He didn''t know how many, but they definitely would be there.

 1198 Quail Bro

    The blood-red flag of the Horde was planted in the Farm. Lu Li circled twice around the location, but found no one guarding it.


    Was there really no one here guarding the flag?


    Lu Li felt like there was no way. This wasn''t a team of rookies, so where was the flag-keeper?


    The farmland was divided into squares, but the outskirts were quite densely covered in weeds¡­Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Lu Li sneered as he slammed into the grass and found something hiding ¨C a quail.


    Quails were one of the main forms that a Druid could transform into. Although specializations for this form had not yet been introduced, it had already started gaining popularity.


    Quails had quite a large rear-end, so they generally drew attention if they were walking about outside. If someone had fearlessly began capturing the flag, this Druid would have jumped out and madly attacked them. Even if you were stronger, such a surprise attack would likely lead to a poor exchange.


    Some players also preferred to interrupt the flag captures at the very last second.


    The quail had a bit of a smile of its face, but it didn''t know that someone was preparing to stab him in the back.


    "Ahhh, ahhhh, ahhhh!"


    A high-pitched cry sounded out throughout the Arathi Basin. This battlefield wasn''t that small, so the fact that it could be heard throughout meant that it was quite loud and quite high-pitched.


    "Hey, why do you yell so loudly?" Lu Li couldn''t believe that anyone would have their pain setting set so high.


    When he looked at where he had stabbed with his knife, he realized what had happened. Even so, Lu Li didn''t feel like this was his fault ¨C why would he have his butt pointed up so high?


    "Help me! Otherwise, I''m going to die!" the Druid cried out as he changed from a quail to a Bear. The Bear Form increased Armor and HP, and could negate some crowd control, but it couldn''t completely get rid of it. This player knew that he had run into an expert.


    What was the most effective way to deal with an expert that you couldn''t defeat?


    No, it had nothing to do with the Farm''s manure supply ¨C it was just to call for help. Lu Li could soon see another player rushing out from a little hut in the Farm.


    This was the Farm; was it really necessary to have two players protecting it?


    Although more players meant that a location would be safer, it also meant that the defense of other locations would be compromised. After all, the Strength of each team was fixed at fifteen per side.


    The other player was a Mage, but he had received a buff.


    The Arathi Basin''s Resources Points each provided one of three different buffs. The first was a Movement Speed buff, which was what the Mage had. This increased the player''s movement speed by 50%. The other was a HP recovery, which could restore a player''s HP very quickly if they were fortunate enough to receive it. The last was an increase in attack strength by 50%.


    Fortunately, the Mage didn''t receive an increase in attack strength.


    Lu Li was worried, but he wasn''t scared. He tanked some of the Mage''s Ice Bolts which dealt a few hundred damage.


    "Hey, this Thief is so tanky. Surely he put all his points into Constitution!" the Mage called out.


    "What do you mean? He is dealing so much damage to me. How can a Thief have both high attacking power and still be so tanky? If both of us die to him, it is going to be humiliating," the Druid yelled back as he used his badge and pushed off the ground to finally evade Lu Li''s attacks.


    The other Mage hurried to attack Lu Li, intending to give him a Movement Speed debuff.


    Lu Li couldn''t exactly fight the Mage right now. The buff made him quite mobile, so he would be difficult to chase. Moreover, the quail was almost dead, so Lu Li kept chasing it. After casting Shadow Cloak, Lu Li didn''t really need to worry about it anymore.


    "I need a heal!" the quail cried with a face full of tears.


    "How about you heal yourself."


    The Mage was about to cry as well. He had cast a number of skills onto Lu Li, but had only taken half of his HP.


    "¡­"


    The quail had only just remembered that he was a Druid. No matter how a Druid was built, they would still have some healing skills. Moreover, the quail had gone down the Intelligence path, so he would actually have more healing than someone who had gone down the path of Strength or Agility.


    Kidney Shot!


    Lu Li had been waiting for a long time for him to do this. How could he let the quail heal himself? As for the Mage, he didn''t dare take many more of his skills, so he cast an exile skill onto him.


    Death''s Clutch (Dark Gold): Armor 55, Agility +50, Strength +35, Critical Hit +20%, Special Effect 1: Backstab +1, Special Effect 2: After casting Cheap Shot, there is a certain chance that a shield that reduces 50% of damage taken will appear. This effect lasts for up to 3 skills. Special Effect 3: Exile, prevent the target from taking any actions for 2 seconds. During this period, the target is invincible. Only one target can be exiled at a time and this skill can only be used on targets that are lower-levelled than the user. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 268/268.


    The Mage was shocked and quickly used his badge.


    He felt that this Thief was very dangerous. Once he dealt with his Druid friend, he was going to deal with him. Even though he was at half health, the Mage didn''t think that he would win.


    Were they going to give up this point this easily?


    Lu Li couldn''t understand what this Mage was thinking, but it didn''t stop him from throwing a Blind at him and continuing to attack the Druid. The Mage had no choice but to turn around to dodge it.


    Eventually, the Druid was killed in the crowd control. He was only a Magic Profession after all, even if he did wear leather armor.


    What''s more, the sheer gap in strength between Lu Li and this player was like the gap between a major guild elite player and an average player.


    After the Druid died, Lu Li immediately rushed at the Mage.


    However, before attacking the Mage, he took advantage of his attacking initiative and took two steps to re-enter the grass.


    The other side''s reinforcements had arrived.


    After several battles, the Horde players had given up on capturing the Gold Mines and Sawmill. In addition to the limited players sent to those areas, the main fight was still taking place at the Blacksmith. However, since the Farm was near their home base, they couldn''t allow Lu Li''s cheap tactic to succeed.


    Lu Li''s thought process was also quite simple. There was no need for him to fight them here. As long as Ruling Sword players captured the Blacksmith and were holding on to the Barn, the Gold Mines and the Sawmill, they would be soon victorious.


    The number of players at the Blacksmith changed once again. Now, there were nine Ruling Sword players, including Lu Li, and twelve players from the other team.


    "Would you like our support there?" Wandering asked.


    "Leave one player at each point. Everyone else, go to the Farm."


    Instead of reinforcing the Blacksmith, it was better to increase the pressure on the Farm. As long as pressure on the Farm was maintained, any attack on the Blacksmith was bound to be stopped.


    In a fight where it was 9 on 12, there were some consequences. Lu Li actually died in the fighting.


    However, he had successfully killed the healer for a second time in the process.


    Now the Horde players that no longer had their healer quickly lost the fight. When the Alliance completely captured the Blacksmith and controlled four resource points, the battle came to an end.


    The Horde players were a full team, and they were quite a strong team that often played in this battlefield.


    When they saw that the Alliance team was focusing on the Blacksmith and using sneak attacks on the farmland, and especially after finding out that it was a Ruling Sword team, they fell into despair. However, this didn''t cause them to retreat ¨C instead, they took it as a training exercise.


    Ordinarily, there was no chance for a team to train against a club-level team.


    They sadly discovered the seemingly insurmountable difference between themselves and those players, but this didn''t make them desperate. They were determined to fight until the end, even if they were pushed all the way back to the Farms. After they dealt with Lu Li''s sneak attack, they had lost control of the four other resource points.


    However, by the time this match ended, it had already taken several times longer than the first.

 1199 If You Don’t Call Me Daddy I’ll Kill Myself

    "It is not very efficient to play like this," Lu Li said.


    "I think this is okay. It feels cool ¨C unless you have a better way of playing?" Her Tears didn''t think this was slow. In fact, this was much faster than when he was playing alone.


    "The first option is to exploit a small bug, and the second is to split the team," Lu said, offering two choices.


    Lu Li thought that Her Tears would jump at the mention of a bug. After all, a bug generally produced results that had never been seen before. But unexpectedly, Her Tears responded calmly by saying, "Let''s not use the bug. We shouldn''t trouble ourselves in the battlefield, and we should also keep it a fair fight."


    Lu Li didn''t really mind either way.


    The so called Arathi bug was actually quite simple. There was an area in the Alliance base where you could force your way out during the one-minute preparation time. In that time, you could gain a significant amount of points and it would take a very strong opposing team to pull off a


    The Alliance players in the Arathi battlefield who exploited this bug were called jumpers. From the Horde''s point of view, the Alliance players could somehow jump to the flag before they could reach them.


    However, if they didn''t use the bug, then the number of players needed to be changed. Currently, the team of fifteen players was a bit much. The System would try to match opponents of the same size. Even if they were weaker than Lu Li''s team, it could be very difficult if they were well coordinated.


    As for the number of players for each new group? It was simple ¨C the optimal number was four players per group.


    If they were in groups of five, they might get matched together. If they wanted to avoid this, it was best to be in groups of four.


    The final teams were determined to be Her Tears, Lu Li, March Rain and Moonlight. This was quite a strong team to fight newbies with. The other teams were also quite strong, but there were some players who didn''t want to continue playing on the battlefield and chose to quit and farm instead. These players were Lonesome Flower and Sakura Memories.


    With the team now organized in groups of four, Lu Li gave the party leader to Her Tears and waited for the match to start while looking through the Exchange Hall.


    In fact, he didn''t have much time to see anything. By the time he opened the window, he was prompted to enter the battlefield. With fewer players, the matching was faster. After entering the match, the opposing team wasn''t nearly as skilled because they were a random team as well.


    Arthur was a streamer, a career that had long since been established. However, this Arthur wasn''t doing very well. It was a very competitive industry, he wasn''t a woman and nor did he act cute. What''s more, he only ever streamed the battlefields. Instance Dungeons, Arenas or any other battle usually gathered much more attention.


    Today, he was up to his sixth match. The five previous ones had all gone badly; he and his teammates were just being farmed as they revived.


    If you looked at the chat, you could see the barrage of messages to get a sense of the situation.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Oh, Arthur, this is going badly¡­"


    "Arthur, you should get your cousin to carry you again. I''ve never seen such an embarrassing streamer before."


    "Just close the stream and go home. Are you even a gamer? You seemed like you could do it before¡­"


    "Haha, you Alliance pigs are so stupid. We Horde players love seeing weaklings like you, so we can slaughter them."


    "Not this again. You haven''t even run into a full team of 15 yet. Dammit, some guy next to Arthur just ran out without their equipment. This is very grim."


    Lu Li thought it was quite grim too. This man wasn''t completely naked, as Dawn wouldn''t let you do that, so he was just running around in his underwear in the desert yelling, "Brothers, you probably know what I''m doing already. Call me daddy, or I''ll kill myself."


    "¡­"


    The Alliance players were speechless.


    Every game had its fair share of eccentric characters. These people existed in real life, but only manifested their strangeness in games.


    There were some players that did this for money. They would try to force others to pay them by holding the match hostage. Most players could pay a few silver coins for this player to leave, but the worst kind was someone who did this for no reason.


    If someone killed themselves, it wouldn''t have a direct impact, but it did mean that the Alliance''s side had less to work with.


    In addition, with a teammate always dying, it was a blow to their morale.


    Were they really going to have to call him daddy?


    "Buddy, I am streaming. Please give me a break!" Arthur cried out. He really wanted to just call him daddy, but he knew that if he did that, he would lose his viewers. He only had 500-600 viewers left, and he would probably be left with fewer than 100.


    "Haha, you''re streaming? That''s great," this guy laughed, seeming to get even more excited.


    "I''m not going to call you anything."


    Once they heard that this was being streamed, everyone became even more anxious. If you lost a match in front of a dozen players, who cares? But who knew how many people was watching that stream. There could be 100,000 people and some of them could be friends in real life.


    "Should we split up or go together?" Her Tears asked, not even bothering with this person.


    "Let''s go together to the Gold Mines first. We''ll kill them and then heard onto the Farms," Lu Li said as he summoned his Headless Paladin''s Steed and rushed out almost immediately.


    The other players were stunned.


    They didn''t know who this player was, but they were stunned because of the Headless Paladin''s Steed.


    This mount could only be obtained through the Halloween events and was a rare combat drop. There were no more than 100 produced in a sea of millions of players.


    They had not expected to see the Headless Paladin in this place.


    Some of them were quite frustrated because they had to run on foot.


    When they saw Lu Li''s three friends also summon their mounts, they became even more restless.


    March Rain and Her Tears were both riding mounts from their own races, but these were mounts that they had seen walk through the street before. The effect of finding out Moonlight was there was not much different from Lu Li. He had acquired the first place on the Warsong Canyon''s Glory Rankings.


    In such a random group of players, the gap between the players was immediately obvious.


    "Moonlight!"


    "Dammit, it''s Great God Moonlight!''


    In the minds of the battlefield players, Moonlight and Blood Dagger were the top players. Although Moonlight had not fought in a battlefield for a long time, his reputation was still well known.

 1200 Stream

    If this was Moonlight, then who was riding the Headless Paladin Warhorse?


    There were only two players in Ruling Sword that had the Headless Paladin''s Steed. The first was the Boss Lu Li and the other was an Elite player Nuo Yu.


    Ruling Sword''s two well-known fire Mages were quite easily recognized. Fat Monkey often wore a flaming red robe and a golden crown on their heads. Nuo Yu usually wore low-key black equipment and had a slightly longer blue Magic Staff. Both these players were likely carrying a number of exquisite equipment.


    Since this person didn''t look like Nuo Yu, it was probably Lu Li.


    Moonlight and Lu Li¡­


    This was such an exciting moment for the players. These were legendary names that you could only see on TV. Now that they had appeared next them, there was no way they could easily calm down.


    Arthur''s live chat was bubbling with excitement.


    "This is fake, it must be. Why would Lu Li go to the battlefield?"


    "Even if they needed to farm some points, surely Lu Li would have just sent someone instead of going themselves?"


    "It might not be true, but who else could it be? Moonlight is already there. Arthur you''ve hit it big today. I''m going to other chatrooms to advertise for you. I''ll tell them you''re fighting alongside Moonlight."


    "Get in there! What are you waiting for? Go and fight!"


    "Hug his legs and call him daddy!"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Daddy!"


    "Daddy Moonlight, wait for me! I want to go into the battlefield too!"


    "You two idiots, that really is Lu Li. Look, Moonlight is following him into battle. Who else would be qualified enough that Moonlight would follow them? One of the other ones must be the Goddess March Rain. You should approach her, I beg you¡­"


    The player that was asking them to call him daddy also reacted quickly to this revelation. He put on his equipment and started crying out daddy as he rushed out.


    It was a pity that he could only chase them on foot and was soon left in the dust.


    Lu Li turned back and looked dumbfounded. The eleven players were following him to the Gold Mine. There wasn''t even a single player capturing the Barn.


    "You guys shouldn''t follow us. Send one team to the Sawmill and the rest to the Blacksmith. We will support you from the Gold Mines," Lu Li said, acting as the temporary command from the battlefield channel. One of the problems with random teams was that it could be hard to coordinate, but surprisingly, everyone, even the one fool, obeyed his instructions.


    In fact, he had underestimated his own influence.


    He was Lu Li and the fact that he had lost first place on the Level Rankings did not affect his reputation. He was not admired because of his level and equipment, but because he once killed Sorrowless, then done it again and again in the arena. He had a long record of defeating powerful opponents.


    Besides, he was also Dawn''s most respected Commander.


    This was a very powerful idea. It could be said that almost everyone in this battlefield had seen Lu Li''s video. Within Ruling Sword, these videos were promoted to teach PVP and Instance Dungeon skills. As such, they all subconsciously viewed Lu Li''s commands as part of his teaching.


    Since the teacher was speaking, they all listened because they knew he wouldn''t be wrong.


    When he saw the group of players splitting up, Lu Li was somewhat relieved. If they all fought together, it wouldn''t matter how strong they were ¨C they would still lose.


    The Gold Mines were at a lower elevation as it was cut into the mountain wall. These mines were covered by a building and this was where the resource points were generated. For the sake of the game and ease of calculation, all five resource points generated the resources at the same speed.


    At this time, both sides were rushing to the resource points at the various locations and whoever got there first could immediately start capturing the area.


    Lu Li hadn''t even reached the Gold Mine, but he saw a Horde player riding a mount. This player stopped his mount before reaching the location. He had the situational awareness to realize that his teammates on foot hadn''t arrived yet and he couldn''t take on four players on his own.


    Lu Li didn''t chase but protected Her Tears as he captured the location.


    Her Tears cast Consecration around the area and began capturing the flag. Holy Light burned


    on the ground, protecting him from any hidden Thieves.


    System: Her Tears is capturing the Gold Mine. If you don''t act quickly, the Alliance will capture it within a minute.


    After the Gold Mine''s flag had been captured, Lu Li stayed behind to protect the flag while the other three immediately rushed on their mounts to the next point. It seemed like they had all left the point alone.


    The flag was located in a groove and Lu Li chose to take up a position near it. From his position, he could watch as players respawned and see if anyone was trying to capture it. Before long, someone started looking down at the mines from the mountains above.


    It was a Mage and he was excited when he discovered that there wasn''t anyone here.


    The excitement stemmed from the fact that capturing a resource point for free could turn the tide of a match. Even if it didn''t have such an exaggerated impact, there was still a sense of accomplishment for the ordinary players.


    The Mage jumped down with a floating technique that was similar to a Priest''s. The difference was that this move required some materials to cast and it could only be cast on themselves.


    Lu Li didn''t immediately attack the Mage.


    The Mage was very vigilant; he first cast several skills around the flag. These were area of effect skills that didn''t have high damage, but were instant and didn''t use much mana. The Mage was likely trying to reveal any Thieves that were hidden there.


    Lu Li watched as the Mage did all this in vain.


    When the Mage finally felt like the area was finally safe, he then started capturing the flag. He could almost hear his name being announced when he successfully captured this point.


    This process of capturing the flag was 30 seconds, which wasn''t a long time.


    However, for this Mage, the 30 seconds felt like an eternity, especially in this eerily empty mine.


    When the capturing reached 25 seconds, his uneasy feelings were confirmed as his channelling was cancelled upon being hit by a Sap from a Thief.


    Damned Thieves!


    This Thief hadn''t appeared before, so he probably wasn''t that strong. Even if he dealt with this Thief and then captured the flag, it wouldn''t make a difference.


    The Mage was about to confidently turn around and deal with this Thief when he found himself now affected by Cheap Shot.


    This time, it wasn''t a Sap, but a Cheap Shot. The hidden player now seemed a little bit stronger, but the Mage still sneered in his heart and waited for his opponent to show himself. Even if this rookie got the first attack, what difference would that make?


    "Wait, why is he dealing so much damage? Wait, was that just a Shadowstrike?"


    The Mage had just lost 500HP in one attack and quickly died after that. Lu Li had an advantage in a one-on-one and didn''t really need to strain himself. Once he got rid of the Mage, he went back to watching the position. The role of being a flag-keeper was quite boring.


    After a minute, the System once again announced that the Alliance had occupied the Gold Mine.


    In addition to the Barn and the Blacksmith, the Alliance now had three resource points which was one more than the Horde.


    However, Lu Li was in trouble. He once again saw the Mage that had previously died, but this time, he was not alone. He had arrived with a Paladin and a Druid. This would be a difficult fight and he had no choice but to call for support.


    "I need help at the Gold Mines. Is anyone nearby?"


    "Yep, I''m here. I''ll come right away. Hold on, Lu Li," Arthur, the streamer who had been constantly abused, responded promptly.


    His live chat began to grow excited once again.


    It should have been like this from the beginning. Arthur hurriedly rushed over as the number of viewers on his stream almost broke 50,000.


    From 500 viewers to 50,000 ¨C Arthur was now on fire!


    His blood was boiling at the thought of saving the game''s number one player¡­


    Arthur had no intention of paying attention to the chat and had turned it off. He was now desperately running towards Lu Li.


    He was a Paladin that had gone for a balanced build.


    This so-called balanced build Paladin meant that he could tank, heal and deal damage. It seemed quite comprehensive, but it really meant that he wasn''t proficient in anything. Fortunately, he had some situational awareness and when he saw Lu Li crowd-controlling the Mage, fighting the Druid and interrupting the Paladin, he chose to heal Lu Li.


    Lu Li had lost a lot of HP and was quickly returned to full. He still had plenty of mana, so Arthur could continually heal him.


    Lu Li kicked the Druid as he was casting a healing skill and slashed at his neck.


    Slit Throat!


    The Druid slammed into the ground as the skill was a critical hit. This might have partly been carelessness on his end because he had underestimated Lu Li. He thought that a three-on-one would be easy, so he didn''t heal earlier. By the time he did it, he didn''t anticipate for Lu Li to interrupt the skill.


    The Paladin who wanted to capture the flag didn''t expect that his teammates would lose the fight.


    In fact, the Druid''s Bear Form did make him tankier, but with weaker equipment and skills, the extra HP didn''t mean much.


    In addition, there were no healers present, which was advantageous for Lu Li. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to kill a Druid, even if they were on really low HP.


    After killing the Druid, he immediately rushed at the Mage who was still blinded.


    The Horde players at the Gold Mines were quickly cleared out and the crisis had been averted. At this time, the System prompted them that Moonlight was capturing the Sawmill. More and more pressure was being exerted onto the Horde players, and the battle quickly came to an end.


    After the match, Arthur sent a request to join Lu Li''s team, but this was ignored.

 1201 The Top Four

    It was much faster with four players ¨C at least three times faster. They didn''t encounter any skilled players in the matches after, since there were only so many players in the game and only players from the China server could be matched with.


    Lu Li took Her Tears around for the entire day. Not only did he manage to get him to first place, but he also helped him create a sizeable lead from the second place.


    It was also the end of the Glory rankings at night, and Her Tears finally had his wish granted. He was placed first on the Arathi rank for the first week. Not only did he receive a Flaming Warhorse, but his achievements had also been recorded into gaming history.


    The Flaming Warhorse was a mount that looked similar to the class-restricted mount that Warlocks had, except it was a brighter red that represented death and battle.


    The movement speed of the two mounts were equal; almost all the current mounts had a 30% movement speed boost. It was rare to find something with a 100% speed boost like Lu Li''s Crow Transformation. Crow Transformation was classed as a flying skill, and was therefore banned from the Battlegrounds.


    After they re-entered the game on Monday, the matchups for the top four had finally been announced.


    Ruling Sword was matched up against Gale Legion!


    Drizzle Court was matched up against Glory Capital!


    This wasn''t a surprising result to anyone, since there were only four teams anyway and there weren''t many combinations available for people to guess. Only some were disappointed that they weren''t able to see Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword fight amongst themselves.


    Lu Li had already thought about battling all three guilds.


    Even if he was to actually match up against Drizzle Court, he wouldn''t back down. It had nothing to do with his relationship ¨C Ruling Sword really needed this victory to set their foundation down.


    Ruling Sword had no money and Lu Li didn''t want to be controlled by anyone else.


    The formation of Ruling Sword had been too rapid; they didn''t have much time to develop. Almost all the major clubs were afraid of them. Fortunately, Water Fairy wasn''t someone who played mind games, and Drizzle Court was also in a similar position without much support from other clubs. This was what brought about the formation of their alliance.


    However, this wasn''t enough to solve the fundamental problem that Ruling Sword had.


    It would only take one major event to take down Ruling Sword in an instant.


    If Lu Li was to suddenly die in reality, would this club still exist? None of the executives at this point would be able to control the situation. The best result would be for the club to wait around for someone who could actually take up the responsibility, but the most likely result would be the disappearance of Ruling Sword.


    Without Lu Li, there would be no Ruling Sword!


    Glory Capital would at least be able to survive without Sorrowless. White Westhill would be able to maintain order while Blood Dagger and the others could still serve as morale support to the club. They would still be able to compete, and all the major clubs in the gaming industry were capable of the same thing.


    After all, they had a history to support them. It made their members feel a sense of pride and belonging to the club. Even if the leader was to change, everything else would remain the same.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    If Lu Li wanted Ruling Sword to be passed on, he had to win!


    Anyone who lived had to leave a mark at some point.


    Gale Legion was strong; none of the clubs were guaranteed to win against them. Apparently, in the friendly matches they held against Glory Capital, the wins and losses were quite even.


    As such, Lu Li wasn''t going to be so silly as to underestimate them.


    When they entered the game, they didn''t head over to the Battlegrounds. Her Tears only wanted the mount, so now that he had it, he reverted to his usual schedule ¨C playing the Battleground by himself. He expressed that it would be too boring if he played all the time, knowing that he would win anyway.


    Lu Li left the city alone and headed towards the Blasted Lands.


    There were no teleports available, and the closest spot to it was Stonard. This was the first-developed city of the Tauren upon their arrival in Azeroth.


    It was also the largest basement of the East Kingdom for the New Horde. If Stonard was to disappear, then the Horde would be losing their closest base to the Door of Darkness in the East Kingdom. This location had been established for many years, not to mention that it was an important line of supply. It was no different to a scout point.


    On the other hand, there were NPCs who could open a portal to Stonard for a short period of time at the exorbitant cost of 20 gold coins.


    In reality, the ordinary players wouldn''t spend 20 gold coins to teleport to a strange spot like this.


    However, in the future, a portal wouldn''t even be possible, regardless of the price. If it wasn''t for the fact that both the Alliance and Horde were preparing to fight against the Undead army, the Horde definitely wouldn''t have let the Alliance set a portal up here.


    The Horde players would be able to complete a quest in the future which would teach them how to open a portal to Stonard. They would be able to teleport themselves with the help of a Mage.


    Lu Li quickly left the unstable portal.


    There were two rows of heavily-armored Tauren Warriors that stood nearby the portal. They all held giant axes as they stood menacingly with intense gazes.


    Lu Li was no coward, but even he was quite frightened.


    By the time he entered the game, this portal had already been removed and Alliance players had to find other ways to reach Stonard.


    "Leave here Elf. You''re not welcome," a Tauren Warrior with red prints on his armor said.


    Lu Li had to play weak; these level 60 Warriors were very powerful and he probably wouldn''t even be able to win against the weakest one amongst them.


    The leader might even be a Boss, and it would be a simple matter of lifting a finger for them to kill him in their territory.


    "I''m planning to search for the tracks of the Scourge in the Blasted Lands. I was wondering if it was possible to rent a Wind Wielder as a mount," Lu Li requested.


    It was as if the leader of the troops had heard some kind of joke as he began laughing with his underlings.


    "Haha, Wind Wielder? Elf, just give up. Wind Wielders won''t let anyone like a Dark Elf near them. Your kind should only be jumping around on trees."


    Lu Li didn''t get upset. There was no point in being upset with NPCs; he wasn''t a crazy person. Perhaps in the future, when he is strong enough, he wouldn''t mind visiting this place again.


    The Wind Wielder was a very strong flying mount. It was similar to Wyvern and had a giant pair of wings that grew claws. It also had two strong back legs which helped propel it into the high air.


    The flying speed of a Wind Wielder was a 280% bonus, so things would be much easier for Lu Li at Blasted Lands if he had one. Unfortunately, he couldn''t rent one right now, so he would have to fly over there by himself.

 1202 Spirit of the Horde Heroes

    Under the night sky of Azeroth, far away from Earth, you would be able to hear the wind under your wings. Lu Li watched the land from high above and was once again amazed by the design of the game.


    After he flew across Duskwood and Deadwind Pass, the scene became a dark-green swampland.


    In all honesty, Lu Li wasn''t a fan of this place. The air was always foul, mixed with the stench of rotten grass roots and swamp creatures, which made it almost impossible to breath. He had to lower his senses by a few levels, which wasn''t a good thing in the Wild, considering that senses helped him detect the potential dangers around him.


    He flew for nearly an entire hour until he saw the Blasted Lands. If he had the Wind Wielder with him, this would have only taken him about ten minutes. After all, the Wind Wielder could fly anywhere in the sky because it was strong, but Lu Li had to go around some danger zones.


    The Dark Portal was located in the Blasted Lands.


    The magic that leaked out from the Dark Portal twisted the Blasted Lands and left it with a desert-like appearance. There were no signs of life in this zone.


    Nethergarde was located at the north point of the Blasted Lands; it guarded the only entrance into this zone.


    It was built by Khadgar, who led the crusade into Draenor and disappeared within. All the Mages who lived in the zone now basked in the glory of this memory.


    The Mages and the Warriors gave up their own enjoyment and fought against the Demons and the Ogres. Some thought that they were already a lost cause, but they still fought to protect this portal and Azeroth so that the other areas of Azeroth wouldn''t be in danger.


    Because of the existence of the Dark Portal, this area had no other portals. Even supplies had to be delivered through dangerous methods.


    Players could also obtain quests for delivering supplies. For some adventurers who weren''t doing so well, this was another way for them to survive. In Lu Li''s previous life, he had participated in such quests, but he was no longer interested in them anymore.


    He had come to look for a soul.


    If he was looking for a Tauren, this zone wouldn''t be a problem for Lu Li. He could see everything from up above.


    Unfortunately, he was looking for a soul, so he had to land on the ground and search carefully. If he wasn''t careful about it, he wouldn''t be able to spot it. It took him about half an hour to find this almost invisible person at one of the spots suggested in the guides from his previous life.


    "Hello, I''m an Elf from Mount Hyjal. How do I get to Nethergarde?" Lu Li asked.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The Spirit of the Horde Heroes quest wasn''t hard to activate, but this was for the Horde players. If Alliance players wanted to do the same quest, it would depend on their luck. Lu Li wasn''t much of a lucky person, but fortunately, he had a guide with him and knew exactly what to say to get the results that he wanted.


    "Mount Hyjal? Is everything still well there?" the soul asked.


    "The line of defense is strong as usual, but we''ve heard that the Blasted Lands seem to be in a bit of trouble lately. The Dreadmaul Ogres have attacked Northgarde many times this month. I''ve been commanded to come as a reinforcement," Lu Li said half-truthfully. He had the quest on him, but it was the type of quest that required him to hit a certain level first.


    "I see. Then you have no need to rush. The last battle happened yesterday; I saw the Dreadmaul Ogres leave, defeated."


    The soul was smart; it wasn''t just a simple form of grudge.


    "That''s good, I can rest a few days before I join the battle. I''ve encountered a lot of danger along the way and it has surely worn me out. May I ask for your name and why you''re here?" Lu Li sighed and sat down.


    "My name? There''s no need for it," the soul said as it joined Lu Li.


    Lu Li passed a bottle of wine over. This wine was made by the Tauren with methods passed down from Draenor. It was rare to see a soul still capable of drinking wine.


    Without Lu Li''s asking, the soul began to share his story after a few sips.


    "I was a member of an elite troop, one that was most trusted by Thrall himself. There were twenty of us. I once suggested for us to put down a sentry in the Blasted Lands, but my suggestion was never responded to, so I began to grow impatient. I had no clue what fearful monster awaited ahead of us¡­ yes¡­I made a fearful decision. All was my fault..."


    "Is there anything that I can be of help to?" Lu Li asked, softening his voice. He could tell that this sad soul was lost in some sort of regret.


    "Regret, I''m filled with regrets. I''ve never considered what this wrong choice would have led to. I should have waited there and waited for the command. Perhaps it would have told us what it was, what fearful event awaited us in that damned place., or maybe it was going to tell us to head elsewhere. After all, it was my fault, all my fault..." the poor soul answered, then continued mumbling the same few sentences.


    "What happened after?" Lu Li asked.


    If this was someone who knew nothing of the event, they would have probably been annoyed by the storytelling ability of this NPC.


    However, Lu Li knew the entire picture. There was no way he would let this Horde hero sing acapella by himself.


    "I''ve been standing here, waiting for the command. I need to understand the situation; I need to find those commands. I never received anything, so something must''ve happened along the way," he said, then finally looked up at Lu Li and asked, "Dispatch Commander Raug is located at Stonard. Find him and find out what happened to that command; this is what I want to know the most. Can you help me?"


    "Gladly," Lu Li said without the slightest hesitation.


    He had just flown from Stonard, and now he had to head back. This seemed ridiculous, but Lu Li had to do so. It wasn''t a lot to ask to travel for quests. The worst situation was when you travelled to all these places but had no clue about how to continue the quest.


    Just as Lu Li transformed into a crow and was about to fly away, he suddenly remembered the situation at Stonard.


    "And one more thing ¨C because I''m an Elf, the friends over there aren''t too friendly with me. Is there anything you could possibly do about it?"


    "Those short-sighted idiots," the soul scowled as a Badge formed in his hands.


    Lu Li curiously took over the Badge, but he wasn''t so calm anymore once he checked its Attributes.

 1203 Lost Justice

    Lost Justice (Unique): All attributes +1, Movement Speed +20%, Special Effect: Enemy Faction Favour +3, Equipment Level Requirement: None, Durability: None.


    Of course, the all attributes +1 was pointless, it was more for show. What interested Lu Li was the special effect. He wasn''t unfamiliar with it. In his previous life, he heard that Cut Me 72 Times from Stellar Union had an item which gave him +5 favour points from the Alliance, which apparently allowed him to shop at Stormwind City.


    From the points that he had received, Lu Li''s Lost Justice wasn''t as great, but this item didn''t just provide a boost in favour of the Horde faction. If a Horde player received this, then they in turn would gain a boost in favour of the Alliance.


    The only downside was that this was a badge, and every player only had 2 badge slots, so one of the equipped badges would need to be replaced.


    But of course, this didn''t get in the way of completing a quest. There was no need to battle in the first place and the badge also gave Lu Li extra movement speed.


    Surprisingly, Lu Li knew the dispatch commander. It was the Tauren boss from before who taunted him and told him that he wouldn''t even be able to get close to a Wind Wielder. However, this time he was a different person when he saw Lu Li. Instead of being spiteful, he came forward and slapped his left chest with his right hand as he asked strictly, "Warrior from the forest, is there anything that I can do to help?"


    Strictly speaking, Raug was a neutral NPC. After all, Alliance members were now allowed to come over to Stonard as well.


    However, his respectful manner truly surprised Lu Li, despite only having +3 favour points from the enemy faction. It was no wonder that Cut Me 72 Times could walk around Stormwind City with his +5 favour point item.


    Lu Li wondered what would happen if he used the Deception Orb with the badge.


    Of course, he wouldn''t try now as it might cause unnecessary trouble.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Respected Commander, I''ve been asked by someone to scout for some information..."


    After he heard about the story from Lu Li, Commander Raug thought for a moment and his expression wasn''t exactly pleased.


    "Pardon me, but do you suspect that I''ve hidden the command sent from above? Elf, I hope you can clear your eyes; it isn''t Raug''s first day being a dispatcher!"


    "I''m sorry, but this is a Tauren''s dead soul that''s been wondering around in the wilds of the Blasted Lands. He needs an answer," Lu Li said.


    "Alright, I can understand how you feel. If it wasn''t for the fact that I''ve got responsibilities to handle, I''d gladly pay him a visit. The elite scouts of our Chief are the most loyal heroes of the Horde," Commander Raug said, softening his tone, then recalled his memories and continued, "but I''m certain that I''ve sent out that command from Chief a long time ago."


    "Who did you send it to, can we still find them?" Lu Li asked.


    "Because it''s a command from Chief Thrall. I sent an entire team of people. Only a soldier called Bengor survived ¨C if you can really call that surviving. Apparently, he can only eat through straws now, and can barely talk."


    "Oh, so only he knows about this?" Lu Li asked.


    "I''m afraid so," Commander Raug said remorsefully, "This is my fault; I should''ve sent others to keep tracking the situation. Bengor is located at the back in the injury barracks. The swamp is filled with dangerous creatures, so if you''re headed there, be careful."


    Lu Li thanked him for his kindness and headed over to the injury barracks. Hopefully, Bengor would be able to speak by now. Lu Li wasn''t worried about Bengor dying as he was just an NPC with a quest.


    Bengor rested in an average-looking tent for the injured. His condition was horrible ¨C the strong soldier now lay flat on a bed and was barely breathing. The old Tauren who looked after him said that he probably wouldn''t be around for long.


    The war between the factions seemed to have reduced the importance of life and death. The situation was sad, but it did not feel that way for some strange reason.


    Lu Li knelt down next to the injured soldier and asked about the command.


    Bengor''s scattered gaze suddenly focused. He tried to sit up but could only writhe around like a worm.


    Lu Li couldn''t bear to watch anymore and reached out to help. He never knew that the Tauren race, who were all strong like bulls, could be so frail. Then, he heard the soft voice of Bengor.


    "Command¡­yes¡­ we received¡­ received the command. On the way to Blasted Lands, we were ambushed¡­" Bengor coughed vigorously. It seemed like recalling the past really affected him, but he still continued to speak.


    "Murlocs¡­a lot of Murlocs¡­ A Murloc called the Swamp Talker took the command off me and¡­ stabbed its long spear into my skull. It should be located in the caves in¡­the east¡­"


    After the last two words, Bengor passed out.


    Lu Li placed him down gently, summoned his mount and rushed towards the east side of the barracks.


    If he was an average player, he would probably be lost in this wilderness. However, this wasn''t a possibility for Lu Li and he headed straight to the gathering spot of the Murlocs.


    The cave of the Murlocs wasn''t deep. It was similar to the habitat of other Murlocs ¨C wet, dark, slimy, and filled with the stench of fish. The Murlocs were almost everywhere in Azeroth and often committed all sorts of evil.


    Although there were plenty of Murlocs guarding the cave, they weren''t capable of discovering a Thief that was proficient at Stealth.


    Without much effort, Lu Li found the Swamp Talker. It was a grey-skinned Murloc who led the other Murlocs to attack the messenger and stole the command. However, Lu Li couldn''t understand why these Murlocs would want something like this; he had never seen a race with such a death wish. This was Chief Thrall''s command, and if it wasn''t for the fact that a war was going on, there''d definitely be Tauren Warriors trampling all over this place.


    Regardless, Lu Li needed to get the command and hand it to the dead soul that was still waiting.


    The Swamp Talker wasn''t an easy boss. It was skilled with lightning magic and it also knew a bit of healing magic. Under normal circumstances, it''d require a team or at least some help to take down. Only top players like Lu Li would be able to handle this level 60 elite monsters alone, and soon, a dead fish lay before his feet.


    He had to repress his feelings of disgust and pray that he was lucky this time. Who knew how long these quest monsters would take to refresh?


    Fortunately, an envelope appeared in Lu Li''s hand in the first trial. He checked the name, and it was the right item ¨C Thrall''s Command.


    He flew straight past the injury barracks without stopping. There was no point in telling Bengor that he had already slain the Swamp Talker. It was better to hurry and finish the quest.


    This time, Lu Li finally managed to borrow a Wind Wielder from Stonard. The 280% movement speed boost mount flew like lightning. Most importantly, he didn''t have to go around danger zones anymore. Any units that ran across the Wind Wielder in the air would back away. This made Lu Li guess that the Wind Wielder was at least a level 60 boss model.

 1204 Brotherhood

    It took Lu Li 4-6 minutes to arrive before the soul again. The soul was waiting bitterly at the side of the road and immediately floated over as soon as he saw Lu Li.


    Lu Li handed over Thrall''s command to him and waited patiently as the NPC read the letter.


    If the quest was this simple, he wouldn''t have travelled so far to complete it. However, the Lost Justice Badge was a total surprise. Lu Li now had other goals in mind.


    As Lu Li was thinking, he heard sobbing and turned his head to see the soul crying.


    "Yes¡­ this is all my fault. If I had not done that at the time¡­" It was rare for Tauren to cry, with children being an exception. It must have been something heart breaking for someone to cry after they had experienced death.


    "Is there anything that I can do for you?" That was all Lu Li could say. He couldn''t tell the soul to keep his head up for the future ¨C there was no future for him. They either went to heaven, hell, or wandered around. Either way, there were no good endings.


    The soul finally calmed himself and said, "Listen to me¡­ you have to listen¡­".


    "Sure, I''d love to hear it." As the quest continued, Lu Li wished that he could help this Warrior who was filled with regret. Perhaps the Warrior just needed someone to stop by and listen to his story, and then do what they could for him.


    They arrived at the Blasted Lands like any other average day.


    They ran along the surface covered by black rocks, through the plains burnt by lightning and reached the Dark Portal. What stood before them was a Demon ¨C Razelikh the Defiler.


    The Demon was an unbeatable existence for the soldiers, but they didn''t run. When they faced a Demon, running was not in the Tauren Warriors'' dictionary.


    They were like Don Quixote, who rushed to the windmill with a sword. They were guided by a sort of blind and sad strength that led them to the ends of their lives.


    The once Warrior calmly recalled his death with one sentence.


    Perhaps to him, it was of no importance.


    Yes, he died, but his comrades now faced something even worse than death ¨C this pained him even more than death itself. It was also the reason why he was so filled with regret, so much so that with this grudge alone, he wandered this empty land by himself.


    Perhaps he could say that his friends didn''t die, but they did at the same time.


    The souls of those 18 Warriors were taken from their bodies by the demon and they now walked without them. Their souls had been imprisoned and as long as time continued to pass, they would eternally suffer and be tormented.


    "Adventurer, you need to break those 18 stones¡­ go and set their souls free ¡ª relieve them of their eternal torment."


    The system sent Lu Li a new quest.


    Lu Li nodded silently and followed the system guide.


    There was a thick fence with a door made by logs that had been sharpened to the point. Within the fence was a small building made of simple rocks; it seemed about two floors high. A pathway led to the entrance that was guarded by two Ogres standing with their weapons.


    This was the place that Lu Li was looking for.


    The Blasted Lands was once a swamp called the Black Morass; it was similar to the Swamp of Sorrows.


    After Medivh created the Dark Portal to link Azeroth with the Tauren''s home Draenor, the Tauren crossed the portal and began the first war. The mysterious magic of the Tauren was so strong that it destroyed the swamp and left behind a dry, red land.


    The Alliance destroyed the Dark Portal and the contamination stopped spreading, but the Blasted Lands could no longer be restored.


    At the time, it seemed like the Horde didn''t have enough military power to stop the Dreadmaul Ogres from passing through the Dark Portal. What was different from the Tauren was that these Ogres stayed. Clearly, they had now became fangs for the Demon.


    Lu Li checked the levels of the Ogres, and as expected, they were level 58. Fortunately, he was level 60. He carefully and silently got close to the guards with light feet and passed between them while their heads were turned.


    Any experienced Thief wouldn''t let their target''s gaze fall on themselves, and they definitely wouldn''t meet their target''s gaze.


    Lu Li searched around for a while and finally found a soul in the camp.


    It was strange for souls to be around Blasted Lands. He got closer and carefully examined the figure that stood there empty-minded. The soul was smaller than the average Tauren and he wore normal clothes. He wore no heavy armour, not even a leather armour like some other Warriors. The soul was wrapped in a jacket that was pieced together by broken cloth; it looked like any soul body that was buried in a rush and in the wild.


    Only some faint traces revealed that he was a Tauren when he was alive.


    It wasn''t wise to rush in for an upfront battle. First of all, these souls that appeared before Lu Li were just containers. Real spirits could not be killed. If you attacked it, it''d scream and attract the Ogre Elites. Lu Li wasn''t afraid of one or two of them, but there were hundreds of them in this camp. If he couldn''t finish them off fast enough, there''d also be an Ogre boss waiting for him.


    In order to take them out, he''d have to destroy the green crystal nearby that was filled with evil energy.


    Lu Li knew that these souls were all once heroes who fought against the Burning Legion to the end. However, as someone who was reincarnated, he had no way of saving them. The best that he could do was to set them free.


    The nine servants of Razelikh were easily finished off. Lu Li didn''t dare to stay any longer and quickly rushed to the next Ogre camp. Three Sevine servants, three Allistarj servants and three Grol servants were quickly finished off too. In the end, there was a total of 18 souls.


    Thrall was an open-minded leader. His guards included Trolls, Orcs, Forgotten Ones and Tauren. So, Lu Li also saved other races in the process. These souls could no longer talk to him, but he could almost hear their last sighs. "Finally, freedom at last¡­" they breathed as he felt them being released.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    These were the comrades of the soul in the wild. He wandered around in the Blasted Lands constantly thinking about his comrades. Regardless whether this was in real life or in a game, brotherhood was always something that people appreciated.


    They couldn''t ask to be born at the same time, but at least they could ask to die on the same day. Something often seen as a joke in real life made him feel sour in the stomach in a game.

 1205 Twenty Warriors

    When Lu Li returned to the soul of the dead Horde hero, he was still resting there quietly. Lu Li thought that perhaps he hadn''t moved at all.


    He handed in the quest and was rewarded with some experience and reputation. Lu Li had almost saved up enough reputation points to learn two empowerment skills. Of course, he could only afford to empower his normal skills. His reputation points still weren''t high enough to empower an ultimate skill.


    The night was growing late, and the red soil on the Blasted Lands had already shifted in colour. The two moons of Azeroth had crept up into the night sky.


    Lu Li enjoyed the sunrise in Dawn as well as the moon, which was much brighter than it was in real life.


    No matter his location, whether it be amongst the mists of the Moonlight Forest, or the yellow wind and sand of the Plaguelands, the moon always shone softly and quietly. Even the silver tone of the Silverpine Forest looked extraordinary because of the moonlight.


    The soul knelt on the floor as he prayed and spirits began to emerge, one by one.


    The eighteen spirits glistened under the moonlight and went from furious to quiet. It was as if they had all heard the prayers of the soul and finally melted into the moonlight one by one, disappearing


    "Your team comes in a group of twenty. There should be one more ¨C where is he?" Lu Li asked.


    "You''ve already helped me so much¡­" the soul said hesitantly, "I don''t have much that I can give you in return. I feel guilty to let you put yourself in danger again for me."


    "I''m not doing this for any kind of reward," Lu Li lied blindly, then continued with generosity in his voice, "In this battle against the demon, countless of Alliance and Horde brothers have died in the wilderness. I can often hear their helpless whispers and if I could do something for them, perhaps I''d feel a lot better."


    "You have such a kind soul¡­"


    The soul was touched and finally decided to continue with the quest.


    "My friend, one of my men is still unaccounted for, lost somewhere in the Blasted Lands. I am talking about Lieutenant Kirith of course. As I mentioned earlier, we were both imprisoned and tortured by Allistarj, but poor Kirith ¨C his strength of will faltered. I could hear the experiments from my cage; the tortured screams rang through the halls of the cave. That was the last I saw or heard of Kirith..."


    "I think I understand. I should go and search for him, right?" Lu Li asked, then let out a sigh of relief.


    "Yes, my friend¡­ if you''re willing to, help me find out where Kirith is."


    "Gladly, my friend," Lu Li replied without any hesitation.


    He had been stuck on this part in his previous life. It wasn''t because he felt like the soul had nothing to reward him; it was because the soul thought he wasn''t strong enough. Lu Li read the guide after and found out why. It was because he had died once during the previous process of the quest.


    If he died even once, the quest line would stop here.


    In this life, the excuse that the soul gave was probably due to his ridiculously low Charisma. However, obtaining the quest didn''t mean that Lu Li now had no worries ahead of him. There were still many possibilities in this line of quests and he could only stumble in the dark for each part.


    The next part of the quest was very simple, since Lu Li still had the guide for this part.


    The next location of the quest was in a cave, filled with strong demons. Lu Li probably couldn''t obtain any quests in his previous life because he wouldn''t be able to defeat these demons. However, after he reincarnated, he was now a different person. In the eyes of these demons, perhaps Lu Li was even more of a demon than they were.


    This place really wasn''t Lu Li''s favourite; it was lit by flames that made the whole cave shine bright red. The fire burned and heat gathered in the air. Any sweat that dripped down would immediately turn to steam and the leather that Lu Li wore also became hot and unbearable.


    Stealth in this kind of environment became a lot more difficult.


    Demons also had high detection skills, so Lu Li had to fight his way in.


    As he progressed deeper and deeper into the cave, the corpses behind him built up.


    The soul still had some hopes hidden deep within him. He had hoped that his last brother would be alive or at least free from being tortured, like his eighteen other comrades.


    Lu Li quickly neared the deepest part of the cave.


    The answer was about to be revealed. Lu Li looked calmly at the Hellhound in the depths of the cave and sighed quietly. A miracle was like an hallucination. People always lied to themselves about its existence, but when you approached closer, you would realize that a miracle never happened.


    A giant Hellhound!Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    From another perspective, miracles weren''t just a hallucination for Lu Li. His reincarnation was a miracle in itself.


    The Hellhound was just a witness to this miracle. When it, a clear soul escaped from it. Lu Li wasn''t anxious at all as this was who he was looking for ¨C Kirith, a forgotten Warrior.


    "I''ve waited for so long, friend. Are my comrades okay?"


    "No, they''ve all died. Only one of them ¨C probably your commander ¨C is still wandering in the wild. I''m an adventurer that he has hired."


    Lu Li didn''t try to make up any white lies; he believed that this dead soul would be able to understand.


    "Captain..." Kirith sighed as he shook his head, then continued, "He probably believed that this was all his fault. He has always been that kind of person."


    "That''s right. So, what do I have to do to complete this quest?"


    "Let us not beat around the bush; my time here is limited," Kirith said. "You must destroy the triad of power which protects the demon lord, Razelikh. Doing so will not be as simple a task as freeing a damned soul."


    "I''m prepared to fight."


    Lu Li knew that Kirith didn''t quite approve of his strength; he should have brought someone with him like Water Fairy. It had been a few days since they had seen each other and Lu Li often thought of her in his spare time.


    "I like your bravery, Elf."


    Kirith opened his mouth and smiled; there was no disappointment or despair in his expression.


    "You see, each of Razelikh''s underlings wears a third of a talisman of Razelikh''s creation around their neck, the very same talisman you will need in order to summon the archdemon. Return to Trebor and tell him what is required to summon Razelikh. He will be able to instruct you further."


    So the name of that soul was Trebor¡­


    Lu Li silently remembered the name and watched as Kirith disappeared slowly before him.


    These were the last of Kirith''s words.

 1206 Demon Hunter

    Once again, Lu Li stood before the soul of the dead Horde Hero ¨C Trebor.


    "Dead, they all died..." Trebor laughed in misery. It seemed like the turmoil that he felt wouldn''t go away easily. It was his comrades who left in a much more peaceful manner.


    "Perhaps the battlefield is the best resting place for Warriors."


    Lu Li had seen a lot of different things that he could say to Trebor from the guide to comfort him, but this was his favourite. Trebor seemed to resonate with it as his dimmed eyes began to brighten.


    "You''re right ¨C a Warrior has died on the battlefield. There''s no need for me to weep for them. I still have tasks uncompleted. Elf, I need your help."


    This time, Trebor handed down the next quest by himself.


    The System also announced that Lu Li had completed the quest and was rewarded with a skill point!


    Skills points in Dawn were more valuable than anything else, because other things could be purchased with money.


    As for a skill point, this was an unresolved question. Everyone always tried to find ways to obtain more because there could never be enough of them.


    "Please hand the task to me, good sir. I''m your most trustworthy friend."


    Lu Li didn''t expect to obtain a skill point at this stage of the quest. The chances of him obtaining another skill point were almost non-existent, but he was still grateful to Trebor.


    This was why he had ventured out to do this quest; there was a good chance of obtaining a skill point from Trebor.


    "The triad is protected by Razelikh. In exchange for their servitude, Razelikh granted each of them nearly unlimited power within the Blasted Lands. The talisman pieces are each attuned to the lifeforce of their owner, granting them immortality. As long as they remain within the Blasted Lands, they cannot be slain. Their life extends until the end of days," Trebor lamented as he trembled in despair and rage.


    "There has to be a way; even Sargeras cannot live forever," Lu Li said with determination.


    "You''re right, my friend," Trebor agreed as he looked at Lu Li with approval and was touched by his mentality for battle.


    "I''ve studied this for a long time and thought of one who may be able to assist you further. Travel to Azshara and find the demon hunter, Loramus Thalipedes. Search the islands. If even he cannot help, then we can only look forward to Chief Thrall to sort out the situation."


    Demon Hunter!


    Even though he knew the latter part of the quest, Lu Li was still surprised by this term.


    Demon Hunters were a bunch of crazed people who would sacrifice even themselves to achieve their goals. Almost all Demon Hunters had some sort of feud with and hate against demons.


    In order to have their hate, or perhaps their responsibility relieved, they willingly accepted the forbidden power from the Burning Legion. They controlled the magic of darkness and chaos, gained the ability to transform and the vision to see the dead. With an admirable agility, they hunted and defended against Azeroth''s most dangerous enemy.


    In the eyes of the world, these people weren''t just insane ¨C they were even traitors.


    At first, ''Demon Hunter'' was simply a title, but as the battle against the Burning Legion continued, more and more people sacrificed themselves and this became like a class. They were somewhat like Bounty Hunters, but they hunted Demons instead.


    Apparently, there were some special process in the class transformation.


    A newbie who wanted to become a Demon Hunter had to first find a current Demon Hunter, who could take them through a series of complicated magic ceremonies. It was similar to becoming a Paladin.


    Part of the ritual included finding a certain type of demon and offering it as a sacrifice. This was to bind a part of its spirit into the new Demon Hunter. However, in order to contain the spirit of a demon, the future Demon Hunter had to first burn and destroy their mortal eyes.


    Because they obtained new sources of magic during the process of becoming a Demon Hunter, burning their eyes wouldn''t make them blind. They could still sense the world around them and clearly feel the position of the demons in their surroundings.


    Although their vision would be restricted compared to normal vision, they could hunt demons precisely with this new vision.


    As someone once said, "To catch something, you must first see it."


    After a person became a Demon Hunter, their appearance would be affected. Specifically, their skin would become pale and lose colour. Then, as time went by, their skin would become solid, granting them a natural armor.


    Ultimately, the skin of Demon Hunters would appear as a dark purple tone.


    As someone who had reincarnated, Lu Li still didn''t know how to change into a Night Elf. The number of Night Elves that he had seen were limited; Illidan''s Shadow would be the first that he had seen. They had purple skin, purple hair, a strong chest and that pair of long ears ¨C a symbol of the Elf race.


    Whether he was a Night Elf, Blood Elf or High Elf, they were all Elves.


    The only thing uncertain of this man standing in front of Lu Li was the colour of his eyes, because a red piece of cloth covered them entirely. Everything he wore was red ¨C even his two long swords and the glow of his weapon.


    His name was Loramus ¨C Demon Hunter ¨C Loramus Thalipedes.


    He lived on a deserted island in Azeroth surrounded by cold seawater and oddly-shaped reefs. All were grey and lifeless, and nothing grew from them. The sea constantly washed at the naked reef and eroded the surface, making it rough and dotted with tiny little holes.


    Lu Li pulled off the seaweed that was attached to him as he swam over. He almost instinctively held onto his dagger as soon as he saw a pack of Hellhounds run towards him. Fortunately, he quickly realized that these were the pets of the Demon Hunter and were not interested in battling against him.


    Hellhounds didn''t bring back good memories; Lu Li once again thought of Kirith.


    "Demon? Are you sure you saw a demon? With your talent, even if you had eyes, they would be no better than being blind," Loramus Thalipedes said. He wasn''t polite at all, like most Night Elves, who were proud and boastful.


    However, Lu Li believed that Loramus was probably just envious of his eyes.


    "I''m sure, Sir Loramus. Trebor sent me over. He''s an Orc, if you still remember him?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Trebor¡­ I remember him. That was a few years ago," Loramus recalled.


    Lu Li then told of his purpose for coming over, and Loramus'' eyes immediately went red. His passion for slaying demons was above all else. Almost in an instant, he decided that he was going to kill Razelikh, even though Razelikh never did a single thing to him.


    "Let me see if I have him here. Oh God, I do, that''s right ¨C Razelikh the Defiler. I know his true name," Loramus Thalipedes said. He took out a small book, went through a few pages and excitedly found what he was looking for.


    Lu Li was stunned and couldn''t help but ask, "Sir Loramus, is it a great achievement to know his true name?"


    "No, my brother of the past; you''ve misunderstood something. What I know is not Razelikh; I know his true name. A demon cannot have his true name known by someone else easily. If someone knew of a demon''s true name, he would have the definite advantage when it came to battling the demon."


    Lu Li was speechless; was this a bit of a joke? He even knew the name of the Demon King, Sargeras.


    However, in an instant, he knew that he was wrong. Sargeras wasn''t entirely a demon, but was also a titan. Not to mention, perhaps he wasn''t called Sargeras in the beginning. His sidekicks weren''t demons either ¨C they were Eredars, the former Draenei.


    "Where''s this Razelikh?" Loramus Thalipedes asked with a murderous intention.


    "Uhm, I''m not too sure, but I''d assume he''d still be hanging somewhere in the Twisting Nether. I''m hoping that you can help me take out his three servants, Lady Sevine, Archmage Allistarj and Grol the Destroyer. They¡­" Lu Li explained the situation patiently.


    "That''s no problem at all," Loramus Thalipedes said carelessly. "Aren''t they just three useless minions who''ve obtained the blessing of a Demon? I''ve killed too many of them."


    "Then what are we still waiting for? Sir, let''s go take them down. Apparently, they have a magical necklace that when pieced together, forms a special ritual to summon Razelikh back to the Blasted Lands," Lu Li said, trying to persuade Loramus.


    "The three isn''t the problem ¨C the problem is that Razelikh cannot be killed easily. He''s a cunning one. One of my kind fought him in the past."


    "Let''s take down these three first, then find a way to slay Razelikh?"


    Lu Li just wanted to complete his quest. It was rare for anyone to complete this quest completely. At least, from the guides that he had read, no one has gotten far. However, if he could take the three demon servants down, he would be ahead of everyone else.


    "What''s the rush for? Let me have a think about how to take out Razelikh. What''s interesting about killing some demon servants?"


    Clearly, Loramus Thalipedes cared a whole lot more about slaying a real demon.

 1207 Sea Gian

    "Have you heard of Sea Giants?" Loramus Thalipedes asked.


    An ordinary player would most likely have no clue. However, Lu Li wasn''t just an ordinary player, so he quickly answered, "I''ve heard that they are giant beings that roam the sea. They are excellent at swimming and with the anchor in their hands, they makes waves and destroy ships, even though their quest is to protect the sea''s cleanliness and peace."


    "Haha, it seems like you don''t have a good impression of them," Loramus laughed softly. Unknowingly, his proudness and boastfulness had disappeared.


    "I dislike the way they treat other races. In their eyes, any other races are nothing but ants. However, I''ve also heard that they used to come less often to the surface and would much rather remain in the depths of the sea. If it wasn''t to pursue their worst enemies, the Nagas, they wouldn''t have come closer and closer to the surface."


    It was rare for players to be able to talk about these things with NPCs.


    "It''s silly to judge good and evil by race; not all Sea Giants capsize ships," Loramus Thalipedes said, then added, "Of course, demons are an exception. Only a dead demon is a good demon."


    "Alright, can the Sea Giants help us?" Lu Li asked.


    "We''re looking for Lord Arkkoroc. He''s a lower-tiered God ¨C not the kind with a Godhead ¨C but he is worshipped by the Murlocs, Makoola and Sea Giants," Loramus explained. "He''s actually a nice Sea Giant."


    Lu Li questioned this. Murlocs weren''t nice creatures, and this was someone that they worshipped? Could this Arkkoroc talk calmly without wanting to spear people for dinner like the Murlocs?


    Judging by the size of Sea Giants, Lu Li probably wouldn''t even be enough to fill his belly.


    The memory of those ugly creatures with slimy skin made Lu Li a little upset, but he still chose to believe Loramus Thalipedes.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The temple of Arkkoroc was an old temple that belonged to Elune. It belonged to Arkkoroc now, and besides the Sea Giants, the Lobstrok and Murlocs also viewed him as a God. At the very least, after they witnessed the strength of Dwarves, the Murlocs tried to ask him for help.


    Makoola referred to the big prawns on shore. They had been influenced by magic and were now adept at fighting. If you could catch once successfully, they were also quite delicious. These prawns had a hard shell and attacked with their pincers and magic. They had the basic structure of a society, and even had their own tribes. However, their intelligence wasn''t as high as their neighbours ¨C the Murlocs.


    The Makoola prawns displayed the highest level of alertness at the arrival of a Night Elf.


    Lu Li wasn''t going to fight them. If he killed the young ones, it would enrage the elders.


    Fortunately, the Makoola finally let down their guard a little after Lu Li explained why he had come. Shortly after, they moved out of Lu Li''s way; it seemed like Loramus'' name had made an impression. After he got close to the temple, Lu Li finally got to see the Sea Giants. They were all taller than 5 meters and had an unknown weight, but without a doubt, they were all incredibly heavy. It was inconceivable how these giant creatures made themselves float above the sea.


    Arkkoroc was at the second level of the temple, dozing off on the ground and looking nothing like a God.


    "How''s Loramus?" Arkkoroc asked.


    "He''s still in Azeroth and looks fine," Lu Li answered, then continued, "He has asked me to come to you for help in killing a demon."


    "He''s the real man for the job; I only know a little."


    Although Arkkoroc spoke humbly, he couldn''t hide his little bit of pride. Loramus Thalipedes was a Demon Hunter that specialized in dealing with demons, and yet he had come to him for help.


    Arkkoroc was gigantic, so it was natural that his face was as well. Lu Li could see each nuance in his expression clearly.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t so bored as to bring out the truth and just explained the entire situation again.


    "That''s not a good idea. He must be insane, insane!"


    Arkkoroc seemed to have understood what Lu Li was asking for. His expression grew upset and he stood from the ground. His giant size nearly broke through the roof of the temple as he paced back and forth, seeming to be lost in his own thoughts.


    "Do you have any ways?" Lu Li couldn''t help but ask.


    After a long while, Arkkoroc finally calmed down and said, "There''s only one way to take out the Demon King and his servants. You need to forge a weapon with his real name. When the weapon is forged, it will also be the death of the Demon King."


    "How do we forge it?"


    Lu Li could accomplish this as long as there was a Mold and materials. It didn''t seem too difficult.


    "The weapon itself isn''t hard to make. What''s important is to give it the ability to slay demons. Have you heard of Hataera? She''s a fake and cruel one; some of my children died to her. Go kill her and bring back her beaten head."


    It seemed like Arkkoroc had his personal reasons to hand out his quest. He had something against Hataera, but he couldn''t leave the temple, so he commissioned Lu Li to end the life of his enemy.


    Lu Li felt like he was being used, but he didn''t mind.


    Arkkoroc and Hataera were all Gods, but they weren''t worthy of being mentioned. Lu Li could bring out a hundred of his men and wipe out their entire race. It would be even easier than killing a Wild Boss.


    Hataera''s nest was discreet; no one had discovered it before. However, she called herself the dictator of the sea, and every day, she would responsibly patrol the area. Lu Li just had to stand by at one of the locations that she often patrolled. To ensure efficiency and safety, he brought together twenty Ruling Sword players who were in the local area for this.


    This was a very strong squad for a semi-boss.


    Hataera was a snake with three heads and was giant in size. She was more familiar with water magic, but was also proficient at healing magic. Otherwise, Lu Li would have been able to slowly tire her out by himself.


    "Thanks everyone. I''ll shout you guys a meal at Stormwind City."


    In less than 10 minutes, Lu Li picked up the three quest items and said goodbye to the leader of the team, Flying Fish Hater.


    Flying Fish Hater waved his hands and replied, "Don''t worry boss. I''ll sort everything out."


    Hataera''s Bloodied Head, Hataera''s Beaten Head and Hataera''s Bruised Head ¨C a total of three items, which were just Hataera''s three heads.

 1208 Back from the Dead

    "I''m back. This is what you''re looking for," Lu Li announced as he handed over the quest items. The System then notified him that he had completed the quest.


    There were no skill points, but there was a good amount of reputation ¨C more than ten usual quests combined. Perhaps reputation wasn''t so hard to obtain after all; you just had to find the right quests.


    "Yes, you''ve impressed me with your achievements, Elf," Arkkoroc praised.


    "What next?"


    "I''m going to combine these three items so that our forged weapon will come with divinity. Although Hetaera isn''t strong, she has a useful talent," Arkkoroc said as he worked.


    Lu Li had also heard about Loramus'' past from him and why Arkkoroc was so shocked before.


    Apparently, Loramus'' life was very unfortunate. His whole family had been slain by the Burning Legion, including his newly-wedded wife and the unborn baby inside her. When Loramus, who was filled with hate, ran into that powerful existence, he sacrificed himself to gain the ways of the demons and became a Demon Hunter.


    He hunted for demons everywhere and a made a name for himself.


    Apparently, there were only two types of endings for a Demon Hunter. They either went insane from their endless slaughter, or they died to a demon stronger than themselves.


    That time, Loramus came across an opponent that he could not defeat.


    The result of the battle was his death, and the demon split Loramus'' corpse into three pieces ¨C his head, his upper body and his lower body. It was sad to see such a hero end in such a devastating manner.


    However, Loramus didn''t die entirely. During his long battle against the demons, he had begun to discover the secrets to the immortality.


    Perhaps it was because of this, but he wandered for a long time in the Twisting Nether.


    His three body parts were found by Kasim, a Gnome. Kasim had a friendship with Loramus as they had hunted demons together. In order to revive Loramus, Kasim found the Blood Mage Lynnore and Drakia.


    A lot of Mages didn''t understand the concept of factions; they only cared about magic.


    The three of them thought for long and came up with an idea to revive Loramus.


    Of course, this involved some dark magic.


    What they did was piece back Loramus'' body and perform a dark ritual at the Stormwind Altar. Then, Loramus would be able to absorb a strong amount of demon power and revive.


    They had come up with the unthinkable, but it was based on research and theory.


    They were successful in reviving Loramus. Regardless of how it was done, just reviving someone alone was enough for these three to feel proud of themselves for the rest of their lives.


    After all, in the history of Dawn, only a few limited legendary NPCs were capable of reviving people.


    Loramus wasn''t happy to be resurrected. He was only revived because he had absorbed demonic powers and now his body was filled with such energy. However, there was no way of turning back since he was now alive. Loramus saw this as fate wanting him to continue his job, so he picked up his career again and this time, he was even more reckless.


    "Do you know, what Hetaera''s talent is?" Arkkoroc asked.


    Lu Li shook his head. No matter how many books he read, he had never heard of Hetaera having some sort of incredible talent. It was a piece of cake to take her down with the two teams.


    "Never mind. Take this and go find Loramus," Arkkoroc said, then paused and sighed, "Please tell him that his old friend wants him to be courageous and keep living. When he isn''t even afraid of death itself, is there anything else that he fears?"


    Lu Li''s heart sunk slightly; he felt like this quest seemed to have spun out of control.


    Once again, he ran back to Loramus, not even wanting to complain about how many maps he had run across today. Hopefully, he could complete this quest. It should at least reward him with a legendary.


    "Did he really say that?" Loramus mumbled, then continued, "These Gods are so fake. If he didn''t want me to use this method, then why did he let you bring these back to me?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Lu Li didn''t know how to reply, but Loramus wasn''t expecting a response either. He studied the combined Hetaera heads and gave Lu Li another quest.


    This time, Lu Li needed to collect 20 Azsharite Crystals. This was also a troublesome quest as Azsharite Crystals only refreshed in a small zone near the cliff. A hard quest would require players to collect two crystals, so there would always be people hanging out around the area. As soon as these crystals refreshed, they would immediately be harvested.


    Twenty Azsharite Crystals! The Demon Hunter must have been asking for his life!


    Lu Li withstood the pain in his heart and opened a store down near the camp.


    Purchasing Azsharite Cystals, 25 gold for each. 20 required.


    There were similar stores nearby, but the usual price was 15 gold for one, and at most, 20 gold. Lu Li''s 25 gold was definitely a good price.


    "Brother, 40 gold for one. I''ll sell you 20 of them ¨C how''s that?" a Warrior player offered.


    Lu Li remained silent; he didn''t even lift his eyelids. He was giving out this price to save time, but that didn''t mean he didn''t have a bottom line. He wasn''t stupid enough to hand out money for free.


    "Brother, I can tell you can afford this; it wouldn''t be good to delay your quest. Not to mention, this is a popular item, but it comes in limited numbers. If you don''t buy it from me now, you probably won''t be able to get 20 of them, even if you wait til tomorrow," the Warrior players continued jokingly, but his tone was threatening.


    "These jerks are bullying someone again. What''s so good about mercenary groups?" Although the others spoke badly of these mercenary groups, they kept their voices low. Clearly, the mercenary group that the Warrior player belonged to was very strong.


    "Don''t talk so much, or else you won''t even be able to leave camp," his friend beside him said as he pulled the talker away.


    Some players who were interested because of the 25-gold price hesitated, but in the end, they still didn''t sell it to Lu Li. Unless wanted to be kicked out, they wouldn''t want to upset the mercenary group. These mercenary groups didn''t take over a whole area like the major guilds, but they had many members and ordinary players couldn''t fight with them for resources.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had been bullied by mercenary groups before, so he really didn''t have a good impression of these kinds of people.

 1209 Polar Bear

    "See that? You gave up on a good deal. Now the price has increased; 50 gold for one Azsharite Cystal," the Warrior player laughed coldly. He didn''t think that Lu Li would be an important person, otherwise, he wouldn''t be out here buying materials himself. He could just wave his hand and his minions would do it for him.


    "What mercenary group are you from?" Lu Li asked, feeling troubled. This was the problem of keeping a low profile.


    He was a Thief, and his class destined him to be low profile. As someone who had reincarnated, it was best for him to grow rich silently. His personality was also a part of the reason; the slums were always filled with dead people. Those who died first were always the ones who made a name for themselves.


    "Polar Bear mercenary group!" the Warrior declared proudly.


    "Never heard of you guys."


    Lu Li was being truthful; he hadn''t heard of them in this life or his previous life. Either their mercenary group was too small, or they had upset someone of power and disappeared before Lu Li entered the game.


    "Okay, let''s fight one on one!"


    The Warrior was confident. Lu Li was a Thief and his equipment didn''t look too expensive, so he was certain that he would win.


    "Sure, it''s just a few steps anyway," Lu Li said as he packed away his store and walked out of the camp.


    He had set his store near the edge of the camp, so it was only a few steps for him to the border of the safety zone. Players could battle freely in the wild and the sentries wouldn''t even pay the slightest attention to them, unless it was a battle on a large scale that might threaten the campsite.


    Following the standard procedure, Lu Li went into Stealth and disappeared before the Warrior. The Warrior positioned himself step-by-step, as if he was going to catch Lu Li with his superior Detection abilities.


    If he had more time, he would have played around a little, but Lu Li was in a hurry to do his quest.


    With a full rotation of skills, the Warrior died, despite his two attempts in trying to escape from Lu Li''s crowd-control.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Lu Li thought that he had solved his problem, now that he had shown that he wasn''t an easy target.


    "Alright, nice one. Let''s wait and see. If anyone sells him Azsharite Crystals, then they''re enemies to the thousands of us brothers from Polar Bear mercenary group. It won''t just be the Azsharite Cystals; they won''t even be able to step out their door anymore," the Warrior said spitefully. He was clearly hot tempered; he had only just run back from his revival point and was already threatening the public.


    How were there so many idiots these days? Despite the game environment being different to real life, they couldn''t go around thinking that they were invincible either.


    Lu Li continued to set up his store as he contacted Square Root 3.


    A few minutes later, the boss of the Polar Bear mercenary group appeared before Lu Li, and the Warrior was still there threatening random players who sold Azsharite Crystals for a living.


    "Shut up, will you!?" the boss roared as he ran over. He was tempted to shred the Warrior''s mouth into pieces.


    Although the boss often thought that the Warrior talked a little too much, who would have thought that he would cause such trouble someday? At the time, the boss was helping a rich boy level his account. They were a mercenary group of thousands of players and they took up any kind of work. Helping someone level was a common job.


    The rich boy sat under a tree and had a pretty Priest girl keeping him company.


    This was the difference in hierarchy. Even though they were all formed of the same flesh and blood, they were destined to be different from the moment they were born. They must have slipped and accidentally chosen the Nightmare mode dungeon when they reincarnated.


    Fortunately, they came at the right time and Dawn allowed these mercenary group members to earn an income that would shock the average nine-to-five workers.


    As they were casting spells on a group of monsters, the messenger device of the boss rang. He thought it was a customer, but to his surprise, it was the guild master of Ruling Sword, Square Root 3.


    The real owner of Ruling Sword was Lu Li. He was the one who called the shots for this major guild that didn''t accept any investments. Some thought that Square Root 3 was just a sidekick, but even if he was, he was a sidekick for Ruling Sword. Their small mercenary group wouldn''t ever have a chance to come across someone like this.


    "Have your people leave Azsharite," Square Root 3 said simply. He didn''t even add the boss as a friend.


    Although his tone was calm and non-threatening, the boss of this Polar Bear mercenary group felt a little suffocated. He subconsciously knew that one of his own must have upset someone that they shouldn''t have.


    Or else, why would Ruling Sword give them a warning like this?


    There were a few businesses running in Azsharite, so the only way they could upset someone was probably because of the Azsharite Crystals. The boss didn''t dare delay; he ditched his client and rushed over himself.


    If he didn''t sort out the problem, it wouldn''t be as simple as leaving Azsharite. The boss had seen many examples in the past where the hard work of many years by a mercenary group would go down the drain and become nothing, just because someone of great power instructed it so.


    As such, he nearly passed out when he came over and heard the Warrior spouting rubbish.


    The Warrior was stunned when he saw his boss come over and tell him to shut up, but he listened anyway.


    The boss dragged the Warrior and whispered in his ear; they quickly figured out what had happened. He was smart enough to immediately drag the Warrior over to apologize to Lu Li.


    Although the onlookers didn''t know what was going on behind the scenes, they knew that something unexpected had happened.


    The Warrior would have summoned a whole pack of people if he was to pick a fight, but this time, only one came, and it was their boss too.


    When Lu Li saw the boss of the Polar Bear mercenary group, he knew that the situation had been resolved.


    He felt a complex emotion rise within. In his previous life, he would probably still be trying to dig up Azsharite Crystals himself. There was a good chance that he would have to battle others, or just give up on the quest. Random players could just play the game, but it was too hard for them to try a make a name for themselves.


    "This¡­" the boss trailed off and had a bitter expression as he approached.


    "It''s my people who can''t keep their eyes open and caused you trouble. If it''s possible, please forgive us. We''ll hand over 20 Azsharite Crystals for free as compensation."


    "Sorry, I don''t know what you''re on about; I''m just here trying to purchase some crystals. Please don''t disturb me," Lu Li said as he turned his head away.


    "This is my brother''s fault. How about I add some money on top and if you ever need anything, our entire mercenary group will do anything for you?" the boss offered. He was about to cry upon seeing that Lu Li didn''t even budge.


    "There''s difficulty everywhere in all situations of life. Sometimes, we as mercenaries are a little cruel, but we still know where to draw the line¡­"


    "You guys have difficulties, and the others don''t? When I marked the price at 25 gold, none of them dared to sell me anything just because he threatened them all. Do you guys really have any difficulties?" Lu Li laughed coldly.


    Controlling the market stock and price, these people seemed to have believed that this game was their backyard.


    "And aren''t you here to apologize? That guy beside you doesn''t seem like he''s here to apologize. To me, it seems like he''s ready to have a go at me at any moment."

 1210 Galvan

    When the Warrior player heard what Lu Li had said, he nearly lost it.


    Competitors, major guilds, tournaments ¨C concepts like these were too far removed from them. However, in front of these ordinary random players, they were one of the top players already. People had to pay him respect wherever he went, and now, he was asked to lower his head. It was easier to ask him to kill himself instead.


    The boss looked at the Warrior player who kept quiet, then bit down hard and finally made a decision.


    Everyone saw the Polar Bear logo begin to slowly fade from the chest piece of the Warrior player. The Warrior player had been kicked out of the mercenary group. Not only had he lost face, but he had also lost everything.


    This was when the Warrior player finally realized that this was no ordinary trouble that he had caused. He had been through a few games with this boss, and they had always had a good relationship. If it wasn''t important, there was no way the boss would do this.


    The Warrior can''t possibly imagine what it would be like if he was to be kicked out of his mercenary group.


    He would become the same as those that he had bullied, and there were many people who probably couldn''t wait to take revenge on him. The Warrior looked at his boss and begged with his eyes.


    The boss was afraid that the Warrior would say other silly things, so he sent a private message across first.


    "We''ll sort this out first."


    No matter how dumb the Warrior was, he began to understand that all of this started from the man who sat before him with his store. He had really stubbed his toe on a hard nail this time.


    "I''ve cast him out of the mercenary group now and I promise to harshly punish anyone who does anything similar in the future. Please forgive us," the boss begged.


    Some of the onlookers were confused. This was just a game; was there really a need to drag their dignity through the mud? Why not just switch games?


    Others saw it from another perspective and understood what was happening. It was a common situation in a work place for people to lower their heads.


    A major guild like Ruling Sword was definitely capable of making life tough for this mercenary group.


    The last thing that mercenary groups wanted to upset would be major guilds. They would rather upset a lone top player, because the damage that they could cause was limited. However, if Ruling Sword asked them to leave Azsharite, there would soon be people hunting down all players in Azsharite with the Polar Bear symbol.


    The leader of the hunting group for Ruling Sword was Moonlight. He was a crazy man, and most importantly, he was also a top player.


    Lu Li nodded without much care; he could tell what these two were playing. The boss would probably reinvite the Warrior into the mercenary group later.


    As for the punishment, Lu Li didn''t accept their free Azsharite Crystal ¨C this was their punishment.


    It meant that the mercenary group still had to leave Azsharite.


    The boss was someone with good judgement and within a few minutes, all the players from the Polar Bear mercenary group left Azsharite. Players with connections quickly found out what was going on behind the scenes.


    The Polar Bear mercenary group had accidentally upset someone from Ruling Sword because of the Azsharite Crystal business.


    Then, Ruling Sword made a statement and asked the Polar Bears to leave.


    The Polar Bear players left the map and couldn''t even be found in nearby maps. They would probably avoid these maps in the future.


    It was barely any effort for a major guild to sort out such a small organization of people.


    Then, Lu Li gradually purchased the items that he needed. In the blink of an eye, he obtained the 20 Azsharite Crystals which cost him a good sum of money.


    This incident was just a small event to Lu Li, but it affected Azsharite for quite some time.


    Other guilds also became more cautious, because they don''t know what Ruling Sword meant by their actions. Was this just a demonstration of power, or did they want this place to themselves? As for the other clubs, none of them wanted to cross Ruling Sword for something so insignificant.


    The ordinary players profited from this, since there was no one guarding the refresh-spots anymore.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Regardless, profit always caused fights. Even without the mercenary groups, the players would still fight amongst themselves.


    Next came the forging of the weapon.


    Loramus recommended Galvan to Lu Li.


    Lu Li knew of Galvan, because Galvan was involved with the making of this accessory called "Glimmering Mithril Insignia". This accessory was known to not only provide resistance, but also an immunity effect to fear.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that the combined Attributes of the item weren''t that great, everyone would have gladly worn one on them.


    In that case, all the Bosses that used fear to control players could find a place and cry together.


    It was a long journey from Azsharite to Stranglethorn.


    Galvan wasn''t the kind of NPC to stay put in the city. Lu Li searched for half an hour to find him in a zone between Zulgurub and Mosh''Ogg Ogre Mound.


    The NPC wore an old working uniform with a bag of minerals on his shoulder. Whenever he came across some minerals, he would stick his bum up in the air and start digging.


    Those who didn''t know would think he was a player, but if you thought about it carefully, you would realize that he was quite powerful to be able to hang around Stranglethorn by himself and stay alive.


    Stranglethorn was no easy place to survive; it was the most popular PVP zone for Horde and Alliance players in the wild.


    Lu Li went up and struck up a conversation straight away, asking Galvan to forge a weapon for him.


    Lu Li himself was already a Master tier crafter, but he hadn''t reached the next level yet, so he could only make weapons with a recipe in hand. It seemed like Galvan was better than Lu Li by at least one or more levels.


    "No time," Galvan declined straight away.


    Lu Li thought that the quest would be easier, since he was also a blacksmith himself, and the NPC would be nicer to him because they were both in the same line of work. He didn''t expect to be declined straight away.


    "Loramus asked me to come over," Lu Li said. He had no choice but to bring out the Demon Hunter again.


    The Demon Hunter seemed to have a lot of friends. As soon as Galvan heard the name, he took off his cold mask and asked in surprise, "Where did you see Loramus? Is he still alive?"


    "He''s still alive; he asked me to have you forge this weapon."


    Lu Li couldn''t imagine how dangerous it was to be a Demon Hunter. It seemed like all his friends thought he was going to die any moment.


    "Give me the material list," Galvan said as he reached out his hands.


    Lu Li passed over the list to Galvan, and hoped that he wouldn''t ask him to gather these materials. If the list required rare materials, Lu Li might just choose to go bankrupt instead.


    "Hetaera?" Galvan shouted and nearly dropped the list to the floor.


    Hetaera was just a useless snake with three heads. Was there any need to be so surprised?


    "Is he sure that he wants to forge this weapon, and hasn''t just sent some silly Elf to fool me?"


    Galvan scratched his beard, frustrated and annoyed. His eyes glistened with shock and sorrow.

 1211 The Escaped Slave

    In order to gain Galvan''s trust, Lu Li explained his entire quest.


    "It sounds like him."


    After some time, Galvan let out a long sigh and it seemed as if he had grown older by a decade. He slouched as he walked ahead, signalling Lu Li to come along.


    The forging process wasn''t difficult. At least, to Lu Li, the material and the work seemed ordinary.


    This ''Hataera''s Curse'' could have the worst Attributes, and Lu Li wouldn''t even be surprised. He just didn''t understand why this dagger would be the end to Razelikh the Defiler.


    "Hope he won''t regret his choice," Galvan said after the weapon had been forged.


    Lu Li thanked the blacksmith and left. He could only try his best to complete the quest as he went; he no longer had any guide to what remained. He wasn''t even sure if anyone had gotten up to this far in his previous life. Even if the quest was to fail now, just the skill point itself was worth it.


    "Good, this is the best weapon for a big demon," Loramus said, satisfied.


    Another stage of the quest completed, and the System announced that Lu Li had obtained experience, reputation and gold. This was a decent reward.


    "What next?" Lu Li asked.


    "Go find Trebor; he''ll tell you how to summon Razelikh. I still need to make some preparations."


    Loramus was excited, which was a complete opposite compared to all of his friends.


    Once again, Lu Li returned to the Blasted Lands. He couldn''t recall how many times he had faced Trebor.


    "What about it? Has Sir Loramus agreed to help?" Trebor asked in anticipation.


    "He agreed, and will be here in no time. I''m here first to see how we can summon Razelikh from the Twisting Nether. Loramus said that you might have a way."


    "Of course, I''ve already figured it all out. Lady Sevine, Archmage Allistarj and Grol the Destroyer each have a talisman piece. These pieces combined can summon Razelikh back to the Blasted Lands with a special ritual..." Trebor said passionately.


    "So you''ve figured it all out¡­ don''t tell me you plan to have me take all three of them out?" This didn''t seem to be heading in a good direction.


    "Of course not ¨C Lady Sevine''s piece is with a Murloc. He''s far away to the East, resting on some reef rocks near the shore. I''ve got no clue how this item found its way to the Murloc, but I can guarantee that you''ll find it there."


    "Alright, what about the other two?" Lu Li asked. Things were much easier when the items were in the hands of other monsters.


    "Allistarj went out today. He hid his talisman piece in a box in his Mage tower. Head to his Mage tower at the east and have a look. It''s is filled with the tortured souls from his magic experiments; I dare not set foot there."


    "That''s no problem," Lu Li sighed in relief. He just needed to steal.


    "Grol is very upset lately; his riches had been stolen by a slave. If you can arrive at the broken shore before sunset, you might be able to catch him. I''m sure that talisman piece is within those treasures. After you combine these three talisman pieces together, we will be able to summon Razelikh and with the help of the Demon Hunter, we will be able to slay him."


    Lu Li didn''t bother saying anymore. He looked at the sun in Blasted Lands and decided that he would start with the third one first.


    He arrived at the Broken Shore and saw a human trying to make a raft for himself. Did this human expect to escape into the sea with this ridiculous raft?


    "Sailor, are you heading out to sea?" Lu Li asked.


    "Adventurer, I''ve got nothing you want here. Leave me alone," the escaped slave said angrily. This was just an empowered elite, and Lu Li could take him out by himself, but he couldn''t do this because he didn''t know what he would drop after he died.


    He had stolen so many treasures and the talisman piece was just one of them.


    "I heard that you''ve stolen the riches of Grol, so I came to visit," Lu Li said as he packed away his dagger to show that he was harmless. "Don''t get me wrong ¨C I''m impressed."


    "Then be impressed, and stay away!" the escaped slave cried out. He was clearly on high alert.


    "I''ve got no bad intentions; I''m just here to check if you need any help," Lu Li said as he took out a dagger with horrible attributes. This was just a rubbish he picked up from the monsters on the way. He showed the dagger to the slave and said, "See this? If you had this dagger, would you still need to use these rock pieces to try and take down trees?"


    "What do you want?"


    The slave was interested, as with a proper knife, his speed in making the raft would be much quicker.


    "Treasure, of course, but I only want one," Lu Li said.


    "You want to trade for treasure with a useless knife? Dream on, filthy Elf," the slave said angrily.


    "Regardless of its quality, what''s important is if it''s useful. Can treasures help you take down trees? What if Grol catches up to you? You won''t even be able to see the sun tomorrow. Actually, you never know. I''ve heard that these Dreadmaul Ogres have invented a new way of eating. They''ll eat your meat piece by piece before you. If you''re lucky, you might be able to see the sun for a few days."


    The escaped slave gulped hard; he was frightened.


    "The wind out in the sea is so cold. I think you might need a robe, and if you were to run across some Lobstrok, you would need a weapon. It would be even better if you could have a set of equipment ¨C you would be able to take your treasure safely on the way, and even if you ran into some Ogres, you would be able to take them out. And you¡­ my friend, I only want to pick one item from your treasures."


    A knife to cut down trees, a warm robe, a heavy battle axe and an armor with Griffon patterns¡­


    The gulping sound of the slave grew louder.


    "What is it that you insist on? Why not sit down and have a talk? We can make a fair trade that benefits both of us."


    Lu Li was even nice enough to put down a few delicious looking dishes.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    This time, the slave couldn''t even control his drool.


    The food was the last straw. The poor guy had been eating rubbish everyday ever since he was brought into slavery, and he also had to worry about his survival. Ever since he escaped, he hadn''t had a single good meal.


    "Just one!"


    The slave looked in greed at all that laid before him. If it wasn''t for the fact that Lu Li didn''t look like an easy target, he would''ve already tried to rob Lu Li.

 1212 Trading Policies

    "I''m only taking one item," Lu Li promised.


    "Then you have to give the things to me first," the escaped slave said. His eyes began to wander around, as if he was planning to either kill Lu Li or take the items and run.


    "Besides the weapon," Lu Li responded as he threw the items before the escaped slave.


    The slave picked up a dish and began to eat. Within a few bites, he finished the cooked bird and ate some more before he put on the equipment.


    Felstriker danced between Lu Li''s fingers, and the poison on it made it glow blue. He looked like a tough opponent.


    The slave, who only had a little knife, took a deep look at the battle axe that was still a little further from him. Then, he finally opened his baggage and told Lu Li that he could pick out what he wanted.


    The System announced that Lu Li could now pick an item.


    There were dozens of items placed before Lu Li, but unfortunately, he could only choose one. There were all sorts of strange things, including useless ones, like pretty shells and a beast''s bones. The useful items included recipes and materials.


    Grol''s talisman piece was within the items; it looked like a necklace made of old wood. It wasn''t made of gold or silver and had no gemstones.


    Lu Li picked out this equipment. After he closed the selection menu, he found the slave holding the battle axe before him. If Lu Li had been any slower, he probably would have been attacked already.


    "This isn''t the right thing to do in a trade," Lu Li said calmly.


    "Haha, let those goblins'' useless trading policies burn to ashes. Boy, if you hand me all your valuables, I might let you return to the forest in one piece."


    "I bet you were a pirate or a bandit before you were caught."


    Lu Li was so mad that he nearly laughed.


    He couldn''t believe someone would try to rob him. Lu Li was going to let this guy off since he was lucky enough to escape Grol, but clearly, the slave had a death wish.


    "Wrong, wrong, wrong, you''re wrong. I''m not a pirate or a bandit, but I''ve been a pirate and a bandit. Have you heard of the Red Parrot? I was a lieutenant there. It''s your unlucky day today. I need to exercise my bones and wash away the shame of being an Ogre''s slave."


    "Let''s cut the talk."


    Lu Li shook his head; he couldn''t wait to see the slave''s expression before his death.


    The battle ended swiftly. No matter how stupid Lu Li could be, there was no way he couldn''t beat a level 55 empowered elite. Not to mention, this elite monster had a weak buff.


    Most likely, his slave career had worn away the stamina that he had, which probably wasn''t too good to begin with.


    "Why did it end like this? Does the Goddess of the Sea no longer look after her children?" he cried out as he died. The slave didn''t complete his great escape in the end. He didn''t die to Grol, but instead, he died to an unexpected meeting.


    Lu Li wiped the blood off his dagger and looted the corpse without expecting much.


    This slave brought treasure with him, but there was no way he would drop everything. Lu Li was also an unlucky guy, so there was a high chance that valuable things wouldn''t drop for him.


    Grol''s Treasure Chest ¨C a treasure chest!Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Black Parrot''s Treasure Chest ¨C another treasure chest!


    Lu Li was astonished. This was no different to killing a monster in the Wild that had dropped a bunch of Legendary equipment for him.


    The two treasure chests both required the theft skill to open, but this was no issue for Lu Li.


    Grol''s Treasure Chest gave him two decent rare materials, which refunded some of what Lu Li had lost from purchasing the Azsharite Crystals.


    The Black Parrot''s Treasure Chest didn''t include many things. Besides a Sailor''s Diary, which allowed him to activate a quest, there was also a scroll that hadn''t been identified. Unidentified items were items that have been sealed; they would require a scroll master or someone with related knowledge to open them.


    Lu Li suspected that this was a sealed treasure map, but he had no time now to hunt for treasure, so he would have to make his attempts later down the track.


    The second talisman was Sevine''s. Apparently, it had fallen into the hands of a Murloc that resided near the shore. From the hints given by the quest, Lu Li knew that it was standing on rocks that allowed it to see the entire seashore.


    Lu Li searched around and finally found a location that matched the description.


    He was standing on an extension of the island, with troops and troops of Murlocs scattered in the area. They patrolled this poor land and were prepared to fight back any intruders.


    Lu Li was welcomed passionately the moment he set foot on the island. After some effort, he finally sorted out these stinky monsters.


    There weren''t many monsters in the area, and they were all visible. There were no semi-bosses or elites as he had expected; these were all normal monsters. This meant that he needed to try his luck for this talisman. If he was lucky, he would find the amulet in one go, and if he wasn''t¡­


    Lu Li trembled; he couldn''t imagine how many he''d have to kill.


    He Sapped a Murloc Priest and killed the Mage Murlocs first while the others kept attacking him. He then turned back and took down the melee Murlocs. The troops quickly became a pile of corpses.


    After a few waves, Lu Li decided to take back what he had thought about this talisman being the easiest one to obtain. He felt like a failure against the System''s chances.


    After he killed almost all the monsters, he finally obtained Sevine''s talisman.


    Obtaining the last one relied on him stealing it. This tested the Stealth capabilities of a player. Lu Li could say that if he was second place in this area, no one else would dare come out and claim first place. After all, Empowerment: Stealth wasn''t easy to pick up.


    The Mage turret was old and frail, as if it had been burnt.


    As Trebor mentioned, this Mage tower was filled with tortured souls and clearly, Archmage Allistarj''s research wasn''t exactly honourable.


    These spirits were around level 60 and usual Thieves wouldn''t be able to enter easily.


    If he was a player from another class, he would probably need a team to fight his way in bit by bit. Not only would this require a lot of effort, but there was also a possibility for a wipe.


    At the same time, the servants of Allistarj weren''t easy to deal with either. Even though they weren''t Bosses, Lu Li would much rather not fight against semi-Bosses that led a pack of empowered elites.


    The talisman was in the tip the Mage tower, where the lab was located. Lu Li used his lockpicking skill to unlock the door.


    He thought he would find a Mage''s entire life of treasure. Even if he could only take a few pieces, he would be rich. But who knew why an Archmage''s lab would be so clean, as if it had just been robbed?

 1213 Summoning the Demon

    Lu Li stared at the empty lab helplessly as he couldn''t find any boxes that could hide anything. So where did Allistarj hide the talisman?


    Did he go out today with his box?


    Lu Li hated these kinds of NPCs who didn''t play by the book, but there was no use in this anger. The System didn''t give any further hints about the situation.


    Lu Li guessed that either Allistarj had taken it with him, or it was hidden in a much safer place.


    The prior meant that he would have to bring a team with him to kill the Mage and the latter would suggest that something was off about this lab. Most likely, the lab wasn''t as simple as it appeared. Were there hidden doors?


    After some testing, LU Li finally found a smooth track on the walls.


    It was as if someone touched it often, and gradually, the colour and smoothness of the spot became different from other parts of the wall. Carefully, Lu Li placed his hands on the spot and pressed it. He saw that the middle ground of the lab split in two and a workplace rose from it.


    An Archmage''s collection?


    Lu Li looked at the workplace interestedly, but he didn''t immediately to steal things. Instead, he tossed out two rubbish equips as a test and only approached after he was sure that there were no traps.


    Some Mages were very careful and placed traps even in areas where they slept.


    The workplace was littered with bottles. Some of them were only materials, some were half complete and only a few were final products.


    Then, Lu Li found that he could only pick up the bottles that had been fully created.


    Ogre Potion ¨C this allowed an Ogre to transform into a human for a certain period of time. Lu Li had no clue what this could be used for, since players couldn''t ever choose to be an Ogre.


    Elixir of Water Walking ¨C this was useful in certain situations.


    Then, there was a Giant Potion. If a player from a smaller race like Gnomes or Dwarves played a tank role, and the healer couldn''t find them, what could they do? The Giant potion was the solution. No matter how small their character was, they would instantly grow into a giant.


    Magic Resistance Potion ¨C increases magic resistance for a certain period of time. This was slightly more useful.


    Besides these, there was also a tiny potion. It didn''t come with much description, and only had one sentence ¨C"after you use it, you''ll become attractive to the opposite sex".


    Lu Li had never heard of this item and has no clue of its use, but it seemed to be useful, so he packed it away carefully.


    There were also other potions, none of which were commonly found on the market. It seemed like this Allistarj was an alchemist. Lu Li took all that he could. He had just cleared his bag before, so he had a lot of space.


    After he took what he could, Lu Li still remembered what was important. He found a locked box under the table.


    With some anticipation, Lu Li opened the box and was left in bewilderment. A giant box that only contained one talisman?


    After Lu Li obtained the talisman, he immediately escaped through the window with his crow form.


    In the TV shows, the bad guys always liked to take their time. If his guess was right, Lu Li probably would have caught the attention of Allistarj the moment he triggered the workplace. He didn''t even want to know the strength of this Archmage.


    He obtained all three talismans and returned to Trebor. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The Demon Hunter Loramus was already waiting there. He seemed to be wearing a new suit and looked a lot better than the last time Lu Li had seen him. The two battle blades glowed green in his hands and he seemed like a new person, as if he was about to start a new journey.


    They chatted for a bit and listened to Lu Li''s progress, then decided to finish this business as soon as possible.


    The three talismans weren''t entirely useless. At the very least, they protected Lu Li, Trebor and Loramus on their ascent to the top of the mountain.


    This was the highest peak in the Blasted Lands. There were no living beings on it, and it barely had a route for climbing. Fortunately, the Demon Hunter could fly for a short distance, Trebor could float and Lu Li could actually fly, or else, they wouldn''t know how to get up here.


    In the future versions, the System would add a rune at the bottom of the mountain which would teleport players straight up. This gave normal players access to the location.


    "Place the talismans together, and I''ll inject demon energy into it. Razelikh will awake from the Twisting Nether, follow the summon and arrive here. At that time, make sure to follow all my instructions," Loramus instructed, then specifically reminded Lu Li that the new dagger could only be used at his command.


    Trebor was just a dead soul, so all he could do was watch.


    As if he knew what Lu Li was worried about, Loramus gave Lu Li a shield.


    That way, he was much more comfortable. Lu Li finally was interested in watching a demon get summoned.


    The overall process was quite slow. The space and the demon probably didn''t enjoy it as both were constantly broken apart and remade. This lasted for about a dozen minute before Razelikh stood before Lu Li entirely.


    "Who dares summon me!" Razelikh''s voice echoed loudly.


    "Come face your death, Llacklikh. Today will be your apocalypse," Loramus said resolutely as held tightly onto his dual blade. His eyes were filled with the desire to kill.


    "How do you..."


    A demon''s true name could not easily be discovered. If someone knew the demon''s real name, then they would have the absolute advantage in fighting them.


    As such, when a demon chose an owner, they always gave their name to them. This was how a lot of demons swore their loyalty to Sargeras.


    Of course, this was built on the two parties having similar power.


    Loramus was a Demon Hunter with similar power to Razelikh, and once Razelikh began the battle, he knew that he was in trouble. His opponent knew his real name and it seemed like this had been planned out.


    The two bosses fought in a hard battle, but overall, the one who had their name revealed was in definite trouble.


    As such, he began to summon his underlings.


    Being a Demon King, summoning helpers was one of the common tactics of Razelikh. Besides being strong, his underlings could also absorb mana, but it seemed like there was no mana around for them to absorb.


    At the same time, Razelikh also knocked out people, so Lu Li carefully adjusted his position to avoid being hit directly.


    Lu Li''s damage output was barely noticeable, so Razelikh never paid much attention to him.


    The one that caused him trouble was really Loramus, who gave him a strange feeling. This Demon Hunter was an Elf, but he seemed so familiar¡­

 1214 Death Together

    The dark energy in Loramus was the energy that he absorbed from the Stormwind Altar when he revived. This energy wasn''t the same as the other Demon Hunters, who took their energy from Demons. It was absorbed straight from the Twisting Nether, which was why Razelikh felt that the energy was pure and familiar.


    For Razelikh, the energy in Loramus was like seeing his mother.


    However, this familiarity didn''t make Razelikh surrender ¨C it only made him go berserk.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Razelikh was at a disadvantage, and it was almost impossible for him to kill his opponent with his own power. However, he refused to be banished into the Twisting Nether either. Then, he discovered that Loramus was filled with demon power, and decided to use this chance to synchronize himself into Loramus.


    Razelikh invaded the body of Loramus in an attempt to control his mind and make the power of Loramus his own. Then, he would become an even stronger demon.


    That instant, a pair of wings grew out from Loramus'' back. His entire body turned black and began to spread a strong demon energy. He had been possessed by the demon.


    "You will belong to me! We''ll become the new Razelikh together!" the demon laughed.


    A pained expression appeared on Loramus'' face, as a part of his facial structure had morphed into Razelikh. However, in this hideous and pained expression, Lu Li saw salvation and a kind of craze that belonged to Demon Hunters.


    This was a plan!


    That''s right, this all part of Loramus'' plans. He knew that his enemy would find a chance to invade his body and turn him into a demon.


    "Damned Elf, my dear kin, what are you still waiting for? Hurry and stab that dagger into my chest," Loramus gasped as he battled the demon within him.


    Lu Li took out Hataera''s Curse and gazed at the dark blade that was different to other daggers. All the previous guesses now had an explanation.


    Hataera''s deity would seal both Loramus and Razelikh inside the body of the Demon Hunter.


    This was why Loramus'' friends were all in so much pain; they were helping their friend end his life. Loramus would be sealed together with a demon and it was hard to imagine any worse result.


    Now that the demon had been tempted to enter his body, the time had come!


    Should he do it?


    If he did it, Razelikh would be caged in an eternal cell, and would never have another chance to come out and cause chaos. But then, Loramus would be equivalent to dead.


    This respectable Demon Hunter truly thought of slaying demons and protecting Azeroth as his mission. Revenge alone was not enough to explain this passion, a passion so strong that he would even sacrifice himself for it.


    However, if he didn''t stab Loramus, he would be taken over by the demon? Compared to a Demon Hunter, a demon would clearly know how to control the power from the Twisting Nether better.


    Lu Li quickly realized that he was being emotional.


    He had no choice. When Loramus made the decision, he could only continue as he had planned.


    Even if Lu Li knew that his actions would cause Loramus to die with the demon, Loramus had worked so hard for so long. Even when Loramus returned from the dead and grave back to the human world, he had longed for this very moment.


    Lu Li had no time to hesitate; he could see that the face of Loramus had been almost taken over by Razelikh.


    If he didn''t act fast, Loramus'' sacrifice would be a joke.


    Lu Li fought back the sickened filling in his heart as he pierced the dagger through Loramus'' chest.


    In that instant, it seemed like the pain of being pierced did not cause Loramus any pain. Instead, he looked as if he had been saved and used his last bit of strength to speak.


    "Thank you, my kin. All has been ended. Without your help, I probably never would have been able to fulfil this wish. I will return to the Twisting Nether and forever battle with this demon."


    "I''m honoured to be chosen, my respected kin. Your glory will be praised in every corner of the forest."


    A lonely feeling erupted in Lu Li''s heart. Perhaps this was the fate of a hero ¨C they used their lives to protect the land, challenging evil threats to the world. All that the others could do was to tell of their stories.


    "It doesn''t matter anymore. I''ve already been banished anyway, my kin¡­haha¡­"


    With a low and spiteful tone, Loramus took Razelikh with him. He followed the trail that Razelikh came from and forever disappeared from the land of Azeroth.


    Besides some marks left behind by the battle, it was as if the Demon Hunter had never ventured to this peak.


    "Thank you, thank you¡­"


    Trebor''s floating figure seemed to waver as the wind blew, as if he was about to disappear any moment.


    "May all brave souls gain eternity," Lu Li said softly for Loramus, who had left, and Trebor, who refused to leave until he battled and won against Razelikh.


    "Thank you too, my friend. I never imagined I''d be so thankful to an Elf," Trebor said in appreciation. "You''ve helped me so much, yet I cannot give you a suitable reward."


    "You''re too kind. I''ve already gained a lot," Lu Li said.


    The System announced that he had completed the "Horde Hero''s Soul" series task. He gained reputation, experience and one extra skill point.


    The reputation reward was handsome; Lu Li had never received so much reputation as reward.


    The experience reward was worthwhile too. Not only did it push him straight to level 58, but this also pushed him into first place on level ranking. Now almost everyone knew that Lu Li just finished an impressive quest.


    Quests were certainly the fastest way to level in Dawn, that is, if you could find the right one.


    Hachi Chan barely ever levelled with teams in the wild, but her level never dropped out of the top 20. This was a miracle for a high schooler.


    From this quest series, Lu Li had obtained another skill point and was very satisfied. Even if there weren''t any other rewards, just these two skill points alone made everything worth it.


    This quest series, according to urban legend, had the most possibility of giving out skill points, but no one ever thought that it would give out two.


    "Loramus had already expected this result, so he left me some things to pass down to you," Trebor added after he gave out his own reward, which had Lu Li filled with anticipation again.

 1215 Huge Gain

    What did he leave behind?


    It was a cape and although it didn''t look fancy, Lu Li could immediately tell that this was no ordinary item. Beneath its plain disguise, the cape was filled with inscriptions.


    This was at least a Legendary!


    Blessing of the Demon Hunter (Legendary): Armor 120, Agility +80, Strength +50, Constitution+30, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Dodge +15%. Special Effect 2: Instant Cast. Caster spreads a pair of demon wings upon activating. Immediately boosts movement speed by 300%, lasts 1.5 seconds, cooldown 60 seconds. Special Effect 3: Demon Hunter''s Protection, 1 second cast time. Caster gains power from the twisted void, increasing their magic resistance by 80%, attack damage by 60% and becoming immune to all fear effects, lasts for 5 seconds, cooldown 10 minutes. Equipment level requirement 60, Durability 260/260.


    Just the stats alone were better than Lu Li''s current equipment.


    Lu Li''s current cape was just a level 50 item, and it certainly wasn''t Legendary either. At this point, Lu Li was not sure if his equipment was better than anyone else''s.


    After all, money was always the strongest buff, regardless of time.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Cloak of Eventide (Dark Gold): Amour 55, Agility +40, Constitution +25, Special Effect 1: Movement Speed +10%, Special Effect 2: Instant Cast, release a smoke bomb with a radius of three yards. This increases the evasion rate of the caster by 30% within the smoke. 3 second duration, 2 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Petrify. Allows the caster to reduce damage taken by petrifying themselves. Reduces damage taken by 60% for two seconds, 8 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 50. Durability 198/198.


    This was a huge difference overall, so there was no need for Lu Li to think through before deciding.


    The Dodge would allow him to occasionally avoid getting hit with a critical strike, and it also reduced the final output of a critical strike that landed on him. It was a very useful special effect.


    Special effect two seemed unfamiliar, but Lu Li remembered it from the battle with the Demon Hunter. When Loramus spread his wings, it seemed as if he got up close to Razelikh almost in an instantaneous flash. For Lu Li, this was useful for him to position himself, and he looked like a phantom when he used this.


    The effect only had a 1.5 second duration, which was slightly worse than Loramus'' effect.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure how much he could do within such a short span of time. Perhaps it wasn''t as effective as a Mage''s teleport, but one thing was certain ¨C this was definitely a visually appealing special effect.


    Lu Li could say that each of the special effects individually weren''t much to brag about, but with the combination of three special effects into one item, the third effect was far too generous.


    However, in order to equip this cape, Lu Li would need some level requirement reduction stones.


    It had been days since these types of stones appeared in an auction. There were so many players in China, so it would be impossible to not even have a single one on the market. It was probably because the finals were approaching and everyone was using their resources to stock up for battle.


    This Legendary cape was essential; no one would complain about having too many burst-type special effects.


    Just as he was about to disappear, Terobo pointed at the three charms that were left on the ground and said, "These three talismans have already been used, so there''s not much energy left in them, but..."


    Lu Li immediately paid attention; did these three worthless items still have some kind of value?


    "But, the pressure from the Demon King onto his slaves still remain on them. With these talismans, you can reduce the strength of those three traitors by 30%. Thank-you, and farewell, my friend." Terobo disappeared with the sandy wind that swept by.


    "Thanks, my friend," Lu Li whispered as he carefully picked up the three talismans.


    The descriptions of the talismans had been edited, and each one''s description was changed according to its owner. They allowed the user to apply pressure to the Bosses using the Demon King''s power.


    Reduces overall power of target by 30% - lasts 30 minutes, cooldown 10 minutes, 2/2 uses remaining.


    Level 60 wild Bosses weren''t easy; it was very rare for guilds to try and attempt these Bosses.


    Firstly, the damage of these Bosses was too high, and no one could really tank them. Deaths during the battle were also an important issue. Secondly, the battle duration was too long. There was no guarantee that information would not leak out to the other guilds, who would attempt to interrupt them.


    However, if the Bosses had their overall power reduced by 30%, they wouldn''t be as frightening.


    No matter how strong these Bosses were, they were still designed to be taken down by players. Moreover, these talismans could be used twice, which meant that players were allowed to be defeated by the Bosses once.


    What if the players beat them in one go? That would be even better ¨C they get another free kill on the Boss after the refresh.


    These three talismans that looked unimportant actually became the biggest reward for Lu Li''s quest this time!


    After all, this promised the loot of three Wild Bosses!


    Lu Li spread his wings and flew out from the Blasted Lands. His quest, that had almost taken the entire day, was finally completed.


    During the process, he had met the soul of a Horde Hero, a Demon Hunter who was willing to sacrifice himself to take down a demon, a Sea Giant and a master blacksmith.


    Although some of these people had already disappeared and some of them would never come across Lu Li again, some of them would also come to use in the future.


    Regardless, this was all part of the game and no matter how you were impacted by its content, it would still contribute to your gaming career.


    Lu Li took a stone out from the storage to reduce the level requirement of the cape.


    In the other slot, he placed a stone that boosted his health by 200 points. He then used some Fortified Stones on the cape and enhanced it to +3.


    Of course, during the battle against Gale Legion, Lu Li wasn''t going to use every ace that he had up his sleeve.


    Gale Legion was a tough enemy, but Ruling Sword weren''t pushovers either. Their biggest enemy this time was still Glory Capital. As for the upcoming match between Drizzle Court and Glory Capital, he could almost guarantee Drizzle Court''s defeat.


    The three Bosses had to be taken down as soon as possible. They had to increase their strength dramatically before the finals to make all their hard work worthwhile.


    Lu Li''s little team obviously wasn''t enough to battle these level 60 Wild Bosses.


    He needed at least one to two hundred fighters and other support players. In case their location was leaked out, these other support players would be sitting at the outer circle to buy time for everyone.


    At the same time, these three Bosses needed to be fought in a sequence. It was best to kill the hardest one first, then the easiest one last. After all, the First Clear announcement would tell everyone that Ruling Sword was fighting a Boss and if the other two Bosses were to drag out for too long, they would have to deal with the other major guilds too.


    They needed to take out the hardest one first, then silently defeat the other two weaker ones.


    Lu Li had all these plans, but there was no way he would be able to complete them today. He was too tired already from the day''s work and wouldn''t be able to continue with commanding the battles.

 1216 Battle of Drizzle Cour

    The first match of the top four occurred in Jingling City, the home of Drizzle Court, with Glory Capital visiting as guests.


    Of course, there was no way that Lu Li would fly over to Jingling to watch the match. He bought tickets instead alongside the other executives of Ruling Sword. There was no way they wouldn''t be able to get their hands on these tickets.


    There were some slight differences between the top four matches and the top eight matches. In the top eight, there were three match types ¨C a home match, visiting match and random match. Now, there were only home matches and visiting matches. Only if the two teams played evenly in both matches would a third random match follow.


    If the two teams were still even in the third match, that would be an incredible work of destiny.


    Lu Li planned to gather as much intel as he could from the battle between Glory Capital and Drizzle Court, so he had already assigned some equipment to lend to Drizzle Court beforehand.


    Besides the secret weapons that the competitors held onto, these equips were the best that Ruling Sword had to offer and were worth tens of millions.


    Friendship and business remained separate in this situation. The two guild masters even met up to sign a contract for lending out these equips, and if any accidents were to happen to them, Drizzle Court had to pay accordingly.


    As for the equipment exchange between Lu Li and Water Fairy, that was counted as their own personal actions.


    Just because Lu Li didn''t expect Drizzle Court to win didn''t mean that Drizzle Court was going to give up immediately. They saw this competition as their greatest chance within these few years. Even just making it to the top four proved their strength, so they didn''t underestimate themselves.


    However, Glory Capital was still at its peak and Ruling Sword was rising. Even Drizzle''s Court''s side guild, Peerless City, seemed to be growing into something big. There were also Seventh Heaven, Wings of Dawn, Gale Legion, Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard which were all running closely behind them.


    If they could defeat Glory Capital this time, then they would face Ruling Sword, and they would have a shot at the championship too.


    On the livestream, Lu Li could see Falling Star, Deadly Green Orange and Priest Star Baby, but no one saw Water Fairy herself. Even Soul Eater and Half a Cigarette from Peerless City had made appearances.


    Some guessed that Water Fairy couldn''t attend the commencing ceremony because of personal reasons. Perhaps she had been forced to cut ties with her family.


    However, after the match began, Water Fairy appeared on the match ground.


    Her expression was calm like usual; there were no expressions of sorrow that gave anything away. In fact, she even defeated Empty Shura, a Warlock from Glory Capital in her first 1v1 match.


    Lu Li couldn''t understand what was going on in the Sheng family.


    He saw that the CEO of the Sheng group still insisted that they weren''t going to change who would take over the company in the future in front of the media.


    Water Fairy was still the first and only successor, but on the other hand, they kept pressuring them in the game, as if they wanted to see their little girl lower her head first.


    Apparently, CEO Sheng had hired a professional manager to combine all the clubs under the name of Sheng Group to create a super club.


    This super club revolved around Blue Universe, with their main goal being to challenge Glory Capital and become the best club in the gaming industry.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    This was probably the first major movement since Dawn had opened its server, and came two months earlier than what Lu Li had remembered. Similar actions in the future became normal from here on.


    Perhaps the new Blue Universe would be very suitable to the gaming industry that was currently rapidly developing. After all, the games from the past weren''t played at such a large scale and were limited the size of the gaming circle.


    However, as technology and the economy continued to progress, people without professions needed to find a new way of survival. It wasn''t right to just sit at home and do nothing.


    The gaming industry gave people a new source of entertainment.


    People could also vent out their frustration in the game.


    Players could enact their revenge. Some gaming specialists pointed out that Azeroth was like the new immigration and this was only just the beginning.


    While Lu Li zoned out, Water Fairy had been taken down by Blood Dagger.


    Lu Li was probably the only one who could zone out during Water Fairy''s match. Even if Water Fairy wasn''t rich or a beautiful goddess, being pretty alone was still a miracle of biology. As for the compliment that she was a ''one-in-four-thousand-years-beauty'', this was probably a description that had come out from people''s mouths without thinking first.


    Bloody Dagger''s power was similar to what Lu Li had estimated ¨C that is, if he wasn''t hiding anything.


    However, Lu Li was almost certain that he was, or else he wouldn''t have taken so long or used so many tactics to take down Water Fairy, who only had half her health left.


    The 1v1 battles continued and ended with Drizzle Court''s defeat. However, the points were only 6:5; the gap was negligible.


    Although Drizzle Court was at a 1-point disadvantage, everyone had already began cheering. After all, this was Drizzle Court''s home game. They had the advantage of picking a map from nine maps, so they would undoubtedly be more familiar with the map compared to their opponents.


    However, Lu Li began to worry for Drizzle Court, because it seemed like Glory Capital had a lot of strength to spare.


    Sorrowless hadn''t even made his appearance!


    If Sorrowless wasn''t on stage, could Drizzle Court win against Glory Capital?


    Lu Li wasn''t sure. Without Sorrowless, Ruling Sword had 80% chance to beat Glory Capital, but if Sorrowless was on stage, Lu Li couldn''t be sure.


    Regardless, during their resting time, the analysts all cheered for Drizzle Court and so did the audience.


    Players from the beauty rankings also existed in Glory Capital. Dancing Flower Beauty was a good example, but unfortunately, Water Fairy''s cool mannerism was more of the majority''s type. Not to mention, Dancing Flower Beauty wasn''t good enough to play competitively, so in a setting like today, no one could steal the spotlight off Water Fairy.


    The group match began, and Drizzle Court chose the Ruins.


    Drizzle Court selected a combination of Hunter, Warlock, Paladin, Thief, Mage and Priest with a Hunter as their substitute, while Glory Capital selected a combination of Warrior, Warlock, Paladin, Thief, Mage and Priest with a Paladin as their substitute. The class combinations were similar between the two, but the only difference was that Drizzle Court had Hunters while Glory Capital had a Warrior.


    The advantage of the chosen map was that it had a complex geography. If you did enough training here, you would be able to use this to your advantage and surprise your opponents. It also gave them more options in terms of tactics.


    The battle was dependent on how well Glory Capital knew this map.

 1217 Sudden Failure

    If Glory Capital didn''t understand this big picture, they would have no hope of winning, even if Sorrowless was present. After all, it was impossible for any individual player to make such an exaggerated impact.


    Of course, if Glory Capital did understand this big picture, then they would have to rely on their resources.


    Lu Li carefully observed the expressions of the Glory Capital players entering the game, hoping to gain a few clues. Generally, a person''s expression was a reflection of their mood. A scowl would obviously mean they were unhappy, especially if they had received an unfamiliar map.


    Unfortunately, this group of players seemed to have been trained to not give anything away. None of them had particularly vivid expressions.


    Lu Li then resolved to train everyone''s inner fortitude when he got back. They couldn''t let anyone read their faces, and they had to learn not to give anything away when they received a bad map.


    The battle between the two sides took place at the turn of the broken walls. Drizzle Court had succeeded in ambushing Glory Capital.


    Unfortunately, Glory Capital was quick to react after the initial panic. Not only did they stabilize the situation, but they also carried out a powerful counterattack. The final result was that neither side lost had players and both sides retreated.


    After this confrontation, it was clear that Glory Capital wasn''t familiar with this map ¨C otherwise, they wouldn''t have been so conservative.


    On the other hand, this also demonstrated the quality of their players. Someone once told Lu Li that Glory Capital''s training system was the best in the world and he really did believe that now.


    Lu Li changed his train of thought and considered the same situation with Glory Capital replaced by Ruling Sword. If they faced this same ambush, Fat Monkey probably would have died.


    In this kind of map, having the Mage in the front was just asking for death. However, Fat Monkey was exactly the kind of person that would push ahead regardless. Blood Dagger had stayed with the main force and Drizzle Court focus-fired White Westhill. At a crucial moment, Blood Dagger''s Kick interrupted Deadly Green Orange''s Ultimate skill.


    If Lu Li had been out scouting the area, he would have been too late to get back.


    The second confrontation was also a well-executed ambush. This time, Drizzle Court''s Paladin rushed in and crowd-controlled White Westhill, then focused-fired Demigod Asura.


    Demigod Asura had a fairly ordinary performance today and was rather unlucky. He was eliminated in the first round of the individual rounds and was also the first to die in the team round.


    This time, Drizzle Court didn''t retreat. Instead, they pressed on and took advantage of Glory Capital''s loss to kill another player, which further increased their advantage.


    With a flash of light, Drizzle Court won with a score of 6:4. After this was added to the previous score of 5:6, Drizzle Court was leading with a score of 11:10.


    This was already quite a good result.


    The next match was between Ruling Sword and Gale Legion in Gangnam and was taking place tomorrow.


    For now, they obviously couldn''t just sit around and wait.


    However, levelling wouldn''t be of much benefit now. Or at least, it wouldn''t be for the next four matches and the finals. The Game Company had probably not anticipated this many teams to compete, so the whole season had actually dragged on for quite long.


    In the previous years, it would have taken until the Spring Festival for the champion to be named.


    Ruling Sword had to develop a strategy. They had been having these kinds of meetings almost every day, and they were part of their psychological training.


    Today, everyone had gone to see the game between Glory Capital and Drizzle Court. After getting back, they all had some things they wanted to say.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Glory Capital will probably win in the end, but only by a little. If they perform like they did today, then we can be happy," Fat Monkey gloated.


    Glory Capital had never offended him, but they were currently blocking his path to stardom.


    "Drizzle Court is playing at home with 1 point ahead. There isn''t a bit difference," Moonlight said calmly, but his eyes were intense. These last few days he had been trembling, and it obviously wasn''t because of the cold.


    After such a long time, he had finally reached the championships again. It must have meant a lot to an old player like him.


    "Let''s just make sure we play well."


    March Rain saw that everyone was looking at her, so she said something but didn''t really add anything to the conversation. She was quiet and restrained, and seemed like she didn''t mind being at home.


    "I think today was a bit of a surprise," Wandering commented. "It''s hard to say that Glory Capital will definitely win, but they underestimate Drizzle Court. In fact, they underestimate everyone except themselves. They can''t lose in the semi-finals; it would look very bad for them."


    "So you think they believe they are better than everyone else¡­" Cat Dad seemed to understand Wandering.


    "Underestimating them is only part of it. Drizzle Court has significantly increased in strength," Lu Li said, but didn''t bother explaining how this happened. Ruling Sword had lent them some of their equipment, and Peerless City had also provided their support. In short, Glory Capital was their common enemy.


    "So will they go all out in their next game?" Kitty Likes Meat asked.


    "Nope," Cat Dad said, shaking his head, "But in the current situation, the more strength they hold back, the less likely they are to take back the point advantage."


    "This is good for us; we''ll be able to see more of their skills," Lu Li muttered while in deep thought.


    "Well, none of this really matters anyway, because Drizzle Court most likely won''t beat Glory Capital. Let''s think about how to fight Gale Legion. We can''t make it look like how Glory Capital fought today; that was embarrassing," Fat Monkey said impatiently.


    "Three Bro, what are they saying at Drizzle Court?" Lu Li asked Square Root 3.


    "What else is there to say? They hope that we can increase our support, but it might be best if you asked Water Fairy yourself."


    "We can''t increase our support any further. We''ll just have to see what happens when the finals get here," Lu Li said as he pulled at his collar, feeling like everyone was staring at him.


    "Oh, I want to know what would we do if we run into Drizzle Court in the finals?" Fat Monkey smirked.


    "It''s not likely that this will happen," Lu Li frowned.


    "But what if?" Fat Monkey was unrelenting.


    "Then we''ll fight with all we''ve got!" Lu Li declared without hesitation.


    "Hrm, there''s no way that this person isn''t destined for a life of solitude¡­"


    Cat Dad shook his head; this response was what he had expected.

 1218 Lady Sevine

    They didn''t talk too much the upcoming fight against Gale Legion. Although Fat Monkey wasn''t always the wisest, what he said was right ¨C they just had to fight and defeat them. If they couldn''t even do that, then they wouldn''t stand a chance in the championship anyway.


    Gale Legion could be downplayed, but Glory Capital definitely couldn''t.


    As such, Lu Li took advantage of the free time and prepared to fight three talisman Bosses. The first fight was against Lady Sevine.


    The reason he started with this Boss was because she was easy to find. As long as someone explored these Blasted Lands, it wouldn''t be long before they found this Wild Boss.


    The guild had the resources, so they were able to start with her.


    Ruling Sword wanted to take this Boss quickly before anyone else realized it. Once the World Announcement of the First Clear was made, everyone else would know it was futile to keep trying.


    Grol the Destroyer was in an easily-defendable place in a cave. As long as there were a hundred players blocking the hole, it would be difficult for the other guilds to get in.


    Archmage Allistarj was in the Mage tower, which was quite a difficult place to fight, but it was also very difficult to ascend. You might even have to fight Allistarj a second time, but he was like a Hidden Boss.


    Lady Sevine was a Warlock Orc like Gul''dan, but Gul''dan and Sevine had nothing in common.


    Death and killing was commonplace in the Blasted Lands, and evil magic was in power here.


    Lady Sevine was a beautiful woman who married into an Orc tribe before she fell. Unfortunately, the person she married did not protect her, so her fate was intertwined with her misery.


    Her son was killed and her husband did nothing to protect her. From then on, everything got worse¡­Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Some said that those who remained silent died in their silence. Lady Sevine''s incompetent husband was eventually torn apart by her. She had accepted the temptation of Rakh''likh and became a demon.


    There was no doubt that she was strong, as she mercilessly destroyed all the orc villages with her evil magic.


    She would always remember the happiness of those days, when she would turn new lives into corpses.


    Lady Sevine would cut open their chests, take out the fresh hearts, seal the owner''s soul and use shadow magic to burn the heart and crystalize it, turning it into a magical purple gem.


    All those who had insulted her fell to this fate, including a number of innocent people.


    Lady Sevine was a beautiful artist. At the fallen Storm Altar in the Blasted Lands, she led her own subordinates to play with demon magic. Her graceful strength was undoubted and even the watchmen didn''t dare to fight her.


    Of course, this was the official statement. The watchmen in the castle were self-sufficient and didn''t really want to expend the effort to find a crazy woman.


    Lu Li intended to bring two core elite groups. Although they didn''t have the numbers, he trusted these players. They were definitely capable of defeating a Lady Sevine that had been weakened by 30%.


    Of course, Lu Li had replaced all the Warlocks.


    This was because he knew that Lady Sevine was immune to all Warlock skills, crowd-control and summons. Sesame Rice Ball and Kitty Likes Meat''s Warlock abilities couldn''t stand up against Sevine, who had been studying the demonic Warlock art for many years.


    The Storm Altar wasn''t a little structure, but rather, the name of an area.


    Allistarj pledged loyalty to Rakh''likh in exchange for great strength and magic. Grol did it for the survival and prosperity of the giant ogres. Lady Sevine did it for revenge and destruction. She was the most thoroughly loyal one, and also obtained the most complete inheritance. She had just been an ordinary human before accepting the demon''s strength, but now, she was the most powerful of the three Bosses.


    Even after reaching the Storm Altar, the players had to catch their breath.


    There were at least tens of thousands of succubi, demons, Doomguards, Void Guards and evil Orcs scattered across the area, and there were at least five quasi-Bosses leading them.


    It was important to get rid of these mobs first ¨C otherwise, the battle would be extremely chaotic. Lady Sevine was not a Boss that was easily killed.


    Sesame Rice Ball was the only Warlock present. He was responsible for transporting players through his portal. He was going to help transport all the core elite players, which would help them avoid travelling on the map as much as possible.


    Without exploring the map beforehand, it took a certain amount of time to generate the coordinates that they needed.


    There were more than 200 players divided into several teams. They began to clear the mobs on the side, but the level 60 mobs were not to be underestimated. As Lu Li watched from a podium, he could see a number of white lights as some players died.


    Of course, after the initial difficulty, there weren''t many casualties while clearing out the monsters.


    The Blasted Lands boasted an excellent drop rate. Elite and quasi-Bosses had a small probability of dropping rare materials, so they managed to collect a small harvest. There were some players in Dawn that liked going to high-level areas to fight quasi-Bosses or elites in order to gain a small First Clear reward.


    If the place wasn''t too far away, there would be level 40 to 50 players there, even if the map was filled with level 60 monsters.


    There were some quasi-Bosses that required a Main Tank, and Lu Li had arranged a powerful Main Tank for each group. When an area of effect skill was used, it was up to the Shaman or Priests to heal the whole group.


    After about half an hour, the Storm Altar only had a handful of Bosses and their guards left.


    "This is a Warlock, so make sure you use the right potion. Get as much Shadow Resistance as you can. All Warlocks that are still present, please leave the battlefield now," Lu Li said as he prepared for battle.


    There were four groups, each with 10 members in team. Each group leader eventually confirmed that everything was ready.


    "Breezy and World''s Best Friend, you two are responsible for tanking the Boss. Healers, make sure they are always being healed. All other groups will use their Main Tanks as appropriate. If there are any problems, report them to your leader and they will adjust."


    With these many players fighting the Boss, Lu Li couldn''t micro-manage. He was only responsible for the general direction while the specifics were left to the heads of each squad. This was also part of their training.

 1219 Casualties

    "You can never understand the true meaning of death, because none of you have died!" Lady Sevine boomed as she stood up from her throne of bones. At the top of her Magic Staff was an adorned skull.


    Some said that this was her husband''s skull, while others thought it was her son''s, but this obviously wasn''t important.


    A shadow grew out from her feet and extended towards the players. All the players that were within range of that skill received more than 2000 damage.


    However, that was not all ¨C all the monsters that were within range also went Berserk.


    Sevine clearly deserved to be called a Wild Boss, especially when opening with such a strong attack. Even her master Rakh''likh didn''t have an ability like this. From the start to finish, Rakh''likh used single target or crowd-control skills. Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn''t have dared to fight without a healer.


    Of course, it was also possible that Rakh''likh didn''t care about Lu Li at all.


    "Healers, heal everyone!"


    Even before Lu Li shouted, every team''s healer had already gone to work.


    Ruling Sword now had a total of four elite groups. Two of them were core elite groups that had already reached the level of the other first-rate elite groups. These were under the supervision of several commanders. The third group was a little weaker, but was starting to gain independence in fighting the wild Boss.


    The fourth elite group was mainly made up of PVP players who were responsible for protecting the other three groups. If a PVP battle took place, this regiment would become the main force.


    Azure Sea Breeze screamed at the Boss as he charged. His body seemed taller than Lady Sevine, but his blows seemed to be doing very little to phase her.


    "Damn it! 3.5 million HP!"


    He had never seen so much HP on a Boss before. For a Warlock to have so much HP was quite terrifying, not to mention that she had already been weakened by 30%.


    A Shadow Bolt hit Azure Sea Breeze and dealt nearly 3000 damage, but in a flash, his HP was quickly replenished by his two healers.


    "You don''t know what it is to fear¡­" Lady Sevine began as she raised her Magic Staff.


    "Shamans!"


    As Lu Li''s voice rang out, an anti-crowd control totem was immediately placed onto the ground, but there were still many players running around in Fear.


    Fortunately, the key players like the Main Tanks could be protected by the Priests with an enchantment. Although this needed to be cast in advance, it was 100% effective in protecting them as opposed to the anti-crowd control totem.


    Dark Rain of Fire!


    A dark flame descended from the sky which burst as it hit the ground. Many players were either hit by the explosion or burned by the fire. The initial impact damage was higher, but the burning dealt continuous damage.


    "Be careful. Don''t step on the fire," Lu Li instructed.


    The players began to move around. Although some of them died, the death rate was at an acceptable level. As long as there are no other guilds or casual players harassing them, the number of player deaths wouldn''t be too high with the right commands.


    After the ultimate skill, Lu Li suspected that there would be a short pause, so he quickly commanded everyone to rotate around on the battlefield.


    "Breezy, go towards the left as it starts to move. Everyone else, slowly keep up."


    This rotating around meant that the players participating in the fight would move in to replace those who had died, and the healers would move in to revive those who had died.


    The EXP loss of dying in the Wild was quite high, but this could be mitigated if they were saved by a healer.


    Lady Sevine had a wide range for her aggro and wouldn''t drop it just because players were moving around. Once the players had repositioned, she began releasing more skills.


    This time, she chose to cast Hypnosis.


    Hypnosis ¨C cause the target to fall into Deep Sleep.


    The whole process had three stages ¨C a slow phase, a sleep phase and a waking up phase.


    In the slow phase, the player''s skill channelling duration would increase. In the sleep phase, a player couldn''t cast skills or move. The waking up phase was the same as the sleep phase. Each phase lasted for three seconds, for a total of nine seconds. Over this duration, the target would lose most of their combat power.


    If Lady Sevine only cast this on one player at a time, it would be manageable, but this was not the case. She would often cast this on dozens of players at a time, bringing chaos upon the battlefield.


    "Your party leaders are responsible here. You will have to support yourselves and keep your healers safe."


    Lu Li was still very calm and didn''t seem to think this would be difficult.


    After two minutes, the Hypnosis had been cast and it affected over 40 players.


    As a result, more players died in this time than the total deaths over the previous ten minutes. Lu Li had to ask Azure Sea Breeze to reposition again because he felt like this was quite significant damage, but the morale among the players was still high.


    This skill should have been enough to wipe most other Dawn teams, but they had only lost 1/5 of their players.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    As long as they could reposition, they would be able to recover. As for the loss of EXP, this was just unavoidable when fighting a Wild Boss. It had all been factored into the calculations and it was quite common for an ordinary player to die several times.


    After Hypnosis, they reached the tail end of phase one and were about to enter into phase two.


    Initially, this almost seemed the same as phase one, but Sevine didn''t cast Hypnosis again so quickly. Otherwise, they would require more players to participate in the fight. The Game Company couldn''t design such a strong Boss at this current stage.


    If they did so, the combination of constant Hypnosis skills and competitors wreaking havoc from the outside would make these Bosses impossible to kill.


    "You don''t even understand how powerful dark magic is. Look, here is a gift from the Twisting Nether!" Lady Sevine cackled.


    Plumes of flame fell from the sky again, but this was not Dark Rain of Fire as they didn''t burn after landing, but rather turned into Infernals.


    The core constitution of an Infernal was Shadow Rocks, and they would not only cause damage when landing, but would also stun an area around themselves for 3 seconds.


    These Infernals were different from other summoned creatures. They were born out of pure chaos energy and their bodies could barely be supported by magic. Once they left the Twisting Nether, their bodies would quickly disintegrate.


    Therefore, the Infernals summoned by Lady Sevine could only exist for 60 seconds.


    The players could choose to either survive the 60 seconds, or kill them before they got into range. Lu Li chose the former option and ordered each team''s Main Tank to aggro the Infernals. He also instructed the healers to keep the Main Tanks topped up on HP. Everyone else was to continue dealing damage to the Boss; the Infernals were going to vanish after 60 seconds anyway.


    At this stage, there were quite a number of player casualties, but fortunately, the second phase soon passed.

 1220 Swiping With One Hand

    After entering phase three, Lady Sevine became furious.


    The Demon Warlock, who killed innocent people by draining their lives and who had made a deal with the devil to spread pain and chaos throughout the world, had always believed that the world owed her something.


    Today, with so many players attacking her, she felt wronged and angry.


    Plague!


    Although the previous skills were quite powerful, Plague could be seen as her signature skill.


    There were countless Bosses in Dawn, many of which also had this Plague skill. However, Lady Sevine''s version gave the players a taste of what it was truly like to fight a level 60 Boss.


    The power of the Plague would vary depending on the number of players participating in the fight.


    If there were two hundred players in the fight, the damage would be 200 damage for 20 seconds, for a total of 4000 damage. Anyone who didn''t receive any healing would definitely die.


    "Why must you force my hand like this? Rakh''likh has given me this strength so I can''t stop, nor can I resist this power. I have to keep going until I drown in my own blood."


    After Lady Sevine cast Plague, she began speaking as though she was the innocent one this situation.


    However, Lu Li didn''t bother with her words and ordered for those who had died to be revived. This skill did more damage when there were more players around, but they couldn''t bring fewer players as the Boss'' HP regeneration would be too great.


    There was another wave of Infernals, then another Plague, followed by a Hypnosis.


    With these three consecutive skills, the pressure on Ruling Sword increased dramatically. Lu Li knew that the time had come where the players would really be tested. He turned to look at the other side of the Storm Altar and said, "All three groups should engage in the Boss. Healers, keep working hard. Breezy, pay attention to when you should use your damage reduction skills."


    There was no outside interference throughout this battle, so Lu Li had dared to split their mere 300 players into two groups that would cover for each other.


    But now, they had all the players fighting together because the reduction in the number of players had caused a stagnation in their progress. Lady Sevine''s HP was gradually dropping and they eventually broke through 20%. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    In theory, as long as the players could damage the Boss and the Boss couldn''t kill the Main Tank or any of the damage output players, you would eventually defeat it. The only exception was for Hero Bosses like Remulos. If you couldn''t defeat him quickly, he would retreat to a place like the Moonlight Forest where he could call upon his countless helpers, or the Temple of Remulos where his strength would be doubled.


    "Change tanks!" Lu Li shouted.


    Azure Sea Breeze stopped and World''s Best Friend began taking the aggro. This was to give Azure Sea Breeze a chance to refresh his cooldowns. He would likely need them to deal with the Boss that was about to go Berserk.


    "Lu Li, there seems to be some movement outside. They seem to be wondering what is happening," Square Root 3 messaged. He was currently taking four groups of players to visit the several areas of the Blasted Lands.


    "Kill them!" Lu Li said coldly.


    "Is that not a bit too much?" Square Root 3 was a bit hesitant. They didn''t even know who those players were, and they weren''t even going to greet them.


    "It doesn''t matter; just get rid of them," Lu Li commanded unwaveringly.


    There were often posts with thousands of words and pictures accusing celebrities or guilds to be unreasonable or overbearing. The ordinary players were easily swayed by this and would join in with the accusations. Such behaviour never harmed anyone, but would just damage the accused''s reputation.


    "Alright, I''ll get some players ready," Square Root 3 said after some thought.


    Since there was a possibility of conflict, they had to be prepared for a war. They also had to give the other players the impression that Ruling Sword was not afraid of fighting if necessary.


    As a result, everyone soon saw groups of Ruling Sword players moving towards the Blasted Lands. Most players didn''t know what was happening, but they were wary of it.


    There about a dozen players that were ruthlessly hunted by Ruling Sword after entering the Blasted Lands.


    The regional channel and World Announcements were soon into an uproar.


    "Ruling Sword is bullying casual players! Everyone should rally to stop these bullies!"


    "Obviously, someone was pushing for this behind the scenes," Square Root 3 said, immediately able to see through it.


    "This situation hasn''t arisen for many years. Glory Capital might not even remain indifferent. This would put quite a bit of pressure on them," Cat Dad said with a smile.


    His current status in the guild was an elder of Ruling Sword and a coach of the club.


    "Surely Glory Capital wouldn''t stoop to that level. They are the biggest guild; why would they even listen to anyone on things like this?"


    There were some players in the chat that didn''t really believe it.


    Even in a confrontation, there were people who still held Glory Capital in very high regard. This was due to the brilliant years that Glory Capital had enjoyed.


    "You shouldn''t think that clubs are that innocent or principled; they have done many despicable things," Cat Dad said. He had experienced many things over the years, so his words were filled with wisdom.


    "At least it is done by people related to them. Right now, they are just slandering us, and they are gaining the biggest benefit out of it."


    Lu Li''s childhood experience made him less na?ve than the average player. He had no problems speculating about the enemy, even if that enemy wasn''t a group as strong as Glory Capital.


    "We don''t know if they will come, so let''s quickly deal with this Boss."


    Azure Sea Breeze''s cooldowns had now mostly been reset.


    "Melee players, hit it with all you''ve got and then fall back."


    Lu Li also knew of the risks. Once a large-scale force flooded the Blasted Lands, there was no guarantee that they wouldn''t get wiped.


    Because there was unit collision, melee players were generally difficult to work with in large-scale operations.


    The official statement was that a humanoid Boss could allow 100 melee players to attack it at once. Even so, the melee players still needed to swap in and out because most Bosses forced them to move.


    Lu Li had divided the melee players into two groups and these groups took turns to cast their skills.


    To maximizing DPS in a Wild Boss battle, the top players would be ranged players. However, in an Instance Dungeon fight, melee players had a greater advantage.


    Lady Sevine''s HP had dropped to 10%.


    With victory in sight, the news they received from Square Root 3 was also very urgent. Several guilds he had not seen before had entered the Blasted Lands. In order to consolidate their strength, Square Root 3 and the few hundred players scattered around were retreating to the Storm Altar.

 1221 Profiting From Another’s Misfortune

    "This is the last defence. All combatants, go to the Blasted Lands and clear out anyone that isn''t from our guild!" Wandering typed on the guild channel.


    The guild erupted into action.


    Most of the players were zealous for their guild, especially when something like this occurred. As such, the Blasted Lands instantly became the most densely distributed area for Ruling Sword players, who were setting up a perimeter.


    The monsters here were all level 60 or close to level 60. Under normal circumstances, they would struggle to fight them.


    However, the day of reckoning had come for these monsters. The only exceptions were the Boss areas, but all other monsters were instantly killed and had no chance to retaliate.


    At the forefront of these thousands of players, there was a Paladin called Glamorized Pacer.


    "Haha, they are running away so quickly. If they run any slower, they probably won''t get away. Square Root 3 is with them, but if anyone kills the Ruling Sword president, this will be a major event," he declared confidently.


    These were the guild members that Square Root 3 was talking about. There were about 4000 of them and they had split into four groups to force Square Root 3''s small team back to the Storm Altar.


    "Square Root 3 is nothing. All that matters if that we kill Lu Li," another person responded.


    Several of them were presidents of medium sized guilds. This group had been formed to avenge the dozens of casual players who were just exploring the area.


    They had all brought the Elite members of their respective guilds. They heard that Ruling Sword only had 400 players in the Blasted Lands, so they felt confident. Both brought their elite groups, but they had ten times the numbers, so it wouldn''t matter what kind of strategy was used.


    "I heard that the Boss is about to die. I will be taking priority when it comes to the items."


    Pacer was quite powerful, and he was leading 1000 of the 4000 players.


    "You can have the Boss drops, but that means you will have to leave the drops from Ruling Sword to us."


    There were two players speaking in this four-person chat room. They were all presidents and the one currently speaking was called Forgotten Dreams. The other player that hadn''t said much was called Hyacinth.


    "That''s enough. Quickly advance and deal with them before Ruling Sword reinforcements arrive," Hyacinth unexpectedly spoke up.


    "Aren''t we running towards them right now?" Steamed Mutton asked coldly.


    In his opinion, Hyacinth was the weakest. He had no particular abilities and didn''t know how to lead, but everyone else seemed to insist on giving him responsibilities. All three of them needed to follow his orders.


    "Hey, the Ruling Sword players are doing something," Hyacinth said as he took a breath.


    "What should we do?" Forgotten Dreams quickly asked. Although they knew that Glory Capital was backing them, it was still scary to provoke a major guild like Ruling Sword.


    "Thousands of players have just arrived in the Blasted lands," Hyacinth sighed.


    He didn''t expect Ruling Sword to act like a hornet''s nest. Now that they had disturbed them, tens of thousands of players were streaming in.


    "What do we do? What are they saying? Will they send support?"


    Pacer''s expression had changed as well.


    "Probably not," Hyacinth answered unsurely, but quickly added, "They will not be participating in this matter, otherwise, things will spiral out of control."


    "Tsk, those other guys really are something," Pacer said angrily.


    From his perspective, Ruling Sword had tens of thousands of players while Glory Capital had hundreds of thousands. They could easily crush Ruling Sword, so why were they so scared? Glory Capital had become more and more powerful over the years, but they had also become more conservative.


    There were other people who were also making the same criticisms.


    Even Hyacinth was no exception, but someone had explained it to him quite comprehensively in private.


    Glory Capital was no longer just a guild. They were the largest guild in China, and Sorrowless'' impact could be felt in real life and in game. As such, they couldn''t be as reckless as they once were.


    Sorrowless'' current vision was to become the biggest guild in the world, not just in China. These greater ambitions required a broader view of the overall situation. However, they hadn''t expected things to go so wrong within their own backyard with old guilds like Drizzle Court and Blood Red War Flag rising up against them, along with the rise of Ruling Sword.


    He wanted to make use of the overall strength of China, so he needed to avoid large-scale internal conflict as much as possible.


    Ruling Sword alone was nothing to fear, but when you added in Drizzle Court, Peerless City and Drizzle Court''s subordinate guilds, they were a much more substantial force. Perhaps another major guild who didn''t mind fighting Glory Capital like Blood Red War Flag would even join. Then, the fight would involve millions of Elite players.


    "What do we do now?" Pacer seemed to be in a hurry.


    "We keep pressing forwards and get ready to fight. We''ll kill their Elites and the Boss before the rest of Ruling Sword arrives," Hyacinth said as he received the order.


    "How is that possible? They have already arrived at the Blasted Lands. If we provoke Lu Li again, we wouldn''t be able to escape, even if we ended the battle!" Forgotten Dream exclaimed. He didn''t want to leave his own people here.


    Originally, the idea was the kill Lu Li and the others, then taking the spoils of the Boss.


    "Shut up ¨C this order comes from above. The players behind us are already catching up, so we need to rush ahead. We have already appeared in the Blasted Lands, so we have already offended Ruling Sword. Do you think you can take Ruling Sword''s counterattack without the protection of our supporter?"


    The threat behind Hyacinth''s words were obvious.


    The other three were silent as the players gathered at the Storm Altar.


    However, what they saw on the Storm Altar made them despair.


    The Boss hadn''t been defeated yet and was still in Berserk, but why were there so many Ruling Sword players?


    At a glance, it seemed like they had a few thousand players.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Even if there was no Ruling Sword main force behind them, they wouldn''t be able to defeat these opponents, let alone defeat them quickly enough to avoid being trapped.


    One side was an organized army and the other side was just a rabble of players.


    The result of this fight could easily be imagined!


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword''s Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, Sesame Rice Ball¡­ who were led by Lu Li to take the First Clear on the Demon Warlock Lady Sevine.

 1222 Forgotten Souls

    This System prompt served as an accompaniment to the attack that Ruling Sword led on the rabble of players.


    The battle was over as quickly as it started, especially since Ruling Sword had tens of thousands of players flooding in from all sides. The four thousand players were quickly surrounded and wiped out. Even the four leaders couldn''t return to the city safely.


    They didn''t even touch the core elite groups fighting the Boss, let alone influence the Boss fight by fighting Lu Li.


    There were hundreds of pieces of equipment lying all over the ground. To put it bluntly, these players were just carriers of free equipment for Ruling Sword. Ruling Sword also took this opportunity as a demonstration of their strength.


    For a time, these Blasted Lands were empty.


    However, the World Announcements were now bustling once again with the four guild-led players beginning to disparage Ruling Sword in tears.


    They had entered the Blasted Lands to seek justice, but Ruling Sword didn''t even give them time to speak before attacking.


    This swaying of public opinion was not completely worthless. It had successful attracted a number of other players to denounce Ruling Sword. They said that after they had put in the initial hard work, they became tools of the guild which had forgotten where they had come from.


    However, there were many other players who could discern the real situation. The ordinary players were being roped into a war of words.


    Ruling Sword just ignored this, and eventually, the players got bored of complaining. In the end, there were only a few players left who cried out and they weren''t gaining any further traction.


    After Lu Li and the others defeated the Boss, they immediately created a wall so as to ensure that neither a Thief nor a Druid would be able to Stealth and steal the equipment.


    The little Hunter kissed her lucky hand and went up to loot the Boss.


    There was a Synthetic Stone that increased resistance by 5%. This stone was useful for Armor and was definitely worthy of a level 60 Wild Boss.


    Although it didn''t provide much resistance, it was an all-round resistance which included fire, shadow, ice and even physical resistance.


    If they didn''t have the Lady Sevine Talisman, Lu Li and the others would have had a low chance of killing her. There was no shortage of Synthetic Stones on the market, but few of them provided 5% resistance.


    The average player wasn''t high-levelled enough to use this stone, so Lu Li assigned it to Azure Sea Breeze, specifying that it should be placed on his shield.


    Six Strengthening Stones were then dropped. This was one of the benefits of fighting a Wild Boss as opposed to an Instance Dungeon Boss. When the Boss fell, a number of players also received Skill Points.


    There was also a Warlock Skill Book. There weren''t any Warlocks fighting this Boss, but a Warlock Skill Book had dropped nonetheless, so that was lucky for them.


    When fighting a Wild Boss, Rare Materials were one of the most important drops. If a Rare Material that was exclusive to that Boss dropped, the Boss fight would have been worth it.


    The Rare Material looted by Remnant Dream was called Forgotten Souls and it looked like a pile of sludge.


    This was the first time Lu Li had heard of Forgotten Souls, let alone Remnant Dream. Lu Li had experienced rebirth and had done extensive research in his previous life. Although he obviously wouldn''t remember all the names of the rare materials, he should have been able to recognize it at the very least.


    However, one shouldn''t be so na?ve to think that just because no one had ever heard of it, this meant that it was rare and valuable.


    There were two conditions for a rare material to be worth a high price. The first was that it was very difficult to find, and the second was that it was in high demand. If only one of these conditions were fulfilled, then it wouldn''t be worth much.


    Elwynn Forest had a level 15 Wild Boss Terrapis which produced a Rare Material called a Jade Shell. There were no other Bosses that could drop this item, which made it very rare. However, there were few players that would go looking for this Boss for this material because it had no effects at all.


    Only Lu Li had sent players to kill this Boss. At present, Ruling Sword''s guild warehouse had accumulated at least 100 of this material.


    This was because Lu Li knew that a Shield Mold which would be dropped at level 60 could be buffed by adding a Jade Shell.


    When that time came, the major guilds would be faced with a dilemma. Should they focus their resources on competing for this level 15 Boss? This Boss was so easy to kill, but there were many other ordinary players to compete with.


    The reason why Lu Li had offended some high-level players in his previous life was because of Terrapis.


    At that time, he had stolen a Jade Shell as it dropped from the Boss under the noses of some high-level players. This was undoubtedly kicking the hornet''s nest. What was more depressing was that he had been intercepted and had lost the Jade Shell, so he couldn''t reconcile with them. He couldn''t buy another Jade Shell to compensate them either.


    Now that he had been reborn, he no longer needed to fear these high-level players.


    As for Terrapis, only he knew how important this Boss was, so until most players reached level 60, it would only be Ruling Sword that carried these items.


    Unlike the Jade Shell, Lu Li didn''t know what the Forgotten Souls did.


    He carefully put the material away, thinking that it would become useful in future, just like the Jade Shell.


    After the materials had been looted, it was now time for the equipment.


    Remnant Dream looted three Gold equipment in one go. Their Attributes weren''t too bad, but they were still just Gold equipment. As such, they were placed in the guild warehouse and marked for exchange. This was a form of welfare from the guild. Ordinarily, these players wouldn''t be able to get these items from a level 60 Boss. These Gold equips were still worth quite a bit of money.


    Then, there came five pieces of Dark Gold equipment. These couldn''t be handled casually.


    A Warlock item was taken by Sesame Rice Ball for a high number of points, while a Priest item fell into the hands of Machine Bro who also paid a significant amount. These points were used as the guild''s reward for those who had participated in the battle.


    A piece of Paladin Armor was taken by Wandering. It was a blood-red Armor that looked quite beautiful.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The remaining two items were for Magic Professions, and were evaluated to be quite expensive. Originally, Lu Li intended for Kitty Likes Meat to be prioritised, but eventually gave up on that idea.


    Kitty Likes Meat''s strength wouldn''t increase by much, so it was better to give it someone else.


    However, this was not all. A level 60 Wild Boss would be a joke if it didn''t drop any Epic items. Even if the unlucky Lu Li looted this Boss, he would have found at least two Epic items.

 1223 Grol

    There was an Epic Warrior Belt with three powerful effects.


    Lu Li saw its Attributes and decided the owner of the equipment. As he looked around, he saw the eager faces of all the players and made a heartfelt statement.


    "For this equipment, everyone will receive an extra 10 points."


    Suddenly, the atmosphere become much more jubilant, even though most Warriors lost out.


    Since the guild was giving out so many points, this equipment was obviously going to one of the professional players.


    However, this item still wasn''t being given for free; Moonlight paid 5000 points for it. Even if they had auctioned for this normally, there were very few players who could afford this price. But this way, the players who participated in the battle could earn more points.


    With the current system, the most points were earned in competitions. There were many points earned for participating in the arena and killing opponents.


    Moonlight was a very strong PVP player, but even he had less than 10,000 points. As such, it seemed most appropriate that he should take it given the amount of time he had put in.


    "The Epic belt that I am replacing is a level 55 item. Do you want it?" Moonlight asked.


    The belt that was on him was quite decent, and it was a bit of charity for Moonlight to give it away. He was a PVP player, so it was quite common to fight players in the Wild. As such, he would often be left with spare equipment. Moreover, this new level 60 equip required a Level Reduction Gem before it could be used.


    According to the rules, the equipment of a professional player was not considered open to the public unless it was confirmed to have been replaced.


    As such, the Warriors present couldn''t see the Attributes of the equipment, and had no choice but to bid for it blindly. What was surprising was that many players didn''t hesitate, despite not being able to see the Attributes. There were a few bids already appearing in the channel.


    The starting price of 20 points quickly reached 100 points.


    Eventually, the price increase began to slow at about 700 points and there were only a few senior Warriors left bidding. In the end, the price broke through 1000 points. Even new equipment generally wouldn''t be at this price.


    "Are you guys dumb?" the Warrior who ended up with the item said with a smile. "Didn''t you notice that Light bro had been using this item since level 53? How could he be using a bad item for such a long time? Light bro''s equipment has probably been fortified, enchanted and strengthened with stones. You can immediately use this item and it would not be a waste of 1000 points."


    "Dammit, he''s right¡­"


    "Yeah, this item is worth more than the average Epic equipment!"


    "Stop talking, the next item is¡­ an Epic equipment¡­ Mold," Remnant Dream announced as she held onto a long Magic Staff Mold in her hand.


    It was a weapon and Lu Li''s eyes lit up. Even though he didn''t receive any equipment for himself, Epic items weren''t as difficult to find. Exquisite Epic equipment on the other hand was an entirely different story. Lu Li''s exquisite Forging Hammer had been hungry for some time now.


    Lady Sevine''s Will!


    The Warlocks immediately started cheering, but Lu Li immediately put an end to that.


    "Why are you guys so happy? This is a Priest item; the staff that Lady Sevine was holding was much shorter. Her name is just on this item because it is part of a set."


    This was often the case in Dawn, and there was nothing they could do about it.


    For example, if you fought a Mage Boss that only dropped Mage equipment, then no one but Mages would want to fight it. Everyone would only want to fight Bosses that corresponded with their profession, and this would cause some issues.


    Within a Boss'' collection of items, a Mage Boss might still drop equipment such as Chain Mail Armour.


    Lady Sevine''s Will was an ordinary part of the collection and was an Exquisite Priest Magic Staff. Its basic effect was to restrain a target and it had another special effect which could instantly generate a lot of HP for a player. The last effect was a damage reduction passive that randomly triggered, but wasn''t too bad either.


    This item was assigned to March Rain, but was taken by Lu Li for now.


    He asked the guild''s logistics manager White Bread to collect the materials he needed to forge the Magic Staff from the market. After collecting the items, he took the Magic Staff and gave it to March Rain. March Rain also had a Bracer Mold for Lu Li to Forge.


    Just like before, the guild gifted a portion of the points to the players while March Rain had to a pay a large sum.


    If you looted the Boss again, there would be no more equipment, but there would be some quest items. Hachi Chan had triggered a quest for Lady Sevine with Orc Chief Stonard. After all, Lady Sevine had slaughtered many Orcs.


    This quest could then be shared, which Hachi Chan promptly did.


    A person with this quest could pick up the head of Lady Sevine and return it to Stonard to receive a big bounty. The reward for a Wild Boss would not be insignificant.


    After the end of the battle, Lu Li didn''t disband the team, but took advantage of this opportunity to advance to the Dreadmaul Stronghold.


    The Blasted Lands were starting to gain more players as a follow up to what had just happened. There were a large number of high-level monsters, as well as a variety of available quests and ores in this wilderness.


    Today, Ruling Sword had shown their toughness. They had demonstrated that they could at least deter the younger generation, and they could even match up against a major guild.


    Lu Li was never even worried about someone coming in to interfere with their Boss fight.


    Dreadmaul Stronghold was called a Stronghold because the terrain was rather strange. Since Grol the Destroyer had turned to Rakh''likh the demon, the Horde army had tried time and time again to capture this Stronghold, but had always failed.


    The battle between the NPC forces were not like the battles against the players. They wouldn''t come out in waves, but would march out with their entire force.


    As such, they went by the old rules, and Lu Li took a team to clear out all the Dreadmaul Ogres on the path. These Ogres were all level 60, and most of them were elites. Each team also had a quasi-Boss.


    These ogres would raid the Horde or Alliance army from time to time. When they were successful, they would snatch a load of supplies from the tents and only leave when they were satisfied.


    When it was almost time for winter, the smarter ones were capable of making fires to keep themselves warm. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    This time, it was the Dreadmaul Stronghold''s ogres that were going to be disturbed. They soon realized the strength of these adventurers. Individually, they were no match for them, but when the players worked together, the Ogres started falling. What was even more shameful was that not only did these players take potions, but they also had a healer.


    The Ogres respawned quickly, which was one of the reasons why the Dreadmaul Stronghold was not an easy location to break through.


    Lu Li was not worried that the other guilds wouldn''t catch up. Even if they did, Sesame Rice Ball could just open up the portal to let their other guild members in. Before the force arrived at the Storm Altar, it was Sesame Rice Ball that let the players in, which allowed them to gather an army of a few thousand.


    After entering the Stronghold, Lu Li began to organize the players.


    The monsters here were quite densely packed, so the best strategy was to slowly push forwards.


    However, it was mostly the same with two groups fighting ¨C one group for substitutions and one group to protect them from other guilds. This time, there was no need for the Warlocks to leave, as Grol the Destroyer didn''t have immunity to Shadow attacks.


    "Scattered players and smaller guilds probably won''t mess with us, but the bigger guilds probably won''t sit still," Wandering said anxiously.


    "There are four regiments placed at the door defending us. Dreadmaul Stronghold only has one exit. If any Thieves or Druids sneak in, the Ogres will help us deal with them. The Ogres have anti-Stealth capabilities and the quasi-Boss has even more anti-Stealth. When we start the fight with the Boss, the Ogres will also go on alert and not be as calm as they are now."


    Lu Li had specifically determined the strategy for these three Bosses, but the strategy for the Ogre Leader in Dreadmaul Stronghold was much more concrete than for Lady Sevine.


    Lady Sevine could be approached from all sides, while Grol was stuck in the castle.


    "In case Glory Capital gets fully involved, you should contact your allies to get them ready. Water Fairy would probably want to know in advance," Wandering didn''t forget to remind Lu Li.


    In his eyes, Lu Li was similar to an orphan.


    He clearly had something going with Water Fairy, but they pretended like nothing was happening. Even if the two were busy, surely they could have spared a message to each other. But in fact, they had gone almost 10 days and a half without speaking to each other.


    Lu Li thought about it for a moment, and decided it would be good to give her a heads up.


    After all, they were all allies and should be supporting each other. Lu Li also promised that he would give them some of the equipment.


    This meant that if Ruling Sword didn''t have any matches on while Drizzle Court did, they would send equipment to Drizzle Court.


    The Dreadmaul Stronghold''s mobs were soon cleared out and Grol the Destroyer finally came out of his tent. He was an unusually tall and heavily-armed Ogre with one thick head.


    The Ogres were an interesting race. They had come from Draenor like the Orcs and had launched an offensive against Azeroth as a confederation. After the second war, the stupid arrogant Ogres thought that the little green Orcs were too weak, so they cut them off from their alliance.


    They eventually spread all over Azeroth, wreaking havoc and distress upon the locals¡­


    Compared to the regular Ogres, Grol was undoubtedly smarter. However, this was a rare trait in Ogres which also caused him to submit to Rakh''likh in order to gain more strength. He believed that the Ogres should rule all other creatures as the most important race.

 1224 Spectating

    "Do you need my help now? Water Fairy messaged.


    "No need; we have enough for now. I''ll let you know if I need help," Lu Li replied without thinking.


    "But I want to come," Water Fairy said, then paused before adding, "I want to see how you command a Wild Boss fight, but if its inconvenient, then don''t worry about it."


    Lu Li suddenly felt like Water Fairy''s tone was a little strange. It almost seemed spoiled, like when Lu Xin would ask for something. However, Lu Li dismissed the idea, refusing to believe that Water Fairy would act in this way.


    "It''s not inconvenient at all; just join the group and I''ll transport you," Lu Li responded without hesitation.


    The players of Ruling Sword then saw a new player join the team.


    They had been fighting for so long already; how could someone enter the group now? If it was an elite group player, they wouldn''t have had the chance to re-join. If they missed this activity, then they would have to sit out. For the sake of security, elite players weren''t allowed to join midway. Besides, there was generally no single player that could decisively change the outcome of an event.


    At first, everyone no one paid attention to the player who joined, but then they saw the ID.


    Water Fairy!


    Water Fairy had joined the group!


    What was happening here? There were players that were confused as to why the big sister of Drizzle Court would join the team. Whispers of the couple were once again making rounds among the players.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    If she arrived in circumstances like these, didn''t that mean they were a couple? Was Lu Li''s girlfriend a player at a top of the beauty rankings and a local tycoon?


    The Boss really was shameless!


    Sesame Rice Ball had already cancelled the summoning door, but was now channelling it again specially for Water Fairy.


    "Wow, I guess I was wrong. You might actually get married sometime in this life. Most people say you are unemotional, but I guess those people are wrong. You''ve actually invited her to fight the Boss with you," Wandering said emotionally.


    "You''re thinking too much. It''s just that¡­" Lu Li mumbled, finding himself unable to explain his decision.


    After Water Fairy came over, she noticed hundreds of players paying attention to her. Fortunately, her reputation as a cold unfeeling goddess had left a deep impact on them ¨C otherwise, they would likely be crying out to her.


    But even so, it would have been uncomfortable for a more introverted person to walk around with so many eyes staring at them.


    Water Fairy was used to this kind of attention. She glanced at Lu Li, who was standing on a section of higher ground and walked towards him very calmly and gracefully.


    Lu Li was planning the battle positioning. It wasn''t something that could be made up on the fly, and he had designed it very specifically.


    When he realized that someone had arrived, he turned his head and glanced at them. He noticed that it was Water Fairy, so he reached out to help her up onto the platform because it was a bit difficult to get on. He knew that Water Fairy hadn''t come to help clear the monsters but to watch him command these players, so it was natural that she stood on the platform with him.


    Water Fairy saw the hand reached out before her and was hesitant.


    The players of Ruling Sword were all stunned. Then, they quickly straightened their expressions and turned to stare at Grol the Destroyer. Almost no one wanted to look at Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    Their hearts were shouting and jumping for joy, but that wasn''t something that could be seen.


    Water Fairy didn''t hesitate for long, and soon placed her hand in Lu Li''s so she could jump onto the stone platform.


    Lu Li snapped back to reality and realized what he had done.


    Should he have apologized? Even if he didn''t completely understand what needed to be done and was not very emotionally intelligent, he vaguely understood what was happening. If this had happened a few hundred years ago, it would have just been passed off as an innocent gesture.


    "What are you doing?"


    Fortunately, Water Fairy promptly let it slide.


    "Planning the positioning. According to the information we have, Grol the Destroyer is a Magic wielding Warrior."


    Lu Li quickly recovered and regained his usual demeanour, not pursuing the issue any further.


    "So are you making them stand four yards apart?" Water Fairy asked. She could see the lines drawn on the interface in front of Lu Li.


    Later, the players would be able to see the images that Lu Li drew. Each team had a corresponding arrangement and the player just needed to find their position. If there were any changes, it would be reflected in the interface.


    "Well, it should be an 8-yard gap between them, so the players can move in either direction," Lu Li''s said as his finger swiped the screen, changing the formation.


    "It seems like you have done a lot of work already. Will Grol use fire related magic?"


    Water Fairy was also a team commander, so the two of them had enough common knowledge to engage in discussion.


    "I have seen a few Ogre Mages, so I''ve arranged it like this just in case," Lu Li said.


    For someone who had experienced rebirth, he obviously knew that Grol would use fire magic. There were some Bosses in Dawn that could mix different aspects of different professions. After all, no Warrior player could use magic.


    However, the presence of some magic was not difficult to explain, as Warrior equipment effects could still be magical.


    "As a group enters a battle, the melee players will disperse," Lu Li began to instruct. Group 1 was the strongest, so they had the most important role of attacking first. The rest would join as the main force once Lu Li activated Grol''s Talisman.


    Grol the Destroyer had begun to feel anxious once the players entered the Dreadmaul Stronghold.


    However, the rules of the System were constraining him. Before the players actually entered his aggro range, he couldn''t attack first, even if they threatened him. This was different from the Hero Bosses, as Grol''s position in this game was just as a Wild Boss''.


    "Wait a moment. Wait for me to pull the aggro before we fight."


    Azure Sea Breeze opened with a charge, but it only dealt a bit of damage, which meant that he hadn''t taken much aggro. He was experienced enough to instantly realize that Grol might be a Boss whose aggro was difficult to manage.


    The players that heard him immediately held back from attacking.


    When fighting a Boss like this at a large scale, any mistakes could be costly. If someone took the aggro by dealing too much damage, they could cause mass casualties or even the entire force to be wiped. The consequences of this wouldn''t just be a simple lecture.


    Some players had lost hundreds of points due to their mistakes.


    Lu Li knew that maintaining Grol''s aggro was difficult, but didn''t remind Azure Sea Breeze in advance. As an old partner of his, he trusted him enough to realize what was happening.


    "Melee players start dealing damage. Mages, please wait for 10 seconds. Healers, start healing the melee players. Shamans, get ready to cast Bloodlust," Lu Li called out after looking at the aggro list.


    Grol was a magical Warrior, but his ordinary attacks were still in melee.


    Lu Li didn''t forget to explain his intentions to Water Fairy while commanding.


    "The Boss'' melee attacks have a splitting effect, so its best if the healer just pays attention to the melee players'' HP."


    Was she really just here to watch him command this battle?


    Water Fairy almost believed it herself!


    Lu Li didn''t notice Water Fairy''s dazed expression and continued explaining.


    "If he casts his Magic skills, then focus on the ranged players. See, Grol''s attacks have this splitting effect." He then shouted at Azure Sea Breeze, "Breezy, pull the Boss so that you are standing against a wall!"


    "What have you noticed?" Water Fairy was curious.


    "No matter what kind of abilities this Boss has, it is best to get the Main Tank to stand against a wall. If you do this, you can deal with a bunch of other problems, particularly any knockbacks¡­" Lu Li explained openly.


    There were many players who saw Lu Li turning around to talk to Water Fairy. They were too far away to hear what they were saying ¨C otherwise, they definitely would have been angry at him.


    There was such a beautiful woman next to you and you were talking to her about fighting the Boss?


    It wasn''t clear if it was because Water Fairy was present, but everyone performed very well in the first phase of the Boss fight. At this stage, the Boss was mainly focused on dealing split-attacks to the melee units. It was a test of the Main Tank''s defence and the healer''s area of effect healing.


    In the second phase, the battle became more strategic. Everything else prior to this could be considered child''s play.


    They saw Grol''s long weapon quickly condensing a dark fireball. This was actually a magic skill, and it was given to him by Rakh''likh. When the fireball shot towards them, it exploded and ignited a number of players in the area.


    "The ignite position is 8 yards, so make sure you spread out," Lu Li said. He had already expected this.


    Water Fairy unconsciously bit her lower lip and deeply admired Lu Li''s ability to plan ahead. However, she was also relieved because she and Lu Li were not enemies.


    Casualties were inevitable and the players who got ignited the first time reacted too slowly. Those that were ignited were actually fine, but it was the others that got burnt who died because they found themselves in the wrong position. If someone encountered two or even three ignited players, even a healer that was desperately healing them couldn''t save them.

 1225 Alone Behind Enemy Lines

    "Reposition! Healers, move in to revive!"


    Lu Li saw the number of casualties and couldn''t help but frown.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "You really are brave to challenge a level 60 Wild Boss. Is the role of the Main Tank very important?" Water Fairy asked, trying to take Lu Li''s mind off the unfortunate turn of events.


    "The Main Tank is very important, but the main reason I am even attempting this Boss is because of this¡­" Lu Li said as he showed Water Fairy Grol''s Talisman, which made her speechless.


    Moments after they repositioned, Grol the Destroyer once again went on an igniting frenzy, taking the lives of a few more players.


    "Are we losing too many players?"


    If this was Grol with a 30% reduction in Strength, Water Fairy couldn''t imagine how powerful he actually was.


    "This is only temporary. They will eventually learn to dodge the burns," Lu Li said calmly.


    Water Fairy thought about it for a while and agreed, but this was based on the condition that there were no external interruptions. How could they learn to dodge if there were other players harassing them?


    Square Root 3 suddenly ran over and nodded at Water Fairy before saying to Lu Li, "There is someone coming."


    "These players really don''t know how to give up. How many did they bring this time?"


    Lu Li was helpless. Even though he didn''t think they would break through their defence, he still didn''t want to deal with this.


    "Just one¡­" Square Root 3 said strangely.


    "Just one person? Then we don''t even need to do anything. If they can get through the Ogres, that would already be very impressive."


    "It''s Jade Flower Lover. Should we pick him up?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "Go and get him; let''s see what he wants. He is a member of the Blood Red War Flag, so they probably want to negotiate," Lu Li said, then asked Sesame Rice Ball to open up the door.


    "I hope I''m not causing you too much trouble. Lu Bro, I just want to say a few words and I will leave."


    Jade Flower Lover was dressed in casual clothes and looked like a scholar. This was his personal style.


    Lu Li glanced at him and continued to command the battle, unaffected.


    "Cast Bloodlust and burst Grol with a wave of high damage."


    "Hey, Water Fairy is here too. When did you join Ruling Sword?" Jade Flower Lover asked with a smile.


    "I have also come to talk about some things," Water Fairy responded faintly.


    "That''s great! Well, I am here representing my guild to show our sincerity in never interfering with Ruling Sword''s Boss fights."


    Jade Flower Lover was a kind of person who would never take


    advantage of an unfortunate situation, and he spoke straightforwardly about his intentions.


    "You should have said this after having a look at the environment we''re in," Lu Li said as he turned back, then resumed his command of the battle.


    "Why do you have to make fun of me? If I had bad intentions, I wouldn''t be alone."


    Jade Flower Lover felt like he had been wronged.


    "So you''re here alone behind enemy lines ¨C that''s great. How many Thieves did you bring?" Lu Li asked, refusing to believe it.


    Jade Flower Lover often used this tactic. He liked setting out alone to give the impression that he was someone like Zhuge Liang. Unfortunately, an insider would later reveal that every time he did this, he would bring along a great number of Thieves.


    "Oh¡­" Jade Flower Lover was dumbfounded.


    "Do you have anything else to say? I am quite busy here and I have no time for formalities, so just say it straight."


    Lu Li once again ordered the players to reposition themselves on the battlefield. There were already fewer players burning on the battlefield.


    "How about forming an alliance?" Jade Flower Lover asked, putting away his smile and turning serious.


    "¡­" Lu Li and Water Fairy each looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other''s eyes. It just seemed so unlikely that Blood Red War Flag was looking for an ally.


    Blood Red War Flag didn''t have a long history like Glory Capital, but they were definitely an established guild. This guild featured a number of retired professional players, so it attracted many veterans.


    These players would have been professionally trained and well-disciplined. This meant that their elite team''s combat power was not worse than Glory Capital''s. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that they couldn''t defeat them, as they were much stronger than the average players.


    The Blood Red War Flag had never been part of an alliance; they had just been running a few clubs.


    But now, Jade Flower Lover was here and he had actually offered to form an alliance. Lu Li expressed his surprise sincerely.


    "Are you joking?" Square Root 3 didn''t believe it.


    Haha, this alliance would be good for both of us right? We secretly form an alliance and keep an eye out for each other. If you encounter a crisis, like today when Glory Capital shamelessly decided to interfere with your fight, Blood Red War Flag will attack them from the side. What do you think, Lu Li?"


    "I think it''s not a bad idea," Lu Li said, quickly understanding what he meant.


    Blood Red War Flag was still following their policy of not forming an official alliance, but they were asking for a cooperative relationship. Specifically, it was just a mutual understanding.


    With this alliance, they couldn''t have a coordinated attack or retreat.


    They were just trying to do something good for each other without jeopardizing their own interests.


    Lu Li had no need to refuse. If they truly wanted to bring down Glory Capital, combining with another major guild was the fastest and most effective way of doing this. Unfortunately, people were selfish and guilds were no exception to that rule.


    "That''s it then. Let''s swear on it," Jade Flower Lover said with a grin.


    Although he didn''t have to come here, he always felt like he appeared more sincere in face-to-face interactions. It was a wonderful feeling of being alone in the enemy camp and persuading them.


    Wait¡­


    "Oh, be careful¡­"


    Lu Li didn''t have time to finish before he found that Jade Flower Lover got burned to death. Although Jade Flower Lover was a professional player with excellent technique, he should have worn his equipment instead of his casual clothes.


    Lu Li was standing on the high platform, and was still within range of the Boss, but the Boss generally wouldn''t attack them if they didn''t generate any aggro.


    Jade Flower Lover was embarrassed, so he didn''t wait for Lu Li to Revive him and instead returned to the city.


    "How impulsive. Wouldn''t he lose a lot of EXP like that?" Water Fairy said, before remembering Lu Li and asking, "Are you really going to form an alliance with Blood Red War Flag?"


    "This isn''t really an alliance. I don''t really know what they''re thinking of," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    Blood Red War Flag was mostly made up of veterans, and they might be too principled for something like this, but Jade Flower Lover was ruthless.


    "They probably couldn''t sit still since you were starting to kill Wild Bosses," Water Fairy laughed.


    "If given the opportunity, Blood Red War Flag wouldn''t mind taking the Boss," Lu Li reasoned. He could see through this kind of thing very clearly.


    Of course, a verbal commitment to an alliance was undoubtedly more reliable than a tacit understanding.


    Both Blood Red War Flag and Ruling Sword wanted to overthrow Glory Capital, so both guilds didn''t mind giving Glory Capital some trouble if given the chance. Now that they had verbally agreed, there were more chances to do so in future.


    However, if there was a chance to damage both Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag in the future, such as that last fight they had with each other, why wouldn''t they want that?


    Lu Li thought about it for another 3 seconds before resolutely deciding that he needed to be more devious.

 1226 Endless

    Water Fairy silently watched Lu Li command the battle before suddenly asking.


    "If there was a chance, do you think I would steal your Boss? Or, if you had the chance, would you steal our Boss?"


    Fortunately, these two players were on the high platform. Otherwise, anyone else that heard this would have suddenly started paying attention.


    Lu Li thought about it seriously, but after a while, he shook his head and said, "No I don''t think I would, and you shouldn''t steal mine either."


    "Why did you think for so long for be sure?" Water Fairy muttered.


    "I wouldn''t steal your Boss ¨C that''s for sure. However, if you decided to steal our Boss, it would take some time. I don''t think you would disregard our alliance to steal some Boss for the potential of some loot," Lu Li explained seriously.


    "You¡­ you really¡­" Water Fairy didn''t even know how to put it into words.


    "Breezy, what''s wrong with you? Don''t you know when to retreat? Why didn''t you use your damage reduction skills after you got hit with a critical hit? Fate, quickly pull the Boss and someone revive and heal him," Lu Li yelled. He was stunned when he discovered that the main tank actually died.


    Water Fairy felt bitter and almost wanted to turn and leave.


    "I was watching the live stream recently. Why weren''t you on it?" Lu Li asked. After screaming loudly at Azure Sea Breeze, he dropped his tone when he spoke to Water Fairy.


    This made Water Fairy calm down a little bit.


    "I''m not in Jinling anymore. My mum chased me around all day to ask for my forgiveness. How could I make a pregnant woman''s life more difficult than it already is?" Water Fairy said quietly.


    "She¡­ whatever. If she doesn''t want to stay in Jinling, then she shouldn''t stay," Lu Li responded. He wasn''t good at expressing opinions about other people''s family affairs.


    "Luo Xing is there in Jinling, so even if I have no influence, I still get to see him every day," Water Fairy said, looking happier as she continued, "Right now, my days are happier and I don''t really want to fight for those things anyway."


    "If you are happy, then that''s good," Lu Li sighed.


    On the field, the fight had now reached the third phase. Even with the 30% debuff from the talisman, it was still very difficult for the players. There were some tanks that lost all their HP from a single wave of attacks.


    If the Boss'' HP wasn''t dropping, but Lu Li maintained a calm look, then everyone would remain calm. However, he was chatting away while commanding, which was starting to make everyone lose hope.


    "Reposition the battlefield. Breezy, pay attention to your HP. Dark, don''t worry about your mana; just get someone to replace you once you run out."


    Lu Li calculated that the output seemed quite weak and the players who died needed to be revived.


    "I stopped dealing damage to pull this Boss. I thought you didn''t have time to take care of us anymore," Azure Sea Breeze said, filled with resentment.


    On the one hand, Lu Li had scolded him in front of everyone. On the other hand, he was exhausted and fighting on the front lines while Lu Li was standing on top of a stone platform accompanied with one of the top three women of the Beauty Rankings.


    It was quite a frustrating situation to be in!


    After repositioning their players, the damage output finally stabilized. The next wave of fire attacks didn''t cause as many casualties, so they entered the third phase smoothly.


    In this next stage, there actually wouldn''t be any particularly powerful new skill.


    However, you had to remember that Grol the Destroyer was an Ogre, and all Ogres had a secret ability. The less HP they had, the faster and stronger their attacks were.


    This was a natural Berserk trait.


    Grol''s Berserk trait was particularly strong. When he entered the third phase, his damage significantly increased and his attack speed slowly grew.


    If they were fighting with an ordinary strategy, the players would generally get wiped here because the Main Tank would be unable to hold on.


    But now that its damage and attack speed had been reduced by 30%, Azure Sea Breeze was at least able to survive. Occasionally, he would be hit with a critical strike, but he would immediately use a damage reduction skill in response.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "I feel like this Boss is growing more and more powerful. Can you defeat it?" Water Fairy asked. She didn''t dare to chat with Lu Li, and just paid attention to the battlefield.


    In fact, she knew that the question she asked was pointless. Lu Li had no way of guaranteeing that he could kill the Boss, because anything could happen at this point.


    The most ridiculous thing that could happen was Azure Sea Breeze disconnecting¡­


    Even so, she still asked anyway. Sometimes people would subconsciously seek confirmation of a situation. It was like a child who was afraid of ghosts asking to sleep with their parents so they could have peace of mind.


    Lu Li was currently playing this role.


    Lu Li didn''t think much about it and answered with certainty, "Grol the Destroyer is not difficult. If you have the talisman, he is even easier than Sevine."


    The next few moments of the fight confirmed the statement he had made. Grol the Destroyer didn''t wipe the group even though he had gone Berserk.


    Eventually, the players won, but they had suffered quite a few casualties. However, they urgently needed to increase their strength right now for the finals, so these sacrifices were acceptable.


    Players who had lost EXP were compensated with bonus points.


    The System once again notified everyone of Ruling Sword''s First Clear. This made Grol the Destroyer the second level 60 Wild Boss that Ruling Sword had killed today, generating a response that was even more exaggerated than before.


    Fighting one level 60 Wild Boss could have been a fluke, but if you killed two, it would be very difficult to maintain that position.


    Jade Flower Lover, who had returned to the city to get back to Blood Red War Flag, suddenly regretted his choice.


    He considered flooding the Dreadmaul Stronghold with players. Even if he couldn''t kill the Boss, he would stop Ruling Sword. It was no secret that Ruling Sword had their professional players present. Now, they were going to receive two more level 60 Epic equips.


    Of course, Glory Capital was even more anxious. Some players thought it was unnecessary to send a guild after them because it was just one level 60 Boss, but no one thought that now. There was no guarantee that Ruling Sword would stop here.


    How could Ruling sword kill these Wild Bosses so easily?


    There was no doubt that their efficiency in killing these Bosses was quite unusual. It was impossible for


    Glory Capital to kill the same Bosses so easily. Many other major guilds had tried to fight the level 60 Bosses. They had all suffered a significant number of casualties, yet they had all failed.


    Was Ruling Sword going to keep fighting the Bosses like this?


    When they thought about how Ruling Sword would soon have many pieces of level 60 Epic equipment, even Sorrowless himself felt a bit agitated.


    Glory Capital had the best equipment of all the guilds; there was no doubt about that. Their strength was not limited to the game, as they were also very powerful in real life. If they wanted to fully equip a player with Epic equipment, they could, but if they wanted to fully equip a player with level 60 Epic equipment, it would be impossible.


    Being unable to defeat a level 60 Boss wasn''t a problem that could be solved by throwing more players at it.


    Lu Li was busy making sure that everyone''s equipment was being saved. The EXP that they received was quite high, but even those who died wouldn''t lose too much after they were revived. There was also the Bounty Quest that they could claim afterwards for more EXP and Reputation.


    The luckier players received a Skill Point, but unlucky Lu Li obviously wasn''t one of them.


    There was a Synthetic Stone that provided 10% Level Reduction. This stone was obviously not suitable for use right now as the players were already level 57 or 58. A 5% stone was enough, so the 10% stone was to be saved for later.


    There were also five Strengthening Stones, which were currently in great demand.


    Although the whole guild needed Strengthening Stones, they were given to the professional players and the others were compensated with more points. This was completely voluntary behaviour from Ruling Sword. They could have forced all the players to give up all their Strengthening Stones for the professional players for nothing, but if they did that, then what was the difference between Lu Li and the Star Moon Union?


    There was a Mage Skill Book that was given to Fat Monkey.


    The Rare Material was an Ogre Brain, an item that was only dropped by Ogre Bosses and was mainly used for Alchemy as well as some Cooking recipes.

 1227 Not Praising You for Fear of Making You Prideful

    There were four Gold items, one Dark Gold item and one Dark Gold Mold. There was one item less than Sevine. These items were all auctioned off between the elite members. They all knew that the Epic equipment would be worth much more, so the prices for these items weren''t low either.


    However, these items couldn''t currently be used, and normal players were much less likely to use a Level Reduction Gem on a Gold item.


    In other words, Level Reduction Gems were for elite players and not ordinary players. After all, there were many gold coins floating around at the top and these stones couldn''t be removed once inserted. As the level of the players increased, equipment with stones in them became more and more worthless.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    However, what was really eye-catching was the level 60 Epic equipment.


    The first Epic equip was a two-handed sword suitable for Warriors, Paladins and some Hunters. These Hunters could carry this longsword and used when encountering enemies at close range.


    When the weapon was dropped, the excitement among the players immediately started bubbling.


    Even the players who were out of consideration couldn''t stop themselves from talking about it. They wondered who would receive this weapon. Was it going to be the Berserker Moonlight, Vice President Wandering, Drifting Rain or someone else?


    Logically, it would be given to Moonlight as he was a professional player. Any club member would receive the benefit of the priority rules.


    However, he had just received an Epic item for which he paid 5000 points. After losing 5000 points, other Warriors or Paladins like Wandering would have an easier time winning the bid.


    Nevertheless, everything hinged on what Lu Li decided.


    Throughout the history of the game, there were countless guilds that rose and fell. When you looked at the guilds that rose and achieved great power, the common thing between all of them was their model of authority.


    Lu Li had the absolute authority in this guild, and even Wandering couldn''t go against him.


    If Moonlight was the one who said that he should take the item, Wandering would not be happy about that. Perhaps it might be more reasonable for him to borrow the item whenever he needed to play in a match, and he would pay a few points as a rental.


    "This weapon will be assigned to Mu Qiu for 5000 points. If he doesn''t have enough, then he will owe the remainder," Lu Li said firmly.


    Everyone was surprised, but no one questioned his decision.


    Lu Li obviously didn''t need to answer to anyone; it was fine as long as he felt like the most appropriate person was Mu Qiu. As for Mu Qiu himself, he was somewhat embarrassed by this surprise.


    He wasn''t a core professional player of Ruling Sword; why should he take priority?


    Besides, Mu Qiu was a healer and this two-handed sword was a damage-output type of item. Why would a healer need a two-handed sword like this? He should have been taking a hammer and shield that had healing properties.


    Lu Li didn''t explain either, as this involved Mu Qiu''s fighting style, which was something that needed to be kept secret.


    Mu Qiu wasn''t just a simple healer. He had some damage output that relied on Intelligence and critical hits. This route was even more effective than Green Flag Wine''s Tire Killer build, and could easily deal a tremendous amount of damage. By that time, his healing would not be as strong, but he would deal a serious amount of damage.


    This two-handed sword didn''t add Strength or Agility, but it did provide 35% Critical Hit and was one of the few high Critical Hit Weapons. In terms of special effects, there was no Strength requirement for any of the skills.


    On the contrary, the damage caused by the third Special Effect was affected by Intelligence. Mu Qiu''s main Attribute was Intelligence and if there was a Critical Hit with this skill, then the amount of damage that he would deal would be unimaginable.


    If you gave this item to Moonlight, the third skill would be completely wasted.


    If you gave this item to other damage output professions like Paladins, they would be able to use the first and second Special Effect, but only Mu Qiu could unlock the potential from the third Special Effect.


    After Mu Qiu put on this item, he lost some healing ability. This was a blessing in disguise, but no one understood it yet. Only Lu Li, who had experienced Rebirth, would dare to give him this two-handed sword.


    The second Epic item was a Druid equip, but this item was worse.


    Ruling Sword didn''t have a proper Druid professional player. Even the entirety of Dawn didn''t have a proper Druid professional player.


    "How about we give this item to Hachi Chan. Do you want it?" Lu Li asked.


    "This seems to be much better than what I currently have. Okay, I''ll take it," the little girl agreed. She handed in 8000 points and all the players in Dreadmaul Stronghold were stunned. The other Druids shyly bowed their heads as they knew they couldn''t compete with that.


    Hachi Chan was a well-known tycoon within the guild. She increased her points by completing and sharing quests for Instance Dungeons.


    However, this wasn''t the main reason she had become a tycoon. The main reason was because the equipment and items she received from the quests were too good. None of the Druids could even come close to what she was wearing.


    With all these benefits, it would be a surprise if she wasn''t a tycoon by now.


    They thought that the looting session for this Boss was over, but they didn''t expect Remnant Dream to pull out another item. The item was obviously made of cloth and was shaped like a bracer.


    "It is a third Epic item!"


    Lu Li didn''t know how to praise this young girl. He knew better than anyone that she had made everyone proud. If anyone else could make a level 60 Wild Boss drop three Epic items, it would be a miracle.


    Finding two pieces was quite ordinary, and depending on your luck, those items could be good or bad.


    If you were lucky, there was a small chance that a third item could appear. Although Grol the Destroyer was quite a strong Boss, he was not the most powerful level 60 Boss, so he had a lower chance of dropping 3 Epics.


    In any case, Lu Li was happy to accept that Remnant Dream had managed to loot another piece.


    This Bracer came with three special effects that could bring about a burst of damage. Lu Li assigned this item to Kitty Likes Meat and ignored the resentful stare of Fat Monkey.


    Fat Monkey needed to find more items that would help him be more survivable.


    Kitty Likes Meat had a more balanced build, and even if she received a high-burst item, it wouldn''t affect her overall survivability. Lu Li hoped that this item would be put to good use in a critical time of attack.


    She had joined the Ruling Sword club for less than a season and was not a member of the core Instance Dungeon group. She had only been to the Instance Dungeons in the last few runs, so the number of points she had was quite pitiful.


    "Let''s not disband for now. Please stand by," Lu Li ordered.


    This confused the players who had participated in the event. They had all just fought two Bosses, so what were they waiting for? Were they going to fight another Boss?


    There was no shortage of spies among them that quickly relayed Lu Li''s order.


    However, they didn''t know what Lu Li''s next goal was, because Lu Li only took the members of the Xin Xin Mercenary Group and several other high-level elite players.

 1228 Setting Up a Special Welcome

    Water Fairy had also followed along with them.


    The girl said that she wanted to come along and Lu Li didn''t seem to oppose it. The others naturally didn''t say anything either and just went along with it.


    The group went directly to a cliff positioned on the back of a mountain. The red soil seemed like it melted into this vast cave, and some faint snarls could be heard within.


    Lu Li had previously come here to deal with the Servant of Rakh''likh. This was a quest from the Horde.


    Then, he went to steal the Allistarj Talisman by travelling through the cave into the Mage Tower. The only other access to the Mage Tower was by flying skills or mounts.


    Perhaps it was because of Allistarj''s confidence in his strength, but he didn''t set any magical traps in this cave.


    As such, Lu Li and the others easily travelled through and dealt with the monsters that the saw. When all the monsters had been dealt with, they entered Snake Valley.


    There were of course snakes in Snake Valley!


    When Lu Li had come alone, he didn''t think much of it. However, when the girls in the party saw all the snakes that were coiled together, they suddenly went pale.


    The snakes here were different from the snakes elsewhere, which would crawl on the ground individually.


    Conversely, the snakes here appeared in groups. You wouldn''t be able to make out the individual snakes, but they came in groups of five and were squirming about in the grass. Not only were they disgusting, but they were quite territorial. You could easily accidentally aggro two to three groups, which was a total 15 monsters.


    However, what made the girls even more anxious was the smell of the valley. The Game Company had really focused on emphasizing the strange smell of cold-blooded reptiles.


    From this valley, it was very difficult to trick Allistarj. As long as he was in the Mage Tower, he would know when someone entered the valley because these snakes were his spies. Lu Li was previously able to sneak up on the tower because Allistarj wasn''t home at the time.


    Lu Li gestured for Sesame Rice Ball to start channelling his Summoning Door so that the other players could be transported.


    The players that arrived didn''t delay in starting to clear out these snakes. They also sought out a few Alchemists to make some antidotes. Ever since Sesame Rice Ball had taken on an apprentice, he rarely made these kinds of regular potions.


    He only made potions that were rarer, and that no one else knew how to make.


    Water Fairy also participated in the monster clearing. While the other girls were terrified, she was actually the calmest player in the area. The other Ruling Sword players looked on with admiration.


    Some players thought that such a girl was unattainable by anyone.


    Suddenly, the snakes of Snake Valley were sent into a frenzy. They were no longer curled up and concealed in the grass, but started launching themselves onto the players.


    Lu Li looked up and saw a white robe swaying in the wind on a corner of the Mage Tower.


    Allistarj was at home!


    The Boss hadn''t left yet though, which was bad news. This snake frenzy had been caused by him, and the sheer number of them was beginning to overwhelm the players.


    In fact, the Boss fight had already begun.


    Lu Li certainly couldn''t use the talisman yet, and could only command the Main Tanks to keep pushing forwards with the accompaniment of the healers. Fortunately, they had transported the tanks and healers first.


    With the Main Tanks in the front, the players could safely deal damage with the healers alongside them. The Main Tanks were capable of stopping these snakes while the magic professions among them piled on their spells. After all, the monsters were all densely packed which made them easy targets of area of effect skills.


    More players were being pulled in at this critical moment of dealing with the snakes.


    They had now finally found out that Lu Li''s intention was the fight a third Boss on that day. As this would be the third level 60 Wild Boss, the other guilds began to grow worried.


    All of a sudden, when four to five hundred players found out about this secret location, it was no longer a secret.


    The other guilds soon knew about Ruling Sword''s move and they finally panicked. No one wanted to leave Ruling Sword to do whatever they wanted, including Glory Capital.


    For example, Blood Red War Flag would always hope that the worst would happen to Glory Capital.


    However, they definitely wouldn''t want Ruling Sword to defeat Glory Capital so easily. If they did so, then why had all these other guilds been oppressed by Glory Capital for so long?


    They weren''t worried about scarcity, but rather, inequality. Things that they couldn''t accomplish, they didn''t want Ruling Sword to accomplish either.


    They didn''t think that Ruling Sword even worked that hard!


    However, Lu Li had already expected this to happen. He had stopped the Fire Mages from participating in the clearing of these snakes. Instead, he placed them by the entrance of the cave. Anyone that came would experience a baptism by fire.


    It was impossible for any Thief to sneak into the cave without being discovered either. After all, the fire magic would be continuously burning.


    There were some other professions involved in the defence as well, but there were four main groups of PVP players. Given the terrain of this area, they would be able to keep out up to 100,000 players.


    When Water Fairy saw Lu Li''s arrangement, she started to sympathize with the guilds that refused to give up.


    More and more, she started to feel like Lu Li wasn''t as straightforward as he seemed. Not only was he ruthless, but he was also cunning. This third Boss fight was to acquire more equipment, but he had also set up a special welcome for any guild that tried to look for trouble.


    The first to track Ruling Sword''s coordinates was a guild owned by the Gangnam Royals.


    They were given the task of exploring the way, but in fact, they were just cannon fodder. The group walked about in the dark cave for about two minutes before finding light after a sharp turn.


    They thought they had reached the end, but it was actually just flames that had come from above.


    It wasn''t just one group either; there were a number of groups defending the area. One player walked out and died before they could even react. They soon realized that something was


    wrong after this happened a few more times. If these players couldn''t even realize that, then they weren''t even qualified to be sent out as cannon fodder.


    The two exploring groups soon pushed out together with the promise of being compensated with gold coins for their troubles and their equipment.


    These two suicide squads finally saw what was on the other side of that corner.


    After they were revived, they reluctantly reported that a dozen Fire Mages were all arranged in a line to cast area of effect fire magic.


    In addition, there seemed to be two hunters that would alternate in releasing flares at the corner. It was no wonder that even the Thieves died so quickly.


    The players were at a loss. Was there even a point in sending them to their deaths given the defences?Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

 1229 Battle at the Mage Tower

    After Lu Li arranged the defence, he began to direct the players who managed to reach the Mage Tower.


    It seemed like there were always more snakes to fight. This was partially because they were so densely packed, and were also being constantly spawned. Occasionally, a bundle of snakes would fall from the tower, harassing the players.


    This was the last of the three Bosses, and the initial phase wasn''t going so well.


    This was because Lu Li had ignored that most people had a fear of snakes. As such, when a bundle of snakes fell from above, many players would try to avoid it, breaking their formation.


    No matter how Lu Li commanded them, it wasn''t effective.


    "Those who are afraid of snakes, retreat into the cave. Swap with those who aren''t," Water Fairy suggested to Lu Li. When he heard it, he thought it was a good idea and conveyed it to the players.


    It turned out that almost all of them were girls.


    "I saw some guys running from the snakes too. Why aren''t you guys leaving? If you don''t leave now, don''t blame me later for deducting your points," Lu Li said.


    The male players who were also afraid of snakes almost cried.


    The Boss had asked everyone who were afraid of snakes to leave. But which of the men would want to embarrass themselves like that? Naturally, it was only the female players that were willing to leave.


    After this, no one ran away anymore, even if they were scared. Those male players just grit their teeth and fought through it.


    The players that were in the cave continued the suffer because they couldn''t just retreat. All they could do was run into their deaths in wave after wave.


    After all, Paladins had Invulnerability, Thieves had Gale Steps and Mages had Ice Block. After Ice Block, a Mage could even blink into the crowd of Ruling Sword players.


    However, would a defence arranged by Lu Li be so easy to break through?Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Of course not!


    When they appeared among the Ruling Sword players, they were greeted by a group of Warriors casting Trample and Whirlwind. After the crowd-control, there were further waves of area of effect skills. Those that blinked in couldn''t do anything but die. Their only purpose was to provide some time for those behind them.


    "Push them back."


    Wandering wasn''t participating in the battle, but stood behind them and watched.


    When some of these Gangnam-Royal-affiliated players rushed in, it was he who ordered the Warriors to act. The Warriors didn''t retreat after killing the players, but instead pushed ahead into the enemies who were flooding in.


    The biggest advantage of defending this cave was that the entrance was small, so both sides couldn''t commit many players to the fight.


    Ruling Sword had deliberately chosen favourable terrain. The enemy could only see them after turning the corner, so they couldn''t have their skills prepared while Ruling Sword waited for them.


    The players that tried to rush in were soon slaughtered and the hope that they had was now gone.


    "Whatever, we need to withdraw. The makes things too difficult and our players aren''t strong enough. Even if we keep dying, the compensation we''re receiving isn''t enough," the person leading the team messaged Heart of War.


    Heart of War was of course angry. He looked through all of their subordinate clubs but his control over them had weakened.


    Their existence created a huge influx of money which profited the club executives, but this also brought a serious adverse effect. His control at the top had been diluted and doing something like changing a subordinate guild''s leader required a board meeting.


    Their authority was also being questioned and their subordinates did whatever they thought was right.


    Before the changes, an order was an order. It was to be carried out no matter what, even if the costs were not worth it. They didn''t think about themselves, and there was no place for a board of directors.


    Heart of War was helpless. All he could do was brace himself as he sent out the elite players.


    When the other clubs saw this, they immediately dismissed the idea of sending their own players to further investigate. After all, they were so small compared to Gangnam Royals, so it was best left to them.


    At this time, Lu Li didn''t know that a strong enemy had arrived. He was busy commanding his own guild''s elites to enter the Mage Tower.


    After entering the Mage Tower, the monsters they fought were no longer the Snake Valley snakes. Instead they were all ghost monsters ¨C the magic minions of Allistarj.


    However, when they were faced with the dazzling light of the talisman, it was like they were being shocked by electricity. They would flee into the corners where there was no place to run.


    "Despicable Thief, you stole my baby, my treasure. Great Demon King Rakh''likh, please forgive your servant for he couldn''t protect your treasure!" Archmage Allistarj screamed from the top of the tower. Apparently, he already knew who stole his talisman.


    Without the ghosts bothering them, they were able to smoothly enter the Mage Tower.


    The Ruling Sword players outside also withdrew into the Mage Tower. The ghosts returned to their normal state as Lu Li left the area and would help Ruling Sword any enemies that were coming through this way.


    When they finally reached the laboratory, Lu Li finally saw the Mage in the white robe.


    Allistarj was said to be have been a member of the Dalaran before becoming a Demon Mage. He had studied magic for many years in that country. Unfortunately, his limited talent meant that all he could do was serve the geniuses that were there.


    If it weren''t for the incident with his teacher, he probably wouldn''t have spent his life safely and securely in Dalaran.


    His teacher ¨C the book that Lu Li read didn''t mention the teacher''s name ¨C was an old Mage. This old Mage and Allistarj were similar in that they were at the bottom of the pecking order.


    Although this Mage was old, his heart was not. In order to pursue more strength, he began to study forbidden magic.


    This so-called forbidden magic was not something that could be casually studied. Azshara had learnt from the mistakes of his predecessor and found this behaviour abhorrent. As such, they tied the old Mage to a copper pillar and burned him alive.


    The reasoning was that this would serve as an example for the other Mages, and prevent them from committing similar crimes.


    However, the forbidden magic opened up a new world for Allistarj. He found the notes which recorded all the old Mage''s research and the relics that he dealt with.


    Allistarj then left the city of magic, and began a life as a wandering mage.

 1230 Heart of War’s Tears

    In the first few years, Allistarj remained a kind and upright Mage. His knowledge of magic continued to grow. However, as he grew older, his research became frustrated and his heart began to fill with resentment.


    The door to forbidden magic was then suddenly opened to him, and this process was rarely reversible. Once he began to fall, he could descend deeper and deeper into it. Allistarj transformed from one of the lowest Mages to an average Mage in 10 years, but he had paid the price of countless souls to get there.


    When Rakh''likh appeared before him with the temptation of being a Mage stronger than the high-level Mages of Dalaran, he didn''t hesitate to pledge his loyalty.


    From that point on, Allistarj had already died.


    He couldn''t recall the blue skies and white roofs of Dalaran, nor could he remember the wildflowers along the trails. Even his facial features were gradually fading away into the dark night sky of the Blasted Lands.


    Now, he was a just a deranged Demon Mage.


    He had put on a White Robe, but was actually shrouded in a layer of darkness. The name Archmage Allistarj was one that brought fear even to the Ogres.


    This group of foolhardy adventurers had stepped into his Mage Tower.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Allistarj felt an unprecedented anger because his dignity had been violated. The Thief that was heading towards him was holding the Demon Talisman that he regarded as his treasure.


    It was given to him by his master Rakh''likh as a token to symbolize his new power.


    Lu Li had taken the four elite groups and was making rapid progress through the Mage Tower. The advantage of not having any ghosts blocking them meant that they didn''t need to stop to revive their teammates.


    Once they were near the top of the tower, everyone suddenly felt like the environment around them was changing.


    When this finally stopped, it seemed like they were no longer in the Mage Tower. Instead, they were in a dimly lit space where all they could see was black and there was a rancid smell wafting through the air.


    This was an undiscovered or unexplored region which had been magically created. It was connected to the Mage Tower, and was a trick used by many Mages.


    Only the humanoid Wild Bosses would have secret areas like this.


    However, there really wasn''t much benefit to these areas other than the fact that you wouldn''t be disturbed.


    Lu Li had previously guessed that Allistarj would have such a space, so he wasn''t as worried as the other players. Even if the other guilds arrived, they wouldn''t be able to interfere with their Boss fight.


    However, there was also a downside. The number of players who could enter the area was limited, so once the battle started, you couldn''t add more players to the fight.


    "Boss, look!"


    A voice caught Lu Li''s attention. He looked in the direction where the voice had come from and saw a scene he never would have imagined. Even though he generally had quite a stoic character, he almost burst out in laughter.


    There were a dozen non-Ruling Sword players staring at Lu Li and the others, and they looked terrified.


    Allistarj had used his magic to transfer all the players within the Mage Tower into this secret area. Not only did this include the four hundred Ruling Sword players, but also Heart of War and the others who had entered the Mage Tower.


    Allistarj was quite innocent in this matter. If the ghosts thought you were an enemy, then they were probably an enemy of his too.


    Heart of War was about to throw up. He had run into a tough ghost when he entered the mage Tower, so he ordered the strongest players into the tower so that they could create a foothold for the others to get in.


    He didn''t think that he would be transmitted into this place in the blink of an eye.


    The scariest part was that there were more than 400 elite Ruling Sword players standing in front of them. They were like sheep that had entered a den of wolves. The worst part was that they couldn''t even escape as the area was so vast


    "Hey, hey. I trust you have been well since we last met," Fat Monkey said as he waved his hand.


    "I see the masters of Ruling Sword are here. This must be a misunderstanding."


    As the leader of a guild, he had become more strong-willed. In fact, this was part of Heart of War''s character. Someone like Jade Flower Lover from Blood Red War Flag would have rather died than say something like that.


    "Don''t be so embarrassed. How about we have a duel? If you win, we''ll come with you. If you lose, then you have to stay out of the way," Fat Monkey laughed.


    Heart of War''s face darkened. He was only level 55 and the players with him were all lower levelled than him.


    What was the point of deciding to PVP with a level 58 professional player? Even if he was lucky enough to win, how could he be sure that the other party would follow through with their promise?


    "What a pity. Your president is too embarrassed and can only apologize."


    Fat Monkey waved his hand and a large wave of skills came crashing upon the dozens of players. Although some of them tried to fight back, resistance was obviously impossible against these many enemies.


    Lu Li didn''t say anything from the beginning until the end. Forcing Heart of War to leave in this way couldn''t have imparted any positive feelings.


    However, it was obvious that this group of players were here to make trouble for Ruling Sword. This was their revenge ¨C to remove some of their EXP and to acquire some of their equipment as a reward.


    "Dammit, Boss, we actually got an Epic item!" Fat Monkey yelled.


    Lu Li had just thought about getting the equipment and this fact affirmed his thought. However, he didn''t expect them to actually drop an Epic item.


    When did the Gangnam Royals become so rich that they would drop an Epic from just a dozen deaths? If they were this strong, surely they would have gotten past the top 16 in this season''s league.


    "This group was so strong. They didn''t drop anything less than Dark Gold and there were rare materials too," Fat Monkey reported.


    "How many pieces of equipment?"


    Lu Li couldn''t believe it. These players died within one wave of attacks, but they had dropped better items than the average Boss. Even Wild Bosses would drop some Gold items.


    "Seven pieces of equipment. One of them is an Epic Chain Mail Armour Glove and there are six pieces of Dark Gold. These items are all pretty good and there are even two rare materials."


    Lu Li checked the equipment saw that the Attributes were indeed excellent. They all had stones inserted and had been Fortified once or twice. This group of players would have at least been the core elite players.


    Giving out the items was also quite easy. The Chain Mail Amour was for healers, so it was given to a Shaman healer that had quite a few points to spend.


    The remaining six pieces of equipment were divided in a similar way and the rare materials were put into the guild warehouse. All the other miscellaneous items that were dropped were handed out among the players that attacked them to be sold.

 1231 Aggressive Mage

    When Heart of War died, he was naturally angry but there was nothing he could do. He had no way of getting back into that area and even if he did, he would probably get killed again.


    As for engaging in another war with Ruling Sword¡­


    If he was to be honest, he had thought about engaging in all-out war with Ruling Sword. There were many players waiting for something to go wrong for Ruling Sword. Heart of War was confident in fighting them, and no one expected him to be the one to do it.


    They also wouldn''t give any compensation, as Gangnam Royals had become a bit of a joke recently.


    When the players were revived, they were filled with vigour at the thought of this plan. They had previously received an injection of capital which had made them stronger.


    But unfortunately, this plan was denied by the board.


    They ran a few meetings after analysing Heart of War''s performance and decided that they couldn''t afford another failure.


    As such, all Heart of War could do was grit his teeth and swallow his pride. He had to go back with an unsatisfactory answer and could only occupy himself with clearing out the ghosts in the Mage Tower. At least that would give him an excuse to check out the situation.


    At this time, someone else sent him a message asking about the situation.


    It seemed like it wasn''t just the Gangnam Royals that was paying attention to Ruling Sword. Even Jade Flower Lover, who was previously trying to work with Lu Li, was anxious. They couldn''t bear to just watch Ruling Sword kill one level 60 Wild Boss after another.


    In fact, the number of complaints that were being filed with the Game Company had already exploded.


    How could the game''s champion do this so easily? There were other players that had invested significant effort and money into this game. There were players that had struggled in games for many years, and they still couldn''t match the performance of Ruling Sword.


    But how could the Game Company respond to something like this?


    They couldn''t even check the authenticity of all the data, because the AI wasn''t issuing any kind of alert. This could only mean that all the actions of Ruling Sword were within the rules of the game. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Lu Li couldn''t continue gloating on for long. Just as they received their harvest, Allistarj appeared in the secret area.


    "Fresh meat!"


    He was carrying a dark magic staff in one hand and when he raised it, several players immediately turned their heads to start attacking their teammates.


    "Mages, freeze them and everyone else run away."


    Lu Li didn''t expect for this skill to be used and could only tell the players to run away. These controlled players couldn''t be ignored because their damage was increased during this time.


    After Lu Li gave his order, there was one player that chose to ignore it. He thought that he could tank the attacks as it normally took a few minutes for another player to kill him.


    As a result, he was shocked to discover that he had been one-shot by one of his teammates.


    The damage was not far from the ordinary attacks of the Boss.


    However, dealing with these players was not that difficult. You just had to follow the instructions that Lu Li had given. These players were not the Boss, and if you didn''t want to kill them, then using crowd-control on them would yield the best result.


    The crowd-control would last for 20 seconds and they would return to normal after that time had elapsed.


    "Wow, these are really strong attacks! Why are these attacks so strong?"


    Azure Sea Breeze started tanking the Boss and was dumbfounded by the damage. Among the three Bosses that they had fought today, Archmage Allistarj had the highest attack. Even his normal attacks were very powerful.


    "Keep steady and use your damage reduction skills when necessary. Main Tanks, make sure you keep the aggro but if you can''t do it, don''t be afraid to switch out," Lu Li said.


    He didn''t expect this Boss'' attacks to be so high. In his mind, Allistarj wouldn''t be so strong because he had already been weakened, but it seems that the original Boss was much stronger than he thought.


    "Heal me, heal me! He''s about to cast a skill!" Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    No one wanted to die, but if the Main Tank died, this would have a significant effect on the rest of the players. It was possible that they could get wiped. If Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t tank it, then the other Main Tanks would likely have an even harder time.


    Allistarj was a Mage, and he was a particularly powerful one too.


    His instant skills dealt a lot of damage, and his channelled ones were even more powerful. Azure Sea Breeze was frightened.


    The skill finally hit Azure Sea Breeze.


    Lu Li didn''t even bother looking at how much damage Azure Sea Breeze had taken. He just ordered the other Main Tanks to take the aggro. Given the way Azure Sea Breeze was acting, he probably wasn''t able to take the Boss'' next attack. If he died from the skills, they would have to revive him, but if he didn''t then, this would be his chance to recover.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t die. There were very few things that could kill him when he had that much HP and had cast his damage reduction skills.


    The Main Tank that took over had worse Defense than Azure Sea Breeze. He managed to tank a few normal attacks before dying to an instant skill, becoming the first Main Tank to be sacrificed. Fortunately, Azure Sea Breeze quickly pulled the aggro after that happened to prevent the Boss from attacking the other players.


    The non-defensive professions that were attacked by this Boss were likely to get one-shot.


    As for the players that had fallen, they were to be resurrected by the Druids. There were four Druids for each 100-member group. They prioritized the Main Tanks within the group, as the other professions could wait a bit before being Revived.


    "There are countless facts that prove that the darkness is the strongest power of all¡­"


    Lu Li was thankful that the channelling of this skill was prefaced by reciting nonsense like this. This meant that he had time to loudly issue the command for the players to cast their damage reduction skills. After everyone had done this, they saw a dark energy expand outwards from the Boss.


    Shadow Impact!


    This skill dealt a terrifying amount of damage. If someone were to calculate the total amount of damage it dealt to all the players, it would probably total at least one million.


    Fortunately, it was an area of effect skill, so individually, they all received about 2000-3000 damage.


    However, if you didn''t use your damage reduction skills for a spell that was going to deal this much damage, you would likely die. This was especially true for squishy players like the Healers. If too many players died, then they would have effectively been wiped. However, since they had cast your damage reduction skills, only those players that were already on low HP died.


    After Shadow Impact was used a few more times, they finally reached the second phase.


    Lu Li took advantage of the fact that the Boss hadn''t begun attacking yet to quickly reposition the players on the battlefield while the Druids were hurriedly reviving players back into the fight.


    In the second phase, the Boss didn''t need to use Shadow Impact.


    In this phase, Allistarj used his Demon nature to transform and deal a single, continuously-damaging attack. However, this was less dangerous as the Healers could just constantly heal their target. As long as the skills did not deal burst damage, they were no issue.


    When the Boss was in a transformed state, he would rarely use an area of effect skill.


    When they reached the third phase, they once again encountered many close calls.


    In this stage, the Boss would randomly pick a player and turn them into an avatar of the Boss. The avatar would then continually attack the players until it died.


    They needed to be quick in this stage because there was no warning and no one would know who he was going to pick in advance.


    Sometimes, a player would be turned into an avatar, but those around them might be too slow to respond. They might not even notice that it had happened until a few players died. However, they could also be quick enough to avoid it. For example, when Kitty Likes Meat noticed that something was wrong, she immediately used an escape skill and ran away until the avatar dissipated.


    If an important player died, they would be revived by the Druids. On the other hand, an ordinary player would be revived whenever it was convenient for the healers.


    With no other guilds to bother them, Allistarj was slowly being defeated. The only thing that bothered Lu Li was the number of players that were dying. Almost every player had died at least once and the Main Tanks had died so many times that they were already crying.


    The Main Tanks had all come from professions with very low damage, so they relied on other professions when it came to farming their levels. This meant that farming was slow for them and the effect of each death was even more significant.

 1232 Forbidden Book

    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword who have managed to achieve the First Clear on Demon Mage Allistarj under the leadership of Lu Li!


    The Boss let out one last unwilling cry before his body disappeared with a flash of arcane light. A black treasure chest flew out into the air and landed on the ground. It was surrounded by a number of the players'' corpses. Even though they had defeated the Boss, the final Berserk had killed resulted in quite a few deaths.


    Those who had died didn''t gain any EXP and there were quite a few players from Ruling Sword in that situation.


    However, those losses were nothing compared the success of defeating the Boss.


    Lu Li hadn''t considered it, but his biggest achievement was not from what the Bosses had dropped, but the fact that he had defeated three Bosses.


    In half a day, they had killed three level 60 Wild Bosses as a single guild. The regular players were definitely envious about how many Epic items were dropped and the leaders of the other guilds would have been confused as to how this was done.


    The difficulty of a Boss in the Wild was generally higher than that of an Instance Dungeon Boss. Not only were these Bosses stronger, but you also had to deal with external influences.


    It didn''t matter how strong the Boss was, because you could always bring more players. With enough players, you could defeat any Boss. The secret was in preventing your competitors and the random players from stealing the last hit. Even if they couldn''t get at the Boss, they could also grab the equipment that the major guild''s elite players dropped after dying.


    This was why it was not easy for a major guild to clear a Wild Boss, and it was even more outrageous to defeat three in a row.


    Currently, every guild thought that every other guild must have been doing very well, because they appeared to be comfortable with allowing Ruling Sword to defeat three powerful level 60 Bosses.


    However, there were some guilds that thought that Ruling Sword was so powerful now that they were untouchable.


    Square Root 3 later analysed the statistics to find that after the event, at least ten thousand players flocked to join Ruling Sword. These players included some solo players and small Mercenary Groups. Ruling Sword took advantage of this opportunity to select a few hundred powerful players. Although the number that joined Ruling Sword was ultimately small, their strength was increased significantly.


    Lu Li was one of the players that didn''t die, so he gained a plentiful amount of EXP, but unfortunately, he still didn''t receive a Skill Point.


    Although these three Bosses were not demons, they all had demon blood because they had pledged allegiance to a demon. This allowed Lu Li to give his Supreme Ring a minor upgrade, but the proper upgrade was still a long way away.


    He was a little worried that he still had to find the right rare materials and altar in order to complete the next upgrade.


    Because of how difficult this upgrade was to acquire, Lu Li had reason to believe that the next upgrade of this Supreme Ring would make it a Legendary item. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Common, Bronze, Steel, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Epic Legendary¡­ perhaps there were even higher grade items like Semi-Artifact or Artifact, but he didn''t know for sure. After all, even though he had experienced rebirth, he had never seen even a Semi-Artifact.


    He placed his hope of upgrading the ring in the Outlands, where everything was level 60 or above.


    There were four players in the Elite Group that were rewarded with a Skill Point. Naturally, they were happy as these points were quite hard to come by. It wasn''t just the top players that were eligible for these Skill Points ¨C there were more than 400 players, but only four of them got one.


    "Healers revive the players. Dreamy, go and loot the equipment. Everyone else return to the city," Lu Li directed upon seeing the secret area beginning to warp.


    If the secret area collapsed, there were two possibilities. The first was that the players would get spat out. There were probably many players outside the Mage Tower waiting for them who would target them in frustration.


    The second option was that they would be torn into pieces as the space collapsed.


    Neither option was something he wanted to see, so it was best that they quickly retreated to prevent these outcomes.


    Remnant Dream saw Lu Li''s serious face, so she didn''t dawdle. She quickly looted the equipment and immediately stood up to start channelling her Hearthstone. Those quick actions stunned Lu Li; it almost seemed like she was trying to run away with the equipment.


    After most of the players left, only Lu Li and Water Fairy remained. Water Fairy was curiously watching Lu Li as he stayed behind.


    "Generally speaking, there will be something in the centre of the secret area. I''m going to have a look," Lu Li said.


    The last time he found the centre of a secret area, there was a World Tree. There, he had received a sapling. He didn''t know what to expect from it in the future, but he was continually investing gold coins and his efforts into cultivating this sapling.


    Allistarj''s secret area was much smaller compared to the last time, but since it was still a secret area, it could still hold something worthwhile.


    Because of its small size, Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t have to look for long. They soon found a book under the floor.


    Forbidden Book!


    Lu Li was dumbfounded. Were these the notes that Allistarj inherited from his master on the forbidden magic? What could this be used for? Could it be used for magical experiments? Lu Li had never heard of such a thing in Dawn ¨C could Mage players even perform magical experiments?


    Unfortunately, Lu Li was overthinking it.


    Forbidden Book: Intelligence +80, Constitution +40, Critical Hit +25%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Mana Recovery regeneration increased by 20%. Special Effect 2: Randomly summon a demon to fight for you. Lasts 30 seconds, 2 hour cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 60. Durability 420/420.


    Inscribed on the bottom of the item were two sentences.


    "I suddenly thought of Dalaran and here are some things I remembered. Can be upgraded (1/3). Need to kill a certain number of monsters (the monster''s levels must not be less than the user''s level 0/10)"


    This piece of equipment did not contain the notes in the story. However, Lu Li wasn''t disappointed as he didn''t expect to acquire the notes for forbidden magic. They probably wouldn''t have been worth much more than an exquisite item anyway.


    Some players thought that this item was also quite ordinary, but since it was upgradeable, it had potential.


    Lu Li wasn''t really in the hurry to upgrade this item. He had so many other pieces of exquisite equipment.


    The Book of the Dead that March Rain was carrying was one example.


    Book of the Dead (Epic): All Attributes+20, Intelligence+10%, 2 slots, Special Effect 1: Ring of Glory, this ring-type ability boosts the mana regeneration speed of the user and their ally within the area of the ring. Special Effect 2: Earthquake, knocks up all enemy units within 8 yards, causing them to fall and stunning them for 3 seconds, cooldown 10 minutes. Special Effect 3: Summon Skeleton. Summon a skeleton that will fight for you for 5 minutes, cooldown 1 minute. Required Level 50, Priest only, Durability 280/280.


    This level 50 Epic equipment seemed better than this Forbidden Book.


    However, the person who thought this just didn''t understand the Forbidden Book''s second Special Effect.


    As someone who had experienced Rebirth, Lu Li had the opportunity to hear some past player anecdotes.Lone Smoker Long from Purple Lunar Paradise was once ambushed by an enemy club. Since it was an Ambush, it was a difficult situation and even a master like him struggled to escape.


    What threw his attackers off was that he summoned a magical mech.


    A unit from the future of the game had appeared from a dark portal and was slaughtering everyone in sight.


    This powerful machine was made by the Mo''arg mechanics. These were machines that used brute force and weren''t particularly intelligent, so they had to be given instructions. In terms of strength, their defense was higher than an Infernal and they could even be said to be a better version, but the cost of manufacturing them was very high. There were only a few of them in all of the Burning legion.


    Since the summon was a magical mech, what happened next was obvious.


    The incident put Purple Lunar Paradise in the limelight. After all, a magical mech was almost invincible to most players. Even though Lu Li had been reborn, he would still get chased around by this monster. It didn''t matter if you were a regular or a star player ¨C you would be killed with a single hit.


    It wasn''t until Lone Smoker Long told everyone the truth that they found out it was just a misunderstanding.


    There was a special effect on his magic staff that could ''summon a random demon unit to fight for you''. Usually, it was just a small monster like a succubus, but if you were lucky, you could summon something like a Doomguard.


    That time, he got lucky enough that he summoned the magical mech.


    He was shocked too.


    There were also many other rumours floating about. For example, some people claimed to have seen Lone Smoker Long summoning an abyss demon. There were even more ridiculous claims like someone saying that they saw him summon Sargeras. Whether it was Sargeras, Kil''Jaeden or Archimonde, Sargeras was a Titan while Kil''Jaeden and Archimonde were from Eredar and were ancestors of the Draenei.


    Getting a random summon was quite unpredictable and you never really knew what would be summoned.


    In theory, a Dreadlord-category demon like Rakh''likh could also be summoned. If it was summoned, it absolutely had to obey the orders of the user.


    Even if it was only for 30 seconds, it was more than enough to overwhelm an elite team of players.

 1233 Insane Woman

    After the Forbidden Book was taken, the secret area began to collapse.


    Lu Li and Water fairy managed to return to the city at the last moment. Water Fairy was quite puzzled by Lu Li''s risky behaviour but after she read the item''s attributes, both their eyes lit up.


    There was no need to say what she was thinking.


    However, Lu Li refused to give it to her. This item mainly provided Intelligence, so it wasn''t suitable for Thieves. Moreover, it was best to not expect much when using the skill.


    Lu Li had no idea that his behaviour was not helping his image of being forever alone. Fortunately, Water Fairy wasn''t the type of girl to get angry these little things. If he didn''t want to sell it, then she wouldn''t push it. She was still happy to go levelling with him.


    The players waiting at the Mage Tower were shocked at what was happening.


    When the system broadcasted the First Clear acquired by Ruling Sword, they were waiting for them to come out. They had been waiting for so long that everyone was now making fun of them.


    Had they been swallowed up by the secret area?


    They didn''t know who had brought Heart of War''s team to Ruling Sword, where they were wiped by Fat Monkey and some other players.


    Heart of War started feeling light-headed and fainted. The System saw that this had happened, so it logged him out of the game. The rest of the players looked at each other and eventually left as well. In the end, it was a complete mess and the guilds that didn''t send anyone to stop Ruling Sword were glad that they didn''t.


    However, every guild was now carefully paying attention to one single thing.


    Was Ruling Sword going to keep clearing Bosses, or were they finally done?


    If they continued to clear Bosses, what would they all do? They couldn''t just allow Ruling Sword to continue as they please. Although Heart of War sounded pompous before, there was some truth to his words.


    Dawn gave everyone the chance to make it big, and no one wanted Ruling Sword to ruin the game.


    This tension lasted for quite some time until there was definite news that the players of the Ruling Sword elite group were now just levelling. Their Boss-clearing activity had come to an end, and some players saw Lu Li and Water Fairy levelling together. This allowed everyone to finally relax and let go of their concerns.


    Lu Li and Water fairy had chosen to kill some elite monsters. These Ogres that were active around the Dreadmaul Stronghold gave quite a bit of EXP. Although they had high HP, this wasn''t something that two Thieves couldn''t deal with given their damage and crowd-control.


    Of course, Lu Li remembered that there was one important thing that he hadn''t done.


    Even if he forgot, the 400 players who had participated in the battle wouldn''t. There was no way that Remnant Dream would take the Boss drops for herself, not that she would have the courage to run away with the rewards anyway.


    There were two Synthetic stones. One of them increased critical hit while the other increased hit accuracy. These were given to Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat respectively.


    There were seven Strengthening Stones which would be temporarily held by Lu Li.


    A Mage Skill Book was given to Lonesome Flower. This skill book was only available for Ice mages and wasn''t suitable for PVP.


    In terms of eye-catching equipment, there were six Gold items dropped. All of these were taken to be used as compensation for the Main Tanks that died so often. Besides, there was no elite player that wanted this equipment and they could buy it from those players if they really wanted to.


    However, the four pieces of Dark Gold equipment couldn''t be distributed in the same way.


    Not only was there was there a demand, but the price was also very high. After all, not everyone could afford Epic equipment. The Dark Gold items dropped by this Boss were not that much worse than the Dark Gold items from an Instance Dungeon.


    The Attributes of the Epic equipment were particularly attention-grabbing. Lu Li couldn''t help but read them when Remnant Dream sent the information to him.


    If it weren''t for Water Fairy''s presence, Lu Li would have been beaten into a pulp by the Ogre near him.


    The first Epic equipment was a magic shoe. Its Attributes weren''t too bad, and its only flaw was that it had a special effect that PVP players couldn''t use. However, if you assigned this equipment to a PVE player, then the first two special effects would be wasted.


    This type of equipment would become more common in the future, and deciding how they should be assigned would become more difficult.


    The second Epic equipment was a Leather Armor, but it wasn''t suitable for Lu Li. It had a special effect that added to the user''s Strength for a short period of time, and the probability of triggering this effect was also affected by the user''s Strength stat. Only combat Thieves could properly use this equipment.


    Since Lu Li didn''t need it, the other Thieves in the Elite Group were given a chance to claim it.


    For a while, the Thieves that could use it launched into a fierce argument.


    In the end, the piece of equipment was given to a low-profile player who had amassed quite a higher number of points. This Thief, who was just over level 56, had almost entirely relied on doing guild quests to level himself.


    These guild quests didn''t refer to quests issued by the guild.


    There were some quests in Dawn that were tagged as ''guild''. The rewards for these quests always included a certain amount of guild EXP. The guild upgrade depended on this EXP, so guilds would often offer guild points to encourage players to complete these quests.


    As the reward for these quests included guild EXP, the player themselves received less EXP. As such, the average player never usually bothered with these.


    Dark Moon had quite a lot of guild points and he was willing to spend them, so he won the Epic leather armor in one fell swoop. Upon wearing this equipment, his strength was increased by 20%. After all, he had been grinding points, so he never really got a chance to find equipment.


    The third item was a one-handed hammer. Although the shape was a little ugly, its Attributes definitely did not reflect this. The bonus Attributes were enough to make the players drool and the three combined special effects made this an exquisite item.


    Not only was the last special effect very strong, but it also had a cool name. Its effect was even better than the one on Felstriker, which was equipped by Lu Li. It damaged all units within eight yards of the user by slamming the ground, and it also knocked up all damaged units.


    It was a single effect that dealt damage and applied crowd-control. This could be very effective if used in a key moment.


    This hammer wasn''t difficult to assign because it was clearly dedicated for Shamans.


    Sakura Memories excitedly hugged the scared remnant Dream. She hadn''t seen Sakura Memories for the past few days, and it was like suddenly seeing an insane woman or pervert.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    And so, Ruling Sword''s clearance of the three Wild Bosses had come to an end. They had managed to defeat all of these Bosses in one go, so the Talismans could be used again. However, they needed so wait for the Bosses to respawn, so if they wanted to fight them again, they would have to wait until next week.

 1234 A Common Enemy

    In the current top four round of the competitive season, it was now Ruling Sword''s home match against Gale Legion after Drizzle Court''s home match against Glory Capital.


    Gale Legion was different from Peerless City.


    Peerless City was an ally of Ruling Sword. Although everyone were competitors, they were still on good terms. Even if they couldn''t have a great time together, they weren''t at odds with one another.


    Gale Legion on the other hand¡­


    Lu Li had once stolen one of their Wild Bosses ¨C Queen Silith. He had even taken the items, which made Gale Legion furious.


    There was another time when Lu Li had infiltrated the Horde to complete a quest. That time, he had the orb Deception Orb and met Gaze. The two of them had fought for a while, but due to their circumstances, they had to finish the battle in another time.


    Later on, they fought each other a number of times in matches and on the battlefield.


    Gale Legion and Peerless City had taken wins and losses when fighting each other, but Gale Legion had never won against Ruling Sword.


    On the plane from Shudu to Jiangnan City, most of the Gale Legion players weren''t saying much. They had some small talk at the start, but they mostly fell silent after some time. Unconsciously, this game had cast a shadow over them.


    "Hey, do you guys really think that March Rain is a newcomer?" Wendelian looked confused.


    When the topic shifted onto a beautiful woman, everyone became a little more energetic.


    Flowing Wind had his eyes closed, but he propped up when he heard March Rain''s name.


    "She should be. I remember a special interview done with her, and she said that she had barely played games before Dawn."


    "How do you know what she said is true?" Wendelian questioned deliberately.


    She knew that Flowing Wind liked March Rain. After all, March Rain was quite a strong player and fit into Flowing Wind''s image of a goddess. The reason she asked that question was to bring some energy into the environment. They were about to compete and if they kept going like this, they would probably lose 10-0.


    "Why would she lie? Does she look like a liar to you?" Flowing Wind couldn''t sit still.


    He was a Paladin and he aimed to be a pure damage dealer. Currently, he had not yet reached the tipping point in his build where he was able to achieve the feared Paladin damage.


    Although his potential didn''t seem as great as a newcomer like Kitty Likes Meat, the gaming circle was generally optimistic about him. After all, he was very young at 18 years old.


    "Who knows? Maybe she deliberately said that she was a novice. Novices do get extra attention after all," Wendelian retorted which annoyed Flowing Wind to no end. If she wasn''t their party leader, then he probably would have gotten into an all-out argument with her.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    That''s right ¨C Wendelian had become the party leader of the Gale Legion club because of her excellent commanding ability.


    She had once served in Glory Capital and had learned from Sorrowless'' commanding tactics. She used to be Sorrowless'' Healer, but was later replaced by White Westhill. It was said that she was actually quite a good commander, but she existed completely in Sorrowless'' shadow.


    Later, when she felt like she would never truly grow in Glory Capital, she left to Gale Legion.


    Now, she had become the party leader of the Gale Legion club, which was what she wanted. Even if they lost to Ruling Sword in these matches, her position wouldn''t be affected. After all, she had made it into the final four, which was better than Blood Red War Flag.


    However, Wendelian wasn''t ready to admit defeat and was still finding a way for them to win. This was one of the necessary traits of a Party Leader.


    After discussing March Rain for a while, they asked Gaze to talk about the veterans. He shared some stories about Moonlight the God and everyone''s nervousness began to fade.


    By the time they got to gossiping about Lu Li and Water Fairy, the atmosphere had reached its peak.


    They first talked about what each party saw in each other. After all, Water Fairy had been infamous in the public eye for being very cold. No one was brave enough to ever confess to her in the last few years.


    Lu Li had shown amazing game talent and was now the boss of a major club, but he had come from a very poor family. Water Fairy''s family on the other hand was completely out of his league. It was like putting a flower into a pile of dung; how much nutrition could the flower really get out of it?


    There was also some talk about how much progress they had made together.


    Wendelian mysteriously said that she had a friend who saw Water Fairy in Jiangnan City, where Lu Li probably would be. Perhaps they were not only dating but were already living together?


    "Gr, I have to kill him!" Torrent''s eyes were red.


    If Lu Li was in front of him, he definitely would have tried to beat him up. Everyone else was filled with a similar indignation. Even Flowing Wind, who didn''t like Water Fairy, bore this grudge against Lu Li.


    Wendelian smiled as she looked upon this scene; she was laughing in her heart.


    In fact, she hadn''t done anything but stroke their hatred of Lu Li. Now, the morale among Gale Legion was high and there was a good chance that they would play well.


    "It''s a pity I didn''t kill him last time. What a waste," Cloudy Leaf sighed.


    When she heard this, Wendelian quickly added, "Killing Lu Li doesn''t actually do much. You can see that Peerless City hasn''t killed Lu Li, but it hasn''t affected their position. I think if we are able to defeat Ruling Sword as a whole, that would be a real blow."


    "Yeah, if we can defeat Ruling Sword, then Lu Li would definitely be ashamed. They are a new guild, but they are making it seem like Glory Capital is the only threat to them. Who do they think they are?" Gaze agreed.


    He was the most expensive star player on Gale Legion, but he was similar to Moonlight in that he didn''t like to participate in management activities. As such, he gave up the position of Party Leader to Wendelian. He could immediately see what Wendelian was trying to do, and so he quickly followed suit.


    As such, on Gale Legion''s plane, a heated discussion began.


    As the host, Lu Li had to come forward to receive them. He personally went to pick them up from the plane. They had run into a reporter from a news outlet and had no choice but to accept their demand for an interview.


    This news outlet was a normal news company that generally reported on political news, or anything major happening in science or technology.


    When he saw this media outlet in front of them, Lu Li''s first thought was that this was a fake reporter.

 1235 Trusted Confidan

    "In less than a year, you have become one of the top clubs in China. How did Mr. Lu achieve this?"


    The reporter from mainstream media was a professional and didn''t ask about the relationship between Water Fairy and Lu Li like the tabloid reporters would. She also didn''t ask about his family situation.


    "I should mention," Lu Li said slowly, "That Ruling Sword is still far from the top."


    "But you are the champions of the Shadow Cup and the Runners up for the Magic Cup. You are also expected to win in the current professional league. Wouldn''t such a club be at the top?" the reporter questioned.


    Lu Li took a closer look at the person interviewing him and began to feel like they probably weren''t


    an impostor. Perhaps the mainstream media''s knowledge of the gaming circle was not that deep, because it was only the ordinary players who actually thought Ruling Sword was a top club.


    "For a club to be called a top club, there are a number of factors. The results of that club in competitions are only one factor. There are others, like the number of talented players you have¡­" Lu Li explained patiently.


    When the reporter heard this, she knew that she had made a mistake. However, she saw that Lu Li had patiently explained this to her and he wasn''t rude about it at all, which made a good impression on her. She then went on to ask about the hardships faced by Ruling Sword and how they overcame them. After this, she gave Lu Li an opportunity to describe his plans for the coming year.


    If they used all the material that she managed to get, it would be full page special report.


    It was also quite a positive view on their journey. It would convince the people that Ruling Sword''s growth wasn''t just due to luck, but because of the strategic steps that they had taken.


    Lu Li wasn''t that hopeful, because he doubted that an ordinary reporter like this would have such influence. However, if they were actually influential, and their first contact with him was Lu Li trying to escape the interview, then that would be the public eye''s first impression.


    There were also a number of other people following Lu Li and asking him questions, but the interview ended when Gale Legion''s plane landed.


    Gale Legion had come a long way, and there were many people travelling with them. There were more than 100 people part of the logistics team that travelled with the players. This was much more than Ruling Sword had brought.


    Lu Li suddenly realized a very strange issue.


    He couldn''t understand why the Gale Legion players looked so fierce, especially since they were about to face Ruling Sword.


    Although they were rivals, the match had not yet begun. Did they really have to make it so obvious? It almost seemed like they wanted to fight in real life. Lu Li''s upbringing had made him extra vigilant, and he couldn''t help but feel like something was wrong.


    Wendelian was standing behind Torrent and regretted not egging them on just a little bit more. They might have even performed a full martial arts act if she did¡­


    Fortunately, the Gale Legion players still remained sensible. After all, they were all professional players, and would have received a form of psychological training. They wouldn''t have just gone up and fought Lu Li even though they didn''t like him. Even if they wanted to, they would have to find a quiet place first. This was Jiangnan Airport and there were Ruling Sword personnel everywhere helping to maintain order.


    Lu Li expressed his welcome towards Gale Legion and accompanied them while they were interviewed.


    The reporters that were part of the media outlet didn''t stay to interview Gale Legion. It seemed that they were only here for Ruling Sword, but Lu Li wasn''t sure if Gale Legion''s players noticed.


    In fact, news outlets generally didn''t pay much attention to the gaming circle, even though the gaming industry was now so large.


    This transition was slowly being made, and in the next few months, the proportion of capital invested in reporting the gaming circle would increase by several dozen times. These news outlets would eventually be forced to pay attention.


    The biggest investment in reporting for the past year was for the Gangnam Royals, but the recent results of that guild had been mediocre. They weren''t eye-catching enough to report on.


    Then, some experts recognized the next best candidate of their investment. It was a new club that had recently arrived on the scene ¨C Ruling Sword.


    When they saw Ruling Sword''s journey and their results, the Jiangnan City''s star news reporter had no problems stopping Lu Li and his team at the airport for an interview. As for Gale Legion, they were a semi-subsidiary of Glory Capital, which made them almost invisible.


    After they picked up the Gale Legion players, they brought them back to a welcoming reception. Naturally, it was a lively event and it had to at least appear like it was run smoothly.


    "Why don''t you ask Water Fairy to come out?" Wendelian asked with a laugh. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Oh, I don''t quite understand what you mean," Lu Li responded vaguely as he turned around.


    "I heard that Water Fairy isn''t currently in Jinling City. Don''t you know that?"


    Wendelian stared into Lu Li''s eyes, looking for a guilty conscience or for him to dodge the question.


    "I know that, but I don''t know where she is. Maybe she just went out for a walk," Lu Li said calmly. The last time Water Fairy left Jinling City, it was to avoid her pregnant stepmother. Lu Li didn''t really mind wherever she want, so he wasn''t worried.


    Wendelian looked away and was puzzled.


    Lu Li seemed to be telling the truth. Could it really be true that he didn''t know where Water Fairy was? Or perhaps¡­ he was a very good liar.


    Later, she considered that if Water Fairy and Lu Li really were together, would they join forces? Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City would form a three-club superpower.


    What was even more worrying was that it would mutually advantageous for all of them.


    The flaw in Peerless City was that they were subordinate to another guild that was led by a woman, and many players refused to join for that reason.


    Drizzle Court''s issue was that Water Fairy didn''t strongly possess any of the categories of a strong leader. She wasn''t particularly ruthless nor was she shameless. This naturally meant that there were a number of strategies that she couldn''t employ.


    Ruling Sword was lacking in resources, talented players and money¡­


    If Lu Li became the leader of this three-club superpower, Peerless City''s issue would be resolved. They would be led by an unrivalled expert who could kill Sorrowless. No one would be dissatisfied by the fact that Peerless City was subordinate to another guild, and there were no other obvious issues.


    Drizzle Court would benefit as well, because Lu Li was a particularly ruthless player. None of the major guilds that knew Lu Li thought of him as a pure or innocent player.


    As for the needs of Ruling Sword, although the infrastructure of Drizzle Court and Peerless City wasn''t that established, it was definitely enough for Ruling Sword the time being. Water Fairy definitely had money; she was the first female tycoon in the game after all!

 1236 Practice Map

    After eating, Gale Legion declined the invitation to visit the city.


    Jiangnan was nice and the scenery wasn''t too bad, but there were players in game training all the time. If you slacked off, you would be overtaken. As such, there was no one who wanted to see the sights. Instead, they all just went back to the hotel.


    What was there to see anyway? Ruling Sword was a new guild, so they didn''t need to visit them to know that they didn''t have much.


    But in fact, they had made a mistake. Ruling Sword''s new location was actually better than most of the other clubs. Even though Gale Legion had been developing their club for years, they still paid less than Ruling Sword for their location.


    Lu Li had made a lot of money over the past six months. He used some to pay for his sister''s treatment and a down payment on a house, but the rest was invested into the club.


    With Water Fairy''s help, Lu Li receive the rights to use a large piece of land for a lower price from the city hall. Moreover, they had constructed everything from scratch.


    Under his ambitious vision, he would definitely fully-purchase this land one day and use it to create a lasting empire.


    Lu Li had already entrusted Cat Dad with the task of inspecting all the equipment. The money earned from their first professional league tournament would probably go into that. Setting up training camps would be the next step as Ruling Sword would start recruiting students from the public. Each student required at least three years of training before showing any results, and the arduous task was a thankless job.


    By the time he logged onto the game, he wasn''t in the mood for levelling anymore, but since there was still some time before the match began, he thought to familiarise himself with the maps.


    This time, it was Ruling Sword on home turf, so they were allowed to choose the map. Just like in the quarterfinals, they could choose out of nine maps. These nine maps were released to both teams a few days ago. It was impossible for the players to get practice on all nine maps, so it was advantageous that they could choose.


    In addition to levelling and fighting Bosses, Lu Li and the others spent the rest of their time familiarizing themselves with the map.


    Meanwhile, Gale Legion were also discussing the maps. They were talking about which one Ruling Sword was likely to pick.


    "They will obviously pick the big circular one. What other one would they want?" Flowing Wind asked, saying what most the other players were thinking. Ruling Sword didn''t like choosing tricky maps. In their previous match against Peerless City, they choose the simplest map available ¨C a large circular arena.


    This arena had an elliptical shape and there was clearly no cover anywhere other than a few pillars.


    "We should still prepare just in case. I have already said ¨C things like this shouldn''t be decided by one person," Wendelian said, raising her voice.


    "If they choose a new map, who would train with them?"


    Gaze didn''t quite understand either, but he was on Wendelian''s side. After all, he was a veteran, so he was more cautious.


    "Peerless City¡­"


    Ruling Sword''s test opponent would be Peerless City, but they weren''t fighting now. Currently, Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword players were testing all the maps.


    "Hey, we''re not competing. Why are you fighting so hard?" Half a Cigarette yelled as he cast Ice Block. Moonlight and Lu Li had joined forces to kill him. Fortunately, he subconsciously acted quickly enough to stay alive.


    March Rain clutched her Magic Staff and resisted the urge to engage on him as well.


    Because of this, Half a Cigarette''s teammate was able to arrive and both sides went back into a stalemate.


    Half a Smoke smiled smugly and said, "You can''t do it like this. Cloudy Leaf has two Ice Blocks, so catching him won''t be the way to defeat Gale Legion."


    It was no secret that Cloudy Leaf had two Ice Blocks. Gale Legion had used this against Peerless City and the ordinary players couldn''t help but feel like it was a cheap trick. Ice Block was already such a strong skill, so it was outrageous that he had two.


    March Rain almost rolled her eyes at him.


    She wondered when it would be time to reveal her ultimate skill to scare them?


    "You have practiced on this map ten times already, so you must have decided to choose this map." Green Flag Wine was somewhat sympathetic towards Gale Legion. If they hadn''t been training with Lu Li and the others, they would have still thought that Lu Li would only choose the circular arena map.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "That''s about right," Lu Li said simply. He knew it was impossible to please all of these allies.


    "When you win, remember to buy us a drink. There are quite a few of us, so don''t forget to invite us all," Half a Cigarette laughed.


    "Of course I will," Lu Li naturally agreed. Everyone thought that Ruling Sword would choose the circular arena map because the mighty Ruling Sword only had a few players. This meant that they couldn''t split into two teams to practice on these other maps and therefore had no choice but to pick the circular arena map.


    Peerless City, as an ally, had come to help Ruling Sword train.


    They had practiced on the hill map ten times and the other maps three or four times. This had used up quite a bit of levelling time for Peerless City. If some other guild had asked for it, the price would be something that Lu Li couldn''t afford.


    It was clear that they took the alliance very seriously!


    This was the benefit of having allies. Lu Li had strategically done this and given up some of his benefits to Water Fairy, but he didn''t feel like he was suffering.


    Lu Li was born into a humble life, but he wasn''t a short-sighted person.


    Peerless City didn''t actually have to spend this time with Ruling Sword. All they had to do was accompany Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword. After all, this was the time that other guilds spent desperately levelling.


    After Lu Li had finished training, it was time for the start of the match.


    As they entered the arena, the huge screen displayed each of them. This was accompanied by a commentary of their achievements to hype up the atmosphere.


    What made Gale Legion speechless was that the screen actually showed a clip of Lu Li killing Sorrowless. No one knew how this video was taken, but the audience was shocked and captivated.


    There were many players that thought Lu Li''s assassination of Sorrowless was a rumour. After all, how could Sorrowless be killed?


    They thought it was definitely a story that Ruling Sword had made up to generate hype. Sorrowless also didn''t appear to clarify this rumour because this was but one of the countless attempts to defame him.


    Of course, when Lu Li saw this on the screen, he didn''t feel pride, but rather resentment. He didn''t know how this video was made, but he knew that its sole purpose was to draw more attention.


    This assassination was only something he could have pulled off at the beginning. Part of the reason was because his guards were slacking, as they thought Sorrowless couldn''t be assassinated.


    However, the main reason was because he was so much lower than him in levels. They were essentially in


    different leagues at the time. If Lu Li tried to assassinate Sorrowless now, there would be countless players around to defend him, but even if there was no one, he wasn''t sure if he would win.

 1237 Gobi Deser

    Now that the players from both sides had arrived, commentator Jiu Feng began announcing the match.


    "Hello everyone, this is the fourth round of the semi-finals match in Dawn''s first professional league. It is Ruling Sword vs Gale Legion!"


    The players from both sides had already entered the game machines. Their faces were calm and it looked like they were asleep.


    It was hard to imagine that through what appeared to be a calm sleep was the fight for a chance to compete in the championship.


    "Right now, the information of the players is being displayed on the screen. I don''t know if you guys have noticed, but both these teams are actually quite even. Gaze and Moonlight are on par. Fat Monkey is on the rise, but is still not as strong as Cloudy Leaf¡­" Four Seas Dragon said, analysing the line-up.


    "Wendelian is no worse than March Rain. They also have powerful players like Flowing Wind and Torrent. I think we will be looking at a great performance from Gale Legion," Jiu Feng agreed.


    In fact, no matter what they really thought, this was what they had to say.


    This was the only way they could attract everyone''s attention. If Gale Legion was already condemned to lose, then there would be nothing here to see.


    The game had officially started, and Ruling Sword''s Fat Monkey first entered the field, while Gale Legion had sent their Mage Cloudy Leaf. Four Seas Dragon seemed quite certain that Fat Monkey wasn''t as strong as Cloudy Leaf. If the outcome of this match didn''t reflect his statement, that would be embarrassing for him.


    Fat Monkey was quite ambitious in taking this fight, but he didn''t feel nervous just because his opponent was more famous than him.


    He was the best upcoming newcomer since the Magic Cup. Not only did he gain a reputation in the professional gaming circle, but he was also quite famous now. This provided him with a number of endorsement opportunities. Sometimes, when he was feeling bored, he would buy a house or a car. Fat Monkey really was living a good life.


    The only unfortunate thing about it was that this reputation seemed to be limited to being the best newcomer in the Magic Cup.


    When other powerful Mages were mentioned, he could never compare against them. Fat Monkey didn''t like that. His goal was to become the number one Mage, and not just the best newcomer of a competition.


    They didn''t say much to each other before fighting. Cloudy Leaf took the initiative and Fat Monkey responded appropriately.


    They were two Mages; one ice and one fire. Fire Mages had higher damage and more continuous damage skills while Ice Mages were geared towards crowd control. When this was used in combination with Cloudy Leaf''s Water Elemental, the two could deal similar amounts of damage.


    At the beginning, the two players were evenly matched, but as the battle went on, Fat Monkey was being grinded down.


    Perhaps it was from that moment that Fat Monkey had begun to fail.


    Cloudy Leaf took the first victory in the individual rounds with a decent advantage, but was now facing a full HP Moonlight. Even with his two Ice Blocks, he couldn''t win. Moreover, he had to preserve his special effects because the Ice Blocks would play a role in the group rounds.


    Needless to say, special skills like Ice Block had a particularly long cooldown.


    In the individual rounds, Ruling Sword had a slight advantage. After all, Lu Li and Moonlight were both duelling experts while Gale Legion only had Gaze. The final score was five points to three and obviously, Ruling Sword was ahead by 2 points.


    "Have you noticed that Gale Legion possess great fighting spirit today, and they have been fighting well?"


    Four Seas Dragon was very excited, and was always looking for good things to say about both parties.


    "I see that especially in Torrent. With his confident posture, he was almost about to take out half of Lu Li''s HP. In other words, if Torrent had Lu Li''s level and equipment, he might even be able to defeat Lu Li in a one on one," Jiu Feng praised.


    However, the Gale Legion players knew that Torrent only was able to fight so hard against Lu Li because of their pre-match discussions.


    After the individual rounds, the eye-catching group rounds begun.


    In the current system, there were two rounds. The individual rounds were worth 5 points while the group rounds were worth 6 points, for a total of 11 points. Although winning the team rounds didn''t guarantee a victory, losing it would make winning considerably more difficult.


    "Woah, what is this map?" Jiu Feng was already surprised by the map that had been chosen.


    Like many others, she thought Ruling Sword would choose the simple circular arena map for their home match. She didn''t expect it to be a map with complex terrain like the Gobi Desert.


    The Gobi Desert!


    The Gobi Desert was different from a normal desert. Deserts were predominantly filled with sand while the surface of the Gobi Desert was predominantly covered in gravel. There was no sand or soil which meant there were no plants.


    As a map, the Gobi Desert''s terrain was particularly complex because it had rocky cliffs everywhere.


    "Hey this is probably one of the most complex maps available," Four Seas Dragon sighed. He quickly realized that Peerless City was probably Ruling Sword''s sparring partner when they trained for this, but he just continued sitting in the commentator''s box in silence.


    In his opinion, it was quite unbelievable that Peerless City would be Ruling Sword''s sparring partner.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Allies were not usually compassionate towards one another. Most allies would be self-interested and wouldn''t want to waste time with Ruling Sword. Besides, their true ally, Drizzle Court, hadn''t even been eliminated yet. It was possible that they could still run into Ruling Sword in the championships.


    On the contrary, Gale Legion didn''t show much surprise.


    Wendelian let out a long sigh of relief. After suspecting that Ruling Sword had been training, she also took her teammates to train in some of the more difficult maps. They had also trained in the Gobi Desert a number of times, so this was an acceptable outcome.


    The terrain of the Gobi Desert was a large basin surrounded by two tall cliffs.


    A regular player that just jumped down would lose half their HP, but this rarely occurred in a professional match. Some professions had the means of reducing fall damage. Priests were the best at this, as those who learned the floating skill could give it to their teammates so they could float down one at a time.


    Since the terrain was complex, tactics were very important. In the process of training, everyone had explored a number of tactics.


    Lu Li went ahead and explored. When he saw his opponent''s formation, he immediately arranged his teammates in response. As for Gale Legion, they didn''t have a capable Thief, so they just had to be more defensive.


    If anyone asked what Gale Legion was missing, the answer would no doubt be a Thief.

 1238 Desperate Counterattack

    "It is said that Gale Legion intends to sign a top Thief for six million dollars, but they haven''t been able to do so," Four Seas Dragon said.


    With the rising popularity of Dawn, the value of each player changes with each day. When Wendelian moved, she was only offered $1 million. The relationship between Glory Capital and Gale Legion was complicated, so Wendelian''s transfer was not just a simple annual salary arrangement. However, even an established expert like Gaze only earned $4.5 million per annum.


    Now that they were offering $6 million per year for a Thief, and no one had taken it yet was a demonstration of how the market was changing.


    "It seems that Gale Legion will still want a Thief after this season. Six million dollars seems quite attractive," Jiu Feng said enviously. She was just an ordinary player and had never seen that much money before.


    "Well, there is actually someone who would be very suitable. If Gale Legion can actually get him, it would be amazing," Four Seas Dragon broke out in laughter as he touched his nose.


    "Wood Fearing!" Jiu Feng blurted out, not having to think for long.


    "That''s right, it''s Wood Fearing," Four Seas Dragon sneered. "If Gods of a Dusk really can''t fix their guild, then they should trap a super player like him in that place."


    These were quite unpolite words, as he was basically publicly accusing Gods of Dusk.


    Gods of Dusk''s president, Heaven War God, was a Liu Bei-type of figure who loved using emotional rhetoric to win over his players. They feared that Wood Fearing had been deceived by this.


    When this was coupled with the fact that Heaven War God had helped Wood Fearing in his early years, Wood Fearing felt like he had no choice but to stay with Gods of Dusk year after


    year.


    Wood Fearing had been serving them for 8 years now. The formally young boy was once rushed to the top, but now, he was approaching 30. There were some broad requirements when playing these virtual games, as once you reached 30, your quick thinking, reaction times and situational awareness all began to go downhill.


    Four Seas Dragon was a bit older than Wood Fearing, and he had once trained the young Wood Fearing. He really appreciated him as an apprentice.


    Over the years, Wood Fearing had repeatedly tried to persuade Gods of Dusk to allow him to leave, but their relationship just grew even stiffer. Four Seas Dragon still hoped that Wood Fearing would one day see his own value and chase his own glory.


    For a commentator to say something like this to a public audience was outrageous. Gods of Dusk wanted to make a formal complaint to the organizing committee, but Four Seas Dragon wasn''t afraid. Although he wasn''t a top player in the recent years, he was a highly esteemed coach that no one would dare question when he commented on others in the gaming circle.


    Jiu Feng was worried that Four Seas Dragon was taking it too far, so she quickly took the opportunity to change the topic.


    "Ah, they have run into each other. It seems like Ruling Sword have made the first move, but Gale Legion have responded well."


    Four Seas Dragon looked and saw what really happened between Ruling Sword and Gale Legion. He quickly grabbed the microphone and shouted, "Ruling Sword has cast Bloodlust as soon they engaged, and Gale Legion has responded in kind. Both teams have a Shaman that have this skill!"


    The level 5 Bloodlust was still Dawn''s most powerful group damage output skill.


    The Bloodlust Skill Book was also currently very rare, but as a professional player, it was a must-have as it greatly influenced group battles.


    "Lu Li is being targeted and is using Gale Steps. That was the perfect timing for it," Jiu Feng applauded.


    "The fact that Gale Legion is targeting Lu Li is not a good thing. They should try to kill Fat Monkey first. A Mage is more useful than a Thief in this situation," Four Seas Dragon criticized.


    "But it seems like they have succeeded¡­"


    Jiu Feng just finished speaking when Lu Li''s invulnerability from the Gale Steps ended.


    There was nothing he could do. Everyone was targeting him, so there wasn''t much counter-play.


    This was the kind of game Dawn was. It didn''t exclude the possibility of being a hero, but it didn''t allow for invincible heroes, especially in a context like this. If they were willing invest the resources, they would be able to kill the target.


    When Gale Legion killed Lu Li, the price they paid was the loss of Angry City Dweller and Torrent, both of whom were killed.


    Angry City Dweller didn''t have to die, but in order to ensure that Lu L died, he used an attacking skill rather than an escaping skill. Once Lu Li was definitely dead, it was too late for him to escape Moonlight''s Whirlwind.


    This was certainly not the outcome that Gale Legion expected.


    Their thought process was that they didn''t mind trading any one player for Lu Li. Gaze was on par with Moonlight, Cloudy Leaf was a bit better than Fat Monkey and everyone else was about even.


    All they could do now was to reluctantly turn to focus-fire March Rain.


    March Rain was on half HP and this was Gale Legion''s only chance to come back. If they could kill March Rain, not only would they equalize the situation, but they would be ahead.


    March Rain was indeed a beautiful girl, but when she was in the arena, Gale Legion didn''t really have time to look at her.


    In particular, if the Paladin Flowing Wind didn''t have the discipline of a professional player, he would have already run over to ask for her contact information. But now, it was life or death for the team, so he had to set aside all aspects of his personal life. Flowing Wind took the lead against March Rain and raised his hammer against the face of his dreams.


    Of course, Ruling Sword couldn''t just sit back and watch as March Rain was being killed.


    They quickly adjusted their formation. Although Fat Monkey''s Fire Shield was crumbling, he didn''t step back until his other teammates were in position.


    "If you were commanding in this situation, what would you do?" Four Seas Dragon asked.


    "Gale Legion''s situation is a bit difficult; they have lost two players," Jiu Feng commented, then paused to think and continued, "If I was commanding, I would wait for Cloudy Leaf to arrive. Then Cloudy Leaf, Flowing Wind, Gaze, Wendelian and so on would fight together as one."


    "That''s right, but Ruling Sword obviously understands this, so they wouldn''t just let them go." In Four Seas Dragon''s mind, this game was already over.


    "All they can do is to keep up the fight. In fact, they should be confident. Wendelian is a very strong healer, as she was once Sorrowless'' personal healer. If Ruling Sword wants to kill her, it would be no easier than Gale Legion''s current task of killing March Rain."


    At this point, both sides were trying to attack their opponent''s healer.


    They had to protect their own healer and kill the other healer.


    When the game got to this point, it was very simple in theory, but very hard to accomplish in practice.


    It was just like their fight against peerless City from a while ago. If they lost too badly then there was no way of catching up in the later rounds anyway. But now, they had no reason to hold back. As such, the audience got to see every single trick that Gale Legion had.


    The situation had changed slightly.


    Originally, Ruling Sword had the advantage in the four on three situation, but with this burst of aggression, the advantage had been equalized.


    One side was still trying to hold back while the other was using everything they had. The gap between them was starting to show.


    Then there was another substitution!


    Ruling Sword lost March Rain and Gale Legion also lost Wendelian.


    "I''m sure that there are many people who feel like this is a very even match, and it evens seems a bit boring," Jiu Feng almost yawned.


    "This is normal as Gale Legion can''t match Ruling Sword. Their strategy is also a bit strange. I still can''t figure out why they decided to target Lu Li first; he just has so many escaping skills."


    When the match first started, Gale Legion traded two players for one player, which was an unsatisfactory opening.


    Although they had now killed March Rain, Wendelian had not been spared either.


    Now Ruling Sword had Moonlight, Fat Monkey and Sakura Memories while Gale Legion only had Gaze and Flowing Wind. This was a difficult position for Gale Legion to be in.


    Fortunately, reinforcements from both sides had almost arrived. Cloudy Leaf was the first to the scene. He had been very anxious while waiting and had blinked a number of times while travelling in order to arrive earlier.


    When he arrived, he didn''t say anything and immediately started attacking Fat Monkey. Moonlight was difficult to kill and Sakura Memories'' Bloodlust wouldn''t be off cooldown for some time. Compared to the other two, her damage output was quite low so there was no need to waste time on her. Fat Monkey had already taken some damage and Fire Mages had fewer means of self-preservation, so there was really no one else to attack.


    Cloudy Leaf was quite aggressive and Flowing Wind was actually not that much weaker than Moonlight.


    Paladins and Druids were relatively average damage dealers but could be quite versatile. The difference was that the current Paladins seemed to be much stronger than the Druid for competitive play. Druids couldn''t Revive anyone in a match as they didn''t leave any bodies.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Most Paladins would take advantage of their profession and either focus on strengthening their defense, healing or damage output¡­


    But in any case, they would have to take into account the specialities of the other players and play to their strengths.


    Flowing Wind was different. He disregarded the other strengths of the Paladin class and simply pursued damage output. Whenever someone mentioned him, they were always thinking of someone dealing high damage.


    Fat Monkey ducked and fled desperately. He had been a little careless and got hit by two ticks of Gaze''s Whirlwind. After March Rain died, there was no one healing him, so he became a target. However, he wasn''t retreating in a random direction. He was actually running straight towards Mu Qiu who was coming from the waiting room.


    When they saw Ruling Sword''s sub from afar, the Gale Legion players'' expressions turned black.


    It was actually Mu Qiu!


    Why wasn''t it Kitty Likes Meat? That girl hasn''t appeared even once today.


    It wasn''t that Mu Qiu was more powerful than Kitty Likes Meat. The key thing in this moment was that their opponent now had a healer. Even though their Paladin had some healing ability, if Gale Legion fought without a proper healer, things would soon turn ugly.


    One could imagine the feeling of fighting and slowly taking down a target''s HP only to have it refilled by a healer.


    Cloudy Leaf certainly didn''t want this to happen, so he suddenly blinked forwards and appeared behind Fat Monkey. Fat Monkey had already previously used his Ice Block, so he had no choice but to watch this Mage, who was more famous then he was, attack him.


    All he could hope for now was his healer to arrive in time.

 1239 A Healer’s Counterattack

    Fat Monkey felt a hit on his back just before his body dissipated in a white light.


    He was just one step away!


    His tears almost started flowing. He had been fighting for so long, which meant that he had no way of getting away and his hope in Mu Qiu had been crushed by Cloudy Leaf.


    However, Mu Qiu wasn''t too frustrated. He hadn''t expected to save his teammate as they were too far apart.


    He took a detour in order to meet up with his other teammate; there was just no need to face a Mage with such strong burst potential. Anger wouldn''t solve this problem. As a senior player that had been playing games for 2 to 3 years, he knew this better than anyone else.


    Cloudy Leaf had performed a miracle, as he equalized the number of players on each side.


    However, Ruling Sword was left with Sakura Memories, Moonlight and Mu Qiu, while Gale Legion was left with Gaze, Cloudy Leaf and Flowing Wind. In terms of damage output, Ruling Sword wasn''t as strong as Gale Legion, but there were few people left who were optimistic about Gale Legion''s chances.


    "Gale Legion''s defeat in this group round is quite unfortunate," Jiu Feng said sympathetically.


    "If nothing else happens, the final score should be six to three. Ruling Sword has their Healer Mu Qiu and Sakura Memories'' Bloodlust will eventually come off cooldown. Gale Legion only has damage output players that are going to die soon," Four Seas Dragon said calmly. Although this seemed even at first, the gap between these two teams was actually quite wide.


    "Their only chance is to kill Sakura Memories, but is it going to be possible?" Jiu Feng questioned.


    Even Jiu Feng could see this. Gale Legion weren''t dumb and knew that Sakura Memories had to be killed. Otherwise, Moonlight''s damage under Bloodlust''s effect would be devastating.


    However, they had less HP and Ruling Sword had a healer. If they wanted to kill Sakura Memories, they needed to fight through Mu Qiu''s healing. Would they be able to do it?


    Even if they couldn''t, they were going to try!


    Through all the ups and downs of this match, the audience had been mesmerized. Gale Legion didn''t accept defeat and there were some who applauded them for it. The players were encouraged to see them equalise after fighting from behind. They were all waiting for what they were going to do next¡­


    Mu Qiu began healing Sakura Memories without a second thought, before using his weapon to cut Flowing Wind.


    Mu Qiu hadn''t used any skills; he had just used an ordinary attack. He was a Paladin that primarily focused on Intelligence, so the damage that was dealt to Flowing Wind was embarrassing. It barely managed to deal double-digit damage.


    Sakura Memories didn''t look back and just ran behind Moonlight.


    She had someone healing her and she was continually running away, so it wasn''t easy to kill her. As time passed, Gale Legion eventually found that Flowing Wind was in danger as he was now below half HP. With no one healing them, it wasn''t too difficult for Moonlight and Mu Qiu to do this.


    Cloudy Leaf wasn''t easy to kill either. He had two Ice Blocks and he had a number of skills that could regenerate Mana. As a result, Flowing Wind had become the target.


    Sakura Memories ran as she slammed a fiery red totem into the ground. A tongue of flame flew out to attack Gaze and Cloudy Leaf, but this totem was just to distract them. Its true damage and slow effects were minimal.


    However, when Cloudy Leaf and Gaze saw this tongue of flame, their expressions changed.


    Sakura Memories had stalled for long enough to decisively cast her refreshed Bloodlust. She then used a blink-like skill that she hadn''t used yet to appear near Flowing Wind who was now on low HP.


    Flowing Wind was dead!


    By the end of the Bloodlust duration, Cloudy Leaf and Gaze were still alive, but they weren''t at full HP anymore.


    When they saw the three Ruling Sword players who were still at full HP staring at them, these two persevering players couldn''t do anything but shake their heads and smile. They fought to the end for the dignity of Gale Legion, but this had no effect on the ultimate outcome of the match.


    Just before it all ended, Jiu Feng asked the final question.


    "Was it the wrong decision to kill Lu Li first? Would they have won if they chose a different target?"


    "It''s hard to say what could have happened. Killing Lu Li was one approach, but they hadn''t achieved the goal that they wanted," Four Seas Dragon said neutrally with a smile.


    "Is there any hope left for Gale Legion?" Jiu Feng asked.


    "I think it''s over for them."


    Four Seas Dragon watched as Gale Legion''s final player, Cloudy Leaf, was eliminated from the match, before announcing the final result of the competition. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "The score for the individual rounds was 5:3 and the score here was 6:3, which makes the final score 11:6."


    There was a full five-point gap between them. Even if Gale Legion played their best, they would be unlikely to overcome this gap.


    When Four Seas Dragon said that it was over, he really meant it. If Gale Legion wanted to win, the next match had to be won with a five-point gap. If they went 5:3 again in the individual rounds, then they would have to not lose a single player against Ruling Sword in the group rounds.


    The audience was sorrowful as the glorious moment of Gale Legion working together to kill Lu Li was largely forgotten.


    Wendelian, who had been killed a long time ago, wasn''t anxious at all. She had prepared for this moment. Now that all had been decided, it didn''t matter whether it was good or bad. However, Gale Legion''s journey in the first season of the professional league ended here.


    In fact, this wasn''t an unexpected result. From the moment they set foot on the plane to fly to Jiangnan City, they already knew this would happen.


    As for the question of whether they should have focused Lu Li first, Wendelian would have made the same choice again. The potential for disaster if they left Lu Li alive in the match was just too significant to ignore.


    Besides, Wendelian had used hatred towards Lu Li as a means of riling everyone up.


    Originally, they were going to fall apart much earlier than this, but the fact that they had made it this far was already beyond her expectations.


    Although she could see past this match, not everyone could. Gaze had prepared himself for this outcome, but when the match was going, he still had his hopes up for a miracle. Until this moment, he had truly believed they would pull through.


    He used to be like Moonlight and was called the God of War, but had never won a competition.


    The next time he stood on this stage, he would fight for victory again, but at least for now, it seemed that he was slightly behind Moonlight.


    So far, the top four teams in the league had played against each other. Glory Capitals had not created a big lead on Drizzle Court while Ruling Sword had effectively eliminated their opponent. On the surface, there were three competitors for the championship, but everyone knew that the ultimate battle would be between Ruling Sword and Glory Capital.


    As for Drizzle Court, they weren''t able to win with home ground advantage, so there was little chance that they could win in the next match.

 1240 A Wild Transfer

    Although Gale Legion had practically lost, it didn''t mean there wouldn''t be a second game. After all, there was still the theoretical possibility that they could win. They would have to steamroll through the individual rounds and not lose a single member in the team round.


    After the fight against Gale Legion, there would be a 10-day break before Drizzle Court would have their second match against Glory Capital.


    Gale Legion didn''t hurry back home after playing their match. Perhaps it was to eat away their sadness of losing to Ruling Sword, but they stayed in Jiangnan for 3 days. On those days, they would log on during their online time, but the rest of their time would be spent eating and enjoying themselves.


    Ruling Sword was their host, so they paid for all this spending.


    Lu Li looked at the long list of food and drinks and his expression turned dark. He had never met such a shameless group of people before.


    After three days, Gale Legion rubbed their bellies and set foot on their plane to go home. Soon after, the battle between Glory Capital and Drizzle Court was to begin and the first championship in Dawn''s first competitive season was another step closer.


    In fact, many teams were happy to get to where they did in this season. As part of the top 100, they had already received many bonuses, as well as revenue from the ticket sales. If their personal reputation was better, they would have earned even more. They might have even received an endorsement opportunity.


    As the games were drawing to a close, the major clubs were also beginning to move.


    Various head-hunters had been looking at the performances of this season''s players. They were looking for players to poach.


    Ruling Sword was a guild that had particularly attracted the attention of these sharks.


    Up until this point, the benefits received by a new team were quite average. These players who were new received a lower income due to the flawed regulations of the clubs, so they would naturally have hearts filled with grievances. As long as the head-hunters made some tempting promises, it was easy to get them to join a new guild.


    There were three difficulties when starting a new guild. The first was starting it, the second was funding it and the third was finding talent.


    When a guild was established, they would often find themselves suppressed by another more experienced guild. However, this was not the case for Ruling Sword, because they had been established in an unorthodox manner. They were a Mercenary Group that had won the Shadow Cup Championship before setting up the guild.


    When everyone noticed them, they had already risen to the top and it was too late to suppress them.


    However, the difficulties of funding were something that had been plaguing Ruling Sword. There was a lot that they wanted to do but were unable to. It was hard to make money, and they were always forced to spend what little they had.


    There were many clubs that couldn''t withstand this difficulty, so they chose to accept a capital injection from foreign sources. This solved the problem to an extent, but it introduced a new kind of difficulty ¨C interference from their sponsor.


    Even Glory Capital was subject this kind of interference. The authorities that kept Sorrowless accountable were quite heavy handed, but he still had enough of a voice to prevent it from affecting the development of the guild.


    With regards to the third difficultly, this was where Ruling Sword was struggling right now.


    Although Square Root 3 told Lu Li not to worry, some people had seen Fat Monkey and others who were thought to be head-hunters drinking together. After they finished, they went to a karaoke session together. Cat Dad had also been entertaining many guests, and it was possible that he could be looking for another branch.


    March Rain, Moonlight, Sakura Memories, Mu Qiu and a number of other celebrity players other than Lu Li had also been contacted.


    When Square Root 3 was pouring water for Lu Li, his hands were shaking. He had expected this to happen, but he didn''t expect it to be so aggressive or at such a sensitive time.


    Even if they were unsuccessful, it would still have a huge psychological effect on the players and their next match might be affected. Who could possibly remain unphased after rejecting an offer for receiving millions?


    Moreover, Ruling Sword wasn''t perfect either.


    When they had been established, the original members of the Mercenary Group held the shares. Since then, no more shares had been given out. It wasn''t because Lu Li couldn''t afford it ¨C he still had a large percentage in his possession and it wouldn''t affect his control of the guild. However, once he started giving them out, he would have to give them out to everyone. Eventually, he would lose his absolute control.


    It would also be impossible to regain the shares that had been given, as the cost of doing so would be very great.


    It was his dream to build a top level club of his own.


    For this dream, he was willing to work hard, but not necessarily to do whatever it takes. He wanted to spend his life doing what he wanted to do, but it was pointless if he had to change.


    The clubs created through that method would also be pointless.


    "Let''s have a meal; get everyone together," Lu Li said, then after a pause added, "Call in Cat Dad too. He probably wouldn''t leave even if he was driven away; all he wants is a bit of fame."


    Square Root 3 opened his mouth to respond but slowly realized what Lu Li meant.


    The Ruling Sword resident hall didn''t made any attempts to hide its grandeur, but it was also decorated in a way that made it seem quite solemn. Most players joked that this was the torture chamber, but it was where they ate and had meetings.


    "Hey, the Boss is going to treat us to dinner. I can smell the food from the kitchen, and it''s probably the chef from Jinqulou cooking. I''ve eaten his food twice before and it was great, but it was very expensive," Fat Monkey gushed as he licked his lips and swallowed his saliva.


    "I thought you were on a diet? Aren''t you going to the clubs later as well? You can just sit by and watch us eat later," Kitty Likes Meat said, trying to dampen his mood.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Both were the kind that really liked to eat, but the difference was that Kitty Likes Meat didn''t get fat when doing so. She had never been heavier than 100 pounds, but Fat Monkey was different. At the present moment, he looked like he weighed a ton. Fortunately, the game corrected his size ¨C otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to compete.


    "Don''t make things up; I would never go to a night club. I can''t believe you would say that," Fat Monkey retaliated.


    The others looked at Fat Monkey weirdly. He was actually quite handsome and refined, even though he did curse all the time. It was a bit out of character for him to go to a night club.


    "If the Boss is asking to have dinner with us, something probably happened. He''s normally quite stingy," Sakura Memories said as she shook her head.


    "Yeah, there aren''t many opportunities for us to eat like this, so we have to have a have a good time and eat enough to make him cry," Fat Monkey rolled up his sleeves and said excitedly.

 1241 No Pressure

    Lu Li and Square Root Three stood up as the others arrived to greet them, then they each sat down in their respective seats.


    Lu Li, Square Root Three and Wandering were the main leaders of the guild, the executive team that made most of the decisions.


    With the continuous growth of the guild, Square Root Three was struggling to keep up. White Bread was appointed to be his assistant, but she was feeling unwell today which was why she was absent in the meeting. As for Wandering, he had basically been forced by Lu Li into his position right now.


    He was a very capable person, and overlooking the fact that he was a little lazy, narcissistic and toxic, he was actually the perfect Guild Manager.


    Lu Li would not forgive himself if he didn''t put such a capable and trustworthy person to use. After countless times of trying to persuade him, he finally annoyed Wandering enough for him to agree. After careful evaluation, Lu Li finally built an executive team for the guild.


    However, they were only in their positions by name.


    Even though Square Root Three was the Guild Leader, he had never been officially appointed.


    "Everyone sit. We''re all family here; there''s no need to be so courteous," Lu Li said as he spointed at the seats around the room. Besides Cat Dad, everyone else that had gathered were professional players of the guild ¨C Moonlight, March Rain, Sakura Memories, Mu Qiu, Kitty Likes Meat and Fat Monkey.


    They had been together since the beginning and considered each other to be as close as a family.


    They were probably only discussing tournament related topics which was why Hachi Chan and the others were not invited to this meeting. It would do more harm than good for them to be here anyways.


    "How come you''re being so polite today Lu Li?" Cat Dad laughed.


    Kitty Likes Meat glanced at her dad, pouting in anger and remaining silent. Even she could tell that there was something off about the atmosphere in the room.


    "Well, I''ll get straight to the point then," Lu Li said, deciding not to waste any more time.


    Lu Li had always been someone who planned ahead and would do things that were beneficial to himself. However, he only acted like this to very specific people and never to his friends and family.


    "It''s free agency right now, and I''m sure everyone has received offers from different guilds. I want to hear what everyone thinks of this and if anyone want to leave, I won''t force you to stay. I don''t even want the penalty fees; I just want everyone to go to a place where they want to be," Lu Li said seriously.


    Square Root Three''s face dropped.


    Why would he not want to take the penalty fees? The penalty fee was the only leverage that Guilds had in keeping star players. If another Guild wanted to poach a particular player, they would have to pay for their new contract, buy-out the old contract and pay for the penalty fees.


    Even Ruling Sword, who were considered as one of the most easy-going and generous guilds, had a sizeable penalty fee.


    Last year, Fat Monkey''s contract was worth one million, but the penalty fees would be three million if he wanted to join a different guild. The guild that poached him would have to pay for the penalty fee and also pay for his contract.


    It would take months and years to make back the profit.


    However, if Lu Li didn''t want to take the penalty fees, he was putting up his players for others to take.


    There were plenty of guilds that would happily offer Fat Monkey two to three million, and he would gain a more important position than what he had on Ruling Sword''s team.


    The same went for all his other players.


    "Brother Three, there''s no need to say anymore; I''ll put my words to action. No one has to feel bad at all because Ruling Swords got to where we were today because of you guys. We would be sad if we wouldn''t be able to fight alongside you though," Lu Li interrupted Square Root Three before he could open his mouth.


    He was being sentimental; everything he was saying was how he truly felt.


    "I won''t be leaving. If you want to leave then you can leave by yourself dad."


    Kitty Likes Meat pouted her lips again and decided to ignore her dad.


    "Sigh, I never said I was leaving child. Everything I do it''s for your own sake."


    Cat Dad was disappointed. He had invested so much time and effort into raising his daughter right and now she was being moody with him. All he wanted to do was to give his daughter more appearances in tournaments and a higher salary.


    Once free agency began, everyone was fair game, even if the Guilds would lose out on certain star players. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    This was why when free agency season came around, teams would do anything to hold on tight to their players. If they didn''t add certain incentives or match other offers, they would lose all their players.


    "No thanks. I''ll become the best Warlock in the game by myself," Kitty Likes Meat asserted, giving up on communicating to this old man.


    Her dad took her to meet other guilds to gauge their offers, then returned to Lu Li to ask for more incentives and play time. Kitty Likes Meat could not take this anymore and finally exploded.


    Bam!


    Bam!


    It was Fat Monkey that had slammed the table.


    "Kitty, that''s the spirit! We''re both become the best in our respective classes. Screw Sorrowless, Unforgettable Maple and the other players; I''ll eventually stomp on them like ants beneath my feet!"


    "Then why did you meet with the other guilds as well?" Lu Li asked, exposing him.


    Fat Monkey''s face turned bright red; he scratched his head and mumbled awkwardly, "It''s because they offered to meet at all these cool and expensive restaurants. I was hungry so I decided to meet them to get a free meal. I promise I did not take any offers."


    "You went to karaoke as well," Kitty Likes Meat said, adding fuel to the fire.


    "Goddammit, whose side are you on and how did you know? I bet you went as well," Fat Monkey shot back in defense.


    "I didn''t go. Someone from our guild kept saying that you were going to karaoke with the representatives of a few major guilds," Kitty Likes Meat accused.


    "What the heck? That''s because Mr. Shen opened up a crappy karaoke store and always complained that I never went. I brought him some business by taking people there and he snitches on me?!"


    Fat Monkey was furious and was about to murder that guy.


    "Everyone, shut up," Lu Li commanded as he massaged his head.


    In Lu Li''s mind, Fat Monkey was the one that was most likely to leave. He and Kitty Likes Meat had always been on the lower end of the rotation and their salary was less than a million a year. Fat Monkey was very hot-headed and didn''t think with his brain; he could have easily agreed to a tempting offer.


    Who would have thought that he was actually meeting up with them for a free meal?


    If the other major guilds knew, they would have blacklisted him and never let him sign a deal.

 1242 Supermarkets

    "I¡­ I¡­"


    March Rain was a little nervous, especially when her older brother Lonesome Flower is not around. It took her awhile for her to finally muster up some words. March Rain had been in contact with some sponsors and representatives, and although she rejected their offers, they were still persistent in trying to convince her because she was bad at shutting people down completely.


    "What about you?" Lu Li asked Moonlight.


    "I had a gathering with some old friends. Some of them are reps from other guilds," Moonlight said, completely unfazed.


    Although it was the free agency season, it would be rude to decline a dinner with old friends just because of their job. They kept bringing up their younger days and Moonlight felt rude to decline.


    "They probably want to poach you," Lu Li nodded.


    "Oh," Moonlight responded, but did not explain himself. Everyone thought that he would pat himself on the chest and promise that he wouldn''t leave. Even though he said nothing to back himself up, Lu Li wasn''t too worried about him.


    Moonlight was a key member of Ruling Swords, as both one of the top star players and a top three Warrior in the game. Lu Li, March Rain, Moonlight were considered to be the pillars of Ruling Sword. Although there were other outstanding members, most of their team compositions and play styles were centered around these three players.


    As long as Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain are present, then Ruling Swords could easily put together a decent team.


    Lu Li had memorized all the top players in his past life who had yet to show themselves in this life. There were some that he could not convince to join or others that he did not get along with. However, there were still many top players who had not even joined the game.


    "I actually don''t want to be a tournament player anymore."


    It was obvious that this was very hard for Sakura Memories to say.


    "You''ve always strived to become a star player though."


    Not only were the other players surprised, and even Cat Dad was taken aback. He tried his best to hide the anger in his voice.


    She had been training a lot with Cat Dad recently, and although she was not the most talented, what impressed him the most was her determination and willpower to improve.


    Being able to top the Level Ranking Boards in the game as a non-Mage was very impressive and showed how tough and determined she was.


    "I realized that I''m not really into it anymore," Sakura Memory explained, "When I stand on the victory platform, I don''t feel the joy of winning. I open the Level Rankings so many times a day, but no matter how hard I try, I can never catch up and be first on the leaderboard again."


    She needed to participate in dungeons, prepare for tournaments and attend training sessions with Cat Dad. She barely had any time to level up and catch up to others.


    She was now level 57 and ranked around 40th. The gap between her and first place was too wide now.


    "Uh¡­ I''ll try to organise more time for you to Level up."


    Lu Li was sweating; he didn''t know what else to say to convince her because she was determined to be first.


    Some girls liked to dress up and wear makeup to attract guys, while other girls preferred to focus on their career to earn more money so that they could dress up and attract guys¡­


    Perhaps all girls wanted the same thing.


    But what kind of a girl would want to be the first on the Level Rankings?


    "Besides, tournaments are exhausting. When I log off I just immediately go to bed until the next day. I haven''t even written anything for my Boy Love novels recently," Sakura Memories added.


    Everyone in the room nodded quietly except Kitty Likes Meat, who looked at Sakura Memories with a surprised face and asked, "Sister Memories, you write BL novels??"


    "Uh¡­ yeah¡­"


    "Wow, what have you written? I love BL novels! Which website do you publish them on?" Kitty asked, then continued with a number of questions that no one else understood.


    "Oh, so you write novels in your spare time? Just keep going right now. I''ll reduce your playing time next season so that you have time for your novels."


    Lu Li wasn''t much of a reader, but he was very impressed that Sakura had such a cool hobby.


    "Don''t look at me. I didn''t get in touch with anyone," Mu Qiu said defensively upon seeing that everyone was looking at him.


    He was someone that had joined the guild half way through. He wasn''t a talented player that Lu Li scouted like Kitty Likes Meat or Fat Monkey, which was why Mu Qiu would make extra effort to participate in guild events, act politely and rarely complain about anything. Most people in the guild would rate him highly.


    "So¡­ it was all a misunderstanding," Square Root Three sighed in relief.


    Players being poached from other guilds would not be as detrimental as it would be to Ruling Swords. As a relatively young guild that had only been established for a few months, if they were to lose out on a few players, it would be hard for them to assemble an equally strong team.


    They just had to make it through this free agency season and develop more younger players so that they could establish an even stronger foundation.


    "So are we eating or not? It smells so good; the cook must be almost ready," Fat Monkey said as he pulled up his sleeves, then added, "Big Boss will shout the meal today and it''s restaurant quality as well. Everyone order as much as you want; we''re not going home until everyone''s drunk."


    "I''m dieting¡­" Kitty Likes Meat said as she slapped him.


    "You need to eat so that you have the strength to lose weight," Fat Monkey joked.


    Lu Li signaled the waiters to bring out the food because he was starving as well. They were dining at a restaurant owned by a famous cook who specialized in cooking in the game.


    Lu Li also remembered to order some food specifically for his little sister, as well as Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan.


    Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan had both transferred to a school near Gangnam City. Lu Li even hired tutors for them and he promised their parents that he would make sure that they prioritize their studies before the game.


    The food was great and although they all had different personalities, everyone got along fine and they enjoyed themselves.


    After the dinner, Fat Monkey suggested that they should go to karaoke.


    Lu Li did not attend because he was tone deaf and sucked at singing. Even his own sister would mock him, so he decided to stay back with Cat Dad and a few others to continue drinking.


    "Brother Cat, you shouldn''t scheme and be cunning like this to your own guild. Look what you''ve done; even Kitty Likes Meat is mad at you." Square Root Three joked around as he poured some alcohol for Cat Dad.


    Cat Dad picked up his cup and sighed, "Everything I do I do for her sake."


    "I totally understand."


    Square Root Three wasn''t planning on giving him a hard time; he was only complaining a little. He and Lu Li were very stressed because they thought that no one would even show up to the dinner today.


    "Tournament Players usually don''t have a very long and stable career. I have to ensure that everything she does is advantageous for her. Look how bad those 30+ year old players are doing," Cat Dad said as he took the bottle, poured himself a shot and downed it immediately.


    He was right about this. Even though there were a few decent 30+ year old players, most of them were usually washed up and not as mechanically skilled.


    Unforgettable Maple was known as one of the older players, but in reality, he was still only in his twenties. As for players that were 30+ years old, they could only reminisce upon their past glory and achievements while training up some younger players.


    "Look how you''re doing ¨C you''re doing quite well," Wandering encouraged as he downed another shot with Cat Dad. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "I guess I''m doing ok, but only because I invested the money into some businesses. Otherwise, I would be out begging for money. I just want my daughter to have a stable and comfortable life."


    Cat Dad wasn''t a very heavy drinker and was already a tad tipsy.


    "Where else could you take her besides Ruling Sword?" Wandering asked, getting straight to the point.


    "You''re right ¨C there''s not really anywhere else that we could go," Cat Dad admitted. He was very well-connected with the gaming community and could organize a position in another guild, but they would not have as much potential as Ruling Sword.


    Ruling Swords was one of the best up and coming guilds in the game.


    "I won''t do it again," Wandering promised as he put his arms around Cat Dad.


    Although they were able to survive this free agency season, it was like a tumor, waiting to spread at any time.


    For Ruling Sword, it was over, but for other guilds, the story was different.


    As more rumors come out, smaller players began jumping teams and major guilds shopped for players just like aunties shopping for groceries in a supermarket.


    The first decent player that was poached was Songs of Fries from Drizzle Court.


    Songs of Fries was originally from the Glory Capital youth development program, and had been in the professional league for over six years. He played for Glory Capital, Brotherhood and Wings of Dawn, but had been in Drizzle Court for the longest. It was quite surprising that he would leave at such a crucial time.

 1243 Power Move

    This caused a lot of drama within Drizzle Court.


    Before the tournament season, teams would have to register their players on their roster in order for them to participate. However, since there wasn''t a limit on how many players could be registered, many guilds would register as many players as possible as a backup.


    Throughout the tournament, only registered players could participate. Even if they somehow managed to poach a God-like player during free agency, they would have to wait until the next season to participate.


    This also meant that Drizzle Court could not find a backup from Peerless City.


    There was no way that Drizzle Court would allow Songs of Fries to continue to participate.


    Though Songs of Fries had said that he would try his best for the rest of the season, his departure had put a stain on Drizzle Court''s name.


    "Do we know which team poached him?" Lu Li asked as he raised his head from a pile of documents.


    The morning after the dinner, the news was announced on the gaming forums. Lu Li hadn''t even had the chance to call Water Fairy to see what was happening. She would probably be too busy to answer anyway. All of this information was coming from the Morning News, but this was mainly an Entertainment program, so the source couldn''t be trusted completely.


    "I''m not sure. Apparently they signed a paper of confidentiality. It doesn''t matter who poached him because Water Fairy won''t use him anymore for sure. Are you worried about her?" Square Root Three asked as he sat down next to Lu Li and reached for a document.


    "Oh, these are the shares of the guild. Why are you looking at this?" Square Root Three laughed.


    "For long term success and stability, it might be better for us to figure out the specifics for the shares. We should look into this more. Brother Three, you know this stuff better than me. Why don''t you take a look as well?"


    Lu Li rubbed his temples because he was confused.


    "I graduated years ago and have forgotten everything already."


    Square Root Three couldn''t be bothered, but still looked at it for Lu Li''s sake. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Drizzle Court should be doing fine; they registered quite a few players. Water Fairy has enough resources to get by, and it''s not like Song of Fries was a super important player on her team," Lu Li said calmly.


    Lu Li was the type to worry about himself before worrying about others. Although he wasn''t well-educated, he had learnt since a very young age not to worry about others unless he had the ability to do so.


    When he first heard that someone from Drizzle Court was poached, he worried about how much chaos it would cause internally and what the best thing for him to do would be. In the end, the player turned out to be a second-tier competitor and he was able to calm down. However, this ordeal had tarnished Drizzle Court''s reputation and name.


    "Drizzle Court faces off against Glory Capital tomorrow and their chances of losing are about 99%. What do you reckon?" Square Root Three asked.


    "Whatever you say," Lu Li muttered, sounding bitter.


    "Pfft, quit being in denial. Even if we were to face off against Glory Capital right now, our chances of losing are still quite high," Square Root Three laughed. "If it''s a close match, then we would be fighting them for the championship, but if we get completely stomped, we might as well not even bother entering the finals."


    Deep down, Lu Li knew that Square Root Three was right, but why would he make Lu Li doubt himself?


    Was he being pessimistic because he didn''t want to be disappointed?


    "Also, are we still lending the equipment?"


    "Yes, let them pick it out," Lu Li said, not hesitating for a second.


    No matter what happened, it was undeniable that Drizzle Court had done as much as they could to help Ruling Sword. Peerless City even helped some of the players from Ruling Swords to level up.


    This was why Lu Li decided to give almost half of his equips to Water Fairy. Although they might not have been as good Attributes-wise, Lu Li''s gear was more suited towards Water Fairy''s play style. If Water Fairy ran away with these equips, then Ruling Sword would have no chance against Glory Capital.


    Glory Capital had the home court advantage and picked out the map.


    Water Fairy did not participate last time, but finally showed up in this match. Every time Water Fairy appeared in real life, everyone was stunned by her beauty. It seemed as though each time she showed up, she became prettier. There were pictures of her arriving at the airport recently and all of her male fans were busy changing their computer backgrounds.


    As for Lu Li, his background was still the default one.


    When she was interviewed, she answered all of the questions regarding Song of Fries.


    Lu Li was sipping on tea with his little sister at the time and spat out the drink when he heard what she said.


    "If my players had better opportunities, I would support them 100%. However, if they were to betray my guild behind my back, then there would be consequences," Water Fairy said gently, but her words were sharp and hurtful. "Whichever guild poached him will be our enemies for the foreseeable future ¨C no exceptions!"


    "Ahhh, Sister Water is so scary, but I love her so much. I think I''m going to marry her. Big Brother, maybe you should find a new girlfriend," Lu Xin blurted out.


    Lu Li had just coughed out tea because and now he was able to cough up blood.


    There were many fans of Water Fairy that were jealous of her relationship with Lu Li. However, the only person that dared to stand up to him was his own sister.


    Usually in these situations, people would prepare very vague and general prewritten answers, for example, "We''re very happy to see our players seizing new opportunities. All the best for him¡­."


    Water Fairy''s answer completely took the interviewers by surprise.


    The faces of the people who were there to pick up players from Glory Capital turned sour.


    Whether it was them or not, it seemed as if Water Fairy was suggesting that it was Glory Capital.


    Becoming enemies with Glory Capital might not have been the smartest idea, but they would definitely give them a run for their money.


    Glory Capital were probably sweating right now.

 1244 Slaughtering Noobs

    The interview was clipped and uploaded, becoming one of the most trending videos.


    Water Fairy was ranked first on the Beauty Rankings in the game, and the interview had just helped her to gain even more popularity.


    Water Fairy used to be a very lowkey girl who liked to wear face masks to cover her face. Only her close friends had actually fully seen her face, and yet she was still able to make it onto the Beauty Ranking.


    These days, she had embraced her popularity and had even done some modelling and photoshoots for magazines.


    Even though Water Fairy was determined, this still didn''t change that fact that Drizzle Court would struggle against the most dominant guild in the gaming community, Glory Capital.


    Even though Drizzle Court was the away team, their fans travelled from all around the world and gathered at the capital to support their team. The crowds erupted as fans from both sides cheered them on; it was truly a sight to behold.


    In reality, the fact the Drizzle Court was able to make it this far into the tournament was already quite impressive for them.


    There were already tension between the fans because of the rumors about Songs of Fries being poached by Glory Capital. Glory Capital fans mocked them and Drizzle Court fans were quick to defend their team. Before the match even begun, a fight erupted between the fans as more and more people joined in.


    Fortunately, security was able to quickly de-escalate the fight and control the whole situation.


    According to sources, there were seven fans that suffered injuries and one that was severely beaten up ¨C the guy that started mocking the Drizzle Court fans about Songs of Fries.


    Lu Li did not believe that it was Glory Capital that poached him.


    Drizzle Court wasn''t even that large of a threat to them, so why would they bother going through all that trouble to poach a second-tier player? They also had no reason to hide it if the rumors were true.


    Glory Capital could actually be the victim in this whole situation. They had gained nothing out of these rumors except an enemy in Drizzle Court. Whoever was behind all of this must have been having the time of their life.


    Because of all that had happened, there was a lot of tension between the two opposing teams.


    The match was held at the National Sports Convention Center ¨C a 200 year old building that had hosted countless major matches and concerts. This was the first time it was hosting a gaming tournament.


    As the gaming scene grew more and more popular, the rest of world began catching up to the trend.


    The last time Drizzle Court and Glory Capital faced off, Drizzle Court lost by one point in the single elimination match.


    Although this was quite impressive, the results were likely to be completely different this time. Because of how the tournament was set up, it would be stupid to leave out their best player until the end.


    Putting your best player in first wasn''t always the smartest idea either. Single elimination tournaments are won by controlling the tempo of the fight.


    In professional matches, it was very rare for a single player to defeat three or more opponents. Being able to take out two players by yourself was considered very impressive.


    Lu Li has defeated three opponents by himself, but that was much earlier on in the game and the players that he faced were all noobs compared to him. Since it was the quarter finals, only capable players would take the stage, making it much harder to defeat more than one opponent by yourself.


    Some players were able to defeat an opponent and deal half-HP to the next opponent before going down.


    The opening player was usually a capable player that could either defeat their opponent or leave them at critical HP. Other times, teams would send out promising rookies first in order for them to gain some experience.


    Glory Capital did exactly that and sent out one of their top rookies Daoless Ecstasy. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    His opponent was Water Fairy!


    This young professional Mage was only 16 years old and was making his first appearance as a pro. Unfortunately, he was against Water Fairy in his debut.


    If Daoless Ecstasy wanted to become as famous as Sorrowless, he had to perform well now.


    Daoless Ecstasy was a cool and collected kid and did not felt pressured going against a Top player. According to Lu Li''s memory, he shouldn''t have faced off against Water Fairy today. His reborn life was already straying away from his past. Daoless Ecstasy wouldn''t have made his debut until a few months later where he managed to defeat one of the star players by sheer luck.


    In Lu Li''s past life, he had a successful debut, quickly gaining lots of fans and popularity, and was on pace to becoming one of the best players in the game.


    Daoless Ecstasy was Sorrowless'' disciple, the one that Sorrowless decided to be worthy to pass his baton onto. Sorrowless was soon to be 30 years old and had been looking to train up some rookies for Glory Capital.


    A Mage and a Thief.


    A rookie and a famous star player.


    Water Fairy had become much stronger in the past half-year. Her popularity was already absurdly high because of her beauty and now her fan base was growing more and more because of how capable she had become.


    Watching the livestream of the tournament, Lu Li remembered the time he first saw Water Fairy.


    During that time, he was still selling equips, while Water Fairy was busy spending luxuriously. Yet when she challenged Lu Li to a duel, she still lost.


    Looking at her mechanics, it was a totally different story compared to the first day. She had realized that buying overpowered gear and steamrolling other players could only get you so far.


    Daoless Ecstasy was completely abused by Water Fairy, and when he was defeated, Water Fairy still had 80% HP left. What was even more ridiculous was that Water Fairy hadn''t even use any of her ultimate skills. She slaughtered the rookie as if he was nothing.


    Lu Li shook his head and smiled; her desire for vengeance was scary.


    She doesn''t care who actually poached her player. All she cared about is directing all her anger towards Glory Capital.


    Although it seemed like Water Fairy was able to defeat Daoless Ecstasy easily without using any major cooldowns, it was very obvious that she was trying her absolute best.


    Normally, a seasoned veteran would go easier on a rookie.


    Every year, almost every guild would have a rookie making their debut, hoping that veteran players would go easier on them so that they could gain some experience. This was an unspoken rule in the community and most players upheld it. A rookie''s debut was very important in terms of building their confidence and preparing them psychologically.


    Water Fairy''s next opponent was Sorrowless.


    His face was expressionless and no one could tell whether he was angry or not. However, based on the


    fight, it was obvious that he was determined. He tried very hard mechanically and Lu Li noticed that there were some changes to his skills and playstyle.


    If your pupil was slaughtered in such an embarrassing way, as the teacher, you would have to show them who was boss.


    Lu Li was not mad that Sorrowless completely destroyed Water Fairy. Instead, he carefully observed his playstyle, new special effects and how much damage Sorrowless was doing.


    Water Fairy had good equips and some of her pieces were borrowed from Lu Li as well.


    Despite having slightly better gear, Sorrowless'' mechanics ultimately allowed him to defeat Water Fairy. This showed the clear difference between Daoless Ecstasy and Sorrowless.


    Deadly Green Orange was next representing Drizzle Court. Since Sorrowless had just taken out an almost-full-HP Water Fairy, it was impossible for him to survive through this next round.


    Blood Dagger finished off Deadly Green Orange and managed to defeat the next player from Drizzle Court as well.


    In the end, Drizzle Court managed to edge ahead with a 1-point lead.


    The cameras panned onto Daoless Ecstacy, who was almost in tears. From his point of view, it was his fault that they had lost an easy match.


    The fans and the commentators had their hopes up, wishing that Drizzle Court would advance up to the next stage and face off against Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li shook his head in his seat; nobody else understood Drizzle Court as well as he did. Based on his knowledge, they had already exhausted most, if not all of their players and secret trump cards.


    However, he didn''t know how much Glory Capital still have up their sleeve.


    Drizzle Court managed to lead by two points after the Home and Away games. This meant that Glory Capital had to win by at least two or more points in the next round to tie or defeat Drizzle Court.

 1245 Pain Suppression

    3 points!


    Lu Li wondered if it was possible for Ruling Swords to win by 3 points against Drizzle Court.


    It would be terrifying if Glory Capital was able to come back from this deficit.


    Some people even thought that this was all according to Glory Capital''s plan ¨C losing the first match because they were unfamiliar with the map and losing another because they wanted to give the rookie some experience.


    Whether that was true or not, the team match was still the deciding factor.


    "Sigh, what should we do if Drizzle Court wins?" Square Root Three asked as he sat down next to Lu Li with a worried face


    "What else can we do? We''ll just have to face them," Lu Li said slowly. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    If we defeat Drizzle Court, then Water Fairy would be mad at you. Looks like someone''s going to be single for the rest of his life."


    "If Drizzle Court can defeat Glory Capital then why are you so confident that we can defeat them?"


    Lu Li was speechless. He wondered what had gotten into Square Root Three''s head. Did he think that Ruling Sword was invincible?


    "Oh yeah..." Square Root Three mumbled.


    What was surprising was that Glory Capital did not use their home court advantage and chose a large, round open map.


    Lu Li was confused; he could not understand what Glory Capital was doing. They were either trying to lose on purpose or they were incredibly confident. Another possibility was that Water Fairy bribed Sorrowless with an obscene amount of money.


    They had the home court advantage but didn''t utilize it. Instead, they chose an open round map which gave no strategic advantages whatsoever.


    There were nine maps in total and besides the large round map, they all had their own unique features for teams to play around.


    Drizzle Court had a team of Thief, Warlock, Mage and Priest, as well as a Paladin as backup.


    Glory Capital had a team of Thief, Mage, Priest, Shaman, Warlock and also a Paladin as backup.


    There was no need for the teams to study this map and execute a strategy. Instead, as soon as the match started, the two teams charged towards each other and began unleashing their skills.


    Drizzle Court''s Star Baby was being targeted. Since both teams had single target Priests, killing the healer was basically half of the way to victory. Drizzle Court also had the same strategy in mind. Cloth Armor classes were very squishy and relied heavily on their defensives.


    "I think the two teams are just going to trade off their healers," Square Root Three said. He was even more nervous than Lu Li.


    "This doesn''t make any sense."


    Lu Li was trying to figure out what Glory Capital was up to.


    "If they trade healers, then it''s impossible for Glory Capital to win by 3. They must have something up their sleeves that no one knows about, something that could help them avoid trading healers. Would it be a defensive? But what kind of defensive can allow a squishy healer to tank the DPS of four star players?


    The truth was about to come out.


    Lu Li was right about his speculations. When White Westhill reached critical HP, a white light began glowing around him, making him blurry and difficult to see.


    Pain Suppression?


    Lu Li knew about this overpowered Priest skill, but it could only be learnt at Lv60.


    Pain Suppression, Instant Cast. Reduces all damage taken by 50% for 5 seconds. Castable while stunned. Cooldown 3 minutes.


    If his memory served him right, that was only the Lv1 effect. If it was maxed out, it would reduce damage taken by 80%, which was close to a 5 second invulnerability skill. Drizzle Court began panicking.


    They realized that whatever defensives White Westhill was using, their damage was being significantly reduced.


    White Westhill healed himself back to full HP after all the commotion.


    Lu Li looked at Square Root Three and saw that his hands were shaking. The other players watching were probably reacting the same way. Priests used to be the squishy target that everyone bullied around, and now, they had become one of the most durable classes in the game because of that skill.


    Star Baby also had defensives, but none of them could match up against Pain Suppression. Drizzle Court were about to come back and save their healer, but before they realized, it was already too late.


    They still had a Paladin waiting outside, but the match was most likely over.


    The final score was 6:1. Drizzle Court lost by 5 points and was almost wiped completely. This sort of score in a team deathmatch was extremely rare, especially this late into the tournament.


    One of the reasons for this was West Whitehill''s Pain Suppression, which completely threw Drizzle Court off their game. Water Fairy also gave up when Star Baby died because she knew that there was no chance of coming back.


    Drizzle Court had lost, but Ruling Sword could get revenge for them.


    Glory Capital made it into the finals!


    White Westhill was the real MVP of this match.


    After the match, Ruling Sword immediately called for a team meeting.


    They hadn''t officially made the finals, but they were up by so much that it was impossible for Gale Legion to come back. Once Ruling Sword advanced, the championship will be decided between these two guilds.


    Lu Li entered the room and everyone appeared quiet and demoralized.


    Fat Monkey wasn''t being his usual loud and annoying self; he simply played around with his hair and sat in the corner in silence. Moonlight, who was usually the cool and collected one, had a very bitter expression on his face.


    If it was any other team with such an overpowered trump card, they wouldn''t be as worried.


    However, this was Glory Capital, the most powerful guild in the game. Not only that, but they now had one of the best defensive skills in the game.

 1246 Discussing Strategies

    "Should we surrender then?"


    As soon as Lu Li said this, he received angry glares from everyone.


    "Look at yourselves ¨C if you''re not going to surrender, then why are all of you acting depressed? How do we know if we never try?" Lu Li asked casually, not feeling threatened at all by their glares.


    "How can we not be depressed? Unless you have a surefire way of defeating Glory Capital," Square Root Three said.


    "Nope," Lu Li answered honestly.


    "Then why aren''t YOU depressed? Have you actually given up?"


    If that was the case, this tournament may as well be over.


    "Do you remember the goal that we set for ourselves at the start?" Lu Li said before anyone responded. "It was to make sure we make the semi-finals then Top 4. Now that we''ve won the semi-finals and the quarter finals, we should feel proud of ourselves for making it into the Finals."


    "That''s true, but who doesn''t want to win it all?" Daddy Cat shook his head, disagreeing with Lu Li.


    "That''s right. Even though we won the Shadow Cup, it was an unofficial tournament. If we''re able to win this official tournament held by the gaming companies, then no one would ever doubt our position in the gaming community ever again!" Square Root Three said passionately as he slammed the table.


    "Then let''s come up with ideas," Lu Li responded.


    "He''s basically invulnerable. What else can we do?" Fat Monkey questioned pessimistically. March Rain was already overpowered and almost unkillable, but now West Whitehill was even scarier than her.


    "Wait, can we Dispel it?" Fat Monkey asked.


    "The skill is called Pain Suppression, a very rare skill for Priests. I bet the drop rate is very low. However, I think with time, it''ll become a staple defensive for Priests. This is the information that I researched about the skill," Lu Li said as he opened up the screen.


    5 seconds, 50% damage reduction, castable while stunned¡­


    65% chance of negating dispel¡­


    "In other words, it can be dispelled right?"


    Fat Monkey''s eyes lit up. Although there was only a 35% chance, it was definitely better than nothing.


    "Yes, but this only works assuming that he only has one point in Pain Suppression," Lu Li added.


    "Wait a minute, 5 seconds¡­ I don''t think Pain Suppression lasted 5 seconds on West Whitehill. It was more like¡­" Moonlight trailed off.


    "3 seconds, which means that his Pain Suppression isn''t a skill, but a special effect on an idea," Lu Li finished his sentence. Top players were able to count very precisely, some even down to the milliseconds.


    This was what separated the casual players from the professionals. Instead of watching the matches for the fun of it, top players like Moonlight and Lu Li would count the duration of certain skills for future reference.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Everyone was so impressed with West Whitehill''s defensive that no one bothered counting the duration time.


    Most defensives had a set amount of damage that could be blocked, for example, 1000~2000 HP and 200~300 HP for the lower-tier defensives. Other defensives like Lu Li''s Ultimate God Ring blocked the damage of a single skill, requiring precise timing and game sense.


    The best defensives were mostly on a Main Tank''s shield, but no one would bother bringing a giant shield to a tournament.


    Some classes had invulnerability skills such as Paladins. They had the longest duration of invulnerability in the game, but the caster would lose movement speed and attack speed. Other skills such as Mage''s Ice Block froze the caster, preventing them from taking damage as well as casting skills.


    The only invulnerability skill that had no downside was Gale Steps, but even then, the invulnerability only lasted 1 second, which wasn''t even enough time for them to run away.


    Lu Li had been targeted and bursted twice because the invulnerability time on Gale Steps was too short.


    "Pain Suppression can be dispelled. If Drizzle Court had reacted in time and dispelled when West Whitehill activated the skill, the end result might have been completely different. When we''re matching up against Glory Capital, we have to make sure to dispel other buffs that West Whitehill has, and when he activates Pain Suppression, March Rain will use Mass Dispel, which can dispel more than 1 effect," Lu Li summarized his plan.


    In reality, most classes in the game had a dispel skill besides Warriors.


    "No matter what, that skill will make or break our chances at winning," Square Root Three said.


    Strategies required time and effort to come up with, so they kept suggesting different possibilities of stopping Pain Suppression.


    "Besides this, there''s also something very important," Lu Li added upon seeing that everyone was feeling down, then continued, "Although Pain Suppression can be casted while stunned, it doesn''t say that the crowd-control skill will be cleansed."


    In other words, although West Whitehill could reduce the amount of damage taken, he could still be crowd controlled.


    "If that''s the case then we can just CC lock him and prevent him from healing himself."


    March Rain''s eyes lit up. When she heard that she played an important role in countering Pain Suppression, she became quite nervous. However, the fact that West Whitehill can be CC locked relieved a lot of that pressure.


    "We should be thanking Drizzle Court. If it wasn''t for them, West Whitehill would have used that disgusting skill on us," Lu Li said.


    "How do we thank them?" Square Root Three asked while laughing.


    Although the pressure was on, as the top player, he had to help everyone calm down and relax.


    "Haha, we have nothing to offer them besides Lu Li. Should we send him over and make Water Fairy happy?" Fat Monkey giggled.


    "Hey man, you''re getting real cocky these days. I thought you wanted to defeat Sorrowless? Big Brother Cat, make sure you really torture him during training sessions," Lu Li chuckled coldly.


    "Please sir, I''m sorry."


    Fat Monkey''s legs turned into jelly. Although he liked to strengthen himself, he hated boring training sessions.

 1247 Shudu

    They thought that they wouldn''t see White Westhill until the match, but they bumped into him in Shudu.


    Gale Legion had been stationed in Shudu for many years.


    Apparently, there were a group of players from Glory Capital that became famous and successful and took the money that they made to buy out Gale Legion. Sorrowless also invested a portion of his money into the development of Gale Legion. They were able to develop quickly over the past few years because of the funds and had become the biggest guild in Shudu.


    Gale Legion and Glory Capital had a strange relationship that even the people from the two guilds could not really specify.


    However, one thing for sure was that Glory Capital did not own Gale Legion. While Sorrowless owned a significant percentage of the guild, they were more like allies. If Sorrowless was to retire from the gaming scene, the two guilds would go their separate ways.


    On April 1st ¨C April Fool''s Day ¨C Ruling Sword travelled to Shudu for their second match against Gale Legion.


    Lu Li was very confident about this match and knew that they had a 90% chance of winning. Rather than a competition, it was more of a short holiday for many of the Ruling Sword members. Lu Li even brought along his little sister who had been stuck at home all day and begging for Lu Li to take her out.


    Shudu was an old city with thousands of years of history. There were various tourist attractions and landmarks that were worth visiting.


    The war 200 years ago did not affect this city, so many areas were preserved in their original state.


    After a while, everyone went their separate ways for free time.


    They decided not to follow the tour guide organized by Gale Legion because the entire guild hated Ruling Sword, including the tour guide. Lu Li decided he might as well go his own way instead of having his time wasted.


    Lu Xin was rarely out and this ancient city was completely different from the more-modern Gangnam.


    Shudu had something to do for all ages ¨C good food, good views and good women. Every corner of the city had a unique style. Some were quiet, others were bustling, some were spacious and others flourishing.


    Surprisingly, there were quite a few Ruling Sword fans in the city.


    Tournament Players were public figures and were treated like celebrities. Lu Li made a poor effort of disguising himself and staying lowkey. There were still many fans that recognized them because they knew that today was the day that Ruling Sword arrived.


    When a guild established themselves in a city, both the guild and the city merged and influenced the culture of each other.


    For example, Glory Capital was also referred to as Imperial Capital because they were situated in the Imperial Capital. However, many residents were unsatisfied with Gale Legion''s performance and decided to support Ruling Sword instead.


    Shudu was beautiful, just like the tour guide had mentioned before.


    "Shudu is a city that makes you want to stay forever."


    The match started in the afternoon. Even though both teams knew the likely outcome, neither sides were planning to let their guard down. They had to give it their all, not for their own sake, but also to show respect for the opposing team. Ruling Sword was grateful for the hospitality of the city of Shudu.


    In the single elimination match, Lu Li sent out Fat Monkey as the first player. He had been working on his game a lot with the officially employed Cat Dad. Since then, his appearance in tournaments had increased and he had even been trusted with the role of being the first player.


    The first appearance was best used to train up people and give them more experience.


    Fortunately, when Lu Li was backstage with Fat Monkey, he could tell that Fat Monkey was not nervous at all. His opponent was Flowing Wind, a pure DPS Paladin. In theory, Mages had the upper hand because they could just kite the melee Paladin.


    However, Fat Monkey never played according to the books. Instead of holding his position, he charged towards Flowing Wind.


    Lu Li looked back at Cat Dad and said while laughing, "Maybe he wants to practice his positioning and kiting skills. He''s been working on them over the past few days."


    Cat Dad''s face was furious and he pointed towards the stage while shouting, "Are you an idiot? If you''re going to practice your positioning, then practice kiting him. Why are you going into melee range¡­?"


    "Haha, but what you see in Fat Monkey is his fearless style of play, right?" Lu Li laughed.


    If you were a teacher and had a student that consistently performed well throughout the year, but failed to show up on the final test, then everything they worked hard for meant nothing. There were a lot of players like that in the gaming community, players who seemed very strong on paper, but always failed to perform under pressure.


    Fat Monkey was one of those players who never let the pressure get to him, no matter how big the stage or how powerful his opponent was.


    "Flowing Wind is very powerful, but his downside is his positioning. Fat Monkey is definitely planning something."


    Lu Li was very observant and could easily tell his weaknesses.


    Fat Monkey kept moving back and forth to taunt him, causing Flowing Wind to become furious.


    Flowing Wind was already someone who was easily angered. Fat Monkey''s actions, speech and expressions pushed him over the top and he became extremely mad.


    Flowing Wind kept chasing after Fat Monkey¡­


    The crowd was excited to see such an intense fight. The casual fans of Gale Legion thought that Flowing Wind had the upper hand because he was chasing Fat Monkey around. However, in reality, Fat Monkey has controlled the tempo of this fight completely.


    When Flowing Wind calmed down, his HP was quite low.


    Fat Monkey still had around half of his HP. As a new-ish player, it was very impressive of him to control a veteran player in the palm of his hands. In reality, Fat Money wasn''t as strong as Flowing Winds.


    Next up for Gale Legion was Gaze.


    He was also another veteran that had debuted around the same time as Moonlight. Fat Monkey stopped messing around and became very serious. He played the match so perfectly that it could be used as a Mage vs Warrior PvP guide.


    However, he was still unable to do much against the Warrior who was a hard counter against him.


    Fat Monkey was being pummeled, but did his best to try and lower his opponent''s HP as much as possible. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Fat Monkey was defeated and Moonlight volunteered to face up against his old rival.


    The two went back and forth against one another and had a great fight, with Gaze being the one who was sent off.


    The final score was 5:4, ending with Lu Li standing on stage with an almost full bar of HP.


    In the single elimination match up, Gale Legion had lost by an entire bar of HP .


    The map for the Team Elimination Match was chosen by Gale Legion. Even though it was impossible for them to advance any further, they had to try their best for the last match.


    They chose a Rainforest map that had huge trees and was covered with vines. The terrain was very confusing and it was the most difficult map to navigate through.


    Who knew how long Gale Legion had practiced on this map for?


    Although they had already lost the competition, if they were able to outshine Ruling Sword in the Team Elimination Match, then at least they would go out strong.

 1248 Rainfores

    The Rainforest map was the most confusing out of all the possible choices. When players were spawned into the map, their locations would be chosen at random.


    If your team was lucky, you would have the advantage, and if not, then who knew what would happen?


    Practicing on the Rainforest map would obviously help a lot.


    Traditional team compositions were useless because the map was way too large and as such, the Priest would be left to fend for themselves. March Rain was put on the reserve, so the team consisted of Moonlight, Lu Li, Kitty Likes Meat and Fat Monkey. Sakura Memories also sat out; she was busy levelling up like she wanted to and had no complaints.


    After the map was chosen, the teams were given half an hour to prepare themselves. The half-hour was actually more for the away team to come up with a strategy in the short time that they had.


    "We''ve only played on this map once. I didn''t think they would actually choose it," Lu Li sighed.


    The Rainforest was the first map that Lu Li eliminated from the possible maps that would be chosen. No other club would choose this map in a proper match. However, ever since Wendelian had taken over as the team captain, Gale Legion had become very unorthodox in their playstyle. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "We should figure out a few gathering points first and learn how to navigate through the Rainforest. Whichever team gathers together first will have the advantage," Moonlight said.


    He was very experienced and had excellent game sense. Though he wasn''t the best at shot-calling, he immediately knew what to do as soon as he saw the map.


    When the players were teleported into the Rainforest, they would spawn alone. If they were near an opponent, there would be no backup, which meant that there would be many 1v1 matchups. If you were extremely unlucky and spawned near two other enemies, the chances of survival would be extremely slim.


    Therefore, as Moonlight mentioned, whichever team gathered together first would have the advantage.


    "We can organize three gathering points, forming a triangle. The first will be the steep mountains, which is probably the best choice, but we have to be careful if Gale Legion also chooses the same point. There''s also a waterfall here and we can meet at the end of the river. The last place will be the most west point on the map," Moonlight proposed.


    It seemed very simple when Moonlight was explaining this on paper, but in reality, the terrain was a lot more confusing than this.


    "Lucky Hachi Chan isn''t in this match. Otherwise, she wouldn''t be able to go anywhere," Lu Li joked, trying to make every feel less tense.


    Hachi Chan was so bad at navigating that not only her teammates wouldn''t be able to find her, but even the enemies wouldn''t be able to either. The only person in the world that could find her was herself.


    If it wasn''t because of her talent in dungeons, or her ability to charm NPCs, this little girl wouldn''t stand a chance in the cruel gaming world.


    "The most important thing is to know your direction, know where you are and where you''re going. I''ll teach everyone how to figure out your direction with the sun and stars. If you can''t see anything, then look at the leaves on a tree. The thicker leaves and branches indicate North and vice versa. Once you figure out North from South, then it''s easier from there. Besides this, you can also..."


    Moonlight was obviously an expert in this field and taught his teammates some survival tactics, including positioning, how to camouflage yourself, how to observe your surroundings...


    There were also monsters in the Rainforest and most of them were Elites. Most players could only take on one at a


    time and if they were ambushed while fighting a monster, they would have no chance of surviving.


    After a very rushed lesson of surviving in the woods, the players were teleported into the map.


    Lu Li spawned in a very dense forest and everything around him was black. He could feel the rain falling from above; it was very foggy and extremely humid.


    The visibility was very poor and the giant trees above him made it difficult to tell between day and night, especially when it was cloudy and raining.


    Lu Li sighed lightly.


    He hated this kind of map, but the real loser was Fat Monkey as the power of his fire skills was also reduced by at least half.


    Lu Li climbed onto a tree and sat on top of a branch.


    In real life, he would never do something like this. If he climbed too high, he could fall off and break his leg. However, if he were to fall off in the game, then all he had to do was transform into a Leopard to reduce the damage taken from falling.


    He scoped around, but unfortunately didn''t find anyone. There seemed to be some monsters nearby, but Lu Li wanted to stay as far away from them as possible.


    He determined the direction he was headed in with Moonlight''s survival tips and decided that he should head towards the waterfall.


    In order to increase their survivability, Thieves had a passive that made their footprints disappear much faster than other classes. This effect included both snowy and sandy terrain.


    Lu Li decided to use his environment to his advantage rather than using Stealth.


    The chat-box was completely empty as the map prohibited players from communicating to each other via messages. All they could do was to gather at the points that they had discussed earlier.


    Lu Li would often climb onto trees to investigate his surroundings.


    When he was little, there was a time when he was being bullied and he quickly climbed into a tree to escape. He climbed so high that the kids couldn''t even reach him with rocks or long branches.


    He still remembered the thrill of throwing nuts at them for revenge.


    Lu Li was a master at climbing trees and this translated into the game. He noticed that there might have been some movement up ahead.

 1249 Forest Ambush

    The terrain here consisted of dense vegetation and bushes. The height of these bushes was as tall as a person. This meant that players would struggle to hide their movements and their movement speed would be reduced.


    Lu Li always avoided these types of terrains; he always chose a detour route instead.


    The question now was were these people from Ruling Sword? Or perhaps Gale Legion? Or was it just a normal monster?


    Lu Li leapt from a tree, then transformed into a leopard and rolled as soon as he hit the ground. He managed to avoid being damaged this way. Then, he stayed in his leopard form and continued to traverse across the forest.


    The underbrush covered a vast area, so the detour route was much longer.


    It was fortunate that players were much slower in dense vegetation, so Lu Li was successfully able to position himself in front of his target.


    He didn''t enter Stealth, but instead chose to hide behind a tree. As long as he could hide from his target, it didn''t matter if it was using Stealth or tactical covert skills. In places like these, hiding behind trees was quite safe.


    The ones among the underbrush were not monsters.


    He saw a person part the dense vegetation and loudly complain, "Why was this map chosen? Is our leader that formidable? What the hell¡­we could lose in an even worse fashion in this map."


    Wendelian was the one who had chosen this map.


    Even for Ruling Sword, this map was quite disadvantageous, but it was not as though Gale Legion enjoyed this map. Even though they trained so much in this map, it was plain torturous.


    After all, this was a virtual game, and physical and mental strain were still present.


    Torrent tried his best to keep walking in a straight line and summoned an Ice Bear. Although the bear''s offensive and defensive capabilities were fairly mediocre, it was his largest summon. He used this bear to part the vegetation by crushing it, so it did not pose much of a problem.


    However, the Ice Bear did not fare well in a hot and humid environment like this, so its Loyalty level rapidly dropped.


    For Hunters, not only the levels of the pets mattered. The other two important stats were Loyalty and Mood.


    Pets also had moods. There were three typical moods: Happy, Calm and Tired. When the pet was Happy, its Loyalty would grow the quickest. When the pet was Calm, then its Loyalty wouldn''t change much. However, when it was Tired, the Loyalty would drop extremely quickly.


    There were many reasons for a pet to become Tired. After fighting for an extended period of time without getting fed or receiving attention from its master, the mood of the pet would drop. Newbie Hunters, or Hunters that overlooked the importance of Hunger, would forget to feed the pet. Obviously, the pet would become unhappy.


    Another cause was that the pet did not like the environment that it was in.


    There were six levels of Loyalty.


    The first level was ''refusal''. The pet would not go and fight, and would only growl at its master.


    The second level was "uncontrollable''. At this level, the pet would also not listen to its master. However, if it did attack, then its attack power would be severely weakened.


    The third level was ''obedience''. Although the pet would listen to its master, the power of the pet was limited.


    The fourth level was ''reliable''. The pet would listen to its master and attack desired targets.


    The fifth level was ''trusted''. At this level, the pet would do what was best for the situation, such as shifting from offense to defence.


    The sixth level was ''loyal''. At this level, the pet gained an extra 20% buff to its stats. However, to get a pet to this stage was extremely difficult and even if it did reach this stage, it wouldn''t last long. The nature of the pet also had to be taken into consideration.


    The Ice Bear was not a pet that easily hit level 6. However, Torrent did not need the bear to be at level 6. As long as the loyalty level was above level 2, it would be fine.


    The bear kept walking and panting with visible discontentment in its eyes. Although the bear was already at level 2 loyalty, they were already nearing the end of the dense brush, so Torrent didn''t think to change pets.


    As Torrent saw that they were at the end, with no more bush in sight, Torrent nearly sat down on his butt to rest.


    He threw a piece of cooked fish to the bear and planned to restore its loyalty level. However, he sensed a blade flying right at him.


    Thief!


    Lu Li!


    This type of attack could only be made by a Thief. Only Ruling Sword Thieves were active in this map.


    "Damn it!" Torrent''s reaction time was never that quick, and it was even slower because he was tired. However, he could still pinpoint Lu Li''s position. This was a testament to his efforts to improve his skills.


    He fired a spell towards Lu Li which countered Thieves and Warriors.


    Lu Li''s dagger flew across Torrent''s neck, making no contact. This ambush had failed. Lu Li had to admit that he had underestimated his opponent.


    The cursed rain!


    Torrent''s Wing Clip lowered Lu Li''s speed. However, he didn''t think that it was enough to pull away from Lu Li. He quickly commanded the Ice Bear towards Lu Li to buy him time to run.


    From the bear''s angle of attack, it was ideal. The distance was not a problem. If the bear''s Charge landed on Lu Li, then a single second of Stun would be enough to get away. Perhaps he could even set an ice trap.


    After distancing himself from Lu Li, a Hunter with Flare would not be afraid of a Thief. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The Ice Bear was already hugging its fish, but got up reluctantly after being commanded to attack. If it was on level 5 loyalty, it would have gotten up the instant that its master was ambushed.


    As a result, the bear did not Charge towards Lu Li as Torrent had hoped.

 1250 Trying to Outwit Each Other

    The Ice Bear then did something that made Torrent completely speechless ¨C it charged towards the bush.


    Lu Li, too, was speechless. The pet''s Charge direction was nowhere near his position!


    Torrent nearly fainted. He had completely forgotten about the loyalty level. The pet must have still been at level 2, which would explain its actions.


    In this situation, it would have been better if the bear had refused Torrent''s command. Had that had happened, Torrent would have been able to summon another pet instead.


    Call Pet was an instant cast skill, but to return a pet took time. To summon another pet, the Hunter needed to return the summoned pet first. Torrent already had no chance of defeating Lu Li. Adding on to this blunder, he could only take 30% of Lu Li''s HP.


    Lu Li took out his dagger as he watched Torrent''s body disappear into white light.


    It was still advantageous to take out one opponent.


    They were fortunate that this was the map that had been chosen. Had it been a normal arena, Thieves would be severely limited in their ability to fight and would have been unable to face a Hunter one on one.


    Of course, the actions of the bear also contributed to Lu Li''s victory.


    Lu Li slipped back into the dense vegetation and rested until his HP was back to 100%. Then, he transformed into a leopard and travelled towards his destination.


    He had to be aware at all times. After all, in a map like this, he had no idea if he would end up facing another opponent.


    Torrent was defeated, which meant that a change was made on the competition board. His icon was greyed, but no one knew what happened.


    The Rainforest was a map where it was hard to observe what was happening.


    After confirming his position, Lu Li was nearing the waterfall. At this time, he did not see any enemies or allies. Unfortunate events were unfolding, one after the next. Both Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu were defeated, so Lu Li estimated that there were multiple people who had grouped together, but he wasn''t sure on the exact numbers.


    Mu Qiu was a Paladin, which meant that not many players could kill him one on one.


    Fat Monkey, however, was most likely hindered by the environment. Since his magic was based on Fire, it was a great disadvantage in this map. The disadvantage was greater than the decrease in Fire-damage, but the humidity of this place would also hinder the actual casting of the magic. As a result, movement was greatly restricted as well.


    As such, Fire-based Mages would also be affected mentally in an environment like this.


    Lu Li couldn''t understand the situation at the time, so his plan didn''t change.


    Originally, the plan was to meet at the bottom of the waterfall. However, Lu Li planned to travel to the top instead. By doing this, he could potentially encounter one of his opponents. After all, the top of the waterfall was one of the Rainforest''s few vantage points, which meant that Gale Legion may have used this as one of their bases.


    At the top of the waterfall was flat ground with water flowing from a crevice under the surface. The flow of the water would then fall off the edge, which created the roaring waterfall.


    Lu Li transformed into a seal and began to swim in the water. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    From the water, he could observe what was happening on land. For example, he saw a wolf running along the shore.


    A normal player would see this as a monster. However, Lu Li realised that there was no way that it was a monster, since wolves did not reside in this map.


    Did this player think that Lu Li would not be able to recognise them by transforming into a wolf?


    Angry City Dweller!


    Ghost Wolf, Instant Cast: turn into a Ghost Wolf, increasing movement speed by 30% and preventing movement speed from being reduced below 100%.


    Although the transformation would never be as good as a Druid''s, Shamans could still turn into a convincing wolf.


    Lu Li did not engage in combat right away. After all, he had no information about this person. No one knew why he was here prancing around. He could have been bait for all they knew.


    A wolf jumping around on the shore and a seal hiding quietly in the water ¨C this situation lasted for two minutes, with none of them shapeshifting back and attacking. However, after these two minutes, a person suddenly emerged from a bunch of dead leaves. This person was Flowing Wind.


    "Are we done yet? It''s already been so long. Let''s go back and meet with the leader," Flowing Wind impatiently said.


    "Looks like this isn''t their meetup point." Angry City Dweller sighed, then said, "Leader Cloud and Gaze already took down two opponents. How admirable! It would be embarrassing if we went back without anything to show for it."


    "Embarrassing? Pah! Just look at yourself, jumping around like that. It was suffocating being in that pile of dead leaves! I already said before, even if this was their meeting point, they would meet at the bottom of the waterfall. To come up here would mean climbing a long way anyway¡­"


    Flowing Wind had already walked over to the shore, but he didn''t see the seal at the bottom of the water.


    "There''s no way that they would be at the bottom. I''ve already staked this place out for a while," Angry City Dweller said.


    "Then let''s g-¡­"


    Flowing Wind''s sentence was suddenly cut off midway.


    "Wow, do I finally have your recognition?" Angry City Dweller began to laugh, but he knew that this was not a place for jokes. His eyes followed the direction that Flowing Wind was pointing towards. He saw that at the bottom of the waterfall was a Berserker.


    From his armor and colors, it was clearly not Gaze, which meant that it had to be Ruling Swords'' Moonlight.


    "Is he a bait? Why doesn''t he run?" Flowing Wind didn''t care about his teammate''s remarks; he was extremely excited. It was good that he hadn''t lost his mind and stopped to consult the opinion of Angry City Dweller.


    "Shouldn''t be. If he was bait, then Moonlight wouldn''t be the bait. Do you think that we could fight Moonlight?" Angry City Dweller asked.


    "I don''t care; I''m going down first. Hurry up and follow me. We have a DPS and a Healer here, so we could wear him down bit by bit anyway."


    As soon as Flowing Wind heard that it was not a trap, he immediately jumped from the waterfall.


    If he jumped from this height, he would likely die and if not, he would be left with a sliver of HP. However, he had some tricks up his sleeves. His cloak had a special effect that softened his landing by acting as a parachute of some kind. Flowing Wind was extremely keen on fighting a legendary player like Moonlight.


    After killing Moonlight, he could boast about it to Gaze.


    After all, Gaze''s rival was Moonlight. If Moonlight was defeated by Flowing Wind, he would have the right to boast about it. However, Angry City Dweller, his helper, hesitated instantly.


    "Don''t¡­ah¡­"


    As soon as Angry City Dweller saw that there was someone coming at him at the same time, he knew that they were in trouble. Unfortunately, his warning came late, and he was interrupted by an ambush from Lu Li. Flowing Wind couldn''t fly back to his position, so it was too late.

 1251 I Will Be Gentle

    Moonlight didn''t see anyone on his way to the meeting point, but when he arrived there, he saw the two people at the top of the waterfall and chose to stay.


    Moonlight''s habit of not running was a bad one, but it could be attributed to his personality. However, he wasn''t an undefeatable legendary fighter. It was because of this habit of his that he had been trapped by opponents in multiple situations.


    After seeing Flowing Wind jump down, he became extremely focused and instantly prepared himself for a one on two fight.


    He wanted to fight at least once today. It was fortunate that these two were only small fry. Had it been Gaze and Cloudy Leaf¡­no, if it was Gaze and anyone else, Moonlight would have run instantly.


    What surprised him was that the Shaman did not follow Flowing Wind.


    When Flowing Wind landed, the Shaman did not follow, which led to Moonlight''s realisation that someone must have stopped him. The Shaman didn''t look like he had a fear of heights.


    Moonlight''s usually cold face began to smile.


    "Damn it! Don''t come any closer!" Flowing Wind was panicking a little. He didn''t think he was prepared enough to fight against a legendary player one on one.


    "Don''t be scared; I''ll be very gentle," Moonlight joked.


    He wasn''t always a serious person and would crack a few jokes here and there. He just didn''t understand Fat Monkey''s type of humor.


    Meanwhile, Angry City Dweller was under attack from Lu Li''s flurry of skills.


    His mind was in overdrive; he was shocked and in utter despair. He had thought that it would be a one on two situation against Moonlight, but he hadn''t realised that there was another terrifying opponent right next to him under the water. He must have looked so stupid bouncing around on the shore.


    However, Angry City Dweller wasn''t an incompetent player.


    His mechanics and skills were considered to be one of the best. Shamans were not great at self-sustaining, but in terms of their offensive capabilities, they dealt quite a bit of damage.


    Lu Li ignored the damage dealt to him. It didn''t matter much since he was dealing much more damage to Angry City Dweller. As long as he successfully killed him, it would be okay. Shamans were pesky because they could heal themselves.


    When Lu Li jumped down from the waterfall after finishing his opponent, he saw Moonlight already there waiting for him.


    "Wow, you''re slow. You were only facing a Shaman."


    Moonlight was bragging, but he had only killed Flowing Wind less than a minute ago.


    "If I wasn''t there, you could''ve died. How were you confident enough to fight a highly-offensive Paladin and a Healing Shaman at the same time? If it was me, I wouldn''t even dare to fight," Lu Li said in frustration.


    "That''s because you''re a chicken. It''s not like I haven''t killed a pairing like that," Moonlight replied. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Kitty Likes Meat was eliminated!


    As Flowing Wind and Angry City Dweller were killed, Kitty Likes Meat was also eliminated at the same time.


    Lu Li and Moonlight shared a look, then decided to drop their argument. After all, Ruling Sword no longer had the advantage in numbers.


    Fat Monkey, Mu Qiu and Kitty Likes Meat had already been eliminated. The reserve, March Rain, should have already came in, but they didn''t know her position. If anyone from Gale Legion found her, she wouldn''t be able to fight back.


    Gale Legion had Gaze and Cloudy Leaf left, with possibly Wendelian as their backup.


    If both sides could successfully group together, a Warrior-Mage-Priest trio would be more compatible than a Thief-Warrior-Priest trio.


    "You head towards that direction and I''ll head this way. If you see an opponent, don''t fight. Climb up into the trees and let down these ribbons," Lu Li instructed as he took out two pieces of cloth and tore them. "The blue ribbons indicate that it''s safe, while the red indicate that an opponent is there. From now, send a signal every two minutes. If either of us go past the 2-minute mark by 30 seconds, then rush over and support immediately."


    "Alright, no problem," Moonlight said as he took the cloths and tied them together, then took off with Lu Li.


    The one that was breathing heavily was Moonlight; Lu Li had transformed into a leopard and ran agilely through the forest. Moonlight encountered monsters on the way, so he avoided them when he could. During this time, Lu Li would leave signs of his movement along his trail.


    They were surrounded by forest and trees, which meant that their vision could only go so far.


    However, the spectators could see what was happening. The camera angles were constantly changing, which meant that all the skirmishes were visible.


    For example, there was Lu Li''s successful kill on Torrent. This made everyone laugh, since the Hunters could relate to a disobedient pet.


    Hunters everywhere began to discuss Loyalty stats, so this became a hot topic.


    The first to die in Ruling Sword was Fat Monkey. He had no fear, despite facing against Cloudy Leaf. It was hard for him to escape anyway, since they were both Mages, and the environment made it harder to escape. Therefore, a clash between them was inevitable.


    Fat Monkey wasn''t that strong to begin with, so this environment made matters even worse.


    In this battle, Gaze joined the fray as he heard that there was a skirmish close to him. In a two on one situation, Fat Monkey had no chance at all. Mu Qiu also rushed over but was killed quickly as well.


    As for the highlights of this match, only Torrent''s fight with Lu Li was notable.


    However, this last clash was the highlight of the match so far.


    Lu Li was patient, hiding in the water. He struck at the right time, leading to the defeat of two opponents.


    There was also a surprising element to this, which was Lu Li''s Druid-like ability to shapeshift.


    Many people knew about it, but most hadn''t seen it in action. Furthermore, Lu Li didn''t have the chance to showcase it before, since they usually did battle in an open arena.


    Interestingly, Lu Li''s shapeshifting was different to a normal Druid''s.


    His shapeshifting was even stronger ¨C after all, it was from a ring made by Cenarius, the Demigod. As for the reason behind why Cenarius made this ring, no one could explain it.


    The players in the match would occasionally nearly cross paths, but they would often just brush past each other without knowing, causing the spectators to feel anxious for them.


    Lu Li suddenly stopped and didn''t move a single hair on his body ¨C he had heard someone talk.


    Someone was talking, which meant that there would be at least two people, unless the person was mumbling to himself. There were only three players left from Ruling Sword, and it was impossible for Moonlight and him to be talking, which meant that it must have been someone from Gale Legion.


    No matter the numbers here, he couldn''t fight them.


    Lu Li retreated a few steps and slowly climbed into the trees. After a while, he raised his red cloth. However, as he looked into the distance, there was also a red cloth being raised.


    Why did he and Moonlight both have opponents? Lu Li was extremely confused.

 1252 Using Yourself as Bai

    Lu Li initially thought that he and Moonlight must have ended up close by to each other.


    However, when he realised that he had two people here with him, there would only be one person at Moonlight''s end. Lu Li deduced that since these two were clearly males, the other one was a female, which meant that it was Wendelian.


    After waving around the ribbon, Moonlight instantly waved it in a downward motion.


    They had agreed upon this signal, which indicated that Moonlight was going to act. Lu Li also did the same, indicating that he wouldn''t go over and support him.


    Lu Li then returned to the ground, transformed into a leopard and raced towards the two people.


    The spectators were extremely excited at the prospects of a huge battle playing out.


    Was Lu Li insane?


    Of course not!


    The first-time analyst Zhang Zhen was not shy to comment his own opinion on the situation.


    "This is a showing of chemistry. If I were in Lu Li''s position, I would have gone over to Moonlight and helped him finish off Wendelian."


    "Mr. Zhang Zhen, you''ve sold yourself short there," Dark Wind chimed in. "Everyone, you can see that the two areas that Moonlight and Lu Li are in right now are fairly close to each other, which means that they would be able to hear each other''s skills or explosions. Even talking would be overheard."


    "This way, Wendelian could end up with reinforcements rushing towards her if the other two were alerted. Furthermore, she''s a Priest, which means that it''s not difficult for her to last until Gaze and Cloudy Leaf get there. If Gale Legion manage to group together, then Lu Li and Moonlight would be in a very dire situation indeed," Zhang Zhen explained, then continued, "Cameraman, please focus on March Rain''s position. Look at that ¨C she''s even further away, and she''s also in one of the more dangerous places in the map."


    "Then why did Lu Li rush over there?"


    "There''s no doubt about his decision. He''s smart enough to avoid tough situations."


    Before the camera went back to Lu Li and Moonlight, Zhang Zhen had already made his judgment. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    With their level of analysis and the fact that they could see the whole map, they would be able to observe most details, if not all of them. After all, it wasn''t like Lu Li was hard to read anyway. It was clear that he aimed to drag Cloudy Leaf and Gaze away from this area, giving Moonlight a chance to kill Wendelian.


    Life was like a movie, so they had to act!


    Lu Li stumbled over and knocked his head on Gaze''s back, then acted like it was accidental and hesitated for a moment. Then, he gave enough time for Cloudy Leaf to react, who fired an Ice Lance at Lu Li.


    Gaze also turned around with an expression of glee, like they had caught a big fish.


    Both of them were capable enough to fight Lu Li one on one, let alone two on one. Their priority was to not let Lu Li escape.


    Lu Li was struck by the Ice Lance, which slowed him down. However, this wasn''t enough to completely freeze him. He dug his claws into the ground and propelled himself away from Gaze''s Charge.


    An Ice Lance was nowhere near enough to threaten him. However, if he was under Gaze''s crowd control, then he would be in trouble.


    Lu Li was about to enter the forest when a Frostbolt was aimed towards his head. He had to stop in his tracks and retreat a couple of steps ¨C otherwise, the explosion from the Frostbolt would have struck him. Compared to the Ice Lance from before, Cloudy Leaf had enhanced this Frostbolt, which meant that when it struck, the speed of the target would be reduced by 50%.


    Perhaps he could use Gale Steps and escape that way, since he wouldn''t be affected by the decrease in Speed.


    However, his aim was not to escape.


    He wanted them to feel that they had control of the situation, so he had to hide a few trump cards up his sleeves.


    Lu Li sidestepped many times to avoid the skills and only ended up a little distance from Gaze and Cloudy Leaf. However, he still hadn''t escaped the range of their skills. Under normal circumstances, Gaze and Cloudy Leaf would feel that Lu Li''s actions were abnormal. However, today was a competitive match, and adding onto the fact that this map had unusual terrain, Lu Li being unable to escape seemed normal.


    Lu Li was losing HP as he ran.


    He couldn''t tank the ultimate skills, or the crowd control skills. He could only tank the small skills that took a small portion of his HP.


    With Lu Li''s distraction, the gap between Wendelian and the other two continued to grow. Gale Legion''s fans were in despair, as they were nearing defeat.


    "Cough¡­cough¡­Lu Li''s performance has taken everyone by surprise ever since his debut!" Zhang Zhen exclaimed, at a loss for words.


    "He''s always been extremely strong. If I hadn''t looked into his background, I would''ve thought that he was a veteran at this game when he started!" Dark Wind commented.


    "Hmm¡­I didn''t mean that, but his acting abilities¡­" Zhang Zhen began with a smile, then continued, "I always thought that Lu Li was one of those simple and honest people who wouldn''t do anything cunning."


    "Haha, have your eyes been opened?" Dark Wind laughed.


    "For those girls who are interested in Lu Li, don''t be tricked by his appearance!"


    Zhang Zhen had children of his own, so he wasn''t young anymore. He would often say things like this to warn his daughter, who was six years old.


    "Well, that could be said to a certain female professional player out there. I heard that they''re nearly together," Dark Wind said. He was up to date on the latest rumours and news. Apparently, Water Fairy had been spotted in Jiangnan. Some said that these two were living together, while others claimed that they were together already.


    "We mustn''t take this casually. Otherwise, when they get married, they might exclude us," Zhang Zhen said with a serious tone.


    "There must be many people so full of envy," Dark Wind sighed. Then, he suddenly raised his voice and said, "Moonlight has moved against Wendelian! Wendelian looks to run¡­she takes out an item ¨C a whistle! If my eyesight has not failed me, then that''s a dog-whistle from the Scarlet Monastery! Unfortunate¡­unfortunate indeed."


    "That''s right. It''s quite unfortunate that Lu Li has already dragged away Gaze and Cloudy Leaf. Otherwise, they may have heard the whistle," Zhang Zhen said.


    Gale Legion had prepared many aspects of this group-match: items, map analysis and fighting methods in the rainforest. It was clear that they were more prepared compared to Ruling Sword.


    However, Wendelian''s cries for help were never going to reach her teammates.


    Priests weren''t great at escaping in the first place, so there was no way that she was going to run away from an ambushing Berserker.

 1253 Sneaking Around

    Wendelian died in an unfortunate fashion. When she died, she had no idea that her allies were so close by. It was because of Lu Li''s diversion that she was completely helpless as she fell to the ground. She was bound to find out soon anyway, as this competition was broadcasted to the world. Furthermore, the analysis of this match would also reveal this fact to her. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    After killing Wendelian, Moonlight did not rush after Lu Li right away. He stayed where he was and decided to recover his lost HP.


    Furthermore, both of them agreed that Lu Li would attract the opponents to Moonlight''s position.


    Lu Li was currently doing so, but he lost a lot more HP than expected.


    As he began to lose more and more HP, he transformed into a leopard and ran. In the meantime, Gaze and Cloudy Leaf found out the news of Wendelian being eliminated. In the end, they couldn''t stop Lu Li from running away.


    After all, the map was extremely complex and all classes were disadvantaged.


    Lu Li''s movement speed was cut down by half when he was in human form. However, they neglected his ability to transform into a leopard, so the slow effect was nullified.


    It could be said that Lu Li had the highest mobility, even surpassing Angry City Dweller, who could transform into a wolf.


    After Lu Li escaped, he didn''t recover his HP straight away, but summoned Silly Husky from his Book of Ur. Lu Li, in a state of absolute insanity, decided to give this summoned creature a ridiculous name.


    The Book of Ur had been maxed recently. Lu Li would alternate using Searing Words and the Book of Ur. Although Searing Words'' effects were slightly better, the Book of Ur allowed Lu Li to summon a creature, as well as transform into a wolf.


    Silly Husky was not as offensively capable before. However, after maxing the Book of Ur, it now had a few skills ¨C Stealth, Concealed and Burrow Away.


    After summoning Silly Husky, Lu Li commanded it to follow Gaze and Cloudy Leaf. Pets weren''t able to stray too far from their owner, but Lu Li knew the position of Silly Husky at all times.


    Once his HP was recovered, Lu Li found Moonlight and decided to create some distance between them and Gale Legion.


    Lu Li was easily undetected as a Thief. Moonlight just needed to follow from afar, since they weren''t planning on fighting.


    Obviously, the spectators didn''t want to see Lu Li and Moonlight circle around Gaze and Cloudy Leaf. They wanted to see the pretty girl March Rain fight some monsters.


    March Rain didn''t have many offensive skills, but her HP and MP regeneration were extremely fast. It was almost impossible for monsters to kill her. In the end, she managed to kill them by slowly shaving off their HP. After this, she went in the direction that she believed was the right choice. She couldn''t climb trees, which was forgivable since she was a fair maiden after all.


    This match had gone on for 30 minutes and didn''t seem to be ending soon. It wasn''t that the players could just avoid combat, but this particular map had a time limit of 2 hours.


    Gaze and Cloudy Leaf finally encoutered March Rain.


    March Rain''s originally white clothes were now grey and dyed brown.


    Her mental state was not the best either, after running into so many monsters.


    This map had too much randomness to it. If the Healer was sent into the middle of a group of monsters, it was likely that they would die.


    Upon seeing Gaze and Cloudy Leaf, March Rain knelt in despair.


    It was tough, walking out of the monster area. Now that she was finally out, she ended up in front of Gale Legion without meeting up with her teammates.


    It was impossible for her to beat either one of them.


    A greater offensive power would overcome any defence. Therefore, March Rain, even with her crazy regenerative skills, could not tank the damage of these two combined.


    "Clap¡­clap¡­clap¡­"


    As March Rain wallowed in despair, Gaze and Cloudy Leaf were rejoicing. However, Lu Li and Moonlight suddenly emerged from the shadows. Gaze and Cloudy Leaf didn''t even need to discuss strategies anymore. It was over ¨C the power gap was far too wide.


    "You guys were following us!" Gaze exclaimed with a frown.


    They had already been eliminated from the competition. However, they decided to fight their hardest in the group battle to recover their reputation.


    It was completely unexpected that they would lead Lu Li and Moonlight straight to March Rain.


    Was this a joke?


    "Do you dare to fight one-on-one to decide the victor?" Cloudy Leaf asked.


    This meant that Gaze would fight Moonlight, while Lu Li would fight Cloudy Leaf. March Rain would spectate. Both sides would keep to their own battles without interfering in the other.


    Of course, this was an unfair proposition for Ruling Sword, since they had a Healer on their side.


    Under normal conditions, Gale Legion would certainly lose. Furthermore, it would be difficult to ambush either Lu Li or March Rain. If Ruling Sword didn''t accept this proposition, then the score would definitely be 6 to 3.


    In a competitive match, this score would be an absolute demolition.


    However, if Ruling Sword didn''t accept this proposition, then it wouldn''t look too good on their part. After all, they already had this match in the bag.


    Although Lu Li always prioritised winning the match as number one, he was extremely keen at the prospect of facing them one on one.


    Moonlight was also extremely keen. However, he didn''t make the decision since Lu Li was ultimately still the team leader.


    "Alright. Let''s do it."


    Lu Li and Moonlight shared a look, then they nodded in agreement.


    "No matter the outcome, both of us will concede defeat," Gaze added. He wasn''t like Cloudy Leaf.


    "Alright, let''s go. March Rain, you can rest on the side."


    Now, the original team battle had turned into a duel. As they had spent so much time tracking each other down, both sides'' ultimate skills were already off cooldown. Apart from their mental state, everyone was currently at their strongest.

 1254 Entering the Finals

    Moonlight and Gaze''s duel was a Warrior vs. Warrior battle. Most Warrior skills were passives, which meant that there weren''t any flashy spells. Furthermore, both sides knew each other''s fighting styles extremely well. As a result, it was a close fight, but there weren''t any highlights.


    However, the duel between Lu Li and Cloudy Leaf was much more exciting.


    In Capture the Flag, the flashiest battles would be fought between Thieves against Mages. The kings of Capture the Flag were either the Thieves or Mages.


    Now, one of the top Mages was now facing off against the greatest Thief.


    Of course, Lu Li didn''t show off by taking on Cloudy Leaf face to face. After March Rain announced the beginning of the duel, he immediately entered Stealth. Stealth was still useful, since the terrain was flatter here.


    Cloudy Leaf waited as he watched for any sign of Lu Li. As he had trained in this map more than the others, he could identify the position of Thieves through some thorough observation.


    However, he was destined to fail.


    He knew that Lu Li couldn''t have gone far, but he just couldn''t pinpoint Lu Li''s position.


    He heard that Lu Li had obtained Enhanced Stealth, but no one really believed it. After all, Lu Li was already extremely strong with his original Stealth, but now he was experiencing it firsthand.


    As he couldn''t find Lu Li, he employed a defensive tactic by calling his pet to his side and didn''t move.


    This type of playstyle was not preferred. After all, he would be in trouble if he met with someone who was extremely powerful. It was easy to avoid a Water Elemental''s attacks and the Elemental was not that capable offensively. However, Cloudy Leaf was not a noob and not many professional players were strategically more capable than him.


    Since Cloudy Leaf had already prepared himself, Lu Li had no need to continue circling.


    While in Stealth, Lu Li snuck up behind Cloudy Leaf, then cast Sap. After casting Sap, he didn''t continue attacking, but dodged to one side instead. He planned to render the Elemental''s Frost Nova useless first.


    However, Lu Li was surprised that the Elemental didn''t do anything, despite Cloudy Leaf being stunned already.


    Cloudy Leaf knew the risks when using the Elemental. After all, the Elemental''s version of Frost Nova was different to the players''. It had an obvious arm-raising movement, but the players'' version could be hidden in battle.


    Lu Li had to rush forward again.


    Cloudy Leaf only commanded the Elemental to attack when he took damage from Lu Li. This was the correct way to play a Mage. Noob players would use the Emblem when they got damaged when they should have been using the Elemental''s Frost Nova.


    The Frost Nova successfully froze Lu Li, but Cloudy Leaf was also be in a frozen state. What could Lu Li do in this case? Was he going to dispel the frozen state by using the Emblem or some other method?


    After Lu Li dealt some damage, the effects of Sap were continued by using Cheap Shot. Then, Cloudy Leaf finally used the Emblem to dispel his status ailments and dodged to the side. During this exchange of skills, he didn''t take much damage. They only inflicted each other with status ailments.


    Lu Li wasn''t planning on getting attacked either, so he disappeared after dispelling Frost Nova''s effects, searching for another opportunity to attack.


    Although Moonlight and Gaze''s battle was quite boring to watch, they were both quite evenly matched, which added to the anticipation and excitement of the battle. Had they yelled and roared during their exchanges, it would have elevated the atmosphere to another level.


    In the end, Gaze ended up winning against Moonlight, which couldn''t be helped. After all, Gaze had nothing to lose, so he used all his trump cards. However, Moonlight had a couple of skills up his sleeves that he had decided to save for when they face Glory Capital.


    The same could not be said for Lu Li and Cloudy Leaf.


    Just like what Unforgettable Maple said, the only Mage capable of defeating Lu Li in a one-on-one duel would be Sorrowless. The only other thing that could absolutely defeat Lu Li was the game company.


    Of course, Lu Li''s ego was not so large that he thought the company would directly attack him. The recent updates to Thieves were not because of him either. The updates would have happened regardless of his rebirth.


    Therefore, in this matchup, it was extremely unlikely that Lu Li would lose to Cloudy Leaf.


    Every time Lu Li successfully controlled Cloudy Leaf, Cloudy Leaf would lose large portions of his HP.


    However, the freedom of a melee class'' mechanics and skills would be limited once everyone caught up to this level. Then, the damage of execution mechanics would eventually be altered to balance the game.


    The nature of the critical damage dealt by Mage classes would also be altered.


    At that time, the Mage''s critical damage was strong enough to insta-kill someone. Cloudy Leaf, who had extremely prestigious equipment, would be able to insta-kill most players if a critical hit occurred when he casted his ultimate skill.


    After a while, Cloudy Leaf was killed by Lu Li.


    Gaze watched on after he successfully defeated Moonlight. March Rain was afraid that he would go back on his word and kill her. As a Healer, she wouldn''t be able to defend against his attacks. However, it was good that Gaze was a man of his word, so when Cloudy Leaf was defeated, he immediately quit the match.


    The match between Gale Legion and Ruling Sword was announced as ending at 6 to 4. At the same time, it was also announced that Ruling Sword had successfully entered the Finals against Glory Capital.


    The schedule had not been released yet, but it wasn''t that important. There was only the first Home or Away game and the slight changes at the end.


    They didn''t stay in Shudu for too long. After all, none of them had the desire to party and celebrate.


    After returning, the most important thing was to train.


    As for the current schedule, it wasn''t impossible to get to level 60 by the start of the Finals. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    At the moment, the highest level was Blood Red War Flag''s Mage, Wilderness, who was already level 59. Glory Capital''s I No Understand was slightly behind him, and was also at level 59.


    The rest of the players on the rankings were all at level 58. The gaps in experience levels were extremely large. The third on the rankings was Lonesome Flower, while the fifth was Azure Sea Breeze. Besides these two, the next highest level was Hachi Chan. However, Hachi Chan was already out of the top 10.


    The fourth on the list was Unforgettable Maple. Majin Temple had already been eliminated long ago. There were two surprising entries in the top 5.


    From number 6 to number 10, it was Lucky Southern Persian, Magic Cry, Wood Fearing, Sorrowless and another player.


    Lu Li had already dropped out of the top 20.

 1255 Difficult Promise

    "For the Horde!"


    "Long live the Alliance!"


    Such cries were growing increasingly popular in the game world. Lu Li was already broke within a day and a half of training.


    Before the huge event ''Defence of Azeroth: Invasion of the Scourge'', there was another event called the Battle of Hillsbrad.


    The existence of the Scourge was always present at the Plaguelands. The original king of Lordaeron had already been conquered by the Scourge. Only the Alliance and the Horde managed to resist. Large-scale battles were still yet to begin, but the smaller battles were fairly regular.


    Now, the a large, world-based quest for defending Azeroth was released for players to complete.


    However, deep-rooted hatred was shared between the Alliance and the Horde. Therefore, an agreement was made where they would have a fight and resolve this conflict.


    These battles were instigated by the players, which affected their grind for levels. Many NPCs also joined these battles.


    "I want you to kill Glave," Garona suddenly said when she appeared in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li was busy admiring the scenery as he trained, but it was unfortunate that Garona appeared.


    "I will accept, my teacher."


    Lu Li didn''t think that there was anything wrong with Garona appearing suddenly. He did not hesitate as he accepted her request, but asked, "However, I think I have the right to know why. As you have history with Glave, he must be a difficult opponent."


    "Glave is an old Orc warrior. He was already a prominent warrior during the era of Draenor. Blackhand named him as one of his most trusted people," Garona said softly.


    Blackhand. When Lu Li heard this name, he couldn''t help but tremble a little.


    Some might not know the name, but they would have heard of the Destroyer, a former Chieftain of the Blackrock Clan. Even the most basic understanding of Azeroth''s history would reveal the horror behind this name.


    Gul''dan and Medivh opened the Dark Portal, then used a puppet Chieftain and commanded legions of Orcs and entered Azeroth. This Chieftain was Blackhand.


    Before the Orcs invaded Azeroth, Blackhand was already a prominent name in history.


    If this Glave was one of Blackhand''s most trusted, then his own history would have been well-known.


    Under Blackhand''s rule, the Blackrock Clan became the strongest clan in all the lands. They lived in the Gorgrond Mountains alongside the Gronnskin and the Ogres. They slowly developed greyish-black skin due to the long years of living in extreme heat. They also had frequent, never-ending clashes with the Ogres, which helped to develop their strong bodies and cunning battling methods.


    Blackhand was the most cunning warrior among their ranks. No matter who the opponents were, he was able to find and exploit their weaknesses. As a result, he led the Blackrock Clan to prominence and prosperity.


    The name Blackhand did not originate from Lu Li being unlucky with looting equipment. There was another story to this.


    Orgrim Doomhammer, Blackrock''s right-hand man, planned to change his Legendary weapon, Doomhammer. As a result, he threw it in a pool of molten lava. However, the Elementals punished him for his actions, so they sealed the weapon within the molten lava.


    Throughout the years, countless Orcs hoped to retrieve this hammer, but none were successful.


    During this time, the Ogres were slowly taking over the territory of the Blackrock Clan. The Ogres then cornered them in the Blackrock Foundry. Before the night of the final battle, Orgrim returned to the cave where the Doomhammer was forged and repented of his actions. Blackhand then came along with Orgrim and tried to retrieve the Doomhammer.


    The Elementals felt the desire and determination that Blackhand had to rescue the Blackrock Clan, even if the cost was at his own life. Blackhand did not want to rescue the clan for his own glory and pride, but for the clan itself.


    The Elementals then decided to return the Doomhammer to Blackhand. Then, they taught him the history behind Doomhammer and allowed him to use it to forge other weapons for the clan.


    However, the Elementals also told Blackhand that although he was unworthy of the Doomhammer, he played an important role in the prophecy of the Doomhammer. The Elementals then left an eternal mark on Blackhand''s right hand of this promise. This mark was a shell made out of Blackrock, where molten lava flowed within.


    Blackhand then used the knowledge that the Elementals had bestowed upon him and equipped the whole clan with armor and weapons. After this, he led the ambush against the Ogres before the dawn and annihilated the Ogres. From then on, he decided to call himself Blackhand to commemorate this historic event.


    Glave was Blackhand''s most trusted person and happily changed his name. From then on, this little warrior became one of Blackhand''s killing machines. Where Blackhand pointed, he would go with his legion and flatten anything and anyone that he came across.


    After experiencing many battles, Glave was much weaker than in his prime. Most of his legion was dead, but he was still revered as a legendary warrior. In the Battle of Hillsbrad, he was the commander of the Horde.


    "My birth came at a cost."


    Garona, who was usually calm usually bore no expressions, suddenly flashed a face of pain and suffering.


    Could Glave be Garona''s father? Lu Li froze. Suddenly, he was struck on the back of his head by Garona.


    As Lu Li got back up, he realised that he was only left with a sliver of HP.


    What a level of damage control! No wonder she was a legendary god-level Thief.


    "Stop thinking so much," Garona scolded, then continued, "I want you to kill Glave, because he killed my mother. She was my only family. However, I was forced to swear an oath to never touch that scum."


    "Can''t any assassin from the group kill him?" Lu Li asked, still hesitant. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Only my sons or students can kill him, otherwise, the promise would be broken," Garona explained as she slowly calmed down. "If you decide to reject this request, I can understand."


    "I will accept, but I don''t have the absolute confidence that I will be able to complete this quest. After all, he is a general of the Orcs," Lu Li said truthfully.


    This Battle of Hillsbrad also allowed Lu Li to recall a memory from his previous life.


    However, he didn''t know much about the commanders from both sides. He didn''t even know who they were. Therefore, it wasn''t possible for him to be killed by one of them.

 1256 Senior or Junior Female Apprentice

    Even if no one interfered with the battle against Glave, they could still fail in defeating him, despite Lu Li bringing along four elite squads from Ruling Sword. Needless to say, Glave was a level 60 Hero-grade Boss. Even if Glave wasn''t Hero-grade, he would still be much stronger than the Wild Bosses.


    Lu Li was able to kill three level 60 Bosses in the Blasted Lands because he had a talisman that lowered their strength. The elite squads from Ruling Sword had an average level of around 57. However,to defeat Glave, they needed a much stronger item. As a result, Lu Li''s confidence to complete this quest wavered.


    "Do you know who the commander for the Alliance would be?" Garona asked .Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Not sure," Lu Li answered as he shook his head.


    "Shandris Feathermoon. For you Dark Elves, she would seem like a young lady. However, she is someone that is held in high regard by Tyrande," Garona said.


    "Oh, I see."


    Lu Li was extremely surprised. Originally, he thought that Glave would be an undefeatable monster. However, the commander on the Alliance''s side was equally just as powerful.


    Although many people suspected that Shandris Feathermoon was the daughter of Tyrande and Malfurion, Shandris was actually an orphan. When she was young, she wandered aimlessly in the forest and was nearly devoured by a dire wolf. However, Tyrande Whisperwind came to her rescue and whisked her away just before that happened.


    Little Shandris saw the immense power of Tyrande (it wasn''t that great of a display, as it was just a wolf), so she decided to stick with Tyrande Whisperwind.


    Shandris didn''t want to leave Tyrande''s side, so Tyrande decided to place her within the Elune Sister Society. Little did she know, or did anyone know, that this little girl would eventually become one of the strongest beings in Azeroth.


    From Lu Li''s knowledge of the game''s history at that moment, Shandris should still be in her learning stages, which would mean that this battle was her putting it into practice.


    "Would she fight?" Lu Li was doubtful.


    The Battle of Hillsbrad was planned to let players do their thing. Although the legendary NPCs were joining the fray, it did not mean that they would steal the players'' thunder.


    "I taught her for a while. You don''t need to look at me like that. Shandris may not be a Thief, but she just needs to know how a Thief fights. So, she has already promised to send reinforcements. You just need to meet her at the Feathermoon Stronghold, since she usually trains there," Garona ssaid.


    "Alright teacher. I will try my best to complete this quest," Lu Li promised.


    "Your two daggers are already exceptional, so I won''t give you another one. I''ll give you a poison for aggro. Wipe this onto your dagger. It may end up helping you when you find yourself in a tight situation," Garona said, as she took out a bag of items.


    Lu Li nearly puked out blood as he realised his incredible stupidity. Why did he not equip his worthless daggers when Garona appeared?


    He could have received a strong dagger from Garona, but he received this bag of poison instead.


    "Thank you, teacher."


    Despite his heartbreak, he still took the poison from Garona''s hand. Just like how she appeared, she disappeared just as quickly. Lu Li suspected that Garona knew some form of teleportation.


    Revenge Poison: Due to the long hours exposed under the moon, this poison is extremely powerful. Duration: 6 hours. Job Requirement: Thief. Number of uses: 2/2. Countdown: 29 minutes and 58 seconds.


    After half an hour, the Battle of Hillsbrad would begin, which meant that it would come into effect then. It was good that the duration of the effects lasted for 6 hours. Otherwise, he would have to consider the right timing when using the poison. However, there was another problem, which was the number of uses.


    If he hadn''t needed to use it within 30 minutes, then Lu Li would be able to save it for later.


    Furthermore, only Thieves could use this poison. Therefore, meeting with Shandris Feathermoon was not Lu Li''s priority. Lu Li planned to use this poison as much as he could within the time limit.


    However, Lu Li didn''t worry about it too much.


    When Water Fairy appeared within his field of vision, it unknowingly brought a smile to his face.


    "The battle is about to begin. Why''d you call me over?" she asked.


    "Help me out later," Lu Li said.


    "Do what?"


    "Help me kill the Horde''s commander."


    Lu Li was waiting for Water Fairy''s reaction. Just as he expected, Water Fairy was shocked. Her originally large eyes grew even bigger. With a shocked tone she asked, "Are you that crazy for exquisite items? How could you even think about fighting the commander? We''ve already set our targets on normal NPCs."


    Based on how the game held their events, the NPCs in this event most likely would not be too high in levels.


    The highest player level was 59, which would round up to 60. Normal NPCs would be around level 60, which would mean that the strongest of them would be level 65. The strongest, of course, would be the commanders from both sides.


    However, the change that one level brought was mind boggling. A normal level 65 Boss would be able to easily wipe a group of level 56 to 57 players. There was no way for them to fight. This was why Drizzle Court, among other guilds, chose to target normal NPCs.


    Normal NPCs were also Boss-level monsters, although weaker than the Officers and the Commanders.


    If Lu Li helped her out with the Officers, then both guilds would fight together, which would give them a considerable chance at defeating them.


    But the Commander¡­


    "When have I ever done unreasonable things?" Lu Li asked .


    "Alright. What''s your plan?"


    Water Fairy changed her mind. What Lu Li said was trued; he had always been reasonable and reliable. Even if the obstacle seemed insurmountable, he would always miraculously get past it. After all, she could say that she had witnessed Lu Li tackle a level 60 Boss.


    Her first thought was that Lu Li had acquired another item like the talisman again.


    "Well, just listen to me later on. Organise some elite squads - the best of the best. As for the rest, leave it to Wandering to plan."


    Lu Li thought about it. There weren''t many benefits of him bringing along too many people.


    "No worries. It''s better if the responsibility goes to Wandering anyway," Water Fairy said.


    Wandering''s style did not pay too much attention to the minute details; he liked to face the Boss head on. Although this wouldn''t fare well in an Instance Dungeon, it was a good style to have for large numbers of players. Those who had worked with him before were convinced that his style worked. Ruling Sword had many people that Drizzle Court wanted for themselves and Wandering was one of them.


    "Come with me. I''ll take you to meet someone, since we have time now."


    Lu Li looked at the time and saw that they had around half an hour. He thought that Shandris Feathermoon would be preparing for battle at Hillsbrad.


    In the land of Azeroth, many Alliance cities and towns were close to the Horde cities and towns. For example, Ashenvale''s Astranaar and Splintertree, Arathi Highlands'' Refuge Pointe and Hammerfall, Dustwallow Marsh''s Theramore and Brackenwall, among many others.


    Some players preferred to attack the enemies'' camps directly. There was something about a frontal attack like that that excited many male players. Perhaps female players'' blood also boiled when doing something like that. This couldn''t be explained using science.


    These players would attack the less-guarded places. As soon as news of a battle erupted, many players would rush over and join the fray. Both camps would then send reinforcements continually.


    Players liked disruptions and conflicts as they had a sense of bloodlust. Not even death could stop their advancements.


    No one remembered the very first clash. No one knew where, why, what or how it happened. However, these continued to happen. Players would glue their eyes on the battle news for the next one.


    But why was this next battle set at Hillsbrad, in between Southshore and Tarren Mill?


    In Dawn, the number of Horde players were incomparable to the number of Allied players, as Horde players were much uglier. Most players grouped together and didn''t explore the world. However, the Horde players'' starting point was at Tirisfal Glades, in Hillsbrad. It was here where many Allied players met with real enemies.


    Hillsbrad was also close to the activity area of level 50 and above players from both territories of the West and East Plaguelands.


    This was where stronger players would gather and do quests . When stronger players entered this area, the level of the area rose. Normally, weaker players would come in here and meet their enemies, then battle. Eventually, stronger players would join the fray, through the calls for reinforcement in guild or world channels.


    From a tactical standpoint, both towns were extremely close to each other.


    Both towns did not have powerful NPCs or defense mechanisms to stop things before they escalated. Furthermore, the terrain of the area was also quite exciting for battle. All of these fulfilled the requirements of a large-scale battle, which resulted in the creation of the Battle of Hillsbrad.


    The company also considered all of this, then decided to use this place as a huge PVP war.


    Lu Li had a thought flash into his mind. Perhaps the motivation behind this event was to balance out the levels of players. After all, the higher levelled players would lose more EXP when they die, which would mean that that newbies would catch up in levels faster.


    System: The Battle of Hillsbrad is about to begin. Players, please head to the designated areas.


    System: Hillsbrad''s level has been raised. Participating players will gain 5 Glory points per successful kill. Assisted kills award 2 points. Successful kills of high-grade officers will award 10 or more points. Completed quests will also give many points as rewards.


    In Dawn, PVP against the enemy camp would award a fair amount of Fame. However, if a kill was made against someone that was 5 or more levels below, then there were hardly any points that would be awarded.


    Besides the points, there was also the difference between kills and assisted kills. One was completed solo, whereas the other was completed in a group.


    The rewards were fairly worthwhile and one kill would award 5 points. Even incompetent players would be able to collect some points.

 1257 Shandris

    At the time, Shandris Feathermoon was still just a little girl.


    In the history of Dawn, the birth of this little girl could be traced back to the ancient wars because of the long lives that Night Elves lived.


    Either way, Tyrande picked up this little girl and took her back with her. As the leader of the Night Elves, perhaps she thought that she could do something for this kinswoman of hers, or perhaps she was considering the future of this girl.


    Tyrande ended up taking her to the Elune Sisters.


    The Elune Sisters were a group of Priests that worshipped the Moon Goddess, Elune. They were the highest tier of Priests amongst the people and were one of the few organizations that remained almost as whole after the war.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Over thousands of years, the Priestesses of Elune all became symbols of morality or great warriors. Whenever the Night Elves were plunged into war, the Sisters of Elune would fight alongside the soldiers, worshipping Elune and summoning her power. The Moon Goddess often answered to their calls and would unleash her wrath on the enemies of the Night Elves. According to legend, these priestesses could even summon a mirror of the moon in the sky during midday, so that the Night Elves, who fought best at night, could receive some of Elune''s powers. After they won the war, the priestesses would then pray and heal the wounded.


    The members of the Elune Sisters were taught all sorts of battle skills, tactics and healing skills.


    Shandris Feathermoon, who also joined the Elune Sisters, had to learn the same things. Tyrande had hoped that she would someday specialize in a particular aspect.


    Then, Shandris Feathermoon performed exceptionally under the wings of Tyrande.


    During a time when the Elves fought against the Burning Legion in front of Azshara, Tyrande''s lover, Malfurion Stormrage placed down Tyrande, who had passed out, beside a tree. The evil Zhat''Harvis attempted to take Tyrande away. Malfurion couldn''t battle against so many, but Shandris appeared in time and used her exceptional archery skills to help Malfurion take down Harvis. However, in the end, Tyrande was still taken away.


    After that battle, Shandris rose in position and became an intern priestess. Alongside the other priestesses, she defended against the attacks of the Burning Legion.


    Some said that Shandris Feathermoon had already learnt her signature move - Prayer of the Moon Priestess ¨C by this point. Now that Shandris Feathermoon had become a Sentinel Commander, this battle seemed like a joke to her.


    However, after Lu Li appeared, she changed her mind.


    She had high respects for Garona Halforcen. Garona had taught her many things, even though later on there was proof that Garona only taught her because she had some intentions of her own.


    "Your teacher¡­" Shandris began as she puckered her lips. She couldn''t understand why those great figures were willing to take in these adventurers as students. These adventurers all seemed so weak; she could probably crush all of them with a single hand. On the other hand, the Night Elf girl seemed very beautiful. She was the kind that Shandris favoured.


    If she was to take in a student, she would consider the Night Elf girl. At least she was something beautiful to look at.


    "I''m learning the way of the Thieves from my master."


    Lu Li could sense Shandris looking down on him, but this was someone from the same master as him, so he wasn''t unhappy at all. This was a game that valued true strength and if you looked down on true strength while you had no strength at all yourself, then all that you were really displaying was your weakness.


    Shandris deserved his respect; she was a character of true strength from the Elune Sisters.


    Apparently, there were still no Priest players who had entered the Elune Sisters. March Rain might have a shot, but according to Lu Li''s memories, she needed to wait for the right timing to come.


    "Then why have you come for me?" Shandris asked. If necessary, she wouldn''t mind helping Lu Li. They learnt from the same master anyway and she got along well with Garona.


    "My master has given me a quest. She wants me to slay Bygraves," Lu Li said.


    "Bygraves, who''s that? Do you need me to help you kill him?" Shandris asked in curiosity.


    Lu Li was speechless. As a commander in battle, this girl had no clue who the opposing commander was. He had to explain in detail and he also brought up the issue between Garona and Bygraves.


    "How is this possible? Why didn''t she kill him? Don''t tell me Garona can''t kill him."


    Shandris was shocked.


    To a certain extent, she knew of Garona''s past. Shandris was close with Garona not only because their personalities matched, but also because their fates were similar.


    Shandris'' parents both died when she was young. Before Tyrande arrived, she had no help. The turmoil she suffered when she was young made her hate those who brought it upon her. She was so focused on protecting her kin and she was more interested in battling for revenge.


    Shandris hated those who rose their weapons against the innocent, for example, Teron Gorefiend, or Bygraves.


    Teron Gorefiend was an Orc Warrior that existed around a similar time to Bygraves, or perhaps even earlier. The two of them were similar in that they were both cruel and lusted for blood.


    As a Warlock, Teron wasn''t outstanding, but his cruelty and hunger for blood was the reason why Guldan favored him.


    He was famous for the act that he had committed when the Orcs took over the Temple of Karabor. Teron killed all the Draenei captive, regardless of their age or gender ¨C none survived.


    His act was so brutal, that even some Orcs felt ashamed. In the minds of some prideful Orcs, it wasn''t a glorious act to kill those who couldn''t fight back.


    During the first invasion of the Orcs in Azeroth, they lost an advantage and Guldan''s power was greatly weakened.


    Orgrim Doomhammer seized the chance to start a political change and Teron was the first Warlock of the Shadow Council to die to Doomhammer. However, Orgrim didn''t successfully kill Guldan, because Guldan promised him to build a strong troop of riders who would follow only Orgim''s command. Orgrim commanded people to find some corpses of Human generals who had died during the War in Azeroth, and with some help of evil magic, souls of the Shadow Council Warlocks that Orgrim had slain were placed into these corpses. These revived corpses were called Death Knights.


    Because of this, Teron also became the first Death Knight in history.


    Bygraves was lucky enough to not be turned into a Death Knight. He followed the Blackhand to Azeroth and after the Blackhand failed, he turned to Doomhammer. Alongside the rise of Thrall, he joined the troops of the new Horde.


    Although because of Thrall''s command military forces rarely touched the peasants, Bygraves was still hated by the Alliance.


    Shandris could find any Alliance soldier and they could easily name out Bygraves.


    The Horde commander this time was once a Horde Warrior. Shandris'' comment on him was that he was a defiler to life itself and should have been dead long ago.


    "I can''t fight him myself," Shandris said in disappointment.


    Any of her ranger generals could easily take him down, but in the orders that she received, she wasn''t allowed to kill the opposing commander.


    The main characters of this faction war were the adventurers; the NPCs only existed to help.


    "Without your help, I don''t think I can achieve such a hard quest. My friends and I aren''t strong enough to do this alone, and my teacher is tortured by hate day and night. She can''t wait to see the day her enemy dies."


    Lu Li''s expression wasn''t impressed.


    "Then what help do you need, my kin?" Shandris felt helpless.


    She could possibly go against the commands from above and kill Bygraves by force, but she wouldn''t be able to handle the consequences after. It wasn''t just as simple as her receiving some punishment.


    The War of Hillsbrad seemed ridiculous to her, but she couldn''t laugh at the threat of the Undead.


    As Jaina and Thrall had insisted, they needed to build a shared battle line together. If Shandris was to jump out and kill the opposing commander in a battle like this that held significant political meaning, the outcome would be hard to imagine, since Orcs were a very irrational race.


    "But you could at least help us get rid of his sentries, right?" Water Fairy interrupted.


    "The sentries aren''t an issue, but the strength of you guys¡­" Shandris trailed off, then shook her head in disapproval and continued, "I''m currently level 65. I''d assume Bygraves would be of the same level. No matter how many of you go in, the results will not change."


    "Our teacher gave me this," Lu Li said as he took out the pack of poison.


    "What''s this?"


    Shandris took the poison and gave it a sniff. After she sniffed it, she widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Good stuff! Can''t believe this actually exists."


    "Would this be enough to take down Bygraves?" Lu Li asked in anticipation.


    The poison that Garona gave her this time had no attributes. There was no damage and no special effects, so he wasn''t sure about this at all. However, now that he had seen Shandris'' reaction, he felt a bit more confident about the whole situation.


    "How could it be possible to take down a commander with this alone?" Shandris sighed as she shook her head.

 1258 Prayer of the Moon Goddess

    No matter how good the item was, there would always be a limit to it.


    There was no way this poison could kill the Boss in an instant. Meanwhile, Bygraves would only need to lift a finger to kill the whole bunch. Not to mention, he was also protected by countless sentries.


    "I''ve heard that there''s a skill called Prayer of the Moon Goddess¡­" Lu Li mentioned tentatively.


    "You¡­How do you know of this? Did Garona tell you?"


    Shandris couldn''t hide her surprised expression. She had to reassess Lu Li, who looked like nothing but a weak adventurer to her.


    "I''ve heard that Lothar and the others once received this blessing. They invaded Karazhan and killed Master Medivh with this buff, am I right?" Lu Li asked.


    "How do you know? Only a handful of people know about this!" Shandris exclaimed, unable to keep her mouth shut.


    Lu Li used his knowledge from his previous life to trick the NPC. No matter how strong this NPC might be, they would all eventually fall for his tricks.


    "I''ve been fortunate enough to meet Master Medivh once. He was such a wise man. I can''t believe that he once betrayed Azeroth and was killed by a few mortals."


    Although Lu Li kept saying that he couldn''t believe it, his tone displayed strong confidence, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.


    "Guardian," Shandris said, paying her respects.


    Back then, under the influce of Sargeras, Medivh began to secretly investigate all sorts of evil magic and witchcraft. Then, he built an identical underground tower under Karazhan for his dark rituals.


    During a long spiritual trip, Medivh made contact with another Orc Warlock, Gul''dan, who thirsted for power. Through Medivh, the dark titan Sargeras told Gul''dan where it rested. Gul''dan, who was greedy for more power, agreed to lead the Orcs to invade Azeroth in order to obtain this ''final power'' of Sargeras.


    Shortly after, Medivh and Gul''dan''s Shadow Council worked together and opened the dark portal that connected the two worlds. The Horde then began their invasion on Azeroth.


    It was perfectly fine to say that Medivh was the hand behind the curtains that started the war.


    Then, his soul was left to wander in the stars for many years. His mother, Aegwynn used the last of her powers, the same powers that she used to maintain her youth, to resurrect her son.


    Twenty years later, a mysterious prophet arrived in Lordaeron in the form of a blood crow. He prophesied to Thrall and Terenas, King of Lordaeron, of the third invasion of the Burning Legion.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    At the time, the Horde was headed to Kalimdor, and Terenas had no interest in what the crow had to say.


    A sudden and fearful plague quickly spread itself amongst the northern cities of Lordaeron. The Lordaeron prince, Arthas, had to slaughter the whole Stratholme city to stop the spread of the plague. It was a nightmare.


    The mysterious prophet appeared again, but this time, Prince Arthas had no interest in what the crow had to say. The eyes of the young prince were shrouded by flames of revenge.


    Not long after, Terenas was killed by his son, the kingdom fell and the fearful plague continued to spread.


    Only a few humans managed to follow the female Mage, Jaina Proudmore, to cross over the seas to Kalimdor with the guidance of Medivh. They became the survivors of the Lordaeron disaster and formed a temporary alliance with the Horde that had also arrived in Kalimdor beforehand. Together, they all eventually joined forces with the Night Elves to defend against the invasion of the Burning Legion.


    They fought hard before the Archimonde reached the Tree of Eternity. In the end, Malfurion blew the horn of Cenarius, and countless little faeries appeared to self-destruct and severely wound Archimonde. Then, with the power of the World Tree, they slew Archimonde.


    After the war, Nordrassil was no longer eternal, and Night Elves were no longer immortal. Nordrassil turned into a giant tree that was closer to any other average tree.


    At this point, Medivh fulfilled his quest and handed down the task of maintaining this world to all those who lived on Azeroth.


    When the Dawn of the Gods rested, this wise and old Mage finally washed away his shame of being once controlled by the Demon.


    Night Elves always paid their respects to Medivh.


    The evil side of this Human Mage nearly crushed the entire continent, but it was also his side of mercy that saved the entire continent and Nordrassil.


    "Unfortunately, I am no Mage, or else I would''ve followed his steps," Lu Li said as his figure shattered and turned into a blood crow in the evening glow of Hillsbrad.


    "Uhm¡­" Shandris was speechless.


    Usually, a buff like Prayer of the Moon Goddess could not be used at random. Shandris had learned it, but had barely casted it on anyone else, let alone adventurers.


    Under usual circumstances, the buff was not dependent on the caster, but rather the target.


    For example, if a level 60 Priest cast a buff on a level 20 player, the attributes that this buff provided would be based on the cast target and not the level 60 Priest. For a level 20 player, this buff was no different to a buff provided by a Priest of the same level.


    However, the Prayer of the Moon Goddess was a different story. This status had nothing to do with levels.


    If a low-level account was to receive this buff, they could easily kill players like Lu Li and Sorrowless. Apparently, such strength came from the Moon Goddess herself and it provided the target a short, but significant amount of overall strength.


    This was what Lu Li was aiming for. Under the circumstances that Shandris couldn''t help him herself, she could give him a Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff instead.


    To further persuade Shandris, Lu Li purposely revealed the emblem on his left shoulder. It was the Blessing of Moon Priestess, and at the highest tier of blessings too. This was apparently more persuasive than the blood crow form to Shandris.


    "Alright, I''ll give the two of you a Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff, and I''ll also have my sentries rush up against the Horde and try to deal as much damage as possible to Bygraves. However, I will not join the battle personally," Shandris said firmly, drawing her bottom line.


    No matter how much she respected Medivh, he was still an outsider. However, the blessing on Lu Li''s left shoulder proved that he was one of their own, and with Garona''s request on top, they obtained two spots for the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff.


    As for the consequences that this might have, someone would eventually stand out and fix it.


    Defending against the Burning Legions'' invasion was a must; it could not possibly be affected by an old murderer alone. From the intel that they had received, Bygaves wasn''t very popular amongst the Horde either. Many had been wishing for his death.


    Two spots, and not two 100-man groups ¨C it would be a lie to say that Lu Li wasn''t disappointed.


    All he could do was to see how things go. After he received the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff and wiped the poison from Garona on his weapon, Lu Li was finally able to begin instructing all players to join the fight. The best option would be Mages, who had Ice Barrier.

 1259 Battle

    Even before the battle, the war had already started around Hillsbrad.


    Horde and Alliance players were scattered amongst this vast, new map, trying to find worthy opponents. The Glory Point buff had already started and killing someone with a similar title to you was worth it, even if you were killed in the process. This was a feast for Glory Points, held by the gaming company itself.


    Glory Points were an important aspect of Dawn, firstly because of the equipment that they could provide. Although the equipment wasn''t as great as the equipment dropped by the Bosses in the Wild, it was equivalent to what dungeons dropped. On top of this, the equipment obtained from Glory Points were more suitable for PVP, so a lot of PVP players would often try and obtain a whole set.


    Secondly, there was the mount. Most of the current players in Dawn could find a mount within their own race to ride on, but if they didn''t like the look of their race mount, they could try for the PVP mount.


    The PVP mount for the Alliance was a horse, while the Horde had a wolf.


    Then, there were the rare materials and the gems. Some of these could be obtained by exchanging Glory Points with NPCs at a more expensive rate. However, Glory Points were much easier to obtain compared to killing Bosses and all these items could be traded. It was hard for random players to find teams for Bosses, so using Glory Points to earn materials was a good solution. The only downside was that these material options were more limited.


    Finally, there were also some potions, special items, quest scrolls and other random items.


    The System had refreshed more experiencing-rewarding monsters on this map due to its new expansion. These monsters had the power of an ordinary monster, but gave the experience of an elite. Even players with average equipment could challenge them, and of course, the efficiency would increase if they teamed up.


    Many players bundled together, which only attracted more predators.


    Wild Bosses had temporarily left the game, and NPCs became the top powers of this map. Even the most-average sentry NPC would have the strength of a Boss. At the very most, they would have a little less health than a Wild Boss since they were humanoids.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The items that these NPCs dropped were quite good as well, so they instantly became the target of expert players.


    Although the Bosses left the scene, there were still some semi-Bosses patrolling around. There was a certain chance of them dropping rare materials, but usual players barely had a chance as the major guilds had a monopoly on these semi-bosses.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy took 200 hundred long-ranged players with them, but they didn''t participate in this mixed battle. Their target was clear ¨C they were aiming for Bygraves.


    Of course, both Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court wouldn''t give up this chance to improve their guild. Wandering had already taken a few troops with him to get ready; they were going to participate into this faction war with other ordinary players.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were still dragged into the chatroom of the commanders.


    This was the chatroom for all executives and commanders of the Alliance faction. In this faction war, everyone from the Alliance was playing on the same team. It was more profitable for them all to gather and fight as one. Jade Flower Lover was the highest commander, while Wandering was responsible for arranging the players of Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court.


    Regardless of how they all viewed this War of Hillsbrad, at the very least, all the players gave it their best shot.


    System: Deck Tower Point has been attacked by the enemy faction, please reinforce immediately.


    System: Saltheril has been attacked by the enemy faction, please reinforce immediately.


    At once, the System announcements boomed in everyone''s ears. Lu Li chose to ignore all of them. These announcements were sent to all players; they weren''t quests directed at him. If they were to receive a quest for this battleground, they would have to get it from the bounty board in Southshore.


    "Haha, it''s so popular down here at the bounty board."


    Fat Monkey was probably near the bounty board. Just as Lu Li was thinking about the bounty board, he immediately heard the teams talk about it in the team channel.


    "Hurry and come over; we don''t have time for quests today," Lu Li said.


    "Come check out these bounties! It includes bounties from the System and the players can even increase in price. Lu Li, I have a higher bounty than you right now!" Fat Monkey exclaimed proudly.


    "We could check out the Southshore first. The NPCs walk slow anyway, so we''d be able to catch up easily," Lu Li said to Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy agreed and the forces began to leave the NPCs as they turned into Southshore.


    Southshore looked completely different now. Its location had been moved further to the southwest, in the opposite direction to Tarrenmill. This was the major base for the Alliance and its size had been expanded by a few times. It wasn''t any smaller than the other major cities.


    At this time, the bounty board was packed with players, who were mostly looking for quests.


    Only a small portion of the quests on the bounty board was given out by the System or the faction. Most of the quests actually came from players.


    For example, if Lu Li had a grudge against Sorrowless, he could spend some gold coins to request for Sorrowless to be slain. The System would help with the judgement of the quest, and once it was deemed to be completed, 80% of the coins that Lu Li paid would go to the player. The remaining 20% would go into the System.


    Interestingly, only players who had entered the map could have a bounty placed on them. Before the bounty was completed, players could not leave the map until the event has ended.


    Many players had grudges against each other, and many of them were more than happy to spend some gold coins to get their enemies killed.


    Lu Li searched up his own bounty. Once someone placed a bounty on a player, then other players could not start another bounty on the same player. However, other players could raise the bounty and help attract more players to complete this bounty quest.


    The first player who set a bounty of 200 gold coins on Lu Li was Swirling Left Eye.


    This seemed like a large sum, but the value of in-game currency had dropped. However, it was still $70-80 per gold coin, so this 200 gold coin reward was worth tens of thousands.


    What really attracted players to the bounty on Lu Li''s head was the add-on prices that followed after. A huge chain of numbers followed beneath and by the time Lu Li searched up his own bounty, he was worth around 4000 gold coins. Whoever killed Lu Li would immediately be rich.


    Of course, it was impossible to receive all 4000 gold coins in one go.


    If too many players participate in the add-on of a bounty, then one successful hunt would only give the player the bounty money of 10 players. It would be a rinse and repeat process to receive the entire bounty.


    Many of the competitors that he was familiar with were around the same price. In fact, Sorrowless was only worth around 3000 gold coins because no one dared to kill him. Moonlight was slightly higher at around 5000. This was most likely because he had killed too many people, but there were not many around that dared to challenge him either.


    Fat Monkey was worth 7000 gold coins. He was a newer competitor, so people still had hopes in killing him.


    Lu Li checked out the bounty and took the bounty quests that were related to Swirling Left Eye and Staring Right Eye. These two old enemies had a higher bounty than he did. Swirling Left Eye was around ten thousand, while Staring Right Eye was around eight thousand gold coins. Lu Li was just uncertain how much he could get out of this price pool.


    Although Lu Li was at a much higher status in the game, he wasn''t a saint. Anyone that placed a bounty on his head deserved to be hunted.


    Each individual could only take tree bounty quests at once. Unless they completed the bounty or gave up on it, they wouldn''t be able to obtain any more quests. As such, the second quest that Lu Li took up was the quest that involved Bygraves. It was a System bounty that players couldn''t add-on to. However, the bounty was worth fifty thousand gold coins. If they successfully took him down, that would be around forty thousand gold coins in total for them.


    Even though all that participated in the event would be splitting the money, as the commanders of the party, Lu Li and Water Fairy would definitely receive a greater portion of the gold.

 1260 Tower Destruction Battle

    After accepting the quest, Lu Li took the others to catch up with the NPC''s team .


    This NPC team wasn''t the main force on the Alliance side for the war. The main force was led by Shandris, who was located in Southshore.


    There were around a hundred members, and it was mostly formed by Night Elves and Humans, but there were also some Dwarves, Gnomes, Draenei and other Alliance races. The team looked strong, but they didn''t actively fight players. Even if they ran into a large troop of Horde players, they wouldn''t attack unless the Horde players attacked first. The team just kept walking ahead.


    Of course, there were some players who weren''t afraid and wanted to take risks.


    After all, this was a large group of Alliance NPCs. In the eyes of some crazy Horde players, they were just walking equipment and gold coins.


    The results weren''t hard to imagine. After a round of shooting, all that was left on the floor was a mess. Lu Li took his team and was happy to pick up the equipment. A lucky player even picked up a level 55 Legendary equip. In this event, all items that were picked up by the individual would be a bound item, so the player that picked up the Legendary equipment was overwhelmed by joy.


    It seemed like a harvest, but in fact, Lu Li''s troop didn''t obtain that much by following these NPCs. Most players weren''t silly enough to cause trouble for them.


    Not to mention, this troop of NPCs often had to regularly clean up the towers and revival spots of the Horde faction. These places were often guarded by Horde NPCs with strong resistance. It was easy for players to die in these scenarios, and if a fight was to really occur, even if they survived, they would be severely injured.


    Lu Li estimated that it would take at least two hours or more for this team to push to the back of the Horde faction.


    This meant that it wasn''t worth it for them to follow behind.


    After some careful consideration, Lu Li decided to part ways with these NPCs. The poison for revenge had already been smeared on the daggers of both his and Water Fairy''s. If they waited for two hours, the effect would be wasted. Not to mention, both Water Fairy and Lu Li had the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff, so it was hard for anyone to kill them.


    The Dark Elf that led the troop didn''t say much to it.


    Following the command of Shandris, they would complete their own quests first, then coordinate with the adventurers to kill the opposing commander. Besides this, they had no other obligations.


    "What are we going to do now boss? You guys are so strong now; how about assassinating Sorrowless?" Fat Monkey suggested as he rubbed his hands with excitement.


    "You must be daydreaming. What good is there in killing Sorrowless? We''re going to find a smaller camp and take it down ourselves," Lu Li retorted as he followed the path to reach the tip of the small mountain. From here, he could see quite far ahead and caught glimpses of lights that were flashing everywhere. These were visual effects of skills casted by players. On the other hand, some places remained dead and quiet.


    If they pushed camps with NPCs, most of the hard work would be done by the NPCs and the players wouldn''t receive many Glory Points.


    Within their sight, they found a camp of soldiers clashing with thousands of adventurers. Many group spells were casted by these soldiers and many lives were taken each time.


    However, at the same time, the numbers of these Orc soldiers were decreasing. They could kill the players, but the players outnumbered them over the long run. These Orc soldiers didn''t have that much health after all.


    There were also a large number of Horde players that helped their NPCs defend. They behaved like real soldiers and refused to back down in any fights. Unfortunately for them, this camp had already pushed quite deep into the Alliance area, and the reinforcements that they could receive were limited. They wouldn''t last much longer.


    "Damn, so heated. Moonlight must be having fun."


    Fat Monkey was a little disappointed that he couldn''t follow Moonlight into battle.


    "We''re not here to battle with the players; it won''t profit us much," Lu Li said as he shook his head and ignored the excited expression of Fat Monkey. Perhaps to the average players, Glory Points were worth a lot, but this wasn''t the case for any of the people with Lu Li.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    In this map that had been adjusted by the System, there were camps everywhere.


    Some were barracks, some were storehouses, some were training grounds, some were tower points and some were revival spots. Either way, it wasn''t hard to find places to cause trouble.


    Lu Li analysed the situation and quickly chose a tower point.


    He chose one that wasn''t filled with a crowd of people. It wasn''t packed with soldiers like a barracks, not to mention that barracks also held casters.


    The two hundred players that he had brought with him was enough to take down System-controlled casters. Only places like a tower point that were built to scout the enemy would they be able to take these NPCs down one by one.


    Finally, there was the problem of the Main Tank position.


    Lu Li didn''t bring a main tank this time, not even one. This was because they weren''t useful for his purposes. Even if Azure Sea Breeze was to use everything that he had, he probably wouldn''t even be able to take one hit from Bygraves. Just Lu Li and Water Fairy alone would be enough to tank monsters. They had both obtained the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff and at this point, both their defence and attacks were on par with average Bosses.


    However, they weren''t tanks after all, so this meant that the aggression level would be hard to control.


    If the team was caught up in too many monsters while Water Fairy and Lu Li couldn''t hold the aggression of all of them, there would be a wipe if these monsters rushed into the formation of the long-ranged players. Neither of them had any taunt skills to salvage the situation.


    Tower points didn''t have many monsters ¨C at the very most, there would be two per level.


    Lu Li picked the Lai''ka Tower point. This tower point was located on the eastern side at a higher altitude. It could scout areas in the far distance and the Horde used it mainly to provide tactical information for their backlines. There was a Wind Wielder at the top of the tower. If there was any important information, it would be sent back by an agent with the Wind Wielder.


    "Don''t forget, focus down the monster that Water Fairy and I attack. Healers, try not to heal when there are too many monsters," Lu Li reminded before they entered.


    They didn''t have enough Prayer of the Moon Goddess buffs. If all 200 of them were given the buff, Lu Li was certain he could take out the entire Hillsbrad themselves. Unfortunately, giving both him and Water Fairy the buff was already asking a lot from Shandris.


    Even if Tyrande was here, she probably won''t be able to buff 200 people at once.


    Lu Li rushed in first. Before he had the chance to look around, two sharp blades immediately slashed at him. In real life, this would definitely be enough to cut someone in two.


    Damn, a sneak attack!


    Lu Li didn''t have the chance to turn and see who was behind him; his reflexes acted first. With a pounce in front, he rolled over and faced his assaulter.


    There were two Troll guards who had masked their faces. From their appearance, they were like two scouts, trained to study and investigate the enemy. Their current quest right now was probably to guard the tower point.


    After Lu Li escaped, they quickly pursued.


    Unable to keep dodging, the Troll guard''s short sword stabbed into Lu Li''s shoulder and took away around one 1400 points of his health.

 1261 Escaped Boss

    Lu Li was relieved to see the damage.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    He had the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff, and his health bar had increased from 4000 to around 80000. One thousand four hundred points of damage was nothing to him.


    To be fair, these Troll guards were incredibly strong.


    However, the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff didn''t just increased health points alone. It buffed almost everything that players could think of, including defence. Without this buff, Lu Li would have taken at least 3000 damage, and an average player would be killed in one attack.


    Only tank classes could barely handle the attacks of these types of monsters.


    The other Troll guard was lured over by Water Fairy. Lu Li could probably tank both of them, but there was no guarantee that he could hold their aggression. He didn''t have any skills or equipment that would boost his aggression level.


    "Boss, this isn''t fair," Fat Monkey private messaged Lu Li.


    "What are you on about? What''s unfair?"


    Lu Li was usually a serious figure, but Fat Monkey wasn''t scared of him. The two of them also had a good relationship, so Lu Li didn''t feel much towards Fat Monkey''s protest. He was more curious about the reason.


    "Why did Water Fairy get this buff from the NPC instead of me? This buff is too good!" Fat Monkey whined, feeling wronged.


    He was the best at offence and with this buff, he would definitely kill anyone or anything in his way.


    Lu Li''s normal attacks on the Troll guard dealt around 1000 damage. With a skill at a high completion level and a critical strike on top, he would be able to deal a few thousand damage without a problem. If he was really lucky, he might even hit the ten thousand mark.


    "We must be playing a different game; you''re on a private server. I''m going to report you." Fat Monkey looked at his damage pitifully. He felt so proud of it in the past, but now, he was ready to cry any moment. Never once had he felt so envious of his boss. To make matters worse, this buff wasn''t just on Lu Li ¨C it was also on Water Fairy.


    "Stop acting like a widow; you''re scaring me," Lu Li said in disgust. "We have such a high damage because we''ve also smeared some other stuff on our dagger. It''s only usable for Thieves; what can I do about you being a Mage?"


    "Shame that I''m not a girl," Fat Monkey said sadly.


    Lu Li didn''t have time to reply Fat Monkey. He gave new instructions as soon as he saw the Troll guard start casting.


    "Back, back against the walls! Mages, stand behind. Use your refrigerator skill on my command."


    The two Troll guards began to spin together. Their attack range increased and even the ranged classes couldn''t guarantee their safety. The aggression almost reset as well, so Lu Li couldn''t control the NPCs any longer.


    Fortunately, everyone followed instructions and performed perfectly.


    The two Troll guards quickly ran out of skills to use and the entire battle only lasted for four minutes. The amount of damage that Lu Li and Water Fairy dealt was way too high.


    Remnant Dream stepped forward to loot items. In such a situation, Lu Li might leave anyone else behind, but he would definitely bring the little Hunter with him. If he could, he would turn this little Hunter into an accessory and bring it with him wherever he went, so that he could release her whenever he needed to loot. Many players in the guild would often discuss crossover events between main characters of different stories. They all believed that Remnant Dream would most likely be one, because she always looted exquisite items.


    Two Dark Gold equipment, two rare materials and a Thief skill book.


    The equipment and rare materials were split. Lu Li already had the Thief skill book, he took it first and would split it with Water Fairy later after the battle.


    The number of forces that both guilds had invested into this battle was about the same, so the equipment was split 1:1. Even if things were split in a slightly uneven manner, no one would say anything.


    The second floor was similar. Besides the two Troll Guards, there was also a treasure chest, or rather, a resource chest. After Lu Li killed the Troll guards, he opened the chest and obtained some cloth and food. He also looted a spear-like Legendary weapon, and a Hunter from Water Fairy''s side was fortunate enough to receive it.


    The third level did not contain Troll guards anymore. Instead, there was a Troll Hunter and an Orc Warrior, which slightly increased the difficulty.


    However, it wasn''t enough to trouble Lu Li and Water Fairy, who were basically like bugs in the game at this point. Their battle time was around the same as before.


    There were total of four levels in this tower point. After they passed through the levels, there would be a messenger, who would be a figure in a higher position. These NPCs in the tower had a much lower chance of dropping a Legendary, but the messenger was almost guaranteed to drop one.


    There was a total of 6 monsters in the first three levels. The messenger at the top had two followers and a Wind Wielder that wouldn''t attack on its own.


    This made things a little awkward. Their group was only capable of pulling two monsters, so a third in the equation would make things a lot harder. After all, healers couldn''t keep focusing on Lu Li. Once they healed, the monster that was attacking Lu Li would turn to them instead, since Lu Li can''t output damage to two monsters.


    Now that Lu Li thought about it, he really should have given a buff to Azure Sea Breeze. He had poison on his dagger anyway, so his damage output wasn''t an issue.


    Regret wasn''t an option at this point; Lu Li wasn''t a God who had never made mistakes either.


    "Intruders are here! I must let Bygraves know. Sentries, cover for me!"


    The messenger saw Lu Li and the other two hundred men that swarmed in, who barely left any space on top of the tower. Luckily, the tower was designed to allow combat, so it accommodate more than a few people.


    The two followers roared and took out their double axes from their backs.


    They were both Berserkers!


    What did the messenger say? Cover him¡­


    "Attack! Attack the Wind Wielder!" Lu Li shouted. He didn''t have time to care about the consequences of possibly facing four monsters if they attacked the Wind Wielder.


    As soon as the messenger said "cover for me", he immediately dashed towards the Wind Wielder. With a quick shake on the reins, the Wind Wielder rose from ground, despite being attacked. Player skills rained on the messenger and the Wind Wielder, but besides dealing some damage, it wasn''t enough to stop them from escaping.


    They¡­ actually escaped!


    Lu Li was speechless, but what could he do? If a Boss wanted to run, especially a Boss that could fly, there was no one who could really stop it. All he could do was to keep quiet and keep attacking the monsters.


    The two followers that couldn''t run with the messenger became the target of rage for the players.


    One of the followers handed out a Dark Gold equipment, while the other dropped a Legendary.


    It was a legendary equipment for Warriors. Lu Li took one glance and passed it to Water Fairy.


    The Attributes were excellent for ordinary players, but it was nothing compared to what Moonlight already had. Later on, if something good enough for the competitors in Ruling Sword were to drop, he would have a reason to just take it.


    System: You have destroyed the Lai''ka tower point and have obtained Experience, Glory Points and Reputation as a reward.


    Slaying or chasing out all the NPCs in the tower was equivalent to taking it down. Soon, there would be Alliance NPCs who would come and take over. Then, they would receive more Experience, Reputation and Glory Points.


    This was the good part of taking down campsites. Compared to killing others in the Wild, they would receive a lot more experience. However, the Glory Point reward wouldn''t be as handsome. After all, there were 200 players splitting it. The amount that each could receive was much more limited.


    The entire battle time for this tower took around ten to twenty minutes, so the reward was rather worthwhile for them.


    Normal players would have to spend at least half an hour or more to take down the tower point, but the situation was different for them now. They had Lu Li and Water Fairy with them, so both their damage and defence were overpowered. Not to mention, the two hundred people that they brought with them had high DPS.


    "This time, let''s not choose towers."


    After the previous experience, Lu Li swore not to repeat it.


    He studied the area and decided to invade an empty barracks.


    There was a problem to this decision though. An empty barracks was not equivalent to a deserted barracks. There would still be soldiers inside, just in minimal numbers. However, it was impossible to tell whether a barracks was empty by just judging from the appearance. This meant that someone had to go and scout it out.


    However, trying to scout around with Stealth in front of level 60 soldiers would be a joke in the first place.


    Fortunately, Lu Li and Water Fairy''s buff was ridiculously strong. After they chose two targets, they both entered Stealth and began scouting. They scouted the whole area and none of the soldiers discovered them.


    If they were to assassinate Sorrowless right now, it would be too easy.


    However, this was just a quick thought that Lu Li gave up almost immediately.


    Neither Ruling Sword or Lu Li needed to assassinate someone of fame again to boost their popularity. Ruling Sword and Glory Capital would also be having a match next week, so if Lu Li used this bug to kill Sorrowless now, people would say something, regardless if they lost or won.


    Even if he were to kill Sorrowless, Sorrowless would just lose some Experience, or at most, an equipment.


    With a club like Glory Capital supporting him, one death wouldn''t impact Sorrowless much. In fact, it would help Glory Capital gain some exposure and popularity.


    The best option now was for him to use this chance and take more campsites for experience. As the greatest damage dealers, Lu Li and Water Fairy''s experience reward was beyond their imagination. Lu Li felt like he could easily reach 59 today.


    When Lu Li scouted the barracks, he was caught by surprise.


    The barracks looked empty, but all of the soldiers were actually gathered in a tent, drinking together. The infirmary was also filled with people. Once Lu Li brought people here, they would be facing dozens of Boss-level soldiers at once with a commander as well.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had scouted in detail.


    These infirmaries were also a kind of trap. Once players believe that this barracks was empty and chose to push in, they would be in major trouble.


    On the other hand, Water Fairy seemed to have better luck scouting. According to her, the entire barracks on her side was empty. Only eight soldiers patrolled the area, and if they still follow the aggression rules set down by the System, taking the barracks down would be a simple task.


    Once their target was set, they set foot immediately to save precious time.


    The barracks that Water Fairy scouted seemed to belong to the Undead, or rather, ''The Forgotten Ones''. They were led by Queen Sylvanas, and were an Undead race with their own conscious and wisdom.


    Tarrenmill, located on the other end of Hillsbrad, was taken over by the Forgotten Ones, who were all led by Queen Sylavanas. They had made their military basement in the area. In the faction war this time, the NPC military in the Horde faction consisted mainly of Orcs, then Undead, and finally Trolls.


    The Undead in the barracks all looked similar. Their positioning was spread quite far apart, but their movement patterns were much more random.


    After some analysis, Lu Li discovered that while they attacked one soldier, they might encounter a second due to the random patrolling pattern. As such, he gave up the thought of pulling two monsters at once, and instead, decided to take down these soldiers one by one.

 1262 A Trap

    The defence of the Undead soldiers wasn''t as great, but their attack was very high. Each attack dealt around 1800 damage to Lu Li. With all the healers healing Lu Li, they barely maintained a stalemate.


    "Boss, someone''s coming here!"


    Lu Li paused; the timing was perfect. He had picked a less-popular location, where no one would really set foot. He thought he could get rich quietly, but trouble still came his way in the end.


    He was actually thinking too simply. He thought that he could get rich here in silence, but clearly, he wasn''t the only one with the same idea.


    "Who''s here?" Lu Li asked.


    "Looks like Horde players. When we attacked this barracks, the System informed the nearby Horde players," a player who was in charge of scouting explained.


    "I got it. Go check for me where they are right now and keep in contact with me," Lu Li said.


    The scout nodded and turned into a panther as he disappeared.


    Lu Li let out a sigh of relieve when he heard that it was Horde players arriving.


    It would be a lot more troublesome if this was Alliance players. After all, this was a faction war, and anyone in the same faction could be counted as an ally. If they insisted, saying that they were here to reinforce, Lu Li really couldn''t do anything about it. On the other hand, Horde players were far easier to deal with. They simply had to kill them.


    The Horde players were quick to arrive, but they lack coordination.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Lu Li dragged an Undead soldier towards the Horde players. At first, the Horde players thought it was weird for him to rush up against them, but they really couldn''t tell what was wrong. Since Lu Li was so brave, and there were so many of them, they were certain that they could kill him with numbers.


    Hence, skills rained down.


    The skills that rained down on Lu Li barely scratched him; almost none of them dealt more than a hundred points of damage.


    Lu Li had roughly 80000 HP, so he really couldn''t care less about the damage that these Horde players dealt, unless of course, there were a few more waves. On the other hand, the Horde players not only dealt damage to Lu Li, but they also dealt damage to the Undead Warrior that had its health halved by Lu Li''s crew.


    Lu Li had already stopped attacking the Undead Warrior and the aggression continued to decrease.


    Now that so many of them were attacking it, it was natural for the aggression target to change. The Undead Warrior was fast; it immediately charged into the team of Horde players.


    Faction NPC and players were allies and they usually worked together, so it was rare for NPCs to attack players. They might even reach out their hands to help at times when players were in danger. However, the situation was different when they had been attacked. After all, they needed to defend themselves too.


    In the eyes of the Undead Warrior, it could no longer see the symbol of alliance on top of the Horde players'' heads. He just wanted to take down these traitors who dared to attack him with the Alliance adventurers.


    Lu Li didn''t go up to help. He just needed to wait around for the results. These Bosses were around level 60, and besides tanks with decent equipment, none of them could take more than a hit. It was only a matter of time before these dozens of Horde players were slaughtered.


    As for the long-ranged classes that he brought with him, they didn''t move. It would be troublesome if they drew the Undead Warrior''s aggression back onto themselves.


    Meanwhile, Water Fairy''s side had already encountered another Undead soldier. After Lu Li solved his issue, he went over to help. As for the equipment that was littered all over the floor, there were plenty players who picked it up. These can be resold for coins to repair their own equipment.


    The Undead Warrior that Lu Li took down didn''t drop anything valuable.


    Although it was a Boss, the System wouldn''t be so kind to have all these monsters drop Legendary equipment.


    These ''Bosses'' were just stronger elites. While they had slightly better loot, they definitely can''t be compared with real Bosses.


    Real Bosses in the Wild would at least drop one Legendary equipment, a number of Dark Gold equipment and even more Gold equipment, alongside a handful of gemstones. Skill books and rare materials were also part of the equation.


    Even if these average NPCs were to drop a Legendary, it would have average Attributes, and would probably around level 55 too. Only NPCs with titles had a chance of dropping level 60 Legendary equipment. As such, if a player picked up a level 50 legendary equipment from these soldiers, there was really nothing to complain about.


    "You''ve sorted your side out so fast! How?" Water Fairy questioned.


    "The Boss helped us kill the Horde players, and the Horde players helped us kill the Boss. We should really thank them," Lu Li joked.


    He didn''t always keep a serious face on; everyone had times when they joked around. It was just in the beginning, he was so stressed about life. No one could really spend time laughing while on the struggling edge of survival. Although he still bore the stress from building a club, he was confident about the first step of maintaining his quality of life.


    "There''ll be others later," Water Fairy worried.


    "Don''t worry. They''re all random players. Just make sure we don''t expose ourselves," Lu Li dismissed. The Hillsbrad map was too large now; it would be difficult to run into someone of their level.


    "We''re running out of time." They had told the NPCs that they would be away for two hours.


    "Don''t worry about it. Even if we meet up with them, we won''t be taking down Bygraves straight away. After all, this battle needs to continue for the whole day. Let''s get our levels up first," Lu Li said.


    After they took down the few Undead soldiers, the barracks was announced by the System to have been taken over.


    The two hundred men were thrilled by the huge amount of Experience, Reputation and Glory Points that they received. At first, they thought that they would miss out on this major event since they were following Lu Li and Water Fairy to perform a special task. None of them were expecting such a great harvest.


    Their friends had informed them that they were currently killing Horde players or taking down campsites. Although it was blood-boiling, they really didn''t get much out of it all.


    Then, Lu Li and Water Fairy proceeded to take down another few more campsites. They were getting close to hitting level 59.


    Although it was hard for Ruling Sword to reach level 60 by the time of the competition, but they couldn''t resist the idea from popping into their heads. Almost in a crazed manner, Lu Li swept through a number of campsites. The ones that he couldn''t take down entirely, he would take down a few monsters before he left.


    They had looted quite a few pieces of Legendary equipment, but only a handful were useful.


    In the future, the equipment market was bound to be impacted by this event. Low-level, but exquisite equipment would drop significantly in price because of this event.


    This wasn''t the end to it all. In the future, the Scourge Invasion event would make it even worse.


    The company would bring out a setting which reduced special effects. This meant that level 50 equipment worn by a level 60 players would have its effect reduced. At that point, the value of these level 50 items would finally drop.


    After 3-4 hours, they had taken out a dozen campsites. Lu Li had finally reached level 59 and his next target was level 60. However, reaching level 60 was such a monumental task that he might not even achieve it after another month. Although the jump was only one level, the amount of Experience that he needed was almost ridiculous.


    Reaching level 60 wasn''t that important either. Most of the competitors were wearing level 60 equipment anyway thanks to gemstones that reduced level requirement.

 1263 Talking Nonsense

    "You''re late, and that''s not a good habit," the captain said coldly.


    "Sorry, we''ve been attacked by too many Horde adventurers while taking out 16 campsites. We wasted too much time in the process and couldn''t get here on time. I''m terribly sorry." Lu Li acted as if he felt guilty and would gladly die to make up for what he had done.


    "What? Sixteen campsites!" the captain cried out in awe as his eyeballs bulged out.


    Lu Li''s two hundred men seemed like a huge group, but in the eyes of NPCs, they were nothing more than a joke. Two or three NPCs were enough to wipe out this crew of 200. It was hard for the NPCs to imagine that they had taken down 16 campsites with this number of people.


    Even the NPCs themselves had only taken down a few campsites.


    What the honest captain didn''t know was that the campsites that they had taken down tough ones. Not only were the enemy NPCs strong, but there were also Horde players around to help, so it was natural that their battles lasted longer.


    The campsites that Lu Li and his crew took down were either tower points with NPCs that had run away, empty barracks or infirmaries holding injured soldiers.


    Either way, Lu Li and his crew picked the easiest camps while the captain and his team dealt with the tough ones.


    Shamelessly, Lu Li accepted the look of admiration from the captain and asked him to take them to find Bygraves.


    "Later on when we start our final attack, our men will try our best to create some chances for you, but the opportunity will only occur once. There''s not much time left for us. If it is possible, find some friends to help defend the adventurers. Although their strength is unimpressive, the numbers are too limited," the captain said.


    It appeared as though the six hour faction war was approaching its end.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy exchanged glances, then proceeded to assign their forces for the final battle. Ruling Sword, Peerless City and Drizzle Court combined to create force of a hundred thousand players. Their movements were like fireflies in the dark, glowing and attracting attention as they went.


    After Sorrowless heard of their movement, he felt threatened and immediately assigned more people around him.


    Dawn wasn''t the sort of game where professional players wouldn''t die. It was normal for them to die hundreds of times when they explored a dungeon for the first time or in the Wild. In matches, Lu Li and Sorrowless had died multiple times in multiple ways, but no one liked dying without putting up a fight first.


    Shortly after, Sorrowless changed his mind. Why should he be afraid of them?


    Even if the Alliance players all gathered together, there was no reason for the Horde faction to be afraid. Statistically, Horde always had the advantage in terms of numbers.


    Under the instructions of Glory Capital, the Horde players moved too.


    The forces were more complex on the Alliance side; the three guilds that Lu Li represented were just a portion of the Alliance faction. The other Alliance guilds also moved after they saw that Glory Capital had begun to take action.


    Within a short span of time, the battleground of Hillsbrad saw many changes. The forces of both factions were assigned to face against each other.


    Random players also wanted to be a part of the war, and the atmosphere for the final battle swept across the map.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy had never expected things to roll out so smoothly. The faction war would probably take a long time to draw to a conclusion. With the whole Alliance fighting behind Lu Li''s back to give him a chance, no one would suspect that he was trying to complete a quest, even if he aimed straight for the enemy faction''s commander.


    They would only think that he was incredibly manly, always targeting the top of the power chain of the enemy faction.


    Last time, it was Sorrowless, but this time, Sorrowless wasn''t important enough. Instead, he wanted to take down their commander and bring them to shame.


    There were plenty of soldiers surrounding Bygraves already, but as the battle began to unfold and the Alliance continued to output more soldiers and resources, Bygraves had to send out multiple waves of reinforcements.


    In the end, he only had around a hundred men with him.


    As long as Shandris didn''t come with a team of her own, these hundred men should be more than enough to defend against the adventurers.


    Lu Li wouldn''t be Lu Li if he didn''t try to cause trouble at this time. He requested the captain to take his men and charge against Bygrave''s forces.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The captain believed that they could still wait a little as the battle hadn''t reached the most critical point. Perhaps if the Horde faction fell into a further disadvantaged position, Bygraves might send out even more men from his side to help. The task would be much easier with lesser numbers. As a commander that had been assigned on a short basis, he wanted to expand his victory at minimal loss.


    "Have you ever seen a commander with less than a hundred men?" Lu Li asked.


    The captain opened his mouth, but he couldn''t find anything to argue with Lu Li. Even he himself had 100 men with him, let alone someone like Bygraves.


    "If the battle was to worsen for the Horde, there will only be two scenarios," Lu Li explained, "Bygraves could take his remaining forces into battle. In this case, it would be easy to attack him in the crowd, but it would also be hard to kill him."


    This was true. Although the environment would become complex, all the nearby Horde soldiers and players wouldn''t stand around to watch as someone else aimed for their boss.


    The captain nodded his head and asked, "Then, what''s the other scenario?"


    "Alternatively, he could bring back his forces and keep them tight to focus on defending. In that case, we would have an even lesser chance to get our task done."


    Lu Li was a lot smarter than a little NPC from the system and was also talented in leading.


    The captain just wanted to win with sheer numbers, but he had forgetten about some other details.


    "That¡­seems to be right. How do we attack now?"


    The captain was easily persuaded. Lu Li was also someone that Shandris asked him to cooperate with, so he easily handed over his authority.


    "For now, we''ll watch first," Lu Li said as he gazed in the enemy camp''s direction.


    Just as he finished speaking, a large pack of Thieves appeared within their vision and pounced towards the Horde tents.


    One by one, Orc soldiers rushed out of the camps to engage with these Thieves, and some chased after the Thieves who tried to escape.


    "Now''s the time! Charge with me!"


    Lu Li didn''t just let the NPCs go in first to die. Instead, he charged in first himself. He had a lot of health with overwhelming Attributes, and also had a small team of healers to support him, so he really didn''t worry to much about his safety.


    ''Charge'' and ''charge with me'' were two different concepts.


    Even the captain, who didn''t have too much intelligence, felt passion lighten up with him. He hastened to join Lu Li to charge towards the Horde tents.

 1264 Revenger

    The Horde tents were filled with Thieves. The soldiers were all busy, so it took them a while to realize that their tents had been assaulted.


    There were two hundred long-ranged players, with two Thieves buffed by Prayer of the Moon Goddess. This was also on top with hundreds of Alliance NPCs. With the other Thieves running around, the Horde tents were immediately thrown into chaos. All that stood before Lu Li''s crew was immediately wiped out.


    Lu Li quickly discovered Bygraves.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Orcs looked like humans, but had larger noses and rippling, green muscles. Their fangs were also very noticeable. Male Orcs were larger in size compared to human males, and when they stood up, they were on average 2 meters tall. Female Orcs were also greater in size compared to human females, but they were much skinnier than male Orcs. Even so, they still had the symbolic powerful muscles of all Orcs.


    The fangs of female Orcs were small and were almost unnoticeable; they were more like large sharp teeth.


    Bygraves was a typical Orc.


    First, there were his eyes. There was nothing wrong with them ¨C just an obvious scar from the left to the right. A little deeper, and his life would have been taken in that instance.


    His pair of eyes glistened and looked frightening. His hair was white and there were wrinkles on his face. There was no wisdom in gaze, only cruelty and blood lust. It looked like he could easily eat five live humans each meal.


    His head was bald with a band wrapped around his forehead. In the middle of the band was the bone of a finger. Lu Li couldn''t tell what race the finger belonged too.


    It was possible that it belonged to the person who gave him the scar on his eyes. Bygraves had tied their finger bone to his forehead as remembrance of his sweet revenge. Many years had passed, and he might not remember the face of his enemy, but he definitely would still remember the joy of avenging himself.


    As if he was telepathic, Bygraves turned around and stared at Lu Li''s location.


    At first, Lu Li thought that Bygraves was staring at the captain. After all, the captain was the an NPC commander. The captain was probably the strongest existence on the Alliance side, but after Lu Li checked again, he realized that Bygraves was really staring at him.


    "This is the smell of revenge!" Bygraves boomed as he stood up from what he was originally sitting on, which was possibly the corpse of an NPC. Player corpses wouldn''t remain around for that long.


    Lu Li couldn''t help but grow a little anxious. After all, this was currently the top boss of the game.


    There were plenty of bosses that were stronger than Bygraves, but they wouldn''t see someone as insignificant as Lu Li as their target. Lu Li was certain that he was no match. Bygraves unleashed this aura that was so powerful that it destroyed all hope. If this was a computer game made a hundred years ago, the name of this NPC would be so red that it would turn purple. The NPC also had a giant-sized body, added on to the pressure he exerted.


    Fortunately, Lu Li didn''t just turn his head and run, because he remembered that he was no longer the weakling that would die in a shot. He had the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff with him, hundreds of brothers to back him up and more NPCs as support.


    He would rather fight to death than run without trying.


    "Step up and let me feel your strength, unknown revenger," Bygraves said as a lust for battle shone in his eyes.


    "My name is Lu Li. I''ve come in the name of my teacher to take your life."


    Lu Li licked his cracked lips in excitement. This was truly a big Boss. He had not yet encountered a level 65 Boss, which was five levels higher than all players.


    "I''ve got no interest in you, but your teacher, I wonder who he is¡­"


    Bygraves'' voice was coarse, it was hard to tell what he was saying without paying attention.


    "You''ve got no need to know who my teacher is, because¡­well, there''s really no point when you''re about to die."


    "Now, in the name of revenge, I announce that today is your great apocalypse."


    Lu Li disappeared from the spot, and when he reappeared, he was behind Bygraves.


    For a long period of time, all the players in the scene couldn''t forget what they saw. It completely turned their world upside down.


    They had seen a Thief player charging recklessly at a level 65 Boss.


    Lu Li''s dagger jabbed into the back of Bygraves'' head. This was a Backstab. He had planned to use this to reduce the armor of Bygaves...


    Ding!


    Unfortunately, Lu Li''s dagger didn''t jab into Bygraves.


    It wasn''t because of Bygraves'' size; the System would adjust the discomfort of a size-difference to a certain extent.


    His dagger had struck a piece of metal, or rather, it had met the blade of a giant axe.


    If the game designers gave Bygraves a specialty, it would be that he was an experienced soldier.


    There was no way that Lu Li''s sneak attack was going to work.


    However, his attack still followed the damage rules of the game. Lu Li had already dealt around 200 points of damage to Bygraves. Under usual circumstances, this was like a dream come true, especially when his attack was completely blocked. The Prayer of the Moon Goddess wasn''t diminished in front of a Boss.


    Dawn had a rule that decreased statuses when facing a stronger existence.


    But who can reduce the power of the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff? At the very least, Lu Li hadn''t recognized anyone capable of doing so. Even Thrall couldn''t manage this, let alone an average Orc like Bygraves.


    As such, Lu Li''s damage wasn''t reduced just because Bygraves was a higher=level boss.


    Bygraves waved his axe with a force that was enough to split Lu Li into two.


    However, what he hit wasn''t Lu Li ¨C it was Shard of the Defiler. It was such a light blade, but surprisingly, it was a successful block.


    Lu Li also received damage, but this encouraged his crew.


    Players always had an advantage that NPCs didn''t¨C they always had countless comrades and could revive continuously.


    Lu Li wasn''t the type to follow Orc traditions.


    Muck-gala was a one-on-one battle tradition amongst the Orcs, often used to challenge others for the position of the Chief. Both parties were only allowed to bring a weapon and they couldn''t wear any armor. They would fight until death and if anyone was to abandon the fight halfway, they would immediately be casted out.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li wasn''t an Orc. He respected the tradition, but he wasn''t planning on following it.


    Countless skills rained upon Bygaves, like fireworks in the night sky.

 1265 Come Protect Me

    @@


    Bygraves was hurt, and he couldn''t help but let out a roar of rage.


    The ranged attacks didn''t deal that much damage. After they were averaged out, everyone dealt less than a hundred damage, but the NPCs had struck him with a painful blow.


    Some were Night Elf Rangers, while others were Dwarven Marksmen. There were Human Paladins, Gnome Thieves and many other combinations mixed in the crowd. Like Bygraves, they were all Bosses, but they were slightly weaker with a level difference.


    However, the amount of damage they dealt was visible ¨C it emptied out a chunk out of Bygraves'' health bar.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were both attacking as well. The two Thieves had caused a lot of trouble for Bygraves, especially their attacks with the Moon Goddess'' Rage effect. This stopped the health regeneration ability that Bygraves had as an Orc. He was old, and his regeneration skills were already weakened by age, so the attack effect made it even worse.


    "Stand back!" Lu Li @@

 1266 Death Wish Continues

    @@


    Lu Li had to thank Shandris. Shandris was always known for her willingness to try new paths, and if this was any other commander, there was no way they would give so much help. Even a blind person could tell what role Shandris had played in this change.


    The Alliance forces continued to press inwards, so Bygraves had to send out more troops to the frontline.


    This wasn''t an issue, as Shandris had sent out hundreds of NPCs and each of them were elite soldiers. They almost completely overwhelmed the Orc soldiers.


    Of course, it wasn''t an easy task to kill a level 65 boss. Even if Bygraves was to stand there and let Lu Li attack him, it would take at least half an hour to actually bring him down. Half an hour was enough for a lot of things to happen.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    It wasn''t possible for Lu Li to keep the commotion down.


    Almost immediately, Sorrowless heard of the situation.


    "We must stop them. Once they succeed, their popularity will rise," Master Huang said in a low@@

 1267 Scavengers

    "Die!" Bygraves'' health dropped rapidly and he began to feel worried about himself.


    Lu Li saw the red glow on Bygraves'' axe and he knew that things were about to go downhill. Unfortunately, his actions weren''t as fast as his thinking; he didn''t react in time and was knocked 200 yards away.


    "Don''t¡­"


    Even before Lu Li got to tell others not to tank the boss, Water Fairy was knocked away too. Bygraves charged into the long-ranged team of Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court.


    At first, they were either killed in an instant or blown away, which lasted until the red light on the axe disappeared.


    By the time Lu Li got back, he had already lost 20-30 people from his 200-manteam. Even a few NPC soldiers died during the process. This sudden change had him crying without tears. This was when he realized that a level 65 boss wasn''t easy to take down. If it wasn''t for the fact that the captain had tried his best to help them mid-way, more of them probably would have died.


    With Lu Li retaking over the aggression, Bygraves had no choice but to redirect his targets.


    This couldn''t be helped; he was a Boss that really played by the System rules. The best he could do was to knock the players away or use Whirlwind to threaten them. Clearly, the other players weren''t the main force in this battle. Lu Li could easily have people resurrect them or send more players in.


    If things were to go smoothly, it was only a matter of time before Bygraves fell.


    Lu Li had no choice but to resurrect those dead players. Their speed had dropped with a few dozen less players helping out.


    "Boss, look! Someone''s stealing equipment! They''re not our people!"


    When Lu Li heard this, he turned around just in time to see a Thief straighten his back as he held onto the equipment that had dropped from someone who had just died.


    None of the players that followed Lu Li to take down this Boss were weak, and all their equipment was exquisite. Even if they weren''t all Legendary, they were at least Dark Gold with good Attributes.


    These equips were like flowers; it couldn''t be helped that they attracted attention.


    There were people in Dawn who focused on picking up items from dead people. Of these, there were those who picked up anything and everything, while there were others who chose more wisely. They were scavengers that appeared in all battles.


    They usually had their own sources of information and would know where battles that involved professional players would occur.


    Lu Li didn''t know what category this scavenger belonged to, but he had clearly set his eyes on Ruling Sword. Without a second word, Lu Li instantly appeared behind him.


    Backstab!


    The scavenger shrieked and fell. Not only did he not have the time to loot the item, but he even dropped something himself.


    Lu Li passed the item to the Thief head, Scarlet New Moon, who was in charging of clearing the area.


    "A scavenger is here; that''s a 5% deduction in guild points this time. If another appears, we''ll keep deducting. Did you film the scene before? Go find out who it is; we''ll hunt him down for half a month."Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Scarlet New Moon''s expression turned sour. Why was he so unlucky?


    Thieves had three jobs in this situation. Firstly, they used their mobility to help attract monsters, and secondly, they were to stay alert and stop other Thieves from stealing equipment or monsters. Lastly, they needed to help people pick up their equipment.


    However, it seemed like the task was too hard for them this time.


    These were all level 60 Horde soldiers, and as soon as they touched them, they were guaranteed to die. All of them had a lot of trouble doing their job, so it wasn''t impossible for them to let one or two slide through.


    "I''ll call some more brothers over. I promise there won''t be another one. I''ll sort out the hunting part as well; it''s probably a professional scavenger by the looks of his equipment and his methods. We''ll definitely be able to get some information on him."


    Scarlet New Moon was enraged, so there was no way he was going to let this guy off easily.


    It was a fearful thing to have a major guild hunt a player down for half a month.


    The hunt was usually performed on two ends. There was a public bounty to attract other forces to partake, as well as a bounty in the guild. The reward for this kind of bounty wouldn''t have much of a limit; the profit was kept in the guild anyway.


    A while ago, Water Fairy had apparently up a bounty for an internet writer called Rowing Poetry. This silly boy wrote some dirty jokes about Lu Li and Water Fairy and posted them on the internet.


    After Water Fairy found out the gaming ID of the writer, she posted a 200-gold reward per kill to the public, and 3 legendary equipment as a reward in the guild. Anyone that killed Rowing Poetry could receive an equip, and he instantly became a joke.


    Either way, the Thief that Lu Li killed had no clue what he was about to face.


    He was still at a loss at how died so quickly. If he wasn''t wrong, he had died within one hit. As a Thief himself, he also couldn''t ignore the skill that Lu Li used ¨C it was a simple Backstab.


    The poor Thief revived in Southshore and kept studying the description of the skill in his own skill bar.


    He couldn''t possibly imagine why HP bar of three thousand was wiped away with one hit.


    This has to be a bug!


    The scavenger walked out of the city miserably, planning to return back to that battleground. If he was to die in an instant again, he would have the evidence to report this bug. If he could find another equip, that would be even better. He originally planned to take three items, but now he had dropped two, and only one Dark Gold was left in his bag. The Attributes was so good that they had him drooling. For the first time, he hated how he wasn''t a Mage.


    After he left Southshore, he wanted to summon his mount out of habit. He was too far away from the battlegrounds, so it would be a waste of time to try and Stealth his way through.


    Two people came across him and looked at him weirdly.


    At any other time, he would have reacted straight away as a Thief. Unfortunately for him, he was still shocked by how he got killed by Lu Li with one hit.


    As such, he didn''t react until the skills of the two players had landed on him.


    The two players were a Paladin and a Hunter. This meant that they had crowd control, damage, and a counter to Stealth. Without Gale Steps, the scavenger couldn''t run.


    "So lucky! As soon as we got the news, we ran into him, and he even dropped a dark gold!" the paladin exclaimed.


    "Probably from our brothers in the elite group ¨C we''ll send it back later," the Hunter said as he calmly pet his pet. He didn''t think that the scavenger would drop something so good. Usually, scavengers died a lot, so they didn''t bother wearing anything valuable.


    He just didn''t understand why the scavenger didn''t place this item in the storage first.


    "Such a good item! How about we sell it? Even if the players from the guild know about it, they won''t do anything. After all, this is our loot," the Paladin suggested.


    Perhaps to those top-tier players, only Legendary equipment was worth something. However, this Paladin and Hunter were both normal players. At best, they had two Dark Gold equips on them, and not to mention, they would be lower-tiered with average Attributes.


    If they were to swap this exquisite Dark Gold item, they could receive five level 50 Dark Gold equips in return.


    "That''s true, but do you really want to just be a normal member forever?" the Hunter asked as he stood up from the ground and spat out the grass that he was chewing on.


    "My God, no way! You want to join the elites? We''re not high-leveled enough and with our equipment, what elite group can we join? Stop dreaming."


    "We''re lower leveled than them because we entered the game too late. Our equipment isn''t as good because we can''t find a good team to join, but why can''t we be elites? I''ve already made up my mind ¨C once I graduate high school, I''m flying over to Jiangnan City. Not only am I going to enter the elite group, but I''m also going to join the training camp," the Hunter declared, his face filled with stubbornness.


    "Uhm, how do you know¡­"


    "Isn''t it obvious? Do you not see how many elite groups the other major guilds have? We only have four. I''d say that this year, we''d at least double in number. After our bosses defeat Glory Capital, they''d probably immediately start a training camp, and then I''d be the first group of students. Even just that would be enough for me to brag about¡­"

 1268 Bygraves Down

    It was easy to search up the information of a regular offender. With money, many intel agents were happy to sell their information.


    Scarlet New Moon had only just sent out the bounty to the guild and someone had immediately turned it in. The best part was that they even returned the third missing piece. With Lu Li taking the two pieces from the scavenger himself, all the pieces had returned.


    Lu Li was in the middle of battling with Bygraves and had managed to drop this old Orc''s health to 20%.


    After he heard of the news, Lu Li was a lot happier.


    As for the reward, he was going to keep his promise. He had Square Root 3 pick two Dark Gold equips from the storage to hand to the two players that participated in killing the bounty target. Both items were level 55 and exquisite.


    The equipment that the Hunter received had even been previously worn by Remnant Dream. She had the luckiest hands in dawn Dawn, so it was not hard to imagine what kind of Attributes her equipment had.


    This was how guild bounties usually played out.


    Outsiders don''t receive much as a reward to prevent others from using this as an easy way to earn money. After all, dying once wasn''t a big deal; scavengers couldn''t care less about their experience.


    However, this was a different story for players from the guild. Dark Gold equipment was a common reward, and guild points often given out as well. This was like a mini-event for the members. Profit was maintained within the guild and it encouraged players to participate in things together, building a team atmosphere.


    The battle had already lasted for half an hour and victory was within sight, but Lu Li became even more careful at this point.


    Countless Ruling Sword Thieves were spread around in the area to stop other scavengers from entering. The three Dark Gold equips wouldn''t have been too dearly missed, but if they lost a Legendary, that would be a real issue. At this point, even if the elites were to go and attempt Blackrock Spiral, the whole trip might not even drop a single Legendary for them. Lu Li and his own crew only received so many because it was a First Clear on Nightmare mode.


    There were also six hundred-man teams waiting on the side as reinforcements ¨C three from Ruling Sword and three from Drizzle Court.


    Bygraves was a Berserker and could kill players in an instant, so there were limited numbers who could participate in the battle. A hundred Alliance soldiers and 200 ranged players was the maximum. After they took out the Horde soldiers, everyone else could only watch on the side as Lu Li and the others fought.


    At first, they couldn''t believe what they were seeing, but now, everyone excepted that Lu Li was probably Super Saiyan.


    Of course, they wouldn''t try to report Lu Li for using a bug like the scavenger. Instead, they hoped that Lu Li was strong as possible. The stronger Lu Li was, the further Ruling Sword could go, and this meant that they would receive more in the future.


    They had seen much more than that scavenger ¨C a bountiful harvest of rare items.


    There were so many unexpected possibilities in Dawn. Plenty of stories told of players who grew wealthy or powerful within a night. Ordinary people could only admire from a distance, and only useless people would choose to be jealous.


    "Watch out ¨C he''s going to go berserk! Everyone, try your best to protect yourselves. Healers, heal me and Water Fairy. Team 3, leave. Have the healers from team 22 come in. Keep healing and don''t stop. Team 23 healers, remain on standby," Lu Li instructed, then reminded Scarlet New Moon to stay on alert. This would be the worst time to let their guard down.


    If they were given the chance, plenty of players in Dawn would be happy to risk their lives to steal the loot of a level 65 Boss.


    Lu Li, before he reincarnated, would be a prime example. In the past, he had tried to steal an equip in this way, but none of the major guilds were fools. It was a dream for anyone to even enter in the first place, and he had never found the chance. In fact, he died a few times in the process trying.


    "Damned Elf! Someday, I''m going to kill all the Elves!" Bygraves roared. He was clearly upset; it didn''t feel right for him to die so easily.


    However, the buff on Lu Li and Water Fairy was too strong. Bygraves could tell that someone truly powerful really wanted him to die. This buff can''t easily be given by anyone.


    Who could it be?


    Who was it, that had used so much power for him? If this person could buff others with this status, they could probably kill him easily with one hand. Why would they have adventurers come to kill him instead?


    Lu Li watched anxiously at Bygraves'' health bar until the moment for him to go Berserk had finally arrived.


    Not all bosses went Berserk before they died, but it was a guaranteed move for Berserker bosses.


    The two players that were closer to him were lightly scraped and died, because the range of his attacks had increased.


    Lu Li took the brunt of the damage.


    Bright red numbers flew from him; these were all critical strikes. Ten thousand points of health disappeared in an instant.


    "Heal, heal!" Lu Li shouted.


    He had 80000 health and could tank eight attacks from the boss, but this wasn''t just simple arithmetic. Although Lu Li could take eight attacks, the healers couldn''t possibly heal 80000 HP in the timespan of eight attacks. Even with 20 healers working together, it was impossible.


    The healers furiously cast their skills as their mana bars were rapidly depleted. After a team of healers ran out of mana, the next would take over.


    The others did their best to deal damage while the Boss'' defense dropped due to the Berserk. Victory was within sight. As long as Lu Li survived, it was only a matter of time before they won.


    With Lu Li and Water Fairy both buffed by such a strong status, and Bygraves being a standard Boss bound by the System''s laws, the result was certain if fate allowed.


    "Who is it?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    After he went berserk, Bygraves, who had begun to weaken, knelt one knee on the ground. His life was coming to an end.


    "My teacher Garona sends you her regards," Lu Li knelt down and whispered into his ear.


    "It''s that half-Orc; she betrayed her own vow. You''ve all betrayed the vow between the Horde and the Alliance. The chief won''t let any of you go," Bygraves coughed, then grit his teeth and cursed, "All the souls that have died by my hands will curse you all forever. You all will suffer all the tortures of this world¡­"


    "If spirits really do exist, then you''ll have a lot of friends in hell waiting for your arrival," Lu Li said as he pressed his dagger against Bygraves'' neck and with force, cut off the old Orc''s head.


    System: Congratulations to Lu Li, Water Fairy¡­ for taking the First Clear of the Horde commander, Bygraves!


    This was a world announcement. Of course, players from both factions that were battling in Hillsbrad also heard it. Everyone was surprised by how the couple could kill a Horde commander, but they had no clue who this commander really was. Was he just a civil officer that had died within a few hits?


    The ordinary players continued with what they were doing; the Hillsbrad battle didn''t end just because the commander had died.


    In fact, players found it much easier to take over campsites without the commander. Once they took over a campsite, Experience and Reputation would continuously be given to them.


    The professional players were slightly surprised, but this also confirmed to them that the level 65 Boss wasn''t as strong as they thought. Sorrowless was still trying to kill Shandris, the future Night Elf Boss who was also set at level 65 by the game. Regardless of health, defense or attack, she was similar to Bygraves.


    Without the buff of Prayer of the Moon Goddess, Sorrowless brought Shandris'' health down to less than half. This truly showed how strong Glory Capital was.


    Both elite groups and master players from the guild were considerably stronger than Ruling Sword. Sorrowless also had his own talent in terms of commanding a battle. It was mostly the tanks who died ¨C after all, they didn''t have Lu Li to tank the Boss for them.


    After he heard the System announcement, Sorrowless wasn''t angry ¨C instead, he was filled with confidence.


    Shandris looked proud and cold, which scared Sorrowless a little. It felt to him like she had some sort of trump card hidden up her sleeves. Now that he heard that Lu Li had already taken out the Horde commander, Sorrowless believed that the two commanders in this event really existed to be killed for loot.


    "Remnant Dream, loot the items. Everyone else, gather around and secure this area. If our equipment gets stolen, everyone loses points," Lu Li said as he took the others and turned to leave. He had no time to see what equipment had dropped as he needed to level up as much as he could while he still had the buff.


    There were still plenty of monsters scattered around Hillsbrad. Some were higher than level 55, but Lu Li didn''t bother with them. The fastest way to level up right now was to take over the campsites of the enemy faction and kill the new guarding NPCs that refreshed from them.


    As for Glory Capital, Lu Li wasn''t the least concerned for Shandris.


    The Horde players would find out earlier than anyone else the wrath of Shandris'' group spells. Her signature move, Rage of the Moon Goddess, could possibly be revealed a little earlier. This was an even more terrifying spell than Tyrande''s Starfall. Rage of the Moon Goddess would blanket the entire area, leaving no room for escape.


    Lu Li took a few teams around to take the campsites, but this didn''t stop him from hearing about the loot that Remnant Dream had begun to pick up.

 1269 A Bad Legendary

    "Level Requirement -10%. This kind of gemstone seems to be pretty valuable these days," Remnant Dream reported back in the chat room. Lu Li could imagine her excitement from the loot.


    "Yeah, it''s valuable and it''s been a while since we''ve seen one. I''ll reward you for it later," Lu Li commented.


    The drop rate of these gemstones had decreased. This decrease affected areas like the Sunken Ship, Secret Zones and Trial Tower, which had a better chance to drop the item. These days, it was rare to hear of anyone obtaining these stones from those areas.


    "You said it! There''s no turning back on your words," Remnant Dream said with a grin.


    "Hurry and finish looting, then come share the experience points after you''re done," Lu Li urged. He wanted to know what loot a high-tier Boss would drop.


    "Alright, 11 Fortified Stones. I want two of them," Remnant Dream demanded.


    "Sure, if you can loot a godlike item, you can have them all if you want."


    Although Fortified Stones were precious, most of the Bosses commonly dropped them. Even some semi-Bosses and elites would drop Fortified Stones. They were the kind of item that was in high-demand, but was matched with an equally-high supply, so you couldn''t really price them too highly either.


    "Two rare materials," Remnant Dream announced.


    "Quickly! Hurry!"


    This time, it wasn''t just Lu Li pressuring her, but a lot of other players were as well. The little girl sure took her time, as if she wasn''t afraid of a Thief jumping out and stealing the items.


    "Two skills books ¨C one for Warriors and the other for Warlocks."


    After this, there were a few Gold grade equipment and a few Dark Gold grade equipment. The Attributes were decent, but no one paid much attention to them. Everyone knew that this Boss was definitely going to drop more than one good Legendary equipment.


    "Wow, such a good Legendary equipment," Remnant Dream teased. She kept complimenting the item but refused to share its details. After a while, when she was done playing, she finally posted the equipment.


    Lu Li had high expectations, but after he saw the equipment level, he felt as if he had been doused with cold water. He had been completely let down.


    This Legendary Staff was quite powerful; it had useful special effects. However, most importantly, it gave a lot of bonus Attributes. The magic damage of the Staff was shockingly high. Putting the other details of the staff aside, just the bonus Attributes and the flat damage of the staff alone were enough to significantly boost the strength of the user. Unfortunately, the equipment had a level requirement of 65.


    Everyone was still having a heated discussion about who would be lucky enough to obtain this item. They were all sure that they could equip it after using some level requirement deduction stones. With the stone, the level requirement would be reduced to level 59. It wasn''t difficult for magic classes to reach level 59, not to mention, there were already a few magic classes present who had already reached the sufficient level.


    Lu Li shook his head with a bitter smile; they were arguing for nothing.


    Level 60 in Dawn was the current level cap. This meant that level 60 equipment would be the best gear at this stage. Of course, this doesn''t mean that players weren''t allowed to take down higher-levelled bosses for higher-levelled equipment.


    This just meant that the higher levelled equipment was unable to be used by level 60 players, even with level requirement reduction stones.


    As such, the equipment that Remnant Dream had just looted was currently useless. It was worse than a level 60 Legendary with weak Attributes.


    Not to mention, once the level 60 cap was removed, better equipment would also follow and be released into Dawn.


    "There''s one more, but this is only level 60, and the Attributes aren''t as good as the one from before," Remnant Dream grumbled.


    "Good, good," Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief. If all the equipment that dropped were level 65, that would be real trouble.


    They had planned for so long and begged for two special buffs from Sandris. They had also begged for another hundred subordinates with the poison that Garona gave. With all these tactics and all the time that they put in, they finally took down Bygraves.


    If all that the Boss dropped was unusable items, Lu Li might pass out and die on the spot.


    This level 60 Legendary equipment was a part of the T1 set for Priests. It was natural to distribute it to March Rain, and in return, she needed to pay a large sum of points.


    This was a Legendary equipment, and also a part of a set. To be fair, it wasn''t any less than the level 65 Legendary staff. If they sold it now, the price might be higher. Despite the boss being a Berserker, it dropped Priest parts instead of Berserker parts. This was a problem that Moonlight and the other Berserker class players would just have to deal with.


    "Do we still need to give an item to them? We''ve finished," Fat Monkey asked. He clearly wanted to break the promise.


    "We''ve made a promise. Of course we have to give them an item," Lu Li insisted.


    "Then give them a Fortified Stone; they don''t know what the boss dropped anyway. Fortified Stones are also dropped by Bosses. If they''re still unsatisfied, we''ll give them two," Fat Monkey shamelessly rambled.


    "That''s not very nice," Lu Li interrupted, even though he agreed with Fat Monkey.


    However, he wasn''t the same man as he was in the past. He wasn''t the same poor guy who needed to do anything he could to survive. Now that his position was different, his viewpoint, his direction of thinking and the problems that he faced were all different. There was no way he''d ruin the reputation of his guild just to avoid giving an item away. After all, everyone was from the same faction, and there might be another day when they''d have to work together.


    "Then which one are we giving them? The skill books are good too, and I doubt you''ll be willing to give out materials, the Gold or Dark Grade equipment," Fat Monkey said.


    "I''ve promised to give them one of the Legendary equipment if two dropped. We''ll give them the staff," Lu Li declared, proud of himself. Jade Flower Lover and Elevenless would all probably cry from gratitude. However, after they placed in the level requirement reduction stones and received a notification from the System that they couldn''t equip it, they would probably cry out of frustration.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Of course, Fat Monkey and the others didn''t realize how evil Lu Li was. They just felt like their boss was great in many ways, besides being too honest.


    This meant that they ended up keeping the T1 Priest Legendary. March Rain had four T0.5 Priest set parts on her. If she added on another part of a T1 Priest set, it would make a big difference. Perhaps she could be more impactful in the champion match.


    March Rain also got along with everyone in the guild, and it helped that she was also a pretty girl. Barely anyone was opposed to her getting the equipment.


    Even Fat Monkey, who was eyeing the level 65 staff, had to agree that this T1 set part was better. This was only because a selected few Bosses and wild bosses which were difficult to kill would drop the item. There were more Bosses that dropped exquisite staffs.


    The skills books were distributed out, and Lu Li kept the rare materials. Lu Li also kept the level requirement reductions stones.


    However, he currently didn''t need the stone. After all, everyone could only equip level 60 equipment or below. Currently, the average level of everyone was around 58 and 59. There was no need to use the stone for a such a small level gap.


    While the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff and the effect of the Revenge Poison was still on him, Lu Li cleared out multiple campsites in a frenzy.


    On the other hand, Sorrowless was still trying to defend against Alliance players from causing trouble while doing his best to take down Shandris. He had reasons to believe that this Night Elf boss with many skills would drop better items than their Horde commander. He had already heard about what had happened to Bygraves.


    Apparently, the attack of the Horde commander was so weak that he couldn''t even kill Lu Li.


    On top of that, the aggression of the commander was very simple. There wasn''t any situation where the aggression was unpredictable. The Ultimate skill of the Boss was also very weak; Bygraves never used any unavoidable Ultimates that filled up the whole area.


    As the health bar of Shandris began to decrease, even someone as cool as Sorrowless began to feel his heart race.

 1270 A Bad Trap

    Lu Li heard the story from other players.


    After Shandris'' health dropped to around 30%, she entered the third phase and began to take the battle seriously. Those that died in the fight no longer felt shame. Instead, they wore that battle with pride.


    After Shandris entered phase 3, she began to cast a spell with a complicated name. Players called the spell "Rage of the Moon Goddess".


    The stars and moon shone through the mist of war in Hillsbrad. A ray of light shone down from above, through the mist and covered Shandris. Shandris knelt down on one knee and her silent prayers echoed in the area.


    The prayer was silent, but it was visible, like a ripple caused by a rock thrown into a pond.


    If Lu Li was around, he might find the scene familiar because the same scene occurred when Shandris applied the Prayer of the Moon Goddess buff on him and Water Fairy.


    As the prayer grew from gentle to violent, the moonlight in the air gathered and turned into rays of concentrated light that rained down one by one.


    Everyone took damage!


    Regardless of how many players there were, any unit that had aggression towards her was covered in the range of the spell.


    According to one of the witnesses of the scene, they described the effect of the spell as a ''meltdown''. Players, pets, monsters and NPCs were all melted down in the peaceful but violent moonlight. No corpses remained. None of the players dropped their equipment as even the equipment was melted away.


    None of the outsiders knew how much Glory Capital lost, but apparently Sorrowless passed out during the spell. His shield was very strong, and the Healers'' support allowed him to witness the entire event. After witnessing the spell''s devastation, he fainted on the spot from rage and was then melted away as well.


    Everyone cheered as the level 65 Staff had been given to them. They still didn''t realise that players couldn''t currently use the level 65 Staff.


    Distributing the Staff was a problem.


    Auction? Battle? Scissors, paper, rock?


    In the end, they decided to resolve it through one-on-one duels. Every club sent out one competitor and everyone was split into groups to place their flag. The last club standing would receive the item.


    Although there were no rules that stated that smaller guilds couldn''t participate, it was clear that only celebrity players had a shot at winning. As such, only about a dozen clubs participated. In the end, it was Green Flag Wine who actually won the equipment.


    In the last match, he defeated Unforgettable Maple, truly revealing his skills as the tire king.


    In terms of one-on-one duels, Green Flag Wine had something to brag about. Even Sorrowless sometimes lost to him.


    After he won the equipment, he received a good amount of booing from the other Alliance clubs. After all, Peerless City was allied with Ruling Sword. It was like switching the equipment from their left hand to their right hand. However, since this was the rule set by everyone, and no one restricted Peerless City from participating, they still gave the Staff to Peerless City.


    However, there was a problem. Lu Li didn''t have good intentions when he gave away the equipment. He assumed that regardless of which club ended up receiving the equipment, there was no way they''d leave it lying around. They''d immediately find a level requirement deduction stone for the equipment and pass it to their strongest magic class player.


    Then, they''d discover that the Staff couldn''t be equipped. It was an elaborate trap set up by Lu Li because embedded gemstones couldn''t be removed. They would probably be really upset, considering that these -10% level requirement deductions stones weren''t any cheaper than Legendary equipment. In fact, they could even be more expensive sometimes. On top of these types of gemstones having a high price, their availability was also limited. Sometimes, a major guild could search through their entire storage and not find a single one.


    After all these calculations, Lu Li didn''t expect the Legendary Staff to fall into the hands of Peerless City.


    He quickly sent a message to Green Flag Wine; he didn''t want his own ally to fall for his trap. "Brother Wine, is the equipment still with you?" Lu Li asked.


    Green Flag Wine had just defeated many top players and won the ownership of the level 65 Legendary equipment, gaining even more fame and profit. He was just calming his heartbeat when he received Lu Li''s message. He hesitated for a moment then asked, "Brother Lu Li, did you want the equipment back?"


    They were allies and anything could be discussed. However, asking for the equipment back didn''t seem quite right since Peerless City had fought so hard to earn it.


    "Don''t misunderstand ¨C I''ve got no such intentions, but has the equipment already been distributed?" Lu Li questioned.


    "What is there to distribute? We gave it to Chanelle. Half a Cigarette gave it up because he can''t afford the level deduction gemstone but Chanelle happened to have one," Green Flag Wine said.


    "My God, tell her to stop! Don''t put the gemstone in!" Lu Li exclaimed. He could feel the cold sweat roll down his forehead. If Chanelle really placed the gemstone in, even if it wasn''t Ruling Sword''s fault, she''d still be unhappy. After all, this was an equipment given by Lu Li.


    "Hold on," Green Flag Wine replied. He wasn''t sure why Lu Li would say this, but he still contacted Chanelle.


    Lu Li waited impatiently. Was this bad karma? Originally, he wanted a guild like Blood Red War Flag or Seventh Heaven to fall for his trap. After all, they were competitors and it was normal for them to set up traps for each other. Causing trouble for the Gangnam Royals would be even better but Lu Li had never planned to target his own allies.


    After a while, Green Flag Wine finally messaged back.


    "Brother Lu Li, you should probably tell us what''s going on. We haven''t placed the gemstone in yet," Green Flag Wine demanded.


    Lu Li let out a sigh of relief.


    "Uh, Brother Wine, don''t take it to heart. I wasn''t trying to set a trap for you guys," Lu Li awkwardly explained, "To be honest, no matter what you do or what gemstone you place in, that level 65 equipment cannot be equipped before level 60."


    It was obvious that Lu Li wasn''t trying to set up a trap for the other major guilds, since he had this knowledge but still gave the equipment away.


    Green Flag Wine was a smart man. He immediately figured out why Lu Li was so awkward with his explanation.


    "Have you tried it?"


    "No, but the sources are very reliable. If you don''t trust me, you can let Chanelle try it," Lu Li reassured.


    "No, that''s fine. We can''t risk it. Actually, I should to tell her myself. No matter what the situation was, thanks for today. I''ll keep this favour in mind," Green Flag Wine said. He didn''t believe Lu Li entirely, but he was at least 70-80% certain that Lu Li was speaking the truth.


    Lu Li had no need to lie to them. Even if he did, it would be too easy for them to find out the truth. However, if Lu Li''s words were true, their loss would be too great.


    It was a shame for Lu Li that he didn''t get to cause a disturbance to the other major guilds, but at least he didn''t set the wrong target up.


    Although Peerless City couldn''t use the equipment right now, they could still place it in their storage. Having a level 65 Legendary equipment in their storage was something worth bragging about.


    In the end, it was kind of a happy result.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Lu Li was excited about the rewards that he was about to receive for his quest. Garona wasn''t stingy, and Bygraves seemed to mean a lot to her. As such, the quest rewards this time would most likely be very valuable.


    Hopefully he''d be able to receive an empowerment skill book or a Legendary equipment.


    At this point, Lu Li wouldn''t say that he had an oversupply of Legendary equipment, but they were nothing new to him either. At this point, he wanted Legendary equipment set pieces or the next tier of equipment after Legendary.


    Only these kinds of equipment would be able to further separate himself from the other players.

 1271 Teachers Reward

    After the event ended, Lu Li didn''t gain much experience. He was still very far away from level 60.


    However, there was no urgency in reaching level 60. Everyone was on average around level 58 or 59 and being level 60 wasn''t enough to create a three-level difference, which meant that it didn''t contribute much in terms of battle.


    This time, the main event was Bygraves'' death.


    Lu Li waited for a few days and was finally summoned by Garona. It seemed like his Thief teacher was patient.


    Lu Li opened his eyes and found a giant bat in front of him. At first, the bat appeared to be living, but Lu Li soon discovered that it was just a machine. He couldn''t really comprehend why the designer would favour such an odd appearance.


    He was certain that this was made by the hands of a master Gnome. He found the household emblem of a Gnome family on the head of the bat.


    An animal''s hide was stuck on beside the emblem. Lu Li saw the hide straight away; the bat itself didn''t draw as much attention as the piece of animal hide. It was as if the animal hide had some sort of magnetic powers.


    "This woman is becoming more troublesome by the moment," Lu Li thought to himself. He didn''t dare to complain out loud.


    There were only two words written on the animal hide: ''Ride it''.


    Without any hesitation, Lu Li obediently rode the bat. Lu Li really wanted to tell the designer that this mount needed to be more comfortable. There was only a thin piece of hide on top of the mechanical bone structure and it really hurt his butt.


    As the bat took off, it made a soft mechanical noise as it flew deep into the mountain.


    The sky was bright with a few stars and the moon had already risen, shining with a white glow. Under the soft moonlight, the red mountain peaks rose towards the air. The mountains were filled with forest and they formed a great shadow under the moonlight.


    Lu Li couldn''t figure out what these mountains were from memory or from the system map. He ended up giving up; he had a better chance asking Garona.


    After flying for about half an hour and constantly adjusting to prevent his butt from being scraped, he landed on the tip of a high tower.


    This area was like the tip of the red mountains, except it had been sliced flat and a high tower was built on it. The high tower seemed to have been constructed of some white rock-type material. Lu Li had recalled seeing this material before. The tower was solid and sturdy, and looked like a lighthouse under the moonlight.


    Lu Li studied the tower in detail as soon as he approached it.


    At the bottom of the tower, there seemed to be a low wall that surrounded it with a garden around it. Behind the walls were a stable and the ruins of a blacksmith.


    Lu Li landed on the platform located at the tip of the tower and realized that this was Karazhan. However, he then immediately changed his mind.


    He had been to Karazhan more than once before. There was no way that this place was Karazhan, as besides the tower, he couldn''t recognise anything else.


    The bat went silent after it dropped off Lu Li; it was so silent that it seemed as if it was dead. Lu Li felt like this was possibly because the master of this tower liked the quiet. It was probably why the mechanical dog that appeared to guard the area stood silently behind Lu Li. The mechanical dog was more like a mechanical hellhound. As someone who studied engineering, Lu Li couldn''t understand the thought process behind the design. Both of the machines looked incredibly ugly.


    The mechanical dog either couldn''t or wouldn''t talk. It just followed in silence behind Lu Li.


    The structure appeared to be a Mage tower, that is, if this place was designed by Karazhan-standards. Lu Li wasn''t sure who summoned him, but he hoped it was Garona. He had been waiting for his teacher to reward him for a long time.


    Lu Li wasn''t impressed by his teacher because he knew she couldn''t summon him before her with her limited powers.


    Granted, she was a strong Half Orc Thief. Although Lu Li didn''t know all of her records, he had read a lot of threads on the analysis and assumptions of her true strength. The majority of the players believed that alongside a few other NPCs, Garona was likely a character in Azeroth with the strength equivalent to some of the demigods.


    As an Orc, even one that had lived for a slightly longer time than others, it wasn''t possible for her to be truly that strong. If you compared her to a Night Elf like Shandris, Garona was much weaker.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Under normal circumstances, no matter how talented Garona was, she could not truly be equivalent to a demigod.


    However, she did follow Gul''dan and arrived in Azeroth. She failed to assassinate Medivh, but despite her failure, she was still the one sent by Gul''dan. She then got to know Lothar, King Llane and Medivh.


    What happened between them was unknown. Some thought that she had a relationship with Lothar, but people knew that she had children with Medivh.


    During an unknown process, Garona obtained some sort of energy from Medivh. This energy may have belonged to Sargeras. After all, he rested in Medivh at the time. It remained unknown as to why the energy was transferred to Garona.


    Lu Li felt like Sargeras made a mistake, or possibly, he himself had no clue how this happened. After all, he had no real reason to pass his powers to a half Orc, but this was what happened in the end. Since then, Garona''s powers grew steadily, until she eventually began to find the ultimate truth of the power of Thieves.


    If they really had to choose the strongest character in the Thief class, it would without a doubt be Garona. This was why Lu Li chose her as his teacher.


    The mechanical dog led Lu Li, who was deep in thought, down the stairs. All that Lu Li could hear was the noise of the rusty joints of the mechanical dog and his jumbled thoughts.


    Inside the library, with books and shelves that could possibly be illusions, Lu Li saw Garona lying on a soft bed.


    This completely changed Lu Li''s impression of her. There was no way that his teacher could be lazy. In his mind, Garona seemed average and calm, but she had an aura of confidence, a kind of hidden but sharp edge. However, everything had now changed. Garona was lazy, like a queen sleeping in her palace.


    "Greetings, my teacher. I''ve brought great news about Bygraves," Lu Li said straightforwardly, as he revealed the head of Bygraves.

 1272 A Set of Pocket Watches

    Garona, in a daze, stared blankly at Lu Li. She didn''t bat an eye when Lu Li entered.


    The mechanical dog noisily turned away to leave as she finally gathered herself and fixed her gaze on Lu Li and the head held in his hands. Then, she laughed.


    Lu Li couldn''t tell what emotions resided within this laugh. He felt no feelings of satisfied vengeance or rage.


    "I knew you could complete this quest right from the beginning," Garona boasted, "There''s determination hidden within your eyes ¨C a determination that won''t give up until you''ve achieved your goal. Throw that dirty head out. What can I do with that? It''s been so many years."


    Lu Li shrugged his shoulders and repacked the head into his bag.


    "Even if you don''t want it, I do," Lu Li thought. He wasn''t going to just throw the head out. He planned to check the bounty board later in Alliance cities. There should be Bygraves quests available and he could use the head to claim the bounty.


    The system announced that Lu Li had completed the quest and was rewarded with a certain amount of experience and reputation. No skill points were given out, but he wasn''t disappointed ¨C he knew that these rewards were just an appetizer. The real rewards were to be handed out by his teacher herself.


    "What happened to your girl?" Garona asked.


    "Let me check."


    After Lu Li confirmed that Water Fairy was online, he then replied, "She''s waiting for your summon. She did a lot this time and took a lot of damage¡ª"


    "Pfftt," Garona interrupted, then went into a daze again. However, she then took out something that appeared to be a Pocket Watch. These kinds of items were classed as accessories in Dawn. One of the most famous Pocket Watches in the game was Moroes'' Lucky Pocket Watch.


    Moroes was a boss from Karazhan, and he was Medivh''s butler when he was still alive. Lu Li suspected that Garona might even know Moroes personally. He wasn''t sure if this was the Pocket Watch that Garona was going to hand to him.


    "You can have this," Garona said. She held onto the Pocket Watch for a moment, then gave it to Lu Li.


    If this was the quest reward, Lu Li would be very disappointed. He wanted more than this accessory. No matter how exquisite this accessory could be, he wouldn''t be satisfied. He wasn''t short on accessories, and even if it was Legendary, it wouldn''t be as valuable as an empowerment skill book.


    His teacher was one of the top characters in Azeroth; there was no way that she didn''t have any empowerment skill books to hand out. However, he still humbly received the item.


    After he obtained the item, he discovered that it was actually a two-piece item, or rather, it was a beautiful set. Lu Li realized that this was an equipment for a male and a female. He could tell this from the colour scheme and design of the Pocket Watches. One of the Pocket Watches had softer colours with unknown flowers emblemed all over it. The flowers bloomed, contrasting with the cold mechanical watch.


    The lady''s watch was called "Dawn of All Beings".


    The male Pocket Watch was called "Ragnar?k". The set only had 2 attributes. The first attribute increased Stamina Regeneration by 50%, under the circumstance that the wearers were within 5 yards of each other. The second gave the ability to summon the owner of the other Pocket Watch for a maximum of 3 times a day.


    Stamina had always existed in the game. It wasn''t possible to continuously run dungeons without taking breaks in Dawn. This was why every time the team cleared one, they''d have to rest for a while. This wasn''t just for preparation, but it was also because of their low stamina.


    The same applied to levelling. Even the most passionate leveller couldn''t maintain maximum levelling efficiency at all times because of their stamina restriction. Once their stamina dropped to a certain level, a player''s attack and the amount of experience obtained would be reduced. If the two players with the Pocket Watch set farmed together, then their levelling efficiency would be a lot higher.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Lu Li couldn''t help but recall the marriage system at level 60 after he came across this summoning effect.


    Marrying each other in the game didn''t mean that the two players were in love. Some people just wanted to use the summoning skill the marriage system provided.


    This Pocket Watch set was clearly an upgrade because it could be used 3 times a day, while the marriage system could only summon once a day.


    However, the Pocket Watch wasn''t perfect either. It''d take up an accessory equipment slot, so it would have to be swapped in and out at times with other accessories.


    "Master, this equipment is¡­" Lu Li trailed off. He couldn''t quite understand the situation.


    Strictly speaking, this was definitely a good item. For someone who wanted a girlfriend, this item was even better than a legendary equipment. They could use this to tie the knot with their girl. However, Lu Li didn''t really need something like this. What he really needed was something that could improve his overall strength.


    "Since she got injured during the event, this Dawn of All Beings can be a reward for her," Garona smirked, a smile creeping across her stony expression. Then, she pointed her fingers at the Pocket Watch in Lu Li''s hands.


    Immediately, a row of text appeared at the bottom of both Pocket Watches. Under Dawn of All Beings it wrote ''bound to Water Fairy'', while under Ragnarok, it wrote ''bound to Lu Li".


    Lu Li nearly swore on the spot.


    He could''ve sold this for at least a million dollars in real money. The wealth of millionaires was not to be underestimated. If they truly liked something, especially items like these two Pocket Watches which came in a set, it would be no problem at all to sell it for a good price with Shen Wansan''s capabilities.


    But in an instance, these two rare items became worthless!


    A bound item meant that it could only be used by the player it was bound to. They couldn''t even trade it with others, let alone sell it.


    "Alright, go and give it to her after you return," Garona paused for a bit, then continued, "You have to give the ladies a little more love, or else you''ll come to regret it one day."


    Even someone as dense and dull as Lu Li could feel the gentleness and regret in her words.


    Garona didn''t look old, but Lu Li could really feel the age of the strong half Orc. Her kindness and gentleness came with her age. Lu Li was surprised, but it also touched him a little.


    "Okay, I''ll make sure to give it to her. I''m sure she''ll like it a lot," Lu Li decided. His Pocket Watch didn''t have any special designs on it. It was also shaped like a strange half-moon, while Water Fairy''s was embellished with a ring of delicate flowers. Overall, it wasn''t hard to tell that Water Fairy''s Pocket Watch had taken more effort to design.


    Lu Li thought that this set of Pocket Watches must have been designed by a man.


    They had to be for someone he loved, for him to put so much time, effort and passion into them. He was curious as to who designed this item.


    This could''ve been a gift for Garona herself. Then, could it have been Medivh, Lothar or even Khadgar who gave this to her?

 1273 Enhanced Gouge

    "Tell me about the whole battle," Garona said softly.


    Lu Li started from the beginning. He included Shandris, his friends and all that happened between the Alliance and the Horde. However, Lu Li found that she wasn''t interested in the last topic. He was allowed to talk about his friends as much as he wanted, but when he mentioned the attack, she grew impatient.


    As such, he sped up the retelling of the story, and hastily described the siege.


    "He may have already forgotten the people he has killed. My mother, if my mother is still alive¡­" Garona sighed before standing up from and taking a thick book from the shelf.


    The dust that fell off the book made it apparent that it had not been read for quite some time.


    "Do you know about the Draenei?" Garona asked.


    "I know a bit; they seem to have come from somewhere else," Lu Li answered.


    "I''m not talking about the Draenei of Azeroth, but the Draenei of Draenor," Garona said as she handed the book to Lu Li.


    Lu Li took it eagerly and found that it was about the customs of the Draenei. The author was obviously a Draenei and outlined the territory of his race from his perspective. He also wrote about the life of a Draenei in Draenor.


    "Can I have this book to read¡­?" Lu Li asked.


    He was curious about the legendary existence of the Draenei continent. Knowing more about Draenor was also helpful for completing Draenei-related quests. Even if he couldn''t help, he could learn a bit more about where his teacher was born.


    "Yes, you can read all of these books. Even though some of them are just descriptions, you can treat them as if they are real. What is real and what is an illusion anyway? The only thing missing here is a master to keep all these books," Garona sighed.


    "If I can read them all, that would be great."


    Lu Li felt that this quest had been worth it, even if there were no other rewards, and nothing worth as much as the two pocket watches.


    "You can also come here where no one will bother you. You just have to use the Teleportation Channel on your pocket watch."


    Garona signalled for Lu Li to take out his ''Ragnarok'' and fiddled with it. It now had an additional attribute, which allowed the user to be transported to the Garona Tower via the Teleportation Channel in the main city.


    "Thank you teacher, thank you so much," Lu Li said.


    "Teacher¡­ very well. You are indeed my student," Garona said with some uncertainty, then asked, "What do you think was the most helpful part of this battle?"


    "Hmm," Lu Li contemplated, then said reluctantly, "The power of the Moon Prayer was very great, and so was the Vengeance Poison. Of course, the things you have taught me were more important. Without those teachings, I would have definitely been killed by Belgrave.


    "Hahaha."


    Garona seemed to be amused as she laughed for quite some time in a light-hearted tone.


    "The Moon Prayer is indeed very powerful, so I have nothing to teach Shandris. However, Tyrande is unable to find a Thief that is stronger than I am. As for much usual teachings, I would have to say you are lying. I haven''t taught you anything, so let''s talk about Vengeance Poison."


    Lu Li put the book on the desk to the left and looked eager.


    "Before that, I still need to give this to you."


    Garona hadn''t moved, but two books fell off the shelf above and landed in front of Lu Li. Hes couldn''t tell if the booklets were grey or if the table was just too dusty.


    The two books were exactly the same. Lu Li took the first and saw Enhanced Gouge on its cover. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "One of the books is for that girl. I will not be seeing her. Affection between young people is too pure for someone like me. You will need to complete a trial before you can learn from this book. I think the trial will be very simple for you, and you can do it together," Garona explained.


    To be fair to Garona, Lu Li had been too lazy to clarify his relationship with Water Fairy.


    "Teacher, the Vengeance Poison is really strong. It is a deadly poison that has an additive effect on the attacker. In fact, when Belgrave finally went Berserk, it was already the end of the poison duration."


    "Alright, let''s talk about poisons."


    Although Garona couldn''t butt in to say a word, she could clearly see the expression in Lu Li''s eyes.


    "Oh, is there more of that poison?" Lu Li was a little embarrassed.


    Although this was just a regular quest, he had already received a significant reward. Two enhanced skill books were already better than most quest rewards in Dawn. Even players like Hachi Chan didn''t receive treatment like this, even though she had been given one or two enhanced skill books in the past.


    "There are more poisons, but I can''t give you anymore. You aren''t strong enough to wield them," Garona refused straightforwardly.


    In fact, Lu Li could understand why Garona said that he couldn''t wield the poison, but this wasn''t the only reason. The main issue was that the poison was too strong. About one third of the Belgrave''s injuries were caused by the poison, and it had inflicted a number of debuffs onto the old Orc Berserker.


    "But, if you are interested, I can teach you how to make the poison¡­"


    Lu Li almost thought he had heard incorrectly. He had already accepted his fate, and didn''t expect a surprise like this for him.


    Although the Vengeance Poison was powerful, Lu Li obviously preferred learning to make poison. As the saying went, it was better to teach a man how to fish than to give him a fish. If he was given the opportunity to learn how to make such poisons, why wouldn''t he take it?


    "You seemed to have learned some alchemy, right?" Garona asked.


    "That''s right, but my level isn''t very high. I''ve been slacking off," Lu Li answered sheepishly.


    "You don''t need a very high level. We can practice it from the beginning," Garona said indifferently. She tapped the side of Lu Li''s head, and Lu Li received a System prompt that he had transferred from Alchemy to be a Poison Brewer.


    Poison Brewer?


    What was this? Wasn''t poison-brewing a type of alchemy?

 1274 Screwed

    "Follow me. Since you call me teacher and have completed my request, I should probably teach you something," Garona said as she slowly walked down the stairs.


    "How much Alchemy have you learned?"


    "Some healing potions¡­" Lu Li answered as he listed off some recipes.


    Garona wasn''t very interested in conventional alchemy, but when Lu Li mentioned a poison, her footsteps slowed. From this, Lu Li knew that they would be focusing on recipes that involved poison.


    "Have you ever ingested poison?" Garona asked as she suddenly turned around.


    "In¡­ingested poison?" Lu Li was shocked before shaking his head and saying, "Why would I ingest poison? It''s not like I''m trying to find a poison that the enemy would like."


    He had made a joke, but Garona didn''t smile at all. Her eyes were looking to the side of the room, and Lu Li had no idea what she was thinking about.


    During this time, Lu Li felt like Garona was a different person.


    He was doubting whether the person in front of him really was his teacher. His impression of Garona was not that she was cold and uncaring, but as a strong Thief, he was quite terrified of her.


    Right now, she was just absent-mindedly walking in front of him!Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "I have ingested over 967 different kinds of poisons. My favourite tasting one is the one I use. It has a HP reducing effect and prevents healing. You will have the chance to try it," Garona said as she turned back and continued to walk down the stairs casually. The stairs here were the same as those in Karazhan; the only thing missing were the monsters.


    "How can you ingest a poison?" Lu Li asked in a quiet voice.


    "There are no rules against it. It will help you understand the poison more deeply, as long as you don''t kill yourself," Garona said.


    There was a path with fences on both sides. You could see through the fences, but it was quite dim. Nothing could be seen clearly, but there was an outline of a forest. There were no insects, birds or beasts ¨C it was like they were in a dream.


    The tower was quite scary, so Lu Li chose to break the silence while also satisfying his curiosity.


    "So, do you have some kind of goblin here that is good at Engineering? I saw quite a few mechanical units. There was the flying bat beast and the dog that just howled," he mentioned casually.


    "Thermaplugg¡­ if that''s who you''re referring to," Garona said.


    Lu Li''s mind immediately pictured a gnome. It was the gnome that he saw in the backyard of the Southshore Hotel. It was actually Thermaplugg, the gnome madman who was named a murderer and a traitor among a list of other things. He had originally been part of Ravenholdt Manor.


    Garona didn''t seem to feel like there was anything wrong with revealing the identity of Thermaplugg. Lu Li seemed to have gained her trust.


    "This can be your room if you want to live here," Garona offered as she pushed open a broken door which crumpled apart.


    Lu Li held his place of stay to high regard, so he went in to have a look.


    This room wasn''t actually that large; it was tiny compared to Lu Li''s house in Darnassus. A wall on one side had a narrow wooden bed against it and there was a narrow table and shelf on the other side. There were books scattered around, which were all covered in dust.


    "Do you think its dirty?" Garona asked.


    Lu Li coughed as he picked up the books and responded with a nod.


    "I will need to clean it up before I can live here."


    "Then I''ll let you do that. There are other places in the tower that need cleaning too," Garona said.


    Lu Li coughed again, but the System Prompt made him withdraw any further complaints as it said that he had been given residence at the Garona Tower. He also received a buff from the room.


    That''s right, the room generated buffs.


    The normal buff was an increased regeneration of weariness. After some time, you would also receive a double EXP buff. If you used a System hotel, you would have a weariness regeneration of 10%. If you spelt there for a night, you would have a 1-hour double EXP buff the next day.


    The private property purchased by Lu Li was slightly better. The weariness regeneration was 20% and if you slept for a night, you would receive the double EXP buff for one and a half hours.


    His property was very expensive and belonged to the luxury category. An average property would only have 15% weariness regeneration and a shorter double EXP buff. However, there were still many players who would buy a house for this increase, even if it was a little bit.


    In his previous life, he had bought a simple room in a guild Stronghold. It was only a little better than the System Hotels.


    When this advantage was accumulated over a long period of time, it would make a significant difference.


    The room that Garona had given him had a 30% weariness regeneration and if he rested for a night he would receive a 2 hour double EXP buff.


    It was just too strong!


    Compared to this small villa, an extra half an hour of double EXP was an extra 15 hours over a month. This was equivalent to farming for a whole day more than everyone else.


    This rundown room was splendid in the eyes of Lu Li. It didn''t matter that he had to clean the rest of the tower too. He could get hired help from the System, or eventually build a robot to do it when his Engineering level was high enough.


    "If you agree, then I will show you your lab," Garona said.


    "This is all great. I already have my bags ready," Lu Li responded.


    They went onto the next level where Garona pointed out the kitchen. There wasn''t a chef in the tower and Garona wasn''t a chef, so the kitchen was covered in dust. It obviously hadn''t been used in a long time.


    Lu Li suspected that his teacher probably didn''t live here.


    The so-called laboratory was located in the middle of the Garona Tower. It was filled with beaker after beaker and was probably the only clean place in the whole tower. There were some mechanical units that were processing some medicines.


    "In future, you will spend a bit of time every day to practice poison-making," Garona said. "I know that you are busy, but this is the only way."


    Lu Li thought about what he was going to do in this next phase of his gaming life. He was thinking about future competitions and Instance Dungeons as he nodded while Garona was telling him about poison making. After he heard all of it, he suddenly discovered that there was no formula to poison making.


    There was no formula?


    "How is this possible?"


    "There is no formula. From now on, you will be fighting with your own poison," Garona said.


    "There are recipes in Alchemy, and we can use other people''s poisons¡­"


    "That is alchemy. You are no longer an alchemist, but you can rest assured that you can still use alchemy items. A Poison Brewer will never make someone else''s poison. I have never ever done that, no matter how desirable it was."


    Lu Li wasn''t listening to anything she was saying, as his brain had frozen.


    If he couldn''t use poison, his combat power would drop by at least 20%. Moreover, there were System poisons that were still quite useful. There were important poisons that slowed and reduced healing by 50%.


    He had thought that taking the risk of doing this quest to kill a level 65 Boss would greatly increase his strength. In fact, it did, as he had two Enhanced Gouges lying in his backpack, so his efforts were not in vain. But why did this have to happen?


    "How can I learn then?" Lu Li asked as he took a deep breath. Now was exactly the time he needed to maintain his composure; it wasn''t like he could defeat his teacher anyway.


    "It''s very simple. If you have some herbs then you can mix them together," Garona explained, seeming to think that this was obvious, then added, "It is best if you use some common herbs at first. You will need to do more practice before using high-grade herbs."


    "My esteemed teacher, I have another strong enemy to deal with soon. Can I get an advance on a poison from you, I am willing to pay for it?"


    "I''m afraid I can help you. If I were you, I would start practicing poison-making right now."


    "¡­"

 1275 Poison Production

    Garona pushed open the warehouse door nearby. Lu Li just stared at the number of herbs that were stored there.


    Lu Li still felt like he had been screwed, but he had no choice but to accept his fate.


    In fact, Garona didn''t completely screw him over. Lu Li had never heard of any teachers providing their students with a lab and a mountain of materials for free. This was likely just sheer luck as the NPCs couldn''t understand the importance that the players placed on the competitions.


    Garona soon left Lu Li to settle into his new place, but she seemed apologetic when she left, so she also left a book on poisons.


    Venomous Tome (Special): Poison production success rate increased by 20%. There is a certain probability bonus EXP is awarded for successful production. There is also a certain probability that successful production can result in doubling of the poison. This item exclusively belongs to Lu Li.


    This was a valuable item that immediately took effect when placed into Lu Li''s backpack. Lu Li''s original resentments had now suddenly vanished.


    Instead of blaming someone else, it was better for him to resolve the problem quickly.


    He rushed to the warehouse and picked several low-grade herbs. After filling his backpack, he returned back to the testing bench.


    Although Garona''s poison system didn''t require any formulas, nor were there any special requirements to start with low level herbs, Lu Li reasoned that since this was still part of a game, it would follow the common principles when it came to levelling.


    The first step was for him to get familiar with the equipment. Although the tower was in ruins, the equipment here was very advanced.


    There was no doubt that if you had a friend who was a good tinkerer (like the best gnome engineer), you wouldn''t have to worry about lacking in experimental equipment.


    Lu Li took off his cloak and everything weighing him down. He washed his face with a hose in the lab''s washing room; the cool water felt quite refreshing.


    There were so many things that had happened today that it was inevitable he would feel overwhelmed.


    After he had completed his preparations, Lu Li took a deep breath before pulling out a bundle of Dragon Claw Grass and throwing it into the grinder. This was his first attempt at being at Poison Brewer.


    Alchemy was a complicated science, but the practical steps to accomplishing it were not. You just had to prepare the various things needed according to the formula and follow the necessary steps. The reason why Engineering was difficult was because it had many manual operations.


    Right now, this poison making process was even more complex.


    It was all done by hand, and Lu Li didn''t know what the formulas were. While waiting for the grinding to finish, he scrambled around looking for an article on poison making.


    There were no formulas provided, but there was some explanation about the herbs.


    The most important thing was to note the compatibilities between the different properties of each herb. For example, the Dragon Claw Grass couldn''t be mixed with the Nine Knot Lotus. Although both were poisonous grasses, they neutralized each other.


    Just having the Dragon Claw Grass isn''t enough. What else are you going to put in?"


    "Poinsettia?"


    Poinsettia was a very toxic flower which had a poisonous body. Eating its stems and leaves were usually lethal, and the white juice in its stems and leaves was particularly toxic.


    "Just try it, since there is so much material here for you anyway."


    Lu Li snorted, but he knew he wouldn''t be able to bring himself to steal these herbs and sell them, nor could he put these in his own guild warehouse. Fortunately, since there was an abundance of materials, it wouldn''t matter too much if he wasted a little here.


    But soon, Lu Li found himself taking it for granted.


    After grinding the Dragon Claw Grass, only the pulp was left. The Poinsettia, when ground, would produce a significant amount of liquid. However, as soon as these two things were mixed, there was a reaction that just resulted in some liquid that remained.


    Lu Li took a dagger and applied this solution onto his dagger.


    There were some special modes in the game, where you could actually test the amount of damage on your own body. When an Alchemist tested healing effects or HP-increasing effects, they would often hurt themselves or a friend before taking the medicine to see its effect. When he cut himself, it did a little bit of damage. He didn''t expect this low-level herb to deal much damage, but the damage was reduced quite quickly. The effect dissipated very quickly and was not nearly-enduring enough. This meant that it wasn''t sticky enough.


    Nevertheless, since there was some damage, this meant that he was heading in the right direction. As long as he could solve the issue of the poison''s viscosity, he would obtain some EXP.


    Lu Li rummaged through some more information. Although Garona didn''t personally teach Lu Li, she used mechanical dogs to send relevant information. Lu Li could always find what he needed through these materials. His teacher wasn''t really hands-on in instructing him.


    He rummaged through the paper for a while and finally found something reliable.


    The Snake Orchid was a plant grown in the Snake Valley. It had no medicinal properties and wasn''t toxic, but there were some alchemy recipes that always required it. Lu Li had previously been confused about it, but he had never considered the reason for it. After all, it was a just a game and few alchemists would spend time thinking about why the herbs in the recipe should matter.


    Now, Lu Li had found a reasonable explanation in this herbs book.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    This herb was a good neutralizer that could dilute the herbs that were reacting with one another without damaging their medicinal properties. In addition, it was a plant that didn''t absorb much liquid, nor did it produce any moisture after grinding. It could be used to absorb some of the excess liquid from the Dragon Claw Grass and Poinsettia.


    Lu Li''s seemed to be quite lucky. When the System prompted that he had made a new poison and asked him to name it, he knew that he had been successful.


    Unnamed Poison: 5 additional damage to the target for 2 minutes.


    He had to admit that this was very weak, but Lu Li wasn''t disappointed. These were two of the lowest level herbs available, but it still gave a lot of EXP ¨C 12 points.


    This was absolutely impossible in ordinary alchemy. Lu Li remembered when he was farming with his first recipe that two or three bottles of a healing potion would only give him a little bit of EXP.


    The process of feeling your way through the whole recipe was the reason for this excessive EXP award.


    "Just call it Damage 1¡­"


    Lu Li casually decided a name for this poison. He decided that his naming scheme would be its main effect following by a serial number. Any other effects would also be listed.


    Garona, on the other hand, had named the poison she used to deal with Belgrave as the Vengeance Poison.


    Lu Li tried to make a new poison with three herbs according the proportions that he had studied, but the results were frustrating. Not a single point of EXP was given. In alchemy, as long as the item was not completely useless, there was some EXP awarded.


    This meant that Lu Li had to constantly discover new formulas to gain EXP.

 1276 Sneakily

    In trying to discover the second poison, Lu Li continued using the Dragon Claw Grass but chose a higher level herb for its complement. Unfortunately, the process failed in the last moment.


    Trial and error didn''t seem to be particularly reliable. It seemed that the best way to learn about poisons was to read the books that Garona had given him, rather than to blindly try his luck. His first success could now be clearly attributed to sheer chance.


    With a pile of books, Lu Li left the castle.


    He was going to find a team of Mages to farm for him before finding a place to sit down and read. This wasn''t unusual in Dawn; there were some people who would scan documents to read in-game.


    For example, an accountant could write his report and a network administrator could have his notes next to him. Even Sorrowless could handle his guild''s affairs while letting a group of Mages farm for him.


    Because of this, there were many professional players that specialized in doing this.


    There were a few star players that did this, but many would just train, farm and sell equipment.


    However, Lu Li had to see Water Fairy first. It had cost her quite a bit of time and effort for this last quest. Although any Thief could have done what she did, he really would end up a bachelor for life if he kept on thinking like that.


    Lu Li thought that Garona would summon Water Fairy, but she didn''t.


    However, Garona still gave Water Fairy a reward through Lu Li. The first was the ''Dawn of All Beings'' Pocket Watch and the book that strengthened the Gouge skill.


    Enhanced Gouge was quite a valuable reward. They had just completed a quest that took one day, and they didn''t have to die hundreds of times. Gouge was a very important skill in a Thief''s repertoire, so it would have been worthwhile to receive this Skill Book regardless.


    Presumably, Water Fairy would be very satisfied.


    The more troublesome thing was the Dawn of All Beings Pocket Watch, as Lu Li was more hesitant to give it to Water Fairy.


    He might have had a lower EQ, which was likely brought on by the environment that he was raised in, but he wasn''t an idiot. He knew exactly what people would think if both of them wore an accessory like this.


    Previously, when they said that they were dating, he could explain that they were just in a cooperative relationship. However, after wearing this pair of pocket watches, that explanation wouldn''t cut it anymore.


    The common thing was to say that this pocket watch would make doing quests together in future more convenient¡­


    In general, boys that were chasing a girl would use this excuse. If the girl refused, that would


    mean that she knew about this strategy, but if she accepted, then the boy would have succeeded. Regardless of whether this girl had feelings for him, there would be a great opportunity.


    Although he didn''t mind getting involved, Lu Li wasn''t a particularly sensitive person.


    He contacted Water Fairy directly and met at the Hyacinth Tavern in Stormwind city. This location had been recommended by Square Root 3 as it was very quiet and suitable for talking when they didn''t want to be disturbed.


    Most of the players'' taverns had their own style, otherwise, it was impossible to compete with the System''s taverns.


    When Lu Li walked in, he found that the environment of the tavern was very warm and welcoming ¨C it felt more like a caf¨¦. However, Lu Li wasn''t sure as he had never stepped into a caf¨¦ in his life.


    In terms of colour, there was more white and orange, which were Lu Xin''s favourite colours.


    If Lu Li was alone, he might have turned around and left, but Water Fairy was a girl, so she might enjoy it.


    "How many?"


    The hosts were obviously not NPCs; you could tell that they were players right away.


    "Two," Lu Li answered as he touched the mask the hid his face. In addition to this cloak, it was impossible for anyone to recognize him.


    "Please come with me," the waiter said as he smiled politely. He didn''t ask Lu Li to remove the mask or his weapons. Although most people liked wearing casual clothing when they were here, there was actually a smaller selection of casual clothes and only the rich could afford them.


    Equipment that hid one''s identity was usually worn by celebrities or a woman that was in hiding.


    In order to keep it professional, the waiter didn''t pry into the identity of the guests and took Lu Li to a small booth.


    It looked like a small enclosed booth, but it was not completely sealed. The designer had cleverly separated this small area into a private location so it wouldn''t be easy for someone from the outside to intrude on these guests.


    There was a transparent fish tank on the table with two, small, lightly-colored fish inside. It was amazing that when the two fish met, their mouths would lock into place. They were like lovers kissing and would not separate for a long time.


    Lu Li felt like he had been tricked again.


    This was definitely not just some ''quiet place suitable for talking about things''. Square Root 3 had definitely tricked him.


    Unfortunately, he had already sent out the information and Lu Li heard the voice of the waiter outside. He was obviously leading Water Fairy here, so it was too late to leave.


    Moreover, it was just two fish. This wasn''t obviously a tavern for couples, so Lu Li tried to calm down.


    Water Fairy had also completely covered herself, but she wasn''t covered in equipment. Instead, she had a long light blue dress which showed off her charming figure, along with a small white veil on her face which had a flower on it. She looked quite lovely.


    When the waiter saw these two players who had hidden their identities, he immediately started thinking about who they could be.


    He couldn''t see anything on Lu Li''s body, because Lu Li appeared quite calm. Although he couldn''t see his person, the equipment that was on his body didn''t seem ordinary. The waiter had once received a special item from a quest that allowed him to see some insignificant information about a player that was within 10 levels of him. However, he was told that Lu Li had exceeded this limit.


    He was currently level 48, which meant that Lu Li was a master at level 59.


    At present, the highest level reached on the rankings was level 59. Although there were already hundreds of players who had reached level 59, there were tens of millions of people in the Huaxia District. Being in the top 100 was definitely a significant achievement.


    He was a super master!


    When he looked at Water Fairy again, more information about her was clear. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    This kind of fashion was something that only a master NPC Tailor could produce in Stormwind City. Moreover, this NPC only sold a limited stock each week, so there were many copies of those items in the game.


    Water Fairy''s temperament seemed quite refined, and even the Waiter couldn''t seem to take his eyes off her.

 1277 Holiness

    After Water Fairy came in and they made their orders, the waiter regrettably had to leave.


    Why did the owner have to design it to be like this?


    "This place¡­" Water Fairy began.


    Lu Li felt like he should explain that Square Root 3 had fooled him.


    "This place is pretty nice," Water Fairy said, finishing her sentence.


    "Oh, really? I think it''s pretty good too, haha¡­" Lu Li laughed, withdrawing what he was about to say. It didn''t matter what kind of place it was, as long as his guest was happy.


    "So you''ve been here before? Who did you come with?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Cough¡­"


    Lu Li almost spat out the wine that had a touch of sweetness to it. He didn''t like wine very much; it tasted too bitter for him, but what caught him off-guard was the fact that he had been misunderstood. Why else would he have said that he liked this place?


    "Hyacinth is one of the best dating spots in Stormwind. Don''t you know that?" Water Fairy asked helplessly.


    "Alright, it was Three Bro that introduced this place to me. I''ve¡­ never been here before," Lu Li admitted, feeling much better.


    "In any case, I actually really like this place. You might have heard of Star Baby, our club''s Priest¡­" Water Fairy wanted to calm Lu Li''s nerves, but found herself getting nervous as well.


    "I know her; she''s a pretty skilled Priest," Lu Li responded.


    "How do you think she looks?"


    "Wh¡­ what?"


    "Has she made a good impression on you? How do you think she looks?"


    "This¡­ uh¡­"


    Lu Li didn''t know how to answer that question. If he said that one of her friends was just okay, would Water Fairy get upset? Was it appropriate to praise her friend''s beauty here? In fact, Lu Li didn''t actually have much of an impression of Star Baby''s appearance.


    When he wasn''t in the arena, he probably wouldn''t even recognize her.


    "You really don''t remember what she looks like," Water Fairy laughed.


    The waiter came over once again to check and had to leave again sadly. He was disappointed to find that these two hadn''t removed their disguises. They had to be two celebrities.


    However, he didn''t know that after he left, Water Fairy took off her veil and Lu Li removed his helmet.


    Water Fairy seemed to be wearing some light make up today. As long as you were willing to spend gold coins on cosmetics in the main city, you were able to acquire makeup. Of course you also had to have the makeup skills to match, as not all women grew up using it.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure if it was the makeup, or if Water Fairy''s face just looked a bit rosy today.


    "I was looking for you to give you something. This quest reward has been good," Lu Li said as he took out the Enhanced Gouge Skill Book. "You shouldn''t use it immediately. I will be taking a trial with my tutor in the near future, and we can do the trial together then. Learning enhanced skills on your own isn''t too great anyway."


    "Alright, I''ll listen to you," Water Fairy agreed as she glanced at the Skill Book and put it in her backpack.


    It was a bit different to the ecstatic response that Lu Li had expected. Did Water Fairy not value this Enhanced Gouge Skill Book? That was almost impossible for any Thief that played PVP. This skill book could sell of a very large sum of gold coins or real money.


    "Well, there is one more reward, but it''s a bit of a strange item. I don''t know if you''ll like it," Lu Li said as he took out one of the pocket watches.


    Water Fairy didn''t seem that interested at first, but took the item anyway.


    The Dawn of All Beings pocket watch was quite valuable. It was delicate and compact, and it was less like a pocket watch, but more like a brooch. Lu Li thought that a girl would definitely like something like this. When Water Fairy saw this item''s shape, she knew that she already liked it.


    However, Lu Li had disappointed her.


    She thought that he was here to open up about himself. She didn''t expect this meeting to just be an apportionment of equipment. If that was it, he should have just sent them through the mailbox.


    "This item comes in a pair and is very easy to use," Lu Li explained as he took out his own pocket watch. After showing its attributes, he added, "It''s quite convenient. Next time you want to do a quest together, you can just summon me."


    "¡­" Water Fairy opened her mouth, but just stared with widened eyes.


    She took back the thoughts that she was having previously. Lu Li wasn''t a blockhead, as this was a clear display of affection. He had actually found such an item and decided to give it in such a romantic environment¡­Any girl would be swept off her feet by this, right?


    "It doesn''t do anything else. If you don''t want it¡­" Lu Li said awkwardly.


    All his life, Lu Li had never felt awkwardness like this before. With his normal way of doing things, she just had to nod or shake her head and then they could split. He would normally never waste precious money-making time like this. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "It''s good. I''ll take it," Water Fairy said as she put on the pocket watch happily.


    The two of them weren''t particularly outspoken, but this warm environment was very different and there was no shortage of things talk about. Lu Li talked about how his teacher had allowed him to use the poison lab and he felt like he had been screwed over.


    However, at the end of the day, they had to look at the long run. In future, poisons produced by a Poison Brewer would be a few times stronger than the poison produced by ordinary alchemy. Unfortunately, this would come at the cost of Lu Li''s strength right now.


    Water Fairy talked about the follow up to the Battle of Hillsbrad, and the more interesting things about the war.


    The best topic for these two people was Thief fighting skills. Although their views were not exactly the same, they always had a sense of mutual respect. Particularly for Water Fairy, Lu Li always refreshed her perspective on the game and would give her a deeper understanding of it.


    Lu Li would also ask questions about guild management, which was something Water Fairy was very comfortable in.


    Water Fairy had received an elite education all her life, but she had not been exposed to the management of various industries in her home until she was an adult. She was now a senior expert in the construction of game clubs. This knowledge wasn''t something that could be obtained by reading a few books, so Lu Li was a rookie even though he had been born again.


    No one would believe it if they were told, but Lu Li was like a primary school student in front of Water Fairy. He was humble and very open minded.

 1278 Challenging Sorrowless

    Lu Li attended the final draw of the league and it was quite a grand ceremony.


    In the past, the clubs would send a random player to draw straws. Whoever drew the longer straw would have the first game on home ground. In fact, this didn''t really matter because both teams would eventually have to play a game at home and a game away. It was just a matter of the order.


    This time, the media had arrived to witness the event. Lu Li represented Ruling Sword, and was naturally standing next to Sorrowless for the onlookers.


    Three days later, Glory Capital would be fighting Ruling Sword at home!


    Lu Li was somewhat disappointed that their first game wasn''t going to be a home game. On home ground, they would probably do much better and dominate the initial scores. This would mean that there would be less pressure in the second game.


    However, when he was questioned by the media, he naturally didn''t show any of his worries. He calmly stated that Ruling Sword wasn''t afraid of this challenge and was fully prepared to take fight a decisive battle. He was in the spotlight shaking hands with Sorrowless. The two looked at each other and laughed as they both appeared very calm in this situation.


    After returning, Lu Li continued to level with Water Fairy. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Water Fairy was responsible for pulling the monsters while the Mages would deal their area of effect damage. Meanwhile, he was sitting next to them reading up on poison making.


    This was a calm moment before the storm, but Lu Li knew that he wouldn''t be able to do this for long and this little bit of EXP probably wasn''t going to do him any good.


    In Dawn, you couldn''t see any difference in strength when in combat if there wasn''t at least a three-level difference between the players. However, you had never fought before, you wouldn''t improve your technique when it came to using skills. The Skill Points were always hard to come by and practice made perfect.


    This time, Lu Li didn''t bring Lu Xin to the Imperial Capital.


    The Imperial Capital had been smoggy for the last two to three hundred years. Not only had this situation failed to improve, but it had actually intensified.


    When Lu Li was leaving, Square Root 3 advised them to stay in the hotel. After contacting Glory Capital, they had booked some high-end hotels which had air purification systems in them. Eventually, they had no choice but to go out. There were so many people living in the Imperial Capital smog, but they hadn''t died yet.


    However, Lu Xin definitely couldn''t be brought with him.


    Her body was weak and she had grown up in Jiangnan. How could Lu Li allow her to suffer in the smog of the Imperial Capital?


    The person that came to pick them up was White Westhill; Sorrowless hadn''t come himself. He explained that Sorrowless'' health hasn''t been great recently. Lu Li wasn''t angry about that, as it was normal to be in poor health some times. Most players lacked exercise, so it would be strange if they were healthy all the time. The guy that first started marketing this gaming technique was probably already dead.


    The media interviews now were clearly more enthusiastic then before.


    At the beginning, the questions were quite benign, but now they were growing more intrusive.


    "Sorrowless didn''t appear today for you. Are you offended?"


    "No!"


    "This time you will be competing with Glory Capital for the Championship. How are you feeling?"


    "I am excited and very grateful. In fact, some reporters and friends have already asked this question a few days ago. I answered candidly then, and I''m sure you will be able to find those records."


    "Glory Capital has the support of millions of fans. Do you think you can defeat them?"


    "In terms of number of fans, I am willing to concede defeat¡­"


    "So, you''re saying that you would lose to Glory Capital in terms of number of fans. But in terms of strength, Ruling Sword will crush Glory Capital, right?"


    "Those are your words, not mine."


    "As a club that has been established in the first year of this league and has achieved outstanding results, what do you think contributed to your success? Do you think luck had to do with it?"


    "There is no luck in success."


    "If Ruling Sword takes the Championship, it will be the sixth club in history to acquire such an achievement. When Ruling Sword''s market value reaches new heights, do you plan to go public?"


    "Not for the time being and not in the future either."


    It was mainly Lu Li who had stood up to answer this questions, regardless of whether they were sharp or innocent. Lu Li''s style of talking to was to say whatever came to mind, and disregard whether it sounded nice. No one could really fault him for this, but it was just a matter of moderation.


    Although they didn''t receive the kind of rhetoric that they expected, Lu Li''s attitude in answering each question made the reporters very happy.


    After Lu Li answered the questions, it was time for a round of spontaneous questions.


    This time, the questions were more scattered in their targets. Several players had received questions, but March Rain received the most. She replied simply by giving yes or no answers to most of them.


    When asked about her future boyfriend, she answered very seriously that she hadn''t considered it.


    The other players were also cautious. They said what they could, and used the techniques that they had learned to dodge the things that they couldn''t reveal. The most important thing was that they couldn''t say anything wrong, as it would have a major impact. After all, they were all still newcomers and newcomers were often held to a very high professional standard in the gaming circle.


    "I want to challenge Sorrowless!"


    Fat Monkey was the kind of person that couldn''t control his mouth. When he was stumped by the reporter, he loudly exclaimed that he would challenge Sorrowless in the individual matches. This was the first sensational event that occurred in the press conference.


    When he saw the reporters rushing in, Lu Li held his head in pain.


    They then returned to the hotel to rest. The match was going to start in the afternoon, so they didn''t have to go out for leisure. The smog outside on that day was really serious as well, and no one wanted to breathe it in. They said in the Imperial Capital that you shouldn''t call the police when something happened because they probably wouldn''t find you. You also shouldn''t leave your car because you would lose it in the smog¡­


    The venue for the match in the afternoon was in the Workers Indoor Arena.


    This arena, which had been in existence for three hundred years, had undergone several repairs and expansions. It currently could accommodate up to 50,000 people, and the tickets were quickly sold out a few seconds after the opening sale the day before.


    Players from both teams entered the venue, and everything was going smoothly.


    There wasn''t actually that much interest in fat Monkey''s challenge as he realized that he had made it on impulse. If it really was a challenge, it had to be a fair showdown. This meant that Sorrowless and Fat Monkey had to start in the individual rounds.


    However, according to the plan that they had previously formulated, the starting player was Moonlight.


    "We should let Monkey go first, since he opened his mouth. Regardless of what the outcome is, this is the most important challenge of his career," Moonlight said.


    Lu Li remained silent.


    He had actually considered this matchup, but if Fat Monkey went, he would definitely lose. It was just a matter of by how much.


    If Fat Monkey was used well, he would be as valuable as a first-class professional player. However, if he was thrust into a situation where he had to control his opponent, Sorrowless would be one of the worst matchups.

 1279 Betting On The Underdog

    Of course, Lu Li could also ignore Fat Monkey''s words to the reporter.


    He could even shamelessly arrange for a person who countered Sorrowless to go first. Given his ruthlessness, he didn''t feel any guilt over this option. In this history of the league, this wasn''t an uncommon thing. Lu Li just wasn''t sure if Glory Capital would even respond to this challenge.


    All was fair in war, but this sentiment had been the topic of conversation recently.


    For the sake of money, victory and the Championship, what did personal honour and shame matter? Lu Li could just completely ignore the challenge that Fat Monkey had set before the reporters.


    However, doing this didn''t come without consequences, otherwise, he wouldn''t have thought twice.


    First of all, if Fat Monkey came out in a later round, his reputation would become an issue. He would face harsh criticism even if he played exceptionally, let alone normally. No one else in Ruling Sword could replace Fat Monkey''s position; Lu Li couldn''t even find an Ice Mage at this point.


    Since this was such an important point, Lu Li really had no choice.


    Rebirth didn''t mean he was invulnerable. Even if Lu Li could find more players, Ruling Sword still had to raise them up to capitalise on their potential.


    Lu Li was a little uncomfortable with today''s events, but he could understand Fat Monkey''s perspective. Any Mage, especially someone like Fat Monkey, would regard Sorrowless as their ultimate goal. If Fat Monkey didn''t have such ambitions, he wouldn''t really have a future.


    The main reason for Fat Monkey''s outburst today was because of his impulse, and the reporter had been slightly manipulative at the press conference.


    "Monkey," Lu Li said as he put his hand on Fat Monkey''s shoulder and hesitated.


    "Boss, it''s all my fault. I shouldn''t have said that," Fat Monkey apologized dejectedly. After calming down and thinking about it, he didn''t feel like he was ready to challenge Sorrowless. He didn''t have any hope of defeating him, so there was naturally no confidence either.


    "Next time, don''t be so rash with your words," Lu Li sighed, "But you will be going in first. Now go get ready."


    "Alright then. Boss, you can rest assured¡­ wait, going first?"


    Fat Monkey didn''t understand what Lu Li had said at first. However, after a few moments, he realized that Lu Li said he was the starter. Did this mean he was going to challenge Sorrowless?


    "Now that you''ve said it, you have to commit to it. A man must always keep his word," Lu Li said as he patted Fat Monkey''s shoulder. "Go on ¨C don''t let us down."


    "I¡­" Fat Monkey''s words lingered in his throat; he didn''t know what to say. It seemed that language couldn''t express his current mood. He was ready to be treated as a joke, because all newcomers that were arrogant were treated as such.


    "Stop lazing around ¨C don''t you want to challenge him? This is a good opportunity. I wasn''t as lucky as you when I was your age," Moonlight chimed in.


    Fat Monkey glanced at him gratefully, as it was obvious that Moonlight was also on his side.


    Ruling Sword was a new club, which meant that the systems in place weren''t perfect yet. In addition, Lu Li refused all investments, so management was taken care of by people he knew. His words were authoritative, so when Fat Monkey stood up to start the fight, no one questioned it.


    When Fat Monkey stood in the ring, he didn''t receive the taunting that he thought he would.


    All the Mages were interested in seeing the outcome of this fight. Regardless of whether it was Sorrowless or Unforgettable Maple, they had all seen and conquered for their titles. All Warriors had thought about challenging the top players in their profession, but not many actually went out to do it, so the actions of Fat Monkey were particularly remarkable in their eyes.


    As for Ruling Sword, who had decided to let Fat Monkey go first, the audience respected them more now.


    They dared to let a newcomer Mage challenge Sorrowless. No club had dared to do this in recent years.


    Moonlight looked at Fat Monkey''s excited face and knew that this guy wasn''t going to play normally, but he did not regret his decision to encourage Lu Li to let Fat Monkey go. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    He used to do the same stupid things as Fat Monkey. At that time, he wasn''t as stable as he was now. He had just debuted, but he already felt like he was strong, so he challenge the God of War at the time.


    If he didn''t defeat the God of War, how could he become the God of War!


    However, he didn''t have Fat Monkey''s luck, and his club didn''t dare bet on him.


    In that game, they lost very badly and only he was the highlight of the entire team. After a few months, Moonlight had joined another club and planned to defeat the God of War in another match.


    Unfortunately, before the start of the new season, the God of War announced his retirement.


    As such, Moonlight never got to defeat his idol in the end. Since then, there had been several Warrior competitions and Moonlight went on to become the idol of many other Warrior players, but he would never have to chance to defeat the God of War.


    It was this that gave him a soft spot, and he would always support Fat Monkey even if he was bound to lose.


    There would only be one champion, but there was more than one opportunity to win the championship. Both Moonlight and Lu Li knew that this arrangement was irrational, but they didn''t regret putting Fat Monkey in.


    Lu Li was probably more utilitarian when considering this point.


    Ruling Sword had to continue expanding and there were many new players with potential out there. Even someone who had experienced rebirth was helpless here. The biggest source of new players was actually from the training camps. These newcomers were trained in batches and could either be selected or eliminated.


    This was an opportunity for Lu Li to give Fat Monkey the chance to convey this message to the outside world.


    "As long as you have the skills, I want to give you the best opportunity. Even if you want to challenge the best player in the game, that is possible.


    Look at Fat Monkey, who was unknown a few months ago. He has been given many opportunities in the arena and now even has the opportunity to challenge Sorrowless. So, what are you waiting for? Where else can you find such opportunities while you are young? Do you want to give all this up just so you can make a bit of money in your career?"


    In short, this was them betting on the underdog for advertising purposes.


    When Fat Monkey got on stage, Glory Capital had no choice but to respond and Sorrowless also appeared. He didn''t have any contempt for Fat monkey. Everything that needed to be prepared had been prepared.


    In fact, Sorrowless was helpless in this situation too.


    Fat Monkey challenged him. If Fat Monkey lost, everyone would understand ¨C after all, he was a newcomer with the courage to fight.


    However, once Sorrowless lost, he would hypothetically start facing a wave of other challenges. After all, he would have become a stepping stone for a newcomer and if Fat Monkey could defeat him, then many other players would think they could too.


    After the signal was given for the start of the match, both sides began throwing skills at each other.


    They were both Mages, whose fire attacks could deal more damage, but ice attacks had more crowd-control and mobility.


    Sorrowless'' equipment was definitely better than Fat Monkey''s.


    If you thought about factors like equipment and skills, it was actually cheaper to be a Fire Mage.


    An Ice Mage''s main crowd-control effect was to restrict the movement of their opponent. This gave them an overwhelming advantage against melee players. However, if two Mages had an attack range that was the same, limiting the movement of the other Mage wouldn''t stop them from casting their skills.


    This was the general impression that the players had, but today, Sorrowless was going to give everyone a Mage lesson.

 1280 Young Successor

    As an Ice Mage, Sorrowless easily restricted Fat Monkey''s Movements. He then began to increase the distance between them and stagger his movements with skills of different cast times.


    His moved very frequently, but there didn''t seem to be a pattern to it.


    At first glance, it looked like he was kiting his opponent. This ''kiting'' looked particularly elegant on the surface, but it was being done for purely aesthetic reasons. There were many players that recorded this movement and discussed it on the forums, but in the eyes of the experts, this was just a waste of effort.


    Even so, Sorrowless kept up these movements. Shouldn''t a Mage on Mage matchup mean that you would try to crowd control the other Mage and deal damage to them?


    Was this constant back and forth necessary?


    Sorrowless would even sometimes cancel the skill that he was casting to move.


    This was not how kiting was meant to be done. Why did this Mage expert make such exaggerated movements? Even the fangirls that had been shouting things like "Sorrowless I love you" were becoming embarrassed for him. He was obviously someone who could easily win in this fight, but he chose to rely on this technique. It was one thing to rely on a technique, but why was he being so silly like Elevenless¡­


    Elevenless: Hey don''t provoke me or I''ll beat you to death.


    However, real masters could easily see what was being done here. Lu Li remained expressionless, but he sighed in his heart. How could he forget this technique? This was something he should have spread around his club. It actually was nothing difficult to understand. Whenever Sorrowless moved slightly, he was always moving out of Fat Monkey''s attack range.


    Fat Monkey soon realized what was happening too, especially since he was trying to cast the skills.


    Sometimes, the small steps were almost negligible, but the distance between them always mean that he didn''t have enough range.


    Whenever he cancelled his skills to move forwards, he found that Sorrowless had already channelled a skill and was waiting for him.


    When Fat Monkey was almost done channelling his skill, Sorrowless would run away again.


    This seemingly simple thing was in fact not easy to do. Sorrowless wasn''t just relying on positioning, but he was also making use of his crowd-control skills. This was because Fat Monkey was a Fire Mage and Sorrowless was an Ice Mage, so his straight damage just couldn''t compete.


    "I knew that he would lose, but I didn''t think it would be this miserably," Lu Li said as he smiled bitterly.


    "This is okay; Sorrowless has also lost some HP. The main thing he needs to do is to speed up the rhythm of the fight so that Sorrowless has to use more crowd-control skills. I''ll go next. I should be able to deal with him with 1/3 of my HP," Moonlight said calmly.


    "Yeah, alright," Lu Li agreed.


    Fat Monkey was still fighting and he was struggle to keep up with Sorrowless'' fighting rhythm. However, it was still an honourable moment for him, as the God of Mages was revealing his technique before the world and was using it on him.


    The expression on his face didn''t reveal his thoughts. Fat Monkey, who seemed to always be


    impatient, appeared to be quite calm.


    In the beginning, Fat monkey wasted quite a few skills because they failed to cast. Skills that were cancelled but completely channelled still cost mana, but more importantly, they cost time and opportunity.


    However, as the battle unfolded, Fat Monkey quickly found his advantage.


    Scorch!


    As this skill had been maxed and he had quite a few pieces of equipment that increased his fire damage, Fat Monkey tried to keep Scorch on his opponent for as long as he could.


    There was no one who could afford to ignore this Scorch.


    Sorrowless couldn''t either, so he had to fight more urgently. He had to quickly deal with Fat Monkey, otherwise, he would be almost dead by the time he did. Then, he wouldn''t be able to fight the next opponent at all.


    The harder Fat Monkey fought, the more excited he got, but he still couldn''t escape his fate.


    When Sorrowless'' HP was down to 55%, Fat Monkey''s challenge came to an end. There was still a 55% difference between him and his goal.


    There was some hissing in the crowd when this happened. Fat Monkey couldn''t even take more than half of his opponents HP. For most players, this was utter defeat¡­ but what was the commentator talking about? Why was he talking about Fat Monkey becoming famous?


    What was this about his fame doubling¡­


    Surely that was a joke?


    "This was quite the fight. I believe that Mages will do a lot research on this fight," Dark Wind said.


    "That''s right, Sorrowless has shown us how to open the gap in a Mage on Mage matchup, and his positioning was a textbook classic," Dark Seas Dragon agreed with Dark Wind. Both of them were senior commentators who thought that this entire fight was wonderful.


    "In fact, Fat Monkey had also done very well," Dark Wind said with a smile. "At first, I thought he would just get humiliated."


    "It takes a bit of crazy for an average player to challenge a God-level player, but Fat Monkey doesn''t seem to be crazy at all. Moreover, he seemed to be in complete control throughout the entire fight," said Four Seas Dragon.


    "Hahaha, are you trying to say that he has no conscience?" Dark Wind couldn''t help but laugh.


    "Oh¡­ that''s not what I meant," Four Seas Dragon laughed as well, then continued, "It''s just that your mental strength is also very important. That is likely how Fat Monkey got to this point so quickly. Ruling Sword''s March Rain is also a genius, but her mental strength isn''t like Fat Monkey''s."


    "Fat Monkey also has good reaction time. He was very quick in coming up with a countermeasure, especially for a newcomer who encountered this tactic for the first time. This performance truly gave the tactic a good benchmark for demonstration."Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "I think there will be a lot of clubs interested in Fat monkey," Four Seas Dragon said emotionally. "In fact, the growth of a player is simply due to two things ¨C mental strength and technique. Many newcomers have been stuck or unable grow for many years, and the main reason for that is because of their mental strength."


    "I think I understand what you mean," Dark Wind said. "If someone has perfect mental strength, then as their technique improves, they will certainly grow stronger and stronger."


    "Well, I think this is the case," Four Seas Dragon responded, then declared, "Fat Monkey is the most promising person to become the new Mage God after Sorrowless!"

 1281 Demigod Asura

    The new Mage God?


    Surely this was a bit too much? Four Seas Dragon was a role model within the gaming circle, so he likely hadn''t received a payout from Ruling Sword to promote Fat Monkey.


    In the years after the rise of Sorrowless, there had been other strong Mages too ¨C Lucky Southern Persian, Dancing Star Dream, Magic Cry, Deadly Green Orange, Dream 13, Half a Cigarette, Twilight, Wild, Cloudy Leaf¡­


    It could be said that the Mage Profession had the most talent in the gaming circle. Each of these players were skilled and had epic stories written about them.


    But who really had the most promise in toppling Sorrowless?


    There were many differing opinions, but there had never been such a claim by a veteran commentator. A number of prominent media commentators had put forward their analyses, but even these had public-relations influences.


    Today, a newcomer, who had not even come out of a training camp, had actually received such an evaluation.


    Even Dark Wind was shocked.


    Being a commentator was a reasonably stable career, but Dark Wind would never say something so absolute about Fat Monkey. One day, Fat Monkey could become a weak player, and then Four Seas Dragon''s words would be treated as a joke.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    Fat Monkey didn''t know about all of this. After he revived, he trudged along and all he could feel was exhaustion.


    In such a short period of time, he had used up almost all of his energy.


    Not only did he face the Mage God, but he also faced the Mage God''s newest tactic put on display for the world.


    Fat Monkey didn''t expect when he sat down that he would be enthusiastically encouraged by Ruling Sword.


    Everyone thought that Fat Monkey had done really well even though he lost and couldn''t even take 50% of Sorrowless'' HP. Not a single person said that he didn''t do well.


    Lu Li patted Fat Monkey''s shoulder and sincerely said that he had done a good job.


    After Fat Monkey, Moonlight was the next person to fight for Ruling Sword.


    A Warrior was actually disadvantaged when matched against a Mage. In fact, Thieves were much better suited for this match up. However, since Sorrowless had used so many skills against Fat Monkey, his disadvantage was mitigated.


    "How can he still have Frost Nova?"


    After a few rounds of fighting, Sorrowless actually used Frost Nova, which could not have already cooled down. Moonlight had no choice but to use his badge. He couldn''t just stand still and allow Sorrowless to cast an ultimate skill onto him. Sorrowless had many crowd-control skills that had been used, but the ultimate skills that had a longer channel time were probably not used when fighting Fat Monkey.


    Moonlight''s goal was to kill Sorrowless while maintaining his own strength.


    "Cloudy Leaf," Lu Li whispered.


    "What do you mean?" Fat Monkey was puzzled.


    "Cloudy Leaf has that equipment that gave him a second Frost Nova, which is why Moonlight is having a bit of trouble."


    "I didn''t expect Glory Capital to do this kind of thing," Fat Monkey said, his perspective on them changing.


    "This is a very normal thing, unless they think we are weak," Lu Li explained with a smile and packed his gear as he got ready to get on stage.


    Moonlight had defeated Sorrowless, but he didn''t have much HP left, so it could be said that Sorrowless had succeeded in fighting Moonlight and Ruling Sword. He had retained a few crowd-control skills after defeated Fat Monkey, and those were just enough to deal with Ruling Sword''s next player.


    Regardless of whether it was Moonlight or Lu Li, Sorrowless was fearless as long as he had his crowd-control skills.


    If it weren''t for the fact that he had lost too much HP from fighting Fat Monkey, he probably would have left Moonlight on critical HP. However, dropping him below half HP was already an excellent job, as Moonlight was a top-tier professional player.


    After Sorrowless went down, Ruling Sword was up against Demigod Asura, a Warlock that had a Doomguard.


    Warlocks also belonged to the Magic Profession and could compete for the Mage God title. In Dawn, a Warlock sacrificed themselves to the darkness in pursuit of strength. Their scrawny bodies looked like they could be blown down by a gust of wind, because they used their blood to summon a variety of dark creatures to do their bidding. They had seemingly harmless skills that could torture their opponents to death.


    It was said that in the beginning, Azeroth didn''t have Warlocks and it was Gul''dan that brought them to Azeroth.


    As for the Doomguard, this was a huge monster from the Burning Legion. It had high armor, high damage output and high HP. It was similar to a Warrior with a burning blade. Doomguards were the forward troops of the Burning Legion and were very proficient in combat. For them, strength was everything, so as long as you demonstrated great strength, they would not hesitate to enter battle for you.


    Demigod Asura was a very strong Warlock.


    From Lu Li''s memory, his level would continue to rise much faster in future. However, he and Blood Dagger were actually cousins with a solid relationship, so Lu Li couldn''t just poach him for Ruling Sword.


    Moreover, Sorrowless was actually quite charismatic.


    He had led them through thick and thin. When those who had followed him looked back, they could see his brilliance. Demigod Asura and Blood Dagger had been walking with Glory Capital side by side this whole time.


    Although Demigod Asura had entered through unofficial channels, he had still experienced the youth training camp like the others.


    He directed the Doomguard to intercept Moonlight as he cast a continuous damage skill onto him. Occasionally, he would also cast crowd-control skills. He wasn''t being greedy at all and knew that this was a hard fight. Other players fighting Moonlight, who had so little HP, would want to save their strength as much as possible to deal with the next Ruling Sword player.


    If you could kill Moonlight and lose the least amount of HP, then you would have the most advantage or could even defeat the next opponent.


    Moonlight didn''t last long with such an aggressive attack, but he wasn''t humiliated as the Warrior God. He still took quite a bit of HP from Demigod Asura.


    According to Commentator Four Seas Dragon, if Demigod Asura hadn''t played so well, Moonlight might have seized an opportunity. The outcome of the match wouldn''t have been so clear then.


    Lu Li walked past Moonlight to get to the stage; he was the next person to fight for Ruling Sword.

 1282 A Mental Problem

    Demigod Asura was also really tired.


    His situation was similar to that of Fat Monkey''s. Fat Monkey had leaped forward to challenge Sorrowless, but the gap between him and Moonlight was quite large as well.


    In the short time that he took to defeat Moonlight, not only did he use all kinds of special effects and skills, but he also used up a lot of his mental energy. If given the chance, he would lie down and immediately fall asleep.


    However, he couldn''t sleep now, because Lu Li was here.


    Against a Magic Profession, Lu Li was much scarier than Moonlight.


    They greeted each other and prepared to enter the battle. Lu Li very calmly smeared poison on his dagger. This was a new poison that he had developed. Although he looked very serious, the damage of this poison was actually negligible.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t have any poisons that dealt more damage, but this Slowdown 3 was one of the most effective poisons he had.


    He had another called Damage 6, which had five to six times more damage than the one he was applying. However, the base damage was so low that even multiplying didn''t increase it by much, so it was worse than the System poisons. As such, Lu Li didn''t bother with damage and just went with Slowdown.


    As the name suggests, the function of this poison was to decrease movement speed.


    According to Lu Li''s testing on Moonlight, Berserkers were more resistant to poisons, followed by Warlocks, who were slightly more resistant than Mages. It would take about three to five attacks to apply the slow effect which was a 30% decrease in movement speed lasting for 1.5 seconds.


    The System''s current best slow poison dealt more damage than Lu Li''s, but couldn''t match the effect of Lu Li''s poison.


    This was particularly the case for the effect''s duration. A normal poison effect only lasted about 0.8 seconds. This poison would slow you for long enough that your opponent could run away.


    He had to admit that this art of Poison Brewing taught by Garona was much deeper than he thought.


    As he saw Lu Li gradually vanishing, Demigod Asura tightened the Magic Staff in his hands. He started to grow more excited as he realized that this was a rare opportunity. If he played well, he could gain the attention of more people. Fat Monkey was considered to have potential of becoming the next Mage God after reducing Sorrowless by 45% HP. Could he do something similar after defeating Moonlight?


    Frost fanned out not far from in front of Lu Li and almost froze him.


    Lu Li was shocked, but he then felt relief.


    "What a waste," Dark Wind lamented as he licked his lips.


    "This is a mental issue. When he faced Moonlight, all he had on his mind was Moonlight, so he was very determined and very stable. However, after defeating Moonlight, he isn''t just focused on Lu Li anymore."


    Of course, Four Seas Dragon couldn''t completely see what Demigod Asura was thinking either.


    "He is now thinking about the fame and fortune, and this will be the reason he loses the fight today," Dark Wind said.


    "Lu Li had no plans of approaching him at all. All he had to do was wait for Demigod Asura to kill himself."


    Four Seas Dragon felt sorry for Demigod Asura. He could only hope that the young and upcoming player could learn from his mistake, and not be knocked down by this failure.


    Lu Li was quietly huddled in the corner, silently watching as Demigod Asura cast his skills in places where he thought Lu Li would be.


    Because there had been no fighting on both sides, Demigod Asura''s HP was slowly regenerating, but even the rookies in the audience couldn''t be optimistic about his situation.


    Even if he was at full HP, he wouldn''t be able to do anything against the Thief if he had no skills.


    Demigod Asura was growing a bit impatient, and just as he was about to cast his last skill to reveal the Thief, he suddenly felt convicted. What if this skill didn''t catch Lu Li? Was he making the right decision here? He had already made the same mistake so many times, and was losing confidence.


    Lu Li didn''t give him the opportunity to hesitate, and immediately teleported behind him.


    "Hey, look at him. That was his chance, but why did he hesitate? Why didn''t he do it immediately?"


    Dark Wind felt really terrible for Demigod Asura. From beginning, the fight had already been trending downhill and he never recovered.


    He was down to his last skill; perhaps he was saving it for a crucial moment?


    But of course, Lu Li''s offensive ability was too strong, and his HP was quickly depleting. Demigod Asura almost immediately lost half of his HP.


    If he had used it in the beginning, there would have been something of a fight and it might have even been some trouble Lu Li. But now, it was all over. When Lu Li had dealt with him, he had only used some crowd-control and interrupting skills. He didn''t even need to use his badge.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    Demigod Asura had dropped from over half HP. Although he had used quite a bit when fighting Moonlight, this was just shameful.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li had only lost 3% HP!


    On the whole, Demigod Asura had killed Moonlight who was on half HP, and made Lu Li use several crowd-control skills. So, it wasn''t a complete failure.


    However, the contrast between the two matches was abundantly clear. The difference between his fight against Moonlight and his fight against Lu Li was huge. Even the most forgiving of commentators could not explain away this embarrassment.


    Dark Wind and Four Seas Dragon could only laugh as they quickly shifted the topic to who Glory Capital would bring out to face Lu Li.


    Lui Li was almost at full HP, and the loss of a few skills could hardly be counted as damage. A Thief''s cooldowns were not long and some skills only required combo points and had no cooldown.


    "It will probably be Blood Dagger. I am looking forward to a match between two top Thieves. After the Thief and Magic matchup, that would bring this match full circle," Four Seas Dragon analyzed.


    "I don''t see it. If I were Sorrowless, I wouldn''t pit Blood Dagger against Lu Li," Dark Wind disagreed.


    "I know what you mean; he would accept this one loss to take more wins later. It might be better to keep Blood Dagger to fight Kitty Likes Meat. If the Magic Profession player isn''t mentally strong enough, it would be an easy win," Four Seas Dragon said, unable to help but give a bit of criticism against Demigod Asura.


    Sure enough, Blood Dagger wasn''t the next player to see play.


    The player that appeared wasn''t one that anyone would have guessed ¨C it was Glory Capital''s Paladin Shadowfang. Paladins had some advantages against a Thief, and Shadowfang was also an experienced player, so he didn''t have the weaker mentality of the novices.

 1283 The Coach Enters The Field

    When Lu Li saw Glory Capital''s next player, he was dumbfounded.


    Master Huang!


    Why was this old guy suddenly on stage? Lu Li had no recollection of Master Huang''s plan to make a comeback in his memory of his previous life.


    Although there were many new players that registered for the tournaments every year, it had been at least two years since Master Huang had made an appearnce. His main job now was to be an instructor at Glory Capital''s training camps.


    Lu Li bowed solemnly and showed the proper respect on stage.


    "My life belongs to myself, and I make all my decisions willingly and freely. I have never been controlled by anyone; not even gods can do so! I lower my head to others out of respect and admiration, but never out of subservience!"


    In any case, Master Huang was someone Lu Li greatly respected.


    Master Huang was not one of the most powerful players in the gaming circle as he had never become a God of any profession. He wasn''t even the best instructor or coach in the gaming circle, but he was the most respected senior in the gaming circle.


    Unlike the other things in these games that everyone had a different opinion on, Master Huang was universally respected.


    He believed that only the things that were shared could be improved to their greatest potential.


    Therefore, he had produced a lot of analytical and educational videos. In his previous life, Lu Li was an avid consumer of his theory. Even after rebirth, he would often study the books and videos produced by Master Huang.


    Because he didn''t have an instructor of his own, he had to teach all this to himself.


    The people who had come out from the training camp couldn''t learn much from this material, but those who hadn''t were eager to learn about the training methods and theories from the Master himself.


    "Master Huang, you are a teacher to me. I hope to learn a lot from you," Lu Li said seriously.


    "I was itching for something to do, so I impulsively got up here. I hope you won''t treat this fight differently because of that. Fight normally and don''t pull any punches just because I''m older. This might be my last match as I''ll announce my retirement after this," Master Huang responded.


    "I will go all out then," Lu Li nodded before disappearing.


    Master Huang lifted up his two big axes and held one behind him. This was the standard posture of a Berserker against a Thief, as they would be able to attack quickly once the Thief had been found. It also minimized the risk of the Thief hitting them with a crowd-control skill like Cheap Shot.


    Lu Li moved very carefully and continually tested the scope of Master Huang''s perception.


    Of course, he also couldn''t rule out the possibility that Master Huang was messing with him. This veteran was very experienced in strategy rather than pure technique, so Lu Li had to be more cautious.


    Lu Li was very talented in the game. There was no doubt about this, otherwise, he wouldn''t have tried playing it again after rebirth. He had joined the game late, but still become a somewhat famous expert. But now that this PVP technique had been combined with the theories he had learned in his previous life, he had reached new peaks.


    His PVP mental strength had always been solid, but he wasn''t as ruthless as Fat Monkey.


    However, he was better at finding and seizing opportunities. This was an acquired skill that he had honed while growing up in a harsh environment and was one of Lu Li''s formative traits.


    "There is no doubt that Master Huang is not just jumping in here to bully one of his juniors for no reason. He is able to hold Lu Li back to a certain extent, because there are no flaws in his defence. This means Lu Li is having a hard time finding opportunities," Dark Wind explained the situation to anyone who didn''t understand it.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "It''s a bit difficult for Lu Li to fight this match, but that doesn''t mean there won''t be a fight," Four Seas


    Dragon responded.


    Just as he finished speaking, Lu Li had already moved in.


    Cheap Shot!


    Lu Li''s Felstriker went straight into the back of Master Huang''s head at lightning speed. Although he knew that this attack was likely going to have no effect, he still concentrated with all his strength focused in his right hand. As long as he attacked Master Huang, he would be able to stun him.


    Master Huang stood still. The axe in his right hand had only moved slightly and Lu Li''s dagger made direct contact with it.


    There was no way that the System would say that this was a successful Cheap Shot. Lu Li had only caused minor damage to Master Huang.


    Just when everyone thought Master Huang was going to launch his counterattack, Lu Li slipped away. Master Huang only needed to use his Charge to catch up, but it only hit one of Lu Li''s afterimages.


    When he stopped to look, Lu Li had once again disappeared into the shadows.


    The first round of the fight could basically be considered a test. There was no loss of HP and no use of any particularly important skills. It seemed like they were evenly matched.


    After Lu Li had run away, Master Huang wasn''t angry. He was calm and collected. His position, posture


    and even facial expression hadn''t changed. He was completely focused on finding Lu Li.


    Contrary to what you would expect, Lu Li wasn''t worried either. However, this calmness wasn''t much help to him.


    He didn''t like taking a passive approach to fights, and he didn''t feel like he needed to take a passive approach with this veteran.


    "Hey, what is Lu Li doing?" Dark Wind asked with a sigh.


    "It seems a bit unreasonable to use this kind of attack, but I think Master Huang will be able to deal with it."


    Even Four Seas Dragon couldn''t understand what Lu Li was trying to do, let alone the members of the audience.


    Lu Li had used his shoe''s special effect to blink behind Master Huang to cast Cheap Shot. This blink skill was successful but Master Huang reacted quickly to lift the crowd-control and cast Trample in the area around him.


    The reversal of this attack was definitely not a good thing for Lu Li.


    This was why everyone thought that Lu Li''s attack was a bit unreasonable, as it brought about this own destruction.


    However, Lu Li certainly wouldn''t die from this attack alone. He used his badge to lift the crowd-control and once against slipped into the shadows.


    The two commentators didn''t know how to explain this. It seemed like Lu Li was constantly provoking him, but Master Huang would always calmly respond to his attacks before Lu Li would escape. The two sides did this back and forth a few times, but not much HP was lost. There was just an exchange of special effects and skills.


    At this rate, they would get to a point where they would use up all their crowd-control skills. Then, they would have to attack each other with their regular attacks.


    But as a Leather clad Thief, how could he win that fight against a Warrior?

 1284 Release the Hounds

    "Frankly, I don''t understand it," Dark Wind admitted, as he often did when he didn''t understand a situation. Everyone liked his style of commentating as they felt like they could relate to him. For this reason, he was very popular among the ordinary players. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been asked to commentate on the championship.


    "Perhaps Lu Li is using up Master Huang''s skills and special effects for the next player," Four Seas Dragon suggested, though he didn''t seem to believe it.


    "That can''t be right. Has Lu Li already given up?" Dark Wind couldn''t believe it.


    "Then maybe Lu Li thinks that he has more tricks up his sleeve?"


    Four Seas Dragon thought that this was the only remaining conclusion. This was quite possible as Lu Li had acquired so many First Clears with his team. His equipment had to be better than Master Huang''s as he had not invested much in the game and was a professional youth camp training instructor.


    "Lu Li does have the upper hand, but I can''t see his advantage here," Dark Wind said pessimistically.


    The people would be happy to see a strong figure be defeated. Right now, Lu Li was not that strong figure ¨C it was the youth training camp instructor Master Huang. He had enjoyed many years of fame in the gaming circle and everyone respected him, but they still subconsciously wanted to see him lose.


    "Master Huang''s defense is very tight, so Cheap Shot can''t be successfully cast onto him. It is also difficult to deal a lot of damage to him. Once Master Huang takes the lead, Lu Li will be hard pressed to stand up to him even if he has a lot of HP," Four Seas Dragon said.


    "Wait¡­," Dark Wind suddenly cried out.


    Everyone''s eyes widened as they saw what was happening. They could clearly see that Lu Li was summoning something behind Master Huang ¨C a wolf!


    Master Huang looked back and didn''t see anything, because the wolf that Lu Li had summoned was actually invisible. This completely changed everyone''s perspective, but now the question was how the wolf was going to be used to attack Master Huang.


    The wolf had to be quite strong, and everyone was looking forward seeing it in action.


    "Please, have you summoned me to die again? That guy looks quite strong, especially with that big axe. He''s definitely going to chop me in half. I might as well just fall over and die now. What''s the point of all this if I''m just going to die anyway? I''m going to haunt your ancestors if you do this," Silly Husky babbled on. Fortunately, he didn''t need to make any sounds to communicate with Lu Li. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    Lu Li didn''t bother talking to him, as he didn''t want to stoop down to his level.


    Silly Husky reluctantly approached Master Huang and hoped that he wouldn''t be detected. However, he quickly noticed that Lu Li had already circled to the other side. Unfortunately, he wasn''t a pet, or else he would have immediately betrayed Lu Li to work with Master Huang so they could kill Lu Li a hundred times over.


    Under the coercion of the System and Lu Li''s ownership, Silly Husky had no choice but to follow his instructions.


    Master Huang patiently waited for Lu Li''s approach. From Lu Li''s constant harassment, it was clear that Lu Li wasn''t a passive player. Young people tended to have a lot of energy, regardless of how calm they looked.


    He''s coming!


    Master Huang''s lips couldn''t help but curl in anticipation.


    Earthquake!


    Master Huang thought that he had finally caught Lu Li. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning around and attacking.


    There was an exclamation in the audience, and it wasn''t because Master Huang had hit Lu Li. In fact, Master Huang only revealed the wolf. They exclaimed because a dagger had appeared behind Master Huang''s head.


    "So this is what he was doing," Four Seas Dragon muttered.


    "It wasn''t the most clever move, but it was probably the most effective way of dealing with Master Huang. First, he used up all his skills and when he was near his limit, Lu Li chose to send in his minion," Dark Wind said quickly.


    "Damn you! If you want to chop me then I''ll bite you!" Silly Husky cried out.


    This summon had a completely different demeanour to his owner''s low-profile style. Lu Li had once discussed with him some tactics that they could make use of, and he had been waiting for a long time to show them off.


    It was already shocking enough that a pet could talk, but it was even more surprising that it could insult you.


    After Lu Li crowd-controlled Master Huang, he immediately went into an attacking frenzy. Although he couldn''t deal that much damage because of the Plate Armour, his target was standing still so a number of special effects were applied. There was a Stun, Armour Pierce, and Bleed effect that were all applied one after another.


    When he acquired five combo points, he cast Kidney Shot as well.


    Master Huang could only reduce the amount of HP his was losing, as he didn''t have much control beyond that. He couldn''t even kick away the wolf that was biting into his thigh.


    "It seems like Lu Li''s Skill Completion is very high. I didn''t expect it to be so high. It seems like he has quite a bit of potential," Four Seas Dragon sighed. "This is a newcomer who had just entered six months ago today. This is just unadulterated talent and I have no way of hiding my jealousy."


    There have been many discussions on whether Lu Li was actually a newcomer.


    However, as Lu Li continued on his road of becoming a professional player, which meant accepting a number of media interviews, no one had ever accused him of making fake accounts. After all, everyone knew most other people in the gaming circle and they hadn''t seen this master before.


    There were still some people that suspected that he wasn''t playing the game for the first time, but what did that matter? It wasn''t important that it wasn''t his first time if he was about to fight the likes of Master Huang in a matter of months. Jealously was the only response when Four Seas Dragon made such an observation.


    Talent was not something that could be trivialised either. If you looked at how quickly players like Lu Li and March Rain grew, it was clear the crucial role that talent played.


    In fact, Sorrowless, Water Fairy and many other professional players were also quite talented. Most of them were just short of being geniuses, and would just need to spend more time training.


    On the other hand, a completely talentless player could never become a master no matter how much work they put in.


    Although players like Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were well-integrated into the community, no one would ever treat them as masters.

 1285 Grinding Down Master Huang

    "Just you wait Lu Li! I''ll be back!" Silly Husky cried out.


    Master Huang was getting anxious as he couldn''t help but feel the pressure building. His intention was always to take control at a critical moment, but it was getting dangerous. Lu Li''s crowd-control was endless and overwhelming, even for a warrior.


    He quickly cast a Charge at Lu Li who was right in front of him.


    As long as they were next to each other, this move would hit and stun him. Master Huang intended to use Whirlwind immediately on Lu Li. His Whirlwind was special, as his version also had a slow and it was his ultimate attack.


    Under normal circumstances, anyone who gets hit by a Warrior''s Whirlwind would immediately want to run away. Otherwise, they would lose a significant amount of HP and might even die.


    However, in Lu Li''s current situation, there was no way to run. He and Master Huang were exchanging skills and effects. Both of them were very strong, and if Lu Li took the whole special Whirlwind, he would be one step away from dying.


    At this time, he did something that stunned the men into silence and caused the women to cry. He directed Silly Husky to stand in front of Master Huang.


    Master Huang had no choice but to stop and use his axe to attack Silly Husky.


    With a final strike, he chopped Silly Husky to death, but Master Huang lost his opportunity to stun Lu Li and cast Whirlwind. Lu Li then retreated to a safe position, and once again annoyingly hid himself.


    At this point, Lu Li''s HP was almost full while Master Huang was on half HP.


    Lu Li didn''t have a second Silly Husky to attack with. In fact, Master Huang wouldn''t be fooled again, but as a Thief, he still had many other tricks.


    Master Huang wasn''t impatient, and he still took the same approach as before. He calmly responded whenever Lu Li engaged and started to deal some damage to him. After Silly Husky was killed, there was nothing left to excite the general audience.


    However, the real masters watched this scene unfold in anticipation.


    When two melee players had no powerful means of fighting each other, what would they do?


    Keep repositioning!


    Lu Li didn''t have many skills left, but he could move faster than Master Huang, so he made full use of this advantage. The Thief was like the wind in the arena as he blew around Master Huang, damaging him bit by bit.


    Master Huang had a completely different style.


    He barely moved and looked like a martial arts master as he used the least amount of movement to deal with his opponent''s most dangerous tricks.


    On the surface, it seemed like Master Huang had the more masterful style. Lu Li looked like a wolf pacing around a hedgehog. He was occasionally taking bites out of Master Huang, but would inevitably take some damage too.


    "Master Huang has to stay calm, otherwise, he won''t be able to keep up this fight," Four Seas Dragon said as he shook his head, then added, "But this is still not going to work."


    "After that big fight, Lu Li is having a much easier time finding opportunities. Many Thief skills have a lower cooldown and some just require a combo point. This is Master Huang''s best bet, but it is still a very difficult fight for him," Dark Wind praised.


    Lu Li was also having a bit of a headache. No matter how he fought, he was unlikely to resolve this match quickly.


    This battle was a complete grind-fest. When he finally defeated Master Huang, he was also on critical HP. Blood Dagger than immediately took him down in one round. Lu Li didn''t even get to chance to lift the crowd-control. At that point, there was no chance for Lu Li to take any of Blood Dagger''s HP.


    However, there was no one that thought Lu Li couldn''t do it.


    Fat Monkey was defeated by Sorrowless with half HP. Then, Moonlight dealt with Sorrowless and left Demigod Asura on a little bit of HP.


    When Lu Li got on stage, Ruling Sword was a little behind. However, he first defeated Demigod Asura with plenty of HP remaining before defeating Master Huang.


    He had defeated about one and a half players, including Master Huang from Glory Capital''s youth training camp.


    At present, no one in the professional circles could say with 100% confidence that they could defeat Master Huang. Even very strong warriors like Gaze would show the proper respect to Master Huang whenever they met. Gaze found that he wasn''t able to learn all the skills Master Huang was teaching and regretted that he left the training camp too early.


    After Lu Li defeated Master Huang, it reinforced his position in the professional circle.


    In his last fight before retirement, Master Huang unfortunately ended up losing to Lu Li. It was time for the new generation to step in. There was no need for commentary here as everyone''s perspective of Lu Li had changed.


    Blood Dagger defeated Lu Li, but there was no smug look on his face. In fact, he looked quite gloomy, as if someone owed him money.


    Master Huang was an instructor from the Glory Capital Youth Training Camp. All the players from the camp had been taught by him. If the teacher had been defeated, how could the students stand a chance? In Blood Dagger''s mind, Master Huang was simply unbeatable. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    Mu Qiu then went on stage to fight Blood Dagger.


    The current Paladins were quite strong. Although Mu Qiu had a weak attacking strength, he was very suitable for drawn out fights. It was much better than sending a Warlock like Kitty Likes Meat or a Melee Shaman like Sakura Memories.


    Ruling Sword''s reserve seemed like it was still too weak. They didn''t even have a second Warrior, or a damage dealing Paladin, or even an Ice Mage.


    Mu Qiu was a second-rate player and was definitely much worse than the first-class Blood Dagger. Even though he had double Blood Dagger''s HP and mana, he couldn''t keep up. He was then defeated before Kitty Likes Meat was sent in.


    Kitty Likes Meat defeated Blood Dagger before losing to Shadowfang, who was Glory Capital''s final player.


    At this point, the Competition was over. Glory Capital had sent out Sorrowless, Demigod Asura, Master Huang, Blood Dagger and Shadowfang. Ruling Sword had sent out Fat Monkey, Moonlight, Lu Li, Mu Qiu, and Kitty Likes Meat. All five of them had fought and only Shadowfang was left in the arena.


    The final score of the matches was 5:4. Glory Capital was leading by a single point.


    Regardless of the outcome, the first round of the championship was a very high-quality and exciting round. Fat Monkey''s challenge to Sorrowless had failed, but despite the defeat, Lu Li had defeated Master Huang who was respected by much of the audience.


    There was a short intermission before the selection of maps began.


    There were nine maps for the championship. Other than the large, round arena that was always present, the other eight were drawn by the two teams.


    Each of the eight maps had their characteristics, but no one could say which map Glory Capital would choose.


    However, as someone who had experienced rebirth, Lu Li immediately rejoiced when he saw the eight maps. He was 80% certain he knew which map Glory Capital would choose.

 1286 Snowfield

    There was no school in the game, but if you continued working hard, there was no doubt that you could improve yourself.


    To put it simply, there were two things in this world to help you improve ¨C Strategies and Videos. The former referred to the theoretical concepts that provided analysis on Instance Dungeons, quests and professional skills. This usually covered a broad range of subjects, but they were often relatively basic and superficial. After all, not everyone would reveal all the crucial details of their knowledge to share with everyone.


    This was why you needed the latter to improve ¨C videos.


    Some players recorded their own battles. The main purpose of this was to compare it against others and show off how strong they were. These recordings were similar to the strategies in that they were also quite superficial. When Lu Li''s reached a certain level of proficiency, this no longer met his needs.


    Later, Lu Li began to analyse these high-level videos of the game.


    These were the highest-end educational materials in the professional circles. Ordinary players were not likely to be able to understand them, and even Lu Li didn''t at first. However, he didn''t give up and keep trying. Eventually, under the influence of these videos, he grew better and better at understanding the analysis¡­


    There were quite a few classic videos in the current game, and several of them were of matches in the first season of the league.


    Without Lu Li''s rebirth, the top four guilds would be Glory Capital, Gale Legion, Blood Red War Flag and Drizzle Court. The championship would have been played by Glory Capital and Drizzle Court. There were quite a few maps games in the championship match, but there was one that Sorrowless particularly favored. In an interview after the Championship, he said that he had selected this map at a glance and didn''t even consider the others.


    This comment helped the reborn Lu Li quite a bit.


    Ruling Sword didn''t have many maps they could practice on and had only fought on a few, so their adaptability to new maps was quite poor. It was sheer luck throughout the league that they hadn''t encountered a particularly difficult map yet.


    However, all of these championship maps were new. They hadn''t seen any of the eight before.


    It was in a time like this that the overall quality of the club''s players was tested. In fact, it was set up like this because the League didn''t want a new club to easily get to the top and put the older clubs to shame.


    In the short few days that they had, they couldn''t possibly become familiar with all eight maps.


    Under normal circumstances, Ruling Sword would practice each map 3 to 5 times. If they could figure out which maps were good for them and familiarize themselves with the rest, that was a pretty good outcome. They couldn''t use an elimination method, just in case Glory Capital decided to choose the most unsuitable map to practice on. Then, it would be too late for Ruling Sword to regret it.


    Fortunately, Lu Li knew what Sorrowless would choose.


    The Snowfield map was the one that Glory Capital would choose. In the few days they had, Ruling Sword didn''t train on anything else but this map. Lu Li dared to say that they might not have practiced any less than Glory Capital did.


    The others didn''t understand why Lu Li was so sure Sorrowless would choose this map.


    Lu Li only said that he had a special contact and that he couldn''t explain it. He ultimately used this authority to direct the club''s training, but the others didn''t think that Lu Li was just making it up either. After all, there was someone in Ruling Sword that Sorrowless really cared about in the Elite Group.


    That person was Darkness!


    Over these past few days, Darkness felt like everyone had been watching her. She was quite beautiful, so she had long since become used to this kind of treatment, but she had no idea what they were thinking about her.


    Regardless, when Ruling Sword''s players finally saw what map Glory Capital had chosen, they were very impressed with Lu Li.


    "Mu Qiu, be on standby. Everyone else, remember to keep it together. This map is actually no different from the big round arena, but with more terrain. Just make sure to avoid the caves and landslides¡­" Lu Li emphasised once again.


    They had been studying this map for such a long time that they would have known this even if Lu Li didn''t say it.


    Mu Qiu''s current development path had been determined, but there were still some shortcomings so he was accustomed to being the substitute. This didn''t mean he wasn''t appreciated either. If he was able to turn the tide of a fight after joining, substitutes could often be promoted to star players. There were some players like Green Flag Wine and Torrent that were more than happy to be substitutes.


    After entering the map, Lu Li confirmed the terrain around them before they proceeded along the agreed route.


    This map wasn''t just some snowy landscape; the terrain beneath the snow was very complicated. There were often snow pits, landslides and snow monsters lying underneath.


    The snow monsters were long-haired behemoths with large, powerful limbs. They only had two skills ¨C Knock Back and Trample. Most of them lived alone, but if they faced multiple prey, they would call in their friends. If you were a single player, you could deal with one, but if there were too many players, it was better to go around.


    As long as you practiced on this map, you would know that these snow pits, landslides and snow monsters couldn''t be completely avoided.


    The easiest approach to studying a map was to memorize it, but this was difficult to do in this map because the terrain changed every now and then.


    Small snow pits were fine, but the bigger snow pits could suffocate the players and cost them HP. They would then need to be rescued by the others. The System had given them a separate skill to do this, which had a three second channel time before the player was pulled out.


    As such, it was necessary for someone to explore ahead of the group. This important task naturally fell onto Lu Li''s shoulders.


    "Anywhere where I have walked over should be okay. I don''t think the System is cruel enough to create a snow pit in a place where I have walked. But don''t stay too close to me ¨C if we all end up in the snow pit, then we''ll be in trouble," Lu Li said as he walked in a zigzag so that it was almost certain that he would trigger all the traps in front of them.


    "Why don''t we just wait somewhere for them?" Fat Monkey asked.


    This kind of ice and snow environment was disadvantageous for two professions. The first were Thieves because tracks were left behind, even in Stealth. The second were naturally Fire Mages, which was why Fat Monkey really hated the weather on this map.


    "This is the championship. If we take it so passively then we might as well not play," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    Although he was a pragmatist, sitting in one position would show that he wasn''t a good leader. This wasn''t just a championship, but also an opportunity to establish a reputation within the professional circles. They were trying form a culture within the club that would be passed down from generation to generation.


    If Ruling Sword didn''t move and just allowed Glory Capital''s players to look for them, their players might be killed by the snow monsters, which would allow Ruling Sword to win by default.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    However, this kind of win was useless, and Lu Li would rather lose than win like this.

 1287 The Snow Monster Situation

    When they finally saw the Glory Capital players, Lu Li saw that they were actually fighting the snow monsters.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    He suddenly remembered a very important thing. It was the answer to the question of whether the snow monsters should be fought. From his perspective, he had ruled out the option for the sake of the competition. In this life, they had practiced this map for the sole reason of becoming more familiar with it, so he never considered the option of fighting the snow monsters.


    However, since they were now engaged, this had its advantages and disadvantages.


    If you fought the snow monsters, they would drop some status buffs. Consuming these buffs would increase the strength of the players for a certain period of time. These monsters obviously didn''t drop any equipment, as this was a map specifically made for competitions.


    However, the drawbacks of fighting the snow monsters were also very serious. The snow monsters had amazing combat power and were very difficult to kill.


    But what was even more problematic was that the snow monsters could summon reinforcements. Attempting to kill and take the snow monster''s buff was equivalent to becoming their enemy.


    If there were two players fighting each other on the snowfield map, and a snow monster suddenly jumped out, it would either attack the player that accidentally hit it first or the player who was closer. However, this assumed that neither player had consumed a snow monster''s status buff.


    If one of them had consumed a snow monster''s status buff, then the snow monster would target that player first.


    It seemed that Glory Capital had chosen to kill the snow monster and acquire the status buff.


    "Should we take advantage of this and charge in?" Moonlight asked as he clenched his axe. Although it wouldn''t be a problem for him to fight, this wasn''t the best decision.


    "Let''s pull back a little. There is only one snow monster and its almost dead," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    If there were three to five snow monsters fighting Glory Capital, he wouldn''t have hesitated to lead the charge. He would have been more than happy to take a fight where they had five players and three snow monsters against Glory Capital, even if they did have the status buff.


    However, his current tactical intention was clear, and that was to avoid taking an unfavourable fight.


    Glory Capital obviously saw the Ruling Sword players as well. The Snowfield gave them a long view, but the snow monster they were fighting wasn''t dead yet and there was quite a distance between them, so they didn''t bother to pursue.


    "It seems like we have become the prey," Fat Monkey commented.


    Fat Monkey''s style was always to attack. Even when he was fighting Sorrowless, he was always looking for ways to take initiative in a fight. Now that he was forced to fall back, it made him really uncomfortable.


    "Relax!" Lu Li urged, "You won''t have to avoid them for too long. They already have three status buffs on them, so the snow monsters will definitely be more interested in them. If necessary, I will lure some snow monsters into them. But right now, they are still lurking around, so there need to be a few more fights before they will mobilise."


    "So what''s the plan?" Moonlight asked.


    "You guys just stay safe. You have to leave this to me, but don''t move too far away. Otherwise, things might go wrong," Lu Li said.


    His plan was simple. After ensuring that there was enough distance between them and Glory Capital, he began to step onto the snowy hills.


    In general, the map had two kinds of terrain ¨C flat or sloping. Sloped terrain was very important as it was likely to contain snow pits and triggers for landslides. Hence, it was very dangerous. Here, the slope was deep enough that he could hide himself in the snow.


    If Lu Li squatted into the snow for an ambush, he would form a small snowy hill.


    Of course, most of the small snowy hills around were just made up of snow.


    There generally weren''t any snow monsters hidden in these snowy hills, but this was still a possibility. Lu Li could also step through the snow and stun the snow monsters.


    When the snow monsters were under the snowy hills, they had a very small aggro range. Even if you walked past the snowy hill, there was a very small probability that it would prompt the snow monster into jumping out and attacking. However, once the snow monster had come out of the snowy hill, they would run towards anything they saw or any movement they detected.


    In the world of snow monsters, anything other than a snow monster was an enemy and was attacked.


    When he felt some movement underfoot, Lu Li knew that he had stepped on one. He continued running without turning back. When the snow monster climbed out and scratched its head, it saw Lu Li and immediately roared before giving chase.


    The snow monsters were were only about 1.5m tall and looked like white gorillas. Their lower limbs were short and powerful while their upper limbs were very long.


    Perhaps it was because their lower limbs were too short, but even if they jumped forwards, they actually ran very slowly. Lu Li ran farther away and eventually left its aggro range. The snow monster was then left squatting on the spot. It would return to sleep under the snow after half an hour.


    After waking the first one, Lu Li then woke another, and another.


    "Lu Li, they''re coming. They will probably catch up to us soon; come back quickly!" Moonlight shouted into the chat. There were some maps that allowed chat and some that didn''t. This was one that allowed for it. It was only the previous tropical rainforest map where their coordinates were constantly being updated that was particularly harsh.


    "You guys have to stall them; I''ll be back soon," Lu Li said as he paused and began to turn around.


    In fact, he had been circling around his team in preparation for this moment. Since Glory Capital had already seen them, their most urgent task was to find their opponents.


    After all, they had three snow monster buffs and Ruling Sword had none.


    This advantage was enough to determine the direction of the match. After all, the overall strength of the five players in Glory Capital was not worse than Ruling Sword. If they were feeling confident, they might even be stronger.


    Without Lu Li there, Moonlight took control over the situation. He led March Rain, Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat urgently. Everyone moved at inconsistent speeds, so there was a bit of gap between them.


    If Lu Li wasn''t back in time, Ruling Sword would eventually be overwhelmed.


    It was a five on four, and three of the Glory Capital players had the snow monster buff.


    In the land of white snow, they had a bright, eye-catching ring around their feet that would be difficult to ignore.


    Moonlight wasn''t worried that their opponents would defeat them before Lu Li returned. After all, Lu Li wasn''t far away.


    Sure enough, when the distance between the two sides closed and the battle erupted, Lu Li''s shadow appeared in the distance. He was a little later than Moonlight had thought. Moonlight had initially thought that Lu Li was going to arrive before the battle broke out.


    However, when he finally saw him, he started to admire the sinister plan that Lu Li had carried out.

 1288 An Upse

    "Lu Li hasn''t arrived yet! Focus fire March Rain," Sorrowless called out.


    This was Glory Capital''s strategy, and it couldn''t be faulted as incorrect. He also saw Lu Li appear in the distance, but he was still a long way from the fight. It would probably take more than 10 seconds before he would arrive.


    It wasn''t impossible for them to kill March Rain in these 10 seconds.


    Even if they couldn''t do it, as long as they disabled her, there was not much Lu Li could do. A single Thief couldn''t do much to stop March Rain from being killed.


    As such, the players from Glory Capital didn''t pay much attention to Lu Li.


    Moonlight had noticed something that Glory Capital didn''t ¨C the swam of snow monsters behind Lu Li.


    Some said that the place where someone was born would determine the way they would act.


    For example, if a billionaire was born in a very poor family and would often stare at the scallion pancake stores with his mouth watering, even after he had become rich, he would still remember the scallion pancake and occasionally buy it for himself.


    Lu Li had once been somewhat of a gangster struggling to survive. His origins influenced the way he acted. In the eyes of a moral person, Lu Li might be considered unscrupulous.


    He had no problems attracting a group of snow monsters and didn''t consider whether this tactic would disappoint the members of the audience. However, Sorrowless seemed to be completely ignoring this threat. He had his back turned to Lu Li and was asking to be attacked.


    March Rain had all sorts of skills to protect herself, and she had no chance to save any of them.


    Moonlight also cast Intervene on her at the right time to help her tank some of the damage. Moonlight and the others choose not to deliberately focus fire anyone. If they wanted to do so, they would have to find a particularly vulnerable player from the other team, but right now, it wasn''t a good idea.


    Moonlight cast Whirlwind, its purpose was not to kill anyone, but to disrupt the opponent''s attacking rhythm so that they couldn''t focus fire March Rain.


    The others were doing similar things with their skills.


    This was because Lu Li had only given two orders ¨C protect March Rain and stall their opponents.


    These two orders were not at odds with one another. As long as they protected March Rain, they would be stalling Glory Capital. Once Glory Capital''s players killed March Rain, they would likely retreat and regroup, especially since they had more players.


    The first players to discover the presence of the snow monsters was White Westhill.


    His ID was White Westhill, but he also looked like the way he was described by his ID. In fact, his face must have turned even whiter when he saw what had happened.


    "Quickly, retreat!"


    "Retreat? Why?"


    When Sorrowless saw the March Rain was almost dead, he didn''t understand why White Westhill, who was usually very reliable, was proposing a retreat.


    "Look!"


    White Westhill had not time to explain and just pointed. Sorrowless saw a crowd of snow monsters behind Lu Li. There was at least a dozen of them, which was why Lu Li had arrived later than expected. It was because he wanted to stay in aggro range, and if he ran too quickly, the monsters would stop chasing him.


    "Dammit!" Sorrowless couldn''t help but curse before commanding a retreat.


    At this time, they wouldn''t be let go so easily. Moonlight, Fat Monkey and the others were all using their crowd-control skills to stall them. Even March Rain wasn''t healing herself, but strove to crowd-control the Glory Capital players, especially the ones with the snow monster buff.


    When Lu Li drew closer, the snow monsters began to move into action.


    They quickly discovered the three players with the scarlet halo around their feet and naturally abandoned Lu Li. Moonlight and the other players were ignored as the three players with the buff were the only targets in their eyes. Three of their brethren had been killed.


    The three Glory Capital players that had the status buff were Sorrowless, Blood Dagger and Demigod Asura.


    Sorrowless'' snow monster buff increased critical damage and reduced ice magic channelling time by 20%. Sorrowless hadn''t expected to receive such a good buff from the first snow monster that died, and he even felt like the game was over when it happened.


    Blood Dagger''s snow monster buff gave him speed and he could confidently say that he could move faster than any other Thief.


    However, even if he was fast, there wasn''t much he could do. He couldn''t really intercept Lu Li, as he would then have to sacrifice himself and pull away the monsters from the others.


    The only blame that could be attributed to him was for focusing too much on March Rain and losing his awareness.


    Demigod Asura''s buff was increased damage. His base damage was increased by a third, but it was useless here as he still couldn''t quickly kill the snow monster and had no way of escaping quickly.


    Lu Li personally ran up to intercept Sorrowless.


    The opponents who most expected to face each other did not meet in the individual rounds, but on the map of the team competition.


    Lu Li didn''t hold back nor did he engage in any formalities before engaging with Moonlight.


    The rest of the players were intercepting Demigod Asura. As for Blood Dagger and the other two who didn''t have the snow monster buff, they were completely ignored. However, they couldn''t just leave either. If they left, Sorrowless and Demigod Asura would be dead. If there were only three of them left, then what was the point of staying alive?


    This was exactly the effect that Lu Li wanted!


    Lu Li was very determined, but he was still somewhat worried that their opponents would escape.


    In that case, the dozens of snow monsters would kill Sorrowless and Demigod Asura, but after killing them, they would turn to the ruling Sword players. Once the three players ran away, Glory Capital actually still had a chance.


    If Lu Li could think of this, then Sorrowless would be able to think of it as well.


    Unfortunately, his head was in a mess right now and he wasn''t thinking about anything. He thought that he would have the upper hand, but he was completely defeated by the dozen snow monsters led in by Lu Li.


    How did this happen?


    Demigod Asura was caught by Moonlight''s crowd control, surrounded by a few snow monsters and simply died.


    After the snow monsters killed Demigod Asura, they marched up to Sorrowless and White Westhill, who had attracted the aggro because he tried to heal Demigod Asura. As for Blood Dagger, he tried his best to pull the snow monsters away, but until the other players with the snow monster buffs had been killed, they simply ignored him.


    This situation was lost! They had been completely defeated!


    Sorrowless'' skills were very potent, especially after the snow monster buff, so it was easier to deal damage to Lu Li. However, the snow monster was getting closer and closer to him¡­


    Sorrowless died and White Westhill also died. Blood Dagger rushed away, but Shadowfang was killed by Kitty Likes Meat and Fat Monkey.


    Now, Glory Capital was only left with Blood Dagger and the new player that was their substitute.


    Blood Dagger felt like he still had a chance. It wasn''t going to be easy for Ruling Sword to deal with all the snow monsters. The other Hunter that was with him was quite slippery as well. Perhaps they could get in there and cause some chaos. He had no intentions of winning the competition, but he felt like he could at least even the scores.


    The closer they got now, the easier it would be for Glory Capital to make a comeback in the next game.


    "Kill whichever has the least amount of HP."


    After dealing with their opponents, Lu Li began to kill the snow monsters. It was difficult to kill many of them at once, but focusing one at time was much easier. After all, they weren''t Bosses.


    When the snow monster died, it dropped the buff.


    This buff increased mana regeneration. If you had it, you would never run out of mana and you would be able to freely cast your skills. This was especially good for healers.


    However, Lu Li didn''t give this buff to March Rain.


    Now that the match had gotten to this point, there was no longer any pressure on March Rain


    to heal. Lu Li had killed the snow monster that dropped this buff, and he needed to continue managing the monsters'' aggro. So naturally, the most appropriate person to do that was himself.


    They couldn''t just casually fight these dozens of snow monsters because more and more would arrive as they summoned their companions.


    They couldn''t just run away either, as not everyone was fast enough to escape.


    Lu Li took the snow monster buff and singlehandedly led all the monsters away. This meant that the remaining four Ruling Sword players didn''t have to worry about them and could just deal with the two remaining Glory Capital players.


    Blood Dagger, who wasn''t very far away, was dumbfounded. This wasn''t how he thought it was going to play out.


    How could the two of them fight those four players? Even if they targeted the healer, he and Ethereal Wind wouldn''t be able to kill her fast enough.


    If that was the case, then this was it.


    Blood Dagger quickly ran in front of Lu Li and tried to crowd-control him. Lu Li also had the snow monster status, so they wouldn''t give up Lu Li to attack Blood Dagger.


    However, Lu Li was obviously prepared for this, and immediately began to fight back. Both Thieves tried to kill each other and didn''t go run away or go into Stealth. They were trying to make their opponents as immobile as possible so that they would be attacked by the snow monsters.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    The snow monsters chasing them had finally caught up and both of them were targets.


    The end result was a miserable fight as Lu Li and Blood Dagger were both beaten to death by the snow monsters. There was no way you would last very long when standing among so many monsters, but what made it worse was that there was someone else who would pull you back in if you tried to escape.


    At this point, the match was almost over. There were six players in Glory Capital''s team but only one Hunter, Ethereal Wind, remained. Ruling Sword still had five strong players ¨C Moonlight, March Rain, Mu Qiu, Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat. It was an unwinnable fight and although Ethereal Wind did his best, he was defeated as well.


    Glory Capital had the advantage at first with it being five to four.


    It had to be conceded that they were indeed very powerful when it came to raw talent. Master Huang said that the previous match would be his last and he was replaced by Ethereal Wind in this one. In fact, Glory Capital still had plenty of players that could take his place.


    There were some star players that might not even be as skilled as he was. After all, everyone had to take care of their own in the clubs and you couldn''t have too many star players in a club.


    The standard for Glory Capital was much stricter than the other clubs.


    Knowing this fact made the people speechless at the result of this team round; it was a score of 6:1. This was also a team round at home and the League had not seen a result like this in years. As the game progressed in the second round, both commentators were dumbfounded.


    There were some in the audience that were just sitting in complete silence and others that were clamouring, unable to accept this result.


    Even Ruling Sword''s fans didn''t think that this was normal.


    Some people even began to question the rationality of the map. The inappropriate interruption of the snow monsters had ended in this result of the competition. In fact, Glory Capital hadn''t done anything wrong and Ruling Sword hadn''t done anything amazing to win in such a manner.

 1289 The Outcome Has Already Been Decided

    No matter how the voices clamoured, the System still presented the results of the match.


    6:10!


    Glory Capital previously had a lead with 5:4, but the score of the second round was 1:6, leaving them with a final score of 6:10.


    With this score, they were basically doomed. No matter how many Glory Capital players were playing, no matter how many pieces of Epic equipment they had and no matter how hard they worked, it would be difficult to come back from this.


    You could endlessly analyse the possible scores of the next match, but it wouldn''t mean anything.


    You wouldn''t be able to make a comeback within the individual rounds, as the difference between these two clubs wasn''t that large. Even if Glory Capital played superbly, they would likely only end with a score of 5:3. Moreover, the next team round would be a map chosen by Ruling Sword. Glory Capital was unlikely to be able to achieve a score like 6:3 unless if they attempted a strategy that was as dumbfounding as the one they saw today.


    Lu Li was actually still dumbfounded too.


    The way that the day had played out was completely beyond what he had imagined.


    Perhaps Drizzle Court was not a big threat to Glory Capital, and they were confident enough to defeat them. The videos that Lu Li used to watch didn''t feature Glory Capital taking the snow monster buffs.


    However, Ruling Sword was clearly different. Glory Capital obviously felt a lot of pressure when facing this new generation club.


    Speaking of which, Ruling Sword wasn''t actually that strong. If you didn''t have any money, then you wouldn''t have any players and therefore no development potential. It was really just the one team that was good at doing Instance Dungeons and killing veteran players.


    Because they had acquired the First Clear so many times, and it was always announced in the World Channel, the average player knew the name Ruling Sword. Over time, it was natural for these players to compare Ruling Sword to these older clubs, and to think that Ruling Sword had surpassed them.


    As for the old clubs, they were just in tears. From the initial Shadow Cup to the Magic Cup and finally the professional league, they had no idea where Ruling Sword had come from.


    Ruling Sword''s line up was just wonderful.


    The earliest sign of this was iron triangle of Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain. Sakura Memories was later added with her Bloodlust. They had no regard for their opponent''s line up or tactics. They would just cast Bloodthirst and frantically deal their damage. It was quite a useful strategy at the time when no one else had a Shaman with this skill.


    Later, when the players acquired more damage reduction skills, the Bloodlust effect was not as game-changing. However, Ruling Sword found Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat.


    If Lu Li, Moonlight, and March Rain were already stable star players, then Kitty Likes Meat and Fat Monkey were their talented newcomers. They had no idea how Ruling Sword found these individuals. When the other clubs trained a batch of new players, it would be considered good fortune if one of them demonstrated potential. However, Ruling Sword seemed to just be constantly running into good players.


    This was why Glory Capital was fighting at 120%, because they were afraid of what Ruling Sword could do.


    This was also the reason why Sorrowless had chosen to take the buff. He knew that he just needed a few of the buffs to beat Ruling Sword into submission.


    If his plan had worked and Lu Li didn''t attract a group of these snow monsters, then an all-out fight between the two sides would definitely result in a clear victory. Unfortunately, they couldn''t keep up with the changes to the circumstances. The swarming snow monsters made Glory Capital''s contingencies irrelevant.


    Sorrowless: My technique is still the best.


    Lu Li: But you''ve lost.


    Sorrowless: We are all equipped with Epic equipment, and I even have a Legendary item.


    Lu Li: But you''ve lost.


    Sorrowless: We''ve developed a variety of tactics¡­


    Lu Li: Buy you still lost.


    Regardless of what Sorrowless said, he couldn''t respond to this. In any case, Glory Capital had lost the team round on their home turf.


    Even though the results of the competition had been released, the players still had to come out of the arena to see the people. The virtual audience wasn''t counted, but there were still tens of thousands of viewers gathered in the stadium to watch them.


    As the winners, the Ruling Sword players walked out first and the audience''s cheers reached a climax.


    No matter how they had won, they had won nonetheless. Lu Li wasn''t crying about it and neither were the Ruling Sword fans. In fact, there was a loud cheer as the whole venue erupted.


    As this was a home game, there were obviously more Glory Capital fans. It was likely that more than 80% of audience were Glory Capital fans.


    According to social conventions, even if your team lost, you still had to be graceful and applaud. Unfortunately, many of these players didn''t want to clap, which left the atmosphere somewhat awkward. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    Glory Capital players had now come out too.


    These players hadn''t experienced what it was like to lose very often, as they had not lost for the last several years.


    Since they were the losers, it would have been better for them to leave earlier, but this would make the people think that they were unsportsmanlike. They had to stay for a while and endure the cheers for the winners.


    Sorrowless had actually raised his head and was clapping too.


    His team members hesitated for a second before following the applause. The applauding sound seemed to have a magical power as it filled the entire room.


    In the spirit of having some kind of friendship beyond the match, the two teams also had to say something.


    "Congratulations ¨C that was quite a beautiful win," Sorrowless said, as he and Lu Li shook hands. His expression was sincere and he put forward a demeanour deserving of a major club leader.


    "Oh, it was just a bit of luck," Lu Li dismissed as he smiled bitterly.


    Luck? It was perhaps a bit of luck, but Sorrowless took that as Lu Li taunting him, although it wasn''t his intention to do so.


    Master Huang also saw that Sorrowless'' face was a bit pale, so he came over and said a few words for Glory Capital before taking them off stage. This stage was for the winners, and no matter how graceful they were, they couldn''t but feel sorrow while standing there.


    However, they weren''t finished yet. There was still a press conference this evening and both sides had to attend.


    The result of the game was so abrupt that all the media outlets had arrived and the interview would be quite intense. They had all expected to see another round, but who would have thought it would just become a formality?


    The game company hadn''t issued a statement, but following the practice of previous years, they wouldn''t say anything unless there was the possibility of cheating. In other words, the champions of this competition were basically Ruling Sword.


    At the press conference in the evening, Lu Li didn''t see Sorrowless when he arrived.


    After asking the staff, he learned that the press conference would be led by Master Huang. Sorrowless wasn''t able to attend the press conference because he had to deal with some guild matters.


    Lu Li was a little anxious. It wasn''t that he was worried about Sorrowless. He felt that if he hit Sorrowless too hard, they would start using Ruling Sword as their primary target. Ruling Sword wouldn''t fare too well if he did.


    At this time, Glory Capital was a huge organisation. They had the focus of the entire gaming industry and their influence even extended into other industries.


    Sorrowless'' energy wasn''t even completely focused in Dawn, let alone Ruling Sword. At best, Sorrowless was the focus of Ruling Sword, but now that something like this had happened, Glory Capital obviously didn''t want to lose and would do anything to get back into the game.


    The others didn''t think that far head, and even the old veteran Cat Dad was smiling.


    As soon as they entered their respective positions, the press conference began. There were some reporters from various media outlets that had just rushed in from the airport.


    "Hello Master Huang, I am sorry that Glory Capital lost the game. Can you talk a bit about your opinions on this game?"


    This opening question was usually first asked to the home club. The question would be the same regardless of whether they won, so it was nothing unexpected.


    "We trained very hard and played very well, so the outcome is regrettable," Master Huang answered diplomatically. He was very experienced when it came to matters like these.


    "Excuse me, but before this game, did you think that the match would play out like this?" someone couldn''t help but ask. This was just something reporters had to do.


    "Nope. To be honest, we hadn''t even considered the possibility of losing this game," Master Huang said calmly.


    "So, are you saying that Glory Capital is not convinced on the outcome of this competition?"


    No one could understand why, but this reporter''s questions were becoming less friendly. Perhaps he had placed a lot of money on Glory Capital to win.


    Every match had a bet associated with it, especially the finals. Although gambling was illegal, that didn''t stop it from being ever pervasive.


    However, professional players were definitely not allowed to gamble.


    The first time you were caught doing so would result in a one-year suspension. The second time would result in disqualification unless you paid a large sum of money. If you were caught for a third time, then there was no way to get back into the arena, no matter what.


    Master Huang''s expression didn''t change when he was met with such a question and calmly responded, "This is just what happened in the match. There is nothing to be convinced about."


    They all immediately understand what he was trying say. If Glory Capital had said that they were not convinced of the results, then all the major media outlets tomorrow would describe them as sore losers.


    "Everyone still thinks that Glory Capital isn''t the weaker party. What do you think?"


    This media outlet was obviously on Glory Capital''s side.


    They were such a deeply-rooted club, so they obviously had some friends in the media. It could be said that at least half of the hundreds of people here had received something from Glory Capital.


    "Although this is a bit of a slap in the face, if we tried again, I don''t think we would lose so badly. From a pure strength perspective, I don''t think Glory Capital has changed. We definitely have an advantage in the individual rounds, but in the team rounds we lost because of a lack of understanding of the map. Strength had nothing to do with it," Master Huang spoke firmly.


    "But in these Individual Rounds, you lost to someone from a younger generation. Isn''t that a gap in strength?"


    This reporter seemed unsatisfied with the answer.


    "I don''t feel any embarrassment from losing to someone from a younger generation. I am very happy that he had defeated me, as it made a perfect end to the final game of my career. I hope that the professional circle will continue to gain more newcomers to defeat their predecessors as it shows the that the game is heading in a good direction," Master Huang answered smoothly.


    "What do you think about Lu LI?" a reporter asked.


    "I think he is an outstanding player," Master Huang said without hesitation.


    "How does he compare to Sorrowless?" The reporter wasn''t going to be satisfied with that answer as everyone knew Lu Li was an outstanding player.


    "The two have different styles, so there is no need to compare them. They are both great players."


    Master Huang was the same as he was with his two axes when Lu Li had fought him in the arena. No matter what they asked, he would perfectly block them.


    "What about Fat Monkey?"


    Fat Monkey had been called one of the best players by Four Seas Dragon after his challenge against Sorrowless, despite the fact he lost.


    "A promising newcomer who just lacks some systematic training," Master Huang said after a pause, then added, "If he is willing to join Glory Capital and with the personal guidance of Sorrowless, he would definitely have the opportunity of standing at the peak of his profession. To be the Mage God might be something that could definitely be achieved in his life."


    The people that were present almost choked when they heard this. Master Huang was attempting to poach Ruling Sword''s player right in front of their faces.


    Lu Li looked at the old guy with sorrowful resentment, and actually want to fight him in real life. However, Fat Monkey laughed and didn''t say anything. He wasn''t happy because he had been given a chance to go to Glory Capital; he was happy because a highly respected senior like Master Huang had given him such high regard.


    There were probably no more than ten newcomers who had been personally invited like this by the youth training camp instructor.

 1290 The Same Map

    "So, Master Huang, can you comment on Ruling Sword''s team?" the reporter asked, continuing to add salt to the wound.


    But in some ways, this was unavoidable. They had lost the match, so anything they said could be taken the wrong way.


    "I will simply give you my personal opinion," Master Huang emphasized this point before continuing, "This is a new team that is very unlike a new team. They are a group that has never been defeated. No matter how much you despise them, know that they will eventually taste the bitter fruit of failure."


    In fact, it was only after Lu Li carefully thought about it that he realized the sinister intention behind Master Huang''s praise.


    Because Ruling Sword was such a strong player now, they had many enemies and some of them might treat them ruthlessly. They would likely bring Ruling Sword a lot of trouble.


    However, even though he knew what Master Huang was doing, Lu Li couldn''t do anything about it.


    There were a few remaining questions directed at Glory Capital, but Master Huang was able to answer most of them quite naturally.


    "In the next round, we will go all out, no matter the outcome. We won''t just admit defeat," Demigod Asura declared.


    As the Warlock, he was the first to be killed by the snow monsters in that game. He didn''t mention how he had felt at the time, but he had planned to target Lu Li with this status buff.


    "There are still many opportunities in the future and I''m glad that we got to fight such a strong opponent. With opponents like these, Glory Capital will become even stronger in future," White Westhill added, with thorns in his words.


    Ethereal Wind was a newcomer who had just graduated from the training camp. He simply expressed his admiration for Lu Li.


    "In this game, I made a major mistake. I will be reflecting on that and look forward to meeting Ruling Sword in future competitions."


    Blood Dagger didn''t hide his gloomy expression; he blamed himself for this match. He thought that if he had seen Lu Li and the snow monsters in time, he could have intercepted them with his speed. Even if there were four players fighting Ruling Sword''s five, he was confident that they could have won. or at least not suffered such a crushing defeat.


    In fact, Sorrowless hadn''t even seen the threat in time, so what responsibility did Blood Dagger really have?


    Then again, would Lu Li have allowed Blood Dagger to take the snow monsters he had brought?


    After that, there were more questions about the details of the game. Fortunately, Glory Capital had done this before, so they could cover up their resentment. Master Huang was also there, so no one dared to scream in front of their instructor.


    After the questions had been answered, Glory Capital could have stayed to listen. However, this seemed inappropriate, so no one said anything about their departure.


    After Glory Capital''s departure, the focus was on the winners of the match, Ruling Sword. The atmosphere of the press conference was completely changed. Even the reporters seemed to be relieved as the dark clouds cleared and there was a sense of clarity.


    The opening was still a congratulations for their victory before the conventional question of how they thought the game went.


    "This match was really quite lucky," Lu Li had to admit. Although he didn''t have to lay out the tactics he employed, he had really just led the snow monsters that eventually overpowered Sorrowless¡­


    Moreover, acknowledging that it was luck didn''t come without its benefits.


    If they had really defeated Glory Capital by pure strength, then Ruling Sword would likely be seen as stronger than Glory Capital.


    What was Glory Capital''s current position? They were not just a giant in the gaming industry, but really a giant in the global scheme of things. No matter who was up and coming, they would see Glory Capital as the organisation to beat.


    However, Glory Capital family of alliances was extensive and there were many people that relied on them. Sometimes, these so-called alliances would fall.


    This was something that Ruling Sword couldn''t afford to deal with right now.


    "What do you think of the next round?" the reporter asked.


    "We will go all out."


    Lu Li''s answer was simple and wasn''t very impactful. This guy who had been completely unknown six month ago now seemed invulnerable.


    The reporters asked a few more questions, but they stopped paying attention to Lu Li and turned to interview the other players.


    "Fat Monkey, what were you thinking of when you challenged Sorrowless?" In terms of interviewing value, there was no one that could match Fat Monkey. As such, after Lu Li answered some of the routine questions, the focus shifted to Fat Monkey.


    "I wasn''t thinking at the time¡­" Fat Monkey said regretfully.


    According to normal procedure, Fat Monkey should have said that he had always admired the industry''s predecessors. Although he didn''t have all the knowledge yet, he was still brave enough to issue the challenge. He should then thank the predecessors for their advice.


    The reporters all laughed loudly as none of them expected Fat Monkey to say that he wasn''t thinking at all.


    "We will skip this question first then. If you looked back at how you did, how do you feel about it?" the reporter continued. Since Fat Monkey was so entertaining, they didn''t mind asking him a few more questions.


    "I played very well, but next time I face something like that, I will be even better," Fat Monkey said without flinching.


    The reporters laughed again.


    In fact, there wasn''t really a problem with Fat Monkey''s response. It was just that it was very unlikely that such an occasion would arise again. In fact, when he was fighting Sorrowless, he was already familiar with Sorrowless'' style of play, but it was only in the second half that Fat Monkey started his counterattacks. He really would do better the next time they fought.


    "So what else do you think of that round?"


    There was nothing that could be asked of Lu Li. The reporter saw that Fat Monkey was being very straightforward, so they directed all their questions to him.


    "Our Boss is really the best. I just can''t believe we won," Fat Monkey said without thinking.


    "If it was just a normal fight, do you think Ruling Sword could defeat Glory Capital?" the reporter asked.


    "It would have just been a dream I think."


    Fat Monkey had forgotten everything Lu Li told them before the interview and was just chatting with the reporters.


    It was also expected that the reporter would guide the topic to him challenging Sorrowless.


    The other players were eventually interviewed. For example, after Moonlight had come back from his break, he had suddenly joined the championship team. These were the kinds of efforts that journalists wanted to write about.


    The same was true of several other newcomers. This was the first time they had participated in the league and they were now in the championship. There were many professional players that would have envied them.


    Although Mu Qiu didn''t play very much, and he didn''t get to participate in the team round, he also contributed to their campaign. He calmly accepted the result and didn''t feel any anxiety about it. He was a pragmatic person and had a good attitude. He knew his situation and what his club needed from him in his position.


    Even though he was a substitute player, he was still a part of the championship team.


    He had joined as a second or third-rate player who had no chance to see the limelight. Now, he was almost able to appear in the arena in every match, so he was quite satisfied. At this time, he still didn''t know how he would go in the future, so he remained humble in front of the audience.


    When the interview was about to end, Lu Li came forward to make a statement.


    The reporters were keenly aware that this probably meant he was about to break some major news. They all held their breath and wondered what Lu Li was going to say.


    Was he going to announce his relationship with Water Fairy? Today seemed like a good occasion for this. Water Fairy wasn''t here to stop him and everyone thought they understood Lu Li. Even if they were dating, Lu Li wouldn''t have been obvious about it.


    Or perhaps Ruling Sword had found another expert to join the guild?


    They hadn''t heard of any expert players changing positions recently. Even if they wanted to announce a newcomer joining them, they would want an audience.


    It would probably be something related to the game.


    So what was it?


    Lu Li paused before slowly saying, "We, Ruling Sword, are announcing that in the match coming in five days, the map will be¡­"


    Could it be?


    Reporters'' eyes widened as they started breathing heavily. Someone even dropped their notepad.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "We will use the snowfield again!"


    Could it be that they had heard it wrong? The reporters all looked at each other and saw the same question in their peers'' eyes. Since they all had the same reaction, that meant Ruling Sword had really just made this formal announcement.


    This was a press conference, so anything that you said couldn''t be taken back.


    The reporters saw that the other Ruling Sword players were looking quite normally at Lu Li as he spoke. This meant that it wasn''t a decision that Lu Li had made on his own. When a reporter asked him to elaborate, Lu Li declined to comment and left with the other players.


    Ruling Sword stayed at the Imperial Capital for one more night and the service they received that night wasn''t as good.


    It wasn''t that Glory Capital hadn''t paid for the best. This was the best hotel and the best catering service. It was just that no one there wanted to hang around Ruling Sword, so the plans that had been made were cancelled.


    However, just because Glory Capital hadn''t arranged anything didn''t meant that Ruling Sword couldn''t do it themselves.


    They spent that night celebrating and even Lu Li, who was normally very reserved, let himself go. However, since there were so many people there, he didn''t think it would be a problem.


    "In the ten years of competitive gaming, they are the strongest dark horse!"


    This was the title that the media used the next day; it was quite normal by their standards.


    There were also other gimmicky titles like ''Six to one finish against Glory Capital. Ruling Sword rising to the peak'', ''100 million in funds sunk overnight'', ''The King has fallen ¨C Glory Capital is no longer the best''. In fact, all the content was the same as it was just a report on the match.


    This news not only hit the headlines of major e-sports media but even the mainstream media. It seemed that China was rather uneventful in those two days, so they had focused in on this video game competition.


    Because the gap was so large, this season''s league came to an end, the voting activities began and the trophies were directly awarded to the winners.


    Lu Li''s trophy was handed over to his sister. The little girl just couldn''t sit still and wanted something to do.


    The best newcomer was thought to be Ruling Sword''s Fat Monkey, but eventually turned out to be Kitty Likes Meat because Fat Monkey had already received this title in the Magic Cup. Kitty Likes Meat wasn''t worse than Fat Monkey; she just didn''t perform as well this match.


    However, following the trend of this championship team, there were no other rivals for this title outside of Ruling Sword.


    There were also other titles like, most beautiful, most handsome, best commander, best performing, most unexpected, most unlucky¡­


    As long as the title could be imagined, it would be voted on. The Professional League was also following this chaos and were awarded small trophies to the winners of these titles.


    It was worth mentioning that Master Huang had received the most accomplished award.


    This kind of award was only given to old players announcing their retirement. It seemed like Master Huang really was retiring this time, as Glory Capital''s list of players no longer had his name from that day onwards.


    In fact, whether he retired now or not wouldn''t make a difference. Even if Lu Li hadn''t made him impulsively jump into the arena, he would have officially announced his retirement in six months. He would later go on to the become the chief training instructor and focus his energy on training newcomers.


    After returning to Jiangnan City, Lu Li and the others were naturally given a very warm welcome.

 1291 Admitting Defea

    Ruling Sword had achieved a great victory!


    This caught many Ruling Sword members who were trying to comfort their team off guard.


    They didn''t have anything to worry about anymore. After the night of confusion had ended, hundreds of people swarmed to the airport the next day. The excitement could be felt in the air and the crowd seemed a little crazed.


    It didn''t matter what you were chasing, as money would come with it if you were successful. With another championship title, the team members'' positions were now even more valuable. Although Ruling Sword had a tough time, this would likely usher in a period of rapid development. The elite group was sure to have a promising future.


    "Do you see this? Are you still going to leave?" a member of the elite group with a ponytail asked as he hit the elbow of a friend standing next to him. His friend had recently received an invitation to join another guild where he thought he would be treated better.


    "Pft, only an idiot would leave this guild," the friend rubbed his elbow and responded angrily. "I''ll fight anyone that tries to make me leave."


    "Well, I actually had a moment of hesitation, but now I don''t have any reason left to. Life is meaningless if you don''t have any dreams, and Ruling Sword will be a witness to my success," the man with the ponytail said. He was much more rational.


    "I also don''t know where this club will go, but when I''m old and the club is still around, I will be the gatekeeper of this guild. This is something I have always wanted to do since I was a child¡­"


    "Didn''t you previously say that your childhood dream was to sleep with Zi Xia?"


    "Get out of here!"


    The airport had the atmosphere of a market as everyone was very excited.


    The word ''fans'' had been borrowed from the English language, but the concept of chasing celebrities had existed in China for a very long time. In fact, fans in the ancient times were also crazy. In the peak period of poetry in the Tang Dynasty, there were countless fans who would do crazy things to demonstrate their loyalty. The most insane ones would carve their favourite poems onto their bodies to express their worship.


    Since then, there had been fans of poetry, painting, songs, celebrities and professional gamers. However, gaming only became truly influential at the beginning of the VR era.


    Ruling Sword hadn''t been around for a very long time, but they had already gathered many fanatical followers. Although many were only fans of a specific player, they had no choice but to join and form a support group Ruling Sword.


    The impressiveness of the Championship title had caused Ruling Sword to overshadow Lu Li for the first time. The guild had even overshadowed March Rain, Moonlight, Fat Monkey and the others.


    The banners that were being carried today was also quite interesting. There were the classic ones with phrases like ''Long Live the Champions''. Just from a single look alone, one could tell that these had been hurriedly made.


    The other people at the airport had no idea what was happening.


    They all assumed that some major celebrity had arrived in Jiangnan City, but they were even more confused upon looking at the crowd of people, reading the banners and hearing their shouting.


    Lu Li''s name wasn''t that unusual, but who was Fat Monkey? Were they all cheering for a monkey? A fat monkey? Some of these people had brought their children with them, and these children all knew about the game, even if they didn''t play it. Their parents soon found out from them what Ruling Sword was all about.


    They were just playing a game; there was no cause for public celebration.


    The parents then found out that they had won a major tournament. Some of them reminisced about the time they had won a football competition while representing a city, but even they didn''t celebrate victory in such an exaggerated fashion.


    When a group of lion dancers appeared outside the airport under the city''s banner, these people were surprised to see how much Ruling Sword was valued.


    Generally speaking, if something important happened, there would be a brief city council member appearance. After this, the event would be left to the media reporters. Today, there was a very long line up of council members and several people that often appeared on TV were present.


    Regardless of whether they were fans or not, they had all appeared in advance. These official figures had waited for the aircraft to land¡­


    Lu Li didn''t expect so many people to be welcoming him and the lion dance was quite overwhelming. However, this was human nature and he had lived at the bottom of society long enough to know not to offend anyone. As such, he immediately made a very moving gesture towards the city council.


    In all his years, Lu Li had never seen the head of the Jiangnan City TV station in person, but now, he was here.


    "You''ve suffered to be here. Thank you."


    This man was in his thirties to forties. He was accustomed to getting up early in the morning, but not to go to the airport to wait for a group of young people after they had played their games.


    Lu Li almost recklessly blurted out an indiscreet remark, but he stopped himself just in time.


    "Everyone had worked hard for this, but there are still matches to be played. It''s too early to talk about winning or losing."


    "Don''t you know?" an acquaintance with gold glasses next to him asked. It was the secretary who often dealt with Ruling Sword. "Glory Capital already declared their loss this morning. Once the formalities are completed, you will become the champions."


    Lu Li was instantly dumbfounded by this revelation.


    The matter was actually not that complicated. Lu Li announced at the press conference that he would choose the snow map again to prove to everyone that it wasn''t chance that had determined the result of the match. However, the odds were too great and Glory Capital felt as though they couldn''t make up the difference.


    Once Ruling Sword defeated Glory Capital for the second time in the snow map, no one would be able to question their championship title.


    Instead, Glory Capital decided to maintain their morale and admit defeat. They weren''t desperately in need of a win, and at least they had left some questions unanswered. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    Glory Capital had no intention of allowing Ruling Sword to succeed either.


    This morning, when Lu Li was on the way back, their spokesperson announced that they wouldn''t be fighting in the away matches.


    How shameless!


    Lu Li felt helpless. This giant guild had completely refused his challenge, and he felt like it was quite a petty move.

 1292 Virtual Stocks

    After Ruling Sword decided the battlefield, Glory Capital conceded the Championship match!


    This was the new headline for the media.


    In any case, Ruling Sword had now become the new championship team. It had only been 6 months since their establishment. This speed was second only to Imperial Palace, who had burst onto the scene over 20 years ago.


    Imperial Palace only took three months to take the championship title. There was basically no difference between these two events, but no one really remembered them anymore. There were just a few older players that kept it in their memory, and you could read about it in some old books.


    Ruling Sword was different from Imperial Palace.


    Imperial Palace was created by a local tycoon who had spent a lot of money to gather a number of professional players at that time. They had no club foundation, no long-term planning, and no rules or regulations. They didn''t even have a guild building. They were just like a sandcastle on the beach as they disappeared overnight because of a lack of funds.


    Although Ruling Sword hadn''t been established for long, they had completed all the necessary preparations.


    Looking back, Ruling Sword wasn''t as powerful as the older clubs, but they currently had a very strong foundation and their elite group was rapidly growing. They had also formed an alliance with Drizzle Court and Peerless City, which meant they were going to keep developing. They were even in the process of establishing training camps.


    Lu Li was always reminding himself not to go down the same path as Imperial Palace.


    He looked at his elated but tired teammates and knew that there was still a long way to go.


    When they returned to headquarters, there was another celebration. After the busy night, Lu Li finally had some time to meet with the club members and seniors for a meeting.


    "So we actually won ¨C it feels like a dream. Everyone has worked hard."


    Their victory still felt surreal for Square Root 3.


    From the Star Moon Guild''s treatment of Lu Li, he now saw the narrow and short-sightedness of that group of rich, second-generation college students. If Star Moon Guild had treated Lu Li with sincerity and gave him a sense of belonging, they would likely be receiving the glory today.


    He hadn''t even needed that much convincing when he was invited to leave Star Moon Guild to join Ruling Sword.


    Square Root 3 was tired of the traditional style of that guild. He wanted to try a different way and see how it would go. Even if it failed, it would only have set him back by one or two years. He wasn''t a professional player either, so his age didn''t matter as much.


    However, he didn''t think that in such a short period of time he would be managing a champion''s guild.


    "Take it easy. Although we did win and are happy, don''t forget the large gap between us and Glory Capital," Lu Li said, bringing everyone back to reality.


    "Even if Glory Capital didn''t concede, we still would have beaten them," Fat Monkey said.


    "No, that''s where you''re wrong. If we had to fight another match, we would probably lose," Lu Li sighed as he shook his head before taking out a slip and feeding it into a machine. A string of data was read out as Lu Li explained, "This is what Mr Shen passed to me today. Now you will see what a major club truly is."


    The string of data being read out was from a purchase list. There were transactional records of materials, potions and equipment of varying levels from Gold to Epic. There was so much of everything and the rough value of all these transactions totalled at least 100 million.


    Shen Wansan had first formed a relationship with Lu Li which later became a relationship with Ruling Sword. He was Lu Li''s best business partner.


    All of Ruling Sword''s transactions basically went through Shen Wansan. After more than half a year of cooperation, everyone cherished this relationship. However, Shen Wansan was getting worried that Lu Li would become complacent from this victory, so he acquired this list from his peers.


    At they present, Dawn was a game in which all the major clubs were still in the early stages of investment.


    If you ignored the other factors, the guild with the most money and influence was still clear. There was no doubt that Lu Li had built this guild from scratch, but it was still impossible for him to compete with the other rich guilds.


    "This transaction list has been made from 120 large Mercenary Groups. The number of rare materials involved are at least three times more than we are carrying. Do you think we could defeat them in a straight fight?"


    Lu Li''s hand was empty now as the machine read out the full transaction record.


    "And with these 16 Epic equips, Glory Capital managed to empty the largest stock that the gaming circle has ever had¡­"


    "There is a fire resistance potion that is very useful for the next Instance Dungeon. Glory Capital has purchased the Alchemist that made the potions. I was shocked when I discovered this."


    "We had acquired many different items to give ourselves advantages in the competition, but we couldn''t use them all. For example, March Rain couldn''t show her trump card. The others also have something and even I do, but Glory Capital has even more¡­"


    They had thoroughly enjoyed the day with all of its celebrations, but now it was time to cool down.


    "We are still very far behind, so we need to keep working hard," Lu Li said, then paused before asking Square Root 3, "How much money do we have, and how much can we get this time?"


    "We are out of money," Square Root 3 admitted, but there wasn''t any frustration in his voice. In fact, he was actually excited as he continued, "But we will be receiving income soon because we won the championship. We should have double the amount of normal ticket income, in addition to the various bonuses. 80 million is a conservative estimate."


    Lu Li''s eyeballs almost fell out at the sound of 80 million dollars.


    "It''s just a pity that Glory Capital conceded on our home match, so we lost quite a bit of extra ticket revenue," Square Root 3 said painfully.


    Glory Capital had to pay the tournament organizers a penalty for pulling out, but Ruling Sword wouldn''t see any of that money. After all, Ruling Sword had won without fighting, which meant that they didn''t have to expend the effort.


    "We should be content with what we have. It''s better than always wishing we had more," Lu Li said optimistically.


    Before he experienced rebirth, he only had enough money for food and clothing. He didn''t have the money to improve himself so that he could earn more. The little money he could save up wasn''t enough to help his sister. It wasn''t even enough for a doctor''s consultation, so he had no choice but to


    watch as she slowly died.


    After experiencing rebirth, he was still poor and relying on the little bit of money he had. The money he received in the beginning to obtain the helmet had to be borrowed Star Moon Guild.


    But things were finally different now!


    Ruling Sword had never been so rich. They never had more than 10 million in funds, and they usually only earned a few hundred thousand dollars, which usually had to be immediately spent. With this money, they could feel a little more relaxed and not worry about asking Water Fairy for funding to stay afloat.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn''t use all 80 million dollars for the development of the guild.


    They first had to pay 8 million to the government; it was a 10% tax for organizing the competition. Fortunately, there had been tax cuts to support the national gaming industry. Otherwise, the corporate tax that they would have needed to pay would have shrunk the money even further.


    Then, some of it would need to be taken out as bonuses for the players.


    According to common practice in the professional circles, this ratio was variable and was somewhere between 10% to 50%.


    However, it wasn''t as easy as just choosing to give 10%. Only a small club that didn''t make any money or a unanimous agreement between the members would result in such an outcome. If a major club only gave 10%, the players wouldn''t be able to pay for their day to day expenses, let alone have enough to develop their strength.


    When Glory Capital won the championship, they gave 50%, which meant that each of the players had plenty of money to strengthen themselves.


    "Regarding the matter of the bonuses, I''m sorry, but you might be offended by the proportions."


    Lu Li could have let Square Root 3 make this announcement, but he decided to be the one to hurt their feelings. He couldn''t have Square Root 3 doing it all the time.


    The meeting room fell silent; no one knew how to receive this announcement.


    Although everyone in the room was willing to do whatever it took for their leader, they were also interested in making money. Everyone needed to eat and they also wanted to have the money to buy whatever they wanted without worrying about it.


    If they went back to celebrate Lunar New Year and their relatives asked about how much they made, they would be embarrassed to say that they had made nothing.


    Here, no one would have openly stood up to say that they didn''t want to get their bonuses. Even if they thought it, they wouldn''t say it.


    For example, Fat Monkey didn''t really need this money. He felt like he just stayed inside all day playing video games and eating food that the club provided. On the surface, it seemed like he didn''t have much to spend the money on, yet he didn''t say that.


    Although he didn''t necessarily want the money, he couldn''t stop others from making it.


    Moonlight also lived quite a frugal life as he still continued to buy three-dollar packs of cigarettes. It would have been perfectly reasonable for him to take the money to improve his life and help his old friends.


    Mu Qiu was playing to support his family.


    The others also wouldn''t be able to happily get by on a meagre wage; many of them planned to buy their own house in Jiangnan City.


    Lu Li saw that no one was talking so he just announced the proportions.


    "This time, the club will take 50% - 30% for development and 20% for bonuses. We will all decide together on what to do with the remainder. Everyone can contribute their opinions. I''m not a dictator so I want to know your thoughts. Let''s not hide anything that would affect our relationship in the future." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "In my opinion, this is a bit much," Cat Dad said. He was one of the most experienced there, so his opinion was important. "As I see it, everyone could take this money, but it would soon be spent. I doubt that anyone here knows how to invest?"


    If the players weren''t already offended previously, they were bound to say something now.


    "We can still give it out, but if the guild needs money, I will be looking to borrow it from you guys."


    It wasn''t that Lu Li didn''t want the money, but he didn''t want everyone''s loyalty to be hurt because of short-term interests.


    "How about we leave you to it? Square Root 3 and Wandering should stay here?" Cat Dad suggested.


    "Okay, we''ll go to the small meeting room next door. Everyone, please discuss this matter on your own," Lu Li said as he stood up and followed cat Dad out. As he exited the room, he told everyone to relax.


    Square Root 3 also felt like this had to be further discussed while Wandering didn''t even hear what Lu Li said.


    After the high-level executives left, the conference room was silent for a while.


    All that was left now were the professional players. Regardless of whether they admitted it, there was a certain gap between them and Lu Li. When it came to these matters, it was difficult to talk about it directly.


    "We all still want the money right?" Fat Monkey asked daringly.


    "The guild is currently lacking money for development, especially in this trying time," Moonlight said as he touched his chin. He had just shaved that morning and he felt a dull pain.


    Moonlight had grown up as an orphan. Apart from smoking and drinking, he had no need for money as he was used to living in poverty. He was raised in his orphanage and had never forgotten about his experience there. The old friends that brought him into this virtual world were not doing too well and he regularly sent them money¡­


    "I don''t mind. I almost have enough money to buy a house anyway."


    March Rain and Lonesome Flower were veterans with a share in the guild''s securities, so they had been receiving constant dividends.


    Although it wasn''t much, they were able to buy an apartment together in the same neighbourhood as the club.


    The others also shared their own opinions, but the consensus was that they still wanted to be paid. They had been working so hard, so why couldn''t they be compensated in return?


    Some people wanted a home while others just wanted some spending money. Money that was just being held in their accounts wouldn''t do much good for anyone. Eventually, they came up with an idea. Those who wanted to spend the money on something would take it while the rest would be left to Lu Li for guild development.


    Lu Li and the others were also discussing what to do with their new funds.


    "According to what you''ve said, 50% won''t work," Wandering said as he shook his head. "Just do the math ¨C if you subtract 8 million from 80 million in taxes, there is more than 70 million left. If you split that by half, you''re left with 36 million. Of this 36 million, you have to set aside at least 10 million for guild welfare¡­"


    "About 8 million will also need to be divided among the top shareholders," Lu Li added.


    "So the club would be left with less than 20 million. What can the club do with this? Go to a gaming caf¨¦ together?" Wandering unceremoniously mocked the outcome.


    "20 million won''t get us very far. It might not even get us to the next competition, unless we allow for external financing," Square Root 3 smiled bitterly as he rubbed his hands. They were actually able to do quite a bit with 20 million under normal development speeds, but they had just taken the championship, so why wouldn''t they try to accelerate development?


    "External financing," Lu Li sighed but still shook his head resolutely.


    Whether it was because of his upbringing or his stubbornness, he would never accept the help of those capitalists.


    "In fact, I have always wondered why you didn''t just get some virtual stocks?" Cat Dad couldn''t help but raise this matter for discussion. "I know external financing has many drawbacks, especially in the current market, but we can still release virtual stocks."


    "Virtual stocks?" Lu Li felt like the term was familiar.


    He had previously studied this topic, but unfortunately, he only partially understood it and couldn''t learn much from his studies.


    "There are many clubs that make use of virtual stocks. It is a virtual equity issued by the club for specific incentives. The class of stockowners would enjoy a payout of dividends and appreciation, but no ownership. They would have no voting rights, transfer or sale rights and their right to the stocks would lapse if they left the club¡­" Cat Dad explained.


    Lu Li was quite tempted by this solution, as it could solve his concerns while also benefiting everyone.


    "All you have to do is decide the amount of virtual stock you want to release. You can''t release too much as it would make the stock worthless. Although the stock is virtual, the money behind it is real," Cat Dad reminded.


    After discussing this method further, Lu Li decided to adopt it.


    In fact, there was no need to release too many virtual stocks. As long as the money invested by everyone had a safe appreciation, it would be better than a bank with less risk than an investment. If it worked out, it would be a good result for everyone.


    When they returned to the meeting room to propose this, they received unanimous consent.


    They had originally already decided to lend the club the money without any expectations of dividends. For someone like March Rain who had been there since the beginning, their dividends had always been a point of envy among the others.


    The payment of dividends by the club was not only to satisfy the individual''s financial interests but also to give the people a strong sense of belonging in the club.


    The harder they worked, the more money they would make.


    This way, the money that could be used to develop the club was increased to 50 million, which was significantly more. All they had to do was think about the problem from the different angle.


    Although dividends came with some cost, this was negligible compared to the 50 million.


    With this 50 million, Lu Li finally felt some confidence.


    Regardless of how Glory Capital intended to fight, Ruling Sword would be able to meet them. No matter how things went, regardless of whether it was a fluke, the champions were undisputedly Ruling Sword.

 1293 Preparation Camp

    The virtual stocks solved a problem that Lu Li had been unable to solve, while also providing the club with the funds that it desperately needed. The players were also able to have the spending money that they wanted, which meant that the meeting concluded quite happily.


    However, just because the competitions were over didn''t mean they were able to slack off. Just as Lu Li concluded the meeting, he reminded everyone to continue levelling diligently.


    "How are Cold Chill''s fire resistance potions coming along?" Lu Li asked.


    "They''re almost ready; we have enough for one attempt in Blackrock Tower," Square Root 3 reported. He had been very busy with the competition recently and almost forgot about this.


    Although the competition was important, they couldn''t slack off on clearing Instance Dungeons. Ruling Sword had only gotten this far because Lu Li had helped them with so many First Clears. Otherwise, they would have just been bullied out by Glory Capital''s superior equipment.


    "Everyone take some time to prepare. We will be going in for an Instance Dungeon run," Lu Li announced.


    The others had no reason to oppose this plan. After bidding farewell, they all went back into the game. Lu Li and some others stayed to continue the meeting, which was mainly to discuss how the club could be developed next.


    "The first thing to do now is to establish a training camp. Let''s come up with a name for it," Lu Li said.


    "Isn''t it just called a training camp? Why do you want to give it another name?" Wandering asked.


    "Most training camps don''t have a name. There is no way to distinguish between them," Lu Li sighed. "I hope that one day, players that graduate from our training camp will be respected at the mention of its name."


    "I agree that we should have a different name from the others," Cat Dad said, supporting the idea.


    Square Root 3 waited for everyone to finish speaking before waving his hand to give a suggestion.


    "How about junior''s class? We should have gotten the others to pitch in. I knew I shouldn''t have let them leave so early."


    Most people weren''t dumb, but they struggled to come up with a good name. Square Root 3 was one example. The name he created for himself didn''t mean anything but had been stuck with him for so many years. Lu Li also faced a similar issue. He had no idea what to call himself in the game, so he just used his real name.


    "What about Star of Hope?" Cat Dad suggested.


    "That''s a good name, but not very suitable for our training camp. People have to know what it is when they hear it. Glory Capital''s Youth Camp is pretty good and so is Blood Red War Flag''s recruit training camp. Seventh Heaven''s Special Training Camp is quite ordinary but also gets the job done," Lu Li said.


    "The Great Seminary?" Cat Dad asked after some thought.


    "Something like that, but a little more grounded," Lu Li said with some hesitation.


    "What about Death College? That sounds cool."


    Cat Dad seemed to be happy with coming up with name after name. Square Root 3 kept silent and Wandering just looked awkward. This obviously wasn''t something he was good at and he didn''t like using his brain.


    "That isn''t cool ¨C it''s just pretentious," Square Root 3 mocked.


    "How about Novice Village? Ruling Sword''s Novice Village. Novice Village is usually the place where players are spawned in the new world. It''s quite profound¡­"


    "I think its identity still needs to be a bit clearer," Lu Li said again with some hesitation.


    "Dammit, you won''t take any of my suggestions. How about you just pose the question to the guild. I''m sure ten thousand players will be able to give you the name you''re looking for. You didn''t seem to have this much trouble when coming up with the name of the Mercenary Group," Cat Dad muttered. "I doubt you would have chosen that name if your standards were this high then¡­ Xin Xin Mercenary Group, humph, I hate sister-cons."


    As such, the naming of the training camp was temporarily put on hold.


    However, the plan to do make it happen was not delayed just because they couldn''t agree upon its name. First, they had to invest some money in it. An investment of 20 million would allow for a quick establishment of the training camp.


    They couldn''t just recruit a ragtag of teenagers for training either. They had to ensure that the quality of the trainees was excellent. They were looking for the most talented players in all of China. These players couldn''t be too old either; they had to be somewhere between 12 to 18.


    These people had to leave their homes and go to Jiangnan City.


    There, Ruling Sword would provide food, clothing and accommodation. They had to wear the same uniform, but this wasn''t a shameful matter. Ruling Sword''s elite group reputation was quite good, and these new recruits would go with them for their meals and company.


    The most important issue was the issue of education.


    No parent would be willing to let their child spend their lifetime pursuing a dream of becoming a professional gamer.


    There was currently little discrimination against gamers, but they would often forget about other hobbies like drawing and swimming. At the very most, the parents would only allow the child to do this as a means of specializing in this skill.


    This meant that the most important thing was that they were still able to receive a complete education.


    Therefore, Ruling Sword needed to communicate with the nearby educational institutions. This could be accomplished with little effort. After all, taking the championship had given Jiangnan City a greater influence in e-sports. This was well known among the youth of Jiangnan City, so the issue should be resolved relatively easily.


    However, even if they lived with Ruling Sword, they couldn''t mix in with the elite group. If the child had yet to come to a decision on what they wanted to do, they still needed to be properly guided.


    Square Root 3 said that he would rent the apartments nearby to house these children.


    The real cost was for hiring coaches. Cat Dad couldn''t handle a few hundred students on his own. Even if he could handle the smaller numbers in the beginning, he wasn''t an expert in all areas of training.


    Every training camp required at least one or two experts to teach the children solid gaming theory.


    "I have a personal suggestion. I used to deal with this person, but he is quite old. I''m not sure if you mind," Cat Dad suddenly recalled.


    "It doesn''t matter too much that they''re old. What are they good at?" Lu Li asked.


    "Uh, he is actually a friend of mine. He was the oldest person in the youth training camp. At the time, he had already graduated from work and was a physical education teacher¡­" Cat Dad responded awkwardly.


    The others who heard this were unsure. Who was this person?


    The youth training camp actually recruited someone that was this old?


    There were quite a few university graduates in the current professional circle, and they weren''t too old for it. However, this was a training club, where they would have to stay for three years at least, with an average stay of 7-8 years. How much time did he have left to play after leaving?


    "How was his performance as a professional player?" Lu Li asked.


    "He was eliminated when he graduated, so he failed to become a professional player," Cat Dad mumbled. He was now even more embarrassed.


    The others were even more speechless. Was he making fun of everyone? This was supposed to be a reputable training camp; how could such a person be a teacher? It would be a joke to invest in that person.


    "I doubt you recommended this person for no reason. How about you tell us more about him?" Lu Li thought that Cat Dad was being serious and chose to listen to what he had to say.


    "When he entered the youth training, he had been specifically approved by the Glory Capital Club Leader Scarlet Tiger. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to enter the youth training camp at 26. Scarlet Tiger thought that he was a genius when it came to theory, but an incident occurred and the Club leader was replaced. The new leadership naturally rejected him. When he was dismissed, he went to a small club and tried to use his knowledge to push the club to success¡­"


    "Did he succeed?"


    "Of course not. If he was successful, then why would I be helping him find a job?"


    "If you count it up, starting the youth training camp at 26 would mean¡­ wow, he''s about 40-50 years old now. Why is he still looking for a job at such an age¡­"


    "He isn''t looking for a job. He is still a physical education teacher, but he has continued to conduct research into these games. He wanted to me to help him find a job with a training camp," Cat Dad said. He had no ill intention and just wanted to help out an old friend.


    Moreover, the theoretical development of gaming had occurred so rapidly that it was almost impossible to keep up with. You would have to study it diligently for at least 30-50 years.


    "Although there is no shortage of spots, the training camp is very important, so I can''t make any promises," Lu Li said after some thought. "How about you invite him in and we can have a conversation? We need some time to recruit the students anyway so there is no rush."


    "For combat training, I actually have a good candidate. Can it be a retired professional player?"


    "Of course. They just have to be of high quality so that they can teach the students. They also can''t be too old, as I''m worried that they won''t be able to keep up with the developments in the game. It would be even better if they play Dawn," Lu Li said, then gave a list of his own suggested requirements.


    Square Root 3 didn''t want to be left out so he added his suggestion.


    "I know of a retired professional player that has been an instructor in several training camps. They taught Stellar Union''s Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis."


    Theoretical experts were hard to find as they could lie, but all professional players were semi-famous and would already be known.


    Stellar Union''s Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis weren''t as good as the top players like Moonlight or Sorrowless, but they were still star players.


    After entering the professional circle, they might feel like they were worthless, but no one else would think that. A player that was in a well-known club like Gods of Dusk would have an even better reputation than a better player in a worse club like Wood Fearing.


    "Xing Xiao Feng, I''m sure everyone is familiar with this name?" Square Root 3 finally revealed.


    Lu Li suddenly realized that Cat Dad had already guessed who this person was from Square Root 3''s initial words. Xing Xiao Feng might not have been comparable to Master Huang, but he was still considered one of the top instructors.


    "Three Bro, how do you know this guy?"


    "Star Moon Guild once tried to hire him for a high price. He declined the offer but we remained in contact and he has been a good friend to me," Square Root 3 explained.


    "In that case, you should talk to him."


    Lu Li wasn''t familiar with Xing Xiao Feng, and he didn''t know how to deal with training camp instructors, nor was he good at teaching students.


    "Compared to Xin Xiao Feng, the person I want to recommend isn''t bad either. She is also a beautiful woman," Cat Dad said. He wasn''t convinced.


    "How beautiful are we talking?'' Wandering''s sleepiness instantly disappeared as he demanded, "Tell me how she looks; I want to know if I have met her. You know, Cat Bro, not all women can be called beautiful. Take your family for example ¨C they can only be considered as cute¡­"


    "I will not be discussing this topic with this demon," Cat Dad said as he turned his head and asked, "Have you heard of Butterfly Dancer?"


    The three other people nodded. Everyone had heard of this name before, and even Wandering couldn''t deny that she was beautiful. Butterfly Dancer was a very popular name that was used by many players, but in this context there was only one relevant person ¨C Ghost Butterfly Dancer.


    ''Ghost'' referred to Midnight Ghost, a professional Thief player in another game called Eternal Kingdom.


    Butterfly Dancer was once a beauty of Eternal Kingdom, but one day, she stopped. No one had heard of her joining any new clubs in the last two years. Had she now planned to become an instructor?


    "Huh, Cat Bro, does your wife know that you are familiar with Butterfly Dancer?" Wandering asked coldly.


    Cat Dad shrank back as he said, "Don''t spout nonsense. I was once her instructor and recently bumped into her. I know that she doesn''t want to play games any longer, but she is finding something to do.


    "I heard that she had a bad temper. What if she is bad at teaching?" Square Root 3 asked. Of course, Square Root 3 wanted to work with her. Who didn''t want to work with a beautiful woman, especially one who was on the beauty rankings? At first sight, Butterfly Dancer seemed like a kind and caring wife or mother.


    "Tell her to come over and talk about it if she has the time," Lu Li said.


    If these three instructors were confirmed, they would have four instructors including Cat Dad. They still had a long way to go when compared against the youth training camps, but they were off to a good start. Ruling Sword had just established this camp so there was nothing to be ashamed of.


    They seemed to be heading in the right direction, so Lu Li didn''t have to worry too much.


    After making all these arrangements, he immediately re-entered the game. During this time, he had spent so much time making management decisions that he had grown much in strength since the Battle of Hillsbrad. Perhaps he had already dropped out of the top 100.

 1294 Wedding Ring

    For a little while, the players would be unable to continue levelling up as there was currently a level 60 cap in place.


    This meant that Instance Dungeon clearing would become the most pressing matter for Ruling Sword.


    They hadn''t managed to get the First Clear on the higher difficulties of Blackrock Spire. Blood Red War Flag had achieved the First Clear of Heroic Difficulty two days ago. Regardless of whether it was Elite, Heroic or Nightmare Difficulty, the players were less likely to play it if the First Clear had already been achieved.


    In order to gain the most equipment and benefits, a guild would most likely choose Nightmare Difficulty when clearing Instance Dungeons. Blood Red War Flag had been eliminated from the competition early, so they had the time to invest a lot money into collecting Fire Resistance potions and equipment. Even then, Nightmare Difficulty was too hard, so they had to settle with Heroic Difficulty.


    It had been said that Blood Red War Flag''s returns were quite worthwhile. They had even acquired a few pieces of Epic equipment, but more importantly, they had broken through the idea that only Ruling Sword could achieve First Clears on Instance Dungeons that were higher than Elite Difficulty. No one else had done this before.


    Glory Capital had a lot of First Clears, but these weren''t from the public Instance Dungeons. They had purchased scrolls to acquire First Clears from Private Instance Dungeons. These scrolls were expensive, and their rewards were much worse.


    Although Blood Red War Flag lost the competition, they achieved the First Clear of a public Instance Dungeon. This was the best result of their failure.


    However, Ruling Sword couldn''t ignore Blackrock Spire just because there wasn''t a First Clear anymore. The Instance Dungeon could still drop a number of valuable items and if they wanted to enter Black Wing''s nest, they had to clear it.


    Besides, Blood Red War Flag had only cleared the Instance Dungeon on Heroic Difficulty. This meant that the Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty was still unexplored territory.


    The upper part of Blackrock Spire was part of the group of Instance Dungeons in Blackrock Spire. Spire was divided into upper and lower levels. The lower levels were filled with Orcs that didn''t belong to the Horde while the upper layers were controlled by Deathwing''s son, Nefarian. It held many Orcs that submitted to the black dragon.


    However, Nefarian himself wasn''t in the upper levels of Blackrock Spire. He was in another place which was even higher than the upper levels of Blackrock Spire and was where research and development took place ¨C Black Wing''s Nest.


    The Black Dragon''s forces already controlled the upper levels and were now fighting for control of the lower levels.


    For as long as fantasy novels or games existed, dragons had been a part of them. Dawn was also a fantasy game, and not only did it have dragons, but it also contained a wide variety ¨C Black Dragons, Red Dragons, Green Dragons, Blue Dragons and Bronze Dragons.


    There were some who preferred to call the Bronze Dragons Gold Dragons instead because it sounded cooler.


    According to mythology, the Titans gave this species to the continent to protect it. They were responsible for maintaining balance and harmony.


    They created an ancient dragon Galakrond as a prototype to create the multi-coloured dragons. Galakrond then gave up a part of himself to each of five dragons who were known as the guardian dragons.


    Not much else needed to be said about these five dragons. They were all so strong that a yawn from them would wipe Lu Li''s team.


    Fortunately, the players were inside an Instance Dungeon, which meant that they were only fighting a shadow of what these dragons were like in reality.


    "The Fire Resistance potions are really good," Sesame Rice Ball said after pulling Lu Li through the portal. "I don''t know if you know, but this apprentice is better than I am."


    "I found her in the Novice Village, struggling to defeat the monsters there. The potion seems to be working well. Is it capable of mass production?" Lu Li asked. He checked the potion and was satisfied. Cold Chill the Great really did deserve her name.


    "How can we possibly mass produce it? The fact that we can produce ten bottles a day is already quite impressive," Sesame Rice Ball couldn''t help but respond with resentment.


    "That''s a pity. Well, this should be enough to get through the Instance Dungeon today. So, what are you guys waiting for? Breezy go and pull some monsters in, but not too many. If Breezy pulls more than two at a time, then March Rain should stop healing him so he dies faster."


    "You really are evil," Azure Sea Breeze sighed. He was tired of being sacrificed.


    Lu Li didn''t have to threaten to abandon him. He made it seem like Azure Sea Breeze, Dawn''s number one Main tank, was likely to die at any moment.


    You didn''t lose EXP from dying Instance Dungeons, but it did cost equipment durability. He had high level Plate Armor that cost several gold coins to repair. These kinds of Main Tanks generally couldn''t be afforded by most guilds because of how expensive repairing their armor was.


    "Isn''t that Jed? Breezy don''t fight that guy. Don''t you see his name? We will probably get wiped."


    Lu Li was amazed. Jed was not a regular Boss; he was actually a hidden Boss. He was a Boss that would only appear 20% of the time.


    Jed dropped two valuable items. The first was a Cedar Ring which was very fashionable. It had a rose texture on it and could also be engraved. Most of the time, engraving the item would affect an item''s durability.


    The Cedar Ring was one of the few items that Lu Li knew could be engraved.


    When Dawn introduced the marriage system, they forgot to include wedding rings. As such, the Cedar Ring was decided by tycoons to be the most noble symbol of love.


    If you loved her, you would buy her a Cedar Ring.


    If you loved her, you would engrave her name on your ring.


    If you loved her, you would wear a Cedar Ring just like hers.


    In short, this item was not something that was just worth a few dollars. The value of this item could increase twentyfold overnight, especially if the merchants sold out.


    There were quite a few hunters whose favourite method of money-making was farming Jed. On Normal Difficulty, there was still a chance to run into him and there was a chance that he would drop the Cedar Ring. This meant that the Cedar Ring''s Attributes would be dismal, but most idiots wouldn''t care. They just wanted it as a prop, so it didn''t matter.


    Jed could also drop the Starfire Tiara and Serpentine Skuller, but there were so many people that wanted these items that they were always in short supply.


    Of course, these items were not nearly as valuable as the Cedar Ring.


    A Boss that could be defeated by regular hunters was not very powerful at all, but that was at Normal Difficulty. On Nightmare Difficulty, Jed''s Berserk state still had the possibility of wiping Lu Li''s team.


    Jed looked no different from the normal monsters. If you weren''t careful, you might even pull him as a normal mob.


    However, if Lu Li and the others went all out, and the 15 players didn''t make too many mistakes, then they probably wouldn''t lose to the Hidden Boss. If the players left the vicinity without fighting a Hidden Boss, the Boss would disappear. This meant that they only had one chance.


    Jed had three stages, but the first could be ignored. In the second stage, he would enter Stealth and suddenly appear behind the players for a series of attacks.


    This trick had the chance of one-shotting someone. This was the reason the hunters didn''t dare to fight the Boss at a higher difficulty because they wouldn''t be able to withstand this attack. The effects of your equipment didn''t matter either, because you would be under crowd-control.


    Lu Li''s approach to this stage was fairly simple.


    Everyone would surround the Main Tank who was pulling the aggro of the Boss. That way, everyone could attack the Boss efficiently and the Main Tank could easily re-draw aggro. This formation was largely unchanged throughout the fight.


    The third stage only existed in Nightmare Difficulty, and it was the most difficult stage when fighting Jed.


    There were seven doors in this room which were normally close, but when Jed dropped below 30% HP, these doors opened and let out a flood of small monsters. It was a terrifying sight and it was similar to when they were playing in the Death Mines.


    However, the monsters in the Death Mines didn''t have any potential to kill you. They just handed the players EXP.


    This was not the case in Blackrock Spire. These mobs had killed no fewer players than the Bosses of Dawn. If the swarming monsters managed to surround Lu Li and the others, they might not be able to hold them off.


    The solution to this was simple. Lu Li didn''t even need to say it as Azure Sea Breeze immediately identified it.


    To the stairs!


    They had taken the stairs to get to this floor and now they were returning on them. The passage was narrow enough that Azure Sea Breeze was the only player being hit. The other players could stand behind the Main Tank and cast their skills. They had to spend a bit more time, but it made the monsters manageable.


    After clearing the mobs, Jed was now ripe for the taking.


    When he dropped to the floor, it was time for Remnant Dream''s performance.


    Jed wasn''t a very strong Boss, but he was still a Boss nonetheless. Being a Hidden Boss, there was also a chance that no one had killed him before.


    Although the First Clear had been taken by Blood Red War Flag, if Jed had not been killed before, then his drop rate would still be higher than normal. Lu Li hoped that he would drop at least one Cedar Ring as he had been looking for it.


    It wasn''t that he had fallen in love, but before he experienced rebirth, he didn''t have any money for things like this.


    If he could get a Cedar Ring today, then his wish would have been fulfilled.

 1295 Power is Good

    As for what to do with it after getting it, Lu Li hadn''t thought of that yet.


    Now that his status was different, he couldn''t just hoard and profit from it like he once did. In fact, the value of the Cedar Ring was completely determined by hype. If the merchants didn''t have enough, then they wouldn''t push for it as hard.


    Even if it did drop, how would it be distributed? That was an entirely different question.


    No one in the team would need this kind of item since the Attributes would be quite average. After all, it was just a Gold level item.


    "I haven''t played in an Instance Dungeon for a long time so I feel a bit rusty. If you think about it, it''s a little sad that a girl like me has to deal with these bodies for a living," Remnant Dream sighed after starting to loot the body.


    "Quickly loot it. If you don''t do it, then I will," Hachi Chan said while hugging her dragon.


    Her elf dragon still couldn''t be ridden, but it had gotten much bigger. When Hachi Chan held it, its tail would hang all the way down to her feet. If she didn''t hold it high enough, it would drag along the ground. If that happened, the Elf Dragon would spit fire at Hachi Chan.


    "I can''t believe you would pressure me like that. If you do that again, I''ll eat your dragon," Remnant Dream muttered.


    "I won''t pressure you if you don''t want me to. Why do you have be so aggressive?"


    Hachi Chan appeased her dragon baby, afraid that it would get spooked.


    In fact, the Elf Dragon wouldn''t grow much bigger, since it was clearly going to become a flying mount. Since it had taken Eranikus'' dragon blood essence, it had grown bigger, but Hachi Chan''s other methods had failed.


    However, it still had quite a beautiful form as it had elegantly stretched out when it grew.


    If you really wanted to ride the Elf Dragon, you had to train it and develop its flying and riding skill. Flying was quite different to riding, as the mount needed to hold the player on its back but also change the players'' size so it was proportionate.


    Hachi Chan, who was originally about 1.5m, would be scaled down to 1m.


    It looked quite cute, which was why Unforgettable Maple refused to show the mount. If you called a little 1m girl cute, then what would you call a little 1m boy?


    "Two Strengthening Stones, one Rare Material and a Serpentine Skuller. It looks pretty but it is just a Dark Gold item with average Attributes," Remnant Dream evaluated as she looted the equipment. She was now quite well-informed about equipment, though her knowledge of other areas probably needed work.


    "It looks quite nice. March Rain, do you want it?'' Lu Li asked.


    This was a Priest item and he had to ask her even if she wasn''t suited for it.


    "Don''t worry about it; the item doesn''t suit me. I''ll let you handle it," March Rain said, choosing not to bother with it. Although she was a girl, she didn''t care much for the looks of most equipment. What most considered to be beautiful usually didn''t meet her standard for aesthetics.


    "If March Rain doesn''t want it, then does any other Magic Profession player want it?" Lu Li asked.


    "I want it ¨C it matches my white dress and would look great," Kitty Likes Meat said sheepishly. This kind of equipment was a little too valuable to be used for purely ornamental purposes.


    The items that were acquired by Ruling Sword''s First Clear group became part of Ruling Sword. They would be used to fill the needs of the elite groups.


    "If you want it, then you can have it," Lu Li said, assigning the crystal-clear Magic Staff to Kitty Likes Meat. In fact, the market for this equipment was for women anyway.


    Of course, some points were deducted for it.


    The second piece of equipment was a pair of Chain Mail Leggings that Sakura Memories could use. Although they didn''t significantly increase her strength, they gave her a little more HP which was very useful for her levelling. As such, she spent some points to acquire this equipment.


    There was a third item!


    "Cedar Ring. It looks¡­ pretty average. It''s just a Gold item," Remnant Dream announced disdainfully. Although there were no clear rules, most players expected for the better items to come later. For this last item to be a Gold item was quite depressing.


    "Let me have this item if no one else needs it, I have a use for it," Lu Li coughed.


    The boss had already made his judgement, so what choice did the other players have? No one really needed the Gold ring anyway so it was simply handed to Lu Li.


    In a month''s time, this ring would be sold for over 100,000 in real money.


    If you did the math, this virtual item was actually more expensive than an actual diamond ring in the real world. It was ridiculous, but this game was filled with foolish tycoons with lots of money to spend.


    After obtaining all the items, they got ready to leave.


    They continued on the stairs on the left and cleared a group of Orcs that were standing on them. Then, they entered the Flame Guard''s room. There was a table in the middle of the room and many mind-controlled Orcs around the table manipulating a Fire Elemental in the middle.


    The monsters wouldn''t attack, so long as Azure Sea Breeze didn''t go in to pull them out.


    This was how the group quickly got wiped the first time, but it was as expected. Lu Li couldn''t remind Azure Sea breeze that these monsters couldn''t be fought. The normal thing to do was to fight whatever monsters you saw, and there were many teams that died here.


    The correct way to fight these monsters was to try and touch the Fire Elemental in the middle. When doing so, these mind-controlled Orcs would arise one at a time to fight them.


    When one of them came, the others would remain at the table. This way, Lu Li and the others would be able to manage them. If they still got wiped like this, they could just give up.


    Eventually, the warlocks were killed and only the Fire Elemental remained.


    The fire elemental wasn''t a monster, or at least, it wasn''t a normal monster. It couldn''t be attacked in its current state and many players didn''t know how to trigger the Boss. In fact, it was quite simple. They just needed to push the Fire Elemental to the altar next to it and ask a few Magic Profession players to cast some skills on it.


    It didn''t matter what skills were cast; healing or some damage skills were fine. They weren''t limited to just ice or shadow skills.


    When the Fire Elemental was activated by the skills, it would begin to swell up to finally form a cute little fireball with a sinister face.


    "Haha, let me eat you as a thank you!" the monster laughed as it was released.


    According to the plot, this monster''s name was Emberseer, Pyroguard Emberseer. He was one of Ragnaros'' most loyal servants. In the climactic battle on the Burning Steppes, innumerable Blackstone Orcs were incinerated by him. Unfortunately, he was eventually defeated and imprisoned in Blackrock Mountain. His powerful energy was used to speed up the hatching of Nefarian''s black dragon eggs.


    However, he was not what he once was, as Emberseer had been tortured all this time.


    These Orc Warlocks had put shadow energy into his body and used it to siphon his energy. This was how the egg hatching process was accelerated.


    It was quite unlikely that Emberseer enjoyed this process.


    If you ask Emberseer what he hated the most, he would definitely say the Warlock''s abilities. He particularly hated Orc Warlocks, and when he thought about them, he felt like running away.


    But before that, he had to deal with this group of people who had saved him.


    Hachi Chan shared a quest that she had acquired from the Duke of Hadaksis, who asked her to kill Pyroguard Emberseer.


    "Be prepared to fight, and pay attention everyone. Don''t take this lightly just because it is the first Boss," Lu Li warned in advance. Discounting the previous Hidden Boss, Emberseer was the first Boss of Blackrock Spire and effectively acted as a watchdog for Nefarian.


    "It should be no problem. My current Fire Resistance is so good that Fat Monkey can''t even hurt me," Azure Sea Breeze declared proudly.


    "Be careful of its demonic attacks. You need to pay attention and cast your damage reduction skills," Lu Li instructed. He was revealing a key part of fighting this Boss. Although Emberseer was a Fire Elemental, his attacks had a measure of Fel energy to them. This Fel energy had obviously come from the Warlocks that had imprisoned him.


    Since the players were fighting a Fire Elemental, they would subconsciously think that it would be using fire attacks and naturally put on fire resistance equipment.


    Fire Resistance equipment could greatly reduce fire damage, but it also reduced their resistance towards other elements. If you weren''t careful, it was easy to get wiped here. If the Fire Elemental cast an area of effect skill infused with Fel damage, the group would be dead in a matter of seconds.


    Lu Li''s caution didn''t seem to arouse any suspicion.


    Although there was no publicly available strategy for the upper levels of Blackrock Spire, as Blood Red War Flag wouldn''t have shared it so soon after they completed the Instance Dungeon, there was some speculation about Emberseer.


    There was previously the group of Orc Warlocks channelling the Boss.


    A truly skilled commander would think about this setting in coming up with a strategy to fight this Boss. What was happening in that situation? If you knew the answer, then you would realize like Lu Li that a Paladin should cast a Demon Resistance halo on their teammates.


    "Hey, your attacks are giving the Boss HP. Can you please hold back?" Lu Li asked helplessly.


    "Oh, okay, I was wondering why his HP was going up as I attacked it," Fat Monkey said sheepishly before standing aside. He cursed the Boss and the game designers for making it this way. Although they designed the Fire Mage as Dawn''s most powerful offensive profession, there were a number of restrictive conditions. The restriction he faced today was just too much; he was actually healing the Boss when he attacked it.


    "If you''re a ranged player, make sure to stand five yards or more away¡­ Hachi Chan, make sure to pay attention to the melee players'' HP. If you start losing too much HP then make sure you retreat five yards or further," Lu Li said.


    Most Fire Elementals were covered by a fire shield. In addition to providing some protection to the caster, it also applied fire damage to units that were within 5 yards. This was a stackable damage over time.


    It was possible to continually stack these several layers of fire until the damage was unbearable.


    The solution for this problem was easy ¨C all they had to do was leave the 5 yard range and the stacks would eventually deceased until they vanished.


    However, this method meant that the damage output of melee players would be affected. Lu Li had to spend so much time running in and out that he couldn''t even match Remnant Dream''s damage output.


    It was said that Blood Red War Flag replaced almost all of their melee professions while fighting this Boss.


    Lu Li would never do such a thing. He was used to this group of people and he was willing to take it slower. There was no point wasting someone else''s time and opportunity to enter the Instance Dungeon just to fight this Boss. Those who were replaced also wouldn''t be able to fight this Instance Dungeon anymore until the cooldown refreshed.


    The first stage of the Boss specifically focused on dealing damage to the Main Tank. As long as the other players didn''t die to the flame shield, there was no danger for them.


    "This is a bit difficult," Azure Sea Breeze said with a forlorn face. He felt like he was outrageously strong, but every time he stepped in front of a Boss he was beaten into a pulp.


    "This is just the first Boss. If you can''t tank it, then what can you do?"


    "Screw you, how about you come and do it then."


    "Hehe, you''re a tank, so just be ready for anything," Lu Li sneered. "Don''t say so much and use your damage reduction skills. Can''t you see that you''ve got many stacks of the flame shield damage?"


    "Wandering, come swap with me, I''m going to get rid of these stacks!" Azure Sea Breeze screamed.


    "I don''t care if you die."


    Although he said those words, Wandering still used Taunt to pull the Boss away so that Azure Sea Breeze had the opportunity to run away and lose some Flame Shield stacks.


    The second stage started when Emberseer''s HP dropped below 60%.


    In Lu Li''s mind, this stage was very simple as long as they dealt enough damage to the Boss within a certain timeframe.


    If they couldn''t do that, the Boss would burn all targets within 50 yards with Flame Nova. The damage was very high and almost no one would be able to tank it, so they had to quickly get to the third stage before this happened.


    This was why Lu Li hadn''t asked them to go all out in the first stage.


    "Cast Bloodlust, and everyone use all the burst skills that you have. Don''t worry about it going Berserk."


    It would be quite dangerous if this Boss went berserk, but if they couldn''t enter the third stage in time, then it wouldn''t matter anyway.


    In the first stage, Lu Li didn''t use any damage reduction skills and would just leave when he received too many stacks.


    However, since it was a critical moment, he stopped worrying and cast his damage reduction skill just so he could apply more damage onto the Boss.


    In just three minutes, Emberseer''s HP dropped to 30%.


    They were two minutes faster than what Lu Li had in mind, and this was a demonstration of the group''s power. Throughout the whole process, Fat Monkey was standing in the distance and yawning at the sight.


    "Alright, this is the third stage. We don''t have to fight too hard, so try to save your cooldowns for when it goes Berserk," Lu Li said.


    He didn''t think that they had succeeded yet. Fire Elementals tended to have an aggressive temperament, and they would most likely go Berserk. These kinds of Fire Elementals often also used area of effect skills, so they could still get wiped in a matter of moments.


    Even so, as long as they had one strong Main Tank, they would be fine. Azure Sea Breeze could safely pull the Boss away to allow everyone to catch their breath. If their tank was not as capable, the other professions would need to kite the Boss for them to gain the space they needed.


    Even for the casual players, a strong Main Tank would often receive invites into a party.


    On the other hand, if a Main Tank was too squishy, everyone would avoid them. There would often be forum posts publicly naming some tanks for being too squishy and causing their team to be wiped a dozen times.


    After a short two minute break, Lu Li announced for everyone to get back on their feet.


    The healers needed to resume healing as Azure Sea Breeze had been taking damage for a while. They couldn''t drag the fight on indefinitely either, as the longer they waited, the greater chance there was for the Boss to go Berserk.

 1296 Train King

    Healers needed Mana to continue healing, which was why Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t drag the fight on indefinitely. Moreover, the longer they dragged it on for, the higher the chance of the Boss going Berserk.


    As the Boss'' HP slowly dropped, Pyroguard Emberseer realized that these players were not to be trifled with.


    He began to try and escape. At this time, his aggro towards the Main Tank was unstable and he attempted to return to the altar. He was trying to get to the flames that had been used to incubate the Black Dragon''s eggs.


    The Fire Elementals of Azeroth had come from Fire Elemental plane, which was a mysterious place.


    It was said that the Fire Elementals that died would be resurrected in this plane, but they would no longer be the same as before as they would have lost their memories and feelings.


    Emberseer didn''t want to go down that path, so he started to go Berserk.


    "You don''t know the true power of the flame. Now you will see the Emberseer''s fury!"


    The Berserk Boss'' attack power increased greatly. The fire damage aspect of his attacks was particularly strengthened, but this wasn''t fatal for the players. They had piled up fire resistance equipment which was finally demonstrating its value.


    "My fire resistance is quite high, but can you guys fight a little faster? I can''t keep burning like this," Azure Sea Breeze called out.


    The others didn''t want to let him die, so they sped up the rhythm of damage output and healing.


    "My master will avenge me," Emberseer cried out as he waved his arm and left a box behind. After all this time, he hadn''t even killed a single opponent.


    This was a level 60 Instance Dungeon Boss, so it was a little sad.


    "Hey, you guys finally defeated it. Seems like it was difficult," Fat Monkey said as he ran over with a wide grin.


    "Can''t believe you needed to rely on the girls to fight the Boss for you," Hachi Chan quipped at Fat Monkey.


    "Pfsht, say what you want, but if I had participated in that fight I would be fighting with the Boss. At that time, I should have asked you to call me daddy, and threatened to heal the Boss if you didn''t."


    "Alright, that''s enough. Let''s quickly loot the Boss. This is only the first one, so let''s not get ahead of ourselves," Lu Li said.


    As such, Remnant Dream began the loot the Boss.


    There were a few Strengthening Stones, a Synthetic Stone with Critical Damage, and a Skill Book with a Fire Mage skill that Fat Monkey had already learned. All they could do with the book was leave it for people in the guild who needed it.


    "This stone gives such a small buff that it feels like a waste of a slot," Wandering said as he shook his head. "It seems like someone has killed the first Boss before we did at Nightmare Difficulty. The Rewards don''t seem that good, but I''m not sure what other guild has the capacity to do it."


    "That sounds pretty normal. We didn''t lose a single member to this Boss, so how can we expect that no one else can defeat it?"


    Lu Li realized that these players thought too highly of themselves, and expected that no other guild in Dawn would take these Instance Dungeons before them.


    This wasn''t a good thing.


    "Well, you said it. All the equipment is pretty average," Remnant Dream announced.


    There was a total of three equips ¨C two Gold and one Dark Gold. This was indeed the normal drop rate of a Nightmare Instance Dungeon Boss after the First Clear had been taken. They would be dreaming if they thought they were receiving an Epic item here.


    This was why Epic items were still very scarce.


    The drop rate were too low and the demand was too great. All the major guilds and mercenary groups were relying on repeatedly farming the same Instance Dungeons to find Epic equipment. Even Glory Capital''s Epic equipment wasn''t completely theirs. They likely had some arrangement of borrowing equipment just as Ruling Sword borrowed from Drizzle Court and Peerless City.


    "If you want good equipment, we''ll have to work harder. Let''s go to the next one," Lu Li urged.


    They hadn''t been inside this Instance Dungeon for very long and they hadn''t died yet, so everyone was still in a good mood. There was no point delaying their progress.


    After killing Pyroguard Emberseer, the left door opened and led them to a room full of dragon eggs.


    "Don''t get too close to the eggs. Let me try first," Lu Li said as he carefully approached an egg. These dragon eggs weren''t dead; they were arranged in a very deliberate way and would occasionally shake to prove that there were things inside them.


    "Good luck," Azure Sea Breeze whistled and waited to see what would happen.


    "Well¡­ I don''t think a Thief is suitable for this. Breezy, you come do it. You should be able to tank the monster," Lu Li laughed, passing on the role to the Main Tank.


    "Don''t do that to me please; I made a mistake Boss," Azure Sea Breeze pleaded, regretting what he said when he looked at the egg.


    "Oh, come on. You make it look like they''re not just dragon eggs," Lu Li said as he went up and kicked one of them. The egg cracked and a small dragon came out of it.


    The thing that Lu Li had kicked out of the egg wasn''t a real dragon, but a Dragonspawn developed by Nefarian.


    He had obviously intended to create a Dragonspawn legion, but they had no idea how these eggs were produced. These Dragonspawn were one part human and another part dragon.


    After the little dragon hatched, he rushed over towards them.


    Almost all creatures weren''t ugly when they were born. This little Dragonspawn was so cute that the female players weren''t willing to fight it. Not much was expended to kill this baby dragon amd it was quickly dealt with.


    It dropped a broken scale which was a common item that all dragon mobs dropped, so they weren''t worth much.


    Then Lu Li went up and kicked another dragon egg. It wasn''t the same shape as the other one, but the hall was only filled with these two kinds of eggs. Lu Li wanted to test them both.


    This time, a little dragon hatched out of the egg.


    It was quite similar to a Dragonspawn, but it had a different form. The little Dragonspawn was running on the ground but the little dragon could fly.


    Remnant Dream tightened her grip on the longbow in her hand and stood by Hachi Chan''s side.


    "Hachi Chan, lets fight this one together."


    "Why?"


    "I want to make it my pet; the little dragon is really cute."


    "I can''t help you."


    "If you don''t help me, I will cast Tame Beast on you. Did you hear that there was a Hunter in the Horde that made a Taren Druid their pet? The Tame Beast skill have a certain chance of working on Druids¡­"


    "You''re a liar; I am not a child¡­"


    "Hey, you know how strong my Tame Beast pets are. I have added two more things to increase the success rate of my Tame Beast."


    "I''ll¡­ help you. Just make sure you don''t target the wrong thing with Tame Beast," Hachi Chan said as she pulled her Magic Staff and knocked at an egg that would hatch a dragon.


    Although she didn''t hit it very hard, the dragon egg still cracked.


    A little dragon fluttered its wings and flew up from the broken eggshell. After it came out, it flew at Hachi Chan. Hachi Chan was very experienced and turned into a bear. In her Bear Form, she had a significant increase in Armor.


    The little dragon was incapable of dealing much damage to Hachi Chan.


    However, after Remnant Dream attacked it a few times, Hachi Chan couldn''t hold the dragon''s aggro. After all, she wasn''t a professional Main Tank. Fortunately, Wandering took the time to give the dragon a Taunt. The others watched on as these two little girls gave the dragon a beat down.


    Remnant Dream was now able to cast Tame Beast against the dragon.


    Hachi Chan''s bear face went pale as she hid behind March Rain. She could clearly see Remnant Dream''s Tame Beast flying over her head.


    When Remnant Dream caught the dragon, a little jingle played. Meanwhile, Lu Li was calculating the damage and HP of these dragons.


    "If we can kill them one at a time, why not do that?" Wandering didn''t understand. If he was commanding and they had run into this strange dragon egg hall, he would definitely just kill the dragons individually. He had no idea why Lu Li wanted Azure Sea Breeze to pull all the dragons at once.


    "We can just save a bit of time. I''ve already tried it and the dragons are pretty easy to kill, so let''s just do it. Everyone, help Breezy pull the dragons. You can use area of effect skills to clear the mobs later," Lu Li ordered.


    What if they got wiped? Wouldn''t that waste more time?


    Although Wandering didn''t agree with this approach, Commander Lu Li had issued the instructions, so he had nothing to say. Even if the group got wiped, there wouldn''t be any substantial losses.


    There were only a few melee players, and they had to run around breaking the eggs. One by one, either a dragon or a dragonspawn would hatch, chasing the person that had broken their egg. They were obviously annoyed to be woken from their sleep.


    Soon, the entire hall''s worth of eggs were broken.


    Everyone ran to Azure Sea Breeze so that he could use his Taunt to pull the monsters away. With Azure Sea Breeze in the centre, all the mobs were now swarming him.


    Lu Li stopped the Magic profession players from casting their skills to explain, "I read in a book once that if you could kill more than 99 dragons in a very short period time, you might get an achievement. However, the dragons had to be of a higher level than you are."


    Everyone knew what Lu Li wanted to do, so they held back on casting their skills.

 1297 Trap

    "Help, help me! Lu Li, I bet you planned this. Can you at least tell me the truth next time before sending me out to die?"


    Azure Sea Breeze was about to cry. Even with his defensives, he still felt like his death was imminent. Although the dragonlings weren''t doing too much damage to him, there were hundreds of them spitting tiny fireballs at him and he was about to drown in a sea of fire.


    The healers began healing him and the number one Main Tank in Dawn narrowly managed to survive.


    However, if Lu Li didn''t give the order to attack, it would be impossible for Azure to survive the next wave of monsters since he was out of his defensive skills.


    "Memories, cast Bloodlust. Everyone else, use your buffs and attack."


    Lu Li saw that the time was right and boldly gave the order to attack. Within seconds, Azure Sea Breeze was engulfed by countless friendly skills from his teammates.


    Most of the skills were high damaging AoE skills, and even Lu Li joined in on the fun.


    Since there were so many monsters, Azure had a hard time keeping track of the aggro of them all. Therefore, some of the dragonlings were aggro''d onto his teammates who were dealing too much damage.


    This was another problem that they had to face.


    Rounding up monsters was difficult and lot of less-experienced Main Tanks would be dead before they could even draw the monsters to the designated spot. Tanking hundreds upon hundreds of monsters was even more difficult and relied on the mechanics of the Main Tank.


    When the team started attacking, the monsters would scatter like ants.


    In order to prevent a team wipe, Lu Li needed the team to kill majority of the dragonlings in a very short amount of time.


    As the dragonlings were about to scatter, Lonesome Flower became very useful because of his skills and Water Elemental that froze monsters.


    The other mages also joined on Lonesome Flower''s quick thinking, freezing the mobs and quickly teleporting away to avoid taking damage.


    These dragonlings began dying in groups, not only rewarding them with a significant amount of EXP, but also the title of "Combo King" because of the number of monsters they killed.


    Lu Li looked at the stats of the title.


    In the Blackrock Towers upper level, Combo King gave the players a 5% damage increase.


    5% did not sound like much on paper, but it was quite a significant increase. There were a total of 15 players in the party. If the main tanks and healers were taken out of the equation, that was a 5% damage increase for 10 or so players, equivalent of 50% damage increase for the entire party.


    Besides the effect, it was also something to brag about once they exited the dungeon.


    Everyone felt that the effort they put in was worth it.


    "The boss is about to spawn. Remnant Dreams and Hachi Chan, you two clean up the rest. Everyone else, potion up and reset."


    Hachi Chan didn''t need to heal up or restore her mana because of her exquisite gear. Remnant Dreams didn''t need to use potions either because she didn''t use much mana.


    The dragonlings did not drop anything worth mentioning and soon, the Boss appeared.


    Solakar Flamewreath was a Dragonkin, and was the most powerful warrior of his people. Even though he was highly-rated by the Black Dragon Legion, he was appointed to look after the offspring of Nefarian. If anything were to happen to them, he would have to pay the price.


    This Boss appeared after killing the Dragonlings and dropped some valuable gear for Priests, making it quite a popular Boss to farm.


    Lu Li wanted to kill Solakar as well because he dropped a useful Engineering blueprint called Schematic: Hyper-Radiant Flame Reflector. The item itself wasn''t useful, but it provided a very cheap and fast way to level up Engineering. This way, Lu Li could start crafting some useful toys that he could play with.


    Solakar Flamewreath wasn''t very powerful but his signature skill was War Stomp.


    This skill was often used by Taurens, who would stomp on the ground beneath them and deal damage to their enemies while stunning them. It could also interrupt opposing spells and heals.


    Solakar Firewreath''s War Stomp was very powerful, but he did not have the intelligence to time it and use it to interrupt skills.


    Therefore, if a player''s skill was interrupted, it was because they had bad luck.


    When the fight started, Solakar frequently casted War Stomp and Azure Sea breeze was stunned. This put a lot of pressure on the DPS players to slow down their DPS in order to avoid drawing the aggro.


    Fat Monkey was too excited because there was finally a Boss that wasn''t fire resistant and accidentally attacked too much, drawing the aggro. However, Fat Monkey was a professional PvP player and was skilled in kiting his enemies. He managed to stall out long enough for Azure to draw the aggro again.


    "Stay on two different sides, understood?" Lu Li instructed.


    "Not really," Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering said as they both shook their heads. Even if they were on two different sides, the Boss'' War Stomp was an area of effect skill, so they would still both be stunned.


    "War Stomp has a radius of 5 yards,.Azure stay here and Wandering go over to the other side, but make sure you stay 5 yards away from him. Once the Boss War Stomps Azure, you go in and draw the aggro."


    In reality, Solakar Fireweave was an easy Boss and Lu Li''s instruction was perfect in defeating him. The Main Tank would draw the aggro while the secondary Tank acted as backup when the Main Tank is stunned.


    Execution was key.


    In the third stage, more dragon eggs would spawn. If the players got too close to the eggs, they will hatch more dragonlings and these were a lot more powerful than the ones they killed before.


    "Sorry Nefarian, I''ve let you down," the Dragonkin cried out as he held his fist in front of his chest and fell.


    The Boss dropped two enhancement stones, Blackrock Dragon Scales, rare materials and a War Stomp skill book. Unfortunately, Lu Li did not get the blueprint that he wanted and was slightly disappointed.


    Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t help but think that if they kicked Lu Li out of the party, the drops that they received would be so much better.


    A Mage robe was also dropped but the stats weren''t so great. It looked beautiful and elegant, but Remnant Dream couldn''t pull it off.


    In the end, the robe was given to Kitty Likes Meat because none of the male Mages wanted it.


    March Rain also received new Shoulders.


    After defeating Solakar Fireweave, they entered the gate. There was a very long corridor and on one side of the corridor was the Dragon Egg Hall.


    There were some Dragonkin and Ogre guards along the corridor which were annoying to deal with.


    They had the Warrior skill Charge, but it was slightly different. Upon impact, the target was stunned and displaced backwards.


    If the player was unlucky, they could be sent flying into the Dragon Egg Hall.


    That was exactly what happened to Sesame Rice Ball. Luckily, Lu Li and the others had already cleaned up the Hall beforehand and Sesame Rice Ball escaped without a scratch on him.


    Afterwards, they arrived at a big gate and Azure Sea Breeze entered thinking it was the right path.


    He let out a loud scream, which was followed by silence.


    Everyone looked at each other, thankful that they didn''t do the same, but were curious as to what had happened.


    Azure Sea Breeze quickly revived and came back. According to him, the room was full of traps that attacked him from all sorts of different angles. They also dealt an insane amount of damage because he died almost instantly.

 1298 Warchief Rend Blackhand

    Thus, everyone began discussing how to enter the room without dying.


    "Why do we have to enter?" Lu Li interrupted them, "Just keep going; maybe it''s the next room."


    In reality, nobody knew what was inside this room. Paladins could use their invulnerability skill to explore the room, but it didn''t last long enough to reach the end. Additionally, the room was very poorly lit, so it was difficult to navigate..


    They realised that Lu Li could be right and stopped thinking about how to get into the trap room.


    Only Azure Sea Breeze was still hung up about it. Even though it was a game and he had experienced death many times from tanking the most powerful Bosses, that experience of walking into a dark room and being instantly killed was terrifying.


    "Dont'' worry," Lu Li comforted him, "I''ll go into the next room first."


    Azure Sea Breeze was grateful and felt bad about trash talking Lu Li earlier on. In reality, he knew that Lu Li was a nice guy because he was willing to do these dangerous tasks himself. However, he forgot that Thieves were meant to be the best scouts in the game.


    Lu Li rushed in and brought back with him a small pack of monsters.


    Azure Sea Breeze drew aggro, but felt like it was unfair. Why was it that when he entered a room, he died instantly, but when Lu Li entered, it was only a few small mobs?


    Lu Li was trying to hide his smile while killing the monsters. He knew that the second room was the right path; this was the advantage of his rebirth.


    When the room was cleared out, the small door inside the room opened by itself. Inside was a large hall with more groups of monsters. Most of them were the guards that could use charge from before.


    Without Lu Li''s instructions, they still knew what to do.


    Many teams would often wipe here because they would let their guard down against small mobs. Some players would get charged into another group of mobs, causing the team to lose its formation and eventually drawing so many mobs that they were swarmed to death.


    Lu Li instructed them to lead the monsters to the corner and face their backs against the walls.


    After the monsters were cleaned up, Goraluk Anvilcrack, the Blackhand Legion Armorsmith appeared. He looked like an ancient Orc with greyish skin and big, sharp tusks jutting out of his lower jaw that made rest of his face seemingly smaller.


    Lu Li was focused on observing his armor; he wanted to know what a famous Armorsmith was capable of crafting.


    However, he quickly realised that Goraluk Anvilcrack was wearing cloth armor, which was a bit ironic considering that he was the Armorsmith for the Blackhand Legion.


    Goraluk was holding a torch in one hand. The light dimly shone upon his face, causing him to look even more intimidating. In his other hand, he was holding a long spear.


    They didn''t have to kill this Boss and he didn''t really drop anything good.


    Lu Li decided to fight him only because he dropped the second half of a recipe for Armorsmithing called Advanced Armour Smithing: Volume I.


    Lu Li already has the second half of Volume II from defeating Crimson Hammersmith, the second half of Volume III from the Black Guard Swordsmith, the First half of Volume II dropped by killing Rattlegores in Scholomance and the first half of Volume III from Urok Doomhowl in the Blackrock Towers.


    He had already collected Volume II and III.


    All he needed was the first half of Volume I from King Gordok and the second half of Volume I from this Boss.


    Lu Li mainly focused on Weaponsmithing because the equips crafted from Armorsmithing weren''t good enough for him.


    However, there was nothing wrong with learning a bit of Armorsmithing because you never knew whether it could be put to use in the future.


    Goraluk Anvilcrack wasn''t very strong; it only took them a few minutes to defeat him. Fortunately, he dropped the recipe that Lu Li wanted.


    He also dropped an Armorsmithing Hammer.


    Although the hammer wasn''t as good as Lu Li''s, it could still be put to good use for a beginner Armorsmith.


    After they defeated him, they turned right and came across some stairs with a few Dragonkins Orc Guards standing alongside.


    The terrain made it very difficult to fight because of the limited amount of space and the tower was poorly lit.


    Orc Guards could charge and Dragons could deal massive amounts of damage with fire breathing.


    Luckily, Lu Li''s party was very skilled mechanically and had the equipment to back it up. The tournament players were especially good at dodging the fireballs. After this, they arrived at an open hall, similar to an arena map.


    "Who are those two guys? Are they the next Bosses?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he looked ahead.


    There were two figures standing in the distance; one was a Human and the other was an Orc. There was also a Dragon next to them, but it appeared to be a mount of some sort.


    "That''s Nefarian," Lu Li said as he pointed at the human.


    "Ne...Nefarian.. Isn''t he supposed to be a black dragon?"


    Azure Sea Breeze was scared. Even he knew who Nefarian was and couldn''t help but feel respect for that name.


    "Do you not remember Onyxia, the Black Dragon Princess? She went undercover in Stormwind in her human form. And Krasus, who was a powerful Mage in human form, is also Alexstrasza''s youngest partner," Lu Li explained.


    "Youngest partner?" Fat Monkey was confused.


    "Whether it''s the Crimson Dragon or the Emerald Dragon, they have all had multiple partners throughout their lifetime. Krasus who was one of the most powerful Mage that ever lived was merely one of Alexstraza''s many male concubines," Lu Li elaborated.


    "Okay, we''ll prepare for battle," Lu Li announaced as he raised his hand and signalled the start of the fight.


    "A group of adventurers huh? Good timing ¨C the arena needs to be brightened up with some blood. Rend, you''ve got this," Nefarian said in a cocky voice.


    "Leave it up to me!"


    Rend Blackhand bowed and shouted at Lu Li and the others, "If you want to challenge Nefarian, you''ll first have to get past me. Now, show me what you''re all capable of!"


    Waves of monsters began spawning in the arena.


    "Jump!" Lu Li commanded as he kicked Azure Sea Breeze down into the arena. Fortunately, March Rain managed to cast Levitate on him.


    There was nothing that he could do except to tank the monsters in the arena.


    Everyone followed closely behind and jumped in. If they wanted to challenge Rend Blackhand, they first needed to defeat the monsters in the arena. There were a total of ten waves with increasing difficulty.


    In Nightmare mode, they needed to kill each wave of monsters in the allocated time, otherwise, monsters would spawn continuously once that time was up.


    There was no time to take breaks in between, unlike in Hard mode. In Hard mode, there was a very short resting period where players could replenish their HP and mana. However, in Nightmare mode they didn''t have that luxury at all.


    "Don''t use your skills too soon. Treat this more as a marathon rather than a sprint since there is a total of ten waves of monsters."


    "Should we use our cooldowns? I think we''re a bit slow," Lonesome Flower questioned.


    "No, save them for later because we never know what''s going to happen. This is still just the beginning." Lu Li wasn''t worried about the small mobs at all; he was more focused on how to defeat Rend Blackhand. The title of Warchief meant that he was the leader of an entire tribe, meaning that he was quite powerful.


    The previous Bosses were quite easy, but Lu Li expected the team to wipe a few times here.


    While fighting, Rend Blackhand and Nefarian continuously taunted and trash talked them. Lu Li and the others had no choice but to ignore them because the small mobs were giving them too much pressure.


    If someone died here, then the next wave of monsters would be even harder.


    They managed to hold on until they defeated the 10th wave. Lu Li was pleased because his team had managed to hold onto their long-cooldown skills and didn''t use too many ultimates, leaving all their firepower for Rend Blackhand.


    "Impossible! Rend, finish them off," Nefarian cried out.


    "It is my honor to serve you. I will personally take them down," Rend said humbly.


    Nefarian continued watching from above; they wouldn''t face off against him until the later dungeons.


    Rend Blackhand got on his dragon mount and descended down to the arena.


    During this short period of time, Lu Li and the others took the time to heal up and replenish their mana.


    When the Horde was defeated in the second war, as the Warchief''s son, Rend Blackhand led the surviving troops back to Blackrock Tower and invaded the Dark Iron Dwarves. Rend lead the Orcs, Nefarian and the Black Dragon Legion to defeat the Dwarves, overtaking the Blackrock Tower.


    Rend''s father was a very powerful chieftain.


    For his own personal gains, he began working together with Gul''Dan to become the Horde Chieftain, but in reality, he was just a puppet controlled by Gul''Dan. When Durotan wanted to leave the clan because of disagreements, Blackhand sent his sons Rend and Maim to assassinate him. This made Orgrim Dommhammer infuriated and he killed Blackhand during his slumber, eventually becoming the Warchief.


    No matter how much of a ruthless dictator he was, he was still one of the most honored warriors in the Horde.


    Blackhand''s two sons Rend and Maim continued leading their own clan called the Black Tooth Grin Clan and ruled over Blackrock Depths, which they had taken over from the Dark Iron Dwarves. After Maim was killed in an accident, Rend Blackhand eventually became the Warchief of Black Tooth Grin Clan.


    He planned on living a peaceful life, ruling over a land that he can call his own. However, Nefarian was also interested in this land and Rend Blackhand had no other choice but to bow before him.


    Nefarian treated him nothing more than a slave and spared his life in order to gain control and power over the Black Tooth Orcs.


    Although in Nefarian''s eyes, Rend Blackhand was very weak, to the players, he was one of the most powerful Bosses in the game right now.


    Rend Blackhand descended into the arena on his dragon mount called Gaith.


    Gaith? More like Gay.


    When everyone saw its name, they burst out laughing.

 1299 Family of Egg Thieves

    Not only was Gaith harder to deal with than Rend, but he was also a Chromatic dragon.


    In Dawn, the Dragon race had five main types, as well as a few other subtypes.


    Firstly, there was the Nether dragon. In the Second War, Deathwing stole the dragon eggs and went into the Nether. There, they were exposed to arcane magic, mutating into the Nether Dragons. Those that did not mutate were killed off by Gruul the Dragon Slayer.


    During this time, Deathwing was defeated by Khadgar and escaped back to Azeroth. Because of the special conditions, Nether dragons were not affected by the Ancient Gods and therefore, they were no longer members of the Dragonflight.


    Then, there were the Twilight Dragons. This time it wasn''t Deathwing that stole the eggs, but Sinestra, the consort of Deathwing who was often referred to as the Mother Dragon. When the Mother Dragon stole the eggs, she hid in Grim-Batol and created the Twilight Dragons, assisted by the Windrunner Zendarin.


    The Blood Elf was able to extract the essence of Nether Dragon Eggs and infused it into the Black Dragon Eggs, creating the Twilight Dragons.


    The Twilight Dragon developed very quickly and fed on the energy of crystals, only requiring a few weeks to reach full maturity. Sinestra planned on ruling over Azeroth with her new creations and defeating all the Dragons, including her own consort Deathwing.


    The most powerful of all the Twilight Dragons was Dargonax, the first of their kind. Sinestra treated him like her own child.


    Dargonax was the most powerful Twilight Dragon because of the Demon Soul that was infused within him. He could probably take on Deathwing by himself and so he was dearly loved by Sinestra. However, Dargonax proved too cunning and powerful for Sinestra to completely control. Eventually he fought his own ''mother'' and the two of them were both slain.


    Deathwing further experimented with Twilight Dragons to improve the species, but eventually, this also let to his demise.


    This couple had brought upon so much chaos, not only to others, but also to themselves.


    The last kind were the Chromatic Dragons that Lu Li and the others were facing against.


    Chromatic Dragons had nothing to do with Deathwing or Sinestra, but were actually created by Deathwing''s eldest son Nefarian.


    Nefarian wasn''t as powerful as his father, but he was much better at experimenting and innovating.


    Chromatic Dragons were the most powerful dragons of all types. They were created with the blood of dragonlings of all the different species.


    The blood mixture was infused into a mature Black Dragon, giving him an incredible amount of power, but the disadvantage was that he would have a shorter life span.


    The strongest of them all was Chromaggus, who had five different heads, each possessing the power of the five main dragon species. Similar to Dargonax and Sinestra, Nefarian treated Chromaggus like his own son. However, Chromaggus did not murder his ''parents''. Unfortunately, before Nefarian could achieve anything with Chromaggus, he had already passed away, leaving behind nothing but a body.


    Unfortunately, Nefarian could not find a way to bring him back to life.


    Archbishop Benedictus suggested that if he found a way to channel an immense amount of energy into his corpse, he would be able to be revived. Then, he would become the strongest creature on the face of Azeroth.


    Eventually Benedictus found a way to funnel all the Arcane energy from the Arcane War into Chromaggus, reviving the five-headed beast.


    Ysera the Emerald Dragon foresaw that the other four Dragon Kings will die at the hands of Chromaggus.


    This was a terrifying vision.


    The entire family were geniuses and wanted to create the strongest Dragon in Azeroth. If there were nobel prizes in Dawn, they would have probably each won one.


    "Be careful of his mount. Wandering, prepare to take aggro of it."


    Lu Li knew not to underestimate the mount.


    The Chromatic Dragon had two heads; one was slightly red and the other was green.


    "You will all die!"


    Rend charged towards the players and even Azure''s taunt couldn''t stop him as he went straight for Fat Monkey.


    Usually, Mages had two options in this situation ¨C either teleport away or use Ice Block.


    Fat Monkey was very calm. As a tournament player, if he couldn''t even handle this situation, then Lu Li should consider kicking him out.


    Fat Monkey did not teleport away because he could still have the aggro after. Therefore, he decided to use Ice Block and became completely invulnerable.


    This time, Azure Sea Breeze casted Taunt again and successfully drew the aggro.


    "He''s pretty strong but I can tank this," Azure Sea Breeze concluded after taking a few hits. His words made everyone felt safer.


    As long as he didn''t have some kind of overpowered skill, it would be an easy clear.


    However, the Boss cleaved him on the head and if it wasn''t for Lu Li''s reminder to activate his defensives and March Rain''s quick reactions, Azure Sea Breeze would have died.


    Mortal Strike ¨C Inflicts physical damage to target and reduces effectiveness of healing by 50%. Duration 50 seconds.


    Enrage - Increases Rend Blackhand''s attack speed and attack damage by 60%. Duration 1 minute.


    These two skills combined together could inflict massive amounts of damage and would mostly result in certain death if they weren''t careful.


    The first stage was the easiest for teams to be wiped.


    "Puff!"


    The Chromatic Dragon wasn''t doing much before, but it suddenly let out of huge puff of smoke.


    Moonlight was completely frozen and he continuously took damage.


    "Dont¡­" Lu Li cried out, but he was too late.


    When Hachi Chan tried to heal him, she was also instantly frozen and began taking damage. Even Remnant Dream who was nearby was also affected.


    March Rain hesitated but her healer instincts made her heal Hachi Chan. Expectedly, she too was frozen and died.


    Two out of the three healers were dead and the rest were all frozen.


    Warchief Rend Blackhand managed to wipe them out completely and bowed respectfully. He was very proud of his achievement.


    Nefarian scoffed and walked away.


    Rend was still useless in his eyes because it had taken him so long to finish off his opponents. The one who won them the battle was clearly Nefarian''s own creation, the Chromatic dragon.


    Rend stood there awkwardly and followed behind.


    "Those that are frozen can''t be healed because it can spread to others. Let''s start again. Whoever gets hit by Freeze, just pray that you''ll survive," Lu Li instructed.


    "Hachi Chan was losing more HP than Moonlight and I barely had any time to react. I think the more it spreads, the more damage it deals," March Rain agreed.


    In order to counter Contagious Freeze, Lu Li organised a new formation.


    Rend was a very challenging Boss that required individual skills. Not only did the freeze deal a significant amount of damage, but they also couldn''t rely on ally healers.


    "Curse you, mortals!" Rend shouted as he faced off against the same people again.


    The second time around, they managed to get past the first stage with ease.


    Everyone agreed that it was best not to heal those that were affected by the freeze in the second stage.


    The Chromatic Dragon cast Freeze again and Azure Sea Breeze was directly affected.


    Lu Li brought along three healers this run. March Rain was responsible for healing the main tank, Hachi Chan was responsible for the melee players, and the Shaman healer was responsible for the rest of the team.


    Restoration Shamans specialized in AOE healing. They might not be as good as Priests, but their AOE heals were definitely the strongest.


    Azure Sea Breeze was in a dangerous position. Without the Main Tank, the team had lost its defensive anchor. Rend took advantage of this and used this opportunity to relentlessly attack him.


    Azure Sea Breeze used up everything he had but still couldn''t hold on.


    The third time they returned to the Boss, it was clear that he wasn''t very intelligent. Otherwise, he would be questioning reality upon seeing the same group of people coming back to life for the third time.


    "The dragon only enters the fight in stage two. Before then, he cannot be targeted," Wandering said.


    "Then see if you can taunt it at the right time."


    This was the benefit of doing dungeons with intelligent teammates. Wandering wanted to Taunt the Chromatic Dragon away so that he cannot freeze Azure.


    Wandering was a tank with high HP and defense, so he probably won''t die from the Freeze.


    From his past life, Lu Li obviously knew what the strategy was to clear this Boss. However, this wasn''t beneficial for himself or the team. He wanted to train up his teammates so that they could learn through their failures and clear dungeons independently.

 1300 Fire and Ice

    In theory, Wandering had the right idea, but practically, it didn''t really translate.


    For example, he couldn''t taunt all the rainbow dragons at the right time and the team wiped. The second attempt was even worse. He taunted too many at once, causing all the melee classes to die instantly.


    Wipe after wipe.


    Rend Blackhand wasn''t too powerful and Gaith was still a baby dragon. However, the two of them together were almost unstoppable.


    Lu Li has attempted this once in his past life on a random team. It wasn''t even on Nightmare mode, so he had no idea the Orc-Dragon combination was so overpowered. However, based on what he had heard in his past life, a strong random team would still have a decent chance at defeating these two Bosses.


    Lu Li was sure that these two Bosses would get nerfed in the future.


    He was certain that no one in the game could defeat the Rend and Gaith combo.


    Wandering''s method was right in terms of dealing with them. In his past life, when Lu Li attempted this dungeon, there were also two tanks. Each of them was responsible for a Boss and they were able to clear it pretty easily.


    However, this was a completely different story since Gaith had yet to be nerfed.


    Lu Li thought about it and knew that the possibility of them clearing this dungeon was quite slim, unless if Wandering got lucky and was able to perfectly taunt every single time.


    Lu Li did not want to waste his time gambling on a small chance of clearing. First Clears were often based on luck, and if you were lucky, you could even pass with a weaker team. If you were unlucky, then all you could do was pray for better luck next time.


    In reality, there was a side path that could be taken that most people didn''t know of.


    "This is impossible, there must be another way¡­."


    "Lu Li, I think you''re just¡­"


    "Shut up!"


    "Okay, okay."


    "I know what you mean but we''ve tried pretty much everything here. The Boss is still freezing us to no end," Wandering said, finally using his head.


    "If we get frozen, then we obviously need fire¡­ Look around us."


    The arena was lit up by huge fire torches. There were also statutes of stone wolves which breathed out fire from their mouths.


    No one would think to touch these flames because the fire in the game would deal damage to players.


    Wandering did not question Lu Li''s suggestion and realized that it could work. Although the burn dealt damage over time, it probably wouldn''t hurt as much as Gaith''s ice breath. In reality, the burn debuff only dealt around 10 HP per second. Lu Li and the others all had around 3,000HP at this point, so it was more of a tickle.


    When players first joined the game, they learned pretty early on not to touch the fire because the burn damage dealt a significant amount of their HP. After playing the game for so long, it had been ingrained into their minds. The fear of watching your HP bar burn away was still deep in their hearts.


    "Both of you go and get the burn status. March Rain will keep your HP up," Lu Li said.


    "Thats it?" Wandering laughed bitterly.


    "What else?"


    "It looks like it''s really hot."


    Everyone looked at Hachi Chan weirdly. It turned out that she didn''t turn off physical sensations in her options. Although it didn''t hurt as much as real life, she was still very scared of touching fire because of the psychological barriers.


    With the new strategy, Lu Li decided to stand close to one of the fire pillars.


    "Boss, why don''t you just stand directly next to the pillars."


    Fat Monkey was being cocky. As a Fire Mage, he was resistant to burn debuffs, which was why Fire Mages were prefered over other mages.


    "Isn''t it better for me to stand near one so that I can react to the Boss rather than continuously take damage from the burn?"


    Lu Li was confident in his reaction time to stand next to the pillar when Gaith was about to cast his ice breath.


    "You right." Fat Monkey''s cockiness was immediately shut down.


    Those that were confident in their reaction did the same as Lu Li. Even though the burn only dealt a small amount of damage per tick, over the course of the entire fight, it was still significant and it placed more pressure on the healers.


    They managed to reach stage two of the Boss fight again and everyone became nervous.


    Lu Li saw how nervous everyone was and decided to let them in on a secret.


    "When dragons are about to breathe out fire or ice, they must breathe in some air first. Look at the hair around his nose. If it''s moving, then it means he''s taking a breath in. If it''s not moving, then his skill is probably on cooldown."


    These observations were not created by Lu Li .


    It was a tip that most players knew from his past life.


    There were some people that enjoyed finding out little tips and tricks for certain Bosses. They also enjoyed the satisfaction of telling others and feeling appreciated, which was why there were players that liked to write dungeon guides.


    "Look, look at the hair! It''s moving!" Remnant Dream cried out. Ever since Lu Li mentioned it, she had been staring this whole time and had dropped on the DPS chart.


    Everyone reacted quickly and stood next to a pillar.


    If Lu Li''s theory was right, then they might have a legitimate chance at clearing this dungeon. They could also sell the guide for a large sum of money.

 1301 Dungeon Strategy Guides

    Because of the tip that Lu Li gave everyone, Wandering perfectly timed his taunt on Gaith and only he was frozen.


    The frozen debuff lasted for a whole 30 seconds and there was a very high chance of the player being killed in that time. There was a very low chance of players critically striking the Boss, but when the players were frozen, the Boss gained critical hit.


    300?


    Wandering didn''t even activate his defensives this time because he wanted to compare the damage before and after the fire pillars. With the burn debuff, he only took 300 points of damage, whereas he was taking 500 before.


    "That''s quite helpful, wait¡­" Lu Li paused for a second then said, "The damage per tick is decreased as well."


    The second tick was even less than 300HP, with each tick doing less and damage.


    "All good, we''ll just heal you," Lu Li said.


    "You sure?" March Rain asked. She was hesitant about healing him because of what had happened before.


    "If you die then I''ll take responsibility for it," Lu Li promised as he rolled his eyes.


    March Rain casted heal on Wandering and was frozen immediately, taking 700 points of damage.


    No damage over time!


    "Don''t look at me like that. I''m surprised too," Lu Li said innocently.


    He had actually read about this in one of the strategy guides and was surprised that it worked. This mechanic was only discovered much later and Lu Li was never able to try it in his past life.


    Wandering was frozen for the whole duration and there was nothing he could do to dispel it.


    However, Contagious Freeze could be dispelled when players took damage. Therefore, when March Rain was frozen and took a tick of damage from the burn, she was set free.


    With this in their minds, stage two became a piece of cake. Before this strategy was discovered, the Orc and Dragon combo was nearly impossible to defeat. There used to be a saying that if a player in Dawn had yet to die in the game, they hadn''t attempted Blockrock Towers.


    When Rend Blackhand reached a third of his HP left, the fight transitioned into stage three.


    This was the stage when they actually faced off against Rend as he jumped off his trusty dragon mount.


    Since Rend was riding on Gaith before, they were both holding each other back and couldn''t fight together.


    Rend jumped down from his mount and immediately casted Whirlwind.


    Whirlwind ¨C Warchief Rend Blackhand swings his weapon around in a whirlwind, dealing physical damage to all enemies in an 8 yard radius.


    "Dodge! Everyone dodge!" Lu Li cried out.


    There were two types of Whirlwinds that Bosses used. One of them was used earlier on in the fight and had mediocre damage. It was used as more of a scare tactic against the players. Another type was cast in a last-ditch effort when the Boss was about to die, dealing more damage and even one-shot-killing enemies.


    Rend''s Whirlwind managed to do more than half of the entire party''s HP.


    When Lu Li yelled, everyone began running away as best they could.


    Gaith managed to catch them off guard and froze all the players who moved away from the fire pillars.


    The players were frozen in place and Rend Blackhand took this opportunity to kill half the party members. Since they had lost the majority of their team, they had no choice but to restart.


    "Just die and we''ll try again," Lu Li sighed.


    Lu Li didn''t mention to stay close to the fire pillars because he thought that the others would be smart enough to know that. It seemed as though he had overestimated his teammates'' game sense.


    When a party had a good shot caller, the benefit was that the clears were much more easier and smoother. However, the team would begin to rely on the calls in order to react.


    As long as they followed the calls, they would be able to clear the dungeon. This was something that the Ruling Sword dungeon team had learnt over time, which was why they were all frozen in place when Lu Li didn''t mention to keep an eye out on Gaith.


    Failure was the key to success. With this experience, everyone knew to never leave the fire pillars now. They had to try their best to dodge the Whirlwind while also making sure that they stayed as close as possible to the fire pillar.


    Now that Gaith was free, he could do a lot more than breathe ice upon them.


    Knockback ¨C Gaith inflicts physical damage to his current target and knocks them away.


    Corrosive Acid Breath ¨C Gaith breathes corrosive acid, reducing the Armor of all players in front of him and inflicting Nature damage every 5 seconds.


    Flame Breath ¨C Gaith breathes fire, inflicting fire damage to all players in front of him.


    This dragon was capable of spitting out three different things. Who knew how his internal anatomy worked?


    Fortunately, both Corrosive Acid Breath and Fire Breath were damaging abilities and not crowd-control.


    However, if Gaith used Fire Breath and the player was near a fire pillar, they would take significantly more damage and be instantly barbecued to death.


    Because of Fire Breath, Lu Li and others wiped two more times.


    They had lost count of how many times they had wiped, but it had been more than 2 hours. They finally lowered both Rend and Gaith to critical HP. Whenever there were two or more Bosses, teams preferred to kill both at once in case one of them became enraged.


    They were extremely lucky this time and both Rend and Gaith died without becoming enraged.

 1302 Taking Paymen

    "Ok, take a break!"


    Lu Li took Gaith''s last bit of HP and the System notified that he gained a Skill Point as a reward. This pleasant surprise took away the exhaustion he had felt for the past few hours.


    In reality, even amongst the top players, Lu Li had received close to the highest number of Skill Points. This was because he had cleared so many dungeons on Nightmare mode and completed so many quests that were unheard of.


    Everyone was exhausted and they were finally able to catch their breath. Most of the team were either sitting or lying down.


    "That Boss was seriously hard. I doubt the other guilds could clear it," Azure Sea Breeze sighed as he laid on one of the fire pillars. He continued taking the burn damage, but his passive health regen was much faster.


    "It wasn''t that bad. I think we did well," Jaweika said as he ripped off some bread and ate it.


    Jaweika didn''t always participate in dungeon runs with Lu Li. As a Shadow Priest, he could only make the roster when it was a 15-man raid. Therefore, he had no idea how fast Lu Li''s team usually completed the First Clear.


    "That''s what you call well?" Azure was surprised.


    "We''re lucky Lu Li thought of the fire pillar strategy; I don''t think anyone else would be smart enough to come up with that. Normally, if other guilds can''t figure out the strategy, they''ll end up wasting an entire day. The next day, they''ll send in another team to try it out. Ruling Swords is the only guild that has a set First Clear team because it wastes too much time for the other guilds to fail time and time again," Jaweika explained on how the other guilds did things.


    They hadn''t realized how privileged they were until they heard what Jaweika said.


    After discussing how much more difficult it was for other guilds to clear dungeons, everyone felt a lot better and less tired.


    Remnant Dreams stood up and walked over to the Boss excitedly. The first item was a Synthetic stone and it was redeemed by Kitty Likes Meat. There were also nine other enhancement stones in total.


    Nine sounded like a lot, but it wasn''t even enough to enhance a piece of gear once.


    Following this, there were two skill books, which was quite fortunate.


    In reality, Rend and Gaith were both strong Bosses and the two together made them one of the hardest obstacles to clear in Blackrock Towers.


    "Should we keep the strategy a secret?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "Why?"


    "This strategy is too simple. If someone were to mention anything, the other guilds would know how to clear it immediately."


    "What''s the point of keeping it a secret? It''s not like it''ll raise the value."


    Lu Li didn''t really care if other guilds learnt the strategies. As long as he was way ahead of his competitors, he didn''t care about them at all.


    "Let''s sell the strategy then," Fat Monkey laughed.


    Fat Monkey looked like a genuine and honest man, but his head was full of selfish and evil ideas. Paired with his evil laugh, this especially made him seem like a bad person.


    "Such a simple strategy ¨C who would buy it? I don''t think you''re very smart," Azure Sea Breeze mocked him.


    "Azure! This is why you get trolled by Lu Li so often. Even Wandering, the most simple-minded person in the group knows how to troll you," Fat Monkey retorted, "How would they know the strategy is simple when they''ve never seen it?"


    "Umm¡­ you''re despicable!"


    "Hehe, Big Boss, let me sell it for you and I''ll take 10% of the profit. I''ll even shout everyone dinner with that money!" Fat Monkey laughed as he wiped away his drool. Even though everyone knew the strategy now, no one dared to do anything with it unless Lu Li gave them permission.


    "Ok you can go and sell it and shout dinner for the brothers from the Elite group. Keep the rest."


    Lu Li didn''t really care that much.


    The dungeon guide was only for a single Boss and Blood Red War Flag had already completed the First Clear for the dungeon. It was almost impossible to sell the guide for too much.


    "Okay, I''ll ask around the major guilds then," Fat Money said.


    "Yeah, that''s a good idea. They have heaps of money," Lu Li agreed.


    "What about Drizzle Court? Do we give them a discount?" Fat Monkey asked with an innocent face.


    "Cough cough, Drizzle Court and Peerless City lent us some valuable equipment this tournament, so we probably shouldn''t take their money," Lu Li said awkwardly as everyone stared at him.


    "We should be thankful to them," Wandering added.


    "Yeah, they did us a favor. It wouldn''t be good to profit off them. This is why you''ll never get a wife Fat Monkey," Sakura Memories defended Lu Li, while also stabbing him at the same time.


    Lu Li quickly changed the topic.


    "Remnant Dream hurry up and search the Boss'' body. We put so much effort into the fight."


    Everyone was keen to see what goodies the Boss had dropped and they were successfully distracted.


    When Ruling Sword had defeated Rend, Water Fairy was not yet logged into the game.


    In Jiangnan Water Town ¨C the district that Lu Li and his younger sister were currently living in ¨C Water Fairy was sitting in a courtyard of an ancient building. These buildings were rare in the cities nowadays and did not fit in with the rest of the architecture of the district.


    It was the season for cherry blossoms and there were many planted in the courtyard. An old man and a young girl sipped on some tea as they sat under the shade.


    The girl was Water Fairy. She was wearing a white overall and was holding onto a chess piece, pondering her next move. She was as still as a beautiful statute. The old man was also wearing white, but his hair and beard were even whiter.


    "Sigh.. young people these days¡­"


    The old man shook his head and threw all the chess pieces onto the chess board.

 1303 Cherry Blossoms

    If there were students or even teachers here, they would bow and greet him as the principal.


    This old man with hair as white as snow had already retired many years ago and there had been countless principal changes at the school he worked at. However, none of them lived up to his prestige.


    Usually, when principals or teachers retired, others forgot about them and never bothered them ever again.


    There was a Chinese proverb that said to always respect your teacher as you did your father. This was something that the teachers themselves and was once said by a famous teacher. Over generations and generations of teaching, it had been engraved into society''s thinking, but no one really upheld this.


    This old man was an exception.


    He had been involved in business, politics and had been the principal for many schools. He was considered a genius and was still one of the most respected individuals in the community.


    Many students visited him in the hopes of becoming a student of his, but most of them were rejected.


    Water Fairy could come and go as she pleased and could even live here for as long as she wanted. The old principal didn''t mind at all because she was actually his granddaughter.


    "Grandpa, of course I can''t beat you," Water Fairy laughed.


    "You have something on your mind. I can tell."


    If his granddaughter didn''t want to tell him something, then there was nothing he could do to get it out of her.


    He had watched her grow up all his life and could tell what was on her mind most of the time. He felt a sense of sadness when he realized that the little girl who used to crawl around had already grown up to the age where she was worried about love. He wondered what kind of person had made his granddaughter feel that way.


    "I already said it''s because of dad; I hate him."


    Water Fairy rarely ever opened up because she disliked being vulnerable, but it was a different story with her grandfather.


    "Your dad called me and said that you met a gangster in a game. What was his name¡­ Lu Li? That''s a wonderful name."


    The old principal sat down and put some more tea leaves into the tea cup. Water Fairy''s expressions changed completely.


    "This is why I hate my dad!"


    "That''s why I never let him come to Jiangnan," the principal sighed as he started brewing some more tea.


    "I want to end my father-daughter relationship with him!" Water Fairy cried out, wanting to punch her father.


    "Heh, don''t change the subject. What kind of person is this Lu Li guy?"


    The old principal was still as sharp as ever; he wouldn''t be distracted by Water Fairy''s anger.


    "We¡­ we met in a game." Water Fairy did not deny her relationship with Lu Li, even though they hadn''t said anything to each other yet because Lu Li had not confessed.


    "You''ve never met in real life?"


    The old principal was familiar with virtual reality. He knew that it wasn''t just for playing games and that there were opportunities for education with that technology.


    "We have. We''ve met a few times," Water Fairy said shyly.


    "What''s so great about this guy that has made our little Water Fairy so smitten?" the old principal asked worriedly.


    "Grandpa, what''s so great about you that attracted grandma?"


    "Because I was smart. A lot of people said that I was one of the smartest people on earth," the old principal nodded his head and laughed.


    "I don''t know either. I feel like I don''t need a reason. I guess he''s different from other people that I''ve met before." Water Fairy thought about it for a second and couldn''t come up with a definitive answer. She could come up with reasons, but couldn''t seem to pinpoint why she felt that way about him.


    "Is it because he''s the poorest kid you''ve ever seen?" he scoffed.


    He hated his son-in-law with a passion. If it wasn''t because of the promise that he made to his deceased daughter and for the sake of his granddaughter, he would have organized someone to torture him to death. However, he had the same attitude as him when it came down to something as important as his granddaughter''s future happiness.


    "Grandpa did you do a background check on him?! Hmph, I''m gonna ignore you as well!"


    "I didn''t ¨C your dad was the one that told me. He''s basically using me to get more information out of you. What a sly dog."


    "Ever since that woman got pregnant, it''s almost as if my dad is under a spell."


    Water Fairy used to defend her father''s actions, but now she didn''t even bother.


    "If he wants to give all his inheritance to his son then that''s up to him. Lu Li grew up in the Slum District but was still able to become successful by his own means. If he can do it, then I can do it as well."


    "Aiya, you''re just as stubborn as your mother."


    The old principal was proud. He was still unsure about this Lu Li guy, but seeing his granddaughter like this, he knew it was best to not to push it any further.


    "We''re actually not even together ¨C just friends. We haven''t even held hands, I swear!"


    "Haha, there''s nothing wrong with pursuing a relationship. I''m not some conservative grumpy old man. Next time, if you''re free, you should bring him here to meet me. As for your father, I hope karma gets to him one day, even though I may not be alive by the time that happens¡­" the old principal sighed.


    "Grandpa, you''re not even old yet. Our relatives all lived very long lives; some even up to 120 years old," Water Fairy said.


    "I''ve lived a long and rewarding life. I''m not afraid to face death at all, as long as my little girl is happy. However, I hope that you don''t make the same mistakes as your mother did. You should be very careful when choosing your partner." Even though he was old and still very intelligent, he still nagged as much as any other old man.


    Water Fairy wasn''t annoyed by the nagging.


    There was nothing better than tea and cherry blossoms on a clear and sunny day.


    Remnant Dreams continued searching through the corpse and found two Gold grade equips.


    There was a very good special effect on one of the Armor pieces. It was too bad that it had generated on a Gold grade equip.


    Gold grade equipment had terrible base stats. The other two special effects were useless as well, which made this piece of equipment unworthy of replacing anyone''s current gear.


    They cursed the game developers that such an overpowered special effect would be wasted like this.


    Lu Li wasn''t disappointed at all because he knew that this was something that they would get used to in the future.


    Earlier on in the game, the stats and special effects of the equipment didn''t really mattered because the difference was minimal.


    As they progressed further, in order to be the best of the best, every piece of equipment had to be godly in order to stay above the rest of the player base. They needed to have the best stats and the best special effects that. If a Legendary piece of equipment had a worthless special effect like ''reduces fall damage by 50%'', then it would still be useless.


    The Dark Gold equipment was next. The first was a Lv60 Warlock piece which was given to Kitty Likes Meat


    It wasn''t powerful enough for her to place a stone on it to reduce the level requirement.


    Level requirement stones were very expensive and very rarely did players use them for Dark Gold items.

 1304 First Clear Team

    After the two Dark Gold equips, there was finally a Legendary drop.


    It was a leather Armor piece for Thieves. Being a typical Lv60 Legendary item, it had overwhemingly high


    stats and decent special effects.


    Lu Li''s current Armor was a Dark Gold equip called Charred Leather Tunic.


    Charred Leather Tunic (Dark Gold): Armor 85, Agility 40, Constitution +20, Evasion +15%, Special Effect 1: Fire Resistance +10%. Special Effect 2: Has a certain chance of rebounding 30% of damage and transforming the remaining damage into health for the caster. Special Effect 3: Lava Shield. Grants the caster 60% damage resistance, and any enemies that attack during this period will take damage. Lasts for 5 seconds. 30 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 50. Durability 235/235.


    He had found better pieces in the past, but he didn''t want to give up the rebounding special effect because he wanted to deal more damage.


    The fire resistance was also very useful, especially in the Blackrock Towers.


    He would probably replace it with the Legendary Bonechewer Chestpiece even though the stats weren''t godly.


    Bonechewer Chestplate (Legendary): Armor 135, Agility 70, Stamina 50, 2 sockets. Special Effect 1: Reduces all damage taken by 5%, special effect 2: Blocking enemy attack reduces damage taken by 20%, special effect 3: Ironskin Cage, instant cast, a thick layer of iron skin armor protects the user, lasts up to 5 seconds and can absorb up to 3000 points of damage, cooldown 6 minutes. Equipment Requirement: Level 60. Durability 285/285


    Besides Plate Armor and Chainmail, Lu Li had rarely seen an item with more than 100 Armor. The Bonechewer Breastplate added 135 Armor, which was extraordinary.


    10% fire resistance seemed strong, but the Bonechewer Breastplate added damage reduction to all damage by 5%. Additionally, the 50 stamina also made him a lot more tanky.


    There were also 70 points of Agility which was almost double his Dark Gold item. As for the special effects, even though they weren''t godly, they still added a lot of utility to his survivability.


    The next piece was a Dark Gold piece again and it was a Mage hat.


    Everyone was hoping that this piece would also be Legendary, but things didn''t go as they hoped.


    Even, the Mage hat still had commendable stats.


    It wasn''t as good as a Legendary hat, but it was definitely better than most Dark Gold hats because of the Mana Regeneration special effect.


    "Big Brother, do you want it?" Lu Li asked.


    "No!" Fat Monkey had a weird expression, almost as if he was held at gunpoint.


    "Did Flower privately message you something?" Lu Li was confused. Fire Mages needed mana regen the most because they spammed their skills. Why wouldn''t Fat Monkey want this hat?


    "Nope!" Fat Monkey said.


    "Sigh, I don''t get it. Do you want it or not? If you don''t want it then I''ll give it to someone else. Flower, do you want it?"


    "Nope!" Lonesome Flower had the same expression as Fat Monkey.


    Lu Li was confused as the girls started bursting out laughing and he quickly asked why.


    "Because it''s a green hat," Sakura Memories explained.


    "Green hat?" Lu Li looked at the hat in his hands. The hat was a very vibrant green color and could be seen from a distance.


    "Wearing a green hat also means you''re getting cucked, which is why none of them want it," Sakura Memory continued.


    "...Do you want it then, Kitty?" Lu Li was speechless.


    "No, it''s ok."


    Even though she was a girl and couldn''t be cucked, she still didn''t want the hat.


    "Ok, I''ll throw it into guild chest then."


    Why would the game developers give it such excellent stats and design it so intricately, but color it green?


    Lu Li was sure someone from the guild would happily take that hat and use it and ignore the meaning behind it.


    There was another piece, which was expected since there were two Bosses.


    In reality, even though both Bosses were very strong, it would be very normal for them to only drop a single Legendary piece. If a second piece dropped, it would probably be because this was the First Clear.


    The second legendary equipment was a Staff. The stats were decent and Lu Li gave this weapon to Jaweika because he was the only player in the team that was still using a Dark Gold weapon.


    If he were to give the staff to Fat Money or Kitty Likes Meat, that would be blatant favoritism.


    Lu Li was definitely closer to those two compared to Jaweika, but he couldn''t make it too obvious.


    Jaweika didn''t think that he would receive the weapon. In reality, even if he received the weapon that Fat Monkey wanted, he would still be very grateful. Everyone in the team were top players in the game and a replaced weapon that was passed down to him would still be very useful.


    Of course, his points were still deducted to redeem the Legendary weapon.


    Jaweika had less points than Lu Li and the others. This weapon basically cleared out the points he had, but he thought that it was a very worthwhile trade. With the new weapon, he was much stronger, which placed him one step closer to scoring a permanent spot on the First Clear team.


    There were currently 11 players in the First Clear team with 4 spots open for whoever might be useful or available at the time.


    With hundreds of people in the Ruling Swords Elite group, it was highly competitive to get into those four spots. Not only could the participants upgrade their equips with the dungeon drops, but they could also build rapport with the best players in the guild.


    Everyone who playd this game had the same goal of becoming the best. The fastest way to reach their goal was to join the First Clear Team of Ruling Sword.

 1305 Enraged Monsters

    After distributing all the equipment, everyone rested for a while. They had been battling for a few hours already.


    A commander needed to refrain from being hasty and impatient, as gaming took a heavy toll on the mental and physical condition of the players. Since the initial release of Dawn, there had already been multiple cases where players had died while playing the game.


    However, it was not only gaming that caused people to die in this fashion. People have also passed away suddenly while running or writing.


    Realistically speaking, there were people dying every moment in the real world. Therefore, since there were so many players, it was not surprising that some would die in-game.


    As for whether gaming was the main culprit or a contributing factor in these occurrences, it was enough to deduce that doing too much of one thing was detrimental to health.


    After resting for a while, Lu Li then brought the party to the next Boss.


    "Help me look for a dragon called Awbee. I took a quest before we entered," Hachi Chan pleaded as she pulled on Lu Li''s cape.


    "Look for it yourself. There aren''t any monsters here," Lu Li dismissed.


    "No¡­I''m not great at finding stuff. Also, I''m scared that I''ll get lost."


    Hachi Chan was surprised. She didn''t think that Lu Li would reject her request.


    "This bad habit of getting lost can be fixed. You just need to be more confident in yourself. You can only go so far in this area and if you do get lost, just return here using the main path. It can''t be that difficult."


    Lu Xin never got lost. One time, when she was young, she nearly was kidnapped by a few traffickers. Lu Li went crazy trying to find her, but in the end, she managed to escape from them. What was even more impressive was that Lu Xin managed to bring Lu Li back to the traffickers.


    After a few days, the traffickers were found disabled.


    During those days, Lu Li thought that he might have gone a little too far. After all, those traffickers could have had families of their own. However, Lu Li did not regret it at all.


    "Well, if Hachi Chan actually manages to get lost, it''ll be better if I go with her. She does tend to get lost really easily, even if she can only go so far," Sakura Memories said, then took Hachi Chan with her and went to find Awbee. Lu Li then advanced with the rest of the party and cleared out the monsters.


    Perhaps it was karma, or perhaps it was Hachi Chan''s questing skills, but Sakura Memories came back, she had accepted what seemed to be an extremely difficult quest.


    If Lu Li recalled correctly, this questline would lead to an extremely powerful and exclusive Legendary Shaman item. No matter what the item, if was labelled ''Exclusive'', it was guaranteed to be extremely powerful. However, the value of the item would also drop.


    After clearing a few waves of small monsters, they advanced up the stairs and found themselves face to face with a few groups of Orc warriors.


    Squad wipe!


    The feeling of being wiped by ordinary monsters was humiliating, but it couldn''t be helped. It wasn''t that they had made mistakes which led to the wipe, but rather, the Orc Warriors that weren''t taunted would go and fight the other players, disrupting everything.


    Once they regathered themselves, Azure Sea Breeze pulled the aggro of the monsters.


    Lu Li was silent the whole time. After all, some lessons were better learnt without them being said. After this, Azure Sea Breeze would remember this and not half-heartedly pull aggro.


    Pull to the corner. Pull to the next corner. Pull outside.


    These were common monster-clearing methods. Although time-consuming, it was the safe option to clear monsters without getting wiped.


    After clearing, they entered a long and narrow pathway.


    The left side of the pathway was an Instance Dungeon that they couldn''t defeat yet. This was Blackwing Lair. The right side of the pathway was the correct direction.


    Blackwing Lair was the lair of Deathwing''s eldest son and Onyxia''s brother, Nefarian. This Instance Dungeon could only be attempted with a minimum of 40 players who had cleared a certain number of level 60 Instance Dungeons. Fifteen people were clearly not enough, which was why Lu Li changed his party often to pick out the stronger ones.


    When he started this game, his standards were much lower


    He didn''t want the best, but he wanted the most suitable. If they had something that was beneficial, then he wanted them on his team, for example, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream. He needed to train them bit by bit until they themselves were powerful.


    However, things were different now. If Lu Li wanted to, he could use the legions of players under his command.


    The right side was another stairwell. Since this was a tower, the terrain could not be flat, which meant that the pathways were more often curved than not. If Hachi Chan was alone here, she could go around and round for three months and still not find her way out.


    There was a large hall at the bottom of the stairwell. It would be normal for a squad to wipe here. After all, these monsters were the strongest monsters besides the Bosses.


    Normal squads could wipe 7 to 8 times and it wouldn''t be a surprise.


    However, Ruling Sword was not part of the majority this time. Azure Sea Breeze cautiously snuck around outside the hall, then stuck his head inside to scout. He saw that there was a patrolling squad of monsters around the entrance. The monsters here weren''t set inside the hall, as they were constantly on the move. Then, Azure Sea Breeze fired an arrow towards one of the Orcs.


    The Orc that was struck was angered.


    A group of them were also angered, which led to seven or eight of them storming out of the hall.


    "Mage, Hex."


    Lu Li was satisfied with Azure Sea Breeze''s caution, but he knew that this wasn''t enough. If these monsters were treated as per normal, they would definitely be wiped a few times. Some commanders would tell the party that these were individual Bosses.


    Lu Li didn''t want to use the scare tactic, so he employed his own methods to avoid a perilous situation.


    After hearing Lu Li''s instructions, Fat Monkey and Lonesome Flower instantly picked out a target and casted Hex. A normally fierce-looking Orc warrior suddenly became sheep.


    Eight monsters became six after two were hexed.


    Wandering looked at Lu Li, then decided to pull one towards himself. After all, this was only a normal monster. It definitely couldn''t one-shot him, a backup Tank. In Ruling Sword, he was the backup Tank, but with his skill and items, he would be able to play as the Main Tank for many guilds outside of Ruling Sword.


    Now, there were five left. Lu Li then went forward and used Cheap Shot to control another, leaving four behind. These weren''t actual Bosses, so they didn''t have immunity to crowd-control skills, or the HP and armor of Bosses. Their skills didn''t matter. If they were controlled, they would eventually become a source of items and experience.

 1306 Calling

    An exceptional commander would be able to control the dynamics of the battle. When the squad needed to relax or focus, they would adjust accordingly as per the commander''s instructions. Otherwise, they would not be at peak condition when dangerous moments in the battle arrived.


    Azure Sea Breeze and the rest didn''t know what made these monsters so strong, so they were perplexed as to why Lu Li paid so much attention to them.


    The monsters in the hall were pulled out, controlled, then cleared. After clearing the monsters, the empty hall suddenly resonated with a sound that was similarly to the panting and growls of wild beasts.


    The party gathered their focus at the end of the hall and saw that a tremendously large shadow was approaching them.


    The Beast!


    This was a Giant Core-hound from the innermost areas of Molten Core. Although it was only a hound, it was not a simple beast to handle at all. The Beast had a large and muscular body, with limbs that were just as muscular. It had two fierce heads, perched on top of its neck, and its body shone bright with the flames that surrounded it. Within the cracks on its body, the molten lava that flowed through its insides glowed.


    From the battles between the Army of Black Dragons and the Fire Elementals, the Black Dragons


    knew and remembered the immense strength of these Core-hounds.


    They captured these hounds from the inner areas of the Molten Core, then used them in research to create stronger creatures to defeat Ragnaros'' Fire Elemental enemies.


    The Beast was one of these hounds that was captured from Molten Core by the Blackrock Clan, then transported to Blackrock Spire. It was said that the method of capture was extremely cruel, which led to the Beast massacring and eating the corpse of countless Orcs that got close to him.


    However, the Beast was not the strongest experiment subject.


    In the depths of the Blackwing Lair, Nefarian successfully created Chromaggus, another beast. Its strength far surpassed the likes of The Beast.


    However, The Beast was not an easy opponent either.


    "#£¤%...@&"


    No one understood the language of the Core-hounds, but they could all sense its deep-rooted rage and insanity.


    "Is everyone ready?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he raised his shield. He was very well-suited to playing as the Main Tank. Besides his inherent talent, his mental fortitude and ability to adapt was commendable. After the arduous battles with the last Boss, the Main Tank would be the most tired. However, he had already managed to recover from any fatigue.


    "Don''t waste time. Let''s go," Lu Li said as he rubbed the poison onto his daggers.


    His poison levels were a little low at that moment. After all, he didn''t need to use poison for the Instance Dungeons, so the damage that he could do with it was minimal. Furthermore, he also needed to command the squad while simultaneously battling, so his DPS dropped behind the Magic-based classes.


    Moonlight, the Berserker, didn''t seem to fall behind in DPS either.


    In this version of the game, a Berserker''s DPS was extremely high. In the hands of a skilled Manual player, the DPS was even greater.


    It was said that Dawn''s son were Mages, and the godson were Thieves. Lu Li believed that Thieves had a future in Dawn.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s Legendary shield smashed into the lower jaw of The Beast. If this strike was aimed at a player or a smaller monster, it would be a guaranteed stun. However, on a Boss like this, it could only be used as an aggro-pulling technique.


    Azure Sea Breeze successfully pulled the aggro of The Beast. One head was focused on Azure Sea Breeze, while the other head was spewed molten lava everywhere.


    A reddish-yellow liquid covered the hall. As a melee player, Lu Li couldn''t avoid the lava splashing onto his armor. After making contact with his armor, he immediately heard a fizzling sound. The lava that landed on his skin dealt a considerable amount of damage. March Rain desperately casted an AoE healing ability.


    "This Boss is disgusting, spitting everywhere like that!" Azure Sea Breeze roared as he wiped his face clean, then rushed forward with rage.


    Fortunately, this was only a game, and the game designers weren''t into explicitly disgusting features. Otherwise, the lava would have melted their faces, creating an horrific, grotesque scene.


    "Wow, disgusting indeed. This also melts the durability on our armor as well," Lu Li said as he frowned.


    Repairing armour was not that bad as this only required gold. As an Engineer, Lu Li could also construct a repair bot to repair the armour. The repair performed by the bot was even better than the normal blacksmith.


    However, Lu Li''s greatest fear was running out of durability during the battle.


    Besides a few special equips, the items in Dawn wouldn''t just ''explode'' when they ran out of durability. However, the quality and effects of the items disappeared when the durability reached zero.


    Imagine a squad without armor ¨C even if the Boss had 10% HP, it would be impossible for them to defeat it.


    "Take cover on the walls. Breezy, pull the Boss towards another direction. Do you still need my reminder for a Boss like this?"


    Lu Li took all the melee combat players and took cover on the walls. This Boss was too versatile. It was only a dog, so how did it know to use its hindlegs to kick out?


    Just then, Sakura Memories was struck by the Boss'' hindlegs and flew across the room.


    It was a truly powerful kick. When she fell, she immediately died.


    Azure Sea Breeze then pulled the Boss to face another direction so the melee classes were just dealing damage to its backside. If the Boss decided to kick again, at least they would only hit the walls, which reduced the damage dealt. Although it was still a considerable amount of damage, it was not enough to one-shot them.


    "Hachi, revive Memories," Lu Li instructed.


    Hachi Chan immediately ran over to Sakura Memories and revived her.


    "Sakura Memories! Get up! My husband has returned!"


    Caw¡­caw¡­caw¡­


    Everyone was stunned. What did Hachi Chan just say? A loli still in highschool had a husband? Where did he come from?


    In the last update, a Call system was introduced when using skills.


    This system bound voice recordings with the casting of skills. When the skill was used, the player would automatically say the pre-recorded phrase. This was introduced for better communication between players. For example, Sakura Memories would say, "Under my ancestors'' blessings, you will all become red and strong," while using Bloodlust.


    Some others were even more perplexing, and even Lu Li did not understand what they meant.


    Another example was Wandering. When he used Riding, he would say: "Shook, Shook, Shook, Shook the Pilot!"


    Azure Sea Breeze also had a call for his Riding skill as well.


    "I am a Berserker! I spin and spin like a fan, but my cooldown is a minute and a half!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was a defensive warrior, so Moonlight showed his displeasure every time Azure Sea Breeze cast this skill.


    Could someone explain why a cute little girl would yell something like this?


    The whole party just stood and remained speechless.


    "Oi! Hachi, once we return, change your call!" Lu Li yelled strictly.


    If Lu Xin was the one that said something like that, he would definitely punish her. He already promised Hachi Chan''s parents that he would take care of her and not lead her astray. However, now that something like this happened, he thought that he''d failed her parents.

 1307 Must be Adopted

    Hachi Chan reluctantly returned to her position. She was clearly not happy.


    Was Lu Li her father? He was being way too strict! She only copied this from other people, since she thought it was quite funny.


    There was another version that was full of hatred for the party leader: "Don''t look at me like that. I know what you''re all thinking. We just got squad wiped, so why do you think that I''ll follow what the leader says?"


    Of course, Hachi Chan didn''t dare to use that one.


    "Wandering, you''re way too low on the aggro list. You''re the Secondary Tank, so hurry up and pick up your slack," Lu Li quickly reminded.


    The Beast was not as strong as the previous Gyth and Rend combo. However, as a level 60 Boss, it was still fairly easy to slip up and get wiped, like in this situation, where Wandering was half-heartedly doing his job.


    "Oh!"


    Azure Sea Breeze had been bit on his face. It looked as though the Boss was kissing him.


    This skill was Terrifying Roar, which was used starting from phase two. There were two versions ¨C one for group battles and another was for parties. The first version was The Beast''s Roar, which inflicted Fear on players within a 10-metre radius. The duration of the fear was 5 seconds, but when cast on a party, only one person was the target.


    The Beast would target whoever was first on the aggro list, so the Secondary Tank had the important responsibility to maintain the second position. Otherwise, the Boss might run towards the other members.


    The party version was more difficult to deal with than the group version. Players affectionately called this skill The Beast''s Kiss.


    When fighting in this Instance Dungeon, Main Tanks had to ''sell their bodies'' to deal with it.


    Wandering was already reminded of this before, so he immediately built up his aggro level. By this time, they finally passed the easier obstacle in phase two. Most squads would wipe here at least once.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s 5 seconds of Fear quickly passed, and he quickly resumed his position.


    The solution was just to build up enough aggro for the second aggressor.


    Azure Sea Breeze secretly wanted to see Wandering get bit by the Boss. Wandering usually acted like a high and mighty noble, so he probably forgot about his younger self.


    People would undoubtedly want to tear down a person like this.


    Now the opportunity has arrived. If Wandering''s face was clamped by the Boss, then it had to be recorded!


    "Eh? What the hell? Why is the Boss hitting me? Liu Jin Zhu! You idiot! You''ve played me!"


    Liu Jin Zhu?


    "Is it not your responsibility to tank? How did I play you? Far out, what did you call me before? Didn''t we both agree to it before?"


    Wandering was decreasing his aggro level after Azure Sea Breeze''s 5 seconds was up, so Azure Sea Breeze could take over quite easily.


    However, no one realised that Azure Sea Breeze would yell out Wandering''s real name.


    Wandering was always a perfect child. Everyone loved him ¨C even the animals.


    The only thing that he hated was his name because Jin Zhu directly translated to Golden Pillar.


    He had thought about checking his lineage and verifying whether he was adopted or not. He couldn''t be adopted, since he had such a pretty face. Who would throw away a boy like this?"


    Liu Jin Zhu¡­Who would call their child that?


    If he had brothers, they would have been called Liu Ying Zhu (Silver Pillar), Liu Tie Zhu (Metal Pillar)¡­


    Truthfully, Wandering liked the name ''Liu Tie Zhu'' better, because it was less conspicuous, which fit his character better, but in reality, it would have been better if his name was more grand-sounding.


    "Cough¡­cough¡­Focus on pulling the Boss! Wandering, maintain your level of aggro at number two." Lu Li looked at the eyes of hatred between those two and decided to quickly move to another topic.


    As for the name, everyone pretended that they didn''t hear it.


    If it was someone else like Fat Monkey who had the name, everyone would laugh. However, Wandering was a different case.


    Azure Sea Breeze realised that he had called out Wandering''s real name, but it was too late.


    He knew how much Wandering hated his name. When they were young, Wandering had left his home and cried while running to Azure Sea Breeze''s house. Azure Sea Breeze''s dad had promised that this secret would be between them, but he was sold out for a bottle of Maotai liquor.


    Wandering stared with hatred at Azure Sea Breeze, who could only cover his face and breathe long sighs.


    What could he do? From when they were young to now, even punching him wouldn''t fix anything. Furthermore, Wandering could not physically handle Azure Sea Breeze in a fight either.


    The Beast then kicked another melee player. This was the fourth player that it had kicked to death in phase three.


    However, this did not slow down the speed at which it was losing HP. If Lu Li revived Moonlight, then they would have only lost three people in total. It was completely possible to erase the little bit of HP it had left, assuming that it didn''t have other ultimate skills in store.


    "Alright, let''s focus and clear this in one go. If we pass, I''ll shout everyone dinner. If anyone slips up and costs us the clear, I will never forgive them. This is for you, Wandering. If you dare to make me slip up, then I will reveal every bit of your dark history and destroy your image."


    Lu Li was not the one who said this, but Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze did not want to go through the pain of being ''kissed'' by the Boss again.


    However, he still needed to focus and defend to prevent a wipe. If they wiped, they would have to restart.


    "Childish!"


    "Virtue-less person! Undermining another of higher status!"


    Wandering couldn''t help but quarrel back. As a Secondary Tank, it would be easy to induce a team wipe.


    He wanted to let Azure Sea Breeze be tortured more.


    Wandering was now extremely excited for the Boss to enter into an Enraged state and start dealing Critical Hits.

 1308 Skinning Knife

    No Berserk?


    While everyone else was rejoicing over the Boss not entering Berserk mode, Wandering could only watch as the The Beast fell to the ground.


    What made him even more depressed was that Azure Sea Breeze had also gained a skill point.


    Was karma even real?


    "Quick, loot the equipment. The Boss was cleared on the first try, so stop wasting time. None of you need to rest," Lu Li nagged.


    "Lu pain in the butt¡­"


    "What''d you say?"


    Lu Li had heard similar mutters come from them, but he couldn''t figure out what they were saying. These guys were daring enough to come up with crude nicknames for him.


    "Nothing, there''s nothing wrong. Remnant Dream, go and loot and equipment," Hachi Chan said as she nudged Remnant Dream.


    "Stones, Skill Book, Materials, Gold equipment, Dark Gold equipment and one Legendary item. This Boss was stingier than the other one," Remnant Dream announced after she quickly looted all the items.


    "Be satisfied. Besides the liking that The Beast took to the Main Tank, it wasn''t that difficult. To have a Legendary item to drop is already pretty good. It''s a DPS item for Paladins, so its unsuitable for Mu Qiu. If this was given to Wandering, it would be a waste. I''ll chuck it in the guild''s storage," Lu Li decided as he distributed the rest of the stones.


    Legendary items would of course be placed inside the guild''s storage.


    If a player had enough guild points, then he or she could choose to exchange the points for the Legendary item. A majority of the players would never have enough guild points to exchange for Legendary equipment, but this was a fair system regardless.


    The last item was a more peculiar one.


    Finkle''s Skinner!


    In everyone''s eyes, this was probably a worthless dagger.


    However, Lu Li knew its true value. The Legendary item from before was less valuable than this dagger.


    Finkle''s Skinner (Gold): Damage 32-48. Agility +25, Strength +12, Critical Chance +15%. Socket: 1. Special Effect 1: Attack Speed +10%. Special Effect 2: Blink Strike, Instant Cast. After using the skill, the user blinks to the target. First strike is guaranteed critical. Level requirement: 55. Durability 130/130.


    If this was a level 30 item, the effects would be quite valuable.


    Unfortunately, this was a level 55 item. Even the lowest-tier items had higher damage than this weapon. Lu Li''s Felstriker was enhanced and had a damage range of 96-135. Even the minimum damage from Felstriker was double the maximum damage from Finkle''s Skinner.


    If this was thrown into the guild''s storage, no one would give it a second look.


    This was a common item in the early stages of the game in Lu Li''s previous life, but it was usually used as enchanting material.


    One day, a player grew curious as to why it was called Finkle''s Skinner. There was a description of the item, hidden in fine print which read, "The Great Traveller Finkle Einhorn''s treasure."


    In Dawn, only a few items had a description like this. If an item was truly exquisite, then it would have a backstory.


    What was a Great Traveller? What was Finkle Einhorn like? Why was his treasure a plain, small knife? Why did this knife drop from The Beast?


    All in all, the curious player was stumped.


    He brought this dagger with him and asked many people about it. Unfortunately, no one could give him an answer. One day, he unintentionally used it on a wild Boss'' corpse and produced the Skinning effect.


    This was a knife with the Skinning effect; a normal weapon would not be able to do this. After skinning the Boss, the player then realised that the meaning behind the name, Finkle''s Skinner.


    It was a skinning knife!


    This realisation resulted in disappointment, but he was not willing to accept this, so he continued investigating.


    Finally, he found the true value of this knife.


    The knife had a hidden third special effect. Special Effect 3: Skinning skill points +20. If the target is a Boss, success rate +50%.


    Adding 20 skill points was understandable. If a level 55 monster needed 240 skinning points, but the player only had 220, the player would not be able to skin it, no matter how lucky they were. However, if they had Finkle''s Skinner, then they would be able to.


    Although this effect alone was already extremely valuable, it was not what elevated this item into Legendary status.


    The main selling point was the +50% success rate.


    Every monster could only be skinned once. If the first attempt was successful, then the quality of the skin would be the best. Just like in reality, the quality would reduce with successive attempts.


    Normal monsters had high success rates.


    Most importantly, the +50% success rate was for Bosses. According to the data, the success rate if the player''s skill points exceeded the requirement by 10 was a mere 10%. If the player did not exceed the requirement by 10, the rate would only be around 1%.


    Therefore, the most expensive skins were not from normal monsters, but the Bosses''.


    This small knife completely revolutionised the laws of skinning.


    Imagine having a mind-blowing 60% success rate of completing a perfect skin of a high-quality material when the other players struggled with 10%.


    This player did not say anything to anyone. He paid to enter the Instance dungeon teams and skinned the Bosses'' skins for money.


    To avoid attention, he avoided staying in one location for too long. He would often leave the party after entering the Instance Dungeon once. This gave the others the impression that he was a skinning enthusiast, but also the impression that he was quite strange.


    The sudden emergence of many high-quality skins on the market led to some suspicions by a cunning businessman.


    This lucky player then met a gentle and intelligent girl. He chose to invest in love with his status and money, and at the time, it seemed like everything was going right.


    However, it was difficult to keep a secret, especially from his significant other. Finally, he told the truth on the day of his proposal to the girl.


    After this, his life turned into a soap drama.


    It was all a web of lies. After the businessman found the secret, the gentle and intelligent girl that he swore to care for forever instantly disappeared from his life. Then, another person suddenly became capable of selling high-quality skins on the market. This seller was much more able to utilise Finkle''s Skinner to obtain even more money.


    The player realised that he had been tricked. In his rage, he decided to do something radical.


    He revealed all of his secrets ¨C where to get Finkle''s Skinner, the effects, and even all the locations of Bosses that would fetch a good price for the skins. This information was then compiled and named the Book of Skinning by other players.


    Lu Li, in his previous life, had learnt the art of skinning, which meant that he had read and flipped the pages of this book countless times.


    Unfortunately, he never obtained Finkle''s Skinner. The knife was a rare sight on the market too. Even it did appear, it would immediately sell at a ridiculously high price.


    This knife only dropped from The Beast on Nightmare difficulty. Guild parties would fight it and give the drop to their Skinners. Some other groups were also able to defeat The Beast, but Lu Li was not strong enough to join these parties. Even if he did, and a Finkle''s Skinner dropped, the chances that he would receive it were low.


    "I''ve heard of this knife. It¡­" Lu Li paused for a bit, then used an obscure game book as an excuse and continued to explain the secrets behind this knife.


    Everyone present was smart enough to understand Lu Li''s meaning. Therefore, after listening to him, everyone understood the significance of this knife.


    "How about giving it to Memories? She''s always grinding, so she would use the knife the most." After a short discussion, everyone was on board with giving the knife to Sakura Memories.


    Remnant Dream was another person who had learnt the skill of Skinning. Actually, the best class to learn Skinning was Hunters. Remnant Dream understood this and learnt it. However, she didn''t grind monsters too often, since she spent the majority of her time nurturing her pets. Furthermore, she was reluctant to skin the more innocent-looking monsters, which was why her Skinning skill was not at a higher level.


    After receiving the knife, Sakura Memories immediately went to skin The Beast.


    No matter if it was a Lava Hound or a Husky, it was still a dog, which meant that it could be skinned. There was no better time to use the knife that had dropped to skin it.

 1309 Out Came a Gnome!

    Sakura Memories could never skin Bosses perfectly, especially the level 60 ones.


    This time, she swapped her old +6 skinning knife for the Finkle''s Skinner. Would it work? She didn''t quite believe in the legend of the knife.


    Finkle''s Skinner''s actual knife was not very large; the blade itself was only slightly longer than the handle.


    From the appearance of the knife, it was clear that it wasn''t suited for combat because the durability would decrease even faster when parrying enemy attacks. When the durability of a knife decreased, so did the chances of parrying. Proper daggers were long and sharp dagger like the Shard of the Defiler, or Felstriker, which carried a dense and dark energy.


    Sakura Memories ran the small knife over The Beast with ease and watched as its armor-like, thick hide just slipped off its body.


    This was The Beast''s Blaze Leather!


    The art of skinning in Dawn was quite complex. It was different in many ways compared to the rest of the professions.


    The different leathers and hides when used in crafting would only affect the properties of the equipment being crafted. However, the Blaze Leather was a sought-after material when using it for other reasons.


    Leather was not only used for leather Armor; it could also be used for Plate Armor or Chainmail. In between each plate, leather could be used to fill and connect them together. In doing so, the end product would be much more comfortable, while also having a bit of magic resistance. Armor-smiths would also use leather as inner clothing.


    Cloth-armored classes would also choose to wear small amounts of leather to increase the defence of more critical areas.


    The significance of the Blaze Leather was in its name ¨C it increased fire resistance, which was currently the most popular type of magic resistance. After all, the Blackrock Mountains contained Elementals, Black Dragons and Fire attribute Bosses.


    The lowest-price for Blaze Leather was 480 gold on the market. However, The Beast''s leather was a rarity among rarities. The Blaze Leather from The Beast gave quite a lot of fire resistance, which also led to its exorbitant price of at least 1000 gold. Even 1000 gold would be considered under-priced.


    After taking the leather, Sakura Memories'' hands were shaking. She was not only nervous about its value, but that this successful attempt had already proven what Lu Li said.


    This knife could truly increase the success rate!


    "What the hell!"


    Just as everyone began to be excited, Remnant Dream was spooked. This corpse-lover immediately jumped into Hachi Chan''s embrace.


    Then, everyone saw it. It was a¡­gnome? A gnome had come out of The Beast''s corpse?


    No wonder Remnant Dream was spooked. Even if one had prepared themselves for this, it would still scare the living daylights out of them.


    "Ah, finally out. It must be you guys who have saved me. You are my heroes! Let me introduce myself."


    The little dwarf quickly cleared up the confusion and laughed while continuing, "I am an adventurer. The name is Finkle Einhorn."


    Upon hearing this, Sakura Memories instantly put away her dagger.


    There was no way that she was going to return the knife, even if she was beaten to death. But since she was the one who used the knife to save the gnome, he wouldn''t be wanting it back¡­would he?


    "Greetings, Lord Finkle Einhorn. I have heard of you," Lu Li politely said.


    "Aha, am I that famous? Young man, lying is not a good habit. I don''t like suck-ups," the little gnome said proudly.


    "I have heard of other people talking about you. They say that you are insane ¨C an insanely rich douchebag, while also being a great adventurer," Lu Li calmly replied.


    "Who said this? How dare he stain a name of such greatness?" Finkle Einhorn was clearly not pleased.


    "(Can''t find name). I''m sure you''re familiar with him. He is part of the Ratchet Engineering Association as a Dark Iron dealer. He gave me a quest regarding you, Mr. Einhorn."


    Only a few people knew of Finkle''s past. He was extremely wealthy, with countless Legendary weapons and treasures in his care. With this also came a large number of followers, as well as thieves, eyeing his treasures.


    Thorium Group was one of the organisations that supported him generously. Many groups backed his success, probably because they hadn''t seen someone that crazy, yet lucky before. Despite all that he had gone through, he was still living.


    This episode where he was swallowed by The Beast was miniscule compared to his other experiences. The people who knew what he had accomplished had to admit that the gods were watching over him.


    This time, there was something special hidden within.


    Thorium Group''s Dark Iron Dwarves would constantly mention that they had created a suit of Arrmor that "allowed the wearer to survive even in the Black Dragon''s stomach." However, the suit could only be worn by a gnome.


    It was Finkle Einhorn who had immediately stolen this fire-resistant suit. Furthermore, he also stole Majordomo Executus'' lava dredger.


    Majordomo Executus was the person that was mentioned by Lu Li. He accepted the NPC''s quest, then managed to see this great adventurer, full of regret.


    "Please forgive me, friend. It was on impulse! You know, I''ve always been keen on exploring the depths of the Molten Core. However, Majordomo Executus tricked me! His lava dredger could only be used for twelve hours, so I got trapped in here. Stupid Beast. It treated me as food and ate me! Luckily, I had the suit on ¨C otherwise, I wouldn''t have been able to continue."


    There seemed to be something wrong with his logic.


    Lu Li hesitated, then decided to for a reward.


    "My condolences, but this isn''t enough for me to ignore the quest."


    His nickname, Lu pain in the butt, came from his reliance on his party to do most of the tedious things, but also came from his habit of tricking NPCs for his own gain. Even the quest master Hachi Chan didn''t have the ability to do that.


    "Young man, greed is a sin. However, since you guys have freed me¡­"


    The gnome seemed like he was going to accept what Lu Li was asking for.


    "Actually, I''ve always been keen on exploring, especially towards the depths of the Molten Core. So¡­" Lu Li said with his thick skin, then continued, "Can you give me a suit of fire-resistant clothing? In the future, if I find anything from adventuring, I will definitely share it with you."


    Lu Li really wanted Finkle Einhorn''s suit.


    If this was worn, then he might be able to completely ignore the attacks of Fire-based Bosses. Even if this couldn''t be done, then he could at least use this suit to go and open chests within the molten lava.


    He knew of a few high-grade chests hidden within the pools of lava. These chests could very well be Legendary grade. It was said that it wasn''t uncommon for a Legendary item to just casually drop out. However, no one was strong enough to go. Even in his previous life, after Dawn had been released for three years, no one was able to open these Legendary chests.


    Without hesitating, Finkle Einhorn instantly rejected Lu Li''s proposal.


    "Sorry, that can''t be done," he apologized, then added, "It''s not that I''m not willing to part from this suit, but it''s that this suit only fits gnomes."


    Lu Li was saddened upon hearing this. He deflated like a balloon.


    Finkle gave an understandable excuse, but ultimately, it was because the game company didn''t want players to use a suit like this.


    "However, I know someone who may have an idea about this. This suit was made by him. He is my friend Malyfous Darkhammer."


    Finkle Einhorn seemingly wasn''t shameful about not being able to accept Lu Li''s request, so he immediately referred Lu Li to the creator of the suit.


    "Where is he?" Lu Li asked, with a hint of desperation in his voice.


    Everlook. Do you know where it is? It''s in Winterspring," Finkle Einhorn answered. "Malyfous likes to eat meat. I have a piece of The Beast''s flesh, which is delicious. If a chef was able to work his magic into this meat, then it would be the best thing in the world. You can bring this as a gift to him."


    Lu Li took this piece of meat and thanked The Beast in his heart.


    Who knew that the cause of The Beast''s pain came from someone who was inside its own stomach and eating its flesh. Furthermore, he had also picked the best piece too.


    Growing, then being eaten¡­on repeat.


    "Tell him that Finkle is fine now. I have to go and deal with some errands. Goodbye."


    Finkle Einhorn was clearly worried that Lu Li was going to ask for more things, so he immediately took out a machine, played around with it, and left.


    "Last Boss of the day. Let''s pack up soon," Lu Li said as he stretched and yawned.


    "Let''s stop here. There haven''t been any overnight raids, right?" Sesame Rice Ball seemed to be quite satisfied with himself.


    "Well, this is the last Instance Dungeon that''s capped at level 60. The dungeons after this would be uncapped. The difficulty of the dungeons would also be absurdly high," Lu Li sighed. The cap at level 60 was already no longer a secret; the company had already announced it.


    As for the practical use of the level 60 cap, the playable content of the game would remain fresh.


    The slackers had their own way of slacking in the game, while the hot-blooded players would still be


    able to play the way they want to. The Marriage system, Guild castle system as well as many new modes of competition would all be introduced.


    Of course, the game company also said that the level 60 was only temporary. Eventually, the level 70s would be accessible, then the level 80 range and so on.


    This was the reason why Lu Li managed to become quite advanced in the game despite entering the game late by a year in his previous life.


    His equipment now seemed strong, but when the new content arrived, all the current strong items would be discarded in the trash.

 1310 Blackblade

    After exiting The Beast''s room, they saw a large and narrow bridge around the corner. At the end of the bridge stood the territory of the last Boss in the Blackrock Spires, General Drakkisath.


    Before crossing the bridge, Lu Li and his party needed to break through the barrier at the entrance.


    Of course, the designers would use this chance to cause players some grief. They placed small waves of Horde Berserkers nearby as guards.


    "What are you guys looking at?" Lu Li asked as he pointed at the monsters, "Hurry up and drag them over here!"


    "I''ll go first."


    Azure Sea Breeze was a little slower than usual, but he still went ahead. After all, he was the Main Tank. In this situation, no one else had the responsibility to take the aggro.


    It was good that he didn''t need to run a long way just to take aggro. He just needed to fire a gun towards them to gain their attention.


    After the monsters crossed the bridge, everyone rushed into the fray at once. The battle was near the shore, so the rushing skill of the Berserkers didn''t have any effect.


    There were also a few people who were brave enough to fight the Berserkers on the bridge.


    After crossing the bridge, a group of monsters could be seen standing outside General Drakkisath''s hall. These weren''t mere Berserkers; they had been mixed with dragon blood.


    "Are these strong?" Azure Sea Breeze asked. He had learned his lesson from last time.


    "These are the door guards of the General Drakkisath. They are the last Boss'' personal guards. Do You think that they''ll be weak?"


    Lu Li was trying to recall the information he had about these monsters. After all, he was never in a serious guild in his previous life. A randomly put-together squad would never be able to reach this place, which meant that the only source of information was on the forums. However, he didn''t know that he was going to be reborn, so he didn''t pay much attention to this.


    These monsters were quite powerful. If mistakes were made, they would be in a perilous situation.


    Mere observations weren''t enough to determine the actual strength of these monsters, which meant that Azure Sea Breeze needed to test them out by rushing forward with his shield up.


    The monsters were instantly drawn to Azure Sea Breeze, so he immediately used mitigation. It was because of this mitigation that he managed to avoid dying in an instant from the consecutive critical strikes. All of these monsters were capable of reaching a 100% critical strike chance. Of course, this was only the first attack, otherwise, Lu Li and the party might as well surrender.


    As Azure Sea Breeze gained their aggro, Lu Li had already used Sap to control one of the Draconians at the side while one was already Hexed.


    This meant that half of the original numbers were already redundant.


    The party prioritised the killing of the Horde warriors first. Then, they killed the Draconians one by one.


    These Draconians were all magic-based monsters, so they were able to spit fire. The flames that came out of their mouths dealt extremely high damage, which signified the importance of having sufficient fire-resistance stats. If the three Draconian warriors spit fire at the same time, the accumulated damage would be enough to one-shot the players.


    "Be wary of your surroundings. Wandering, take the aggro. Everyone else, use your crowd control as often as possible. Let me DPS."


    The difficult part about this was not these six monsters, but the other six patrolling monsters.


    They needed to clear enough of the first six before the next six arrived, or else they would be wiped. Their equipment was more than sufficient, so if they wiped here, things wouldn''t be optimistic.


    After clearing the door guards, they went into the main hall.


    Drakkisath was a ruthless and deceptive strategist. In the battle of Ragnaros against Nefarian''s armies, he forced all the Dark Iron Dwarves out of the Blackrock Mountains after defeating them in battle.


    The Blackrock Spires was hidden in the inner parts of the mountain which were mostly inaccessible. This area smelt of death.


    Each ascending floor gradually rejected the embrace of the earth. Furthermore, the insides of the Spires were blocked off from the outside, which prevented those inside from experiencing the sun. Most people wouldn''t dare to enter this place.


    However, Draconians weren''t affected by these living conditions. They were always willing to fight for their race.


    The torches on the walls illuminated the entire hall.


    After Lu Li and the party entered, they saw that General Drakkisath was admiring his weapon


    collection. His expression was full of concentration and pride as he gazed upon his collection. Countless adventurers came in here, only to be slain by Drakkisath. Their goal? The prized collection of these powerful, legendary weapons.


    Drakkisath''s armory stored many precious and powerful weapons. Although it was still fairly dark, the weapons still managed to shine brighter than any jewel.


    After seeing Lu Li and his party enter the hall, General Drakkisath didn''t start to panic or yell for reinforcements. He calmly took hold of a sword that emitted black light and evil energy. This blade shook in his hands as it hummed with a low-pitched whine.


    "This is the Blackblade of Shahram. Adventurers, do you know this name?"


    Lu Li and his party froze up a little as the atmosphere of the room suddenly turned serious. Rend was intelligent, but he did not talk freely to the players like General Drakkisath. At this moment, Azure Sea Breeze hadn''t even charged at the Boss.


    "When Titan came to Azeroth for the first time, this was still a chaotic wasteland. Elementals everywhere were hostile towards him. These Elementals worshipped an utterly evil race that originated from the Old Gods. Because of their worship, they rejected Titan''s changes to world, which was for the world to be cleansed and bask in the light."


    General Drakkisath didn''t wait for Lu Li''s response and continued speaking.


    "Titan then started to fight against the Old Gods. He unleashed his own army against the Elementals and the Old Gods. The Old Gods'' armies included the strongest Elemental commander that had ever walked the earth, Ragnaros. Moreover, there was also Therazane the Stonemother, Al''Akir and Neptulon the Tidehunter. Among these powerful beings, there was one that stood above the rest -Shahram, the Vice-General under Ragnaros. This Elemental dealt great damage and inflicted many casualties upon Titan''s armies."


    "In the end, Titan destroyed the Elementals'' main power squad. Shahram was also killed and turned into ash. Shahram''s weapon and the other Elementals were locked in a deep and far place ¨C hell. Titan''s victory then brought an era of peace to the world."


    "Now, this blade is in front of you. If you can kill me, then this is yours to keep."


    Everyone''s blood was boiling upon hearing this, especially Moonlight, who wielded two-handed weapons.


    This was the weapon of Ragnaros'' strongest soldier. How exquisite would it be!?


    Legendary?


    No, it would far surpass the grade of Legendary. Mythical? There weren''t currently any Mythical grade items.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t excited. In fact, he was rather disappointed.


    Why did it have to be the Blackblade?


    It wasn''t that he didn''t like this weapon. The Blackblade of Shahram was easily the strongest blade for warriors under level 60. After all, it couldn''t be a normal Legendary item.


    There were many weapons in Drakkisath''s collection, but he would take a different one each time. This meant that the weapon could be a Bow, a Staff or even a Dagger.


    After entering this Instance Dungeon multiple times, players would eventually discover that whatever Drakkisath took as his weapon would drop upon his defeat.


    During this time, the idea that Drakkisath had taken out such a powerful weapon excited the thoughts of his whole party.


    However, only Lu Li knew the horrors of Drakkisath wielding the Blackblade. They were already on Nightmare difficulty. Now that he had taken the powerful Blackblade, Lu Li was shocked.


    "These monsters should be with the Boss, right? Should I pull them all together?"


    Azure Sea Breeze was completely unaware of the misery that awaited them.


    "Yeah. Let''s go."


    Lu Li decided to keep quiet. After all, he hadn''t fought General Drakkisath before. The most he did was read through strategies. It wasn''t enough to solidify an advantage, so the first attempt was destined to be a trial. He never hoped to clear this Boss in one try anyway and now that he was wielding the Blackblade, it seemed that all hope was lost.

 1311 General Drakkisath

    Pulling them all together? That was completely suicidal.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t even last a minute; he hadn''t even completely pulled the aggro yet.


    They could continue the battle if Lu Li just revived Azure Sea Breeze, since everyone else was already in a capable condition to fight. However, that didn''t happen because General Drakkisath rushed towards Lu Li and the rest of party with his blade raised.


    "Did you figure out why we wiped? Lu Li asked.


    "Kinda¡­I still think that there are too many monsters and the Boss cast a skill on me. My Armor was lowered by a lot, which would then explain the damage from the small monsters," Azure Sea Breeze answered.


    "Let''s try again?" Wandering asked with ill intent.


    "Not now. At least we know not to pull them all together now."


    Although Lu Li still hadn''t grasped the strategy behind fighting Drakkisath, he had some sort of an idea now.


    "Do you mean to use the two Main Tanks and drag them to different sides? I don''t think the Boss is that stupid. The guy looks pretty smart," Wandering said.


    "Of course. Dreamy, come here," Lu Li called as he waved for Remnant Dream to come over.


    The little hunter smiled and ran towards.


    Remnant Dream was responsible for looting equipment in the squad. She was quite powerful as an individual player since her items were exquisite, but normally, important objectives were not entrusted to her to carry out. Now that she has been called by Lu Li, she was naturally quite excited.


    However, Lu Li was ignorant of her excitement. He instructed while pointing at the Boss, "Dreamy, fire an arrow towards the Boss, then run instantly."


    Remnant Dream looked at the Boss with fear in her eyes, but gathered her courage and bravely fired an arrow. Then, she immediately took off with her little legs in the other direction.


    It was quiet¡­until someone called out to her.


    "Dreamy! You didn''t lock onto him! You missed!"


    Remnant Dream returned, walking with her head down. Her arrow had missed by at least 5 metres! Drakkisath didn''t even look at her.


    It was too embarrassing!


    This was her first experience with embarrassment in Dawn. She learned from her mistake and made sure that the Boss was hit by her arrow, then ran.


    Lu Li saw that Drakkisath was pursuing Remnant Dream, so he commanded the Main Tanks to pull the small monsters. He planned to divide and conquer. It was only through the defeat of the small monsters that the defeat of the Boss would be possible.


    "Block the small monsters ¨C Breezy, on the left, Wandering, on the right. One person is responsible for three."


    This method was what he recalled from seeing in his previous life. He remembered that fighting this Boss required a Hunter in the squad.


    Of course, it was possible without a Hunter too. Anyone could pull the Boss. However, not every class was able to escape as easily as a Hunter. After all, Feign Death was one of Hunters'' signature skills.


    After using Feign Death, the Boss would lose its target.


    It would be unfortunate if the Boss didn''t mind hitting a dead target.


    The other classes'' ranges were a little shorter than a Hunter''s. Their Attack Speed was also lower, nor did they have a similar skill to Feign Death. The only way to replicate what a Hunter could achieve was to actually die, or to run from the Boss for an extended period of time.


    After Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering took the aggro of the small monsters, everyone else rushed into the fray.


    "Ouch!" Remnant Dream cried out. Then, everyone saw that the Boss had returned already. The other monsters still had large amounts of HP. They all knew how this would end ¨C another squad wipe.


    "What happened? How did you die?" Lu Li asked.


    Although he didn''t hope to clear the Boss in one try, he hadn''t expected to wipe before they even started.


    "I ran too frantically, so I accidentally ran the wrong way," Remnant Dream mumbled while lowering her head, like a misbehaving student.


    Hachi Chan heard this and was happy that her squad mate also had a tendency to get lost.


    Lu Li didn''t have anything to say.


    They were preparing to begin again. Before they started, Lu Li personally brought Remnant Dream and mapped out her route. He also advised her on where to go if she was in danger, or if the Boss was heading back.


    There wasn''t much to complain about; no one was perfect.


    He never expected Remnant Dream to be as calm as he was ¨C after all, her responsibility was to loot equipment. Her DPS wasn''t low either. With the addition of her pet, Remnant Dream''s DPS already exceeded a majority of the players. However, the party now needed her to do another job, so Lu Li had to be patient and teach her.


    Remnant Dream wasn''t complaining; she was taking this extremely seriously. As such, after a few more wipes, a clear improvement could be seen.


    It was fortunate that Drakkisath''s movement speed was not very high either. It seemed like one of his legs had been destroyed in battle. Otherwise, Remnant Dream would not have been able to learn this quickly.


    "Alright! Let''s try and succeed this time. Dreamy, are you sure you''ve practiced enough?"


    Previously, Lu Li followed her while advising where to go, which meant that they lost out on DPS. Now that she was running by herself, he decided to return to the squad and clear the small monsters with them.


    "I promise to finish my mission!" Remnant Dream declared as she pumped her fist in the air, then fired an arrow towards the Boss.


    "Do you not know death?"


    Although Drakkisath was extremely intelligent, he still went and rushed towards Remnant Dream. His actions then left the small monsters in the hall alone with the players.


    "Memories, use Bloodlust. Everyone, go all out!" Lu Li yelled.


    He was a little nervous. The six monsters all had an absurd amount of HP, and if he recalled correctly, Drakkisath would return after 5 minutes, even if Remnant Dream hadn''t used Feign Death.


    Five minutes for six monsters didn''t sound too difficult, but what if each monster had 600,000 HP?


    Lu Li suddenly realised that this Boss would likely be nerfed in the future. However, before the difficulty was reduced, Lu Li and his party needed to solve this problem as it currently was.


    Suddenly, Remnant Dream reported back on Drakkisath''s movements. It was just as Lu Li expected.


    After pursuing Remnant Dream for 5 minutes, Drakkisath returned. It didn''t matter if Remnant Dream was firing multiple arrows at him; he quickly reappeared in the party''s field of vision. Then, he cast Ignite on the members of the party. Ignite decreased the Armor of its victims, which led to quick deaths at the hands of the small monsters.


    As for the small monsters, not even 1/3 of their HP had been cleared.


    This was the result despite the whole party unleashing all they had on these monsters. This meant that it was impossible for them to clear the small monsters in such a short period of time.


    However, no one gave up. If these things were easy, then the game would be quite boring.


    "Dreamy, don''t fire an arrow at the Boss this time. Instead, lure the small monsters. Breezy, take only the Boss'' aggro. Be careful to not taunt the small monsters as well."


    Lu Li quickly decided on a new strategy, which was to try and lure the small monsters away instead.


    The Boss could be lured anywhere in the dungeon, but the small monsters couldn''t. The monsters didn''t even exit the hall. As soon as they reached the entrance, they immediately stopped and returned. Their area of activity was set to be within this hall by the System.


    Lu Li quickly devised a few more plans. Although these were somewhat functional, it didn''t seem like it would succeed in defeating the Boss.


    "Maybe this instance dungeon is too difficult for us to tackle right now."


    Wandering was quite open-minded. After all, if Ruling Sword couldn''t defeat the dungeon, the other guilds wouldn''t be able to either. Furthermore, Lu Li''s quick mind and his devising of strategies had opened his eyes to his commander''s capabilities. He reasoned that there was no one better than Lu Li in the whole of Dawn.


    "No matter the strategy, it seems like our offensive power is nowhere near enough unless all our equipment is Legendary," Lu Li said, deep in thought.


    "How about collaborating with Drizzle Court and Peerless City? We can give Rend''s strategy to them while they lend us their equipment. They wouldn''t reject it, would they? We already have people with Legendary items in the guild, so I don''t think it would be hard to piece together fifteen sets of Legendary items," Fat Monkey suggested.


    "We need to practice with the new items anyway. It wastes too much time," Lu Li said, then continued, "Go and message Square Root Three and see what he can do with the Legendary items in the guild. If we have to, we can borrow those."


    "That wouldn''t matter that much then would it? After we defeat the Boss, the elite squads wouldn''t be able to tackle this dungeon, even with the correct strategy."


    He was right ¨C there would be different levels, different classes, different standards of battle. Even if this strategy was given to others, they wouldn''t be able to defeat this Boss anyway. After all, relying on equipment would take away the reliance on skill.


    "Well, let''s see what happens. I remember that there is a quest given by Marshal Maxwell. Hachi Chan, come with me. Maybe this might help with the Instance Dungeon," Lu Li said.

 1312 Might As Well Bring Hachi Chan

    Lu Li had met with Marshal Maxwell before, albeit briefly.


    This was why he had brought Hachi Chan along, as she had high Charm stats. Even the enemy camps'' Tauren NPCs took a liking to her.


    The higher the Charm stats, the easier it would be to initiate and find quests. Furthermore, with high Charm stats, NPCs would be more likely to distribute easier and more convenient quests, such as delivering armor or medicine. There was also the possibility of the NPC personally attending to the errand as well. However, with low Charm stats, the likelihood of being able to receive quests from NPCs was extremely low. Furthermore, if you were extremely fortunately and managed to receive a quest, the difficulty would be absurdly high.


    There was a beggar in Silvermoon who was starving to death, but he still rejected a player''s offer of bread to him. This meant that the player''s Charm stats were simply too low.


    The beggar was willing to die than to give the quest to the player!


    Marshal Maxwell was located in the northern part of Burning Steppes. He was near the Horde''s flight points, which meant that this was both a safe and dangerous place to be. Had Marshal Maxwell picked this place because he was brave, or was he clueless about what was going on?


    Lu Li transformed into a crow, while Hachi Chan turned into a butterfly, so that their travel would be easier.


    "Who is it!" a voice cried out as two soldiers suddenly emerged from the shadows. From their armor, they seemed like scouts. To be so brave as to set up camp in the Horde territory¡­this could only mean that these scouts were extremely powerful.


    Even in Lu Li previous life, he hadn''t heard of any attempts to destroy this camp.


    "We are adventurers from the Alliance," Hachi Chan introduced as she transformed back into her normal form. Lu Li followed suit. He was speechless upon seeing the two powerful and fierce-looking soldiers suddenly relax and put down their weapons. Had it been just him, they probably would have charged straight at him and talked with their swords.


    "This place is not for strangers. State your reasons for coming here," the guard said sternly, but gently towards Hachi Chan.


    "We are here for Marshal Maxwell," Hachi Chan quickly responded.


    The two guards shared a look, seemingly becoming more nervous about the fact that these two standing in front of them knew of Marshal Maxwell.


    "We have information regarding the Blackrock Spires. I wish to talk to the Marshal about this. On an unrelated note, I saved Marshal Windsor from the Blackrock Depths. However, I couldn''t protect him completely, so he died under the claws of the Black Dragon," Lu Li suddenly chimed in.


    "Windsor¡­" a voice suddenly sighed. Then, a human clad in heavy armor appeared.


    The two scouts bowed towards warrior, then disappeared back into the shadows.


    "Greetings, Marshal Maxwell," Lu Li and Hachi Chan said.


    The warrior didn''t deny his identity. First, he smiled and greeted Lu Li and Hachi Chan, then he began talking to Lu Li.


    "I remember you. You are a courageous adventurer."


    "It''s regrettable that I could not save Marshal Windsor. Courageous, but weak," Lu Li modestly replied. His words were not only to leave a good impression, but he also truly felt regret about what happened.


    Lu Li treated Marshal Windsor as a friend of his own. He met Marshal Windsor while grieving the death of Anduin Lothar. Together, they exposed and defeated Major Samuelson, who was hiding his true identity as a Faceless One in Stormwind. Lu Li then rescued him from the jail in the Blackrock Depths. Together, they faced the Black Dragon Princess, Onyxia, but in the end, he died under the Dragon''s claws, just like he foresaw.


    Lu Li witnessed his death, yet he was powerless to do anything. There was a period of time where he regretted releasing Marshal Windsor from jail.


    "Don''t blame yourself. He was an admirable warrior. He strived forwards, always abiding with his principles," Marshal Maxwell praised his fellow Marshal.


    "I will definitely kill Onyxia. A warrior''s blood must not bleed in vain," Lu Li said with fierce resolution.


    Marshal Maxwell slapped Lu Li''s shoulders softly.


    "Friend, I believe you, but you must become stronger. Only tragedies await you if you are not strong enough. Onyxia will pay. The days where these dragons can run rampant are coming to an end," he said.


    What Marshal Maxwell really meant by saying this was that Lu Li was too weak. If he dared to tackle Onyxia now, he would definitely die.


    "Yes, I will get stronger."


    After having this conversation with Maxwell, Lu Li signalled Hachi Chan to say something.


    "Uncle Marshal, we have a problem. In the Blackrock Spires, the one that Onyxia''s brother is controlling, we saw powerful Draconians. These were fierce and unwilling to listen. There were six of them¡­" Hachi Chan whine in a sad tone.


    Had it been Lu Li who said this, Marshal Maxwell would have most likely responded with another slap on the shoulders and told him to get stronger before fighting again.


    Instead, Marshal Maxwell had Hachi Chan list out the special characteristics of the Draconians. Then, he said, "From your information, it seems like these Draconians are from Drakkisath. It was Drakkisath that led Nefarian''s army and invaded our territory, massacring our people. Yes, we must let him pay for the blood of our people.


    "We must kill him," Hachi Chan said in a confident tone.


    "If you guys can kill him, I will reward you abundantly," Marshal Maxwell continued.


    Then, the System notified Lu Li and Hachi Chan of their quest to kill General Drakkisath. After this, they would have to bring a belonging of Drakkisath''s to Marshal Maxwell.


    "We can''t fight him. He uses Ignite, which causes us to lose all our Armor. Even the small monsters can kill us," Hachi Chan exaggerated. The truth was, Drakkisath''s Ignite only decreased a part of the Armor ¨C it did not completely erase it.


    "I have a few elixirs here. Perhaps these can help."


    Although Lu Li knew that bringing Hachi Chan would have its benefits, he didn''t know that they would just receive Marshal Maxwell''s elixirs that easily. If Lu Li recalled correctly, these elixirs gave them increased Armor or increased fire-resistance. All in all, these were valuable items.


    "Thanks Uncle Marshall! We''ll definitely kill General Drakkisath, then his master Nefarian, then Nefarian''s sister Onyxia, then Nefarian''s dad¡­What was his name again?"


    "Neltharion."


    Lu Li wanted to cover his face in embarrassment. Even if Hachi Chan was quite young, was it appropriate to act like this?


    "General Drakkisath is a difficult opponent. How about this?" Marshal Maxwell asked, then continued to explain, "In General Drakkisath''s hall, there is an orb there. That is the Telemancy Orb. If you manage to engrave this brand on it, we can teleport to that place from here. Although I am not able to battle with you, I can send two warriors to help."


    Lu Li was completely speechless and was unable to do anything but nod his head in gratitude.

 1313 Helpers

    Marshal Maxwell quickly called two guards ¨C the two who had previously stopped Lu Li and Hachi Chan. These two guards appeared to be scouts, as they were quiet and moved about agilely.


    The two guards couldn''t enter the Instance Dungeon like Lu Li, but they could be instantly transported into the Command Hall. This meant that they could be summoned after the battle began, so Lu Li and Hachi Chan could return the way they came.


    This was a great reward.


    Even without the guards, Lu Li felt like they could kill General Drakkisath, but he wouldn''t reject their help.


    If they had help, they could save some Fire Resistance Potions, which would always be useful when doing Instance Dungeons in the future. Even though Hachi Chan''s Charisma values were extremely high, Marshal Maxwell would probably only give them the Fire Resistance Potions once. It would be impossible for him to give them any more. After all, the Alliance Army was currently fighting on the Burning Steppes against many Fire Elementals. These Fire Resistance Potions were extremely valuable items.


    When they returned to the Instance Dungeon, Hachi Chan patted her chest to ensure that they would have no problems.


    When the others asked her why, she left them in the dark and didn''t reveal anything.


    Lu Li didn''t stop her from showing off either. Hachi Chan had done a great job in earning so much support from Marshal Maxwell.


    Dawn was quite a fascinating game. Anyone, whether a newbie, a person frustrated with society, or a criminal who couldn''t find a job after being released, was able to find a new life and rise up through the ranks like Lu Li. This was why no one really questioned Lu Li, despite having experienced rebirth.


    They once again began the fight, and Remnant Dream pulled the Boss out of the Command Hall.


    Lu Li let Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering pull the mobs, while Hachi Chan immediately ran in to place the insignia that was given to her by Marshal Maxwell in the Command Hall.


    Meanwhile, everyone was still fighting the monsters and they found that their task was still impossible. Everyone felt helpless and they really didn''t understand what Lu Li and Remnant Dream could do to help them defeat the monsters.


    "It''s done!" Hachi Chan cried out as she stopped to allow the transmission to work.


    Everyone watched as the originally ordinary-looking stone began to shine with magic.


    Two black shadows appeared near the stone as it flashed. The two NPC guards then entered the hall and rushed to the mobs without saying anything.


    "Wow, you managed to ask for help!" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed in delight.


    He had a real reason to be happy as well, as these two helpers were very strong. Lu Li and the others were having a tough time at first, but they could clearly see the monsters'' HP bars dropping.


    "Cast Bloodlust, but no one else should use their ultimate skills."


    They needed to save their ultimate skills as some of them took hours to reset. Lu Li had calculated the strength of these two NPCs and decided to save their burst damage for the Boss.


    Bloodlust''s cooldown wasn''t too long, and it could be used on a Boss quite a few times so there was no need to save it here.


    "Dreamy, be careful over there and make sure you keep the aggro," Lu Li said.


    If Remnant Dream couldn''t maintain the Boss'' aggro and was accidentally killed, the Boss would return before they finished off the mobs. Although the two guards were here to help, there would be a decent chance that they would get wiped.


    These two guards alone couldn''t face the combination of the Boss and the mobs. Furthermore, if they lost these two guards, they could fall out of favour with Marshal Maxwell as well.


    The first mob had fallen!


    The second mob had fallen!


    The two guards were silent as they constantly dealt damage. Each guard''s DPS was comparable with Lu Li''s.


    There were four very powerful sources of damage hitting these remaining monsters, so how could there be a problem? Within five minutes, they had killed the last monster. Lu Li was finally relieved as he told Remnant Dream that she could die now.


    Soon, General Drakkisath was back.


    He looked at his minions who had lost their lives in the fight, then turned towards the two guards that had come out of nowhere. It was quite easy to guess what had happened there.


    "You are all dead men walking! I''m going to kill you all!"


    Flamestorm ¨C General Drakkisath summons a pillar of fire, instantly inflicting fire damage to all players within 15 yards of the target area with additional fire damage every 2 seconds for the next 8 seconds.


    The Blackblade of Shahram was raised and a huge pillar of fire rose. The fire spread so quickly that it was inevitable that some of them would be hit.


    Lu Li was also struck by this fire attack, but he was at the edge of its range so he only lost 1/3 of his HP. However, he continued to take four more ticks of fire damage.


    March Rain quickly began to heal everyone.


    This time, the healer responsible for healing the Main Tank was Darkness. This girl was quite high levelled, and if she just kept at eye on the Main Tank it would be very difficult for him to die under normal circumstances.


    If the Main Tank was one-shot, then the healer wouldn''t have had a chance to heal them anyway, and that would be an exceptional circumstance.


    March Rain was then responsible for the rest of the group. No one died because of Flamestorm, but Lu Li noticed something that made him anxious. They couldn''t heal these two guards. This meant that Lu Li and others had to end the battle before the guards lost all their HP.


    They were two scouts, so their specialty was to hide and gather information. If they had such high attack power, then they would naturally have lower defence and less HP.


    If the Boss regularly cast this Firestorm skill, they would only have 15 minutes.


    "Healers, make sure you do your jobs well ¨C everyone needs to stay alive. We need to do this in one go," Lu Li reminded everyone after observing the situation and consciously adjusting his position.


    The others didn''t quite understand why Lu Li said that, but he was too lazy to explain.


    If General Drakkisath released Flamestorm, then they would suspect that he was a Fire Mage. However, that would be a big mistake, because this shameless guy was in fact a Warrior.


    There was no Warrior worth their salt that didn''t know Charge!


    General Drakkisath''s Charge was obviously similar to the previous Orc Berserker. It didn''t result in just a stun or a knockdown, but it dealt a lot of damage and caused the target to fly back. They would receive further damage when landing, but this could be mitigated if the angle was favourable.


    Lu Li immediately adjusted his position after seeing Azure Sea Breeze get Charged.


    Unfortunately, Azure Sea Breeze still clipped him, which dealt significant damage to himself and Lu Li.


    This knockback actually managed to hurt two players, and moreover, it was double damage. Lu Li lost most than half of his HP, because his profession didn''t have very strong resistance. If he didn''t have enough HP, there was a chance that he could have instantly died.


    "Everyone make sure you adjust your position so that there isn''t a straight line between two people facing the Boss. As you can see, it deals a lot of damage if you hit each other," Lu Li instructed, using his past-life''s experience. Most people would assume that he had intentionally experimented on himself anyway.


    The Boss cast Charge at random intervals and at random targets.


    The second Charge was aimed at Sakura Memories. Fortunately, no one was in the way so there was no double damage.


    The second phase''s key skill was Ignite.


    Lu Li told Azure Sea Breeze to drink one of Marshall Maxwell''s Resistance Potion in advance. Although the attacks dealt a lot of damage, they didn''t reduce his Armor so he managed to barely hold on.


    "Cast Bloodlust again! We need to fight faster ¨C the guards won''t survive for much longer," Lu Li said.


    In fact, the second phase just needed to be completed as soon as possible. If they took too long, General Drakkisath would start casting a stronger version of Ignite, and even the Resistance Potion wouldn''t be enough.

 1314 Inner Demon

    The two guards did not last long. Although Azure Sea Breeze was steadily tanking the Boss'' attacks, the aggro generated by the high damage output of those guards prompted the Boss to cast its area of effect attacks on them.


    The ultimate skills that Lu Li told everyone to save up were being used at this point.


    Undoubtedly, these two guards had provided a great deal of assistance. If they weren''t there, Lu Li and the others would have gotten wiped a dozen times before they would have been lucky enough to make it into the third stage.


    In fact, in the early days, all players needed to go to Marshal Maxwell for help.


    He would give the players a few bottles of the resistance potion, though far less than what was given to Hachi Chan, and send guards to help in the fight. The players could choose between Warrior guards, Scout guards or Mage Guards.


    Different guards came at a different price. The scouts had the highest attack but were also the most expensive.


    Many teams that tried to complete this Instance Dungeon would lose money because of the amount that was given to Marshall Maxwell. Marshal Maxwell profited greatly until an update came that nerfed General Drakkisath.


    The third stage of General Drakkisath involved the use of a similar skill to Inner Demon.


    This skill could probably be categorised as a curse. After the player was hit, a demon would be summoned from the player. That demon had the same attributes and skills as the player and would fight the player until one of them was killed.


    The worst part about this skill was that only the player could attack their demon.


    If the healer was targeted, it would be fine as their healing skills could actually deal more damage to the demon than most other attacking skills. The worst outcome would be if a defensive profession was targeted.


    If their Defense was very high, then the demon''s Defense would also be very high.


    If their Attack was also quite low, then it would be a very troublesome fight.


    Some commanders would tell their Defense-profession players to give up fighting their demon. The demon wouldn''t have high Attack anyway, and wouldn''t cause fatal damage to the Main Tank.


    However, this strategy was not without consequences.


    If you didn''t kill the demon, it would slowly grow in three stages. Initially, when it was first summoned, it would simply attack the player.


    The second phase would come after five minutes of its summoning. A halo would be generated at its feet which produced an aura that would increase the Boss'' Attack, Defense and Critical Hit by 10%. After the Boss was nerfed, this wouldn''t be an issue, but for now, this 10% increase was a real problem.


    The third stage would come after 10 minutes of its summoning. If they couldn''t kill the Boss or demon by this time¡­


    Then there was no point playing anymore. The Boss would seize the demon and consume it to regenerate half of its HP and permanently gain an Attack, Defense and Critical Hit bonus. The Boss would also return to the second stage, so they would have gone backwards.


    There was no reason to allow the Boss to enter the third stage; it was just a waste of time.


    "Make sure to kill your demon as quickly as possible. Healers, keep them healthy. Even Breezy and Wandering need to do this. Do whatever you need to do ¨C you guys can even use your scrolls," Lu Li said. He knew that Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were holding onto some scrolls.


    Dawn was an open PVP game, and no matter who you were or what class you played, there was a chance that you could be cut down in the wild.


    There were some perverts who were particularly fond of killing Healers and Defensive-professions.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering had faced this before, and they obviously didn''t want it to happen to them again. As such, they both went to Shen Wansan to buy some burst scrolls.


    These scrolls were very valuable and would usually cost a few thousand dollars. Once used, the scrolls would be consumed.


    These scrolls basically converted money into temporary strength. They increased the Attack of the user. This wouldn''t be enough in a PVP match, but it was more than enough against ordinary players.


    When they heard Lu Li say that, the two tanks immediately looked distressed.


    However, they also understood the importance of this fight. There was only one chance to fight General Drakkisath. Once the two guards died, they would likely not be able to do this again. The attempts following this one would be a string of defeats.


    If they got repeatedly wiped, they would need to repair their equipment. The cost of repairing Plate Armor was ridiculous; it might cost at least a few hundred gold.


    Lu Li''s inner demon was killed relatively quickly. A Thief''s Defense was very low and Lu Li''s Attack was very high.


    The Inner Demon summoned had the same Attributes and skills as the player, but this was useless without the knowledge to use them. Lu Li just kept up the crowd-control from start to finish.


    However, the feeling of killing yourself was very strange and the players had an uncomfortable expression when they did it.


    "I didn''t think the day would come when I would have to kill myself. Does this count as suicide?" Jaweika sighed.


    "If you keep following us, you will see even weirder stuff than this," Azure Sea Breeze laughed. He had gained a little fame in his previous games, but since he met Lu Li in Dawn, he had come to truly understand how the top players operated.


    "Breezy bro, how many scrolls have you used?" Jaweika asked.


    "Dammit, why isn''t it dead yet? This is my third one. I will definitely need some compensation today Lu Li. These scrolls are really expensive," Azure Sea Breeze cried out. He was distressed as he had spent a few hundred gold at least.


    Azure Sea Breeze just wanted to use his money to see the world, and he had told Jaweika that he could do the same if he followed Lu Li, but now, he was forced to spend all this money.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering significantly improved their Attack after using the scrolls, but they still couldn''t match the damage output of a professional player. This meant that it was unlikely that they could kill their demon within the first stage.


    As such, General Drakkisath quickly gained the buffs of two inner demons.


    This gave him a 20% increase in Attack, Defense and Critical Hit. The already exhausted General Drakkisath now appeared to be revitalized.


    "Breezy, don''t bother fighting the Boss and just focus on your inner demon. If you don''t finish it off within 5 minutes, then we might as well just wait and die," Lu Li commanded. It really would become impossible if they were sent backwards.


    "Dammit, you really do have to compensate me for this loss!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted as he pulled out a golden scroll and ripped it open.


    The shape of the Main Tank suddenly began to change and the damage he was taking from the Boss also significantly reduced. The damage that he was dealing to his inner demon had also dramatically increased.

 1315 Shahram

    This was the most famous God of Defence.


    The Inscriptor was a newly added Trade Skill in Dawn. It was a manufacturing profession based on herbs and inscriptions. For now, only Magic profession players or players with a sizeable mana pool could take up this Trade Skill. This Trade Skill could improve the player''s skills and buff their skills'' effects.


    Not only could Inscriptors produce inscriptions, but they could also craft some special books, ornaments and even Darkmoon Cards for other players. The Inscriptor Trade Skill was very useful, and a competent Inscriptor could bring many benefits to themselves and their friends.


    These were basic items that were very useful, but that didn''t mean they were the most profitable.


    The most profitable items for an Inscriptor were their scrolls. Even after the glyph system was introduced, Inscriptors were still able to make a living by creating scrolls.


    The scroll that Azure Sea Breeze had in his hands was one of the most exquisite scrolls on the market. What made it so valuable was that its raw materials were very rare. Even if you had the money, you might not be able to acquire it. If you had this scroll, you could hire Dawn''s best Main Tank for half of a day of Instance Dungeon-ing.


    What he was tearing up now was not just a scroll, but a sack of gold coins!


    After tearing the scroll, Azure Sea Breeze''s eyes were a little red. It was almost like he had gone crazy to kill his inner demon.


    Wandering delayed it for a little longer, but not enough to reach the third stage. When the two inner demons died, the Boss looked deflated. Not only did he fail to regenerate its strength, but he also seemed to have gotten weaker.


    "Kill him quickly; don''t let him go Berserk!" Lu Li''s cried out as his eyes lit up.


    The probability of a Boss going Berserk was very high, especially the final Boss of an Instance Dungeon. The most important factor affecting the chance of a Boss going Berserk was combat time. The longer they took, the more likely the Boss was to go Berserk. Conversely, Bosses that were in a weakened state had almost no chance of going Berserk, and would not even be much more powerful if they did.


    However, this weakened state wouldn''t last forever, and the probability of going Berserk would normalize once it ended.


    As such, Lu Li implored everyone to focus and kill the Boss quickly. This wasn''t an unreasonable task ¨C the two guards still had plenty of HP left and they would be able to persevere until the end as long as nothing out of the ordinary happened.


    General Drakkisath looked at these small and weak adventurers, unable to understand how this had happened.


    His eyebrows were tight and his forehead was wrinkled. His anger had accumulated to the point where he wanted to explode. There was some energy brewing from within him, but he couldn''t release it because he was in a weakened state.


    Lu Li watched helplessly as Drakkisath''s weakness faded. He knew that they had missed their opportunity.


    Drakkisath lifted the Blackblade of Shahram and muttered a few words under his breath. Everyone watched as the Blackblade started to smoke, before morphing into a serpent monster.


    The snake''s body was covered in hard thorns and a blazing flame. The weapon that he was holding in his hands was the Blackblade of Shahram and this was Shahram ¨C the bravest officer of Ragnaros his majesty.


    As soon as he appeared, fierce flames spread throughout the hall and the players began to take area of effect damage.


    This power was unmatched!


    There was just no other way to describe it!


    "In the name of Ragnaros, Lord Shahram, let us destroy them! Your Blackblade will continue your mission!"


    "Yes, I will consecrate everything for my master until the flames on my body have been completely extinguished," the snake hissed as he opened his scarlet eyes and his slender tongue flickered.


    The Boss held up the fiery sword before declaring, "Blackblade of Shahram, rend their flesh with your blade!"


    "Everyone, use your damage reduction skills!" Lu Li shouted.


    Lu Li activated the special effects of his Supreme Ring to prevent the damage. The Blackblade rolled up and cut into all the players. Fortunately, this was just a game, or else they would have all been chopped in half.


    The damage was extremely high. All 15 players, including the Main Tank had less than half HP remaining.


    If Lu Li hadn''t asked everyone to cast their damage reduction skills, many of them would have died already. What surprised Lu Li was that the two guards hadn''t died to the attack.


    However, after observing them, he quickly realized why.


    Feign Death ¨C When you receive any fatal attack, your max HP is set to 10% instead and damage taken is reduced by 80% for 3 seconds.


    The Thief''s Feign Death was different to the Hunter''s Feign Death. The effect of Feign Death was to nullify the skills that were about to hit, and make opponents lose their targets. Even if attacker was a monster, their aggro would be completely nullified. It was a complete self-preservation skill.


    This skill wasn''t a luxury that most players had at this stage, and it also came with its disadvantages.


    No matter how much HP you had, you would be left with 10% max HP after using the skill. If you were at full HP, you would basically almost be dead.


    However, the two guards didn''t have to worry about this problem. Their original HP was already lower than 10%, so they had actually been healed.


    The players immediately launched a counterattack. Even if they were fighting Raganaros or Nefarian, they would have to kill them with their summoned monsters. However, they soon found out that both General Drakkisath and Shahram were invulnerable.


    "How do we fight this? We can''t hit either of them!"


    "If you can''t hit them, then stop attacking. There''s no point attacking them now. Otherwise, the game company wouldn''t have designed it this way," Lu Li said calmly.


    If they had killed the Boss while it was in its weakened state, then they wouldn''t have to deal with this, but since they couldn''t, they had to survive these two minutes. Once this was over, Shahram would vanish and General Drakkisath would re-enter his weakened state.


    "Wandering, don''t tank that one ¨C go and get the aggro of General Drakkisath while Breezy takes the aggro of Shahram. Make sure to pull them apart," Lu Li said.


    Wandering was originally going to take Shahram''s aggro. When he heard Lu Li speak, he quickly turned around to take General Drakkisath''s aggro instead. It was difficult for Wandering to take the aggro from Azure Sea Breeze normally, but since it was voluntary, there was no difficulty.


    Shahram was one of Ragnaros'' officers. His body had been enchanted with fire, which made it unmatched in fire damage.


    Wandering''s Fire Resistance equipment was exquisite, but it was still weaker than Azure Sea Breeze''s. Lu Li didn''t think that he could tank Shahram''s attacks, which was why he asked them to swap. General Drakkisath was Berserk, but this only had the effect of summoning Shahram. He wasn''t actually buffed by very much.


    The two guards once again surprised Lu Li.


    They were actually running away!


    To the surprise, they had escaped the battle with something resembling a smoke bomb. After they vanished from the scene, even Lu Li''s high Detection was unable to sense if they were still nearby.

 1316 Crucial Two Minutes

    By the time the two Main Tanks pulled their assigned Bosses, they had already lost three of the 15 players.


    As a summoned Boss, Shahram''s attack was high and the Blackblade was obviously no joke. The Blackblade was actually even worse than General Drakkisath himself.


    Only 30 seconds had passed, and three people had already died.


    Every 10 seconds, a player would die. If this continued, the team would almost be completely wiped out by the time the two minutes were up.


    "Pull them further apart. Breezy, pull Shahram so that he is behind the throne. Darkness, you will have to heal him. Hachi Chan, you need to watch Darkness and March Rain''s HP. If either of them dies on your watch, we''ll be having dragon stew tonight," Lu Li instructed. His focus was on protecting the healers.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering weren''t idiots either; they knew what Lu Li was tyring to do.


    One of the Bosses was being pulled to the back of the throne and the other was being pulled away from the hall. This way, they wouldn''t have to face the attacks of both. Someone had once considered completely separating General Drakkisath from Shahram, but this wasn''t possible. Shahram was summoned by General Drakkisath, so if they were too far apart, they would be automatically teleported to each other.


    "Rice Ball, take your potions!" Lu Li cried out.


    Sesame Rice Ball originally felt like his HP wasn''t too low as he was standing next to the healer. He didn''t expect Lu Li to call him out, but thankfully, he followed the command without thinking and immediately downed a potion.


    Just as he finished the potion, he saw Shahram''s Blackblade slamming into him.


    Hadn''t Shahram just been pulled behind the throne by Azure Sea Breeze? When he looked around, he noticed a number of Shahrams in the area.


    He had duplicated!


    Lu Li only had time to remind Sesame Rice Ball. There were others that had enough HP, so they survived, but Sakura Memories and Remnant Dream weren''t as fortunate. Both of them were one-shot by these attacks.


    After killing two players with one hit, Shahram disappeared as he had completed his mission.


    "Be careful of that. Make sure your HP is as high as possible. There is a lot of pressure on the healers, so you will need to take potions. Use whatever skills you need to stay alive. We are down to the last 40 seconds, so do whatever you can to survive. If you can''t¡­"


    Lu Li didn''t finish his sentence.


    There were some teams that tried to evacuate the area so that only the Healers and Tanks remained. However, this was a very luck-based strategy. If things went favourably, then they would have saved their damage output players. However, if they were unlucky, then they would likely be wiped.


    All Lu Li could do here was to try and keep as many damage output players alive as possible while prioritising the Main Tanks and Healers.


    "30 seconds left. March Rain, don''t bother the damage output players ¨C just keep Wandering alive," Lu Li called out. He was looking around and was highly focused.


    "25 seconds! Don''t worry about anyone who still has damage reduction skills!"


    "20 seconds! Alright, keep it up. Don''t worry about your brother; we can continue fighting without him. Just stay focused¡­"


    "15 seconds. Stay away from the Boss; use your movement speed buffs if you have to. March Rain, give up on Wandering and heal the damage output players that are away from the Boss. Hachi Chan, resurrect anyone you can."


    "Lu Li, please, why did you give up on me?"


    "Shahram''s whirlwind is going to last at least 10 seconds. When he finishes, it will be done. We won''t need you anymore after that. I hope you survive."


    "Hey, don''t forget that I''m a Paladin. I have invulnerability, and I still can be useful. I can interfere with the Boss."


    "Yes, you could. Just do that then, but you can die now."


    "You can''t trick me!"


    "Wow, this guy still isn''t dead yet. This is the last 5 seconds. Pay attention ¨C whoever dies now will lose guild points, so don''t die."


    "3, 2¡­ dammit, now you''ll lose guild points, and you''ll also need to spend more resources on fixing your equipment¡­"


    Soon enough, Shahram reluctantly vanished in a puff of smoke.


    After all, he was just a summoned Boss and could only exist for 2 minutes. This had been enabled by the master of the Blackblade, who once wounded Golganneth the Thunderer with it.


    Although it was only a small injury, if you knew who Golganneth was, you would think differently.


    Golganneth the Thunderer was Aman''Thul in the flesh ¨C the father of the Gods and Eonar''s child. He was the creator of the sky and the ocean. This tall male titan had white-gold skin, held a giant horn as a weapon and wielded lightning that passed through his eyes.


    In the beginning, he created the sky, ocean and all marine life in the world of Azeroth. He created the sea giant to help the earth, and modelled the mountains which were later known as Kalimdor. The Sea Giants were responsible for maintaining the deep sea.


    Golganneth had enjoyed his creation and assisted the Pantheon to bring order from chaos. However, he still loved the sheer strength that came with power.


    In battle, he would blow into his horn-like weapon, the Shagahn, which could destroy a mountain. Golganneth didn''t do this too often because his mission was to create rather than destroy.


    He was the embodiment of thunder, lightning and storms.


    After wounding the Thunderer, the Blackblade of Shahram was contaminated with the blood of the Titans and was cursed. This reduced a heavenly weapon that was capable of harming the Gods into a fallen weapon.


    Before Lu Li was reborn, many people believed that there was an opportunity to rejuvenate the Blackblade of Shahram.


    After Shahram disspated, General Drakkisath went back to being silent.


    He looked a little sad and the Blackblade of Shahram seemed to have lost its edge. The damage caused to Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t even at risk of being fatal ¨C he was in a weakened state!


    In fact, Lu Li was also quite miserable. Under his care, the two Main Tanks and three healers didn''t die. However, they had lost six of their damage output professions, which meant they only had four left.


    Fortunately, General Drakkisath was weak and there were enough Main Tanks and Healers to ensure the safety of the group.


    In addition, the two guards that had disappeared had come back to fight again. Although they had shamefully run away, they had not lost their fighting ability.


    This was why Lu Li had chosen to save the Main Tanks and Healers instead of the damage output players. When General Drakkisath was in his weakened state, having less damage output was less of an issue. If they had saved their damage output players and the Main Tanks or Healers had died, then even 5 seconds would be enough for the Bosses to wipe out the remaining players.


    The Main Tanks were currently holding all the aggro, but since they weren''t doing much damage everyone could be a potential target. At this time, the Boss was determined to cast a large area of effect skill.


    Now with the two guards, there was a total of six damage output players. None of them held anything back.


    Before long, General Drakkisath''s HP was completely depleted¡­


    They had finally completed the Blackrock Spire''s upper level Instance Dungeon!


    Unfortunately, there were no flowers or applause. Almost no one noticed the First Clear that Lu Li and the others had just achieved. Blood Red War Flag had achieved the First Clear of the whole dungeon, and it didn''t matter that Lu Li and the others were playing at the more difficult Nightmare Difficulty of the Instance Dungeon.


    However, no one felt much frustration, especially with such a strong final Boss lying dead in front of them.

 1317 March Rain and Darkness

    Although the First Clear announcement was gone, they had still achieved a First Clear of the Nightmare Difficulty. After all, no guild had done this yet, which meant that the drops would be equivalent to a First Clear.


    In fact, these rewards were going to be better than what Blood Red War Flag had received.


    "Let''s see if we''ll be feasting tonight! Let''s go!"


    Azure Sea Breeze licked his lips and could barely contain his excitement. He felt like he needed a change of equipment; Dawn''s number one Main Tank deserved the best after all.


    "I have recently started taking care of even more pets, you know!?"


    Remnant Dream squatted down and extended her small hands over General Drakkisath¡­


    Meanwhile, Lu Li was sending the two other guards away. They couldn''t be healed, so sending them away was the safest choice. Everyone else was surprised, as they thought those guards were just helpers and cannon fodder for Lu Li.


    "Thank you for your help. Thanks to you, executing General Drakkisath went smoothly," Lu Li said sincerely. The most important thing to remember was that these two powerful helpers had come for free. It wasn''t clear whether Marshal Maxwell had simply forgotten, but when he looked at Hachi Chan''s face, he didn''t ask for a single piece of copper from them.


    "You guys are still a little weak. You won''t be able to kill Onyxia," one of the guards responded.


    In their eyes, the true objective was to kill the Black Dragon Princess who had killed Marshal Windsor, instead of getting tangled up with her brother. In their view, the adventurers were far too weak. This kind of pride was characteristic of most NPCs in Dawn.


    Different angles produced different perspectives, and they felt like the adventurers were the cannon fodder instead of them.


    "We will continue to work hard. Please tell Marshal Maxwell that they will soon hear good news about Onyxia," Lu Li said in a low voice. He despised the arrogance of the NPCs, but he was too lazy to care about them.


    The two guards nodded in satisfaction before leaving with the orb.


    Remnant Dream managed to find a gem, but unfortunately, it wasn''t a Level Reducing Gem. Although this gem couldn''t be used for a while, Lu Li still hoped to hoard as many as they could in the guild warehouse before their drop rates were further reduced.


    However, it was still a valuable drop for a final Boss of an Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty.


    This gem increased the effect of Shield Block, which was very useful for Warriors or Paladins that played a defensive role. Warriors would have priority for this item, as it had to be supported by strong basic Attributes.


    There were a handful of Strengthening Stones, enough that everyone could actually receive a one.


    The drop rate of Strengthening Stones wasn''t decreasing. As the players levelled up, the monsters they fought would also grow stronger. By then, even Elite monsters would have a chance of dropping a Strengthening Stone, leading to a decrease in their value. Eventually, receiving a Strengthening Stone would become a surprise, but not particularly profitable.


    There were also some Lava Fragments, which were a type of Forging Material that had fire properties. They were very versatile, but many other Bosses dropped them as well.


    There were two Skill Books ¨C one for Warlocks and one for Druids. When the players reached this stage, there were very few new skills left. The next set of Enhanced skill books were not something that would easily drop, even from General Drakkisath.


    There was one Silver equip, which was a joke. Lu Li didn''t look at it and immediately threw it at Azure Sea Breeze as part of his compensation.


    There were three pieces of Gold equipment!


    As far as Instance Dungeon Bosses were concerned, Gold equipment was not particularly valuable. Lu Li and the others were level 60 and were covered in Gold equipment at a minimum. However, these were still suitable for the ordinary players.


    If a person had some money, they could use it to purchase better equipment to strengthen themselves.


    There were three options ¨C they could buy an Epic equip, buy three pieces of Dark Gold equipment or buy a whole set of Gold equipment.


    To maximize strength, a full set of Gold equipment was probably the best choice. With a full set of Gold equipment, a player would easily be able to find some teammates if their technique wasn''t bad. All the Elite difficulty Instance Dungeons in Blackrock Spire required players that had a full set of Gold equipment at the very least.


    However, there was no market for the Gold equipment that they had received here.


    Lu Li split these between Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering once again, to compensate for their losses during the Instance Dungeon fight.


    In fact, when they killed monsters in the Instance Dungeon, they would drop a few Gold coins. This was also the case for the Bosses. For example, General Drakkisath, who had just died, would drop hundreds of gold at a time since they were on Nightmare Difficulty. It was equivalent to tens of thousands in real-life money.


    When the Instance Dungeon was complete, the leader of the group would loot the body and the money would be transferred to him. These were to reward his achievements in combat.


    Of course, there was no way a casual team would be able to defeat General Drakkisath on Nightmare difficulty. However, even at Elite Difficulty, a few hundred gold coins would be given. These would be given to the Main Tank and Healers as compensation. The rest would then be split among the damage output players based on their position on the leader boards. This encouraged everyone to work hard.


    However, Lu Li didn''t follow this tradition, and just allowed Remnant Dream to loot the body.


    Remnant Dream didn''t discriminate when she looted the bodies, which meant that everyone would receive an equal amount of gold. Every time they earned gold coins from an Instance Dungeon, he would distribute some of his own share if he didn''t have a lot to repair.


    This also meant that there was no need to specifically set aside portions for the Main Tank or the Healer.


    After the Gold equipment, three Dark Gold equips were looted!


    There had been seven pieces of equipment dropped since the start of the Instance Dungeon, even though it was the First Clear.


    General Drakkisath at Elite Difficulty likely dropped 3-5 pieces of equipment. At Nightmare Difficulty, they could have theoretically received 5-7 pieces of equipment. As for how much a First Clear increased this drop rate, this was entirely up to the System to decide.


    These three pieces of Dark Gold equipment couldn''t be distributed as compensation. If Lu Li wasn''t already wearing a set of equipment, he would have wanted one of the Dark Gold pants. The other two pieces were Chain Mail Armor for Magic damage output professions. No one needed those, so they were put into the guild warehouse. The last item was a Cloth Armor for Healers, which was given to March Rain, even though her equipment was mostly Epic and this was probably too low-levelled for her.


    Then, there was an Epic one-handed Hammer.


    Epic weapons weren''t too rare, but their Attributes were still excellent. This one-handed hammer was for Healers and it immediately attracted the attention of the two girls ¨C March Rain and Darkness.


    Because it wasn''t specific to any profession, either one of them could use it so they had to decide how they would resolve this.

 1318 Legendary Equipmen

    "Just split it anyhow; it''s not that good anyway," Azure Sea Breeze said impatiently. This guy has been harping on about his Legendary equipment for a while now, and he no longer thought very highly of Epic equipment.


    In fact, his intention was for Lu Li to give it to March Rain


    Although Darkness was part of the Elite group, Azure Sea Breeze had known March Rain for half a year. As a Main Tank and a Healer, they were always working together, so their relationship was definitely not comparable to his relationship with Darkness.


    However, he couldn''t say that directly. Otherwise, there would be no fairness in this guild.


    "Well, I can keep waiting," Darkness said. She could read everyone''s minds by looking at their expressions, and so she offered to give up the equipment.


    Instead of being forced to give it up, it looked better to take the initiative.


    Everyone looked at Lu Li. The original Xin Xin Mercenary Group hoped that Lu Li would give this item to March Rain. The newcomers in the group hoped that Lu Li wouldn''t be so biased towards the older group. Even Fat Monkey had a faint hope in his heart that Lu Li wasn''t a biased person, as he was relatively new compared to Azure Sea Breeze and the others.


    Was it better to continue building a better relationship with March Rain, or to give the item to Darkness in order to win the support of the newer players?


    If he gave it to Darkness, the newer players would definitely be very pleased.


    "Why are you looking at me? Just roll for it. You both want it, so how else can we decide it? Unless you''re waiting for me to roll for you," Lu Li said in bewilderment.


    Rolling was an option that they had all forgotten about. It was Dawn''s simplest way of splitting equipment. Whoever rolled a higher number would take the piece.


    Everything that they had been thinking about had just gone out the window.


    March Rain and Darkness looked at each other. Even if they insisted on giving up the equipment now, it would only serve to deteriorate the relationships among the group. Lu Li giving them the opportunity to roll for it was the best way to resolve this conflict.


    March Rain rolled a 69.


    Darkness went next, and rolled an 82 to beat March Rain. She looked around and seemed a little embarrassed but found that no one else was really paying attention.


    They had hoped that March Rain would get the item, but it wasn''t unfavourable for Darkness to receive it.


    After all, everyone had fought together in Instance Dungeons a number of times already.


    Darkness was also quite modest, which was similar to March Rain. The main members of the group knew of her ties to Sorrowless, but no one had ever questioned whether she was undercover or doing something in secret. They never avoided her either.


    The next item was a Nightslayer Cloak!


    It was part of the Thief T1 set and was an Epic item. Lu Li had felt that exquisite items for him hadn''t appeared for a very long time.


    If one imagined themselves as the main character of their story, they would imagine the Boss only dropping items that they could use. Lu Li had been tirelessly farming Instance Dungeon after Instance Dungeon, but he would only see a few suitable equips. Sometimes, he wouldn''t see any at all, which was quite a miserable experience.


    Now, he had finally gotten what he wanted.


    Lu Li currently had two Nightslayer items ¨C the Nightslayer Leather Pants and the Nightslayer Ghostface.


    Nightslayer Leather Pants (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 65, Agility+60, Constitution +35, Evasion +20%. 2 slots. Special Effect 1: Shadow Step Skill +1. Special Effect 2: After a successful block, there is a certain probability that the blocked damage will be dealt to the attacker. Special Effect 3: Demon Transformation. Gain the power of the Demons. Decrease damage taken by 20% but ignoresall crowd-control skills. Gainsa floating effect which prevents all fall damage. 120 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    Nightslayer Ghostface: (Exquisite Dark Gold): Armor 60, Agility 55, Strength +30, Dark Field of View +30%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Wild Roar. The caster roars, increasing base attack power of everyone within 30 yards by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Special Effect 2: Shadow Plunder. Randomly obtains a buff from the target. Lasts 20 minutes. 30 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Void Gaze, Increases the probability of finding Stealthed units for 60 seconds. 20 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirement: Level 55. Durability 280/280.


    The former had come from the Stone Guardian and the latter had been inside a Treasure Chest in a shipwreck.


    After that, Lu Li received a Nightslayer Breastplate Mold from Remulos and looted a Nightslayer Bracer Mold from Emperor Thaurissan. This was a four-piece set, but the materials for the breastplate were too difficult to make. The Bracer was also an Epic item, which was too difficult for March Rain''s current tailoring level.


    Now, there was the Nightslayer Cloak, which was an Epic item like the Bracer.


    He had originally only planned to obtain the 4-piece effect, but now it seemed like achieving the 6-piece effect was possible. If he could find 8 pieces, that would be even better.


    "I will have to rely on you for the rest March Rain," Lu Li said as he gave the item to her.


    "Next time I go to the Tailor''s, I will do it. I have the materials ready," March Rain nodded. She didn''t hate this work as this type of exquisite equipment would greatly increase her Tailoring level.


    "Is that it? Is there no equipment left?" Moonlight couldn''t help but interrupt Lu Li.


    Regardless of what Lu Li got, no matter how good it was, it had nothing to do with him. All he cared about was whether this black sword with exquisite Attributes was dropped¡­


    He wanted the Blackblade of Shahram!


    "What''s taking so long? Come, Dreamy, you can have this," Lu Li offered as he immediately took out a small bag of coins and gave it to Remnant Dream. Remnant Dream then happily started counting the money, with no regard for Moonlight''s feelings.


    Although the bag of coins didn''t seem large, there were actually 300 gold coins inside. It was enough for Remnant Dream to pay for a year of college. Without knowing it, this little girl had already become a rich woman who could support herself.


    "So¡­. Boss," Azure Sea Breeze stood next to Lu Li.


    "What?"


    This guy normally never called him Boss. He was definitely hiding something. His words just sounded very strange and Lu Li reminded himself that he had to be careful.


    "You see that I am a Warrior, and I can use two handed weapons," Azure Sea Breeze sighed sadly. "If I had an exquisite weapon before, I would have been able to kill my inner demon.


    Because I didn''t, I almost got everyone wiped. I have decided to use some of my points to acquire an exquisite weapon."


    He actually wasn''t spouting nonsense. Dawn was a game that allowed you to change your Armor in battle, but you could also change your weapons and shields.


    "I have something here you can use. I''ll give it to you later," Moonlight said seriously.


    "Cough, I want the Blackblade."


    Azure Sea Breeze hated that he had to say it straightforwardly. Moonlight had to be acting dumb because he was usually a much shrewder person.


    "I feel like I could use it too," Wandering interjected.


    "Well I can too, okay? Stop staring at me and remember who is finding it for you," Remnant Dream scolded.


    "I''ll leave it up to you guys. Dreamy, quickly loot the items. Make sure you hit them with it if you get it, but we''ll need to hurry up. It''s getting late."


    It was nice to be able to play with so many friends. Lu Li never though he would be surrounded by so many people that he trusted.


    However, there would always be times of annoyance. While Lu Li waited for March Rain to make his equipment, he didn''t want to just watch them argue.


    Remnant Dream felt like Lu Li made some sense. She didn''t really use her melee weapons and mainly used her bow, but she would still profit from looting it. No one would dare offend her, so even if she asked for 500-1000 gold, they would have to pay for it.


    "Blackblade!"


    Everyone other than Lu Li was excited when they heard Remnant Dream shout the name. Lu Li wasn''t excited because he knew that General Drakkisath had taken the black sword from the weapons rack before the battle began. This meant that the drop was basically guaranteed.


    The only problem was the grade of the Blackblade when it was dropped.


    "Let me see! What grade is it?" Moonlight exclaimed in excitement.


    At present, there were some whispers of Legendary equipment being dropped. Although no one had ever seen one, the rumours that were being spread weren''t always believable. However, the final Boss of the Blackrock Spire at Nightmare Difficulty was the most likely place where one could be dropped.


    This was also a First Clear, so if they couldn''t find a Legendary, there was no other way to get one.


    "Give me 1000 gold, Moonlight bro, or I will take this item myself!" Remnant Dream squealed and jumped after looking at the item. It seemed like she wanted to be the first person to be equipped with a Legendary weapon, even though her favourite things were cute pets.


    "Give it!" Moonlight wasn''t embarrassed and was just overjoyed.


    The thing he feared the most was Remnant Dream saying that the equipment was weak


    and offering to give it away.


    "Send the attributes out for us to see," Lu Li urged.


    This was the first Legendary of the group. His Supreme Ring would become a Legendary when he could upgrade it again. He also had a number of strategies in his head to acquire a Legendary item, but none of them would allow him to directly obtain one.


    Blackblade of Shahram (Legendary): Damage 110-200, Strength +240, Agility +160, Health +800, Critical Hit +30%, 3 slots. Special Effect 1: Whirlwind Skill Level +1. Special Effect 2: Assault, instant cast. Rush into the target. The first attack dealt will be a critical hit. 2-minute cooldown. Special Effect 3, when attacking a target, there is a chance that the soul of Shahram will be summoned for 10 seconds. Equipment Requirements: Level 60. Durability 360/360.

 1319 A Bloody Battle at the Burning Steppes

    What happened next was a long silence.


    This was the first Legendary equipment that everyone had seen, even Lu Li, who had experienced rebirth.


    There had been rumours that someone had a Legendary equip, but all that was speculation and could have been fabricated. After all, if rumours were spread that a certain person had legendary equipment on them, they would immediately become a target.


    "Hey, Lighty, what kind of dinner are we having?" Azure Sea Breeze asked after a while.


    He had previously wanted to fight Moonlight for this item, but that was obviously a joke. There was no way that he as a Main Tank could ask for such a high damage item like this.


    Wandering and Remnant Dream were in similar positions.


    In fact, the first special effect that increased the Whirlwind''s level was specifically designed to maximise a Berserker''s power.


    In addition, Whirlwind was a Berserker''s signature skill and already made the item second to none. Moreover, this item actually had two more valuable special effects. Of the two special effects, the first allowed the Berserker to have a second Charge, but the benefits of the third were only understood by Lu Li.


    What could Shahram do in a window of 10 seconds?


    No one could answer that question because there was no answer. The answer to this question wasn''t fixed.


    Ten seconds were more than enough to help Moonlight kill a strong opponent. It was also possible for Shahram to heal Moonlight until he was back to full HP. He could also revive one of Moonlight''s teammates, or give the entire team a buff.


    There were a wide variety of buffs that he could give. According to some incomplete statistics, there were at least 20-30 buffs.


    No one knew what Shahram would do!


    The most important part of this effect was that Shahram was unaffected by crowd-control on the player because this was a triggered effect and didn''t require casting.


    As for the other Attributes, they were undoubtedly what would expect of the Blackblade.


    Lu Li felt a bit of envy, but in fact, the Felstriker wasn''t much worse.


    Felstriker (Perfect Epic): Damage 88-120, Agility +120, Strength +100, Critical Hit: +35%. Three Slots. Special Effect 1: Ambush Skill Level +1, +1 Combo Points gained for using this skill. Special Effect 2: After the user successful lands a critical hit, gain 50% damage increased for 10 seconds. Special Effect 3: Phantom Shift ¨C Six Phantoms that last three seconds each appear randomly. The user can choose to change positions with one of them at any time. 2 hour cooldown. Special Effect 4: Bloodthirst, Instant Cast, consumes 20% of HP to increase Attack Power by 50%, Attack Speed by 50% and Movement Speed by 50%. Lasts for 10 seconds. 2 hour cooldown. After using this effect, the user is satisfied and can no longer be affected by other Bloodthirst or time warp effects for 10 minutes. Equipment Requirement: Level 60. Durability 320/320.


    Because it was a one-handed weapon, a second dagger could be equipped which meant that its damage and other Attributes were not inferior. It also had a critical hit bonus that was 5% higher.


    The Special Effects were also quite different. Felstriker increased the skill level of Ambush,


    which was slightly inferior to Whirlwind.


    The perfect grade of the Felstriker was comparable to a full grade increase. You could see a Perfect Epic as a Legendary item, but unfortunately, this didn''t have the same effect on people. If you sent someone a Perfect Epic item or a Legendary item, you would receive different responses.


    Lu Li gave this Blackblade to Moonlight, deducted his guild points and set a debt of a few thousand points to the guild.


    Moonlight was very embarrassed. It wasn''t just the points ¨C he couldn''t afford the red envelope that was to be given to Remnant Dream. He was so poor because of his PVP lifestyle. The gold that he received from Instance Dungeons was usually just enough for him to repair his equipment and help his old friends.


    Remnant Dream couldn''t force him to pay up anyway, so she let him go.


    There wasn''t much after that. They cleared some of the side quests given by Marshall Maxwell before going back to him to submit them.


    As the highest-ranking governor of the Alliance presiding over this area, the rewards he would give couldn''t be that bad.


    Lu Li and the others left the Instance Dungeon and headed over the location of the Burning


    Steppes Flame Crest. Hachi Chan had previously shared the quest with everyone, so everyone could submit it.


    However, they didn''t hear the sound of fighting until they got close.


    Lu Li instructed everyone to hide while he turned into a Blood Crow to fly into the sky. From his position in the air, he could see all of Burning Steppes in front of him.


    The Burning Steppes were a rugged, bare land dotted with fires that had burned the once-green grass.


    A wave of green-skinned troops wearing black armor were charging.


    They had a protruded jaw with sharp teeth, flat twitching noses and small bloodthirsty eyes that were red with hatred. Under the dying sun of the Burning Steppes, the ebony shafts and glimmering blades of their weapons let off a radiant shine.


    This was Blackrock''s Orc Army!


    Lu Li didn''t hate these soldiers just because they had been killing Blackrock Orcs in the Instance Dungeon.


    The monsters in the Instance Dungeon were not the same as those in the wild. To put it bluntly, the monsters in the Instance Dungeon were fake. This was not a completely accurate explanation, but the monsters in the wild were definitely much stronger.


    The army was quite difficult to deal with. No matter who it was, if they were swarmed by these soldiers, they were bound to die.


    As such, Lu Li planned to set up some players to be watchmen. After some time, the Stronghold System would be introduced and the players would be able to fight for a Stronghold. For now, Lu Li''s watchmen would have to keep an eye out for the Orcs.


    The Blackrock Orcs were shouting and pointing as they marched towards their objective. Their objective was a little hillside which was surrounded by mountains.


    The only advantage of this location was that both sides were steep, which made them difficult to climb, let alone charge up. One side also had a magma stream flowing down, which meant the Blackrock Orcs were unlikely to attack from that direction. They could only mount their attack from one side of the garrison.


    At the top of the hillside was a blue Alliance flag. This wasn''t a castle or a Stronghold. The boulders that were piled around barely formed a defensive position.


    An officer who looked like he was commanding the battle was standing on a boulder. Occasionally, arrows would fly towards him, but he would deflect them with his sword.


    These people had experienced a continual struggle against this attack.


    Only a small group of people wrapped in bandages remained. Their dirty armor and broken helmets were covered in blood. Their weapons were jagged and were covered in dried, crimson blood.


    Lu Li was dumbfounded ¨C what was happening?


    He didn''t know if this had to do with the quest or a movement in the story. He had been to the Burning Steppes quite a few times, but he had never seen an actual battle take place before.


    There were close to a thousand Blackrock orcs, while there were only a three or four hundred humans who were capable of fighting. Almost everyone was injured, but they seemed to have some decent equipment remaining. They fired their bows and a wave of arrows rained down from the hill.


    Some of the Orcs in the front row were killed in the blink of an eye as the arrows landed. Another volley of arrows then began, which caused another wave of Orcs soldiers to fall, but behind them was a huge legion of soldiers.


    The number of human soldiers was simply far too few. The Blackrock Orcs had almost breached the defensive line a number of times.


    The Blackrock Orcs were also constantly changing their formation. This was evidence that they had a skilled commander. From Lu Li''s perspective, it was only a matter of time before the Blackrock Orcs broke through.


    Lu Li first tried to call people over from the guild, before telling the others to come in.


    "Lighty, bring them in."


    It would take time before the reinforcements would arrive. Lu Li was worried that these human soldiers wouldn''t make it through that time. The 15 players that were present were not that many, but they were all strong and were reasonably healthy, so they could fight for some time.


    Moonlight took the people along the route planned by Lu Li as they quickly approached the battlefield.


    "Woah, there are just too many of them."


    Unlike Moonlight and Fat Monkey, Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t a PVP madman, so his fear of facing all these Orc soldiers was understandable.


    "We have no choice. There are only very few human soldiers left and many of them are injured," Lu Li said, feeling helpless too.


    If he could arrange to bring in a thousand players, then these Blackrock Orcs would be manageable. But now, in order to save the human soldiers, they just had to fight together.


    As for the rewards of such a task, Lu Li had some expectations, but he wasn''t going to insist on them.


    This was the nature of the game. You couldn''t avoid these opportunities if you wanted to flourish. Those who weren''t afraid to do these things were more likely to die, but they also earned more rewards.


    "Is everyone ready?" Lu Li asked quietly after everyone was close enough.


    The others were becoming excited. They were about to rush out as a group of 15 players to face nearly a thousand Blackrock Orcs.


    After Lu Li received a definitive answer, he didn''t immediately command them to charge. Instead, after the Orcs soldiers had reached the hill, he jumped out of the hiding place and attacked the Orc Commander that was riding the giant Warg.


    The Orc Command had been busy yelling at the battlefield, so he was dumbfounded when Lu Li stabbed him in the back of the head by surprise.


    He shook his aching head and let out an earth-shattering cry.


    The Blackrock Orcs that were charging ahead stopped as they turned back to look at their commander. However, just when they thought the Orcs would come back for their Commander, they turned back and continued to pressed forwards.


    "Attack!" Azure Sea Breeze cried out with his shield in front of him. As a Main Tank, even if he didn''t want to fight, he couldn''t let his Thief teammate face the monster alone.


    The Orc Commander wasn''t really alone either; he had six guards nearby.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were both tanking the aggro of the monsters while being assisted by the melee damage output players. The ranged players'' jobs were to deal damage while the healers were protected in the middle of the formation. Their presence made their suffering a little bit more bearable.


    "Pay attention to your HP, and don''t use your damage reduction skills. Our people will be here soon," Lu Li said as soon as he managed to catch his breath, but he knew that he had underestimated their opponent.


    The Burning Steppes were a standard level 60 map with monsters ranging from level 50-60. There were a few areas with lower-level monsters, but under normal circumstances, there wouldn''t any monsters above level 60.


    However, what he had been presented with defied Lu Li''s understanding.


    These monsters were all level 62, while the Commander was level 65 and was obviously a Boss.


    Fortunately, this guy was an Orc Shaman.


    The Shamans were the spiritual leaders of the clan and of the Horde. They could communicate with souls, had the ability to predict the future and guided their people through storms in the dark ages. Their role in battle was to boost morale, increase the attack power of the soldiers and ensure that the soldiers didn''t go Berserk. If the soldiers didn''t die from their injuries, he could also heal them.


    The Shaman that Lu Li was facing served an assistive role.


    Of course, it was still impossible for Lu Li to kill him. Moreover, he also had the six guards who were protecting him. Even if there weren''t any mishaps, it was only a matter of time before Lu Li''s group were wiped.


    However, this was only because the Shaman had completely ignored what the players were doing.


    He was still commanding the Blackrock Orcs to attack the defensive structure of the human camp. Lu Li and the others had more or less distracted him, but it didn''t stop the attack on the camp.


    "Dammit, what are you doing?


    The scene that was unfolding made everyone speechless. The human commander had actually taken his group down the hillside to charge into the Orcs.


    Lu Li didn''t have much to say, because he understood what the human commander was trying to do. He could clearly see that he was receiving help, but there were only a dozen people and it wasn''t enough to deal with the Orc Commander. As such, he was taking advantage of the brief window where the Orc Commander was occupied.


    However, he didn''t know that Lu Li had reinforcements coming. He just told Cat Dad to prepare several groups of a hundred players to be sent here.


    Originally, Lu Li''s plan was just to harass the Orc Commander so that he couldn''t remain focused on commanding. This would give the human soldiers a bit more breathing room.


    He was also trying to stall for his reinforcements to arrive, where they would be able to at least repel the Blackrock Orcs.


    Right now, the human soldiers were rushing down in an attempt to break out of the encirclement. The three sides of the hill that were helping their defense was actually now a disadvantage that restricted their retreat.


    As long as the Orc Soldiers were blocking the front, they would be like a mill that slowly ground down the soldiers that were trying to break through.


    "Where are you guys? You don''t have to keep formation ¨C just get here! Take whatever mounts there are to do it!" Lu Li yelled into command channel at Drifting Rain.


    "Our Paladin team will arrive first. It will be 5 minutes at most," Drifting Rain said straightforwardly.


    The Paladins were professional riders and had a crusader aura which increased the speed of their mount by 20%. If more Paladins were gathered together, their crusader aura would be increased, up to a maximum of 50%.


    Under Drifting Rain''s orders, four to five hundred Paladins on their mounts were found out of the few thousand players.


    Most of them had joined the Night Watchmen Corps and were well trained.


    Lu Li could only pray that the human soldiers could hold on for a little longer, otherwise, these thousand reinforcements would just be here to pick up corpses.


    "How about we sneak in to join them? We can retreat into the hillside," Wandering suddenly suggested.


    It was a good idea. Lu Li then realized that it was better to rush in and join the human soldiers so that they could retreat together back into the hillside. As for whether they would be able to hold on after retreated into the hillside, that was another matter entirely.


    After discussing it for a while, they decisively broke away from the Orc commander and tried to merge with the human soldiers.


    The difference between the players and the NPCs or monsters was clear. Lu Li and the others had far more diverse and complicated skills.


    For example, when March Rain approached, she immediately cast Soul Shriek.


    A sound wave originating from her cute face scared away any of the Blackrock Orcs that it touched.


    Lu Li and the others also took the opportunity increase the gap between them and the Boss.


    The others did similar things with Frost Nova, Frost Trap, various area of effect Warlock Fears and even Trample to delay their pursuers. They rarely killed any of the monsters ahead of them, because it was simply unrealistic to quickly kill a level 62 elite monster.


    The Orc Shaman watched coldly as the reinforcements got closer and closer.


    In fact, he didn''t try too hard to stop the players from joining the human forces. Perhaps he thought this was helpful to him as he could defeat them all together.


    This time, it was the Human Commander that was dumbfounded.


    They didn''t really understand why Lu Li and the others invested themselves into this battle. Why were they helping them?


    Finally, when the two groups finally reached each other, Lu Li approached the Human Commander.


    "Hello, I am a Night Elf from Darnassus, and I hope that you can retreat onto more defensible terrain. It is unlikely that you will be able to push out like this. Even if you do, there will be heavy casualties," Lu Li said.


    "I still have some hope," the Human Commander muttered resentfully.


    The conversation with Lu Li stalled them for long enough that the window to escape had closed. However, there wasn''t any time to get angry, so he just called for their retreat. If they waited any longer, they would have been completely surrounded and killed.


    After losing a dozen more men, Lu Li and these human soldiers returned to the hillside.


    With the advantages of the terrain, they could finally catch their breath even though the danger had not been completely averted.


    "Lu Li, I can heal them," March Rain said in amazement, before quickly adding, "It''s much worse than when we heal our own though."


    "The fact that we can is already good enough. Hachi Chan, cast Tranquillity," Lu Li said.


    Under the protection her teammates, Hachi Chan began to channel one of the most powerful area of effect healing skills. Tranquillity or Enhanced Tranquillity was a skill that few people ever learned.


    It didn''t heal them for much, and they visually only looked slightly better. The HP that had been healed was just a drop in a bucket.


    What surprised Lu Li, was that the healing skills like Hachi Chan''s Enhanced Tranquillity didn''t just increase their HP, but also had an effect on their wounds.


    The soldiers were sluggish, but after receiving this drizzle from the sky, they seemed to be in a better mental state.


    But now, they were wondering whose side Lu Li was on. If Lu Li hadn''t helped them retreat and Hachi Chan and the other healers didn''t just heal them, they might have just attacked gun.


    "Why did you charge in here!"


    Lu Li didn''t answer the question directly, but posed the situation back at him.


    "Esteemed commander, I have no doubt about your bravery and wisdom, but when you rushed out, you had so few people left.


    The momentum of the Human Commander was suddenly weakened.


    "No matter how many people survive, that was better than us all dying here."


    "You must think that our small numbers are not enough to break you out from here," Lu Li said with a wry smile. "In fact, we are just stalling for you. The real battle is coming with our reinforcements."


    "Did you send someone to inform Marshal Maxwell?" the Human Commander asked in surprise.


    "Hrm, I will send someone now."


    Lu Li was a bit embarrassed before setting this aside and saying seriously, "My friends will be here soon. Then, you will be safe."


    "Your friends?"


    The Human Commander''s expression turned dark and murderous.


    "Rest assured, they are warriors that do not fear death," Lu Li explained quickly. "There are thousands of troops on their way here. That is the leading group; you will all be safe!"


    In the direction where Lu Li was pointing, the Human Commander saw a group of cavalry in the horizon.


    They were wearing armor which shone in the dim light of the Burning Steppes. The Human Commander suddenly embraced the man that he had wanted to hack to pieces a second ago.

 1320 Safety

    "Let''s break through!" the human commander excitedly said.


    "Um¡­Big brother, why do you keep wanting to break through?" Lu Li asked, then continued to explain, "This is only the first squad. There are going to be more reinforcements. The longer we can hold here, the better."


    The commander then realised that Lu Li said he had called at least a thousand people for reinforcements.


    He thought that Lu Li was bluffing for sure.


    The Orc Shaman began to panic and hesitate after seeing that this was true. Or, it could be said that the Shaman was beginning to regret his decision to allow his subjects to recover. He should have prioritised the crushing defeat of these humans.


    He still had a chance to relentlessly continue to attack the human forces.


    If he commanded his forces to prioritise breaking down the defence line, they could achieve this before the reinforcements arrived. However, this would come at the cost of a great number of casualties. Once the reinforcements arrived, there was also no way that they would be left alive.


    Furthermore, the reinforcements were cavalry!


    As an Orc Shaman, no one would know the terrors of cavalry more than him. After all, the Orc Wolf Riders were one of the strongest forces in the land.


    However, the Orc Shaman had mistaken the cavalry''s strength. These were the Paladins who had joined the Night Watch. They didn''t have any abilities that could be used while mounted. Compared to the Wolf Riders, these Paladins were also much weaker.


    The Shaman feared the incoming reinforcements, but he was also reluctant to retreat.


    "Do you reckon that they will retreat?"


    The human commander had a bald head, but he wasn''t that old either. He looked to be around 30 years old, no less. This was a common look for Azeroth''s males.


    "I''m not sure. Does the commander wish for them to retreat?" Lu Li asked.


    "Let''s force them to retreat. Enough blood has been shed today," he replied after hesitating for a short while.


    "Alright then."


    Lu Li didn''t want to push him any further, since the commander already decided to put down his weapons for the day. After all, this wasn''t an Instance Dungeon, so they would lose experience upon death. The losses that they would have suffered if the Horde''s forces breached their defence line would be horrific anyway.


    Drifting Rain received Lu Li''s commands.


    The charging force of the cavalry instantly halted. The mounted knights then began to hit the ground in a consistent rhythm.


    The atmosphere completely changed to when the reinforcements were charging. The Shaman suddenly realised another possibility. He thought that this was a preparation for a greater reinforcement to arrive after this first group. They would surround his forces and annihilate them.


    With no hesitation, the Shaman instantly commanded one of his guards to sound the retreat horn.


    The Blackrock Orcs followed the instructions and proceeded to group around the Shaman. Then, they retreated immediately, away from the reinforcements.


    Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief. He was worried that the Orc Shaman was not smart enough to realise this.


    It looked like the recent minor updates had improved the intelligence of these NPCS.


    The reinforcements had no use in terms of fighting strength now, but their journey was not one without any fruit. After all, the strategies to attack the Upper Blackrock Spires had been devised. If they followed the strategies without fault, they would be able to kill a few Bosses.


    Furthermore, now that they managed to save a few hundred human soldiers, they wouldn''t have any difficulty receiving a quest from Marshal Maxwell.


    "I am Captain Bukmid. Many thanks to you and your friends."


    Captain Bukmid extended his hand to shake Lu Li''s.


    "You''re welcome. It is our duty to do so," Lu Li said, relaxing a little. After all, they were planning on tackling a whole army of Orcs with less than twenty people. In hindsight, that was a suicidal decision. The fact that they had managed to pull it off was nothing short of a miracle.


    "You have saved our lives. I don''t have much to offer in terms of rewards," Bukmid mumbled. His face paled a little after seeing the number of adventurers.


    There was no way that he would be able to reward a few thousand people even after selling himself.


    However, these adventurers could not go unrewarded, after all, they were his saviours. Otherwise, he would have lost his life, alongside the few hundred warriors with him. This would have led to the creation of a quest called "Captain Bukmid''s Revenge", which would involve killing some Blackrock Orcs in remembrance of him.


    "Money does not mean much to us. After all, equipment only improves exterior strength. We wish to increase our own strength, without equipment," Lu Li said, with a serious face.


    "Hey! Lu Pain in the Ass, what do you mean?"


    Even Hachi Chan, a quest specialist, questioned Lu Li''s approach to this.


    "It looks like he wants experience and fame instead," Wandering said, then continued, "Gold doesn''t mean much as a reward, and equipment wouldn''t mean much since we have a few thousand here."


    This entire area was filled with people from Ruling Sword. These members even began to set up camp with barbecues, and soon, a delicious smell began to waft through the air.


    The Captain continued to hesitate.


    "How about going to Marshal Maxwell first? I have some of his quests to turn in," Lu Li suddenly suggested.


    The rewards that a Captain could give were quite limited. After all, their standing in the Stormwind military was not that high either.


    However, Captain Bukmid was not expendable by any means. Marshal Maxwell might very well be quite grateful to Lu Li for saving Bukmid.


    The rewards that a Marshal could give were much greater than a Captain.


    Indeed, Bukmid would not be able to satisfy the thousands of people in front of him with his


    rewards. As such, along with Lu Li''s forces, he and his forces tagged along and travelled towards Marshal Maxwell''s camp.


    With this number of people, any monster was instantly annihilated if it did not escape. Even the Trolls from Burning Steppes disappeared.


    The Southern Trolls specialised in magic. However, their bodies and physique were also quite strong. A stick-wielding Troll Mage would be able to kill a Dwarf Warrior.


    This area was their territory. They would rob anyone who decided to walk upon this land, including the powerful Blackrock Orcs and Black Iron Dwarves. They were so daring that they would steal the corpses of the dragon-people from Nefarian''s experiments.


    Before they even arrived at the camp, Lu Li already spotted Marshal Maxwell.


    Maxwell jumped down from his horse and hugged Bukmid tightly. He then said as he rubbed his beard, "You missed our appointment time! I thought that you ran into trouble. Then, I heard from some people that you were surrounded by the Blackrock Orcs! It''s great that you are well!"


    Lu Li''s mood was even better now!

 1321 Lu Pain in the Ass

    The more important Bukmid was to Marshal Maxwell, the greater the rewards.


    It would have been great if Bukmid was Maxwell''s own son, but unfortuantely, he wasn''t. However, this didn''t affect Maxwell''s gratefulness towards Lu Li at all, since Bukmid was actually Maxwell''s nephew. It was said that Marshal Maxwell''s younger brother died in battle while protecting Maxwell, leaving behind his only son.


    Maxwell would rather lose his own son than lose his deceased brother''s only son.


    Bukmid explained everything that had happened. He was a little generous in his explanation as he exaggerated the works of Lu Li and his team. According to Bukmid, Lu Li brought around ten people to rescue him and his legion from the brink of death. Then, the few thousand reinforcements crushed the Orc Shaman''s army. The evidence was the rows and rows of slain Orcs.


    "My judgment was correct after all," Marshal Maxwell said as he released his nephew and hugged Lu Li tightly.


    Maxwell may have looked old, but he was still extremely strong. Lu Li was almost unable to breathe. Once again, Lu Li noted that this was his duty, and that no responsible citizen of Azeroth or a warrior of the Alliance would stand by and watch a comrade in a dire situation.


    Without waiting for the cunning side of Lu Li to say anything, Maxwell immediately showed just how grateful he was.


    "I must reward you for your efforts."


    "Long live the Alliance!" Lu Li cried out as he balled his fist then thumped his left chest loudly.


    "Under the authority of the Alliance, I appoint you as a Captain of the Alliance," Marshal Maxwell announced as he unsheathed his blade and tapped Lu Li on his shoulders.


    Huh? Lu Li wanted to slap Maxwell.


    What is this crap?


    The title of a Captain?


    Lu Li was already much higher in the rankings, and titles weren''t that useful anyway! All they did was add some extra properties. He might have already been a General! A PVP-crazed player like Moonlight was already a Governor, which was higher than a General.


    Giving a rank was already bad enough, but only giving the title of a Captain?


    On second thought, did the ranks even have a Captain? Lu Li quickly pulled out the PVP menu and skimmed the titles, but didn''t see ''Captain'' anywhere.


    Azeroth had a 21-title ranking from Soldier to Grand Marshal.


    The Horde might have been slightly different, but Lu Li was sure that the title of Captain or Major did not exist in the PVP ranks.


    Unless, this title didn''t belong in the players'' systems, but the NPC''s systems?


    NPC: There''s an infiltrator!


    Lu Li quickly found his answer. Lu Li, Race: Dark Elf. Captain of the Alliance. Able to call for 10 soldiers for reinforcements in Allied missions.


    Furthermore, there was also a new effect regarding Commanding points. Lu Li had 10 points, which was also why he could only have 10 soldiers at a time. The description of the new effect read that if the soldiers under Lu Li''s command died in battle, then Lu Li would also lose Commanding points.


    As such, this would be extremely useful when in difficult situations, but it would be unwise to use it casually.


    This was similar to his Vol''Jin''s Battle Standard. The effects were extremely good, but he was afraid of bringing it.


    Vol''Jin''s Battle Standard (Special): After placing down the Battle Standard, the Battle Standard raises allies'' stats by 50% Attack and 50% Defence within 100m. Duration: 60 seconds. Additional effect: Heals allies by 5% of their Max HP every 2 seconds within the range of the Battle Standard. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 6 hours. Drops upon death.


    Drops upon death ¨C this was somewhat similar to the Captain effect. Losing one soldier meant losing some Commanding points.


    Even after saving his nephew and a few hundred Allied soldiers, he only gave 10 points? Commanding points must have been extremely precious, and Lu Li had no idea on how to increase his.


    In his previous life, Lu Li hadn''t even heard of this Commanding point system. It must have been something reserved for the top players.


    It was coincidence that Lu Li ended up in the middle of a war between NPCs. How many people would be able to join the fray like he did? Furthermore, Maxwell might not have even given the title if he did not know the player.


    Besides the effect of being able to deploy 10 soldiers, it also gave Lu Li +10 all stats.


    "Other than the title, I can also improve your strength," Marshal Maxwell offered. He was clearly in a good mood after finding his nephew. "However, you have two choices. One is to have this reward to yourself. The second choice is to share this reward with everyone," he continued to say.


    This was a no-brainer.


    "Of course, it should be given to everyone! As a leader, I must take care of my squad members," Lu Li replied with an affirmative voice.


    After hearing this, Maxwell was extremely satisfied with his answer. He nodded his head while saying, "Then I will follow with what you said. To show my gratitude and admiration towards you, everyone who has helped with this rescue can freely hire the soldiers here to fight against the scum Drakkisath.


    "Your generosity surely exceeds the heavens," Lu Li said with a grateful heart.


    Lu Li had nothing else to say. After all, the reward of being able to take soldiers from the camp to help fight against Drakkisath was already too good.


    Then, Lu Li received a message from the System saying that he had gained Reputation and Experience.


    Other people received the same notice. Lu Li did not expect for the Experience to be high, since it was shared among a few thousand people. However, upon the realisation that he could have had all of it, his heart hurt a little. After all, he could have reached level 60.


    Lu Li was right. If he chose to receive all the rewards for himself, the Experience points given would have been enough to raise him to level 60.


    However, he would have also lost the reward of being able to freely deploy soldiers from the camp.


    As a selfish guy, Maxwell had truly been generous this time.


    Although Lu Li felt a twinge of regret, he decided to use this reward to its fullest potential by setting each of the few thousand people to be squad leaders. Then, each person would be able to deploy their own party of soldiers, instead of what Maxwell originally thought, which was to have the few thousand people split in groups of 15 and have their own soldiers.


    Lu Pain in the Ass was not just a worthless nickname after all, even when facing a Marshal.

 1322 Someone Else’s Sister

    Of course, Ruling Sword was incapable of building a few thousand squads of 15 to grind the Blackrock Spires Instance Dungeons anyway. Furthermore, among the ten thousand in Ruling Sword, only a few were capable players.


    This was why he decided to look for Water Fairy.


    Combining the numbers of Drizzle Court and Peerless City, there should be no problem to use up this reward.


    As a whole, the small reward that Maxwell gave ultimately became a huge benefit. After all, the cost to hire two soldiers was 100 gold. How much gold would that amount to when multiplied by a few thousand? Furthermore, how much would that number grow when converted to real life currency?


    Lu Li felt bad for Marshal Maxwell, who was smiling brightly, but this wasn''t enough to change his ways.


    After receiving their rewards, everyone left the area. Drifting Rain organised a spot in the Burning Steppes for them to grind for Experience while waiting for Wandering to sort out the strategy for the combined forces of Peerless City, Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword. After contacting the other two guilds, they would be ready to grind the Instance Dungeon again and again.


    Lu Li and his party still couldn''t leave because they had other quests to submit.


    Marshal Maxwell didn''t realise that Lu Li was going to use him. After confirming the validity of the item from defeating Drakkisath, he began to generously distribute rewards.


    Hachi Chan received a Legendary item!


    Everyone else received a Dark Gold item. How outrageous! Had everyone received a Dark Gold item, then there would be no complaints or conflict. They would have embraced the gift of a Dark Gold item.


    Hachi Chan was confused and a little slow. She didn''t realise that everyone''s hateful gazes were on her. On top of this, she was still playing as a cute girl towards Marshal Maxwell.


    Marshal Maxwell was quite happy, so he gave Hachi Chan a few more quests. These quests were extremely easy to do, and came with generous rewards.


    Lu Li didn''t really have a use for the item, but he still received some Experience and Reputation.


    The reward of Experience was better than nothing. After all, he was still at least a week''s worth of grinding away from level 60. However, he was still satisfied with the Reputation, because he could now learn Enhanced Gouge with what he had accumulated.


    It was estimated that it would be around a year before the game company would decrease the amount of Reputation needed to learn Enhanced skills.


    At the moment, skill books were the only realistic way to obtain enhanced skills. Even so, the skill books required a huge amount of luck to find. The other method was to use Reputation to learn these skills. However, a majority of the players didn''t have enough Reputation to do so. Lu Li didn''t want to become one of these people. After all, his priority was to increase his strength by leaps and bounds at every opportunity.


    "Lu Li!" March Rain called out.


    Everyone was surprised. They didn''t know why she was calling for him. Her brother, Lonesome Flower, was even more surprised and nervous.


    "What''s up?" Lu Li didn''t dare to show even a hint of gentleness. After all, there was a controlling brother there.


    "I can go and make your equipment now."


    March Rain was quite straightforward with her words. Actually, she didn''t have any interest in Lu Li before and the possibility of her having interest in Lu Li was even lower now.


    "Then I''ll come with you. Stormwind, right?" Lu Li asked as he nodded his head.


    Stormwind was the same as always ¨C rugged and old. Rows and rows of soldiers stood underneath the gigantic castle walls, always inspecting suspicious-looking individuals. They would kill whoever had murderous intentions.


    Many people could be seen placing flags down, right outside the gate, near the Gryphon stables.


    Besides levelling, many players would come here and place their flags down. The reason as to why they chose this place was that it was simple, convenient and safe.


    A love for PVP did not mean a love for death.


    In the Wild, there were maniacs who would hunt and kill players from opposing camps. They might not intentionally kill players who were training, but they would attack players who placed flags in front of them.


    Therefore, placing them in front of Stormwind was a safe area. After all, they could just enter the city and it would be fine.


    Lu Li and March Rain hid themselves and slipped through this group of people. Lu Li had to reject a few invitations to PVP. The people here were quite casual when picking who to fight. After all, the placement of a flag would leave them with a sliver of HP, and the System would determine the victor automatically.


    No one would be able to beat him here, but Lu Li didn''t feel the need to pretend.


    March Rain was planning on going to the largest tailor workroom in Stormwind. She was also a well-known person here. Many people in the workroom would be able to recognise her based on the patterns on her garments.


    Everyone was quite curious. Normally, her brother would be the one accompanying her, but this time, it wasn''t Lonesome Flower.


    A mysterious man!


    This workroom belonged to the System and had the best equipment and environment. Furthermore, the success rate was increased here; it was much better than the normal shops. The only negative about coming here was that there was a hefty fee to be paid. Lu Li could decide to not pay March Rain for her efforts, but he needed to pay this fee from his own pocket.


    The days of being cheated by the System would only come to an end when the Players'' Stronghold appeared.


    In the Stronghold, they would be able to build workshops of Forging, Tailoring, Alchemy and others. However, the items would be of a lower quality. In the early days, it would be hard to attract players, but when the Profession levels were much higher, the success rate of creating exquisite items would increase. At this time, it would become massively profitable.


    Lu Li wanted to make these items after having the Stronghold.


    However, the investment needed for these items were simply too large. For him, who did not work with rich companies, he needed much more effort to break even.


    After March Rain entered her personal tailoring room, Lu Li decided to wait outside.


    While in the waiting area, Lu Li began reading a book. In his storage, there were many books of every genre and even books from real life. Dawn was becoming not merely a game world, but a world of learning, entertainment and trading.


    After a short while, March Rain came out.


    She was different to Lu Li. Lu Li completely relied on the ability of the hammer to create a perfect exquisite item, but March Rain was a Grandmaster. Actually, she might have been the only one in the game at that time.


    She had only reached the Grandmaster level recently. Otherwise she would have finished a lot sooner.


    A Grandmaster tailor''s items were much better than a normal Master tailor''s items. The properties of the items were vastly different. After the victorious Away match with Glory Capital, Lu Li decided to wait for March Rain to hit Grandmaster level before giving her the two equipment to make.


    Now he had three of the set!


    Lu Li took the items, walked with his chest puffed, and said, "Let''s go! I''ll treat you to something special!"

 1323 Holding Hands

    March Rain didn''t have many hobbies, but eating was definitely one of them.


    Because of her brother who spoiled her, March Rain had eaten everything in the game. What Lu Li meant was that he was going to take her to a place that she liked. He thought that she would be more than happy to, but she shook her head.


    Did she just want money like Remnant Dream? March Rain wasn''t that type of girl.


    "It''s Water Fairy," March Rain whispered as she signalled with her hands.


    He looked in the direction that she was pointing in and saw Water Fairy with her arms crossed. She was wearing a light blue dress, which unlike her usual tight outfits, was quite wavy and baggy.


    She was wearing a white butterfly mask, but those who were close to her could easily tell who she was.


    "Major guild leaders like you still have time to do some shopping?"


    Lu Li was still contemplating whether to greet her when Water Fairy began to approach them. He couldn''t read the tone of her voice, but it was obvious that there was a hint of sarcasm.


    Lu Li because very nervous, almost as if he had just been caught cheating.


    "I helped Lu Li craft some equips. The stats were pretty good so he offered to buy me dinner," March Rain explained before Lu Li was able to respond, then added, "But I didn''t say yes because my older brother wanted to take me to try out some food from the Horde faction.


    "I didn''t say anything," Water Fairy said, pretending to not care. She was a bit ticked off that Lu Li was spending the holidays with another girl but since March Rain felt the need to explain herself, it seemed a lot more suspicious now.


    It was too bad that Lu Li had brought so much nice food for her.


    "I still have something on later so I''ll leave first," March Rain said with a smile and left quietly. Lu Li and Water Fairy stood there as they watched her walk away.


    "Did Square Root Three not look for you?" Lu Li asked.


    "He did, but I got someone else to talk to him. What''s happening?" Water Fairy asked curiously.


    If it was something involving Square Root Three, then she would not be interested, but it seemed to involve Lu Li.


    "It''s about the Blackrock Tower dungeon. We finished the Nightmare mode clear today," Lu Li said, then began to explain the dungeon to her.


    Although Water Fairy wasn''t very good at shot calling, she still understood everything that Lu Li said.


    If it wasn''t because of the difference races of people walking past, it would be almost impossible to differentiate the game from reality. The Draenei, Dwarves, Gnomes and Night Elves made it apparent to him that they were in the game.


    Since they were in a game, there was no need for Lu Li to be reserved.


    Lu Li remembered the book that his sister had given him on the art of winning over girls. He grabbed his arm, then looked into her eyes and replied, "There are a lot of people. Hold my hand, because you might get lost."


    A lot of people?


    There were indeed a lot of people in Stormwind City, but it would be difficult for a grown adult to get lost.


    Water Fairy did not retract her hand. She would normally hold her friend''s arm when shopping as well.


    "Wouldn''t defeating Marshal Maxwell be very costly?"


    They continued discussing the dungeon which made their hand-holding less awkward. Lu Li was trying hard to stay cool and collected, but he couldn''t help but wonder why Water Fairy''s hand was so soft.


    Lu Xin was well protected by Lu Li and had never done any hard labor.


    However, even her hands were not as soft as Water Fairy''s. The feeling was almost indescribable and he really didn''t want to let go.


    "What''s up?"


    "Cough, cough, nothing. It wasn''t that costly; we just didn''t make as much money. In order to control the amount of money in the game, gaming companies often nerf the profit in dungeons."


    "Are you trying to store up money?" Water Fairy was quick to read Lu Li''s intentions.


    "We''re just storing up money since we''re about to reach Lv60," Lu Li replied, choosing not to specify what the money was for.


    In every game, there were always people who stockpiled money.


    No matter how hard the gaming company tried, as the game developed over time, the value of the in-game currency would also change. Lu Li had to take advantage of every opportunity to make money.


    When he was level 60, he would require money for a wedding.


    In real life, there were people who couldn''t afford to eat, live, get sick or even die. In the game, something else that people couldn''t afford was a wedding.


    First, you needed to have a girlfriend. Next, you had to be very wealthy. Lastly, you had to be willing to spend that money to get married to her in the game.


    Those that were single didn''t have to worry about this. However, those that managed to find themselves a girlfriend often couldn''t afford to give them a proper wedding.


    Applying to get married already costed a ridiculous amount of money. Lu Li would also have to pay for the proposal as well as the wedding ceremony.


    The fireworks made from Engineering were quite plain, so the game offered eye-catching fireworks that featured cute characters such as Pikachu and Cupid.


    They were truly beautiful, but these fireworks were 500 gold each.


    Everyone channel in the entire server would receive the notification, but since it was such a high price, many players were still very hesitant in using these for proposals.


    Even so, if he didn''t pay for at least two of these, then girls wouldn''t take them seriously.


    Another reason why the economy fluctuated was because of the Garrison system.


    The Garrison System allowed the player to have a piece of their own land which they could upgrade and earn passive Exp and currency from.


    Any map could have a beginner Garrison, but other guilds and mercenary groups could compete to take over the Garrison. They could either complete quests or bid for it.


    Rich organizations would pay a lot of money for important Garrisons which was why the major guilds began storing up money.


    By then, the economy would fluctuate again.


    Lu Li had some money on his hand right now, but he could not be complacent and fall behind. This was also why he advised Water Fairy to save some money right now so that they could help each other in the future.

 1324 A Team of Two

    "Sure, up to you," Water Fairy said, not bothering to ask for further details. If Lu Li said that it was okay, then it should be fine. She was sure that he wouldn''t do anything to harm her, but didn''t he feel a little tired with the way that he was holding her hand? From the start up until now, she could feel how tense he felt.


    To be fair, Water Fairy wasn''t at ease either; there was barely anyone around who dared to hold her hands.


    Back when Water Fairy was still in school, her classmate lost a dare to his friends, which was to confess to Water Fairy. This person spent a long time building up the courage and stopped Water Fairy, who back then, was still just a little girl.


    Water Fairy simply asked, "what''s up?" and the poor kid entirely forgot what he was meant to say.


    At that time, although Water Fairy was already a university student, she was actually only 16 and was curious about love.


    However, there was already only a small number of people who dared to make eye contact with her. Anyone who swore in front of her felt like they were breaking the law, let alone daring to hold her hands.


    Those who gave up their life for beauty all came to unhappy endings too. CEO Shen had all sorts of negative points about him, but he really cared about his little girl. Anyone who dared to take interest in his little girl had to be handled.


    "How''s your Gouge coming along?"


    Lu Li''s mind was blank. He couldn''t find anything to talk about, so all he could talk about was the game.


    "Hmmm..." Water Fairy thought for a moment, then said, "About a little more than 80%."


    Lu Li couldn''t comprehend why she needed to think about her completion level.


    "That''s a little low. There aren''t many benefits for you in learning Empowerment skills right now. How about we head over to the arena and I''ll see where your problem lies?" he suggested.


    "Sure," Water Fairy laughed.


    Gouge was useful on monsters, but monsters had limited intelligence. Bosses with slightly higher intelligence couldn''t really be affected by control skills either, so the arena became the best spot for training.


    While holding Water Fairy''s soft hands, Lu Li took her to the arena hall to register for a new ranked team.


    This wasn''t a suitable time anymore for them to hold hands.


    Although unfortunate, he had to let go so that he could use both hands to sort out the ranked team business. Water Fairy didn''t wait around for Lu Li to hold her hand either. Instead, she backed away a little out of shyness. No matter how superior her background was, she was still a girl.


    It wasn''t common to find a ranked team of two Thieves in the arena. They hadn''t fought in the arena together before, so this ranked team had to start from scratch.


    Similar to the structure of a guild, ranked teams in the arena were formed by players themselves.


    Each ranked team had their own name and logo, but they were still different to a real guild. The types of matches in the arena were split into 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5. This meant that there were three different types of ranked teams to choose from.


    Players could also be a part of multiple ranked teams at once, but they could only be a part of one ranked team from the same type of battle at once.


    For example, Lu Li could not join two 2v2 ranked teams at once, but he could be a member of a 3v3 and a 5v5 team simultaneously. If he were to join another 2v2 ranked team with someone else in the future, his ranked team with Water Fairy would have to disband.


    The process of creating a ranked team was the same as creating a guild. First, he had to purchase a registration form from the arena staff.


    The information required included their class, level and other minor details. Fortunately, none of the details required were too personal ¨C for example, their bank account details and passwords.


    When you were in front of someone you liked, you had to play it cool, no matter the cost.


    "Should we give it a name?" Lu Li asked. If this was his own team, he would type in some random numbers and letters, but since Water Fairy was involved, he didn''t want to be so carefree about it.


    "Let me do it," Water Fairy said, then requested for the authority to sign up.


    Lu Li humbly handed his power over without asking what name she was going to give the team. Even if she named the team ''Lu Li Meanie'', he would be able to tolerate it, as long she was happy.


    Dog Couple!


    Lu Li was astonished; he couldn''t believe his eyes. After he confirmed it, he still felt like he was misreading things.


    "If my guesses are correct, I believe this isn''t supposed to be a nice term."


    Lu Li couldn''t believe his eyes and he began to question his knowledge. Was there a deeper meaning to this term?


    "The public has been calling us that all day long. We should torture them with it now," Water Fairy giggled.


    Why did he feel like he was being too obedient?


    Lu Li felt too mentally tired to dwell over such minor issues. Water Fairy didn''t even care herself, so if he fussed too much over it, he would seem a little less competent. He couldn''t have the dominant side of this relationship, but at least he could stay even.


    That was how the name was sorted; they formed a 2v2 ranked team called Dog Couple!


    It felt ridiculous.


    They both signed their names and handed over the registration form to the arena staff. Next, they needed to pick out a flag for the ranked team. This was similar to the designing process of a guild badge. The main difference was that they finally didn''t need to pay for the design fee.


    As long as Lu Li wasn''t requested more money, he was quite easy going.


    Since Water Fairy got to choose the ranked team name, they also decided that the flag should be made by the same person. Water Fairy chose a design with a red cross, since the ''dog couple'' Bosses in the Scarlet Crusade also used a red cross.


    Lu Li was the captain. He needed to open the PVP arena interface to begin queuing up for matches. Two celebrity players of the game were starting from scratch and fighting their way up from level 0.


    The level reflected the performance of your team in the arena. The higher your level, the stronger your ranked team was. After they entered the arena queue, the adjustment system would automatically queue their ranked team up against an opponent that was suitable for their level.


    Every time the ranked team won a match, their level would increase and vice versa.


    After a week, the rank of the team would be exchanged for weekly arena points. Every week, the ranked teams were required to at least play in ten matches before they could obtain any arena points. The player was also required to maintain at least 30% attendance in his ranked team matches to obtain the points.


    Similar to the Battlegrounds, the arena was also a battle platform that players could use to group and queue together. It was the same as if they were to queue up for a dungeon.


    There were a few maps currently available for the arena, but the common ones included Nagrand Arena, Circle of Blood and Ruins of Lordaeron. The designs of the maps were all different and unique, which brought a different battle experience to the players.


    Because there were many players, the queue wasn''t too long. The two of them quickly received the notification to begin battle and once they confirmed, their maps changed and they arrived inside the arena.


    Just like Arathi Basin and Warsong Canyon, the two teams were assigned in their own individual waiting area before the battle actually begun.


    After they entered the arena, the buffs and magical items on Water Fairy and Lu Li were removed. This was to prevent players from using buffs and items created by players outside of the rank team.


    What was a little upsetting was that debuffs would stay on players. This was to prevent players from using the arena system to cancel any debuffs. Fortunately, Lu Li and Water Fairy had not been affected by any prior to their entry.


    "Shall we just try the skill for now, or should we really try and get our ranks up?" Lu Li asked.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t have a mind of his own, but rather, he just felt like he should respect the opinion of his partner. Lu Xin had been teaching her brother how to pursue a girl these days, and she specifically focused on this area. In real life, Lu Li was way too much of a dictator (this was mainly how Lu Xin felt ¨C she was annoyed at the fact that her brother was bossing her over everything), and if you didn''t want a girl to dislike you, it was best to respect their opinion.


    This was why Lu Li let Water Fairy name their rank team, but the results were quite questionable.


    "Of course ¨C we should play seriously."


    Water Fairy was still studying the rules about the arena. Her character and her background taught her to play things safe.


    Lu Li checked the details of their opponent.


    Brokeback Mountain?


    "What does Brokeback Mountain mean?" Lu Li asked. He had never heard of a mountain in his life called Brokeback Mountain.


    As for the Brokeback Mountain in the game, no players knew about it at all. This was an area that was released after level 60.


    "Uhm, Brokeback Mountain¡­ that''s a movie. It really impacted society at the time, and people after used it to describe... uhm, two men with a really good relationship," Water Fairy''s explained, her eyes shifting as they spoke.


    "Like Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering?" Lu Li asked, feeling enlightened.


    Water Fairy began to uncontrollably giggle, but he had no clue what he said to cause this.


    "Hey, dog couple, are we still fighting or what?"


    Lu Li and Water Fairy''s opponent was left speechless as they watched the two of them joke around.


    The reason why they didn''t seize their chance to attack was because they were a team that were only here for points.


    These kind of teams just needed to ensure that they had enough participation per week, and they weren''t at all focused about winning. Or rather, they weren''t strong enough to focus on winning. They just needed to ensure that they had fought enough battles to receive the basic points, and store up enough points to exchange for equipment and items.


    Although they were only around for points, they really wanted to kill this dog couple that was showing off their relationship.


    Water Fairy and Lu Li exchanged glances and both went into Stealth.


    "****, two Thieves."


    The two players were a Paladin and a Mage. They regretted not taking the initiative. It wasn''t that the two Thieves combination countered them, but that they were only here for points and participation. They wanted a fast match ¨C as fast as possible. They were even willing to let their opponents kill them if it meant the match would end.


    "Just kill us already! Why go into stealth mode? What a waste of time¡­" the opponents thought to themselves.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy had no clue about their thoughts. They carefully snuck up behind one of them and Lu Li even Sapped the other one.

 1325 Gouge

    Lu Li alone was enough to make them cry, but what about a combination of Lu Li and Water Fairy?


    The Mage was selected and controlled by both Lu Li and Water Fairy at turns. They also guarded against the Paladin who was Sapped so that he couldn''t help out his teammate. What surprised them was that the Mage didn''t resist and the Paladin didn''t even try to do anything either.


    Everyone had a faction badge these days, so no matter how useless a player was, they could at least debuff their control status once in a fight.


    If he could hear the conversation between the Paladin and Mage, he would immediately understand why.


    Paladin: How are their skills? Are they good?


    Mage: Very good. Let''s not worry about putting up a fight.


    Paladin: How good?


    Mage: Good alone isn''t even enough to describe them. Their control has never stopped, and their attack damage is even more shocking. I feel as if two bosses are fighting against me.


    Paladin: Then do I still need to do something?


    Mage: No, I''m about to die. It''ll be your turn next. Don''t worry, just close your eyes. It will all be over real soon.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were disappointed; these two players were punching bags. Using Gouge on the two of them was no different to using it on training targets.


    "Keep going ¨C we''ll find some good targets eventually," Lu Li encouraged.


    "Hopefully," Water Fairy agreed.


    Both of them knew that this wasn''t very reliable. If they really wanted to practice Gouge, they could easily find a group of PVP players from their guild to spar with. Even if these players weren''t as skilled as the celebrity players, they were better than the bottom ranks of the arena.


    Despite both realizing the situation, strangely enough, neither of them talked about it.


    They were enjoying what they were going through together right now ¨C the two of them forming a little 2v2 ranked team. No one knew what they were doing and they could forget about everything ¨C Drizzle Court, Ruling Sword and anything related


    "Hopefully the next one will be better, I can try my poison," Lu Li said ashe wiped his dagger and traded a few poisons that he had made with Water Fairy. The attributes weren''t amazing, but they were all unique.


    Water Fairy was just about to look down on the effects of the poison, but she was caught by surprise by the names of these poisons.


    "Effect¡­ are these all made by you?"


    "My teacher modified my Alchemy skill, so now I can only make poisons. I can''t make them with recipes either; these were all invented by me. My poison skill is quite low right now, but once it gets higher, I''ll definitely be able to make more-useful poison."


    Lu Li didn''t intend on keeping this a secret. In fact, he had an urge to show off about it.


    He had no clue that he was behaving like a peacock.


    Every year in spring would be the breeding season for peacocks ¨C especially around March and May. The male peacocks would go around displaying their colourful and fancy tails with their elegant dance moves. They did this to show off their beauty to the female peacocks and to attract their attention. Once they succeeded, they would breed together with the female peacock for new young.


    If someone told Lu Li about this, he would definitely kill that person.


    They played for another four matches, but faced newbies each time. This was a normal situation. After all, Water Fairy and Lu Li were both starting from scratch. It would take a few days for a normal team to rise in rank.


    It wasn''t until the fifth match when they ran into a worthy opponent.


    The team was called Waves Team, which was quite creative. It included a Priest, Running Waves and a Berserker, Dominating Waves. The Priest was a girl and the Berserker was a boy. Judging by their in-game names, it was obvious that they knew each other before the game and they clearly had some sort of relationship. They were similar to Lu Li and Water Fairy''s combination.


    The map this time was Dalaran Arena.


    This arena was located in the waterways below the Dalaran city and had been teleported away with Dalaran to Northrend, along with a great piece of land. Under the city of light, an underground society was formed and countless Warriors fought in matches for money.


    The game was still far away from releasing Dalaran, but the story had already been visibly clear in Dawn''s background.


    An arena was similar to a dungeon, so it wouldn''t be a shock for it to appear in the current stage of the game. The specialty of this Dalaran Waterway map was its amazing waterfall and the risen platform at the centre.


    The Waves team was clearly familiar with the arena. As soon as they came out from the preparation zone, they immediately rushed up to the platform to control the spots with the best advantage.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy exchanged gazes; they could see the excitement in each other eyes.


    It wasn''t fun at all to fight noobs. Not only was it boring, but it also slowed down the levelling of the ranked team. Furthermore, they wouldn''t have a chance at practicing Gouge, so it was totally unnecessary.


    They were excited, but their opponents were a little disappointed.


    Just from the perspective of class alone, Lu Li and Water Fairy were a poor combination. Even a team that focused on pure damage would want to be formed by a combination of Warriors and Paladins at the very least. That way, they would have burst and good survivability. In 2v2 arenas, it wasn''t easy for Plated classes to die, but the situation was different for Thieves. Once they were controlled, it would take about one Whirlwind to finish them.


    Berserkers were always the favourites in the arena, whether it be in a 2v2 or a 5v5 situation.


    The only way to take out Berserkers was to tire them out. To make up for this weakness, Berserkers would usually take a Paladin, Priest or Druid with them for healing. At the current stage of the game, healing Shamans weren''t popular and almost no one paired up with them.


    The Waves team consisted of a Berserker and Priest, so it was natural that they would underestimate this combination of two Thieves.


    In an instant, they controlled the Priest with a Sap and both turned around to pounce on the Berserker. Dominating Waves was shocked; these two Thieves weren''t playing around for participation points.


    Dominating Waves had just debuffed his crowd-control, but was rained down by a strong torrent of water.


    This had nothing to do with Lu Li and Water Fairy; it was the map itself. In this Dalaran Waterway map, a waterfall would appear from the bars in the sky periodically to block the players'' vision and to stop them from passing through certain areas. This design was to add to the vision-uncertainty aspect of battle and promote players to think of tactics in the arena. If players happened to be below the waterfall when it appeared, they would be knocked away by it.


    The Warrior was knocked away by the waterfall and his debuff was naturally removed.


    He lightened up and was about to run over to his Priest, but was then controlled by the other Thief. Then, he remembered that there were two Thieves and felt a little worried. It seemed like this map required the healer to be skilled in positioning.


    Just as he removed the Sap effect and turned around, he saw that his Priest was in sight near him.


    The other Thief didn''t go and control the healer?


    Noobs would always be noobs. Anyone with the slightest intelligence would know to turn around and control the healer. That way, the other Thief could easily take down his health, and after the Priest removed the status on themselves, the two Thieves could possibly both turn around to target him. That way, even if they didn''t win, they could at least lose looking better.


    Dominating Waves thought of this all proudly to himself.


    Lu Li gave the Berserker a slow and nodded at Water Fairy. He didn''t cast Cheap Shot on the Berserker while he was in Stealth mode.


    Cheap Shot was total control skill. After Cheap Shot was casted, the Warrior would lose all ability to react and he would be no different to a wooden stump. A slow was enough.


    Water Fairy''s waist twisted as she leapt before the Warrior.


    Gouge had a high requirement for positioning ¨C you needed to aim at their face, and you needed to be quick, precise and merciless...


    Water Fairy successfully Gouged her target, but her completion level was only around 70%. The stun time was even lower than 1 second, which could easily be achieved with AI mode. Lu Li estimated it to be around 0.7 seconds.


    With this standard, it was a total waste for Water Fairy to learn her Empowerment skill book right now.

 1326 An Imaginative Mind

    "Wait a minute," Lu Li said. He casually cast Blind onto the Berserker, causing him to run around aimlessly for a while.


    The arrogant Priest that was holding the Magic Staff didn''t know what to do now, because her Berserker partner, Master Boben, hadn''t lost any HP yet. Although he had been hit with a Gouge, his HP remained unchanged.


    Moreover, there wasn''t anyone who came to attack her as the Priest.


    Why didn''t anyone attack her? She was the Priest and their healer. Even if they didn''t focus-fire her, they should have at least hit her with some crowd-control. This sense of safety felt a little unsettling; she just wanted someone to fight her.


    There were two people that were just standing around Master Boben, and they looked like they were laughing.


    How did she know that they were laughing? They were standing there looking at each other and their heads were shaking, so it was quite clear that they were laughing. However, the Priest thought that they shouldn''t underestimate her, as even a rabbit could bite when it was desperate.


    "Let my Master Boben go!"


    "What were you aiming at?" Lu Li recalled the action that Water Fairy made, and quickly discovered the problem. In fact, this was the main reason why most Thief players couldn''t achieve a high Skill Completion on Gouge.


    "The forehead," Water Fairy replied, wondering why Lu Li was asking this question.


    "Sometimes, I will aim for the forehead as well, but there are problems that come with that. The first is that the forehead is a little more sturdy than the eyes, and Gouge''s Skill Completion is affected by the amount of Armor Pierce you can achieve. If you don''t achieve enough, then you can''t even break him out of Stealth."


    For some reason, Lu Li felt like he had grown up with some misconceptions.


    These were misconceptions that he had heard of recently, and they were currently very clear in his mind.


    "So that means my attack didn''t go deep enough¡­"


    Water Fairy felt like that was a reasonable explanation. She thought about it before continuing to crowd-control the Warrior, who was about to faint.


    "In addition, aiming for the forehead makes the skill trajectory more difficult. The trajectory of your swing can also affect the Skill Completion, as it changes the angle of the attack. The Game Company has actually added the design of a real skull, so if your hand slips or if you''re attacking a moving target, the precision of the angle will be lost¡­"


    "Right, I think that was what happened. When the dagger got close to his head, he moved and I slipped!"


    Water Fairy''s eyes lit up when she thought that Lu Li had explained exactly what just happened.


    "When I use Gouge, I only aim for the forehead if my target isn''t moving, or if I am certain that I will be able to land the attack," Lu Li said, then paused before slowly continuing, "When dealing with moving targets, particularly ones with high defense, I tend to attack¡­ the eyeballs!"


    With this last sentence, he appeared in front of this Berserker who had just gained his freedom.


    System: Gouge Skill Completion 93%, Target is stunned for 1.3 seconds.


    After two more System Updates, Gouge''s skill description would change.


    Gouge: Target the opponent''s eyes, with a chance of Stunning for 1 second. Can only be cast when the target is facing the caster, and any further damage will release the target.


    The current skill description mentioned a frontal attack on the target''s head. As for where the exact location was, that was up to the players. Although there were some that attacked the eyes, not all of them chose to do this. Females Thieves in particular were reluctant to attack the eyes with Gouge as it would produce an unsightly animation.


    A white liquid seemed to spray out when this happened, which made most people feel sick.


    A gaming health organisation had also complained about some of the skill effects in Dawn, and one of them was Gouge. Although it was nothing like doing that in real life, it could still


    have a psychological impact on the player. Later on, this animation would be removed.


    Water Fairy was also a girl, and had grown up living a sheltered life.


    She had subconsciously chosen not to target the eyes when casting Gouge, but upon seeing Lu Li achieve more than 90% Skill Completion, her mind was beginning to change.


    She wasn''t a weak woman!


    "The skill''s cooldown should almost be done. Let''s give it another try. Hey pal, why don''t you move around a bit?" Lu Li spoke into the arena channel so that everyone could hear him.


    "What are you doing?"


    The Berserker lowered his hands and his feet remained motionless, but the crowd-control that had been affecting him had already cleared.


    The Priest rushed over; she had almost been bored to death. These two Thieves were simply insane. They had just been using extremely low damage crowd-control skills and whispering to each other.


    "We''re studying our skills. Why aren''t you fighting?" Lu Li asked in disappointment.


    "I can''t beat you. I thought that my gaming technique was pretty good. This is my wife, and she was wooed the elegance of my techniques. But even then, I have been completely crushed by you," the Warrior muttered. He felt very wronged.


    "What are you talking about? Are you guys a couple as well? He couldn''t find a good place for a date, so he actually brought us to the arena. He''s drunk as well," the Priest said.


    "Hey¡­" Lu Li began, then opened his mouth to change to topic, "Are you fighting or not? I think your Warrior techniques are not bad. Can you help us out? We''ll only spend 10 minutes of your time."


    "This is too much. What if my husband pokes at your eyes? We''ll see if your girlfriend is heartbroken after that," the Priest immediately retorted. "Wait, why are you changing the topic? If you aren''t a couple, then what are you? Are you two having an affair? Is there a third party who is the victim? Do you know how shameful this is? Maybe one of both of you have children. Do you know how much harm this will have on your child''s growth¡­"


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were beginning to sweat; they were tempted to just put down this woman.


    She was just far too imaginative. If they let her continue talking, Lu Li and Water Fairy would probably end up dying.


    After tearing off his mast, Lu Li revealed that his face wasn''t that handsome and that he looked quite ordinary. Dawn''s first season had just ended and the arena was for PVP players, so it was impossible for them to not recognize him.


    The fact that this woman was able to force Lu Li to reveal his identity was already a talent in


    itself.


    "You''re¡­" the Priest''s gasped as her eyes widened, "You''re Lu Li, oh my its really you¡­"


    Lu Li nodded slightly.


    Then the woman continued ranting, "And you actually dare to seduce another married woman? How can you face March Rain? How can you face Water Fairy? How can you face Hachi Chan? How can you face Remnant Dream? How can you face Sakura Memories¡­ Kitty Likes Meat?"


    "Please, leave them alone. Can''t you see it in his eyes? We don''t know what will happen to Stormwind City in the future."


    The Berserker quickly grabbed the mouth of his wife before she made a real mistake and decisively said, "Let''s continue but no more messing around. You have to do your best or I won''t fight."


    Water Fairy laughed and laughed to the point she was bent over. Everyone could imagine her laughing through her veil.

 1327 Pampered

    Lu Li felt a bit embarrassed to fight him like this.


    He was just bullying them!


    But, this was the arena, and you weren''t allowed to just sit down and chat.


    Going all out was the greatest form of respect one could give. Lu Li had already helped Water Fairy by analysing some of her issues and now it was time to see if she could execute what she had learned. This was the perfect opportunity as there were no real consequences.


    "If you can''t get the attack in, then try something else."


    Lu Li was being very gracious, but this depended on who he was talking to. Normally, he would only act like this to his sister, but he was making an exception today. He would usually give people advice, but he wouldn''t care if they didn''t want to listen.


    "Try something else?"


    Water Fairy had just psyched herself up for it, but when she heard this, all of it collapsed.


    However, she did feel a strange feeling ¨C it was the feeling of being pampered, as though a person was willing to give up anything for her. If you wanted it, then that person would do whatever they could to make it happen.


    In the time that she was thinking about this, Master Boben was quickly dealt with.


    After the arena, Lu Li began to explain to Water Fairy a few theories which he had read from forum posts in his previous life.


    These theories were very important and were largely responsible for his achievement after his rebirth.


    In the future, if Water Fairy abandoned him, then Lu Li would be left in the corner to cry and he would feel a deep resentment and injustice towards her forever.


    However, for now, Lu Li was willing to share it with Water Fairy.


    This was the kind of person he was. Once he had made a decision, it didn''t matter what the consequences were. Lu Li believed that this knowledge would make her better, but he was still running, not walking, ahead. There was no one that could catch up with him.


    This was also to give him some motivation. He didn''t want to be overtaken by a woman one day, so he had to keep working harder.


    "Tell me, what is this other way? I don''t want to attack the eyeballs ¨C it''s gross," Water Fairy complained. She couldn''t hear the entitled tone in her voice, and even a man of integrity like Lu Li faltered for a moment.


    Unfortunately, then received an annoying System Prompt.


    They had been moved into a new arena match. Regardless of whether their opponents were newbies or not, they still had to take them seriously.


    "I will show you a few times. You can see if my Gouge is different from your previous ones," Lu Li said, then paused and added, "This time, I won''t attack the eyeballs, but just the centre of the forehead."


    After the next few games, they finally encountered a decent opponent again. This might have just been luck, or it could have been because they had played enough.


    The map they were on was the Blade''s Edge Mountains Circle of Blood.


    The Blade''s Edge Mountains held the Kingdom of the Ogres. Every year, there was a battle for the throne at the Circle of Blood Arena where the winner would be crowned king of the next year until they were defeated, but after the Ogres began to recognize Gruul, the Blade''s Edge Mountains were abandoned. However, the business-savvy goblins certainly wouldn''t allow this opportunity to pass and they bought it as a venue for Gladiator fights.


    Their opponents'' team name was Chrysanthemum Brothers.


    One of them was called Chrysanthemum and the other was called A Pinch of Love and Hate. If these two guys had met before the game, then it would make sense, but if they met afterwards then Lu Li had nothing to say.


    These were the kinds of things that would appear in the game. The Game Company wouldn''t dare to deprive the players of the fun of picking their names. At most, they would ban some political or more explicit phrases. These two ID''s were okay, but some could be combined to a disgusting effect.


    When the Chrysanthemum Brothers came out, they were already jumping about.


    One of them was an Undead Mage, and the other was a Tauren Druid. These were professions that had good mobility, so this combination was especially advantageous in the Circle of Blood.


    This arena map had several sections which involved slopes, bridges, columns and trenches.


    After leaving the waiting area, the players would see a slope on the left side of the wall. This slope led to the centre of the bridge, which was one of the most critical strategic locations in the Circle of Blood.


    The bridge divided the Circle of Blood into two. One side was for your team and the other side was for your opponent. The entire arena could be seen from the bridge and it was also the only way to reach the pillars.


    There was a column on each side of the bridge, and you could easily jump over the column if you aimed correctly. If you were a ranged player, you could also consider jumping onto the pillars. Not only would this keep you away from the enemies, but it was also the most advantageous position.


    If you left the waiting area and moved to the right, you could see the trenches. Players usually rushed to the bridge once the match started, but if you wanted avoid enemies, you could go for the trenches or dash under the bridge.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy snuck directly underneath the bridge while the Chrysanthemum brothers were climbing over it. They were running around, intedning to take the two columns on both sides of the bridge.


    The Mage''s attacks were devastating and could cover the entire bridge in frost. The two ranged players thought they had good control over the area. Once their opponents appeared, they would crowd-control them and wear them down. The Mage Chrysanthemum had no intention of dealing with them quickly, but he knew the advantage he had. On this column, he had good view of the area and he could also protect himself.


    He also had a healer, so the longer they fought, the better off they would be.


    But¡­


    When the Mage climbed onto the pillar, he went blind and fell off. He was then greeted by two Thieves.


    "Love Hate, come and save me!" the Mage shouted.


    "He didn''t use their personal channel, so Lu Li and Water Fairy could hear him. They could also hear A Pinch of Love and Hate''s response.


    "Damn it, I just got onto this pillar and it was so hard¡­"


    Lu Li sidestepped past the Druid and stabbed Chrysanthemum.


    "When we cast Gouge, it is natural for us to see our targets as moving targets regardless of whether they are actually moving. Most Thieves would complete this part¡­" he explained while in action. In order to make it clear for Water Fairy, he tried not to move too quickly.


    Unfortunately, Chrysanthemum still couldn''t avoid the attack and Lu Li achieved a 94% Skill Completion, which was even more powerful than when he had cast the skill on Master Boben.


    "How did this happen?" Water Fairy felt like she didn''t know anything.


    She once thought she was so strong that she didn''t need anyone''s help. In the elite educational institutions, asking for help was something the weak did. Those that were strong would solve their problems by themselves.


    "I made sure that my technique was correct while also focusing on what the target was doing. I saw that he was dodging left to right and leaning backwards, so I changed the trajectory of my swing to meet him. Now you try it," Lu Li said, giving her a bit of space.


    "Love Hate, this is your signal to jump down. They are just bullying me. They''re taking turns to blind me," Chrysanthemum cried out. He was becoming quite anxious.

 1328 Teaching Alone

    A Pinch of Love and Hate stopped messing around, and quickly jumped from the pillar.


    When he saw the two Thieves, he paused for a moment before picking Lu Li as his target. Ordinarily, this was what most players would do. If there was a man and a woman in the arena, then it was the man who had brought the woman in to fight in the arena with them.


    The skill that he used was the Druid''s crowd-control skill, Tornado. This skill summoned a Tornado at the target''s feet, blowing the player off the ground and preventing them from taking any further actions.


    Lu Li didn''t need to spend much to remove this crowd-control. The Druid''s skills were Nature based, but they were still Magic skills. The Shadow Cloak could easily remove this kind of crowd-control.


    Water Fairy continued attacking the Mage with her daggers, as instructed by Lu Li.


    She was making use of human instinct. If someone was coming at your head with a knife, you would tilt your head back as far as possible to avoid the knife. At the very least, you would try to turn your head away to break line of sight with the knife.


    Water Fairy''s dagger didn''t come down at a straight angle. Instead, she adjusted her dagger mid-swing.


    This time, she managed to achieve a Skill Completion that was greater than 90%. This produced an effect that was definitely stronger than what could achieved on Automatic Mode. Water Fairy had never done this before, but luck was probably the most likely reason it had happened this time.


    When Lu Li got out of the Tornado, he ran up and quickly got rid of the Druid.


    Druid players, regardless of whether they were Beastmasters or Healers, usually liked to jump and move around like a flea. It was very annoying and Lu Li had long awaited the moment he could kill this jumpy Druid.


    However, what surprised him was when the Mage, who was actually a decent player, saw that his Druid friend had been killed and actually quit the match.


    "Hmm, I could have let you kill him. That might have worked better," Lu Li said after hesitating for a moment, but this made it sound like he was addicted to killing. Water Fairy wasn''t sure if he had killed someone in real life.


    "Oh. Why didn''t I think of that?" Water Fairy mumbled.


    Lu Li suddenly felt depressed. Recently, there had been people telling him about pursuing a girl and the considerations that one should take into account.


    One of these considerations was that you should never PVP against a girl you were interested in!


    If you won, then the girl would be upset because she would think that you didn''t value her enough to let her win. Conversely, if you lost, then she would think you were useless.


    Lu Li was completely clueless when it came to feelings ¨C he was a complete idiot.


    When other people gave him advice, he would take it all seriously, but the result was that he was instilled with a mess of differing opinions. Sometimes, an old virgin like Azure Sea Breeze would even try to give his own advice, so you could already imagine the outcome.


    "What about this team?" Lu Li asked.


    Water Fairy was confused and didn''t know how to respond.


    "What do you mean? Do you still want to fight 2v2s together?"


    Lu Li shook his head before saying, "I haven''t changed it yet, but I''m wondering if you want to keep going. If we just fight each other, then we can go to the single arena."


    "I think we can keep going, unless you don''t want to?" Water Fairy said.


    This expression was a little dangerous. It could be interpreted as a threat to break up the relationship that they had if Lu Li decided not to continue.


    "In any case, we''ll have more free time after hitting level 60, but playing 2v2s is also not bad. There are very few other teams playing double Thief. If we can make it up to the top of the rankings, it would be quite an achievement."


    Lu Li was too arrogant right now to say it, but playing 2v2s was exactly what he wanted.


    Not to mention, he had very great ambitions for Water Fairy.


    Most men wouldn''t decline doing something with a beautiful woman, but this woman was also greatly skilled. There were currently not many people that could catch Lu Li''s attention.


    If he had to play 2v2s with Fat Monkey for example, he wouldn''t be as excited, even though Thief-Mage was currently the most popular combination for 2v2s.


    In the end, they switched to a single arena where there was more flexibility for what they wanted to do. Lu Li created a room and set the password. Water Fairy then directly entered the room after entering the password.


    Lu Li could then set the room so that their special effects, Attributes and skills were the same level.


    This ensured that it was a pure test of technique. The level difference in their equipment was closed and the number of Skill Points they had was irrelevant.


    "For the first try, I''ll just stand still for you," Lu Li said contently.


    Water Fairy rushed at Lu Li and didn''t hesitate to start attacking. She didn''t have a soft expression on her face ¨C in fact, she actually had a sly smile.


    The System prompted her that she had achieved a 94% Skill Completion.


    This was actually quite a good level of Skill Completion. Most Thieves had difficulty achieving this level, and most could only get above 90% by sheer luck.


    After Lu Li waited for the stun to finish, he selected the arena option which refreshed their stats.


    This was a unique feature of the single arena. Once you refreshed the arena, everyone''s HP, skills and status effects would all be reset. This also meant that Water Fairy didn''t have to wait for Gouge''s cooldown.


    "Alright, now try again while I''m moving."


    Water Fairy nodded and once again rushed to Lu Li. This time, Lu Li didn''t stand around for be hit; he ducked to the left and leaned his head back as the dagger closed in. This was the way that most people would try to avoid the Gouge skill.


    The System prompted that he had achieved an 88% Skill Completion.


    Water Fairy felt like she could do better. She felt like she had relented a little bit because the look on Lu Li''s face was exceptionally intense this time when compared to him standing still.


    "If you practice more, you should be able to get above 90% easily," Lu Li said calmly.


    "What if I want to get it even better?" Water Fairy asked with a sigh.


    "Then you need to practice even more, but the main problem you need to address is of a different kind. You have seen low-level dodges, but you haven''t seen the higher-level dodges," Lu Li explained patiently. "I don''t know if you''re familiar with wolves, but when they try to avoid an attack, they tend to launch a counterattack at almost the same time. This is so that the other beasts won''t be able to change their movements. As such, the wolf is easily injured, but they are rarely seriously injured¡­"


    Water Fairy wasn''t a newbie, and immediately understood what he was saying.


    Lu Li was once again a test subject, but he was going to employ a higher-level dodge. This technique was somewhat known by the Thieves, but the professional circle wouldn''t come to a consensus on this theory for at least another year.


    If this woman abandoned him in the future, then Lu Li would really have nothing left.


    After refreshing the arena, Lu Li twisted his body very strangely as Water Fairy attacked him. As a result, Water Fairy didn''t even achieve an 80% Skill Completion.


    Even if you didn''t achieve 80% Skill Completion, the skill was still cast, and the crowd-control would be in effect. It was just a matter of how long the crowd-control would be.


    "This seems to be quite powerful! Teach me how to do it," Water Fairy said excitedly. She felt like worshipping Lu Li. Even though they were at the same level, she felt like she didn''t know nearly as much.


    Lu Li was like a treasure cove. Whenever Water Fairy thought that she had finally understood something, there was almost always something new to learn from him.


    "The process of attacking someone with a dagger involves an acceleration of your swing. If you are careful enough, you can judge the strength of the attack by its angle, location and speed. Professional Thieves generally don''t accelerate linearly as this would make the attack too easy to dodge. However, in order to save time and maintain control of the fight, you can''t make the swing too tricky. Normally, there would be a two-stage acceleration, and I believe you already do this¡­" Lu Li explained.


    "I think so. I''ve never really thought about the acceleration before ¨C it''s just a habit I slowly picked up."


    "When using the two-stage acceleration, the first is just to confuse the target while the second is the one that actually lands the attack," Lu Li continued.


    "I''ve also never thought about it in terms of confusing the opponent before¡­"


    Water Fairy''s head was about to fall off.


    Her pride had been completely torn apart, and she realized that her status as a top star player was slightly overstated. Most of these top players were just using their strong equipment and skills to crush others.


    "Don''t worry about it; just pay attention next time. You still have time to get it. Most Thief players haven''t realized it yet, but most people are already doing it. This technique prevents the opponents from avoiding Gouge''s primary effect," Lu Li encouraged.


    Fighting Water Fairy wasn''t something that Lu Li wanted to do, but he also felt like her arrogance was part of what made her attractive.

 1329 Dodgy Behavior

    "Then how did you dodge it before?" Water Fairy couldn''t wait to know.


    She felt like after she had learned this, she would surpass most other Thief players. She would have no fear fighting players like Blood Dagger or Fearing Wood. However, she wouldn''t fight Lu Li ¨C after all, he was the one teaching her.


    "If you want to master this technique, you have the practice more. Right after the first movement, you will need to start the second moment. There will be a very brief pause where the other caster will try to determine the range and force of their attack. What you need to do, is make a judgement and react accordingly¡­"


    Lu Li tried it again as the attacker this time, but his Skill Completion was still quite high.


    After trying a few times, Water Fairy''s performance still couldn''t satisfy Lu Li, but he had found the problem. He held Water Fairy''s thin waist and said, "It''s not your shoulders or your legs, but your waist. Your core is the issue, so do a twist and let me have a look¡­"


    Then, when Lu Li saw Water Fairy staring at him with amazement, he realized where he had placed his hands. They were very close to her hips.


    Although she didn''t say anything, Water Fairy''s complaints could be seen in her eyes. She was a proudly independent person that had been given elite education, but in in the end, she was still a girl and had never experienced something like this before.


    "Hey, now you try doing it yourself," Lu Li said, pretending like nothing had happened.


    Water Fairy wasn''t mad. After all, Lu Li didn''t seem to be looking at her in that way. Her


    attention was soon redrawn by these new techniques.


    Lu Li was trying his best to teach her, and all she lacked now was practice. As such, they continued to spar, and increase their speed.


    Soon, there were people paying attention to them. After all, it was extremely rare for someone to be victorious hundreds of times in a row.


    A dealer that offered bets was always on the lookout for players like this as they would use them to entice others to place bets. A well-selected target player could make millions for the dealer.


    Of course, this was under the assumption that they didn''t encounter any professional gambler hunters.


    These gambler hunters were the bane of these dealers. They didn''t even need to do anything. All they needed to do was look attractive so that the dealer would approach them. Once they had made a connection, they would wait until the dealer would make some money before running away with the dealer and gamblers'' money.


    Obviously, there are risks associated with such an activity.


    These two men and women were soon placed under scrutiny by several big dealers.


    They were team 22 and had just registered today. There were very few double Thief compositions and the dealers favoured them particularly because they were a man and a woman.


    But soon, there were people guessing that these players might be very important people.


    According to a player that refused to show their ID, their movements were so precise, and their skills were so strong that he couldn''t help but feel a bit anxious.


    According to another player that also refused to show their ID, they were convinced that they saw the male Thief''s face and it was Lu Li.


    They hadn''t thought much about the female Thief yet, but now that they looked at her, she did seem to have the posture of the legendary Water Fairy.


    More and more evidence was pointing to that conclusion.


    This pair of players was really that couple!


    There were only two articles on the internet currently circulating about famous couples in Dawn. One had to do with the White Prosecutor of the Scarlet Monastery, Whiteman and Mograine, and the other had to do with the pairing between Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    The pool of star players was already quite small, which made the number of star players who coupled up even smaller. It was quite lucky that one had formed, which was why everyone made such a big fuss.


    There were many people who were fans of this couple and spent too much time thinking about their love for each other! Some were even thinking about their wedding planning and how the other star players should be invited¡­


    Did you think that was the extent of it?


    These people had even planned the birthday of their babies, the babies'' names, and the number of boys and girls¡­


    Fortunately, Lu Li and Water Fairy weren''t concerned about gossip and they were never free enough to find out about this anyway. Lu Xin really enjoyed reading through this stuff, but after seeing so much of it, she became desensitised as well.


    Several of the dealers were now discussing this matter.


    They were thinking about how difficult it would be to make use of Water Fairy and Lu Li. Once their identities were revealed, the gamblers would definitely bet on them. In terms of the matches, there were not many chances for their opponents unless players like Unforgettable Maple and Sorrowless formed a team.


    However, it was also very difficult to predict what would happen with this random matchmaking.


    There were tens of thousands of teams being paired up, so Water Fairy and Lu Li would probably win every match. Any bets on them would also be won and the dealers would lose everything.


    However, if the real identities of this couple was not discovered, they could make a fortune.


    After all, the names of this couple were everywhere. There were stores dedicated to them in Stormwind City ¨C everything from bars to bakeries. Lu Li and Water Fairy hadn''t applied for patents anyway.


    There were also no more than a hundred couples competing together in this arena.


    Lu Li didn''t realize that he had become a tool for the cold-hearted businessmen''s enterprise. As leaders of two different guilds, he and Water Fairy couldn''t just continue those matches endlessly. Spending one afternoon doing this was already cutting into their levelling time.


    After saying goodbye to Water Fairy, Lu Li returned to repair his equipment. He spent a lot of gold coins doing so.


    Then, he began to sort out his most recent rewards. If he could use it himself, he would wait until he got to level 60. There were currently no competitions, so there was no need to waste any Level Reducing Gems for items he didn''t need or would be replacing. Otherwise, he would just put the items in the guild warehouse for a price.


    The price was generally for some amount of guild points.


    When these points were paid, Lu Li took the payment, but some of it would be returned to the guild. It was similar to a tax for the guild. Just because he was a club Boss didn''t mean he didn''t have to pay it. In fact, he probably paid more than most.


    However, it was difficult for Lu Li to use his points anyway, since there were few players like him. He was a professional player that was part of the First Clear team and was also the commander of various activities.


    Right now, Lu Li had the three Nightslayer items before him. These were what March Rain had given him.

 1330 Three Exquisite Items

    The first was the Nightslayer Bracer. This equip was made by March Rain and it was a Fine Epic. The Molds that existed in Dawn were divided into four levels ¨C Superior, Fine, Exquisite and Perfect. These provided increasing benefits to the Attributes of the item.


    Superior was currently the most common among the players, and most Molds were of this level.


    If you searched the keyword ''Superior'' in the Exchange Hall, many results would come up. The properties of these equips were quite ordinary, but the price was also quite low. Players who were selling these items just wanted to make back the material cost.


    Fine was already quite decent, but after the numbers were finetuned by the Game Company, the drop rate of Fine Molds significantly decreased.


    If a player could help another to craft a set of Fine grade items, they would immediately feel indebted to them. In the future, they would introduce their friends to come over to do the same. As such, the ability to make Fine equipment was something that you could make a name for yourself with.


    This Bracer''s Attributes were quite good and Lu Li was very satisfied with the item.


    Nightslayer Bracer (Fine Epic) : Armour 120, Agility +80, Strength +60, 2 slots, Attack Speed +10%, Special Effect 1: Slashing Skills +1. Special Effect 2: When hit, there is a certain chance that a Fear effect will be applied to the attacker. Special Effect 3: Knock back and apply a curse to the target, reducing their movement speed by 60% for 20 seconds. 6 minute cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 60, Durability 250/250.


    The bracer that he had currently equipped was just an ordinary item that he had picked up. When he upgraded to the level 60 Nightslayer Bracer, there was a significant increase in his Strength.


    This bracer also gave him 120 Armor, which was almost inconceivable.


    The fact that it was a Fine Epic and part of a set determined its Attributes. This also contributed to its Agility and Strength bonuses and the 10% attack speed bonus.


    Attack speed was the same as Critical Hit, as it couldn''t be accumulated indefinitely.


    Lu Li''s attack speed couldn''t be any higher because of the Shard of the Defiler, so this bonus was actually useless to him.


    Fortunately, the Special Effects compensated for this. The first was a buff to his Slashing skills. This also served to increase attack speed, but it was a skill effect and was unaffected by normal attack speed buffs. As such, when Lu Li cast his Slashing skills, there would be an attack speed buff applied.


    There was no Thief that would be upset with increased attack speed, as a major part of a Thief''s strength came from this.


    When hit, there was also a certain probability that a Fear effect would be produced. When Lu Li thought about it, he was satisfied with this special effect. After all, it was a passive crowd-control skill. A Thief also couldn''t have too much crowd-control, but Lu Li didn''t know how high of a chance this was.


    The third special effect was rathe powerful. The knock-back was already pretty useful, but the slow debuff made it even better.


    This kind of special effect would be very useful for Lu Li when he needed to retreat and wait for his cooldowns. Once he knocked-back and slowed his opponent, Lu Li would have the opportunity to retreat if he so wished.


    This was truly an item worthy of a T1 set. Most players were still working hard to acquire a T0 set while professional players were building T0.5 sets. Lu Li''s T1 set put him on a whole new level.


    If the T1 equipment''s Attributes were not good, then that would truly be unexpected.


    The remaining two pieces of equipment were no worse than the Nightslayer Bracer.


    Nightslayer Breastplate (Exquisite Epic) : Armour 150, Agility +100, Constitution +80, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Armor increased by 10%. Special Effect 2: After using this skill, damage received by the user is decreased by 40%. Teammates within 30 yards of the user enjoy half of this damage reduction effect. 60 second cooldown. Special Effect 3: Remulos'' Protection, Nature magic is stored in this item for the wearer. When the wearer''s HP drops below 20%, a shield will appear that can absorb no more than 50% of the user''s max HP. 60-minute cooldown. Level Requirement: Level 60. Durability 300/300.


    The Armor was similarly very high. This was the highest Armor that Lu Li had ever seen on a piece of equipment.


    Because it was a Breastplate, it provided bonus Agility and Constitution. The bonus amount was substantial, even for this level of equipment. Obviously, it couldn''t provide too little, or selse the Game Company would be sabotaging themselves.


    The first special effect increased his Armor by a certain percentage.


    If the Bracer improved Attack Speed, then the Breastplate served to increase in Armor. Lu Li''s current total Armor value was about 600. With this 10% increase, he would receive an extra 60 points, which was equivalent to having an additional piece of equipment.


    Of course, no matter how much Armor he acquired, it would be incomparable to Plate Armor or even Chain Mail Armor.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s breastplate alone had an Armor value that was three or four times that of Lu Li''s.


    There were many Cloth Armour players who had accumulated a significant amount of Armor, but certainly not as much as Azure Sea Breeze. Dawn''s number one Main Tank also probably had the most exquisite items.


    The second Special Effect wasn''t too strong; the 40% damage reduction was quite ordinary.


    However, this special effect could also help his teammates, which was crucial in Boss battles. After all, it was sometimes dangerous to use your damage reduction skills too early. Everyone had their strong personal abilities, but Lu Li''s special effect could effectively serve as an area of effect heal. Lu Li also felt like it had a very short cooldown ¨C it was only 60 seconds.


    As for the third, Lu Li was willing to bet that this was no ordinary effect.


    Not all T1 breastplates in Dawn would have this special effect. In Dawn, this was quite a common occurrence, especially when it came to equipment rewarded as part of a quest. These equips would often come with extra features tied to the quest.


    Remulos had awarded the equipment, so Remulos'' Protection was added to it.


    When the user''s HP dropped below 20%, a shield would appear. This could absorb no greater than 50% of the user''s max HP.


    There were chance-based effects, casted effects and conditional effects in Dawn.


    Chance-based effects, as their name suggested, would trigger at a certain probability. Some had a higher probability which made them trigger more frequently while others had a low probability. Some of these effects had such a low probability that the user would never see them triggered.


    Casted effects were quite self-explanatory, which left conditional effects.


    Lu Li''s Remulos'' Protection would only be triggered when Lu Li''s HP reached below 20%. This was a necessary precondition for it to activate.


    As for the cooldown, the normal rules applied.


    If there was no cooldown, then that would great. Every time Lu Li''s HP reached 20%, it would trigger the special effect. At the end of the effect, after he had regenerated some HP, when he reached 20%, it would trigger the special effect again¡­


    If that happened, Lu Li would really become unkillable.


    The last piece of equipment was the Nightslayer Cloak, which was also an Exquisite Epic. Unless you had special items like Lu Li did, it was difficult to craft a Perfect grade item. Among the three items he received, the fact that two of them were Exquisite was already quite a blessing.


    Nightslayer Cloak (Exquisite Epic) : Armor 115, Agility +120, Strength +60, Special Effect 1: 20% bonus Movement Speed. Special Effect 2: Poison Master, increases the damage dealt by your poisons by 20% and increases the non-damage effects by 10%. Special Effect 3: Strengthen Cloak. Whenever the user casts Shadow Cloak''s effect, the user will regenerate 3% HP for each effect that is nullified by it. Equipment Requirements: Level 60, Durability: 320/ 320.


    The practical value of this cloak was not much higher than the Breastplate, but it was definitely more expensive.


    As the player-base''s equipment and level improved, various strategies would emerge. At the current time, Blackrock Mountain was the ideal location for farming. This was also the case before Lu Li had experienced Rebirth.


    T1 wouldn''t be considered rubbish, but it wasn''t difficult to buy if you had the money.


    However, he recalled the ridiculous price of the T1 cloak at the time. The reason wasn''t even because of its Attributes, but because it looked cool.


    In reality, the original purpose of wearing clothing was to protect yourself from the elements. However, some clothes were worth hundreds or even tens of millions of dollars. In these cases, the monetary value far exceeded functional value, and the Nightslayer cloak was the same.


    An ordinary person such as Lu Li wasn''t very eye-catching, but once he put on this cloak, he would instantly become a male God.


    However, he didn''t want to be so high-profile, so he planned to take the equipment from March rain and send it to the modification shop. He wanted to make it ugly so he couldn''t be recognized.


    The modification shop was something that the System provided, and it mainly sold luxury fashion items.


    Modifications had always been in the game. The equipment in the game could be styled in any way a player wanted ¨C they just had to pay for it. It was more expensive than buying a fashionable item outright, but those items couldn''t be converted into equipment.


    Unfortunately, before he sent it, he thought of Water Fairy.


    Lu Li suddenly realized that the equipment Water Fairy was wearing was very beautiful. This girl considered the aesthetics of an item before even looking at its Attributes.


    He suddenly abandoned his plan to modify the Nightslayer Cloak.


    Lu Li suddenly felt that even though he didn''t want to stand out like a firefly in the night, he also didn''t want to look like rubbish. However, he still didn''t want to discriminate those who were worse off, as that was how he had raised his younger sister for a long time.


    Perhaps it had just been overshadowed by the way it looked, but the properties of the cloak were actually not bad.


    The Armour and attributes were at least worthy of their Exquisite Epic status. The 20% move speed bonus also allowed Lu Li to run faster.


    The Poison Master effect was actually an inferior version, but it was a decent special effect at this stage. The damage caused by poisons was increased by 20% and non-damage effects were increased by 10%. Twenty percent was quite a significant amount for a Thief''s poison damage to be increased by.


    The non-damage effect buff might not have been of much use to an ordinary Thief, as it would mainly apply to slows and healing reductions.


    However, Lu Li was not the same. He was an expert in the development of new poisons. There was potential for a whole range of effects in future and it was very useful to have the 10% buff.


    The third Special Effect was a way to regain HP, but it depended on Lu Li''s timing.


    The most important aspect of this skill was that the ''effects'' were the magical effects that were going to hit the user.


    If only one magic effect nullified, there would only be a regeneration of 3%. This was better than nothing, but it wouldn''t make much of a difference.


    If there were ten people attacking Lu Li before he cast Shadow Cloak and he nullified seven or eight skills, he could recover more than half of his HP. This effect had the potential for significant HP regeneration.


    Of course, it was practically quite difficult to nullify that many magical effects.


    Lu Li put the three pieces of equipment into his warehouse. They could only be used when he reached level 60. At the present, all he had to do was farm EXP, so it would be a waste of Level Reduction Gems.


    For the sake of the three pieces of exquisite equipment, Lu Li embarked on a journey of power-levelling.

 1331 Being an Examiner

    Levelling was a boring task, but if you didn''t do it alone, then it was a different story.


    Lu Li didn''t usually feel tired after levelling, so whenever he found a good levelling spot, he would use his pocket watch to summon someone to his side. The fact that he could only do it three times a day was enough.


    There were many advantages to this. People that were paired with these pocket watches had increased fatigue recovery as long as they were within a 5-yard radius.


    When men and women worked together, they wouldn''t tire as easily, especially if the two people had a good relationship. They could talk about interesting things while they worked. Lu Li gradually began to understand Water Fairy''s experience growing up and about things that happened in the real world.


    What surprised him was that that Water Fairy was actually from Jiangnan.


    At that time, Lu Li was completely dumbfounded and asked her to repeat this a few more times. Previously, there had been some rumours that Water Fairy had appeared in Jiangnan City because she was eloping with Lu Li.


    Of course, Lu Li sneered at these rumours. Even they were true, he wouldn''t entertain them.


    Water Fairy didn''t expect Lu Li to get so worked up about it. The eloping was obviously fake, but she had indeed gone to Jiangnan and visited the community that Lu Li grew up in.


    "What? My grandfather used to live in that community and I lived there when I was younger," Water Fairy said. She was a little annoyed.


    She was worried that Lu Li thought she wasn''t committed, so she decided to volunteer this information to him.


    In fact, her worries had been for nothing. Lu Li''s understanding of Water Fairy was such that there was no way she was looking to leave this friendship.


    However, this girl was too proud, and didn''t know how to yield. If she wanted something, she would do whatever it took to obtain it.


    "I hope I can visit one day," Lu Li said.


    "Alright, I''ll ask when I get back."


    Water Fairy seemed relieved. Her grandfather had actually asked her to bring Lu Li, but she didn''t know how to ask. The fact that Lu Li suggested it made things much easier for her.


    "You might have to wait a few days. Over the next two days, we will be having our training camp rookie selection," Lu Li said.


    Although it wouldn''t take long, Lu Li didn''t want to go with a preoccupied mind. After all, this was Water Fairy''s guardian and he was quite elderly.


    "Do you need any help?" Water Fairy asked.


    Lu Li thought about it for a moment before rejecting the offer.


    "Not for the time being, but I''ll ask if I do."


    If he and Water Fairy appeared together like that to the newcomers, then more and more people would be thinking about and analysing their behaviour.


    Ruling Sword''s Novice Training Camp had been in preparation for a long time.


    From digging up Cat Dad to start the club, Lu Li had consulted him many times about this and they had conducted a great deal of marketing. Almost the entire gaming circle knew that Ruling Sword wanted some fresh talent.


    When they received such a huge influx of money, everything else fell into place.


    The first thing to do was to let people who signed up fill in an expression of interest. They would then collect the information of the applicants and then filter some of them out based on the ones that were obviously too busy.


    After the shortlist had been made, the process would be divided into two parts. There was the written test and the interview, which would examine the basic qualities of the applicants.


    It was also very important to talk to the applicant''s guardian and find out what their opinions were on the gaming profession. Lu Li didn''t want to create any disputes in future. According to the current laws and regulations, if Ruling Sword failed to obtain the guardian''s consent and signature, the contract could be revoked at any time and Ruling Sword would face grave social consequences.


    By then, all the money and resources that had been spent on that player who would no longer be theirs¡­


    Finally, there was the assessment stage. Currently, Lu Li planned to take part in this final stage. In the previous basic testing and consultation with guardians, it was impossible for Lu Li to do that personally.


    The final assessment was the last level, and it was where the future of these players with Ruling Sword would be decided. As such, Lu Li would naturally want to be involved.


    He also wanted to see what the future of Ruling Sword held as well.


    This era could unequivocally be said to be the era of VR. The gaming industry had become a major component of the entertainment industry and had long become part of a household.


    A few hundred years ago, games were a child''s plaything.


    Now, game planning, design, evaluation, development and other gaming related majors had become popular subjects in various universities. There were even popular ''professional player paths'', ''cultivating professionals'' and ''data processing'' courses that were being taught.


    Children that grew up playing games were now seen by the public to be on the road to success.


    As such, the guardians who had received their official notice for their child to come to Jiangnan City were very happy. Because of this, Jiangnan City became crowded over the past few days. The hotels near Ruling Sword''s headquarters were full of people and many had to find alternative accommodation.


    Cat Dad was responsible for the important professional potential test and other psychological tests that demonstrated a candidate''s mental fortitude, hand eye coordination, reflexes and so on.


    Lu Li was only responsible for the final checks and interview.


    Over the past few days, most of the people in Jiangnan City didn''t see Lu Li. Many were eliminated in the first few rounds.


    The selection teacher would give some advice to those that failed. For example, some people just didn''t have the ability to do it and were recommended pursue something else. After all, this was a route to becoming a champion. There were some who had a few shortcomings, but could try again next year after some hard work.


    The first person that Lu Li saw was a very young-looking man.


    He was quite nervous when he saw Lu Li and was sweating in an air-conditioned room that was already quite cold. His hands and feet were shaking, but it wasn''t clear if he was scared or excited.


    Lu Li didn''t look down on him. The fact that he was standing in front of him was proof that this guy had great potential.


    "Second son of the family, currently in grade 10. You completed your written assessments very quickly," Lu Li said, reading out his information before slowly asking, "Do you often play games at home?"

 1332 Short Road

    "I do, sneakily," Sao Nian said, pushing his hair aside as the tension was relieved.


    From what he knew, Lu Li was a godly person of unattainable status. When he walked around, he expected there to be flowers under his feet. He didn''t expect Lu Li to be sitting on a chair that didn''t seem that comfortable. He was sitting in a slouched position, with a cushion under him that actually had a ripped corner.


    He had been completely disillusioned!


    Was this not the God of Dawn from Ruling Sword? Was he not someone on the same level as Sorrowless? He should have been a Prince Charming, someone that was worshipped by the people.


    When he saw Lu Li like this, he was still worthy of respect, but the Godlike reverence was all gone.


    "Does your family not support you?" Lu Li asked. He turned to the guardian consent form, but didn''t notice any abnormalities. Sao Nian''s parents seemed to support their son playing this game.


    "I don''t know if they support it, but I just like playing sneakily. I play many of the less popular games as the bigger ones won''t let me pick a fighting class. I''m just a fisherman in Dawn."


    He was a guy that liked to play games sneakily¡­ Lu Li really didn''t know what to think of him.


    "Your academic performance is pretty good. You are the first in your school," Lu Li noted. His eyes suddenly stopped as he scanned this information. He glanced up with a look of surprise; those who did this well in school were generally quite amazing.


    "Oh," Sao Nian acknowledged this show of respect.


    "Why don''t you just invest in your studies? Why do you want to play games?" Lu Li asked indignantly. He thought very highly of education, and thought it was definitely better than gaming. This was why his academic requirements of his sister were so high.


    Sao Nian became aware of Lu Li''s attitude and suddenly panicked.


    "I haven''t lost any time yet¡­My goal in life is to play games anyway."


    "You mean, you want to play games after you finish school?" Lu Li was very puzzled.


    "Yeah, I want to go the Imperial Capital University where Sorrowless studied."


    Sao Nian was not naturally a mischievous person, but he had unknowingly already subverted Lu Li''s expectations.


    Lu Li felt that his current status was quite high. In his eyes, he was at least comparable to someone like Sorrowless.


    However, he hadn''t gone to school, so why would anyone think that school was important?


    "Of course ¨C I think it''s important. Sorrowless came from the Imperial Capital University, Unforgettable Maple was the president of Waterwood Games and even Moonlight guru almost became a lecturer at the Anda Game Academy¡­"


    Sao Nian had obviously studied a lot and knew about these players that were in the game.


    "As for you," he continued, not forgetting to flatter Lu Li too, "You are a true genius ¨C a God descended from the heavens, an expert in both the practical and the theoretical. You must have read a lot about the game. You''re a model for all those who are self-taught. I have several friends who want to make it as a self-taught player like you."


    "Okay, thank you. You can move on," Lu Li said, weakly waving his hand to dismiss him.


    If you really did count everything up, you would have found that Lu Li had read all sorts of different things. Although he wasn''t a game design expert, nor a data analysis expert because he couldn''t understand professional-level material, in terms of actual gameplay, he was no worse than those high-profile students.


    The second candidate was a little girl, and she looked younger than the previous person.


    Cat Dad''s comments described her as one with amazing talent, being able to memorise anything she saw. Sometimes, you were just able to tell when a rookie had great potential.


    "You haven''t played any games before. Why do you want to be a professional gamer?" Lu Li asked.


    "I think Wandering is really handsome; I''m a big fan of his," the little girl gushed as her eyes sparkled. She was very blunt with her response and didn''t feel the need to give a complicated response.


    Lu Li turned to the comments that had been given by Wandering.


    "She is quite pretty!"


    Lu Li really wanted to kick this person out. If it weren''t for Cat Dad''s scoring and comments about how she had achieved an A+, which was even higher than Sao Nian, then he really would have kicked her out.


    "You would like to be a Mage. Why don''t you want to be a Paladin like Wandering?" Lu Li continued.


    "I have always wanted to be a Mage. In the future, when I am with Wandering, we won''t make a good team if we are both Paladins. I have read some strategies and according to my understanding, we would synergise well. He would be responsible for looking good, and I would be responsible for farming monsters and making money to support the family."


    Lu Li really felt like she was a brat. If this was a child of his, she definitely would have been receiving regular beatings.


    "What do you think magic is?" Lu Li asked weakly.


    "Magic is obviously a kind of energy," the little know-it-all said as she looked at Lu Li like he was an idiot, then continued to explain, "Energy that is all around but that is manifested by casting. Mages are just people that can manipulate the magic around them. This is the theoretical basis for magic in textbook ''Professional Design Theory''. I read it on the 393th page of the third edition last year¡­"


    They had nothing else to chat about, so Lu Li waved his hand so that she could move on.


    There were two more after that, but they seemed quite ordinary by comparison.


    Candidates were generally rated B- or above. This was not a rule that Ruling Sword had set, but it was a natural requirement that had formed through the growth of the Gaming Industry.


    Some clubs even signed an agreement with colleges and universities, who supplied their students directly to the clubs.


    Ruling Sword were in contact with some colleges and universities in Jiangnan City. There were still some issues they needed to work out, but in the future, new players would be directly taken from colleges and universities. Lu Li was once again digging into the resources of his old guild ¨C the Star Moon Union.


    Star Moon Union had once been known as the Jiangnan University Base Camp, and there were many people with potential there.


    Lu Li wanted to tap into these talents. The person that he met with this time was quite different, particularly because he seemed quite old.


    He was by no means an elderly man, but compared to the ten-year-olds that had come in before, he could basically be their uncle.


    After the man walked in, he didn''t wait for Lu Li to signal before sitting at the chair opposite to him. It was hard to believe that out of so many candidates, this person had appeared in front of Lu Li.


    "Your name is¡­" Lu Li rummaged through his documents, unsure if this person had made a mistake.


    "Short Road¡­"


    He had spoken so weakly that if Lu Li couldn''t see the person in front of him, he would have thought that this was an old man speaking.


    However, with a name and voice like that, this was definitely Short Road!

 1333 Mr. Patien

    There were many peculiar people in the professional world of gaming and Short Road was one of them.


    He was recognised as the most physically-weak player out of everyone.


    When Lu Li first entered the game in his previous life, Short Road was not a well-known player. However, after two years, he represented Glory Capital and entered many competitions. He won many, but also lost many.


    Not much could be said regarding his wins. After all, wins didn''t come with ease.


    However, a major part of his losses didn''t come from a lack of skill. Many of his losses came from a result of him fainting in the middle of battle. As a result, the game would forcibly log him out, which meant that he would automatically surrender.


    This man could very well be labelled as a legendary person. He seemed like the main character of many movies. He was an orphan with a weak and frail body, resulting in many episodes of sickness. The orphanage then closed down, so he was forced out into the streets. Through his sheer determination, he managed to survive, but his body was still frail and weak, so he fainted every now and then.


    Soon after, the fainting became more and more regular. Using his graduation money, he went and got himself checked up. It was only then that he discovered that he had a sickness that made him faint regularly.


    This sickness was a rare one. The victim of this sickness would faint easily, and the effects of fainting also worsened over time. The body would also grow to be weaker and weaker, so he grew closer to death with each passing day. The whole medical world was curious about this case, so he was subject to experimentation as well as examination while the specialists investigated his disease.


    After a few years, there was some progress and the specialists managed to find a possible cure.


    Unfortunately, the treatment was quite expensive. The specialists had already used a lot of their money to fund this research project, so he didn''t want to use more. As such, he only left with knowledge of the cure.


    Since he didn''t go to school, he wasn''t particularly educated. He didn''t have any special skills either, and he spent most of his time out on the streets.


    If he was a normal and healthy person, he would be able to do some manual labour and earn money that way. Obviously, that wasn''t an option for him either. He couldn''t even stand for a while without breathing heavily, so without Lu Li''s indication for him to sit, he immediately sat down first. It wasn''t because he was impolite, but it was because he was unable to stand any longer.


    It was through luck that he was able to find his talent in playing games.


    After entering the game, he managed to grind levels quickly, then began earning money. In doing so, he had already taken care of his food and housing. However, he still needed more money to heal himself, so he set his sights on becoming a professional player.


    If Lu Li hadn''t met him today, he would have eventually joined Glory Capital after.


    Mr. Patient, Short Road!


    Mr. Patient was his nickname. Some said it in a derogatory sense, while some said it out of admiration and respect. Short Road was his game ID. He said it himself in an interview, that his life was destined to be a Short Road ever since he was born.


    He had another nickname, because he was a Mage.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, Sorrowless was planning on training him to be his successor, had he been healthy.


    Unfortunately, Sorrowless didn''t have the chance to even think of that in this life.


    "From my understanding, you requested our organisation to give you 2 million as a condition to join our camp. Is that right?" Lu Li asked, trying his best to keep his voice normal to avoid scaring this man away from them.


    "Yes. If you are unable to give that much, then half of the amount is okay too. I know Ruling Sword doesn''t take external finances."


    "The money is not a problem¡­" Lu Li said, then curiously asked: "Why didn''t you choose other organisations over Ruling Sword? There are many who are much richer than us, for example¡­Glory Capital. Although Sorrowless is a rival, I acknowledge his judgment and status."


    Sorrowless would be willing to give 5 million for Short Road, if he was worth it.


    In this world, opportunities to show kindness were not rare. However, there was nothing that could compare to the opportunity of saving a life. The Short Road that was sitting across from Lu Li was near death. He could not stay awake for more than 10 hours each day.


    "Hehe¡­" Short Road weakly chuckled and replied, "Glory Capital has Sorrowless. I know my own strengths, and I know for a fact that I can''t compare to him. Furthermore, they also have other Ice-element Mage experts. As for Ruling Sword¡­You guys don''t have a single Ice Mage good enough to enter into competitions.


    Lu Li was speechless.


    Then he realised something. In his previous life, Sorrowless was already on his way to retirement, which was why Short Road was able to enter the competitive scene quickly.


    In this life, he managed to kill Sorrowless and continuously pressure Glory Capital.


    At that time, no Ice Mages would even consider being where Sorrowless was. After all, Sorrowless was the strongest Ice Mage in Dawn.


    How lucky!


    Lu Li collected his documents, then reached out to shake Short Road''s hand and said, "Congratulations. I hope we''ll be working well together in the future. I will let our finance team know to transfer 2 million into your bank account. Your housing and meals will also be taken care of. There is a good hospital near the club. Because my sister was once quite ill, I got to know the doctors there well. I''ll introduce you to them."


    "Why?" Short Road asked as he stood up, clearly needing some effort. Then, he reached out to shake Lu Li''s hand.


    At that moment, he felt like he was dreaming. The few interviews that he was in before weren''t that easy. They required multiple confirmations through phone and also many more questions. He couldn''t believe that Lu Li accepted his condition to join that easily.


    Although he had some reputation in the game, it wasn''t that of a professional player at all. In fact, he was still among the lower-levelled players.


    There was no way for Lu Li to have known about him, so how would Lu Li have judged him to be a genuine person?


    "I looked at your exam scores, as well as gaming experience. I feel that we are quite similar. Even if you end up unable to do anything for the club, then I would have only lost money. However, if you end up becoming a professional competitor, then I would be rewarded with your performances."


    "Thank you! Thank you so much!"


    Short Road was overcome with gratefulness.


    He didn''t know that Cat Dad had given him a score of S grade, which was the highest score. There was a principle while scoring, which was not to limit any potential.


    Even Wandering, a generally harsh and lazy person, said that if Short Road was able to recover from this sickness, he would definitely be a formidable star player. Even if he couldn''t recover in the near future, his ability would still garner well-earned respect.


    As for Lu Li, how would he be able to reject this person despite knowing so much?


    The first week of the training camp was destined to be dominated by Short Road. As a player who fainted often during matches, they hoped that he would recover, or at least have a control over his sickness. The cure that he held was also useful, since Lu Li hadn''t heard of Short Road fainting again in his previous life.

 1334 Training Camp Begins

    After Short Road, there were a few more interviewees. Although they still had potential, none of them had as much as Short Road.


    Lu Li was already extremely happy with the first week of the training camp. He brought 14 trainees to complete the introductory ceremony. The youngest was 11 years old, meaning that he would have just started junior high school. The oldest was Short Road, who was 20. If he was a student, he would have been in university.


    Short Road was already quite skilled. With a little more training, he would be able to enter a minor competition.


    The younger ones on the other hand were nowhere near good enough to enter competitions unless they trained for another 3-5 years. This was the biggest risk and investment of the training camp, as they could not see the results in the short-term.


    Some organisations didn''t even have training camps.


    For example, the Gangnam Royals claimed that they invested millions into their camp, but this was all fake. The purpose of saying this was to receive more money from the investors. Now that they have fallen far below the other guilds, the main players requested to transfer. Because of this, they were unable to bring out replacements.


    In terms of preparation, Glory Capital were the best. Even if their main players all left, they still could recover a major part of their team in a short period of time.


    "Perhaps everyone already knows me. We met before. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Lu Li, one of the founders of Ruling Sword. I did not attend university¡­"


    "You didn''t attend high school either, did you?" Wandering added.


    Lu Li paused for a bit, then continued to say, "I didn''t attend high school or junior high school. I only attended a few days of primary school¡­"


    "Wow¡­" Most of them were clearly excited.


    "However, I read a lot. I used all of my spare time to read. Don''t think that school is useless. I envy you guys. It''s not that I didn''t want to study, but that I had no money to. In the future, the grading in the camp will be extremely strict. Furthermore, the grades that you get in school will determine 50% of your total grade."


    "¡­"


    A few of them gasped in surprise. Some were academically capable, so they had no problem, but the others were not, so they felt quite disappointed. They thought that they wouldn''t need to study any more after joining the training camp.


    "I will let you know of the punishments shortly. Don''t think for a second that I''m joking. I won''t hesitate when it comes to sending people home," Lu Li said with a cold and cruel voice. His expression immediately lightened as he continued, "Of course, if you guys do well, then I will do my best to accommodate your needs, such as allowances. If you guys want to compete, then I will do what I can do fulfil your requests."


    In Dawn, under-16-year-old players were restricted from choosing combat-classes.


    However, clubs were allowed to apply for a permit for their competing members, which when granted, would allow the player to bypass the restriction. This was rare for many clubs however, as many decided to focus on the basics.


    Lu Li himself came from the streets, which meant that his ideas and views were a little more unorthodox. Therefore, he was willing to send primary schoolers into the battlefield.


    After hearing Lu Li speak for a few minutes, these kids were now members of Ruling Sword.


    Short Road went to the bank to deal with the money that Lu Li promised him, then visited the hospital that Lu Li mentioned previously. As for the rest of the members, they were welcomed into the elite squads.


    A few hundred people decided to celebrate that night.


    The little ones went crazy, but their parents were okay with it. Firstly, this was because Lu Li had high expectations of their studies, and secondly, the environment was good.


    A university was right next to the organisation, and there were multiple high schools in the area as well.


    It was hard to imagine that an organisation like Ruling Sword, with no external funds, was able to be become what it was today.


    The accommodation was all apartments. Two people would live in one apartment which was quite spacious.


    The saddest thing was that the parents of these players weren''t permitted to stay with them, since they were expected to be independent. However, they were permitted to go home for a month in total every year. They could choose to use it together or split up the time. If they exceeded the limit of a month, then their grade points would be reduced as a result.


    Lu Li required these kids to be independent as soon as possible.


    His values and personality had been shaped by his living conditions while growing up. It was because of his background that he was able to go from rags to riches, as well as his personality and determination to forge onwards and constantly improve. This was because he did not want to let the poverty consume him again.


    After the creation of the training camp, a few people in the inner circle of Ruling Sword realised Lu Li''s ambition.


    Soon after, everyone began to recruit new members. Glory Capital also recruited a lot of potential players. Under normal conditions, they only recruited once a year, but this time, it seemed like they were afraid that Ruling Sword had taken all the players with strong potential away.


    Furthermore, someone even tried to find out Ruling Sword''s future plans to recruit.


    Lu Li smiled, though bitterly. After all, Ruling Sword already spent a great amount of money on this round of recruiting alone. If he chose to recruit multiple times during the year, the other departments of the organisation wouldn''t even need to lift a finger and Ruling Sword would definitely be bankrupt.


    As he returned to the game, Lu Li was summoned to his mentor''s side.


    Water Fairy was also summoned. When Lu Li rushed to where Garona was, he saw that Water Fairy and Garona was sitting closely together, as if they were holding hands.


    "¡­I don''t know what it is, but I thought that it wouldn''t get worse, so I kept going until I met Gul''dan. Don''t get me wrong ¨C he''s still utterly evil, but he had his own warmth, you know?"


    Lu Li thought that this was absurd. Throughout the entire continent of Azeroth, including Gul''dan''s own race, no one saw any form of kindness or warmth from him.


    He was one of the most prominent characters in the history of Dawn. He was the founder of the Shadow Council and was the most hated traitor of the Horde. He was one of the main characters behind the troubles that Azeroth had faced. At the same time, it was he who sold the Horde out to the Scourge and demonic forces.


    "We must strive towards creating a glorious path full of darkness!"


    These were his words. Lu Li could not imagine any form of warmth from hi, unless it was because he had saved a little girl back then? However, Lu Li didn''t want to refute Garona''s words. After all, Garona had been through her own share of unfortunate events in life.


    "Ah, you''re here. How are you going with controlling poison?" Garona asked.


    "I''ve been a little lazy lately, so I haven''t improved that much."


    Lu Li''s expression was one of guilt. As he spoke, he took out a bottle that was filled with light red fluid.


    Garona took it, opened the lid, and took a whiff.


    It was a rich and heavy fragrance, with a hint of sweetness. Garona couldn''t stand this smell, so she distanced herself from the bottle.

 1335 Mechanical Puppe

    "What''s the effect?"


    "This lowers 10% of the target''s Armor. Also, it deals 60 damage per second with a bleed effect."


    Lu Li was trying to be modest, but underneath his fa?ade, he was quite proud of himself.


    This was a poison with two effects!


    Although he was very busy, he knew that he was skilled at making poison. As such, whenever he had time, he would use it to investigate different poisons or try making simple antidotes.


    He called this poison an Angel''s Kiss. It was the best one that he had made.


    The name, Angel''s Kiss, did not mean that Lu Li was romantic and artful. Rather, it was named this way because one of the main ingredients was an Angel''s Vine, and the other was called the Adder''s Kiss. Naturally, when combined, Lu Li named it an Angel''s Kiss.


    This poison could penetrate armor and even applied a bleeding effect while dealing damage.


    It was important to recognise that this was not normal damage being dealt, but damage with a bleeding effect!


    Bleed was a continuous and stackable form of damage. When Thieves were in a bleeding state, they would be unable to enter stealth. As for other classes, many of their skills are also affected by Bleed.


    "It''s utterly, disgustingly bad," Garona said, not holding back at all. "Are you stupid?"


    "Please point out and correct my mistakes. Guide me onto the right path."


    Lu Li was quite unhappy ¨C after all, this poison could sell for a few gold coins. This poison only had a duration of 15 minutes, so it was worth about one gold coin per minute. Perhaps he could find some wealthy people who would want to buy this.


    "As a Stealth-user, wouldn''t you be exposed while hiding in the dark?"


    Garona was so angry that she began to laugh. In that moment, she wanted to choke Lu Li to death.


    What type of mentor had a student this stupid?


    "Oh, I¡­"


    Lu Li couldn''t say anything; he had completely overlooked the smell of the ingredients used. Angel''s Vine and Adder''s Kiss both had a strong smell, so adding them together resulted in an even stronger odour.


    Perhaps more-intelligent people were more likely to do the incorrect thing.


    Lu Li had focused on creating a powerful poison, but he had overlooked a minute detail like this. Garona instantly recognised the fatal mistake in ignoring such a detail. Although this poison would empower a Thief, it also exposed them.


    Water Fairy covered her mouth and tried to suppress her laughter as best as possible. However, she couldn''t stand seeing Lu Li devastated, so she asked, "Is there something that could cover this smell and not affect the poison?"


    "Don''t help him. There might be, but no one has found it," Garona said in a gentler tone, then continued "The use of Angel''s Vine and Adder''s Kiss isn''t something profound. If it could be used, do you think that he would be the one to find this combination? Furthermore, he was still so proud of himself. If he didn''t care about Stealth, then he could still add in a little bit of Fadeleaf to enhance the offensive power of the poison. Of course, it would only add to the already strong smell."


    Lu Li happily committed the ingredient that Garona had suggested to memory.


    He wasn''t that sad about the whole ordeal. After all, he could still use this poison when grinding for levels or in Instance Dungeons, even if he couldn''t hide himself when using it.


    Water Fairy walked to the side and opened a cupboard, then took out a large loaf of bread and a bottle of wine.


    This surprised Lu Li. Lu Li wasn''t aware that she knew her way around this place that well. Not even Lu Li knew what was in the cupboard. He didn''t dare to go through Garona''s place at all.


    The bread had a light-brown, yellowish crust, and they could smell the light aroma of wheat. This was clearly baked quite recently. Lu Li didn''t know why, but he suspected that it had been made by Water Fairy. He couldn''t imagine his half-Orc mentor baking this bread anyway.


    As for the wine, he definitely recognised it.


    This Sulfuron Slammer was found by Lu Li and Water Fairy back when they were fighting in the Blackrock Depths together.


    Sulfuron was a name for fire in an ancient language. This wine originally only existed in the database, because there wasn''t any fire hot enough to brew it. However, when Ragnaros was summoned, brewing this wine became a possibility.


    There were seven bottles then. They used one, then Lu Li and Water Fairy each took one.


    Lu Li stored his, waiting to use it when he needed it. He didn''t know that Water Fairy would use it to gain favour from an NPC. After all, good wine was irresistible. He also didn''t realise that his mentor drank alcohol.


    Garona clearly loved drinking this type of wine. She received the wineglass handed over by Water Fairy, then took a sip.


    "Master, I also have this wine. I can go and give this to you," Lu Li offered, deciding to use it here. If there was any NPC that he wanted to gain favour from, it would definitely be Garona.


    A simple giving of exquisite items or enhanced skills would let Lu Li''s heart stop.


    "Wow, I''m grateful that you have remembered me," Garona said with a cold smile. Her reaction couldn''t be blamed. After all, she didn''t even receive this exquisite wine from her own student, but from someone who was completely unrelated to her.


    Lu Li''s eyes went straight to Water Fairy. He definitely felt that she had bested him here.


    Water Fairy showed remorse through her expression. Clearly, she didn''t mean for this to happen. A rich and wealthy lady like her didn''t know the price of this wine, and she also didn''t know that Lu Li had stored it away.


    Lu Li decided to forgive her after seeing Water Fairy pour the wine into his own cup.


    Then, with the bread, wine and meat in front of them, Lu Li and Water Fairy ate with Garona. To eat with an NPC was quite a rare experience.


    After their meal, Garona began to speak.


    Lu Li didn''t know how other people got along with their mentors, but he reckoned that after their meal, Garona was a little more emotional than before. It was rare for her to open up, since she was quite reserved and sensitive.


    "How is your training with Gouge?"


    Then, the half-Orc discovered that her student and the girl next to him began to act a little unnatural, as if they had done something that shouldn''t have been done.


    "It has been going well," Lu Li answered, with his normal expression.


    Well, it wasn''t like he was lying. After all, he had been investigating this skill with Water Fairy recently, so they definitely would have improved.


    The part that he was guilty about was that they spent quite a bit of time together.


    "Defeat these puppets. Remember to use Gouge."


    Garona clapped her hands, and a few mechanical puppets walked into the room. If it weren''t for her words, no one would know that these were puppets.


    Lu Li had been in this tower many times, but he never did find any of these puppets. Naturally, he didn''t know where these were hidden either.


    He couldn''t think much more, as the puppets had already moved towards him.

 1336 Trial

    Lu Li faced off against two dummies ¨C a Warrior and a Thief.


    If they had the same skills as normal players, then these puppets would be rather frightening. They didn''t have a reaction time, and their mechanics and experiences were all coded.


    The Thief was in charge of crowd-control while the Warrior was for damage output. This was a perfect combination of classes.


    He glanced over at Water Fairy and she was in the same exact situation. He slowly edged closer to her and said, "Let''s work together. Crowd control the Thief first then focus fire on the other Thief. Be careful of your positioning because the Warriors might deal a lot of damage."


    This sort of situation obviously required their teamwork; fighting individually would be certain death.


    Lu Li wasn''t interested in winning this test fight, but he needed to cast a few quality Gouges because the purpose of Garona summoning him today was to check on his training progress.


    Even so, Lu Li made sure not to underestimate these dummies.


    Based on his teacher''s relationship with Mekgineer Thermaplugg, these mechanical dummies were probably at a much higher standard than the normal ones.


    The fight had begun!


    Both of them entered into Stealth and the first step was to eliminate the fellow Thief. In order to work together more cohesively, they both changed their settings so that they could see each other in Stealth.


    The two dummies also entered into Stealth.


    Truthfully, Lu Li had been meaning to research and look into these mechanical dummies. What was it exactly that gives them the intelligence and life to fight? Unfortunately, this wasn''t something that he could achieve as an Engineer.


    Mechanical dummies were Mekgineer Theramplugg''s specialty. Even Gelbin Mekkatorque, his fellow colleague and friend was completely impressed with him.


    He made sure that he would pay Thermaplugg a visit in the future to learn more about this, but right now, he had to deal with his creations first.


    Fortunately, the dummies weren''t much higher level than Lu Li and Water Fairy. Lu Li believed that these were most likely lv60 dummies, or else it wouldn''t make sense for Garona to make them fight them.


    Lu Li did not mess around, nor did he enter the range of the two Warrior dummies.


    Who knew if Thermaplugg had installed some kind of Stealth-detecting skill on the Warriors? Their primary objective right now was to take down one of the Thieves.


    Lu Li stayed close to Water Fairy.


    He was confident in not being detected because he was using Water Fairy as bait. Since he had Advanced Stealth and Water Fairy didn''t, as long as she wasn''t detected, then he wouldn''t be either.


    Although he was using her, he still felt the desire to protect her from any harm.


    He wanted to bait out the dummies to attack Water Fairy then rescue her by defeating them. He would be killing two birds with one stone.


    Lu Li detected a shadow nearby and he knew what to do immediately.


    He casted Hex in the same direction and it landed right on the dummy, revealing its identity.


    However, Lu Li and Water Fairy remained in stealth.


    They first needed to find the other Thief dummy. Water Fairy was no longer the bait because Lu Li had just casted Hex.


    Even though Lu Li was still in Stealth, there were many clues to determine the position of the caster.


    Firstly, based on the target location, one could judge the distance of the position of the caster. Additionally, when struck by Hex, the target would lean towards one side, giving the enemies further clues.


    Mekgineer Thermaplugg were familiar with Thief tendencies and his dummies would likely have similar battle experiences.


    Lu Li took a step back because he sensed something where he was standing before. The shadow of a Thief dummy slowly appeared.


    Lu Li laughed without making a sound.


    No matter how great the invention, it would still be artificial intelligence. No matter how great the design, it would always be limited by its designer. No matter how intelligent it was, nothing would ever defeat human intelligence because at the end of the day, it was just lines of code and pieces of metal.


    Lu Li jumped onto the dummy that was tricked.


    Water Fairy remained in Stealth. Based on her past experiences with Lu Li, she needed to wait a little more.


    If the Thief continued to be Hexed, then she could save her Hex for one of the Warriors. However, if the Thief could dispel the Hex then she would follow it up with her own.


    If her Hex was dispelled again then¡­ there was nothing they could do.


    Lu Li attacked the target. Water Fairy guessed correctly because the dummy dispelled the Hex, so she quickly followed it up with her own.


    After her Hex, she quickly joined Lu Li in bursting down the Thief.


    Lu Li did not use Kidney Strike after the stun even though he had enough combo points. Instead, he stood directly in front of the dummy.


    When the stun duration was over, the dummy tried avoiding Lu Li''s attack.


    How could Lu Li let him go that easily? He casted Gouge with all his focus because he knew that was what Garona was looking for.


    Gouge!


    System: Gouge completion rate 95%, target stunned for 1.5 seconds.


    Garona''s eyes lit up. Not only was it a moving target, but it was also a dummy with very high speed. Despite this, Lu Li was able to perform a 95% completion rate which showed how far her pupil had come.


    Lu Li was too focused to see how Garona reacted.


    He was slightly disappointed because the highest completion rate he had ever achieved was 98% when he was practicing with Water Fairy.


    Although he had casted a near perfect Gouge, the situation was still not ideal.


    Lu Li did not continue attacking the Thief but instead, he backed out to deal with the two Warriors. He crowd-controlled them both in order to create an advantageous fight for Water Fairy.


    The Hex duration was finally up as well.


    He was met with yet another Hex, but consecutive crowd-control skills would reduce the duration by half, which meant he would be free much faster.

 1337 Empowered Gouge

    Water Fairy had to face this Thief Puppet alone. Lu Li couldn''t help her on this one, or else Garona wouldn''t see as highly of her.


    Although Garona was nice to Water Fairy, Water Fairy wasn''t her real student. Since they requested a trial, it meant that the trial results would be very important.


    You could never be too good in front of an NPC.


    Lu Li dealt with three other monsters by himself so that Water Fairy could focus on the one before her. Lu Li didn''t actually need to worry about her at all.


    No matter what, she was still a celebrity player and had faced challenges of her own. There was no way that she would become weak just because someone was watching over her. Just by her technique alone, she could make it into the top ten Thieves in the game. With her equipment and skills, she could easily be the top five. Only a few players like Lu Li, Wood Fearing, Blood Dagger and a few others could put up a fight against her.


    Water Fairy gave the Thief before her a stab first.


    If she had continued to use Gouge after Lu Li had successfully controlled it, the completion level wouldn''t be too low. However, considering that it was a stationary target, her evaluation won''t be as great.


    While Lu Li was busy dealing with the three monsters, he was also paying attention to Water Fairy''s battle on the side.


    Water Fairy didn''t panic and she wasn''t in a rush to use Gouge either. Instead, she battled back and forth with this Thief puppet. She was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use her skill.


    The Thief puppet''s daggers twisted and turned with incredible agility. Its joint movements were silent, and if it wasn''t for the fact that its face was a simple, featureless mask, Lu Li would have found it hard to believe that it was just a puppet.


    He hoped that in the future he could take one of these puppets back with him for research.


    Of course, it wasn''t reasonable for him to ask for one from Garona now. The game still needed some balance. If Lu Li took a puppet of such high battle standard with him, he would be way too strong. The other players might as well just uninstall.


    The Thief puppet dashed in and landed an attack on Water Fairy.


    Lu Li didn''t believe that Water Fairy would get controlled so easily, so he stayed put and didn''t try to help. As he had expected, the target that the attack landed on shattered into pieces like glass. The puppet Thief immediately knew that it had hit an illusion.


    The real one was possibly behind him!


    He turned, but what greeted him was a cold light. Water Fairy decided this time to target the eyes of the puppet Thief. Mechanical units were also weak around the eyes like other units. The System announced that she had a completion level of 96% and had stunned her target for 1.6 seconds.


    Her completion level was even higher than Lu Li''s.


    Water Fairy did not have more understanding about the skill than Lu Li did, and not to mention, many of the tricks and tips were taught to her by Lu Li. It was just that she had chosen a different timing to him


    Lu Li''s Gouge was forceful; there was no waiting. After his Cheap Shot ended, he violently Gouged at the mechanical puppet.


    He was also under pressure from a few other monsters.


    However, the scenario was different for Water Fairy. She only had to face one Thief puppet and didn''t need to worry about the threat of the other three monsters. She never doubted Lu Li for a single moment.


    At the same time, she had also spent a lot of time preparing and picked the best moment to cast her spell.


    96% completion level ¨C Garona nodded her head in satisfaction. Water Fairy''s performance relied on a lot of pre-planning and external factors, but to be able to reach such a high completion level still showed that both her and Lu Li didn''t slack off from practicing.


    After Garona was satisfied, Lu Li and Water Fairy could finally use their Empowerment: Gouge skill books.


    Compared to normal skills, Empowerment skills greatly improved the quality of a spell. A prime example would be the Stealth that Lu Li had already learnt.


    Stealth: Instant Cast, Cooldown Time: 8 seconds. Allows Thieves to conceal themselves


    until the effects run out.


    Empowered Stealth: Instant cast, hides a Thief until Stealth mode disappears. Effect of stealth increases. Under environments with shadow, the stealth effect receives another further improvement. Random special effect ¨C Bat Transformation. After the use of this special effect, the caster will turn into a bat to fly to a designated location within a certain range. Cooldown 2 minutes.


    Now, Gouge had also received its own Empowerment.


    Empowered Gouge: Gouges the head area of the target, leaving it paralysed for 1.2 seconds. The paralysis effect increases based on the completion level. This skill can only be used when the target is facing you. Damage will interrupt the effect. Random special effect: there is a certain chance to cause damage to a Gouged target without interrupting the paralysis effect. Cooldown 20 seconds.


    Compared to the basic Gouge, this was a great improvement. The basic paralysis time had been increased by another 0.2 seconds.


    The paralysis effect also improved based on the completion level, which didn''t only translate to a simple improvement on time. There was also a hidden attribute to it. There was a bonus for Gouge towards targets with higher resistance, such as elites and even semi-bosses.


    The full 1.2 second duration would probably be effective on regular monsters, but if the target was an elite monster, it would be lucky if it even lasted a second long. Against a semi-boss, the skill probably won''t even stun for half a second. As for Bosses, they were out of the equation. Most Bosses weren''t usually affected by crowd-control.


    After this, there was the randomized special effect. The randomized special effect this time for Gouge was quite good.


    Probability was a hard thing to rely on, but if you were lucky with your chances, the random special effects were generally very useful. Gouge usually came with two downsides. The first was that it could only be activated when you and the target were facing each other. The second was that any sources of damage would cause the crowd-control effect to be interrupted.


    As such, there weren''t a lot of players out there who valued the completion level of Gouge. Everyone used this skill to gain the initiating hand at the start.


    Once Gouge was successful, players would obtain the chance to attack first. No one would wait until the paralysis effect was over to attack, and once they attacked, the paralysis effect would end. As such, there was no difference between a 1 second or 2 second paralysis.


    But what if the first attack no longer interrupted the paralysis effect?


    This would be equivalent to the caster gaining another chance to attack, and was crucial to battles with players at the same level. The Empowered skill that they learned this time was worth the value and Reputation that they had spent.


    Speaking of Reputation, Lu Li''s heart was aching.


    Since the Empowerment skill was given by his teacher, Garona did the best that she could. However, just because she was Lu Li''s teacher didn''t mean that she was going to give him a Reputation discount. All the Reputation that he had stocked up for so long was almost depleted now.


    Even if there was a new Empowerment skill placed before him at this very moment, he wouldn''t have any more Reputation to learn it.


    "Teacher, is there anything else I can be of service to?" Lu Li asked shamelessly, then continued, "You now, knives have to be constantly ground to keep their edge. Your disciple is not one to fear challenges."


    He sounded so high and almighty, but at the end of the day, he really just wanted more quests. Water Fairy wanted to laugh while listening on the side.


    Lu Li couldn''t help it; his Charm level was too low. It was too difficult for him to receive quests in general, but how could he possibly get Reputation otherwise? All that Lu Li could do was to beg his teacher. After all, his teacher wouldn''t deny him from quests just because he didn''t have enough Charm.


    No matter how ugly he was, he was still her child!

 1338 Class Trainer

    Garona was helpless; she didn''t have many quests to give.


    In Dawn, it wasn''t the powerful NPCs who had a lot of quests ¨C instead, it was the Blacksmith NPC uncles and tailor-store NPC aunties. As long as your Charm level was high enough, any quest beyond your imagination could appear.


    But then again, these minor NPCs did not distribute very rewarding quests. It would almost be impossible for players to earn much Reputation in this way.


    "Perhaps you should try the hostess in Southshore. She needs some helpers. By the way, if you do want to help her, it''s best to go disguised."


    As a possible executive of the Ravenholdt Manor, it was only natural that Garona knew about the hostess.


    Lu Li achieved his goals and left happily. Water Fairy was also someone who was in desperate need of Reputation, so she went along with Lu Li. Considering that she was also a part of the manor, she could complete any quest that Lu Li was capable of accepting.


    Southshore was still popular as usual, especially after the battle of Hillsbrad a while ago.


    Although the map had shrunk back to its original size, it was still enough to fit tens of thousands of players in the area. The monsters that refreshed in this zone were around level 30 to 50, so players that were used to the environment were happy to stay.


    There were some beautiful dancers currently dancing in the bar.


    Both the NPCs and the adventurers watched closely; none of them paid attention to Lu Li and Water Fairy who had entered. The two of them silently positioned themselves in front of the hostess and found a place to sit.


    It had been a while since the Hostess had seen these two regulars.


    She quickly sorted out the customers before her and grabbed two light beers before seating herself across from them.


    "It''s been a long time since the two of you have visited. I thought you had forgotten that you are part of the organization."


    Lu Li and Water Fairy exchanged glances with a bitter smile.


    "A lot has happened, we came here as soon as we were available."


    It was mainly because of the competition. At the same time, it was also the fact that both Lu Li and Water Fairy felt like the quests given out by Ravenholdt Manor were too difficult. Almost every single quest required a great amount of time and energy. These quests also gave out Ravenholdt Manor Reputation as their main reward; they rarely gave out Reputation that could be used elsewhere.


    "Alright, I do have a quest for the two of you," the Hostess said, cutting straight to the point.


    Ravenholdt Manor was one of the greatest secret organizations in Azeroth. Unfortunately, their numbers were limited and they weren''t as famous as SI:7, who were affiliated with Stormwind City. There were also a few Thief organizations out there which were a lot more famous than Ravenholdt Manor.


    "We''ll do our best to complete the mission."


    Lu Li and Water Fairy both knew that the main story was about to unravel.


    "Uhm... this quest can''t be done together. The two of you will have to head out to different cities," the Hostess said, then looked at them and explained, "You''ll be sent off to the Class Training Hall in the city and serve there as a class trainer¡­"


    Lu Li almost spat his beer out and even Water Fairy was left in shock.


    They both doubted their ears. They had previously imagined the quest to be difficult, or to be handed an easier quest with useless rewards. Neither of them expected the content to be so ridiculous.


    Lu Li had never heard of this kind of quest before.


    "This time, we can only assign two cities. One is Darnassus, and the other is Stormwind City. The two of you can take your own pick and the details are in this ''Class Trainer Handbook''..." the hostess continued as she took out two books. The book with a green cover represented Darnassus while the book with a blue cover represented Stormwind City.


    "Which one do you want?" Lu Li asked.


    "I''ll take Darnassus. I like the view there," Water Fairy said as she reached for the green book. She wasn''t going to hold back from Lu Li.


    It was a shame that they couldn''t quest together anymore; Lu Li felt a little disappointed at this.


    "You can''t let the adventurers know who you are, or else the quest will fail," the hostess said strictly. "Next comes the reward ¨C when you successfully teach an adventurer a skill, hand out a quest and have the adventurer complete it, you can receive rewards. There is no time limit to this quest; it will be continued until you give up or are discovered¡­"


    Everything, literally everything about the game that the two of them had known had been turned upside down.


    It was as if they had started the game in the wrong mode, or if someone had hacked it. Should they report to the gaming company that such a bug existed?


    Besides the quest book, they also received a bunch of other strange items used to fake their NPC identity. It seemed like this was legitimate, as they also received a quest announcement. Everything was following the usual protocol.


    "We can get players from our guild to help. Just the Thieves alone in our guild would be enough for us to benefit for a long time," Water Fairy said.


    The girl was smart, but her thinking was a little na?ve. Lu Li shook his head and suggested, "We should probably keep it lowkey. What if we run into someone who''s not so trustworthy? Then our secret will be revealed. If any random jumps before us, points at us and tells everyone that we are players, then the quest would fail straightaway. I don''t know about the punishment for the quest, but at the very least, we won''t receive any more rewards."


    In fact, even telling someone who you thought was trustworthy was not 100% safe either.


    This trustworthy friend of yours could have other friends who they thought were trustworthy. Everyone had their own little circle and when a secret was circulated, it would no longer be a secret. It would only be a matter of time before it reached the ears of an enemy.


    There was no way they would sit around and let Lu Li and Water Fairy gain Experience and Reputation so easily.


    Water Fairy thought about it briefly and agreed. She was just overwhelmed by the great prospect of gaining Experience and Reputation, and hastily reacted to the situation. She was also surprised by how clearly Lu Li saw through everything straight away.


    In terms of craftiness, Water Fairy wasn''t close to Lu Li. She was the type who liked to plan things directly and achieve them with an almost oppressing strength.


    On the other hand, Lu Li''s background meant that he didn''t have the ability to make direct plans in the first place. Whether people called it smart tactics or craftiness, he used whatever he could. It was a common occurrence for him to be guessing over people''s thoughts and intentions.


    "Guess we can only follow the standard procedure," Water Fairy said. She checked the items that the hostess passed over and found a mask.


    Lu Li searched for a bit and also found that he had a mask in his bag. The mask had no attributes or descriptions. As soon as Lu Li placed the mask on his face, his body began to shapeshift.


    His size didn''t change, but he transformed from a Night Elf to a Human.


    He had transformed into a middle-aged human, and a bald one too. He also had a beard around his face. If it wasn''t for the fact that he was still wearing player-styled equipment, Water Fairy probably wouldn''t be able to recognize him.


    Even though Lu Li had a few pieces of equipment on him that belonged to the same set, he also had random pieces of equipment all from various sources. NPCs were different. Their clothing style aligned as one, especially class trainers ¨C they almost all wore full sets.


    The System then requested Lu Li to name himself.


    When players interacted with an NPC, they could only see the NPC''s name if he or she was important. Most of the time, players didn''t need to enquire what the NPCs were called.


    Ed Harris.


    Lu Li couldn''t recall why he thought of the name; it just popped out of nowhere. From that moment on, he became Ed Harris, the Thief Class Trainer.


    Water Fairy also put her mask on, but her image was a whole lot better.


    This was an almost perfect Night Elf beauty; her first impression was cold and noble. If she changed her clothes into the common clothing that female Thief trainers usually wore, the kind that stuck tightly to the body, then she would definitely be another beautiful scene in Darnassus.


    "Sherry, my English name," this unfamiliar Night Elf lady said.


    Even Lu Li couldn''t judge who she was by appearance alone, so he believed that no one else could tell her identity. Even those in real life who knew of her real English name wouldn''t be connecting the two together, because Sherry was such a common name.


    "I''m Ed Harris, nice to meet you," Lu Li said as he bowed with the common noblemen courtesy.


    "Harris, I think we need some equipment ¨C equipment that will have people thinking that we''re real NPCs," Water Fairy suggested as she spun around on the spot. She was wearing a beautiful set of leather gear, the type that was less revealing.


    "Garb of Thero-shan seems like a good set. You could try that," Lu Li said as he checked his own attributes. After becoming an NPC, he didn''t need to use his equipment to boost himself anymore. As an NPC, his attributes were almost three times stronger than his usual state.


    If he were to fight the player version of himself now, he could easily take himself down in 30 seconds.


    As such, it didn''t matter what they wore. Unfortunately, they wouldn''t be able to wear this nameless mask outside the city and they wouldn''t be able to attack players without being provoked.


    Otherwise, his attributes would be ideal for taking out monsters and levelling.


    "Thero-shan, sure. I''ll do that," Water Fairy said as she smiled discreetly. Considering that she cared a lot about visual appearance when it came to equipment, she knew exactly what each set looked like.


    As for Thero-shan, what made it unique was how little it exposed.


    It revealed no legs or waist, and even the chest area was well-covered compared to other available sets out there. The only exposed areas were the face and the hands.


    Of course, Water Fairy knew what Lu Li was thinking. If anyone else dared to boss her around like this, she would have ignored them.


    But right now, she was just happy over what Lu Li was thinking.

 1339 Retired Veteran

    "Then you can wear the Boneshard set."


    Water Fairy wasn''t someone who liked to lose. Since Lu Li had helped her pick a set, she also had to return the favour.


    "Boneshard is a set that doesn''t seem to have any features that stand out," Lu Li said in response. He had already conducted some research into that set.


    This was a set of equipment that Thief could easily acquire, but no one would choose to use it. The words that Lu Li chose were already quite forgiving, but it was actually a rubbish set of items. Of the whole eight pieces of equipment in the set, almost all of them were Elite and the highest level was Gold.


    Lu Li couldn''t understand why anyone would equip it.


    "Do it, because it looks good."


    Water Fairy made it seem like her reason was irrefutable and Lu Li didn''t have the strength to argue otherwise. In retrospect, he had seen some Thieves wearing the Boneshard set around the city who would take it off when they ventured outside. At first, Lu Li had thought they were insane, but it turned out he was insane too.


    After choosing the equipment they wanted, they didn''t need to go and collect it themselves.


    Shen Wansan quickly mailed the two sets of equipment within a few minutes of the conversation. he didn''t even ask why Lu Li wanted it.


    Lu Li put on the Boneshard set and immediately turned into handsome Mediterranean man.


    Water Fairy put on the Thero-Shan, which Lu Li thought would have a more conservative style. However, after she equipped it, Lu Li was a little annoyed. Why were there no outfits that properly covered her? Her face was covered, but it still highlighted her body''s curves¡­


    In any case, the two had to part ways for now.


    There was a new Thief that had come to the Profession Hall of Stormwind City. No one was paying much attention to them.


    The NPCs in the city often transformed from one form into another, which made the gaming


    experience even more realistic. The Game Company had ambitiously tried to create a real world where the locals lived out real lives with the joy and sorrow that came along with it.


    Ed Harris had come from the Stormwind City slums, and would follow a veteran''s guidance to study to become a Thief.


    He would later enter the Seventh Regiment under further guidance from the veteran.


    With the sharp decline in numbers of the Brotherhood of the Horse and the loss of the Alliance Vanguard in Draeren, there was currently a void in the Alliance''s military. Whether you liked it or not, the inhabitants of Azeroth weren''t going to police themselves and so the Seventh Regiment came into existence.


    They were differentiated by the fact that they were an elite force. They had been selected from those who had faced the Horde army that had been commanded by the great Chief Kor''kron. The Seventh Regiment''s status as an elite force was gained over time.


    They started as a standard regiment of the Alliance, but they had since experienced countless bloody battles and marched through every corner of Azeroth.


    They had fought against demons, struggled against alien insects and defended against natural disasters. These days, they fought for the security of the Alliance. In terms of combat prowess, The Seventh Regiment definitely stood out.


    As such, the fact that Lu Li was associated with them was very impressive.


    Lu Li''s exposed skin was covered in scars from all the battles he had experienced. The soldiers who inspected him at the entrance of Stormwind City immediately bowed to him.


    Lu Li actually wanted to reject this gesture.


    He wanted to make a low-profile entry to the city so he could slowly familiarise himself with the procedures and become a professional trainer.


    But now, any hope of such a thing was lost. When the soldiers paid their respects to this handsome looking man, the players immediately cast their attention to him and some even followed him.


    They knew that when a new NPC arrived, it also meant that new quests had arrived.


    There were perhaps some Hidden Quests too ¨C this was particularly exciting for some players that enjoyed daydreaming about themselves as the protagonist of their own stories. In fact, Dawn did not have any true Hidden Quests, but they did have some unique quests that could only be completed by one player.


    Lu Li quickly walked into Stormwind.


    The most perfect lie was one that you told to yourself.


    He had to convince himself that he was Ed Harris, who had been born in the in Northshire Abbey. When he was very young, he moved to Stormwind with his father. He remembered lying on his father''s back and listening to him bargaining for a few copper coins. He also remembered waking up in the afternoon one day to the horror of being unable to find his parents when an army of Orcs broke into the city.


    Since then, not only had he become an orphan, but he was also alone.


    The battle which destroyed the city left behind many people that were similar to him. However, His Majesty didn''t give up on them. He gave them food to eat and sent them to be trained in various professions.


    Harris vowed to defend the city and was willing to give up his life for it.


    Although the fact that this city was controlled by aristocrats had its drawbacks, it wasn''t that bad for someone who had seen the destruction of their home. After all, weren''t things slowly getting better?


    No one would doubt this hero.


    Lu Li didn''t know where the real Harris was, whether he was killed or assassinated. It had once even been said that he was a member of the organisation¡­


    However, these things were unimportant. Lu Li was Harris and Harris was back!


    First, he returned to the military where an officer received him. Lu Li''s Harris form seemed much older than the major, so the major was very respectful towards him.


    "Lieutenant, thank you for your long-term contributions to the Alliance. I will now award you the Alliance Medal on behalf of the Stormwind Military. You can then go on to do whatever you want to," the Major said seriously as he finally stood up before handing over a small box.


    Most retired officers had this item, and it could help them solve many of their problems.


    Lu Li participated in the ceremony. He accepted the box and took out to Alliance Medial before affixing it to his chest. With this as a guarantee, no one in the entire Stormwind City would second-guess him.


    "Long live the Alliance!"


    "Long live the Alliance!"


    Two soldiers shouted loudly before he made his final farewell. Lu Li then took an old bag before leaving the military camp to travel to the profession training hall.


    Before long, the new Thief profession trainer Ed Harris was online.


    There were many trainers in the profession training hall of Stormwind City. In general, they were divided into two major groups. The first was of Combat professions and the other was of Trade professions. As their names suggested, they each targeted different groups of players.


    In the Combat profession group, everyone was divided into two further groups according to their level.


    The higher-level trainers were called profession training instructors. They were all senior Thieves or even Thief Masters. Of course, these high-level profession training instructors didn''t appear very often.


    There was also the kind Lu Li was a part of - a profession trainer.


    If you were to give him an extra prefix, you could call Lu Li a trainee professional trainer.

 1340 May Your Dagger Be Sharp Forever

    After the formalities were completed, Lu Li was informed of where he would be on duty. He was also directed to his dorm in the back of the Professions Hall.


    Lu Li didn''t plan to live in that dorm. There were so many people that might blow his cover, because he couldn''t just stay there the whole time like a normal NPC would.


    The person in charge of the dorms didn''t mind too much, but he was still happy to assign a room.


    Lu Li had rented a house in the residential building opposite of the Professions Hall. The landlord was the owner of the bakery below. The owner didn''t really have much to say to handsome Mediterranean man and was just focused on the bakery.


    The place where Lu Li was on duty was in the corner of the Professions Hall.


    There was a whole row of professional trainers from various professions, not just Thieves. As such, he could leave at any time, but he needed to make sure that he completed enough work each week.


    The main task of a professional trainer was to teach, and issue quests occasionally.


    Lu Li''s booklet would constantly refresh with a variety of different quests. Occasionally, there would be places where another NPC-issued quest involved him, and he would be asked to be at those places for the player to continue.


    Of course, there was still no obligation for him to go there. The professional trainers generally led a pretty relaxed life.


    Lu Li was satisfied with those rules. His only concern was that the quests would affect other aspects of Dawn. After all, he was a very busy person. He had to manage the club and the guild, he needed to level in Instance Dungeons and there was also¡­ Water Fairy.


    The players that saw Lu Li entering the city immediately rushed over.


    "Uncle, do you need help with anything?"


    "Please, I''m not your uncle. Look at you ¨C if anything, you would be the uncle," he inwardly thought. Lu Li wanted to throw up, but he didn''t reveal anything on his face.


    "I''m sorry, if you need to find a professional trainer, then the Paladin professional trainer will definitely be helpful to you," he said gently.


    The implication was that since he was a Paladin, he had no business receiving quests from a Thief professional trainer.


    There were a few other non-Thief players that tried the same thing and got the same result. This was unsurprising for someone like Ed Harris, but even when there were some Thieves that expressed their interest, the quests that they received were relatively menial, so they felt like it was a waste of their time.


    Ed Harris, who was originally surrounded by a crowd of players, was soon left alone.


    "Hello, I want to learn some skills."


    A young Thief had come in from the outside and made a few rounds of the professional trainers before coming to Lu Li.


    "Oh, good child, what skills do you want to learn?"


    Since it was their first interaction, Lu Li tried to be kind. Thanks to the handsome Mediterranean look he had, he wasn''t too intimidating.


    "Backhand Backstab. How much does that cost?" the little Thief asked, trying not to be too nervous.


    "13 Silver coins, thank you," Lu Li said after he glanced at his booklet which read, ''Backhand Backstab ¨C for a young player ¨C 13-15 silver coins.''


    Different Prestige, Charisma and Luck values would affect the final pricing. These were the factors that were considered by the NPCs when issuing prices. The price listed was between 13-15 silver and if he wanted to charge more he could.


    Lu Li didn''t really care about some silver coins, so he just charged the lowest amount.


    Backhand Backstab was a skill that wasn''t taught by the professional trainers in the beginning. However, as the game progressed, the number of skills that the professional trainers were allowed to teach increased while the amount of gold required to learn them decreased.


    Of course, the players who had entered the game earlier were dissatisfied about this, but the customer service reply was quite simple.


    "You could have just waited, as the skills you wanted would become cheaper in future as well."


    The young player heard the price and let out a sigh. It seemed as though he wasn''t that rich.


    "Here are 13 silver coins."


    Lu Li taught the player Backhand Backstab following the procedure listed on the booklet. It was fairly easy and quick to complete.


    There was a System prompt for the young player to learn Backhand Backstab, and Lu Li also receive a prompt to say that it was successful.


    The System then prompted Lu Li that he had gained some EXP and Prestige. It wasn''t that much compared to what he had acquired before, but it was still worthwhile considering the effort required.


    Lu Li suddenly felt compassionate and called out to the player that had just learned the skill and was about to leave.


    "Wait a minute."


    "Is there anything else, Mr Harris?" the little Thief asked as he ran back to him obediently.


    "Do you see that wooden stake? Go and attack it with your newly learned Backhand Backstab." Each professional trainer had a field behind him with four wooden stakes that were designed to measure the player''s DPS, Skill Completion, Skill effects and more.


    "Alright, Mr Harris."


    The young Thief was a bit immature, but he definitely wasn''t stupid. When he realized that he was receiving some coaching, his eyes lit up.


    The young player was in Automatic Mode. Although Automatic Mode didn''t have the Skill Completion stat, there were some clear upper and lower limits that would be enforced. As usual, a more precise attack would allow the player to deal more damage.


    First, the player used some normal skills to gain some combo points before casting the skill for 126 damage.


    The face of the young player was clearly disappointed with the damage of this Ultimate Skill. After all, the normal skills that he had cast to gain the combo points also dealt damage like this.


    This was his first Ultimate Skill, and it had been quite underwhelming.


    His idea of gaining a power-spike had been completely foiled.


    "Sorry, Mr Harris, I have let you down."


    At least the young player was polite, even though he thought he was just interacting with an NPC.


    "My child, please do not lose hope," Lu Li said warmly.


    He came over and took the dagger from the young player and switched back to Automatic Mode. He used a few skills to gain some combo points before casting a normal Backhand Backstab.


    The damage that resulted was so exaggerated that the young player couldn''t keep his mouth closed.


    "Did you see that?" Lu Li asked.


    The young player nodded dumbly. He saw how Lu Li had moved and had learned a lot from it.


    "Go my child. May your dagger be sharp forever."


    Lu Li returned the weapon to the young player and slowly walked back to his position. He had a wise expression on his face as he rubbed his chin of stubble. He had just perfectly demonstrated himself as a master.

 1341 A Positive Evaluation

    A player who saw that whole scene was touched and immediately ran over to try his luck.


    "Hello Mr Harris. I want to learn Kidney Shot."


    He felt like Mr Ed Harris was the most human out of all the trainers.


    "I''m sorry, I can''t just teach you that skill."


    This answer disappointed the player, but Lu Li quickly added with a smile, "But if you do me a favour, I can consider giving it to you."


    Kidney Shot was a Thief crowd-control skill, which made it more valuable than Backhand Backstab. It was impossible for the System to give it to the player directly.


    Lu Li glanced at the booklet and found that the player could obtain it by completing a quest. He personally wouldn''t have done this to the player, but it was something a real NPC would do.


    "Really? Mr Harris, wait no, Grandpa Harris, you are such a good person," the Thief sniffed. He was about to start crying.


    "Respected¡­" Lu Li muttered as he looked for the player''s name in the booklet, "Phone Cover¡­ Cough, what a strange name. Regardless, I am glad that you are eager to solve this problem for me, but I first have to ask you a question."


    "If there is a wolf in your way, how will you choose to get past it? One option is to go around, another option is to kill the wolf, another is to sneak past and the last is to wait for backup."


    Phone Cover was dumbfounded ¨C what kind of question was this?


    "I would kill the wolf, Grandpa Harris. Have I chosen incorrectly?"


    After seeing Lu Li''s expression turn a bit sour, Phone Cover thought that he had chosen the wrong option.


    "You didn''t, child. There is no right or wrong answer. You now need to kill Bridgeman to get what you want. Bridgeman is a Northshire Abbey Paladin, but he is undercover. Humph, we have known for some time that he is actually a Blood Elf," Lu Li said as he looked at the player sympathetically, then added, "But you cannot team up or seek help from anyone."


    There were no right or wrong answers from the four options.


    The only difference was that picking the first option would mean the player would have a slightly cumbersome but not too risky quest. They would only need to expose Bridgeman. The second option was the hardest task, as the player had to face Bridgeman alone.


    The fourth option meant that the player could team up to kill Bridgeman, which was quite low risk as well.


    However, the easiest option was the third one. All you had to do was go to a Stormwind City NPC to inform them about Bridgeman, which was also part of a Thief''s role.


    Unfortunately, in a demonstration of his bravery, Phone Cover had decided to choose the second one. This meant that he had to kill the NPC traitor of the same level alone. If Lu Li was in his position, he wouldn''t have a problem doing it, but this player hadn''t even learned Kidney Shot, so he couldn''t have known much else.


    However, he quickly also realized that things were better than he thought.


    When Phone Cover made this choice and the new quest appeared, Lu Li found two bottles of potions in his hands. Both of them increased attack power by 50% for 10 minutes, which was enough to last to whole battle.


    "You can use this potion to defeat Bridgeman, but you will need to defeat him before your time runs out. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome."


    After Lu Li calculated how long it would take, he decided to keep one of the bottles. Ten minutes for an effect like this was quite generous.


    If he couldn''t deal with Bridgeman in ten minutes, there was no point giving him another potion.


    This quest had given Lu Li two bottles of this potion. One of them was supposed to be the quest reward.


    "Thank you, Grandpa Harris. You really are a living Buddha."


    Phone Cover was so moved that he almost cried again. He had felt like he was at a dead end, but he was so lucky to have found an NPC as kind as Mr Harris. As for the potion that Lu Li kept from him, there was no way of him knowing.


    Even though two people completed same quest in the Dawn, the reward didn''t have to be the same. This was common sense.


    "Go and come back quickly. May our ancestors be with you," Lu Li said mercifully.


    With two good interactions, Lu Li''s business seemed to be going well. There were always players coming in to learn skills and pick up quests, but the most important job for him was learning skills. After all, he was a professional trainer.


    Most of them were basic skills that weren''t too difficult. Unlike other professional trainers, Lu Li would let the player practice once and then he would demonstrate once. The amount that they gained from that demonstrated varied, but all the players were inevitably grateful to him.


    There was a professional trainer that was very well liked that had come the Stormwind City. This news quickly spread throughout the mainstream players.


    Even Water Fairy received the news. On her end, her start was even smoother than Lu Li''s. After all, she was a beautiful woman no matter what she was wearing. With that face, she could even attract the eyes of Darnassus. Her equipment subtly highlighted her figure, creating look of great beauty.


    However, as time went on, she didn''t do as well as Lu Li did.


    After all, the players in the game wanted to advance in the game and many didn''t have time to look at beautiful NPCs. She was not that different from the other NPCs that were beautiful. Sometimes, the players would even think she wasn''t as skilled as an older professional trainer, so she didn''t get much business.


    "You could explain the skills to the new people," Lu Li said to Water Fairy as he was demonstrating a skill.


    No one had discovered Mr Harris'' secret yet. They just felt that Harris'' smile was full of encouragement and kindness. The players would silently swear to be Mr Harris'' lifelong student and to carry on the skills that they had learned.


    "I''m afraid I''ll say something wrong. The more I talk, the more I risk exposing myself," Water Fairy said helplessly.


    "I am learning to talk like the NPCs in the game. As long as you speak and act like an NPC, then they probably won''t find out," Lu Li explained, giving her something to focus on. Water Fairy had analysed the way that the NPCs spoke, and this gave her another chance.


    "May your dagger be sharp forever," Lu Li said as he sent off another apprentice before seeing his EXP move slightly.


    He had gained a lot EXP today by teaching the players'' skills or helping them complete quests. The progress he was currently making was at least ten times faster than farming normally.


    After a period of competition and the preparations for the establishment of a training camp, there had been a long break and Lu Li had dropped off the Level Rankings for a few days.


    Today, he was making a comeback. He had returned to the top 100 and was climbing up the rankings at an exaggerated pace.


    This had already attracted a lot of attention. There had even been players sent to investigate where Lu Li was farming, but no one had seen him anywhere. Water Fairy was also steadily climbing the ranks in a similar way.


    The couple was up to no good again; they were hiding somewhere and levelling together!


    The EXP that they gained was great, but the more important thing was the Prestige they acquired. Prestige wasn''t something that was easily accumulated even after doing quests.


    Lu Li found that when the players learned a skill and were satisfied by it, the more respect they showed and the more Prestige he would gain.


    "Please, give me a positive evaluation!"

 1342 A Chance Encounter With Floral Paralysis

    Lu Li stood in front of an unshaven human male Thief.


    "Hello, Mr Harris."


    "Hello, adventurer, what can I do for you?"


    Lu Li ignored the unruly look that this player had given him and remained polite, staying within character. Ed Harris was indeed a patient, caring, pure and kind Mediterranean man.


    "I''m not here to learn a skill," the man said proudly. "I hear that you are very powerful and I am here to seek your instruction."


    Although he was asking for instruction, there was no humility in his request. This person obviously wanted to defeat his professional trainer so that he could show off to everyone. There were many other people waiting for Lu Li nearby, and some had even started lining up to learn skills or begin quests.


    The other professional trainers in Dawn also performed similar functions.


    Not only could players challenge one another, but the players could also challenge the NPCs. It was just that not many players dared to do such a thing.


    It just wasn''t worth it!


    Challenging an NPC professional trainer to save 5 gold was just not something normal people who would to do.


    Moreover, if you won the battle and the NPC was a good sport that would be fine, but if they weren''t, you would lose some Prestige. This meant that you would be wasting money and time. If you lost the battle, then you would also lose some EXP. It was the same penalty as dying in the Wild.


    "Alright, my child. Whatever happens, your courage is impressive," Lu Li said, accepting the challenge of the player.


    Of course, in order to deal with some of the strength disparity between the two sides, the System would automatically do some balancing. This was the give the player at least some hope of victory.


    However, Lu Li''s Attributes were at least 20% higher than this player. This 20% strength difference might not have been fatal in the eyes of an ordinary player, but Lu Li wasn''t an ordinary player. With such a strength difference, Lu Li was easily able to defeat him.


    This time, Lu Li didn''t even use any skills!


    He didn''t go into Stealth or use any crowd-control. Instead, he just stabbed his challenger to death with his dagger.


    The audience was silent; there wasn''t even a single person calling out.


    Lu Li was a little embarrassed. Would these players start to feel some hostility towards him after seeing one of their own abused like that?


    He didn''t even want to think about who was possibly present in the crowd.


    Those who needed to find NPCs to learn skills from were generally the lower-levelled players. This was a scene they had seen before, where someone had overestimated their own ability. The star players in the crowd would subconsciously feel like they wouldn''t have lost so depressingly.


    Lu Li suddenly became a guru in the eyes of those who were watching.


    As such, on the very first day of becoming an NPC, Lu Li had gained a great amount of Prestige. He had acquired so much more than Water Fairy had in Darnassus.


    The female tycoon wasn''t doing too badly, but she hadn''t been nearly as shameless as Lu Li. He was able to lie through his teeth, fake a genuine expression and ruthlessly defeat players that tried to offend him.


    The defeated player''s face was sheepish. He had originally thought that he could bully this NPC. After all, artificial intelligence was still not as good as the human brain.


    The games that he used to play followed this rule. The monsters were for him to farm and the NPCs were there to serve him. He was going to do well in this game, gather a group of loyal followers and wait for the opportunity to set up a guild.


    He had no plans of making himself a king, but after entering a club and participating in the professional competitions, he would be able to defraud some money from the investors.


    However, he didn''t expect that his plan would take so long.


    What made him even more defeated was that this smiling NPC had actually deducted 60 points of his Prestige. He didn''t have much left as that was the amount he had earned over the last few days.


    Even lower-levelled players knew that Prestige was a very important thing to have.


    He couldn''t bear to stick around for much long, so the player hurriedly left without any words of accusation.


    Lu Li coughed, almost as if to ask if there was anything else. He felt quite cool with the ability to deduct the Prestige of others. Lu Li felt no sympathy for someone who tried to use their Prestige to swindle others.


    After seeing Lu Li beat up a player like that, the other players were even more convinced about him.


    In the eyes of these rookies, Lu Li was like a hermit in the city. They started lining up more aggressively and finishing their quests more efficiently. Not to mention, they were also very satisfied with Lu Li. When they submitted their evaluations, they were all five-stars, which meant that Lu Li''s EXP and Prestige skyrocketed.


    If he didn''t have to worry about gaining practical fighting experience and some other issues, Lu Li would likely just have stayed there as an NPC.


    With regards to the rankings, Lu Li had just entered the top 30 on the list and was currently ranked 28th. In just a few hours, he had climbed more than 80 positions on the Level Rankings which was almost unheard of.


    What was even more ridiculous was that no one knew where or how he was farming.


    Lu Li had just sent off another excited little Thief, but when he looked at the next player, he couldn''t help but want to throw up.


    The next guy was a star player, who had come here to join in on the fun. Could the Azure Guard not afford this guy''s skills?


    It was Floral Paralysis ¨C Azure Guard''s star player.


    "Hello, esteemed adventurer. What can I do to help?"


    Lu Li hoped that he wasn''t here to challenge him and his heart was beating out of his chest. He couldn''t say that he wouldn''t be able to beat Floral Paralysis. Under normal conditions, Floral Paralysis didn''t even stand a chance and now he was guaranteed to be 20% stronger than him.


    The key issue was that Floral Paralysis was one the players who knew him best.


    Star players, especially those who were in the same profession, usually studied each other. No one was able to completely hide their fighting ability. Studying your opponent was not only good for defeating them, but also good for learning from them.


    Lu Li was one of the most studied players in the Thief profession by his competitors such as Blood Dagger, Wood Fearing, Floral Paralysis, Midnight Ghost, etc. Floral Paralysis had studied him countless times and learned many things from him.


    Almost all Thieves regarded Lu Li as a great rival, so how could they not study him? In some respects, Floral Paralysis knew Lu Li better than he knew himself. Once they two sides fought, it would be easy for him to start noticing some details.


    This was why Lu Li was afraid!


    Floral Paralysis was definitely going to expose him. If he started to even suspect that Harris was Lu Li, then the combined knowledge of that and Lu Li''s climb on the Level Rankings would be enough for him to make the connection that Lu Li was levelling by pretending to be an NPC.


    If Lu Li was in his position, he would definitely expose him to tear him down.

 1343 A Great Deception

    "Is there anything I can do for you?"


    Floral Paralysis'' expression seemed quite normal.


    In fact, Lu Li had worried for nothing. Floral Paralysis had heard that someone challenged this NPC and was crushed as a result, but he didn''t even consider doing such a thing himself. Even if he tried, the result would be the same.


    The gap between the star players and the ordinary players was not as simple as the ordinary player thought.


    Star players obviously weren''t able to take on teams on their own, but even when fighting a single player, their respective techniques were what mattered most. After a certain strength disparity, the weaker person would inevitably lose no matter how you fought.


    Floral Paralysis did feel an urge to challenge this NPC as well, because it was rare that an NPC would accept a player''s challenge.


    However, he did not dare to issue the challenge because he didn''t know how much Prestige he would lose.


    As long as the problem only involved money, it could be easily resolved. Once Prestige was at stake, the players would start to feel some pressure, especially professional players like Floral Paralysis.


    The reason that he had come to this Profession Hall was obviously not to learn some skills. He still had his Enhanced Skill Book in his backpack, but unfortunately, he faced an issue that almost all professional players were facing. He didn''t have enough Prestige to learn it.


    As such, he hoped that this new NPC would give him a quest that would increase his Prestige.


    Lu Li''s expression was strange for a second. He really wanted to laugh, because a star player was trying to serve him. This was one of the few things he could enjoy as an NPC. Floral Paralysis would never do this for Lu Li, no matter how strong he was.


    "Ahem, you look quite strong¡­"


    "I will not let you down," Floral Paralysis declared. He began to believe that Mr Harris was a fair NPC, as he was able to determine his strength at a glance.


    "But¡­ this is a very complicated quest," Lu Li said, deliberately speaking in a mysterious tone. Unfortunately, Floral Paralysis wasn''t paying that much attention and just continued listening to Lu Li.


    "So before the quest begins, you must complete another smaller task."


    "That is no problem, Mr Harris," Floral Paralysis responded without hesitation.


    If there were visible special effects, you would definitely see a dark aura coming off Lu Li at this point. He was planning something so evil that it was among the likes of Archimonde or Sargeras.


    What was the relationship between Lu Li and Floral Paralysis?


    If they met in reality, they could probably have a drink together. After all, they were both industry leaders and played the same profession, so they had plenty to relate on. Even though they competed fiercely against one another, Lu Li could even have a few beers with someone like Blood Dagger. Everyone could have a good time of drinking and banter with each other.


    However, in the game, and especially when it came to working in the game, things were different.


    They were all competitors!


    It was either kill or be killed. This was the attitude of the professional players and it was the most basic requirement of a star player.


    As such, Lu Li planned to deceive him right from the beginning.


    "Go and kill Rethban. He has offended a nobleman, and now his life is being demanded. It would also be best if you did this alone," Lu Li said solemnly.


    Floral Paralysis'' face suddenly turned blue.


    When it came to Barth Rethban, you had to know about Rethban Ore. And if Rethban Ore was involved, then you had to be ready to die, because Rethban ore was essential for Warriors.


    Rethban Ore was named after the first person who discovered it ¨C Barth Rethban.


    This kind of ore wasn''t as hard as iron after smelting it, but it had a pure black colour. Players who liked black weapons would often beat it into their weapons to gain a cold and dark effect. It could also be used as fuel and many scribes used it to make ink.


    There was also a very important quest for the Warrior profession that required Rethban ore.


    Rethban would guide them to the place where they could mine it. Without Rethban''s guidance, no one would be able to mine the ore. As such, the mining master was often surrounded by a group of Warriors. Rethban was also very likable, and many Warriors respected him like an uncle.


    If someone wanted to assassinate Rethban, they would have to face the Warriors'' anger.


    Moreover, the respawn time for Rethban was two hours, which meant that the Warriors wouldn''t be able to mine the ore for this time. When Floral Paralysis thought about the consequences of such an action, he felt a chill.


    "What''s wrong? Do you refuse to accept my test?" Mr. Harris asked coldly.


    What could he do? The NPC was waiting for him.


    Floral Paralysis asked Stellar Union Silver Radiant about the quest rewards. He received a positive answer ¨C since the pre-task involved killing a level 50 Boss, the quest reward would be quite worthwhile. The NPC had asked him to fight Rethban alone, but he could send some players to stop the Warriors.


    Of course, this was not without its drawbacks as it would draw the indignation of the ordinary players.


    Even so, they didn''t care ¨C if they worried about this and that, then the major guilds would never develop. The ordinary players were mostly part of a guild, which meant that plundering and being plundered was just part of the experience.


    "Leave it to me, Mr. Harris," Floral Paralysis said confidently.


    Lu Li smiled at him as he walked away, forgetting the item he needed to do his mission. It was a potion that allowed him to ignore the other players'' attacks while he fought Rethban.


    In fact, he didn''t even have to lie to Floral Paralysis.


    The Prestige reward for this quest was quite good, but he had to complete the very difficult pre-task. The chain of quests following this was also quite cumbersome as they had more than 30 steps. These tasks weren''t too difficult, but they were just annoying and felt like a waste of time.


    If you gave up halfway, there wasn''t too big of a punishment and you would only be rewarded for what you had done.


    Lu Li gave this quest because it was one of the most rewarding, but also the most ruthless quest he had the authority to give. At the very least, it wasn''t worthwhile for a star player, as it was a lot of time to spend for Prestige.


    However, for ordinary players this was a very good quest, as their greatest resource was time.


    The final reward for the quest was a Dark Gold weapon. It had good Attributes and could completely change the fate of an ordinary player.

 1344 Preparing for the Molten Core

    "Mr Harris, I completed my quest thanks to your potion," a player said as he squeezed in, which attracted the glares of some who were in the queue. However, the players mostly didn''t care because he was completing a quest.


    "Oh, it''s my friend, Phone Cover. Congratulations ¨C I will now teach you Kidney Shot," Lu Li said as he smiled slyly.


    The quest was difficult and rewarding. Not only did Lu Li teach the other player a skill, but he also gave him some EXP and Prestige. He had the authority to do so, but unfortunately, he couldn''t keep the rewards for himself. Otherwise, he definitely would have been greedy and kept half for himself.


    The business was actually getting better and better.


    When Lu Li finally got off duty, he found that he had entered the top 20 on the Level Rankings. He felt like the half a day he had spent doing that had given him more EXP than one full day of farming.


    Moreover, he was also gaining Prestige at the same time. There was no need to worry about the next time he wanted to learn an Enhanced skill.


    However, Lu Li couldn''t do this forever. Even if he could easily reach the top of the Level Rankings in this way, this shortcut would weaken his fighting ability. He would just be strong in level, but not in technique. It would be a waste.


    After all, levels were not the only thing that mattered in this game.


    This period of time had been the most relaxing day since Lu Li experienced Rebirth. It was also the happiest day he had.


    His sister''s condition was improving every day. She could now run and jump without Lu Li worrying about her. They had seen a few more experts, who had said that she was a healthy young girl. As long as she continued on like this, she would have no problems growing to a 100 years old.


    Lu Li could barely even remember the days when his sister would be sickly and lying in bed.


    She was so thin and her body was so bony. She was pale like paper and it seemed difficult for her to breathe.


    But now, she was a little girl who would run wildly through the garden with several other girls her age. She was even more cheerful than when they were in the Common District together.


    Although Lu Li was short of money, he wasn''t poor.


    He had status. The secretary of the City Council had been in contact with Ruling Sword. If there was anything wrong, he could have it resolved. Even the schools in the Common District were now becoming better, as he had helped to find a few teachers for them.


    The gangsters of the Common District, despite their reluctance, were sent into the game.


    In that dark and barbaric place, Lu Li didn''t want to be their godfather anymore, but he also couldn''t let them continue down that path. It was better to send them into the game than to send them to jail.


    In this era, the Common Districts that were produced as a result of two world wars should have already been eradicated by now.


    In fact, the Government had been supporting virtual games so fervently because they could solve some social problems. When smart machines replaced human workers, the humans would grow restless if they didn''t have something to do.


    Lu Li would occasionally play the role of an NPC, go levelling with Water Fairy, deal with some matters regarding the club or spend some time with his sister. He didn''t have time for much more.


    However, he also knew that he had to defeat many of his rivals before he could properly enjoy the things he had established.


    As such, he had form a new and even more powerful team.


    After level 60, the players would be ushered into an era of multi-person Instance Dungeons. Most mainstream clubs would grow to a size of 40 members to meet this demand.


    The first player to source was the Main Tank. Lu Li needed a high-defense Warrior and an off-tank. This wasn''t an issue as Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering had been partners for a very long time. They understood each other and how to work together.


    The next were the Thieves, as they would be the main damage output professions in the Molten Core.


    However, in the Molten Core Instance Dungeon, the level of the monsters would be around level 62. This would greatly reduce their attack power, and the fact that Thieves didn''t have much HP but still attacked from close range meant that they would be sacrificed the most in as well.


    As such, the Thieves needed to be very experienced. They needed to know how to use various skills while commanding excellent control of positioning and aggro.


    If they were to complete the Molten Core Instance Dungeon, they needed at least three Thieves to participate in damage output. Lu Li planned to select one from his own guild and then invite Water Fairy to join their Molten Core run.


    The strength of two clubs was always better than a single club.


    Priests were the most suitable healers here, as they could shield the team and dispel any debuffs. The most important skill was their ability to dispel debuffs, so even having two Priest Healers wasn''t excessive.


    Like some other healers, the status of Shamans in Molten Core was a bit awkward.


    This time, in addition to the damage output Shaman Sakura Memories, Lu Li planned to find another Shaman healer with Bloodlust. A Shaman''s healing skills required a lot of mana and Purification could only be used to remove an enemy''s buff. It couldn''t be used for your own debuffs.


    Druid healers were largely unaffected in this Instance Dungeon, and another damage output Druid could be brought onto to team. Lu Li also liked the Druid''s Resurrect skill.


    The Paladin Healer Darkness was someone who had been trained in the Glory Capital Youth Training Camp. Her battle awareness was relatively good, and her techniques were solid. She was the best choice for a healing Main Tank.


    Lu Li actually wanted to find another tank healer, as two of them would come in handy.


    Because of their association with the Night Watchmen Legion, Ruling Sword attracted many Paladins. However, most of these were damage output Paladins, and there weren''t many tank healers that satisfied Lu Li''s requirements.


    When the time came, he would probably have to borrow someone from Drizzle Court. They likely had at least one strong tank healer.


    For the Molten Core Instance Dungeon, Lu Li also planned to bring a few Mages.


    He didn''t have the expectation that they would produce a high damage output. When the Mages entered this Instance Dungeon, they had to change their expectations. In the Molten Core, they were there as the Healer''s assistants and not as a mobile turret.


    Lu Li wasn''t trying to deny the damage output status of Mages in Instance Dungeons, as most of the time they would deal far more damage than Thieves would.


    However, this Instance Dungeon was different. If a Mage tried to deal as much damage as they could, there would only be two possible outcomes. The first was Over-Threat, which would result in the monsters rushing over to attack them. The second was running out of mana, and becoming a waste of space. Even worse, they wouldn''t be able to dispel debuffs if they were out of mana, and that would mean the group would be wiped.


    In fact, Lu Li even planned to replace Fat Monkey with another Ice Mage as Fire Mages had little purpose in the Molten Core.


    As a magic profession, Warlocks were also quite important in this Instance Dungeon.


    For most of the Molten Core monsters, the Warlock''s Exile was the only viable means of crowd-control. Sesame Rice Ball''s Bloodstone would give the team extra HP if they couldn''t be healed in time. HP potions, Bloodstones and Bandages were all useful things to have to keep their teammates alive.


    Additionally, the binding of a Soulstone also gave a Healer or a Main Tank the equivalent of one extra life.


    Hunters could finally find recognition in this Instance Dungeon.


    They were one of the best ranged damage output professions in the Molten Core, and could provide considerable DPS with their normal attacks even if they ran out of mana. Because of their long range and their Feign Death skill, they could easily save themselves in a Boss battle too.


    Their various traps were also very useful.


    While Paladin Healers were a necessity, Lu Li also had another serious problem to deal with. He had to bring enough Defensive Paladins. Forty players meant that they would be split into 8 teams, but a Paladin''s aura could only cover one smaller team.


    This meant that if you added all the Paladin Healers and Defensive Paladins, Lu Li would have 8 Paladins.


    Fortunately, most of the Paladins wouldn''t be wasting any space. The benefits of the Paladin Healer and Defensive Paladins were obvious. If a damage output Paladin had good items, their damage was actually not much worse than a Thief or a Warrior.


    The basic composition that Lu Li decided on was three Priests (two Healers and one Shadow Priest), three Warriors (two defensive Warriors and one damage output Warrior), two Ice Mages, three Warlocks, three Thieves, two Druids, two Shamans, three Hunters and an uncertain number of Paladins.


    That was the general composition, but it would be subject to change for certain Bosses.


    As such, he also had to arrange for some players to be on standby outside the Instance Dungeon. The Molten Core was deserving of such a careful arrangement because this was Dawn''s largest and most difficult Instance Dungeon.

 1345 Joint Strategy

    "Come in," Lu Li said in front of the computer as he sloppily typed some words.


    With the current intelligent technology that existed, it wasn''t difficult to form text with your own thoughts. But sometimes, people felt curious and wanted to know what it felt like to experience a keyboard.


    When Short Road came in, he saw Lu Li tapping the keyboard with two fingers. The speed of his hands was nothing like the star Thief in the game.


    There had to be something wrong with this guy.


    Although his face seemed calm and respectful, Short Road actually had no respect for Lu Li. He would often fantasize about Ruling Sword going bankrupt, and thinking about what he would do next.


    When Lu Li saw him, he immediately stood up and went to the water dispenser to pour a cup of hot water. This was the kind of thing he had to do as the Boss.


    "How is your health?"


    "I''m much better now. Thanks Boss. Thank the club as well."


    Short Road was actually quite touched. Lu Li had given him two million dollars to pay for his medical fees, but he saw this as an exchange, so he didn''t feel too emotional about it. Lu Li was pouring him a glass of water so that he would be overwhelmed by emotion.


    "In that case, can I trust that you will be participating in the guild event?" Lu Li got back into his seat and temporarily gave up on the folly of typing on the keyboard.


    "Of course. I have been farming for the last few days," Short Road said with some eagerness.


    In fact, he had almost died doing that.


    Short Road fainted easily because of his health, but that didn''t mean he was lazy. He was someone who just couldn''t sit still and would rather faint unexpectedly than idly letting time pass.


    When he receive the money, he immediately began his treatment. Since the treatment didn''t affect his ability to game, he continued to level while recovering by using the Mages in the guild. That way, he would just need to sit there to gain EXP.


    This was the kind of treatment only larger clubs could afford.


    Everything was built around the professional players, despite the fact that Short Road wasn''t formally a professional player yet.


    However, for this older member of the Novice Training Camp, Lu Li did not intend to let him go through the step by step training. Actual combat was the best way to gain experience and Lu Li already knew what he was capable of.


    "Be prepared to enter the Molten Core Instance Dungeon. We''ll be starting tomorrow and it is fairly long and intense. If you can''t take it, be sure to let me know in advance," Lu Li said. He was still a bit worried.


    He didn''t want Short Road to join the battlefield so soon, because he wanted him to take care of his body.


    However, Short Road was a very impatient person.


    The time in the game was very precious, and Lu Li was giving him an opportunity to fight in the Instance Dungeon, which was usually only reserved for the main players. In fact, there were at least two other Ice Mages ready to replace him if he said that he couldn''t do it.


    The place where Short Road would truly shine was in a match. This was just a small test and he could also gain some Skill Points from the Instance Dungeon.


    "I noticed¡­ that you seem to eat¡­"


    Lu Li was currently at a caf¨¦, sitting across from Water Fairy, or Shen Yan Xue. Calling someone by their game ID was always weird in real life, unless you were lazy like Lu Li and just used your real name.


    "I eat a lot, right?"


    Shen Yan Xue didn''t seem to mind that Lu Li said that about her.


    "It is quite a bit, but I don''t think it''s too much. I''ve definitely had more food than this before." Lu Li had always thought he ate a lot, but he never thought that Water Fairy would eat a lot as well. Water Fairy''s body also seemed quite slender, especially since she was stretched even thinner as a Night Elf in-game.


    "I was watching some anime till very late last night, and I haven''t had the chance to eat until now," Water Fairy explained with a shrug, not thinking there was anything weird about a goddess staying up to watch anime.


    "Oh, the cartoons from that country¡­"


    Lu Li did not hate anime itself, but he bore some resentment towards its country of origin because of the second world war. That country''s economic system had since completely collapsed, and they were now only producing anime and small movies.


    "Well, you should watch some with me if you have the time," Water Fairy suggested as she ate.


    Even her movements as she ate were very elegant. You could see from the way that she moved that she ate a lot. She was an elegant snacker.


    "Ahem, I¡­ need to make some time to visit soon."


    Lu Li was somewhat uncomfortable. He had some reservations about entering her ''inner chambers''. Six months ago, he was a gangster struggling in the Common District and trying to become the godfather of the Common District''s gangsters. He was also trying to take care of his sister.


    Lu Li had always known that he and Water Fairy were from different worlds.


    He remembered when they met for the first time. A few transactions meant that Lu Li had made a lot of money from Water Fairy. While being happy and grateful that had happened, Lu Li also subconsciously regarded her as a customer, even though he had felt something when he saw her.


    This feeling had been stamped out as quickly as it arose, but the embers still remained. Even though Lu Li hadn''t come to fully understand his thoughts of Water Fairy, he didn''t refuse to maintain frequent contact with her.


    Whenever he heard people talking about them as a couple, he didn''t feel anger.


    Lu Li had worked hard for his sister, for himself and perhaps for Water Fairy too ¨C even though he would never admit it.


    Now, it was time to meet her family.


    After Water Fairy had the falling out with her father, her grandfather seemed like the most important person to her.


    He was a successful old man, and they were typically quite stubborn. He would feel like he was an authoritative source and wouldn''t change his mind easily. Lu Li didn''t know how he would be seen, and had never felt so afraid of meeting someone in his life.


    "Are you afraid?" Water Fairy asked, putting her chopsticks down when she finally finished her food. She found that she was caring less and less about politeness.


    She wasn''t sure if it was because she had been away from home for so long, or if it was because of Lu Li.


    "No, of course not," Lu Li refused to admit, before pausing and saying, "I''m just worried that he will misunderstand me."


    Water Fairy pouted and was too lazy to prod much further.


    "Well, since you''re buying me food, do you want to talk about something?"


    "It''s nothing major ¨C I just want to ask if you want to combine forces for the Molten Core Instance Dungeon," Lu Li said, breathing a sigh of relief. He didn''t really want to talk about that other topic right now because there were so many things currently uncertain about the future. The main thing was that he had not achieved what he wanted yet.


    "Really?" Water Fairy asked, her eyes widening.


    "Are you not interested? I thought it would be easier if we combined forces. According to our scouting parties, the regular monsters inside are comparable to the strength of a Boss. They haven''t even seen an actual Boss yet," Lu Li said innocently.


    Now that he was in this position, he naturally wasn''t the one to scout out the Instance Dungeons anymore.


    Moreover, although he had sent a group of forty people to scout out the Instance Dungeon and collect information on the monsters inside, the results were minimal. The ordinary Elite group players were obviously not strong enough for this task.


    "Of course I''m interested; you don''t have to be so polite. It is never a bad thing for us to work together," Water Fairy said quickly.


    On the surface, this looked like Lu Li asking Drizzle Court for assistance.


    In fact, everyone knew that Drizzle Court had made no achievements when it came to Instance Dungeon strategies. They were far behind Ruling Sword, Glory Capital, Blood Red War Flag, Stellar Union, Seventh Heaven, Azure Guard and Wings of Dawn.


    They lacked a commander who was skilled in Instance Dungeons.


    These players were generally smart and very determined, and wouldn''t hire themselves out to a group of women.


    Ruling Sword was different. From the starting Spider Instance Dungeon, Lu Li had already been leading a motley crew of players. He was capable even of beating major guilds with a group of random players.


    On the commander rankings, Lu Li might not have been at the top. However, in terms of Instance Dungeon commanding, Lu Li was definitely number one.


    The best commanders were the ones who could lead any group and still find a way through the Instance Dungeon.


    Now, since Lu Li had asked Drizzle Court to join their line-up, it meant that Drizzle Court would be able to share in the final victory. They had many Elite Groups, so their benefit would definitely exceed the effort that Ruling Sword was putting in to lead them there. Lu Li wasn''t asking for help; he was doing them a big favour.


    According to Square Root 3, this was basically a free gift.

 1346 A Large Squad

    The entrance to Molten Core was in the Blackrock Depths. It was behind the Room of the Seven and at the very end of the bridge, which was also next to the Forge where they smelted dark iron.


    Of course, this wasn''t the only entrance. There was a room at the end of the Blackrock Mountains that contained an Elf. Players would be able to receive a quest regarding the Molten Core from him. Upon completion of the quest, they would then be able to teleport from that room straight into the Instance Dungeon.


    This NPC was a High-Elf called Lothos Riftwalker. After accepting the quest, he would request the players to retrieve a Core Fragment from the inner parts of the Blackrock Depths. This task wasn''t too difficult. After entering the Blackrock Depths Instance Dungeon, the path diverged in front of the Hall of the Seven. One path led to the Molten Core. The Core Fragment was at the left side of the entrance within the Instance Dungeon, but a large fragment of stone was obstructing it.


    How could the players progress through? The answer was simple ¨C destroy it.


    For the current players, the Blackrock Depths Instance Dungeon was fairly easy.


    The formation of the Molten Core dated back to the days of the War of the Three Hammers.


    Emperor Thaurissan, after losing in battle to the Bronzebeard Dwarves, was forced to the bottom of the Blackrock Mountains. In the hope of turning the tides of the battle, he planned to summon demons to help fight against his enemies. However, what he had summoned was not merely a demon. It was Ragnaros, the one who was sealed away by Titan.


    After breaking the control of Emperor Thaurissan, Ragnaros brought back all the Fire Elementals that were sealed away. After doing this, the entire Blackrock Mountains became the territory of the Fire Elementals. While they did this, they also killed Emperor Thaurissan.


    As for the alliance between Bronzebeard and the Wildhammer Dwarves, it was natural to run after seeing gigantic Fire Elementals rush out of the Mountains.


    The Bronzebeard Dwarves returned to mend Ironforge. However, after travelling back to Grim Batol, they found that it had been destroyed, with the Wildhammer Dwarves heading to Aerie Peak. After this, the Dark Iron Dwarves promptly became the subjects of Ragnaros.


    Ragnaros went into a deep sleep after reshaping the whole of Azeroth. Before he slept, he gave the Molten Core to Majormodo Executus for caretaking. Alongside him, there was Magmadar, Baron Geddon, Garr and Golemagg the Incinerator.


    Before the War of the Elementals, Ragnaros managed to absorb a major part of Thunderaan''s power, because of the betrayal of two of Thunderaan''s underlings. The rest of the power was split between Garr and Baron Geddon, who were Thunderaan''s traitors.


    This Instance Dungeon refreshed once a week. After killing any Boss in this dungeon, the cooldown would begin. Of course, most of the time, it would be the first Boss, Lucifron.


    The Instance Dungeon records of every person would affect the party. This meant that if the 40-member party had already killed one of the Bosses, any member wouldn''t be able to join another party and fight the same Boss as it wouldn''t appear.


    This also meant that the replacements would be losing out on some benefits.


    It would be even more beneficial to avoid entering the Instance Dungeon, rather than being named as a replacement. After all, the cooldown wouldn''t be affected at all. However, if a player was named as a replacement, then the chances of them entering the dungeon were extremely high. Furthermore, if the party only wiped and couldn''t clear the Boss, the party might change members again without even clearing a single Boss. As such, their chance to enter the dungeon this week would be gone.


    Lu Li didn''t think that many people would respond to his request of being a replacement, especially the stronger players.


    He expected that they would all be newer or weaker players. After all, stronger players would be able to fight it themselves after receiving the strategy.


    However, the result was nothing like what he had expected!


    The ones who signed up were all strong players. There were a few from the elite squads, whom Lu Li had trained himself.


    Wandering doubted Lu Li''s intelligence. He couldn''t understand why Lu Li thought that replacements wouldn''t receive any benefits. Even if they were replacements, they were still a part of Ruling Sword''s 40-man party, which was one of the most capable around.


    There was also a chance for the replacements to increase their strength.


    As for wasting a week on the cooldown, no one cared. After the release of the strategies, there would be so many elite squads clearing the dungeon, so there was no way of showing off.


    The final squad consisted of 40 people, with 15 people as replacements. A total of 55 players from Drizzle Court and Peerless City combined to form the squad.


    Water Fairy brought her Priest, Star Baby and her Mage, Deadly Green Orange, and joined the group.


    The three of them were females, which was quite representative of Drizzle Court.


    Lu Li originally considered including a few more people from Peerless City. In doing so, he would be able to improve the squad strength and also form a stronger relationship with Peerless City as an ally.


    In the long term, Lu Li hoped to reinforce this alliance of Drizzle Court, Ruling Sword and Peerless City. This would be able to protect all three of them from other guilds, big or small. Even Glory Capital was constantly improving their own power by splitting up their strengths and creating more allied guilds.


    Other guilds were also doing the same.


    However, no matter how spread out Glory Capital became, they would always be the number one organisation in the game.


    If an opportunity presented itself, no one would hesitate to hinder Glory Capital. After all, they were simply too powerful.


    Lu Li also planned to form a subsidiary guild from Ruling Sword after a little more time. Ruling Sword already had 100,000 battle-ready players.


    However, of the 100,000, there were only a few thousand who were worthy of being considered as elite players. Compared to other major organisations, this was much too small a number. This was why Lu Li always invited Drizzle Court and Peerless City, or other guilds in the Alliance during the large battles.


    However, Water Fairy rejected Lu Li''s proposal to bring in Peerless City.


    Peerless City was an individual organisation, with no ties to other guilds. Even if Drizzle Court wanted to release the Molten Core''s strategy to them, they would still request for a fee. Ruling Sword had even less reason to include them and not charge them for it.


    As the head of the organisation, Lu Li had the responsibility to take care of the members of his guild first.


    It was better to include people from his own organisation first.


    Before entering the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li led everyone to a small island in near Azshara. The reason was because they would find the Hydraxian Waterlords here. These Water Elementals were the nemeses of Ragnaros and his Fire Elementals.


    They were given an elixir, which provided them with Fire-resistance effects. Although the elixir was not overpowered, it was still useful. At the very least, it would give them a chance of survival in tight situations.


    After checking and preparing thoroughly, Lu Li brought them into the Instance Dungeon.


    The Molten Core could change the fate of any player, if they were lucky enough to receive an item.


    Windseeker''s Blade and the Hammer of the Fire Elemental were among the other godly items that could drop here. Even small monsters had a chance of dropping extremely exquisite and powerful items.

 1347 Door Gods

    "It''s not that we''ve never had this many people mobilise at once, but this time, it''s completely different," Lu Li said as he stood next to the Instance Dungeon gathering stone.


    The entrance ¨C a long and narrow path ¨C was just in front of them. Ruling Sword members were everywhere, so the other players, ones who weren''t part of this, left the area almost instantly.


    This was the organisation''s might!


    Lu Li wasn''t an arrogant person; this was just a way to rally the players'' battle spirits. It was normal for organisations to do this.


    Of course, not every organisation dared to do this in the open.


    Some people might choose to badmouth them, but the truth was that they wished to be a part of it too. It had always been the same ¨C the victors were the ones who determined what was normal.


    As for the other organisations, they would usually show respect to each other.


    "This is the first Level 60 instance dungeon!" Lu Li continued, "After defeating this dungeon, we will be the strongest guild!"


    "Strongest guild!"


    "Dawn''s number one!"


    "Long live the Alliance!"


    With these roars and cries, everyone became hot-blooded and driven. Even Wandering, a normally arrogant and proud person, was moved and became extremely excited.


    This was their way of living!


    From having nothing to now being something, it was a sight to behold. From the steel bridges to the visible tunnels and pathways, the entire area was filled with their allies.


    Anyone would be envious upon this sight.


    "Molten Core''s First Clear! Nightmare Difficulty First Clear! It will all be ours!" Lu Li declared, then faced the NPC to enter the dungeon.


    Instance Dungeon difficulty: Nightmare!


    Lu Li might have started this trend, but anything other than Nightmare difficulty was irrelevant for a First Clear.


    Previously, Blood Red War Flag took the First Clear for Upper Blackrock on Hard difficulty. As a result, the System announced this to the world. However, what they received was not the respect and praise that they had in mind.


    Besides the small and weak guilds, everyone looked down on them.


    After all, Ruling Sword''s First Clears had all been achieved on Nightmare difficulty. Therefore, their First Clear on Hard difficulty didn''t mean anything. How could they be so shameless and claim the First Clear on Hard difficulty?


    As Lu Li chose to tackle Nightmare difficulty every time, other guilds couldn''t bring themselves to choose a lower difficulty. As for the other smaller and weaker guilds who were shameless, they wouldn''t even be able to clear the dungeon on the Elite level.


    After Lu Li entered, 40 people swiftly followed into the dungeon.


    As for the 15 replacements, they didn''t stay at the entrance. Otherwise, other people wouldn''t hesitate to kill them. Furthermore, the people who escorted this party wouldn''t just stay here and not train.


    Replacements didn''t need to stay at the entrance, since Sesame Rice Ball could just use a portal and bring them over when they needed them.


    During the waiting time, they could train levels, or their professions. They could also just play around in pubs or conduct their own business.


    As for collecting benefits from joining, their reputation was much safer than the actual members of the party.


    "Two guards? Is there a need? The Game company is trying to screw us over, aren''t they?" Azure Sea Breeze jabbed his shield into the ground. This was his new Legendary shield, which he had received from a Wild Boss that Ruling Sword cleared recently. Wandering was in charge of the battle, since Lu Li was training with Water Fairy at the time.


    Magma Giants, roughly 5 metres away, or perhaps a little shorter than 5 metres.


    All in all, for the players standing underneath, the sight was terrifying.


    "Alright, let''s go."


    Lu Li rubbed his nose and decided to not say more.


    "Everyone, look closely. This is the number one Main Tank in Dawn."


    The person who declared this was shameless. He believed that he was the soul of the team, so that needed to cooperate with him.


    Lu Li just watched as Azure Sea Breeze rushed forward.


    He couldn''t keep from his bad habits. Lu Li planned to screw Azure Sea Breeze over again; he couldn''t bear with this arrogant Main Tank.


    This group of people, some with not even a full set of Dark Gold items, didn''t organise themselves into the different roles in a team. They all became excited at the sight of two monsters.


    Another Main Tank rushed forward, like Azure Sea Breeze. He, too, thought that this was like a normal monster and thought that he could tank a couple of hits.


    In the end, he was crushed under the Magma Giant''s foot. The healers couldn''t even react in time.


    After this, the two Giants walked into the group of players, and crushed everyone to death. Not even Lu Li survived. He didn''t even try to escape as there was no need for him to. Everyone had already died, so there wasn''t a point for him to continue. He chose to use this squad wipe to teach everyone a lesson.


    Forty people was not a force to be reckoned with; numbers did not mean anything.


    The Molten Core was designed for 40 people to tackle. This meant that it was much stronger than any of the Instance Dungeons from before. If 40 people simply just steamrolled through this, then the company would need to slap themselves and wake up.


    Furthermore, this was the first version of the dungeon, meaning that it hadn''t been nerfed at all. When Lu Li entered the game in his previous life, it had already been nerfed.


    The one who seemed like he was slapped was Azure Sea Breeze. His face was swollen, like a pig.


    The newcomers didn''t dare to laugh at him, but Azure Sea Breeze felt that everyone was chuckling to themselves.


    It was the first time working with these people, so it was easy to identify the ones who weren''t doing their job or slacking off. There were also some who didn''t listen to commands and the ones who listened but didn''t understand.


    All in all, it seemed like they were going against everything the leader said.


    In reality, the difficulty of the two Magma Giants'' couldn''t be compared with the Bosses. The previous three Instance Dungeons ¨C Blackrock Spires, Stratholm and the Blackrock Depths ¨C were not difficult. This was the first Raid, a team-based Instance Dungeon. The first small monster that they had encounter was already stronger than the majority of the Instance Dungeon Bosses they had faced before.


    Even after a few years, these Magma Giants would maintain a nickname. Everyone called them the Door Gods.

 1348 A Change in Perspective

    There was an old story that went something like this:


    There were two Bosses outside an old man''s house. Every time he wanted to leave his home, he would have to go around the Bosses and through another path. One day, the old man decided to push the monsters away, so he gathered his whole family and they began to push together. Then, a goddess asked, "Old man, how can you push it away?" The old man replied, "If I cannot, then my son will. If my son cannot, then my grandson will! As long as the Boss doesn''t leave its post, this method will surely work eventually!"


    The goddess was extremely moved, so she killed the Boss.


    The meaning behind this story was this: the resolution to die was required if they were going to tackle the Door Gods.


    There were two problems for Azure Sea Breeze ¨C knock-ups and critical hits. Knock-ups disabled him, since he would be in the air. He couldn''t even use mitigation, and he had to tank the two Giants'' Ignite and Spitfire.


    Lu Li suspected that not being able to use mitigation was not the only effect. He reasoned that perhaps even Armor was being ignored during the knock-up duration.


    Facing one of these monsters without Armor was guaranteed death, let alone two of them.


    Azure Sea Breeze recalled his past failures and realised that his mistakes came from him underestimating the enemies. He had to admit that he couldn''t hold these two small monsters.


    "Cough¡­I think it''ll be better if two people hold aggro."


    Was that unexpected? Was that surprising?


    His whole perspective was changed after this experience. However, he was already quite well-versed in adapting to the battle, so he wouldn''t rush in like he did before.


    "Wandering, go with Azure Sea Breeze. Have a Paladin healer and Priest heal him. Everyone else, focus on the one that Breezy is pulling. World''s Best Friend, hang around the middle of the two monsters. Help out when either side is struggling with the aggro."


    After the first wipe, Lu Li decided that it was enough as a warning. He didn''t plan to keep dying here.


    Many teams would be stuck in this place for hours with the Door Gods. Even a day or two wouldn''t be surprising.


    "Boom!"


    The Magma Giant''s large feet stomped heavily on the ground. When it lifted its foot, a large crevice was left behind. This was why there were many lines running throughout the fighting area. This one attack seemed to be more powerful than any other Boss from before.


    The effects were also quite strong. A group of people were stunned, including Azure Sea Breeze, who had just built up his aggro.


    "What the hell? There are only two guards. Do they need to be this powerful?"


    When Wandering saw the other Giant raise its leg, he immediately took off and ran. He was fortunate since he didn''t get hit, but the ones who were in charge of healing him were closer to the Boss than he was, so they were stunned.


    This stun from the stomp was not merely a stun.


    The Giant would move and stomp the ones who were stunned, one after another. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.


    Fortunately, World''s Best Friend rushed in just in time and taunted the Boss to him. Otherwise, the losses would have been even greater.


    As for Wandering, he was quite alert and fast to react, so he quickly returned to his post and regained aggro. In the end, the losses there were quite minimal. Wandering was actually quite capable and had great potential, but he just wasn''t willing to put in the work most of the time.


    They could all see the power of the Molten Core, just from the Door Gods.


    This was the first proper Level 60 Raid and it came with the introduction of a new mechanic ¨C Crush. It wasn''t players who were ''crushing'' the Instance Dungeons, but rather the monsters in the dungeons ''crushing'' the players. When the levels of the monsters exceeded the players'' level by 3, the damage received by the players was multiplied by 1.5 times.


    To counter this, Main Tank items would have an Armor level.


    The higher the Armor level, the less ''Crush'' damage they would receive. After reaching a sufficient Armor level, the Main Tank wouldn''t receive the extra damage from Crush.


    Currently, Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering didn''t have anywhere near enough Armor level, so the damage that they were receiving was extremely high. They were susceptible to instant kills when they were knocked back, which lowered their Armor to zero.


    Lu Li brought along two Paladins that were focused on healing. They proved to have great benefits to the team.


    "Pull it! Crap. Hunters, use Misdirection then Feign Death!" Lu Li yelled at the top of his lungs.


    On one side, the Giant resisted Azure Sea Breeze''s Taunt, while on the other side, World''s Best Friend was struck and knocked up. While in the air, his HP was decreasing rapidly. Since both sides couldn''t do much about their situations, Lu Li could only call the Hunters to help them regain their aggro.


    Although the concept of resisting already existed before Molten Core, the only ones who could resist Taunt were only Bosses.


    Remnant Dream didn''t hesitate at all. Whatever Lu Li wanted her to do, she did it. She used Misdirection on Azure Sea Breeze first, then shot at the Giant. After confirming that her attack dealt damage, she immediately fell on the ground and used Feign Death. After this, the Giant''s aggro was back on the Main Tank.


    The problem was that the other Hunter, Bearded Zaza, was unable to bring the other Giant''s aggro back to Wandering.


    As such, the healers in charge of healing Wandering were instantly killed.


    "Star Baby!"


    Lu Li panicked a little and sighed. He really wanted to scold Bearded Zaza, but it was not the right time. Furthermore, Bearded Zaza had not intended for that to happen anyway, so the effects of reprimanding him would not be positive.


    Since they had rarely worked together in dungeons, these issues were bound to happen eventually.


    Fortunately, Star Baby was a professional player. Her alertness aside, when Lu Li called her name, she immediately looked around at the situation and did what she had to do without his instructions.


    This was the value of having a professional player. At the very least, their reaction time far exceeded that of ordinary players.


    Being good at clearing Instance Dungeons did necessarily translate to a PVP battle. However, PVP players, especially professional players, would always perform well in Instance Dungeons.


    Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t hold back and yelled out what everyone else was thinking.


    "Crap, just two monsters? How are they this strong? We already have more than ten casualties."


    They were all elite players. In a normal guild, these players would all be the highest-ranking members. No one thought that these two door guards would kill more than 10 of them. Not even a single Giant had been killed for the sea of corpses on the ground.


    "Calm down. Do you want to wipe a second time?" Lu Li calmly asked.


    "I don''t think we can. How about waiting until we''re all level 60?" Azure Sea Breeze suggested. From just observing the Giants, this dungeon clearly was much harder than they thought.


    The highest level was 59 in this team. No one was level 60.


    "Well, we still have to try. If we really wait until we''re level 60, then this Instance Dungeon might have already been cleared by other people."


    They couldn''t wait until they had everything ready and prepared if they wanted the First Clear. In theory, a level 59 team could clear the Molten Core. Since it could work theoretically, Ruling Sword had to make the first move. Otherwise, they would fall behind the other guilds.


    Dawn was made for people to have fun. Even if Lu Li wasn''t reborn, everyone would still be able to clear this eventually.


    The only difference was how many squad wipes it would take to get there. If they made progress after every attempt, they would eventually be able to clear it. When that day came, they would be overjoyed to the point of tears.


    "Alright. Everyone, prepare yourselves. This time, it will be us on TV!"


    As soon as Azure Sea Breeze thought about appearing on TV, he immediately became excited. He thought that what Lu Li said was right. If they wanted a chance to be rightfully arrogant, then they needed to do things that others couldn''t.


    "Don''t care about the ones who are dead. Gather yourselves and focus on the task at hand." Lu Li''s voice was like a bucket of cold water that had been splashed over all their heads.


    There was no need to be overly excited about an Instance Dungeon.


    In the Molten Core, the key thing was for everyone to listen to instructions. They needed to focus and completely obey Lu Li''s every instruction to each letter.


    Instance Dungeons would be simple if they all listened to the commander''s instructions, but this was practically impossible. This was a 40-man raid; Lu Li didn''t have complete control over everyone. In his previous life, he didn''t do much commanding, let alone over a 40-man team. In this life, he relied on his previous knowledge. With a brain full of strategies, he slowly accumulated his knowledge of the game over time.


    Even Lu Li didn''t have confidence in himself to command a 40-man team.


    It was even more difficult for the team to listen to the commander''s instructions perfectly without a mistake.


    "Wandering, pull the Giant slightly to the right. Breezy, pull it to the left a little. Darkshire, retreat a little. Use your longest ranged healing ability and kill this monster in one burst."


    After a few minutes of battle and more than 10 players dead, the first Door God was finally near the end of its life.


    It was said that there was a team that had once attempted the Molten Core. They wiped here, at the Door Gods, countless times. There was one time where they were extremely close to clearing one of the Giants. Unfortunately, the overexcited Main Tank suddenly had a heart-attack and instantly disconnected. The team disbanded the next day.


    The Door Gods were not to be underestimated, even on the brink of death. A squad wipe was not a problem at all.


    One of the Giants were finally killed and Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief. Only one more remained. Although a squad wipe was still possible, as long as no one made a mistake, they would be able to clear it. After all, there were three Main Tanks in rotation, so it wouldn''t be that easy for them to wipe.


    Lu Li was right.


    This time, they used even less time to clear the second Door Good.


    After the end of the first battle, Wandering sounded out his own opinion.


    "Although it wasn''t easy, I feel that we can keep going."


    Lu Li nodded his head. Although the Door Gods were strong, they were only small monsters. Their HP was their weak point. Lu Li and this team was much stronger than a normal squad. Everyone had a majority of either Legendary or Dark Gold items.


    They completed this fight at the cost of the deaths of half their team. For a normal guild, it would be completely normal for them to wipe here for a few days.

 1349 Power of Mass Dispel

    "This is just the beginning," Lu Li said slowly.


    All the fights in the past began playing in his mind as he analyzed every time he had shot-called incorrectly. Although talent was important, he still needed to continuously learn in order to become a great shot-caller.


    In the previous fight, there were so many mistakes that he had made. If he had done better, there would be less casualties.


    Casualties were unavoidable, because it was impossible to have everyone survive.


    After the Magma Giant, there were two more Fire Elementals.


    Son of Flame was such an arrogant name, so players preferred to call him by his pet name Fiery.


    "These two monsters¡­"


    The Magma Giant was probably more of a gatekeeper and the size of the Son of Flame was close to Ragnaros. Perhaps they were even related by blood.


    "Let''s try it," Lu Li suggested.


    "Lu Li, you''re becoming less and less cute."


    Azure Sea Breeze shook his head and charged towards one of the Sons of Flame with his giant shield.


    World''s Best Friend charged towards the other one almost at the same time. Both successfully grabbed aggro on their targets.


    Sons of Flames were vicious creatures. They weren''t as powerful as Magma Giants, but they had an equal potential of wiping a team.


    These monsters had very simple attack patterns ¨C all they did was burn their enemies to death.


    There was no need for tanks to worry about being instantly killed. Their AOE skills only dealt about 500 points of damage, although the area of effect was quite large. Upon seeing this, everyone let out a sigh of relief since they had so many healers to cover the damage.


    Lu Li knew that they were letting down their guard too early.


    Finally, someone discovered something terrifying. Upon the second wave of Fire Breath, they realized the damage from the first wave was still ticking and almost everyone had a burn status applied on them.


    "The damage can stack; everyone spread out."


    It was impossible for the Priests to cleanse 40 players one by one since they had to heal at the same time.


    "Ranged classes surround Sesame Rice Ball."


    Lu Li saw that the timing was right and began setting up his strategy. He didn''t want to let everyone wipe again.


    Everyone was a little confused, but Lu Li''s voice acted as a beacon on a stormy night. All the ranged classes immediately began gathering around Sesame Rice Ball. They needed to stay close enough together, but still leave enough room to cast skills.


    Lu Li estimated the size of the group and was happy.


    "March Rain, it''s all up to you now."


    March Rain caught on quick and casted Mass Dispel on the group of ranged and melee classes. This was the first time using this skill outside the Ruling Swords usual dungeon team.


    Originally, she had planned on saving it until they faced off against Glory Capital, but unfortunately, they were able to see it beforehand.


    Priests would always feel a huge sense of achievement whenever they dispelled a Mage''s Ice Block or a Paladin''s invulnerability. Managing to accomplish such feats was a lot more satisfying than just healing others.


    Mass Dispel was a skill that dispelled all effects in a certain radius from the target.


    In the current patch, the cooldown was low so it could be casted quite often. It could be casted on a maximum of 10 targets and March Rain was basically spamming it in order to cleanse all the burn effects.


    This way, she could ensure that they didn''t take double the burn damage.


    The only downside was her mana pool since it was quite the costly skill. Fortunately, the Sons of Flame were killed before March Rain''s mana pool was depleted.


    "That was easy," Lu Li commented.


    If it wasn''t for March Rain with her Mass Dispel, then he would have organized eight smaller teams, each with a class that could cast dispel. However, if one of the healers messed up then that small group could wipe very easily.


    The player in charge of cleansing everyone could forget to cleanse themselves or struggle to keep up with the refresh timer which would mean certain death.


    The two Sons of Flames were quickly dealt with and there were no drops that were worth mentioning.


    Lu Li had heard that these Elite monsters had a chance of dropping Dark Gold or even Legendary drops, since they were almost as powerful as the actual Bosses. Unfortunately, they weren''t very lucky today.


    They took a turn and two more Magma Giants appeared. Azure Sea Breeze wanted to cry and everyone else were traumatized from the previous experience.


    "We defeated the Sons of Flames before. Why are you guys scared?" Lu Li asked. He knew he had to raise their morale.


    They shouldn''t be held back by these Elite monsters because there were many more difficult challenges for them to face.


    When they heard this, they realized he was right. Now that they know what to do, as long as they concentrated, no one would die.


    This proved that they were too naive as they immediately lost two players in the first 60 seconds. One was Lonesome Flower who made a silly mistake on his positioning and the other was Wandering. However, it was more of the Healing Paladin''s fault than Wandering''s.


    "Hachi Chan, revive Wandering. World''s Best Friend, keep aggro of that monsters. Anyone else who makes these noob mistakes will be punished," Lu Li threatened angrily.


    He knew it was impossible for them to not lose anyone, but they had lost two of their key players at the very start.


    The fact that they knew what to do but still made those silly mistakes made Lu Li extremely upset.


    However, he still needed to save face for Lonesome Flower. If he was to punish him by bringing in a substitute, not only would their overall power decrease, but it would also hurt his friendship with him and his younger sister March Rain.


    The fact that Lu Li used the phrase ''noob mistakes'' really impacted Lonesome Flower.


    Lonesome Flower was a man of pride. He was one of the original members that joined Lu Li and had participated in almost every Nightmare mode dungeon clears. Although he was a more lowkey person, most top players in the game knew that his equipment was insanely powerful and almost comparable to that of Sorrowless.


    Everyone else in the party became more alert when Lonesome Flower was scolded.


    They had a few more casualties as the fight went on but when the two Magma Giants were defeated, less than ten people had died.


    Lu Li wasn''t exactly happy, but the results was acceptable.


    Lonesome Flower was revived and remained quiet. He knew that Lu Li had already saved face for him because he was aware of the 15 other capable players outside the dungeon waiting to take his place. This sort of pressure acted as motivation for the active members to perform well.


    He knew the mistake he made was very avoidable.


    If Lu Li was really going to substitute him out, then he wouldn''t argue.


    But how would his own sister look at him afterwards¡­?


    Someone suddenly held his hands; Lonesome Flower looked back and saw March Rain''s smile. He could tell that March Rain wasn''t disappointed that her older brother made a mistake and got scolded. Her expression told her that he was still the big brother that she had always looked up to.

 1350 Endless Spli

    "A Dark Gold!"


    A normal monster had dropped a Dark Gold equipment. Remnant Dream felt as if her luck was finally coming back to her.


    "High fire resistance. Magic classes, report in your fire resistance. The three of you with the lowest fire resistance players, send over the details of your gloves," Lu Li said after he checked the equipment. Although it was Dark Gold, it wasn''t worth any less than a Legendary for this dungeon because of its high fire resistance.


    Lu Li pretended to be calm and confident in front of everyone, but he actually wasn''t so sure about passing the dungeon.


    His plan was simple ¨C take out the monsters first for levelling. They wouldn''t lose Experience anyway in a dungeon and killing these level 62 monsters was worth their time. Even if they were to divide the Experience equally amongst themselves, it wouldn''t be any slower than training in the Wild.


    Not to mention, they would be able to obtain some decide fire resistance equipment in this process.


    Under normal circumstances, only players at max level with a whole set of level 60 Dark Gold equipment would have a chance of passing the dungeon. Lu Li and the others didn''t meet the level requirement to pass, but many of them possessed Legendary items. A few of them were almost fully garbed in Legendary equipment. Once they increased their fire resistance, there was a chance of them passing the dungeon.


    "Firelord. What a dominating name," World''s Best Friend muttered, feeling the urge to talk smack again.


    "Stop wasting time ¨C go," Lu Li pushed him.


    He didn''t plan for them to complete the dungeon today, but if they didn''t even take out the first Boss, that would be a waste. As such, it was important for them to quickly take out these small monsters first.


    "Boss, there''s a patrol there. What if it comes to us when we''re fighting?" World''s Best Friend asked as he pointed at the Earth Elemental that was moving at breakneck speed.


    "Uhm, let''s wait for it to come over first then. Great work on paying attention to the details," Lu Li said as he felt sweat drip down the side of his face.


    The monster that World''s Best Friend pointed at was a Lava Annihilator, another wipe factor in the Molten Core. These monsters were a lot more common in the dungeon and they moved very quickly. At the same time, taunts were relatively ineffective against them, so tanks would have to constantly cast their spells. Or else, they would assault the team with their speed.


    Fortunately, their attacks were a lot weaker, so it was quite hard for a team to wipe if they were fighting this monster alone.


    The real problem was that this monster might suddenly come over and join the battle while the players were busy dealing with other monsters. Its signature move was Charge, which would knock players away into the lava pool nearby. They couldn''t climb back up themselves either. If they were closer to shore, they might be able to ask their healers to help, but if they were further away or had already sunken deep, they would have to hastily run back to their corpse.


    A worse situation that Lu Li could think of was the monster using its Charge to push a player into another pile of monsters.


    Dawn players referred to these monsters that were attracted outside of original battles as add-ons. In other dungeons, add-ons were just a little more troublesome, but in the Molten Core, they were fatal.


    The reason why Lu Li didn''t enlighten everyone was because he was hoping that his team would grow familiar with the attack method of these monsters through wiping a few times.


    Now that World''s Best Friend had reminded everyone, Lu Li could explain. In fact, he had to encourage World''s Best Friend''s behaviour. The Lava Annihilator was a common monster with a greater patrol range, so it would be too troublesome to find them one by one and kill all of them. That would simply waste too much time.


    It was easy to kill a monster by itself, and it caused no damage at all.


    After they took out this monster, they faced the Firelord.


    This lava cave was filled with these monsters and after the previous lessons, Azure Sea Breeze didn''t dare to underestimate them anymore. Although each wave only consisted of two monsters, he didn''t dare try luring a second wave. Instead, he carefully used his rifle to hit one of the two monsters from afar.


    The two monsters were both ranged, but because Azure Sea Breeze positioned himself out of their sight, they still ran over.


    "World''s Best Friend, look after the other one. Wandering, watch out for any other monsters, and healers, keep to the same targets as before. Don''t let our tanks die because of your healing mistakes. I won''t hold back from deducting your DKP," Lu Li instructed.


    DKP referred to the abbreviation for Dragon Kill Point.


    This originated from a slightly popular game overseas.


    In many games with western backgrounds, Dragons were all represented as ridiculously powerful bosses that guarded priceless treasures. A team would no doubt be well-trained to be able to take down a dragon boss. The works of these dragon slayers would be noted, recorded and stored using Dragon Kill Points (DKP). This would be the measurement of their work and it was also the only way to decide how the priceless treasure at the end was to be split.


    This kind of calculation method grew in popularity amongst players and the Dawn system itself had implemented a DKP calculation system in the game as well.


    Team leaders or other assigned managers had the authority to alter this DKP, which meant that it was easier to deduct points. DKP was in close relation to the profit of players themselves and deducting points was the more simple and efficient way to make players stay focused on their dungeon run.


    Relationships alone wouldn''t be enough to make the team grow.


    After the players began their exploration in Molten Core, the team size of 40 men only proved how useful the DKP system was.


    Before this, teams often rolled for points in dungeons to decide who would take the equipment. However, rolling relied heavily on luck and came with risks; it wasn''t a great method for particularly unlucky players.


    For example, if there were two Priests on the team at all times, but only one attended all the dungeon runs, he could lose out to the other Priest if he was unfortunate. This wouldn''t be fair to the players who gave the run more effort.


    The DKP system was a more realistic system which rewarded players based on their effort. At the same time, those who attended more often would have more points to receive the equipment first. The only risk that they had to take was the luck of the looter. Regardless, the DKP system was quite suitable for games that had a high requirement for teamwork.


    Unfortunately, during the fight, there was still an accident in taking down the Firelord. One of the reasons was because the Firelord summoned a Lava Spawn. Everyone thought that they just had to kill the Firelord and the Lava Spawn would die with the Boss. This was common knowledge and even Lu Li couldn''t say anything. All he could do was to stay silent and allow everyone to proceed with what they were doing.


    The Lava Spawn split into two, then to four, then to eight¡­


    Just as everyone took out the two Firelords and let out a long sigh of relief, they realized that their plans had gone awry. These Lava Spawns didn''t disappear; they just kept splitting.


    The time that it took them to split also reduced.


    The more these Lava Spawns split, the faster they would reproduce as well. In the end, they just kept splitting and the team of 40 men was surrounded by endless Lava Spawns.


    Although these monsters only knew Fireball and Flamestrike and their damage was quite limited, there were only so much that Lu Li and the others could do when they were so vastly outnumbered. The healers were targeted first because they healed too much and after they died, the rest could only follow.


    After the wipe, everyone gathered together to rest up.


    "Kill the spawns first," World''s Best Friend suggested. He was also a commander, responsible for one of the elite teams in Ruling Sword. Although he always took the guide that Lu Li and the others figured out, he never gave up on learning.


    Lu Li didn''t say anything; he just nodded.


    He didn''t need to risk himself and make a call first. A wipe was enough to let these guys figure out the problem. As for the time that they wasted, this was a normal price to pay when exploring a new dungeon. It was also the price that these people had to play to continue growing.


    Lu Li''s input was to minimize time wastage and give hints when the team wiped continuously and had no clue about the situation.


    The restarted the fight and it went basically like last time.


    The difference was that this time, Lu Li asked everyone to take mixtures instead of potions. The difference between the two was that potions were a single-use item. Although it lasted for a while, the effect disappear upon death. On the other hand, mixtures were different. They lasted longer on players and the effect would still persist, even after death.


    Of course, most mixtures were a whole lot more expensive than potions and the recipes were rare.


    Currently, only major guilds could afford to have these kind of alchemists and only major guilds would use something so expensive.


    Each member of this 40-man team would need a mixture that cost around 50 gold coins. This meant that each use was 2000 gold coins. Although the value of currency was quite low at the moment, this was still thousands and thousands of dollars, and it would only for one or two hours as well.


    Only Lu Li would ask them to take mixtures for small monsters.


    Even Glory Capital would consider carefully before doing so, because they didn''t know how long it would take for them to finish exploring the dungeon.


    With the help of mixtures, their damage output grew.


    One of the Firelords was even taken down before it had the chance to summon anything. Although the other Firelord did summon a Lava Spawn, everyone was already prepared for it, so the Spawn had no chance to multiply.


    Even when split amongst 40 players, the Experience gained was very worthwhile. It was almost equivalent to the minor Bosses from their past dungeons.


    After a few waves of these monsters, Lu Li finally saw a class set piece. This finally confirmed the legends in the past that even normal monsters from the Molten Core could drop parts of a set. This reward gave everyone even more drive. They even declined Lu Li''s offer to rest a little, saying that they would all rest when they got to the Boss.

 1351 Lucifron

    Besides the T0 set part, there were also other T0.5 and T0 set items that could be obtained through quest levelling.


    These class sets and other parts that provided fire resistance attributes were a necessity for exploring the Molten Core. For example, the Mage set had a special effect that reduced the aggression for dealing spell damage.


    After all, it was too easy for Mages to take aggro in the Molten Core and they were on alert the entire time while dealing damage.


    Although there was a small chance for set parts to drop and Nightmare mode didn''t contribute anything to the drop rate, there were so many monsters in the dungeon. As long as they were willing to spend time here, there was bound to be some sort of reward.


    Quite a lot of rare materials dropped as well. Earth''s Core was a common material used for Plated gear and shields. It increased Armor and if you got lucky, it would give your equipment an Earth Guard effect. The Earth Essence was similar, but it had a better drop rate, so price-wise, it was less valuable.


    Other useful rare materials that dropped included Fire Essence and Elemental Fire. These rare materials were all suitable for crafting fire resistance equipment and were all in-demand on the current market.


    If they were fortunate enough to get a Fiery Core then it would be even better since it was worth more. This was the kind of material that was suitable for everything. It could be used to replace Fire Essence and Elemental Fire, while providing special effects.


    All the way, Lu Li had already collected quite a bit of rare material.


    If Lava Annihilators were described as fast movers, Lu Li wasn''t sure how he should describe these Lava Surgers.


    Lava Surgers were a type of Golem with fast movement speed. Wherever these Golems stepped, a pillar of dust and smoke would rise. From the dust and smoke, a monster formed of broken rocks would reveal its true form. These would appear to be like a complete Lava Surger, except that they only had the top half of the body and no feet. When they moved forward, the ground was pulled towards them, as if they were on a treadmill of rock and rubble. Whenever rocks fell off from their bodies, other pieces would replace them so that their bodies would always maintain their form.


    By the time you could see it clearly, it would already be in front of you.


    This was a very interesting monster because it had an interesting way of attacking. You could see this monster slide very fast ahead to attack and it didn''t just target the Main Tank. Sometimes it would ignore aggression and slide to other targets. Anyone who was attacked would be knocked away.


    The good news was that this monster could be banished. Banish was a type of control spell that was used by Warlocks.


    Lu Li''s shoulder piece had a similar effect called Exile, but because Lu Li wasn''t a Warlock, this meant that his special effect wasn''t useful on this Golem monster.


    As such, Warlocks were valued higher than Mages in Molten Core.


    Golems couldn''t be Polymorphed, and because of the fire in the area, ice-type magic was also weakened.


    There was also another kind of monster which moved a little slower ¨C the Ancient Core Hound. This was a type of slow and stupid monster that wandered around in the Molten Core. It seemed slow because of its body size, and it looked like a lumbering tortoise.


    However, it was actually one of the most difficult monsters to deal with at the start of Molten Core. It refreshed very quickly in the dungeon and would often reappear when you were dealing with other monsters. The worst thing was that this monster also had a huge aggression range.


    It would attack all players within 180 degrees in front of it. As such, Main Tanks had to pull them so that their backs were faced against the rest of the team.


    However, when it began to spit fire, the Main Tank be able to hold it back anymore.


    It would start spinning in a random direction, spewing out fire that would damage the players. This attack would also stun players for a brief period, reduce fire resistance by 20%, and reduce cast and attack speed by 50%. It could also cause momentary confusion, 30% total mana reduction etc...


    Fortunately, these effects weren''t applied on the players all at once, or else it would simply be easier to just forfeit the game.


    Their team wiped twice fighting this monster. The first time was because they had no clue what it was, and the next was because they accidentally lured other monsters. Lu Li didn''t say much about it. There was no way that people would never make mistakes, so he saw it as a fee for their learning.


    After they killed this monster, Lu Li had Sakura Memories come over to skin it.


    She had an exquisite skinning knife and could even remove the skin of a Boss, not to mention an average monster. She easily peeled away a layer of hide from this Ancient Core Hound.


    Lu Li packed the skin away carefully. Although this monster was hard to kill, at least the reward was valuable.


    First, there was the skin. Money alone wasn''t enough to describe its value. Even though it wasn''t a rare material, it was just as valuable. Secondly, there was the Experience. Just killing one was enough to give everyone''s Experience bars a noticeable boost. Finally, there was the legendary Ancient Core Hound pet and mount.


    Lu Li was sceptical of this last drop to say the least.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had seen both the Ancient Core Hound pet and mount. The first was kept for fun, mostly for visual purposes. If a Hunter class looked after it well, they might be able to turn it into a battle pet through some quests. However, there were also plenty of Hunters who refused to complete these kinds of quests. A Core Hound before the quest transformation didn''t look aggressive at all; it was actually quite the opposite. The Core Hound pet was famous for its cuteness and was popular amongst ladies who liked dogs.


    As for the Ancient Core Hound mount, it was one of the fanciest mounts of all time and had an incredibly low drop rate. Lu Li had barely encountered any in his life.


    The reason why Lu Li was sceptical was because he didn''t believe that an average monster would drop pets and mounts. There was probably a better chance of obtaining this loot at the second Boss. People were probably just imagining things because they wanted the pet and mount so much.


    They pushed all the way in and quickly arrived before the first boss, Lucifron.


    Lucifron was a monster that had a similar appearance to Naga. He had a snake-like tail but no fins and gills, and his colour was different too. Lucifron was the standard lava rock color, and was clearly a fire-type of monster. Layers of sharp needles protruded from his skin, each standing tall and looking threatening on his gigantic body.


    Everyone felt tired after they arrived, considering that they all refused to properly rest before. Lu Li announced resting time on the spot.


    It had already been 2-3 hours since they entered, and it had taken them a long time to reach the Boss. This dungeon would have been too hard to imagine for the team back in the past.

 1352 Coal Block

    During the break time, the players could log off to take a nap, chat with one another, or go and grab a snack. Everyone had their own way to relaxing and the commander didn''t have much to say about it.


    Lu Li didn''t actually feel that tired. After all, he was the child of a poor family, so his upbringing was much tougher. He had felt worse tiredness and bitterness than this.


    He walked around and observed the area in a way that he didn''t have the opportunity to when they had first entered. He picked several herbs that were only available in this lava environment, planning to incorporate them into his poison production. Perhaps he could add some fire damage to his poisons.


    Although everyone was currently pursuing fire resistance, fire damage was still greatly effective.


    Then, Lu Li saw Water Fairy.


    The two Drizzle Court companions she brought were not next to her. The people from Ruling Sword hadn''t greeted her, so she was just sitting alone next to a magma pool.


    Water Fairy was sitting on a chair that she brought with her. She was very particular and would be exactly the kind of person to do that.


    When Lu Li approached her, he found that Water Fairy had a white pole in her hand and a silver silk fishing line on the other. There was an emerald green floater, attached to it but Lu Li didn''t know what it was made of. It seemed to be floating in the magma without taking any damage.


    This girl was fishing!


    "What kind of bait are you using?" Lu Li asked as he squatted down next to Water Fairy. He didn''t dare to sit down. The ground was very hot and it would significantly damage his pants.


    "Fire worms ¨C they are everywhere along the ground. I didn''t think there would be any living fish here, but I am finding all kinds of materials," Water Fairy explained as she handed Lu Li an item. It wasn''t a very cute item ¨C in fact, it was some kind of skull.


    Was it the skull of some dead person?


    As a matter of fact, Lu Li did remember what this item was. It was a decent rare material that could only be found in the waters of more complex environments.


    This magma pool was one of these so-called complex environments. Swamps could also fall into this category, but no matter what the area was, they all had to have one thing in common. Things had to die in them, and the more things that died, the better.


    The skull was generally the hardest part of any lifeform. It was said that the soul of the lifeform would strengthen the skull after death, which was why it could withstand the high temperatures of the magma.


    In the Molten Core, countless Dwarves had been killed by the flames of Ragnaros. Later, when the Blackrock Orcs attacked this place, if it weren''t for the Strength of the Flame, the bones of the Dwarves and Orcs would have been scattered throughout these lands.


    "There isn''t a description for the item. It just says it''s a rare material," Water Fairy said as she pulled up her line and fished out another skull. "Is this item useful to you?"


    She had never heard of a Trade Skill that required such materials before, and no one in Drizzle Court knew either.


    "It is probably useful in Alchemy," Lu Li said. He obviously knew.


    "Alchemy¡­ is it used to make potions?"


    Water Fairy was stunned. This was a game, but no one would dare to take the skull of a dead person in reality. Even to use it for a potion here was very strange. If you thought about the fact that a skull was used to make your potion, your stomach would probably be uneasy.


    "For poisons. Give these to me, and I''ll see what I can do," Lu Li requested bluntly.


    "Ah, for poison. Alright then, but if it turns out well, remember to give some to me," Water Fairy said, giving all the skulls to Lu Li.


    "Of course, but U will need to experiment. I have to find the formula first, and this isn''t enough material."


    Lu Li took out his own rod and planned to participate in the fishing. Unfortunately, his fishing line was not exquisite enough. He had just bought it from the System store and it turned into ashes as soon as it hit the magma.


    "Hey," the female tycoon called out to her companion.


    "Let me see your fishing rod."


    "Don''t you have your own? Why do you want to borrow mine?"


    Star Baby was resting on a recliner and was probably just too lazy to move. She didn''t even turn her head when she responded.


    "¡­" Water Fairy was speechless. She handed her fishing rod to Lu Li before standing up and walking over.


    If there was a bigger audience here, she probably wouldn''t have cried out like that. However, she currently felt free to speak however she wanted. After she ran over, she said a few things and eventually brought back a fishing rod. She was also holding onto a chair that she had presumably borrowed for Lu Li.


    Lu Li''s backpack usually never carried all this random stuff. Other than the fishing competition, he rarely went fishing, so he never bothered to think about getting something to sit on.


    "She is still looking over here," Lu Li said, taking the chair and the fishing rod before sitting down. He glanced back and saw that Star Baby wasn''t reclining anymore and was sneaking a look. Lu Li was a little embarrassed, as there was no one in Ruling Sword that would stare at them so blatantly.


    "She isn''t given enough homework to do," Water Fairy said quietly.


    "So? She''s just a school student. Just get the teacher to assign more," Lu Li said before realizing that his fishing skills weren''t too bad. After casting his line, he quickly caught a piece of coal.


    This stuff was basically filler material. It could be used in Engineering, but the fact that it was worth a couple dozen copper coins made it not worth storing.


    "I feel like casting your line to a place where there are bubbles makes it easier to catch something," Water Fairy suggested.


    "Oh, maybe¡­ that''s it."


    Lu Li felt a bit awkward, but he cleverly decided not to say anything. Sometimes it was better to show restraint when it came to girls. This was something he learned from his sister, as sometimes they would just say whatever was in their minds.


    "This Instance Dungeon is quite hard," Water Fairy commented after a moment of silence.


    "Is there any Instance Dungeon that is easy? If the players could complete the Instance Dungeons too easily, they would have the cut the game designer''s pay," Lu Li said. He was the kind of person that liked to look at a problem and explore the nature of the problem. There was an obvious tension between players, but a similar tension existed between players and the game designer. A long-lived game had to be difficult. If any small team could easily take down a big Boss, it would be like giving one player the ability the kill everyone on a street. In either case, regardless of what reasons there were for it, the game would close down quickly.


    "But you seemed quite confident," Water Fairy couldn''t help but respond.


    Before that, Water Fairy had been thinking about how long it would be before they could complete this Instance Dungeon. She didn''t think that Lu Li would be this pessimistic.


    "I am very confident. We will eventually defeat this Instance Dungeon; it is just a matter of time. If a designer made an Instance Dungeon that was impossible, they would have also failed. If that''s the case, the Game Company will eventually reduce the difficulty through an update," Lu Li said in a matter-of-fact tone.


    "I got a rare material, Flame Essence," Water Fairy called out. "Did you catch anything in those bubbles?"


    "Coal, I just keep getting coal," Lu Li sighed as he threw his newly acquired piece of coal back into the magma. It would just have been a waste of space in his backpack. He rebaited the hook and cast his line back into the place where the bubbles were. Couldn''t this girl see that he was struggling to catch anything from this fishing session?

 1353 Lucifron

    "Boss, the monsters behind us are respawning," someone reported.


    Before they had even defeated the first Boss, the monsters they had previously cleared were already respawning. They were respawning quite quickly too.


    "Grab some of the players to deal with them. I want to fish."


    Lu Li was sitting on his chair and didn''t move. He said that he wanted to fish, so Water Fairy didn''t move either. Both of them continued to carry on as they had been doing.


    The others secretly insulted this couple, but they had no choice except to do as they were told.


    Fortunately, they were already familiar with these monsters, so it didn''t matter that they were missing two Thieves. There were also far fewer monsters here, so they didn''t need that much manpower anyway.


    After clearing the monsters, Lu Li officially announced the start of their next attempt at the Boss.


    "There isn''t much to say. Main Tank, go and pull the surrounding monsters so we can clear them first. Everyone else, pay as much attention as you can to the two fire demons near the Boss. Since the monsters before this were so difficult, we probably won''t defeat this Boss in one attempt, but we have to make every death count. Let''s try to find out as much as we can about the Boss in this attempt," Lu Li said, making sure not to give them false hope.


    In general, it was quite useful to get everyone riled up because you could create a miracle.


    However, as someone who had experienced rebirth, Lu Li knew the difficulty of the Molten Core even though he had not played it. Their First Clear experience was bound to be a long and arduous journey. Blindly boosting their morale now would only make their bitterness worse after several defeats.


    First, they had to set a small goal. To get to a million, they had to reach a hundred first.


    "Brothers, I will be going in then!" Azure Sea Breeze cried out after clearing the mobs and rushed into the Boss.


    As for the two minions near the Boss, they were naturally taken over by World''s Best Friend and Wandering. Normally, they would only bring two Main Tanks, but Lu Li brought three this time to deal with the Boss and his minions. Although they had one less damage output player, the risk of being wiped was much lower.


    "Boss, who do we kill first?"


    The commander hadn''t said anything, which made everyone anxious.


    "Kill the fire demons first, obviously," Lu Li responded.


    These two fire demons could be defeated. In fact, if you didn''t know whether a monster could be killed, you should always try, because the monsters would often have strange skills, like¡­


    "Rice Ball has been hit by a Crowd Control!" someone standing next to Sesame Rice Ball cried out.


    Sesame Rice Ball was hit by the fire demon''s charm, which meant that he was now fighting his own team, but that was not all. If there was just one Warlock fighting them, then they could just send someone to crowd-control him. However, when he was hit by the skill, he suddenly duplicated into five.


    "Wandering go over to tank Rice Ball''s clones. World, tank the two minions, and Breezy, keep fighting the Boss," Lu Li called out while attacking one of the fire demons. His voice remained calm while giving out the commands, which gave everyone some confidence.


    Some commanders liked to yell and scream, but they also sounded nervous when they encountered something new. They didn''t know that their commands were affected by their emotions too.


    "They are all the same. There isn''t an aura at the foot of any one of them. They all have the same attack power, so this is difficult," Wandering reported. The fact that they had a group of Paladins was becoming more useful now, but Wandering was still tanking all of the clones.


    "How is their damage?" Lu Li asked.


    "It''s really high!" Wandering cried out. "I am already using my damage reduction skills, or else I wouldn''t be able to tank them. There are five Warlocks, and they are all powerful as well. Sesame Rice Ball, how do you have so much time to get all this equipment and have gems for all your slots too?"


    "Just kill him then," Lu Li said without thinking.


    "¡­" everyone was speechless.


    "Boss¡­" Although he couldn''t help himself because of the Crowd Control, Sesame Rice Ball could still speak on the team channel.


    He felt like the situation could still be salvaged, so why was Lu Li completely giving up on him?


    "Do it quickly, and then deal with the fire demons. Stop wasting time talking," Lu Li growled. They indeed had to kill the person that had been charmed by the fire demon. This was the initial problem in the solution of this Instance Dungeon, and it would later be removed as the charm would become a form of magic that was dispel-able by Priests.


    Since Lu Li had given a clear instruction, everyone had no choice but to obey.


    Sesame Rice Ball didn''t even last for five seconds. He was just a Warlock with three thousand HP and Cloth Armor. When everyone focused him, he immediately fell.


    Then, they turned to the continue attacking the two minions of the Boss.


    The second person to be charmed was Hachi Chan. She was a healer, and although she didn''t pose the same threat as Sesame Rice Ball, she would heal the Boss instead. Having Hachi Chan''s healing the Boss was a terrible thing to deal with, so they also quickly killed her.


    Just as everyone was worrying about who would be the next, the Boss suddenly took the limelight from the minions.


    Everyone was given a curse that burned their Mana, Energy or Rage and increased the Mana, Energy or Rage required by their skills by 100% for five minutes.


    This was an area of effect skill, and it had a very wide range.


    Some players thought that this wouldn''t affect their damage on the Boss because it didn''t harm them directly. However, if it was left unchecked, the Warriors'' and Thieves'' damage output would be greatly reduced and the Magic Professions would rapidly deplete their mana, especially the Priests. If they ran out of mana, the healers would be unable to heal and they would be wiped soon after.


    This lasted for exactly five minutes. If they didn''t deal with it, then they would have no hope left.


    "Mages, deal with the curse," Lu Li commanded after some thought. He turned his eyes to three people ¨C Deadly Green Orange, Short Circuit and Lonesome Flower. They were a little stunned at first, but then they quickly rushed to get rid of the curse on their teammates.


    Mages were rarely specifically instructed, especially in the previous Instance Dungeons.


    Even if there was a curse, it was never significant enough that the Mage would spend their time lifting it. As such, when Lu Li called for them to remove the curse, they felt a little forced and had to take some time to work out who had been affected. This was nothing to do with their performance as they had been attentively dealing damage and managing their aggro, but they had never cared about who received a curse before.


    Druids could also remove curses, but Hachi Chan was still lying on the ground.


    By the time everyone''s curses were removed, some of the Magic professions had much less mana than before. Some had even completely run out. Two of the Tank Healers reported that they had no mana left and could only support by casting minor healing skills.


    "Mages, what are you thinking?!"


    Lu Li desperately resisted the urge to cough up blood.


    Although Lonesome Flower was not a PVP player, he had been doing Instance Dungeons with Lu Li for such a long time, so his response time was much shorter than the average person. Short Circuit was a very talented player, but perhaps he was still untrained because he was moving very slowly.


    Not to mention, there was also Deadly Green Orange. She was a professional player, but was wasting time anyway. This girl was the most deserving of Lu Li''s anger.


    Unfortunately, she wasn''t from Ruling Sword, so Lu Li couldn''t just single her out.


    "Sorry, this is the first time I''ve removed curses," Deadly Green Orange apologized quickly. She was brave enough to admit her mistakes and was confident that she would do better next time.


    The other two Mages immediately understood what they did wrong when they heard that.


    "I would rather the three of you not to deal damage and just focus on removing the curse. Now there''s no point to continue fighting. Let''s just die quickly. Wandering, if you interfere with Remnant Dream''s pet again, I will make sure that you have negative guild points!" Lu Li roared.

 1354 Doomsday

    "Boss, what do we do?" Everyone was dumbfounded.


    This was their second attempt. The first person that got charmed was an insignificant damage output player who was swiftly executed. They didn''t feel any sense of guilt because that guy had a girlfriend, and everyone felt justified in being given the opportunity to kill him.


    However, the next player that got charmed was not someone that they were willing to make a decision on their own about.


    It wasn''t Azure Sea Breeze. Even if it was, they would still just kill him. Wandering and World''s Best Friend were enough to tank it for a while.


    "Kill¡­ me!" Lu Li was also quite depressed.


    Was today the revenge of the singles? First, they had killed someone with a girlfriend and now they were killing someone who was in love. The theme was quite clear.


    Everyone looked at Lu Li with a pained expression before casting their skills at him. Even though they said that they didn''t want to, their actions betrayed their intentions as some even cast their ultimate skills.


    Lu Li was quickly eliminated, and the other Lu Li''s were rendered useless.


    "Hachi Chan, Resurrect me," Lu Li instructed. He couldn''t just lay there. After death, a player''s vision turned grey and their viewing angle changed. This would affect his ability to observe the battlefield. It was impossible for a commander to command a fight from the ground.


    Hachi Chan obediently went to Resurrect Lu Li before adding, "I am providing a valuable service. I will only accept 300 gold coins. Thank you for your patronage and come again next time."


    Lu Li was too lazy to care about her. He had to remind the people who made the mistake last time.


    "Mages, get ready, if you spend more than 15 seconds lifting the curses this time, don''t blame me for being mad. Especially you Star Baby ¨C you represent Drizzle Court''s Mages."


    "I will definitely do it right this time," Star Baby muttered through gritted teeth. She then turned her head to Remnant Dream and said, "Dreamy, I finally know why you call Lu Li a slavedriver now. You can still come to our guild; we have many beautiful sisters."


    "Beautiful sister, look, the Boss is going to cast the curse again," Remnant Dream cried out as she pointed at the Boss.


    Then, there was the chaos once again. Although it was a little messy, it was much more efficient than last time. Remove Curse was a simple instant skill. The casting action was also quite easy to perform; they just had to be quick in choosing their targets.


    Of course, Lucifron''s curse has a mana burning effect and an increased mana cost effect. As such, if they dealt with it faster, it would have less effect.


    Additionally, the Mages'' speed was still far lower than Lu Li''s expectations.


    "Let''s keep fighting. Next time there is a curse, anyone who has it should just cry out so that the Mages can pick out the targets more easily. You have to work together perfectly," he sighed.


    After a while, he couldn''t help but cry out, "What are you guys looking at the Boss for? Quickly attack the fire demons! Do you want to get charmed?"


    After that, everyone sprung back into action. The main strategy at the moment was to kill the minions and then fight the Boss.


    In fact, everyone could feel Lu Li''s anxiety. The Instance Dungeon was clearly putting pressure on him, because his words were not usually so abrasive, or at least, they weren''t usually so consistently offensive.


    They eventually killed one of the two fire demons. Then, someone was charmed, and Lu Li had no choice but to bear the pain of killing another teammate. This slow attrition was very painful, and they had lost a tank healer too. It was worse to lose one healer than to lose two damage output players.


    The early strategy for this Boss involved bringing in Druids with Resurrect. However, this was quite tricky and it didn''t always work, which was why Lu Li didn''t go for it. After all, it was better to kill the Boss quickly than to risk the skill refreshing.


    Doomsday!


    Doomsday ¨C the end of times is approaching. In 10 seconds, deal 20,000 Shadow damage to nearby enemies.


    This was one of three skills that caused the most trouble ¨C the demon''s charm, Lucifron''s curse and Doomsday. There were countless teams that died here because of these three skills, and many of the unorganised parties were completely barred from progressing because of this obstacle.


    As the name suggested, when Doomsday was cast, the players surrounding the area would take 20,000 damage after 10 seconds.


    20,000 damage was enough to instantly kill any player from any profession.


    As for the players that had invulnerability skills or special blocking effects, there were only a few of them. Moreover, this was the kind of damage that ignored defence and invulnerability. The Paladin''s invulnerability and the Mage''s Ice Block wouldn''t protect them.


    Among the Instance Dungeons in Dawn, there were some that were thought to be extraordinarily hard.


    Later, a designer would admit that it wasn''t because they wanted to make it hard, but it was a requirement from above that they needed to increase the difficulty. The designers had no choice, which was how these situations came about.


    Therefore, every time Dawn had a system update, it always seemed to be reducing the game''s difficulty.


    There was another thing that made the players despair. Regardless of whether it was the curse or Doomsday, they were both area of effect skills. Anyone who had fought the Boss would tell you what a disaster these area of effect skills caused.


    Just when Lu Li was about to yell, he suddenly closed his mouth.


    There was a circle that had appeared and was expanding outwards directly towards the players that were standing near the Boss. Around each of the players that had been hit, and there was another circle¡­


    Disperse ¨C Disperse all magic within a 15 yard radius. Removes all harmful de-buffs from friendly targets and removes 1 buff from enemy targets. This Disperse was quite powerful and could remove skills that an ordinary Disperse couldn''t.


    This was a legendary effect and was March Rain''s signature skill.


    Lu Li facepalmed himself. He had been terrified of Lucifron''s curse to the point that he completely forgot about March Rain''s Disperse.


    In terms of effect, Doomsday was much more deadly as the curse simply burned mana. However, a strong Priest was a very simple solution to the problem.


    March Rain could just cast Disperse!


    Lu Li was suddenly filled with confidence in killing Lucifron, as long as¡­


    The three Mages suddenly started to quiver. They felt like the look that Lu Li was giving them was very intimidating.

 1355 A Key Battle

    When Lucifron''s HP was just a little over half full, there were a few people who had no mana left.


    They seemed to have exhausted all of their means of regenerating mana. These Magic professions with no mana were like tigers with no teeth. At least a tiger could still use their claws, but could you expect these Magic professions to go and attack the Boss with their Magic Staff?


    "Lifting the curses is still a problem. Short Road, you need to be faster," Lu Li said. He had calmed down a little.


    "Sorry, my bad," Short Road apologized softly. It was hard to tell how he was feeling, partly because he was ill, but also because he was good at controlling his emotions. The reason why Lu Li criticized him was not because he was slow, but actually because he kept removing the curses on targets that Star Baby had already covered.


    This meant that the work he did was useless and a waste of time.


    "It''s Star Baby''s fault ¨C she keeps targeting people she shouldn''t be," Water Fairy said. She knew what had happened.


    "Well, next time I just won''t cast my skills so quickly then," Star Baby muttered as she stuck her tongue out. She really had been targeting players that were supposed to be Short Road''s. This meant that he had no choice but to cancel his skill and look for other targets. Star Baby should have been the one receiving the criticism.


    "I gave you your groups so it would be easier for you to remove their curses. If you do this again I will start deducting points," Lu Li said.


    Among the three Mages, there were bound to be some mistakes. Whether it was the mistake of one or three of the Mages, those mistakes would have implications for the entire team.


    In a group of 40 players, the chance of someone making a mistake was higher than in a team of 15 or 10 players.


    The team was wiped again and again, and soon, they had already spent half a day there.


    "This is the ninth time ¨C the ninth time we got wiped," Lu Li said blankly. "Thank you for opening my eyes and showing me all these ways mistakes can be made. I think the performance is over; it''s time for us to finish off this Boss so we can have some food!"


    "I recommend increasing the damage output at the start," Wandering interjected.


    "Why do you say that?"


    "The Mages removing the curse is not such a problem now. No matter how many times we die, we can''t put our complete trust in them. If the fire demons'' charm is such a threat, and would cause us to lose 3-5 players, why don''t we just burst them right at the beginning?"


    "That sounds like a good idea. Let''s try to kill these demons first," Lu Li nodded in agreement.


    The role of commander, or the head of a party, was a concept that had proliferated throughout Dawn. If you could take a party through an Instance Dungeon by following a strategy, then you could call yourself a commander. But in fact, a real commander needed to at least know how the game mechanics worked.


    After starting the fight, Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t tanking the Boss this time.


    Lucifron was handed over to World''s Best Friend. Wandering was still responsible for whoever got charmed, but Azure Sea Breeze was responsible for the two fire demons. His technique, skills and equipment were slightly stronger than World''s Best Friend, so he could quickly take the aggro of the fire demons. In this way, the other damage output players could attack without fear.


    The first player to be charmed was Bearded Zaza.


    Bearded Zaza was a very powerful Hunter in Ruling Sword. He was very good at kiting and had solo-killed several Bosses by kiting them.


    However, no matter how strong this damage output player was, Lu Li had to order for him to be killed.


    The second player to get charmed was Lonesome Flower, which was a bit of a tragedy. Ice Mages were really important for Lucifron, so after he was killed, Lu Li immediately told Hachi Chan to Resurrect him.


    At this point, the Fire Demons had been killed.


    The result of a burst from this 40-person team was quite powerful, but there was a price to be paid. Bloodlust had been cast and everyone had used their most powerful damage skills. This meant that in this next fight, they would have fewer damage skills at their disposal.


    Lu Li simply Resurrected Bearded Zaza to fight too.


    Having another powerful damage output player could reduce the time a fight took, and possibly also reduce the number of times Lucifron used his curse.


    "Hachi Chan, don''t bother healing everyone. Watch the second group; you can help lift curses too. Otherwise, just heal the Main Tanks. Darkness, if you get hit by the curse, then don''t heal. Only continue after the curse has been removed. Mages and Druids, prioritise removing the


    healer''s curse."


    So far, they had fought fairly well. Lu Li was constantly adjusting his strategy as they went through their various successes and failures.


    Although they had not yet reached the end of the day, everyone''s spirits had been exhausted after such a long time of fighting. This was a natural outcome, particularly after being wiped so often.


    Everyone saw Lu Li''s grim expression, and knew that the commander was serious this time.


    However, this only served to motivate them. They hadn''t progressed this far before, and there wasn''t one player who wasn''t looking forward to getting this Boss over and done with.


    "March Rain, pay attention to your mana. Everyone, take care of yourself so the healers are under less pressure."


    Lu Li had to ensure that the Priest had enough mana to cast the Dispel. If March Rain ran out of mana, then they would have no chance of defeating the Boss.


    "I have a special effect here that might help," Water Fairy said suddenly as she reached for a badge.


    Then, a green light shrouded March Rain''s body. March Rain''s mana was being regenerated until it reached about halfway.


    "How do you have Innervate?"


    Hachi Chan had previously given this skill to March Rain, but Lu Li didn''t expect Water Fairy to have it as well.


    "The effect isn''t as good as the Druid version, but it''s not that useful to me. It can also only be used once a day, so I didn''t dare to use it before. But this time I have hope, and I hope it won''t be wasted," Water Fairy explained clearly. She didn''t want Ruling Sword''s players to think that she had been hiding this skills.


    Lu Li seemed to appreciate it.


    "Great. Everyone should pull out all the stops now. If we can''t defeat it this time, we''ll have no choice but to fight it again tomorrow."


    Although everyone seemed honest, they would all have some skill or another hidden away. The fact that Lu Li said this in such a relaxed tone made everyone speechless. There were still things he could learn from other commanders.


    The heads of other teams, even if they were Wild parties, would try as much as possible to understand what the players had.


    This way, they would be able to come up with a specific strategy.


    Lu Li never had such a tradition. After all, his fixed group originally had ten players. Everyone had fought together for so long that he had just slowly learned all the skills they had.


    But now, the line-up had expanded drastically, and there were three more players from Drizzle Court. As such, they had to come up with some formalised rules.

 1356 Starting to Distribute Equipmen

    "He''s gone Berserk! That''s good ¨C keep it up," Lu Li said, starting to become excited.


    It wasn''t that he preferred that the Boss had gone Berserk. Although Lucifron didn''t have particularly strong attacks, he had a chance of killing Azure Sea Breeze when he went Berserk. Even if he didn''t, they could still suffer heavy casualties.


    The reason Lu Li was excited was because once Lucifron entered Berserk, he would no longer cast the curse skill or the Doomsday skill.


    Instead, there was an Area of Effect skills called Shadow Shock. Its damage wasn''t low and it covered a wide range, but when compared to the curses and Doomsday, it was a much more reasonable skill to deal with.


    "Breezy, make sure you maintain aggro. World, get ready. You need to be able to take over at a moment''s notice. Everyone else, don''t worry about anything and just attack with all you''ve got," Lu Li instructed. He hoped that nothing would go wrong. The most crucial thing here was that the Main Tanks could keep tanking and the Healers could sustain them.


    Now that all three Main Tanks were still alive, and the Healers had been supported, if they failed again, they would really lose hope.


    Everyone knew this when they got to the final moments, and they were very cautious.


    "The flame will dominate the world!"


    With this boring line, Lucifron ¨C the monster that had wiped Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court''s joint team nearly 10 times ¨C had finally fallen.


    The Boss was very powerful and the solution was team-oriented. The Molten Core would be a classic example of a difficult Instance Dungeon for a few years to come. Lu Li had finally taken down the First Boss. He didn''t know how he did it in his previous life, but his name would be forever remembered in this world.


    The thought of being born again was something close to his heart. It was only with these changes that Lu Li could assure himself that he was living in the real world.


    "Do you want to Dreamy to take all the gold?" Wandering asked, interrupting Lu Li''s daydream.


    It should be said that right from when they had 15 players in a party, they had already implemented the gold confiscation system. That is, the player who looted the equipment would also be the one who picked up all the gold dropped by the Boss and monsters. This person would then give the gold to the head of team. Sometimes, the head of the team would loot it themselves, but since Lu Li was so unlucky, no one wanted to him to loot the body.


    "Yeah, let''s take it all," Lu Li said.


    He had been thinking about this problem for some time, and had specifically asked some older people like Cat Dad and Mu Qiu about depriving everyone the fun of collecting their own gold coins.


    Here, Mu Qiu''s reasoning made a lot of sense to Lu Li ¨C don''t let them take your kindness for granted.


    If you collected all the gold coins together and handed them out for people to repair their equipment, then at the beginning, the players might be grateful for this distribution. However, as they got used to it over time, they would start to take these distributions for granted.


    In Lucifron''s case, they had received 2000 gold, so each person could receive a few dozen.


    If Lu Li took this gold and gave everyone what they needed to repair their equipment, those players would be grateful. However, those who didn''t receive anything would inevitably feel some grievances, and this would affect the guild''s reputation.


    Most importantly, Lu Li had to consider the teams from other guilds.


    In some First Clear groups, the gold they received was also filtered down to the elite group. If Lu Li insisted that the gold was to be split among them and the elite groups, then the effect would snowball into an even bigger problem.


    Of course, everyone was disappointed when they heard Lu Li announce that.


    However, no one here really cared about the dozens of gold coins, as their attention was quickly diverted to the next thing.


    "Little lucky girl, please begin your performance!"


    "Here is the gold."


    The little girl''s watery eyes were reluctant, but she still gave the gold coins to Lu Li. She decided to wait till she looted some exquisite equipment. Then, she would ask for her red packets.


    Lu Li took them straightforwardly; it wasn''t like he was keeping these for himself.


    Next time they did an Instance Dungeon where they had died so many times that they needed their equipment to be repaired, he could set his Maintenance Robots out to roam freely. That way, no one would need any money to repair their equipment.


    Of course, this would still cost money, but it would be deducted from Lu Li''s wallet.


    "Three gems and 22 Strengthening Stones. Wow, there are so many gems, but they aren''t that valuable," the little Hunter announced. Her standards were now quite high, and even an exquisite gem that gave 15% critical damage wasn''t that powerful in her eyes.


    If this gem was inserted into a Magic Staff of a player who didn''t have low critical rate, then the increased damage would be felt immediately.


    When they saw this stone, the Magic Professions all yearned for it. The distribution method here was simple.


    Lu Li asked them to take out their level 60 weapons and compare their attributes with any gems that were already inserted. If their weapon wasn''t good enough, then it wouldn''t be wise to waste this gem. In the end, it was given to Kitty Likes Meat. The current gem she had was really bad, but she could get it replaced at a Blacksmith.


    Of course, when distributing in such a large Instance Dungeon, you had to pay for items in points. This gem wasn''t actually worth much less than equipment.


    As for the other two gems, they really as worthless as Remnant Dream said.


    "Three Skill Books. Two of them are for fire Mages. Haha, there are no fire Mages here," Remnant Dream said.


    There were two fire Mage skills and one Warlock Skill. The Warlock skill was given to Sesame Rice Ball and the fire Mage skills were left with Lu Li to be given to those in need.


    In fact, Lu Li''s method of distribution was different when he was outside.


    When an item was dropped in the Wild, the people who needed it would ask for it with a price. Those who really wanted it would then compete for who could pay the most for it.


    Here, Lu Li picked based on who needed it the most before considering the number of people who wanted it. The point value of the item was something decided solely by Lu Li. The prices he listed were not that low, so everyone was usually convinced that his prices were fair.


    There were a few rare materials, but they were similar to those they had received from previous monsters. These were all given to Lu Li.


    These items were the property of Ruling Sword. The three players from Drizzle Court couldn''t participate in this distribution. They could only have items assigned to them if they had special needs and no one on Lu Li''s side had asked for it.


    Now, it was time for the most exciting moment.


    Dawn was a game where equipment was everything. In the imaginations of the ordinary players, if they acquired the best equipment, they would not be much worse than players like Sorrowless or Lu Li.

 1357 Divided

    The first item to appear was a Dark Gold equipment. Its fire resistance Attribute was relatively high, and it was a Plate Armor for damage output Paladins. There was no shortage on the market for such Paladin items.


    Lu Li had no choice but to allow them to bid for it with their points. Lu Li could set a price for gems and skill books, but equipment couldn''t be distributed with the same principles. This was because equipment could be traded and players could swap and sell their equipment based on what was in demand.


    The points were bid at an alarming speed, which actually made Lu Li jump.


    Weren''t these players afraid that something even better might come better? Even so, this was a pretty good item anyway.


    In fact, their thought process was quite different to Lu Li''s, especially those who were newcomers to Lu Li''s team. They were already unsure if Lu Li would invite them to future Instance Dungeon runs. Even if an exquisite Epic item appeared, would they really give it to the newcomers?


    In the end, the final price was 65 points. It was even more expensive than the gem that Lu Li had given to Kitty Likes Meat.


    It should be noted that these guild points were not easy to earn. For example, this event was worth 5 points, but if you were late then the points were forfeited. They also had to keep persisting until the commander said it was over. Everyone who was present when they defeated Lucifron received 10 points.


    However, since this was First Clear, and they would have received a bonus for killing the Boss, the points gained were increased by 1.5x.


    In order words, achieving the First Clear on Lucifron was worth 15 points.


    The Main Tank received 2 extra points, while the Off-Tank, Healers and the commander received 1 extra point. The lucky little girl also received 1 extra point.


    Sixty points was the price of an Epic equipment.


    However, since they were willing to pay this price, Lu Li didn''t stop them. As the commander, Lu Li wanted them to spend their points. If everyone just kept accumulating them, then their value would decrease as the amount of guild points inflated.


    In a healthy economy, there was only one master of the guild points. This meant that the newcomers would be able to quickly catch up the average players.


    The second item was a Gold equipment. Although the attributes were pretty good, there was no demand for it here. The third and fourth items were the same. These three items were given to Lu Li, who then passed them on to the Main Tanks. They had to pay the most for repairing their equipment and taking potions. If they weren''t subsidized, they wouldn''t be able to afford to continue being a Main Tank.


    Then there was another Dark Gold item, which was for Bear Tanks. There was no demand for that here either.


    Water Fairy took the equipment with some of her points. They had a Bear Tank ¨C Deep Watersong ¨C and took this item to increase their strength.


    Of course, no one objected to this. Originally, it was something that couldn''t be sold, but now they were glad that someone was else was willing to buy it.


    Even if she didn''t want it, Lu Li could have just given it to the Elite Groups for their use.


    The fifth piece of equipment that dropped was finally an Epic item. Remnant Dream''s eyes clearly lit up and the wry smile she made was particularly cute.


    "Epic equipment ¨C a level 60 T1 robe set Mold¡­"


    Lu Li was also quite excited. He didn''t expect such a good item. He thought it was just an ordinary Epic item.


    The Molten Core''s Bosses were bound to drop Epic items, especially if they were on Nightmare Difficulty. Otherwise, there was no point playing it. Neither the rich nor the professional players would even try, because they wouldn''t have any hope.


    Although the difficulty of Nightmare Difficulty made it impossible for most, at least there was hope.


    "30 points!" Lonesome Flower exclaimed, unable to stop himself.


    Lu Li gulped when he heard that. He was going to say 15, but it had suddenly started at 30.


    According to Ruling Sword''s rules, there was no requirement for Gold equipment. Anyone who wanted it could just take it. There was no way that anyone in this group needed Gold equipment.


    Then there was Dark Gold equipment, which started from 5 points.


    Dark Gold set equipment was basically the same as a normal Epic equipment, and would start at 10 points. Just because it started there didn''t mean that they were anywhere near that price. The previous Dark Gold item had just sold for 60 points.


    Finally, Epic and Legendary equipment started at 15 points. However, these happened dropped so rarely that not many players had seen one before.


    "40 points."


    This was not the time to be humble. Deadly Green Orange immediately bid 40 points. They didn''t have any Ruling Sword points at first because they were from Drizzle Court, so they were given some extra points. However, there was no way they would be able to compete against someone from the guild, especially someone like Lonesome Flower.


    "50 points," Lonesome Flower insisted.


    "60 points," Short Road chimed in. He wasn''t an idiot. Even if he couldn''t purchase the equipment, he couldn''t let Lonesome Flower take it with too low of a price. Otherwise, the gap between them would be there forever.


    The different sides competed with each other before settling on a final score of 120. Lonesome Flower finally got the item he wanted.


    It wasn''t that the other two didn''t want to keep fighting, but they just didn''t have any more points.


    This was an Epic set item, which probably made it worth three times more. 120 points was still a very low price.


    "When I reach level 60, you can have the robe I''m replacing Short Road," Lonesome Flower offered. He wasn''t angry because the others made him spend more points. As long as they left his sister alone, he had no qualms with anyone.


    "Thank you Flower Bro," Short Road said, feeling a little uncomfortable.


    He was physical ill, not mentally ill. Of course, he knew what equipment Lonesome Flower had, and at least half of his items were Epic. The most important of a Mage''s items was their robe and despite the fact that Lonesome Flower was replacing it, it would probably still make him stronger than 99.9% of the Mages in the game.


    "Alright, let''s see if there is any more. Quickly Dreamy, stop dragging this one out. Flower won''t forget the red packet," Lu Li said.


    "Alright, alright."


    Remnant Dream, who had been watching Lonesome Flower, was disappointed when she heard Lu Li say that. However, she was immediately re-energised when she got the next item.


    "Choker of Enlightenment. Ooh, there might be another fight."


    Epic Jewellery was not as good as a set item, but that was just a general rule.


    Previously, there were just the three Mages going for the Robe, but the people going for this Choker of Enlightenment would be¡­


    Lu Li didn''t even want to count them. This was available for anyone who was a Magic profession, and even the Tank Healers could participate.


    "We''ll start from 10 points. Let''s begin," Lu Li announced.


    He actually wanted to directly assign it to March Rain or Kitty Likes Meat. After all, they were professional players. However, he couldn''t do that, as no First Clear team would allow him to do that.


    The club''s professional players did have priority when it came to equipment, but it was a bit rude to enforce that right.


    After all, everyone had come into this Instance Dungeon and died together. After all that teamwork, how could the commander just assign the equipment to one of the professional players?

 1358 Five Dogs

    For a while, everything was quiet.


    No one had made an offer!


    It wasn''t that they weren''t aware of what it was; they could all see that this was an exquisite item. It was just that those with fewer points were afraid to go for it and were looking to see what the others would do.


    "Does no one want it?" Lu Li asked with a smile, "Well, I''ll just throw it away then."


    "30 points!" Lonesome Flower cried out, starting the bidding.


    In fact, he knew that he had no chance of getting this item, but he wanted to get the ball rolling. On the off-chance that no one fought him, he wouldn''t mind that either.


    "80!"


    "100!"


    The bids continued to rise little by little until it was finally won by Star Baby with 185 points. It turned out to be worth even more than the T1 set, and it cost her all of her points. She didn''t actually expect to get any equipment in this Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li didn''t have anything to add. March Rain was capable of paying more, but it just wasn''t worth it.


    The reason why this Necklace was so popular was because there were many players that could it. It wasn''t because it was a better item than the T1 set item. The Attributes of the Necklace obviously couldn''t be compared to the T1 robe.


    "Is there any more?"


    "There is also a Skill Book," Remnant Dream said excitedly. Not only had Lonesome Flower given her a red packet, but so had Star Baby. Drizzle Court still had the intention of trying to poach this lucky little girl, so the red packet they gave contained quite a lot of money.


    "Let''s see it."


    This was the last item, so Lu Li was very curious.


    "Tranquilizing Shot," Remnant Dream announced, showing the book to everyone. Although everyone usually spoiled her, she wasn''t so greedy that she would try to steal any of the items.


    Lu Li knew what she was thinking. She was originally the only Hunter in the team, so all the Hunter items would belong to her. But now, Bearded Zaza was also here, so things were different.


    "You two can name your price. Let''s not do the bidding process; just send me your price privately."


    This was just a skill book, and it was an auxiliary PVP skill anyway. Neither of them were PVP players either, so it wasn''t that important to them.


    The next thing to consider now was the next Boss ¨C Magmadar.


    Fighting Magmadar required the Hunter''s Tranquilizing Shot as a means of dispelling one of the Boss'' irritating skills. Otherwise, it would be a challenging fight.


    Bearded Zaza sent Lu Li a bid of 25 points and Remnant Dream sent a bid of 50 points. In a sense, Remnant Dream suffered a loss, because she could have bought it for 30 points. This was the nature of such a bidding system.


    Besides, Remnant Dream didn''t have to worry much about her points. She was a veteran in Lu Li''s team, so she usually received exquisite equipment at a low price from Lu Li.


    "Learn the skill now and see if there is anything else?"


    "That''s it," Remnant Dream said, shaking her head.


    "How about we call it here then?" Lu Li suggested, then gestured for the group''s opinion.


    The fact that they had killed a Boss satisfied Lu Li. It was probably unlikely that they would clear another Boss, and it wasn''t that urgent that they continued this Instance Dungeon. If they kept pushing on without restraint, they could damage the morale and relationship of the team. There were some players with poorer mental strength who hated Instance Dungeons for that reason.


    "If we don''t fight the Boss, can we fight some of the mobs? They are good for farming," Sakura Memories'' asked as her eyes lit up.


    She was currently ranked number two, second only to Glory Capital''s levelling madman I No Understand. I No Understand was said to be reaching level 60 within the next two days, and Sakura Memories had less than 10% EXP left.


    Lonesome Flower and a few other players were in similar positions. In this team, there were quite a few players who had less than 20% EXP left.


    Lu Li hadn''t had much time to farm recently, as he had been playing 2v2s with Water Fairy. As such, he still had a little over 30% EXP to go.


    The speed of farming mobs outside, even if you found some good ones, couldn''t match the mobs of the Instance Dungeon. As long as they didn''t keep dying, Sakura Memories could gain a few percentage points today to keep up.


    "If you want to farm then you can stay back. Otherwise, feel free to head back."


    Lu Li couldn''t have asked everyone to stay back to farm, but the results were unexpected, as no one wanted to leave.


    It was good that everyone wasn''t tired, because this was exactly what Lu Li wanted. A single person or a small team couldn''t withstand most of the Molten Core''s mobs.


    After going back to clear the monsters that had respawned, they gained some EXP but also some equipment. There was a small number of Dark Gold items, but most of them were Bronze or Steel. They could be decomposed to use for Enchantments. Sometimes, even Common items were dropped, but they were just sold to the store.


    Because they had already killed the first Boss, they had to go ahead if they wanted to continue killing more mobs.


    They still had some time, and Sakura Memories wanted to continue, so she encouraged everyone to press forward.


    Lu Li didn''t mind. Since everyone wanted to clear the mobs together, he had no reason to object. If you want to level up, it was obviously better to fight the later mobs which were stronger.


    After fighting a few waves of monsters, they finally spotted a new monster. Azure Sea Breeze glanced into the cave, then turned back with a green face.


    "There are a lot of monsters in there, so many monsters¡­"


    Lu Li stepped forward to take a look and confirmed Azure Sea Breeze''s observation.


    The legendary farming monster, the Flame Imp, had made its debut.


    The Flame Imp was a monster that spawned within the caves between the first and second Boss. In fact, you could avoid most of these monsters, but the players would soon realize that they provided significant EXP.


    There were often several dozen in a cave and they were all level 62 Elites.


    They didn''t have very high attacking strength, nor did they have much HP.


    As long as the Main Tank had enough HP and Fire Resistance, they would be fine. Fire Resistance was particularly important here and this was one of the places that tested that. The only difference here was that there could be more than one Main Tank pull the monsters.


    There were 40-50 monsters in the cave discovered by Azure Sea Breeze. If he had to pull these monsters alone, he would be dead.


    Lu Li first made everyone clear out the area. Remnant Dream then shot an arrow before using Feign Death. The monsters that ran out of the cave began to disperse before they were pulled by the three different Main Tanks. The attacking charge was then led by Moonlight and the rest of the damage output Paladins.


    The Paladins had put on Defensive equipment. As long as there were a few aggro skills to hold back the monsters, they had no problems dealing with them.


    An ordinary team might get wiped here. Even though the little monsters didn''t have high attack, their damage could be stacked. If you didn''t have enough damage output players and couldn''t end the fight quickly, the continuous damage would be enough to kill you.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t worried about that.


    The Mages, who had previously been scolded to no end, could finally attack with pride.


    Their Blizzards did the most damage to these monsters. The Warlock''s Meteor Showers also proved to be useful and the Imps were quickly turned into EXP.


    "This is great ¨C these monsters give a decent amount of EXP!"


    Sakura Memories was fascinated by the rich EXP coming from these little imps.


    It didn''t matter what equipment they dropped, the most important thing was that they gave EXP!


    Later, they cleared a few more nests of these monsters and Sakura Memories'' EXP jumped a few times. Although it wasn''t enough to get to level 60, it was enough to make her first place.


    The girl had been at second place for so long, so this was finally her moment of pride.


    However, when five lava dogs entered the area, Lu Li knew that they couldn''t continue harvesting EXP anymore.


    Azure Sea Breeze went up to pull the monsters and was instantly killed. They tried sending all three Main Tanks at once, but they were still instantly killed. After they got wiped a few times, they discovered that as long as there were two or more lava dogs attacking the same target, it would trigger a one-shot kill effect.


    The final conclusion was that they had to send five players, and each of them had to tank one of the dogs.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t have any more time to continue after that. After everyone packed up, they used their Hearthstones to return to the city.

 1359 Tranquilising Sho

    It was already the second day in the Molten Core.


    Ruling Sword was Dawn''s weather vane. Although they weren''t the first ones to start the Molten Core, all the other guilds would begin attempting it after news spread that Ruling Sword had taken down the first Boss.


    After all, not advancing meant that they would fall behind.


    It wasn''t that no one knew this truth, but it was because competing against Ruling Sword was


    another matter compared to laziness.


    Of course, trying didn''t mean guaranteed success. Being lazy, although comfortable, was even worse.


    Smaller guilds were even less motivated to attempt the Molten Core. After all, Dawn was such a big game with so much content other than Instance Dungeons. They could easily make a living through other means.


    Although the first Boss was defeated, it still took them a long time. One night was quite a long time indeed. The small monsters all respawned, so Lu Li needed to take the party and clear them out. This provided them with a bounty of EXP. Sakura Memories was able to level up to 60, while the others weren''t far behind. If they could clear another two Bosses, even Lu Li would be extremely close to level 60.


    After clearing the small monsters quickly, they met with the first five Core Hound pack.


    They wiped multiple times here yesterday, so they were familiar with the important aspects of fighting the Hounds. Lu Li came up with a strategy based on observations from yesterday.


    "On my command, five people come and take aggro. Each person takes one hound, no more."


    Even so, they still wiped. This was because after a hound was killed, it was revived. The tanks didn''t check, so one Tank fell after another. As expected, chaos ensued. The five hounds, once revived, instantly wiped the team. The lesson from this story was that these monsters were capable of reviving.


    "We need to kill them simultaneously. Otherwise, the remaining will revive the dead ones," Lu Li said.


    If he had let them test out the reviving mechanic, they would eventually find out, but it would waste too much time.


    They started from the beginning again. This time, each of the tanks held one monster. Then, the AoE DPS classes would unleash their skills upon them. After this, the Thieves and Warriors would be the ones to regulate the HP bars of all the monsters.


    These Core Hounds did not necessarily have to be killed simultaneously. That would be much to difficult, even under normal circumstances.


    The window of opportunity to kill all the hounds together was much larger, so they just needed to


    kill them in a certain amount of time. Even if the hounds were revived, they just needed to try again using the same strategy. After all, they knew about the revivals, so they were more alert.


    It was much harder than it looked. Who knew how many teams couldn''t even pass this stage?


    After clearing out the first group of hounds, it was much easier afterwards.


    Upon reaching the second Boss, Magmadar, everyone rested for an hour and a half.


    Magmadar was Ragnaros'' favourite pet, with the Flame Walker Lucifron protecting it. It was said that when Ragnaros was sealed away, his enemies'' corpses were fed to this large beast. After this, Magmadar swore its loyalty to the Fire Lord.


    "There''s news, but the price is extremely high," Square Root Three messaged Lu Li.


    "It''s only one skill book. How can it be priced at 2000 gold?"


    Lu Li was speechless. Even if the price of gold had fallen, it was still valued at a ratio of around 30:1. 2000 gold was equivalent to $60,000 in real life!


    Although he was quite well off and able to spend $60,000, it was still a blatant rip-off!


    In his previous life, Tranquilising Shot couldn''t even fetch 10 gold.


    That''s right ¨C Lu Li had asked Square Root Three to help him find a Tranquilising Shot skill book.


    Magmadar was difficult because of its ability to use AoE crowd control, as well as its Enrage. They had a solution to the crowd control but Enrage was different. Enrage was the reason behind countless squad wipes. A rule was set up, warning against all who attempted to fight Magmadar. Without a Hunter who knew how to use Tranquilising Shot, this Boss was a complete waste of time.


    Remnant Dream already had this skill, so there was a chance to deal with Enrage.


    However, this was not enough to kill Magmadar. The team''s levels were not at 60 yet, so there were level penalties. Furthermore, the Main Tank also was affected by Crush.


    It would be favourable if they had two Tranquilising Shot skill books.


    Besides Lucifron, these skill books could be dropped by the level 40 Sand Creepers, or monsters like the Marsh Defilers. These two types of monsters weren''t the main monsters in their area, so the spawn rate was quite slow, and the terrain was difficult to fight in. Ruling Sword had so many members, yet not even one had this skill book. How low was the drop rate for this?


    Square Root Three managed to contact a few black-market dealers and guilds about the skill book.


    There was someone out there who owned one. Originally, this was already allotted to the Hunter in the team. However, the Hunter was busy and wasn''t able to get online, so the squad leader just left it there.


    Of course, they raised to price to a ridiculous amount after knowing that someone like Lu Li wanted it.


    The squad leader had originally priced it at an insane price of 8000 gold, which was valued in the range of a hundred thousand dollars. For a normal person, earning even one hundred thousand dollars from the game was already extremely rare.


    Unfortunately for the leader, Square Root Three wasn''t dumb enough to use that much money in exchange for a skill book with limited use.


    Hunter skill books were not that valuable. Even the best skill books only sold for around a few hundred gold.


    Both sides were being quite aggressive with the haggling. Square Root Three managed to get it down to 2000 gold, but the squad leader wasn''t willing to go down any more.


    "Tell him that if he was willing to go to 1000 gold, then we''ll buy it. If he still doesn''t want to sell, then we''ll pull out," Lu Li said, but thinking for a while, he added, "But it''s still best if we can get it. Otherwise, it''ll be a little hard for the second squad to take down the first Boss."


    After clearing Lucifron yesterday, Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court made a second team enter the Instance Dungeon. They wanted to try and see if they could take down the first Boss with the second team.


    This wasn''t impossible, because the second team chose to tackle the Hard difficulty. Lucifron on Nightmare difficulty had a guaranteed drop for Tranquilising Shot, while Lucifron on Hard difficulty wasn''t a guaranteed drop. Although it wasn''t a guaranteed drop, the chances were still extremely high.


    If they could take down the first Boss successfully, then there would be a second Tranquilising Shot book.


    Square Root Three continued the negotiations, while Lu Li and the team focused on fighting Magmadar. They wanted to familiarise themselves with the Boss'' mechanics even if they had no chance of clearing it. While Lu Li waited for the news, Lu Li brought the squad to wipe a few more times.

 1360 King of the Hounds

    "They accepted, but I did my own thing and made it 1500 gold," Square Root Three replied back to Lu Li.


    After seeing this message, Lu Li lost count of how many times they had wiped.


    This Boss was actually quite strong.


    The reason behind their wipes was the crowd control. Furthermore, it was cast at the beginning of the battle. As soon as the melee classes were hit, the aggro was completely lost.


    After testing out Magmadar and wiping countless times in the process, Lu Li tried not letting the melee classes DPS attack at the start. He wanted them to wait until the first AoE Fear was over before they began attacking. Everyone stood 35 metres away from the Boss because this was the range of the skill.


    Melee classes would try their best to dodge the Fear or use whatever they had at their disposal to dispel the Fear.


    It was harder for the Main Tank though. Azure Sea Breeze had to build up enough aggro, so he couldn''t dodge.


    The Main Tank would be inflicted by Fear, then the Priests would have to run to him and it, despite being the furthest away. Then, the Priests and other healers would also be inflicted with Fear. Because of this, no one was able to heal the Main Tank, so he would die. After this happened, the rest of the team would follow.


    As soon as the king of the hounds made his way into the middle of the cloth-armor players, it was over.


    There was another way that they were being wiped other the healers being Feared. When the Main Tank was Feared, the aggro levels would drop. Then, the Boss would instantly run towards the long-ranged classes, which resulted in an absolute massacre.


    Main Tanks were extremely important in the fight against Magmadar. They needed to pull him towards them straight away and needed to be alert for the first Fear, because no one knew when it would come. The Priests were also extremely important because they needed to dispel the Fear on the Main Tank as soon as possible.


    There was another difficult ¨C pulling the monsters.


    Under normal circumstances, the Main Tank would always pull the Boss in a certain direction so that its rear was facing towards the rest of the team. This would reduce the effectiveness of AoE skills to a certain degree. However, this didn''t work here, since the Priests would be even further away from the Main Tank with the Boss in the middle.


    A Priest''s heal range was around 40 metres and the Boss already took up 5 metres. Therefore, using this strategy wouldn''t work, because the remaining distance was 35 metres, which was in the range of Fear.


    If the healers were inflicted with Fear, then who could heal the Main Tank?


    These were all problems that naturally came with Fear. They managed to use these squad wipes and practiced their reaction times and positioning. As a result, they quickly entered phase two. In this phase of the battle, there was another flame-based skill that they had to deal with.


    Players hated this as it looked like the Boss was spitting his phlegm on the ground.


    The phlegm that Magmadar spat out would ignite into little bonfires. These dealt damage to their surroundings within a certain range. The closer the player got, the more damage it dealt. The damage was so high that no one would be able to hold their own against it.


    Obviously, the sense would dictate to not get close to the fire.


    However, if a player was Feared, they would lose control of their movements.


    There were many times when players were Feared, then ran into the fire. It was fortunate that this game wasn''t that realistic, or else the whole instance dungeon would be filled with the aroma of cooked meat.


    The pressure was much heavier on Healers. DPS classes didn''t hope for Healers to heal them while healing the Main Tank as well. Lu Li for example was prepared with elixirs, potions and bandages to restore his HP.


    The hardest part about phase two was Enrage. This skill gave the Boss a 100% boost in Attack, while increasing attack speed by 50%. This also gave him a chance at one-shotting a target.


    They had entered phase two a few times but had wiped every time.


    As soon as they entered phase two, the Enrage effect was renewed consecutively. Remnant Dream alone was not enough to deal with it.


    Tranquilising Shot had the effect of dispelling the Enraged status. Enrage was different to Berserk, which couldn''t be dispelled. Furthermore, Tranquilising Shot lowered the defense of the target a little, so it was better to use in PVP situations.


    To spend 1500 gold on this¡­Lu Li''s heart hurt.


    However, when comparing this cost to the extremely small possibility of them defeating Magmadar with one Hunter with the skill, the 1500 gold was able to be forgotten.


    Square Root Three didn''t reveal his own identity, so the squad leader didn''t know that it was Ruling Sword''s Lu Li who wanted the book.


    Of course, if this squad leader knew who the buyer was, then he might have lowered the price much further. After all, there weren''t many chances of building connections with major players like Lu Li. He might have even been one of Lu Li''s fans. If he had revealed his identity, then it would have been easier for Square Root Three.


    However, Lu Li and Square Root Three weren''t that interested in building relationships in general. They didn''t feel that everyone should be giving him what he wanted just because of his identity.


    Actually, it was more likely that the squad leader didn''t give up on a high price not because Lu Li was the buyer, but maybe because he wanted to test the buyer out. After all, if it was a normal player who was the buyer instead of the leader of a major guild, then the amount that the buyer was willing to pay would differ greatly.


    Take a basket of apples that were grown from the same tree for example. Perhaps those people in poverty couldn''t even afford a dollar for a kilogram. However, for those in the richer areas, if the packaging was nicer, then even they wouldn''t complain about ten dollars for a kilogram.


    After getting wiped again, Lu Li exited the dungeon and received the book that he just bought.


    This book became one of the greatest investments into the Molten Core. After giving it to Bearded Zaza, Lu Li didn''t hesitate to deduct 50 points from him.


    Bearded Zaza wasn''t even angry. He felt like he benefitted greatly from this.


    This was because he already knew the jaw-dropping price of the book. It was much more expensive than the legendary equipment.


    As soon as they began, Lu Li already told them about the value of this skill book.


    He wasn''t the type of person to contribute silently. If he didn''t say, then how would the others know the magnitude of their benefits? Otherwise, Bearded Zaza might have argued for 25 points. After all, that was the price that he put in for the book that Remnant Dream ended up taking.


    One book wasn''t enough. Before the cooldown reset, the Boss already entered another Enraged state. Now that they had two Tranquillity Shots, Enrage was no longer a problem.


    It took Bearded Zaza a couple of tries to get used to casting the skill, so they wiped two to three times. After this, they finally entered phase three.


    Phase three wasn''t that different to phase two; it was simply another copy. The only difference was that it was a little more difficult to dispel the Enrage.


    The difficulty didn''t increase to the point where Hunters couldn''t deal with it. Theoretically, it was still possible for two Hunters to completely dispel the status, that was, if they listened to Lu Li''s instructions.


    Simply put, Magmadar would be a piece of cake if they listened to Lu Li. If not, then this King of the Hounds would be terrifying.

 1361 Burning Their Bridges

    Wipe. Wipe again!


    Lu Li slapped his forehead and sighed heavily. If only Remnant Dream and Bearded Zaza were professional players.


    Pro players might not be guaranteed experts at Instance Dungeons, but their reaction times and judgment would be better and faster. Furthermore, none of the dungeons had been nerfed yet, so they were all quite difficult, and they were also on Nightmare mode. Sometimes, they just needed a little bit more.


    Lu Li looked at Remnant Dream, who was on the verge of tears, so he decided to let everyone rest for a while.


    Actually, it was the two Hunters who were yelled at over and over again by Lu Li who needed a rest. The others weren''t faring too badly. They used this time to clear out the small monsters and gained EXP. Lu Li and Water Fairy headed to the pond and started fishing. They were two boring people in the eyes of others.


    The rest period was much longer this time; there was around an hour for people to do their things.


    When they restarted again, everyone''s performances were much better. Lu Li also changed his strategy as Water Fairy convinced him to be a little gentler.


    Lu Li was a serious person. In Ruling Sword, he was like a god. Bearded Zaza was already really nervous around Lu Li, and when Lu Li became angry, his anxiety only grew, causing him to make consecutive mistakes. Even though Remnant Dream and Lu Li were quite familiar with each other, Lu Li usually didn''t tell her off that much. However, Lu Li had yelled at her so much today, as if she was like a dumb child.


    During this time, Lu Li also subbed out the two Paladins for a Priest and a Warlock.


    Lu Li originally planned to substitute for a Shaman, because Shamans could use Terror Totem. However, Sakura Memories tried it out, and there were no effects. The new substitute was a Priest, which would help with the overall healing.


    As for the Warlock, he could bind one of his teammates to a Soulstone. To bind them meant that they would be revived upon death. This skill was used mainly on key players in the team.


    "The objective today is to take down two Bosses. This is the benchmark. Everyone, prepare yourselves."


    Yesterday, they only cleared Lucifron. However, that was not because Lucifron was more difficult than the second and third Boss. It was because the newly-constructed 40-man team needed some


    time to get used to each other.


    They had a lot of time today. Therefore, if they didn''t improve at all, then it would be a complete waste.


    They were so far in now and the strategy didn''t even matter anymore. There were no shortcuts ¨C only listening to commands. They needed to work together and not make mistakes.


    After multiple wipes, they were showing improvement, but it was still not enough.


    "This time, if we can do it in one try, then everyone will be given 50 points. I give my word," Lu Li promised, trying to motivate them.


    Fifty points was already an excellent reward. After all, a Legendary item was only around 10 points. These points would always remain useful as well, as after the Instance Dungeon, they eventually be used to exchange for gold or guild points.


    "What if we fail on the first one but pass on the second try?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "Then I can only say sorry. Although you won''t get your points reduced, there definitely won''t be rewards."


    Lu Li was very definitive, giving no room for negotiations.


    This was like burning their boats, giving them no retreat. Lu Li could have gone a step further and reduced their points if they failed, but he wasn''t that merciless. Furthermore, the team morale would''ve dropped further if they failed.


    Lu Li had a reason to want to clear Magmadar in one try.


    He already made his preparations with two Tranquilising Shot Hunters, and these two Hunters had already gotten used to it. They were already close to making no mistakes. The other classes were the same. If they worked together and listened to Lu Li''s instructions, then Magmadar would be a piece of cake.


    Phase one was quite easy. After all, this was the stage where they had the most practice.


    "It''s okay. Don''t panic. Hachi Chan, revive him."


    After entering P2, they were quite unfortunate and lost a Healer Paladin. Lu Li couldn''t really do anything other than instruct Hachi Chan to revive him.


    "Be wary of your position. Get away from the bonfires. The moment you find someone afflicted with Fear, instantly dispel it. We have three Priests now. Other classes who can also dispel Fear, help them out. I would rather us clear it slowly than have more people die. Healers, watch your mana closely."


    Lu Li didn''t want to tell the Healers off as well because he wanted team morale to be high.


    There was something that was unexplainable in Instance Dungeons ¨C the first death.


    No matter who it was and no matter what happened to the person, it would always greatly lower team morale. If the commander was also scolding the team, then they might as well not fight.


    If it was Lu Li, there was at least a certain level of confidence.


    Now that Lu Li was motivating them with 50 points, everyone was trying their absolute best.


    The Boss'' HP lowered little by little. For the whole of phase two, there were no casualties at all. Such excellence seemed impossible in their previous runs.


    "You guys have done really well! If we don''t make mistakes or have something outrageous happen, then we can definitely pass. 50 points are waiting for you guys! Just keep working hard. Remnant Dream and Bearded Zaza, prepare yourselves. I will call on either one of you when I need you guys to do something. Don''t hesitate and think. Just fire at the Boss."


    Lu Li felt like he was being forced to say this. After all, he was a commander in battle, not a caretaker of little children.


    However, the effects that these words had were undoubtedly amazing.


    "We only lost two, so we still have 38. I can also use revive."


    Lu Li was encouraging his team while he revived one of the dead healers.


    This was the perfect showing of the power of a commander. Lu Li was the core of the team, orchestrating the whole battle.


    "Alright, he''s Berserk. Good work! Main Tank, watch out for your aggro. If mitigation isn''t up, then get someone else to tank. Ranged DPS classes, fight from as far as possible. Melee classes, make sure that you have a skill ready to escape. If you guys really can''t tank it, then distance yourselves from the Boss."


    Everyone was performing well this time.


    In Dawn, all the Bosses gave a certain amount of EXP. The EXP wouldn''t be divided among the players.


    The first Boss, Lucifron, gave everyone a huge amount of EXP. Of course, this meant that Magmadar wouldn''t be any less. Many people in the team was already nearly level 60, so it would be a huge waste if they wasted a Boss'' EXP.


    Grrrrrr¡­" A low growl sounded from the beast''s mouth as Ragnaros'' pet was finally taken down.


    Experience. Fame. Skill points¡­


    In total, they lost four people. Compared to when they cleared Lucifron and lost half the team, this was a much better result. Lu Li also finally gained a skill point as a reward. Besides him, two other people also gained skill points. One of them was the Ice Mage Short Riad.


    Lu Li brought him into the Instance Dungeon because he wanted him to gain a skill point.


    He was a mage who had fallen behind due to a lack of skill points. At this rate, he would never catch up to the other Mages.


    All the gold was given to Lu Li. After all, he paid for the repair works previously.


    "Two Fusion stones. Twenty-two Enhancing stones."


    This time, there weren''t any really good Fusion stones. Remnant Dream immediately gave all of them to Lu Li. These stones were to be distributed at the end of the Instance Dungeon.


    The rare materials were also given to Lu Li for the same purpose.


    There were three skill books. These were given to whoever fit the class requirement. If there were multiple players who wanted it, then they would bid for it. With Lu Li there, it was expected to be dealt with in a civilised manner.


    Remnant Dream then looted three Gold grade items. One was given to Drizzle Court, and as for the rest, no one wanted them, so they ended up with Lu Li again. As for the compensation for the Main Tank and healers for the potions that they used, this would be given in gold. Lu Li wouldn''t let them walk away feeling displeased, but he wouldn''t give them too much. After all, taking down the Boss couldn''t solely be credited to the Main Tank and healers.


    Next, there were four Dark Gold grade items. These were in demand by the players.


    An item from a 40-man Nightmare difficulty Instance Dungeon wouldn''t be worse than one from a Wild Boss. After all, Wild Bosses were strong, but there wasn''t a limit to the number participants. From a difficulty point of view, Wild Bosses were easier to kill compared to Magmadar.


    The first was a T1 Druid set item. There was only one Druid, so Hachi Chan naturally took it.


    No one was jealous over this. However, what made people jealous was that she was obtaining them at an utterly cheap price. This sent the people who were bidding furiously over their items onto the verge of tears.

 1362 Quick Strike Ring

    T1 gear was very sought after right now. Although Hachi Chan''s T1 pieces were only Dark Gold, everyone was still very envious of her.


    If each Boss dropped two Legendary pieces each, then Molten Core would produce around 20 pieces of legendary gear. The dropped rate seemed high, but there were very few guilds that could complete the Nightmare mode within a month.


    This worked out to be around half a piece of Legendary gear per player, meaning some could receive nothing.


    If they had the privilege of obtaining one, then there was not much they could complain about.


    Remnant Dream continued looting and pulled out another legendary ¨C Quick Strike Ring.


    Legendary accessories were even more precious than Legendary equipment because of how rare and in-demand they were.


    Quick Strike Ring (Legendary): Damage + 64-82, Agility + 120, Strength + 80, Attack Speed + 30%, Two Slot. Special Effect 1: Attack enemy weak points causing piercing damage at a certain chance. Special Effect 2: Active, Instant Cast, Strike 3 times at target, causing piercing damage, cooldown 6 minutes. Special Effect 3: Misdirection, Instant Cast, instantly swap places with a target within 40 yards, cooldown 6 hours. Level Requirement 60, Durability 360/360,


    Another great ring!


    With the increase in drop rate of useless Legendary pieces, such a Ring was a welcome sight indeed.


    Many Legendary equips had rather non-ideal effects. For example, a defensive Legendary piece might have a godly damaging special effect, or a weapon might have a healing ability.


    Lu Li was currently wearing Ocean''s Breeze.


    Ocean''s Breeze (Legendary): Damage: 52-88, Agility +80, Strength +50, Critical +30%. Unique Effect 1: Incursion. Creates a Flame Realm. Players within this realm gain 20% Defence and 10% Fire Resistance. Duration: 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Unique Effect 2: When the Caster is struck with a critical hit, there is a chance of mitigating some of the damage from the hit. When successful, the damage received is reduced by 50%. Unique Effect 3: Teleport. After equipping, the bearer of this ring gains a chance to use Teleport, but the destination is random. Equipment requirement: Level 55. Durability: 320/320.


    Comparing the two, Quick Strike Ring had 6 less maximum damage but 12 more minimum damage, meaning that his overall damage would be more consistent.


    Ocean Breeze was already a great Ring that added an additional 30% critical chance, which instantly outclassed every other ring of its level. On the other hand, the Quick Strike Ring added an additional 30% attack speed. Both had their pros and cons, but overall, the critical chance was more worth it for him.


    However, Lu Li''s critical strike chance was already over the cap so there was no point of him having extra.


    Ocean Breeze was very useful in the Molten Core dungeon and the Incursion special effect had aided him many times in First Clears. Even if Lu Li managed to win the bid for the ring, he probably wouldn''t switch it out for the rest of this dungeon.


    Lu Li did not have his hopes up because he knew that he was very unlucky when it comes to rolling for items. Not only did he have bad luck with rolling, but he also had bad luck with items with effects that activated ''at a certain chance''. He would prefer the additional critical chance since it would provide a boost to his damage.


    However, the Triple Strike would be very useful to burst down an enemy that was stunned.


    The unfortunate thing was, he knew that the triple strike likely did not allow the three hits to crit.


    This would be compensated by the fact that there was piercing damage.


    The third Special Effect on Ocean Breeze was godly, but Lu Li had yet to use it.


    One reason was because he was very busy recently with other things and didn''t have an opportunity to use it. The other reason was because with his luck, he would probably be teleported into a worse situation that he was currently in.


    Quick Strike Ring''s third effect was much more reliable and it was something that also attracted Lu Li''s attention.


    "Who wants the ring? Bid if you want it."


    As soon as Lu Li opened his mouth, he instantly bid 20 points.


    Everyone fell silent.


    "Nobody else?" Lu Li asked. He knew that it wasn''t because no one wanted it but because everyone was afraid to bid for it too quickly. They knew that Lu Li wanted the ring and he was the head of everyone ¨C their shot caller, guild master and spiritual leader.


    "What the hell!" Wandering yelled.


    "I want to smash my head right now¡­" Azure Sea Breeze was speechless.


    "I can''t let someone win it for so cheap. 30 points!" Wandering roared.


    "I might be the Main Tank, but I still need the equipment to level up. 40 points." Azure Sea Breeze quickly followed up. Those that were unfamiliar with their relationship might thought that they were doing this on purpose to troll Lu Li.


    However, Lu Li wanted to thank the two of them.


    He wasn''t afraid of others fighting for an item with him; he was more afraid of his guild members being too scared to fight for an item against him. If he was able to take away a Legendary accessory for 20 points with such amazing stats, then others would question his position as a leader.


    This piece was useful not only for Thieves but for Berserkers as well.


    If a Berserker were to randomly switch places with an enemy player, then he would be able to cast Whirlwind and instantly destroy the enemy team.


    Other classes such as Paladins, Hunters, Shamans and DPS Druids could all use it as well.


    If Lu Li won the bid with 20 points then it would be as if he was abusing his power, which was something he never intended to do. Besides, Lu Li had plenty of points to spare for the bid.


    He would rather win the piece fair and square rather than offending his team members which would cause them to badmouth him behind his back.


    "50."


    Water Fairy also joined in since she was a Thief as well.


    "80."


    Moonlight was determined to win the piece now.


    "100."


    Lu Li was expecting the bid to go up quickly, but they had reached 100 points after a few seconds.


    "120."


    Lu Li increased his bid to the amount that Lonesome Flower won his previous piece for.


    "130!"


    "140!"


    "150!"


    "190!"


    Moonlight was now running out of points and Lu Li was aware of this.


    "200."


    "Pass, let me borrow it next time," Moonlight said, finally deciding to opt out.

 1363 Gehennas

    "Does anyone else want it?" Lu Li asked for the last time.


    The players who had the points to buy it all looked at each other in silence. There was no way that they''d pay 200 points for an equipment like this. The price was way higher than what they had imagined. Taking down a boss itself was worth 15 points. Even if Lu Li went crazy and gave everyone extra points, it would still only be bought for 50 points maximum.


    "200 points? Only idiots would pay such a high price," Wandering impatiently mocked.


    He thought he knew what Lu Li was thinking. There were only two Thieves here ¨C Lu Li and Water Fairy. Even if Lu Li had no more points, the equipment would go to Water Fairy anyway. So, he had no pressure on how he spent his points.


    "What are you looking at? I''ll give you a red pocket later, so keep looting," Lu Li grunted. He assigned the equipment to himself. It was a level 60 equipment which couldn''t be used yet, and it was still better to use Ocean''s Breeze for the Molten Core.


    Remnant Dream happily went back to looting. Although Lu Li was a stingy person, his red packets always contained generous amounts of coins. Remnant Dream could hear the coins rattle around in her money bag. This was because he himself was very unlucky, so he really valued when players were lucky.


    She had begun to expand her pet garden recently and the number of pets in her pet garden were rapidly increasing, so money was currently more important to her.


    She was also the club master of a pet club she formed. All the club members were players who loved pets or pet merchants. The club mainly hosted pet related events and supplied a platform for exchange of information and trading. Perhaps it would make a profit in the future, but right now, it was just an expensive project.


    "Oh, a pet!" Remnant Dream exclaimed excitedly, "It''s a Core Hound!"


    Star Baby got excited as well because she was also someone who loved pets.


    She regretted spending 185 points for the necklace previously. Although acquiring gear was good, it wasn''t as cute as a pet.


    The atmosphere surrounding the Ruling sword players was quiet compared to the excitement in Drizzle Court. No one even bothered lifting their heads to see the Core Hound that had been discovered.


    Although the pet was called a Core Hound, it was just a mini version of the standard Core Hound. It was about the size of the palm of a hand, covered in flames, and its steps sounded like a trotting pony. When the Core Hound snorted, a few sparks and flames might even shoot out from its nose. It was so cute!


    "Uhm, based on the usual rules, this item isn''t available for auction. So Dreamy, just have it," Lu Li announced. He felt a little awkward because he forgot to mention this when they were talking about the rules of equipment distribution beforehand. Never once did pets come up as a topic of discussion when establishing the rules.


    Who would''ve known that a pet would appear? Lu Li himself had barely seen anyone with a Core Hound pet in his previous life.


    Star Baby was disappointed, but then she quickly realized, "What? Do you all just give the pets to Dreamy? Does no one else want it?"


    "Yes, or rather, all pets obtained from group events are distributed to her for free, unless she doesn''t want it," Lu Li explained patiently. This kind of distribution had started a long time ago.


    "Ahhh, alright, I finally understand everything now," Star Baby said, as she gave up the thought of stealing from Remnant Dream in the future.


    Everyone knew the luckiest player in Dawn liked pets. Some had tried to use pets to lure Remnant Dream into their guild. However, Ruling Sword made a better offer than anyone else! "All the pets in group events or raids are yours". This promise came from the number one team in Dawn. They had achieved countless First Clears and were the team with the best chance of obtaining pets before anyone else.


    Magmadar was a dead end; Lu Li had everyone turn back and headed in another direction. They quickly arrived before the third boss, Gehennas. This boss looked a little like Lucifron and also had two underlings.


    In fact, the method to take down this boss was very similar to Lucifron.


    Lu Li had Wandering taunt the boss, while World''s Best Friend and Azure Sea Breeze taunted the two side monsters. Meanwhile, the mages continued to remove the boss'' curses.


    The difference between the two bosses was that Gehennas'' curse was different to Lucifron''s. Lucifron drained the player''s mana, but Gehennas reduced the healing that players received by 70%.


    They were both terrible curses. Without mana, there wouldn''t be any damage or healing output. On the other hand, a 70% reduction on healing effects meant that a healing spell that could heal 100 health points could now only heal for 30. If this curse was left alone, the healers would waste their time trying to heal anyone.


    Gehennas was a Warlock and flung Shadow Bolts everywhere. Sometimes, he would cast Rain of Fire, and if players didn''t dodge quickly enough, there were no healing spells strong enough to save them from the damage dealt. Those with a slower reflex would be better off standing there and awaiting their death.


    Although Gehennas was similar to Lucifron, it still took three attempts before the boss was defeated.


    Lu Li and the others couldn''t guarantee whether or not they could take down Lucifron in a single attempt and Magmadar was even worse. They wouldn''t stand a chance. They''d be team wiped again and again; there was no use knowing the guide.


    Even if Lu Li was to hand the guide over to other guilds, they probably wouldn''t be able to take down the bosses regardless.


    Gold coins, Synthetic Stones and Fortified Stones were all passed to Lu Li. However, there was also a level reduction Synthetic stone. It reduced the level requirement of an item by 10% and it was very rare. Lu Li could almost guarantee that Gehennas won''t drop another one for another 2-3 months. Lu Li kept the stone, but he gave all players involved another 20 points for it.


    This stone wasn''t just for him either; it belonged to the guild.


    There was also a Warlock skill book which was received by Sesame Rice Ball, along with a Thief spell book, which Water Fairy won the auction for.


    Three Gold equips were all taken by Lu Li. Lu Li compensated the Main Tank, Healers and Magic classes with some money. Even though it was only 20 gold coins each, there were quite a number of players eligible for this compensation, so he could feel his heart ache as he handed it out. Maybe if he sold all three gold equipment, he might be able to get some money back.


    There was still a market around for Dark Gold equipment.


    A decent Healing Shaman equipment dropped, which Drizzle Court received, so Lu Li had to deduct their points.


    Although they were friends, he still needed to follow the rules or else he wouldn''t be able to enforce them. After all, only three players from Drizzle Court came, and Ruling Sword had 36 players involved. There were also a bunch of substitutes outside ready to come in.


    Although substitute players didn''t usually enter the dungeon, they also had their share of points. Every time a boss was killed, they could obtain an amount of points. If no one requested Dark Gold equipment, it could be distributed to them through the team channel. Lu Li would pass the equipment to them after he left the dungeon.


    Two Dark Gold equipment remained. One was given to Low Point Brother and the other was given to a substitute who won the auction.

 1364 The First Level 60

    The first Legendary equipment drop was a Bracer for the T1 Warrior set.


    There were usually two paths for the Warrior class ¨C the defensive path and the damage-based Berserker path.


    However, it didn''t matter which path you took because all paths shared the same set. This also applied to other classes like Paladins and Shamans.


    What affected the attributes of equipment were the different materials used in the crafting process and the crafting procedure itself.


    There were quite a number of Warriors around, so it was natural that the price rose quickly.


    However, the only ones who could afford to win the auction were Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight. Although the two of them were good friends, in a time like this, friendship was irrelevant.


    Alas, it was Azure Sea Breeze who was richer. He was the Main Tank ¡ª the number one Main Tank in Dawn. Any event would give him DKP, and he broke the record that Lu Li had created with a high score of 220 DKP.


    Auctioning for equipment was also a psychological war.


    Take the current situation as an example ¨C everyone internally priced the value of the equipment and had an idea of how many points their opponents had.


    If they both went all in for this item, there was no way that Moonlight would beat Azure Sea Breeze.


    So, he wasn''t expecting to win the equipment.


    However, just because he couldn''t win the equipment didn''t mean that he wouldn''t fight for it at all. Not only did he have an internal price for the equipment, but he also had a baseline price that his opponent had to pass before he gave up on the equipment.


    220 DKP was his baseline. If Azure Sea Breeze spent 220 points, he wouldn''t have enough to compete against Moonlight for the remaining equipment auctions. Azure Sea Breeze could win the equipment now, but he would lose his DKP advantage against Moonlight.


    Of course, this also came with risks.


    For example, Moonlight''s price for this item was 150 points. Any higher would not be affordable in his opinion, as it might make him miss out on the next two equipment.


    However, if he had to give up on the equipment, he still needed to raise the price for it. The problem was, if he raised the price to 210 points and Azure Sea Breeze gave up, then he''d have to buy the equipment with 210 points.


    From another perspective, Azure Sea Breeze could not be prepared to pay 220 points for the equipment. 210 points might even be the price that he was happy for Moonlight to pay in order for him to give up on the equipment. In that case, Moonlight would financially be in trouble.


    Fortunately, both parties were happy with the results.


    Then, Remnant Dream looted another recipe ¨C Flarecore Bracers. This was a Legendary equipment for Healing Priests, and the recipe itself was enough to produce six of them. The attributes of a Flarecore Bracer would be better if a Bss had directly dropped it. However, just the fact that it could make six copies made it valuable.


    Lu Li handed it to March Rain; she could work on crafting them as soon as they gathered the materials for it.


    Drizzle Court would supply the materials for two copies in the next few days, but they could only receive one Flarecore Bracer. This meant that they were trading two equipment''s worth of materials for one equipment.


    This was how alliances worked. They were also given better treatment because Drizzle Court sent out their own members to participate in the event. If this was a random player, they wouldn''t be able to get a single equipment even if they were to exchange it with three copies worth of materials.


    The final loot was the Robe of Volatile Power, a Legendary robe for all magic classes. However, because of prior auctions and the fact that they were all top players, they had all decided to get a full T1 gear set in the future. So, this robe with decent attributes was only auctioned out for 160DKP.


    The price didn''t appear low, but considering the fact that this robe could be used by all magic classes, 160 DKP was a reasonable price. Not to mention, this robe was also very pretty.


    Unfortunately, this robe was for level 60 players so no one could currently equip it. So, no one knew about its real value except for Lu Li.


    The lucky player who won the auction was a Warlock from the elite group. He was still far from level 60. On the other hand, Sakura Memories was close to being level 60.


    Lu Li was going to get Sakura Memories to level 60 today ¡ª no matter what.


    Being the first level 60 player wasn''t just for the title; they also received a reward from the system. To describe it differently, "The first level 60 player would encourage further development of the game." So if the first level 60 player appeared today, the system would release new content tomorrow.


    Lu Li knew that the first system to be pushed out would be the fortress system.


    This was content for the level 60 players to keep them entertained. Players could circle an area on system-designated perimeters, and after they cleared out the area, they could build a fortress to secure and manage it. In the fortress, they could build bars and stores and tax them. It was like the beginning of a new city.


    Of course, all good things had a catch.


    Players needed to defend their fortresses from invaders if they wanted to enjoy the great profit that they brought. The invaders would mainly be from other clubs and major guilds. Although NPCs would interact with players on the map, it was rare for them to start a large scale invasion. Lu Li had never heard of a fortress that was destroyed by NPCs. No one would be able to defend their fortress if the NPCs invaded.


    At the moment, most clubs were at a stage where they were losing profit. There weren''t many clubs that could actually make a profit from competitions. However, after the fortress system, players could run their clubs in Dawn like a real business. It was also from this fortress system onwards that Dawn was truly recognized as an all-in-one game.


    If Sakura Memories was the first to reach level 60, then one of her rewards would be the land in Grey Valley.


    The first land in the game was very meaningful. From Lu Li''s memories of the past, it was I No Understand who got the land and he passed it to Sorrowless. All the other clubs could only watch as Glory Capital turned it into a well-defended steel box. Even until the day Lu Li was reincarnated, Grey Valley was still under Glory Capital.


    The reason was simple.


    Only level 60 players could take land for themselves, and it was also only level 60 players who had the right to register for an attack on other players'' fortresses.


    While Sakura Memories was the only player in the game who reached level 60, Ruling Sword would have a few days to build a wall much better than a wooden fence for their fortress. In other words, the first level 60 player was guaranteed to obtain an entry level fortress.


    "Let''s keep going," Lu Li commanded as he waved his hand.


    Of course, he wasn''t planning on clearing the next boss; he wasn''t that ambitious.


    Gehennas didn''t take long to clear, but most of the day had been spent on defeating Magmadar. There wasn''t enough time remaining for them to take down the fourth boss.

 1365 Stronghold Reward

    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword''s Sakura Memories for successfully reaching level 60!


    This was Dawn''s first level 60 player, and it represented a movement in the greater story, so naturally, there was a World Announcement to come with it. It was even more noticeable than achieving a First Clear.


    "Check what kind of reward you got," a group of players asked as they surrounded Sakura Memories, wanting to satisfy their curiosity.


    "An Enhanced Bloodthirst Skill Book and a lot of Prestige. I have almost enough to learn the skill right now," Sakura Memories said. She had joined a small camp of Draenei people, but didn''t really like doing quests. It wasn''t enough to rely on the Prestige gained from Instance Dungeons, but now, she had more than enough.


    She felt as though someone had just informed her that she had won 5 million dollars in the lottery.


    "Oh, there is a weapon too. It''s a Legendary, wooow!"


    Sakura Memories was almost unintelligible as she was ecstatic. She was just a levelling madman and a part time Professional player, but she was suddenly now in possession of a Legendary weapon.


    The others gathered closer to see this Legendary equipment.


    Lu Li was standing further away, and didn''t join in on the fun. Wandering patted him on the shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Do you have any regrets for not making her wait for you to each level 60 first? You could have done it; every other commander is doing it too. You could have said that the reward was a Legendary weapon."


    "I know, but there is nothing to regret here."


    As someone who experienced Rebirth, Lu Li knew what the rewards were. It was an exquisite Enhanced Skill Book, a Legendary Weapon and a lot of Prestige. The winner might even appear in one of Dawn''s formal events.


    Wandering''s suggestion was quite simple. Sakura Memories and those that had more EXP than Lu Li would stop farming, and allow Lu Li to get all the EXP so he would get to level 60 first so he could take this reward.


    This kind of approach wasn''t frowned upon.


    In fact, this was the norm among the gaming circles. After all, these rewards would be used differently depending on whether Sakura Memories or Lu Li got them.


    There were far fewer players who ever knew who Sakura Memories was.


    However, if Lu Li was the first player to each level 60, his personal reputation would definitely be taken to the next level. It would make him even more famous.


    The value of the Legendary Weapon could be even greater in Lu Li''s hands.


    Sakura Memories wasn''t a main player in competitions, nor was she the main damage output in Instance Dungeons. She wasn''t too interested in PVPing other players as well. She only liked levelling, but having a Legendary item when doing so didn''t make that much difference.


    This was why Wandering had made such a suggestion. It wasn''t that he didn''t like Sakura Memories, but he just considered the situation from the perspective of maximizing value.


    Now that they had fought three Molten Core Bosses, it meant that there was a large area where they could farm monsters before facing the fourth Boss. The efficiency of farming these monsters was far better than the monsters outside, so even though Lu Li was only within the top 20, he could have easily made it level 60.


    However, Lu Li rejected this.


    On the one hand, he took issue with the idea personally. There several dozen players in front of him and he couldn''t ask them to stop for Ruling Sword.


    On the other hand, there was also the unlikely event that someone else could get it. Then, those who actually wanted to get to level 60 would be crying to no end. Lu Li never felt like he was invincible in this game. What was to say that someone else wasn''t farming Instance Dungeon monsters too? I No Understand could even be working on a long chain Quest which rewarded a large amount of EXP in the end.


    Also, this wasn''t fair to Sakura Memories.


    From her point of view, if she participated in the competitions and in the Instance Dungeons, she would have to spend her break time levelling. She was levelling when others were eating. She squeezed every single second she had into levelling.


    Almost all the money that this girl had earned had been invested in training.


    Some people weren''t even willing to take their potions into an Instance Dungeon, but for the sake of saving the time of sitting down and eating her bread, she was always carrying a potion in her backpack.


    If she was told that she couldn''t farm anymore after getting so close to level 60, and was asked to give up that glory and the reward for someone else, she would be completely sacrificing her own interests for the sake of the bigger picture. She would also be taking some compensation and suffering in silence.


    Why would she do that!?


    Why did Lu Li leave Star Moon Guild such a long time ago?


    It was because Star Moon Guild made unreasonable requests of those playing the game, and Lu Li couldn''t live on like that.


    Lu Li hated this kind of thing the most, so he naturally couldn''t do it himself. He vetoed Wandering''s suggestion without hesitation. Although he was giving up the Enhanced Skill Book and a Legendary Weapon, there would be more opportunities later.


    There was a reward for the first person, but was there a reward for the second?


    Azure Sea Breeze, who was about to level up, rushed into the next wave of mobs. His Level Ranking position was similar to March Rain and Lonesome Flower. Ruling Sword had taken the top five spots with I No Understand in 6th place. Their EXP gap wasn''t actually that large; it was just a few percentage points at most.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, the second player did receive a reward, but it was not nearly as valuable.


    They didn''t have enough time today to get them to level 60 either.


    The next day, Sakura Memories received an e-mail telling her that she could ask the city administrator of a main city for a piece of land to establish a Stronghold. The coordinates that they had given were in Grey Valley.


    According to the normal process, a player that wanted to establish a Stronghold had to wait until the Stronghold system generated a map and opened up multiple plots of land. These locations would then become a point of competition among many clubs. Once the land was generated, guilds could pay a certain amount of gold to try to invade it. The first eight guilds to pay for it would then compete to capture the Stronghold. Capturing the Stronghold was similar to completing an Instance Dungeon. There were many monsters and Bosses in it that would defend it.


    If the attack failed, then the gold was lost.


    If the attack was successful, then the gold would not be lost. However, if there were several winners in the end, the System would randomly arrange for some players to be attacking and some to be defending. The goal would then be to eliminate the other winners.


    The fact that Sakura Memories was rewarded with a piece of land seemed like no big deal, but it was a huge bargain for Ruling Sword.


    The first benefit was that they didn''t have to conquer the land and there would also be no competitors. As long as they could capture it, it would belong to Ruling Sword. Of course, every other guild could try to siege it so Ruling Sword had to hold onto it for long enough to establish adequate defences.


    Lu Li got right to the point with his request.


    The club would purchase ownership of the land from Sakura Memories. However, after they captured it, a share of the site would remain in Sakura Memories'' hands.

 1366 Garr

    "No need, no need," Sakura Memories said as she waved her hands, "I managed to level up so quickly because of all of you and I have already been awarded so many things. I''m happy to give this to the guild; I don''t need a share in it. I don''t really have a use for it anyway."


    "But this is something the System has given to you," Lu Li and the others responded.


    "You know, I''m not a newbie. I know what the other clubs have been doing. The fact that Lu Li allowed me to be the first level 60 is already something grateful for."


    Sakura Memories had played several other games before. She had already been stopped a few times before from levelling and thought that it would be the same this time. She didn''t expect Lu Li to allow her to reach level 60.


    After exchanging a few more words, Lu Li continued to refuse this gift.


    In the end, the originally calm Sakura Memories became a little angry.


    "I am also a member of the guild and a veteran. Why can''t I do something for the guild? Or do you view me as a foreigner?"


    When this was said, Lu Li had nothing to respond with.


    The two went straight to the administrative hall of Stormwind City and found the newly-appointed city warfare administrator ¨C Colonel Avery Bradley.


    Colonel Bradley didn''t make things difficult for Lu Li. Lu Li had the rank of Lieutenant as awarded by Marshall Maxwell, which demonstrated that he was part of the military system. He stamped the Stronghold map submitted by Sakura Memories, which showed the time of capture.


    It was still early in the day, so Lu Li took everyone back to the Instance Dungeon.


    The monsters were becoming more difficult to deal with. There were two combinations of monsters ¨C one involving Lava Elementals, Flame Guards and Flame Walkers, and the other involving Lava Predators, Flame Guards and Flame Walkers.


    However, no matter what the combination, there was also a group of four monsters and they were referred to as F4.


    F4 was a very dangerous group of monsters. Each monster had multiple attacks and the combination of these attacks was very deadly to an unprepared team. Lu Li had just watched his teammates get wiped a few times.


    Despite this, the fact that they were wiped wasn''t that bad, as an increased difficulty meant an increased reward.


    Lu Li found that the Lava Predators and Lava Elementals could be banished. Once they were banished, they could focus on killing the Flame Walker, which was the most dangerous of the monsters. It could cast ranged skills that reduced everyone''s Fire Resistance and continually cast Fireballs at a single target for a significant amount of damage. If you didn''t take any defensive measures, the three fireballs that it cast in one second was enough to kill most players.


    Once they killed the Flame Walker, they would deal with the Flame Guard.


    After this, the remaining two would not be as dangerous.


    After killing another wave of F4s, they finally saw the fourth Boss ¨C Garr. Garr was a lava elemental made of rocks, but he was obviously very intelligent. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have a group of minions protecting him with their lives.


    The Boss'' rocky figure looked strange, and when there were two minions, it was quite imposing. However, when the Boss had eight smaller rocky minions following him, the same word couldn''t be used in quite the same way. Lu Li had no way of warning them in advance, so he used the next time they got wiped as a teaching tool.


    There wasn''t much else to say about the situation as it unfolded, but after getting wiped several times, they had discovered a few rules.


    First, Garr''s minions couldn''t be cleared separately. Any attempt to do so would result in one of two outcomes. The first was that Garr would go Berserk because all his minions were dead, and the second was that the minions could be revived for as long as Garr was still alive.


    However, they also discovered another critical point. They could only kill up to four of the minions. If they killed more than four, the Boss would go Berserk.


    The next thing they learned was the problem with these minions.


    Although these minions didn''t have much attacking strength, they could be sent in on the Boss'' command to explode.


    Finally, the Boss could also cast a mass dispel every now and again (Antimagic Pulse). They had previously enjoyed the convenience brought by March Rain''s Mass Dispel, but now it was the Boss'' turn to use such a skill. The players also had to worry about being mind-controlled by this dispel skill.


    Additionally, there was the Lava Cuff skill that had a slowing effect.


    The Boss'' physical attack damage wasn''t actually that high. It dealt a few hundred damage on the Main Tank and a thousand when it was a critical hit. There wasn''t much pressure on the healers, so Lu Li swapped out one of the Priests and got another Warlock. Now, there were four Warlocks in the team.


    The reason why they had so many Warlocks was so they could banish the minions.


    Garr brought eight minions with him, and they were all moving about quite quickly. The four Warlocks were dumbfounded. Even if Lu Li personally co-ordinated their attacks, it wasn''t easy for them land their Banish skills.


    Lu Li thought of a solution, and sent a Mage in.


    Deadly Green Orange was the one who received the task. Lonesome Flower didn''t have as much control as her and Short Road''s body was still recovering, so Lu Li didn''t want to subject him to too much stress.


    No matter what profession walked up to those monsters, they would stop moving and start attacking them. As they surrounded Deadly Green Orange, Lu Li knew that she could withstand their attacks. Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t allowed to do it because he couldn''t withstand the attacks of all eight minions. She immediately cast Ice barrier, which made her invulnerable to the monsters'' attacks.


    The Boss surrounded the player in the Ice Barrier with the minions, who were scattered and no


    longer moving.


    Under these circumstances, if the Warlock still couldn''t land their banishes, then Lu Li wouldn''t know what to say.


    Four of the minions were banished by the Warlocks and the remaining four were taken by a Warrior or a Paladin. The Boss was naturally being tanked by Azure Sea Breeze.


    The most important thing was the banishment, and if that failed, they would have to try again. They needed to be Banished for a while, but the skill was obviously limited by time and could be resisted. This meant that the Warlocks also needed to use some auxiliary skills.


    First, they had to establish some aggro before casting Banish, otherwise, these monsters would run away after the duration ended.


    In general, it was best to summon a Voidwalker and command it to keep attacking the target. This meant that the first target of the monster would be the Warlock''s Voidwalker. Even if the monster returned, they would attack the Voidwalker first and not run around attacking the players.


    Secondly, after successfully using Banish, the Warlock would need to channel a skill to refill the Voidwalker''s HP. After 20 seconds, he would start casting the Banish skill again. If the monster didn''t come out of Banish, they would take a step forward to cancel the skill and start channelling it again. This way, they could apply the Banish as soon as the monster returned without consuming too much mana.


    Finally, if the Voidwalker''s HP dropped too low, they could sacrifice the Voidwalker and summon a new one instead .


    After the Warlocks were successful, everyone began killing the four remaining rock minions.

 1367 Garr, Please Give Us The Face!

    These four monsters were still very powerful and would explode before they died. When they exploded, they dealt a lot of damage to those in range. Normal players could lose up to 2500 HP instantly.


    Therefore, Lu Li would make sure that those who were about to explode would be pulled away.


    After these four monsters were killed, they began to deal with the Boss.


    This process was simple in theory, but during the process, they were wiped a few times. Sometimes it was the explosion that would kill someone and other times it was an issue with the Warlock''s banish that would get them killed.


    Lu Li finally had no choice but to swap in two more healers ¨C a Healer Druid and a Healer Shaman.


    In addition to the Healers watching the Main Tank''s HP, each of the four Warriors or Paladins assigned to a minion was also assigned a healer. Lu Li also issued a healer to watch over the four Warlocks, and another one to watch over the group as a whole.


    However, this reduced their damage output by a lot.


    The players were not machines. As the battle dragged on, everyone became more tired and more likely to make mistakes, but there was no other way to do this. If they didn''t have enough damage in a high-level Instance Dungeon, they would slowly be ground down. On the other hand, if they didn''t have enough healing, they would just get wiped.


    After the four monsters had been dealt with, they still had to face Garr. As for the remaining four monsters, they had to be continually Banished by the Warlocks. There could be no mistakes, and the four Warlocks couldn''t die.


    After dealing the Garr, the four remaining monsters still had to be killed. The monsters wouldn''t vanish just because of Garr''s death, so Ruling Sword could still get wiped after beating the Boss.


    Fortunately, there was no chance for the Boss to spawn again, so it was only the four monsters that remained.


    After all the monsters had been dealt with, it was time to distribute the spoils.


    This time, some players received Skill Points. After all, it was 40-men Instance Dungeon. Unfortunately, Lu Li didn''t receive any as his unlucky streak continued.


    If you thought that the previous three Boss didn''t drop any spectacular, this Boss had the chance of dropping a T1 set item and a Ring.


    Many players would pray before fighting Garr.


    "Garr, please give us the face! We won''t bother you anymore!"


    The anticipation that was felt here was quite ordinary.


    The others had no way of knowing, but as someone who had experienced rebirth, Lu Li was greatly anticipating receiving the right face.


    "+15% Attack Speed Gem ¨C seems to be pretty valuable," Remnant Dream announced, judging the value of this gem quite accurately. Players that needed an attack speed buff immediately started paying attention.


    Most equipment had a slot, and the better equipment would have at least two slots. If you filled them with +15% Attack Speed gems, you could gain a 30% Attack Speed increase. The only problem was that these attack speed gems didn''t drop very often.


    "Fifty points," Bearded Zaza immediately declared.


    Even the T1 set item that Hachi Chan had previously taken wasn''t worth 50 points. The fact that he was bidding so much on the first offer meant that he really wanted the item.


    The others saw that he made such a high bid and were embarrassed to continued bidding.


    After all, this was a First Clear group and they were all the top players of each guild. Everyone got along with one another and they were somewhat friends, so they couldn''t directly fight each other on these things. Since Bearded Zaza expressed such a strong interest, it was better to just let him have it.


    There was another gem that increased damage dealt and was greatly useful to professions that dealt physical damage. This gem was taken away for only 10 points.


    The rest of the Strengthening Stones were given to Lu Li, and would not be allocated until the end of the Instance Dungeon. If players wanted some specifically, they could buy some with their guild points. The price here was a little more expensive than it was on the market, but it was more convenient and the points would be distributed evenly.


    In fact, guild points had a certain value and there were some customary rules around them in the game.


    Then, there were Rare Materials, Skill Books, Gold equipment and Dark Gold equipment¡­


    Finally, the long awaited Epic equipment was finally dropped. It was the Fire Ruined Grimoire, an off-hand item which was available to all magic professions. However, it was most suitable for Warlocks and Fire Mages. Although there weren''t any Fire Mages, there were four Warlocks. Lu Li asked them to reveal the attributes of their current weapons. Sesame Rice Ball was eliminated because his current off-hand item was better, along with Kitty Likes Meat, who usually wielded a dual-handed Staff anyway. As such, the other two Warlocks were left to fight for it.


    The second item was a T1 set headgear, which was available to Paladins.


    The competition for this item was fierce, but Wandering eventually won. He was the Off-Tank,


    and no one wanted to fight too hard for it. Even if they tried, they were unlikely to beat him.


    Could it be that this was all that was dropped?


    Lu Li almost stopped breathing. He had hoped that Garr would drop the right face. Even if he himself could get those items, everyone would benefit from them.


    In his previous life, he didn''t do so well. All the money he earned, he spent on improving his sister''s health. He rarely had the opportunity to buy equipment to improve his own strength. When he saw Thunderfury, all he could do was to drool over it. He had once read Thunderfury''s attributes, so he knew how precious it was, but all the players equipped with Thunder Fury usually had flashy personalities. They would stroll around the city with them for everyone to see.


    Garr had an item called ''Bindings of the Windseeker'', which came with a description that read,


    "The right half of Thunderaan''s eternal prison".


    In the backpack, its icon looked like a face, which was why it was called the ''right face'' by the players.


    This item was a necessary component to create Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.


    Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker, also known as ''Thunderfury'', was Dawn''s most famous legendary weapon and it was the Wind Prince Thunderaan''s sword.


    Prince Thunderaan was the son of Al''akir the Windlord, Lord of the Wind Elementals and Master of Thunder Fury. He was born in a typhoon and had a wind-like appearance, which was how he got his name.


    In the ancient times, when the Titans visited Azeroth, the gods were worried about the evil hobbies of the ancient gods, so they sent troops to fight the elemental creatures and their evil masters. The army of the ancient gods was led by the strongest elemental leaders ¨C Ragnaros the Firelord, Therazane the Stonemother, Al''akir the Windlord and Neptulon the Tidehunter ¨C while the Titans were led by Sargeras (before the fall) in a historic battle for dominance.


    The relationship between the elementals and the ancient gods was one of common interest. As a reward for summoning them into the physical world, the elementals were willing to fight against the Titans to transform the world, but the elements were not united. The wind and water elementals formed an alliance to fight the fire elementals.


    Two years before the war for dominance, Prince Thunderaan defeated Ragnaros Firelord.


    Sixteen years into the war for dominance, Prince Thunderaan defended Sargeras'' attempt to invade the realm of the wind and was pushed out.


    The year after this, in a confrontation between Prince Thunderaan and Sargeras, Prince Thunderaan began to lose his sight and started to slow down.


    Prince Thunderaan loved the leader of the wind''s daughter, Azshir, but Prince Thunderaan knew that he would go blind soon. He hoped that Azshir would leave this war with him, but Thuunderaan knew that he couldn''t give her what she wanted. He never got to reveal his love to her, which he regretted


    After 20 years in the battle for dominance, Thunderaan became blind. At the same time, Neptulon the Tidehunder was defeated by Sargeras and was crucified on today''s Black Sea Coast.


    After 33 years in the battle for dominance, Sargeras fell and was judged by the Gods, but this was not the end of the battle for dominance. A new war began as Ragnaros the Firelord attacked the wind realm. The Fire Element''s Garr and Geddon were designed to bind Prince Thunderaan, who was finally defeated by Ragnaros. However, because Thunderaan was too strong, Ragnaros accepted Garr and Geddon''s advice to seal the Prince''s soul into two items held by Garr and Geddon.


    Prince Thunderaan never saw the light of day, nor did he see Azshir ever again, and no longer had a chance to express his love.


    After 36 years in the battle for dominance, the wind realm was completely destroyed and the wind elementals fled.


    After 60 years in the battle for dominance, the Titans once again came into this world and sealed away all the elementals that resisted them. This ended the battle of dominance once and for all.


    Those who could save the prince, would pass the test and receive the Prince''s blessing.


    Thunderaan''s ''Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker'' had a line of text that read, "Hero, may you have a love that you don''t regret."


    Lu Li once had an item from Stellar Union that said a similar thing. In some players'' eyes, this was a blessing to find love.


    Thunderfury was an item that would bring an entire guild glory. If there was a Warrior in a guild carrying Thunderfury, the whole guild would be proud of them.


    Garr, please give us the face!

 1368 Bindings of the Windseeker

    "Binding¡­"


    "Great!"


    Before Remnant Dream even finished reading the name, Lu Li already knew what it was.


    It was the Bindings of the Windseeker!


    This was the right face that he had been taking about.


    "Don''t pick it up," Lu Li said, then emphasized that this item wasn''t the same as an ordinary equipment. Once it was picked up, it would be bound to the player and wouldn''t be tradeable. As such, they had to determine who would receive it first. Because of this binding property, there were very few of these items despite the fact that many players had finished this Instance Dungeon countless times.


    When they did the Instance Dungeon, the item wouldn''t drop, or it would be stolen by someone else. However, what was worse was if they already had the right face, but the right face kept dropping¡­


    The tears of those players flowed like a river!


    Lu Li wasn''t a villain. He wouldn''t take this right face without explaining what it was, nor would he just assign this item to himself.


    After all, this equipment was actually most suitable for defence professions.


    It was only after they started fighting in wars that the demand for these items would increase. If Lu Li, as the head of this group, gave this item to himself, it would be quite short-sighted.


    As they listened to Lu Li''s explanation, they couldn''t quite understand why he was telling them about this story. This lore was something that could be read in the vast number of books in this game. The story of Prince Thunderaan wasn''t only known to Lu Li, but they all gradually realized that this item was involved in acquiring a Legendary weapon.


    There wasn''t a single player who didn''t want a Legendary Weapon. Everyone that Lu Li was leading was a normal person, with their own wants and needs.


    However, after learning that this weapon was most suitable for defensive professions, they accepted the fact that Azure Sea Breeze should have first priority. Lu Li assigned this item to Azure Sea Breeze and deducted 105 points. This wasn''t too much or too little, as the right face was just one step towards creating a Legendary weapon.


    Even now, it wasn''t going to be easy to make that weapon.


    Not only did you need both the left and right faces, but you also needed to kill Ragnaros to acquire the Essence of the Firelord. The process of obtaining the weapon was quite difficult, and even with all the materials, you still might not be able to make it.


    This was because the equipment required Elementium Bars to craft. Making Elementium Bars required Elementium Ore, a Fiery Core, three Elemental Igniters and 10 Arcanite Bars. These materials were already so expensive, but what was worse was that you needed to make 10 of them.


    There were many players that couldn''t make Thunderfury even if they had the left and right faces.


    Quite simply, they didn''t have the money!


    Most players wished for a Thunderfury, but they didn''t know how much of the weapon had been subsidised by the guild behind the owner.


    However, Azure Sea Breeze had the money. He had a stable income and no bills to pay. In theory, he would have no problem crafting Thunderfury. Ruling Sword didn''t even need to pay for him.


    "Haha¡­ hahahaha¡­"


    He had already started dream about being the first player in the game to carry Thunderfury down the streets of Stormwind City.


    "You''re laughing like an idiot. Stop laughing and get back to the Instance Dungeon. At this rate, we won''t even finish the Instance Dungeon by next week. Everyone might have the Thunderfury by then," Lu Li scolded. He really wanted to put Azure Sea Breeze to shame up by making his own Thunderfury first.


    However, he knew the truth. Anyone who wanted to achieve something great had to have a good attitude and lead by example.


    As soon as Azure Sea Breeze heard this, he started feeling nervous.


    He hadn''t actually gotten Thunderfury yet, and Lu Li said that there was no guarantee that he could get the left face from the next Boss. If their First Clear really took until next week, it was equivalent to wasting an Instance Dungeon refresh. That was just not worth it.


    From that point on, the one who most wanted to progress through the Instance Dungeon was Azure Sea Breeze.


    Besides, it was always a good thing when your Main Tank took initiative. Everyone else just needed to attack whatever he was pulling.


    The fifth Boss was called Baron Geddon. He was once the Chief Aide of Ragnaros and was quite fiery.


    He was a huge fire elemental and was much more difficult than the previous Boss. In the next few months, there would be a quest called ''Baron Geddon Returns''. Upon completing the quest, the player could receive a Flameseer''s Staff, which could be used to weaken Baron Geddon.


    Unfortunately, before then, the players just had to struggle against this Boss.


    Lu Li didn''t think that they would be able to kill Baron Geddon today. Of course, it would be nice if they could, but his goal was just to get familiar with the Boss. They didn''t have much time either, as he was going to fight the Stronghold this afternoon.


    It was also quite demoralizing when you were instantly killed the moment you went up to fight the Boss.


    The main reason was because this monster was constantly running around. Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t keep up to tank it. He had taken a few steps towards Baron Geddon and tried to pull its aggro, but he ended up pulling the aggro of the monsters around Baron Geddon.


    These F4 monsters were already capable of wiping the 40 players present, let alone when they were accompanied with a Boss.


    When trying to get the First Clear, there was no way a team could avoid getting wiped. As such, it was best that they just got used to getting wiped.


    Now that he had learned the first lesson, Azure Sea Breeze''s second attempt involved trying his best to avoid pulling any other monsters. He was a veteran, so he successfully managed to pull the Boss this time.


    "Quickly March Rain, Dispel!" Lu Li shouted.


    One of Baron Geddon''s signature skills was Ignite Mana, which was an area of effect mana burn skill. This effect had to be removed in time, otherwise all the Magic professions would lose half of their mana.


    "Sorry, I didn''t see it," March Rain apologized. She embarrassed because she was a little too slow, which meant that everyone lost a lot of mana.


    "There is a signal for the skill, because it is essentially a fire skill. You should be able to see it by observation," Lu Li said as he pointed, then continued, "When he is about to use the skill, there will be a red light cast over the players. This is a sign that a fire skill is about to take effect. At that point, don''t hesitate to use your dispel to remove it."


    "Understood."


    When the Ignite Mana came the second time, March Rain found that it played out according to Lu Li''s words.


    "Melee professions, be careful. Take two steps back if you can''t handle it, and take your potions if you are at risk of dying."


    Lu Li''s commanding job was quite difficult. Not only did he have to tell March Rain to dispel the skills, but he also needed to tell the melee players about when the Boss used Infernal.


    There were some players in the game that were just used to listening to orders. If they didn''t hear an order, they simply wouldn''t do anything.


    The Infernal was not a summoned unit, but a damage skill. It was an area of effect skill with very high damage.


    Infernal ¨C Flames of Hell surround the caster and periodically deal fire damage to nearby enemies. During this time, the cast cannot move or use any other skills.


    During this time, Baron Geddon couldn''t move, so they just needed to take a few steps back.


    In fact, if everyone''s Fire Resistance was high enough, this level of damage wasn''t enough to kill them. Unfortunately, their Fire Resistance was not quite there yet.

 1369 Human Bomb

    In fact, these two skills weren''t fatal, which gave the players a false sense of security. They thought that Baron Geddon was an impressively-looking but useless Boss.


    Until¡­


    Hachi Chan, who was busy healing at the time, noticed that her body had burst into flames.


    "Oh, something is wrong."


    As she spoke, her body exploded.


    She didn''t explode into pieces, but she and the people around her suffered a lot of damage. At the same time, Hachi Chan was thrown into the air. She obviously didn''t know how to fly, and you couldn''t fly in the middle of this Instance Dungeon either, so this was obviously the work of the Boss.


    Being tossed at a high altitude usually resulted in one of two things.


    Either she would land and take significant damage, or she would land somewhere soft and be unharmed.


    Hachi Chan, who fell from quite high up, took a lot of damage when she landed. The other players that were around the impact zone suffered the same damage. Hachi Chan had become a human bullet, and had been tossed into her companions.


    The second explosion from the landing left a number of bodies scattered over the floor.


    There was no point in struggling anymore. So many of the players had died that there wasn''t any point to it.


    The group of players sat in a group eating bread and drinking some water to regenerate their stamina.


    Everyone was sitting in the circle, trying to work out what happened.


    "Hachi Chan exploded," Azure Sea Breeze said sadly.


    "You exploded," Hachi Chan retorted as she jumped up.


    "It must be the Boss that picked her, and made Hachi Chan explode¡­" Lu Li muttered as he held Hachi Chan''s head stopped her from jumping around.


    "It literally happened to you, and you''re denying it? Do you want to lose guild points? This explosion causes damage initially and then sends the target flying to deal more damage on impact¡­"


    This wasn''t a difficult observation; anyone could have realized that if they were paying attention.


    "There is a warning for the player who is about to explode, as they would be enveloped in flames," Wandering added.


    "Hachi Chan, how long was it between your body being set alight and the explosion?" Lu Li asked.


    "About¡­ uh¡­ I''m not sure," Hachi Chan muttered as she thought about it. She looked sorrowful. She exploded the moment she realized that something was wrong. As this was VR game, she had not yet recovered from the shock.


    "Well, Breezy, get ready to fight the Boss again. This time, we''ll need to try to understand the characteristics of the Boss'' skills," Lu Li said.


    This time, Sesame Rice Ball had been selected. It seemed to be random, so it was hard to say who would be selected next, but once they were selected, it was just bad luck for them.


    "Run away from me, quickly, I''m about to explode!" Sesame Rice Ball shouted loudly.


    Lu Li couldn''t but feel some pride, not because he was about to explode, but because he had to intelligence to make that call. Now that he had cried out, the scene was quite chaotic, and there were a few players running in the wrong direction¡­


    The explosion caused nearly 3000 damage because of its close range. It also depended on the player''s Fire Resistance. If they didn''t have much, they really would lose 3000 HP.


    At present, the average players had about 3000 HP. There were few players that had much more than 3000 HP.


    In addition to the area of effect damage they had taken earlier, anyone that didn''t run away would definitely die.


    The Mage''s Ice Block and the Paladin''s Invulnerability could protect them from dying, but there were only a few players with those skills. Their damage reduction skills were useless here as only Fire Resistance could reduce this skill''s damage.


    Once again, everyone got wiped, which left them dumbfounded.


    An ordinary player would think that this Boss was unbeatable. The person that was chosen to explode was bound to die, but they also dragged a number of other players down with them.


    If this human bomb detonated a few times, who would be left to fight the Boss?


    "Hey, do you guys know how to use your brains?"


    Lu Li couldn''t stand it anymore. He had to remind these so-called game experts, "Why does everyone need to run away from the human bomb? Why can''t the human bomb run away from everyone else!"


    This sudden realisation made them feel like they had just woken up from a dream.


    It wasn''t that the people here weren''t intelligent, but rather that they had been misled by Sesame Rice Ball into this train of thought.


    Lu Li didn''t want to waste any more time, so he began to command the players specifically. "Wait until Bearded Zaza pulls the Boss and let your pet tank it. Once the Boss has been pulled into position, then clear them out¡­"


    He brought everyone back to Garr''s room.


    It was a similar stone cave, but the terrain was different. There was a larger area and a smaller area. The larger area was good for the team fight, but the smaller area was a good location for the human bomb to run into. Even after they exploded, they wouldn''t take too much damage because the top wall was quite low. This way, even the human bomb didn''t have to die.


    His strategy made complete sense.


    They had already defeated Garr, so they were familiar with the terrain.


    However, there were few people that kept this information in their minds, thinking that it would be useful in fighting Baron Geddon.


    If this was another team, the commander probably wouldn''t have thought of changing the location for a few days. After all, it was a little far away, and it was only the Hunter''s pet that could pull it off.


    Bearded Zaza had an agile cat. It was smaller than a leopard, with four silent paws. It had little defence and no skills, but it had unbeatable speed.


    Its defence was unimportant. Regardless of how much defence it had, if it got hit by Barron Geddon, it would be dead soon after.


    Bearded Zaza controlled his pet from afar. The beast slowly approached Baron Geddon and swiped at it, causing a dozen points of damage. After the injury, it turned and ran. Fortunately, the beast was fast, as it was almost hit by Infernal.


    Geddon had cast such a strong skill for just a small animal, which was truly overkill.


    The Boss soon saw that his attack didn''t work, so he immediately rushed towards it and followed the fast moving-beast.


    This was the effect they were looking for. Bearded Zaza led the Boss and soon brought it to the designated location. Azure Sea Breeze went up to cast Taunt. Everyone else was ready, and had gathered on one side to make space on the other for the human bomb.


    "Now that we''ve solved the problem of the human bomb, everyone needs to work hard. We only have two hours left, so if we fail now, we''ll have to give up for the day."


    Another player had been selected to be the human bomb, but he reacted quickly and ran to the other side. This time, he didn''t die, nor did he kill anyone.


    This gave Lu Li a glimmer of hope.


    "Dammit, where are you going!"


    Before Lu Li could take a breath, the second human bomb actually ran into the group of players. Lu Li almost coughed up blood as he cried out, "That''s a 5 point deduction! Anyone who feels like they have guild points to spare should try that again."


    Even his enraged yelling wasn''t enough to calm his fury.


    "Sorry Boss, I got confused and ran in the wrong direction," the player apologized. He was crying and looked sullen with a face filled with sorrow.


    When a human bomb was used to its full effect, it wasn''t just one or two that died. This naturally meant that the group got wiped.


    "The nearby mobs need to be cleared, so clear those monsters first. Everyone also needs remember what to do. Once you have been selected, you need to remember to do it. Zaza, you''ve been working hard, but your time has come again," Wandering said, taking a turn at commanding. He commanded everyone to clear out the monsters after they had been revived.


    He could understand Lu Li''s mood. He had found such a suitable location, and thought that their problems had been solved, but he didn''t expect that they would get wiped because of such a dumb mistake.


    "It is normal to get wiped often when doing First Clears. It is best not to overestimate their intelligence¡­" Wandering sighed as he patted Lu Li''s shoulder, "Not everyone is as smart as I am, so it can be a lonely world."

 1370 Mana Igniting Cord

    The quiet Wandering soon lost some guild points. He didn''t seem to think that he would be named, or perhaps he thought he was tanky enough. However, he didn''t run to the designated area, which resulted in a few players getting killed and he also died in the process.


    Although Baron Geddon was known as a Baron, he wasn''t a gentleman at all.


    He was a typical villain that would cast skills without indication and had attacks that ignored defence. He was simply horrible.


    "We don''t have much time left. Let''s save some of our energy to fight the first Stronghold, but don''t think that my threat to deduct your points was an empty one. Hachi Chan was the first so she didn''t count, but the next two people who exploded lost 5 points each. 5 points is one Dark Gold item and if you lose another 5 points, you would have lost an Epic item¡­"


    Lu Li hadn''t spoken just to scare them; he really did follow through with deducting their points.


    This was quite a tricky technique to employ, but it could be handled well if care was taken. The deduction of points often woke people up, especially after Lu Li illustrated what kind of equipment they would have lost. This made the loss feel even more real for those who lost points and jolted the others awake.


    "As long as we handle the human bombs, we still have a chance of beating the Boss today," Lu Li said after calming down.


    "Let''s fight again. This time, if someone makes a mistake, they don''t lose points, but they have to wash the toilets for a weak," Azure Sea Breeze suggested slyl., "If you like washing the toilets then make as many mistakes as you want. This way, we can allocate someone to wash the toilets for the whole year¡­"


    Most of them were elites and lived in the Ruling Sword headquarters. There were so many toilets in the apartment building that even thinking about that was terrible¡­


    It seemed that this threat worked. The two players who were later chosen didn''t have any problems. They didn''t die, nor did they cause anyone else to die. They were making progress towards a successful finish. This gave Lu Li a new understanding, because he didn''t really understand the horror of washing the toilets at first. When he was young, washing the public toilets was the most risk-free and rewarding job.


    "Dammit, I got picked!" Azure Sea Breeze cursed.


    "Breezy, don''t move. Everyone else, run!" Lu Li cried out almost instantly when he heard Azure Sea Breeze speak. Lu Li was a melee player and had been paying attention to Azure Sea Breeze. He knew that the Boss could name the Main Tank.


    If it did, the procedure would be different.


    The Main Tank couldn''t run away, because no one else could tank the Boss. The other Main Tanks didn''t have enough time to draw its aggro. As such, if the Main Tank was chosen, the other players had to run away.


    In fact, most of the players and Main Tanks were far away, except for the melee players.


    "Breezy, pay attention to your HP," Lu Li said as he took the lead to run away and succeeded in escaping. The others also fled.


    Most of the melee players managed to escape. Almost all of them had some escaping skill, and Lu Li had shouted the order just in time. Other than Wandering, no one else was bombed.


    When Azure Sea Breeze fell from the sky, he would be dead if no other measures were taken.


    Fortunately, he chugged all kinds of potions in the air ¨C anything that could give him HP. After he landed, he didn''t have much HP left, but he survived. The person in charge of healing immediately rushed over to regenerate his HP.


    As for Wandering, taking 3000 damage was enough to kill him. When Azure Sea Breeze fell, he didn''t run but simply used his Invulnerability.


    It was a fortunate thing that he was a Paladin.


    In that critical moment, they actually suffered no casualties.


    "Fight with all you''ve got; I want to clear this Boss. This time, it''s not just a penalty for making a mistake, but you will be replaced. There are many players out there waiting to join us," Lu Li said, suddenly regaining his confidence as he moved back into position. He commanded everyone to reposition and even sacrificed some of his damage to pay attention to the others.


    "Darkness!"


    Darkness had a good awareness, so she didn''t need Lu Li to say anything. She immediately started running.


    "Dreamy, run!"


    "Water Fairy¡­ oh, you''re already running. Your reaction time is pretty good¡­"


    "Hachi Chan, innervate March Rain. March Rain, watch your mana. Machine Bro, watch everyone''s HP!"


    "Alright, the Boss doesn''t have much HP left. Watch out for his Berserk. Breezy, pay attention to your own HP. Foggy Grass, you''re dying. Wandering, pull the monsters. World''s Best Friend, you''re taking some aggro, so stand a little further from Breezy," Lu Li instructed. He did not dare to relax at all.


    Baron Geddon was not a very strong Boss. As long as you knew how the mechanics worked, even a second-rate team could defeat it if no one made any mistakes.


    "This is the last time Baron Geddon will serve the Firelord,"Baron Geddon sighed softly as he ran out of HP.


    In that moment, he seemed quite graceful ¨C this last sentence sounded quite touching. He was loyal to his master even to the last moment of the battle, but¡­


    "Self-destruct!"


    Gale Steps!


    Lu Li shouted a warning while casting Gale Steps.


    It was a mess. There were dead bodies everywhere. Most players died, but there were some who were fast enough. Water Fairy also cast Gale Steps and the two Paladins cast Invulnerability. There were some that managed to run far enough to be safe.


    "Paladins, go and resurrect everyone. This is a pretty major loss," Lu Li sighed.


    Even so, he couldn''t do anything. Before then, no one could have known that Baron Geddon''s final stand would be a self-destruct. This was one of the more annoying skills in the Molten Core.


    The players who died didn''t receive any EXP, but that didn''t affect their chance to gain Skill Points. Two players managed to gain a Skill Point reward.


    "Hahaha, I didn''t die, I didn''t die and now I''m level 60!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was dumbfounded at first, but he was now overjoyed. Unlike every other similar situation they had faced before, he didn''t die. Lu Li had told him to hide and this order saved his life.


    Too add to this, he was also one of the players to acquire a skill point.


    "I won''t be distributing the gold coins this time. Everyone, just take what is yours, repair your equipment and get ready for the Stronghold," Lu Li said.


    Remnant Dream nodded and looted the gold coins first. If he was distributing them, then it would just be split among everyone.


    There were three gems. One of them was for Fire Resistance, which was the most exquisite of them all. This kind of item couldn''t be auctioned, and was directly assigned to Darkness. Her Fire Resistance was a bit lower than normal, and as the Main Tank''s healer, she needed to have higher Fire Resistance.


    The other two were a physical attack increase and a fire damage increase.


    The fire damage one was for Fire Mages, and Lu Li intended to leave it for Fat Monkey. That hard-working master wasn''t allowed to enter the Instance Dungeon because most of the Bosses were fire Bosses. This meant that they had high fire resistance, so he would be on the bottom of the damage output rankings.


    There were also some skill books and rare materials that needed to be distributed.


    When the equipment started dropping, the Dark Gold items were casually divided among them. There wasn''t much demand for them; those that were wanted were bought at a low price.


    The first Epic that was dropped was the Mana Igniting Cord, which was a very good item, especially for players lacking in Critical Hit. This was simply an exquisite item, as very few equipment provided so much Critical Hit. In addition to the critical bonus, this could be said to be one of the best belts for a level 60 Mage.


    Just because two items held the same name didn''t meant they had the same attributes.


    The same Mana Igniting Cord could be found as a Dark gold or Gold item.


    Deadly Green Orange actually had this item.


    Several of Drizzle Court players had joined the team and received quite a few points. They acquired some of those points by contributing gold coins and potions.


    The second Epic item was a T1 set Shoulderpad, which was exclusive to Shamans.


    Sakura Memories took it away at a low price, because no one else wanted it. Sometimes, it wasn''t so bad to play a profession that was slightly less popular.


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 1371 Marching Into The Stronghold

    Lu Li was a bit annoyed about the low-valued equipment, but he couldn''t do anything about it.


    In the same way that an Instance Dungeon designer''s sense of accomplishment came from making the players risk their lives, a commander''s sense of accomplishment probably came from keeping his team member''s guild points as low as possible.


    However, this thought disappeared as quickly as it arose.


    Lu Li was most concerned about whether the left face would drop. Garr had dropped the right face, so why should the Baron do something else?


    Baron Geddon indeed had a chance of dropping the left face.


    If you wanted to craft Thunderfury, the most important items to have were the left and right faces. Lu Li hoped to complete the Thunderfury with just one cooldown of the Instance Dungeon. The item would give Ruling Sword a new phase of publicity. They would reach a new stage of fame based on these two new developments.


    The first was the Stronghold and the second was Thunderfury.


    If they dragged onto the next Instance Dungeon refresh, Lu Li couldn''t guarantee that they wouldn''t be surpassed by someone else.


    It wasn''t impossible to acquire the Thunderfury in one refresh either.


    In his previous life, there were many lucky players who were able to accomplish this. Moreover, they were playing the Instance Dungeon on Nightmare difficulty and had the luckiest girl in the game, Remnant Dream, looting for them. If they couldn''t acquire the left face after First Clearing the Boss in these conditions, then no one else could!


    "That''s it," Remnant Dream sighed as she shook her head.


    "That''s it?" Lu Li couldn''t believe it.


    "That''s it!" the little girl cried out. She was a little angry because Lu Li was questioning her integrity.


    Lu Li felt deflated. He really couldn''t understand how this item wouldn''t drop in Nightmare Difficulty. Didn''t they get the First Clear? Didn''t they have the lucky girl loot it? Was it even true that they could get both items from one refresh? Perhaps it was all nonsense.


    In any case, it didn''t drop and there was nothing he could do about it.


    If they couldn''t get it in one refresh, they might not get it in ten refreshes, or maybe even in a few years of refreshes. This was actually the normal experience.


    "Let''s get ready; we''re going to do the Stronghold next."


    The others didn''t know what they had missed and were still buzzing from defeating two Bosses in one day. Lu Li wasn''t going to say anything to deflate their moral, so he just accepted it and instructed them to move onto the Stronghold.


    The Stronghold system was quite complicated, and would change a few times.


    For now, the most important thing was to capture the land from the System. The so-called Stronghold was just a plot of land apportioned by the System. The players could spend some money to apply, and the eight groups that paid the most money were eligible to attack it. Those that were able to defeat it would be eligible for the next round.


    Of course, not all of their strength could go into the attack.


    The scale of such a battle would be too big. If everyone was just constantly involved in these wars once a week, then there would be no more development.


    What Lu Li needed to do now was a pick out 80 players. This was the standard number of players in these Stronghold offensive and defensive battles.


    If it was a guild attacking another territory, then the situation was different.


    Those situations could be divided into at least three categories.


    The first category was where you were attacking stronghold and had no territories near that stronghold. In this case, you could select 50 players and 30 players were randomly chosen to make up the 80 players.


    The second category was where you had a territory near the stronghold. In this case, you could select 60 players and 20 players were randomly chosen to make up the 80 players.


    The third case was where you were attacking a stronghold that you once occupied. To recapture the Stronghold, you could select 70 players and 10 players were randomly chosen to make up the 80 players.


    The random players were generally selected with a ratio of 1:1:3 for Healers, Tanks and Damage output players. Players could also choose a ratio of 1:2:2. There were other situations that could arise, but these were the most common.


    Obviously, the random players introduced some uncertainty. The fewer the random players, the stronger the team.


    Fortunately, it was just a random selection from a pool of 200 players that they could elect. Otherwise, the major guilds would be in an uproar.


    The major guilds were strong, and they had a very strong pool of 200 players, which naturally meant that their 80 players were also quite strong. They obviously never wanted to give up the land that they had worked so hard to acquire.


    Of course, the 80-player size was for the basic Stronghold. After the Stronghold was upgraded, the number of players participating in the battle would increase. However, Lu Li only needed to consider this basic Stronghold for now.


    In a basic Stronghold fight, they had a timer of 2 hours. If they didn''t complete it within this time, they would have also failed.


    If they failed, Sakura Memories'' reward would be lost. The land would enter the auction as an unowned piece of land and all other guilds and Mercenary Groups could compete to take it.


    Drizzle Court couldn''t participate in Ruling Sword''s Stronghold war, so they just returned to their base.


    "There are still 40 minutes until the Stronghold battle. Have we picked everyone?" Lu Li asked Square Root 3 as soon as he got out of the Instance Dungeon. Lu Li didn''t need to personally choose the players, and he didn''t know everyone in the Elite Group anyway. They just needed to pick the best players in the Elite Group.


    "As per your request, we''ve almost filled all the slots. There are lots of people signing up," Square Root 3 replied.


    "We have to pick quite a lot of players. They just need to be strong."


    Lu Li wasn''t actually that stressed because the monster level in the Stronghold was just the average level of the participating players. Since only Ruling Sword was involved, they could work out what that would be.


    Fighting the Stronghold was a bit easier than the Molten Core, as long as they listened to his commands.


    "Boss, are you coming? I''ve been waiting for ages!" Fat Monkey yelled into the chat room. You couldn''t blame him for being impatient. As a Fire Mage, Fat Monkey didn''t even get to be a bench player for the Molten Core.


    "Why are you in such a hurry? There are still 30 minutes to go."


    Lu Li was still casually putting together a group of players.


    Eighty players meant that there was a total of 16 teams that each needed a leader. They all had to listen to Lu Li when they got together. After they dispersed, they needed to follow Lu Li''s instructions unhesitatingly.


    At this point, Square Root 3 came over and gave Lu Li a few potions and items.


    The first was the War Chariot, which was one of the most expensive things when participating in a Stronghold battle.


    It was mainly used to deal with the defensive towers. There were two kinds of towers in the Stronghold map. One was a binding tower, which had the main function of slowing the players down. The other was a burst tower, which dealt damage to groups of players. Without the chariot, these two towers would slowly grind the players down.


    Each chariot was 50 gold, and Lu Li felt his tears welling up as he spent this money.


    However, this had to be bought, or else they would have to pay for it in lives. The defensive towers had a longer range than the players, so the process of approaching them would already cause significant casualties. Players who participated in Stronghold battles often lost EXP and equipment.

 1372 Outpos

    Firstly, Lu Li used some elixirs to reach a certain level of DPS. To make sure that they had enough DPS, Lu Li didn''t bring many healers with him. One small squad was sufficient.


    Therefore, the party would have to use their potions and elixirs sparingly. If they needed to, they should just drink them, because if they died, they would be revived back at the checkpoint. This meant that they would also have to run back to the battle, which was a long way.


    Lu Li also hesitantly purchased an additional mobile checkpoint. It was definitely useful, as when the players died, they would revive at this checkpoint, instead of the original one. The checkpoint looked like an angel statue, and the price was 200 gold.


    The chosen area was within the Nightsong Forest. It was approximately situated in the middle of the forest, where Silverwind Refuge and Splintertree met. It was next to the Faelan river and was in a good strategic position. If the Alliance took control of this area, then they would be able to travel to other areas using the Astranaar flight point. If it was the Horde, the Horde legions at Splintertree would be just as powerful.


    In the earlier days of the game, the players'' Stronghold wouldn''t be a threat to the original inhabitants of the land. Lu Li also wasn''t worried about the Horde''s army from Splintertree invading this territory. The Nightsong Forest also held a huge abundance of medicinal herbs, so these would also be part of the income.


    Lu Li painfully bought eight War Chariots and a Revival Point. Honestly, it wasn''t that risky without the statue, but Lu Li didn''t want to take the risk. Even as one who had been reborn, he wasn''t sure about the difficulty of the battle. If it was extremely difficult, then it would be rather unfavourable without the Revival Point. Comparing the price of 200 gold to the value of the Stronghold, it was worth it.


    There was an officer in charge of the entrance to the battlefield. After the commander handed in the list of combatants, everyone would be teleported to the Revival Point at the Stronghold. The place was like a green meadow and was extremely inviting to rest at. A stone statue stood there, witnessing the beginning to the end of the Nightsong Forest. However, the Nightsong Forest was cut down by the Horde legions.


    Rain began to fall from the sky, while a few fire-based Mages were unleashing curses upon this area. "Azure Sea Breeze and World''s Best Friend, you and the rest of the defensive squad are responsible for pulling the Chariots. Have an Ice Mage ride with each one of you," Lu Li instructed. "Make sure you aim before you fire at the Outposts. We have eight Chariots, so we''ll position four on each side. We''re only going to charge through the middle." There was a path through the forest from the Revival Point to the Stronghold Crystal. These Chariots were basic with no motors, only manpower from the players. However, they were quite sturdy ¨C a direct hit from the Outpost wouldn''t destroy one.


    "Protect the Chariots!" Lu Li commanded.


    Spiders suddenly emerged from the side of the path. Their targets were clear ¨C the Chariots. They began to spew out acid at the Chariots as soon as they got close enough. The Chariots had both HP and Durability. If either of these ran out, they would be destroyed. Venomous acid from these spiders dealt damage to both HP and Durability.


    The Paladins rushed at the group of spiders, used Consecration, and drew the attention of all the monsters. The Mages then fired their AoE skills, while the Priests and Warlocks forced away the monsters that were close to the Chariots. The Chariots stormed forwards under the protection of the Ruling Sword players.


    The first Outpost finally entered their field of vision; there was a Bind Tower and an Exploding Tower. There were also many monsters guarding it further in.


    "Spread out the Chariots and aim accurately at the Exploding Tower. Destroy that Tower first. Defensive Paladins, focus on pulling all the monsters. Don''t let any of them get close to the Chariots."


    Lu Li only stood and commanded. There was no way that he was going to the Tower and clearing the monsters there himself; it was too dangerous.


    The Revival Point that was worth 200 gold was only usable once. Lu Li wasn''t planning on using here. He wanted to at least place the Revival Point at the entrance of the Stronghold.


    As the shells from the Chariots'' cannons fired towards the Exploding Tower and its monsters, the Tower also fired their own cannons at the Chariots. There were also Satyr archers at the top of the Tower. Satyrs were Fallen Demons like the Naga; the first Satyr was a Dark Elf. However, other races began to join the Satyrs. They were crooked and evil and sought joy in killing and torture. Because they were Dark Elves, a large majority of their military strength came from their elite archers and stealth users in the Forest. Their features were mostly derived their Dark Elven roots, especially their facial and torso areas. However, what set them apart were their hooves joined to slender and hairy sheep-like legs, their long lion-like tail, as well as a taller abdomen, sharp claws and horns.


    Thieves were the best at fighting against these archers. A few Thieves within the ranks entered Stealth and infiltrated the Exploding Tower. Each person focused on one archer to kill. The archers were extremely weak in melee combat, so they tended to back away until they had enough range to use their bows to attack. It was an extremely stupid tactic, because the Outpost had limited space. Therefore, these level 59 monsters were easily cleared. After the Thieves cleared out the group of archers, they quickly went to the second tower to clear out the other group.


    The others were responsible for clearing out the remaining monsters. The Chariots continued to bombard the Exploding Tower, which looked like it was about to crumble after numerous shots. The Tower''s offensive power was actually quite impressive, but the players were prepared with a healing team. Furthermore, they also prepared potions and elixirs, so the damage taken wasn''t too heavy. There was only one death, which was an already low-HP player falling from the top of the Tower.


    After the Exploding Tower was destroyed, they quickly moved onto the Bind Tower. The main purpose behind the Bind Tower was to slow down the players'' movement speed. Its damage wasn''t that high, so Lu Li didn''t give many instructions. He instead jumped down from the Chariot and joined the fray. This was their first attempt, and they managed to clear both Towers with relative ease and no casualties. Two of the eight Chariots suffered some damage, but that couldn''t be helped. After all, they decided to use the Chariots to fire at the Towers, so the Towers naturally fired back. After clearing the two Outposts, there was an obvious increase in monsters. However, these were around the same as before, so they weren''t too powerful.


    The majority of the players here were level 59, so the monsters'' level was also only level 59. Even the most elite level 59 monsters were a piece of cake compared to the ones back in the Molten Core. At the very beginning of the battle, these monsters got close to the Chariots. However, after everyone had become accustomed to them, they were completely driven back.


    The second pair of Outposts were also quickly taken down, so the third one was the next target. There were 30 Outposts outside of the Stronghold, with ten Outposts on each path, along with five Bind Towers and five Exploding Towers. These Towers were quickly taken down by Lu Li and his group. It might have seemed easy for them, but it wasn''t. They also suffered casualties, losing five or six players. The Chariots were also quite damaged, and two of them were nearly destroyed despite Lu Li telling them to distribute the damage between the Chariots and the players. Otherwise, they would have lost at least half of the Chariots by the time they arrived at the entrance of the Stronghold.

 1373 Stronghold Walls

    What stood in front of Lu Li was a stockade-like structure. Lu Li expected the walls to be made out of wood, but the walls were made out of stone instead. In the updated version of the game from Lu Li''s previous life, they were made out of wood. However, this was probably the first version, so they hadn''t been updated yet. It was fortunate that he''d bought eight Chariot, it might''ve been nearly impossible to enter the Stronghold otherwise.


    On top of the walls stood rows and rows of Satyr archers. There were probably more within the walls. There was probably also a Boss inside the Stronghold, but no one knew of its power. It probably wouldn''t be easy to deal with, but the Boss couldn''t exceed the players'' levels at least.


    "I don''t see the door. It doesn''t look like there is one," Lu Li examined, observing the surroundings. Even he was a little frustrated at the unorthodox architecture of the structure.


    "How do we fight without a door?" someone asked.


    "Simple ¨C create our own door," Lu Li calmly asserted.


    However, the archers wouldn''t just ignore Lu Li and his team while they tried to break down the Stronghold''s stone walls. They needed to clear all the archers on the walls before they could breach it. The winds roared as silence fell upon the battlefield¡ª an ominous battle loomed ahead. Lu Li took out the angel statue and placed it gently on the ground, upon which a pure white light emanated from it. It was a fairly weak light, but it gradually became brighter and stronger, until it was like a fog of light. The fog then surrounded and masked the original statue, giving it the appearance of an angel.


    This statue respawned the players here after they die. "Let''s begin." Lu Li took out a flag and placed it in the ground. Vol''jin''s Battle Standard (Special): Places a Vol''Jin Battle Standard on the ground. Players within 100 metres are given 50% increase in Attack and Defence. Duration: 60 seconds. Heal 5% of players'' Max HP every 2 seconds. Duration 30 seconds. Cooldown: 6 hours. Dropped upon death.


    "Charge!" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed, then picked up his shield and charged ahead. The other defensive classes weren''t far behind. They immediately stood in a row and took the hits from the archers.


    After the archers decided to focus the tanks, the remaining ranged attackers from Ruling Sword quickly advanced towards the walls. The defensive classes only had to tank the archers'' damage. They couldn''t hit them, but the ranged classes could.


    "Attack the first archer," Lu Li instructed.


    They had to plan out the ranged classes'' attack because the defensive classes wouldn''t be able to keep the archers'' aggro on them. As soon as the archers were attacked, they would retaliate at whoever attacked them.


    According to Lu Li''s plan, everyone would focus on one archer at a time. Therefore, only a single archer''s aggro would be transferred from the tanks to the ranged damage dealers. The first target was completely blindsided by the barrage of attacks from the ranged classes. He roared in rage and pain as he switched focus from the tanks. One arrow alone dropped a Mage''s HP by 1000 points; this was only a normal attack. In the siege of the Stronghold, archers had a significant advantage over Mages.


    In Dawn, the altitude of attack was factored into the damage of the attack. For example, if the attackers were on the ground and attacked upwards, they would deal reduced damage. Attackers on higher ground would naturally deal higher damage. The Satyr archers on top of the walls often dealt critical hits if their arrows landed. A normal hit typically dealt 1000 damage, so a critical hit dealing double or triple the damage would have instantly killed a Mage.


    "Healers, heal accordingly. Let''s begin attacking the next archer," Lu Li said, directing everyone''s attention onto another target. The first archer was already dead. A focused barrage of damage from a whole party meant that it only took seconds before an archer died. Lu Li looked at the time, then directed the Chariot pullers to prepare the Chariots for firing. It was too time-consuming for them to wait until all the archers were cleared before pushing forward. They faced a difficult situation where they needed to sacrifice a few Chariots for the sake of time.


    The archers were originally only focused on the defensive classes, but as soon as the Chariots began firing at the walls, they were suddenly alarmed. "Warriors, raise your shields," Lu Li commanded. Earlier, Lu Li designated the Paladins as the Chariot pullers. It didn''t matter what classes the other warriors were. They all suited up in heavy armour with large defensive shields; the properties were all irrelevant. The main focus was acquiring high levels of armour. The warriors began to march together towards the Stronghold walls with the Chariots behind them. The majority of archers'' arrows landed on the shields, but some still landed on the Chariots.


    The Chariot used cannonballs as ammo, which were not ideal at fighting against monsters. However, against structures, they were immensely effective. Each hit thundered heavily against the walls. After numerous barrages, cracks and holes began to show on the walls.


    Lu Li called Wandering over to replace him as commander. There wasn''t much left to command here.


    An extremely powerful Thief would be wasted if he just sat idly by.


    Transform ¨C Crow!


    A blood-red Crow spread its wings and flew higher and higher. Following closely behind was Hachi Chan. In this situation where there was a navigator, there was no worry that she might get lost.


    Half of the archers on the walls were already dead. However, these archers had also spread around the walls evenly. They used effective angles to attack the Chariots, ignoring the defensive classes who couldn''t Taunt them. The Chariots had the aggro while the ranged attackers were attacking the archers.


    "Follow me when I go down. Don''t wait any longer. You don''t need to heal me either," Lu Li instructed. Lu Li flapped his wings and dived downwards. The butterfly that was beside him was sent spiralling into a backflip due to the force of Lu Li''s flapping. Hachi Chan''s flight skills hadn''t improved at all. The Satyrs ignored him completely, as there were many bird species in Nightsong Forest and Crows were the least prominent. However, they had forgotten about one thing ¨C a normal crow would wait until the battle was over, then descend, but this one was different.


    As soon as the crow landed on the ground, it immediately disappeared.


    "THIEF!" A Satyr witnessed this and immediately thought to sound out an alarm. Satyrs were complicated, but there were many Thieves and archers within their ranks. Therefore, they were familiar with a Thief''s movements. Unfortunately, he was too late as Lu Li quickly got close to him and silenced his voice. Lu Li''s actions were risky because if the archers on the wall were alarmed and focused their attention on him, he would be dead in seconds.


    However, considering Lu Li and the Chariots, the archers would naturally continue to attack their original targets. The Satyr that was attacked by Lu Li couldn''t do anything; Lu Li had successfully disabled him. Even so, Lu Li wasn''t satisfied. He paused for a split second, then immediately used Blind on another Satyr.


    Kidney Shot!


    After stunning the target in front of him, Lu Li didn''t continue attacking. Instead, he jumped onto another Satyr.


    Gouge!


    His goal wasn''t to kill the Satyrs, because that was a waste of time. Instead, his aim was to disrupt the Satyrs on the walls.

 1374 Weakling

    These guys were only there to annoy them!


    By the time that the Satyrs noticed Lu Li, a thunderous boom resounded through the air. The wall was finally demolished.


    Lu Li fell from the wall. Just before he landed, he transformed into a leopard and in a whoosh, he was gone.


    If he didn''t run then, he would have surely died.


    Lu Li was a pitiful man within the walls, with the monsters all looking at him. It was fortunate that the boom from the wall was quite sudden, which left the monsters dumfounded.


    He ran out from the hole that was made, then transformed back into human form, waved his hand and yelled, "Defensive Warriors and Paladins, rush into the Stronghold! Everyone else, follow tightly! Healers, remember to heal. The Chariots will continue firing until there is another hole. Also, clear out the remaining two archers on the wall!"


    There were originally many more, but most of them fell off the wall after it was destroyed.


    At the same time, Lu Li also activated the flag that was placed there.


    A low rumbling sound travelled over the 100-metre range, covering all the players in a buff. All the players received a significant boost to their strength with the buffs from the Battle Standard. 5% HP recovery every 2 seconds? It would be hard to die even if they wanted to in a normal situation.


    Unfortunately, this effect only lasted for 60 seconds. Otherwise, this battle would be over extremely quickly.


    Even if it was only 60 seconds, it was still enough for them to charge into the Stronghold and hold their position. The monsters guarding the entrance were annihilated.


    The players who died during the battle was revived at the angel statue that Lu Li placed down previously. As soon as they were revived, they charged into the battle. The eighty players absolutely cleaned the place of monsters as if there were thousands of them participating.


    The Chariots also managed to make a much larger hole in the wall, so they came roaring in as well. Cannonballs were fired at the monsters that the Main Tank were holding. They didn''t do that much damage, but this definitely raised the morale of the players.


    "The EXP is pretty high here. It''s much faster here compared to the outside monsters," a player realized.


    Even if these monsters were level 59 and provided no EXP bonuses, this gap was closed by the sheer abundance of them. The monsters didn''t stop coming, which meant that AoE classes were dealing huge amounts of damage with just one skill.


    There was pressure on the players as well. After all, long periods in battle would result in quick drainage of mana.


    When Mage classes couldn''t handle their mana anymore, the melee classes needed to replace them and toughen up. Furthermore, healing was also quite taxing on mana, so their injuries couldn''t be managed too well.


    This battle was much more ferocious than Lu Li expected.


    Lu Li took a deep breath, then yelled, "Retreat! Retreat!"


    "What? We can''t retreat, no matter the difficulty!" Wandering roared as he grabbed Lu Li in anger. He knew the importance of the Stronghold. Furthermore, this was a nearly conquered Stronghold as well.


    "Do you have better ideas? Do you not know the strategy of a strategic retreat?" Lu Li roared back.


    A strategic retreat?


    Wandering suddenly realised the meaning of Lu Li''s words. This was only a game. Furthermore, retreating did not mean that they were giving up on the Stronghold.


    "Chariots, fire at the stairs over there!"


    It was impossible for all the players to scatter at once. That wouldn''t be a retreat, but an utter defeat. Furthermore, they needed to get the Chariots out of there first. However, before retreating, Lu Li wanted the Chariots to destroy the staircases that connected the ground to the top of the walls.


    The stairs were different to the walls. A few rounds easily destroyed them from the inside.


    The Chariots then retreated away; only five remained from the original eight. There was one that was also on the brink of destruction. Another two hits would destroy it.


    "Alright! Block the holes in the wall!"


    It was clear that Lu Li didn''t mean to retreat completely. It was a hard-fought battle to get in the Stronghold, so it wouldn''t be worthwhile for them to retreat. Furthermore, if they had actually retreated, the monsters would repair the walls. Lu Li also saw some Infernals within the monster ranks. These Infernals were extremely capable with stone. They would make things troublesome if they were given enough time.


    There needed to be three Main Tanks standing at the hole to completely cover it up. This was already much better than before. They also didn''t have many monsters to deal with. Lu Li and the team had an opportunity to rest here.


    The players without mana or HP could retreat to a further area to recuperate. They could also borrow potions and elixirs from other people.


    The Main Tanks could also rotate and rest accordingly while three of them blocked the wall. Lu Li stored away the Battle Standard. After all, it was a potent weapon for Stronghold battles. It was a shame that it only lasted 1 minute, which was far too short.


    It was said that there were many Battle Standards in Dawn that could be combined. Lu Li wasn''t sure about this and he didn''t know if this was true or not.


    "The monsters are nearly all gone. There''s still the Boss in there," Wandering nagged. He didn''t quite


    understand Lu Li''s slow actions in times like these.


    The revival point was only just outside. If they died, they could just revive back there, recuperate and re-join the battle. If Wandering was the commander, he would have done all he could to take the Stronghold first, then consider everything else. He thought that Lu Li''s actions here were very indecisive.


    "Just wait a little bit more. The monsters will come out by themselves. There''s no need to go into their territory and fight there," Lu Li said. He was calm and assertive with his words.


    It seemed like Wandering would only believe that the Boss was there for show. The real hard parts were the Outposts, the wall and the huge abundance of monsters rushing out. A level 59 Boss? How hard could it be?


    Nevertheless, Lu Li was the commander. Wandering could only state his opinions and suggestions.


    "Alright, we can go in now."


    Lu Li looked at the time and saw that two and a half hours had passed. The small monsters were pretty much cleared out.


    Besides a few guards around the Boss, there was also a huge Fire Elemental. This was quite a terrifying sight. Even Baron Geddon would seem like a dwarf next to it. Then Lu Li realised something and had to stifle a laugh.


    This was an old friend ¨C Lord Magmathar!


    This guy''s appearance did not match his skills at all. Lu Li recalled a time when he lent a player an Iron Sword and two gold coins. He was doing quite well for himself. After returning the gold coins back to Lu Li, he joined Ruling Sword under Lu Li''s invitation. He even managed to join the elite squads.


    His role in the guild was to protect the Profession players.


    Lu Li met him while taking him along to a battle against Magmathar. At that time, Magmathar was still a low-grade monster.


    Lord Magmathar wasn''t the Boss.


    If Magmathar''s skills remained the same, but he was level 59, Lu Li was confident enough to take him in a one-on-one duel.

 1375 Distributing Housing

    Obviously, this was something that was impossible.


    Fire Lord Magmathar became a lot stronger.


    As he reached out his long fiery arms, they became like fire whips, swinging towards the players. Lu Li had never seen a skill like this before and it was obvious that Magmathar had grown a lot stronger.


    "I''ve seen this Boss before; he''s not that strong. Azure, go draw aggro. World''s Best Friend, go pull the side mobs," Lu Li instructed.


    In reality, the Magmathar in this Stronghold was quite weak.


    However, he had very high HP and most of the other major guilds might not have enough time to take him down.


    After half an hour or so, Ruling Swords finally defeated the Fire Elemental and the System announced that they had claimed their first Stronghold.


    Lu Li was too lazy to come up with a name and named it ''The Place of Ruling Sword''.


    They used up countless potions, along with an absurd amount of gold, resources and other things in order to claim the Stronghold. When they finally accomplished this, Lu Li was able to let out a sigh of relief.


    A lot of players gathered at the Place of Ruling Sword, including scouts and spies from other guilds. They could check out the layouts of a beginner Stronghold, but they could not gather much information regarding the dungeon fight.


    Although the Stronghold was quite simple, what looked like a small city could one day develop into a bigger city than Astranaar.


    Sakura Memories already gave Lu Li the authority to access the Stronghold.


    He first set the option to guild members only in order to keep out the scouts and avoid more drama. Lu Li didn''t want anyone infiltrating his Stronghold before the walls were up.


    "We just have to repair the walls now," Square Root Three said.


    Water Fairy arrived at around the same time; she was disappointed that she couldn''t participate in the fight. She decided to pay them a visit to get an update on what had been happening. She needed information in order to help Drizzle Court claim some Strongholds as well.


    "We should just leave it. It''ll get taken down anyways," Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    "You can consider using mined ores since they''re cheaper," Water Fairy suggested. The cost of repairing was quite large and it was something that Ruling Sword couldn''t afford.


    "We don''t even need ore; we just need rocks and wood. Brother three, go get someone to collect rocks ¨C big ones. Get Mr. Shen to help us bulk-buy some as well," Lu Li commanded, then pointed at the broken walls and added, "Get rid of all of this. We can keep the big rocks for rebuilding and the small ones can be used for the paths."


    "The lifestyle players from my guild can help as well," Water Fairy offered.


    "That would be great. I''ll get some of my players to help you the next time you guys need help as well," Lu Li said genuinely. Ruling Sword''s lifestyle players were a lot weaker than Drizzle Court, so collecting materials would be a lot easier with their help.


    "Allow me to participate in the rebuilding too, as a practice," Water Fairy said. She was jealous of Ruling Sword''s opportunity.


    Some things could not be solved by money. The first guild that claimed a Stronghold was Ruling Sword again. This new up-and-coming guild was becoming more and more impressive.


    "If you want, then you''re more than welcome," Lu Li said.


    "I''ll recruit more people as well; don''t complain if there''re too many people."


    Water Fairy left happily. If Drizzle Court participated, then not only would they gain the experience, but it would also show that Lu Li truly trusted them.


    "Brother three, hold on a second," Lu Li said.


    "What''s up?"


    Square Root Three was so keen to get started on rebuilding the Stronghold. He had no idea that they would be the first guild to have their own Stronghold.


    "Brother Three, you should just organize other people to do it for you since you''re still a leader," Lu Li suggested, then continued, "I have an idea, but I wasn''t sure if it was good. I might need your advice."


    "What''s up? Why can''t you just decide by yourself?" Square Root Three asked.


    "I want to do something that will attract experienced lifestyle players. We''re lacking in that area."


    Lu Li knew his guild very well. There were 80,000 players in Ruling Swords, but less than 10,000 were actual strong players that played the game, 20,00 of them were lifestyle players and the rest were just casuals.


    Ruling Swords wouldn''t become the strongest with only 10,000 players.


    "That''s a good idea, what were you thinking of doing?" Square Root Three asked, suddenly becoming interested.


    "We can allow lifestyle players to live in the Stronghold in exchange for their items. Beginner Strongholds can only house 1,000 residents. If we were to rent some of them out then even less of our players would benefit from this," Lu Li explained.


    "I understand," Square Root Three sighed, "We just have to choose between the two."


    It was through a group effort that they managed to claim the first Stronghold and from now on, they would also have to defend it with their lives. Each player has their own needs and desires, so if they didn''t benefit from this Stronghold then they would be less motivated to participate.


    If Lu Li used their efforts to go and recruit top lifestyle players, then it would probably discourage them.


    There had to be a balance in everything.


    After the two of them discussed for a while, they decided to drag in Wandering and Cat Dad to write up a proposal together.


    There were 1,000 houses all together and half of these were saved for other purposes. 10% of the housing would be provided to Elite players based on their contribution. There were only 400 or 500 Elite players and giving them 100 was more than generous. The rest of the housing would be divided between other members.


    300 of them were distributed to the lifestyle players. Due to their needs for their professions, they needed a place to work.


    The last 200 houses were used to attract other lifestyle players as well as top PVP players.

 1376 Mining

    There was no way that all the rewards would be given to the elite groups just because they performed well. Lu Li had no intentions from the beginning to distribute all 1000 sets. In his way of thinking, only a hungry dog knew how to bite. If he fed his members too well, they would lose their fangs.


    What he considered the most was this first piece of land.


    The bait had to be temping, so tempting that it would have the other guild members fighting hard for it. Those who had obtained houses were a good example to show that as long as the members performed well, they would still have an opportunity to be granted a house in the future.


    At this point, their Stronghold was only a basic one. As it continued to level up, they would be able to expand the land and have more civilians inside.


    There was no way that Lu Li would be satisfied with one piece of land either. At the time before his reincarnation, the major clubs all had more than one piece of land and they gained a lot of profit from their Strongholds.


    The elites were capable of making miracles happen, but it was always the normal civilians that revealed the value of things. Most forms of money-making were from services and it was these ordinary players that impacted the gain or loss of the clubs.


    After they had briefly settled on the formation, Lu Li found that he had time to spare.


    Square Root 3, Shen Wansan, Cat Dad, White Bread and even Wandering, who was always slack, had thoroughly dealt with the management issues. The guidelines and regulations that they had laid out were so detailed and well-written that even Lu Li was impressed.


    He had heard of the concept of running a Stronghold, but he understood things at a superficial level. He had no clue about how things actually ran.


    Now that everyone had their minds on the Stronghold, no one else really paid attention to the dungeon. The time left wasn''t enough for them to take down the next boss either. Even Lu Li couldn''t really contain his excitement. If he was to go out and level up now, he wouldn''t be in the mood for it either.


    There was no need for too much hesitation; what the guild lacked the most at this point were rocks.


    Lu Li had found a recipe for a decent pickaxe and managed to create a batch of exquisite pickaxes.


    It was the first time that something like rocks were sought after by the players, because they were a concomitant of minerals. They were the sort of thing that weaker players would bring back to gain some copper coins. Most players would toss them right out of their backpacks.


    These rocks could only be used to build roads; they were far too small.


    Lu Li needed rocks of a bigger size and of a harder quality. That way, enemies wouldn''t be able to do too much damage to the walls with their battle tanks.


    Lu Li had seen the giant rock wall from Blood Red War Flag in the past. The size of the rocks that formed the wall was shockingly large. When enemies attacked with their tanks, only small bits or dust would chip off from the wall, and even after two hours, they wouldn''t be able to break through.


    The building process was troublesome, but the reward would be great in the future.


    Unfortunately, Ruling Sword was still too weak and they weren''t capable of building a wall of giant rocks like Blood Red War Flag. At the same time, Grey Valley had limited resources; the rocks that matched the standard for the wall were scarce.


    The giant rock wall by Blood Red War Flag was apparently the result of their guild stocking up their usual rock supplies for half a year.


    These large rocks could not be placed into bags. If they wanted to bring them back, they would have to do so manually, either with manpower or vehicles. Vehicles could be constructed through Engineering and the shops in the cities also provided rentals.


    Astrana provided similar services, but the prices definitely weren''t cheap.


    Lu Li wasn''t aiming for something as extravagant as the giant rock wall, but he at least wanted the wall to be able to withstand a few rounds of damage. The concomitant rocks that came with the minerals couldn''t be used; they had to conduct this mining business through professional methods.


    After some research and discussion, the executives of Ruling Sword decided to split the process into two parts.


    One group would be digging for rocks in Grey Valley, while the other would be exporting rocks from across the map at Stonetalon Pass. Stonetalon Pass was located at the western shore of Kalimdor, south to Grey Valley and Desolace, and north to Mulgore. This was the closest and best possible solution to Night Song Forest.


    This place was once a flourishing forest, but the risk investment company began to investigate into it, exploring and mining while they were at it. Their activities changed the scene of the forest greatly; dust now hung in the air and there were dry valleys on either side.


    It soon became like its neighbouring location ¨C the Desolace and the Barrenlands.


    The Goblins that worked in the Stonetalon Mountains were the best engineers of their race. The inventions allowed them to take down great number of trees within a few months, which drew the fury of Night Elves and Tauren towards them.


    Night Elves built camps on the peaks of Stonetalon for little Elves and Forest Protectors to stay.


    Most Taurens played the same role; they were being defensive. The Grimtotem tribe had already begun to counterattack these goblins. Some believed that the Grimtotem tribe had used extreme methods to drive out the goblins from their lands, including poison made by the Forgotten Ones.


    Of course, if this poison was to be used, it would cause great damage to the goblins.


    If Ruling Sword wanted to mine from this place, they would have to pay tax to the goblins. Shen Wansan had used some shiny gems and gold coins to bribe one of the princes of the goblins. This prince provided their exporting carts protection.


    The forces under this prince also joined in with them.


    Lu Li promised some stores to this risk investment company ¨C about five or six ¨C but the final number would be settled depending on the location of the stores. Overall, both parties had already agreed to most of the contract.


    Besides the permission and protection, this prince would also export unwanted stones from the mine to Lu Li.


    Rather than store it up in their mine and take up space, which also would cost them time to bury the rocks again, someone was willing to pay for them with gold coins. The Prince was more than happy to give these rocks out; he could earn at least 2000 gold coins from these useless rocks, and gain stores on top too.


    What Lu Li valued the most from this prince was actually the engineers that he had sent out as well.


    These greedy but knowledgeable goblin engineers were about to join the construction of the Stronghold and the design of the city. Lu Li hoped that their existence would be of some use to the designing group of the guild.


    The players in the guild weren''t all unemployed people in real life. A great portion of them were hired in all sorts of job positions in real life.


    Some of them were civil engineers and town planners. Lu Li gathered them and handed the task of building the first Stronghold of Ruling Sword to them. He believed that this was best handled by the professional; he didn''t need to stick around and tell people what to do. Instead, he should do his best to satisfy the request of this team.


    Lu Li dug out a few rocks from Grey Valley and brought it back with a few other trading skill players.


    The digging wasn''t the hard part ¨C it was the exporting that was troublesome. Roads in the forest weren''t that clear and easy to travel through, and the poor quality of the vehicles rented from the city stores made the situation even worse.


    Lu Li really admired those players who persisted without complaining.


    It was not hard to tell how passionate they were about the Stronghold. It was as if they didn''t think they were playing a game anymore, but were instead building their own home.


    "Lu Li, we''ve got some trouble. There are some unfamiliar faces in Grey Valley who are disrupting our word. Are they sent out by other clubs?"


    Rain Like Wanderer and his group of Paladins were patrolling around Grey Valley to protect the players of Ruling Sword.


    Usually, Trading Skills players could be attacked.


    However, some of the players from Ruling Sword who were bringing in the rocks were also combat players as well. They weren''t protected by the laws of the system and they became the targets of the enemy forces.


    "Of course it would be them, without a doubt," Lu Li said coldly.


    "Maybe it''s some small guilds or mercenary groups who are taking their chances to gain some profit," Rain Like Wanderer suggested.


    "In order to bring back more rocks, mining players all cleared out their bags to reduce weight. Even if they died, they wouldn''t drop anything good. What good would it bring for normal players to attack them? They would have to risk suffering our revenge as well," Lu Li said, then paused and added, "Wanderer, why aren''t you sure? Is it because subconsciously, you''re afraid of them, and you''re afraid that we''ll be up against multiple clubs?"


    "Boss, maybe you''re right, but in that case, what do we do?" Rain Like Wanderer asked.


    "What else can we do? Don''t worry about it. They''re already behind, and even if they take action, it won''t be of much help for them. They don''t have courage to start a real war with use either, especially if they want to fight near our Stronghold. They would suffer a great loss¡­"


    The leader''s calmness seemed to have settled Rain Like Wanderer.


    "What now?"


    "We take out their scouts. I''ll have some combat players on guard in Grey Valley and anyone who takes an offensive stance to us will be taken out. We can''t have any threats on our passage of exportation," Lu Li said, sounding very confident.


    He had grown up in a harsh and merciless environment.


    Enemies would never give up trying to hurt you just because you backed away. If you wanted others to fear you, you would have to stand up for yourself. He too, was worried about a big war. Everyone was just about to hit level 60, and they were at a great time for development. It would be best for them not to go into war at all during this time. When two major guilds clashed, only the other guilds would benefit from it and surpass them if they fell behind.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll get rid of these fleas quickly."


    Rain Like Wanderer wasn''t the type to hesitate too much either.


    "If the situation gets worse, ask for assistance from Water Fairy. I''ll let her know about the situation."


    Lu Li believed that no clubs out there would be willing to stand up to three parties alone, not even Glory Capital. Sorrowless was also a rational person.


    After he hung up, Lu Li suddenly rose his hands and had his comrades stay put.


    "Gather around and stay alert. I feel like something is a little off."


    As he spoke, he entered Stealth, which made his Detection abilities stronger.

 1377 Trouble

    Amongst the few players, only two were true Trade Skill players. They weren''t worried about being attacked, but the other four were combat players, and the more average kind too.


    Even so, they didn''t panic.


    Just the fact that they were mining with Lu Li was enough to have them excited for the day. They could totally brag about this in the future; they had dug for rocks with their boss, Lu Li.


    Now, they even had their boss protecting them!


    Would this be possible in any other club?


    First of all, guild leaders did not dig rocks with their subordinates, and even if they did, they wouldn''t just pick a random team either. They would be protected by a squadron of people, or else, it would be shameful if they were to be taken down by accident.


    Lu Li didn''t think too much of the situation. He just felt like someone had gone into Stealth mode in his Detection range.


    Regardless if these people were the intruders that Rain Like Wanderer had described, as a top Thief, Lu Li had his own pride. He couldn''t allow someone to Stealth near him and intrude his territory.


    This was why he entered Stealth too, to give them a taste of their own medicine.


    Quickly enough, he found his target ¨C a Gnome Thief that was hidden in the bush beside them. His small figure allowed him to blend well with the surrounding environment.


    In Dawn, Stealth could be split into two types ¨C skill-type Stealth or physical-type Stealth.


    As the name suggested, skill-type Stealth was achieved by casting the Stealth skill. This was how most players did it, while physical-type Stealth was achieved through actions to boost the effect of Stealth.


    Commonly, actions such as hiding behind trees, behind rocks, or in crowds were taken to deceive their target''s senses.


    The Gnome Thief was doing the same thing by hiding in the bush. By hiding in such a thick bush, it would be hard to notice him, even without casting the Stealth skill.


    However, he was facing Lu Li, the person standing at the very top of the Thief class. He was playing his cards the wrong way.


    He also saw Lu Li go into Stealth, but he didn''t think that Lu Li was targeting him. After all, there was a large distance between them. Perhaps Lu Li was headed to take out the two bear monsters nearby.


    Lu Li conducted a slight check around his surroundings, but all he found was that one Thief.


    Was this thief a master player, good enough that he could take out a team alone?


    As his thoughts raced, Lu Li had already begun to act. Regardless if this player was good or bad, Lu Li never feared anyone. His dagger easily penetrated the back of the Thief''s head ¨C a successful Cheap Shot.


    The result was almost comical. The Thief didn''t even realize what had happened; there was no way he was a professional player.


    Despite this, Lu Li didn''t let his guard down. If he wasn''t here to take out five people by himself, this meant that this player was a scout and soon, there would be people arriving by the intelligence that he reported back.


    An average Thief couldn''t do anything to Lu Li, who was about to reach level 60.


    Lu Li picked up the equipment that the Thief had dropped; it was a decent Dark Gold tier bracer. Lu Li tossed it to one of his players and said, "Sell it and share the money. I''m sure some people will be headed over soon. Take the cart and let''s go."


    Lu Li transformed into a crow and flew up.


    With the scout killed, they had also exposed themselves. The enemy would soon be arriving. Lu Li could have everyone teleport back to the city too. That way, the enemies would be arriving at nothing. He himself could stay and go as he pleased, but that way, it would seem like he was too scared. If the news spread, people might view Lu Li as a weakling.


    It was still daytime in game, and although Night Song Forest was a little shadier, visibility was still quite clear. Plants flourished in the area, so Lu Li could not see much from above.


    However, with experience, Lu Li easily spotted the movement in the forest. He knew which direction the players were coming from and how fast they were travelling.


    The enemies had arrived quickly; they weren''t faraway in the first place.


    "Get ready for battle; they''ve got two teams. I won''t be able to handle all of them myself, so I''ll need your assistance," Lu Li announced honestly. If he was out alone in the wild, it would be easy for him to hunt these players slowly by himself. It was just a matter of wisdom and patience.


    However, he didn''t want to waste too much time on these insignificant figures.


    Although the four combat players that he brought with him today were quite ordinary, no one that joined Ruling Sword was truly ordinary. They were at least above the normal standard of most players.


    Ruling Sword was also a club guild now, so their standards weren''t any lower than other major guilds.


    There two level 55 players, a level 57 and a level 58.


    The level 58 was a higher-levelled player ¨C a Hunter. The two level 55 players were both Mages and the level 57 was a Paladin.


    "Boss, at your command," the level 58 hunter said without hesitation.


    What was there to be afraid of? At most, it was just a death. Not to mention, their boss was with them today and it was five against ten, so this wasn''t a problem at all.


    "Paladin, go out first and let them attack you. Hunter, go take out their Druid. The other two Mages, help out and take the Druid out first."


    Naturally, Lu Li aimed for the Druid too. It was obvious that the Druid was a healer, and if they let him stay alive, the battle would be tough. After all, Lu Li hadn''t brought a healer this time.


    The two teams were led by a Berserker with the ID Flying Knives. He was a player with a little bit of fame amongst some smaller circles.


    This wasn''t the good kind of fame though, because he was indiscriminate with the targets he killed. Sometimes, it was just because of a slight disagreement, and other times, it was without reason.


    To hunt other players all the time was no easy task. Just the equipment and potions alone would be a big amount of money.


    To solve his financial issue, Flying Knives had formed a mercenary group recently and took up requests for killing.


    That way, he could earn money while fulfilling his desire to PK.


    Today, he picked up a big deal. The deal was counted by head as well for the reward. To Flying Knives, this was a very attractive deal. The deal didn''t even ask them to kill anyone of importance; they could even target the Trade Skill players at the lowest level.


    He had already killed quite a few players and obtained quite sum of gold coins.


    However, he didn''t expect an accident to occur so soon. The Thief that he had sent out to scout before had been slain and the scout couldn''t even see who did it.


    Usually, Flying Knives wouldn''t touch a target that his scout can''t see. After all, regardless of the player level, as long as it was Ruling Sword player, they were worth the same price. Why not pick on the weaker ones?


    The key was that the scout had dropped an equipment, and the best one on him too.


    It was a Dark Gold equipment and most of the players in his mercenary group barely had any. This piece was handed down recently to the scout because he had been performing well.


    Perhaps if he killed that Thief, he would be able to get the item back.


    Considering that the Thief was so strong, what if he dropped something even better? Flying Knives had already discussed with the player that had given them the deal that all dropped loot during the process would belong to Flying Knives.


    Whether upsetting Ruling Sword was worth it or not wasn''t a concern to him.


    They weren''t the only party today that had taken action in Grey Valley. In fact, it was fair to say that Grey Valley was filled with players like him. No matter how strong Ruling Sword was, they couldn''t punish everyone. There was no way that they could track everyone down.

 1378 Don’t Let A Single One Escape

    Something wasn''t quite right. Lu Li glanced at the shadow again and looked in a different direction.


    Although there was still a group of players rushing over, they were coming in quite rapidly, which wasn''t good, as they were probably enemies. This was quite unexpected and he didn''t know how many players there were. It was fortunate that he noticed them just as they had finished discussing.


    They didn''t have any time to hesitate. They had to quickly deal with the first wave of players before more arrived, or quickly retreat. The way Lu Li saw it, there was no way they could surround them.


    "Attack!"


    With Lu Li''s command, the four teammates around him burst into action.


    There was some distance between the two groups, and Lu Li wanted to take advantage of that. The true strength of the second group remained to be seen.


    The Paladin pretended to bump into the incoming enemies, which ended their plan to mount a sneak attack. They had no choice but to change their strategy, and order for this Paladin to be killed.


    Ruling Sword''s Paladin was already prepared and began to take steps to stay alive. His mission was to attract their attention and firepower. While he was being attacked, the other three would focus fire the Druid. While they were crowd-controlling the Druid, they noticed a Mage standing next to them. Lu Li cast a quick Sap on the Mage as well.


    Although the Mage used their badge to cancel out the Sap, the Druid didn''t have such a chance.


    He was one-shot, because there was Lu Li and three other damage output professions attacking him. The Druid didn''t even have the chance to heal or cast any damage reduction skills. When he died, he still had a look of surprise on his face. This was to be expected, as Lu Li and the others were professional players focusing down an ordinary player.


    Sometimes, the fact that you had Cloth or Leather Armor was completely negligible.


    After killing the Druid, Lu Li immediately turned to the Mage. The Mage had reacted quickly and was correct in using the badge earlier. When he had freed himself, he tried to save the Druid, but it was hopeless.


    The idea was a good one. If all went according to plan, the Mage would save the Druid.


    However, when he realized he was now the target, he quickly used Ice Block to gain invulnerability. He didn''t think Lu Li would change targets so quickly when he cast this.


    The Mage was now caught in a difficult situation. Should he continue in the Ice Block or try to help the others?


    Lu Li''s Hunter and Mage teammates didn''t have to worry about this as they simply targeted whoever Lu Li was attacking.


    "Dammit, this Thief hits so fast!"


    Flying Knives couldn''t be called a seasoned PVP player, but he immediately recognized how dangerous this Thief was. He immediately gave up on the Paladin who was about to die and directed the others to attack Lu Li.


    As long as they killed Lu Li, the other players would be a walk in the park.


    But would Lu Li be easy to kill? If you asked anyone who had fought Lu Li ¨C even the players who had killed Lu Li ¨C the answer was a resounding no!


    "Why does this Thief have such high defense!"


    "Why does this Thief have so many damage reduction skills!"


    "How can this Thief be giving himself HP!"


    How was it that their advantage of ten players to five meant nothing? Several players were dying and they were all Flying Knives'' teammates.


    Surely it wasn''t because they were too weak?


    Killing another player felt exhilarating, but now that they were the victims, they could feel a strong sense of frustration. Their attacks were useless, their damage reduction skill timings were sloppy, and they were falling for all kinds of tricks. This Thief was giving them a crash course on a thousand ways a Thief could escape.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn''t kill everyone with so many people attacking him, but by the time he had already killed five players, he was only down to half HP.


    "Retreat!" Flying Knives cried out as he looked at Lu Li and at the equipment of Lu Li''s companions. He became soberly aware that they had failed. If they couldn''t defeat them with ten players, they didn''t stand a chance with five.


    Those who could run away immediately started to; they didn''t want to die after all.


    Another reason was because Lu Li had targeted him. Berserkers wore Plate Armor, but he couldn''t withstand being attacked by five players. The masked Thief also had ridiculously high damage.


    He didn''t realize at the time that this was Lu Li.


    After all, Lu Li wasn''t omnipresent and he had no reason to be here.


    "Leave this Berserker," Lu Li commanded. He soon realized that the Berserker was the leader. As long as he killed him, the others would soon fall. It also seemed that the Berserker''s equipment was more valuable than the other players that were being killed.


    Berserkers were not known for their defense, so killing them was not as difficult as killing a Paladin.


    "I am a Berserker and I fight with the wind, If I don''t have whirlwind, then I should just sit in the bin."


    This was saying that was popular among Berserkers, as if they didn''t have their Whirlwind cooldown ready in a fight, then it was over.


    Flying Knives had used Whirlwind when trying to focus down the Paladin, so there was nothing left for him to do.


    When Lu Li attacked him, it dealt more damage than when he attacked Lu Li. These were both from regular attacks, and there was no other time when a Thief''s regular attack would deal more damage than a Berserker''s. Lu Li also made sure to block his path so he couldn''t escape.


    After the Berserker fell, Lu Li picked up his axe.


    This group had a lot of Dark Gold equipment, but he didn''t know if they would be finding an Epic. Lu Li held the axe in his hand and thought that he shouldn''t just give this to his friends. There were plenty of Berserkers in the guild that could use this.


    While Lu Li occupied the Berserker, his four companions had been more aggressive.


    In the end, the Berserker''s teammates were stuck thinking about whether they should run. They had no confidence in their ability to save their leader anyway, especially since he was under attack by the Thief that led the attack. It turned out that their guess was correct, but while they were hesitating, they lost the opportunity to escape.


    Of the remaining four, one of them embarrassingly stepped into a Freezing Trap placed by Ruling Sword''s Hunter and was frozen.


    This Hunter didn''t have such strong predictive ability, but rather, it was Lu Li that had told him to do it.


    Of the two Mages, one had Frost Nova. He teleported ahead, leaving his frozen teammates


    behind.


    At this time, Lu Li guessed that the second group had almost arrived.

 1379 Professional Players Coming Ou

    Kick!


    The player who had been attacked by Lu Li didn''t get any time to finish his curse. There was a flash of regret on his face. He probably felt like he didn''t want to stand to fight back, because he would drop some equipment.


    After killing the last player, he jumped into the bushes with everyone else.


    He had to regenerate his HP as he didn''t know how strong his new enemies would be, and it was likely to be a bloody battle.


    He had been listening to everyone in the chat room, and knew that the battle in Grey Valley was now in full swing. Only the Stonetalon Mountains continued to operate as per usual. The main reason for that was because they were venture capitalists. The Prince Goblin''s dignity was inviolable, and the players were not ready to go to war with an NPC.


    Several players soon appeared in his field of vision.


    The one who was leading them did not hide his identity. His face was completely visible to Lu Li, which made Lu Li a little angry because he knew this person.


    This person was wearing high orange leather boots, which were a part of a T1 set. The fact that this person was able to acquire parts of a T1 set demonstrated their affluence, but also confirmed the identity of this player ¨C it was Torrent.


    Torrent was a Troll, and although it was difficult to judge someone''s appearances in game, he was quite handsome, even for a Troll.


    For such a handsome Troll to be wearing T1 equipment convinced Lu Li that he had no made a mistake. After all, he had fought several matches against this player, but he didn''t understand why this player would appear here. Did Gale Legion intend to fight Ruling Sword?


    "Come out, come out and fight!"


    He had two players by his side ¨C a Warrior and a Paladin. Lu Li couldn''t check if there was a Thief sneaking around as well, but he kept his eye on Torrent as he spoke.


    "I will lure them in. Wait for me," Lu Li whispered quietly to the people around him.


    He had no choice. The players that had come were very strong. Lu Li wasn''t afraid of them, but if there were other professional players working with them, then he wouldn''t be able to kill Torrent. He would have to run away.


    The current situation in Grey Valley was a mess.


    Lu Li quietly moved and started to stand up.


    "Haha, I knew it was it," Torrent said with a smile. He had a long green bow in his hand, but after seeing Lu Li, he actually put the bow away. He clearly had no intentions of fighting right away.


    "What do you want?" Lu Li asked slowly.


    "I''m just having some fun. Where are your friends? I couldn''t believe it when I heard that you actually transported to Grey Valley," Torrent said as he looked at his surrounds. He could only see some leaves being blown in the wind and a stone cart in the middle of the road. There was no one else around.


    In addition, there were the several bodies that had not been removed by the System.


    "They''ve gone home," Lu Li said.


    Torrent wasn''t convinced.


    "Well, I guess you''ll have to deal with the three of us yourself¡­"


    "Four of you¡­" Lu Li corrected as he turned sharply and slammed his dagger into an invisible target. The Thief was reveaedl and Lu Li had stabbed his face with a very high Skill Completion Gouge.


    Torrent couldn''t help but smile.


    "Who are you representing this time? Glory Capital or Gale Legion or both?"


    Lu Li wasn''t in a rush to attack; the Thief behind him wasn''t that threatening.


    "Right now, I am just representing myself," Torrent said as he shook his head, "Or at least, I didn''t receive an order to do this.


    Lu Li was silent. He didn''t fully believe Torrent''s words, but they made sense. Neither Glory Capital nor Gale Legion had declared war on them.


    "Well, how about we have a duel? If you win, you can send the players with you home."


    Torrent obviously knew about Lu Li''s companions. They had a Thief too. Even though he had been hit with a Gouge, he could still see.


    "One on one?" Lu Li laughed.


    Torrent had defeated him in a match before, but that was part of a bigger competition. He had defeated Lu Li very difficult conditions.


    "Well, given who you are, a one-on-one would be too easy," Torrent said as he thought carefully. He wasn''t the kind of person who wanted to prove himself to Lu Li. His goal here was simple. He had to stall Lu Li for long enough so that the others could arrive to kill him.


    "Haha, maybe you just want us all to fight. When did Gale Legion stoop to this level?" Lu Li questioned as he waved Felstriker around, then continued, "You don''t dare to challenge me, because you will die in my hands, but if you don''t dare to challenge players in a one-on-one, then you''ll never be a great player¡­"


    Lu Li''s words were vicious.


    Some of Torrent''s friends seemed stunned. Lu Li was pointing out something that affected Torrent''s career.


    There was never any professional player that just focused on their abilities. One essential quality of a professional player was self-confidence, which was particularly important for a newcomer like Torrent. As such, Lu Li''s words were like a dagger that plunged deeply into him.


    It was true. If he didn''t dare to take on a fair one on one, what chance did he have?


    "Okay, let''s have a one-on-one then. You can rest assured that the people I brought won''t attack."


    Torrent had chosen his words carefully. Just because the three players around him wouldn''t attack didn''t mean that the others that were coming wouldn''t.


    Killing Lu Li was something that yielded a great sense of accomplishment and also a rich reward.


    Lu Li privately told the players with him to go.


    "You guys leave first."


    "Boss we don''t want to leave. We won''t die and we have confidence in you."


    The others obviously didn''t want to desert their spiritual leader.


    "Your confidence is meaningless; he obviously has more people coming. This place will be crowded soon."


    Lu Li knew exactly what was happening. Torrent''s promise was obviously full of loopholes. After all, Lu Li had grown up in an environment where nothing was off the table. The people in the Common District had done even more shameless things in order to survive.

 1380 Stalling Tactics

    The people that Torrent brought hesitated before finally pulling back. They retreated to a position where they wouldn''t affect the performance of these two players.


    It was a Jungle environment!


    Regardless of whether they were Hunters or Thieves, they wouldn''t be afraid of this terrain. Torrent had a rare colour-shifting leopard. The cooldown only refreshed once a week, and it was often killed when spawned.


    In order to catch this pet, Gale Legion had dispatched thousands of players to clear the area so that no one but Torrent could capture this pet. This aroused the anger of some players as they lost their opportunity. In fact, most rare pets in this game had to be caught in some extraordinary way. The fact that not everyone could catch them meant that they would stop others from catching them too. In the previous game, there was a very cute bear pet that was basically always killed when it was refreshed.


    The colour-shifting leopard had two skills. One was a powerful Stealth ability and the other was a Flare that it could spit out.


    Its Flare was slightly different from the Hunter''s Flare. It was a flaming ball that flew through the air and landed on the ground. It was similar to a bonfire that illuminated an area and


    revealed Stealth in a certain range around it.


    Lu Li had started the match by going into Stealth and creating some distance between them. He wasn''t going to underestimate Gale Legion''s prospective player, nor would he underestimate the abilities of this colour-shifting pet.


    The colour-shifting pet shot out a Flare at a location that was obviously an attempt to predict Lu Li''s movement. This was where Torrent or the colour-shifting leopard thought that Lu Li would go. The white ball rushed by and illuminated the area. Any Stealthed unit in range should have been exposed. When it finally hit the area, it exploded and scattered into a white light.


    This was the first time Lu Li had seen this colour-shifting leopard use this skill.


    Unfortunately, the colour shifting-leopard was destined to fail, as Lu Li simply wasn''t there.


    Lu Li wasn''t anywhere on the ground, nor was he in Stealth anymore. He was looking at the Hunter and his pet from above.


    He was sitting on a tree!


    Just now, when he was creating some distance between them, he immediately jumped into the tree next to the road. The escape skill he used allowed him this flexibility, and he was able to manoeuvre around the obstacles, avoid rustling the leaves and land on a branch.


    The colour-shifting leopard could use the Flare once per minute. In addition to his own Flare, Torrent had a way of ensuring that the Thief had no way of sneaking up on him.


    However, when both Flares were cast, and Torrent couldn''t see anything, he became a little confused. The roles were reversed and he was now Lu Li''s prey. The illumination from both skills had failed, and the other party could obviously see him.


    Sap!


    He had no idea how he had been hit by a Sap. The light from the Flare had not yet dissipated, so if Lu Li got close, then he should have been illuminated.


    Was Lu Li''s Stealth effect so strong that he could ignore a Hunter''s Flare? He suddenly panicked and screamed into his own group chat, "I got sapped by Lu Li, but I can''t see him! I am standing right by the light! What is going on here? Can a Thief not be revealed by a Flare?"


    "Perhaps an Enhanced Sap increases the skill''s range?" Wendelian suggested.


    "There''s no way; that would make it too strong. If Sap was that powerful, then Hunters just wouldn''t stand a chance. I have also heard about the effect of Enhanced Sap. It should be a deep stun where the first attack doesn''t wake up the target," Torrent reasoned. His research on Thieves was thorough.


    "Maybe he''s just behind you?" Wendelian continued to provide more explanations.


    "There are three people watching for me. There is no one behind me and he should have been revealed anyway," Torrent said anxiously. Although Lu Li hadn''t attacked him, this anxious waiting was ruining his confidence.


    One could go down the train of thought that Lu Li was just toying with him and putting off defeating him.


    "If they aren''t in front or at the back, or on your left or right, and they aren''t squatting below you¡­ then above! Look above you!" Wendelian called out in the chat room.


    Torrent looked up and saw a dark figure fill his line of sight, but his position was maintained when he was hit with a Cheap Shot. When he thought back on this moment, he probably didn''t respond in time because he was scared. This dark figure would probably be visiting his nightmares for the next few days.


    Lu Li originally planned to crowd-control Torrent, then kill the colour-shifting leopard.


    However, what surprised him was that Torrent didn''t respond immediately, so Lu Li changed his mind. As long as his target didn''t respond, Lu Li was able to kill him within a two rotations of his skills.


    Unmoving targets were the easiest to trigger special effects on, so the chain of stuns was never broken.


    "T bro, what are you doing?''


    The three onlookers were also scared by Lu Li jumping down from above, but their experience was far less confronting so they could react a little faster.


    Torrent finally jolted to attention, and quickly released the crowd-control for a counterattack.


    In the face of an opponent like Lu Li, one mistake was probably fatal. At this time, he had less than 1/3 HP left and wouldn''t be able to withstand another round of explosive attacks from Lu Li.


    An Ice Bolt was fired from a distance and fell just short before Lu Li.


    The colour-shifting leopard spat out another Flare as Lu Li disappeared with Vanish. Torrent threw out a Flare on the right and tried to reveal him. Unfortunately, nothing was gained as no one was there.


    How could he run away so quickly!


    The newly-arrived Mage was stunned and turned to cast Blizzard on the spot where Lu Li was originally standing. Unfortunately, this was all in vain as he was no longer there.


    However, he hadn''t guessed incorrectly. Lu Li didn''t move after using Vanish. He had already accounted for Torrent''s Flare and the leopard''s cooldown. Most normal people would then assume that the Thief would flee either to the left or the right.


    There were more players coming, including two star players ¨C Cloudy Leaf and Wendelian.


    There were also players from other professions, including Mages, Warlocks and Berserkers. These were obviously chosen to kill Lu Li.


    "Cloud bro, you shouldn''t attack. This is a one-on-one between me and him," Torrent urged as he looked at how everyone was randomly casting their skills and felt a little uncomfortable. He knew that his mission was to stall Lu Li, but he was in a serious PVP match with Lu Li and thought that this battle shouldn''t be interfered with.


    "Don''t be stupid ¨C that''s Lu Li," Wendelian scolded as she smacked his head. "You might end up defeating him in heaven, but definitely not now. You''ve been sucked in by him."


    "Oh, I lost really badly," Torrent sighed, feeling frustrated.


    "There was nothing to lose in the first place. At least you dared to fight him," Cloudy Leaf said as he gave up and began searching for Lu Li. When his first Ice Bolt failed to hit Lu Li, it showed that they never intended to let him leave. However, it also seemed that Lu Li had been waiting for this sudden attack for some time.


    In fact, Cloudy Leaf''s timing was a little off. If they waited for Torrent to slightly crowd-control Lu Li, they would have had a better chance.


    However, there were not many opportunities and Torrent would have been killed in the process. Furthermore, they might not be able to contain Lu Li. Now, although Lu Li was escaping, Torrent had been rescued. Because this was in the Wild, his EXP and equipment was saved.


    The only real thing that was lost was Torrent''s confidence in fighting Lu Li.


    This was a bit troublesome, but they had no choice but to let Torrent slowly rebuild his confidence. They believed that Torrent''s mind was not so fragile that he had been completely defeated.

 1381 Coming Back To Kill

    "Should we leave?" Cloudy Leaf asked.


    Although he was quite high ranking, he was second to Wendelian.


    "No, we haven''t done enough. There''s no way we''ll satisfy the higher ups," Wendelian said. She certainly knew that Grey Valley was in danger. Ruling Sword and their allies had probably already arranged a large number of players. Although the Gale Legion players were individually quite strong, if they ran into them and had a large-scale fight, there was no guarantee that they would escape with their lives.


    "Reporting that we came in here and meddled in this isn''t good either," Cloudy Leaf countered, succinctly expressing his opinion.


    This group of players wasn''t as interested in fighting Ruling Sword. After all, they had all come out so quickly because there was potentially an important player to hunt down. While Lu Li was one of the most important players, unfortunately, he wasn''t an easy target.


    "Oh¡­" Wendelian didn''t get to continue her sentence as she was attacked.


    This person had actually attacked her while everyone was watching.


    Could it be Lu Li? Did he actually think he was so strong that he could come back to attack her? Wendelian was furious and thought Lu Li was a just too arrogant. He just wanted to abuse the newcomers. Did he really think that he could kill her with so many people around her?


    "Water Fairy!"


    "It''s Water Fairy!"


    "Lu Li, Lu Li''s back!"


    This was the problem if the commander was hit by crowd control ¨C there would be no one to lead the group. Everyone just had to rely on their instincts to react. Only the players with a lot of battle experience such as Cloudy Leaf knew to save Wendelian first.


    However, did Wendelian even need saving?


    She was star player Priest who was at full HP. How many Thieves would you need to one shot her?


    When Cloudy Leaf saw who was attacking Wendelian, he realized that something was wrong. This wasn''t Lu Li ¨C it was Water Fairy. Was she here because Lu Li was being bullied? Did she make an impulse decision to do this?


    When he heard someone shout Lu Li''s name, Cloudy Leaf felt even more strongly that something was wrong.


    This wasn''t just Lu Li''s revenge, nor was it of Water Fairy''s own accord ¨C they were both acting together.


    "T bro!" Wendelian cried out, finally having a chance to speak.


    Torrent was indeed in danger, and he was about to die.


    In the moment that Lu Li left, Torrent didn''t have much HP remaining. He was filled with remorse from the failure of his fight, and didn''t think to sit down to regenerate. Wendelian didn''t expect Lu Li to come back either as they had so many players here. Perhaps she was subconsciously confident that even if Lu Li came back and wanted to kill someone on her watch, it would be impossible.


    However, no one expected two people to return.


    It was this damn couple!


    The place of this incident seemed random, and no one had anticipated it. Water Fairy couldn''t have come here so quickly; she must have ridden a Mount to get here.


    It was actually because of their pocket watches.


    Lu Li''s mentor, Garona, had given them two pocket watches. The male one was called Ragnarok and the female one was called Lifelong Dawn. They both had two effects. The first was a 50% increase in fatigue regeneration as long as the two pocket watches were within 5 yards of each other. The second special effect was to summon the other player with the pocket watch. You could use the second effect three times a day.


    Lu Li didn''t leave after fleeing, but swapped his badge for the watch and prepared to summon Water Fairy over.


    The two of them then immediately turned. Water Fairy was to deal with the Priest Healer while Lu Li went looking for other targets. He had only intended to scare the group, to show that Ruling Sword was paying attention to them, but he didn''t expect to find Torrent still at low HP.


    As such, he didn''t wait around and pounced on him. To put it bluntly, Lu Li was like a dog running after the scent of a bone.


    Was it possible for Lu Li to have killed Torrent on his own? He probably wouldn''t have been able to one-shot him, so Water Fairy also cast Gale Steps to rush over to Torrent after casting a few skills on Wendelian.


    "This damned couple!" Torrent made a last angry cry before losing the remainder of HP. He couldn''t handle the burst of two Thieves, especially if they used had skills like Gale Steps, Evasion and Shadow Cloak. None of the other players could save him either.


    Of course, the most important thing was that he only had a little bit of HP.


    After killing one player, they didn''t wait around. Lu Li and Water Fairy immediately escaped. If the two top Thieves wanted to leave, it was relatively simple. After all, they had already made the preparations.


    When the female tycoon got away, she had used two smoke bombs that each cost more than 100 gold coins.


    However, she didn''t lose any money, as she had picked up the equipment that Torrent dropped. The items that these players would drop were at least Dark Gold, if not Epics. They were definitely worth more than two smoke bombs. In fact, the item that Torrent dropped was an Epic and a part of a T1 set.


    Caw caw caw¡­


    It seemed like a group of crows had just flown over the Wendelian and the others. What had just happened barely registered with them.


    The situation wasn''t brought about because they were not strong enough.


    The first issue was that they were fighting a tough enemy. Grey Valley was now Ruling Sword''s world, and to construct the Stronghold, almost 100,000 players were in this map. Not to mention, there were also players from Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Wendelian''s objective was to apply some pressure on Ruling Sword, but she also wanted to make sure that her team could go home safely. The psychological pressure must have been immense.


    The second issue was that Torrent, who had arrived first, encountered some problems.


    He had performed so poorly against Lu Li. If this was a competition, Wendelian would have ruthlessly scolded him. He had the colour-shifting leopard and three teammates, but he lost to a single Thief. To make matters worse, even his confidence had been hurt by Lu Li.


    As a competitor, failure was one thing, but you had to keep trying next time.


    The fact that Torrent had been beaten like that perhaps might have subconsciously contributed to her not healing him. Maybe she just didn''t want to see him.


    The last issue was that Lu Li coming back was just completely unexpected.


    This wasn''t something that anyone else would be capable of doing, but it was even more surprising because Water Fairy was close enough to where Lu Li and Torrent was fighting. Water Fairy couldn''t have been there, otherwise, Torrent would have already been killed.


    They still didn''t know how Water Fairy had come to join Lu Li.

 1382 A Stroll Down The Stree

    "Okay, let''s go," Wendelian sighed as she summoned her mount.


    "Big sister, do you want to just transport back to the city?" one player asked. He had just witnessed a high-ranking player get killed with a dozen players around him. It wasn''t just him, but the others were feeling dumbfounded too.


    "There''s no need. Ruling Sword won''t be able to do that again," Wendelian said as she glanced at him coldly.


    The fact that Torrent got killed was something they deserved; they shouldn''t have come here to meddle in their affairs. However, if they killed a star player like Wendelian or Cloudy Leaf, they would have to bear the risk of an all-out war, especially after these two had already decided to leave.


    They couldn''t just use their Hearthstones to return to the city either, as that would be too embarrassing.


    "It''s a good item, do you want it?" Water Fairy asked as she leaned against a tree and looked at the Hunter''s T1 Bracer.


    "You can keep it," Lu Li refused as he shook his head. "If you weren''t there, I wouldn''t have been able to kill him alone."


    Water Fairy didn''t insist on it, and just put the item in her backpack.


    Lu Li raised his hand and just as Water Fairy thought he was going to touch her hair, he pulled his hand back. There was a small cyan snake on his finger. This wasn''t a monster, but just a small animal in the forest. It wouldn''t bite but it often scared the players.


    It wasn''t clear whether Water Fairy was nervous or disappointed, but she murmured a thank you.


    "Boss, I saw Cloudy Leaf with a few other players. Do you want me to stop them? Our Paladin group is going to meet them," Drifting Rain messaged during this quiet time.


    The few dozen players were part of a group that Lu Li and Water Fairy couldn''t deal with on their own. However, the hundreds of Paladins that Drifting Rain was leading could easily clear the field. They were strong enough and could easily catch up to them with the Paladin aura and Darkness'' effect.


    Lu Li''s next decision would determine the fate of these players.


    "Let them go," Lu Li said, then paused and added, "And get someone to escort them, so no one will bother them."


    This so-called escort was actually a disguised display of force.


    "You''re so petty."


    If it was Water Fairy, she would have let them go, but she wouldn''t have commanded an escort for them. With so many Paladins, Gale Legion''s faces must have been priceless.


    "If I had died today, they wouldn''t be around for much longer," Lu Li snorted in response.


    "There are so many weird items in Dawn; being more cautious helps you live longer."


    Water Fairy was worried about Lu Li at first. After all, he had just faced three professional players, which meant that any mistake could have resulted in his death.


    "I have a lot of weird items myself," Lu Li said arrogantly, but he also knew that Water Fairy was just caring about him. When he called Water Fairy for help, the girl had responded without needing to be asked a second time.


    "There are still other troubles in Grey Valley. These players can''t afford to do anything too crazy," Water Fairy said, furrowing her brow.


    "Their main objective is to be annoying. I have asked for all foreign players to be thoroughly cleared out. After all, at a time like this, they are all enemies."


    Lu Li understood what the clubs were trying to do. They were envious and hateful, and wanted to do something, but they didn''t dare to launch a full-scale war.


    Regardless of how messy it was, Ruling Sword''s Stronghold would be built.


    The other clubs had to be prepared to attack the Stronghold, or target the new territory that was being announced next week. These clubs would then become competitors and fight each other more than they would against Ruling Sword.


    No one wanted to take the first shot. They all wanted someone else to attack first, so they could come in to scoop up the rewards.


    If Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court could fight Glory Capital and Gale Legion, then clubs like Blood Red War Flag would be overjoyed.


    "What are you going to do now?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Get more materials and wait for the next players to come," Lu Li said as he pointed at the few stone cars that weren''t far away.


    "Ah."


    Water Fairy finally knew why Lu Li had become a target ¨C he had done it to himself.


    "It''s a part of building the Stronghold," Lu Li said awkwardly. As a leader, he didn''t actually need to do any of the work himself. He could have just given an instruction and put someone in charge. However, he was like an old farmer that was used to tending to his crops. He just wasn''t used to doing nothing.


    "Let''s finish this up then," Water Fairy offered as she helped Lu Li lifted up a cart that had been overturned.


    "You don''t have to trouble yourself. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I do it myself," Lu Li explained. He didn''t think there was anything wrong with what he was doing.


    "I also feel a sense of accomplishment when I do it myself, but this will result in even more work for your guild, especially if something like what just happened happens again. If you don''t believe me, look at where the defenses are on the map. The area you are in is fully secured by sentries," Water Fairy said.


    It wasn''t because Lu Li was stupid; he just wasn''t used to the treatment of a leader.


    Lu Li was almost killed, which was a very serious thing. It was just like when Lu Li assassinated Sorrowless. That assassination made Lu Li famous, and it also affected Glory Capital in a way that they still hadn''t fully recovered from.


    After knowing Lu Li''s position, Drifting Rain immediately mobilized a large number of players in the area to ensure that no enemy could threaten Lu Li any longer.


    What a mess!


    Water Fairy reminded, and was confirmed by Drifting Rain, that Lu Li gathering these materials was not helping but creating more work.


    "Alright then, I''ll go offline. There''s nothing else to do," Lu Li sighed. His interest in the work quickly waned.


    "I''m going out soon to buy something. Do you want to come with?" Water Fairy asked. She couldn''t bear to see Lu Li feeling down, so she invited him out.


    "Of course. The thing I have the most of right now is energy," Lu Li agreed.


    There was a large shopping mall nearby which had everything they needed. It wasn''t a holiday or the weekend right now, so he couldn''t spend time with his sister. Water Fairy pointed to a make-up brand and said, "This is very suitable for Lu Xin. It is a special product that doesn''t damage the skin."


    "Buy buy buy! Get two of them!"


    "I don''t need this; I''m not a child. It is better for me to use another one," Water Fairy quickly stopped him. This guy''s idea of shopping was absolutely dumbfounding.

 1383 Jia Ren and Jia Yi

    Lu Li eventually bought Water Fairy some cosmetics on the grounds that she helped him pick things out for Lu Xin.


    They also visited some clothing stores, but Water Fairy bought fewer items there.


    "Are your clothes limited edition or bespoke? You probably can''t find them here, right?" Lu Li asked. He had heard similar remarks before. Sometimes his group of poor boys would have nothing to do, so they would gossip about the rich life because it was what they wanted.


    "Well¡­ I don''t think so. I like going to the shopping mall and my secretary likes coming on these strolls with me," Water Fairy responded.


    In fact, she didn''t tell Lu Li that most of her clothes were dresses to be worn on formal occasions. Those were made to order. Moreover, she was a VIP member of several well-known brands who would send her new designs each season. These would then be delivered to her door.


    However, she was afraid that saying that would put more distance between them.


    Regardless, she wasn''t lying. She wasn''t someone who was out of touch with regular people. She enjoyed going shopping like a normal girl, and would go on guided tours during business trips. She also enjoyed taking a moment to appreciate local customs and would eat from the roadside food stalls.


    After the two of them walked around for a while, Water Fairy picked a coffee shop where they could take a break.


    "What would you like to drink?" Water Fairy asked after ordering for herself. Lu Li looked at the list of items and had never seen these drinks before.


    Water Fairy seemed to sense Lu Li''s stunned feeling, and simply helped Lu Li order something.


    "It''s my first time; it tastes a bit funny. I''ve never had a chance to try this before."


    Lu Li didn''t feel the need to send a message to ask how to react when drinking coffee for the first time.


    "Drinking too much is bad for your sleep, so you should only have it occasionally. I drink water most of the time," Water Fairy said.


    "Here I was thinking that the things you wore and ate was different from us," Lu Li laughed wryly. Poor people would often think that the toilet used by the emperor was made of gold and that they would always have meat buns. They wouldn''t think that the rich were living somewhat similar lives to them.


    "I even used to grind my teeth in my sleep when I was young," Water Fairy giggled.


    "I have a joke about coffee. Actually, my sister told it to me."


    Lu Li must have really liked this one, because he would normally tell jokes.


    "What kind of joke? I don''t know if I''ve heard it before. Although I don''t laugh much normally, I can enjoy a good joke to relax."


    Water Fairy was immediately curious. Most people would tell her jokes quite often, as many men who wanted to pursue her would try to express their humour. However, this was the first time Lu Li tried to tell her a joke.


    "A long time ago, there was a great general whose wife was a famous celebrity. After a triumphant battle, he and his wife walked down the street. He suddenly loudly declared that this coffee shop must be good. The wife was very surprised because the general seemed quite interested in it and asked why he said that. The general said that if you had a few machine guns lined along the shelves, you could blockade the entire street."


    Water Fairy stared absentmindedly for a moment before bursting into laughter.


    She had two small dimples when she smiled which were even more prominent when she laughed. It was very cute.


    That day, Lu Li had seen Water Fairy at her happiest, but he felt like the joke he told wasn''t even that funny.


    The next day, they logged back into the game and Lu Li went to see Ruling Sword''s Stronghold.


    It had become a large-scale construction site. The original stone wall had been completely demolished, and there was a pile of rubble left. There were people everywhere. Several goblins were giving instructions with whips in their hands. They would wave them around from time to time, but they didn''t dare hit the players.


    "Due to the terrain, if someone attacks the city, they can only pick one of the three paths. Two of the paths are quite rugged, which makes it hard to Stealth with their Mounts. I can make this terrain even more rugged," the player who was responsible for designing the area came over and explained to Lu Li.


    His name was Jia Ren and he had a brother called Jia Yi.


    Lu Li was just getting to know Jia Ren, but he was very familiar with Jia Yi. He was a Druid Party Leader in the guild and a skilled combatant. He was also responsible for leading an elite group and had scored quite well in Blackrock Tower''s three Instance Dungeons.


    Jia Ren was a Trade Skill player and disliked fighting and killing.


    He had originally only come up because of the connection he had through his brother. The IDs of the two brothers ¨C Jia Ren and Jia Yi ¨C had a clear connection. Lu Li didn''t know their real names, but he could only guess that their surname was Jia.


    However, after the Stronghold appeared, he had become a celebrity.


    There was normally very little opportunity for a whole guild to follow a single person''s instructions, but now Jia Ren had that opportunity.


    Jia Ren was actually a professor of architecture at a prestigious school in real life. He was also responsible for the design and construction of many well-known buildings in China. He was an expert with rich theoretical and practical knowledge. He had quickly become the Chief Engineer of Ruling Sword''s Stronghold construction.


    Even when Water Fairy saw his drawings, she suggested that Master Jia Ren help them design their Stronghold in future.


    "if you need anything, just ask," Lu Li said. He didn''t understand design and was more concerned about another problem. "If you use this stone to make the wall, can you complete it within three days? Next week, we will become the target of attacks, and if it''s not finished we''ll be in trouble."


    The defensive side had a significant advantage, but they had to have a completed wall for that advantage to be real.


    "Relax ¨C it''s not as difficult as you think. As long as the three sides are built, the last side will face a riverbank and I won''t build a wall there. This is a game, so we just need to follow the rules of the game," Jia Ren said confidently as he shifted his glasses.


    Glasses were also engineering items in the game, and were not that difficult to make.


    No one actually needed glasses in the game. After all, virtual reality relied on transmitting data directly to the nerves. Anyone wearing glasses just did it out of habit or for fashion.


    "Although we won''t be charging tax, will it be unsafe to not have a wall along the river?" Lu Li asked. He regretted not studying about walls in his previous life. He couldn''t even remember if


    Strongholds had walls along the river.


    "We will build it, just not yet. From an aesthetic point of view, the bare iron doesn''t look good and we don''t need it yet," Jia Ren insisted.


    "Alright then, just temporarily build the three sides with the best materials. The first attack will probably be quite fierce. We will need to stock up on materials so we can repair the walls if necessary," Lu Li reminded.


    "Don''t worry, I''ve already accounted for that. The few goblins supervisors have been very


    helpful, and they are very good at ensuring that our plan is carried out perfectly."


    Jia Ren appreciated the greedy little goblins. It was hard to imagine a program feeling so human.

 1384 Mr. Arcane Explosion

    "This is a Stronghold, so you will get a place to stay and work, as well as a position as the chief engineer. We are just a gaming guild, so I hope you don''t mind that," Lu Li promised.


    The age gap between Jia Ren and Jia Yi seemed quite large; it was at least 10-20 years.


    The younger one, Jia Yi, had the image of a playboy and would spend his days chasing girls.


    On the other hand, Jia Ren was almost the exact opposite. He lived like a gentle intellectual and generally kept to himself. Some people thought he lived like an old man; he had a simple life without much excitement.


    Given that the younger brother could spend his time enjoying his life in that way, the two brothers clearly didn''t lack any money. They even had their own villa in Stormwind City.


    This was why Lu Li had no idea how to win over this professor.


    "That is good; I think that is very good. I really like playing games, but I''m just not very good." Jia Ren seemed to just be in his own world. Lu Li felt like he was so detached that he didn''t feel much influence from Lu Li in Ruling Sword.


    To put it bluntly, Lu Li was normally like a leader of a thousand fanatics.


    However, to have a place to stay in the building that he designed already made Jia Ren happy. The fact that he would also get the engineering position meant that he might be responsible for the design of multiple Strongholds in the future, which wasn''t too bad at all.


    With everything going as planned, Lu Li felt assured enough to continue his Instance Dungeon.


    Those who got the First Clears were the real kings!


    Even Sakura Memories'' first place on the Level Rankings was because of First Clears.


    The sixth Boss was called Shazzrah. He was very lowly Boss, who was commonly called Mr. Arcane Explosion.


    "Everyone, get ready. If we allow the First Clear to be delayed because of the Stronghold, then what use would the Stronghold be?"


    Lu Li hoped that everyone would enter the Instance Dungeon and focus on it.


    The process of fighting through the monsters had already caused the players to get wiped three times. If they continued in that state of mind, they might not defeat a single Boss today. This was not just to scare them; Shazzrah wasn''t a difficult Boss and everyone knew this. However, they were still struggling to defeat him.


    "If we can''t even do the Instance Dungeons, then how can we fight the other players? We are going to lose the Stronghold to another group if we keep going like this."


    Azure Sea Breeze was very alert. Normally, you would have to force him to be like this, but he had been quite reliable this time.


    "If we can''t defeat this Boss, then your new residences will be as good as lost," Lu Li said cruelly.


    This dramatically changed the emotions of the scene, as the threat of this sentence was just too great. The thought of having a place to live in the first Stronghold was a great thing. It was even more valuable than having a villa in Stormwind City as you could achieve that if you had the money. Ruling Sword''s Stronghold residence was something that money couldn''t buy.


    "I''ll be going in," Azure Sea Breeze announced as he took out a bow and shot an arrow, which successfully caught the attention of the Boss.


    After stabilizing the aggro, there were a number of skills that were poured out by the ranged professions.


    The intense damage appearing over the head of the Boss indicated that he didn''t have strong Defense. The Boss only hit Azure Sea Breeze for 400 damage, which was the same as the first few monsters that they fought at the start of the Instance Dungeon.


    "Priest, Dispel the Boss." Lu Li saw that buff that the Boss had and immediately directed a Priest to dispel it. He then added, "You don''t need to use such a strong Dispel."


    The buff was called Attenuate Magic, which had the effect of reducing the damage taken by the caster by 50% for 30 seconds. If this buff wasn''t dispelled, it meant that all damage would be reduced by half. Even if nothing else happened, it would take twice as long to get rid of this Boss.


    Once Attenuate Magic was used, it was always immediately dispelled.


    "Let''s give a burst of damage."


    Sakura Memories obediently cast Bloodlust at this command, and Shazzrah''s HP rapidly depleted.


    Soon, Shazzrah began to show his power and the reason for his nickname of Mr. Arcane Explosion.


    Arcane Explosion ¨C casts a magical explosion centred around the caster which deals 1000 arcane damage to nearby enemies.


    The Arcane Explosion area was very large, and covered almost half of the field. It was quite easy to get hit and take 1000 damage. This large-scale area of effect attack was the signature skill of this Boss.


    This damage wouldn''t one-shot a player, but the worst part was that this skill wasn''t just used once. It had a very high release rate, which placed a lot of pressure on the healers. If they were just a little bit too slow, then the players would start being killed by the Arcane Explosions.


    However, these rapid Arcane Explosions didn''t occur all the time and gave them some time to regain their composure.


    "Mages, lift the curse!" Lu Li yelled as Shazzrah began to release a curse. His curse effect was incredibly strong, as it increased damage taken by nearby enemies by 100% for 5 minutes.


    This was basically double damage!


    In the absence of a curse, it would take two Arcane Explosions to kill someone, but once they were affected, the first explosion would kill them.


    What was originally difficult to deal with now just felt oppressive. After all, this could turn the 1000 damage into 2000 damage. If either the healers didn''t heal on time or the curse wasn''t lifted in time, you could already imagine the aftermath.


    If this was a fresh group of Mages, they probably would have been dumbfounded.


    However, these Mages had already dealt with a few Bosses that required them to lift some curses, so they immediately sprung into action.


    Lu Li had already said in the past that if a Boss required them to remove a curse, then they wouldn''t have to worry as much about dealing damage. However, if they needed to remove a curse but didn''t do it, this would result in the team being wiped. They would have to watch out for their guild points.


    Several players around the Boss quickly had their curses removed and continued fighting the Boss without any problems.


    However, what happened next dumbfounded the Mages.


    The Boss actually teleported. It teleported to another group of players and immediately cast Arcane Explosion. The players who had been cursed there hadn''t been cured yet, and the Mages had thought it was safe for them because they were further away.


    As a result, these cursed players were mostly one-shot. In the group, there some healers, which meant they got wiped.


    Shazzrah was indeed a shameless Boss.


    No other Boss used a combination of skills like these.


    He had put out a curse, then used a teleport to break away from the Main Tank to move into a crowd and instantly cast Arcane Explosion. Players were who impatient hated this Boss the most, because he was just so incredibly frustrating.

 1385 Successfully Tackled

    After reviving, Lu Li devised a new strategy.


    "Prioritise clearing the curses on the Main Tank and healers no matter their position. Main Tanks, spread out into a triangle shape. As soon as the Boss teleports next to you, use Taunt immediately."


    The curse was simply too damaging. This curse turned Shazzrah into a Boss who could slaughter players far too easily.


    With Lu Li at the helm, the chances of dispelling the curses were much higher.


    Originally, the Mages needed to judge who to dispel first, but that was no longer a problem. By following what Lu Li said about clearing the curses on the healers and MT, they could use the weaker dispels on the DPS classes.


    "We can stand in a circle so that it wouldn''t teleport too far," someone suggested.


    Lu Li always encouraged innovative thinkers, so people were always free to suggest methods that seemed like they could work. If these suggested methods worked and made life in the dungeons easier, they would be rewarded with DKP and their contribution would be taken into account when distributing items. After all, Ruling Sword was a dungeon-clearing guild. There were principles when clearing Instance Dungeons, not just whoever offered the highest DKP.


    This suggested method of positioning themselves in a circle seemed viable, so Lu Li quickly organised everyone''s position.


    The new formation meant changes to players'' tendencies and chemistry together. The way to work on this was through deaths or squad wipes. Many people didn''t like to enter Instance Dungeons because multiple squad wipes were inevitable.


    The most difficult aspects of this fight were the Boss'' AoE Arcane Explosions, as well as the curses and teleporting.


    After wiping multiple times, everyone figured out the patterns of the Boss. It would teleport at approximately every 40 seconds, which was quite a regular occurrence. When they neared that time, they immediately became on guard and observed the Boss'' movements tightly. When the Boss suddenly moved in a different direction, it would teleport immediately after.


    It was here that Azure Sea Breeze was able to show off a little by successfully taunting the Boss.


    The Warriors that Lu Li came in contact with in his past life were never on the same level as Azure Sea Breeze.


    There was also Shazzrah''s Deaden skill. Warriors could use Shield Bash to interrupt the skill. A skilled Warrior''s productivity far surpassed any other class. The squad wipes near the end of the fight would no longer be the Warrior''s faults. Actually, it wouldn''t be the Mages'' faults either. Sometimes they would just be unfortunate and wipe.


    The squad experienced wipe after, but Lu Li suddenly realised that they were improving and succeeding in their attempts.


    There was only around a third of the Boss'' HP left, while only five players had died. It was an extremely successful run of fighting Shazzrah.


    He didn''t remind the team that they were nearing the end of the fight. He only placed more focus on his commanding and was more reminding in his instructions. Most players didn''t realise this, but the ones who were more alert noticed this slight change in his style of commanding.


    As they continued fighting, Shazzrah suddenly went berserk.


    Berserk?


    Didn''t the Boss only go berserk when it reached low HP?


    "Everyone, use your burst damage. Hachi Chan, get ready to cast Tranquility when I say so. Healers, just spam your skills. This is it ¨C winning or losing. Mages, remember to clear the curses," Lu Li said, suddenly raising his voice. If they couldn''t clear it after reaching this point, then they might as well give up today.


    "Wow we''re nearly at the end! Haha, we are going to be successful this time," Azure Sea Breeze laughed as he used mitigation.


    Shazzrah wasn''t a Fire-element Boss, so they didn''t need to wear Fire-resistant gear. If they didn''t need fire-resistant gear, then Azure Sea Breeze''s equipment was the better set. There was much more mitigation. He could use it when they were in tight situations and he could guarantee his survival.


    Over the duration of the Boss'' Berserk state, tremendous damage was dealt to the team, but he finally fell. A huge amount of EXP was rewarded and three players gained skill points.


    At that time, Ruling Sword already had four level 60 players, which meant that they had four of the five Level 60 players in the whole of Dawn. The other level 60 player was I No Understand from Glory Capital.


    From this statistic alone, it could be assumed that the Instance Dungeon clearing in other guilds were much more difficult and unenjoyable.


    Otherwise, their best players wouldn''t have hit a wall in levelling.


    The items were being distributed and Lu Li took the gold for repairs compensation. The stones were fairly ordinary, so they werekept by Lu Li alongside the rare materials.


    There were three skill books, which wasn''t too rare, but what surprised Lu Li was the Enhanced Arcane Explosion skill book.


    This was the first drop of an Enhancing skill book in Molten Core.


    Four Mages faced each other. At the end, Lu Li made a decision to give it to Short Road. He was already a pro-player in training, and the contract had already been assigned. To forgo training him and giving him the resources that he needed to flourish was simply a waste.


    Enhanced Arcane Explosion was an Instant Burst skill, instead of an incantation that it required before. It wasted too much mana to be used when fighting monsters. However, this Enhanced skill would be quite strong in a PVP context. Therefore, with this logic, he decided to give the book to Short Road. It wasn''t that Lu Li was targeting Lonesome Flower, but he hoped for Lonesome Flower to collect a T1 set instead from this Instance Dungeon.


    After this came a few Gold and Dark Gold items. Some were wanted, while others were not. Those who wanted them purchased them at a low price.


    Next was a pair of T1 Priest shoes, which ended up with March Rain.


    There was also a pair T1 Thief shoes, but these were slightly worse than Lu Li''s Champion''s Boots.


    After all, the Champion Boots gave an extra skill point in Kick and a chance at Silence. The second unique effect was a rare Shadow Step. With the set effect in consideration, the T1 shoes were slightly better in terms of base properties, but the unique effects were far weaker.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t dare to raise the price of this, unless he wanted to live alone for the rest of his life. As such, Water Fairy took the shoes for a bargain.


    There was also blueprint ¨C Formula: Enchant Weapon ¨C Spell Power. This was quite a valuable item.


    Shazzrah wasted a lot of time, so after Lu Li allowed the team to rest for a while, they continued.


    In the meantime, the small monsters would be difficult to kill, but they got past them with relative ease. Soon, they arrived at the front of the 7th Boss, Sapphiron. After clearing all the monsters around it, there were still four Flamewaker Priests guarding the Boss.


    It was the same scenario that was repeated in the Molten Core multiple times. However, there was also a different mechanic each time.


    The lesson from the first squad wipe was not to pull all four together. Instead, they just needed to find four people to each pull one monster. Furthermore, they could prevent the Flamewaker Priests from healing each other by pulling them away from each other. After all, they were Priests, so it wasn''t surprising that they could heal each other.


    After killing these four, they could then fight the Boss.


    In the process of doing so, Thieves'' Kick was extremely useful here. It was obvious that two Thieves were not enough in this Instance Dungeon. However, there was no need to rearrange the team composition because other classes were also able to interrupt skill animations.


    The hardest part was still fighting the Boss. It would enter Berserk when it reached certain thresholds of its HP.


    However, Lu Li and his team handled this pretty well, so they did not suffer many squad wipes. It took around two hours for them to defeat the Boss, which was much faster than Lu Li anticipated. He even began to consider attempting the 8th Boss, Golemagg, today.

 1386 May Fortune Favour The Team

    First of all, Sapphiron''s items needed to be taken; this was the priority.


    The first item was a Critical Stone with decent stats, and it was given to a newly-joined player. He said that he was going to insert the stone onto his weapon, since it was still lacking enhancements. All the new players fought over this stone, since Lu Li and the original members didn''t need it.


    In this group of newly-joined players, all of them, besides Short Road, were aiming for exquisite Dark Gold items, T0.5 set items, or the stones that the original members didn''t need.


    However, the value of these Critical Stones was not to be underestimated. A stone that provided +20 Critical Chance would make it easy to reach 40 Critical Chance. There were some of these stones on the market, but a majority of them were only +10. After all, +15 stones only dropped from Bosses, while the +20 version only dropped from Nightmare Difficulty Instance Dungeons or the highest difficulty Bosses.


    This was likely the reason why everyone was happy to join the team, even as a backup, since they could easily receive exquisite items that the club members had no use for.


    Some lucky ones even managed to gather all four items to make a set. This gave them a huge increase in battle strength. Furthermore, some also managed to obtain T1 gear.


    Stones, materials and skill books ¨C the haul from this Boss was a little lacklustre, since there were no Enhancing skill books. No one had been particularly hopeful for such a drop, so no one was disappointed. After all, the drop rate was low, and even if one dropped, it might not even be specific to them. Even if it was, it wouldn''t be sold at a low price.


    At the end, the equipment was revealed. When the Gold and Dark Gold items were distributed, there was the Legendary item.


    Shadowstrike ¨C it had a similar name to the Felstriker, but had a longer handle. At this time, the ones who needed these types of weapons the most were Hunters, so it was bound to be either Remnant Dream or Bearded Zaza who would end up it.


    After placing two bids, Bearded Zaza began to smile bitterly and shook his head.


    His DKP was already running out. As a newly-joined member of this squad, there was no way that he could compete with Remnant Dream, a regular in this team.


    Therefore, Shadowstrike was bought by Remnant Dream at a moderate price.


    This type of competing was a common occurrence during team activities. If they didn''t consider the squad composition, everyone would want to be the only one of their class in the squad. This was because there would be no competition when getting items. There weren''t many Hunters in the squad; there was only Remnant Dream and Bearded Zaza. There weren''t many Thieves either ¨C only Lu Li and Water Fairy. Truthfully, even if there was one more Thief in the team for this Instance Dungeon, there still wouldn''t be an excess. This could have been planned by Lu Li, but they would never know.


    Fortunately, Bearded Zaza still benefitted from this Instance Dungeon. It could even be said that his gains were far greater than the other newcomers.


    Remnant Dream''s items were already exquisite. She didn''t require many upgrades, so Bearded Zaza ended up with the items that she didn''t need. The items that he gained from this run of the Instance Dungeon would have indisputably placed him in the top ranks of any elite squad.


    The second Legendary item was a T1 set item ¨C a Warlock shoulder armour. This was taken by Sesame Rice Ball.


    Just as Lu Li was about to leave with the team, Remnant Dream managed to loot another item.


    Ring of Spell Power!


    This was a mana-based Ring and the properties weren''t that great. However, since it was a Legendary accessory, it naturally gathered everyone''s attention.


    In the end, it was taken by a newly-joined Mage who used all his resources to buy it.


    This was his first Legendary accessory. His original Necklaces, Rings and Badges were all of a pitiful Dark Gold grade. This time, he managed to get himself a Legendary ring.


    "Well, do you guys want to continue or have free time for the rest of today?" Lu Li asked, wanting to know everyone''s opinions.


    "Let''s keep going, since we wouldn''t be any help at the Stronghold anyway. Let''s quickly take down First Clear before the other clubs."


    Azure Sea Breeze was beginning to get used to the dungeon, so naturally, he wanted to keep going. As for the others, once they heard Azure Sea Breeze say this, they didn''t say anything else.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s words made sense. If First Clear was stolen, then it would be trouble.


    "Well, let''s keep going then," Lu Li decided.


    The 8th Boss was Golemagg the Incinerator, a gigantic Boss with a fierce face. Just from its appearance, you could tell that it would not be easy to defeat. Golemagg the Incinerator had a much higher offensive power than the previous Bosses.


    For example, Sapphiron would deal around 400 damage with a basic attack to Azure Sea Breeze.


    Golemagg the Incinerator on the other hand would easily deal above 1000.


    Azure Sea Breeze was instantly taken aback when he tackled the Boss. It was fortunate that the healers were quite powerful, so it wasn''t an instant tragedy. Instance dungeons were sometimes like this. The players would be too used to a certain level of damage, so they assumed that the other Bosses were the same with their basic attacks. Neglecting this aspect caused them to be utterly surprised when the damage was not what they expected.


    Fortunately, World''s Best Friend managed to pull the two dogs to him.


    The two hounds beside Golemagg were capable of unleashing Damage Over Time skills. They could also cast spells that slowed movement speed which were quite annoying to deal with. World''s Best Friend had some difficulties pulling both at the same time, so Wandering joined him to help out.


    These two Core Hounds were unkillable, so the two Tanks needed to stay there.


    Azure Sea Breeze was the only Main Tank in charge of the Boss. This was a display of Lu Li''s trust in him. At the same time, there was also immense pressure.


    The first time that Golemagg used Enrage, no one managed to react in time since they were still unfamiliar with the Boss, so they still wiped.


    The main test of this Boss was for the Main Tank. If the Main Tank was skilled, things would go smoothly. They needed to keep the two Core Hounds away, so the two Tanks couldn''t die. This was no problem for World''s Best Friend and Wandering. Furthermore, Lu Li also arranged some dedicated healers to watch their HP bars.


    The first few Enrages were rather weak, so they were still manageable.


    When Golemagg''s HP hit 10%, he went crazy. As a result, the team started began through squad wipe after wipe.


    He recalled that the strategy for the 7th and 8th Bosses mentioned that they were easy. Perhaps it was it was more difficult during the early iterations of the Instance Dungeon. The strategies that he looked at were all written later on when the difficulty had been adjusted.


    Truthfully, the wipes at the end of the fight were the worst.


    If they wiped at the start, then it would be easy to reset and not waste more than a few minutes. However, wiping after reaching 10% HP? That wasted too much time.


    After this, it seemed like the team was just doing the same thing over and over again. Even Azure Sea Breeze, who was the most enthusiastic about Instance Dungeons, was beginning to feel frustrated and tired.


    They needed fortune to be on their side to clear this Boss.


    Hoping for better fortune wasn''t practical. Lu Li gathered everyone together and analysed the Boss'' Berserk with them. They tried to figure out where they could improve, on the Main Tank''s side or the healers''. There was also another problem ¨C what if they ran out of mana? How could they fix that?


    The specialised strategists outside of the Instance Dungeon were also trying to figure this out.


    One by one, through multiple theories, they eliminated the problems. Lu Li then changed the squad composition around, trying to find the best possible combination to tackle this Boss.

 1387 Breezy’s Past Romance

    Truthfully speaking, they were simply not strong enough.


    There was a problem ¨C changing the team composition wasn''t enough. Even if they had the ideal composition, they couldn''t improve equipment-wise.


    Replacements were only replacements. Besides some whose classes weren''t needed, the majority of them didn''t have good-enough equipment to join the main team, so they were only capable enough to be a replacement.


    How painful!


    Lu Li understood and realised the flaws of their guild; they could only tackle so many Bosses. From 10 people to 15 people, it was fairly easy to compose a team, but now that it was at 40 people, they began to struggle to fill the slots.


    What if they needed 80 people? The Stronghold Battles required 80 people. When that time came, would Ruling Sword still be able to stay ahead?


    To take things even further, what if they eventually needed 200 people, or 500 people? They would definitely be lacking then.


    The Ruling Sword now was like an egg that from afar seemed flawless. However, upon closer examination, there were tiny cracks, and a magnifying glass would expose its flaws even further.


    "Borrow!"


    The team composition was fine, so the problem was with the equipment.


    The equipment on the market was not strong enough, so the next best option was to borrow equipment from their allied guilds. Drizzle Court and Peerless City wouldn''t mind, since they were both allies. However, they sold the strategies for the dungeons, so that wouldn''t look too good if they decided to sell the strategy despite borrowing their equipment.


    They gathered their Legendary items, and Lu Li successfully borrowed them. Then, he distributed them within the team.


    After equipping the new items, even if they didn''t have a full set of Legendary items, their strength increased by a tremendous amount. This was the result of the fusion of the three guilds.


    Lu Li didn''t know what Boss Glory Capital was up to, but there was something that he was certain of. Glory Capital''s equipment was definitely better than theirs. There were also many replacements, which only added to their strength. The advantage that Ruling Sword had now was limited. After all, he hadn''t fought this Instance Dungeon before in his previous life, so the knowledge he had compiled was from rumours and things that he saw.


    However, equipping new and powerful items didn''t mean that they steamrolled the Boss immediately.


    The players were instantaneously more powerful, but they needed to adjust to the new equipment accordingly. This meant that they grinded this Boss for the whole day, but were unable to defeat it.


    They continued on the second day, because they didn''t have time to waste.


    Rumours about the advancement in Instance Dungeons were flying everywhere. Some said that Wings of Dawn was already at Ragnaros, while some said that Seventh Heaven didn''t care about their reputation anymore and decided to tackle the Elite difficulty of the Molten Core. If they couldn''t take the First Clear, they would rather no one have it. There were also rumours that Glory Capital had invested over a few million dollars on this Instance Dungeon alone.


    The main attraction was undoubtably the Molten Core.


    Ruling Sword''s Stronghold didn''t attract too much attention in the lower ranks of players, since no one knew what the Stronghold was. Furthermore, the Stronghold was more of a reward, instead of a competition like Instance Dungeons were. After all, Instance Dungeons contained numerous exquisite items.


    Lu Li didn''t believe that Wings of Dawn was already at Ragnaros.


    As for Seventh Heaven, Lu Li couldn''t say if this was true or false. However, even if they were on Elite difficulty, it still wouldn''t be that easy. The dungeon had the same pattern as Nightmare difficulty; only the offensive power and health of the Boss would weaker.


    Seventh Heaven was a guild that was fairly average when it came to taking down Instance Dungeons.


    If it was Sorrowless who didn''t care about his reputation and decided to take the First Clear at Elite difficulty, then Lu Li would be speechless.


    However, as a professional club, reputation was just as important as benefits. If reputation was destroyed, then the confidence and loyalty of the members would naturally fade and dissipate, which would make it extremely difficult to lead a team.


    On the other hand, if it was the Gangnam Royals who decided to tackle the Elite difficulty, then Lu Li would absolutely believe it.


    In the end, what others did didn''t matter to him. He just wanted to focus on his own thing.


    Once again, Lu Li brought the team into the Instance Dungeon and began a new day. His goal was to take down Ragnaros in this week. Otherwise, the cooldown would reset everything in the next week.


    "Actually, this isn''t the most difficult dungeon that I''ve been a part of in games, generally speaking," Azure Sea Breeze remarked, then continued, "There was a game called Island World in the year before last year. We wiped around 170 times on a pirate ship. It took us around a week to clear it¡­"


    "Actually, it was two weeks, and you even played around with a girl. What was her name again?" Wandering corrected him.


    "I forgot."


    Azure Sea Breeze tried his best to remember her name, but he couldn''t, despite his efforts. He paused for a second, and hesitatingly said, "I only remember that I called her Leaf, no matter in real life or in game."


    "How did you guys meet?" It seemed surprising that Azure Sea Breeze had a girlfriend, so naturally, everyone was curious.


    "Alright, I''ll tell you guys." Azure Sea Breeze didn''t want to say, but Wandering clearly didn''t mind interjecting.


    Under Azure Sea Breeze''s murderous stare, Wandering told the story.


    "We were not that well off when we just started university, so we learnt to work with computers and the hardware along it. At that time, Breezy was doing some work at a female dorm, testing out the cables there or something. Hehe¡­at that time, the girl was only wearing a bathrobe as she walked past him. As you guys know, he was squatting on the ground¡­"


    "Then? What happened?"


    All the players present were keen listeners. They had just wiped, so they were still regathering their strength while eating some bread. Even Lu Li didn''t mind as he was just as curious.


    "At the same time, someone got excited and placed his hands on the circuit boards. The result? He was shocked by the current and he fainted."


    Wandering didn''t even care about Azure Sea Breeze''s stare and laughed as he continued, "Leaf suddenly jumped in surprise, and who knew? She immediately gave our brother Breezy here CPR."


    "Wow! How romantic!" some girls in the team squealed.


    Azure Sea Breeze knew that he couldn''t hide this matter any longer, so he interrupted, "Romantic? I nearly died that day. After I woke up, the doctor said to me that if she had given me CPR for any longer, it would''ve been bad. Can you guys imagine someone strangling your neck instead of squeezing your nose when doing CPR?"


    "Hahaha¡­" Everyone was laughing at this. The girl seemed to be quite adorable.


    "Then, they went into Island World and started playing together, because Leaf liked the ocean view in there. It was one of the hardest games that we''ve ever played," Wandering sighed. "Actually, we weren''t good at those types of game."


    "We might not have been good, but we were still part of the top 10 squads in the game," Azure Sea Breeze proudly said.


    "It was unfortunate that we didn''t get used to it at the start, so we were pretty bad. Leaf then left us for another group after a while," Wandering said, with a seemingly sad face, as if sympathising with Azure Sea Breeze.

 1388 Golemagg the Incinerator

    "What do you mean by running away with someone else?" Hachi Chan was curious.


    "If someone from another guild poaches you and you leave with him, it''s pretty self-explanatory," Remnant Dream patiently explained to her little friend.


    "Ohhhh," Hachi Chan nodded in understanding.


    "I''m not sure what happened exactly. Please don''t laugh guys; I''m still very sad about it."


    Azure Sea Breeze was still quite depressed. If murdering someone was legal, he could have killed this long-time friend ages ago.


    "For someone like that, it''s good that you ended it."


    "But the thing is..." Azure Sea Breeze sighed, "I still think about her all the time. Am I a loser?"


    "Yeah you are."


    Everyone nodded in agreement and Azure Sea Breeze became more depressed.


    "Go talk to her then," Moonlight suggested as he wiped away the blood and dirt off his sword until it was sparkling clean. "It''s hard to fall in love with someone. It''s better than wasting time around with Wandering because all the new members in the guild think that you two are a couple."


    "Piss off!" Wandering looked disgusted.


    "Wandering... "Azure Sea Breeze whispered as he approached Wandering in a very gay manner.


    After they chatted for a bit more, they continued on the dungeon.


    They borrowed so much equipment yesterday and were now experienced with their new gear. Their teamwork and chemistry needed a bit more work, but that would come with time and so Lu Li wasn''t too worried.


    This was also why he allowed them to talk amongst themselves about Azure Sea Breeze''s past stories.


    Every story had a main character and side characters. He didn''t mind being a side character because it meant that he wouldn''t be the center of attention.


    Golemagg the Incinerator was eventually killed.


    The huge rock fell onto the ground, shaking the earth beneath them and causing a loud noise.


    Lu Li truly believed that he had done something to offend the system. There was a player that received three skill points and a bunch of others that also received skill points, yet he was rewarded with nothing.


    Black face, black hands and black heart ¨C that was his new nickname recently.


    The black trio!


    "Lu Li is always so unlucky, but we still have our little lucky star."


    That was a message between two players in private chat.


    Lu Li stepped away from the Boss as everyone glanced at him. He knew that they were worried about his bad luck affecting the drops, so he stayed as far away as possible.


    Even though he was the team leader, he had to leave because everyone secretly wanted him to.


    "Wow, there''s a special effect enhancement stone."


    The special effect stone had a higher potential than Haste rocks or Critical Chance rocks. However, it was very high-risk high-reward because the special effect could be either something godly or something useless.


    However, since it was looted by their lucky star, obviously it was going to be something useful.


    The special effect increased magic penetration, making it a very well-sought after item, especially for PvP Magic classes.


    Magic Penetration ignored a certain amount of the target''s Magic Resist, allowing the caster to deal more damage.


    With the increase in equipment with higher Armor and Magic Resistance, Magic Penetration had become a very popular stat. If Magic classes wanted to keep up their high damage, they had to look for items with magic penetration.


    "This rock¡­" Lu Li began, then paused and said, "Deadly Green Orange?"


    "30 points?"


    "Okay."


    The starting bid was 5 points, so 30 points was quite a bit. If they were to really bid for it, it would probably go a lot higher, but since this was the First Clear team and he was from Drizzling Court, Lu Li didn''t want to create animosity between his own players and their allied guild.


    The rest of the stones, materials and skill books that were useless were given to Lu Li to keep.


    One of the materials was called Sulfuron Ingot, which was one of the materials required to craft a hammer. Lu Li notified Water Fairy, wanting to keep the material for himself and Water Fairy did not object.


    There was a Gold equipment with a pretty useful special effect and it was won by one of the players.


    Dark Gold equipment was not as popular anymore since there was an abundance of them in Nightmare dungeons.


    After this, a Paladin T1 Chestplate was looted. This was a great piece of equipment and there was a lot of commotion for it because of how many Paladins there were.


    In the end, it was between Darkness and Wandering. Wandering eventually gave up after competing for a bit because of how good his current chest piece was.


    Darkness successfully won the chest piece.


    Moonlight was dearly loved and adored by Sorrowless. If she was willing, she could easily gain a spot on the First Clear team on Glory Capital. Since she was so adored by him, she would probably be treated like a queen there.


    However, she refused and instead joined a freelance guild ¨C Glory Capital''s number one competitor Ruling Sword. Since joining, she had never complained or asked for special treatment. All she did was worked hard to keep her spot on the dungeon team and matured over time to become the best Holy Paladin in Ruling Sword.


    Mu Qiu was a PvP player and his build was also quite unique which was why he wasn''t the top dungeon Holy Paladin.


    Holy Paladins were different from Priests. Their healing power in the early game dungeons was considerably weaker than Druids, Shamans and Priests, which was why it was quite difficult for her to make it this far.


    Azuresong Mageblade!


    This was a Legendary single-handed weapon. Although it looked like a sword, it was actually for Magic classes.


    Mageblades were quite rare. Not only did it have a beautiful name and looked cool, but it also had great stats. The only downside was that the third special effect was quite useless for Mages. It pushed enemies at melee range and would not activate reliably.


    The last item that dropped was an Engineering recipe called Schematic: Biznicks 247x128 Accurascope, which was given to Lu Li.


    Even if there were other Engineering players present, they wouldn''t dare compete with Lu Li.

 1389 Unique

    "There''s news stating that five pieces of land will be given out by the system. Darkshore, Stranglethorn Valley, the Barrenlands, Tanaris and Westfall are all being released. What are your plans?" Water Fairy asked as she sat down beside Lu Li during the break.


    The news couldn''t be fake since it even mentioned the name of the maps.


    Five locations in one go seemed like a lot, but it wasn''t enough to satisfy each of the major clubs. Maps were limited after all, and the earlier they obtained a Stronghold, the greater the advantage they would have.


    "Darkshore is near us; we can''t have others resting so close to us," Lu Li said without hesitation.


    The reason was fair, and Darkshore was also a resourceful location. The long seashore was an ideal as a tourist attraction and a fishing spot. The seafood resources were abundant and the minerals and herbs in the would also provide Ruling Sword a lot of profit.


    Of course, beside Westfall, all the other lands were resourceful places, especially Stranglethorn Valley ¨C that was the best location amongst all right now. It was even better than Ruling Sword''s Grey Valley land.


    "I''m planning to take down Westfall," Water Fairy said.


    "Stranglethorn Valley is better, but¡­ alright. That place isn''t too good for development," Lu Li muttered as he locked his brows in deep thought.


    Stranglethorn Valley was indeed the best spot, but it was also because of the same reason that it drew all the attention to itself. Even if a guild was to obtain it, they would have to face ongoing attacks each week from all their competitors.


    "The competition for Westfall would probably be less fierce. We can take down Westfall first, and if we want to press on, we can attempt Stranglethorn Valley then. If we want to back away, we can develop into the maps near Stormwind City. Elwynn Forest will become Drizzle Court''s main base," Water Fairy explained.


    "What if Glory Capital take down Stranglethorn Valley?" Lu Li asked.


    The Barrenlands sounded like a wasteland, but it was still a good place for the players. There were resources there and it could support a high-density population. It was also backed against Durotar and as the top of the Horde faction, there was no reason why Glory Capital wouldn''t claim it for themselves.


    Unknowingly, there was a hint of envy in Lu Li''s tone as he remarked, "If they don''t want to fight against Ruling Sword, giving up the Barrenlands for Stranglethorn Valley is a good choice. Others are afraid of the challenges that they might face if they took down Stranglethorn Valley, but Glory Capital has never been afraid of challenges."


    How could the Barrenlands even compete against Stranglethorn Valley!


    "What''s there to be afraid of? It''s just Glory Capital," Water Fairy laughed gently. "It''s been so many years, climbing over mountains that seem to be impossible again and again. Fighting against Glory Capital is just a matter of time. I''ve been waiting for this day for too long."


    Lu Li was stunned; he wasn''t sure where Water Fairy got her confidence from.


    This was a Water Fairy that he had never seen before. She brimmed with confidence and determination and was not afraid of challenges. These were rare qualities for a girl.


    Perhaps this was what made Water Fairy so attractive.


    Lu Li had lived with the three lady landlords before and even now he kept in contact with them. Every now and then, they would come by to visit Lu Xin. All three of them were beauties, each with their own differences and could easily get any men that they wanted.


    However, Lu Li had never felt any attraction towards them.


    "If you need any help, just ask."


    That was all Lu Li could say in the end.


    "If Glory Capital takes down the Barrenlands, you''ll be faced up against them too. Grey Valley is right next door. Aren''t you guys afraid?" Water Fairy asked.


    "We are, but we can''t help it," Lu Li said as he shook his head helplessly. "I''ve got no choice."


    Water Fairy didn''t know the weight of Lu Li''s words. From the moment of his birth, he had no choice but to press forward. It was rare for him to have an opportunity to choose his path. A lot of the time, it was fate that pressed him in the direction that he was to travel on, and all that he could do was to press on, despite not knowing what might lie ahead.


    Grey Valley was the System''s reward, not a choice for him.


    Once Glory Capital took the Barrenlands, the two would be neighbours and a war would only be a matter of time. Lu Li had no choice.


    In fact, with his current position, if he didn''t move forward, he would be moving backwards. It just wasn''t possible to avoid confrontations. If he only brought his team to dungeons, they would eventually fall behind because of the lack of resources. They could only stand up to pursue Glory Capital.


    After a short rest, they headed for the next Boss.


    Before they started this dungeon, Lu Li had brought people with him to a small island to the east of Azshara. The Hydraxian Waterlords here were sworn enemies of Ragnaros. Not only could Lu Li and others obtain a fire resistance potion from the Waterlords, but they could also gain quests to put out fire.


    This was important. Without this quest, the ninth Boss wouldn''t appear.


    First, they had to take up two quests ¨C''Poisoned Water'' and ''Stormers and Rumblers''. The Poisoned Water quest was located near a lake at Corin''s Crossing, East Plaguelands. For the second quest, they had to kill Dust Stormers and Desert Rumblers.


    After they had completed these two quests, they would be able to take up the next quest, ''Eye of the Emberseer''. Then, they would be able to form a team to kill the first Boss, which was a Fire Elemental. The Boss would drop a quest item that they would need to return. This would lead them to the next quest, ''Molten core'', which required them to kill one of each of the following: Molten Core Giant, Flamelord, Corehound and Lava Surger.


    The next quest would be "Agent of Hydraxis".


    This was a quest for boosting Reputation. Killing the monsters in the Molten Core would increase the reputation for the Hydraxian Waterlords. Once their Reputation reached a certain level, they would be able to take up the next quest ¨C''Hands of the Enemy''.


    This would require the team to head to the Molten Core and obtain the Hand of Shazzrah, Hand of Lucifron, Hand of Gehennas and Hand of Sulfuron. These were quest items dropped by the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 7th Bosses. After completing this, they could then head back to the NPC and as a reward, would obtain a Dark Gold grade ring with Fire Resistance attributes. They would also obtain a "Water Essence" on top.


    The Water Essence was used to put out the fire in the centre of the Molten Core. All eight Bosses before had a fire-type magic symbol near them, which could be extinguished with the Water Essence.


    These quests were handled by Hachi Chan and the team that she led. Lu Li never asked about it; he was sure that she could accomplish her mission.


    After these symbols were extinguished, the ninth boss, Majordomo Executus, would be summoned.


    If Lu Li didn''t bring the others straight to the Hydraxian Waterlords, finding this quest would take some time too. The most effective way was to ask the NPCs in the main cities. However, if they were unlucky, they might not even hear of anything after five days of searching.


    After Ragnoras was summoned, he didn''t have time to wander around and destroy things. Instead, he quickly entered hibernation.


    Before he hibernated, he handed the Molten Core to Majordomo Executus and his troops. With his cute pet Magmadar, the two traitors of the Wind Prince, Baron Geddon and Baron Hyjal, as well as Golemagg the Incinerator, they guarded this empty underground cave together.


    Under the circumstance that Ragnaros didn''t resurface, Majordomo Executus was the Boss of the Molten Core.


    As a loyal servant to Ragnaros, the second-in-charge Majordomo Executus had always guarded the Molten Core and stopped intruders from disturbing his hibernating master. He was by no means an easy Boss.

 1390 The Invincible Boss

    "The protection rune is destroyed. Brothers, take out these intruders."


    "Mere mortals, die before the son of flames!"


    The entrance was flashy, and his lines were cool. As the highest commander in Molten Core, Majordomo Executus entered the scene with eight sidekicks. The Bosses before either had two or four sidekicks; none of them were special enough to have eight alone.


    "Why can''t we hurt him?"


    Azure Sea Breeze was able to accept any damage that the Boss dealt to him, but he couldn''t accept the fact that the Boss didn''t lose a single point of health.


    Clearly, this Boss was a little unique and the team quickly came to the conclusion that he could not be slain.


    "At least the minions aren''t invincible," Lu Li remarked as he went up to poke at one of the monsters. Fortunately, they still took damage, but their overall attributes were quite high.


    Things couldn''t get any worse ¨C this seemingly invincible Boss could hit players, but they couldn''t retaliate back.


    "Too much damage! I can''t take this¡­"


    Wandering felt tired at heart, because he quickly discovered that he couldn''t even tank four monsters. On the other hand, although World''s Best Friend didn''t say anything, Lu Li could see the same situation from his health bar which was going up and down like a rollercoaster.


    Three tanks didn''t seem to be enough.


    There was no other way; they had to send out other Plated classes to make up the number.


    Majordomo Executus had eight sidekicks. Four of them were Flamewalker Doctors and the other four were Flamewalker Elites. As their names suggested, the first four were healers while the other four were warriors.


    Solely focusing on Fire Resistance for their gear wasn''t enough, but even if they were to diversify their attributes, they would still lose the fight. This was because the Flamewalker Elites would deal fire damage, but the Flamewalker Doctors weren''t a holy or natural type caster. Instead, their damage was classed as a shadow-type damage.


    It wasn''t rare for Priests to deal shadow damage. Shadow Priests would become more popular later down the track and establish themselves as a proper class type.


    The biggest point of discussion in the next patch would probably be the marriage system. However, in terms of the gaming content itself, the biggest change would be the special effect reduction and the talent system that would be released.


    The special effect reduction would impact the way players geared up, while the talent tree system would impact how players developed their playstyle.


    Warriors would reset their attributes, and would be able to develop into a Defensive talent tree or a Berserker talent tree. Priests would split into a Healer talent tree or a Shadow Priest talent tree. Thieves were split into an agility Thief or a battle Thief.


    Paladins had it even better ¨C they could develop to healer Paladins, defence Paladins or holy Paladins. However, the best of all would be the Druids that could develop into healer Druids, bird Druids, bear Druids and cat Druids, among some others that would be of no use besides being cute¡­


    Overall, players would have to reset their gear and while keeping their Fire Resistance, they would also have to do something about Shadow Resistance too.


    Majordomo Executus was invincible, so the players couldn''t damage him. However, just because he was invincible didn''t mean that he couldn''t hurt the players. In fact, he even dealt damage at random to targets around him. This meant that the aggression wouldn''t be stable and when the Boss ran around, someone would have to pull him back. The person in charge of tanking the Boss would have to focus, so it was best to have both a main and secondary tank.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering were old partners. World''s Best Friend, Moonlight and two other Paladins pulled one Flamewalker Elite each. As for the four Flamewalker Doctors, Lu Li assigned four Mages to Polymorph them.


    This was necessary, or else the Doctors would heal the others.


    "My, what is this!"


    The team was caught by surprise; why did the Mages who casted Polymorph turn into sheep themselves?


    Seeing Deadly Green Orange turn into a little sheep was a funny scene, but no one laughed because it meant that the Flamewalker Doctor that she Polymorphed had now been set free. The freed Flamewalker Doctor immediately healed the Flamewalker Elite.


    It was all for nothing!


    Counterspell reflected 50% of all negative spells within a certain radius and lasted for 10 seconds.


    It was a shameless skill and when a target had this buff on them, anyone that attacked them with a spell would have it casted on themselves instead. This was why Deadly Green Orange turned into a sheep when she used Polymorph on the Flamewalker Doctor.


    "March!" Lu Li called.


    March Rain quickly debuffed the magic from Deadly Green Orange. As expected from a competitor, Deadly Green Orange had the quick reflexes to immediately turn the Flamewalker Doctor back into a sheep as soon as her Polymorph effect had been removed.


    "When you guys Polymorph, make sure to check your target''s status bar for Counterspell. Don''t cast anything on it if the status exists," Lu Li reminded.


    "Heal me!" Her Tears called out. He was in charge of tanking a monster, but died right after.


    The Flamewalker Elite that had been freed rushed into the group of ranged class players. Because it was slightly further away from the real tanks and normal Paladins didn''t have many taunt skills, a few of them died. In the end, despite finally stabilizing the situation, Lu Li still had to call it quits.


    "How did he die?" Lu Li asked the healer who was in charge of healing Her Tears.


    Without counting Wandering, who was a Defense paladin, and without Mu Qiu being around today, Her Tears was probably the best-geared Paladin around. It was unexpected for him to die.


    The healer player was still at a loss.


    "I didn''t pay attention; he just died very suddenly."


    "I think it reflected my damage onto myself. I happened to cast an ultimate spell and killed myself with it."


    Her Tears had a clear head during the fight, but he couldn''t accept the fact that he died to himself because his damage was too high.


    "It''s probably similar to Counterspell, but a shield that reflects damage," Lu Li said with certainty.


    He had heard long ago that Majordomo Executus could buff his minions with two different types of shields. One reflected magic while the other reflected damage. Now, he finally got to see it for himself. He asked again for some further details and reconstructed the battle plan. Those that tanked the monsters were to fight without using ultimate spells; they just needed to hold onto the monster. Even someone like Her Tears wouldn''t be able to do much damage in the first place, even with his ultimate spells.


    Meanwhile, the healers needed to focus on their targets.


    Lu Li thought for a bit and swapped out one of the damage-dealing Paladins for Deep Watersong, a bear Druid from Drizzle Court. Deep Watersong could be counted as the number one bear tank in Dawn. He could be the secondary tank to help Azure Sea Breeze tank the Boss. That way, Wandering could go and tank one of the Flamewalker Elites.


    Her Tears'' equipment was exquisite, so it was better for him to play as a damage dealer.


    After this, he had another Mage join the team, which would make five of them in total. If someone was turned into a sheep and the priests couldn''t react in time to debuff the magic, the spare Mage could Polymorph instead.


    Lu Li''s tactics were simple. He wanted to kill two Flamewalker Elites first, then the four Flamewalker Doctors. After this, they would turn around to kill the remaining two elites that would be left.


    However, before they even took down the first Flamewalker Elite, they ran into some trouble again.


    Majordomo Executus teleported a player at random into a furnace. The player that had been teleported was still casting and had no clue that his health bar was rapidly dropping.


    "Huh, how come I died? Did you guys see me die."


    How clueless ¨C the victim was the last to figure out that he died.


    "The Boss will teleport someone there at random. Pay attention ¨C if you guys find yourselves being teleported, immediately run away," Lu Li said weakly. It wasn''t realistic to hope that these players would stay alert to their surrounding while they were fighting the Boss.


    There was also another common situation for a team wipe.


    During phase one, the Boss usually buffed his minions with the two shields. During phase two, he would still buff his minions, but also himself sometimes.


    This was very troublesome, because this Boss didn''t really follow the aggression rules.


    Sometimes, his aggression would clear out and he would attack other players at random. At this point, the tank would have to immediately Taunt to start building aggression again.


    However, if the Taunt was reflected by Counterspell¡­


    At that time, Azure Sea Breeze was left in shock. There was no harm in him Taunting himself, but he couldn''t build aggro if that happened.


    "Deep Watersong, taunt!" Lu Li shouted. He had no choice but to give this instruction; not everyone had reflexes as fast as Azure Sea Breeze. Deep Watersong probably didn''t think that the Boss could reflect taunts either, which explained why he couldn''t react in time.


    However, this was enough for the Boss to take out a few players.


    "Let''s take a break; we''re doing well. After all, we got to phase two. Just watch out for the teleports and the shields; it''ll make things easier," Lu Li announced.


    Although they wiped a few times without too much progress, at least they took out one of the minions.


    Taking out a minion meant that they still had hope. If they couldn''t even take out one minion, they might as well just give up already.


    This Boss was very complicated. It tested the gear of the players, as well as their coordination. After all, they were battling against nine opponents this time.


    Especially when the main tank couldn''t taunt the Boss, the secondary tank needed to make themselves useful.


    Some guides said that bear tanks would find it easier to taunt the Boss in these situations, but Lu Li had no comment about this. However, since the best bear tank in Dawn was waiting outside the dungeon as a substitute, why not call him inside?


    During their rest time, Lu Li still went fishing with Water Fairy.


    No matter how much stress he was under, he would calm down during this moment. This was probably an unexpected surprise.

 1391 Stuck

    They had been here for the entire day, but were still stuck in this part of the Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li''s was not in a positive mood. According to his original plan, they were supposed to defeat the ninth Boss today and then spend the rest of the time becoming familiar with the final Boss. They would then spend the next day fighting the Boss, trying to obtain the First Clear.


    However, things didn''t develop the way he thought they would.


    They had made no gains all day. The other players were dumbfounded by their lack of progress as well, but no one dared to say anything because of Lu Li''s serious expression.


    Everyone could see that he was upset. If they provoked him with their words, he might even retaliate by deducting their guild points.


    After knowing him for such a long time, everyone knew how Lu Li operated. They all knew that he would exact his revenge on them if given the chance.


    Everyone turned their attention to Water Fairy and looked forward to her performance. No matter how upset Lu Li was, he would surely respect Water Fairy, unless he intended to be single for the rest of his life. Azure Sea Breeze even mouthed to Water Fairy for her to talk to Lu Li. It had been hard for him to focus so intently all day.


    "We''re out of time today," Water Fairy remarked.


    "Oh," Lu Li said, coming out from his trance, "Yes, we''re out of time. Everyone, get ready to log off, and remember to log in on time tomorrow. Let me know in advance if you can''t make it."


    "Tomorrow is the last time. It looks like you won''t be able to defeat it," Azure Sea Breeze chimed in, upon seeing that Lu Li had responded normally.


    "Oh, so you don''t want to fight anymore just because we can''t finish it? Do you want to skip out on tomorrow? You must have too many guild points; maybe I should take some. Maybe making guild points is too easy for you in Instance Dungeons. If you didn''t make so many mistakes today, then we would have already defeated the Boss. Let me ask you guys, is it because we can''t tank the Boss, or we can''t heal fast enough, or we can''t manage our mana? Huh?"


    Lu Li had just completely let loose onto him!


    Azure Sea Breeze instantly felt the urge to cry. Lu Li had just spoken so nicely to Water Fairy in front of them, so he thought he could let his thoughts be known. He didn''t think he would be attacked so severely. The difference in his response was so obvious too.


    "Well, if you''re not happy¡­" Wandering began as he patted Azure Sea Breeze''s shoulder, "I think you can consider buying a ticket to go to Thailand."


    "Thailand? Why would I go to Thailand?"


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t understand why he was being asked to travel abroad. What did that place even have, except for their curries and their¡­ ladyboys? Azure Sea Breeze immediately wanted to fight Wandering.


    After Lu Li had vented, he went to have a meal with Water Fairy.


    "Are you really not angry?" Water Fairy asked as she put her plate down, sat across from Lu Li and started eating.


    They didn''t go to a high-end restaurant or any particularly romantic place. This was actually just Ruling Sword''s dining hall, but it was still better than the university canteens. The ingredients were fresher and the cooking was better. Things were made individually rather than all together in a big pot.


    In the bright surrounding environment, it was impossible to conceal how attractive the woman


    before him was.


    She was wearing a blue dress which a simple flower embroidered on it. There were no other embellishments and it was very elegant.


    Water Fairy seemed to have a preference for this kind of dress, except when was she was dressing professionally and wore similar outfits.


    Her waist was quite thin, but it wasn''t overly thin. It was just right, and it highlighted the curves of her lower body. Her calves were slender in contrast to the clear curves of her waist and ankles, which made her legs appear longer.


    To use Hachi Chan''s phrasing, everything below the best just seemed to be legs.


    Water Fairy had only recently seen the Ruling Sword building. After all, she lived nearby and would occasionally visit to train the trainees. Sometimes, she would use the training equipment, and give some suggestions for the Ruling Sword Training Camp.


    It was obvious that when a goddess-level character appeared in this world, there were countless people that were fascinated with her.


    However, because of the reputation of this couple, no one had dared to talk to her.


    In the mind of an Otaku, he might have a decade long plan on how he would be with this goddess. However, the cruel reality was that he had never acquired the goddess'' phone number and she didn''t even know his name.


    There were a bunch of things on Lu Li''s plate, which was in stark contrast to the simplicity of Water Fairy''s.


    When he heard Water Fairy ask about him, he spat out a bone in his mouth.


    "How could I not be angry? We could have gotten the First Clear on this cooldown, but it seems like our levels and equipment are still not good enough."


    If he remembered correctly, he had done the Molten Core in his previous life with Level 60 players.


    This meant that their attempt was a bit early. He knew the strategy from his previous life where he defeated the Instance Dungeon, but now he had a group of level 59 players.


    The gap between level 59 and 60 was quite large.


    The equipment they were all getting was basically all for level 60 players. It was also impossible to find Level Reducing Gems for all of them, as Ruling Sword didn''t have that kind of financial power. As such, even with all the equipment they were receiving, there wasn''t much of an improvement in Strength.


    "Tomorrow, we should be able to defeat the ninth Boss. This means we''ll definitely defeat the Instance Dungeon in the next refresh," Water Fairy comforted.


    "Well, after defeating the ninth Boss tomorrow, I''ll get everyone to farm to level 60. I should reach level 60 by tomorrow as well."


    Lu Li didn''t have much EXP to go. After killing a few mobs and the Boss, he would hit level 60 and so would at least half of the team.


    In the next refresh, they would have many more level 60 players with level 60 equipment in the Instance Dungeon.


    It would be a significant improvement to their strength. If they couldn''t defeat the Molten Core even then, there was no hope for anyone else. Since Ruling Sword couldn''t do it, the other guilds shouldn''t even think about it.


    "Tomorrow, we can get more groups on this so they can try it out. It would be good if they can


    even defeat the first Boss," Water Fairy said.


    The more they fought the Instance Dungeon, the more equipment they could receive. The focus of next week was to defend their Stronghold.


    Drizzle Court wanted to take the western wilderness, but it didn''t mean they would be successful. There were many clubs competing with them and unfortunately, neither Ruling Sword nor Peerless City could help them. At most, they could lend equipment, but since the battle was all happening at the same time, Ruling Sword wouldn''t be able to fight.


    As for the transferring of players, this wouldn''t work either. They needed to transfer the players a week in advance for them to be eligible to fight.


    "What about the strategy? Wandering definitely knows it, and we can let Peerless City try it as well."


    Lu Li didn''t really mind that more people knew about the strategy as it wasn''t the deciding factor on whether they would get through the Instance Dungeon. Lu Li currently knew the strategy, and he still hadn''t managed to defeat the Boss.

 1392 Level 60

    Today was the last day of the Molten Core Instance Dungeon refresh.


    Lu Li was soberly aware that they wouldn''t defeat the last Boss, but they had to defeat Majordomo Executus at least.


    Because Wandering had Interlope, there was no need for the players to run back after they died. The repairing bots also saved them from going back to repair their equipment. Ruling Sword was saving a lot of time because of this compared to other clubs.


    However, in order to increase their levels, Lu Li would always instruct them to go back to clear the mobs after every attempt.


    They were in the game until noon, but the Boss remained undefeated. Lu Li had now reached level 60, and almost half of the players in the team of 40 had also done the same. Lu Li had been lazy with his levelling recently and had fallen behind some other players.


    This falling behind was obviously relative to Lu Li. There were about 20 other players who had hit level 60.


    At level 60, you could finally change into the level 60 equipment that you had been sitting on. Among other things, Lu Li''s HP was now greater than 5000, which was a significant increase.


    After changing his equipment and fighting, Lu Li returned to the top of the damage output rankings. Previously, this God-level Thief had actually dropped because of his equipment. In addition, he had also been spending his time commanding which further affected his DPS.


    "Foolish mortals, get ready to perish before the son of flames!"


    They had started another attempt and if Executus was a smart NPC, he probably would have said something like, "There is all of Azeroth to see. How long are you idiots going to be here!?"


    "Warriors, make sure you keep the aggro. Mages, make sure you don''t get counter-Polymorphed. March Rain keep an eye on the Mages, and help to dispel anyone that gets Polymorphed."


    Lu Li glanced at the composition they had and felt like this was as good as it was going to get. In order to withstand the fire attacks, he had switched in a lot of Warriors. He also gathered as many Mages as he could to cast Polymorph, and did the same with the healers. If they couldn''t defeat the Boss now, there was nothing left he could do.


    In terms of damage output, the level 60 players who had replaced their equipment were the main force.


    All the top players on the damage output rankings were level 60 players. Lu Li estimated that his strength increased by at least 20% after switching to the level 60 equipment.


    As such, he had dared to deploy a tankier composition. Prior to this, the same composition wouldn''t have had enough damage.


    A common theme that was found throughout Instance Dungeon strategies was ''stability''.


    The Main Tanks would pull the Boss, the Healers would sustain everyone and the Magic Professions would slowly consume their mana. There was also the element of damage output. The higher their damage output, the less time it would take, which meant less pressure on professions that used mana.


    "Breezy, run! World''s Best Friend, pull the Boss!" Lu Li cried out in shock.


    They had been playing well until now, but he didn''t expect the Boss to transmit the Main Tank. The probability was so small that it hadn''t happened until now.


    Azure Sea Breeze saw that the things in his vision were moving quite quickly. With Lu Li''s reminder, he immediately understood what had happened to him. It was similar to when he used Charge as he rushed into danger. He had suffered a lot of damage, and because he had been tanking the Boss earlier, he didn''t have much HP left.


    When Lu Li saw that Azure Sea Breeze was okay, he felt relieved.


    "Let World''s Best Friend tank for a bit. You can wait for your skills to refresh."


    "Hachi Chan, revive Rice Ball. Rice Ball, after you are revived, tie your soul stone to Machine Bro. Machine Bro, you can''t die anymore. I have hope that we will defeat the Boss this time," Lu Li said. He then observed the monsters'' HP and signalled for Sakura Memories to cast Bloodlust.


    According to their plan, two Flamewalker elites and Flamewalker Physicians had been killed. There were just two Flamewalker elites and Flamewalker Physicians left.


    This was where the problems began.


    Originally, the four tanks were responsible for one of the elites while the Mage was responsible for Polymorphing the physician. However, when Majordomo Executus only had four minions left, they became immune to Polymorph, which meant that the rest would not be affected.


    Yesterday, it was here that the group got wiped, as they couldn''t Polymorph the final two


    physicians.


    The Warriors needed to quickly pull the two Flamewalker Physicians while the Thieves had to move in to interrupt their healing.


    In this situation, Kick wouldn''t fully interrupt the target. There were a total of four Thieves here. Both Lu Li and Water Fairy had equipment that gave them Kick Skill +1. The probability of success for a level 6 Kick was much higher, but if it failed, the two other Thieves could still fill in. If that still failed, then it was just bad luck.


    Even if the Kick failed, the Flamewalker would just be successful in healing. In fact, this wasn''t really a disaster.


    "Don''t make any mistakes, I''ll deduct points if you do," Lu Li said seriously.


    Everyone had performed very well until now and had done what they needed to do. They had to do this to defeat the Boss; not a single person could make a mistake.


    "I don''t like this deduction system. You have to reward not making a mistake as well," Azure Sea Breeze said.


    Although he just joking, there were actually usually very few mistakes made. Players that had good game awareness and a quick reaction time could avoid most mistakes. The player that was most prone to making mistakes was actually the Main Tank.


    "It is your duty to not make mistakes. We''ve been doing a good job, so let''s keep working hard," Lu Li muttered. "I don''t know if the Boss will go Berserk in the last minute. Some might have to die for us to claim this victory."


    "If I die then I die. I''m already level 60, so I don''t care," Azure Sea Breeze said.


    "We should get as many people as possible to level 60. If we kill the Boss, can you continue leading the people to fight the mobs in this Instance Dungeon?" Lu Li asked.


    "I don''t really gain anything from that. I don''t need any EXP and I don''t need the monster''s equipment either," Azure Sea Breeze grinned.


    "Oh, you''re already satisfied are you? How about I give you 10 points at the end of the day for it?" Lu Li offered.


    "It''s just 10 points; they''re not worth my time," Azure Sea Breeze said dismissively.


    "If you won''t do it then, World''s Best Friend¡­"


    "Wait, let''s have a proper conversation!"


    Azure Sea Breeze had to concede. Ten points wasn''t that much, but it was equivalent to fighting a Boss. No one would think so little of it.


    While they were speaking, they managed to kill another monster.


    There were only three monsters left, and the monsters were no longer much of a threat. The real danger was now with the Boss.


    What everyone needed to do now was to work closely together and avoid any mistakes.

 1393 Begging for Forgiveness

    Eventually, the last Flamewalker Physician was killed. Lu Li could finally feel the weight lift off his shoulders. There were currently still 31 players standing, and while the three tanks still remained, there were slightly fewer healers than before.


    "Should I resurrect them?" March Rain asked. She had just died to save a few others and was on the ground. Lu Li''s Resurrect had already been used so he couldn''t use it. March Rain still had other ways to resurrect the fallen players, but she didn''t know if it was worth it. She was actually carrying Lu Li''s Darkmoon Card, and there weren''t that many uses left so they had to be very deliberate about it.


    It had been a while since the players had participated in the event that gave them all a Darkmoon Card, so there was almost no one left who had one. Lu Li had not been willing to use it even when he died during important moments; it had been saved for even more crucial moments such as this.


    Darkmoon Card: Void (Special): Instant Use. Has a 50% chance to Revive. Upon a successful Revive, HP and Mana regen increased by 20%, EXP may increase by -5 to 10%. Number of uses remaining: 5/5. Effective when item is placed in backpack. Equipment requirement: Level 10.


    "Damn, I lost a bit of EXP," March Rain cried. When using the Darkmoon Card, there was a chance for the user to lose EXP. She was already level 60, so her EXP gain had since slowed down. This meant that losing EXP felt particularly worse for her.


    "How much did you lose?" Lu Li glanced over and saw that March Rain had dropped back to level 59.


    "1%," March Rain groaned. The Darkmoon Card tended to give EXP, but she was unlucky enough to lose EXP when she used it.


    "That''s okay, you''ll level up. Just pay attention to your mana. Memories, remember to use your totem once Bloodlust is over," Lu Li calmly instructed. He glanced at the Boss'' HP, hoping that he wouldn''t go Berserk.


    Generally, a Boss would go Berserk when it was at a certain amount of HP. According to some experts, it was because Bosses would strike out in desperation when they saw that they were dying. However, Majordomo Executus had Invulnerability. He hadn''t lost a single point of HP, so he shouldn''t go Berserk. It was nice to think he wouldn''t go Berserk, but reality was different. Lu Li had daydreamed for too long as Majordomo Executus went Berserk after the seventh monster died.


    "Burn, mortals. It is time to pay for your sins!" Majordomo Executus roared. Perhaps he started to feel desperate when the minions died.


    "Everyone who is hit by the Transmission needs to fall back," Lu Li commanded. The Berserk state not only increased the Boss'' attacking power, but also the frequency of his skills. For example, the Transmission skill was normally used once every 12 seconds, but now it was being continuously casted.


    "Hey! I can''t keep the aggro! Get all the Warriors to Taunt. Wandering, you pull the monster," Azure Sea Breeze shouted as a follow up to Lu Li''s instructions.


    He was the second-in-command and was part of the core group. The instructions that he gave were final as long as Lu Li had no objections. When they heard his instructions, even Berserkers like Moonlight went up to Taunt the Boss.


    The Boss had given himself an anti-magic shield which meant that the probability of a successful Taunt had decreased. However, the Warriors still had to try to Taunt him. Otherwise, he would randomly attack nearby players and definitely kill them.


    In just a few dozen seconds, several players had died.


    "Everyone focus on the killing the minions. Use everything you have!" Lu Li cried out as he downed a potion to increase his attack speed. Everyone still had some tricks up their sleeves, and Water Fairy really pulled out all the stops for this battle.


    Water Fairy''s body was covered in a layer of red light. Her eyes turned golden and a pair of white wings unfolded behind her. She was a dark Thief, but she had turned into a holy angel. This effect skyrocketed her damage output and she gained a far greater attack speed than Lu Li.


    If this special effect was used against Lu Li in PVP, it wasn''t clear if Lu Li would lose, but he would definitely be scared to fight it. The smartest choice would be to avoid her and to only attack when the effect ended. However, the last elite monster wasn''t very smart and was the fastest of the eight monsters to die.


    "You think you have won? No, maybe you need another painful lesson," Majordomo Executus'' threatened. His short but painful Berserk had finally ended. The Berserk''s strength was indeed great, but it didn''t last for long, so it wasn''t enough to wipe the players.


    "No, this is impossible! Wait¡­ I surrender, I surrender!" Majordomo Executus begged. He had suddenly regressed into a weakened state and was begging for mercy when the last monster died. It didn''t matter whether he surrendered or not, because there was nothing they could do; he still remained in a state of invulnerability.


    After surrendering, Executus continued, "You must desperately want to uncover the secrets of the Son of Flames. You will pay dearly for this act. I will summon the True Master, and you will face his anger directly. Your little lives are coming to an end." The Majordomo of the Molten Core turned and slowly left, saying, "I will summon the Master, and he will wait for you in the deepest part of the Flame."


    "Hey, don''t go! Where is our loot?" Remnant Dream whined as she jumped up and chased the Boss. They weren''t sure if it was an illusion, but Executus waved his arm and caused a chest to drop from the sky. He then stepped into the magma and slowly vanished.


    "Wow, that exit was really strange," Azure Sea Breeze said as he watched the Boss. "I remembered that when I first hit him, I dealt some damage. You said that we will be better equipped in the future. Will we be able to kill him in one attack?"


    "Why would you want to kill him? Isn''t your loot here?" Lu Li asked as he patted the chest.


    Everyone stiffened up.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Lu bro," Hachi Chan chimed sweetly, "Make sure you don''t open it. This is the result of two days of work. If you open the chest, then we''ll have wasted all our time. So, please let go."


    "Yes, yes, please let go of that poor chest," everyone nodded in agreement.


    Lu Li was shocked and offended. Surely, they didn''t need to go that far ¨C he wasn''t that unlucky.

 1394 Finkle’s Lava Dredger

    After the chief had been pushed away, the little Hunter went forward to loot the equipment. Lu Li felt mistreated as he squatted outside the group and listened to Remnant Dream. "Gold, lots of gold! Thank you, Lu Bro, for your generosity. 33 Strengthening Stones and three gems with the following attributes. Does anyone want them? They will be number one, two and three. Their number corresponds with their starting price. Now start bidding."


    Not only did they let her loot the equipment, but she was also allowed to auction them away. Lu Li just sighed and took out his fishing rod. The hook he casted plunged into the magma. The fishing rod was not the one borrowed from Star Baby, but it was given to him by Water Fairy.


    Lu Li thought one of the gems was pretty good. It was a gem that provided a special effect¡ª a probability that Backstab would not consume energy. However, when he saw that Water Fairy was bidding, he didn''t bid for it. Chance-based effects did not work well for him anyway. He used very few gems with special effects, and he wanted to make sure that they were used effectively. This effect would probably just never trigger, knowing his luck. He didn''t want to rely on something that was based on probability.


    The Rare Materials were pretty good, and they were all put into Lu Li''s backpack. These were not generally distributed. If you needed anything, you could redeem them from the guild by paying guild points or completing guild quests. There was also a Priest skill book ¨C Enhanced Regeneration. The strength of this skill needed no explanation; Regeneration was a very important Priest skill. It was an instant cast skill that was very popular because it regenerated HP.


    However, if there was a Druid Healer on the team, this skill would not be comparable to the Druid''s more popular continuous regeneration abilities. Druid Healers were experts in that area. The Priest''s heal was shorter and healed for less, but it was very useful in cases where the group had lost significant HP. This was because the regeneration skill could be casted on the whole group. When a player had only lost some HP, you could throw this skill onto them and basically not worry about them anymore.


    Even though Star Baby was really excited for the skill book, she had already previously acquired equipment, so she didn''t have many points left. March Rain was also part of the original group, so even though she had to pay slightly more than she would like, she easily defeated Star Baby. In the end, the Enhanced Skill Book was assigned to March Rain, but her overall guild points didn''t change by much.


    The rest of the skills books were also pretty good. There was one for Warriors and one for Mages. One was given to a new Warrior from Ruling Sword and the other was given to Deadly Green Orange from Drizzle Court.


    There was some Gold equipment that no one wanted. The Dark Gold equipment was also not sold for many points. Everyone seemed to be saving for the Epic equipment. Executus was the hardest Boss they had fought in the Instance Dungeon, so if he didn''t drop a lot of good items, they would be speechless.


    Core Forged Greaves!


    The first Epic equipment that was dropped was already a good one. When Lu Li heard the name, he didn''t even need to look at the items attributes to be excited. He hadn''t paid much attention to the Molten Core set in his previous life since it had such a high-level requirement. After all, he didn''t know he would be born again. However, there were still some classic items that he knew about like The Thunderfury and Orange Hammer. Core Forged Greaves was also an item that was often mentioned, especially when most players turned level 60. This equipment was an exquisite Fire Resistance item, and it even resisted fire attacks from players, which made it even more valuable.


    "This is pretty good," Azure Sea Breeze commented, drooling at the equipment.


    World''s Best Friend licked his lips, but he didn''t know how Lu Li would split it. This equipment couldn''t be assigned normally. As long as it was an equipment with a high impact on the general environment, it should be properly assigned by the head of the group. This piece of equipment was going to be very helpful for fighting Ragnaros the Firelord next week.


    "Let me see the Fire Resistance shoes that the two of you are currently wearing," Lu Li said hesitantly and carefully.


    It wasn''t that he had to carefully decide who to give this equipment to. This equipment was definitely going to be assigned to Azure Sea Breeze, but he also had to be considerate to World''s Best Friend. He was Ruling Sword''s second main tank and had also made great contributions to the guild since he joined.


    The two of them revealed their equipment''s attributes. Azure Sea Breeze had a level 60 Epic equipment and World had a level 55 item with attributes that were a lot worse. Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t called Dawn''s number one Main Tank for nothing; his actual strength supported his confidence. Azure Sea Breeze''s equipment level was probably higher than Lu Li''s on average. The whole of Ruling Sword probably couldn''t compare to him. In addition to doing Instance Dungeons with Lu Li, he had also participated in many Wild Boss kills.


    "How about this, we''ll give this item to Breezy for 105 points," Lu Li suggested. "World, you can then use Azure''s shoes, but I won''t deduct any points. Your current shoes can go to the guild warehouse."


    "Okay, thanks Boss," World''s Best Friend cheerfully accepted. He was quite happy with the outcome.


    Lu Li''s handling of the Core Forged Graves was not necessarily fair, but it kept everyone happy. Deducting 105 points from Azure Sea Breeze was a major blow to his points. Next time, World would have a better chance of competing against him for items. If this was any other team, the head of the team would not have given any items away without deducting points, nor would he have given Azure Sea Breeze''s item to World''s Best Friend.


    Although Azure Sea Breeze received the item, it was a costly price to pay. He might have gained a new Epic item, but he also lost his Bloodfist armour. Other than the inferior fire resistance attributes, the other attributes were not that far behind. Lu Li gained an exquisite Epic equipment that Azure Sea Breeze had at no cost. As for the level 55 Epic armour he had, it was about time to replace that item anyway.


    The others didn''t care much for that item. The equipment was for Tanks and the others had accepted that they simply had no chance of obtaining it.


    Finkle''s Lava Dredger!


    This was a two-handed Healing Hammer. The end of the description read, ''Property of the Great Traveller, Finkle Einhorn.''. It was a very unique item. There were very few Tanky Healers that would be carrying a two-handed Healing Hammer. Druids might want this item, and if a Shaman had no other option, they might too.


    But no matter the profession, it wasn''t a particularly ideal drop for anyone.


    Its shape was also quite interesting. The head of the hammer looked like a gear that was continually spinning. The hammer was not something Lu Li cared about, and neither the Druids nor the Tanky Healers wanted it. This Epic weapon was almost left unsold. Fortunately, there was a Paladin who wanted to collect it.

 1395 Legendary Magic Staff

    There was another piece of equipment. Without the third Epic drop, Executus wouldn''t have been worth all the trouble. After all, Finkle''s Lava Dredger was almost useless.


    Fireproof Cloak!


    It had quite an ordinary name and it didn''t look particularly cool. If a Gnome or Dwarf wore it, it might look normal, but if it was worn by any taller race, it would appear very short. However, its small size didn''t prevent it from being the highest Fire Resistance cloak. The only exquisite property within it was the fact that it had really high fire resistance. The other two effects increased fire damage, but the attributes were quite versatile and there wasn''t a limitation on which professions could wear it. This could be worn by anyone.


    "How should we assign this item?" March Rain asked.


    "Don''t assign it; just give it to me. Whoever doesn''t have enough Fire Resistance for a fight should just wear it. If Drizzle Court is fighting Ragnaros, they can borrow it," Lu Li decided. This item was so good, but there was only one of it. Lu Li had no choice because he didn''t want to give it to anyone, so it just became guild property.


    "Damn, the dictator has taken away our items," Azure Sea Breeze muttered after a brief silence.


    "Get to work. If you''re already level 60, you can go home, but if you haven''t hit level 60, you can join Rice Ball to help the others outside," Lu Li commanded. He was already level 60, so he started to return home. There was no need to provoke Ragnaros, as it was impossible for them to clear him today. It was better to just return and see how the Stronghold was doing.


    The emptied chest didn''t seem to disappear, which was out of the ordinary. Lu Li stared at the chest for a moment before asking, "Do you guys still have a quest to do? Go and loot the chest and check if your quest items are in there."


    "Ah, I think that''s for me," March Rain suddenly remembered.


    When she received Water Elemental Hydraxis'' Prestige, she also received a quest. This was a quest that no one else could acquire, as it was only for Priests with a certain amount of Prestige. She had previously received Prestige from Hydraxis, so only she could receive this quest. This could be the quest for the Priest''s Legendary Magic Staff.


    Lu Li had forgotten how lucky this girl was. He had been a Druid in his previous life and a Thief in this one, so he hadn''t paid much attention to the Priests. March Rain went up to loot the chest and only managed to get The Eye of Divinity. The Eye of Divinity didn''t have a 100% drop rate and not many people would even get the quest to drop it in the first place. It seemed that it only had a drop rate of 50% and would disappear from the chest after around five minutes.


    Everyone gathered around to figure out what the Priest had gotten from her quest but were disappointed. There were more than one Priest here. Star Baby, Machine Bro and Jaweika were all Priests, and they felt bad that they couldn''t receive the quest. Lu Li thought that they had little to be sad about. This was a very complicated quest, and there were certain restrictions after receiving it. Ninety percent of the people who received this quest wouldn''t get the Legendary Magic Staff. After all, the whole quest chain involved several Bosses and even a Wild Boss. The average player simply did not have the strength to complete it.


    The Instance Dungeon run had finally come to an end, and Lu Li left. With the end of the cooldown, Ruling Sword''s Grey Valley Stronghold would usher in a challenge to the general public for the first time. The time of the challenge had been determined to be at five o''clock tomorrow afternoon, lasting for a total of two hours. The specific rules were quite complicated, but in essence, all the clubs that wanted to attack Ruling Sword had to first pay for that opportunity. The top eight paying clubs would then compete to siege Ruling Sword''s Stronghold. The Stronghold would be defended by the System''s monsters and only the fastest club to do it would qualify.


    The remaining seven clubs that failed would get their money back after deducting a certain amount as tax. As a prize, gold would be given to the final winner of the siege. The winner of the eight clubs would then officially attack Ruling Sword''s Stronghold at five o''clock. If Ruling Sword couldn''t defend it, then the club would have successfully occupied the Stronghold. The club would then get its money back and receive all the prize gold contributed by the other clubs.


    However, if Ruling Sword defended the Stronghold, Lu Li would get all the prize gold from the eight clubs. Generally, the siege''s prize gold was 10% of the total gold auctioned. This meant that if the average club spent 10,000 gold for the auctioning process, Ruling Sword could earn 8000 gold coins for defending the Stronghold.


    This was just a hypothetical situation. In reality, there were so many clubs that wanted to attack Ruling Sword that 10,000 gold coins was not nearly enough to win a spot to compete.


    Lu Li welcomed everyone to attack their Stronghold. The more players competed for it, the better, as it would give them more money to develop their Stronghold. Although the Stronghold looked like it was growing stronger, it was only the wall that was being built. The internal facilities had not undergone many upgrades. The main reason was a lack of funding; the profits from the First League had basically all been invested into the new training camp.


    Now that everyone was working on the Stronghold, he owed a lot of money and he still needed to buy defensive equipment and potions. When he left the Instance Dungeon, he had already sent a message to Water Fairy about a loan. The thing that this female tycoon lacked the least seemed to be money, so she promised to fulfil Lu Li''s request. Lu Li felt bad doing this. He had come from nothing and had gotten this far, but he still needed to borrow money from Water Fairy on a number of occasions. One day, he wanted to lend money to Water Fairy instead.


    Instead of going straight to Grey Valley, Lu Li went to the Moonlight Forest. With a general improvement in everyone''s levels, there were more and more Druids here. Whether in human or beast form, the land was filled with them. Not all the players were from the Alliance. There were many Tauren Druids who came here to learn from their Night Elf counterparts. Lu Li even saw tourists.


    The air here was cool and refreshing, even if it wasn''t as cool as the Black Sea Coast or the Winterspring. Many travellers came here to taste the crystal-clear waters of Lake Elune. The Druids also sold a variety of foreign textiles, some of which were made from Moon Cloths. These Moon Cloths came from the Timbermaw Bears.


    Lu Li passed through Nighthaven and went straight to the Temple of Remulos, which was now filled with adventurers. After all, Remulos was the son of the Legendary demigod Cenarious. Many young Druids came here to seek guidance. If a god was only a few steps away from home, only a fool would miss an opportunity to consult them. Moreover, Lord Remulos was quite kind and some female players considered him to be a male deity. Lu Li had come here, hoping to get some help from his old friend.

 1396 Borrowing

    "Let''s call it here today; let nature continue to guide you," Remulos sighed. His eyes were staring directly at where Lu Li was Stealthed.


    The Druids did not dare to disobey the will of the Keeper of the Grove and had no choice but to leave. There were some that attempted to sneak a peek from a distance, but they were all transferred back to Nighthaven.


    "Arrogant stalker, I can see you. I can even hear the sound of a flower blooming in the depths of the jungle," Remulos boasted.


    "That is true ¨C you are the king of the jungle, so nothing in the jungle happens without you knowing it," Lu Li said as he revealed himself and walked towards Remulos. "Lord I am here to ask for your help."


    "Help? Let''s hear it," Remulos responded.


    "In the forest of the Grey Valley, I have acquired a piece of land located near the trees of the forest on the bank of the Fallon River," Lu Li began to explain.


    "Oh, that place. I heard the thunder of some drums in that direction. The Dryads had reported to me the progress of the war," Remulos said with a smile. "The land had been ravaged by Satyrs and Fire Elementals. Now that they are gone, the forest thanks you."


    "I am worried that the enemies we have defeated will return, so I want your help," Lu Li pushed.


    "Return?" Remulos asked incredulously as he shook his head, "There is no way they will return. The Satyrs and Fire Elements have completely retreated. It will now be a paradise for adventurers."


    "Ahem," Lu Li coughed. He had no choice but to be more straightforward, saying, "I have some enemies that look enviously upon the fruits of my labour. Dear Lord Remulos, I need your help. To gain your favour, I have not cut down a single tree in the forest." It wasn''t that wood buildings weren''t good. Wood buildings were sturdy and could be made fireproof. They were not that much worse than stone. Moreover, there were so many trees in the Nightsong Forest that it would have been easier to collect wood than stone. However, to earn Remulos'' favour, Lu Li gave an absolute order after the Stronghold event that prohibited the chopping-down of trees. All buildings had to be made of stone or metal.


    "Thank you for your friendliness to the jungle," Remulos thanked. He had to admit that Lu Li had successfully gained his favour. "I am willing to contribute my own strength for the prosperity of the forest, so I hope to receive your help," Lu Li stated sincerely. The reason why he didn''t want to cut the trees was to maintain a good relationship with the natural guardians ¨C Remulos, the Cenarion Circle, the Keepers of the Grove, the Dryads and the entire Night Elf race.


    If Lu Li was a Horde player, he definitely would have cut down all the trees. After all, the entire Orc race was focused only on growing in strength, no matter the cost. The Alliance''s presence in Grey Valley was precisely to prevent the deforestation of these ancient trees.


    "Well, I have some quests here that your Druid friends can do," Remulos promised.


    Since Lu Li was willing to complete quests, this was fine. From the game design''s perspective, there was only a chance to gain these quests. After successfully triggering the quest, Lu Li knew that Remulos was willing to help.


    "Rest assured that they will do whatever you tell them to."


    Lu Li immediately informed some Druids in the guild to complete the quest and arranged for more players to help them with it. If Lu Li remembered correctly, the name of the quest should be called Save the Seedling. The quest was tedious, as not only was it a waste of time, but it was also dangerous. Moreover, there was no reward. There were very few Druids that would willingly do this quest. After all, players were here to play the game or to listen to the NPC''s teachings.


    However, if this quest was completed by someone with a forest Stronghold, and this Stronghold was a friend of the forest, they had a probability of obtaining the Keepers of the Grove''s Protection after completing it. The Keepers of the Grove were the sons of demigod Cenarius and they looked like their smaller Dryad sisters. The Keepers looked like half-Elves and half-stags with huge antlers and leaf-like manes. The right hand of a Keeper was a giant tree-like claw, and they had many supernatural Artifacts.


    The so-called Keepers of the Grove''s Protection summoned a Keeper of the Grove illusion for half an hour which helped players fight monsters in the Wild. Lu Li intended to place them at the walls. These Keepers of the Grove had a few skills that were perfect for defending a Stronghold. They had Bind, Tranquillity, Thorns Aura and Force of Nature.


    Bind''s effect was similar to that of a Restraint Tower. It was mainly used for crowd control and deceleration. If Keepers of the Grove were placed on the wall, they would Bind the enemies that rushed for the walls. There wasn''t much to say about Tranquillity. Hachi Chan often used this skill and it could restore HP to many units. Casting Thorns Aura on a friendly target would surround them with thorns that not only reduced damage taken, but also reflected damage back to those attacking them. As for Force of Nature, it was a skill that transformed trees into treants. Keepers of the Grove generally didn''t use this skill, because the trees only lasted for a limited amount of time. When their time was up, they would become rotten wood, ultimately killing the trees. To be honest, it was enough help even if the Keepers only used Tranquillity.


    The probability of acquiring the Keeper of the Grove illusions was not great, so Lu Li sent almost all of the guild''s Druids. Anyway, as long as they had Detoxify, they should be able to complete the quest. Only a few Druids needed to succeed, and it would dramatically improve their chances of winning.


    Countless Druids from Ruling Sword poured into Nighthaven and then left after accepting the quest. Each of them was assigned four teammates to form a team. The Druids would focus on detoxification and would use the healing dust to save the trees, while the rest of the team would kill the monsters around them.


    "The decay undermines the harmony of nature. My friends will be fighting the decay as long as it is needed," Lu Li assured Remulos. He didn''t mind making such a promise because he was sure that the benefits would be worth the trouble.


    From the experience he had with Remulos, he was a generous elder. "My Dryad sisters who live in the forest seem to be in trouble. You will be neighbours in the future, so I hope you can help them as much as possible."


    Remulos was touched by Lu Li''s gesture once again.

 1397 Bidding

    These little Dryads in the forest had given themselves a cute name ¨C the Laughing Sisters.


    These fascinating Dryads were the daughters of the demigod Cenarius. They were a mischievous bunch that lived in the depths of the quiet forest in harmony with the other creatures of the forest. Although Dryads hated unnecessary violence, they were willing to fight if forced to do so. If that happened, they would defend Kalimdor would their lives.


    However, their carefree lives were finally ended with the deforesters.


    Warsong Soldiers began to slaughter the forest Elves that prevented them from cutting down the trees. If they weren''t supported by the Night Elf Druids and the Keepers of the Grove, these Dryads might have lost their homes.


    "I have seen a Dryad called Shael''dryn. She is one of the most beautiful creatures of the world," Lu Li said in admiration.


    "Shael''dryn is now responsible for guarding the Moon Wells, and is unable to deal to deal with the invaders. My friend, I hope you can help them. The Laughing Sisters will help you fight off the enemy," Remulos said.


    "In the name of the forest, these deforesters will be judged!" Lu Li declared sincerely.


    Helping the Laughing Sisters repel the Warsong soldiers was actually a free quest because the Warsong Soldiers were very low-levelled. When Lu Li was levelling in the Grey Valley, these Warsong Soldiers were an invincible enemy.


    They were generally around level 35, with a few Elites that were around level 40 to 50.


    Now that Lu Li was already at level 60, these Warsong Soldiers that used to kill him, would now be slaughtered by him. By the time he cleared them all out, he had killed 100 Warsong Soldiers.


    Even so, one shouldn''t think that these Warsong Soldiers were weak. If Lu Li continued pushing into the Broken Wood Outpost, he would be asking for death. The soldiers of the Broken Wood Outpost could transform into a form that was ten levels higher than the player at any time.


    A ten level difference didn''t make them invincible, but it wasn''t something that Lu Li could fight alone.


    "Thank you, Elf," a Dryad came over and thanked Lu Li.


    Lu Li looked at her name ¨C Bethel. She seemed to be the leader of the forest Dryads. They had been limited by the System, so the Dryad leader wasn''t a high level either. Otherwise, if she was a Boss, the Laughing Sisters wouldn''t have been defeated by the Warsong Soldiers.


    "Greetings, I am an Elf from the Stronghold, and I was instructed by Lord Remulos to support this place," Lu Li introduced himself.


    "Remulos? Oh, that''s great."


    As soon as she heard the name Remulos, Bethel let her guard down. The Dryads and the Keepers of the Grove were children of Cenarius, so they were obviously on the same side. Since Lu Li had been sent by her brother, there was no need for any hostility.


    "He was very worried about you," Lu Li said seriously.


    There was no need to convey how close Lu Li was to Remulos. His actions were sufficient. Since Remulos had expressed concern before Lu Li, he decided to share that sentiment of his own accord.


    "You say that you are from a Stronghold. Is there such a place in the forest?" the Dryad asked curiously.


    "Not before ¨C it only appeared recently. It was built with the help of Lord Remulos," Lu Li explained seriously. "The evil foresters had to be punished, we had to decisively fight them off."


    "Really?" Bethel''s eyes widened in wonder.


    In her experience, the adventurers were generally not very enthusiastic about Grey Valley''s dispute over the deforesters. There were only some adventurers that were willing to lend a helping hand to the Dryad sisters.


    She didn''t expect Lu Li to do something like this.


    "I will send my people to protect the forest, and do my best to protect the Dryad sisters," Lu Li promised. Although he had killed all the Warsong Soldiers here, there would soon be new ones arriving. Lu Li intended to send Thieves here to be on duty. There would be a group of two that would come and each group only needed to work for an hour.


    "Thank you for your generosity. The Dryad sisters would be willing to form a permanent covenant with you," Bethel said happily.


    The System prompted Lu Li to accept the friendship of the ''Laughing Sisters''. This allowed him to summon five Dryad sisters to fight as allies every week. Each death reduced a certain amount of goodwill, which meant that the number that arrived next time would be less.


    Lu Li was very satisfied with this result.


    Some people thought that these Dryads were weak. After all, they weren''t able to beat the level 30-40 Warsong Soldiers and relied on the Night Elf Druids and Keepers of the Grove to survive.


    However, there was something that most people didn''t think of.


    When Lu Li had come here to help the Dryads, he was at level 60. He was still level 60 after killing the Warsong Soldiers. His level didn''t change to become the same as his allies or enemies.


    If an NPC participated in a player''s fight as a mercenary, their level would not be their original level. If the Dryads appeared within the Stronghold fight, they would become the same level as the players. The Keepers of the Grove were similar, which was why Lu Li wanted to get their help.


    Of course, once he started to cut down trees to build the Stronghold, he wouldn''t be able to enlist them anymore.


    The purpose of getting their help was to overprotect the Stronghold. He was confident in the defense of the Stronghold. He had 80 defenders against 80 attackers, but he also had defensive structures on the wall. In addition, there were several Keepers of the Grove and Dryads. If anyone attacked them, they would return empty-handed.


    The extra help was going to make Ruling Sword a lot of money.


    The Stronghold''s walls had now been upgraded. They were a lot more solid than the original walls. This was the result of Ruling Sword''s 100,000 members working endlessly for a few days. Their two allies, Drizzle Court and Peerless City, also contributed a lot of the rocks required.


    The 80 players to participate in this battle had been selected. PVP players and strong ranged damage output players like Lonesome Flower and Sesame Rice Ball were chosen. Those ranged players didn''t need to do anything other than stand on the wall and cast their skills.


    In the early Stronghold battles, the Hunters were very effective, so Lu Li selected ten to participate.


    At 8 o''clock on Monday morning, Ruling Sword''s Grey Valley Stronghold entered the auction time. City Warfare Administrators across all the major cites were flocked by organisations big and small.


    Although only eight organisations could qualify, they didn''t lose any money for placing a bid, so there was no reason not to try. Perhaps there wouldn''t be enough people applying and you would receive the opportunity. Perhaps Ruling Sword wouldn''t defend properly, and suddenly, the Stronghold would be yours.


    Those who were lucky never lacked anything. People needed to dream, just in case their dreams came true.

 1398 Fighting over Land

    Very quickly, eight bidders anonymously managed to gain the right to attack.


    Glory Capital, Gangnam Royals, Seventh Heaven, Azure Guard, Majin Temple and Open Sky ¨C these were the bidders who were more well-known. The other two were not as famous.


    The highest price was 55000, from Gangnam Royals, while the lowest price was 23000 from Majin Temple. Surprisingly, the average price managed to reach 35000 gold. Lu Li only expected to have 10000 gold as the lowest price, but Majin Temple had bid 23000! Furthermore, the expected average price was also surpassed by a great amount. Lu Li thought that an average price of 15000 was already plentiful.


    The current gold to dollar exchange rate was 1:42, so10000 gold converted to 420000 dollars. Even the lowest bidder, Majin Temple, had to spend over a million just to claim the right to attack the Stronghold.


    This was simply madness in Lu Li''s eyes, especially the Gangnam Royals and their 55000-gold bid. Where did they get this confidence that they would be able to take Ruling Sword''s Stronghold? Looking at it from another perspective, perhaps this ex-top-10 guild wanted to donate money to Ruling Sword?


    If Ruling Sword could defend their Stronghold, Lu Li would be awarded with 28000 gold.


    This was one of the ways to gain income as well ¨C reinforcing the Stronghold, then attracting competing guilds to come and attack it. Of course, this was only if they could successfully defend the Stronghold each time. If they were defeated, then they would not only lose money, but all their previous investments into the Stronghold.


    After these eight organisations received the right to attack, they immediately declared a siege on the Stronghold.


    Now, they would be placed into the same Stronghold battle that Ruling Sword initially fought in. This was an elimination phase. The victors at the end of the Stronghold battle would be able to receive a portion of their bid amount from the auction. However, those who could not even defeat the monsters'' Stronghold wouldn''t receive anything.


    Therefore, it would be wise to bid with consideration of the guild''s own strength.


    These battles didn''t matter to Ruling Sword. The Stronghold battles were just like instance Dungeons. Therefore, since they weren''t doing anything in the morning until the victor was declared in the afternoon, Lu Li decided to bring his team into the Molten Core. He didn''t want to waste any time to raise his guild''s strength.


    The participants in the defense of the Stronghold who were below level 60 were brought into the Instance Dungeon to train.


    A cooldown meant that all their progress was gone and the nine Bosses were all revived. It didn''t matter which Boss they got up to last week.


    Because there were many changes to the original team, they wiped a few times at the Door Gods. Moreover, they were distracted by the upcoming battle this afternoon.


    "Wow, you guys must have a lot of DKP. If we don''t get to the Boss, then you''ll all lose your DKP."


    After Lu Li made this threat, the team''s performance was a little better.


    "Hey, Lu Li. Which one do you reckon we''ll end up facing?" Fat Monkey asked.


    Because the dungeon was fire-based, he wasn''t allowed to join last week. However, for the sake of him breaking through to level 60, Lu Li decided to bring him along. After all, he was one of the professional players in the guild, and he was also extremely important in the defense of the Stronghold later that afternoon.


    Fat Monkey was relatively close to level 60, so that was achievable within today.


    "Any of them has a chance. It''s really down to whether or not they are willing to spend money," Lu Li said after some thought, which surprised everyone. After all, none of them thought that Ruling Sword was defeatable.


    "Chariots?" Wandering instantly realised Lu Li''s meaning.


    "That''s right," Lu Li confirmed as he nodded his head.


    Everyone remembered the importance of the Chariots. Some of them had participated in the Stronghold battle before, or at least had heard about it. In hindsight, they truly wasted too much time at the walls. If only they had more chariots¡­


    "If this is the case, then wouldn''t it be troublesome to take the land at Darkshore?" Wandering asked as he frowned.


    "You can''t be thinking that we could take Darkshore with only a few chariots," Lu Li sighed and shook his head. "Before, there was no competition with the other guilds. That''s why I only took a few chariots with us. On Wednesday, when we go to Darkshore, we need to have at least a whole line of chariots."


    One chariot costed 50 gold. It wasn''t too expensive, but to make a whole line of them? The costs would be insanely high.


    If they thought one step further, then they also needed to consider replacement chariots. When the first line of chariots was destroyed, they could replace the destroyed chariots with the new ones.


    Only the wealthy could consider a strategy like this.


    Since they had already fought this Instance Dungeon last week, they quickly arrived at the Boss. Fat Monkey''s EXP was still a little lacking, so Lu Li kept him in the team. Although the team members were changed, the main core of the team was still the same as last week''s team. Having an extra Mage in Fat Monkey made it easier to dispel curses.


    They wiped two times at the first Boss, but they succeeded on the third try.


    Two level 59 players levelled up to level 60; one of them was Fat Monkey.


    This was still Nightmare difficulty, but the drop rate wasn''t the same as the First Clear. There was only one Legendary item, as well as a Tranquilising Shot skill book. The two Hunters in the team already had it, so this one was given to another Hunter in the guild.


    Ruling Sword currently seven or eight teams capable of entering the Molten Core. The more Tranquilising Shot books they had, the better.


    There were three members of Drizzle Court who were to go along to fight Ragnaros with Lu Li and the team. From the very beginning, these three members had been part of the team. However, Lu Li never planned to give these books to Water Fairy. He felt the need to remain professional when handling these matters.


    The second Boss didn''t take long until it was killed; it only took one squad wipe. The second attempt was a success.


    Lu Li was extremely pleased with the speed at which they were advancing. Knowing the strategies alone wasn''t enough to completely avoid squad wipes. Even if they were all level 60 and had exquisite items, they still would wipe multiple times in Instance Dungeons like the Molten Core.


    The second Boss only dropped one Legendary item, which was a set item for Mages.


    Lu Li made the decision of giving it to Fat Monkey. The principle of prioritising professional players was applicable anywhere and anytime. Of course, Lu Li still took his DKP away with no mercy.


    Ruling Sword''s DKP was gained through Instance Dungeon activities, or Wild Boss activities. Part of it was also given through the distribution of DKP within the guild. Although Fat Monkey was not extremely rich in terms of DKP, he could still manage, even after being deducted 150 points for the item.


    The number of Skill Points given also greatly decreased. Only one person received a Skill Point from each Boss.


    The original plan was to only fight the first two Bosses, then prepare themselves for the Stronghold battle in the afternoon. However, since this run was so successful, Lu Li decided to take down the third one as well.


    The third Boss managed to drop two Legendary items.


    One of them was a set item for Paladins, and the other was the Wristguards of Stability.


    The Wristguards of Stability were, in truth, rubbish items. They were named as one of the top three worst drops in the Molten Core. Lu Li didn''t want them and neither did Water Fairy. In the end, no one claimed them, so the only option was to hang them up in the guild vault. After all, the Wristguards were still a Legendary item, so many normal players would want them.


    After taking down the first three Bosses, the time was around noon, but Lu Li decided to end it there. The level 60 players had some free time, so it was time to prepare for the defense of the Stronghold.

 1399 Let’s Bomb Them Firs

    "The winners were the Gangnam Royals. The other seven, including Glory Capital, lost, so the Gangnam Royals have earned their right to attack. Recently, some powerful players joined the Gangnam Royals. There were also interactions between big mercenary groups. Heart of War must have gone crazy," Square Root Three messaged.


    "Well, it''s expected," Lu Li calmly responded.


    "What do we do?"


    Square Root Three was quite worried. Power and strength were not the only factors ¨C money was also a big factor.


    "We have to spend. It''s fortunate that it isn''t a race to see how fast they could clear it," Lu Li said with a chuckle. "Don''t forget that there''s a prize pool of 28000 gold. If we can successfully defend it, then we wouldn''t lose money. We may even end up having enough money to fund the Darkshore battle too."


    "That was meant to be allocated to funding and expanding the guild."


    Square Root Three felt like he was being tortured. He realised that since joining Ruling Sword, he had become much more cautious about money, despite improving his administration and organisational skills.


    Even the tiniest loss in gold gave him great pain.


    "We''ll earn it back eventually. Let''s just take down Gangnam Royals first," Lu Li laughed. "If Heart War ends up investing a huge amount into this battle and doesn''t win, then he will definitely be destroyed by those behind him. Gold is truly the most unforgiving thing in the world."


    The battle was different this time; it was a live broadcast. There were even two analysts ¨C Dark Wind and Four Seas Dragon. They were, at that time, the best and most popular analysts. In the first season of fixtures, they analysed many of the all-time classic matchups.


    There was a fee for players who wanted to watch. Although it was only one silver coin, it was still a tremendous amount after it all accumulated.


    Unfortunately, Ruling Sword wouldn''t receive any money for competing.


    "How do we go about doing this? Outpost defenses would lengthen the battle. Should we buy all the defensive Outposts?" Wandering asked Lu Li before the battle commenced.


    "No need. There are three possible routes to attack, which means that we would need to buy nine sets of them. One set has 18 Outposts, but the Gangnam Royals would easily be able to demolish a set of Outposts. We might as well use that money to buy chariots and line them up on all three walls. We''ll have everyone operating the chariots," Lu Li said. He reckoned that everyone watching the live broadcast would be disappointed at this.


    The early Stronghold battles weren''t contests of strength, but contests of who had more gold.


    "I estimate that we''ll need a lot of chariots then. It''ll cost us at least a few thousand gold. If we go along with your preparations, then it will cost even more."


    Square Root Three was in obvious pain. There were also revive points that needed to be bought. Including the one in the Stronghold, there needed to be four revive points.


    If Lu Li guessed correctly, it was extremely likely that the Gangnam Royals would attack from all three routes.


    During the game''s early stages, Lu Li quickly gained a god-level Engineering blueprint.


    "Are all our Thieves ready? Just give them a set of rubbish items. They just need to have good Armor."


    Lu Li''s trump card was of course not the large numbers of chariots, or the additional reinforcements that he had.


    It was Ivy''s Fool Bomb.


    He had used this bomb to stay at the top of the level rankings. However, because he was lacking the materials to make this item, he had to give up on using it to level up.


    The bomb dealt 2000 fire-based damage per second in a 5-metre range. This was extremely effective when used against monsters, but when used against chariots, it was even more powerful. To use to this bomb against monsters would be a waste.


    It didn''t matter if they lacked materials. Lu Li had the power to mobilise the whole guild to gather the materials needed. There were hundreds and thousands of players gathering the materials for this bomb. It was safe to assume that Lu Li had an abundant supply of these bombs.


    The battle had officially begun!


    The first ones to be mobilised were the Thieves. Including Lu Li, there were ten of them, which was already the max number of Thieves. After all, Thieves weren''t as powerful as many other classes in this game mode, such as Hunters, Mages, Paladins and Warriors with Plate armor.


    "There are 15 chariots on the top path. These people are crazy," Scarlet New Moon sighed.


    "There are also 15 chariots on the bottom path," a scout reported.


    Each of them brought two players and formed two teams. They had already reached the point that Lu Li wanted them to go towards.


    "It looks like there''s 25 chariots coming down the middle. Seems like the main attacking force is the middle path. Everyone, prepare to throw all the bombs when the time comes. Don''t aim for the people but focus on targeting the chariots only. Do you guys understand?" Lu Li brought three people with him to scout out the middle path. All of their original equipment was given to other players in the guild to take care of. They were currently equipped with cheap and ordinary items, so they wouldn''t suffer a loss if they died.


    Deaths in the Stronghold battles didn''t lead to a loss of EXP, but equipment still dropped.


    If neither items or EXP dropped upon death, then players would just die willingly, which would lead to the battle being not exciting or interesting.


    "Haha! They didn''t bother to build an Arrow Tower? Is Ruling Sword planning on giving up?" one of Gangnam Royals'' player laughed. They originally thought that Ruling Sword would fill the place up with Outposts to try and slow down the Gangnam Royals'' advancements.


    "Don''t underestimate them," Old Man Power coldly replied.


    "You''re a professional player. I don''t understand why you''re so afraid of Ruling Sword."


    The player clearly didn''t have that much respect for Old Man Power. Druids weren''t great at that time, and Old Man Power hadn''t gained much from Instance Dungeons since he remained in a guild that were extremely poor at clearing them. He was nowhere near the strength at his prime.


    "..."


    It was tiring to deal with such stupidity, so Old Man Power didn''t bother to reply.


    Perhaps he should listen to Dancing Star Dream and change guilds. The Gangnam Royals then had been completely reformed through an abundance of gold. Their strength as a guild greatly increased. From the perspective of riches and wealth alone, they even surpassed the likes of Glory Capital.


    However, it was because of this that their professional players were beginning to feel that their heroism in the guild was coming to an end.


    The gaming industry had already existed for 200 years. Many things had proven that gold and wealth were not the ultimate thing in games. The second-generation Board of Directors were completely deceived by Water Fairy''s way of doing things. They thought that just by having money, they could build a powerhouse guild like Drizzle Court and Peerless City.


    Furthermore, their victory against Glory Capital to gain the right to attack Ruling Sword''s Stronghold further inflated their ego.


    "Ready¡­wait for me to count down from three. After I finish counting down, throw the bombs towards where the chariots are crowding. I reckon that they''ll pack all the chariots together tightly."


    Lu Li glanced at Gangnam Royals'' formation and nearly let out a laugh.


    Were they trying to purposely make it easier for them to throw bombs?


    Both teams in the upper and lower paths quickly replied with a message saying that they were ready. Then, Lu Li began counting down.


    "Three! Two! One! Bombs away!"

 1400 A Joke of a Captain

    A slew of round, black objects were thrown into the group of chariots, one after another.


    The Gangnam Royals immediately noticed the people who threw these things. If they couldn''t even realise this, then they would be completely stupid.


    After the action of throwing, the thrower''s body would be revealed. Then, the realisation hit them that it was a group of Thieves that were responsible for this. It didn''t matter what they were throwing, after all, it could never be good. The commanders immediately yelled for their teammates to kill these Thieves.


    The chariots couldn''t move by themselves; there needed to be a driver.


    While it was easy to exit the chariot, it still took time, no matter how fast the driver was. This gave Lu Li and his people another opportunity to throw a second wave of bombs. When they did this, the first wave of bombs had already exploded.


    As the bombs exploded, the Gangnam Royals were sent into a scrambling panic, giving Ruling Sword another chance to throw a third bomb.


    As for the fourth one wave, the Gangnam Royals had already realised what they were throwing, so it was more difficult for them. Ruling Sword didn''t have that many bombs either, since the materials were too rare for this to be used without discretion.


    If only they had an unlimited supply of these bombs ¨C Lu Li would have been able to promise that not even one of the Gangnam Royals'' chariots could reach the Stronghold walls.


    "It''s Lu Li! Kill him!" yelled Heart of War.


    As soon as he saw Lu Li, his nemesis, his rage immediately consumed him.


    He actually didn''t have many chances to interact with Lu Li. It could even be said that they didn''t have any special hatred or bad blood between them. Lu Li had never even assassinated him. (Sorrowless: My kneecaps are a little sore)


    The main thing was that Ruling Sword''s rapid evolution and expansion hurt Heart of War. One guild was rapidly advancing, while the other was rapidly crumbling.


    Then, Gangnam Royals tried to oppress Ruling Sword, but Ruling Sword managed to swiftly rise through the ranks and take their spot.


    This Stronghold battle was the battle that Heart of War had planned to turn the tables. Heart of War spent great amounts of money to gather information about the Stronghold, so when the eight guilds were fighting against the system''s Stronghold, they were able to easily surpass Glory Capital.


    Glory Capital approached it quite ordinarily. Ten chariots was not a small number, but it couldn''t be compared to Gangnam Royals'' 55!


    "Out of the four of them, only two are left. Both ran away. Their items are all Gold grade." The messenger didn''t even dare to look at Heart of War in the eyes. Even without meeting his eyes, he knew how angry he was.


    "We have forty people fighting against four, yet two of them still managed to escape? Two Gold items¡­what? Was it planned?"


    Heart of War nearly spat out blood.


    "How about the loss of chariots?"


    Old Man Power couldn''t stand this ¨C what a joke of a captain. They had already escaped, so there wasn''t much more to say. It was obvious that this was a suicide squad. Would they wear their best items and commit suicide? The priority was to check on the chariots.


    "Hmph." Heart of War glanced at Old Man Power, then asked, "How about the loss of chariots?"


    "We didn''t lose that many. Only three of them were destroyed. The rest are still functional," the messenger reported, then continued to say, "The other two paths were also attacked. We lost two at the top path and lost one at the bottom path. We lost six chariots in total. We have forty-nine left."


    "Forty-nine, huh. Going through all of that trouble just for six chariots. Even Lu Li himself was nearly captured. What a joke of a supposedly ''top player''."


    Upon hearing this, Heart of War was no longer angry.


    Old Man Power sighed. He suddenly didn''t feel like saying anything.


    On their way to the Stronghold, the Gangnam Royals travelled with extreme caution. They were afraid that the Thieves would come again. The Thieves had managed to destroy six in one go, so it would be trouble if they kept reappearing.


    The Gangnam Royals worried too much; they managed to get to the bottom of the Stronghold walls with no more disruptions.


    Lu Li had already brought his people back to the top of the walls and changed into their normal gear. Their gear was all given to other people to take care of before they ventured out on their suicide mission.


    Before they launched their attack on the Stronghold, Heart of War decided to go forward and say some words.


    "Lu Li, I bet you didn''t expect this."


    "You''re right. I didn''t. Congratulations on gaining the right to attack," Lu Li calmly replied. His tone implied a sense of familiarity. Heart of War was keen to see Lu Li''s reaction, but he was disappointed at this.


    "Your ambush meant nothing. I still have 49 chariots. It''s definitely enough to destroy that wall of yours," Heart of War boasted.


    He had great understanding of the Stronghold. Through his connections and information that he retrieved, he knew the defensive strength of the wall, as well as the offensive strength of the chariots. 49 chariots could quickly destroy the walls. When all three walls fell, then the Stronghold would be ripe for the taking.


    They didn''t need to kill or flush out all the Ruling Sword members to take control of the Stronghold.


    After entering the Stronghold, they just needed to use the chariots to destroy the Stronghold crystal.


    The crystal didn''t have much HP or Armor (durability). It was quite similar to the strength of the walls. To destroy the wall meant an incoming invasion.


    "Move the chariots to the front."


    Lu Li didn''t want to waste more time, even though wasting time was advantageous to them, because there was a time limit of two hours for the offensive side. If they couldn''t take the Stronghold within that time, then it was a win for the defensive side.


    Looking up to the walls, there were originally only players standing there. However, at Lu Li''s command, they immediately heard a loud rumble and saw chariot after chariot moving into position. The cannons were all facing towards the bottom. It was quite a sight to behold.


    There were 15 chariots in place.


    "Only 15? I have 22 here!" Heart of War shouted as his face flushed with redness.


    The news from the other paths reached Heart of War''s ears. The other paths also had 10 chariots on each wall. Then, he realised that Ruling Sword had invested 35 chariots into this battle. This realisation surprised Heart of War. How was it possible for Lu Li, a poor man, to be willing to invest in 35 chariots?


    Lu Li bought three revive points this time; there was one on each wall. This amounted to 600 gold.


    There were 35 chariots, and each chariot cost 50 gold. This amounted to 1750 gold.


    The bombs were also quite valuable, although the costs were unknown. Adding onto the defensive potions and elixirs, Ruling Sword was willing to go to great lengths to defend this Stronghold.


    "22 Chariots, huh? I really don''t know if there''s a brain in your head today. Did Old Man Power get infected too? You think destroying a few of your chariots was my goal of throwing those bombs?" Lu Li goaded.

 1401 Shifting the Blame

    With Heart of War staring at him, Innocent Child was still unphased.


    He shrugged and said, "We have damaged chariots and some are even on critical durability.


    Heart of War moved around and grabbed the steering stick of the battle chariot.


    The chariot still had Durability?


    When they were defending against monsters at the system Stronghold, the chariots that they had completely obliterated their enemies, archer towers and walls. They still had the same number of chariots after the battle and never noticed that they could go decrease in Durability.


    "What''s the point of fighting each other?" Lu Li asked nonchalantly.


    It would be quite easy for 25 chariots to defeat 15¡­ assuming that the 25 chariots were in good condition. Since they had taken a beating from before, there were a lot of chariots that already had low Durability.


    The numbers were presented to Heart of War.


    Of the 22 chariots, seven of them were at full health, six of them had more than half, nine of them were less and half and the last three were on critical durability.


    The Durability of the chariots would replenish, but that would take more than 2 hours and they had no time to wait that long.


    "Cough cough¡­" Heart of War didn''t know what to do now.


    He claimed to be a top 10 commander in the game and would always brag about becoming the best if leading the guild didn''t work out for him. His subordinates obviously raised his ego even further by sucking up to him, saying that he was a genius held back by others.


    However, in reality, the Gangnam Royals were only able to maintain their Major Guild status with the sheer number of people, equipment and resources. In a dungeon which limited the number of people, the Gangnam Royals had always struggled to perform.


    The genius commander, Heart of War, had no idea what to do now. He looked towards Innocent Child, but he ignored his cry for help.


    If Innocent Child knew what to do, he would have gotten rid of this useless guild leader a long time ago.


    If he were to give suggestion to Heart of War and it didn''t work out for them, based on his terrible personality, he would definitely try to put the blame on Innocent Child.


    Was there anyone else that he could blame?


    Besides Innocent Child, the rest of them group were just mercenaries, recently recruited Top Players and other random members. The board of directors might not know much about the actual game, but they were definitely not stupid. They could easily tell if Heart of War is trying to shift the blame.


    "Attack, everyone just attack! Attack the three walls at once!" he roared angrily.


    When the Stronghold was first released, it was actually still quite unplayable and it wasn''t until a few patches later that it would become more balanced. Chariots were no longer simply brought from the town manager and there would also be a limit on the number of chariots allowed. Lu Li''s clever walls would also be fixed in the future.


    Lu Li''s was exploiting a bug on his Stronghold.


    It didn''t have a gate!


    If all three sides were without a gate, the Stronghold would be like a hedgehog without a weak point. The walls had to be destroyed in order to enter.


    In future patches, a Stronghold needed to have a gate, and no matter how good the quality of the gate was, it would always be easier to destroy than walls. Additionally, there would be more than three attack points. The battles would become more free and realistic, allowing players to do anything they can think of, like throwing up a hook and climbing.


    However, the Gangnam Royals had to deal with Ruling Sword right now.


    Although the trajectory of the defending and attack chariots looked the same, the effects certainly weren''t.


    Chariots with a high ground advantage clearly dealt more damage.


    Innocent Child held his staff and leaned casually against a tree, uninterested in the battle.


    If he was the one in command, instead of splitting up the chariots into three groups, he would spread them out in two lines and focus fire on one of the walls. Although the defending chariots had the power advantage, the attackers had the advantage of having more space to work with.


    Lu Li assigned 15 chariots on top of the walls, but realistically, only around 10 could fit.


    This sounded simple, but he still could not guarantee victory against Lu Li because he knew how intelligent he was. In his eyes, Lu Li was the real weapon that separated Ruling Sword from Glory Capital.


    The ending had already been decided and their fate had been sealed.


    He wondered whether he should start looking to leave Gangnam Royals.


    Lu Li split the Chariots into three groups. Their priority was to destroy the chariots with low durability then work their way up to their healthiest chariots.


    "Why, why is this happening?!" Heart of War''s chariot was destroyed and he fell hard onto the ground.


    Although he had 22 chariots to start with, when the battle had barely begun, he was already down three. He could only watch as more were destroyed.


    3:0!


    4:1!


    6:2!


    11:4!


    13:5!


    When Ruling Swords had lost five chariots, the Gangnam Royals had already sacrificed 13. Heart of War was almost in tears; they had less chariots than Ruling Swords now.


    In the end, the Gangnam Royals were completely destroyed. Ruling Swords had two chariots left on low durability, but one more that was completely untouched.


    They lost!


    The reports came in ¨C two chariots from the top lane and three from the bottom lane had survived.


    Heart of War was more frustrated at the fact that they had remaining chariots because having five low-durability chariots was completely useless.


    The lane that Heart of War was in had the biggest advantage in terms of numbers.


    However, they were completely wiped compared to the other two lanes.


    What did this say about Heart of War?


    This showed just how useless he was as a commander; there was no way he could shift the blame to anyone else.

 1402 Straight Ahead

    Heart of War wasn''t going to give up just like that; he directed the Chariots from other two routes to head over.


    "Should we intercept those Chariots?" Wandering asked. He quickly knew what Heart of War had planned since he was standing from higher ground.


    There was still some time before the Chariots would arrive in the middle lane from the top and bottom lanes. It wasn''t difficult to either perform a surprise attack on a particular route, or even just take out both the Chariots.


    "What''s the point?"


    Lu Li shook his head; he wasn''t interested.


    It wasn''t like they were being paid for this stream. Why did they need to play so tactically? All that mattered was the victory. Lu Li was certain that they wouldn''t be able to even reach their walls.


    "So, we just look and do nothing?" Wandering was speechless.


    The analysts outside were even more speechless. Based on the usual rules of the industry, the battle parties could slightly bribe them a little so that they would talk in one party''s favour.


    If the Gangnam Royals bribed the analysts, then the analysts would speak a lot highly of them. Whether they were at a disadvantage or if they lost, the two analysts could explain the situation in a nicer tone and shift the blame elsewhere.


    When Lu Li ambushed the Chariots with his bombs, the analysts mentioned that Lu Li had used them a long time ago and diverted the attention.


    The analysts could tell that Lu Li wasn''t just throwing bombs to break the Chariots; he was also doing it to bring down the durability. However, Heart of War couldn''t see through the problem despite being the commander, which was a little awkward for the analysts to explain.


    Analysts at the level of Dark Winds and Four Seas Dragon would still take bribes, but they wouldn''t make comments out of the boundaries.


    It was an unspoken rule in the industry to take bribes, but the content that they analysed and how they did it was related directly to their morals.


    With an outcome like this, the two analysts couldn''t find something that they could say without talking negatively about the Gangnam Royals. Everything they said was just jokes and tears at this point.


    Four Seas Dragon, who had always been straightforward and savage with his words said, "A useless general pulls down his army. First, the starting formation had issues. If the Chariots were scattered properly, the damage that the bombs dealt wouldn''t be as bad right now. Secondly, the formation didn''t use the area outside of the walls to their advantage and once again, the army faced an endless bombing. Finally, the commander separated the Chariots and the players. Was he going to wait until all the players died to make a move?"


    The fans of the Gangnam Royals were furious and claimed that this analyst was stating the obvious.


    For a guild to be able to survive for so many years, there had to be a good reason.


    The Gangnam Royals had their glorious days before; they had once competed against Glory Capital for the title of the top guild. Even before that, they had stood in Glory Capital''s position.


    In those years, they created so many legends and attracted countless players to have faith in them.


    Lu Li had no clue about these things. He couldn''t care less about the analyst or the audience since he was about to win anyway. If he really had to complain about something, it would be that he had overestimated the strength of the Gangnam Royals and used too many bombs on them. Lu Li''s expression darkened; he was heartbroken from using too many bombs.


    He had heard that the Gangnam Royals had requested for support from outside a week ago, but why didn''t they spend some money and request for a good commander too?


    Underestimating opponents would often lead to a defeat, but overestimating them also meant that you would lose profit.


    Once again, the Gangnam Royals gathered their remaining Chariots to the middle lane and regained a bit of their advantage. This time, Heart of War was a lot smarter. He directed people to attack the wall and the Ruling Sword players who were standing on it. At the same time, he also had his own Chariots attack the remaining two of Ruling Sword.


    Since the Ruling Sword Chariots were barely standing, it was only natural that they didn''t last long.


    In the end, the Gangnam Royals had three Chariots remaining while Ruling Sword had none. Heart of War''s expression finally brightened up.


    Three Chariots wasn''t a lot, but Ruling Sword didn''t have the system archers and the range of player skills wasn''t as far as Chariots. It seemed as if the war had shifted to one side, where the Gangnam Royals could attack but Ruling Sword had no way of retaliating.


    Seeing the proud expression on Heart of War''s face, the two analysts really wanted to remind him that trouble was quickly approaching.


    From the perspective of the audience, there was a section of the wall near the middle lane that couldn''t be attacked. A giant stone rolled slowly from the section and revealed a hole that was only just big enough for one player to pass through.


    Then, one by one, Ruling Sword players started to flood out from it.


    There was a total around seventy!


    Then, Lu Li brought his men and headed straight ahead on the middle lane. It seemed like he no longer wanted to sit back on the walls anymore.


    He was very confident in the players that he had left behind to defend. Although there were only five players that he had left behind, this group included Sesame Rice Ball, who already opened up a gate and could transport people back instantly anytime. There were also five Dryad sisters that were assisting them. They could summon Keepers of the Grove at anytime as well, but these support troops that Lu Li had borrowed from Remulos didn''t even have an opportunity to appear.


    With 75 players, he still rushed straight ahead to fight the 80 players before them.


    Not only did they need to take out the remaining Chariots, but they were also in high spirits because of how badly the Gangnam Royals had played. The Gangnam Royals were also led by Heart of War, who seemed more like a double agent over a proper commander. They really had nothing to worry about.


    The mercenaries were truly strong. There were so many players in this game, so it was only natural for some powerful players to be hidden in the crowd.


    Usually these kinds of players were unwilling to be tied down by anything and all they cared about was money. They just did what they were hired to do, and even if the mission failed, it wasn''t their responsibility. As such, they began to play in a slack way.


    "See that," Lu Li said as he pointed at the Gangnam Royal players that were beating up the wall very slowly with their three Chariots. "Look at all the money that we''ve lost¡­"


    "That''s not a lot of money. We''re earning more ¨C around 20 thousand more¡­" Azure Sea Breeze trailed off, lost by Lu Li''s delusion.


    "You shut up. Isn''t it better to earn profit without making any losses at all? You''ve got no clue how expensive resources are since you''re not managing the guild. Isn''t it better to earn more?" Lu Li shot back feistily.


    "You''re right, you''re totally right."


    Azure Sea Breeze kept nodding his head. On the inside, he couldn''t help but laugh at how cheap Lu Li was.


    "Hmph, let''s start over again. So, we''ve lost so much profit, and now''s the chance for us to make it back. Do you all see that. What those people are wearing is loot for us. Take them down and take their gear. Once you pick it up, it''s yours to take. No need to give it back to the guild. Let''s all share this profit together..."


    "What? I''m in!" Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed as he waved his shield and charged in headfirst.


    The others shouted and followed behind, instantly charging into the formation of the Gangnam Royals. Skills rained down around the area like fireworks.


    Although they fooled around at times, they never fooled around when things became serious. The first thing that everyone focused on were the three battle Chariots, even though it would probably take at least half an hour for these damaged Chariots to take down their walls.

 1403 Mercenaries

    Heart of War was at a loss, so he remained silent for the first few seconds.


    The three Chariots broke down almost in an instant.


    The sound of the Chariots slowly hitting the walls vanished into silence, and was instead replaced by the vicious cry of Ruling Sword players.


    The two parties clashed. As soon as the Chariots were dealt with, Lu Li immediately turned his attention to the Magic classes and healers. He stared at a Druid who looked a whole lot like the legendary Old Man Power.


    Old Man Power: ...


    "Focus on this one," Lu Li said.


    He was guaranteed to win one on one against a Druid, but since this Druid was also a competitor, it would take him a lot of time. As such, Lu Li shamelessly called for help.


    The boss called, and there was no reason to disobey. Besides those who were preoccupied, 20-30 players changed their targets almost in an instant.


    "Shameless!" Old Man Power roared as he died almost instantaneously.


    It was no fault of Old Mand Power''s; anyone else would fare the same in this situation. Lu Li''s next target was Heart of War.


    "Save me!"


    Lu Li was unsure as to what Heart of War was thinking at that very moment; nothing could save him. Later down the track, he did in fact regret crying for help.


    With the commander slain, the remaining crowd became nothing but scattered sand.


    The Gangnam Royals were not weak. They were definitely good at PVP, but a single unit''s power was quite limited in this kind of battle. No matter how skilled you might be, if you were focused down, you would disappear in an instant.


    They were killed one by one and their pieces of equipment were dropped on the floor as well.


    "Don''t pick up the equipment yet. Take out these players first."


    Based on Lu Li''s previous plan, they were to try and kill as many as possible without chasing, all the while picking as much loot up as they possibly could.


    This was so that they could kill people without breaking their formation. If their formation was to break apart, they might get taken down individually. The revival point of the Gangnam Royals wasn''t too far away. It was visible within sight and if they didn''t sort this out quickly, the situation would easily escalate into a real battle.


    Lu Li wasn''t interested in battling things out with the Gangnam Royals; he was here for a slaughter.


    Although there was a slight numbers difference between the two parties, Ruling Sword had the advantage since they were more synchronized. They also had the better commander, who was adept at directing a war on a smaller scale.


    Heart of War was at a loss for words. A good portion of the players that he brought with him were mercenaries. These mercenaries only cared about profit and if they couldn''t complete the quest, it meant that they wouldn''t be able to obtain their entire reward. It wasn''t realistic anymore to ask them to put their lives on the line.


    They gathered together at the revival point and after Heart of War confirmed that Lu Li hadn''t brought his men here, he let out a sigh of relief.


    "What next?"


    Watch from Last Year was the boss of these mercenaries. He took up the request of the Gangnam Royals and gathered this group of mercenaries himself.


    Who would have thought that Ruling Sword, a guild that usually played cunningly, would purchase about thirty Chariots at once? They also used weapons that dealt damage on a large scale.


    "Can''t give up, we can''t give up¡­We''re fighting them head-on¡­"


    Heart of War had slowly started to realize the situation. He subconsciously refused to admit his defeat this time. He had promised the bosses before during the meeting that he would bring the victory home. He even threw in some investments himself. If he just gave up like this, he might not ever be in charge of the Gangnam Royals again.


    The Gangnam Royals belonged to him; he always dreamed of having the guild to himself.


    "Oh, if there''s a loss, who do we blame it on?" Watch from Last Year nearly laughed out loud.


    "What do you mean? We hired you guys. Are you afraid of dying?"


    Heart of War''s face darkened as a threatening tone began to creep up in his words.


    "Hearty, this isn''t the first time we''ve made a deal with each other. When have I ever been scared of dying? But the situation right now is different. Your enemies are too shameless; we''ve got no chance anymore," Watch from Last Year said, then lowered his voice and continued, "It''s not right to send these brothers out to die for nothing, right?"


    Heart of War was the representative of the Gangnam Royals, and no matter how low the guild might have fallen, they were still a major guild with a high ranking. The Gangnam Royals weren''t an organization that these mercenaries wanted to cross.


    "There''s still another hour to go; why should we give up? Talk about professional morals ¨C you guys live off your reputation as well. How are you supposed to keep getting business if you ruin your reputation?" Heart of War asked coldly.


    "Alright, we''ll charge once for you. If we can''t take down the main forces of Ruling Sword outside the wall, then don''t bother talking about anything else, no matter how much you may want to win. At most, we''ll just not take any rewards from this mission. You should ask yourself, who is truly responsible for this defeat? Brothers, let''s go."


    Watch from Last Year waved his hand and a group of players left Heart of War''s army formation.


    They fought again with the main forces of Ruling Sword outside the walls.


    Although Lu Li looked down on Heart of War, he wasn''t irrational enough to go and surround their revival point. There was no need for that. If they fought under the wall, they would be able to get reinforcements from above anytime.


    Compared to the sneaky ambush at the start, the second encounter was more proper.


    "Paladins, Mages, get ready. Berserkers, go take out the magic classes and healers, look after yourselves. Thieves, come with me to take out their important targets. The two players that are picking up loot, make sure you do your job. What we gain today will be up to you guys," Lu Li said in a light tone.


    They had already picked up a dozen equipment from the previous wave, and a certain portion of the loot was Legendary.


    This was even better than fighting a Boss. Of course, they lost some equipment themselves too. It was almost impossible to win without any loss.


    Plated Paladins were a barrier for the team. They would use Consecration with Flare from hunters to minimize the available free space for Thieves to wander around. Mages could also flash over to cast Frost Nova, effectively reducing the activity of close combat classes from the opponent. As for the Berserkers, they weren''t that great at defending, but all they really had to do was to charge into a group of magic classes and use Whirlwind. It would be a lovely harvest session for them.


    Lu Li quickly discovered that the battle style in their second encounter had changed.


    So far, the Gangnam Royals had displayed three different battle styles. The first was Heart of War and his poor directions. Then, it was the scattered formation, still directed by Heart of War. The last was this mercenary playstyle.


    They usually came in groups of three and once they set eyes on a target, they would focus their target down. Upon a success, they would turn to their next target.


    On the other hand, Lu Li''s side focused their battle around him. Both playstyles had their ups and downs, and the losses for both parties continued to rise.


    But overall, it was Ruling Sword who had the upper hand.


    The mercenaries'' playstyle would give them the definite advantage if they were fighting against someone weaker than they were. It was a bit like a pack of wolves fighting against a pack of sheep. However, they would occasionally run into a group of players that were equal to them, or possibly stronger than them.


    Lu Li moved around the battlefield like a ghost, constantly finding his opportunities. Sometimes, he would also save his team members that were in trouble.


    "Kill Lu Li!" Heart of War shouted.


    His status was a little ridiculous right now. He had three players constantly around him, since he was worried that Lu Li would come and take him out.


    But really, he was valuing himself too much. The mercenaries were not battling in their own style and Heart of War was nothing more than a display. Lu Li had zero interest in killing someone as useless as him.


    It was still the same saying ¨C a useless leader could only lead his team to defeat.


    Watch from Last Year nearly swore out loud. He wanted to shout back, "Look around! What part of Lu Li looks like an easy target? Did you really think that all of us were weak like you and had no power to retaliate at all?"


    The second encounter was a little more difficult than the first. But once again, Ruling Sword, led by Lu Li, still won the battle.


    After leaving behind another dozen equips, the players from the Gangnam Royals retreated.


    "Don''t chase. That''ll be about it for today."


    Lu Li was still quite familiar with mercenaries. Their equipment was decent, and some of them even had better equipment that competitors. However, it was hard for them to obtain equipment in the first place, and without a major guild to back them up, they wouldn''t fight at all.


    As Lu Li had expected, no one else came back to try and take down the Stronghold.


    The scout went out and quickly returned with news that the Gangnam Royals had already retreated from the map. After two hours was up, the system announced that Ruling Sword had successfully defended their Stronghold in Grey Valley.

 1404 Auction

    No one could attack Ruling Sword''s Stronghold again within a week.


    They had gained a relatively stable period of development. After Gangnam Royal''s complete defeat, everyone else who wanted to challenge them had to count the cost. There was a full-scale live broadcast which demonstrated how fiercely Ruling Sword defended their Stronghold.


    In the early days of the Stronghold System, all you had to was rain down attacks. Defending a Stronghold was not that difficult.


    After a while, the System stop producing as many Strongholds and revised the System. At that time, the fight between the Strongholds would intensify.


    "Open the door and start building the territory," Lu Li said, giving orders for the next step.


    Wandering had taken some people to fight the Instance Dungeon. They were even able to defeat the Bosses without Lu Li. After all, they were mostly already at level 60.


    Ruling Sword players were generally higher-levelled than the other clubs, so Lu Li wasn''t worried about the others achieving the First Clear.


    What he wanted to do now was to go to the party to sell some shops slots.


    The most profitable part of Stronghold wasn''t in the money they earned from defending it. It was mainly from the commercial activities that took place within it. If Lu Li had enough money, he might have kept all the shops to himself, but this wasn''t going to happen because he desperately needed money. Moreover, it wasn''t good to just have single owner; a truly prosperous Stronghold was inclusive.


    The preparations for the party started a few days ago, and the invitations had been sent for


    some time now. Square Root Three had been busy with this for a few days.


    When Lu Li arrived, the party had already begun.


    The venue was simply the commercial plaza. Presently, there was just an outline and a fountain in the centre. This had been purchased directly from the System for a large sum of gold coins. Facing the square was a huge building. Actually, it was a bit of an exaggeration to say it was huge. After all, only the foundations of the building had been completed.


    However, it could be said that it looked like it was going to be a huge building from its foundations.


    The name of the party was the official establishment of the Stronghold. The professional circle, managers of the major guilds, club members and some people in the investment community were invited.


    "Everyone who knows me knows that I am Square Root Three, not Square Root Four. There is nothing much more to say another than this will become a whole commercial street. Until the end of the next Spring Festival, shops here can operate completely tax free. Even after the Spring Festival, our tax rate will only be a third of the System city¡­"


    When Lu Li arrived, Square Root Three was speaking on stage.


    This open-air venue had many stone tables and stools laid out. There was wine and cooked food from all over the game. Dancers from the System Taverns were dancing between the tables while bards played and sung. It was truly a magical scene.


    "Hey, I was wondering why the main boss hadn''t arrived yet. Turns out he was late. Come and take a seat," Unforgettable Maple, the Party Leader of the Majin Temple, said, upon notcing Lu Li''s entrance.


    "How are you, Sister Feng?" Lu Li asked as he walked over and shook hands with him.


    "Unfortunately, PVP isn''t available here. Otherwise, you would be able to experience my new weapon."


    Unforgettable Maple hated that name, but there was nothing he could do about it. Ruling Sword''s Grey Valley Stronghold was set as an absolutely peaceful area. Even if two people wielded knives, there would be no HP loss.


    "So, are you interested in the shops?" Lu Li asked as he sat down.


    It didn''t matter when he came over today and where he sat. Majin Temple and Ruling Sword didn''t have much conflict of interest, so he could talk about anything.


    "I''m looking at that one, but are you selling it?" Unforgettable Maple questioned, referring to the largest one next to the square.


    "Nope," Lu Li said with a laugh.


    "I have great ambitions. I want to make it an auction house."


    Unforgettable Maple found it difficult to conceal his envy. One of the most promising projects to undertake in games was an auction house.


    Although the System also had an Exchange Hall, the higher handling fees meant that good items wouldn''t enter it. Bad items wouldn''t go through it either, as most people would rather set up a shop than use the Exchange Hall. Once you put something into the Exchange Hall, you had no idea what would happen to the item.


    "This auction house will only receive Exquisite Dark Gold, Epic, Legendary or Rare Materials of equal value," Lu Li said.


    "Ambitious, but the other guilds will start doing that too. Sooner or later, how will you compete?"


    Unforgettable Maple squinted at Lu Li. He understood and was taunting Lu Li about the fact that Ruling Sword was poor.


    "It doesn''t matter. If I am early, I will open the first auction house," Lu Li said as he took a sip of the wine, which tasted quite mellow.


    "How are you going to start? How do you have so many items?"


    Unforgettable Maple was surprised. He thought that Ruling Sword wanted to sell some shops today to attract more people.


    "Thanks to Gangnam Royals. They¡­ are all very strong," Lu Li said sincerely.


    If it was Glory Capital attacking them, Lu Li would still be confident about defending the Stronghold, but he would not have the courage to get people out of the Stronghold to fight them on the ground. If they lost, they would lose the entire Stronghold.


    "Dammit, Heart of War! That idiot!" Unforgettable Maple shouted as he slammed the table, then leaned over and whispered, "What did you get? How many pieces of Epic items did they lose?"


    "40-50 items," Lu Li answered calmly.


    "Liar. This isn''t my first game. Even if it was half that number I wouldn''t be convinced." Unforgettable Maple shook his head and did not believe that they had dropped 40-50 Epic items. If Gangnam Royals could drop 40-50 Epics in two hours, they would have had so many Epic items that they would be far stronger.


    "I guess Sister Feng is not as brainless as everyone says," Lu Li joked as he gestured with a glass of wine before standing up and leaving.


    He didn''t actually lie when he said 40-50 Epic items. However, he didn''t say they had come from the Gangnam Royals. Many of them had come from Shen Wansan, and many were low level Epic items that people had replaced.


    No one knew that the next System update would introduce a Special Effect Reduction System. As long as a level 55 Epic item had good properties, it wouldn''t sell for much lower than level 60 Epics. Moreover, because people were generally lower than level 60, the demand for level 55 Epics could be greater than level 60 Epics.


    The so-called Special Effect Reduction meant that a level 60 player wearing a level 55 item would weaken its attributes and special effects to an extent.


    Therefore, Lu Li intended to take advantage of this opportunity to sell as many level 55 Epic equipment as possible without affecting their Instance Dungeon clearing strategy. The money generated could then be invested in the Stronghold.


    But now, Lu Li was going to find Water Fairy, just in case she decided to make a purchase.

 1405 A Gold Coin

    There was a scene that was probably the most stunning of the party. Water Fairy, Wendelian, Immortal, Angel, JiuFeng, Not an Elementary Student, Dancing Flower Beauty, Northern Tang Dream, Mini Meow¡­ the room was filled with beautiful women.


    Even Lu Li, as the face of Ruling Sword, couldn''t have successfully invited all of these beautiful women. Water Fairy had helped him send out the invitations.


    Although each one would fight in the game, after leaving the arena, the friendship between these girls was actually quite strong. As for the Beauty rankings, this just wasn''t something that the girls cared about.


    "Lu Li is coming," Not an Elementary Student said as she raised her chin.


    Water Fairy had her back turned to Lu Li. When it was mentioned that Lu Li was coming, everyone seemed to turn to look at her for some reason.


    "Excuse me, I need to talk to Water Fairy for a moment."


    Lu Li felt nervous. It was difficult for an ordinary person like him to approach so many beautiful women in one place. He struggled to even say that he needed to speak to Water Fairy, but still managed to looked somewhat calm.


    "Let''s talk over there."


    Water Fairy also felt rather awkward as she was being stared at by all her friends.


    All he had to do was send a message; why did he have walk over?


    There was a small stone table, which had just been left by the previous guests. Lu Li and Water Fairy were sitting opposite each other. Their lips were moving but there wasn''t any sound coming out of them for anyone trying to listen as they were speaking into a private chat.


    "I wanted to thank you for helping me with the invitations," Lu Li said.


    If you invited all these people in the name of Ruling Sword, some of them might not have turned up. Even if they did decide to come, they might have just sent some insignificant representatives. With Water Fairy, it wasn''t the same. They had to respect Water Fairy, especially the many other beautiful women that were invited.


    Beauty was sometimes more important than equipment and achievements when it came to winning someone over.


    "You''re welcome, and thank you for the store," Water Fairy said sincerely.


    In fact, this kind of personal relationship could occur between all people, but for it to work, there couldn''t be too large of a gap between them.


    If Lu Li was still the same Lu Li who was struggling to make a living, what would he have in common with Water Fairy?


    When he asked Water Fairy to borrow a sum of money for the construction of the Stronghold Wall, Lu Li quickly paid her back by giving her a few stores that were worth the same amount. Both sides made a deal and felt like they had gained something.


    Lu Li took a moment to think but couldn''t find a good excuse. The person in front of him was Water Fairy ¨C not some child who could be easily fooled.


    "I also wanted to tell you to not bid any items lower than level 60 at the auction."


    "I don''t understand what you mean."


    Water Fairy naturally didn''t understand.


    In addition to her plans to purchase two more shops, the most important thing for her was to acquire a batch of equipment so she could send more teams to farm the Molten Core Instance Dungeon. This kind of behaviour wasn''t unique to the local tycoons. As long as a group had the money, they could achieve it. This kind of investment would inevitably generate a return, which could then be translated into even better returns.


    A majority of the player-base had not yet reached level 60, so most people wanted to buy level 55 equipment.


    "If you believe in me, then don''t buy them. Otherwise, you might lose some value. If you have a level 50 Epic or even a level 55 Epic, it is better to sell them now because the price is high. You can contact Three Bro. When we are sold out, we will sell your items."


    Many clubs stocked low-level exquisite equipment, which was mainly used to quickly upgrade players who entered later into the game.


    "Of course I believe you," Water Fairy assured, then asked in curiosity, "But why? Have you received some news in advance? Will the lower level equipment be weakened?"


    She was quite a smart woman who could immediately hazard a guess as to why low-grade equipment might lose some value.


    "Something like that. High-level players who wear low-level equipment will have their effects weakened. When that happens, the low-level exquisite equipment will lose its value," Lu Li said, recovering from the surprised, then continued to explain, "We can sell the equipment now for a high price. After a while, when the price drops, we can buy them back."


    "You really have a business-geared mind," Water Fairy commented.


    "In fact, you don''t need to buy too many shops," Lu Li added. He didn''t know how much money Water Fairy had, but she seemed to be willing to spend a lot. Currently, the Grey Valley Stronghold was just a minor Stronghold, so if you invested too much here, there was no way to know if you could recover the cost.


    "I didn''t think that you would advise me to buy fewer shops," Water Fairy said. "I have great confidence in Ruling Sword."


    "You don''t have to have confidence in Ruling Sword. Just have confidence in me," Lu Li joked, to which Water Fairy laughed. Given that they were laughing, it seemed that they were no longer talking about anything important.


    At this time, Square Root 3 was already on stage and had commenced the auctioning.


    "Mage T0.5 set ¨C body, pants, belt, Bracers all at level 55. This should be appropriate for most mainstream Mages, and it will make them incredibly powerful. Starting at a gold coin!"


    T0.5 sets were basically equivalent to Dark Gold. In fact, they weren''t even worth mentioning to all the people present, but starting at a gold coin was a gimmick of its own.


    "1 gold coin! No one take it from me. Everyone can all pretend to be mute," Unforgettable Maple said with a toothy smile.


    To Square Root 3''s amazement, Unforgettable Maple seemed to be quite popular. After he = said that, no one else made another bid. This was a set of four Dark Gold items for a Mage. Surely it wouldn''t sell for a single gold coin.


    "1500 gold," a cold voice sounded.


    "Surely that is too much, Water Sis. That is very suspicious; it seems like you are working with the house," Unforgettable Maple howled.


    "Hehe, I assure you that no one in Ruling Sword has induced her to bid. Water Fairy is representing all of Drizzle Court''s bidding ability. Maple sister, would you like to continue?" Square Root 3 asked as he glanced at Water Fairy who was sitting with Lu Li. =


    "2000 gold. Water Sis, if you bid against me again, I will leak a video of you on a certain website," Unforgettable Maple said wickedly.


    Water Fairy snorted before staring at him without saying anything.


    Even if she bid a little higher, Unforgettable Maple would continue. They had many Mages in their guild, so they couldn''t have too many Dark Gold Mage sets.


    There was no one else bidding against him, so he took the four Dark Gold set items for 2000 gold coins.


    This price was much lower than market value. If it was purchased in the market normally, the four pieces of equipment could reach up to 2,400 gold coins, which was equivalent to 70,000 dollars. Unforgettable Maple had completed quite a profitable transaction.

 1406 A Store

    Lu Li wasn''t worried about losing money at today''s auction.


    On the one hand, the auction was just a gimmick in order to promote the upcoming Ruling Sword auction house. It wasn''t that important to make money, as long as he didn''t lose too much.


    On the other hand, this was just the beginning. Everyone might decide to be polite and bid less, but this behaviour wouldn''t last for long. There were many wolves here and few pieces of meat. When the Epic items started coming out, the fighting would definitely be fierce.


    "The second item is an Epic belt. Please get ready to bid. You probably won''t be able to find a better belt for a Paladin than this one," Square Root 3 announced, then gritted his teeth before saying, "Starting at one gold coin."


    "One thousand gold!"


    The bid was made by ''Tears in the Wind'', who was a Paladin. He was locked onto this item the moment he saw it because of its exquisite attributes and effects.


    "1200 gold," Northern Tang Dream bid as she raised her glass to pay tribute to Lu Li. This woman who was on the Beauty Rankings had once met Lu Li shortly after entering the game, and had taken the First Clear of the Spider''s Lair with him. After that, they hadn''t stayed in contact. There was also the time when Water Fairy invited her to represent Grand Hegemony at the auction, and her bid seemed to be a show of goodwill to Lu Li.


    "You know Northern Tang Dream?" Water Fairy asked when she saw this unfold.


    "Yep, we''ve done an Instance Dungeon together," Lu Li revealed. The World Announcement had broadcasted it before, but he continued, "Then we parted ways. Grand Hegemony is just not for me."


    "Many people have joined Grand Hegemony for Northern Tang Dream. She isn''t such a simple character," Water Fairy said.


    Lu Li cleverly decided to keep his mouth shut. His instincts had always been excellent and had saved his life on many occasions.


    "1500 gold."


    Tears in the Wind added 300 gold at a time to demonstrate his strength. This price had probably exceeded the market price for a level 50 Epic item. Even if attributes were the best, an item like this was probably capped at 50,000 dollars.


    No one else wanted to increase the price any further, so the item now belonged to Tears in the Wind.


    In fact, once the System was revised and the level effects were applied, if he could sell this 1500 gold item for 1000 gold, it would already be quite a good deal. As for every player that was higher than level 55, there was no way they would spend this kind of money for that item.


    After two items had been sold, the atmosphere became more enthusiastic.


    The main items being auctioned were still Dark Gold equips interspersed with Epic equipment. Whenever an Epic item appeared, it would attract everyone to bid and very few were sold below market price. There was basically no Epic equipment in the market anyway, so this was one of the few places you could buy them.


    It was just the auction event that was being held today, but just because you had money didn''t mean you would be invited.


    "Pay attention to the next item. This is a level 55 Epic Warrior set piece, which is almost equivalent to an ordinary Legendary equip,'' Square Root 3 said, trying to rile up the already exhausted participants.


    "Two thousand gold!"


    Before waiting for a lower price, a bid of 2000 gold was placed. This kind of offer had obviously been made to shock the latecomers, but the 2000 gold mark would soon be surpassed to reach 3000 gold.


    A level 55 Epic set item was the kind that felt like a finale.


    Most of the players were currently progressing through the Blackrock Tower Instance Dungeon and even the Blackrock Abyss. Clubs were aiming for the Molten Core, but no matter what Instance Dungeon it was, the level 55 Epic set piece would be a top-level equipment. What''s more, it had Fire Resistance properties.


    Ruling Sword was an idiot to sell this item!


    This was the opinion of everyone involved at the auction.


    "3500 gold!" Innocent Child sneered from the corner of his mouth. This item had been lost by the Gangnam Royals, so now he was responsible for getting it back.


    In fact, he had already seen several familiar pieces of equipment.


    It could be said that almost 1/5 of the Epic equipment that had appeared in this Auction had come from the Gangnam Royals. They had undoubtedly contributed to the success of the Ruling Sword auction.


    Innocent Child didn''t want to participate in this auction. This kind of thing was usually taken care of by Heart of War or Dancing Star Dream. However, Dancing Star Dream had decided to leave the club, so he couldn''t represent them. As for Heart of War¡­


    Innocent Child felt like gloating when he thought of the club and guild''s leader.


    Heart of War was still facing the questioning of the board of directors. He could only hope that his skills could continue to play a role, otherwise, he would soon be announcing his resignation.


    "3800!"


    "4000!"


    Innocent Child lazily increased it again. He wasn''t spending his own money anyway, so he didn''t feel bad.


    Compared to the money invested to fight the Stronghold, 4000 gold was nothing at all. Fighting the System monsters that were defending the Stronghold, fighting Ruling Sword''s defense of the Stronghold and dispatching more than 100 chariots already cost 5000 gold. The other costs like potions were no less than that. In addition, they had also spent a lot of money hiring mercenaries.


    Since they had reached 4000 gold, the others naturally stopped raising the price.


    One million dollars was being spent to buy a piece of equipment. Anyone who competed with that had to be an idiot. The only people who would do that were probably the spoilt children of rich families.


    Equipment auctions proceeded quite quickly. More than 100 items had been sold for about 5 million dollars. Gangnam Royals, represented by Innocent Child, had contributed 2 of that 5 million.


    Water Fairy heeded Lu Li''s advice and didn''t place a bid from start to finish. She had called out a price a few times, but it wasn''t so much a bid than a raising of the price.


    No one realized that Ruling Sword had acquired more than 100 pieces of equipment including 40 to 50 Epic items. One of those Epic items was even a level 60 item, but the rest were all level 55 or 50. Even if someone drew the connection after the System update, they wouldn''t think that Lu Li was a prophet, but rather had just been lucky.


    The next thing was the shops.


    There were about 60 shops along the street.


    Ruling Sword retained some of them. There was one kept for the auction house, some handed over to the logistics department, some used to pay off Water Fairy''s debt and the rest were released for the public auction.


    From a long-term perspective, a Stronghold could only develop if many people came to inhabit it. If you wanted more people to come, then you had to make sure business flourished.


    If the Stronghold only had Ruling Sword stores, then it would only be filled with Ruling Sword players.


    The small shops were very cheap. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that they were almost giving them away. At least, it was much cheaper than buying one from the main city of the System. It was even cheaper than renting a room in the bustling main area of the city.

 1407 Unable to Make Ends Mee

    Countless guilds had dreamed of getting their own Stronghold, but even purchasing a Shop cost a large sum of money.


    Unfortunately, the basic Strongholds only had one commercial street, which meant that the number of shops that could be opened was extremely limited. There was a limit of 60 shops and only 20 of them were worth a significant amount of money. A few of them had already been removed and given to Water Fairy.


    The cheaper shops that were sold at the beginning for two million dollars or less were for smaller guilds and Mercenary Groups.


    Only the last 15 shops interested the major guilds.


    After all, this was the first Stronghold of the game. As long as Ruling Sword didn''t do anything dumb, this place would undoubtedly be popular. No one was worried about its popularity.


    "The appetizers are now gone, and now we have the main course. Please look at this blueprint. I don''t have to say much, but I''m sure you can appreciate its value. Our suggestion would be to build large bar and club. Experts in game magazines have said that the entertainment industry has formed the backbone of the gaming industry''s lifetime."


    "Three bro, that sounds a bit risky. Aren''t you afraid of being investigated?" Wings of Dawn''s Elevenless asked with a smile.


    "Elevenless¡­ you''re getting old. Maybe it''s time for you to find a girlfriend and stay at home at night," Square Root 3 retorted as he smiled back.


    "Alright Three Bro, you speak like you have a girlfriend," Elevenless said, then quickly changed the topic, "Surely you should follow the blueprint. I think you guys are a bit too eager. You haven''t even constructed the buildings yet, but you''re already auctioning the stores. If it turns out differently from the blueprint, who will we turn to?"


    "This is pretty obvious. They obviously don''t have the money to do it. Why do you think they are trying to sell things to us?" Wendelian asked faintly.


    "Haha, Wendelian sis, what a nice joke. Well now, no more nonsense. Let''s move onto the auction. 5000 gold coins to start," Square Root 3 announced, then smiled a little before adding, "As for the construction, we guarantee that the building will be exactly the same as the blueprints. Not a single tile will be out of place."


    "5500. I''ll humour you," Elevenless offered as he raised his hand.


    "6000. We don''t want it if it''s any higher. After all, there are fewer Horde players in Grey Valley anyway."


    Wendelian really didn''t mind. Although Ruling Sword''s Stronghold didn''t prevent Horde players from entering as it was still a safe zone for them, Horde players obviously weren''t going to flood into a Stronghold built by Alliance players


    "6800!"


    There was no way a shop like this would be purchased for 6800 gold. Soon, the price surged and eventually stabilized at 8000 gold.


    The final transaction price was 8800 gold, and it was purchased by Wings of Dawn. Elevenless was here as a representative. The remaining 14 stores were sold in a similar way with an average price of 9000 gold. If you added up all the equipment and stores sold, Ruling Sword had made a total sum of 11 million dollars.


    Of course, in accordance with the requirements set in advance, you had pay a certain percentage of the gold coins.


    In fact, Lu Li was very clear. If they could wait until the Stronghold had withstood several sieges, then the popularity of these stores would be significantly higher and would auction for much higher prices.


    In one to two years, a high-profile Stronghold store could be sold for millions of dollars.


    The gaming industry was booming, and people''s ideas were gradually changing. At the beginning, no one could even begin to imagine a virtual gaming industry, but now, things were different. Renting a store in the game and in reality was not that different. They had similar benefits.


    The only real difference that could be said about a virtual store was that it was based on the game. After all, the vitality of a game was full of uncertainty and it could suddenly close one day.


    However, there were insurance companies that had come forward to solve these kinds of issues. If you got your store insured and the game went bankrupt, or some factors led to the loss of the store, you could receive some monetary compensation.


    According to real-time statistics, the demographics that purchased the 45 stores were mainly the major clubs, medium to large sized guilds, and several powerful Mercenary Groups or Mercenary Group Alliances.


    These people who had purchased the stores were necessary for Ruling Sword. It was so they could attract players to the Stronghold for shopping and living.


    "Build the commercial street as soon as possible, and make sure that there are some flying zones for the Horde players. It''s too bad that we can''t use the teleports, otherwise, the Stronghold could be instantly filled."


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 were working out what to do next after counting the money.


    There were fewer and fewer Teleportation Channels. They were being replaced by flying mounts, airships, ships and other means of transportation.


    "The flying zones just seem like a money sink," Square Root 3 sneered. "In fact, I''m sure its main purpose is for us to spend money. The game company is way too stingy, making us professional players spend all this money."


    "How about all the money that professional players make?" Lu Li said as he shook his head with disapproval. "The money we made is meant to be spent. Don''t worry about the next attack or defence. Just throw all the money we have earned into it."


    "Hey, why are you even more confident than I am?" Square Root 3 was speechless.


    They hadn''t even earned that much. If they lost the Stronghold next week, wouldn''t they have lost everything?


    "Because of this," Lu Li answered as he reached into his bag and pulled out an emerald seed glowing fluorescently. It instantly illuminated the area.


    "Wow, what is that? It looks really cool!"


    Square Root 3 was surprised. He was usually quite well-informed, but he had never seen anything like this before. Even a child could recognise that there was something special about the glow of this item.


    "An Ancient of Lore''s Seed¡­"


    When Lu Li completed a quest to save an NPC girl, he met the Ancient of Lore Bathran.


    The tree had a long life, but most of the time it was spent in Deep Sleep. Bathran was cut down while he was asleep and replanted into the ground. This was where Bathran''s Hair, which grew in the Bathran Haunted House, came from.


    "At Bathran''s request, Lu Li burned his body with a special fire. In return, Bathran gave this seed to Lu Li."


    "What does it do?" Square Root 3 asked excitedly.


    "You don''t even know what it does. Why are you so excited?" Lu Li snapped at him.


    "Well, it already sounds like it''s going to be powerful. Tell me, why are you so confident in this seed?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "I can only tell you part of it. The most important thing is that our strength continuously grows. This item can only help us, but it is not a silver bullet. An Ancient of Lore can summon Treants. The higher-levelled we are, the stronger and greater the number of Treants. If one day this tree reaches full maturation, it might even defeat an entire siege on its own," Lu Li explained.


    "So how do we plant it?" Square Root 3 asked impatiently. He couldn''t wait to see Lu Li plant it.


    "You have to grow your seedling by feeding it with other seeds," Lu Li said.


    "Sounds kinda evil. Aren''t all trees peace-loving?" Square Root 3 asked.


    "We eat meat all the time; I don''t see how it''s that different. In short, I have already fed it with various seeds, so that step is already completed."


    Since he had received this item, Lu Li had been collecting seeds from the Exchange Hall. He had even used his position as a Thief Trainer to issue some Thieves to collect seeds for him.


    "Let''s go plant it then," Square Root 3 urged.


    "I still need to find a Moon Well. It has to be planted in a Moon Well, which acts as a nest for it," Lu Li said. He still remembered when Bathran taught him how to plant the seed.


    "Oh¡­ surely, we don''t need more money?" Square Root 3 was about to cry.


    They had earned more than 10 million in the auction. This seemed to be a good sum of money, and he had thought that they could live easily for a while. He didn''t expect it to be so quickly used. They didn''t even have enough to make ends meet.


    "Yep, we need to go to Darnassus to buy it. This is an investment that we have to make, so give me some money."


    Lu Li was helpless in this regard too.


    The Moon Well of was a weapon used by Night Elves in wars. When you got close to them, they could quickly regenerate Mana, purify poisons and even relieve fatigue. In short, it was a good thing, but not valuable enough to be worth the amount of gold needed to purchase it. Naturally, it wasn''t going to be a small amount.

 1408 A Trick Up My Sleeve

    In fact, Lu Li also had another strong sapling ¨C the seeds of the World Tree.


    It was a pity that those seeds hadn''t been fed well enough. They had eaten countless tree vine seeds, but they still looked dead. Lu Li had no choice but to give the Seeds of the Ancient of Lore the priority. The Ancient of Lore was also enough to ensure the safety of the Grey Valley Stronghold.


    A lot of gold coins had been used. The Stronghold, which initially looked like a ruin, had changed dramatically.


    Of course, it was impossible for this to happen in reality. Even if there was an intelligent robot-builder in real life, it would take at least half a month of construction. Even the best materials needed to be pre-processed before they were used.


    However, that was not necessary in the game. The most time-consuming process was actually the design process.


    After the design session, the players acquired enough building materials before paying the System. The next day, Lu Li saw that the commercial street was almost exactly as he expected.


    The buildings like the houses, administrative halls and the like were all there.


    Just like that, the first player-controlled Stronghold was established and it was soon filled with players.


    Everyone was experiencing the liveliness of the place. After all, this was the first Stronghold.


    The launch of the Strongholds marked new time when the players had officially established a foothold in Dawn. They could start building their own strength and developing their own economies within the player base.


    Now, Dawn was truly a second world.


    Several clubs that had purchased stores also seized the opportunity. There were many people pouring in excitedly to see the special discounts that were available. The names of the stores soon spread among the players.


    A store that sold clothing launched a free dyeing service; they had a rare Tailor that had the ability to dye equipment. These Tailors were often monopolised by large groups, so ordinary players usually didn''t have the opportunity for such a service. But now, they could pay for his services.


    A weapons store launched a draw where people could pay a gold coin to win an Epic item. Although only one or two players could win the Epic time, people would occasionally draw a Dark Gold item. This further contributed to the atmosphere.


    There was even a Potions store that was selling potions at almost cost price. Ordinary potions were sold at a discount and higher-end potions also appeared on the count. How could the players with cash to spare pass up this opportunity?


    They had hired beautiful women to work at the bar, and the players who enjoyed this started to view the Stronghold as the land of dreams.


    The stores that purchased Rare Materials burned a lot of money as the purchase price here was much higher than other places. In particular, Ruling Sword had set up several stores to purchase Rare Materials and Square Root 3 had put in thousands of gold to fill the loss.


    After the gimmicks at yesterday''s auction, Ruling Sword''s Auction House was already famous.


    After all, there were few clubs that could sell their Epic equipment and many other players came to the auction house to sell their equipment.


    The transaction fee was very low, as Ruling Sword had basically given up on the plan to make money.


    These were all strategies to keep the people around.


    Despite how full the Stronghold was today, it wouldn''t take long before these people would leave the Stronghold behind. It was only by taking certain measures to leave a lasting impression of Ruling Sword that they could entice them to become regular customers. Only then would it be possible for them to create wealth for the Stronghold.


    Lu Li only paid attention for a while before leaving it be.


    Square Root 3 was an expert in this respect. Wandering''s grasp of the human heart was better than Lu Li''s. Cat Dad was well-informed and always gave good advice, so Lu Li''s personal role was quite limited.


    What Lu Li needed to do now was to take down the Black Sea Coast with a team.


    When bidding for the land, Lu Li dropped 20,000 gold coins and successfully occupied one of the eight spots. The lowest spot was taken for 10,000 gold. The Black Sea Coast was a relatively remote place, but it was just behind where Ruling Sword had occupied. This meant that anyone occupying this land would have to face relentless attacks from Ruling Sword.


    In fact, Lu Li could have bid a lower amount like 12,000 gold, but there was a risk associated


    with that. If they didn''t get a spot, then that would be the worst outcome.


    "One Revive Point and 20 Chariots," Lu Li said as he handed money over the city warfare administrator.


    "Surely that''s too little. Are you sure you only want to buy 20 chariots?" Wandering questioned, feeling that Lu Li was underestimating. "The people we''re up against aren''t rookies this time. Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard have sent their main forces."


    Because there were several pieces of land to fight over, the major clubs had to make some choices.


    The Black Sea Coast was a less competitive Stronghold, but there were still four or five clubs going for it. Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard were the main competitors. They didn''t want to fight Ruling Sword, but they had no choice unless they wanted to lag behind the other clubs.


    There were just a few pieces of land, so there were always going to be strong competitors.


    "Relax, leave it to me. I have a trick up my sleave," Lu Li said with a mysterious smile. He didn''t think that 20 chariots were too few. This was already the most he was willing to buy. If it weren''t for the fact that there were so many tycoons, he would be able to take down a Stronghold without a chariot.


    As someone who had experienced Rebirth, he knew that if it was just a competition of financial resources, then there was no chance.


    Wandering was only half convinced, but Lu Li had always been reliable, so he kept his opinions to himself. He thought that even if they failed, they could try again next week.


    "You can have this ring and these potions. We will be relying on you to quickly build the Stronghold today," Lu Li said as he traded some items to Sesame Rice Ball after he entered the Black Sea Coast Stronghold Map.


    It was one ring and two potions.


    Quick String Ring (Epic): 64-82, Agility +120, Strength +80, Attack Speed +30%, 2 slots. Special Effect 1: Hitting a critical location has a chance to result in a Piercing Effect. Special Effect 2: Instant Cast. Hit a target three times in the same location which deals Piercing Damage. 6 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Shift. Instant Cast. Select a target within 40 yards and swap positions with them. 6 hour cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 60. Durability 360/360.


    The two potions were a limited invulnerability potion and a strong invisibility potion.


    The towers were easy enough. After all, they had 20 chariots. However, in terms of efficiency, it was impossible to compare with those that had 35 chariots. Ruling Sword could fall behind by more than one and a half points in this process.


    "They should have started to attack the walls by now," Wandering said calmly.


    Right now, Ruling Sword hadn''t lost any money. If they conquered the Black Sea Coast, they could make back the money they had spent, but if they failed, then the money they spent on the 20 chariots would be lost.

 1409 Strategy and Money

    By the time Ruling Sword''s Chariots reached the wall, Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard had indeed been working on it for a while.


    This situation was no secret, because the game was shamelessly using these sieges to make money. Anyone was allowed to watch this siege unfold, as long as they paid a little bit of money.


    Everyone could clearly see the difference in this Black Sea Coast Stronghold siege.


    Blood Red War Flag was first; they had reached the wall ahead of everyone else. Azure Guard was second, but Ruling Sword wasn''t even third. A guild called Inferno had dropped a large sum of gold coins to buy 60 chariots to push from two different directions. Ruling Sword was the fourth team to reach the city walls.


    The System only gave them one section of the city wall to attack from. If you wanted to line up in two rows to attack the Naga Archers, more than forty chariots could be placed.


    The twenty chariots that Ruling Sword had couldn''t even fill up a single row.


    The audience that supported Ruling Sword felt a bit ashamed. Was it really too hard to buy more chariots? Or had the money that Ruling Sword earned recently been stolen?


    The crow that had been following the Ruling Sword formation transformed back into Lu Li''s normal appearance.


    "Alright, get 15 chariots to aim at the Naga on the left and kill them, but leave the one on the far left."


    Before the Druids could even transform into birds, Lu Li was the only person who could do this.


    He had hovered over the sky and scouted the situation inside the city wall. The left side was the most suitable location for breaking through, which was perfect for this plan.


    The Black Sea Coast was a home city of the Night Elves. It was once one of the most prosperous areas of the Kaldorei Empire, just like the great cities of Ameth''Aran and Bashal''Aran. Back then, it was the peak of that civilisation, but after the collapse of the Well of Eternity, the High Elves sank into the sea and most of them were transformed by the curse of the Naga forever.


    These ancient Night Elves found that they could survive underwater. However, there were a few Naga that believed they had a small chance to recover the land that belonged to the High Elves.


    Because of the suffering of being expelled into the sea, the Naga were determined to wait for the opportunity to recapture the places that had once belonged to them.


    The biggest threats in the Black Sea Coast were the Naga and the Bear monsters.


    The Naga stood along the wall. Most of them were archers, but some of them were Mages and Priests.


    The other teams were fighting all the Naga along the wall, but Lu Li was concentrating on just a few. Naturally, Lu Li''s team was more efficient. In a short time, there was a blank spot where the Naga once stood. There was only one Naga remaining on the leftmost section of the wall.


    Lu Lui nodded at Sesame Rice Ball.


    "You can start now; find a place to hide once you get there."


    "Relax, this isn''t going to be difficult at all."


    Sesame Rice Ball had a rare opportunity to display his confidence before Lu Li. He raised his hand and showed him the ring.


    "Hey, did you two exchange rings?" Sakura Memories had a bright eye and a perverted heart. Based on the rich expression on her face, she was probably thinking of some love story between them.


    "¡­" Lu Li was speechless.


    However, he didn''t have time to explain, as it was time to go. Lu Li and Hachi Chan transformed into their flying forms and gradually pulled up until they were hovering over the inside of the Stronghold.


    At this point, Sesame Rice Ball successfully cast the special effect on the ring.


    Special Effect 3: Shift. Instant Cast. Select a target within 40 yards and swap positions. 6 hour cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 60.


    This was the effect on the ring that Lu Li gave to Sesame Rice Ball.


    Most rings weren''t limited by profession, so the Thief''s ring could easily be used by a Warlock. Sesame Rice Ball successfully swapped positions with the Naga archer on the left most of the wall.


    The fate that befell that Naga archer was quite unfortunate. It had been dropped right into a pack of wolf-like players that quickly devoured it before it even got to struggle. Sesame Rice Ball immediately drank the potions. With the invulnerability, he jumped into the Stronghold and ran to a place where there weren''t any monsters. He then drank the invisibility potion to leave combat.


    Lu Li and Hachi Chan carefully flew towards Sesame Rice Ball before transforming back into


    human form.


    Sesame Rice Ball summoned the portal and the three players quickly began to pull the teammates in from outside. The chariots had all been abandoned and left by the wall. Once they had crossed the wall, they were just facing monsters, so their role was limited anyway.


    Once the team was re-organised, it was time to attack the centre of the Stronghold.


    What were Blood Red War Flag, Azure Guard and Inferno doing at this time?


    They were still outside the wall!


    Throughout the Stronghold siege, there were few things that could stop the players. If they didn''t have enough chariots, they would be slowed by a few minutes. The archers along the wall could also slow them down, but what wasted the most time was the city wall itself.


    Lu Li had no plans to smash the wall. He had used items, potions and Sesame Rice Ball''s portal, along with the extra help from himself and Hachi Chan. This was his strategy for crossing the wall.


    The off-site commentary and audience were overwhelmed. This great reversal was absolutely dumbfounding.


    There were still a lot of players laughing at Ruling Sword. There were some that even shouted that Ruling Sword was so short-sighted for distributed the money that they had earned already.


    But now, everyone knew that it wasn''t that Ruling Sword couldn''t afford it, but that they didn''t need it at all.


    At this time, the battle of the Black Sea Coast had basically become a colonisation. Ruling Sword even had Revive points within the city walls, so the dead could be revived there. It was now impossible for them to fall behind the teams outside the city.


    Lu Li had achieved yet another victory, but what about Water Fairy?


    There were many viewers also paying attention to the Stronghold competition in the Western Wilderness. The situation was tight, and there were beautiful women to watch. This attracted countless people to watch as the events unfolded.


    Participating in the Western Wilderness with Drizzle Court was the main force of Seventh Heaven, Majin Temple, Purple Lunar Paradise and the Imperial Secret Service. It was no better than the Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard that Lu Li faced.


    But Water Fairy once again taught all the local tycoons a lesson.


    Previously, the Gangnam Royals had a record of using 55 chariots, but this was overtaken by several teams today. However, when they found out about Water Fairy''s line up, they immediately felt like crying at the thought that they were so much poorer than she was.


    What was this idea of using 400 chariots??


    With three angles of attack, they didn''t even bother with the towers. They piled up by the walls and ignored the Naga archers, launching a barrage of attacks against the wall.


    If a chariot was lost, there would be a new one to replace it and many more after that.


    It was just a little after Lu Li broke through that the walls were collapsed by the combined attacks of 100 chariots from three different sides. The female tycoon was leading her team into the Stronghold.

 1410 Big Boss

    Ruling Sword won the Black Sea Coast and Drizzle Court won the Western Wilderness, while Glory Capital won the Stranglethorn Vale. These results were expected, but the other two results were more surprising. Tanaris had been captured by Peerless City, which basically meant that Water Fairy had control over two Strongholds.


    Although this was somewhat unexpected, it wasn''t an unreasonable outcome.


    If Water Fairy dared to use 400 chariots to smash through Western Wilderness, why couldn''t she give Peerless City 400 chariots to acquire Tanaris?


    She had immediately acquired two pieces of land!


    Another piece of land called the Barrenlands was taken away by Gale Legion.


    At this point, the System had opened up a total of six Strongholds ¨C Grey Valley, Black Sea Coast, Western Wilderness, Barrenlands, Tanaris and Stranglethorn Vale. Ruling Sword had control over two of them, Glory Capital had control over two and Drizzle Court had control over two. This situation was far from balanced.


    Lu Li instinctively felt like there was reason to be afraid that the System would intelligently try to adjust this.


    After the Black Sea Coast had been taken down, Ruling Sword immediately built the wall and overhauled its design. The wall was taller than the stone one used at the Grey Valley Stronghold. After all, the challenge of the sieges next week would be even more difficult.


    Right now, the sieges could happen once a week. The conquering of a new map was locked at a certain time, along with the attacking of the players'' Strongholds.


    This meant that Ruling Sword had to defend two Strongholds at the same time. A single Stronghold required 80 players to participate while two Strongholds required 160 players to participate. In a five-player fight, Ruling Sword wasn''t afraid of any club. If it was ten players, Ruling Sword could still fend off any other team. If it was 40 players, Lu Li had to recognise that the wider group of his members were a little weak. However, right now, it wasn''t just 40 players, but 160.


    If you considered Ruling Sword''s strength at 160 players, their overall power was not that great.


    Fortunately, the clubs that came to attack had to abide by the 40+40 principle. The first 40 players were selected, but the last 40 players were drawn from a pool of 200 players. Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn''t dare to try to defend two Strongholds.


    Lu Li didn''t need to be present for the Stronghold''s construction. As long as they had the money, Square Root 3 would be able to conduct all the work.


    Over the next few days, Lu Li took the team to continue the Instance Dungeon. They killed one Boss after another and on Thursday, everyone had finally arrived at the Molten Core''s final Boss Ragnaros.


    There was actually quite a cruel trick in this section. They had to go to Ragnaros within two hours of defeating Majordomo Executus. Otherwise, Majordomo Executus would return to his original position and respawn his eight underlings. This meant that the Boss had to be fought once again.


    It was one thing to fight the boss again, but the worst part was that defeating Majordomo Executus a second time wouldn''t yield any rewards.


    As such, when Lu Li left Majordomo Executus on Wednesday, they had to defeat him and his underlings again on Thursday morning. Once they successfully defeated him, everyone followed him to where Ragnaros was.


    Ragnaros was the King of Flames. He was the leader of the Fire Elementals among the four ancient elemental gods.


    Ragnaros the Firelord symbolised anger and destruction, just like the hellfire in the creation of Azeroth. The God of the Ancients had assured Ragnaros that he would have the opportunity to turn Azeroth into the sea of fire and that Neptune and Therazan would be powerless. In order to please the Ancient Gods, Ragnaros had vowed to ignite the World Tree Nordrassil.


    However, as history unfolded, the Ancient Gods were suppressed by the Titans and sealed into the depths of the earth. This elemental leader naturally didn''t meet a good end either.


    Ragnaros was defeated and sealed until the battle among the three Dwarf factions. The defeated Black Iron Tribe''s Prince Sorensen was eager to acquire Ragnaros'' strength but was killed by him instead.


    As Ragnaros was revived, his power pulsed outwards from where he stood and formed a roaring volcano which was now Blackrock Tower.


    Most of the Iron Dwarves and Prince Sorensen were imprisoned at Blackrock Abyss in Blackrock Tower as slaves to the flame. All the while, Ragnaros was in a deep slumber within the Molten Core, which was located at the depths of the Blackrock Abyss.


    He was accumulating his strength and waiting for the day that he was strong enough to leave this place and take over all of Azeroth.


    After his underlings were killed, Majordomo Executus said a few lines before taking the players to his master.


    His master was Ragnaros.


    The location was in the central area of the magma environment and within the depths of the Instance Dungeon. Ragnaros'' lair was surrounded by magma and had a magma pool in the centre. The magma was clearly bubbling and there was obviously a behemoth lurking inside.


    "Ragnaros, King of Flames, one who is more ancient than the world itself! Yield before him! Yield, for your last days have come!"


    In every language, Majordomo Executus really meant, "My dad is a big boss and you''re a thief. Now, he is coming, and you are doomed.''


    While Majordomo Executus summoned his master, Lu Li began to split the team into groups.


    This time he had brought five Warriors ¨C Azure Sea Breeze as the Main Tank and World''s Best Friend as the Tank sub, along with Moonlight and two others as damage output or as temporary Main Tanks if necessary. This time, Lu Li increased the number of Thieves. He had also brought Scarlet New Moon, Cain''s Left hand and White Traveller in addition to Water Fairy and himself to make five Thieves.


    It was mainly the attributes of Ragnaros that determined the composition of the players.


    Ragnaros was cloth-armored, so some thought of him as a Fire Mage. However, he had a hammer in his hand, so others thought of him as a Priest. In fact, no matter what profession he was, he was actually quite squishy. Berserkers and Thieves were effective against him.


    They had four Ice Mages. Fat Monkey had one again been kicked out by Lu Li from the Instance Dungeon. He almost started crying when it happened again.


    They had Four Warlocks as per the original line up, along with quite a few Priest and Druid Healers. They also had Tanky Healers and Shamans. The rest of the spots were filled by Paladins and Ranged damage output professions.


    "Each healer needs to watch out for their Main Tank. I will investigate any unforced mistakes," Lu Li threatened. After he finished organising the teams, the summoning had completed and a flaming giant was slowly rising from the lava.


    Ragnaros: "Why have you awakened me Executus. Why are you bothering me?"


    It seemed like this big Boss was quite angry, but it was understandable. The Boss was focusing on incubating¡­ wait no, regenerating himself, and he was being interrupted. The Boss had already told Executus not to wake up him for anything while he was regenerating. He didn''t care about the black dragon prince or anything like this; he had given instructions for them to be destroyed.


    Majordomo Executus: "Because these invaders, my lord, have broken into your temple and want to steal your secrets."


    Ragnaros: "You idiot, how dare you let these unworthy bugs into this sacred place? Now that they are here, you have disappointed me Executus. You have disappointed me!"


    What was happening? This situation seemed like a mess.


    Ragnaros thought he was an Azeroth powerhouse ¨C someone like Malfurion or Gul''dan.

 1411 Purposeful Guidance

    Ragnaros was furious, which was a terrifying sight.


    Meanwhile, Executus was pleading for forgiveness.


    "My Firelord, please do not take away my flames."


    The plea was not enough to prevent Ragnaros from destroying his servant who had woken him from his deep sleep. Lu Li scorned at him. If Ragnaros had not been woken up, his fate might have been like the Old Tree Bathran. He was cut down in his sleep, then grew a ground full of hair.


    Ragnaros then said, "Now it''s your turn. You have foolishly chased after Ragnaros'' power. Now, you can taste it for yourselves."


    Lu Li wanted to give him the middle finger. It didn''t matter how strong Ragnaros was. Whether it was Sargeras or Nozdormu, if they were in an Instance Dungeon, then they were bound to be defeated again and again by players.


    Perhaps they were truly powerful outside of Instance Dungeons. However, from a designer''s perspective, they were bound to be Experience fodder for the players here.


    "Taste Sulfuron''s flames!"


    Two basic attacks fired towards them.


    Sulfuron meant ''Purifying Flames''. It could also be understood as the ''Firelands'', or even a self-made title for the King of the Fire Elementals, Ragnaros.


    Of course, this was not the time to deal with Ragnaros'' words.


    When these words were said, the team of 40 that Lu Li personally chose instantly had five or six casualties. There were also a few who fell into the molten lava and died. Broadly speaking, a third of the team was already dead, which was pretty much a squad wipe. Lu Li glanced at the time elapsed and realised that they had only officially begun battling for less than a minute.


    A squad wipe within one minute of battling ¨C this was only currently possible with the Firelord in front of them.


    "What happened?"


    Everyone revived and gathered together. They were all stunned and couldn''t make sense of what had occurred.


    "The Boss used a skill and instantly killed nearly half of our team. It happened again afterwards, so we wiped."


    Lu Li decided to keep some information secret in his explanation. In fact, he knew the skill that the Boss used, and also knew how to adjust to this skill.


    Ragnaros was the last Boss in Molten Core. In his previous life, this Boss had made many give up.


    Temporary teams composed of powerful players may be able to defeat the first few Bosses, but when they reached this Boss, the competency of the players'' equipment or ability to comprehend instructions were no longer the only criteria. Therefore, only mercenary groups, guild teams, or an extremely well-oiled regular party had a chance at defeating Ragnaros.


    The Molten Core could be compared to the Mathematics Olympiad competitions.


    A normal student was like a normal player. They didn''t have to enter these Olympiad competitions and could still progress through school without them. However, the more capable ones could enter. Within this group of students, some would be able to go far in the test, while some could only complete the basic questions. It was still extremely commendable to even answer the basic questions.


    It was only the prodigious students who were able to answer the other questions and complete the test.


    This didn''t prevent the normal students to attempt the Olympiad. They still tried their best at it. Now, instead of students, consider the players within Dawn. There were many normal players who were extremely passionate in strategizing for Ragnaros. After all, they all hoped to one day defeat Ragnaros and gain his equipment.


    Although most of these strategies were useless, they were helpful in letting Lu Li understand the Boss'' mechanics.


    For example, the skill that Ragnaros had just used ¨C Rage of Ragnaros ¨C dealt 1000 fire-based damage to nearby enemies and also knocked them backwards.


    The 1000 damage was not enough to cause a squad wipe, since everyone had more than 2000 HP. The highest HP in the party even neared 4000. The main problem was the knockback, since that also dealt damage, especially when the players were close to the Boss.


    The players who died in that run were almost all melee classes. They were all killed by the knockback damage.


    A few more were knocked into the molten lava and died accordingly.


    "I think we should spread out," Wandering suggested.


    "We''re already spread out around the Boss. I don''t think anyone was spared when he used that skill."


    Lu Li wasn''t rushing to start again. It was better for them to discuss strategies like this, especially with his guidance.


    After discussing for a while, Azure Sea Breeze suddenly realized, "Actually, when he used the skills both times, he also said the same thing twice."


    "Are you saying¡­" Wandering''s eyes lit up.


    "That''s right. When the Boss finishes his sentence, we have a window of opportunity to react and adjust," Lu Li revealed. "Now the question is, what should we do during this time? We can come up with different strategies and try them out one by one."


    The second time, they tried to spread themselves out. This clearly could not work. The casualties were not any less than the first run.


    The third time, they went with what they had discussed among themselves. When the Boss yelled out his words, everyone gathered together, hoping to minimise the damage and possibility of getting knocked back.


    By bumping into each other, they could reduce the velocity at which they were being knocked back. Unfortunately, this didn''t work, and they were all still sent flying. Lu Li thought that the people standing at the most outer part of the circle were knocked even further, so they died mid-air.


    The fourth time, the strategy used was the one that Lu Li suggested. He told everyone to stand far away from the Boss, besides the Main Tank.


    This was clearly Lu Li taking charge. Under his instructions, when Ragnaros began yelling, everyone besides the three Main Tanks all retreated away.


    There was a chance for the Main Tank to resist the knockback from the skill. If everything went according to plan, then there would be at least one Main Tank standing there to regain the aggro. This time, it was World''s Best Friend''s responsibility to hold the Boss'' aggro, since the other two were knocked back.


    However, they quickly found that something was different.


    Many players were dead by this point during the previous runs. As for this run, the number of casualties were significantly less. This meant that Lu Li''s strategy had worked. At the very least, the damage from the skill was minimised by the players retreating away.


    However, there were still many players who died, not from the actual knockback, but from being knocked into the molten lava.


    The fourth time was the most successful run thus far. They managed to withstand against three uses of Rage of Ragnaros before being wiped. This process only further enforced the validity of Lu Li''s strategy. Everyone also discovered a method to escape the lava as quickly as possible.


    It didn''t matter if it was doggy-paddling or breaststroke, the number one priority was to leave the lava immediately.


    Lu Li also distributed roles within the healer group to specifically heal those who fell into the lava. After this, they managed to unveil Ragnaros'' second skill. This skill made the players speechless. It melted players'' weapons when they charged to attack. This made the durability of their weapons decrease rapidly.


    This skill wasn''t too lethal. After all, it was impossible for the durability to be melted down to zero in the blink of an eye.


    The main idea behind this skill was to make the items cost more to repair after the battle. During this time, the leader of the team could not afford to be a cheapskate. Everyone needed to pay close attention to their weapons. Then, Lu Li could summon a few repair robots to repair their weapons.

 1412 Sky Moon

    "After he says those lines, we can wait for 2 seconds before retreating. Don''t rush it, since we lose a considerable amount of DPS if we retreat too early," Lu Li said.


    "Eh? That makes a lot of sense. Hey boss, if we have escape skills, we can wait until the last second, right?" Cain''s Left Hand asked.


    "Theoretically, yes, but don''t risk it too much. Too much confidence can be a bad thing in Instance Dungeons, since you will be more likely to expose yourself to danger. If we make a mistake here, then Ragnaros would definitely kill us. I won''t use revive on a Thief," Lu Li calmly replied.


    "Oh crap. Boss, I received 10000 critical damage."


    "Impossible. You only have 3200 HP. If the critical hit was 10000 damage, you would be dead."


    Thieves had more escape skills. Under Lu Li''s suggestion, they would use these skills so that they could maximise their DPS before needing to retreat. They should still retreat at the 2 second mark, but retreating with 3 seconds was the safest option.


    If they retreated to a spot that was too close to the Boss, then the damage of the knockback would be extremely high, so their Cloth Armor could not handle it. Retreating too far would also waste time.


    Their DPS needed to be as high as possible, as if they took their time, then they would inevitably wipe.


    "Five Thieves. I''m third. I think I can get the number two spot," White Traveller said, then continued, "Hey bro, you reckon that I''ll be able to surpass you in the next 20 seconds?"


    "I reckon so, but you''re a Battle Thief. A Battle Thief only at third spot? Isn''t that shameful?" Lu Li chuckled.


    "Hm¡­classes don''t really matter here, do they? If I managed to pass two professional players, then I would be a god. When that time comes, there will be a lot of clubs coming after me. Where should I go? Hey, Water Fairy, do you guys need Thieves?" he asked.


    "Yeah," Water Fairy responded without even glancing at him, then added, "But I''m sorry. We don''t want Battle Thieves."


    "Condolences."


    "Condolences +1."


    "Huh? What''s wrong with Battle Thieves? We are still Thieves," White Traveller protested.


    "Is it that strict in the professional circle? What''s wrong with Battle Thieves? There are people trying to recruit me to go play for them. They say that my Armor is really high. Even professional players might not kill me easily," Azure Sea Breeze interjected.


    "Wow, you''re so annoying. Even if you were in the professional ranks, you would just be there as a meat bag."


    Wandering''s words were like a knife right through Breezy''s heart.


    "Focus! Quickly climb out of the molten lava ASAP. If I see anyone with more than 50% HP die in the lava, I''ll decrease their points."


    Lu Li couldn''t stand it any longer. These guys didn''t have any sense of urgency; it seemed like a social event to them.


    "Aiya¡­There''s a new skill now. This one''s a little cool," Azure Sea Breeze said in surprise..


    Elemental Fire: Burns the target, dealing 2000 fire-based damage and 600 fire-based damage per second over 8 seconds.


    This was a lethal skill. There was a requirement for Fire-resistant gear to enter Molten Core. If there was no Fire-resistant gear at all, then it was possible for the damage to be doubled. 4000 damage was enough to instantly kill most players.


    There was also the damage over time effect, which was 600 damage per second for the next 8 seconds. Even Azure Sea Breeze wouldn''t be able to tank this damage.


    Healing was vital, so March Rain was extremely important here. Her Mass Dispel managed to save many from this skill.


    It was only through multiple squad wipes that they were able to reach this stage of the battle.


    Half the day had already passed. Looking at the Boss'' HP, they hadn''t even reached the 50% mark. As for whether they could defeat the Boss today, many already thought that they might not be able to.


    "I''ll purify you using these flames!"


    Perhaps the dry terrain made everyone slack off after an extended period of time, so when this new skill was unveiled, it caused another squad wipe.


    "I didn''t tell you guys to huddle together. Why are you all so close to each other? Is it too cold?"


    The leader''s words were quite piercing. There were a few newly-joined players who didn''t know this side to Lu Li. When Lu Li said these words, they were surprised that he was this toxic when it came to commanding battles. He was, in a sense, similar to those commanders who liked to scold people. All in all, a toxic style was never good.


    Fire Explosion!


    The Boss randomly chose a target and casted a fireball-type magic at it. The target did not receive damage, while the surrounding players would be knocked backed and receive damage.


    "Who got hit last time?" Lu Li asked.


    "It was me," Bearded Zaza answered as he raised his hands. He seemed a little nervous. He knew that he couldn''t compare to Remnant Dream, who was raised in the guild. Even if his ability was slightly lower than hers, it was still unacceptable. Therefore, with the aim of performing well, he always took great caution. During this Molten Core dungeon period, he made minimal mistakes.


    "What happened there? You are one of the ones involved. Please explain it to everyone," Lu Li said.


    "I¡­I''m not too sure myself."


    Bearded Zaza began to panic a little. He didn''t die, but the ones who died were players surrounding him. Because they were trying to avoid the fire, they unintentionally ended up grouping together.


    "Alright. Pay attention next time. We are clearing this dungeon, so it''s really important for us to be determined. Determination and caution will allow us to continue. At the very least, we need to know the cause of death," Lu Li continued.


    "A light appeared on Zaza''s body. It seemed like it was the effect of the fireball that hit him. Then, the fireball exploded, with Zaza in the middle. The ones who were surrounding him were instantly dealt huge damage and were even knocked back. It was similar to the melee classes that were fighting the Boss."


    Finally, there was a player with a keen eye and confident judgement. Lu Li remembered him ¨C the Ice Mage, Sky Moon. He was a player in the elite squad and was rather skilled, but he couldn''t be compared to Fat Monkey or Nuo Yu. If it wasn''t for the need for Ice Mages, he probably would not have joined them on this raid.


    He wasn''t a reborn player like Lu Li and it was the first time that he saw this skill. Furthermore, he had personally experienced the skill and remembered the whole process. He must have been quite intelligent.


    "What do you think about avoiding this situation?" Lu Li asked.


    "The process of the skill goes from firing the fireball, then hitting the player. Then, an explosion occurs. There is definitely time for us to react to it. I suggest that we spread out," Sky Moon said.


    "Okay, very nice. We can try this."


    Lu Li tried to think if there was a famous Sky Moon in his previous life, but he couldn''t remember. The name itself seemed to exude wisdom. Lu Li decided to use his actual name because he was lazy, not because he wasn''t knowledgeable.


    Although Lu Li couldn''t remember, it didn''t mean that he wasn''t capable. There were so many players in Dawn, and Lu Li didn''t know a large majority of them.


    Sky Moon had deduced the correct strategy; they instantly had positive results.


    This skill and Rage of Ragnaros were both similar. Therefore, the strategies to adjust to them were similar as well.


    They ended up being wiped again and again for a whole afternoon. At the end of this, everyone was a little tired.


    Normally, a continuous raid of three hours needed at least half an hour of rest, but ideally around one hour. Otherwise, players would be extremely weary and unable to continue.

 1413 Repairing Equipmen

    "Cough¡­cough."


    Lu Li cleared his throat then weirdly asked, "Who has a good amount of gold on them? I don''t have much money at the moment."


    "No¡­no money?"


    "Why is there a bad feeling that our guild is going to be bankrupt soon?"


    "Are you trying to scam us?"


    "Criminal!"


    "I''ll take away your DKP. Dreamy, stop avoiding me. Come out," Lu Li said sternly as he took a quick step and stopped Remnant Dream who was running away.


    "Help! Brother Lu Li is going to harass me!" Remnant Dream squealed.


    "He''s using it to repair equipment. I have some gold here. Use this first," Water Fairy offered.


    "How can I take it? You guys are guests; I can''t take these. Don''t worry, this little brat has a lot of money."


    Lu Li ripped out a bag that contained 5000 Gold coins. This instantly solved the problem of repair.


    "Take these back from Three Brother later. Your pets won''t starve. I really don''t understand why you need so many pets," Lu Li sighed as he slapped the back of her head lightly.


    "It''s gone! My gold is all gone! I don''t have money to buy food now and my pets will die of starvation one by one. I will eventually become a pet-less Hunter. No pets equals no battle power. I''m going to get kicked out, aren''t I? No one will take me in. I''ll end up homeless with money to eat either¡­"


    The little Hunter looked like she had seen a ghost and collapsed.


    "Hmph! Don''t slap my head. If you keep it up, I''m going to end up becoming dumb! What do you know?" Remnant Dream continued, expressing her frustration. "All my pets are close to having babies. By then, I will have a whole nursery! There are also chances for rare ones, so I can sell them for lots and lots of gold."


    "But would you be willing to sell?" Lu Li didn''t believe that she would make a fortune from this.


    Therefore, she would have to be tight on money in the future.


    It was fortunate that she was quite capable at earning money. Her current role within the guild made her quite attractive to hire, so many clubs were willing to pay a high price. However, at that time, only Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court, and Peerless City who had this privilege. If she couldn''t make money, where would she get her 5000 gold?


    Under normal circumstances, they would need to repair after 10 wipes. This was the average for all classes. Each class would eat through their durability at different rates, as their battle style varied. The average cost for repair was 15 gold. This was also including the extra costs of Legendary and Dark Gold items. Normal players would usually only spend 1 gold to repair all their items.


    When they fought Ragnaros, he had unexpectedly melted their weapons. Although this didn''t damage them, it still made Lu Li cry on the inside.


    The original average number of wipes before repairing was 10 rounds, but in reality, it only took 5 wipes for them to required repairs.


    Before they entered in the morning, he had brought along thousands of gold. The fight with Executus cost a fortune, and in the end, the gold coins that he brought were all spent before noon. However, with these 5000 gold coins, they wouldn''t have to worry about running out of gold for repairs for today.


    The majority of teams wouldn''t be able to handle the costs from the weapon-melting skill.


    The molten lava in this area dealt damage, but it also melted the players'' equipment. Only Fire-resistant gear could protect them against this effect. As such, the value of Fire-resistant equipment skyrocketed after the release of Molten Core.


    From the beginning, Lu Li had already asked Shen Wansan to collect Fire-resistant gear. Although it was difficult, the Fire-resistant gear that was collected was just enough for Ruling Sword''s personal use.


    After many squad wipes during the afternoon, Lu Li finally managed to lead them into P2.


    Ragnaros ended up sinking in the molten lava pool.


    Everyone was stunned. Was the Boss trying to escape, or was it beckoning for them to chase after him and fight him in the lava?


    "No one move. Look around," Lu Li said. Theoretically, the average person would not be able to guess what would happen next, unless they were a reborn player.


    Several Scions of Fire emerged from the lava and rushed into the players'' formation.


    Fortunately, Lu Li was there to remind them, so they only lost four players. However, this was still a considerable number, and inevitably led to another squad wipe.


    The ones who could tank the monsters did not all die, so Lu Li immediately designated specific healers for the Main Tanks and forged onwards. He wanted to see the strength of these Scions of Fire. Otherwise, they wouldn''t make progress and would keep wiping. Raids often progressed in this manner. The first few attempts were mainly just to understand the Boss'' mechanics.


    There were eight Scions of Fire, which was a terrifying number.


    Azure Sea Breeze took on three of them alone, while the other Main Tanks shared the rest. Lu Li was watching Azure Sea Breeze''s health closely. His HP was fluctuating quite rapidly, so the situation was a little dangerous. As such, Lu Li told a Berserker to pull one away from him.


    DPS Classes, even if they were equipped with Plate Armor, were unsuitable for pulling monsters. Their Defenses and HP were too low, so they would require more healers.


    This was a situation which required constant re-adaptation. Although they wiped again and again, Lu Li understood the Scions'' offensive strength and HP. Furthermore, he also understood the repertoire of skills that they had. These Scions'' attacks were all purely fire-based and a basic attack dealt around 800 to 1000 damage. They also had a skill that damaged enemies within 10 metres. Furthermore, this skill also burnt mana.


    This skill was only activated when the players got closer than 10 metres to the Scion of Fire.


    This only proved the importance of Fire-resistant gear. Lu Li even changed one of his Legendary


    items to a Dark Gold item that had extremely high Fire-resistant stats. Besides the Fire-resistant stats, this item was useless. The other members followed suit, equipping as much Fire-resistant items as possible.


    At the very least, they wanted to push through the Scion of Fire stage. It was fortunate that they were all level 60, so the items that they wore were mostly all level 60. If they had remained the same level from when they first started the Molten Core, they most likely wouldn''t even be able to reach this stage.


    They fought the Scions of Fire again and again for the whole afternoon.


    It was nearly night when the gods of the System smiled on them and they finally managed to kill all of the Scions. Furthermore, there were still Main Tanks, Healers and DPS players in the remaining team. This meant that they could hold on for a little more.


    "This is a battle that you cannot run from!"


    After yelling this, Ragnaros summoned balls of lava and fired them at the players in the backline.


    There already were not many players left, so how could they get past this?


    After continually testing the Boss out, everyone was left mentally drained. Lu Li had to announce the end of the day.


    It was good that they could continue tomorrow. Lu Li found that it was acceptable for them to be stuck at this place. He didn''t feel that Ruling Sword was that powerful to be able to take the Boss down today.

 1414 Seeing Hope

    The next day, they went right back at it.


    The first few runs were more to get the feel of the Boss. Instead of scolding everyone, Lu Li gave more words of encouragement to his team.


    After their practice yesterday, the start was much easier and they quickly reached the phase that they were previously stuck at.


    "After the Boss talks, try gathering in the center. Maybe he thinks that we want to run away because of how far some of us are standing," Lu Li said.


    "When did you get so funny, Lu Li?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, not believing him.


    The others thought that Lu Li''s reasoning was too childish as well but didn''t let him know.


    "You cannot escape from me!"


    After yelling out his line, Ragnaros began casting fireballs and flung them towards the players standing the furthest away. The fireballs also dealt splash damage to the area of impact.


    These fireballs dealt around 600 to 800 damage each, meaning that players were able to survive if they were only hit by one or two. However, if they were struck by multiple, it would be an instant death. "Gather up!" Lu Li yelled.


    He was serious about his strategy, even though his reasoning seemed ridiculous. However, they actually had to gather in the center in order to survive the fireball stage.


    "Eh, I think you''re right." When everyone gathered near the Boss, many of the fireballs flew past and missed them. However, those that were slow to react were still killed.


    The Boss was at 30% HP and more Scions of Fire were summoned again.


    "Crap, I think we''re screwed."


    Azure Sea Breeze knew that they would be wiped again upon seeing his teammates fall one by one.


    "Why did the Boss summon mobs again?" Some of the players were very frustrated.


    Summoning eight Scions of Fire at once was the biggest test to their teamwork and chemistry. Although they were small mobs, they were individually very powerful and since there were so many of them, it caused chaos and made everyone panic.


    Once someone began panicking, they would make mistakes that could potentially drag down the entire team.


    They attempted it again, but this time, they were wiped after the first time Scions of Fire were summoned.


    "Did you guys realize that we''re afraid of the small mobs now? It''s because we''re afraid that we''re not performing up to our standards," Lu Li said, pointing out their problem. "Why are we afraid of these mobs? How come we cleared it the first time but got wiped the second time? Now whenever they''re summoned, we become flustered and panic like rats."


    Water Fairy was the first to speak up.


    "Because the mobs are a waste of time. Even if we killed the mobs, the Boss doesn''t get damaged."


    "And they make it really easy for us to get wiped," Sesame Rice Balls added.


    "Our team morale is a bit low as well."


    White Traveller''s face was exhausted. It was unfortunate that his first experience in a dungeon group was in such a difficult dungeon that had taken more than two days of continuous grinding.


    "You''re tired just from this? Look at Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan ¨C they''re both high school girls that have been through so much more than you. You don''t see them complaining," Lu Li chided, unafraid of hiding his emotions.


    "...." White Traveller wanted to find a hole and die in it.


    "Why is it easy for us to get wiped? How come we didn''t wipe the first time? I counted before ¨C the second wave of Scions was summoned 6 minutes after the first wave. I''m guessing after we defeat the 2nd wave, there''ll be a 3rd wave in 6 minutes as well, meaning that we must continue defeating them until the Boss is dead. It''s unavoidable and if you guys want to quit, then just leave the dungeon. There''s no point of you wasting time here¡­" Lu Li ranted. He was mad that his team was not stepping up.


    No matter how patient Lu Li was, it was always very frustrating when it came to First Clears.


    Some said that successful dungeon runs were built on an individual player''s equipment and levels, as well as the team leader''s voice.


    Lu Li felt like he was about to lose his voice soon, so he bought a potion which was soothing for his throat.


    Everyone fell silent, including Water Fairy. No one dared to challenge his authority nor his leadership.


    This authority was not simply because he yelled loudly, neither was it given to him through his position as a guild leader. In fact, he had earned it through his abilities and leadership.


    The greats were great because they could achieve things no one else was capable of.


    Water Fairy was born of high status and had an incredible amount of wealth to back her up. Drizzle Court, Peerless City and her other sub-guilds added together had a lot more wealth, resources and numbers than Lu Li. However, in terms of a dungeon progress, she was far inferior from Lu Li to the point where she was willing to sign an unfair contract just to learn from him.


    Many outsiders would often speculate how Lu Li and Water Fairy got along.


    Most people thought that it was Lu Li that was the one chasing after her since she was so beautiful and wealthy. They knew Lu Li was talented, but she was definitely out of his league.


    However, in reality, even when Lu Li was just the leader of a small mercenary group, he was the one in control of their relationship. He knew of many fighting techniques and mechanics that Water Fairy had no idea about and the things they had achieved together could mostly be credited to Lu Li.


    Most of the time, Water Fairy would blindly trust and even worship him.


    After being scolded, everyone was focused again.


    Sometimes the leader would scold others in a dungeon, not because he wanted to but because he had to.


    After his pep talk, they were able to reach the second wave of Scions relatively easily and the number of players that died also decreased. Because of this result, Lu Li decided that he was going to be stricter in the future.


    They could leave one of the Scions because they could be stunned.


    "Don''t kill the last one. Azure, go grab aggro of it. Everyone else, try to heal up as much as possible," Lu Li commanded, stopping everyone from killing the last Scion of Fire.


    "Yeah, if we don''t kill the last mob then the Boss won''t come out again. We might as well kill the last one slowly while healing up," Wandering said as he slapped his legs, impressed with Lu Li''s thinking.


    "We can''t leave it forever. I''m guessing the Boss will eventually come out anyways," Lu Li sighed as he shook as head.


    His ''guess'' wasn''t actually a guess at all but pre-existing knowledge from his past life. As expected, Ragnaros appeared again.


    If they killed the Scions within 3 minutes, then the Boss would reappear early. However, if they didn''t kill them in 3 minutes, the Boss would still appear after the 3 minutes were up.


    Lu Li''s strategy was to allow the team to recuperate and get back on their feet even if it was only a few extra seconds.


    They weren''t allowed to sit down to recover HP mid-battle, but they could drink potions and wait for cooldowns.


    "Our DPS is a little low," Lu Li said calmly. "DPS classes with mana, try to maximize your mana to damage ratio. Everyone else, remain calm and try not to make mistakes."


    Lu Li watched as the Boss'' HP continued to drop.


    They had been at it the whole morning and if they didn''t make a breakthrough somehow, then Lu Li would consider giving up.

 1415 Slaying Ragnaros

    Hope didn''t mean that they would definitely succeed. However, after Lu Li saw hope, he started to constantly adjust everyone''s positioning and reminded them how to cast their skills and position more efficiently. He used all types of methods and strategies to maximise everyone''s fire resistance.


    Besides this, he also tried all that he could to cut down the time they spent on each phase. Ragnaros was a boss that increased in difficulty the longer the fight dragged on. So, having everyone boost their damage output was a good way to increase their success rate. At the start, they had to be cautious, so everyone dealt damage carefully. However, now that they had seen everything Ragnaros could do, they could now focus on dealing damage.


    Lu Li had grouped a lot of Berserkers and Thieves together, who would play the crucial role of damaging the boss.


    After every minor adjustment, the boss was left with less health. They even reached the stage where the boss went berserk. This was a clear improvement that gave hope to everyone. Although they were all physically tired from the constant battling, mentally, they were more awake than ever. Once again, the battle drew close to its end, but the difference this time was the lower casualty rate.


    "Now, deal as much damage as you can. Use whatever you''ve got! Any consumables used will be reimbursed by the guild," Lu Li commanded. He knew that their chance had come. They had a really good shot at taking down the boss this time. He even used a berserk potion that he had been keeping for a long time. Like a rare treasure, he had wanted to hold on to it for as long as possible.


    Everyone else wasn''t as cheap as he thought. When they needed to, they were more liberal with their consumables than Lu Li was.


    Ragnaros started to grow impatient as his auto-attack speed increased. It seemed like he was about to go berserk. It wasn''t realistic for the final boss of a large level 60 dungeon to hold back.


    Apparently, a club that didn''t care much about their pride had gone down to complete the dungeon in Elite mode, and they were getting close to Ragnaros as well. That difficulty was a lot easier than Nightmare mode. Although the dungeon design and the design of the bosses were almost entirely the same, just the fact that the boss had 20% less health was enough to put pressure on Ruling Sword.


    If the boss had 20% less health in Nightmare mode as well, Lu Li would''ve already passed this stage with everyone a while ago.


    "I''ve already casted some spells and special effects that have cooldowns for an entire day. If we fail this time, we''ll have to wait until tomorrow," Wandering sighed. Right before his eyes, Azure Sea Breeze had already been brutally beaten to death by Ragnaros, who had gone berserk. As such, it was his turn to sacrifice himself.


    "Stay put and don''t do anything stupid because we might finally clear it!" Lu Li shouted loudly.


    He kept asking everyone to play safe to persuade not only his team but also himself; he was just as anxious about this as everyone else.


    Fortunately, Wandering wasn''t a bad player. He grew up with Azure Sea Breeze and played almost identical games with similar experience. Azure Sea Breeze may have more raw talent, but Wandering was smarter and better at assessing the situation.


    "World, if I can''t hold it anymore, it''ll be your turn next," Wandering turned to speak to World''s Best Friend.


    "Let me do it. You take a rest."


    World''s Best Friend moved forward to taunt the boss which saved barely saved Wandering. He hadn''t been doing much besides pulling a few monsters. He had a lot of life saving skills still remaining up his sleeves and was waiting for the right moment.


    Without Azure Sea Breeze, World''s Best Friend would also be good enough to play as the main tank for the club.


    Ragnaros'' last sliver of health was torture for them because team members kept dying. No one knew if the boss would defeat them with only a little bit of health remaining.


    "As long as we don''t make mistakes, we won''t have an issue. Don''t worry, just keep going," Lu Li reassured the team. He wasn''t sure how many times he had repeated himself. It wasn''t like the others couldn''t hear him the first time, but he just felt the need to repeat it over and over again to make everyone feel a little more at peace.


    "Eight thousand health points left. Bring him down! Warriors don''t stop the damage," Lu Li desperately called out. There weren''t many players left standing. Lu Li activated the special effect of his weapon and transformed into a demon.


    Shard of the Defiler (Legendary): Damage 82-96. Agility +80, Strength +60, Attack Speed +45%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Deep Contamination, requires activation, reduces 30% of target''s armour and movement speed, cooldown 120 seconds. Special Effects 2: Fatal Blow: when the target health drops below 20%, there is a chance to execute the target. Special Effects 3: Echo of Archimonde: Activate to transform into a demon, allowing the user to cast demonic skills, lasts for 30 seconds, useable once per day. Level Requirement 60, Durability 240/240.


    The special effect, Archimonde, had appeared after the upgrade of the dagger and allowed its owner to have three demon spells.


    One was called Shadow Barrage, which effectively reduced the target''s defence. The other was called Charging Soul, which absorbed the energy of all dead units in the area. The more units that died in the area, the more energy this skill absorbed. The last one was called Finger of Death and was a damaging skill.


    These three skills worked in harmony ¨C armour reduction, a damage boost and finally a damage skill.


    However, the cooldown of this special effect lasted the entire day. Lu Li rarely had a chance to use it, but in one of his many tests, this special effect had proved itself to be extremely powerful.


    The key was figuring out how much defence he could reduce, and how many souls he could use to charge himself up, maximising the damage of Finger of Death.


    There were 40 players in this battle and 23 of them had died, which meant that Lu Li could charge 23 souls into his skill. The effect of Charging Soul was also dependent on the strength of these souls. The Shard of the Defiler stabbed right into the back of Ragnaros.


    "The flames will eventually burn everything down! Your victory will not last long!" he roared in rage. His body became unstable as flames and lava shot out everywhere. Some players who couldn''t dodge in time died from the eruption.


    Even so, they had done it!


    His last attack had dealt around two to three thousand points of damage. Alongside the effort of others, everyone finally took down the troublesome boss after two days.


    However, no one felt tired. Everyone that survived laughed and jumped, celebrating the tough victory. Success was more valuable after a long struggle.


    This joy was even greater than their anticipation towards the equipment drops. Of course, some people cared more about the loot than the joy of defeating Ragnaros. Players like Remnant Dream and Lu Li immediately turned their eyes to Ragnaros'' loot.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, who, led by their commander Lu Li, have successfully been the first to complete the 40-man raid dungeon ¨C Molten Core (Nightmare Mode).

 1416 First Clear

    It was the same dungeon, but the lowest level.


    Sometimes, Heart of War felt embarrassed too. Most of the players on his team were mercenaries. The Gangnam Royals had lost a large amount of talent and the ones that remained didn''t all agree with him.


    He was the club captain and the guild master, but he had lost his power when he organised the forces for the dungeon run.


    Some core elite members with shares in the club had even chosen their own teams to display their dissatisfaction towards Heart of War for choosing Elite mode. As such, all he could do was spend money and hire mercenaries. These players were battling for money, so they truly gave it their all. Heart of War also knew that picking Elite mode wasn''t a great choice.


    Even if they were to get the First Clear, it would only be on Elite mode, which was certainly nothing worth bragging about. At best, it would prevent Ruling Sword from getting another First Clear.


    Heart of War didn''t know why Lu Li kept on targeting him, but in reality, Lu Li had no intention of targeting him at all. If Lu Li knew what Heart of War thought, he''d laugh spitefully. Lu Li was just moving forward, and he accidentally stomped all over Heart of War and the Gangnam Royals on his way. That was all there was to it. Not to mention, Lu Li taking the First Clear wasn''t just stomping over the Gangnam Royals alone.


    Lu Li: "I''m not directing this at anyone, but allow me to say that all of you guys are weaklings!"


    Of course, this wasn''t something that Lu Li would usually say. If he had the choice, there would be no announcement so that he could quietly and humbly turn into a millionaire. Those that were often at the peak would most likely be targeted and focused down by the rest. Unfortunately, he could no longer keep a low profile anymore.


    The moment the First Clear announcement appeared, all sorts of comments flooded the world channel. The advertisements that business players usually spammed disappeared. They were smart enough to know that the world channel was moving too fast for anyone to pay attention to their advertisements at this point.


    Super Egg Pie: They really took the First Clear, and on Nightmare mode too. Are there any guilds that are up to the last boss at the moment?


    Riding Wind and Waves: We are. We''re up to Ragnaros, but in Hard mode. We''ve tossed in tens of thousands of gold coins already and are still getting nowhere. It''s truly tiring.


    Feathers like Paint: Ruling Sword 666.


    Songs at Night: I don''t help old ladies cross the road, but I''m sure impressed by Lu Li. [TLN: this line is meant to be a pun that plays on the same pronunciations of some words in this sentence in Chinese.]


    Coca Cola: Livestream please, guides please, Lu Li possess us please.


    King: I''ll tell everyone a secret. I''ve actually been to a dungeon before with Lu Li. Liars don''t have dicks.


    Manly Lilly: I''ve also been to a dungeon before with Lu Li. Liars don''t have dicks.


    Empty Cold Tea: Upstairs, you''ve never had one in the first place.


    Windy Love: How come none of the big players are out to share their thoughts? All the First Clears have been taken down by one club. What are y''all doing with your lives?"


    Morning: Am I the only one who discovered Water Fairy''s name in the announcement? Are they dating?


    Lazy Racoon: Why are they showing off their relationship with the world announcement?


    Azure Sea Breeze: Thanks everyone, I accidentally took another First Clear. I keep getting First Clears¡­ I wonder if I''d get beaten up if I left my door open.


    Anonymous Convict: My, it''s Azure Sea Breeze, the number one main tank in Dawn. Hello. How are you, my idol?


    Colour of Coke: Breezy is here, all hail Breezy. Breezy are you down for a date? I''m from Gangnam City as well. You can have my photos if you add me on your friend list.


    Led by Wandering, a whole pack of players surrounded Azure Sea Breeze, kicking and hitting him. How dare he show off like that? Everyone was revived, and the System began to hand out the First Clear rewards. Everyone obtained their rewards but those that waited outside the dungeons weren''t so lucky. After the dungeon was completed, those that waited outside were rewarded with a lot of DKP instead. It was multiple times the DKP of the 40 players that were in the dungeon, which made up for their losses.


    Lu Li obtained the Bloodfang Pants Mold. He checked the pants that he was currently wearing and shook his head with a bitter smile. It wasn''t that this equipment was bad, but if he was to use it, he would have to start collecting T2 equipment.


    The Bloodfang set for Thieves was part of a T2 set, which was a whole entire grade better than Lu Li''s T1 set. T1.5 was the tier between T1 and T2 and was basically all looted from Zul''Gurub. Its attributes were slightly better than the T1 set but a little worse than the Bloodfang set. Some collected the T1.5 set from Zul''Gurub, while others just skipped it and went straight for the T2 set. Of course, only the top players considered this. Normal players didn''t have to think so much. They just wore whatever they could lay their hands on.


    The others also got their own rewards. When the boss died, five players got skill points ¨C not including Lu Li ¡ª and another two players got skill points as rewards. Lu Li couldn''t help but wipe his drool away. He wanted skill points as there were ways to get equipment, but skill points weren''t easy to come by. Now that everyone couldn''t level up anymore, it was even harder than ever to obtain skill points. He could honestly say that he would rather gain a skill point than a T2 equipment.


    Water Fairy also obtained a T2 equipment, which was a pair of pants as well.


    It looked like they would both be searching for the same set; they might even wear a couple set in the future. However, T2 equipment wasn''t easy to collect. The Molten Core only dropped the pants ¨C the head was from Onyxia''s Lair, while the other parts were from Deathwings'' Lair.


    Most of the rewards that players received were equipment. Lucky Lonesome Flower obtained an Empowerment skill book. This was a skill book to empower the Water Elemental skill. After the empowerment, the Water Elemental would improve in attack and defence, and would also have another extra skill. This would boost Lonesome Flower''s strength by quite a bit.


    Between the Empowerment skill book and a part of the T2 set, which was more precious? The empowerment skill book.


    You could tell from the drop rate. There were 40 players here, and about 30 of them were rewarded with equipment. Seven of the 30 were rewarded with T2 pants, but only Lonesome Flower obtained the Empowerment skill book.


    Lu Li wiped his drool again. Damn it, he really wanted to know how to remove his unlucky curse.


    Azure Sea Breeze sat there and laughed to himself. Lu Li found out that he had obtained the left face, which was the left part of Bindings of the Windseeker.


    Last week, the duke didn''t give much to Lu Li and the others. They went back to the duke again this week, and the duke still wasn''t nice about the situation. Both times, the left face didn''t drop. Azure Sea Breeze thought that he wouldn''t be getting both sides of the face anytime soon, but who knew that he would get it now at this point.


    Lu Li had drooled so much he felt thirsty.


    He looked at everyone else in envy, then back at himself. He was ready to commit suicide.

 1417 Eye of Sulfuras

    Fortunately, the lucky little girl was there. Lu Li saw that she looked quite frail, and asked gently, "Dreamy, can you loot the body now? If not, you can take a break first if you are tired."


    "How can anyone feel tired when looting a body? There must be something wrong with your brain Lu bro," Remnant Dream muttered and began looting the body.


    They acquired more than 40 Strengthening Stones, which was more than they had ever received.


    Strengthening Stones had many different uses, especially among the professional players. Ordinary players were also choosing to Strengthen their equipment. Although it was only a small improvement, it was an improvement nonetheless. Even people who were selling equipment would sometimes Strengthen it first. These items weren''t that expensive, but they also weren''t that freely available. Not many players had Strengthened equipment.


    Lu Li calculated how the Strengthening Stones should be distributed. If they split it by the number of players present, each player, including the substituted players would get a few each. If you wanted to farm for Strengthening Stones, you might as well get some low-level players to quickly farm low-level Instance Dungeons for quick EXP and gold. There were often strong players doing this to acquire Strengthening Stones.


    There were also some Wild Elites that could drop Strengthening Stones, but those had an inconsistent drop rate. If there were more players, then everyone would have to compete for the off-chance that one was dropped. Moreover, if you died, you would drop your equipment, which made it even less worth it. However, this was how Moonlight had farmed most of his Strengthening Stones. He could farm monsters and engage in PVP, which was paradise for him. This meant that he had actually Strengthened his items a number of times. Sometimes, he would even sell these items to the guild when he didn''t have any money to repair his equipment.


    There were also six Synthetic stones, which all had reasonable properties. After all, this was loot from Ragnaros. Even if the effect just provided bonus damage, adding enough damage would make it a valuable Synthetic stone. Those who wanted them had to bid against each other; this was also open to players who had been benched for the Boss fight.


    There was also an Enhanced Mage Skill Book. There were four Ice Mages in the team, so it was quite reasonable for an Enhanced Mage Skill Book to drop for them. They should have been quite happy. After all, Enhanced Skill Books were generally considered more precious than Epic equipment. However, the expression that was on their faces was like they had just stepped in some faeces.


    "Hahahahaha, my sides. Sorry I couldn''t hold it in. I don''t mean to laugh at all of you, but I just couldn''t help it."


    Fat Monkey, who had been waiting outside the Instance Dungeon, was lying on the floor laughing. Fat Monkey''s laughter was exaggerated, and it made a squeaky sound that just couldn''t be ignored.


    "Ahem, alright. Let''s bid for this Enhanced Skill Book. You, hahaha, four Ice Mages. The Enhanced Skill Book was for Fire Barrier. Sorry, I couldn''t help it either. I don''t usually laugh at other people," Lu Li burst into laughter.


    The expressions of the four Ice Mages got even darker. If it weren''t for the fact that you couldn''t PVP in Instance Dungeons, the four of them would have tried to kill Lu Li.


    Fire Barrier was a fire shield that could be used to reduce damage taken and to scorch nearby melee units. It was a good fire skill for damage and defence.


    "10 points, 10 points haha," Fat Monkey giggled as he bid.


    "Starting from 20 points," Lu Li said faintly. How could anyone take an Enhanced Skill Book for such a low price?


    "Alright, 20 then. I''ll spend a bit more," Fat Monkey said, clearly amused.


    "50," a voice emerged, to which Fat Monkey turned his head towards. Nuo Yu had decided to bid too. Although the four Ice Mages in the Instance Dungeon couldn''t compete, Nuo Yu, who had been substituted for a level 60 player, was fully qualified.


    "Please, Nuo Bro. Surely you won''t outbid me," Fat Monkey immediately lost his smugness.


    "Even if I can''t outbid you, I can''t let you have it for 20 points. Otherwise, I won''t get the next one either," Nuo Yu smiled.


    Fat Monkey trembled with anger.


    "Nuo Bro, you''re just attacking me for no reason!"


    "60 points. It''s not like I lose anything for bidding," Nuo Yu responded by raising his bid.


    "Monkey do you want it? Otherwise, Nuo Yu will get it," Lu Li asked.


    "Why wouldn''t I want it!? 80 points," Fat Monkey angrily responded.


    "90!" Nuo Yu raised the bid again.


    "100!" Fat Monkey didn''t add much more, because Nuo Yu didn''t have that many points.


    "Pass!" Nuo Yu finally gave up on it.


    He didn''t want to raise the cost any higher since he had achieved his goal. After all, his relationship with Fat Monkey was pretty good. How could it not be? They were two Fire Mages that had both been relegated to the sidelines. 100 points for an Enhanced Skill Book was still a great deal. There was no way to say that this was an unfair deal. There were also two more skill books, and each found their master.


    There were five to six rare materials. One of them was the Eye of Sulfuras, which was a material that could be used to craft Sulfuras. Lu Li immediately put this item away.


    Sulfuras was Ragnaros'' weapon, and when it was crafted, it would become the first God Weapon. It had the highest imaginable damage and was perfect for Shamans (or Warriors or Paladins). When combined with the Windfury Totem, it could deal unimaginable amounts of damage. However, the cost of crafting this hammer was also ridiculous. Relatively speaking, the Black Iron Ingots were the cheapest part. The Magma Orb and Fiery Core were not usually available on the market, along with Sulfuron Ingots. Even a solo player with money couldn''t spend their money to acquire the materials to craft the hammer. It could only be done by harnessing a guild''s strength. The process itself was easier than crafting Thunderfury.


    Lu Li already had some materials on hand, and there were still many other teams fighting the Molten Core. He estimated that the hammer could be crafted by the weekend. If there were no other incidents, this hammer would be given to Sakura Memories. If other players wanted to use it, they had to reach a certain ranking in the guild.


    Lu Li remembered that Seventh Heaven had a certain incident where a core elite member had applied for the fallen Ashbringer in the guild warehouse. After he left town, he was killed and dropped the weapon. Seventh Heaven asked him to return it as he had just lost a huge sum of money. Eventually, they investigated the player and found that they weren''t loyal to the guild. When Seventh Heaven discovered this, they were enraged and got a lawyer to send him a letter. Lu Li had considered how to prevent this from happening in the future and had implemented a system for applying for equipment.

 1418 Unique Equipmen

    There was also an Essence of the Firelord, which was part of Thunderfury''s quest materials. Lu Li directly assigned this to Azure Sea Breeze. The other rare materials were quite exquisite, and Lu Li kept them all for himself. Even if he didn''t know how to use the rare materials, he wouldn''t sell them. The Ruling Sword Auction House sold everything, but they didn''t sell rare materials because Lu Li knew that any rare material''s value was constantly on the rise.


    If there was someone who had a bunch of gold coins on hand and didn''t know what to do with them, what should they do? Wood Fearing had once given an answer to this in an interview. The answer was either to buy some equipment to make yourself stronger, as strength directly corresponded with gains, or just buy some rare materials to store in the warehouse.


    There were some materials that seemed useless in the present, but equipment in the future might need them, which would cause both the demand and price to spike. There were four Gold equipment drops with decent attributes. Lu Li didn''t use these drops to subsidize the Main Tanks or the Healers as the monsters that they had killed on the way had dropped plenty of excess equipment for them to sell.


    These Gold drops shouldn''t be underestimated. When the System update come out next week, there would be plenty of players who would want Gold equipment.


    For the time being, level 60 Gold equipment wasn''t as good as level 55 Dark Gold equipment, and even level 50 equipment were comparable. However, with the level changes, most level 60 Gold equipment would become better than level 55 Dark Gold equipment.


    Lu Li had already relayed this business opportunity to Shen Wansan, who had started collecting level 60 Gold equipment. After the low-level changes were released, he would provide a batch of level 60 equipment with good attributes to Lu Li for free as compensation for the information. Then, there were three pieces of Dark Gold equipment. Lu Li obviously couldn''t take these items for himself, as Dark Gold equipment was still very popular.


    There was a T2 Pants Mold for Thieves!


    Since this was the second item, Lu Li decided that he didn''t need it and left the three remaining Thieves to compete for it. The item somewhat surprisingly sold for over 200 points. The three Thieves had tried to bankrupt each other.


    However, this was definitely not a bad transaction as even T1 equipment could sell for more than 100 points. This meant that T2 equipment being sold for over 200 points was understandable. If these Thieves had enough points, it probably could have sold for another 100 points higher. At present, the most competitive professions in order were Mages, Warriors, Thieves, Paladins, Priests and Warlocks.


    Thieves were the third most competitive!


    Perdition''s Blade!


    This was another Thief item. Today seemed to be a lucky day for Thieves.


    Having the demon blade in one hand and the destruction blade in the other ¨C this was the dream that countless Thieves chased at level 60. The former blade was the Felstriker and the latter was the Perdition''s Blade. It had incredibly high damage and useful special effects. The full list of its special effects didn''t need explaining as they weren''t that unique, but what made this weapon famous was its second special effect. It had a certain probability of causing 233 points of fire damage to its target. That''s right, this was a chance-based effect.


    However, Lu Li knew better than anyone that this probability was really high. Even though Lu Li was perpetually unlucky, he would probably still trigger the effect once every five attacks. A normal player would trigger the effect once every three attacks. It has been said that some players had successfully triggered the effect over ten consecutive times when wielding the Perdition''s Blade.


    "Perdition''s Blade. You can all see the attributes. Those who want it can bid for it," Lu Li announced.


    Not that it would have made a difference, but Lu Li private messaged Water Fairy, "Take this dagger. It would be very suitable as your main weapon." He didn''t explain the preciousness of this weapon to everyone, otherwise, all the Thieves here would be way too aggressive in the bidding.


    "50," Water Fairy bid, trusting Lu Li.


    "60," Scarlet New Moon said.


    "80", Water Fairy responded.


    "100", Scarlet New Moon raised the price.


    "150," Water Fairy continued bidding.


    "Pass!" the probability of an Epic dagger being dropped wasn''t impossibly low, but everyone knew that Lu Li probably wouldn''t be changing his daggers for a long time. In the future, the price of daggers would gradually decrease. Even if there was a good dagger, it would be bought by Lu Li, but they could still fight over the dagger that Lu Li would leave behind.


    "180," Cain''s Left Hand increased the bid once more.


    "200."


    Water Fairy looked calm. She didn''t even increase the bid by 10 points at a time. Each time she did it, it was at least 20 points or higher.


    "Haha, it looks like Water Fairy wants it. In that case, I shouldn''t continue fighting for it. I don''t want to get in the Boss''s bad books," Cain''s Left Hand laughed and announced that he was going to give it up. He didn''t want this dagger anymore. He wasn''t that keen for it even though he had bid 180 points.


    Obviously, they couldn''t fight too vigorously since they were on the same team, but they still had to be good opponents to ensure that no one got their items too easily.


    "Thank you," Water Fairy grinned and wasn''t angry at Cain''s Left Hand''s words.


    She knew that the other party had made some concessions. Otherwise, Cain''s Left Hand could have increased the price. Water Fairy could have been left with much less than 210 points. It was still a good number of points, but there was no way for her to get more equipment this auction.


    Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief before assigning the equipment to Water Fairy. If anyone knew about what Lu Li had done, they definitely would have accused him of favouritism. They might not even trust him again in the future. However, Lu Li was sneaky as a Thief should be, and no one knew about his interaction with Water Fairy.


    "I will donate this dagger to you guys," Water Fairy said, handing the dagger she had replaced to Lu Li.


    Lu Li communicated with her privately, which was touching for her, and she wanted to give something back to Lu Li and his friends. Water Fairy''s dagger was quite exquisite as well ¨C it was a level 60 Epic Dagger with high attack damage and attack speed. It also had three useful effects which were no worse than Perdition''s Blade, assuming the fire damage effect didn''t trigger.


    This dagger was given to Cain''s Left Hand, and Lu Li deducted 180 points from him.


    "Wow, why did you take so many points from me?" Cain''s Left Hand protested. He really liked this dagger, but he got a bit worried when Lu Li took so many points.


    "Didn''t you bid 180 points before? How about you Scarlet New Moon? You can have this dagger for 180 points," Lu Li said somewhat maliciously. Cain''s Left Hand didn''t know if Lu Li was just doing this as revenge for raising the price in the previous bid.


    "Oh yeah, I''ll pay 180 points," Scarlet New Moon nodded happily.


    "Get out of here, you''ve already given up on the item. Your dagger is also already much better than mind," Cain Left Hand snapped, immediately surrendering to Lu Li. He had already made a profit by acquiring this dagger for 180 points.


    "Alright, stop making a fuss. Dreamy, try one last time and see if there are¡ª"


    "Wow, it''s the Talisman of Binding Shard! It''s a piece of Legendary jewellery. I''m rich! I''m rich!" Remnant Dream jumped up and down excitedly. Although this item wasn''t for her, she was definitely going to get a big compensation for it. Lu Li had a lapse of concentration when he heard ''The Talisman of Binding Shard''. He didn''t realise that such a thing actually existed. Lu Li looked at the little thin chained item in his hands and didn''t imagined that he would see it here while playing Dawn.


    This was the only one!


    It would only appear once before it was deleted by the Officials or the AI system. This was a game that was being watched all over the world, so Dawn couldn''t remove items that had already been dropped. As such, the only necklace that had been dropped would remain. This was a Magic Necklace which mainly provided Magic Resistance, but it also had several very strong Special Effects.


    The first skill was a blink skill with a three-minute cooldown. The second skill was an instant Dispel that could be used once a day and the third skill was a chance to revive with full mana once a day.


    Calling this item Legendary was no exaggeration.


    If Lu Li had not been reborn, this piece of equipment would have been acquired by Glory Capital and equipped by White Westhill.


    "March Rain, this is yours to hold onto for now. I will take all your points, but I''m sure that''s not a problem."


    Lu Li couldn''t put this item up for bidding. He directly assigned it to March Rain but was ruthless with her points. The few hundred points she had left were completely deducted.


    March Rain was a healer, but she was also the main healer. She had never been benched, so she received points from every Boss and was even further subsidised with points after each fight.


    Her original guild points had already reached quite a high number, and few clubs had players that could match her. Although she had received a few pieces of equipment from the Molten Core, she still had four to five hundred points remaining.


    If nothing out of the ordinary happened, this amount of point deduction would stand as the highest on record for a long time.


    "March Sis," Remnant Dream said as she looked at March Rain pitifully.


    March Rain immediately offered a large red packet and even asked her brother for some help.


    They didn''t know the exact amount given, but from the look Remnant Dream gave, it wasn''t a small amount. Lu Li didn''t think she was being greedy as this was the only Talisman of Binding Shard in the game. They were only able to acquire this item because of her lucky hands. If Lu Li was looting the body, he wouldn''t have gotten it even after 100 tries.


    At this point, the Molten Core Instance Dungeon had been completed. Wandering had organised more teams from the guild to farm this Instance Dungeon, but Lu Li didn''t need to endure it any longer.


    He directly transported himself from Darnassus to Rut''theran Village before flying to Auberdine.


    Auberdine was the only harbour along the desolate land of the Black Sea Coast. The port quite conveniently led to Danassus (Main Elf City), Menethil (The Wetlands) and Exodar (Main Draenei City). The sweltering weather and creatures lurking in it made the secluded wetlands a difficult place to be, but the port itself was a thriving and safe commercial location.


    The presence of Auberdine made it easy for Ruling Sword''s Grey Valley to Black Sea Coast traffic. Lu Li''s Stronghold on the Black Sea Coast was located in the Twilight Valley not far away. If you walked, it would take ten minutes. However, most players had Mounts, which made travelling much easier.


    Lu Li planned to open a waterway between Auberdine and the Stronghold. After the players arrived at Auberdine, they could take a boat from the Ruling Sword Black Sea Coast Stronghold in Auberdine''s Longbridge Pier. Unfortunately, they had to source the boats from the evil System set on taking their money.


    However, taking a cruise ship long the Twilight Beach was actually quite a nice experience. Lu Li planned to develop this place into a tourist city. In this city, the club''s top management would be divided into their own residences. They would then open up hotels to attract tourists from all over the world to holiday at low prices.


    Stranglethorn Vale''s beach tourism economy was currently much stronger than the Black Sea Coast. Fortunately, Glory Capital''s Stronghold was inland, and a bit further from the coastline. This meant that they had worse conditions when developing their tourism projects. The land in the game belonged to the Game Company, so you couldn''t just build as you pleased. However, Ruling Sword had absolute autonomy within their own Stronghold.


    The Black Sea Coast had abundant resources in fish; there were even rare fish when the Well of Eternity collapsed. If you were interested in going on an adventure, you could ask a Tailor to produce a wetsuit for you to dive. There were a few shipwrecks in close proximity to the Stronghold within the depths of the ocean. As for the active monsters in the sea, Lu Li intended to hire some low-level players to clear them. This wouldn''t cost too much, as those players would want to level up too. Lu Li only needed to give them some low-level potions and some silver coins to repair their equipment.

 1419 Customer Service Has Come Knocking

    Nearly all the houses along the beaches were wooden.


    Lu Li also owned property here. Although he couldn''t quite understand the spirit of exploration that came with these scenic views, he could at least appreciate the beauty contained within them.


    "We want to build a city that people would want to travel to," Ruling Sword''s Jia Ren suggested. "So, we''ll have to add some special features. I had a look at some real tourist cities and have prepared a fresh analysis report. You can look at it when you''re free, Boss." He had been put in charge of construction and pointed to the street. A document was handed over after he finished speaking. There were quite a few text descriptions, most of which were for the blueprints.


    "Oh, I don''t think I really get it," Lu Li commented. He could read it, but it was clear that Lu Li couldn''t understand all of it. Jian Ren had heard a rumour that Lu Li was born into poor circumstances and had risen from the bottom. He smiled apologetically and explained, "I simply intend to turn this street into a street called Leafy Street. The advantage of being in a game is that you don''t have to worry about how the trees grow ¨C you can just artificially adjust their life cycle. I want to exclusively plant a cherry blossom festival on this street."


    Even if Lu Li was an idiot, he could at least understand the Chief Engineer''s explanation.


    However, he was more concerned about something else.


    "If you do this, you will have to propose it to the System. Will it be costly?"


    "Yes, the bigger the plan, the more expensive it will be," Jia Ren said. "However, my brother has an idea. We can get some of our guild friends or property investors to invest in the project. The clause in the contract allowing us to plant a few trees in front of their houses is no big deal to them. This clause that they need to agree on when purchasing the house will support our plans for the Stronghold."


    "It would be better if you discussed this sort of thing with Wandering," Lu Li decided.


    Since it didn''t cost money, he didn''t have to worry about it. He wasn''t someone who could appreciate the aesthetic, but he looked forward to seeing the new city that Jia Ren had planned.


    "I have also mentioned religious architecture in my report. You don''t have any resistance towards religious beliefs, do you?" Jia Ren asked.


    "I don''t care, as long as they don''t interfere with my life," Lu Li mumbled. He used to live near an old lady that didn''t want anyone to eat pork. Lu Li had once acquired some meat for his sister after some great difficulty, only for her to flip the plate of food onto the ground.


    "Noted," Jia Ren said, then paused and continued, "There are not a lot of construction funds left. The materials used for the city walls were a little over the budget. They were all made of fine stones, and Mercenary Groups have used this as a business opportunity."


    "Talk to Three Bro," Lu Li said as he looked at his communicator. "Someone is looking for me. Let me deal with this."


    The name of the person looking for him was rather unique ¨C Dawn Customer Service 316.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, players in Dawn couldn''t registered with the words ''Dawn'' in their name, nor could they register with numbers.


    Only an official account could be opened with those words and numbers. These would usually be controlled by the AI if they were testing some signing-in functions.


    "Esteemed Lu Li, Dawn Customer Service 315 wants to talk to you. Please confirm," a mechanical voice rang out from the communicator.


    "I confirm."


    "Hello, I am Customer Service 315," a human voice spoke. It seemed like they had taken over this account.


    "What are you looking for?" Lu Li asked.


    "Do you have a place we can meet?" the other person responded, avoiding the question.


    "Come to our Grey Valley Stronghold¡ª the new taverns are very good," Lu Li said. Official Customer Service generally wouldn''t contact the players and it wasn''t easy to get in touch with them. Lu Li was quite curious why they took an interest in him and personally called him.


    Lu Li waited in the tavern for a while, until the so-called Customer Service 316 arrived. His level wasn''t very high, and he didn''t seem to be wearing any equipment. He was just wearing work clothes which seemed out of place in such a stylish place. There were all sorts of fashion in the game, but no one was dressed like that. The gaming industry had developed to the point that Game Masters had to be clear about their identity in the game. If it was suspected that they had Game Masters hiding as normal players, the Game Company would face a lot of pressure.


    However, there were all sorts of dodgy Game Companies that tried different strategies. Dawn had once been part of a scandal. Several Game Designers had used an account to play the game and had triggered a World Announcement on accident which revealed their names to everyone. The officials then had to deal with the accident and several Game Designers publicly apologized for this matter. Dawn''s Game Company''s stocks plunged, and it took a lot of effort just to settle the scandal.


    "Want something to drink?" Lu Li asked.


    "Thank you. A dark beer is fine," Dawn Customer Service 316 said, then looked around and praised him, "This place is very nice, even better than the System''s Taverns. I like the vibes."


    "Everyone else had taken care of it. It has nothing to do with me. Why have you come looking for me?" Lu Li asked.


    "I need your help with something," Customer Service responded.


    "Hey, don''t make fun of me. You are part of Dawn''s game company; how could I possibly help you?" Lu Li shook his head.


    "Mr. Lu is now the owner of Dawn''s first Stronghold. Ruling Sword is the only club that holds two Strongholds, which is obviously a big deal in the gaming circles," Customer Service said. He was taking a while to get to the point.


    "And so?" Lu Li patiently prompted.


    Generally, the players didn''t like to be contacted by the Game Company as it was usually bad news. As a professional player, Lu Li was known due to the competitions he participated in. He didn''t want the game company to interfere or do anything that would take away his sense of security. If the world was constantly being manipulated, how could anyone feel any sense of security?


    "Thank you," Customer Service continued as the beer arrived. "Well, let me be straightforward. Has Mr. Lu ever been on the forums?"


    "Occasionally," Lu Li nodded.


    "Do you know what often reaches the top of the forums?" Customer Service asked with a smile.


    "The number one post¡­" Lu Li thought about it for a while to work out what he was talking about. If his guess was correct, the post probably had something to do with him.


    Due to the gaming industry flourishing, many new gaming communities emerged. One of the most popular communities was Dawn''s official forums that had emerged in the last six months. This was inevitable as the forums were officially supported, and any news was announced there first.


    As for the post that topped the rankings, it was probably about the Marriage System. Unlike the ''level effect reduction rule'' which was strictly confidential, the Marriage System that would be launched at the same was already at the forefront. Almost all players knew that the players would soon be allowed to get married. Therefore, there were often related posts on the forum filled with gossip about their favourite players pairing up.

 1420 Indifferen

    Players could nominate OTPs (One True Pairings), and then everyone could vote for their favourite. These people were generally celebrities in the gaming circle. Some of these people were actually close in real life, but others were just friends. Not only were these people paired together, but whole fan fictions were written about them. These stories were highly sought after in the official forum''s gossip section.


    Lu Li had never paid any attention to these kinds of things. The only reason he knew anything about it was because Lu Xin really loved these stories and was fascinated by them. Lu Li suspected that she had probably participated in the writing of some of these stories, but he didn''t have any evidence yet.


    Once, Lu Xin had read a post and had come to ask him about it. She was very curious as to whether Immortal was really in love with Elevenless. She had asked Lu Li because he might be familiar with them. After all, he was in the professional gaming circle.


    Of course, Lu Li didn''t know any of these secrets. As per his character, even if there was a secret, he wouldn''t have paid attention. However, now that he had skimmed through the forums, he saw it was filled with gossip.


    Of course, Lu Li saw posts about him and Water Fairy. Not only were they saying that Lu Li and Water Fairy were in a secret relationship, but they were also one of the OTPs. The gossip section had a variety of news about him and Water Fairy, in addition to a number of other OTPs. Lu Li started reading some of the fan fiction, but quickly stopped. At first it seemed normal, but it soon started getting perverted. When these posts first started, he noticed that Water Fairy was a bit uncomfortable, but he couldn''t quite work out why.


    "Yes, I''ve seen them before," Lu Li admitted.


    "Since you have seen it, this will be much easier," Customer Service sighed. "This is my intention. We hope that after the Couple System appears next Monday, the two of you can participate in the event and form the first couple in the game."


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t do that," Lu Li immediately refused. He didn''t even hesitate before rejecting.


    "Mr Lu, please don''t refuse this so rashly. This is an easy way to make you very popular, much easier than playing the game."


    Customer Service 316 was becoming a little anxious. This kind of thing usually boosted the respect and popularity of the player, so he couldn''t think of why Lu Li would refuse. Before he came, their project team had even met up to discuss how they would persuade Lu Li.


    There were some who thought Lu Li and Water Fairy were not completely indifferent to one another like some of the other OTPs. They had drawn some rather embarrassing conclusions about their relationship. They thought it was likely that Lu Li wanted Water Fairy but couldn''t get her because of their gap in status.


    If Lu Li agreed to this and allowed for the both of them to be listed officially as a couple, then Lu Li would have far fewer troubles pursuing Water Fairy.


    "Sorry, I''m not interested in popularity," Lu Li still shook his head and refused. "And in any case, I don''t want to make my life too public, whether in game or in reality. Marriage is a serious affair, and not something to be taken lightly."


    "How stubborn!" Customer Service had thought this was going to be a piece of cake. He didn''t expect the situation to play out like this. "I think you are mistaken Mr. Lu. There are two types of statuses in the Couple System. The first is for love, which just describes the relationship status between a man and a woman. The other is marriage, which is the advanced version of love. Our marketing will be mainly to promote the relationship, which isn''t directly connected with marriage."


    After such a long explanation, Lu Li just looked at him with a smile. He still wasn''t interested. As someone who had experienced Rebirth, Lu Li knew how the Couple System would work. The Love status would be symbolic for their actual relationship. When the two parties played together and reached a certain level of intimacy, an option to transition into marriage would become available.


    Relationships could only be formed between a man and a woman, but this would be changed in the future due to the demands of the player base. It wouldn''t just be limited to a relationship between a man and a woman; even two women could obtain a relationship status.


    Customer Service 316 went back to the company''s conference room, where seven to eight people were waiting for the results of their meeting. Customer Service 315, who was responsible for communicating with Water Fairy, was already here. The faces of both Customer Service players and the atmosphere in the room were a bit dull.


    The supervisor first asked Liu Xing, who had used the ID of Customer Service 315. His face seemed to have a little hope in it.


    "Xiao Liu, how about you go first?"


    "I contacted Miss Shen when I entered the game. We had communicated before (as Water Fairy is the ambassador of the Night Elf race), and Miss Shen was very polite. However, when I mentioned that she and Lu Li should form a game couple, she immediately refused," Liu reported in frustration.


    "How about you?" the supervisor asked the other staff.


    Customer Service 316 sighed, "It was basically the same for me; he just isn''t interested in improving his popularity."


    "I thought Lu Li was pursuing Water Fairy. Why would he reject an opportunity to become closer to her? It seems like your intel was not entirely accurate," the supervisor frowned at the disappointing reports.


    "Ahem, I only heard that it was just a rumour," the employee who had made that claim quickly added.


    "I heard that you will be on the next list of employees laid off," the director joked coolly.


    Although the supervisor was kidding, the employee that heard this couldn''t help but tense up. Since Dawn had appeared, a number of other game companies had started to decline. There had been mass layoffs and closures in the industry. There was a growing pool of talent outside of Dawn, and there were some that were worried that Dawn would lay them off to make room for these unemployed workers.


    "What now? Should we consider other OTPs?" someone asked.


    "The popularity gap between these two and the rest is too large. If you look at the post, the number of votes for these two is five times that of the OTP in second place. Our research also tells us that the second OTP might not even be real," someone else immediately rejected the suggestion.


    If the difference in popularity wasn''t that large, then the officials could have figured out a new plan. The key was that Lu Li and Water Fairy were currently the centre of attention of the forums and the game. Either they collaborate with them for the promotion of this system, or they didn''t collaborate with anyone at all. Otherwise, they would be a laughing stock. None of the players would care about the new system.


    "Let me see how the interactions happened," the supervisor said.


    Normally, when a Customer Service player entered, there was a live feed recorded so that every move could be subject to investigation. The two Customer Service players easily pulled up the video feed that was recorded.

 1421 Exploiting the Officials

    Because the two parties had refused without hesitation, the negotiations didn''t go for too long. The people present were able to quickly watch the two videos.


    "I found the problem. You took the wrong angle to convince them," the supervisor said as he knocked his knuckles on the table. "These two players obviously don''t care about popularity. Water Fairy and Lu Li''s popularity are already high enough. There is no other female player comparable to her. As for Lu Li, if you considered the number of commercial endorsements that he has accepted, he is also already quite popular."


    Neither of them needed more popularity!


    Lu Li was still sitting in the newly built tavern after Customer Service had left. There was a big screen on the wall, and a movie was being played.


    There was a pair of special glasses under the table. If you put them on, you could enter the movie. It was an immersive experience that allowed you participate in the movie, but you couldn''t change the story or the result.


    This was one of the tavern''s newest features which was only available through Ruling Sword''s Stronghold. This was one of the reasons why Lu Li had paid so many gold coins. In fact, Ruling Sword had invested a huge amount of gold coins into the development of the Stronghold. Almost all the money they had earned was invested. This level of spending even shocked Water Fairy.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t wearing the glasses. He thought they looked a little dumb. When Water Fairy arrived, the movie was playing a very cool scene. It was a group of people who had been bitten by spiders and were howling like beasts. Their bodies began to distort: their legs became slim, their feet vanished, their arms became slender, and their hands turned into claws that were sharp enough to cut into flesh. Their clothes ripped apart as their ribs began to crack open and blood and water flowed onto the ground. Their ribs then twisted open and became claw-like, just like the claws on their limbs. This scene didn''t stop the people in the tavern from enjoying the food and wine. At the same time, their faces elongated and twisted. Their eyes split again and again; this scene was particularly disgusting. Lu Li recalled that the style of this tavern was supposed to be quite hardcore.


    Unfortunately, it was too late to change locations. Water Fairy almost witnessed the entire deformation process on the big screen.


    "The style of this tavern is a bit strange. I randomly chose it, but I didn''t expect it to be so hardcore," Lu Li explained. If it was someone else like Customer Service 316, Lu Li probably wouldn''t have bothered explaining.


    "This is fine. I''ve seen this movie before; its pretty good," Water Fairy commented while looking at him. Perhaps this girl just couldn''t be compared to the average girl. Lu Li immediately asked, "Did Customer Service come looking for you?"


    "Yep, just before you sent the message, they asked me about the couple system," Water Fairy said. She looked at Lu Li''s expression and knew that he had also been questioned. However, she didn''t know how Lu Li responded to the Customer Service''s suggestion.


    If he accepted, it would be very unlike him. However, if he declined, then Water Fairy obviously would be a little unhappy. If Lu Li heard about an opportunity to have a relationship with her, and instantly rejected it, she would have mixed emotions because she knew it wasn''t because of her. Even if he didn''t reject it, it wouldn''t matter because she already had.


    However, her refusal was not because she disliked Lu Li, but simply because she wasn''t interested in the chance to be gain even more popular.


    "I refused too; it didn''t make much sense to me," Lu Li answered as he observed Water Fairy''s expression. He couldn''t figure what she was thinking. He continued explaining, "I am not a person who likes doing something just for the fun of it. The only useful thing about the Couple System is that couples can access each other easily. However, the pocket watches that we have are even better."


    "Yeah, I think so too," Water Fairy said with a smile. "The officials are so stingy as well; they tried to get us to do something for free."


    "What if there are some other benefits?" Lu Li asked.


    "That depends on who makes the offer," Water Fairy replied.


    "What if they promise something beneficial?" Lu Li felt his resolve wavering. If Water Fairy wasn''t involved and an official offered something valuable, there was a real chance he would accept it.


    "Then they would have to follow through with the promise. Why do you ask? What kind of benefits are you looking for?" Water Fairy smiled at Lu Li.


    She knew that this guy wasn''t necessarily a good person, but Water Fairy, who had been in business since childhood, didn''t mind this kind of thinking. On the contrary, if Lu Li was too innocent, she would be very uncomfortable.


    "I probably don''t need anything weapon related ¨C our current weapons are pretty good. I''ve almost used up the Darkmoon Card so another one of them would be good, or maybe even a whole set of them. Enhanced Skill Books would be good too¡­" Lu Li licked his lips and started passionately listing all the things he wanted.


    They weren''t that different from anyone else. The discussion revealed their inner thoughts and revealed they weren''t completely against the couple system.


    Customer Service 316 logged in again and appeared in front of Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    "Oh, the two of you are here. That''s good," Customer Service 316 said. His tone seemed to imply that he would soon get their cooperation because he knew their inner desires.


    "Yes, hello," Lu Li nodded, and Water Fairy greeted the Customer Service member.


    The Customer Service account was very special. Normal player accounts were bound to the single person, but the Customer Service account had no such restriction, so you didn''t know who was using it.


    Customer Service 316 began, "My last name is Yu, and I am the head of the couple system project team. The previous two were my employees."


    It was the supervisor that had logged in this time. After watching the videos of his two subordinates, he had personally entered the game. The fact that he was working as a supervisor meant that his work experience and qualifications were obviously higher.


    Lu Li had gained a lot of information from this encounter. Since the supervisor had personally appeared, it must mean that the officials placed great importance on the couple system.


    Mr. Yu had personally taken charge of the couple system. There were plenty of competitors waiting for his project to fail. So, he had personally met with Lu Li and Water Fairy to give them a sense that this offer had come from the higher ups.


    "Nice to meet you, Mr. Yu. I think we have made our response very clear," Lu Li said bluntly.


    Water Fairy quietly gave him a look of encouragement. He was acting very well to set good conditions before an offer was made. If they let them know that they weren''t interested, it would result in more benefits for them.


    "Oh, I don''t think so," the supervisor shook his head.


    "Oh, and why do you think that we will agree? To gain the name of the first couple? Or the transfer ring between couples?" Lu Li asked.


    "The couple ring is a pretty good item. Not only can you use it to summon another player, but it can also regenerate fatigue," the supervisor explained. "When you''re fatigued, HP and Mana regeneration slows¡­"


    "Please, have a look at this item," Lu Li interrupted as he took out his pocket watch.


    He was quite impressed with the Game Company. They had promised not to interfere with the players and had followed through. They didn''t even look through his backpack, otherwise, they wouldn''t have offered him the transfer ring. The pocket watches that Lu Li and Water Fairy had were much better.


    "This¡­"


    The supervisor was dumbfounded. He felt like an idiot.


    After a pause, he said, "Alright then, let''s just get down to business. What do you want?"


    From the two videos, the supervisor could see that the two weren''t interested in being the official OTP, but they didn''t hate the system. Since they didn''t hate it, there was still a hope of persuading them. The key to convincing these two was to find out what they wanted.


    To ensure success in anything, there needed to be the right preparations. The Game Company had given this supervisor some permissions to facilitate this project, but he couldn''t just recklessly use his powers. He had to achieve project goals with minimal cost.


    Unfortunately, the couple before the supervisor were not fools. If he tried to fool them again, it would appear insincere to them and would just irritate them. As such, the supervisor simply allowed them to name their price.


    "I want to fly."


    Water Fairy was first to speak. She had seen Lu Li and Hachi Chan do it and had obviously been envious of it.


    There were few players that could fly, and many were in Ruling Sword.


    "I can''t directly give you the ability to fly, because everything is monitored by the AI. If I give out an excessive reward, the Game Industry Monitoring Centre will find out about it," the supervisor said, then thought for a while before continuing, "But I can give you information on how you can achieve flight."


    The first request had been rejected, which was not a good start to the negotiations. Water Fairy''s request wasn''t even that valuable. There were several other people who could fly already. Even if Water Fairy learned how to, it wouldn''t greatly affect game balance.


    "If you can''t give a Skill Book, then I want to know how my ring can be upgraded to the next level," Lu Li said, showing the supervisor his Supreme Ring. The current Supreme Ring was still pretty good. When compared to the other top rings, there wasn''t a large gap in power level.


    The supervisor looked at Lu Li''s ring and almost exclaimed out loud because he knew this item. He and the head of design were good friends, so he knew all about the process through which this ring was designed. When someone excitedly received a legendary item, it was likely that such an item would have effects more powerful than the player itself. In other words, this ring was basically really powerful.


    However, as soon as he began to wonder how Lu Li managed to get the Supreme Ring to the fourth level, he realized that this was how Lu Li managed to rise up in the game so quickly. It had only been six months, but he had already upgraded it to the fourth level.


    Although this ring was really powerful, it wasn''t overpowered. With Lu Li''s currently level of strength, he would obviously want to upgrade it if he could.


    "Can this ring not be upgraded anymore?" Lu Li asked.


    He had asked this question quite skilfully. He didn''t ask the other party if he could give him any clues, but whether the ring could still be upgraded.


    "Of course, it can still be upgraded," the supervisor answered, not noticing the trap set by Lu Li, then snorted before saying, "However, I will have to apply for something like this. You will have to wait a little, but I don''t think it will be a problem."

 1422 Flying Creature

    "You can make one final demand. Three requests are the most I can take. Please believe me; it is the extent of my authority," he said as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. The virtual technology perfectly simulated this.


    Lu Li didn''t know he was being called an ''exploiter'' by the staff, but he certainly felt that way.


    "How should I plant this tree?"


    Lu Li and Water Fairy had already discussed this topic. They had a long list of things that were useful but wouldn''t be unbearable for the company to grant. Unfortunately, they only had one request left, so Water Fairy left it to Lu Li.


    "Just dig a hole, bury it and pour some water¡­" the supervisor answered as he looked at the seed in Lu Li''s hand, then continued with a smile, "I''m kidding. But I really don''t know what to do with this item."


    Ruling Sword''s Grey Valley Stronghold had been planted with the Ancient of Lore. As long as the Ancient of Lore grew up, the Grey Valley wouldn''t have to be defended. The summoned trees could kill the enemies at their respawn point.


    The seed he currently had in this hand was the World Tree seed.


    Dammit!


    If this seed was planted, how could the other players keep up?


    The Ancient of Lore could summon Treants. Although they had low Defense, low Attack, and only knew a few skills, they would still win by overwhelming the enemy. However, the summon duration of these monsters was quite limited, so there was a limit to the Stronghold defence.


    The World Tree on the other hand was not the same.


    It summoned Wisps!


    It was said that these Wisps were ancient creatures that once inhabited the Kalimdor Forest. Others said that they were actually the dead souls of the Night Elves. The Night Elves lived in harmony and served the ancient trees. They could even become trees themselves and grow into living buildings.


    With the World Tree, Ruling Sword had the chance of creating a Darnassus.


    Wisps could be turned into various trees and grow into living buildings, which saved them from the costs of building a Stronghold. The biggest advantage was that the Stronghold could be upgraded rapidly, and would soon become the size of a small village. It would grow to the size of a city within a few months.


    Even if you discounted that matter, the Wisps were far better than the Treants.


    They were all Mages and were proficient in different kinds of arcane magic. They had somewhat poor Physical Defense but took very little Magic damage. Wisps were not known for either their construction ability or their hardiness to magic, but they were known for their ability to self-destruct!


    When talking about this, one had to mention a very unlucky guy.


    His name was Archimonde, and he was the right-hand man of the fallen Titan Sargeras, who was one of the world''s most powerful beings and an evil Eredar Warlock.


    When Azshara recklessly used magic that caught the attention of Sargeras, Archimonde and Mannoroth began leading a devastating invasion.


    Accompanied by thousands of demons, they snuck through the gates under the Well of Eternity and onto the ancient Kalimdor lands. They destroyed and killed all the buildings and people as they went.


    However, a young scholar named Malfurion Stormrage assembled a small group of Night Elves that defeated the demons with the help of Cenarius'' Forest Alliance and Alexstrasza, the powerful red dragon. Eventually, the portal that they used for the invasion collapsed, which split the worlds. Archimonde and his servants were banished into the Twisting Nether.


    Archimonde plotted for over 10,000 in the Twisting Nether for a new invasion.


    But this time, his invasion was stopped by Tyrande and her allies.


    Archimonde then perceived a powerful entity, one that he had never seen before. It was the World Tree Nordrassil, who made the Night Elves immortal and allowed them to have strength beyond measure.


    The World Tree was like a tempting lollipop. Archimonde threw the Burning Legion and Kil''Jaeden into the fray. He knew that if he could absorb the strength of the World Tree, he would become as powerful as Sargeras.


    The battle was very fierce ¨C Tyrande, Saar and Jaina had formed a strong coalition to prevent Archimonde from approaching the World Tree.


    However, this alliance didn''t stop him. All their efforts seemed like a farce. One could even describe the situation like this ¨C they had lured Archimonde to the World Tree, dangling the prize right in front of him.


    When Archimonde climbed the World Tree, Malfurion blew the Cenarious Horn and countless Wisps rose from the forest near the World Tree. They flew to Archimonde and clustered together before blowing themselves up. This explosion completely destroyed Archimonde.


    The Commander of the Burning Legion had been completely destroyed by the explosion!


    This was the kind of strength being contemplated, so when the supervisor saw the World Tree seed, his mind immediately imagined the worst outcome. He immediately refused Lu Li''s request without hesitation; there was no point applying for someone like that.


    In fact, Lu Li wasn''t that hopeful in receiving an answer. After getting rejected, he gave Water Fairy the opportunity to make a request.


    Water Fairy asked for help with the Chain Quest that she had recently started. She still hadn''t finished it yet, but she had been stuck for more than a month.


    It wasn''t difficult for the supervisor to help with Water Fairy''s quests, but he just gave her a clue.


    "With the flying request, do you want a Mount or do you want to become a flying creature like Lu Li?"


    The supervisor obviously couldn''t reveal all the programs he had to do his job, otherwise, it would be too difficult.


    "I want to become a flying creature."


    Even Lu Li, who had experienced Rebirth, couldn''t have helped Water Fairy with this request. If she wasn''t a Druid, it was way too difficult to become a flying creature. Lu Li had been exposed to all these things because he had almost exclusively completed unique quests. There were no standard quests that would grant such a thing.


    "If you want to be a flying creature, you have three choices. The first is a parrot. It is a green parrot and is quite cute¡­" the supervisor said enthusiastically.


    "Ugly green?" Water Fairy didn''t even bat her eyelids.


    "Oh," the supervisor was speechless, and had no choice but to continue, "There is also an Owl, which is grey and similar to the owls of Darnassus, but it is smaller and prettier."


    "Hrm, your aesthetic tastes are¡­" Water Fairy began, then considered her words for a moment and said, "very novel!"


    He thought that a grey owl was pretty; how else could that be described?!


    "Ahem, everyone has a different aesthetic appreciation," the supervisor continued. "The last one is a phoenix¡­"


    "Alright, I''ll take that one!"

 1423 The Most Shameless

    "Are you sure you want this one?" The supervisor felt a headache coming on.


    The speed of the phoenix transformation wasn''t particularly fast, and neither was its flying speed. Even though Lu Li had learned the Crow Transformation from Medivh, he wouldn''t be able to fly faster than Hachi Chan''s Butterfly Transformation.


    However, the key aspect was that the Phoenix can be reborn. Once Water Fairy learned this skill, she would gain the ability to regenerate once a day.


    The other two options didn''t have this ability.


    Of course, since this transformation had been revealed, it meant that this was possible within the System''s rules. All three of these transformations were unique, and were only granted once by the System in special circumstances.


    "Yes, I''ll take this one," Water Fairy said without hesitation.


    This was barely a choice ¨C there was the ugly green parrot, a grey owl and a phoenix. One of them was clearly better than the rest.


    "I should remind you that if you choose the Phoenix, you will have to wait a while because the step of the quest involves a new map."


    There was nothing else that the supervisor could do now.


    The Phoenix was better than the other two options, but the process for acquiring it was more troublesome. Water Fairy had to go to a new map to get it, which meant that she couldn''t acquire it quickly.


    "That''s fine. If its late then its late," Water Fairy insisted.


    "As for your ring¡­ this is a coincidence, but you will also have to wait until a new map is opened before you can upgrade it further," the supervisor said. "However, I can give you a hint. Go to the Throne of the Elements to try your luck. You have killed quite a few Bosses, so your next upgrade will definitely be very impressive."


    This was a frustrating response. Even though he had a better understanding of the game than most, he still wouldn''t be able to upgrade the Supreme Ring to the fourth level.


    "That''s it?" Lu Li was dissatisfied.


    "My hands are tied. You should know that I don''t have control over every aspect of the game. At most, I can only provide a little bit of information. If something goes wrong, I will be held responsible," the supervisor sighed bitterly.


    From a business operations perspective, the transaction that was happening between him and this couple was fine, but public opinion was a completely different matter.


    "You can rest assured that everything will be kept confidential, but I do have one more request," Lu Li the exploiter said.


    The supervisor looked at Lu Li''s mouth as it moved. He felt like the person in front of him was trying to take advantage of him.


    "I can only fulfil three requests, no more. It''s not just me either; my boss will say the same thing."


    I know that the Couple System will come with a pair of rings. Is that right?" Lu Li asked, not bothering to address his concerns.


    "Yes, as long as the relationship status is confirmed, you will get the pair of rings."


    The supervisor had a bad feeling about this.


    "We already have the pocket watches, so what can the rings do for us?" Lu Li asked.


    "Oh¡­ there is nothing we can do about it. You got the pocket watches yourselves."


    The supervisor was about to cry.


    "My request is not that demanding. Why are you giving me that look?" Lu Li was speechless.


    Water Fairy let out a grin.


    "Okay, what is it?"


    The supervisor relaxed his shoulders. He understood that Lu Li was synonymous with shamelessness. The Goddess Water Fairy was complicit too; she was smiling in the face of this shamelessness.


    "Replace the ring with something else. I don''t believe that the couples are only given rings. Such items that have no form of advancement are boring," Lu Li said confidently.


    "How about the double Mount?" the supervisor suggested.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy looked at each other and shook their heads. What use would they have for a double Mount? It was totally useless. If Lu Li wasn''t playing with Water Fairy, then Lu Li would just be riding it alone. The double Mount was the most popular item among couples, because it was quite romantic.


    "What about a True Orange Heart?" the supervisor continued, then went on to explain, "This is a must have item. If you don''t have it, you will have to get it from the store for 100 gold coins. Ms. Shen could wear it, and she might even want to wear 999 of these."


    Lu Li just stared at him.


    "Haha, that was just a joke. What about some fashion items for couples?"


    Before Lu Li responded, the supervisor already knew the answer.


    "Seems like you aren''t interested. Just tell me what you want."


    In fact, the supervisor wanted to just turn around and leave.


    Unfortunately, he still had to grant the requests.


    This guy was the most shameless of them all. They had already agreed on three requests, but now he was trying to get even more.


    However, Lu Li was right. The biggest reward for the Couple System was the ring, and it was useless for Lu Li and Water Fairy. If you didn''t compensate for this crucial part of the System, you were simply asking for it.


    "It''s quite simple. Just let us combine the Pocket Watch and a Badge," Lu Li said, revealing his true intentions for the first time.


    The pocket watch was a type of badge, so if you used it, you had to replace your current badge. If he and Water Fairy wanted to get the Regeneration effect, they had to equip the pocket watch which was equivalent to having one less item equipped.


    Although Stamina could be regenerated, it came at the cost of Strength. It was a trade-off.


    Of course, Lu Li wanted better than that. If he could combine it into a piece of equipment, it would be much better.


    "I can''t do that. I don''t have the ability to mess with items," the supervisor refused.


    "I don''t think my request is too demanding. I think you will find a way to do it."


    Lu Li had made such a bold request, so naturally, he would try to insist on it.


    In fact, Dawn''s Game Company generally didn''t interfere with equipment. For combining two pieces of equipment, there was a special item that could do this. However, this could also be achieved with a scroll. The problem was that Lu Li didn''t know where to obtain such a scroll.


    After calming down, the supervisor seriously considered ways to talk Lu Li out of this, or¡­ to find a way to fulfil this request.


    He negotiated with Water Fairy and Lu Li, and contacted some staff in the conference room.


    Soon, an answer was returned. A team member of the design department had found a way to combine equipment ¨C there was indeed such a scroll. Once this scroll was obtained from the quest, it could be used to combine two badges into one.


    This item was actually not that valuable.


    The most common item among the players was the camp badge, or the Adventurer''s Exploration Badge.


    But apart from this, it was difficult for ordinary players to find special equipment, let alone special equipment from the same category. As such, there were few people that had the opportunity to use it.


    When picking out quest awards, almost no one would choose this scroll.

 1424 The Motivation to Continue

    At the end of the day, Lu Li and Water Fairy''s requests were fulfilled.


    All the messages that both of them would receive would be sent into their mailboxes. However, these were not sent to the in-game mailboxes, but to the emails in real life under the supervisor''s name.


    As for the supervisor, well, he ran away.


    It was only Water Fairy and Lu Li alone in this corner of the hotel.


    One man. One woman. Alone. Together.


    The movie was still playing on the big screen. Technology was already advanced to the point where the volume was adjusted to each person''s preferences. Therefore, even with the movie playing in the background, it did not affect the discussions within the hotel.


    Now, the awkwardness was now confronted once again.


    They were bound to be the first official couple in the game. It was likely that they were going to suffer a burden as the first official couple. Everyone originally only treated it as an ambiguous relationship ¨C not official, but not nothing either. However, they were now official.


    This was a game. Only a game!


    Perhaps this was how they convinced themselves. When rumours of them first appeared, they just thought that this was a game, so they didn''t think anything of it. Then, they gained a nickname, which was ''Playing Around'', as they became closer and closer. Because of this, the difficulty to explain their relationship gradually became harder and harder. However, both kept their silence.


    As time passed, the nickname ''Playing Around'' was engraved in every players'' hearts. It was even more famous than the actual ''couple'' in the Scarlet Monastery.


    Although ''playing around'' was usually filled with negative connotations, in this case, it was used in a


    positive light and an advertisement in itself.


    Any interaction that they had, even as simple as a hello or just training together, was spun into a soap drama. This was the case even if they argued.


    Gradually, as time passed, they still didn''t bother explaining. Perhaps, this was because something had changed.


    It wasn''t laziness that stopped them from explaining anymore. In the depths of Lu Li''s heart, he knew that he enjoyed it when other people talked about him and Water Fairy.


    As for why¡­


    According to Lu Xin, perhaps he was already attracted to Water Fairy much earlier.


    As for those anti-fans, they would say that Lu Li had no qualifications to pursue Water Fairy. Some people even credited the building of Ruling Sword to the result of Lu Li sucking up to Water Fairy.


    Lu Li didn''t care. He wasn''t one to care for his reputation that much.


    However, he couldn''t ignore it completely. There was always a little bit in him that wanted to be the alpha.


    He didn''t think that he was worse than Water Fairy. She was born into a good family and had endless support from them. She made Drizzle Court into what it was over a few years, while Lu Li took around half a year to get to where he was. In the very beginning, he didn''t even have enough money to buy the game helmet.


    He didn''t need much time to conquer the whole game.


    The short silence from Lu Li didn''t bother Water Fairy. As usual, she elegantly took a sip of her fruit tea with her eyes glued to the big screen.


    "Thanks for giving me two of the three requests. It''s unfortunate that I can''t share the benefits of the necklace. I can only complete it alone," Water Fairy said.


    "That''s okay. I actually gained quite a bit too," Lu Li responded. The discovery of the method to raise the level of the ring was very important. It might become a Legendary item after levelling up again.


    "Becoming a couple in game means that you won''t be able to play around with girls. Also, my fanbase is pretty big. If you step out of line, you''ll get abused."


    It was unknown whether these words were said out of concern or humour. All in all, Water Fairy looked to be in a good mood.


    "I''m not that type of person," Lu Li replied.


    After leaving the hotel, Lu Li quickly saw the details regarding the combining of his badges, as well as the method to level up the Supreme Ring.


    The combination of the badges could be done quickly, but the requirements for the Supreme Ring quest were a little more complicated. However, simply knowing it was enough for Lu Li. As for the difficulty of the quest, it was not a problem. Lu Li and Water Fairy were the best among the best. They also had the support of two large clubs. As long as the quest didn''t require individual participation, the difficulty didn''t matter. As for the Supreme Ring, Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the details.


    The supervisor only mentioned The Throne of the Elements. After all, the agreement was not complete. After receiving these, Lu Li understood why the requirements for the Supreme Ring quest were so difficult. If he didn''t have this, then he probably wouldn''t even have a chance at looking at the fifth level of the Supreme Ring.


    Because the Throne of the Elements was in Outland Nagrand, Lu Li needed to wait a while.


    The Phoenix transformation quest that Water Fairy had was similar. The last step of the quest was to kill Prince Kael''thas in the Stormwind Stronghold. She also needed to wait until the release of the new map.


    Lu Li estimated that it would probably still be around a year before that came.


    How long!


    In a year, other people might even be already wearing Legendary rings, while he would still be wearing this Epic ring, even though the properties were extremely good.


    The Supreme Ring finally showed a flaw.


    Lu Li remembered from his previous life, where Azure Sea Breeze had this ring. This ring, although extreme powerful, was hindering its wearer''s progress.


    He needed to improve his other equipment as well.


    Lu Li realised that his goals were often not usually the main goals. As a person who went from rags to riches, he was different to Sorrowless. He needed to maintain his strength in order to lead the hundred thousand players in Ruling Sword. This way, he could strike fear into his enemies.


    Lu Li skimmed over his equipment and saw that there were a few level 55 items.


    After the update next week for item levels, his strength would definitely drop by quite a lot.


    Originally, he wanted to rest a bit. However, in order to pull ahead from other players, he needed to prepare to fight the next Instance Dungeon. It also needed to be a new Instance Dungeon. The main point about new Instance Dungeons was that the drop rate for exquisite items was higher when it was the First Clear.


    For example, Ruling Sword had already cleared the Molten Core twice. In the first run, they managed to kill all the Bosses except the last Boss. In the week after that, the first nine Bosses weren''t First Clears anymore, so the items dropped were of much lower quality.


    Lu Li was not satisfied with just relying on luck. He extremely capable at clearing Instance Dungeons, even if there were no strategies before entering. As this was the case, he wanted to make use of his skills and knowledge to the maximum.

 1425 Mechanical Chicken

    Before they started on the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li planned to finish the quest with Water Fairy first.


    "These instructions are so vague and brief. How cheap," Water Fairy complained as she flipped over the instructions on the quest and indicated that she didn''t understand them at all. Intelligence didn''t matter here.


    "It means that we need to look for Oglethorpe Obnoticus. Then, we can look for the quest items in the three maps¡­" Lu Li said, then examined the details further and continued, "We need to kill monsters, and the drop rate doesn''t look like its very high."


    Water Fairy instantly had a disappointed look on her face when looking at Lu Li. He was much too unlucky.


    "Cough¡­cough¡­I''ll call Remnant Dream to come."


    Lu Li was thinking that although he was unlucky, it wasn''t as though she was far luckier than him.


    At that time, Remnant Dream was brushing the hair of one of her pets ¨C a black-coated lion. This lion had quite a good name ¨C Xiu Ma. This animal had a name that was designated by the System, which was rare. As a result, the abnormal coloured coat was also quite rare.


    The little hunter brushed the coat, then the lion licked the little hunter. They were quite happy while playing together.


    "Dreamy, come help me with a quest," Lu Li messaged Remnant Dream..


    "Why don''t you look for Hachi Chan for quests? You''re crazy."


    The little hunter was being disturbed, so she wasn''t too pleased.


    "Hmmm¡­" Lu Li was quite speechless. Was he not her leader? It seemed like this little brat would only sweetly call Lu Li as big brother when she wanted something.


    "If there''s nothing else, I''m going to go. I still have many of my babies to attend to."


    Dreamy clearly didn''t think that she had emotionally hurt her leader''s fragile mental state.


    "The reward from the quest is rumoured to be a pet!" Lu Li tempted, trying to talk to her in a different way. He didn''t like to lie to little girls. There were multiple options for the quest reward in the end. The first was the Fusion Scroll, the second was a mechanical pet and the third was a Dark Gold item.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had picked the Dark Gold item. It was a shame that the level of the item was too low, so it wasn''t valuable.


    "Oh, Big Brother Lu Li, why didn''t you say sooner? Where are you? I''ll come over right away!" Remnant Dream was like a different person; she quickly went to Lu Li.


    Booty Bay was part of the Blackwater Pirates'' territory, where Baron Revilgaz was managing. This was also a Goblin-based technologically-advanced city in the most southern part of the Eastern kingdom. The main attractions here were the fishing competitions, as well as the engineering expertise of the Goblins. There was also a travelling system here for the Alliance.


    They could take a transporting device to Ratchet here.


    It was part of the Steamwheedle Cartel, where the Bloodsail Buccaneers were the nemeses.


    Oglethorpe Obnoticus was the trainer for the Gnome engineers. He was a gnome, but he was larger than most gnomes that Lu Li had seen.


    Oglethorpe was quite a thin gnome and had many wrinkles in his skin. It seemed like he had led a rich life. His eyelids were so large that they almost covered his eyes and his mouth was hidden behind his huge white beard. He was quite an old gnome.


    Because Lu Li had taken in a gnome student before, and had completed many gnome quests, his reputation in the minds of gnome NPCs were very good. Furthermore, he was also a well-renowned engineer.


    "Welcome, guests from afar," the master engineer said quite passionately.


    After engaging in small-talk for a while, Lu Li finally got to the main point. "Greetings, Master Obnoticus. Do you have any news on the Mechanical Chicken?"


    "Mechanical Chicken, huh? You''ve looked in the right place. It is one of my creations, as I am quite curious about robotic creatures. There was a period of time where I thought I could create life. My god, what an unbearable time!" the gnome exclaimed, while rubbing on the wrinkles on his face.


    Perhaps it was a little excessive, but that kind of drive and impulse could not be realised anymore.


    Time never stopped for anyone, so naturally, it had also taken away quite a lot of the Master Engineer''s life. However, his legacy as an engineer was excellent, so it wouldn''t be surpassed any time soon.


    "Is that a pet?" Remnant Dream interjected and asked.


    "Pet? You could say that it is, kiddo. You can make it whatever you want, as long as you are able to express its value to the maximum. Once upon a time, I even treated them as my friends," Oglethorpe Obnoticus answered, then took out a mechanical model and continued, "The last time I sent them all out, they ended up malfunctioning. There must''ve been something wrong with the inner systems. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have all stopped together. If my memory serves me correctly, then are in the Hinterlands, Feralas and Tanaris. As for the position of them, it depends on yourselves. After all, those places are full of monsters and thieves. This device can help you guys find clues. Once you guys can deliver the Mechanical Chicken to the designated area, then I can control them to come back here."


    The three of them accepted the quest, then had a short discussion. After this, they decided to first go to Tanaris.


    Gadgetzan was a beautiful area. Cities such as these were the favourite areas for players to frequent. This city was full of the sounds of markets and gnomes attempting to haggle.


    Lu Li brought along Water Fairy and Remnant Dream and charged out of the safe area on mounts. The monsters here didn''t exceed level 50, so they were not threats to Lu Li and the others. Furthermore, the players here weren''t going to come in conflict with players on mounts. The mounts that they were using were also not ordinary ones.


    The monsters that were near the boundaries of the cities were instantly killed. As soon as they respawned, they were killed. There were players here that were training to get used to their new skills.


    They killed some monsters on the way out of the city, but there were no notable drops. Even if there was a lucky person here, it wouldn''t make a difference. Lu Li knew that it was because of their level differences. A player that was level 60 something fighting against monsters that were level 40 something. Naturally, there would be no drops. Even if there were, it was the lucky little hunter. If it was him who was looting the corpses, then there probably would not even be one hair.


    "Are we there yet?" Remnant Dream was already extremely keen on getting a mechanical pet.


    "Well, we should find a few lower-levelled players to join our party to lower the level average. Then the drops would be better," Water Fairy suggested. "I''ll try and gather some people, but there aren''t many low-levelled players in the guild."


    Both guilds, Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword, didn''t have many level 40 players. The minimum level requirement was at least level 55 to join.

 1426 Cracked Glasses

    "This should be easy to deal with," Lu Li said. He mulled over it for a while longer, then had an idea. "We''ll go to Zulfarrak''s Instance Dungeon and party up with two other people. Then, we can offer to take them through the Instance Dungeon for free. There should be heaps of people lining up to join our party."


    Naturally, Water Fairy and Remnant Dream didn''t object to the idea.


    This was the town where Lu Li fought the Sandfury Troll. He was now here again.


    The entrance to the Instance Dungeon was simply overcrowded!


    During the initial release period of Dawn, there were many other popular games. Some had been running for over a year and had quite strong reputation and player base. At that time, there were some professional eSports players in those games, but it wasn''t an explosion like this.


    As Dawn grew in player base, the other games were declining.


    As for the latecomers in Dawn, they usually suffered in terms of levels.


    Fortunately, new content was released at level 60, which allowed the new players to quickly catch up to the veterans. As a result of the introduction of this content, there was a huge influx of new players.


    "Level 58 Berserker. 5 gold for 3 runs. Last available slot. Must follow instructions."


    "ZUL Party. A Healing Priest only. Noob equipment not needed."


    "Druid Voodoo Chestpiece. Trading for Mage. Go away! I only want to trade for Mage!"


    "Shining Silver Breastplate with two unique effects. 5 gold per item. First come first serve! Brother! You look like someone''s who is extremely powerful. There''s a powerful aura around you. You have a bright future! Want to buy one of my Breastplates?"


    "Zulfarrak speed run squad. 3=2. Level 40 and below preferred."


    Lu Li also sent out a message into the local channel. This channel was only visible to those around the area.


    He decided to turn off the ''Whisper'' function, so no one was able to message him personally. As a result, there was a large number of players who wanted to join the squad.


    Lu Li glanced over the messages and planned to let two random low-levelled players join him.


    However, there was a surprise. In his quick glance, he saw someone who was out of the ordinary.


    Cracked Glasses!


    He was a Hunter but had opted for the Sniper branch, which had high attack and high mobility. The class was strong in terms of survivability and was naturally powerful on the PvP stage.


    Perhaps he wasn''t at Fat Monkey''s standard, who had also built his strength from scratch, but to spot a future professional player at Zulfarrak was already an unreal situation for Lu Li.


    Lu Li didn''t hesitate to add Cracked Glasses into the squad. He was at level 35, which met the minimum level requirement to enter the dungeon. It was also no wonder that he wanted to join the team. At this level, a player''s capability and mechanics did not matter. No one would invite a player into their squad unless he had a whole set of Epic items.


    To have a future pro join his party, Lu Li couldn''t ask for more. Even if Lady Luck continued to smile upon Lu Li, it was impossible for him to meet a second professional player.


    In the end, Lu Li just added a Druid called Midsummer Bloom.


    "What the hell? What''s going on?"


    Lu Li was talking in the local channel while concealing his ID, but he wasn''t concealing it in the party channel. Therefore, when Midsummer Bloom joined the party, he immediately saw the party details and people.


    The level 35 Hunter was like him ¨C just someone to fill the spot.


    However, the other three were all level 60 players.


    Although the number of level 60 players had greatly increased, they still weren''t a common sight, let alone three in the same party.


    Furthermore, there was also the three players'' IDs ¨C Lu Li, Water Fairy and Remnant Dream. Lu Li and Water Fairy were household names, but even Remnant Dream was also well known. She was one of the luckiest players in the game and was Lu Li''s own item looter. Her name was pretty much always among the IDs in Lu Li''s First Clears.


    "Alright. Let''s get going," Lu Li announced, immediately picking the Nightmare difficulty.


    The two newcomers just mindlessly went along with them. They didn''t object to the difficulty being chosen, since Lu Li had already begun taking First Clears of Instance Dungeons at Nightmare difficulty when he was only level 30-40. The Nightmare difficulty now was a piece of cake.


    "Big¡­Big Boss, do you need me to heal you?" Midsummer Bloom asked with a little tremble in his voice.


    "I don''t think I''ll need it. Dreamy, summon a pet that can take aggro. You can just focus on healing. As for you two, if you can fight, then fight. If you don''t want to, it''s fine to stay behind."


    Midsummer Bloom stopped attacking, but Cracked Glasses had already summoned his own pet, which was a highly-offensive Raptor.


    Lu Li began to regard him more highly; he had selected a good pet.


    The red Raptor was not a rare monster, but its offensive capabilities were not any weaker than the rare pets. The attack speed and movement speed of this monster was also noteworthy. The only weakness was that it lacked defense and could therefore be easily one-shotted. In an Instance Dungeon, Hunters usually would not use this pet, but it was different today. There were three level 60 players, so it was impossible for the aggro to be on anyone other than them.


    "Pull one wave to the Boss?" Water Fairy asked as she pulled out her dagger.


    "Okay," Lu Li nodded.


    Water Fairy rushed forward and sliced her dagger through each of the monsters. After a high damage number floated up, the monsters chased after Water Fairy.


    "Big Boss¡­is this¡­" Midsummer Bloom began, then continued, "¡­the way to live off a woman?"


    "Let''s keep going. Don''t fall behind. If you fall too far behind, then you''ll miss out on the EXP," Cracked Glasses scolded as he slapped his shoulder, then sprinted after the people in front.


    Even though Water Fairy might have pulled all the monsters to her, the low-levelled players would occasionally suddenly gain aggro. This was because the monsters were more likely to be drawn towards the lower-levelled players. In order to stop them from getting killed, Remnant Dream would fire a few arrows and pull the aggro to her. Lu Li didn''t do anything from the very beginning, so it did look like that he was living off the women.


    All the monsters were pulled to the first Boss, Overseer Antu''sul. Not even the scarabs were spared.


    "Begin!"


    Lu Li rushed forward then unleashed an AoE skill ¨C Fan of Knives. The attack power of this skill was extremely low, so it was useless against similarly-levelled monsters. However, against level 40 monsters, it was quite useful.


    The main DPS was Remnant Dream and her pet.


    She summoned a bear, which had very high HP and armour, as well as two AoE skills ¨C Swipe and Smack.


    Midsummer Bloom and Cracked Glasses were also attacking, but their DPS was much lower. After all, there were a lot of monsters, so they didn''t dare to get too close.


    After less than a minute, the original crowd of monsters turned into corpses, littered all over the battlefield. The two of them, Midsummer Bloom and Cracked Glasses, each gained considerable amounts of EXP. Dawn was a quite newbie-friendly game. The higher-level the player, the less EXP they received for killing lower-levelled monsters. However, the level gap didn''t affect the lower-levelled players in the party and their EXP.

 1427 Carrying Dungeons

    "Remnant Dream, go loot the Boss. Let''s keep going."


    Lu Li and Water Fairy healed and continued onwards.


    Since it was Nightmare mode, monsters still dealt quite a lot of damage to them. However, Remnant Dream''s pet was pulling aggro as well, so they could easily heal through the damage taken.


    The two newbies looked at all the corpses on the ground in excitement; they had completely forgot to ask about the drop distribution.


    Normally, the commander wouldn''t give drops to the newbies, since they ran these dungeons for money. However, some of the more generous commanders would leave the unwanted trash for the newbies to pick up. If there was equipment that they could use, they would sell it to them at half price as well.


    "If equips that we can use drop, can you sell them to us?" Cracked Glasses asked.


    "Ask Dream ¨C all the drops from today belong to her."


    That was the only downside of bringing Remnant Dream along; all the low-level items and materials that dropped would go to this greedy girl.


    "You two can take any drops that you can equip, but all the other rare materials and equipment are mine."


    Remnant Dream was definitely greedy, but she wasn''t selfish. The Boss dropped a Gold equip and two Silver equips. The Gold equipment was for Druids and Remnant Dream immediately distributed it to Midsummer Bloom.


    "Thank you, older sister Remnant Dream."


    Midsummer Bloom had very good manners and thanked her enthusiastically.


    "Why are you so excited? It''s not like it was some godly equip or anything," Remnant Dream said, playing it cool as she continued searching through the corpses. She left everything behind besides the rare materials. For Remnant Dream, the dungeons that she usually attempted dropped Legendary equipment, so she felt nothing when she saw these Gold grade equips. However, for these newer players, it would be rare to see them wearing anything above Silver grade.


    Since Zul''Farrak was far too difficult for their current level, everyone was focused on levelling up instead.


    Therefore, the purpose of dungeons wasn''t to upgrade their equipment, but to train. It would be more efficient for them to grind levels in Normal or Elite grade dungeons. As such, their equipment was still mostly Silver grade.


    This was Midsummer Bloom''s first Gold equipment and to her, it felt as if she was dreaming.


    "Let''s go. Water Fairy is pulling the Boss up ahead already," Remnant Dream said. She saw that the two of them were picking up more rubbish and materials and stopped them.


    "We can come back for this since we''re making so much progress."


    When they caught up to the second Boss, Water Fairy and Lu Li were already there waiting.


    As soon as they arrived, the battle was over.


    "Keep up; don''t waste time. If any equip drops for you guys, Remnant Dream will leave them for you," Lu Li said as he headed straight for the third Boss.


    The second Boss dropped another Gold equip; it was a robe for Mages that was useless for both of them.


    "Give it to the Hunter; he can sell it," Lu Li typed in the team channel.


    He had the obvious intention of wanting to please Cracked Glasses. At first, Cracked Glasses was only thankful that Lu Li would help train him, but with this extra gift, he started thinking that Lu Li was really a genuine guy.


    The Witch Doctor Zum''rah had area of attack skills, so Midsummer Bloom was killed by accident.


    This showed the difference in skill between the two newbies. Midsummer Bloom, who focused on healing herself, was still killed. However, Cracked Glasses, who was a squishy Hunter, was still alive because of his positioning and the timing of defensive skills.


    When Midsummer Bloom thought that she would have to retrieve her body, Lu Li Revived her.


    This was a Thief that could Revive other players in battle!


    The two newbies were blown away yet again and began whispering amongst themselves.


    It was mainly just Midsummer Bloom encouraging Cracked Glasses.


    "Older Brother Glasses, let''s join Ruling Sword. Lu Li is too overpowered."


    Cracked Glasses was slightly annoyed and said, "If you want to join Ruling Sword, then you can go and try. It''s not like they would take on anyone. Look at our equipment and levels ¨C we probably don''t meet their requirements."


    "I made a mistake before and died, so Lu Li would probably not want me, but you''re different. I think Lu Li sees the potential in you," Midsummer Bloom said.


    Zum''rah did not drop any Hunter nor Druid equipment. Lu Li gave Cracked Glasses a Gold equip and a piece of Silver equipment to Midsummer Bloom. These low-level items weren''t worth much money to them anyways.


    "Forget about it. We should focus on levelling up to 60 instead," Cracked Glasses snorted. He was more rational and realistic.


    Lu Li did not know about their conversation, or else he would have happily recruited them both. He mainly wanted Cracked Glasses, but if recruiting his friend was necessary to get him then, Lu Li would be more than happy to do so.


    The fourth and fifth Boss were slightly more difficult, but they did not pose much of a threat.


    The last item was a Hunter weapon and it was given to Cracked Glasses again.


    "I''m taking too many things. I should pay you for this."


    Cracked Glasses felt a little uneasy; he didn''t like being handed free things from others. Not only was Lu Li taking them through the dungeon, but he was also giving them the equips.


    There was no such thing as unconditional love in this world.


    Lu Li took the opportunity and immediately offered an invitation.


    "How about this? I think your mechanics are pretty decent. Why don''t you join my guild?"


    Cracked Glasses was even more suspicious now.


    Why would he be so interested in him when he had such a beautiful goddess in Water Fairy right beside him?


    "Sure, no problem. I was just telling Cracked Glasses that we should join Ruling Sword. We''ve always wanted to join but we were worried about our equipment and level, hahaha."


    Midsummer Bloom was ecstatic and did not realize that Cracked Glasses was slightly uncomfortable.


    "Oh okay, that''s cool. Just accept the invite," Lu Li said as he sent the guild invitation.


    Cracked Glasses felt very conflicted; he didn''t want to just join a guild so easily. Lu Li had carried him, given him free equips and was very friendly throughout the whole process. Especially after what Midsummer Bloom said, he felt like it would be rude to reject his invitation.


    Besides, before he joined Dawn, he had already planned on giving professional gaming a go.


    He had heard many things about Ruling Sword during his time in Dawn and they were definitely a highly-competitive guild. This was basically a free ticket to reach his goal.


    The two accepted the invitation and Lu Li received a notification.


    Lu Li was more than happy and asked, "Dream, did we get what we were after?"


    "No, the drop rate is probably quite low. Didn''t you say every monster has a chance of dropping it? I''ve already searched every corpse in the dungeon," Remnant Dream sighed as she shook her head.


    "If not, then we can try again."


    There was nothing Lu Li could do because the drop rate was quite low. It was difficult, even for his lucky trump card Remnant Dream.

 1428 The Hero Refuses to be Defeated

    Lu Li was more fortunate on his second Instance Dungeon run. After reaching Chief Ukorz Sandscalp, a small object dropped out of Saviour OOXX-17/TN. This was one the GPS trackers for the robotic-chicken OOXX-17/TN. One could use the tracker to locate the chicken if it were to break down.


    After killing the last BOSS, the equipment was all given to the two new guild members, except for the rare materials.


    "We are going to complete our tasks. I''ve called for a higher-up member to come lead you all."


    Lu Li''s time was precious; it was impossible for him to continue guiding them, but he also could not abandon them. That was why he called upon the guild to send personnel to assist them in farming.


    Among these mid-to-low-levelled players, Paladins, Berserkers, and proficient Mages were the fastest.


    "Thank you, big brother," Midsummer Bloom said, naturally having no objections.


    "Just forget it. We have equipment now and we can farm for experience ourselves. If we always need others to lead us, we will never be able to catch up. Even if we reach level 60, we would still be useless," Cracked Glasses asserted as he unexpectedly refused Lu Li''s offer to have someone assist them in levelling up.


    "Ok then. Here are 30 gold coins. Go and use them to buy some medicine," Lu Li offered, as he directly handed them a pile of gold coins.


    "Thank you, big brother."


    Cracked Glasses really wanted to refuse. He felt that Lu Li was different from his reputation ¨C Lu Li was being overly enthusiastic. However, after having refused him before, he felt that it was inappropriate to refuse again.


    Midsummer Bloom really wanted someone to guide him, but because Cracked Glasses had already expressed his refusal, he could only conform and say that he was perfectly capable of operating alone.


    Fighting against a Nightmare-difficulty Instance Dungeon led them to completely change their equipment several times. However, because their levels were lower, they needed to find a few stronger Main Tanks before they could form a group.


    Midsummer Bloom was actually an intelligent person, and had a sharp mind. Otherwise, he would not have said what he said after Cracked Glasses had refused Lu Li''s invitation.


    According to his capacities, one didn''t even have to mention the Ruling Sword guild ¨C not even an average guild would accept him. He had associated himself so closely with Cracked Glasses. Although Lu Li could see straight through them, he did not mind the guild containing one extra member.


    Midsummer Bloom knew his own situation. If he did not show any improvement, he was bound to be kicked-out by the guild.


    This intelligent person who had wasted his time thus far within the game secretly promised himself that he would take this opportunity to turn things around. He made a commitment not to experience a humiliating firing.


    Sometimes, an unexpected situation could change a person''s life.


    If it were not for what happened today, Midsummer Bloom might have forever remained an ordinary third-class player. Relying entirely on his intellect, he wouldn''t have led a bad life, but he would also never be able to become the commander of an elite group within a larger-scale guild.


    Lu Li sent a message to Square Root 3 informing him of the two new members. He then said his goodbyes.


    He still did not understand why within the memories of his previous life that Cracked Classes was playing for the Horde rather than the Alliance. However, he could only hold such thoughts inside. It would be too abrupt to ask. Lu Li knew that the gaze at which Cracked Glasses looked at him with today already held a sense of suspicion.


    According to the reminder made by OOXX-17/TN, it wasn''t long before a non-moving robotic baby chicken was found in a mountain, north of the sand dunes.


    From the outset, this little, robotic chicken looked no different from a real one. One could see the detail and artistic talent of the person who had created it. Their passion and effort were palpable. It was unfortunate that half its body was buried by sand; it had clearly been left that way for a long time. As he was waiting for the Gnome, Oglethorpe Obnoticus'' voice once again arose from the robot:


    "Please place the GPS within the core of the little chicken, my respected peer. I trust that this will not be difficult for you".


    "Then, I need you to move OOX-17/TN to an open, safe place so it can begin a lengthy take-off procedure. It has built-in cloaking, but I need time on my end to make it operational again. I need you to escort the robot from its current location to, let''s say, the Caverns of Time! That should be a perfect place, and long enough to get things online!"


    This was obviously a special mission. Lu Li closely inspected the little chicken, and very quickly found the way to place the GPS into it.


    When the little chicken received its GPS locator, it immediately revived itself. It shook its small body a few times, causing all the sand to fall off. Under Oglethorpe Obnoticus'' remote command, it then started running towards The Caverns of Time.


    It was as if aggro had been unlocked. The surrounding monsters started hurrying over, with some even determined to completely rip the small robotic chicken apart.


    Lu Li could only kill these monsters. It was fortunate that Boss would not appear along this road, otherwise, he would have to call upon a larger team to protect this little chicken. Zul-Farrak''s Nightmare-levelled Instance Dungeon Boss would not be able to stand a few attacks from Lu Li and Water Fairy. However, the BOSS in the Wild was different ¨C even Lu Li had to choose the option of running away if he were to encounter a Level 45 Boss.


    The difficulty of this task had a direct relationship with the number of people participating in it.


    The amount of work three people could complete when encountering monsters was three times what one person could do. There were a significant number of monsters.


    Unfortunately for them, they were encountering three level 60 players. For such a player, these Level 40 or so small monsters could be easily defeated, so long as they didn''t have a chance to attack the little, robotic chicken. Remnant Dream, the small hunter, took her pet from Tanaris and began killing monsters en-masse.


    Many monsters were killed. Upon reaching Oglethorpe Obnoticus'' selected destination, the limping, small machine immediately began calling out, "Camouflage mode. Travelling to Booty Bay".


    With smoke pluming out of its backside, it flew upwards, and headed West.


    "Wow, that''s very cool," Remnant Dream said in a hopeful voice.


    After this, the chicken headed towards the Hinterlands.


    There were dense trees everywhere that looked like oak or maple trees. Most of them were very old. As light travelled through the canopy, the area below would become a glimmering world of light.


    After arriving here, Lu Li chose to go to Jintha''Alor in order to kill the Vile Troll.

 1429 Badge Compound

    Lu Li had raided this area before, and had even defeated the evil priestess Hexx.


    There were a lot of monsters lurking around, and the chance for looting quest items was much higher here. It was convenient since two of Lu Li''s underlings were questing in this area, and with a simple recruitment process, he was able to find two teammates soon enough.


    His teammates were both casual players, and this time, Lu Li wasn''t so foolish as to invite them into his guild.


    In fact, he even hid his ID and name within his team to avoid receiving unnecessary harassment.


    It was easy to loot quest items in Hinterlands. Lu Li was able to obtain multiple trackers for "Save LOOXX-09/HL" within a short amount of time.


    While Lu Li was focused on farming by clearing out large numbers of mobs, his two teammates had long since completed their quests.


    Even if it was just clearing out normal monsters, the team still managed to split a generous amount of EXP amongst them, not to mention the many materials and items dropped during the battles. Unfortunately, their alliance with Lu Li was short-lived as the latter moved on to continue his quests.


    Lu Li found a robotic chicken crashed at the head of the river near Skulk Rock.


    "I need you to move OOX-17/TN to an open, safe place so it can begin a lengthy take-off procedure. It has built-in cloaking, but I need time on my end to make it operational again. I need you to escort the robot from its current location to, let''s say, those rocks over there! That should be a perfect place, and long enough to get things online!"


    This section of the quest was easy to complete. The requested escorting location was close, and the few waves of Oozelings were easily defeated. Lu Li had quickly completed the second part of the quest.


    The third part was to be completed in Feralas.


    Feralas was a land of barren mountains filled with monsters who would want to devour you as soon as they saw you. It had no main city, which almost seemed like a trait unique to South Kalimdor. Running through the centre was a lush, L-shaped valley which extended to Desolace in the north and the ocean coast in the west. Towards the south-east region lay the heart of Kalimdor, which was also known as the border of the Thousand Needles.


    Lu Li decided to defeat the Ogres.


    The Ogres were the biggest threat in the area. They were scrap scavengers and invaders. Some stayed in traditional mounds as many common animals in Azeroth did, while others stayed in traditional caverns like many other Azeroth creatures. The rest were incredibly territorial as they occupied the ruins of the High Elves.


    The Ogres hated all creatures apart from themselves, and that was why they immediately charged at Lu Li''s team with murderous intent as soon as they spotted them.


    Lu Li was incredibly disappointed to find there were no desirable underlings around, most likely because defeating a group of elite type monsters wasn''t exactly a walk in the park. The truth was, Feralas was still a very isolated map despite the game''s massive player base.


    "Oh? I actually found it¡­"


    Remnant Dream approached the corpse, and was surprised by the quest item she had looted.


    She knew she was quite lucky, but she would not have expected to obtain the tracker for OOXX-22/FE from the first monster she defeated.


    "Dreamy, why don''t you join my guild? Whatever it takes for you to join us, name it. Would you like a pet? The guild will pay for every cent you spend training it."


    Water Fairy''s shameless attempt at poaching Remnant Dream in front of Lu Li left her bewitched.


    "Too bad you didn''t go for the First Clear," Lu Li boasted.


    Water Fairy rolled her eyes; it was futile to argue with a guy with zero tact. Although they were just joking, Lu Li wasn''t wrong. The only way to maximise Remnant Dream''s potential as a lucky looter was for her to loot from the First Clear.


    The parent body of the homing robot was in a cave near Feral Scar Vale, with a few monsters accompanying it.


    This was a trap. Players were better off killing all the monsters straight from the start. Otherwise, they would destroy the homing robot along with the tracker. If the robot was defeated, the players would have to restart the entire quest.


    After clearing out the few monsters waiting in the cave, Lu Li stuffed the tracker inside the homing robot.


    "I need you to move OOX-17/TN to an open, safe place so it can begin a lengthy take-off procedure. It has built-in cloaking, but I need time on my end to make it operational again. I need you to escort the robot from its current location to, let''s say, the dock along the Forgotten Coast! That should be a perfect place, and long enough to get things online!"


    The quests would finally be completed after sending off this homing robot.


    The three once again returned to Booty Bay.


    Three homing robots surrounded Oglethorpe Obnoticus. They seemed to be fixed up, as they no longer looked as worn out and broken as when they were first discovered.


    "What an extraordinary invention," Lu Li complimented sincerely.


    "And thank you all for finding and bringing them back," Oglethorpe Obnoticus said. "I shall now give you your reward. There are three rewards, and you may choose to obtain two of them,"


    Two?


    Shouldn''t they have been choosing one amongst three? Lu Li felt uneasy, but he wasn''t going to pass up such generous rewards. He chose the compound scroll and robotic chicken.


    As for the Dark Gold armor, there was obviously no way Lu Li would have chosen that.


    He could at least have Lu Xin play with the robotic chicken. Since the kid couldn''t participate in battles, he could only find something else to distract her with. Both Water Fairy and Remnant Dream had the same idea.


    Two pieces of unique armor were hard to find, even for Remnant Dream. She still hadn''t gotten her second badge, but with a partner like Hachi Chan who was basically her Doraemon, it was only a matter of time.


    This quest was actually quite useful, so Lu Li decided to advertise it in his guild after he returned.


    Upon obtaining the compound scroll, Lu Li selected the badge and pocket watch.


    Adventurer''s Exploration Badge (Unique): Agility +10%, Movement Speed +10%, Effect: Use, Nullifies all movement-bound effects and all controlling skills every 2 minutes. Level Requirement: N/A, Durability: N/A.


    Ragnarok (Unique): Speeds up healing speed by 50% when within 5 yards of a player with Dawn of All Beings. May summon user of Dawn of All Beings up to 3 times per day. Durability: N/A.


    Nameless Badge (Unique, nameable) Agility +12%, Movement Speed +12%, Effect 1: Use, Nullifies all movement-bound effects and all controlling skills every 2 minutes. Effect 2: Speeds up healing speed by 50% when accompanied by a player with Dawn of All Beings. Effect 3: May summon user of Dawn of All Beings up to 3 times per day. Level Requirement: N/A, Durability: N/A.


    A small line of text was written underneath: "Can be extracted into Adventurer''s Exploration Badge and Ragnarok."


    It was not a simple compound. What originally would only add 10% to both Agility and Movement Speed had now become 12%. Though the Ragnarok originally required two users to be within 5 yards of each other, they now only had to be in-game to use it.


    And of course, being able to name his new item was a plus.

 1430 Onyxia’s Lair

    Onyxia was currently a fugitive.


    She was Neltharion, the Wings of Death, and the younger sister of her brother Nefarion. The crimes that she, the Princess of the Black Dragon committed, were hidden from the eyes'' of Stormwind City and corrupted the city''s politics. After she was exposed by Marshal Reginald Winsor, she shamelessly finished him off and was listed as wanted throughout the entire world.


    Players looked everywhere to try and find her out where she was hiding, until they finally discovered her lair.


    Onyxia was in the land of Theramore''s Fall ¨C a putrid bog. If a player didn''t have to venture here, they would prefer not to.


    However, Lu Li had to come here again.


    This time, the deployment he was leading was basically made up of the Molten Core team. The actual players of the Instance Dungeon, added together with the substitutes, totalled as many as 100 people. The three from Drizzle Court joined in again too.


    "The Horde have killed Emberstrife. It looks like they will also advance into Onyxia''s Lair," Wandering reported.


    "Are you sure their brains are working? I don''t think they''ve already finished off Ragnaros."


    Even though the Ruling Sword had already acquired the First Clear on Ragnaros, there was actually more at play here because of Lu Li''s rebirth.


    A conservative estimate would be that by the end of this week, there would be other groups advancing through the Molten Core.


    Of course, if Sorrowless brought people to attempt the Elite difficulty, Lu Li would have no choice. The question was whether or not Sorrowless would try such a meaningless thing. To Sorrowless, attempting the Instance Dungeon on Elite difficulty was simply pointless.


    "I''m guessing they''ll give it a try. They''ve got quite a few troops, with more than a dozen level 60s in their group," Wandering said.


    "More than a dozen or so¡­" Lu Li felt a some pain at the base of his teeth.


    This was the wisdom of the Archduke ¨C Ruling Sword was at the top of the rankings list and led all the players. However, after the level 60s had been capped for a few days, many more players would reach this milestone, and the ratio of level 60 players that Ruling Sword had would decline drastically.


    If there were 20 max-level players, perhaps 18 would be in the Ruling Sword.


    If there were 1000 max-level players, there would perhaps be 100 Ruling Sword players.


    If there were 10000 max-level players, there might not even be 200 Ruling Sword players.


    So now, regardless of whether it was Glory Capital or another organisation, the number of level 60 players was still many times that of the number in Ruling Sword. Including substitutes, Ruling Sword could have three or four groups of 40, not to mention the other guilds and organisations who had a dozen or so players.


    "Should we go and destroy the Boss that they are trying to kill? We can even take away their responsibility of opening the gate," Wandering laughed.


    The Horde and the Alliance had different responsibilities. The Alliance was meant to attack the Instance Dungeon Boss over at Blackrock Tower, while the Horde was to attack Emberstrife, who was in the wilderness.


    Emberstrife lived at Theramore''s Fall in his Lair, protecting Onyxia. He was a very old dragon and the bodyguard of Nefarion, solely responsible for investigating those who would become the Dragonspawn guards of Onyxia.


    "If we leak this info out to other guilds, I think there will be quite a few who want to meddle with them. We should quietly watch and see how it goes," Lu Li said.


    There was no need to face off against the Horde. If there was a clash in the wilderness, Ruling Sword still could not compete with the likes of Glory Capital, let alone the entire Horde faction.


    Actually, Lu Li had left one thing unsaid this whole time. Even if they let Glory Capital open the way into Onyxia''s Instance Dungeon, they might not be able to defeat the Princess of the Black Dragon herself, or at least they wouldn''t be able to defeat her in a short time. At the moment, Lu Li didn''t have this kind of faith.


    Anyway, Lu Li had not been able to access to Onyxia''s Lair in his last life.


    In this cave of burning, raging flames, Onyxia''s son, the evil Black Dragonflight''s remnant, was here protecting her.


    However, this Instance Dungeon definitely only had one Boss.


    Lu Li understood what the other guilds were thinking: "There''s only one Boss anyway. What if we just attack it?"


    However, their current hypothetical calculations simply did not take into account the terrifying ''Deep Breath'' attack.


    As they entered the Instance Dungeon and walked through the dark passageway, they first saw a guard of Onyxia. With the training of the Molten Core, Azure Sea Breeze was extremely vigilant against the small monsters of the Instance Dungeon, especially this type of monster which dared to act by itself. After all, he was talented and brave.


    Onyxia''s guard was really very amazing. He was able to deal area of effect attacks with Armour Pierce.


    This affected 180 degrees around him and could directly reduce armour by 75%. His Armour Pierce was not the only skill; he was able to use Flame Lash, which was able to reduce 75% of fire resistance. You could say that this was a twofold use of both physical attack and magic.


    After this came Cleave, which killed more than half of the players. One subsequent Fire Nova nearly wiped out all of the players who had reduced Fire Resistance.


    A whole group dying in one of these places against these smaller monsters was rather common.


    "Do you need me to teach you how to pull monsters?" Lu Li asked.


    "No need ¨C this next time I''m absolute certain there''s no problem," Azure Sea Breeze said sheepishly. He was known as Dawn''s number one Main Tank. If he was reduced to needing to let Lu Li teach him how to draw aggro, he might as well just have died to simplify matters.


    Azure Sea Breeze was Azure Sea Breeze. He pulled Onyxia''s guard and hit the guard''s head against the wall, with his back to everyone.


    The others were at the rear attacking. The monster wearing his spiked armour and wielding his Flame Lash could only attack Azure Sea Breeze. Even if Azure Sea Breeze''s defence decreased, it was apparent that he wasn''t the type for the monster to kill in one shot. Furthermore, the healers were regenerating his HP, so it certainly wasn''t going to be easy for him to die.


    The little monster looked to have about 17 000 or 18 000 HP, so it would be finished off soon.


    It dropped a piece of Gold equipment, which was a level 60 item. It could scarcely be considered rubbish ¨C after all, this was an item from Onyxia''s Lair on Nightmare difficulty.


    After having trained the first time, Azure Sea Breeze was much more careful when encountering the monster the second time. He had a glance and realised that not far from the second little monster was a third, and this third one was not the type to remain stationary. That monster could be considered a Wight, which would patrol around a small area.


    Azure Sea Breeze waited until the third monster was furthest away before he shot an arrow over at him.


    He pulled the second small monster and kept retreating until he had reached a safe distance. Only after he had firmly gotten hold of the enemy did he spur everyone into action.


    The second little monster dropped a rare item and a piece of Silver equipment.


    The items that the monsters dropped were indeed quite rare, but it was a shame that in this Instance Dungeon the monsters were too few. There were only four before the Boss.


    After the four monsters had been dealt with, everyone soon saw the Princess of the Black Dragon, Onyxia, in the deep hollow of the cave. Her giant body was lying down on a fiery piece of ground, taking a nap.

 1431 Lacking Confidence

    "A really big dragon¡­"


    It took a lot for effort for Hachi Chan to close her mouth. To protect her own pet dragon''s pitiful self-esteem, she purposely summoned another pet to be by her side and put the pet dragon away.


    Compared to Onyxia, Hachi Chan''s Faerie dragons were simply like loaches.


    "Check that you''ve got all the things on you ¨C strong HP and Mana Potions, bandages, the Breath of the Night Dragon, various potions¡­If someone finds they need something and didn''t bring it, I will kill them," Lu Li said fiercely.


    "I don''t have bandages with me," Kitty Likes Meat said as she weakly raised her hand.


    "Don''t tell me your bandaging skill level is not 300."


    Lu Li looked at her strangely. Bandaging was the most basic life skill of a novice and didn''t even require any equipment. All you needed was cloth and you could train it anywhere at any time. Besides, almost any job would require you to have reached a bandaging level of 300.


    Kitty Likes Meat sighed.


    "I''m a Warlock; my skill in regenerating health is better."


    Her face was a little embarrassed and awkward.


    "You couldn''t have been in that Instance Dungeon that whole time and not have used bandages."


    Lu Li suddenly wanted to strangle her to death, but was worried about Cat Dad''s revenge.


    "No, this time I forgot to buy some. I buy all of my stuff at the Exchange Hall."


    The terror of her laziness being discovered momentarily filled her mind. Kitty Likes Meat had never realised how scary Lu Li could be. She really wanted to go back home to her father and beg for his protection.


    "Whoever brought more, toss her a couple of rolls. As soon as we get back, train with me, and if you don''t reach level 300 by tomorrow, you''ll be substituted," Lu Li said.


    "In one day? Boss, I still have to train today. How do I have time to reach level 300? Look at me and my dad, both working our butts off. Please, can you extend the deadline by a few days?"


    This time, Kitty Likes Meat really looked like she was going to cry.


    "It''s not like I don''t give you time to rest. Just find someone to get some low-level bandages for you and train it quickly," Lu Li said, then paused and continued, "Also, don''t put off attacking in the Instance Dungeon to train the skill. If you mess up again, I will deduct your DKP by double."


    Kitty Likes Meat sighed sadly. She knew that she had been used as an example this time.


    "If there''s anyone else who isn''t prepared, I will give you 30 seconds to find a teammate to borrow from. You need to use the time that I gave you. When it comes time for me to deduct points, I can''t be lenient," Lu Li warned.


    He decided that he needed to check his teammates'' potions, as this Boss required everyone to be as prepared as possible. Any problem could lead to the team getting wiped.


    If Lu Li hadn''t mentioned this, no one would''ve known, but as it turned out, someone had to borrow some potions.


    Someone felt like they had prepared their equipment sufficiently and that their fire defense was high enough, so they did not bring the fire protection potion.


    This person wasn''t just anyone ¨C it was Water Fairy!


    Lu Li looked speechlessly at this woman, and Water Fairy, who was lacking confidence, also did not dare to look at Lu Li.


    Regardless of whether potions were needed, Lu Li used the game''s statistics mechanism to check everyone''s potion usage. Indeed, it turned out that Water Fairy had never used the fire protection potion.


    Lu Li still knew she was lacking confidence and feeling guilty.


    Strangely, Lu Li did not get angry, but on the contrary, he found Water Fairy''s timid and guilty expression cute.


    This was crazy!


    "Hey, so do you plan to attack in this Instance Dungeon, or are you just going to keep staring until the cows come home?"


    Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t help disrupting Lu Li''s gaze, as he was tired from carrying such a heavy shield.


    "You go up," Lu Li replied, lifting his chin slightly.


    Azure Sea Breeze grunted in response, lifted the shield and rushed on upwards.


    "Wait until he pulls the enemies. Then we''ll go up."


    After Azure Sea Breeze had been gone for a few seconds, everyone planned on following him up to attack, but Lu Li raised his voice to tell them to stop.


    Then, someone saw that Azure Sea Breeze had been attacked by the Boss and was sent flying far away before falling down into a heap of dragon eggs. The dragon eggs near where he fell had all cracked open. Little dragons crawled out from them and rushed towards him.


    There was a saying that went, "If there are many ants, they can even bite an elephant to death."


    Well, these baby dragons were not weak at all. The sheer number of them would make your hair stand on end. If no one helped Azure Sea breeze, he was definitely going to die.


    "Oh, so it turns out this dragon even has a Knockback skill. We should all be careful. Thank you Breezy for letting us recognise this, oh and also, your stance when you were flying backwards was actually pretty cool. It''s just that when you landed, it wasn''t very pretty, and when you were being attacked on all sides, it was really a sad, pitiful sight¡­"


    "Boss, this is revenge, this is pure revenge. Oh God, how could such a person find a girlfriend?" Azure Sea Breeze cried out as he continued to tremble.


    "How can this be? I''ve never attacked this Boss before. As the commander, I need to warn you that if you slander me like this again, I will¡­I''ll deduct your DKP."


    No one knew what Lu Li was thinking deep down, but why couldn''t he mask his joyful expression?


    "Manage your Lu Li!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted at Water Fairy. Grunting angrily, he once again went to pull the Boss.


    Because the Boss had the Knockback skill, when Azure Sea Breeze was pulling her, he let the Princess of the Black Dragon turn around so that her back was facing the entrance. Then, Azure Sea Breeze placed his back against the cave wall and was sent flying a second time. After this, he discovered a new rule ¨C not to stand against the wall, but to stand just a slight distance away from the wall. That way, when the Princess of the Black Dragon would kick him up the wall, he would be able to land back again at his original position.


    "Just attack ¨C there''s nothing to be said now. Attack and watch at the same time."


    Lu Li was not extremely enthusiastic, as he knew this Boss was the most-able to kill a whole team, and he couldn''t do too much to spoil the plot.


    "Wandering, World, you two get nearer to the dragon eggs. If there''s someone who is thrown into the dragon eggs, you''ll be responsible for blocking off the dragons that come out. I''ll give you a Healer and I''ll add three groups to attack. The two Main Tanks from the same group, take note. You''ll be responsible for dealing with the little dragons. They look scary, but their HP and defence is relatively average."


    The Princess of the Black Dragon, Onyxia, had nearly ten million HP, but these little dragons only had a few thousand, so they would be relatively quick to kill.


    Onyxia''s physical damage was around 1500-2000, but her attack speed was not high. The most fatal part of the first stage was still her Fire Breath. This attack affected a large area, and whatever was in front of her would suffer 3000 or so damage.


    As Azure Sea Breeze was pulling the Boss with its back towards everyone, the only one who would be receiving Fire Breath damage under normal circumstances was himself.


    "Flower, pay attention to the aggro, dammit!"


    The sound of Lu Li''s voice didn''t spread far. Onyxia twisted her head in Lonesome Flower''s direction and sprayed half the area. All of the players standing at his side died.


    Everyone''s HP was not that high; no one could lose 3000 HP and remain standing.


    It looked as if this would mean that the whole group would be vanquished!

 1432 Drawing Aggro

    "I don''t care about the amount of damage you deal, just don''t draw aggro."


    After seeing the squad being annihilated for the third time because of this, Lu Li had no choice but to re-evaluate his tactics.


    The problem was that with the Boss having about ten million HP, along with its insane healing speed, the team''s Mages and damage dealers would become useless if they did not consistently deal enough damage.


    It went without saying though that drawing aggro was dangerous, so at the very least, the team had to have a good awareness of the battle.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s sneers were easily brushed off. His Taunt wasn''t unbeatable, and the other Main Tanks weren''t of a high enough level to support him. As such, Lu Li could only issue constant warnings to the guy who would walk away every single time a minuscule disagreement with the team arose.


    Lonesome Flower was just as guilty of this.


    Despite Lonesome Flower establishing quite a name for himself, Lu Li was sure that if he were out and about, no one would even consider recruiting him into their team.


    Even in the Ruling Sword, Lonesome Flower was often isolated. Not even World''s Best Friend would team up with him.


    However, in Dawn, there were quite a few Bosses that ignored the Main Tanks and would easily switch aggro, just like the Princess of the Black Dragon in front of them.


    "Flower, I understand that you''ve created some of the finest combos for high damage output, but you probably should use something less¡­ vigorous," Lu Li said when he saw Lonesome Flower glowering as usual, then chuckled coldly, "You know, the next time the whole team gets annihilated because of your mistakes, I''ll take away¡ª"


    "Hah."


    As a renowned top scorer in overall damage output, Lonesome Flower was indifferent to such threats.


    After all, the top scorer in the Instance Dungeon would receive twice the amount of Guild points, and there was no way that Lonesome Flower could be lacking in things like this.


    "I''ll take away¡­" Lu Li continued in a panic, "I''ll take away March Rain''s Guild Points."


    "What?"


    March Rain had no idea how she had gotten involved in this matter.


    "Lu Li, you little!" Lonesome Flower roared, wavering from his usual calm demeanour. Although his little sister did quite well in Instance Dungeons as well and was definitely not lacking in Dungeon Points, there was no way she would want to have them taken away from her. Especially not as a consequence of the stubbornness and childishness of her own brother.


    "So that''s decided then."


    It was rare to see Lonesome Flower so riled up. Lu Li simply grinned, victorious in keeping his smug teammate in line.


    Everyone had their weaknesses after all ¨C Azure Sea Breeze was conceited, but butter him up a little and he would be too embarrassed to make a mistake. Wandering was too prideful and had long decided that he was too perfect to be in the wrong, while for Lonesome Flower, it was obviously his little sister. Dragging her into it gave Lu Li significant leverage.


    Although Lu Li was not particularly empathetic, he was skilful in the art of manipulation.


    March Rain could understand Lu Li''s intentions and had no desire to expose him of them. After all, it was her brother who was in the wrong. Perhaps it was because he was not on par with Lu Li at anything else, so he decided that while Lu Li was acting as commander during battles, he could take advantage of this and beat him on the scoreboards.


    "Wandering, World, the mobs are about to come," Lu Li prompted.


    The Dragon Egg at the far end was showing thin beams of green light glowing from its cracks. As to why the Black Dragon Egg did so during the hatching process, such phenomenon remained a mystery. The good thing was that it did not matter. All that mattered was that the two Main Tanks on either side of Lu Li, and his current division defended well against the newly-hatched mobs.


    "Help!"


    A voice coming from World''s Best Friend''s division could be heard.


    One member from World''s team had been pulled into the Lair. As thirty or so tiny dragons scrambled out of it, along with the already-spawning dragons, the situation had immediately escalated to more than what the team could handle.


    "Teams two and three, go and support World''s end. Keep a clear head."


    Lu Li was an impressive commander. He was an expert at strategic decision-making, he joined in Boss battles, and he had better control of the battlefield than those who were solely focused on observing the fight.


    In some Instance Dungeons, Lu Li was able to command his team effortlessly while maintaining high damage output that was on par with Lonesome Flower.


    However, this was the real deal, and Lu Li did not have nearly enough energy for that. Even so, his damage output was still ranked in the middle.


    "Hachi, your current position is unsafe. You''ll be easily knocked down, so move three steps to your left," Lu Li instructed.


    "You''re moving to your right! Don''t tell me you don''t know your left from your right ¨C I know you have no sense of direction, but I didn''t think it was this bad¡­" he continued in exasperation after remaining speechless for a moment.


    "Haha, I was ¨C I was just taking a better look at that thing on the ground over there," Hachi Chan giggled in embarrassment.


    "Alright, teams two and three, return to your posts after clearing out the mobs."


    Lu Li ignored her explanation; her sense of direction seemed to be getting worse every day. He wondered if she was like this as well in real life and couldn''t help but feel bad for her mother. He suspected that she must have put Hachi on a leash every time they went shopping.


    The battle continued and the Boss'' HP had been dropped to about 80%. It was evident that the Princess of the Black Dragon wasn''t undefeatable.


    The first phase would end after the Boss'' HP dropped below 60%, yet till this day, Ruling Sword was unable to overcome even the first part of the battle.


    "Be mindful of your Aggro," Lu Li said, becoming irritated. "Aggro is slowly accumulated and is delayed, so when you realise you''re about to draw it, simply stopping your attacks won''t be enough. Ice Block, Feign Death, Vanish, Invulnerability ¨C even Night Elves have a Shadowmeld! Do none of you not know any of your skills?"


    He used a tone that one would to scold a child, and the whole team was utterly overwhelmed by embarrassment.


    Despite everyone being fully informed, it seemed as though the team would once again be annihilated. Lu Li thought it over; perhaps everyone should stop attacking after the Princess of the Black Dragon''s health dropped to 80%. This would give Azure Sea Breeze a thirty-second time frame to accumulate Aggro.


    Lu Li never realised this before. He wasn''t sure if it was because the strategy guide he read didn''t mention it, or if he had just been careless.


    However, knowing these things was part of a commander''s responsibility. It wasn''t too late to realise now.


    Aggro control and Tank positioning were crucial at this point of the battle. The defensive positioning only needed to prevent the Princess of the Black Dragon from hitting the rest of the team, and prevent them from being knocked back to the Dragon Eggs. As long as they didn''t draw aggro, the first wave could be easily overcome.


    The moment had finally arrived. After countless challenges of this Boss, Ruling Sword was finally able to witness the flight of the Princess of the Black Dragon.


    "I ¨C arrgh! This is a cheat! She''s using a cheat!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was dumbfounded upon realising he was of zero threat to the Boss now that she was suspended in mid-air. Oh how he wanted a pair of wings as well¡­


    After all, every Main Tank who had encountered a flying Boss was just a step from traumatisation. Only upon respawning did they realise that they had been completely overpowered.

 1433 Kicked Off the Team

    The Boss was suspended in mid-air, and the tension silenced the battlefield. It was clear that the team would once again be annihilated.


    "Oh, what''s this? I usually have to come out of my lair to scavenge for food, but it seems like this time, my food has come right to me," Onyxia snickered in conceit.


    The Princess of the Black Dragon flew up once again.


    The team''s performance this time around wasn''t ideal. Most of them were dead on the ground; only a few manage to continue on.


    All Lu Li needed to do was to observe the Boss. Under his command, the battle continued.


    "Healers heal well. Stand together you two. Closer, closer¡­ alright, that''s good," Lu Li instructed.


    The two players died immediately.


    Lu Li felt no sense of remorse and instead nodded his head in satisfaction. After all, these two players sacrificed their lives to confirm his theory that damage dealt by the enemy could be spread amongst players.


    By now, Onyxia was spitting fireballs at everyone. The fireballs revealed themselves to be another problem ¨C each one dealt at least a thousand damage. The pressure on healers was high, but as long as they had taken care to regenerate their health, death was avoidable. The real damage done was by the spread of damage between players that stood too close to each other.


    Onyxia''s damage output was consistent. If a player was hit multiple times and stood too close to another player, 2000-3000 HP would be gone instantly. It would be a miracle if they didn''t die.


    "Spread out just a little more and focus on staying alive. I need to know what the Boss will do next." Lu Li had no idea how far into the battle they would progress, but all he needed was to drag the fight out. After all, Onyxia couldn''t be flying forever.


    "The mobs are coming!"


    It was one problem after another, but Wandering''s warning did not come as a surprise. Lu Li had his eyes on the dragon eggs the whole time.


    Above the team, the Boss was spitting fireballs, and below, the mobs were closing in. Could things get any worse?


    Yes, they could. Two of Onyxia''s guards were summoned and began closing in on the players with the mobs.


    "Breezy, to the left. Wandering, to the right. Contain the mobs and be mindful about keeping a safe distance between each other. Everyone else, to the sides," Lu Li commanded.


    With this number of mobs and Ruling Sword only having half of its members left, it was clear they wouldn''t be able to see the battle to the end. The good thing was, clearing out the mobs wasn''t necessary ¨C all Lu Li needed was to observe the Boss'' actions.


    Onyxia inhaled deeply.


    The moment that Lu Li had been waiting for had finally arrived. It was possibly the rarest moment witnessed in the history of the battle against Onyxia.


    ''Onyxia inhaled deeply''¨C this sentence had become the infamous quote in every Instance Dungeon guide that Lu Li had read.


    Onyxia exhaled a blazing column of fire.


    Before his own death, Lu Li had a glimpse of the damage he was taking ¨C 3000 fire damage.


    The attack was a critical and the already-halved number of members was instantly halved again. No players who took her attack at point-blank range survived.


    Only half a day had passed, yet the team was already exhausted.


    Lu Li had no choice but to let everyone rest while he and Wandering reviewed the recording of their battle and devised up with a strategy to overcome the second stage of the fight.


    "Whatever this inhaling thing is, it seems to be a skill that requires some time to charge," Wandering commented, never taking his eyes off the recording. "Is it possible for everyone who is facing her at point-blank range to run off when she tries to use that skill again?"


    "That remains unclear, but we should come up with a backup plan," Lu Li advised.


    "What are you thinking?" Wandering asked.


    "If this is an attack that can be dodged, then the odds are in our favour. If it''s not, then we shouldn''t run off mindlessly either."


    Lu Li reiterated the strategy guide in his head; he had to think like a player who had not experienced Rebirth when finding a tactic to win this battle.


    "Why not? We should be focusing on maintaining as much manpower as we can,"


    "Because the Boss doesn''t have specific targets, who knows who it''ll spit fire at? What do you think will happen when it targets a crowded area?" Lu Li responded rationally, to which everyone else nodded. It wasn''t rocket science, but those who were not cautious would have easily overlooked this point.


    A skilful commander was integral to limiting the number of times the team was annihilated.


    "So, what should we do?" Wandering asked, conceding his suggestion without the need for any further persuasion.


    "We should spread out as much as possible. Be mindful of the direction the Dragon''s head is pointed at. Those who are about to be burned must use Fire Resistance Potions. Those with low health should either cast a Special Effect or use a potion ¨C we can only power through it," Lu Li replied. It was obvious that most teams who were wiped were all stuck on this stage. The first stage had its own difficulties, but with practice and experience, the team would be able to gain better control of the fight.


    As the team continued to rest, Lu Li started rearranging the divisions.


    A bunch of members were kicked off the team, and a new group came in. One Berserker was spared, but a Paladin was kicked off. Sakura Memories, who relied on close-combat to deal damage, was kicked off, and even Water Fairy was sent away.


    Water Fairy was shocked; she didn''t expect Lu Li to ask her to leave.


    "Close-combat players are not suited to fight this Boss," Lu Li explained.


    He was right ¨C close-combat fighters were useless after the Boss started flying in the second stage. All they could do was fight off the mobs, but even then, they weren''t as efficient as the Mages nor the Warlocks.


    "I''m sure there''s no need for that. Thieves are very useful during the first stage of battle after all." Although Azure Sea Breeze always had a sharp tongue around Lu Li, he decided that he wouldn''t let Lu Li make a dumb mistake over a mere Instance Dungeon. Sure, the difficulty of the battle might increase, and so would the times that the team was wiped, but that was all there was to it. If Fairy sis became annoyed, Lu Li would be single for the rest of his life.


    "Wait for me out there. We''ll have dinner together after I log off the game," Lu Li said as he took a step forward, holding Water Fairy''s hand.


    He wasn''t an idiot; his emotional intelligence had actually grown quite a bit recently. He obviously knew the consequences to kicking her out, but if he was to dismiss all the other close-combat players, and spared Water Fairy, what would the other players think of him?


    With that being said, Water Fairy''s hands were so soft!


    "Oh¡­um¡­yes, I will go do some quests in the meantime."


    The already speechless Water Fairy was now even more dumbfounded. They had only ever held hands in the public once, and that was on a busy street in the crowd, not like now, where everyone was looking at them.


    What was with this situation?


    They were still in the Instance Dungeon, surrounded by either top players of Ruling Sword or her two friends from Drizzle Court. With everyone''s eyes on their hands, even the usually carefree Water Fairy who was indifferent to the opinions of others wanted to run and hide.


    How humiliating! She definitely wanted to punch him.

 1434 Dress Up a Little

    Water Fairy ultimately escaped from the Instance Dungeon in a state of flight. She neither used her small fists to hit Lu Li''s chest, nor did she use a small dagger to stab Lu Li.


    The elite Hunters of Ruling Sword were limited, so two Hunters were recruited from Drizzle Court. Two were also invited from Peerless City. Amongst them was Vegetarian Mosquito ¨C an elderly man, who, after the Shadow Cup, joined Peerless City from the Gangnam Royals. Such betrayal led Heart of War to repeatedly cause him trouble. Vegetarian Mosquito therefore took a liking towards Heart of War''s rather ineffective siege of Ruling Sword.


    There were a total of six Hunters, all of which were especially powerful.


    Then, there were the Priests. The team initially consisted of March Rain, Eternal Night, Machine Bro, Star Baby, and Jaweika. The first four were Holy Priests, or more specifically, Healing priests, while Jaweika was a Shadow Priest.


    Lu Li gathered another four Priests. He now had nine priests, eight of which were Healing Priests.


    There were also a few Mages who were recruited to eliminate the small dragons in the second stage. Attacks initiated by a Thief, although powerful, could only be directed at one monster and were unable to match the power of a Mage''s Blizzard.


    The role of Hunters and Mages was to form the main force against the Boss in the second phase. They only needed to reduce the HP of the Princess of the Black Dragon from 45% to 35%. It was roughly at this stage, the third stage, that the Princess began to loudly exclaim, "Allow me to return again to eradicate you all''"


    This assertion marked the beautiful ending of the second phase.


    It was a shame that Lu Li and his team, despite playing late into the night, did not reach this stage. The fact that his team was so easily exterminated led Lu Li to feel that this was even more difficult than battling Ragnaros.


    There was still a period of time before the end of the day, but Lu Li, upon seeing the dreary looks on everyone''s faces, decided that it was better to end their session early today.


    Before he exited the game, Lu Li asked Square Root 3 to continue preparing gold and potions. The provision of various medicines relied upon the financial support of the guild. After all, the guild supported the livelihood of tens of thousands of professional players. The up-and-coming Alchemy master Cold Chill could now replicate almost all of the rare potions on the market.


    She was also more advanced than her mentor, Sesame Rice Ball. Cold Chill had already abandoned the process of relying on traditional medicinal prescriptions, and had begun experimenting with different combinations. In this area, her natural talent was evidently superior to Lu Li, who was conducting similar research into poisons.


    It was a shame that there were still no developments into her Elixir of Rebirth.


    The Elixir of Rebirth belonged to one of her peers. The recipe or composition of it was never revealed, and therefore Lu Li also could not help.


    If Lu Li had the Elixir of Rebirth in his hands right now, it would allow him the opportunity to battle with forty revived individuals. So long as there theoretically existed a chance of successfully attacking, then their chances of actually taking down Boss would be near one hundred per cent.


    As for the gold coins, they were mainly used for the repair costs.


    The current repair costs were still exorbitantly high, especially for those players that were reclaiming land. Every time their team died, their stamina would decrease. After a few times of this occurring, they would need repairs. The frequency of their repairs far exceeded that of the ordinary players. The pressure of repairing equipment was amplified because their equipment was of a higher grade.


    If they were required to self-repair, many players would be unable to afford the costs. The club would consequently face imminent collapse.


    Gold coins on the market remained a scarce resource. Square Root 3 could only Gold coins from within the guild at a price that was between 10-20% higher than the market rate. This counted as a win-win for those guild members who were content with selling the guild their coins.


    After he logged out, Lu Li sat beside the gaming room in deep thought.


    He confirmed that the agreed time at which he was to dine with Water Fairy was still a while away. There was something disorientating about the differences between the game-world and the real world. Midnight in the game world was the equivalent to lunch time in the real world. Lu Li had already gone to school, and would not be returning home to have lunch. Because there were many high schoolers amongst the elite group of Ruling Sword, Lu Xin had many peers to eat with, and therefore often abandoned Lu Li, who suffered in silence.


    However, this was not the time to address this problem.


    The demeaning gaze of Azure Sea Breeze was still etched into his mind.


    "Surely you are not going to go on a date wearing your usual exercise clothes and messy hair."


    Lu Li jumped down from the gaming platform, walked in front of the dressing mirror, and looked closely at himself.


    He rarely did this, because in his world, this amounted to a meaningless waste of time. Additionally, it was not as if others had not commented on his appearance. Some said he was overly skinny ¨C emasculated even ¨C while others either said he was overly aggressive, or emphasised that his face had multiple scars ¡­


    In short, no one said he was attractive. The comments of the gangsters did not count, because their views focused entirely on the results of fights.


    It was already half a year since he moved away from that place. His gaunt face had already grown rounder. It no longer reflected the dark complexion of when he was within the slums, struggling to survive. However, when compared to the Water Fairy''s skin that was pale and as clear as crystal, Lu Li''s still resembled coal ¨C just a healthier version.


    His life had improved, his mannerisms no longer seemed so aggressive, and he was no longer troubled or cold.


    As of late, there were no new scars and the scars that existed before were less pronounced. On the contrary, they had a special appeal, and would lead some to feel as if they represented a man with an interesting story.


    Recently, Lu Xin had begun frequently commenting that her brother had become more attractive, perhaps in part because he was trying to protect family.


    Lu Li was currently wearing his pyjamas that had been purchased by Lu Xin. It was difficult to judge the quality of the clothes, but they felt very soft and comfortable to wear. He was wearing a pair of cartoon slippers, which looked very strange on him. Because of his recent busyness, Lu Li had yet to find time to visit the hairdresser. His hair was so long that it almost covered both of his thick eyebrows.


    Lu Li had a quick look at the exercise clothes within the wardrobe. He extended his hand, paused, and then quickly turned towards his other clothes.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s words clearly had an effect.


    He pulled out the set of clothes that was selected and purchased with the help of Square Root 3. Its initial purpose was to compete in other cities ¨C he couldn''t just wear the team uniform all the time.


    The clothes he selected were very expensive, and were something that Lu Li struggled over when paying for them.


    After changing into this clothes, Lu Li studied himself closely, and felt once again that Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t useless after all.


    Because of this self-confidence, Lu Li decided to get a haircut before going to see Water Fairy.


    The hairdresser he went to was not the one in the local neighbourhood that provided haircuts to the elderly and retired. It was instead somewhere that took a while to walk towards ¨C a luxurious hair-styling club.


    "Welcome", said the beautiful female workers that stood beside the entrance, as they quickly helped open the glass doors.


    Lu Li indifferently nodded his head and walked in. He obviously did not possess the same thought patterns as normal humans ¨C any normal person would have had subconsciously evaluated the two women, and judged which of the two was more attractive.

 1435 Luxury

    "Hello, we have Senior level hair stylists, special level hair stylists, technique directors, and technique supervisors. What level of stylist do you require for service today?" asked an enthusiastic, elderly woman who appeared to be the store manager.


    To this, Lu Li sneered ¨C these were meaningless titles, being entirely self-prescribed. His brother used to work in a few hair salons, and was familiar with such techniques. That being said, Lu Li was open to the idea that those who labelled themselves to be at a ''higher level'' of speciality would be more meticulous, and would likely have better skills.


    According to his typical manner, Lu Li should have waved his hand openly and asserted, "Give me the cheapest option."


    But as he reflected on why he was here, he hesitated. While gritting his teeth, he chose the highest-ranked technique supervisor. This was the very first time in his life that he had been willing to spend so much money on something so inconsequential. However, after deciding upon this option, he did not regret it much.


    Upon hearing that Lu Li had requested for the services of a technique supervisor, the elderly, female store manager who had introduced the different types of stylists to him appeared even more enthusiastic.


    They were all obviously proper and non-suspicious, unlike some hair salons, where products would be advertised to you, and the staff would act as if they cared so much that they were prepared to treat you in the same way as they would their own family. The catch was that they would not insist on the costs of the services until it came time to pay. At that point, you would discover that you had spent an exorbitant amount. As for reporting their conduct to police ¨C which side do you think the police officer would be standing on?


    While directing Lu Li towards his seat in front of one of the hair dressing stations, the store manager called upon the staff to bring him his drink of choice.


    The so-called ''technique supervisor'' arrived quickly. The technique supervisor was an artistic-looking male who had dreadlocks. From his mannerisms, he seemed to take good care of his appearance. Lu Li was sceptical about the possibility that a hairdresser with such a strange appearance would be able to produce a normal haircut.


    "You''re on your way to see a girl you like, aren''t you?" the supervisor asked with a sharp stare.


    "Yeah ¡­" Lu Li mumbled a sound but did not respond in any detail.


    "What is she like?" the supervisor continued.


    "Why are you so curious?" Lu Li retorted. He did not like taking about Water Fairy with other people.


    "This isn''t about curiosity. I am a designer, a professional one. Regardless of what you do, you do not have the same expertise as I do in hair design, do you?"


    "What are you trying to ask?"


    "Ok, ok, ok, I will be direct. I need to know her taste, before I am able to create a hair style that fits her ideals of beauty".


    The hair salon industry was complex, with many salons established on the grounds of deceiving others. However, no one had the audacity to do that here ¨C a senile old man who was seemingly na?ve might have been the director of some government bureau.


    "She is a very ¡­"


    Lu Li felt unable to find the appropriate adjectives.


    "Cute, quiet, goddess-like ¡­"


    "Okay, maybe goddess-like. She''s received a university education ¡­"


    "Wait a second, you seem familiar to me. Surely you are not Lu Li?"


    "Yes, I am."


    "Oh my god. I nearly forgot that the Ruling Sword''s headquarters were nearby. I actually play video games too. In fact, I opened up a store within the game. It mainly specialises in hair styling. I don''t play a battle profession, but I have heard of you, and have heard about Water Fairy."


    Even if Lu Li changed his appearance, his appearance within the game was still different to how he looked in reality because of two reasons. First, his ethnicity, and second, the impact his professional identity had on how he was perceived by others.


    The hair designer was accustomed to judging people by their appearance, and exercised good judgement in recognising Lu Li.


    "I am in a hurry ¡­" Lu Li felt exhausted.


    "In a rush to go on a date with Water Fairy ¨C I understand now. This is terrific."


    Although the technique supervisor remained unable to calm his excitement, he had at least found his working rhythm.


    He first allowed his assistant to help wash his hair, before returning Lu Li to his chair.


    "Mr. Lu Li, you are about to go on a date with one of the killer beauties in the gaming circle, and I do not have the confidence to be able to give you a haircut that would be satisfactory to her," he began, then paused and continued, "So, I think you should go with a particular haircut ¨C the one that makes you look handsome. If we made some slight adjustments, you would definitely be a classically handsome man."


    "Wait, wait, why is she ''killer''? Isn''t she ''popular'' also?"


    Although Lu Li was illiterate, he was sensitive and sharp ¨C a natural Thief.


    "Countless people are willing to die for her. For the opportunity to hold hands with Water Fairy, I would happily sacrifice ten years of my life. Don''t look at me like that ¨C your gaze seems antagonistic. Those are other people''s words, not mine," the supervisor said, then quickly diverted the topic. "So, I think you should still choose a hair style. With my skill level and accuracy, we can definitely create something suitable quickly.


    When Lu Li returned from the hair salon, he already had a new haircut.


    If he were honest, although he heavily disliked his hair stylist, he could not help but recognise his skill. It was worth the high, four-digit number he paid for it. Lu Li thought that the hair cut looked very trendy ¨C as if he was a movie star. The only issue was that it was slightly peculiar.


    Because of the haircut, Lu Li was delayed. When he rushed towards the location of his date, Water Fairy was already there waiting for him.


    The location was an outdoor basketball stadium, but at this time, there were neither hot-blooded youths playing basketball, nor were there elderly people doing communal dancing. Water Fairy was standing beside the flower bed. She looked agitated, repeatedly kicking a small rock on the floor. The kicking of the innocent rock revealed that she was slightly upset about Lu Li''s lateness.


    This lasted until Lu Li walked over.


    "It looks strange, doesn''t it?"


    He was already wearing clothes that felt uncomfortable, but now, he was also wearing a $980-dollar hair style. Lu Li thought to himself that it looked strange, but upon hearing Water Fairy''s sudden laughter, he felt defeated. She was laughing so hard that she was unable to stand up straight.


    "No, it looks great. It''s just ¡­"


    Water Fairy suppressed her laughter, took one step forward, and embraced Lu Li''s arm.


    She was not someone who was content with just watching others putting in effort. Although Lu Li''s hair style was slightly humorous, she appreciated that he was changing in certain aspects.


    This hairstyle did not suit Lu Li, especially for those who knew him well. The hair stylist actually lacked one consideration ¨C he failed to consider Lu Li''s identity and personality. Such a sporty, outgoing hair style looked really out of place on his head. It was also strange that Lu Li was wearing heavy, layered winter clothing during such a warm day.


    It had already been many days since Lu Li wore his outfit during the competition. It was therefore impossible for the clothes from that time to be appropriate for now.


    A few minutes later, Water Fairy brought Lu Li to a clothes market.


    There were prominent brands from all parts of the world. Not long ago, they had even organised a small fashion show.


    The shop assistants were very professional, and did not discriminate against Lu Li''s poor choice of attire. There was, after all, nothing to discriminate against. Regardless of how lacking in taste the man was, he only needed a beautiful woman to hold his elbow to make him a winner in life.


    Water Fairy was evidently very familiar with picking clothes.


    Upon wearing the clothes that were picked for him, he immediately separated himself from the youthful, rebellious vibe. His new attire matched his hair style well and conveyed a sense of stability and reliability.


    Although Lu Li was not the most attractive man out there, he definitely complemented Water Fairy. In fact, they looked very much like a couple ¨C this was the conclusion of the chatter amongst the store assistants. They did not recognise the illicit love affair. Perhaps they could not envisage that the gods in the game also needed to buy clothes and eat ¡­

 1436 Guild Point Deduction

    After lunch, Lu Li and Water Fairy spent the whole afternoon together at the amusement park. Later that evening, Lu Li went online and his face was barely able to conceal his happiness.


    "Damn.. I can''t take this anymore ¨C lovey-dovey day and night. A man drunk on the smallest sliver of success. Has their relationship been confirmed? I bet you haven''t even seen her parents. Hahahaha, the two of you have my blessings to date forever... " Azure Sea Breeze laughed while gnashing his teeth.


    Are you finished? That damned couple have been together since forever. If you have the time to vent, why aren''t you preparing my bandages? Get me two bundles!" Wandering impatiently shouted in reply.


    "Why me!? Every. Single. Time! Can''t you get your bandages yourself? Am I your servant?"


    Azure Sea Breeze became annoyed at Wandering because his curses of "Lu Li should go to hell" weren''t supported at all by him.


    "Haha, better not think too highly of yourself. An idiot cannot be my servant. My servant, at least, has to be someone as capable as Lu Li. Just stop talking stupidly and use the time to get yourself a hot girl!" Wandering responded in disdain.


    Damn you. Of course I can get one immediately," Azure Sea Breeze shot back.


    "Looks like it''s time to spam everyone on your beauty list with your desperate love. Oh, don''t forget to say that if you become my girl, you''ll never have to worry again about Instance Dungeons. Am I right?"


    Bewildered, Azure Sea Breeze asked, "How did you know?"


    "Haven''t you two had enough?" Lu Li interjected. He was on the other side and had already finished preparing the new formations, and was in the middle of checking everyone''s potions when he noticed the two idiots going back and forth on a nearby channel. In Dawn, texts were synchronized with voice. It was true that the conversation could only be heard between Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering as long as they kept their voices down, but they forgot to block the text.


    Saying something like ''date forever'' truly seemed offensive, but that was out of Azure Sea Breeze''s jealousy.


    Apart from Lu Li and Water Fairy, no one else knew how they had enjoyed themselves yesterday. In everyone''s eyes, Water Fairy was a high-maintenance goddess that was hard to get close to. Lu Li was the only one who had seen her other side, which was actually no different to any other girl. Even so, Lu Li was indifferent towards what she was, whether she was a goddess or a girl next door.


    "I don''t mind taking charge today. It seems like you aren''t in the right state of mind," Wandering said to Lu Li seriously.


    "No problem. If you make any mistakes, I''ll just deduct your Guild Points."


    Upon saying this, Lu Li transferred partial command rights to Wandering so that he could mark locations when he needed to. After this, Lu Li prepared himself to concentrate on taking on the role of a DPS player.


    "..."


    This was ridiculous. No-one had ever heard of there being a rule that allowed the commander''s DKP being deducted.


    Having watched how Lu Li led the team yesterday, Wandering was doing quite well as the new commander, considering they could hardly make it to the second phase during yesterday''s first few attempts.


    "Hey! You there! Do you know how to play Thief? Do you like OT''ing that much? Why don''t you just take the team over to hell!" Wandering shouted as he stared at Lu Li like a soap opera villain. It took ages for Wandering to catch Lu Li''s mistake and undoubtedly, he wouldn''t let it go.


    Despite Lu Li responding quickly by removing his person, his actions were still too little too late. Being very sensitive to aggro-switching, the Princess of the Black Dragon began spewing fire and everyone close to Lu Li was burned to death.


    The team was wiped!


    The whole team was destroyed because of Lu Li''s stubborn aggro habits. Lonesome Flower gave a loud, silly laugh, instantly shattering his cold and distant image.


    When he thought back to the many times he had been lectured by Lu Li in front of his own sister, he was so happy to see that Lu Li had fallen into a similar situation.


    "Deduct his Guild Points!"


    "Yes! Do it!"


    "We were almost there. It was so close...Damn! Just because¡­ Penalties have to be applied to keep everyone satisfied."


    People who used to honor Lu Li turned their backs on him and started to blame him. In Lu Li''s eyes, everyone was overacting, especially the one who complained that they were so close to winning. It was just phase one, and they had barely made any progress. Why did they have to exaggerate the situation? Lu Li didn''t understand and began to doubt himself.


    He had no idea how many people he had annoyed by showing off his love life.


    "How many points do you guys want?" Lu Li asked. "Five?"


    Lu Li didn''t actually care much about the points deduction. There were many players with high Guild Points, but as a commander and leader, no one had more points than Lu Li.


    "Five? Are you kidding me? Seven people were killed. Do you really think each one of them is not even worth a single point? What about you guys? Are you all okay with 5 points?" Wandering shouted. As everyone was sitting to recover HP, Wandering was happily waiting to see Lu Li''s reaction.


    "Since when did we calculate the deduction by person?" Lu Li asked as his face turned dark. These people didn''t have any limits.


    "Hehe, Boss, if it is ok for you to make mistakes all the time, how can you count on other people to follow your lead?" Wandering continued to probe. As Wandering was speaking, he had already deducted 7 points from Lu Li''s Guild Points. "Since this is your first time making a mistake, I deducted 7 points from your Guild Points. Come on, it is nothing comparing the number of points you have."


    Honestly speaking, the atmosphere within the team was quite good.


    They just had to make sure not to make any mistakes that would lead to a catastrophic failure, but everyone was free to talk. Even the senior players were quite down to earth. You were free to say how stupid Hachi Chan was with her poor sense of direction. You could also talk about how much you wanted to squeeze Remnant Dream''s cheeks, or even gossip about how handsome Wandering was and that it was a pity he was not a stripper.


    Because of this, the team did not feel bored or tired. Of course, there were very serious commanders like Sorrowless. It was said that he constantly replaced his people during the First Clear attempts. One reason was that he immediately removed anyone who made a mistake. Another reason was that his teammates were stressed out and became fatigued easily, so they needed adequate rest.


    Though morale was high, their First Clear attempt was full of difficulties.


    It was not that they didn''t make any progress. There were several times when they made it into Stage 3, but there were very few survivors left who were able to fight in Stage 3.


    The weekend had almost arrived.


    The Molten Core Instance Dungeon was now in full swing, and a second Ruling Sword party had finally taken down Ragnaros. It was also heard that there were other clubs that had completed the Molten Core Instance Dungeon. Since they all had been attempting it for two weeks, nearly every strategy had been discovered. The next step was all about teamwork and investing money.


    The benefits of investing money were more than just bringing the team rewards and items to fight against the monsters. There were some other benefits that they might have never expected


    Purple Lunar Paradise was one of the few clubs that cleared the Molten Core. It was said that they instantly received a 30-million dollar investment on the night when they were celebrating their completion of the Instance Dungeon. The investor only owned shares in the club and would not interfere the club''s everyday running.


    Their initial investment was instantly paid off and more clubs came to follow their way. Even if a team just beat the Instance Dungeon at Elite Difficulty, they would take a screenshot and post it to the forums immediately with the club''s name and date, trying to spark some discussion which could result in an investment.


    There was one for Ruling Sword as well; they went to the forums soon after they took down Ragnaros the Firelord.


    The officials pinned their post, as it was the first time that a team made up of 40 players beat the Boss in the Instance Dungeon at Nightmare Difficulty. However, many investors were shut down by them because these tough guys were not willing to accept any investments from anyone.

 1437 System Update

    On Monday, there was a System update, but this didn''t affect the players'' login times.


    It was said that the update this time was just an update to the game''s UI and system. The graphics would be even more realistic, but it also toned down the gore. Dawn would be easier on the spectators'' eyes after this update.


    However, the game didn''t completely remove it either.


    With the installation of a mod, players could see an even more gory world. Lu Li tried it out when he was grinding for levels. There was also a Paladin near him who was trying it out as well. He was equipped with a hammer, which dealt bloody carnage with every swing.


    Lu Li witnessed a monster''s head being smashed with the hammer, after which its head exploded and its innards flew everywhere.


    Fortunately, this wasn''t Lu Li''s preference. He decided to change his settings back to the toned-down version.


    The game company''s intended audience was for everyone, so this toned-down version was good for little children. Otherwise, it would be much too violent for them.


    Because they wanted to cater for younger people, there was an update which included many high schools in different cities. Such cities include Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Stormwind''s school was just called the Stormwind Junior High School, while the one at Orgrimmar was called Orgrimmar Senior High School. The goal for the installation of these schools was to increase the number of young players in the game.


    At that time, there weren''t schools like the Ironforge Kindergarten yet. After all, it wasn''t good for extremely young children to be playing games.


    These updates didn''t affect battle-centred players.


    Besides the Instance Dungeon and quest difficulty nerfs, there were two more things that attracted everyone''s attention.


    The release of the Talent System!


    Players could freely choose their Talent stats.


    For example, for Lu Li, there were two paths. The main path was the Agility pathway, which increased his survival capabilities and his crowd control abilities. As a result, there was a new name for him ¨C Agile Thief. The other path was the Strength pathway, which increased offensive strength and gave the title of Battle Thief.


    You could still change between these two paths ¨C the price was just gold.


    After every Talent reset, there was a fee which grew each time. There was also a quest that needed to be completed to enable the changing between the two paths.


    Normally, no one would bother changing paths.


    However, players now had the choice to reset their skill points and stats. Unfortunately, the skills that were levelled up through training were not able to be reset, such as Lu Li''s Sinister Strike. As a result, Lu Li could only adjust four of his skills.


    Lu Li decided to adjust his skill point investments. His skillset was mostly focused on PVP, since his role in Instance Dungeons was to be a commander.


    A normal squad didn''t require the commander to have good DPS. Furthermore, Lu Li''s items were extremely powerful, so his DPS would be above the average player regardless.


    Thieves and Priests were among the easier classes to adjust in terms of the Talent system.


    Paladins could become Healing Paladins and Retribution Paladins, while Druids could become a Voodoo Druid, Bear Druid or Cat Druid. Shamans could choose between Elemental Shamans, Healing Shamans and Buff Shamans. These classes were more complex, but since they were also more flexible, there were many who chose a hybrid combination of specialised classes.


    For example, Mu Qiu was a hybrid between a Healing Paladin and Retribution Paladin.


    With this update also came the adjustment of the stats of equipment based on the level between the item and the wearer.


    For example, a level 60 player wearing level 55 items might not see much difference, but the stats of an item would drop drastically if a level 60 player was wearing level 50 items.


    Everyone was not pleased with this, so they heaped their complaints upon the company. However, as this was a game-wide implementation, no one gained an advantage from this.


    These were only complaints after all; they wouldn''t quit the game over this matter.


    The other players who were disappointed at this update were the item merchants in the game. Their items needed to keep circulating, and it also wasn''t possible for them to sell one item immediately after getting another. Therefore, for the merchants who ended up with an abundance of items to sell were put in a difficult situation. It was said that a few big-name merchants were made bankrupt due to this.


    The other update that attracted much attention was the Couple system.


    In any game, the Couple system was a system that brought great profit to the company.


    In the early days of gaming, there were a few rich players who decided to play as female players. Of course, male players, upon finding out that their partner was indeed a male player, would instantly separate with them.


    Ruling Sword had prepared a long time for this update.


    After Lu Li and Water Fairy communicated with the supervisor, Square Root immediately contacted the supervisor for the quest.


    There was a stat called Friendship which would increase after players added each other as buddies, then frequently talked and completed activities together.


    Only after increasing the Friendship level would the Couple system be activated.


    As for those who didn''t have a high Friendship stat, even if they liked each other, they wouldn''t be able to become a couple.


    During this time, the game company released an item this update that would resolve this problem. Besides the aesthetically pleasing side of this item, it could be used to increase Friendship levels.


    How touching!


    Of course, the price was also quite touching.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were the first official couple in the game under the instruction of Square Root Three. This was bound to turn into a major talking point.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy''s relationship was the perfect advertisement. If the first couple weren''t prominent players in the community, this system wouldn''t be advertised to its best. Square Root Three had planned to use this to further spread Ruling Sword''s name. If there was a world-shockingly grand wedding, then no one would be left without knowing what Ruling Sword was.


    Unfortunately, this grand plan was ruined.


    At the moment, Lu Li and Water Fairy could only be in a relationship, but they could not get married. Firstly, they didn''t have enough Friendship and secondly, they needed to be in a relationship for a certain period of time before getting married was an option.


    Instant marriages were not permitted in the game!


    Since it wasn''t a real wedding, why was there a need to make it grand? It could be likened to watering a budding sprout ¨C giving it too much water would kill it.


    Because this was the case, they tried to capitalise on another opportunity.


    Lu Li only bought nine Orange Genuine Hearts, which saddened the company. Lu Li originally planned to only buy one, since Water Fairy wasn''t too interested in these things. She was different to other girls. As a person who grew up in a wealthy environment, there weren''t many things that she hadn''t seen before.


    The supervisor couldn''t let this go ahead.


    He then bought 990 of the Hearts, which cost a staggering amount of money.


    Of course, the supervisor didn''t pay for it himself, but reported this to the game company.


    The company wouldn''t lose money over this either, since Lu Li and Water Fairy were bound to be the first couple. If the first couple had 999 Hearts, then the other rich players would likely do the same. If they had less Hearts, then it would imply that they were insincere about the marriage.

 1438 One Every Minute

    After the release of this update, every ''goddess'' figure in the game would be targeted.


    These Orange Genuine Hearts were really expensive, but people were willing to spend large amounts of money on them.


    However, these goddesses were going to be overshadowed because the ''Playing Around'' couple decided to go crazy buying them.


    Water Fairy had many admirers. As soon as they saw Lu Li buy the hearts in bulk, they weren''t going to take this lying down. They didn''t know that it was with the help of the System.


    How pitiful. They thought that they would be able to steal Water Fairy away if they had bought more Hearts.


    The red trees that bore silver flowers in Stormwind City was an unforgettable sight for many.


    This was where the Hearts spawned!


    In the 18 hours of game time, one could be taken every minute. There were 999 of them in total.


    Dawn was a free-to-play game. In the early days, the company''s income was based on transaction taxes. This added up to a sizeable amount, since the player base was tremendously large. However, this update made everyone realise the true money-sucking power of Dawn.


    Actually, for any profession, if they could monopolise the market, then they would benefit greatly.


    Honestly speaking, Water Fairy and Lu Li had gained a lot. It didn''t matter if this wasn''t part of their plan. The game company had seized this opportunity to turn a huge profit.


    The two of them didn''t need to do anything else and successfully became the first couple in the game.


    After confirming their relationship, information about Water Fairy appeared on Lu Li''s stat panel. When they stood together, the panel would display more functions. When they weren''t together, there were some functions that were still available for use. Lu Li slightly regretted not letting Water Fairy enter Instance Dungeons with them at the beginning, because many functions couldn''t be used.


    The Hearts could be auto-farmed, so Lu Li decided to fight Instance Dungeons.


    He didn''t select Onyxia''s lair, he decided to keep farming the Molten Core. His items weren''t up to standard, as many of them were still level 55.


    The squad composition was no longer the same as the first 40 people. There were more replacements, such as Fat Monkey, who was a fire-based Mage.


    Everyone had already completed two cooldown resets, so their items were gradually growing stronger.


    Lu Li had gotten his T2 pants this week.


    With the support of the whole guild, March Rain crafted many T2 pants this time and gave the perfect Epic one to Lu Li. This didn''t seem very fair. After all, the recipe belonged to someone else.


    Such things were quite common in Dawn.


    Furthermore, March Rain didn''t hide this fact from the player who provided the recipe ¨C Scarlet New Moon. However, with the recipe that was provided by Lu Li, March Rain still managed to make an exquisite Epic item. Then, this one was given to Scarlet New Moon.


    Bloodfang Pants (Perfect Epic): Armour 160. Agility +150. Strength + 100. Dodge +30%. 3 Sockets. Unique Effect (1): Sinister Strike +1. Unique Effect (2): +50% Decrease target''s movement speed with Kick. Unique Effect (3): Pounce. Instantly move to a target within 15 metres. Deal 200% damage on the first attack, resulting in a 2 second stun. Level requirement: 60. Durability: 380/380.


    The stats for T2 equipment were much higher compared to T1 items. Pants would usually be given Dodge, which decreased the rate of receiving critical damage, as well as the critical damage received.


    Dodge was added into the game during the last update, so players had only recently begun to collect Dodge items.


    The first unique effect of the Pants was adding one skill point to Sinister Strike. However, Lu Li already had the Enhanced Sinister Strike, so it wasn''t the most suitable effect. Fortunately, adding to Sinister Strike also improved the Enhanced version a little, though not to the degree of adding one skill point.


    The second unique effect strengthened Lu Li''s Kick skill, so it was quite helpful for fighting against Mages.


    The third was a common effect for exquisite items, but this was an enhanced version, which was fitting for a Perfect Epic item.


    Although it was a class set item, the stats still varied. The first effect usually added to the skill level, but the skill enhancement varied. The second would also typically be another effect that enhanced a particular skill. The third effect was the one that determined the value of an item.


    Three sockets made it extremely valuable. Only Perfect level items would have these.


    The first socket was filled with a stone that added Agility, while the second was filled with a stone that added movement speed. Since Lu Li wanted to stick with the Agile Thief pathway, movement speed was extremely important. Finally, the last socket was filled with a stone that added Damage.


    The Damage stone was the worst one, and usually, no one used it. However, when the bonus damage was above 5%, these stones would begin to show their worth. Lu Li''s stone was +8% Damage. For Lu Li, this was extremely valuable, since he wasn''t a Battle Thief, but he still wanted to do a lot of damage.


    There were also a few more level 60 Epic items, but their stats fell short of Lu Li''s expectations.


    It wasn''t as though Lu Li could take other people''s items. Although as a professional player, he had the right to, this right was only limited to competitions. The closest competition was Donghua, and that was at least half a month away.


    Therefore, bringing people into Instance Dungeons were the quickest way for Lu Li to get items.


    He brought along White Traveller, and they sorted out the items that they each needed.


    The first few Bosses didn''t drop any Thief equipment until Shazzrah, who dropped the Wristguards of Stability. Lu Li was already using the Epic set Armor, so this item was sold to White Traveller at the base bidding price.


    After this were the Aged Core Leather Gloves. White Traveller also bought them at the lowest possible price.


    Aged Core Leather Gloves (Epic): Armour: 120. Agility +120. Constitution +80. Attack Speed +20%. Sockets: 2. Unique Effect (1): Backhand Backstab +1. Unique Effect (2): When dealing critical damage, 20% of the damage dealt is converted into the caster''s HP. Unique Effect (3): Disarm, 50% chance to disable the opponent''s weapon. Duration: 3 seconds. Level requirement: 60. Durability: 320/320.


    No matter what, a level 60 Epic item was always stronger than a level 55 Dark Gold item.


    Grasps of the Survivor (Dark Gold): Armour: 55. Agility +55. Strength +35. Critical Strike Chance +15%. Sockets: 2. Unique Effect (1): Backstab +1. Unique Effect (2): When attacking, there is a chance of interrupting skill casting. Unique Effect (3): Pounce, instantly move to the target within 8 metres, resulting in 1 second of stun. Level requirement: 55. Durability: 280/280.


    The Aged Core Leather Gloves were exquisite and the three effects were all very useful.

 1439 Bonfire Nigh

    Under normal circumstances, even with Remnant Dream, the drops were evidently worse.


    Lu Li didn''t have high expectations anyway. It was already worthwhile enough that he could upgrade his items that were under level 60.


    With the equipment level penalty now in place, it would be madness to use this set of equipment to fight the Black Dragon Princess. There were others who were in the same situation. Although they had a full set of Epic items, they couldn''t keep the level 55 ones, and some even had level 50 items.


    Golemagg the Incinerator dropped some valuable equipment and items. There was the Sulfuron Ingot and the Blastershot Launcher.


    The Blastershot Launcher''s effect was just like its name. Critical strikes would be greatly increased, but the stats were fairly average. For someone who was lacking in critical strike, this would be an absolute treasure. Unfortunately, Lu Li was not such a person, so he decided to keep using his Flawless Arcanite Rifle.


    However, the usual 300 damage from the rifle was relatively insignificant at this stage. After all, it was only a level 50 item.


    There were still a few more Bosses after this, but unfortunately for them, there were not many valuable Thief items. The few that did drop weren''t enough for Lu Li, so these were just given to White Traveller. At the end, White Traveller felt quite embarrassed that he had just taken all of these, so he decided to give his precious belt to Lu Li.


    Lu Li was pleased with the stats, so he agreed to trade his belt for White Traveller''s.


    Warmaster''s Belt (Epic): Armour 62. Agility +60. Constitution +40. Sockets: 2. Unique Effect (1): Dodge +20%. Unique Effect (2): Disarm: Disables the opponent''s weapon. Duration: 3 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Unique Effect (3): Teleport anywhere within 15 metres of the caster''s field of vision. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Unable to stack cooldown with other similar-type skills. Level requirement: 55. Durability: 280/280.


    This was Lu Li''s Epic belt, which was level 55. At the time that he had found this belt, this was considered to be an extremely exquisite item.


    The first unique effect was Dodge, which was one of the most desired stats for Thieves. The second unique effect, Disarm, was an extremely powerful skill in PVP. As for its escaping capabilities, they were quite obvious. Had it not been for the lacklustre defence and stats, Lu Li probably wouldn''t have been willing to trade it.


    The belt that White Traveller traded to Lu Li was called Vosh''gajin''s Strand.


    This item was usually only worn by Horde players, because it was a reward for a Horde quest which involved killing the Boss in the Blackrock Spires. Furthermore, the trigger to activate this quest was a low percentage, so this item was quite rare.


    One day, while he was a replacement for the Blackrock Spires dungeon, White Traveller heard that fishing in the lava was possible. As such, he brought his fishing rod with him. While fishing, a person suddenly fell from the sky and into the lava right in front of him, immediately dying.


    This item was dropped as a result of that poor guy who died.


    Vosh''gajin''s Strand (Epic): Armour 100. Agility +120. Strength +80. Critical Hit +30%. Unique Effect (1): Sprint +1. Unique Effect (2): Reduces the effects of Armor Crush on the wearer. Unique Effect (3): Blink Strike. After casting, teleport in front of the target and deals 150% damage. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Level Requirement: 60. Durability: 360/360.


    This item was more PVP-oriented as the unique effects all enhanced the wearer''s PVP capabilities. Sprint didn''t have much use in Instance Dungeons, and most Bosses didn''t have Armor Crush. As for Blink Strike, well¡­that was an obvious one.


    Blink Strike could be used in combination with Gouge to teleport to your opponent and stun them. Afterwards, you could wrap around to their blind spots and continue attacking or escape swiftly.


    It took about half a day before Lu Li cleared the Molten Core with this group.


    He only got one item, which was the Aged Core Leather Gloves. Then, he exchanged belts with White Traveller. Surprisingly, it was White Traveller who ended up with a majority of the benefits. Besides the two items that he gained, he also gained two more T1 set items. He had hit the jackpot this Instance Dungeon run.


    As for the others, many of their level 55 items were swapped out. The lucky ones already had a full set of level 60 items.


    Lu Li was the commander, so his items weren''t that important. It was more important that the rest of the team upgraded their items first.


    However, he wasn''t planning on fighting Onyxia today as he had a date. If he was shameless enough, he could say that he was no longer single.


    In the earlier years, when games were just starting to gain traction, you wouldn''t know who or what was playing the game with you. Therefore, the line between gaming and real life was extremely clear. There were many weddings in the game with husbands and wives. Strictly speaking, their in-game lives were truly like married lives.


    Then, with the rise of the gaming industry and the increasing prominence of gaming in everyone''s lives, the line between gaming and real life begun to blur.


    The players nowadays placed a lot of importance in in-game relationships. To find a wife through playing games was no longer just imagination. Since Water Fairy agreed to be in a relationship with Lu Li in the game, it was very obvious as to what that implied.


    After exiting the Instance Dungeon, they returned to the Darkshore Stronghold.


    It was nearing night, so Darkshore brightly lit. This place was just like Stormwind City, with its fireworks lighting up the night sky and bonfires dotted across the land.


    Square Root Three was generous. He decided that on this night, all beer and ale was free of charge. Even though beer and ale were the cheapest alcohols, this still attracted a large number of players.


    Honestly speaking, who wouldn''t be able to afford beer? It wasn''t the beer, but the atmosphere that throwing a Bonfire Night brought. This wasn''t like the game events, since players were free to do what they wanted. Players also didn''t need to rush to different places to complete quests and gain fame and items.


    Strictly speaking, Darkshore was not a marketplace, but there were stalls everywhere.


    At this time, Ruling Sword and Darkshore Stronghold was still in a duty-free stage, so players were able to set up stalls with just a broken cloth. Although most of the items placed on these torn cloths were of average and below average quality, there were occasionally some gems.


    Players were drinking beer on the stone tables that Ruling Sword had sponsored.


    Square Root Three took out all the repair materials for the Stronghold and allowed Ruling Sword members to play around with them. Other players were also allowed to show off their talents with these materials. After all, these stone materials were extremely common near the ocean.


    Anyone could just sit down and instantly become good friends with the person sitting next to, or in front of them after a few glasses of alcohol. They could talk about anything, from their worries in real life, to their past relationship experiences in their younger days.


    Of course, most of them talked about the ''Playing Around'' couple.

 1440 Little Team Captain

    Drizzle Court were still constructing their Stronghold in the Western Wastelands, so they were on high alert in case of an invasion.


    Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court were affected the most by the fact that Lu Li and Water Fairy were now official.


    Water Fairy started playing games in her teens and had great potential. Back then, she was a well-beloved little girl and was very ambitious in pursuing a gaming career. Therefore, she persuaded her father to allow her to use the money left behind by her mother and invested it all into the gaming industry.


    With the continual support of her father, she was now one of the most powerful people in the game.


    Drizzle Court had caught up to those hundred-year-old major guilds in every aspect. Even though Sorrowless was considered a legend, his guild was built upon the foundations of an already powerful guild in Glory Capital.


    Many would say that Lu Li had taken even less time to establish Ruling Sword as one of the best guilds in the game.


    In the past, there had been many cases of new guilds that suddenly rose in power. However, they all ended up falling even harder than they had risen. Many had since disappeared and only lasted less than a few years at the top.


    Drizzle Court had multiple sub-guilds; they didn''t place all their eggs in one basket. Even if Water Fairy was to disappear off the face of the earth, they would still be able to continue.


    If something happened to Lu Li, that would be a completely different story.


    Did this mean that Water Fairy was too good for Lu Li?


    "Water Fairy is so out of Lu Li''s league; he''s not that handsome. Water Fairy deserves someone better-looking than Sorrowless at least!"


    "All men must die, because no one deserves Water Fairy."


    "Why¡­ why¡­why does it feel like I just got dumped? Water Fairy, please don''t date anyone."


    "I think Water Fairy is still quite young. She''s too young to settle with a guy."


    "What if Lu Li has ulterior motives behind dating Water Fairy? Is he trying to take over our guild?"


    "Not only is she beautiful, but she''s also super wealthy and has power both in and out of the game."


    Water Fairy had so many fanboys in the guild that it would be impossible for Lu Li to gain approval from everyone. Many of the guild members thought that no man deserved Water Fairy.


    However, not everyone was against this; there were some people who completely supported the two.


    "This is a win-win situation. We won''t need to worry about clearing dungeons anymore, hahaha."


    "I think Lu Li is a hard-working man. He''s much more capable than those rich second-generation players. All they do is lay around all day waiting to inherit money."


    "He''s not bad-looking at all. He''s capable, respectful and a gentleman. What else can Water Fairy ask for?"


    "Stop being so petty ¨C maybe they''re truly in love."


    "Yeah, just leave them alone!"


    "To be honest, Water Fairy has high standards, which means that she must see something in Lu Li that nobody else sees. Lu Li''s not exactly the most romantic person either, which means that Water Fairy must really like him."


    "I think they''re very suitable for each other. I wonder what their dates are like."


    Compared to the hateful comments from Drizzle Court, most players from Ruling Sword were extremely happy for Lu Li. They were impressed by that fact that their Boss was able to be with one of the most desired women in the game.


    Water Fairy was always on the leaderboards for the Beauty Rankings, she also had one of the wealthiest backgrounds and she was extremely popular.


    A lot of female players depended on the male players to lead them.


    However, Water Fairy was one of the few girls who was completely independent.


    When the two announced that they were official, the world chat exploded.


    This was one of the rare times that so many people announced that they had lost the love of their life. Even though most of them liked her in secret, life seemed much more meaningless and miserable.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy rarely appeared in public together because they were both quite private people. Even so, when Lu Li arrived at Darkshore, he was swarmed by a large group of people who congratulated him.


    Lu Li didn''t know what to do besides running away, but there were some that were unavoidable.


    Other guild leaders, professional players and close acquaintances could not be avoided. They could take it the wrong way and think that Lu Li was too good for them now.


    If Lu Li was just a professional player, he could keep up a quiet and distant image as an individual. However, since he was the leader of Ruling Sword, he had no choice but to socialize and make connections with others.


    The more he socialized, the higher chance of great players joining him.


    Therefore, he had to maintain his smile and continue to talk to other players, guild leaders and even potential investors.


    A while ago, investors were still hesitant on Ruling Sword, but now everyone was trying to capitalize on this opportunity before it was too late. Whether Lu Li would accept Water Fairy''s funding was another question. Those that were close to him knew that he hated to take things for free.


    "Mr. Lu, you''ve already achieved so much at such a young age. Your potential is limitless."


    While the man behind these words was charismatic, he was not very good looking. However, the way he carried himself made him the center of attention.


    "No, you''re too kind. I had no idea you were coming today," Lu Li said.


    This man was the president of the League competition and went by the ID Little Team Captain. He rarely logged onto Dawn because he was too busy organizing the competition. Besides the yearly Pro League, he also managed various competition in other games as well.


    "It''s been so long since the last event. I''m so keen for this," Little Team Captain laughed.


    "We''re just playing around; it''s not really much. We''re just doing some advertising for the gaming company," Lu Li spoke honestly. He had no intention of trying to gain popularity from dating Water Fairy. He made sure to maintain and honest image in front of Little Team Captain.


    "You''re both very good looking. What''s there to hide?" Little Team Captain asked, then sighed, "When Water Fairy first debuted into the game, I always wondered who a suitable partner for her would be.


    "Thanks."


    Lu Li didn''t know what else to say.


    He knew he was destined to be scrutinized by the eyes of jealous men. He didn''t know what Little Team Captain''s true intentions behind his words were, but all he could do was to be cautious around him. Little Team Captain had a very good reputation and the success of the Pro League was mainly thanks to him. However, he was notorious for playing favorites with certain individuals. He would support those that he liked and shut off those that he didn''t.


    He was definitely someone you didn''t want to be on the wrong side of.


    "I came today to see what all the commotion is about and also to give you the invitation for the Donghua Cup," Little Team Captain explained as he took out a well-crafted invitation letter stamped with the cup logo.


    The Donghua Cup was an historic competition that originated 150 years ago. A very wealthy man wanted to show his appreciation for the gaming industry, so he donated more than half his wealth to establish the Donghua Cup.


    His offspring were the ones organising the competition.


    Much like when Lu Li first started the game, smaller and lesser known guilds had to apply for competitions. However, invitation letters were sent out to Major guilds without the need of them applying for themselves.

 1442 Stealth

    "They''ve taken up all three paths. Sky, take the middle path with teams one to seven. Breezy, take teams eight to twelve to the left. March with the rest to defend the remaining path. Aim for their carts," Lu Li commanded as he hovered over the Stronghold with Glory Capital''s army formation in plain sight. He ran the numbers, and was reassured by the fact that Thief-class players were indeed a rare breed.


    "Look up," White Westhill said, pointing upwards.


    "Ignore him. He can fly all he wants, but I''ll enjoy watching him fall," Sorrowless scowled. Players with flight skills were difficult to find, and even more so during raids. Lu Li was rubbing it in their faces. The guild tensed up, knowing that being under Lu Li''s microscope meant many strategies would be nullified. Lu Li was insistently irksome. He didn''t care that he was out in the open, free for the entire battlefield to see. On the contrary, he would intentionally fly over the heads of Glory Capital''s players just to spite them.


    The problem was that no one had extremely long-range attacks, and Lu Li was aware of this. No one was able to attack him, and his peskiness dealt damage to his enemies in an unexpected form ¨C distraction.


    Luckily, Glory Capital was not the type to pull any underhanded plays.


    Lu Li did not come down. He decided his physical presence in this battle was more or less expendable. In fact, giving away much of his responsibilities as Commander inspired him with a new purpose.


    Looking at the Ruling Sword members beneath the Stronghold, Sorrowless almost let out a chuckle. He felt no pressure at all. If anything, he was afraid that Lu Li and the others would have been cowering at the top of the walls. He would have Ruling Sword realise the power of Glory Capital. In this battle, forty out of eighty of his people were hand-picked personally, while the rest were randomly selected amongst two hundred other players of the guild. With that being said, Sorrowless was confident that even if all eighty players were hand-picked by Ruling Sword, they would have been no match for his own guild.


    Sky Moon looked up, dumbfounded. Why was he suddenly made Commander of his path? Fat Monkey was standing right next to him. If they were to speak of combat experience, Sky Moon wouldn''t even be at the table for Commander.


    "If the boss insists, then I won''t hold anything back. Paladins, Consecrate the bottom of the tower. Hunters, throw Flares at the healers. Mages, use Blizzard¡­"


    What a way to play it safe ¨C Lu Li was almost disappointed at Sky Moon''s timid tactics. However, the principle of seeking to be faultless rather than seeking merit was fitting for Sky Moon. After all, it was his first time in command, and he was usually in deference to his men.


    Lu Li flew to the vanguard of his enemy''s army; his espionage had begun. He went to Glory Capital''s first spawn site (the System''s spawn site). Unless the team''s set up a new spawn site, all defeated players would automatically spawn here.


    Spawn sites were limited to three customised settings per team. Under normal circumstances, most people would place one near the Stronghold walls, one inside the Stronghold, and the last one kept as a replacement. Since the spawn site''s Angel Statue was vulnerable to external damage, one needed to be available to replace the other if it was destroyed among the chaos within the Stronghold. That was why when the enemy was still in the sentry tower phase, they would only use the System''s spawn site. Since the System''s spawn site was located relatively close to the Stronghold walls, the offensive guild did not have to worry about wasting previous battle time on travelling from the site to the Stronghold.


    Lu Li settled at Glory Capital''s spawn site. He waited for the first defeated player to resurrect. Under the tower, chaos reigned. Lu Li could see numerous teammates killed off already. No more than a minute later, a presence had begun to solidify next to Lu Li. Without hesitation, Lu Li went for a stealth kill. Being equipped with mere cloth armor, he was no match for Lu Li. After a successful kill, Lu Li looted the armor and waited for his next victim.


    Lu Li''s victim realised what had happened and reported it to Sorrowless immediately.


    "Boss, I got killed again! There''s someone at the spawn site!"


    "Lu Li!" Sorrowless cried out, discerning the problem immediately. He grimaced even more, outraged by Lu Li''s deviousness.


    "Should we get two guys to defend the site?" the others asked.


    They couldn''t have their team members stuck at the spawn site forever, but freshly spawned players with mere cloth armor were no match for Lu Li. It would be difficult even for other classes if they were to fight one-on-one with him. Being stuck with a Thief solely focused on ambushes proved to be problematic.


    "I''ll go," Blood Dagger volunteered.


    "There are spawn sites on each path. It''s useless for you to go," Sorrowless said, shaking his head. If Blood Dagger was to defend the spawn site on the middle path, Lu Li could still target the other two paths.


    "What will you do then?" Bloody Dagger could not mask his anticipation to duel with Lu Li.


    "Don''t spawn by yourself. Those who have died, wait for the others and spawn together," Sorrowless sighed. Even if Lu Li''s goal was fulfilled ¨C which was merely to buy time for his guild - the alternative was to dispatch players at each spawn site, but that would be inefficient compared to what he had proposed.


    When players confirmed their spawning, they would require 15 seconds of spawning time. Players who had died didn''t spawn right away. They waited for other players and spawned together. By then, it wouldn''t be just one player at the spawn site.


    Lu Li looked at the two enemies in front of him. He wasn''t sure if it was a mere coincidence, or if Sorrowless intended for them to spawn together. Either way, he couldn''t be intimidated that easily. Lu Li struck one and ambushed the other, but his enemies wouldn''t be taken by surprise, especially after receiving their teammate''s warning. These two were elites of Glory Capital and were extremely skilled in battle. They braced themselves immediately, and with the two against Lu Li, the latter was slowly pressured and disadvantaged. He obviously couldn''t just kill off one or the other.


    With a Shadowmeld, Lu Li disappeared into thin air. The Warlock''s fire worked against them and served as camouflage for Lu Li. The two searched for the Thief but to no avail. Looking at each other, they decided to abandon the search and hurried back to the battlefield.


    Lu Li did not stay on one path for long; he had to keep all the enemies on their toes. That way, the players of Glory Capital wouldn''t spawn carelessly and would have no choice but to wait for another teammate before they could spawn. The most infuriating thing was that Lu Li could ambush them at any time.


    Sky Moon quickly caught on, realising that Lu Li was churning up chaos at the back. Limiting Glory Capital to spawn only when accompanied, he became much more confident in their plan to drag out the battle.


    Sorrowless ordered a strike command after catching a glimpse of the tower''s health and battle countdown.


    "Put some power into it this time!"


    Pressured by both Glory Capital''s players and battle carts, even the two sentry towers did not prove to be of much help. The third-tier players of Ruling Sword suffered a devastating loss. After having a few players killed off, Sky Moon ordered a retreat to the second defense ¨C the third sentry tower.

 1444 Burning Cannonballs

    Sky Moon gazed over and his heart sank immediately.


    He turned toward Lu Li and looked at him helplessly, and began to doubt whether the city wall could stand the attack of these new cannonballs. After all, since Glory Capital only had a dozen or so chariots left, their apparent self-confidence probably came from the advantage of these new weapons.


    Actually, this attack-defense battle could not be considered equal at all.


    The overwhelming advantage would be with the defenders. They had reinforced their sentry towers and limited their chariot numbers. On top of that, the attackers were using a 40+40 formation, which, in addition to the extra shield the wall gave the defenders, made it very hard to capture the Stronghold, unless they used some special method.


    Apart from Sorrowless'' last resort trumping the strength of Ruling Sword''s members, those cannonballs were also terrifying.


    Lu Li had never encountered a Stronghold Attack in his previous life, and was not very interested in them either. He didn''t know he would be reborn, nor did he know he would have the ability to participate in this struggle for a Stronghold.


    Lu Li had heard many rumours. He knew that some special cannonballs existed, but he didn''t know what this red cannonball would do. However, he was not confused for too long. After the first cannonball smashed into the wall, all the answers became apparent. Apart from being more powerful than normal cannonballs, these cannonballs also burned the area upon which they fell.


    They could even burn stone!


    This burn had a massive effect on how long the wall would last for. If nothing unexpected happened, a great hole would be formed in the wall after a few minutes.


    "Calm down, they''ve only got a dozen chariots left," Lu Li reassured Sky Moon, who had lost his cool. A great commander had to be able to able to face unexpected circumstances and still maintain their composure. Such a commander should not panic when encountering a problem, but rather should think of a solution.


    Judging from this event, Sky Moon might have been a genius, but at the moment, his temperament was still a bit choppy.


    "Ok boss."


    Sky Moon took a deep breath, then cried out loudly, "Don''t just stand there! Move the chariots back and maintain the largest attack distance possible for a forward attack. The main aim is to smash their chariots. Teams one to twelve, prepare to encircle the enemy to launch a surprise attack on their chariots."


    This was another all-out, not caring for losses attack.


    Lu Li couldn''t come up with a better plan, nor did he have any objections against this strategy.


    Actually, Glory Capital''s original plan didn''t have to be this way. They should have preserved more chariots by splitting into three teams, using these cannonballs balls to smash the wall. That way, Ruling Sword would find it much harder to defend.


    But now, because of Sky Moon''s actions, they could only merge into one team.


    Sky Moon could therefore smuggle some people out of city. After that, under the wall above the middle team, they could start a battle fighting for the Stronghold.


    One could imagine what would happen in this situation of 60 people attacking 80.


    However, Ruling Sword didn''t have any choice as for what to do. They couldn''t let these special cannonballs strike their walls, or else they could lose their refuge behind them.


    Eighty people from Ruling Sword certainly weren''t an equal match for eighty from Glory Capital, even if 40 of their people were chosen randomly from a group of 200.


    "We meet in battle!" Sorrowless laughed coldly.


    Sorrowless had anticipated well before time that Ruling Sword would use a surprise attack strategy. At this moment there were no crafty schemes or cunning plans, but just a true clash of force between two of the finest guilds.


    However, Sorrowless was still underestimating Lu Li''s determination. This poor wretch always preferred to take the safe road, but unexpectedly showed a very resolute side of him this time. Ruling Sword players hadn''t really demonstrated their strength in their attack against Glory Capital players. However, they now revealed their abilities, with the aim of attacking those chariots.


    "Boss, we got six pieces of equipment, but we lost three chariots," someone reported after calculating the results of the battle.


    "Next time, remember to protect the chariots. Don''t just focus on killing people."


    Sorrowless pursed his lips, not satisfied at all with this battle result. In another situation, exchanging 1000 gold and a chariot for a piece of Epic equipment wasn''t a bad trade at all.


    However, this was a battle for a Stronghold. Sorrowless would not lose three chariots even for 10 pieces of equipment.


    "Continue to prepare for the next attack. The lost equipment¡­"


    Sky Moon looked at Lu Li. Although he was the commander, he didn''t have all the authority. It was up to Lu Li to settle question of compensation of equipment.


    "The guild will definitely compensate everyone for the equipment. Three Bro will organise it when the time comes," Lu Li said.


    Now was not the time to be petty. If you wanted to exactly determine who lost or dropped the equipment or who was in an unlucky situation, then everyone would probably immediately stop working hard. This affected the most basic benefit of the game to its players; the sense of collective honour was always more important than virtual objects.


    "Alright, we''re still focusing on the chariots. We don''t need to destroy all the chariots; as long as they don''t form into a sizeable group that''ll be fine," Sky Moon said.


    "We have six bombs here, and only six. This could probably destroy two chariots."


    Lu Li had been gathering the bombs, but it was too hard to collect Starwood. Drizzle Court and Peerless city also participated, but as before, they only managed to create a small number of bombs.


    To make a bomb, they needed a root of Starwood. All the other ingredients were relatively easy to find.


    If Drizzle Court and Peerless City provided two Starwood roots, they could be made into one bomb. Ruling Sword would gain a profit of one bomb. At Lu Li''s level, there was basically no chance of failure in making a bomb, so this could be considered good business.


    "That''s good stuff!" Sky Moon was very happy. With his eyes lit up, he looked at Lu Li and asked, "Boss, do we have any other trump cards?"


    If they had any more similar things, then just a few more would make this battle nothing to be concerned about.


    "No."


    Lu Li was quite annoyed. Surely he wasn''t like that stupid cat Doraemon? If Lu Li really did have that power to get whatever he wanted, then not only would the Ruling Sword have no trouble defending their own city, but they would also go and attack other Strongholds.


    "That''s alright. With what we''ve got, we''re already pretty close. It''s just that our losses might be quite heavy this battle."


    Sky Moon also knew about the flaws in his commanding style.


    "If we can''t do anything about it, we''ll just do our best. This time, you command at the top of the city, and I''ll lead some of us down there for a sneak attack."


    Lu Li looked at Sorrowless, standing not far from the city. That guy, by himself, had only just killed a few people from Ruling Sword.


    Sorrowless seemed to have noticed Lu Li''s gaze and he couldn''t help but shiver suddenly. Could it be that this wretch wanted to stab him to death?


    In a normal duel, Sorrowless the Mage was certainly not afraid of Lu Li, but he also knew that Lu Li wasn''t one to make predictable or logical moves. He would often have strange things up his sleeve, so he might have some method to kill him off instantly. If he was assassinated once, then that could still just be considered carelessness. However, if he was killed again in front of everyone, then he would merely be a stepping-stone for Lu Li''s career.


    "If Lu Li comes down, let me finish him off," Sorrowless said fiercely.

 1445 Casually Taking I

    Could anyone in Dawn be one-shot?


    No!


    This represented the basic principle of equality. There certainly existed games in the past where the slaughter of a street of players was possible, but these only lasted for short periods of time. Regardless of how capable the players were, it would have been impossible to kill an entire street-worth of players in only a few seconds. This was not possible even if the players did not wear a single item of clothing.


    It was the second charge and Lu Li actually even considered killing Sorrowless. Today was no different and his target was simple ¨C restrain Sorrowless, a Mage with high attack, so that he would neither kill people nor direct others to kill.


    Ruling Sword once again lost a significant number of people and items. However, the people could be revived, and the items could be replenished with the backups. When they found out that Glory Capital lost four war chariots, everything was worth it. Even if Glory Capital, with its eleven war chariots, possessed special cannonballs, they would still have been unable to destroy Ruling Sword''s walls.


    If there were twenty war chariots attacking with cannonballs, it wouldn''t be long before the walls would crumble.


    The walls were simply not durable enough. Every time they were attacked by one of the special cannonballs, a large opening would be created. It would only take a few more explosions to establish an opening that could be used by Glory Capital to invade.


    "Perhaps they cannot withstand the impact anymore", White Westhill said in a helpless tone, as he watched Ruling Sword assemble a new wave of attacks. They initially had a high chance of success, but they did not anticipate being delayed by Lu Li or being brutally attacked from behind. The success of this attack emboldened Ruling Sword to charge at them in an almost suicidal fashion.


    They were increasingly losing their war chariots. There would be no hope once they had less than ten chariots.


    "What do you mean? It seems that Ruling Sword have changed their method of attack."


    Sorrowless of course understood. He recalled his actions carefully and concluded that he did not do anything wrong. The main issue was that Lu Li had begun acting differently, as if he had completely changed as a person. Other than the tactic of protecting the resurrection point, which was within his character, he seemed to adopt a different style in the rest of his commands.


    "It just doesn''t seem like Lu Li''s style, unless if it''s Wandering."


    Glory Capital had already analysed the situation clearly before battle.


    Although Lu Li''s style was detailed and precise, Wandering''s style was deceptive. However, considering Glory Capital''s capabilities, then regardless of which of the two was in charge, they would still be unable to create much impact.


    "It''s impossible ¨C Wandering is in Grey Valley. It must be the new commander," Sorrowless nodded.


    "What should we do now?" White Westhill asked.


    "Let them continue charging ahead. They have lost so much equipment today. I suspect that it would be difficult for them to progress with Onyxia''s Lair."


    Wandering seemed unwilling, but they had to accept this result. The only thing they could not do was reduce their losses.


    Ruling Sword was analysing the state of the battle.


    "It doesn''t seem it is necessary to attack like this anymore," Azure Sea Breeze said. He was concerned Sky Moon was overusing his commanding brain.


    "To prevent the unexpected, it is best that we charge one more time. Plus, Glory Capital, I suspect, will no longer use the entirety of their efforts to protect their chariots anymore," Sky Moon commented, then paused and continued, "We have lost more equipment by comparison, but not by too significant of an amount. What do you think we should do boss?"


    "Attack," Lu Li answered simply. He was still his usual bold self.


    Even if they had already lost so much, it really did not matter if they lost a little more. As long as they could secure the Black Sea Coast, then that would amount to success.


    Eight clubs had financially contributed to the attack, and Ruling Sword could take a portion of that amount. Plus, after this battle, the Ruling Sword would be able to gain much of their opponent''s weapons, thus compensating for their losses.


    Lu Li rushed towards Sorrowless.


    It was very different to the assassination from a long time ago. Because the circumstances were so disorderly, there was no one who could come to Sorrowless'' protection.


    However, the Sorrowless at this point in time was much different to the Sorrowless before who was unmotivated. The Sorrowless now was at Level 60, and was equipped with top-quality gear. His PVP level, after a period of time and practice, had not only reached his prior peak level, but had actually exceeded it.


    After experiencing a surprise attack, Sorrowless was extremely calm. A Frost Nova appeared as soon as he raised his hand.


    Lu Li, of course, could not be frozen. He knew what the consequences of being caught would be. He probably ranked first on the list of people that Sorrowless wanted to kill. The person who could kill Lu Li, then seek asylum at Glory Capital, could probably instantly receive the position of an Elite player.


    After vanishing for a while, Lu Li found his second opportunity.


    Lu Li now was actually the most in danger, because Sorrowless had directed all his attention to defending himself against him. He couldn''t even afford to divert a second of his attention away, let alone command the battlefield.


    However, Lu Li was also on edge. He could feel players hiding in the surrounding area and could sense that his enemies were looking for him.


    Blood Dagger!


    It was obvious. Lu Li was now in extremely dangerous territory.


    What was the point? Lu Li slowly retreated as he did not want to be trapped in the middle. If one of them got hold of him, it would be near impossible to escape.


    Sorrowless could not use the full extent of his power, while Blood Dagger was still around, trying to simultaneously protect Sorrowless and capture Lu Li. He had the confidence to capture Lu Li if he was to reveal his location. Even if Lu Li used Gale Steps, the result would be the same. A single second, and Lu Li would be captured.


    The appeal of killing Lu Li was too great, and Sorrowless did not want to abandon the opportunity, even though he knew that Lu Li was here to interrupt his goals.


    "Boss, we can leave now and destroy their five chariots," Sky Moon messaged. He observed the situation, and commanded the remainder of the Ruling Sword''s warriors to immediately retreat.


    It was unnecessary to persist to the very end. After disposing of ten or so bodies, Sky Moon declared a retreat.


    "Ok, going."


    Lu Li suddenly dashed behind a low-HP Mage, then after killing him, picked up his equipment. It was only at this point that he used his special escape abilities to move elsewhere, then cast Gale Steps. He was able to cover a sizeable area using this combination of techniques.


    After escaping to a safe area, Lu Li scanned one last time, and nearly laughed out loud.


    Staff of Dominance!


    This so-called ''Most-Powerful Mage Weapon'' was the creation of the eight Molten Core Boss and a rare find. He didn''t expect to find such a powerful weapon so easily.


    However, in his happiness, Lu Li also felt secretly worried. If an ordinary Mage was equipped with such a legendary weapon, then what kind of weapon would Glory Capital''s boss be wielding.


    It was embarrassing, but he couldn''t help but feel respect.


    Such a weapon was worth at least the price of three equips, which slightly reduced Ruling Sword''s losses.


    It was clear that Glory Capital would not be able to destroy Stronghold wall.


    The battle continued for twenty or thirty minutes. The result was that the Ruling Sword had defended their Stronghold, and Glory Capital had to retreat in disappointment.


    The only loss was that other defending points were not as successful as Ruling Sword''s. Two Strongholds had already been conquered by the enemy.

 1446 Dividing the Land

    The key locations of Grey Valley were undoubtedly secured.


    Glory Capital''s Stanglethorn Vale Stronghold would naturally have no problems. The group attacking was Gale Legion, which was the equivalent of attacking themselves.


    Drizzle Court''s West Wilderness region was secured with great difficulty. Although the loss was significant, they still managed to defend their important Stronghold. Adding on Ruling Sword''s securing of the Black Sea Coast amounted to four secured Strongholds.


    Peerless City''s Tanaris was taken by the Wings of Dawn, a result that shocked many. After all, they were evenly-matched ¨C there was no one who would now consider Peerless City a sub-branch of Drizzle Court. Since Wings of Dawn had become the occupiers of six Strongholds, it was clear that they were the clear winners.


    Gale Legion had also lost its Stronghold. In recent times, it seemed that Glory Capital and Ruling Sword were extremely successful, and that people had underestimated the Blood Red War Flag.


    They were usually not showy, even though they were very powerful. Blood Red War Flag''s core elite group was second only to Glory Capital. Compared to Gale Legion that depended upon Glory Capital, their power was much greater. Even at full force, Gale Legion still lost their Stronghold.


    Ruling Sword still controlled two Strongholds.


    The four remaining Strongholds were controlled by Glory Capital, Drizzle Court, Blood Red War Flag, and Wings of Dawn.


    Peerless City suffered the most loss, then Glory Capital. Although they invested so much money, they still failed to take the Black Sea Coast and also lost the Barrenlands. It seemed that Sorrowless was at his breaking point.


    However, Lu Li was expecting that Glory City would be battling itself. Compared to not taking the Black Sea Coast, or losing the Barrenlands, this was more of a serious problem.


    What type of place was the Barrenlands? The Barrenlands were next to Orgrimmar, a place where players would often train. It was nicknamed as ''The Horde''s Most Popular Destination'', so it was expected that Sorrowless would try to take back this land next week, regardless of the cost.


    Additionally, next week was the start of a new month. According to custom, there was likely to be an official declaration of a map containing new Stronghold.


    Ruling Sword single-handedly controlled two fortresses and were in the limelight. However, Lu Li''s inner state was in a state of despair. Holding the statistics of the losses they had suffered ¨C a list that Sky Moon had created ¨C Lu Li couldn''t help but feel that a whole chest of gold had grown wings and flown away!


    The battle this time was far too brutal and they had lost a ton of equipment.


    Although the gold they won from successfully defending the Stronghold could be used to cover the equipment losses, it still wasn''t something that they could immediately convert to usable items.


    The quality of their equipment had fallen by a notch. What were they to use to attack the Princess of the Black Dragon, Onyxia?


    However, this was just the nature of the battle for Strongholds ¨C it was all about backup resources. Every single Stronghold battle required a minimum amount of ten or so equips. If they were lucky, they could craft more equipment, but if they struggled while fighting, they simply needed to shoulder the losses.


    An established Guild was powerful precisely because they had the resources.


    Ruling Sword''s current elite group players contained 400-500 people. The number of Glory Capital members that could participate in the Molten Core''s Nightmare level exceeded a few thousand, if not tens of thousands. This was the result of an accumulation of over ten or so years of experience. Were it not for Ruling Sword successfully taking so many First Clears, they could never have had the qualifications to compete with the established Guilds for Strongholds.


    It was true that the equipment they gathered from a First Clear was much superior to other instances, but this could still not match the farming rate of the others.


    Ruling Sword could only barely farm from the Molten Core on ten occasions. In the same time, Glory Capital could farm from it up to 200 times.


    As for farming the lower-levelled Bosses in the Molten Core, the Ruling Sword could not match Glory Capital. For this reason, Sorrowless had abandoned his equipment without a blink of an eye.


    The land reclamation group was lacking in equipment.


    Lu Li was desperate and had no choice but to make a public declaration.


    "Let me borrow the Level 60 Epic equipment from those Level 60 guild members that have completed the Molten Core, and I will return them to everyone as soon as I''m done."


    He really had no choice. If he had requested equipment from the inner headquarters, this would result in the deterioration of everyone''s confidence levels. If he needed to borrow equipment so desperately just to fight for one Stronghold, what was he going to do in the future? Plus, it wouldn''t be long before many people would know about this, which would result in other Guilds targeting Ruling Sword''s vulnerability.


    This was not something Lu Li was prepared to do.


    As for borrowing equipment from the Water Fairy, that was also not viable. One couldn''t borrow equipment in such large quantities. In order to retain their hold over the Western Wilderness, Drizzle Court had also lost a significant number of equips.


    There were going to be new changes to the Stronghold system and restrictions on chariots. The defender of the Stronghold could only buy half the number of chariots as the party attacking.


    In order for the defenders to prevail, they needed to suffer greater losses to their resources. This was the reason why everyone was so enthusiastically prepared to attack the Strongholds of others. Some guilds, however, still attacked Strongholds despite knowing at the time that they would have no chance of taking them down.


    Lu Li knew what he had to say. He needed to ensure that the inner group had full confidence in the guild.


    "Speaking of this battle, we truly suffered a significant loss, but the losses of Glory Capital were even greater."


    "The red cannonballs they used in battle would have costed them more than what we lost in equipment. Additionally, they also lost a lot of other items. So much for calling themselves the Top Guild ¨C they still got defeated. We now have two Strongholds. We are the true Top Guild!"


    "We have only been running for half a year, and lack only time. They are all older-generation guilds. We must have faith in ourselves".


    Lu Li often attended university lectures. There were two classes, one of which was titled ''The Art of Speaking'', and another, which was titled ''Public Speaking and Oratory Skills''. Regardless of what they were specifically called, the courses could all could be considered lessons on articulation. After listening to these classes, and frequently practicing, Lu Li was becoming even more and more articulate.


    "Boss, I have three Epic equips on me. If you need, you should take them", one of the guild members volunteered.


    "I have one Level 60 Epic equip. Its attributes are relatively okay. See if anyone in the land reclamation group can use it. Don''t even worry about returning it".


    In a state of passion, no one had the brain cells to calculate the financial worth of their Epic equipment.


    Now that people had begun openly offering, it would no longer be awkward.


    One by one, they all gave Lu Li their equipment. After assessing the status of the equipment, Lu Li chose twenty or thirty of them out of the hundreds on offer.


    The cumulative power of the land reclamation group''s new equipment was even greater than what they possessed in the previous week.

 1447 Boyfriend’s Obligation

    Once again, Lu Li entered Onyxia''s Instance Dungeon and slightly adjusted the battle formation based on the previous performance. It was not good practice to run a club where people thought making mistakes was acceptable. If someone on the team was not eligible, then they would be replaced by whoever was capable of accomplishing the mission.


    As for any resentment from those who were kicked out, Lu Li didn''t care at all.


    "We were defeated hundreds of times but were still able to make it to the end. Why?" Lu Li asked, practicing his eloquence while everyone else was working on the preparation. "I want to say that it is not necessary to have been beaten up thousands of times before we win a victory! We spent so much time because you all didn''t believe that you could beat the Boss! You all believed that it was normal to be beaten down thousands of times before prevailing!"


    "The only strategy to kill this Boss is to do what I say!" Lu Li shouted to all of them.


    Although the club had lost a lot of equipment, their gold had seen a sudden increase ¨C two Strongholds were up for taking and 16 clubs had bid to attack them. Ruling Sword and the game company both stood to make a sizeable profit out of this.


    The money they earned was used to buy materials and potions. With such a huge supply, everyone would be able to get as many potions as they needed.


    With tens of thousands of gold in Lu Li''s leather backpack, the club wouldn''t need to borrow gold from others to repair their equipment any longer. Lu Li had never been so wealthy. With this amount, he paid for all the repair and potions costs for his soldiers.


    "Does anyone think the Princess of the Black Dragon is weaker?" Azure Sea Breeze suddenly asked. He felt that something was different after playing for a few minutes.


    "Her defense has been marginally weakened, the skill damage has been reduced a little, and the aggro is quite stabilized," Lu Li summarized. As the commander, he had already noticed the changes to Onyxia within the first few minutes. It was quite obvious that the game had slightly decreased the difficulty of the Boss.


    Dawn aimed to become a national popular game. While players enjoyed challenging game content, no one would enjoy themselves if a Boss could not be beaten after playing for a few weeks.


    It seemed that not only had Onyxia been weakened, but Ragnaros the Firelord had as well, along with the upper and bottom floors of the Blackrock Tower. Now, even a random team could pass the Nightmare difficulty. The requirements for the Wild teams were still relatively high, but there were many other ways for them to gain equipment, and now, more players ventured to the Trial Tower to try their luck.


    However, for someone who was as unfortunate as Lu Li, it was better to save time for other activities. Lu Li had never received anything worthwhile from the Trial Tower.


    "Guess we are going to put down the black dragon today, hehe..." Azure Sea Breeze laughed. Shortly after, he was slammed to the wall by Princess of the Black Dragon. As Azure Sea Breeze fell, the battle formation was disturbed and the situation descended into chaos.


    Onyxia: "No one dare to lay their hands on me!"


    Azure Sea Breeze: "Although the black dragon girl has beaten me thousands of times, she is still my first love."


    Even if the difficulty of the Boss had been lowered, it was still impossible to make Nightmare mode easy. The game was supposed to let the players to chase after each other to make it more enjoyable.


    After being revived, Lu Li began to deal with the penalty.


    "Breezy, I will deduct five points from you. Does anyone have any other opinions?" Lu Li asked.


    "No objection..."


    "Of course, no objection!"


    "Why do we have to object!?"


    "Damn you Lu Li! Why don''t you ask for my opinion? They didn''t have any opinions because you didn''t deduct their points. How could you be so cruel to someone who made a mistake for the first time!? Aren''t you afraid that I won''t follow your lead anymore?" Azure Sea Breeze shouted.


    "The minority obeys the majority ¨C 39:1. Well, let''s deduct five points from Breezy," Lu Li went on, ignoring Azure Sea Breeze.


    In fact, a mistake like this should have been avoided. If it happened, the outcome could be devastating. The price that had to be paid for one failure was huge. Although some kinds of potions persisted after the player died, others did not. It was a waste of potions to make a mistake like this.


    In reality, Lu Li had showed his mercy to Azure Sea Breeze by only deducting five points from him. Azure Sea Breeze didn''t lack Guild Points anyway, and Lu Li had done him a favour saving his face. Lu Li would have harshly scolded any other player who had made the same mistake.


    Azure Sea Breeze was upset, but he went back to fight and this time, was more focused.


    For the first time, Lu Li brought Water Fairy with him to the dungeon. No one would care whether Lu Li included one more Thief in the team because the team already had enough damage output in phase 2.


    As Wandering said, everyone knew of the relationship between Lu Li and Water Fairy, so it was no longer appropriate to still have Water Fairy always standing by. Lu Li also had to take care of the feelings of Drizzle Court. Otherwise, he would have been branded as a ''bad man'', which he didn''t want all. As such, this time, he brought Water Fairy together with him to the dungeon. No one objected on having Water Fairy in the team because Lu Li would hold his bad temper in her presence and even his voice was softened.


    The team had progressed through the previous two stages very smoothly. After all, they had been trying to kill the Boss for a week, and everyone was very clear about what they should pay attention to.


    "Breezy and Under the Sky, you two keep accumulating aggro. Don''t kill that dragon now," Lu Li commanded. The purpose of doing so was to wait for Onyxia''s landing, so the Main Tank would accumulate enough aggro to pull the Boss immediately.


    "Hey, DPS, stop! Can''t you see that Breezy is having a hard time dealing with the Boss?" Lu Li shouted to the ranged damage players. Seeing that both taunts he had cast on the Princess of the Black Dragon were resisted, Azure Sea Breeze looked very helpless. Lu Li quickly the commanded others to stop any further damage output.


    "Hey! Under the Sky, Taunt the Black Dragon. Whatever skills you know, use them! The team will definitely be destroyed without enough Taunts1" Lu Li shouted.


    According to the command of Lu Li, everyone stopped their attacks. However, before Onyxia landed, the players standing far away had been constantly attacking her, which greatly increased the aggro. Now, the whole team was depending on Main Tank''s taunt skills to change the game.


    Onyxia finally landed and her attention was held by World''s Best Friend temporarily.


    "Breezy, stop there! Under the Sky! Go and kill the Boss. Everyone else, stop whatever you are doing for ten seconds to let Under the Sky accumulate aggro," Lu Li commanded. Lu Li was anxious about Azure Sea Breeze as his skills had been resisted by the Boss multiple times.


    Bosses of this level were not easy to kill. While the level of Onyxia was invisible, Lu Li had a strong feeling that she was at least level 65. According to the game mechanics, damaging skills would not be resisted, but Taunt was more of a control skill. As such, the probability of Taunt being resisted by the boss was greater.


    After a while, the team finally made it to phase 3 smoothly. Before reaching this stage, they had only failed once, so everyone was quite confident.


    Phase 3 almost just a copy of Phase 1. The only difference was that a special lava could erupt from the cracks in the ground, which would cause massive damage to the players. Under normal circumstances, as long as the player did not step near the cracks, there would be no major problems.


    However, at this time, Onyxia began to cast Fear.


    The players that were Feared naturally had no way to control themselves. They would be running around mindlessly, so being damaged by the lava was hard to avoid.


    The Fear couldn''t be dispelled, and the Fear-protection enchantment did not work.


    This became a headache for Lu Li, so he simply asked everyone to stay away from the cracks.


    Care had to be taken not to take aggro from the Main Tanks, as this would lead to the demise of the team.


    After all, there were not many places that they could stand in to avoid the cracks on the ground. To keep everyone safe, it was necessary to stay together.


    After this, the team was destroyed twice, but they had at least made it to phase 3 in every attempt.


    Phase 3 was actually simpler than phase 2, but it was more dependent on luck. In one instance, Azure Sea Breeze was in the process of pulling Onyxia, but was Feared halfway. Onyxia went straight for Lonesome Flower, who had accumulated the second-most aggro. The area where Lonesome Flower was standing was burned into nothing.


    "Be aware of your damage output and location. Don''t accidentally aggro the smaller dragons. Healers, keep your eyes on the Main Tank! Everyone else, take care of yourselves, especially the healers. Only when Main Tank is in danger should you go to save him. There is no need to worry about anyone else."


    Although Lu Li had instructed them with these words thousands of times, the team was wiped again and again.


    It was a pity to be wiped when they had made it to phase 3. Everyone''s enthusiasm slowly waned as time went by.


    In the afternoon, the situation remained the same. Lu Li did not expect that the Boss could be beaten by the end of today anymore, as everyone was now exhausted,


    However, the details of phase 3 had been thoroughly studied now, and victory was eminent as long as everyone did not make any further mistakes.


    It was difficult to not make mistakes. Otherwise, they would have taken down the Boss this time. Their equipment was not lacking and the potions they had were sufficient. They had collected nearly every type of potion on the market.


    "Okay, let''s do it tomorrow! You are dismissed!" Lu Li announced to everyone. Although it was still early, he was not willing to waste time with these exhausted players.


    Everyone used to enjoy killing Bosses to collect the First Clear equipment, but repetitive failures ruined this enthusiasm. Once they were dismissed, all of them disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    After players reached 60-level, which was maximum level, their pace slightly slowed down. Playing 16 hours per day was not necessary anymore. Their week would be limited to repetitive tasks, collecting equipment from Instance Dungeons, obtaining gold and materials by taking down monsters in the Wild, practicing their Trade Skill, or spending some time on entertainment.


    This was the healthy gaming lifestyle. Playing games for 16 hours a day was internet addiction. Before Dawn, there were some games that didn''t limit gaming time and there were several cases of death due to prolonged gaming sessions. Later, new policies were introduced, and gaming time was limited to 20 hours, despite current technology that allowed the players to rest while playing.


    "What are you going to do?" Water Fairy asked Lu Li.


    "Maybe have a meeting to discuss the Donghua Cup," Lu Li answered. "Cat Dad organised the event. He has a lot of experience, so it doesn''t matter if I won''t show up."


    The implication was that if Water Fairy had other plans, Lu Li would definitely go with her.


    "Do you want to compete in the Donghua Cup?" Water Fairy asked.


    "I will apply, but I will probably not participate. Cat Dad said that the Donghua Cup is like novice training," Lu Li said.


    For some time, the Donghua Cup had become a competition for different clubs to train their rookies. Although there were also senior players led lead the team in the competition, the main players were newcomers. Some of them had even not graduated from their training camp. However, many players started from the Donghua Cup, with Water Fairy being the most famous one among them.


    After playing the game for a few months, Water Fairy entered the competition.


    She was rich and wealthy and recruited a few experts from other clubs. She also deliberately inspected the skilled newcomers of these clubs, bringing all of them to her team. At that time, the major clubs were shocked upon hearing her name.


    The first competition they participated in was the Donghua Cup.


    Although they did not win the championship, being a runner-up as someone who had participated in an event like this for the first time was impressive enough to make her name spread throughout the gaming circle.


    "I won''t participate either," Water Fairy said. "I have another competition coming up. Are you interested?"


    "Another competition? I haven''t heard of any competitions recently besides the Donghua Cup," Lu Li said. He was very curious.


    "Hey...you," Water Fairy began, feeling a little annoyed, then continued, "Shouldn''t you say yes to me immediately? Your girlfriend wants to play games with you. Why do you have so many questions? I won''t sell you to another person, no matter what."


    Originally, Water Fairy invited Star Baby to play with her, but she was completely uninterested in this competition. Although Water Fairy enjoyed the game, the two girls were beaten up again and again. Star Baby refused to play with her on the grounds that Water Fairy was not single anymore. It was also her idea for Water Fairy to suggest that Lu Li play with her, saying it was the obligation of the boyfriend to play with his girlfriend.


    Lu Li was supposed to say yes immediately if Water Fairy asked him to do anything for her. However, Lu Li didn''t follow the rules.

 1448 Live Streaming

    "Ok, fine... I''ll accompany you. I''m just worried that I will drag you down because I know nothing," Lu Li comforted Water Fairy. As a man who had single-handedly raised his little sister, Lu Li was very good at dealing with girls.


    "Don''t worry, I will instruct you. There was a game company that I used to have a good relationship with and I signed a live streaming agreement with them. The game was later swallowed up by Dawn and the agreement was transferred to Dawn as well. Now I need someone to play doubles with me; playing singles is just boring," Water Fairy explained. Water Fairy was whining a moment ago, but she had now explained everything clearly.


    "Live streaming? No problem!" Lu Li replied. He didn''t have a colourful personality, but since he had been famous for so long, being reserved did not seem appropriate in this situation.


    Although it was not the same game as Lu Li had been playing, almost everything from the Dawn could apply to ''Survival and Escape'', except for the old game helmet. Back then, when Dawn had just been released, no one knew that it would swallow up so many games on the market.


    Lu Li logged into the interface, chose Survival and Escape, and turned on the live stream function according to the instruction of Water Fairy.


    As always, his ID was Lu Li, which was the same ID he used in Dawn. His name seemed to be the last thing his parents left him. Even the image of his parents had faded away throughout time.


    After setting up, the couple made their first appearance in the game of Survival and Escape.


    Although Dawn dominated the role-playing game market, there were still many users that it was not able to attract. These people would not play the games that they were interested in just because Dawn was popular.


    Survival and Escape was one such game that had continued to operate in this situation.


    There were 100 players that would participate in each game. Every player would start with nothing at the very beginning of each round. They were placed on an aircraft and parachuted onto a desert Island where they had to collect weapons and equipment, and also be aware of enemies that could be hidden anywhere. After a long period of elimination, the last person who survived was the winner.


    Known for its large variety of scenarios, this game had been popular for a long time. Players could enjoy driving off-road vehicles, jungle skirmishes and stealing loot, among other experiences.


    The game did not only value the player''s shooting skills, but also the player''s strategy and survival techniques.


    As the game progressed, the safe zone where the players had to stay to keep safe would be constantly shrinking. At the end of the game, survivors would face a final fight with each other.


    The first thing to do after logging into the game was to create a team, which was christened by Water Fairy as ''The Damn Couple''. It seemed that she had accepted this description of them.


    "Hey, Water Fairy is live streaming!" someone shouted.


    Wherever Water Fairy went, she was always a goddess, and it seemed that in Survival and Escape, girl players were far fewer than boys. The popularity of Water Fairy was even higher than in Dawn. When she went online, she immediately caused a scene, but no one seemed to be bothered in the Dawn when this happened. Perhaps everyone in the Dawn was used to her being online every day.


    In the first minute of the game, Water Fairy was still trying to explain some of the basic operations of the game to Lu Li because this game did not completely mimic reality.


    The number of people watching the live stream had been rising steadily, from tens of hundreds to tens of thousands. Some of them were gamers, and some of them were simply watching their goddess, Water Fairy, playing games.


    Water Fairy had never live streamed in Dawn, because Dawn was not suitable for live streaming. The attributes of her equipment and personal combat techniques could be easily studied by her opponents. However, Survival and Escape was different in that the players were placed on a desert island to collect equipment on their own. Everyone started out as equal at the beginning of each round.


    "Why is it not the cute girl who used to play with Water Fairy? Who is this person and why has the name of the room changed to The Damn Couple!!" someone shouted.


    "No... way!"


    "Her account must have been stolen!"


    People immediately found something strange today ¨C the name of the team and the person who was playing with Water Fairy was not the girl who used to play with her.


    "Oh dear, isn''t he Lu Li? The famous damn couple came to the game of survival!" one exclaimed in surprise.


    "Could someone explain what''s happening here to me please? What is the Damn Couple? Where is the administrator? Someone is attacking the host! Kick them out!" a viewer shouted.


    "Keep your mouth tight if you know nothing! Your goddess belongs to Lu Li now ¨C the Damn Couple is the famous couple from Dawn. You losers are still living in your own little world. Get your goddess back if you are can," someone typed.


    "He looks decent. Is he a tycoon?" one asked.


    "Just a poor rat. He made a fortune in the Dawn because of luck..." someone answered.


    "A poor boy, Lu Li, fell in love with a rich goddess, Water Fairy. What a beautiful love story! I will support this guy no matter what. I''d better leave to play my game ¨C maybe I will fall in love with a rich beauty one day," someone typed.


    "Honestly, the techniques of the previous girl suck and Water Fairy is no better. This game is not for girls. Maybe she found her a helper today."


    "Lu Li is truly a master ¨C he killed Sorrowless!"


    "Seriously? I haven''t been around in the gaming circle for a while. Someone killed Sorrowless?"


    "Perhaps it is because Water Fairy was beaten up half a month ago and went to Dawn to find herself a boyfriend to take revenge!"


    "I can''t bear this. Let''s team up to kill this Lu Li and get our goddess back!"


    "That is Lu Li. Go if you want him to beat the shit out of you!"


    "Yeah, if even a beast like Sorrowless was killed by him, what kind of a monster is he?! I don''t dare to pick a fight with him!"


    There was not enough time for Water Fairy to explain everything to Lu Li. In just a minute, both of them moved from the waiting area to the aircraft, along with the other players. The plane carrying 100 people was flying to the desert island.


    "I say one, two, three and we jump, ok?" Water Fairy said.


    The operation of the parachute had just been explained to Lu Li by Water Fairy. Lu Li was confident that he could jump off the aircraft and deploy the parachute. He had never done such a thing, and he was nervous but excited.


    "Can Lu Li skydive? Is he as a boyfriend coming to help or just a rookie coming to help another rookie get some chicken dinner?


    The so-called ''chicken dinner'' referred to surviving until the end of the game.


    "Three, two, one!" Water Fairy shouted.


    The two jumped out of the aircraft together. The initial stage did not require them to open a parachute. When they reached a certain height, the system would notify them to do so. In order to reduce the difficulty of the skydiving, the system would force the parachute to open when a critical height was reached.

 1449 Surviving In A Dead End

    It felt so magical being so high up in the air that Lu Li got distracted for a moment.


    "Lu Li, where are you going? Why can''t I see anyone around?" Water Fairy wondered. Didn''t they agree that they would come down together?


    "Oops, I floated sideways by accident. I don''t think I can go back again," Lu Li replied, a little embarrassed.


    "Haha, this idiot can''t even parachute!"


    "How can this idiot match up to my goddess?"


    "¡­ We already marked the spot for you to jump on the map. It''s pretty simple"


    "Guys, look, his flight route looks dodgy. If I''m not wrong, he''s nearly at City M."


    "City M is one of the biggest resource points! Far out! You need at least three teams for this. This poor bugger is probably going to have a tragic ending. Let''s enjoy the sight of his slaughter. Water Fairy fell into a house in the outskirts, so he won''t have time to save her even if he finds a car."


    You could imagine the contemptuous faces of the audience in the broadcasting room mocking Lu Li.


    Water Fairy was annoyed; her skills were nothing special and being eliminated in the opening round was quite common. Not to mention, this was Lu Li''s first round, so it was normal to have some little mishaps.


    The parachute opened forcefully and slowly drifted towards the abandoned city.


    Lu Li looked at his surroundings and saw six parachutes, with more in the distance. Each parachute represented an enemy. From the map, he could see that Water Fairy was still quite far away. It wasn''t practical to run there as this would require at least an hour.


    Many in the broadcasting room were waiting for the scene of his slaughter, so everyone had their eyes locked on him.


    They still clung to some sort of twisted hope ¨C if Lu Li was useless, then perhaps Water Fairy would leave him.


    After landing, Lu Li sped towards a house.


    Water Fairy once said that even though a fist could kill someone, it would be difficult to do so. However, once someone got their hands on a gun, then you would dead for sure.


    He opened the door and swept his eyes around. It contained all sorts of things ¨C weapon accessories and clothes, but just not a gun. Lu Li shot towards the next room and opened the door, but there was still no gun. The bathroom, kitchen¡­


    Upstairs!


    There it was, next to the foot of the stairs ¨C a gun and two boxes of bullets. Lu Li didn''t recognise the type of gun, but he had no time to figure it out. He swiftly loaded the bullets and found another room to hide in.


    "This guy''s pretty agile. He doesn''t seem like a first timer."


    "Haven''t you guys seen that he closes the door of every room he''s been in?"


    "That''s true! He''s been faking it this whole time ¨C what a crafty one!"


    "There''s probably no one who thinks this house has been searched. Little do they know, he''s hiding in the bathroom, squatting on the toilet and going to shoot the first person that opens the door."


    "Nice! Even though the S686 is one of the worst guns, it''s invincible in close combat. Whoever comes through is going to be dead meat."


    "Footsteps!"


    You could hear footsteps in this game, especially on floorboards. The audience shared Lu Li''s perspective and environment, and since they could hear the footsteps, so could Lu Li, who had steadily aimed his gun at the door.


    The footsteps were getting closer. They entered a room and seemed to have found something, then moved towards another door.


    The footsteps moved from left to right, before finally, they slowly arrived at the bathroom.


    There were many crafty people with little tricks, but those like Lu Li, who were meticulous enough to go through every room door and close them were quite rare. This especially so because the first thing people did once they landed was find guns and equipment, then kill people. Those who didn''t have any guns or equipment couldn''t do anything anyway.


    Lu Li didn''t know much; he didn''t even know what type of gun he had in his hands.


    He just thought that if he had the doors closed, no one would think that he was here. Then, he could perform a sneak attack when the other person wasn''t paying attention.


    As a Thief, he was used to hiding himself first and then finding an opportunity to attack.


    This player didn''t think that that behind every closed-door room there could be an ambush. The most obvious evidence was the first aid kit lying in the living room ¨C it had the ability to give HP. No matter who saw the first aid kit, they would take it for themselves as soon as they saw it.


    The bathroom door opened.


    Bang!


    The player''s eyes saw only black.


    Lu Li heard the system notification that he had knocked down this player using a S686.


    However, he saw that the person was still crawling on the ground, so he gave him another shot.


    The player stopped moving straight away. A box appeared next to the body, which Lu Li opened to find a P1911 handgun and a UMP9 assault rifle. Other than that, there were bandages, a first aid kit and accessories for the firearms.


    Lu Li grabbed it all, including the backpack of the other person.


    "Quick hands you got there. Been single for a while, eh?"


    The broadcasting room''s audience was struck dumb with astonishment.


    "Such skilful movements! Didn''t you guys say he doesn''t even know how to parachute?! That it''s his first time playing this game?!"


    "Stop talking, there''s footsteps!"


    Lu Li stopped abruptly, looked up and saw a person appear outside the door. He was stunned for a second, then aimed his gun to shoot at Lu Li.


    In fact, Lu Li opened fire before his opponent, but the gun went ''clank'' in his hands.


    There weren''t any more bullets. What type of gun was this? It had only been used twice and needed to reload?! However, his reflexes were not slow. He instantly jumped to hide behind a wall to reload and waited for his opponent to stop firing before jumping back out again to aim a bullet at their head.


    Knocked down!


    This game was about surviving in a dead end. Usually, there wasn''t the issue of being one-shot, as if you lost all your HP and died, your teammates could revive you. However, if you were left alone, and there was no one to save you, then you would truly die after losing all your HP again.


    What a killer gun!


    Lu Li''s eyes sparkled as he looked at the rifle in his hands, thinking about how fun this game was.


    Even though Water Fairy couldn''t see what was happening on Lu Li''s end, she and Lu Li had connecting mics and could hear everything that had happened. This meant that she could hear the barrage of bullets on his side.


    Lu Li had two kills!


    "What should I do?" he asked dumbly while Water Fairy was being converted to a ''Lu Li fangirl''.


    "Is there anyone else around?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Don''t know. I killed two, so if there''s two in a team then there shouldn''t be anymore."


    "No, it''s too dangerous there. Gunshots can be heard from far away so the people in that area would know your position," Water Fair expressed her worry as she searched for supplies.


    "I can''t just keep hiding ¨C I have to go and try to find some supplies."


    Even though Lu Li usually opted for a stealthy route, he was not afraid of a fight. He checked his trophies and said, "By the way, I have two dead bodies here, and they both had stuff in their bags that we can take. What do you want? I can bring it for you."


    "Wow~" Water Fairy felt really happy and a tiny bit spoilt, and replied, "Let''s see what you''ve got."

 1450 Camper’s Tactics

    Lu Li told Water Fairy about the contents of the two bags as well as the items that dropped, and he also brought along a gun accessory for her.


    As for the question of whether or not he would go solo or meet up with her, not even Water Fairy could answer this question.


    The main selling point about Survival and Escape was the unpredictability of the game. No one could predict what was going to happen. For example, Lu Li could instantly die as soon as he walked out of this room. After all, there were gunshots fired here, so his position could have easily been exposed.


    "Are you safe there?" Lu Li asked.


    "Quite safe. There are four houses nearby, and I''m the only one who landed here. Even if other people are rushing here, they''ll be a little while," Water Fairy answered. She was just running around and looting the chests, but didn''t end up with anything worthwhile. People would naturally flock to the areas that contained a lot of items, such as Lu Li''s area, City M.


    However, in terms of survival, Water Fairy was quite well-prepared.


    She had an AKM on one hand and a S12K on the other. The AKM was a powerful automatic rifle; four bullets to the body or two bullets to the head were enough to kill a person. However, the recoil was significant, and the crosshair was hard to control, so it was difficult for beginners to handle this gun. Even so, Water Fairy didn''t have much trouble with it.


    The S12K was a shotgun, just like Lu Li''s S686. It was extremely powerful in short range combat, especially when fired at point-blank range.


    Besides these guns, Water Fairy also had the basic bulletproof vest and helmet.


    After killing these two people, Lu Li also had his fair share of items. Firstly, he had his shotgun, which he instantly hailed as a ''god-level'' gun, as well as a UMP9. There was also a third gun, which was a SCAR-L that had dropped from the second person that he killed.


    The SCAR-L was a gun that could be used for long-range or short-range combat, like the AKM. It was quite suited for beginners.


    As for bulletproof armor, neither of these guys had any. However, there was a helmet that was of an uncommon grade, along with some gun accessories, so Lu Li stored them away, just like Water Fairy had taught him to do.


    Then, he decided not to investigate the other rooms and quickly jumped down from the window after scanning his surroundings.


    Even though Water Fairy and the spectators all suggested to check the other rooms, he didn''t do so. This was because he had already experienced the satisfaction of killing, so he decided to find other players to kill. This way, he could quickly find the 4x scope that Water Fairy wanted and meet up


    with her as soon as possible.


    This round of Survival and Escape was set on a large island, with two bridges connecting the mainland to a smaller island.


    The island was designed to be a wasteland with abandoned buildings scattered throughout. However, you could find military equipment, such as guns, protective gear and other various items everywhere. You could even find cars in the wild and boats on the water.


    Lu Li spotted a house with a fairly short fence, so he decided to hide in the shrubs, dodging and weaving within them.


    He examined the other houses, especially the entrances and window positions. If people entered this house, there would definitely be traces of them. Furthermore, he was in a strategic position. On one side, there was the fence, and on the other was a fairly large shrub. From afar, it would be difficult to spot him.


    "Must be an camper. Such a cunning man. I don''t believe that it''s his first time. He must be trying to fool us."


    "What do you know? This is what they call a prodigious camper. I think I''m a little in love. But why doesn''t he use the SCAR-L as his main weapon? Is the shotgun that good?"


    "These wannabe know-it-all people are the worst. He doesn''t have a scope anyway, so taking the SCAR-L wouldn''t do anything. From what I can see from this camper, he''ll probably stay put and wait for someone to come to him. Then, he''ll just kill them with the shotgun."


    "I suspect that some of these people would be paranoid while walking around. Suddenly, there might be someone shooting at you."


    Lu Li didn''t have time to read the spectators'' chat. He was completely focused on scanning his surroundings. As a Thief, waiting like this was a normal thing, so he didn''t feel that this was tedious. While he was examining his surroundings, he was also checking out the items in his bag. The accessories that he could use on his guns were all equipped.


    During this time, he spotted a person.


    This person had two guns on his back and swiftly jumped out of the window.


    Lu Li was quick to react; he aimed and fired.


    The player heard a thunderous bang and instantly panicked, whipping out a gun and aiming while in a crouched position. He couldn''t see where his assailant was, so he didn''t know when and where the next bullet would come from. As a result, he retreated back into the room and didn''t come out.


    Lu Li didn''t fire a second bullet. This was because since he had missed the first shot, the second shot was likely not to yield any results either.


    Lu Li was quite devastated, so he turned to Water Fairy to vent out his frustrations.


    "Why didn''t I hit him? I aimed it right at him!"


    The live-stream instantly exploded into laughter. Water Fairy looked at the chat and told Lu Li what he should have done, while suppressing her laughter. She told him that the S686, although extremely powerful in a close range, was quite weak in long-ranged combat. Even the best players wouldn''t be able to use a shotgun to hit a target that far away.


    Lu Li realised the stupidity of his actions, then instantly swapped to the SCAR-L.


    Some female fans were enamoured with Lu Li''s little blunder.


    "This person is so adorable! A little dumb, but cute."


    "Dumb? Haha¡­if only you knew his strength in Dawn. You wouldn''t be calling him dumb at all." Some of the spectators played Dawn. They thought about the feats that he had managed to accomplish, as well as the girl that he had stolen away from countless male players. No one would say that he was dumb.


    The person hiding in the room quickly came back out. However, after Lu Li looked around, he found that he had a teammate that was checking around another house.


    He made a quick decision, aiming at one of the unmoving players and firing.


    Bang, bang, bang!


    The player was struck by two bullets, but the third one missed because the crosshair was moved upwards by the recoil. As a result, the bullet was off-target. This was normal for a new player. He didn''t know about the effects of recoil, so if he had really killed these two people, he would just be too powerful.


    However, Lu Li was quick to adjust. When the crosshair began to move upwards, he quickly pulled it back down and fired.


    Lu Li fired a few more rounds and managed to down his target.


    From this position, he was actually able to kill the target with a few more bullets, but he didn''t. Instead, he quickly retreated and changed positions.


    He rapidly moved around while keeping his gun aimed at the person on the ground.


    "He is using him as bait. This new guy knows this trick? Hell, all my years of playing have just gone down the drain."


    The live-stream chat was in awe. The person that was struck needed to be healed in a set window, or else he would die. Lu Li decided to leave him alive because he wanted to lure the other person out to heal his teammate.


    "His positioning is pretty good and he is light on his feet. He can probably predict where the person wants to crawl to."


    The target''s teammate seemingly knew what Lu Li''s intention was, but he needed to go save his fallen comrade. Firstly, in this Duo game mode, a solo player would find difficult to progress. Secondly, seeing his teammate bleed out was not a pretty sight and it would take a toll on his conscience as well.


    After the target crawled back into the room, the teammate instantly rushed towards the entrance of the room.


    If Lu Li''s positioning was not optimal and if he ran quick enough, he would have a chance at healing his teammate.


    Lu Li followed what Water Fairy taught him. He held his breath and fired consecutive rounds at his target. The SCAR-L was quite a stable gun already, so Lu Li easily controlled the recoil, which many players, even veterans of the game, would not be able to do.


    After three successive hits, with one being a headshot, Lu Li successfully killed the person at the entrance.


    After making sure that there were no players around, Lu Li sprinted over to loot their items.


    This time, there was much more loot, since these guys had explored for quite some time and were rather fortunate with what they had found.

 1451 Your Wife Is Getting Killed!

    "Isn''t that a silencer? This camper is going to be so stealthy. You sure it''s his first time?" a spectator wondered upon seeing that Lu Li had equipped a silencer onto the automatic rifle.


    Lu Li was already a stealthy player. Now that he had a silencer, he was going to break the game.


    "There''s someone coming over. I can hear a car," Water Fairy suddenly whispered.


    Lu Li was listening to the audio transmitted from Water Fairy''s side and he indeed heard the revving of an engine. He began to feel a little nervous.


    "Did they see you? Look for a place to hide. I''ll come over right away."


    Water Fairy''s fans that were watching the live-stream expressed their discontent.


    "Wow, how caring. Their sweetness is through the roof, isn''t it?"


    "Can''t be that big of a deal, can it? Although my goddess might not be the best player, she isn''t that weak as to hide when she sees two people. This guy''s not a bad guy though."


    Lu Li picked up a new gun ¨C an M16 rifle. Then, like a ghost, he quickly dashed out of City M.


    "This guy''s moves like a veteran. He doesn''t seem like a newbie at all."


    "Being able to see him and being able to hit him is a different matter altogether. There''s also his speed; he''s so agile. This is probably what fully rushing looks like."


    Would Water Fairy get pressured?


    Of course not. She was an average player, but her being average was relative to her skill as a professional player. While she wasn''t great at aiming and shooting, placing within the top 10 was quite for her, but the ''Winner Winner Chicken Dinner'' announcement was a rare sight.


    The two players cautiously approached the different houses. From afar, they already saw that the doors were opened, so there must have been people entering and exiting the houses already.


    They hoped that these people would have already left after checking the rooms. Perhaps they had even left them some loot.


    It was at this time that Water Fairy descended from the sky and killed them all.


    The AKM was not as powerful in terms of damage when compared to a shotgun, but the fire rate was far superior. One magazine held 30 bullets. If she had a shotgun instead, two shots probably would not have been enough to kill both enemies, which meant that she would die if she made a mistake.


    The two players were shocked, then randomly fired towards Water Fairy. As a result, she lost half her HP.


    Water Fairy was lucky, as her opponents were only wielding average guns. Otherwise, she would have definitely died after being shot that many times. These guys were also struggling to find loot, seeing as they were desperate enough to come to a place like this.


    "Alright. All good here," Water Fairy reported as she wrapped some bandages around her arms to heal.


    As a result, many people typed ''666'' and ''goddess V687'' into the spectators'' chat. Compared to a camper like Lu Li, they preferred the direct confrontations and firefights.


    As Water Fairy confidently organised her items after her kills, something tragic happened. A bullet flew right at her head and exploded.


    "It''s over. It''s over. The goddess is down."


    "If it was me, I would have gone into hiding before healing. The goddess was too confident and exposed herself."


    "Lu Li, hurry up and save your wife! Your wife is about to die!"


    Of course, Lu Li heard the gunshots through Water Fairy''s audio. He didn''t bother with stealth anymore and immediately started rushing over.


    Unfortunately, the assailant was not like Lu Li and instantly fired two more bullets into Water Fairy, killing her.


    After looking at the chat, Lu Li roughly understood what happened to Water Fairy.


    He could only say that he couldn''t do anything about it.


    "That''s okay. I''ll spectate you and teach you how to play this game."


    Water Fairy seemed like she was used to getting killed; she wasn''t disappointed at all. After changing her camera to Lu Li''s perspective, she decided to coach Lu Li on this game.


    "The M16 is a pretty good gun. The only thing is that you don''t have that many bullets. Remember to loot as much ammo as possible," Water Fairy said, then continued, "The circle''s going to be a problem soon. Try and find a car as soon as possible."


    "What''s the circle?" Lu Li asked.


    This question confirmed that he was a newbie to the spectators.


    "The whole map is safe at the beginning of the game. However, as the game progresses, a circle will appear. The area inside the circle is safe, while the area outside of the circle is the ''poisonous area''. If you''re in the ''poisonous area'', your HP will drop. The safe area will become smaller and smaller as the game progresses, and the damage from standing in the ''poisonous area'' will increase. Players need to stay in the safe area if they want to survive."


    Lu Li quickly found a Jeep under Water Fairy''s guidance.


    There were many cars in Survival and Escape, but most of them were broken. The ones that could be used were Jeeps, convertible Jeeps, passenger cars, motor-tricycles and motorcycles.


    The one that Lu Li had stumbled across was the safest Jeep, but it wasn''t without weakness. It was the slowest vehicle ¨C the top speed was probably 80 or 90km/h.


    This was enough for where he wanted to go. He had around one minute until the circle reached him.


    This was Lu Li''s first time driving a car in the game.


    The basic controls were easy to grasp, but players often flipped their cars since they didn''t know the terrain well. However, Lu Li had years of driving experience, so his car remained quite stable. He quickly got to the safe area and braked.


    "You don''t have much ammo left. Use this time to loot some ammo before the circle gets here," Water Fairy suggested.


    "Everyone needs to get to the safe area, right? I''ll find a place and kill them, then I''ll loot their bodies. Might as well take revenge for you too," Lu Li said as he crouched and hid behind a large rock. This rock was surrounded by two large trees, so it also worked as cover.


    "Hm¡­Alright then." Water Fairy couldn''t reject his idea. His logic made perfect sense.


    Furthermore, she believed that Lu Li had the right strategy. Previously, she was in a similar situation, but she wasn''t that good at the game, so she usually ended up dying. Water Fairy had played this game for numerous years, but she was still rather ordinary.


    "Crap. I feel like my goddess will get dragged into the mud. These two are completely different. How did they even end up together?"


    "Nah, they''ll be fine. My goddess has always had a good solo style. This Lu Li just needs to protect her."


    "Why do I keep thinking that this Lu Li guy is quite strong? I realised that I have learnt many things from watching him play. Is he this good in Dawn too?"


    "He''s the model for all Thieves in Dawn. You guys are just making a fuss. The only thing that I can say is that this game suits him extremely well. He just swapped out his dagger for a long-ranged gun."

 1452 Judgment From the Skies

    "Sounds like a bike," Water Fairy commented as she heard the sound of vehicles from Lu Li''s perspective.


    "Yeah. On the left. It seems fast."


    Lu Li had also heard the sound. Although this was his first time, he had adjusted quite quickly. He just needed to understand the game mechanics.


    "Don''t get hit by it. You''ll die," Water Fairy softly reminded. Clearly, she had been hit by one before.


    Lu Li scanned his surroundings, then hid behind a hill. He was in a crawling position, so he wouldn''t be discovered by people.


    The motorcycle flew past Lu Li''s position. Because the terrain wasn''t suitable for driving, the driver had to slow down. The motorcycle was the fastest vehicle in Survival and Escape, so it was extremely easy to crash while driving it. However, experienced riders would know to slow down.


    Even after the rider had slowed the motorcycle, the bike still ended up flying after driving off a hill.


    This type of air-time wouldn''t be dangerous, since you could keep going after you landed. However, from a spectator''s point of view, it was very entertaining to watch. Many motorcyclists loved doing this.


    Suddenly, someone appeared from the side of the hill, aimed at the rider and fired.


    Pa! Pa! Pa! Blood suddenly filled the air.


    The two players didn''t know how many shots had landed on them, When they both landed on the ground, it was like they had just committed suicide together.


    "Not good! Run!"


    "Ah, I haven''t looted the ammo. I had a look around before. There''s no one around here. This place is also hilly, so if I crouch, I''ll be safe," Lu Li explained as he reached for two boxes of ammo.


    "From the sky¡­" Water Fairy murmured.


    There wasn''t enough time to explain. Countless bullets rained upon Lu Li''s area. The only colour he saw was red, then it was game over.


    Kills: 6. 25th Place!


    "Hahaha! The camper was killed!"


    "Judgment from the skies!"


    "666~"


    "233~"


    "Judgment from the skies! About time!"


    The live-stream chat erupted while Lu Li was still trying to figure out what happened.


    "A small red circle will appear on the mini-map, which represents the zone that the airstrike will take place. You were in that red circle. You needed to run away from that zone or hide inside a building to avoid it," Water Fairy explained while consoling Lu Li. "You were pretty good! 6 kills in your first game!"


    "I don''t know much. Give me half an hour and let me go through the details."


    Rarely did Lu Li find himself unprepared in a battle. He originally just planned to accompany Water Fairy, but he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.


    Water Fairy loved playing this game. This was out of the norm for female players. After all, these were violent, gun-shooting, car-racing games. Naturally, this game would attract more male players than female players.


    "My partner wants to look through tactics. I''ll join the lobby with him in a bit, but I''ll sing for everyone while he does that."


    Water Fairy couldn''t dance or make small talk, but she had a nice voice. It was quite soothing.


    "We don''t want singing! We want news!"


    "Please tell us something about your boyfriend!"


    "My goddess! Why did you go behind my back and date another guy?"


    "There''s not much to say. He''s a professional gamer," Water Fairy said, slowly caving to their demands. She shouldn''t have asked Lu Li to come and play with her. The only reason she did that was because she felt that they hadn''t spent much time together.


    "Aren''t you guys only an online couple? Unless it''s for real?"


    "Well, as for the future, I don''t know. But, as for now, I''ll be more serious about this relationship."


    Other female players or streamers might have ignored messages like that. However, Water Fairy was always quite independent, so she quickly admitted her feelings.


    Lu Li didn''t see or hear this, since he was focused on the tactics.


    As a specialist in matters like these, Lu Li knew how to efficiently analyse different tactics in a short period of time. In the short half an hour, he had already read at least ten chapters, from basic tactics to advanced tactics. Although he had just skimmed through, he would be able to use these tactics when he was met with these situations in the game.


    After half an hour, the couple entered the game lobby again.


    In the preparation phase, there were many different guns scattered across the ground. Lu Li took a shotgun, loaded it with bullets and fired at some of the people running and jumping.


    This was the easiest way to practice.


    Water Fairy was just jumping, practising melee combat. She usually didn''t have luck on her side and couldn''t loot a gun after landing. This was because other people would land first and take all the guns away. After all, fists wouldn''t win against guns.


    After one minute, they appeared on the plane again.


    "This time, make sure to jump the same time I jump," Water Fairy said. She reckoned that if they stuck together last round, they probably would have made it to the top 10, since Lu Li was quite good at reading the situation.


    "Let''s go to the bigger cities, since there are more people. We can practice shooting that way," Lu Li suggested.


    "But if we land and don''t find guns, we''ll be in trouble. You know that my luck is pretty bad," Water Fairy disagreed. She was feeling rather afraid.


    "That''s okay. We can just restart anyway. I promise you that we''ll see ''Winner Winner Chicken Dinner'' within a week," Lu Li assured. He was quite confident in his skills.


    "Alright then. Three¡­two¡­one¡­jump!"


    They were directly above City G, which contained houses, a hospital and shipping containers. Water Fairy looked around and examined where everybody was going. Then, they chose to land among the containers, which were all yellow or blue. There were loot boxes inside and above the containers.


    Both of them landed inside the container area, but since Lu Li still wasn''t great at controlling his landing, they still ended up with a bit of distance between them.


    "Be careful. There are two squads here."


    Water Fairy didn''t dare to jump on top of the containers to grab the loot boxes. Since she didn''t have a gun, she could only go in hiding.


    "I got an 8x scope!!!" Lu Li exclaimed in excitement.


    This type of feeling for him was quite rare nowadays. Lu Li didn''t even get this excited when his set items dropped in Instance Dungeons. After a short half an hour, he knew what having the 8x scope meant.


    In this game, the scope was extremely important. There was the 1x scope, 2x scope, 4x scope and 8x scope. As for the legendary 15x scope, it seemed like it was only obtainable from the air support loot boxes. This meant that the 8x scope was the best option besides the 15x scope.


    Of course, this didn''t mean that the 8x scope was the best item. It still depended on the player''s skill with the scope.


    "That''s good, but find a gun quickly. I saw someone head towards your direction."


    Water Fairy picked up a submachine gun, but since there were other people around her as well, she didn''t dare to make a beeline straight for Lu li.


    "I already heard someone above me jump away," Lu Li said, breathing a sigh of relief.


    This game depended on luck. If you didn''t have a gun, then it would be difficult to progress. Lu Li could only hide in the container and not move, because the person that was above him hadn''t travelled far enough.


    Õâ¸ö´ò¿ªµÄ¼¯×°ÏäÀï²¢²»Ö»Óа˱¶¾µ,»¹ÓÐÒ»¸ö²½Ç¹µÄ¿ìËÙµ¯¼Ð,ÊôÓÚ²½Ç¹ÀàµÄÅä¼þ,ûÓв½Ç¹µÄ»°,ÕâÍæÒâºÁÎÞ×÷ÓÃ.´ËÍ⻹ÓÐÒ»¿Úƽµ×¹ø¡ª¡ªÓÐƪ¹¥ÂÔÉÏ˵ÕâÊÇËļ¶·Àµ¯×°±¸,±È×î¸ß¼¶±ðµÄ·Àµ¯Ò¶¼ŒÅ,ÒòΪÈκηÀµ¯ÒÂÖÐÁËǹ¶¼»áµôѪ,µ«ÊÇ×Óµ¯»÷ÖÐÕâ¿Ú¹øµÄ»°²»»á¶ÔÈκÎÍæ¼ÒÔì³ÉÉ˺¦.


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    In this container, there was not only the 8x scope, but there was also the Quickdraw Mag for rifles and other accessories. If he doesn''t have a rifle, then these would all be useless. There was also a pan, which was said to be Grade 4 protective gear. It was even stronger than the highest-grade bulletproof vests. This was because bulletproof vests, no matter the quality, would still allow the wearer''s HP to drop after taking bullets. However, when bullets strike the pan, it wouldn''t do damage to the wearer.


    "Can the pan be used to deal damage?" Lu Li asked.


    "Yeah. The damage is actually pretty high too. However, if other people have guns, then the pan wouldn''t stand a chance." Water Fairy replied.


    "That''s okay. There''ll be an opportunity, unless he doesn''t want the 8x scope." Lu Li took out the 8x scope and threw it on the ground. Then, he took the pan and hid in the corner of the container.

 1453 The Power of a Frying Pan

    "Please tell me what he''s doing?" There were a lot of viewers and some were very innocent.


    "What else can the camper do? Fishing!"


    "There are are a lot of despicable people in this game, but only one person would do such a thing on the second round."


    "Look, there''s a guy going for it. Someone might be camping there."


    "You would probably be that excited as well if you saw an 8x scope."


    "If you get too excited, you''ll forget to check your surroundings."


    The camper smacked the guy on the head with a frying pan. His victim started running away, but he quickly met his fate.


    "He got killed by a frying pan!''


    "I''ve done this many times already and have gotten so much loot. I love watching them regret their decision when I bait them like this."


    "That''s so scary; I''m never going picking up 8x scopes anymore.


    After the guy was knocked down, he was smacked a couple more times, after which Lu Li quickly looted him. He found an AKM with a full magazine and 90 bullets.


    Lu Li picked up his 8x scope again because his victim''s teammate might try to avenge him.


    He decided to meet up with Water Fairy as soon as possible since he was only playing the game for his girlfriend. If his girlfriend was killed, then there was no point of a chicken dinner.


    After running around in circles, he finally found Water Fairy in a gun fight against someone with a Vector in her hands.


    The enemy had shaky aim, but he was using a S12K. If it wasn''t for her positioning and game sense, she probably would have been killed since the S12K was a much better gun than the Vector. It only took two bullets to kill someone.


    Lu Li slowed down and aimed at her enemy, then shot at him.


    This time he had plenty of bullets, so he sprayed his gun at the player, who was riddled with bullets and knocked down.


    He walked over and finished his target, then gave Water Fairy his AKM and picked up the S12K. He was much more comfortable with the higher firing rate of the S12K.


    Water Fairy was fine with this because she was used to the AKM.


    "I''ll get you an M4 later. Apparently, that gun is very accurate. I''ve cleared the right side already, so go loot up there and play safe. Here," Lu Li said, giving her the 8x scope.


    "Okay!" Water Fairy responded like a good girl.


    "Wow, I never thought that Water Fairy would have a cute side. She''s not cold like her usual self."


    "I support this couple!"


    "Stop being all lovey-dovey!"


    "Lu Li is such good boyfriend material and he''s good at games as well. God, please give me a boyfriend like him."


    Lu Li began walking towards the gun shot sounds to try and get more kills. However, he was looting the whole time as well to improve his equipment.


    Bandages, Lv2 Helmet, Bullet Proof Vest, Med Kit¡­


    He finally found a rifle, but it was the same one he gave to Water Fairy. After this, he picked up more bullets and now had a total of 150.


    Extra magazine, suppressor, 2x scope¡­


    He needed to clear out the enemies in this area so that his girlfriend could loot without worrying.


    "I found a 98K. Where are you? I''ll bring it to you!" Water Fairy exclaimed excitedly. The 98K referred to the Kar98k sniper rifled, which was used by the Germans in the 2nd World War. This was one of the best guns that could be looted from a city.


    Unless their opponent wearing a Lv3 helmet, it was a one-shot to the head, no matter what.


    Unfortunately, it was very difficult to hit the target accurately. Water Fairy loved this gun, but she was terrible at sniping.


    Lu Li accepted it and remembered this gun from the guides.


    He equipped the sniper and gave his 2x scope to Water Fairy, then jumped onto a random box and hid behind cover. Lu Li peered into the 8x scope and aimed towards a guy jumping around.


    The bullet narrowly missed, so he loaded another one into the chamber and fired once more, but missed again.


    Reloading would take a while and his target ran away when he heard he was being sniped at.


    Lu Li failed twice, but he wasn''t discouraged.


    He wasn''t that good at close-distance, so of course missing his shots at long-distance was expected. He decided to practice since he had plenty of sniper bullets.


    However, he knew how dangerous this was.


    The 98K was the best gun in the game, and if other players heard the gunshot, they would be attracted to come steal it from him.


    Bang!


    Lu Li hit his desired target and began understanding how to snipe.


    He had no time to practice more because he felt as if someone was close by. A player''s sixth sense was very important in Survival and Escape. Some were more accurate than others depending on their game sense and experience.


    Lu Li slowly moved away and found somewhere to hide.


    His sixth sense was right and one of the players emerged to scout the area. He did not fire immediately because he was waiting for his teammate.


    Even if this guy didn''t have a teammate, Lu Li had to assume that he did just in case.


    He tried to predict what his teammate would do to work together. What position would give him good cover to effectively support his teammate?


    He figured out a few possible places and waited.


    Lu Li quickly discovered his other target, who was close-by on his left. They were planning on trapping Lu Li''s original position in a pincer, but he had already repositioned himself.


    "Water Fairy, come quick," Lu Li whispered, "I''ll gift you two heads.."

 1454 The Rhythm of Being Led Astray

    As soon as Water Fairy heard there was an enemy near Lu Li, she immediately came to her senses and ran towards him.


    Lu Li didn''t know if this was luck, but he noticed that one of the people running towards him was Water Fairy. However, Lu Li couldn''t see the enemy clearly as he quickly rushed to get his gun. He had to take a pre-emptive shot against the threat because he didn''t know what this person''s shooting abilities were like and he couldn''t put Water Fairy in danger.


    A shot right in the head!


    Lu Li aimed very steadily, and with a bit of luck, managed to land a headshot.


    This headshot gave Lu Li a pleasurable sense of bloodlust. Lu Li took a breath and calmed himself. After that, he switched to an AKM and aimed the muzzle at another target who was trying to find cover.


    This one was a ''dunderhead''. Lu Li had only recently learnt the word ''dunderhead''. This was someone who unexpectedly made his whole body visible to Lu Li, including his handsome head.


    It was the perfect target for Lu Li to attack.


    Water Fairy had already killed most of the people on her side, and Lu Li had also killed the dunderhead without any concern.


    Getting more supplies was always pleasant. This feeling was similar to when Remnant Dream''s red hand would loot drops. Lu Li held up his gun by the shipping container to keep watch, which let Water Fairy safely search for more supplies.


    "A fully kitted M416! That''s so good! There''s also a 4x scope and even a medic kit. This person is really well equipped; they even have 13 bottles of painkillers. I''ll share a few with you. What''s a good gun that I can use?" Water Fairy asked.


    "I''ll give you my S12K; it''s better in close combat. I''ll give you a double length magazine too," Lu Li answered.


    The S12K was the father of close combat guns. It was like having two guns in one, and with the double length magazine there would be a capacity of ten shots. Water Fairy''s shooting skills were average, so it was better for her to use a gun with a more forgiving ammo capacity.


    A powerful fully automatic submachine gun was also not bad. However, like other powerful guns, you needed certain skills to use it.


    "I also got a cheek pad, a muzzle compensator and these potions for you." Water Fairy handed these over to Lu Li. Lu Li found quite a few 7.62 bullets from the two loot boxes; both his AKM and 98K used this type of bullet. It was a shame that these guys didn''t have any Level 3 helmets or armour.


    Lu Li was very vicious when he was killing, yet he wasn''t in a rush to kill. Water Fairy rarely saw this side of Lu Li.


    Perhaps she actually really liked this game. It''s just that a niche game like Survival and Escape would have no way of meeting her massive occupational demands. Therefore, Water Fairy was not able to spend most of her energy on the game she enjoyed.


    There were lots of types of helmets in this game, but the main helmets for protecting against bullets were divided into level 1, 2, 3 and finally level 4 ¨C a frying pan. This would cover the bottom of the person after putting on the rest of the equipment.


    A level 1 bulletproof helmet was green, and the players in the game called it the ''excused hat''.


    After searching for a while, Water Fairy helped Lu Li find a level 2 helmet. A level 3 helmet was something hard to come by and Lu Li was not too hung up on finding one.


    "Air Drop! Air Drop! Above face!" Amidst the rumbling of the planes, Water Fairy''s eyes had a look of desire. An Air Drop was the dropping of provisions from planes flying above the deserted island. There were many good things inside. The term ''above face'' meant that something was extremely close by, for example, when someone said, ''enemy above face'', it meant an enemy was close.


    However, this Air Drop couldn''t really be considered above face. The Female Tycoon''s estimate was a little off.


    "Go to the garage and see if there''s a car. If there''s a car it''ll be really quick." The Female Tycoon also seemed to have realised that her idea of ''above face'' was a little exaggerated, but she had quickly thought of a good idea. Having a car would definitely give them a better chance of looting the Air Drop.


    "Alright," Lu Li responded. The most important thing was that they had fun, so he didn''t reject his girlfriend''s idea.


    In the garage there was a blue car with four seats. Over 200 years ago (our present time), people would use this sort of transport to speed along the ground.


    "Sit tight everyone, I''m about to start the engine. After I start driving, don''t get off or you could die." Water Fairy was very interested in driving. The automobile industry had been developing for the past two or three hundred years, and now all the drivers merely treated driving as an ability without the joy of driving that people once had.


    "The car god is online!"


    "The driver girl is going to start the car!"


    "Beep! Student card!"


    "Beep! Senior''s card!"


    Lu Li didn''t really know how terrifying his partner''s driving was. As it turned out, ignorance was bliss!


    "Hello everyone, your battlefield correspondent here. I''m here reporting to you from the front line. Coming up, we are showing you driver goddess'' 46th time overturning the car. This spectacle we''ve all been waiting for is just about to start. According to an alleged report, the 45th time she overturned the car led to the goddess herself, as well as many other girls, to crash 37 times, which resulted in their deaths."


    When they first started off Lu Li didn''t notice anything wrong.


    At most, he felt that Water Fairy''s driving was a bit uneven, like a drunk person driving. Lu Li thought she was doing this because it was just a game ¡ª there was no need to follow the road rules so carefully.


    As such, he sat in the car, feeling safe and settled.


    It was only when the car sped up and reached a high altitude, then fell almost headfirst back down that Lu Li realised something was wrong. He then realised he only had a little bit of HP left.


    "Accident! Accident!" Water Fairy exclaimed.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy then both embarrassingly laid down and bandaged themselves.


    However, the barrage of online comments had already betrayed her and now even Lu Li knew that he was the victim of the 46th car accident. Maybe this was really an accident, but he would be scared to death if it wasn''t.


    "Let me drive." Lu Li was literally too scared to ride in the car again.


    "That''s alright, I''ll drive a bit slower this time," Water Fairy said, in a slightly childish, cute way.


    "If you want to get the Air Drop, let me drive. There might be good things inside."


    Lu Li chose to use the Air Drop to tempt Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy didn''t actually care about what was in the Air Drop; she just wanted check it out. Now that Lu Li had brought it up, she suddenly became completely compliant and sat in the passenger seat, letting him drive.


    All the basics of driving, like accelerating, turning, reversing and going forward weren''t hard. When Lu Li was driving, he felt a bit calmer. At least, he wouldn''t be like Water Fairy, feeling the need to drive over every observable uneven ridge.


    At a hill near the Air Drop, Lu Li stopped the car and scanned the area around it with his gun.


    Some people apparently had an unbelievable natural talent for fishing around an Air Drop, hoping to find something good. However, Water fairy also knew that there was a danger to rushing ahead like this. So, she could only submissively stand with Lu Li, gun at the ready, both defending against others.


    "We should quickly loot the air drop and then we''ll leave," Lu Li suggested.

 1455 Obstruction and Killing

    There was no such thing as an unpopular Air Drop. Soon, there was a car flying right across from Lu Li and Water Fairy, heading straight for it.


    Some people thought the chances of survival were higher if you went directly to the Air Drop to loot it, and then left quickly. Cautious people might only loot it if there was virtually no risk of danger. The two people who were sitting in the car were apparently the former. It was the same mindset Water Fairy had earlier as well.


    Using a 98K gun, which would have to be bolted after every shot, was evidently not suitable for this situation. Lu Li switched to an AKM instead.


    Lu Li generously loaded the gun with 40 bullets and used them all on the approaching car. With Water Fairy using her M416, this was the first time the couple attacked together. They directly killed one of the people in the car. Then, the car abruptly stopped, and the remaining person hid behind it to use a first aid kit.


    "Blow up the car," Water Fairy asserted as she changed a magazine. Lu Li didn''t think of this. After all, he only watched half an hour of the walkthrough. Lu Li and Water Fairy both shot at the car continuously; such a big target was much easier than shooting a person.


    The person behind the car evidently realised what they were trying to do and tried to crawl away from it. Unfortunately, the two automatic guns blasting at their full strength led to it exploding in an instant.


    "Before, someone else blew up my car. Now, I''ve finally gotten revenge," Water Fairy proclaimed with satisfaction. Furthermore, she received the kill credit for the two casualties. Including one she had killed earlier, she had killed three people so far.


    "Wait, don''t loot yet. 240 degrees south-west ¨C there are two people aiming at us," Lu Li said. He had already noticed them a while ago.


    When Lu Li was looking around the loot boxes, he started to consider a few possible hiding places. The place where they were waiting now had a lot of shelter. It couldn''t be attacked easily and could be considered the best defensive position. Otherwise, these two guys would''ve likely started shooting at them. The next best place would be where those two guys were. Water Fairy couldn''t see where they were hiding.


    "What do we do now?" Water Fairy asked.


    This was only Lu Li''s second game, but without realising, Water Fairy was becoming more dependent on him.


    "I''m aiming at the one on the left. After I start firing, you start attacking the one on the right," Lu Li answered. After all, he was still new to shooting, and he needed to wait until the person on the left wasn''t moving before he fired.


    People who played this game were always swaying side to side. Although this posture didn''t look very elegant, it definitely reduced the chance of getting hit in the head.


    Lu Li held his breath, waiting for an opportunity. For no apparent reason, the one on the left stopped moving and Lu Li decisively aimed at his head and shot.


    The shot landed!


    The online comments immediately filled with praise. This kind of shot for an experienced player was not considered hard to land ¨C just wait for the target to stop moving and shoot them. However, this was only the second game for Lu Li. Everyone had been closely observing Lu Li''s training. It felt like he was a student that they had taught themselves. All the other posters, who had previously filled the screen with messages guiding Lu Li on how to shoot, were all filled with a sense of achievement.


    Water Fairy strafed and shot the one on the right with two bullets.


    "Press on ahead. I''ll cover you," Lu Li said as he aimed at the area where the enemies were.


    "Alright!" Water Fairy didn''t think much but gleefully went in for the kill.


    She didn''t think about why Lu Li didn''t let her cover. It was actually because Lu Li was worried that the Female Tycoon would accidentally shoot him.


    The target wasn''t going to just sit around and be attacked. His head popped out, looking to counterattack. Lu Li''s AKM was already aiming at his head and he was swiftly shot. It would''ve been better for him to keep hiding behind cover and bandaging himself up. Water Fairy fumbled her way up to the side of the cover, jumped out, and beat the guy to death.


    Now, it was time to loot the dead body and the air drop!


    There were lots of bandages, a level 3 helmet and armor and a whole pile of firearm accessories. There was no other way to get rich quickly in this world unless you plundered.


    There was no legendary AWM in the air drop; there was just a M249 gun that shot 5.56 bullets. Apart from this, there was also a level 3 helmet and a ghillie suit.


    Lu Li gave the M249 to Water Fairy but took the level 3 helmet and ghillie suit for himself. This was because Water Fairy had swapped her gun for an SKS (an automatic sniper rifle), so he took her M416 that was fully kitted out. The gun''s stability was better than that of the AKM, and with all the accessories, it could be considered the best automatic rifle.


    "This was a fat one!"


    "This has been received by express delivery. It is now being sent out. Please receive it with care!"


    "Water Fairy has never been this kitted out before. There''s even a medic kit. Just as I thought, you need a guy and a girl working hard together."


    "I finally know why I can''t win Survival and Escape; it''s because I''m missing a camping teammate. As I expected, you can''t win this game just good shooting skills."


    "The blue circle''s really far, let''s go." Lu Li looted enough bullets and started up the Jeep next to them. They had to cross the bridge; the map for this game consisted of one big island, one small island and two bridges linking them together. People often used the bridge to block off others from crossing one island to the next. This sort of intercepting and plundering was very common.


    The players needed to go to the blue circle which was the safety zone. Lu Li and Water Fairy were very far from the blue circle and needed some sort of transport. Not only that, but because they were held up for a while at the Air Drop, they would have to travel at full speed.


    The car drove at full speed towards the bridge.


    "I''m worried that there will be people at the bridge blocking us. Those twisted people can''t get good things themselves, so they deliberately stay at the bridge to ambush people," Water Fairy grumbled.


    "It''s alright. As long as we''re fast enough, we should be able to speed right past," Lu Li reassured. When the person you were shooting changed their speed, from sometimes fast to sometimes slow, or when they seemed to be wandering around purposelessly, it was very difficult to hit them. In this game, moving like this was called ''snake skinning''.


    "There''s someone there! There''s someone there!" Water Fairy called out.


    "I see them. Just sit tight and don''t move." Lu Li accelerated, moving straight through like he was cutting through a blockade.


    The two people blocking the road couldn''t hide any longer. Firing in bursts didn''t look like it could stop such a fast vehicle, so they jumped out and started shooting automatically. They were trying to aim at Lu Li and Water Fairy instead of the car.


    The closer they got, the more accurate the shots were.


    "It''s over. We can''t speed through like this. We''ll also have people chasing and attacking us from behind!"


    "There''s only 30 or so people left. We''ve done a pretty decent job this game."


    "We shouldn''t just try to rush through. Even if we get burnt by the circle, it''s not that bad. If we get to the blue circle a few minutes later, it won''t kill us. Worst comes to worst, we can take a bit more time and get on a boat. If we go by boat, we won''t be cut off like this."


    Lu Li was already hit twice. If it wasn''t for the level 3 armor, he would already be gone by now.


    Water Fairy was also hit once. If they gave the shooters behind them any more chances, Lu Li and Water Fairy would be done for.


    Lu Li accelerated a bit more and suddenly changed direction!

 1456 I’ll Run You Over

    One was firing his gun while the other one was reloading when Lu Li came out of nowhere and drove over them. The pair saw their names displayed on the killfeed and were utterly dumbstruck. However, Lu Li then crashed his car into an unoccupied vehicle and the collateral damage he took was enough to knock him out. Thankfully, Water Fairy was unhurt and immediately went over to revive him, and they were able to reclaim their two kills.


    Both Lu Li and Water Fairy were already stocked with supplies, so all the pair needed to find were replacements for their damaged level three Helmets and level three armor, and to resupply their meds. The two healing items in the game ¨C the energy drink and painkillers ¨C recovered health gradually, so it was essential to take them regularly.


    Seeing tenuous smoke seeping out of their car, they had no choice but to leave it. One car flip, a few bullets or a mere slip up of a crash could cause their vehicle to explode. Neither of them were ready to risk dying to a car explosion, nor were they obstinate enough to continue driving a broken car when there were plenty of untouched vehicles nearby. Lu Li chose a blue sports car that had plenty of fuel in the tank. The car was faster than the Jeep, had higher defence than a motorcycle, and Lu Li was much more comfortable driving it. The two headed straight for the safe zone and immediately found a place to hide.


    The house Lu Li had chosen gave the two a generous view of their surroundings, which meant it would be difficult for the enemy to go unnoticed should they decide to infiltrate it. Lu Li crouched near the second-floor window opposite the safe zone barrier. With their house right next to the motorway, players who were still rushing to get into the safe zone were sure to pass through them. Lu Li''s predictions were quickly confirmed when he saw a sidecar motorcycle outside of the safe zone slowly coming into view. Since they were in duos, there were only two players on the motorcycle.


    "Shoot it!" Lu Li cried out as he pulled the trigger with zero hesitation. Water Fairy quickly followed suit. Although the sidecar motorcycle was slow compared to the rest of the vehicles in the game, gunning it down while it sped down the motorway was not an easy task. The motorcycle started to maneuver while driving and the enemies easily dismissed the threat of the two campers. The pair could not land a single critical hit, but just as they thought that they have failed, they witnessed their enemies'' motorcycle flip over.


    Unfortunate was a fitting description for the enemies. Once they realised they were under attack by an M4, and M249 (which could only be obtained from an airdrop), the driver must have panicked and sped up maniacally. One miscalculated sharp turn and the two flipped the motorcycle.


    Lu Li was unable to hit them from his window and thus could only wallow in frustration as he saw the two low health players running off to heal up. However, as soon as he saw the two enemies staying at their hide-out, which was right next to his house, he realised those two players were not going to run off, but they were actually planning an attack. These two were going to confront Lu Li and Water Fairy and soon enough, the hunters had become the prey.


    Crash! The window behind Lu Li shattered as an unknown object was thrown into their house. Water Fairy, who was highly alert, immediately stood up and ran. Thankfully, she was able to warn Lu Li with a simple "Bomb!". Lu Li instantly ran away from the object just in time to avoid getting knocked out, but he still took half of his health in damage. Lu Li had completely forgotten about throwables in the game: the Molotov, the Smoke, Stun, and Frag Grenades. Just as he was criticising his own mistake for overlooking such crucial information, two more frag grenades were thrown into the house. Water Fairy was immediately knocked out, but Lu Li would not allow himself to fail twice. He quickly dived into the bathroom and avoided taking damage.


    "Will they come up, or will they throw more frags at us?" Lu Li thought. For once, he was unable to predict his enemies'' movements. He didn''t know how many more throwables the two players downstairs had, and Water Fairy was already knocked out, so she couldn''t risk taking any more damage.


    "Who knows? If they have more frags, they''ll definitely be using them," Water Fairy said as she crawled towards the bathroom slowly to be revived.


    Lu Li thought for a split second and realised they couldn''t risk staying up here. With a grand leap out of the window, he knocked out one player while he was still mid-air. He hit the ground, went prone, and took down the second enemy.


    The chat blew up shortly after. All Lu Li could see was "GG", "What a beast", "God mode"¨C all referring to his play. No one seemed to have mentioned how narrow his health bar was; one more shot would''ve knocked him out. However, even if the odds were in his favour, the fact remained that he was the one who took down those two players.


    By the time Water Fairy rushed out of the house, all that was left to do was to claim the loot.


    "The zone is shrinking fast. Should we drive?" Water Fairy asked.


    "I''ll drive." That was Lu Li''s only request.


    Lu Li slammed on the brakes the second they reached the safe zone. Their current position was perfect for sniping, and he was sure they weren''t the last to reach the safe zone.


    "You be the tank, I''ll prone."


    Water Fairy wasn''t spineless, but she had definitely experienced enough deaths from proned players to know she wasn''t going to fall for it anymore. Lu Li stood in a shrub and crouched, blending in perfectly. Since gunshots could easily give away a person''s position, suspicious players wouldn''t risk firing away at a slightly out of place shrub and put themselves in danger. Lu Li has actually used this tactic in the past, and it was a play he figured out by himself. If his chat was bombarded with ''camper'', he wasn''t planning on arguing with them.


    Lu Li decided if Water Fairy were to prone, she would''ve needed the Ghillie suit more than he did. Dropping his suit, Water Fairy picked it up and blended into the grass perfectly. However, the problem with proning was that it limited both a player''s view and the range of shooting angles. If she were to take a shot, she''d have to get up and crouch.


    It wasn''t long before two enemies came running into view. Being the hothead that she was, Water Fairy was already getting up and was ready to attack. To her dismay, she was hastily stopped by Lu Li.


    "Let them get closer before attacking. I don''t have a clear shot yet. They won''t see us, so get up and attack only when I''ve took one down."


    Though still trying to get into the safe zone, the enemies were on high alert, fully aware that they might be ambushed at any given moment. However, they didn''t have the time to check every inch of their surroundings for proning players. The safe zone barrier was right behind them, and if they weren''t able to keep up with it, they''d be easily knocked out. Lu Li had his sniper rifle aimed at one of the enemies but had not risked the shot. The player''s zig-zagged running made it difficult for Lu Li to gain a clear shot. He decided to wait until he slowed down, but ¨C


    The pair went prone to heal as soon as they reached the safe zone. Not only had they just fought off a team, but they had also taken damage from the blue zone, so their health was dangerously low. On top of that, neither Lu Li and Water Fairy nor the enemy team could''ve guessed that one team would''ve proned right in front of another.


    This had become a battle of courage.

 1457 Chat Room Patrol

    The enemies had arrived right at Lu Li and Water Fairy''s doorstep; it would be a sin not to take them down. Two shots to the head and the pair was dead in a second.


    "You make this game seem so much easier than it actually is," Water Fairy commented. She had never experienced such thrill playing this game, mainly because she could finally land some kills after pairing up with Lu Li. The pair looted more healing items, even if it was at the expense of some ammo. Medicine was crucial.


    "My shooting skills still require improvement," Lu Li responded as he shook his head. He looked at the map and saw that the next safe zone was located in an empty grass field. "These must be the so-called crop circles."


    "We don''t know that yet. The safe zone only covers half of the crop circle. Plus, we have the Ghillie suit, and there are only sixteen people left. Who knows, we might finally get our chicken dinner."


    Water Fairy''s eyes lit up with anticipation.


    It was possible to win the game without ever having to kill anyone. The enemy might die outside of the safe zone, or the players last standing all die from a frag grenade. Either way, as long as a player was the longest surviving person in-game, they could win without having to pull the trigger. However, this type of player was considered to be the most cowardly of gamers. The other essential aspect of winning with zero kills was obviously luck. The safe zone must never be too far from the player, and if the odds were in their favour, the safe zone would always shrink around where the lucky player stood. With that level of luck, as long as the person played it safe, they could still get a decent rank even if they didn''t win.


    "We''re in the red zone now. Let''s go."


    Lu Li''s expression immediately twisted into a grimace when he saw a red circle appear exactly where he stood on the map.


    "We should hurry ¨C even though the chances of getting knocked out by the red zone are quite small ¨C"


    Water Fairy had only just finished her sentence when she saw Lu Li crawling on the ground. Water Fairy''s face turned pale; She thought of how fortunate she was for standing a little further from Lu Li. Otherwise, it would have been the end for both of them. Thankfully, as long as one teammate was alive and standing, they could revive their knocked-out teammate. Water Fairy wasn''t going to risk getting knocked out, so she waited until the red zone was over before reviving Lu Li.


    "Must be karma."


    "He got knocked out by the red zone twice in a row."


    "Lucky my Goddess stayed away from Lu Li."


    "My Goddess should just dump him already. He''s a hacker in Dawn, and has zero luck in this game. This kind of guy doesn''t deserve you. Let me introduce you to this one guy ¨C his luck is pretty impressive in Dawn, and has never been knocked out by the red zone in Survival and Escape. That guy is me¡­"


    "You think you deserve my Goddess? Screw you!"


    Both of them could tell the chat was mostly filled with petty satisfaction as they saw Lu Li fail. What was she supposed to do? The whole thing was out of her control. Water Fairy wasn''t exactly sociable; she rarely played Survival and Escape, and even more rarely did she do a live stream. Besides, her having a boyfriend made her die-hard fanbase go insane. Therefore, whenever she livestreamed with Lu Li, her fans would watch them like vultures.


    "Let''s go. We''ll follow the edge of the safe zone. You watch out for runners outside of the zone, and I''ll keep an eye out for proners inside. Report the bearings of whomever you see," Lu Li said as he reloaded his gun and zoomed straight ahead, with Water Fairy following hastily.


    "One guy at NE60," Water Fairy reported.


    "Keep an eye out for the sides. Does he have a teammate?" Lu Li instructed her as he aimed his sniper rifle at the newly-discovered enemy. The guy was dead in one shot. Since the enemy was immediately killed rather than knocked out, it meant he didn''t have a partner.


    "I''m getting hit, I can''t see them!" Water Fairy cried out.


    "Run sporadically, then hide. I see him." Lu Li could see the top of a head barely visible in a building far away; they were aiming for Water Fairy. One shot, and he missed. It was, after all, Lu Li''s second time playing Survival and Escape, and even though he displayed a great talent for shooting, he was far from being skilled as a sniper. However, that one missed shot was enough to scare the attacker and it stopped his attacks.


    The 98k had a unique, explosive sound that was infamous amongst familiar Survival and Escape players. One shot was enough to make their hairs stand on end, fearful they would fall victim to the sniper rifle.


    With half of her health gone, Water Fairy hid behind some haystacks to heal up. Lu Li put away his gun and joined her shortly after. When the attacker decided to pursue the near-knocked out Water Fairy, the two were already long gone.


    "Go prone and crawl to that rock in the safe zone. Take my gun and shoot that guy at the window as soon as you see him," Lu Li instructed.


    Being able to cover for each other was basic but essential teamwork. Having the two of them run at the attacker at the same time would just be idiotic.


    Suddenly, the live stream chat was bombarded with messages like, "F is on chat room patrol!"


    Lu Li thought for a moment and realised that ''chat room patrol'' meant that other live streamers had gone to a random stream, followed by their fans. This sort of flex showed off how influential the guest streamer was. The so-called F was Fancy; he was visibly popular and probably quite good at Survival and Escape.


    "Little Fairy, why didn''t you tell me you had the time to do a live stream? Why don''t you two do squads with me? I''ll carry you guys and get our chicken dinner," she boasted with confidence. Water Fairy''s fan base wasn''t particularly into Survival and Escape ¡ª some hadn''t even played it before. They were only watching the stream for her sake, so they were easily aggravated by how conceited this F was. Who was he, and who did he think he was that he could do squads with their Goddess? Fancy''s fans were equally aggravated and immediately fired away their retorts. Fancy was ranked in the top one hundred in Asia for Survival and Escape. He was obviously much better than Water Fairy, who had basically never won a chicken dinner despite being a popular live streamer.


    "No thanks, we''re just playing casually anyway. We just want to have fun," Water Fairy replied with indifference. She was her usual tycoon self again, never one to feign interest or have a desire to impress. She might''ve started a live stream, but she never thought much of it, and she definitely had no desire of faking it with the other streamers, not to mention with someone as narcissistic as F.


    "Bang!"


    The attacker staggered away from the window after receiving damage from Water Fairy. Lu Li was quick to get into the rhythm, and with a pull of the bolt, pulled the trigger on the attacker. One new name appeared on the killboard; he didn''t have a partner either.


    The chat blew up with messages praising the pair''s play, and even the fans that followed F into the stream bombarded the chat with cheers. Lu Li always had inhuman movement speed and reflexes. Just as he gunned down the enemy at the window, another prone enemy in the grass tried to take him down. The enemy didn''t even have time to pull out his gun and was sniped by Lu Li.


    "Not bad. This kid''s shooting skills are not bad at all. I''m not familiar with the name ''Lu Li''; is he one of your fans?" Fancy was a live streamer, so naturally, all his messages within the chat would be bright red and ready for everyone to see. Although Water Fairy was the only one that could reply to Fancy within the chat, with the two being the only live streamers, she pretended not to see her message, and didn''t even bother to react to Fancy''s comment. Water Fairy decided that F was not worth her time to explain such matters to, and with her fans quickly catching on, they were unable to stand the situation either.


    Her fans might be there to rant or whine, or even act pettily when Lu Li made a mistake, but Fancy was a nobody. And now, he was in their Goddess'' live stream, acting all high and mighty and disrespecting her boyfriend? Who did he honestly think she was?


    "F, this guy is pretty good considering that it is his second game,"


    "This guy''s shooting skills are great +1."


    "This guy''s shooting skills are great +2."


    "This guy''s shooting skills are great +10086."


    "This guy''s shooting skills are great +(telephone number)."


    "This guy''s shooting skills are great +(ID Card number)."


    This sort of comment seemed harmless at first. In another situation, it might be backing up Fancy''s compliments of Lu Li. However, considering that it was only his second game and that he was already so skilful at killing other players, the massive chain of replies all commenting on the same thing had a tone of sarcasm that was difficult to overlook.


    Bang! It was a one hit knock out once again.


    The fans bombarded the chat with praise again. However, they also sympathised with the player at the window. The downed player had a partner, and if he wasn''t double tapped by Lu Li, he could''ve easily been revived and continued the game. However, knowing that he was gunned down immediately after peaking his head out of the window, he decided to take himself out of the game instead. The player might have been stressed or embarrassed by the situation.


    Another player appeared, and Lu Li pulled the trigger without hesitation.


    Another down!


    This one wasn''t in a house, nor did he have any natural obstacles that he could hide behind. With a simple stretch of her arms, Water Fairy crouched and shot the knocked out player, securing Lu Li''s kill count.


    Suddenly, another bright red text appeared in the chat.


    "Hmph, guess they''ll let anyone into this game these days."


    "Maple sis!"


    "Maple sis!"


    Another live streamer had joined the chat, and this time it was Unforgettable Maple.


    Unforgettable Maple was nicknamed the Mage God and played as a Mage in most games. Though he was currently only playing Dawn and Survival and Escape, Dawn had recently capped the max level, and thus he spent most of his free time doing Survival and Escape live streams. He had quickly risen in ranks as the third best player in Asia. He even had a nickname in Survival and Escape called King of the Canines.


    A term that was commonly used in Survival and Escape was ''dog it out,'' or ''live like a dog.'' It meant to hide and not reveal yourself under any circumstances. If Maple could earn such a title, one could imagine just how cowardly he acted when he played the game.


    Fancy was nothing compared to Unforgettable Maple. He would have a maximum of one or two hundred thousand viewers when she really peaked, but Maple easily brought in a million viewers into the stream. His eccentricity and dry humour proved to be popular amongst other players. Besides, Fancy was only a mere Survival and Escape player, but Unforgettable Maple had played in gaming leagues and was a star competitor. Fancy didn''t follow Dawn, so he had no idea how infamous Lu Li was, otherwise, he wouldn''t have had suggested carrying the pair.


    Amongst Dawn and competitive players, quite a few engaged in Survival and Escape as well. Competitive players made a living out of gaming after all; they couldn''t just be good at one single game forever. They had to constantly expand their gaming repertoire, and practice different gaming skills.


    Innocent Child was also a renowned player in Survival and Escape, currently ranking first on the scoreboards. It was said he was a police officer in real life and a gun enthusiast. He seemed to have had dominated every single shooting game and thus was titled the King of Guns.


    There were even players within Ruling Sword that had a knack for Survival and Escape, and one of them was Moonlight. His displacement and shooting skills were impressive, his driving skills admirable, and he was titled the King of Cars. Though his ranking wasn''t as high as Unforgettable Maple''s or Innocent Child''s, it was only because he refused to ''dog it out'' when he played. If he was ever attacked, even if it was a single missed shot, Moonlight would chase the perpetrator to the ends of the Earth just to take him down. That was how begrudging the King of Cars was.


    The competitive players of Survival and Escape would often live stream their games. Not only was it an effective way of gaining popularity, but fans might also reward the streamers with gifts or money. For instance, Water Fairy had only been live streaming for ten minutes, and had already received more than ten thousand dollars from her fans. If a live streamer landed an impressive kill or performed exciting plays, some tycoon-type fans would immediately reward tens of thousands of dollars to the streamer.


    Maple''s arrival immediately blew up Water Fairy''s live stream. Though many of them were legitimate Survival and Escape players, the most enthusiastic watchers were those who usually camped in-game.

 1458 Chicken Dinner

    "Sister Maple is coming. Why don''t we queue up together?" Water Fairy suggested.


    Fancy immediately felt his face heat up. He felt personally attacked by the difference in treatment and asserted jokingly, "Water Fairy, that''s not fair ¨C why have you allowed the Canine King to queue up with you but not me?"


    Water Fairy paused for a second then said, "Because it''s your fault for not being a girl."


    Unforgettable Maple was speechless. The reason given by Water Fairy was quite valid.


    What could Fancy say? He wasn''t an idiot; it was obvious that he was being excluded. He thought for a second before saying, "This Lu Li guy is only playing his second game and is already performing so well. Canine King, why don''t you have a contest with him? By the way, Lu Li is also Water Fairy''s boyfriend."


    "What is there to say about a couple in an illicit love affair? Lu Li is talented; I would never want to compete with him. Plus, Lu Li isn''t someone careless. It is definitely not the case that anyone can compete with him."


    Unforgettable Maple was an astute and manipulative person, so Fancy wanted to use him as a weapon against Lu Li. Knowing this, Unforgettable Maple didn''t want to continue this charade as antagonising Lu Li had no benefit.


    Additionally, there seemed to be a hidden agenda behind Fancy''s words. It was obvious that he had a huge crush on Water Fairy. It would have been fine if it was just a joke or typical banter. However, Unforgettable Maple couldn''t bear with the fact that Fancy wanted to steal Lu Li''s girlfriend. He thought that Fancy might have wanted a battle to the death.


    Everyone felt comfortable jokingly calling Unforgettable Maple ''Sister Maple''. This was because everyone knew he had a good temper. Fancy had crossed the line for wanting Unforgettable Maple to offend someone, especially someone he respected. Although he had a good temper, even he had his limits. That was why he commented that not everyone had the qualifications to compete with Lu Li.


    "Haha, if you already have enough people, then I''ll leave," Fancy fumed. He wanted to find a way to leave the conversation with minimal embarrassment. His attempt, however, was unfortunately met with silence.


    In every game, there was bound to be people who play well, but these people were not considered threats by real gamers. However, if you were an expert in a variety of different games and was able to master different games, it meant that you had truly mastered the Art of Gaming.


    Although Lu Li had completely dominated the gaming field during the course of Dawn, his performance during Survival and Escape was also magnificent.


    "Boom!"


    "There are eight left. Twenty seconds until the poisonous circle closes in. Keep moving forward."


    Lu Li pulled the trigger, killing two players. The teammates of the fallen were cowards that had no intentions of saving them.


    "There are people running to the left of the circle."


    Water Fairy couldn''t focus much on the live streaming room; all her attention was directed towards the battlefield. The safe area was already reduced to a miniscule geographical size.


    Both Lu Li and the Water Fairy did not know that there were a lot of streamers in their room.


    Unforgettable Maple seemed to have caused a commotion in the chat room, because all the high-level players that were online came to witness the Lu Li''s stellar performance in Survival and Escape.


    "Is this the second round?" Midnight Ghost belonged, within Dawn, to the Eternal Kingdom and was also a great Survival and Escape player.


    "I only remember playing my first game and just losing. And I don''t remember much of the second game," Egg Cow recalled.


    "Players said that Lu Li killed six in his first round," Unforgettable Maple mentioned.


    "That''s impressive. How are we going to battle Water Fairy''s team in the future?" Hornet''s Nest was very worried. He and Lucky Southern Persian were both trying to survive in Survival and Escape, but they weren''t playing that well. When fighting against Water Fairy and Star Baby as a team, they had a 50/50 chance of winning or losing. However, now that Lu Li had replaced Star Baby, and given how talented Lu Li is, they had no chance of competing.


    "How could they see who is crawling inside the grass area, and use only one shot to kill them?" Hornet''s Nest enviously complained.


    "The stock was not well hidden. You couldn''t see the obvious so it''s on you for dying," Unforgettable Maple retorted.


    "Sister Maple, eat a chicken once and you will get a level 60 Dark Gold Armor," Hornet''s Nest said as he hugged his legs tightly. There was no other option; it was his fault for not performing as well as the other players. Sacrificing some equipment was better than sacrificing his reputation, not that there was much of a reputation to even salvage.


    "Hehe, level 60 Dark Gold Armor. It''s a myth. It''s not that easy to eat chicken dinner. I fought six or seven times yesterday and only won once. I was playing with my brother too," Unforgettable Maple responded in a nonchalant manner.


    "I''ll go find Lu Li in a moment. He''s about to lose his title of the King of Guns," Hornet''s Nest said.


    On Lu Li''s side, there were only five people remaining. This meant that other than him and Water Fairy, there were only three others still alive. There was a wheat field, and everyone was hiding within it by proning.


    "I''ll let you wear my clothes," Water Fairy offered. She was referring to the lucky clothes.


    "No, that''s unnecessary. You should wear it and prone without moving. Watch win as we the chicken dinner," Lu Li said confidently. Although he became more confident with each game, he was also slightly regretful. He could have made more money if he played and live-streamed Survival and Escape compared to Dawn. Then, he could use that money to save his little sister.


    However, in his previous life, if he had played Survival and Escape rather than Dawn, then he would not have been able to succeed in the latter. Survival and Escape lacked the difficulty of Dawn.


    Water Fairy was proned while Lu Li switched to an automatic. He then used the red laser to scan around the field and found a target. He fired, and blood splattered everywhere.


    "There are two left but I''m not sure whether they are on the same team. It is fortunate that the circle is still on our side," Lu Li said as he moved to a different position. He had just fired so his existing position was no longer safe.


    Such circumstances were very difficult to manage. The safe zone had already reduced to the size of a palm. Everyone was virtually face to face. Because of the close range, accuracy was less of an issue. Now it was a psychological test of nerves.


    "You watch the right and I''ll watch the left. I suspect they are about to enter the safe zone."


    Lu Li was no longer focused on ambushing the enemies. At such a close range, there was not much point.


    "I''m a bit nervous but why don''t I charge ahead to have a look?" Water Fairy was slightly impatient; they only needed to kill two more before they could win. However, she never had good results, because she played too aggressively. That being said, Star Baby was even more aggressive than her.


    Such a game required people who could handle the pressure. If you wanted to succeed, sometimes you only needed to kill one, two or even none, and you could still claim victory. "


    If you want to charge ahead, then charge ahead," Lu Li conceded.


    Since he couldn''t control her, he might as well let her charge ahead and test it. To put it darkly, if Water Fairy charged ahead, she could be used as bait. If others attacked her, they would reveal their own positions.


    If Water Fairy jumped, she would be able to spray her gun into the field.


    And with some luck, she actually downed an enemy.


    "How did she discover him?" Hornet''s Nest was flabbergasted.


    "I also actually can''t understand it!" Midnight Ghost was shocked. The audience could see Water Fairy''s perspective, and there was no way she could have discovered the hidden enemies.


    "It was a fluke!" Unforgettable Maple laughed.


    Those hiding in the field did not make any mistakes. Even if you were the Canine King, there was nothing you could have done to survive that.


    The remaining players fired against Water Fairy. He didn''t raise his body, because he knew that if he did so, he would be subject to the attack of two players. One of his concerns was the person carrying the M249. Although such a weapon didn''t have high damage, it contained a lot of bullets¡ª 2.5 times the ammo capacity of an average gun.


    Lu Li heard the gun shot, and immediately started shooting at the direction of the sound


    Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!


    The pair finally won their battle.


    Water Fairy''s live broadcasting channel views had already exceeded the previous record. It was already attracting famous streamers, and such a gathering was rare in the gaming world.

 1459 Venting

    Water Fairy was overjoyed with her first win on Survival and Escape.


    "Oh, there are so many people."


    Lu Li was on edge. When it came to Survival and Escape, Lu Li was definitely not content with coming second. He felt as if he were a boss, one hit away from death.


    "The aphorism is true ¨C that when a man and woman duo together, no task is burdensome," Unforgettable Maple asserted with a hint of jealousy.


    "This game is actually pretty fun," Lu Li decided in a sincere manner.


    "I don''t want to live anymore," Hornet''s Nest despaired. Everyone was human, so it didn''t make sense that there was such a significant difference in talent between Lu Li and him.


    If it was Dawn, then he would be prepared to challenge Lu Li. However, when it came to Survival and Escape, there was no chance of competing. He was already eating chicken by his second game and it wasn''t because of luck. He had successfully killed 13 players, and regardless of their skill level, they had to admit that Lu Li''s shooting abilities were remarkable.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy rejected the requests made by many others who also wanted to queue up with them.


    For this game, they could queue up alone, in twos, in threes, in fours ¡­ and so on. Even though they believed in the saying, the more the merrier, Lu Li and Water Fairy were not the kind of people who desired crowded environments. It was rare for them to find an opportunity for them to be alone. A new round was beginning, so Water Fairy closed the live stream and continued to just play with Lu Li.


    A new day had arrived, and Onyxia''s Lair was being run. Lu Li had gamed for longer than he anticipated yesterday, so he came online at a slightly later time than usual today. Wandering gathered everyone and they all sat by the entrance of the Dungeon.


    "Why hasn''t Lu Li arrived yet?" Azure Sea Breeze asked while stroking Remnant Dream''s pet out of boredom. The pet was mildly annoyed but it''s face showed a sense of resignation.


    "Yesterday, Lu Li and Water Fairy played Survival and Escape together," Moonlight said softly.


    "There were still people willing to go play the game of Foggy Grass, how miserable," Azure Sea Breeze mocked. He reflected back on the time he entered that game and laughed at the memory of Lu Li''s suffering.


    "No, it actually wasn''t. They managed to land a few kills and it seems that they ate chicken twice."


    Moonlight had also played Survival and Escape yesterday. Additionally, he was in Unforgettable Maple''s squad. It was only yesterday that he, Unforgettable Maple, Innocent Child, and Hornet''s Nest, all queued up together a few times. He was familiar with the details.


    "Have you carried him yet?" Azure Sea Breeze thought that Moonlight had queued with Lu Li. Moonlight often ranked in the top three. He was also infamously called the King of Cars and had a shooting accuracy rate that was above average. Carrying random players for some chicken dinner was common and easy for him.


    "No, I don''t want to be fed dog food," Moonlight said as he shook his head. He admired not only Lu Li''s capacity to win only on his second attempt, but also his ability to kill ten or so players each time. He did not think Lu Li needed his help to win. Of course, if he queued up with him, Lu Li would be eating chicken dinners more consistently.


    Unforgettable Maple''s squad had carried Hornet''s Nest to victory; they played seven games and managed to bring home a chicken dinner five times. The players each earned two sets of Level 60 Dark Gold Armor for carrying Hornet''s Nest.


    This actually belonged to the class of prices known as "friendship prices". If it was someone they knew, you would definitely have to bring legendary equipment from Dawn. Dark Gold Armor would be necessary. However, five sets of chicken dinner for six sets of Dark Gold Armour was not profitable. It was difficult to get equipment. Unforgetful Maple, Moonlight, Innocent child ¨C the trio ¨C decided to go find targets in the Dawn''s wilderness to easily obtain more Dark Gold Armor.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy went online at the same exact time. Lu Li swore that this was just coincidence. However, everyone else thought otherwise ¨C they were clearly in love with each other but were just in denial.


    Both Lu Li and Water Fairy felt embarrassed. Water Fairy gave Lu Li a quick, angry stare. She wondered why Lu Li started playing half an hour later than usual.


    "Did you have a good time gaming yesterday?" Wandering cheekily poked. He subtly messaged Lu Li to take it easy with Water Fairy since the Club needed him.


    It was unfortunate that Lu Li was not emotionally intelligent enough to receive the message. He replied matter of factly, "The game was actually pretty fun. It''s just that some layouts seemed imbalanced, and my luck with the bombing area was outrageous."


    He had encountered five explosion zones yesterday and had been hit twice. He learned later on to either run away as soon as he saw explosion zones, or to enter a house. However, a house was not necessarily always a safe haven. There was one time he had entered a house, and just as he closed the door, a bomb exploded at the entrance which resulted in his death.


    Lu Li was always able to discover others before they discovered him. As long as he discovered the other party first, he would quickly rush in to assassinate them. Water Fairy rarely had the chance to save Lu Li within the game.


    The Clearing Contest for the day had begun after small talk was briefly exchanged. Lu Li had become more serious. Even though everyone was talking, no one dared to make fun of Lu Li. The difficulty of Onyxia was much higher than winning around of Survival and Escape. After all, you could carry yourself in Survival and Escape, whereas in Dawn, Instance Dungeons required group cooperation to succeed.


    They had already spent two weeks clearing out Onyxia''s Lair. Everyone was familiar with every single one of the Boss''s battle techniques. The question was how they would enter the last stage with enough members of the team still alive. Although Ruling Sword could consistently make it to the later stages of the dungeon, there was a problem ¨C by then, most of the team would be dead. In fact, Lu Li already thought that his team was already reducing too rapidly before reaching the later stages.


    After swapping in two Druids, they had a chance of continuing their battle. A Warlock''s Revival Stone could be used on a Main Tank and they had also found two Darkmoon Cards. Lu Li would be prepared to use them as long as there was a significant chance of succeeding.


    They would be able to eliminate the Boss if, by the Boss''s berserk stage, they still had enough Main Tanks and healing capacity. Other guilds were essentially in the same situation.


    Ruling Sword''s advantage was already heavily reduced. After all, the game was not created by Lu Li''s family. The knowledge Lu Li possessed was gradually being deciphered by other Clubs. The only difference was that they had to pay a higher price for it. Lu Li''s advantage was rebirth. As for the other clubs, their advantage was that they were extremely wealthy. Glory Capital could, in one go, pull out ten First Clearing Teams. They had managed to spend 30 times more than Ruling Sword on their First Clearing Team. Their wealth proved an exceptional advantage when it came to the purchase of rare and expensive potions. The price of these exceeded what an average person could earn over weeks, or even months.


    A successful economist once said, "When one reaches an elite level, economic profit is not the only thing that is considered. When one corporation buys a failing company, it is true that it is at a loss ¨C it will never be able to make back the money spent through profits. However, whilst such a transaction appears as a significant loss, it is in fact an opportunistic gain. This is because one has to consider the pressure that would otherwise occur if one''s opponents got their hands on that exact company."


    Regardless of who was clearing the field, regardless of how many items they could win after eliminating the Boss, the net result was that they would lose money. However, they were willing to do so in order to deny their main competition.


    It was another unproductive morning; the last few attempts were even worse than their initial attempts. Lu Li was forced to declare a one-hour rest. He felt frustrated but had nowhere to vent his frustrations. He therefore decided to join three others ¨C Water Fairy, Star Baby, and Moonlight ¨C for a few games of Survival and Escape.


    Although Water Fairy and Star Baby were below average players, Moonlight and Lu Li were skilled. As such, they all managed to claim victory.


    Lu Li killed over ten people that game and after doing so, he became distinctively more relaxed. His mood had improved to the point that he had begun joking with others and his fighting success improved significantly afterwards. It seemed that coming first in a game of Survival and Escape had a direct impact on his mental state.

 1460 Lack of HP

    "The Boss is about to go Berserk," Wandering reminded Lu Li.


    "Berserk?" Lu Li replied in surprise, only to find that the Boss had not much health left.


    The battle was intense. As the commander, Lu Li concentrated on directing the overall operations for the players on the field. Everyone on the team didn''t even notice they had almost reached the end of the dungeon run.


    One healer was down, but the Main Tank was still active along with some damage dealers. There were 25 players left in the battle.


    It seemed this time was much better than any previous attempts, but whether they would defeat the Boss was still unknown. Lu Li hesitated; he was unsure whether he should use the Darkmoon Card.


    The Darkmoon Card could resurrect the dead on the spot, which meant two players could be resurrected to fight the Boss. However, using the Darkmoon Card had its own set of risks.


    There was a chance that using the Darkmoon Card would give experience to the player, but it was useless to these players who had reached the level cap. More importantly, there was also a chance that the players'' experience would be reduced. If that happened, their levels might drop, and they would no longer be able to use their level 60 equipment.


    The health of the Boss was dropping gradually and she could go Berserk at any time.


    "Deal as much damage to the Boss as you can! Healers! Keep your eyes on the Main Tank! Everyone else, keep yourselves alive! This is our chance!" Lu Li shouted to everyone. "Let''s finish this quickly and celebrate for the rest of the week!"


    Lu Li was determined; it had not been easy for the team to make it this far. This was a rare opportunity that had to be taken. The team had been dealing with this Dungeon for weeks.


    "Seriously? I only have a few Damage Reduction skills left," Azure Sea Breeze said as he squeezed out a bitter smile.


    "How about slowing damage output a little while his skills are cooling down?" Wandering asked.


    "No," Lu Li answered, shaking his head, "This is not an ordinary Boss. I can barely control the situation. Two deaths are not a big deal, but it could snowball to many more deaths. I will not take that risk. Breezy, keep up the pace. March Rain and the other two Paladins, pay attention to the Main Tank''s health. Use the card to resurrect him immediately if he dies," Lu Li said to the healers.


    The only two Darkmoon Cards were in the hands of two healers, March Rain and Hachi Chan.


    Hachi Chan had an impressive upgrade recently. She accidentally acquired an item which enabled her to reduce the cooldown of one of her abilities down to zero once every day. This meant that the ability could be used twice as a combo.


    This item was very helpful to both Enhanced Tranquillity and her healing abilities.


    Everyone had more free time after reaching the level cap, because there were less tasks to complete than before. However, this was not the case for Hachi Chan. She was busy as usual, getting lost everywhere and accidentally accepting a lot of quests. Some of the tasks were pointless, while there were some very rewarding ones. Perhaps she had learnt more Enhanced abilities than Lu Li now.


    March Rain was the main healer of the team because she had the fastest response time, which was invaluable in critical situations. The Darkmoon Cards were in the hands of these two phenomenal healers.


    The Darkmoon Card was a last resort. March Rain still had a Talisman of Binding Shard, which could resurrect people to full health almost instantly. As long as the healers were alive, or as long as the team was still capable of killing the Boss without healers, the Darkmoon Card would not be used.


    It was impossible to avoid the challenge of an enraged Boss as they reached the end of the battle. It was the very first time the team encountered a Boss in an enraged state in this Dungeon.


    "Throw every damaging ability at the Boss! Don''t hold back!" Lu Li shouted. After assessing the damage output for a moment, Lu Li concluded that it might not be enough if they held back any longer. When the Boss went berserk, casualties were inevitable.


    Lu Li himself was dealing damage recklessly as well. In this moment, commands were useless. The situation devolved into complete chaos after Onyxia feared the players and there was not enough time for the secondary tank to generate enough aggro to hold the attention of the Boss. After all, no one could cope with the Boss''s damage except for the Main Tank. World''s Best Friend had died and Wandering barely had any health left.


    "March Rain, resurrect yourself quickly! Use the Talisman of Binding Shard!" Lu Li shouted at March Rain with intensity.


    March Rain had been healing the Main Tank and had accumulated a lot of aggro. She had to be alive; she knew her responsibility of taking care of the Main Tank and couldn''t die before him.


    March Rain was recognized as the main healer, not only because of her outstanding game mechanics, but also because of the stack of useful equipment that Lu Li had given her. The Talisman of Binding Shard was a Legendary item and there was currently only one in the game.


    The Legendary item had 3 effects: a three-minute flash spell, an effect that allowed a chosen spell to trigger immediately every day, and an opportunity to resurrect a person with full health every day. March Rain''s healing output was always much more than that of the second healer in every battle.


    "Remnant, redirect the Boss''s aggro to yourself," Lu Li said to Remnant Dream. He wanted to buy more time.


    "Yes sir," Remnant Dream answered. Although Remnant Dream didn''t know the reason behind this order, she still followed the directions of Lu Li. She watched as the Boss approached her which led to her death.


    "Bearded Zaza, draw the Boss''s aggro," Lu Li continued. Bearded Zaza did what Lu Li asked without hesitation. He knew exactly what his mission was.


    his time, misdirection was resisted by the Boss. It would be naive if someone thought they could organize a team of hunters to trick the Boss. Misdirection could be resisted, and the Boss would gradually gain immunity to the ability if it had been used multiple times.


    Lu Li just needed to buy more time.


    "Damn! Be careful!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted. After his fear ended, he immediately went back to the battlefield and tried to taunt the Boss. However, it was resisted by the Boss again.


    The Boss smashed a player close to Azure Sea Breeze and turned her attention to Lonesome Flower. The Boss ignored two taunts from him in a row. The situation looked bleak as the Main Tank struggled to pull the Boss.


    Drawing aggro might be easier after Dawn made some changes to the Boss''s ability immunity. When Lu Li had just started playing this game, Instant Dungeons were not this harsh on the players.


    "Intervention!" Lu Li shouted.


    Currently, Intervention was not a commonly used ability, but Lu Li had two players on the team who had this ability. Wandering intervened Lonesome Flower and Lonesome Flower instantly became invincible. However, death was unavoidable. The Boss turned away from Lonesome Flower and went after another victim instead ¨C the player beside Lonesome Flower.


    Lonesome Flower''s intervention buff ended as he continued dealing damage. It was worthwhile to intervene Lonesome Flower because he had very high damage output.


    Because of the advantages of rebirth, many methods were available to Lu Li. He had access to a few special potions which had to be consumed at the last minute. In fact, many of them were from Hachi Chan''s collection.


    If they could not take the Boss down this time, Lu Li would not try again today. He probably couldn''t mentally recover from failure until tomorrow.


    "Only 1% of HP left! Stay focused!" Lu Li yelled in determination.


    This could be another First Clear, belonging to Ruling Sword!


    An empire had to be painstakingly built by the first-generation First Clearers. It was a tiring process, but no one complained or backed down.


    Lu Li purely concentrated on dealing damage to the Boss and nothing else. Once again, Azure Sea Breeze was affected by Onyxia''s fear. At this stage of the battle, there was no more need to reserve any abilities or retreat to the healers to restore health. The battle had escalated to an incredible intensity, and no one was able to make any plays in front of the enraged Boss.


    All the hunters died.


    Hachi Chan used a Darkmoon Card. After she got up, she healed Bearded Zaza and then continued to deal damage to the Boss.


    "Twenty thousand HP left!"


    There were only seven players alive. They were done for the day if they couldn''t take down the Boss.


    Lu Li''s fast-moving ring was playing a huge role.


    When the Boss once again found Lonesome Flower, Lu Li switched positions with him, and then blocked the Boss''s attack with his long-awaited blast.


    This was followed by the other special effect, absorbing the full amount of damage with the Supreme Ring.


    He also used the second special effect of the Quick Strike ring, which dealt huge damage to the target with a combo of three hits. In just a few seconds, Lu Li dealt thousands of damage to the Boss.


    "I''m going to channel an ultimate skill. Try to prevent The Boss from attacking me," Lonesome Flower announced as he took out a scroll. There was a complicated facial expression on his face, which was usually expressionless. This scroll came at a large cost and could only be used once. It could deal a high amount of damage to the target, and it would also place a damage over time effect on the target.

 1461 Last Hint of HP

    Only a few people were alive, and everyone''s hands were tied trying to protect Lonesome Flower. All Hachi Chan could do was to throw a smoke bomb at Lonesome Flower''s feet to reduce aggro so the Boss would not go after him before everyone else died.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were still alive. Thieves had an edge in this situation; they had ways to keep themselves alive. Her abilities became much more useful after the Main Tank died.


    "What on earth are you waiting for?" Lu Li shouted to Lonesome Flower in disappointment. Lu Li had pinned his hope on Lonesome Flower. Now the Boss had more than 10,000 health left, but there were only five people left. Fortunately, Onyxia hadn''t used an area-of-effect attack, otherwise, the team would have been wiped.


    "..."


    Lonesome Flower looked at Lu Li, and released a spell from his hand.


    A fireball flew out.


    Lu Li was disappointed, and he couldn''t believe that this was the epic move he had been waiting for from Lonesome Flower.


    Soon, Lu Li realized that there was more to the fireball that met the eye. Lonesome Flower was right, because after the first fireball exploded on the Boss, another one flew out.


    One, two, three...


    About five fireballs were thrown at the Boss per second, and the whole barrage lasted for 3 seconds. It was like a machine gun and each fireball dealt more than 300 damage. Lonesome Flower had dealt four or five thousand damage in one shot, which meant that he could use this ability to instantly kill Lu Li.


    The Boss had only a few thousand health left. If Lonesome Flower had another one of these scrolls up his sleeve, everything would be sorted out easily.


    However, the few thousand health loomed over the five remaining players on the field like a mountain. One more mistake, and the team would lose their chance.


    "Why are you staring at me?"


    Lu Li was very helpless when found out the Boss was coming after himself.


    Phantom Shift!


    Six phantoms appeared randomly, lasting for three seconds. The caster could choose one of them to replace it with themselves.


    Seeing six identical Lu Li''s, the Boss also felt some confusion. It was time to test their luck. No matter how many phantoms there were, some Bosses could figure out the true body at a glance. However, Lu Li''s Phantom shifting effect was not quite the same as the others.


    In a sense, Lu Li''s true body was not one of them. Only when he chose one of them to be his true body would it appear.


    The Boss killed two phantoms and wasted a lot of time. This was the special effect of Felstriker.


    Now, Sakura Memories had died and no one could use Bloodlust. Fortunately, Lu Li could make use of the Bloodlust special effect on his Felstriker. It consumed 20% of his health, but increased his Attack Power by 50% and increased Attack Speed by 50% for 10 seconds.


    "2,000 health left ¨C hang in there."


    Upon seeing the Boss rushing to himself, Sesame Rice Ball could do nothing to save himself.


    His fat blue pet rushed to the Boss to blow itself up, dealing 500 damage.


    Only four people were still alive ¨C Lu Li, Water Fairy, Hachi Chan, and Moonlight.


    When the Boss was chasing after Sesame Rice Ball, Moonlight trigged a special effect on his weapon and his health dropped down to 1% immediately. This special effect was similar to that which was used by Lu Li, but it was even more severe. A gentle touch by the Boss or a drop of lava and he would certainly be dead.


    His Attack Power and Attack Speed had been increased, and each strike was accompanied by an ever-increasing Armour Pierce effect.


    "Everything is depending on you guys now."


    Accumulating a huge amount of aggro in a short amount of time, Moonlight temporarily held the attention of the Boss, but was quickly slain. After all, he was not a Main Tank, and only had the last sliver of his HP.


    900 health!


    Lu Li stopped running around. The consequence of the chaos was that the degree of his Skill Completion was not high.


    The same was true for Water Fairy. With only three people left on the ground, the two Thieves were the main sources of damage output. The 900 remaining HP was entrusted to them.


    As for Hachi Chan, the damage she could deal to the Boss was negligible. After all, her main responsibility was being a healer. Apart from having a cute appearance, all she could do was to restore health to everyone.


    A Shadowstrike with 90% of completion dealt more than 300 damage. Lu Li then took a deep breath and tried to use the Backhand Backstab. With four combo points, dealing 500 damage to the Boss was not a problem, but Lu Li was quite confident that he had no chance to use it.


    The Princess of the Black Dragon swung her tail and Lu Li suddenly turned into a corpse mid-air.


    Soon, Water Fairy died before she could land two attacks on the Boss. Everyone had a little health left and could die from the slightest bit of damage. As such, the Princess of the Black Dragon emerged the victor with just above 100 HP.


    However, Hachi Chan was still alive and casted a Moonfire on the Boss silently.


    Moonfire: Summon a beam of moonlight to burn enemies, causing a certain amount of damage, and continues to burn enemies for the next 6 seconds.


    This skill caused 100 damage to the Boss. The damage was relatively high considering it had come from a healer.


    An insignificant being that slipped through the net dared to challenge her majesty?


    Onyxia screamed angrily, then rushed over. Hachi Chan was too late to cast a second Moonfire skill...


    Lu Li almost vomited blood; there was no way this was enough for the last hit. The fact was that more than 100 HP remained, not just a few dozen points. Lu Li was able to deal a few dozen points of damage with a normal attack.


    "Beat her with a stick!"


    Unfortunately, everyone had died and their voices couldn''t be heard. Even if they were typing messages, Hachi Chan had no time to read them.


    Yes, if you beat her with a stick, you might be able to kill the Boss.


    If that happened, the Princess of the Black Dragon would have died without dignity. She was killed by the last remaining enemy who used a stick. If her father and brother had known it, they would refuse to recognize her as their daughter and sister.


    However, Hachi Chan did not realize she could use her stick. Perhaps it was hard for a little girl to figure it out amidst all of this chaos.


    The bystander could always think more clearly, so it was forgivable that she did not think about her stick. In addition to casting spells, the stick could also be used for physical attacks. Her little face had been shrouded in despair, and the same went for the other members that had died but were still paying attention to the battle.


    These things took a long time to unfold. If it was a movie, it would be told as a thirty-minute story.


    However, from the Boss going Berserk to killing the last player all happened within a few minutes.


    Onyxia''s huge figure gradually emerged over the little Hachi Chan, and only one touch was needed to get rid of the last player in Ruling Sword.


    Surprisingly, Lu Li didn''t feel too frustrated ¨C everyone had tried their best and the Boss had gone Berserk. In short, everything was under their control, but the result was not quite what they had expected.


    Perhaps they had to wait and continue tomorrow.


    System Message: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Hachi Chan... Water Fairy, Star Baby... Haze... under the leadership of the commander Lu Li, have completed the first Clear of Onyxia''s Lair at Nightmare difficulty.


    Wait a second, what had just happened?


    Players across Dawn were shocked immediately after seeing the First Clear System message, along with everyone in Ruling Sword.


    "I am alive ...aren''t I?"

 1462 Flying Dragon Reigns

    Lu Li looked at the battle record.


    He only just figured out what happened. The skill that Hachi Chan used at the end was not just a simple single damage skill; it had a damage-over-time effect. Even though it dealt minor damage, Onyxia''s HP was expended and she fell to the ground.


    Now, it was incredibly fortunate that the Boss was in a weakened state after being Beserk.


    This was the only level where the Boss would not regain any HP. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have even felt a scratch from this type of skill.


    No matter, a kill was a kill.


    And it was a First Clear too!


    "Why is it them again? Why can''t someone get rid of these devils?" Infinite Silence cried out.


    "It''s difficult to say. Didn''t you see that even Water Fairy got killed by them?" Dusk Bell replied.


    "Gaming officials should say something! I want to report Ruling Sword ¨C they''re the game''s BUG! Cancer! I recommend Dawn banning them!" Elevenless shouted.


    "Elevenless is becoming more and more shameless," Midnight Wizard thought to himself.


    "I''ve played this game for 10 years and seen it all, looks like it''s Ruling Sword''s time," Anti-War Faith commented.


    "Looking at the combined strengths of the three guilds, Ruling Sword could win without fighting," Roaming Life added.


    "I''ve decided ¨C Lu Li is my idol! He''s so manly, making a First Clear look like nothing. A few days earlier, Glory Capital boasted that they were ten times better than Ruling Sword. They probably feel like they''ve been slapped in the face now!" Baby Bear said.


    "Should all major guilds feel that too?"


    "If you think you can do it then why don''t you go ahead and try? You don''t know our hard work," Sea Breaker defensively replied.


    "Sea Breaker mate, let''s go PVP," Gaze chimed in.


    "Screw PVP, I''m still single," Sea Breaker answered angrily.


    "You make it seem like you won''t be single, even if you don''t go PVP," Gaze replied.


    "Looks like Peerless City has finally gotten up there and gotten a First Clear. Aren''t you happy and surprised? Haha¡­" Stellar Union Silver Radiant joined in.


    "I refuse this! Don''t we have any pretty leaders?" Floral Paralysis added.


    The topic of conversations had changed so rapidly and for some reason, fingers had ended up being pointed at Peerless City. Many fake accounts who weren''t even players had come and joined the conversation. These people were usually not genuine in their messages, but just want to expose the underlying infighting between guilds.


    Azure Guard, Wings of Dawn, Seventh Heaven, Peerless City and perhaps Gale Legion were five guilds that were on-par in terms of abilities, and often fiercely competed among each other.


    In reality, on the basis of total strength, these guilds ranked above Ruling Sword.


    Considering the guild''s Elite Group, First Clears, and battles, most players would rank Ruling Sword around the third-tier guilds, and on a similar level with Purple Lunar Paradise and Majin Temple. Hence, all these people accusing Peerless City of latching on with their flattery, while having the intention to get First Clear themselves were rather dangerous.


    In contrast, Drizzle Court didn''t have anyone saying anything about them.


    Firstly, a majority of this guild was made up of female players. Unless you didn''t plan on ever getting a girlfriend, offending this many female players was asking for a death wish.


    Secondly, Water Fairy and Lu Li had declared openly to be together, so it was reasonable for Lu Li to bring his girlfriend to Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered dealing with all of this. Two hunters from Peerless City arrived as the System announcement conveniently notified them. Everyone was saying they were only here hitch on to the First Clear. As for how Peerless City felt, Lu Li had no obligation to make them feel any better.


    His focus had been on Remnant Dream, who had unequivocally made it clear that she as a little Hunter was everyone''s princess.


    Ruling Sword as a cute-yet-dumb combo had received much of the spotlight. Hachi Chan survived to the very end and killed the Boss, and Remnant Dream (carrying the hopes of everyone) went to go and loot the dead body.


    At the same time, everyone''s EXP bars rose and their bags were filled with rewards after their First Clear.


    In fact, this was much better than killing a BOSS and looting items. This was the reason why everyone had been fighting to get a First Clear.


    Lu Li had a look at the bag and saw a T2 hat.


    They were all level 60 Epic set items!


    Lu Li then saw other players'' Skill Points and Enhanced Skills Book, and could only speechlessly cry ¨C he really didn''t need any more equipment!


    Once you reached Level 60, you couldn''t level up anymore. The Skill Points given every two levels no longer applied, so there was nothing else that the players wanted more of. If Skill Points could be traded for, they would be way more valuable than Epic equipment.


    When it came to the Enhanced Skills Book, these could only be found and not bought.


    Even though Enhanced Skills Books could be traded, no amount of gold would ever be worth it for the seller. Even if someone in the guild received an Enhanced Skills Book, the higher-ups could not ask for it to be given to the other players, because an Enhanced Skills Book determined a player''s fate.


    There were two people who received Onyxia''s leather bag, which was equivalent to a Level 22 backpack. This was the biggest one so far.


    There were a few unlucky ones who only got Dark Gold Amor ¨C one of which was a Hunter of Peerless City. First Clear prizes weren''t all Epic ¨C Dark Gold Armor also accounted for a certain percentage. In fact, this would only happen under the circumstances of Nightmare Difficulty.


    If it were a Difficult level of Instance Dungeon, the First Clear prizes would only consist of a very small number of Epic equipment. The majority would be made up of Dark Gold, and even a certain amount of Gold equipment.


    Elite Difficulty First Clears wouldn''t even have Epic equipment as rewards.


    This was why Lu Li chose to First Clear Nightmare Difficulty every time. Not because he had a lot of time, nor because it would add to his reputation, but because the difference in First Clear rewards between Elite Difficulty and Nightmare Difficulty was so drastic.


    What made people more envious was not only the Enhanced Skills and Skill Points, but also the Mount!


    Dragon!


    Onyxia''s Flying Dragon Reins!


    The winner of this was none other than Dawn''s famous Remnant Dream.


    As the saying went, fortune favoured fools. This is was to be entirely true with this cute-and-dumb duo. Hachi Chan was treated compassionately on whichever quest she undertook, and as a result, had all sorts of strange and exotic equipment.


    Similarly, Remnant Dream''s Mount made the other players'' mouths water.


    This was a flying Mount!


    Only Lu Li knew how low the drop rate of this type of mount was.


    Everyone was growing envious, and even Lu Li was tempted.


    If someone else was the commander, they would have taken the mount and subsidized her with some more DKP or Gold Coins. After all, this is a team activity.


    This game could have someone who was even luckier than Remnant Dream, but she had the greatest access to high-level Instance Dungeons. One could not make bricks without straw, so no matter how lucky you were, if you couldn''t get into Onyxia''s Instance Dungeon then it was of absolutely no use.

 1463 Haze’s Disconten

    "Keep it. It''s extremely rare to come by. Onyxia''s not that generous. This might not even drop after another 1000 runs."


    Lu Li wouldn''t trick his own family. If it was an item that would be a little wasteful on Remnant Dream, he would do something about it, but this was a mount. The usage would naturally be much more limited. His own Crow transformation was much more convenient.


    "Hachi, I also have a dragon now!" Remnant Dream was delighted.


    "Sell it to me. I''ll buy it for 5000 gold," Haze, a player from Peerless city, offered. Mounts were always mainly for aesthetic purposes. Since this mount was from Onyxia, its size wouldn''t matter and it would still attract a lot of attention.


    "No way!" Remnant Dream rejected him without hesitation. She might be a little dull, but after dealing with exquisite items and tools for such a long time, she was quite familiar with the market prices. If the drop rate was really as low as Lu Li had described, it still wouldn''t only be 5000 gold. Even 50000 gold was a price that would attract rich buyers.


    "Alright. Dreamy, start looting," Lu Li said. He was annoyed ¨C trying to trick a little girl in front of him? What a dog.


    "60 Enhancing stones. 7 gems¡­." Remnant Dream reported.


    Haze couldn''t help himself and blurted out as he watched Lu Li store them all away.


    "Wait a minute, shouldn''t this be split between the three guilds?"


    His tone did not sound pleased. After all, he had been instantly shut down in his request to buy the mount. Furthermore, Lu Li, as the commander of the squad, didn''t even say anything about the matter.


    He knew that 5000 gold was a little short, but wasn''t negotiation part of doing business?


    "Who told you that it was split three-ways?" Lu Li was speechless.


    "You''re Haze right? Don''t say anything anymore, or go and check with Soul Eater, then come back." Right before Haze could keep speaking, Water Fairy interrupted him. This guy had to be joking.


    Soul Eater asked Lu Li if he could bring along some people to practice fighting this Instance Dungeon. Then, Lu Li asked him for two Hunters.


    Not even Drizzle Court received a share in the loot, so in what world would Peerless City get something?


    Recently, Peerless City had gone through a major expansion, so there were many new players. Lowering the requirements meant that the quality of the players had decreased.


    "Seven Fusion stones, and five of them are fairly average. These can just be distributed."


    Because of Lu Li''s relationship with Soul Eater, he decided to give one to Peerless City. However, this was given to Vegetarian Mosquito instead. He was the other player that had tagged along from Peerless City.


    Although Vegetarian Mosquito was a professional player, he wasn''t in a position where he could criticise Haze.


    Haze only joined after the last Shadow Cup, so he had only been in Peerless City for a few months. However, he was the leader of the Hunter department and was responsible for all the Hunters in the guild. He had quite a bit of influence and his skills were not bad.


    He could only remain in silence. Lu Li gave him the stone because of his quietness.


    It was definitely not to antagonise Haze.


    Then, there were three skill books. One was an Enhancing skill for Healing-specialised Paladins, so Lu Li immediately gave it to Mu Qiu.


    Of course, the deduction of guild points was not forgotten. Although he wasn''t as capable at healing as Darkness, he was still a professional player, so he had to be given some sort of special treatment. Darkness didn''t object to the decision, since she was often looked after in the squad. It could be said that she was the number one healing Paladin in the squad.


    The other two books were normal skill books. One was for Warriors, and the other was for Warlocks. Whoever needed them would receive them.


    There were four rare materials in total and Lu Li took all of them. Once again, Haze quietly expressed his annoyance. However, with the lesson that he had learned from before, he didn''t dare to say anything about it. After all, even if these were given to him, he wouldn''t be able to make use of them.


    Next, were six Dark Gold items that were all level 60. The stats were quite decent, and all in all, there weren''t any rubbish items.


    Then, it was time for the Epic items. This was the main event.


    Eskhandar''s Collar!


    This was an Epic necklace for Main Tanks and was extremely valuable. Of course, this was given to Azure Sea Breeze.


    There were many level 60 Instance Dungeons, with the next one being Blackwing''s Lair. Naturally, the Main Tank was given the highest priority. Lu Li deducted 100 guild points from him for it, which was a fair price, so one said anything about it.


    Dragonrider''s Helmet!


    This was an item in the T2 set for Hunters, so it instantly attracted the attention of all five Hunters who were present.


    "Let''s bid for it," Lu Li said.


    "Wait, why is it that some items don''t need guild points, but other items do? If that necklace was put in the auction, it would probably cost around 500 points wouldn''t it?" Haze interjected, stopping others from bidding first, then awkwardly asked while smiling, "How about giving this one to Peerless City? You can''t let us leave without anything, can you?"


    "You can bid for it too," Lu Li gently said.


    "Are you joking? You only gave us 80 points at the start. Then, you took away my points twice. I don''t even have 100 points! I can''t bid for crap with 100 points." Haze was visibly angry.


    "You''re blaming me for taking away your points?" Lu Li was absolutely speechless.


    "Remnant Dream took the most precious mount, then Bearded Zaza took an Epic item. Even the Hunter from Drizzle Court got a Skill Point. As for me, I only got a Dark Gold item. Is that fair to you?" Haze was clearly not going down without a fight for being blamed; he had gotten his points deducted twice. However, Lu Li had already made things easy on him. Otherwise, they would have been more than twice.


    "What do you want?" Lu Li asked.


    "Give me this item. Then, I won''t ask for other Hunter items anymore," Haze said, as if he was someone who was being neglected.


    Before Lu Li spoke, Water Fairy couldn''t stand it and interrupted, "Lu Li, just continue with the auction. If you don''t think it''s fair, then you can leave. Or, just kick him. I''ll talk to Soul Eater about it."


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered kicking him from the party and continued with the auction.


    Haze left the party himself, expressing his discontent while doing so. As for how he would talk to Soul Eater about the situation, no one knew what would happen.


    At last, Remnant Dream gained the item. She had quite a lot of points.


    Netherwind Crown!


    This was a T2 Mage item and was bought by Lonesome Flower. However, it would probably be given to Short Road first, since he would be participating in the Donghua Cup shortly after.


    Short Road wasn''t officially a professional player yet, so it would be unfair if this item was given to him straight away.


    Deathbringer!


    This was an Epic weapon with decent Attributes, but it was a one-handed axe.


    Because it was a one-handed axe, Moonlight wouldn''t want it. He was used to wielding a two-handed axe. Paladins also didn''t have a use for it, since they were all proficient sword users. This item would be quite good on Azure Sea Breeze, but he was already completely focused on making himself a Quel''Serrar.


    Quel''Serrar was the strongest Defense-based Warrior and Paladin weapon.


    It was a Legendary grade with powerful aggro capabilities and respectable damage. Furthermore, aesthetically speaking, it was extremely attention-grabbing. Azure Sea Breeze had been eyeing Quel''Serrar for a long time.


    World''s Best Friend was also planning on making himself a Quel''Serrar, so he didn''t want the Deathbringer either.


    "Hunters and Buffing Shamans, you guys can bid for it."


    Lu Li couldn''t do anything about it. It was quite an exquisite item, yet no one wanted it.


    The Hunter that Water Fairy brought along ended up with the item. It only cost 50 points. Everyone realised that there was quite an interesting ending to this raid. Haze originally thought that he couldn''t buy anything with 100 points, but what was weird was that Vegetarian Mosquito didn''t bid for it. His silence was a little too much.

 1464 Clue

    Vis''kag the Bloodletter!


    This was another weapon with powerful stats, but neither Lu Li nor Water Fairy really wanted it, since it was a weapon for Battle Thieves.


    As for Vis''kag, there was a silly story behind him.


    During a battle against the Orcs, Vis''kag lost an eye and arm. As a result, he lost his battle prowess.


    After this, he would wander in the bars in the Eastern Kingdom, and was often found either mind-numbingly drunk or bragging about his Medal of Valour. One day, when he was so poor that he couldn''t even to pay for his alcohol, Lord Prestor walked into the bar.


    He paid for Vis''kag''s and brought him back to Arathi. Vis''kag decided to swear loyalty to the Lord after witnessing his power.


    The lord was extremely satisfied with his new servant, because he found that his new servant had a sense of bloodlust within him. Prestor then decided to give his servant a new arm. From then on, his identity as a killer was restored and he became Lord Prestor''s most loyal guard.


    One day, Vis''kag lost to Rohan in battle.


    The lord''s attention immediately went to Rohan. As a result, Vis''kag was never used by the lord again. He was full of shame and could not forgive himself. Then, he decided to look for the lord''s daughter, Onyxia, hoping for another chance to prove his strength.


    The princess looked at him in disdain and told him that it was only possible if she saw the Bloodlust ability that her father admired so much.


    Vis''kag then took off his clothes, grabbed his sword and made countless deep cuts into his body. As the blood slowly dropped down and pooled at his feet, he realised that the princess was not moved by his actions at all. Then, he decided to impale his sword through his eyeballs and skinned his own face.


    Onyxia was finally shocked at his actions. She didn''t think that a human was capable of such terrors. She realised that this person would still be valuable alive, but it was too late. Vis''kag fell to the ground and stared at her through his blood-filled eyes.


    Onyxia crouched over him, took his sword, and rammed it through his chest.


    Vis''kag screamed in pain one last time and died.


    Even Onyxia was in shock at his Bloodlust, so she stored away his sword. As for the lord who Vis''kag swore his absolute loyalty to, it was as if he had forgotten about him. Vis''kag never crossed his mind, not even once.


    The lord in this story was the Black Dragon Princess'' father, Deathwing. This pair of father and daughter disguised themselves as humans in Stormwind City and had quite a high standing.


    Lu Li decided to store away this sword. Even if he didn''t use it, it would still be quite valuable in the guild vault.


    Mature Black Dragon Sinew!


    After defeating Majordomo Executus, he would leave behind a box. There was a purple material within the box called Ancient Petrified Leaf which was the trigger item for the Epic Hunter quest.


    The Mature Black Dragon Sinew was one of the materials needed in this quest.


    This Boss dropped too many items for Hunters.


    Because Remnant Dream had bid for many items before, this item was taken by Bearded Zaza. Lu Li didn''t favour Remnant Dream that much. She wasn''t unhappy about it either, since she had benefited greatly from this raid.


    Ruling Sword''s distribution was quite fair. Very few people would be like Haze.


    Lu Li couldn''t deal with these types of people well. He didn''t want to offend Peerless City ¨C after all, they were allies. The trio of Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City was a force to be reckoned with, but the people that Soul Eater deployed were too annoying.


    Haze was the leader of the Hunter department too.


    Water Fairy and her father had a fallout, which affected her influence in the game. Peerless City gained the most out of the three during these bad times. However, seeing how Soul Eater had sent Haze to him only showed his incompetency in selecting players properly.


    "There aren''t any problems with Soul Eater, right?" Lu Li quickly asked Water Fairy after finishing the Instance Dungeon.


    "What problems would he have?" Water Fairy clearly didn''t care too much.


    "Let''s talk a bit about Soul Eater. You seem to trust him quite a bit." Lu Li didn''t realise that there was a hint of jealousy in his tone.


    "He was one of the first ones to play the game with me. His management skills are quite good. He could handle big or small responsibilities well. It could be said that he managed Falling Star. The very beginnings of Drizzle Court were also managed by him. Then¡­" Water Fairy explained, then hesitated a little.


    "What happened?" Lu Li asked.


    "He suddenly had some weird thoughts," Water Fairy said unnaturally.


    Although Lu Li''s EQ was quite low, he was still able to understand what these weird thoughts were. He couldn''t help but pity Soul Eater. After all, his infatuation had been played off as having weird thoughts. It was quite sad.


    "At that time, we were about to split the guild into branches, so I sent him out to handle things alone," Water Fairy said.


    "With Peerless City being what it is today, his abilities didn''t go unnoticed."


    Lu Li admired him quite a bit. His environment growing up was not any better than Lu Li''s, but his achievements thus far were also because of Water Fairy''s financial support.


    "Unfortunately, the Stronghold has already been taken over by Wings of Dawn," Water Fairy sighed.


    The two of them just talked and talked. Even if they ran out of things to talk about, they would still continue to try and find something. They didn''t want to part, until Vegetarian Mosquito looked for them.


    "There''s something that I want to talk to Water Fairy about¡­"


    "I''ll head off and do some quests then. I haven''t done quests in a while," Lu Li said.


    "Let''s go together. I''m quite tired after that run. We can find someplace and just hang out," Water Fairy suggested. She wasn''t sure what Vegetarian Mosquito wanted to talk about, but after what had happened with Haze, it could be guessed that it was something about him.


    Vegetarian Mosquito chose the location, which was a little tavern in a small village.


    Once upon a time, this was the frontline defense against the Undead. However, the Undead army decided to change their offensive direction, so this village that was held by both the Horde and Alliance was forgotten. There also weren''t many Undead monsters and the EXP was quite low too, so very few players came here.


    The Undead boss of the tavern handed them a few glasses of alcohol, then went to the back and slept.


    The green-coloured alcohol had a strange smell, so neither of them three dared to try it.


    "There were lots of people before, so I didn''t bring this up. I''ve had my guesses about many things." Clearly, Vegetarian Mosquito had been thinking about it for a while.


    "What are you thinking about?"


    No matter what he said, it would be difficult to make excuses to avoid it.


    "A position," Vegetarian Mosquito helplessly said.


    "I actually just wanted to focus on competitions. Unfortunately, many frustrating things have happened. Peerless City has been unreliable as of late and since it was you who brought me over at first, I wanted to talk to you."


    "Alright, go on then," Water Fairy urged, suddenly becoming serious.


    "I suspect that Wings of Dawn knows our formation layout within the Stronghold. The loss of our Stronghold is not really our fault," Vegetarian Mosquito said with great resolve.

 1465 Betrayal

    Although Lu Li was confused, he still felt surprised.


    The defense was quite simple. There were also no news of Wings of Dawn employing a genius strategy, so it was extremely surprising that Peerless City''s Stronghold had been taken that easily.


    "Can I ask something? Why do you suspect Soul Eater?"


    Water Fairy''s wasn''t using her usual assertive tone. Soul Eater was someone that had been with her for a long time and had a position in Drizzle Court too. Water Fairy was asking herself whether she had wronged Soul Eater in any way.


    Although Peerless City was said to be founded with Water Fairy''s support, it was with truth.


    Normally, the branch guild would be much weaker than the main guild. If it became a club, then it would be a training-based guild for the main guild. It was already an accomplishment if they could enter the Donghua Cup. Professional players from the branch guilds would eventually be transferred to the main guild once they reached a certain level.


    However, the Peerless City branch was different.


    Drizzle Court not only transferred most of the male players to Peerless City, but she also sent Green Flag Wine, Deadly Gold Underpants and a specialised support, which formed a strong trio to build the foundation for their club. Peerless City instantly became a powerhouse.


    "The Stronghold is only a part of it. The main part is the expiring contracts for the elite squads. Players are having trouble renewing the contracts," Vegetarian Mosquito explained.


    "Does Tire Killer not know about this? Why is it that you''re the only person talking to me about it?" Water Fairy questioned as she took a deep breath. If it was to the stage where contracts were being touched, then Soul Eater''s ambitions were too terrifying. Furthermore, what was even more devastating was that no one had come and approached Water Fairy.


    Was this an indication that the people from Peerless City were planning a betrayal?


    "Tire Killer probably doesn''t know. I observed for a few days and there didn''t seem to be anything weird with them. The only reason why I realised was because of my cousin who recently joined the club''s elite squad. He was a lawyer, so he would sometimes help drafting contracts in the company. He immediately realised that there was something wrong."


    "The original contract was signed under the name of Peerless City, but the new contract was different. It was signed under the name ''Peerless City Guild''. My cousin got some of his friends to help check the name and found out that it was only registered this year. The past two months'' contracts were all signed under this name. Furthermore, for some of the players with expiring contracts, they were suddenly told to renew it earlier.


    "When Haze went back just then, he exaggerated and added details to what had happened in the raid. From how Soul Eater usually dealt with things, he should have immediately scolded Haze and not allowed him to do what he wanted. However, he was clearly online today, yet he didn''t say anything. It was only when brother Wine spoke up that things were able to be calmed down."


    "Furthermore, the most talked about topic in the guild nowadays is that Peerless City is only a branch guild of Drizzle Court. This was originally something that was forbidden to be mentioned. Although Soul Eater would scold the players talking about it, he was often quite late when doing so."


    "Oh, that''s right. Some people also said that Drizzle Court would get swallowed up by Ruling Sword," Vegetarian Mosquito said after he glanced at the quiet Lu Li and decided to give one more clue.


    "¡­" Water Fairy breathed a sigh of relief.


    As for the things that Vegetarian Mosquito said, besides the contracts, the others were all guesses. However, these guesses were not based on pure speculation either.


    "If you don''t mind me asking, can I ask why do you want¡­" Lu Li began, then hesitated for a moment, before deciding not to say the word ''betray''. Then, he continued to ask, "Why do you want to stand on Drizzle Court''s side? Did Soul Eater not give you a position? You''re a pro player."


    "If Water Fairy didn''t pull me over to Peerless City, Haze probably would have become the pro Hunter player instead of me," Vegetarian Mosquito bitterly smiled and said.


    Normally, clubs wouldn''t change their pro players, especially Hunters. Since Vegetarian Mosquito already occupied the Hunter position, Haze wouldn''t have a chance at being a pro.


    "After I joined Peerless City, there were still many chances to compete. However, it suddenly wasn''t that peaceful anymore. Frustrating things after things were happening. I just wanted to compete, you know? Haze was the leader of the Hunter department and he always thinks that others owe him. He''s also Soul Eater''s friend in real life and Soul Eater has been there since the beginning. I can''t win against him and don''t want to fight him¡­"


    "So you think that if Soul Eater leaves, then there will be those people who would leave with him?" Water Fairy didn''t know what to do here.


    Now she felt that she had given Soul Eater too much freedom. For the past two years, she hadn''t really asked about Peerless City, yet she continued to support them by giving them pro players and funding.


    "Brother Wine won''t leave. Underpants probably won''t leave either. Soul Eater can''t give them what they want. Not sure about Specialised Support, since he has quite a good relationship with Soul Eater. Immortal won''t, since she''s friends with Water Fairy. Falling Smile probably would leave with him, since he''s been quite close to Soul Eater lately. Soul Eater often invites him to drink together," Vegetarian Mosquito guessed.


    "That''s not too bad," Water Fairy breathed another sigh of relief.


    Today was not a good day. She felt that the whole world was betraying her. However, if the pro players didn''t have any problems, then it would be okay.


    There would definitely be losses, but it was only the more recent contract signees.


    The problem now was how to minimise the losses.


    "Actually, it won''t be that difficult to deal with this. Just get all the elite squad members to re-sign their contracts. We''re doing that over at Ruling Sword. It''s mainly to increase welfare benefits, but the old contract had quite a few holes," Lu Li suggested. He didn''t see the situation as something too bad.


    "I understand," Water Fairy nodded, then sighed, "Why is Soul Eater doing this?"


    Lu Li then realised that Water Fairy wasn''t like the average girl. She had received the best education and thoroughly understood how to deal with things like this. This ordeal with Peerless City wouldn''t cause any waves.


    After all, this was a legal issue for Peerless City. However, public reputation was still on her.


    Even if Soul Eater dragged some people away, Water Fairy could still sue all of them. She didn''t need to win against him, but all she needed to do was slow them down. The legal fees wouldn''t even make a dent in her wallet anyway. Furthermore, she had the personnel to completely rebuild the guild.


    For her, the more important issue was betrayal.


    "Water Fairy sister, do you really not know?"


    Once again, Vegetarian Mosquito felt unnatural talking with Lu Li here. He continued to explain, "Soul Eater has liked you for so long ¨C for so many years! But you¡­you might not even be aware, but emotional damage can change a person."


    Lu Li rubbed his nose, acting like he was innocent. He was a little happy though.


    He also knew that Soul Eater liked Water Fairy. Truthfully, everyone in the game knew. This was why his feelings towards Peerless City were quite complicated. He didn''t particularly like them, but he didn''t particularly hate them either. After all, it was part of Water Fairy''s work.


    He also couldn''t hate on Soul Eater, since this would not be a good look. After all, he had followed Water Fairy for many years.


    Soul Eater was like a thorn ¨C not fatal, but not comfortable either.


    He couldn''t hold it anymore. After being fed for so long, he had finally bit the hand that fed him.


    "I thought I already sorted it out with him."


    Water Fairy didn''t know what Lu Li was thinking. Since he had a face of pity on, it gave her much comfort. She felt that she was lucky that Lu Li was here with her, because he made her feel that this betrayal by her closest subject wasn''t anything major.

 1466 Big Hear

    "Soul Eater''s temper has gotten worse and worse recently, especially when you guys show public displays of affection," Vegetarian Mosquito said as he looked at Lu Li. He never understood how Lu Li was better than Soul Eater ¨C in his eyes, Soul Eater was much more manly and a better leader.


    In terms of physical appearance, Soul Eater was definitely more handsome than Lu Li.


    He did respect Lu Li for what he had achieved by himself despite coming from poorer circumstances.


    "My bad."


    Water Fairy glared at Lu Li and he felt guilty.


    She didn''t hate Soul Eater anymore and knew what his reasoning was.


    Lu Li hated Soul Eater and Soul Eater hated Lu Li.


    If you loved a woman and she had an admirer who she trusted a lot, sometimes even more so than the boyfriend himself, it would be impossible for them to get along. The boyfriend would either have to be a saint or the girlfriend would eventually cheat with the admirer.


    On the other hand, Soul Eater also had his reasons for hating Lu Li.


    He had been right beside Water Fairy for so many years, doing anything and everything she asked for. Even though she had rejected him once, he never gave up on pursuing her. If he gave up after being rejected once, then could you even call it true love?


    Water Fairy had very high standards so he thought that he could quietly stay by her side for a long time.


    Perhaps one day, Water Fairy would change her mind and realize that she could not lose her right-hand man. If there were no other candidates, then Water Fairy might as well give Soul Eater a chance.


    Who would have thought that Lu Li would come out of nowhere?


    "Thank you for letting me know. Whether it''s Drizzle Court or Peerless City, we''ll always welcome you back."


    Water Fairy had already come to terms with the fact that Soul Eater would betray her. She had always trusted him and never expected him to do such a thing.


    "Thank you, Water Fairy. I just want to perform well in competitions now," Vegetarian Mosquito said. He was afraid that he would leave a bad impression in Water Fairy''s mind despite helping her.


    From a certain standpoint, Vegetarian Mosquito was also a traitor.


    He had been poached from a different guild and after a short while, he betrayed Soul Eater again.


    "I understand. I''m in the same boat."


    Water Fairy smiled; she was grateful. If no one had told her, then the end result would probably be terrible.


    Soul Eater would have taken 30 to 40 Elite Groups with him, as well as half of the tournament players. It would be difficult for them to recover from that despite being a Top 10 guild. Not only would they lose players, but their reputation would also take a hit, making it even more difficult to climb back up to their former days.


    Drizzle Court would also be affected and their reputation tarnished, since they were affiliated.


    Lu Li logged off and bumped into Square Root Three while getting food.


    "Why''d you come here by yourself? Did you break up with that person?" Square Root Three asked, making fun of him. In reality, Lu Li rarely went out to eat with Water Fairy. However, whenever they were spotted, everyone talked about it, which was why everyone thought that they were always together.


    "Something happened. How come you''re by yourself as well?"


    Lu Li did not laugh; he was worried about Peerless City.


    If someone wronged Drizzle Court, it directly related to Water Fairy, and if Water Fairy was wronged, then Lu Li would do whatever it took to rectify the situation.


    "That''s such a mean question. Sorry I''m single, unlike you love birds. Who else can I eat with?" Square Root 3 snapped back. Lu Li seemed to have accidentally pushed his buttons.


    "Aren''t you going to ask what happened?" Lu Li asked, changing the topic.


    "If you want to tell me, then just say it ¨C don''t beat around the bush. I''m a busy man."


    Square Root Three knew by Lu Li''s body language that he was going to tell him anyways.


    And so, Lu Li updated Square Root Three as to what had happened.


    Lu Li trusted Square Root Three completely, otherwise, he wouldn''t willingly tell him everything in detail.


    In reality, Square Root Three was to Lu Li as Soul Eater was to Water Fairy. Obviously, Square Root Three had no romantic interest towards Lu Li, unlike Soul Eater. Lu Li trusted Square Root Three as much as Water Fairy had trusted Soul Eater.


    Soul Eater betrayed her because he couldn''t get what he wanted.


    However, Square Root Three would never do this because he wasn''t into guys. If Square Root Three was a girl, then things might have been different.


    Once romantic feelings were involved, people would lose their rationality.


    "To be honest, I''m not that surprised," Square Root Three commented after analyzing the whole situation, then shook his head calmly and continued, "I was kind of close to Soul Eater and it does sound like something he would do, so Mosquito''s speculations are most likely true. We should stop testing him in case Soul Eater finds out."


    "Oh, you knew Soul Eater?" Lu Li was surprised.


    "We''re more like acquaintances. The advisors of different guilds would sometimes speak to one another. When I first left Star Moon Union, Soul Eater even offered to find me a job," Square Root Three said.


    "What do you think about him?" Lu Li asked.


    "Soul Eater is a very capable man and he has a big heart."


    Square Root Three was careful with his words. He did not make him sound like a bad person and it was a well-known fact that Soul Eater was very capable.


    The fact that he has a big heart caught Lu Li''s attention.


    "He came from a poor background and was the only child. He almost starved to death when he was little. Later on, he joined the game and created a small guild. Unfortunately, he didn''t have enough money or the talent to keep up the guild and it was disbanded after around two years. He then met Water Fairy and she gave him a stage to perform. First, he built up Drizzle Court and then Peerless City.


    "Then why did he betray her? Is it really only because of Water Fairy?" Lu Li did not understand.


    "I''m guessing that''s only part of his reason. Since you and Water Fairy got together, his departure was inevitable. He either leaves quietly or takes away what he thinks he deserves," Square Root Three explained. "To be blunt, if Soul Eater got with Water Fairy, then both Drizzle Court and Peerless City would belong to him. However, because of you, his dreams were ruined. You''re lucky he didn''t find someone to kill you."


    "Bring it on." Lu Li wasn''t afraid.


    "Soul Eater won''t be that much of a problem. He must have forgotten where he would end up without the funding," Square Root Three said coldly. "If Water Fairy was mean, she could completely shut off Soul Eater from the entire community. He''s just a guild advisor, unlike you, a competitive player and a guild leader."


    It would be impossible for a guild advisor to gain much power or popularity, unless he had a huge amount of funding to begin with. Then, he could start poaching players and win a few competitions to build up his reputation. However, in reality, there was not much else that Soul Eater could he offer.


    If Soul Eater tried to find sponsors¡­


    His reputation would already be tarnished because he betrayed the most popular female player in the game. Who would dare to sponsor him?


    Water Fairy''s trust and support towards Soul Eater had been widely discussed in the community and many did not understand.


    Peerless City would sometimes do better than Drizzle Court which was something that was unheard of in the history of gaming. Glory Capital''s sub guild, Gale Legion, also performed well, but the star players still remained in Glory Capital.


    If Soul Eater was to leave, they would have to offer him more power and authority than what he had now.


    No other guild in the game was capable of this.


    "How sad.." Even though Soul Eater was his enemy, Lu Li couldn''t help but feel a little sorry for him. However, he still wouldn''t hesitate in bringing him down if he had the opportunity.


    "Sigh, say¡­ Lu Li," Square Root Three began, as he stepped closer towards him.


    "What do you want to say? Stop being so mysterious."


    "If you marry Water Fairy in the future, then will Drizzle Court, Peerless City and Ruling Sword all join together?" Square Root Three asked with a smile.


    "What are you talking about?" Lu Li was surprised.


    "You''ve definitely thought about this right?" Square Root Three questioned, feeling slightly annoyed. "I feel like you''re becoming more and more secretive about your life. Or have you never thought about marrying her and are just playing around?"


    "Bro, shut up."


    Lu Li wanted to tear open his mouth.


    "Or are you guys going to be one of those married couples with separate bank accounts? Joining the two guilds together would accelerate the growth exponentially."


    Square Root Three was making it sound as if Lu Li was only with her for her assets.


    "I don''t think I need to combine my guild with hers to become the best. Ruling Sword will become the most powerful guild either way," Lu Li said confidently.


    "No matter how big Ruling Sword grows, it will never be as big as combining all three guilds. Did you not go to school? This is basic maths.."


    Square Root Three was laughing his head off.


    "Shut up. Keep talking and I''ll kill you," Lu Li threatened.


    "Even if you guys keep the guilds separate after you guys marry, what about your child''s inheritance? Are you going to split the kid into two or something?" Square Root Three kept taunting him.


    "Unless you''re gonna force Water Fairy to have three kids. If she knew about this, she would probably dump you."

 1467 Cruel Actions and an Even Crueller Hear

    Lu Li really wanted to tear off this guy''s mouth. Lu Li usually seemed so calm and reasonable¡­had he rolled out of the wrong side of bed this morning?


    They had created quite a scene; all the people eating in the canteen focused their attention on them.


    Square Root 3 had loudly shouted about Lu Li allowing Water Fairy to create three ''things''. If this rumour reached Water Fairy''s ears, then Lu Li could already see a tragic future for himself.


    "It''s up to you to create however many you want. You can discuss it with Water Fairy. I can''t really help you with it," Square Root 3 said unashamedly.


    "Three bro, if you fell into my hands that other day, I would''ve made your life a living hell," Lu Li responded, his voice full of hatred.


    Square Root 3 sighed.


    "Don''t be like this; we''re just talking about business here."


    He had almost forgotten that not only was Lu Li''s manner cruel, but so was his heart. It was definitely not a good thing to have him bear a grudge against you. Also, Lu Li was particularly stubborn when it came to grudges. He could hold a grudge for months against you even if it was just a minor thing.


    "This thing with Water Fairy ¨C how could we help her?" Lu Li asked.


    He didn''t really like Soul Eater, so when Soul Eater left, he didn''t really feel bad about it. However, at the same time, he hoped that Water Fairy wasn''t finding it too difficult on her end. He also hoped that Drizzle Court wouldn''t be met with too large of a loss.


    "Let''s just wait for the result. We just have to show a bit of support for Drizzle Court and it''ll be fine. If it''s doable, let them get a First Clear, or let them get a good ranking in the upcoming Donghua Cup, Square Root 3 suggested, then made fun of Lu Li, "We don''t mind it at all when you disguise your own plans and make it look like you''re helping everyone!"


    "Shut up with the nonsense. How are we all going with prepping for the Donghua Cup?" Lu Li asked.


    He also knew that Ruling Sword couldn''t really help much with what had been happening with Water Fairy. Otherwise, even those on the outside might think that Lu Li and Water Fairy were working together to force Soul Eater to leave.


    However, Lu Li had seen this kind of thing happen before.


    The Common District was plagued by all kinds of betrayal and revenge. It was there that Lu Li established himself and thrived, so he knew all about those kinds of tactics, inside and out.


    He could just use one of those tactics to dig a hole for Soul Eater, and he would be buried.


    In terms of management skills, Lu Li wasn''t as capable as Soul Eater. However, in terms of being able to conceal cruel intentions with outward kindness, Lu Li would be able to oppress him so much that he would wish he were never born.


    "Since you all don''t want to participate, this is just the right opportunity to let some new people try it out. Short Road and Fat Monkey said that they would be grouping with the ''You''ll Get Caught Up in the¡­Frostfire!'' OTP. Kitty Likes Meat will participate, as will Bearded Zaza, so he''ll count as one. Breezy is taking Flower and planning to join a group battle, but all the remaining spots are an opportunity for new players as a training camp," Square Root 3 said.


    "So in short¡­" Lu Li really wanted to say that they were all just making trouble, but in the end, he thought it didn''t really matter.


    The Donghua Cup wasn''t a small competition. It was fairly well known, but its main purpose was for training new players. As such, the competition wasn''t particularly highly-ranked. Apart from the new players participating, there were also a few non-competitive, high-ranked players entering just to experience the atmosphere of this competition.


    Actually, the truly famous players rarely participated in this kind of competition.


    Moonlight was such a player. He enjoyed playing PVP, but he wasn''t going to participate in the Donghua Cup. He wasn''t particularly enthusiastic about it. If he performed even just a bit too well, others would say that he was being unfair to new players.


    At the headquarters of Peerless City, Soul Eater had copied out his documents and given them to the others.


    "Blizzard Kingdom? Why would Water Fairy suddenly want to join this club? Why didn''t we hear any information about this before?" an assistant in bewilderment.


    "Also, after merging with the club, she would be affiliated with Peerless City too. Would Water Fairy be so kind-hearted as to give up all her authority? Before the merge, there probably wouldn''t have been anyone from those other clubs to join Peerless City."


    Misty Shadow was selfish, but he definitely wasn''t stupid, and he was more sceptical than most people.


    Soul Eater received Water Fairy''s instructions, which led to him to represent the merged Blizzard Kingdom guild.


    This was a large-scale guild. Although the club didn''t have many achievements to their name, the guild had tens of thousands of members. As such, within the Chinese district, they could almost be ranked at number 60 or 70.


    This wasn''t the first time Soul Eater had done this sort of thing; he was completely in charge when Misty Story merged. It''s just that this time, all of the branches of the guild were affiliated under the name of Water Fairy''s Drizzle Court.


    "It''s not that we haven''t prepared for this. Blizzard Kingdom has been in contact with Miss Shen for a long time," Soul Eater said as he rubbed his forehead. "The things that we do are extremely secretive, but her confidence in me means that she isn''t likely to doubt me. Also, she likes to speak her mind, so if anyone knows about what''s going on with us, I suppose she''ll just speak her mind with caring about what others think."


    "If Boss Soul Eater is able to confirm this isn''t a trap, then our chance has come," an assistant said excitedly, his hand clutching his glasses.


    "What you mean is¡­Would it be that we have to go back to our old tactics, even having to use the name of Peerless City''s club to sign the contract? Blizzard Kingdom really does look like a fine guild. If we get a batch of some of the Elite Group over, then our power will really take shape," Misty Shadow said as his eyes sparkled.


    "That is so ruthless," Soul Eater sighed as he rubbed his face in exhaustion, then said in a trembling voice, "The road we''re on is getting more and more dangerous."


    "Boss, you''re still not holding out hope, are you? We''re just standing by, watching as all that we''ve worked so hard for is given to outsiders," Misty Shadow said, without caring about what anyone else was thinking. "She simply doesn''t look up to you. If it wasn''t Lu Li, there''d be someone else. It could even be a beggar, but it just wouldn''t be you."


    "Shut up!" Soul Eater shouted. His jaw creaked as he closed his mouth.


    The assistant had quickly finished reading the guild''s information.


    "Blizzard Kingdom isn''t too big, but it also isn''t too small. It''s actually perfect for us. The leader of this guild is very sick, so he doesn''t have time to manage the guild, but their foundation is extremely good. They''ve accumulated a whole group of people with unprecedented power. They''ve already signed a thousand from the Elite Group. If we can bring one or two thousand people in, then we''ll have about 200 people from the elite group. We won''t be beaten by average clubs anymore," Misty Shadow said as he looked earnestly at Soul Eater.


    "Have you all thought about Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword taking revenge on us?" Soul Eater grunted coldly. Although Miss. Shen and the Shen clan had a falling out, she has quite a few assets under her name. Her mum had given her enough money to do whatever she wanted in the game.


    "Once we make an important decision, we can''t go back. In any case, we can''t please everyone. Even if you don''t plot against Blizzard Kingdom, who''s to say that the elite players and Water Fairy don''t make a pact to turn a blind eye?" Misty Shadow posed, continuing his enthusiasm.


    Soul Eater finally came to a decision.


    "Since we are doing this, we''d better do some complete preparations. If we''re merging, we''d have to go to discuss this. Going would take quite a few days. You must take care with signing the contract here. At the moment, only a few more than 300 have signed."


    "Boss, don''t worry about it," Misty Shadow said, full of confidence. This new contract is written up very well. Even if we take the contact and let them see it, they won''t smell anything fishy. The other thing is the competitors; I still haven''t dared to get in contact with them. Don''t behave rashly and wait till I get back before getting in touch with them."


    After Soul Eater made his decision, he began to carefully arrange all that was to be done after he had left.


    He had been operating in Peerless City for many years and definitely had lots of confidants. However, what he was really missing was Peerless City''s badge. Soul Eater could only use extreme methods. By that time, the contract would already be signed and given to him. Any talk about staying or leaving would be pointless. As for competitors, if they could convince some, then they would. If they couldn''t, then they would have to train them on their own.


    Lu Li was just a rascal from the Common District. Soul Eater''s ability was many times better than his; who was to say that Soul Eater couldn''t establish another Ruling Sword!

 1468 Fear Most the Culture of Scoundrels

    Soul Eater walked very hurriedly for two reasons. Firstly, things were urgent. Secondly, he needed to solve this issue quickly before returning back to manage the whole situation.


    "Why are you so sure he will go?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Because he''s greedy," Lu Li said.


    "I never would''ve thought that Soul Eater was such a greedy person."


    Water Fairy could only sigh. She felt that her previous understanding of Soul Eater had been completely overturned. They had worked together for so long in the past. Even if there wasn''t anything between them, Water Fairy still felt he was a good partner and friend.


    "Actually, all people are greedy," Lu Li laughed. "It''s just that different people have different goals, so their methods are different."


    "From your tone, it sounds like you''re looking down on Soul Eater." Water Fairy didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    "His methods actually aren''t that brilliant and he''s too greedy, so that''s why he can''t even see through such a basic little trap," Lu Li said scornfully. Lu Li really had a tendency to look down on Soul Eater, but this was a pretty flawed little trap. Soul Eater had completely and innocently stepped into it.


    "So what should we do now then?" Water Fairy asked Lu Li directly.


    The feeling of having someone to rely on when something happened was a good one indeed. Although Water Fairy was a tycoon, in this world, not every problem could be solved with money. In the course of her striving, she had encountered many difficulties and suffered many losses, but she needed to quietly bear them all, struggling amidst unfavorable circumstances.


    "Get your Human Resources Department to meet to discuss about Elite Group members. Give them a pay increase, and while you''re at it, sign an extra contract as well."


    Lu Li thought that as long as Soul Eater was a bit further out of the picture, things would be easier to manage.


    If they did things directly, without considering what others thought, then it would definitely be a loss to many members. Also, the game had only been in operation for under a year and it was developing well at this time. Therefore, it wouldn''t be worth it to spend too much of Peerless City''s time on reinstating a traitor.


    The first task at hand was Peerless City''s Human Resources Department.


    The game had been developing well, a for a long time, the game already possessed company-like administrative systems. Naturally, there was a Human Resources Department, which was able to perform the tasks it needed to do.


    Soul Eater went out to discuss the merge, and he needed to bring a group of people with him. After all, he might not understand the details of the contract. Also, the people he was bringing away with him were his henchmen, so there wouldn''t have been many others left. They selected a few members that might have a tendency to support Soul Eater, and sent them to a job fair to search for talent.


    Afterwards, the trusted, reliable Human Resources Department could start to talk about the Elite Group members.


    "Now, Peerless City has been developing extremely well in its early days. Therefore, for our extraordinary Elite Group members, we have decided to give them a bit of a pay increase," the official specially sent from the central administration said with a smile, then continued, "But there are too many people in our club. There''s no way to increase the pay all at once, so we''ve got no choice but to do it in batches. Before we increase the pay for everyone, we hope that you won''t leak details of the new contract to anyone. As soon as word gets out, we have the authority to and take no responsibility in firing you. Do you get what I mean?"


    One Elite Group member was stunned at this.


    "I¡­I couldn''t think of a more wicked to do."


    "You''ve participated in farming nearly all of the Instance Dungeons, and you''ve been very active in PVP battles in the Wilderness. Furthermore, you''ve completed 234 guild tasks, and you''re number 67 on the rankings list in terms of your integrated score. You deserve a pay rise," the specially delegated personnel said, showing all of his authority. He naturally knew those facts and figures like the back of his hand.


    This Elite Group player didn''t think that in the eyes of the club, he was as valued as this. In his heart, he felt extremely happy.


    There was a pay increase of 10%!


    This was a solid pay rise, especially as it represented how highly the club viewed him. This player patted his chest, sure that no one else would be as honoured as him.


    "We are simply putting it down in writing here. It''s also recorded here that you provided help to 22 brothers. I''m afraid there are a lot of other things which have been left off the record. Your passionate spirit for this club deserves a bit of a pay rise from us. Because our club is going through a period of rapid development at the moment, we can only give a pay rise of 10%. I''m not sure if you''re satisfied with this?"


    "I''m satisfied, yes. I like to play PVP, so I haven''t thought at all about being rewarded."


    And just like that, a player was tricked, as he happily signed the new contract.


    "You signed the new contract last Wednesday, right?"


    Another player had been called.


    "Yes."


    "There were some problematic terms in the new contract. It just so happens that the club was planning to raise your pay, so you need to look at this contract again."


    "So I have to sign the new contract again?"


    This player didn''t really doubt anything. After all, Soul Eater had only set everything up in motion, but hadn''t yet mobilised everyone. So afterwards, when all of Soul Eater''s followers were congregating, he only felt a little annoyed by them.


    "Over the past 3 years, you''ve made a great contribution to this club. Your pay last Wednesday was only a 5% increase, but Miss Shen feels that this isn''t good enough. As such, we''ve come out with this new contract, where your pay will be increased by 10%. There are also some other additional benefits."


    "Hehe, well then I''ll thank Miss. Water."


    As soon as this player heard about such a substantial pay increase, he didn''t think signing it was troublesome at all.


    When they first started, they managed to get the core members of the Elite Group.


    The Human Resources Department had used the method of sending text messages to meet with these people. They had also taken over about a dozen offices just for this purpose. On average, they were able to get one person every 5 minutes. In the first day, over a 1000 people signed the new contract. By the morning of the second day, they managed to get another few hundred people.


    However, there was no way they could deceive everyone in something like this.


    Water Fairy didn''t intend to deceive everyone, nor did she plan to keep up the deception.


    Lu Li''s advice to her was very simple ¨C get rid of the opponent to achieve the goal, use underhand methods, and confuse the opponent so that they didn''t see your real plan. There was no need to be scared of scoundrels; it was just their ''culture'' that was scary¡­a culture that began after a scoundrel grew up and became enchanted with Sun Tzu''s Art of War in a university class¡­


    As such, the people of Peerless City had become like an object to test a knife against.


    After Soul Eater left, all of his close associates had suddenly been wrapped up with trivial affairs.


    For example, when Misty Shadow went out to eat, for some reason, he bumped into an old woman. He really thought he hadn''t bumped into anyone, but in the end, the woman fell over and hit the ground. After sending her to the hospital, he still had to deal with the old woman''s outrageous children. His head was pounded by a baseball bat and he had to stay half a day at the hospital. How could he have the energy to care about club things?


    There was another pretty fortunate thing for another associate ¨C for some reason, a hot girl was hitting on him. In his life of over 20 years, this was something that had never happened to him before.


    After they ate at a caf¨¦, they headed to karaoke afterwards ¨C the more they talked the more fun it was. Then, they''d go rent a hotel room.


    As a result, he was blocked off by someone in a bathroom and given a good beating. In the end, he was taken away by police.


    Anyway, it was these various bad things that really taught them a vivid lesson. The world would seem like such a scary place with these things happening. However, because they occurred so naturally, for a brief time, they never realised that they were being set up.


    Misty Shadow couldn''t just go around everywhere and tell people about how he helped an old woman who he bumped into. People would beat him up for it; it just wasn''t honourable.


    The one who was jumped on by that goddess would want even more to seriously protect his secret. Otherwise, he would wish he were never born.


    Soul Eater and his henchmen weren''t the first to notice what was going on with Lu Li''s brazen methods and what was happening in Peerless City. It was actually the more-informed Green Flag Wine who had an inkling.

 1469 It’s Not Too Late

    Green Flag Wine requested a virtual meeting with Water Fairy immediately.


    "Has something happened that I''m not aware of?"


    His hologram towered over Water Fairy, and despite his absence, the tension between the two was apparent. If Water Fairy weren''t in Nanjing, he would have stormed right up to her and told her off ¨C to modify her contract in secret was unacceptable!


    Green Flag Wine feared Water Fairy might have completely lost trust in the elites of Peerless City. "Soul Eater betrayed us," Water Fairy said. She respected Green enough to know there was no point in hiding the truth, and neither did she want to do so.


    "Impossible."


    Green Flag Wine stared at Water Fairy dumbfoundedly. Was he hearing things? Soul Eater had always been the top dog in Peerless city ¨C to say that someone so close to him to had betrayed him couldn''t be right. He continued to stare at Water Fairy, his eyes filled with fear and doubt. Was this some sort of coup d''etat? Was she planning to overthrow senior members and supporters of Peerless City now that the guild was showing some promise?


    "I didn''t believe it at first either, but see for yourself," Water Fairy said as she presented him with the supposed ''new contract'' that Soul Eater had the elite squad sign. Although he decided to suppress his own resentment so as to keep a clear head, he was clearly unable to decipher the underlying motives hidden between the lines of text in the contract. She couldn''t blame him of course ¨C the traps entailed within the contract would have been overlooked even by a law graduate. Thankfully, they had a whistle-blower ¨C Vegetarian Mosquito''s cousin, who specialised in contract detailing.


    Water Fairy pointed out the problems with the contract, and Green Flag Wine immediately knew that she wasn''t lying.


    "However, this still can''t prove¡­"


    He was at a loss for words.


    "You don''t think it''s weird that he applied for a Peerless City Guild club out of the blue? Have you not noticed the lack of morale in your guild members? Even more so, it was someone that wasn''t from the inner-circle that told me what happened, brother Green. How could I say anything to you after all this?" Water Fairy said bluntly.


    Green Flag Wine could not muster the energy to respond. If it was all just a misunderstanding, then Water Fairy would have been out of line to say the least. However, if what she said about the contract was true, then Soul Eater would be plotting a betrayal, smothering years of hard work by his underhanded tactics. Green Flag Wine was a guild club senior, team leader, and vice president of the guild. If anything were to go wrong, it would be an oversight on his part, and he would be punished for it. If Soul Eater was to successfully poach a large faction of elite and competitive players, how could he face Water Fairy then?


    Water Fairy could barely suppress her rage at this point.


    "The contract says it all. Soul Eater might have contributed a lot to the guild club, but I''ve returned the favour by providing him with the privileges he''s been enjoying."


    Green Flag Wine used to be just another unemployed adult dawdling away his days aimlessly, but in his few years in the guild, he had earned himself a reputation, became the guild club president, and was now a millionaire. He had cars, mansions, and many other things that people would work their whole lives for but could never attain.


    "I''m sorry," he apologized, finally opening his mouth, "This was an oversight on my part, and I had to bother you with what was supposed to be my responsibility. It''s just that I never imagined Soul Eater would do such a thing. What is he thinking¡­"


    "That''s not important right now. What''s important is to focus on what to do next."


    Water Fairy was slightly relieved knowing that they were finally on the same page.


    "What do you need me to do?" Green Flag Wine had decided that Soul Eater was a threat to their guild. Because he saw his competitive gaming as a profession, he would not hesitate to eliminate any threats that would jeopardise his career. Soul Eater couldn''t achieve anything in a year or so. If Water Fairy were to suppress him even further, he would have no choice but to live a humble life in the future.


    Green Flag Wine was getting old. He might be at his peak right now, but after four or five years, he would have to retreat to second-tier gaming. Plus, he had no intentions of betraying Water Fairy. After all, Soul Eater wasn''t his boss ¨C Water Fairy gave him his paycheck.


    "Which competitive players would have a higher chance of getting poached by Soul Eater?" Water Fairy asked.


    A faction of their competitive players might have come from Drizzle Court, but that was three years ago. Those players had been gaming with Soul Eater for the last three years, so it was hard to tell who they were close to anymore. The other faction included players that Water Fairy had recruited from the outside, but like fasting flies, they were indifferent to the wellbeing of the guild and only saw Water Fairy as a salary distributor.


    "I''ll talk to the competitive players and try to get them to stay," Green Flag Wine volunteered.


    "You saying that makes me feel a little better," Water Fairy said, though she had her doubts. After all, Green Flag Wine hadn''t exactly been the ideal, responsible team leader that he should have been. She wondered how much influence he had amongst the other players.


    "I just find it a shame that Soul Eater had to go down this path," Green Flag Wine sighed woefully, but his sigh had marked the end to their friendship. He knew that Soul Eater would be finished.


    It was only on the second day that one of Soul Eater''s informants told him about Water Fairy''s counter-attack. A large portion of elite players in the club has signed the new contract. He was terrified at first, as if he had found guilty of stealing from others, but his terror quickly turned to anger. He was the one who had worked so hard to lift Peerless City onto a pedestal, but Water Fairy, a mere benefactor who had done nothing for the guild, would dare to suppress him. He simply wanted to take back what was his, and such a right was denied.


    Out of the three thousand or so players in Peerless City, about eighty per cent had signed the new contract, with the remainder still bounded to the old contract. However, Peerless City was still entitled to the twenty per cent of players, and Peerless City did not equal Soul Eater. By law, Water Fairy owned everything entitled to the guild. And so, the one thousand or so players that Soul Eater had asked to sign his contract, had all signed the new contract. Though there were still about two or three hundred players that didn''t sign the new contract, they were all players that had been trained and raised by Soul Eater. Water Fairy was determined to get them back on the next day to end this thing once and for all.

 1470 The Feas

    It was only when Soul Eater hurried back to Peerless City''s headquarters in Qiantang city did he realise that the few confidants he had trusted to contain the situation had all failed. Some were still held up at the police station. Soul Eater finally regrouped with his confidants and found out what happened. He was outraged. He had formulated his plan for months, yet the hard work he had put in was easily brushed off by the two days Water Fairy had spent.


    "It''s over."


    Looking at the expectant expressions around him only made Soul Eater feel more ill. He dreadfully slumped onto his chair.


    "Boss, please, there has to be a way to fix this."


    Haze was pale as a ghost. Formerly the commander of an elite guild club and just a step away from becoming a professional player, he had given up all of that because he thought his alliance with Soul Eater could bring him a lifetime worth of riches. Now, he was telling him that not only did the competitive players of Peerless City refuse to cooperate with them, but the one thousand players that formed an agreement with them had bailed as well.


    Having hundreds of elite players under the control of Water Fairy was just a waste of potential. "There''s nothing left to do. I''ve lost my authority over Peerless City, and my bank account has been frozen."


    Soul Eater was shivering by this point. He wasn''t sure what lied ahead, but whatever was waiting for him would be terrifying.


    "You''ve known Miss. Shen for a long time. Maybe you could get her to be merciful," one of Soul Eater''s assistants recommended meekly.


    "Tell me. If you were Miss. Shen, would you forgive a betrayer?" Soul Eater snapped. There was no way he would beg Water Fairy for forgiveness, let alone feign weakness to a woman. He would be a joke for the rest of his life.


    "Boss, do you realise what we''ll have to face if this situation keeps escalating?"


    The assistant was becoming frustrated as well. However, he found Soul Eater''s pitifulness much more amusing than the situation was devastating. While other people just wanted to collect their paycheck, Soul Eater was greedy enough to cross every line with Ruling Sword just so he could build his own empire. In the end, Soul Eater was still only a wage earner ¨C albeit a higher-ranked one at that ¨C but he was just as dumb as he was egomaniacal with all this talk about taking back what was his. Having the thousand elite players and a few competitive players in his grasp was all just to create a strong foundation for his own guild club. Now, the plan had backfired and he was shaking like a leaf.


    "She''s always been the nostalgic type. I might not have contributed big things to the guild, but I''ve done my share. There''s no reason for her to push me into a corner," Soul Eater decided.


    "Then let''s consider this the end of our alliance. You can continue skulking in a corner and live as a failure, while the rest of us find other ways to survive," the assistant said.


    "You guys can''t be serious. Drizzle Court and Peerless City only became what they were today because of you. Are you all just going to sit back and watch as Lu Li and that woman take all that away? Deny you of your hard work, and just let yourself live as a failure?"


    Haze wasn''t ready to compromise their mission.


    For this plan, Soul Eater had to contribute the money he had been saving all these years, and so did the rest of his confidants. They weren''t going to waste the hard-earned money they had spent on the plan, so they would see it through.


    "You think this situation can be easily fixed just by begging her?" Soul Eater yelled.


    "You don''t know that. Aren''t you curious how she''d treat you, considering your past? She might just forgive you."


    Haze was being selfish. He knew that getting Soul Eater to beg was the easy way out. After all, this question would strike every man who had lost the woman they loved, and it had successfully latched onto Soul Eater''s own heart.


    Soul Eater''s heart was beating faster by the minute. Without another word, he started his luxury car and drove to the city Water Fairy was in.


    Yanbo was a famous restaurant within the suburbs of Jiangnan city. Half of it was constructed on land, while the other half extended over a lake. It had a magnificent view of the nature that surrounded it. Soul Eater invited Water Fairy there to have a fish feast, knowing that her favourite food was fish. He sent a message to her and waited quietly for her to arrive. He wasn''t sure if she would still bother to see this betrayer, but he decided he would wait until she arrived. After all, waiting was the one thing that he had become good at.


    Now that he thought about it, waiting was also a privilege that gave him happiness. Unfortunately, the Soul Eater he was today had already been stripped of such privilege, and it was all because of Lu Li!


    As Soul Eater looked around the restaurant absent-mindedly, a familiar figure came into view. Water Fairy was strolling towards him. She had her hair in a ponytail, which was a rare sight. Her pale, long neck flowed down to the simple, white attire fitted under it ¨C her dress was so casual he would have thought she just got out of bed.


    "Over here," Soul Eater stood up and waved gently, signalling Water Fairy to approach him. His wave was interrupted as he saw the man he hated most.


    Lu Li!


    He was wearing black from head to toe, the yin to Water Fairy''s yang.


    "Long time no see," Lu Li said as he waved his hand to greet Soul Eater, an ironic wave that mimicked Soul Eater''s wave at him earlier. Staring at Lu Li''s two rows of pearl-white teeth, all feelings of bliss vanished into the air. Water Fairy might have agreed to meet up, but with Lu Li here, Soul Eater decided he wasn''t dumb enough to believe that she might still have any feelings for him left.


    "Well, it wasn''t that long ago when we went out drinking together," Soul Eater said as he forced a smile.


    "I''ve heard about this place when a few friends and I were comparing expensive restaurants we had been to. The food here is very expensive," Lu Li commented as he looked around. Everyone that was dining here was smartly dressed and even emitted an air that told him they were not of the same level. Standing around idly, Lu Li felt even more out of place.


    "The fish here isn''t half bad, we can take Lu Xin with us next time," Water Fairy suggested in a serious tone. It seemed that she didn''t feel like what Lu Li had just said made him sound low-class.


    "I''m paying, so order whatever you like," Soul Eater butted in to interrupt whatever micro-conversation the couple was having.


    "Don''t worry about that. Lu Li is from Jiangnan, so it''ll be better for him to pay," Water Fairy refused straightforwardly, and even more so by asking, "Is there something that you need to talk to me about face-to-face?"


    "I ¨C," Soul Eater fumbled, unsure where to begin. If Lu Li wasn''t here, if he was to talk in private with Water Fairy, he could still play the victim card and have her sympathy. Now that he was facing his rival, there was no way he could follow through with that play.


    "If it''s nothing important, we can talk after we eat."


    Water Fairy was surprisingly calm. With Lu Li by her side, the initial rage she felt from his betrayal seemed to have vanished into thin air.

 1471 A Way Ou

    They peacefully ate their meal. Everyone waited until Water Fairy finished.


    "I am not someone who gives in easily, but ¡­" Soul Eater began speaking with great difficulty, then continued, "I really made a mistake here. I have to admit, I betrayed your trust. I hope you can forgive me ¨C if only because I have followed and supported you for such a long time."


    For Soul Eater, the act of speaking with a lowered head was a somewhat awkward act. To bow his head before an enemy made him feel as if dying might had been a better option.


    This meal was one of the most difficult meals of his life. Everything he ate tasted bland.


    "You want me to forgive you. If your plan had succeeded, would you have come here to ask for my forgiveness?" Water Fairy replied softly.


    "Yes, of course ¡­" Soul Eater responded with uncertainty. He was lost for words.


    "To be honest, nothing you say can change what has already occurred. You have done something you should have never done. The moment you made the choice was the moment you accepted the consequences of failure," Water Fair responded firmly.


    "I shouldn''t do this. I shouldn''t have done that. What should I do then?" Soul Eater responded with a low and monotone voice. "Do you want me to watch you two in love from afar, and then continue being your slave, without the right to speak? I am a man ¨C and I definitely have a temper."


    The suddenness of the remark from Soul Eater caused Lu Li to have a forced expression.


    "When did we ever publicly display our love?"


    "..." Both Water Fairy and Soul Eater were speechless.


    "Okay then, you two continue. Just imagine that I don''t exist."


    Being a victor, Lu Li decided to show a greater degree of tolerance. However, his mannerism was not persuasive because he had a desolate expression.


    "I hope you can give me a way out," Soul Easter said.


    "Pa!"


    Lu Li nearly spat out the tea he had just sipped.


    Why wasn''t this idiot dead yet?! Soul Eater thought of using a chair to smash Lu Li to death. "


    What''s wrong? If you have something to say, just say it. It''s not as if I''m stopping you from asserting yourself."


    Water Fairy angrily stared at Lu Li. During such a serious conversation, she was confused as to why her boyfriend was smiling. The reason why she had asked him to come along was for safety purposes, and to add an additional sense of loftiness to her remarks.


    "Sorry about that," Lu Li apologized, then shuffled ever so slightly to the side and lowered his voice, saying, "I misinterpreted him as coming to challenge me. I didn''t expect him to come and beg for forgiveness. The difference in expectations is way too dramatic."


    "Endure, you must endure," Soul Eater said to himself. He had to pretend as if he did not hear what Lu Li said, even though Lu Li''s ''whisper'' was so loud that the table nearby could clearly decipher every word.


    "The prospect of me giving you a way out is not an impossible one," Water Fairy said, ignoring Lu Li, then continued seriously, "If you retire from the gaming world, then I will no longer hold you responsible for your actions."


    "Hey, you call this a way out?" Soul Eater cried out with rage.


    "Don''t forget, your finances are currently frozen. Who is to say they will not continue to be frozen?" Water Fairy''s lawyers had gathered an assortment of so-called ''evidence''. They had managed to level several criminal violations against Soul Easter''s name. For this reason, the Criminal Trade Unit had directly frozen his assets.


    "Over all these years, even though I haven''t managed to achieve much in terms of results, I have put in a lot of effort. How do you think Peerless City managed to reach its current heights?" Soul Eater said in a despairing tone.


    "Yes, it is true that Peerless City''s development is partially due to your efforts, but it''s not as if you haven''t been fairly compensated. As for the question of whether Peerless City could reach what it is today without your presence, such a hypothetical question has absolutely no value or purpose. I never intended to kill," Water Fairy paused for a moment before continuing, "But your method and actions were truly despicable."


    "I admit that what I did to the Elite Group was unethical, but I only wanted a good foundation," Soul Easter protested, but to no avail.


    "You are way too greedy. This is not a question of foundations. You tried to destroy Peerless City," Water Fair shot back. "Even if you were to steal 1000 Elite Group players, I would never have considered forcing you out of the gaming sphere. You should have never, ever, deliberately lost a Stronghold to Wings of Dawn."


    "Hang on, wait a second. What do you mean I deliberately lost to Wings of Dawn?!" Soul Eater responded in a panicked manner.


    He could still wrangle over the Elite Group accusation, but if he was successfully accused of deliberately losing to Wings of Dawn, then his reputation would be severely damaged. This would open him to litigation for deceptive conduct from sellers. If that were to occur, his financial accounts might become frozen for an even longer period.


    "He even brought up what Elevenless lacked," Lu Li mumbled in a low tone.


    "Damn woman!"


    Soul Eater was outraged. He thought that what he did was flawless; Peerless City''s defense of the Stronghold seemed watertight. Soul Eater, along with everyone else in Peerless City, had used all their effort and might. The only thing that Soul Easter had done was that he had given Wings of Dawn the numerous layouts of Peerless City before the actual battle itself.


    Wings of Dawn and Peerless City possessed similar degrees of strength. Giving a forewarning to the opponent allowed them to take down the Tanaris Stronghold.


    As such, when he heard such information emerge from Water Fairy''s mouth, Soul Eater lost his bearings ¨C he never doubted the authenticity and reliability of Lu Li''s source. This was especially so since Lu Li and Elevenless often interacted with each other in public, and had developed a strong friendship over time¡­


    Water Fairy finally had her suspicions confirmed ¨C there was indeed something fishy about their loss of a stronghold.


    "What else do you want to say now? You clearly knew the value of a Stronghold. You knew, in your heart of hearts, the damage your despicable actions would cause to the club. Do you really think I am going to give you a way out now?" she coldly remarked.


    "I have spent so much time battling in the gaming world, and now you want me to exit it ¡­" Soul Eater muttered, struggling to continue speaking. He had tried to gain an advantage but had ended up in a worse-off position. He initially wanted to use the assumption that Water Fairy, by virtue of being a girl, was more likely to have the flaw of being soft and forgiving. He never anticipated the outcome to be like this ¨C they wanted him to disappear from the game completely. This was more awful and more difficult to accept than death itself.


    "You can take some time to consider it," Water Fairy said as she stood up, then added, "From now on, you are no longer Peerless City''s President anymore."


    Soul Eater watched on as the girl he loved coldly turned around and disappeared with Lu Li''s company around the corner of a restaurant. He kept sitting in the same spot, until a waiter came along to ask if he needed anything else.


    "He won''t leave the gaming sphere, you know," Lu Li said. He was sitting in the spare driver''s seat.


    "I know, but it isn''t enough to scare him. What I need to do now is to re-establish Peerless City."


    Water Fairy, within the gaming world of Survival and Escape, was bound to flip the car. But in reality, she was a well-seasoned driver, while Lu Li didn''t even have a driver''s license at all.


    "We have lost significantly more than usual this time around," Lu Li said despondently.


    It appeared as if the two had just succeeded in a huge battle, but they both knew that everyone was a loser this time. Soul Eater not only caused the entire plan to unravel, but he was also about to face a series of court cases that would follow him for years. However, Water Fairy''s loss was perhaps greater ¨C a Stronghold had been taken. All the effort they had invested was now lost, and Peerless City''s morale was shaken. She suspected that it would be a while before it could stabilise.


    Water Fairy had also lost an important ally.


    "I have seen and experienced all forms of catastrophic events. What happened here is nothing, plus¡­ I''m really happy that you''re by my side," Water Fairy said quietly.

 1472 The Roar of the Dragon Slayer

    Soul Eater left in disappointment.


    Although Water Fairy expressed that Soul Eater had to leave the gaming circle, she could not stop him if he insisted on staying.


    Out of several hundred elites, only a few dozens were willing to leave with Soul Eater. They were the true followers he had obtained throughout these years. People with outstanding skills were hard to purchase. In this sense, Soul Eater''s followers were not the top players.


    Even though some elite players had a new contract with Soul Eater, he couldn''t force them to go with him, because the contract itself was controversial.


    In fact, it wouldn''t even be possible for Soul Eater to take his few dozens of followers with him if Water Fairy had pushed him harder. Otherwise, he would be asked to pay a huge sum in damages if he took these players with him. However, Lu Li managed to persuade Water Fairy to let him go and form his own grassroots guild with his followers.


    Lu Li was not a saint; he was not kind enough to show any sympathy to his rivals. The reason for letting him go was simple.


    If Soul Eater had run out of money and didn''t want to quit gaming, his only way out was to become a subordinate of others. His management skills might catch attention from other sponsors.


    Lu Li wanted to leave him with some hope, so his life would not be totally ruined.


    If Soul Eater hadn''t been pushed to the limit, he would not be willing to be a subordinate of someone else. He had accumulated a small fortune over his years as a guild leader. Most of the reward he had taken from sabotaging the Stronghold was money. Wings of Dawn were rich, and had likely paid an exorbitant amount.


    For someone who had both money and ability, was it for sure that he would be successful?


    Lu Li would say that holding this view was too naive. Perhaps it was the example of Lu Li that made Soul Eater quite optimistic about the prospect of leaving the Peerless City. He felt that he was more competent than Lu Li, and believed that gathering and training some players to win a championship was easy.


    He might draw attention from elites and ordinary players, but the real players were not very optimistic about his plan.


    Half a Cigarette, who had been quite friendly to Soul Eater, had clearly told him not to expect to be successful overnight.


    As for Lu Li ...


    He was a monster!


    While Lu Li had helped the Water Fairy to plan, he had done nothing more. Everyone thought Lu Li would swallow up Drizzle Court and Peerless City, but he didn''t. It was still unknown who would be in charge of the combined club in the future. Lu Li and the Water Fairy had just started dating. Therefore, he did not get too involved into the affairs of Peerless City.


    Sometimes, people thought Water Fairy was nothing more than a little girl. However, if you carefully thought about that, you would realize she was the person who had built several guilds and clubs on her own, such as Drizzle Court, Peerless City, Blue Universe, and Concealed Heavens. Cleaning up the Peerless City was never a big deal for someone like her.


    In less than two days, the Donghua Cup received an application form from Peerless City.


    Such minor turmoil was not able to affect Peerless City, but Water Fairy still made some adjustments.


    She transferred a group of elites from Drizzle Court to fill the Peerless City, recovering the insignificant loss immediately. However, regarding the players, she made some other adjustments.


    Vegetarian Mosquito joined the Drizzle Court and became their hunter.


    Green Flag Wine and Deadly Gold Underpants also returned to Drizzle Court.


    Now, there was Deadly Green Orange, Star Baby, Water Fairy, Green Flag Wine and Deadly Gold Underpants in Drizzle Court ¨C a total of five star players.


    What a luxury!


    Five star players in a club! Even Glory Capital did not have such a line-up.


    The professional league didn''t bother to check the number of star players in each club. Drizzle Court and Peerless City were regarded as two independent teams. There weren''t even more star players in Glory Capital and Gale Legion combined. This was why the major clubs were beginning to develop sub-guilds.


    Ministers being more powerful that their emperor was not a good thing.


    Although Peerless City had not been strong enough to be able to suppress Drizzle Court, their strength made people mad. It was the success of Peerless City that made Soul Eater feel that he was the person responsible for the glory of both Drizzle Court and Peerless City.


    The money offered by the Water Fairy surely could be offered by someone else.


    Therefore, it was preferable that the main club remained strong. After the adjustments, Drizzle Court became much stronger that no one could compare. Lu Li would rather compete with the team of Glory Capital. He didn''t want to confront a team with five star players.


    A team like this was almost invincible!


    However, this was at the expense of Peerless City. Even so, the few left were not sad, but saw hope.


    Water Fairy had focused on the success of Drizzle Court, but it did not mean that she would destroy Peerless City.


    It was hard to say what heights Peerless City could reach. Green Flag Wine, Deadly Gold Underpants and Vegetarian Mosquito had left the guild and someone had to fill their presence.


    The new president of Peerless City was Falling Star, the former president of Drizzle Court. Water Fairy would personally serve as the new president of Drizzle Court.


    At the time when Water Fairy was readjusting Peerless City, Lu Li had started planning on attempting a new Instance Dungeon. These days, Ruling Sword had been preparing for the new adventure, personnel arrangements, equipment accumulation, potion brewing, and a walkthrough of related tasks.


    When all this was about to be completed, Lu Li also vaguely knew that Glory Capital was about to complete Onyxia''s Lair. He knew that he could not wait any longer. He had to finish the tasks before Glory Capital completed the Instance Dungeon. Otherwise, he would lose his advantage.


    On this day, he took a quest item and went to see Bolvar Fordragon.


    After Marshal Windsor and Lu Li exposed the true identity of the Princess of the Black Dragon, Marshal Windsor was killed. Lu Li received the quest from Bolvar Fordragon, who offered a reward to anyone who could bring the Princess of the Black Dragon''s skull to him.


    The skull was also revenge for Marshal Windsor.


    The first person who completed the task would receive a great reward.


    Three Legendary items, along with a "Dragon''s Roar" status effect would be given.


    Three Legendary items were good enough for any major guild. Many wild Bosses only dropped two Legendary items.


    However, Lu Li appreciated Dragon Slayer status effect the most.

 1473 Five Legendary Items

    The Dragon Slayer''s roar was the strongest status effect, mainly because of its wide range, which would buff an entire city. If Lu Li handed in the quest, then everyone in Stormwind would receive this status. Correspondingly, if Glory Capital completed the quest, then only the players who were Orgrimmar at the time could benefit from it.


    Secondly, the status effect had a longer period of three days. Many things could be done in three days, so Lu Li didn''t rush to hand in this quest. Everyone had not been able to finish the Instance Dungeon of Onyxia''s Lair yet.


    However, he couldn''t delay it for too long. Now, Lu Li was planning to use the three-day status effect bonus to complete Blackwing''s Nest.


    Lu Li was quite confident in achieving the First Clear of Blackwing''s Nest. After all, the effect of the Dragon Slayer''s roar was powerful ¨C melee Attack power would be increased by 10%, Critical Damage would be increased by 20%, and it also came with a Fire Resistance and Dark Resistance, which was specific to Blackwing''s Nest.


    The Princess of the Black Dragon and the Prince of the Black Dragon were related, and their Attributes were almost the same.


    The Dragon Slayer''s roar mainly increased melee attack. The ranged occupations would not benefit too much from the buff, but their Critical Damage would at least be increased by 20%. This was the benefit that both the melee and the ranged classes could enjoy, along with the resistance.


    Blackwing''s Lair was an Instance Dungeon where melee professions played a major role, especially the Thieves and the Berserkers. They were coldly treated in Onyxia''s Lair, but now was their time to shine. Lu Li planned to bring at least five Thieves and five Berserkers into the Instance Dungeon.


    However, this did not mean that the more melee players the better.


    Any profession had its reason for existence. Blackwing''s Nest would require the other professions as well. Five Thieves and Five berserkers was the most melees that could be brought to the dungeon.


    In some cases, even with higher melee attack, Thieves and Berserkers might not perform better than Mages. In the game, Mages were like moving fortresses, while Shamans and Druid were relatively weak. Hunters, if they had stronger pets, could be among the top in damage.


    Before handing in the quest, Lu Li had secretly notified the relevant parties.


    Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court, and almost all players in the Peerless City congregated in Stormwind City.


    Not only the elites, but also the ordinary players had been called. They were not here for the Dragon Slayer''s roar. Even the elites could hardly keep secrets, let alone ordinary players.


    No matter what the reason was, most of the players had gathered in Stormwind City.


    Walking through the heavily guarded palace, two guards led Lu Li to meet Bolvar Fordragen.


    Lu Li had a very high reputation among the league camp; he even had an official rank. Being together with Marshal Windsor, most of the guards in the Storm City had seen Lu Li before. As he was walking over, guards watched Lu Li with admiration.


    Bolvar Fordragen looked a lot older than when Lu Li had seen him last time.


    These NPCs also grew old. There was an empire in front of him. As the regent of this empire, there were many things that he needed to worry about. The affairs of Marshal Windsor made him even more exhausted.


    "I smelled victory, my friend. Welcome to Stormwind City," Bolvar Fordragen said. He did not have any comments on the late delivery of quest item by Lu Li.


    "This is a taste of revenge, commemorating our mutual friend, Marshal Windsor," Lu Li responded as he produced a bloody head. Seeing the bloody head, Bolvar Fordragen recalled the arrogance on the dragon''s face on that day.


    "He must be very happy to have a friend like you," Bolvar Fordragen commented.


    "Unfortunately, I wasn''t able to change his fate, " Lu Li sighed, looking depressed. Rebirth didn''t mean he could become an almighty god. Some things couldn''t be changed, even if people were prophetic.


    "My child, you say that is a fate. Since it is fate, we are not able to change anything. Reginald had come to terms with death long ago," Bolvar Fordragen comforted Lu Li. Then, he directed two guards, " Hang it on the gate. This victory belongs to the entire Stormwind City."


    Lu Li did not agree with the so-called fate at all, but arguing with the NPC was pointless, so he just accepted Bolvar Fordragen''s statement.


    "You must have spent a lot of effort to kill the dragon," Bolvar Fordragen said.


    " Yeah ¡­ but in order to avenge Marshal Windsor, all sacrifices were worthwhile. I only pity that I was not able to kill her on the spot," Lu Li firmly responded.


    "You did a good job, faster than I expected," Bolvar Fordragen said, then continued, "The damage caused by Orcs ached, but the new threat is approaching. Stormwind City is faced with a perilous challenge that requires many brave warriors like yourself to defend it."


    No matter how people called him dopey, Bolvar Fordragen''s love for Stormwind City was no less than Marshal Windsor''s.


    "Please rest assured that the enemy could only walk through Stormwind City on our bodies, " Lu Li said.


    In fact, the Bosses in the nest were only a projection, according to the background information of Dawn. No matter how many times they had been killed, they would still remain living in the nest. However, the NPCs ignored all these facts. They believed Lu Li had killed the Boss. Even if there was another person handing in the bloody head another day, the NPCs would recognise he was the person who had killed the Boss.


    However, the reward for the people coming after the First Clear was not as good.


    Lu Li''s reward was three Legendary items, along with a status effect covering the entire city. For people who came after Lu Li, they could only enjoy the Dragon Slayer''s Roar by themselves, and the effect would not be as much powerful as Lu Li''s.


    As for the Legendary item ... there was only one.


    Some people might think that they would obtain Legendary items after they handed in the tasks. However, for a team of 40 players, it would be ridiculous if everyone received one.


    Legendary equipment was not easy to obtain. Even for the players who had reached the level cap, not all of them had a Legendary item. The Nightmare difficulty of Onyxia''s Lair had a certain probability of dropping Onyxia''s Skull. There was only one head of Onyxia, and it was not guaranteed. Relying on this to make a fortune was wishful thinking.


    Bolvar Fordragen did not forget to offer Lu Li his reward items. He took out a list and said to him, " These items are from the collection of the Armory. You can choose five of them. "


    Five items?


    This was completely different to Lu Li''s expectation of three. Was he suddenly bursting with his own Charm, to be even luckier than the System''s child Hachi Chan?

 1474 City-Wide Status Effec

    From Lu Li''s memory, there were indeed three pieces of Legendary equipment.


    No matter how difficult the mission, three pieces of Legendary equipment rewarded in one go would indicate a quest that had significant ramifications for Dawn''s storyline.


    There was a difference between his memories and reality. Something must have happened in between for there to be five items.


    In fact, Lu Li wasn''t wrong in his thinking.


    Why were there five pieces? One aspect was due to his military rank. Initially, when Lu Li defeated the Blackrock Monster in Burning Steppes, Marshal Windsor saved hundreds of soldiers from the Alliance, which earned him his rank of Lieutenant. This was the lowest military rank. At first it felt like it wasn''t much use, but this military rank represented Lu Li''s success in being accepted by Stormwind City''s military HQ and aristocracy.


    This had nothing to do with Charm. No matter how Charming Lu Li was, he was still an adventurer. Lieutenant officers were still considered as their own. This military ranking in itself was worth at least one Legendary equipment.


    Another aspect was naturally due to Marshal Windsor. Bolvar Fordragon still felt guilty, and this guilt had been eating him up as Windsor had already passed away and he didn''t have any family left behind. His guilt had accumulated over time, but could not be dispelled.


    As he struggled to find a way to resolve his guilt, Lu Li made his appearance. Lu Li was the Marshal''s friend, so Bolvar Fordragon naturally projected his guilt onto Lu Li.


    Hence, there were five Legendary equips, which seemed absurd to Lu Li.


    Yes, ridiculously absurd!


    This type of absurdity was the good kind; Lu Li hoped it would happen more often.


    Bolvar Fordragon gave Lu Li a detailed list of equipment in Stormwind City''s inventory. There were thousands of equipment, from low to high grades. Overall there wasn''t any equipment beyond level 60 ¨C evidently, they had all been screened.


    Lu Li only looked at the Legendary ones. No matter how good the attributes, you couldn''t beat Legendary equipment.


    Altogether there were 40-50 Legendaries, Lu Li believed that this was only one part of Stormwind City''s inventory. There wasn''t going to be anything overpowered as the System uses AI to control the game balance.


    Lu Li was not considered selfish, but he definitely was not someone who was selfless.


    As such, he needed to first choose the equipment that he would use himself.


    Thieves could use eight of these items, two of which belonged to Warrior Thief, so those could be eliminated first.


    Of the remaining six pieces, two of were average and a lot worse than what Lu Li had now, so he wouldn''t choose them either.


    Of the last of pieces, one of them was a level 60 Legendary Ring and worth plenty of money, but Lu Li didn''t really want it because it didn''t suit his battle style.


    Quick Strike Ring (Legendary): Damage 64-82. Agility+120, Strength+80. Slot 2. Special Effect 1: When attacking a vital area, there is a certain chance of a Pierce effect. Special effect 2: When used, instantly hit the target three consecutive times in the same position. Cooldown 6 minutes. Special Effect 3: Shift Transposition. Instantly selects a target within 40 yards and swaps position with them. Cooldown 6 hours. Level Requirement: 60, Durability: 360/360.


    This equipment was eliminated, along with a Dagger that was not as good as what he already had.


    The last two pieces were a Cloak and a Bracer part that belonged to the T2 set.


    Lu Li compared the two and decided on the Bracer, mainly because his original one didn''t suit his style.


    Nightslayer Bracer (Fine Legendary): Damage 120. Agility+180, Strength+60. Slot 2. Attack Speed+10%. Special Effect 1: Cutting skill level +1. Special Effect 2: Certain chance of fearing the target when attacking. Special Effect 3: Repulse, casts a curse on the target, reducing their movement speed by 60% for 20 seconds. Cooldown 6 minutes. Level Requirement: 60, Durability: 250/250.


    In principle, any level 60 Legendary equipment would be worthwhile.


    However, this equipment really didn''t suit Lu Li. The first effect was average, while the second effect was based on chance. The trigger chance was rather small, and would be even less effective when fighting a Boss.


    As for the last effect of Repulse, it might be a valuable thing to others, but Lu Li did not like this. It meant that he needed to chase after the target even if he had hit it. As such, this T2 equipment should be eliminated too.


    With the four pieces of equipment left, Lu Li chose for people in his team separately. These people had followed him from the beginning so it was natural for him to prioritise them.


    There was one piece for Lonesome Flower, one for Azure Sea Breeze, one for Moonlight, and the last would be given to March Rain.


    There was not a piece for Water Fairy out of the five equipment, but not because he had a low EQ. He had already thought about this issue ¨C he could send a piece of equipment over in the spirit of Drizzle Court and Peerless City''s participation in the battle. However, he decided against it since Water Fairy didn''t lack equipment.


    After Lu Li finished choosing, the soldiers seemed to have successfully hung Onxyia''s head on the top of Stormwind City''s gates.


    The System announced, "Congratulations to Lu Li in becoming the first player of Ruling Sword to complete the "Killing Onxyia" Bounty Quest. Guild Level+1. Guild members awarded the title of "Dragon Slayer". Members of Stormwind City awarded Dragon Slayer''s Roar Status for 3 days.


    "What happened? Why have I suddenly been given a Dragon Slayer''s Roar Status?" Blue Crystal asked.


    "Don''t know; I have it too. Wait. Everyone in our small team has it too," Heavenly Dumpling responded.


    "Didn''t you see the world channel? Apparently, Lu Li handed in some mission, so everyone in Stormwind City has it. Heck this mission was completed so elegantly. I need to use the effect from these three days to level up to 60!" Flying King Kong exclaimed.


    "Hey Foggy Grass, I''m at Steal Stove Castle and I want to die¡­ How good is the status?" Empty Gum asked.


    "Lu Li you''re amazing! Ruling Sword, you''re amazing! Come at me Moonlight!" Lunar Waltz shouted.


    "Didn''t anyone realise? Stormwind City gathered so many people from Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City just within this moment. In my humble opinion, this is clearly a premeditated operation ¨C Lu Li is such an evil spirit!" Old Master observed.


    Unforgettable Maple added, "Haha Thank you! Thank you, Lu Li! Our guild just happens to be reshuffling at Stormwind City. We haven''t even had the time to go to the Instance Dungeon! We''ll shout you drinks next time!"


    "Sister Maple must be Lu Li''s mistress, must be¡­must be¡­must be¡­" Red Rock muttered.


    Dust Dragon angrily responded, "Lu Li bro, you''re not being fair man. You notify Majin Temple, Drizzle Court and Peerless City, but just not little guilds like ours. Clearly, you''re looking down on us, and not considering us as part of the Alliance. There''s so many of us in the Alliance; you''ve got to give us an explanation."

 1475 Conquering Blackwing’s Nes

    There were all sorts of emotional displays and exclamations in the world channel, but this was due to a few people taking the lead. Even the President of Blood Red War Flag came out and threw shade at Lu Li.


    However, these were minor things. How could Lu Li give all players of the whole Alliance some kind of explanation?


    A game was a game. Whoever had the bigger fist got to talk. Ordinary players could only complain at the very most. Did they really have the guts to go and kill the members of Ruling Sword? Regarding the other clubs, they would be na?ve if they had similar thoughts. If it was any other club that had received a similar mission, they wouldn''t have notified everyone to all come to Stormwind City and enjoy this amazing buff.


    There was fair competition among everyone. Lu Li had just gotten the advantage again with his allies.


    Even an idiot would know why Lu Li would complete a mission now ¨C Blackwing''s Nest!


    This was the most obvious purpose, not to mention that he had gathered so many people in Stormwind City, so it seemed like he was serious. Those who didn''t get to enjoy the Dragon Slayer''s Roar Status felt depressed. Everyone was already not as proficient as Ruling Sword at First Clearing Instance Dungeons, and now they had an even larger advantage. How were people going to continue playing this game?


    Naturally, there were still those who benefited far more than Lu Li and the other three guilds.


    After all, Stormwind City was not only the main human city of the Alliance, but it was the most populated city for the whole Alliance. Lu Li chose this time precisely because this was when it had the most amount of people.


    Some people felt more or less grateful for Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li didn''t care about this ¨C he didn''t care who hated him or who was grateful for him. Public opinion was the most easily played fool.


    Let''s go! Blackwing''s Nest!


    After a little preparation, Lu Li officially announced the First Clear attempt for Blackwing''s Nest.


    Of course, more people were hoping to go to Onxyia''s Nest. At the moment, only Lu Li''s own team had passed this Instance Dungeon.


    Now with the Dragon Slayer''s Roar, it would be a lot easier for everyone to fight the Princess of the Black Dragon.


    Blackwing''s Nest was like the Molten Core in that it was also a high-level, 40-man Instance Dungeon situated at the top of Black Rock Tower. Blackwing, or Nefarian, was the eldest son of Deathwing and Onxyia''s elder brother. Nefarian''s Gates were situated in the depths of Blackrock Tower''s top level.


    Blackwing''s Nest, like the Molten Core, was a 40-man Instance Dungeon ¨C but it was much harder overall. Naturally, that meant that the rewards would make people''s mouths water even more.


    If one wanted to enter, then one had to intensely focus on clearing this Instance Dungeon again.


    Describing it as a wipe-out was a little overboard, but it was true that the top level of Black Rock Tower was no longer any sort of obstacle to Lu Li''s team.


    In the beginning, not everyone entered the Instance Dungeon. March Rain did not get here until everyone else had already arrived at the entrance of the Blackrock Tower Instance Dungeon.


    She used this time to craft a few pieces of equipment while everyone else was on the top level. Lu Li had just received these set parts. They could mainly be completed by a Tailor, but the plates belonged in the Blacksmith''s area of expertise. Although Lu Li held the best Forging hammer, he took the route of Forging weapons.


    March Rain had brought Lu Li two pieces of equipment.


    One piece was the Bloodfang Headcloth. From the outside, it looked like a hat with a facecloth that covered the entire face and had a pair of scarlet eyes. To cut out a hole in this stocking-like head piece did not look classy. This was unusual for Dawn, which was an elegant game.


    "Wow! Looks cool!" Azure Sea Breeze commented on Lu Li''s new equipment in admiration.


    Unfortunately, his equipment was a clumsy Plate Armor. Even the most lovely woman wouldn''t like his steely style ¨C you would have to have a unique taste to find that attractive.


    Lu Li had no clue regarding outer appearances; he cared more about his Equipment''s attributes.


    Bloodfang Headcloth (Flawless Epic): Armor+150. Agility+180, Strength+120. Critical Hit +35%. Slot3. Special Effect 1: Blinding Skill Level+1. Special Effect 2: Dark Insight. Instant Cast. Increase Detection after use. There is a greater chance of discovering hidden units within 40 yard range. Lasts 10 seconds. Cooldown 30 minutes. Special Effect 3: Death Stare. Instant. Instils fear in the target after use. Lasts 3 seconds or ends when the target is attacked. Level Requirement: 60, Durability: 400/400.


    Lu Li knew March Rain must have used special items to achieve this type of level.


    Dawn had something similar to Lucky Stones. Any tools in the Lucky category could be used in the scope of a Trade Skill, mainly to increase the chances of producing high quality equipment or strengthening a equipment''s success rate. This type of thing was hard to come by. Whenever it appeared, it would be bought in seconds, and naturally, the price was ridiculously high.


    Lu Li was originally going to give some gold coins as repayment to March Rain, but she refused.


    Out of the five pieces of equipment rewarded previously, this pair of brother and sister were given one each by Lu Li.


    Another piece of equipment was the Bracer that Lu Li had just received. As soon as he received it, he gave it to March Rain to work on. It was still hot from just coming out of the oven.


    Bloodfang Bracer (Fine Legendary): Armor 100. Agility+120, Constitution+80. Hit+35%. Slot 2. Special Effect 1: Slit Throat Skill Level+1. Special Effect 2: Escape. Teleport to a location within 15 yards of sight. Cooldown 2 minutes. Cooldown is not shared with similar skills. Special Effect 3: After successfully killing all active units, this item will gain 20% Attack for 10 seconds. Can be accumulated. Level Requirement: 60, Durability: 400/400.


    This Bracer was not as powerful as the hat.


    Even though 80 or so Constitution could add a lot of HP, Lu Li preferred the additional damage that was given by Strength.


    Then, there was the effect of increased Critical Strike damage after hitting the target, which was reasonable.


    However, the following few effects could not benefit him. Slit Throat was a very powerful skill, but it required movement assistance. Bosses usually had a rather large body, so it was impossible to reach their throat. Escape was a good effect, but it was very situationally specific. As for Special Effect 3, Lu Li still did not have a skill for damage over time.


    However, this was not to say that the Bloodfang Bracer was rubbish ¨C it depended on how it was used.


    If it was used to PVP or fight small monsters, then it would be the same as an Assassin set piece.


    As such, Lu Li still brought the Bloodfang Bracer with him. After all, it was still part of a set, and it would come in handy for killing small monsters.


    The Gem slot was empty, so it needed to be filled. If all five slots were filled, then it would be considerably Enhanced. It was very quick to add Gems, and Lu Li Strengthened it twice along the way. Both pieces of equipment were successful in one go.


    After Lu Li finished this, he chose the difficulty of the Instance Dungeon.


    He chose the Nightmare Difficulty without a moment''s hesitation. After entering the Instance Dungeon, everyone found that this was different from a usual one.


    Firstly, there wasn''t a guard at the door ¨C the grand Prince of the Black Dragon Lair couldn''t possibly be without a guard.


    The Dwarf architect master, Franklin Cast Iron, designed this Stronghold. Iron Dwarves occupied this place for centuries. Then, Ragnaros the Firelord became the owner. People did not know what why the village was so attractive. Not just Ragnaros, but even the Black Dragon had developed an interest.


    The son of Deathwing, Nefarian, and his Black Dragon corps occupied the top areas of Blackrock Tower. He continued to clash with the Iron Dwarves of Ragnaros the Firelord in the Blackrock Abyss.


    Ragnaros found the method of giving life to Stone, and prepared to produce an invincible Rattlegore army to aid his plans to conquer the whole of Blackrock Mountain.


    In order to respond to an ever-powerful enemy, Nefarian experimented with all sorts of blood magic from the Dragon clan. In the end, he produced an invincible Colourful Dragon army. With the help of his sister, Onxyia, they produced more Colorful Dragon people, and finally took over their father completely in controlling the entire Black Dragon army.


    Nefarian swore to destroy Ragnaros, but Lu Li did not know for what reason.


    These stories were not considered secrets, and there was no value in making use of them. Fundamentally, it was still a competition about overall strength.


    However, as a person reborn, Lu Li did not have any advantage.


    At the very least, Blackwing''s Nest was a classic Dungeon that required skilful technique. Lu Li more or less indicated that he had experience dealing with the number one Boss that was called "Razorgore the Untamed", who was in charge of guarding the Dragon Egg.


    Guarding the Dragon Egg was a full-time job. Poor Razorgore did not have much time to do any other important things, for example, enjoy his own time, or socialise and behave like a normal dragon. He fundamentally had a bad temper, and being assigned to this role made his mood even worse.


    If not for the fact that Nefarian could not be defied in his mind, and all his actions were controlled, he would have smashed those eggs to bits.


    Nefarian knew how to use people. He got Razorgore to guard the Dragon Eggs not because he was the best suited, but because he was an anomaly among the Black Dragon people. He was born wild and impatient ¨C his body had an abnormal heat source that could act as a heater for the incubator.


    In order to prevent Razorgore from damaging the Dragon Eggs, Nefarian created a control platform, as well as sending a Blackwing Controller and two Blackwing Guards to monitor and control him.


    Lu Li had a degree of knowledge on Razorgore. He sent a Thief to try and attack the Dragon Egg. The System notified that the attack was ineffective.


    They then patiently made some other attempts.


    "We can''t attack these Dragon Eggs, but obviously, we don''t have any other way if we don''t attack it. If they hatch at the same time, then we will definitely be destroyed," Lu Li said as he pointed at these few hundred Dragon Eggs, then continued, "This type of game design wants us to destroy these eggs within a limited amount of time. So now, we have an idea of what to dom but how should we resolve the Dragon Egg problem?"


    "Boss, are you testing us? We just need to kill the Blackwing Controllers. Then we control the Boss to go kill the Dragon Eggs, right?" Sky Moon casually answered Lu Li''s question.


    "Yeah I think so too," Lu Li agreed with Sky Moon. It was much easier to get things done with a teammate like him.


    Now, it was a 40-man team. The more people, the more trouble there was and the harder it was to lead. Lu Li was afraid of being too reckless, so he needed these smart people around precisely at these moments to lend him their ideas. Sky Moon was a person with a natural gift in in commanding, even though his commanding at the moment was still a little rough. However, his mind was sharp, and his thoughts ran wild. This was exactly why Lu Li always liked bringing him along to Instance Dungeons.


    "Let''s begin then. Breezy, Charge. Once we get over there, let''s first kill the Controllers. Once the Controllers are dead, Breezy, immediately use that to control the gems, then kill off the rest of those two Guards," Lu Li said, fluidly formulating a plan.


    "Follow up guys, Epic equipment is straight ahead!" Azure Sea Breeze roared, then Charged forward.


    The Blackwing Controller was an elderly Orc Controller. After Blackhand and Nefarian cooperated, many Orcs appeared in Nefarian''s power. They pretty much had nothing to do with Blackhand. The prefixes of their names were all tied with Blackwing. From this fact alone, you could see that Blackhand and Nefarian''s cooperation was impossible.


    If one day, you opened the door and saw a group of burly fellows surrounding you, what would you do?


    This old Orc, the Blackwing Controller, faced exactly this dilemma. This old guy had no intention to submit to this adversity, but instead gave an angry roar and retaliated.


    This Orc Controller had four skills ¨C Slow, Arcane Missiles, Mind Control and Powerful Deformation. The first two skills were relatively easy to understand. The third skill allowed him to control a player to serve him, while the fourth was a legendary Enhanced skill that changed appearances.


    In fact, monsters had Enhanced skills as well. Many Thief type monsters had undergone Enhanced Stealth.


    With 40 people coming right at you, who were you going to reduce the speed of? Who would the Arcane Missiles hit? Who could you control? Who could you transform into? All in all, the Blackwing Controller was probably in a state of mental breakdown. His retaliation looked hilarious, especially when everyone was aiming at him.


    He persisted for 10 seconds or so and then he was gone.


    This short amount of time was not enough for Razorgore to run from his platform, while the Blackwing Controllers'' other two followers were being distracted by the other Main Tank.


    After dealing with the Blackwing Controllers, Azure Sea Breeze controlled the gems immediately. He found that he had acquired the perspective of the Boss, and could use all its skills ¨C one of which was to damage the Dragon Eggs. It felt as though everything was in everyone''s control.


    "It seems like we have nothing else to do. Do we just watch the Boss destroy Dragon Eggs?" Her Tears asked after killing two Guards.


    "No way," Sky Moon refuted immediately. "The game company could not have this type of design. From a design perspective, there must be something else that will pop out and ruin our plans."


    Just as he said this, everyone could see new monsters spilling out from various corners of the lobby.

 1476 The Attack on Razorgore

    Azure Sea Breeze managed to control Razorgore as he continued to destroy the eggs one by one. The newly-spawned monsters watched as Razorgore did this and were all filled with rage. Their target was Razorgore, but they were not spawned to help them fight the Boss. Instead, if the Boss died before all the eggs were destroyed, he would self-destruct. The explosion would then lay waste to the whole room and destroy everything, including the players, which meant a squad wipe.


    Therefore, their mission was to protect the Boss.


    Working together with the Boss to destroy the eggs was the first stage of the battle.


    There were three types of monsters that spawned ¨C Orc Warriors, Orc Mages and Dragonspawn. These three types of monsters were among the more difficult to fight. Orc Mages could cast Arcane Explosions and Fireballs, and were extremely threatening. The first squad wipe was in no small part because of them.


    Before Razorgore self-destructed, he let out a final stoic cry.


    "If I descend into hell, then you mere mortals must come with me!"


    "We can''t. The monsters don''t seem to end," Wandering shook his head and sighed.


    "It doesn''t seem possible that we can clear all the monsters, but the Mages pose the biggest threat. We need to make sure to eliminate them as soon as they come out," Lu Li said, expressing his agreement. From what he knew about the different strategies, he understood that there was a method to deal with these three types of monsters.


    When the DPS of the players was not that high, a focused offence was the best way to tackle the problem.


    The squad had three players that could hold command ¨C Lu Li, Wandering and Sky Moon. Lu Li was the calm type, and furthermore, he had the ring that could revive. Wandering was the observing type. He could find methods and strategies out of what seemed to be nothing. The newly-joined Sky Moon was someone with unbridled imagination. This group''s results were not the most simple.


    "Kill the Mages first. I don''t think the Warriors pose much of a threat. Let''s find a person to pull the Warriors away and around the area," Lu Li instructed, then continued to say, "As for the Dragonspawn, I saw Hachi Chan make one go to sleep. We''ll let the Druids use Sleep on them. If the Druids can''t handle them, get the Warlocks to use Fear. Then, the Hunters can kite."


    After the three of them discussed the possible strategies, this was the result.


    A perfect theory could not account for all the unexpected. For example, when the new monsters spawned, they would also attack the people on top of the control platform. Lu Li deployed a group to defend the control platform and also arranged for a support to use the gem.


    This was because when Azure Sea Breeze lost control of the Boss, there would be a cooldown until they could use the gem again.


    Lu Li brought along three Druids, a few Hunters and three Warlocks. Because of this composition, the Dragonspawn didn''t pose much threat to them. As for the Mages, the chemistry between the players at the start wasn''t great, so they wiped a few times. However, they gradually improved.


    The worst thing was driving the trains.


    Lu Li gave three Warriors the responsibility of driving the trains. This was because a Warrior''s movement speed was usually above average, and they also had skills to gain aggro as well. Furthermore, Warriors wore plate mail, so their defense and health were higher than the average player.


    Fortunately, they had two strong players within the three Warriors. These were Moonlight and Deadly Gold Underpants!


    Deadly Gold Underpants also joined the team this time. He and Moonlight were quite capable at driving the trains, and they also had health potions and movement speed potions with them, so it wasn''t a problem.


    They couldn''t use AoE attacks in this phase of the battle, or else it would wake up the Dragonspawn that had been inflicted with Sleep. Another problem was the players pulling the small monsters'' aggro from the drivers to themselves. After reducing their Guild Points due to their mistakes, no one dared to use AoE skills anymore.


    After a few failures, they eventually found that this phase was quite simple.


    Lu Li then gathered two Priests. These two Priests were both Dark Elves, meaning that they had the special Dark Elf skill Shadowmeld. They would enter the room after the beginning of the battle, but their responsibility would not be to fight. Instead, they were to stand guard at the door. If there were casualties, then they would be at the furthest possible point to revive their teammates.


    This didn''t mean that they could employ this strategy for every Boss fight. The main point was that the Boss'' attacks didn''t reach that area due to the shape of the room.


    They could revive the players on the edges of the room, but not the ones in the middle.


    With these cleaners around, mistakes were much more forgivable, and the overall safety of the drivers was also much higher. Wandering suggested for Lu Li to deploy a healer on the sides of the room so that they could immediately heal when the drivers'' HP bars were getting low. As a result, the likelihood of accidentally drawing aggro away would be lower.


    These healers would often die, but because they stood on the sides, when the monsters were pulled away, the Priests could just revive them again.


    Even if Moonlight and Deadly Gold Underpants were skilled, they were still pulling huge numbers of monsters, so they would still be in danger. Any of these monsters would be strong enough to kill both of them.


    With the three brains of the team, along with the Dragon Slayer''s Roar effect on everyone, the progress on the Instance Dungeon was naturally quite fast. After a short while, Azure Sea Breeze and his partner managed to control Razorgore to destroy all the eggs, which allowed them to pass the first phase.


    Sky Moon also had a suggestion for Lu Li. This was a possibility of using the monsters to lower Razorgore''s HP, but not to the point where Razorgore would be killed.


    This suggestion wasn''t improper or outrageous. It was quite difficult for players to fight a Boss with a million HP. However, these monsters could just hack away at him and make progress that much quicker. If this plan worked out, the Boss wouldn''t have that much HP left. At the end, they would just have to whittle down the rest of the HP.


    Lu Li didn''t object to this, but he proved that this almost ''bug-like'' plan was simply wishful thinking.


    After destroying all the eggs, Razorgore was released from their control. As soon as this happened, two-thirds of his lost HP was instantly recovered, which surprised Sky Moon. Lu Li didn''t say anything, since his suggestion did seem to make sense. Lu Li admired his type of thinking and imagination.


    He wasn''t as mature as Wandering though. Wandering knew that the designing team was simply too smart to leave behind an exploitable loophole like this.


    Now, they were in the second phase. After destroying the eggs, all the monsters disappeared. They just needed to focus on Razorgore.


    Razorgore was enraged. Although he didn''t like this job and often thought about destroying these eggs, he shouldn''t have destroyed them under the control of these worms.


    After returning back to normal, he used Ignite, but it was casted on multiple people.


    This Ignite was extremely powerful. Not only did it deal damage over time, but it also caused a Fear-like effect, causing players to run around randomly. Furthermore, this Ignite was also contagious, meaning that it would spread to nearby players.


    However, the Boss'' signature skill didn''t really have a major effect.


    This was because March Rain had an AoE dispel to counter this. The AoE dispel would be cast after Ignite, thus healing all of the affected players.


    Razorgore was even more enraged. This was his personality.


    He began to unleash multiple Fireballs.


    Some documents noted that Razorgore was an extremely precious Deviate Dragonspawn. Even the Firelord was interested in him. This was because he had an innately strong fire energy. If he was any smarter, this monster could have been a prodigious Fire magic caster.


    Unfortunately, he was too stupid.


    He had a bad temper and also a bad brain. Therefore, his multiple Fireballs didn''t really have an effect.


    After all, everyone could just tackle one Fireball each and share the damage between them, so they weren''t that powerful.


    Azure Sea breeze finally gained enough aggro, so everyone began to unleash everything on Razorgore. This phase was much easier compared to the first phase. The team didn''t suffer any casualties in this phase, let alone squad wipes.


    However, when they entered phase three, they wiped.


    The Boss had Stomp. The melee classes were instantly stunned, so the team naturally wiped as a result.


    However, this skill wasn''t unfamiliar to them, so after they knew about it, it was quite easy to deal with.


    Lu Li arranged for a Main Tank to distance himself from the Boss. After the Boss used Stomp, this Main Tank would immediately rush forward, Taunt, and take aggro. The other Main Tank would be stunned, but they would recover and then distance themselves. It was essentially a rotation for the Main Tanks.


    Lu Li had used this strategy many times before, so it was easy for him to implement this.


    They didn''t wipe too many times during the whole process before successfully taking down the first Boss of Blackwing''s Lair, Razorgore.


    The most important aspect in defeating the Boss was the first phase. They just needed to successfully control him to destroy all the eggs while the other players dealt with the monsters. As for the second and third phase, the DPS output of the team would be the decider. However, with the Dragon Slayer''s Roar, this wasn''t a problem.

 1477 Little Red Dragon is Here!

    "Time is money. Dreamy, loot the items quickly. Everyone else, clear out the little monsters."


    They only had three days, so Lu Li needed to speed things up to the maximum.


    Out of 40 of them, three people received a Skill Point. Generally speaking, this was quite a favourable outcome. Normally, when teams fought on the Nightmare difficulty, the average number of Skill Points given didn''t even exceed one per Boss. Perhaps this was an effect of the First Clear.


    Enhancing Stones, Fusion Stones, Skill Books, rare materials ¨C some were distributed and some were kept. Lu Li planned to give some of the stones to Drizzle Court and Peerless City. After all, this wasn''t their first time together. If there were chances to further their relationship, Lu Li didn''t mind sacrificing a little.


    Enhancing Skill Books didn''t drop this time. Besides Mass Tranquillity and the Summoning Portal, the other ones weren''t worth much. Even Skill Books were put up for auction in the team.


    Gold and Dark Gold items were divided until there was nothing left. Lu Li didn''t want to waste time here, as the main focus was the Epic items. The top players sought after these the most.


    The Black Book!


    This was a Warlock item which would increase their Pet''s attack and was quite powerful.


    All of the Warlocks competed over this item, but in the end, it was taken by Sesame Rice Ball.


    The Untamed Blade!


    This was a two-handed sword which sent the Paladins into a frenzy. This updated version of the game wasn''t the most favourable for them. There were many Paladins, but the drop-rate of their items was a little low. Many two-handed swords added skill points to Berserker skills, but not many for Paladins. Now, there was one that was specific to them, and the stats were quite good as well.


    However, what really grabbed their attention was the aesthetics. The sword looked extremely handsome when it hung off a player''s back.


    For Paladins, not only did it add to their battle capability, but also made them more attractive to females.


    The difficulty of Blackwing Lair was high, but for the first Boss, they just needed to sort out the strategy properly. If they understood that, then it would be easy. From that day onwards, many teams would try and fight Razorgore. The Untamed Blade was also quite a popular item, so many Paladins were attracted to the dungeon.


    After this, there was a T2 Bracer for Thieves!


    Lu Li was shocked. This morning, he had chosen a T2 Bracer as a reward for one of his quests. However, another one had just popped out.


    If only he had known this earlier, he could have chosen another item.


    Regret was pointless, but he could use this to gain the favour of his future wife. The other Thieves in the team didn''t have any T2 items, but Water Fairy had two T2 items. Therefore, Lu Li used the excuse that Water Fairy could activate her set effect and bought it for her.


    Of course, this item cost him a large amount of points.


    Everyone laughed at Lu Pain in the Ass for a while, but no one was unhappy or disappointed about it.


    Lastly, there was a Dragonspawn pet. Remnant Dream immediately gave it to herself. She was even happier than if she had received the most exquisite item.


    They had already finished dividing up the loot while the other side was still clearing out the monsters.


    After a while, they saw the second Boss of Blackwing''s Lair, Vaelastrasz the Corrupt.


    Vaelastrasz had joined the Army of the Black Dragon because he was corrupted. Before his corruption, he was in the Red Dragonflight. He was originally a powerful figure in the Red Dragonflight, but it was said that he was ultimately corrupted due to the Black Dragons'' ambush while in pursuit of Nefarian.


    To be powerful enough to make Nefarian flee, Vaelastrasz was clearly terrifying.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, the game company had made a list of the Bosses that had killed the most players. The Red Dragon was in the top three.


    Vaelastrasz was known by the players as an ''Abyss for Gold Coins''. This was because many average guilds would try and fight him, but would wipe continually. Many guilds disbanded because they could no longer progress past this point.


    However, since Lu Li chose to raid now, it meant that he was confident. Otherwise, he wouldn''t dare to try and offend so many people.


    Secretly activating the Dragon Slayer''s Roar did not make a lot of people happy either. Some people suggested Lu Li to let the Alliance know in advance before activating the buff, so that they could have an advantage over the Horde players.


    For normal players, there was only the battle between the Alliance and the Horde.


    However, for Lu Li and the other managers of pro clubs, only the other clubs were their opponents, not the Horde. Glory Capital was the biggest threat. Other clubs like Seventh Heaven, Wings of Dawn were also viable threats.


    As for this Boss whose hands were soaked in players'' blood, Lu Li didn''t have any hope of fighting him in his previous life.


    However, with great curiosity, he researched into every detail about the fight against the little Red Dragon. Therefore, he had great confidence that he could defeat this Boss. He also had a new strategy to try out that he hadn''t attempted before.


    After progressing to the Red Dragon, Lu Li swapped out most of the people from the first team, then brought the second team into this Instance Dungeon.


    The other groups would be watching this from the live broadcast, so that they would also understand the mechanics of the Boss. Although they weren''t experiencing the Boss'' power first-hand, they still had the opportunity to watch Lu Li''s strategy at work.


    This would eventually be a widely-used strategy among the pro clubs.


    Lu Li thought about using it before, but Ruling Sword couldn''t do it. There weren''t enough elite players. A 40-man squad was already difficult enough to assemble, so it was simply impossible to make three distinct teams.


    This was the case until now, where Drizzle Court and Peerless City had been brought along to the Instance Dungeon.


    However, Lu Li didn''t immediately reveal the strategy in the beginning, because he didn''t know if they were going to adapt to the three guilds working together. After all, Ruling Sword had deployed the least people, yet they were reaping the most rewards.


    Haze from Peerless City just couldn''t reconcile with that fact.


    Lu Li was going to give up on working together with the other guilds. After all, they could just expand


    by themselves and employ the strategy later on. Unexpectedly, Peerless City was suddenly flipped upside down, so Water Fairy gained huge control over them. This allowed Lu Li to once again fight this little Red Dragon.


    There were four teams in total. Team 1 was the main team and the other three were pretty much cannon fodder.


    Team 1 killed the first Boss to show off their strength and to build chemistry together. After reaching the second Boss, they began to rest. They would watch the other teams fight first, then once they felt ready, they would begin fighting properly.

 1478 Hanging Out, Killing People

    "Paladins, stack up on the Blessings. When you think that you''re about to draw aggro, find Mu Qiu and get the Blessing of Salvation."


    Lu Li was responsible for Team 1 and Team 2, while Wandering was responsible for Team 3. Sky Moon was responsible for Team 4.


    Team 2''s mission was simple ¨C test out the Boss'' different skills.


    While it was simple, this task was difficult to accomplish. At the very least, it would be difficult with Team 2 alone. After wiping seven or eight times, they only managed to discover a few of the Boss'' skills.


    Essence of the Red!


    This skill was quite¡­peculiar.


    Essence of the Red was a skill that gave the players a buff. It was extremely powerful, with its duration lasting 3 minutes. In this time, the players'' skill cooldowns and rage-based items would recover extraordinarily quickly. It would be completely valid to say that in these 3 minutes, the players would be able to keep cycling through their skills without worrying about running out of mana.


    Fire Nova!


    This was different to the skill that the players had. The Fire Nova from the Red Dragon was much more powerful and had a much greater range.


    Since it was a Dragon, it would naturally also have the signature breath of the Dragons. This attack was dealt in a fan-shape, and the little Red Dragon''s fire breath was quite powerful. Melee classes would die if they were not positioned properly, which would lead to a squad wipe.


    There was also Cleave. Similarly, this was also a skill that was lethal to the melee classes.


    If the players couldn''t stand at the front, then what about the back?


    If they stood at the back, Tail Lash would be waiting. During their attack on the Boss, Lu Li''s team was struck by Tail Lash one time. Many of the players, including Lu Li, were instantly killed.


    It wasn''t that Lu Li''s position was wrong, but that the second Main Tank didn''t take aggro from the Boss after the first Main Tank died.


    After a few more tries, Lu Li adjusted all the squads. All teams had at least four Main Tanks. Furthermore, all of these Main Tanks had a means that would save their life, such as the binding with a Soulstone, or binding with a Druid. This way, when the Main Tank died, they would immediately be revived.


    If the Red Dragon''s arsenal of skills was limited to this selection, he would already be truly powerful, but not to the level where he could kill so many players.


    In reality, there was one more skill called Burning Adrenaline, but it wasn''t used in Phase one or two.


    After being struck by this skill, the affected player''s skills would become instant-cast, but their HP would be decreased every second. Within 20 seconds, the player was guaranteed to die. After dying, there would be an explosion which would deal 10000 damage to surrounding players. This skill was cast every 30 seconds at the player with the most aggro. The first two would be cast on long-ranged enemies, then the one after this would be cast at a melee player.


    Lu Li was actually familiar with all of the little Red Dragon''s skills, but although he knew, he could not tell.


    Because of the Essence of the Red, they could freely adjust their equipment. As for their energy recovery, they could get rid of the items that were for battles of attrition.


    Essence of the Red was used quite frequently, so players didn''t need to worry much.


    The first two phases were somewhat manageable, but the third phase was extremely difficult. In the third phase, Ignite was cast every 30 seconds, so they used a rotation of Main Tanks to deal with this. Eight Main Tanks could only tank for 12 seconds, meaning that they needed to clear the third phase within 12 seconds.


    This was assuming that no Tanks would die in the first two phases.


    The difficulty could not be described as simply ''hard'' anymore. Lu Li was leading Team 2 and it was already an insurmountable task for more than half of the Tanks to survive, let alone all of them.


    After entering the second phase, Lu Li brought Team 2 out to rest while Team 3 substituted for them.


    Some people would try and clear multiple Instance Dungeons at the same time. However, it wouldn''t benefit them in terms of progress. This run with Lu Li and the others had already cost a jaw-dropping amount of money just on potions and repairs. If they were to attempt three Instance Dungeons at once, this number would be multiplied threefold.


    The others weren''t usually easily tired. However, they wore out faster in Instance Dungeons mainly because their concentration was at its peak. The Dungeons were also usually quite dark, making it difficult to focus and causing them to be disoriented.


    Lu Li was used to complete concentration. This was an expression of his willpower. As for feeling disorientated, he was the only one in the whole team who didn''t feel this way since he knew the strategy like the back of his hand, so he had everything under control.


    However, he still needed to give the other commanders opportunities to perform, or else it would be unfair.


    There was Wandering, Sky Moon, Drizzle Court and Peerless City, so naturally, there wouldn''t be a lack of commanders. This was why Lu Li could sit back and relax. In his mind, he believed that if they managed to take down the little Red Dragon in three days, gaining the Dragon Slayer''s Roar buff would not be a waste.


    "Hoo¡­Let''s go kill some people."


    Water Fairy had fought PVP with two teams and had just finished. She wasn''t tired, but she didn''t seem happy.


    "Where? In the Wild or in the Arena?" Lu Li asked.


    "Not the Wild. There''s no reason for that anyway."


    PVP in the wild was quite frequent, but the top players didn''t usually bother with it. Furthermore, there were also the people who were genuinely just doing their quests. Some didn''t even know how to PVP. If you went up to them and killed them, it might not benefit you, but your victim definitely wouldn''t.


    For the good of the game, the game company had forbidden these types of killings. The top players also avoided these encounters for such reasons.


    After all, everyone was making a living off Dawn with multiple investors. It wouldn''t do them any good if the game''s atmosphere was dark and moody.


    "Alright then. Let''s go to the Arena. How about Arathi Basin?


    "Yeah, I haven''t been there in a while. Let''s go anonymously."


    Water Fairy didn''t mind letting others know that she was playing the game with Lu Li, but it was still best to avoid it. The angry fans were still prevalent and Soul Eater''s departure didn''t help either.


    Lu Li then quit the party. During the beginning stages of the Instance Dungeon, leaving the party was forbidden. However, major players like Lu Li and Water Fairy clearly weren''t restricted by the same rules, so they quickly made another party.


    "Eh? Why did those two leave together?" someone asked after noticing them.


    "Are they going to do the unspeakable?" Azure Sea Breeze guessed in a serious tone.


    "Would they need to leave to do that?" Wandering sarcastically replied while questioning Azure Sea Breeze''s IQ.


    "It''s got nothing to do with you! You single people!"


    All in all, Lu Li and Water Fairy leaving together caused everyone to speculate as to why. Their departure left all the single people depressed.


    Arathi Basin was mainly where people fought over resources. There were five resource points ¨C Beast Pens, Mine, Lumber Mill, Blacksmith and the Farm. The objective was to take control of the resource points while in contest with enemies.


    Comparing this to the newer Alterac Valley, the fifteen players didn''t need to work together as much in the Arathi Basin.


    The two anonymous Thieves didn''t attract any attention. Both of them didn''t seem acquainted with the 13 players that they were with. As the battle begun, they immediately rushed out of the safehouse and sprinted towards the resource points.

 1479 No Match

    More accurately, they went straight to the Blacksmith because that would be the most sought-after location in Arathi.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy did not head toward that area and went to the Gold Mines instead. This was a lower-lying ground compared to the Blacksmith and Logging area.


    No one from the Alliance came here, but there were two players from the Horde ¨C a Mage and a Paladin.


    Paladins and Berserkers were still the top-tier classes in PvP as of now, but they were both very gear-dependent as well.


    Paladins were harder to deal with than Berserkers because their skills and Special Effects made them extremely durable. However, a Paladin with average gear was basically a more-mobile Priest.


    Classes like Druids had a much easier time in PvP and could be useful even without exquisite gear.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy did not need much communication and they both targeted the Mage. The Paladin naively went to capture the point because he thought that no one else was there.


    When capturing a point, grey indicated that it was neutral and belonged to neither side. When captured, it would turn either red or blue, depending on the team.


    "Help.."


    The Mage was ambushed and killed without even having time to cry out for help. The Paladin had yet to capture the point and had no choice but to come and attack the two Thieves.


    He tried stalling while calling for backup.


    The Horde team was a premade group of 15 players who knew each other beforehand. They entered the queue together and had a main shot caller. Usually in these teams, the chances of them winning was much higher because they were all familiar with each other''s playstyle.


    When the shot caller heard that there were two Thieves at the Gold Mine, he wasn''t too worried and commanded his teams to take down Logging Area and Blacksmith, followed by the Gold Mine. Along with the Farm point that was closest to their spawn, they would have four out of the five resource points. Then. all they had to do was to hunt down the Alliance players.


    Unexpectedly, as soon as he gave out his command, the Paladin was sent back to the spawn point.


    "What''s happening at the Gold Mine? Didn''t you two go together?" the shot caller asked, then yelled, "Go back there with the Druid and make sure the three of you clear out Gold Mines."


    A Mage, Paladin and Druid combo was more than enough to take care of two Thieves. The Paladin and the Mage were unsure about whether they could pull this off but had no choice but to listen to the guy in charge.


    "The two of them are back again?"


    Water Fairy had scouted ahead of the Gold Mines where the Horde would have to walk through while Lu Li was capturing the point.


    "There''s probably another player in Stealth ¨C either a Druid or another Thief, or even both. You go ahead and make sure they don''t interrupt me from capturing the point.


    Capturing a point was a channeled skill and could be interrupted when the player was attacked, which was why Lu Li made Water Fairy stall time for him.


    Even though she was up against several other players, Water Fairy was not afraid at all.


    If she were any other girl, she would probably act cute and say something along the lines of, "Big brother Lu Li, I''m so scared." However, Water Fairy was the last person that would do something like that.


    She Stealthed next to the enemies but instead of attacking, she first looked for the hidden player.


    From his appearance, he looked like a Stealthed Cat-form Druid.


    After she had an idea of what she was up against, she first Sapped the Mage, then Blinded the Paladin and focused all her damage onto the Druid.


    Cat Druids had high damage but barely any crowd control skills, so Water Fairy was free to unleash her combos on her.


    The Mage and the Paladin both cleansed their crowd-control and joined the fight to protect the Druid. The Cat Druid was actually the youngest of the group and everyone treated her like their own little sister.


    Lu Li finished capturing the point, then summoned his mount and raced towards his lover.


    Even though it was a 2v3, the three Horde players knew that things were going south. The Cat Druid was already at half HP and didn''t understand why Water Fairy would not leave her alone.


    Water Fairy focused the Cat Druid because¡­ she couldn''t be bothered changing targets.


    She trusted that Lu Li would come as soon as he could, so she kept cleansing any crowd-control that was thrown towards her way and continued chasing after the Druid.


    The Cat Druid had no choice but to return to human form to heal herself.


    The Mage and Paladin were shocked when they realized that the two of them could not kill a single Thief that was ignoring them. She had so many mobility skills, defensive skills, as well as cleanses that made it impossible to kill her.


    It was completely over when Lu Li joined the fight and he made sure they knew that he was just as scary as Water Fairy, if not more.


    Very quickly, the three of them were sent back to the spawn point.


    "Leave the Gold Mines; there''re pro players there. As long as we pressure the other points, we''ll be ok." The shot caller wasn''t stupid and knew that there was no point in facing against the two godly Thieves head-on without a strategy.


    There were five resource points in Arathi and it would be impossible for the two Thieves to have control over all five.


    They already had the upper hand at the other resource points and as soon as their points reached 2000, they would have the victory.


    A blue Alliance Flag was risen at the Gold Mines, but Lu Li and Water Fairy did not linger around the capture point for long. Their next target was the Farm, which was the closest resource point for the Horde.


    They had a Warrior there that was protecting the point.


    Even though Warriors countered Thieves, the difference in their gear was way too much for the class advantage to have any effect.


    "Boss, there are people at the Farm! I''m dead!"


    The shot caller was furious.


    "You''re a Warrior in Plate Armor; how could you die so easily?! Send a team of players to the Gold Mines; we''ll leave the Farm. If we''re no match for them then we''ll avoid them completely."

 1480 Fierce and Cruel

    By the time the farm area became a part of the Alliance''s territory, the gold mine that Lu Li and Water Fairy occupied before would have already changed hands.


    Afterwards, Lu Li and Water Fairy went to the sawmill again, and managed to occupy it without a hitch. Then, they proceeded over to a blacksmith''s shop and joined in there. With great power, they disparaged the previously deadlocked battle over the shop, and managed to take that place without a hitch too¡­


    But in the end, this was still useless.


    Teamwork was very important on the battlefield. If someone tried to be a hero all by themselves, it wouldn''t necessarily have much influence on the whole situation.


    They left first, but behind them, some Horde players ran over and recaptured their resource point. On this side, the Alliance were fighting disorderly, and Lu Li couldn''t be bothered to direct them. After all, their aim was just to kill people.


    They looked on as the amount of Horde resources kept increasing. Very soon, they reached 1500. Generally speaking, once that amount was reached, it was very difficult to recapture. Furthermore, the Horde''s opponents were just a disorderly rabble of people. However, the Horde weren''t happy at all, as the two Thieves were still casually roaming around near their territory.


    The Horde had, on average, been killed three or four times per person. There was one player who was most unlucky and had been killed eight times. It was probably because they were killed not long after they revived.


    When it came time for the final results, the number one rank belonged to an anonymous player, whose occupation was a Thief, and had 24 kills. The second player had a few less kills, but still achieved 18. In an average game in the Arathi Basin battlefield, these figures were quite rare.


    In a normal situation, 7 or 8 kills would already be considered good.


    When the Horde players thought about these figures and their own power, they finally found a reason to console themselves. It must have been the profession''s special powers, otherwise, there was no way to kill so many people in a team.


    All these attacks, struggles, guesses ¨C all of these things didn''t bother the odd couple at all. A true hero didn''t look back to see the explosion.


    They attacked a few times just to kill as many as they could. In the end, they couldn''t even be bothered to hoist up their flag.


    The Alliance side wasn''t a complete mess though. Lu Li and Water Fairy very soon bumped into a orderly, standard ten-person team. The leader of this small team had wanted to take Warsong Canyon and Arathi. In the case of Arathi, this team still needed to group together another five people. Naturally, their chance of victory was not very high.


    This time, the commander of the small Alliance team saw two level 60 Thieves. Although they were anonymous and the commander couldn''t see their names, level 60 players would only be listed on the queue for level 60 battlefields. To some extent, he was quite relieved.


    The occupation of Thief was suited to fighting on the battlefield. At the very least, they wouldn''t be a burden on anyone.


    "The Thieves from team 3 have opened up the resources in the house. Girl Thieves, go to the Sawmill, and the remaining three, go to the Gold Mine¡­" the commander of the small team ordered.


    This was considered a standard way of play. Many teams without a commander would also play like this.


    However, very soon after, the commander began to shout, "You two Thieves in team 5, what are you doing?! Didn''t you hear what I told you to do?"


    Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t pay attention to him; they both went straight to the Gold Mine. With their horses, they were very quick. By the time others got to the Gold Mine, there was only a corpse left there. The reason why there was only a corpse left was because the Horde had not prioritized the Gold Mine and only sent one person to have a look. If there was no one there, they could occupy it. If there was someone there, they could slow them down a little.


    It was a shame that this Thief hadn''t decided if he was going to attack or not. His opponent came up to him, grabbed him and killed him.


    The flag at the Gold Mine hadn''t been raised yet, so the people who were sent there had an easy job.


    "Where did those two Thieves go?!" the commander continued to shout while he was fighting in the central area of the blacksmith''s shop.


    Different commanders had different styles. Evidently, this commander was the type who especially liked to shout. This was partly because he had a bad temper, but it was also because he didn''t have enough confidence.


    By this time, Lu Li and Water Fairy had already ventured out to the farm and killed the two people who were guarding it.


    This time, the players behind them finally saw them in action.


    They were fierce and cruel, especially the female Thief, who was working under the cooperation of the male Thief. She brutally killed a Berserker and a Priest who was standing in a group.


    A Priest with a Berserker could be considered a perpetual motion machine of the battlefield. Even a group of three or four people might not be able to take care of them. However, it looked like the whole time, they barely had a chance to retaliate.


    After being intervened by the Berserker, the Priest was stunned until he died.


    A Berserker without a Priest was at best a like a thick-skinned meat bun. Water Fairy very quickly stabbed him to death.


    Lu Li realised that this young lady he fancied was actually rather violent. It seemed that the more people she killed, the happier she was. This was a little unsettling; what if she was in a bad mood?.


    Lu Li had heard that Water Fairy had received Elite training since she was little, so her combat abilities were well-honed. Even a few ordinary people wouldn''t be a match for her.


    Inexplicably, before his eyes, flashed a few images of his own bruised, battered face. Immediately, Lu Li didn''t feel so good.


    At this, the players behind them who were raising the flag and finishing up, saw the male Thief, who was clearly being riled up. After this, they cleaned up the Sawmill, then went to clean up the Blacksmith''s shop.


    "Today we encountered experts. You all have to be careful in raising the flag and protecting the resource point. We''ll follow them; keep following them all the way home."


    The commander didn''t possess much in terms of his ability. When going somewhere, he just kept to the road. When commanding, all he could do was shout, but at least he knew his limitations.


    With Lu Li and Water Fairy there, they completely unbalanced the otherwise evenly-matched teams.


    However, it was pretty rare to come across such experts.


    Although they were anonymous, no one doubted the identity of Lu Li and Water Fairy. Female competitors who were Thieves were very rare, so one playing together with a male Thief was even rarer. Everyone may have been subconsciously thinking about an odd couple, but their own assumptions were very quickly overturned.


    Lu Li had activated the Dragon Slayer''s Roar, and everyone knew that he would definitely go and reclaim another new Instance Dungeon.


    After attacking a few times, Lu Li took a rest. Wandering commanded a few rounds, and like Lu Li, he made it to the second stage. It then came time for the third group to enter the Instance Dungeon.


    Drizzle Court''s commander helped Sky Moon lead the attempt, so Lu Li didn''t have to enter the Instance Dungeon.


    By the time Lu Li entered the Instance Dungeon again, everyone was already quite well-acquainted with this Boss.


    All of these teams entering the Instance Dungeon were being livestreamed on all sides. They all gradually came to understand their own responsibilities when fighting against the little Red Dragon, but there were still some errors that were easy to commit.


    They saw how others fought, then went to try it out themselves. In the first stage at least, this worked out alright.


    However, on this particular day, they played until the game''s time ended, and only just barely made to the third stage. What was unexpected was that the first time they made it to third stage wasn''t with the first group, but rather the second group that Wandering commanded.


    Alternating commanders not only didn''t decrease efficiency, but it also allowed Lu Li to get a better view of the battle too.


    After all, everyone''s commanding style was different, and everyone had their own advantages.


    When they were taking turns to rest, Lu Li and Water Fairy had went back and forth from the battlefield dozens of times. A post came up on the forum, criticising the competitors to stop behaving like idiots and stop bullying the newbies. Their abuse extended even to the cute girls, saying that they deserved to be single their whole life.

 1481 Targeting

    "Today''s aim is very simple. Just wipe them out at the third stage."


    It was the second day that Blackwing''s Nest had been opened by Ruling Sword. Lu Li had now formulated a strategy targeting the little Red Dragon.


    "Charge!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled as he rushed up to the front.


    Azure Sea Breeze was an outstanding Main Tank. Apart from having the required skills, a good mentality and appearance were also extremely important. Someone like Azure Sea Breeze was indomitable. He was always filled with an edgy, enthusiastic spirit, and was able to improve the team morale. His spirit was like that of Lu Li''s.


    Like before, they were unable to advance to the third stage.


    They had no choice but to admit that even though Lu Li had always overestimated Little Red Dragon, it was only when they really started to fight that they knew that this Boss was actually quite different. What the walkthrough said about the difficulty of little Red Dragon didn''t seem very accurate.


    Of course, there was a chance that from here on, the System would make the little Red Dragon weaker. What Lu Li was encountering now was a version that hadn''t been weakened yet.


    When Lu Li and co. were fiercely opening up the Instance Dungeon that day, it wasn''t just them and a few other teams. There was also another group that no one would have expected.


    The people in this group were of all different types. Some were wearing suits and dress shoes, some seemed rather posh, some didn''t seem to care about their appearance at all, and some gave off a malodorous stench from their bodies, as though they hadn''t showered for days. They looked like they were in a large, loop-shaped conference room. In the middle, there emerged a multidimensional, 3D image. It was currently displaying Ruling Sword''s battle.


    These people were part of the game company''s design personnel. By examining the players'' battles, they were analysing the result of the Instance Dungeon.


    The previous Molten Core could be considered the first large-scale group Instance Dungeon, while Onyxia''s Lair which followed could be considered the second. The current one, Blackwing''s Nest, was the third. This group of people had used painstakingly poured hours into the design of these three Instance Dungeons. Some of them, just to take care of a small detail, would spend a few days in the office without sleep or rest.


    The last two Instance Dungeons were a great success.


    They had put the players in a difficult situation. They had made those players who were successful receive the attention of thousands. This further motivated those players who would not admit defeat, making them even more passionate and hot-blooded.


    However, the board was not satisfied with this group at all.


    They just couldn''t understand this group of guys.


    They made such laughable demands. Actually, with the demands, they had to ensure that they maintained a degree of difficulty, but they also had to give hope to the players and the possibility of being able to pass the Instance Dungeon within a reasonable amount of time.


    Could it be that they didn''t design this Instance Dungeon well-enough?


    If they said this Instance Dungeon was too hard, well, Ruling Sword was able to defeat their other Instance Dungeons. They were a guild that had only been established for a year. Furthermore, those who participated in Instance Dungeons were usually more inexperienced players. There were even two high school girls who weren''t even adults yet.


    "When did they pass Onyxia''s Lair?" one of the men in a suit asked.


    "A few days ago. Onyxia''s Lair has how been defeated by seven guilds in all, with approximately 10 or 20 groups. They are mainly¡­from the Alliance. From the Horde, there''s only Glory Capital and Gale Legion," came the response next to him, spoken with deference from the boss of the Design Department.


    "The Dragon Slayer''s Roar does ruin the balance a little," the man said as he stroked his chin, which was freshly-shaven.


    "A little, but it''s not too big of an effect. Glory Capital, as the second one to finish its duties, also let the Horde enjoy this kind of benefit. Although it didn''t add as much as the Alliance''s, Sorrowless announced it to all Horde players, so more of them were able to receive it."


    "Does this have any impact on the Instance Dungeon?" The man was not satisfied with the roundabout response.


    "It doesn''t have much impact, but we can''t do anything about this. There''s no such thing as a perfectly equal game, sir."


    Although the Design Department boss still spoke respectfully as before, even an idiot could hear the stubbornness in his tone.


    Of the representatives sent from the board, it was evident that this guy with the suit and dress shoes wasn''t stupid.


    They couldn''t criticise the game too much. They merely had the right to know what was going on.


    I don''t have any other opinion, but you need to listen to the voices of ordinary players. This game isn''t just for a small group of people."


    "Sir, I promise you, we''ve turned the four words "Game for All Players" into a hanging scroll and hung it in front of the door of the Design Department. And¡­" the person responsible for the Design Department responded, then continued to patiently explain, "The AI has a huge calculating capacity. It naturally adjusts the difficulty of the Instance Dungeon and the Boss'' data. Next time the System updates, you, sir, will see more teams succeed in the Molten Core, Onyxia''s Lair and the current Blackwings'' Nest."


    "Alright, alright, apart from believing you all, what else can we do?" the man asked helplessly. "When would you say Ruling Sword would be able to defeat this dragon?"


    "I can''t say for sure, but Lu Li, without a doubt, is a genius at gaming. The Red Dragon won''t be much of an obstacle for him."


    The person responsible for this kept speaking as he pointed to the current players'' battle.


    "With three clubs working together, they''ve got enough resources, enough manpower, sufficient equipment, and they''ve also got the Dragon Slayer''s Roar. And they''re continuing to advance¡­"


    "The First Clear has always been Ruling Sword''s. This isn''t anything particularly amazing," the man sighed.


    "Sir," the person responsible from the Design Department spoke icily, "This is a very balanced game. We shouldn''t be the ones to determine who gets the First Clear. The AI won''t allow us to interfere with the game. I trust the board also doesn''t want to interfere with the progress of the game either."


    The man in the suit coughed.


    "I think you misunderstand what I mean. I just¡­" he continued to explain nonchalantly.


    "What we''re doing right now is already peeking into the game. I hope the board does not put forward any more similar demands."


    The person responsible for the Design Department turned off the projection, and the exciting, chaotic warfare of Blackwing''s Nest disappeared from right in front of their eyes without a trace. The achievement of victory seemed to be ripe for picking, so much so that everyone on all sides wanted to interfere and take it.


    Lu Li didn''t know about all this arguing and scheming, but even if he knew, it wouldn''t really affect him.


    At least in his memory, the game, as it had gone on for the last three years, still maintained fundamental equality. Furthermore, the game company could do less and less to interfere with the content of the game. Supposedly, the code that the design team wrote into the game could be deemed unreasonable by the AI and it would send it back to be written again.


    Of course, if Lu Li knew that his own game''s content was being secretly looked at, he might make a complaint to the relevant supervisory department of the game industry.


    After fighting for a whole morning, you could say the whole team was comfortably in the third stage. Furthermore, they could reserve more and more people who were able to fight. The other groups at the back also performed very well, which meant that at least there wasn''t a problem with anyone''s equipment. Just from listening to the commanding, it wasn''t as obvious as one might think that there was a disparity between the quality of the groups.


    The third stage was the easiest for the whole team to die.


    One second, they were fighting well, so well that Lu Li almost thought they had a chance to directly take down Little Red Dragon. But the next second, the whole team was killed just like that. Lu Li himself would just be damn shocked.


    The most important thing was targeting. Those who had been targeted would definitely die, which meant the Main Tank often needed to be changed.


    The issue of changing the Tank had the risk of increasing hate and disorder. Furthermore, this type of thing was so ridiculous, as it could lead to someone dying in an instant, just like that.

 1482 She’s Busy

    Lu Li pushed his limits even more in the afternoon. Even if he had three guilds form an alliance for this Instance Dungeon, gathering thirty or more Priests together for the fight was impossible. However, he had plenty of opportunities to observe the Boss'' mechanics, so the three teams and eight priests he had should be enough to defeat it.


    "Lu Li, your death has only made my sin heavier!"


    The commander''s name appearing on the death-board depleted the teams'' morale. Lu Li was surprised; he didn''t think he had gained aggro, nor was his standing position particularly obvious. Now that he was down, his limited field of view made it impossible to control the battlefield. He could only wait in frustration for Hachi Chan to Revive him. Exhausting the resurrection quota was inevitable, since Lu Li was irreplaceable as commander, and was also one of the few players that was capable of using Revive.


    Lu Li thought their advances were quite successful; perhaps they could finally clear this Instance Dungeon. Prior to his rebirth, Lu Li read many Instance Dungeon strategy guides and one piece of advice, in particular, had always stuck with him: "Never give up, not even when there''s only one person left standing!"


    Unfortunately, his optimism had failed him. The Red Dragon easily wiped out his entire team not long after.


    The line that showed up every time a player died ¨C"Your death has only made my sin heavier"¨C was supposed to be a line full of dread, mercy, and struggle, yet hearing it over and over again only led to dread. The players offered mercy to others, but who was showing mercy to them?


    "If you all still have the energy to move, prepare for another attempt. Breezy, get ready. The rest of you, heal up with potions," Lu Li calmly directed his team, seemingly unfazed by their defeat.


    The rest of the team rested in silence. Trapped in a cold and dark dungeon, experiencing an indefinite loop of defeat and death ¨C the whole thing almost had them all forget that it was just a game.


    "This is so hard! Why won''t the Boss die?" Hachi Chan cried as she dawdled sluggishly on the ground, unwilling to get up.


    "Just the other day, my dad asked what I was doing in this game every day," Remnant Dream scowled. "I told him I was just raising pets and going into raids. There was nothing challenging about it."


    "Do you two want to tag out?" Lu Li asked. He wasn''t ready to be charged with exploitation of child-workers, nor was he being sarcastic or uncaring when he offered them a break. If even he was exhausted, how would these two little girls be feeling?


    "No way, we won''t risk missing out on the First Clear!" the two girls shook their heads. Lu Li couldn''t understand why they were so held up about getting the First Clear. Had Azure Sea Breeze got into their heads, turning them into star-struck idiots?


    "Well, let''s get going then. This is our last chance. If we can''t clear the dungeon, we''ll have to back out and let the other teams try," Lu Li said as he looked at the time. His team already had enough chances of clearing anyway. Perhaps the other teams might have better luck than them.


    "I''m definitely gonna go get high after I get out of this game today," Azure Sea Breeze said. He decided that he had to treat himself after a hard day''s work.


    "Get high doing what? Don''t tell me¡­" Machine Bro smiled impishly.


    "You overestimated him, Machin Bro. He just meant he''s going to go karaoke, and you have no idea how hellish it is if you go with him. Terrible singing, and a mic-hog," Cain''s Left Hand interrupted as he shook his head and shuddered, reliving the last time he ''got high'' with Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Uh- well, I''m actually busy tonight ¨C very busy," Machine Bro mumbled as he turned pale and ran off immediately.


    "Don''t say that my singing''s terrible. You''re the one whose voice keeps cracking," Azure Sea Breeze retorted.


    "My singing may be a little off-key, but when you sing, none of your lines are on-key, at all," Cain''s Left Hand shot back as he turned pale as well, obviously traumatized by the experience.


    "Ugh, I should''ve asked Wandering instead of you to karaoke. He never complains when we go out, and smiles every time he listens to me sing," Azure Sea Breeze sighed. Weary from how unfriendly those guys were, it was no wonder he was closest with Wandering.


    Wandering ¨C he was the guy who could always make you feel good about yourself.


    "Alright, whoever makes a obvious mistake during this clear has to go karaoke with Breezy," Lu Li smirked. The whole team laughed, having briefly forgotten about their fatigue from challenging the Instance Dungeon. Only the ones who had been to karaoke with Breezy remained silent, knowing those guys wouldn''t be laughing so much once they actually did go.


    Once again, they attempted the Instance Dungeon.


    "Flower, let''s make a bet," Machine Bro suggested. Machine Bro had to take on one of the more tiresome tasks as a healer, but since he was good at what he did, mustering the energy to talk during battle wasn''t much of a challenge.


    "Bet on what?" Lonesome Flower asked, sounding disinterested.


    "Whoever goes down first must give a hundred coins to the other,"


    "Let''s do it."


    Never one to back down from a challenge, Lonesome Flower accepted the bet immediately. Flower was the strongest damage dealer in the team and was also the Mage who always drew aggro, but that also meant that he was always targeted by the enemies. The bet had him at a significant disadvantage against a priest who was rarely targeted during attacks.


    "Breezy, keep your monsters in line ¨C they''re scattering," Lu Li reminded. "I thought you wanted to go karaoke later tonight. If you go down right now, there''s no karaoke for a month."


    "Goddamn, one month without getting high? I''d rather die."


    Azure Sea Breeze had immediately gotten serious. After a while, he said, "How about it? I''m leading the monsters quite well, right? Why don''t I sing a song right now? Maybe the Boss will be charmed by my singing and let us clear this dungeon."


    "Shut it. From now on, whoever makes idle chit chat about anything unrelated to the dungeon will have 5 guild points taken off them."


    Lu Li was growing weary. Being one of the unfortunate victims who had heard Breezy sing, he would rather die than allow him to sing now.


    The damage done to the Boss in Instance Dungeons was rolled-over to the next attempt. This final clear had the Boss begin with 50% health. The first stage had the Red Dragon down to 20%, and so did the second stage. The third stage had it at 10%, yet the difficulty of lowering it any further was a nightmare for the team. Finally, the Boss was at 4% health, but Lu Li wasn''t feeling any more confident than when he first started the clear.


    "Snowy, vanish!" Lu Li yelled.


    It was too late. Water Fairy was dazed for a second, and when she did Vanish, the Boss turned its head towards her. Everyone in her area was killed in an instant.


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Water Fairy had gotten too distracted in the battle that she had completely forgotten about the thing that Lu Li had reminded his team hundreds of times ¨C to look out for their Aggro. In the past, it might not have been that big a deal if the rule was broken when battling other Bosses, and Lu Li only had to look out for a couple of players who had a high chance of drawing aggro (such as Lonesome Flower). However, after obtaining the Dragon Slayer''s Roar, close-combat players in the front line such as Water Fairy could easily draw aggro, and this time had the entire team wiped out.


    "Oh man, don''t tell me, Water sis gets to go karaoke with me tonight," Azure Sea Breeze giggled, trying to ease up the team''s dejected mood after being killed once again.


    "She''s busy!" Lu Li yelled in frustration.

 1483 Karaoke

    No one knew what to expect when Water Fairy went to karaoke. Even Lu Li had only heard her sing once, and it was during her live stream. It was hard to describe how well she sang. While it wasn''t of a professional level, Lu Li thought that she sang beautifully. Like the crisp sound of a cascade hitting the rocks beneath it, or a feather that caressed the heart, her voice was indescribably soothing. That was why Lu Li did not object when Water Fairy agreed to go to karaoke; he just preferred if there wasn''t a group of third-wheelers tagging along.


    Water Fairy''s live-streaming contract had almost expired. All she really needed to do was to continue playing games to meet her quota; there was no real need to sing songs for her fans since the consequences of such were unfathomable. Lu Li had witnessed the number of people that were bewitched by Water Fairy''s singing that day.


    The night they failed to clear the Instance Dungeon, Azure Sea Breeze dragged the whole team to go karaoke with him. Breezy was quite popular amongst the guild club, and there were still a lot of players who had not fallen victim to his singing, so it was no difficult task to round up enough people to ''get high'' together. Even so, Water Fairy tagged along as well. According to what she said, Lu Li was the one who proposed the punishment of going to karaoke with Azure Sea Breeze if they were the first to go down during the dungeon, so as a member of the team, it was naturally her responsibility to own up to her mistakes. Since she was going, Lu Li had to go as well.


    The karaoke venue was a ten-minute walk from Ruling Sword''s headquarters. The team had dinner and headed over there straightaway. Though there was also karaoke in the virtual world, as Azure Sea Breeze had said, even if it was cheaper and the booze wouldn''t damage their bodies, the experience just wasn''t the same. Honestly, he just wanted to put on a show for the team.


    Although the team had booked the largest room available, it was still crowded with the twenty or so people all squished onto one couch. Even so, no one dared to push Lu Li or Water Fairy around. Lu Li noticed his teammates'' tense politeness and thought that it was fine if they squished onto him just a bit.


    "Ah, aha aha!~"


    The terrible wails that screeched out of Azure Sea Breeze''s throat had everyone turn white as a sheet. What the heck was that? Everyone agreed that whatever sound was coming out of his throat was not human. However, since Breezy was indeed quite a popular figure amongst the team, his singing still induced quite a few claps and yells of encouragement from the crowd.


    "He actually did so much better this time," Wandering said with a shrug.


    "Brother, you''re the only one who gets me after all."


    Azure Sea Breeze slung one arm over Wandering''s shoulders. Wandering''s reassurance had him realise that the grimaces the rest of the team were making were unimportant. However, Wandering actually meant was that Breeze''s singing was even more terrible than in the past.


    After hogging the mic for three songs straight, Azure Sea Breeze finally gave up the spotlight. However, he had no idea that his one-man show had been recorded and uploaded onto the internet. The title was "You Will Faint After Hearing Dawn''s number one Main Tank Sing."


    Since Azure Sea Breeze proudly held the title of number one Main Tank in Dawn as well as having the most First Clears, many players in the game respected him. However, this sort of clickbait title led to millions of views which, upon the next time Breeze logged into the game, had him receive countless dirty looks. He wasn''t the reputable, respectable number one Main Tank anymore, but just a weirdo who had damaged the hearing of everyone that had heard his singing.


    That wasn''t all there was to it. Nowadays, the entertainment and gaming industry often overlapped. Therefore, many celebrities and artists would play games to win over the hearts of otakus and shut-ins.


    One of the artists who followed gaming blogs watched Breezy''s video, and even though he had sat through all three songs, he had no idea that he was singing his songs at all. With that, the artist went on a reality show and showed the video, and amazingly received an insane number of views. Unfortunately for Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze, neither of them knew that there were selfie-maniacs in their team, and thus had tonight''s event recorded and uploaded entirely.


    Since the commander went to karaoke with the team, Lu Li was naturally forced to sing a song as well. How would he know how to sing? His whole life was one obstacle after another, difficulty after difficulty ¨C there was not a single ounce of joy of which he could sing about, nor did he had the time or desire to sing at all.


    "Come on, turning us down like this is just disrespectful," Fat Monkey said with a smirk.


    This guy just wanted to see Lu Li embarrass himself. Lu Li went through the available playlist over and over again but could not find a single song which he knew. The only song that he could briefly hum to was the one that Water Fairy had sung during her live stream.


    "I''ll tag in. Let me sing," Water Fairy suggested.


    Although the people that went to karaoke were all in the inner circle of Ruling Sword and might like to push Lu Li around, no one dared to force Water Fairy to do anything. Even as one of her closer friends, Azure Sea Breeze decided not to ask her to sing either. Water Fairy was a very frank person ¨C if she didn''t want to do something, she''d make sure she was clear about it. One straightforward no in front of everyone would just be embarrassing for whoever was dumb enough to ask her to sing. Who knew that she would volunteer to sing for Lu Li instead?


    Water Fairy was quite good at singing and more importantly, her voice itself was beautiful. Not to mention, everyone had just gone into a torture chamber listening to the inhumane screeches of Azure Sea Breeze. Water Fairy''s voice was just the healing remedy they needed, and some even shed a tear or two. It was a valuable experience for the team. The entire squad going to karaoke together was an excellent opportunity for bonding, and even the generally-feared Water Fairy now seemed like just another normal, approachable girl.


    Water Fairy had never been the most popular person in Ruling Sword ¨C rather, most players saw a wall between themselves and her. Someone as rich and beautiful as she was not exactly approachable. Even when Lu Li built himself up from nothing and never once took advantage of Water Fairy, even when they were together, he was often bitterly talked about as some sort of gigolo. People were also unsatisfied with Water Fairy, seeing her as condescending simply because of her status as a salary-payer. However, her days spent in Ruling Sword clearing Instance Dungeons and living in Jiangnan city had slowly reshaped and impressed her guild members.

 1484 Brother Ji Is Coming

    It was the last of a three-day Dragon Slayer''s Roar buff. If they were unable to take the little Red Dragon down, then ¡­


    Lu Li could already imagine the image of them spending a fortnight as the First Clearing Team ¨C the sustained, repetitive movements, day after day. He reminded himself to think more optimistically. If he had only viewed it pessimistically, it would have been months before it was possible for them to succeed. Lu Li would essentially admit to himself that what he created would be akin to a castle built on sand ¨C unable to sustain even the slightest degree of adversity.


    As the regular holder of First Clears when it came to Instance Dungeons, there was nothing more attractive than that.


    Upon first entering the Instance Dungeon, everyone had immense energy. In fact, they were all initially quite successful. While promising benefits, Lu Li also placed pressure on the team''s competitive spirit.


    "We are team number one. If we let team two or three overtake us, what is the purpose of our existence?"


    Virtually no one died during the first stage, and only few died during the second stage. The main point was that they were all still alive. After entering the third stage, everyone felt even more awake. Lu Li had shouted so loudly that he ended up losing his voice. His only fear was that someone would have a moment of clouded judgement and thereby make a mistake.


    It was a shame that their collective progress could not be sustained until the very end.


    1%!


    It was unbelievable. They were on the Boss'' last remaining trace of HP. There was only 1% HP left before everyone was wiped; the Boss didn''t even go Beserk!


    If Lu Li saw hope when the group died while the Boss was on 4%, then today''s 1% made Lu Li despair.


    It was not just because they had lost the opportunity to eliminate the Red Dragon, but they had also suffered significant battle costs. They had exhausted all the Darkmoon Cards ¨C of which they had only a few to begin with. One of those cards could only be used once, while another had only two uses left. Such a loss caused Lu Li more heartache than the combined cost of replacing lost potions and of repairs.


    As for the current group, it was impossible for Lu Li to organise multiple Druids and Warlocks, in addition to eight Thieves and Priests. They had lost 24 members. The remaining team had to include, by necessity, a few Paladins. This was because it was impossible to gain an Aura without them.


    The importance of the Darkmoon cards was beyond words.


    As such, it was now time for the second group. It was not important which group did it ¨C they needed to clear the little Red Dragon today. The Club was going to give them bonuses regardless of who achieved that goal. Lu Li decided to calm himself down. Although the team had only fought once today, their general low mood suggested that their results would only worsen if they continued.


    This was a significant defeat. It was unavoidable that they would be affected.


    He finally understood why he had, in his previous incarnation, heard of so many groups disbanding because of their inability to defeat the little Red Dragon. This Boss was, for a long period of time, the golden standard for whether a particular Guild was qualified or not.


    In short, a Guild couldn''t be considered a major Guild if it couldn''t defeat the little Red Dragon.


    When Lu Li was competing, he had switched off all of his means of contact. Now that he had re-opened his notifications, a few messages instantly appeared.


    One contained an update from Square Root 3 on the status of their equipment preparation. Lu Li scanned it. Because three guilds had agreed to work in tandem, there was nothing to worry about concerning the preparation of potions. There were enough for at least four groups. This was perhaps the marker of an established or wealthy Guild. They did not have to worry about problems surrounding logistics, which was in stark contrast to the meticulous calculations that Lu Li had to undergo to guarantee precision.


    Square Root 3''s message made Lu Li slightly calmer.


    However, it wasn''t long before Lu Li became excited over another person''s message.


    This one was from Unforgettable Maple, the leader of Majin Temple. He brought to Lu Li surprising news.


    "According to my view, he wants to connect with you. It''s still an idea now."


    After receiving Lu Li''s request to communicate, Unforgettable Maple explained his prediction. He explained how Innocent Child was prepared to fight in Survival and Escape alongside Lu Li.


    He also added that Innocent Child was now prepared to leave Gangnam Royals.


    Lu Li did not know why Innocent child suggested that they fight together, especially when he was in the middle of breaking an agreement.


    "I recall that he has a strong relationship with you. Why didn''t he just go to Majin Temple?" Lu Li enquired out of confusion.


    "Innocent Child was previously, on all accounts, a core-member of the Gangnam Royals. Although he partially lost favour because of Dancing Star Dream, he is still beyond what Majin Temple could accept," Unforgettable Maple said with a wry smile. His remarks seemed over-exaggerated.


    However, it was undeniable that there was logic to his words.


    From the Gangnam Royals to Majin Temple, Innocent Child would have to succumb from one veteran player to another. He would be mad to go to the Gangnam Royals.


    Even if the situation was considered simply from the perspective of financial gain, Majin Temple did not have the funds to invite Innocent Child to join them. They were very poor and weak. Even if Innocent Child were to handicap himself, he would still be able to kill the so-called ''God Mage'', Unforgettable Maple, in a split second.


    Even though the Gangnam Royals had many negative traits, they were wealthy. The individual worth of their players was at the peak of the industry.


    Furthermore, even from the perspective of development, Innocent Child could not go to the stagnant Majin Temple. It was a conflict between whether one''s future was more important, or one''s existing relationships.


    "Oh, Innocent Child ¡­" Lu Li hesitated, before slowly calming down.


    Within Lu Li''s memory from his previous incarnation, he did not remember Innocent Child leaving the Gangnam Royals so early. However, he ultimately still ended up leaving. He changed his own talents, and entered into Blood Red War Flag to become a Druid. Blood Red War Flag had given him a main position. Innocent Child proved to be brilliant in battle, and delivered the outcomes that would have been expected in light of his high salary.


    Lu Li could not anticipate that within this life, Innocent Child would decide to leave the Gangnam Royals so early.


    However, it also wasn''t that difficult to understand. Ruling Sword could be said to have used the Gangnam Royals as a stepping-stone to get to where they were now. The Gangnam Royal''s precarious position only worsened by the day. Despite this, Heart of War remained infamous for never taking responsibility, often deflecting liability onto others. He had, for instance, attributed all the failings of the competition to Innocent Child, who had been in charge as commander of the team.


    This made Innocent Child depressed. It had gotten to a point where he could not handle it anymore, and needed to find a new path.


    He didn''t, however, directly get in touch with Blood Red War Flag. After some analysis, Innocent Child determined that Blood Red War Flag would be a suitable backup. To put it differently, he had added Ruling Sword as a backup. Because Ruling Sword was ranked quite highly, he hoped that contacting his old friend Unforgettable Maple might give him a way in.


    Neither Innocent Child nor Unforgettable Maple had much of a relationship with Ruling Sword.


    Since the commencement of Ruling Sword, the Gangnam Royals, of which Innocent Child had been an affiliate of, had been their sworn enemies, both on the battlefield and off it.


    Hundreds if not thousands of Ruling Sword players had died under Innocent Child''s hands. Many, upon hearing of Innocent Child''s name, would clench their teeth in hatred. It was therefore unlikely that they would come directly to Lu Li. That said, now that there was a middleman, even if there were to be underlying conflict, it would not manifest in public.


    If Lu Li had no interest in Innocent Child, he could immediately reject Unforgettable Maple.


    Alternatively, if he had interest, he could find a time to meet Innocent Child in order to further discuss the matter.

 1485 Feeling What It’s Like to Team Up

    Lu Li was obviously interested.Innocent Child was a high-aunctioning and sensitive player with a lot of experience. He was also ranked quite highly among the star players. According to some authoritative magazines, he was probably 15th to 20th. This was because of the Gangnam Royals Club.


    Ruling Sword had changed since its inception, so it was difficult to get an exact number. However, it wasn''t as though they had made all their players rich either. The only two healers they had were March Rain and Mu Qiu. Mu Qiu had already asked Lu Li numerous times if he could invest in a damage output build. He was going to keep a minor healing ability, but it wouldn''t be a very strong healing.


    This was why Lu Li wanted to get more professional healers involved.


    Originally, he wanted to train them himself. There were a few players with good potential in the Novice Training camp, but they wouldn''t be of any use for another year and a half. If he could pull in a veteran player like Innocent Child, then the club''s strength would see an immediate increase.


    As for what Innocent Child would gain, Lu Li wasn''t too worried about it. Currently, Ruling Sword was poor, but the rewards they received were not that much different from their competitors. He kept a part of the money they earned to develop the club, but the players kept almost everything else. The money he kept was used to improve the club players and elite group players.


    Lu Li was a very practical person, or to put it bluntly, he was a self-interested person, and so he assumed that everyone else was self-interested as well. If a person quit, he would assume that either they had been wronged or that they weren''t being paid well enough.


    It could be hard to work out when someone was wronged, but Lu Li would rather receive less pay so that the others could be paid well.


    Given Innocent Child''s current value, it wasn''t something that Lu Li could pay for.


    "Let''s play some Survival and Escape if you have the time," Unforgettable Maple suggested. He was said that he didn''t have much of a relationship with Innocent Child. If Majin Temple was stronger, then they could have easily pulled Innocent Child into their club.


    "Alright, let me get Water Fairy," Lu Li responded.


    "Oh, yeah, go get her," Unforgettable Maple said weakly. He was already having a bad day, and now he had to follow this damned couple around too?


    Everyone logged onto Survival and Escape and formed a four-man team.


    There was a theory among the gaming circle that argued that building teams required an emotional connection. If the players weren''t on the same page, they wouldn''t function as a unit, even if they were all experts. Innocent Child was probably someone who agreed with this theory, so he had contacted Lu Li to get a feel for whether they could game together.


    It was said that Dawn would eventually use Survival and Escape''s formula for one of their own maps in the future.


    In that new map, the player''s levels would be fixed at level 60, and everyone started with the same stats. All their equipment, skill books and resources had to be found on the map.


    "I heard that you are doing Blackwing''s Nest?" Unforgettable Maple asked when they were entering the game.


    "Yep," Lu Li answered while squinting.


    Lu Li already knew what this slimy guy wanted to do. He wanted to get information out of Lu Li.


    Majin Temple was really lucky this time. When Lu Li activated the Dragon Slayer''s Roar, they were all in Stormwind City. Almost all their members received this powerful buff, so they managed to defeat the Princess of the Black Dragon, Onyxia.


    Right now, they had turned their attention to Blackwing''s Nest.


    The reason he was willing to help with Innocent Child''s referral was because it would give him an opportunity to get the strategy from Lu Li.


    "Hey, if you can, you should share the strategy," Unforgettable Maple laughed.


    "You''re quite capable. Are you sure you want me to tell you?" Lu Li asked. He was willing assist him because of the referral, but he was warning that this debt would be repaid.


    Was the strategy to Blackwing''s Nest that precious?


    It really was!


    Lu Li''s group had been wiped many times when trying to clear the mechanic Boss. If they knew the strategy, they wouldn''t have had to go through such an arduous process. This would save them a lot of time and money.


    However, would a party be able to get through the Instance Dungeon with the strategy alone?


    Lu Li currently didn''t have any strategies for the little Red Dragon, and just had to fight tooth and nail to get through it.


    "Definitely. The strategy for Blackwing''s Nest would be great for us," Unforgettable Maple said after he hesitated for a moment. However, he was determined, and wouldn''t change his mind so easily.


    "I have the strategies for the first two Bosses. I''ll arrange for someone to send them to you. We are still working on the later Bosses."


    Lu Li was happy to oblige since Unforgettable Maple had insisted on it. As long as someone was willing to pay, Lu Li was willing to share his strategies.


    There was no point having a strategy for the little Red Dragon; they would still get destroyed anyway.


    When they entered the game, everyone appeared on the plane. Lu Li glanced at the route and proposed, "We should go to the airport; that''s where this plane''s route is heading."


    "There will probably be lots of people," Unforgettable Maple said coolly.


    Although they were all professional gamers, the attitude they had towards this game was never a serious one.


    Most people didn''t like dropping into the airport because there were many good items there. This meant that lots of people would often drop there, making it one of the most intense areas of the whole map. Unforgettable Maple didn''t really like the intensity, so it was his least favourite drop location.


    "Let''s just drop at the airport?" Innocent Child suggested, not seeming to mind.


    "Alright."


    Water Fairy liked to keep positive, and usually wouldn''t back down just because a majority was against her. However, since this was a 3-on-1, Unforgettable Maple had no choice but the drop with the others at the airport.


    When the plane flew over the airport, everyone picked a location from which to jump out of the plane.


    "12345¡­ 11¡­ 16¡­ Dammit, there''s too many people here," Unforgettable Maple sighed, feeling depressed. He didn''t feel too optimistic about this location. He felt that any door he opened could be met with a fully kitted-out player.


    "Snowy, follow me ¨C we''re on the roof. I see a gun."


    Although Lu Li was trying to build relations with Innocent Child, he still had to give priority to his girlfriend.


    "Hurry up, there are so many people nearby," Water Fairy said nervously.


    "I''m going up."


    Innocent Child liked shooting from above, and knew how to make the most of his guns.


    "Whoever dies first is an idiot."


    Unforgettable Maple chose a place where the least number of players had landed.


    Lu Li immediately tried to grab the gun in front of him. At the same time, there was another person before him that had picked up the AK from the ground.


    The AK had been taken, but Lu Li took all 60 bullets from the ground. One of them had no bullets, but the other had no guns. It was an awkward situation, but Lu Li reacted faster. He immediately ran to another gun, knowing that speed was crucial in these moments.


    It was a shotgun, a close ranged weapon.


    Bang!


    Lu Li hadn''t picked up the bullets yet, so this didn''t come from his gun.


    A player not far from Lu Li had shot at him, but he managed to duck away in time. After Lu Li ducked, he took aim at the guy who took his AK and fired a shot.


    The man who didn''t have a helmet or a vest suddenly fell.


    He looked back to the other side, and aimed at the person who tried to shoot him before taking another shot.


    Aiming while strafing not only allowed him to aim better, but also allowed him to avoid the returned shot. The two people had fired at each other, but one of them missed. Lu Li successfully knocked his opponent down.


    "Snowy, take the shotgun," Lu Li said as he quickly rushed over and grabbed the AK before loading it.


    The top floors of these buildings were quite open, and had a lot of resources but everyone could see each other. Lu Li had to get a better gun before the others attacked him.


    There were four players on this rooftop, and Lu Li had killed two, but there were still a few players on the adjacent buildings. Fortunately, they were fighting each other and hadn''t looked to Lu Li and Water Fairy yet.


    Water Fairy went straight to the man who had been knocked down by Lu Li tried to kill him with her fists so she could grab his gun.


    But how could Lu Li let his girl beat at someone like that? He used his AK to shoot the two players and killed them. He then knelt down and started shooting at the other players on the rooftops.


    The stability of the AK was quite ordinary, but considering that it automatically fired 7.62 bullets per second, it was actually quite a good gun. It could basically kill someone with 2 shots. If they weren''t at full HP, then you could finish the target off with one shot.


    "Ah, someone is coming up from the stairs to attack me!" Water Fairy screamed. When Lu Li looked over, she had already been downed.


    "Just hide."


    Lu Li couldn''t save her now. There was a guy on the left side of the room behind the table, and he had a gun in his hand. As long as Lu Li tried to save her, he would rush out to shoot him. Even if Lu Li was a good shot, he couldn''t do both.


    "There''s nowhere to hide," Water Fairy whined as she stayed in place, struggling to find a hiding spot.


    The position of the player at the stairs was revealed when he tried to fire at the downed Water Fairy to finish her off.


    Instead of shooting Lu Li, he was shooting Water Fairy. This was obviously to completely eliminate her from the game. The person that Lu Li had just killed was his teammate, and Lu Li had finished them off. The mentality was that they were trying to take as many people down with them as possible.


    In Survival and Escape, this was quite a common situation.


    If four players entered a game, there were often situations where their teammates were eliminated. This usually made for a bad gaming experience for them.

 1486 Feels Pretty Good

    "Snowy, move it," Lu Li said as he turned back and fired a shot near Water Fairy. He missed, and the people hiding in the stairs were now aware of the situation. They wanted to work with the others to kill Lu Li.


    When Lu Li would shoot one of them, his target would hide while the teammate would come out to shoot Lu Li. When Lu Li would shoot the other one, the same thing would happen. Lu Li had to finish up this fight quickly. Not only had Water Fairy been knocked down, but she had been shot after that too, so she was dying at an even faster rate.


    Bam bam bam!


    After a few shots, a red mist rose from the person hiding by the stairs and he fell.


    Lu Li looked up at the higher position. It looked like the expert of the game had survived. An expert could easily calculate the trajectory of a shot, and it was obvious that these had come from above. If he had to guess, it was Innocent Child that did it. Since he had taken high ground, he was supporting his teammates below.


    Lu Li couldn''t see another opponent on the rooftops, but he believed in Innocent Child''s shooting ability. As such, he quickly ran over to Water Fairy who was about to die.


    After Water Fairy got up, she ran down the roof to find some medication. Lu Li was off clearing any remaining players, and so was Innocent Child from the roof. They then equipped all the items that they could use.


    After adding an extended magazine to the AK, he could fire 40 shots before having to reload.


    In addition, he had a level 1 green Helmet and a level 2 half-HP vest.


    Basically, he was poor!


    There were only a few things in the boxes on top of the building. After all, everyone had just grabbed any gun they could find before initiating the fight.


    "Haha, they got the items before me. This is bad! There are people near me, about two or three of them. Come save me!" Unforgettable Maple cried out as he shivered in the corner of the factory.


    "Don''t you have a gun? Just fight them. It''s just two people; don''t be scared," Lu Li said with a sigh. He had played quite a few matches with Water Fairy now. If he found himself in such a situation, he wouldn''t be scared, even if he just had a pistol in his hand.


    "Excuse me, I only have a 98K in my hands," Unforgettable Maple said in exasperation.


    Although he was called Canine King, he seemed quite awkward. In the face of such a desperate situation, there was no choice but to face it. However, the gun he had didn''t give him much confidence.


    The 98K was one of the most powerful guns. Under normal circumstances, it could knock someone down in a single shot, but it also had very great drawbacks.


    Each shot required the player to pull the bolt, and there were only five rounds in the magazine. Before he could fire a second shot, he would probably already be dead.


    "I''m coming to save you," Water Fairy said quickly before running towards the factory.


    Lu Li obviously had to come now. Even if he didn''t care about Unforgettable Maple''s survival, he wouldn''t just let Water Fairy face three opponents alone.


    "They haven''t seen me yet. They are still looking for things. Damn it, there are actually four of them. I''m so unlucky; these four guys are going to find me and I only have a 98K," Unforgettable Maple sighed, trembling as he spoke. No matter how good he was, he couldn''t deal with four players with one 98K.


    "I see them too. We''re almost there!"


    Lu Li turned the automatic rifle in hand onto burst mode and rushed straight in.


    Without any particularly tactical movement, he just rushed into the crowd with his gun in hand and started spraying wildly.


    One down!


    Two down!


    Lu Li suddenly dropped to the ground while still aiming ahead. The poor guys trying to fight back were confused for a second, which further delayed their response.


    The last one was shocked, and just hid behind the nearest thing they could find.


    He was so surprised that he had no idea how many people had turned up. Given how boldly they had attacked them, it had to be at least three people.


    Lu Li had come on so strongly, and he wasn''t completely unscathed. He only had half of his HP left.


    But how could a real man back down now? He reloaded his gun and rushed over, not even stopping to use a First Aid Kit.


    There was one who was thinking about rushing out, and the other was rushing in. The two almost crashed into one another. Bullets were flying and it was chaos. The final victor was still Lu Li, but he was quite surprised that his shots had landed. His opponent''s bullets, in contrast, didn''t land at all.


    "What on earth!?" Unforgettable Maple cried out, unable to believe it.


    If he had run into a four-person team alone, he would be scared to attack, even if he had a good gun and armour. He would definitely consider an attack, but he wouldn''t rush in like Lu Li had just done.


    "I almost died¡­"


    Lu Li was actually quite scared; he only had a little bit of HP left.


    This was a close ranged battle, so if you were knocked down, you would be dead. The other players would only need a few bullets to finish you off.


    "I still have the 98K; does anyone want it? It''s not very useful to me," Unforgettable Maple said. He had decided to drop the 98K that he had picked up. It was a cursed gun. If they had found him earlier, then he probably would just be a loot box by now.


    "Give it to Innocent bro. The gun god can make this gun work," Lu Li responded.


    In fact, he was quite adept at using the 98K too, but he had enjoyed using the AK. This purpose of this match was to get to know Innocent Child, so it was better to give it to him.


    "No need, I have an M4 and an SKS. My SKS is also already equipped with a grip and a muzzle," Innocent Child refused.


    "¡­"


    The three of them were speechless.


    Water Fairy only had a shotgun. Lu Li only had an AK and a shotgun. Unforgettable Maple only had a 98K. Even with the three of them combined, they didn''t have much. After all, they didn''t have much time to loot before Lu Li and Water Fairy had to fight. However, the contrast with Innocent Child''s equipment was just so great.


    "There are people near you," Innocent Child warned. He was on the highest point of the airport with the SKS equipped. He also had a 4x scope, so he could see everything.


    "How many?" Lu Li asked as he threw the AK at Unforgettable Maple and equipped the 98K. He then ran towards Innocent Child with a shotgun.


    Water Fairy and Unforgettable Maple stayed behind to loot the boxes. After all, Lu Li had just killed a four-person team. These people had already spent some time looting, so they had more than enough equipment for two people. Both of them soon had guns and vests.


    "I only see one," Innocent Child said as he fired a shot in the direction of the target.


    The player who wanted the enter the house was shocked by the gunshot. Although the shot couldn''t hit him from that angle, he was now focused on Innocent Child.


    At this time, he ran into Lu Li who was behind him. After a burst of gunfire, he was down.


    Perfect synergy!

 1487 Despicable

    The two elite players subconsciously coordinated with each other despite a lack of communication.


    Lu Li checked the corpse''s backpack and found a first-aid pack and a can of drink. The rest was a submachine gun know by the players as ''King of Cars''. Lu Li got rid of the sprayer gun and changed to this one. His victim not only had the gun''s double cartridge clip, but also a silencer.


    Lu Li now had the King of Cars in one hand, and a 98k in the other. It was not comparable to Innocent Child''s inventory, but at least he could now handle anything that came his way.


    Bam bam bam!


    Lu Li saw the system notification indicate where Unforgettable Maple had made a kill. As his eyes looked over, he saw him squatting in the bushes pretending to Phantom Tank. Maple looked so vulgar it made Lu Li''s hair stand on end, yet he didn''t go and loot his kill. Clearly, he was afraid that he would be killed if he did that.


    "How many did you kill Maple Sis?" Innocent Child prodded. To kill someone crawling on the floor would give you a kill-score of 4, which was the same as destroying a small team.


    "I don''t want to compare. If you''re so good, then why don''t you compare with Lu Li? How many have you killed, Lu Li?" Unforgettable Maple asked.


    "8" Lu Li replied.


    "Bastard! It seems as though we''ve killed four teams. You two killed three of them alone and I''ve killed one. That leaves only 3 people."


    Unforgettable Maple felt that neither of them were particularly nice people. It just ruined the whole game experience.


    "I haven''t even killed anyone," Water Fairy added.


    "I''ll go look for people. You guys feel free to search. There will be plenty of opportunities later," Lu Li comforted. He would have her win without any kills if he wasn''t afraid of hurting his girlfriend''s self-esteem.


    "No need to search ¨C they drove off. I only killed one guy," Innocent Child regretfully sighed.


    "Wow, so we can search however we like then."


    Unforgettable Maple immediately turned serious. They had jumped so many people at the airport. In the end, who would have known that there would be so many who were either dead or had run away? Now, only their team was left.


    "I''m not missing anything other than an 8x scope and a Level 3 Helmet. After farming and searching our area, what else do we need to do?" Innocent Child asked.


    "Let''s find someone to kill."


    There wasn''t much else to say. The group of them were purely too good at this game and would just defeat anyone that came their way.


    "There are a lot of people mentioning Elevenless in my streaming room," Water Fairy said. "Do you know if he got lined up with us?"


    "You guys go search. I''ll go over to his streaming room and see who he has been matched up with," Unforgettable Maple offered.


    "He must have gone to provoke him," Innocent Child said. He knew Unforgettable Maple well.


    "How good is Elevenless?"


    Sometimes Lu Li would come alone into this game to practice his marksmanship, but he hadn''t encountered many strong players. It made sense, since everyone was randomly distributed into this game. Each round had a maximum of about 100 people and it was impossible to predict who would be put together.


    "Elevenless is pretty strong ¨C he''s killed Maple Sis a fair few times," Innocent Child said, then paused and added, "I''ve been killed a few times too."


    He was number one in the Northern district in Survival and Escape at the moment. However, being number one did not guarantee that he could persist to the end and win. In reality, his winning chances were not any better than the other teams in the top 10.


    "Haha¡­ indeed it''s them. I just saw him playing with Midnight Ghost, Dream 13 and Hornet''s Nest. We''ve got to give them a good torturing today," Unforgettable Maple giggled, filled with confidence. Innocent Child was not worse than Elevenless, Lu Li was comparable to Midnight Ghost, and Water Fair was much better than Hornet''s Nest. He, as the Canine King, was going to properly crush Dream 13.


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered paying attention to him. Having the 98k but not the 8x scope meant nothing.


    "Lu Li, I have an 8x scope. Let me show you."


    Water Fairy had found an 8x, just as Lu Li was thinking about how he didn''t have one.


    "I don''t have one either," Unforgettable Maple mumbled bitterly.


    "Neither do I," Innocent Child followed suit.


    If it was anyone else, they would not dare joke with Lu Li and Water Fairy, especially if they were new players who wanted to join Ruling Sword. However, Innocent Child was different because his position now gave him the seniority to joke with them.


    Then again, this also depended on what type of joke. A small joke like this didn''t hurt anyone''s principles. If instead Innocent Child recoiled back, then it would be awkward for everyone.


    "You guys don''t even have a 98k. Why should we give you the 8x?" Water Fairy assertively stood her ground.


    Even though the airport was huge, it attracted many players. The search was pretty much done by this point. There appeared to be a lot of level 3 sets farmed in this round. Lu Li himself had seen at least three Level 3 Helmets, while each of them had a Level 3 Armor. With the exception of Unforgettable Maple, each of them had a Level 3 Bag too.


    The only regret was that they were lacking higher-magnification scopes. Everyone usually would have a 4x, but after all this, they hadn''t even found a second one.


    "Go kill people and take theirs," Lu Li said after he had a look at the second restriction circle. It was probably a good idea for everyone to leave the airport.


    "Someone probably cut-off the bridge," Innocent Child said, voicing his judgment.


    "Cut off the bridge¡­ Ahaha¡­ Yay to a nice welcome. I was just feeling worried that no one was robbing me," Unforgettable Maple replied arrogantly. "How about I go and sneak a peak of where Elevenless and the others are at? We can go and loot them!"


    "Oh, Maple Sis, have you no principles? How can you watch the live stream and snipe them?" Water Fairy retorted.


    Even though it wasn''t a professional role, Water Fairy was scared of these people who went straight for the live stream. They knew the position of the streamer and would sneakily go after them.


    "Okay, okay," Unforgettable Maple said, raising his hands in defeat.


    The group of players found a car and headed straight for the bridge, then found a boat along the coastline, which made crossing the river a trivial task.


    Unforgettable Maple was arrogant in his words, but he wasn''t wrong. For their level, they could fight back even if someone cut-off the bridge.


    The black car reached the end of the bridge and drifted to a sudden stop.


    The four players exited one after the other and immediately looked for a bunker. As they prepared to observe the middle of the bridge to see if there was a possible ambush amongst where the used cars were, there was a gunshot. Unforgettable Maple suddenly fell to the floor.


    It was a 98k!


    Lu Li aimed toward that position and went berserk with his King of Cars gun, to the extent that the shooter couldn''t even lift their head. The only way to help Unforgettable Maple was to help him buy time and have him crawl towards a concealed place.


    If he didn''t crawl to a safe position then the enemy would definitely kill him.


    They would never have thought that the robber on the bridge was of such high level. One shot was enough to knock down a player.


    "Damn you Elevenless! You bastard! How dare you attack me!" Unforgettable Maple cursed as he crawled.


    Only then did everyone see the system''s notification. It said that Unforgettable Maple had been attacked by Eleventh Prince with a 98K. No wonder Unforgettable Maple was so angry!


    A strong possibility was that Elevenless had run to Water Fairy''s side, then watched Lu Li and the other''s position in this situation. After this, he ran ahead onto the bridge to attack them.

 1488 Scheming Scale

    To have peeped someone else''s stream, then run over and shot them ¨C it was clear whether this was a moral thing to do or not. For Unforgettable Maple, there was not absolute right or wrong. If he ran over and shot Elevenless then it would be fair and reasonable. However, the issue was that Elevenless ran over and shot him.


    "Stop shouting. Innocent Child, have a look and see if they''re all hiding behind the used cars. I''ll go find some others," Lu Li said.


    "I can only see two people. I can see their feet from under the cars," Innocent Child replied. He had a 4X scope in his hands and had a clear advantage in observing the enemy.


    "You go first. I can''t see anything from mine," Lu Li said.


    Innocent Child had found spot on the ground to lie in ambush. He roughly aimed at the enemy in the distance. That car was lying sideways and there was a gap underneath it, so anyone with decent marksmanship could hit the person behind.


    The gun went ''bang''.


    The used car which Lu Li hid behind was peppered in fiery sparks, caused by all the bullets hitting the metal.


    If Lu Li wasn''t moving as fast as he was, then one shot would have already hit his head.


    "98K here¡­"


    Lu Li was slightly confused. He felt that it was not possible for Elevenless, who was across from him, to shoot this position. However, his confusion was short-lived, as he quickly yelled out, "Look up! There''s someone on the metal frame of the bridge. 60 degrees Northeast!"


    The others looked toward the direction that Lu Li shouted and looked up. There was indeed someone climbing on the frame.


    "Shoot him up!" Unforgettable Maple cried out as he recovered his HP from taking medicine.


    Ordinary people could not usually climb up this type of metal frame of a large bridge. While it provided an excellent vantage point, this was not without any weaknesses, as there was nothing to hide behind.


    "I shot him down."


    Water Fairy wasn''t sure if she shot him of her own true abilities or by accident. It didn''t matter because this person''s head now belonged to her.


    "He fell, but he''s probably not dead, I think he''ll probably get saved," Lu Li replied pessimistically.


    "We can''t play like this. If someone gets up from behind, we''re done for with two sides attacking us," Unforgettable Maple said as he took a few shots, but didn''t hit anyone because of the lack of a proper scope.


    The fact that Elevenless clearly knew the situation of Lu Li and the other was more aggravating. They were hidden very well.


    "How about we charge after one wave of shots? If we drive, we''ll definitely get shot," Innocent Child suggested.


    "No, don''t bet on it. Our opponents aren''t weaker than us in any way."


    With four rifles firing automatically at the same time, any type of car would be obliterated.


    "What do we do then?! Aren''t you Dawn''s number one Commander?! Do your thing then!" Unforgettable Maple urged.


    "Child Bro and you stay here. Water Fairy and I will swim to the opposite riverbank and then attack from both sides," Lu Li explained without hesitation. There was a degree of risk in this action. Firstly, to swim over required time, so it was hard to say what could happen. Second was the issue of dispersion of their forces. It was hard to say who would win over the other.


    "Let''s do what you suggested. We''ll be a bit meticulous. Maple Sis watch your back; don''t get your route of retreat cut-off."


    Innocent Child thought that Lu Li''s suggestion was better than his own.


    Lu Li quietly retreated, then climbed to one side of the bridge slowly using the under-bush to conceal himself. He then slid into the water from the bottom of the bridge and swam towards the opposite bank.


    "What if Elevenless was shamelessly watching my live stream? Then what do we do?" Water Fairy asked, looking worried.


    "Then that would be incredibly shameless. If he did that, I would go to Dawn and assassinate him," Lu Li joked. Elevenless was considered a star player in Dawn. He was also a Plate Berserker who attacked strong and tall enemies. He didn''t know what was wrong, but every time he bumped into Lu Li, he would be killed. Sometimes it was Lu Li, and other times it was other people who did it.


    This was probably the reason why Elevenless had attacked them so viciously.


    Fortunately, Elevenless still cared for his face, or perhaps he didn''t think that his opponents had split up when facing an integrated team of elite players like them.


    This wasn''t the first time Elevenless had cut-off a bridge. He enjoyed cutting off bridges to rob unsuspecting players. Maybe it was because he was so caught up in this mentality of robbery everyday that he neglected Lu Li''s strategy. After all, even if someone got them from behind, they could still easily deal with this type of situation.


    Once Lu Li swam to the opposite bank, he observed whether there was anyone. After he confirmed that there wasn''t and that it was truly safe, he then ushered for his girlfriend to follow him.


    Who cared about playing this game with Innocent Child? It was more important to look after his own wife.


    "How should we attack now?"


    Water Fairy was feeling a little excited. Even though she enjoyed attacking head-on, it was also exciting to make a sneak-attack. However, Lu Li''s image in her mind was high and noble, so she wanted to get his permission before opening fire.


    "Wait a moment ¨C I''m going to find out if there''s anyone around first," Lu Li said as he carefully searched this side of the bridge.


    They then found a favourable position that allowed them to hit one or two players. They faced the used car that originally had three people hiding behind it. One of them climbed to a higher point, but unfortunately, Midnight Ghost was exposed and hit, so now all four of them were hiding behind the car.


    Once he confirmed with Unforgettable Maple and Innocent Child to strike, Lu Li opened with the first shot from his 98K.


    The gun went ''bang'', and the system notified that Hornet''s Nest had been hit by Lu Li''s 98K.


    At the same time, Water Fairy opened fire too. She didn''t have a high-magnification scope, but any random spray achieved the effect of distracting Elevenless. As long as Elevenless ran around, it would provide Innocent Child with the firing angles.


    The system notified Midnight Ghost that he had been hit by Innocent Child.


    Lu Li pulled the gun bolt, then aimed at the next target and fired.


    However, he didn''t continue to open fire, but instead retreated.


    The next second, he had a bullet fly past his head. This gun sound was familiar; he had just used a 98K.


    In fact, if Lu Li had not given up, he could have hit the target first, but if that was the case then he couldn''t have avoided this deadly shot. Lu Li did not have plans to exchange one life for another.


    "Don''t pop your head out! They have an 8x scope!" Lu Li shouted at Water Fairy. "Now, it''s time for them to be worried."


    Those few used cars were initially good cover and prevented Innocent Child from finding opportunities to fire. However, when the bridge had people on both sides, it was a little awkward.


    "They''re saving someone," Water Fairy reported. She had gotten an angle of the view, and easily observed their opponent''s movements.


    "Let me fire; toss me your rifle," Lu Li said as he threw his King of Cars aside since he wasn''t familiar with it. It wasn''t as accurate as the automatic rifles in aiming medium-to-long distances.


    Once Lu Li got an automatic rifle, he wouldn''t aim carefully, he would just shoot continuously. They had searched the whole airport and the last thing they lacked was bullets. Water Fairy carried over 300 packs of these 5.56-type bullets.


    Times like these tested a player''s control over a gun.


    If you didn''t compensate for the recoil when you pulled the trigger, the gun would be raised involuntarily.


    Elevenless and Dream 13, the two players left, instantly fled for their lives and escaped. The other two didn''t even have the chance to be rescued and were killed straightaway. They fell on the ground to their deaths, never to return again.


    "Come over guys."


    Lu Li finally felt relieved. The two left hiding in the corner didn''t dare to lift their heads. They would be killed if they exposed themselves.


    Innocent Child and Unforgettable Maple felt that it was the right time too. They took advantage of those two hiding in the corner and quickly came over to finish the battle. Otherwise, once the other players came over, someone else could benefit from their hard work.


    "Foggy Grass, don''t come over. I''m sorry," Elevenless sighed into the open audio, loudly begging for forgiveness.


    Game audio was key in Survival and Escape. This included gun sounds, footsteps, communication and commands among players. Players of different teams couldn''t communicate unless you selected ''open audio''. Then, everyone could hear what you''re saying. Elevenless had chosen open audio in this moment so everyone around could hear.


    "Beg for mercy? What were you doing earlier then? You had plenty fun hitting me, right?" Unforgettable Maple laughed. What goes around came around ¨C who would have thought today was the day for Elevenless?


    "Sis, sis, I''m so sorry! Isn''t this enough? Be the bigger person and forgive my past wrongs," Elevenless shrunk back as he loudly shouted.


    "Bastard, it''s no use even if you call me daddy! You are dead meat! I''ll butcher you myself!"


    "Careful!"


    In this moment, someone jumped out from behind the cover and opened fire at Unforgettable Maple. Elevenless was clearly manifesting shame into anger and probably wanted to bring someone down with him before he died.


    Unforgettable Maple had become highly conceited and walked in an arrogant manner that did not allow any room for escape.


    However, this person who jumped out did not get their way because Lu Li fired at him.


    System notified that Dream 13 was shot by Lu Li''s 98K.


    If it wasn''t Elevenless, then where was he?


    As expected, there was a gunshot at the same time as Lu Li shot Dream 13. Another person shot Unforgettable Maple while Lu Li opened fire. The intention was clear that they wanted him absolutely dead.

 1489 Double Sho

    "Don''t kill me! Daddy, don''t kill me! Please!" Unforgettable Maple cried out, watching his HP decrease quickly as he hit the ground. He was completely frozen. However, since he was still a professional player, his mechanics were still quite fluid. Even though he was on the ground, he still had a chance to avoid the bullets.


    But calling out ''daddy'' that easily? This clearly wasn''t the first time.


    "Bang!"


    The system indicated that Lu Li had used the 98K and killed Elevenless. The gun that was in Elevenless'' hand immediately stopped firing.


    Looking back at Unforgettable Maple, he only had a sliver of HP left. If he died, then he would be eliminated. Before Elevenless died, his last desperate move was actually quite decisive. Firstly, he attracted all the attention to him, then he used that to kill one person.


    This type of action wouldn''t turn the tables, since their team was mostly eliminated. Furthermore, their positions were also quite awkward.


    At least this way, the gaming experience of old opponents like Unforgettable Maple would be disrupted. Their numbers would also be depleted, so when it came down to it in the end, they might even lose out on the win.


    "Hurry up and save me! It''s my second time on the ground already!" Unforgettable Maple yelled.


    "Unbelievable. ''Daddy''? Yell that out again, or I won''t save you," Innocent Child said as hesquatted down in front of Unforgettable Maple and looked at him with disdain.


    Was there a need to beg? How shameless.


    "Go to hell, prick. Are you itching for a fight? I''ll fight you in real life." Unforgettable Maple was enraged.


    Innocent Child sneered at him, but he still continued to save Unforgettable Maple.


    As for Lu Li and Water Fairy, they were happily adding to their inventory.


    They didn''t know where Elevenless had founds all these goods. Perhaps they were looted from chests or from killing a lot of people.


    Lu Li took out a fully loaded M16. Truthfully speaking, he didn''t like the M4 that much. He was only satisfied with the M4 if the M4 had full magazines. However, in the circumstance where there was a lack of ammo, the M4''s firing rate and stability was worse than the M16. especially at short to medium range distances.


    This type of difference could only be detected by the more-skilled players.


    Under normal circumstances, there wasn''t much of a difference between the various automatic rifles. It wasn''t life-changing if someone preferred one particular type and another person used a different type.


    As for the sub-weapon, there was a gun called the AWM ¨C Survival and Escape''s strongest sniper rifle. It was looted from Dream 13. The AWM didn''t use normal sized bullets, but rather, it used special bullets that were extremely powerful.


    Guns like these could not be looted from normal locations. They could only be gained from the supply boxes that dropped from the planes.


    From this, Lu Li immediately became rich.


    His only regret was that there weren''t many bullets; there were only 13 left. This was probably also why Dream 13 didn''t use this gun often.


    Lu Li gave the 98K to Water Fairy and equipped this gun for himself. As for Innocent Child, he could go and loot Elevenless'' gun. Unforgettable Maple didn''t like to use snipers. One time, he had reached the end of the game with just an M4.


    Bang!


    "Oh crap! Hurry and throw a smoke!" Innocent Child yelled. He was immediately sent to the ground.


    He was in the process of healing someone and was shot in the meantime, so this meant that the healing process was interrupted. Unforgettable Maple was already on the verge of death, so with the healing process interrupted, there was no chance of reviving him.


    However, the gunned-down Innocent Child still had a chance to survive. Before Innocent Child even yelled out, Lu Li had already thrown a smoke grenade. Smoke quickly filled the area.


    "Snowy, go and heal. I''ll cover for you. Don''t force it if there''s someone firing at you though."


    Lu Li quickly discovered their attackers. They were at the top of a tower not far from them, near the bridge.


    To be able to hit Innocent Child from this distance meant that their attackers were quite skilled. From the firing sounds and damage that it dealt, it was likely that the gun was the same one that Lu Li had ¨C the AWM. Otherwise, Innocent Child, with level 3 protective armor, would not be gunned down with one shot.


    Lu Li held his breath and fired at them.


    Unfortunately, none of his shots landed because the window lattice was lined with a metal fence.


    However, Lu Li had achieved his goal. Although he couldn''t kill them, the sounds of the AWM managed to scare the enemies and caused them to retreat. This way, Water Fairy could safely revive Innocent Child.


    "I''ll cover for you guys. You guys heal up," Lu Li said as he changed to the automatic rifle and began firing. He had looted a 4x scope from the kill before and had attached the scope to this gun.


    For people proficient with guns already, the scope didn''t really do anything at this range for an automatic rifle.


    "What to do now? We''re blocked now."


    Water Fairy had also looted a lot of things. She seemed to know what her role was in this battle, so she picked up a level 3 backpack, seven medkits and 14 energy drinks. The rest consisted of ammo and scopes. For the sake of saving space, she only took 20 sniper bullets.


    They could just kill their opponents and take their bullets after anyway.


    "It''s not too bad. We just need to rotate while covering for each other. The key point is finding where their teammate is," Lu Li said as he fired again and blood spurted out of his enemy''s head. Unfortunately, he didn''t have the AWM equipped, otherwise, his target would have died.


    "If it was me in their shoes, I would be supporting them around 60m in the direction of that rock there. They can''t hit us from there right now, which is why they haven''t fired," Innocent Child commented with his professional judgment.


    The bullets had only come from one place, which meant that there was only one person that could shoot at Lu Li. Therefore, they could just find where the other guys were slowly.


    "The circle is coming. I''ll hold them off. You guys go first," Lu Li said as he took out the AWM.


    He had resolved to kill these people. The tower was extremely high up, so they didn''t have a chance to escape the area if the enemy was still there.


    "Innocent Bro, expose yourself a little. Give them a chance to shoot you."


    The enemy was able to stay composed, which made Lu Li impatient. The most annoying thing about this was getting trapped in while the circle was coming.


    Innocent Child''s positioning was too good. From their opponents'' perspective, they didn''t even have the smallest window of opportunity to shoot at him.


    Innocent Child understood this, so he decided to change his walking path slightly so they could have a chance at shooting.


    The players on top of the tower couldn''t keep their cool any longer. They also had an AWM in the hands of a capable shooter. If there was a chance to kill, he was able to take it. As a result, he couldn''t wait and propped his gun up at the window.


    Bang!


    Lu Li had fired his sniper.


    It only took 1 bullet!


    The enemy team instantly lost a member. However, Lu Li found that there were still shadows moving around in the tower.


    Bang!


    After reloading, he fired again and another person fell. There were actually two people in this tower. After one person was gunned down, the other immediately ran towards the window to save his teammate. He knew that it wasn''t safe, so he began crouching as he approached the window.


    Lu Li saw this small window of opportunity and fired without properly aiming.


    There were still two more people that weren''t in the tower. After two consecutive members fell, these two couldn''t remain still.


    They quickly jumped out, hoping to gun down Innocent Child and Water Fairy quickly.


    Innocent Child was known as one of the top shooters in the game. If they gave him an opportunity to kill, his mechanics weren''t any worse than Lu Li. Shortly after this, two kills were recorded.


    Only Water Fairy was still moving around mindlessly until Lu Li reminded her that the enemy was dead.


    They proceeded to loot their bodies. At the end of it, they couldn''t store everything, so they had to leave a lot of valuable things behind.


    They didn''t need to collect anymore after killing more people. They already had everything they needed and wanted.


    It was unfortunate for Unforgettable Maple, whose corpse had already gone cold. Innocent Child picked up the Pan, which was a level 4 armor. This was like an inheritance for Innocent Child as he continued to keep fighting.

 1490 God of War

    The safe zone was a little far from where they were, so Lu Li chose a grey Dacia sedan.


    He thought about choosing the Jeep, but the vehicle seemed like it had gone through some crossfire. There were quite a few bullet marks on the body and it did not have much remaining health left.


    The Dacia didn''t have as high defence as the Jeep, but it was faster.


    "I''ll drive. I''ll focus on supporting you guys this time."


    Water Fairy was quite keen on trying it out.


    She had only killed one person so far, so she probably felt quite useless.


    "Hmm¡­I¡­How about this? I''ll find another car so I can attract some attention to myself."


    Water Fairy''s driving skills were infamous ¨C even Innocent Child knew about them. That was why he quickly found a perfect excuse to avoid this.


    Driving two cars was actually a good idea in a four-man squad.


    Four guns would easily destroy a car. However, if they wanted to destroy two cars simultaneously, then it was much more difficult.


    "Let me drive. Time to go."


    Lu Li really wanted to give Water Fairy a chance to prove herself. If it was a duo, then he wouldn''t have a problem dying in her hands. However, this was a four-man squad, with two other players. Therefore, if they wanted to win, then it was better to be safe.


    Letting Water Fairy drive was even more dangerous than parachuting.


    Even after killing their way out of a place with 20 enemies, Lu Li still didn''t have confidence in surviving Water Fairy''s driving.


    Water Fairy couldn''t do anything, so she allowed him to drive. Since Lu Li was driving, Innocent Child stopped looking for a separate car. The three of them jumped into the car, and immediately sped towards the safe zone, leaving behind a group of boxes. Some were Elevenless'', some belonged to other unfortunate players, and some were Unforgettable Maple''s.


    The death of Unforgettable Maple was truly an unfortunate one. The other squads all had four people left while they were left with three.


    The car zoomed across the grasslands and towards the mountains. Lu Li planned to go into the safe zone using the mountain, so that they would have a height advantage instead of being practice targets on the ground like just then.


    This action wasn''t without any risk either. What if there were people on the mountain already?


    Lu Li and the others actually found themselves in such a situation.


    "Someone''s there!" Innocent Child yelled.


    Lu Li already saw them; four heads were exposed. They were clearing aiming to destroy the car. Lu Li swerved and swerved, looking for an area to avoid their gunfire.


    There was a reason behind the choice that the four of them had made to position themselves there.


    Lu Li couldn''t find a safe area and he even got hit once. He had level 3 protective gear and helmet, so the damage wasn''t too significant. However, this was not the case for the car.


    Once the enemy discovered that it was more difficult to aim at the people inside the vehicle, it was likely for them to target the vehicle instead.


    "Get ready to jump off!" Lu Li yelled.


    He swung the tail of the car around and jumped off swiftly. The car was parked in a horizontal direction, which was used as cover. Innocent Child and Water Fairy also got out of the car. At this time, there were three people hiding behind the car, so if the car exploded, they would all die. Their HP was also quite low, and had it not been for the level 3 protective gear, they probably would have died from this round of gunfire.


    "Try and pressure them. We''ll retreat in the meantime. Snowy, destroy the car."


    Since the car could explode anytime from the enemy''s gunfire, they might as well destroy it themselves. The destroyed car would also become a safer option for a cover.


    Lu Li and Innocent Child backed away slowly while firing at the enemy.


    As soon as the enemy showed themselves, a bullet would hit them and they would retreat. One of them couldn''t retreat in time, so he was gunned down. As for the others, they didn''t dare to expose themselves for a while. They were waiting for Lu Li and Innocent Child to start reloading. Even if they attached an extended mag on the gun, an automatic rifle would only have 40 bullets anyway.


    BANG!


    Water Fairy destroyed the Dacia. The car immediately exploded into flames and flew into the air. Smoke filled the area as soon as the car landed.


    The three of them then immediately retreated to a safe area so that the explosion wouldn''t deal any damage to them, then proceeded to reload and heal themselves. They still had to look out for their opponents.


    Unfortunately, they could only see if they had hit their target or not, instead of seeing their targets'' HP as well. Therefore, they didn''t know that the three of them were already on the verge of death. Although it wouldn''t be guaranteed wipe, it was still a much better chance to kill them all before they finish preparing themselves.


    Lu Li quickly used a medkit and also drank an energy drink, raising his HP to a safe amount.


    He put away his gun and took out a bomb. Innocent Child and Water Fairy did the same. They took out the grenades that they had been holding for such a long time, then threw them.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    After they threw the first round of bombs, they threw a wave of flashbangs. The first round was to lower their opponents'' HP, but the flashbang was to blind them.


    After throwing the flashbang, Lu Li and Innocent Child immediately rushed ahead, one on the left and one on the right. The enemy only had two more players alive, with one of them seemingly blind as he was just firing randomly. Lu Li was worried for the guy''s teammate. To be firing recklessly in this situation, was he not afraid of friendly fire?


    After killing these four, they looted the ammo. The circle was already upon them.


    This group of four didn''t have a car. Their idea was clearly to kill Lu Li and the others, then use the car to escape to the safe zone. Unfortunately for them, Lu Li and his team were too skilled. They had bitten off more than they could chew.


    However, the team didn''t have a car now either, so they had to run on foot towards the safe zone.


    This was a huge loss.


    Lu Li''s level 3 armor was mostly damaged. They were all originally quite rich, so they didn''t need any more items. Besides losing out on the loot, they had also lost their car.


    Fortunately, with the medicine that they had, they didn''t need to worry about dying on the way to the safe zone.


    "There''s a car, but it''s not a fresh one," Lu Li reported after he scanned the area for cars.


    "How do you know? Vehicles that are on the side of the roads are usually fresh, aren''t they?"


    Water Fairy used a scope and looked at the car but couldn''t find anything wrong with it.


    "The vehicles that spawn on the roadside will always face East, while boats would always face West. If this is not the case, then someone has touched it. The possibilities are that this car has run out of fuel or has been used as gunfire cover," Lu Li explained.


    Innocent Child was speechless. So was Water Fairy.


    There was even a rule like this!


    Even Innocent Child, who was a veteran at the game, was completely stunned.


    If this was true, then this only emphasised Lu Li''s attention to detail. After all, his experience with Survival and Escape was only a few days'' worth.


    "Well, what do we do now?" Innocent Child asked. Although the damage from being outside of the safe zone wasn''t lethal, to lose HP that way would be too wasteful. Furthermore, it wasn''t long until the next wave of damage.


    "Innocent Bro, go and find a suitable position on the left side of the hill. Notify us when you do.


    Snowy, go and drive the car and I''ll do the gunfire," Lu Li instructed, quickly planning out a strategy. As the top strategist in Dawn, this simple strategy wouldn''t be hard to execute in Survival and Escape.


    Prodigious gaming talent was something that Lu Li discovered in his previous life.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have gotten to where he was in his previous life despite being one year behind the other players. To be able to not worry about food and clothes was already an achievement in itself.


    He did not have any opportunity to showcase his commanding skills in his previous life. He was only able to do this in his present life where he had built his own team.


    Water Fairy strutted over to drive the car. If they knew of Water Fairy''s capabilities, they would never think that she was stealing the car.


    The cars were quite important for camping, so stealing them would be quite troublesome.


    Therefore, when the enemy saw Water Fairy strut towards their car, they immediately jumped out of their hiding place, wanting to kill her.


    At this moment, Lu Li used one bullet to instantly kill a player, while Innocent Child also gunned down another. Lu Li then immediately jumped over to kill the other player. The system indicated that their squad had been wiped. This meant that this squad had already lost members, as they only two left.


    "Let''s go. Don''t loot anymore."


    Lu Li scanned over the corpses and saw that they all only had level 2 equipment. The guns were also worse than what Lu Li and his party had, so there was no need to loot items. Furthermore, they were outside of the safe zone and would continually lose HP.


    They were quite far away from the safe zone and needed to heal up twice before they managed to escape.


    After escaping, they immediately crouched on the ground and started healing. At this time, two grenades suddenly dropped in front of them. They needed time to get up and move. Even if they managed to escape, they would still get fired at.


    How could there be so many campers? Who knew that they would meet with enemies the moment they reached safety?


    There weren''t any other options besides surrendering at this point.


    Water Fairy was down. Innocent Child was down. Lu Li managed to get away, so he didn''t die.


    This was one of his habits when escaping the danger zone. He discovered that if he had his legs in the danger zone, but his chest area was in the safe zone, he wouldn''t take damage. This was why he usually only had half of his body within the safe area.


    Lu Li was still safe, since he was close-by to a car, so he could just hide behind it.


    The problem was Water Fairy and Innocent Child. They didn''t have any cover and they were both in ''downed'' states. It was hard to say whether or not they would survive. Lu Li didn''t know how many people were in the enemy squad and he was completely unable to cover for Water Fairy and Innocent Child to crawl to a safe place.


    Risk it all!


    Lu Li hugged his automatic rifle tightly and rushed towards the tree that the grenade had flown from. Before he even spotted the enemy, he had already started firing.


    Pa! Pa! Pa!


    One of the enemy members wanted to shoot Lu Li as well, but was gunned down by Lu Li''s bullets.


    Another person appeared from the back of the tree, hoping to save his teammate, but was killed by Lu Li.


    Bang!


    The sounds of a 98K were heard. This was fired from shrubbery not far from where Lu Li was. Lu Li saw the movements of the player, who was dressed as a Mirage Tank and was a sniper. His reactions weren''t particularly quick, but he was able to headshot Lu Li in this short amount of time.


    Lu Li''s helmet was instantly destroyed, but he wasn''t down yet. If he was gunned down, then the three of them would have died.


    Lu Li never stopped firing his gun even when he was crawling on the ground. He fired all the bullets he had until his target was killed. Bullet after bullet flew over his head and denting the car behind him.


    The system finally indicated that the enemy team was eliminated. Lu Li breathed a big sigh of relief after this.


    He couldn''t heal himself, since he had to revive his two teammates. After all, people might be flocking to this area hoping for some easy loot after hearing such a fierce exchange of gunfire.


    All the streams involving Water Fairy, Innocent Child, and even the dead Unforgettable Maple were all screaming three words.


    God of war!


    God of war!


    God of war!


    This nickname was already given to Lu Li on his first day of playing. For a first-timer to reach this level, this nickname was truly deserved.


    Of course, with this nickname also came the mocking and taunting.


    Could he kill 30 people? Could he go for 20 straight ''Winner Winner Chicken Dinners''? Could he take on 7 people at once?"


    God of war was a prestigious title. It was even more prestigious than other titles like Gun god. It wasn''t that the others didn''t have moments like these, but that their livestreams couldn''t handle the weight that came with this title.


    Now, Lu Li reappeared in front of the audience. Although he had plenty of experience in the game after his first time playing with Water Fairy, he never livestreamed, so no one knew.


    He had his fair share of highlight plays, killing left, right and centre on top of a roof, rushing into a room to save Unforgettable Maple and taking on three people at once and killing them all.


    Lu Li''s style of play was extremely popular with the fans. This reckless and confrontational playstyle that had easily won the hearts of many, causing them to immediately feel that he was the best player in the game.


    Truthfully, his shooting mechanics were not any better than Innocent Child''s. His gaming sense was not any better than Unforgettable Maple''s either. His driving skills were also worse than Moonlight''s, and in terms of positioning, there were also many others who were better.


    However, their styles of play were not as aggressive as Lu Li.


    Rushing forward and killing on sight!


    This playstyle was the most suitable for livestreams since it was popular with the fans. Many people asked in the three teammates'' streams where they could find Lu Li''s stream and see things from his perspective.


    The three of them stood up once again, narrowly escaping death.


    They had to loot items this time. They had enough medicine and ammo, but they were in desperate need for protective armor and helmets. It was terrifying to play this game without a helmet. One bullet from an automatic rifle to an exposed head was capable of downing a player instantly.


    Lu Li picked up a level 2 helmet with half of its durability left.


    Water Fairy used the excuse of enemy snipers to give her level 3 helmet to Lu Li.


    Innocent Child also wanted to say that his helmet was also destroyed, and that he also had a responsibility of fighting snipers. However, his performance just then wasn''t as impressive as Lu Li''s, so he couldn''t say anything. Furthermore, they were also flirting with each other here, so he had no place opening his mouth.


    Lu Li looked at the time until the circle became smaller and decided to continue driving a car.


    Running wasted too much time. If they were stopped by enemy gunfire on the road, the danger zone would also catch up.


    "I''ve made a yellow mark on the map. Take control of that house. If there are people in there, then we''ll kill them immediately. If there''s no one, then we''ll camp there for a bit."


    Lu Li planned out the next step in the strategy. He had also done research on that house, so he knew that it was easily approachable and that even if there were people inside, they wouldn''t be able to fire at the car easily.


    "I don''t mind." Innocent Child had no objections.


    He liked to fight but didn''t like to think. This was the case in Dawn and in Survival and Escape. He was never in charge of strategizing in Dawn, while Unforgettable Maple usually took control of strategies in Survival and Escape.


    Lu Li stepped on the accelerator and never lifted his foot. The car roared down the hill and smashed into the wall of the house. However, before they met their untimely deaths, they immediately jumped out of the car.


    Innocent Child''s performance was quite average thus far. As a Gun God, Lu Li had stolen his thunder.


    Even if Lu Li was his boss in the future, he couldn''t contain his competitive spirit any longer. Furthermore, he also needed to showcase his skills for Lu Li to take notice.


    As soon as the door opened, Innocent Child immediately jumped into the air, did a 360 spin, and fired towards the backdoor.


    He thought that he would be able to ambush them from the backdoor, but he never saw the bullets coming. Before he could even fire off a single bullet, he was already down. Innocent Child immediately pointed his gun at the staircase, waiting for the reinforcements. As soon as someone appeared, he would fire.


    Pa! Pa! Pa!


    "Wow! I gunned down somebody! Someone jumped right in front of me. Scared the living daylights out of me!" Water Fairy squealed. She was ecstatic.


    This was like manna that had come down from heaven. This guy had jumped from the second floor but was killed by Water Fairy who was in his blind spot. He was likely feeling rather depressed at this point.


    "Innocent Bro, be careful of the bomb," Lu Li warned as he threw a bomb into the window on the second floor.


    "I''ll throw one as well. I''ll throw mine into the bathroom."


    Water Fairy also had a few bombs on herself. Furthermore, the person who she killed just then also had some more bombs.


    They began to throw bombs into the house from different angles.


    Innocent Child was crouching at the bottom of the staircase, stopping anyone who wanted to escape.


    He heard the footsteps from panicking players running around, trying to avoid the barrage of grenades. It was such a tragedy.


    These four brothers hadn''t offended anyone and were just camping in this house peacefully. Unfortunately, Lu Li and the party just had to occupy it. Two of them were killed in less than 20 seconds; they were completely trapped in the room. There was someone guarding the exit downstairs, and there was also someone outside the window.


    However, it wasn''t safe in the room either.


    The explosions ended the clash quickly as the last two were bombed to death. Besides contributing their helmets and protective gear, they also gave up this temporary safehouse.


    Besides these, there was also the Jeep parked outside.


    "Eh? How come there aren''t many people left already? The circle is still so large," Water Fairy said in surprise.


    "Look at how many people Lu Li killed. It''s already pretty good that there are 18 people left in the game," Unforgettable Maple angrily replied. He could only watch on as his teammates went through such intense battles.

 1491 Contes

    The safe zone was refreshed, so the house that they were in was no longer within it.


    \"It''s not too far. We''ll run along the circle''s boundary. Innocent Bro, keep a close eye on the inside of the circle, while I look outside. Snowy¡­uh¡­Just look straight ahead.\"


    Lu Li chose to give up on the Jeep that had high defence for the sake of being quiet.


    \"Alright then. You guys don''t need to worry about me.\"


    Water Fairy felt like she was being underestimated.


    She didn''t play this game that much since Dawn was launched not long after Survival and Escape was. Not only did she need to grind constantly for equipment and levels, but she also had to manage the clubs. Naturally, she didn''t have much time to play this game.


    However, knowing that Lu Li had only played for a few days, she was discouraged yet again.


    \"Direction of S210 ¨C there''s one. Wait no, there''s two. Might be more than two. They''re running from the circle. Innocent Bro, do you see this?\" Lu Li asked. He had managed to find the enemy squads first.


    \"I see them!\"


    After knowing the direction of the enemy, Innocent Child immediately found their targets.


    \"Look for a cover first. On my count of three, we''ll rush in.\"


    Lu Li found a rock that wasn''t particularly tall and decided to use that for cover. Although it wasn''t that tall, it could shield players that were slightly shorter. Once the enemy team was in an open area, Lu Li began counting down.


    There were three targets in total.


    Actually, Lu Li was not strangers to these three players.


    At the beginning of the game, there were 20 players ¨C five teams of four ¨C who all landed at the airport. Lu Li and Innocent Child killed off everyone in an extremely short period of time.


    There was a team where one person was gunned down by Innocent Child at long range.


    The members who tried to help were also gunned down. The first one to be gunned down was killed after being shot a few more times. This group of people examined the range from the height that Innocent Child was at, listened in on the fierce gunfire that came from the airport. Upon looking at the screen, they quickly left the area.


    Run!


    After saving their teammate, they quickly found a car and escaped immediately.


    They were just in the wilderness, barely managing to scrape by with basic equipment and guns. Originally, they didn''t have any hope of escaping the circle. However, they encountered another squad of four and managed to kill them, so they looted their items and survived.


    From these items alone, they managed to survive through the hardships that they faced. They finally saw the safe zone after a long period of wandering in the wilderness. It was like a light at the end of a tunnel.


    However, a nightmare had descended upon them suddenly. Before they could even get into the safe zone, their smiles were frozen.


    They looked at the IDs of their attackers ¨C Innocent Child, Lu Li. Upon this realisation, they began to shed tears. If they knew that this was going to happen, they should have just died in the airport. They wouldn''t need to run all this way just to be killed by them.


    Of course, Lu Li and his team wasn''t aware of their enemy''s sorrow. For them, these three players were only three players to kill.


    \"There are still 11 players left. The circle is so big! I don''t think we''ll meet anyone else.\" Innocent Child helplessly said.


    \"Gun sounds ¨C around 600m in the direction of S195.\"


    Besides the techniques in the game, there was also the element of visual and auditory cues. A high visual awareness would allow a player to spot a camper straight away, while auditory awareness would allow a player to deduce the direction. One indication was the footsteps, while the other was the gun sounds.


    Firstly, Lu Li listened for the direction where the gun sounds were coming from. Secondly, he used the scope and looked towards that direction, then made a judgment on the distance between them.


    \"Ah, I see them. They''re quite far away. How about a competition? Let''s see who can gun down this person first. How about that?\" Innocent Child suggested. He looked at his kill rate and compared it to Lu Li''s. He knew that he couldn''t match Lu Li''s kill rate, but he wanted to compare their skills.


    Their target was fighting someone else, so he wasn''t aware of Lu Li and his team.


    Furthermore, this person was a sniper, so he didn''t move often. 600m was a distance that was still manageable, but luck was also a huge factor.


    \"Alright. Snowy, do you want to join?\" Lu Li asked. He needed to tend to his relationship even while playing the game.


    As a good boyfriend, he couldn''t just care about himself while playing the game. He also needed to care for his girlfriend''s gaming experience.


    \"Yeah!\" Water Fairy agreed as she swapped out for a 98K. The three snipers targeted this player together.


    Using a sniper to kill was difficult; they needed to measure the distance and aim properly. Experience was also a huge factor as there were many foundational gun mechanics that needed to be accounted for. It was said that this game would eventually add environmental factors, such as the weather and wind speed, but it wasn''t that complex yet.


    The poor sniper was completely unaware that he had become a shooting target.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Three gunshots resounded seemingly at the same time as blood instantly flowed from the player''s body. However, he wasn''t down yet.


    \"Missed,\" Lu Li muttered under his breath.


    Although the target was struck, he didn''t know whether it was Water Fairy or Innocent Child. It definitely wasn''t Lu Li though, because he had the AWM equipped. If he had landed his shot with an AWM, not even a level 3 armor would be able to protect the player from hitting the ground.


    \"It wasn''t me,\" Water Fairy admitted.


    \"He''s not dead yet,\" Innocent Child calmly said. He was clear when stating the conditions of winning this game. They needed to ''gun down'' the target, not just merely hit them.


    \"Then let''s continue. This person is moving now, so it won''t be easy.\"


    Lu Li loaded his gun again and held his breath.


    Water Fairy swapped out for a rifle instead. She wasn''t proficient with a sniper anyway, so there was no way that she was going to hit the target at such a range.


    The target knew that he was being aimed at, but he didn''t know which direction these bullets were coming from. If he moved too much and tried to change cover, then he might end up exposing himself to even more people, so he just kept moving around in the same spot. He tried to use this method to avoid the bullets aimed at him.


    Bang! Bang! Pa! Pa! Pa!


    Two of the sounds were from snipers. Innocent Child''s 98K had a silencer attached to it, so the sound was softened. Lu Li''s sniper was without any additional attachments, while the other sound was Water Fairy''s M4. Then, the system indicated that¡­


    Someone had been killed by Water Fairy with a headshot.


    A headshot from this distance!


    Water Fairy''s livestream was instantly flooded with ''666''. Their goddess was so magnificent! So awesome! They had to send her some gifts.


    Of course, even the craziest fans knew that this was all luck. From this distance, very few people would be able to headshot a player using an automatic rifle, especially a moving target. A bullet''s power was greatly reduced after 500m of travel.


    \"The best player was actually Water Fairy. I''ve lost.\"


    Innocent Child wasn''t disappointed.


    \"Yeah, we both lost.\"


    This result made Lu Li even happier than if he had won the contest. Water Fairy was also extremely happy, even if her shot was by a stroke of pure luck.

 1492 Burn the Damn Couple

    At this distance, even if they were knocked down, it would be difficult to finish them off.


    The gunfire stopped in the distance and the circle reduced again. There were only eight people left in the game now.


    Excluding the three on Lu Li''s team and the team of four in the other side, there had to be one more solo player as well.


    \"If we finish off the team of four, then victory will be almost guaranteed.\"


    Lu Li wasn''t arrogant, but he simply didn''t think the solo player would be too much of a threat.


    \"There is no cover around the corpse so I can''t search him. Let''s loop around the right side of the circle,\" Innocent Child suggested.


    Water Fairy and Lu Li agreed.


    Although they had lost Unforgettable Maple, they were still able to close out the game and secure the victory.


    \"I have not-so good news,\" Unforgettable Maple said in a strange tone.


    \"What? We''ve already won. What would the bad news be?\"


    \"Elevenless and his team haven''t requeued since being eliminated. They''re still waiting for us. Not just Elevenless, but quite a few number of people heard that we were playing and are waiting for us to finish to queue up together,\" Unforgettable Maple explained.


    Survival and Escape was a game where you queued-up and faced-off against random players. However, it was still possible to play with friends if you exceed the four-player limit.


    One way was the create a private room and set a password, which was what they did in competitive games.


    The other way was to queue up in the same game mode at the same time, which greatly increased the chances of being matched up together.


    \"What do they want?\" Lu Li asked.


    Were these people really this bored? Although he knew something like this would eventually happen, he didn''t think it would turn out like this.


    He agreed to play games with Innocent Child. Since they didn''t bother hiding this, many people heard about him playing games with Lu Li. The fact that the two best players from opposing guilds were getting along so well was quite sketchy.


    Especially because of the recent news about Innocent Child falling out with God of War, many people began speculating and spreading rumors.


    Lu Li couldn''t care anymore and decided to just let it happen.


    \"Let them come.\"


    Water Fairy was now very confident. When she used to bump into players, she knew she would almost always lose. However, with Lu Li by her side now, she had nothing to worry about.


    The four of them queued together and it took around a minute to find a game.


    When they entered the game, there was a lot of background noise because everyone had turned on their microphone to trash talk.


    \"Aim Lu Li! Kill the damn couple!\"


    \"If you knock down Lu Li that''s $1000! Finishing him off is another $1000! Screenshot for evidence.\"


    \"Water Fairy is wearing a white skirt ¨C she''s mine!\"


    \"Lu Li is wearing a sleeveless grey top and dark-colored jeans. Everyone got that?\"


    \"Maple is wearing a black jacket and black skirt!\"


    \"Innocent Child is wearing a black jumper and a very obvious mask. He''s the easiest to recognize.\"


    Unforgettable Maple looked up these players and found that a lot of them were professional players from Dawn. Some even invited their friends who were professional Survival and Escape players to help kill Lu Li. Even though Survival and Escape and Dawn were completely different games, when they heard about the top player in Dawn trying their game, their curiosity was peaked.


    When they heard that he was dating the richest, most beautiful and fair-skinned female gamer in the community, they were even more furious.


    Killing Lu Li became their goal and this match turned into a Lu Li assassination round.


    \"We should take off our clothes. Otherwise, we''ll get ganged up on,\" Maple said with a pale face.


    \"We''ll take them off after we get into the game. Otherwise, people will just aim the players that aren''t wearing any clothes,\" Lu Li said, beginning to feel nervous as well.


    They entered the game and the flight path was ideal for an airport drop.


    A lot of people liked to drop at the airport because of the loot and the number of players that you could potentially kill. Lu Li would often drop airport in order to improve his game skills.


    \"Drop!\"


    The four of them exited the plane and began diving downwards, waiting for the perfect time to release their parachutes.


    \"Holy crap, there are so many people!\" Maple cried out in shock.


    Lu Li looked around and almost wanted to cry. They were completely surrounded. In the previous match, there were five teams that dropped here, which was the most Lu Li had ever seen. However, this time had even more than the last.


    \"Turn off your livestream first,\" Lu Li said.


    They turned off their livestreams because it was extremely easy to stream-snipe people.


    Although they would not lose out on money if they lost the match, they would lose face if they were destroyed by other teams.


    The fans began complaining and threatened to unsubscribe. However, they didn''t care about what the fans said because they did not make a living off streaming.


    \"How are we supposed to do this? Last time we made it out of the airport alive because there were no formidable players. All these people are probably going to aim us. Perhaps it would be better if we dropped somewhere more remote,\" Lu Li said.


    \"Let''s take off our clothes and go somewhere else,\" Maple said, taking off his pants. The others quickly followed suit.


    \"Where do we go?\" Water Fairy asked.


    \"Let''s find a vehicle along the road and drive as far away as possible,\" Lu Li decided.


    \"There''s a three-man motorcycle here,\" Innocent Child called out.


    \"You two take the motorcycle; Water Fairy and I will take the car,\" Lu Li said, seeing another car. He had actually memorized all the car spawn places in his mind.

 1493 How Poor

    The two cars rumbled as they drove away. The players who were sniping Lu Li and co. had no idea that those four had stripped naked and escaped.


    In the game, apart from clothes, there was no way to identify a player just by seeing them. Because of this, there was no way to tell who the person running towards you was. In a period of crisis, you might not even have the brainpower to tell who was who by their clothes. If you didn''t open fire, then they would.


    As such, the people who arrived at the airport had no choice but to slaughter each other.


    Lu Li and his team drove straight across the bridge, because the safety zone was on the opposite side to the airport.


    \"There''s probably no one in the gas station or the high tower. Innocent, bro, you stay and look around here a bit. We''ll go to the front, and after we get a gun, we can go together to block up the bridge,\" Lu Li said as he sped away with his girl, leaving those two single dogs gnashing their teeth in anger.


    Where Lu Li and Water Fairy arrived was the Farm on the Coast, which could be considered a house consisting of two buildings almost joined together.


    \"There are people here; the door on that side''s open. I think I''ll just have a look around then get back to block the bridge,\" Lu Li said as he saw an open door from far away.


    \"Do we need to go now?\" Water Fairy asked.


    \"No, I suppose there won''t be that many people descending on here. If it is a whole team, then as soon as we hear their car they will come and attack. We''ll just search these few rooms nearby. Be careful,\" Lu Li said, but he was actually not that worried. Four people fighting in the wild was really quite challenging though. Their opponents might be like them, scattering to different resource points and looking for different types of things.


    Lu Li''s search of the first room was quite miserable ¨C he could only find a green level 1 helmet.


    The second room had a first aid kit and a handgun.


    Water Fairy checked a room and found a VSS, which was a firearm that existed in real life.


    The types of guns in the game Survival and Escape were all models from hundreds of years. By the time of World War 3, these guns were already obsolete, existing only in books, movies and museums.


    A VSS was a type of a sniper rifle with almost no muzzle flare at close distances. It used 9mm bullets, and in real life, this type of weapon could shoot at long range. Even if it had an all-in-one suppressor, which would reduce its speed, it still had ability to penetrate through Kevlar bulletproof vests.


    This so-called all-in-one suppressor was a part of the silencer for the gun, and not part of the firearm''s accessories. Silencers were generally called ''additional accessories'', and were placed at the nozzle of the gun to reduce the sound and muzzle flare when shooting. This all-in-one suppressor was already included with the gun nozzle in the process of making the gun. As such, the gun didn''t need the ''additional accessory'' of a silencer.


    This gun featured in many ancient shooting games.


    However, in Survival and Escape, it was a sniper whose power was pretty similar to that of a handgun.


    Almost no one would choose to use this gun. With an expression of absolute disgust, Water Fairy equipped herself with it.


    \"Give me the VSS. I''ll go get those people at the front.\"


    Lu Li wasn''t repulsed by the gun at all. The main thing was he wasn''t in a place to choose. It was still alright, and it was a little better than a handgun. As long as it was silenced, he could still shoot accurately from far away.


    Water Fairy handed the firearm to Lu Li, who took it and ran out.


    The fourth room had already been searched; Lu Li only saw some useless clothing and a tin of gas. His thoughts turned to those guys who wanted to burn him and Water Fairy to death, and he immediately felt cold.


    Someone had already searched the 5th room. They left behind a sprayer, but it didn''t have any bullets.


    The 6th room was also empty¡­


    Lu Li didn''t dare go any further as he wasn''t completely sure if the other people had left yet. If they hadn''t, that would mean they were staying in a small room, tricking themselves into getting them killed.


    After looking around the area, Lu Li chose the leave the room. He stood on a hill nearby, then climbed down.


    \"Are they inside?\" Water Fairy asked.


    \"They should be. If they don''t have a gun, they can''t raid rooms, so we''ve got no choice but to wait for them to come out themselves,\" Lu Li said. Seeing the sprayer earlier meant that the opponents already had one. Taking the bullets but leaving the sprayer meant that they must not have been lacking ammo.


    The advantage was now with them. The opponents didn''t know what guns Lu Li and Water Fairy had. They might not even know if there were two in Lu Li''s group, or four.


    \"What do we do now then? They''re not coming out. Otherwise, if we wait for Sister Maple to come, they''ll probably have found a gun already,\" Water Fairy said.


    \"It''s fine ¨C you go drive,\" Lu Li assured as he shook his head.


    \"Oh, I see, you¡­\"


    The situation was rather treacherous. As long as the car made a sound, the opponents would think that the people had left. Regardless of whether they were going to attack or whether they were heading on the road, they couldn''t stay hiding in the house.


    Knowing that someone had driven away, it would indicate to them that either they didn''t have enough people, or that they didn''t have weapons. At this, the two people hiding inside rushed out.


    Lu Li wasn''t in a rush to attack. In the unlikely possibility that he shot but didn''t kill them, their opponents could simply head back to the house to hide and they would enter a stalemate.


    Water Fairy didn''t drive fast, so this made the opponents want to leave their car even more.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    It was the sound of a relatively soft and depressed sniper rifle. Lu Li aimed at one of their hands, shooting with an automatic rifle.


    There were 10 bullets in total, and it took at least 6 to kill someone.


    Lu Li hadn''t hit the other person. After he had aimed at Lu Li with two submachine guns and missed, he helplessly retreated inside the room. The advantage of sprayers was that they were powerful, but the disadvantage was that they were equally noticeable. Their volume and speed was average, but the worst part was that the range was really pitiful.


    \"I''ve the gun, and you go pick up stuff,\" Lu Li said as he changed the clip and killed the person on the ground.


    Water Fairy ran over to pick up all the stuff. Actually, at this time, if the guy still there wasn''t a chicken, he could have gone directly to Water Fairy and used the sprayer to kill her.


    That being said, he still didn''t know how many people were around. Apart from the VSS, he didn''t know what other guns there were.


    He was waiting, waiting for backup from his teammates not far away.


    Water Fairy picked up the gun and the other things from the box from the corpse on the ground, then ran. She ran until she was in a safe place before she shouted for Lu Li to come over and divide up the loot.


    Actually, this person was also poor, but at least they were much better off than Lu Li and his time.


    There was an M16 and a sprayer. The sprayer had 12 bullets, while the M16 had 24. Lu Li took out the sprayer and 6 bullets and gave the rest of the stuff to Water Fairy. It was because of the sprayer that Lu Li decided to go in and kill that guy. Even if that guy was also poor, as least he would still be able to get something.


    There was no better weapon for scouting rooms than a submachine gun. Lu Li made Water Fairy the lookout to protect against people passing by while Lu Li himself went in to kill.


    The person inside the house heard footsteps approaching. He began to quiver; he was already close to tears.


    What a cruel beast. After killing his brother, he wouldn''t even spare him.


    He was now completely sure that these two guys must be poorer than himself. Otherwise, they wouldn''t just have one person firing, let along firing with that fraud of a VSS.


    If other people found out that he was blocked up just because of a couple of submachine guns, he would never live it down.

 1494 Revenge for Sister Maple

    Now he had to face an even more powerful enemy. The submachine gun that his brother had was definitely with his opponent now. What''s more, his opponent had an accomplice, but he was just one person.


    Lu Li did a loop around the room. He basically knew where his opponent was positioned ¨C he was actually crudely lying down in the bathroom. If Lu Li had a grenade at this time, he wouldn''t need to enter the room at all and he could still kill his opponent. It was a shame that after searching those few rooms he hadn''t picked up any grenades. The corpse''s loot box had only contained a smoke grenade.


    Lu Li broke into the room, all the while aiming his gun at the bathroom.


    He took out the smoke grenade and threw it into the bathroom, which would force the person inside to rush out. Lu Li was very nervous ¨C would the person inside be able to tell the difference between a grenade and a smoke grenade?


    What would the result be afterwards?


    With a gun, he shot the player down.


    Lu Li quickly picked up his things.


    Actually, there wasn''t much. The only thing valuable thing was a silencer for a sniper rifle. He had already smashed up his armor himself, which was all level 1. There was still a helmet though, which Water Fairy picked up and wore.


    Out of the other things that they found, the best was the ten or so bullets for the submachine gun.


    After collecting all this military equipment, they both started up the car and sped away. If they waited, people would definitely come. Getting tangled up with them would be meaningless.


    \"We''ve finished searching here. There''s nothing much,\" Unforgettable Maple said helplessly on his side.


    They had been forced to flee by those at the airport and looked around in a few small places but didn''t find anything. Innocent Child had a UMP9 and a sprayer, while Unforgettable Maple had an AK and an UZI.


    \"If you knew what guns we were holding, then I don''t think you''d feel poor,\" Lu Li said as he drove to the bridge.


    He had on him a VSS and a sprayer, while Water Fairy had an M16 and another sprayer. Both had level 1 bulletproof vests and helmets.


    \"We don''t even have a scope; how are we meant to block up the bridge?\" Unforgettable Maple was dumbfounded.


    \"How about we go somewhere else to look for one.\"


    At this time, all four were on the bridge. They didn''t dare go to the ruins at the middle of the bridge. They could only lie around the thick grass.


    \"Snowy and I killed a couple people, so I think there are probably another couple of people around here searching. I don''t think we would be able to find much else. Why don''t we just calmly lie around here like this? The people over at the airport will definitely come here,\" Lu Li said, rejecting Innocent Child''s suggestion.


    Searching in other places had risks too. It would be even worse if they happen to encounter others and die as a result, because they didn''t have any guns.


    \"Ok, someone''s coming. Can you hear it? There''s a car,\" Unforgettable Maple whispered in a hushed voice, interrupting everyone.


    Lu Li listened carefully, and he did indeed hear the sound of a car. It was a little distant, but it was growing clear and clearer. This meant that they were driving in their direction.


    \"Stay still, stay still. Our guns aren''t any good, so we''ll wait until the car is nearer before we attack,\" Innocent Child said with great excitement. This kind of feeling of hiding in ambush was really quite exhilarating. This was another reason he liked playing with Unforgettable Maple. Just because his shooting was good didn''t mean that he didn''t enjoy ambushing.


    This Jeep was actually being rather cautious.


    They were using the cover from the scrap cars on the bridge to moved forward. When they passed the last scrap car and they continued to not hear any gunfire, they all let out a breath of relief. Farming this safety zone was not as good as the airport. They hadn''t gotten into a firefight with the people at the airport; they just had a quick look around then quickly left.


    Looking at it now, this choice was without a doubt correct. At least now, there was no one blocking the bridge.


    \"Do we stay to block a wave?\" the driver, Cloudy Leaf, asked.


    This group was all from the Gale Legion, and were the guild''s Four Swordsmen. There was Cloudy Leaf, Wendelian, Angry City Dweller and Flowing Leaf. Although their driving skills couldn''t be compared with Moonlight''s, their shooting skills were not as good as Innocent Child, and they weren''t as wretched as Unforgettable Maple, that group of four people were all of the same club. Wendelian was a remarkable commander and he had quite the reputation in Survival and Escape.


    Despite being prohibited, they were well-coordinated when fighting together.


    \"Nah, there aren''t that many newbies in this round. Let''s avoid getting trapped at both the front and back,\" Wendelian said.


    \"Then let''s leave. We''ll rush straight towards the safety zone. Boss, you leave a note¡­a note¡­.for Foggy Grass,\" Cloudy Leaf said, swallowing the end of his sentence.


    Suddenly, a few people leapt on the grass next to the road and opened fire on their car.


    Two people, one after the other, were hit and fell onto the car. In the end, the car was blown up.


    No one survived; things just happened too quickly.


    The Jeep''s main weakness was that it was simply too slow.


    To put it another way, at such a close distance, how could you expect Gale Legion''s Four Swordsmen to react? Even if they jumped from the vehicle, they would die all the same.


    Behind the ruins of the car, four boxes suddenly appeared before their eyes.


    \"Restock time!\" Unforgettable Maple laughed loudly.


    Lu Li had an M16 in his hand, so he was looking mainly for accessories like an extended magazine, suppressors for the end of the gun or a reflector sight. The 98K sniper he was looking for didn''t show up, but there was an SKS which was given to Innocent Child.


    After all, these were players who had just returned from the airport.


    Apart from this, Lu Li found some level 2 armor as well as a half-HP helmet.


    His secondary gun was still the same VSS as before. Since he didn''t have a higher magnification scope, this gun would give him a clear and vaster field of vision.


    They shared the medical equipment between the four of them. Everyone received at least a first aid kit and one or two energy drinks.


    The Four Swordsmen were evidently not the ultimate victors at the airport. They perhaps had only searched a small area, and after finding some guns, saw that the fighting at the airport was too chaotic. They were probably also afraid that someone would be blocking the bridge, so they decided to come over earlier.


    \"I just went to go see Elevenless'' livestream. They went to M City. They''re searching for things really enthusiastically,\" Unforgettable Maple reported, gnashing his teeth in anger. Although they won last round, he had died pitifully, so it was a rather passive victory. The chief culprit, Elevenless, could hardly absolve himself from blame.


    \"Er, you went and had a look behind their back. That''s not too good,\" Lu Li said, with a brief look of awkward helplessness on his face.


    They had turned off the livestream, afraid that others would understand their own dynamics from watching it. They had never thought that Unforgettable Maple would shamelessly run over to Elevenless'' livestream to peek.


    \"They can do it, so why can''t we? And also¡­\" Unforgetful Maple began, then continued with an enticing tone, \"They''re really rich, with two 98Ks, as well as level 3 helmets and armor. Almost all of them have a suppressor for their rifles¡­\"


    \"What are we still hesitating for? Damn them.\"


    As soon as Innocent Child heard they had 98Ks, he abandoned his plans to take the high road.


    \"Since you''re so insistent, I don''t have much to say. We''ll drive to M City then,\" Lu Li said in an insincere tone. It wasn''t that he didn''t have a sense of shame, but his teammates'' pressure forced him to reluctantly agree.


    \"Yes, let''s go to M City. It''ll be revenge for Sister Maple,\" Water Fairy said, providing ample reason.

 1495 Humiliation

    Though there weren''t many resources in M City, it was much better than scouting in rural areas. It also meant that Lu Li wouldn''t have to face off Elevenless and his team right off the bat. As Lu Li drove towards M City, he quickly abandoned the car before entering the town. Since skilled players could easily figure out the location and speed of the car just by listening to the passing engine, Lu Li''s team, who still did not have any armor, would be easily gunned down.


    Elevenless and his team couldn''t find any accessories at their landing site, so they decided to head for M City instead. Not only was it far from flying route, but it was also within the safe zone. After all, this game wasn''t all about killing people. Sometimes, the key to getting the chicken dinner was patience and the ability to finish off what other players had started - gunning down low-health players.


    The clutter of buildings in M City made it difficult to navigate through even if you had a good sense of direction. Lu Li was grateful that Hachi Chan did not play this game.


    \"The resources in these houses are untouched, meaning they haven''t looted this place yet. Innocent and I will lookout from the roof. Snowy, you''re the phantom tank, so find a grove nearby. Sister Maple¡­ why don''t you camp downstairs? It''ll be great if you can take at least two guys down,\" Lu Li suggested. No one objected ¨C even Unforgettable Maple, who was known as a camping fanatic, agreed it was by far the most suitable plan.


    \"They are looting way too slowly. Should Sister Maple check out their livestream again?\" Innocent Child complained.


    \"Let''s not. It''s¡­ distasteful.\"


    There were just some lines that Lu Li would not cross. How meaningless would the game become if they had to stream-snipe their enemies to win?


    \"Fine,\" Innocent Child replied indifferently. Knowing that Elevenless and his team were in M City was enough for him.


    \"I joined a random squad yesterday, and all three of my teammates were japs.\"


    For someone like Unforgettable Maple who enjoyed gossiping while gaming, it was extremely boring for him. Though it was common to be matched with foreigners, it was unusual to have all three teammates who didn''t speak the player''s language. It seemed that this time, Unforgettable Maple was the only foreigner in his team.


    \"Did you guys win?\" Water Fairy asked.


    \"Nope,\" Unforgettable Maple answered dryly, \"I killed them all as soon as I found a gun.\"


    An uncomfortable silence amongst the team followed as Lu Li and the others decided his actions were too heartless.


    \"Speaking of random squads, I joined a team in the U.S. server once. Those guys loved to PK, and as you know, my English isn''t great¡­\"


    Innocent Child was just about to share his own account of playing Survival and Escape when he was interrupted by Unforgettable Maple.


    \"Uh, that''s a ridiculous understatement. What English can you speak besides ''no'' and ''hi''?\"


    \"Shh!\" Innocent Child hushed without skipping a beat. \"At first, one guy spoke English, and the other two followed suit. I was the only one who was silent. After a while, one guy spoke Chinese, and so did everyone else for the rest of the game,\"


    \"That was not funny at all.\"


    Unforgettable Maple shook his head, irritated by the boredom of being a camper. One of the reasons why a lot of players didn''t like being campers wasn''t because it required a high-level of skill, but because patience was essential in doing so. To game was to experience the thrill, and what better way to do so than to kill right off the bat?


    \"Hush. W285, green roof,\" Lu Li said. He had spotted an enemy, but since it took less than a second for them to glide past the window, he missed the opportunity to open fire.


    \"Don''t kill him right away when he comes out.\"


    Innocent Child knew they had the upper hand since he and Lu Li both had a clear shot of the enemy. \"Let''s wait it out ¨C see if we can find his mate,\" Lu Li advised.


    \"I can''t wait to get my hands on Elevenless this time,\" Unforgettable Maple muttered. He was getting jittery as he continued to mumble, \"He''s the one in the red vest. Don''t you guys dare shoot him when he''s down; I want to finish him off with my frying pan. If everything goes smoothly, dinner''s mine at Hero''s in Stormwind City.\"


    \"Even if it''s just the four of us, that''s still a huge expense. I thought you guys were poor down at Majin Temple. Sister Maple, can you even afford it?\" Innocent Child asked, genuinely concerned and surprised. Hero''s was a restaurant that had recently opened up. Not only did it have beautiful virtual woman dancing and singing while the customers ate, but cute female players would also put on performances as well. It might have been a virtual restaurant in a game, but the experience was much more intoxicating than what they had in real-life.


    \"I''m actually quite well-off. You got a problem with that?\"


    Unforgettable Maple inevitably got defensive upon hearing Innocent Child''s tactless response. It was true that Majin Temple was poor, but it wasn''t like that was all he had. He was actually quite well-paid; at least the very least, he was able to contribute a piece of Epic armor to the plan of killing Elevenless.


    \"Fine, let''s mourn for Elevenless,\" Lu Li nodded.


    \"Let''s mourn,\" Water Fairy echoed.


    \"Yeah, but first, we''ve got to know where he''s at,\" Innocent Child sighed. It was difficult enough to camp a professional player such as Elevenless, but now they had to plan his death as well?


    \"I''ve found another one, but I don''t think it''s him. Why is this guy even wearing a down jacket in summer?\" Lu Li commented.


    \"I got one. Footsteps close.\"


    Water Fairy was growing anxious. Though the shrubbery she was hiding in was easy to miss, there was a chance that someone was on a lookout for phantom tanks. Thankfully, M City was quite far from the airline route, which meant that Elevenless and his team wouldn''t be expecting anyone soon. Neither did they have the time to check out every single shrub for players. Water Fairy''s target was careless enough to be running around with both guns holstered to his back, and now was standing right in front of her with no idea of what he was about to face.


    \"Elevenless! It''s Elevenless!\" Water Fairy exclaimed.


    \"Take him out!\" Lu Li cried out without hesitation. Water Fairy might not be as good a player as Elevenless, but in this situation, even a noob could kill this professional player. Another charm of this game was that anything could happen.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Three shots and Elevenless was down.


    \"Don''t kill him yet, Snowy. Don''t let him see you either. Detour to the second floor of the blue house. Innocent bro, take down the one on the left ¨C I''ve got the right. Sister Maple, the floor is yours.\"


    The team had no idea everything would go so smoothly; even Lu Li was genuinely taken back.


    Elevenless slowly crawled to safety. Though he didn''t know where the bullets came from, he could at least still be revived by his team.


    The one in the house came out running. He was cautious, checking every direction for danger before anything, but he didn''t head towards Elevenless immediately either. Lu Li did not have a sniper rifle, but a mere M16. Since it would have taken at least four shots to bring the guy down, he decided to wait until he was out in the open. That way, he could give himself enough time to aim and shoot.


    One shot to the head should have been critical. Unfortunately, the player was wearing a level 3 helmet, and upon taking damage, he immediately began to run sporadically. Lu Li laughed dryly, turned his gun into auto-mode, and started shooting wildly. It was a feeling he indulged in. Whether it was spraying at close range during firefights or at long-range across the map, it would always light up a fire in him. It might have taken him the whole magazine, but another enemy was down. The scoreboards immediately announced Lu Li''s taking down of Dream 13 with an M16.


    \"Should I take this one down as well?\" Innocent Child asked unsurely. \"There are only three of them. If I take him down as well, it will be instant death for all of them.\"


    \"Do it,\" Lu Li said.


    They might have agreed to give Elevenless to Unforgettable Maple, but Lu Li wasn''t going to risk his team''s annihilation just to amuse him. Lu Li did not have eyes on Innocent Child''s situation, but the announcement of him taking down Hornet''s Nest was all he needed. It wasn''t instant death for Elevenless'' team, which meant Midnight Ghost was still lurking around.


    \"Sister Maple, stop gossiping. If you''re going to finish him off, do it now!\" Lu Li yelled.


    Unforgettable Maple switched to his frying pan and circled around Elevenless'' crawling figure, delighting in every second he had to shame him.


    Humiliation!


    No one knew what had happened between Unforgettable Maple and Elevenless. All they could say was, upon the countless times Elevenless had taken him down in the past, it was a love-hate relationship.


    \"Bet ''cha never saw this coming, eh?\"


    One last swing and Elevenless was dead. Lu Li killed off the other two crawling figures but was still unable to find Midnight Ghost.


    \"He could be camping in one of those houses. Should we go look for him?\"


    Unforgettable Maple thought it regretful that he wasn''t able to take down the other player who had killed him countless times as well. Maple didn''t feel as much hatred towards Midnight Ghost since he was indifferent to torturous plays like Elevenless. He recounted the ways Elevenless had toyed him in the past ¨C the frying pan, the machete, punching, the sickle, running him over with a car¡­


    \"Not necessary. Loot the bodies; we''ve got to run.\"


    Lu Li found a slightly-damaged level 3 armor on Dream 13, and along with the half-damaged level 3 helmet, he was well-equipped. Lu Li also looted the 98K on Elevenless. Since he remembered them mention that they had two 98Ks, the other one must have been on Midnight Ghost.


    The battle was worth it after all. As for the rest of his team, they stocked up on medicine ¨C med kits, first aid kits, energy drinks and painkillers. The loot was more than enough. With no time to spare, Lu Li and his team left M City immediately.


    They were on the run. Though the four of them had all turned off their livestreams, with the scoreboards announcing that they had already taken down both The Four Swordsmen and Elevenless'' team, and the likely possibility of those guys reporting the location of their bodies, the sooner they left M City, the better. Unfortunately, Elevenless had long since reported the whereabouts of Lu Li.


    \"Lu Li''s team is in M City. Hurry up and take a car. There''s only one route for them to get to the safe zone; you guys can cut them off right here¡­ I''ll notify the others. When they pass you, they''ll fire their AKs three times. Let them go. Whoever doesn''t do so, take them out,\"


    \"I suggest that you guys wait in this location¡­\"


    \"The houses in the central location are all yours. Anyone who passes, take them out, no questions asked.\"


    Being killed was nothing, but being killed by Unforgettable Maple with a frying pan, and not to mention the countless shaming that came out of his mouth as he did so ¨C Elevenless swore that he would teach him a lesson next time they met in the real world.

 1496 Bad Influence

    Lu Li and his team encountered two consecutive, seemingly-stealthy ambushes not long after. If it weren''t for his expert driving skills and ability to find the safest route to the safe zone, their team would have been wiped. However, they still suffered heavy losses in terms of resources ¨C half of their medication was gone, and so was Lu Li''s level three helmet and vest.


    \"Something''s not right. Did one of you forget to turn off your live streams?\" Lu Li asked. He couldn''t shake off the feeling of being watched and decided that they had to change locations as soon as possible.


    \"I''ll double-check mine.\"


    Unforgettable Maple was in a good enough mood that he didn''t mind doing extra work for once.


    \"Don''t get found out.\"


    The whole situation was too strange.


    Not long after, Maple returned hastily and snarked, \"That bastard Elevenless; he''s been feeding our enemies our locations. That''s why we got caught up with two ambushes.\"


    \"This is where we made our last kill and this is where the safe zone is. We''ll ditch the car, and detour around the hills. We''ve got to lay low if we''re going to win this thing. Don''t open fire as soon as you see the enemy,\" Lu Li decided.


    \"Gunshots straight ahead,\" Innocent Child''s ears said as his ears perked up. \"It''s an M24.\"


    With that, he holstered both of his guns to his back and ran at full speed towards the direction of the gunshots.


    \"Don''t open fire unless you have a silencer,\" Lu Li sighed. He didn''t get defensive when Innocent disobeyed his command since he agreed that stealth-ing the whole round would make the game lose its charm. Silencers could prevent the enemies from figuring out the shooter''s location, which made it hard for them to avoid the attacks. When Lu Li and his team arrived at the location of where the gunshots were heard, the place was already dead silent. The only thing that could be seen was the four players who were nonchalantly looting the defeated players.


    \"Should we still wait?\" Innocent Child asked.


    \"To hell with that.\"


    Lu Li didn''t even bother sniping, but rather, took out his assault rifle and sprayed the place. This sort of situation was very common in this game ¨C you had just concluded a hard-fought battle with the enemy team, and just as you thought you could receive your rewards, the menacing bullets of a newly-arrived team would make an unwelcome entrance. The team that Lu Li and the others gunned down were made of four individual Survival and Escape streamers who were highly reputable. Eight consecutive chicken dinners were of no difficulty, and ten consecutive wins were on the table. Not even professional players had the winning rate that they had.


    Survival and Escape was not a game that had beginner rooms or training rooms, but rather, players of similar rankings and combat abilities were grouped into the same game. As a player''s winning rate increases, so did the skill of the players they were matched with. It also differed from Dawn in regards to the number of accounts one player could create. In Dawn, accounts were limited to one per player, while in Survival and Escape, as long as you were willing to spend some cash, you could have as many accounts as you want. Some live streamers tended to play with accounts that had a low ranking so that they would be matched with newbies. It was favourable to the streamer, since taking down people meant compliments in the chat and gifts from the fans. However, that also meant that they would develop the unfortunate habit of letting their guard down when looting after a battle. With that, the four streamers were down on the ground in no time.


    \"Speed is key. Loot whatever you can; we''ve got to leave this place in thirty seconds,\" Lu Li reminded as he ran to collect his loot. He was lacking in both a helmet and vest, as well as ammunition. The following battles would only grow more rigorous, and they had to be well stocked-up and prepared for them. If they were to shoot the enemies, what a horrifying situation that would be.


    Lu Li found a level three helmet and a level two vest on his target, which he made sure he didn''t damage when gunning him down. He even found an M249 ¨C the gun with the largest capacity magazine. There were one hundred bullets per magazine. Though this gun had its flaws, it remained unrivalled in its usefulness during the final battles. This gun also meant that this team had gone for at least two air drops. Was this what they called ''fortune favours fools''? After all, they were dumb enough to have all four members looting with no one on lookout. Lu Li wondered what would happen if both Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream joined the game. One had no sense of direction, while the other always had her head up in the clouds.


    Four separate cars arrived at the scene shortly after Lu Li and his team left. Each car had at least two players. It was impossible that they were all of the same team since the game set a limit of four players per team. Even if teaming up was a rule violation in the game that could lead to your account being banned, a little bit of cash was all it took to make another one. Seeing nothing but loot boxes at the scene, the four cars drove off to separate directions without hesitation.


    A moment later, when the safe zone was visibly getting nearer, four figures who were lying prone in the grasses stood up. They were Lu Li and his team.


    \"They''re dogs, all of them. How petty do they have to be teaming up like that?\" Lu Li muttered, realising that victory was much further from his grasp than he anticipated. If he were playing the round alone, he would have quit the game immediately, leaving his enemies'' searches futile. After all, what would hurt them the most was not to take them down, but for them to work their asses off over nothing at all. Unfortunately, Lu Li had his team with him, and he would not allow himself such juvenile behaviour.


    \"I just realised something,\" Unforgettable Maple chuckled, \"Only three cars arrived first, right? But the last car that came by did something very strange,\"


    \"The car in front honked once, and the cars behind it fired three shots. It was an AK, but it didn''t hit any of the cars. Now, why didn''t a battle escalate if they were to open fire?\" Lu Li questioned, reaching an epiphany immediately.


    \"It''s a code,\" Water Fairy answered.


    \"Why don''t we follow suit? Let''s go catch up to those guys,\" Innocent Child suggested, his voice shaking from excitement.


    \"Oh man, imagine taking down all four cars ¨C that would be awesome. In the past we would''ve been fighting one team at a time. Two would be unfavourable since we could easily be sandwiched. But now, we can go undercover as one of them, and when the time is right? Bang!\"


    Unforgettable Maple no longer intended to lay low; his intentions were equally vile.


    \"You''re right, let''s do it,\" Lu Li decided. There were plenty of cars around, so finding a four-seater was not a problem. They decided on a greying sports car that was in a better condition and drove at full speed towards their enemies.


    \"I''ll open fire since I have an AKM. Just let me take off the silencer so they can actually recognise the sound.\"


    Unforgettable Maple was as observant as he was mischievous. In front of them were a sports car, a jeep, and a trike motorcycle, meaning that they couldn''t go fast even if they wanted to. Lu Li caught up with them way before they even reached the safe zone. The cars ahead had not determined whether the team behind them were friends or enemies. Thankfully, they had a code. The enemies slowed down their vehicle in case a battle escalated and honked once to see if it invoked a response. Upon hearing the honk, Unforgettable Maple smiled devilishly and fired her AKM three times.


    With that, the cars ahead continued to drive on, and Lu Li''s team successfully blended into their enemies'' formation. There were four cars, and there were four of them. Since it was easy to shoot a car to explosion when firing at close range, they could each take down one car. The only problem they had to consider was whether more cars would be joining them. If there were seven or eight cars around them, Lu Li would have to abandon their ambush and leave. Thankfully, they seemed to be the only players close to this area.


    As soon as they arrived at the safe zone, only fifty players were left. It appeared that it would be a much slower game than usual since it was much more common to be down to thirty players at this point. It also meant that Elevenless'' teaming tactic had worked. These people stopped trying to rip each other apart, and focused solely on hunting down Lu Li''s team. The car at the front slowed down, and the others followed suit. If Lu Li''s predictions were correct, these players who had failed to find him would be carrying out a new plan soon.


    \"I''ll take the jeep. Sister Maple, you take the red sports car. Snowy, you handle the trike. I''ll leave the last one to you, Innocent Bro. When you''ve taken down your target, help each other out. If you''re low on health, go hide behind our car. On my signal¡­\"


    Lu Li parked his car in a safer location that distanced itself from the enemies'' vehicles. No one suspected a thing.


    \"Now!\"


    \"Shoot!\"


    The enemies in front of them had no idea what hit them. Since the code that Elevenless had given them was privately messaged, there was no way that it could have been exposed in such a short time, or so they thought.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Lu Li had the hardest target. The sturdiness of the Jeep made it difficult for it to explode. However, he was using the M249, which was perfect for gunning down vehicles. It even made him the first in his team to take down their target. The players on the Jeep did not have any time to react and were instantly killed as the car exploded. The second explosion was caused by Water Fairy. The trike offered zero protection to its passengers, making it vulnerable to close range attacks. Even if Water Fairy didn''t cause an explosion, she could have easily gunned down all three players in no time. Lu Li wasted no time and switched to Maple''s and Innocent''s targets. Their plan was carried out flawlessly. However, the driver of Innocent''s target was quick to react, driving the car sporadically and successfully avoiding most of the bullets. One player even leapt out of the car without being knocked out, they may have lost a bit of health but survived nonetheless.


    The two players who survived counterattacked by sweeping Lu Li''s team and successfully knocked out Unforgettable Maple. Thankfully, they were still no match for them and did not get the chance to kill off Maple. The results of the battle were as clear as day ¨C four cars, twelve dead. The initial fifty-two players were now down to forty players.


    Time to loot!


    No amount of loot could beat the pleasure they felt killing these cheating players. They had successfully taken down twelve players in less than thirty seconds, a record that wouldn''t be beaten in a long time. Level three helmet, level three vest, level three backpack, an M249, a 98K, five first aid kits, ten energy drinks, and a lot of ammo ¨C they were now more than prepared for the remainder of the game.


    \"How unfortunate that we can''t put spare level three helmets and vests in our backpacks,\" Water Fairy sighed, looking at the multiple level three armors on the ground which were in perfect condition.


    \"What about compounding? Three level three vests compound into a level four vest, and three level three helmets to a level four helmet,\" Unforgettable Maple suggested.


    \"That''s enough; we''ve got to go. Don''t forget there are still people on our tail,\" Lu Li interrupted their daydreaming session.


    \"Please don''t tell me the remaining forty players are teaming up as well.\"


    Innocent Child was visibly worried. If what he feared was true, then there was no way that they would be winning. Them taking down twelve people at once was an opportunity in a lifetime after all.


    \"As long as they''re in the game, they won''t be able to come up with a new plan anytime soon. Also, they would have to abandon teaming up for the time being now that their code has been exploited,\" Lu Li replied calmly.


    \"Speed is key. Let''s find people to kill,\" Innocent suggested hastily. The four jumped back onto their sports car and sped off. Driving along the edge of the safe zone, they repeated the pattern of spotting enemies, slamming the brakes, and taking them out. Since all four of them had silencers, their enemies were down on the ground as soon as they heard a car nearby slowing down. The circle was down to less than twenty players in no time. Of course, it wasn''t just Lu Li''s team that were fighting. Since the teaming plan was abandoned, the players returned to fighting each other as well.


    With the new safe zone announced, Lu Li decided to lay low in a house near the river. With the size of the circle growing much smaller, they no longer had the liberty to drive around killing people without giving away their positions to other enemies. As soon as their enemies were killed, they would notify other players of Lu Li''s location. It was now ten against four.


    \"Boat!\"


    With them hiding out near the river, the sound of a speedboat closing in was not unexpected.


    \"Take it down,\" Lu Li said as he glanced out the window and decided hiding was not worth it at this point. With the circle shrinking as the timer counted down, fighting with other players face-to-face was unavoidable. There were four people of the boat, and if they took it down, there would be less than ten people in the circle. With four guns pointing at the boat (one of them being an M249), the vehicle exploded almost immediately. Only two enemies who were quick enough to react survived by jumping into the water.


    \"Fried fish, fried fish!\" Unforgettable Maple chuckled. \"Man, I''ve been dying to use these frags.\" With that, he threw one frag grenade after another into the water.


    Boom! Boom! Boom! The so-called ''fried fish'' referred to bombing players who had dived into the water. Guns were useless when you didn''t know where a player was, but bombs had a large area of damage and therefore could take people out easily. Lu Li threw one grenade into the water as well and surprisingly took down a player.


    \"He''s swimming towards us!\"


    Lu Li and Unforgettable Maple were in charge of bombing, while Innocent Child dived into the water as a lookout for the enemy. With their flawless teamwork, Lu Li took down the last player of the boat team with his grenade.


    \"How could you do this to me? I threw six frags and you only threw two, but still got both kills,\" Maple pouted.


    \"I got lucky I guess,\" Lu Li laughed.


    The two boxes being in the water made it easy and safe to loot. Since there were only twelve remaining, including Lu Li''s team, it would take time for the enemies to reach their location. Even if they did, Lu Li was ready for them. Victory was almost within reach.


    \"Wow, these guys are rich,\" Water Fairy said as she found a replacement for her damaged helmet and vest. Not only this, but all three boxes also had at least one level three armor, and even the ammo was more than the team could carry.


    \"Hold on, this guy''s got nothing.\"


    The box Innocent chose to loot had nothing but a handgun and some bandages; he couldn''t even find a helmet or vest in it.


    How poor!


    They had nearly reached the end of the game, and this guy had nothing?


    \"He might''ve thrown away his loot. I''ve done the same thing in the past,\" Maple said.


    \"How petty.\"


    Innocent Child dived to the bottom of the river and found himself speechless.


    \"This guy was throwing away his loot as he swam. How petty do you have to be to decide that you would rather die than give your enemies your loot?\"


    \"He could be stalling,\" Lu Li chimed in.


    \"You''re saying the remaining eight players are going to surround us?\" Maple asked as his expression paled. It wasn''t as if he hadn''t faced off against two enemies at once in the past, but it was not exactly a walk in the park either.


    \"How about this ¨C Sister Maple and Snowy, you guys act like you''re still looting and wait for them to fry fish. Innocent and I will be sniping up there,\" Lu Li proposed, coming up with a new plan right away. The three-story building by the river had some fences on its roof which offered decent protection, and also a clear view of the river bank. Being able to come up with strategies on the spot while taking into account his surroundings was probably one of Lu Li''s most reputable strengths. As he predicted, players came running towards the river in no time.


    The eight remaining enemies were of three separate teams, and since they formed an agreement before the game, they were able to communicate with each other using third-party software. All eight players were now teamed up to take down Lu Li''s team.


    Unforgettable Maple was swimming in the river and had his head up every few seconds, making him impossible to miss. The enemies were quickly focused on the water, and with their commander being Midnight Ghost, all eight of them were holding onto their frags and throwing them into the river excitedly. While they did so, the two players in the water could do nothing but swim as they were restricted of battle actions when underwater.


    All eight players gathered by the riverbank, and one by one, they threw out their frags, thinking that victory was ensured. It was difficult to spot players who were underwater, so they were unable to locate Maple and Water immediately. Who would have suspected that Lu Li could be so sneaky?


    Bang!


    Bang!


    The two sniper rifles were aimed at players with level two helmets ¨C with one shot, they were already down on the ground. Lu Li and Innocent Child switched to their assault rifles and swept the river bank. With nothing to offer cover, five players were taken out of the game almost immediately.


    \"Jump into the water!\" Midnight Ghost called out. It wasn''t any more a brilliant tactic than it was a simple avoidance of the danger in front of them. The remaining three players were all underwater by this point.


    Without skipping a beat, Unforgettable Maple and Water Fairy jumped out of the water, their guns pointed at the river. By this point none of their enemies were brave enough to stick their heads above water for air ¨C it would have been suicide after all. The two of tehm walked up to the five fresh boxes and continued looting. They already had more than enough resources, but they still needed frag grenades so that they could fry fish. The three players underwater realised the bleak situation they were in. One of them decided that he wouldn''t be a sitting duck and jumped back onto land. Unfortunately, the second his figure appeared above water, Maple and Water had their guns pointed straight at him and he was knocked out within seconds. Water Fairy switched to her frying pan to conk the crawling figure while Lu Li could only stare at her, stunned. He had a raging urge to point his gun at Unforgettable Maple.


    He was a bad influence on Snowy!


    Definitely a bad influence!


    The team ''fry fished'' their way to victory once again, but this time, Lu Li could feel nothing but the stinging in his chest.

 1497 The Inciden

    \"That felt great. Up for another round?\"


    Unforgettable Maple had never experienced such a high from winning Survival and Escape, especially with a kill count like this. Lu Li''s team had taken out almost fifty players in their second round.


    \"Actually, we have to get back to our Instance Dungeon. We''ll play again next time,\" Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    Playing Survival and Escape was only be a hobby, or something to entertain Water Fairy. Since it wasn''t a game that could earn much money, Lu Li decided it wasn''t worth his time. The only efficient method of earning cash by playing this game was to sell ''ensured chicken dinners''. Victory during low-ranking games was easy, and mid-ranking players weren''t hard to beat either, but high-ranking games would be difficult. One game was enough to mentally exhaust him, and profit wasn''t appealing enough either. He would be lucky to earn a few thousand dollars per round.


    Lu Li did not feel the need to excuse himself to Innocent Child; they both knew that they had their own things to do.


    By the time Lu LI returned to his team in Dawn, they were already facing the crucial point of their battle. Sky Moon was commanding four teams, in which very few were members of Ruling Sword. The majority of players were the elites of Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Using Sky Moon''s point-of-view, Lu Li could see that the Boss only had 4% of its HP left. It wasn''t much of a breakthrough since he had already had the Boss at 1% HP quite a few times, while the teams under Sky Moon''s command had only had it at 2% at best.


    Observing the battle, Lu Li decided there wasn''t much hope. First of all, they were using up too many of their potions. It would have been fine if the cooldown time was short, but most of them took a while, which meant they should only be using them towards the end of the battle. The other thing was the positions of the players. Being unable to see the big picture might have been one of Sky Moon''s weaknesses, but Lu Li didn''t deny that he had talent as commander. Give him three to five weeks and he might actually beat Vaelastrasz. However, after a while, the team was annihilated at 2% as Lu Li predicted.


    As they progressed in the Instance Dungeons, the level of the Bosses increased. One-percent HP was still a considerable amount. Without enough manpower, potions, and a solid plan, it would be impossible to beat.


    \"Alright, take a break everyone. Go have lunch and be back in an hour.\"


    Lu Li thought a break might be necessary if he was to finish before his Dragon Slayer''s Roar ended. If they failed, they would have to wait for another three to five weeks before they could challenge the little Red Dragon again.


    Lu Li had finished his preparations by the time everyone came back online. First was the potions; he had nearly cleared out all the high-quality healing items from storage. Taking everything he could get his hands on, the potions that he had could heal more than a few hundred thousand HP. The other thing was to discuss team formation with the other commanders. Their next battle wouldn''t just be sending in a team from one of the four clubs, but to pick out the elite damage dealers from the four teams. Since there was a time limit on Instance Dungeon battles, their damage output would have to keep up with the timer if they wanted to win. The five strongest Thieves they had chosen were always in the top three in damage output during Instance Dungeons. The next was Berserkers, who were chosen based on damage output as well. The last ones were Main Tanks and Healers. Wandering was not part of the newly formed team. As a Defensive Paladin, his support skills were of no use against Vaelastrasz. Only a Warrior''s Heroic Strike and Piercing were able to accumulate Aggro quickly and effectively. It seemed that the newly formed team had just given the floor to the Warriors.


    The new team consisted of a generous number of Berserkers and Thieves to maintain a high quality damage output, along with some Warriors to accumulate aggro and tank in the battle. The number of Mages and Warlocks were kept as low as possible. A few Paladins and Priests acted as healers, with Shamans and Druids kept to a minimum. Sakura Memories was one of the few Shamans that was elected due to her high damage output.


    The players that were elected to the new team were naturally patting themselves on their backs, while those who were left out did not do anything but felt sorry for themselves. If it was only because their skillsets and class weren''t suitable for the battle, then that would have been fine. However, some of them were left out because they lacked in damage output, were inefficient in healing, or made too many mistakes too frequently. Lu Li was very honest with his teammates this time; the statistics from past battles said it all. Even Remnant Dreams and Hachi Chan were chosen because of their competence.


    Remnant Dreams had quite a few physical skills, and her pet also had the Dragon Slayer''s Roar, meaning her damage output would always be ranked in the top three. Being one of the members of the First Clear team for so long meant that she had also improved greatly in dodging attacks as well. Hachi Chan was even more impressive. Most people were lucky to have one or two Epic equips, but she had every single armor slot equipped with Epic items. She had her Silence skill strengthened, and could even use Resurrection twice consecutively. Compared to the Feign Death with Remnant Dream had, Hachi Chan''s Bear Form was no less impressive. Not only was her HP robust when she transformed into a little white bear, but she could take one hit from the Boss at point-blank range without being killed, which was nearly impossible for most players. Lu Li believed that there was no one more suitable than Hachi Chan to standby as a healer.


    \"Although we''ve handpicked this team, it doesn''t necessarily mean that we''ll be getting the First Clear. I will give this team three chances and see which players pass the test. Those I deem incompetent will be swapped out without hesitation, so give it your all,\" Lu Li stated.


    Newly formed teams like this still needed practice battles to improve their teamwork. Though Lu Li said the first three battles would only be a test run to figure out which players were best for the battle, it was actually his last three chances to pass this Instance Dungeon. If he were to say that they could use the Instance Dungeon to work on their teamwork, there wouldn''t be any tension between his teammates. However, if he said that it was a test, everyone would want to give it their best shot. With this motivating speech, Lu Li hoped to defeat the Boss by the second or third try.


    \"Too late, friends! Nefarians'' corruption has taken hold¡­ I cannot¡­ control myself.\"


    Though it was originally a dialogue rich with sorrow and regret, the players who had heard it over a hundred times felt nothing but anticipation to finally get their hands on the pesky dragon.


    \"Everyone to their positions. Notify me when three layers of Piercing have been applied,\" Lu Li said as he commenced the battle. The first Main Tank was World''s Best Friend, with Azure Sea Breeze behind him to gain Aggro during crucial moments. After countless battles and trials, Lu Li found the aggro accumulated by three layers of Piercing was very consistent.


    \"I''m ready!\" World''s Best Friend yelled.


    \"Do as much damage as you can. Be mindful of your position. Don''t use skills that cause you to move too much,\" Lu Li instructed.


    Having his teammates move as little as possible made it easier to keep an eye on the Boss'' Cleave. One hit from the Cleave to close-combat players meant instant death. Melee players who left their positions also risked exposing players at the back to being hit by the Cleave. Since Thieves and Berserkers were the keys to defeating this Boss, one casualty was enough of a reason to quit and start all over again.


    Since everyone in this team had been handpicked and were deemed elites, no one wanted to be swapped out. This included both Lu Li and Water Fairy, who were solely focused on maximising their damage output. Water Fairy was the first to lead, followed by Lu Li. The remaining three rankings for damage output included Sky Moon, and two other Thieves. Sky Moon had drunk a special potion prior to the battle. It was a secret recipe from Cold Chill. Upon taking the potion, his health would be locked at 20%. He would be unable to increase his health, but it also meant that he wouldn''t lose any more than 10% HP per attack. This was incredibly useful to Sky Moon as it complemented his weapon''s effects brilliantly, making his damage output unrivalled by other Thieves apart from Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    As for Lu Li, the reason he could deal such high damage was because he had strengthened his Shadowstrike. Similarly, Water Fairy also relied heavily on her strengthened skills. Since other Thieves did not prioritise strengthening their skills like these two, they were unable to match them in damage output.


    \"Nefarian''s hate has made me stronger than ever before! You should have fled while you could, mortals! The fury of Blackrock courses through my veins!\"


    The second stage had finally started. Lu Li knew he had to hold himself back a little in terms of damage output by this point. He needed to focus on commanding, and naturally, his ranking had dropped out of the top five.


    \"Hachi Chan, resurrect Sky Moon. Is there anyone else in that area that can be resurrected?\" Lu Li asked as he inhaled deeply, fighting the urge to criticise the few players who had instantly died as the second stage started. He knew that he couldn''t lose his temper now, as if he did, it would destroy the entire team''s morale.


    \"My bad,\" World''s Best Friend apologised quietly.


    Lu Li didn''t bother reacting to his apology; it wasn''t the time to be shifting the blame anyway.


    \"Just focus on the battle. Hachi Chan, go resurrect another one. I''ll do one as well.\"


    \"I beg you, mortals ¨C Flee! Flee before I lose all sense of control! The black fire rages within my heart! I must ¨C release it!\"


    The Ignition had now commenced. The first to be Ignited was Lonesome Flower, who immediately fled to a safe area and waited to be killed. However, as long as he was still alive, he didn''t stop attacking. Being the number one damage dealing Mage of his guild, he continued to dominate the scoreboards even until his death.


    \"Secondary Tank, be careful of the bombing area. Third Tank, be mindful of dodging the attacks, and use Heroic Strike. Good. Warriors, use Piercing for the third time ¨C that''s right. Everyone, keep attacking.\"


    Lu Li was becoming nervous. They had already commenced stage three and were able to maintain most of their manpower. Could this be it? Could they finally beat the dragon? It wasn''t impossible. Lu Li had observed that his teammates didn''t perform well under stress. This was only the third stage, so it was still too soon to be optimistic. The only thing Lu Li could do that remotely resembled encouragement was to remind them to not waste potions.


    7%!


    A small slip up almost caused Lu Li to have a heart attack. Thankfully, Azure Sea Breeze reacted just in time. He was always grasping any opportunity to prove that he had rightfully earned his reputation as Dawn''s number one Main Tank.


    5%!


    \"Flame! Death! Destruction! Cower, mortals, before the wrath of Lord¡­ No ¨C I must fight this! Alexstrasza, help me! I must fight it!\"


    Alexstrasza was the guardian of all life in the world of Azeroth. She was chosen by the titans to be empowered with a portion of Pantheon''s power and was appointed queen of all dragons.


    It was said that the Vaelastrasz was one of Alexstrasza''s spouses, and was her strongest warrior. Though he had been corrupted, his conscience still remained and used Essence of the Red on Lu Li''s team every now and then. Lu Li decided that the only chance to defeat the Boss was to do it while the Essence of the Red was still in effect.


    \"Boss, we might actually win this time round!\" one player exclaimed. The others caught a glimpse of the team''s status and agreed; their eyes filled with hope. Surely, the countless times they had challenged this Instance Dungeon would finally pay off.


    \"Steady, everyone. Hey, you, why are you still attacking? You''ve got to run!\" Lu Li shouted at the Ignited player. The player who was caught off guard immediately discerned what was happening and ran off to the designated safe zone to die.


    \"No one get distracted. We might be doing well so far but don''t let it get to your heads. If we win this round, everyone''s guild points will be increased threefold,\" Lu Li promised. Since guild points were a luxury as inflation could put pressure onto the guild, Lu Li decided it was worth it. He didn''t mind giving away some guild points if it meant they could finally defeat the little Red Dragon


    2%!


    They had finally reached the crucial point of the battle. Lu Li adjusted his team''s formation, taking into account which players were indispensable and which ones weren''t. Suffering heavy casualties was inevitable by this point. The only thing that reassured Lu Li was the quality and unchanging number of healers in his team. He still hasn''t used the Darkmoon Card nor the Soulgems. Those items already had the power of three extra healers.


    1%!


    Close, so close!


    \"Thank you, everyone. I am¡­ finally free!\"


    Hearing the dialogue that entailed the Boss'' death, Lu Li was taken back. Was it over?


    He couldn''t believe it. The battle was not as hard-fought as he anticipated ¨C if anything, there were still many potions left to spare. Was Vaelastrasz who had exhausted his teammates for two days defeated just like this? There was the huge amount of money spent on potions, and the training done by the elites of the three guild clubs which were handpicked amongst thousands of other players. The Boss was originally designed to be an obstacle that wasn''t expected to be defeated for another three weeks, and they had defeated him on the third day!

 1498 Black Equipment?

    \"Is anyone tired?\" Lu Li asked.


    \"No!\"


    They had just rested an hour beforehand, and were riding the wave of adrenaline and excitement of having killed the Red Dragon.


    \"Then let us continue. Remnant Dream, stay towards the back so you can keep an eye on the equipment.\"


    Lu Li charged on without rest, leading the way for those who had just been revived. He did not even want to waste half a second. There was no real alternative. The Dragon Slayer''s Roar only had a few hours remaining. It would be good if they could defeat one more Boss.


    The third Boss, Broodlord Lashlayerm, was a Drakonid and was Nefarian''s first Drakonid creation.


    Nefarian was Azeroth''s scientist, biologist, and geneticist. He focused on researching new Drakonid items, and was attempting to create new forms of Drakonid armies.


    Broodlord Lashlayer was one of the more successful creations. He was actually the former guardian of Blackwing''s Nest.


    Before the little Red Dragon arrived, Broodlord Lashlayer had been the guardian of the entrance. He was actually a Boss that required a series of consistent, planned attacks before being capable of defeat.


    However, there was no plan of attack that could protect oneself against other players for a sustained period of time. As such, when compared to the Red Dragon, Broodlord Lashlayer was just a minor character. The amount of energy that needed to be spent on him was even lower than that which was spent on smaller monsters and trap rooms.


    There were three forms of small monsters. One was the Death Claw Dragon Team Leader, which appeared to be a mini-Boss, despite being in charge of two soldier-like Death Claw Dragon members, and two older, more experienced members.


    If you thought that the Death Claw Dragon Team Leader was the most powerful, you would be making an incorrect assumption.


    There were two possible reasons as to why such a powerful Death Claw Dragon Team Leader held the title of a mini-Boss, while the members of his were only considered small, insignificant characters. The first was because the Death Claw Dragon Team Leader was a relative of Nefarian. The second was because his little sister had married an important figure.


    Lu Li''s entire team was destroyed here.


    Regardless of what group it was, if they did not know how to attack, they were bound to be wiped.


    Two Death Claw Dragon members knew how to use Area of Effect Fireballs, and were able to discharge them in rapid succession. An attack would often result in between 40 to 50 Fireballs flung through the sky.


    Even with 50 Fireballs, each person would on average be struck by one or two¡­


    However, to calculate in this manner was na?ve. No one determined that the Boss'' 50 or so Fireballs would rain down on top of the players. If that was the case, then those with greater defensive capabilities would be able to withstand more than one or two.


    In reality, those who were lucky would not even be subject to a single Fireball. However, if you were unlucky, you could be hit by four or five. Thus, in one instance, ten or so people died. Amongst the chaos, the group very quickly fell victim to the Death Claw Dragon''s second wave of Fireballs.


    Lu Li was familiar with this attack strategy, and thereby managed to escape unscathed.


    After returning, he used Goblin Jumper Cables to treat the wounded. After repeated Revives and heals, he eventually managed to get the entire team standing again.


    \"It seems that there are two small groups. If the parameters of the battle are cast too widely, then it will easily cause another wave to enter. Bearded Zaza, go and pull over the monster. We will wait in the little Red Dragon''s room. When the time comes, we will control a Death Claw Dragon. We need to first kill the others before we sort them out,\" Lu Li said.


    This was the most appropriate way to resolve the issue.


    Although it would waste some time, it would be far less than the time that would be wasted if their entire group was to be wiped.


    Killing a few small monsters would be an easy task.


    Remnant Dream was sent to loot the corpses after, and found a few Synthetic Gems.


    One would use Fire-related magic to increase the damage rate by 50%. A Synthetic Gem that could remain active for 30 seconds was already a fairly good item. When embedded inside weapons, it would add a special, explosive effect. With this Synthetic Gem, the explosive effect of the fire would reach a whole new level.


    30 seconds was enough time to use fire magic to tip the match into their own favour.


    Lu Li left Fat Monkey behind, who did not have permission to enter the Instance Dungeon. However, this did not affect his capacity to receive equipment. He was, after all, a competitor, who might even compete in the Donghua Cup. Although the other two Clubs did not lack firepower, their players were not the official users of it.


    As for other Synthetic gems, they weren''t as difficult to come by. After adding Strengthening Stones, Lu Li followed the structure of the group, and their occupations, to sort them into different formations. Drizzle Court and Peerless City were all beneficiaries of this arrangement.


    There were two normal Skill Books. The third was a Frost Nova Enhancement Book.


    This was a Mage''s ultimate power. Lu Li had just obtained a Synthetic Gem. If he had taken this Book too, he would have been labelled unkind. The agreement between the three guilds would essentially become a dual pact. After briefly considering it, Lu Li gave the Gem to Water Fairy, so that she could be the one to stress over it.


    There were four rare items. Lu Li was intent on getting his hands on some Red Dragonblood.


    It wasn''t because this was especially rare and expensive. At least for Lu Li, he was unaware of its use. However, he knew that in his previous incarnation, people were willing to pay a sky-high price for it.


    Red Dragonblood could only be extracted from a Red Dragon body. The higher-levelled the Dragon, the more likely that it would be extracted.


    However, Red Dragons could not be killed easily. Some players still wanted to kill the Queen of Dragons, Alexstrasza, but that was a pipe-dream. Killing Alsace would be more achievable.


    As for the other Red Dragons, the ones more famous than the little Red Dragon included the likes Claustraz (Krasus).


    This was an even greater flight of imagination. As Queen Alexstrasza''s youngest companion, Claustraz was a rare magic-prodigy. Amongst the human camps, he presented himself as \"Krasus\", and managed to elevate himself to become one of Dalaran''s six high-level Mages. Killing him was even more difficult than reaching the heavens.


    The little Red Dragon was, in reality, the spouse of the Queen, and was also quite powerful. Had he not fallen to such a low level, other players would not have had the chance to kill him.


    As for the drop rate of the Red Dragonblood, Lu Li had never heard of Little Red Dragon dropping this item.


    Because Lu Li had voluntarily offered the Frost Nova to the others, when he asked for the Red Dragonblood ¨C this rare material with no known purpose ¨C both Drizzle Court and Peerless City quickly agreed. Both were impressed by Lu Li''s ''generosity'', which made them feel that they were not strangers. Lu Li was prepared to share things with them, so they naturally had no objection.


    Barely anyone wanted the four pieces of Gold equipment, or the three pieces of Dark Gold equipment. Lu Li decided to divide them according to the relative sizes of the three Clubs.


    Of course, as the organiser and commander of the group, Lu Li was not shy about taking a larger percentage for himself.


    Then it came to the Legendary equipment. The sight of a T2 Warrior Belt Mould was enough to make others satisfied. This was because many were Warriors who knew that they would never able to have the equipment itself, and therefore wanted to satisfy their curiosity of seeing it in person. Lu Li gave some of the Legendary equipment to Azure Sea Breeze ¨C no one would object to this. After all, Azure Sea Breeze was largely responsible for the defeat of the little Red Dragon.


    In reality, no one would object anyway. This would remain the case so long the unfairness was restricted to Azure Sea Breeze.


    Then, there was another Legendary item.


    This item made Lu Li complain uncontrollably.


    The items today seemed strange. First, there was a Mage Synthetic Gem, and now there was something even better, but it was for Defensive Paladins. Unless, they wanted him to give it to Wandering?!


    Then, he would really be armored up with black-colored equipment!


    However, he considered the topic of discussion tonight ¨C the black-armored, black-handed team leader who led the charge to kill the little Red Dragon!

 1499 Red Dragonscale Protector

    The Red Dragonscale Protector!


    In Lu Li''s previous life, someone had made a list of the best shields available.


    The Red Dragonscale Protector was ranked the fifth!


    On some authoritative websites, the Red Dragonscale Protector was generally ranked within the top three. Even Dawn''s designers had publicly stated that this Shield was one of their proudest works.


    In terms of appearance, one side of the shield had a dragon''s mouth, while the other had seven dragon scales. It had vivid dark lines and was quite large, capable of covering most of a player''s body. For a very long time, the Red Dragonscale Protector was the symbol of a top Defensive player.


    This shield was like a wall that could be used to block incoming damage for an entire group.


    When outside the Instance Dungeon, if you saw a Defensive Paladin walking with this shield, there would be plenty of players trying to team up with them. On the other hand, if you saw a Berserker carrying this shield, then they must come from a super guild.


    The Shield''s main bonuses were Constitution, Strength and Intelligence. Because of these stats, Berserkers would usually have to give this item up to the Defensive Paladins. Warriors didn''t need Intelligence, but Defensive Paladins needed mana to cast their skills.


    However, if you discounted the Intelligence bonus, the shield could also be used by Berserkers.


    The shield had two special effects that were particularly strong, and were the reason why it was so highly sought-after. The first Special Effect didn''t need much explanation; it was just a general damage reduction. The second Special Effect was an area of effect Buff. It wasn''t as strong as the one that little Red Dragon had, but it still improved the strength of the whole team for a certain amount of time. The third Special Effect was Red Dragon Protector, which was also an area of effect buff. It prevented all the players from dying, whether they were in an Instance Dungeon or in the Wild.


    Of course, this was limited to teams of 40 or less.


    If a 100-player group could use this special effect, then this Shield would probably start affecting the game balance.


    As such, Lu Li really wanted this equipment. Wandering was the top Defensive Paladin of the guild. Since Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t significantly improve his strength anymore, this would undoubtedly make Ruling Sword''s First Clearing team more powerful.


    \"This shield is for you,\" Water Fairy said. She seemed to be able to detect Lu Li''s desire, and handed it over with a grin. \"If we want to use it, we''ll come looking for Wandering.\"


    How good it was to have a mutual understanding!?


    The girl had volunteered it, and Lu Li felt moved, so there was really no condition he wouldn''t accept.


    \"What are you guys doing? There''s another one.\"


    Even Remnant Dream was getting bored watching this interaction. She felt like these two club executives were quite arrogant, and that they didn''t care about the people around them.


    Pendant of the Fallen Dragon!


    This was a magical healing item with a high Intelligence Attribute, high durability, and great mana regeneration. It also had a healing effect.


    This item was more suitable for Priests or Tanky Healers, so Lu Li assigned it to Water Fairy.


    Although Ruling Sword had the most players in the fight against the little Red Dragon, if Drizzle Court and Peerless City''s players were added together, they wouldn''t have much fewer players than Ruling Sword. The repair costs and potions had also been provided by Water Fairy, so this assignment wasn''t unreasonable at all.


    After clearing out two waves of mobs, the players then entered the trap room.


    The trap they encountered was called a ''Repression Device'', and it applied a debuff called ''Repression Aura''. This greatly reduced the movement speed and cast-speed of the players affected by it. The trap required a Thief to disarm it, but there was still a chance for it to trigger during the process.


    The monsters in the area mainly included the Death Talon Hatcher, the Blackwing Taskmaster and Corrupted Bronze Whelps.


    The most terrible of these were the Death Talon Hatchers. They had a low-range aura around them which would deal continuous fire damage to any player that got close. This effect could also be continuously stacked and would only disappear after leaving the aura for a while.


    The Blackwing Taskmaster could cast area of effect healing, but Lu Li just instructed the Mages to Polymorph them, so they were not a major threat.


    The easiest monsters to deal with were actually the Whelps.


    This was a Thief''s world. With five Thieves present, they had good awareness of what was happening inside the Instance Dungeon. This meant that there were very few casualties in the trap room, and soon, everyone could see the Boss.


    Broodlord Lashlayer was a comparatively easy Boss, but was nonetheless the Instance Dungeon''s final Boss.


    Lu Li and the others got wiped quite quickly, as they hadn''t managed the mobs well enough in their first attempt. The Boss'' damage was so high that Azure Sea Breeze lost 4000 HP almost instantly. Wiping was an inevitable outcome when so much HP was lost, and the healers didn''t react in time.


    Lu Li then adjusted the composition of the team.


    Wandering, who had finally gotten a chance to enter the Instance Dungeon, was mainly responsible for the Whelps. These Whelps were like ants. They didn''t do much damage individually, but together they could be quite a fearsome force.


    In addition to this red shield, he had an assortment of different T2 equipment. It was all quite a mess.


    Lu Li also arranged another two Main Tanks to accumulate Aggro together. These four Main Tanks needed to keep their aggregate aggro high so that the other players could freely attack.


    The issue was that the Boss'' Mortal Strike was too powerful.


    Not only did it deal burn damage, but it also reduced a Main Tank''s ability to receive healing by 50%. If they would have been healed for 1000HP, they would only receive 500.


    This time, it came down to the quality of the Healers and the Main Tank''s reaction times. It was a matter of whether they get the healing in quickly enough, and whether the tanks could cast their Damage Reduction in time.


    Most teams that faced this Boss would get wiped over and over. There were some rumours that other teams had successfully defeated the little Red Dragon, but were now stuck in this stage. It was hard for them to believe they had gotten stuck again, and would have felt like they had been cursed.


    However, this was certainly not the case for this three-club alliance.


    The areas that were difficult for an ordinary team weren''t necessarily difficult for them. The healing abilities of March Rain were world -lass, and the quality of their Main Tanks were the same.


    There was also the Boss'' shockwave, which was a very powerful area of effect damage skill. Once a player accidentally gained aggro, then the Boss would rush over to cast shockwave.


    Lu Li and the others had been wiped twice because of this. The Boss would always rush to a densely packed group of players.


    In fact, it was quite simple to deal with this skill. After gaining aggro, they just needed to run to the Main Tanks. Even if the shockwave was cast, the Main Tanks wouldn''t be one shot. Then, the Main Tanks just needed to re-Taunt the Boss and they would be back on their way.


    As for the knockback skills, Lu Li had been trying to work around them.


    When a Main Tank was hit by a knock back, they would lose all their Aggro. This was why Lu Li had put in multiple Main Tanks. The others could then come in to maintain the Boss'' attention. Aggro was the attribute that made the monsters want to attack a player, so the other Main Tanks were needed to Taunt the Boss.


    After being wiped a few more times, they had roughly explored all of Broodlord Lashlayer''s attacking styles. Although their knowledge wasn''t as thorough as when they had fought the little Red Dragon, it was enough to dispatch of Broodlord Lashlayer.


    When they defeated the Red Dragon, there were four players who received Skill Points. Lu Li wasn''t one of them, but this there were three people that got Skill Points and Lu Li was lucky enough to receive one.


    In fact, the attribution of Skill Points wasn''t that random.


    The amount a player contributed affected the attribution chance. For a team of 40 players, the players that dealt the least damage, healed the least or performed the worst as a Main Tank would be extremely unlikely to receive these Skill Points. This was something that had been researched by a group of Mercenaries.


    The best Mercenary Groups were able progress through the Instance Dungeon Bosses, but they would want to acquire some equipment and Skill Points along the way.


    Yet, they soon realized that although finding equipment was easy, gaining Skill Points was almost impossible.


    It seemed that the System had set a certain amount of contribution required for the chance of receiving a Skill Point. A player could only be eligible after exceeding the threshold. Perhaps the chances of receiving a Skill Point were higher if their contribution was higher. For someone like Lu Li, it gave him the same opportunity to earn Skill Points even though he had to command everyone else too.


    Otherwise, if it was truly because of his bad luck, he would have completely stopped receiving Skill Points a long time ago.


    Gems, Rare Materials and Skill books were distributed in two parts. The first part was for Ruling Sword and the other was for Water Fairy. The specifics of how they were distributed didn''t bother Lu Li much.

 1500 I Want It Too!

    Lu Li distributed the Gold and Dark Gold equipment the same way. Everyone didn''t have many specific demands anyways.


    The Rune Sword!


    It was completely out of Lu Li''s expectations that this was the first weapon.


    Without a doubt, this weapon was extremely valuable. You didn''t need to see the attributes to know that. It gained a legion of fans from its appearance alone.


    Even back before Lu Li was reborn, Blackwing''s Nest was already farmed every Monday by many Guilds. Yet, the Rune Sword was still an item in high demand.


    If you walked around with a sword like this, you would have an army of girls flirting with you.


    The design of the weapon was more attractive than its attributes.


    The Rune Sword was paired with Teral''s Nightmare Blade, which looked incredibly cool.


    Other than the Rune Sword and the Nightmare Blade, there was only the reward of the first quest of Ahn''Qiraj ¨C the remains of Ravencrest.


    The Sword was ultimately taken by someone on Water Fairy''s team.


    Lu Li didn''t feel any regret. The couple of great Warriors by his side didn''t really care about the Sword either because of the attributes.


    Then there were a pair of shoes ¨C a Druid T2 Shoe Mould.


    The team only had one Druid¡­.


    \"Actually, I think my shoes are quite nice,\" Hachi Chan weakly said.


    \"Let me have a look at your shoes.\"


    Lu Li inspected her shoes and saw that they were indeed quite nice ¨C level 60 Epic boot with good attributes and terrific special effects. Altogether they were probably not bad compared to the T2 shoes that could be made.


    Lu Li had never even heard of these shoes. Hachi Chan had probably been rewarded with them from a quest.


    \"Ahem, here, you guys can have the shoes,\" Lu Li offered. Ruling Sword didn''t really have any Druids who were worthy of exquisite items. As for Innocent Child, it wouldn''t be possible to just give him equipment for no reason, even if it was to try and get him on the team. That would be overly flattering.


    Naturally, Water Fairy didn''t have an issue with that. One of their Guild''s most powerful Main Tanks, Deep Watersong, was a Druid.


    The last Epic equipment was a Poisonous Totem. The name sounded like a Shaman equipment, when in reality, it was a Thief''s badge. Its main function was to increase poison damage, but Lu Li found that this badge didn''t suit him. After all, he only used poisons that he made himself, so the increased effects weren''t that significant.


    Just because Lu Li didn''t want it didn''t mean that this was the case for everyone else.


    The team had a number of Thieves, and in the end, it was Cain''s Left Hand that took it.


    It was surprising that there was another Pet, one that could summon a cute Death Claw Dragon Guard.


    Remnant Dream had not received anything after two consecutive Bosses. Despite coming across so many Exquisite items, Exquisite gems, Enhanced Skills Book and the sort, none of these were relevant to her. But now, she was beyond ecstatic because this little pet meant everything.


    As long as she had this little pet, even if it were Hunter''s equipment, she didn''t care if she received it or not.


    The team for designing little pets were adept at figuring out what appealed to a girl''s mentality. No matter how ugly and hideous the monster, as long as it was made into a little pet, it would become incredibly cute. In the end, wasn''t ''dumb cute'' a type of cute?


    This ugly, yet cute little Dragon Guard snuggled next to Remnant Dream''s feet. Its little claws hugged her calves, just like a pendant for her leg.


    Of course, it would need to be stored away in a battle, otherwise, it would affect her speed.


    The fact that Thunderfury completed his mission at Blackwing''s Nest too and originally sourced minerals here were not issues that required Lu Li and his team''s attention. He just wanted to quickly kill Fillmore while the Dragon Slayer''s Roar was still active.


    Fillmore was a small dragon that patrolled back and forth in a certain area. His patrol route held a group of small monsters that looked like Broodlord Lashlayer''s Dragonspawn and the Binders of the Pixie family.


    So far, simple formations could not be used in larger Instance Dungeons. Smaller monsters could not be fought by Warriors simply pulling aggro and Priests healing.


    Mages who could transform were recommended to do so as often as they could. Hunters could kite Dragonspawn, while Warlocks could summon demons.


    After a few rounds of clearing the smaller monsters, they could go and attack the Boss.


    Fillmore''s main skill was a fire-type area of effect, which applied more damage. However, it wasn''t a problem if a player had high fire resistance.


    Azure Sea Breeze changed into his Fire-resistant equipment, while Wandering''s current resistance was sufficient. Usually, you only needed two Main Tanks, but Lu Li still planned to go ahead with three. Even if the other two were killed, the whole team wouldn''t be destroyed as a result. The damage from this Boss'' attack was quite high, but overall, the difficulty wasn''t very hard.


    Lu Li knew that the difficulty of this Boss wasn''t hard, but to get past it on the first attempt was beyond his expectations.


    It was as if they were all in a dream. Ever since they had started the Instance Dungeons around Blackrock Mountain, entire teams being destroyed was the norm. They never thought that there was a Boss that would just fall to the ground mid-battle.


    Regardless, this was a good thing. Everyone was doing their allocated tasks ¨C distributing equipment, clearing smaller monsters, completing quests. Evidently, their egos could no longer be satisfied by Fillmore.


    It would be best to also get rid of Nefarian.


    \"Get your mind out of the clouds and get to work,\" Lu Li barked, interrupting their thoughts.


    Everyone was not impressed by the Gold equipment, but the Dark Gold Ring''s attributes were decent, especially if you considered the 20 points of Fire Resistance.


    From the current increasing trend of Fire Resistant equipment on the market, this Ring had a value that was comparable to that of an Epic equip. Not to mention, items like jewellery had a lower drop rate anyway.


    Fillmore was also a BOSS that dropped T2 items. This time, it dropped one pair of Goblin and Shaman gloves. The Goblin gloves were given to Ruling Sword, which Lu Li assigned to Kitty Likes Meat. On the other hand, the Shaman gloves were given to Drizzle Court. Lastly, there were the Dark Grey Robes.


    Blackwing''s Nest dropped a lot of aesthetic equipment. The Dark Grey Robe was one of these.


    The attributes were by no means good, but that couldn''t cover the fact of how pretty it was. At the very least, there would be many female players who would rather add a few pretty items to their wardrobe.


    As soon as Remnant Dream tried it on to see how it looked (Hunters mainly wore chainmail but they could also wear cloth), all the girls'' eyes lit up. This style of clothing was definitely not designed by those middle-aged male programmers.


    Even Water Fairy looked like she really wanted it.


    \"How about I join in on the auction and bid double the Guild Points?\" Lu Li asked after everyone quieted down a bit.


    \"You''re a Thief and plus, you''re a guy. Why would you need this equipment?\"


    \"Yeah Lu Li, why do you want to bid for Magic clothing? Unless you''ve found a way to change professions into a Magician?\" a player asked in a sarcastic tone devoid of any innocence. Wandering probably just wanted to see Lu Li being embarrassed.


    Lu Li tightened his grip around the dagger to stop his urge of stabbing Wandering.


    \"Oh, I know! You want to give it to a girl!\" Azure Sea Breeze continued to tease.


    \"For a girl? Who?\" Wandering gasped as he widened his eyes. This type of grandiose acting didn''t deserve the face he had. Fortunately, he didn''t become an actor, otherwise, he would be cursed to death.


    \"I don''t know either? Maybe it''s March?\" Azure Sea Breeze suggested as he pretended to think.


    \"Since we''ve been playing together for so long, you guys can choose how you want to die,\" Lonesome Flower darkly replied. Even though he wasn''t experienced in PVP, he had all the equipment to easily slaughter two Main Tanks who didn''t have any attack abilities.


    \"Uh, then it''s definitely not March¡­unless it''s Hachi Chan. Oh my god! You''d even go for such a young girl! Ow! Hachi Chan, why''d you kick me?\" Azure Sea Breeze cried out as he stopped abruptly.


    Everyone went silent.


    Hachi Chan let out a \"humph\" as if nothing had happened and retreated in a blunt, yet warm manner. It was as if that moment of her kicking Azure Sea Breeze in the place where it hurt the most wasn''t her.


    Azure Sea Breeze was nearly scared to death.


    It was normal to get killed and revived in Instance Dungeons. Hence, he shifted to the pain-free mode. There was no physical pain, but what he felt from being kicked in the male genitals was mainly psychological. It was as if a severe pain had spread through his nerve endings and he almost rolled on the ground covering his important bits.


    As a cute girl with a height of only 1.5m, how could you do this?


    Remnant Dream went blank for a second and thought of something.


    \"Hachi Chan, a guy last year said you kicked him. Was that true?\"


    \"That wasn''t me! He''s falsely accused me!\" Hachi Chan''s denied as her eyes flickered.


    \"Then how come you''re so good at kicking there? Didn''t we say we''d only kick guys in the knees?\" Remnant Dream was dumb and wasn''t easily fooled by this.


    \"Enough guys,\" Lu Li said as he wiped his forehead. \"This equipment has average attributes. No matter which way it''s used, Mages can only use one of the special effects, so let''s just auction it off as an appearance equipment. Let''s start bidding. Just a side mention, this thing has a fairly high drop rate guys.\"


    The Dark Grey Robe''s drop rate wasn''t low and was especially often seen at Remnant Dream''s level. Of course, not many people believed him since everyone thought he was a scheming master.


    Once they heard that any profession could participate in the auction, everyone immediately put in a bid.


    At the end, Lu Li used 120 Guild Points and won this piece of equipment. Nearly all his Guild Points were used once this was doubled to 240 Guild Points.


    As a reborn player, he rarely made any mistakes, and he participated in nearly Boss BOSS fight. His important role of Commander also allowed Lu Li to earn Guild Points faster than anyone else. A Commander''s income was much higher than that of Main Tanks and Healers. It wasn''t because Lu Li wanted to fill his own pockets; these were just customary rules in the gaming circle.


    Lu Li calmly put away the equipment once he received it.


    He couldn''t possibly bring it to Water Fairy now. She was a girl at the end of the day. Hence, in this moment, she was pretending to be busy with her head slightly down. In fact, she was beyond embarrassed.


    In addition to this, she was owner of two guilds. She needed some face and authority in front of the crowd of subordinates.

 1501 Enhanced Allied Therapy

    The next Boss was called Ebonroc.


    This was another one of Nefarian''s experiments. While the previous three Bosses were similar, they also all had some differences.


    A lethal attack to a Main Tank like Azure Sea Breeze would result in 3500 to 4000 of damage. Compared to the third Boss, Broodlord Lashlayer, its attack frequency was much faster.


    The point where Ebonroc wasn''t comparable to Broodlord Lashlayer was that he was able to reduce healing effects while sustaining high damage at the same time.


    This Boss also didn''t have deal compounded fire damage, but it had one more Debuff for the current target ¨C Ebonroc''s Shadow.


    Ebonrock''s Shadow was maintained for 8 seconds once in effect. During this time, the Main Tank who received this debuff would suffer fatal blows from the Boss. Each successful attack by it meant that it would recover 50 000 HP.


    This effect was not easily dispelled, meaning that as long as Ebonroc had a chance, he could recover up to 100%, even if he only had 1% left.


    It was precisely because of the existence of Ebonroc''s Shadow that this Boss fight had been dragged out for so long. This required a higher demand on the Main Tanks'' coordination. Once one of the Main Tanks received Ebonroc''s Shadow, the other had to immediately taunt the Boss over. Otherwise, the Main Tank that received Ebonroc''s Shadow would be quickly killed while the Boss'' HP recovered. All the effort spent fighting before would be simply wasted.


    As well as this, Ebonroc also had some Shadow Damage that was comparable to Fillmore.


    After the team had been wiped twice, the Main Tanks all changed into two pieces of Shadow Resistant equipment under Lu Li''s command.


    Nobody could have only one set of equipment in a qualified team. There were requirements for what type of Resistance equipment that one needed to change into. This practice was particularly seen in mercenary groups who maximised this by organising Gold Collection Units to make money. They even had people who owned a warehouse of equipment.


    \"There''s not much time left. It seems too hard to kill this Boss. Our Main Tanks'' coordination is not great,\" Wandering said, becoming a little worried.


    \"Don''t feel any mental pressure. We were only thinking about killing the little Red Dragon just this morning. Now, we''ve already gotten to Boss number five. What''s there to be dissatisfied about?\"


    Lu Li, on the other hand, was very calm. You couldn''t be too greedy, or else it could affect how well you played in a game.


    Once this was said, everyone was a lot less restless.


    There was half an hour until the game time finished for today. It wasn''t impossible to kill off Ebonroc in this last half an hour.


    The key was with these few Main Tanks. If their coordination went well, Ebonroc wouldn''t be invincible, even if it recovered HP. The times before when the team was destroyed were all due to the Main Tanks. On the contrary, Lu Li felt that their damage output wasn''t lacking in any way. Instead, he felt that the DPS professions should slow down a bit, or else the Main Tanks would not be able to handle it.


    \"Actually, we can do this,\" Sky Moon said, then suggested, \"We can split up the commanding. Boss, you can oversee the whole team. I''ll command the Healing professions, and help adjust the team along the way. Wandering can be specifically in charge of the interchange of Main Tank Aggro¡­\"


    \"That seems plausible,\" Wandering''s said as his eyes sparkled.


    \"Okay, let''s do it your way. It''s a very new and interesting idea.\"


    Lu Li thought the idea wasn''t bad. It was most suitable for this team at the current moment.


    Usually, a team could not be commanded by three people ¨C that would be a road leading straight to death.


    It would be like a three-headed hydra. While it had three heads, they couldn''t all work together at the same time. One would go left, the other right and the last one forwards, which would tear it apart.


    The difference in Lu Li''s team''s case was that each head was responsible for a different thing, so the chance for conflict was not as high. This was especially the case given how Lu Li''s existence was enough to hold down anyone else.


    Another reason was because everyone had already worked together for quite a while. These three commanders all had previously commanded everyone and understood each other. They had the mentality of trying everything possible in this desperate situation and began the new fight again.


    \"Breezy take a break over there and recover. I''ve got the aggro. World''s Best Friend, you start accumulating aggro and get ready to taunt when I get hit.\"


    Wandering didn''t care about anything else other than the Main Tank''s first natural response.


    \"Darkness heal Wandering a little more. Machine Bro, focus on Breezy''s HP, then give the Main Tanks Shields after March,\" Sky Moon directed the Heal professions.


    If the Main Tanks had any changes, the Healers needed to swap their targets accordingly in a timely manner. Otherwise, the new Main Tanks could die due to Healers not keeping up. The Healers just needed to keep their attention on Main Tanks.


    Lu Li made use of every opportunity to focus on where everyone was stationed. Once he relaxed, his DPS increased to within the top three.


    Considering DPS alone, under the effect of Dragon Slayer''s Roar, Lu Li alone more than enough compared to Sky Moon and Wandering put together. As such, having three separate commanders didn''t lower the team''s damage output by much.


    After over half an hour, Ebonroc''s arrogant body fell to the ground with a loud thud.


    At this moment, there was still nearly an hour left to spare.


    \"Everyone''s pretty tired hey? How about let''s just distribute the equipment and leave for today?\" Lu Li suggested.


    The next BOSSBoss Flamegor, wasn''t considered hard. However, to kill him in only 10 or so minutes was a bit of a stretch. Moreover, how could everyone not be tired after having killed several Bosses over these past few hours without even half an hour of rest?


    \"We''re not tired! Let''s keep fighting!\" He heard a clear-cut response.


    Lu Li looked at everyone''s mentality ¨C each one of them looked so hyped it was kind of scary. It was as if they would immediately turn hostile if he asked them to leave right now.


    \"Fine, usual rules. Remnant Dream will loot the corpse at the back. We still need to clear small monsters. No matter what, the next one will be the last Boss for today.\"


    An army''s morale could be utilised effectively so there was no need for Lu Li to discourage them. Regardless, there were still unanticipated rewards no matter if they were killed or not.


    Ebonroc wasn''t considered hard to kill, but the equipment it dropped was not bad.


    First was a Synthetic Gem, which was very suited to Main Tanks. Lu Li distributed it to World''s Best Friend as Azure Sea Breeze''s weapon was already stuffed full of gems.


    What''s more surprising was that out of the few Skills Books, there was even an Enhanced Skills Book.


    Enhanced Allied Therapy!


    This would restore 500% of Magic Enhanced HP for you, one Defensive Target, as well as three other friendly targets within a 20-yard radius.


    Enhanced Allied Therapy was originally made for the person itself, a chosen target and another person. The three people would recover 300% of Magic Enhanced HP. This skill was of little value and interest; it wasn''t as good as other regular Healing skills. However, this was not the case after being Enhanced. It would double HP and could increase it for five people at once.


    Since the last Enhanced Skills Book was given away, this Enhanced Allied Therapy would be left with Ruling Sword.


    Without a doubt, Lu Li handed this to March Rain.


    Meanwhile, the Gold and Dark Gold equipment was casually distributed. Everyone was focused on clearing smaller monsters and didn''t have much spare capacity to pay attention. Lu Li would distribute everything properly anyway. Everyone often called him Cruel Lu. They said that he was brutal, greedy, and would take advantage of equipment, but in fact, they were all satisfied by Lu Li''s way of distribution.


    Ebonroc dropped T2 gloves as well. Actually, he, Fillmore, and Flamegore (who were the 4th, 5th and 6th respectively) all dropped T2 gloves.


    Hence, the T2 gloves were the most easily obtainable set items.


    It was all Thief items that were dropped. Lu Li could take them too, but since his Guild Points had largely been used to bid for the Dark Grey Robe, many other Thieves here had much higher Guild Points than he did.

 1502 Fool

    There were many Thieves, so an item like this T2 Glove that had never dropped before was even more important.


    Naturally, the Thieves began bidding and the T2 item easily reached the 100 point mark. This was the nature of the market. An item could be on the same level, or maybe even better than another, but because of the supply and demand, the prices would be lower if there weren''t many people playing that class. However, the demand for Thief, Mage, Warrior, Priests was much higher, so the prices were also much higher.


    Items of this calibre belonging to Hunters, Paladins, Druids or Shamans would usually be sold at a much lower price.


    \"120.\"


    Some people said that Water Fairy''s voice was like the sound of nature, which was why her livestream was extremely popular. Listening to her voice was like being in a dream. Unfortunately, she wasn''t that talkative. During Instance Dungeon runs, she often remained silent throughout the whole run. Even when she did talk, it was when she was walking with Lu Li and they usually only whispered.


    Now, she had opened her mouth because of this T2 glove.


    \"125.\"


    Someone else also bid for it. The increments were much smaller now; they were no longer jumping by tens.


    Perhaps they were smaller because they wanted to hear Water Fairy''s voice more. This technique was not known to ordinary people.


    \"150.\"


    Unfortunately, Water Fairy wouldn''t bid like that. She only had 150 points, but decided to use them all here.


    \"1¡­\"


    Scarlet New Moon had more Guild Points than Water Fairy, but only a little bit more. He could outbid her if he chose to, but before he finished, Cain''s Left Hand stopped him.


    Cain''s Left Hand had one hand around his neck and one hand on his mouth. Then, he spoke a few words into Scarlet''s ear.


    \"Never mind. It''s not worth spending that many points on one item. Only fools would do it,\" Scarlet New Moon laughed a little, rolled his eyes, then continued, \"No matter how smart the person, they all become fools in the name of love.\"


    \"But the hint of jealousy is still there¡­\"


    Everyone was laughing at these two fools in love. One had spent 240 points just to buy a cosmetic item, while the other used all her points just to buy a single set item. These 150 points could have been used to buy two items if the circumstances were not as desperate.


    Clearly, everyone knew why Water Fairy wanted to buy this item.


    Lu Li looked deep into her eyes, then gave the item to her. It was time for the final item= the Rejuvenating Gem.


    The Rejuvenating Gem was an exquisite item for Healers. This was an example of the type of items that could drop from a level 60 high-difficulty Instance Dungeon. It was much better than the previous Robe, so the competition was much more intense.


    In the end, Darkness managed to get her hands on the item.


    She was the top Healing Paladin in Ruling Sword. She was usually quite reserved, but she was the main healer in Instance Dungeons.


    This girl had already unknowingly been in Ruling Sword for a few months.


    At the start, the rumours that she was Sorrowless'' girlfriend caused many people to suspect her of ill intentions. However, as time passed, these negative feelings and thoughts towards her gradually disappeared. It wasn''t that people stopped believing that she was extremely close to Sorrowless, but that no one believed that she had ill intentions regarding Ruling Sword.


    This was only a game; it wasn''t like the ground-shaking drama and competition in the novels. Even if she had infiltrated Ruling Sword, there were only so many things that she could have gotten. It wouldn''t be worth the amount of time that she had been in Ruling Sword.


    Furthermore, Sorrowless wouldn''t be willing to make his girlfriend go undercover into Ruling Sword.


    In reality, Darkness was getting along with everyone and she was happy here.


    As for Sorrowless'' thoughts about this, who cared?


    Flamegor was the result of one of Nefarian''s experiments. He wasn''t that much different to the previous two Bosses. The only difference was that he had Enrage. When in an Enraged state, he would unleash a skill that had no blind spots. This skill was enough to kill 80% of the players present.


    Actually, killing 20%, 80% or 100% of players ultimate didn''t make much difference because Enrage would cause a squad wipe. The first squad wipe was because of this skill. It was fortunate that the Enrage came at the start of the battle, so it didn''t waste much time.


    The key point regarding this skill was that it could be interrupted.


    This was where Hunters were put into use. They could use Tranquilising Shot to interrupt the Boss'' Enrage.


    Lu Li arranged for a few Hunters to do this. Their DPS didn''t matter, but they needed to do their job when the skill was cast.


    Sky Moon was responsible for arranging these Hunters in a rotation so that there would be replacements when the skill was resisted.


    Sky Moon was quite good at this. He was the one who had raised the suggestion of having a separate commander. Furthermore, with Lu Li''s guidance, he had ''discovered'' the Boss'' Enrage. Flamegor would have a red light shining beneath his feet just before using this skill. This red circle of light would enlarge and by the end of 3 seconds, Flamegor would be Enraged. The Hunters just needed to land a Tranquilising Shot in these 3 seconds.


    Without the Enrage, Flamegor was a piece of cake.


    After the little Red Dragon, Flamegor and his brothers were all swiftly dealt with.


    For the sake of ensuring the safety of the Hunters, Lu Li grouped March Rain and Hachi Chan with them. They were completely focused on healing the Hunters. Furthermore, Lu Li had arranged for the Warlocks to bind the Hunters with the Soulstone to revive them when they died.


    \"There is still quite a bit of time. Stay calm and we''ll be fine,\" Lu Li assured as he looked at the Boss'' HP.


    \"If we wipe again, then we won''t have enough time.\"


    Sky Moon''s eyes were fixated on the ground beneath the Boss'' feet, ready for Enrage to be cast.


    \"You''re right. Everyone, let''s step it up a notch, but leave your powerful burst skills for later. Same goes for the healers.\"


    Lu Li didn''t ask them to go on a full-offense because of the time, but because of the Enrage that would come before the Boss'' death. This particular Enrage would not be interruptible, but wasn''t a 360-degree area of effect.


    This meant that the other Enrages would only increase the Boss'' attack power and attack speed, along with Fire-based damage. At that time, everyone would then unleash their full offensive arsenals to kill the Boss.


    If they were lucky, the Boss might not enter an Enraged state today. After all, it had tried multiple times, but was interrupted each time.


    Unfortunately for the team, Lu Li always had bad fortunes


    The Boss'' Enrage was finally cast. This time, the Boss was quite excited. None of its attempts at being Enraged had succeeded prior to this, but now, it had finally happened. The Boss was now filled with strength.


    \"What are you waiting for? Use everything you have! Kill the Boss!\" Lu Li yelled.


    The enraged Boss was taken aback. These adventurers were still hiding their strength! This must have been their true power ¨C how shameless!

 1503 Innocent Child Has Changed Clubs

    It would be impossible to prevent casualties from the Enrage.


    It was said that even the lower-level instance dungeon Bosses would still be able to deal large amounts of damage to high-level players while in an Enraged state.


    Almost twenty players died out of the forty present, but fortunately, the final victors were the players.


    \"The game time is about to end. Let''s loot quickly and go,\" Lu Li urged as he checked the time. The game company didn''t care whether the Boss'' body was looted or not. The Boss would be refreshed at a set time. No one had dared to test that out, but it was definitely how it had been designed.


    \"I managed to get a Skill Point! I''m so happy!\" Remnant Dream exclaimed in joy.


    Once she was in a good mood, the items that she looted would usually be exquisite. The first thing was a Fusion stone which added +15 Movement Speed. For Priests or other slow-moving classes, these types of stones were a godsend.


    Even exquisite boots would only add +30 movement speed. Lu Li''s own Champion''s Boots added +25 movement speed, and he had used this item for months already.


    Although there weren''t any Enhanced skill books, there were still many normal skill books that were usually quite difficult to acquire. Skill books that dropped from large-scale Instance Dungeons like this were usually quite useful to normal players. Lu Li stored away the skill books that the team didn''t need in the guild storage. Many members of the guild would want them.


    It was here that another type of labourer was born.


    This job was of a slightly higher rank a gold collector. In his previous life, Lu Li was also in this position for a while.


    To put it bluntly, these items that were rarer to acquire for normal players were usually more expensive. This was the case for most guilds. It was hard for normal players to escape their fates. The strong determined the rules, yet the rules only made life harder for the normal players.


    For the sake of being strong, Lu Li also had to make life harder for the ordinary people. This was a societal rule; it wasn''t something that he could change.


    The only thing that he could do was perhaps to make it slightly easier by allowing more people to receive what they deserved.


    Styleen''s Impeding Scarab ¨C this was an Epic Shield and was quite an exquisite item. This Shield was useful while taking aggro, so it was taken by World''s Best Friend.


    Shadow Wing Focus Staff. This was an Epic Staff and ended up being taken by a Mage from Peerless City.


    Handguards of Transcendence. As a pair of T2 Priest Gloves, it took a considerable number of points for March Rain to acquire it. After this, there weren''t other notable things to distribute. With the remaining time, some went to do quests, while some went back to the Stronghold. They needed to continue fighting this Instance Dungeon the next day.


    The next day, Lu Li heard that Innocent Child had terminated his contract with the Gangnam Royals, or more accurately speaking, Dancing Star Dream and Innocent Child had requested it together.


    The termination fees were usually quite expensive, but Heart of War was extremely generous. When they joined in the beginning, they signed a special type of contract regarding the termination fees. There were a few contracts of this nature in the game at that time.


    Both sides agreed to join on good terms and decided to part on good terms as well. The termination fee was only a small amount of money for formal significance.


    The professional gaming scenery was shocked upon the changing of guilds of these two world-class players. Everyone''s eyes were on Gangnam Royals. Their response to this was also quite quick, calling all the regular media companies and putting together a press conference quickly.


    Heart of War''s tone were no longer like what it was. He immediately pointed out what the club hadn''t done and that he had failed the professional players.


    They lost in competitions, which in turn caused huge losses for the Gangnam Royals. The club also didn''t have any determination at becoming stronger and instead only offered their condolences. This type of generosity didn''t sit well with some players, since the club had become basically become the henchmen of the other clubs.


    No matter what he said, the truth was that the Gangnam Royals had just lost a major part of their manpower.


    However, during this press conference, they also mentioned another piece of news. Heart of War had announced that the Gangnam Royals would sign contracts with seven mercenary groups. These mercenary groups would support the Gangnam Royals with materials and one of these groups would also be responsible for training their future pro players.


    From Heart of War''s perspective, they had managed to take control of the seven largest mercenary groups in Dawn.


    Whether in Lu Li''s previous life or this life, the Gangnam Royals had used this type of method to solve their club problems. The only difference with this life was Lu Li''s battle against Heart of War, which forced this to happen at least a year earlier.


    This contract model had a definite impact on the Dawn professional gaming scene.


    Many clubs would delegate tasks to mercenary groups, such as the gathering of materials, training of pro-players, maintaining Instance Dungeon records or even competing professionally.


    Some clubs already began to create multiple squads for competitions, but the relationship between the clubs and these squads wasn''t that strong. The squads were merely only competing in the name of the club, while the club would provide financial support and materials.


    With the introduction of the mercenary groups, it seemed that there was even more financial pressure on the club.


    However, with the contributions from the tasks that mercenary groups were given, the club would, in fact, lessen their financial pressure and also save a lot of money.


    While it might have appeared quite intimidating, managing hundreds and thousands of members in a club was no simple task, since there were only a few of them that could contribute to the club. However, to be able to please the public, the club needed to support the non-contributing players as well.


    Even if each player only gave a few dollars per day, the club would be able to save a lot of money.


    Therefore, with Heart of War beginning this movement, every large club would begin to set a limit of around 100 000 members. Sister guilds would be even smaller. This would lead to the increase in quality of new members.


    This new employment of mercenary groups helped Dawn''s quality of gaming improve.


    When Lu Li had just been reborn, he only thought about making a mercenary group.


    His plan was to gather a group of capable players at the start and take First Clears. Then, they would take on the requests from large clubs to get First Clears for them. After being financially secure, he would use the knowledge of pro-players in his previous life and team up with them, helping the clubs on a professional level.


    However, this would-be mercenary group exceeded Lu Li''s expectation and goals, so he decided to establish a club that took their First Clears for themselves.


    Lu Li allowed Square Root Three to get in contact with Innocent Child.


    Innocent Child then joined Ruling Sword and became one of their professional Druid players.


    This new contract was also the special type of contract. Innocent Child was free to leave Ruling Sword, provided that he didn''t bring harm to the club if he chose to leave. Lu Li didn''t mind this, since he didn''t believe that a contract could bind a person to the club indefinitely.


    The only person that could choose to stay was himself.


    If he thought that the club''s atmosphere was positive while playing the game and competing for the guild, he wouldn''t leave even if they wanted him to.


    The news that Innocent Child had joined Ruling Sword was quickly announced by Square Root Three.


    Ruling Sword immediately stole the Gangnam Royals'' thunder at that moment.


    This was expected. A professional player had left the Gangnam Royals, then joined Ruling Sword. There were no transfer fees and the agreement was made under amicable circumstances.


    What did this mean?


    This meant that Ruling Sword was much more appealing to Innocent Child than the Gangnam Royals. Transfers like these had immediate impact, so many clubs would look to recruit members from opposing clubs. Even the largest amount of money was worth it to keep their professional players.


    There was also Dancing Star Dream who had also announced to leave the Gangnam Royals.


    Unfortunately, he had already made agreements elsewhere. Not even Innocent Child could affect his decision.


    Dancing Star Dream decided to go to Grand Hegemony instead. He was different to Innocent Child. Innocent Child''s value didn''t rise, since he had prioritised advancement over anything else. He didn''t


    want to follow a goal-less leader like Heart of War.


    However, Dancing Star Dream was different. His value exploded when he joined Grand Hegemony.


    This was because Grand Hegemony were financially loaded but had nothing to spend it on.


    As for future advancement, it wasn''t that Dancing Star Dream was short-sighted. He would eventually become the squad leader of Grand Hegemony, then compose a powerful squad that was under his complete control.


    There was also a press conference for Grand Hegemony, welcoming Dancing Star Dream into their ranks.


    Lu Li and Ruling Sword didn''t have that much money to be able to have afternoon tea with the media, so the welcoming was only done in a hotel together.


    The chaos that ensued after the consecutive release of breaking news finally calmed down. The Gangnam Royals still remained standing after losing two professional players, all the while still maintaining quite a positive look.


    The obvious winners were Ruling Sword and Grand Hegemony. Both clubs received fresh and new players. If there weren''t any other interruptions, these two clubs would undergo large changes.


    Lu Li''s focus was maintained on the Instance Dungeon.


    Innocent Child joined Blackwing''s Lair squad with the role of a healing-specialised Druid. He adapted to the squad extremely quickly. Lu Li didn''t suspect that he was a spy sent by Heart of War to learn about the inner workings of the Instance Dungeon.


    The seventh Boss of the Blackwing''s Lair was called Chromaggus.


    This Boss looked nothing like the three Bosses from before; it looked like a horribly deformed twin-headed dragon. Frankly, it looked like a dog!


    Chromaggus was the Black Dragon Prince''s final experiment and was made from multiple dragon corpses. Its body included five different types of Dragons. Because of these various types of dragons, there were also five types of terrifying power which brought with them ten types of AoE magic.


    Although it looked like a twin-headed dog, Chromaggus still maintained its status as a Dragon.

 1504 Chromaggus

    After entering the Instance Dungeon, they didn''t immediately see Chromaggus.


    Since the Instance Dungeon had been refreshed, they had to clear out the newly-spawned monsters. While they were doing that, Lu Li used this opportunity to introduce the team to Innocent Child.


    \"Actually, you''ll probably know most of them. Some are from Peerless City and Drizzle Court,\" Lu Li said.


    \"I understand.\"


    Innocent Child nodded his head, then greeted the other people.


    Old veterans like Moonlight and Mu Qiu already knew Innocent Child well, and vice versa. They had eaten and drank together before. Now that they were all under one club, it was expected for them to have celebrated already. All three of them just needed to exchange a look and they would understand each other.


    The main ones were those who hadn''t been on the competitive stage.


    This included Azure Sea Breeze. Innocent Child and Azure Sea Breeze seemingly got on well together, as they immediately planned to hang out after.


    As for Wandering, Innocent Child looked at him for a good ten seconds. The usually calm Wandering was beginning to feel nervous. Everyone in the game, no matter their age or gender, all called him ''Brother Innocent''. It was strangely natural for everyone to call him that, but he couldn''t be gay, right?


    Wandering thought that he was quite good looking himself, so it wouldn''t be surprising. He was actually a little mad.


    \"Ah! These two must be Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream! They''re so adorable. Are you sure they''re in high school already? They don''t even feel like they''re twelve yet!\" Innocent Child exclaimed as he looked at those two with a surprised look on his face. The outside world had already heard so many rumours about them.


    \"Hachi Chan! Kick him!\" Remnant Dream was angry. How dare he say that they didn''t even look like they were twelve? Did he mean that they were extremely young?


    Being young wasn''t a bad thing, however.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately clenched his thighs together. His balls had been kicked by them before, so he wanted to avoid it.


    \"Dreamy, didn''t you say that kicking people was bad?\" Hachi Chan scolded.


    \"He''s a Druid! He''s going to be stealing your items,\" Remnant Dream whispered in Hachi Chan''s ear and encouraged her to go show Innocent Child what they were made of. Remnant Dream had decided that she was never going to loot any more Druid items.


    \"Ah! It''s Darkness!\" Innocent Child began chuckling when he saw Darkness, not knowing that he had just offended these two girls.


    On the outside, he was laughing, but on the inside, he was full of admiration for Lu Li. In the whole Alliance, not even Blood Red War Flag, who was the nemesis of Glory Capital, dared to take in Darkness. Lu Li was fearless in his eyes.


    It was said that the greatest enmity rose from killing one''s parents or trying to steal their wealth.


    However, what about stealing someone''s wife?


    Perhaps, in Glory Capital and Sorrowless'' eyes, Ruling Sword was actually their greatest opponent.


    Glory Capital had been through many battles with Ruling Sword. It wasn''t only for Darkness'' sake, but it was also because Lu Li had been extremely obvious when showing his ambitions. The Lu Li now was different to the past Lu Li who only wanted to earn money to heal his sister.


    However, Innocent Child didn''t worry about this.


    Not even Lu Li worried about it, so what use would it be for him to worry? Furthermore, Lu Li''s ambition was a major part as to why he ultimately chose Ruling Sword.


    Innocent Child wasn''t in need of money. After being in the eSports circle for many years and being one of the top players, he already had a lot of money.


    The thing he wanted was the glory from being at the pinnacle of Dawn.


    Looking at the other clubs, they didn''t even dare to oppose Sorrowless. How could they dream of the pinnacle?


    Therefore, he didn''t simply choose Ruling Sword on a whim. It also wasn''t because Lu Li simply called him over, or because of his happiness while playing with him. Although, playing games with Lu Li was actually quite fun.


    Chromaggus'' den looked like a laboratory.


    Laboratories usually had an enclosed and dark feel, but this place was frighteningly large. There were many humungous corpses lined around the corners of the room with bones protruding from them. The rotten flesh and skin allowed the players to see that each corpse had different skin colour.


    There was a crimson red pool of blood in the middle of the room along with other strange tools. The whole laboratory gave off a horrifying feeling, making everyone extremely uncomfortable.


    It was a large Dragon ¨C a large, dead Dragon.


    Nefarian had made Chromaggus and this was his laboratory. Chromaggus was lying in the pool of blood.


    It had the appearance of a twin-headed dog, but of course, it also had draconic features.


    Perhaps it was the lack of difficulty from the previous four Bosses that made everyone think that this would be simple too. Therefore, everyone was quite relaxed, as if Chromaggus was already in their grasp.


    \"You guys have all looted the hourglasses, right?\" Lu Li sighed. He couldn''t help but think that they were in for a rude awakening when the fight began.


    He had already asked everyone to loot all the hourglasses that dropped from the monsters from before.


    \"All done,\" Remnant Dream reported. She was the specialised looter in the team. While she didn''t really have a part to play when they were all clearing monsters, her lucky little hand was not only applicable to Bosses. If other players could loot one roll of cloth from the monsters, she would be able to loot two.


    From the First Clear on the Nightmare difficulty of an Instance Dungeon of this calibre, she would be able loot Dark Gold items from the smaller monsters. A considerable number of the Dark Gold items in the guild''s storage had been dropped from smaller monsters.


    \"Wow! There''s quite a lot!\" Lu Li exclaimed as he looked at the trade window and saw that there were around 300 hourglasses. He was a little surprised. Fortunately, the hourglasses were in stacks of 100, otherwise, he wouldn''t have enough storage slots.


    The words on the hourglasses were fairly simple: \"Use: Heals user from Brood Affliction: Bronze.\"


    There were five debuffs that Chromaggus could inflict on the whole team.


    Firstly, there was Brood Affliction: Bronze, which immobilised the target for 4 seconds. This debuff wasn''t like a Sickness or Curse, so they had to use the hourglasses to dispel the effect.


    Lu Li gave ten hourglasses per Main Tank, five hourglasses per Priest, then distributed two or three hourglasses to the rest of the players.


    Only 30 to 50 hourglasses in total were needed, but this meant that they only had five or six attempts at this Boss. As soon as they run out of hourglasses, they wouldn''t be able to continue fighting.


    Although the monsters were being refreshed, the refresh speed was slow. Even continuous grinding for a few days might not even let them acquire this many hourglasses.


    Brood Affliction: Black. Target receives 100% more damage when hit by a fire-based attack.


    This was a Curse, so Mages and Druids could dispel it.


    Brood Affliction: Red. Causes 50 fire damage every 3 seconds. Stackable.


    This was a non-lethal skill and was a Sickness, so Paladins and Priests could dispel it.


    Brood Affliction: Blue. Decreases target movement speed to 70%. Decreases casting speed to 50%. Decreases 50 mana per second.


    This was the debuff that was the most annoying, especially for Hunters. The Blue Affliction needed to be dispelled immediately by either a Priest or Paladin and was useless against melee classes.


    Brood Affliction: Green. Deals 250 poison damage every 5 seconds. After being afflicted with this debuff, the victim''s HP would quickly drop, so they needed to immediately dispel it.


    These five debuffs posed the biggest problem.


    Besides these debuffs, the Boss also had five AoE skills. These were Time Lapse, Frost Burn, Ignite Flesh, Corrosive Acid and Incinerate. It would choose two skills out of these five every battle. Each skill had a 1-minute cooldown.


    These AoE skills dealt fairly high damage, so the other classes had to escape besides the Main Tank.


    The one that required the most attention was Time Lapse. This skill would immobilise the target and reset the aggro in that time. When the Main Tank was hit with this skill, it was likely for the Boss to run towards the long-ranged DPS players or healers.


    This was why they needed more Main Tanks if the Boss had Time Lapse.


    No one knew the skills that the Boss would have, so more Main Tanks were placed in the team just in case. In Lu Li''s previous life, Chromaggus had already been nerfed multiple times, so they only needed two Main Tanks.


    Lu Li had read that four Main Tanks were required in the earlier versions of the Instance Dungeon, but the current team didn''t need that many. They already had Azure Sea Breeze, Wandering and World''s Best Friend ¨C three top-tier MTs with exquisite items and good mechanics. These three Main Tanks would outmatch any four Main Tanks in any other guild.


    Lu Li needed to protect the Priests, Paladins and Druids, since they were responsible of dispelling the debuffs.


    Chromaggus'' damage from his AoE skills was terrifyingly lethal. The healers were required to heal while also keeping an eye on the debuffs, so there was immense pressure on them.


    As for the DPS classes, they were not as powerful as yesterday. After all, they had the Dragon Slayer''s Roar yesterday and also didn''t have as many Thieves and Berserkers this time. They only had two Berserkers, and as for Thieves, excluding Lu Li, there was only Water Fairy, Scarlet Red Moon and Cain''s Left Hand.


    One other class that was worth mentioning would be the Hunters. If they didn''t have Hunters to use Tranquilising Shot, then this run would have been impossible.


    Lu Li had given the team six chances in total. The first three times would be to test out the Boss'' skills, then the next two attempts would be to try and work together the best they could. Then, they would try to clear the Boss in the final attempt. If they couldn''t clear it in these six times, then they couldn''t do anything else.


    Prior to this, Lu Li had asked the teams that were running through the Lower Blackrock Instance


    Dungeons to collect Spider Web Glands, which could dispel a poison effect.


    The Spider Web Gland was not only used to deal with Brood Affliction: Bronze, but it was also effective against Brood Affliction: Green.


    However, the drop rate of this was simply too low. It wasn''t like the hourglasses, which dropped in bunches. Ruling Sword had so many teams clearing Lower Blackrock, but they only had around 100 in the guild storage. It would be generous to say that these could last them two runs of this Instance Dungeon.

 1505 Lucky Remnant Dream

    \"Azure, start the fight.\"


    Lu Li appeared much more calm than he actually was. He really hoped the two random area of effect skills would be forgiving.


    \"I''m going,\" Azure Sea Breeze muttered as he stuck his tongue out.


    \"Wait!\" Lu Li stopped him, then walked up to Remnant Dream and said, \"Dreamy, you go hit him first.\"


    \"What?\" Remnant Dream stared back at Lu Li with her big puppy eyes; her expression was beyond scared. Why would Lu Li want a weak little girl that required the protection of her pets to strike the Boss first?


    \"Trust me. Go hit the Boss first, then redirect the aggro to Azure Sea Breeze. Remember to Feign Death\"


    \"Okay,\" Remnant Dream reluctantly agreed with a nod. It wasn''t the first time that she had to initiate a Boss fight, but the situation wasn''t as terrifying as this. However, if Lu Li asked her, she had no choice but to do listen.


    An arrow landed on the Boss''s toes and Chromaggus awakened slowly.


    He looked down and stared straight at the little Hunter.


    The Hunter rolled her eyes and dropped to the ground almost as if she had actually died. The Boss then turned its attention towards Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure began tanking at the position that Lu Li specified.


    \"Okay, let''s start,\" Lu Li said as he nodded in approval, signaling to Remnant Dream that she could get up now.


    The reason why he wanted Remnant Dream to draw aggro first instead of Azure Sea Breeze was to decrease their chances of the Boss using its area-of-effect skills Time Lapse and Ignite Flesh.


    Many guilds, when facing off against Chromaggus, would skip the last two Bosses in the dungeon if the random skills were Time Lapse and Ignite Flesh.


    There were very few guilds that were strong enough to complete this dungeon.


    Even if the Boss was nerfed in the future, there would still be very few teams that could tank these two skills from the Boss.


    There was a saying regarding this dungeon.


    If you got hit by Time Lapse and Ignite Flesh then you would free for the rest of the week.


    If it was Ignite Flesh and Corrosive Acid, then they still have a chance of winning because these two skills could be tanked.


    Remnant Dream was famous for how lucky she was, so Lu Li was hoping she would be able to help them in the beginning of the fight.


    Chromaggus could be tanked by Warriors because he had weak normal attacks, so long as he didn''t go Berserk. A Main Tank like Azure Sea Breeze could tank the Boss without defensive skills from start to finish ¨C assuming that the he didn''t use Time Lapse.


    Time Lapse: Frozen in Time! The target''s HP decreases by 50% and loses aggro. When the Effect is finished, Replenish 50% and all aggro.


    This skill didn''t actually do much damage, but it reset the aggro. If this was combined with Ignite Flesh, the chances of the team getting wiped were highly likely.


    The first skill was not one of the area-of-effect skills but one of the five Blood Affliction Skills.


    Chromaggus casted Blood Affliction Bronze and Green and killed off three players.


    One of them was a Priest and Lu Li couldn''t do anything to prevent this since it was their first time.


    He was actually in the wrong because he didn''t realize Bronze would do so much damage, so he forgot to remind everyone to use their defensives.


    Blood Affliction stunned the players for 3 to 4 seconds.


    \"Positioning! Be careful of where you stand!\" Do not stand next to the main tank!\" Lu Li reminded. He was quite on edge because the Boss had yet to use his AoE skills.


    Wandering noticed that Lu Li was slightly flustered and tried to encourage him.


    \"Let''s take it slow; this is just the beginning.\"


    Even if this Boss was very strong, the whole team was willing to do this together.


    Now they knew that Blood Affliction Bronze should be cleansed immediately, especially if the player that was hit did not have full HP. Otherwise, it could easily lead to a few surrounding players also getting affected.


    \"Be mindful of those that turn blue. Paladins, Priests and Druids, remember your task. Help keep an eye out for your teammates,\" Lu Li continued.


    Blood Affliction Blue was the most deadly to Mage classes, as it decreased Movement Speed by 70%, decreased Casting Speed by 50% and drained 350 mana per second. This skill did not seem significant at first glance, but the mana drain and movement speed debuff could easily mess up the Mages and make them panic.


    There were plenty of Bosses that had used a variety of debuffs in their past battles. However, it was the first time that there were so many debuffs cast at such a high frequency.


    Classes such as Druids, Paladins and Priests that could cleanse debuffs and curses were on edge because they determined the outcome of this fight. Although they were all on high alert, it was almost as if their reaction times were a step slower because of the pressure.


    Additionally, they also forgot to do other things such as dealing damage and healing.


    \"The Boss is going Berserk!\"


    Bearded Zaza was frustrated because he was hit by Blood Affliction Blue, but did not get cleansed for a whole 2 seconds.


    The Hunters had the responsibility of watching whether the Boss went into Berserk mode.


    Once he went Berserk, they needed to cast Tranquilizing Shot.


    \"Remnant Dream, shoot him!\" Lu Li yelled.


    Remnant Dream casted the skill and Tranquilized the Boss. Once it went Berserk, the whole team might as well give up.


    \"Give Bearded Zaza a Mana Regen Totem. Next time, remember to use potions and stop using your mana to cast skills. Watch the Boss carefully and do not let it go Berserk,\" Lu Li said as he let out a sigh of relief. Even though they had lost three players already, they could still pass this stage as long as the Boss did not go Berserk.


    The two Hunters could use normal attacks and still deal decent amounts of damage.


    Their pets could also deal damage, so the overall team DPS was still maintained. Hunters had one of the lowest mana pools in the game, which meant that if they were cursed with Blood Affliction Blue, the effects were even more detrimental.


    Frost Burn!


    Deals 1749 points of Frost Damage and drains 1749 Mana. Delays the time between attacks by 400% and lasts for 125 seconds.


    The first AoE skill was cast and it was Frost Burn. Lu Li let out another sigh of relief.

 1506 Passing Time with Set Ablaze

    It wasn''t Time Lapse, it wasn''t Corrosive Acid, and it wasn''t Ignite Flesh¡­what more could you ask for?


    Although Incinerate could really give you a headache with 1500 damage, at the moment, the players'' HP was above 3000, so this wasn''t enough to be fatal. Since it wasn''t enough to be fatal, they were able to recover with healing. What was relatively troublesome, though, was the Incinerate. Mages and Warlocks who were targeted would really suffer, let alone those playing an occupation with lower Magic Resistance.


    Fortunately, this skill could only be used once every 30 seconds.


    Additionally, it could only attack in a straight line, which was right in front or right behind the boss. It was only the people who were standing on this line who would be hit, so not every player would lose 1500 HP just like that.


    There was a warning signal before the attack was about to happen. Players who could react quickly enough were able to get out of the way beforehand.


    Apart from this, it was only at this stage that Chromaggus began to change colour.


    Different colours corresponded with different resistances, and players had to choose their attack skills based on the resistance. When it was resistant against Shadow, the Shadow Priests and Warlocks had to use other skills, or else their attacks would be nothing more than a tickle to the boss.


    When everyone first started to see the Boss change colour, they were all a bit dazed, thinking that he was holding back some sort of ultimate attack.


    Only Lu Li knew what skills Chromaggus had. To the ordinary player, they would have no idea what would happen in the next second. Even if something did happen, they might not be aware of it.


    There needed to be a process of realisation.


    Without Lu Li reminding them, they realised by themselves the change in resistance that the Boss'' colour-shifting indicated.


    The second AoE had been cast ¨C Time Lapse!


    Lu Li silently sighed in his heart, but this was something that he had anticipated. Even if the System treated them like family, it still wouldn''t be easy to defeat Chromaggus. The Time Lapse AoE was the hardest to deal with, not because of how much damage it dealt, but because it could stun for so long.


    The situations with and without Time Lapse were completely different.


    If Time Lapse was not case, Chromaggus was simply a Boss with a few more debuffs than normal. As long as they could deal with the debuffs in time, he wouldn''t be any harder to deal with than the previous few Bosses.


    However, with Time Lapse, the situation was akin to their fight with the little Red Dragon. Unfortunately, Lu Li and his team no longer had the Dragon Slayer''s Roar that they had during that fight.


    At the very least, Time Lapse had not been used with Ignite Flesh or Corrosive Acid. Otherwise, the difficulty wouldn''t be comparable with the little Red Dragon. At that time, they were quite confident of themselves with the buff that they had.


    When Time Lapse was used, the whole team could die at any given moment.


    There were three Main Tanks, who at the time, had already put up with quite a bit. There was also a group of players with melee roles who had been affected by the attacks, even at a longer distance. A stun in a Boss battle was a pretty fatal thing.


    Having revived, Azure Sea Breeze still felt some lingering fear.


    \"This skill is just too fierce.\"


    \"We didn''t do too badly. If we''re more careful next time, it will work.\"


    They had more or less found out which skills they required, and had worked out the effects of each AoE as well. Lu Li was quite satisfied with how they had fought this first time.


    \"We used the hourglasses really quickly,\" Wandering said, then continued, expressing his helplessness, \"Actually, when we first started and the Boss'' HP was at 20%, there wasn''t any need to only use hourglasses. If we could save a few, then we should have. I feel like the Boss isn''t actually too difficult; we just need to make sure everyone performs to their very best in all aspect.\"


    \"What you''re saying is right. When we feel like it''s going ok, we can use one less hourglass,\" Lu Li agreed.


    If they were facing Time Lapse with Ignite Flesh or Corrosive Acid, Wandering wouldn''t think that the Boss wasn''t too difficult.


    They made it to the second stage smoothly in their second attempt.


    The difficulty of the first stage was in coordinating the various roles to dispel Brood Affliction in time. Even if they couldn''t get rid of them completely, they could try to get rid of the debuff that was most threatening to them. Apart from this, they had to maintain a certain level of damage output. After all, between the Boss casting Incinerate and frequently changing resistance, their damage had noticeably suffered.


    Quite a few of Lu Li''s First Clear teammates were competitors, and quite famous competitors at that.


    Lu Li, March Rain, Moonlight, Deadly Gold Underpants, Deadly Green Orange, Star Baby, Water Fairy, Vegetarian Mosquito, Half a Cigarette¡­


    Seeing more than ten celebrity players together was rare, even in a competition.


    The output of the competitors was not necessarily as great as a PVE expert like Lonesome Flower, but with their quick eyes and swift hands, they had great awareness in what they were doing. Dealing with debuff quickly was their strength, so when they battled the second time, almost no one was killed in the first stage.


    Lu Li was originally standing a little further away, but after Time Lapse came into effect, he wilfully went on up to take the damage of this effect.


    Time Lapse: Stuns and reduces the target''s HP by 50%, but temporarily reduces a portion of their Aggro and permanently reduces a portion of their Aggro as well. After the duration ends, replenishes a portion of their Aggro and 50% of the target''s HP.


    First, there was a short stun, then in an instant, Lu Li''s HP dropped by 50%.


    Lu Li''s Enhanced Shadowstrike was much more powerful than the normal version, but if he could achieve as high of a Skill Completion as possible, then it would even be more powerful than his Ultimate Skills. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn''t dare use it like this. After all, the Boss could switch aggro to him instantly. Even if the whole team didn''t die, Lu Li could still suddenly be killed.


    Because he was commanding, Lu Li''s output was originally very low. He would usually be ranked in last position in terms of his DPS.


    However, his DPS suddenly shot up to first place, and his total damage was slowly adding up as well. Under these circumstances, he would probably be in first place within a few minutes.


    \"Lu Li, what are you doing? You''ll steal aggro.\"


    Azure Sea Breeze, who had taken over from World''s Best Friend, was surprised by Lu Li.


    \"Look at my Aggro,\" Lu Li said calmly.


    Everyone looked and found that his aggro was still as low as before, even though his DPS was scarily high.


    \"If you are hit by Time Lapse, your aggro will be reduced,\" Lu Li explained.


    Everyone suddenly understood, and saw that this skill did have a certain advantage.


    However, after it wore off, the aggro would still be replenished to a certain degree, so that was the time to be careful.


    Lu Li evidently wouldn''t make this error, and he didn''t forget to remind them of the time either.


    Everyone thought that Lu Li was observant, so they didn''t doubt him at all.


    The two AoE skills made everyone feel an unspeakable pain, but that was all. They just needed to use their damage reduction to avoid the whole team dying.


    At this point in time, you could see the advantage in having good equipment. Whenever everyone thought that they were running out of healing, they would also resort to testing out some new special effects, especially March Rain, Innocent Child, Star Baby and Darkness, who would try and preserve their Mana as much as possible.


    As for Hachi Chan¡­


    She looked like she cared even less about the problem of Mana. Her new Hat was allegedly not only able to reflect damage from projectiles, but could also regenerate her MP by 20% every 5 seconds. It really was quite like a perpetual motion machine.

 1507 Chromaggus – Killed for his Crimes

    After the second time the team wiped, they finally made it into the third stage.


    The first time everyone died, it was simply all due to bad luck. The Boss had freely used his AoE skills, and those who happened to be targeted were those with healing roles. In choosing between whether to save yourself or save someone being attacked, it was hard to avoid getting flustered. However, after your confusion was resolved, there already wouldn''t be many people left.


    Having less people in the team meant that the whole team had less damage, but it wasn''t over yet. If they were killed by the debuffs, the Boss would still recover a certain amount of HP.


    After they started the third time, Lu Li arranged for some people to assist them. They were to focus on looking at those with healing roles and promptly dispelling the debuff on them. With this kind of Boss, Lu Li couldn''t permit them use an item like their Darkmoon Cards. They would be better off leaving them for Nefarian.


    With past experience, the start of the battle went much smoother. The only exception was when Wandering, in taunting the Boss, accidentally let him run off before desperately trying to regain aggro.


    \"Hold him back! Don''t let him just run off!\" Lu Li shouted as he wiped some cold sweat off his forehead.


    Luckily, Wandering managed to in the end, otherwise, Chromaggus would have rushed straight at March Rain and Darkness. Chromaggus could still instantly kill March Rain and Darkness, not to mention all the ranged players around them.


    \"Just relax. If I''m pulling the monster, what do you have to worry about?\" Wandering said, expressing that he shouldn''t have been doubted.


    \"Just focus on your job. Whoever asks anymore questions, I''ll take points off them,\" Lu Li muttered.


    \"Haha, don''t you have any new ideas? You always take off points,\" Wandering chided. He already had his points reduced in this Instance Dungeon before, and he absolutely hated this form of control. Now, he didn''t want to make any mistakes, or else he wouldn''t have enough DKP to auction for equipment.


    Speaking of this, his role was also rather embarrassing.


    He was said to be the Main Tank, but not the most important one. Therefore, if there was Main Tank equipment Azure Sea Breeze got priority. Wandering also wasn''t a competitor, so the policy of competitors getting priority didn''t benefit him. He could only rely on his own points to gain equipment.


    Even if he had a good relationship with Lu Li, it didn''t matter. After all, Lu Li had to consider the needs of everyone.


    However, there were no Defensive Paladins in this team except for Wandering, so this was something for others to take into consideration. Also, Wandering, in any case, was still in the upper management of the guild. Under normal circumstances no one would fight him for equipment.


    Lu Li had thought to remind World''s Best Friend at this time to take aggro.


    \"Best Friend, careful. Get ready to take Aggro.\"


    Fortunately, they had arranged for three Main Tanks. The frequency at which the AoE skills were being cast was simply too fast, so the rate of changing Tanks correspondingly had to be increased. Two tanks were simply not enough.


    With three Main Tanks, it was a completely different style of play. Azure Sea Breeze was edgy and pretentious, while Wandering was a little disorganised. World''s Best Friend was more like a normal Main Tank ¨C serious and diligent, fully carrying out the tasks that Lu Li told him to do. This type of person might not do well as a spontaneous substitute, but he was still a very passable Main Tank at the very least.


    \"Melee players, take the Time Lapse and attack with everything you''ve got! After this wave of skills is over, let''s aim to get into the third stage!\" Lu Li yelled, setting up a small goal for everyone.


    Time Lapse had been cast again!


    This time, they managed to fight their way into the third stage, as Lu Li anticipated.


    \"Let''s aim to get past this Boss.\"


    Lu Li looked at the line-up of his remaining teammates, and thought that it wouldn''t be a problem at all to finish this fight.


    None of the three Main Tanks had died, and only two healers died. The ones who were left could manage to keep going and there enough players to dispel the debuffs.


    With Lu Li''s specialised judgement, it took him a moment to realise that they had this one opprotunity to kill the Boss.


    The only worry was Chromaggus going Beserk in the final stage.


    In actual fact, the Bosses after the little Red Dragon going Beserk wasn''t really that significant.


    Especially with Chromaggus, the skills that he used inflicted far more damage than his Beserk would. After all, Beserk only resulted in an increase of the Boss'' attack speed.


    \"Warriors, be careful of your HP, and Main Tanks, be careful of the Boss'' Beserk. Stay focused, even to the last moment. If we mess up while we''re in the midst of it, then it will be a really major loss,\" Lu li said, giving them a final, simple motivation.


    Two minutes later, Lu Li and his team were victorious in this third team battle.


    Things went a little smoother than expected, but it was still what they anticipated. After all, this wasn''t a result of their sheer power. As long as they could understand the few specific traits of the Boss'' skills and work around them, with a bit of luck, defeating the Boss wasn''t a problem at all.


    However, what if it was Time Lapse with Ignite Flesh?


    Lu Li thought they didn''t have enough Hourglass Sand; they would likely have to eat into their reserves of the Spider Webs. Or perhaps they would simply just not keep thinking about it too much, and simply delay the fighting until next week, when the dungeon refreshed.


    This really wasn''t a joke ¨C if they actually faced this combination, Lu Li would seriously think about giving up. Ruling Sword really wasn''t the least bit wealthy at all. This type of battle had depleted them of quite a few hundred gold. If they had to fight for a few days, like with the little Red Dragon, the cost would outweigh the benefits.


    As for the issue of the First Clear, Lu Li wasn''t concerned at all.


    He was concerned about the Molten Core before, and perhaps he was concerned with the other later Instance Dungeons. It was just Blackwing''s Nest that he wasn''t concerned about.


    Even if they went back now to drink and party, it wouldn''t impact their progress at all. This was because all the other clubs were all stuck at the little Red Dragon. Lu Li guessed that they would be stuck there for at least two weeks. After all, the other clubs didn''t have the Dragon Slayer''s Roar anymore.


    However, no one would object to progressing through an Instance Dungeon quickly.


    The sooner they dealt with Chromaggus, the sooner they could deal with Nefarian. It was only a few days until the Donghua Cup, and although Lu Li didn''t necessarily have to compete, as the boss of the group, he needed to pay attention to how they would.


    \"Go and loot the equipment,\" Lu Li said.


    Because of the Boss'' difficulty, the quality of the few Gems that they found relatively good. Lu Li was given one which increased Evasion and decided that he would set it on his Pants. Different Stones corresponded with different equipment and although you didn''t have to be too serious about it, if you took a Stone that included movement speed and set it on your headgear, it wouldn''t really be that effective.


    There was also a Paladin Strengthening Skill Book, which Her Tears gave up everything for.


    Presently, the odds of finding this book were extremely low. Apart from doing a few difficult quests and fighting Wild bosses, it was only in Heroic and above difficulty Instance Dungeons that there was a chance of it being dropped.


    Her Tears walked over; he had been waiting for this moment. He could spend money in the marketplace for equipment, but a Strengthening Skill Book was something that money couldn''t buy, no matter what the skill was.

 1508 An Elementium Reinforced Bulwark

    The other Paladins didn''t have a pleasant expression on their faces; no one wanted to give up such a powerful item.


    However, no one had a lot of DKP, so what could they do?


    Lu Li didn''t have anything positive to say. Actually, he was a bit worried ¨C this Skill Book had already gotten everyone into an argument. What would they do if they found Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood?


    They needed to know that the saying \"When there is AL, there are no more brothers\" was not just a joke.


    This Legendary two-handed sword not only ruined friendships, but its qualities were even more amazing. One of its special features was that when in use, it could attack twice. Although it was strangely heart-warming to see it activate, it was still undeniable that it was a rare Legendary weapon that could kill players in seconds.


    Needless to say, if someone took out this sword to sell, they would be an instant millionaire.


    A team leader would just directly hide the fact about the sword dropping.


    They would sell it and instantly be rich; who would care about having a bad reputation?


    Sometimes, even if the team leader didn''t act so covertly, they would still favour some members of the team over the others. If two Paladins had a need for an item, then why not give it to someone who you had a better relationship with? If someone who didn''t get the equipment disagreed, then what could they do? At the very worst, they would just leave the group. As long as the team had enough manpower to get through Blackwing''s Nest, they would be bound to come across a Paladin.


    Those who had more DKP looked very excited. This time, basically no one bid for Gold or Dark Gold armor.


    Either they would just distribute it, or place it in the guild storage.


    Lu Li didn''t care about auctioning, and if they took the items to the guild''s storehouse, many members would want them. These days, Dark Gold armor wasn''t in high demand, not because it was bad, but because it was more expensive.


    Actually, Gold armour was more than adequate, especially if it was produced from a level 60, Nightmare difficulty Instance Dungeon.


    Equipment from the Blackrock Spire on Elite difficulty was currently in high demand..


    The elite groups of the major guilds usually wanted to attempt Nightmare difficulty, but ordinary players had no ability to play on such a level. They usually played on Heroic difficulty. When lifestyle players occasionally tried out an Instance Dungeon, they would play on Elite difficulty.


    Ashjre''thul, Crossbow of Smiting!


    Finally, the Epic equipment started to be dropped. The first was a high-level weapon that was a little unexpected to Lu Li.


    In Draconic, Ashjre''thul meant Crossbow of Smiting.


    It represented the strictness of a father, as well as the hopes of the future for the child.


    Following the retreat of the Wings of Death, the son took over his father''s business. His eldest son ascended to the throne and was the leader of all the Dragonflight clan. The father, unmatched in adoration, had become an obstruction to him taking full power. Without being aware of it, Nefarian had begun to clear away the traces that his father had left in his life.


    He gave Ashjre''thul, Crossbow of Smiting, as a reward to Chromaggus, the Dragon he created himself.


    Out of all the Hunters'' level 60 equipment, this crossbow was ranked number five. In Blackwing''s Nest, which they still had not completed, this crossbow would undoubtedly be the best weapon for a Hunter.


    \"Hunters, you bid between yourselves, don''t worry about the other roles.\"


    Actually, it wasn''t just Hunters who could use crossbows; Thieves and Warriors could also carry one. However, given the level of the Crossbow of Smiting, it was simply a waste to equip a Warrior with it. It would be much more useful in the hands of a Hunter.


    \"I really want it,\" Azure Sea Breeze said, with a tone of uneasiness, as he retracted his bidding claws.


    This Crossbow wouldn''t only increase his attributes, but he would able increase his damage output too. When using the Taunt skill, attacking strength was actually also a part of keeping Aggro stable.


    The three Hunters looked at each other, unsure of what to do. In the end though, they didn''t end up giving up the opportunity to bid.


    Regardless of how good their weapons were, having the Crossbow of Smiting would still increase their strength by a lot. Furthermore, Remnant Dream, who up to now hadn''t really been that enthusiastic about equipment, still preferred to use Crossbows. Right now, she was equipped with a rifle, but to her, it just wasn''t enough.


    The three Hunters bid, one following the other. In no time at all, they brought up the points of this weapon to over 100.


    The other two hunters didn''t want to bully a young girl, so in the end, Remnant Dream received a new weapon. However, she had paid a handsome price, and would likely not be able to auction for future items.


    The rifle that she originally had was offered to the other players. It was a powerful Epic item, better than that of both the other Hunters.


    As the saying went, \"Comparing yourself to others will only make you suffer.''


    This discarded equipment wasn''t gifted freely. Under normal circumstances, if there was a lot of demand, they would bid for it and take it. In the end, the points would be given to Remnant Dream, but usually, you couldn''t gain many points from this sort of discarded equipment.


    If only one person wanted it, it would cost a third of the points of the new equipment.


    Netherwind Mantle ¨C this was a Mage T2 Shoulder, and was especially useful in PVP.


    The last item was another piece of equipment ¨C an Elementium Reinforced Bulwark!


    When Lu Li saw this piece of equipment, he immediately let out breath. This Boss turned out to be rather rich after all; it definitely wasn''t a waste of time to attempt this Instance Dungeon.


    If the First Clear on Nightmare difficulty only gave out a Crossbow of Smiting, then it would really just be a trap. However, with the Elementium Reinforced Bulwark, things were different. This was a really famous shield.


    Shields were dropped rarely in Instance Dungeons, but they were extremely valuable. The Shiled was the symbol of the Main Tank, protecting the whole team.


    A point-by-point commentary of a guild''s Instance Dungeon run would often mention what shield the Main Tank held.


    If you were holding an Elementium Reinforced Bulwark, under normal circumstances, people would think you participated in the battle against Chromaggus and attained victory.


    If you had bought an Elementium Reinforced Bulwark, then others could only say you were filthy rich.


    \"This shield is Breezy''s. No one else has much to say, right? 150 points would be good.\"


    Lu Li didn''t let this piece of equipment enter the action, and just directly decided who it should belong to.


    Everyone else''s expressions remained calm. Even Peerless City and Drizzle Court didn''t object.


    In a First Clear team, this sort of tactical equipment like the Elementium Reinforced Bulwark certainly couldn''t be considered as a normal piece of equipment that anyone could bid for. However, Lu Li wasn''t overdoing it either ¨C he directly took off 150 DKP from Azure Sea Breeze. When Remnant Dream purchased the Crossbow of Smiting, it was around this price too.


    There were very few pieces of equipment worth over 200 points, with the exception of Water Fairy''s robe.


    At this point, Nefarian was the only one left in Blackwing''s Nest.

 1509 Captain of Scouting

    The final Boss in Blackwing''s Nest was Nefarian, so naturally, it was expected that this would the most challenging stage. Though it had its difficulties, it was very different to when they were fighting the little Red Dragon. While that Boss could only be cleared through an impressive amount of luck, skills, and timing, there was some leeway to beating Nefarian ¨C money.


    Lu Li did not have much, but it was enough to clear an Instance Dungeon. On top of that, he only had to contribute about a third of the damage output during the battle. Drizzle Court and Peerless City were more than happy to help out financially.


    As long as they had the funding to fully equip them with support items such as mechanical dummies, health potions, and a Shadow Resistance potions, Nefarian might be an easier Boss than the little Red Dragon was. Nonetheless, it would be unrealistic to think that they could beat Nefarian without wiping more than a few times.


    The commanding positions were passed on to Sky Moon and Wandering. Since Lu Li had to focus on observing the Boss'' skills and mechanics, his leadership skills were not a necessity at the moment. Plus, Lu Li needed to take a trip down to Stormwind City to report to the Lieutenant Officer, by order of the military''s notice he had received three days ago. Though Lu Li knew the ranking of a Lieutenant Officer was nothing less of prestigious, he decided he would postpone the meeting until he had beaten the little Red Dragon. Now that they had cleared that stage while the other clubs were stuck there, he was more than happy to go down to Stormwind City.


    Lu Li was greeted by the major officer. His mop of grey hair was befitting of his wrinkled features and the physique of a worn-down veteran. Lu Li assumed that it must have been a long time since he had touched a sword or gun.


    \"You''ll call me Major Finkle. I have two dispatch scrolls on me. Sir Bolvar Fordragon has given you the privilege of choosing the position you desire,\" Finkle explained enviously. What a privilege it was to be favoured by the Regent! The positions given to Lu Li was ''clerk of the seventh legion''; it was a desirable job and highly-paid position. Furthermore, it was a position that allowed Lu Li to hand out missions as an NPC. Players would go to him to receive quests where they had to return to him with a specific item in return for a generous amount of Reputation. It was a job that allowed him to give an advantage to his friends.


    Lu Li opened the second scroll, which was for the captain of the scouting team, and also of the seventh legion. If he were to talk about ranking, the clerk position had the upper hand. Furthermore, Lu Li thought the scouting team was basically the human shield of the legion. Only when the scouting team was killed in the Wild did the rest of the legion know where the enemies were.


    \"It must be a difficult decision. A clerk is a favourable position on its own, so you must be thought highly of by the Regent to be given this position,\" Finkle commented. He might have been only a Major, but he was of a much higher level than Lu Li. However, he was still a veteran, which meant that Lu Li thought of him no more than a messenger.


    \"Thank you, chief,\" Lu Li sad as he shook his head, returning the scrolls to the messenger. \"But I think I''ll be a scout instead. It will be a much better use of my skills. After all, I am a stalker, destined to walk in the shadows. A clerk? Well, I just don''t see it happening.\"


    Finkle opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was obviously shocked by Lu Li''s choice. Though a scouting captain was more befitting of the adventurous energy of the military, the position of a clerk was a privilege that could only be granted by nobles.


    A scouting captain! Lu Li held onto his scroll and took a deep breath. This job might not be as well-paid as being a clerk, but there was no way he would settle for an office job. If he were to choose it, Bolvar Fordragon would only look down on him. If only Marshal Windsor was still here ¨C he understood Lu Li more than the current Regent did, and was much more considerate of him as well. Being the first NPC that he considered a friend, Lu Li had always regretted that he was unable to save the Marshal from the flames of the Dragonflight. Remulos, one of the Keepers of the Grove, was always kind to Lu Li. However, many instances kept reminding Lu Li that he was only an NPC, who was both a demi-god and a kind senior.


    \"If this is your final decision, I''m sure Sir Bolvar will appreciate your valiance,\" Finkle gloated with a shameful tone of sarcasm. He was sure that Lu Li must have been hit on the head not to choose to be a clerk.


    \"Thank you. May I ask whom I shall receive quests from?\" Lu Li asked, hoping that he could obtain some worthy quests. The Alliance and Horde associations were teamed up to battle the spreading of the plague. While it was a battle of the NPCs, players could earn quite a lot just by showing up to it.


    \"The rune will be useful with that. This scroll will tell you what you needed to do at any given moment and will record your every action in carrying out missions.\"


    \"Thank you. It seems that I need to recruit a companion,\" Lu Li said as he glanced at the first mission on the scroll. Infiltrating the Western Plaguelands to disrupt a ceremony held by a cursed priest was not something that could be achieved by a lone Thief. The new story development written by the creators of Dawn was heavily centred in the Plaguelands.


    A level-50 map?


    Of course, it wouldn''t be that simple. After the game had updated, the Plaguelands and the few maps surrounding that area were forbidden zones for players. Many new monsters were spawned, while the original monsters had a minor upgrade, and more Bosses were dispatched. Gale Legion and Wings of Dawn were two clubs that naively thought that they could farm high-level gear by killing Bosses there, but failed miserably. The 200-men armies sent out by Gale Legion were annihilated, with only a few Thieves who were lucky enough to return. Wings of Dawn did a little better ¨C they carried out battles on the sides of those forbidden zones and were lucky enough to be saved by a patrolling team of the Alliance.


    \"Of course, you may be assisted by four scouts in your team, but you may also recruit adventurers like you to carry out this mission,\" Finkle explained, holding out a list of scouting members for Lu Li to choose from. Lu Li cursed under his breath upon seeing the list. Despite him being the captain of the scouting team of the seventh legion, none of the names on the list were from the seventh legion. The people on the list couldn''t even be called soldiers, but farmers, or peasants.

 1510 Any Healers?

    \"This is the Seventh Legion, kid,\" Finkle said. \"Do you know how the Seventh Legion was actually created?\"


    Without waiting for an answer, Finkle began to reiterate the beginnings of the Seventh Legion, from the decreasing number of members in the Brotherhood of the Horse, to the consequences brought upon by the Vanguard that decided to enter The Dark Portal. Kor''kron who was chosen out of thousands of soldiers to be the right-hand man of the grand chief brought the Seventh Legion to Elite status. They were the model military camp. They had experienced countless battles and bloodshed. They had journeyed to every corner of Azeroth, fighting against demons, slaughtering mutants, opposing divine beings, and were still able to protect the Alliance till this day.


    If they were to talk about battle power, the Seventh Legion was the top of the game in the Alliance. However, most soldiers of the Seventh Legion were not from a favourable birthplace, but from Lordaeron. Lordaeron was a ghost town; it reeked of death and was infested by demons. The few lucky survivors who had escaped the area migrated to the south, but a few followed Lady Jaina and her troops to the west. Her troops were the first line of defence in the Battle of Mount Hyljal and faced off against Archimonde the Defiler and his army of the Undead. They defeated the Burning Legion, but Theramore''s humans were completed annihilated. In the end, General Proudmoore was highly commended for the battle.


    Being one of the more experienced troops, it went without saying that the Seventh Legion would take part in the battle. Ironically, Jaina betrayed her father with a skeleton crew, and General Proudmoore''s had put an end to the Alliance war. In the end, Theramore''s human faction in the north had almost been completely wiped out by Arthes and his troops. Many civilians of Lordaeron became refugees in the Kingdom''s southern area, while citizens of the Southshore had to escape to Stormwind City. Just as Lordaeron accepted Stormwind refugees in the past, Lord Varian Wrynn accepted those survivors wholeheartedly. As the relationship between Stormwind City and Theramore continued to heal, Dwarfs, Gnomes, the Eastern Kingdom, Theramore''s humans, and the mysterious Night Elves allied to step into the next era. Thus, these few races would stop at nothing for the Alliance''s victory. Many would not hesitate to provide manpower and send in troops. Even the High Elves that accompanied Lady Jaina provided numerous Mages to the Seventh Legion, a generous backup force that immensely increased the legion''s agility.


    When the mutant bugs began to infest Azeroth again, the Alliance made the Seventh Legion part of the Alliance''s army as Kalimdor''s right hand. It had been almost ten years since the Seventh Legion was formed. They had battled with countless brutal enemies and had spilled blood in every corner of Azeroth.


    \"Neither for the Knight''s spirit nor the Highlord''s command ¨C we fight for honour and the happiness of the people¡­\" Finkle uttered. It seemed that only when speaking of the future of Azeroth did it bring life to his eyes. His face rich was with expression and the tiredness in his body was gone. Once again, he took up the image of a passionate and hot-blooded war chief.


    \"Oh, I''m sorry,\" Lu Li apologized. He felt awkward, regretting not keeping his mouth shut about the quality of the soldiers available to him. It might be true that a lot of peasants had joined the Seventh Legion when it first formed, but the Legion now was incredibly different from what it was before. There was no way that peasants had any place there. After all, even a level 60 peasant was no match for a casual player in the elite team of Ruling Sword.


    \"The Seventh Legion is a battle squad. Only the terror and brutality of war could shape such elite soldiers,\" Finkle said as he rolled his eyes. \"Did you perhaps want the King''s honour guards? Maybe give them shining armor and put them on horses? Or many drown them in honour badges¡­\"


    \"Excuse me,\" Lu Li interrupted, unable to bear the Major no longer, \"but may I recruit my current companions for this mission?\"


    \"Sure, you can¡­\"


    Finkle was visibly irritated by Lu Li rude interruption of what was supposed to be a passionate monologue.


    \"Great, I''ll go pick out adventurers to form my team then.\"


    He threw the list of available soldiers back onto Finkle and left; those hose feeble peasants wouldn''t last an hour in the training grounds. There was no way he was going to take a few peasants to infiltrate the enemies'' base and be exposed because of their incompetence.


    Major Finkle hurried Lu Li out, fuming upon meeting such an unruly adventurer, and aggravated at Lu Li''s condescending and judgmental attitude. Finkle decided to speak to his boss about Lu Li''s shortcomings. If Lu Li failed to achieve his mission, then even a lieutenant like himself would be frozen indefinitely.


    \"An adventurer as a lieutenant, ha!\" Finkle laughed as he went back to organising his documents, glaring at Lu Li as he walked out the door. Lu Li was more than happy to ignore such a short-tempered chief. After all, all his quests would be written in his scroll, and when he had finished, he just needed to find the quartermaster for his rewards. As for his newly recruited teammates, he only had to write their names onto his scroll to include them in his quest.


    Speaking of teammates, they could only be either Thieves or Druids, and they had to be skilled in infiltrating-type missions. Since many Undead had high Detection, if one person was exposed, the entire team would be in jeopardy. Thankfully, players could resurrect, and that was another reason why Lu Li did not choose to bring NPCs with him. If he had taken peasants with him to fight the Undead, not only would he lose manpower, but those peasants would turn into Undead themselves and attack him.


    Water Fairy¡­ was a must. She would definitely be interested in participating in a new type of adventuring. As they said, company was the most long-lasting declaration of love. He would also have Cain''s Left Hand and Scarlet New Moon, but he still needed a healer.


    There were no resurrection points in his quest area, and the closest spawn point was in the city. Even if Lu Li had the skill of resurrection, there was no way he could take care of everyone at once. He wasn''t built as a healer, after all. Hachi Chan was off the table. The Undead were immune to her charisma, and having no sense of direction, she could bump into Alsace or Kel''Thuzad and still not know that she had stepped right into the enemies'' base.

 1511 The Cursed Pries

    Lu Li smacked himself on the head; how could he have forgotten about Innocent Child, who had just joined Ruling Sword? Innocent Child was ranked highly as a Druid, and was familiar with healing-type gameplay. He had always had a penchant for creating his gameplay style through alternative occupations.


    Druids did not have the Magic damage output of a Mage, nor the physical damage output of a Berserker or a Thief. Neither did they have the efficiency in tanking like a Warrior or Paladin, nor the healing skills of a Priest. However, the creators of Dawn did not conjure up this class just for the sake of it. Druids were the jacks of all trades ¨C they could heal, stealth, deal decent damage, and even tank when needed. As a skilled Druid, Innocent Child was a threat to many players during PVP battles. If Lu Li were to find a companion for his scouting mission, Innocent Child would be the best man for the job.


    The players that Lu Li had chosen to bring with him were taken from the Instance Dungeon battle, and they were quickly gathered about at the Ice-Sealed Mountain Stronghold. The current Light''s Hope Chapel had fallen, and the Ice-Sealed Mountain Stronghold had become one of the Alliance''s outposts. Here, many players gathered together to take part in limited-time activities and events. It was also the site in the entire game that gave the most quests. No matter how low a player''s Charisma was, there would still be quests given to them. Such quests included burning corpses, which, while not a rewarding job, was at least available to everyone. However, the handling and odour of the corpses were unavoidable. Ever since the Cursed Priest began to spread and research the plague, the most efficient way of containing the spread was to burn the corpses.


    \"Thank God we don''t have to do that,\" Scarlet New Moon said as he pinched his nose.


    \"Well, I mean, you gain Reputation and a decent amount of gold, and it''s not at all dangerous. It''s actually quite a decent job,\" Innocent Child remarked. He had done much more distasteful jobs in other games, so burning corpses was not at all a problem for him.


    \"Maybe, but it''s still not very cost-effective. You have to buy antidotes from NPCs since the more corpses you get in touch with the more likely you are to catch the plague,\" Lu Li chimed in.


    \"The economic system in this game is becoming more and more advanced¡­\"


    Innocent Child shook his head, admiring Dawn for its gold system. The ratio of gold to money in the real world was minimal, and with many measures taken for gold recycling, the in-game economy was quite steady.


    \"Shall we get going?\" Water Fairy asked.


    \"Just a moment. Supplies should be coming any minute now,\" Lu Li responded.


    \"I thought we were supposed to gather them ourselves. My bag''s full already,\" Water Fairy said in surprise.


    \"What does that matter? What''s his is yours, and what''s yours is still yours, right?\" Innocent Child chuckled.


    \"Ahem. We can''t be too prepared. The more, the better,\" Lu Li said, ignoring Innocent Child. The supplies were sent by the club''s manager ¨C White Bread. Lu Li himself had prepared health potions and other items for Stealth-type adventures. He knew that White Bread was quite feeble in real life and had recently decreased in online activity, but he needed information about the Plaguelands, and so had only exchanged a simple greeting and parting before heading off to see the Commander of Ice-Sealed Mountain Stronghold.


    \"Do you require information, Lieutenant?\"


    Ashram Varofest''s rank as Chief was much higher than Lu Li. He had a handsome face rarely seen in front-line fighters, and he always wore a smile brighter than the sun above Stormwind City.


    \"I hurried over as soon as I received a mission from the military, and require some assistance,\" Lu Li opened up politely.


    Ashram Varofest nodded and asked, \"What would you like to know?\"


    \"It''s about the Cursed Priest.\"


    If anyone knew about the Plaguelands, it would be either the Blood Crusades or locals like him.


    \"The Cursed Priest?\" Ashram Varofest''s smile was replaced with an expression of hatred and anger as he roared, \"Those scum are not the Undead, but mere humans. They''re traitors!\"


    \"I see.\"


    Lu Li was unsatisfied ¨C of course, he knew what the Cursed Priest was. During the raiding of Azeroth, the Burning Legion had handed many human captives to the Lich King for brainwashing. He stripped them of their conscience and corrupted them with the desire for violence and chaos. Those new converts would take part in the ravaging of Lordaeron, spreading the plague to countless Lordaeron citizens. They were cruel to say the least, but what could they do? The military lacked the strength to protect civilians, who were made prisoners under the Lich King. They had no choice but to carry out his orders. Even if some honourable figures decided upon killing themselves instead, they would be foolish to think that death was the end. With the Lich, they would only be turned into one of the Undead that would soon slaughter those who were once their friends.


    \"These living humans are savages compared to the Undead,\" Ashram fumed.


    \"I understand,\" Lu Li repeated, genuinely sympathising with the Chief''s rage, but it was not what he intended to ask. He needed to know about the comings and goings of the Cursed Priest in the Plaguelands, and where his base was. After all, as long as there were uninfected humans wandering around in the Plaguelands, they would need a camp as a safe zone.


    \"It is at Mount Hyjal where the Alliance and the associated tribes took down the Burning Legion¡­but they were not the only victors, because the Cursed Priest believed it was also the Undead''s victory. With the fall of the demons, the Lich King was finally free from their control and thus was able to carry out his plans with the help of Alsace the Death Knight. The Lich King dominated half of the Kingdom of Lordaeron and desired to expand his territory and control. The Lich King''s release was deemed a gift for the converts under the Cursed Priest and only made their desire to serve the King stronger. As Arthas destroyed the cage that imprisoned the Lich King, he obtained Ner''Zhul''s soul and combined it with the Lich King, making him the most powerful Lich King in the entire history of Lichs. No one objected to his actions then, whether it was the old Lich King or the current one. The converts were wholly loyal to him. Considering that the current Lich King had finally obtained a physical form, the believers were sure that he would one day go down to Lordaeron himself, undergo his coronation, and continue with his ambitions. They are a group of Necromancers skilled in dark magic, hoping that one day they will be immortal. They were terrifying.\"


    \"Where are they? I was ordered to disrupt the Cursed Priest''s ceremony,\" Lu Li interrupted the talkative Chief. No wonder he wasn''t promoted, despite his looks and records.


    \"Ceremony? What ceremony?\" the Chief questioned in surprise.


    \"That information is confidential. I''m sure you understand. We don''t have much time left so I''d prefer you to keep things short and to the point,\" Lu Li answered mysteriously. Even he didn''t know what ceremony he had to disrupt, but he had the image of a man of responsibility that would not have secrets kept from him.


    \"Alright, alright, I''ll tell you,\" Ashram nodded and spared no detail about what he knew.


    \"Thank you, that was very helpful.\"


    Lu Li was finally satisfied. Being the leading figure of the outpost, Ashram Varofest not only knew the activities of the Cursed Priest but even the positions of the Undead that guarded the believers. Knowing the positions of the Undead was important. If he were to head to the Plaguelands without seeing Ashram Varofest, he was sure they would be dead before even seeing their enemies'' base.


    Smell! The Cursed Priest had trained a pack of dogs that subsisted on the flesh of rotting corpses. These dogs had two threatening skills. One was Ravage. It was a debuff that lasted an hour, which caused slow down, fatigue, and continuous damage. It was a critical skill to a thief since continuous damage meant they would no longer be able to sneak around. The other was a passive skill that strengthened their olfactory. As expected, their sense of smell was almost unfair, since without being anywhere near the dogs'' perceptual range, they would be able to detect Lu Li and his team''s presence just by sniffing the air.


    \"Now, since I see you all as my friends, \"Ashram Varofest began as he placed a hand on Lu Li''s shoulder and smiled, then continued, \"I have something that might be able to help you. However, I hope you understand that it''s not easy for me to obtain such precious items¡­\"


    \"I don''t wish for my brothers to have to remain here indefinitely either. It would be an honour if I can change everyone''s lifestyle for the better,\" Lu Li answered solemnly, and the two shared a great laugh before his departure.

 1512 Ruins of Andorhal

    There were a number of bottles and cans filled with a liquid that could help them overcome the Diseased Wolf''s sense of smell. It didn''t smell too bad, but no one was keen to spray it on themselves. Eventually, they decided to put it on, but only after they saw the Wolves.


    There were also antidotes for rabies. If you consumed them, you could get rid of the debuff, but the cost was rather expensive.


    Ashlam Valorfist''s business abilities were as good as his fighting abilities. He knew that Lu Li had to buy the items, so he took a hard-line stance on the prices. Lu Li wouldn''t have had to spend this much money if he prepared earlier, but now he had no choice but to pay.


    Now that they had these items, they were able to complete the quest.


    As for whether this would result in a profit or a loss remained to be seen, but they had made all the preparations they needed.


    The Ruins of Andorhal ¨C Lu Li was no stranger to this place. He had read about it in many documents.


    It was a small town in the middle of Lordaeron and was once the main location for the Kingdom''s wheat production. In the third war, Arthas saved the town from the threat of the undead, but when he became a minion of the Scourge, he destroyed it.


    Uther the Lightbringer was then killed by Arthas here.


    As the young Paladin''s mentor, Uther had repeatedly discouraged Arthes from his manic behaviour and wanted him to return to the holy path of the Paladin. However, for the young Arthas, nothing was more important than revenge. Arthas led in his own dogmatic way, and followed Dreadlord Mal''Ganis to the snow-covered Northern Continent.


    It was there that he finally got his wish, as he recklessly pulled out the magic sword Frostmourne¡­


    Arthas had completely deviated from the path of the Paladin, which focused on self-defence. He drew on the dark strength of the sword, and first killed his father, King Terenas, then killed three of his Paladin colleagues. In the end, Uther was also killed in Andorhal by his beloved apprentice.


    Arthas took away King Terenas'' Casket that was being protected by Uther, and used it to complete the Lich ritual with Kel''Thuzad at Sunwell.


    A team under Ashlam Valorfirst had encountered some of members of the Cult of the Damned. Some of them were killed, but the rest escaped.


    They seemed to be looking for something called a Holy Light Shard.


    Lu Li was in a hurry, and didn''t expect that there would be traces of a Holy Light Shard there. It was a very useful and uncommon Rare Material and was generally used for Forging the most powerful Paladin or Priest equipment.


    He did not doubt Ashlam Valorfist''s words. Everyone knew that Uther the Lightbringer was killed here. He was a powerful Paladin, and when he died, the light energy from his body would condense into a Holy Light Shard.


    \"If you can bring back a Holy Light Shard, you can have all these items for free,\" Ashlam Valorfist said generously.


    \"You can rest assured that if I find the Holy Light Shard, I will bring it back to you,\" Lu Li responded with equal generosity but in fact, his heart was filled with disdain. Why would anyone want to exchange these items for a Rare Material like the Holy Light Shard? Only a fool who didn''t know the value of the Holy Light Shard would do such a thing.


    However, Ashlam Valorfist apparently did not detect Lu Li''s true intentions, and finally gave him a few more bottles that could cure the plague.


    Of course, these potions couldn''t truly cure the plague. The plague of the Undead had always been an uncurable issue in Azeroth, and even the most experienced potion master was helpless against it. This ''cure'' was only effective against someone who had just been infected. Even then, there was only a chance that they would be cured.


    Since Lu Li was as stingy as always, he unceremoniously put all these potions into his own bag.


    Then, the five people that had come out of the Ice-sealed Mountain Stronghold then vanished back into the area of the spreading plague.


    The once fertile land had now lost any trace of birds and beasts. The lush vegetation had long since vanished from the now scorched yellow sand. The Scourge not only affected the people who lived in Azeroth, but also affected the land itself. No one knew whether this land would ever recover.


    \"We need to find some monsters to test their strength. Although we know that the monsters affected by the plague have been strengthened, we don''t know by how much,\" Lu Li said. He didn''t rush just yet to take everyone into the depths of the land.


    The first things they saw were some ordinary Undead.


    In the Plaguelands, these Undead skeletons could be seen everywhere. Some of them were still


    mostly intact, while the others had been significantly damaged after wandering through the Wild mountainous area.


    These skeletons were quite incomplete, and they were also quite small. They were probably children that had been infected. When the Scourge arrived, these children probably didn''t even know what was happening; their lives had not yet even begun.


    Lu Li took out a long-ranged weapon and shot an arrow at one of them.


    The skeleton that was lacking one arm started walking over towards him. It was moving at a moderate pace, but the others seemed indifferent. It seemed that the detection range and intelligence of these beings was relatively low.


    \"Let me try,\" Water Fairy called out before swiping her dagger across its neck.


    Clang!


    She had successfully hit the target and even managed to apply a stun, but the damage was


    horrible.


    \"I could only deal a few hundred points of damage,\" Water Fairy said with a frown, \"And these monsters have at least ten thousand HP. If I can only deal 400 damage, it means they are stronger than an average level 60 Elite monster.\"


    After he had been learned this information, Lu Li''s heart grew cold.


    It was no wonder that people described the monsters in the Plaguelands in such strong language. These monsters were supposed to just be fodder, but they already possessed such fighting strength.


    Lu Li was very fortunate to have brought Innocent Child as a healer. As long as the monsters didn''t kill everyone, and the healer kept healing, then the difficulty wouldn''t be too much of a problem. They just had to make sure that they didn''t provoke any monsters they couldn''t take on.


    With the four Thieves together, even a monster with ten thousand HP couldn''t survive for long. The little skeleton soon died and dropped a piece of junk, which Lu Li thought was a waste of space.


    Obviously, the Plaguelands were currently harder to clear. The monsters had gotten stronger, but the items they dropped didn''t really improve. The next few monsters verified this hypothesis. The monsters weren''t overpowered, but they were definitely stronger.


    \"The monsters are a little difficult. It would be better if we could avoid fighting them. I will scout ahead with Stealth. Everyone else, just keep up.\"


    Lu Li had Enhanced Stealth, so he was the best scout.


    Whenever they ran into a monster, they would hide. It took them an hour to cover a distance that could normally be covered in 12 minutes.


    \"Wait, stop,\" Lu Li halted. After a while, a thin dog-like creature ran out from an abandoned building. This creature was like a bag of bones and had red eyes which stood out from the Ruins of Andorhal, an area that was quite foggy.


    \"How did you know?\" Cain''s Left Hand asked in shock.


    He was also a Thief, and Lu Li was only slight ahead of him. How was it that Lu Li could notice the Diseased Wolf in the corner, but he was completely oblivious?


    \"The fog moves, and there is a sound if you listen carefully,\" Lu Li explained.


    \"Wow¡­\" Cain''s Left Hand was stunned.


    \"Diseased Wolves are a pet of the Cult of the Damned. If we''ve found them, it must mean that the Cult of the Damned are nearby. Let''s spray the potion on our bodies so that the wolves won''t find us. We''ll decide what to do next once we see the Cult of the Damned believers. Hopefully, they are in the middle of performing their ritual.\"

 1513 Plague Experimen

    \"Oh no, we''re surrounded,\" Scarlet New Moon called for help in the team channel.


    Lu Li and the others went over and found that Scarlet New Moon had somehow, without notice, fallen into a circle of Diseased Wolves. Wanting to break through the circle of them was bound to startle at least one of them.


    \"Seems like they subconsciously surrounded you. You have really bad luck,\" Caine''s Left Hand laughed.


    \"The density of Wolves is higher here, so it must be nearby,\" Lu Li said as he looked up and saw something over to the side. He grabbed out a piece of fresh lizard meat and threw it into the run-down house nearby. This type of lizard was widely distributed around the Ice-Sealed Mountain and would often be killed by soldiers for a better meal. Grilled Lizard was a special delicacy here at the Ice-Sealed Mountain.


    Diseased Wolves could not resist this type of bloody fresh meat. They did not only eat corpses, as there weren''t many available.


    The Cursed Disciples would hunt for meat to maintain the strength of these Diseased Wolves.


    These wolves blindly ran into the run-down house. Lu Li turned around in a flash and closed the broken door that looked like it was crumbling already. Even though it looked like it could rot away at any time, it could at least buy some time to stop these wolves from coming out.


    \"There''s not much time; this door won''t hold long,\" Lu Li said, then urged everyone to bring over some rocks and wood to block the door.


    The other players also farmed for fresh lizard meat, then went off to entice these wolves and locked them into other nearby houses.


    The process was thrilling and a little troublesome, but it was relatively easier than killing them one by one.


    Lu Li and the others found the Camp of the Cursed Disciples. Originally, this was meant to be the church of this small town, but it had now become a place of rituals for the Disciples. From an external observation, only a small number of Cursed Disciples could be seen, but no one knew what was actually going on in there.


    As such, Lu Li decided for the others to wait first while he went to search the place.


    If it was just Lu Li on his own, he wouldn''t have to be so careful. He was able to travel through the sea, the land and the air after all. He only needed to transform into a Crow and fly into the sky to see what was going on at the church''s centre.


    He landed on the roof top and peered through a crack. A large pot in the middle of the church was boiling with green liquid that had a pungent stench.


    Over the pot hung a human who was constantly struggling.


    There were a few swaying Undead around it. Their flesh was still basically intact, and their faces were not much different from a normal human''s. Clearly, they had just been turned.


    Several Cursed Disciples in robes were adding things to the pot. One of them was taking notes with a pen on parchment, which was probably their ritual or experiment.


    Even though he was in a game, Lu Li''s blood froze at the sight of this.


    They were obviously using human for plague experiments. The pot in the middle was definitely not a delicious or tasty meal.


    Lu Li observed the situation and very quickly figured out who were the enemies that he and his group were facing. The Cursed Disciples outside needed to be eliminated first, otherwise, they could rush in and help if there was a battle inside the church.


    There was a total of eight Cursed Disciples inside the room to deal with. Three of them were adding ingredients into the pot and one was recording the experiment data, while the other four were holding wands to guide the magic in the pot.


    If luck was on their side, the eight Cursed Disciples could be split into two batches, in the hope that the four guiding the magic would be too concentrated on what they were doing.


    Apart from them were those dozens of Undead. According to Lu Li''s report, these Undead were not enough to pose as a lethal threat. However, if left alone, they would become troublesome too. As for the guy hanging over the pot, Lu Li guessed that he would still be on the human side for now. He looked mentally awake after all.


    \"Prepare to come and kill some monsters. Let''s first get rid of those four free-moving Cursed Disciples,\" Lu Li said after he described to the others about the church''s internal situation.


    There was no need to wait; there wouldn''t be an opportunity as good as this again. Plus, Lu Li had a great idea come to him as he saw the guy hanging above the pot being steamed.


    With a line-up like Lu Li and his team, it was impossible for someone to draw aggro. They were all Thieves ¨C the profession known as the ''King of Control''. Four Thieves gave the four Cursed Disciples a staggering blow, then lunged towards the other four Disciples who had stopped their magic guiding.


    Lu Li gave his target a Blind, then jumped up and ran straight at the struggling human above the pot. He cut off the rope that hung him and pulled him into a safe spot, then forced a potion into him.


    This was taken out of the potions that Ashram Varofest had given him. Apparently, they could treat the plague.


    Lu Li didn''t have time to watch the effects of the medicine because the situation of his teammates was at stake.


    The level of these Cursed Disciples was not low; they had high HP and high resistance too. Each of the other Thieves had to deal with two or more Cursed Disciples, and a dozen other Undead monsters were slowly closing in on them.


    If it hadn''t been for their slow movement speed, the situation would have been much worse.


    Cursed Disciples had high attack; one attack could deal a quarter of everyone''s HP. Lu Li was once again lucky he had brought extra supplies with him.


    Lu Li stopped a Cursed Disciple and yelled as he fought it, \"Everyone look out with blocking! Innocent Bro, watch everyone''s HP and be careful yourself! If you can''t hold on, just save yourself. At the worst, we can just run for it.\"


    He was rather worried about losing members here. With so many Undead around, he and Innocent Child just didn''t have any chance to use their Resurrect skill.


    Rain of Chaos!


    This was the AOE skill of Cursed Disciples and was similar to that of a Mage''s Blizzard. On average, it would not hurt as much as a single skill, but the deceptive part was that it restore give HP to monsters. Lu Li suddenly felt that the difficulty of this quest had doubled.


    \"Let''s retreat first; we can''t keep going at this head on,\" Innocent Child suggested. He was running all over the place healing everyone, and at times, was even trying to hide from the surrounding Undead monsters.


    Lu Li was not willing to, but he knew that there was a necessary change in the strategy needed.


    As he was about to signal for retreat, the situation suddenly turned around.


    The person lying on the floor had jumped up.

 1514 Bourne

    This person was originally trapped and Lu Li didn''t have time to untie him in his moment of haste.


    Not to mention, he was about to be turn into an Undead. Who knew if he was friend or foe?


    No one thought he could struggle and free himself from the ropes. Once he jumped up, he looked around his surroundings as if he was searching for a weapon, but there wasn''t anything suitable for him to choose.


    He could only grab a round wooden stick, about the thickness of a bowl. It didn''t look like it suited him.


    \"You bastards,\" he spat as he hugged the stick and rushed at them. He smashed down directly on the head of a Cursed Disciple, filled with rage and resentment. This attack exhausted all of his remaining strength.


    Bang!


    The Cursed Disciple had its head cracked right open and its brains splattered everywhere in a red and white mess.


    Then, the next was¡­


    This sudden development gave everyone a fright. Lu Li and the others had no other choice but to leave the battle and retreat as it wasn''t guaranteed what side this human stood on.


    There were three Cursed Disciples smashed to death from his attacks, but he also began to receive some damage. Lu Li didn''t have a choice but to come to his aid.


    Fortunately, the man continued to stand at the front, fighting off the monsters. The Thieves only had to focus on damage, so the difficulty of the battle had gone down significantly.


    The eight Cursed Disciples were killed very quickly.


    This pale-faced Mediterranean man with bloodshot eyes was actually a Broken Maniac.


    Once the Cursed Disciples were done, it was the Undead''s turn.


    The Mediterranean man glared at the slow-moving Undead monsters, then suddenly threw the wooden stick away and began bawling.


    Lu Li and the others were at a loss for words; they didn''t know what to do.


    Perhaps there was someone that he knew amongst these people, or perhaps they were his family? They must have all been captured together for the experiment.


    Now it was just him left.


    These were true Undead who had completely morphed. There was no medicine that could save them now, or at least, no medical advancements had been made in this field yet in Azeroth.


    \"Do you need our help?\" Lu Li asked, feeling the need to reach out to this man. He understood how painful it was to kill your loved ones.


    \"No, let me do it myself.\"


    The big fellow lifted his head up and grabbed the stick.


    What followed was a one-sided massacre. This man was covered in wounds ¨C some were originally there and others were fresh from the Cursed Disciples. However, his fighting strength didn''t weaken at all, or in other words, his willpower allowed him to accomplish this.


    He both shouted and cried as he completed the most helpless and tragic battle of this life.


    He needed to kill his friends and family, using the most direct method, even if they were already Undead.


    Lu Li stood nearby and numbly watched all this.


    \"This is my daughter Sia. How I hoped she was never born in this world,\" the sorrowful father sobbed as he killed the infant while repeating her name.


    He recognised every person who had died in his hands, and he would whisper a few sentences in remembrance of them when he passed by.


    There was his son, who he had taken fishing on an icy lake. On the trip, a sharp piece of ice had pierced through his new clothes. He cried for so many days, right until he bought him a delicate dagger by selling his fish.


    There was a middle-aged Undead man called Sead, who was a childhood friend of his.


    When they were young, they worked on the same farm. One night they were so hungry that they went to the kitchen of the farm and stole food.


    Every single person had a story, deeply embedded in his memory.


    They used to laugh together, work together, and he even watched some of them grow up. Sadly, they were now all a pile of corpses in front of him.


    \"Who are you? What is this power, to have humans kill their own kind?\" he cried out after he killed the last Undead and wiped his face full of tears hurriedly with his sleeve.


    \"This is the power of evil, sir,\" Lu Li replied.


    \"I killed my own family and friends. I''m evil too,\" the man wept.


    \"They were already dead before you killed them,\" Lu Li said, then paused and added, \"Do you have any other living relatives sir?\"


    \"No. My loved ones, my everything was here,\" he sighed as he shook his head. It was as if he had lost all strength, life and hope in that battle just then.


    \"Then what are your plans now?\"


    Lu Li motioned for the others to destroy the big pot, and he decided to leave too. Even though the ones who had died were not his loved ones, he felt the pain too.


    \"I don''t know, but I don''t want to become one of them,\" he replied through gritted teeth. \"I want to walk out of here alive. I can''t become a monster that I resent.\"


    \"Okay, we''ll escort you,\" Lu Li offered.


    The quest scroll appeared with a new quest: Escort Bourne.


    \"Thank you,\" Bourne said as he shakily stood up. He held onto the stick and helped Lu Li and the others smash the large pot into pieces. Lu Li picked up the Cursed Disciple''s notebook and lit the whole church on fire.


    Up to this point, they had completed the mission of destroying the Cursed Disciples'' rituals.


    The delivery target for the quest was the quartermaster of Stormwind City.


    Unfortunately, a large portion of monsters here were killed by Bourne, so there wasn''t anything dropped. Lu Li and the others did manage to find some materials and equipment.


    There wasn''t much value in equipment, but the materials, especially the two rare ones, were good rewards.


    Next, they were to escort Bourne on his way. If Bourne was an ordinary person, then this quest would be quite difficult.


    However, Bourne held a thick wooden stick and fought like a lunatic. His body was covered in wounds but there was no sign of him falling down. Lu Li was in front exploring the way in case of encountering any invincible existences.


    In about an hour or so, they appeared on the outskirts of the Plaguelands.


    \"The Seventh Regiment and I have some good ties,\" Lu Li said. He really admired this farmer''s fighting power and decided to help him. Military personnel should be able to accept Bourne based on his friendship with Bolvar Fordragon.


    \"Thank you, but I think I already have a place I can go,\" Bourne responded as he stood up on a rotten pile of timber and looked off afar.


    There was a blood-red coloured flag floating in the distance.


    A group of scarlet armored soldiers were vigorously massacring the Undead.


    It was the Scarlet Crusade!

 1515 Felstone

    During the time of the Highlord Alexandros Mograine, High General Abbendis, Grand Inquisitor Isillien and Highlord Mograine established the Crusade. At that time, the Scarlet Crusade was quite a prestigious group.


    Of course, this all changed when Mograine died.


    Recklessness, stupidity and extremism were now part of the Scarlet Crusade''s label.


    However, the group still wielded significant power.


    It could be said that in the Battle of the Plaguelands, the Scarlet Crusade was a force to be reckoned with.


    Their numbers were comparable to Lordaeron''s population. However, after the battle, the people of the Crusade were all affected by the fear of being made redundant and abandoned. To counter this fear, the Scarlet Crusade used an evil oath, which was bound to fail.


    This attracted a large number of warriors to join their ranks, but after the fighting was done, they were only capable of making a living off their swords.


    These people needed a powerful group to be able to show their strength. Furthermore, the works of the Scarlet Crusade also needed powerful warriors.


    The Scarlet Crusade''s biggest problem in their recruitment was identifying whether or not an individual was one of the Undead. This was because the Inquisitor was nearly killed by his own people. This group of people were unbelievably crazy about the Undead.


    If they were Undead¡­


    Then they must all die!


    This also included the Forgotten Ones that were stationed near the Undead barrier.


    Lu Li looked into Bourne''s eyes and seemingly understood something. Bourne was not an ordinary farmer. He was aware of the Scarlet Crusade''s situation, but he had already made a decision.


    Kill them all ¨C the Undead, the people who should have been buried into the ground a long time ago.


    \"There''s some people. They are already dead, but they are still fighting for the living. How respectable,\" Lu Li could not help but say as he looked at the back of Bourne.


    Bourne did not turn around and left.


    The quest scroll indicated that the quest had been completed, and a new one had already begun.


    If the previous quests were all practice-grade quests, the aim of them would be to examine whether or not Lu Li had the potential to be a scout. Now, Lu Li was beginning to receive military quests.


    \"Scout the area of the Felstone Fields for the Alliance and clear out any obstacles on the roads\"


    Felstone Fields reminded Lu Li of a quest that involved the Felstone family. The reward of that quest was a Shadow Resistance Scroll, which would be quite useful in the fight against Nefarian.


    The Felstone Fields were quite close to the Undead barrier. This place was an Outpost for the Horde. For the sake of avoiding trouble, Lu Li and the others decided to ignore the shortcut. Who knew if they would run into Horde characters and be seen as enemies?


    This time, the Horde and the Alliance were working together to defend against the Scourge''s expansion. Although they were working together, it was because desperate times had called for desperate measures. The bad blood between the two groups had not been forgotten at all. On the other hand, the bad blood would become more intense and emphasised because of the pressure from the Scourge. No matter the Alliance or the Horde, both sides had impulsive warriors.


    They group quickly arrived at the Felstone Fields.


    The Felstone family had lived here for a long time. This used to be a place where the people would gather to celebrate with feasts and parties. It was also a place where the farmers'' children would receive training, but now, it was crawling with the Undead. Crumbs from a dinner party littered the grown, showing evidence of a previous celebration. It seemed like they had been harvesting at that time, but unexpectedly, the Undead arrived at their doorstep.


    On the east side of the Felstone Fields, there were two small houses. Lu Li and the others found Janice Felstone, one of the female owners of the place, but she was now a spirit. She wasn''t an Undead; her corpse was lying on the bed and had already decomposed into a pile of bones.


    The spirit sat quietly in front of the dressing table, staring intently at the mirror on top of it.


    However, there was no reflection in the mirror as the spirit didn''t have a physical body.


    When Lu Li and the others arrived, Janice Felstone reacted calmly. She didn''t have anything more to lose. She had already lost her life, her family and her land.


    \"We are adventurers. Is there anything we can do to help?\" Water Fairy asked. Lu Li''s Charm stats were too low, so they feared that he might not activate the quest.


    \"I still remember that fateful night when our happiness was shattered into millions of pieces. Fresh blood filled the night air. Killing. Screaming. Swords clashing with other swords. My husband, John, planned to rush out and bring back a horse so that we could leave together¡­\" Janice Felstone began to explain.


    \"Did he run away by himself?\" Cain''s Left Hand couldn''t help but ask.


    He was habitually a pessimist. In Ruling Sword, he was a figure known for being pessimistic.


    It was possible, since couples could split up when they were met with great difficulty. During the Scourge''s invasion, it would be normal if John ran away alone and abandoned his wife.


    \"Impossible,\" Janice Felstone denied as she shook her head.


    \"Then what can we do for you?\" Lu Li wanted to move on. He didn''t feel the need to debate with a spirit.


    \"Help me send out a package. It is downstairs, on a table,\" Lady Felstone requested. \"I remember that I need to do this. I must do this for the Felstone family to have hope once again.\"


    \"Where to?\" Lu Li asked.


    Janice Felstone could not remember anything.


    Lu Li couldn''t do anything and brought them to leave the second floor. As expected, they saw a package on the table. Perhaps they hadn''t seen it before going upstairs. It was quite creepy, but since this was a game, everything was explainable.


    Lu Li took the package and saw that there was a note underneath it.


    While the note had a place written on it, unfortunately, it wasn''t a detailed address. However, they at least knew that this package needed to go to Stormwind City and be delivered to Emma Felstone.


    \"I''ll go and turn in this quest first. You guys wait here for me, or you can go and clear some of the Undead around here,\" Lu Li said. This quest was given to everybody, so anyone could complete it and it would count as the whole party''s. The rewards given would also be individual rewards.


    Naturally, no one objected.


    Lu Li transformed into a crow, then flew straight into the green clouds of the Plaguelands'' sky.


    Soon after, he quickly arrived at a popular tavern in Stormwind City.


    After paying for his glass of beer, Lu Li received the information that he needed.


    If only the name was known and they were looking for a person, then they needed to look for Royal Factor Bathrilor at the census area in Stormwind City. Bathrilor had a talent, which had been developed through his years of service in the census.

 1516 Waitress

    Bathrilor''s status was not only limited to the Household Registration. He was a noble and was well-known for his intellect.


    Lu Li had asked him for some things previously, but this was their first meeting.


    The census was one of the emptiest departments in Stormwind City. As soon as players saw these words on the label, they would turn around and leave. No one bothered to try and trigger any questlines here. However, it wasn''t like Bathrilor had many quests to give either.


    \"I hope I did not disturb you, respected elder,\" Lu Li greeted Bathrilor with respect and politeness.


    \"Oh? An Elf visitor? What can I do for you?\" the old man asked as he slowly took off his glasses, raised his head, and smiled stiffly at Lu Li.


    \"You are an extremely knowledgeable elder. I wish to know more about a person called Emma ¨C Emma Felstone. She should be from the Felstone Fields. That place is now a place overrun with the Scourge,\" Lu Li explained, getting right to the point.


    \"Felstone Fields, huh? I know that place. I''ve been there before, in my younger years.\"


    It seemed like he was reliving his memories from the past. After a while, Bathrilor pointed at the huge bookshelf and said, \"Third row, number 6. Bring it over to me.\"


    Lu Li went and looked for the item. He found it, then brought the book over to Bathrilor.


    The elderly academic opened the book and turned a few pages, after which a weird expression came upon his face.


    \"She was also an unfortunate child. Emma Felstone brought her younger sister, alongside the escapees, and managed to travel to Stormwind City. However, not long after that, her sister drowned. Oh, that''s right. Her sister''s name was Jenny Felstone. After her younger sister had died, she would often be found along the river where her sister had drowned. Then, a good person helped her and brought her to escape this tragedy-ridden place.\"


    Wait¡­this wasn''t right.


    Lu Li was a little confused. He had done this quest in his previous life, so he knew the processes as well as the rewards of the quest.


    According to what Lu Li knew, after Jenny Felstone had died, Emma Felstone went insane. After this, someone found her corpse on the riverbank in Stormwind City. An owner of a fruit store decided to collect her body and prepare it for burial. Players just needed to find this owner and get half of Emma''s protective talisman.


    Perhaps it was because the Plaguelands were where the event was being held, so the content of the quest had been changed.


    However, theoretically speaking, Emma Felstone should be dead already. This shouldn''t have been affected by the map. Although the game company might have changed the content of the quest due to the event map, there was no need to change their living status.


    \"Is there something wrong?\" Bathrilor asked. He couldn''t understand Lu Li''s current expression.


    Lu Li composed himself and decided to follow what the quest said.


    \"No, there''s nothing wrong. May I ask who that good person was? Where can I find Emma? There''s something I must give her.\"


    Perhaps it was because Plaguelands was active, or it could be because he had entered the game a year earlier than in his previous life.


    This was only a quest.


    No matter how it changed, as long as the rewards were still given, there would be no problems.


    \"Kayklee. This should be the name, but he is no longer in Stormwind City. Maybe you can find him at Southshore,\" Bathrilor said.


    Kayklee? Southshore?


    Wasn''t that the name of the owner of the Southshore tavern? Lu Li was a regular customer in that tavern, so it was impossible to forget that name. It was highly unlikely that there was another person called Kayklee in Southshore.


    As for Emma¡­


    Lu Li thought over everyone in the tavern and tried to find who would fit this image the most.


    Firstly, she couldn''t be too old, and secondly, she was brought over by Kayklee, so their relationship must have been quite good. Lastly, if she was working in the tavern, then there were only a few people to suspect.


    Nyma?


    Emma Felstone!


    Jenny Felstone!


    Could she have combined her name with her sister''s name?


    Lu Li finally understood a little as to why his quest was slightly different to the others.


    He knew Nyma quite well, which led to the triggering of a hidden part of the quest. Normal people wouldn''t be familiar with a tavern waitress. Lu Li, however, was so familiar with her to the point that the secretive Ravenholdt Manor was involved.


    Emma Felstone was not only alive, but she was also an assassin in the Ravenholdt Manor.


    Now, her identity was that of a tavern waitress and an adopted daughter of the owner, Kayklee. She was also a point of contact with the Ravenholdt Manor, stationed at Southshore.


    What a surprise!


    Lu Li immediately took the package and went straight to Southshore.


    Kayklee was sitting behind the counter in a clearly drunken state. When Lu Li entered, all he did was look over. Perhaps it was because they were already familiar with each other, to the point where a greeting wasn''t even needed.


    The female waitress quickly came over and greeted him. There were a few waitresses, but she was always the one to take care of Lu Li.


    \"I have a few quests here. If you''re interested, you can pick two of them to do,\" the female waitress said in a lowered voice. Lu Li picked two quests that didn''t look too complicated but had good rewards. This was one of the benefits of having a good relationship with them. The newbies in Ravenholdt Manor would still be wracking their brains, trying to find out how to trigger quests.


    Not only did Lu Li have the benefit of receiving quests, but he even had the right to choose.


    \"Actually, that isn''t why I came here this time,\" Lu Li said, then hesitated for a little while, before continuing, \"I went to the Plaguelands today to do a quest. I passed by a place called the Felstone Fields. At that place¡­\"


    The female waitress'' usual happy expression immediately changed upon hearing that.


    She was definitely that Emma.


    \"This package was supposed to be delivered a long time ago. I have no idea where this is supposed to go,\" Lu Li said as he took out the quest item.


    Nyma, or Emma Felstone, took the package and responded in a slightly frightened tone, \"I thought that I had completely cut ties with my past. I didn''t think that I would hear these familiar names again. The Felstone family has already become history.\"


    \"I heard that in the far-away Undercity, there was someone selling cockroaches. He goes by the name Jeremiah. It seems like his last name is also Felstone, but he usually goes by the name Jeremiah Payson,\" Lu Li said.


    This wasn''t any secret. The Felstone Fields quest could be taken by either camps. Horde players naturally would not be able to go to Stormwind City and look for Emma, so their alternative was to look for the cockroach vendor in Undercity.


    Emma''s eyes instantly glistened upon hearing that.


    Jeremiah. How could she forget him? He was their younger brother, pursuing his studies in Lordaeron!


    However, she quickly realised the place that Lu Li was talking about. Where Lordaeron had once stood was now a dead city. The Forsaken were now living here; there were no longer any living people.


    Her younger brother¡­


    There was still only her who remained in the world after all.


    \"Maybe we can acknowledge that he is just living in a different way. Emma, because of you, he hasn''t been forgotten completely.\" Lu Li could only comfort her like this.

 1517 Extra Rewards

    As for whether his words were effective or not, only the waitress knew.


    The package was the deed for the Felstone Fields and had been left for her by the sister. It was not important anymore.


    \"This is the protective talisman that all Felstone family members have. You should be able to feel where each other are when you get close to one another. Bring it to my sister. She would know where John is,\" Emma said as she took out a talisman and handed it to Lu Li, allowing him to continue with the quest.


    \"Or, you can come with me to visit her and let her know that you''re living nicely,\" Lu Li invited.


    Emma thought about it seriously.


    Originally, she had thought about avoiding everything that involved Janice Felstone. After all, her sister was already dead. Furthermore, she had also cut ties with her past. The insane girl on the riverbank was already dead.


    However, was she willing to cut ties with everything?


    Although her sister was only a spirit now, seeing her sister and letting her sister see her would demonstrate that the Felstone family had not been completely destroyed. They still had people living in Azeroth.


    The place was a little far, but Kayklee was a reasonable person. He didn''t make things difficult for his adopted daughter.


    When they got there, there were a lot of Undead around the area along with a few high-grade monsters. These types of monsters weren''t Bosses, but it would still take a long time for this small party to kill it.


    Emma was a little absent-minded. If it wasn''t for Lu Li, it was likely that she would have been attacked.


    She was a point of contact for the Ravenholdt Manor and although her skill wasn''t comparable to the masters, she was still a force to be reckoned with.


    Perhaps it was because of these monsters.


    They weren''t natural monsters. In Emma''s eyes, they were all once living beings.


    She was unintentionally pulled into training in Ravenholdt Manor, then became one of their members. It wasn''t that Emma couldn''t return, but that she didn''t want to return and face this.


    \"Your sister is just up ahead,\" Lu Li reminded.


    Emma Felstone stood at the bottom of the stairs for a while. Then, she gathered her courage and walked upstairs.


    \"Do you guys bring news about John? Ah! Emma! Is that you!?\" Janice Felstone cried out as she rushed over to Emma. Unfortunately, she was a spirit, so she couldn''t physically hug her sister.


    \"It''s me. Sorry. I''m late,\" Emma Felstone apologized with great sorrow.


    \"You¡­you look like you''re living quite well,\" Janice Felstone sighed in great relief. She looked into the mirror every day, but already knew that she was dead.


    She had obsessed over her relatives all this time.


    Besides the sombre atmosphere of this meeting, Lu Li still needed to go and clear out all these Undead. The Alliance would take control of this area, then advance from here. They would also research into curing the Plaguelands.


    At the very least, he couldn''t let them roam free.


    After a while, Emma came down from the second floor. With a sad tone in her voice she said, \"I felt John''s presence. He should be close by¡­\"


    This had a hidden meaning. The Felstone Fields had been ravaged by the Scourge for so many years, so the only beings that could be staying in this place would be the Undead.


    Emma brought Lu Li and found this Undead. He was not far from the house that Janice Felstone was in and was now a restless ghoul with a pitchfork. He walked aggressively everywhere and constantly let out an unpleasant, growning sound.


    Emma listened for a while, then took out a scroll and threw it on the ghoul''s body.


    The ghoul was immersed in holy light, after which an image of a young man was created.


    In the end, a talisman remained. Emma then reached out her hand and took the talisman.


    She took this talisman and brought it to her sister. After Lu Li and the others returned from battle, there were no longer traces any of the spirit.


    \"These are the rewards for your quest. Thank you for all that you have done for my sister.\"


    Emma handed them five stones that could be embedded into equipment. All of them added Shadow Resistance. The effects would take place immediately after embedding them.


    These were the quest rewards, so naturally, Lu Li and the others didn''t have any objections.


    Emma then took the initiative to ask Lu Li about fighting monsters


    \"Let me help you guys clear out this area. These¡­dirty beings should not be dwelling on the Felstone family''s land.\".


    Originally when Lu Li suggested for Emma to come along, there was also the motive of having her fight with them.


    However, seeing how Emma''s mood was on the way here, he no longer had any hope that she would help them fight. From a friend''s perspective, Lu Li understood how Emma felt. Not everyone was like Bourne from before, able to kill their own relatives in the name of justice.


    It was completely unexpected that Emma would bring it up herself.


    With the help of an NPC, clearing the Felstone Fields was much easier.


    \"These two friends of yours are quite capable,\" she commented with a blank expression on her face as she instantly killed a large Stitches.


    Compared to when she had first brought Lu Li to the Ravenholdt Manor, she was truly much, much stronger than before. Lu Li''s skills were no longer comparable to hers.


    Everyone learnt something from watching her fight.


    Ravenholdt Manor was Azeroth''s most elite gathering of Thieves. Emma was a notable figure within the organisation, so it was only natural that her strength had increased. If Lu Li didn''t have so many things to take care and followed his mentor every day, there was still considerable room for his strength to improve.


    \"We''re¡­we''re on completely different levels,\" Cain''s Left Hand said as he smiled bitterly.


    Besides the immense strength of this female NPC, even Lu Li and Water Fairy were on different levels compared to them.


    \"If they are willing, I can recommend them to the organisation,\" Emma offered to Lu Li.


    Organisation?


    Cain''s Left Hand and Scarlet Red Moon were confused. Were Lu Li and them all part of this organisation? Furthermore, looking at Water Fairy and her calm expression, as well as her relationship with this female Thief, she was probably in the organisation as well.


    Lu Li was extremely happy. At that moment, he felt that all his hard work had been worth it.


    Ravenholdt manor was the one of the most secretive, if not the most secretive organisation in Azeroth. As a result, it also was the most difficult to join. Even in Lu Li''s previous life, there were only a little more than ten players in the organisation. Perhaps there were more who just kept their identities hidden. However, compared to the other organisations, the numbers were frighteningly low.


    Even the most popular and most elite Thief ranks in the Alliance took in at least a few thousand players.


    Lu Li immediately accepted that offer for the two of them.


    \"Of course. They''re extremely lucky.\"


    With the Shadow Resistance stones and the NPC helping them in the fight, it made things much, much easier for the main questline.


    However, this wasn''t the real reward of the quest. Perhaps it was because he had already known Emma before accepting the quest, but his questline was different to that of a normal player''s. This part had involved Emma, so there were more rewards than the normal version.


    Now, the real rewards were here.


    There were two Ravenholdt Manor memberships in front of them. This was more precious than one¡­no, two Epic items!

 1518 The Royal Guard

    Lu Li regretted not bringing more Thieves from the guild.


    However, this was just a thought of his because the System would never allowing Ruling Sword to have too many Thieves join this mysterious faction.


    If there were too many Thieves, then the rewards probably wouldn''t be as good since the quest wasn''t difficult.


    They cleaned up the farm and Emma left by herself.


    Before she left, she asked Lu Li about her little brother at the Undercity.


    Could human Thieves Stealth into the Undercity?


    Lu Li wasn''t sure, but he didn''t want Emma to venture off by herself since NPCs only had one life, unlike the players.


    Lu Li completed the quest on the quest log tab.


    The quest rewarded a decent amount of Reputation, and he was now close to upgrading to the next tier of the Stormwind title.


    Lu Li was curious what would happen if he was promoted to Stormwind General.


    However, that would take him a while at this pace. Fortunately, there were quests handed out by the military that awarded a large amount of Reputation to help speed up the process. The only caveat was that these quests were generally much more difficult.


    If it wasn''t for Emma, it would''ve taken them a long time just to clear the farm.


    Not long after, a team of scouts stopped by.


    Lu Li saw the Alliance Scout team and saw Major Solomon.


    Solomon looked quite young, with brown hair and a handsome face. His face was covered in tree sap and paint in order to help him blend into the environment. A lot of NPC soldiers did this, but Lu Li wasn''t sure how effective it was.


    "You guys cleared this area?" Solomon questioned Lu Li.


    "We were doing a quest and this NPC helped us out," Lu Li answered truthfully.


    Lu Li sounded quite sincere, so Solomon lowered his guard. Upon hearing that it was a survivor of the Felstone family, he knew that Lu Li was telling the truth.


    Everyone on this earth had reasons to work with the Scourge. However, the Felstones were definitely an exception to this rule.


    "My troops will rest here for the night. Please provide food and water for us."


    Solomon was quite straightforward and blunt guy, even though his role was stealthy and cunning.


    "Are we headed to Stratholme?" Lu Li asked.


    For players, Stratholme was just another dungeon. However, in the storyline, it had still been taken over by the Scourge.


    "I don''t know. That''s something only the people in power would know. We just do what we''re told to do," the Scout Leader said authoritatively.


    "I understand."


    Lu Li knew that he couldn''t get much information out of him.


    However, from his memory, the war was stopped midway because they had to deal with a new enemy ¨C the Old God C''Thun in Ahn''Qiraj. All this war did was stop the plague from spreading too fast.


    All Lu Li wanted was to benefit out of this war somehow. He had many opportunities to do this as he was in direct contact with these generals at the front line.


    "I don''t understand you people. Being an adventurer is much more fun and relaxing. Why join the army?" Solomon laughed.


    Lu Li didn''t understand the meaning behind what Solomon said. He did not sound passionate at all, rather, he sounded overly realistic and almost jealous of the life of an adventurer.


    Perhaps he was a royal commander that has very little experience in war.


    "Yeah, being an adventurer, I feel as free as a bird. But.. I can''t just sit here and watch my home get taken over by the plague, you know?" Lu Li replied.


    "We''ll definitely defeat the damn Scourge," Solomon said as he rubbed his nose.


    "Thank you, officer. Me and my friends will do whatever it takes to help the Alliance," Lu Li responded in a serious tone.


    "Then do you have any interesting stories?" Solomon asked curiously.


    "Oh, I have a few stories that I still can''t believe myself," Lu Li said casually. "I''ve met Medivh and learnt a few things from him¡­"


    He instantly transformed into a crow.


    Solomon was scared and instinctively pulled out his dagger in defense. His movement seemed quite well polished, so he had probably earned his position.


    "Don''t misunderstand. It''s just me," Lu Li said, returning to his original form. He didn''t mind showing off these tricks in front of this NPC.


    This skill cannot be stolen from others and it was taught by Medivh. However, the God Ring was different. He would never let the NPCs know about this item because their world was complicated and corrupted.


    "That.. that''s amazing."


    "I probably just got lucky and Medivh felt generous that day," Lu Li said humbly. "The most epic thing that happened recently was the hunt for Onyxia. Many of us died in the process, but eventually, we took her down."


    "You mean..?!" Solomon grabbed Lu Li''s shoulder.


    "It was just a clone. These dragons have ways to revive themselves," Lu Li sighed in disappointment.


    ''You guys are amazing."


    Solomon was easily impressed by Lu Li''s stories. In fact, if it wasn''t for his duty for the Alliance, he would have begged Lu Li to take him under his wing right then and there.


    "This time, we''re going to defeat the Scourge," Lu Li said confidently.


    "Is this all you guys have?" Solomon asked, but then realized the question might have been rude. However, he recalled Lu Li saying that they needed a lot of people to defeat Onyxia.


    "There are many, many more people all under my command," Lu Li said.


    "Are they strong?" Solomon asked.


    "They''re all about as strong as us. We emphasize the importance of teamwork and chemistry more though."


    Lu Li knew that teamwork and chemistry was more important than anything else when it came to this game.


    "You have a lot of people that are strong¡­Aren''t you guys afraid of dying?" Solomon accidentally blurted out the wrong thing again.


    He was very ambitious and was very straightforward with Lu Li.

 1519 We’re Going to Go Plunder!

    Who could be so damn brave!


    However, an adventurer wasn''t afraid of dying. If a level 60 died they wouldn''t lose any experience. As for the equipment they dropped, they could just leave it to a team of thieves to pick it up on the battlefield.


    It was only the potions and repair fee that would be considered a waste.


    You really didn''t need to think too carefully when entering these kinds of circumstances. So, with utter fearlessness and determination, Lu Li agreed to the quest.


    ''Life is like a play, it all depends on your acting.'' Maybe it was this sort of determination that gave Major Solomon an incomparable faith. "Fine, tomorrow at dawn, get 200 people here and ready to await orders. You should be able to get 200 people," Solomon growled, giving orders while gnashing his teeth. Evidently, his operation wasn''t an easy task, but if it succeeded it could get him promoted. However, if it failed, there''d also be serious consequences.


    As for why they''d have to wait till dawn the next day, the answer was simple ¡ª it was soon time for the majority of players to come online.


    That day, Lu Li and his team completed three and a half quests. The "half quest" was to start a new storyline.


    However, his First Clear Team was a bit gloomy - the Red Dragon had been oppressing them all day. The two commanders, Wandering and Sky Moon, were almost at their wits'' end. They finally knew what it was like for Lu Li when he commanded First Clears.


    According to what Lu Li said, the action on the second day had nothing to do with them. So, they could just keep clearing while it was the weekend.


    On the second day, Lu Li assembled a team of almost 500 players. Of course, Ruling Sword didn''t have that many people themselves. So as to not affect the battle at Black Wing''s Nest, some of the people were borrowed from Drizzle Court.


    So many people running over to Felstone Field was simply suicide; the Undead Legion at the Plaguelands weren''t stupid. So, the allies had only sent in a small-scale unit to go into the Plaguelands; a small unit couldn''t easily be spotted. Even if they were discovered, the Cult of the Damned wouldn''t think much of the small group. However, Lu Li''s 500 player army probably wouldn''t take too long to be discovered.


    This time, there were six people with Lu Li. Apart from the people originally with him yesterday, Sesame Rice Ball was also there. "Where are your people?" Solomon asked, with exhaustion shown all over his face. It looked like he didn''t sleep well all night. He saw that Lu Li only brought five people with him, and he pulled an ugly expression immediately.


    He had been looking forward to today''s action all night. He had already started daydreaming about receiving a great reward for defeating a strong enemy. He supposed those spoiled folks at Stormwind City wouldn''t be making fun of him for choosing the role as a scout.


    "Don''t worry, when they need to be here, they''ll be here," Lu Li reassured helplessly, "Sir, do you think I''d treat my life as a joke?"


    "Alright then, you adventurers always have some sort of hidden, secret method. However, as soon as something goes wrong, you guys are going to have to take the responsibility, got it?" Solomon threatened in a husky voice. He accepted Lu Li''s excuse for now.


    "Can you tell us what you would like us to do now?" Lu Li asked.


    "Know Professor Putricide?" Solomon asked hopelessly. In his eyes, adventurers were pretty unrefined and probably weren''t very well educated.


    "No, no I don''t," Lu Li mumbled, really wanting to turn back and leave.


    This was the scientist and apothecarist whose research focused on the ''Death of all life in Azeroth''. He was probably the most powerful apothecarist in the Scourge. With his strong scientific knowledge, he could make up hundreds of different potions. It could be said that he researched and developed all the poisons that the Scourge hard. Although he had never actually commanded a battle, his rich knowledge occupied an important niche in the Undead.


    Lu Li once saw his name on a scroll for legendary apothecarists of Azeroth.


    The author of the scroll used very strong language to express pity for Professor Putricide''s difficult life. His road of research was filled with obstacles and hardships, and all his work was received a lot of criticism. However, there was no way to discount his amazing genius in the end.


    If Solomon asked Lu Li to assassinate Professor Putricide, then Lu Li would think this aristocratic commander was an idiot. The Lich King was protecting Professor Putricide very carefully; they might not be able to kill him even if a great army was sent out.


    "No, I''m not asking you to assassinate Putricide. There''s a batch of potions that he has newly developed, and it''s in the middle of being transported. Our task is to intercept this batch of potions, and when the time comes, you can take some of the potions that don''t break regulations," Solomon quickly added.


    "This information seems really important so why hasn''t it been reported to higher authorities?" Lu Li asked in puzzlement.


    "The source of this information was from one of the cursed disciples, and we used some unique methods of interrogation to receive this information. I can''t guarantee that it''s 100% accurate either," Solomon said with a bit of embarrassment. "According to this information, the location is a bit remote, so we can''t send too many troops in there. Also, the last batch of potions would be transferred by the time the higher authorities decide to do anything about it. I can''t rely on those old guys in the force, they don''t want to take risks at all."


    "Sure, for the time being, we''ll trust the information. Tell us where this batch of potions is being delivered to, and the people protecting it." Lu Li knew that that if this task was easy, they wouldn''t have given it to adventurers like them.


    "I don''t know where it''s going. I do know that there aren''t that many people protecting it. They''ll definitely go through the big bridge over the Sodorir River. My people went and had a look once; the time and number of enemies pretty much match up with the given information," Solomon revealed.


    "How many of your people went?" Lu Li asked.


    "Just me. The others only obey a part of my command. And I also don''t want too many people to know," Solomon said. Although Solomon was commanding a big team of scouts, he didn''t have absolute commanding power. However, if all at once the team suffered a big loss, then his military career would come to an end.


    "We have a few people who''ll scout ahead. These friends of mine aren''t thieves, and they''ll need our protection." After Lu Li understood the situation a bit, he began to make arrangements as there wasn''t much time to spare. He hoped that this quest wouldn''t lead to unforeseen misfortune. If the players died, that still wasn''t too bad ¨C they could just respawn and continue the fight. However, in the case that Solomon was killed, it''d spell doom for him.


    "Try this!" Solomon handed over two bottles of potions; they turned out to be Intermediate Stealth potions. They were much better than the Lesser Stealth Potions that Lu Li and his team could only struggle to get.


    It looked like this guy had some pretty established family wealth; he deserved to be called nobility.


    Sesame Rice Ball consumed a bottle of the potion and the Stealth effects would last an hour. Although this would make his movement speed a bit slower, it wouldn''t be significant enough to slow down the group.


    After Solomon made sure that Sesame Rice Ball was able to communicate and command the military''s portal, Solomon''s attitude towards Lu Li changed immediately. It looked like if anything dangerous happened, Solomon would prioritise Sesame Rice Ball''s safety and no one would care about what happened to Lu Li.

 1520 Lich

    The purple canopy of the sky was dimmer than usual, telling everyone that it was not yet dawn over the Plaguelands. However, Lu Li and those few with him knew that the time was soon coming. Therefore, Lu Li''s promised forces needed to quickly take their places in order to be prepared for the coming battle.


    "Rice Ball, open the portal!" Lu Li commanded, nodding his head.


    Suddenly, a portal opened in a remote corner and more and more adventurers emerged from the portal.


    "500 players. Is that enough?" Lu Li sounded like he had 500 more for Solomon. This frightened Solomon, who repeatedly waved his hand. "It''s enough, it''s enough. We don''t have much time. We need to retreat as soon as we possess the box of potions. If we get discovered by Scourge''s overhead units then we won''t be able to escape."


    "Hopefully there aren''t any exceptionally powerful enemies." Lu Li prayed. Forget about all the people he brought ¡ª there''d be trouble if they faced a boss. During event season in the Plaguelands, any boss would be as strong as the best wild bosses and there was also a time limit on top of that.


    "Don''t worry, if there are any strong enemies, I would''ve already known of any yesterday. At worst, there will be a Lich. It could even be a bit more powerful than me. However, I''m not really suited to do any hands-on fighting," Solomon said, feigning self-confidence.


    Even if Solomon was a hot-blooded aristocrat who wanted to quickly achieve more accolades, Lu Li knew that his so-called scout party yesterday was actually done by himself. As a result, Lu Li relaxed a little.


    Solomon thought it would be one whose power was like that of a normal boss, and even probably on the weaker side at that. With Lu Li added in, dealing with a normal Boss wouldn''t be too much of a problem. Lu Li, having brought many people with him also wouldn''t have a problem clearing up small monsters.


    If there was a boss, the rewards wouldn''t just be potions; due to the seasonal event in Plaguelands, the boss might drop good loot as well.


    Many players assembled together and killed some Elite Stitch-type monsters around the perimeter. There was a chance of dropping Dark Gold armour ¨C one of the benefits of the event season. Once the ''Spreading Plague'' event has ended, there wouldn''t be any more of good drops.


    "Wait a bit, then as soon as we cross the bridge, we will engage the enemy. Deep Watersong, you will need to Taunt the Lich. Best Friend, get ready to taunt any other relatively fierce and strong enemies. Teams 1 to 20, lay low on the left side of the bridge. Teams 21 to 40, ambush from the right. Magicians and healers, station by the hill."


    Lu LI rapidly barked out orders and commanded his army, which really changed Solomon''s impression of him.


    "What do I do then?" Solomon asked.


    Solomon felt that with this sort of arrangement, they would pretty much be able to defeat a Lich at his level of strength.


    "Um, sir, if we need you later, we will tell you. Right now, you and I can just stand by and watch." Lu Li couldn''t really say much else. Solomon was a thief, a role which was considered relatively easy to kill. It''d be troublesome if Solomon was unlikely killed by a Lich.


    A caravan leisurely rode up to the bridge. In the dim first rays of the morning sun, it looked to everyone like specks of Underlight.


    That was the spirit fire of the Undead. The Undead horses were pulling the carriage with various Undead guards following them.


    There were 4 vehicles in total. It felt like they were from the Hinterlands of the Plaguelands, so there weren''t many Undead with them. There was a seat installed on top of the last vehicle and someone was sitting on it, holding a magic bone staff. The staff sparkled like jade, which grabbed people''s attention.


    A Lich!


    During the time when Ner''zhul was the chief of the Draenor Horde, he once commanded many orcs, warlock and shamans to offer sacrifices.


    Later, after the Draenor were exterminated, Kil''jaeden and his forces got hold of these evil creatures and turned them into twisted egos. They were the Lich, and they had extremely powerful magic and their immortal Undead bodies were controlled by Ner''zhul''s will.


    As such, the Lich displayed unwavering loyalty to their masters, and Ner''zhul imbued in them the essence of the Cold North. With their evil and enormous power, the Lich pledged their loyalty to their masters. When their great masters were too busy, they often acted as generals and representatives to command all their caravans.


    The bodies of the Lich were deeply wrapped with the cold, dark power of the grave. They could use ice and frost magic with ease, as well as their natural ability of using spirit spells.


    They abandoned the frail human body of this world for an eternal, undying body.


    They would crave power, treachery and evil; they liked gorgeous scenery and they crafty schemes. They often wore the clothes of kings or priests, and had their subordinates address them with a powerful name.


    Sometimes, the Lich would declare that Ner''zhul himself was directly endowing on them with abnormal power. They acted as if Ner''zhul was a god, and they were god-chosen priests and prophets.


    Just like the enemy in front of them, he didn''t only have a magnificent magic staff. He had clothes that were also particularly exquisite; the top was adorned with a number of gems. And on top of his head, sat a crown. If that crown were to be shown public, there would definitely be many greedy mages who would be willing to give up everything to have it.


    In order to maintain this level of luxury, the Lich would often start battles against cities and towns of the living; they were like a Wyrm storing up their treasure.


    Of course, not all Lich were powerful enough to cause massive destruction. The number of Lich had increased to expand the territory of the Scourge. Some might assume personal command and others may carry out special quests as their master''s representative.


    If the stitched monsters of the Plaguelands were feared by all, then when a normal player saw a Lich, they''d simply run away.


    The event, ''Spreading Plague'', was a battle between NPCs. However, players would still follow the fight to pick up leftover loot.


    This Lich''s name was Anglish. Lu Li didn''t know where he came from and Solomon was equally clueless.


    Anglish actually used to be a magic teacher in Dalaran. When he was 30, he was a strong intermediate magic teacher, and remained as such until he was 60. The old magic teacher had seemed to have almost given up hope on achieving great power.


    He knew that as he aged his physical ability, memory and other parts of himself were weakening.


    The God of Death had already touched him and left behind lines of wrinkles.


    Anglish was cowardly and weak but he was also addicted to the world of magic. He knew that he was facing death, but he did not resign to it. He felt like he was on a spiritual journey, standing in front of a door. All he needed to do was push open the door and there''d be another world.


    After a long time searching for answers, Anglish placed his hopes on Kel''Thuzad. Kel''Thuzad was a great mage, with much greater achievements than Anglish, and provided proof for another road humans could take.


    However, transforming into a Lich wasn''t an easy task. It was like a promotion for an Undead mage. If it weren''t for a powerful person like Ner''zhul, Alsace or Kel''Thuzad who could offer it, then it would be impossible to transform.


    At the time, Anglish was still teaching a dozen or so students. He betrayed his own students and sold their magic and souls to Kel''Thuzad.


    It was by that time, that some might consider him mentally deranged.


    Kel''Thuzad placed a spell on Anglish and performed a transformation ritual, transforming Anglish into a Half Lich.

 1521 Magic Originated with the Elves

    In Elvish, a Half Lich meant ''Half cultivated and not to completion''. Basically, Anglish hadn''t truly transformed into the Lich yet. Despite the fact that he didn''t have the full power of the Lich, Anglish also didn''t have any defects.


    The Half Lich were similar to the Lich; the abilities of their past life remained, and they also had limitless time to delve into studying magic. So, achieving great magic power even as a Half Lich was inevitable.


    The key difference was that they couldn''t place their soul into a phylactery like the Lich could. The Lich only needed a phylactery to resurrect with a new physical body. It was precisely because of this reason that the Half Lich Anglish cared about his life even more. Whenever he encountered a dangerous situation, he would more likely utilise his full power.


    "Engage the Half Lich! Treat it like a wild boss! There''s a chance it could be even smarter than one. So, be careful of unexpected changes in Aggro," Lu Li warned based on what he knew about the Lich from previous encounters. However, his previous encounters with the Lich were in Instance Dungeons, so there may be some differences in this battle.


    "I admire your courage," Anglish announced, still remaining in his seat. He raised his magic staff towards the few people in front of him and growled, "But I despise your souls."


    Suddenly, he was alarmed at the large number of opponents swarming around him¡ª he''d been surrounded!


    When a huge group of people came out on both sides of the bridge and the surrounding hills, Anglish knew that he''d underestimated the enemy.


    Anglish was already familiar with his new power, and the cowardly, weak, overcautious teacher in him was already dead. When an arrow from a crossbow stabbed into his eye, he immediately let out an angry scream. However, the scream didn''t pierce the ears but the souls of the victims, and it spread far away like a wave.


    Lu LI felt uneasy after the scream. He immediately took measures for a backup plan for any surprises during the battle. The other players saw that the Main Tank had stabilised the Half Lich''s aggro, and so they kept up their damage output.


    Like many other standard bosses, the Half Lich had over four million HP. Solomon was itching for a fight and didn''t wait for Lu Li''s signal and directly engaged in battle with Anglish.


    Solomon bore the responsibility of commanding the army in this quest and was personally responsible for its success. It was closely tied to his future prospects; it would be a huge achievement if he could get this batch of potions to the allies'' apothecarist to research an antidote. If he failed, he could put the blame on Lu Li and these adventurers, but he would still just be a scout leader.


    Solomon''s damage was very high and instantly took aggro. Anglish waved his magic staff and a string of Frostbolts smashed into Solomon''s face, forcing him to retreat. A thick layer of Chillplate formed on his body which slowed his movement and attack speed.


    Lu Li originally wanted to let Solomon stay back but when he saw Solomon''s HP, this thought immediately disappeared from his head. This Alliance commander turned out to have two million HP; this level of HP was so high it felt like a waste.


    As soon as NPC commanders like Solomon stepped into the Plaguelands, their attributes and HP were largely improved; Marshal Windsor probably didn''t have this much HP.


    With Solomon also attacking the boss, everyone else was much more relaxed. Solomon inflicted the highest damage and was the greatest threat to Anglish, so Aggro was also quite stable. Apart from a few AoE skills, Anglish wasn''t even bothered to pay attention to the other ant-like players.


    Anglish''s pride blinded his judgement. If he was still the overcautious magic teacher he once was, a little analysis would allow him to realise that the damage inflicted by those ants together, was much higher than the damage inflicted by Solomon, a single opponent of his level.


    Anglish had a dozen or so henchmen with him. Of those, there were four Stiches with comparable power levels. However, these monsters weren''t strong enough in the face of a 500-man army. There were a dozen or so magic AoE spells blasting them back and forth. Before these monsters could even reach the players, they had all been killed. When all the side monsters had been dealt with, they all turned their attention to the Boss.


    Anglish''s HP fell like water down a drain!


    Anglish couldn''t stay seated any longer; He jumped down from the vehicle, waved his magic staff and casted a flurry of spells at his enemies.


    Shields of Bones materialised around himself, making a complete defence system that could block most of the damage received.


    The damage was now greatly reduced and the speed at which Anglish''s HP dropped slowed down. What stunned the players was the fact that the Shields of Bones absorbed part of the magic damage received and transformed it into health for the Half Lich. A Half Lich should not be underestimated, especially not during the seasonal event in the Plaguelands.


    "Magic damage dealers, try your best not to hit the shields. Physical damage dealers, focus your attacks on the Shields of Bones. Commander Solomon, attack those shields too!" Lu Li commanded.


    The physical damage dealers attacking the shields would be more effective than magic damage, since magic would increase his HP. They soon destroyed Anglish''s Shields of Bones. However, he then set up an ice shield immediately.


    They absolutely hated magic bosses the most.


    At least this time the ice shield only blocked damage and didn''t regenerate his HP. Otherwise, that would have frustrated Lu Li and his army. Whoever said that undead bosses were really easy to fight because they rarely replenished HP was definitely lying.


    What Lu Li hated the most was the different types of skills being casted continuously from these magic wild bosses.


    Why couldn''t they have fought this guy in an Instance Dungeon?


    In an instance dungeon, the monsters'' abilities all had limits; they would all be capped at 10 available skills. However, a Half Lich who spent their whole life researching magic found outside an Instance Dungeon would have an arsenal of spells to use.


    The undying Half Lich might even have the Charm spell.


    If he had the bone shields on top of the ability to charm them, then they''d be screwed.


    At least we had 500 players, so even if you got hit you''d still be able to survive for a few seconds. Lu Li had brought quite a few healers, so the players who had been hit by AoE could be restored to full HP very quickly. Even if someone was instantly killed, another player could still revive them, and they could keep fighting.


    They soon halved Anglish''s HP. If nothing unexpected happened, then the battle would be over in a few minutes.


    "Boss, it''s not good! A lot of Undead are coming this way," someone informed Lu LI.


    As expected, the bad feeling after the Lich made that soul-piercing scream was actually a big summoning call. Good thing they had a few thieves around the perimeter on lookout. If they had been ambushed, it would''ve spelt doom for his team.

 1522 Quest Item

    The main tanks spread out immediately and focused on containing the mobs while the healers recovered the tanks'' health. Players with strong AOE spells supported the tanks from the back by dealing area damage. The monsters in the Plaguelands might''ve gotten stronger, but even they wouldn''t be able to recover from the constant barrage of AOE. The waves of monsters that ran towards them would be movement restricted and then taken out by AOE players one wave at a time. Even if one or two monsters survived, the warriors would be able to finish them off easily; it was a classic military tactic.


    Solomon realised he''d been underestimating them; the tacit understanding between players will always be stronger than an NPC army. First of all, an NPC army did not have voice command and only had a range of war cries and yells. The commander, transmitters, messengers and soldiers all yell deafening cries all over the battlefield which leads to no one knowing what the actual command was. Secondly, NPC soldiers only had one life since they could not respawn like players. In a team of players, the team members could always remain consistent which allowed them to form bonds between them. Finally, it came down to the mentality of the players. They knew neither fear nor death, which meant they followed the commander''s orders without question. Whilst even the most fearless of NPC soldiers would need to mentally prepare themselves before they willingly fought to their death. If the game settings made NPC soldiers have the same tacit understanding players had, that would be another story, but Dawn did not have that.


    "For our master''s honour!" Anglish roared, but his soul-stirring war cry was undermined by the bleak situation. Sure, his Undead companions were able to subdue a few elites in Solomon''s army, but that did not resolve the fact that the Undead were being cornered, and him, a half-lich was about to be vanquished.


    Why? Why was it that he was the first target of the enemy? If they considered his importance in the Scourge''s Camp in the Plaguelands, he wasn''t even in the top ten, no, he wouldn''t even be in the top twenty members. Why couldn''t he have more time to transform into a fully-fledged Lich? He could''ve been so much more than just a bestial idiot letting out dreary and helpless yells in battle. Even if the person that was conducting the ritual for Anglish would realise he had died in battle, and even if someone were to avenge him, it would not change the fact that he would''ve had already left the world.


    He could not accept it!


    "Careful of angering the Boss! Hunters, prepare your tranquilising shots," Lu Li observed a strange change in the Boss and immediately readied his hunters. The upcoming outburst of fury was immediately suppressed. As Anglish attempted to use a new set of skills to turn the situation around, he saw the Undead diminish in front of him. Anglish''s rage died down; he could only feel despair.


    And hatred!


    He hated the people that was about to end his glorious life, and hated Kel''Thuzad, his new tutor, even more. Why did he send him to complete a lowly support mission? Why not just promote him straight to a Lich? As Anglish felt his lifeforce slowly draining away, his hatred reached its peak. A thunderous roar silenced the battlefield.


    What was originally a body of bones was now dust. Then, a beam of white light shot straight into the sky and projected towards the Plaguelands.


    "This isn''t good, the Half Lich''s master is about to arrive. We have to go," Solomon hurried to his carriage, taking the boxes stored inside. When he saw everyone stuck in place, his eyes glowed red and snapped, "Hurry up and move these so we can get going! Do you want to be chased by the head Lich?"


    "You''re saying someone''s about to come? The Lich King? Or Kel''Thuzad?"


    "I don''t know, and I don''t have to know. All you need to know is that we have no chance of defeating whoever was conducting Anglish''s conversion ritual," Solomon shuddered.


    "Dammit. Why do these boxes all contain quest items?" Lu Li realised something was wrong. One cart only had eight boxes, and they were all full of quest items. How could he gain any loot if there wasn''t any loot for him to gain?


    "This is not the time to worry about stuff like that! Just help me move it!" Solomon yelled.


    "Screw you! If we can''t even loot some health potions, then why don''t we just work for you for free?" Lu Li snapped, "We loot first! I assure you that your things will be safely delivered back to the base," Lu Li tried putting one of the boxes in his backpack and it worked; one box took up one slot. They had thirty-two boxes, even if there were ten times the number of boxes the five hundred of them could easily take them back to base.


    "Fine, fine. I''ll give you guys your loot," Solomon seemed intimidated by Lu Li''s moment of ferocity. He probably realised that if he were to skimp on Lu Li and his team, his fate would not be that different from the Half Lich. Lu Li was tempted to do so but only in the spur of the moment. There was no way he was going to kill an alliance soldier for some unknown potions.


    However, the fact remained that the event had costed Lu Li too much¡ª the cost of time to gather five hundred elites. Those five hundred players were not casual players, asking them to do even the smallest of things costed a generous amount of coins. Additionally, the cost of reducing the battle duration by having all five hundred players use potions during the fight. The potions for five hundred people was another enormous cost for Lu Li. Lu Li couldn''t say that this quest wasn''t profitable yet; He saw Remnant Dream looting armour in the distance and her expression revealed that she had acquired some decent items. He was only fierce with Solomon to avoid getting taken advantage of. A noble military chief like himself could easily give him great benefits. However, what shocked Lu Li the most was the box Solomon opened was full of bottles and cans, while Lu Li''s box had only quest items. The Gods must be playing a prank of him!


    "My my, these are some good potions. This, well I can''t use this, this is fine. I suppose you might need this more than me. Oh, this is what I''ve been looking for! Hah, the Count will be pleased with this," Solomon had long forgotten the fear of anticipating the arrival of the head Lich and indulged in the pleasures of looting. And by listening to Solomon talk to himself, Lu Li realised he was probably not the hack he thought him to be.

 1523 The Heart of The Lich

    After rummaging through two boxes, Solomon picked out a few potions and said, "These are not too valuable, but they should still be useful. Now, I believe I''ve fulfilled my end of the bargain."


    What the hell!


    Of course, they wouldn''t be valuable.; he''d probably picked out the most common items for him. But what could Lu Li do? Even if he knew he wasn''t going to obtain anything valuable from Solomon, he could only blame the system. After all, there was no way the system would let Lu Li and his team obtain overpowered potions.


    Lu Li doubted he could barter for more potions, so he took a glance at the two opened boxes and saw some formulas and materials that might be useful. "Those seem to be formulas, are they not? Since you didn''t give us many potions, I''m sure you wouldn''t mind us taking a few formulas?" Lu Li requested, carefully observing Solomon''s expression.


    "These are supposed to go to base camp." Solomon hesitated.


    "Chief!" Lu Li pressed on forcefully, "I had to gather five hundred of my brothers here, all of them risking the danger of being chased by the Lich. And none of them even had a drop of water to drink this morning. We''ve done all of this just to help you." The five hundred players had put away the drinks that were in their hands a moment ago, listening intently to Lu Li bargaining with the NPC.


    "Look, I can''t give you any more potions but maybe I could give you some formulas." Solomon wiped off the sweat accumulating on his forehead, damn, even the battle with the Half Lich wasn''t as tiring as this. However, it was true that he did feel a little guilty. After all, he had only asked for two hundred people, and somehow Lu Li gave him more than double the amount of what he asked for. If he were to bring only two hundred people, then the battle wouldn''t have been so easily won.


    "Materials are fine too," Lu Li looked at the second box, there were no formulas in it, but a bunch of materials in plain sight. Lu Li was sure whatever materials that were important enough to be delivered personally by the Half Lich would be very valuable. With Ruling Sword''s recent prosperous growth, the demand for rare materials also grew exponentially.


    "Well, the materials are supposed to be taken back for research," Solomon squeaked. In the end, he succumbed to Lu Li''s pressuring and handed him a potion formula, and about four to five rare materials ¨C since Solomon had multiple copies of a few of the materials, giving away one or two to Lu Li wasn''t going to impede on his camp''s research.


    Fourteen potions, one formula and five materials, this mission probably had the greatest rewards Lu Li had ever received for a mission. However, the cost to complete it matched the rewards he received. After all, no regular missions required a five hundred player army.


    "Dream, are you done looting? If everyone''s ready, we''ll get going," Lu Li and the army immediately retreated after receiving his prize. Whether a Boss like Kel''Thuzad would come down to avenge the death of a Half Lich or not, staying in the heart of the Plaguelands was not ideal.


    "I won''t be going with you. Whatever happens, I must protect these boxes," Solomon said. What a typical thing for a noble to do. They might not be tyrants or hacks, but the idea of expecting them to risk their lives to fight with you was laughable.


    The problem was, having all five hundred people leave the Plaguelands at once was impossible. Solomon thought the best way was to put the players into ten or so groups and leave the Plaguelands accordingly. He had no idea that players could use Hearthstones ¨C it had only taken players ten seconds to teleport back to their base.


    "It was a pleasure working with you," Lu Li was finally able to catch a breath. He and Solomon were purely business partners. Lu Li had no desire of accepting missions such as escorting Solomon back to the safe zone and Solomon voice would also not voice such a request. He was, after all, a scout skilled in covering his tracks. He would rather travel by himself than have someone escort him. With the battlefield cleared, Lu Li and the five hundred other players vanished from the Plaguelands in an instant.


    Kel''Thuzad might not personally come down for the death of a Half Lich, but he did send out a team of Death Knights to the scene of the crime. With the players vanished without a trace, all remaining clues left in the battlefield led to the still fleeing Solomon. He used every skill and every lesson taught at the academy to escape the pursuit of the Death Knights and reached the camp.


    Lu Li had disbanded his team as well. The five hundred players he had with him did not require his compensation. They would be rewarded by the guild. Health potions are provided by the Guild, but armour repairs would still cost quite a bit. Remnant Dreams handed in all her loot to Lu Li. About a hundred or so coins which wasn''t bad; it was much more than what they got from the Instance Dungeon last time around at least. Two pieces of Golden Armour, one Dark Armour and an Epic Armour. Not quite as impressive, Lu Li could''ve easily looted three epics from a Boss in Black Wing''s Nest. However, considering a Half Lich like Anglish was only a regular Boss, Lu Li thought to himself that he probably shouldn''t have expected much at all.


    The Golden Armour was unimportant, the Dark Armour could be put into the guild''s storage, and the Epic armour was usable. It was an extravagant staff, the Rage of Anglish, and had an interesting special effect ¡ª an attack skill could be stored into the staff, and the user could use the skill inconsequentially for two hours. The skill stored will disappear from the staff after two hours. Lu Li thought that this single effect the staff had greatly increased the weapon''s value. Unfortunately, Lu Li doubted that any mages from the Instance Dungeon teams would be interested in it. He would have to give it away to someone in his guild. It may be a decent weapon during Instance Dungeons, but it''d be legendary amongst casual players. However, the loot which interested Lu Li the most was a particular rare material he received ¨C The Heart of the Lich!


    Lu Li couldn''t believe that even a Half Lich would drop a Heart of the Lich. It was the kind of material that could only be dropped by proper Lich, and the percentage of obtaining it was infinitesimal; Lu Li couldn''t even get it when he fought Ras Frostwhisper. The item description read ¨C Heart of the Lich: a heart formed by fury, wreckage and madness. Anglish, who was finally able to become a Half Lich, had died in the hands of a bunch of ambushers¡ª Of course, he''d be furious. He even sacrificed his own students just for immortality, that point alone made him mad enough. Not to mention that him being an NPC meant that he would not spawn ever again. Dropping a Heart of the Lich was probably one of the more meaningful contributions he''d made to his world.


    Lu Li still had much to do. He needed to deliver the boxes for Solomon, but that was not a priority right now. Solomon was probably still being pursued anyway, and it was the last day of the week. There was no way Lu Li would skip the Instance Dungeon to fight Nefarian.

 1524 He’s Furious

    Instance Dungeon Bosses respawned every midnight. This meant that if players couldn''t beat the Boss, they would have to try again the next day. Whenever Lu Li took part in an Instance Dungeon, he would be completely serious about it. Wandering wondered if he was serious enough.


    "And I thought you could finish this without me," Lu Li joked, it was the first thing he said upon re-joining his team. It hurt Wandering and Sky Moon''s pride, as only when Lu Li acted as a commander could the team beat the Boss. Meanwhile the two of them couldn''t achieve anything without him.


    "Why don''t I take command this round and you tell me what I could improve on?" Wandering suggested. "Sure, take it away," Lu Li replied indifferently. Losing another battle wouldn''t hurt the guild much anyway.


    The battle began. The first stage required a player to talk to Nefarian and the dialogue was quickly skipped through. Everyone had become irritated from the many times they have listened to it. With the dialogue exchange concluded, two giant doors lowered onto the ground and became the spawning point of dragons. There were quite a few types of dragons. They had to battle different coloured dragons and Chromatic Dragons which were created by Nefarian.


    Red dragons could stack fire damage and were immune to fire spells. Blue dragons could deal frost damage which slowed down its target, drained MP and was immune to ice spells. Green dragons were the least dangerous, it could stun players for a second and decreased a player''s aggro. Black dragons could deal fire damage in a large area and were highly resistant to fire and dark magic. Bronze dragons could deal arcane damage in a large area and were highly resistant to arcane magic. The last type were the chromatic dragons created by Nefarian. They would spawn at intervals and had to be killed quickly. After all, Chromatic Dragons were very strong. It would put Lu Li and his team in a tight spot if a bunch of them ganged up on them.


    At this stage, Nefarian was invincible and would continuously deal darkness type AOE damage that could control players. Controlled players could only heal and deal damage while they temporarily fought against their own team.


    "You are taking too long to clear out the dragons. You guys should''ve already come up with a strategy to deal with them considering how many times you''ve done this," Lu Li spoke out. He knew it was essential to minimise the loss of manpower by clearing out the dragons in this stage as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the later stages would be impossible to beat. If they couldn''t even deal with the first stage efficiently, they''d die from fatigue before even reaching the end of the battle.


    "We did come up with a way to deal with them. We just haven''t had many chances to put it into practice," Wandering defended.


    "People fighting the red dragons use fire-resistant potions, Hunters use Traps and Mages use Blizzard. The two warriors need to focus on containing the dragons, don''t let them attack the others. Team Four, I''m talking to you. Stop running around and return to your positions," Lu Li commanded. "Chromatics are here. Team Six and Seven, it''s your turn. Focus on dealing physical type damage. Team Six, you''re in charge of clearing out Chromatics on the left."


    With Lu Li here, no longer was the team formation a mess, nor were the players unsure of what to do. Everyone had a clear objective and handled their positions well. The team had instantly increased in efficiency. Moreover, whatever monster had spawned, Lu Li knew exactly who to command to fight it, what skill types to use and what potions to drink; the team naturally listened to his strategies without question. Lu Li was willing to help out with the Instance Dungeon even when he had his own missions to do, and the team respected him for that.


    "Mages use Polymorph on the players who are controlled. Sky Moon, you''re in charge of team One and Two, Lonesome Flower''s in charge of¡­" Lu Li ordered, indifferent to the original strategy Wandering already had in place. Lu Li''s strategy ensured that all players who had gotten controlled would be immediately released.


    "You can dodge the Boss''s Shadow Bolts. What do you think all these pillars are for? Just hide whenever he uses it and stop relying on darkness resistant potions. How much do you think those cost?"


    "If you can''t dodge them then you should use the potions. What do you think those are for?" Lu Li was getting annoyed at his team''s subservience and inability to make decisions for themselves during crucial moments.


    As time went by, the first stage of Nefarian was cleared. It had taken them much longer than necessary to clear it. However, Lu Li didn''t expect his team to beat Nefarian this time, so it didn''t bother him too much.


    During the second stage, Nefarian, in its dragon form, came down from the skies.


    The scene of it flying down was pretty cool, and it both intimidated and excited the players. The game developers even made the scene part of its official trailer. Lu Li thought that it was fortunate that even though Nefarian would cast Shadow Flame as he landed which could''ve resulted in team annihilation, they would be safe as long as they had the cloak made of dragon skin. Lu Li almost cried out with joy. It was a good thing he had pressured logistics to speed up their crafting of Onyxia''s Cloak. Dawn may be the type of game that gets easier as you become more prepared through crafting and training, but Nefarian was an outlier that was designed to be unjustly difficult. If a team of 40 people didn''t have at least 20 or 30 players wearing the cloaks, there would be no way they could''ve even passed this stage. Without Onyxia''s Cloak obtained from Onyxia''s Lair, there was no way they could beat Nefarian. This was why the game made it mandatory for players to have beaten Onyxia before making the choice to challenge Nefarian available.


    The hardest part of stage two had passed, now they just had to be vigilant about the Boss''s targeting, its AOE fear and Veil of Shadow. Unfortunately, the team had faced annihilation this time around as well. Wandering and Sky Moon were lucky enough to have gotten through to stage three a few times, but most of the time, they failed at stage two due to Nefarian''s Fear and targeting.


    Lu Li''s failure this time was because the team suffered the stacked-up effect of both the Veil of Shadow and Nefarian''s targeting. Veil of Shadow reduced healing effects by 75% and was critical to the team. Although Wandering had a Druid in charge to counter the effects, Innocent Child, the Druid was unfortunate enough to be targeted by Nefarian. And the other Druids weren''t able to negate the curse on time. By this point in the battle, one main tank moved to the wrong position could lead to team annihilation, and healing was a problem as well.


    "It''s simple, just replace him with a mage. With a team like ours, fault tolerance is extremely low. One tiny mistake could lead to annihilation. Why haven''t you considered a situation where a class might have to face two problems at the same time?" Lu Li lectured. Wandering could only blame himself.


    "Here, let me take the lead. Standard protocol," Lu Li said. The protocol was to limit on potion use since they were still deciding whether or not they could clear the dungeon. This meant that they didn''t have to put in all their effort and money into the fight. If they were to use as many resources as they could find during every battle, Ruling Sword would''ve gotten bankrupt a long time ago.


    Lu Li and Wandering''s leadership weren''t too different during the first stage apart from the fact that the team''s formation didn''t seem nearly as organised when Wandering was leading. When Wandering was commanding, a few dragons still remained after Nefarian had landed. Thankfully, his quick thinking led to the defence-type classes pulling the monsters aside for a quick clear, However, Lu Li had efficiently cleared out all the dragons long before Nefarian had appeared.


    "Priests in Team Two, use Fear Ward on the Main Tanks. I don''t care if you''ve done zero healing, but I''ll have your head if you guys can''t cast the spell correctly," Lu Li commanded.


    "Innocent, you''re in charge of removing the Veil of Shadows. Deadly Green Orange, act as a backup," Lu Li didn''t even hesitate to bring two competitive players to the table as long as it meant that Veil of Shadows wouldn''t become the downfall of the team.


    "Thieves? Stop hiding and face me!" the booming voice of the Black Dragon Prince roared across the battlefield. The first class to be called out were the Thieves, and in an instant, all Thieves were teleported and immobilised in front of Nefarian. Nefarian had no mercy when dealing damage and even casted Shadow Flame at point-blank range at the Main Tanks. Shadow Flame was a fire-spitting attack that dealt 3937 cone-shaped shadow damage, and only a few Main Tanks could survive it. There was no way a Thief could survive the attack.


    "Windy, move to position D. Everyone else avoid area D," even at this point, Lu Li could still command his team in a perfectly calm manner. Azure Sea Breeze had only moved slightly to change the direction of the dragon''s head, and the direction of the flames had been redirected just enough for the Thieves to survive.


    "Fear, great. Nice one, Innocent, make sure to keep track of time of the debuff again," Lu Li was satisfied with the Priest that was in charge of removing Nefarian''s Fear. The time between Nefarian''s casting of Fear and the cooldown time to cast Fear Ward was about the same; if time management wasn''t handled well, the team would face the dire situation of its Fear Wards not being able to keep up with Nefarian''s debuff. Lu Li knew many guilds that had suffered annihilation many times because of poor time management and had no choice but to deploy the Priests to remove Nefarian''s Fear.


    "Priests! Priests! Stop healing and start removing the Fear. I repeat, Priests, stop healing! All healers cast Fear Ward. Don''t die, do you hear me? I''m talking to you, Innocent. Has my compliment seriously gotten into your head?" Lu Li yelled furiously.

 1525 Roll Call

    After the Priests had been named, Corrupted Healing was applied on them in addition to their shield and fear resistance abilities. This meant that their healing skills caused damage and applied a damage over time. This means that if any of the Priests healed the Main Tank, the Main Tank could lose a lot of HP.


    Fortunately, only one person made this mistake. After Machine Bro stopped, there weren''t any more problems. The Priests were not focused on giving shields instead, and the team relied on the Druids to regenerate their HP.


    During this time, the healers were under a lot of pressure because it was easy to lose players. After all, they had brought a greater number of healing Priests into this Instance Dungeon.


    "Make sure to prioritise healing the Main Tanks. Everyone should try to take care of themselves and stay alive," Lu Li had understood that they just needed to keep the Main Tanks and healers alive. Even if they lost their damage dealing players, they could still keep going. However, if they lost their healers and tanks, there was no coming back.


    "Mages, you call those Mages? You shouldn''t play with fire!"


    The Mages had now been named and this brought another round of obstacles. Not only did they turn into sheep, but they were also turned into frogs, turtles and penguins. The players didn''t know that Polymorph had so much potential.


    What if the Main Tanks were Polymorphed?


    Lu Li looked helplessly at Azure Sea Breeze who had become a pig. The orderly formation of the whole team had suddenly fallen apart. Even though they had casted Dispel quickly enough and Friend of the World had quickly taken aggro, it wasn''t enough.


    They were really unlucky. No matter what kind of team it was, it would have been really difficult to survive those circumstances. In this run, and under Lu Li''s great leadership, they had made good progress. Everyone had begun to have hope that they could earn a victory. Even if they couldn''t beat the whole dungeon, they thought they could at least enter the third stage. However, they didn''t expect to be defeated in the second stage.


    "I had once gotten wiped like this too, and it''s not like we can avoid having Mages." Sky Moon sighed helplessly.


    "And he also Polymorphed me into a sheep too," Azure Sea Breeze added.


    "Actually, there might be a solution," Lu Li didn''t seem phased by that story. He had tried to remember the right strategy, but he couldn''t think of anything. It had been so long since he had learnt it from the books, and he didn''t get to experience it in his previous life.


    However, he had come this far and had begun to develop a strong commanding ability. Suddenly, he found a solution. He repositioned all the Mages into the far corner. Deadly Green Orange was the only exception because he was responsible for helping Innocent Child dispel the curses. By maximising the distance between the Mages and the Main Tanks, it reduced the chances of the Main Tanks getting Polymorphed. In fact, this created the perfect circumstance as the Mages would just Polymorph each other.


    When they started the dungeon again, Lu Li was much more serious. He already started to instruct the players to use the Machine Dummies in the first stage. These items were not cheap, but they were very useful for absorbing the area of effect skills. These made the first stage much easier.


    Anyone who knew Lu Li''s style now knew that Lu Li had warmed up and now meant business.


    "Main Tanks, hold the monsters. Everyone else, maintain your positions. Deadly Green Orange, take two steps back and one step to the left; you can still attack from there. Warlocks, stand in front of the Mages. Hunters, move to the right and spread out a little more."


    In the second stage, everyone followed Lu Li''s instructions in an orderly manner.


    "Let me show you strength that you are not familiar with!"


    The first to be named this time were the Warlocks. These Warlocks would now summon Infernals that would attack the players around them.


    "Kill the Infernals first!" shouted Lu Li. They were next to the Mages and Hunters which could deal a lot of damage quite quickly, so there were no problems.


    "Nasty Hunters and their toy guns."


    With this line, Nefarian proudly named the Hunters. So, what happened to the Hunters?


    The effect was quite terrible. The durability of all their weapons were instantly depleted.


    In Dawn, when the Durability of a weapon was depleted, the weapon wasn''t broken but its attack strength was significantly reduced. Moreover, the durability of the weapons remained depleted even after the effect had ended, but there was also an easy solution for this. Lu Li didn''t order anything, but someone had already thrown out the Maintenance Robots.


    The Hunters all gathered around, and their weapons were quickly repaired. After all, this was just a game, which meant that repairing equipment was quite simple. They just needed to pay for the repairs, and the System drew money out of the players through the Maintenance Robots. However, the repairs were also really expensive. Although it was just weapon durability, the repairs were at their most expensive when it dropped down to 0.


    If they were unlucky, the repair costs would equal to a small fortune.


    However, naming the Hunters a few extra times wouldn''t be too bad since the team wouldn''t be placed in danger. It just meant that the team had a reduced damage output. Their pets were still attacking the Boss, so they were still dealing damage even while they were repairing.


    "Now!"


    In the exact moment that Lu Li spoke, Innocent Child instantly lifted the curse on the Main Tank. Azure Sea Breeze had also started a powerful Damage Reduction Skill in that moment. This was the perfect combo ¨C even if Lu Li hadn''t said anything, Innocent Child wouldn''t have missed it and even if Innocent Child missed it, Azure Sea Breeze still had his skill to support him. All of this was more than enough to deal with the curse.


    If they were wiped because of a misplay involving the curse, then these players shouldn''t be called experts.


    "I wonder what will happen to the Shamans and their totems?"


    Lu Li looked a little pale. The Shamans were quite weak in this Instance Dungeon, it was mainly Sakura Memories. She was responsible for casting Bloodthirst at regular intervals and casting various totems.


    After being named, the Shamans would give Nefarian a totem. If they gave him the Windfury totem, Lu Li would be truly terrified for what would come next.


    And that was exactly what Sakura Memories did ¡ª she put down a Windfury Totem for Nefarian. The effect of this totem was a buff that had a 20% chance of applying a second attack for each normal attack. This meant that your damage output would improve dramatically. The probability of this effect triggering also depended on the level of the totem, and Sakura Memories had raised the totem''s level to five.


    Under the Windfury Totem''s effect, melee units also attacked quite quickly.


    Lu Li had no time to direct anyone, he just jumped onto the totem and attacked it twice.


    However, Nefarian was closer to the totem and managed to get the buff first.


    As long as it didn''t attack twice, Lu Li believed that Azure Sea Breeze could withstand it even though its attacks were stronger.

 1526 Mystery Medicine

    Double attack!


    More than half of Azure''s HP was gone instantly, then a second attack followed suit.


    "Use your damage reduction abilities!"


    Lu Li''s heart sank. If he had known earlier, he wouldn''t have had the Shaman join the Instance Dungeon run; Windfury Totem was severely problematic. That''s why many teams don''t bring Shamans to kill this Boss. As long as this Totem appeared, the Boss could deal a 2-combo enhanced attack against its victims.


    However, what surprised Lu Li was that Azure Sea Breeze didn''t actually die!


    "Heal me! Heal! Dancing Grass quickly Heal me!" Azure Sea Breeze''s shouting and wrangling broke Lu Li''s doubts; he was very sure that he wasn''t dead.


    Water Fairy used a powerful skill that instantly increased Azure Sea Breeze''s remaining hundred or so HP to full HP.


    Lu Li took a look at the battle record, and finally understood what happened.


    If there wasn''t March Rain''s Shield, Moonlight''s Intervene, Darkness'' Therapy, and Azure Sea Breeze''s own damage reduction, then there was no way that he could have taken on the two consecutive attacks.


    Even then, his HP was almost completely wiped out.


    If Lu Li didn''t kill off the Totem in time, then Nefarian would''ve followed up with another double attack. Then that would''ve been the point of no return. Even the Gods wouldn''t be able to help the team''s fate of being destroyed.


    "Nice work guys," Lu Li commended, he suddenly felt confident in killing off Nefarian.


    In fact, Lu Li thought of the reason why everyone could react so quickly. He didn''t even realise, but every time he made everyone drink healing potions, it meant a higher chance of survivability which leads to a higher chance of killing off the Boss.


    At this time, everyone was focused and energised.


    When Lu Li had attacked the Windfury Totem with determination, it showed how serious the situation was. As a result, March Rain subconsciously gave Azure Sea Breeze her shield. Moonlight wasn''t far behind either, being alert and vigilant at all times was a fundamental quality of a veteran player.


    Azure Sea Breeze listened to Lu Li''s callouts the quickest. As soon as he heard Lu Li shout "Damage reduction!", he buffed himself with the most useful damage reduction ability he had instantly.


    The second stage was barely passed with a huge clutch team play. Nefarian only had 20% HP left. Going into the third stage, Lu Li had a look at the number of people around and told the Druids to revive themselves.


    The two previous stages killed off quite a lot of people.


    With just the people remaining, it would be very difficult to kill Nefarian. Healing Potions couldn''t be saved at a time like this. No matter how precious healing potions or equipment are, as long as it was needed, Lu Li asked everyone to use them without hesitation.


    The third stage was very messy. Nefarian will revive all the Dragons that the players had previously killed.


    They will turn into Bone Dragons and charge towards the players again.


    During the whole battle process previously, Lu Li was constantly adjusting players'' positions. He knew earlier what would happen in the third stage. It was not only because he was reborn that he knew, but also because Wandering and Sky Moon both reached stage three beforehand and knew what would happen.


    According to Wandering and Sky Moon, the stage had many small monsters.


    They would swarm directly towards the Main Tank. During the charge, because of the healing needed for the Main Tank, the healers would also draw the aggro of the swarm. Some of the monsters would attack nearby healers, therefore putting both Healers and Main Tanks in danger where neither can help the other. This messy situation would then lead to the whole team''s destruction.


    On top of this challenge, most battles had too many early casualties which meant that there weren''t many people by this stage.


    However, not everyone was like Lu Li.


    Most of the team were still alive and with the Druids resurrected by the third stage.


    According to everyone''s positions, small monsters started to flow towards a couple of directions. All the directions they went towards had other players who could stop them along the way. Especially with Wandering and World''s Best Friend, all they needed to do was stand there and wait for the small monsters to come their way.


    This formation also allowed the healers to pull a few of the monsters. It was precisely because of this type of split-flow that Azure Sea Breeze won''t be beaten to death by a group of monsters. For Wandering and Sky Moon, a nightmarish third stage began under the command of Lu Li who looked as if he had everything under control.


    This stage mainly tested the rate of damage output.


    Because there were so many monsters, if there wasn''t a fast-enough damage output then the three Main Tanks couldn''t hold on for long. That is why Lu Li not only arranged for people to help pull some monsters, but also for people to put traps and drop engineered explosives. Overall, he used all sorts of techniques together in order to clear the monsters as quickly as possible.


    Ruling Swords'' number one Apothecarist, Cold Chill, who had stored precious Invulnerability Medicine also came to use.


    "Drink!" Lu Li called out.


    "I''ll drink if I need to!"


    In the moment, Lu Li had completely forgotten about the expensive production fee of the potion. In fact, the whole club didn''t have much in storage. During the First Clear, they had already used nearly half of the potions.


    Even if Lu Li and the others passed Black Wing''s Nest, if they don''t have enough Invulnerability Potions for next week, then the team might not defeat the Boss even if they executed the strategy correctly.


    "Priests, let me see what''s something interesting that will happen when you guys heal." Nefarian goaded.


    That''s right. The annoying roll call from the second stage still continued during the third stage. This was also why the third stage was the hardest; it was the second stage with added swarms of small monsters which gave people a headache.


    "Priests, pay attention. Give the Main Tanks shields and don''t slack on the fear-proof barriers. You guys need to be careful and keep yourselves alive. Do NOT use healing spells. Hachi Chan use Enhanced Tranquillity and Innocent Child heal the Main Tanks. Innocent Child remove the debuff from the players! Looking good team!"


    "What about me?" Hachi Chan asked sadly.


    She had been healing a lot of HP and her Enhanced Tranquillity was doing such a great job too. That skill just prevented the deaths of three damage dealers and healers.


    "Yes, Hachi Chan you did good too. You''re the best!" Lu Li didn''t have any energy to reply. Always praising someone can be tiring. "You''re like the game''s daughter, of course you''re doing great!"


    The 30 second roll call time passed. The Priests then joined the healing team and danger was alleviated temporarily.


    "Breezy, drink some MP potions," Lu Li said as he glanced at the Magic Points of the Healers. Lu Li knew that the Healers were basically burning MP. Everyone''s Magic Points were basically gone, and the Magic Resurrection ability was pretty much used up.


    Now the only thing that would restrict whether the team could complete the dungeon were the Healers'' MP.


    The MP of Healers had always been one of the First clearing team''s obstacle. It was especially discouraging for the Healers in drawn-out battles to watch the Main Tanks run out of HP due to their MP running out.

 1527 First Clear of Blackwing’s Nes

    Lu Li got ten or so different healing potions from Major Solomon. There were all sorts of weird ones, some were not of much use and others were quite amazing.


    He gave Azure Sea Breeze a really amazing healing potion. According to the label of this bottle, 5000 Health and Magic Points will recover every 3 seconds over a ten-minute period once consumed.


    Even in his past life, Lu Li had never heard or seen of such a strong healing potion.


    It was not much use to restore MP for Azure Sea Breeze. However, Lu Li always adhered to the principle to resolve the problem in front of him first. If the team was destroyed due to Lu Li saving the potion for MP recovery as well, then all the investments for this dungeon run would have all been for nothing. Not to mention, they''d also have to use more time to try again if they were killed this time; trying to clear the dungeon again would also cost a lot more money for the guild.


    This potion was invaluable, but if it was just lying around in storage it would just be any other potion. After consuming the potion, Azure Sea Breeze felt a bit off. The skin on this body started to contort, then his skin and then it started to shed off bit by bit.


    "Don''t panic, keep fighting the monsters. It''s the potion''s side effects," Lu Li announced, which calmed Azure Sea Breeze and the team. Breezy even laughed to show how calm he was. Lu Li actually didn''t know if this was normal or not.


    He remembered in hindsight that this was Professor Putricide''s work. The professor had a habit of wanting to "Kill all Azeroth creatures". The stuff that he created probably isn''t Coca-Cola.


    Lu Li watched Azure Sea Breeze become a near-skeletal human, he thought that this was perhaps an Undead Transformation potion.


    With regard to recovering Health and Magic Points, perhaps this was just to prevent the drinker from dying in the process. Professor Putricide would be dissatisfied if the target become an Undead only after death. He wanted a living person to experience what being a living skeleton was like.


    Lu Li had no idea as to why he went out of his way to do this; you could say that this scientist was truly mad.


    Lu Li wasn''t really worried if Azure Sea Breeze would change race. It was completely impossible, especially a change to an opposition''s race. He was probably going to change back after a certain amount of time. Worst comes to worst, he could get killed and be respawn again. After all, Azure Sea Breeze was a player, not an NPC of Azeroth.


    He had also already turned off pain experience. So even if he was cramped or skinned, he wouldn''t feel a thing. Other people had also turned off part of the realistic effects to make it look less scary than the real thing.


    5000 HP in 3 seconds seemed like a lot, but it was not enough to confidently kill a boss like Nefarian. Healing was still needed occasionally, just not as often as before.


    With the unnerving but powerful potion as support, the third stage was much simpler.


    As long as no one made a big mistake, then failure was unlikely. Azure Sea Breeze''s body effects were still continuing, and he had reached the last crazy stage of his transformation.


    Healers had recuperated and built up MP and had only just reached full strength.


    "The battle is about to end! Guys don''t fail now! Hang on! Everyone hang on! The First Clear is ours!" Lu Li declared encouragingly.


    "This is not possible! This is my domain! You mortals are nothing to me. You hear me?! Nothing!" Nefarian roared defiantly as his HP finally reached zero. His arrogance dying with him. His massive body seemed as if it had lost the energy that sustained it. But his body remained in his nest, as if unwilling to die.


    The Battle against Nefarian finally ended.


    System: "Congratulations players of Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court, Peerless City, Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Hachi Chan, Innocent Child¡­ Water Fairy, Star Baby¡­ Deadly Gold Underpants¡­ under Commander Lu Li''s lead completed First Clear of Black Wing''s Nest Nightmare Difficulty."


    Familiar system notification, familiar people, unfamiliar Instance Dungeon.


    While everyone was busy fighting the Little Red Dragon desperately, how was it that Ruling Sword cleared another Instance Dungeon? Surely the Dragon Slayer''s Scream couldn''t help them get ahead by that much?


    "Isn''t everyone surprised? Hahaha," Azure Sea Breeze boasted.


    Lucky Southern Persian muttered, "Really want to kill this person. If you have the guts let''s 1v1."


    Elevenless commented, "Innocent Bro transferred over already? And he made it into the First Clear team too. Jinse Sauce, what do you think?"


    "Our Elevenless is usually so calm. I wonder what President Jinse Sauce did to anger him?" Gentle East Wind wandered.


    Leaf Bro added sarcastically, "Elevenless has found someone who feels worse than him. I feel for Elevenless. How about you go and join the enemy too?"


    "I just want to know how they passed Little Red Dragon. I was hoping that no one could kill Little Red Dragon so that the officials will reduce the difficulty of this boss. Now with Ruling Sword and their antics, everyone is stuck here," Mosquito Killing Lamp grumbled.


    Third Day New Year agreed, "Exactly, our group has been stuck here for nearly two weeks now. We haven''t even made it into the third stage. At first we had three teams first clearing together, now only one team can enter at a time. Now that we''re all stuck here, probably not a single team can progress. Looks like it''s time to dissolve some guilds."


    Tiny River Boat Crossing commented, "So pitiful. Looks like a lot of guilds are going to get killed off by the Little Red Dragon."


    No matter the roasts or slander, it ultimately doesn''t change the reality that the First Clear of Black Wing''s Nest had been taken by Lu Li. This Instance Dungeon clear was made easier from the buff he got from Dragon Slayer''s Scream, the help he had gotten from Peerless City and Drizzle Court and the large volume of gold coins and healing potions that had been consumed. Otherwise, they would have definitely been stuck at the Little Red Dragon.


    In fact, players were wrong about one thing.


    They thought that because Ruling Sword had made the First Clear, that the game company and system will think this Instance Dungeon clearable through strategy. And thus, cancel any nerfs to the boss''s abilities.


    However, it was only because Ruling Sword had obtained First Clear, that the gaming company had decided to weaken Little Red Dragon.


    They didn''t want one guild to get ahead too far. This would hurt other guilds and their enthusiasm for the game. However, they also wouldn''t limit Ruling Sword. Afterall, Ruling Sword was a dark horse, and had already pulled ahead.


    Everyone knew that Dawn could give any ordinary person the opportunity to rise in power in the gaming circle.


    After strategizing through various First Clears, commanding numerous Elites, and hooking up with the gaming circle''s currently most beautiful player, there is no other profession that can allow this level of success in such a short period of time.


    Everyone knew that Dawn could give everything to a club with nothing. In less than a year, Lu Li''s first clear was talked about throughout the land of Shenzhou.


    Those who were ambitious and financially capable all watched carefully. At this time, level 60 was capped and those who could catch up could still do so. There was no perfect time than now to push ahead in Dawn!


    Under the deliberate push of the game company, the gaming industry felt the dominant power of Dawn yet again.

 1528 Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood

    Many people received skill points. This was like the System gifting everyone a present.


    However, Lu Li was not among the receivers; he could only watch on as other people celebrated. Fortunately for him, the System had rewarded him with the recipe to craft a Bloodfang Chestpiece. This was something that he could use. He had only just recently received the Nightslayer Chestpiece, so he didn''t need to upgrade that soon.


    The Bloodfang Chestpiece was on a whole different level compared to the Nightslayer Chestpiece. The stats and the special effects were all much better than the Nightslayer Chestpiece. Lu Li could also throw the Nightslayer Chestpiece into the guild storage for others to use after equipping the other Chestpiece. The room for improvement was no longer as much as pre-level 60 equipment, but even the smallest upgrade was still welcome.


    Everyone else also received rewards for the First Clear.


    Skill points, Rare Materials, Skill Books, equipment ¨C all of these were distributed accordingly. These were the benefits of running Instance Dungeons. These were distributed however they wanted to, but the items that dropped would be the ones that players would compete over.


    There was a stone that added Evasion, so Lu Li immediately took it for himself.


    This Stone had come at the right time; he had open slots in his new Chestpiece. Although other people ridiculed him for doing so, they knew that it was fair. They had struggled before Lu Li''s intervention, and he managed to clear it after three times.


    After the Stones were distributed, the Skill Books were next. Surprisingly, there was a Warrior Enhanced Charge skill book.


    Charge was one of the most important skills for Warriors, so naturally, an Enhanced Charge Skill Book would be extremely popular. Everyone''s attention was now on this Skill Book.


    Lu Li had a small problem ¨C he wanted to give this to Moonlight, but Moonlight didn''t have many guild points. They couldn''t go overboard with under-the-table manipulation after all.


    "Let''s auction it. We can come and clear it once every week anyway. This Skill Book will probably appear frequently," Lu Li announced, trying to comfort all the excited Warriors present. He wasn''t lying. Bosses of this calibre were truly quite likely for to drop Enhanced skill books. The only thing was that Enhanced Charge was not a guaranteed drop every time.


    An intense auction proceeded to break out. The bids did not stay at double digits for long and price rapidly shot up to 200.


    "220."


    World''s Best Friend felt rather nervous as this was one of the most important skills for Warriors. Any type of Warrior would be able to use this skill. The bid at 220 should have been the highest ¨C after all, the other Warriors were latecomers compared to him, or they had already received items from before.


    World''s Best Friend hadn''t received anything significant thus far. After all, there were two huge obstacles in Azure Sea Breeze and Moonlight in front of him.


    As for the other players, they just looked at each other, then helplessly sighed in disappointment.


    "Alright, it''s World''s," Lu Li declared as he proceeded to give the Skill Book to World''s Best Friend. World''s Best Friend had been saving up his guild points for a long time, yet this one book had nearly emptied his wallet.


    What Lu Li did not know was that World''s Best Friend did not learn Enhanced Charge, but gave it to Wandering instead. Furthermore, Wandering also gave the skill book to Moonlight. As for why World''s Best Friend agreed to the trade between him and Wandering, no one knew.


    Next were the rare materials, of which there were six. Lu Li took a Black Dragon''s Blood, then allowed Drizzle Court and Peerless City to each take two.


    As for the rest of the items, the Gold equips were just distributed randomly, while the Dark Gold equips were distributed according to needs. The atmosphere when dealing with these items was amicable, as the excitement from the Enhanced Charge had all but washed over.


    However, this amicable atmosphere disappeared the moment Epic items appeared.


    It couldn''t be helped. This was the day that everyone looked forward to after toiling in the dungeon for many days. Who in their right mind would not want an exquisite item to make themselves more powerful? Elite squad members who didn''t want powerful items would not be able to last in their position. There would naturally be players that were now stronger than them, despite being behind them before.


    Mis''undare, Circlet of the Mind Flayer!


    This was an Epic hat. Based on the unique effects, it seemed like it was for Healer Priests. Everyone immediately looked at the two main Priests in the squad ¨C March Rain and Star Baby. However, neither of them seemed interested.


    Lu Li suddenly understood their disinterest. This was because they were waiting on getting T2 set equipment instead of wasting their guild points on these.


    Set equipment were usually forgeable via recipes. It was quite likely that the crafted item would be exquisite, and much stronger than these individual Epic items. Furthermore, set equipment was something that all Priests wanted, so naturally, the costs would be high as well. They needed to save every last guild point they earned.


    Both of them weren''t willing to bid for it, so it would go to one of the other Priests.


    Machine Bro thought that he wouldn''t have a chance to receive equipment this time, but he managed to win the item. He immediately equipped it and laughed loudly as he looked at its properties. With these two main Priests here, he never had the opportunity to compete for T2 set equipment. However, he managed to snag this very decent item for less than 100 guild points.


    For Priests from other guilds, opportunities to pick up items like these were close to zero.


    This was a part of gaming. Some people wanted to be the big fish in a small pond, while some were satisfied being a small fish in a big pond. The key difference here was the pond. Machine Bro''s new item was the only one in the whole of Dawn.


    Neltharion''s Tear!


    All the magic-based classes were excited upon the appearance of this item.


    Lu Li sighed in his heart. With the drop of such an exquisite item, it was unlikely for the even more exquisite Ashkandi: Greatsword of the Brotherhood to drop today. However, there was a positive side to it. He didn''t want to see everyone fight over it.


    However, the truth was that he had overthought.


    This level 60 accessory had already led to fierce competition over its ownership. These magic-based players were all making trades with each other. Some were amicable exchanges, some were selling favours and others were just downright stubborn.


    "Alright. This is already the end of the Instance Dungeon. We''ll have more chances in the future. There''s no minimum bid. Everyone, you are all free to bid for the item now."


    "250!"


    A voice pierced through the air. Everyone looked towards the source of the voice, and found that it was none other than Deadly Green Orange, Drizzle Court''s professional Mage player. Red-faced, she stared back at everyone and said, "What are you guys looking at? That''s my bid. 250. Anyone who goes higher than my price can take the item."


    This was the second item that exceeded 200 points today.


    Truthfully, there weren''t any other magic-based players who could afford to pay any higher than her price. After all, she had already fought in many other previous Instance Dungeons with them and had taken a Mana Igniting Cord and a Fusion Stone at minimum price. Other players who could compete with her had already taken other decent items, while some had their guild points emptied by Lu Li. Naturally, even those who didn''t take any items wouldn''t have the amount that she had.


    She did this in the heat of the moment. No matter how many points other people had, she immediately threw out all she had.


    "Alright then. If there aren''t any more bids, this item is going to Deadly Green Orange," Lu Li said, then proceeded to hand the item to her. He didn''t feel any disappointment, since they were allies anyway. Ruling Sword would eventually become much closer to Drizzle Court and Peerless City.


    "Let''s see if there are any other items. There''s no way that a Boss of this calibre would only drop two Epic items, right?"


    "Shaman T2 Chestpiece¡­"


    "¡­"


    "¡­"


    Everyone was speechless. This was too strange! Sakura Memories was the only Shaman in the whole team.


    "Why is everyone looking at me? I¡­I''m going to be shy¡­"


    This tomboy dared to put on an embarrassed expression, as if people were ganging up on her in a corner.


    "You''re always taking the items at the minimum price. Are you cooking with the guild points that you''ve saved up?" Lu Li was also quite speechless.


    Now the ones with the most guild points saved up were Hachi Chan and Sakura Memories. Hachi Chan didn''t take many items, while Sakura Memories always took items at the minimum price.


    "It''s not like it''s on purpose¡­" Sakura Memories mumbled, expressing her innocence.


    "I''ll take 50 guild points from you, since you have a lot anyway," Lu Li said, earning the praises of the crowd.


    "50 points. Alright then. Take it." Sakura Memories didn''t care.


    As long as they didn''t bring more Shamans into the team, she would always have the opportunity to obtain items. Furthermore, since Shamans were underpowered at this current point in time, it was unlikely for more to join the team.


    "Seems like¡­seems like there''s one more," Remnant Dream announced weakly.


    After looting the Shaman set item, the System indicated that there was more to be looted.


    At this time, the items that usually dropped were mounts, pets or equipment.


    The difficulty of this final Boss in Blackwing''s Lair had far surpassed the Molten Core. It was one of the final Instance Dungeons in this version of the game. To take the First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty and have four Epic items drop was something that wasn''t too unexpected.


    "What is it?" Lu Li quickly asked.


    If it wasn''t for his horrendous luck, he would have stepped forward and looted the item himself.


    "Ashkandi: Greatsword of the Brotherhood. I think it''s a two-handed sword. Why is it a two-handed sword? Ugh. I can''t use it."


    Remnant Dream just kept talking, not realising that Lu Li was already stunned to the point of absolute speechlessness.

 1529 Making Things Difficul

    It was obvious that this was a melee two-handed sword.


    Its properties were godly, along with the unique effects, and it had an eye-catching aesthetic. Every single category that could raise its value had been ticked.


    A legendary weapon would naturally have its own story, such as Frostmourne and Ashbringer¡­


    There were two letters carved into the hilt of the sword ¨C AL, which probably stood for Anduin Lothar. Therefore, the Brotherhood that was mentioned in the name Ashkandi: Greatsword of the Brotherhood would be the Brotherhood of the Horse.


    Anduin Lothar was entrusted with many important tasks in his lifetime, one of which was the Seventh President of the Brotherhood of the Horse. This was why the sword had the Brotherhood in its name.


    As a courageous warrior, Lothar had already become a prominent royal guard in his younger days.


    After being promoted to a knight, he joined the Brotherhood of the Horse. In one of the missions to recover the Holy Book, Lothar was heavily injured while trapped in the Deadmines. After many months, he was finally saved by a rescue party and returned safely. However, he had lost the sword that his father had given to him.


    The Iron Forge and Stormwind City both agreed to forge a new weapon for this legendary warrior in the name of the Alliance.


    When the Horde invaded Azeroth, Lothar, as the highest-ranked officer in the kingdom, received the help of Garona and Medivh''s disciple Khadgar. Lothar managed to ambush the Tower of Medivh and used this sword to kill his own friend, who was like a brother to him. Of course, at that time, Medivh had already completely fallen due to Sargeras'' influence.


    Although Lothar and Khadgar managed to kill the demon-possessed Medivh, regaining the kingdom of Azeroth was not yet achieved. Elwynn Forest was burnt down by the fires from the battles, while King Llane was killed in Stormwind Castle.


    Lothar wanted to return and retake Stormwind Castle right away, so he immediately rode back with his full forces.


    Lothar mustered all the remaining soldiers and marched towards the northside of Lordaeron to gain the support of King Terenas. Then, Lothar and his army marched southwards. At that time, he was already the successor to Azeroth''s throne. Not only did he gain the approval of all citizens and warriors, but he also gained the approval of all the other human kings. When the human race realised the imminent threat was the Horde, each individual kingdom had allied together and united under the rule of Anduin Lothar.


    Although the Elves and Dwarves also joined the Alliance back then, the Bloodlust curses and the legendary evil weapon Demon Soul gave the Horde a powerful edge in their battles against the Humans. Even King Perenolde, a member of the Alliance, was losing against Orgrim.


    After this, the tables were turned suddenly. In the years prior to this, Gul''dan entered a deep slumber after the invasion of Azeroth. During this time, Orgrim used this opportunity to kill the puppet Chieftain Blackhand, which consequently destroyed Gul''dan''s Shadow Gathering. Although Gul''dan survived that battle, his hatred remained. Truthfully speaking, the Warlock Gul''dan didn''t really care about the clash with the Alliance. Instead, he saved up all his strength and energy to search for the Tomb of Sargeras. When the main force of the Horde, led by Orgrim, was attacking the kingdom of Lordaeron, this greedy Warlock slowly retreated from the battle and arranged a naval squad to go the Great Sea.


    Gul''dan''s betrayal was eventually made known. As soon as this news was confirmed, Anduin Lothar gathered every bit of manpower he could and launched a counterattack. Lothar swore to avenge King Llane. With the assistance of his right-hand man, Uther as well as others such as Turalyon, the Alliance of all the Humans, Dwarves and High Elves not only managed to defeat Chieftain Orgrim''s army, but they also managed to force them out of Lordaeron and towards the southern area, leaving the Azeroth mainland.


    The Alliance continued to march southwards and liberated Khaz Modan. Then, the Iron Forge''s Dwarves and the Gnomes from Gnomeregan also joined the Alliance''s army.


    As the highest-ranked general in the whole Alliance, Anduin Lothar began to gather his men to launch an attack on the most important point. This point was the Blackrock Spires which was situated in the central area of Azeroth.


    Unfortunately, Lothar died during the battle in the lower parts of the Spires. At the same time, Orgrim also suffered severe injuries. Surprisingly, Lothar''s death boosted the morale and determination of all the allied warriors, after which they managed to destroy the Blackrock Spires under the command of Turalyon and Uther. The Alliance warriors then pursued the remaining Horde warriors. At the end of it all, the Dark Portal was destroyed and the Horde Chieftain Orgrim became the Alliance''s captive.


    Now, Ashkandi: Greatsword of the Brotherhood was in the hands of Nefarian. The human version of Nefarian loved this sword, but he was unable to wield it. This was because his goal was to destroy the world that this sword sought to protect.


    Now that this sword was in Lu Li''s hands, there were many Warriors and Paladins lining up to be its suitor.


    Lu Li had a problem here. He began to be frustrated over why Wandering and Sky Moon couldn''t clear this Instance Dungeon themselves. That way, this AL sword wouldn''t be his problem and that he wouldn''t be blaming himself no matter who it ended up with.


    However, he was the commander and the squad leader now. He was the decision maker.


    Furthermore, the squad composition was a little complicated as well. Not only were there Ruling Sword members, but there were also many Drizzle Court and Peerless City members. Both Deadly Gold Underpants and Green Flag Wine from Peerless City were professional players who could use this weapon.


    In the first season of the championship battle of the Individual Battle Competition, Green Flag Wine managed to kill Gale Legion''s Gaze in one strike with this sword, which cemented his nickname as the ''Tire Killer''.


    Of course, this wasn''t a sword that anyone could wield.


    Moonlight, Deadly Gold Underpants, Green Flag Wine and Her Tears were the most likely to grab this item. There were more people who wanted it, but their guild points could not compare to these four.


    The first three were professional players, while Her Tears was someone who was held in high regard in Ruling Sword. He made massive contributions to the guild. Usually, if Ruling Sword members were bullied out in the wild, Her Tears would be the one to rally a group and regain the guild''s reputation. Everyone called him the Leader of Wild Battles.


    Water Fairy was unlikely to say anything.


    This wasn''t a normal item. At the very least, she could not take away the rights of Deadly Gold Underpants and Green Flag Wine to bid for this item.


    Lu Li also didn''t want any of these four to obtain this item.

 1530 Kneel on the Washing Board

    "Are there more items?" Lu Li asked Remnant Dream.


    This time Remnant Dream just stared straight at Lu Li and immediately shook her head. The shameless Lu Li was so greedy.


    "We want this item," Lu Li told Water Fairy. He examined Green Flag Wine and Deadly Gold Underpants'' expressions and saw that they weren''t especially excited. These two weren''t young and inexperienced players after all. Then, he continued to say, "Mu Qiu is planning on going down the path of DPS Paladin. I plan to give this weapon to him. He has the most points out of all the specialised classes and is also a professional player¡­"


    If it were anyone else, he wouldn''t even bother to explain this much.


    Even though Drizzle Court and Peerless City had contributed at least half of the members and resources to the team, if Lu Li didn''t include them in gaining the Dragon Slayer''s Roar and didn''t bring them to the Instance Dungeon, they would not even have a chance at taking a glimpse at this weapon. Even Glory Capital, who was much more powerful than Drizzle Court, was unable to take down the little Red Dragon.


    If he didn''t bring them along, they wouldn''t have this chance.


    However, they were allies, so he couldn''t be that imposing.


    Furthermore, the relationship between Lu Li and Water Fairy was no longer a normal boy-girl relationship, so he couldn''t be that harsh. Otherwise, he would surely be single for life.


    "If it''s like this, then you can take it," Water Fairy said as she scrunched up her forehead. Although she didn''t think that this item was a must-have, she also didn''t expect Lu Li to propose something like this.


    "Everyone''s already gotten something from this First Clear. We''re satisfied."


    "Thank you. We''ll talk later," Lu Li promised as he squeezed her hand tightly, indicating that he was going to give her something.


    "Lu Li, you''re impeccable. I hope that you won''t be abused by your wife when you get home later. I know an old doctor. He has medicine for bruises. If you need it, I''ll help you buy it."


    Azure Sea Breeze was not afraid and was pouring oil into the fire. However, his thoughts were the same as everyone else''s. No one expected Lu Li to make a proposal like this.


    Her Tears didn''t object as he wasn''t a pro player. Unless Lu Li supported him, he wouldn''t be receiving items.


    If Lu Li gave the item to Moonlight, Deadly Gold Underpants and Green Flag Wine probably would have been unhappy. They were allies after all, so he couldn''t act too out of line. If they really wanted to, they could have burst into rage and left them hanging.


    However, Lu Li planned to give this item to Mu Qiu.


    After the update, Mu Qiu chose the Retribution talent branch. He had reset his stats and focused them into DPS. He also switched his items to a whole set of Retribution Paladin equipment. Now, his role in the team was a DPS, so wanting Ashkandi: Greatsword of the Brotherhood was not out of line.


    It was a difficult task for pro players to change styles of play. They all understood this, as professional players themselves.


    The difficulty did not only come from changing old battling habits and the effects of items. For example, Mu Qiu, as a pro player, had less DPS than even Her Tears. It wasn''t that his mechanics were bad, but that his skill points could not be reset and invested into DPS skills.


    Knowing this, Mu Qiu could only improve his mechanics and equipment.


    Lu Li had fought him a few times recently and was extremely satisfied with his fighting mechanics. He felt that Mu Qiu was much more suited to going down the DPS route instead. Truthfully speaking, in Lu Li''s previous life, he recalled that Mu Qiu had chosen the DPS side. In the end, he was even recognised as the second ''Tire Killer''.


    With this, it was clear that his items were lacking. His whole body was equipped with items from the guild storage. They couldn''t even compare to the items that Her Tears was wearing.


    This was why Lu Li wanted to give the sword to him.


    For the next Donghua Cup, Mu Qiu was going to be bringing Fat Monkey along to compete. As for whether he could successfully change styles of play and allow his supporters to accept this new style, it would depend on this competition.


    Moonlight didn''t have any objections. He only lightly slapped Lu Li on the shoulder, expressing his sympathy.


    Lu Li sighed heavily, then gave the item to Mu Qiu. Then, he told Mu Qiu to give 500 gold to Remnant Dream for looting this item. To be able to make this item drop was so incredible that even Lu Li was amazed. Although this was the First Clear at Nightmare difficulty, her little lucky hand also made a huge contribution.


    "Thank you, Boss," Mu Qiu said as he quietly equipped this weapon, then gave a red packet to Remnant Dream.


    He wasn''t a talkative person. However, his slightly-red eyes were definitely not from giving the 500 gold to Remnant Dream.


    This was his dream ¨C to walk the path of DPS. In reality, he was forced to go the healing route, because it was what the guild needed. Otherwise, he would have just been on the reserves.


    He submitted because it was also his dream to be on the big stage.


    After a while, he finally transferred. Rejecting all offers from other guilds, he decided to join Ruling Sword.


    This was because Ruling Sword was a new club, which meant that there were more opportunities.


    However, he didn''t think that his dream would be realised this soon. He received Lu Li''s promise that he would be able to try changing to the DPS route.


    This type of trust and hope made him think that he was dreaming. He couldn''t understand as to why Lu Li recognised that he had a future going down the DPS route. He couldn''t even compare to a second-rate pro player. It seemed more sensible for Lu Li to give up on him and invite another Paladin into the guild.


    To fill up the hole of a Healer left behind, Lu Li even paid a large price to acquire Innocent Child from the Gangnam Royals.


    How could he not be touched?


    However, he wasn''t someone who showed large displays of gratitude. The only thing that he could do was to work hard to realise his dreams, as well as realise the hope that Lu Li had in him.


    As for skill points, he had a few left over. After all, he wasn''t the main healer in Dawn. His role was limited to a back-up Healer, which he didn''t need to try his best to achieve. As for the differences in skill points with the main pro players, he could work hard at completing quests and then joining every Instance Dungeon run possible after every cooldown to catch up to them.


    He was a hard worker and would grind endlessly to improve his skills.


    Now that his dream as a DPS was realised, the next goal was to defeat the ''Tire Killer'' and become Dawn''s number one Paladin.


    Since the Instance Dungeon was finished, everyone left, besides those who were completing quests inside.


    After exiting the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li immediately went to look for Water Fairy.


    They were in a relationship in the game system, so they were able to see each other''s position on the map.


    In the streets of Stormwind City, a masked female Thief was walking, while another masked male Thief was following behind her every step of the way.


    As the female Thief entered an accessory store, he would follow. The female Thief would enter a clothing store, and he would too. The female Thief strolled along the stores, and so did the male Thief. He maintained his distance but kept following even when the streets were crowded. He never lost her. Not even once.


    Lu Li sharply realised that Water Fairy was unhappy; she was a little different to normal.

 1531 Apology

    She was still a girl at the end of the day. Water Fairy enjoyed shopping and would always stop to stare at the things that she liked.


    However, today, she barely stopped and she didn''t buy anything either.


    It seems like all the flashy in=game items did not interest her at all.


    Stormwind started raining lightly and her hair became damp.


    Lu Li guessed that Water Fairy liked the rain because she was born in Jiangnan. Her name and nickname were both associated with Water.


    However, if a light rain turned into a downpour then nobody would like that.


    It rains in Dawn as well to make it seem more realistic.


    "It''s raining, let''s go somewhere else," Lu Li suggested as he pulled her over.


    She did not hesitate at all and followed closely behind him. The flowers and vines outside the store created the perfect cover for them.


    The owner must have logged off because the flower store wasn''t open. It was very quiet here.


    No one would come here to avoid the rain because there wasn''t much space and there wasn''t anything to do.


    "I have a question for you," Lu Li said.


    "What?"


    "If someone made you mad, what would they have to do for you to forgive him?"


    "I''m not mad," Water Fairy denied.


    When she was not smiling, Water Fairy has a very cold and emotionless resting face. However, when she smiled, it was more beautiful than anything in the world. Even the Stormwind rain could not mask her beauty. Lu Li wanted to make her happy all the time and did not ever want to see the smile leave her face.


    "Hypothetically?"


    "Hypothetically, they just have to apologize." Water Fairy was slightly annoyed at how sly Lu Li was.


    At first, she felt a little angry, but rather than anger, she realized she was more sad and disappointed because Lu Li wanted her to give up the item, which showed that he didn''t really understand her.


    An emperor used to light up the smoke signal to gather up the allied forces as a prank to please his wife. The wife laughed at the allied kings and nobles. They did this a few more times until they stopped coming. Then one day when the Mongolians invaded, no one came to their rescue and the king was killed.


    Water Fairy obviously did not want Lu Li to be like the emperor. However, the point of this story was that other people were willing to give away their kingdom to please their loved ones. So why couldn''t Lu Li give up this piece of equipment for her?


    As for the reason for Mu Qiu to change jobs, it was important for him so Lu Li and the other guys understood. However, Water Fairy could not understand because she was a girl. Naturally, male and females had different thinking and they never cared about the reasoning.


    "I''m sorry. Next time something drops that you can use, I''ll give it to you," Lu Li guaranteed.


    He sounded sincere, not as if he just wanted to solve the problem.


    "You can actually private message me. Why do you have to be so blunt?"


    When Lu Li thought about it, part of the reason she was mad was because she lost face. She conceded in front of all her guild mates.


    "I.. I didn''t think we needed to hide anything," Lu Li said.


    "Ah?" Water Fairy didn''t think Lu Li would say something like this. She thoguht that a lot of men had an authority complex where they need to be the leader or the one in control of the relationship. She suspected that Lu Li probably just wanted to show off his authority over the leader of Drizzle Court and Peerless City.


    This was why she was so upset and had walked around Stormwind for so long without realizing.


    "Okay, I won''t be mad anymore." Water Fairy was a very truthful girl, so when she was no longer feeling upset, she would say so.


    "Thank you for not being angry anymore."


    Lu Li held onto her hands tightly and didn''t want to let go.


    "Someone''s looking in our direction," Water Fairy reminded him.


    "I don''t care," Lu Li said shamelessly. He didn''t want to push it too far and just held her hands tightly.


    The two of them stood underneath the drizzling Stormwind rain while holding hands together, almost like a scene in a painting.


    The second day, Lu Li did not find Water Fairy and did not continue with Solomon''s quest because another Stronghold War was about to begin.


    There weren''t any new maps again. At this stage, there would probably only be a new map introuced every 1 to 3 months. The frequency of Stronghold Wars would decrease as well because it was too tiring to do this every week.


    The auction was this morning and in the afternoon was the battle.


    No matter how rundown the two pieces of land that Lu Li had were, everyone still wanted them.


    They had remained in control after countless battles. Drizzle Court and Peerless City was doing much better. Glory Capital was also performing well because of their seemingly unlimited funds, while Blood Red War Flag and the Wings of Dawn were being ganged up on.


    Drizzle Court''s Stronghold was under attack by Peerless City.


    This meant that Water Fairy had won the auction for her own land. Since she was so rich, unless the other clubs kept raising the money, that land of hers would be safe forever.


    Wings of Dawn won Tanaris which was actually an even more rundown Stronghold. Nevertheless, a Stronghold was a Stronghold. However, they wouldn''t be sitting on it for too long before the Gangnam Royals took it from them.


    The Gangnam Royals seemed to have run out of funds so they decided to challenge the weaker Tanaris.


    They had lost two major players, but hired a number of mercenaries.


    Apparently, they had also upgraded their equipment a lot and conducted a lot of training.


    Blood Red War Flag was under attack by Peerless City, which meant that Peerless City had to attack them in addition to Drizzle Court.


    However, it was obvious that the battle between Drizzle Court and Peerless City would not showcase any of the key players.

 1532 Bloodvine Juice

    It didn''t matter if it was Seventh Heaven or Glory Capital; they wouldn''t be suckers. They had spent significant money on the attack and they weren''t just messing around for fun.


    Therefore, Grey Valley and the Black Sea Coast were both faced with the full force attack of a powerful club.


    Wandering and Sky Moon were responsible for Grey Valley''s defense, while Lu Li was in the Black Sea Coast, facing off against the enemy Glory Capital. They each brought 80 people, all of them from the core Elites of Ruling Sword. Although Water Fairy could definitely have lent them some people, Lu Li thought it wasn''t necessary.


    At the moment, the Stronghold system still favoured the defending side.


    The attacking side could only select 40 people, and then out of 200 people, another 40 were randomly taken out. That was to say, Glory Capital needed to use 240 of their core players against Lu Li''s 80 people. Taking into consideration Ruling sword''s two battlefronts, it was actually a fight between 240 on one side and 160 on the other.


    Lu Li hadn''t thought about whether the quality of his 160 members was better than that of Glory Capital''s 240. Actually, he didn''t really need to think about it. As long as the difference wasn''t too great, he was confident that he could hold the Stronghold.


    The Black Sea Coast''s Stronghold this week was already different to Black Sea Coast''s Stronghold from last week.


    This was because Lu Li had planted an Ancient of Lore in Grey Valley''s stronghold. Although it was still a sapling, even at this stage, it would still prove to be useful. Lu Li believed that for now, no one would be able to break through its line of defense. Therefore, for the past 2 weeks, Ruling Sword had been making the Black Sea Coast''s Stronghold a priority. The city walls had been exchanged for giant rocks.


    However, Lu Li also knew that this couldn''t stop Glory Capital.


    The previous time, Glory Capital had started using Fire Bombs. Since they could find Fire Bombs, evidently, they could continue to find other types of artillery as well.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t afraid of them ¨C he had experienced rebirth after all.


    As least for the first few times they defended their Strongholds, Lu Li simply relied on the advantage of being reborn to easily deal with it.


    Glory Capital''s commander was Sorrowless, and this time, he had a stronger will than ever. The reason why he didn''t choose Grey Valley and chose the Black Sea Coast instead was not at all because he knew that there was an Ancient of Lore. Rather, it was because he first wanted to occupy the Black Sea Coast, thereby cutting off Lu Li''s Grey Valley Stronghold and the link with Darnassus.


    Lu Li didn''t arrange for anyone to protect the arrow tower as it wasn''t necessary.


    Glory Capital pushed forward along one route. In the Wild, and where they were heading, there weren''t any advantages. They also protected their chariots very carefully, as last time, their strategy didn''t pan out.


    Actually, there weren''t any secrets to a Stronghold battle. After any method had been used just a few times, there basically wasn''t much new to try.


    Not including Fire Bombs, those strategies were all ''difficult'' strategies. Even if you knew about those Fire Bombs, it didn''t really matter. In any case, chariots would have to fire some sort of artillery, regardless of what type it was.


    "They''re coming soon!" the person responsible for looking out for the enemy reported.


    "Get ready," Lu Li said, raising his hand. After a moment, he yelled, "Pour it out!"


    Sorrowless, bringing his people with him, had already arrived at the Black Sea Coast''s wall. These few days, Ruling Sword had been continuing to reinforce the wall. Of course, Sorrowless and co. had already known for a while, so they weren''t surprised at all when they saw that it was larger.


    This time, they might not have only brought Fire Bombs¡­


    "What are those?" White Westhill asked in fear.


    Actually, it wasn''t only him that was confused. All of Glory Capital''s members looked up at the wall in confusion. There, Ruling Sword''s members had been carrying buckets of black liquid and pouring it down. The originally grey wall quickly became pitch black; it looked like it had been covered with a layer of asphalt.


    "What is this damn stuff?" Sorrowless didn''t understand what he was seeing.


    "Looks like some sort of oil, but if it was oil, then wouldn''t that just be asking to die against our Fire Bombs?"


    White Westhill also couldn''t understand what he was seeing, let alone the members on Ruling Sword''s side.


    After all, when Lu Li sent people to collect up this stuff, he kept it secret, for fear that other people would find out.


    There were only a few people who knew he was collecting this stuff. Even those people who were collecting it didn''t know why they were doing it.


    "I know, it''s Bloodvine!" someone on Glory Capital''s side exclaimed. This player with a very ugly face then explained to his boss, "Outside the Troll training tower, aren''t there are a lot of plant monsters? One of them is a Bloodvine monster; it looks like it''s over level 40. When you attack it, it sprays blood¡­"


    "Shut up with that nonsense, what are its effects?" White Westhill interrupted with his deep voice.


    "It''s very tough and firm. Some players would cover themselves with Bloodvine juice and go and fight other monsters. It increases defense by a lot," the player answered, with a wailing face.


    "It increases defense, but how exactly does it increase?" White Westhill and Sorrowless glanced at each other, both feeling a bit ridiculous.


    "Yeah, if you wipe a layer of Bloodwine juice over your body, you''re pretty much immune from most of fire, ice, shadow and physical damage. Sometime did the maths, and it can decrease damage by at least 80%," the player explained.


    "Why haven''t we heard about it? If what you say is true, then why doesn''t everyone just apply it on their bodies, then go down to the Instance Dungeon and fight the boss?"


    White Westhill was feeling rather bewildered. According to what was said, if they covered their whole bodies with this vine juice, then fighting the little Red Dragon would be child''s play.


    "No, this vine juice isn''t effective on monsters over level 40."


    Evidently, this player had also thought


    about this possibility before.


    A level 40 plant was only effective against monsters under level 40. Furthermore, Bloodvines weren''t easy to kill ¨C if someone could kill a Bloodvine, then they wouldn''t be training on monsters under level 40. So although some players would give this Bloodvine juice to their lower level friends, it wasn''t something worth spreading the word about.


    White Westhill ran up to the chariots with the same quality panels as the previous chariots, and was astounded to see that all of them were level 1.


    This was a level 1 Stronghold, so naturally, all the chariots were also level 1.


    "This is cheating!" White Westhill could only feel a ball of fury flooding his head.


    Sorrowless also had an unpleasant look on his face. With his eyes wide open, he looked at Lu Li and his team as they coated the entire wall.


    To wait and pour it right in front of their faces was simply an act of ridicule.


    "Actually¡­to get through this sort of Bloodvine is actually quite easy¡­" that player said submissively.


    "Then why didn''t you speak up earlier!" White Westhill really wanted to just slap this guy to the ground.


    "You just need to use some acid, and it will corrode. A drop of acid can neutralize an area of juice. We just have to pour some acid onto the artillery¡­"


    The player''s voice became softer and softer as he spoke, because he saw the increasing rage in White Westhill''s eyes.


    "Does anyone have acid in their backpack?" White Westhill asked.


    Glory Capital''s players looked at each other with blank dismay. No one said anything in reply ¨C before they went into the Stronghold battlefield, everyone prepared their backpacks. The backpacks were only filled with things useful for the battle, like various potions and various pieces of alternate equipment. No one had randomly brought a few bottles of acid with them.


    Therefore, that player knew that what he said was purely useless.


    "This is really just a one-time strategy; we can''t use it next time. As long as they only have a bit of acid, they can corrode all our Bloodvine juice."


    At the time, Lu Li was speaking to the people around him. With a satisfied laugh, he continued, "But I don''t think there''s any idiot on that side who''s got any acid with them."


    With a cold face, Sorrowless gave the command to attack.


    Fire Bombs, Ice Bombs, Spike Bombs¡­he had prepared a smorgasbord for today''s Stronghold battle. He just didn''t have any Acid Bombs!

 1533 Not Going Righ

    Sorrowless was a macho sort of guy, and he didn''t know what it meant to give up.


    He had previously played a game where there were no time limits. As soon as he entered the game, he didn''t sleep for three days in a row, going from knowing nothing at all to knowing everything there was to know. In a few short weeks, he was regularly in the top three on the rankings and the occupation circles took direct notice of him.


    Afterwards, the leadership circles invited him to a few top-level clubs. He joined the Glory Capital club at West Mountain Sunset.


    At the time, Glory Capital was almost already half disbanded. They didn''t even have a proper competitor and the guild couldn''t make ends meet. They had long since lost the ability to attract players or to turn a profit.


    However, Sorrowless didn''t give up. He lobbied for some lower level players to join to start developing the guild again.


    Like Ruling Sword, he did the impossible by leading this guild to become one of the best. It became a holy land that players competed with each other to join.


    He wasn''t as lucky as Lu Li though. When Sorrowless first entered the leadership circles, he encountered difficulty after difficulty, but no matter how many failures he experienced, he never gave up.


    Under his leadership, Glory Capital had walked up to the altar. Under his leadership, Glory Capital embodied the spirit of never giving up. The most basic requirement of leading a successful guild was keeping the style of the group consistent with the leader''s spirit. If you couldn''t keep it consistent, then you were simply a leader, not a spiritual leader.


    Even so, Sorrowless knew he couldn''t knock down Ruling Sword''s wall.


    Sorrowless had already given the command to attack. His pride and his principles didn''t let him give up straight away.


    The chariots rumbled and fired. In a game set in a Western fantasy, you rarely saw this kind of thing.


    Normal artillery, that is, the cheapest kind, would hit the stone walls and the result would be shattering, but now, it was completely different. When this type of artillery hit the walls covered with Bloodvine juice, it just made a dull sound.


    Evidently, they couldn''t be too optimistic about the damage this would do.


    There were also Fire Bombs and Ice Bombs.


    This sort of combination of Ice Bombs and Fire Bombs was usually terrifying. However, apart from Acid, the Black Sea Coast''s Stronghold had nothing to be afraid of at the moment.


    The damage of the Spike Bombs was mainly targeted towards the chariots on the top of the wall. The battle hadn''t been going on for long, but a few of Ruling Sword''s chariots had already fallen apart. Lu Li had no choice but to scatter the chariots around a bit.


    This was all that Glory Capital could do.


    As the battle commenced, Ruling Sword''s members continued to douse the wall in Bloodvine juice.


    While it still appeared to be all in vain, Glory Capital upheld their fierce offense. It was as if they wouldn''t be satisfied until they used up all the artillery they had brought with them.


    "This isn''t normal¡­" Lu Li muttered as he sat on a chair on top of the wall. With a frown on his face, he was lost in thought. Despite the atmosphere of the rumbling of chariots, all of this was still costing money. Normal artillery didn''t cost a lot, but artillery with special qualities that had gone through production was different.


    For example, you had to do quests with the army camps to build up Reputation. Once you reached a certain amount of Reputation, only then would you have the right to buy Fire Bombs.


    When you bought them, not only did they cost gold, but they also cost Reputation. Therefore, the number of Fire Bombs each person could buy every week was limited. It was only because Glory Capital had so many people that they could save up enough to use in a battle.


    Under normal circumstances, after seeing that it would have no effect, Glory Capital shouldn''t have continued to waste their resources.


    After all, they could only fight once a week, so they would still have chances in the future.


    Sorrowless wouldn''t give up easily, but he also wasn''t stupid. He should have known which choice to make.


    Since it was like this, they still had to keep flaunting their superiority. This only meant that they were stalling for time, or they had other methods.


    "Left Hand, take some people and go protect our Stronghold''s crystal. Rice Ball, you go too. Open a door above the side of the crystal. I suspect they might try and launch a surprise attack on it," Lu Li instructed as he looked down from the top of the wall. Because there were chariots acting as bunkers, he didn''t know how many people their opponent still had down there.


    Lu Li could just fly into someone else''s Stronghold with Hachi Chan. Why couldn''t Glory Capital?


    Now, it wasn''t just the two of them who could fly, and it wasn''t just Sesame Rice Ball who could operate the Warlock''s Summoning Portal. Just to be on the safe side, Lu Li couldn''t wait stupidly doing nothing.


    "March, you keep watch here. If anything happens, call me and I''ll come have a look."


    Lu Li quickly changed into a crow, flapping his wings as he took off into the air and flying a few circles around Glory Capital''s chariots. He didn''t need to come down to know that their opponent''s numbers spelled trouble for them.


    "Left Hand, you guys have to be a bit careful; they''ve got 20 to 40 less people there," Lu Li reported.


    Perhaps Glory Capital was worried that they would be discovered, so their numbers didn''t decrease by that much. However, if Lu Li remained unaware of this, then 20 to 40 people would have been enough to launch a surprise attack on the Stronghold crystal.


    "We''ve arrived at the crystal. Nothing''s happened," Cain''s Left Hand quickly replied.


    "Hehe, since they haven''t arrived yet, then we can set up an ambush. Rice Ball, open the portal and pull people through. Starting from team 7, call 50 people over to join the ambush. Make sure you destroy all of them," Lu Li said with a treacherous smile. It was as though he had already seen the expressions of Glory Capital''s people who had come to take them by surprise, but were taken by surprise themselves.


    With Sesame Rice Ball, this would naturally be arranged very quickly.


    If they could successfully deal with these 20 or 40 people, then they would gain at least a dozen or so pieces of Epic equipment. In a Stronghold battle, it was the equipment that attracted Lu Li most.


    Defending wasn''t hard; the difficult part was defending the Stronghold and also gaining some equipment.


    Lu Li also flew over and landed on the top of the centre hall. If anyone came over, he would spot them.


    They already had everything; they just needed to wait for Sorrowless to deliver some equipment!


    Time slowly passed, and after a full 10 minutes, there was still no movement. Even if Lu Li was a really patient person, at that point, he was getting quite anxious.


    Those 20 or 40 people couldn''t have left the Stronghold battlefield, so they must have had different targets. Apart from the Stronghold crystal, where else could they go¡­


    They could only claim victory in a Stronghold battle if they destroyed the Stronghold crystal.


    "Something''s not quite right. Are they messing with us¡­? Could it be that they knew they couldn''t win, so they did this to scare us¡­?" Cain''s Left Hand guessed.


    "Do you think Sorrowless is that kind of person?" Lu Li said sourly.


    "Um¡­"


    He couldn''t not say anything, but Cain''s Left Hand preferred to believe his own boss wasn''t so tedious as to do this for no reason. Sorrowless was someone with status, but evidently, he wouldn''t do something like this.

 1534 Staying Behind

    "Where we are, there are people coming up."


    It was March Rain''s voice.


    March Rain?


    The wall!


    Lu Li immediately understood the situation. Sorrowless'' people really were bumbling in to enter the Stronghold; it''s just that they didn''t come to attack the crystal. Or perhaps they originally were going to attack the crystal, but in the process of doing so, they realised that Lu Li had set a trap for them, so they went back to the wall.


    Ruling Sword only left 30 people at the wall.


    If they sent 20 or 30 people up there, they would have more, but that would mean¡­


    Would it be that they had to stop defending the Stronghold Crystal?


    Lu Li made a snap decision.


    "March, you command everyone in defending the wall. You don''t need to save the chariots, but you can''t let them take the wall!"


    March Rain didn''t say anything, but Lu Li could hear her commanding the people left on the wall to defend. She used the chariots as a protective screen to block Glory Capital''s players.


    This girl who when she first entered the game was so frightened by a wolf that she cried, was now bearing the burden of commanding a Stronghold battle.


    Glory Capital didn''t actually have all that many people ¨C only 40 or 50. The rest of the people were down there controlling the chariots.


    They needed to destroy the wall before they could claim the final victory. Otherwise, even if they could seize the wall, it wouldn''t be all that useful. After all, Lu Li could just come over and chase them away.


    The respawn point for Glory Capital was under the city, while Ruling Sword''s respawn point was on the wall.


    Lu Li didn''t take anyone from the Stronghold crystal group to go back; that would be too slow. He actually had a quicker method, which required Sesame Rice Ball to cooperate with him.


    Warlocks had many weird and wonderful skills, and one of them was called Hellfire.


    Hellfire did continual damage within a certain area. Every second, you, as well as ten or so people around you, would suffer damage. When it was at its full level, it would do close to 200 base damage, and skill damage bonuses could further increase its damage. If this skill killed the caster, then the caster''s equipment wouldn''t lose any durability. Therefore, if a team was going through a dire situation, they would often use this skill and save on the repair fee.


    Sesame Rice Ball first converted his health to mana, then used Hellfire.


    He managed to quickly kill himself and after he died, he chose to resurrect at the respawn point at the wall. As soon as he resurrected there, he immediately opened a Summoning Portal. People had already begun to die at the top of the wall, and these people who died resurrected right beside Sesame Rice Ball.


    Using the Summoning Portal, they directly summoned the people from the Stronghold crystal over.


    The respawn point at the wall wasn''t far from where the battle was, so everyone was able to quickly join in.


    Currently, Glory Capital held the advantage. They quickly ruined Ruling Sword''s chariots, but people taking damage and dying actually had its own advantages. Along with Ruling Sword gaining more and more people in the battle, Glory Capital''s grasp over the situation wasn''t as firm anymore.


    "Ok then, jump down!" Sorrowless yelled, giving the order to pull out.


    The remaining Glory Capital players jumped down and left.


    "Coming when you want, leaving when you want ¨C what a nice thing it is, leaving behind Sorrowless!"


    Lu Li had fiercely attached himself to Sorrowless'' back. He had led a sneak attack against him and used a variety of skills on his opponent as if they didn''t cost a thing. He was focusing on Sorrowless the whole time; he was waiting for this very moment. Because they lost the advantage of the chariots and then went to lose further, Lu Li got his morale back.


    However, Sorrowless didn''t actually lack skills to rid himself of the crowd control. He casually dispelled the stun, then after that, used a Frost Nova to freeze Lu Li in his steps.


    Thieves were the kings of crowd control, on the same level as a Mage.


    Bang!


    A figure crashed onto Sorrowless'' body; it was a Warrior who had cast Charge.


    After a Mage cast an Unleash skill they were momentarily paralysed. In a normal battle, this could almost be ignored, but in front of someone like Moonlight, this split second of paralysis was enough for him to crowd-control his opponent.


    Sorrowless wasn''t worried; he still had a skill to get rid of the crowd control. Furthermore, his Blink had already gone off cooldown.


    In a moment, he could get rid of the crowd control and immediately use a Blink. He could then leap down from the wall and return to his own camp.


    However, something that stupefied everyone around them happened in an instant.


    With a Charge, Moonlight crashed into Sorrowless'' body. Everyone hoped that Sorrowless would be struck down right where he was, but this didn''t happen. Rather, the crash sent Sorrowless flying.


    The place that Moonlight chose to charge to was just right. With this one charge, he sent Sorrowless straight out the wall.


    However, he wasn''t knocked out of the Stronghold ¨C rather, he fell within.


    Along with Sorrowless jumping down, there was Moonlight. While rushing towards Sorrowless, he cried out in a loud voice, "Lu Li, you don''t need to come. Leave it to me and it''ll be fine."


    "Ok," Lu Li said, casually blocking a Glory Capital player who wanted to jump over the wall. He was fine to let Moonlight take care of Sorrowless; he believed that Moonlight was capable of defeating him. At the very least, he wouldn''t allow Sorrowless to run away. Even if you gave him a pair of wings, he wouldn''t be able to escape.


    The player that Lu Li had blocked could have escaped, but when he saw what had happened, he wanted to stay back to protect his boss. Now that he was in Lu Li''s hands, it would be difficult to leave even if he wanted to.


    This player was dealt with quickly.


    However, dealing with Sorrowless inside the Stronghold was a slower process. After all, he was a well-matched opponent.


    Lu Li couldn''t help admiring Sorrowless either. Any other player who had just been thrust into enemy territory probably wouldn''t have been able to calm themselves down for the battle.


    Against an opponent like Moonlight, you only needed to be a little flustered and he would be able to grab hold of this weakness.


    The last wave of battle looked pretty evenly-matched, but actually, Ruling Sword suffered quite a few losses. After all, all their chariots had been destroyed. If there weren''t chariots defending on the wall, then Glory Capital''s chariots could inch a bit closer, and the closer the chariots got, the more damage they did.


    However, in terms of members, Ruling Sword didn''t lose too much.


    Sesame Rice Ball returned quickly and Glory Capital didn''t retreat in time. Even Sorrowless remained.


    Moonlight finally won against Sorrowless ¨C after all, his HP wasn''t full to begin with. He had only just gone through a battle then, so quite a few of his skills were also still cooling down.


    Sorrowless left behind a Mage''s T2 set equipment, which was not a bad reward.


    The following battle was relatively intense. Glory Capital''s chariots moved ahead, and their ability to attack around the wall increased. At the same time, they could fire at people on the wall.


    Not only did Ruling Sword come under attack on the wall, but they also had to split their forces in two. Some had to go over to defend the Stronghold Crystal.


    Time passed by and Glory Capital once again infiltrated the Stronghold. It looked like they wanted to launch a sudden attack on the Stronghold crystal.


    Only after Lu Li sent people over to help with the Stronghold Crystal did he realise that it was a diversion. The real target was the wall. By the time they had gone back to help defend the wall, Glory Capital''s members had initiated a battle at the Stronghold Crystal.


    It was a good thing that Sesame Rice Ball had come back to life. This way, Ruling Sword''s members were still able to support the battle in time.


    By the time the battle ended, Ruling Sword still held onto the Stronghold. At the end of the day, if they couldn''t destroy the wall, then everything was in vain.

 1535 Rise of the Mercenaries

    As long as the walls didn''t fall, Glory Capital wouldn''t be able to create a respawn point within Ruling Sword''s Stronghold. If Sorrowless could break down the walls and plant a respawn point within it, his troops could infiltrate the Stronghold and even if they were to die fighting, they would at least be able to save time by spawning right into battle. In the end, Ruling Sword had once again successfully defended the Black Sea Coast against Glory Capital.


    Ruling Sword''s defense of their Grey Valley Stronghold was equally successful. Despite Seventh Heaven''s aggressive strategy, with the Ancient of Lore summoning endless armies of Saplings, even the most forceful advances looked like child''s play. The Saplings may have had low health, defense and attack, but their numbers made them a notable threat. With the Saplings by Ruling Sword''s side, Seventh Heaven never stood a chance.


    Although Lu Li had successfully held his ground against Glory Capital, the number of equips he had looted was a disappointment. Wandering and his team on the other hand, having taken down all 80 players from Seventh Heaven, had looted at least twenty pieces of equipment, with most of them being Epic. Ruling Sword was currently guarding two Strongholds, both of which were highly desirable to rivalling guilds. Stronghold fights were anticipated, and more players participating only meant an increase in economic benefits. After all, as long as a guild could defend their Stronghold, the weekly battle was a free looting event. Unfortunately, with a new update coming, Stronghold fights would be reduced to once a fortnight. The chances of a new map opening up every month would also decrease, and the compulsory Stronghold raids would only open up during the middle of the month. The frequency decreasing only meant a decrease in profit.


    Water Fairy''s success in holding down her Stronghold was anticipated; the raiders were in the same guild after all. However, the two raiding Blood Red War Flag''s Stronghold had failed. It was rumoured that their fight was intense and brutal. Blood Red War Flag''s Stronghold walls were broken down and they had no choice but to fall back to defend the crystal. Desperate as they were, many players in Blood Red War Flag suffered heavy losses in equipment. They seemed to have won by the skin of their teeth because of the backup armour they had bought with them. In the end, Water Fairy might not have taken down her enemy''s Stronghold, but she had at least profited by the generous amount of equipment she had acquired.


    Many players agreed that Glory Capital''s failure to raid Ruling Sword''s Stronghold was unfortunate. After all, the use of Bloodvine juice to hold off enemies was a predictable tactic. It was only Sesame Rice Ball''s unending arsenal of support-type spells that won them the victory. The most surprising news, however, was the fact that the Gangnam Royals were able to take down the Tanaris Stronghold, which Wings of Dawn had obtained only by making a deal with Peerless City''s Soul Eater. It had no doubt cost them a fortune and was lost after a week.


    The Gangnam Royals was once a hotshot guild ¨C they had strong, competitive players such as Innocent Child and Dancing Star Dream and were always ranked in the top three during guild competitions. They had a significant number of members and were even ranked second in the Chinese server. Unfortunately, the founding of Ruling Sword marked the downfall of the Gangnam Royals. Not only had the Gangnam Royals become a stepping stone for Ruling Sword to rise through the ranks, but other rival guilds had quickly capitalized on the opportunity to overthrow a veteran guild. With that being said, the Gangnam Royals had become the most unfortunate guild of the year. Members fled as soon as they realised that there was no more hope in restoring the power that they once had. Even Innocent Child had quit and joined the enemy. Despite Heart of War hoping to restore his guild''s reputation by achieving a win through the Stronghold battles, suffering countless losses against Ruling Sword meant that he had no choice but to admit that he was no match for Lu Li. Thus, Heart of War decided to shift his focus to defeating Wings of Dawn by creating a task force made of players from the Four Mercenary Groups. The group refused to take orders from Heart of War; only a small percentage was made of players from the Gangnam Royals. Many mocked them as an uncoordinated rabble, and the Wings of Dawn probably thought so as well. Who knew that in the end, the Gangnam Royals would prevail against Wings of Dawn and became one of the five guilds in Dawn to own a Stronghold?


    Dawn players were beginning to recognise a few star figures from the mercenary world. Mercenaries were strong on their own; their skills in looting and the number of resources they owned put many guilds to shame. As such, many mercenaries were recently scouted by guilds to form partnerships and trades. Although the Four Mercenary Groups were the most recognizable amongst Dawn players, the truth was that there were countless skilful and capable mercenary groups.


    Lu Li decided that he would form a partnership with some mercenaries as well. The Trading League was a valued partner by Ruling Sword. Ever since Lu Li had met one of the Trading League''s founders ¨C Half-Life Crystal, the two associations had maintained a beneficial alliance. Ruling Sword would buy materials and useful resources from the Trading League in exchange for helping them out with missions. Such mission included eliminating troublemakers that decided to harass the League. The Guild Very Vulgar Very Violent was an example of an annihilated guild targeted by Ruling Sword so as to help out the Trading League. Lu Li had plans to expand on their partnership with Trading League, such as transferring trading type players from Ruling Sword to the Trading League. Not only could he be getting rid of baggage, but it would also open up spaces for him to recruit stronger players as well. At the same time, the Trading League would be in charge of all maintenance work for Ruling Sword. Lu Li''s past three landladies ¨C Little Bear Huan Huan, Willow and Yi Yi would join the Trading League and act as representatives of Ruling Sword. They would ensure that the Trading League would not one day throw Lu Li under the bus. As for benefits to their manpower, Lu Li''s previous partners, Buggy and Blacky, had formed a mercenary group and had even recruited many assassins from Death Camp. They could be considered as a suicide squad and prevented Ruling Sword from getting their hands dirty.


    With Ruling Sword rising in the guild ranks, the threat that Buggy and his squad posed had long ceased.

 1536 Meeting Fordring Again

    After Lu Li had finished up his work at the Strongholds, he hurried to meet up with Major Solomon. Lu Li still had to deliver the chests of potions that he and Solomon had looted from the Demilich, and since all the items were labelled as quest items, keeping the loot for himself was out of the question.


    "Damn Elf, you sure took your time," Solomon cursed as his eyes glowed red, his tone furious.


    "Better late than never," Lu Li said as he ignored the Major''s rage and handed him the chests. Major Solomon''s expression lit up instantly.


    "Thank God, I thought something happened to you. How did you even manage to escape on that day? A few Death Knights pursued me for hours. Thankfully, since I''m a Thief, I was able to escape and return to my base."


    Solomon had never been so grateful to be the same class as the one that most young nobles looked down upon. As a Thief, he might not be able to take down even one Death Knight, but he had the skills to escape them.


    "I''m here; that''s all that matters," Lu Li responded, then added, "Shall we report on our mission? The base would be overjoyed to see these potions."


    "Um, I can manage on my own," Solomon said as he paled slightly. There was no way he was going to share the honour of looting these potions with Lu Li ¨C rewards were better enjoyed alone than shared after all. Solomon had his own ambitions, such as quitting as a scout and focusing on rising through the ranks. Having Lu Li around was not going to help him.


    "Is that so? Might I remind you then, that if it wasn''t for a certain someone feeding you information, your supposed ''single-handed'' takedown of the Demilich would also mean that you would have left your post? You would have had to abandon your duties, Major Solomon," Lu Li chided, savoring his words slowly.


    "You''re threatening me," Solomon responded as he grew furious.


    "Stop joking around; how could I possibly threaten you, Major? We''re partners, after all," Lu Li said humbly.


    "You should be mindful of your greed. I''ve given you what''s yours ¨C overstep and it''ll be your life on the line," Solomon snapped. The Major was genuinely grateful for Lu Li''s contributions to this mission, but he was right. Solomon had rewarded Lu Li befittingly and did not owe him anything.


    "That maybe so, but I would like to go with you to meet the commander," Lu Li requested.


    In the end, Solomon gave up and took Lu Li with him to meet the commander ¨C General Halford Rebane. Rebane was nominally the Chief Commander of the Alliance since he only had power amongst the Seventh Regiment. Not even Dwarves or those rowdy soldiers of the Alliance would bat an eyelid at him.


    Lu Li followed Solomon into the camp and saw the Head of The Seventh Regiment. Lu Li himself was only team leader of a scouting team, while General Halford Rebane was his highest commanding officer. From the moment they met, Rebane had already put on an air of reluctance. It wasn''t because he was naturally condescending, but as Chief Commander, he just had too much on his plate. It wasn''t surprising that Rebane''s body language sent out the message of his hesitancy to waste his time on low-ranking officers. Major was a low rank in itself, not to mention Solomon was only able to join the military because of his ties with the nobles. Lu Li was ranked even lower; he was no different to a sentry.


    "Oh, why are you here?" a voice boomed. Lu Li had only realised that a fourth familiar figure was in the room after he had finished bowing to the Commander. It was Fordring!


    "Your Excellency!" Lu Li was taken back by surprise, and for once, his expression was genuine. After all, Lu Li had never once imagined that he would meet the old man in such a place. He still remembered the first time he had met Fordring ¨C the was holding a blunt axe with bundles of woods at his feet. Fordring was a veteran Knight turned woodcutter. Lu Li was able to trigger a quest that was supposedly exclusive to Paladins, but in ''Of Love and Family'' he never once forgot Fordring''s words.


    "Real honour cannot be measured by class or race, but only by a person''s actions and morals!" While Lu Li had also regretted not being able to save Fordring''s son, Tyran''s death had inspired Tirion Fordring to resurrect the Silver Hand Regiment. Tirion must have been travelling from city to city to recruit past Silver Hand members, and had coincidentally bumped into Lu Li here.


    "We meet again, my friend. You still haven''t answered my question ¨C why are you here?" Fordring asked as he smiled warmly. Fordring was paler than the first time he saw Lu Li but was visibly more spirited.


    "He has recently been promoted to second lieutenant of a scouting team under The Seventh Regiment, Your Excellency," Solomon answered.


    "Yes, I''m here to report on some affairs," Lu Li echoed.


    "So, you two have met the High lord. That''s great! At least I know I can trust his friends," Rebane said as he looked Lu Li in the eye for the first time, then continued, "I''ve heard you were to report some affairs? You may speak now."


    "I¡­ found a transportation route used by the Scourge by chance. They were transporting harmful potions¡­"


    Solomon hesitated ¨C in the end, he decided to take the rewards for himself. After all, he was indeed the one who had discovered the route, and Lu Li could only give the Major a cold, silent side look.


    "I¡­ found Second Lieutenant Lu Li, and with the help of a few adventurers, we were able to ambush the transport unit of Undead yesterday afternoon. We were victorious, Your Excellency," Solomon continued as he straightened his back.


    "Oh? What type of transport unit?" Rebane asked.


    "Several Undead ¨C some Corpse Easters and Patchwork Monsters. What''s more, their leader was a Demilich, my Lord!" Solomon''s attempt at hiding his proud accomplishments had failed miserably.


    "A Demilich!"


    Rebane''s eyes lit up. If it was a Demilich that was head of the transportation unit, then it proved that the potions delivered would be of some value.


    "I found quite a few Plague-related potions during the looting," Solomon said.


    "What?"


    Rebane immediately lost his cool upon hearing the word ''plague''.


    "Yes, there were quite a few potions in there used to spread the plague, Your Excellency. I''ve delivered them to you. They are right outside. Even an apprentice chemist would be able to identify them. I believe that we should start with the potions, and create a bio-weapon targeted at the Undead," Solomon suggested.


    "And not stop the plague from spreading?"


    Lu Li could not hold his tongue any longer.


    "Of course, it must," Rebane and Solomon looked at each other and answered at the same time.


    Lu Li sighed silently; he shouldn''t have expected those warheads to desire anything more than to create weapons. Even though halting the spread of the plague should have been their number one priority, Lu Li thought that perhaps eliminating the Undead might on a certain level be a way to achieve this.

 1537 The Imprisoned Paladin

    It wasn''t only the Undead they wanted to get rid of, but also the Forsaken under Queen Sylvanas. They even wanted to create a new virus, a bio-weapon that could exterminate all Undead. That was how the world was ¨C one''s morals and decisions were based on which side they were on. The Scourge wanted to turn everyone into Undead, including the Demons, the Monsters and the Elves. The Forsaken wanted more humans to join their army. Monsters wanted to terminate both humans and Undead alike, and hopefully take out the Forsaken during the process as well. As for a player like Lu Li, his joining of the military was so that he could enjoy the benefits of receiving better missions and rewards.


    "Young one, your outstanding performance will be rewarded," General Halford Rebane said to Solomon. For the first time, Solomon felt that he was finally respected by the military, and thought that Rebane would be reporting his contributions to the higher-ups.


    "I was merely fulfilling my duty. I have decided to devote my life to the Alliance, after all," Solomon smiled.


    "As for you," Rebane said, turning to Lu Li, "Your bravery is duly noted. Please await the military''s notice for your reward."


    "It''s all for the Alliance," Lu Li echoed. Of course, Lu Li was not the patriotic type, not to mention that it was just a game. Whatever those soldiers wanted to do with the potions, it was none of his business, nor did he care at all.


    "Oh, by the way, you two came at the right time. I have a mission regarding the Highlord; maybe the two of you can help," Rebane said, suddenly remembering Fordring was standing right next to him. Though Fordring was highly ranked in Silver Hands, the regiment had long ceased to be. He had also retired from the military and was not a noble either. In front of Fordring, Commander Rebane felt no need to debase himself.


    Fordring smiled dryly, conflicted by the lack of respect shown by Rebane. He had come to the military for help, and thus began, "There are numerous members of Silver Hands that have gone back to their hometowns as farmers after the regiment was disbanded. The towns they lived in were invaded and destroyed by the Scourge¡­"


    It was a brutal fight. The Scourge lived up to their name, being a catastrophe to all living organisms. The whole town was destroyed and all survivors turned into the Undead. The Paladins of the Silver Hands were weakened and imprisoned. The fate that they awaited¡­ would not be any better than their neighbours.


    "They would be sent to Stratholme and turned into Death Knights," Fordring winced. "I hope to save them from such a cruel fate. Those Paladins, they had all dedicated their lives to the Alliance once."


    "Our main forces in the East are still fighting off the Scourge. There is just not enough manpower on my end," Rebane continued. "That is why I wish for you two to help him


    "I still have my own unfinished missions. If I were to abandon my duties, the Scourge would easily surround us," Solomon said after a moment''s hesitation.


    "Your Excellency, I would be honoured to go save those venerable Paladins," Lu Li asserted. "However, I do not know where they are imprisoned, how many lookouts are guarding them, nor if there will be a high-level ranking enemy¡­"


    As long as it was a quest, Lu Li had no intention of turning Rebane down, but only if it was something that he and Ruling Sword could handle. Not to mention, completing the mission also meant that he would be able to befriend Fordring. The veteran might be old and worn down, but capable fighters would easily spot his potential. Even the Lich King would soon see Fordring''s existence as a threat.


    If Lu Li were to take on the mission, Light''s Hope Chapel would be restored and become the base for the Silver Dawn in the Eastern Plaguelands. There would be a graveyard beneath the chapel filled with the bodies of heroes that had sacrificed their lives during battle. Many soldiers died during their fight with the Scourge''s Undead. Their bodies were stored in the holy chapel so as to not be resurrected and manipulated by the Lich King. With that being said, the Lich King would order a strike against Light''s Hope Chapel, take away the three thousand Paladin corpses and turn them into the Undead, forcing Fordring into the picture.


    Alsace would order Highlord Darion Mograine of the Death Knights, Acherus'' Death Knights, and the Scourge army to defeat the Paladins that were guarding the chapel. Just as the Silver Dawn''s situation was looking bleak, Highlord Tirion Fordring would arrive with the reformed Silver Hand Regiment and defeat Mograine. At the same time, the body of Alexandros Mograine buried under the chapel would rise up and free the soul of his son Darion from the control of the Lich King.


    Despite the newly awakened Darion, Lich King Alsace would appear and defeat him, and then attempt to use his dark powers to suppress Fordring. In such a critical situation, Darion threw Ashbringer to Fordring, and with the help of the three thousand Paladin souls under the Chapel, Fordring was able to use Holy Light to purify the battleground. The legendary weapon Ashbringer would be recast, and Fordring would become the second person, after Darion, to ever wield it. Following Fordring''s casting of the Ashbriner, the Lich King would be defeated, along with the Scourge army that invaded the chapel. Fordring would then announce the alliance between the resurrected Silver Hand and Silver Dawn to become the Argent Crusade. They would be focused solely on defeating the Lich King in the Northend. Fordring became the highest commanding officer of the Argent Crusade, and the Highlord would once again be written down in the history books, while the Argent Crusade would become one of the strongest armies in history.


    Lu Li had already been acquainted with Fordring, and if he could deepen their bond, he would be able to partner with the Argent Crusade. After all, Fordring was much more reliable and trustworthy compared to the manipulative Solomon and Bolvar Fordragon. Even Fordring was furious upon hearing the military''s refusal to help his fellow Paladins, but the truth was, the military knew that those veteran Paladins were a lost cause as soon as they decided to quit the war. Thankfully, Lu Li did not disappoint him. Fordring nodded his head and led him to his tent.


    Solomon had not followed Lu Li, and thus, their ties had ceased as soon as Lu Li left with Fordring. A noble like Solomon was not an ideal partner, but Lu Li was not disappointed either. Even if Rebane were to favour and trust Solomon more than Lu Li, Lu Li''s name would still be reported to the higher-ups. He might even be promoted because of the job he had done for Solomon. As a mere second lieutenant, a promotion was inevitable.

 1538 Tyr’s Hand

    Tirion Fordring''s tent was situated on the edge of the camp. You could imagine the treatment he received.


    "HQ went way overboard," Lu Li said with a hint of resentment. Halford Rebane was the leader of the Seventh Regiment, but his reputation was still not comparable to Windsor Marshall. This had something to do with his style.


    He had a reputation for being a cold, stubborn philistine.


    "Halford Rebane is a brave soldier in battle," Tirion Fordring commented. "He''s not the Paladin."


    From his tone, Tirion Fordring didn''t seem to blame him.


    "Okay Mr. Highlord, let''s figure out the rescue issue."


    Since they had made up their minds to nurture their relationship, Lu Li no longer focused on things such as rewards. He might have been greedy and shrewd, but he was not one without propriety.


    As a close friend of Uther and the founder of the Silver Hand, Fordring was one of the most noble Paladins. In the second war, the performance of the one who led the fight was worthy of the sacred name of the Silver Hand. Old Fordring used to be the strongest man that people paid attention to in the Human Kingdom.


    Long periods of seclusion meant that his reputation also slowly disappeared. Some people even thought that he had given up on himself and was a deserter.


    Halford Rebane was probably one to have thought this. He didn''t doubt Tirion Fordring''s character, hence why he subconsciously trusted Lu Li and Solomon when he saw Lu Li and Tirion Fordring. However, in his eyes, Tirion Fordring was rotten enough to enter a grave.


    Plus, he thought it was almost absurd to send an army out for a group of old Paladins who could hardly walk.


    "Tyr''s Hand ¨C they''ve all been imprisoned here," Tirion Fordring said as he spread a piece of parchment over the table and pointed to a spot on the map.


    Tyr''s Han was situated in the Eastern Plaguelands and on the East side of Mereldar Lake. This was the Hinterland of the Scourge Army and was not far from the Light''s Hope Chapel. Lu Li once again understood Halford Rebane. If he was in the leader''s position, he probably wouldn''t have sent people to go rescue them.


    Or perhaps not many people knew the origin of the name ''Tyr''s Hand''.


    A very long time ago, in a land which was now called the Eastern Kingdoms, a small group of creatures were struggling to survive on the rations left by their parents when they were exiled to this strange beach. These creatures later became what were now known as humans. They would sometimes gather near campfires to read scrolls about their ancient civilisations and heroic legends left by the parents that abandoned them.


    One of the scrolls described a great leader. He was the role model for order and justice. This hero once sacrificed his right hand in order to fight an unattainable evil.


    Even though he could use his abilities to restore his right hand after the battle, he instead chose to use replace it with a pure silver-cast of a clenching fist. Thus, this hero taught every one of his followers that order and justice could only be achieved through personal sacrifice.


    This hero deeply embedded in their memory was called Tyr.


    In actual fact, Tyr was fighting against Galakrond, an ancient ancestral dragon. The five Guardian Dragons were created by Titan based on the evolution of Galakrond to a certain degree. This meant that he was the ancestor of dragons. Just purely based on his body alone, Galakrond was a million times larger than the five Guardian Dragons.


    In that battle, Titan''s guardian, Tyr, led the Black Dragon Nezario, Red Dragon Alexstrasza, Green Dragon Ysera, Blue Dragon Malygos and Bronze Dragon Nozodormu to battle with Galakrond.


    The five Dragons found it impossible to cause fatal damage to the larger Galakrond. Tyr was bitten by Galakrond and lost an arm, while his hammer was hit and the artefacts around his waist were swallowed.


    Malygos and Alexstrasza saved Tyr and initiated a simple rescue. They then quickly fled North toward an area of frozen wilderness, which was later known as the Northrend Longbone Wilderness.


    Not long after, the five Dragons faced Galakrond in a final battle, which also took place above the Northrend Longbone Wilderness.


    Tyr chose to gather together, then attack Galakrond all at once. The five Dragons had to work together, like one big family, and defeat Galakrond with unbroken cooperation.


    In the final battle, the five Dragons showed their tacit understanding, helping one another and fighting to death, which all later helped in becoming guardian dragons.


    Malygos and Nezario picked up a huge rock in the hope of throwing it into the throat of Galakrond.


    However, at this critical moment, a group of Undead dragons flew into the sky. Nezario went alone to fight the Undead Dragons in order to save Malygos.


    It could be seen from this that the little black and little blue dragons were not completely incompatible.


    Meanwhile, on the other side, Alexstrasza and Ysera, as well as Nozdormu attracted the attention of Galakrond. Malygos successfully threw the huge rock into Galakrond''s throat.


    Galakrond couldn''t breathe due to his airways being blocked, so he started to run. The five Dragons pursued him; they knew that if Galakrond threw up the rock, all their efforts would have been in vain and Azeroth would be destroyed.


    As the five Dragons chased, Galakrond fell forwards toward the ground, his giant body shattering the whole mountain. He tried to take off again, but in the process, his movements slowed down. After a series of convulsion, he fell to the ground and stopped moving.


    After the five Dragons defeated the Galakrond that was a thousand times their size, Tyr and the other two Titans appeared. The Titans paid a visit to Azeroth and bestowed these five ancestral dragons the duty and power to guard the giant dragon.


    This was what was said in the legends. The description of the battle was rather na?ve.


    However, it passed down the idea and beliefs of Tyr.


    Only by sacrificing the individual could true justice be achieved!


    Here was both Tyr''s Hand and the sacred land of the Silver Hand. Unfortunately, this had now become the place of natural disasters. Necromagus of the Cult of the Damned hoped to find Tyr''s corpse here and turn him into an Undead.


    "Dear Highlords, I''ve been to Tyr''s Hand. This was not an easy place to travel to."


    Lu Li would inevitably withdraw once he heard about the imprisonment.


    To be honest, he wasn''t afraid of sacrifice, especially since players could be revived. What he didn''t like was meaningless sacrifice.


    To save people from Tyr''s Hand was nearly impossible to do.


    "You think it''s completely impossible right?" Tirion Fordring asked. He could almost see through Lu Li''s thoughts. This NPC was granted powerful intelligence, which made him more powerful than ordinary humans.


    "I don''t think our success rate is high," Lu Li replied honestly.


    "Even if it''s only a sliver of hope, the Silver Hand will never give up on his men! Even if I did go alone, I will fight for them!" Tirion Fordring exclaimed, then solemnly said, "Only by sacrificing the individual can true justice be achieved!"


    "Don''t think like that ¨C if you''re dead, then there''s no point for me to play," Lu Li thought to himself.


    "You can choose not to go. You''re still young, but me on the other hand¡­" Tirion Fordring began as he forced a smile, then continued, "Even if I die, Azeroth would have one less stubborn old man."


    "My Highlord, I think we must have a plan," Lu Li said, echoing the lines of a movie.


    Since it was a rescue operation, they really needed a sound plan. From the infiltration to rescue, then from the rescue to a safe evacuation. Plus, they needed to consider all the variables that could affect the process.


    "It''s a pity that Rebane isn''t willing to lend a hand. If we had 2000 soldiers¡­"


    It was clear that Tirion Fordring had thought about the whole process already. However, it was unfortunate that his plan didn''t persuade his excellency.


    "Yes, we do. Even though their abilities may be a bit weaker, we do have 2000 men. No, we have even about 20000."


    Lu Li needed to have the courage to put all his eggs in one basket to reap the benefits.


    This was unlike seizing a Boss from other clubs in a chaotic situation. Lu Li was on the road to fully involve himself in this war.


    If he wasn''t successful, then he would die for a noble cause.


    If an old man with only one life was courageous enough to go fight alone, what did he have to be afraid of as a single player?


    "20000?!" Tirion Fordring was shocked.


    The Seventh Regiment now had about 40000-50000 members. There was no more than 30000 who showed up at the Ice-Sealed Mountain to confront the Scourge Army. This was already one of the most powerful military forces in this area. No one could match them in numbers except for the Scourge Army.


    Lu Li suddenly claimed that he now had 20000 people.


    It would be strange if this didn''t shock Tirion Fordring. Luckily, he did have some experience in crossing paths with Lu Li. He knew that this Elf had no other merits apart from being incredibly reliable.


    "I can gather an army of 20000 people and assign them to you, Highlord. Even though they''re a little weak in ability, five of them can hold up one monster. Plus, they''re not real soldiers."


    Lu Li didn''t think that quantity would make a big impact in this battle.


    These clubs joined together could kill the Scourge in seconds.


    However, they might not even be able to fight an Undead knight of the Scourge Army.


    "No matter, we only want to save people, not to fight them."


    The situation was already a lot better than what Tirion Fordring had anticipated. He had thought it was just him and Lu Li along with a few old knights that would go off to battle, cutting off all their means of retreat.


    Lu Li did not hide anything either. He told Tirion Fordring the characteristics of his people.


    In this game of Dawn, the NPCs were accustomed to the strange abilities of Adventurers. As such, Tirion Fordring was not surprised to learn that Lu Li could call on his teammates through portals. Perhaps in his understanding, this belonged to the area of magic.


    "We''ll go in along the edge of the Plague¡­" Tirion Fordring said as he pointed on the map and drew a curvy line.


    However, Lu Li had other thoughts.


    "No, we won''t go from the Western Plaguelands. This will become a battlefield of great war. No matter how lucky we are, we won''t be able to travel through such a long area quietly. Once we get identified as a threat by the Lich King, we will be welcomed by endless blockade attacks. It''s hard to say if we can get to Tyr''s Hand, let alone save those people."


    Even though Lu Li''s words were a little exaggerated, they weren''t out of reason.


    Tirion Fordring also knew that what Lu Li said was reasonable. On a scale of 1 to 10, the original difficulty of rescue was 12, which meant it was completely hopeless. Now with the 20000 people that Lu Li said, the difficulty had decreased to a 7, but this was still by no means an easy task.


    "Actually, we can go through the Hinterlands. There''s a secret passage that connects the Hinterlands to the Eastern Plaguelands," Lu Li said.


    "That''s impossible!" Tirion Fordring exclaimed as he shook his head. "The reason why the Hinterlands haven''t been contaminated by the Plague is precisely because of the lofty ridges and high mountains. If there was a passage, I believe Alsace and Kel''Thuzad wouldn''t be afraid of the Dwarves of Eagle Nest Mountain."


    "Please believe me Highlord, I won''t lie to you about these things ¨C there''s no point," Lu Li replied in confidence.


    The Hinterlands could indeed go straight to the Eastern Plaguelands. There were even other routes other than the one Lu Li mentioned. If you swam along the coastline, you could also get to the same point. However, this time it was not only them ¨C there was also Tirion Fordring and these Sacred Riders who needed to ride in order to assist in battle. As such, this route of crossing water wasn''t going to work.


    The Dwarves of Eagle Nest Mountain held a passage route to the Plaguelands.

 1539 The Be

    The Wildhammer Dwarves of Lordaeron also had a land of their own. They created their home in the Hinterland of Eagle Nest Mountain and dedicated their lives to protect it. Compared to the Plaguelands, the Hinterland was a green region filled with tall oaks and maple trees.


    The Hinterland was surrounded by mountains, so no one thought there were any routes through to it. Only the Dwarves'' Griffin had contact with the outside world.


    The Hinterland remained untouched for many centuries. In the Second War, after losing Grim Totem, the Wildhammer Dwarves moved to Eagle Nest Mountain. The Griffin Knight of the Wildhammer Dwarves was a legend, and in the second and third wars, he was the lucky star of the Alliance.


    Lu Li notified Wandering to gather people, then prepared some necessary things.


    Lu Li and Tirion Fordring appeared in the Hinterland. Along with them were a dozen or so Paladin NPCs, who all used to be a part of the Silver Hand. Alsace had used his status as King and convicted Uther of treason, declaring the dissolution of the Silver Hand.


    The members of the Silver Hand were forced to leave their training grounds and garrisons. Some joined the Army of Lordaeron, while others retired and went home.


    After Alsace returned and killed King Terenas II, a myriad of natural disasters swept through Lordaeron. The Paladins could not stop the tide of natural disasters and eventually, all perished.


    These dozen Paladins were not all of the Silver Hand members, but were the ones that could be gathered by Tirion Fordring at such a short noticed.


    They had already prepared themselves for death. Each one of them looked solemn and faced death calmly.


    Even though they were old, they were not so incapacitated that they required a walking stick to move. The ones who were a little older were no more than 40 or 50 years old, while the younger ones were around 30 years old. These people had pious beliefs and rich combat experience, so they were of great help to this operation.


    When Lu Li looked at these people, he could let out a sigh of relief.


    In a new place like Tyr''s Hand, the Scourge Army definitely would arrange for powerful guards to watch over it. If that was the case, then a Boss battle would take place.


    The Boss would be very powerful, capable of desolating a large area in a second. If there wasn''t the help of these NPCs, then Lu Li and his team would surely die several times.


    It would be different with these dozen-or-so Paladins.


    They could at least help with attacking the Boss, and the players didn''t need to worry about them drawing aggro.


    Any of these people would be a quasi-Boss in and of themselves.


    If you wanted to borrow the passage, then you needed permission from the Wildhammer Dwarves. This passage was firmly controlled by them. Recently, in order to prevent the Spreading Plague, they had made it more dangerous.


    Eagle Nest Mountain!


    The city of the Wildhammer Dwarves was deeply embedded in these huge mountains.


    The city was located in the Northwest area of the Hinterland, near Longmir Lake. Eagle Nest Mountain looked like a huge Griffin head, with its eyes and nostrils being passages to the outside world. The Wildhammer Dwarves had dedicated their lives to this statue. It grew more vivid in their hands, and even individual feathers could be made out clearly.


    Their castle and defences extended from the inside of the cliff all the way to the outside.


    If the Dwarves suddenly turned hostile, then Lu Li and his team might not even be able to fight back.


    Fortunately, the Wildhammer Dwarves clearly knew who were friends and who were foes.


    Wildhammer Dwarves were much friendlier than Elves. They believed that these arrogant creatures were cuter than humans. Lu Li was an Elf, and was one that brought delicious alcohol with him.


    When a dozen bottles of alcohol was placed in front of the gates of Eagle Nest Mountain, hundreds of Dwarves crowded around them instantly.


    At first, they thought Lu Li was a vendor, but once he said that all of this fine alcohol was given to them for free, they instantly felt that this Elf was indeed the greatest person in this world, other than the Dwarf Wildhammers.


    Once Lu Li asked to see Lord Metz Drakrep, they immediately took him in.


    Lord Metz Drakrep was an old Dwarf with a very long beard, but he had no hair. Lu Li recalled someone saying that Dwarves were hairy creatures. This was evident as there was no other race like the Dwarves who had beards when they were born. There was also no other race whee even women could grow beards, but as they aged, their hair would also fall off due to lack of nutrition.


    However, their beard wouldn''t fall. Lu Li didn''t know why this was the case.


    "This Elf friend brought all sorts of fine spirits that even I had never heard of," the Dwarves said, introducing Lu Li to their leader.


    "Grimm, not all spirits can be classified as fine. You ought to go and tour around. At least go have a look at Steel Stove Castle."


    Lord Metz Drakrep seemed to no longer bear grudges regarding the Three Hammers War and enlightened the young Dwarves.


    "Your Excellency, the alcohol that I have brought is no ordinary alcohol. I can promise that you can''t have tasted all of them before," Lu Li said.


    "Haha youngster, do you know how old I am? How many types of spirits I have tried? I dare say that there is no other more knowledgeable than me in fine spirits alone," Lord Metz Drakrep laughed.


    "Honourable lord, I am a mere young Elf Adventurer," Lu Li responded, shamelessly pretending to act innocent with a hint of ambiguity, "But I do not believe that you could have tasted all of the world''s finest spirits."


    "Youngster, how about we make a bet? Let me taste these fine spirits and tell you of their origins. How about that?" Lord Metz Drakrip had no idea that Lu Li had already studied him thoroughly. This old Dwarf has three loves in his life: fine spirits, bets and minerals.


    Lu Li only had only provoked him a little with his words and he had immediately suggested a bet.


    The dozen spirits were carried over by the young Dwarves and each bottle was placed in front of the throne. Metz Drakrip took a deep intoxicating breath.


    It wasn''t that Lu Li wasn''t able to collect more fine spirits, but that there was simply no need. The alcohols he had brought was all from Hachi Chan, and they were all very rare.


    Hachi Chan had all sorts of strange, exotic things, mostly from the quests she completed. Lu Li, as someone reborn, wouldn''t know what these spirits were if Hachi Chan hadn''t introduced them to him.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure if they were enough to win over Lord Metz Drakrep, but he really didn''t know what else could.

 1540 Crafty Measures

    "This is Southern Island Ice Beer. Because a special type of ice has been added, it is kept cold all the time. I believe you can buy it in the Dawn Highlands," Lord Metz Drakrep said as he took a sip of the first glass of alcohol, then asked confidently, "Am I right, Elf?"


    "Yes indeed, your knowledge is astonishing," Lu Li praised, only able to nod.


    He could guess this first glass of alcohol without a moment''s hesitation. Lord Metz Drakrep not only knew its name and characteristics, but also its place of production.


    "Were we planning on winning him and then have him point out the passage?" Tirion Fordring quietly asked Lu Li.


    "Yep," Lu Li answered. "As long as we win, Lord Metz Drakrep will do as we say. He''s a Dwarf that really enjoys betting, and as long as the thing being bet on is worthwhile, he will keep to his word."


    "What are the chances?"


    Tirion Fordring poured a glass too, but he couldn''t determine what type of alcohol it was.


    Normally, a person of his age who enjoyed drinking should have seen it all. However, the first time he saw Ice Beer that could be kept cold forever, he did not know why it had not spread in popularity.


    "Not guaranteed, but let''s try our luck," Lu Li said helplessly.


    It was his first time that he heard about this type of beer since he met Hachi Chan. He seriously doubted whether everyone else and Hachi Chan were playing the same type of game.


    "This second glass of alcohol, if I''m not wrong, should be Gordok Green Wine. Wine made by Ogres is always strong. I remember that you can buy this from Kleig. If he''s dead, then you must be able to get it from Young Kleig."


    "Yes, your guess was right."


    Another one had been guessed correctly, which made Lu Li feel slightly discouraged.


    It seemed like this old alcoholic was indeed well-versed. He had even tried alcohol brewed by the Orgres. Lu Li was unsure if the remaining 13 bottles were enough to win.


    "Let me think. Hmm¡­ this is a marvellous taste. Is this¡­ Jungle Wine?" Lord Metz Drakrep asked in surprise, then continued, "I never thought I would have the chance to taste the real Jungle Wine. This type of wine can only be bought from the sailor Nick Lax Firamog. This old guy kept denying he kept it in stock. This is good wine to lure the Sea Giant, Nagurash."


    "Wow you are so knowledgeable," Lu Li said as he sighed inside.


    "Haha, Sulfuron Slammer! This is easy to guess. Did you think I wouldn''t know the new alcohols on the market just because I haven''t been out in years? I have to thank those relatives of mine who have been reduced to slaves of Ragnaros. What else can they not use to make alcohol? This has been made with a special kind of magma. Legend says that it is alcohol from the fire element. One will be covered in fire after drinking it. I bought a batch a few months ago to help me exercise my will and protect myself from Polymorph."


    "Hehe," Lu Li laughed dryly. At this point, he felt rather despaired.


    "Is this Watchtite Spirit? No, no, no, this is Winter Spring Fire Wine, hahaha," Metz Drakrep laughed, expertly noting the difference between these two alcohols.


    Lu Li began to think and private-messaged Water Fairy.


    He had no choice but to use his trump card. He asked Water Fairy for a favour and then found an excuse to pause the bet. After this, he spoke to Water Fairy in a place with no one around.


    Lord Metz Drakrep had no interest in the fact that Lu Li had an extra female Elf next to him. He urged the bet to continue. There were still more than ten types of fine alcohols that he hadn''t tasted. Even though it was just a tasting, in reality, he had gulped down every last glass.


    It was such a hard opportunity to come by where he could drink so openly and publicly.


    Plus, there were so many people around him watching him indulge himself. The young fellow ones were listening to his talk and almost worshipping him to the point of crawling on the ground.


    In the world of the Dwarves, Lord Metz Drakrep was not the strongest in terms of combat, nor was he the longest-living, but he was the most well-versed in alcohol-knowledge. Everyone had to bow their heads in front of him, even Magni Bronzebeard.


    The next tens or so alcohols were also distinguished by him one by one.


    Even though there were one or two that he had to contemplate over for a while, this didn''t affect the end outcome.


    "Wait, there is another type of alcohol. I originally wasn''t going to bring it out, but since Your Excellency loves alcohol so much, I''ll have to reluctantly present it," Lu Li said as he carefully brought out a bottle that contained a dark green liquid.


    "Ooooh, quickly bring it over for me to taste."


    Lord Metz Drakrep became instantly interested once he heard how careful Lu Li was.


    Lu Li poured the liquid into this newly washed wine glass. He watched Lord Metz Drakrept take a sip, then saw his anticipated look of confusion on the old Dwarf''s face.


    The gaming company had spent a lot of time and effort in making this game. Every aspect of the game reflected detail, an example of which was this alcohol. Different alcohols had different recipes and different taste, different brewing processes and different origins. As such, Lord Metz Drakrep tasting different wines was not purely out of fun.


    Perhaps some people would ask why Lu Li could not just brew some alcohol of this own? This would make it harder for the opponent.


    In reality, Adventurers couldn''t brew alcohol on their own, at least not now. Moreover, it wasn''t as simple as casually mixing things together then receiving recognition from the System. Only NPCs could produce a type of alcohol that could be presented in a tasting.


    As it happened, Lu Li knew someone like this.


    A Waitress of Southshore called Emma Felstone, who he had good relations with, made all the alcohol sold at Southshore. She was a master at brewing alcohol. Even the most basic ale could be brewed with a different taste by her.


    Lu Li thought of Emma when he saw Lord Metz Drakrep so full of vigour.


    As such, he immediately decided to turn to Emma for help. He asked Water Fairy, who was also familiar with her, to get in contact with her. She successfully got a bottle of new alcohol that was still in a testing stage and had not yet been officially launched.


    If it was not officially launched, then Lord Metz Drakrep naturally wouldn''t be able to taste it beforehand.


    Otherwise, given how much the Dwarf loved to drink, he would be able to try out any new alcohol, no matter how remote its origin. Communication between Dwarves was not made through steel, but through alcohol.


    "This alcohol is excellent, but I haven''t tried it indeed."


    Lord Metz Drakrep tried it again and again, and had nearly finished the whole bottle.


    In the end, he had to admit in frustration that he had never had this before.


    Naturally, he couldn''t produce a name, and of course could not give its origin.


    Lu Li was elated and smiled. This problem seemed easy to solve, but it was also not that simple. Not all NPCs could brew alcohol, and not all NPCs would be willing to sell new developments to you, let alone at such short notice.


    Only Emma Felstone could do that. Lu Li wouldn''t have had any other way if it was anyone else.

 1541 A Secret Pathway

    "This one should be a win, right?" Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief.


    "That''s right. Is there anything else that the Wildhammer Dwarves can help with?"


    Lord Metz Drakrep didn''t think that he would lose at something he was so proficient in. It was in this moment that he felt a little nervous, since he didn''t know what Lu Li would ask of him.


    "We wish to go to Tyr''s Hand in the Eastern Plaguelands," Lu Li answered.


    "Tyr''s Hand?"


    Drakrep tilted his head slight and looked at Lu Li. After a short while, he answered, stroking his beard, "That''s not a good place at all. It was just recently conquered by Undead forces and many died. What are you planning to do?"


    "How does Lord Drakrep see the Undead?" Lu Li asked.


    "How else should I see them? They should not exist!" Drakrep boomed without hesitation.


    "Then, my Dwarven friend, are you not worried that they will eventually move towards Eagle Nest Mountain? If that time comes, the whole Mountain will look like that," Lu Li continued. His what-if scenario was quite horrifying. A few Dwarves in the hall frowned upon hearing Lu Li''s words.


    "They''re not interested in this place, so they won''t come here," Lord Drakrep confidently replied.


    "Not interested?" Lu Li laughed, as if he had heard a joke. "Is there a corner in this world that the Scourge is not interested in? The Lich King is a being who wants to destroy all lands. In what sense is Eagle Nest Mountain an exception? The only reason as to why Eagle Nest Mountain is safe is because there are other more easily-invaded targets. My Lord¡­"


    Lu Li walked forwards, then softly whispered in Drakrep''s ears, "If the Undead at Tyr''s Hand found the secret pathway, do you think that they would leave Eagle Nest Mountain alone?"


    "How do you know about it?"


    Other people couldn''t hear what Lu Li said, but all of them saw that Drakrep had jumped a little.


    It was like someone had stepped on his tail. He looked at Lu Li with a horrified expression, as if Lu Li was a monster who had brought the plague with him to destroy the whole Mountain.


    "As to how I know, that is not important. My Lord, your coldness pains me. You can clearly save those lives, yet you knowingly let the Undead consume them," Lu Li said as he looked condescendingly at Drakrep. This proud and disdainful look made Drakrep feel ashamed of himself.


    "I am the Lord of the Wildhammer Dwarves, yet my people only have a sliver of hope left," Metz Drakrep explained.


    "Once the things that I have said have happened, your remaining sliver of hope will also be destroyed. When that time comes, perhaps my Lord will also recognise that person. He has turned many powerful knights into Death Knights," Lu Li responded, not hesitating to burst Drakrep''s bubble.


    "I trust that you have your own objectives in saying these words. Alright then, Elf. You''ve convinced me. I''m all ears."


    Metz Drakrep has lived for a long time. After calming down, he quickly realised what Lu Li wanted.


    "Tyr''s Hand cannot fall to the Scourge. Otherwise, calamity will hang over us. It could be tonight, or it could be tomorrow morning. Who knows? When that time comes, the traitors who cursed the gods may be the ones to appear in front of you. They will spread the plague in the Eagle Nest Mountain, turning all Wildhammer Dwarves into Undead Dwarves."


    "Goddamn it. I know that Tyr''s Hand cannot fall to the Scourge. However, it is now in the Scourge''s


    hand!" Metz Drakrep impatiently replied.


    "We need a base of operations. If you allow it, we are willing to defend Eagle Nest Mountain," the usually silent Tirion Fordring suddenly piped up.


    Lu Li was stunned at this proposal and looked at Fordring. He had originally planned to convince the Dwarves to take back Tyr''s Hand with them so that they could complete the objective, then leave Tyr''s Hand''s matters to the Dwarves to worry about.


    However, upon the cibckysuib of this battle, the Scarlet Crusade would eventually invade Tyr''s Hand under the command of High General Abbendis.


    Then, Tyr''s Hand would become one of the main camps of the Scarlet Crusade, who would battle the Scourge alongside Light''s Hope Chapel for many years.


    The Light''s Hope Chapel had all the Paladins in the Alliance fighting for them. Furthermore, why would Tyr''s Hand be left alone deep in the enemy''s territory?


    Naturally, these Dwarves residing in the Eagle Nest Mountain would provide support to the Scarlet Crusade using the secret pathway. Not only did they prevent the starvation of the Crusade, but they also fed them well. This was also why Tyr''s Hand eventually became a key place to grind for gold.


    However, it seemed that the game was leaning towards a different storyline this time.


    Unexpectedly, Tirion Fordring wanted to conquer and defend Tyr''s Hand tightly. Lu Li wasn''t worried about not being able to hold Tyr''s Hand, since it was quite a rural place, so it wasn''t of much importance to the Scourge. Furthermore, the Scourge''s main forces were currently battling against the Alliance and the Horde. After the battles, they wouldn''t have enough strength to invade anyway.


    Even if Arthas came personally, Tirion Fordring, an immensely powerful Paladin, would not be afraid of facing him.


    Once he had the Ashbringer, even Arthas wouldn''t leave without a defeat.


    "Guarding Tyr''s Hand? Just the few of you?"


    Metz Drakrep doubted their abilities. Lu Li and Water Fairy seemed alright, but the rest of them looked average.


    "This is Tirion Fordring, the Lord of Hearthglen and the leader of the Knights of the Silver Hand," Lu Li stood up and introduced Tirion Fordring. Lu Li didn''t need to say anything other than this. Revealing his identity was enough.


    As expected, Drakrep immediately stood up and greeted Fordring with respect upon hearing his name.


    With a wealth of experiences under his belt, he was able to understand Fordring''s decisions and the difficulty that Fordring faced when making those decisions. As a result, he firmly decided on this: "If Hearthglen is willing to defend Tyr''s Hand, then the Eagle Nest Mountain will give its absolute support."


    "Firstly, we need access to the secret pathway. We need to take down the place first."


    Brimming with satisfaction, Lu Li raised his glass and drank. His plan was already semi-completed.


    He only needed to convince the Dwarves to let them use the pathway. Once that was completed, the rest of it was easy. Now, not only had he convinced the Dwarves to let them use the pathway, but he had also managed to recruit a powerful force with him. Even if he didn''t have the twenty-thousand people with him, the powerful Wildhammer Dwarves would also be able to clear all the Undead in Tyr''s Hand.


    The Wildhammer Dwarves had dwelled in the Eagle Nest Mountains for many years. Not only did they manage to build an advanced civilisation here, but they were also deadly in combat.


    They definitely wouldn''t be able to defeat the Lich King, but Tyr''s Hand would be a piece of cake for them.

 1542 The Smell of Bird Poop

    However, Lu Li would still bring all of his manpower over.


    The objective was simple. Kill steal!


    With so many Undead at Tyr''s Hand, these monsters would only give fame and drop equipment if they were killed by players.


    If they were all killed by the Wildhammer Dwarves and the Knights of the Silver Hand, then Lu Li would not gain anything from it. He wasn''t going to work that hard and sacrifice so many bottles of alcohol just for Tirion Fordring''s friendship.


    Furthermore, fighting alongside each other was already the best way to build a solid friendship.


    After all, fighting together, journeying together and sharing in benefits together were the top three ways of building a friendship.


    When Lu Li and the others joined the battle of Tyr''s Hand, then two of these top three ways would be fulfilled. Therefore, Lu Li expressed his desire to contribute to attacking Tyr''s Hand and they would be looking down on him if they stopped him from doing so.


    The two lords of Hearthglen and Eagle Nest Mountain were touched by Lu Li''s determination, so naturally, they didn''t stop him.


    Tirion Fordring didn''t have that many people with him either, and Metz Drakrep was reluctant to send his Wildhammer Dwarves to the frontlines.


    Of course, he couldn''t withhold all of his forces, so a few Wildhammer Dwarven warriors joined the ranks.


    With a few Wildhammer Dwarves, a few Silver Hand Knights, and a Boss-grade NPC like Tirion Fordring made an elite offensive force in the battle for Tyr''s Hand. To avoid complications that could delay the operation, Tirion Fordring decided to move for Tyr''s Hand right away.


    Lu Li hesitated, then decided on not allowing Water Fairy to follow.


    "Snowy, help them out over here first. When we get there, I''ll get someone to bring you over."


    "Why? Isn''t Wandering here?" Water Fairy couldn''t understand his reasoning.


    "We don''t need that many people at once. Left Hand and Rice Ball are enough."


    Activating a portal required three people. With Lu Li, the numbers were just right, but this wasn''t why he prevented Water Fairy from following them.


    Lu Li sighed, then said, "The secret Pathway is filled with bird poop. Even the Undead wouldn''t want to go in there."


    As soon as she heard that it was full of bird poop, her face immediately turned white.


    Even imagining the sight was terrifying for her. No wonder Lu Li didn''t want her going along. She preferred fighting powerful monsters instead.


    Cain''s Left Hand and Sesame Rice Ball were in a different situation. They didn''t think that having Lu Li''s trust would lead to something like this. They could only ignore it, but seeing and feeling the bird poop was not a tasteful sight at all.


    As for the Wildhammer Dwarves, they had already become accustomed to the smell. They could probably even enjoy a meal while sitting in the poop.


    While the group of people trudged through the bird poop, countless griffins were flying in the air.


    The regal griffin was the insignia of the Alliance, signifying their undying spirit. Now, griffins were an important tool for transportation. There were many griffins around the flight points distributed throughout the whole continent of Azeroth. With the Alliance''s warriors on their backs, they flew to and from the corners of Azeroth.


    Originally, griffins originated from the east side of Old Kalimdor. After the Well of Eternity was corrupted, their dwelling place was destroyed. As a result, their population was also greatly reduced. However, the griffin population was preserved not only through the efforts of all the kingdoms, but also from the Alterac Mountains and the Hinterlands.


    The pathway that they were walking through was the nesting area for the griffins.


    Although the griffin population was not as abundant as before, from this sight alone, it was like they had covered the skies.


    Griffins were powerful creatures. Considering their strength with their ability to take flight, even the Scourge wouldn''t fight them. Furthermore, they were immune to the plague. At the very least, Lu Li hadn''t seen any infected griffins.


    When the Dark Portal opened around 230 years ago, the Wildhammer Dwarves who had just experienced the War of the Three Hammers and battled against the Dark Iron for the first time had to escape their homeland and ran towards Lordaeron in the north, taking refuge in the Hinterlands. While living there, these Dwarves slowly became accustomed to the lifestyle of being surrounded with griffins and gradually, these two races seemingly combined into one.


    That was also when the Wildhammer Dwarves developed a high-level technique which made griffin-riding possible. They managed to spread this technique through the Bronzebeard Dwarves to the eastern kingdoms. As a result of this, griffin knights were also seen among the ranks of humans.


    It could be said that without the approval of the Wildhammer Dwarves, the knowledge of the secret pathway would be useless.


    This was because the griffins would tear apart anyone who entered their territory.


    Sesame Rice Ball couldn''t stand it.


    "I''ll never come here again. I think I won''t be eating for three days."


    "Damn it man! Rice Ball, can you not say ''eat'' here?" Cain''s Left Land cried out, wanting to puke. "Lu Li, why are you like this? Why did you bring me along? Why me? Why?"


    "Why are you guys talking so much? Just don''t look down and you''ll be fine. Look at how blue the sky is, and how fresh the air is¡­"


    Lu Li flapped his wings and landed on the head of one of the Paladin''s horses, pecking at his feathers.


    He couldn''t understand how they felt about the bird poop. This was because he shut off


    his sense of smell, then transformed into a crow and flew in the air.


    The pathway was quite long. Some parts went through the nesting area of the griffins, while other sections wound through caves and streams. There was even a stretch where they had to trudge through a swamp. The whole group took a little more than one hour just to enter the Plaguelands.


    Under the cover of the terrain, Lu Li and Tirion Fordring decided to split up and delegate objectives. The NPC would go ahead and scout out the area, while Lu Li would be responsible for commanding his 20,000 men.


    These 20,000 men would come from the three allied clubs of Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Although not all were elite, they were all at least competent players with good items. Otherwise, they wouldn''t even be able to make a dent in the Plaguelands'' monsters.


    Firstly, they needed to bring over the Warlocks, who would then activate multiple portals.


    This would greatly increase the speed of transportation. Although this was the system in place, it still took a while for them to transport all 20,000 people to the Plaguelands.


    Lu Li was instructing them from the air. This way, he had a much greater field of vision and quickly delegated roles.


    "Wandering, you need to bring people towards the direction of the Light''s Hope Chapel. Then, go into a fan formation on the side of The Infectis Scar. Don''t let any Undead escape. Sky Moon, take some people and position yourselves at Lake Mereldar. Look at the crossroads closely. Don''t let any Undead enter or leave."


    The main target was Tyr''s Hand, but they still had to be on guard for possible reinforcements from the Scourge.

 1543 Charge of the Paladins

    Tyr''s Hand was now a wasteland, despite being quite a busy town before. Even so, the old knights of the town had managed to suppress the Undead to an extent.


    Now, there was a war about to begin. Kel''Thuzad had deployed Heigan Lavender to Tyr''s Hand to clean out the area.


    The cleaning, in this context, naturally meant to completely turn Tyr''s Hand into a fruit of the plague.


    Heigan Lavender was once a Mage in the Dalaran. His interests were unusual, compared to the other Mages. While the other Mages would usually be obsessed with their Arcane Power and Elemental Summoning, he was instead interested in poison, micro-organisms and genetic modifications.


    Dalaran was frustrated at his unethical practices. If it wasn''t for his immense talent in Dark Magic, he would have been expelled from the organisation much earlier.


    Of course, Heigan knew that the organisation wasn''t happy with him. However, Arcane Power was worthless in his eyes.


    Arcane Magic was powerful, but once a Mage used up all of his Magic, what else could he do? Poison was different. It could be used anytime and anywhere. Only a senseless organisation would ignore a strength like this.


    Although the organisation didn''t have an excuse to limit Heigan''s research, they still secretly placed obstacles in his way.


    Heigan had run out of patience and left Dalaran for Andorhal, which had already been infected by the plague. This plague immediately intrigued the ever-curious Heigan.


    When Heigan was researching a cure for the plague, Kel''Thuzad found him. As they were former colleagues, Heigan only greeted him out of politeness. This was because he knew that the cause of this plague was from this dark robed man standing in front of him.


    After hearing Heigan''s cold tone when speaking to him, Kel''Thuzad was not angered. He opened a portal, then invited him to enter.


    After hesitating for a while, Heigan decided to enter the portal. A perfect and spacious laboratory now stood in front of him. There were countless other people, wearing dark robes, working in the laboratory while strange creatures walked around in a nursery room next door.


    "Where is this?"


    "This is your future laboratory. Are you satisfied? No one is here to disturb your research. No one is here to limit your potential. No one is here to take you for granted!


    "It''s quite nice. What do you want in exchange?"


    "Join us. This plague is not something that you can stop alone. You would only become its final sacrifice. Why don''t you join me and create a new plague? After all, aren''t poisons your favourite? You could even take down the Dalaran organisation that neglected you."


    "It''s quite tempting. Can you let me think about it?"


    "Of course, my friend. You have a day to think," Kel''Thuzad said, then gave a strange smile and continued, "The future is already beyond your control."


    The last few words were so soft that they were not heard by anyone. On the same day, Heigan Lavender died in his home in Anderhol. The plague had consumed his old life, then gave him a new life.


    Heigan was hard at work in his new laboratory and countless new plagues were synthesised in his hands.


    The casualties did not only include humans. Even the plants and animals of the lands were decimated by the plague. All of this was the result of Heigan''s work. The lands surrounding the kingdom of Lordaeron were already known as the ''Plaguelands''. Therefore, his appearance in Tyr''s Hand was not surprising at all.


    After seeing the familiar plague cauldrons, Lu Li knew that the Scourge had sent out Heigan Lavender.


    Although he didn''t go through the proper ritual to turn into a Lich, Heigan was still a formidable foe. Truthfully speaking, he was even more annoying to deal with than most of the other Lichs. His poisons and toxins were greatly respected and also greatly horrified Lu Li. After all, Lu Li was also a poison researcher.


    "May the Holy Light be with us¡­" the Paladins prayed.


    Under the leadership of Tirion Fordring, they would soon spearhead the charge into the town while the others would follow.


    The Scourge didn''t guard the place very tightly. However, since they were all Undead, they did not feel hunger or tiredness and would wander the streets of the town during the day and night. This was why Lu Li and Fordring gave up on the idea of sneaking into the town to rescue the survivors.


    While on their armor-plated horses, the Paladins raised their weapons, then charged silently.


    However, the Undead that came flooding out of the town were even more quiet.


    Holy Light appeared on the Knights'' weapons and glowed brighter and brighter. This Light shone brightly on the surrounding areas and illuminated the whole town. It also seemed to deal great amounts of damage to the Undead as dark smoke began emitting from their bodies. There were some that had disintegrated into dust before even reaching the Paladins.


    A large ''Stitches'' appeared in front of the Knights. He threw out the hook and chain in his hands and immediately latched onto one of them.


    Stitches were also known as Abominations, which were powerful infantry for the Scourge. This type of monster was created through Dark Magic and was sewn together with many different body parts. They also had magic resistance, along with increased armor and strength. Furthermore, they weren''t slow like the Stitched Giants.


    The Dark Wizards also embedded maggots into these monsters'' bodies. During intense battles, the Abominations could spit out these lethal maggots at their enemies and release the infectious plague from their bodies.


    Furthermore, when they were nearing death, they would also be able to self-destruct, spreading disease around them.


    The Abominations that Lu Li was now seeing had been upgraded in the newest update. They could use the hook in their hands to pull their target towards them.


    The Paladin who was hooked was already quite old. His hair was already white and he had many wrinkles on his forehead.


    He didn''t panic and sounded out a chant, after which his whole body was immersed in a golden light. The hook was immediately rendered useless. Before the monster could return its hook, two Paladins suddenly rushed towards it as fast as lightning.


    Their weapons struck the body of the Abomination and it immediately exploded.


    Rotting flesh and maggots sprayed into the air, but none of it landed on the Paladins. Their bodies were all immersed in the Holy Light, so when the debris struck, it immediately disintegrated. Not even a speck of dust was left.


    This was the Silver Hand!


    Lu Li was deeply impressed and relieved. Paladin players weren''t even able to fight on a horse, let alone kill an Abomination.


    However, the performance of the NPC Paladins greatly motivated the rest of the players.


    They saw the glorious future of this class. Furthermore, these people believed that Paladins were a heroic class from the very beginning.


    Now, they were behind these NPC Knights, riding their horses and charging with them. Although they were unable to join the fray, they had at the very least made the few Silver Hand Paladins look much more impressive as a whole. It looked like there were thousands of Paladins charging at once.

 1544 Big Harves

    Ten or so Paladins could clear all the Undead monsters by themselves.


    There were Dwarves on either side of the Paladins. Most of them wielded weapons such as axes or hammers, which were heavier than the Paladins'' weapons. Who knew where they got all their strength from?


    Unexpectedly, they were actually quite mobile. Most would think that their short legs would make them move slower, but reality was quite the opposite.


    They were almost like little bombs that travelled quickly alongside, making them the perfect cover for the Paladins. It was almost as if they had rehearsed this before.


    They swept across the area and sent the Undead flying everywhere. None of them could stop the horde of Paladins and Dwarves.


    Lu Li followed closely behind, assassinating the Undead that remained. There was bountiful loot on the floor. These were the main rewards because Lu Li didn''t know whether Tirion Fordring had anything to give to them.


    The fight began well, but the frontline quickly encountered some difficult enemies.


    The monsters that they first faced off against were mostly weaker mobs such as Skeleton Warriors or Zombies which moved slowly. They were controlled by the Warlocks and Witches, who were a lot more intelligent and moved faster, making them more difficult to deal with.


    However, these were still considered regular mobs which could be easily handled by a small team of players.


    Then came the Banshees who were created by The Lich King. These were spirits and ghosts of


    deceased Mages controlled by the Scourge, but they retained their magical powers from their previous life. Banshees could also charm enemies to control them.


    Those that were controlled by the Banshees could attack their allies.


    Paladins and Dwarves were not afraid of these Banshees because they burned alive when they were close to the Paladins and the Dwarves seemed unaffected by their charm.


    Groups of Skeleton Mages and Abominations were also difficult to deal with because they excelled at both melee and ranged combat.


    However, the monster that slowed down the frontline the most was the Death Knights.


    Death Knights could move quickly and could charge towards enemies to tear through their defenses. Unlike traditional Knights, Death Knights had magical powers instilled within them that they can wield.


    Fortunately, there weren''t that many Death Knights here.


    Tirion Fordring''s Paladins began roaring at the sight of these Death Knights and their bodies began shining brightly.


    Lu Li rubbed his eyes and it was almost as if he saw the tears on the Paladin''s faces. Upon a closer look, he was sure that some of the Paladins were actually crying.


    He contemplated for a while and guessed why.


    Because the Death Knights were so powerful, the Scourge demanded a high success rate in transforming Paladins into Death Knights. They would capture live ones and collect their corpses.


    Transforming a Paladin that was still alive was excruciatingly painful, but this increased the success rate as well as the overall power once transformed.


    The Death Knights before them were likely all once Paladins, and some might have even fought alongside them in their past life. Tirion Fordring''s tears were tears of compassion for their fallen comrades that had once risked their lives to protect each other.


    The Death Knights clashed against the Paladins.


    There was no mercy or hesitation from either side. Paladins needed great potential and willpower to obtain the power of the Holy Light. Therefore, each and everyone of them had the willpower far beyond ordinary people.


    In their eyes, though they used to be comrades, they were now enemies that needed to be eliminated.


    "Add some pressure. Mages, use your crowd control to lock down the Death Knights and Hunters put down traps," Lu Li instructed as he jumped down and joined the fight.


    There wasn''t much time to give out commands and observe the enemy more. The main forces from each side had already clashed and this would probably be the climax of the battle.


    The Death Knights had lost the Holy Light, but their new gained power was more powerful so the Paladins didn''t stand a chance by themselves. However, with the help of a few Paladin players, the Death Knights'' advance was mitigated.


    The Death Knights were falling one by one and the Scourge''s numbers were depleting.


    Silverhand Paladins, Dwarves and countless adventurers. Lu Li was proud of the team that he''d formed. Each and one of these groups could be a formidable force alone, but combining the three would make them almost unstoppable.


    Since the Silver Hand Paladins were trying to save their comrades, they gave it all they had.


    The Dwarves were protecting them homeland and also gave it their all.


    The 20,000 players that Lu Li recruited were motivated by the loot that the Boss would drop. There were countless Dark Gold equips just from clearing these regular mobs and there was also a high chance of obtaining a legendary weapon from the Boss. They had collected more loot than dungeoning for an entire week.


    It was no wonder why the major guilds kept growing stronger and stronger. Once you had the numbers, you could accomplish almost anything you wanted to.


    Lu Li''s group suffered very few losses because Paladins and Dwarves were tanking everything and all them needed to do was to DPS. The healers were also doing a great job keeping everyone alive. Because of this set up, the fight was over in minutes.


    "Everyone, rest up," Tirion Fordring ordered.


    The Paladins and the Dwarves both stopped. The Paladins were like well-trained troops that immediately got down from their horses to rest, using their Holy Light to heal the wounds of their steeds.


    "There''s a powerful force coming towards us; it''s coming from Lake Mereldar. We will rest up and face off against it!" Tirion Fordring yelled. Although he was fierce and battle-hardened, he was visibly tired from the fighting.


    "Sky Moon, there''s a Boss around where you are that''s moving towards us. Send in waves of people to slow him down," Lu Li messaged Sky Moon.


    They found the Boss and began charging towards it in groups. Although it was basically suicide, they were able to slow it down.

 1545 The Undead Mage

    Such extravagant delaying tactics could only be employed by a player.


    After all, after you died, you could resurrect. Also, the equipment that you drop would be picked up by your brothers behind you. In this sort of hot-blooded moment, the players happily rushed off to the front to die.


    Heigan Lavender used a frightfully powerful Plague Ignition. From a visual point of view, he looked like he was throwing away a lot of poison bottles, then breaking them in mid-air. From this, there was an ignition of a massive Plague Musk Cloud. Players only had to come in contact with the Musk Cloud and they would continue to lose HP.


    Aside from this, there were various types of debuffs, so they needed to carefully see which bottles were thrown.


    "I can''t block them; you''ll have to be careful," Sky Moon warned. Soon enough, he ran out of people to send, and in just a few short minutes, he had lost over a thousand people on his side.


    Lu Li needed to re-evaluate Heigan Lavender''s strength. Perhaps it was because of the event, but this unassuming Undead Mage was actually this strong.


    "The Boss is going to come. Everyone, get ready for battle!" Lu Li cried in a loud voice.


    "Line up!" Tirion Fordring commanded as he mounted his warhorse. The Auras at the Paladins'' feet shimmered with various colours. Even players were also able to enjoy the benefits. Lu Li saw his stats going rising ¨C defense, movement speed, attack strength and so on.


    "Why didn''t you give it to us before?" Lu Li complained annoyedly in his heart.


    He promptly commanded a group to go and finish up taking care of the monsters left over in the cities and towns. Although some of them were fierce, they really couldn''t be compared to the Undead mages who had come over so quickly. Also, they needed to clear up these monsters to have a decisive battle.


    Those twisted Undead mages could be dealt with by the Paladins and Dwarves for now.


    Heigan Lavender was surrounded by the Plague Musk Cloud. Originally, this Musk Cloud was not effective against the Paladins at all; it simply evaporated when the Paladins got near. However, the Plague Musk Cloud that the Boss had conjured this time didn''t look to be that similar.


    For the first time, the Paladins had a difficult on their faces.


    This may have had the most direct damage to the Paladins, being even more effective than physical damage. The Warhammer dwarfs were like this too. Their movements, which originally full of power, began to slow down.


    They basically had no way to get close to the Undead mages.


    "Priests, Disperse!" Regardless of whether or not it was useful, Lu Li still wanted to use to any method available to achieve his goal.


    In the case that the Boss got rid of the Paladins and Dwarves, it would be up to the players to finish him, no matter how long it took.


    "Follow me!" Her Tears shouted, bringing his own players to charge at the Boss. This suicidal charge looked rather tragic, but in a heroic way.


    The Dispels of the Priests, forced the Paladins to spread out inside. These Dispel skills were able to quickly deal with the magic, but weren''t all that effective against poison damage from the Plague. However, they still managed to disperse the dense fog of the Plague. At the very least, they had improved the field of vision for the other players.


    The Plague Fog was gradually dispersed, until it had completely dissipated into thin air.


    The Ranged players were then sent out to attack in great numbers. At that time, the skies were almost completely covered by the many various kinds of splendid skills and arrows.


    Heigan Lavender had been a little stunned by the long-distance magic attacks. As the saying went, many ants could eat up an elephant, which described this situation. With so many skills thrown upon his body, his health had dropped until only a sliver was left.


    Spell Disruption!


    A web of magic had been cast and the Emblems'' magic had been drawn into a trap.


    The effect of this magic was that it reduced the speed of casting a spell by 300%. If it originally took 1 second to cast a magic spell, it would now take 3 seconds. As such, the power of magic in this battle was instantly hamstrung.


    However, there was a simple workaround to this problem.


    The players who had fallen in this trap just needed to withdraw to recover. In any case, Lu Li had brought along over 10 000 players, a few thousand of which were Magic-based. Also, the area that Heigan Lavender''s magic covered didn''t affect any more than a few hundred people.


    Crippling Plague!


    The skill''s area-of-effect increased and over 1000 people had been caught in the trap.


    One skill trapped over a hundred people, and another skill trapped over 1000 people.


    Even Lu Li felt like he was dreaming; his view had been changed.


    He finally knew why this time''s Spreading Plague event was mainly for NPCs. This event emphasised that the power of these characters was simply beyond the power of normal contenders.


    He couldn''t help but begin to sympathise with those clubs who had attempted to kill the Boss.


    They probably were as astonished as Lu Li was now. The difference was that after their astonishment, they may have ushered in the death of the whole team, but Lu Li wasn''t like that. His allies were extremely powerful.


    From those beside him who had charged, there was the Silver Hand, who were renewing their strength after the failed initial attack.


    The players weren''t wounded or killed for nothing!


    Looking at the Warhammer Dwarves again, they were also following right behind.


    "**\u0026...%!"


    Suddenly, there was cursing on the battlefield.


    All the bones on the ground had been pulled away by some mysterious force. They assembled at the feet of Boss Heigan Lavender and formed into Shields of Bones.


    These Shields of Bones definitely acted as an obstacle against the Paladins'' Charge. Lu Li immediately


    directed everyone to attack them.


    Evidently, the threat of the players to the Boss was incomparable to that of the Paladins. Mages were usually like this; it was only when they were a safe distance away that they could do the most damage. As soon as someone powerful attacked them, it would be a terrible disaster.


    This time, Lu Li and his team''s usefulness really had its limits.


    They had no way to shatter these Shields of Bones before the Paladins arrived. However, the Warhammer Dwarves came in swinging, throwing away their Battle Axes and drawing out an even smaller axe from their backs. After this, they hurled them with great force at the Shields of Bones.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Despite being so small, the axes seemed to contain some frightful power. The Shields of Bones were smashed into dust.


    The Paladins raised their hammers, charging right through the rising cloud of debris and into the Boss'' body.


    This was Heigan Lavender''s first sign of defeat. This Undead mage, who was so powerful that he made others feel like there was no way to be on par with him, was actually not dissimilar to any ordinary Mage when an enemy got close to them.


    However, he was still a powerful Undead mage. His death didn''t mean that he had lost his powers from when he was alive.


    An Arcane shield was protecting his body. It was ironic ¨CHeigan Lavender had looked down upon Arcane magic, but at a critical time, he had to call on it to survive.

 1546 Rubbish Rewards

    With the shield, Heigan Lavender stood up in a firm stance again and began his performance.


    The stream of various debuff skills didn''t stop. He slowed down the movements of the Paladins he chose, then grabbing his head in pain, immediately fell down and rolled around. His skin colour began to change to green, then red, especially his head. If Lu Li saw right, his head even began to swell, but his body began to wither.


    A black fog began to spread around his body and the Holy Light gradually disappeared until no traces could be seen.


    Light and darkness were never definitively said to be strong or weak. When the power of darkness was greater than light, then light could only keep silent and lie low.


    The Paladin who was chosen turned into a puppet and began to charge at his own teammates.


    "Keep attacking," Tirion Fordring said, casting a pitiful glance at his subordinate who had been controlled. He resolutely continued to lead a group of Paladins to violently attack Heigan Lavender. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to save his comrade, but it was because he knew that if he saved them now, Heigan Lavender would gain the opportunity to contaminate the other Paladins.


    Only if they could deal with Heigan Lavender once and for all would this Paladin who had been controlled have any chance at all of being saved.


    As a leader, he had led Paladins in many fights against evil and had abundant experience. The power of today''s Undead mage was greater than he had imagined. He didn''t know how such an unknown Undead mage could be this powerful.


    "Breezy, pull that Paladin. Pull him a bit further away and try the magic potions for cursed sicknesses on him!" Lu Li cried out loudly.


    If a teammate was an NPC, then you couldn''t simply give them health. Naturally, the sort of magic that would get rid of magic effects wasn''t effective, but now, since this Paladin was already not a friendly unit, it wasn''t very clear what the outcome would be.


    Lu Li had already thought about it a lot already.


    Even if the magic to get rid of the effect worked, it would also get rid of the enemy''s increased magic. However, this would pull away the Paladin. It would definitely increase the time for Tirion Fordring to advance.


    The Dwarves had also marched up to surround the Boss. They were considered physical output units and their damage to the Arcane shield was high. The towering, solid shield was quickly reduced to a flimsy mess. As soon as Lu Li saw a chance, he pounced onto it. He immediately led a large portion of the forces to wrap around and lay siege to the Boss.


    It wasn''t because Lu Li was particularly bold and powerful. Even if Heigan Lavender didn''t have a shield, he was still one twisted Boss.


    The main thing was that Lu Li needed to have the players deal a high enough proportion of damage. Otherwise, the Boss'' death would be counted to the NPC and so there wouldn''t be anything dropped at all. If that was the case, then what was the point for Lu Li and his team to fight so hard for nothing?


    Although the previous monsters dropped a significant number of items, no one would be satisfied when there was a major Boss in front of them.


    The fearful thing about Heigan Lavender was that he was the strongest Boss Lu Li could encounter.


    If he were any stronger, then no matter how many players there were, it would all be in vain.


    Tirion Fordring had no idea that Lu Li was going to steal the kill; he thought he hadn''t misjudged Lu Li. Although this person was a Thief, if you were talking about his reliability, he was more trustworthy than most Paladins.


    With that in mind, he was dedicated to helping the players by blocking quite a few skills.


    Heigan Lavender''s total HP wasn''t much. After all, he was Magic-based and was also an Undead Mage. In the beginning, when the distance hadn''t been closed and his shield hadn''t been ruined, his HP dropped slowly. However, as soon as the shield and the distance were eliminated, his HP began to drop like water down a drain.


    Tirion Fordring was playing the role of Main Tank, giving players peace of mind as they chipped away.


    System : Congratulations to Ruling Sword, Peerless City, and Drizzle Court, who under the leadership of Lu Li have achieved the First Clear of Heigan Lavender.


    Heigan Lavender had finally reached the end of his life. He fell and turned into a pile of white bones, then this pile of white bones that spontaneously combusted. After a short time, they burned into ashes, and at the very end, a box was left. It was filled with the spoils of war for killing this Boss.


    The Paladin who had been controlled was also slowly starting to recover back to normal.


    However, what made people feel helpless was that he had already lost too much of his vitality. His hair which was originally a golden blonde had become white and shrivelled. There wasn''t much flesh left on his face; he just looked like a wrinkly bag of bones.


    Two Paladins propped him up while Tirion Fordring poured Holy Light into him.


    They didn''t know if he could be saved or not. If he could be saved, then this would be the perfect ending to Tyr''s Hand battle.


    Virtually none of the Paladin and Warhammer Dwarf NPCs had died in battle. Those who died were just adventurer players, but death was already a common occurrence for everyone. As long as the things in the box were valuable, then it was worth it for everyone.


    There was a reward for achieving the First Clear, but it wasn''t always obvious.


    Of the 20,000 people there, at least 15,000 had participated in the battle against the Boss, so there would also be 15,000 rewards.


    Because of this, some might think that the more people who participated in a Wild Boss battle, the more rewards there would be. Of course, the game company wouldn''t be so stupid.


    The less people there were, the better the reward. If there were more people, the quality of the reward would decrease. If, for example, ten people fighting the Boss received a piece of Epic equipment each, then 100 people would only receive Dark Gold equipment and 1000 people might receive Gold equipment.


    Lu Li was shaking his head, speechless as he held the reward ¨C a piece of Steel equipment.


    Of course, not everyone was as unlucky as he was. Some people still received Gold equipment or rare materials.


    However, Skill Points were a completely different story. Fifteen thousand people sharing the reward for a level 60 Boss meant that there was almost no chance of anyone receiving Skill Points.


    Lu Li also knew this, but he really couldn''t do anything about it. If there were too few people, then there was the possibility of not defeating the Boss, even if they were kill-stealing from NPCs.


    At that moment, they were counting on Remnant Dream to see if she could tip the scales in their favour.


    "Lots of rocks."


    Wild bosses were more likely than Instance Dungeon bosses to drop Stones.


    Remnant Dream picked up a small pile of Synthetic Gems and Strengthening Stones.


    The Strengthening Stones were divided into three groups, which were shared among the three clubs equally. Lu Li picked from the Synthetic Gems first, and the rest were divided into two. After all, this was the questline that Lu Li had single-handedly activated himself, so he was given the first choice.


    In terms of equipment, a Boss of this level wouldn''t drop anything of Gold grade. At the very least, it would drop Dark Gold equipment.


    There were nine pieces of Dark Gold equipment, and their quality wasn''t bad at all. They would definitely be better than level 55 Epic equipment. The competition at this time was still quite fierce, and with so many people competing for the equipment, the place immediately became like a vegetable market.


    In the end, Lu Li simply let the three clubs send people to discuss the division.


    Each club received three pieces of Dark Gold equipment. It wasn''t that Lu Li was generous. Rather, he was more generous with the Dark Gold equipment so that he could take an extra piece of Epic equipment.

 1547 Atiesh’s Shard

    After looting the Dark Gold equipment, it was time to move on to the Epic equipment.


    The first thing they looted was two pieces of T2 set equipment. One was for Mages and one was for Warriors. Both these roles had been relatively popularised. Lu Li took the Mage one and gave the other to Water Fairy, who passed it to Deadly Gold Underpants.


    Next was an Epic Necklace, which could be used by all physical attack roles. Because of this, it was relatively competitive.


    Lu Li was still wearing the Dragonfire Amulet, which was of an excellent quality. There was a rare special effect if you were wearing it ¨C you could revive on the spot you were killed once a day. Your XP after revival was reduced by 50%, and no one could attack you for 3 seconds after reviving.


    Lu Li had this advantage regardless of whether he was in an Instance Dungeon or playing PVP.


    As such, Lu Li wouldn''t swap the Necklace for another so quickly. Perhaps he wouldn''t swap it for the whole time he was level 60.


    Lu Li gave this equipment to Water Fairy as Drizzle Court hadn''t received either of the T2 set equips.


    The fourth piece was a weapon.


    Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle!


    Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle (Epic): Damage 84-136, Agility +160, Strength +30, Evasion +30, Groove 2. Special Effect 1: Movement Speed +20%, Special Effect 2: Lookout. With this effect in play, a long-distance view will be obtained. Continues for 30 seconds. 1-minute Cooldown. Special Effect 3: Ripping Bullets. The moment this rifle is fired, it will cause the target to bleed for 5 continuous seconds. 1-minute Cooldown. Requires level 60, endurance 300/300.


    This firearm was considered a Hunter''s weapon, but it was also in demand by Warriors and Thieves.


    Appearance-wise, this gun was well-crafted, so those who cared about aesthetics really liked it. However, this weapon was meant for a level 60 Hunter, so they weren''t in line to compete for it.


    The Wolfslayer was a two-handed weapon that dealt almost the same damage of Lu Li''s single-handed Felstriker. Furthermore, since there was an Evasion quality, for a Hunter, it wouldn''t be that useful. The second special effect was also the same as one of their skills, so it was wasted.


    However, the Attributes were very good, and the third special effect would provide the Hunters with an extra method of dealing with Thieves. The bleeding effect would prevent a Thief from going to hide themselves for the next 5 seconds.


    "I''ll take that gun," Lu Li said bluntly.


    The other players didn''t have much to say. This quest had been triggered by Lu Li, and recently, he hadn''t taken much equipment. His long-ranged weapon was still his Flawless Arcanite Rifle. Even with special effects, if his level 50 Dark Gold weapon was any worse, it would really make him lose face, especially because he was the leader of a major club.


    The main reason Lu Li wanted this gun was for the Lookout special effect.


    For a Hunter, it was easy to gain a long-distance field of vision, but a Thief didn''t have a similar skill. To observe the enemy, Lu Li still needed to transform into a crow and fly up in the sky.


    Additionally, Ripping Bullets were a useful thing for Lu Li. He could use them to carry out a mirror match up with another Thief.


    The Flawless Arcanite Rifle was definitely top class though. No matter the situation, it did a great job of dishing out 300 ranged damage. It was especially good for Thieves without a long-distance fighting ability. However, the 300 attack damage would be decreased with an increase in defense.


    Under normal circumstances, anything over 100 damage was already not bad.


    In the end, what made Lu Li change his Flawless Arcanite Rifle was the difference in quality.


    This Wolfslayer Sniper Rifle had almost 300 attribute points put together. For level 60s, this was already the limit.


    Preceptor''s Hat!


    It turned out there was a fifth piece of Epic equipment. This time, it was a Cloth Armor for Priests.


    Obviously, it was of amazing quality, but at that time, when T2 equipment was so popular, the sale price was definitely a little worse than normal.


    Lu Li gave it to Water Fairy for her to distribute fairly.


    "There''s still more!" Remnant Dream exclaimed.


    "Still more?"


    Lu Li just couldn''t calm down. One Boss dropping five Epic equips was unheard of, even if it was a Wild Boss.


    No wonder so many clubs in the last couple of days had been fighting so hard to kill the Plaguelands Wild Boss. It turned out that the drops here were increased. Even if it cost a little more, it was still worth it.


    "Desecrated Girdle, Mold," Remnant Dream announced, showing the piece of equipment to everyone.


    "A T3 belt," Lu Li said. It looked like this Heigan Lavender and ''Heigan the Unclean'' in the Naxxramas Instance Dungeon were one and the same. It was just that they had fought the strengthened Wild version, which was why he would drop a T3 set equipment belt.


    "Such a strange name," Remnant Dream commented as she handed the belt to Lu Li. Then, hoping against all odds, she continued to search the corpse.


    The Desecrated Girdle was used by Paladins, Shamans, Hunters and Druids.


    Originally, it was the Shamans, Hunters and Druids who didn''t have many points to spend for equipment. Then all of a sudden, they were put together to compete for the item, and they were also competing with the Paladins, who had more players on their side. There wasn''t anything else more infuriating.


    Lu Li kept this piece of equipment. He was planning to give it to Mu Qiu, because Mu Qiu was switching to a damage output Paladin build, so Lu Li had to give enough resources.


    As for how Mu Qiu felt, Lu Li didn''t actually care. After giving him enough resources, he hoped that Mu Qiu would be able to reciprocate with a certain degree of results. If Mu Qiu was able to become a second Tire Killer like in Lu Li''s memory of his past life, then all the investment would be meaningful. Otherwise, he really wouldn''t be able to explain his own greed.


    "Splinter of Atiesh. What is this thing?"


    Remnant Dream felt that today, her hands had touched too many things.


    However, this last item didn''t look like it fit within the traditional set of equipment. It looked more like a of rare material, or a quest item.


    After Lu Li heard Remnant Dream''s voice, his gaze burned through her Chain Mail Armor. This scared her a little, but she quickly understood what Lu Li''s gaze meant. She was immediately happy for her own pets. Boss Lu Li had given her another award and her little pets could have an extra meal.


    It was another weapon that required one complete do a lot of quests before getting it; it was another Legendary weapon.


    Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian!


    The Guardian Tirisfal''s mystical Magic Staff which had been passed down from generation to generation for over 2000 years!


    Medivh''s weapon!


    Even though it was only the most tiny, insignificant part, it was still a good start. This weapon couldn''t simply be had by obtaining 40 shards and combining them together. They still needed to kill two final Bosses in large-scale Instance Dungeons to complete it. It definitely wasn''t any easier to gain than any of the other Legendary weapons.


    Since the quest was so difficult, where the shards were distributed was also very random.


    However, because of how things turned out, Lu Li felt as though this shard was extremely valuable, and would greatly increase the strength of his club.

 1548 Committed

    The fragments were placed by Lu Li''s side. The others didn''t really know what they were, and Lu Li had no interest in explaining it to tens of thousands of people.


    For the ordinary players who had participated in the battle, defeating this Boss was like freeing Tyr''s Hand from the Scourge. Quite a bit of Prestige was awarded in addition to the guild points given by Lu Li. Everyone had gained something.


    Almost no one expected to receive the equipment that the Boss dropped.


    As for the equipment dropped by the quasi-Bosses and the Elite monsters, the players could buy them with their guild points.


    The rewards were quite bountiful, and over a dozen Epic equipment had been dropped. This equipment was even more powerful than the equips that dropped after a Stronghold battle. There were hundreds of Dark Gold equipment, and no one ended up with a net loss after the fight.


    Dawn wasn''t about individual people. The gaming industry placed great emphasis on the importance on economies of scale.


    If Lu Li didn''t have these 20,000 players, then not only would they be unable to claim Tyr''s Hand, but they also wouldn''t have gained so many items. After all, equipment wasn''t dropped if an NPC killed the monster.


    Unfortunately, the Epic equipment dropped was quite basic. They were very good for the ordinary players'' standards, but Lu Li couldn''t put any of it to use, except the set equipment.


    "All this was thanks to the people you brought," Tirion Fordring said gratefully.


    "You are too kind. I hope that your companions are okay," Lu Li replied as he directed everyone to clean up the battlefield and to search for the imprisoned Paladins.


    However, they couldn''t find the Paladins in the prison of the town.


    "Rest assured ¨C no one will be able to leave the town. My people have the place surrounded," Lu Li said.


    "The lost comrades and loved ones will only make our anger even more intense," Tirion Fordring sighed as he looked at the dead bodies in the town. There were many people hanging on the pillars, some of which were broken. These bodies would soon transform into Undead or Patchwork Monsters.


    The adventurers collected the bodies and burned them in pits dug outside the town. Burning the bodies prevented them from being used by the Scourge.


    To the adventurers, these bodies belonged to the NPCs, so at most, they felt sympathy that was akin to watching a sad movie. However, Tirion Fording and the Paladins felt these losses deeply as they were the people that they had vowed to protect.


    "We have found many civilians," Lu Li reported to Tirion Fordring after hearing the news.


    "Where?" Tirion Fordring asked hurriedly. He had though that the people of Tyr''s Hand had all been killed.


    Lu Li led him through several buildings and stopped in front of a large, collapsed house. Tirion Fordring''s face looked anxious ¨C what was under the house?


    After a few seconds, he followed Lu Li down a hole from the side. Then, he saw an underground hall, which was noisy and filled with distraught humans. He estimated that there were at least 3000 people still alive.


    The population of Tyr''s Hand was only four to five thousand people, so it was great that three thousand had survived.


    The owner of this home might have accidentally dug into a cave when excavating a tunnel, which meant it could accommodate many people.


    Originally, they thought that these people were hiding here, but after questioning someone, they discovered that these people had been trapped here by Heigan Lavender. They were imprisoned for the Cult of the Damned''s experiments.


    The Cult of the Damned was now conducting live experiments, which were said to be improving the quality of Undead after they transformed.


    The Scourge had always been unable to maintain a proper advantage against the Alliance, mainly because of the low combat power of their troops.


    If an undead Soldier and a human soldier fought, the Undead would probably win. If it was a two on two, it would be harder to tell. However, if it was a five on five, then the Undead would stand no chance. They were helpless against the resilient cooperation of intelligent creatures.


    Therefore, raising the base level combat ability of these troops was the current topic of the Cult of the Damned''s research.


    The existence of these three thousand people meant that Tyr''s Hand could be quickly rebuilt, and their defenses could be reinforced. The Undead would be unlikely to give up on the town so easily next time.


    After all, Tyr''s Hand was like a thorn in the side of Arthas and Kel''Thuzad.


    However, it was also unlikely that it would be another mass invasion. Tyr''s Hand was not an easy location to attack, otherwise, the Scarlet Crusade wouldn''t have been able to hold it for so long. The Scourge would also be under pressure from the Alliance army, so they couldn''t break off too many troops to deal with this location.


    By the end of the event, the NPCs and monsters in the Plaguelands had returned to normal, and


    Tyr''s Hand had even become a safer place.


    Soon, the adventurers would be rushing into Naxxramas, and the Scourge would not have the freedom to deal with Tyr''s Hand. Even if Arthas knew about the threat of Tirion Fordring, it didn''t mean that he would lose.


    Lu Li was a little relieved as he thought he would have to defend Tyr''s Hand.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t want to defend it, but that the players were not like real soldiers. If they had to defend NPC-territory everyday, they would go mad.


    Of course, if the NPCs were the main ones doing the defending and just asked for the players'' assistance in exchange for rewards, then that would be no problem.


    After asking the survivors, Tirion Fordring found his Paladin veterans in a deeper part of the crypt. Only a dozen of them had survived. Almost all of them were injured, and some of them were comatose. Ten of them had been killed and their bodies were displayed in a line, waiting for the Lich to transform them.


    Given the number of casualties, it was clear that these Paladins were difficult to capture as they would have rather died.


    Tirion Fordring had apparently expected such a result. He personally healed the injured Paladins and promised to avenge the deaths of the others.


    "Boss, let''s stay with the Paladin group," Drifting Rain suggested when he found Lu Li.


    Drifting Rain was in charge of one of Ruling Sword''s Paladin groups. He was a member of the Night Watchmen camp and had participated in many Darkshire quests, assisting the Night Watchmen on the frontlines against the Scourge army.


    There was a group of them who had mastered fighting on horseback, and could really complement Tirion Fordring''s fighting style.


    "I will stay too," Her Tears said. He was also a Paladin, but was the head of the group which specialized in open field combat. The people in his group were PVP madmen, and were very passionate about fighting. This meant that Tyr''s Hand was very attractive to them.


    Lu Li and the others obviously couldn''t stay, as they needed to continue developing the strategy for Blackwing''s Nest.


    Although the First Clear had been taken by them, they had the Dragons Slayer''s Roar when fighting the little Red Dragon, and had gotten a bit lucky with the final Boss Nefarian. When cooldown refreshed, it was unclear as to whether they could do it again.


    The other clubs were still stuck fighting the little Red Dragon.


    As for the activities of the Plaguelands, it was unlikely that they would meet a Boss of Heigan Lavender''s level. Even if you did, you wouldn''t be able to defeat it without help. If you looked at the records of any club, you would know the devastating costs of these Bosses.


    There had been many First Clear announcements over these few days.


    One after another, the Scourge Bosses had been killed, but they didn''t drop any valuable items.


    The return on these Bosses were so disproportionate that Ruling Sword didn''t want to focus on doing Plaguelands activities.


    Lu Li bid Tirion Fordring farewell, and promised to leave no less than 2000 people to assist with the defense of the town before his reinforcements arrived. In addition, Lord Metz Drakrep would also be sending troops to defend the town, so there would be no concerns for Tyr''s Hand.


    "Thank you, my friend," Tirion Fordring said as he embraced Lu Li. "I am glad that you were who I thought you were. You are a zealous and just man, even if you walk among the shadows."


    "We are friends, my Lord. One day, I will build a Stronghold in these lands to fight these damned Scourge, for all of Azeroth," Lu Li said seriously. If the other players didn''t know what he was doing, they might have been touched.


    "Really?" Tirion Fordring''s eyes lit up.


    In fact, he didn''t know that the alliances he currently had were temporary. The soldiers would later be evacuated to Light''s Hope Chapel, leaving Tyr''s Hand defenceless. If Lu Li''s people were here in a Stronghold, then they could at least watch over the town.


    "When that happens, we will still need your assistance!" Lu Li nodded.


    "When I needed you most, you reached out to help me," Tirion Fordring said, then solemnly promised, "So, my friend, the Silver Hand''s Paladins will fight for your Stronghold!"


    Lu Li tried to hide his excitement as he shook hands with Tirion Fordring.

 1549 A New Stronghold

    The early Strongholds were all arranged directly by the System ¨C neither the NPCs nor the monsters had anything to do with it.


    If the System drew out a piece of land in the Plaguelands for a Stronghold and the players occupied it, the NPCs and monsters in the area would not attack it, no matter how evil they were. Accordingly, it didn''t matter if you were Alliance or Horde, as they wouldn''t defend for you either.


    However, for Lu Li, things were different. This was an NPC he knew from a Story Quest.


    To put it differently, he had helped the NPC at a crucial moment and had now established an offensive and defensive alliance.


    Once they had captured a Stronghold in the Plaguelands, then Tirion Fordring would send Tyr Hand''s guards to help them defend it. Of course, for the sake of balance in the game, these guards were not that strong and there were not too many of them.


    In fact, there were many similar opportunities in the other maps, but not all could be found so easily.


    The System prompted Lu Li that he had completed in regaining land that belonged to Tyr''s Hand for Tirion Fordring. The other players who had participated in the recovery of Tyr''s Hand also received this prompt and were awarded a significant amount of Reputation.


    In addition to the Reputation, Lu Li was also awarded Skill Points for completing the Friend of Tirion Fordring Quest.


    This was Lu Li''s real reward!


    After all, he had confidence in defending Strongholds, but acquiring Skill Points was something he couldn''t do, even though he had experienced rebirth.


    Lu Li basically spent the next few days at Blackwing''s Nest.


    In that week, Glory Capital had finally defeated the little Red Dragon. However, since Ruling Sword had the experience of their previous battle, they also did it on the same day. Soon afterwards, the other clubs began to defeat the little Red Dragon too.


    Blackwing''s Nest, which had been a source of headache for many major clubs, was quickly becoming history.


    However, for an ordinary guild, Vaelastrasz was still an insurmountable challenge.


    It was only when the little Red Dragon was officially nerfed that Blackwing''s Nest would finally be accessible to casual players. The Instance Dungeon would then be well and truly relegated to history.


    A game could be difficult, but not to the point that no one was able to complete it. Otherwise, there would be no players to play the game. In the past, there had been games that flaunted their own difficulty, and put out a reward for the completion of the game. However, those games had relatively short lifespans.


    The next Instance Dungeon was Zul''Gurub.


    Currently, only the lore of this Instance Dungeon had been released. There was no way to actually enter the Instance Dungeon yet. This Instance Dungeon was also quite difficult. The earlier stages of this Zul''Gurub and Black Wing''s Nest were comparable in the sense that they dropped rubbish items. Yet, the difficulty was comparable to the Molten Core.


    Additionally, it was a 20-person Instance Dungeon, which meant that they wouldn''t have the strength or versatility of 40 players.


    Even if you got the First Clear, there would only be 20 rewards, so Lu Li planned to wait a little bit before investing in trying to get the First Clear.


    In addition to the upcoming Donghua Cup, his efforts would be focused on the newly opening Strongholds.


    In the new week, two Strongholds were being opened.


    One was in the Hillsbrad Hills of the Eastern Kingdoms and the other was in the Stonetalon Mountains of Kalimdor.


    In fact, Lu Li wanted to win both locations. The foot of the Hillsbrad Hills was home to Ravenholdt Manor, which was great for him. Perhaps one day, he would have more chances to participate in the Story missions for Ravenholdt Manor.


    The Stonetalon Mountains were connected to Grey Valley.


    Grey Valley was the base camp of Ruling Sword, so if they wanted to expand outwards, it was only a matter of time before they had to win the Stoneclaw Mountains.


    However, Lu Li also knew that this was just a pipe dream. Only two new Strongholds had been opened, but there were dozens of clubs who wanted to occupy them. Ruling Sword already had two Strongholds and were facing public criticism for it.


    Sure enough, the money that Lu Li bid didn''t even afford them a chance to attack.


    It had become more and more expensive for a successful bid. At the beginning, 20,000 gold coins was enough, but now, they needed 50,000 to even stand a chance.


    This was in part due to the huge money-generating ability of the two Strongholds that Ruling Sword had. In these two to three weeks, Ruling Sword had relied on defending these two Strongholds to not only make back the original capital spent, but also to resolve their embarrassing financial crisis.


    Before leaving, Lu Li had seen the financial statements. Although he didn''t understand the specifics, he could still understand that his guild now had tens of millions in assets.


    Most of those profits had been generated by the Strongholds in these three weeks.


    Of course, the income was so great because there were so few Strongholds. In the future, it would be difficult to have gain much income from them.


    Even so, the prosperity of the Strongholds still attracted many large clubs. Even with clear-headed leadership, one couldn''t ignore the allure of occupying a Stronghold.


    50,000 gold was already a huge sum of money just for the opportunity to attack one.


    The ultimate winner of the Hillsbrad Hills was Grand Hegemony.


    This club, which had been established in the 70s and 80s, was only now making its rise. When Lu Li took the First Clear of the Spider Lair, he had done it with players from that guild.


    They later received many capital investments and started on their road to fame.


    Grand Hegemony was different from other clubs. When an ordinary club received a capital investment, they would desperately save money to buy star players.


    Those star players would then be used to win a few competitions. This was done in the hope that it would attract a large number of players to join, resulting in a rise in the club''s rankings. However, the problem was that the average professional player couldn''t win that many competitions and their price was too high.


    For example, Fat Monkey currently doesn''t have a great record of winning with Ruling Sword, but he was still worth five million dollars.


    The clever thing about Grand Hegemony''s dominance was that in addition to their few star players, they just had second or third-rate players. These were players that usually didn''t even qualify for competitions.


    Stronghold battles weren''t the same as competitions as all 80 players needed to hold their own. This meant that the fighting power of Grand Hegemony in such battles was scary, and they quickly occupied the Hillsbrad Hills.


    It was Peerless City that won the Stonetalon Mountains. After all, they had the combined strength of both Drizzle Court and Peerless City.


    After the incident with Soul Eater, Peerless City had a bad public reputation. But now that they had taken the Stonetalon Mountains, it was a slap to the faces of all their haters.


    The next phase was for the bidding and attacking of Strongholds that already had owners.


    Ruling Sword''s two Strongholds were once again very popular, and the bidding prices for them were higher than for the new Strongholds.


    However, it was Drizzle Court that eventually gained the opportunity to attack the Black Sea Coast. Ruling Sword obviously intended to split the money and avoid being attacked. Now, Lu Li could divert all of his resources into defending Grey Valley, which was being attacked by Wings of Dawn.

 1550 Luck

    The Wings of Dawn were a powerhouse guild.


    Even Lu Li had to admit that. However, in his eyes, they were nothing more than an opponent that was putting some pressure on him.


    To think that back in the day, a young internet addict who left home would have conflict with someone while training in the Wild.


    His gaming talent was not bad ¨C it was enough to defeat someone.


    Unfortunately, the ones killed by him had a guild background, so he quickly fell under the siege of a group of people.


    This young man was very stubborn and wasn''t willing to suffer any losses, so he went back again and again. He would charge front on, from behind, and use all sorts of tactics. However, in the end, he found in despair that his human strength would only be exhausted. How could one man possibly fight against an army?


    Hence, he created a small guild.


    This guild was called the Wings of Dawn.


    As time went by, the ridiculous and childish original intention of founding a guild had long ceased to exist as he gained great ambition and strengths. Thirty years had passed, and this guild grew stronger and stronger, until finally, it dominated the top of the rankings.


    This young man grew up and had a son called Dream 13.


    Dream 13 was both the leader and coach of the Wings of Dawn. His father was the CEO of the guild. Someday, he would inherit this family business and become the master of the Wings of Dawn.


    In addition to inheriting his father''s estate, he also carried on his father''s other wish ¨C to defeat Seventh Heaven.


    The ones who bullied that young man back in the day, which led to his rage in establishing the guild, were some outlying members of Seventh Heaven.


    These two guilds were both elite guilds in the top 10 rankings of the China region.


    Defeating Seventh Heaven was easier said than done, so they battled at every opportunity. One could see Wings of Dawn and Seventh Heaven against each other in every public battle The audiences were always very excited as everyone knew about this old feud.


    In the battles for Strongholds, these two guilds would also be particularly competitive.


    This naturally became the standard for their competition.


    The Wings of Dawn employed some odd tactics, many of which were ideas from Dream 13. Even so, they operated successfully and took Tanaris from Peerless City.


    Soul Eater had told Dream 13 all of Peerless City''s arrangements and helped him take Tanaris. Dream 13 had given Soul Eater a large payment in return, as well as a promise to form an alliance after Soul Eater defected and support his rebellion.


    This plan was pretty perfect, and could only be pulled off by a super guild like the Wings of Dawn.


    Otherwise, even if you knew the arrangement of Peerless City''s Stronghold, you still couldn''t capture it. Everything meant nothing in the face of absolute power.


    The youngster who created Wings of Dawn with his own hands was still a stubborn one, even at his old age.


    He believed that you needed actual strength and ability to take the Stronghold. The Wings of Dawn which he created with his own hands should have been able to take over the young Drizzle Court, which was a mere branch of his sub-branch.


    Dream 13 received a beating because of this, but before his wounds could heal, he got another beating.


    This was because Tanaris was taken by the Gangnam Royals. This beating was worse than the last because his old man despised this so-called club which was created by the pampered second generation.


    Dream 13''s butt was so swollen, he even limped as he walked.


    All of Wings of Dawn knew he had gotten a beating. Even the whole server was aware of this.


    Thinking about Ruling Sword as the next opponent made Dream 13 curse full of hatred.


    It''s not that he actually wanted to strike Grey Valley. He had bid for several holds, and every one of them was about the same price. Originally, he thought that the opponent would be the Gangnam Royals, but if not, even Blood Red War Flag would be okay. Who knew it would be Lu Li''s Grey Valley?


    The reason was simple. Everyone thought the Gangnam Royals were easy to bully, so they all went to bid for their Stronghold. As such, the winning price was raised very high.


    Lu Li''s Grey Valley was one of the earliest Strongholds, and had been sieged numerous times.


    Even Sorrowless came back with his wings clipped. Any fool would avoid looking for death after that. So naturally, there were fewer people who participated in the bidding, and even if they did participate, the bidding price wouldn''t be too high.


    Hence, Dream 13 won the right to attack by casually placing a bid.


    He felt his glutes start to faintly ache.


    "Oh God, I''m already 23 and still getting beaten. How is this humane?"


    This time in attacking Grey Valley, Dream 13 decided that no matter what, he had to beat Lu Li. He led the mobilisation meeting filled with rage, and promised that all members who participated would earn a large sum of prize money if they took Grey Valley.


    Even though everyone knew how hard it was to beat Ruling Sword, especially since Lu Li had lost very few times since his debut, everyone breathed heavily when they heard the large sum of prize money up for grabs.


    "Even if we don''t take the Stronghold, I will still give people rewards per head. As long as you kill someone on the opposing side, there will be money up for grabs. I''m not afraid of you guys killing more. Even if I have to pawn off my pants, I will give as much money as agreed upon," Dream 13 viciously declared.


    "You''re already in the state that you are. It''ll probably hurt more if you don''t wear pants," Elevenless sighed sympathetically.


    "Elevenless, do you wanna die?" Dream 13 nearly cried.


    When he got beaten, Elevenless was right beside him, yet he didn''t even help persuade his old man to go lightly. Even though they weren''t biological brothers, they were still cousins who grew up together like brothers. Why couldn''t he have shown more fraternal love?


    "Even if the Wings of Dawn aren''t as strong as Glory Capital, they are willing to throw so much money into this battle, so they must have some certainty in winning," Lu Li observed.


    "Yeah where on earth is their confidence coming from?" Azure Sea Breeze was very puzzled. As he looked up to the sky at a 45 degree angle, his mellow voice made everyone feel a little heavier.


    "Idiot," Wandering ruthlessly cursed, "He''s bid for several Strongholds at the same price. Clearly it was a random bid and he''s lucky he got us."


    Azure Sea Breeze angrily retorted, "It was good luck we got the bid?! You''re the real idiot here."


    That contemptuous expression and tone looked exactly like Wandering.


    It was indeed not very good luck to have gotten Ruling Sword.


    Nine months ago, people in the gaming circle didn''t even know of the existence of Lu Li as a person. Half a year ago many thought that the rise of Lu Li was purely out of luck. Some people even thought that Ruling Sword would be quickly defeated by the Gangnam Royals and Glory Capital.


    Evidently, these thoughts were all history.


    Lu Li''s name was now famous around the world. Not a single person thought it was because of good luck. In reality, many people knew he was a dark horse.


    Ruling Sword stood firm and did not fall after fighting Glory Capital several times, but they had also stealthily gained the upper hand.


    Even Sorrowless'' dream lover was a Paladin in Ruling Sword.


    Despite the Gangnam Royals being a hard group to defeat, they had also suffered great losses. These were painful lessons that had not been learnt in the past decade.


    Lu Li was not easy to deal with!

 1551 Murderous Explosive Equipmen

    "It''s obvious that Lu Li''s not easy to deal with," Dream 13 angrily said, "But just because it''s not easy doesn''t mean we don''t deal with it. Or should we just throw in the towel and let all those gold coins go to waste?"


    "That''s not what I meant. Don''t get so upset with me," Elevenless munbled.


    "You''re scared, aren''t you?" Dream 13 asked as he squinted towards him.


    "Me? Scared?" Elevenless responded incredulously as he pointed at himself in disbelief.


    Dream 13 noddled solemnly.


    "I''m not a pussy!" Elevenless cried out with rage. "I was just worried you were underestimating your opponent. Even though every time I''ve been beaten to death by Lu Li, I''ve never been scared of him! Today is the day I butcher him."


    "That''s a must!" Dream 13 thought his pre-battle mobilization was rather successful.


    Hence, both sides filed into the Stronghold map to begin the battle.


    At this time, Grey Valley had become a towering city. After all, it was reinforced in various forms by the professional players of Ruling Sword every day.


    It was more solid than the Black Sea Coast.


    Not to mention, the lush vegetation surrounding them could turn into endless numbers of small tree-people and take part in the battle. The recalled descriptions of those who fought last already made some people shiver like small quails.


    This was a game. They weren''t afraid of death. They were afraid of the fear that would overwhelm and bury you.


    There was a type of fear in this world called trypophobia.


    The arrow tower was easy to push down. If there was no to defend them, the city walls could actually collapse. Unfortunately, the Stronghold''s wall couldn''t possibly be unprotected.


    The arrow tower indeed did not have anyone guarding it, so the Wings of Dawn easily advanced past two of them.


    "Why won''t they defend the arrow towers? The damage of arrow towers is still quite high," one Wings of Dawn player who controlled the war chariot commented.


    "They''re quite confident, so they don''t use stalling tactics," Dream 13 sighed. This act in itself was rather contemptuous. No one liked being looked down upon. Dream 13 also felt anger, but more so shame.


    Even though he had never lost confidence, he understood the gap between his own guild and Ruling Sword, especially when it came to this field of attack and defence.


    "I heard that in the future they won''t be as strict in the selection of players as it is now. Plus, the number of vehicles will also decrease, so it''ll be easier to attack Strongholds."


    Elevenless was always up to date with the news; he was a professional player after all. His circle liked to share news, or in other words, some people always couldn''t hold in information.


    "Unfortunately, that doesn''t apply now," Dream 13 sighed.


    They advanced to the foot of the city.


    A head, like a growing flower, popped out from the top of the building.


    "You guys are so slow," Wandering chided. "Why is it your club this time? It''s no fun at all!"


    That look was wounding. Elevenless and Dream 13 nearly went up to bash him.


    "If you''ve got guts, then come out and fight! Have you already forgotten your name just after a few battles?"


    "Why should I go out and fight with you guys? If you''re so good, why don''t you come in? FYI my surname is Liu. You better remember it."


    Wandering remained very self-satisfied, as if it was some amazing feat to remember what his name was.


    "Liu Jinzhu¡­" Elevenless said as he grinned and looked up, "My primary school friend was call Liu Jinzhu. He was better looking than you are."


    "How dare you!" Wandering was stunned at first, then angrily shouted towards the sky, "Kill him! Kill all of them!"


    "Do you think he''ll jump down because he''s so angry?"


    Dream 13 felt relieved of his anger. He hated people like Wandering ¨C men with good looks. Yet, he didn''t become a prostitute, which was a waste.


    "I do hope he''ll jump down. I''ll take all the equipment on him."


    Elevenless watched Wandering jump up and down up there, cursing in all sorts of ways. He did seem a bit agitated. Why would such a pretty person speak in such a rough, unrefined manner and curse such terrible words?


    As such, he began to swear back with all sorts of curse words.


    Dream 13 also joined in when he saw his mate on the weaker side.


    A player from the Wings of Dawn couldn''t bear this going on any longer.


    "Dream 13, are we here to attack the city or here to have a cursing battle? The three of you look like shrill housewives."


    "Um¡­" Elevenless and Dream 13 looked at each other. They both felt a tad awkward.


    They could not believe they were angered to this extent by a punk like Wandering. It could only be said that Wandering was truly so terrible that you would want to kill him as long as you were human.


    If the girl you liked was love-struck whenever they laid eyes on him, to the extent that their phone screen was of him, wouldn''t you hate him or want to kill him?


    "Oi! How come you''re not cursing anymore? You tired?" Wandering shouted back at them, looking surprised by the lack of response.


    "Start attacking," Dream 13 commanded with a wave his hand. All sorts of cannons began aiming towards Wandering. Everything was aiming towards him in the hope that they could kill him.


    "I''m guessing you''ll soon be cursing again," Wandering said as he raised his shield. "Children, exterminate them!"


    Suddenly, a shadow shrouded over the members of the Wings of Dawn.


    Elevenless raised his head in fear and saw the skill coming straight at him. when he looked around, he nearly shouted out.


    They were surrounded!


    "Screw you Wandering! How dare you cheat!" Dream 13 yelled after he also realised what had happened.


    "Hehe that''s right, let''s continue."


    Such a handsome and beautiful person loved to curse, but no one had spared a thought to care about him in this moment.


    The city walls of Ruling Sword only had Wandering on his own. Everyone else was underneath lying in ambush.


    As they were cursing, Lu Li had taken people from both sides and made a sudden attack. The Wings of Dawn were caught unexpectedly.


    Both sides had about the same number of people. One party had a plan beforehand, while the other one was caught unexpectedly. Plus, the people of Wings of Dawn had to protect their war chariot, so their fighting capacity was affected. They had no alternative but to let some people protect the chariot and retreat, while the others were entangled with holding up the pursuing troops.


    Wandering continued to shout from up on the city walls.


    "They''re running away! Get them! Get them!"


    The people on the chariot ran even faster, while those who remained felt even more selfless and ready to sacrifice themselves.


    They could not let the war chariot be destroyed, because if it was destroyed, then there was no further hope.


    However, if you looked from Wandering''s perspective, you would find that no one from Ruling Sword was actually chasing them to destroy the chariot. They usually operated as three-man teams and would aim to attack one target. This would quickly kill off a large portion of those who remained.


    By the time that those who escaped with the war chariot were at a safe distance, Ruling Sword had already killed off over 30 people from the Wings of Dawn.


    In fact, Ruling Swords'' target had always been the Murderous Explosive Equipment. The war chariot was never the actual target.

 1552 Spawn Camping

    After the battle finished, Ruling Sword earned over 10 pieces of equipment with little to no effort.


    Lu Li stopped everyone''s thoughts of continuing to chase them. Just then, they had charged full-force in that wave of attack and now, many skills and special effects were cooling down. Even if they did chase after them there was no guarantee they would succeed, so there was no need for that.


    Moreover, Ruling Sword''s revive point was inside the city. One more dead teammate meant one less person.


    The Wings of Dawn''s revive point was next to where the arrow tower was before. Those who died would soon come back and join in the battle again. As such, a prolonged battle would be more difficult for Lu Li''s people.


    Dream 13 gathered the players of the Wings of Dawn and turned around to try and attack Ruling Sword. However, he didn''t think that they would retreat so quickly altogether. All except one stood at the wall.


    "Absolutely shameless¡­"


    The players of the Wings of Dawn were so depressed they wanted to vomit blood.


    Wandering once again squeezed to the front and laughed, "Let''s continue! It''s been so long since I''ve had so much fun cursing at someone. Are you guys having fun? Surprised?"


    "Liu Jinzhu, believe it or not but I''m gonna come and kill you," Elevenless threatened as he took a deep breath.


    "Believe it or not, if you call me Liu Jinzhu one more time, I''ll curse you again."


    Wandering wasn''t very happy either because they kept calling him by his real name. Didn''t his name sound nice? He even got rid of the word ''beautiful'' to show his modesty, and chose the word "Wandering" so it sounded more poetic and melancholy.


    "Hehe, is it so fun to surprise attack others? Smash! Smash everything to bits!" Elevenless shouted with rage.


    Elevenless was one of the 30-odd people who had died just then. Plus, he had also dropped an Epic equipment, so he was naturally quite unhappy. Wandering just then had attracted all the attention by acting as bait, allowing Lu Li to lead everyone into a sneak attack. Otherwise, the Wings of Dawn would not be afraid of facing them head-on.


    As long as the players of Ruling Sword dared to come out again, they would get more than they bargained for.


    "Oh dear, you nearly hit me you know."


    Wandering had an incredulous look on his face and was simmering in his anger as he stood on the wall. The players of the Wings of Dawn fought desperately, chariots and people altogether.


    If you were killed, then you would drop equipment. If you dropped equipment, then you ran the risk of it being picked up by someone else.


    The one responsible for picking up equipment was Cain''s Left Hand, who was equipped from head to toe in rubbish. He was basically submerged in skills after picking up an item, but items in-hand only had a very small probability of being dropped again.


    Despite the fact that you could only pick up one piece of equipment in each battle, it wasn''t guaranteed that you would grab one. In fact, you could earn a couple of equipment after the battle.


    Ruling Sword didn''t have many elite groups, so their equipment inventory was far less than other major guilds. As such, every piece they could grab mattered.


    "Haha, it''s gonna fall, it''s gonna fall!"


    They had been fighting for more than an hour and the Wings of Dawn were finally starting to see some hope. In fact, they didn''t understand why they were able to smash the wall to the point of destruction. Ruling Sword hadn''t seemed to buy any war chariots at all this round.


    "I must kill Wandering. I must kill him as soon as I see him," Elevenless said, filled with hatred.


    He had been killed by Lu Li numerous times before, but he would be very clear-cut and leave straight after. He wasn''t like Wandering, who mocked him with every word.


    Since the city wall was about to be smashed down, the players of Ruling Sword naturally couldn''t continue staying there.


    Wandering and Lu Li''s eyes met and they nodded, without a hint of anxiety shown at all.


    The Wings of Dawn rearranged slightly and flooded through the broken gap.


    They guessed correctly this time; Ruling Sword were trapped right there. As such, the ones who charged in first were all professions with Plate Armor like Paladins and Warriors. Once the Plate Armor professions broke in, the others followed suit.


    As long as they went in to fight recklessly, there would be winners and losers.


    From the current situation, the Wings of Dawn had the advantage.


    "3, 2, 1!" Lu Li shouted in the team channel, then threw a flag onto the ground.


    The flag had a fiercely-coiled venomous snake on it. Once activated by Lu Li, it appeared to spring alive as magic began to emanate from the centre of the flag.


    Vol''Jin''s Battle Flag (Special): Place Vol''Jin''s Battle Flag, which increases the attack and defense of teammates by 50% in a 100-yard radius. Lasts for 60 seconds. Every 2 seconds, allies within this range will restore 5% of their maximum HP. Lasts for 30 seconds. Cooldown 6 hours. If you die, this item will be dropped.


    Most of the Troll tribes in Azeroth weren''t very well-known, as they hated other races too much and didn''t have many allies.


    However, the Dark Spear Clan and their leader, Vol''Jin, were an exception. Over the years, the Dark Spear Clan established their position through their own actions. Vol''Jin became famous for his constructive advice to Chief Thrall. The cunning Troll took up a powerful political position and stepped onto the stage of history.


    In Lu Li''s hands was exactly Vol''Jin''s Battle Flag.


    In these 60 seconds, Ruling Sword was virtually invincible and incredibly violent. Many things could be achieved within this time.


    "Retreat!"


    Dream 13 wasn''t dumb and reacted quickly. He didn''t know the attributes of Vol''Jin''s Battle Flag, but he did know at the very least that it was quite powerful. If they didn''t withdraw now, then they would be destroyed as a team.


    "Push forward! Keep them here!"


    This time Lu Li took a different strategy.


    He told Ruling Sword to withdraw previously because their revive point was inside the city which was not suitable for drawn-out battles. At this point, the city wall had fallen so their revive point was right there. Even if someone died, they could come back quickly and keep fighting.


    "Move forward! Bring the battle toward their first revive point."


    Lu Li was not satisfied with simply detaining these people; he wanted to kill even more.


    The first revive point had already spawned many playesr. They didn''t think that Ruling Sword would be so aggressive.


    Even though this area was already under the effect of Vol''Jin''s Battle Flag, the players who had just revived didn''t have any buffs. On the hand, the players on Lu Li''s side all had buffs, and moreover, the Wings of Dawn still had more dead players.


    Those who were detained were cleaned up and Ruling Sword had more people join the battle.


    The revive points of Strongholds and battlefields were similar, but the difference was that in Strongholds, they could be chosen.


    They were similar in that being resurrected wasn''t instantaneous.


    The players of the Wings of Dawn would have to wait before they respawned.


    Furthermore, some of them were killed right after being revived, so the number of players overall was far less than that of Ruling Sword.


    In gaming this was called Spawn Camping.

 1553 The Third Trap

    Of course, this situation was unlikely to last long. The players in Wings of Dawn were not stupid. Once they felt as though they couldn''t use this Revive point, they would naturally revive in a further location.


    "I already told you not to call me by my real name. Why don''t you listen?" Wandering cried out as he shook his head in sorrow.


    Fortunately, Elevenless and the others had already revived at the further Revive Point. Otherwise they would have been really annoyed by that statement.


    "Retreat! Get ready for their counterattack," Lu Li instructed, calling everyone back. The Stronghold''s wall had been breached, which meant that their opponents could flood in if they wanted to. If they weren''t careful, Wings of Dawn could attack their Stronghold Crystal and still secure a victory.


    By the time they rushed to the further Revive point, almost all the Wings of Dawn players would have been revived.


    There was no real need to meet them face on in a fight like that anyway.


    At this time, the Wings of Dawn players had finally been revived. A group of players were streaming out of the Revive point, but they all had a miserable look on their faces.


    Overall, they had just experienced just shy of 100 deaths, which meant that they had lost almost 40-50 pieces of equipment. In addition to the previous wars, each player had on average lost a piece of equipment over the course of these Stronghold wars.


    That was 80 pieces of equipment!


    The players that were part of the Elite Group and who were allowed to participate in the Stronghold war had particularly good equipment.


    If you took two players of equal strength, and one of them was a casual player, then they had to be more skilful. If the other was a club player, then there was no doubt that most of their strength would come from their exquisite equipment. This was determined by Dawn''s monetisation system.


    Many of this exquisite Instance Dungeon equipment could only be obtained by guilds and powerful Mercenary Groups. This equipment was generally not for sale either.


    This meant that Wings of Dawn had lost 80 pieces of exquisite equipment, and quite a significant proportion of those items were Epics. Dream 13 made a rough estimate. According to the current market prices, each item had an average value of 500 gold. This meant that the 80 pieces of equipment were worth more than 1 million dollars.


    In addition to the bid for this Stronghold War, they had lost 3 million dollars.


    Three million dollars was no small amount. It was enough for him to get beat up if he tried to report this loss to the board of directors.


    "What now?" Elevenless asked, also feeling a bit frustrated.


    They had already suffered twice. The first time was enough to make them depressed, so the second was unbearable. Ruling Sword seemed to have deliberately allowed them to breach the wall so they easily pursue them afterwards.


    He was afraid of another loss like that, and who knew if there were any more traps?


    "We can use our Thieves the scout them out and see where they are," Dream 13 suggested, but he needed to lift their spirits first.


    In fact, he could have chosen to give up on attacking the Stronghold, since there wasn''t much time left anyway. They had no real hope of taking this Stronghold, but he knew that it wasn''t good to make such a decision, especially with all the losses in equipment they had suffered.


    In the short term, the club might save some money, but their reputation would be damaged in the long term.


    If they didn''t fight because they were afraid of losing, then what would the Wings of Dawn do in the future? Would they just always have to retreat whenever they saw Ruling Sword?


    If he caused the loss of a few dozen pieces of equipment, he might be embarrassed, but if he retreated now then he would probably get beaten up by his old man as well. His father was a firm and resolute man, who would dare to rush into battle even when the odds were against him. In this situation, he was actually evenly matched in terms of numbers, so how could he call a retreat?


    The scouts quickly began to report the location of Ruling Sword''s players.


    They were just by the breach in the wall. The scouts also reported on the chariot situation. After the second defeat, they had also lost all their chariots in addition to the lost equipment.


    Although the wall had been breached, there were no chariots to rush in with.


    However, there was a better plan than using chariots. If they could make the gap larger, then the Wings of Dawn players could flood in without getting stuck. If the gap was bigger, Ruling Sword wouldn''t be able to contain the situation like they were doing right now.


    The two sides began to confront one another again at the gap in the wall.


    This time, Dream 13 and Elevenless were no longer quarrelling with Wandering. In fact, they were completely silent.


    Lu Li didn''t naively think that it was because they were afraid. He continually repositioned his players and played an active defense.


    This silence was obviously the calm before the storm. The Wings of Dawn players were obviously desperate.


    "Would you like the split up command of the troops? If they send some Thieves, it might get annoying," Wandering asked.


    "You can take two players to protect the crystal. If you need help, just ask. We''ll stop them from here."


    Lu Li thought about it for a moment, and felt like having insurance was better. Although this division would diminish their forces, the pressure by the wall was still significant.


    Fortunately, this battle was still going, and time was running out for the Wings of Dawn.


    The battle had started again, and Elevenless rushed in with the others following closely. This time they were prepared and several Mages cast skills together to instantly kill Elevenless.


    However, the remaining players were no longer able to fully block off the gap.


    Everyone was now committed to the fighting, and the gap was a key position being contested.


    "Wandering is gone! Force him to come out and face his death!"


    Elevenless had soon returned after being revived and rejoined the battle. He initiated the fight by casting Whirlwind, killing two players from Ruling Sword.


    "What arrogance," Fat Monkey muttered as he pounced onto him. "You''re now fighting without Whirlwind and you dare to say things like that? Aren''t you useless without that skill?"


    Elevenless was quickly killed again by the ranged players.


    Berserkers were quite awkward in these kinds of sieges. They lacked manoeuvrability and weren''t tanky enough, so they were an easy target.


    "Hey, it''s another Epic! Thanks Elevenless!" Fat Monkey laughed as he quickly grabbed the equipment, and cast Blink to escape the Wings of Dawn players. The PVP standards were getting higher, and because the Blackrock Spire Instance Dungeon basically prohibited Fire Mages, he had to fight other players who had experienced the Instance Dungeon to hone his skills.


    Here, Fat Monkey had grabbed a piece of Elevenless'' equipment, but the Wings of Dawn players had also killed Remnant Dream and took a piece of equipment from her.


    There were many similar situations where equipment was being traded.


    Ruling Sword wasn''t overwhelming them like in the previous two wars. They weren''t just harvesting all the equipment.


    The battle lasted for more than 10 minutes, and the Wings of Dawn finally pushed into the Stronghold. The Stronghold Crystal was not too far from the breach, and they could see it. The Wings of Dawn players were filled with bloodlust. If they destroyed the crystal, the Stronghold


    would be theirs.


    Oh¡­


    A long horn sounded, and Dream 13 suddenly realized that they had forgotten something.


    The Ancient of Lore!


    Countless saplings jumped out from the thick bushes on both sides of the road and overwhelmed the Wings of Dawn players.


    "Defend!" Dream 13 shouted.


    It was another trap!


    Dream 13 wished that they could just fight normally. He felt like Lu Li was deliberately sabotaging themselves so that they could trigger the traps, one at a time.

 1554 A Valid Reason to Screw You Over

    There was indeed a trap here.


    The existence of the Ancient of Lore in the Grey Valley Stronghold was not a secret. When Lu Li was guarding the Black Sea Coast before, he had entrusted Grey Valley to Wandering. There were two trump cards. The first was the walls of the Stronghold and the second was this Ancient of Lore.


    While this tree''s body was rooted within the walls of the Stronghold, its skills were able to strike outside the walls.


    Therefore, a conclusion was reached that the Ancient of Lore''s range was covered a wide radius. Furthermore, this could mean that there were a tremendous number of Treants providing materials for the Ancient of Lore. Only these Treants could summon so many Saplings.


    The first hypothesis was correct. The range of the Ancient of Lore was indeed rather wide and was still able to extend even further. The final extended range could be enough to cover the whole map.


    However, the second hypothesis was not so accurate.


    Truthfully, the Ancient of Lore could use one little Sapling and bring forth a tremendous army. There was no need for logic in the game. After all, games were not logical.


    After breaching the walls of the Stronghold, Dream 13 suddenly realised that they had overlooked the threat that that Ancient of Lore brought.


    Who knew that the Ancient of Lore would become the third threat?


    "Retreat!" This was the third time that they had decided to change tactics and their movements were much quicker. Perhaps it was because they had grown accustomed to it, or maybe it was because everyone in Wings of Dawn was already preparing to retreat as soon as they heard the command.


    "What the¡­They''re running away really quickly!"


    Ruling Sword''s members were all stunned at the speed at which their opponents retreated.


    Around ten of them were left behind while the rest of them ran away. The army of trees was in pursuit of the remainders.


    The saplings quickly rotted. They looked strong, but their Armor, Health and Attack were all quite low. Their duration of their summoning was also quite short, which was why they were only useful in particular situations such as these.


    The ten Wings of Dawn players only managed to drop a few items.


    This was better than nothing. Furthermore, they made the Wings of Dawn retreat, so they couldn''t just reset.


    This was the end of the battle and everyone was teleported out of the battlefield.


    Both sides met once again, this time in front of the battle manager. If this wasn''t a safe zone, then it was likely that they would have started fighting again. After all, the Wings of Dawn had lost a substantial number of assets this time.


    "Liu Jin Zhu, you''re actually so incredibly shady!" Elevenless scolded as he stared at Wandering. He had even called him a brother when they drank together last time.


    "Wow. Calling me by my real name, huh? Looks like you haven''t learnt your lesson," Wandering shot back. He decided that he wasn''t going to take responsibility of this and added, "I mean, I wasn''t the one who screwed you guys over. I wouldn''t be able to think of such sneaky and cunning strategies anyway. The one you''re looking for is over there."


    "Sorry¡­" Lu Li said, faking a smile and apology towards the opposing side.


    He didn''t deny that he was responsible for commanding this battle. Wandering was only in charge of pulling aggro and distracting them.


    "Why? Why? Why? I don''t remember offending him in any way!" Elevenless was extremely frustrated. Every time he crossed swords with Ruling Sword, whether as a part of the Wings of Dawn or by himself, he always lost out. Lu Li didn''t have reason to do such things, did he?


    "You don''t even know why?" Wandering looked at him like he was stupid, then continued to say: "Did you guys forget about how you guys teamed up with Soul Eater to screw Drizzle Court over?"


    "Screwing Drizzle Court over? How is that related to Lu Li?" Elevenless was confused and didn''t understand.


    "Let''s go. Stop making a fool of yourself," Dream 13 said as he slapped the back of Elevenless'' head, then with a face full of disappointment, he could only mutter, "Stupid couple."


    Elevenless suddenly understood.


    They teamed up with Soul Eater and screwed over Peerless City. Naturally, Water Fairy was also affected. Lu Li was just taking revenge for his girlfriend.


    They couldn''t say anything more other than ''stupid couple''. This was the only way to express their feelings.


    Lu Li was listening in and didn''t deny that his efforts today were to take revenge for their ally. Peerless City had lost quite a lot with the loss of their Stronghold. Therefore, it was only natural for Lu Li to screw the Wings of Dawn over.


    Drizzle Court successfully defended their Stronghold in the Western Wilderness. Tanaris, originally held by the Gangnam Royals, was taken by Gale Legion while Blood Red War Flag''s Barrenlands were taken by Glory Capital. During this time, Glory Capital had also successfully defended Stranglethorn Vale.


    At the same time, Ruling Sword maintained control over the Black Sea Coast and Grey Valley, while Glory Capital maintained control of Stranglethorn Vale and Barrenlands. Gale Legion had Tanaris, while Drizzle Court had the Western Wilderness. The new contenders had the chance to fight for Hillsbrad and Stonetalon Mountains, which was originally Peerless City''s.


    Tanaris was quite a barren land and was covered in sand. However, the competition over it was intense. Peerless City, Wings of Dawn, Gangnam Royals and Gale Legion were all fighting over this one piece of land. As for the next battle, it was unknown whether or not Gale Legion would be able to defend their Stronghold.


    The Blood Red War Flag had occupied Barrenlands for two weeks. In the end, it was still taken by Glory Capital.


    Glory Capital was truly powerful. They managed to successfully take down Blood Red War Flag as the Stronghold attackers. If it was Ruling Sword in the place of Glory Capital, Lu Li didn''t even have a sliver of confidence in victory. The successful defense of the Stronghold last week was purely because of luck. It was because of this that Lu Li was going to start cheating at the Black Sea Coast Stronghold.


    The next battle was likely to be more intense and frantic. Furthermore, with the new update, the Stronghold was going to be harder to defend.


    However, the frequency of the Stronghold battles would decrease. At the very least, they wouldn''t have to defend it once every week. This way, everyone would have more time to do other things, for example, competitions.


    Pro players were now re-energised from the first season.


    Competitions were the most important events of the professional gaming circle. Even the Donghua Cup, which didn''t really garner much attention, was brought into the spotlight and was extremely popular because of Dawn.


    This time, the main part of Donghua Cup wouldn''t be the training of new players.


    Everyone''s eyes would be on the many new and unknown squads who would join the competition.


    From the official statistics, there were already more than 1.6 million squads that entered the competition. To put this into perspective, there were 30,000 squads last year. Even Lu Li didn''t know where all of these 1.6 million squads came from.


    Truthfully speaking, Lu Li had a part in the creation of this huge flood of teams.


    In his previous life, there were also many people who joined Donghua Cup. However, that number only reached around 100,000 teams.


    Lu Li and his founding of Ruling Sword had created a legend among the players.


    A few people had joined together, won, then created a club of their own. After this, they walked on the path of legends and stood at the pinnacle of gaming. Was that not the dream of every player?


    As a result, the 1.6 million squads entering into the Donghua Cup set a new world record.


    The Donghua Cup had its similarities with previous competitions, but it also had its differences.


    Ruling Sword was not the first squad to enter the Shadow Cup. The Shadow Cup had different requirements to enter the preliminary rounds.


    Lu Li felt that the Donghua Cup was an opportunity to train up new players in the club, so he decided to allow the new players to enter.


    Ruling Sword didn''t have many competent new players, so there were still some old members who joined their ranks.


    Lu Li definitely wouldn''t join; he didn''t even want to lead the team.


    However, because this was a competition, he couldn''t shirk all of his responsibilities. He, alongside with Water Fairy, accepted the invitation to analyse some matches of their own choosing.

 1555 Being Analysts

    The main character would always be placed in a situation where he or she shone the brightest.


    The society of Dawn was filled with complex connections. Despite Water Fairy having financial wealth and an abundance of connections, there were still many people helping her in her personal growth.


    She needed to return the favour.


    This was why she accepted the invitation as an analyst.


    Otherwise, it would be difficult to invite Water Fairy to be a match analyst under normal circumstances. Furthermore, her image was that of a cold and quiet person and in reality, she didn''t say much either. These types of people wouldn''t be able to give interesting commentary, so it wouldn''t be popular with viewers.


    Lu Li didn''t like sitting in the seats of the analysts either. However, since it was Water Fairy who invited him, that was another matter.


    Perhaps these two together still wouldn''t be exciting enough for the viewers, so the judging panel arranged for Dark Wind to join them and make a trio.


    The first match consisted of two unknown teams. This was purely because the order was random.


    Under normal circumstances, this type of amateur level match wouldn''t have analysts. However, lower-tier players clearly held the majority in viewership, so even if this was an amateur-level match, many of the viewers still tuned in since they could relate.


    Furthermore, the analysts couldn''t just sit around and twiddle their fingers, so the match draws were the main focus of attention.


    Fortunately for them, the two teams that the trio would be analysing were decent. Although the matchups were said to be random, they weren''t completely random. After all, it wouldn''t be good for the viewership if there were huge variations in strength.


    "I''m very glad to be here today."


    This was Dark Wind''s signature line. He was also someone who had been in the gaming circle for a long time and was a respected figure, so naturally, he took the lead.


    "Today, my usual partner-in-crime is not here. I don''t think I''ll need to introduce these two¡­"


    "Thank you, Mr. Wind. I am Lu Li."


    He had to introduce himself, otherwise it would be rude. He couldn''t treat it as if everyone knew him.


    "I am Water Fairy. Happy to be here to analyse this match for everyone!" Water Fairy continued to say.


    Usually, for a match of this calibre, having a few thousand viewers would be good already. However, with the inclusion of analysts, this number would be multiplied by at least ten times. Furthermore, with Water Fairy and Lu Li as the analysts, the fact that this number skyrocketed into the millions wasn''t strange either.


    They might have been here to either watch the match, or to watch this couple.


    "Alright. To tell the truth, when I knew that I was going to be here with Lu Li and Water Fairy, I had my reservations¡­" Dark Wind said.


    Everyone was dumbfounded. Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t understand why either. Dark Wind was a calm and peaceful analyst; he wasn''t the type to badmouth people. Why would he say something like that?


    However, after taking a small breath, he continued, "I''m already quite old. Why am I here as a third-wheel? What was the panel thinking? They''re bullying this old man."


    "Haha¡­" the viewers laughed.


    Dark Wind wasn''t that old, but he was single. The gaming circle didn''t have that many connections, since everyone was quite cautious of the internet. Everyone also had their own ideas of a relationship, so singleness was not an uncommon problem.


    "¡­" Lu Li and Water Fairy were completely speechless.


    "While I''m here, I''ll congratulate both of you on successfully defending both of your Strongholds! You guys already have four Strongholds in total, right? That''s one more than Glory Capital!" Dark Wind said, quickly and smoothly moving onto the next topic.


    "Mhm. You''re right," Lu Li answered.


    He felt a little helpless. He knew that all the attention of this match was now on him and Water Fairy.


    Dark Wind was a sly fox; he had verbally set a trap for Lu Li.


    Since he said that they had four Strongholds, that implied that Lu Li was together with Water Fairy. Even if they were allies, there was no need for him to say that they had four Strongholds.


    Naturally, Dark Wind dug deeper after hearing Lu Li''s confirmation.


    "Then, from the most recent battle report, Elevenless mentioned that the battle was a result of revenge. Can either of you or both of you comment on that?"


    Could they just move on to analysing the battle instead of dilly-dallying on this topic? Lu Li really didn''t want to talk anymore.


    "There''s nothing about revenge."


    The one who replied was Water Fairy, and she continued to say, "It was a normal defense and offence battle. Elevenless is also someone who thinks that the world is out to get him anyway. Everyone knows that."


    Huh? Since when did everyone know?


    Dark Wind understood that it was time to stop, so upon satisfying everyone''s urges to understand the thoughts of this couple, he immediately rerouted their attention to the match.


    "This match is from the preliminary rounds in Area D. We have Team Screen Protector from the Alliance on one end, and Team Ursae Majoris from the Horde on the other end. Please do not laugh at the first team''s name. Putting on a screen protector is an ancient art. This team''s record consists of 3 wins and 1 loss. I hope that they advance through to the next round. On the other hand, Team Ursae Majoris is a team from the Ursae Majoris Mercenary Group. Their match record consists of 4 straight wins. I have watched some clips from their previous matches and I feel that this will be an excellent battle."


    "The first half of the match has begun. Both sides have deployed a Mage," Lu Li reported according to what he saw. Truthfully speaking, this was unnecessary. Anyone who had eyes could see that there were two Mages on the stage.


    "Lu Li and Water Fairy, who do you think will come out on top?" Dark Wind decided to ask to test their judgment.


    "The Mage from Team Screen Protector will win," Water Fairy answered. She didn''t have much to say.


    "I agree," Lu Li nodded.


    "Why is that the case? They haven''t lost much HP yet."


    Dark Wind could see the reason behind their selection, but he had to ask to hype up the atmosphere a little.


    "His positioning," Water Fairy replied.


    "Yeah. His positioning," Lu Li agreed. However, it seemed like he understood that it wasn''t good to just answer like this, so he continued to explain, "Team Screen Protector''s Mage is constantly staying just out of the largest ranged skill. He was able to avoid and interrupt two of his opponent''s skills just from moving around. Furthermore, he was also able to unleash suitable skills at a suitable range. Although the damage dealt has not been significant, as this match progresses, the Mage from Team Ursae Majoris will lose."


    During the time that Lu Li was explaining, the situation had progressed exactly as he had predicted. After a few minutes, Team Ursae Majoris'' Mage was defeated. His items weren''t bad, but his PBP skills were not great. He was just being toyed with while his opponent was in complete control. When he died, his opponent still had around 40% HP.


    "Looks like you were both correct. Now, who do you think Team Ursae Majoris will send out? Would it be a Thief?" Dark Wind asked.


    "If I was the team captain, I would send out a Warlock. The Warlock just needs to land all the damage over time skills and the problem would be solved. This Mage''s positioning and movements are quite good. From a glance, you can tell that he has hung around the arena and PvP situations a lot. Normal Thieves would not be able to suppress him," Lu Li said.


    "Paladins or Druids are also good choices. They could just heal themselves when they need to, since this Mage''s damage is average, and he has already used his ultimate skills," Water Fairy added.


    "Alright then. Since you are both masters at the game, you guys should be correct," Dark Wind wholeheartedly agreed.


    For Team Ursae Majoris to get four wins in a row, they had to be competent. In the end, they sent out a Druid and quickly took care of the Mage.


    "Looks like Water Fairy won this round. Then, according to our rules, Lu Li has to answer a question from Water Fairy. This game is like Truth or Dare. Water Fairy, you can ask a question now. This is a good opportunity!" Dark Wind cunningly said.


    The couple was dumbfounded. When was this ever a thing?

 1556 Awkward Questions

    If Lu Li immediately stood up and just left, it would seem cool to many teenagers.


    These things didn''t happen often in reality. However, people with average EQ and IQ wouldn''t do something like that, since no one would interact with such a boring person. No one acted like that in the gaming industry anyway.


    But what was the problem?


    "Have you eaten breakfast?"


    This question was also problematic, but if Water Fairy did ask something like that, then it would be quite meaningless.


    "Do you not know what to ask?" Dark Wind laughed cunningly.


    Water Fairy thought hard about what to ask. In the end, she nodded her head. Perhaps there were too many questions, but she couldn''t ask them in public. She didn''t want to broadcast their love in front of the world.


    "That''s fine."


    Dark Wind was smiling from eye to eye. Then, he took out a bunch of cards and pointed at them, saying, "These are all the questions from our audience. You can take out three cards, then choose one of them to ask Lu Li. How''s that? I think that''s not a bad arrangement at all. After all, being able to pick one question from three questions is already quite generous."


    Lu Li and Water Fairy both looked at the cards and wanted to kill this person.


    This hole had already been dug quite early on; all that was left was for them to jump in it. Both of them felt rather uneasy about the situation, but they still had to cooperate. All of their fans were watching this.


    Water Fairy randomly picked three cards.


    She looked at the first card, and immediately started smiling.


    The question on the card was directed to Lu Li.


    "When was the last time you peed in your sleep?"


    Water Fairy felt that this question shouldn''t be asked; it would hurt a man''s dignity.


    The second question on the card asked when Lu Li had his first kiss.


    This question wasn''t tactful either ¨C what if he hadn''t had his first kiss? If he hadn''t, then it would also hurt his dignity, but if he had, then Water Fairy wouldn''t be too happy. All in all, she didn''t want to know the answer to this question, so she skipped over it.


    The last card read, "Have you ever thought about doing the deed with the person you like? You can only answer with yes or no!"


    Water Fairy didn''t know what to do. She couldn''t ask this question either.


    If she did ask this question, then it would make her seem unreserved.


    Which question should she choose?


    Lu Li closely examined Water Fairy''s expressions. Originally, he didn''t care that much, but that gradually changed. Which question was she going to ask? It didn''t seem like any of them were favourable.


    "I choose this one," Water Fairy declared, then handed the card to Dark Wind. She couldn''t ask it herself.


    Since she couldn''t even read out the question, Lu Li began to panic.


    "Haha, then I''ll gladly take it! Water Fairy wants to ask you this question. Since it''s something that she wants to ask, then I won''t hold back," Dark Wind said with an innocent look on his face.


    "What a load of BS. You said that she wanted to ask this, but it was clearly you guys who forced her to ask this," Lu Li thought to himself.


    "When was the last time you peed in your sleep?"


    Dark Wind had a completely serious expression on his face, which was in juxtaposition to the question.


    "¡­" Water Fairy had to cover her mouth as she laughed.


    "¡­" Lu Li was speechless. Completely speechless.


    "You need to answer! This was a question chosen by Water Fairy herself!" Dark Wind emphasised.


    "Probably when I was 7 or 8 months old," Lu Li answered as he took a deep breath in his heart. Any adult when asked a question like this would feel ashamed. Fortunately, he was quite thick-skinned.


    "That''s pretty good! Normally, little children stop peeing their beds when they reach 1 year old or 1 and a half years old. Lu Li was already proficient at self-control when he was that young! Hahaha~" Dark Wind had to calm Lu Li down since he seemed rather angry at that time. If he didn''t laugh that loud, perhaps that would''ve helped even more.


    "Let''s continue analysing the competition," Lu Li said, trying his best to redirect everyone''s attention.


    Water Fairy slipped the remaining cards to Lu Li, which were the two that didn''t get asked. After seeing both cards, Lu Li was extremely grateful that she hadn''t chosen either. He used the back of his hand to wipe away the sweat on his forehead. This was even more draining than commanding a battle.


    "This is the end of the stage battles. Team Screen Protector has won!" Dark Wind announced, realising that he had neglected his actual role in the match.


    However, no one in the audience complained, since most of them weren''t here to watch the match. This level of play was not that interesting compared to watching this couple together on-screen.


    Unfortunately, they missed out on a chance to let the couple choose the winner and loser. Otherwise, they could have had a second round of questions.


    "Actually, the gap between them weren''t that big. It was only the first match where the skill level of both Mages mattered the most. Something that can be taken away from this is that regular practice and training is important, as well as having PvP experience under your belt," Lu Li commented, deciding to take the lead this time. He was afraid of jumping into another trap.


    "What will happen in the team battles after seeing what went down in the stage battles?" Dark Wind asked, then cunningly smiled again and suggested, "How about we have these two guests pick the winner and loser from the team battles?"


    Lu Li took a deep breath. From what he saw from these two teams, he couldn''t tell who would win.


    Both him and Water Fairy didn''t know anyone from either teams.


    How could he choose?


    "Oh, that''s right. If you''re both incorrect, then both of you need to ask the other person a question. If you are both right, then you''ll still need to ask the other person a question."


    Dark Wind had an evil grin on his face; this was clearly not his first rodeo. Lu Li and Water Fairy hadn''t experienced something like this. They hadn''t been played to this extent before.


    "Team Screen Protector!" Water Fairy made a decision first.


    "Then I''ll pick Team Ursae Majoris."


    Lu Li thought about his answer. If he chose the same answer as Water Fairy, then it didn''t matter who won and who lost. They would still need to answer two questions. If they went the route of having different choices, then there would at most be one question waiting for them.


    "Alright. No take-backs. We''ll wait and see."


    Dark Wind was like a dealer. He was having quite a bit of fun.


    Team Screen Protector sent out five players ¨C a Thief, Warrior, Mage, Priest and a Paladin. This was a standard team composition. The Paladin had chosen the Retribution DPS route, so this was known as the Three Knives team composition. The Mage was there to crowd-control with Ice magic. Looking at the team composition, Lu Li already felt that he had lost.


    Being an amateur battle, the advantages that the classes brought were important.


    However, Team Ursae Majoris'' team composition was abnormal. They had three healing classes ¨C a Priest, Druid and a healing-specialised Paladin. The last two players were Mages.


    Were they planning on fighting a long-lasting battle? Once again, Lu Li was not sure of the victors and losers.


    If Team Ursae Majoris could take out the healer on the opposing side, then they were guaranteed a win. After all, one Mage wouldn''t be able to do anything against a whole team of players.

 1557 Which is Importan

    There was''t much variation in amateur battles and Lu Li predicted correctly.


    Team Screen Protector successfully killed an opposing Mage. The Three Healers weren''t able to heal in time, which showed the Team Ursae Majoris was less mechanically skilled.


    In reality, Ursae Majoris was a mercenary group that specialized in quests and trainings.


    Their top players were mostly players that specialized in completing quests and levelling others up in the Wild. Their equipment was good but they never had time to compete in arena because they were busy making money. Their previous wins were most likely because of luck.


    If both teams were mediocre at PvP then the team with the better equipment would obviously win.


    The name Screen Protect was lame, but most of their players spent a lot of time in the arena. Even though they weren''t professionals, they were still able to strategize and take out this questing team.


    And so, Ursae Majoris lost.


    Water Fairy had won so she needed to pick out three questions to ask.


    "How about this ¨C let''s play something more fun," Dark Winds said, stopping her. "You haven''t married him yet, so why are you so nice to him all the time? You can pick a question out of the three, but it has to be randomly picked out. Otherwise, if you keep picking the easy questions, it won''t be fun at all."


    "I don''t know about this¡­" Water Fairy responded.


    She didn''t oppose the idea strongly and seemed to be having fun teasing Lu Li.


    Water Fairy picked out three cards and randomly chose one.


    "What''s the difference between this and just randomly picking one?" Lu Li said speechlessly.


    "Boyfriend and girlfriend ¨C which is more important? Say their name¡­" Water Fairy rarely laughed in public places, but she was laughing her head off on stage.


    Nobody was paying attention to the matches anymore.


    Lu Li put his face in his hands and said weakly, "Of course the girlfriend is more important. I''m not going to say her name. As for a boyfriend, I don''t have one, I don''t!"


    What kind of dumbass question was this? How could someone have a boyfriend and a girlfriend at the same time?"


    "If you don''t have a boyfriend then how do you know which is more important?" Dark Winds quipped, acting confused.


    "This question is stupid," Lu Li argued. "Don''t think you can be unreasonable just because you''re older than me."


    "Okay, I''ll leave it, but why don''t you want to say her name? Do you think it''s shameful to be her boyfriend?"


    Dark Winds was unrelentless with his roasting. Lu Li saw that Water Fairy was staring at him, waiting for him to answer the question.


    "..." Lu Li felt as if he had been set up.


    The second match today was starting and it coincidentally featured a team from Ruling Sword.


    This match featured the Paladin Mu Qiu, Fire Mage Fat Monkey, Ice Mage Short Circuit, Priest North City Icecream and the Hunter Viking Sea Cow. Mu Qiu had switched to being DPS class. He was actually new to PvP and needed a lot more experiences in matches. Fat Monkey was the captain and was in charge of shot calling. Short Circuit trained while recovering from his sickness and was very harsh on himself.


    North City Icecream and Viking Sea cow were the rookies from the training cramp ¨C a healing Priest and DPS Hunter.


    Northcity Icecream and Viking Sea Cow were still underaged but had a lot of potential. Lu Li had high hopes for these two to take over the future of Ruling Sword.


    Obviously, they still had a lot to prove despite having a lot of talent.


    These two were training while participating in amateur competitions to gain experience. Once they started facing off against major guilds, they would probably be subbed off.


    Pressure made diamonds, but when the pressure was too great, it can easily destroy one''s willpower.


    Ruling Sword''s lineup was one healer, three DPS and a crowd control player. Lu Li did not interfere with their team composition too much and gave them the freedom to be creative. The only time he got involved was with Cat Dad, Moonlight and other experienced players to guide and give them suggestions.


    "This lineup features a lot of familiar faces, right?" Dark Winds laughed.


    "Yes, very familiar," Lu Li agreed.


    "Haha, I was just joking. A lot of the powerhouses of this competition have opted to allow their younger players to develop through amateur matches. Looks like the uprising Ruling Sword are also doing the same thing. Lu Li, Moonlight and March Rain did not make an appearance, while Kitty Likes Meat and Sakura Memories didn''t even register for this competition," Dark Winds said.


    "Yeah, they''re working on something else," Lu Li responded cryptically, not disclosing too much information.


    "It''s a surprise that Fat Monkey has made an appearance. Not long after his debut, many crowned him as the successor to Sorrowless as the Mage God of Dawn. Why is he participating in an amateur match? Dark Winds asked the question that many people were wondering.


    "Uhh¡­ I personally think it''s a bad idea to compliment him too much," Lu Li disagreed. "Over the years, there have been many new Mages that we thought had the potential to overthrow Sorrowless, but none of them succeeded and some even failed miserably.


    If he was hyped up too much, it would be even more disappointing for him if he failed.


    ''Don''t be humble. Fat Monkey is a great player." Dark Winds continued to compliment him.


    "I''m actually looking forward to seeing Mu Qiu this game," Lu Li said.


    "Mu Qiu¡­ Speaking of him, doesn''t everyone in the game want to kill him?" Dark Winds asked.


    "Why?" Lu Li didn''t know what happened to him. Mu Qiu was a very quiet person and kept to himself, so Lu Li assumed that he had a decent relationship with most people.


    "Because of his sword ¨C Ashkandi, Greatsword of the Brotherhood!" Dark Winds said while pounding his chest in pain. "Even I want to get my hands on it; that sword is way too cool. There are so many people wanting to kill him just for that sword. You better remind him to never be alone by himself in the Wild."


    "Okay, I''ll tell him that," Lu Li laughed awkwardly.


    A lot of people say that even brothers would betray each other for this sword, so it probably was a good idea for him to not wonder out by himself.


    Mu Qiu was already very careful and would often be accompanied by Paladins in the guild. His safety was no problem. The casual players were too weak to take on the Paladins and the professional players dared not to offend Ruling Sword.

 1558 Mu Qiu

    Every club specialized in unique roles.


    For example, because of Sorrowless, Glory Capital had assembled a huge number of high-level Mages. Even Majin Temple, for the last few years, had been completely embarrassed. The quality of their Mages couldn''t compare with Glory Capital, so their reputation was a bit undeserved.


    Because of Lu Li, Ruling Sword was originally meant to be the dream place for high-level Thieves, but it was a shame that they had no way of reaching the apex. It was probably the damn couple that collectively covered up any glimmering potential. Who would care about any other Thieves?


    Rather, it was the role of Paladins that enhanced Ruling Sword.


    If you weren''t judging by appearances, before Mu Qiu joined, Ruling Sword basically didn''t have any outstanding Paladins. Moreover, Mu Qiu couldn''t compare with those established, famous competitors like Green Flag Wine. What attracted Paladins was the faction of the Night Watchmen, as well as Tyr''s Hand, the faction that Ruling Sword had newly joined.


    These two factions were both Paladin-focused.


    The former were Paladins of Darkshire, who had been fighting bravely against the Scourge on the frontlines.


    Regardless of whether it was the Horde or Alliance players, everyone needed to maintain enough respect for these few masters fighting so staunchly.


    The latter were standing guard, maintaining Tyr''s Hand''s strength, under the command of Tirion Fordring. Whether they were heroes, low-lives or had just come out of nowhere, Tirion Fordring had already become the representative for Paladins. From their perspective, he was their spiritual leader.


    The other little factions weren''t as high-end as these. These rebellious and zealous Paladins were the


    ones who would be chasing after this sort of meaningless stuff.


    The other thing that increased Ruling Sword''s popularity and attractiveness to Paladins was that these two factions, for the moment, only accepted Ruling Sword Paladins.


    Mu Qiu was a competitor, but he didn''t act as one and was therefore well-liked by his Paladin guildmates.


    "If you want to get ahead, you have to face various challenges. Playing PVP outside is one of those," Lu Li said, not feeling at all that others wanting Mu Qiu to do things for them was a provocation to the club.


    "That''s certainly right ¨C every top-level celebrity competitor killed their way up from the masses. Hopefully Mu Qiu can fulfil his wishes and become a truly famous competitor."


    Dark Wind was especially able to understand Mu Qiu, because he had a similar experience to him.


    Becoming a competitor was actually a simple process. The first step was to participate in competitions.


    At the time, the requirements for entering competitions in the gaming circle wasn''t considered high at all. You only had to cross the line in the preliminaries and you could basically be considered a competitor.


    If you could rely on gaming to make a living, then you were also one step closer to calling yourself a professional competitor.


    However, if you wanted to go one step further and become a celebrity competitor, this would be much more difficult.


    Many players had fought in competitions for over a dozen years, and it was only when they were retiring that they were recognised as celebrity competitors. This was simply no more than an award for encouragement. Who would have thought that it would take until the very end for the gaming circle to recognise them, and even then, only recognise them with such reluctance?


    Dark Wind had been stuck between professional competitors and celebrity competitors for quite a few years, and in the end, there was no way to gain approval.


    In the end, he chose to give up and went on the road to being a professional commentator. At least there was a silver lining. There were limits to his achievements in professional competitions, but in this area of commentating, he was a massive success.


    "Of the three new people, which one did you focus on training?" Dark Wind asked, changing the subject.


    "I focused on all of them," Lu Li said, without having any other choice. If he didn''t, then how would the two others feel when they heard it? He could only answer with, "It''s just that their focus in training was different, but since they''re competing, we certainly did all that we could."


    "So, do you think they can win?" Dark Wind finally asked.


    "Of course." Without needing to explain too much, Lu Li''s response was simple, but his tone was sure.


    "Haha, so Lu Li guesses that Ruling Sword club will win. Water Fairy, what''s your guess?" Dark Wind laughed in a sinister, cunning tone.


    There was a swear word he wanted to say but couldn''t say it. No matter what he did, things just didn''t work out. Lu Li had already decided firmly that no matter what the other person said, he wouldn''t make a guess. If worst came to worst, he could just hide his weaknesses and say that he couldn''t tell.


    But without realising it, he''d fallen into this setup.


    "I¡­" Water Fairy also hesitated.


    According to her and Lu Li''s secret understanding between them, the two of them would guess differently. In this way, there''d only be one person answering the question, but now, she couldn''t possibly say that Ruling Sword was going to lose.


    If she said that Ruling Sword would lose, then you would have to be a total idiot to buy that lie.


    "Hehe."


    Dark Wind was particularly self-satisfied. His competitive career wasn''t as good as these two, and he couldn''t fight well enough in the arena, but when it came to playing annoying tricks like these, he was much more experienced that this odd couple.


    "I''m not sure."


    Who didn''t know how to act so shamelessly, especially a pretty girl like herself?


    "No, we can''t be acting like that," Dark Wind said seriously.


    "How come you, teacher Wind, can be acting so perversely, but we can''t?" Water Fairy asked, firmly sticking up for her rights.


    "Listen to the cries of those spectators. Do you really think they don''t understand the principle that ''Those who are just get more support, and those who are unjust lose their fort''? If you don''t choose, then I''ll just choose for you," Dark Wind said without the slightest hint of shame at all.


    Yes, the voice of the audience was indeed very important, but Water Fairy not evidently not one to go down without a fight.


    "How about this ¨C I''ll choose myself, but you can''t randomly draw those three cards out like before. If you don''t promise, then I''ll keep acting this way. Anyway, you can''t get the better of me."


    Water Fairy believed that Lu Li would pick an innocuous question to ask her.


    This was that sort of ridiculous self-confidence!


    "Alright then, for your sake as a pretty girl."


    Dark Wind also knew when enough was enough; they had arrived at a point where she agreed. He wasn''t really looking after this odd couple''s benefit. The main thing was still the benefit of the program.


    "Then I think that Ruling Sword will win. Their opponents call themselves the ladies of the Imperial Harem. With such a name, girls definitely won''t like them," Water Fairy said.


    The traditional 72 concubines of the imperial harems was the ultimate dream for a man, but the worst nightmare for a woman. That was why she stood firmly by Ruling Sword''s side and didn''t even consider the possibility of the other team winning.


    The Imperial Harem group was actually not bad; they had won all three rounds before.


    "The one going on for Ruling Sword is¡­Mu Qiu!" Dark Wind announced with a sparkle in his eyes. "Congratulations everyone. In the first round, you''ll be able to see the elegance of the Greatsword of the Brotherhood. The sword that Mu Qiu is holding is the best two-handed sword in the game so far."

 1559 He Can Still Heal

    Mu Qiu was equipped with T2 armor and the weapon he wielded was the Greatsword of the Brotherhood. He had had already reached the highest point of the current version of Dawn.


    Such a strong, powerful Paladin¡­how would his performance be on stage?


    Many people were paying attention to this relatively amateur match. Apart from the multitude of Paladin players, there were also a lot of heavyweights from the gaming circle. They weren''t watching for who would win or lose this round, but rather whether Mu Qiu''s transformation from healing to damage would be successful or not.


    If Mu Qiu really was successful, then everyone''s focus on Ruling Sword''s strategy would have to be reassessed.


    Now, Ruling Sword''s lineup was growing stronger and stronger. Originally, it was just Lu Li and Moonlight who provided the team with DPS, while the others were better at providing support. On the backline, they added Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat. While they weren''t mature enough yet, their performances were still completely commendable.


    In everyone''s eyes, Mu Qiu was not that different from Sakura Memories, having a more marginalised existence.


    Now, he wanted to shatter those set images that others held in their hearts. Switching from healing to DPS really was a giant leap.


    The first opponent was a Mage. Mages completely dominated Paladins, or at least that was the case in this current update.


    The Mage who entered the stage was a little nervous. It wasn''t that he felt inferior to Mu Qiu, but he was excitedly thinking about the glory after he defeated a celebrity competitor.


    The battle could commence at any time. Mu Qiu began by pressing toward the opponent, his sword flooding with white light. He brought it down with force and smashed the Mage head-on.


    The Mage jumped in fright and quickly used Blink to create some separation.


    However, his reactions were a bit late. Having not escaped in time, his unshielded self took a direct hit from the sword and he lost a quarter of his HP. The audience cried out in alarm, with a few cheers mixed in as well. They were the cheers of Paladins. Seeing this sword attack of Mu Qiu''s, they now had faith.


    Paladins were very weak; there were very few roles weaker than Paladins.


    Playing PVP in the Wild as a Paladin was difficult against Warriors and Thieves, let alone against an all-controlling Mage. However, in an Instance Dungeon, teams valued their Auras, their Laying on Hands and their defense.


    Everyone saw from this stage that as long as you had good equipment, even a Paladin was able to cut a Mage''s HP in half.


    Of course, those people with true foresight weren''t so optimistic. There was a difference in equipment since the beginning, and the Mage didn''t have his shield. In this situation, when a close-range role went in for the attack, even if it wasn''t the Greatsword of the Brotherhood, there probably would have still been some similar damage.


    This Mage from the so-called Imperial Harem group was a little flustered.


    Without his calm complacency that came from underestimating Paladins, he quickly went about buffing his Attributes and placing on a shield. Then, he began to attack his opponent.


    During this time, Mu Qiu patiently waited. Only after the attack ended did Mu Qiu attack.


    The damage that the Mage did on him was almost pitiful. After all, being a Plate Armor role, he had high protection, and there was a vast difference in the equipment of both sides. At the very least, this Mage didn''t have a single piece of T2 equipment. After evaluating the damage that he took, Mu Qiu once again stepped forwards.


    When a Mage fought against most close-combat players, they needed to maintain their distance.


    However, the Mage evidently wasn''t capable of this, so Mu Qiu stuck to him and kept attacking him. The battle concluded very quickly.


    The second opponent was a Warrior. The team leader of the Imperial Harem thought that a ranged role wouldn''t have an advantage, so he simply sent a melee player to face Mu Qiu head on.


    "Mu Qiu''s already fought one round and still has 65% HP remaining. Lu Li, do you think he''s still able to deal with the next opponent?" Dark Wind asked in a passionate tone. This person was able to speak well in any sort of style. In any case, Lu Li wasn''t able to commentate in such a compelling way.


    "You guess if I''ll guess or not," Lu Li joked.


    "Hey, if you''re gonna be like then it''s not fun," Dark Wind said, looking at Lu Li with hidden bitterness.


    "You''re having a lot of fun, but making me guess on such a question without any sensitivity ¨C you''re insulting my intelligence," Lu Li disdainfully responded.


    "Don''t be like that. Even if you have faith in Mu Qiu, you don''t have to refrain from guessing," Dark Wind said.


    "How about this ¨C we''ll both guess. I guess that Mu Qiu will fight to the end of this arena. What about you?" Lu Li suggested with a provoking look at his partner.


    "So you mean that he''ll fight to the third round, and still win?" Dark Wind wasn''t originally ready for this, but what Lu Li said seemed to be a bit too much. Even if Mu Qiu was doing relatively well, much better than expected, Imperial Harem still had some firepower.


    "If he loses, I''ll answer the question. If he wins, I get the right to not answer a question once. What do you think?" Lu Li asked calmly.


    "I''ll also gamble. Same as Lu Li ¨C if you win, I''ll answer a question, if you lose, I''ll also get a chance to avoid a question," Water Fairy added from behind.


    "Could it be that you and Mu Qiu fought before and knew that he''s really quite amazing?" Dark Wind asked suspiciously.


    "No," Water Fairy said.


    "Then why do you have so much confidence in him?" Dark Wind couldn''t understand.


    "I''m not placing my confidence in him. I have confidence in Lu Li," Water Fairy said, as if it were obvious.


    "Pfft." Dark Wind covered his face in gloom. "Fine, I''ll do it. Anyway, I don''t believe Mu Qiu can kill two of them. You two just look at the arena now ¨C Mu Qiu doesn''t have a lot of HP left. It looks like he can''t even finish off this Warrior.


    "Why does everyone overlook that he was once a healer?" Lu Li asked, quietly sparking a lightbulb moment in Dark Wind''s head.


    At this time, something unforeseen had already happened on the arena. Mu Qiu''s HP had dropped by over half, and the Beserker was secretly happy, because this professional competitor would be slain at his own hands.


    Who would''ve thought that Mu Qiu would suddenly lift up his hands and restore his HP.


    Woah!


    Sounds of agitation rose from the whole crowd. Everyone only realised in hindsight that Mu Qiu was originally a healing player. He had changed his equipment and learnt new skills, and also reset those skills points through doing quests. However, all this didn''t change the fact that he was once a healing Paladin.


    All the skills that a healing Paladin could perform, Mu Qiu could as well, and he was still particularly proficient at them as well.


    His HP bar didn''t rise by much. After all, he was equipped head to toe with damage equipment. However, this action was enough to destroy the Beserker''s confidence and make him nervous.


    Dark Wind knew that he had already lost, and that he was too smug with himself. He thought that he could play around with Lu Li and Water Fairy like they were in the palm of his hand. However, he didn''t think about the obvious fact that Mu Qiu was originally a healing Paladin.


    Actually, most people really wouldn''t have considered such a thing. After all, even if he could heal himself, he wouldn''t necessarily be able to fight his way through three rounds. If everyone was able to do this, then wouldn''t Paladins, Druids and Shamans just dominate the arena?

 1560 Choose One from Three

    However, Mu Qiu wasn''t an ordinary player. In this sort of amateur competition, such a seemingly impossible thing actually did happen.


    The Beserker had fallen. The moment he lost, he began to doubt his life.


    Next, the Imperial Harem helplessly sent out another Paladin. This Paladin fanatically worshipped the Tire Killer Green Flag Wine, so he had damage and could also heal himself.


    However, his output wasn''t as high as Mu Qiu''s, and he also couldn''t heal as much as Mu Qiu.


    After fighting for a while, it turned out that he ran out of mana earlier, and he basically became a disgrace to Paladins.


    In the end, Mu Qiu also didn''t have Mana, and relied on basic attacks to finish him off, claiming victory for three battles in a row in the arena. In this way, Lu Li and Water Fairy won the bet against Dark Wind along with the right to refuse to answer a question.


    There was no suspense about the group battles.


    Although Imperial Harem had won their three previous matches, Fat Monkey, Mu Qiu and Short Circuit were able to completely dominate them. This was even disregarding the two other players who were just there to fill out the team ¨C North City Ice Cream and Hiking Sea Cow.


    Their skills were jerky and the equipment they wore wasn''t amazing, but they had worked


    hard to carve their own elegant styles.


    This was especially so for North City Ice Cream. As soon as the battle started, his opponents all targeted him, but Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu purposely didn''t go and help him. He mustered all he could to handle the situation, and was the key distraction until the very end of the round.


    The game magazines the next day had all recorded this in great big letters, calling him one of the most radiant new players in this competition, and writing that he was as promising as his seniors in his field, like March Rain. In one battle, his name had become that of the arena''s best new player. There was a chance that he could become one of the key players in Ruling Sword.


    "I hope everyone will further support Ruling Sword," Lu Li said, advertising his guild.


    "Today''s competition was really amazing," Water Fairy said, planning to withdraw.


    However, no matter how amazingly they fought in this competition, there was a fear that there was no way to attract the attention of too many ordinary players.


    Even so, everyone remembered clearly that Lu Li and Water Fairy had guessed that Ruling Sword would emerge victorious in the end. According to the game rules that Dark Wind had set, since both of them had guessed correctly, they had to answer a question from each other.


    They also had one chance to decline to answer a question, so would they use it at this time?


    "Congratulations to Ruling Sword for attaining victory. I trust they''ll be welcomed with great happiness. So, today''s competition has concluded, but the show still continues. To finish off, we''re starting our special program," Dark Wind announced.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy glanced at each other''s eyes. They could only sit down dejectedly.


    "Don''t be like that, everyone wants to know you two a bit better," Dark Wind said with a warm smile.


    Lu Li really wanted to grab a knife and stab him. He finally knew why this commentator would often invite celebrities to this sort of amateur competition. The audience was attracted to buy tickets to enter the arena not to see the competition, but because the celebrity competitors had been deceived into commentating. This was all part and parcel of the old foxes'' actions.


    Even if these celebrity competitors in their primes didn''t have feelings of jealousy, if you had the


    chance to tease them a bit, they wouldn''t refuse.


    "Ask me first," Lu Li said, opening up the jar.


    He and Square Root 3 had spoken about this sort of commentating event. It was said that commentating was one of the quickest ways to get people on your side; it was even more useful than when you properly won a round of a competition.


    After all, when most players watched a competition, they just saw a winner and a loser. Who won and who lost, for them, only made a short, temporary impression. However, this sort of commentating, filled with interesting conversations, was not the same. Many details could make a lasting impression on the audience and it was easier for it all to be acknowledged by many ordinary players.


    They didn''t need a lot of wit and humour. Putting aside their identities, they could exaggerate and extrapolate from the smallest characteristics to create stories.


    Water Fairy randomly took three cards from a large pile of imaginative questions, then had a look to see what sort of questions they were.


    In the end, she chose one and handed it over to Dark Wind.


    "When was the first time you held hands with the person you like right now? What did you feel at the time, and what were you thinking in your heart?"


    As soon as Dark Wind finished reading, the audience burst out in an uproar. This question was actually well-written. Firstly, it wasn''t especially rousing ¨C it just asked about holding hands. Also, it emphasised what Lu Li felt at the time. Even Water Fairy, who was involved at the time, felt interested, let alone the audience.


    That was why this question was picked.


    "Please note, you have one chance to refuse to answer a question. Do you want to refuse to answer now?" Dark Wind asked with satisfaction.


    "There''s nothing I can''t answer. I''ll just answer it," Lu Li said as he looked at Water Fairy. The keen intuition of a Thief told him that since Water Fairy wanted to know, he should just let her know. She didn''t mind telling in front of so many people, and he was so thick-skinned himself, so what was there to be afraid of?


    This was basically a fairy-tale romance.


    "I remember at that time I was walking the streets of Stormwind City, and she wasn''t feeling too happy. I held her hand, and I felt it was so wonderful. There''s no way to describe it to you. As for what I was thinking at the time, I was basically thinking if she would slap me¡­"


    "NO!" Dark Wind roared.


    "This was but a girl in a game. How could you just casually say that the feeling was so wonderful? And then using such smug language to say that you couldn''t describe it?"


    "Ok, I felt that her hand was very soft, beyond my imagination."


    Lu Li was feeling awkward and embarrassed. Even if he was thick-skinned, he couldn''t continue.


    However, Water Fairy was evidently pleased with Lu Li''s answer. At least when she was looking at Lu Li, her eyes sparkled, and she was smiling the whole time.


    "Why did we have to give them a chance to have this public display of affection?" Dark Wind sighed, then continued to ask unhappily, "Since it''s already all on the table, then why not talk about when the first kiss was, when you plan to get married, when you want to have kids, when..."


    "Ok, now it''s time for me to give a question," Lu Li said, interrupting Dark Wind. Lu LI basically didn''t take notice of what he was saying.


    Not knowing wasn''t a misconception. Lu Li felt that Water Fairy''s originally watery eyes had become pitiful, so that no one would have the heart to give her a hard time.


    However, he had already been asked a few times, and he didn''t see her have mercy on him.


    The first card asked for Water Fairy''s clothing measurements. Even if Lu Li had never tried, he knew what it was really asking. The person who wrote this question had better not let him know who he was. Was this something he needed to know? Of course, he passed this question.


    The second card asked if they liked to sleep naked ¨C what sort of wretched question was this? The sort of person who thought up this question should be single their whole life.


    The third card finally could be considered something a bit more normal, otherwise, Lu Li would''ve hinted to Water Fairy to use her right to refuse to answer.


    Have you ever cheated in a test?


    They didn''t know which angel came up with this question, but to Water Fairy, one of the top students in gaming history, this question couldn''t have been asked for no reason.

 1561 Post Battle Commentary

    Lu Li remembered a long time ago, Lu Xin''s teacher came to his house and accused her of cheating in an exam. After he understood the situation, he only asked one question. If Lu Xin was to copy someone else''s answers, why would she have a much higher mark than the said student? The teacher was not convinced at the time, but faced with a reply backed with pure common sense, she could not say anything. Lu Li might not have gone to school, but he was a professional at gaming. It was like saying that an expert Thief like himself would suddenly start mimicking the play-style of an amateur ¨C it wasn''t going to happen. Even so, Lu Li could not comprehend Water Fairy''s confession.


    "Yeah, I have."


    The audience who had also heard her confession started an uproar. Water Fairy first gained attention from her fans because of her beauty, then from her wealth, and recently, her educational background. Had she just admitted that a prodigy like herself who had received her Bachelor''s when she was eleven years old had cheated in an exam?


    Dark Wind asked the question that was on everyone''s mind.


    "I''m sure I''ve misheard. Water sis, for someone as smart as you to cheat, that''s impossible, right?"


    "Yes, I''ve cheated before," Water Fairy confirmed calmly.


    "Weren''t you acing every exam then? Surely, the people around you weren''t at your level, so why would you need to cheat? If you didn''t know the answer, there was no way your classmates would''ve known either," Lu Li reasoned.


    "Well¡­ at the time, I was more curious of what cheating was like more than anything," Water Fairy admitted, slightly embarrassed.


    "It seems like even prodigies have a rebellious side," Dark Wind said, "but as a slacker student with a record of ten consecutive years of cheating, I can only say that your way of thinking is very strange. I remember how I had to go over in my head to find new ways to cheat and get away with it, and you''re telling me that you''ve cheated because you were curious. Well then, did you get caught?"


    "Of course not," Water Fairy replied confidently.


    Did Lu Xin''s teacher really catch her cheating? He thought about his reply to her teacher and wasn''t so sure of himself anymore. Wasn''t the woman in front of him a clear example of what really happened? She had cheated because she was curious. Of course, this wasn''t something that would affect their relationship ¨C if anything, it allowed Lu Li to understand Water Fairy further, and see her more as a person than a figure out of his league. She wasn''t that different to other women, but she was lowering herself to him little by little.


    After encountering this surprising discovery, Lu Li returned to the base of Ruling Sword. The guild''s virtual meeting room was set up as a vintage lounge. Apart from a virtual monitor that took up an entire wall, the rest of the room did not emit a technological feel. Despite the room being incredibly spacious, it was only accessible to VIPs of the guild. Even elite players were prohibited from using the room.


    Today, the meeting room was occupied by the guild''s competitive players. Whilst waiting for Lu Li arrival, the few players were chatting and the room was filled with the sounds of youthful energy. Fat Monkey, as usual, was the most talkative one. He placed his hand onto Short Circuit''s shoulder and boasted, "Such small competitions are nothing. You guys still haven''t faced off against the major guilds, so don''t be too full of yourselves¡­"


    Fat Monkey was about the same age as Short Circuit, but the latter could not say anything as Monkey had to entered the industry before him. However, even if Short Circuit was not the talkative type, he wasn''t a pushover. His long-term illness and torturous experiences had rendered his psychology unordinary. Nevertheless, Short Circuit could feel Fat Monkey''s passion and love for him as a brother. The two had a strong bond and were even nicknamed as the Fire and Ice duo.


    "Brother, what was the level of the team that we fought today?" Hiking Sea Cow asked.


    "Those guys? They were nothing. Mu Qiu could fight off three guys at once, and as long as he and I are in-game together? We can take them all out," Fat Monkey answered. "If Boss were to play, he could''ve taken them all out himself."


    "Then how far are we from becoming professional players?" Hiking Sea Cow continued to ask.


    "Erm, still quite far away."


    Fat Monkey did not want to disparage the amateur competitive player''s enthusiasm, but he did not want to lie to him either.


    "When you can defeat Fat Monkey, then you''ll be eligible to try as a professional player," Lu Li said as he walked into the meeting room nonchalantly.


    Seeing their Boss enter the room, the players sat up straight immediately. Even Fat Monkey jumped off the table and sat back down. Lu Li was not a strict person, but he was still the Guild Boss. The air of authority around him made it impossible for new recruits to even talk to him.


    "Boss, ain''t that a bit harsh? Beating me is not a walk in the park, you know."


    Fat Monkey respected Lu Li, but his habit of speaking without thinking was obvious even in front of the boss.


    "Short Circuit has beaten you, hasn''t he?" Lu Li asked.


    "I was careless. Plus, it was pure luck for him. He only won against me three out of ten times," Fat Monkey said anxiously.


    "Doesn''t matter if you were careless or he got lucky. As long as they can defeat you in a game, then they are qualified to be professional players," Lu Li replied, then turned to the two recruits and continued, "You two should work hard to improve yourselves. As long as you have a one out of three chance of defeating our guild''s competitive players, you may receive the salary of a professional player."


    "Seriously?"


    Hiking Sea Cow''s eyes lit up immediately. For those who had just entered the industry, money might not be the best indicator for success, but it was the most powerful affirmation. A fourteen-year-old professional player! Thinking about what the kids at his age were doing filled him with a sense of superiority.


    "If you think it''s easy to defeat Fat Monkey, then there''s nothing stopping you from trying." Lu Li did not want his players to be overly impetuous; a clear headspace was much more important than the skills a person possessed. Fat Monkey might seem tactless and big-mouthed, but in-game, he was a smart and dangerous enemy. With that being said, Sea Cow decided to challenge Fat Monkey, and as anticipated, the recruit could not take away even half of his health. The fourteen-year-old''s confidence was instantly shattered.


    "Train hard. The process might be tedious and tiring, but it''ll allow you to understand others and yourselves better," Lu Li advised the two recruits. "This guy is ill and is currently undergoing treatment, but he spends more time each day at the training grounds than anyone else, perhaps even double the time that most players spend. I don''t agree with such extreme methods of training, but it''s an example to show you that success can''t be achieved without hard work. The gaming industry is not a genius'' playground."


    The two players who thought that they had finally turned their lives around were instantly drained of their sense of superiority. Since the enemies they had encountered during their first few battles were just bad at the game, their performances were not noticed by many people. However, today''s battle had Lu Li and Water Fairy as commentators, and thus had millions of people''s attention. The two newbies were naturally noticed by the audience, and since people had a welcoming attitude towards all gamers, new and professional alike, the sounds of a million pair of hands clapping for them made them feel better than they had ever had.


    "You thought they were cheering you on?" Kitty asked. "They''re going to destroy you." North City Ice Cream and Hiking Sea Cow looked at each other, obviously startled.


    "Alright, let''s analyse today''s battle," Lu Li said as he turned on the monitor and played the recording of their match. To watch the battle from beginning to the end, again and again, was a step that no Guild would ignore.


    "Mu Qiu''s performance was good, scratch that, it was amazing. I''m guessing you''ve done a lot of training in secret as well."


    Kitty could see a few detailed plays that weren''t handled very well, but compared to the other players, Mu Qiu had indeed done a great job.


    "I think it''s fine, nothing too straining," Mu Qiu replied calmly.


    "We don''t have to worry about Mu Qiu then."


    Lu Li was very confident in Mu Qiu, probably even more than Mu Qiu was of himself.


    "There is one thing I want to say though. Mu Qiu, you don''t have to push yourself all the time. Try relaxing once in a while. Not only would it be better for your body, but it also allows the others to show off their skills as well."


    Everyone chuckled. It was true that the current enemies they were facing did not require them to give it their all.


    "Nothing too interesting on Fat Monkey''s end, so we can move on."


    Lu Li wasn''t shunning Monkey or his team ¨C there really wasn''t anything to talk about. Fat Monkey had always been expected to become the new Mage God. He had talent, a suitable mentality, and was willing to participate in training. There really wasn''t much for Lu Li to criticise.


    "Short Circuit should take a break as well. You should focus on grasping the feel of being in a competition, but do prioritise your treatment and recovery."


    Lu Li was confident in Short Circuit as well. Though in his memory of his past life, Short Circuit was not as good as Fat Monkey mainly due to his illness, all in all, he was still a very competent competitive player.


    "Don''t be too harsh on them, the newbies didn''t do half bad this time," Kitty said, attempting to alleviate the tense atmosphere in the room.


    "Only by letting them know their positions can we rest assure," Lu Li sighed, analysing the plays of the two new players. His commentary was completely different from when he was at the game; it was much more professional and detailed. North City Ice Cream and Hiking Sea Cow received precious feedback that had them completely convinced, even when being criticised by Lu Li. Some Guilds might hire game-theory experts to do such a thing, but the price was not cheap, and Ruling Sword was not extravagant enough to pay for such a service. Thankfully, Lu Li and Kitty''s observational skills were on par with game experts, and they could both enlighten the new players.

 1562 This Is the Story That Was Carried

    After exiting the game, Lu Li put on his coat and left the bedroom.


    The large living room was dead silent. Lu Li went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and took a bottle out. There was a note crookedly stuck onto the refrigerator door.


    "I went out to play with Sister Huan. You have to work our dinner for yourself. Maybe go and have dinner with Sister snowy. You can do it big bro ¨C bring home Sister snowy."


    Lu Li smiled and kicked his slippers off in the living room before snuggling into the soft sofa.


    It had been almost a year since his rebirth.


    He had been working tirelessly to save his sister and his own fate, but now, he just couldn''t get enough. He felt like there was always another thing to pursue.


    If someone had asked him in his previous lifetime whether he would pursue Water Fairy¡­


    He would feel like this person was just making fun of him. It would be like when two people are just chatting, and one person would say something that was obviously impossible for the other to do ¨C like going up to heaven. However, given the development of technology, even going up to heaven would be easier than convincing Water Fairy to become his wife.


    Even now, there were many people who thought that he wasn''t worthy of Water Fairy.


    However, he didn''t feel inferior.


    He had long since gotten over this sense of inferiority. He had accomplished so many things this year that it was the strongest he had ever felt. Not only was he doing increasingly more operationally complicated things, but he was also solving more complex problems. His self-confidence had actually increased significantly.


    By the time Lu Li finally understood what he wanted, he had already started work on it.


    He wanted to create a gaming club that would pass onto future generations!


    Not only was this his career ambition, but it was also the standard by which he thought he would deserve Water Fairy.


    When a man and a woman were together, the woman was able to be proud of the man''s power. However, men were usually unable to accept women that were more powerful than themselves. Some people called this trait masculinity, and Lu Li was obviously a male chauvinist.


    It wasn''t just a simple question of who was better.


    He could easily ignore the taunts coming externally, but he still had to face his own heart.


    So, after thinking for a few days, he decided that he needed to work hard in achieving the First Clear in the next public Instance Dungeon.


    For a new club, there was nothing better than competing in competitions.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t confident about their chances in the competition. Although they had won the championship before, they still had to consider that luck played a significant part. Lu Li felt that it would be a good achievement if they could stay in the top three in the next season.


    Moreover, Dawn was completely different from the previous games.


    In the previous games, as long as a club competed well, they would inevitably become a household name. However, in Dawn, more players were interested in Instance Dungeon research, story quests, and Trade Skills. Not to mention, there were many people that just played for fun.


    Compared with the huge number of people playing, the number of people who were concerned with e-sports was a small minority.


    Therefore, the major clubs had to find ways to improve their popularity. It was only then that they would attract sponsors and investors, which meant they could recruit their own professional players and finally start making money.


    Obtaining First Clears on Bosses was an essential part of that process.


    There were Instance Dungeon Boss First Clears and Wild Boss First Clears. Ruling Sword''s foundations were still superficial, so their Wild Boss attempts could still be stolen by others. Even if they succeeded in fighting off other players, the cost of such a battle was just not worth it.


    The Instance Dungeon First Clear was different. Even though they had to spend some money, it was still worthwhile in the end.


    Ruling Sword wanted to represent themselves as being the best, so they couldn''t get lazy with the First Clears.


    When Glory Capital had established themselves in that position, they had also set a number of new records. The other clubs didn''t even stand a chance for years, and could only compete for second place.


    The current Ruling Sword still had many deficiencies when compared to Glory Capital. Glory Capital had killed a few hundred more Wild Bosses than Ruling Sword, but Ruling Sword had more Instance Dungeon First Clears.


    After all, even if the little Red Dragon wasn''t easy to defeat, Glory Capital could still complete Blackwing''s Nest hundreds or even thousands of times. The amount of equipment they accrued from this process was scary to even think about.


    Ruling Sword''s Elite group wouldn''t be able to do the same thing for a long time. However, for the time being, achieving the Instance Dungeon First Clear was more important.


    The advantage that Lu Li had by being reborn would only last for three years. If he didn''t use the Instance Dungeon strategies that he knew in these three years, then they would be condemned to their fate. In this world, there were no two lives or careers that started from the same place. You needed to take advantage of what you had as soon as possible.


    The little Red Dragon and Blackwing''s Nest''s Bosses had been nerfed, so Lu Li knew that there would be a lot of clubs looking to complete the Dungeon this week. However, many people would also be attempting the new Instance Dungeon.


    The new Instance Dungeon was located in Stranglethorn Vale, where Glory Capital had their Stronghold.


    The Stranglethorn Value Stronghold wasn''t far from the new Instance Dungeon. The potions and equipment repairs were cheaper here than in Booty Bay, so everyone was more than happy to gather there.


    Glory Capital also took the opportunity to hold some promotional activities by giving out some of their accumulated potions and equipment. This gave a newfound sense of admiration for the guild, and temporarily silenced their critics.


    Lu Li walked along the spacious streets of the Stronghold and felt envious.


    He looked at the building materials, the designs and the goods available. These were things that Ruling Sword couldn''t afford; they just didn''t have the human and material resources for it.


    It was said Glory Capital had expanded this Stronghold northwards. They had even signed several large Mercenary Groups to help them with it. In this corporate era, Lu Li had to keep on moving forwards to avoid getting crushed.


    There were many people looking for quests and clues about the Instance Dungeon in Stranglethorn Vale.


    Lu Li left the place after having a look at Sorrowless'' Stronghold. Zul''gurub''s Instance Dungeon quests were not vital, but they would provide some benefits. Everyone was looking for clues in the map where the Instance Dungeon was located, but they were barking up the wrong tree.


    Lu Li called Hachi Chan over, and entered Tanaris'' coordinates.


    First, they needed to visit Gadgetzan, then travel to Hot Sand Harbour.


    The Hot Sand Harbour was a small village that was the gathering place of Goblins and Trolls. There were also some other creatures that would visit the area. Most of them spent their time fishing and fighting Southshore Sea Pirates. This was a neutral location and anyone could visit. This further demonstrated that Goblins would do anything for money.


    The trolls here were naturally neutral as well, and players in the Alliance could even communicate and get quests from them.


    The Goblin''s quests were more easily triggered, while the Troll''s quests were a little more difficult. As the former masters of the continent who had now fallen and needed to rely on these greedy Goblins to survive, the Trolls were still apprehensive towards outsiders.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had brought a Hachi Chan.

 1563 Yeh’Kinya

    This little village rarely had any outsiders visit. Players were very enthusiastic about the Southshore Sea Pirates, especially since these pirates dropped a lot of money. Many people often came here to try and trigger some quests, but the majority of them returned home with disappointment. Moreover, the supplies sold in this small village were very expensive, so naturally, people stopped visiting here overtime.


    As such, the players didn''t realise that the Instance Dungeon started here.


    This quest had a key NPC called Yeh''Kinya. He was like a majority of Trolls who looked gentle yet cold. However, when Hachi Chan stood in front of him, he felt destined that it was the right opportunity he had been waiting for.


    It was so infuriating in comparison. Lu Li had already walked back and forth near him many times, yet he didn''t even spare so much as a fart. Lu Li thought that he was better than Hachi Chan in at least some aspects.


    Truthfully, it was a little hard to tell. Hachi Chan''s equipment wasn''t bad at all and she didn''t lack any of the titles that Lu Li had earned from First Clear Instance Dungeons. At least from face value, it was hard to tell who was stronger. At a time like this, charisma played a bigger role.


    "Oh yes I''m a bit thirsty," Hachi Chan said as she licked her lips, replying appropriately to the situation.


    In fact, she carried all sorts of waters, juices and other drinks in her backpack. Once she heard that they were going to the desert of Tanaris, she was even more fully prepared.


    However, since the NPC wanted to provide them water, it was naturally disrespectful to decline.


    Tanaris was a desert so very little rain fell here. Apparently, there had been no rain for many years, so the fresh water here was very precious.


    People who lived here had different ways of collecting water. Wasteland robbers relied on stealing, while Sandhammer Ogres and Sandfury Trolls controlled the few natural wells that existed. Southshore Sea Pirates relied on plundering or sailing to the coast to replenish their water. If they couldn''t find water, Hot Sand Harbour would occasionally have two supply boats come by. Hot Sand Harbour also had some machines to desalinate seawater, but they only worked occasionally.


    You could see that the fresh water served to Hachi Chan was good enough that it shouldn''t be an issue.


    Thanks to Hachi Chan, Lu Li also received a water bag that wasn''t even filled up to a third, which was in stark contrast to her fully filled one.


    Unfortunately, players couldn''t transport water over here to trade. Otherwise, this would be a great business idea to make money.


    "This area of desert is poor and dangerous. Why have you come here?" Yeh''Kinya asked as he kindly looked at both of them drink water ¨C mainly towards Hachi Chan.


    "The Southshore Sea Pirates have been very active recently. They have attacked many merchant ships of Stormwind City. We have received a quest with a reward to fight them for nothing, so we came here to replenish some supplies," Lu Li replied naturally.


    Yeh''Kinya coldly looked over him and said nothing. Only when Hachi Chan nodded her head in agreement with Lu Li did he continue the conversation.


    Lu Li really wanted to punch someone. He knew that the mission was not easy to trigger, and Yeh''Kinya was an incredibly cautious person, but he didn''t think it would be as difficult as it was now.


    "It''s amazing to be able to fight pirates at such a young age. Unfortunately, I''m just an archaeologist. Otherwise, I could go and fight pirates too," Yeh''Kinya sighed emotionally.


    "Archaeology! That''s pretty amazing!" Hachi Chan exclaimed with earnest admiration.


    He seemed rather happy to have received Hachi Chan''s admiration. Yeh''Kinya talked endlessly with Hachi Chan about archaeology for more than half an hour. Where did the two of them even come up with so much to talk about? In the end, Yeh''Kinya gave Hachi Chan a quest that promised good rewards after completion, and also as a form of thanks for an unlikely friendship.


    Yeh''Kinya said, "This quest is regarding a God. You can take this magic wand to the mountains of Feralas and search for Screechers'' soul. They are relatives of an old God. Their souls are connected with this God. Kill those Screechers in the mountains and use my magic wand on their corpses. This will make their real souls appear. After this, you can collect the essence of these souls. Children, give me the essence of these souls and then I will tell you the details about the God that I just mentioned."


    "Okay, I will definitely complete your quest Mr. Yeh''Kinya," Hachi Chan promised in all sincerity and seriousness.


    She did indeed have confidence. Anyone would as they stood next to a large Thief whose fighting abilities were unparalleled. Plus, this Thief liked to call on people when he couldn''t defeat someone.


    Ferala was an area of wilderness ridges, filled with creatures that would swallow you as soon as they laid eyes on you. It was not easy to find monsters on this land, but fortunately, there were player forums. A little manual search could help them find the exact coordinates of the mountain Screechers.


    Both of them could fly which made it even easier.


    First, they had to kill off the monsters, then cast Yeh''Kinya''s magic wand on their corpses.


    "Feels a bit wicked. Does this count as desecration of corpses?"


    Hachi Chan didn''t seem to like the idea of this. She held the magic wand towards the corpse as her head tilted sideways and closed her eyes to cast a spell.


    "It''s just a game. In reality, you would never do this. If you do count it as desecration of a corpse then you''re nowhere near it compared to Dreamy. Quickly get their souls out," Lu Li urged. Thieves didn''t have magic so it would be hard to use the magic wand. Hachi Chan was better suited for this.


    Translucent wisps emanated from the monster''s body, and quickly condensed into a piece of Soul Essence.


    Yeh''Kinya needed three pieces of this type of Soul Essence. It wasn''t too hard to collect. The time spent on the mission itself was less than the time spent on the road here.


    "Yep, this is the thing."


    Yeh''Kinya was very satisfied with Hachi Chan and Lu Li'' completed quest.


    Green energy permeated the Soul Essence, which rang out in response. This was probably its way of communicating.


    "What did you hear?" Hachi Chan asked curiously once Yeh''Kinya stopped his magic casting.


    "I think I heard some details regarding Hakkar," Yeh''Kinya said with a sad expression. "Hakkar represents death and evil. Even though the Trolls used to worship it out of fear, but I personally do not wish for this god to return to Azeroth. Children, could you please help me with one more thing?"


    "Of course," Hachi Chan nodded without hesitation.


    "In order to stop Hakkar befalling, we must first obtain Hakkar''s soul essence," Yeh''Kinya solemnly said. "I remember Mosalu''s prophecy spoke about how to get Hakkar''s soul essence. The method has been written on two pieces of stone slabs and was taken to the west of Gadgetzan, which has a Troll city called Zul''Farrak¡­"


    "No worries, we''ll definitely bring it to you in no time."


    Hachi Chan was filled with excitement as soon as she heard they were going to save Azeroth.

 1564 Greed

    These two stone slabs existed in the Zul''Farrak Instance Dungeon. The Zul''Farrak Instance Dugeon''s level was very low. With Lu Li and Hachi Chan''s current strength, they could navigate through it easily.


    Yeh''Kinya began researching the writing on the stone slabs after receiving them.


    If Yeh''Kinya didn''t persist, Lu Li almost wouldn''t believe that was even writing, let alone that it used to be the Trolls'' writing. Now, the Trolls use another language system.


    These early writings could only be seen in sites like ruins. No matter the real identity, Yeh''Kinya finally lived up to his name as an archaeologist. Then again, this could be the type of writing that he had been studying the whole time.


    "Mosalu''s Prophecy mentioned an Ancient Egg. It was said that when the Trolls built their powerful empire at a time when no one could compare, the egg already existed. It possesses the power to control Hakkar''s soul essence. Perhaps this is the only hope we have from protecting our world from evil," Yeh''Kinya explained, not letting Lu Li and Hachi Chan wait long.


    "I understand. Next, we need to find this Ancient Egg, right?" Hachi Chan asked. She had learned to infer from given information.


    "Yes, you will need to find this Ancient Egg for me."


    Yeh''Kinya had a satisfied expression that said she was ''worthy of being taught'' and gently patted her head.


    "Wait," Lu Li interrupted. He was already on the bad side of the NPC so he might as well speak his mind.


    "We''ve already completed two quests for you. Even though we aren''t excessively greedy Goblins, we do also know that everything requires give and take¡­"


    "¡­"


    Yeh''Kinya probably didn''t think that anyone would ask for rewards, and didn''t know how to respond in the moment.


    Hachi Chan received Lu Li''s cue and pitifully said, "If the mission gets dangerous later, you''ve got to help us Uncle Yeh''Kinya. Our safety isn''t the main concern, but if the mission fails, then that won''t be good."


    "Okay, okay."


    Yeh''Kinya could reject Lu Li, but he couldn''t do the same with Hachi Chan.


    He grabbed two bottles of medicine, and gave them to Hachi Chan with a painful face.


    The medicine had such a simple name: Yeh''Kinya''s Medicine. However, the effects were not so simple. This was a medicine refined with the help of Hakkar, so the attributes were also very strong.


    To gain Hakkar''s power in a short period of time would give them great strength, no matter in attack or defence.


    However, Lu Li felt this wasn''t right. The medicine should have had a prescription.


    He had read in the guide that Yeh''Kinya would reward them with a medicine. The effects of it weren''t this insane, but the medicine produced could be used by everyone, even though it was only effective in Zul''Farrak''s new Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li was doing this quest mainly just for this medicine''s prescription, which would make First Clearing easier.


    "According to the details on the stone slabs, you need to go to the highest peak of Jintha''Alor. There''ll be a cave with the Ancient Egg in there," Yeh''Kinya explained.


    "Jintha''Alor, we know there that is. It has a strong evil priestess," Lu Li nodded.


    They had been to Jintha''Alor before when they fought Zul''Farrak. They had also killed Jintha''Alor''s evil priestess, Hexx, who was a chief-level Boss of over level 40 back in the day. She was incredibly hard to fight.


    Even if many players now were already at level 60 or close to it, they still needed an impressive team to get the ancient egg. Otherwise, it would be impossible to win against Priestess Hexx.


    "Yep it''s her," Yeh''Kinya said."The Ancient Egg is in her hands. Sooner or later it will be an issue."


    "Well, why don''t we just break the Ancient Egg straight away?" Lu Li asked with a hint of ill intent.


    "No, no, no. Breaking it will not resolve the problem my friends."


    Yeh''Kinya''s forehead dripped with sweat from the shock of Lu Li''s suggestion. He warned Lu Li solemnly, "The arrival of the evil spirit Hakkar is not necessarily the Ancient Egg. Plus, there''s not just one egg. Breaking it would only disturb Hakkar."


    "Okay, but the evil priestess is not easy to manage. Two of us alone will not be enough. I see that your medicine is pretty good. How about you give me some more or just give us the prescription¡­"


    "Elf, your greed is repugnant," Yeh''Kinya couldn''t resist saying.


    "Shhhh keep it down, we''re saving Azeroth," Lu Li said, looking left and right, as if saving the world was something to hide.


    "Damn, I''ve already given you the mission reward," Yeh''Kinya angrily replied.


    "I know, but you don''t wish for us to fail the mission, right? In case of alerting the enemy, that evil priestess would probably keep the Ancient Egg even safely stored. Perhaps even some strong helpers might come and help guard it. Then, it''ll be even harder to obtain at that point."


    "Okay, okay, this is the prescription. You cannot spread it without my permission."


    Yeh''Kinya didn''t have a choice but to think about the terrifying consequences described by Lu Li.


    Jintha''Alor had too many monsters. The evil priestess Hexx was not an easy opponent. In order to kill her, the two people in front of his eyes were not enough. However, he didn''t understand that players and the strengths of Bosses were matched according to levels. Plus, Lu Li didn''t even plan to kill Hexx again.


    After receiving the prescription, Lu Li got Hachi Chan to play on her own and went to Jintha''Alor by himself.


    Jintha''Alor still had Trolls everywhere. People could probably only see such a huge density of Trolls gathered in this place. As such, players around level 40 would come here and farm for items.


    Yet, the evil priestess Hexx was not lacking in visitors.


    Lu Li quickly found a few familiar faces in the group around the BOSS fight. Unforgettable Maple had brought the players of Majin Temple to fight both the Boss and the players of Stellar Guild.


    The equipment dropped by Hexx were no longer valuable, but she still had some useful rare materials.


    Under normal circumstances, if there were two clubs eyeing the same Boss, they would either agree on how to split the loot, or they would end up in the situation in front of him.


    Everyone spoke on their own merit. The first option meant people earned less, but the latter option meant that even if they grabbed rare materials, it was still a loss.


    Lu Li looked up. The Boss still had over half its HP.


    Even though everyone''s levels were higher than that of the Boss'', it was not easy to kill the her, on top of grabbing stuff from people.


    Lu Li didn''t intend to disturb both sides in the chaos of war. His target was behind the Boss in that cave. The Ancient Egg would disappear once the Boss died, so he would have to wait for the Boss to refresh.


    Originally, he thought that he had to wait for the Boss to refresh then come here.

 1565 Ancient Egg

    Lu Li discovered that he, himself, was unable to quietly sneak into the cave.


    This place had become a battlefield, with skills flying everywhere. His Stealth level was high, but even just one hit would reveal him.


    As long as he poked out his head, both guilds would view him as an enemy. Perhaps they might even ally with each other and kill him off first. After all, no one was sure if he had come here to steal the Boss from them. By that point, if he died and dropped equipment, it would be too late to even cry.


    Plus, if the Boss discovered his intentions, it would see him as an attack target instantly.


    Even though the Boss was only level 40 or so, one hit was enough to wipe out this Leather-Armored Thief.


    "Sister Maple are you here?" Lu Li asked in a private message.


    "What''s up? I''m busy fighting," Unforgettable Maple replied as he dodged an attack from the opponent''s Warrior and pinned his enemy to the ground in a single skill.


    "I can see," Lu Li said.


    "Why you are still chatting when you can see?! Wait, you can see?"


    "Yep, I''m squatting somewhere around 25 yards in front of your left," Lu Li said as he smiled coldly. "Is this how you welcome your guests?"


    "Hehe."


    Unforgettable Maple withdrew his staff, as if the blizzard unleashed 25 yards to the left of him wasn''t his.


    "I just want to see you so much. Who knew you were this dishonest? Don''t tell me Ruling Sword wants to steal this Boss as well."


    "No plans for that. I came here alone today," Lu Li replied, as if he didn''t care that his opponent had just thrown a deadly skill at him.


    "Then why are you here? Just passing by?" Unforgettable Maple asked unkindly.


    "Just a quest. Can you help move me towards the centre of the battlefield? I''ll remember this; I owe you one," Lu Li asked helplessly.


    "You want to go into that cave behind the Boss?"


    Unforgettable Maple observed and found Lu Li''s target, then carelessly said, "I''ve been in there several times; there''s not much in there. You must have triggered some special quest."


    "Nothing that special ¨C just helping a girl from the guild with a task. You know there aren''t many girls who like doing quests in my team."


    "I don''t believe you."


    "Are you gonna help or not? If not, I''ll just grab people to come participate in the battle," Lu Li threatened him, but it wasn''t just alarmist talk. As long as Majin Temple and Stellar Club didn''t give up this cave, he would rather bring a team of people over and make this scene even more chaotic.


    "The System updated today. You didn''t go to Blackwing''s Nest, and you didn''t try and unlock the new Instance Dungeon. Instead, you came here to help a girl with a quest? Do you think I''m seriously dumb?"


    "Then what do you want to do?"


    This was how the gaming circle worked. Sometimes, everyone could be good friends and share benefits, and introduce friends to each other''s clubs. However, when it came to personal interests, every single one of them was good at bargaining.


    "Share this quest, or at least share with me how to trigger it once you''re done with it. My 6th sense is telling it''s very important," Unforgettable Maple proposed.


    He was the head of the almighty Majin temple. Even though the club was not as strong as the tri-faction alliance backing Lu Li, if it came to actual fighting, they wouldn''t fall immediately.


    Moreover, Majin Temple was a very old guild and had their own allies.


    "Only women have a 6th sense," Lu Li said. He couldn''t help but roast him. If he knew he was going to be this difficult, he would have offered an exchange with Stellar Guild. He had just shot himself in the foot; he was a Thief through and through. The cunning old foxes in this gaming circle could not be underestimated.


    "You''re already calling me Sister. So what? I just have a 6th sense," Unforgettable Maple retorted. He was known for his thick skin.


    "Okay I''ll tell you another time," Lu Li agreed. People were going to find out about the quest sooner or later. Plus, he didn''t specify exactly when ''another time'' was going to be. Perhaps it would be after they cleared Zul''Gurub; he was never afraid of being thick skinned.


    "I was waiting for you to say that. I''ll get the Main Tanks to drag the monster away; you act as you see fit," Unforgettable Maple said frankly. He was satisfied once he got what he wanted.


    In fact, Lu Li''s words had hidden traps, and he could sense them too.


    It was just that everyone knew where they stood. If he pushed him too hard, then he might not be able to reap any benefit out of Lu Li. He was straightforward now so that Lu Li had to take into account some goodwill.


    The Main Tanks moved the evil priestess, and once the Boss moved, everyone else moved along with her. Then, the battle would naturally leave the cave''s location. Lu Li snuck into the cave straight away without anyone noticing.


    He had visited this cave before and there was indeed nothing there.


    However, the cave that used to hold nothing appeared with an additional egg once he received this quest.


    This was probably the Ancient Egg.


    Perhaps this was the egg laid by Hakkar!


    The game lore was quite ridiculous at times; the demi-gods had to rely on laying eggs to continue their lineage. However, Hakkar was a snake, so it somewhat made sense.


    Lu Li retrieved this huge egg and successfully put it in his sack.


    "Stuff you Lu Li! What did you do? The Boss is going ballistic ¨C go save yourself! Remember to share the quest!" Unforgettable Maple yelled in the communication channel to inform Lu Li, as he commanded people to return their original position.


    "Thanks! I''ll send you a guide later," Lu Li promised, then transformed into a crow and flew into the sky.


    The evil priestess Hexx was going ballistic below and was even more agitated than usual.


    From above, Lu Li could see each player turn into a white light. Moreover, the scope of this outbreak was spreading outwards. Ordinary Trolls and small monsters were also going ballistic and taking the lives of low-level players.


    The guilt was only momentary as Lu Li hurried back to complete the mission. He didn''t care enough about what was happening below.


    Plus, he believed that this type of chaos was only a temporary thing. As long as Majin Temple and Stellar Guild focused more on the Boss rather than each other, the evil priestess Hexx wouldn''t be too hard to deal with, even if she was going Berserk.


    "I had many mates who died for this Ancient Egg," Lu Li said, showing deep pain as he stood in front of the troll archaeologist Yeh''Kinya.


    "¡­"


    Yeh''Kinya wanted to puke up blood.


    "If it really was so hard, then why did you come back so quickly? It''s only been 10 or so minutes and you''ve already brought one back, and killed the evil priestess Hexx too."

 1566 Re-Entering the Temple

    "Thank you so much for getting the Ancient Egg. As for your reward¡­" Yeh''Kinya said with gritted teeth, "I really don''t have anything else. I''ve already given you the recipe ¨C what else do you want? Your greed will be your destruction, elf!"


    "Oh, no, Uncle Yeh''Kinya, he''s just messing with you," Hachi Chan said, then pulled Lu Li aside and asked eagerly, "What should we do next?"


    "Alright then, just pretend I didn''t say anything," Lu Li answered, wrinkling his nose as he was pushed aside.


    The next quest was not that important. Lu Li''s goal was to get Yeh''Kinya''s potion recipe; the subsequent rewards were quite random. It was difficult to receive anything worthwhile, especially given his current Charisma value. Only Hachi Chan held any hope of receiving valuable items when pursuing this questline.


    "Now, you will be acquiring the essence of Hakkar''s incarnation. Take this Ancient Egg to the deepest part of the swamp, where there will be a corrupted temple. Use the power of the egg to irritate the spirits of the place."


    "Why are we bothering the spirits? Why can''t we just let them rest in peace?" Hachi Chan asked in suspicion, feeling that something was not quite right. She was a simple girl, but she was actually much better at analysing quests than most.


    Yeh''Kinya started by telling them that there a spirit called Hakkar coming into the world. This was an evil spirit that knew no bounds.


    As someone from Azeroth, Hachi Chan was obliged to participate in this quest to save the mainland. However, as she progressed through the quest, she realized that she was growing closer and closer into contact with this god.


    "Children, you don''t understand," Yeh''Kinya boomed in a deep voice, "Hakkar''s strength is making its way int this world. His incarnations are the contact points that he has with this world. We need to eliminate these incarnations now, or find a way to take away his strength. The Ancient Egg will help you in doing this. When you use the egg at the temple, a bloodthirsty monster will come out to attack you. You can kill it to obtain Hakkar''s blood, and use this blood to extinguish the indestructible flames of the Fallen Lands. Once all the flames have been extinguished, Hakkar''s avatar will appear. Kill it and seal Hakkar''s Essence into this egg to protect this world¡­"


    Hachi Chan seemed to have stars floating around her in her confusion, but she nodded as if this NPC was making a lot of sense.


    "This means we need to go to the temple¡­As far as I know, it is a very difficult dungeon. There is even a very powerful green dragon. My friend¡­" Lu Li said.


    "Shut up, I am not your friend!" Yeh''Kinya was angry, but he managed to control himself.


    "If we die, then Azeroth is lost," Lu Li responded with a shrug and continued to blackmail the NPC. They had already come so far that the NPC had to tolerate Lu Li, even if he was angry.


    "You can give anything," Hachi Chan added.


    Yeh''Kinya looked at this well-behaved child and was filled with mixed emotions. Her travel companion was a shameless fool, so he was worried about her future.


    He took out a scroll without thinking, and stuffed it into Hachi Chan''s hand.


    "Hold onto this, my child. When you are in danger, you can use it to escape. It can only be used three times, so it is a last resort."


    Troll Escape Scroll (Special): After use, the user can escape from combat and appear in a random location at a nearby safe zone. Remaining number of uses: 3/5.


    When Lu Li saw the effect of the item given to Hachi Chan, he nodded with satisfaction.


    "You can hold it. It is better for people who do quests often. This old guy is really stingy, even though he comes from a rich family."


    The next quest was actually in an Instance Dungeon ¨C the Temple of Hakkar. It was the place where the blood god Hakkar was trapped, and where the Green Dragon family had sealed away his evil spirit.


    This Instance Dungeon had been around for quite some time, and wasn''t considered too difficult for level 60 players.


    "Help me find a team to do an Instance Dungeon within the guild," Lu Li messaged Square Root 3 directly. Such an Instance Dungeon didn''t require him to call Azure Sea Breeze and March Rain. Any capable team would be fine.


    "Let''s see¡­There are six teams current farming for materials. These are players from the Elite Group. They are just trying to farm some levels and equipment," Square Root 3 quickly responded.


    "Find an Elite Group that we trust, and leave two open slots. One healer and one damage output," Lu Li said.


    The team quickly arrived and was made up of people they had met before. There was the Paladin God of Destiny, Fire Mage Nuo Yu, and Square Root 3 himself. These were obviously people that Lu Li trusted.


    "Why are you here too Three bro?" Lu Li asked, feeling flattered.


    "I need to level up too; don''t look so surprised," Square Root 3 said, looking depressed. "I haven''t had much time to level up, and now many people have reached the level 60 cap. I don''t want to get instantly killed during something like a Stronghold attack¡­"


    "Oh, did someone kill you?" Lu Li asked, taken aback.


    "He didn''t succeed, but it did scare me," Square Root 3 said with some residual fear, "So I decided to increase my level and weak equipment. I''m also looking for a pet that can heal me¡­"


    "¡­" Lu Li didn''t know what to say. All he could think to say was, "Did you find out who it was?"


    "Even a fool wouldn''t reveal their identity if they were doing something like that. My later research was in vain too. The worst part is I can''t even work out why they specifically wanted to target me!"


    Square Root 3 thought back to that moment, and was visibly distressed. If it wasn''t for Fat Monkey standing nearby, he might have died.


    Lu Li felt a bit of guilt. He had assassinated Sorrowless, and he now felt a bit of sympathy after hearing Square Root 3''s experience.


    The only difference was in the success of the assassination. While thousands of players were watching, the famous Sorrowless was killed while Square Root 3 preserved his life. Despite his frustrations, he had actually done a commendable job. Lu Li praised Square Root 3 with the highest praise he could muster.


    With the exception of Square Root 3, the others could all be considered experts.


    This level 50 Instance Dungeon was no issue for them as they swept through it. Soon, they reached the altar described by Yeh''Kinya. The players generally called this the Fallen Altar, and this place was used by a number of different quests.


    In the middle of the altar was a pile of horrific skeletons, while a number of fires burned around it. These fires couldn''t be extinguished as they were magical fires.

 1567 Suspicion

    Now, these fires were about to be of use.


    "Wait until I put this egg on the bone rack. Many monsters will come out, wanting to destroy the egg."


    First, Lu Li decided to explain to the others how to do this quest. Then, he continued explaining how everyone would work together.


    Monsters would come at them from all directions at the altar. One Main Tank wasn''t enough. Fortunately, these were all level 50 monsters and they weren''t particularly strong. Square Root Three could command his pet bear to stand guard and Hachi Chan just needed to heal the team whenever they needed it.


    The design of the Bloodthirsty monsters was quite disgusting. They were extremely quick, but fortunately, their HP and Armor was low. It only took around two or three hits to kill one of them.


    They dropped an item called Hakkar''s Blood. This was a gluey-type of liquid which could be used to extinguish the fires on the altar. Every time they threw some of Hakkar''s Blood on the fire, they would grow smaller and smaller.


    However, the situation was now absolute chaos.


    They needed to kill monsters on one hand, then pick up Hakkar''s Blood and throw it on the fires. Some of the monsters that penetrated through the defense managed to get close to the Ancient Egg. No one knew how important this quest was to Lu Li, so naturally, they immediately took care of them.


    Fortunately, when one of the fires were put out, monsters would no longer spawn from that direction.


    The fires were extinguished one after another. At that time, the bone rack situated at the middle of the altar slowly constructed a gigantic Wind Serpent, which was also the manifestation of the Evil God Hakkar.


    "Alright. We just need to kill him, and then we''ll be done," Lu Li said, breathing a sigh of relief. The quest would finally be finished.


    This was a level 50 manifestation of Hakkar. Its entrance was quite grand and eye-catching, but its departure was one of shame. After all, it was only a level 50 Instance Dungeon Boss, while the players who came were all level 60.


    After the Boss died, Hachi Chan went to loot its drops.


    These were the standard drops, and without the little lucky hand here, there wasn''t any hope for surprises. Soon after, everyone left the grounds.


    Lu Li stored away the Ancient Egg once again. However, this time, it was different to the version from before. The Egg that Lu Li was holding now had Hakkar''s spirit essence sealed within it.


    "Haha! That''s right! This is how it should be indeed!" Yeh''Kinya exclaimed, jumping and dancing for joy.


    "Uncle Yeh''Kinya, does this mean that we''ve finished the quest?" Hachi Chan asked.


    "Of course! You guys are really quite outstanding. You were much quicker than I thought. I have some of my collected equipment here. Both of you can pick one out among these," Yeh''Kinya kindly offered.


    It was quite rare for Epic items to be rewards for quests. However, the Dark Gold items that Yeh''Kinya was giving out were quite powerful. Lu Li and Hachi Chan picked two items that seemed useful, so that they could throw them in the guild storage for others.


    "Uncle Yeh''Kinya, what do you want to do with this Egg that has Hakkar''s spirit essence?" Hachi Chan asked as she pointed at the precious Ancient Egg.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Yeh''Kinya didn''t think that Hachi Chan would ask that type of question and not leave after finishing the quest. He paused for a second, then hesitatingly replied, "Of course, I''ll be destroying it. Young ones, you have saved the land of Azeroth. Your names will be resounded for eternity! However, you are still a little weak as of now, so you cannot take on even greater challenges. You should go and strengthen yourselves!"


    Hachi Chan hesitated, suspecting him of something, but she was quickly pulled away by Lu Li. When they were about to leave, she still wanted to return.


    This was their first time saving Azeroth. Unfortunately, she couldn''t see the destruction of the Egg, so she wasn''t satisfied.


    They were quickly stopped by a rough, tough and young Dwarf. He was wearing armor that was typical of the Dwarven race, while also wielding a bright and shiny shovel. On his back were many items, tied together in a messy heap.


    "I am Jans Ironboot!" the Dwarf announced in a low, muffled voice.


    "Ironboot. Right. Are you one of the more well-known members of the Ironboot? I didn''t think that I would be able to see a member of the Ironboot in such a remote area. Has something in Danaris caught your interest?" Compared to the other more cunning races, Lu Li preferred to interact with the Elves and Dwarves instead.


    The way to interact with the Dwarves was that if you treated them a certain way, then they would treat you as brothers.


    There were many ways to gain favour with Dwarves. Firstly, there was ores and smithing, secondly, there was alcohol, and lastly, there was mentioning their family name. Complimenting on their beards or muscles was useless. However, naming some of their more prominent clan members would make them feel like you had just complimented their whole clan.


    "Haha, that''s right! I am of the Ironboot. I am Prospector Jans Ironboot," the young Dwarf said as he stood up straight and puffed out his chest.


    "Keep complimenting me! Keep going!" he thought to himself.


    However, Lu Li didn''t have that much time to compliment him. Furthermore, he didn''t know that much about the Ironforge and the Ironboot Clan. He only knew that this clan had produced many travellers, prospectors and archaeologists. These professions matched the clan name quite well.


    "May I ask, what can we do to help?"


    "Oh, that''s right. Just then, I heard you guys talk to that Troll," the Dwarf said, then scratched his butt and continued, "It wasn''t my intention to listen in, but it was because I was sleeping in my tent nearby. The tent isn''t soundproof at all."


    "I understand. My friend, this isn''t something major," Lu Li replied.


    "Thank you, Elf," Jans Ironboot breathed a sigh of relief, then continued, "However, I don''t think that Troll was telling the truth. You guys gave him the two tablets which involved Hakkar''s spirit essence, but there should be many more according to the contents of the legend! I have already researched a long time into this. Furthermore, I found that there should be six Mosh''Aru tablets in total! Not two, but six tablets!"


    "So, what you''re saying is?"


    Lu Li''s heart was extremely calm, but his facial expression was that of utter surprise.


    "Although I''m not sure as to why he''s hiding this from you, I don''t think that this is something good. That Troll doesn''t look like someone who has good intentions," Jans Ironboot said.


    "I felt that something wasn''t quite right either. It was as if he was hiding something from us. However, it definitely isn''t something good." Hachi Chan nodded her head furiously in agreeance. Although Yeh''Kinya was extremely nice to her, this quest felt like it was shrouded in mist and fog. This was different to the quests that she had undertaken before.


    "What do we do now?" Lu Li asked.


    "Find the third and fourth Mosh''Aru tablets. They are in the Eastern Plaguelands and are guarded by a Mossflayer. Once you find them, give them to me. I can understand what is written on the tablets," Jans Ironboot said, proceeding to give them a quest.


    It looked like this questline was continuing.

 1568 Deception

    The Mossflayer was quite easily dealt with, so Lu Li brought the third and fourth tablets back quickly.


    The Ironboot were an uncommon but academically gifted clan, especially in the field of archaeology. Therefore, Jans Ironboot must have done research into the Troll language.


    However, this didn''t mean that he was as fluent as Yeh''kinya and could translate it as quickly.


    "Let me investigate this. Use this time to bring back the fifth and sixth tablets as well."


    Lu Li and Hachi Chan accompanied the prospector for a while, then were hurried onto the last two tablets. These two couldn''t do anything to help anyway.


    "Alright then. Where are these two tablets?" Hachi Chan felt like giving up. She couldn''t read the words, no matter how hard she tried.


    "They are in the Blackrock Spires, in the hands of the Smolderthorn Trolls. The Spires are situated in between the Burning Steppes and the Searing Gorge. Molten lava and fire run across the black mountains in that place."


    Jans Ironboot didn''t like that place; it could be said that he detested it. This was because there were ex-Ironboot clan Dwarves in that area who were now just slaves for the Firelord.


    "Oh. How nice. It''s someplace familiar again."


    Hachi Chan, on the other hand, really liked the Blackrock Spires.


    The Instance Dungeon in the Blackrock Spires was closer to the level 60 mark. Therefore, the difficulty was naturally higher than before. However, there were also many Ruling Sword squads in this area, so Lu Li and Hachi Chan just tagged along with one of them and quickly retrieved the fifth and sixth tablets.


    Once he saw that they had returned, Jans Ironboot immediately rushed over and took them.


    Seeing that his face was of a grave expression, Lu Li and Hachi Chan didn''t say another word. They just stood by and watched him decipher the words on these two tablets. Fortunately, that didn''t take too long.


    "My friends. You have been deceived. After investigating the Mosh''Aru tablets, I received a terrifying piece of news," Jans Ironboot wearily explained. "You have used an Ancient Egg to collect Hakkar''s spirit essence. Yeh''kinya has told you that it was for sealing Hakkar''s powers in the Egg. However, the truth is that the Ancient Egg is used to revive the Evil God Hakkar! Damn that troll! He wants to revive Hakkar!"


    "How did it become like this?" Hachi Chan was nearly on the verge of tears. She thought that she was the saviour of Azeroth, instead of condemning Azeroth to its doom.


    "Don''t panic. Let''s listen to what Brother Ironboot has to say. What should we do?" Lu Li asked, trying to comfort her. She was completely invested in the questline. Perhaps this was why she could receive lots of quests.


    "Let''s go. Let''s go and find Yeh''kinya and destroy that Egg. I can only hope that we have enough time to destroy Hakkar once and for all," Jans Ironboot said as he rubbed his hands together, took his shovel, and brought them towards Yeh''kinya''s place.


    Yeh''kinya was surprisingly still there and was still packing up.


    Perhaps it was because he stayed with Goblins for too long that he decided to bring everything with him. He couldn''t let others profit off of what he left behind.


    Hachi Chan felt that she was deceived and lied to, so she accused him immediately.


    "Yeh''kinya¡­Uncle, why did you lie to us?"


    "I didn''t¡­" Yeh''kinya was planning on continuing with the deception, but then he saw that Jans Ironboot was with them. He, too, recognised this clan that was famous in the archaeological world, so he knew that lying would no longer work.


    As a result, he changed his words, saying, "Young one, I have lied. However, is it wrong to pursue my own ideals through my own hard work? Everyone has their own ideals which they pursue."


    "What a shameless man. You desire to destroy this land. Is that your ideal and ambition?" Jans Ironboot was furious.


    "Destroy? Why would Lord Hakkar destroy the land? You young ones do not share the same passion and love for the land compared to us. When the Ancient Trolls fought for this land, none of you were in your mothers'' wombs yet!"


    This debate was destined to be useless. In the end, the only solution was a battle.


    However, Yeh''kinya''s goal was already achieved. Furthermore, he also didn''t want to hurt Hachi Chan, an adventurer who he was particularly fond of, so he chose to escape instead.


    "My name is Jin''do!"


    A green serpent then streaked across the sky and into the clouds above.


    "Jin''do. The Atal''ai Priest Jin''do. Is Hakkar going to be resurrected?" Jans Ironboot solemnly asked as he looked skywards.


    Since the topic was on Hakkar, a mighty Troll kingdom must be mentioned ¨C the Gurubashi Trolls. In that powerful kingdom, there was a devotional cult comprised of Atal''ai Priests who worshipped Hakkar. These passionate followers had one goal in mind: to bring their Lord into the world.


    After experiencing a large internal war, these Hakkar followers were ultimately defeated and eternally banished.


    After this, they arrived in the northern area of the Swamp of Sorrows. It was here where they constructed a gigantic temple for Hakkar ¨C the Atal''Hakkar Temple. This was where they resumed their worship as well as prepared for the resurrection of their god.


    Around this time, Ysera of the Green Dragonflight received news of the evil plans of the Hakkar followers. Under the leadership of Eranikus, they courageously faced the Trolls in battle. Green, red and black-colored blood filled the Swamp of Sorrows. In the end, the powerful Eranikus sacrificed his life to summon the Green Dragons'' symbol of strength, which was the legendary sword ¨C Dragon''s Call.


    Although the Green Dragonflight suffered considerable losses, the Temple also suffered equally.


    Furthermore, the Atal''ai Priests ended up discovering that the true body of Hakkar could only be formed and summoned in Zul''Gurub. Upon this discovery, they secretly moved into a remote area in Zul''Gurub, a remnant of the past Troll Kingdom.


    Once again, they prepared for the coming of Hakkar into the world and sought to restore the Troll Kingdom to its former glory.


    The battle of Zul''Gurub then began!


    One of the Priests, Jin''do, disguised himself as an archaeologist and hid in the outskirts of Zul''Gurub. He changed his name Yeh''kinya, and managed to successfully deceive adventurers like Lu Li and Hachi Chan. He managed to trick them into sealing Hakkar''s spirit essence into the Ancient Egg.


    "I am incredibly grateful that you have helped me reveal Jin''do''s identity," Jans Ironboot said. "I need to go and report this news to other people, so you guys can have these rewards. I hope that we''ll have more opportunities to work together and stop these insane people in the future."


    Besides equipment, there was also a great amount of Fame given as a reward. This quest was part of the main storyline and Hachi Chan and Lu Li were the first ones to complete it. Naturally, the rewards would be abundant.


    "Don''t worry, my Dwarven friend," Lu Li earnestly said. "I will bring others and cleanse the whole area of Zul''Gurub!"


    He needed to express something like this at this time. No matter who it was, even if it was Sargeras, Lu Li still needed to say something like this. Otherwise, how would he receive his rewards?


    If you were sad alongside the NPC and sighed along with him, then you would have to prepare for more sighing afterwards.


    "How devastating, my Elven friend. Your determination puts even the Dwarfs to shame."


    Jans Ironboot seemed to be motivated once again. He slapped his chest and proudly said, "No matter who it is, no matter if they are people or gods, if they want to destroy my homeland, then it will be over my dead body!"


    The System then notified Lu Li that he had been given the Warcry of the Ironboot, which gave the team a 5% increase in Attack.


    Although this wasn''t as powerful as the Dragon Slayer''s Roar, Lu Li didn''t expect a reward like this, so he was satisfied. Joyfully, he said goodbye to Jans Ironboot. In the Dwarfs'' eyes, this was a showing of determination and positivity.


    "Was it because of our quest that this was the result?" Hachi Chan sadly asked.


    "Don''t be stupid. If Hakkar never came, how would we defeat him? It didn''t matter if we did this quest or not. Hakkar was bound to come anyway," Lu Li laughed as he rubbed her head. He didn''t worry about the quest at all.


    "Ah? Why''s that?" Hachi Chan couldn''t understand.

 1569 Zul’Gurub, Begin!

    Actually, other clubs had already started on the new Instance Dungeon.


    Only Ruling Sword was withholding its forces until Lu Li had the recipe for Yeh''kinya''s elixir. After receiving this elixir, then they would begin working.


    Lu Li then brought this recipe to the club''s main apothecary, Cold Chill.


    "Eh? Aren''t you busy? Is there something good this time?"


    As soon as Cold Chill saw Lu Li, she was instantly focused. She was buried amongst the mountain of bottles that she had in her room, as she continued to concoct high-grade elixirs.


    "There''s something here. I''m not sure if it can help you or not," Lu Li said as he threw Yeh''kinya''s recipe to her.


    Cold Chill reached out and grabbed the recipe. She glanced over the contents of the recipe and smiled in surprise.


    "The effects aren''t strong, but the ingredients for it are quite rare. This needs three rare materials just to make a batch! How preposterous! This is a first time for me."


    "What? Three rare materials?" Lu Li was shocked. He took back the recipe and examined the contents. What Cold Chill had said was true.


    He was a little taken aback. If he recalled correctly, this recipe should only need one rare material, so why was it three now? Furthermore, more than one was required for each of these rare materials.


    This potion needed five Troll Hearts, which was the main material!


    "This is probably the highest-level potion in the game as of now. It''s not that surprising that a potion of this level would require three rare materials," Cold Chill said. She looked at Lu Li''s expression and felt a little weird since it wasn''t often that he made a fuss over nothing.


    Lu Li calmed down a little and realised that he might have closed his mind off a little. In his previous life, it was indeed one rare material, but this didn''t mean that it was always the case. Perhaps it was changed after the fact because the developers felt that it was unreasonable.


    This was a common occurrence in games like Dawn.


    However, this would mean that the usage price of this potion would be extremely expensive. Lu Li looked over the three rare materials needed. Troll''s Heart was an item that was more commonly available, so finding them would be manageable. However, requiring five of them to make one batch was unreasonable. Once the update took place, then they would only need 3 Troll Hearts.


    There were some in the guild storage, but the usage rate would be high, so the number that they had now wouldn''t last more than a few days.


    After Ruling Sword got the First Clear, Lu Li would allow the elite squads to complete the quests, which would lead to more recipes. Then, these recipes would be given to potion brewers to craft. Once completed, the potions would be given to the elite squads to help them grind the Instance Dungeons for equipment.


    Since the cost to craft these elixirs were much higher than what he thought, he couldn''t allow this plan to go ahead. Instead, he decided to bring all those players who didn''t have anything to do to attempt Zul''Gurub.


    He could also commission Shen Wansan to buy the materials. However, this had to be done in secret. If other clubs caught wind of this news, none of them would mind interfering with Ruling Sword''s business.


    They didn''t care what Lu Li wanted to do with these items. As long as they could interfere with him, they would take the opportunity.


    Fortunately for Lu Li, only one of each of the other two rare materials were required.


    Lu Li was already feeling a little numb. In his previous life, he had entered the game at a later stage, so he didn''t know anything about the earlier changes in the game. These mistakes regarding the materials for recipes would only cost him more money.


    "Please make it now. I''ll give you 1 hour. You can at least make five batches, right?" Lu Li asked.


    "Five batches? Are you planning on wearing me out? I can make two batches, max. It''s not like they''ll disappear quickly. Why do you want so many at once?" Cold Chill asked as she looked at Lu Li suspiciously, then said, "You''re not using these to gain favour with your girl again¡­are you?"


    "How I miss the newbie from before¡­" Lu Li sighed.


    Lu Li received the potions, while Wandering also managed to form the teams.


    This time, Ruling Sword also brought players from Peerless City and Drizzle Court. This way, the three clubs would show on the broadcast when they get First Clear. This would also create a sense of camaraderie within the alliance.


    The Main Tank was Azure Sea Breeze, with Wandering as the secondary-Tank. The Main Healer was March Rain, with Darkness and Hachi Chan playing a supporting role. This was the core of the team, in addition to Water Fairy and Lonesome Flower. There were also a few reserves outside of the Instance Dungeon. All in all, this was incomparable to the Blackwing''s Nest Instance Dungeon from before.


    Zul''Gurub, the capital of the Troll Kingdom had been sealed for thousands of years. There were countless treasures hidden within the area. This was proof of the Trolls'' enormous wealth from the past! Furthermore, this was also one of the rare outdoor Instance Dungeons in Dawn!


    While previous dungeons were all in dark and cramped spaces, this dungeon was designed to be full of landscape views and was much more pleasant to fight in. According to some of the players, you could even look and admire the view while fighting in the dungeon. At least, this was somewhat possible in the beginning stages. However, most squads wouldn''t be willing or able to admire the scenery.


    It was said that those teams who had decided to tackle the Instance Dungeon that afternoon were utterly destroyed.


    This was the Trolls'' territory. Anyone who wished to steal their treasures would pay with their blood and gold. After all, repairing equipment was quite expensive.


    The Trolls residing in this area were the descendants of the Gurubashi Trolls, who were the descendants of the earliest Zandalari Trolls.


    The Zandalari Trolls were the most ancient and wisest race in Azeroth. They had dwelled in Azeroth even before the arrival of Titan. Following multiple civil wars within the race, the Zandalari Trolls were divided into two large branches. One was the Amani Trolls, while the other was the Gurubashi Troll Kingdom.


    While the Amani Trolls were diplomatically dealing with problems with the Elven leaders, the Gurubashi Trolls realised that only absolute power would bring them to glory. This was why they looked toward Hakkar for protection.


    Hakkar was known as the Blood God. This was because to gain the power of Hakkar, one needed to sacrifice bodies and spirits. It was through this that their power was maintained for thousands of years. As a result, the relationship between fear and power allowed the Trolls to become arrogant and rigidly adhere to traditions.


    The Blood God Hakkar became greedier over time as his appetite for bodies and souls grew. This gradually became uncontrollable for the Trolls. As a result, the devoted worshippers of Hakkar protected him, while some of the Zandalari Trolls allied with one another to resist against the Blood God''s rule.


    After losing in the war, the Hakkar worshippers fled to the eastern side of Stranglethorn Vale, in the swamp. There, they secretly built a temple to worship Hakkar. This temple was the location of the Instance Dungeon: The Temple of Atal''Hakkar.


    However, as it was said before, the Green Dragons destroyed their hope.


    Yeh''kinya, or Jin''do, had now retrieved Hakkar''s spirit essence within the Ancient Egg with the adventurers'' help.


    The players needed to defeat this Instance Dungeon. Otherwise, Hakkar would once again arrive in this world. If that happened, the whole of Azeroth would become the Blood God''s dinner. Lu Li didn''t even flinch. After all, Hakkar was only a demigod. There were so many demigods in Azeroth and even more who were dead.


    Was Hakkar stronger than the top echelons of the Legion?


    No matter what, he wasn''t stronger than the Old Gods. The Old Gods were an existence which surpassed the demigods, but they would eventually be defeated and sealed away by Titan. There was also Ragnaros the Firelord and Nefarian. Lu Li felt that all of these figures were much stronger than Hakkar.


    However, the Trolls could only attribute their current status to Orgrimmar. The rest of them were wasting away in the mountains and other remote areas.


    They could only pray to this figure who had once protected them and helped them conquer the lands.


    "Let''s go. Let''s use today and tomorrow to clear this dungeon. I still need to go and be an analyst after."


    Lu Li chose the difficulty, then stepped into the dungeon.

 1570 The Reason for Point Deduction

    The difference between this dungeon from the other dungeons was that you could ride your mount inside.


    As such, the group of 20 players summoned their rarest mounts and Azure Sea Breeze suggested to take a group photo.


    "After many years when we''re older or no longer play Dawn anymore, this moment will be something we treasure for the rest of our lives. I''ll show my kids and grandkids this photo and tell them about you guys and the amazing adventures we''ve been on."


    The sentiment was quite touching. Although Azure was immature at times, he was actually a very genuine and down to earth kind of guy.


    "Kids? Grandkids? You need to find a girlfriend first. Where are you kids and grandkids going to come from?" Wandering began to mock him like he always did.


    "Liu Jing Zhu, I''ll kill you!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled, almost falling off his mount.


    "Alright, alright, let''s take the photo and start going to work," Lu Li interrupted the two idiots. The fact that they were still friends after giving each other so much crap showed that they actually loved each other a lot.


    They were stopped by some small mosnters not far from the entrance.


    These monsters were actually quite strong, but after Blackwing''s Lair, no matter how strong they were, the team easily dealt with them.


    Lu Li told everyone to drink the potion from Yek''Kinya. They had two each and each lasted 30 minutes, which meant that after an hour they would need more potions to be delivered


    Lu Li had invested quite a lot into this dungeon.


    Not so much the cost and the rare materials needed to craft the potions, but the time that it took.


    Zul''Gurub was slightly easier than Blackwing''s Lair. The only thing that stopped the other major guilds from completing it was that they were unfamiliar with it. Once the other guilds took some time to figure out the tactics, the First Clear might easily be taken away from Ruling Sword.


    The group of them swept through the dungeon like locusts and quickly reached the main dungeon area.


    Whether it was to revive Hakkar or seal him away, the Trolls banded together and sent a small team of Priests to infiltrate this ancient city.


    The tribes included the Vilebranch, Skullsplitter, Bloodscalp, Witherbark and Sandfuries. Each team of Priests was a powerful champion of the primal Gods ¨C Bat, Panther, Tiger, Spider and Snake.


    Players needed to defeat these Priests and their primary monsters.


    The first area was the Bats; High Priestess Jeklik and her tribe were the first to face off against the players. The monsters here were grouped up with a Batrider leading four to six smaller Bats. It was a little difficult at first, but Lu Li quickly learnt their tendencies and abilities then adapted accordingly.


    "Dream, Beard, you guys help out the Main Tank. Everyone else, focus the smaller bats first. Once the bats are finished, focus on the Batriders. When their HP reaches around 30% remember to stand back and let the Azure tank the damage."


    "Do you guys not see that it explodes upon death? Do you want to make our healers exhausted in the first stage?"


    In reality, if they didn''t dodge the explosion damage, they wouldn''t wipe because of how good their equipment was.


    However, Lu Li wanted to waste as little time here as possible because if someone died then everyone had to stop and take time out to revive and rebuff him.


    "Hir''eek, grant me wings of vengeance!"


    The female troll shrieked and transformed into a large bat.


    Hir''eek was the Primal Bat God and the protector of the Vilebranch Tribe.


    While transformed, she had bonus attack power as well as a silence and fear. Once the Main Tank was feared and the healers were silenced, there would be many casualties.


    Since they didn''t know what was happening at first, they lost three players, two of which were melee classes. One of them was Water Fairy and Lu Li silently battle resurrected her.


    "Boss, what about me?" Fat Monkey asked.


    "Just keep lying there on the floor for. We don''t have that many revives."


    The only other person here was Hachi Chan the Druid. Since Revive could only be used once per battle, it had to be saved for someone important.


    ''Why did you save Water Fairy then?" Fat Monkey was almost in tears.


    "Because you''re not a hot chick," Lu Li joked but Fat Monkey did not appreciate his sense of humor.


    Besides these skills, High Priestess Jekilk could also summon. Waves and waves of bats began swarming towards them and before the team could retaliate, they had already been wiped.


    "Why didn''t you guys use your crowd control skills?" Lu Li asked, after they revived.


    "How am I supposed to crowd-control flying monsters?" Lonesome Flower protested, making up an excuse.


    "This is a game. Who has ever said that you can''t crowd control flying monsters? Did you not see how low they were flying as well?"


    Lu Li was disappointed in his teammates. He knew that they might be wiped once or twice on this Boss, but he didn''t realize that they would be wiped from the summoned bats, which could be easily killed with some area of effect skills.


    The second time the bats came, the two Ice Mages used Frost Nova.


    These bats were frozen in place and the classes with strong area of effect skills immediately cleaned them up. It was that easy!


    "Liu Jin Zhu, Taunt!" Lu Li yelled.


    Since the Main Tank was feared, the other secondary Tank was put to use.


    "Lu Li, I''ve always thought of you as more of a serious person." Wandering was furious.


    "Why are you looking at me like that? All I did was call you by your real name; isn''t everyone else doing


    the same? Besides, it was just a spur of the moment," Lu Li defended himself, then whistled, "Okay, let''s move onto the next stage. Everyone, get ready."


    "You have to promise me something," Wandering said, not allow him to change the subject.


    "What?"


    "Whoever yells my real name in the future will be deducted guild points. If anyone outside the guild calls me by my real name I''ll personally bring people to kill them. Otherwise, I quit."


    Wandering thought that it was about time to do something about this, he cannot continue risk his fame and reputation like this.


    "Look, the Boss transformed! Everyone look!" Azure Sea Breeze yelled.


    He purposely yelled loudly to stop Lu Li from promising Wandering. Yelling out his real name was the only surefire way to win an argument against Wandering.


    Lu Li was sweating but ignored Wandering''s request and continued to tell his team to attack the Boss.


    High Priestess Jeklik had already returned back to her human form.


    She raised both of her arms and drawing green magical powers to channel a spell.


    Lu Li reacted quickly and interrupted her cast. Based on the name of the skill it was likely a healing skill. Usually, the longer the channeling time, the more powerful the spell. In reality, if they allowed the Boss to heal herself, she would have regained 20% of her HP and all their efforts would be wasted.


    Fortunately, it was easily interrupted.


    High Priestess Jeklik could also use Fireball at this stage.


    Her fireballs were different; they were more like exploding fireballs. Not only did they cause damage upon impact, but they also exploded upon impact, dealing fire damage to the surrounding enemies and creating a sea of fire.


    The area of fire dealt massive amounts of damage over time. Most players cannot survive more than 2 or 3 seconds in it.


    "Everyone, make sure you dodge that skill. I''ll deduct points for whoever burns to death," Lu Li threatened.


    "If you don''t promise me then I''ll burn to death." Wandering was still mad.


    "Alright, alright, whoever yells out Liu Jing Zhu again will be deducted points. Wandering, if you mention it one more time I''ll deduct your points." Lu Li was sick of him complaining.


    "Deduct two of your points first, including that time from before. You''ve already said it twice. Azure Sea Breeze as well ¨C he was yelling it at the start of the dungeon." Wandering was really pushing it.


    "Shut up, how dare you say that, I''ll deduct yours if you don''t shut up." Lu Li was furious.


    "Then deduct Azure''s. I don''t care about yours," Wandering said, quickly changing his mind.


    "Fine, I''ll take off one point," Lu Li sighed, deducting a point even though he didn''t really want to.


    "You two are animals."


    Azure Sea Breeze was almost in tears as he was getting beat up by the Boss.

 1571 Almost Wasn’t Auctioned

    "As for Her Tears''s side, talk to them yourself. After all, he''s been worried about not having a fight the whole day," Lu Li suggested. He shrugged his shoulders and refused to continue discussing this topic. Along with Ruling Sword''s rising strength, they had also made a big entrance in the arena, got First Clear after First Clear in Instance Dungeons, and performed pretty well against Wild Bosses. On top of that, they also defeated the Gangnam Royals. These achievements allowed the club to enter a short period of stability.


    The other clubs didn''t begrudgingly beat them down like they would in the past. Instead, conflicts and battles with them began to decrease. As for other ordinary medium and small sized guilds, they didn''t recklessly provoke the stronger clubs that had won competitions. Lu Li also forbade the club from actively provoking other players and Her Tears grew more and more gloomy.


    Human-like bosses would also use summoning magic. The boss summoned bats just like the last fight; the difference was that this time, the bats didn''t flood in and attack the players. Instead, the bats had become airborne forces that flew even higher than usual and dropped flaming projectiles onto the players below. There was no way to deal with them from the ground!


    If these flaming projectiles damaged the players, it would then do continuous Fire damage. And any projectiles that landed on the ground would turn the area into a pocket of flames that does comparable damage to Fireballs.


    Not long after, the field of grass had turned into blazing flames. At this stage, it was really easy for the whole team to die. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn''t be considered a lot if the whole team died eight or ten times. The fire damage was high, and it was distributed within a small crowded area. If any of the players were not careful and rushed in, they might end up dying quickly. The pressure was especially high for the healers because they not only had to keep the other players alive, but themselves as well. If they lost too many healers, then naturally, the whole team would die.


    However, today was different. Or maybe we could say it was Lu Li''s team that was different. Even if it was Glory Capital, they couldn''t scrape together even two famous competitive priests to be their main healers. March Rain, Star Baby, along with Wendelian from Gale Legion were known as the Three Great Pretty Priests. Adding these two priests to the team would guarantee that most people would at least be able to survive the flames.


    As for the other healer, Hachi Chan, she didn''t even need to cast any special abilities. Lu Li had seen her sneakily drink a bottle of something unknown. Only after asking her did he know that it was a fancy fire protection potion. So even if she was damaged by the fire, it wouldn''t be life-threatening. It was a shame that it was bound to her so only she could use it.


    So as the boss''s health got lower and lower, everyone realised in surprise that the whole team had only died once before they would defeat High Priestess Jeklik. A few of the female Troll Worshippers had stayed behind lying down on the ground.


    "I realised that if we keep up the pace, we really have a chance at finishing this Instance Dungeon in two days," Azure Sea Breeze urged, "Don''t waste time Dream. Quickly loot the body!"


    "Wait a second. I''m so tired," Remnant Dream groaned, sitting on the ground eating something to refuel. The way for getting equipment in this Instance Dungeon was a little different. Apart from the monsters dropping conventional loot, they would also drop things like coins and gems. These gems and coins were exchanged for the set equipment that only Zul''Gurub had.


    The attributes of this set equipment were a bit better than that of T1 equipment, but a bit worse than T2. The players called this T1.5. The reason T1.5 existed was basically for the benefit of those players whose power was not strong enough to go down to Black Wing''s Nest and Molten Core.


    If they got a set of Zul''Gurub''s T1.5 set equipment, then their power levels would improve reasonably well. Zul''Gurub was easier than Black Wing''s Nest for the ordinary players to clear. If it was too difficult for ordinary players, then they wouldn''t be able to keep up.


    All in all, there were nine different types of coins: Gurubashi, Hakkari, Razzashi, Sandfury, Broken, Zulian, Vile, Deadwood and Bloodscalp. There were seven colours of Hakkari gems altogether ¨C gold, purple, red, blue, orange, green, silver and bronze.


    To change equipment, you needed two specific coins, a specific gem and a model of the equipment that a boss dropped. Coins and gems were dropped by little monsters. In order to get as many of these as possible, Lu Li specifically let Remnant Dream loot all of the little monsters'' drops. This was a really difficult task especially since Remnant Dream still had to provide damage output like the other players.


    After resting for a bit, Remnant Dream slowly went up next to the boss. Strengthening Stones and Synthetic Gems ¨C there were about ten of the former, and the attributes of the latter weren''t too bad either. However, there wasn''t anything particularly good. They were worse drops compared to Black Wing''s Nest, but the average elite player would definitely still be able to mount these stones and gems onto their top-level equipment.


    In his past life, Lu Li had participated in a few battles in this Instance Dungeon. At that time, he was already at the end of level 60, and the equipment in this Instance Dungeon greatly increased the quality of his own equipment. It was a shame that not long after, there was a new map and edition, and the limit for levels had increased to 70. That moment of achievement which had taken him so long to get disappeared quickly.


    Lu Li had a strong natural talent in gaming ¡ªpast or present¡ª this was certain without a doubt. In his past life, there was no way for him to become a top competitor. This was because he entered the game too late. Star Moon Guild really wasn''t the right place for able players to join. By the end of his gaming career in his previous life, he had also wronged those in his guild which further limited his advancement.


    Whoever wanted the Synthetic Gems could take them. They didn''t even need DKP. The Strengthening Stones were given to Lu Li to be shared evenly later. Basically no one wanted Gold or Dark Gold equipment. Lu Li took the equipment with rubbish quality and gave it to the students that were learning to Enchant. These equipment could be broken down for materials for Enchanting, and Enchanting could increase the power of equipment. As long as the materials weren''t too expensive, team members could get simple enchantments for free.


    Primal Hakkari Girdle!


    This was Zul''Gurub''s T1.5 set equipment. The girdle could be given to Thieves, Shamans or Warriors to change their belt or pauldrons. After the prestige of Zul''Gurub was honoured, they changed their equipment and went directly to the island in the northeast in Stranglethorn Vale.


    "Warriors, Thieves and Shamans. if you want it and don''t have it, you can go change the equipment for ten DKP points," Lu Li told them.


    There was an unlively, rough description made of Zul''Gurub''s set equipment. Everyone knew that it couldn''t compare with T2 equipment, and the people in Lu Li''s team were basically all competitive players; all of the strongest players in the game at the moment. Basically no one was interested in this sort of equipment.


    "You all¡ª" Lu Li sighed.


    "How about I take it for fun then," Moonlight suggested, standing up and showing initiative.


    "Fine," Lu Li said, taking a breath. If these toys didn''t get auctioned, then it would have been a tragedy.


    Moonlight didn''t take it reluctantly or anything. After all, the quality of this equipment wasn''t bad. For someone like him who loved to PVP and died frequently, it was more than good enough as backup equipment. Also for ten DKP, it wasn''t too expensive.

 1572 Spinning and Leaping

    It was only in this moment that everyone realised that this Instance Dungeon really wasn''t that great. This was especially true for the people who had enjoyed the rewards of Black Wing''s Nest; to them, Zul''Gurub was barely worth their time.


    Lu Li didn''t say anything, but he certainly didn''t think the same way. "We might''ve already missed the First Clear for this boss, otherwise it wouldn''t just drop one piece of Epic equipment. So, everyone, speed it up a bit," Then with an enticing tone, Lu Li asked, "Did you guys not see the two new mounts in that official video?"


    "Yeah, there are two new mounts, but we don''t know what their drop rates are like." At this moment, everyone realised again that this Instance Dungeon wasn''t all bad. At this point in the game, mounts weren''t particularly rare. However, most people were only riding an ordinary model. To get a good mount, you needed to spend a lot of effort to try and find one. For example, Lu Li had a Headless Paladin''s Steed, but this sort of mount was extremely rare. Most players in the team today only had the most basic steed.


    After thinking about the new mounts that they saw in the video, everyone''s spirits rose at once. "I''m not too sure about the drop rate, but I don''t think it''s high. There is a high drop rate only if we get the First Clear. So, everyone, let''s keep working harder. During our Black Wing''s Nest runs, not a single mount was dropped, so there''s nothing to be dissatisfied about," Lu Li said.


    Everyone immediately focused. Two mounts weren''t enough to be shared with everyone but being able to see them was still satisfying at least.


    "It''s just that we don''t know which boss the other clubs are up to. This Instance Dungeon''s difficulty is a little low." Wandering was still relatively rational unlike Azure Sea Breeze, who always thought that work and capital were number one.


    "If we can defeat the first boss, that''s already not bad. We''re the only club that has Yeh''Kinya''s Potion and I also still have a Team Buff on me. However, don''t underestimate this Instance Dungeon. The First Clear on Nightmare Difficulty will make you cry," Lu Li said.


    "Hehe, I think that the harder the Instance Dungeon the better," Azure Sea Breeze smirked, already full of pride.


    "There was someone in Black Wing''s Nest who almost fought till they cried, and now they''re starting to brag again," Wandering laughed coldly.


    "Wasn''t me. Not me, not me," Azure Sea Breeze denied, not admitting anything.


    The bat stage very quickly came to an end. The next area had poisonous snakes; High Priest Venoxis had brought his Poison Tongue soldiers to be garrisoned in that area. The Poison Tongue God, Hesisi, was the object of their belief.


    Actually, in the background story of the world of Dawn, there were quite a few Poison Tongue Gods. For example, the God of Hydras was Gahz''ridian, the God of Poisonous Snakes was Sseratus, and the God of Wind Snakes was Quetz''lun; Hakkar was also considered a God of Wind Snakes. The trolls had a long and complicated history which meant that their system of Gods was extremely complicated. What was more, most of their Gods had actually died long ago.


    The trolls in this area came from the Sandfury clan.


    Thousands of years ago, before the ancient wars, the Sandfury trolls were once a clan under the Gurubashi empire, but a great natural disaster led the trolls of the jungle to split up. Some of the trolls stayed in Tanaris which was beginning to turn to desert. In the end, their appearance had been changed by the emotionless desert to what they looked like now. Today, they don''t look at all similar to the trolls in the jungle; Tanaris wasn''t a land of peace. Threats from various places pushed the Sandfury trolls into a corner and all they could do was protect this last piece of territory.


    New wars begun between the Sandfury trolls and their countless invaders; this unending war led to the clan''s gradual decline. This time, the Sandfury trolls'' High Priest Venoxis hoped that in this land of Zul''Gurub, once a land of glory, the clan would be able to find hope again. They were not that different than with Zul''Farrak, a fellow Sandfury clan; the trolls here also liked to use poison.


    Because he knew about this first, Lu Li had prepared extremely high-level antivenom potions well in advance. Actually, Paladins, Shamans and Druids all had antivenom capabilities. Ironically there was basically only one player left who still had antivenom. If they lost the players who could heal poisoning, then it would lower everyone''s ability to fight effectively.


    "When you''re pulling, keep your back to the group," Lu Li reminded. Azure Sea Breeze obeyed and turned the poison-spraying monster around. This way, it was only him who was getting sprayed. Here, the Sandfury trolls and the Zul''Farrak were also in different places. You could even say that these Sandfury trolls had completely changed this Instance Dungeon. The rare occasion where small monsters led to the whole team dying basically happened in this place.


    Everyone knew Berserkers were famous for their Whirlwind skill. In the current patch, Berserkers basically relied on this skill for their damage. If you didn''t escape after a Berserker''s whirlwind, then you''d die. Unless you were like Moonlight and had some awesome skills, this was simply an ordinary attack that dealt massive damage.


    The trolls here had a similar skill; they would also spin around violently. The difference however, was that when they were spinning, they''d also continue to shoot out javelins.


    These javelins didn''t do a lot of damage - even a mage could take four or five of them and still not die. However, it would be a fatal mistake to dismiss them. The speed at which these javelins shot out was extremely fast, and also had the attribute of knocking players down when they weren''t careful.


    Without saying another word, they started to spin violently, with each javelin continuously knocking down the players. After getting knocked down, there was no way to use skills because they''d just be cancelled. It was also really hard to escape ¨C once you were knocked down, how could you escape? Even if you crawled on the ground, the javelins would still hit you. Let''s say if there were four of these Sandfury troll javelins heading to you, these javelins could damage the whole group. As long as you were in range, no matter how many people there were, you''d take the damage of all four of these javelins.


    Stuns didn''t work; Lu Li had already tested this out. The monster that he''d stunned was already spinning in its original place and the number of javelins and the speed at which they flew didn''t decrease, other skills like Frost Nova also didn''t work.


    When Lu Li came here for the first time in his past life, he got in a situation where his whole team had died. That''s why he was extremely clear about how to deal with these Sandfury trolls. He immediately commanded, "Mages, get out of range of the battle, turn ''em into sheep."


    High-level magic roles liked having equipment that can store up skills. Fat Monkey was wearing a ring that had that special effect. As soon as he pointed to a monster, they''d immediately turn into a little lamb. Four turned into three as less javelins flew out.


    Deadly Green Orange escaped from the attack range in a flash, and with a wave of his hand, he changed the troll standing guard nearest to him into a sheep. In the end, only two were left. The other two mages were finally able to crawl away and escape.


    Not every battle was as tiring as this. After the players prepared themselves, they killed the other monsters and then went back to take care of the relatively strong spinning trolls. This way, the spinning trolls didn''t even do any harm to Lu Li and co.


    Lu Li and his team wasn''t delayed by much. Very soon, they saw the second boss ¨C High Priest Venoxis! A male boss with typical pale blue skin. However, what was relatively special was his hair. It was bound up in a small tail pointing upwards standing up straight; It had a very exotic feel to it.


    Lu Li felt that this boss wasn''t too difficult compared to the spinning trolls. It was the same as the first boss; this boss was also separated in two stages. In the first stage, Venoxis went into battle taking the form of a human. "You interfered with Gurubashi''s plan. Come, bear the deadly poison of death," he cried in a big voice. Then, he violently sprayed poison everywhere.


    It had four younger brothers, all of whom were large venomous snake monsters. Everyone realised that when these monsters were with the boss, they were really quite powerful. Furthermore, the boss itself was an even match for them already.


    Lu LI resolutely ordered the mages to control these four little monsters, while the Main Tank was responsible for pulling the boss far away.


    If the boss wasn''t pulled away, the boss would help its little brothers get rid of the controlling magic. So, the little monsters needed to be defeated first. After the little monsters were killed, it would just be High Priest Venoxis left.


    High Priest Venoxis''s poison was really very amazing. What was more, the players who had antivenom abilities had their abilities cancelled. It didn''t matter if it were Paladins or Shamans, even druids couldn''t do anything about the poison.


    At this time, the antivenom potions that they had prepared earlier could begin to take full effect. Although these antivenom potions couldn''t completely get rid of the effects of poisoning, everyone was pleasantly surprised to realise that at least it reduced poison damage. Compared with the situation before, this was already really good. Other clubs might''ve already been poisoned to death in the first stage.


    However, Lu Li and his team''s first attack still ended in defeat. The reason for how the team died was very strange. Healing roles, especially priests when healing teammates, emitted Divine Magic energy from their skill. This Divine Magic energy was partly absorbed by the boss. Afterwards, this energy was collected little by little, and when it reached a certain amount, it was released by the boss as damage.


    He first used it against the player closest to him, then the second, then the third and so on, with each attack increasing in damage. Soon, the damage output reached a stage where a player could be killed instantly. After killing someone, the energy didn''t decrease; it remained at the same amount and it kept looking for a target to attack.


    After the whole team died, they had a discussion and came to the conclusion that there were no other alternatives. The priests needed to position further away, and the Tanky Healers needed to be furthest away from the boss. That wasn''t all, in order to avoid the snowballing, damage-increasing attack, close combat roles also had to be positioned a bit further away.


    In the end, this led to an amusing scenario. One Main Tank fought the monsters, while the others, as a group, were fighting from a distance and the close combat roles could only observe from a distance. The second time, Lu Li swapped some of the backup ranged roles to come forward and kept very few close combat roles. This way, they finally steadied themselves and could keep attacking the boss.

 1573 Just for the Mounts

    The battle quickly entered into the second stage. When Venoxis still had about 40% HP, he could change into a snake.


    The troll changed into a big snake as he cried out in anger. His ferocious eyes stared directly at Lu Li sending a shiver down his spine. Even though the team mentally prepared themselves, they were still shocked at the transformation.


    Whole teams had died at this stage - frightened to death by the boss. Someone had once said that it was one of the most stupid ways in which a whole team died. The designer was probably a horror or disaster enthusiast. "Hey, aren''t you all afraid?" Lu Li asked with puzzlement at the calm girls. Shouldn''t they be screaming now? The only way to tell if they were scared in the game was if they were frantically screaming.


    "You''re so stupid. Isn''t it cute?" Hachi Chan stared at Lu Li disdainfully.


    "This big snake is so cute. I really want to take it home," Remnant Dream said, staring at the giant, ferocious snake. Lu Li and the others quickly refocused and continued the battle.


    "Flower, Flower! Run to the left, run to where there''s no one." Venoxis spat at Lonesome Flower, and his body was instantly shrouded in a green cloud which continued to spread.


    Lonesome Flower wasn''t that good at PVPing, so his reaction time was slow. However, along with the increase of activities in the game, he had now been playing for over half a year now. He had long passed the initial stage of his immature youth of dying avoidable deaths. Now, when he encountered a normal attack out in the wild, he could finish off them off in just two or three slashes.


    Classes had been nerfed or buffed throughout the game, but this old mage had never been weakened. Lonesome Flower ran into a corner where he could avoid spreading the poison to other players. Apart from the poisonous fog, the boss also sent out toxic clouds in different open areas. The range of these clouds were a little further, and it did more damage to those close to him. Basically, don''t stand in the poison clouds.


    They were able to react to the toxic clouds without Lu Li telling them. At this stage, Azure Sea Breeze''s work was more difficult. He had to keep the boss from engaging with the rest of the team while pulling the boss away from the poison clouds.


    "Why do I keep feeling like there''s something biting at me," Fat Monkey frowned. "It''s a little snake," Lu Li commented, having already seen it much earlier.


    "We should deal with them,"


    "No need. It''s a waste of time. Their damage is just dreadfully low," Lu Li said, shaking his head. He couldn''t be bothered about the little snakes crawling out of the poison clouds. Of course, it wasn''t that they couldn''t deal with these small snakes.


    "There shouldn''t be any problems this time. There''s only about 10% HP left?" Wandering asked.


    "As long as the backline doesn''t take too much damage, there should be no problems," Lu Li said, while using Resurrect on Deadly Green Orange who had just died. They were at the final stage.


    "The Boss''s Aggro is a bit messed up," Azure Sea Breeze reminded, "Stop healing me for a bit."


    "Breezy, as the number one Main Tank, speaking like that makes you sound like a chicken," Fat Monkey had listened to Azure but still made fun of him.


    "Haven''t you been called the second Sorrowless?" Azure Sea Breeze mocked, not letting himself get beaten. He continued, "If you can, go deal with Sorrowless, then you can be called the number one mage. However, I heard that you met Unforgetful Maple last week and were defeated?"


    "You''re the one who has lost. What I did was called respecting the elders and caring for the young. It was just because he''s so old that I let him win," Fat Monkey laughed, "But you, isn''t Elevenless hunting down Wandering? How come both his attacks led to your defeat?"


    "Damn it Wandering, you''re a stupid idiot! You screwed me over, Elevenless was looking for you, and you lured me out to him," Azure Sea Breeze spat maliciously.


    "Cut off your ties with him," Fat Monkey said, not able to resist sympathising with the guy.


    "Memories, a new restaurant opened on the other street. Heard it''s really good." Azure Sea Breeze suggested.


    "Are you flirting with me?" Sakura Memories asked.


    "I wouldn''t dare, wouldn''t dare," Azure Sea Breeze laughed.


    "Am I that scary? That you wouldn''t even dare to flirt with me?" Sakura Memories growled.


    "Um, little miss, what''s it going to take to let this pass," Azure Sea Breeze grovelled. He thought that Sakura Memories was even scarier than the hideous High Priest Venoxis.


    "If you want me to, it''s actually really simple. Just let me have four dishes at the Rich Blessings Palace and everything will be fine," Sakura Memories demanded fiercely.


    "Hah! Rich Blessings Palace? Four dishes?" It was like receiving a heavy strike from a boss. Azure Sea Breeze spat helplessly right at the boss''s face. Then the boss began to get fierce.


    The green poison cloud suddenly spread across the whole field, and everyone''s HP began to drop.


    "Stop this idle talk! You''re fighting a boss here. Do you think you''re out shopping or something?" Lu Li ended their little performance. Everyone''s attention was drawn to the boss again. Even if this boss was weak, when it got violent it could kill the whole team.


    The healers immediately used their abilities to protect everyone. Hachi Chan''s Enhanced Tranquillity again had a massive effect. At this stage, no one needed to save up their defensive abilities anymore.


    "My death, it is insignificant," High Priest Venoxis sighed. The big snake returned to his human form. Finally, he threw himself onto his knees and he stayed there without moving.


    "Dream, loot the equipment. The others should keep moving forward," Lu Li barked.


    "Lu Li, don''t overdo it. You need to let us take a breather," Jaweika sat down. No one had gotten any rest the whole day.


    "If you''ve got time to talk about your feelings, how tired can you be? Think about the mounts, think about the First Clear!"


    "Suddenly I don''t feel tired anymore, GO! GO! GO!" Jaweika jumped up. The mount he had was still a basic one. He had been wanting a nice flashy special mount for a long time.


    Statistically, having a flashy mount was more effective than having the best equipment when chasing after girls.


    Just imagine, when everyone in factions would be riding on the basic mounts on the streets of Stormwind City, you would be riding a fancy mount. You''d stand out like the proverbial crane standing among a flock of chickens. Even guys, not just girls, would be attracted by this.


    There was a playboy in the Elite group that always changed girlfriends, each one prettier than the last. The reason that he was able to find pretty girlfriends every single time, apart from the fact that the guy was good-looking, was because he had rare mounts -and rare equipment.


    If a mount came through this time, he might not be able to get it. However, according to the rules that Lu Li set out, if you have a special mount, you couldn''t enter the competition. The next time a rare mount was auctioned, he would have one less competitor.


    "Damn, turns out it was a spider," Wandering mumbled to himself in a low voice.


    "The Deadwood trolls followed the Spider God, Shadra. Didn''t you do any research beforehand?" Lu Li asked.


    The Deadwood Tribe had split and come out of the Amani empire after the troll war. They returned to live in their ancestral home ¨C that is, today''s Hinterlands and the Arathi Highlands. Like the other forest trolls, during the second war, the Deadwood trolls under the leadership of the Amani Empire''s famous hero Zul''jin, joined the Horde. However, with the Horde suffering a crushing defeat, Zul''jin laid low and the forest trolls gave up on their alliance with the Orcs.


    The Deadwood trolls living in the Hinterlands continuously clashed with the Revantusk trolls. However, the power of the dwarves on Eagle Nest Mountain was certainly threatening. At this time, the Deadwood trolls living in the Arathi Highlands lived in unfavourable circumstances. So, they formed an alliance with the Boulderfist Ogres. Together, they attacked a mutual enemy ¨C Hammerfall, part of the Horde forces.


    In the background story of Zul''Gurub, Deadwood was one of the major tribes.


    High Priest Marlokk represented the Deadwood trolls stationed in the spider area. Here were the Deadwood troll warriors, with their spider underlings that they''d summoned.


    "Hehe, because the little animal that anyone would be afraid of are spiders, once I put a fake spider on his bed and he was so scared he cried," Azure Sea Breeze laughed, carelessly making fun of Wandering. He''d always suffered under Wandering''s wit and intelligence. The fake spider was one of his ways to get revenge.


    "Ho ho, you''re itching for a fight, aren''t you? I don''t mind loosening up your muscles and bones for you," Wandering said with a disgusted look.


    "You damn--" Azure Sea Breeze stopped firmly. In actuality, he had never been a match for Wandering. It was because Wandering was too pretty when he was young, and so, his parents were worried that he''d get bullied. As such, they sent him to learn taekwondo, judo, Chinese martial arts and many more.


    "How about, you go and await your orders," Lu Li suggested.


    "Sure, wait till the mount gets dropped by the boss, then I''ll come back in?" Wandering said, reluctant to leave.


    "Just leave," Lu Li commanded, making no effort to be polite. Although he had a better relationship with Wandering, for the purposes of keeping things fair, he couldn''t just let World''s Best Friend do it alone. That would be a complete waste of their Instance Dungeon CD.


    "Uh, well then I won''t go after all, it''s just spiders," Wandering stuttered, immediately going back on what he said.


    "Ah, I''ve got a bellyache. I''ve got to get some rest, let the backup Tank go first," Azure Sea Breeze said, taking advantage of the situation. His troubled heart was so obvious; it was obvious that he wanted to resist Wandering.


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered dealing with them. As long as there was someone going to tank the monster, it was fine.


    As Remnant Dream looted equipment, the Strengthening Stones were taken first, and the Synthetic Gems were given to whoever that wanted them. If more than two people wanted something, then they rolled dice to determine it. After all, the loot were relatively average, so those who got equipment didn''t get DKP deducted for it. All the Gold equipment was given to the secondary mages to be broken down, while the Dark Gold equipment was kept in the guild''s storehouse.


    "Runed Bloodstained Hauberk, Epic Chain Mail Armour clothing," Remnant Dream listed the attributes. Although she used the Chain Mail Armour, she didn''t show much interest in this piece of equipment. The attributes increased strength and intellect, but she preferred equipment that increased agility.


    "This equipment is actually alright. Increases fatal attacks¡ª that''s not all that common. Memories, do you want it?" Lu Li asked.


    "No, I''m waiting for a T2 set equipment component," Sakura Memories rejected firmly.


    "Alright, we''ll pass that then," Lu Li sighed. They could only throw the equipment into the guild storehouse. A lot of ordinary, unaffiliated players would guess that a big guild''s storehouse would have plenty of extra unused Epic equipment. It was like when a poor person imagined an emperor that ate meat buns at night or used a gold toilet.


    Right now, Ruling Sword''s storehouse wasn''t lacking in Epic equipment. Most of it were equipment for minor roles like Shamans and Druids, waiting for them to accumulate enough points to exchange for that equipment.


    It was especially the case for Shaman roles. There were relatively few Shamans in the game and getting equipment with low points was completely normal. Passing over Shaman equipment at an auction was pretty normal for Ruling Sword now. Lu Li was planning to look for a new Shaman to enter the team, mainly so that the healing Chain Mail Armour could be used. As long as the equipment was good and the skills were strong, healing Shamans could still get participate in an Instance Dungeon.


    As the saying goes, another batch of updates, another batch of gods. No one knew when Shamans would improve as a role. Dawn has never had overly powerful roles (apart from the old mages); Dawn was not like the games who set up a wide range of roles with only one or two of them being viable roles. That would result in all the players basically playing the same role.


    Sakura Memories moved around, sometimes going down to the Instance Dungeon, sometimes participating in competitions and sometimes going to the arena for some brawls.


    She was wearing a complete set of Epic equipment. From head to toe, it was all Epic equipment. What was more, most of it was top level since very few could compete with her.


    Lu Li had a look at the group''s DKP. If mounts came out, it was very possible it''d be hers. After all, she had heaps of DKP. If players with low points constantly traded for equipment, then she''d be the only one left dominating in terms of points.


    "Primal Hakkari Bindings, something for Paladins, Hunters and Mages," Remnant Dream said, looting a piece of Epic equipment.


    "Who wants it? If no one wants it¡­" Lu Li was really speechless. Is this going to be passed too? They couldn''t keep going like this; he wanted to force people to auction for equipment. As the commander, he was the one in charge of distributing equipment. It was only right for people to use up their DKP.

 1574 Drawing First Blood

    "I''ll take it," Bearded Zaza raised his hand. Zaza''s current armour was not as powerful as Remnant Dream''s, with the latter being equipped with a set of Tier 2 Epic armour. Zaza thought that exchanging points for good equipment was always a worthy investment.


    "Alright, I''ll take the points off you. Throw your current armour into the Guild''s warehouse," Lu Li responded. There wasn''t an official rule which prohibited elite players from selling their equipment. However, Lu Li would always have his players turn in their equipment if they bought equipment at a bargain. And if the equipment wasn''t redeemed, the club would recycle the unused armour and reward the player with Guild points.


    "Not a problem, I''ll do that once I finish the exchange," Bearded Zaza agreed willingly. Zaza did not have to stress about his financial situation, nor was he interested in making money through gaming; all he wanted was to have a good time while he was still in Ruling Sword. Ever since Zaza had joined Lu Li''s club, he was quickly promoted from a casual player to an elite, and swiftly from elite to the Guild''s Hunters Team Leader. As long as the Guild was putting together a First Clear Team and needed a hunter, Zaza would always be at the top of Lu Li''s list. Zaza even had the chance to be part of the competitive team during the Donghua Cup. For Zaza, whether he was allowed to keep his current equipment was unimportant as long as he was able to have fun. After all, to players like Zaza, the club was his second home, meaning even if Lu Li didn''t tell him to store away his equipment, he would''ve willingly done so himself anyway.


    "There''s one more here: The Hakkari Bracers, it''s also part of the equipment set," Remnant Dream announced.


    "Good," Lu Li brightened up instantly. The Hakkari Bracers was nothing impressive, if anything, it was the type of armour that gets quickly replaced when a player''s base points were too low. Lu Li was cheered up by the fact that if the Boss they''ve just defeated had dropped one normal Epic armour and two armour sets, it meant that his team had gotten the first kill. The first Boss they''ve defeated was not the first kill; she had only dropped one armour set, meaning other clubs had gotten to her before Lu Li did. Ruling Sword was late to the Instance compared to the clubs and was lagging behind. However, being able to draw first blood with the second Boss meant they''ve not only caught up with the rivalling clubs, but they were also in the lead.


    After Lu Li''s team had finished sharing the loot, they turned their focus back on clearing out the mobs. It was only then that Lu Li realised that some players had died during the fight. "The Big Spider explodes once it''s dead, then a bunch of smaller spiders emerge from its remains. Unlike the snakes, these spiders are quite deadly," Azure Sea Breeze warned fearfully, having dodged a bullet by activating damage reduction before the explosion.


    "Wandering, do you know which type of spiders explode?" Lu Li asked.


    "What? Don''t ask me, I don''t know anything," Wandering looked like he was about to collapse, throwing his head against the wall, it seemed his fear of spiders was getting to him. Despite Wandering switching his graphics to a cute version of the sprites, his paleness suggested that it hadn''t helped much.


    "Seems like only the dark red spiders can self-destruct," March Rain said, indifferent to her creepy-crawly enemies.


    "The dark red ones must be female then, only female spiders can self-detonate and create small spiders," Lu Li responded, quickly drawing to a conclusion, "Let''s finish off the other spiders and leave the dark red, female spiders till the end. Wandering, it''s a joke to call yourself a man, no wonder your parents gave you such a rough-sounding name,"


    "As if you guys don''t have anything you''re scared of," Wandering pouted.


    The spiders were easily dealt with, and the team quickly arrived at the third Boss High Priestess Arlokk''s location. Arlokk was difficult to defeat, but the mobs around him were easier. Lu Li wouldn''t be surprised if Arlokk continued to annihilate his team for at least half a day. On the bright side, Lu Li was sure the other clubs wouldn''t easily get the first kill either. Luckily, Lu Li knew exactly how to defeat this Boss. Being annihilated on the first try was anticipated since the Boss would summon four small spiders at random points of the battle. The four spiders were not elites, however, it had frightening movement speed and strength and they only targeted healers. The spider''s Bite skill caused continuous damage over time, and it would also prolong the victim''s casting time of healing spells by at least a hundred per cent. Spells that originally needed two seconds to cast now needed four seconds of casting. If the healers were held up, recovery was a problem. Main Tanks such as Azure Sea Breeze wouldn''t be too bothered due to his large amount of health, but players that were constantly AOE''d by the Boss would be thrown into a dire situation.


    The Boss had two special skills: a wide-range, AOE poison attack which could hurt even long-ranged players; and a lifesteal spell that must be nullified as soon as possible, otherwise, the Boss could easily recover its lost health. Lu Li''s plan was simple; he was going to put a mage in between the healers and the Boss. When the small spiders are summoned to attack the healers, the mage would then cast Ice Ring to trap the spiders and the rest of the team focuses them. As long as the spiders didn''t use Bite on the healers, the healers would be able to recover the poisoned players uninterrupted. As for the Boss''s lifesteal, as long as Priests like March Rain kept casting Disperse, the skill could be easily dealt with.


    Similar to past Bosses, High Priest Arlokk had two forms. Arlokk morphed into his spider form when his health was down to seventy-five per cent. It was also the part of the battle where Wandering fought with both eyes closed, since he didn''t dare look at his enemies. He also didn''t believe that he would be able to contribute much to the battle even if he did. Contrary to Wandering''s belief, he was indispensable to the team; the Boss required two tanks to work together, so there was no time for him to slack off. One thing everyone would soon realise was the Boss''s signature skill ¨C Web Spray. Whoever caught in the web would lose all aggro, this meant that once the web targeted the Main Tanks, the Main Tanks'' aggro would disappear, and the Boss would start attacking the ranged-players.


    Lu Li''s team suffered heavy casualties at the first and second stage. Seeing the skeletons of the crew that remained, Lu Li announced their annihilation for their first attempt. "Wandering, are you sure you can do this? There''s no need to push yourself you know," Lu Li asked, "This instance requires two tanks to cooperate and I need one that can stand in front of the ranged players so he can Taunt the Boss when it targets them."


    "Yeah, just admit it if you can''t do it. Hah!" Azure Sea Breeze smirked.


    It''s hard for a man to admit his incompetence.

 1575 Single Dogs, Shut Up

    Everything was still in order as long as Wandering could handle his fear of spiders. Lu Li planned to position a Main Tank on the front line to attract the Boss while the others attacked, and Wandering would be standing near the Hunters. Once Azure Sea Breeze was trapped by the Boss, and it ran to attack the Hunters, all Wandering had to do was cast Taunt. By doing so, the Boss would abandon its original target and turn to attack Wandering instead.


    "Don''t half-ass your pulls. I''m taking away your Guild Points if we get annihilated," Lu Li raised his voice, reminding his team that just because he couldn''t physically see them, didn''t mean he didn''t know what they were thinking of doing.


    "Pull the mobs to Breeze. Breeze, once your binding effects wear off, head towards the Hunters to stand by," Lu Li ordered. And thus, began the cycle.


    The two Main Tanks were positioned at separate corners of the battlefield, and if one were to fall victim to the Boss''s binding spell, the other could cast Taunt to attract the Boss. This tactic was common knowledge during Lu Li''s past life. However, right now, everyone had only just begun fighting and studying the Zul''Gurub Instance. High Priest Arlokk''s unique binding spell was unencountered in past Instances, so Lu Li believed that many players would break their backs trying to counter the Boss''s skill. Perhaps someone would be witty enough to solve it right away, or maybe the majority of players would be annihilated for weeks before they would make a breakthrough. Either way, Lu Li had never underestimated others. The Boss First Clear teams were made up of thousands of players who had the ability to use each class to its full potential during a battle. Perhaps they would be able to come up with a new strategy according to the classes in their team and the situation on the battlefield at the time. Having two Main Tanks continuously switching positions was honestly not that ground-breaking.


    "Water sis, how come you''re so quiet today? Don''t tell me you''re pm-ing Lu Li right now!" Fat Monkey could not stand the silence, perhaps a mere Instance Dungeon was not stressful to a competitive player.


    "¡­" Water Fairy glared at Fat Monkey; she had no interest in responding.


    "So, what if she really was pm-ing me? Also, what could she possibly say to you, single dog!" Lu Li was quick to defend his girlfriend and did not hold back his shade. That''s what he gets for interrupting their pm session.


    "Oof." Fat Monkey look hurt.


    "Woah, damn, did you really have to say that? Monkey bro had only just treated us to dinner yesterday," Azure Sea Breeze could not stand Lu Li''s increasing disrespect towards them.


    "Single dogs should shut up. Focus on pulling the mobs," Lu Li glared at Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze staggered back as he felt personally attacked as well. He turned to look at the rest of the team, everyone was focused on beating the Boss and seemed unaware to what Lu Li had just said. That was only natural, most players on the team were all single, so obviously they wouldn''t want to butt in only to be verbally attacked by Lu Li.


    Whether it was members of Ruling Sword or players from Peerless City and Drizzle Court, everyone agreed that Lu Li''s club was not one they would willingly stay with indefinitely. Not only were the two leaders of Lu Li''s club showing off their affection for each other every day, but now they were personally attacking their team members? What was the point of staying in a club that didn''t respect and love single dogs? Or perhaps it was another one of Lu Li''s tactic to stir up his team''s emotions to deal better damage output. Either way, the unfortunate High Priest Arlokk should have been a unique and powerful Boss, one that could finally teach the ignorant adventurers what fear was. In reality, the current battle was a slap in the face and had Arlokk cornered.


    By the time Arlokk was down to 25% health, he had let out a furious roar. Arlokk felt like he needed to remind his enemies of his existence and power, and make those puny adventurers pay for what they''ve done. Unfortunately, Arlokk could not understand a word the adventurers were saying. Otherwise, he would''ve known that his enemies were not people, but a bunch of single dogs! How could a spider defeat a dog?


    Fat Monkey used his AOE spells to trap the small spiders; they had become his target to vent his resentment.


    "Everyone to Quan Fu Palace after the game! My treat," Fat Monkey yelled, "Except for two particular people. They can pay with their own money. Hmph!"


    "Huh," Lu Li raised his eyebrow and chuckled half-heartedly, "What could be so attractive about dinner with a bunch of single dogs? I wouldn''t go even if you paid me. Oh, by the way, Monkey bro, don''t forget about your competition in an hour,"


    "I thought it was Nuo Yu''s turn to compete. When was this decided?" Fat Monkey''s eyes widened.


    "Just now. I don''t want you around to fight me on the Mount, after all." Lu Li smirked, "I guess it''s too bad that I''m the leader, huh? Have you not considered that provoking me might bite you in the ass?"


    "That''s right, why would you think it was a good idea to provoke Lu Li and Water sis? They''ve done nothing bad," Azure Sea Breeze immediately switched sides when Lu Li turned to look at his direction. After all, there were plenty of people on the bench, even Dawn''s top Main Tank was expendable in Lu Li''s eyes.


    The Mount had a high chance of being dropped during the First Clear. "Ahem. Look, Boss. It''s no big deal if you two don''t want to join us for dinner, but at least let Monkey bro send two or three dishes your way so you two can enjoy a candlelit dinner," Fat Monkey smiled. He was very thick-skinned.


    As the team was bickering, the Boss''s life came to an end. The Boss''s Berserk at the end of the battle had dealt a great deal of damage, but in the end, it was still unable to defeat them. Fat Monkey was still muttering even after the battle was over, "I''ll kill you, I''ll kill you. How dare you make fun of me?" Everyone had obviously imagined the Boss as Lu Li and had not held back when destroying it.


    "Dream, take a break and go loot some armour,"


    Since Ruling Sword had taken the First Clear from the previous Boss, they were not in a hurry to defeat Arlokk.


    Lu Li decided to finally give his team some space to breathe, he pointed at Fat Monkey and taunted, "Master Brother, don''t be so cowardly. If you want to beat me up, we can just flag it," PVP flagging was a slightly more fair and friendly form of battle where the defeated would not die. Instead the loser would keep his last drop of health and knelt down to surrender. Flagging also doesn''t wear out the player''s armour as much, so it was Dawn''s most common form of PK.


    "What, that''s just mean. How could I possibly defeat you?" Fat Monkey refused immediately. Fat Monkey might''ve wanted to teach Lu Li a lesson, but even he knew his limits. If Fat Monkey could only beat Moonlight sometimes, how could he possibly be Lu Li''s rival? He would be digging his own grave if he was to accept the challenge.


    "What if I take off one of my equipment?" Lu Li removed his bracers.


    "You took them off willingly. I didn''t ask you to do it. So, we agree you''re not giving me an advantage," Fat Monkey clarified. Lu Li rolled his eyes, knowing Fat Monkey probably thought that this handicap was enough.


    "Don''t be silly, even without one puny piece of equipment he''s still Lu Li," Wandering did not have the heart to watch a fellow single dog tortured by Lu Li.

 1576 Warlocks Don’t Need Mounts

    "Far out! If I''m too scared to even fight after he''s given up a piece of his equipment, then I''d be a coward. I''d rather lose with some dignity," Fat Monkey loudly announced. He was evidently also full of pride. Even if Wandering was not a fan of him, there was no other choice but to cheer for him.


    The monsters of the surrounding area had been killed already which made it the perfect battle arena. The two quickly got into it; the PVP began and Lu Li entered stealth instantly. A PVP battle between a thief and mage could be decided instantly. Even at his best, he wouldn''t dare face a powerful mage head-on.


    No matter the circumstance, Lu Li would give it his best. He and Water Fairy wouldn''t pull any punches when fighting each other. Water Fairy, the proud person she was, didn''t like it when he would let her win on purpose¡ª let alone PVP maniacs like Fat Monkey.


    Fat Monkey was waiting, always on guard in case Lu Li snuck around and attacked him from behind.


    It was a test of patience and observation, as well as his intuition. Fat Monkey quietly added two pieces of Perception equipment on standby. This was perfect against thieves like Lu Li who had a powerful stealth ability.


    Fat Monkey could faintly feel there was someone near him through his intuition.


    It was as if he felt a vague shadow appear behind him. He didn''t even think and casted Cone of Cold.


    Clouds of wind and mist danced across the area. However, Lu Li did not emerge.


    Fat Monkey had a stern look and swung his staff behind him; his judgement was correct. As his Cone of Cold swept across the area where Lu Li was, he had already appeared behind Far Monkey in an instant.


    Or perhaps sensing Lu Li may have been part of Lu Li''s plan to get behind Fat Monkey for a cheap shot.


    "Okay," Fat Monkey''s reaction time was not bad. Those who knew what was going on, including Moonlight, had nodded in admiration. Fat Monkey had only used a normal attack with a staff. When the staff swatted at Lu Li, he could be pulled out of Stealth if luck was on Fat Monkey''s side. This would prevent Lu Li from using Cheap Shot. Even if he had bad luck, he would still at least interrupt the skill that Lu Li was casting.


    If a skill was selected, the system will determine whether the skill failed or if the effect was reduced. If it was an ordinary PVP master, they probably wouldn''t have used a staff. They would have used Frost Nova to freeze Lu Li and blink to escape. Then, you could deal as much damage as you want to Lu Li. That was an ideal outcome, but in reality, its success rate was nearly zero. A master like Lu Li would be able to easily react to the counterattack on time.


    So Fat Monkey used the staff instead and kept Frost Nova as a deterrent. Lu Li had to be careful of the Frost Nova that Fat Monkey still had, as he didn''t know when he would use it.


    Lu Li''s dagger was blocked by Fat Monkey''s staff. The System determined his skill had failed and only dealt mild damage to Fat Monkey, and it didn''t stun him for even a second; his reaction was fast enough. By the time Fat Monkey turned around, Lu Li had disappeared once again.


    They had several rounds of fighting again and were basically on equal footing. Even if Fat Monkey fell into a weaker position, the situation could be turned around to avoid a fatality. Even those who don''t know much about PVP started to believe that Fat Monkey had reached the same level of fighting as Lu Li. After all, Fat Monkey used to be beaten by Sorrowless whenever they fought.


    Now some people believed that Fat Monkey had the potential to become a second Sorrowless, but many people saw this as a joke.


    Even if they were from the same guild, some people thought it was just the guild showing off.


    A while had passed, and Fat Monkey eventually couldn''t keep up. Lu Li was Lu Li indeed. Using Moonlight''s words--- Lu Li''s tactics were deceitful. If Fat Gum wanted to win then he had to make it quick. Otherwise, the longer the delay the less likely he would win.


    At the end of course, Fat Monkey lost. It wasn''t possible even though Lu Li dropped a bracer. But the audience did not think Fat Monkey was not impressive.


    "Big Bro has improved so quickly," Lu Li gave a short comment.


    He was someone reborn, so he knew how impressive Fat Monkey''s gaming talent was. Hence, he used all his effort to pull Fat Monkey and March Rain to his side. Knowing so and seeing it in reality were two different things though.


    He was still very surprised and was even a bit jealous.


    Lu Li had put in so much effort to get to today''s position. Compared to Fat Monkey, Lu Li had already played in Dawn for nearly three years.


    "Hey, I''m still not as good as you. Why don''t you get rid of another piece of equipment? Let''s go again," Fat Monkey felt very disappointed with his loss.


    "Let''s stop for today. It''s time for the Instance Dungeons," Lu Li shook his head and refused.


    Fat Monkey''s abilities wouldn''t change just from one battle so the outcome wouldn''t change. Even if he got rid of one piece of equipment, the result would still be the same. Of course, if he had to take off a few more pieces of equipment, he would lose without a doubt. But then that wouldn''t make it fun.


    A master without any equipment or skills was naturally unable to beat a novice with equipment and skills. But that was not to say that the novice was better than the master.


    "Anyone want these synthetic gems?" Lu Li started to distribute equipment. Strengthening Stones and other rare materials were in his backpack. Gold and Dark Gold were distributed according to old rules and synthetic gems were distributed according to people''s needs.


    The Epic equipment were last.


    Zanjier Ring! An Epic Ring! Lu Li''s eyes sparkled. It was a Magic Epic jewellery. This wouldn''t go unsold. The drop rate of jewellery was less than ordinary equipment. There was a saying that some jewellery would add a level. Epic jewellery was superior than epic equipment. Magic elements'' common jewellery were even more competitive.


    As expected, as soon as this equipment appeared, everyone''s spirit lifted.


    "20." Kitty Likes Meat put down her bid. She had two rings, one of which was Dark Gold equipment. She naturally wouldn''t let go of any impressive Epic equipment that came her way.


    More people put out bids. The number quickly exceeded 100.


    "120," Kitty Likes Meat said, putting forth an even higher number. Those who competed with her fell silent.


    "Kitty, don''t you want the mount?" Jaweika asked with confusion. He was a Shadow Priest which was a Magic output profession and he also had eyes on this Epic ring. Outside of this auction, he may not even be able to afford this type of equipment even if he bankrupts himself.


    "Nope I don''t want it. Why would I want a mount? To look cool?" Kitty Likes Meat said as she disapprovingly summoned her mount.


    It was a dark red war horse that had feet on the fire of hell. It was really cool. Very trendy.


    Jaweika felt discouraged instantly. He remembered this time that Warlocks and Paladins both had professional mounts. Especially Paladins'' professional mounts were already much nicer than a lot of special mounts. They indeed had no need to keep Guild Points to bid for mounts.

 1577 Stuff You…

    Kitty Likes Meat successfully got the equipment she wanted. 120 was indeed quite a lot and it did hurt her wallet a bit. However, the pain lessened as her abilities strengthened.


    This was the most precious thing from this Instance Dungeon. Otherwise, Lu Li would have thought this Instance Dungeon wouldn''t have been worth it.


    The next two pieces of equipment were all T1.5. Not many people were interested and were taken by those with the lowest points. This type of equipment was hardly exciting.


    This was in fact a good thing, it meant that everyone''s equipment levels were relatively high.


    The next boss was called Bloodlord Mandokir. He wasn''t the strongest boss of Zul''gurub, but he was the most well-known because he would drop mounts. In the latest official trailer, he had a dark red Velociraptor by his side ¨C it was so cool.


    Of course, they needed to deal with small monsters first.


    In this area, small monsters'' abilities were very strong. The red Bloodthirsters had a range of Lifesteal abilities which made it difficult to fight.


    There was also a type of Berserker that had an area of effect fear ability.


    These two types of monsters needed people to deal damage from a distance. Melee players could just move on.


    After small monsters called Speakers were killed, the Boss would appear. Bloodlord Mandokir was a male troll, just like the trailer. He rode a dark red Velociraptor, and his position was in a circular enclosed wall with a high tower with stairs behind it.


    This circle had eight soul-like units that could be seen. They were all in corresponding angles and looked quite creepy.


    "Let''s get rid of all the small monsters. Since it drops a mount, it''ll probably be quite difficult," Lu Li said.


    "These surrounding eight souls can''t be killed," Wandering gave it a try, and the system notified said it couldn''t be attacked.


    "So, either we need to wait for the right time to hit it or it''s meant to help us. Let''s just kill the small monsters first. Breezy be careful in pulling the Boss. Wandering, you hold down the Velociraptor. Everyone let''s First Clear the Velociraptor. First, try killing it separately, if it doesn''t work then we will kill it together," Lu Li explained.


    If there is more than one Boss, then there was a need to kill them one by one.


    But there was a possibility that both needed to be killed together; the previous Instance Dungeon had that requirement.


    The Velociraptor was called Ohgan. Once they started, everyone realised it wasn''t a Boss. Its strength and HP were all much weaker.


    "Deadly Kill!"


    The Boss suddenly screamed loudly. Then everyone saw the large sword in the Boss''s hands slide across Lu Li''s neck. Then Lu Li''s head rolled off, with a clear cut where his neck was¡­


    Everyone was nearly scared to death.


    Only Mu Qiu and those who had seen Mu Qiu use the Greatsword of the brotherhood were rather calm. Because the Greatsword of the brotherhood had a similar beheading effect, even though the chances were very, very low.


    Lu Li''s head was chopped off. But he wasn''t very alarmed or panicked.


    This type of beheading effect existed early in the game, and the gaming officials received a lot of protest. So eventually, it was changed to something like throat-cutting, so that at least the head won''t roll off.


    Of course, beheading was a one shot kill.


    It was without a doubt that Lu Li was just killed in one shot


    "Kill Ohgan!" Lu Li shouted loudly. He could shout even without a head, but it was only in written form.


    Everyone wasn''t very sure about why Lu Li wanted them to kill off the Velociraptor so quickly, but everyone witnessed a very abnormal scene. It was surrounding the eight souls. One of them started slowly moving towards Lu Li''s body. Yet, Ohgan dashed toward this soul and made seemed like it was about to attack it.


    The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Since this Velociraptor was attacking this soul then this only said that these souls were allies.


    How can we let you harm our allies?


    After Ohgan had been killed, the soul slowly moved towards Lu Li''s corpse. It grabbed Lu Li''s head, placed it on his neck, and Lu Li was revived!


    "That''s insane! Lu Li how do you feel now?" Everyone needed to calm their emotions after exclaiming.


    This type of scenario must have been designed by someone who was an avid reader of the Strange Tales from Liao Zhai.


    "Cut the crap, let''s quickly return to the fight. Can''t you guys see we now have one less soul? The eight souls can only revive us eight times. God knows how many times we will need to kill the Boss!" Lu Li grumbled with annoyance. He was the one that was beheaded which was already very unlucky in itself, and he did not wish for people to discuss further.


    It was at this moment that people realised Bloodlord Mandokir will continue beheading players.


    They just didn''t know who the next unlucky player was!


    "This isn''t right. The Boss''s abilities has strengthened, and the attack and defence have enhanced," Azure Sea Breeze also liked to make impromptu comic gestures in battles, but his professionalism was doubtless. One could say that Lu Li was focused on the whole situation, while he was specifically focused on the Boss.


    Any small change of the Boss wouldn''t escape his eyes.


    As the Main Tank, he had a responsibility to inform the Commander of these changes, even though the Boss''s enhancements were not much.


    "Any threat?" Lu Li asked.


    "No, this Boss''s attack and defence abilities aren''t outstanding," Azure Sea Breeze shook his head, but then continued, "but I doubt it''s this simple. Because these changes happened after you were revived. If it was due to the souls reviving players, then it''s best we prepare for that fact that the Boss''s attack and defence will continue to increase throughout the fight."


    "Understood," Lu Li replied.


    Of course, he understood. Since he followed the Boss''s every move. Plus, he was someone reborn. He knew better than anyone that the Boss would continue to get stronger and stronger.


    What makes it admirable was that Azure Sea Breeze was not someone reborn but could discover these details and make the correct judgement accordingly. It was of his own complete abilities and talent. Dawn''s No. 1 Main Tank did not earn his rank simply by equipment and skills.


    At this time, Bloodlord Mandokir used another new skill and feared Azure Sea Breeze straight away. Without relying on a Priest, Azure Sea Breeze instantly relieved his own fear and then mocked the Boss. A crisis that would have likely led to the destruction of the team had melted away.


    Bloodlord Mandokir was disdained that he didn''t cause enough chaos.


    "Sakura Memories I am watching you!!!"


    What? What did this mean? Everyone only saw Sakura Memories look up scornfully, "What are you looking at? Haven''t you seen a beauty before? Stuff you¡­"


    Then she was dead.


    Lu Li rubbed his forehead and sighed internally. She deserved to die like that.


    "What happened?" Everyone was so confused.


    "The Boss probably thought she was being too rude, so he killed her by looking at her," Wandering explained slowly, with a tone of admiration. If only he had this type of ability. Whoever called him diseased would get killed with just a look from him. Plus, this type of PVP technique was so easy to use, it would be perfect for someone lazy like him.


    "Ohgan! Ohgan! Where are you? Attack them! We will not be ridiculed again!"


    As the Boss shouted, that Velociraptor scrambled up again.


    "Turn around and collectively fire at Ohgan!" Li Li ordered without hesitation.


    In order to kill this Boss, this Velociraptor called Ohgan needed to be killed first. Otherwise, he would kill off any of the players who had been revived, then these players can''t be revived again.

 1578 Please Spare Me

    So, everyone turned around again to attack the Velociraptor that had been just awoken by its owner.


    "Deadly Kill!"


    Everyone''s hearts skipped a beat. Everyone knew that the Boss was using that skill again to behead someone.


    Last time it was Lu Li. This time they didn''t know who would be the unlucky one.


    This Boss appeared to have many abnormal techniques. For example, beheading a person, or looking at someone to death.


    "It''s me!" Sesame Rice Ball cried out.


    Because he didn''t want to feel the fear of being beheaded that he even lowered his damage output. Even though he was no longer in the top 5 Aggro rankings, the Boss still cut off his head anyway.


    In any case, they definitely weren''t going to kill the Boss on the first go, so any sort of attempt was meaningful. Sesame Rice Ball fell to the ground without his head which rolled to the side. They didn''t know if it would affect the souls revival of him, so everyone left his head be. They didn''t kick it away, nor did they try to put it back on his shoulders.


    The rest of the seven souls slowly moved out.


    One of the souls slowly moved toward Sesame Rice Ball''s body. But Ohgan threw itself towards the soul, clearly trying to stop it.


    How could they let the Velociraptor stop the soul? Even though Sesame Rice Ball''s revival will most likely strengthen the Boss''s abilities, one less powerful damage output in the battle would be even worse. Hence, the Velociraptor was killed again.


    Sesame Rice Ball was revived, and The Boss''s abilities were strengthened as well.


    "Fat Monkey, I am watching you!!!"


    Fat Monkey''s face went pale, "Stuff you! Please spare me!"


    Then Fat Monkey died. The Boss had just made a statement to everyone. Even if you swear or beg, you still couldn''t change your fate of being killed by him.


    Everyone had started to find patterns. Bloodlord Mandokir''s skills were gradually being revealed too. His beheading ability was a very awesome and unique skill. Anyone can be beheaded by his sword, and the choice of victim was random. It could be damage output professions, healers and even Azure Sea Breeze was chosen once.


    If Wandering could not taunt the Boss fast enough, then they''d already be destroyed as a team for the first time.


    Also, with the Boss''s gaze, it appeared to be a rather terrifying skill at first, even more so than the beheading. Afterall, once you were beheaded you could still be revived by a soul, but once you''ve been stared at to death, it was over.


    However, Lu Li later found a way to solve this issue.


    Whenever the player was looked at by Bloodlord Mandokir, they needed to stop certain actions. They couldn''t deal damage, heal, and express themselves. If they made any movements during that period of time, once the skill duration ends, the Boss would deal fatal damage.


    So, it''s best to not do anything once looked upon.


    This duration of the ability from start to finish went on for eight seconds. Once the eight seconds were over, then it would be okay.


    The other thing was once a player was beheaded and revived, the Boss''s abilities will become stronger. The earlier stages weren''t an issue in terms of its strength, but once the battle progressed even further, everyone felt the pressure gradually increase.


    Once the last soul was used up, the Boss''s attack and defence had exceeded any of the previous Bosses.


    "Let''s just get wiped and start over," Lu Li said reluctantly.


    There were only three souls left, meaning that there were three chances left for revival after being beheaded. Evidently, the number of people killed were too many. Everyone was out of abilities to kill Ohgan to prevent it from attacking souls.


    The players attempted to defeat the Boss a second time. They now had the knowledge from the previous fight, and Lu Li can manage the fight with more confidence.


    "Damage dealers, make sure you kill Ohgan in the fastest way possible then attack the Boss. Breezy pull the monsters. Wandering, take the Aggro after Breezy has been hit with fear. We need to get rid of the Boss as soon as possible. If we don''t, once we get to the end, we definitely won''t be able to kill him."


    "Water Fairy, I am looking at you!!!!"


    "Don''t move! Don''t do anything. Don''t turn your head. Don''t make any expressions. Yep. That''s good, keep going¡­" Lu Li rambled.


    "Hey, are you done? We''ve dealt with the Boss''s gaze once already. And we were successful. Honestly do you need to be nag so much?" Someone grumbled. Shameless Lu has really been too much lately. He would treat people differently and unpredictably.


    "Ahem, Wandering focus on Aggro. The Boss intends to use his skills every time it stops using its weapon," Lu Li changed topics quickly.


    The Boss used a couple of abilities randomly, and there weren''t any obvious stages. It just required everyone to reduce fighting time as much as possible. So, everyone was doing their best to deal damage and strived to finish the battle before the Boss''s abilities strengthened to a point that they couldn''t handle.


    Sadly, Ohgan was just revived and was killed again.


    Once the souls were down to four left, the Boss''s HP also started to go down.


    "If all goes to plan, we can kill it this time. Everyone get your burst skills and potions ready. In case it goes berserk, it''ll come in handy," Lu Li sighed as he spoke, "I suspect that the Boss will use its skills frequently when he berserks."


    Everyone was hopeful when they heard the first half but was a little worried after hearing the second half.


    "If the skills are used frequently, what would happen?" Wandering asked abstrusely. Everyone had already suffered from those skills before. If they became more frequent, how would they survive?


    "Then let''s pray that he doesn''t go berserk or that it''ll only use normal attacks," Lu Li helplessly hoped.


    Unfortunately, their prayers didn''t have any effect.


    Bloodlord Mandokir didn''t spare them any face and went berserk. Plus, he used beheading and deadly gaze frequently.


    "Stop attacking Ohgan! Focus your damage on the Boss! Kill it if you can, otherwise we''ll have to try again," Lu Li made a decision. This meant that those beheaded wouldn''t be revived.


    He didn''t have any alternatives to this choice. This was the only possible choice from the current situation.


    If the beheaded were revived, the Bloodlord Mandokir would become even stronger. After it became berserk, it was almost unnaturally strong. If it strengthened its abilities, even Azure Sea Breeze wouldn''t be able to handle it. Moreover, if everyone turned to focus their damage on Ohgan, then the Boss will have more opportunities to use its skills.


    They may as well make a final effort to defeat the boss. If they did kill the Boss with their one in a million odds, then it would naturally mean victory.

 1579 Armored Razzashi Raptor

    The beheadings immediately killed them, so the casualties were unimaginable. This was a situation that even the most powerful healer couldn''t reverse.


    When Azure Sea Breeze was beheaded, Lu Li almost gave up.


    "Don''t give up!" Wandering shouted before gaining the Boss'' aggro. He had taken on the responsibility of being the Main Tank.


    The Boss didn''t have much HP left. They were so close, and they had no idea if they were going to get this far next time.


    "Okay, everyone, keep working hard!" Lu Li nodded.


    There were still seven players that could deal damage. In theory, they still had a chance of dealing with the Boss, as long as these seven people kept persisting.


    "Jaweika, I am watching you!!"


    "Jaweika, don''t move!" Lu Li reminded loudly, but unfortunately, it was too late. Jaweika slammed his Magic Staff to cancel the skill, but he did it under the watchful eye of the Boss.


    "Dammit, everyone be careful. Even if you are fully committed to dealing damage, make sure you aren''t being watched first," Lu Li said helplessly. There were only six players left.


    "Deadly Kill!"


    Again?


    If they lost another damage output player, they wouldn''t prevail even if the Boss stood still.


    "Ah, why is it me?!" Hachi Chan cried out.


    "Good, good, it''s just a healer."


    In different circumstances, they would definitely prefer a damage output player dying. However, since they were in the Berserk phase, healers were definitely not as important as the damage output players.


    "And Hachi Chan has already used Enhanced Tranquility. Hachi Chan, your death is a noble one," Remnant Dream murmured as she mourned for her friend.


    "Remnant Dream, I am watching you!!"


    "¡­" Remnant Dream stared back motionlessly.


    After a while, she was free to move again.


    "Hehe, I''ve played this game with Hachi Chan before. Whoever moves first pays for the ice cream," Remnant Dream said proudly. The Boss hadn''t targeted her until now, so she didn''t had a chance to show off her abilities.


    "Deadly Kill!"


    Again?


    Lu Li felt a headache coming on.


    If the situation became hopeless, Lu Li would have no issue with allowing the team to be wiped. The main reason they were still persisting was because they were so close. It would be really depressing to give up now.


    "Best of luck everyone," Moonlight said as he fell. Another damage output player had been lost, but the Boss'' HP had almost been depleted.


    Most Bosses possessed some kind of HP regeneration. Some regenerated quickly, while others regenerated more slowly. Bloodlord Mandokir was on the slower side, but they still needed a few players just to offset his HP gain.


    This was why they couldn''t just use the Boss'' total HP to calculate how much damage they would need to defeat it. If that was the case, Bloodlord Mandokir could be defeated in a matter of minutes.


    "Almost there, we''re almost there! Keep going ¨C we just have to deal a bit more damage. Healers, stop healing and just deal whatever damage you can."


    Lu Li couldn''t really ask for much more. He felt that everyone had done everything that they could. Even if they couldn''t do it this time, they would stand an even better chance next time.


    However, this didn''t mean that he had given up.


    There was hope in his eyes as the Boss'' Berserk duration was coming to an end. If there were still players left after that, then they had a real chance at winning the battle.


    "I dedicate my blood to Hakkar, and my soul¡­ to the¡­ golden¡­," Bloodlord Mandokir gasped as he looked weakly at the few bugs left before him. His strength was quickly leaving him, and he had already taken too much damage while in Berserk.


    "Flower, there are only the two of us damage output players left. Do you still have mana?"


    He was just worried that Lonesome Flower was useless even though he was still standing. If he had to attack the Boss alone, he wouldn''t be able to kill it even in this weakened state. Once this weakened state passed, the Boss'' regeneration would normalize and the situation would soon be reversed, even if Mandokir only had a single hit point left.


    "Yep, I just drank a special potion, and I am regeneration 2% of my mana per second for 10 seconds," Lonesome Flower said confidently. His luck had been pretty good to have survived for this long. Now he was able to deal as much damage as he wanted without worrying about the Boss.


    "Wandering tank the Boss. Deadly Green Orange, heal."


    Lu Li was fortunate to have another Main Tank and healer still alive.


    "Don''t worry, I still have plenty of mana," Deadly Green Orange said. As a professional player, he knew how to manage his resources.


    "You don''t have to heal me ¨C just heal Flower and Wandering," Lu Li instructed.


    Lu Li intended to use the special effect on his necklace instead.


    Dragonfire Amulet (Epic): All Attributes +40, HP +800, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Fire Resistance +20%. Special Effect 2: Torrent of HP. Regenerates 1000HP upon use and receive +100% in Healing for the next 30 seconds. Special Effect 3: Return to Life. When this item is equipped, the user is given one chance to revive every day. When revived in this way, the EXP loss is halved and the user is invincible for three seconds after reviving. Equipment Requirement: Level 60. Durability 350/350.


    He still hadn''t used today''s revive, but there were still many Bosses after this, so he could save it for later.


    However, if they couldn''t kill Bloodlord Mandokir, then there was no point thinking about the later Bosses.


    The Boss'' HP was still fluctuating, but compared to when he was Berserk, the situation definitely now favored the players. Eventually, the HP that the Boss had was completely gone.


    Victory!


    Lu Li let out a deep sigh and looked upon the littered corpses of his teammates.


    He didn''t know how many times it had taken for the team to get the First Clear in his previous life, but he doubted that it was just two.


    This was the team he had led, and these were his teammates.


    He felt moved that by that thought.


    Deadly Green Orange then started to slowly Revive the other healers, who would in turn revive the others.


    "Hey!"


    Almost everyone who was revived was tired and had to rest. All but one.


    The little hunter rushed straight at the body of Bloodlord Mandokir, and yelled out, "Little mount, I am coming. The little raptor is so cute; I will have to borrow it from whoever gets it. I want to ride the dragon¡­"


    How nice it was to be young. Lu Li, who was in his 20s, suddenly felt old.


    Strengthening Stones and Rare Materials were thrown by Lu Li''s side. Before he could collect these items, Synthetic Gems, Gold equipment and Dark Gold equipment were all being looted.


    Lu Li had only just begun to read through the Synthetic Gems when the Epic equipment had also been thrown over to him.


    Lu Li just had to divide up the rewards even more quickly.


    However, he was still slower than the rate at which Remnant Dream was looting. She was desperately looking for the mount.


    And it seemed like the Mount had really dropped.


    Armored Razzashi Raptor!

 1580 Half a Cigarette

    "Alright. It''s already been set that only people without rare mounts can bid in this auction. Don''t blame me for being hostile if you decide to disobey."


    Lu Li hoped that everyone would be more reserved. Truthfully speaking, the drop rate for the Armored Razzashi Raptor was actually not too bad. If they grinded this dungeon every week, then it was bound to drop.


    "¡­"


    The ones who had a rare mount began to frown and felt saddened.


    As for the definition of a rare mount, any mount besides the default race mount would count. Even the Wolf mount you could earn for placing in the top 3 in Arena counted as a rare mount.


    Lu Li, Water Fairy, Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan, Azure Sea Breeze, Wandering, Lonesome Flower, March Rain, Sakura Memories, Star Baby and Deadly Green Orange all had true rare mounts. Some were dropped from Bosses, while some were obtained from completing quests.


    As for Moonlight, Deadly Gold Underpants, Green Flag Wine, Bearded Zaza and many others, they had the Wolf mount instead.


    After eligibility was confirmed, there was only one person who didn''t have a rare mount.


    "This is too unfair!" Azure Sea Breeze whined.


    "There''s no fairness or unfairness here. Would you be happy on your second rare mount while your teammate is still riding their own default mount?" Lu Li asked.


    "Ugh. Fine. I give up," Azure Sea Breeze weakly sighed.


    Lu Li knew that this wasn''t the best way of distribution, but his aim was to allow the members of this team to be more aware and caring towards their allied teammates. After everyone had received a rare mount, they were free to collect mounts.


    In the end, it was Half A Cigarette, a Mage from Peerless City who received the mount.


    He didn''t have any other mounts besides the default mount. He had previously tried to earn the Wolf mount, but in the weeks where he tried to boost his points, he always encountered powerful opponents.


    "Thank you. Thank you everyone. I''ll buy you all a meal one day."


    Half A Cigarette was extremely moved.


    This was his first time joining the team properly on an instance dungeon run. Previously, at Blackwing''s Lair, he was standing outside the whole time, waiting for his orders. In the end, he wasn''t even used in that Instance Dungeon run, but at least he received some guild points for his patience.


    He joined this time because Lu Li needed four Mages.


    No one thought that his first item would be a mount. As a pro player, he has seen his fair share of good items, but he was a little taken aback this time.


    "Let''s keep going. There''s still a mount later. Now that everyone has a rare mount, you are all free to bid on the next one."


    Using his siren-like voice to tempt them once again, the disappointed players immediately perked up.


    "Hold on a second. There are still Epic items. Are you trying to hide them from us?" Azure Sea Breeze reminded, pulling Lu Li back.


    "Oh! I forgot about those!" Lu Li cried out, then slapped his own head. He had actually forgotten about them.


    "Hehe¡­if we hadn''t realised, then you would''ve gotten away with it! I can''t believe that you''re this type of person! As a leader, you tried to hide equipment from us? See you on the forums," Azure Sea Breeze chided. Clearly, he was taking advantage of the current situation and tried to paint Lu Li in a negative light.


    "Bloodlord''s Defender¡­eh? It''s a one-handed sword for Main Tanks. Haha! Breezy, Lady Luck is smiling upon you!" Lu Li said, in a surprised tone.


    "The hell? What do you mean?" Azure Sea Breeze didn''t understand.


    "Since it''s a one-handed sword and a weapon for Main Tanks, it''s naturally yours," Lu Li chuckled, then said, "Only you can hold something so exquisite."


    "Hold on a second. How is this an exquisite item? Have you seen my current weapon? Wait¡­Lu Li¡­" Azure Sea Breeze already started to deeply regret his actions once again. It seemed that every time, he was the one getting screwed over.


    "This is something so incredible! If it''s put up for auction, it would go for at least 100 guild points," Lu Li continued to say.


    "You''re too much! Too much!" Azure Sea Breeze was on the verge of tears. Holding Lu Li''s arm, he cried out, "Leader! I was wrong! I''ll never do that again. I am blind! You''re such a good team leader; I must have been demon possessed to say those things!"


    "Are you satisfied? Can we keep going now?" Wandering couldn''t stand it any longer.


    Azure Sea Breeze liked to be dramatic, but since when was Lu Li aiming for an Oscar? He was a gaming prodigy, a strategic commander and someone who had planned to conquer the whole of Dawn.


    "Primal Hakkari Kossack and Primal Hakkari Bracers¡­"


    These two set items were also distributed at a low price. These drops were just about everything from the Boss. As for the Bloodlord''s Defender, it obviously wouldn''t be given to Azure Sea Breeze at 100 guild points. Otherwise, that would be a little unfair.


    Just because Azure Sea Breeze didn''t want it didn''t mean that the Main Tanks from the elite squads also wouldn''t be interested. Therefore, Lu Li planned to put it into the guild storage.


    Although Bloodlord Mandokir only took two attempts before clearing, everyone was much more mentally drained than before. Rest was a necessity, so Lu Li gave everyone two hours. The tired ones could log out and sleep, while the hungry could go and eat.


    The next area was nicknamed the Fierce Tigers Area.


    Just as the name suggested, this area was overrun with tigers. High Priest Thekal, the Bloodscalp Trolls'' representative, brought along with him Bloodscalp Troll warriors and tigers and stood guard in this region.


    The Bloodscalp name wasn''t that prominent, but their numbers were significant.


    Different branches of the forest-based Trolls held territory in a major part of Stranglethorn Vale. These different Troll clans resided in the ruins of previous Troll cities. Although these clans were all quite close in proximity with other clans, they usually didn''t mingle with each other unless it was on the battlefield.


    At least one quarter of the Trolls that players saw in Stranglethorn Vale were Bloodscalp Trolls. They were a branch of the forest-based Trolls that had grown to love the weather in the Vale after dwelling in the area for a long time.


    It was best to avoid confrontations with the Bloodscalp Trolls. This was because they had a tendency to eat their captured invaders. This was especially true for Alliance members. As for Horde invaders, no one knew why they didn''t eat them. Perhaps it was because there was a branch of the Trolls working in the Horde. The man-eating aspect of the Bloodscalp Trolls was quite disgusting. If the Bloodscalp Trolls were especially hungry, they would even eat their own kind.


    If it wasn''t for a unified stand against this type of evildoing and a shared ideal of a primal lifestyle, residents of the Stranglethorn Vale would not have interactions with each other.


    As they had entered Zul''Gurub uninvited this time, the High Priest Thekal did not take to them kindly. He was ready to explode on a rampage at any time.


    There were two major races that dominated the area. One was the tigers and the other was the Bloodscalp Trolls.


    The Bloodscalp Troll warriors were similar to the Troll warriors that Lu Li had seen previously. They also used a skill similar to Whirlwind, so Lu Li just decided to bring four Mages to deal with them. Hex was the answer to killing them easily.


    As for the tigers, the main solution was just to prevent them from escaping and gathering reinforcements.


    If this happened, then players would need to fight against more than one type of monster.


    Although they had killed all the monsters in their first attempt, these monsters still dealt significant damage to the party. This definitely lowered the morale they had gained from defeating Bloodlord Mandokir.

 1581 Tiger

    At the end of the day, the monsters were unable to obstruct everyone for too long. Soon after they cleared out the monsters, they arrived in front of the Boss.


    The first squad wipe happened quicker this time because there weren''t enough Tanks. After all, including the Boss, there were five monsters they had to deal with at once, instead of the usual one or two.


    Besides High Priest Thekal, there were two passionate followers as well, called Lor''Khan and Zath, along with two other elite tigers.


    Compared to the tigers from before, these elite tier tigers had higher HP, but their skills were similar. These beasts were also designed from the same template as a Boss was, so they would be comparable with regular Bosses.


    Lu Li swapped out Half A Cigarette. He had just received a mount, so even if another mount dropped, he would have no chance.


    World''s Best Friend was the player who subbed in instead.


    Before allowing World''s Best Friend to enter, Lu Li had directly messaged him.


    "I''m afraid that your cooldown is going to be interrupted by us."


    The dungeon would be reset after cooldown, which was applicable to all players. However, since World''s Best Friend was just waiting outside, he could leave the party and join another party to enter the Instance Dungeon from the beginning, given that he hadn''t previously entered the dungeon with the current party.


    However, once he entered the Instance Dungeon with Lu Li, the System would recognise his cooldown as the same as the party''s current progression.


    "That''s okay. To be able to join your run personally is already my honour," World''s Best Friend said with a smile.


    Originally, Lu Li wasn''t planning to let him enter. His original plan was to let Moonlight wear a full set of defensive armour and let him aggro one Boss. He thought that the difficulty wouldn''t be that hard, but obviously, he had thought wrong. Perhaps the System would eventually nerf the two zealots'' attack power and stats, but in this current update, Moonlight was not powerful enough to tank either of them.


    After World''s Best Friend joined them, the team now had three proper Main Tanks. These three were also the strongest Main Tanks in Ruling Sword.


    With Drizzle Court and Peerless City alongside, they actually didn''t lack in Main Tanks and Healers anymore. However, Lu Li preferred to work with Ruling Sword''s own Main Tanks.


    Ruling Sword''s elite squads weren''t stronger than Drizzle Court and Peerless City''s elite squads, but their Main Tanks were much stronger than the other two guilds.


    "I''m pulling one of them, right?" World''s Best Friend asked.


    "Yeah. You''re pulling the one called Lor''Khan. Wandering is in charge of Zath. Breezy, you''re pulling the High Priest. Moonlight, lure the tigers."


    Similar to the other Bosses, this battle also had two stages to it.


    In the first phase, High Priest Thekal took the form of a human. Azure Sea Breeze was responsible for pulling him while the others cleared out the two tigers.


    Because Lu Li couldn''t reveal the strategy from the start, they wiped a few times due to the experimentative nature of their battle. In the end, they concluded that these three monsters couldn''t be killed one by one. The High Priest Thekal and the two Zealots could revive each other.


    This wasn''t their first time encountering a mechanic like this. The Ancient Core Hound from Molten Core could do the same thing.


    This meant that the method to defeating them was simpler now. They just needed to kill them simultaneously.


    After this, they also discovered that High Priest Thekal could heal the other two Zealots. The heal was obscenely strong, so their previous efforts were all wasted.


    Lu Li then arranged for Azure Sea Breeze to force the Boss to stay at one end of the fighting area. Meanwhile, World''s Best Friend would pull Zealot Lor''Khan to left side, where Thekal would not be able to see him. Then, Wandering would also pull Zath to the right side. This way, they could simultaneously attack the three monsters.


    The method to defeating this Boss was quite complex. Many of the mechanics needed to be discovered slowly.


    Simultaneously defeating these three monsters at once was also not that easy. Once their HP differences exceeded 20%, they would immediately gather together and Thekal would heal them all. When this happened, all their efforts were instantly made a waste.


    When they had payed the price of more squad wipes, Lu Li then formed a strategy that could work.


    After killing the tigers, they would take down 10%-20% HP on one of them. Then, they would move onto the next Boss, then the next.


    They would begin at Thekal, then move to Lor''Khan and Zath.


    When they all had only 15% HP left, they would bring them all back together and kill them at the same time.


    Once they were all dead, everyone besides the main Tank dispersed. After a few seconds, Thekal would eventually reincarnate in the form of a large tiger. After the transformation was complete, he would then begin attacking the players standing in close proximity. If the Main Tank didn''t use Taunt quickly enough, then there would be unnecessary casualties.


    They had now reached the second phase, which was indicated by Thekal''s transformation into a tiger.


    In this phase, Thekal would cast a disgustingly powerful AoE skill. This skill would interrupt all of the players'' skills, then cause damage to them and knock them back in a radius around him.


    Since it was a knockback, their casting animation was naturally interrupted.


    When the players made contact with the ground, there would also be fall damage. The first time


    they were met with this situation, they immediately wiped. This was because the surrounding monsters hadn''t been cleared properly, and many of the players were knocked into the groups of monsters.


    This was why Lu Li requested that everyone cleared out everything in this large area. This way, they would be able to avoid dying at the hands of the small monsters.


    It was futile to try and escape the range of this skill because it was unavoidably large.


    Lu Li also requested that everyone prepare their potions and bandages to heal themselves when needed. This was because the Healers would also be knocked back. After settling down, they would still need to worry about the Main Tanks and themselves, which meant that the DPS players wouldn''t be receiving the healing that they needed.


    The DPS players would be responsible for themselves so as to lessen the burden on the Healers.


    In the second phase, Thekal would also begin summoning tigers. After seeing the cast animation, Lu Li immediately directed everyone to kill the two newly spawned tigers.


    No matter what Boss it was, if there were summoned creatures, they would be a priority to kill. An exception was if the phase of the battle was already nearing its end. This was because killing the Boss first would make things much easier.


    Obviously, this was not the case in the current situation. Thekal had just entered the second phase and he had a little more than 40% HP.

 1582 Premature Splitting

    The two tigers were killed quickly.


    Even the most na?ve people wouldn''t think that these tigers were the end of it all. This was because from a design perspective, they didn''t pose any threat at all, so if nothing further happened, they would be pointless.


    Very soon after, everyone fell speechless upon seeing what had unfolded.


    Not even a minute later, the two tigers spawned again.


    However, this alone didn''t mean much. The thing that frightened everyone was that these two tigers had brought along their friends ¨C there were four this time.


    "Have we disturbed the tiger''s den?" World''s Best Friend questioned as he immediately ran forward to draw aggro of these four tigers.


    "Are there any differences from the two before?" Lu Li asked. This was the early version of the dungeon, so he wasn''t sure of the details. After all, the dungeon that he was fighting in during his previous life was one that had been updated many times.


    "I don''t think there are any differences. It''s just that tanking four of them isn''t as easy as two of them. A Defensive Paladin would make things easier," World''s Best Friend said.


    "Later on, let Wandering pull the tigers. World''s Best Friend, just stand on the side and help out when needed. I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be more to come," Lu Li responded, deciding to reveal what would happen next to prepare everyone for it.


    "They''re not doing much damage, so I think even if there are more, there won''t be any problems," World Best Friend commented.


    Lu Li shook his head and said nothing else. They would have to experience it before understanding the deadliness of the situation.


    Thekal would summon tigers at an interval of around a minute to two minutes. Every time they were summoned, there would be two more tigers than the previous time. After a short while, there were more than ten tigers swarming Wandering.


    Fortunately, their offensive power couldn''t be compared to elite monsters. Otherwise, Wandering would have quickly turned into a pile of bones.


    Furthermore, their defense was quite low. Lu Li deployed two Mages and a Warlock to deal with the group of tigers. Three waves of AoE skills piled on top of each other eradicated them in a manner of seconds.


    "Watch out!" Wandering cried out as he suddenly flew into the air.


    This time, there were sixteen tigers. Tanking them was still manageable, since there was a Healer watching over him. Lu Li had arranged Star Baby to focus on him.


    The problem was that he was now knocked in the air, while all the tigers were still alive.


    As a result, the tigers dispersed and pounced onto the nearby players who had also been knocked in the air.


    Squad wipe!


    Lu Li could only sigh in his heart. He couldn''t do anything about it.


    There were already so many squad wipes in the first phase. The second phase seemed to be calm and easy-going at the beginning, but grew to be exponentially more difficult to deal with as time progressed. Most teams could only attempt the method of killing the Boss as quickly as they could. After all, this meant that the number of tigers would be fewer. If there were less tigers, the situation wouldn''t be as lethal.


    The other method was to arrange for more players to fight the tigers. These players would kill the tigers as soon as they spawned. However, if there were more players fighting the tigers, there would be less players fighting the Boss, which would in turn increase the duration of the second phase.


    These two strategies weren''t ideal; there simply didn''t exist a perfect strategy.


    However, there was indeed an easier method.


    This method was so simple that even two players could clear this Boss by themselves. This was the exploitation of a freeze bug.


    High Priest Thekal was a Boss that could be freeze bugged. Furthermore, it wasn''t hard to execute this bug.


    This bug was discovered by a group of people who had nothing better to do.


    Lu Li knew how to execute this bug. In his previous life, when he was past level 70, he grinded here often, hoping to strike gold and become rich overnight. This was because the market price for tigers was extremely high.


    Unfortunately for him, he didn''t catch a glimpse of even a single tiger hair, despite grinding the dungeon every week.


    In the beginning, he often died in his runs, so his equipment repairs cost him a lot of money. If it wasn''t the First Clear, the drops wouldn''t be any good, even if it was Nightmare difficulty. He hadn''t even seen a single Epic item despite clearing it so many times.


    No matter how much Lu Li trusted his teammates, there was no way that he was going to reveal this bug.


    It was something that was discovered after level 70!


    The only hope was that they would be able to avoid a situation where Wandering was in the air while the tigers weren''t dead.


    They would need Lady Luck to smile upon them.


    After this, it was basically just fighting the Boss. Even when the Boss'' HP dropped to the point where he went Beserk, it wasn''t a guaranteed victory, so everyone was just trudging along mindlessly.


    This continued, until High Priest Thekal fell to the ground. Even then, some players were still in a trance.


    "Did we pass?"


    "Hell yeah we did!"


    Whistling and cheering immediately erupted. Lu Li rubbed his numb face and flashed a smile.


    "Hurry up and see if the tiger dropped! Hurry! Dreamy!" Azure Sea Breeze pushed Remnant Dream until she was basically on top the Boss'' corpse.


    "Do you have a lot of guild points?" Remnant Dream asked as she turned around and looked at him.


    "Quite a lot. More than you, anyway," Azure Sea Breeze said, feeling quite happy with himself.


    Main Tank items were quite easy to get. After all, he was also the number one Main Tank in Ruling Sword, so many items were given straight to him because of Lu Li. Even if he had to pay guild points to receive the items, it was more just for symbolic significance. Furthermore, being a Main Tank, he also had bonus guild points given to him. As a result, he quickly gathered a large pool of guild points.


    Previously, Remnant Dream had spent quite a lot of guild points on equipment, so it was true that she didn''t have as much as Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Hehe, Hachi Chan will help me out," Remnant Dream said as she hugged Hachi Chan.


    "Hachi Chan, don''t do this. Why would you? Am I not good enough to you?"


    Azure Sea Breeze''s sorrow now flowed like a river. Although he had quite a lot of guild points, they were still incomparable to Hachi Chan''s. Hachi Chan didn''t seem like she needed any equipment from the Instance Dungeons.


    "Dreamy promised me that she wouldn''t put her little leg on my stomach when we sleep," Hachi Chan said. Clearly, she thought that this deal was worth it.


    "Pft," Azure Sea Breeze snorted, then wiped the corner of his mouth and huffed, "So be it!"


    "Hey! What do you mean by little leg? Hachi Chan, if you dare to lie again, I''ll press on you until you die!" Remnant Dream threatened.


    "Hey, are you guys done?" Lu Li couldn''t stand it any longer.


    "The mount might not even drop, and you guys are already fighting over it?


    This was similar to a television drama. Two people imagined that they had a large sum of money to split. In the end, they split the money unevenly, which caused a massive fight. After the fight, they realised that it was all imaginary.


    "This is a Nightmare Difficulty on top of a First Clear! Adding onto my luck, how can it not drop?" Remnant Dream glared at Lu Li.


    She had already predicted that the mount would drop. How dare Lu Li try to dampen her hopes?


    If only she was stronger than him, she would definitely teach him a lesson.

 1583 Swift Zulian Tiger

    They knew that they couldn''t beat Hachi Chan but they weren''t too disappointed.


    They could always run the dungeon again and again. Remnant Dream could take the first tiger and no one would object against it because on the rare chance that it dropped, it would be because of her lucky hands.


    There were other players in Dawn that were very lucky as well.


    These people were just naturally blessed by the game to have insane luck, and Hachi Chan was definitely one of them. If a player found out that they were lucky, they would recommend themselves to a major guild. Once their luck was verified, they would always be part of the raids and dungeons even if they were an incompetent player.


    Many players that were very lucky would set terms and conditions before joining the guild, such as receiving first priority on an item of their class or rare items and mounts.


    There were different tiers of lucky players and Hachi Chan was definitely up there.


    Because of her value to the guild, if she wanted an item, Lu Li would rarely oppose her. Her value was worth much more than one or two mounts.


    "I''ll start looting now. Everyone stop talking," Remnant Dream announced seriously.


    Hachi Chan covered her mouth and stared nervously with her big eyes. She was hoping for the mount to drop as well, even though she didn''t need any new mounts. She had completed many rare and random quests that had rewarded her with a collection of rare mounts. She simply wanted the mount to drop so that Remnant Dream''s desire could be fulfilled and she wouldn''t be woken up by her in her beauty sleep.


    However, no matter how much everyone wanted it, there was still a very low chance of dropping.


    Remnant Dream would always put her leg over Hachi Chan when she fell asleep. This was something that she couldn''t control and it was something she had done since they were kids.


    "Enhancement Stones, rare materials, skill book, equip, equip, equip¡­"


    Remnant Dream went through the Boss'' corpse like a little thief as she flung various unwanted items behind her towards the group. Lu Li was like the garbage collector, picking up all the junk that she didn''t want.


    There were more than 100 Enhancement Stones now because the game had increased the drop rate. However, the prices of the Enhancement Stones did not fall because of their high demand. The increased drop rate just meant that rich people could enhance their equipment even more.


    Most of Lu Li''s equips were enhanced 5 times, with some only enhanced 3 or 4 times. The Enhancement Stones they found from dungeons were enough for him.


    Once you enhanced more than 6 times, there was a chance of breaking the item which wasn''t worth it in Lu Li''s opinion.


    Ruling Sword had recently just got out of their financial slump, so they couldn''t afford to have Lu Li blowing up a godly item. Besides, Ruling Swords had always relied on their mechanics to outplay opponents.


    The Enhancement Stones were evenly distributed and nobody wanted the skill book. Lu Li decided to put the skill book as well as the Dark Gold equipment into the guild storage.


    He threw these equips into the guild storage without consulting the people from Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Ruling Swords could clear Zul''Gurub without Drizzle Court or Peerless City so their players were happy just to be part of the First Clear. The First Clear rewards were worth a lot more than these useless Dark Gold pieces.


    Water Fairy wasn''t offended either because she knew most of them were only worth a few gold.


    "Betray''s Boot for Priests. Who wants them?" Lu Li asked.


    "Me," Star Baby called out as she raised her hand.


    Lu Li deducted 1 point and gave her the equipment. The piece had decent stats and could be useful as a backup piece.


    Professional players all had more than one set of equipment.


    There was always a small chance of losing your equipment when you died in the Wild or during Stronghold wars.


    Even though it was just one piece of equipment, the overall power of the player would drastically decrease. The last time Fat Monkey and Lu Li dueled, Lu Li took off a shoulder piece and Fat Monkey''s confidence sky rocketed.


    You always needed backups to minimize the decrease in power if you were to lose a key piece.


    "Primal Hakkari.." Lu Li mumbled as he picked up an item.


    "Wow, Hachi Chan, it dropped, it dropped!"


    "Wow, Dreamy, you''re amazing. Good job!"


    The two girls hugged each other and screamed while jumping up and down.


    Lu Li was speechless; was her luck really that good? It was a mount that he had never seen in his past life and they found it in one go.


    No wonder why there was a famous saying for this mount.


    Whenever someone asked for the chances of the Swift Zulian Tiger mount dropping, the answer was when it did, the drop rate was 100%, and when it didn''t, it was 0%.


    The unlucky ones wouldn''t get one even after spamming the dungeon for 10 years.


    The lucky ones, like Remnant Dream, would find it in one go.


    Lu Li was almost in tears because he knew that he was one of those people that wouldn''t find one even after 10 years. Not only was he not lucky, he was notorious for being unlucky.


    This was why the value of Remnant Dream was so high.


    And so, Lu Li cleared his throat and asked, "Dreamy, can you summon it out for us to see?


    "I haven''t paid for it yet."


    Remnant Dream was actually very mature. Even though she knew her position and value in the guild, she was still taught to be respectful.


    "Okay, I''ll take off 100 points," Lu Li said generously.


    This mount was priceless and would probably be worth more than a few pieces of legendary equips. 100 points was nothing for this.


    "Deduct mine, deduct mine!" Hachi Chan cried out as she jumped around Lu Li like a little bunny.


    "If it''s only 100 points, just deduct mine," Remnant Dreams said, trying to play it off.


    "No, we had a deal, you can''t go back on this," Hachi Chan insisted. She knew what her friend was scheming.


    "One''s dumb and the other is stupid. They''re both hopeless," Azure Sea Breeze sighed as he looked at them and shook his head.

 1584 The Hidden Boss?

    Under Hachi Chan''s insistence, Lu Li deducted 100 points from her.


    The two girl students laughed happily. Remnant Dream felt that her good friend had too much of a sense of justice and loyalty, but Hachi Chan felt that her stomach had been relieved.


    It was late now, and the chances of defeating another Boss weren''t high.


    Moreover, Lu Li felt that they had already thrown off the other clubs, so after they finished fighting in the fierce tiger area, he decided to call it a day.


    When they went online the second day, they continued the Zul''Gurub Instance Dungeon.


    What everyone had to face now was the Boss of the black minion area, High Priest Arlokk.


    This female priest was from the Skullsplitter Troll tribe.


    This tribe had also split from the ancient Gurubashi empire. Being adept at fighting, they firmly controlled the central area of Stranglethorn Vale. All those daring adventurers who entered this territory were too rash and paid the price ¨C including their neighbours, the Bloodscalp Trolls. The Skullsplitter Trolls looked down on the Darkspear Trolls the most ¨C they were the only Troll tribe to enter the Horde to seek help.


    Although they looked down on the Darkspear Trolls, the Skullsplitter Trolls'' leader, Ana''thek the Cruel, already realised the Horde''s crisis.


    Their biggest enemy actually wasn''t the Bloodscalp Trolls, who often fought with them. At most, the Bloodscalp trolls would take some of their grain rations, and even then, it was only on a whim to try some new food.


    What Ana''thak the Cruel considered a real life and death crisis were those Goblins and adventurers.


    Those damned Goblins; they deserved to die!


    They would do anything for gold. For the Goblins in Stranglethorn Vale, trafficking Troll Mojo was one of their main sources of income.


    In the earliest days, they''d hunt and kill Bloodscalp trolls, but Bloodscalp Trolls'' Mojo was too weak. They had also tried the Mojo of the Darkspear Trolls, but their customers were extremely unsatisfied with this. This went on until one day, the goblins killed a Skullsplitter Troll.


    From then on, the Goblins had been hunting and killing Skullsplitter trolls for their Mojo as a steady source of income.


    Those Goblins really were small and weak. Even if they were carrying top-quality rifles, the brave warriors of the Skullsplitter trolls would kill them like they were chickens. What annoyed the Skullsplitters was that the Goblins didn''t go out to attack themselves.


    They offered a reward, making adventurers work hard for them instead.


    Those adventurers, they also deserved to die. They simply didn''t care about their lives. The cruel Ana''thak, who was skilled at killing himself, lamented over this more than just once.


    In fact, there was another reason that truly made the Skullsplitter trolls firmly decide to join the troll alliance.


    It was still those damned Goblins and adventurers.


    The Goblins had realised that relying on killing those tigers and exporting their teeth in Southshore Island was quite a difficult thing. Not only was it difficult, but it also came at a high cost. As such, they found an alternative product, which was the buckteeth of the Skullsplitter tribe of Trolls.


    Mojo was something which there was not a great demand for. Only those who could control magic would buy it for experiments.


    Tiger teeth were different. In the lives of the rich, you could see this sort of exquisite decoration everywhere. Even common people could buy a few to decorate their doors. The demand for tiger teeth throughout the whole land seemed to be insatiable.


    How beautiful or ugly Trolls were wasn''t determined by their face, but by their teeth.


    Once, the Skullsplitters were considered to have the most beautiful teeth among all the Troll tribes. But unexpectedly, this actually meant that they faced the disaster of the extinction of their tribe.


    This time, High Priest Arlokk brought his underlings to enter Zul''Gurub, in order to realise the revival of the greatness of this tribe of Trolls. When that day came, they would skin and pickle all the Goblins of Azeroth and eat them over the winter.


    The team only had to do a little research to know how to deal with the smaller monsters. The key was still the Boss.


    The first few times, the whole team did die, but after going through death after death, they


    managed to develop their strategy.


    Where High Priest Arlokk was, there was a gong. When the gong was struck, the battle would start, so, before the battle started, everyone would assemble in front of it and allow the Main Tank stand in the middle of the room to prepare.


    Here, they had to deal with the Boss first because smaller monsters kept rushing forward from the corners until they occupied the whole room.


    A speedy kill of the Boss with maximum DPS was the key to victory!


    The Boss would put the mark of a hunter on a player, which would appear as a purple arrow above the player''s head. All the monsters, filled with hate, would go and attack this player that had been marked. On one hand, they had to make sure that the person marked would stay alive. While the monsters'' attacks were weak, they came in high numbers. On the other hand, they needed to use various methods to control these monsters.


    In terms of skills, they could use Freezes and Fears. The engineered Flash Bombs were also extremely useful; Lu Li had distributed them to everyone beforehand. These could temporarily disable the attacks of the monsters, so that everyone could focus on the Boss.


    When Arlokk still had about 80% HP, she would disappear. At this time, they could get rid of as many monsters as they could, thus reducing the burden of when they were fighting.


    What was more, everyone was spread apart, especially the healers. This was because when the Boss came out, there would be a powerful whirlwind alongside her. Controlling the minions and attacking the Boss with maximum DPS were the key elements to this battle.


    After Arlokk appeared, they would attack her as quickly as they could. At this point, the monsters would rapidly respawn, so they would have to switch their focus and bring them down with AoE attacks.


    The team died four times, before reaching the Berserk stage on their fifth attempt.


    Overall, this Boss was relatively easy, and was definitely more straightforward than the previous one. In principle, they had some similarities. These black minions were the same as the tigers before. However, while you didn''t have to kill them, it was best the kill the tigers.


    The main difference was in the Boss'' skills.


    "Bethek, why did you abandon your priest!" Arlokk called out painfully to her god. She had finished her historical mission.


    After the fight, they looted, but there was nothing that really stood out.


    Actually, after a few more patches, High Priest Arlokk would also drop amount ¨C a black creature which looked a bit better than the Night Elf mount. From then on, Arlokk would be targeted by the Elite groups of the major guilds.


    However, the rate for mounts dropping was extremely low, so many people left for home in disappointment.


    Now, the main Bosses left were the Hexxer Jin''do, as well as Hakkar, who had been summoned out.


    Of course, one of the biggest special features of this Instance Dungeon was the hidden Boss, but they were competing for the First Clear. If you wanted to provoke the hidden Boss, you would be setting yourself back, and if you chose to do that at a time like this, then there really was something wrong with you.

 1585 The Hexxer Jin’do

    Jin''do was the leader of the Hakkari tribe, and Hakkar''s absolute supporter. After continuing to work hard in the Atal Hakkar temple, he continued to carry out Hakkar''s schemes, and succeeded in the process.


    Of course, Lu Li and Hachi Chan were his evil accomplices.


    "Do you think he still remembers us?" Hachi Chan asked, feeling very dispirited, as well as a bit angry. After all, Jin''do had reincarnated into Yeh''kinya and bullied her.


    "Probably not. Anyway, this should be a piece of cake," Lu Li said dismissively, waving away the question.


    Actually, Lu Li knew Jin''do''s true power better than anyone. Especially in earlier patches, everyone knew that Jin''do was Hakkar''s supporter. However, in the Instance Dungeon, everyone realised without needing to say anything that Jin''do was more than just a little greater than Hakkar.


    There was a whole other level to this Boss.


    "Friends, welcome to this great feast. Come, let''s party! Party ''til we die!"


    These were Jin''do''s opening remarks. He evidently didn''t recognise Lu Li and Hachi Chan.


    The Yeh''kinya who had dealt with Lu Li and Hachi Chan before was cunning, had deep thoughts and was extremely intelligent, but the Jin''do in front of them was a conventional Boss running an Instance Dungeon. Who knew where the real Jin''do was hiding?


    "Well then, I''ll go up."


    As soon as Azure Sea Breeze heard that Lu Li say he was a piece of cake, he was filled with courage.


    "Wait a second. Clean up around the sides first. Why do you have to be so rash? No one''s fighting with you," Lu Li said, commanding everyone to finish off the smaller monsters around the area first. After all, Jin''do was up there happily reciting his lines. That long string of words was all about the former glory of the Trolls.


    The Trolls really were glorious in the past; this wasn''t made up.


    The earliest known Trolls were Zandalari Trolls, and all the other Troll tribes were descended from them. The Zandalari valued knowledge the most, but in the tribe, there were still sizable groups of members who thirsted for fighting and conquering. These trolls who had rebellious natures eventually broke off and established their own tribes.


    As time passed, the remaining members of the Zandalari tribe were respected as priests with the highest position among all the other Trolls.


    The Zandalari tirelessly recorded and protected the Trolls'' history and traditional customs. These wise trolls continuously pushed for a reunification of Troll society. Although the Zandalari were highly respected by others, schisms between their political views continued to exist.


    About 16,000 years ago, Trolls ruled over most of the territory of Kalimdor. From the Trolls that split from the Zandalari, two empires were formed ¨C namely, the Gurubashi Empire in the south-east forest, and the Amani Empire in the centre.


    Relations between the Gurubashi Empire and the Amani Empire definitely weren''t the most friendly, but they didn''t often fight either.


    At that time, their common enemy was the empire of a different tribe ¨C the Azj''Aqir civilisation. The Aqir was a type of intelligent insect and mainly controlled the western area. These intelligent insects had a strong desire for expansion, and what was more, they were viciously evil. The Aqirs'' aim was to eradicate all life on Kalimdor that weren''t insects.


    The Trolls had been at war with them for thousands of years, but they never had an overwhelming advantage against the Aqir.


    In the end, because of the relentless attacks from the Trolls, the Aqir empire divided into two. Its subjects escaped over to the faraway lands to the north and south of the mainland and settled there, continuing to live out a feeble existence. There, two Aqir cities sprung out. They established Arj Nira, a city in the northern wasteland, and Ahn''Qiraj in the southern desert.


    Although the Trolls thought that there were still other Aqir insects living on the Kalimdor mainland, this view had not been confirmed.


    With the chasing away of the insects, the two troll empires resumed their original states. Although they had won a massive victory, neither empire had undergone a massive expansion.


    Taking advantage of this time, the Night Elves developed in the area around the Well of Eternity. The Trolls really couldn''t be bothered to try to expand into their land, so the Night Elves established a powerful empire, expanding on the Kalimdor mainland too. They used magic that the Trolls would never have imagined. The Night Elves'' rise to prominence quickly threatened the two largest empires in this world.


    The Night Elves systematically destroyed the Trolls defenses and their aid systems. The Trolls had no way to resist the Night Elves'' annihilating magic, so there was nothing they could do in the face of impending disaster.


    In the following years, the Gurubashi and Amani empires broke apart, and the frightening speed at which the Night Elves took victory brought about an eternal hatred from the Trolls towards them. One could imagine that if they had a choice, Yeh''kinya would definitely not think of working with Lu Li and Hachi Chan. However, because of the big picture, he was able to overlook it.


    Afterwards, when the Burning Legion invaded, the Night Elves were swallowed up by the magic fire that they were trying to use to control.


    Their uncontrolled use of magic had invited the Burning Legion, who wrecked most of the Night Elves'' civilisation. Although there were no sources to say that the Burning Legion also attacked the Trolls'' civilisations, it seemed as if the whole continent was engulfed in war.


    At the very end of the frightful war, the Well of Eternity exploded. This explosion caused a quake that tore apart Kalimdor, which resulted in the middle of the continent falling into the sea.


    Most of the land of the Amani and Gurubashi empires was still divided, evident in today''s Quel''Thalas and Stranglethorn Vale.


    Many centuries after this massive natural disaster, the whole tribe of Trolls lived in extremely difficult circumstances. However, they rebuilt their ruined city, reclaiming their former glory with their own hands. Because they were like this, hunger and fear were nothing out of the ordinary. The Jungle Trolls went all out to find their ancient strength to help them. Although the two Troll empires both worshipped the same ancient gods, Gurubashi was governed by the darkest gods and spirits.


    Hakkar the Spirit Reaper responded to their pleas. Hakkar gave the secret of his blood to the Gurubashi and even helped them extend their territory to most of the land of Strangethorn Vale, as well as the islands in Southshore.


    Although he gave the Jungle trolls great strength, as payment, this bloodthirsty god required spirits as sacrifices.


    His demands grew higher and higher, and grew more and more impatient with their pious priests. He wanted them to find a way to bring him into the material world. That way, he could directly absorb those blood sacrifices. His wild ambitions grew grander, and he even wanted to swallow up all the spirits of the world.


    Most of the Hakkari priests had begun to grow suspicious at his greedy appetite, as well as being fearful for the future. If they kept on going like this, offering up unlimited spirits, his power would reach uncertain heights. After he came to the world, just how much destruction would he be capable of?


    However, the Hakkari Priests were still the ones to make decisions carefully based on all Hakkar said.


    This was before the Atal''ai Trolls were successful in summoning Hakkar. All the other Jungle Trolls, including Hakkari trolls, rose up in great numbers against this cruel deity.


    Because they were able to foresee the fatal threat that Hakkar posed to the whole world, even the Zandalari were caught up in this war. The magic that burst out in this war shattered Zul''Gurub.


    When the war had entered into the stage of hopelessness, the Trolls successfully destroyed Hakkar''s reincarnation.


    The Atal''ai Trolls were chased out of the jungle, and were also stamped out. Only a small group of members escaped into a sad swamp, but it was there that they secretly built a grand temple to their god ¨C the Atal Hakkar temple.


    Because they opposed the fanatic Atal''ai trolls, the Hakkari trolls hoped that they would be able to escape punishment. However, they quickly realised that that was just wishful thinking. After the Atal''ai were crushed and wiped out, the Jungle Trolls were likewise dealt with.


    Many former priests were tortured and beaten before being publicly executed. Others were torn to pieces by a rebellious people.


    The most fortunate Hakkari trolls only had all of their assets taken and were exiled from Zul''Gurub.


    They were warned that if they tried to return, the price would be death.


    Under extreme hardship and hopelessness, the surviving Hakkari had no choice but to make a frightful decision. They chose to join their former enemy ¨C the Atal''ai, and became willing to help them summon Hakkar to this earth.


    From understanding the great suffering that the Hakkari trolls endured, the Atal''ai Trolls believed that they had a change of heart, and therefore admitted them into the temple.


    Here, the Atal''ai and Hakkari trolls continued their work.


    Their protector god was a dragon. Their illusionary king, the green dragon Ysera, quickly understood the evil plans of the priests, and sank the temple into the swamp. To this day, the ruins of the temple were still guarded by the Green Dragonflight.


    The power of the Gurubashi empire''s remnants began to part ways. This arose from different groups each trying to claim sovereignty over large parts of Stranglethorn Vale. These separate groups began to launch campaigns against each other. After the end of a long war, the smallest tribe ¨C the Darkspear tribe ¨C had been driven out of the mainland. In order to avoid more conflict, they settled down on a remote, overgrown little island.


    These ancient wars and earth-shattering events all happened because of the Night Elves'' abuse of Arcane magic. However, the highest class of Night Elves, the High Elves, had completely renounced Arcane magic.


    The result was that they were banished from Kalimdor. They crossed great oceans and climbed over the land of Lordaeron. The exiles changed their names, and called themselves Advanced Elves.


    In the process of heading inland, the Advanced Elves underwent bloody conflicts with the Forest Trolls, who controlled the entire northern part of the continent. In the end, these weary Elves arrived at a piece of land which was familiar to them, like the forested Kalimdor. After The trolls living there had been driven away, the Advanced Elves established the Qual''Thalas kingdom.


    The Elf Mages carved a set of magic runestones at the boundaries of Qual''Thalas. These runestones could not only hide the magic of the Elves, protecting them from damage from the outside, but they also protected against invasion of the kingdom, as well as stopping those superstitious Troll commanders for quite a while.


    The unrest in Qual''Thalas continued for about 4000 years, until one day, the Jungle trolls gathered together for a military campaign, aimed at completely erasing these Elf invaders. Buckling under the great disparity in the forces, king Anasterian Sunstrider hopelessly searched for any saving power in the midst of this disaster. In the end, they signed an alliance with the human country of Arathor.


    The Eelves began to teach a small group of humans how to use magic. With these new Mages, as well as with the help of Arathor''s forces, the Elves were finally able to crush the numerous military bases of the Trolls. From this, the Amani empire found it difficult to ever recover its strength.


    The two Trolls split and the race went into decline.


    The only tribe that could establish themselves on the continent was actually the Darkspear tribe, under the leadership of Zujin.


    At the start of the second war, the Elves joined midway and even helped the Lordaeron alliance. The war''s commander, Orgrim Doomhammer, hoped that the Forest Trolls would join the Horde. Doomhammer made a promise to the Forest Trolls. If they entered the Horde, the Horde would help them defeat the Elves, and even help them re-establish their Amani Empire.


    In the beginning, the Forest trolls leader, Zujin, refused this attractive agreement.


    As the famous hero of the Armani Horde, Zujin, with his highly proficient skills that brought him great admiration, was obeyed by all the Forest Trolls.


    Although the Forest Trolls were definitely convinced about the war with the Night Elves, Zujin was still suspicious about the Horde''s intentions. Not long after, Zujin and his henchmen were, to their misfortune, captured by people. After the Horde freed them, Zujin changed his mind, and joined the Horde to form a mutual alliance. In the name of the alliance, some of the Forest Trolls entered the battle.


    Not along after, the Horde had pushed the battleline back to the border of Quel''Thalas, and what was more, they shamelessly slaughtered the Night Elves. When facing this sought of inevitable slaughter, the Elves threw all of their resources into this battle.


    When the Horde was being repelled, the Orcs and other alliance nations had already accomplished their goal ¨C to steal away many of the runestones that the Advanced Elves had created to protect their border. The Warlock Gul''dan used these stolen rocks to build up Stormwind Altar.


    However, the second war ended in victory for the Alliance. Right after these numerous battles, Azeroth had taken in a lot of Orcs who were shut away in captivity. Because of the crushing defeat of war, many Forest Trolls didn''t carry out their final promise to the Orcs and expressed their anger. Without any hesitation at all, they left the Orcs, who once shared the same military camps as them.


    Until Saar established the new Horde later, the trolls on the continent again had their own renewed authority back.


    Of course, in Jin''do''s mouth, the story was a different version. At the very least, he looked down on his Darkspear brothers, feeling that they had already forgotten their ancestors'' glory.


    After he had finished with the nonsense and the smaller monsters were dealt with, the real battle finally started.


    Jin''do was said to be a piece of cake, but that was just to put Azure Sea Breeze at ease.


    "Start the battle!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted, rushing towards the Boss.


    He was an extremely competent Main Tank. No matter how tired or troubled he was, at the start of the battle, he was always able to prepare himself. Others couldn''t resist to follow along with his enthusiasm.

 1586 Changing Positions with the Boss

    As soon as the battle started, Azure Sea Breeze knew that he had been duped again.


    Jin''do''s attack and defense was on a completely different level to the Bosses before.


    "Stay put, and let the healers heal," Lu Li said as he also observed the situation.


    Jin''do was currently extremely powerful. He had many shadows and limitless totems, which made the players exhausted from running around so much. When Lu Li entered this Instance Dungeon in his past life, Jin''do had already become a supplier of oppressive equipment to players.


    To begin with, there were the totems.


    One type was a yellow totem which was able to control players to be used by Jin''do. He seemed to be adept at using others to reach his own goals, like using the identity of Yeh''Kinya to dupe Lu Li and Hachi Chan into helping him. Controlling players to attack themselves here was a similar sort of thing.


    Another type was a green totem, which was even more annoying.


    "Dammit, this is healing HP! Kill it, kill it!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted loudly. He was pulling the Boss and couldn''t go and attack the totems. Moreover, he simply didn''t have the energy.


    A dagger first stabbed right into the green totem, then someone followed up with an Ice Lance until they finally managed to destroy it.


    This was different to how Lu Li remembered it. In Lu Li''s memory, the totems were extremely weak. Anyone could attack them with any skill and singlehandedly finish them off.


    But in actuality, the totem here required two attacks.


    "Monkey bro, you and I can deal with the healing totem. Deadly Green Orange, if someone''s being controlled, you''re in charge of changing them into sheep. Snowy, you and Remnant Dream can kill the player-controlling totem, Wandering, if those of us who are killing totems get controlled, you''re to give them a hand. If Azure Sea Breeze gets controlled, you deal with the Boss first," Lu Li said, beginning to assign the duties.


    He never thought that it would be impossible to finish off Jin''do in just one attempt.


    The main thing was still to let everyone better understand this Boss'' mechanisms. Only then would they be able to defeat him.


    Afterwards, everyone finally realised what the pit of Toothgnasher Skeletons was accomplishing.


    On the side of the arena, there was a little hollowed-out depression with a group of Toothgnasher Skeletons dancing inside. The scene really looked like something out of a horror movie.


    When Azure Sea Breeze was cleaning up the smaller monsters, he went over to deal with them for a moment. However, just as he exited the hollow, a whole group of Toothgnasher Skeletons had been respawned again inside. At this, everyone judged that the monsters inside couldn''t be killed for now.


    Not long after the monsters had respawned, their use became apparent.


    Kitty Likes Meat was sent directly into the middle of the Toothgnasher Skeleton heap and was killed instantly. Although the Toothgnasher Skeletons'' attack wasn''t high, there were a lot of them, and when they were attacking the player all at once, it really was fatal.


    Because of this, Lu Li arranged for a Mage to stand next to the hollow. Any Toothgnasher Skeletons that were spawned inside could be immediately killed with a Blizzard.


    They were constantly solving problems that were coming up.


    The next time someone was transported inside, they could simply jump out and re-join the battle.


    The problem had just been solved, but before they could even take a breath, Azure Sea Breeze had been turned into a sheep. Wandering didn''t accumulate enough Aggro in time, so they quickly lost a number of players. Not long after, Lu Li declared that this battle was over.


    At least they now knew a few points to this Boss'' strategy.


    One was the totems. Jin''do would release two totems ¨C a healing totem and a player-controlling totem. In the battle, they definitely needed to make destroying the totems a priority. A group of people would specifically be sent out to destroy the totems.


    Lu Li handed this quite well, having already dealt with the totem problem after the first time.


    The second thing they had to strategize for was the event that a player being teleported into the hollow coincided with the Toothgnasher Skeletons respawning. The best they could do was to use their Damage Reduction, then let the Mage waiting outside the hollow deal with the Skeletons. Then they could return to their original position.


    The third thing was the Boss randomly changing players into sheep.


    The worst scenario was the Main Tank being affected by this spell.


    Being transformed into a sheep and being Feared weren''t the same thing.


    If the Main Tank was Feared, the Boss could still continue to attack him. But as soon as the Main Tank was transformed into a sheep, then the Boss would immediately attack other targets.


    Jin''do was an old, experienced controller of magic. There was no way he didn''t understand such a basic principle.


    The second time the team died, they finally lured out a unique skill of his.


    This was a curse, and those affected by it would have their own shadows shown next to them. These shadows could only be seen by those who were cursed, and only they could attack these shadows.


    These curses were released frequently, so the number of these shadows grew rapidly in the second stage.


    Initially, the damage was barely noticeable. However, the longer the battle was drawn out, the more shadows there were. As soon as the healers had shadows gazing on them, then what followed was a very troublesome situation.


    This was why Lu Li painstakingly emphasised to everyone to increase their Shadow Defense, which would reduce the damage these shadows dealt to players.


    After those who had been cursed were cursed a second time, not only could their see their own shadow, but they could also see the others'' shadows.


    Therefore, after they had killed their own shadow, it was best for them to help the others.


    The curse would only last for about 15 seconds, but the shadows only had about 1500 HP. Therefore, for an average DPS player, in the time they were cursed, they could probably kill two shadows. It was a shame that the shadows were immune from any sort of AoE damage.


    In the process of exploring this, the team again died a few times.


    Lu Li felt that they were discussing this problem for the whole morning. It wasn''t until noon that everyone executed the strategy perfectly and entered the third stage safely.


    Jin''do had three stages, which was different to those previous Bosses with only two.


    In the third stage, it seemed that his abilities became even more extraordinary.


    His attacks now brought with them Lightning, not to mention the massive rise in his attack power. It was pretty clear that Jin''do''s original role was a Shaman.


    At this stage, after a set period of time, he would cast out an ''Overlooked Zone. He would wait inside the cover and the magic damage that he received would decrease greatly. Half the magic players were basically rendered useless.


    "This should be very easy!" Lu Li shouted. "You can''t pull him out from under the cover; we have to stand inside the cover. This is such an easy tactic! How come you need me to remind you?"


    Actually, he was a little full of himself, just standing and speaking. If he hadn''t encountered this tactic in his past life, he probably wouldn''t have thought up of such a simple solution.


    The rest of the team knew nothing about this.


    Therefore, when Azure Sea Breeze pulled the Boss out, everyone stood inside the cover. In that moment, they treated Lu Li with the utmost admiration.


    The reduction of damage, which was originally only meant for the Boss, was now being enjoyed by the players.


    The Boss'' damage to the players was lessened, but their attack was now much higher compared to when they were outside the zone.


    No matter how hard the Boss worked, this was still the easiest stage for the players.


    "Looks like we''ve fought this Boss to the third stage, and we''ve pretty much passed the level," Wandering said.


    He saw that Lu Li''s gaze wasn''t quite right. Whenever he thought that the gap between Lu Li and him wasn''t that far, he would use what looked like a very simple expression to shatter his pride and self-confidence.

 1587 The Death of Hakkar

    Just like that, Jin''do had been kicked out of the scene.


    After experiencing a baptism of fire in the first two stages, the third stage went by smoothly.


    Actually, this Boss had led to quite a few team wipes. From the morning until now, there had already been more than 20 wipes. Zul''Gurub was originally positioned before the Molten Core and Blackwing''s Nest. If a Boss could make Lu Li''s team die over 20 times, this was already a really unbelievable event.


    This was also the reason why Jin''do was constantly made weaker in future patches.


    When Lu Li went into Zul''Gurub in his last life, Jin''do wouldn''t transform the first target into a sheep. This also meant that if the Main Tank was able to hold down Aggro the entire time, the fight would be infinitely less difficult.


    At the same time, he did not summon as many totems, and the totems'' health and effectiveness were also a lot weaker. A single attack could destroy one. Any capable team wouldn''t be bothered by the totems'' effects at all.


    As for the shadows, the number that was summoned was also heavily reduced.


    Lu Li remembered that once upon a time he had entered with a rather eccentric team. During whole battle, they didn''t attack their shadows ¨C they just directly crushed the Boss to death.


    "Quickly loot it and start the next one. The items dropped in this Instance Dungeon suck," Fat Monkey urged. He was already itching to get a First Clear on TV. Although he was humble when others praised him, he actually enjoyed getting praised by others.


    "What''s the rush? No one can get in front of us," Lu Li laughed. "If you think the stuff in this Instance Dungeon is bad, then don''t ask for the things that drop."


    "Boss, do you think I''m an idiot? This Boss was so hard to kill. We had to die over 20 times to get through ¨C how could it not drop some good stuff," Fat Monkey said, feeling that he had been humiliated. Was his IQ that low that he could be taken in with a casual provocation?


    "Dreamy, the mounts are going be taken. Still not gonna work faster?" Lu Li shouted.


    "Skinless Lu," Remnant Dream muttered under breath in response she looted the body.


    "Wow, lots of Strengthening Stones, and the Synthetic Gems aren''t bad either. The Skill Book is for Shamans. Memories, sis, you''re real lucky," Remnant Dream said with envy.


    To begin with, Sakura Memories didn''t have any reaction. Only after a moment did she call out in pleasant surprise, "Could it be the Enhanced Skill Book?"


    To be called lucky by the Little Red Hand meant that it was no ordinary thing. At the moment, everyone was nearing completion in collecting Skill Books, so naturally, it must have been an Enhanced Skill Book.


    "Tsk, getting a Skill Book with low points," Lu Li said, throwing over the Enhanced Skill Book with his face full of disdain.


    "Haha, you''re all jealous, right?" Sakura Memories laughed in extreme satisfaction. She was the only one who could compete with Hachi Chan in DKP, and she was the only one who wasn''t interested in mounts. Also, she couldn''t fight with a young girl student like Remnant Dream. That was why she hadn''t gone over to contest for anything.


    "Strengthening Stones aren''t bad either. One of them is for Shamans; give it to Memories too¡­" Lu Li said.


    "Wait a sec, we don''t have to share stones, right?" Sakura Memories didn''t understand.


    "What the last Boss dropped shouldn''t be bad, so we need to divide it. You''re already getting so much. How are you still so petty?" Lu Li was speechless. He realised that Sakura Memories was treating accumulating points almost like it was becoming her hobby. She didn''t lack points; she just liked to see her points continue to grow.


    Apart from that stone, there were also two other reasonable ones. Of the Warriors, World''s Best Friend took it for a fairly cheap price. The Mages, however, bid for a price of 60 points as there were a lot of them and the competition was relatively intense. This sort of situation where someone took something for a few points while others fought to the death over another thing was very common in Dawn.


    Gold equipment was casually distributed and the Dark Gold equipment was stored.


    Lastly, there was the Epic equipment.


    Jin''do''s Evil Eye!


    Healing equipment, Necklace , Epic ¨C these three descriptions destined this equipment''s competitiveness.


    In the end, Darkness took this item.


    Jin''do''s Bag of Whammies!


    This was used by Mages, along with DPS roles and healers. In terms of attributes, this was an even higher top-level piece of equipment. The only drawback was that it was an Off-Hand weapon, which could only be used by people with a single-handed magic weapon.


    However, most Mages used staffs ¨C relatively few used Spell Swords or daggers.


    That was why Sesame Rice Ball didn''t spend much to purchase this piece of equipment.


    Two more were dropped that Ruling Sword took. No one from Drizzle Court or Peerless received equipment, but Lu Li didn''t feel guilty about this at all. Those on his side received equipment and paid with points, but Drizzle Court and Peerless City''s members kept theirs. Next time they encountered worthwhile items, they could step forward and bid for them.


    Next, there were set equips, but these weren''t as good as the previous two pieces of Epic equipment.


    The last Boss was Hakkar.


    The Blood God and the Spirit Reaper ¨C from the looks of it, these names didn''t have much in common, but they were both of the one and the same spirit: Hakkar. His descendants, the Wind Snakes, could be found in every nook and cranny of Kalimdor. Their everyday activities included attacking adventurers as they shuttled back and forth throughout the world, and getting attacked by those adventurers. Back when Lu Li was around level 50 or so, they had already fought in hand-to-hand combat with the avatar of Hakkar in the Sunken Temple. He also encountered the followers of the evil ''Hakkari'' cult.


    Because Lu Li and Hachi Chan had been tricked by Jin''do pretending to be Yeh''Kinya, Hakkar''s true identity also appeared in the capital of the ancient troll empire, Zul''Gurub.


    In the Instance Dungeon, it was just Hakkar''s Faded Image. Otherwise, he would be a demigod, which would exhaust Lu Li as he would try in vain to defeat him.


    Lu Li still had a quest on him from the Trolls. They needed to kill Hakkar''s Faded Image to stop Hakkar from coming down to the Azeroth mainland.


    Hakkar was actually quite easy, so easy that Lu Li felt they could finish him off in two or three attempts.


    According to convention, they didn''t need to drink potions in their initial attempt. They were just getting a feel for the Boss'' strategy. Everyone would realise very soon that this boss had four skills, just like Jin''Do.


    Hakkar would Drain Life every one and a half minutes, stealing the players'' HP to be returned to himself.


    The basic damage of Tainted Blood wasn''t actually wasn''t considered high, but it could be spread to teammates. This curse was Hakkar''s most evil skill. If you weren''t careful about your position, then it wouldn''t be uncommon for the entire team to die.


    There was also Mind Control, which was similar to one of the totems of Jin''do.


    After the first 10 minutes of a battle, Hakkar would enter into Berserk mode and his Attack would be increased by a frightening amount. He could kill a whole team of twenty instantly.


    That was why the battle had to finish before 10 minutes was up.


    As long as their DPS was enough, finishing the battle in 10 minutes was no problem at all. Lu Li and his team all had a few pieces of Blackwing''s Nest equipment on them, so this was very achievable. As such, Hakkar''s demise was simply an expected outcome.

 1588 Fist Weapons

    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City players, Azure Sea Breeze, March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Hachi Chan, Innocent Child...Water Fairy, Star Baby, Deadly Gold Underpants...who under the leadership of commander Lu Li, have achieved the First Clear of Zul''Gurub on Nightmare Difficulty.


    The First Clear was broadcast out, which signalled this Instance Dungeon''s end.


    Lu Li had a look at the First Clear reward.


    His backpack was completely empty, but he had one more Skill Point. In a moment, he had almost been moved to tears. Could it be that his luck was too bad? From the System god above, he couldn''t tell. It turned out that his First Clear reward was just simply a single Skill Point.


    It turned out after almost every Boss fell, there was someone who received a Skill Point as a reward. Lu Li could only look at it with open eyes.


    The small notification that displayed the Skill Point almost caught on fire from his stare.


    Others who got a Skill Point didn''t dare to discuss it in front of him, afraid that it would hurt his heart.


    Right now, he could only think about washing his black face. He even thought about letting his group know that he hadn''t been so ruined as to not even receive any Skill Points.


    Everyone was discussing all at once about the things they had gotten. There wasn''t anything worth keeping secret. Even Drizzle Court and Peerless City''s players joined in. They really didn''t care too much about what the Boss dropped, but they were interested in the First Clear stuff.


    It wasn''t just Lu Li who received Skill Points.


    Zul''Gurub''s difficulty wasn''t as high as the Molten Core or Blackwing''s Nest, but it was officially aimed at independent players and smaller guilds. As such, this Instance Dungeon actually went beyond its original intention. Rewarding them with Skill Points was especially generous.


    Others received Skill Books, and Remnant Dream and Lonesome Flower left with an Enhanced Skill Book.


    While Remnant Dream''s was rare, Lonesome Flower''s was especially precious.


    Strengthening Blink ¨C this immediately made him the centre of attention. Even Skill Points weren''t as cool as the Enhanced Skill Book.


    Fat Monkey was pestering Lonesome Flower, wanting to buy this book from him. But after giving it a bit of thought, Lonesome Flower unexpectedly sold it to him.


    The price Fat Monkey paid was the precious necklace he was wearing. Furthermore, he needed to give Lonesome Flower another Strengthening Mage skill or a Priest skill. The best would be a Priest Skill Book; Lonesome Flower was evidently hoping that his sister would gain an Enhanced Skill.


    Lu Li was happy to see that their exchange worked out.


    Strengthening Blink was a top-level Enhanced Skill, but for Lonesome Flower, who didn''t enjoy playing PVP, it couldn''t be used to its full extent. It would still be much better suited to the hands of a competitor.


    "Hey, Arlokk''s Grasp. Moonlight, you got a Fist Weapon," Lu Li said with great surprise.


    "It''s a Fist Weapon. Do you want it?" Moonlight asked, throwing it straight at Lu Li.


    "Memories? You also got a Fist Weapon," Lu Li said again.


    "I hate you man. If you want it then just say so. Its attributes are so crap I''ll gift it to you," Sakura Memories huffed, also chucking hers over. This weapon was much worse that what she had on hand, so she didn''t really lose much by giving it to Lu Li.


    "Thanks," Lu Li said, as he silently received this weapon and put it into an Equipment Slot.


    In this way, he had a pair of Fist Weapons.


    No one suspected a thing. They just thought that Lu Li was sick of playing with a dagger and wanted to mess around with a pair of Fists.


    Lu Li immediately went to try out his new Fists on a monster standing nearby. It was just a little monster that had slipped through the net and basically posed no threat, which was why it wasn''t cleaned up earlier.


    "Hey, what''s gotten into you? You''re not dividing equipment anymore," Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    "Dream can do it. It''s fine, let me try out this pair of weapons," Lu Li said. His interest was evidently in this pair of Fists. Their attributes weren''t actually too bad. After all, they were already on the Epic level. The first reason they had been rejected today was because Moonlight didn''t like using Fists. He preferred axes the most, especially two-handed axes. The second reason was because Sakura Memories wasn''t very interested in saving up equipment. As long as something wasn''t as good as what she had, she could just give it away.


    Moreover, Fist Weapons really weren''t worth much.


    "Ok then, I''ll come divide up the weapons," Remnant Dream said, evidently very happy about this job.


    Lu Li was still killing smaller monsters to the side. The first monster had been killed, and he was now moving onto the second.


    Actually, quite a few people were paying attention to him, like Water Fairy, as well as some other careful, observant people. Everyone thought it didn''t make sense that Lu Li would go and attack monsters for his own enjoyment. After traversing through such a long Instance Dungeon, someone who still wanted to kill monsters must have been frustrated.


    The second monster was quickly finished off.


    What could they do? These ordinary smaller monsters weren''t even elite. In front of a powerful Thief like Lu Li they struggled to survive a noteworthy time. As such, before going for the third monster, Lu Li took off more than half of his equipment, especially those which increased his attack. At this, the monsters could finally survive another few attacks.


    "Strengthening Stones, one, two."


    "One stone instantly adds 300HP, and every second, you gain 20 more for 10 seconds. Start bidding now!"


    This stone really was excellent; it was better than most skills that allowed you to heal yourself. At the moment, the average heal would restore almost the same amount of HP. In a crisis, this would allow you to save your own life.


    As expected, as long as it was something worthwhile, the price could surge to Epic levels.


    In the end, it was auctioned for 80 points and was taken by Moonlight ¨C the PVP maniac. Expectedly, he needed this sort of life-preserving item more than the other players. He wasn''t necessarily afraid of death, but if he could stay alive for a few more seconds, he could guarantee that he could finish off his opponent. In the current patch, Berserkers lived for an embarrassingly short time. Even if they wore a full body of Plate Armor, it wouldn''t change the fact that a single Whirlwind could determine their fate.


    "A stone that increases magic critical hit damage by 12% - start bidding now!"


    Remnant Dream had been influenced by Lu Li after following him around for so long. She had long since learnt about how to divide up equipment. When Lu Li gave her the authority to deduct points and distribute equipment, she was already completely used to the role.


    As long as a Stone''s attributes weren''t too bad, it was generally popular. This sort of item which increased critical hit damage was even more sought after, even among other popular items.


    Therefore as soon as Remnant Dream''s voice dropped off, a whole group of people began to bid. It was even more popular that that previous stone that could be used by all roles, and the price quickly surpassed the price of 80 points. It even broke 100 points.


    However, at this point, everyone became more serious, needing to think about if it really was worth it to spend 100 points on a stone.


    In the end, Deadly Green Orange won it for 110 points. This was enough to show that although Hakkar''s performance was average, the things he dropped made him fully deserving of his identity.

 1589 Upse

    "What do you want?!" Water Fairy was done with it. She could tell that Lu Li wasn''t bullying the smaller monsters for no reason. He had already killed six of them; Was there any need to continue?


    "Huh¡­" Lu Li felt a bit embarrassed. He didn''t know how to explain it. Was his face really that upset?


    He knew the chances were low, but he didn''t expect them to be that low. He had already killed six smaller monsters, and they were killed only after removing several pieces of equipment. The number of strikes he had dealt were already quite high. In theory, this should have already triggered the special effects of these two equips.


    That''s right ¨C he was trying to trigger the special effect of these particular Fist Weapons.


    Thekal''s Grasp was from the High Priest Thekal and was considered as the Main Weapon. Arlokk''s Grasp was from the High Priestess Arlokk and was considered as an Off-Hand Weapon. If you considered these two equips, you wouldn''t notice anything special about them. However, if they were used together, they would form the Transmog Set.


    The Transmog Set Special Effects were described as: "Gives caster a smaller chance of receiving blessings from the ancient gods. Increases range and melee attack by 30% for 30 seconds when dealing damage to enemies."


    These were two special effects that made this Transmog Set even more powerful.


    Hence, there were many people who collected these weapons just for the special effect, and they would often come up with excuses to compare them. In reality, those who obtain this Transmog Set equipment never looked at their attributes. No matter how superb the quality was, they were all the same.


    "Let me have a try," Water Fairy said.


    "No need to take off your clothes. There''s too many people here."


    Lu Li listened to her and took off his fist weapons and gave them to Water Fairy. He then stood on the side and watched her fight monsters.


    "Not everyone''s like you¡­ taking off your clothes whenever."


    Water Fairy rolled her eyes at him. She had only taken off some of her accessories, unlike Lu Li who had even taken off his pants.


    "Oi! Are you guys done? Enhanced Skill Book, a Thief one ¨C which one of you two wants it?""Since they''re so busy being all over each other, how about we just sell this Enhanced Skill Books and split the money amongst us all?" Azure Sea Breeze angrily yelled.


    "Yeah! Yeah!"


    Everyone approved of this decision, even the players of Peerless City and Drizzle Court.


    Suddenly, the System announced, "Dear Players, Lu Li is using his Commander authority. You will be asked to leave the team in T minus 10, 9, 8, 7¡­"


    "Crap! Big Bro! Lu Li, you''re my big bro! I''m your long-lost younger brother! You can''t do this to me! Cancel it quickly! Quickly! I''m sorry!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was suddenly on his knees. They hadn''t even split the equipment; he was hoping to receive some valuable items.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn''t going to really kick him out ¨C it was merely a joke.


    "Far out," Azure Sea Breeze sighed in relief, then was suddenly in a state of shock at the sight in front of him. Other people around him were equally shocked as they watched Water Fairy and Lu Li.


    The Water Fairy in their sight had disappeared, and a large tiger, or Tiger Human, was in place of her. It looked the same as High Priest Thekal in stage two.


    Scary?


    Cool?


    Trendy?


    These were the kind of thoughts floating in everyone''s minds. People had even lost focus on the Enhanced Skill Book. It wasn''t that they had not seen transformations, but never one of this type before.


    "Fist Weapon!"


    "Fist Weapon!"


    Moonlight and Wandering shouted in sync. The former was knowledgeable while the latter was intelligent, and both of them discovered the reason for Water Fairy''s transformation in the first minute. Both Fists had originated in the hands of Sakura Memories and Moonlight separately. Then, they were in the hands of Lu Li, and lastly in the hands of Water Fairy. Clearly, the Fists were not just two mere Epic weapons.


    "Pretty awesome," Water Fairy commented as she recovered to her original form 30 seconds later.


    "How did you do it?" Azure Seas Breeze asked as he moved closer and stared at Water Fairy. The pair of Fist Weapons was making him drool.


    "Did you want it? I just won''t give it to you! Ha!" Water Fairy laughed. She rarely pranked people.


    "Broooo I want it¡­"


    He felt so upset. Was he no longer the core of this team? Was he no longer the treasured one in everyone''s hearts? Azure Sea Breeze searched frantically for Lu Li for proof. He remembered that Lu Li always took care of him. He would prioritise him whenever there was anything for Main Tanks.


    "If you and Water Fairy fell into the water, who do you think I would save?" Lu Li asked him.


    "You''re a bastard! Neglecting your friends with your new love¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze finally realised how stupid his question was. In this bastard''s heart, there was probably nothing that could surpass Water Fairy. Plus, if one had to think about it in detail now, did Lu Li gain the Fist Weapons from Moonlight and Sakura Memories for himself? He had given them to Water Fairy in the end still. There was no doubt in the answer to that question.


    "Water Sis, can I borrow it for a play?" Hachi Chan was also growing envious.


    "Of course, but can you use Fist Weapons?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Waaaaah¡­" Hachi Chan burst into tears and left. The known biological daughter of the System had finally fallen from grace. System Daddy probably couldn''t predict that his biological daughter would also love this pair of Fist Weapons. Otherwise, Druids would definitely be able to use them.


    This game of Dawn made weapons corresponding to professions. Even though there were similarities, there were also restrictions.


    Only Shamans, Thieves, Hunters could use Fist Weapons. Druids could as well technically, but could only hold one as the main weapon. They wouldn''t be able to hold the second Off-Hand Fist, but the special effects could only be triggered by using them together. Hachi Chan had no chance whatsoever to experience it.


    "Can I try and play with it?"


    Remnant Dream thought it was quite interesting to transform into a tiger. It would look especially trendy with her also riding on a tiger.


    "Of course! You can go and play with it whenever you want to."


    Water Fairy wasn''t a stingy person. In reality, if this Fist Weapon wasn''t given to her by Lu Li, she would have given them to Remnant Dream. She really did like this lucky and very clever girl.


    "Dreamy quickly go and loot equipment," Lu Li hurried. "Also, give me the Strengthening Stone and Enhanced Skills Book."


    "Hmph, I don''t understand what Water Sis sees in you. Stupid Lu¡­" Remnant Dream muttered as she angrily split the Strengthening Stone with Lu Li and showed him the Enhanced Skills Book.


    "I think this Enhanced Skills Book is most suited for Water Sis. Stupid Lu, don''t tell me you would fight for it from her?"


    She gave it to Water Fairy as she was talking.


    "Dreamy, other than those pets, do you even care about other people?


    Lu Li already knew Strengthened Shadowstrike; he would have given it to Water Fairy even without her saying anything.


    "Now that''s great. No points were even deducted," Wandering sighed at his teammates'' low IQ.


    Luckily, he himself had high IQ and improved the average of the team. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to get a First Clear.

 1590 Traitor

    Indeed, Lu Li didn''t need this Skill Book for Strengthened Shadowstrike. Plus, there was only one competing Thief for it ¨C Water Fairy. As such, there was no issue of her taking the book at a low price.


    "You predicted this from the beginning, right?" Wandering asked.


    "What are you talking about?"


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered to deal with him. He could totally ignore the resentment of a single man like him.


    "For Water Fairy, you only used two Thieves in the First Clear," Wandering said, thinking back for a moment. Even though this First Clear was more suited for long-range professions, why couldn''t they take more Thieves? He thought about what Square Root 3 had said previously. They couldn''t be sure if Lu Li was the one to reign over Water Fairy, while Drizzle Court and Peerless City backed her, or the other way around.


    "Aaah, we''re done fighting. Everyone can go home now," Lu Li said as he waved his hand and announced Zul''Gurub as history.


    The Thief trainer, Ed Harris, who had disappeared from Stormwind City, appeared in front of everyone again. This time, he announced an even more enticing quest, one that not only Thief professions could undertake.


    However, a majority of people didn''t even know how to trigger it.


    Square Root 3 received Lu Li''s quest guide. At first, he didn''t believe it because the trigger requirement outlined in the quest guide was too outrageous.


    If Hachi Chan was here, she would be very surprised that this was the one completed by her and Lu Li together. Ed Harris had some quests that would ask you to contact Yeh''Kinya of Hot Sand Harbour once you finished them.


    With Ed Harris'' quest, it was fairly easy to trigger the quest on Yeh''Kinya''s side as only as your Charisma wasn''t too low. Yeh''Kinya was quite happy for other players to run errands for him.


    As to why people could still continue to do his quests even though Yeh''Kinya had turned into a Wind Snake and run off, one ccould only answer that a game was a game.


    Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City had all thought it was Lu Li and Hachi Chan who found that Ed Harris could trigger quests after receiving the quest guide. But in fact, no one knew that Ed Harris was actually Lu Li in disguise. This identity was originally given to him as a quest by the waitress Emma. He had been using this identity in Stormwind City''s professional hall to distribute quests.


    Lu Li had always been careful with his work, and he planned to retain this identity for longer.


    He also heard about some very valuable quests from Hachi Chan. For example, types like Yeh''Kinya''s where players could gain a Potion Prescription from him, as well as requests from a group of Dwarves. This way, players would feel that Ed Harris was very enigmatic. The seeds of trust had been invisibly sown in everyone''s minds.


    In this way, once the Outland was open and Lu Li needed rare materials to upgrade his precious ring in the future, he could then issue other players quests to help him find materials.


    Was there a faster way to find materials?


    To have tens of thousands of players to help him find materials only required him to pay a small fee. Those who received a quest to help him find materials would also be secretly pleased, thinking that they were a step ahead of other players.


    Even players of Ruling Sword thought the same, let alone other clubs.


    It seemed that Ruling Sword had also found the hidden quest. Plus, it appeared to be regarding the new Instance Dungeon of Zul''Gurub which could help players improve their combat effectiveness inside. The enthusiasm of other clubs had cooled down after Lu Li achieved the First Clear. However, no one refused an even easier way of completing this Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li was also happy to see this. He asked Square Root 3 to notify players in the guild in an orderly manner.


    The core players wouldn''t usually have any issues, but as more and more people knew, there was basically no way of keeping it secret.


    Once, Lu Li saw an elite player from his guild with his face covered.


    When he stood as Ed Harris in the Profession hall, he was the same as any other NPC, so he could easily see the player''s information.


    It wasn''t clear if he was purely covering his face or if he was running over here for something.


    However, this player with his face covered was with another swordsman who was also disguised. Moreover, the identity of this swordsman was actually City Smoke. He was the Intelligence Chief of Glory Capital and had traded with Her Tears.


    Now, he no longer traded with Her Tears. This was because no matter the trade of the Instance Dungeon guide or the subsequent trades, Glory Capital had also suffered a bad loss. On top of that, Her Tears'' position in Ruling Sword was becoming clearer. No matter how dumb they were, they knew that they had been cheated.


    This time, City Smoke had found a player called ''Eagle Cutesie''.


    Eagle Cutesie had cooperated with City Smoke in the last game, so City Smoke knew he was someone of no principles when it came to money.


    It was just that this person hid himself well, which was why he wasn''t scouted by anyone. Square Root 3 recruited him into the elite group back then as he had not heard any negative news about him. Naturally, this gave him the chance to sell intelligence.


    "You need to put your mind at ease. It''s not the first time we''re worked together."


    Eagle Cutesie wasn''t very sure why City Smoke had to confirm again and again.


    "I know, just a tad worried. Even Ruling Sword was cheated by you," City Smoke said as he sneakily looked around. After scheming against Ruling Sword, he felt both exhilarated but also scared. After all, that instance with Her Tears made him lose 8-9 million dollars in real money.


    "I''ve already finished the quest. There were only about 100 or so people who were successful in the guild. I have no reason to cheat you."


    Eagle Cutesie could no longer hide his contempt. He thought that this guy as a so-called Intelligence Chief of Glory Capital had no sense of boldness.


    "Keep it down, someone might hear!" City Smoke hushed when he heard his counterpart''s disdain.


    He thought that it was quite funny that a scum who betrayed his own guild had the decency to show such sentiment to him. If it wasn''t because he had more value to be used in the future, he could easily have this guy fall into such disrepute that he could hardly walk a step in this gaming circle.


    "There isn''t anyone here. How can anyone hear? The NPC?"


    Eagle Cutesie looked around in all directions, but lowered his voice regardless.


    Lu Li was absolutely speechless. Were they sure it was okay to just scheme about him right there in front of him?

 1591 Unexpected Rewards

    "But we still need to be vigilant. The ones in front are Thief trainers, and the ones coming are all Thieves. What if someone is here in Stealth?"


    City Smoke was worthy of his name as Intelligence Chief and immediately thought of this key point.


    "Hehe, Smokey you''re not a battler after all. To move in Stealth in front of the Thief trainers is to display one''s skills before experts. If you bumped into a trainer with a bad temper, they would straight up ignore you," Eagle Cutesie said, showing his knowledge. There weren''t many chances to look down upon the Intelligence Chief of Glory Capital.


    "I see¡­" City Smoke didn''t have much feelings of inferiority or shame. He looked Eagle Cutesie seriously, then continued, "If this can trigger the quest as per usual, then you don''t need to worry about the renumeration. After all, we still have a series of long cooperation from here on out. If it doesn''t¡­"


    "Put your mind at ease; I''ll trigger the quest myself. There have been many people who have triggered it successfully. There''s no doubt involved," Eagle Cutesie said without a care.


    What he did not know was that if the quest couldn''t be triggered then not receiving renumeration was the least of his problems. City Smoke would make his life living hell. There were countless who City Smoke had cheated; the only thing was that a majority of people didn''t know who was playing them.


    "Let me call someone over to try it," City Smoke added. "It''ll definitely be someone with high Charisma."


    The two of them waited for a while, and City Smoke continued to ask about the issue of Ruling Sword. While Eagle Cutesie seemed to regard their cooperation as more important, there was simply no limit to what one knew and what the other said.


    Lu Li laughed coldly on the inside. He remained expressionless and continued to look ahead, acting perfectly as an NPC.


    Players'' disputes of interests fundamentally didn''t affect NPCs. Furthermore, NPCs wouldn''t stick their noses into other people''s business. Some people even think that NPCs couldn''t hear players before interacting with them.


    Evidently, Eagle Cutesie and City Smoke didn''t think that there was anything wrong about this NPC listening to their conversation.


    "Hehe¡­ Since you''re so straightforward, I''ll definitely make a friend out of you," City Smoke laughed, filled with an expression of satisfaction. "I really want to know about Ruling Sword''s elite group, even its core elites. Which are the ones I can get in touch with?"


    Eagle Cutesie''s expression changed a bit and he waved his hands immediately.


    "Omg, you have no idea how strong Lu Li''s influence is to those below. Other than me, there''s no one else who would dare betray the guild."


    City Smoke didn''t believe a word of this. He even thought that Lu Li as a person was pure nonsense. No matter how confident he was, there was no guarantee that everyone out of the 100 or so elites were completely loyal to him. The traitor standing in front of him was proof of that. Even though Lu Li didn''t have much of an impression of him, he could pass the examination to get into the elite team. This was enough to show that this Eagle Cutesie was not of little importance.


    "You just put your mind at ease. Give me a list of names. For each one that is successful, I''ll give you this number. If it''s a core elite, I''ll give you three times that number," City Smoke offered.


    Eagle Cutesie''s breathing quickened immediately.


    "Really?! You''re not playing me? This isn''t a small number. Even if you guys at Glory Capital have a lot of money, Sorrowless won''t agree to throw it all at me¡­"


    "Hehe¡­ you guys at Ruling Sword are so poor you are starting to lack imagination," City Smoke coldly said. "The capabilities of Glory Capital are truly beyond your imagination. The funds of the intelligence department are so great we can''t even finish using them. As long as this money can be traded into valuable intelligence, I don''t even need to apply for more to my superiors."


    Lu Li wanted to both be angry and laugh, but he was more interested in what type of name list Eagle Cutesie was going to provide.


    "With core elites, you could try Azure Sea Breeze. He''s always fighting with Lu Li. Lu Li even confiscated his Guild Points once¡­" Eagle Cutesie swallowed and said with bright eyes. Azure Sea Breeze should have been more important than core elite; that would mean so much money for him.


    "That''s enough," City Smoke''s interrupted as his face went livid. "Do you think I''m stupid? Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li pretty much wear the same pants. You would think I would believe that he would betray Ruling Sword? Did you know that the two of them were close since the game''s early days?! Do you not know the position of your so-called Ruling Sword elite in the guild?!"


    "I¡­I was just saying," Eagle Cutesie''s stammered as his mannerisms suddenly weakened. "Then how about Her Tears? He has a lot of money and hasn''t been a regular member¡­"


    "Pfft!"


    City Smoke nearly vomited up blood. His eyes were seeing stars as he felt a burst of darkness rush into his head. He nearly got pushed out the game because his mood was fluctuating too much. With the example of Azure Sea Breeze before, he knew that the person in front of him was acting in his own personal interest, but he didn''t think the name Her Tears would be mentioned. He had even taken into account crazy name suggestions like Wandering!


    That was the biggest pain of his entire career. Even until now, he didn''t want to admit that he had been played by Her Tears.


    "Are you okay?" Eagle Cutesie asked worriedly. His partner didn''t look too well ¨C hopefully it wasn''t a terminal illness. If he died here, then who would he ask for the money?


    "No¡­Nothing," City Smoke gasped, then said impatiently, "Let''s move on from the core elite. Let'' talk about the people in your elite team. No need for any ambiguity ¨C just say what you can be sure of. If you can''t be sure of anything then don''t say anything. If the point of contact fails, then there not only will be no rewards, but I will let you feel what Glory Capital''s rage is all about!"


    "Ummm."


    This conversation had taken a different route than expected. Eagle Cutesie was a bit dumbfounded.


    "Quickly spit it out! If you don''t have anything to say, then I''ll leave."


    City Smoke decided that next time something like this happened, someone below him could come handle it. He was worried what would happen if he couldn''t suppress his own chaotic power.


    "¡­" Eagle Cutesie reluctantly thought again, and lastly gave out two other names.


    Lu Li quickly remembered these two names and sent them to Wandering along with Eagle Cutesie. Wandering was the perfect person to deal with these nasty people. If it was Square Root 3, he would just get rid of them, which would defeat the whole purpose.


    "How did you get this list of names? How did you want to deal with this?" Wandering asked with curiosity.


    "How did I get this? Hehe¡­" Lu Li laughed sinisterly, "They were standing right in front of me and plotting against me. How do you think I knew? As for how to deal with it, I will let City Smoke know what pain is. He won''t dare plot against us again. Get someone to observe these three people first. Wait until I finish dealing with Glory Capital then start cleaning them up."

 1592 We’ll Take It No Matter Wha

    Wandering didn''t ask Lu Li what to do.


    In Lu Li''s opinion, Wandering was the kind of person who didn''t have any boundaries. Wandering had always believed that when compared to Lu Li, he at least possessed the beauty and goodness of the human race. Lu Li, on the other hand, was like a broken angel.


    However, it seemed like that had always been a part of Lu Li''s character, in this life and in the previous one.


    City Smoke and Eagle Cutesie were finally waiting for the person who they thought had the high Charisma. If you followed their line of reasoning, they thought that this person must be a relative of Hachi Chan. Even if they weren''t the System''s son, he would at least be a distant relative.


    Lu Li hated people who had this kind of Charisma, so he didn''t feel the slightest guilt in doing this.


    Eagle Cutesie provided steps for the whole process, so Whinging Hollow could simply come before Lu Li and trigger the quest.


    "Hello, how is it going?"


    City Smoke didn''t look too comfortable as he waited by the wayside. He couldn''t participate, so he had to anxiously wait for the outcome. If the quest triggering process went wrong, then Eagle Cutesie was a liar and the names he had provided naturally wouldn''t have any credibility.


    "It looks like there are no problems. I handed in a Rare Material, and was rewarded with a Gold equipment. There was then a follow-up quest prompting me to look for Yeh''Kinya. Everything is going according to what your contact said," Whinging Hollow said, confirming the truth of the quest triggering strategy.


    "Haha, I told you that I wouldn''t lie to you."


    Eagle Cutesie could finally wipe the sweat off his face. It was one thing to be confident about the theory, but it was always different in


    practice.


    "Once I get back, I''ll test the two people you mentioned. After that, I''ll credit the reward to your account."


    City Smoke held back his disdain and continued on in a business-like manner. Although Eagle Cutesie probably wouldn''t be satisfied with his delay in transferring the amount, he was very confident that those two players were traitors, so he didn''t care.


    "Wait a moment, my Dwarf friend," Lu Li called out to Whinging Hollow.


    It was impossible for Lu Li not to issue the quest, because it would reveal the fact that he wasn''t an actual NPC. This identity would be of great use to him in the future, so he had no choice but to honestly give it.


    However, he also had no intentions of just taking a loss.


    When he told Wandering that he would put City Smoke in a world of pain, those were not empty words. He had concocted an intricate plan, and Whinging Hollow was the perfect person to start it on.


    Whinging Hollow was the Dwarf that Lu Li was referring to. He immediately stopped walking away, and calmly turned around.


    This kind of thing had happened before. At the beginning he was always nervous, but now he just calmly responded. As a person with a high Charisma value, he had a much easier time triggering quests, but he also found that quests would sometimes come to him.


    With this ability, he had become a core elite of Glory Capital.


    He had heard that Ruling Sword had a similar player called Hachi Chan. He had always been curious as to whether his or Hachi Chan''s Charisma was higher. Unfortunately, Ruling Sword and Glory Capital were hostile towards each other.


    "O esteemed teacher, is there anything I can do for you?" Whinging Hollow asked respectfully.


    "I have encountered some bottlenecks in my production of potions. I need a more advanced herb to break through it. This kind of herb is only available in Desolace, and the souls of the Mok''Nathal tribe protect it. I hope to find someone to help me fight off these strong enemies," Lu Li explained. As an NPC, he had the freedom and flexibility to give quests as he pleased.


    "Accept the quest."


    City Smoke had finally managed to hear that Lu Li was saying. Obviously, Lu Li was saying this in the process of triggering a quest.


    "Are you sure?" Whinging Smoke was obedient to City Smoke, but he didn''t necessarily like how the Intelligence Chief was dealing with the overall situation. He bluntly asked, "Do you know that the Mok''Nathal tribe''s Ogres are very powerful?"


    "How strong could they be. How many players are out there fighting Wild Bosses?" City Smoke was surprised that he was questioned.


    "When I was level 50, I went levelling in that area and I got one-shot," Whinging Hollow said with some lingering fear. He didn''t wait for City Smoke to refute that claim, and quickly added, "I went again at max level, and the monsters were still terribly strong. I brought several squads to help out, and I barely killed two of the spirit Ogres."


    "Ask for what the quest reward would be," City Smoke said, not willing to take no for an answer.


    If the information provided by Eagle Cutesie was correct, Glory Capital could soon acquire the strategy to Zul''gurub. This was indeed a great achievement, but it still wouldn''t make up for the bad impression that had been left on Sorrowless'' bosses after the previous mistakes. This time, when Her Tears screwed them over, the loss was not just the four million, but the loss of reputation.


    If you could obtain a rare reward from this quest, then that could change.


    "Respected Master," Whinging Hollow had no choice but to turn back to Lu Li and ask, "I do want to work for you, and I am unafraid to do so, but the Ogres of the Mok''Nathal tribe are very strong, and they will defend their territory viciously. May I understand what kind of compensation I will receive?"


    "Of course, you are allowed to know what your reward will be," Lu Li smiled and said in a sly tone. "In fact, there is nothing more precious than this. If you complete this quest, you will receive a newly-invented poison formula, two Epic Thief equipment and a copy of the Enhanced Shadowstrike skill book¡­"


    When it came to the poison formula, Whinging Hollow knew that it would be exquisite, but he didn''t know its precise attributes so he was indifferent towards it.


    When it came to the Epic Thief equipment, there was no way to be indifferent towards it. This was equipment to be rewarded by the Thief trainer after all. Whinging Hollow ranked among the core elites of Glory Capital not because of his fighting power, but because of his Charisma value. As such, when they were completing Instance Dungeons, he would not usually receive a share in the equipment. The same was true with Wild Boss kills.


    Most of his equipment came from quests, but there were too few quests that rewarded Epic equipment. His current equipment levels were barely enough to keep him in the core Elite group circle.


    Now, there were two Epic equips beckoning to him.


    When Lu Li said ''Enhanced Shadowstrike'', his mind was thrown into a mess. He thought he had heard wrongly.


    As City Smoke opened his mouth, Whinging Hollow screamed, "We''ll take it no matter what!"

 1593 A Massive Trap

    Basically, all of the Enhanced Skill Books were extremely popular, besides the skills that weren''t used frequently.


    Wealthy people could buy henchmen, followers, women and Epic equipment. However, there were two things that couldn''t be bought with money. These were Skill Points, because they were untradeable, and Enhanced Skill Books. This was because there weren''t many people capable enough of finding them.


    There were many mercenary groups that were extremely powerful and could achieve everything. Even if it was the Molten Core (although obviously not on Nightmare Difficulty), they would be able to bring you along and complete the dungeon. However, it was almost impossible for them to find an Enhanced Skill Book, even with a time frame of half a year.


    For example, there was Lu Li''s Enhanced Sinister Strike. It was said that if Lu Li''s opponent was hit by his Sinister Strike, they would only be left with a sliver of HP. Then, a final skill would be able to finish him.


    How could City Smoke not be excited?


    How could Whinging Hollow not be excited?


    However, Eagle Cutesie wasn''t that happy. He now felt regretful in selling this piece of information. If he hadn''t done so and triggered the quest himself, he would have received two Epic items and now, an Enhanced Skill Book. With these, he could have entered Ruling Sword''s core elite squad.


    As for his loyalty to Ruling Sword, that didn''t matter and didn''t exist. He prioritised his personal gain above everything.


    "Don''t worry, respected Mr. Ed Harris. There are hundreds of thousands of reinforcements from a large-sized club behind us. If there are anyone who threatens you, they will become our enemy," Whinging Hollow promised. His aim was to complete all of Lu Li''s quests.


    Only these NPCs could give out Enhanced Skill Books at this time.


    At the very least, there weren''t any Mentors who gave out Enhanced Skill Books. Lu Li was the first NPC that could give out Enhanced Skill Books.


    Truthfully speaking, Lu Li couldn''t just confirm the quest''s rewards that easily. He had thought about his plan, as well as the quest rewards. With the capability of Ruling Sword, he would most definitely be able to take out two Epic Thief equipment with above average stats. However, Enhanced Skill Books were definitely worth much more than that. Even with his ability, there was no way that he would be able to simply procure one.


    Fortunately, an Enhanced Skill Book had dropped from today''s Instance Dungeon run. He personally messaged Water Fairy about her progress in learning this skill. He confirmed with her that she hadn''t begun learning it because her execution rate was still not high enough. Therefore, if she had learnt it, she wouldn''t be able to maximise the damage.


    Upon knowing this, he asked Water Fairy to send the book into his mail.


    This way, he would be able to put the Enhanced Sinister Strike skill book as the quest reward. After all, it was in his mail, so the ownership was his.


    The main thing was that he couldn''t trade the two Epic items and the Enhanced Sinister Strike skill book after locking them in as the quest rewards. Furthermore, once the person completed his quest, this skill book would automatically be given to them.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t give out an easily completed quest.


    Lu Li wasn''t planning on giving them a hard quest, but an impossible quest. After all, the quest involved fighting against the Mok''Nathal Ogres. This was a group of Ogres who were already extinct. Their souls just remained wandering on the lands.


    One of these spirit monsters was able to instantly kill any player who was under level 60.


    Even a level 60 player with decent equipment wouldn''t be able to take more than two hits, so no one would want to deal with these monsters who had a horrible drop rate. If there were people who received a quest involving these Ogres, they would also eventually give up on the quest after dying a few times.


    It was said that there was a courageous Chieftain in the Mok''Nathal clan called Kithar. Upon completing his ritual as a young Ogre, he decided to challenge the Chieftain of the Ogres. Using his own power, strength and courage, he managed to take the throne.


    At this time, there was a four-man Orc Scouting team from a faraway Eastern kingdom. Amongst these four Orcs, there was the daughter of Raig, an Orcish Elder. Her name was Misha Rema.


    Following the storyline of a normal tale, they naturally fell in love.


    However, their happiness did not last long. This scouting team contracted a sickness from the Marsh. Members of the scouting team proceeded to die after one another. Naturally, Misha''s life was also in danger.


    Kithar then spent all of his time and energy in finding a cure.


    Around this time, Misha was also pregnant. Upon the birth of their child, Misha had already died in tears of pain and joy.


    Kithar was in deep sorrow. He took his child in his hands, raised it over his head, and declared that his name was Rexxar Rema in remembrance of his mother.


    Rexxar, in the language of wild Ogres, meant ''Inevitability''.


    Misha Rema''s death took a large toll on Kithar. In a challenge for the Chieftain position not long after her death, he was killed.


    Before his death, he gave Rexxar to an Ogre Hunter to take care of him. Kithar also gave Rexxar Misha''s dual axes, carved with her name. He wanted them to leave this place and never return.


    Rexxar didn''t have a father or mother growing up, but he eventually became the mighty King of Orcs. This was how his legendary life began.


    When he was still a young age, his foster father had died in a hunt with a bear. It was also around this time that he met a little bear called Misha. From then on, they stuck together like glue. As such, Rexxar was again an orphan, and furthermore, the times were not great for half-Orcs. They were seen as a lower class. Naturally, because of this, he was subjected to a lot of exclusion and discrimination.


    However, when he grew up, not only did he change his fate of staying in that ''lower class'', but he managed to gain the utmost respect of Thrall and the entire Horde. This was partly because of the prestigious status of his parents. Rexxar was recognised as having noble and powerful blood running through his veins, but he wasn''t satisfied with this, so he proved himself with his sense of justice and courage and ultimately gained glory.


    With this being said, something else also had to be mentioned. One day, Rexxar coincidentally saw that there was an Orc warrior who was being surrounded and attacked by a group of wild beasts. He rushed over to help, but he was too late. The Orc warrior was already lying in a pool of blood.


    The Orc warrior took out a letter that was already soaked in blood and told Rexxar to give this letter to Thrall, no matter what. Rexxar immediately accepted his last request and managed to find the new Orc camp in Orgrimmar. The Horde''s Chieftain, Thrall, unhesitatingly accepted Rexxar, a hero of the Mok''Nathal. Thrall then invited Rexxar to build their new home with them.


    When an Admiral, called Daelin Proudmoore, invaded Durotar, Rexxar stepped forward once again. From then onwards, he gained the support of the Horde, while also defeating the Ogre Chieftain Cor''Gall and becoming the new leader for the Stonemaul. After building a new naval army, Rexxar and Thrall led the Orcs together to surround Theramore, where the Humans were making camp.


    The fierce alliance of the Horde army rushed the Humans'' defense line and killed Admiral Daelin. After the victory, Thrall invited Rexxar once again.


    "Courageous Rexxar, you have saved our home! We will always be in your debt. Would you come back to Dolot to build yourself a new home?"


    "I''m extremely grateful for your invitation, Thrall. However, it is my fate to wander the earth. I belong to the wild. However, remember this: I am always a part of the Orcs. When you need me again, I will come and help. Goodbye."


    Rexxar had helped the Horde to achieve a victorious outcome. However, this victory was also a pivotal one in the war against the Alliance.


    Therefore, Rexxar''s works did not go unrecognised. Through this, he had built his reputation of fearsomeness and glory, and now a hero among the Horde.


    From words alone, it was hard to describe his heroics and characteristics. People would need to research much deeper into the history of the Ogres if they wanted to truly understand who Rexxar was.


    The Orcs brought the Ogres from Draenor, who were also ancestors of the great Rexxar. During the battle between the Horde and the Humans, they were included in the Horde. Then, during the last few days of the battle, when the Horde were growing ever closer to the ultimate victory, the two strongest Orcs in Azeroth were divided.


    When Orgrim Doomhammer attacked Lordaeron, this would have been the ultimate struggle before the fall of humanity. However, when the time came to attack, Gul''dan left alongside his followers into the sea.


    Because of Gul''dan''s betrayal, the Horde lost nearly half of their army. The enraged Doomhammar had to retreat, which also meant that they had just lost their best opportunity at destroying the Alliance.


    For the sake of punishing the traitors, Doomhammer ordered his army to pursue Gul''dan and his followers. After Gul''dan was killed, the traitors were immediately eradicated by the furious Doomhammer army.


    There were Ogres amongst Gul''dan''s traitorous army. Since the Ogres suffered heavy losses in this war, they made their exit from the Horde. On top of this, they grew a deep hatred for the Horde. The Ogre clan that Rexxar was in could have been destroyed as well. The reason behind this speculation was because the Mok''Nathal clan was never seen in the game''s background again.


    Rexxar would be furious over the genocide of his clan, but he also knew that they had betrayed the Horde, which meant that the punishment was deserved. He did not take action to avenge his destroyed clan, but used his power and strength to clear the stains of his ancestors.


    Naturally, this also meant that Rexxar was absolutely loyal to the Horde, even considering that the Horde had eradicated his clan.


    As for the spirits of the Mok''Nathal clan, they were the only remnant of the clan''s wishes. Their responsibility was to protect Rexxar, a hero of the Ogres, while hoping that he would one day avenge the Mok''Nathal clan.


    Perhaps it was because they could not release that guilt. When these Mok''Nathal spirits were attacked, it was highly likely that their assailants would be attacked by Rexxar as well.


    How strong was Rexxar, you ask?


    During the three years of Dawn in Lu Li''s previous life, not even a single team could defeat Rexxar.


    No, it would be more accurate to say that not even a single team could get past Rexxar''s bear, Misha. This bear was just a normal bear. Perhaps Rexxar chose to adopt it because he saw that its life was like his. He decided to name it ''Misha'' to remember his mother who he hadn''t even met.


    In the hearts of the Hunter players, Rexxar was the idolised ultimate end goal.


    Even if all players from Glory Capital rushed into Desolace, they wouldn''t even be able to touch the hairs on Rexxar. Lu Li had no chance. Furthermore, Lu Li recognised this and wanted to fail, so the quest would most definitely fail.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t have taken out these good items to tempt Whinging Hollow and City Smoke.


    This was a massive trap laid down for Glory Capital. Lu Li had vividly and thoroughly planned this trap in great detail.

 1594 Sullen

    "Respected Mr. Ed Harris, do we leave now?" Whinging Hollow asked.


    "Of course not. I still need to prepare a few things," Lu Li shook his head, then continued saying, "I think you guys should go and prepare yourselves. We''ll leave at last light. How''s that?"


    "That''s good."


    City Smoke and Whinging Hollow both nodded their head in agreement.


    If they had to leave now, then even a super club like Glory Capital would feel a little underprepared and nervous. However, with the NPC giving them a little over two hours until then, they had enough time to pick out the elites in the club to complete this escorting quest.


    An Enhancing Skill Book was definitely worth mobilising large numbers of players for.


    Lu Li arranged a rendezvous point, which was the entrance of the Valley of Spears. The Valley of Spears was where the large-scale Instance Dungeon Maraudon was situated. This area was the territory of the Centarus, while the Mok''Nathal spirits dwelled in the deeper parts of the Valley.


    Rexxar didn''t like these Centaurs very much. Whenever he crossed their territories, he would always leave a trail of dead centaur corpses in his path.


    The Maraudine Centaurs were furious, but they didn''t dare to do anything about it. When the sun began setting in the west, the Centauri warriors became cowards. Each and every one of them hid inside their tents until the last sliver of light disappeared from the Valley of Spears. Then, they would breathe a sigh of relief.


    This unspoken rule was already implemented unconsciously.


    Naturally, the Maraudine didn''t like this. They held a deep hatred for Rexxar and his gigantic pet bear. They were thinking of killing both of them at all times, but unfortunately for them, Rexxar was too powerful. Even if they mobilised the whole army, they wouldn''t even be able to touch a single hair on his body. The most they could do was to paint this dark red-coloured land into a brighter shade of red.


    "What? No way."


    Whinging Hollow stood in the middle of a meeting room in Orgrim, clearly angered.


    "I know it''s unfair. But you have to understand that this benefits the guild a lot more. It would be much more worth it to give it to Blood Dagger instead," City Smoke said, expressionless.


    "You do know that if I wasn''t there, you guys wouldn''t have been able to continue with the quest, right?" Whinging Hollow angrily replied.


    "Then you should also know that if I didn''t want to negotiate with you, I wouldn''t even be talking about it now. I would''ve waited until the quest was finished, and then I would have forced you to hand the book over. However, we are a team, and you''re one of the core members in the club. You should be prioritising the benefit of the club over your own."


    "Is this what the Boss wants? Or did you make the decision by yourself?" Whinging Hollow questioned, glaring at City Smoke.


    "I hope that you would give the book to the professionals," City Smoke said then went quiet for a while, after which he continued, "However, I have sought the boss'' opinion on this matter. At the end of the day, it was the boss who made this decision. He told me to compensate you the best I can."


    "How can this be? How can it be?"


    Whinging Hollow slumped into his chair, having seemingly lost all his energy.


    The belief in his heart was shattered. He worshipped Sorrowless. Sorrowless was a god-like figure in his heart. Since Sorrowless was like a god, shouldn''t he have been just and fair? Why was he so cold? Could he have not given him a chance?"


    "The Boss told me to compensate you to the best of my ability," City Smoke assured him, then continued to say, "Therefore, I''ve decided to not only give you all the rewards and Epic items from the quest, but the club will also give you two other Epic items. I believe that the addition of all these items would strengthen you much more than the single book would."


    "Much more?" Whinging Hollow furiously roared. "An Enhancing Skill Book would increase my strength forever, but equipment is only a temporary increase. Who are you trying to trick?"


    "Hollow, calm down. Have you lost your mind over one skill book?" City Smoke was feeling a little frustrated by now. "I ask you, when you signed that contract to be an elite in the club, did you not sign it knowing that the contract read to prioritise club benefits over your own? I ask you again. If the club did not give you a chance to infiltrate Stormwind, would you have triggered the quest? You wouldn''t be able to finish this quest on your own in the first place. Would you have dared to go into the Valley of Spears without the guild''s support?"


    Whinging Hollow finally calmed down.


    City Smoke was right. When he had first signed the contract, there was indeed something written like that. It wasn''t just mentioned in passing either; it was heavily emphasised.


    He also wouldn''t have been able to infiltrate Stormwind City without the help of the guild.


    It was the last sentence that was the most soul-crushing. He wasn''t brave enough to enter the Valley of Spears by himself, let alone fight against the spirits of the Mok''Nathal Ogres. It was only with the support of the guild that he had a chance at completing the quest,


    No one would dare to confront those spirits. Not even the mercenary groups who called themselves invincible.


    "Alright. I promise. However, on top of the four Epic items, I also want 2 million dollars."


    Whinging Hollow was obviously reluctant; his rage hadn''t dissipated at all. However, after calming down, all his energy went to claiming benefits for himself.


    "No problem. The 2 million can be transferred into your bank account first," City Smoke agreed, accepting the proposal without any hesitation.


    It was only 2 million dollars. For a mega-corporation like Glory Capital, it was nothing at all. City Smoke didn''t even need to ask Sorrowless or White Westhill.


    One core elite team. Four elite teams. On top of these, there were also tens of Glory Capital''s top players, with White Westhill and Blood Dagger leading them. Glory Capital had already sent out their best to complete this quest. This was on the same scale as fighting a powerful Wild Boss.


    The 2 million dollars soothed Whinging Hollow''s emotions a lot more. Then, he brought his people and marched into the Desolace.


    The Desolace was a part of a mountain and looked like an enormous wasteland. It was said that within the boundaries of the wasteland, there was something created by the demigod Cenarius'' son and an Earth Elemental princess. Although the Desolace was fortunate enough to not be destroyed by the wars with demons, it still ended up being ravaged due to the battles of the centaurs.


    It was situated in the western coast of Kalimdor with Feralas to the North. Mulgore was to the west side and the Stonetalon Mountains to the South.


    The colour of the terrain was an ashy grey. Most of the soil in the area was barren besides the soil nearer to the Feralas'' Trolls and the Stonetalon Mountains'' Alliance camp, as they were experimenting with building a town there.


    This place seemed like it was struck with a curse. The skies were constantly grey and dull with regular storms and lightning.


    The time to meet up was quickly upon them as the sun set in the west. Whinging Hollow and his helpers also arrived at the outside of the Valley of Spears. They quietly waited for the arrival of Ed Harris, the Thief mentor.

 1595 The Valley of Spears

    "You guys are here. Why are there so many people?"


    "Indeed. These are all my friends. They are willing to sacrifice their lives for your safety," Whinging Hollow said with a hoarse voice. It was only now that he had finally grasped the fact that the enemy was already in front of him. His respect for this Thief Mentor grew even more.


    "Hehe¡­an adventurer from the Horde."


    Ed Harris smiled. It seemed that he didn''t mind working with the enemy camp''s players.


    This led to everyone breathing a sigh of relief because they could continue with their original plan. If Ed Harris had rejected the notion of working together with the enemy camp, then the only thing that Glory Capital could do was to kill this NPC and treat him like a Wild Boss.


    That was the last possible option. After all, they didn''t know whether he would drop an Enhancing Skill Book even if they killed him.


    It was good that it was simple.


    "Can we go in now? Or, you could just give us the herb''s description, and we''ll go and pick them out for you. This way, it would be safer."


    Whinging Hollow hoped for Lu Li to nod his head. If things proceeded as he suggested, then the difficulty of the quest would drop by at least tenfold. Perhaps they would only need a few Thieves to complete the quest.


    "Truthfully speaking, I don''t know what the herbs look like either. I only know that it grows within this mountain," Lu Li said regretfully.


    Well, that couldn''t be helped. To have a quest give two Epic items and an Enhancing Skill Book was already indicative that it couldn''t have been easy to complete. Whinging Hollow only wanted to give it a try.


    "Alright then. Let''s go."


    Lu Li led the way into the valley with the players from Glory Capital following closely behind. They all surrounded Lu Li in the middle.


    If Lu Li was using his player identity, he would already be dead.


    Fortunately, he was identified as an NPC, and moreover, he was an NPC who needed escorting. It was quite ironically funny. His nemesis was now trying their utmost best to protect him while stepping ever closer to the trap that he laid.


    The first contact was with the Centaurs.


    There were many Centaurs outside the Desolace. It could be said that this whole area was the Centaurs'' territory. The Centaurs'' principles were built on the foundation of war. Only the most powerful could survive in the Centauri society, but these were also usually the most evil.


    There were also four different Centauri clans here. One was led by Khan Dez''hepah, and was called the Kolkar clan. Another was the Magram Clan, led by Khan Jehn. The third one was led by Khan Shaka, and was called the Gelkis Clan. The final one, which was also the greatest one, was the Maraudine Clan. This great clan was the ancestor of all other Centauri and was also the protector of Zaetar''s tomb.


    The Magram was able to conquer the Valley of Spears because they had an advantage. They began to learn necromancy, so they were able to control a few undead beings. The existence of the Mok''Nathal spirits were tempting them.


    Then, the Centauri quickly discovered a rule.


    Everyday, when the sun set in the west, an odd-looking Orc would enter from outside the Valley of Spears, along with his gigantic bear. Then, he would kill all Centaurs on sight. This was especially true when the Centaurs captured the Mok''Nathal spirits.


    This strange Orc would always enter their territory when the last sliver of sunlight disappeared from the Valley of Spears.


    Then, when the sun rose and shone on the Valley of Spears again, he would bring his gigantic bear and leave. The Magram Clan had deployed members of the clan to follow him previously. They found that he would go through the Desolace, enter Feralas, then return back to the Valley of Spears in dusk.


    His routine was the same and never late. No living being could obstruct him.


    Of course, Lu Li knew of this, which was also precisely the reason why he unhesitatingly dug his trap at the Valley of Spears. He wanted to employ Rexxar''s assistance in teaching these players of Glory capital a lesson.


    Now, Rexxar was already in the Valley of Spears.


    All he had to do was wait for the people of Glory Capital to enter the trap. Outside of the Valley of Spears hid a group of Thieves, led by a player called Buggy. This group was a secretive, yet extremely powerful mercenary group.


    Of course, the relationship between them and Lu Li was one of utmost secrecy as well.


    This time, Lu Li chose not to use the people from Ruling Sword. This was because he wouldn''t be blamed for this trap. However, if it was Buggy and the mercenary group, then there was no problem. After all, mercenary groups only prioritised self-benefit and generally wouldn''t accept being under the command of clubs. The only exceptions were the mercenary groups working together with the Gangnam Royals.


    "Brother Buggy, when do we go in?" a masked thief called Black asked.


    Buggy, who was also masked, slowly replied, "Of course, only after when everyone is dead. We just need to loot their equipment. I''ll say this first. This time, we''re only getting 20% of the loot. The rest is for Lu Li. Don''t blame me if any of you guys decide to grab some for yourselves."


    "Brother Buggy, don''t worry. We all know the rules," Black answered. "Brother Lu Li is in there as well. Is he alright?"


    "Of course he won''t be alright. Furthermore, he''ll definitely die. It''s Rexxar that we''re talking about. According to what Lu Li said, there are no chances of anyone remaining alive," Buggy sighed. "Lu Li is too ruthless. He''s ruthless to others and himself as well."


    "To exchange one life for this many is worth it," Black said, admiring Lu Li for his actions.


    Lu Li was watching on as the people from Glory Capital killed the Centaurs. These Centaurs were only around level 50, so it was a completely one-sided massacre.


    They were simply too unfortunate. They managed to avoid Rexxar returning home and came out to celebrate, but they ended up encountering these Glory Capital players.


    The items that the Centaurs dropped were not bad, but the people from Glory Capital didn''t want them. Their target was the depths of the Valley of Spears, where the rare herbs grew.


    "Respected Lord Ed Harris. We are nearing the lands of the Ogres. You must be careful."


    Whinging Hollow had already emphasised this three times. He hoped that this Ed Harris wouldn''t run around randomly, but he looked like he was smart enough to stay put.


    The scariest part about escorting quests was the NPC dying because of the players'' incompetence. Not only would the quest be failed, but the players involved would also lose a great amount.


    "Don''t worry. I am able to protect myself against these spirits. However, all my attention will be on the herbs, so I will need all of you to assist me," Lu Li said expressing his willingness to work together.


    They finally encountered these spirits of the Mok''Nathal ogres. It was said that the Mok''Nathal blood was one that was of noble status. It was unfortunate that they were all massacred in the betrayal of Gul''dan. Besides these spirits who were not able to rest in peace, only Rexxar, the legendary Beast King, remained.

 1596 Morning Temper

    The worst players that gathered here still had a couple pieces of Epic gear and had unlocked most of their skills. Even though Whinging Hollow kept stressing about how strong these Undead Ogres were, they still weren''t too worried at all.


    However, their confidence was destroyed when they actually encountered them.


    At least ten players were Corrupted and a few more were slain. These Undead Ogres were very unpredictable and Glory Capital struggled to barely defeat a group of 10 or so mobs.


    After a few waves, they realized that the type of monsters and the number of monsters varied with each wave. Sometimes it could be as little as one or two, and other times, there would be upwards of 100 monsters.


    There was a wave of several hundred Orgres and Glory Capital was almost wiped out.


    However, Lu Li knew that these Ogres were only Elite monsters and very few were actual Bosses. It was because of their unpredictable attacking pattern and high base stats that made Glory Capital struggle.


    They would eventually adapt after a few more waves. Glory Capital had enough resources and manpower to wipe out an entire tribe of these Ogres if they wanted to.


    Lu Li went back to harvesting herbs in the meantime and followed under the guidance of Whinging Hollow. All the herbs that he collected were poisonous.


    Whinging Hollow asked about a poisonous herb and Lu Li went into teaching mode.


    He taught him how poisonous the herbs were and different recipes for poisons. He even explained what they could be used for, what poisons could be used to substitute others and other uses besides killing people.


    He wasn''t messing around when his teacher Garona was teaching him about poisons. Additionally, he had done extra research in the library, so was one of the most knowledgeable players in this field in the game.


    Whinging Hollow was overwhelmed by all this information and admired Lu Li''s knowledge.


    He had no idea how Lu Li had gained so much knowledge about poisons as an adventurer.


    Players had to collect their own materials, find recipes and personally craft these poisons.


    The advanced players would probably do a bit of extra research into perfecting the ratio between materials, changing the order of adding each material and adjusting the temperature in order to craft a poison of a higher quality. However, no one in their right mind would bother wasting time in researching what these herbs are used for and what could be substituted.


    "Hey, this stone is pretty decent."


    Mok''Nathal Orges rarely dropped anything and most of the loot was rubbish. However, there were still some valuable things because the game designed the quality of drops relative to the difficulty of the monsters killed.


    Valuable items that could be obtained from these monsters were mostly Enhancement stones and magic stones.


    The stone that the player had just picked up was a very useful item for Healers. It caused the wearer''s heal to bounce towards friendly targets nearby for 20% of the HP healed at a small chance.


    In other words, if a player was healed for 1000 HP, the surrounding 3-5 players would be healed for 200 HP.


    This item was rather overpowered because it meant that classes with strong single target heals could now heal in groups. Although the chances of the effect activating were quite low, this was a complete game changer.


    It was basically a God-tier stone for Healers and it was extremely rare to find.


    They did not expect Mok''Nathal Ogres to drop something like this. Lu Li couldn''t do anything but watch it happen; he wanted to go in there and steal the stone for himself.


    "Haha, Hollow, this is such a good quest. We had no idea that these monsters dropped stones like this. We have to thank you for this. The guild will be very generous in thanking you."


    White Westhill was ecstatic because this stone was perfect for him.


    Glory Capital would often reward their players and other people with a handsome amount of gold, unlike poor guilds like Ruling Sword that barely had enough extra cash to tip Remnant Dreams when an exquisite item dropped.


    This was why freelance players always tried their hardest to join Glory Capital.


    "Haha, I didn''t think that would happen either. I heard that other groups of players had come here before, but the stone never dropped for them. You guys must be super lucky," Whinging Hollow said as his mood brightened up.


    Besides the reward, he had already decided to learn about poisons from Ed Harris.


    Of course, it would take him a long time to convince Mr. Harris. Although he hadn''t accepted Whinging Hollow, he never directly refused him either which was a good sign. Whinging Hollow believed that he could convince him with his sincerity.


    "Increase the search area. Pull all the monsters and see if we can get more stones to drop!" White Westhill yelled.


    Who said that there weren''t any good drops in this area? The stone alone was worth more than what a lot of players could make in a week. West Whitehill decided to commandeer this area and farm these stones for other Healers in Glory Capital.


    Lu Li dug out a very rare herb and was very pleased. However, he was more pleased that Glory Capital had spread out more and increased their area of farming. This way, Rexxar, who was in a deep slumber in the valley would be awakened faster.


    For many people, having a temper in morning was normal.


    A morning temper was a good way to tell what sort of person they really were. In real life, unless you were a rich man or a beautiful woman, a lot of people would dislike you if you had a morning temper.


    It was slightly different in the game because a morning temper could increase attack.


    There were a lot of people who attempted to awaken Rexxar, but these people were all dead.


    When Rexxar awakened to see his tribe being slaughtered, his wrath would not be explainable by words alone.

 1597 The Mauler Misha

    A giant, fierce Mauler, rushed out from the depths of the mountain valley.


    As you could tell from the name, this animal naturally had some relation to a bear. Appearance wise, it looked similar, but it was bigger and more ferocious. When it became an adult, it even became capable of using Lightning magic.


    This Mauler was evidently an adult. It was surrounded by lightning all around, which increased its intimidating presence, as well as its speed.


    "Why would a Mauler come out onto the Ogre''s own land?" West Whitehill asked in confusion. However, he definitely wasn''t scared. The Wild Beast Bosses in Dawn mostly had low intelligence, except for dragons. After all, there was no way to put them in the same category as the Wild Beasts.


    A few Main Tanks went up to surround the Mauler, trying to Taunt it, before inching in for the kill.


    Suddenly, they were all left dumbstruck ¨C the Main Tanks were flung into the sky. There were two unlucky ones who landed straight into the heap of ogres and were trampled on. In the blink of an eye, those two were finished off.


    "What happened?" Blood Dagger asked as he stared in disbelief. He was going to rush forwards as well, before suddenly realising that the Main Tanks weren''t there.


    He was just a thin-skinned Thief. Whether or not he needed to bear this responsibility, it was obvious. With his head down, he ran until a Main Tank had pulled the monster, before he stopped to take a breather.


    Of the few hundred people here, Blood Dagger was the most intimidating.


    Because he was good at hiding himself, he would also be able to discern where the Mauler and Rexxar were.


    If Blood Dagger didn''t die, then Buggy, who was coming in after for the equipment, would be in great danger.


    What was more, it was easy to determine their identities. In the event that Buggy and Lu Li''s relationship was exposed, even an idiot would see that this was a trap, and the Thief trainer''s identity would be revealed.


    The Mauler really was large and powerful, but Glory Capital''s players weren''t average players either.


    "How do you feel? Can you handle it?" West Whitehill asked their Main Tanks.


    "No big issues ¨C just the Aggro isn''t very stable. I suggest we change the numbers, call some people over, or if everyone is a little more reserved when they fight, then that also works. Anyway, this bear monster is still within the limits of something we can handle. I''m just afraid that there might be some unexpected move later."


    "Then fight stably first. Wild Bosses don''t tend to pull many tricky moves. I''ll call for people now," West Whitehill said.


    "They still need to call people over? Do they think not that enough people have died yet," Lu Li thought, as he began to feel unnerved. In the case that Glory Capital suffered too many loses this time, then the rift between him and Sorrowless would simply be too big. It was still better for him to remain oblivious to the fact that this NPC was fake.


    As the saying went, when the signalling arrow was shot, your army brethren will come to help out. After Glory Capital''s two Elite groups arrived, the Mauler only had two-thirds HP left.


    The Mauler was looking like a juicy piece of meat sizzling on a hot iron pan.


    West Whitehill was feeling very happy. He had found a high-quality gem, and he had encountered a worthwhile Boss. After killing it, it would definitely burst at the seams with Epic equipment, and what was more, it didn''t look too difficult to kill.


    What was more important was that you could tell straight away that this Boss hadn''t been killed by someone before, so if they killed it, it would naturally be a First Clear.


    Ruling Sword had a monopoly on all of the First Clears for Instance Dungeons. Glory Capital had tried a few times, but they ended in disappointing defeats. However, this didn''t mean that they were just going to accept their fate like this. There were still plenty of Wild Bosses roaming around.


    Getting First Clear for this kind of Boss also had the same rewards for a First Clear in an Instance Dungeon.


    Although you had to kill quite a few Bosses to get First Clear in an Instance Dungeon, you could solely focus on each fight. However, with wild Bosses, you had to compete with a lot of other clubs, so the First Clear was never a certain thing.


    Since Dawn started, Glory Capital had taken a lot of Wild Boss First Clears.


    However, the level 60 map was gradually being explored, and the Bosses who hadn''t been defeated yet grew fewer. Glory Capital hadn''t been on TV for quite a few days.


    Now, their chance had finally come.


    "Four teams had gone to clean up the little monsters around the place. When you''re looting the body, pay attention to the gems," West Whitehill instructed. He was the commander here, calmly arranging tasks. Investing in one core Elite ream and three Elite teams was certainly already more than enough.


    Lu Li still had over a dozen people around him protecting him. Otherwise, he would have certainly ran.


    Since it was like this, he also followed over to look for some herbal potions, moving to the opening of the mountain valley. Actually, he had already mentally prepared himself to die. He was mostly wearing normal equipment, and all of it was effective in increasing his hiding ability.


    In Dawn, there was some equipment that tended towards the extremes. One attribute might be particularly high, but the other attributes would be rubbish. Normal people wouldn''t consider these items; only under special circumstances would they be brought out and used.


    Lu Li checked to make sure that he wasn''t wearing anything special. After that, he was prepared to stand and watch.


    "Mr Harris, don''t you intend to go on up and finish that wretched Mauler?" a player next to him couldn''t resist asking. From his point of view, Lu Li''s appearance was simply too calm, so calm that it made others uncomfortable.


    Everyone was going deep into this mountain valley just for him.


    "Finishing off this sort of Mauler? Of course not. A Thief certainly isn''t like a Warrior, my friend," Lu Li said, spewing random nonsense in his pretence.


    "Speaking of which sir, have you found the Herbal Potion you were looking for?"


    The players were helpless. If the NPC''s equipment was weak, then they would have no idea at all of what to do. At this, they asked him, without much hope, about something related to the quest.


    "It is with great regret to inform you that I have not found what I was looking for, but I believe that they certainly are in these mountain valley, perhaps a little deeper in," Lu Li said.


    "Mr Harris, don''t worry, I promise that we will protect you into the deepest parts of this mountain valley. Our Glory Capital is the largest adventurer club. If even we couldn''t do it¡­"


    "My God, what is that!"


    The players were still arrogantly tooting their own horns when they were suddenly interrupted.


    A few people turned around and looked at where the sound was coming from and saw a giant silhouette. It looked like a beast, but it was evidently bigger than any beast they had seen before. It was wearing a helmet that looked like a wolf''s head. The vital parts of his body were covered with armor, and each of his hands was holding a giant axe.


    The heavy footsteps on the ground gave off a sound like muffled thunder.


    From the way he entered upon the scene, he definitely wasn''t on their side. West Whitehill decisively chose people to go up to block him. He slightly regretted that he hadn''t called a few more people, but who would''ve thought that there were two Bosses here?


    Rexxar Rema had finally arrived!

 1598 The Anger of a Pet Owner

    Strictly speaking, Rexxar wasn''t a Hunter. He could only summon pets, but his original skills leaned more towards a Berserker.


    The two axes he was holding charged forward and flung into the group like a whirlwind.


    It wasn''t only hunters who idolised Rexxar ¨C the Warriors did too.


    This was especially so of the Warriors in the Horde. Apart from a small number who were confused about being a Saar role, many people, after witnessing Rexxar''s ferocity, made him the spiritual Berserker leader in their hearts.


    Although it was already night, Longspear Valley wasn''t actually too dark. The slight glow of the crescent moon shone on Desolace, while the stars were blinking high in the sky.


    However, when the flashes of white light from the players dying shone, the mountain valley lit up like day. Even Lu Li lifted his hand to shield his eyes. It wasn''t that he was trying not to look, but that this scene was simply too dazzling.


    In one fell swoop, at least 30 of Glory Capital''s players were killed.


    This was thanks to the club''s famed battle awareness. The players tried to split up their positions as much as possible. Only a few were hit by the wave of skills.


    "Main Tank, warriors, go on up. The others, pull out," West Whitehill said.


    Everyone was scared out of their wits, but this reaction was still not enough. West Whitehill knew that a Boss of this calibre couldn''t just be oppressed by brute force. All they could do was to try and minimise their losses as much as possible.


    "Killing my people, attacking Misha, and most importantly, waking me up from my sleep?! How did you have the guts to do that?" Rexxar roared angrily again, raising high his axes before fiercely chopping down at where the players were. All the players who were in the line of attack except for those who had high defense or who activated up their Damage Reduction in time, were completely wiped out.


    "That''s powerful, simply too powerful!" Lu Li thought to himself as he watched on, dumbstruck.


    Lu Li knew that Rexxar was amazing, but he didn''t know he was this powerful. After all, in his previous life, Lu Li had only heard rumours on posts describing this guy.


    At the time, there were a lot of busybodies who were recording the valiant NPCs of Dawn. Although Rexxar wasn''t ranked at the front, he was generally considered to be around Jaina''s position.


    Now, Lu Li believed. He couldn''t not believe.


    To protect his own life, he was starting to search for anywhere he could to evade Rexxar.


    Rexxar didn''t notice him at all. Perhaps in the eyes of this mixed-blood half-beast, everything in front of him was just rubbish. And since everything was rubbish, then he didn''t care if Lu Li was part of the alliance or an NPC. Anything that was rubbish had to die anyway.


    Lu Li didn''t want to die ¨C at least, he didn''t want to die now. As long as he didn''t die, Glory Capital would still have a slither of hope in completing the quest.


    Although West Whitehill let everyone escape, he had made some dual preparations. He was still commanding the Main Tank to go and block the Boss. From his point of view, as long as the Boss was pulled and they could keep resisting, there was still hope.


    "Give it back!" Rexxar roared as he stomped heavily before running 100 yards away. With his gaze, he was able to cancel the Hearthstones of players on their return journey, who were then teleported right next to him.


    Finally, hopelessness began to permeate into everyone''s hearts. It looked as if even escaping was hoping for too much.


    "Work with them!" West Whitehill said, gnashing his teeth, then shouted, "Focus fire on that bear! Even if you can''t kill it, you still have to kill his pet."


    Lu Li still maintained his stealthy movements. It looked like there was hope of survival. He tried as much as possible to stay within a 100 yard radius of Rexxar. In this position, the wave of skills couldn''t reach him, and he also wouldn''t be pulled back, which would be the case if he escaped too far.


    Glory Capital''s people wouldn''t be so chicken like Lu Li.


    Their courage had already been spurred on by West Whitehill, as if they had firmly made the decision to finish off Misha, while also letting Rexxar get a taste of some personal pain.


    Perhaps it was exactly because of his pet''s dire situation that led to Rexxar entering into such a worried state.


    He went berserk!


    A non-Berserk Rexxar was still able to kill people in one shot, but a Berserk Rexxar was able to one-shot anything ¨C the sky, the earth and everything within. In this extreme time, the few hundred people remaining had been thoroughly wiped out and the whole team was dead.


    Lu Li still maintained a distance of 100 yards from Rexxar, no more and no less.


    After the battle ended, it turned out that Rexxar didn''t attack Lu Li, but actually, in a great rush, leapt before Misha. He carried her on his back with great love, rushing hurriedly deeper into the mountain valley.


    Before Rexxar had arrived, the Mauler had lost half of her HP. Afterwards, she was attacked with focus fire, so she was certainly damaged quite heavily.


    "Quickly come in and go to work. Make sure to get around stealthily; the Ogres here can''t be fought with force. If you get discovered by an Ogre, don''t resist either ¨C just die straight away. Don''t go and save them. We''re going to pick up equipment. I think the Ruling Sword people are coming back really soon," Lu Li notified Buggy, waiting for people to enter Ogre territory. They had entered the mountain valley ages ago; it''s just that they were lingering around the centaurs.


    "Got it Lu Li. Be careful yourself," Buggy said after receiving the note, the immediately brought his people to come in.


    A Wild Boss battle didn''t have worse returns than an Instance Dungeon, but they needed to compete with others. This sort of competition had overtones of danger, but it also had overtones of a good harvest. The equipment left by the losers would become an extra reward for the victors. Sometimes, it was even more plentiful than the reward from killing a Wild Boss.


    Although today''s battle ended in defeat, no one knew that Glory Capital had lost their whole team here.


    Glory Capital only had to send a group of Thieves here to minimize their losses. After all, everyone present was level 60. After you died at this level, you wouldn''t lose experience.


    One core Elite group, four Elite groups as well as some professional players had died here ¨C a total of over 500 people. Such a huge, gleaming field would make it difficult for people to breathe when they saw it.


    In an excitable mood, someone accidentally attracted the Aggro of the Ogres and was immediately surrounded


    Because of Lu Li''s previous reminder, everyone turned their heads, averting their gaze from their little friend''s helpless eyes.


    The attributes of these ogres were very high. Whoever looked down on them had too much confidence in themselves and would have to pay the price.


    There were other fellow players who made the same mistakes. They had to go through this rhythm of picking up the pieces of this great army before they stepped onto the right path.


    It was another Thief who had been killed. Buggy raised his voice and shouted, "We told you to be more careful. How did you die again? You didn''t bring your brain to work, did you?"


    "It''s not an ogre!"


    The thief couldn''t speak after he died, but the text message was quickly sent across.


    If it wasn''t an Ogre, then what was it?

 1599 Mutual Calculations

    When Buggy was still shouting, Lu Li already saw the scene taking place.


    He hadn''t revealed himself, firstly because he wasn''t sure if Rexxar would attack without warning. Secondly, there were a lot of people picking up equipment, so one person didn''t really make a difference. Finally, he was worried that there might still be some enemies who had escaped.


    Lu Li hadn''t arrogantly thought that he was the main character in this world. But since he could use Rexxar''s Aggro distance to live, then why hadn''t the others also figured this out?


    Like Blood Dagger!


    Lu Li''s eyes looked at the Thief hiding his tracks behind him. If he wasn''t mistaken, that person was Glory Capital''s number one thief, Blood Dagger.


    Before Lu Li stepped into the gaming circle, the position of the number one Thief was never stable, but Blood Dagger was, without a doubt, one of the most competitive candidates. Since Glory Capital was the most powerful guild, he was able to become the strongest Thief in the gaming circle, which was enough to see where the problem was.


    "Calm down a little. Be careful of pickpocketing Thieves, but also don''t think about that too much. Keeping picking up equipment; they can''t help it," Lu Li said, changing his form. He had transformed into a dwarf.


    The NPC''s dwarf appearance was human. It was still too easy for him to be associated if he kept his original form.


    Because of this, he disguised himself as belonging to a different race. Someone must have really had a crazy imagination to associate Lu Li with an NPC under these circumstances.


    After this, he slowly kept on looting.


    Buggy and his team were outstanding assassins, but compared to Blood Dagger, there was still a huge difference. Lu Li needed to play a part himself for the ensuing battle to be quick and decisive.


    Another Thief had been pickpocketed by Blood Dagger when they were bending over to pick up equipment, but this time, everyone had taken precautions. The Thief still had some remaining HP, so he had clearly managed to activate his damage reduction in time.


    Two Thieves nearby attacked in Blood Dagger''s direction, stabbing at his calm shadow.


    Blood Dagger laughed coldly in his heart. He didn''t care about these two players at all. He might have had a lot of opponents in his mind''s eye, they certainly didn''t include these two.


    As the saying went, you didn''t know how much things cost until you had to buy them. Blood Dagger didn''t feel that the equipment that had been stolen was a major loss at all. He just felt that his dignity had been violated. Could Glory Capital''s equipment be picked up so easily?


    Blood Dagger dodged to the side, continuing to attack this Thief who had already lost more than half of his HP.


    The Thief who was being attacked wasn''t going to stand there like a target dummy until he died. What was more, he knew that his task at the moment was to try and extend the time as long as possible. He needed to create an opportunity for the others to surround and attack.


    Damage Reduction, healing, drinking potions ¨C all the methods of survival he could use, he used.


    Even the most famous competitor was still a person, and since they were a person, there was a limit to their capabilities. He didn''t dare think about the afterlife. If he could keep on living, that was the biggest certainty to him.


    However, reality was cruel. As a Thief, it turned out that he had missed Blood Dagger''s earlier Ignition and didn''t use any of his Ultimate Skills.


    Thieves had a lot of skills. When attacking normally, they would normally save 1 or 2 Combo Points. The more Combo Points there were, then the more damage would be dealt when using an Ultimate Skill.


    Without using an Ultimate Skill, he was able to drop Blood Dagger''s HP to just over half.


    With a Backhand Backstab, Blood Dagger threw down his target to the ground, who was still desperately trying to heal himself. After this, he indifferently looked over at those two unforgiving Thieves who still wanted to attack him, before taking a step back to conceal himself in the shadows.


    "Number 12, go forward 6 yards. Number 9, go left. Um, go slowly, and be aware of your surroundings. Number 8, stay were you were ¨C don''t move. If you notice anything, send a warning straight away. Others, come over first. Everyone, make sure you stay 2 yards away from each other¡­" Lu Li spoke, giving rapid instructions. The few dozen Thieves under Buggy''s command followed, continuing to move around and change positions.


    In a battle in Dawn, one plus one didn''t necessarily equal two. Because two people had two brains, it was difficult to synchronize them for optimal effectiveness.


    That was why a lot of guild managers liked to hire those who had gone through real-life training, like army veterans, as they were good at following commands.


    Buggy, being an underground figure, certainly couldn''t attract these kinds of people to join.


    However, speaking of following orders, those gangsters weren''t necessarily all bad.


    When you were on the road, the principle was survival of the fittest. This was the bloody rule that these gangsters, bearing their own personal prestige, followed.


    They wanted to keep existing had to unconditionally follow the commands of the authorities. Lu Li''s identity in this group was secret. Apart from a few veterans, no one knew that the Dwarf was actually Lu Li. However, to Buggy and Blacky he was the undisputed leader.


    Soon, Blood Dagger realised in surprise that those he thought were insignificant ants made actions that posed a threat to him. No matter which path he chose, it seemed he would be somewhere that the opponent had considered. At this, there was nothing he could do but to keep changing his position.


    Blood Danger almost gave away his whereabouts quite a few times.


    If there was a Mage accompanying these Thieves'' actions, Blood Dagger felt like he might have already been exposed earlier.


    "Boss, I just felt like there was someone in front of me to my left. How far exactly I don''t know¡­"


    "Boss, there''s someone behind me¡­man, he didn''t do anything. He''s already gone¡­"


    "Boss, he''s in front of me. Do I attack? Do I need to attack¡­"


    These pieces of information were all reported back to Lu Li. Although the field grew smaller and smaller, there was more and more information. Lu Li could almost confirm where Blood Dagger was. Since he didn''t try to just escape and get away at the beginning, Blood Dagger was now already like the proverbial turtle stuck in a jar.


    Although Blood Dagger felt it was more and more troublesome, he still thought that he would get away today.


    Some tracks had been discovered, and some tracks he had left behind on purpose. He needed to test out the power of this group of mysterious Thieves, to see if they were self-aware, and how far away before they were aware of themselves.


    He only wanted to leave. He didn''t think that these people would wait themselves.


    Because of this, he didn''t go at all. His aim was to give these Thieves hope, to make them feel like they were able to wait themselves. That way, they would naturally go back to picking up equipment. When Glory Capital''s main forces arrived, not a single person here could run away.


    Both sides were mutually calculating the other, until¡­Lu Li attacked!

 1600 The Shameful Deserter

    Blood Dagger really had a reason to be arrogant. Every celebrity competitor had their own pride.


    These skills and equipment could in no way compare with competitors and definitely couldn''t make him stay, but he also couldn''t finish off so many people just like that. They couldn''t defeat him, but they couldn''t run. Blood Dagger couldn''t be in two places at once, so how could he block dozens of people at once?


    He needed to extend the time a bit longer, until backup would come. Then, he would definitely pay these Thieves back.


    However, although he thought so much about this, there was just one thing he missed. Not all of the Thieves here were unskilled. There was still one person hidden¨C the one person that he considered as the hardest-to-defeat opponent in his whole life.


    One was in the light, while the other was in the darkness. From the beginning, it wasn''t a fair scenario.


    Let alone the fact that he didn''t even know this person was here!


    When the dagger was revealed from the shadows, it stunned Blood Dagger, who was also in Stealth. Only then did Blood Dagger suddenly feel that someone was nearby.


    Lu Li had the Enhanced Stealth skill and was more proficient at Stealth than the average Thief. This was apart from the fact that in order to hide himself from Rexxar, he had purposely equipped himself with items that improved his Stealth.


    Naturally, Blood Dagger was even less aware that he was here.


    Since Lu Li was wearing a set of niche equipment, his attacks really weren''t that strong. If he was fighting one on one with Blood Dagger, even if he could finish him off, it would take ages.


    And Glory Capital''s people wouldn''t take ages to come.


    However, Lu Li was not by himself. This time, he had brought a few dozen brothers with him.


    Lu Li, who had been born in the Common District, knew even less about what fairness meant, nor did he know anything fighting ethics.


    Blood Dagger had lots of methods to get rid of Crowd Control, but he still didn''t have enough to resist over a dozen Thieves.


    What Lu Li needed to do was to give out orders. These brothers didn''t really have names; they just used code names. They were easy to remember, so Lu Li barely had to use any words to stop Blood Dagger''s attempts to escape.


    He rarely attacked, but he just needed to attack once to pull Blood Dagger right into a hopeless situation. The others were responsible for attacking. As the saying went, many ants can kill an elephant, let alone these deadly Thieves.


    Who was it!?


    He couldn''t see their face, and he couldn''t hear their voice. Blood Dagger could only judge from the shape of the opponent that they were a Dwarven Thief.


    His mind raced as he thought about who could be attacking him.


    Could it be Wood Fearing?


    It couldn''t be - the Gods of Dusk had already gone through this situation. How could they dare to provoke Glory Capital? Over the last few years, the Gods of Dusk had been on a constant decline. It was all reliant on Wood Fearing trying to hold it all together. He would only do this sort of thing if he was crazy.


    But apart from him, who else could it be?


    It was not that there were no top-level Dwarf Thieves, but that there just weren''t any others at Blood Dagger''s and Wood Fearing''s level, so Blood Dagger arrogantly didn''t care about them.


    An expert at Stealth!


    An expert at making the most of every opportunity!


    Who could it be, who could it be?!


    In this tangled, confused craze, Blood Dagger was defeated, still racking his brains over who his opponent was.


    "At most, there are only 3 minutes. Quickly sweep up the equipment and leave," Lu Li said, picking up the things that Blood Dagger dropped.


    During the whole time he attacked Blood Dagger, he didn''t really have to use much effort at all. He naturally didn''t have to worry about what Blood Dagger saw. He hoped that this guy wouldn''t be too persistent, otherwise a lot of Dwarf thieves would be out of luck.


    Three minutes was neither a long or short time, but it was enough for Buggy and his team to clean up the battlefield and leave.


    Glory Capital''s people rushed over and saw that apart from a disorganised field of mess, there was really not even a scrap left for them.


    The loss?


    The loss was simply too much for them. Even just thinking about it made White Westhill''s head hurt, and they couldn''t care about comforting Blood Dagger.


    "What about my quest? That''s an Enhanced Skill Book," Whinging Hollow asked in worry.


    "What about me!"


    White Westhill had remained relatively calm, but what could be done in these circumstances? The words ''Enhanced Skill Book'' had gotten on his nerves again. Now, all he could do was just send people to search the body of the NPC Ed Harris.


    They didn''t dare to roam around freely. They could only send Thieves to look stealthily.


    After looking for hours they didn''t really find anything. They kept going until Stormwind City''s spies reported that Ed Harris had shown up again in the Professions Hall.


    "You go have a look. Why didn''t the NPC die? Does the quest count as completed or not?" West Whitehill asked without much hope, then after a moment, he said, "Open up the livestream. The boss and I have to look at the situation over there."


    At this, City Smoke and Whinging Hollow once again wore their disguises and appeared in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li looked as if he was full of sorrow. Of course, this was fake ¨C at this time, he was happily totalling up the total rewards.


    "Over 100 pieces of Epic equipment, 200 pieces of Dark Gold equipment, some material and tools. There''s some rare stuff in there as well."


    Even Lu Li, who had seen so much, couldn''t really comprehend it. It was really like manna from heaven.


    He just wanted to trap the Glory Capital players. He never thought there would be such a massive windfall.


    There was no feeling of guilt. Lu Li had never been like some sort of humble gentleman.


    "Mr Ed Harris, sir, we''re so happy you''re still alive," Whinging Hollow said. Whinging Hollow had done a lot of quests, so he naturally knew how to build rapport with NPCs.


    If at this moment, he grabbed the NPC by the collar and shouted at him, asking why everyone else had died but he was still alive, it would really be the end of it. It couldn''t be said if they could still keep progressing with the quest, not to mention that they still had to risk their own lives.


    "Ah, praise the Holy Light, it turns out that you were fine as well," Lu Li said with pretence.


    Who knew that he was a Thief walking in the shadows? What sort of position was he in to praise the Holy Light?


    "Can we ask, master, how you managed to escape from trouble? After all our forces were annihilated, what on earth happened?" Whinging Hollow caught onto what West Whitehill was drawing attention to, and asked what everyone else was questioning in their hearts.


    "I''m really sorry; I shamefully became a deserter. After that half-beast finished its Berserk, I used a teleportation device to escape!" Lu Li said with an ashamed look on his face, on the verge of tears.


    "Oh..." This answer cleared away their remaining doubts.


    No one thought that the NPC was telling lies. After all, he was someone who was able to produce an Enhanced Skill Book as a reward.


    NPCs also couldn''t respawn, so escaping in a crisis to try and protect themselves was something you couldn''t blame them for.

 1601 Struck It Rich

    "Sorry, we didn''t protect you well sir. We put your life in danger," Whinging Hollow said, coughing up blood. He still needed to pour out his apologies to Ed Harris.


    He had really complex feelings towards Ed Harris.


    Ed Harris let him see the hope of a bountiful reward, but it had been stripped away by the club. As such, his heart was filled with resentment. Afterwards, the people of the club, in helping him with this quest, had all been annihilated. A whole heap of equipment had been lost. Of course, his heart was now filled with guilt and fear.


    This mood, when expressed to Ed Harris, was one of complaint.


    If he hadn''t been given this quest, perhaps the target place wouldn''t have been Longspear Valley, and perhaps the club wouldn''t have faced this loss. Then, he wouldn''t have to bear the burden of being known as the initiator of all this trouble and suffering.


    "Can I ask, sir, did you find the potion you were looking for?" Whinging Hollow cautiously asked, according to West Whitehill''s priorities.


    "With great regret," Lu Li said, shaking his head with a face full of sadness, "That half-beast didn''t let anyone enter the depths of Longspear Valley. I didn''t gain any new information about that potion. Your quest has not been completed."


    Their last hope had been shattered. Whinging Hollow felt that his whole body had no strength.


    The prompt of the quest failure followed and the System informed them that they had lost some Reputation. However, this was a loss for the guild, so to Whinging Hollow, this was completely insignificant. The guild''s Reputation in the Alliance was already in the negative numbers anyway, so no matter how many points were deducted, it still didn''t matter.


    Nevertheless, this didn''t alleviate their mood at all.


    "Since you suffered a massive loss in this process of completing this quest, I am very distraught myself. Let this piece of equipment be my compensation," Lu Li said, with a grieved expression on his face. He then took out a piece of Epic equipment and handed it over to Whinging Hollow.


    What a kind NPC!


    Whinging Hollow was immediately struck with guilt. It was their own fault that they didn''t complete the quest. How could they blame the NPC? This really shouldn''t have been the case.


    "Can we still do this quest later after we become stronger?"


    After all, it involved an Enhanced Skill Book. White Westhill didn''t want to give up so easily, and everyone was thinking about revenge.


    "Just forget about it. Do you know who that half-beast, half-person was?" Lu Li asked mysteriously.


    Afterwards, he filled in for Whinging Hollow and City Smoke what the name Rexxar meant. Everyone from Whinging Hollow to City Smoke, as well as Sorrowless and White Westhill on the livestream were dumbstruck.


    It turned out they had besieged the camp of their own legendary hero.


    Was there anything more hopeless than this?


    Did this mean that they would be put onto Rexxar''s blacklist in the future, or even become Rexxar''s enemy!?


    Lu Li enjoyed their sadness as he looked at their long, sorrowful faces. He was really curious as to what tools his opponents had used to sneak their way into Stormwind City. Looking at Whinging Hollow''s face, it looked like a real human person. You couldn''t tell that he was originally a Tauren.


    "Are you sure you wish to continue this quest?" Lu Li asked.


    Whinging Hollow and City Smoke''s brains were whizzing around. They couldn''t muster the courage to compete with Rexxar. Even if they planned to do it just the same, with Lu Li''s explanation, they now knew of Rexxar''s legendary experiences. They knew that he and Saar had fought side by side together, as fellow combatants and good friends.


    If they didn''t have to worry about him trying to get even, then that was already a good outcome. Who would still dare to actively provoke him?


    "Why is it, when you clearly know that we were players from the Horde, that you would give us this quest?" Whinging Hollow asked. He knew this was something that Sorrowless had been thinking through.


    Even if it was because of the Enhanced Skill Book, in Whinging Hollow''s heart, Sorrowless wasn''t such a strong, virtuous leader anymore. However, he still had unrivalled respect for him.


    Lu Li hadn''t thought that the would ask this sort of question, but he reacted quickly.


    He pretended to be melancholy and sighed, saying, "Child, what is the Horde, and what is the Alliance? These groups don''t represent honour. I know some beasts who ought to be respected like the greatest knights. I also know some people who are as evil as the cruellest, devastating natural disasters."


    "As a shallow and grief-stricken army, we keep getting weaker and weaker, even though we keep striving. This stupid behaviour only helps the Lich King! These great warriors are sacrificed for nothing, yet the true threat keeps coming closer. The Lich King is just calculating when we''ll die."


    He immediately sounded so classy and elegant!


    Whinging Hollow was again conscience-stricken with himself for actually doubting this great Thief leader. He even suddenly had an urge to become an apprentice.


    Lu LI evidently wouldn''t accept him. It was a pipe dream.


    Seeing these two leave, Lu Li stayed in the Professions Hall to give out a few quests, looking like a real NPC. He gave tips to a few puzzled Thieves, perfectly expounding what it meant to be a Thief trainer.


    He didn''t know if Glory Capital would send people to spy on him, so the main reason he was doing this was to avoid any possible disaster.


    It wasn''t until the game was nearly over that he had time to really have a look at the rewards. The place to divide up the loot was arranged for at one of Buggy''s headquarters in Stormwind City. He entered through the back door of the fruit shop, which led to a little courtyard.


    "Lu, bro!"


    "Lu, bro!"


    "Lu, bro!" When they saw Lu Li enter, all the few thieves stood up, including their chiefs Buggy and Blacky.


    Buggy nodded at Lu Li, not saying anything.


    They had known each other since they were young. When they first started, they were on equal footing, but a lot of things happened. Lu Li had just gotten out of jail, so he had been quietly mocked. Also, it wasn''t acknowledged on the outside, but in reality, he had begun to treat Lu Li with a subordinate identity.


    "Lu bro, this time we struck it rich. We''ve calculated a detailed list. It''s all here; I promise no one cheated," Blacky said, handing over the inventory list to Lu Li.


    They were mostly illiterate, so the form was really quite clumsy. Fortunately it was simply understood; Lu Li was able to understand it with ease.


    "Just let the brothers take the weapons," Lu Li said, not being stingy at all.


    He was never a stingy person. From when the game started he was always very generous, gifting this and that to everyone. Those who took his things, though, generally didn''t manage to escape his master plan. Now, they were all working their butts off for him.


    "Buggy didn''t let everyone take it. This is all yours," Blacky said with an eye on Buggy, then added with slight awkwardness, "I had my eye on a dagger."


    "Wait a sec, you can grab it yourself. We''ll need to deal with the things up here though," Lu Li said.


    "You can just take it and divide it with the club. I''ve never seen so much good stuff; our Elite group will be powerful enough to immediately bring back more," Blacky responded happily.


    This group of people had never entered into Ruling Sword, but because of Lu Li''s connection, they could always pose as one of them.

 1602 Mysterious Thief

    "Don''t be stupid; just listen to me," Buggy scolded as he slapped Blacky and signalled him to shut up.


    Blacky had a silly grin on his face as he faced his younger brothers, as if he had gone back in time to when they were children. Back then, Lu Li was still living with them, and Buggy hadn''t broken his friendship with Lu Li.


    It was such a good feeling!


    "Of course, we can''t just distribute it so carelessly, unless you''re not afraid of revenge. These are stolen goods. This pile of equipment can never appear on the face of the earth," Lu Li said.


    "Then this was all for nothing?" Blacky questioned, clearly dumbfounded.


    "Of course not. Those with the maker''s label can''t be sold in open channels, otherwise, they will be tracked down sooner or later. Thief players, you guys take them for your own use. As for the others, find a time to sell them to Shen Wansan. Then, he''ll sell it to us. We''ve given him a bargain to just gain the handling fee and price difference for nothing," Lu Li explained. He had already planned this out.


    The Transmog set, along some other equipment or tools, would all have left a mark of the maker''s name or symbol.


    This would easily attract the attention of Glory Capital. If these equips were all worn by the people of Ruling Sword, Sorrowless would be wary of Lu Li plotting against him.


    In the face of power, evidence was not necessarily required, but suspicion was enough.


    "Good idea," Blacky agreed.


    He was the type that dared to kill and fight but did not like using his brain. As long as Lu Li got Buggy to create a plan, he would only be in charge of carrying it out.


    "No worries man. Even if Glory Capital discovered that we did it, we won''t get you guys at Ruling Sword involved," Buggy promised Lu Li. He also knew that at the present moment, there was an undeniable gap between Ruling Sword''s and Glory Capital''s abilities.


    The fact that Ruling Sword achieved a First Clear easily gave people the wrong impression that they were supressing Glory Capital.


    In reality, Ruling Sword wasn''t even close to getting the First Clear for any Wild Boss. Once they encountered these elite clubs in the Wild, Ruling Sword could only retreat to avoid suffering any losses.


    Glory Capital also showed a growing momentum to suppress Ruling Sword, while Sorrowless seemed to face up to Lu Li as a potential rival.


    Glory Capital would always appear whenever they heard that Ruling Sword was fighting a Wild Boss. This forced Ruling Sword with no other option but to retreat. Sometimes it would be when it was almost finished, which wasted a lot of manpower and material resources for nothing.


    This was also the reason why Lu Li was calculating his opponent without any mercy.


    Otherwise, why would Lu Li go and provoke an opponent that he wouldn''t provoke for any other reason? Plus, he was entrapping them to the extent where the whole club would fall into upmost gloom.


    Large clubs like Glory Capital also inevitably organized teams of scouts. If you were far-sighted, a smaller guild of around 100 people could do this. After all, everyone had to have a dream, just in case it did come true.


    They didn''t know what exactly happened, but they could figure out some things from traces of the whole story.


    The club''s core elite group, along with four elite groups and 500 or so people went to do this quest. Eventually, they returned, but even those on the levels of Blood Dagger and White Westhill were killed.


    What made these scouts rack their brains even more was the fact that none of the players'' equipment could be brought back.


    Then, they discovered a group of Thieves.


    The sequence of events had quickly become apparent. A 400-person team undertook the quest and was destroyed. At this time, a group of Thieves appeared and took away all the equipment while getting rid of Blood Dagger along the way.


    If this group of Thieves didn''t exist, and if not for Blood Dagger''s death, then this operation was not worth being surprised about. Dawn was a game with a high mortality rate after all. A majority of players had to die a few times a day.


    The problem was precisely with this group of Thieves.


    Where did they suddenly come from? How did they kill Blood Dagger? Who the heck were they?!


    "Boss, it''s probably not a good idea to just let this news out. The atmosphere within the guild is not great."


    City Smoke did not quite understand Sorrowless'' decisiveness.


    "A loss is a loss. There''s no point covering it up," Sorrowless said with a cool expression. "This group of Thieves is the key to this whole thing. Find them, then the truth will come to light."


    "Did you want to use all the major guilds to help us find them?" City Smoke asked.


    "Yes. These Thieves couldn''t have come out of nowhere and they can''t just disappear after doing this once. All groups have their own style in doing things. As long as everyone knows this, then their true colours will show sooner or later. By then, the truth will be revealed." Sorrowless usually wouldn''t explain so much. City Smoke''s guilt felt even deeper and he was more committed at the same time.


    The damages were massive this time and the Boss didn''t even hold him accountable.


    "That guy called Whinging Hollow is a real talent. Didn''t you promise him two Epic equips after the quest? Go pick him two in the warehouse later," Sorrowless added.


    "But he didn''t finish his quest."


    City Smoke still felt resentment towards him. If not for Whinging Hollow, then things wouldn''t have gotten to this point.


    "He completed his end of the bargain; he did everything that he was supposed to. It was us who couldn''t defeat Rexxar. That makes it our fault. Why wouldn''t we give him a quest reward?" Sorrowless said with a ''matter of fact'' expression on his face.


    City Smoke could only keep saying yes. Perhaps this was Sorrowless'' personality charm.


    Lu Li had now left the headquarters that Buggy and the others met in. He was rotating two gems in his hands; he often used this method to exercise the flexibility of his fingers.


    One of the gems evidently belonged to White Westhill. While it was rare, there weren''t any marks or symbols on it, so there were no worries with regards to people identifying it.


    White Westhill was also rather unlucky to have given up his superb gem as soon as he got it.


    But, in fact, this type of outcome was alright for him. At least he didn''t have to worry about better things being taken. Blood Dagger ad dropped a T2 bracer which had the maker''s name on it. Lu Li had already given it to Buggy and the others to deal with it.


    It was better to be safe than sorry. He had wandered around in this dark world from a very young age and understood the laws of survival.


    This huge entrapment had gone flawlessly, at least up to now.


    It was a shame that Sorrowless hadn''t led the team himself.


    Scheming felt so relieving; it was well-suited to Lu Li'' personal style. However, he was a hot-blooded young man. How could he not envy that kind of iron-handed bloodshed? Unfortunately, his abilities at the moment were too far from it. He still had to lie dormant for a while longer.

 1603 One Guy Two Girls

    The next day, people from the Donghua Cup Committee came and asked Lu Li to commentate. Lu Li glanced at the options and immediately chose the youth training camp of Glory Capital. The battle just happened to be with the new team of the Gangnam Royals.


    The Gangnam Royals were indeed an unlikely new team.


    Several of their highly capable players had left the team. Some retired, and some transferred, and all of them no longer played with Heart of War.


    As a matter of fact, Heart of War was truly an incredible person. Even Lu Li thought he would be fired by the executive committee, but every time, he survived the crisis unscathed. Now, the Gangnam Royals and a few mercenary groups had banded together, and were starting to make a name for themselves.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were partnered again as before. The only difference was that the other analyst was Nine Phoenix.


    Nine Phoenix was a very famous beauty in the commentary circle. At the same time, she was a contracted competitor of Open Sky Guild. She was a Mage, and while her fighting abilities were not bad, they were not as highly reputed as her commentary.


    "It''s a pleasure to be commentating with these two next to me. I remember it''s been more than a year since the last time I''ve commentated with Water Fairy. She said she liked me too back then. Who would''ve known she''d move on in the blink of an eye!" Nine Phoenix joked to lighten the mood. They could blame Dark Wind for joking too far before, which had resulted in this pair of lovers being constantly on guard.


    "I¡­" Water Fairy was rather puzzled as to when she had ''cheated''.


    "I think Four Seas Dragon would like you better, so please don''t compete with me," Lu Li said, helping to save his girlfriend from embarrassment.


    "Awww look at this PDA. Come to think of it, I''ve slept with Water Fairy before. Have you, Lu Li?"


    Women who were married were indeed full of vigour. To think that the once charming flower called Nine Phoenix would now dare to talk about explicit content in public!


    "Ahem¡­" Water Fairy nearly buried her whole face into her chest, while Lu Li was also really embarrassed.


    There was more banter that brought the atmosphere to a peak, which was when Nine Phoenix finally let the two of them off the hook.


    "Let us turn our eyes to the arena. Both players have obviously been prepared. Those from Glory Capital are all fresh faces. It seems like they''ve been training a lot. Oh no, wait, Blood Dagger is leading the team."


    "Well, he''s not actually that old," Lu Li said in defense of Blood Dagger.


    "As someone nearly 30, he''s one step away from being middle-aged according to the latest trends. Another few years means he can step into senior life. He''s not like you and Water Fairy; you guys are at the peak of your youth! You guys can keep playing for another 8-10 years at the very least," Nine Phoenix bluntly commentated, praising Lu Li along the way.


    "If Blood Dagger is leading the team, the Gangnam Royal will be feeling much more pressure," Water Fairy continued.


    Drizzle Court and Gangnam Royal didn''t share any special bonds, and the same went with Glory Capital. As such, this match for her was just a dog-eat-dog fight ¨C there was no need to take sides.


    "According to previous matches, it''s still too hard to predict who will win and lose to this new team of the Gangnam Royals. They are one of the few teams who have been undefeated. One of their defeated opponents was Eternal Kingdom, who was led by Midnight Ghost."


    Lu Li had done some homework beforehand and very skilfully used Eternal Kingdom as a point of comparison.


    Eternal Kingdom was also a declining club that had fallen out of the top ten.


    Using them as a point of comparison with Glory Capital didn''t require fairness. As long as they were a team led by Midnight Ghost, they could be used as a reference. After all, Midnight Ghost was a master Thief on the same level as Blood Dagger. In their fight records, he had maintained a commendable success rate. At the same time, he was also Eternal Kingdom''s only celebrity competitor.


    "The Gangnam Royals'' current quality of competitors is pretty good. I hope they can continue their brilliance," Nine Phoenix continued.


    Competitors of both sides entered the match channel as pictures showed each player lying in game capsules to enter the match. In this preliminary round, the Donghua Cup didn''t want to hassle people to fly here and there, but the general process was basically the same as other competitions.


    "Let''s have a look at the what competitors we have in the arena," Lu Li said.


    "How shameless ¨C Blood Dagger actually is the first to come on!"


    Nine Phoenix didn''t have a good impression of Glory Capital. It appeared that their team from Open Sky was ousted by Glory Capital in the last professional league.


    Women, especially pretty women were generally prideful.


    "On the other side is also a Thief. Looks like it will be a mirror match-up between Thieves!" Water Fairy excitedly exclaimed.


    "Looks like Blood Dagger is gonna win. He''s against an unknown player," Nine Phoenix sighed.


    Both sides entered into preparation mode. Then, Blood Dagger went ''whoosh'', dashing forward and knocking his opponent right out.


    This Thief of the Gangnam Royals felt a little muddled.


    According to the general rules of combat, shouldn''t they have both gone into Stealth together, then circled each other a few times?


    "Blood Dagger is very confident," Lu Li said.


    To just rush up to his opponent and refuse to obey the norms was, in other words, looking down on his opponent. Lu Li would be more afraid of players like Wood Fearing and Midnight Ghost, but he could easily control someone like Blood Dagger who rushed towards him. Blood Dagger would be a lot more cautious then.


    "His assessment of his opponent seemed to be in no way inconsistent," Water Fairy said in disappointment.


    "This new competitor from the Gangnam Royals is by no means a new face. Three years ago, at the Donghua Cup, he represented Peacetime Dynasty and was an assassin. That game didn''t have Thief as a profession."


    Nine Phoenix wasn''t on the commentary booth for no reason; she had done her research of all the competitors.


    "Then why did he stop playing?" Lu Li asked.


    "Probably because of a hand injury. No one thought that he would be collected by the Gangnam Royals and reappear in the arena again," Nine Phoenix answered.


    This was probably a gaming circle secrets, so he naturally didn''t know and never paid attention.


    In fact, this sounded like the template of a protagonist story.


    He was playing a strategy of ''Return of the King''. He could rise within a short amount of time and be picked out by Heart of War to stand on the stage, but no one knew how the story would end.


    Protagonists and their stepping stones were crucial in the match''s outcome.


    This ''Return of the King'' Thief was not without any ability to fight back. Blood Dagger didn''t control him to death either.


    "These two next to me are probably experts regarding Thief mirror matchups. Who do you guys think will win?" Nine Phoenix asked.


    "I can''t beat him. I''d have a very low success rate, so I don''t have the authority to make any judgement," Water Fairy answered cleverly.


    "Sorry, I''ve given up on gambling," Lu Li replied sulkily.

 1604 Core

    In fact, winning or losing was a very obvious thing. This Thief from the Gangnam Royals was at a second or third-class level when he retired. After leaving the arena for three years, how could his abilities have gotten better and not worse?


    Blood Dagger was being a tough opponent today. He didn''t look like a Thief but much more like a Berserker.


    "He couldn''t have gone mad right?" Nine Phoenix was rather confused.


    Lu Li guessed the reason as to why Blood Dagger was in a frenzy. He had cheated so much equipment from him and gotten him killed. It would be crazy if Blood Dagger wasn''t mad about it. If he kept his feelings suppressed, he could probably rupture a blood vessel or something of the sort.


    If the one who killed Blood Dagger was a player of the same level as Lu Li or Wood Fearing, then he would probably humbly appreciate his murderer. Only they had the right to kill him. As for anyone else, they couldn''t possible kill him ¨C they would be his rival for life.


    But in reality, this wasn''t the case. The opponent who killed him was one that he didn''t know the identity of.


    He was killed by a group of Thieves who were unheard of. They had surrounded him and butchered him to pieces, bit by bit..


    To make an inappropriate analogy, if Blood Dagger was a girl, and a handsome guy violated him, then he could have accepted it. But in reality, the one who offended him was not a handsome man, but a vulgar man. A group of vulgar men.


    The humiliation of being killed off by a bunch of nobodies made him seek revenge.


    Hence, the arena became his stage. This poor Gangnam Royals Thief became his punching bag.


    "Actually, I think Blood Dagger is going for a straightforward strategy."


    Lu Li hadn''t felt that he was the reason for why Blood Dagger had gone berserk and continued to hypocritically analyse from a technical perspective.


    "Dwarves and Thieves are suited towards PVP, especially mirror matchups between Thieves. No other races'' Thieves can completely control Dwarven Thieves. His race means that he has innate immunity to bleeding and to poison. He can take back the initiative to fight in any situation. It is no doubt faster and more energy-efficient be straightforward with him. Blood Dagger Bro is really brilliant!"


    Nevertheless, the opponent of Blood Dagger was not without strength to fight back.


    Because of Blood Dagger''s messy way of fighting, he had found some opportunities to fight back. In the end, when he fell, Blood Dagger''s remaining HP was just under a third.


    In this way, the next player from the Gangnam Royals was given a good ideal.


    As an Ice Mage, the current update made him the best occupation at restraining Thieves. They were even more suited than Berserkers.


    Blood Dagger didn''t calm down despite his low HP. He was here to find a punching bag anyway, so he fought with rage against this Ice Mage as well. He nearly scared him enough to run off at first until he realised he had full HP.


    "Blood Dagger is about to die," Water Fair sighed.


    "Indeed, he''s dead."


    Lu Li had a face filled with regret. It was said with a tone of mourning and there was no sense of pleasure in it.


    Without Blood Dagger, the youth training camp was pretty much only left with newbies. They were not even close to the level of those in the Gangnam Royals. The next few fresh faces from Glory Capital kept making mistakes.


    "Ah! So close! What a shame ¨C this new fresh face had such good potential. He was just a tad lacking in the mental side of things."


    Lu Li even wanted to go up there and fight on his behalf.


    "Why does it feel like you''re on Blood Dagger''s side?" Nine Phoenix asked, rather confused.


    Lu Li didn''t want to reply to her question directly so answered with a lot of fluff.


    "We''re just commentating so we need to be fair and just. There''s no taking sides."


    "The whole gaming circle sees you and Sorrowless as archenemies of each other. Do you feel that you''re possibly not Sorrowless'' rival?"


    Nine Phoenix didn''t have a good impression of Glory Capital so she asked purposeful questions. She hoped that Lu Li would belittle Sor rowless.


    If Sorrowless became angered then he would probably have a conflict with Ruling Sword. Then, they both would suffer damages.


    If he didn''t get upset, the nothing would happen.


    "There is this possibility. I think I''m not Sorrowless'' opponent as of yet. Sorrowless is without a doubt the number one in the game. His capabilities are beyond anyone to surpass, and his leadership is also faultless¡­" Lu Li was praising Sorrowless endlessly.


    "Ahem."


    Nine Phoenix couldn''t hear any more of it.


    She finally understood why she couldn''t calculate Lu Li ¨C he had no morals and no limits.


    "Water Sis, you gotta be careful. In this day and age, men liking men is quite trendy. You can see how much he looks up to Sorrowless. Maybe one day he''ll run off with him."


    "Oh well, by that time, I''ll send them my best wishes," Water Fairy replied with a smile, and a dangerous look flashed in her eyes.


    "Calculating is one thing, but don''t falsely accuse people," Lu Li thought to himself, speechlessly. He again understood how accurate the meaning of ''a woman''s heart is the most poisonous'' was.


    "Ahaha, Glory Capital lost!"


    Nine Phoenix didn''t bother to hide her pleasure in other people''s pain. She was that type of person who was direct in showing her love and hate of people, but not to the extent of being brainless. Even if this type of laughter travelled to Sorrowless'' ears, he would only smile and let it pass.


    "Lost in a way that really shouldn''t have been¡­"


    Lu Li didn''t have any way to say Blood Dagger did well.


    In reality, if Blood Dagger had fought tactfully, he would have no problem fighting against three in the arena. Lu Li was still sure that one person was enough to accumulate all the points needed in the match.


    "Luckily there are team matches. I believe Glory Capital''s performance won''t let people down," Water Fairy continued.


    She didn''t have any intention of shaming Glory Capital. For heroines, there was no point in stepping on a defeated opponent. To shame them was completely pointless; it wasn''t like you could get anything out of it.


    In the team round, Blood Dagger was finally not charging around violently.


    Perhaps it was because he was told off by someone. Now, he had perfectly mastered the positioning in teamfights ¨C he was a perfect textbook example.


    After this, someone wrote an article commenting on this team match with the headline "The Role of a Star Player".


    Perhaps the young soldiers of Glory Capital could all become a pillar of strength like Blood Dagger, White Westhill or even Sorrowless in many years'' time. However, at the current moment, they were hardly dry behind the ears. No matter in the sense of operation or the cooperation of the team, their performance was a mess.


    However, the new team members of Gangnam Royals were all veterans.


    Some were retired for various reasons, some were bought over with large sums of money, and others were folk masters. All in all, each and every one of them were better than the young ones from the youth training camp.


    They hoped to set fire to the healer of Glory Capital, but Blood Dagger stopped them. This Thief would always mess up their plans, which meant it was all for nothing. By the time they realised that their fight strategy needed to be adjusted, the rhythm of the battlefield was already out of their control.


    "Does anyone else feel that there''s bullying going on in Blood Dagger''s side?" Nine Phoenix asked.


    "Quite the bully," Water Fairy had to admit as well.


    The majority of clubs didn''t care about their ranking in the Donghua Cup. It was just a training ground for newbies, and there were some wild competitors who hoped to meet talent scouts through the competition.


    It was very rare to see celebrity competitors at these places. Firstly, it was because they didn''t participate in these types of competitions. Secondly, it was a chance for the newbies to show off their talent. Blood Dagger was clearly an odd one out in the Donghua Cup. He probably didn''t even realise he was bullying the newbies.


    The end results showed that Glory Capital had 2 points in the arena, while the Gangnam Royals had 3 points. However, in the team competition, Glory Capital accumulated 5 points while the Gangnam Royals only achieved a miserable 2 points.


    "This match has indeed been exciting. Blood Dagger has shown the gap between celebrity and normal competitors. At the same time, he has also shown the hidden issues in the Gangnam Royals'' team," Lu Li said, beginning to analyse this match. No matter how ridiculous the match was, you always had to put commentating first. This was called professionalism.


    "What hidden issues?" Water Fairy asked, going along with him.


    "Their team has a few people with good capabilities, but it lacked cooperation as well as a team core. They could maintain their advantages against weaker competitors but once their opponents were too strong, they lost the room to make use of their true potential," Lu Li explained.


    Any team needed a core. With Ruling Sword, if Lu Li was around then he would be the core without a doubt. In the Donghua Cup, if he wasn''t there, then Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu would be the team core, and the others would cooperate with them in battle. Furthermore, Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu had partnered together for a long time, so they had already formed an astounding synchronisation.


    With regards to Glory Capital, Sorrowless would be the core, along with White Westhill. Today, it was Blood Dagger who led the team, so he was of course the core.


    Every team needed to have a core, but the Gangnam Royals didn''t have one!


    Many of their previous players had the qualifications, for example Innocent Child and Dancing Star Dream.


    Unfortunately, all of these people had left.


    These master players that the Gangnam Royals had found were all about the same in terms of abilities, so no one out from the rest. Moreover, the confirmation of a team core was not just something chosen by a boss behind the scenes. As such, they were destined to be defeated in battle.


    Lu Li pointed out the Gangnam Royals'' faults, but it did not mean he stood on the same side as them, nor did it mean he would become best friends with Heart of War.


    He believed this problem was seen by Heart of War himself as well.


    Even if he didn''t, Lu Li had spelled it out for him. In the short term, there was no possible solution to it.


    Many problems were a result of complexities of humanity. Everyone had a greedy heart. If he wanted to resolve this, then he had to start there. Unless everyone could get rid of their desire of becoming the core, then even if they magically found an expert player, there was no use for it at all.


    However, there were many teams who competed. Not all the players they fought were as strong as Glory Capital.


    The Gangnam Royals'' new team had no problem in entering the regular season.


    The Donghua Cup''s competition period was not quite 40 days ¨C it was just over a month in total. It was nothing compared to the professional league which lasted half a year.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were both considered guest commentators. They got invited to commentate every now and then, and usually, they would be given a partner. Some were like Dark Wind who liked to play tricks on people, while others were like Nine Phoenix who wore their heart on their sleeves and had a clear line between love and hate.


    Sometimes the production team would have them choose their own competitions. Other times, the production team will choose for them.


    The ones chosen by themselves were purely out of their own interests. The ones chosen by the production team meant there was something fishy going on. If it wasn''t for the especially interesting teams, then it must have been for a team that had spent money to advertise themselves.


    This couple''s reputation alone was enough to make the competition arena fill up.


    Those who came to seem them also knew which teams there were. Only the famous teams would receive investments. With investments came more money to buy equipment and train players. Thereby, teams endeavoured to receive investments so they could expand their glory. This trick had already been used by the gaming industry over the past hundred or so years.


    Another Stronghold Battle was scheduled again in this time period.


    Once a month was already considered a rather sparse arrangement. The System had probably already sensed that a large-scale competition was going on.

 1605 Stronghold Changes

    Currently, there were eight plots of land available, but none of them were new.


    The eight plots were being held by several clubs throughout Dawn ¨C Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court, Gale Legion, Glory Capital, Grand Hegemony and Peerless City. With the exception of Grand Hegemony, these were basically the most powerful clubs.


    Ruling Sword had several successes in defending their Stronghold along the Black Sea Coast. Their Grey Valley had also faced several battles. It wasn''t that these Strongholds were impregnable, but it was definitely not easy to attack them.


    The main point of competition was for the new Strongholds.


    The Hillsbrad Hills, Stonetalon Mountains and Tanaris had been the target of a number of raids.


    Sorrowless had once again intended to keep Tanaris by spending lots of money on it. This bug in the System didn''t look like it was going to be fixed, which suggested that it was something that the Game Company implicitly approved of it.


    However, the results were very unexpected this time. Seventh Heaven seemed to have a lot of money, even more than Glory Capital, and they managed to successfully bid for the right to attack Tanaris.


    One of the world''s top billionaires had purchased Seventh Heaven for 45 million dollars when Dawn first began. However, the guild had rapidly expanded since Dawn''s runaway success. Now, even if he was offered 4.5 billion, he wouldn''t sell the club.


    With the backing of such a rich investor, you could really make a difference, even against the number one guild.


    After gaining the rights to attack, Seventh Heaven actually managed to take Tanaris. Gale Legion wasn''t that much weaker than them, but they weren''t prepared at all. The main forces had been stationed at Glory Capital''s two other Strongholds to help with their defence.


    Tanaris was a point of strategic importance and had changed hands many times. It was likely that it would continue to be a point of competition.


    The Hillsbrad Hills were the most recent Stronghold to be released, and were occupied by Grand Hegemony. They were also the focus of this new wave of attacks, and even Lu Li tried to get himself involved.


    When Lu Li just entered the game, his relationship with Grand Hegemony was good. Grand Hegemony''s Northern Tang Dream had even invited him to join them, but he ultimately rejected this offer.


    This didn''t affect Lu Li''s relationship with them in friendship, business or joint operations. However, these things were fickle, and if Ruling Sword had the opportunity to take the Hillsbrad Hills, he wouldn''t hesitate to do so.


    By the same token, Grand Hegemony had tried more than once to capture the Black Sea Coast and Grey Valley from Ruling Sword.


    Unfortunately, the gold coins that they bid weren''t enough to earn them that right. The winner was Blood Red War Flag. The last Stronghold they held was the Barrenlands, which was new at the time.


    This time, they were making a comeback and took aim at the very popular Hillsbrad Hills.


    In the end, these veterans were not considered as such for no reason. They also weren''t the kinds of veterans to have gone downhill like the Gangnam Royals. After a fierce battle, Blood Red War Flag had successfully acquired the Stronghold of the Hillsbrad Hills and kept up their reputation as a top guild.


    The new Stronghold in Stonetalon Mountains was a must-try for many clubs.


    Unfortunately, Peerless City had seemingly abundant resources and allies like Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword. There was no way they were going to allow their new Stronghold to be taken away.


    In fact, when the Stronghold just came out, no one paid much attention to it.


    This was until Ruling Sword started to operate the Grey Valley Stronghold, which brought together Trade Skill players and became a business hub for all sorts of items and materials. There were many casual and combat players that hoped to create an ideal home in that Stronghold.


    The Black Sea Coast had become a casino in the game, of which there were none in the real world. Any kind of entertainment that was not completely prohibited could be found there.


    It was a town where you could get lost in your drunken stupor.


    These bustling towns brought great popularity and benefits to Ruling Sword, and were a signal for more to come.


    The development of Grey Valley and the Black Sea Coast gave everyone an idea of the broad development prospects of these Strongholds. It was only then that everyone started to pay attention, and the bidding prices clearly reflected the demand for them.


    Ruling Sword probably wouldn''t be able to expand for some time.


    The best time would be when there was a significant power struggle amongst the clubs. Ruling Sword could then swoop in to claim some Strongholds. However, clubs like Glory Capital only had two Strongholds. Drizzle Court and Peerless City had one each, but were supported financially by the female tycoon.


    There were also a lot of other clubs that hadn''t received anything.


    In fact, since Glory Capital had lost so much equipment, Lu Li was determined to take one of their Strongholds, in the same way that Grand Hegemony had taken the Hillsbrad Hills from Blood Red War Flag.


    But eventually, Lu Li gave up on that dream because he concluded that he wouldn''t be able to keep it.


    For example, Tanaris was forever stuck at the most basic level because it kept changing owners. There were also no bugs that he could make use of, so Lu Li didn''t think he could hold the Hillsbrad Hills Stronghold.


    He simply had to let it go, and wait for the right time to show his strength in fighting for the Strongholds.


    When the Donghua Cup reached the top 16, they had just started the month of September.


    This was already the second Septhember since Lu Li''s rebirth, which meant that he had been reborn for a full year.


    A lot of things had happened this year, some of which he had expected as result of his hard work ¨C such as his healthy and lively sister. However, some was outside of his control, such as Ruling Sword and Water Fairy. Even so, he didn''t reject those things just because he couldn''t control them.


    After all these things had happened, his mentality had also changed.


    Fortunately, everything was moving in the right direction.


    Despite the difficulties of the future, Lu Li would never look back to the way things were. For the sake of his sister, Water Fairy, and those who looked up to him, he had to keep winning.


    In this month, the new event of the game was Brewfest.


    Brewfest was one of Dawn''s earliest and most popular events, and it was designed to celebrate the alcoholic beverages in the game.


    This would never be publicly acknowledged, but Brewfest was likely a major reason for Dawn''s national success.


    In the past, games had set up various festivals and they would often coincide with real events, for example, Christmas and Valentine''s Day. They provided rich rewards, but they were still just games at the end of the day and didn''t affect anything in reality.


    However, Brewfest was different. From the 20th of September to the 3rd of October, players would spend a ridiculous amount of time playing the game.

 1606 Brewfes

    Alcohol had long been demonised and portrayed as something negative.


    However, ignoring all of that, there were still many people who liked to drink. Naturally, people cared much less about getting drunk in game.


    Since this big festival was celebrated specifically for the invention of alcohol, then it also naturally wouldn''t be limited to one city or one race only. Although it was the Dwarves who started this celebration, it was now a festival shared by both the Alliance and the Horde. Every skilled alcohol brewer gathered in one place, sharing and comparing their brewing techniques with each other.


    Allergic to alcohol?


    This was no problem as the players could safely drink in game.


    Enjoy being drunk?


    This was also no problem. Since it was in game, the players would at the very most drop their equipment on the ground and let others pick it up.


    Didn''t like to drink?


    If this was indeed the case, then nothing more could be done. However, everyone enjoyed eating, right?


    The name of the event was indeed Brewfest, but how could there be alcohol and no food?


    This was a festival that celebrated both food and alcohol. Hungry foodies were able to try dishes from all corners of the world here.


    Didn''t like to drink or eat?


    Then what was the point of existing?


    The cities flowed with free glasses of freshly brewed and frothy beer. In the outskirts of Ironforge and Orgrimmar, the tavern''s assistants would immediately refill your glass as soon as you put an empty one on the table. The barrels near the tavern counter could also be drunk from. Players didn''t need to worry about not being able to find a place to drink in an alcohol festival!


    During the event, there would be hosts to lead you to the main area to conduct the festivities.


    The event this time would reward some valuable items, as well as mounts that could be shown off. Players could undertake quests to experience the joys of the festival, win some gold and accumulate event currency to exchange for what they wanted.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t miss out on an event like this. Brewfest still had some worthwhile things to be gained. However, the key point was that there was a chance for skill points to be rewarded.


    Besides the mounts and gold as rewards, the skill points alone were enough for players to go crazy.


    It was rumoured that even drinking a glass of alcohol would have a chance at rewarding a skill point.


    Although players who focused on Trade Professions didn''t need skill points, they would still happily take up the opportunity to let loose.


    As for the casual players, they naturally gravitated to wherever there was activity.


    The implementation of Brewfest in the game attracted all types of players.


    As for Lu Li, his target was the skill points.


    Of course, he wouldn''t try and obtain skill points the normal way, which was to drink glasses of beer. For someone as unlucky as he was, he probably wouldn''t even see a single skill point even after drinking himself to the verge of death.


    In his previous life, he had already experienced two Brewfests.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t let Brewfest slip through his hands. He already knew how to complete the normal quests that were usually triggered by ordinary players.


    As for the quest that was the most worthwhile, it was the Ram Racing!


    Ram Racing was a quest that would be attempted by all players who participated in the festival. The trigger rate for this quest was almost 100%.


    The rules of Ram Racing were extremely simple, to the point where even little children could quickly understand them. If your IQ couldn''t even compare to a child''s, then that was okay too. This quest could be attempted repeatedly without any penalties. On top of that, every completion would give rewards too.


    However, the rewards would become worse and worse each time.


    Therefore, if he wanted a skill point from Ram Racing, he would need to achieve good results in the first attempt.


    In the outskirts of Ironforge, the Ram Racing Master Neill Ramstein constantly gave tips and strategies for Ram Racing. He had a Dwarf-like beard, but it was of a red colour and was so thick that it was almost preventing his mouth from moving.


    As such, Neill Ramstein''s words were quite unclear.


    There were some players who pushed ahead to the front to listen, but no one could stand the spit that flew everywhere as he spoke, as well as the strong and pungent smell of alcohol.


    If he was interrupted to speak more clearly, this emotionally-impatient Dwarf would immediately kick the player away. Although there wouldn''t be damage dealt, no one wanted to try their luck, since no one wanted to look bad.


    Therefore, there normally wouldn''t be many players bothering to listen to him.


    It was simple enough to know how to do it after trying it once or observing how others did it.


    There were also many others who were willing to tell the unknowing players how to control their rams.


    Although Lu Li had already tried Ram Racing twice before, he didn''t know if the rules had changed as the game updated. This was why he quietly stood next to Neill Ramstein and listened to him speak over and over again.


    There was a small training session before the real Ram Racing.


    Neill Ramstein would give the players a herd of rams. Then, the players would climb up onto them, and the System would notify them to then control their own rams at a scampering speed, jogging speed or charging speed for 8 seconds each.


    When a player signed up for Ram Racing, he or she would receive a rope for the race. If the player didn''t do anything, the ram would move forwards slowly by itself. If you pulled lightly on the right side once, the ram would start scampering. To enter a jogging speed, the player would need to tug the rope on the right side four times within three seconds of speeding up into a scamper. It was also in this state that fatigue would begin. Using the same system, if the rope was tugged on the right side four more times within three seconds of the slow jog, the ram would then enter a charging state. It was in this state that the ram was the fastest, which meant that the fatigue would set in at the highest rate.


    When the fatigue reached 100, the ram would enter a fatigued state and would only be willing to move at a speed slower than the beginning speed. For comparison purposes, the speed would be slower than a player who was inflicted by a Thief''s top-grade disable poison.


    To keep a ram at a constant speed, the players would need to tug on the rope every three seconds. This was the same for every speed. If the rope wasn''t tugged, the ram would start slowing down, eventually to a walking speed.


    When the ram started slowing down from a faster speed, a tug on the rope every 3 seconds would allow it to maintain a constant speed and not slow down.


    Lu Li had already mastered these mechanics and rules in his previous life. Although it had been a while, he just needed a few warmups to get back to his usual form.


    Besides the basics, there were also other more complicated mechanics. These mechanics could only be discovered after a long period of research and investigation. Lu Li also had to figure them out slowly.


    For example, when the ram was scampering, the increase in speed was approximately 30%, and also slowly decreased fatigue levels. If it was slow jogging, the increase in speed was around 60%, while the fatigue value increased at 1 point per second. If the ram was charging, the speed increase was 150%, while fatigue would increase by 5 points per second.


    Besides slowing the ram down to a scamper, eating apples on the roadside also could lower fatigue.


    This meant that during the race, if the players were able to control the ram effectively enough, they would be able to eat the apples and clear their fatigue completely.


    If they could eat apples the whole way, the ram would be able to charge the whole way as well!


    However, if there were no apples to be eaten, transitioning between scampering and slow jogging would be the most effective way of moving.


    During training, the ram was given to them by Neill Ramstein. However, in the real race, the players needed to buy their own rams.


    Pol Amberstill was a Dwarf with a large red beard. It was said that Dwarves were born with full beards when they exited the womb. Even a few female Dwarves had beards, but everyone was already used to them.


    This crafty little Dwarf could earn 40 silver from every ram sold.


    According to the current rates, that was around 30 dollars ¨C 0.4 Gold was worth around 12 dollars. This amount of money could be used to go to a theme park and sit on a few of the rides there.


    The worst part was that this ram was only usable for five minutes. It was impossible to finish two races in 5 minutes, no matter who was playing. Therefore, this meant that players could only use the ram to race once.


    Even if players could somehow squeeze in a second race, it wouldn''t bode well for them. They could be coming first, but the ram would suddenly turn back to its owner.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t hold back this little bit of change. To at least break even on his investment into the ram, he would only need to enter top 20 in a race out of 100 players.


    "Please give me a ram. Thanks," Lu Li said as he transferred 40 silver.


    "Hehe¡­Do you want a male or female ram?" Pol Amberstill asked with a laugh. This dwarf wasn''t cute at all. If Lu Li was a female player, he probably would have said a few more lines.


    "Male, please. Thank you," Lu Li replied, expressionless.


    Upon seeing that Lu Li did not reciprocate and laugh at his humour, Pol Amberstill decided to just hand the male ram over to Lu Li and also gave him a free rope. Truthfully speaking, the female ram was much easier on the eye. Its wool was as white as snow and there was even a flower collar around its neck. Players could choose to customise its look.


    However, people who focused on appearance would only lose money here. This was because the female ram was only for aesthetic purposes and not for running.


    There weren''t any lines to separate each racer, so players were able to collide with each other. Therefore, to avoid collisions, players would steal all the apples first. That was simply part of the game.

 1607 Eating Apples

    Lu Li, along with 99 other people, led their respective rams to the starting line.


    The Dwarves saw the action of mounting a ram as a competition as well, since they thought that it looked cool. This was why they included this action as a part of the race as well. This action didn''t take any skill though. As long as you didn''t pull on the ram''s wool, it would sit still and let you climb on.


    Then, as soon as the gun sounded, the riders would be allowed to take off.


    False starts were not allowed. If a false start occurred, the big Dwarven uncle''s next shot would be fired at you. There were some fierce-looking Dwarves on the sidelines, waiting to shoot their rifles. If players went up to them, they would be able to listen in on their conversation.


    Shooting people was like shooting birds!


    These guys were the new riflemen recruits in the Ironforge Brigade, so they used this opportunity as practice.


    Lu Li stared at the raised rifle. As soon as the rifle fired, Lu Li rapidly climbed onto his ram and immediately rushed out.


    Why did he use his eyes instead of listening for the sound?


    Even if Lu Li never went to school, he still knew that the speed of light was faster than the speed of sound, so with this knowledge, he decided to use his sight to make the first move.


    Even so, he wasn''t the quickest. There were a few more people who reacted just as fast, or even faster than him. After all, he was uneducated, while the rest of the competitors were likely more cultured than he was. Furthermore, these people immediately swung their ropes as soon as they got onto the ram, so they gained a few more meters initially.


    Gradually, more and more people passed him.


    However, he wasn''t panicking. If the players just blindly sped up their rams, then it would only make the ram fatigue faster. When that happened, then the speed of the ram would be even slower than the initial speed. Furthermore, the spawn rate of the apples wasn''t set ¨C it was random.


    The messaging function suddenly vibrated. Who would call him at this time? Lu Li was speechless; he planned to end the call straight away. However, upon glancing over the identity of the caller, he decided to answer. There were two people who he would always answer. One was of course, his beloved sister whose life was more important than his own, and the other was Water Fairy, whose life was already nearly as important as his own.


    The caller this time was Water Fairy.


    Lu Xin''s body was already nearly healthy. Her level also wasn''t that low anymore after training with some of the stronger players in the guild. Currently, she was drinking alcohol with some of her best friends, who were her previous female landlords, so Lu Li wasn''t worried that they would cause trouble.


    "This Brewfest is really quite nice¡­" Water Fairy said while hiccupping. It was clear as to what she had just been doing.


    "Drinking can''t give you skill points," Lu Li sighed.


    Water Fairy''s luck was below average as well. Even if she drank until her belly was the size of a 10-month pregnant lady''s, she still wouldn''t gain any skill points.


    "I¡­I know that now, but what can I do?"


    The female tycoon was a little drunk now and was a little confused. It was unfortunate that Lu Li was currently ram racing then, so he couldn''t see her confused look and behaviour.


    "There''s medicine to cure drunkenness at the tavern. Get someone to buy it for you. Then, you should go and do the quests for Ram Racing. It would be the best if you placed in your first attempt. I''ll tell you how to do it," Lu Li said.


    Then, he heard her telling someone to get medicine for her.


    As the leader of a large guild, it was natural for her to have someone else to run this errand.


    Lu Li was adjusting the speed of his ram constantly while keeping a look out for crates of apples around him.


    One apple crate would drop around one to two apples. Under the control of the player, the ram would eat the apples in the crates if it walked next to one.


    The fatigue level would drop to 0 after eating the apples, which meant that there was an opportunity to charge.


    Lu Li wasn''t wearing his usual items or the ones that he used to entrap Glory Capital. He was wearing a whole new set of items that had been retrieved from the guild storage. Each piece focused on increasing his range of vision. Usually, these items weren''t wanted, since the usage scenario was usually quite niche. As such, these items didn''t have much value either.


    Ruling Sword had many things, after all, it was a large club. Therefore, the items to increase range of vision were assembled without much searching.


    Lu Li had these items equipped for the sole purpose of discovering the apple crates.


    Sometimes, the crates would spawn deeper on the side of the road, so they weren''t as visible. Therefore, some players would miss them while the other players with keen eyes would steal them away.


    With this set of items, Lu Li would be able to spot these crates sooner.


    He would immediately detour and even charge towards the crates. After all, the fatigue level would be reset to 0 after eating the apples, so he might as well use up all the energy beforehand.


    While Water Fairy was curing herself of her drunkenness, most of the players in Lu Li''s race had already passed him.


    There were a few people who decided to save up their rams'' energy to avoid slowing down to a snail-like pace. However, they didn''t have Lu Li''s experience of transitioning between different speeds, so their fatigue level was still increasing, albeit at a slower rate.


    As for those who charged ahead in the early phase of the race, their speed had already dropped. They were all crawling along like snails. It was inevitable for those behind them to pass them.


    At this time, if they could get their rams to eat an apple, then this problem would be solved.


    Unfortunately, the crates were behind them.


    Lu Li saw a crate of apples and immediately charged towards it.


    It was at this moment when Lu Li was the quickest. This was because other players were also rushing to get it. It was just that their reaction time was slower. It didn''t matter whether it was a detour or changing speeds ¨C reaction time still mattered. They could only watch on as Lu Li passed them and reached the crate first.


    With Lu Li''s experienced control, he successfully took an apple from the crate.


    Then, he continued on his way, speeding up in the process. Upon seeing the next apple crate, he remained at his current speed and ran towards it. Because of his previous charge, he was already in front of most players.


    There was actually one more apple inside the crate.


    One of the players was following Lu Li closely to eat the remaining apple. However, something happened that devastated him. The person behind him watched as the player charged towards the last apple. He decided that since he couldn''t steal it from him, he would use his ram and charge at the player''s butt.


    The ram in front was originally moving forward, but when the rear-end assault occurred, it immediately screamed in pain.

 1608 Where Did the Skill Point Go?

    It was natural for the ram to continue on its path, so it just screamed in pain as it passed the apple crate.


    The attacker was overjoyed as he directed his ram to eat the apple. Both the rider and ram were planning on rushing ahead like Lu Li had done.


    "Go to hell! Kill him!" the player yelled, furiously.


    The attacker planned to storm ahead and lose him to avoid dealing with him throughout the race. However, before he could speed up, he was already sandwiched by two other players.


    He now realised that the player he had attacked was not racing alone ¨C he was racing in a team.


    This was how the first reformation of the rules occurred.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, there was a similar occurrence which caused the changes to the rules. A guild leader brought many of his guild members and participated in the ram race. The leader rushed ahead while the rest of them hindered the other racers. This strategy was simply unfair.


    Later on, an even dirtier thing happened.


    Another guild''s leader decided to bring 99 of his members to join the race, so he easily obtained first place.


    Fortunately, the System reacted quickly and immediately implemented a randomizer for the players'' entries. Furthermore, with the knowledge of the rewards getting worse and worse each time, no one was willing to repeat the race multiple times


    The ram that had just eaten the apple was immediately attacked by the other two.


    Lu Li didn''t know what had happened behind him. Instead, he saw another apple crate that had just spawned. However, there was another player who was also charging towards the crate.


    This was a Hunter wearing a wolf''s head as his helmet, which was a class-specific Epic equip.


    It was quite impressive. In this current update of the game, no items could give more range of vision than this. Only Lu Li could compete with his full set of items. Otherwise, no one would be able to compare with the Hunters wearing this helmet.


    In the earlier ages of ram racing, many Hunters won because of this helmet.


    The Hunter saw Lu Li and immediately thought of fighting. This Thief couldn''t compete with him. He aimed to defeat this Thief and use this apple to surpass all of the players in front, then win the entire race.


    After all, he had grown up on the back of rams!


    However, Lu Li wasn''t planning on fighting fairly, since his target wasn''t the apple, but the rider and his ram.


    Lu Li''s ram''s head lowered a little as he charged. Using his momentum, Lu Li''s ram knocked into the Hunter and his ram. Before the Hunter could regain his balance, the shameless Thief had already stolen the apple and left him behind.


    One¡­Two¡­


    Using this apple, Lu Li left one opponent after another in the dust. The finish line was within reach!


    The other players began to panic upon seeing this.


    All of them hoped for someone to stop Lu Li!


    If someone could hit Lu Li with their ram, then his speed would be decreased, which would cause him to lose.


    However, there was a problem. Including Lu Li himself, there were only three players who were close to the finish line. The other two players besides Lu Li had quite high fatigue levels, so it was impossible for them to win. Either of them could stop Lu Li from winning, but it would not be without a price.


    For every action, there was an equal and opposite reaction. This meant that although Lu Li''s speed would be decreased, the assailant wouldn''t fare any better either.


    This way, the three of them would win prizes!


    Sacrificing yourself to satisfy others?


    Neither of these people were that heroic. They looked at each other, hoping that the other would take action.


    In their moment of hesitation, Lu Li charged through the middle of the two players and left them behind.


    The System announced that Lu Li had won the race and indicated for him to look for the Ram Racing Master to receive his rewards. On top of this, he also gained the Proficient Ram Racer title.


    "How was it? How was the race?"


    Water Fairy''s voice was now clear and had none of the shakiness from before. It seemed that she had already consumed the medicine and was now sober.


    "Why do you still need to ask?"


    Lu Li brought the ram back to Neill Ramstein and let go of the rope which bound the ram to him. Upon releasing the rope, the ram immediately returned to its master.


    "Hurry and teach me how to do it. A lot of people from the guild already lost. Everyone''s discussing strategies on how to win," Water Fairy shamelessly urged.


    Previously, this strong and independent woman wouldn''t have made such a request.


    She would have wanted to gain victory by her own efforts. All of this was related to the way that she was brought up.


    The Water Fairy at this moment probably didn''t realise that she was acting a little spoiled. This had an effect on Lu Li. After all, Water Fairy usually wasn''t the type to act spoiled, so when she did, Lu Li immediately softened. Lu Xin often acted spoiled in front of her brother, but it never gave this feeling.


    "Don''t worry. I promise to teach you the ways of winning Ram Racing."


    All of his blood rushed to his head now; Lu Li was ready to unleash all he had.


    "Child, did winning the race bring you that much joy? Why are you smiling so much?"


    Neill Ramstein held himself skin tightly. He''d heard that there were some male Dark Elves who liked to molest manly Dwarves.


    "Master, where are my rewards?" Lu Li asked as he awkwardly rubbed his head.


    It was a Dark Gold item and the shape was just like a wine glass. The properties were average, but the special effect was quite interesting. This glass produced a glass of wine every hour. After drinking it, the consumer''s EXP gain rate would increase by 50% over a duration of 30 minutes.


    This was a level booster!


    It was quite valuable, because the required level to equip this item was 20. A low-level player could wear this item, then ask someone to train them. This way, they would reach level 60 much faster.


    Furthermore, after reaching the first barrier of level 60, the player could rush to level 70.


    The first players to reach level 60 gained a Stronghold, while the faster player to reach level 70 would also gain something worthwhile.


    "Then?" Lu Li stared at Neill Ramstein.


    Neill Ramstein blinked, then stared straight back at Lu Li.


    "What? There''s nothing more."


    "What?"


    Lu Li nearly fainted. Where was his skill point?


    Lu Li immediately decided to go and help his own girlfriend to race. His strategy simple ¨C since Water Fairy was a Thief herself, all of his items could be given to her to use.


    Then, he could share in her range of vision and guide her on ram racing.


    This was how the couple would break through to the top by the power of unity!

 1609 Can’t Lose

    "Should we go listen to his lecture? Maybe we''ll learn something."


    Water Fairy saw that a crowd was gathering around Neill Ramstein the Ram Racing Master and thought about joining.


    "Nah, he''s not a good person." Lu Li said.


    "You were just unlucky today. Don''t blame him for not giving you a skill point."


    Water Fairy found it funny, but kind of annoying.


    "I wasted so much time and effort and all I got in return was a Dark Gold equip," Lu Li sighed. This equip was actually high quality and was one of the better rewards. However, Lu Li could easily level up from 60 to 70, so he didn''t care about it.


    "Can we really get rewarded with a Skill Point if we win the race?" Water Fairy asked.


    "There''s a chance if you''re lucky," Lu Li answered.


    Then, the both of them let out a sigh.


    They were both very unlucky and wondered if players like Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan would get rewarded with a Skill Point.


    This was why guilds liked to recruit as many lucky or charismatic players as possible. Compared to normal players, all they had to do was put in a little bit of effort and they could become the main players in the guild.


    When they thought of this, they decided to call Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan and send them a quick guide to Ram Racing.


    "Okay, can we start now?"


    Water Fairy bought a Male Ram from the vendor, then took it to Lu Li waited for him to teach her how to race. Each Ram could be borrowed for 5 minutes and Lu Li only took 2 minutes to go through everything with her.


    Lu Li summoned his headless mount and rode alongside Water Fairy''s ram.


    He could teach her everything that Neill Ramstein would have taught her, and probably even better. He had much better patience than Neill Ramstein as well.


    The two of them had a lot of fun messing around for about two minutes until Water Fairy finally perfected her skills.


    "Let''s go. Remember to listen to my cues," Lu Li said as he transformed into a crow and flew up into the air. He would be up high in the air with a birds-eye view to help Water Fairy with the race.


    This was basically cheating but there were very few that could do this.


    This was something that could be abused in this patch of Ram Race, but this would be fixed in the next patch. The racetrack would become like an Instance Dungeon and only allow the racers to enter the room. They allowed spectators, but they were no were near as close as Lu Li was.


    Besides Water Fairy, there were 99 other poor kids that entered the race.


    They had no idea they were about to become victims of the couple''s plans and each of them were gunning for the prizes.


    There were a huge crowd of spectators cheering on their friends. In the air, Lu Li had a good view of everything and saw a huge banner in support of a racer.


    It read "The Prettiest Girl in the Capital".


    They weren''t in support of his girlfriend because she was very lowkey in public events and would always wear a mask over her face.


    Capital?


    Were they referring to Dancing Flower Beauty from Glory Capital? If it really was her then she indeed deserved that title.


    However¡­would the players from Glory Capital be that cheesy?


    He flew down to get a better look and saw the girl they were referring to.


    "Is she pretty?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Hm? What''s pretty?" Lu Li had very low EQ but still knew he should never admit to checking out another girl. He knew what the outcome would be from those cheesy rom-com movies.


    "Aren''t you trying to look at how pretty the prettiest girl in the capital is?" Water Fairy chuckled coldly.


    "No, she''s not pretty at all. She''s average at most," Lu Li replied.


    "If you didn''t look at her then how do you know she''s average?" Water Fairy was annoyed.


    "No, I was just pissed off that they claimed someone else was the prettiest girl in the capital when you''re here in person. They must be out of their minds," Lu Li said, pretending to be angry, but his acting skills were subpar and quite obvious.


    "She''s the sister of the guild master of a medium-sized guild. She''s actually quite pretty and has a lot of fans," Water Fairy commented. She actually about her.


    She was just messing around and pretended to be mad at Lu Li. Based on her understanding of Lu Li, she knew that he wouldn''t be interested in a pretentious and spoilt little girl.


    The Dwarf who was refereeing raised his rifle, signaling that the race was about to begin.


    Water Fairy and Lu Li stopped messing around. They were both people who could mess around and laugh with each other constantly, but once the game started, they were more serious than anyone else.


    They felt a rush of adrenaline as the race was about to begin. Lu Li carefully observed each and every opponent.


    To Water Fairy, a Skill Point might be worth more than ten pieces of Epic equipment.


    Lu Li''s mind began to race. Maybe...just maybe if he helped Water Fairy win the race, he could receive a kiss as a reward.


    As he was scanning through the players, he noticed something unusual about a racer.


    Usually, when a race was about to begin, most people would usually either look ahead or at the referee. However, there was someone who was looking at someone next to them which was rather unusual.


    Then, Lu Li noticed that a lot of players were doing this and grew suspicious.


    He realized that these were players helping someone from their own guild to win.


    Could Water Fairy get anymore unlucky?


    No, he couldn''t let her lose!


    Lu Li couldn''t let her down after bragging so much about his ability in ram racing. If she were to lose under Lu Li''s coaching, not only would he not receive a kiss, but his privilege of holding hands might be taken away as well.

 1610 Capital Beauty

    "Snowy, careful of the people on your left. When I increase your movement speed, you should sprint straight away," Lu Li said from the sky.


    "Didn''t you say not to sprint too fast at the start?"


    The tactic they discussed beforehand didn''t seem to be like this. Water Fairy''s character tended to be more independent; she definitely needed to know why. Even if she looked submissive, she definitely wasn''t one to stupidly follow the guy along.


    "No time to explain, just get on the ram," Lu Li urged as the gun was fired. Without hesitation, Water Fairy got on the ram and rushed out.


    One moment, he was rubbing shoulders with her and the next she was gone. The person on her left wasn''t going forward, but was tilting towards Water Fairy. It was only because of Water Fairy suddenly increasing her speed that he lost his target. He could only watch helplessly as she rushed ahead.


    Others didn''t have this sort of luck that Water Fairy had. Their rams had been struck from every direction.


    At this, there was a confused war going on in the group, but they couldn''t use skills to fight. They could only control the rams to bump into each other.


    Those with the restraining ropes down in the darkness were happy like this. Everyone had a lot of fun.


    Those who were more clever immediately realised what these people were doing. They immediately controlled their rams to try and avoid these people, running straight ahead. However, the people at the rear persisted in bothering them, which greatly affected the speed of those at the front.


    Only about a dozen people escaped unscathed.


    Water Fairy was one of them. She was originally one of the targets of those restraining ropes, but Lu Li had commanded her to hide from that disaster.


    There was someone behind Water Fairy trying to stop her, but they had been flung away behind her. Lu Li commanded Water Fairy again to change lanes twice. Very soon, there were two people between Water Fairy and the restraining rope. There was no way to impede her in such a short amount of time.


    "What happened? Is there someone causing trouble?"


    Water Fairy should have been able to realise what was going on even if she wasn''t so intelligent.


    "Yeah, I couldn''t confirm who benefited in the end. I only have a suspect target," Lu Li said as he observed from above, trying to look for as many clues as he could. After all, no less than a dozen people could have benefited.


    "Capital Beauty?" Water Fairy guessed.


    "Yeah, I think it''s probably her," Lu Li agreed. He had previously seen two restraining ropes next to her, but she hadn''t been targeted by them.


    "Hehe, she''s really asking for it," Water Fairy said coldly.


    The Female Tycoon was feeling a little annoyed at this point. How dare these people mess with her?!


    Water Fairy was never one to repay evil with kindness.


    Almost the entire gaming circle knew that if you crossed Water Fairy in the arena, then it would be a nightmare for you off the arena,.


    When Water Fairy had just entered the gaming circle, she was a beautiful girl that even the blind recognized. Because of this, there were often people annoying her, but they were harshly dealt with in the arena. This gradually led to the Female Tycoon becoming infamous for being not someone to mess with.


    This so-called Capital Beauty, who everyone was originally crowding around, was likely the principle offender.


    He wouldn''t be one to sympathise with this sort of people. Even if Water Fairy didn''t do anything, Lu Li himself would still think about exacting revenge on her guild.


    HE and Water Fairy had similar personalities ¨C they were not people you would like to mess with. It was just that their methods were different. Water Fairy was more direct. She would probably go back and directly declare war on this club. If a major guild like Drizzle Court declared war on them, it would probably scare them out of their wits.


    It was savage tactic; you could even call it rude and unreasonable.


    However, Lu Li would probably be a bit more low key about it. For example, he could fabricate some evidence and give it to Glory Capital to confirm that this mid-sized guild was linked to the Longspear Valley war. Lu Li always had a way to make something that looked suspicious t into something that was completely undoubtable.


    Glory Capital would take the bait. They would question closely and investigate, but in any case, they certainly wouldn''t make life easy for this mid-sized guild.


    Actually, this guild would rather face Glory Capital, rather than just closing their eyes and letting the Female Tycoon trample over them. After all, the Female Tycoon didn''t even let them off on this ram race.


    Very soon, Lu Li confirmed that Capital Beauty was up to no good.


    After the first apple crate came out, the first dozen people at the front appeared again with restraining ropes. They were up to their old tricks again, still trying to annoy the players by snatching their apples.


    Lu Li really didn''t understand how these people thought. If they really wanted to let Capital Beauty take first place, couldn''t they just use themselves as cannon fodder? Why did they have to oppress others?


    "What do we do?" Water Fairy asked.


    "Give up this apple and change onto the left road. Your opponent in front of you to your left farmed a new apple crate. Your fatigue bar isn''t full yet, right? Rush right at it at full speed ¨C after all, when you eat an apple your fatigue bar will reset," Lu Li said.


    Since there was now a better option, there was no need to compete with Capital Beauty. What was more, Lu Li believed that Water Fairy would be faster than Capital Beauty. After all, her manoeuvres were simply not as agile as Water Fairy''s.


    "Go block up that girl at the front," Capital Beauty commanded in a gruff voice. On top of the fact that her appearance was above average at best, she had to be incredibly thick-skinned to call herself Capital Beauty.


    These people were probably from Capital Beauty''s guild. As soon as they heard her command, they rushed over without saying another word.


    It was a shame that Water Fairy was already too far in the lead. Rushing forward at full speed towards the apple crate, her soon-to-be-full fatigue bar was immediately cleared. The people at the back were left behind in her tracks. The only one who could stop her from getting to the end was that one who had gotten the apple crate, Capital Beauty.


    Water Fairy grunted coldly as she steered her ram into Capital Beauty.


    The Female Tycoon was really like how her colleagues described her ¨C always seeking revenge, even for the small things.


    In men''s hearts, beautiful girls who were kind, considerate, cute and clever were more popular.


    Capital Beauty probably was a noob. At the least, she had no way of competing with professional-level players. Upon seeing Water Fairy crash into her, she let out a strange cry and covered her head. She was actually leading Water Fairy by a fraction. All that was needed was to avoid this hit and zoom forward towards the end.


    Without her players driving her on, the ram''s speed would slowly decrease by itself.


    So what other bit of suspense was there about the result?

 1611 Hit Her

    The Female Tycoon, charging with her momentum, rushed across the finish line. This made all those cheering people on the outside who thought that Capital Beauty would win fall silent.


    The System had already confirmed that Water Fairy was the Ram Race champion.


    She sent the ram outside, but halfway along, it was blocked. Lu Li, flapping his wings, came down from the sky. After making a loop, he landed on Water Fairy''s shoulder. The field of vision here was still alright. The most important thing was being able to smell Water Fairy''s wafting fragrance.


    Lu Li shuffled around very intimately.


    Because she needed to deal with those troublemakers ahead, Water Fairy didn''t really pay attention to the transformed Lu Li. She just let him stay perched on his shoulder.


    "Do you know who you''ve messed with?"


    Confrontations always started with clich¨¦ lines like this. It was like these people could never come up with anything new, or perhaps their IQ only allowed them to command this sort of language.


    "Well, do you know who you''ve messed with?" Lu Li asked in response.


    "We''re from the Great Wave guild. What guild are you from?"


    Their Great Wave guild had recently received an injection of funds. They had absorbed up a few smaller guilds and were now more than twice the size they were previously.


    At least in terms of the size of their numbers, they had already met the requirements for being a large guild. Ninety-nine percent of players in the game couldn''t pose a threat to them. If they bullied a random player, they wouldn''t have to worry about payback at all.


    That was why the way the Great Wave guild conducted themselves as loftier than before.


    "Hit her ¨C she''s just one person. There''s nothing to be afraid of. If she really does have backup, then how come she doesn''t have anyone following her?" Capital Beauty cried out, running over. She had already received the comfort of her flatterers, so she finally decided to come over and take back her pride.


    At that time, she had been given a shock, so she covered her head and didn''t dare move.


    On one hand, she felt she was acting delicately, like a beautiful girl who was sick. On the other hand, she felt like she had lost face.


    She wasn''t a complete idiot either. Capital Beauty was flat-chested, so she didn''t conform to the ''big breasts and no brain'' stereotype. At the very least, she could infer a little bit about Water Fairy''s background from her appearance.


    Actually, the competitors were basically all like Water Fairy. There was barely anyone who brought a whole group of people with them.


    The players who had an entourage were the guild leaders or other important people. They paid more attention to their personal safety, but they couldn''t protect themselves. They could only take people from their own guilds, and these players often took turns in shifts.


    Or perhaps they were other people with connections, hiring mercenaries to protect themselves.


    However, of the over one billion players worldwide, not a single one of the real competitors were usually seen. No one would think that they would bump into a legendary player in a ram race, let alone a celebrity player.


    "Hit me?"


    Water Fairy initially didn''t want to bother with these people, but hearing that they wanted to hit her, she immediately stopped.


    This was outside the city, so it was originally not a safe zone. PVP battles occurred all the time. It was only because of Brewfest that this area had all been cordoned off as a safe zone. Within the safe zone, you couldn''t engage in PVP, but it was still fine to hit people.


    "That''s right, hit her! Let her know what happens after she takes my championship," Capital Beauty called out.


    Lu Li sighed at the bottom of his heart. What sort of problem was this?


    If he hadn''t been reborn, then Water Fairy wouldn''t have sent people out to buy a hangover cure at this time, and she''d still be a beautiful drunk girl. In that state, she naturally wouldn''t have come over to participate in a Ram Race, and she wouldn''t have had a conflict with the Great Wave guild.


    The Great Wave guild would naturally just continue their smooth development.


    There were many more aggressive people in this gaming circle. If Lu Li hadn''t been reborn, this lazy young girl, Capital Beauty, would just keep up her behaviour, unless she encountered someone that she couldn''t afford to offend. However, along with Great Wave''s development, the tiny odds of this happening grew even more miniscule.


    What a shame that Lu Li was reborn.


    The main offender all along was Lu Li!


    However, he certainly wasn''t planning to apologise for this. He knew right from the beginning that this matter wouldn''t be solved peacefully. So, if at this time, Great Wave''s people were smart enough, they would realise that the number of people coming in from Water Fairy''s were far greater than the number of people they had brought today.


    "What are you waiting for!" The first one to do anything was a Paladin who was affectionately known as Lil'' Soft Big Bro.


    This feminine name often misled people who met him. From when he joined Dawn, he was the one who got himself involved in all sorts of trouble for no reason. He wasn''t really interested in Instance Dungeons, but rather, was keen on using all sorts of different ways to fight. He had a special preference for the cunning style of chaotic warfare.


    Today, he wasn''t looking for trouble just for the sake of it. This was a rare case where he had a reason for doing things.


    When he heard that this odd couple was going to be in a fight, he wasn''t like the others, taking joy in their suffering. He wanted to be an observer, and at the same time, sell out his front row seat, grab some snacks and make the front page the next day. Lil'' Soft Big Bro knew his chance had come.


    He used his artistic licence to spice up how the whole story happened.


    "Ruling Sword''s big boss and his girl had been besieged by a group of enemies. These tight-knit brotherhood leaders resolutely brought a band of brothers with them. Braving a great downpour, they rushed down to the scene to save them.


    In this battle, you could say they were slaughtered until the rivers ran red. Lil'' Soft Big Bro had 36 cuts on him..."


    "Damn, leave one for me!" Her Tears cried out, dazed at all of his effort and work. He suddenly realized that all his targets had already gotten away.


    As soon as he had received Lu Li''s notice they raced over like a hurricane. The Great Wave guild only had a few dozen people. They were simply not enough to deal with the fierce hired thugs of Ruling Sword.


    This was simply too different to what Her Tears imagined.


    Great Wave guild''s people were originally planning to call people over for backup when they suddenly recognized the Paladin player leading the charge.


    Ruling Sword!


    Why was it Ruling Sword!?


    Capital Beauty was also dumbstruck. She was a young girl, so no one raised a hand against her. But she felt that in front of her, there were already thousands of curses being thrown at her.

 1612 Innocen

    Since they couldn''t call people to come, then would they simply be beaten?


    Who would want to be hit like that for no reason? That was why everyone went offline almost instantaneously.


    As long as someone took the lead, others would follow suit. They all quickly went offline and


    concealed themselves.


    As for what they would do after they went back online, they hadn''t thought about that. No one sent any information at all to report on the situation. Perhaps those people innocently thought that after that little beating, it was all over.


    Lu Li didn''t participate in this assault; he simply didn''t need to play a part himself.


    He and Water Fairy didn''t stay to watch the show. With Her Tears there, Lu Li wasn''t really worried. However, he knew that this altercation wasn''t over. It was Drizzle Court''s reaction that would be the problem that Great Wave had to deal with.


    Lu Li didn''t sympathise with the other side''s way of thinking. Everyone had to make amends for their own behaviour.


    Great Wave''s people were really a little too arrogant. If they hadn''t encountered Lu Li and Water Fairy, they would still be bullying their poor victims.


    "Don''t pay attention to these people. Quick, just hand in the quest. There''s a real chance you''ll get Skill Points," Lu Li urged.


    "What are you doing? Why are you so excited? It''s not you getting Skill Points," Water Fairy said, certainly not losing her judgement because of her anticipation. She still thought Lu Li was a bit impatient, and even more nervous than her.


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li froze up a bit, not knowing what he should say.


    Alas, his heart was really burnt out. It was completely different to what the walkthrough described. Why was reality and what he envisioned with the walkthrough so different?


    Lu Li had no choice but to pin his hopes on Skill Points.


    The two appeared before the Ram Racing Master. The Female Tycoon lined up to hand in the quest, while Lu Li followed at the back, waiting for the result.


    "Wow, Skill Points! I got Skill Points!"


    This wasn''t Water Fairy. The person right at the front had seemed to have received Skill Points, and on the spot, he jumped up and down in excitement.


    Lu Li had a look. That person was male, and the person next to him was also male. They looked like they were only hugging, but definitely not kissing. That would just be too nauseating.


    One after another went on up, receiving their quest reward.


    Different levelled players had different expectations for their reward. For those in the most difficult situation, if they could gain a few gold, they wouldn''t feel like struggling in this Ram Race was all for nothing. If they could receive a piece of Dark Gold equipment with decent attributes, then they really might just jump for joy right then and there.


    However, elite players were only interested in the few top rewards.


    At Lu Li and Water Fairy''s level, it was probably only Skill Points that would excite.


    No Skill Points were given out, all the way until Water Fairy''s turn. Her originally calm mood became more and more unstable as anxiety flooded into her beautiful eyes. Every now and then, she would crane her neck to see roughly what time it would be before her turn.


    Lu Li could only comfort her softly, letting her know that there was only a small chance of getting Skill Points, and even if she didn''t receive one, she shouldn''t worry too much.


    However, hearing this only stirred her up more.


    Fortunately, the Ram Racing Master was going through his job efficiently, confirming the players'' details and rank, and giving out the reward. Very soon, it was Water Fairy''s turn.


    "Child, you did extremely well. In a fierce competition, you were the champion of the ram race. Now, here''s a reward. I hope you have fun at Brewfest," Neill Ramstein said with a face full of fatigue, although he tried his best to show a professional smile.


    "Thank you, master," Water Fairy said, thanking him with great politeness.


    Afterwards, she was rigid for a bit. When she was receiving the reward the System gave, Lu Li was waiting with his neck stretched.


    Water Fairy''s expression was first dazed, as if she had heard something she didn''t believe in. After that, she felt a pleasant surprise like the previous player. In fact, she was even more excited.


    Skill Points were also very precious to normal players, but they had much potential. If they added a piece of equipment, it would increase their power by a substantial amount.


    However, for Water Fairy, it difficult to find equipment that could considerably increase her power. It was only these Skill Points that could noticeably improve her strength.


    Without being able to help herself, she went and hugged those around her that she knew well.


    The Female Tycoon wasn''t the most flexible. If there wasn''t anyone around her that she knew well, she would really look like a pervert.


    As luck would have it, Lu Li was in the category of people she knew well. Although he was a male, when Water Fairy went on hugging, she didn''t care about it at all. Maybe in her subconscious, she was wanting to get closer to Lu Li.


    Lu Li was so happy in his heart, but on the outside, he looked like he had been really flattered.


    Water Fairy thought about how she had unexpectedly gotten this one in a million chance of a Skill Point. Even Lu Li didn''t receive one; he was really too pitiful. In expressing her own happiness and giving comfort to Lu Li, she decided to do something.


    She gave a fragrant kiss to Lu Li''s old face.


    Very few people were able to enjoy this sort of treatment. Even less people would have this chance after their mother passed away.


    It looked as if Lu Li had been shocked by the buoyancy of that soft, warm, hug he had just received. It was only at this time that he came back to his senses. He turned, looking to hug some of his own people, but it was just at this time that Water Fairy came close.


    In a moment, both Lu Li and Water Fairy felt that something incomprehensible had touched their lips.


    People near them looked at them, their eyes filled with envy.


    What Water Fairy was wearing today was a whole set of fashionable hunter''s clothes. On her face was a uniquely-shaped mask that looked like a butterfly. Apart from her lovely, gentle eyes, her pink, moisturised lips were also particularly alluring.


    Everyone wasn''t sure if they should be envying the girl who had received a Skill Point as a reward, or envying the boy who was with her.


    The people around them were all nervous for them. They were joined by the lips, but they weren''t moving. What was going on? Some of the guys were itching to kick Lu Li away.


    "You, what are you doing?"


    This was Water Fairy''s reaction, pushing away Lu Li. And Lu Li, being pushed away, had an innocent, but alarmed look on his face.


    Water Fairy was immediately at a loss for words.

 1613 Winter Has Come

    She had initiated the kiss, but it looked like she was the victim.


    The problem was that Lu Li didn''t do anything, apart from turning his head slightly. It looked like he turned his head by accident. From Lu Li''s expression, it was as if Water Fairy was bullying him.


    "Kissing between boyfriend and girlfriend is normal," Water Fairy said in a deliberately calm manner.


    If her cheeks weren''t blushing, this sort of excuse might have more persuasive. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that this was the first time she had ever been so close to a guy.


    Fortunately, this guy was Lu Li.


    The Female Tycoon had originally grieved that she lost her first kiss, but she slowly became more light-hearted. If she had thought carefully, she unexpectedly wouldn''t feel any more regret.


    In the last few years, boys and girls hugging and kissing in public areas was seen very commonly. Fairy was often indifferent to them ¨C she even looked down on them as she rushed past them. She still felt that couples helping each other through thick and thin was overrated. If it was her, she would be too nauseated by it.


    However, the feeling just then was like nothing she had felt before.


    It was like a feather caressing the heart, like falling asleep in the clouds, like the whole world was detached from her.


    It was a shame that it was too short. The Female Tycoon used her index finger to press down on her own lower lip, enjoying the feeling. She took light steps as she headed outside, away from the people.


    Lu Li followed behind her, like a cat that had successfully stolen a little dried fish to eat.


    As a famous poet once said, "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"


    Although Lu Li thought that this was a shallow observation, it was pretty damn correct. After a few more months, it would be spring.


    The Ram Race could be done again and again, but the reward would be worse and worse. Today, there was probably no chance of receiving Skill Points, and what was more, there was a mistake in the rules. Even if an official fixed it up, it wouldn''t be done until tomorrow at the least.


    Gaming was very important, but being with your girlfriend was also very important.


    "Wanna have a drink?" Water Fairy asked. She had already recovered to her original state, as if the kiss just then didn''t happen. It was just that she didn''t want to look Lu Li right in the eyes. Her gaze naturally wandered off elsewhere.


    "Didn''t you just have a drink? You''re still drinking more?" Lu Li said incredulously.


    He shouldn''t have found an alcoholic girlfriend. He also didn''t know what it was really like to be drunk ¨C whether he''d act crazy, or even violent. Even just thinking about it made him scared.


    "You can really drink to get Skill Points. I''ve heard of people who just drink all the way," Water Fairy said, still not giving up.


    "Wouldn''t I know from letting Dreamy drink?"


    Lu Li also wasn''t sure if he could drink to get Skill Points, but if even Remnant Dream couldn''t, then people like him and Water Fairy shouldn''t bother to try.


    Water Fairy thought about Remnant Dream''s bitter face when she was drinking.


    Some things still needed a professional to verify it.


    "What do we do then?"


    "This is Brewfest ¨C it''s a festival to have fun. Let''s just go have fun with everyone," Lu Li said, then took Water Fairy''s hand and led her into the group of people. They had already been immersed into the atmosphere of the festival.


    Brewfest gave out Skill Points, but its original purpose was definitely only just for fun.


    Apart from the Ram Race, which had a definite chance of getting Skill Points, there were other worthwhile quests and activities.


    Water Fairy and Lu Li shuttled back and forth in the crowd, watching different performances and trying different types of delicious food.


    When they got to the side where there was an activity for transporting sample casks, Water Fairy was immediately interested.


    This activity was very simple. After joining in, when players were riding a ram, they would run to the entrance of Steel Stove Castle where there were 2 mountains of sample casks. The NPC responsible for looking after the sample casks would throw a cask over to the player, and after the player received it, they would drive the ram to the small town of Kharanos.


    This activity used the players'' labour to supply alcohol for Brewfest. Fortunately, it wasn''t free labour. According to the circumstances, the quest would reward them with currency that could be exchanged for special tools. Unfortunately, this currency was bound to the person and couldn''t be traded.


    In the Ram Race before, there was also this sort of reward. Both Lu Li and Water Fairy were the winners of the race and received 50 pieces of this Brewfest currency.


    Apart from this, Water Fairy suggested they compete for who could bring the Sample Casks to the small town of Kharanos first. Whoever arrived first would be the victor, and whoever the victor was would take the upper hand.


    To have such a girlfriend who loved competing was really tiring.


    What more could Lu Li say?


    Lu Li was the one who taught Water Fairy how to race the rams. It was only because she really took it to heart that she challenged him.


    "Compete about what?" he coughed.


    "See who gets there first," Water Fairy said, implying that it was so obvious.


    "I know, I mean like a prize. You can''t not set up like a reward or something. It would be too meaningless," Lu Li said.


    "Wow, so you think it''s meaningless to play with me. Humph, I don''t care then," Water Fairy huffed in anger.


    "Oh, don''t go away. I''m just saying, if there''s a prize, it''s more interesting," Lu Li said, quickly pulling her back. When Water Fairy was angry, she was rather scary.


    "So what prize should we have?" Water Fairy asked innocently. "How about a piece of Epic equipment?"


    "Um, I don''t think we''re lacking in Epic equipment, and also, it''s too much of a material gain," Lu Li said seriously. "How about we gamble with a kiss? If you lose, then you have to give me a kiss..."


    "What if you lose then?" Water Fairy asked as gently as possible, trying to contain her excitement.


    "Then...I''ll give you a kiss?" Lu Li said bravely, but this was met with angry opposition by his girlfriend.


    After this, the two of them rented a ram. The ram for transporting alcohol was used for longer than the ram for the ram race, but it lacked speed and explosiveness. Also, the price was doubled.


    Their stakes, in the end, weren''t like what Lu Li had suggested. This guy was getting lower and lower.


    "I, 2..."


    Water Fairy took the lead, driving in a rush towards the Sample Cask NPC.


    "Um...why isn''t there a 3?" Lu Li was a bit dazed before he thought to chase after.


    "I didn''t say we had to start on 3," Water Fairy said in great satisfaction that she had the lead. She ran on ahead smugly, but her smile soon disappeared.


    Lu Li was not like her, stopping to receive the Sample Cask thrown by the NPC. Rather, when he was still 8 or 10 yards away from the NPC, he controlled the ram so that it leapt up and turned around in the air. By the time he landed, the Sample Cask was already in his hands.


    Because of this, Water Fairy was too far behind.

 1614 Playmates

    Fortunately, Lu Li had enough EQ now that he was able to joke in front of his girlfriend without any problems. If he wished to be rid of his girlfriend''s doubts about life, he would have to put his whole heart into convincing her. Otherwise, he had no hope of doing so.


    Not far from there were a few clusters of berries. In fact, on this road, there were all sorts of berries.


    All in all, there were about six types ¨C red berries, blue berries, yellow berries, purple berries, black berries and white berries. They were spread along both sides of the street, creating a beautiful sight.


    These berries were not just for decoration, as players would usually steer their rams to eat them. After eating these berries, different effects would occur. Lu Li was currently guiding his rams to eat the black berries.


    The effects quickly became apparent. His rams'' actions become slow, as if they had ingested a slowing poison.


    Water Fairy ordered her rams to eat the purple berries. The rams had already accumulated quite a lot of fatigue, but it slowly began to decrease. Moreover, her rams also gained an acceleration boost. As a result of this, Water fairy overtook Lu Li in the race.


    She was extremely happy as she had already overheard others talking.


    She knew that black berries should not be fed to rams as they would slow down within moments of consumption. Even if all other types of berries were then fed to the rams after consuming the black berries, this would only negate the slowing effects for a moment. Only the white berries could completely remove the side effects of the black berries.


    Lu Li seemed stupid. He had much difficulty in trying to get his rams to eat the other berries. Why would he give such an impression that would make Water Fairy so happy?


    Actually, why would he not know the effect of these six types of berries?


    Was it because he did it on purpose? It was definitely not because he liked the colour black.


    If Lu Li was constantly ahead, Water Fairy would lose all hope, and the game would be completely pointless for her.


    In the end, it was still Lu Li that was better at ram racing; he quickly caught up with Water Fairy.


    It was only when he had almost caught up with her, that he would make some small mistakes, letting Water Fairy overtake him by a fraction.


    While Lu Li had initially overtaken Water Fairy, he had used his whip, so his rams'' fatigue bars were full. This allowed another cluster of berries to be snatched by Water Fairy, giving her the advantage to win by her own means.


    Water Fairy was elated, though she was not very enthusiastic about kissing Lu Li which disappointed him.


    On the second day of Brewfest, the new activity was basically making their own fun.


    However, when they players went online, they discovered that the ram race rules had changed. The glitch used to cheat yesterday could no longer be recreated.


    The player would randomly be sent into the race and, although other people could buy tickets to enter, they could not use the glitch in the same way Lu Li instructed Water Fairy to.


    Although there were people who cheated, Lu Li was still the ram race champion. Moreover, he was now in a situation that could not be exploited.


    However, he was still miserable about the fact that he did not obtain any Skill Points. According to incomplete statistics, there were 63 champions of the ram race yesterday, but Points were only awarded to three people. They were Moonlight, Remnant Dream and a third unassuming player.


    Hachi Chan was unable to become a champion, nor gain any points.


    Moonlight and the third player usually did not have very good luck, so obviously, this award was very unexpected.


    On the second day, there was a total of 300 people that became champions in the ram race.


    After all, Lu Li was already in the guild and had released the strategy to the public. It only cost a few accumulated guild points to watch the ram race for free. However, Lu Li was disappointed that the number of people who obtained Skill Points was unexpectedly lower than the first day. Only 2 elite players were able to obtain Skill Points.


    This showed that the officials had already gone further and reduced the chances.


    All the other clubs had similar experiences. Lu Li''s ram race strategy could only be kept a secret for so long. In almost a split second, all was revealed, but it wasn''t like he had no other strategies.


    When Square Root 3 released another strategy, he laid a small trap. He released it in batches, giving priority to those who seem suspicious, but he didn''t actually expect to catch two traitors.


    Before, Lu Li had no intention of catching traitors but this time he ended up catching 2 of them.


    This was an unexpected positive outcome, but Lu Li and Square Root 3 were already aware of the traitors. The discovery of the identities of the traitors was imperative. The elite group had to have more secrecy agreements. At the same time, they had to be ready to send a double agent into another guild.


    Being a professional gamer was a demanding job, requiring an unending battle of wits and courage.


    However, these two traitors, in addition to the two that were found previously, had no action taken upon them.


    One of the reasons for not taking action was that they wished to find a better opportunity to fight back against them and to give them a false sense of confidence. Another reason was to ensure that they did not raise the suspicions of the opposition, just like last time when information was revealed to Glory Capital''s Eagle Cutesie.


    Anyway, Lu Li was not in a hurry, as sending out someone who was clearly a double agent was pointless.


    When the third day came around, the officials came up with new content.


    The first quest asked the players to go to Steel Stove Castle, which was not far from Kharanos. Here, the players could find the special commissioner of the Brewfest, Gragas.


    He would give players a mission which involved a group of Dark Iron Dwarves. They were now at the Iron Dwarf Bar, conspiring to destroy the mainland''s Brewfest.


    As for why, it was an attempt to steal all the beer and bring it back to their own home. Although Ragnaros the Firelord enslaved the Iron Dwarves, they had a reputation of being alcoholics.


    In order to ensure that Brewfest proceeded smoothly, Gragas employed warriors from the mainland to protect the festival at any cos. This meant that they would go as far as to kill the group of Dwarves in the Iron Dwarf Bar, the Grim Guzzler.

 1615 Wild Spirit Rabbi

    If you had to find the craziest activity at Brewfest, Coren Direbrew was undoubtedly number one.


    This red-bearded Dwarf Thief was the celebrity idol of Brewfest with numerous people surrounding him. Ever since his stunning appearance at the first Brewfest, countless people came to visit every year.


    An NPC or in other words a Boss who wanted to be popular all the time needed more than just to drop good equipment. Especially with the improvement of player''s levels, equipment would always have a time when it would become outdated.


    Unless he could drop a mount!


    That''s right ¨C Coren Direbrew was a BOSS who could drop a mount.


    He could not only drop a mount, but he could also drop two types of mounts. This was unprecedented in Dawn''s gaming history.


    The two types of mount that he dropped were both highly sought-after, especially the shrunken version of the Kodo. There were some players who liked to ride these types of mounts after drinking shrinkage potions. Then, both the player and mount would shrink together, which was particularly cute. Brewfest''s Kodo along with shrinkage potion was the ultimate combo for players who loved cute styles.


    Of course, Lu Li was not going to let go of such a good opportunity.


    He got a team ready in the first moment, and was ready to take this Boss.


    Bringing Water Fairy was a must. These couple of days they were always together, as if they were in a honeymoon period. He could leave anyone behind except his girlfriend. This man who puts hoes before bros didn''t care about other people''s complaints.


    Even though this Boss was weakened several times later, and could be handled without a real Main Tank, to not have a Main tank early on meant courting death.


    Hence, Azure Sea Breeze was naturally dragged into this.


    As long as it was something like an Instance Dungeon, fighting Bosses and looting corpses, then the little lucky hand also was a must. Otherwise, Lu Li would feel unsettled.


    Only five people could participate in this Boss fight. That left only one more place, and it had to be a Healer too. Because this single place wasn''t enough to include the siblings of Lonesome Flower and March Rain, Lu Li pulled Hachi Chan into the team. Even though her healing abilities were not as good as March Rain, but they were enough to deal with a Boss of this level.


    "Quick! Look at my rabbit!" Remnant Dream shouted as soon as she saw Lu Li and the others.


    "Can''t see it."


    Lu Li was doubting if he was short-sighted or had presbyopia. No matter how he rubbed his eyes, he couldn''t see the rabbit described by Remnant Dream. She even said it was white as snow and had a little pink bowtie on its neck.


    But as someone reborn, he quickly thought of another possibility¡­


    Other people had a face of confusion.


    Could it be that the little hunter had caught so many pets that she had gone to the point of craziness? She didn''t have any pets by her side.


    "You guys drink, quickly!" Remnant Dream said mysteriously.


    "Okay, take it easy."


    Because it was Brewfest, everyone carried all sorts of alcohol in their bags, as well as anti-alcoholic drugs that sobered them up instantly. In this type of atmosphere, even people who didn''t like to drink couldn''t help but take a few sips.


    There were also people who enjoyed trying different tastes of wine and the feeling of being drunk.


    Lu Li drank several bottles of wine, and finally received a notification from the System that said, "You''re completely drunk". In the haze of his drunkenness, he finally saw the legendary ''wild spirit rabbit''. It was a very beautiful little rabbit, and its most striking feature was its little pink bowtie.


    He had to lament the fact that the little Hunter had such good luck to find something that only existed in a legend.


    There weren''t any clues given by officials regarding the wild spirit rabbit. Players could only see capture a glimpse of it in a completely drunken state. Even though any profession could capture one, the probability of catching them was too small.


    In a completely drunken state, how players could walk was an issue, let alone catching this type of bunny.


    However, once they became sober, they would never be able see this creature.


    "Hehe, I have to thank Lu Li bro. You kept me drinking, then I got drunk. Then, I saw a lil'' rabbit lying by the side of my feet and I caught it straight away," Remnant Dream giggled.


    Previously, Lu Li had egged on Remnant Dream to drink in order to verify if drinking alcohol could grant Skill Points.


    He never would have thought that she would catch this type of rare pet.


    In fact, this type of pet was not loved by everyone. After all, when it came to pets, other than yourself, you would still hope that other people could see it by your side. People liked to share their happiness, or to pretend to be cool and impress girls. A majority of people didn''t like a pet that only they themselves could see.


    After all, there were few people who kept themselves completely drunk all the time.


    This was just a little interlude before the Boss fight. As the System''s daughter, Hachi Chan''s gains from Brewfest were enough to make anyone jealous.


    Nearly all the drunkard NPCs were fighting for her services. Many of the rewards were unheard of, even to Lu Li.


    Lu Li had also reaped a bountiful harvest at this Brewfest, but he just wouldn''t tell these girls.


    Coren Direbrew was currently located at the Grim Guzzler, which was in the Blackrock Abyss Instance Dungeon.


    There was no need for Nightmare difficulty in the Instance Dungeon. In any case, no matter Nightmare or Normal difficulty, Coren Direbrew wouldn''t see any changes.


    Some players thought that the Nightmare difficulty would drop better things. The results showed that they were completely wrong. In fact, Coren Direbrew was just a Wild Boss.


    As someone reborn, even if he was dumb, Lu Li still wouldn''t choose Nightmare difficulty.


    After Lu Li and the other entered the Blackrock Spire, he started to lead everyone on a detour. After walking around for a while, the Grim Guzzler appeared in their sights. The whole process didn''t have any Boss fights; they just had to clean up some small monsters.


    Normally the team who came to fight Coren Direbrew would push according to the Instance Dungeon''s basic steps.


    However, that wasted too much time. Plus, even if it was just a normal difficulty, this Instance Dungeon was not as easily fought by five people. A slightly weaker team would inevitably be destroyed several times.


    After a few more days, in order to consider the players who didn''t have the ability to fight to the Grim Guzzler, the officials would optimise it more.


    One change was to use a type of Direbrew''s Remote. This would transport a player''s whole team straight to the Grim Guzzler. Another change was to have the Remote set-up at the entrance. As long as players killed the guard at the entrance, they could get to the Grim Guzzler through the Remote.


    What if the guard couldn''t be killed? Then it was better not to go in. Coren Direbrew was a lot harder to kill than the guard.

 1616 Coren Direbrew

    Corresponding to Brewfest, the Grim Guzzler right now was different from how it usually was.


    Coren Direbrew led a group of Iron Dwarves here to plot something major. Hence, he became the new owner of the Grim Guzzler.


    Players could find a spy at the bar''s entrance arranged by Brewfest''s special commissioner. There, they could receive the daily quests of Brewfest, which were probably the type that rewarded Brewfest coins.


    Under his guidance, Lu Li and the others found Coren Direbrew.


    At this moment, to figure out if Coren Direbrew was in a hostile state, players needed to go up and speak to him in order to activate the story mode. Then, the conversation would logically collapse and the two sides would both start fighting.


    Every player could go and speak once to activate the Boss, which meant that five people could fight the Boss five times.


    In the case of lower level players, this had hidden commercial opportunity. They could sell their cooldowns to wealthy men who wanted mounts, but the Boss still hadn''t given it out after their team had fought it 5 times¡­


    What? Still nothing after 5 times?!


    Even if it was 500 times, this wasn''t an uncommon occurrence. The mount from Brewfest wasn''t something easily found by the side of the road. To obtain the mount was a difficult task.


    Plus, the Brewfest mount was something that bound upon being picked up. There was no way of it being exchanged. Even the rich had to enter into the Instance Dungeon themselves in order to get the mount.


    In this way, once the rich players finished using their own cooldown, then they could only group new people in. The new players would give up their ownership of everything the Boss dropped as the cost in order to earn a lot of gold coins.


    In fact, Lu Li had another method of making more money.


    The little Hunter shrank back at Lu Li staring at her since his eyes were so piercing.


    He sighed. She was still a playful child.


    This type of child slavery was something that Lu Li felt a sense of guilt over.


    At most, it would be having her help her own guild by looting bodies.


    The conversation predictably failed. Coren Direbrew changed from a neutral to a hostile NPC. He insisted on destroying Brewfest as he believed it shouldn''t have existed in the first place. The other players were ordered to protect the alcohol, and they had no choice but resort to force.


    In Lu Li''s last life, when he participated in Brewfest, Coren Direbrew as a festive Boss had been killed multiple times. He seemed easy to fight, and could be fought easily by a moderately powerful team.


    However, the current iteration was different to back then. The Coren Direbrew now held wine glass-like weapons and dominated the Grim Guzzler. Anyone who underestimated him could be smashed to death.


    The Boss'' own attack was not considered too high, especially since it was designed for five people to fight. Normally, as long as they had a competent Main Tank and a few pieces of Dark Gold equipment, they could pass.


    Azure Sea Breeze was covered in Epic equipment, many of which were exquisite items.


    Hence, the Boss'' first hit shocked him.


    It wasn''t too hard, but rather, it was unexpectedly light. Azure Sea Breeze''s ego inflated instantly, but he held his tongue. Countless lessons had taught him to always be on guard for two cases.


    The first case was a Boss that hadn''t shown its true colours.


    The other case was Lu Li!


    As such, he pulled the Boss'' aggro, treating it like a formidable enemy.


    The enemy rushed at him very quickly. This type of enemy made Azure Sea Breeze''s heart beat frantically and his face flush red!


    There was a blood elf girl with a charming figure and exposed clothing who danced rather passionately¡­


    This scene made Azure Sea Breeze speechless and lose himself completely.


    Lu Li was rather calm. In his eyes, there were only enemies or friends. No matter how charming they were, an enemy was an enemy.


    Moreover, was there anyone more beautiful then Water Fairy on this earth? Water Fairy just wore more clothes.


    The two young girls screamed and hugged each other, afraid of looking, but still stole a few glances. Their acting was so fake it would make one laugh.


    Water Fairy had her focus more on Lu Li. These so-called computer-generated beauties were making it hard for her to concentrate. Lu Li''s focus made her happy, as he just glanced a look towards the Boss.


    In reality, Lu Li shouldn''t have focused on the Boss at this moment.


    Unless someone thought that the girl was called by the Boss as a distraction?


    It couldn''t be so simple. As the bar girl danced, she threw the wine glass onto the players'' heads, after which a cask symbol appeared over them. Then, after a few seconds, the players with the cask symbol passed out.


    Fortunately, it was Azure Sea Breeze who came over.


    Azure Sea Breeze was trying to find a way to remove his dizziness. He was such an excellent Main Tank that he had many ways to control it. However, these methods usually would often have issues when facing a Boss and this time was no exception. There was not a single technique that could remove this dizziness.


    "Stuff you! I''m gonna die!"


    "There seems to be one more glass of wine in my bag. Hmm, the dizziness has been removed. Quickly, drink the new glass of wine in your bags!" Lu Li urged, pretending as if he had just discovered the solution to this problem.


    As expected, in the bottom of the bag was a new glass of Beauty Direbrew.


    Their dizziness was removed as soon as it was drunk. Azure Sea Breeze used his damage reduction and recovered his HP while Hachi Chan also healed him. This crisis had finally been averted.


    The bar girl was Coren Direbrew''s strongest technique.


    She would throw the glass as she danced. There was not much harm in attacking her, but she didn''t exist for long. One just had to wait for her to disappear.


    Coren Direbrew would also call upon some regular smaller monsters. These smaller monsters would come at the players with a cask. The players hit by it would lose HP, fall, be run over, then lose more HP. However, this type of damage was rather insignificant. As long as the players weren''t run over by the cask several times then they normally won''t die.


    As long as they killed this type of smaller monster, the cask would naturally roll over to one side.


    Other than that, Coren Direbrew also had one sinister and vicious technique. When players had fallen to the ground rolling, they needed to run immediately, otherwise a screw drill would burst out of the ground.


    Fortunately, everyone was rather sharp, and didn''t need Lu Li''s command to know there was a sinister movement beneath their feet.


    The Grim Guzzler bar girls that Coren Direbrew called also began to come at a faster and faster rate. This also meant that later stages would usually have several bar girls in the arena.


    If players couldn''t get rid of the cask on the top of their heads in time, there would be the issue of the whole team being destroyed sooner or later.


    These bar girls were not all beautiful Blood Elves or human beauties.


    Participants in the battle suffered inhumane torture where they wandered back and forth between temptation and disgust.

 1617 Ram & Kodo

    It didn''t take much time to kill this BOSS. Coren Direbrew''s fight didn''t have a strict sense of stages. There were only so many skills that he possessed. As long as you knew how to deal with them, you could easily empty his HP bar.


    After Coren Direbrew fell, everyone received the notification for First Clear.


    There were also many teams outside who hadn''t even seen Coren Direbrew. They didn''t even know how he looked. No one expected someone killing him.


    This was ridiculous, and the clubs and major guilds were indignant. Mid to large-scale guilds or any mercenary groups that had some power began to make noise. They always thought that they had the chance of obtaining this First Clear. Afterall, everyone had the abilities to establish a small five-man team like in the Blackrock Abyss.


    This Instance Dungeon wasn''t very difficult to many people. Everyone had the ability to First Clear it.


    There was almost a nationwide campaign for First Clears, but Ruling Sword were shameless. Every single time, they would take everything and not leave a scrap for anyone.


    As such, everyone''s resentment towards Ruling Sword rose to new heights again.


    They were the cancer of this game. You had to get rid of them!


    But how? You couldn''t beat them in a fight.


    The System was naturally the God in the game, but as long as the System said nothing, then everyone could only cast their eyes towards celestial beings like Glory Capital.


    This so-called number one club was useless; they had absolutely no abilities.


    Look at all these First Clears of Instance Dungeons ¨C did they even get a scrap?


    "We got one actually~" Blood Red War Flag chirped in.


    "Get out!" were the thoughts of everyone else. "As if you have the face to talk about an Elite difficulty First Clear."


    "We''ve gotten one, and it was Nightmare difficulty too," Drizzle Court replied.


    "That was handed to you guys by Lu Li. Your leader is going to be taken by him soon. Stop making a fool of yourselves on the world channel!"


    Sorrowless was also innocent. He had assembled the strongest team in the first place and was also the game''s best Mage.


    Blood Dagger was one of the best Thieves.


    White Westhill was one of the strongest newbies, but not the strongest Priests. There was still difference between her and the older generation of Healer Priests.


    Even though Master Huang announced his retirement, he was still the Chief Coach for Glory Capital. The few superb Berserkers would use their spare time to analyse his tutorial videos.


    Then, there was Glory Capital''s strongest Main Tank, who had more equipment than Azure Sea Breeze.


    Even Ruling Sword''s strongest line-up probably couldn''t beat this.


    To make things worse, Ruling Sword had a hideous mess of its line-up. Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze were acceptable as they were stronger than the Thieves and Main Tanks in Glory Capital.


    Hachi Chan was also known all over the game for completing quests, but in terms of healing skills, she wouldn''t even compare to White Westhill, even if you gave her 8 claws.


    Water Fairy?


    This wasn''t the first time that they were showing PDA on the world channel. Two Thieves didn''t seem too obvious in a team of 40 people, but this was a 5-man team. How much were you underestimating the Boss!


    As for Remnant Dream, everyone knew she was their little lucky hand.


    But wouldn''t you consider even just taking one Mage or Warlock AOE profession? Wasn''t it more time-efficient to clear monsters along the way with AoE skills? In case the Boss called a herd of smaller monsters, wouldn''t a Mage be more effective in clearing them?


    How could a hideously organized team like this obtain a First Clear!


    Normal players, let alone Sorrowless wanted to report this to the gaming company.


    Lu Li simply wouldn''t care what these people thought. If they wanted to report, then they could go for it. It wasn''t as if he couldn''t preach that Glory Capital indiscriminately killed innocent people. Sure, Ruling Sword got more Instance Dungeon First Clears, but it was never as many as Glory Capital''s Wild Boss First Clears. In their fighting for Wild Boss they had killed many innocent passers-by.


    Some were real competitors, but there were many who were just ordinary players.


    History was still written by the winners of this world. For example, right now, he could enjoy the fruits of his success, while others could only shoot their mouths off on the world channel.


    "Mount!"


    Azure Sea Breeze''s luck was usually pretty average so he didn''t think he would be the first to get the mount.


    A Kodo from Brewfest was summoned. It looked so cute with its tiny head and was much prettier than the other wild ones.


    Water Fairy and Lu Li''s eyes met and they smiled bitterly together as they shook their heads. Neither of them had received the mount.


    Lu Li was given a Dark Gold Badge called the Bitter Balebrew Charm. The Attributes were rather average but it had one special effect that could summon the Grim Guzzler bar girl. However, it depended on luck as to what type of girl was called out.


    In order to show his honesty, Lu Li gave this to Water Fairy straight away.


    Water Fairy received Coren''s Silver Coaster which was an ornament. Its Attributes were a little better than Lu Li''s, but from a value perspective, it wasn''t as good. After all, at least Lu Li''s reward could call out a bar girl.


    Hachi Chan didn''t receive anything worthwhile.


    The little Hunter who carried the hopes of everyone only got a Dark Gold equipment.


    It looked like luck was something that one couldn''t be superstitious about.


    Azure Sea Breeze was so happy that he lost all sense of orientation. He never expected that his luck could surpass Remnant Dream''s. There were three things that were incomparable in Ruling Sword. The first was Remnant Dream''s luck, the second was Hachi Chan''s Charisma, and the last was Lu Li''s viciousness.


    Remnant Dream went to loot the equipment depressingly.


    She couldn''t figure out what was wrong with herself. It felt as if lucky charm halo was getting further away from her.


    Rubbish!


    More rubbish!


    Wait. This was a mount¡­ a Brewfest Ram. It seemed like a real ram.


    The lucky little hand was instantly happy again. Perhaps the System had crashed momentarily just then or there was a bug. It was probably just an accident.


    "How do we split this?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    Fortunately, it wasn''t a Kodo. The same type of mount could only be tamed once by players.


    "Stuff splitting," Lu Li said as he kicked him to the side, "Let''s just roll it between the 4 of us. It''s possible to go according to Guild Points for a small team Instance Dungeon like this, but it''ll be easier by rolling."


    "You sure you wanna roll?"


    Everyone was so moved as they looked at him, thinking that he had given up participating in the competition.


    Everyone, not only Ruling Sword, knew of how vicious Lu Li was. The whole game was probably preaching it in every corner. There was even a new way of roasting where people said, "You''re nearly as vicious as Lu Li!"

 1618 White Moun

    "Just roll. I already have the Headless Mount."


    Lu Li didn''t have much of a reason to collect Mounts.


    He usually didn''t even ride the Headless Paladin''s Steed. Most of the time, he would ride his leopard and transform into a Crow if he was in a hurry. The Headless Paladin''s Steed was just too conspicuous as there weren''t that many in the game. It wasn''t a secret as to who had that mount. If they saw that mount and noticed his profession, then it wouldn''t be too difficult to guess who he was.


    However, racing Mounts were different, and almost all max-level players would save some money to buy one.


    After all, time was money, and moving around faster would give them more time to make money. This was something everyone was basically forced to invest in, as a good mount was now a bare necessity.


    With that being said, the players started rolling.


    Hachi Chan rolled an 83, Water Fairy rolled a 62 and Remnant Dream rolled a 91. Azure Sea Breeze also shamelessly decided to roll, managing a 70.


    Lu Li let out a sigh before rolling a 13.


    Lu Li felt like throwing up and sighed again because of his weak roll. In his spare time, Lu Li would sometimes just roll on his own. Although his numbers were generally lower, he was definitely capable of rolling a number in the 90s or even a 100.


    But why couldn''t he get those rolls in these critical moments?


    Compared to Remnant Dream, his luck was completely useless.


    "I don''t want it. Just give it to Hachi Chan," Remnant Dream said.


    "Don''t you like Mounts?"


    Remnant Dream was always obsessed with her pets and mounts, so it was abnormal for her to give it up.


    "I have made a sale," Remnant Dream said proudly. "There are many people who want to work with me and I have been given these two conditions. If I haven''t collected two mounts, I am allowed to roll for them. Once I have collected the mounts, they will be sold for 200 gold."


    "Wow, when did you become so smart?" Lu Li exclaimed, although he was already planning to teach Remnant Dream about that business tactic.


    "Hey, I just like day-dreaming, but I''m not an idiot," the little Hunter said proudly.


    "Dreamy, you have so much money," Hachi Chan sighed sadly. "I need to do so many quests before I can earn 200 gold."


    "Then why don''t you sell the quest rewards that you have? Your warehouse is full. Stop asking me to lend you money to expand your warehouse," Remnant suggested, spilling her business secrets. A lot of money that Remnant Dream had earned had been borrowed to expand her warehouse.


    The warehouses in Dawn were just like backpacks, and the cost of expanding it increased with each expansion.


    Although there was no limit on the number of expansions, each subsequent expansion cost so much more that it discouraged the players from buying them.


    Hachi Chan was likely the person who had bought the most of these expansions, because she had acquired so many pieces of bizarre equipment in her long career of completing quests. She was also fascinated with her collection of gems and her Elf Dragon.


    "Alright, let''s not forget we can still do this four more times. If we get a Mount each time, then we can have one per person," Lu Li said, trying to encourage team morale.


    However, he didn''t believe a word that he had said. There was no way that Dawn would be so generous with the Mount drops.


    Sure enough, they didn''t see any mounts in the next four runs. Even though the little lucky girl was there, the best they received was Gold equipment. They were only able to get Dark Gold equipment because it was the First Clear. If they were ordinary players, receiving a Dark Gold item from this Boss would already be a dream come true.


    Fortunately, you could farm this Boss once a day, so the team wasn''t that disappointed. They looked forward to farming the Boss the next day.


    Since then, Remnant Dream became a resident in the Blackrock Abyss Instance Dungeon.


    She was truly farming the Boss. She had grown so bored of fighting the monsters that she would just let her pets do the work. She just watched and waited for the Boss to die so she could loot the body.


    According some incomplete statistics recorded after the event, the Mount dropped about 4 times after 500 attempts. This meant that the drop rate was less than 1 percent. Yet, with Remnant Dream''s help, they were able to acquire 16 of these Mounts.


    The festival was quite a happy time for Remnant Dream. Early on, she managed to collect the Brewfest Kodos and Goats, and then she kept on raking in the cash. She was turning herself into a rich young lady.


    In Lu Li''s team, Remnant Dream certainly didn''t need any mounts, so Azure Sea Breeze managed to get one. The next one was also given away to Hachi Chan.


    In fact, Water Fairy had won the roll, but she preferred white Mounts. Not to mention, she already had a white Kodo, so she gave the Mount to Hachi Chan, who liked Kodos. The whole atmosphere was quite harmonious.


    Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan both received two more Mounts from this festival.


    Lu Li had started to think about what other white Mounts existed within the Dawn.


    The Night Elf''s Mounts were white, which explained why Water Fairy would often ride the Mounts from that race. Lu Li initially thought it was because she wanted to keep a low-profile, but he now knew it was because of the colour.


    However, the Night Elf''s Mounts were not pure white and would often come with spots or stripes.


    The only pure white Mount was the legendary Spectral Tiger, but Lu Li had no idea where to find that thing. The other trendy and cool-looking mount was the Winterspring Frostsabre.


    However, the Winterspring Frostsabre was even more sought after than some of the pure white Mounts. There were few items that were more in demand than it. The thought of trying to get one gave Lu Li a headache.


    He didn''t know if Water Fairy would be able to preserver for long enough to get it.


    If no one else could work out how to get the Wintersprin Frostsabre, then he and Water Fairy could ride it together as a couple. There was something very sweet about this thought, and Lu Li felt his heart stirring.


    Unfortunately, there was little time. After Brewfest, the Stronghold Wars that had stopped now started up once again.


    This time, new maps had been added, which caused all the major clubs to fight frantically. High-end Potion and equipment prices increased every day. The gold conversion rate had also rapidly increased such that it was like they were at level 40 again.

 1619 Hire

    Proficient players were quite popular with guilds and often received offers to join guilds. Their value had increased significantly due to the rise of Stronghold battles.


    Normal guilds wouldn''t be able to produce professional-level players. They might not even be able to produce a core-elite-tier player. However, most guilds had enough funds to hire top-tier talent for Stronghold battles once. Even if they couldn''t defend it afterwards, at least they would manage to get exposure to the public.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had entered the game at a much later stage. Coupling this with the matters that he had to deal with in real life, he had no chance at becoming a pro, so he never received an opportunity like this.


    At that time, his goal was just to improve his strength gradually, until he could become a hired hand for Strongholds. In the end, he was told that Druids weren''t wanted. He was screwed over because of his class.


    That was why he didn''t choose to play a Druid this time; he would rather start over as a Thief.


    Ruling Sword decided to hire help this time around.


    This didn''t mean that they didn''t have enough people to defend Grey Valley and The Black Sea Coast.


    When Lu Li made this decision, other people couldn''t understand him. Although Grey Valley and The Black Sea Coast weren''t the most secure, these two Strongholds were not easy to take either. Why did they need to have reinforcements?


    "This will damage everyone''s confidence," Square Root Three said in opposition to the decision.


    "Brother Three, if their self-confidence is that easily damaged, then they''re quite soft, aren''t they? Might as well train their self-confidence," Lu Li said, clearly unworried.


    "Even if our core elites weren''t enough, we could use our elites as well. Why do we need to have reinforcements?"


    Square Root Three couldn''t accept Lu Li''s explanation. Who would intentionally try and damage the morale of the guild?


    "Actually, it''s not that big of a deal," Wandering piped up after mulling it over, then said, "These reinforcements, if we use them properly, then they won''t necessarily be reinforcements. Lu Li, are you thinking of recruiting?"


    "Well, that only makes it easier for other guilds'' spies to infiltrate out guild."


    Square Root Three understood, but he quickly had another worry.


    "Well, do they not need to feed themselves? People can still die from eating." Wandering rolled his eyes.


    "Brother Three''s worry makes sense. However, we still need to interact with these hidden proficient players. This time, we''ll hire ten people in the defense of Grey Valley. We''ll hire the ones who have a bit of reputation and are unlikely to be a spy for other guilds."


    "Old people too?" Cat Dad asked.


    "How old?"


    "Similar to my age or younger. Don''t worry about their skills," Cat Dad answered, then continued to explain, "Games like Dawn are made extremely well and don''t take a toll on the older folks."


    Usually in gaming, 30-year-old players would be declining. Therefore, 40-year-old players were extremely rare.


    Cat Dad was already 50 years old. Normally, people of his age wouldn''t be suited to games anymore, let alone fighting in Instance Dungeons. However, Cat Dad was fighting in Instance Dungeons and even secured his spot in an elite team.


    He was training pro players on one end, while playing in an elite team on the other end. It was as though he was still in his prime.


    Cat Dad had many friends around his age; they were around 40 years old. After hearing about the game from Cat Dad, they all started to play. Although they entered a game a year after its initial release, which was around the same time Lu Li had entered the game in his previous life, their experience and financial capabilities were much higher than Lu Li at that time.


    They quickly caught up and were comparable to Lu Li''s very own core elite members.


    However, they had an obvious weakness. Most of these people had their own families and work in real life, so their time and energy to invest into the game was limited. Furthermore, they didn''t have the passion of the game compared to the younger players as well.


    However, Lu Li didn''t have a reason to reject this group of older players.


    They had rich experiences and stable personalities. They had been through all kinds of ups and downs in their life. People like these were hard to come by.


    "Bring them all. We''ll get some people together and level them up. If we don''t have enough items in our storage, then borrow some from Shen Wansan. We''ll get them to level 60 ASAP."


    "That''s not needed. All of these people have their own pride, so they won''t let others train them. There''s also no need to arrange for equipment. The experience of the game itself is more important than levels to them. Let me handle this. It won''t use our resources," Cat Dad rubbed his hands and said with a smile.


    It was good to have these people join them but hiring reinforcements would still go ahead.


    Many people called this type of reinforcement-hiring as ''revealing the hidden fish in the game''. After hiring a group, there would be a couple of them who would be interested in joining the guild. This way, the guild would gain two benefits. One was to increase their battle strength, even though it would be temporary. However, the other benefit was to increase the guild''s strength in the long term. It was through this method that the hidden pros among normal players would also interact with the guilds.


    It was completely valid to say that the Stronghold battles could be used to interview and test the potential recruits.


    If Ruling Sword didn''t raise a banner asking to hire strong players, then they would be missing out on a prime opportunity to recruit.


    Some top-tier players seemed to quite unfriendly, arrogant and simply unrecruitable. However, the main objective was just to test their compatibility with the guild.


    This was why Lu Li was adamant on hiring, even if Ruling Sword had enough players.


    After listening to Lu Li''s explanation, Square Root Three was convinced. Then, the guild prioritised to release Stronghold missions in the Mercenary Hall.


    This quest listed the class, level and equipment standard requirements. Ruling Sword would be the judge to all applicants. Once they thought that it was okay, then they would contact the applicant. After a few more things, they would sign a contract to enter a fight in the Stronghold battles.


    In the earlier periods of the game, it was much more common to hook onto the big fish.


    In his previous life, Lu Li was a complete nerd when it came to strategies. Therefore, he knew about the legendary Moonlight, as well as the powerful rookies in March Rain and Fat Monkey. After all, he could learn from these players. As for the more average, but strong players, he didn''t pay much attention to them.


    Focusing on the others didn''t earn him money, so it wasn''t that realistic for Lu Li to remember all of the top-tier players from his previous life, then approach them in this life.


    Therefore, Ruling Sword could only do things the normal way.


    Ruling Sword was hiring top-tier players!


    As soon as news of this broke out, it attracted the attention of a majority of the player base. Every player who didn''t live under a rock knew of this news.

 1620 The Legend of Mercenaries

    To say that there were some undiscovered top-tiered players was not a lie.


    There were two ways to increase a player''s strength. The first one was to receive training from another professional. This was the method that was most commonly employed by major clubs in their training camps, which gathered all potential professional players and trained them. The other way was to train by themselves.


    For the strong players who were trained within an organisation, they would be contributing towards the organisation and receiving benefits that way. They would typically be an elite player or a core elite player. However, they most likely wouldn''t progress any further.


    Compared to an individual who slowly accumulated their strength, it was much harder for them to acquire resources.


    Therefore, lots of effort was needed to grow, which formed many proficient players within the player base.


    However, these strong but ordinary players wouldn''t continuously grow in numbers. This was because there would be a few of them who were recruited into different clubs after attracting their attention. The only question was when.


    This way, some of them were hired, while some of them were trained to be the next professional players.


    This was like a never-ending cycle.


    Crippled Black Ant was one of these people. In real life, he was a security guard for a small area. However, because he heroically intervened when a crime was happening, his leg was broken in the event, and the assailant was not caught. The person who he saved only gave him a few words of gratitude, then he left too.


    It was as if nothing had happened, besides the leg that never healed properly, which caused him to have problems when he walked.


    Since there was no need for humans to be working his job, he was released and given a


    small compensation while they replaced him with a new model of security robot.


    In the movies, when someone was begging for mercy, one of the most popular sayings was, "I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child!"


    These words would often elicit feelings of disgust from the audience. However, for Black Ant, he wasn''t disgusted at all. This was because he actually had eighty-year-old parents and a daughter who wasn''t even three years old to care for.


    Since he could no longer work, his wife was the only one working in the house.


    Black Ant felt upset and couldn''t stand it any longer. He thought about begging for food to put on the table for his family.


    Unfortunately for him, this was an era where robots and AI were ubiquitous.


    In order for a family like this to survive, they needed to ask for more welfare money from the government. However, doing this would only get them kicked out of the civilian area, since it wasn''t for the poor. Only the poverty area would be willing to take them in.


    This downward spiral continued until one day, he was exposed to Dawn.


    It was his wife who decided to buy the gaming helmet. This was to give her husband something to do. She also heard that real life skills were transferrable into the game. For someone like Black Ant, who was crippled in real life, he was able to move normally in game.


    He called himself Crippled Black Ant, as that was his nickname anyway.


    It wasn''t all smooth riding after joining the game. After all, he hadn''t played games much in his life and he was without external funds. Sometimes, he even struggled to buy potions and repair his own equipment. He doubted whether he would be able to eat at all.


    This was the case until he knew of Lu Li''s existence. At that time, Lu Li led his team to become the champions of the Shadow Cup and swiftly built Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li was someone who was from the poverty district as well and was not much better off than he was.


    He often kept tabs on Lu Li''s news. He saw Lu Li take First Clear after First Clear and victory after victory in the competitions. Ruling Sword then emerged as a force to be reckoned with.


    A success story like Lu Li''s motivated Crippled Black Ant. Every time he was close to giving up, he would tell himself that he was the same as Lu Li, so he had no reason to not be able to reach even a sliver of Lu Li''s success. It was through this determined mindset that he was able to pass obstacle after obstacle.


    His days became much better. He even remembered the very first time that he used gold coins to exchange for real money.


    That was when he took a quest that was of quite a high value and just by the skin of his teeth, managed to complete it. The quest giver not only gave him the promised 130 gold coins, but he also gave him an extra 20 gold coins.


    At that time, the exchange rate was still around 1:100. Even after deducting all the additional fees of withdrawing money, it was still tens of thousands of dollars.


    This family was already on the verge of starvation. However, after this first withdrawal, they began to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As for Black Ant himself, he felt that he was once again the pillar of this family. From then onwards, his dealings and growth within the game became smoother and smoother.


    He had also built a reputation for himself, so there were more and more quests being given to him.


    However, Dawn wasn''t a single player game. No matter how powerful an individual was, they would always be limited in the game.


    Crippled Black Ant had built a mercenary group before, but unfortunately, that didn''t last long. However, because there wasn''t that much investment into the group, there weren''t any substantial losses. After this, he felt that he didn''t have the gift of leadership.


    Therefore, he looked to join a large and reliable mercenary group or a club.


    However, mercenary groups were too loose and the job wasn''t secure, while clubs were usually quite rigid and limited. This was why he couldn''t decide to stay in either one.


    The Stronghold battles were becoming more and more popular, so mercenary groups also had a chance at joining now. Therefore, he wasn''t as desperate to join an organization anymore.


    He liked these types of battles, since it gave him a feeling of fighting in the olden days.


    However, he didn''t think that he would see Ruling Sword''s request to hire on the board in the mercenary hall. This request to hire 10 men was placed at the most obvious spot on the board.


    Ruling Sword was hiring?


    Was that a joke? How could they possibly be lacking in numbers to defend? Their Stronghold was defended so well that even Glory Capital couldn''t take it down.


    However, this request was confirmed by the System. There was no way that it was fake.


    At that time, there were quite a few guilds and clubs that were hiring mercenaries to fight in the Stronghold battles. However, most of them were unknown ones with no reputation or ones who just received new investors'' money.


    Only the Gangnam Royals could be counted as a large club.


    Everyone knew the situation that the Gangnam Royals was in. They had lost all their pro players, so they could only rely on their finances to defend themselves. Some people would be attracted by the money, but there were also many who didn''t join them.


    Crippled Black Ant was one of them. The Gangnam Royals had heard of Crippled Black Ant from other mercenaries and promised to treat him well. However, the Crippled Black Ant of those days was already capable enough to feed and grow his family. He regained his integrity and pride and didn''t bother with a shallow guild like Gangnam Royals.


    Ruling Sword was different.


    Ruling Sword was a legend in the world of mercenaries.

 1621 Big Dog Li

    As everyone knew, Ruling Sword''s predecessor was Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group was still currently an organisation. It always remained at the top of the mercenary rankings.


    This ranking system ranked all of the registered mercenary groups. Everyone else ranked up by completing players'' requests, but Xin Xin Mercenary Group was different. They ranked up by getting First Clears.


    The points that were gained through normal methods were incomparable to the points given by First Clears. One First Clear was the same as half a month of hard work.


    Unfair?


    None of the other Mercenary Groups were even close to the standard of achieving a First Clear.


    This was because instance dungeons were too expensive!


    The Xin Xin Mercenary Group had Ruling Sword as their backer. Who could compare? Unless Glory Capital shameless made a mercenary group from their core elite players and focused on wild Bosses, they wouldn''t be able to compete with the Xin Xin Mercenary Group.


    Therefore, when mercenaries were being looked down upon, they would always use Lu Li''s name to defend themselves.


    Lu Li was a respected figure in the world of mercenaries. Now that he was hiring, there was no need to hesitate to fill the application forms.


    Crippled Black Ant took a form and looked at it with a serious expression on his face. With confidence and a genuine heart, he filled in his details and sent the form over. Then, he left the hall.


    In the meantime, while waiting for news, he wasn''t in the mood to complete other quests.


    Perhaps Lu Li was not only the leader of Ruling Sword, but someone who inspired the lower-tiered players to be greater.


    Crippled Black Ant didn''t wait too long before he was contacted. This was because his details were too eye-catching.


    He had three Epic items, with the rest of them being mostly Dark Gold. He had one Enhanced skill with his other key skills levelled to the max. His win rate in the arena was 97% and he had defeated pro players before.


    This application was immediately put in front of Lu Li.


    Crippled Black Ant''s name was a little familiar. Although Lu Li couldn''t remember it, he unhesitatingly accepted this player as one of the ten. Furthermore, he would be someone to be paid close attention to in the Stronghold battle.


    If the player was interested, then Ruling Sword would undoubtedly accept him into the guild.


    The last nine were picked based on a particular area that they were proficient in. For skills like Stealth, attributes couldn''t determine a person''s abilities, so they needed mechanically competent players.


    Besides Crippled Black Ant, Lu Li also found someone who had potential.


    Their ID was Bard Big Dog Li. Of course, Dawn didn''t have Bards as a class, so only an eccentric person would add something like that to their name.


    As for the reason this person attracted Lu Li''s attention, it was because of his win rate in the Arena. He had a 96%-win rate, which although was lower than Crippled Black Ant''s, was still extremely impressive. This was around the standard of the average pro, while only a player like Lu Li would have a 100%-win rate.


    This person had such a high win rate, but his items were jaw-droppingly bad. Besides one Epic and two Dark Gold items, all of the rest were only Gold items or even Steel items.


    For ordinary players, Steel items were common. However, to maintain a win rate above 60% with these items was nearly impossible.


    Looking at this form, Square Root Three wasn''t that surprised.


    "I know this person. He''s built up quite a bit of reputation. However, he offended the Gangnam Royals, so his items were probably just stripped from him. His win rate isn''t that surprising either, since he is quite mechanically impressive.


    "How did he offend the Gangnam Royals?" Lu Li asked, feeling quite interested.


    Lu Li wasn''t afraid of the Gangnam Royals in the slightest. However, this didn''t mean that they were a pitiful guild that could be stepped on by anyone. For a normal player, this guild was still like a looming mountain.


    "His mouth is really quite something ¨C even worse than Wandering''s. He finds joy in making people angry. His personality is quite annoying," Square Root Three said.


    "Uh¡­How is he as a person though?"


    This player would definitely add strength to the team. However, if he was only someone who enjoyed spiting everyone else, he wouldn''t be the best addition. He would only make the team unstable, no matter his abilities.


    "As a person¡­he should be okay. He has a reputation for being genuine and loyal. It''s rumoured that he offended the Gangnam Royals because he decided to stand up for his friends," Square Root Three answered unsurely.


    "Then let''s count him in."


    The final eight were selected fairly quickly. Square Root Three interacted with them under the name of Ruling Sword. They quickly agreed upon the rewards and the compensation for failing the quest.


    There were two new releases that week ¨C the Thousand Needles and Un''Goro Crater.


    The Thousand Needles was a barren piece of land situated at the bottom of a canyon, which was surrounded by stone structures.


    This area was further away from accommodation areas. The Thousand Needles in this version of the game was actually two different lands. The white sand in the area gave rise the name ''Shimmering Flats''.


    No matter if it was the Shimmering Flats or the Thousand Needles, no one wanted to live in the desert.


    Centaurs, Buzzards, Hyenas and Kobolds ruled this area.


    The Dark Elves defended a moon well nearby, so Alliance players could benefit somewhat here, but the Horde dominated this area. Two Tauren clans ruled and controlled over the entire Thousand Needles. The difference between the two clans was that one stayed near the Cliff Walkers in Freewind, while the other stayed near the Darkcloud Grimtotems.


    Both clans were influenced by the Horde culture and had radical views on the blood inheritance of chieftains, so their chieftains and leaders were usually selected by names.


    However, there was something a little interesting about them. Both clans lived on the top of mesas. They would only descend the mountain when they needed to hunt or ambush another group. The Grimtotems used stairs and ropes to descend, while the Cliff Walkers used a form of stairs that rose and lowered to allow better accessibility.


    However, the Grimtotems had a bridge which led to the Barrens.


    These two groups had conflicting views which caused a rift between them to form. At the moment, they were still able to act peacefully with each other. After all, they were both Tauren clans whose nemesis was the Galak Centaurs.


    It seemed that the Centaurs were a race that annoyed a lot of other groups. They were very fertile, so they reproduced quickly. Azeroth was filled with Centaurs.


    However, the Thousand Needles wasn''t without its benefits.


    The first benefit was that it was easy to defend the Stronghold, but conversely it was difficult to attack. From the information given, this Stronghold was situated on a high mountain and was difficult to access. Although there was a bridge on three of the sides, they were terrifying to walk across.


    There was one more thing which attracted the attention of many clubs.


    Wyverns!


    Highperch was not far from here. It was rumoured that Highperch was to the south-western side of the Thousand Needles.


    The cliffs were filled with caves and there were hundreds of Wyvern nests in this area, which attracted thieves to come and steal their eggs. The Centaurs saw the Wyverns as holy creatures, so they killed any thief who was caught in the act of stealing their eggs. There were rotten bones and corpses which were tied to wooden poles, warning any intruders against stealing.


    However, death did not deter players from coming in. They weren''t afraid at all. There were thousands of players who came here and broke the Centaurs'' line of defense and tried to steal one or two dragon eggs.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had also tried this. However, after observing for a while, he decided to retreat.


    He retreated because he realised that this wasn''t a place that an individual player could hang around. This was a human-killing machine. The dead players would drop a lot of items, but the ones who attempted to go and steal would be instantly killed by the Centaurs or burned to a crisp by the Wyverns.


    Although the players weren''t able to invade Highperch, clubs had always believed that there would be a day where that would be possible.


    The other location was much poorer. Un''Goro''s Crater was situated in the southside of Kalimdor. To the West was the abandoned Silithus while to East was Tanaris. There were only a few explorers and similar occupations who lived in the area.


    However, Un''Goro''s Crater had something that other places didn''t ¨C the Bloodpetal Sprout.


    This was the enormous volcano situated in the middle of the Crater and it held the record for the most scorching temperatures in Kalimdor. This was also how it attracted many Fire Elementals. It was said that this was a place of experimentation which was created by Titan during the creation of Azeroth. The earth spirits which roamed the area appeared to be the sign of this. Including this abnormally shaped spire on the side of the Crater, it was difficult to explain the mysterious powers at work here.


    Some of the archaeologists in Azeroth hypothesised that there was a path to another experimental location which was created by the Titans in Northrend. This would be able to explain why the Ahnqiraj Scarabs didn''t damage the Crater''s ecosystem and instead, only stayed to the south of the land.


    These two new areas weren''t far apart; both were situated nearby Tanaris. Some ambitious people were already planning to attack both, then connecting them to Tanaris. This way, they would be in control of Kalimdor''s south side.


    Lu Li wanted to do this too, but he was much calmer, so he left it.

 1622 Hiring a Hitman

    Glory Capital wanted to take back Tanaris and take over the two new maps. This way, their territories would link up with Barrenlands and ensure their spot at the top.


    Tanaris was taken away from Gale Legion by Blood Red War Flag. Gale Legion was the sub guild of Glory Capital, which meant that they were basically challenging Glory Capital.


    As such, Lu Li wasn''t worried about Glory Capital giving him trouble.


    Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag would definitely go up against each other this time and Lu Li was happy to watch from the sidelines.


    However, after Jade Flower Lover arrived, everything changed.


    "Lu Li, do you not see Glory Capital''s motives? They''re clearly going to go for Orgrimmar next; their goal is to take over the entire Kalimdor. Lu Li, Grey Valley will eventually be under threat. How do you even sleep at night?"


    "I¡­ I slept pretty well last night. Just get to the point," Lu Li joked.


    "We hope that Ruling Swords will attack the Barrenlands at full power."


    Jade Flower Lover felt like he was wasting his time. He hated talking to these people because it was so tiring.


    "How does that benefit me and how does that benefit you guys?" Lu Li asked directly.


    "You get the Barrenlands. Is that not good enough?" Jade Flower Lover said emotionally.


    "Since when were we on such good terms?" Lu Li was skeptical.


    "It''s obviously beneficial to us as well. We''re afraid that we will not able to defend Tanaris against Glory Capital, unless Ruling Sword is able to attack them and divert some of their troops. I''m being fully honest. Please don''t doubt our motives," Jade Flower Lover sighed.


    "Do you think I''m stupid? What if you go to Glory Capital after this and tell them not to attack you guys, but attack Ruling Sword instead because our two Strongholds will be empty when we attack the Barrenlands?


    Jade Flower Lover fell speechless; he did not expect Lu Li to be this smart.


    "Give me some actual incentives to help you guys. Why would we risk our own land for you?" Lu Li became annoyed and started picking his ear. He did not have the mannerisms of a Major Guild Leader at all.


    "I¡­ We''re not lying to you," Jade Flower Lover pleaded, feeling like he was about to cry.


    "I have no reasons to believe you," Lu Li said firmly.


    "Then what do you want?" Jade Flower Lover regretted coming. He shouldn''t have gone to Ruling Swords. Lu Li was such an unpredictable man. The last time they went to the Wings of Dawn and asked them to attack Ruling Sword, they did it without asking any questions.


    "Firstly, you guys will pay the auction money. Secondly.." Lu Li began as he raised his second finger.


    It took Jade Flower a lot of willpower not to snap off his two fingers as he interrupted, "Do you know how much it is to auction for the right to attack? Oh, you wouldn''t, because Ruling Sword is happy with the two Strongholds that they have and have no idea how much it is now."


    "There''s no use in trying to anger me," Lu Li laughed. "Secondly, you have to go and tell everyone Ruling Sword''s strategy, which is to set Grey Valley as our main base and slowly chip away at our neighboring lands until we eventually take over Kalimdor."


    "You...you''re joking right?" Jade Flower Lover asked.


    "I never joke; I''m serious. I want to attack the Barrenlands but you guys know we have no money," Lu Li said truthfully.


    "Okay."


    Jade Flower Lover thought about it and eventually made the decision to agree to Lu Li''s terms. The main reason was because not many others would auction for the Barrenlands and as such, the price wouldn''t be too high. If Ruling Sword managed to take down the Barrenlands, then Blood Red War Flag''s Tanaris would be safe.


    "Hold on, thirdly¡­." Lu Li said as he raised his third finger.


    "Mr. Lu, don''t take advantage of others please," Jade Flower Lover begged, feeling his blood pressure rising.


    "We''re risking a lot for you guys, so giving us some potions and resources would make sense," Lu Li said.


    "Should we give you guys the equipment and some manpower as well?!" Jade Flower Lover grabbed Lu Li''s collar and yelled.


    "Uh, that won''t be neccessary."


    "It''s not like you guys are giving us the Barrenlands after you take it. Why are we paying such a heavy price?!" Jade FLower Lover cried out.


    "Cough, cough, let go. Are you trying to commit a murder?" Lu Li escaped his grasp and pulled away from Jade Flower, then said calmly, "You guys will keep your land so why are you being so stingy? You can go plead to the other Guilds and see if Sorrowless is willing to use all their power to defend."


    Lu Li''s sentence persuaded Jade Flower because this was the reality.


    Glory Capital was too powerful and Ruling Sword, Blood Red War Flag and any other guild could not compare. However, Sorrowless was not scared of Ruling Sword, but of Lu Li himself.


    He was afraid of his random and unpredictable tactics which had led to his defeat many, many times.


    If Ruling Sword actually attacked the Barrenlands at full power, no matter how prideful Sorrowless was, he would still defend with full power. The Barrenlands were too important for Ruling Swords and Glory Capital had to make sure they didn''t take it.


    Jade Flower Lover was right; Glory Capital wanted to make Orgrimmar their main base.


    "We don''t have potions, but we can give you gold. How much?"


    "I''ll get someone to tally up our costs based on the last time we faced off against Glory Capital. Don''t worry, we won''t rig the stats," Lu Li said seriously.


    Jade Flower Lover was very unwilling but had no other choice but to come to an agreement.


    Lu Li did not waste anytime and successfully auctioned the rights to attack the Barrenlandss with 40,000 gold.


    This sounded like a steep price, but it was actually quite low compared to the other auctions. No other guild dared to challenge Glory Capital.


    Blood Red War Flag paid for the auction fee as well as 20,000 gold on top to cover the cost of potions, which tallied up to 60,000 gold for Ruling Sword to attack Glory Capital for them.


    For Jade Flower Lover, this was actually quite worth it because they would likely get to keep their Stronghold.


    Gale Legion managed to win the auction for the rights to attack Tanaris.


    Sorrowless kept most of his manpower at the Barrenlands to defend against Ruling Sword. The two guilds were set to face off again.

 1623 Planning and Plotting

    "This doesn''t look good," Fat Monkey groaned. He scratched his head as he watched the enemies get closer and closer to the stronghold. In the end, he couldn''t resist going down to face them.


    "What doesn''t look good? Can you recognise those people? This time Azure Guard and Majin Temple are working together. We were almost ambushed but it''s a good thing we had prepared earlier. They probably didn''t think that our main forces would show up here," Lu Li smirked with a hint of self-satisfaction. Secretly, however, he was wiping away cold sweat.


    "But you promised Jade Flower Lover that she would lead the attack against the Barrenlands," Fat Monkey said.


    "I''m will attack the Barrenlands. I already sent people there," Lu Li replied as he gazed at him. With an arrogant shake of his head, he continued, "The art of war is the way of deception. Do you understand? If you don''t, stop whining. People are coming soon, aren''t you going to welcome them?"


    "Ugh, you stinky pleb! Come fight us you cowards." The enemies below destroyed two arrow towers and are right underneath the stronghold. Surprisingly, the person mocking them was Unforgettable Maple.


    "Hehe, Sister Maple, don''t think you''re safe. I remember you were from Majin Temple. How did you get mixed up with Azure Guard?" Lu Li asked, leaning on the top of the wall and taunting the people below. There was plenty of time so neither side were in a hurry.


    "Weren''t you helping Blood Red War Flag attack the Barrenlands?" Unforgettable Maple asked. It made sense for Maple to ask this question. Jade Flower Lover had tricked Lu Li into attacking Glory Capital. Then the info that Ruling Sword was going beginning a full-scale attack on Glory Capital was given to Majin Temple, which led Majin Temple to attack the Black Sea Coast while it was empty.


    Jade Flower hated Lu Li for not being as obedient as Wings of Dawn, which was why he decided to trick Ruling Sword. And giving info to Majin Temple covered half of his loss of 60 000 gold. Regardless of the result, they weren''t going to get the short end of the stick.


    The star player of Majin Temple was Unforgettable Maple. He was experienced, calculative, and well-known for being treacherous within the circle. He wouldn''t simply believe Blood Red War Flag''s words. He formed an alliance with the Azure Guard, and the two would work together to divide up the spoils of the Black Sea Coast. Who would''ve known that Lu Li was personally commanding the Black Sea Coast Stronghold? If this was a movie, it would be an intense romance drama. Actually, it''d be an elaborate, scheming, full-scale drama comparable to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.


    So, who were the people attacking the Barrenlands? Unforgettable Maple stared at the players around Lu Li. He realised that there were a lot of new faces that he didn''t recognise. Then, with confidence, he laughed coldly, "I thought you were playing some sort of trick, but it turns out it this was just an Empty Fort Strategy. You''re making the enemy think that the empty stronghold was a trap. Wandering is leading the group. The main forces have gone to attack the Barrenlands, leaving you with a bunch of small fry to receive the enemy?"


    "it''s enough to handle all of you. Last time Wandering almost kept Elevenless and Dream 13 bedridden for a fortnight. Do you also want a try? It''s not worth his time to deal with you," Lu Li mocked, pretending to have exposed himself. He remained tough on the outside, hiding his timidness.


    "Haha! So, we''re on the same page then? Attack!" Unforgettable Maple laughed, commanding the allied armies to begin the attack on the stronghold.


    Wandering didn''t actually go to the Barrenlands. He was bringing Azure Sea Breeze and the team to personally garrison Grey Valley Stronghold. They had the trump card of the Ancient of Lore there, as well as a group of smiling Dryad sisters who had been assembled on this side of the stronghold wall. Theoretically, there was already no fear about this stronghold being attacked no matter how powerful the enemy.


    The reason he chose to be garrisoned at Grey Valley was very simple, to save energy!


    That''s why he didn''t even look at the people coming to attack Grey Valley Stronghold. No matter how powerful they were, it wouldn''t change their fate of having to return home in defeat.


    The club that snatched the opportunity to attack was called Strongest King. They also complained a lot about their plight. They were a newly formed guild, part of a financial investment business in real life.


    Those finance groups may have felt that the gaming industry grew more and more popular, so they couldn''t help but set their foot in it.


    Sugar Pear, who they asked to be responsible for setting up the new club and guild, was an experienced old player. He had been a player for over ten years and was competitive for two. Of course, he wasn''t oblivious to the game''s mechanics. With careful planning and order, he began to set everything up.


    However, he couldn''t stand the people above him pushing him. His only option was to conquer some land. However, there was a problem with gaining a piece of land. A group of people from the company board studied it for hours before choosing the Grey Valley Stronghold. They chose this piece of land for its strategic advantage. If they set it up here, they could get a bird''s eye view of all sides. They could fight whoever they wanted to fight.


    Besides, Grey Valley Stronghold had already been developing quite well. If they defeated it, it would save them a lot of development time.


    After Sugar Pear protested to that idea in vain, he firmly chose to go all-out. He brought the main army line-up of Strongest King and begun the long journey of attacking Grey Valley Stronghold. As the saying goes, when a friend asks for a hand, you do the best you can. Since it was already decided, they''d go up and fight a good battle.


    At the same time, he showed the people on the company board, who had been living under a rock, what it was really like to be a top club.


    The one going into the Barrenlands head-on was Sky Moon.


    This newly rising boss of Ruling Sword had gradually shed off his initial immaturity. He looked into the distance and saw that the Barrenlands'' strongholds weren''t too well-defended. He lifted his hand to stop the chariots rolling forward. The distance of the first arrow tower was only just a stone throw away.


    The battlefield of the Barrenlands was had a moment of deathly stillness. Both sides were separated by two arrow towers, looking at each other from a distance.


    One could say that the Grey Valley''s battlefield was extremely tragic. The main forces of Strongest King attacked the stronghold wall in waves, the bright light of death continuously glistening. But Grey Valley''s stronghold walls still didn''t budge. The half-asleep Wandering at the very top of the wall looked like he would fall asleep at any moment.


    On the other hand, the Black Sea Coast, where Lu Li was, had entered into a deadlock.


    The Dryads and the Ancient of Lore weren''t here. The core players had also separated to three places. Apart from a few core players here, there were ten hired mercenaries.


    They had picked players out of the main forces to go and find some strangers to hire. There was a big reduction in the group''s power. Compared to the allied forces set up by Majin Temple and Azure Guard, they couldn''t show that they had any sort of overwhelming advantage. Under Unforgettable Maple''s command, the allied forces already reached the stronghold wall.


    "Luckily you''re shameless, boss," Fat Monkey joked with lingering fear in his heart.


    "This is called strategy, something that old fellow doesn''t have. Monkey, quick, you can One Shot him," Lu Li said, referring to Unforgettable Maple.


    "Boss, you hold the wall first. The stronghold wall is going to fall. I''m going ahead," Fat Monkey said, flashing before Lu Li''s eyes before flying down.


    "Damn you, you just know how to run," Lu Li cursed, before following him down. When he landed, he turned into a leopard. After he stood up, he hid himself in the shadows.


    "Haha, where did you find these mercenaries from? That''s not cool at all," Unforgettable Maple laughed loudly.


    His 80 players were almost all of the most core Elite players of Majin Temple and Azure Guard¡ª two reputable, established guilds. Even if Lu Li had his strongest battle line-up here, it still would not outdo them.

 1624 Professional Ethics

    Even if there was a difference in power, the city wall wouldn''t be so easily breached.


    Fat Monkey really looked down on what Lu Li and these people called strategy.


    "Mercenary brothers, we can''t let anyone underestimate us!" Crippled Black Ant roared as he blocked the opponents'' weapons. A whirlwind blew past. They had actually already died once before and dropped a piece of pretty good Dark equipment. Now, in its place, was a piece of equipment with slightly worse attributes.


    The mercenaries brought their own equipment and potions to the fight. Afterwards, they''d be compensated. This was the most common way of doing things in the mercenary world.


    Of course, if they bumped into a flashy rich employer, there was a chance they''d provide potions and even equipment. Evidently, Ruling Sword wasn''t that rich.


    "That''s right, what do we need to be scared of? We''re bringing out our best, if we lose, they won''t take anything of ours. If we win, then we''re helping Ruling Sword repel the allied forces of Majin Temple and Azure Guard, and their name will be known throughout the whole world!" There was another Berserker turning his head, rushing towards the enemy while shouting in agreement.


    His body flashed a few times. Before entering his battle mode, he changed a few pieces of equipment, including his weapons.


    Fat Monkey''s eyeballs were almost popping out. Damn, turns out someone was concealing their power. What this guy was wearing couldn''t be the new set equipment out from Zul''Gurub, right? It has already been quite a few days since Ruling Sword got the first clear of Zul''Gurub, and quite a few teams had already passed the Instance Dungeon by following the strategy spread on the market.


    "Chase them till they''re running like ducks! Every one of them! If not then just die! If you die, you''re still a man, if you''re hiding behind a girl, what are you? Give it a feel down there, are your balls still there? Do we have to get a red cloth and cover up your face? Don''t let people see how ugly you are."


    As soon as he opened his mouth, he made people ¨C including Ruling Sword''s people ¨C want to strangle him. Without a doubt, this was the minstrel Big Dog Li.


    "Damn, Big Dog Li, you win." Those who could stand him were few. Pretty much all of the ten mercenaries turned around and actively rushed to the opening to welcome the pursuing soldiers which were about to break into the stronghold. Many of these people had hidden weapons. What they were wearing was backup, with the best stuff left in their backpacks.


    The equipment that was dropped in Dawn was the first equipment on the body and secondly props or potions in the backpack. Last was the backup equipment.


    "I''m coming. You guys keep running," Fat Monkey ordered as he turned his head. He was not someone who liked escaping, much less under these circumstances. The one that he was facing was Unforgettable Maple.


    He had long wanted to compete with this old, established mage. It wasn''t great to look at this effeminate man''s face.


    "Oh, so enthusiastic! Thanks for giving me equipment," Unforgettable Maple mocked loudly. He had confidence facing off with Fat Monkey. After all, with age comes experience. Besides, at this time, his own side''s morale was swelling.


    Unforgettable Maple subconsciously tilted his head to dodge, barely avoiding the Cheap Shot of the thief. Often, his instincts would take control of the body before his mind could keep up.


    It wasn''t a successful Cheap Shot, but the thief still wasn''t discouraged.


    A dagger appeared out from nowhere and swiped weakly at Unforgettable Maple''s shoulder. It took away a negligible amount of health.


    Unforgettable Maple wasn''t sure whether the follow-up attack would be so light. He was still playing it very safe and acted cautiously, because he saw from the shape of the body that this was the shameless villain Lu Li.


    His step back was then welcomed with Fat Monkey''s Dragon''s Breath.


    Stun!


    He couldn''t avoid the stun in time, because Lu Li had already coordinated his next move.


    Regardless of whether Crippled Black Ant and his team would come, Ruling Sword''s main forces would be coordinated with Lu LI and Fat Monkey''s counter-attack. The people they brought with them definitely weren''t as good as their usual strongest line-up.


    At least March Rain, Lonesome Flower, Sesame Rice Ball and Mu Qiu were here. Oh, and also Fat Monkey, the guy who had no limit to how bad his acting skills were. He almost screwed up the act. Next time, he definitely won''t be part of the plan.


    But him and Lu Li together would still be considered a perfect team.


    Lu Li allowed the opponent to siege the stronghold''s walls because he wanted to see these mercenaries'' performance. Regardless of the reaction of the mercenaries, he couldn''t abandon the protection of the wall.


    The good thing was that these mercenaries'' performance was alright, especially Crippled Black Ant. From start to finish he was fighting with all his strength. The other berserker was also not bad. Though a bit slick and sly, he was really rational in weighing up advantages and disadvantages.


    Oh, there was also the minstrel Big Dog Li...he was still not bad.


    The people joining back into the battle again from the back could only be said to be relatively weak mercenaries. They didn''t meet Lu Li''s required standards of hiring real talent. If they wanted to enter Ruling Sword, they would only begin as ordinary members.


    Lu Li arranged for some people just to observe them, and they would make a fair analysis and assessment afterwards.


    "Lu Li, you old treacherous snake! Why can''t you have a fair fight with me?" Leaving behind these last words, Unforgettable Maple had been sent to the respawn point. Unforgettable Maple finally realised that he had underestimated the enemy again.


    He also didn''t what was wrong with Lu Li. Unexpectedly, it was only after he had crashed into the wall that he began to ''fight for his life'' at the last minute.


    "Tsk, couldn''t even survive a single blow," Fat Monkey scoffed while arrogantly sticking up his middle finger. He''d already recorded the scene of the battle. He''ll put it up on the forum later, showing everyone how he''d thrown the mage off his horse.


    Wait, what about Lu Li''s help? That shouldn''t be hard, just photoshop him out.


    Actually, these shameless people didn''t just include Lu Li. Or you could say that this attribute of shamelessness was spreading around.


    As soon as Unforgettable Maple died, the few people who had followed him in were cleaned up. The people at the back found it even harder to get in. After the battle, the alliance troops dropped some equipment and temporarily evacuated from the walls.


    After all, this constant fighting wasn''t the solution. The people respawning at the back couldn''t rush over soon enough and were finished off before they could even reach the walls.


    Withdrawing to a safe position and waiting for those who had respawned to regroup with was a better plan. Or, they could wait for Ruling Sword to chase them out and then start counterattack.


    "Thank you everyone for really working hard. We guarantee we won''t treat you unfairly in the future," Lu Li said, sighing with relief. Of course, they wouldn''t pursue their attackers, instead they begun repairs.


    "You shouldn''t," Crippled Black Ant said with a complex expression. He wasn''t just some na?ve youth, and what was more, he was the most powerful here.

 1625 The End of the Great Stronghold War

    The mercenaries weren''t dissatisfied. Actually, they admired Lu Li even more.


    It was pretty much exactly because of this that Lu Li was able to lead Ruling Sword to this stage. If it was up to him, Crippled Black Ant, he certainly couldn''t do it. That''s why he struggled to even lead a small group of mercenaries. This was a difference in leadership skills.


    Other people weren''t so insightful. Some naively felt like they made a bigger contribution than they actually did.


    "What does he actually mean?" Unforgettable Maple mumbled as he left the respawn point confused. If he wanted to trap him, did he need to pay such a large price?


    "You didn''t realise what those few people were screaming?" Floral Paralysis reminded him as they walked together.


    Floral Paralysis was one of the two celebrity competitors of Azure Guard. He had pretty friendly relations with Unforgettable Maple. This was the catalyst for the cooperation between Majin Temple and Azure Guard. The other celebrity competitor, Stellar Union Silver Radiant, didn''t come when the 80 had been picked randomly from 200.


    "Give it a feel down there, are your balls still there?" Unforgettable Maple suggested, even more puzzled than before.


    "Ok no, just listen. What I was talking about was phrases like ''mercenary brothers'', ''help Ruling Sword repel''. These two phrases show that this clearly meant they weren''t Ruling Sword''s people," Floral Paralysis explained in frustration, feeling like the conversation wasn''t really getting anywhere.


    "Yeah, definitely not all the people here were Ruling Sword''s," Unforgettable Maple replied, coming back to his senses.


    "Heard that there was a list in the mercenary hall before. Someone hired a dozen or so people to help them protect a city, would it be them?" Floral Paralysis reminded.


    "Then it should be mercenaries. Drizzle Court and Peerless City has too much on their own plates. However, something still isn''t right, it''s still not right," Unforgettable Maple rambled, grasping his hair. All this difficult thinking resulted in nothing.


    "What is not right? Do we still want to fight?" Floral Paralysis asked.


    "Why is the difference in power between before and after so big? Why did they let us breach their walls? What game is Lu Li playing at?" Unforgettable Maple questioned, not paying attention to the little guys. He couldn''t shake the feeling that Lu Li''s methods just weren''t logical.


    "Do you think those mercenaries were really amazing?" Floral Paralysis asked. He wasn''t that nervous anymore. After all, there was still a bit of time for this battle, and the wall had already been broken through.


    "Why did they have to hire mercenaries? They don''t lack the numbers. Why did they let us breach the wall? The power they displayed was pretty much comparable to ours. The could have at least protected the wall to make sure it''s fine. What is actually going on? Also, how did Lu Li know that we were fighting as allies to attack the Black Sea Coast?"


    "Sister Maple, can''t we just forget about it? All this thinking is just frustrating me," Floral Paralysis complained. He had been annoyed to death by all his ''whys''.


    "What if he knew beforehand? Jade Flower Lover assisted us, and if he didn''t know, then maybe it was Jade Flower Lover that was being used by Lu Li. However, whether he knew or not, there was still no point in arranging for all these mercenaries," Unforgettable Maple wondered, deep in thought. He was going crazy.


    He was a relatively confident person, and sometimes he couldn''t accept the fact that his thinking was causing him to spiral downwards.


    "If he lost the stronghold, those mercenaries wouldn''t get much compensation. If he held the stronghold, then those mercenaries would get enough pay. Why would he have to pay the mercenaries like this? It''d be much cheaper to use his own people. So, what is he planning to get from these mercenaries?"


    "What do those mercenaries have? They can be used by their hirer to do things, do quests, protect a city, go down into Instance Dungeons, fight¡ª something''s not right. His own people can do those things..."


    "Oh right, I get it. Floral. Bro. Floral. Where''re you going?" Unforgettable Maple called out. Floral was nowhere to be seen.


    On the frontline, the noises of battle rose to the skies!


    Floral Paralysis left behind his brothers he had brought and had already rushed on ahead.


    Maple was finally starting to know what Lu Li''s master plan was.


    It all seemed to have a reasonable explanation. Lu Li never really wanted to attack the Barrenlands, nor did he really know about who the enemy would be. He was just waiting for someone to come.


    No matter who it was, at least it would help him test the mercenaries'' quality and power.


    Then, according to the outcome, he could absorb these mercenaries into Ruling Sword as members. He didn''t use his own people to protect the city. But of course, he was going to get the best mercenaries to become his own. It was a very simple principle, yet no one had tried it before.


    Some people probably really never thought of it, others thought it''d be too hard to implement, some thought that the mercenaries couldn''t be trusted, and still some others thought it wasn''t worth it to absorb these so-called top mercenary players. Actually, the main reason was that they couldn''t do it as ingeniously as Lu Li had done it. He had never admired Lu Li as much as this before.


    "Floral, come back. We''re giving up," Unforgettable Maple shouted. The players slowly retreated, leaving stronghold battlefield earlier than expected.


    Actually, the city wall had been broken. If they really wanted a chance at victory, now was the opportunity.


    However, Unforgettable Maple had been so mentally damaged by all that calculating and had already lost confidence. He didn''t want to drop more equipment, and so he simply gave up the opportunity to attack. He felt like he still gained something from this battle.


    Lu Li hadn''t brought people out to chase them. Everyone''s relationship with each other was pretty good, so what was the point of going all out to kill every last one of them? Let alone the fact that Innocent Child, at that time, was very grateful for Sister Maple.


    With the retreat by the Alliance forces, the system declared that the Black Sea Coast had been successfully defended.


    In Grey Valley Stronghold, Sugar Pear silently looked at that stronghold, still standing tall like a giant. He turned his head around and looked at some dispirited friends including a representative from the board. He finally showed a bitter smile.


    As for the Barrenlands Stronghold, Sorrowless wasn''t there anymore.


    There was only West Whitehill sitting on the border of the city wall, his legs on the outside of the vast wall.


    Like before, it was the area outside the two arrow towers, where Sky Moon raised his head slightly, as if he was looking at how much the clouds had moved in such a long time.


    Drizzle Court was protecting their own stronghold.


    Peerless City was protecting their own stronghold.


    Glory Capital was protecting Stranglethorn Valley ¨C Wings of Dawn had simply never auctioned this piece of land, and they similarly cheated Jade Flower Lover. They got a new map of Thousand Needles.


    Un''Goro Crater fell into the hands of Grand Hegemony. This up and rising club lost Hillsbrad Hills last week. However, they bounced back with Grand Hegemony, and it turned out they were successful again. But they just didn''t know if they''d lose a Stronghold again.


    The ones who snatched away the Hillsbrad hills from Grand Hegemony were Blood Red War Flag ¨C and it was the guild that Jade Flower Lover was in.


    As she was still in Blood Red War Flag, Jade Flower Lover actually didn''t suffer any loss.

 1626 Another New Patch

    Although Glory Capital didn''t occupy a new stronghold, there was nothing wrong with the two strongholds they already had. They also received the benefits they were meant to get. At most, they were just angry at being tricked. Now, all they needed to think carefully about was who they needed to attack to get revenge, Blood Red War Flag or Ruling Sword.


    Blood Red War Flag made themselves look really innocent, having had to pay damages of 30 000 gold. However, they still protected their stronghold.


    Majin Temple made themselves look even more innocent. They had paid damages of 30 000 gold for false info, as well as the fee for attacking, the potion fee, and money for lost equipment.


    Ruling Sword proved that no one was more guiltless than they were. Hiring mercenaries, wasn''t it normal for me to go into the Barrenlands? what makes you think, Glory Capital, that you can come into my land and I can''t go into yours? What''s wrong if I come into your land and don''t attack? I can just do that to have some fun if I have the money. Majin Temple came to attack us and we fought back, that''s completely normal. It''s your own fault you''re useless.


    At the end of the day, the final winner was Ruling Sword. Firstly, they had captured Blood Red War Flag''s stronghold. It definitely wasn''t because they had a good chat with Jade Flower Lover and then became friends on the same page. At the moment, Blood Red War Flag only had a single stronghold, and Glory Capital already had two. As soon as Blood Red War Flag lost their stronghold, they''d have to look for a new target. Ruling Sword''s power certainly wasn''t at its peak, and they had two strongholds to defend, so they could easily become a target.


    But as soon as Glory Capital got a stronghold, they would have three. Next time, they could even seize their fourth.


    Glory Capital had enough people to seize a fourth and fifth stronghold, but Ruling Sword didn''t. If they had a chance to block Glory Capital''s steps, Lu Li certainly would consider it. Even if they benefited from their loss, Lu Li wouldn''t hesitate to sacrifice for it, much less profiting from these transactions.


    They just hadn''t thought that Jade Flower Lover would be so shameless! Too shameless!


    Secondly, Ruling Sword earnt the most money they ever had in this stronghold war. They got 20 000 gold just from the Barrenlands. They got a lump sum fee as income from those entering the Black Sea Coast Stronghold, as well as a lump sum fee from getting equipment. There was also an income from the Grey Valley Stronghold, and they got a fair bit of equipment as well.


    All they had to pay for the war was simply some potions.


    This was how this big, elaborate palace drama came to an end. Everyone had their little idea about who profited and who lost. The next stronghold war would definitely be even more interesting.


    Oh, but Lu Li still had other rewards.


    "I represent Ruling Sword, to welcome brother Ant into our club. From here on, we are in the same boat, working and creating for our glorious future together!" Square Root 3 announced.


    "I am willing to join Ruling Sword," Crippled Black Ant responded without being pretentious. The purpose for receiving the list was just to get to know Ruling Sword better, then afterwards, over the process of working together, he could find a chance to join. He never thought It''d be so straightforward.


    Then Square Root 3 went to find Big Dog Li, giving his invitation as per his original words.


    "You''d better be willing to pay!" Big Dog Li warned resentfully.


    "I...how could I not?" Square Root 3 stuttered, finally understanding why Lu Li was hesitant. He really wanted to throw a piece of gold at him and send him away.


    "If I''m paid, that''s fine. I''ll join, I''ll join," the Minstrel Big Dog Li sighed, "Ugh, they don''t really like me in the Gangnam Royals. I don''t even know why they always wanted to kill me, so I just casually killed a few of them. Can your Ruling Sword deal with this pressure?"


    "I also want to kill you," thought Square Root 3, internally cursing at him.


    "We should be able to handle it," he weakly replied.


    "If you can handle it, then good. If you can''t deal with it, let me know. I, Big Dog Li, will never implicate you," Big Dog Li promised righteously, slapping his chest.


    This guy was despicable, he could make you rage with just a few words. Deep down, Square Root 3 suspected he was doing it on purpose. He could already imagine how pitiful the players that encountered him in the guild will be.


    In actuality, Big Dog''s days in Ruling Sword weren''t pitiful at all. With so many people in Ruling Sword, he easily found a few people he got along with. The later called themselves the Four Ruling Gentlemen¡ªthough everyone called them the Four Scoundrels.


    The other Berserker that Lu Li was talking about was called Purple Dandelion. The name sounded really sophisticated and refined, but actually he was a really crafty old fellow. He definitely wouldn''t refuse the chance to enter a large-scale club.


    These three players who joined were members of the Elite Group. After they performed well they would enter into the Core Elite group.


    Among the remaining seven strong mercenaries, as soon as they heard that they''d only be ordinary members when they joined, four refused on the spot and left after taking their pay. However, the other three agreed to be absorbed in.


    Lu Li couldn''t treat them too well right from the beginning, otherwise it wouldn''t be fair to the older players in the guild.


    Actually, these people were really strong. As long as they were decent people and loyal to the club, they could easily be promoted to a higher ranking. The key was patience.


    Six top mercenaries had entered the alliance, which confirmed that Lu Li''s strategy was completely feasible.


    After the successful recruitment, you could often see hiring ads from Ruling Sword in the mercenary hall. Sometimes they were looking for people to complete quests, sometimes they were looking for people to go into Instance Dungeons, and sometimes they were even looking for people to train with.


    Even Majin Temple, Azure Guard and other clubs started to follow Lu Li''s recruitment strategies.


    Once again, the mercenary hall had become lively.


    Very soon, they welcomed in another patch update. This new patch brought in new content. There were three main changes.


    First, players had complete freedom to choose their own role to develop. This allowed for those with talent to change their attributes. Some relatively special quests or NPCs still had a small chance to have the service of increasing or decreasing Skill Points.


    Second was the release of a new Instance Dungeon. The Insect Instance Dungeon was released on the gaming arena.


    The last was about a change to the Alterac Valley battlefield. This battlefield was intercommunicable throughout the whole world. This also meant that any player from any server could meet here and fight with you side by side or they could fight you; they could even be a player from a foreign country.


    There were also some minor changes to the roles.


    Mages were strengthened ¨C everyone just skipped over this.


    Thieves had some stats increased and decreased; it was basically the same as before.


    Lu Li didn''t really like or was particularly good at being a mage, which was why he chose to be a thief. As a godson of the system, although he hasn''t been buffed like the mage, at least he had never had major nerfs.


    Paladins were still overpowered.


    The Berserker''s Ignition was buffed, but its Endurance was nerfed. The increase in Defense had been cut down, which meant that you were more vulnerable after a whirlwind. Priests had been slightly buffed. Shamans'' heal was weaker, but the Shamans had been strengthened considerably in other areas.

 1627 The Ahn’Qiraj Insect People

    Druids also got adjusted; One area tweaked was their appearance. Cat druids had larger eyes and bird druids had fatter bodies. On the other hand, bear druids were more ferocious. The tree druids were like cute little tree people, and their healing had also been increased.


    The Hunters didn''t change much. The main thing was an increase of their pets'' intelligence. Some pets could even say simple words.


    Warlocks had an extra control skill, consolidating their position as the king of control.


    Apart from this, there were some hidden changes. It was mainly related to the difficulty of Instance Dungeons, and it waited for the players to find out for themselves. Everyone realized that the Instance Dungeons that were originally extremely difficult had their difficulty reduced. A lot of people had also surged into the battlefield of Alterac Valley, wanting to fight with some foreigners.


    However, Lu Li was more interested in the new Instance Dungeon. The instructions he had given to Ruling Sword earlier were very simple. It was to make sure they secured the First Clear of the Instance Dungeon. This new Instance Dungeon was about insects. There wasn''t much official info on the insects, but they also didn''t intentionally keep any information about them secret.


    Assembling info about the insects and the quest became the main mission that Ruling Sword assigned. As long as the info was relevant it could be sent to the tactics group to collect. Any info about the insects, including info about what skills they used, were taken in to be analysed.


    Lu Li himself went into Stormwind City''s Great Royal Library. Lu Li researched the early trolls of the past because insects and trolls once fought against each other. To understand someone, you can begin by looking at their enemy.


    There was no concrete information about the origins of insects. Like many lifeforms on the Azeroth continent, they had appeared very suddenly, but still in an understandable way. We are also like this in reality, like the Cambrian explosion or the appearance of humans. It all feels very sudden to us.


    It couldn''t be described in too much detail. How the ancestors of the insects were born in the sea, from how they went from being single-celled organisms to multicellular organisms. How they left the sea and crawled up onto land or how they evolved one step further to be intelligent insects.


    Although the origin can''t be explained, but when they began to flourish can be discussed. It was when the Titans defeated the ancient gods of Azeroth, the first rulers, that a space was given for the insects to develop.


    From the book The Origins of Trolls, Lu Li found some info about trolls.


    16 000 years before Dawn, the insects already had their own civilization ¨C the Azj''Aqir civilization.


    They had established the third great empire of Kalimdor at the time ¨C the Aqir Empire ruled over the west of Kalimdor. Completing the triumvirate was the empire set up by the trolls, controlling the jungles of the east and south ¨C the Gurubashi Empire and the forest''s Amani Empire.


    Aside from this, there was also Northrend in the far north, a small nation of trolls.


    These intelligent insect-like lifeforms greatly desired expansion and were also extremely evil. The Aqir insects were devoted to eradicating all lifeforms on Kalimdor that weren''t insects. On this point, they were in agreement with the Wings of Death, but the Wings of Death wanted to rid Kalimdor of all life that weren''t Black Dragons. This was the standard display of evil. If Lu Li was like this, then he would definitely be called a war maniac or the Destroyer.


    Two tigers can''t live on one mountain. It was impossible for these two bloodthirsty groups, the insects and the trolls, to coexist without war. The two had fought for over 1000 years. Although the trolls had never had an overwhelming advantage over the Aqir insects, in the end, the insects still lost multiple times in the war. It was really difficult to tell from the current state of Azeroth but at that time, the power of the trolls was really great.


    The Aqir Empire split into two. Their subjects escaped to the far north of the continent, assembling there as they lived out a feeble existence.


    Two Aqir city-states were established. In the barren land of the north there was Arj Nirab, and Ahn''Qiraj in the south desert. The trolls doubted that there were still hideouts of insects on Kalimdor, and indeed, their existence has never been confirmed.


    First, let''s talk about Arj Nirab.


    From the books The Annals of the Origins of the Undead ¨C Ner''zhul, The Legendary Northrend and Those Years I was in Northrend, Lu Li compiled the information of the branching empire.


    When Saar liberated his own brother Lordaeron, Ner''zhul continued to consolidate his base in Northrend. In the space above Icecrown, he established a giant castle to control his huge undead armies.


    But when the Lich King expanded his borders, a single secret kingdom began to rebel against him. This ancient underground kingdom called Arj Nirab was established by a cruel race of human spiders. They sent out some elite troops to attack Icecrown. Ner''zhul realized that the spiders were completely immune to his mind control, and their strength was comparable to the undead troops.


    The Spider Web Monsters, King of the Spiders, controlled a huge army, and also had influence over half of the tunnel network under the territory of Northrend. Their guerrilla warfare tactics made the Lich King wandered around aimlessly.


    In the end, Ner''zhul won a difficult victory against the Spider Web Monsters. Under attack from the berserk Dreadlord and countless undead warriors, the Spider Kingdom of Arj Nirab became a land of ruins.


    Although the Spider Web Monsters were mentally immune to Ner''zhul, Ner''zhul''s great Spirit power was able to control the corpses of the spider warriors. After Northrend had been unified, the Lich King began to carry out his true quest. The Lich King extended his sights onto human territory, and even summoned all the dark spirits that would listen to his voice.


    The Spider Web Monsters, having been crushed in defeat, lifted their heads to the Lich. Some imagined that if the spider monsters had defeated Ner''zhul, then there wouldn''t be all this trouble afterwards. There wouldn''t be this new Horde, the Alliance and the Horde wouldn''t exist, and you couldn''t keep playing this game.


    Let''s talk about Ahn''Qiraj.


    Actually, the info in this area was easier to find. After all, the War of the Shifting Sands occurred not that long ago. A lot of people who participated in that war were still alive. And the effects of that war can still be felt today. What was important to remember was, insects and insect people were completely different things. Insects weren''t very smart. At the moment, there were a lot of places on the Azeroth continent, but insect people were intelligent lifeforms. Within insects, they occupied the position of commanders. At the moment, on the mainland, insect people barely existed.


    The glorious Ahn''Qiraj Stronghold was originally was where the guards jailed C''Thun. The pitiful insects didn''t know this at all. They entered this stronghold and inside, they spread out and recovered their power. They tried, once again, to come out on the mainland and conquer the land. There was a surprising similarity with the trolls ¨C they both wanted to recover their former glory.


    At the same time the insect people of Aqir were looking to increase their power, they had already been corroded by the sealed C''Thun.


    This branch of the Aqir insects began to be called the Ahn''Qiraj insects.


    Although Azshara and her Night Elf empire once knew of the existence of this stronghold, it was forgotten over the long course of time. Also, this stronghold towered over the vast desolate Silithus Desert, where few intelligent lifeforms set foot.


    It was only when the land of Silithus was revived under the leadership of Archdruid Fandral Staghelm that the Ahn''Qiraj again entered the sights of the elves.


    In the biography The Son of the Archdruid, the author described in detail the situation of that time. The archdruid sent his own brave son, Valstann, as well as a group of druids he trusted, to go out together to do a quest.


    They trudged back and forth in the sweltering desert, looking everywhere for an underground supply of water that could change this land into a jungle. Finally, Valstann led his comrades to go into the land where the Ahn''Qiraj were. Although numerous druids told him to avoid this area, Fandral''s son still went on ahead without turning back.


    In the cold, lonely hall many Qiraj insect people were sleeping but they were woken up by Valstann''s rash entrance. And C''Thun had also realized the revival of the Qiraj insect people in the depths of Ahn''Qiraj, immediately sending numerous insect people to be driven into a great rage.


    The high-level Qiraj insect people then organized the lower level insects, and with their numbers, they were a powerful group. They were like a type of scorpion ¨C these evil insects had all sorts of different appearances, but everyone followed the will of the Qiraj overlord.


    The existence of these Qiraj insect people absolutely shocked Valstann and the druids following him. They immediately got out of Ahn''Qiraj and established a little outpost in Silithus to monitor the movements of these insects.


    The insects who forcibly occupied the stronghold became stronger and stronger every day. After a while, a general rushed out of the flooded tunnels of Ahn''Qiraj without warning, commanding a swarm of Qiraj insect people. They commanded many different types of scorpion underlings, completely swallowing up the surrounding wilderness. After this, they spread even further to other lands.


    At this point, Valstann went to his father for help. Fandral continued to organise a group of druids, sentinels, female priests and jungle guards. They responded to the threat of the Qiraj insect people with their own army.


    At that time, the Archdruid Fandral Staghelm was an old, established and renowned Night Elf. In his youth, he was already an outspoken member of the Cenarion Circle. Staghelm, with his big frame and furious temper, made him a strong and scary druid in the eyes of everyone else. Because of this, he often went against his mentors. However, he was handpicked by Malfurion as one of his disciples with the most talent, out of all the students.


    That battle changed fate for a lot of people.


    The Night Elves repeatedly tried to drive every last one of the Qiraj insect people back to the sandy hill of Silithus. However, the insects were not so easily defeated and launched a counterattack. However, the Elves snatched the advantage from their hands again. The war had been going on back and forth for a few months, and the battlefield was full of corpses from both Elves and insects.


    This was how the War of the Shifting Sands began.


    Fandral and his comrades kept up the war on one hand, but at the same time, they established a lot of outposts in the south of Kalimdor. They relied on these outposts to continue this tragic war with the insect species.


    In the end, the Qiraj insect people, were pushed back to their homeland of Silithus by the tenacity of the druids and their allies. However, just when victory was achieved, an unexpected reversal occured. Under the carefully planned fake attack of the Qiraj insect people, Valstann fell to the insect people''s hands.


    Valstann''s death ruined the will of the Archdruid and many other Night Elves. The Qiraj insect people didn''t let this amazing opportunity pass. Again, they swarmed out of Silithus, attacking cities and breaking up camps the whole way, pushing their way into Tanaris Desert into the east. The insect people fought their way into the holy place of the Bronze Dragon ¨C The Caverns of Time.


    This hasty attack angered the Bronze Dragons, leading them to take action. Under the leadership of Anachronos, they assembled the help of the Red Dragons, Green Dragons and Blue Dragons, three large dragon armies. So, with the dragons added to the Night Elves'' battle array, they worked together to drive the Qiraj forces back inside the walls of Ahn''Qiraj.


    However, even though they had the help of these giant dragons, the vast forces of the Qiraj insect people were difficult to completely eradicate. Fandral was worried and afraid that this war would never come to an end ¨C thousands upon thousands of Elves had already lost their lives under the insects'' sharp claws. He really didn''t want to sacrifice any more of his own people. So, he and the dragons wanted to find a way to end this war immediately. They precisely wanted to lock up the insects in Ahn''Qiraj until the end of time. For this reason, the Night Elves and giant dragons assembled in front of Ahn''Qiraj to end the war. Fandral ordered his druids to combine their power, the Night Elves and Anachronos summoned broad barriers to completely seal off Ahn''Qiraj.


    The dry land outside this cursed city was completely dried up. The wall made up of rocks and roots, would emerge at the right time. From underground a strong barrier of beetles would tower over the city, forever trapping the Qiraj insect people.


    In the end, Anachronos created two magic weapons: the Beetle''s Gong, and the Shifting Sands Sceptre.


    Right afterwards, the dragons gave the scepter to Fandral to keep. If there was a time in the future when they needed to step into Ahn''Qiraj again, he could use this magic weapon to open up the beetle wall.


    Thus, the threat from the insect people ended. However, Fandral still didn''t feel safe. The death of Valstann still lingered in his inner heart. He then broke apart the Shifting Sands Sceptre and scattered away the many pieces of the sceptre.


    When the War of the Shifting Sands broke out, the three giant dragons, Arygos, Merithra of the Dream and Caelestrasz sacrificed their own lives to create the beetle wall.


    Although the beetle wall was successful in sealing up the Qiraj insect people, the insect empire was still biding its time for conquest.


    Now, the prospect of equipment, gemstones, Reputation and Skill Points, as well as countless treasure had attracted everyone to bravely advance without fear.


    This fight to the death didn''t end!

 1628 Half-Life Crystal

    Ahn''Qiraj had always been there. It had been there since before the patch. There were even monsters around there. It was just that players couldn''t go into it.


    So, there must be a starting quest.


    Ahn''Qirah''s starting quest was the first big quest in Dawn where only a large-scale team could accomplish.


    It was different from other Instance Dungeons. When the patch came on line, Ahn''Qirah didn''t open its doors to players easily. Instead, it required many players to work together to open it.


    Only a certain group of players could get this quest.


    Even though individual players complained, the developers had already made their decision. Was there any other choice for the players other than to accept?


    In fact, majority of quests were single player or small team quests. There was nothing wrong for the system to occasionally set up a group quest. The game was more interesting with diversity. A lot of individual players could actually group together and form a team. It didn''t matter if it was a guild or mercenary group. There were tens of thousands of guilds and clubs in Dawn by the time the requirements of a group quest was released.


    Even though this incident did cause many teams to suffer damages, every veteran player who participated would look back on this fondly.


    The quest of Ahn''Qiraj was split into two parts. The first part was the delivery of various materials to teams as a unit. The amount need to be delivered was rather astounding.


    But every exchange of material was rewarded with a badge, as well as rewards of different equipment. On top of this was also the enhancement of each main city''s prestige of the Cenarion Circle.


    Only after the quest has been completed can they enter the area around the Instance Dungeon. There were many elite monsters that had pretty good drop; they were the best of the best no matter for training or for looting equipment. So, a lot of people hoped to get ahead by gaining access to this region first. For clubs and guilds, they just want to jump in earlier in hopes of getting a First Clear.


    The clubs who had the ability to get the First Clear were even more desperate in gathering materials. Even if everyone knew that they couldn''t beat Glory Capital, who had a big business and collected materials quickly, everyone wasn''t going to admit defeat so easily.


    Once the quest mode came out, everyone''s eyes immediately fell on Ruling Sword.


    It had always been Ruling Sword who got the First Clears of Instance Dungeons. Everyone thought they would perform a miracle and do it again since it was a standard occurrence now, however the requirements for entry was different this time. This time it felt like the developers purposely made it hard for Ruling Sword.


    Any other large-scale club, let alone a massive club like Glory Capital, had the confidence in surpassing Ruling Sword when it came to collecting materials.


    Poor bastards! Now they''ll know how it feels to be left behind.


    Was Lu Li scared? He didn''t even know himself. He was busy discussing important matters with the leaders of the Life Profession Alliance. Half-Life Crystal!


    When Lu Li first met this little dwarf, she and a few life professional friends were being chased by a player. Lu Li received a reward from the Hunter, so he indirectly saved Half-Life Crystal and the others.


    Half-Life Crystal was scared of being bullied again and asked Lu Li to protect them.


    Of course, Lu Li had no time to be the nanny of a life professional, so he naturally declined her offer. However, he did agree that as long as they had a bounty for killing someone, he would help them. As long as they put down a price, even if it meant destroying a whole guild, he would help them.


    During this period of time, Lu Li did fulfil his promise.


    There was a specialist team that was in charge of this in Ruling Sword. The very violent guilds that had been targeted by them were now suppressed in various ways. Many players who knew that they would be hunted down by Ruling Sword if they stayed in these guilds now no longer had people joining. All the people within these guilds had withdrawn and they were basically destroyed in name and activities.


    Under the inspiration of Lu Li, Half-life Crystal started establishing the by gathering these players.


    Now this organisation had over 300,000 players, which was more than the total number of members in Lu Li''s Ruling Sword. If you didn''t consider fighting abilities, it was comparable to a large-scale club or guild.


    In addition to using force to protect the alliance, Lu Li also provided them with some Instance Dungeons or raw materials from fighting monsters; He would also buy the goods they made.


    His former three landlord ladies, as representatives of Ruling Sword, entered into the leadership of Life Professional Alliance to ensure the organisation wouldn''t abruptly abandon Ruling Sword one day. Now this organisation''s leadership model was that Half-Life Crystal was the leader of the alliance and made all major decisions. There were five chief executives below her. All three landlord ladies were chief executives.


    "Recent developments have been pretty smooth hey?" Lu Li asked as he had tea handed over to him.


    "Very smooth. Not many people would put much focus on a group of Life Professional players. The large-scale clubs all have their own. I just wanted to make money and expand, while they were busy trying to take over the world," Half-Life Crystal was still that little dwarf with a petite figure but had long lost the youth and timidity. Calm. Powerful!


    Even Lu Li had to look straight at the Life Professional who had once been easily chased by an ordinary player.


    She had over 300,000 people under her hands, as well as a special guard squad.


    What was more frightening was her amazing financial resources. You could even say, she had started later than Lu Li but accumulated far more wealth than Lu Li.


    "When would the things I want be ready?" Lu Li handed over a detailed list to her.


    "These are all common things, no need for special preparation. I''ll ask someone to send it over to you in a bit," Half-Life Crystal glanced through it and replied calmly. She was well-informed and knew what was needed for the Ahn''Qiraj starting quest.


    She also knew that Lu Li would need these materials, so she had already confirmed the inventory early on.


    "Thanks, I''ll let my guys send you the money later. Price-wise let''s increase by 20% according to the current market price," Lu Li want to act as if he was loaded. These materials were about to face a trend of rampant growth because of the surging demand.


    "No need. I don''t want money," Half-Life Crystal shook her head.


    "Hmmm so what do you want?" he saw his counterpart staring at him which made Lu Li suddenly start to sweat.


    Or maybe it was because he had saved her out of nowhere that day when she was in crisis, so this chick had some sort of feelings of admiration. And as her thoughts became deeper, Lu Li was worried she might suddenly have some sort of crazy demand.


    "What? You have a strange expression," Half-Life Crystal nearly laughed at his face, "Don''t worry, I don''t have the courage to face Water Fairy Sis. I want a stronghold."


    "Stronghold?" Lu Li''s eyes widened.

 1629 Flashy Name Lis

    Strongholds were indeed the most trending thing right now. The top clubs were all fighting for it. Even if you had players it was no guarantee you could get it. Even if you did get it, there was no guarantee you could hold it.


    "Not saying right now, but I hope Ruling Sword gain control of a third stronghold for the Life Professional Alliance. We are currently training our city guarding team. There are 80 elite players that Life Profession can afford," Half-Life Crystal explained.


    Lu Li didn''t expect she would request such a thing.


    But when he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Any organisation would want a stronghold for themselves. This group of Life Professionals were naturally of no exception.


    They were usually settled in Stormwind City or Lu Li''s Black Sea Coast Stronghold. But at the end of the day, these weren''t their own place.


    No wonder she invited many top mercenaries, or directly sought out mercenary groups to help them attack strongholds. They had even offered to buy a stronghold with money, but unfortunately failed in the end.


    Ordinary clubs feared them, small-medium sized guilds were scared of them, but the top clubs didn''t view them as threats.


    In the gaming world, fighting capabilities was the most important ability after all. Life Professionals did indeed have money, but none of the top guilds were poor. Even the Gods of Dusk, a club that was nearing its end, couldn''t be convinced with money.


    "You help us get it. All expenses we will cover, and we will protect it ourselves," Half-Life Crystal continued.


    "You sure you guys can hold onto it?" Lu Li wasn''t so convinced in this aspect of Life Profession Alliance. If it was rushing to get an order of equipment or medicine, no matter how big, this organisation would complete it within the shortest amount of time. But a stronghold was different.


    Even though being on the defense was more advantageous than on the attack. One aspect was the geographic advantage of the city wall, another aspect was that there was already an arrangement of 80 people guarding it. However, the side attacking had 280 candidates. Even if it was Ruling Sword, Lu Li wasn''t that confident in holding onto a third stronghold.


    Hence, why he had delayed conquering the new stronghold.


    "Don''t look down on us. Our abilities are beyond your imagination. Let me show you a name list." Half-Life Crystal boasted with exceptionally confidence.


    After reading the name list, Lu Li was still unsure if Life Professional Alliance could guard the stronghold. However, he was still blinded by how flashy the names on this name list were. This girl in front of him was crazy!


    A Straw in the Wind was the celebrity competitor for Gangnam Royals. He had disappeared from the scene after leaving Gangnam Royals, and no one had heard him signing to any other club.


    Countless club and capitals had gone crazy trying to contact this person. They all wanted to have him for themselves. However, he had entered into a scattered organisation of Life Professional players. This was absurd.


    Did you know how strong A Straw in the Wind was?!


    Before Lu Li''s debut, Blood Dagger, Song of Sorrow, Wood Fearing, Midnight Ghost, A Straw in the Wind, Yew and Water Fairy were known by gaming players as the seven Great God-level Thieves.


    He had killed many celebrity players including Sorrowless.


    "How did you get A Straw in the Wind? This doesn''t make logical sense," Lu Li rubbed his eyes. The name on the name list was still shining bright in and of itself.


    "Very simple. His sister was in our Alliance. So, there was no need to convince him. He just naturally joined his own," Half-Life Crystal was very satisfied with herself, with her little canine teeth showing.


    "Hmph!"


    Stuff him! Stupid sis-loving brother! Where did his integrity as a player go?


    Lu Li shook his head, "You guys don''t have the ability to get him back onto the arena. He''s a celebrity player. He''s made to shine on the stage."


    "Who said that all celebrity players must go on the arena?" Half-Life Crystal glared at Lu Li, "He''s sick of the arena. So, it was better to just play games with his sister."


    Well, there wasn''t anything wrong with that.


    "Chu Shi? Is this THE legendary Chu Shi?!" Lu Li asked as he pointed at the second name. He was actually already certain. But since his opposition wanted to shock him on purpose, so she put the most shocking names at the front. This person was placed second so there couldn''t be anyone else other than the legendary Chu Shi.


    In fact, the shock that Chu Shi gave Lu Li wasn''t as much as A Straw in the Wind.


    Chu Shi wasn''t a competitor. His abilities was also not considered the best of the best, but his position in the gaming circle was very important. Even if Sorrowless saw him, he would bow down and call him ''teacher''.


    There was a club called Stellar Union.


    This club had once forced Sorrowless to a corner. Whenever he thought back to that time, it still made him tremble and would even wake up in the middle of the night. In order to withstand Stellar Union''s pressure, he had stayed in the game for pretty much 24 hours.


    When he and his team was at their worst, they had begun to pessimistically discuss their plan B after bankruptcy.


    At the time, Stellar Union''s tactics were famous all over the world. Its chief tactical master was called Chu Shi. Many game command theories originated from him. nearly all the commanders drew wisdom from him.


    Even Lu Li lately had been analysing his past cases to learn.


    Later, Stellar Union''s host left the gaming circle after some incident in real life. The new host and Chu Shi didn''t get along, so Chu Shi sadly left.


    From then on, the Stellar Union who used to oppress Glory Capital to the point of tears begun to fade. Present day Stellar Union was barely hanging on in the top ten guilds and was nearly at its limit.


    The Stellar Union today only had Twilight as its celebrity player. At its peak, it had four star players and nearly as many as seven or eight who had star player abilities.


    Stellar Union now always called for Chu Shi''s return.


    Even the once arrogant host was expressing in public how he hoped that Chu Shi would return to Stellar Union in spite of their past.


    "Don''t tell me this guy has a sister too," Lu Li didn''t have any more strength to roast.


    "Nope, he''s just a Life Professional player¡­"


    "What?!" Lu Li was already on the ground and couldn''t get up.


    Glacial Autumn Wind!


    Even though he wasn''t a competitor, no one would question him as the strongest Hunter.


    He was known as the Kite King and had some sort of stealth skill. His greatest achievement was fighting a boss on his own. At present, he and Lu Li were the only two recognised as having the abilities to fight bosses on their own. In reality, Lu Li could only fight bosses of the same level alone in the past, but people like Glacial Autumn Wind could still fight some bosses alone.


    In Lu Li''s past life, Glacial Autumn Wind was prohibited by several large guilds. He then became a murder maniac and disappeared off the scene. It''s unknown whether he was forced out of the game or maybe he just fell of the radar.


    If there was one person that Lu Li wanted to headhunt for his club, it was without a doubt this No. 1 hunter.


    Comparing Remnant Dream to him, other than the fact she had better luck, the rest was just pretty much a comparison of who was cuter.


    "This person was a total accident, but now he''s probably too lazy to leave," Half-Life Crystal shrugged her shoulders.


    He had heard this person was very lazy, but lazy to the point of withdrawing from a club was a new level of laziness. Of course, being in the Life Professional Alliance at least made this lonely person feel like he was living at ease.

 1630 Scraping Materials Together

    "Cute Seven ¨C if I''m not wrong this is also a competitive player too? One from Death Waltz?" Lu Li saw the fourth name and let out a sigh slowly. This guild was just considered second rate. It hadn''t had any development for many years, plus it was normal that a lot of players jumped ship.


    "Yep, so they still belong to Death Waltz. But in a few days, they''ll belong to us," Half-Life Crystal nodded her head.


    "How did you convince them?" Lu Li was puzzled.


    "Money of course," Half-Life Crystal said in a matter of fact tone.


    Alright, there wasn''t anything wrong with that. Money could make devils grind, so long as more money is given, players could also turn into fighters.


    Empty Forest was also a hunter. He used to train in a club''s training camp for newcomers. Apparently, his results were excellent at the time. But he was jaded before he even debuted and since then became a long-term scattered player.


    He frequented the Glory Ranking. He had long-term PVP value. He also did arrest quests from day to night.


    Midnight Chorus was the enemy of the famous club Imperial Secret Service. Both sides held a grudge for many years ¨C a scattered player that made an enemy of a large guild for many years and still live happily showed how strong his abilities must be.


    Holy Thunder was a famous Mage master. He was also a well-known rich second gen and was known for owning many limited-edition luxury cars. He had bought equipment from Lu Li in the early days of the game.


    The rest were also a majority of well-known masters.


    No wonder Half-Life Crystal was so confident they could hold the stronghold.


    "No matter if it will work or not, we have to try. The voices of the people below are pretty loud. I can''t hold it down much longer," Half-Life Crystal explained.


    "It''s not only the people below who are pretty loud right?" Lu Li smiled.


    "So, is it yes or no from you?" Half-Life Crystal felt embarrassed after being exposed. The little girl who used to be shy when making small demands had now grown into a hegemon.


    "I''ll say yes. Within three months, I''ll get you a stronghold. Your people still aren''t strong enough," Lu Li thought about it and suggested, "With someone like Chu Shi around, don''t go messing around. Stronghold battles aren''t easy to handle."


    "No worries, Chu Shi is the absolute commander, I won''t poke my nose in stuff regarding the stronghold battle," Half-Life Crystal knew what Lu Li was worried about.


    The materials that Lu Li wanted were brought over by people very quickly.


    Just medicines alone were a very large amount. Of which were 330 000 Stranglekelp, 260 000 Purple Lotus, 200 000 Arthes Tears.


    Stranglekelp sounded like it only existed on Strangle Island, but it could be found beyond Strangle Island. Any ordinary shallow seashore had it, it just needed to be looted at a regular time. For example, the seashores near Rattan City and the seashores near Wetlands. There wasn''t as much compared to Strangle Island.


    However, to ask for 330000 at once was impossible to be prepared in a short amount of time. In fact, there wasn''t much on the market either. This type of medicine was widely used in making magic potions, defensive agents, agility medicines, breathing agents and so on. Basically, the amount that is available is usually all used up.


    Purple Lotus was even rarer to find in distribution. In comparison, only places with massive monsters like Strangle Valley, Hinterlands, Tanaris and Azshara had some. Zul''gurub had a lot too, but all the monsters in there were pretty dangerous so it wouldn''t be easy to gather it there.


    Arthes'' Tears was even rarer.


    Back then, Arthes led an army to Stratholme and found that the inhabitant of the city were already infected by the plague. Under the circumstance where they couldn''t be cured, Arthes had no choice but to slaughter the whole city. But Uther the Lightbringer clearly opposed. In order to keep Uther''s army to fight against the Dreadlord, Arthes used his position as the kingdom''s heir to dismiss Uther. However, the Silverhand left with Uther and even Jaina left Arthes too. He wept tears of sadness because no one understood his pain and he then commanded the army to slaughter the people he had once sworn to protect.


    These tears, along with the tears from Andorhal, became small purple flowers and was known was Arthes Tears today.


    It is precisely because of this, you could only loot it from Andorhal and Straholme. The amount of 220,000 would be a headache for any force.


    There were also three types of ores: 900,000 copper ores, 280,000 iron ores and 240,000 thorium. Even though it seemed as if there was a higher demand for ores from just the amount. This was not as hard to get as the medicines. There were ore mines everywhere. 900,000 wasn''t that much, even 9,000,000 could be easily found. Only Thorium was considered a bit rare. The rest of the other groups could be gathered within a few minutes.


    Leather was pretty much the same. There was a demand of 1,800,000 light leather, 1,100,000 medium leather, 800,000 thick leather. Don''t be scared by these numbers! In fact, they weren''t even worth much added altogether. As long as everyone got their own hunters to participate, these materials could be collected very quickly.


    The materials for fishing and cooking were put together, 140,000 Rainbow Fin Albacores, 200,000 Raptor Flesh, 170,000 Spotted Yellowtails. These were all the requirements of the Alliance. The difficulty of collecting was pretty much the same. Each major club should all have stock. There were many small branch clubs that didn''t have many people. But the guild warehouse had stacked all sorts of materials. Maybe not all of it could be brought out at once, but it was much easier to gather.


    In theory, Ruling Sword couldn''t have too many materials in its reserves. However, Lu Li was someone who was reborn so there was no need for any explanation. He had begun collecting these materials a long time ago. There were also special material collection quests in Ruling Sword''s guild quests. These materials were valid all year round.


    In addition, the Life Professional Alliance provided a portion of the required materials. Lu Li had brought people to go straight to Steel Stove Castle''s military zone to hand in the quest.


    Everyone then saw the group of people from Ruling Sword coming in great strength.


    The materials required wasn''t an amount that one or two people could just put together. There were rewards for submitting the materials. There was no way that Lu Li would keep all of the reward for himself.


    In terms of one person: the first donation was rewarded ten badges and one treasure box. Then the later donation rewards were decided by the grade of donation materials - one badge and one treasure box for each low-grade material, five badges and one treasure box for each intermediate material, and ten badges and one treasure box for each high-grade material. The donations were in terms of groups. The treasure box had a chance to unlock Dark Gold equipment. Badges could be used to exchange prestige, prestige could be used to learn enhanced skills, or exchange to prestige or equipment.


    There was a certain chance of uncovering Dark GolD equipment, so you shouldn''t have too much hope. This was especially so for someone like Lu Li who had such bad luck.

 1631 Starting Ques

    Lu Li''s distribution method was quite simple. Regardless of whether it was guild points being spent or DKP, he had developed a system for calculating the value of things. Anyone who was a part of the guild could participate in it.


    Of course, due to the limited amount of Reputation up for grabs, they still had to follow the ranking requirement.


    In order for ordinary guild members to participate in this Reputation reward, Lu Li had to either ask for more points or wait for the players to redeem fewer rewards with their points.


    Later on, someone proposed an even better solution.


    Why couldn''t he just squeeze more people into the club and get those players to hand over the materials in the club''s name? Although they couldn''t complete the quest that way, they could still receive the Reputation because they had handed in the materials. It was then that Lu Li realized what he had been neglecting.


    As a result, everyone could now begin the process of generating Reputation from this method.


    However, the officials weren''t idiots. Everyone soon found that there was a cap on the Reputation rewarded. After the cap had been reached, no further Reputation could be gained.


    The Alliance and Horde players were both sending envoys to the other''s camps to see which who had been receiving the greatest rewards.


    Ruling Sword were the fastest, and had just reached the maximum Reputation to be earned across the guild. The next was Glory Capital, who were just over halfway in claiming their Reputation.


    In addition to the large amount of materials donated by the Alliance and the Horde, there was also a formal series of quests.


    Undoubtedly, this quest line was the most epic one in Dawn''s story. Every trial a player needed to overcome was extremely difficult. It wasn''t just ''kill 10 monsters in x''¨C one had to properly devote themselves to the task to complete it.


    The quest began with the Sergeant near the Silithus flight point. His name was Baristolth and he was a subordinate of the Cenarion Circle.


    "You''re finally here!" exclaimed the Night Elf. "Look behind you, young people. The movements in the worm nest are causing the land beneath our feet to tremble. It seems like the worms are planning to start the war. It is time for us to fulfil the thousand-year-old prophecy."


    "Yes sir," Lu Li affirmed.


    "Go to the shelter of the bronze dragon, and look for the son of Nozdormu, Anachronos. He will tell you what to do," Baristolth said.


    "Ahem, O esteemed one, I¡­ have met Anachronos before and there is some misunderstanding between us," Lu Li said sheepishly. "He didn''t want to hurt us, but he just vanished. The next time we saw him, he didn''t seem very friendly."


    Within Tanaris, there was a bronze dragon that lived in the Caverns of Time.


    Once the dragon hit 20% HP, it would cry out, "Mortal, this is not the right time!" before vanishing. That dragon was the one they had to look for ¨C Nozdormu''s son, Anachronos.


    Perhaps it was because it had been attacked by players before, but it was hostile towards all players.


    Many players who did this quest didn''t understand that situation, and they would go to Tanaris in an attempt to complete it. Some were killed when Anachronos aggro''ed onto


    them, and others would return after finding out about the situation.


    In short, this quest couldn''t actually be continued and the player had to come crying back to the NPC.


    As someone who had experienced rebirth, Lu Li certainly didn''t want to waste the time travelling all the way there and back. He immediately just pointed out that the dragon was hostile towards them, and hoped that the NPC would give him a solution.


    "You guys are too rash; I cannot believe it!" Baristolth cried out before impatiently saying, "Dragons respect the strong. You must demonstrate your strength to garner a good opinion among them."


    "I will listen to your instructions," Lu Li nodded.


    "Blackwing''s Nest has an unusually fierce beast called Broodlord Lashlayer who guards the battle hall and prevents outsiders from entering the Nefarian''s sanctuary. Kill that evil guy, then you can start on this journey."


    "Please rest assured, I will complete this quest as soon as possible," Lu Li said.


    This quest seemed difficult, but it wasn''t a big deal for the more powerful organisations. The Instance Dungeon could be completed at an ordinary difficulty for this section of the quest. If they couldn''t even defeat Blackwing''s Nest''s third Boss at ordinary difficulty, then they might as well just continue earning their Reputation and forget about completing this quest.


    "Which team is currently fighting in Blackwing''s Nest? Report your progress to me," Lu Li requested on the guild channel.


    Several Instance Dungeon commanders quickly responded to him. One of them reported that they had just run into the Broodlord Lashlayer and were about to fight him.


    Lu Li asked them to create a position, and he directly joined the team.


    Although it was Blackwing''s Nest on Nightmare Difficulty, the strength of this team was high ¨C it was made up of all Elite members. With Lu Li''s guidance, they were able to defeat the Boss in one attempt.


    Broodlord Lashlayer dropped the quest item, and Lu Li took it before leaving the team.


    "Wow, I haven''t seen such a capable young man in a long time," Baristolth commended. "But this is not enough ¨C I also need you to kill the worms in the Hive''Ashi, Hive''Zora and Hive''Regal. Collect Silithid Carapace Fragments from their bodies, and come back to me when you have 200 of them."


    "No problem. You can count on me," Lu Li responded resolutely.


    There was no other option anyway. These quests had to be completed, and even Hachi Chan would have to tick off these menial tasks.


    200 items didn''t seem like a lot. As long as they assembled an army from Ruling Sword, they would be able to collect them quickly.


    But in fact, this was not the case. Only the team leader and the group that spoke to the NPC was able to complete this quest. Anyone else that tried to fight the worms wouldn''t be able to find the Silithid Carapace Fragment.


    Baristholth gave Lu Li a badge ¨C''Nozdormu''s Messenger''¨C which Lu Li put in his backpack. This allowed him to begin the quest.


    This also meant that Lu Li didn''t need Hachi Chan to join the quest.


    Killing the variety of insects in Silithus would result in different numbers of Silithid Carapace Fragment drops. The elite bugs dropped 1-4 pieces while the non-elite ones would drop 1. Lu Li had such high attacking power that he completed this quest within 10 minutes.


    The Shifting Sands were now even more satisfied with Lu Li.


    However, the collection of these Silithid Carapace Fragments was not the end of the quest.


    The two hundred different Silithid Carapace Fragments were exchanged for ''Nozdormu''s Son''. This increased Lu Li''s Reputation, but there was still a long way to go from Hostile to Neutral. In addition, the Shifting Sands also gave Lu Li ''Nozdormu''s Herald'', which allowed him to act as Nozdormu''s agent and gain more carapace fragments.


    Lu Li then gave this item to Lonesome Flower.

 1632 Fragments of the Sceptre

    Lonesome Flower was also able to collect the fragments. However, his method was a lot more violent.


    He pulled a group of monsters to him, then immediately used an AoE skill and killed them. As for his HP, he had it much easier than Lu Li. He had his younger sister heal him whenever he needed it.


    When they all collected 200 Carapace Fragments, they returned to hand in the quest.


    Lonesome Flower was Lu Li''s vice-captain, so when he turned in the quest, it also gave Lu Li some Reputation.


    After completing the quest, not only could Lu Li appoint a new vice-captain, but Lonesome Flower could also appoint a vice-captain as well. This way, they could have five people in the party altogether.


    After five people completed the quest, then there would be ten afterwards.


    After ten, there would be twenty¡­


    This slowly snowballed until it involved the guild''s elites. Everyone would collect and turn in their carapace fragments, then exchange for Nozdormu''s Son. Then, they would continue to keep collecting.


    As the collection of the fragments increased, more and more players would be involved. This meant that Lu Li''s Reputation was now increasing at a rapid pace.


    The day slowly turned to night and everyone was constantly grinding for the fragments. They now realised how terrifying multi-level marketing was.


    If Lu Li was the only one completing this quest, it would take him a month.


    Even though the number of players involved in the quest was growing, raising the level from Hostile to Neutral was still a huge project. Lu Li even dreamed about killing worms.


    They continued to grind for half a day the next day until Lu Li''s Reputation finally raised from Hostile to Neutral. He could now talk to the bronze dragon.


    Once again, he came to the Caverns of Time. As expected, the bronze dragon held its head up high, but this time, it wouldn''t attack the players anymore. Then, it slowly said, "We must send out people and not repeat our mistakes."


    "Yes, my lord. The sacrifices of everyone who died will be engraved in the whole land!"


    Only the ones who knew of the history would understand what was meant by that. Fortunately, Lu Li already understood the whole history behind the War of the Shifting Sands.


    "You are commendable, human. You have endured trials and tribulations just to stand in front of me. However, the trial that you will encounter will be much more difficult than any trial that you have faced. The mark and ring will bring you great strength, increasing your Nature-based attacks. Know that once you choose to go down this path, you will be unable to return," Anachronos sai.


    "Since my predecessors have sacrificed their lives, how can I retreat?"


    The dragon sighed and said, "Life. They did sacrifice their lives. In the southern parts of Silithus, close to the barrier, there is a Crystal Tear, which commemorates our losses in the War of Shifting Sands. You can gaze into the crystal and see what happened back then."


    "I''ve always wanted to have a look for myself and find out the truth about back then. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so," Lu Li said with a grateful heart.


    He found the crystal that the bronze dragon was referring to and placed his hand on it.


    Lu Li quickly found that he was now in a vast battlefield. He was like a god, looking down upon the both sides engaged in warfare. Dragons, Elves, Worms ¨C this was the sight of the war at the time.


    The game of Dawn was designed to be extremely heartfelt. The designers poured their hearts and minds into creating many different scenes in the game. This was a perfectly designed scene of the battlefield.


    From this vantage point, Lu Li found himself feeling sorrowful.


    When the battle began, three large dragons, Arygos, Merithra and Caelestrasz sacrificed their lives to create a large wall of carapace.


    Even though the carapace wall successfully sealed the Qiraji worms away, they continued to be threatening.


    He slowly retracted his hand. He had to admit that even know he knew that this was a game, he was ultimately affected by the unfolding of the scene. Knowing about it was vastly different to experiencing it for himself.


    "I think I understand. The worms are our irreconcilable enemies," Lu Li said.


    Anachronos nodded his head and responded, "Just as I said before, we need to deploy people to take control first. Staghelm has lost his mind after losing his son. He destroyed the Sceptre of Shifting Sands. I have all four of the fragments, so I need to protect this sceptre at all cost. I must not allow it to fall into the hands of those who could harm this world. That is my mission as a dragon."


    "What do you need me to do?" Lu Li immediately asked.


    Lu Li found that this dragon was indeed arrogant, but also rather talkative.


    "Each fragment of the sceptre has been placed under the care of four powerful dragons by me. If you are not determined¡­" Anachronos said.


    "I am," Lu Li affirmed.


    "Actually, I am too," Anachronos said, then continued with a darkened face, "If it wasn''t for the Black Dragon pursuing me, I would''ve gone and take them back myself. Eranikus, Vaelastrasz and Azuregos¡­I think that you know about these dragons. Human, it was not by coincidence that they ended up becoming the guardians.


    "What is unfortunate is that their fate was destined to be miserable. They would inevitably be betrayed by the Old Gods or their friends. This contributed to my mistrust of the guardians."


    "Find them, human! Do your worst!"


    After listening to the dragon''s nonsense, Lu Li prepared to proceed to the next stage of the quest.


    Around that time, most clubs had already completed the materials quest and had begun to the carapace collecting quest. Using his experience from his previous life, Lu Li managed to gain a one-day advantage.


    The bronze dragon had a fragment with himself, while the other red, blue and green dragons each had the other three fragments.


    However, these three dragons were independent to each other, so there wasn''t a set order for completion. This meant that they could attempt any colour first. The final goal was to retrieve all three fragments, so the order of completion didn''t matter.


    Lu Li chose to do the green dragon line first.


    Actually, there was already a clue hidden within the bronze dragon''s words. Lu Li, along with his small party, ventured to the Temple of Atal''hakkar. They pushed all the way to Eranikus'' Shade, but Malfurion Stormrage suddenly appeared.


    Of course, it was only an image of Malfurion. At that moment, the real Malfurion Stormrage was still in deep slumber.


    Lu Li realised that his happiness was wasted. He thought that he could ask about the Ring, but this image could only communicate at the most basic level. It didn''t even react upon hearing about


    the Ring.


    Malfurion''s message was simple.


    The only way to retrieve the fragment was to rescue the fallen Eranikus. However, upon failure, the Tyrant of the Dream would destroy Malfurion''s real body as well as the whole of Azeroth. It was just a way to scare little children, but it still had its effects.

 1633 Without Fear

    "Go to Darnassus. You''ll find some of my acquaintances outside of the walls. They will assist us, as well as relay the message to Tyrande without letting Staghelm know," Malfurion sighed loudly. "The guardian of 1000 years still fell in the end."


    "Stop sleeping! Your mother is calling for you to go eat!"


    "The guardian of 1000 years still fell in the end¡­"


    "Dumbass! Tyrande belongs to Illidan. You only know how to sleep all day! Druids are so stupid! Oh, Hachi Chan, I''m not talking about you. Eh? Stop biting! Are you a dog! Let go!" Lu Li wasn''t willing to give up.


    "The guardian of 1000 years still fell in the end¡­"


    "Do you dare to level up my ring? Please? Please level up my ring¡­It''s falling behind already¡­" Lu Li cried out as he lunged forward to grab Malfurion''s leg, but he passed straight through the image. Then, Malfurion''s image disappeared.


    Lu Li''s teammates ¨C well, he couldn''t take down the temple alone ¨C all pretended that they did not see anything.


    How shameful. Their leader couldn''t be someone like this.


    There weren''t any NPCs outside the walls of Darnassus, but a saddened Lu Li knew who he needed to interact with. He softly touched the World Tree and a small forest Wisp appeared.


    "The mighty King of Druids and the heroic leader of the Elves, Lord Malfurion, has instructed me to come here and find a cute Wisp. It''s probably you, right? I think you know why I''m here," Lu Li said, passionately praising the Lord of the Dark Elves that he had just previously called a dumbass.


    The forest Wisp could only let out a sound similar to a newborn baby, but interestingly, it could understand Lu Li''s words.


    "We will let Tyrande know. Human, Lord Malfurion has already allowed us to prepare for this. Now, you need to go to Moonglade and talk to Remulos. He will then guide you towards summoning Eranikus."


    Remulos¡­an old friend.


    Moonglade was just as peaceful as before, with Remulos being just as lazy as Lu Li had remembered. Remulos was lying on the floor in front of the entrance of the altar. Even Lu Li''s arrival didn''t wake him up.


    "Respected lord guardian of the forest, I bring news from Lord Malfurion," Lu Li began to say.


    He was extremely polite; his words had such a gentle tone that the people with him were disgusted. However, Lu Li was not embarrassed at all. If there was a need for him to be even more gentle, he would be able to do so.


    If that stupid Malfurion wouldn''t come out of his slumber, then the only being that could help Lu Li level his ring up was this demigod.


    "Oh, my young friend! I''m surprised that we are able to meet again so quickly!" Remulos exclaimed, then slowly opened his eyes and said, "You mentioned Malfurion before, right? It''s been a while since I''ve heard news from him."


    "That''s right. It involves Eranikus. The Qiraji Scarabs are on the move again," Lu Li responded.


    "I understand," Remulos said with a serious look on his face. "If Eranikus is unwilling, then we will forever be unable to awaken them. His goal is to enter our world, because he wishes to destroy Malfurion''s body."


    "If he succeeds in doing so, then the strongest ally that we have in the Emerald Dream would not exist. If Malfurion dies, then the Jade would devour the whole world¡­"


    "Hmm¡­That is too terrifying. My friend, what can I do?" Lu Li asked.


    "You need to go to the four entrances of the Emerald Dream in Azeroth. At every entrance, you will be able to collect the Fragments of the Nightmare''s Corruption. The Dragon-like creatures of those areas will drop these items. Once you find all of the four fragments, return to me," Remulos said.


    "This doesn''t sound like it would be difficult," Lu Li responded confidently.


    "This is only the beginning. My friend, are you ready?" Remulos asked.


    "Of course. I''ll leave now."


    He couldn''t waste any time. They finally had a lead in front of all the other clubs, so if they ran at a leisurely pace, they would be overtaken.


    The entrances were indicated in the quest window, so they didn''t need to investigate their whereabouts. The closest one was in Grey Valley, near a corrupted Moon Well. There were many Satyrs in that area.


    Similar to the Naga, the first Satyr was once a Dark Elf. However, other races and groups of creatures joined the Satyrs. Now, they were all evil and corrupted.


    They enjoyed inflicting pain and drawing blood from their enemies.


    These monsters'' levels were quite low; Grey Valley was a map consisting of level 30-40 monsters. Occasionally, there would be a few level 50-60 monsters, but this did not include the Satyrs.


    After killing countless Satyrs, Remnant Dream finally looted the item that Lu Li wanted.


    The other three were at Grey Valley, Feralas and the Hinterlands. They needed to kill the Elite Dragonkin at the entrances to the Emerald Dream. Lu Li was fortunate enough to be able to summon his guild members to do the work. In his previous life, it had taken him over 30 hours to retrieve all four fragments.


    This time, Lu Li only spent around 7 hours to complete the quest.


    They returned to Moonglade, whcih was now a battlefield. Previously, only Druid players would come here, so it was usually quite empty.


    Now, there were crowds and crowds of people. Besides players from Ruling Sword, there were also many players from other clubs. They wanted to observe the whole process before tackling this quest themselves.


    There were also many individual players who were just here because everyone else was.


    "We need to try our utmost best to control Eranikus! We want him to be saved and not destroyed. Tyrande is already on her way to assist us. We need to tank the large dragon''s attacks and protect the Nighthaven from damage! Prepare yourselves! You and your allies are our only hope!"


    "I understand. My friends will fight alongside us," Lu Li said.


    "Alright. I will trace the origin of the nightmare according to the fragments that you have given me. That way, we will be able to open a rift into the Emerald Dream and drag Eranikus out of there. We must be strong, my friends. We are about to drag the manifestation of a nightmare into our world." Remulos was now standing on Lake Elune''ara in the Nighthaven, beginning to summon Eranikus.


    He held the four fragments in his hands and started to sing, upon which a green light began to emit from his hands.


    Once the guardian''s singing ended, an invisible force, as sharp as blade, sliced open the air above the Lake and formed a rift.


    This was a time rift, which meant that the Emerald Dream had been opened.


    "Be wary, warrior! Prepare yourselves! Eranikus'' arrival will bring chaos and violence into the world!" Remulos roared. "He will do anything he can to destroy Malfurion''s body! We must not let that happen. Tyrande is already on her way. We must gain control of this beast before she arrives!"


    The rift grew larger and larger. A clear tremble in the skies above the Moonglade could be felt. Remulos then yelled, "Guard of the Nighthaven, Hero¡­"


    There was no need for him to yell anymore. Everyone could see the silhouette of the beast exiting the rift.


    Eranikus was so enormous that this rift was nearly not large enough for him to fit through. Remulos had to continue enlarging the rift.


    To the surprised yells and heroic roaring of the players, the green body of Eranikus, the Tyrant of the Dream, flew out of the rift. His large wings seemed to be enough to cover the whole of Moonglade.


    "Full concentration on offence! Eliminate him before he breaks the shield!" Lu Li commanded.


    Remulos needed to conduct another ritual, otherwise, the Emerald Dream would spread throughout the land. If that happened, then everyone would be living in a dream, which meant that their bodies of flesh would rot and die. Naturally, this meant that the whole Azeroth would be wiped out.


    Therefore, when Eranikus appeared in the skies, Remulos had to keep going.


    All the Druids in Moonglade instantly summoned a large, Nature attributed-based guard to protect Nighthaven and Remulos. However, even stupid people would realise that this shield would not last for a long time, especially against Eranikus.


    The first of the attackers were the Ruling Sword players. They were like a swarm of ants moving towards a large elephant.


    However, as the battle raged on, players other than those from Ruling Sword were also involved in


    the fight. Those just watching the fight were affected by the atmosphere and decided to join as well.


    Perhaps some players joined out of a hope for a reward, while some just joined because they were bored.


    The most important thing was the atmosphere.


    When faced with powerful enemies, humans tend to be insensitive to everything. This was why many soldiers would courageously charge forward with no notion of life and death. Actually, it wasn''t that they weren''t afraid of dying. In this world, no one was unafraid of death. Instead, it was the atmosphere of recklessness and courage.


    The barrier was quickly destroyed. The Druids were all on the ground, powerless, while the players began to take large amounts of damage.


    Run?


    How could they run in front of everyone here?


    Logically speaking, this was only a single death. In this game, no one would be afraid of death, since by now, they were desensitised to it.


    Even if their reputation was on the line, they still couldn''t retreat.


    As the players were still rushing forward, the scene that Lu Li imagined didn''t unfold. Instead, more people joined in the battle because they heard that there was a huge fight here.


    Afterwards, reporters would come here and ask the players as to why they had joined.


    The players would all give a simple answer. This was highly unlikely to ever happen again, so they might as well let go of all their worries and charge at the Boss, die, revive, and continue battling.


    If something like this happened in real life, it would be a story grand enough to tell your grandchildren.

 1634 Water Has Entered His Brain

    "Pitiful humans. You don''t know what you are doing," Eranikus laughed arrogantly. "Pitiful! None of you know what you are doing! The Lord''s goals have already been achieved! Moonglade and Malfurion will perish!"


    "Idiot. ''Humans, humans, humans.'' You''re only a line of code," the players fired back.


    "And you! You little monster!" Eranikus roared as he turned back to Remulos, "You can''t compare to your father. If I wanted to, I could kill you in one strike! Let Stormrage come and face me himself. As for you¡­You can just stay in the corner."


    "Eranikus, you were once a great Dragon. Now, you are reduced to a mere beast. You didn''t expect us to summon you near Malfurion did you? Eranikus, your salvation is here. You will be cleansed and be cleared of all corruption."


    "Salvation! How dare you! Only my god can save me!" Eranikus cried out as he went into a fit of rage.


    The Nightmare, in the form of black mist, began to gather in Moonglade. The once tranquil and pure Moonglade was now stained with the black mist. Eranikus was clearly using one of his ultimate skills. The collective power of the players wasn''t anywhere near enough to interrupt the casting.


    Remulos frowned and helplessly looked at Lu Li.


    "Find somewhere to hide. You guys won''t be able to take a magic of this calibre."


    "My friend. For us, dying in battle is glorious," Lu Li chuckled. Despite Lu Li saying this, the world channel indicated for everyone to use mitigation. If they really couldn''t take the damage, then retreating was suggested.


    The Eranikus of today, the Tyrant of the Dream, was no longer considered as a Wild Boss. Categorising Eranikus as a World Boss was also reasonable.


    "Lu Li, you''re being naughty again. How can we run?" some people responded in the world channel.


    "That''s right! If I miss this, I would regret it for my whole life!"


    "If we die, we die! So be it. Oh, that''s right. I accidentally looted a few items, so I''ll broadcast them later. If you dropped them, then ask me."


    "Damn it, now that you''ve said that, someone like me wouldn''t be able to face the world since my income relies heavily on looting equipment. Anyway, I''ve looted more than ten equips today. Come find me to get them back. Make sure you have screenshots as proof!"


    "I dropped an item, but it was worth it to be able to come here and battle!"


    The world channel was filled with messages. It was as if the mere presence of the players gave them glory.


    Even if the players didn''t experience this event, it would surely be written in the tales of legends. Countless players collected materials and rushed forward to fight against Eranikus, the World Boss.


    This quest was a ''half-solo'' quest. This meant that before the completion of the quest, anyone could join in.


    However, when the quest was completed by someone, the later quests would be strange.


    Simply put, if someone completed the quest, then the next Opening the Door quest would be a mere


    formality. Perhaps some people would think that it was a good thing, since there was less to do.


    However, only people who had experienced the battle would understand.


    This was a sight to behold, fighting against an annihilator-class being like this. It was utterly unforgettable.


    Confronted with countless players who keep rushing forward, Eranikus'' rage grew. He began to chant, "Come forth, my Nightmare servants! Come and destroy this world! Do not leave any survivors!"


    This ultimate skill was obviously a summoning skill. Countless Nightmare Illusions suddenly filled Nighthaven''s sky. They were all black-coloured spirits that floated in the sky and rushed towards the players.


    Players and monsters had clear differences, but there was one peculiar difference ¨C players could work together while monsters couldn''t.


    There were Main Tanks, Healers and DPS players. Unless they could instantly kill everyone, the balance of the battle would always tip towards the players.


    However, there were too many Nightmare Illusions.


    One of them was fine to deal with, but once they flooded the battlefield, the smaller squads would be destroyed quickly. The Nightmare Illusion that destroyed a squad would then move onto the next.


    "Where is your god? How long can you last against my attacks?"


    "Us adventurers don''t need saviours or gods," a voice boomed.


    Everyone turned around to look.


    Sorrowless?


    What was he doing here?


    Was he here to obstruct Ruling Sword from completing the quest?


    Actually, anyone could join the battle today, including Horde players. This was because Moonglade was an area that both Allied and Horde players could enter. Both camps'' Druids belonged to the same group here.


    Once all the Horde players saw Sorrowless, their mood became complicated.


    Sorrowless was considered as the Horde players'' morale leader.


    Everyone was a little disappointed. Why did Sorrowless want to throw a wrench in the works at this time?


    "This is an event for every player. Naturally, Glory Capital wouldn''t miss out on this," Sorrowless said, then looked towards the Ruling Sword camp and yelled, "There are no camps, no factions and no clubs today! The Asia server will be the first to complete the Door quest!"


    As he waved his hands, countless Glory Capital players rushed into Nighthaven.


    "Holy crap. Scared the living daylights out of me," Lu Li said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He truly thought that Sorrowless was here to screw him over. If Sorrowless really wanted to screw him over, then Ruling Sword was doomed to fail.


    Although Peerless City and Drizzle Court''s players were fighting as well, they weren''t a part of the group that received the quest. They weren''t any different to the other random players.


    If that time came, then nothing would happen for Remulos and Azeroth. However, Ruling Sword would be penalised heavily for quest failure. Lu Li didn''t know what the punishment would be, but anyone could guess that it was something that they would be unable to take on.


    Afterwards, everyone was stunned as they looked at waves of waves of players joining the battle, led by many notable figures in the gaming world.


    There were players from Blood Red War Flag, Wings of Dawn, Gale Legion and many other clubs. Most of the top 100 clubs were all here.


    Even players from the Gangnam Royals were at the battle.


    "Ruling Sword will not immediately enter the Instance Dungeon upon the completion of this quest. I swear it. We''ll discuss for a time when everyone can enter, so that we can all begin at the same time."


    Lu Li seemed to be infected by the atmosphere too. Otherwise, he never would have promised something this stupid.

 1635 Nightmare Illusion

    With the Elite groups of the major guilds, the Nightmare Illusions could no longer stomp on players like they were doing before. Now, the tables had turned completely.


    The players could also revive and return to battle, while the Illusions could not.


    The reason why the Nightmare Illusions were strong was because of their numbers, but they could also gain power by killing players.


    The Nightmare Illusions that were infesting Nighthaven were quickly cleared out.


    Eranikus was furious.


    "You shouldn''t be proud of defeating my minions. Come and face off against me, mortals!"


    Countless spells and skills were flung towards Eranikus and he was blasted in the face.


    "Remulos, look how easily they fall before me? You can''t stop this, fool. Turn yourself over and it''ll all be over."


    Eranikus knew that he had to kill Remulos and could ignore the weak adventurers.


    "Protect Remulos!" Lu Li yelled.


    How could they protect him? Sure, the healers could heal him, but Remulos was taking massive amounts of damage from Eranikus and their skills were basically doing nothing.


    At this very moment, Tyrande brought reinforcements to the battle and began to pray.


    "Elune, hear my prayers. Grant us serenity! Watch over our fallen¡­"


    With her prayers, all of the fallen players were revived and they were granted 4500 HP regeneration per second, which was more than most player''s max HP. This meant that it was almost impossible to die, unless you were killed in one shot.


    Tyrande looked towards Eranikus.


    "What are you looking at?" Eranikus asked in contempt.


    Tyrande looked at him and shouted, "Eranikus, seek forgiveness and you shall receive!"


    "Forgiveness my ass!"


    Eranikus tried to stop the female priest from channeling her spell. She was obviously weaker than Remulos, however, she had a Goddess backing her up.


    The Night Elf troops and Priests that Tyrande brought with her made it difficult for Eranikus to get into melee range.


    "Eranikus, you will be forgiven. Elune will always love you. Break free of that bonds that command you!"


    Rays of moonlight pierced the dark clouds that Eranikus had cast over the sky of Nighthaven and converged on him.


    Would Eranikus die from a single spell?


    This skill looked similar to the adventurer skill Wisp Detonate. The rays of moonlight pierced through Eranikus'' body.


    From the players'' point of view, it looked like he was being burned alive by the moonlight.


    "Why, why¡­ did this happen to me? Where were you Tyrande? Where were you when I fell from the grace of Elune?"


    Eranikus was wholly consumed by the light of Elune as tranquility was restored to Nighthaven.


    Upon returning to his normal self, Eranikus sighed, "I feel.. I feel the touch of Elune upon my being once again, She smiles upon me.."


    "Praise to Elune. Eranikus is redeemed."


    "For so long, I was lost¡­ The Nightmare''s corruption had consumed me... and now you¡­ all of you have saved me. You have released me from its grasp.


    The players received a notification for their award.


    Eranikus handed over the Scepter Shards that he was protecting over without hesitation. He felt a sense of relief.


    "My lady, I am unworthy of your prayers. Truly, you are an angel of light. Please assist me in returning to the barrow den so that I may return to the Dream. I, like Malfurion, also have a love awaiting me¡­ I must return to her¡­ to protect her..." Eranikus said to Tyrande.


    "It will be done Eranikus. Be well," Tyrande agreed.


    Eranikus was cleansed, but he still needed to return to the Dream.


    "He has received redemption," Remulos said peacefully as he watched the emerald dragon fly away. "Thank you and your friends. Without them, Nighthaven would have suffered a different ending."


    "This is our duty. Azeroth is home to all of us."


    And so, Lu Li received another Epic equip.


    His reward was better than everyone else''s because he was the one that initiated the quest. The players that were present mainly received Reputation.


    No one cared about the reward they received because this was something that could brag about for many years to come.


    Because of the wine festival that ended recently, many players still had a lot of leftover wine in their storages. As such, they decided to celebrate and get drunk.


    Lu Li took the green scepter shard and returned to the Cave of Times to find Anachronos.


    "How''s Eranikus?" he asked.


    "He was cleansed by the Light of Elune and has returned to the one he loved," Lu Li summarized.


    "It was a difficult feat defeating him," Anachronos acknowledged, nodding his head, "but before you celebrate, I want you to find the remaining shards."


    Lu Li then decided to head to Azshara to find Azuregos.


    The Azure Drake was a Wild Boss in Azshara that tested a team''s coordination. Once they could kill the Azure Drake, they could attempt the Molten Core dungeon.


    However, Lu Li had already cleared Molten Core and the Blue Dragon was already dead.


    He needed to wait for Azure Drake to respawn, so he could not continue with his quest for now.

 1636 The Spirit of the Blue Dragon

    It took no less than one and a half days to wait for the Azure Drake. In this time, the other clubs caught up with their progress.


    The first time the blue dragon spawned, Lu Li set everyone up in motion to defeat it, which caught the other clubs by surprise.


    After the blue dragon was killed off, a giant spirit came up from where his body was.


    At this point, they stopped attacking. This blue dragon spirit was a friendly spirit.


    Actually, this was the what the quest was getting at. Talking to the Wild Azure Drake was a pointless exercise ¨C it would attack any player upon seeing them.


    "Are you here to look for the pieces of the blue dragon''s protector''s scepter?" Azuregos'' spirit asked, with what looked like a smile.


    "Yes, the bugs are getting restless. If we don''t take the appropriate measures, then the second War of Shifting Sands is going to start. Nozdormu''s son ¨C Anachronos ¨C told me to come find the protector of the three dragons and bring back the pieces of the scepter."


    "Protector¡­" Azuregos laughed with a bit of a sneer. He then shook his head, saying, "Of course I don''t have shards. Bringing those with me would be a ridiculously stupid thing to do. Me, living in this cursed, overgrown land, can''t walk five steps without a mad beast or person attacking me. I could kick the bucket at any time. In short...I''ve stored it up somewhere. Hehe, continue ¨C ask me where I kept it."


    Lu Li could only obey and ask, "Azuregos, sir, can we respectfully ask where you kept it?"


    "You''ll like this story, elf," the blue dragon said, shaking his head with satisfaction. "When Malygos let me take care of the scepter pieces, I know it would be a headache."


    "I only wanted to do some research work on this coastline and look for magic weapons that were left behind from the last time the world split apart. If you want to know, these are the ruins of Azsharin city, the home garden of Queen Azshara! You don''t need to tell me that there are magical artifacts around here ¨C I can smell them!"


    "So did you find magic weapons?" Lu Li asked with great interest.


    He felt that he and Azuregos'' interests and hobbies were one and the same. They were both filled with a yearning for these legendary magical weapons.


    When Azshara was ruling, there was no stronger, more prosperous group than the Night Elves, and they didn''t lack any treasures. However, after the explosion of the Well of Eternity, many things had been lost.


    "Nonsense, if I had found magic weapons, would I still be here?" Azuregos retorted with a disdainful look before continuing, "It''s just like I said ¨C I''ve already protected the scepter for over 500 years. This thing is annoying. All of the other lifeforms covet this shard, but I just want to look for treasures, so I just threw it away to a fish."


    "Um, are you saying that you gave this shard, which relates to the fate of all Kalimdor, to a fish?" Lu Li asked, really speechless.


    "Not an ordinary fish, mere mortal. I''m talking about a minnow, an extremely special minnow," Azuregos said, really not wanting people to think he was a careless dragon.


    "Minnows aren''t extraordinary at all ¨C there are thousands of them in the sea. How do you plan to get it back?" Lu Li asked.


    "This is a genius idea, I know...it''ll never be found. In order to guarantee this, I imbued this minnow with some special powers."


    Azuregos had found a rare chance to chat. Under normal circumstances, when he saw players, he would attack straight away.


    "Ok, so you imbued the fish and tossed it into the vast waters between the mainland and the eastern kingdoms. Can we ask what special powers this fish has?" Lu Li said.


    "You''re right. You were listening carefully all along," Azuregos replied in satisfaction. "When I was creating life, this minnow could be considered a suitably scary guy. Every time I took a rest, I''d like to think about those unfortunate fishermen, imagining if they bumped into this fish and being swallowed whole. I''d bet they''d be a million percent scared by it!"


    "Those poor fishermen," Lu Li said, observing a moment of silence.


    "Genius is always misunderstood, mortal. As for that shard¡­if you want to get it, and you don''t want to waste your time by spending thousands of years searching in the vast sea, then you have to listen very carefully," Azuregos said in a deliberately serious tone.


    "I am focusing all my attention on listening to you, sir. If you don''t believe me, I can repeat everything that you''ve just said and I can guarantee I won''t get a single word wrong."


    "Arcanite Buoy!"


    "What does that mean?" Lu Li asked really wanting to give him a slap across the face. When talking about unimportant stuff, he was like a chatterbox that hadn''t opened his mouth for hundreds of years and would just keep jabbering on, but when he finally got to the important topics, he was fashionably indifferent.


    "Ok¡­you need to make an Arcanite Buoy and put it in the sea. Minnows are attracted to the Arcanite Buoy. When they get close to the buoy ¨C bang! The Arcanite Buoy will release some mysterious power and make the fish show its original shape. However, when this happens, it might bring about Neptulon''s Aggro. The odds are probably about 50%!" Azuregos said with uncertainty.


    The Tidehunter Neptulon was the ruler of waters, lakes, rivers and oceans. All those who were of water elements or used water and cold as their main strengths would respect him.


    To those he noticed had dared to ignore his anger, he would toy with as he pleased. He especially liked to attack those who were busy taking advantage of his people, washing away the huge rocks of the rock mother (Therazane), and putting out the raging flames of the Firelord.


    Neptulon enjoyed playing around with the things he hunted. He would toss his prey into the water and let them escape for a bit. Sometimes, he would put an unfortunate victim on a desert island and let them enjoy the torture of the tides and whirlpools. He would often try to distinguish who couldn''t live in water for long and send them far away and then pick up what was left of them later.


    Offend Neptulon?


    This was too much of a joke, and there was a 50% probability.


    "Haha, I can see you''re scared. Your little face has turned green," Azuregos commented, clearly satisfied with Lu Li''s expression.


    "Honourable Azuregos, your highness, can we please ask you to be honest with us? You put Anachronos with the minnow you created, but what is this Arcanite Buoy? Is it used to track this fish? And can it also stir up the anger of the elemental lord?"


    Angry wasn''t enough to describe how Lu Li was feeling. The guide that he had read in his last life wasn''t this detailed.


    At the very least, they didn''t mention that the spirit of the blue dragon had such an attitude!

 1637 Former Best Friend

    "Hmph. If I didn''t understand things, I''d think you were mocking me, mortal. Actually, what you say is reasonable. Maybe you can give it a try. Like you said, you''re still confining yourself."


    "Ok, I''ll have the courage to presumptuously ask, how can I get the Arconite Buoy?" Lu Li asked, without the strength to rebut.


    "Give this account book to my old friend in Tanaris. His name is Narain Soothfancy and he is an extremely demented, but great technician. He should be able to understand this. There is no need to thank me, really, this is something I should do..."


    "Good luck," Lu Li said, giving his farewell wishes before leaving.


    "Lemme have a look at what this damn thing is."


    With a whack, it hit Lu Li''s face. The account book that Azuregos had given him ended up falling into the dust.


    "But Azuregos, the blue dragon, said you should be able to understand it," Lu Li protested.


    "That guy," the dwarf technician Narain sighed, shaking his head. "I am surely gifted in


    languages, but with Draconic, I can''t understand a single word!"


    "With all due respect, are you really good friends with him?" Lu Li asked with a sympathetic face.


    "I know what you mean, sir. You''re saying I must have a really big heart to be friends with such a dragon and not turn him into a mechanical animal," Narain said with regret. "I actually had this idea all along. Why else do you think I would choose to be friends with him?"


    "I hope you''ll be able to fulfill your wish," Lu Li said happily.


    "Haha, let''s have a look at this magic account book. Azuregos knows for a fact that I don''t know Draconic, but why did he write this in Draconic?" Narain muttered, rubbing his hands.


    A different race, and a different identity, yet they both hated Azuregos all the same. This common ground led these two to become good friends quickly.


    "Is there anything else we can do?"


    The blue dragon would spawn again in three days. Going back to ask would simply waste too much time.


    "It''s not that there''s nothing we can do. Great engineering can solve all problems. If you want to translate this, all I need to do is put on my divining glasses. Unfortunately, not long ago, my best friend ¨C no, my former best friend Stewvul ¨C fought me to the ground, then took them away!"


    "Um, your majesty''s friend, is really¡­something else." That was all Lu Li could say.


    "He''s not my friend anymore. I''ll emphasise it again ¨C he was my former best friend," Narain said fiercely. "With the help of my trusty crystal ball, I''ve found him now. He''s either at Greymane''s Wall in Silverpine Forest, or he''s teleporting around in the Outland. The Burning Legion is running amok over there. You need to track him down then bring my glasses back."


    "No problem at all, but I''ll ask something while I''m at it. Do you have a way to send me to the Outland?" Lu Li asked.


    "Um, there''s really no way to do this. I have some things, but they are in the testing stage," Nerain said apologetically. Before the Outland was opened up, players evidently had no way to step into this area.


    "That really is a shame," Lu Li sighed.


    They couldn''t go to the Outland, but at least they could wait around and try their luck at Silverpine Forest. Lu Li sent people out, and they quickly found this dwarf lying down in a box. Putting himself into a chest and locking himself up was a talent.


    "Hello, Stewvul, if I''m not mistaken," Lu Li greeted him in a gentlemanly manner. "I come bringing Nerain''s greetings."


    "No, there''s no way that he could''ve found me, I thought I lost him in the Outland. I won''t go back again, no, definitely not. I won''t be his friend and all-round slave," Stewvul cried. His whole body was curled up in the box, and he was squawking like an ostrich.


    "Buddy, I think there might be a bit of a misunderstanding, I''m not here to grab you back at all. I''m just here to find Nasrain''s divining glasses," Lu Li said.


    "You only want his divining glasses? Sure, this isn''t a problem. Give me a minute¡­huh? How come they''re not there¡­"


    Stewvul looked everywhere but couldn''t find the divining glasses. Then after a while, he explained apologetically, "I have some bad news here, and some even worse news. The bad news is that I''ve lost the glasses, and the even worse news is, I lost them in the Molten Core last week. Yes, you heard right ¨C the Molten Core. This is evidently not something I can help with. Goodbye, then."


    "Hey, I''m not letting you off that easily. Do you still remember where you dropped that thing?" Lu Li asked as he grabbed him by the collar.


    "Ok, ok, I''ll go along with you, but don''t tell Narain I''m here," Stewvul begged.


    Although it was just Lu Li himself completing the quest, all of Ruling Sword was behind him. He could easily assemble a powerful team for the Molten Core.


    Without spending too much time, Lu Li found the lost pair of divining glasses from Lucifron''s body.


    "Don''t tell Narain about my whereabouts, please."


    It looked like his time of being enslaved as Narain''s best friend was something he simply couldn''t bear to return to. He would rather drift around in the wilderness than to go back.


    "He''s a geomancer, you know that. With this, I can only wish you good luck," Lu Li said, his hands tied.


    "..." The poor dwarf had simply already lost hope.


    "Oh, you found my glasses. Let me see if they are damaged."


    After Narain finished checking them, he asked, "What about Stewvul? Where is he? Why didn''t you bring him back."


    "He looked like he wasn''t happy at all to be treated as your slave," Lu Li said.


    "No, elf, I treated him as a brother, but he unexpectedly turned against me, then stole my glasses away," Narain said, filled with anger. "If there''s a principle that you need to understand, it''s this ¨C never get into my business. There''s no way you can understand the things I do. For example, do you know what is? Apparently not. This is why I''m responsible for the whole thing, and Stewvul can only run errands."


    "Yes, sir, I get what you mean," Lu Li immediately said, changing his attitude. "If you need it, sir, I''ll get people to rake him up straight away and leave him on your bed."


    "Sure, if you want to continue, then I need a 500 pound chicken," Narain said, very satisfied with Lu Li''s repentant attitude.


    500 pounds!? Could it still be a chicken if it was 500 pounds?

 1638 A 500 Pound Chicken

    "Just because you haven''t seen one doesn''t mean it doesn''t exist. Poverty has limited your imagination, Elf," Nerain said disdainfully. "Go to Gadgetzan and chat with Dirge Quikcleave; he''ll know where to find this breed."


    Dirge Quikcleave was the head cook of Gadgetzan. Lu Li knew him, and had also once tried the mussel feast there.


    In all honesty, the food there was definitely not the best. It could have been because Lu Li couldn''t handle the fishiness of the mussels, or perhaps it was only the Trolls, the race that didn''t really care about what they ate, who would think that this sort of feast was abundant.


    Dirge Quikcleave just happened to be teaching a few players the basics of the culinary arts skills.


    "Do you want to have a look at my goods Elf? They are certainly the best handiwork on the whole mainland," Dirge Quikcleave offered.


    "No thanks, I''m very full," Lu Li said politely, then asked straightforwardly, "Do you know about 500 pound chickens? Narain brought it up with me."


    "A 500 pound chicken? There is no such thing; these chickens don''t exist anymore. I''ve heard of them before¡­dark death chickens¡­" Dirge Quikcleave said, his voice a little shaky. "No one who has seen such a chicken has ever lived to tell the tale. I have a very good idea for the both of us ¨C how about you forget about the idea of a 500 pound chicken?"


    "I can''t ¨C I promised Narain. I can''t just eat my words, and besides, I have a lot of strong allies," Lu Li said, with a fearless spirit.


    "Ok, maybe you can do this. Listen, elf, legend has it that there''s someone called Chimaerok of the Chimaera on that frightening Feralas island. He has the best, absolutely most delicious food! Now, they have a leader called Lackmaeran. After some clever cooking, their meat turns into a top-class feast. I need you to kill Lackmaeran, get Chimaerok''s flesh, as well as 20 portions of the Chimaeras'' tenderloins."


    "And then?" Lu Li asked.


    "I''ll tell you when you bring it back. I hope you''ll all make it out alive," Dirge Quikcleave said, with lingering fear in his heart.


    At the westernmost end of the Kalimdor mainland, in the depths of Feralas Forest, there was a Night Elf city ¨C Feathermoon Stronghold. Most of the adventurers came here to learn high-level Enchanting or simply to complete quests to level up. There were very few people who actually came here to ''explore''.


    Feathermoon Stronghold was on a little island called Sardor. To the south of Sardor Island there was a slightly larger island.


    This place where the birds didn''t dare to poop on was a place that even fewer people set foot on.


    It took half a day to swim there, and when you got there, there wasn''t anything there at all.


    In fact, the most interesting thing on this island was probably Lord Shalzaru''s Lair. It was part of the


    territory of the Naga, and inside, all sorts of Naga monsters spawned.


    If you journeyed to the end, you would see a pond.


    If you jumped and kept swimming down, there was a crooked tunnel. After a while, you would see a


    light, and when you exited, you would find yourself in a hidden room in a cave.


    Here, there was a Boss called Lord Shalzaru.


    There was an even more important task today. What Lu Li needed to find was Lackmaeran ¨C the lazy overlord of a frightening island.


    Lackmaeran flew high in the sky. He couldn''t fly low, otherwise, he''d be electrocuted by the Chimaera monsters.


    The Chimaera were staunch allies of the Night Elves. They protected various forests and the World Tree Nordrassil. They were creatures that lived in seclusion and were filled with emotions, but lacked the ability to speak. Their main struggle was to maintain the balance of the natural world. Chimaeras hated any behavior that harmed natural races and other natural life. No matter who it was, as long as they dared to do such things, they would be asking for the terrifying fire and fury of the Chimaeras.


    The Chimaeras of Felaras had a close relationship with the Naga. These scary two-headed monsters flew low above Felaras. Apart from the Naga, all other life on the island was their food. They would strike with fatal lightning at all invading enemies.


    It really wasn''t hard for Lu Li to find Lackmaeran, although he didn''t leave consistent tracks.


    His giant head could be seen for miles away!


    This sort of level 60 Wild Boss certainly couldn''t be dealt with by just Lu Li alone, so he quickly called for his support forces. First was a few Thieves to protect Sesame Rice Ball while he travelled into the enemy Boss territory. Then, he began to transport players on a larger scale.


    "Isn''t there anyone fighting this wild Boss?" Lu Li asked.


    "Occasionally. The First Clear was taken away by Glory Capital a few weeks ago. Normally, to attack it, you need to clean up a lot of the little monsters. It''s hard to defeat and doesn''t drop much, so usually no one fights it," came the immediate detailed response from a player who had relatively quick access to information.


    Dawn used a lot of maps and Instance Dungeons. There were a lot of Bosses that could be killed, but the truly competitive ones were either First Clears or the Bosses that dropped relatively valuable things, like the blue dragon.


    Lackmaeran was located far away from the continent, not to mention he was level 60 and was considered harder to defeat. Major guilds would not waste their time on him, but mid-sized guilds didn''t have the power. As such, he became a Boss that no one really paid a visit to.


    "So this is the 500 pound chicken?" Remnant Dream asked, dumbly looking up at the Boss.


    "There''s no way. I think just his leg would be 500 pounds," Hachi Chan said, swallowing some saliva.


    "You could eat it for days."


    Then, the both of them gasped in admiration in the same way.


    "If you two eat any more you''ll turn into fatty girls," Azure Sea Breeze said, slapping their heads.


    "Hmph, even if we''re fatter, we''d still look better than you," Hachi Chan shot back.


    "Ok then, get ready to work. Clean up the smaller monsters around the place first. This Boss isn''t too hard. There are basically two stages. In the first stage, the Boss is on the ground and it mainly does group damage. Our plan will be to have two frontlines. In the second stage, he''ll be in the sky. Ranged units can start to attack, while melee units can just stand together to take the damage. There''s a walkthrough online. I hope you all had a look already."


    This sort of Boss, which had already been killed many times, had a comprehensive walkthrough written ages ago.


    However, they knew that the walkthrough wasn''t very meaningful. For the ordinary players, even if they could follow it, they weren''t likely to be able to fight their way through. After all, Lackmaeran''s area-of-effect damage was extremely frightening, and he specialized in lightning damage. At the moment, Dawn had very little equipment that protected against lightning attacks.


    Today, Ruling Sword had come with three Elite groups and one Core Elite group (although not everyone was present). This arrangement was already more than enough to fight against a Wild Boss.


    Even so, Lu Li, with great caution, arranged for two more Elite groups to stop others from rushing in and causing trouble.


    Ruling Sword had developed to the point where they had three Elite Groups that were more focused on attacking in Instance Dungeons, two Elite Groups that were more focused on PVP, as well as a Core Elite group that hadn''t taken shape yet.

 1639 An Interracial Love

    There wasn''t really much to say about this whole process. Basically, everyone just made it through by doing all sorts of random things. It was like a casual guild activity that everyone happened to take part in.


    Actually, some people had snuck onto this island and were investigating what Ruling Sword was doing.


    But at that time, the Boss was already on his last legs, so even if others came to interfere, the outcome wouldn''t change. All in all, this Boss wasn''t hard at all to defeat.


    With Remnant Dream looting, the Boss put on a commendable performance and dropped a piece of Epic equipment.


    Lu Li and his team who were mostly wearing Epic equipment didn''t compete for it. One ordinary player from the Elite Group tried his best to take all of the equipment, and thus became the target of everyone''s envy.


    Actually, major guilds divided up things like this.


    To the rest of the elite players, there were a select few people who were freely able to receive Epic equipment, completely oblivious to the fact that the rest of the guild members were only compensated with a pitiful amount of DKP.


    A powerful, major guild like Ruling Sword would often fight Bosses, no matter if it was in Instance Dungeons or in the Wild. If they could just gain a little bit of DKP each time, they would have a good opportunity when it came time to sharing the loot.


    However, when ordinary guilds organized events, they didn''t always receive anything, so their DKP wasn''t worth it.


    With so many people here, obtaining the 20 Chimaera tenderloins was likewise an easy task.


    "My God, please don''t tell me you''ve already brought back what I wanted," Dirge Quikcleave gasped in amazement. "Look at these pieces of meat! The quality is just incredible! I haven''t seen this kind of Chimaera meat for years."


    "Once it''s roasted, can I try some?" Hachi Chan asked eagerly, looking from behind Lu Li.


    "Oh, of course, of course, it''s no problem. Oh, such a cute child! Is this your child?" he asked Lu Li, pointing at Hachi Chan.


    Lu Li was completely dumbstruck. Trying his best to hold himself back, he replied impulsively, "It''s with great regret to tell you that I am still unable to produce such a cute child. Now that the quest is completed, are you gonna give us that 500 pound chicken?"


    "Really is such a weird formula," Lu Li whispered quietly, as the ingredient that he needed quickly arrived.


    After getting all the cooking ingredients, the goblin head chef finally roasted up the whole chicken to make an unmatchable feast. At the same time, he also taught Hachi Chan how to make those delicious tenderloins.


    Recipe: Dirge''s Delicious Sliced Chimaera!


    The extra reward of a cookbook, though it was unlikely to be more precious than Dirge''s original 30 pieces of sliced Chimaera, was still a welcome thing. The sliced meat made by following this cookbook was delicious.


    It was definitely a smart idea to bring little Hachi Chan along on the quest.


    Lu Li took the 500 pound chicken and brought it over to hand it to Narain. The dwarf technician was happy and began eating in front of everyone.


    "Now that I''ve thought of how I can read this account book, I''m really so forgetful. Damn me, I remember I have a book. It''s called Draconic for Dummies..."


    "Didn''t you say you could understand it with divining glasses?" Lu Li couldn''t help ask.


    "Are you stupid? Divining glasses aren''t translating tools. How can you use them to read Draconic\u003e" Narain said with disdain.


    "So why did you need me to get them back?"


    "Of course I need them. You''re all coming up to order me around. Why do I need to be polite or anything?" Narain said matter-of-factly.


    Finally, they knew how this guy could be good friends with Azuregos. He was just like him ¨C full of crap!


    "And the 500 pound chicken?" Lu Li asked listlessly.


    "Haven''t eaten it in ages, but I still remember the rich taste," Narain said in great satisfaction. They didn''t know his little body could hold so much food.


    "Haha, as long as you''re happy eating it sir."


    What more could Lu Li say?


    "Quickly, get my Draconic for Dummies over here, elf," Narain urged.


    "Where is it?" Lu Li asked.


    "I knew this book would come in handy one day. Luckily, I''ve learnt to be clever and I''ve stored it up!" Narain said smugly. "No need to worry ¨C it''s been hidden somewhere where no one can find it. Ah, I need to take a helicopter to find where it is. Unfortunately, on the way back, the plane crashed. It was only because of the incident that I was able to get super dwarf spirit power! Elf, go to Land''s End Beach to find the crashed helicopter. Keep heading south along the coast, and when you get there, you''ll see it!"


    Lu Li didn''t have anything more to say. He turned and went.


    Since the quest needed to be completed, there was no use for more talk. If they had a chance in the future, he would need to bring people over to teach this Dwarf a lesson!


    Arriving at Land''s End Beach, the southernmost point of Tanaris, Lu Li immediately found Meridith the Mermaiden on the shore. This young mermaid, whose appearance was very unusual, was singing a pleasant song. She had once saved Narain''s life, and fell in love with him at first sight.


    She hoped Lu Li could give one of Meridith''s love letters to Narain.


    This was part of the quest. Otherwise, Lu Li couldn''t be bothered to serve as a messenger like this. Of course, he needed to admit that he had an evil intention of taking advantage of Narain.


    "What is it? A love letter? Give it to me. Who would write a love letter to me? Why''s it her! She''s a fish! I tell you, she''s a fish! And I''m a dwarf! There''s no chance things will work between us. Dammit, I still can''t forget it," Narain cried with a painful expression.


    "Actually, I feel like true love is found in interracial relationships. Master, you should seriously consider it," Lu Li suggested with a straight face, trying his best not to laugh.


    "Elf, you don''t understand, you don''t understand. You simply have no way of understanding what love between a dwarf and a fish feels like," Narain sighed sadly. It was like he had taken off all his pretense.


    Lu Li curled up his lips in delight, and went back to report on what he had done with great satisfaction.


    Meridith the Mermaiden''s expectant eyes slowly vanished, but she still smiled kindly as she thanked Lu Li. Then, Lu Li and those with him had their swimming speed increased by 500%.

 1640 Shredded

    Lu Li brought quite a few people to help.


    There were two islands on this side of Southshore. Everyone split up to search, and very soon, they found Narain''s plane wreckage on an island. However, Lu Li looked all over and still couldn''t find Draconic for Dummies. On the contrary, he found an extortion letter.


    This extortion letter was very long. In summary, it said, "We''ve already taken your book, dwarf. If you want to see it again, you''ll have to do as I say."


    Lu Li handed the extortion letter to Narain.


    "What is this?"


    The previous love letter almost made Narain have a breakdown. Seeing that Lu Li had brought a letter again, he was already trembling with fear.


    "An extortion letter."


    "What the hell? Lemme have a look," Narain''s said angrily as his face began to turn red. "How dare they! How dare they rob me! They''ll find out what happens when they push a dwarf''s buttons."


    "You could only jump up and attack at their knees," Lu Li thought disdainfully in his heart, but on the outside, he asked, "Master, what do you plan to do?" as if he was also angry against a common enemy.


    "Ah, how about this? I''ll give you a bag full of stones, and you''ll be responsible for delivering the goods..." Narain said, having very quickly thought of an idea.


    "Master, they require you yourself to be the one doing that. The difference between us is just too much," Lu Li said, gesturing at their heights. Even an idiot could see that a Night Elf and a dDarf were different.


    "You don''t have to worry about this ¨C put this on and you''ll immediately become like me," Narain said, taking out a head covering and a long robe. "You can bring the stones with you and go to Winterspring to do the handover. When the time comes you can take the chance to teach them a lesson. Let them know what happens when they provoke a Dwarf."


    "Yep, they''ll definitely regret it," Lu Li said with certainty.


    The two tools that the Dwarf gave to Lu Li weren''t considered equipment, but rather, were decorative tools. After Lu Li put them on, he turned into a Dwarf, and the equipment on him was disguised as well.


    In order to protect against any overwhelming enemies, Lu Li also brought with him two teams of Thieves.


    As long as a Boss didn''t appear, the average enemy could do nothing against a group of Thieves at this level.


    However, when a small plane came into Lu Li''s field of vision, he was dumbstruck.


    The Thieves were at a loss when it came to this sort of air unit.


    "Narain, aren''t you gonna say hi to an old friend? Who are you waiting for?" came a distant shout from the plane above. This person''s voice sounded like their throat was being clenched, and was typical of Dwarves and Goblins.


    The figure in the plane was evidently a Dwarf.


    "Oh, this is the thing you''re after," Lu Li replied vaguely.


    The other person knew his name, so evidently, they were somewhat familiar with Narain. There was probably a relatively high chance Lu Li would blow his cover. This chain of quests was really just too long. In his past life, he only had a rough look and simply couldn''t remember how to complete it.


    "Who are you? You''re not Narain! Do you think you can fool me, elf? Could it be you haven''t heard of me, the greatest criminal in Azeroth? Orangutan 2, give it to me!"


    At this, a giant mechanical orangutan fell from the sky and headed straight onto Lu Li.


    Lu Li could only toughen up and take up his enemy''s challenge. What he didn''t know was that this Orangutan 2 was rather weak. He didn''t even have to call for support before he finished off the opponent.


    After this, the dwarf in the plane began to drop bombs.


    These were considered relatively ordinary bombs, much less effective that the ones Lu Li had, so they didn''t pose much of a challenge.


    Although Lu Li wouldn''t be killed, he also couldn''t attack the Dwarf flying in the sky.


    At this, the dwarf, angry out of embarrassment, shred up the Draconic for Dummies book and even threatened to scatter it all around so that Narain couldn''t piece it back together.


    "What, you failed!?" Narain was shocked.


    He thought that Lu Li was exceptional. After all, he was able to accomplish great feats like finding a 500 pound chicken, so why would it be hard for him when it came to blackmail?


    "Dammit, it was a Dwarf like you, and he was also flying a plane," Lu Li complained, before describing the whole process, including what the Dwarf looked like.


    "Oh, I underestimated this book-grabbing guy. If I haven''t guessed wrongly, that should be my former former best friend. Oh, he''s probably my worst enemy at the moment ¨C Doctor Weavil. He also studies engineering and he''s starting to play around on his part now. From your failure today, Weavil''s ruined my book. How are you still going to save the world, my big hero?"


    As expected, he was a damned Dwarf!


    And also, who the hell was that former, former best friend!?


    He former best friend had knocked him out, then taken away his divining glasses, and that former, former best friend also hated him to the bone. It turned out the meaning of a diehard best friend was


    someone who wished that you would die hard.


    "He ruined your book, I''d think you wouldn''t be happy about it at all," Lu Li said.


    "Nonsense, that damn Weavil!"


    Narain had been reminded and he started to grow angry yet again.


    "Divining, master, you''re a divining master," Lu Li said, really wanting to give him a knock on the head. He pulled off Narain''s divining glasses hanging in front of his chest and stuffed them in his hands, urging him, "Quickly, divine out where he is. I''ll avenge you!"


    "Yes, hehe, Elf, you''re really too clever. Let us see where he is."


    Narain wasn''t taking pleasure in calamity anymore. If he could find his former, former best friend, he was still happy to help.


    Narain took out a bunch of tools then got to work.


    His divining process was different to those Troll Shamans. He used different apparatuses and medicines, making various constructions on an old stained map.


    After a long while, when Lu Li thought he was just doing random things, Narain lifted up his head. Using his dirty hands to wipe the sweat on his forehead, he panted, "Alcaz Island ¨C an island at the east of Theramore''s Fall. Do you know that place?"


    "Yep, wait for my good news," Lu Li said, nodding his head and choosing to believe him.


    Bringing a group of people with him, Lu Li quietly got close to the island.


    Not long after they went onshore, Lu Li found Weavil''s aircraft and his claws in a few small huts.


    The biggest hut had two levels.


    Lu Li quickly found Doctor Weevil. This guy was really amazing. Not only did he use a bomb to immobilize his opponent, but he also could use some sort of brainwashing device to control Lu Li''s teammates. What was more amazing compared to other engineers was that those who were controlled by him had their attack strength increased by 500%, their attack speed increased by 100%, and their casting speed increased by 75%.


    However, Weavil''s contraptions ultimately amounted to nothing. After he was taken out of the room and beaten to death, they found the first chapter of Draconic for Dummies on him.


    Lu Li was originally thinking of bringing people up to Alcaz Island to finish him off, but if he did it that way, it would look like he had too much foresight.


    Since it was the first chapter, then there was a second chapter¡­


    He didn''t know where the remaining ones were thrown.


    The aircraft in the doorway was evidently the final dream in engineering ¨C you sat and drove it, and it was the type where two people could sit. You could bring a girl to go for a spin, but it was used by Doctor Weavil to scatter a book, taking revenge on his former boyfriend.

 1641 Into the Undercity

    Luckily, Lu Li picked up a copy of The Diary of Weavil.


    When Lu Li opened it, he was sure of one thing ¨C Doctor Weavil was a good kid who wrote in his diary every single day. You could even say he was constantly recording everything. He had probably designed an engineering robot that recorded everything that happened to him all the time.


    As for the stuff that Doctor Weavil dropped, Lu Li was not going to take part in the distribution of it.


    After all, it was a special quest Boss. Because he wasn''t considered as a monster, there wasn''t any reward for a First Clear. Nevertheless, he had still dropped some rather valuable Epic equipment.


    Lu Li studied the writing and compared it with the other style of the Diary of Weavil. From his perspective, most of what he read was deemed nonsense, and a rare minority of information was actually contained within.


    For example, one sentence read, "No matter how unpleasant the memory, there were still times when it would appear again uncontrollably. I always remembered the beautiful cow on the green grass of Mulgore. Her beautiful eyes stared at me as if they were beating my head to pieces like colourful totems. Since then, I could no longer look directly at fierce women¡­"


    What was this nonsense?! He had just been attacked by Magnatha''s Grimtotem and her entourage, and then was chased to the point of peeing his pants. He only got away because he had enough bullets.


    Why was this writing so undulated?!


    Hence, Lu Li had to make a lot of effort in order to find clues.


    As to why he didn''t give it to Hachi Chan, who was beside him, to read¡­


    Well, there was too much explicit content in the diary. Lu Li couldn''t bear to taint this child''s innocence.


    He could find the book according to the clues. There wasn''t much to say about chapter one ¨C Lu Li had already gotten it from Doctor Weavil. The 2nd chapter had a small probability of dropping from the Blasted Lands'' demons, while the 3rd chapter would drop from the Silent Language Canyon''s Hederine demons. This all didn''t matter. In any case, if the drop rates were low, then they just had to kill more monsters.


    The clue related to the 4th chapter made Lu Li want to kill himself!


    Undercity!


    What was worse was that it was something that only he himself could see. He couldn''t even spend money to employ help from a local.


    To infiltrate Undercity by himself?


    He was just a mere level 60 Thief. Even Thief legends like Garona wouldn''t necessarily be able to make it back. Of course, this was only Lu Li''s guess. As to whether his mentor could come and go freely in Undercity was not known to him ¨C this severely limited the scope of his imagination.


    Luckily, he could still consider transforming, not into a different form, but rather a temporary transition between factions.


    The Noggenfogger Elexir could allow players to turn into Undead, regardless of whether you were a Horde or Alliance player. However, this type of transformation tool was similar to that of a toy. It was useless in front of NPCs. Otherwise, there would be Alliance players everywhere in Undercity.


    Lu Li did actually have an even more high-end transformation tool ¨C the Deception Orb.


    This item was hard to obtain. At the moment, there weren''t many in the entire game.


    Deception Orb (Special): Makes the caster a member of the enemy faction. Lasts 1 hour, cooldown 4 hours. It can also be customised to a temporary ID, race and profession.


    Different Deception Orbs had different effects. He saw others on the forums showing off their posts. The one that a player posted was far worse than his. It only lasted for 10 minutes, but the cooldown was as long as 24 hours. Moreover, it could only transform between corresponding races. For example, Night Elves could only change into Undead, Humans could only transform into Orcs, and so on.


    Not long ago, he had taken a big one from Glory Capital. This was because the two players from Glory Capital used the transformation tool to infiltrate Stormwind City and stole his quest.


    Lu Li knew that sort of transformation tool. To be more precise it could be called a potion.


    The only downside was that every potion could only be used once. The price for producing it was incredibly expensive, plus, it couldn''t change the player''s information. The only advantage was that you could interact and trade quests with the enemies'' normal NPCs.


    Lu Li quietly flew near Undercity, then used the Orb and turned himself into an Undead.


    Undercity was the home of the Undead.


    Before entering into this city, he had done a lot of preparation.


    First, he found a very reliable mercenary group ¨C Steel Rice Bowl.


    Steel Rice Bowl had a well-regarded reputation amongst mercenary groups. It wasn''t because their capabilities were so powerful. In fact, their abilities were rather underwhelming. If you employed them to achieve a First Clear or kill some important character, then there was no way they would be able to do it.


    Plus, they were very expensive.


    Their only positive aspect was that they kept secrets and were loyal!


    This mercenary group truly saw their customer as god, which was seen as an absolute rule. For decades, they would not sell out their employers, even in the face of great temptation.


    Of course, they weren''t amazing. As long as the employer asked them to do something, they did it. So, they had done a lot of rotten things.


    Lu Li wanted them to do something simple. When he needed, he wanted them to keep anyone who could interfere with him or any NCPs occupied. Otherwise, they would help him clear any obstacles. For this small, simple request, he paid the price of 5000 gold coins.


    He didn''t dare to casually ask anyone to come help in case any news leaked.


    It didn''t matter to die once or twice. He was more concerned if someone messed up his quest.


    Additionally, he brought out a pirated copy of the Undercity''s map and started analysing it carefully.


    Dawn was a game with a lot of arduous terrain. There were many Instance Dungeons and wild tunnels, but these were all nothing in comparison with Undercity.


    Undercity was situated in the underground depths of the Lordaeron Kingdom. These royal graves had now changed into the base of the Undead.


    Nearly all players who had gone to Undercity had been lost there before. Even players who had lived there for years had the same issue. If Lu Li threw Hachi Chan in here, she would probably have to live the rest of her gaming life in this city.


    Undercity''s elevator was located in the depth of Lordaeron''s ruins. Once you took the elevator down, a sprawling underground kingdom would appear before your eyes.


    There were three floors in the underground palace. The 1st floor was the largest with a circle of four outer halls. The 2nd floor was in the centre of the circular underground city, with a cage-like bank in the centre that was surrounded by a number of NPCs. The 3rd floor was a circular inner layer, with a number of small houses along it. There were flight attendants, weapon stores and hotels, among many other things there. You could see the end point of the elevator descent towards the guarded ring outside.


    Lu Li needed to get into the 3rd floor. One moment of carelessness along the way could lead to him being completely lost.


    If he accidently fell into the arms of Queen Sylvanas, he could forget about this entire operation. Even if he deceived the rest of the planet, he would no doubt be whipped to death by the Queen.

 1642 Day Trip to Undercity

    Lu Li analysed the map of Undercity and was a bit confused. Why did everyone describe this city as being so scary? Even though he had to go underground, there was an elevator he could take. After descending, as soon as you stepped out, you would see the second area. Following that outside was the third area.


    It was so orderly!


    He threw the map into his backpack and activated the Deception Orb which turned him into a bony skeleton. The skeleton adjusted itself for a moment and continued to strut into Undercity.


    Of course, he knew to at least walk around anyone he saw in case his disguise was exposed.


    According to the directions on the map, Lu Li walked into a so-called elevator room. The room was similar to a cylindrical elevator that sometimes went up and down.


    Fortunately, the one that Lu Li was waiting for didn''t have anyone inside. He eagerly stepped onto the base of the elevator¡­ but something seemed wrong.


    Lu Li felt emptiness at his feet, and the elevator was growing further and further away from his sight.


    What the heck was this!?


    Why did the elevator fall as he was about to step on it? Did this elevator not wait for people? Plus, why was it falling so quickly? It was much faster than free falling. Was it trying to kill him?!


    Ordinary people would not be able to react in time and would probably scream and fall to their deaths.


    However, Lu Li was different. He knew what was happening in the first moment, and subconsciously transformed into a leopard.


    Leopards were rather immune to falling; ordinary heights wouldn''t kill them.


    However, the Undercity elevator was no ordinary elevator.


    As such, Lu Li found very quickly that his velocity was beyond imagination. Even if Druids were more immune to falling, there was no doubt that this was still a fall to death.


    Gale Steps!


    This invincible state saved his life, otherwise, he would definitely be yet another Alliance player who died in the elevator of Undercity.


    The bottom of the elevator even had a few illusory gravestones. This meant that there were players who had been killed here not long ago. When people first died, they become corpses. However, once a player is revived and left, it would leave behind a gravestone. In a while, these gravestones would also disappear.


    Knowing that he wasn''t the only one who nearly fell to his death made him feel a bit better.


    As he was coming out of the elevator, he saw two giant Stitches in his peripheral vision. He stopped suddenly, which was fortunate, otherwise he would have crashed straight into them. The guards in this city were of a high level, so Lu Li was bound to be hammered to death by them.


    He hurriedly contacted the Steel Rice Bowl to help him.


    Two players quickly appeared in front of him after clarifying his position.


    They didn''t ask much and went straight to talk to the NPC. Their purpose was this simple ¨C to distract the guards. They asked the Stitch guard where to go for the hair salon and whether the apothecarist was home.


    As a bald guy, why would they ask him about a hair salon?


    The two guards were so entangled with these headache-inducing questions that they didn''t even realise anything wrong with the player who had just exited the elevator room.


    After getting out, there was a high platform which was connected in the middle to the players'' personal warehouses and the guild warehouses, where many people gathered and stored things in.


    Lu Li analysed the next route and chose to enter in from a gap below.


    However, he quickly found himself lost.


    Map! Where did the map go?!


    He looked for ages and went forwards and backwards but still couldn''t figure out where he was situated. With no alternative Lu Li could only continue to ask for help.


    "Bro, what did you wanna find? If you don''t tell us, how can we help you find it?" one of the male players wearing purple robes asked. Lu Li nicknamed him Ol'' Mate Purple in his mind.


    Mercenary groups had rules to not seek out their employer''s secrets, but it didn''t make sense for an employer as an Alliance player to come and wander around Undercity.


    "Oh, actually I''m not too sure either," Lu Li sighed.


    The diary didn''t clearly record where it was located. Those who picked up the remnant pages would be even more lost. Lu Li could only read and savour the words in the diary slowly as he went, hoping that there would be a sudden moment of enlightenment.


    "Then okay, but this place you''ve been to twice already."


    Ol'' Mate Purple thought he had obligation to inform Lu Li.


    "Ahem, I''m not like some people. How could I not know I''ve been here twice? I just went left then right; how did I get back here?" Lu Li was very confused.


    "Because it''s a circle!" Ol'' Mate Purple was growing annoyed.


    "Then you lead the way. I''ll follow behind you and watch."


    Lu Li finally admitted that this city was insane. Queen Sylvanas probably wanted enemies who infiltrated to lose themselves to death in here.


    Fortunately, the two people sent by the mercenary group were locals of Undercity. Apparently, they wouldn''t get lost even with their eyes closed.


    They took Lu Li around each area, and Ol'' Mate Purple even thoughtfully gave some commentary as he went.


    "This apothecary specialises in selling poisons. That old mage has a face half-white and half-black. Even his hair was the same. Everyone calls him Yin-Yang Mage. He''s a useless NCP, with not so great quests¡­"


    "Wait."


    Lu Li finally was enlightened.


    This half-white half-black was recorded in the diary. Plus, he had read the strategy in his last life which brought up something like a Yin-Yang Mage, but he couldn''t remember at which section.


    Lu Li brought the two with him into the apothecary.


    "Welcome, how can I help?"


    He was indeed just as they had described him. He had probably given up on himself and even wore clothes that fit this colour scheme.


    "Um, we want to buy some poison," Lu Li said as he observed this apothecary, hoping to find some clues.


    The counter could be ruled out at a glance. Even the workbench connected to the counter wasn''t very messy. There wasn''t anything that Lu Li was looking for.


    "What type of poison? Rat poison or cockroach? Undercity is good for everything else except these two things," the Mage sighed. He was an Undead ¨C the type with flesh. He looked as thin as firewood, so he was not too different from humans.


    "I''ll grab a bag of cockroach poison too. There''s a few more cockroaches in the house. I just can''t seem to kill them all off," Lu Li said, speaking nonsense.


    "It''s not just a few! It''s a nest! Plus, they generate like crazy, in piles and in generations! I''ll give you a big bag!" the old Mage exclaimed in excitement. He wasn''t providing poison to Thieves to harm in the traditional sense. He only sold poisons to kill pests like rats ¨C who would buy rat poison for special reasons?


    As such, he didn''t have good business for the longest time.


    Previously, there were some people who thought there were quests here, so they would try to buy things from here. But since people started confirming this Yin-Yang Mage was a useless apothecarist who researched rat poison, there hadn''t been any customers. Lu Li was the first this week.


    But in this moment, Lu Li had absolutely no mood to thank his goodwill, because he had found the 4th chapter of "Draconic for Dummies".


    It was under that table leg!


    That table leg was probably not very stable, so it was elevated with a wad of paper. The thickness of the scrap was just right.


    If it wasn''t for the familiar Draconic writing that Lu Li knew on the outside of the paper, and the fact that he had also collected almost all of the pages, it would be hard for him to believe that what he had been trying to find this whole time was sitting at the bottom of this table.


    "Customer?" the Yin-Yang Mage questioned, raising his voice.


    "Hm, okay okay," Lu Li said, then pointed to the scrap under the table and asked, "Where did this come from?"


    "I picked it up when I was collecting medicinal herbs. Did you want it?" Yin-Yang Mage offered with a smile.


    "Um, I just thought it looked interesting."


    Lu Li was horrified and felt terrible. He couldn''t have exposed his purpose so quickly. He didn''t check for one moment and was nearly caught. If he had to negotiate then he would be in the passive position.


    "If you want it then you need to pay the price."


    As expected, the old Mage''s revealed his true intentions.


    "You can''t just buy cockroach poison; you need buy rat poison too. Then I can give it to you."


    "Hmph. How much is the cockroach poison plus rat poison?"


    Lu Li didn''t dare relax his breathing. He had already been prepared to be bled dry since he had sent himself to the butcher''s house.


    "Cockroach poison is 5 silver coins, and rat poison is not cheap, hehe. It''s at least 20 silver coins, the old Mage laughed sinisterly.


    "Pftt!"


    Lu Li and the other two couldn''t get up from off the ground.


    "Give him the money!"


    Lu Li went to grab the "Draconic for Dummies" so he could hold it in his hands as he commanded Ol'' Mate Purple to pay. He was an Alliance player so he stayed away from the NPC as much as he could, otherwise, it would troublesome if his identity was revealed.


    If it were a few thousand or ten thousand, then Ol'' Mate Purple would be worried about Lu Li''s issue of credibility.


    Clearly, this issue of 25 silver coins was not even worthy of concern for Ol'' Mate Purple. He had even decided to get rid of this part of the cost. It was really honestly insignificant.


    At such a small cost, Lu Li got the quest items. He was very satisfied and used the Hearthstone to go back to his home.


    The Hearthstone was useful in this way; he didn''t have to go back the way he came.


    If he was killed, he didn''t want to go and find his way back again, neither did he want to touch the elevator that sent people to their graves. Undercity indeed wasn''t an easy place for players. Being inside the city felt 100 times more dangerous than being outside it.


    He decided to never step into Undercity again.


    After Lu Li left, the old Mage picked up the rest of the rat poison that Lu Li left on the counter and licked it close to his mouth. After a long taste, he sighed intoxicatedly, "So, this is the smell of the Demi-God Ring. Never thought I''d see it without Malfurion."

 1643 Bleeding Hear

    After he got the 4th chapter, Lu Li immediately started to analyse information regarding the 5th chapter.


    The information about the 5th chapter was a lot simpler. It was said that it was tossed near the Royal Library; it seemed as though it had been picked up by a librarian.


    Stormwind City was Lu Li''s home ground. He didn''t have to be scared, like he was in Undercity. He could strut into the Royal Library. The guards at the entrance even smiled and nodded at him in acknowledgment.


    His reputation in Stormwind City was well regarded, and he was considered as a prestigious figure


    The many First Clears that he had achieved led Lu Li to accumulate many titles. These types of titles were more respected by militant soldiers.


    Moreover, he still had a military rank.


    "Good day dear warriors. May I ask which people in our library have purple hair?"


    Lu Li was about to go in until he reversed a few steps and asked the soldiers at the entrance.


    "Commanding Officer, there are three people with purple hair. One of them is the Deputy Library Manager; he is a purple-haired mage. It might be more difficult if you''re looking for him since he''s gone to Dalaran. Of the remaining two, one is Mr. Dor, who is a repairing master. He spends most of his time in the underground experiment lab as a part of his responsibilities to repair books. Karyn is an employee of the library, and has served there for over a decade."


    There were three people. He could eliminate the deputy library manager since he had gone to Dalaran.


    Secondly, was Mr. Dor the repairing master. He sounded like a typical homebody so there was no way, since he barely ventured outside. The one with the highest possibility was Karyn.


    "So where can this Karyn be found right now?" Lu Li asked.


    "It''s lunch break now so she should have gone to the bakery. It''s her usual habit; she should be back in a bit," the guard answered.


    Since this was the case, Lu Li might as well keep waiting here.


    He didn''t have anything else to do, so he just chatted with the guards. He wasn''t expecting to gain any quests out of the conversation, but at least he could kill time.


    He found that even though these were ordinary soldiers, they had a well-sharpened intellect.


    Lu Li even got to know about one guard''s family. According to his explanation, he was of a noble background ¨C he was the son of a minor aristocrat who had no inheritance right, and once ventured into the mainland using his mercenary identity, then enlisted into the army of Stormwind City.


    Then, he discharged from military and returned to the fields. However, he was unsatisfied with the boredom of life so he came back to Stormwind City and joined the army.


    His wife used to manage a florist, and he also had a son who was studying at the school in Stormwind City. He planned for his son to become a well-respected Mage.


    Did the game designer even design a whole identity, background, family and marriage for such an insignificant guard? Then was a massive project in and of itself. This was something that Lu Li had never thought about before.


    It felt as though it was a real world here.


    While they were chatting, Karyn had already returned and the guard introduced her to him. "This is Commander Lu Li. He seems to be looking for you."


    Karyn wasn''t an important character, so as soon as she heard that Lu Li was some sort of Commander, she immediately grew nervous.


    "How can I help you? I''m just a library employee, the most insignificant figure in Stormwind City."


    "Have you picked up a book recently? The really tattered type?" Lu Li asked directly.


    As such, Lu Li received the 5th chapter of "Draconic for Dummies" from Karyn''s hands.


    The rest of the three remnant chapters were in Instance Dungeons. Onyxia picked up this elementary level course and left it aside after losing interest. She was the most noble type of Dragon princess, so there was no way she couldn''t understand such superficial content.


    However, this superficial course brought her unnecessary trouble.


    Lu Li brought his guild members here and ravaged her again.


    The 7th chapter spelled death for the Boss of Blackwing''s Nest ¨C Fillmore. He didn''t even know which idiot had brought this stupid book back. He didn''t do anything to provoke anyone, yet disaster fell from the sky.


    The 8th chapter fell into the hands of Ragnaros the Firelord of the Molten Core.


    The Firelord had immense power, but he didn''t know Draconic. As such, once he found this remnant copy, he became enthusiastically determined to master the language. Unfortunately, this was only a remnant copy. Hence, the Blackrock Monsters received the quest of helping him find the other remnants.


    If this time period''s players and Blackrock Monsters could establish communication, then they could receive similar quests.


    Unfortunately, before he could even learn a few lines of Draconic, the man who took his First Clear brought men with him and returned.


    Not only did he slay the Firelord, but he also took away his 8th chapter of "Draconic for Dummies".


    Once he got the 8th remnant chapter, Lu Li put the whole book together using the front page of "Draconic for Dummies".


    "Woah, I can''t believe you actually found them all. If it were me, I would''ve given up by now," Narain said in disbelief.


    "Everything is for Azeroth!" Lu Li was like a gentleman with a dignified outlook.


    "I, Narain, am happy to offer you my services. I''ve got it all covered."


    Even shameless little people could be touched.


    "Then, I leave it in your capable hands," Lu Li replied.


    This quest was competed over so many days to the point that Lu Li was annoyed with it.


    "Okay, it''s taken slightly longer than the anticipated time. Now let me see what this ledger says."


    Narain finally learnt Draconic and began to read the ledger. After a while, he raised his head.


    "So, the good news is that I am 99% sure that I can make you an Arcanite Buoy. Of course, there is bad news too. The bad news is that I''m going to need large amounts of Arcanite, Elementium Ore, and also some precious gems¡­"


    Lu Li grabbed the list that Narain had written, and nearly fainted.


    Before the quest began, he had already dealt with collecting materials, but to do it again?!


    Plus, the things needed this time were way too valuable.


    If it was anyone else, they probably would have stopped the quest here. After all, not everyone could easily provide a large pile of valuable materials. Just for completing one mission, Lu Li was already feeling his heart bleeding, despite having saved so much.


    200 Arcanite!


    100 Elementium Ore!


    100 Azethorian Diamonds!


    100 Exquisite Sapphires!

 1644 Fish Can’t Live Without Water

    Even so, he had to complete the quest. He kept convincing himself that it was all for Azeroth!


    These materials were different from the previous one, as no one was willing to sell them. Surely a guild with a million players could pool something together?


    This was all incredible, but it was true. These materials were being produced in small quantities, but the demand for them was huge. Even the club members weren''t getting enough after dipping into the Guild Warehouse.


    There was no choice. Lu Li had to ask for help.


    When things were dire, Water Fairy would get some of her players to fill in for Lu Li. Drizzle Court and Peerless City were super clubs that had been developed for a few years and were much better-resourced than Ruling Sword.


    When the materials arrived, Narain started without saying anything.


    His workplace was behind him. As he walked in, he didn''t try to avoid Lu Li, so his fear of Narain stealing something was not realized. Lu Li watched as he took the materials and smelted them together, resulting in a clear fishing float. This was the world''s most expensive fishing float ¨C the Arcanite Buoy.


    "It has finally been created."


    Narain''s face was pale; his tired hands weren''t even able to lift the item.


    "Thank you Master. I thank you on behalf of Azeroth," Lu Li said as he grabbed the fishing float excitedly. Damn that blue dragon, damn that minnow and damn Azeroth!


    "Oh yeah, I just gave you the good news, but there is some bad news. Have I told you about it?" Narain asked.


    "You''ve already said it," Lu Li answered as his heart sank.


    "Well, there is something else. Hey, Elf, don''t be sad. You have to be like the Peacebloom Flower under the sun and be positive," Narain encouraged as he reverted back into his normal playful expression.


    "It''s about the minnow. Hasn''t it been changed? I think you would know more about that than me."


    "Yes, something similar happened to the Blue Dragon adults," Lu Li said.


    "What I wanted to tell you was that the minnow has been transformed into a Megalodon ¨C the kind that is a hundred feet long. It is the embodiment of death and destruction. Make sure you don''t treat it like a normal minnow."


    "Dammit, is it even still a fish!?" Lu Li exclaimed.


    "That''s why you need such a strong fishing float. Otherwise, why would it be attracted to you?"


    Narain was sympathetic but he was also definitely enjoying Lu Li''s misery.


    "Okay, okay, as long as we can get it then it''s fine. Please tell me how to use this fishing float. Do I have to go to The Great Sea?"


    Lu Li felt that he had to finish this quest as quickly as possible, otherwise, he would die before it was over.


    After finishing this quest, he didn''t want to undertake any new ones.


    "Based on the information provided by my Super Resonance Co-Frequency Analyzer, you can use the float just off the coast of Azshara in Storm Bay," Narain answered as he unfolded a map and pointed out the location to Lu Li.


    "But Storm Bay is huge! It could be anywhere," Lu Li sighed.


    "No, you need to find a big whirlpool. The whirlpool has been around for some time, and the surrounding seabed is filled with shipwrecks. The Megalodon really likes that environment," Narain explained as he patted Lu Li''s knee, then said resolutely, "Child, bring as many people as you can to maximise your chances of success. If you succeed, then you can deliver the sceptre pieces to Anachronos."


    Now that the whirlpool was mentioned, Lu Li knew exact where the location was.


    The shipwrecks were also a good place to find resources. However, after the System''s updates, there was a very low chance of anyone finding valuable materials or Epic equipment there anymore. It was just for casual players to acquire ordinary gems or Dark Gold equipment.


    It was almost impossible to quietly complete a quest there, unless Lu Li took over the entire area.


    However, taking over the area wasn''t really an option either. Even if they only tried to take over a small part of it, Lu Li would have to bring many players. And when the word got out that Ruling Sword was bullying ordinary players out of an area, the larger clubs might take advantage of that situation to kill some of their players.


    As such, in order to prevent all that, Lu Li had to ask for more help.


    Asking for help was the antithesis of manhood. In traditional Chinese culture, real men should not ask for help. Lu Li was obviously someone who held this view.


    However, he had done it so often that he had gotten used to it.


    Bringing in a squad of Drizzle Court and Peerless City players was no longer a burden to him.


    Frankly, there was no other club that dared to have a proper alliance with Ruling Sword. Drizzle Court and Peerless City were qualified to do so, but they had to always consider whether they were gaining anything from it. The losses that they suffered were gains for Ruling Sword.


    The reason why Lu Li brought so many players to kill the Megalodon was because it was said to be protecting the Tidehunter Neptulon.


    If Neptulon arrived, then they would have no choice but to give up. If it was one of the Faceless Ones that it summoned or a Naga Boss, then Lu Li believed it wouldn''t be too hard for the players.


    At this time, the sun above Azshara was gradually moving west. The coastline stretched from north to south and the calm sea sparkled under the sun. There were always some players here who loved this scenery in Dawn.


    However, this was definitely not the description the whirlpool''s location. It seemed that there was something underneath that was desperately trying to swallow the sea.


    It was near this whirlpool that Lu Li threw the Arcanite Buoy onto the water.


    Fortunately, this was a game, otherwise, it would be impossible to fish in such powerful currents. The Arcanite Buoy was also made up of so many precious materials that it managed to be stable in the turbulent waters.


    Hundreds of eyes were fixed on the float that bobbed on the water''s surface.


    After staring at the whirlpool for some time, some players started to feel dizzy. Fortunately, they didn''t have to wait too much longer. A huge shark was now moving straight towards the Arcanite Buoy.


    This item seemed to have a natural appeal for the Megalodon.


    Although the Blue Dragon wasn''t reliable, it still did some things that made sense.


    Before contact was made, Lu Li quickly pulled the Arcanite Buoy back into his hands. The fierce mouth with razor sharp teeth clamped down but missed. Its body then jumped out of the water and flew onto the shore.


    The shark being on the shore didn''t mean it was any easier to fight. It could still bite, roll around and sweep its tail. There were quite a few players that immediately turned into a white light.


    "Breezy, pull the monster so it is closer inland. Everyone else stand back a little!" Lu Li shouted into the team channel.


    This Megalodon had been arrogant enough to come onto the shore!

 1645 Overestimating One’s Capabilities

    Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t in a good mood.


    All of his items were extremely powerful. His shield was the legendary Elementium Reinforced Bulwark, and his main weapon was also at the very pinnacle of Epic weapons. However, he thought that he could become even stronger by replacing his weapon with the legendary Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.


    Actually, after so many Instance Dungeon runs, he was extremely close to making the Thunderfury.


    He didn''t think that Lu Li would use him like this. He didn''t think that Lu Li would use his Elementium Ores to complete quests. Now, the pool of Elementium Ores that he had from before was nearly emptied. This was going to delay the crafting of the Thunderfury by many, many days.


    "Breezy, work harder!" Lu Li yelled.


    Breezy wasn''t too pleased, so naturally, he didn''t put in much effort.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t say anything, but his tearing eyes were undoubtedly caused by Lu Li''s actions.


    "You can use your DKP and buy all of the Elementium ores from the inner club''s dungeon runs this week, happy?" Lu Li offered. He couldn''t do much. This idiot really thought that Lu Li would just take them and forget about it.


    "Aiya, I was frozen just then. The servers aren''t that stable, are they?"


    Azure Sea Breeze mood immediately lifted. He didn''t even care about the nonsense that came out of his mouth.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t try to aggro the Boss, but that this Boss wasn''t that easy to pull. Fortunately, he quickly managed to drag the Boss to the place that Lu Li wanted.


    The Megalodon could move on land as well, but their movements were rather peculiar.


    It wiggled towards Azure Sea Breeze, wanting to use its gigantic teeth and powerful jaws to tear this stupid shield-holding human in half. After receiving the blood of dragons, it hadn''t been provoked like this.


    Originally, it was a tiny minnow fish.


    A fully matured minnow was only around 7 to 8 centimetres long. Fishermen were usually reluctant to deal with these minnows. This was because although the flesh was decent, they were extremely small in size and had many bones. However, these fish were usually caught and then used as bait for the much larger fish.


    This small minnow knew its fate, so it lived in fear every day.


    Escaping capture became its only goal in its short life, until one fateful day, it was lifted from the waters by a powerful force. It knew that it was about to die and that there was no chance of it surviving.


    It often thought about its demise and the sensations of having its fragile bones and flesh being ripped into pieces by sharp teeth.


    Would it hurt?


    Would it fall unconscious?


    Or would it feel the sensation of being ripped apart?


    Its death never came.


    It opened its eyes and made eye contact with an unbelievably large pair of gold eyes. The pupils of these golden eyes were purple and had a mysterious yet powerful feel to them.


    The minnow had heard of something like this.


    This was a 130-year-old Sturgeon. This sturgeon had met the Tidehunter Elemental Neptulon and personally witnessed Neptulon''s magic. It was said that the ocean waves were all caused by Neptulon''s magic.


    If the minnow could die in such an existence''s hands, then it would not be a bad death at all.


    However, the minnow could not foresee what was about to happen.


    "Little creature. Are you willing to use your life to serve me?"


    Although it could not understand the words, the minnow knew that this being was talking to it and it even knew what the being said.


    It hesitated for a moment, then decided to serve this being.


    The strong would never ask for the opinions of the weak. If that was the case, then the strong would always ask for a desirable and satisfactory response.


    "I am the Blue Dragon Azuregos. You must remember this name, because I will bestow upon you a mighty fate."


    Once this was said, the small minnow felt that something had entered its body.


    It was devouring the minnow''s body and remaking a new one.


    The pain lasted for so long that the little minnow was now insensitive to all feeling. However, the pain remained engraved into the minnow''s soul.


    One hundred years had passed.


    In these 100 years, the little minnow experienced this pain again and again. Its appearance and power were evolving continuously.


    It didn''t know what it was anymore.


    The fish that originally preyed upon and hunted the small minnows were now the ones being hunted.


    Even the servants of the Tidehunter Elemental would avoid it.


    It didn''t know that this was because it emitted the power of the Blue Dragon. It thought that it had transformed into an existence that rivalled the power of the Tidehunter Elemental himself and that it had become the strongest being in the whole of the Great Sea.


    Now, these unknowing and na?ve adventurers dared to provoke it and wage battle with it.


    It needed to let these people know the insurmountable strength that it possessed.


    "Alright, World''s Best Friend, go to the left side where I indicated. Wandering, go to the right side to where I indicated. As soon as I yell the command to begin, both of you use Taunt. No one should be behind or in front of the Main Tank. Other players, use all your remaining strength to DPS."


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered. He was too lazy. As soon as he let out the call, he decided to sit aside and rest.


    This Megalodon was quite easy to deal with.


    It was one of Dawn''s easiest Bosses to fight. Nearly all Megalodons could be defeated using the same tactic.


    Naturally, this Megalodon was not an exception. It couldn''t even deal damage with its head and tail. It couldn''t understand why it was being killed by these ants.


    Although this Megalodon was a quest monster, it was still a monster. This was different to Doctor Weavil.


    Four people managed to receive a skill point from this battle.


    Remnant Dream went up to loot the Boss'' corpse. There were many Strengthening Stones and three exquisite gems. Not a single one was worthless. One of the gems'' effects was focused on Nature-based long-range DPS classes, which meant that it was for Hunters. Remnant Dream received this one, while the second one was for magic-based continuous DPS, so it was given to a Warlock. Kitty Likes Meat won against Sesame Rice Ball to take the gem. The last one was for magic-based burst damage. There was quite a bit of competition for this gem, but in the end, Lu Li decided to give it to Fat Monkey.


    Improved Shield Block!


    This was an Enhanced Skill Book!


    Furthermore, this was a skill book for the very core skill of Tanks. Azure Sea Breeze''s face immediately went purple upon seeing it.


    He stared straight at Lu Li, waiting for Lu Li to give him the book.


    "Sigh¡­You already have Improved Shield Wall. World''s Best Friend doesn''t even have an Enhanced skill yet."


    Lu Li couldn''t decide what to do. Clearly, it was because he remembered that Azure Sea Breeze had slacked in the fight just then.


    "Don''t! Brother Li, I have wronged you. Who said that World''s Best Friend doesn''t have an Enhanced skill? He has Improved Defensive Position! It''s even better than mine!"


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t care about his image anymore. He had to do this, otherwise, he would regret it.

 1646 Giant-Teethed Shoulderpads

    He already had Improved Shield Wall. If he had Improved Shield Block as well, the top position would be undoubtedly his.


    Enhanced skill books were still in extremely high demand. Only the main Tank of major clubs would have enhanced skills. These enhanced skills might not even be the core skills either.


    If World''s Best Friend received this skill book on top of his original enhanced skill, he would be able to contend with Azure Sea Breeze as the number one Tank.


    "Elementium Ores¡­"


    These words seemed to slip out of Lu Li''s mouth by accident.


    "Don''t want it. I''d rather contribute to the club instead of receiving some crappy stones."


    At that moment, Azure Sea Breeze wanted to slap Lu Li, but he had to present himself as someone generous and noble.


    "Really?" Lu Li actually wasn''t planning on not giving Azure Sea Breeze''s stones back.


    Lu Li had two lives'' worth of friendship with Azure Sea Breeze. Out of everyone in the club, Azure Sea Breeze was the closest one to him.


    This was only one of their sillier days.


    "It''s even realer than gold, I''m telling you! Are you giving it to me or not?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, beginning to grow angry.


    "Call him daddy," Hachi Chan chimed in, jumping onto the opportunity.


    "Hachi, has your conscience been eaten away by Lu Li? I''m always so nice to you. Am I not always the first one to respond to your requests to help with quests? I also bring all of you guys out to eat in real life as well. All my income is used on bringing you guys out to eat. Hmph! I won''t bring you along next time," Azure Sea Breeze huffed, expressing his hurt.


    "Brother Breezy! Don''t!" Hachi Chan cried out, immediately going quiet.


    "Alright, stop fighting. Keep looting," Lu Li said as he gave the book to Azure Sea Breeze.


    He wasn''t the type of person to play fair, so he wouldn''t split the Enhancing skill books. Although it was indeed unfair, it was much better to focus on nurturing a top-tier Main Tank than 100 second-tier Main Tanks.


    After all, Boss fights were all about top offensive and defensive power.


    The Main Tank''s role was to absorb all of the damage from the Boss while the Main Healer''s role was to replenish the Tank''s HP. Multiple second-rate Tanks wouldn''t be able to tank the damage if the first-rate Tank couldn''t.


    "Rubbish."


    Remnant Dream glanced over the item and threw it to the side.


    Lu Li picked it up and shook his head while smiling bitterly. He still stored it away to see if anyone else in the club could use it.


    It was a Gold Armor for Druids. It wasn''t a great item, but it was still an item dropped by the Megalodon. This reminded him of his previous life when he had just reached level 60.


    After three Gold items dropping, five Dark Gold items dropped.


    No one needed or wanted Gold items in the elite squads, while Dark Gold items still had a decent market with many buyers. The Dark Gold items quickly found their new owners.


    "Giant-Teethed Shoulderpads. They''re leather. I think this is Brother Lu Li''s equipment."


    The first Epic item that Remnant Dream looted was a Thief item. It was as if it was consolation for not seeing any of his items drop for a long time.


    Lu Li was not reserved at all in taking them. After all, his Shoulderpads were still level 55.


    Death''s Clutch (Epic): Armor +55. Agility +50. Strength +35. Critical Strike +20%. Unique Effect 1: Backstab +1. Unique Effect 2: After being ambushed, there is a chance of activating a shield that mitigates 50% damage received. Shield lasts for 3 skills. Unique Effect 3: Banishment. Prevents target''s actions for 2 seconds. Unable to attack the target during the effect of the skill. Affects one target at a time. Only able to be used on same or lower-levelled targets. Level required: 55. Durability 268/268.


    This item was extremely powerful, which was why Lu Li never swapped it out.


    Now, there was finally an item worthy of replacing the Death''s Clutch.


    Giant-Teethed Shoulderpads (Epic): Armor +150. Agility +160. Constitution +100. Dodge +20. Slots (2). Unique Effect 1: Backhand Backstab skill +1. Unique Effect 2: Fatal Wound. Chance of delivering a fatal wound when attacking the target face on. Causes Paralysis and Bleeding damage to the target. Unique Effect 3: Chance of reflection of status effects or damage. Level requirement: 60. Durability: 360/360.


    At first glance, this item was much simpler. The stats added were like comparing heaven and earth. After swapping the items, Lu Li''s HP immediately skyrocketed.


    Backhand Backstab was better than Backstab. This was the truth. After all, Backhand Backstab was a final killing move.


    Fatal Wound could give two status effects, which were the Bleeding effect and Paralysis. It was even stronger than Banishment. He hoped that the chance of activation wasn''t too low.


    As for the last effect, this was why Lu Li decided to change items.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had an item that had the same effect which brought him many benefits. His level 50-something item was used for a long time. He would even take it out and occasionally use it in his current life.


    Reflecting damage wasn''t something rare.


    Many people liked the effect. This was because the reflected damage was according to what the player had received. To greatly increase the reflected damage, some players would intentionally drop their defence.


    Hachi Chan had a helmet before which reflected 200% damage. This effect had turned the tables during battle many times.


    Lu Li wasn''t that reckless, so he didn''t necessarily pursue the effect. The one that he had been eyeing was reflecting status ailments. This meant that he could reflect knockback, stun, and freeze, among other effects. On top of this, he could also reflect damage. For example, in a battle, if he was Hexed and the reflection activated, he would be okay. Instead, it was his attacker who would be Hexed.


    After equipping the new Shoulderpads, Lu Li''s shoulders looked like they were equipped with the Megalodon''s own gigantic teeth. He looked quite terrifying.


    This was the typical teenage dream. However, it was a little too much for Lu Li.


    The second item was an Epic Mould ¨C the Fish Skin Robe. The properties were unviewable, but looking at Mould, they could see that it was quite a powerful item.


    Everyone fought over it. In the end, Lonesome Flower was the one who took the item.


    This guy was smart with his spending. He wouldn''t bid for the less-than spectacular items, but as soon as he saw a worthy item, he immediately went for it.


    Now came the third and final item. It would also be an Epic item.


    It was an eye-catching Azure Crystal Staff.


    This staff reminded Lu Li of the legendary Apostle of Argus. It was also a staff that could blind others just from its appearance.


    The Azure Crystal Staff''s properties were excellent. There wasn''t any class-requirements, so it didn''t matter if the player was a Healer or DPS, Warlock or Mage. Any magic-based class would be able to use it, so the competition for this staff was enormous.


    March Rain didn''t want to bid for it. This was because she was already doing a quest for a class-specific weapon, and she was nearly done with it.


    Actually, all the Priests rushed to complete the class-specific weapon quest. Besides the aesthetic features of the staff, no one was willing to fork out that much guild points to buy it.


    In the end, it was Half A Cigarette from Peerless City who received this item.


    This was an activity which involved all three guilds. Therefore, if all three Epic items were taken by Ruling Sword, it wouldn''t be the best. From a properties-perspective, Lu Li felt that the Fish Skin Robe was a major win, so Ruling Sword didn''t lose out at all.


    Lastly, there was the quest item for Lu Li.


    As such, the large-scale battle finally came to an end. Everyone was satisfied now. The Megalodon corpse was sliced up by players who had the appropriate professions, so its flesh and bones all turned into materials.

 1647 The Ambush of the Little Red Dragon

    After receiving the Azure fragment, Lu Li immediately gave it to Anachronos. Anachronos was satisfied with Lu Li''s work, rewarding him with two Dark Gold items to bolster his firepower.


    Lu Li: Are you blind? I don''t need this!


    After completing this part of the stage-based quest, Lu Li was still quite happy. He only had one more to go.


    The third fragment was given to the red dragon. The problem was that the guardian of this fragment was Vaelastrasz, a fallen dragon who had become one of Nefarian''s servants, as well as a Boss within the Blackwing Lair.


    Nothing more needed to be said. Lu Li just needed to bring people and fight.


    When Vaelastrasz was first released, every club struggled greatly against it. However, after many updates and nerfs, it no longer posed a threat to the major clubs. Lu Li brought along a rag-tag group of players and they didn''t even wipe once.


    Half of this group were elite players, while the rest were ordinary players.


    In order to train more potential players into elites as well as to take care of the ordinary players in the club, Lu Li decided to use more promising amateur players in Instance Dungeons that he knew that could handle. Now, the squads would consist of players who performed excellently on a regular basis.


    These players were assessed by a panel during the dungeon run, after which assessments would be sent to Wandering.


    If they passed, then they would be integrated into a newly formed elite team. This was the most common way of integration.


    Vaelastrasz fell to the ground. However, this time, it had some parting words instead of dying straight away like last time.


    "Where is this? What happened? Oh, I remember. I am Vaelastrasz. I¡­I failed. Blackrock¡­Blackrock Mountain''s leader was too strong. He easily¡­easily absorbed my power. I¡­I have fallen¡­"


    "We will avenge you. Do you remember guarding a fragment of a sceptre?" Lu Li asked.


    "Fragment? Oh, that was many years ago. Is Anachronos well? How could I forget my own mission? Nefarian took it away from me. Elf, you need to retrieve it within two hours. Otherwise, he will destroy the fragment."


    After saying his last words, Vaelastrasz''s head dropped and died.


    So rushed!


    Two hours! Lu Li looked at the squad composition with an annoyed face.


    "Boss, how about you call people over? I''ll get some of my men to stand outside and wait."


    The squad leader knew that Lu Li was doing an important quest and he also knew that with their current strength, they might not successfully defeat Nefarian within two hours.


    "No need. Everyone just needs to try their best. I believe in everyone," Lu Li disagreed.


    If he decided to swap in stronger players, then it would definitely be much safer. However, it would be unfair for the players already in the team, and it wasn''t good to deny their efforts, which wouldn''t be positive for the overall morale in the club.


    This team''s overall strength was actually quite high. After all, they did defeat Vaelastrasz in one attempt.


    Lu Li was willing to give them a chance to prove themselves. He did have a backup plan. If something went wrong, then he would swap in the stronger players.


    All the elite and ordinary players were surprised that Lu Li made the decision for them to stay. They thought that they were going to be swapped out and sacrifice this week''s Instance Dungeon cooldown.


    "Stop daydreaming. Leave one person behind to loot the items. The rest, charge forward!" the team leader roared as everyone rushed toward the next Boss.


    Lu Li only tagged along for this battle. He didn''t assume command over the team, but he would interject and say a few words during the key moments.


    The team performed well, far exceeding his expectations.


    Actually, this was normal.


    Regardless of whether they were elite players, if they were selected into joining the elite teams, they would be the cream of the crop among the ordinary players, so the power gap was not that large.


    Adding onto the encouragement from Lu Li before, everyone went above and beyond their normal performances.


    They quickly arrived at Nefarian.


    "Keep going. I believe in you all that you won''t disappoint me. This quest will be complete with you guys as part of it!" Lu Li encouraged.


    He saw potential in these players. Potential that they themselves didn''t know that they had.


    When the battle began, everyone fell speechless.


    Nefarian held a fragment in his hand and called out, "You are looking for this red fragment for the sceptre, right? Come and get it!"


    When the players started rushing towards Nefarian, a red silhouette suddenly appeared again.


    It was Vaelastrasz, the one that they had just defeated. He landed in the middle of Nefarian and the players in clear pain and struggle as he cried out, "Friends! Nefarian''s fallen power has allowed me to come back here! Run before I lose my mind! Black flame is burning in my heart, and I need to release it!"


    "What do we do now?"


    The team leader was actually quite competent. His commanding skills were top-tier.


    However, upon seeing that there were two Bosses at the same time, he panicked. He quickly looked to Lu Li for help, as Lu Li was the commander with the highest credentials here. The team leader couldn''t handle the pressure of failing this incredibly important quest.


    "Why are you panicking? It''s not like you haven''t killed either of these Bosses before," Lu Li replied.


    "But if they''re both coming at the same time¡­"


    The team leader didn''t know what to do.


    "If both Nefarian and the little red dragon came at the same time, then even the strongest teams in our club wouldn''t be able to deal with it, let alone you guys. That''s why it''s impossible for them to attack at the same time," Lu Li assertively said.


    If Vaelastrasz and Nefarian paired up and fought together, Lu Li didn''t think that any team would be able to take them down. At least, this was the case at level 60.


    On the other side of the battlefield, the fallen Vaelastrasz yelled in excruciating pain, "Flame! Death! Annihilation! You mere mortals! Lord Nefarian''s flames will burn everything¡­No! I must resist! I must resist to the end!"


    "Vaelastrasz, what are you waiting for? Destroy them! Destroy everything!" Nefarian laughed loudly. He was satisfied with the pain that he was inflicting upon the red dragon. It seemed that he took joy in the pain of others.


    "Vaelastrasz, you are one of the noble Red Dragons! Do you remember Alexstrasza?" Lu Li yelled while stopping the players who were about to rush forward to attack.


    Alexstrasza, also known as the Dragon Queen, was one of the three Dragons who fought in the War of the Ancients.


    Some people said that Alexstrasza was Vaelastrasz''s mother, while others said that they were lovers. No matter what, she was the most important being to the little Red Dragon.


    As expected, upon hearing the name, the fallen Vaelastrasz''s behaviour immediately changed.

 1648 Black Qiraji Battle Tank

    "Before I destroy this so-called ''Kalimdor''s Last Hope'', do you think you will achieve glory by defeating me? I look forward to it, but unfortunately you will soon be facing my loyal slave and everything will be destroyed."


    "Even my father couldn''t predict that I would decide the fate of this continent. The lands will be destroyed by my hand. You are out of time."


    "Everything will see decay as it is destroyed, and a new world will be born."


    Nefarian didn''t seem to think anything was wrong, and was still smugly casting a spell on the red sceptre.


    "No, I am Red Dragon Vaelastrasz, one of the guardians of this world and I will never be your slave! You damned black dragon; you have betrayed the former covenant!"


    The fallen Vaelastrasz wasn''t dead.


    He had gathered his remaining strength before getting up and rushing at Nefarian.


    Nefarian didn''t expect this at all. He was still thinking about his dream, believing that he was about to accomplish something that his father never could.


    There were some that thought Neltharion was insane, but this was just one interpretation. He was actually quite clear in his thinking.


    He felt that the world was not right. Whether it was a Titan or a Wrym protecting Azeroth, he believed that Azeroth had to ultimately be destroyed. He felt that Azeroth was alive, that it was like a pregnant Titan. It was only by leaving Azeroth on its own that it would find peace.


    However, he had failed, and now he could only lurk in the shadows looking for more power.


    Nefarian had a similar ideology.


    He also felt like he had to do something drastic to achieve his goal. Now that his minions were ready, he could destroy everything and conquer the whole world.


    He felt like he had waited long enough, and that his time had come.


    The little Red Dragon''s flaming spray enveloped Nefarian and even gushed into his laughing mouth. Suddenly, he had a look of confusion on his face.


    However, the pain didn''t allow him to think, as he began to scream in agony.


    The little Red Dragon had amazing offensive abilities. He had almost killed Nefarian in his final moments. The fact that he was able to do this was telling. If it weren''t for Nefarian''s trap, none of this would have been possible.


    As such, before the eyes of Lu Li and the others, Nefarian''s HP instantly fell.


    "Go, but be careful not to hit the Red Dragon!" Lu Li excitedly cried out, urging everyone to get to work.


    The quest, which was almost impossible, was to kill the Little Red Dragon and Nefarian. However, it had suddenly become very simple. It was as though a Nightmare Difficulty Instance Dungeon had just become even easier than an Ordinary Difficulty Instance Dungeon.


    "Damn slave, what are you doing?"


    Nefarian as finally able to react. He was filled with anger, and he couldn''t want to tear into the Little Red Dragon.


    As the Black Dragon that was the strongest in combat, Nefarian was definitely not going to go down that easily.


    His counterattack was quite strong. It was not that different from the Red Dragon''s attack.


    The two dragons sprayed flames at each other. The Main Tanks couldn''t really gain any aggro, and the melee players couldn''t coordinate either.


    The team leader decided to just let everyone attack freely whenever they could.


    Lu Li jumped between the two behemoths, and just kept stabbing the black dragon. In terms of combat power, the current Little Red Dragon was indeed inferior to Nefarian. Not to mention, there was also their difference in HP. It was a significant enough difference that it would be over for the Little Red Dragon if the players didn''t intervene.


    "I am the master here! You mortals are nothing to me," Nefarian scorned the players that were still fighting.


    However, the actual situation was making him nervous. These ants weren''t dead, and their attack power wasn''t completely insignificant. As such, the Black Dragon actually did spray a few plumes of flame at the players to delay slow down their attacks.


    However, this meant that the Little Red Dragon was going to be fine.


    From the beginning of the battle to the end, it took less than 10 minutes. The Little Red Dragon dealt most of the damage to Nefarian. Most importantly, it also took all the aggro, which meant that Nefarian couldn''t cast his stronger skills at the players. They were also being interrupted by Vaelastrasz.


    How good would it be, if Remnant Dream could catch the Little Red Dragon as a pet?


    If that was possible, they could fight any Boss they wanted. The Little Red Dragon was an incredible Tank that had significant attack power in addition to a strong defence. Why would they keep Azure Sea Breeze around after that?


    Unfortunately, Dawn was a well-balanced game.


    If they could capture this Boss as a pet, then they would be able to just sweep through most things in this game. There was no chance of that happening.


    Lu Li didn''t stay to participate in the Boss'' distribution of rewards. He just took the red sceptre fragments and left.


    "I got it, the last piece of the sceptre!" Lu Li exclaimed as he handed it over to Anachronos and finally completed this difficult quest. Not only was this a cumbersome quest, but it was a cumbersome chain of quests.


    This quest just required the player to provide a lot of materials. These materials could be acquired by killing lots of Bosses of various strengths. However, it also meant that an average person wouldn''t be able to complete them.


    "A thousand years have passed and as fate has destined, a warrior now stands before me. This warrior will lead his comrades into a new era. The Old Gods are shaking, elf, they are trembling before your belief. You must break C''Thun''s power. It knows that are coming, and that you have Kalimdor''s Strength with you. Let me know when you are ready, and I will give you the sceptre," Anachronos said.


    "Yes, I am ready," Lu Li answered without hesitation.


    This quest couldn''t be delayed for any longer as the major clubs were now on it. The green dragon had been killed several times and they were waiting for the cooldown of the blue dragon to be refreshed. It had also been said that the blue dragon''s spirit wouldn''t disappear anymore to make this quest easier to complete.


    Lu Li had invested too much manpower and resources to give it up now.


    "Good, I appreciate your courage. Please wait a moment," Anachronos said as he turned to the Caverns of Time.


    After a short while, he took out the completed Sceptre of the Shifting Sands.


    "Only you can use this sceptre, and only you can lead your companions into the new era," Anachronos said, then solemnly handed the sceptre to Lu Li before continuing, "Gather your men and bring them to Silithus. Then, you can sound the gong.


    "I will."


    Lu Li took the Sceptre of the Shifting Sands and put it in his backpack.


    The System prompted Lu Li to complete the quest. After that, he received a large bounty of rewards which include Reputation and some equipment. Although each of the previous quests had rewards, none were as bountiful as this.


    Runesword of the Red, Fang of Korialstrasz, Shadowsong''s Sorrow and Ravencrest''s Legacy ¨C four weapons were awarded all at once. The first two were Magic one-handed weapons. The third was for Thieves and the last was for players that used physical attacks.


    The properties of these four Epic weapons were all very good.


    For a quest to reward for four Epic weapons likes this was insane, especially since the difficulty felt like it had been reduced from Nightmare to Ordinary. Lu Li felt like if this kept going, he would soon be living like Water Fairy.


    However, no matter how rich the rewards, Ruling Sword was still making a net loss from a gold perspective.


    With so many materials being used up, these few pieces of Epic equipment needed to be used to recover this loss.


    Nevertheless, Lu Li knew that this quest needed to be done, and that he needed to pay for it.


    "This is something that remained from the last War of the Shifting Sands. It has been around for a thousand years, and it was hoped that it would witness the glory of a new generation of warriors," Anachronos said as he brought out something that looked like an egg.


    It was coming!


    Lu Li''s eyes stared at the egg, but he didn''t want to make it too obvious. Even so, he already knew the importance of this last reward.


    A Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal!


    "Hatch this. Once that happens, your souls will be connected," Anachronos said as he looked at Lu Li encouragingly.


    If this was sold, it would be worth at least 50 million!!


    Over the past year that Lu Li had worked with his advantage of someone being reborn, he had still barely made 50 million altogether.


    However, given what the NPC has said, hatching it would mean that it was bound to him.


    How would he sell it if it was bound to him!


    The Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal, which looked like a crystal egg, was actually a black insect mount. It was essentially a Black Qiraji Battle Tank. It was fast and was said to share its master''s skills.


    It was Sorrowless that had received the mount last time.


    The skill that he shared with the mount was Blink, which meant that he could use Blink while on the mount.


    Someone had once asked Sorrowless for the mount for 50 million dollars. 50 million dollars was the highest anyone had ever offered for anything in game, but Sorrowless was being stubborn at the time.


    Lu Li had sullenly worked so hard in these quests for this mount.


    There was only one Black Qiraji Battle Tank mount in all of China; how could anyone say it wasn''t worth it?


    Even if someone else did the quest now, it would be impossible to get the mount.


    It was out of stock!


    What did all of this mean?


    If he could sell the mount, all of their losses would immediately be recouped and Ruling Sword would usher in a period of rapid development for at least a short period of time.


    The Bronze Dragon looked at Lu Li silently, waiting for him to hatch the mount.


    If he ran away with it, would he be asking to get killed?


    Lu Li was torn. The NPC obviously had asked him to use it for himself, but he wanted to sell it. If he could get away with it, that was great, but what if the NPC just took it back?


    The System wasn''t to be underestimated. It definitely wasn''t something that couldn''t be done.


    If that happened, he really would have lost everything.

 1649 The First Person

    "Aren''t you ready? What are you waiting for," Anachronos asked curiously, his giant head looking over.


    "I want to give it to one of my teachers, to repay her for her guidance. She''s a great Thief teacher. I''m only here today thanks to her old teachings¡­" Lu Li said, thinking on his feet and coming up with an excuse.


    "Elf, your mind really is sharp," Anachronos interrupted, then continued impatiently, "But if you only have the Shifting Sands Sceptre and don''t have the Black Qiraji Battle Tank, how are you going hit the gong of the beetles?"


    "Pfft."


    Lu Li was angry. He wanted to say something that couldn''t be written here.


    He knew it would be like this!


    He knew it would be like this!


    He damn knew it would be like this ¨C and he still had to do this quest.


    The miserable Lu, with an obviously gloomy expression, purposelessly chose to hatch a Black Qiraji Resonating Crystal. The place for hatching was rather grand. It was roughly what it looked like during the War of the Shifting Sands. There were big druids, giant dragons and swarms of insects, all covered in blood from the tough fighting.


    The dragons took some insect eggs as their spoils of war. Now firstly, although these were called insects, these critters weren''t small at all. They were even a little larger than Lu Li''s Headless Paladin''s Steed. Every one of their joints were densely packed with hangnails, and they had a pair of giant, invincible metal hooks. Lastly, these insects were all colored black and purple. Under the frosty moonlight, they looked even more cold and mysterious.


    The System pointed out that Lu Li chose to share skills with the bugs.


    It wasn''t that Lu Li hadn''t thought of this problem before. Placed in front of him were a few limited options. After all, there was no way to link together active attack skills. According to the Dawn rules, in the current patch, apart from Paladins who could perform some limited active attacks when mounted, other roles would, by default, dismount when they carried out an attack.


    As such, was Lu Li binding Stealth, or Gale Steps, or some other skill to increase his speed or escape.


    Since he had the Raven Transformation, this sort of thing was fine. With two ravens flying around, you would think they were performing a love drama.


    In the end, he was hesitantly deciding between Gale Steps and Stealth.


    If he chose Gale Steps, then Lu Li and his mount would gain one second of Invulnerability and acceleration. When his was escaping, of course he would be faster than running on two legs. If it was Stealth, Lu Li could hide and escape together with his mount,.


    Each of the two options had their advantages and disadvantages. It was a shame he couldn''t combine them both.


    In the end, what Lu Li chose was Stealth.


    Although Gale Steps lasted longer, and Lu Li wasn''t lacking any escape methods, he didn''t think that he could run that far with one second of Invulnerability. After it ran out, he would still be attacked off his mount. Gale Steps seemed like a tantalizing option, but in most circumstances, it was pretty useless.


    Stealth didn''t seem very impressive, but for Lu Li and his mount, it would increase their speed and mobility by a significant amount, so they could save quite a bit of time.


    Just as a note, the insects could move incredibly fast, 20% faster than an average player on a mount.


    At the moment, the mount''s speed was related to two factors. One factor was the original speed of the mount, and the other was the player''s Riding level. The lowest level mount could only increase the player''s speed by 60%. Even if the Riding level was higher, it was no use.


    A slightly better mount could give the player an increase of 100% in speed. This was dependent on the player having an intermediate riding level, otherwise, it would still only be an increase of 60%.


    When Lu Li was still at a beginner level in riding, his Black Qiraji Battle Tank could give him a speed increase of 80%. By the time he progressed to an intermediate level, he could gain a speed increase of 120%.


    Apart from this, the Black Qiraji Battle Tank had another aspect that was rather impressive.


    It took less time for him to get on and off the mount compared to others. Getting off didn''t matter ¨C everyone took a short time to get off, so there wasn''t any need for this to be reduced. The key thing that was useful was that it was quicker for him to get on the mount.


    When other people were still taking time to get on, you could already be running away.


    Simply because of these things, the Black Qiraji Battle Tank was already considered one of the best mounts. In all of the China area, there was only a single such rare one like this. It immediately became the coolest mount that everyone wanted.


    The Spectral Tiger might have been more eye-catching, and its attributes were more or less the same, but it wasn''t as rare as to be the only one in the whole area.


    Lu Li rode his new mount with a sad face, all the while moving further away from Anachronos'' content eyes. He was deeply hurt as he grieved the dream of 50 million dollars being snatched away from him.


    Who would''ve thought that the new mount he was riding had already gone viral online?


    It was such an eye-catching mount that no one had seen before, and also it was a type of new monster in the new expansion pack. Without a doubt, it belonged to the one who was doing the first Ahn''Qiraj quest, Lu Li.


    Lu Li had already finished the quest!


    This news made the other high-level clubs feel hopeless.


    Why couldn''t you just give others a chance? At this, everyone maintained that this damn Lu Li was now the king of sponging off his woman in the game.


    Even though Water Fairy came out to clarify that neither Drizzle Court nor Peerless City had given nothing to help with the quest, not a single person was willing to believe it. Some people had seen with their own eyes Lu Li and Water Fairy completing some secret exchange in Stormwind City''s warehouse district.


    The king of leeching was the first to complete the shattered scepter quest! Wasn''t this something?


    Not at all!


    But no matter what, when everyone saw Lu Li''s depressed face as he continued riding his new mount in Silithus, they could only salivate.


    When all the major clubs came together to resist the green dragon, Lu Li promised that he wouldn''t be the first to go into the Qiraji Instance Dungeon. Although he was shameless, he still had to respect this sort of promise that he made to so many people.


    He wasn''t crazy, but it was just that even though he had finished the opening quest, he couldn''t get the First Clear straight away.


    He still needed to clean up on the outside. There were a lot of monsters that needed to be killed, lots of quests that could be done, and lots of potions, minerals, leathers and other resources that could be collected. If you were to list it all out, by the time Lu Li stood outside the two entrances to the Ahn''Qiraj Instance Dungeon, the other clubs would already be pretty much finished with the quest.


    At that time, everyone would come to do the First Clear. Who would actually get the First Clear, though, depended on themselves.

 1650 The Insects Are Arriving

    In the last hours of the War of the Shifting Sands, the alliance of the four giant dragons and the Night Elves were closing in on the core of the Qiraj Empire. The different insects of Silithus retreated in defeat, ending up in the Fortress of Ahn''Qiraj City.


    But inside the gates of Ahn''Qiraj, there was a different group of giant insects waiting for them, a number that was unfathomable for the Kalimdor allies.


    After going through an endless military campaign, the Kalimdor allies still had no way to defeat the Qiraj Empire and her various insects. They could only use some powerful magic to seal them up, and because of the flames of war, Ahn''Qiraj was now a pile of cursed ruins.


    After thousands of years, the aggressive heart of the Qiraj was not softened by their restrictions. There was now a new generation of various insects who slowly emerged from their cocoon of a lair. The Ahn''Qiraj ruins were once again filled with different Qiraj insects.


    A shiny, giant protective screen was stretched over the mountains of the east and west. In order to see what the outcome was like inside, some players climbed up onto some towering cliffs that were quite far away. They discovered that the world inside the walls was pretty much the same as the world outside: blistering hot and dry, with everything covered by sand and billowing dust.


    In some ancient books, the Elves called the area inside the walls as "Ahn Qiraj".


    The players used a lot of different ways to attempt to get over the wall, including methods that involved flying for both long and short periods of time. However, every time they flew close to the wall, they were shredded up by some mysterious force.


    They could only get into Ahn''Qiraj by opening the main gate. This was the answer that the System gave.


    A giant gong was waiting for the players to strike it.


    The steps of war were gradually approaching.


    Lu Li stood in front of the wall of beetles. Looking around, he saw that there were quite a few players who were fighting against bugs. These bugs were rather weak. They were part of the group that had come after the beetle wall was established, and they had only been attracted from outside the wall because of their blood relations with other insects.


    Lu Li didn''t call people over straight away, but rather waited until the second day.


    Early in the morning on the second day, he received news that the three major clubs had assembled their forces yesterday. It wasn''t just the Elven members coming out. Even normal players were brought out to join in the fun.


    Drizzle Court and Peerless City were calmly completing the opening quest.


    The clubs which were doing the opening quest to begin with had shamelessly plundered the market for materials, which made the price of them jump up like crazy.


    However, the materials required for the opening quest, apart from Elementium Ore, weren''t considered to be very rare. The price of these materials would drop sooner or later, so they wouldn''t have to spend so much money the next time they did a quest.


    Apart from the three quests before that had rewards of Epic equipment, all the other rewards were lackluster and it wasn''t worth spending too much on them.


    This was especially the case with the Black Qiraji Battle Tank. Only the player who finished the quest first would receive it.


    When it came to opening up, the only leader they needed was Lu Li. It didn''t matter who he picked to form the team.


    Furthermore, because Lu Li had finished the quest, the guild that Lu Li was part of was able to enter the Instance Dungeon without having to do any more quests.


    As such, the team and guild that Lu Li was part of could come and go into the Instance Dungeon freely.


    Of course, if others wanted to do the quest, no one was stopping them. However, with so many parts to it, people only did it for the Reputation, and they questioned if it was really worth it.


    The Ahn''Qiraj Instance Dungeon was in Silithus.


    Because this place appeared in a new Instance Dungeon, it had recently been packed with people.


    Silithus was a wilderness like Tanaris, but it wasn''t the same as the latter, which was a fertile and well-watered land. Although this was the case, frequent rains allowed this area to support relatively more types of life. At the very least, it had more types of life than in the Shimmering Flats.


    Furthermore, the plants here were able to store water; travelers were able to drink from the cacti here.


    There was a type of recipe called ''Cactus Fritter''. The flavor was very novel; it tasted a bit like a mustard onion fried pancake, just with the velvety texture of cactus juice. Those who liked it thought it was a delicious taste, but for those who didn''t, even when they tried it in real life, they would feel it was absolutely nauseating.


    Apart from the insects, there were also two major groups in Silithus: the Elves of the Cenarion Circle and a group of the Twilight Hammer.


    The former was an assembly of Druids, and the latter were believers in the Old God. Their members were mainly from the Horde, as well as a few humans. Altogether, there were many more of them than the Druids.


    Although the Twilight Hammer was also an evil force to players, at least they kept a relatively solitary lifestyle here and didn''t interfere with either the Alliance or the Horde. They would just perform their own strange rituals, or maybe go back and forth digging up ancient ruins.


    Furthermore, they spent most of their time fighting with the beetles in the ancient Kaldorei cities, not caring about whether adventurers lived or died.


    Other players could also enter into the Twilight camp. There, they could make repairs and stockpile provisions. There was also a humble lodge for adventurers which was a place for them to rest, but almost none of the adventurers were willing to believe the insane members of this sect. Apart from this, the Twilight Hammer also had a lot of sentry posts, including one in Crystal Valley. However, they weren''t anything more than a lookout tower with a few tents.


    The main safety zone for players was the Tomb of Warriors.


    In these Elven ruins, there was pretty much only the Cenarion Circle. They were here keeping tabs on the activities of the different insects and the Twilight Hammer, as well as going into the ruins nearby from time to time to explore. They also opened up a small road to Un''Goro.


    The Cenarion Circle were considered an Alliance-leaning neutral group.


    Horde players could also do things here and receive some quest related to the insects.


    Although the Stronghold of the Tomb of Warriors was the largest meeting place in Silithus, when over 200000 players came here, they made it as packed as a can of sardines. It was a good thing that this was the age of virtual gaming. A few hundred years ago in the computer gaming era, the servers would probably crash.


    There were hundreds of thousands of players, and the combined strength of three clubs.


    Although it wasn''t explicitly said that it was full, there was some sort of invisible dispersing force that made the players escape quickly, though they didn''t want to leave. At this, they all stopped a far distance away. There were more and more people, with this army looking even more unbelievably large.


    Someone did some calculations and found that if the players were able to inflict as much damage as NPCs, then the combined power of the players rivalled that of all the forces of Azeroth.


    There were simply too many people!


    Now, they assembled in front of the beetle wall, ready to finish off those hopeless bugs once and for all, alongside the dragons and Night Elves who had fought them before.


    Of course, they were not as powerful as the dragons and Night Elf allied troops of the past, but neither were the insects. The most powerful of the insects had been thrown into the Instance Dungeon by the System.


    An Ahn''Qiraj Gong had been placed outside the bug wall. The portrait of a Gold Scarab was particularly shiny under the hot sun of Silithus.


    Lu Li was riding his Black Qiraji Battle Tank, weaving his way through the troops, before slowly finally arriving in front of the gong.

 1651 The Insects Have Arrived

    "What mount is that?" someone couldn''t help but ask. From far away, he saw someone riding with a mount, but it was a giant beetle that he had never seen before. The flashy equipment the rider was wearing also made them look very imposing.


    "Damn, how can you not know? Of course it''s Lu Li, the alliance chief of the three big clubs!" someone exclaimed immediately, showing how knowledgeable they were.


    "What alliance chief? How come I haven''t heard of him."


    Of course he knew of Lu Li, but what was this about an alliance chief? It sounded like some kung fu movie.


    "Um, this is just something we made up ourselves. In one year, Lu Li turned Ruling Sword into such a powerful club, seduced the biggest female tycoon in the game and continued on the road to sponging off her. Water Fairy has Drizzle Court and Peerless City under her name, as well as quite a few small clubs, so all together, it''s not even a three alliance chief..."


    "You freakin'' know nothing. What sort of three alliance chief is the sponging off king? How can Water Fairy be married off to him?"


    "It is though ¨C it''s Water Fairy who''s married off to him. Do you think Water Fairy is still the eldest girl in the Shen family? I heard that the Shen family''s chairman recently had a big banquet, and apparently, his wife had a son. The Shen estate will be left to him in the future. If it were you, would you leave your family assets to your married-out daughter or leave it with your son?"


    "Hehe, don''t take this ignorance as knowledge. Drizzle Court and Peerless City are Water Fairy''s own. Not a cent of it came from her family."


    "I heard that too. The Shen family split the gaming industry with Water Fairy."


    "You cowardly idiots, you had the face to talk about whether Lu Li was the sponging off king. This sponging off king is the best Thief in the world. He killed Sorrowless and got to where he was today all by himself. How can he be the sponging off king?"


    "I''m really puzzled; why are you looking down on the sponging off king? That''s my dream life."


    "Same here. I''m not interested at all in Drizzle Court and Peerless City. If I could get Water Fairy as my wife, I''d give up three years of my life for it."


    "No, even if you let me live three years for it, I would take it!"


    "You''d make her a widow in three years. How can you have the heart to do that?"


    "Um, then I''d live for a few more years then. Man, what does Fairy see in him?"


    "There are so many people who''re hating on Lu Li nowadays. They probably think in the same way as you. They want it but they can''t get it, and they just want to get rid of those who get what they can''t.


    "Ok, stop talking nonsense, the door''s going to be opened. Are you going in or not?"


    "Going in? What would I be doing? Helping them?!"


    "Monsters in new maps must have pretty good drops, and I''ve heard that killing these monsters can increase your Reputation. There are two new places at the same time ¨C the bronze dragon and the Cenarion Circle. They''ve both got Reputation that is hard to farm."


    More and more people assembled than they were dispersed. They were all looking on.


    So would they actually set foot inside? Would Ruling Sword let them have a share in the glory?


    It wasn''t just the audience; the clubs were also in a dilemma.


    They also remembered that Lu Li said he wouldn''t enter the Instance Dungeon, but what was there behind the wall, outside the Instance Dungeon? Everyone was looking from their vantage points around the wall. Those monsters that were absolutely everywhere also had potions, and there were veins of ore which could be seen from the naked eye.


    You could still rake it in even if you weren''t farming Instance Dungeons.


    According to the description given by players who had received a similar quest, even the insect shells and skins that were half buried in the sand were still quest items, and they were the type you could farm again and again.


    The initial quest was opening up the Instance Dungeon. As long as the first person who finished the quest rung the gong to open up the beetle wall, everyone could enter into the outside of the Instance Dungeon.


    "If the bug wall gets knocked down, the bugs inside will all rush out. I feel like Ruling Sword can''t hold them," Jade Flower Lover said, hitting the table to emphasise his point. "If they can''t hold them back, then the insects will invade all Silithus and even the neighbouring maps. By that time, Ruling Sword would be criminals. I don''t know how the NPCs will feel, but anyway, normal players will blame their own losses on Ruling Sword."


    As soon as he finished speaking, people began to rebut him.


    "Little Jadey, that''s very cute, but what can the anger of ordinary players do to Ruling Sword. We''re all veterans of the game. Of course we say on the outside that normal players are the life and blood of the club, but who actually cares what they think?"


    The one speaking was Unforgettable Maple from Majin Temple.


    Dream 13 added immediately, "Maple, sis, you''re right. No matter how bad the reputation is, as long as there''s a chance, ordinary players still scramble after joining a club."


    "If we help out, then Ruling Sword''s opening quest this time will be finished for sure," Jade Flower Lover said sadly.


    "We can''t do this, we can''t do that. What can we do then?" Lucky Southern Persian from Seventh Heaven questioned as he stood up impatiently, then coldly said, "If you can''t give a persuasive reason, then us from Seventh Heaven will do something. There are so many monsters. We can''t give all the advantage to Lu Li."


    "Even if we don''t help that damned Lu Li, more and more scattered players will join in anyway, so they''ll still be able to resist the insects," Floral Paralysis said, receiving the latest information.


    With Lu Li banging the gong, the wall of beetles gradually turned into sand that was blown away by the wind. It had blocked the insects for a thousand years and it had finally completed its role in history.


    Before people could begin to feel emotional or regret, out rushed the first wave of beetles amidst the smoke and dust of the collapsing wall ruins.


    "Line up!" Wandering shouted hoarsely. He was leading over 10 000 defensive players, who formed many layers of battle lines like a dog''s teeth. On one side there was a tsunami wave, and on the other, a great dam.


    Both sides fiercely crashed together.


    The hunters shot a dense raincloud of arrows into the sky. Under the auspices of bright circles of light, this could be said to be the start of the show of the fierce attack of the ranged units.


    The insects were mostly at least level 62. No matter if it was in their defense or their health, they were more powerful than the ordinary monsters they already knew about outside.


    But under this sort of arrow shower, a whole wave of insects turned into corpses.


    The bugs moved terrifyingly fast. Climbing was more like scuttling across flat land for them. They quickly stepped over the corpses of their fallen comrades and edged closer to the players'' camps. At this time, the mages and other ranged units began to show off their power.


    The ranged attacks of the magic roles were even stronger and more constant.


    However, because defensive line wasn''t a complete blockade, there were many bugs which slipped through the cracks and rushed further and deeper. Meeting them were Berserkers, Paladins, Thieves and other melee units.


    They formed a new defensive line in front of the magic units.


    Modern civilization had changed how battles were written about, but the most hot-blooded form fighting was the one-on-one. The players started dying too as the white lights representing death just kept on flashing.


    A player seemed to die almost every second.

 1652 Warring with the Insects

    At the beginning, the deaths were very high.


    However, overall, the players only needed to adjust to the way the insects fought and then they''d be able to hold the battle lines very easily.


    "These bugs are really weak. We''ll also go on up."


    The dispersed players watching on the side saw the bugs keep falling in front of the attacks of the three clubs, and the battle scene was filled with the joyous cries erupting from those who had picked up equipment. In the end, the players couldn''t help it.


    With the hole in the wall growing larger, the dispersed players chose to stay at the side of the opening to fight with the insects.


    Ruling Sword implicitly consented to this behavior. It was like they didn''t even feel like these people were here to take their monsters.


    Actually, a lot of commanders had asked Lu Li for a battle assignment. They thought that the equipment and materials these bugs dropped was great, and they weren''t too difficult to kill either. However, it cost them so much, so why should they let others gain the advantage?


    Lu Li didn''t care about these people, and he continued to not let others interfere with them.


    "Can you not be so petty? Others are just getting some points on the side. How many of our monsters can they steal away? Are there still not enough for you to kill?"


    "Damn, how come Shameless Lu''s so generous all of a sudden?" Azure Sea Breeze asked, not really believing his own ears. Normally, Lu Li wouldn''t be so selfless, not bothering with others unless they were infringing on his benefits, in which case they would really suffer.


    "Hehe, if even a person as stupid as you thinks it can''t happen, then of course it can''t happen," Wandering laughed coldly.


    "What are you on about?" Azure Sea Breeze questioned, genuinely confused.


    The answer to his question came quickly, otherwise, it would really make him exercise the few brain cells he had.


    Trapped in the wave of bugs, giant human-shaped monsters with the head of a wolf appeared in everyone''s vision. Each of them was a few stories high, and their muscles were all knotted together. At the very least, the players had a bad feeling when they saw them.


    They were definitely not going to be pleasant to deal with. The players at the very front were simply swept away by them.


    Although the damage couldn''t one-shot them, it certainly disrupted their line-up temporarily.


    What made the players feel strange was that these monsters were heading towards the opening. This meant that those who needed to face them weren''t Ruling Sword players, but the dispersed players and players from the smaller guilds who were picking up loot at the opening.


    "As expected. Shameless as expected," Wandering sighed, looking deeply at Lu Li and suddenly understanding what he meant.


    The wave of bugs was made up of a lot of ordinary monsters, but someone who was smart could do a bit of thinking and realise that it wasn''t possible that they were all ordinary. Otherwise, this so-called sea of monsters would be too easy to deal with. Some stronger monsters would have to come out.


    These wolf-headed, human-bodied monsters took this role.


    When an elite monster had a health bar of over 1 million, no one would dare say they could beat them easily.


    "They can''t hold them off. We have to do a little something," Wandering said unnervingly. Lu Li had used a disadvantage for themselves to be someone else''s disadvantage, sending these monsters to the players on the side. However, they couldn''t hold them off all at once, so the ones who incurred the attack would still be them.


    "Not necessarily. Someone''s coming," Lu Li said calmly.


    He looked beyond the destroyed camps and saw that in the far distance, new troops were arriving. It was a major club who finally couldn''t hold it any longer and came to get a share of the reward.


    It was a shame they didn''t know the battle had a new variable.


    "How come those monsters are only at those two sides, not coming towards us?" Azure Sea Breeze asked in confusion.


    "These monsters, apart from being extremely powerful, are also good at demolishing and relocating," Lu Li explained. "They''re called Anubisaths, and were once very extraordinary in the War of the Shifting Sands a thousand years ago."


    Anubisath!


    Anubis, an ancient Egyptian god, was in charge of the art of preserving corpses and also in charge of preserving the spirit of the dead. He was also the god of guaranteeing the resurrection of the dead. He had the head of a jackal. Dawn had drawn from some traditional legends, and turned them into one of the main forces of the Ahn''Qiraj force.


    The trolls were the first race to raise up weapons of war to resist the ancient Aqir insect empire. After experiencing a thousand years of war, the trolls finally prevailed, and the Aqir empire was split into two halves. The survivors of the insect race escaped to the north and south border of Kalimdor.


    Time passed, and the mighty troll empire burst and fell apart, but the Aqir empire gradually expanded their strength in Silithus, turning a new, frightening race ¨C the Qiraj insect people.


    Allegedly, after the war ended, the Twin Emperors Vek''lor and Vek''linash consistently agreed that the empire needed some strong, powerful, loyal soldiers. Apparently, the two emperors created the first Anubisath army in the flame that never falters underneath Ahn''Qiraj. Even though it was during peacetime, the Qiraj empire never stopped building an army.


    When the Well of Eternity was destroyed in an ancient battle, the various rumours abut the Aqir empire stopped floating around. However, the Qiraj insect people still kept creating units as before, waiting for the right time to launch a surprise attack on the world.


    A thousand years ago, the twin emperors sent for a war again, wanting to conquer all of Kalimdor.


    This time, they had prepared the latest weapons. Although the Night Elves had the advantage in terms of numbers, in front of the powerful Qiraj insect people, they looked like they couldn''t withstand a single blow. One single Anubisath could get rid of a whole small team of Night Elves.


    Anubisaths weren''t very intelligent, but these enormous warriors were very effective with their slaughtering weapons. General Rajaxx had chosen the strongest Anubisaths to create an elite surprise attack team, and most of them had been sent to the frontlines. The general evidently knew that these monstrosities would be able to awe the Elf forces.


    After the Elves retreated, suffering defeat after defeat, the archdruid Fandral Staghelm persuaded the bronze dragons to join in the war. So outside Ahn''Qiraj''s gates, the dragons and Anubisaths fought in close, bitter combat.


    The few Anubisaths who could cast spells weren''t fighting on the frontline. Because of this, the dragons could concentrate their fire attack without having to worry about meeting a counterattack. When they first crossed each other, the Anubisaths were almost completely vanquished, but there seemed to be one Anubisath who was much more intelligent than the others.


    The Anubisath named Ossirian had eyes set on the target of the dragon leader, Grakkarond. He threw an obsidian sword which cut of the giant dragon''s wings.


    The injured dragon fell from the sky, and fell into the Qiraj forces with a rumble. Although Ossirian was almost killed, the Anubisaths and Qiraj insect people realized a solution. They very quickly defeated the noble dragons, like a hot knife slicing easily through butter.


    Although the elite Anubisaths outside the Instance Dungeon were not considered true bosses, they were still more powerful than most bosses, and were completely on par with normal bosses.


    The dispersed players kept being defeated. Over a 1000 had died under the attacks of the Anubisaths.


    Players from clubs made up for this loss and at least were able to slow down their advances.


    There were a lot of monsters over at Lu Li''s side, but not too many Anubisaths. When taken into comparison, it obviously looked a lot easier.


    "Killed it. Don''t know what it''ll drop," Wandering said. With blinded eyes, before seeing Blood Red War Flag''s phalanx, the first Anubisath had tumbled down, rising up a whole cloud of dust. He felt that what Lu Li had done, although it smoothed the pressure on the front line, would also certainly mean that they missed whatever items were dropped.


    "We''ll know very soon. We''ve got a black dog coming on our side," Lu Li said.


    They had wolf heads and human bodies, and wolf and dog heads really weren''t all that different. As such, players hatefully called the Anubisaths black dogs. Such hate was simply because this sort of monster was particularly hard to kill, and they didn''t really drop anything much.


    Otherwise, why would Lu Li so generously let others take care of them?


    Although the black dogs were focused around the hole in the beetle wall, the insects also began to group together in threes and twos. Ruling Sword couldn''t fight hand to hand like this.


    "Change weapon!" Lu Li ordered.


    The Main Tank fighting Anubisaths had left the scene to change weapons ages ago, switching all of the balanced defense equipment to physical defense equipment.


    The other players cleared away to give them room to fight.


    The Anubisaths outside the Instance Dungeon were purely physical attack monsters. The Main Tank only needed to reach a certain level of physical defense. Then, not only would they be able to resist the Anubisath''s attacks, but they could also avoid damage from most of the Anubisath''s residual attack effects.


    This was the importance of information.


    Lu Li certainly didn''t avoid using this information. Actually, within the old wooden house in the main Night Elf city, players only needed to have the dedication and they would find some books and scrolls left behind from fighters of the past.


    In there, there was some information describing about how to fight against Ahn''Qiraj bugs.


    The clubs who didn''t know the facts really suffered.


    After allowing them to die a few times, Lu Li immediately but insincerely sent people over there to let them know their experience. They told them that they just needed to have high physical defense players to go up and aggro the monster.


    Why go and tell them? Why not just let these clubs who didn''t like Ruling Sword keep suffering?


    Discovering that the Anubisaths were a physical attack unit wasn''t anything difficult. Why not be nice and let them know when they didn''t yet know, since they would find out sooner or later?


    Furthermore, Lu Li was still hoping that they would share the pressure.


    Jade Flower Lover thought that if there wasn''t any outside help and they were only relying on the alliance of Ruling Sword, Peerless City and Drizzle Court, it wouldn''t be enough to stop the bugs inside the beetle wall.


    He really had good foresight in war strategy.


    Ruling Sword definitely couldn''t resist the monsters flooding out of the beetle wall. Even with the players on the side, they couldn''t make it. Reality confirmed the fact that these ordinary players couldn''t even deal with the Anubisath monsters, so they just dealt with the ordinary bugs.


    Lu Li needed other clubs to come and share the burden.


    Furthermore, the most important thing was that the war had to continue for a long time. At the beginning, Lu Li estimated that it would take six hours.


    Supplies, exhaustion, moral and all these other elements could impact Ruling Sword falling out of the battle halfway.


    The Anubisaths weren''t the end.


    Very soon, a new monster arrived ¨C the Obsidian Destroyer.


    In terms of appearance, the Obsidian Destroyer''s head and lower half of its body was like that of a feline animal, while they had a human''s torso and giant wings on their back.


    Torvill were rock giants originally created by the Titans to protect Uldum''s secrets.


    When the ancient man-eating Lich empire defeated the Aqir insect people and divided them into two countries, the Aqir insect people in the north discovered and even overthrew the Torvill civilization. These Aqir insect people eventually became the Nerub Spider People. The Torvill they swallowed up became a part of them.


    In the same way, the Aqir insect people in the south occupied a Titan research station near Uldum, who called themselves Aqir insect people too. These new people were called the Ahn''Qiraj.


    Although the Wrath of Heaven troops in the north finally extinguished the Azjol-Nerub empire, and even enslaved the remaining Torvill and put them on the frontlines, but may have continued to be more Torvills hidden in the city of the Titans in Uldum, or in the depths of the ruins of the Azjol-Nerub.


    For the Qiraj insect people, in the War of the Shifting Sands, it was the bronze dragons who first gave them the feeling of fright.


    The dragons in front of them destroyed wave after wave of troops while incurring little damage themselves. The twin emperors realized that their forces were not equipped well enough to resist these dragons.


    In order to make up for the lack of equipment, Emperor Vek''lor racked his brain, thinking of some sort of mechanical equipment that could handle battle with ancient dragons. However, everything he came up with had failed.


    Finally, under the instruction of his master, he made a breakthrough in progress, creating this completely new form of life. Although he was satisfied with it, even the Qiraj emperor had no idea of how much dark power was contained inside this mechanical lifeform.


    No one knew how the first Obsidian Destroyer was created, but according to legend, Vek''lor dug out some minerals from the molten stove underneath the ruins of Ahn''Qiraj and used that to create one. What surprised Vek''lor was that his master put into this dim-witted creation a limited capacity for emotions and a mysterious magical force. The Obsidian Destroyer was able to absorb and store up magic from enemies before fiercely erupting, giving off frightening power.


    This made the Obsidian Destroyer the final and most fatal creation of Vek''lor.


    The Destroyer was the victor in the first war. Dragons weren''t used to fighting with those who were adept at ranged attacks, and they couldn''t find a solution to their magic-absorbing power. Nozdormu''s son, Anachronos, sought help from other dragons. Apparently, after that, the Qiraj insect people were sealed up behind the insect wall.


    The survivors from that war still dreaded those monsters who had the power to absorb magic.


    After the Obsidian Destroyer entered into the players'' camp, the magic players fearfully realized that their mana level had decreased at an abnormal rate.


    Fortunately, Lu Li had prepared for this.


    "Magic roles, clear out. Let the close-range units fill in."


    The exact roles Lu Li was referring to were Warriors and Thieves. Neither used magic, so it didn''t matter how much the enemy sucked from them.


    However, like before, there were still quite a few Obsidian Destroyers who threatened the magic players.


    In this war, no matter if it was a Ruling Sword player at the end of the battle, or one of the supporting forces from one of the two other clubs, they all paid a high price.


    More and more players died, before running back to where they died to fight again.


    After the battle had gone for four hours, some players began to grow disheartened, although everyone had received valuable things from the war.


    However, exhaustion was a heavy burden. What they could get from battle wasn''t enough to motivate them to action.


    "I am Majin Temple''s Unforgettable Maple, and I want to say a couple words."


    A mage ran up to a wooden frame, and using his hands to make his voice louder he shouted, I see people leaving, I see some people being cowards, I see some people hiding their heads like turtles¡­"


    "Many years later, you will look back on today''s war, and won''t you feel regret in your heart?"


    "This is a great event in the game. Everyone is participating in this battle with their own teammates, their own friends, and even girlfriends. Don''t you feel ashamed running from war?"


    "The worst it can be is death. Don''t you think that even if you die today, it will be glorious?"


    ...


    ...


    Combining the use of two Profession skills, along with Alchemy and Engineering, his amplified voice could be heard through almost all of SIlithus.


    "What is this? Why is Maple sis being so emotional?" Elevenless blinked, a little stupidly.


    "Why is Maple sis so kind all of a sudden? I remember he was still scheming about us before."


    Even those on Ruling Sword''s side didn''t know what this guy was actually on about. Azure Sea Breeze thought it was more than unusual.


    "Very easy ¨C he''s been bribed," Jade Flower Lover said with a sigh.

 1653 Bribed

    "What good stuff did you give him?" Wandering was very calm and certain.


    Unforgettable Maple was a crafty old scoundrel, with no moral principles. As long as you gave him enough, he would even be fine with running a lap around Stormwind City stark naked. If you didn''t give him enough, it was basically impossible to get him to speak for Ruling Sword.


    Previously, he had introduced Innocent Child to Ruling Sword. That was because Innocent Child''s definite target was Ruling Sword. He couldn''t change Innocent Child''s own decision.


    It was just a little favour.


    "Not much, just an Instance Dungeon walkthrough. We only have to defeat a Boss here. Then, we''ll give the walkthrough to him straight away," Lu Li said indifferently.


    "You''re really giving it to him?" Sky Moon questioned.


    "Yeah, why not? If it was Glory Capital or Blood Red Flag, I''d be a little worried, but Majin Temple''s just at a beginner level. It''s simply not worth worrying about," Lu Li said without even a hint of worry.


    "I''m just afraid that he''ll go and sell it," Wandering reminded Lu Li.


    "He won''t; I get Maple sis. Even though he knows Majin Temple can''t get the First Clear, he wouldn''t happily give away the walkthrough, and even if they got the walkthrough, who can guarantee that they would definitely have the chance to get the First Clear? Don''t forget that the walkthrough will be developed by us, after we finish the battle," Lu Li said.


    Under the same circumstances, if they were facing the same unknown Boss, he believed that it would be the same for anyone else.


    However, he wasn''t facing an unknown Boss. He was reborn, so he knew something about this Instance Dungeon.


    Now he had Unforgettable Maple''s voice in wartime.


    There were definitely less players who ran away. After all, this guy had a sharp tongue, directly calling them cowards and turtles. As long as someone had a little self-respect, they wouldn''t run away immediately after hearing him speak.


    Of course, there was no lack of inattentive, heartless people saying that he was just spewing nonsense.


    Generally speaking, the players had an advantage on the field. Lu Li had already spread the word about the setup of having to fight two types of Elite monsters, and he also told everyone that the Anubisaths and Obsidian Destroyers dropped equipment


    Not long after, there were two people loudly calling out that they had found Epic equipment.


    The first person was the minstrel Big Dog Li. His loud voice attracted a lot of attention from those all around him, and before he entered Ruling Sword, he was more or less considered one of the best amateur players, so a lot of people believed him.


    There was even Epic equipment! Everyone suddenly felt motivated.


    However, there were a few people who had their doubts. They thought that they were the clever ones and that Ruling Sword was just putting on a show so that more people would help them defeat the monsters.


    "Here, have a look. Poverty has limited your imagination. It''s Epic equipment! What''s the point of faking it?"


    Big Dog Li immediately broadcast the equipment on the local video stream so the players could see the quality of it for themselves.


    However, there were still some people who didn''t believe.


    "Did Big Dog really get it himself?" Azure Sea Breeze asked Wandering in a low voice.


    "Lu Li just said that Epic equipment would be dropped, and he picked up some Epic equipment. Do you think he''s dreaming? This guy''s not a minstrel; he''s an actor," Wandering said.


    Since it turned out that he was an actor, he even made those in Ruling Sword think that he had picked up some Epic equipment.


    Most players preferred to believe him. That way, they would have hope themselves.


    Not long after Big Dog said he had found Epic equipment, another ordinary player announced that he had found some as well. He was extremely excited, at least a hundred times more excited than Big Dog Li.


    After all, for ordinary players, finding Epic equipment was even more shocking.


    Unfortunately, his luck soon ran out. The two small teams next to him focused on him and instantly killed him. Before he knew it, the equipment he had was snatched away.


    "Damn, it''s a piece of Steel equipment!"


    Actually, the player had too much equipment on himself. He had a whole heap in his backpack that looked like it was in danger of bursting out.


    The teammates of the guy who was just killed were a little skeptical, but in the end, they didn''t do anything.


    In this world, there were some friends who weren''t afraid of making major sacrifices. It was just that they didn''t exist in this particular friendship.


    However, no one doubted the news about the Epic equipment anymore.


    After this, there were often many shouts from people saying that they had gotten Epic equipment. Some were real and some were fake, and some said so just for the attention.


    After Wandering received the revelation about the minstrel Big Dog Li, he sent some people to go around to spread the fake rumor about the Epic equipment. The most perfect lie was 30% true and 70% false. It was true that there really was a piece of Epic equipment, but it was just that no one had heard of how poor quality it was.


    With Epic equipment as the bait, the number of players in Silithus actually increased.


    The rumors spreading outside became more and more outrageous.


    Some said that there was Legendary equipment, which was clearly too exaggerated.


    Others reasoned that Elite monsters had to drop Epic equipment, which was unequivocally incorrect.


    However, no matter what was dropped, everyone knew that Silithus was filled with monsters dropping equipment. They just needed to take part and they would be raking it in.


    Everyone who joined in was there for the money.


    The situation was much better than what Lu Li imagined.


    He remembered in his last life, this battle had taken him nine hours.


    Although everyone played the game for over nine hours a day, there were breaks between those intense periods. Even if you went into an Instance Dungeon, there was still time to rest when your team died.


    However, no one had any time to rest today. If there was any at all, then it was just a brief moment when you went out to replenish mana or repair equipment.


    If they knew how long the monsters attacked for, then all the major clubs wouldn''t have joined this battle. They underestimated the power of these monsters and thought that Ruling Sword would be able to deal with them by themselves, let alone with the help of the ordinary players.


    By the time more than six hours had passed, they realized things weren''t going to their liking.


    However, leaving now was too provocative, especially as this damn Unforgettable Maple continued to pop up every now and then. He seemed to be addicted to whatever he was doing.


    Anyway, it had already been more than six hours, so it would probably end sooner or later.


    7 hours...


    By this point, the ordinary players were too tired to continue, a lot of people had already died multiple times, and not all that many pieces of equipment had been dropped.


    However, the profit was still huge, all the same.


    After the fact, some people said that those players who participated in this opening battle wouldn''t be worried about their Reputation for a long time.

 1654 Hard Battle

    7 hours¡­


    Even if there was all sorts of encouragement from Unforgettable Maple and the other supporters, players were starting to leave in large quantities.


    Nearly everyone had died once before, though it wasn''t uncommon to have died seven or eight times. Even though Epic equipment often dropped out of nowhere, the majority of players hadn''t seen it for themselves, let alone touched it. As such, they had started to become discouraged.


    The main issue was that it was so tiring!


    "I can''t play this game anymore. There''s no end to killing these insects."


    They still saw no end even though it had been 8 hours of continuous fighting. Anyone would be feel both mentally and physically drained.


    Hence, large quantities of players started to retreat.


    "We''ve helped Ruling Sword fight for so long. We''ve done as much as we possibly can. They won''t give us anything good after completing the quest, so why should we still continue to help them?"


    Guild players were starting to retreat as well, along with a few clubs as well. They were much more hostile towards Ruling Sword and Lu Li, for example, the Gangnam Royals, Imperial Secret Service, Star Moon Guild...


    "The frontline is no longer stable,"


    If they wanted to farm monsters smoothly, they couldn''t let the insects rush out of the city walls all at once. As such, the players blocked the gap in the wall in order to kill them off. Relying on the massive quantity of players meant that not many insects had entered into Silithus and other areas.


    Evidently, as the gap in the Wall grew bigger and bigger, and as players continued to retreat, the original frontline naturally appeared deficient in comparison.


    "Okay, let them out then," Lu Li said to Water Fairy.


    Water Fairy nodded and commanded the new order. A large-scale team of over 100000 people began to enter the arena. They were under the command of Water Fairy and the other clubs and guilds.


    However, they were much stronger than the ordinary players in comparison.


    With these 100000 people, many of the players who thought they couldn''t hold on and were originally swayed towards retreating gave up their doubts.


    "No way. They hid so many people even at a time like this," Elevenless gasped, feeling dumbfounded, then kicked his other mate and said, "You gotta learn from this guy''s shrewdness."


    "Don''t mess with people like him. Everyone is putting in their all at a time like this, unless he knew from the start that they needed more people. Now with this new force, even if there are more insects, they will be able to hold out." Dream 13 was also in disbelief.


    These 100000 or so people were nursing their strength up until now. Watching everyone else looting equipment and materials was suffocating them.


    Now that the cage was open, they immediately rushed to the frontlines.


    The players who had been fighting for over 7 hours made room for them. The pressure on the frontlines was instantly relieved as the gaps from players that had retreated were filled.


    "I reckon this is probably Lu Li''s last trick up his sleeve. If we wanted to defraud him, we could still have a chance if we leave now. Haven''t you found there are more and more insects?" Jade Flower Lover discussed with the commanders of the other clubs.


    "It probably won''t be long. Holding on a little while longer will get us through," the other players disagreed.


    "Exactly. It''s been nearly eight hours. The people down there are so high from looting Reputation they probably won''t be very happy to leave now."


    There was never enough Reputation in their minds. The Cenarion Circle''s Reputation was quite valuable as it could be exchanged for learning Enhanced skills.


    The most valuable Reputation was of course world Reputation, then faction Reputation, followed by main city Reputation, and lastly all the other Reputation.


    There were many functions for Reputation. The most common two were exchanging for equipment and materials from the corresponding quartermaster, and to learn rare skills or enhanced skills.


    Normal skills could also actually be learned with Reputation, which would save a considerable amount of gold. However, most people were not so extravagant in their spending and would save up for learning enhanced skills.


    Any Reputation could be used to learn an enhanced skill. The only difference was that different levels of Reputation could turn into different quantities.


    Of course, the Bronze Dragon and the Cenarion Circle''s Reputation was not comparable to the main city''s. However, it was much easier to use.


    People from clubs and guilds had a much higher demand for Reputation. They were the players who had real opportunities in obtaining enhanced skill books.


    The players were now high on farming Reputation. To ask them to leave now and it would no doubt make them upset. The club commanders could order them to retreat and they wouldn''t disobey orders, but they would feel that they didn''t care for their interests.


    "Thank you everyone for your help. You must all be tired. How about we leave it for today? You guys go back and rest," a voice sounded as a few people riding mounts came out of Ruling Sword.


    "Damn, so sneaky," Jade Flower Lover couldn''t help but swear.


    Some people were confused.


    "Didn''t you just say Lu Li needed people? Why is he shooing them away? This doesn''t seem like something that someone who was asking for help would do."


    "What don''t you guys understand?" Jade Flower Lover sighed. "Lu Li actually just said they can''t hold on for much longer, so he told people to not go so that people who don''t like him and other ordinary players can plan to leave. No one wants to be taken advantage of. But now, Lu Li wants to drive people away. They will feel as though Lu Li doesn''t want to let them farm Reputation, so they will be determined to stay instead."


    "Woah, feels like we''re so despicable," the players on the side mumbled as they blushed with shame.


    "That''s the way people feel. The commander on Lu Li''s side is very good at toying with people''s hearts. I just don''t know if this decision was made by himself or not."


    Jade Flower Lover truly admired this person. In fact, he didn''t want to see Ruling Sword finish this quest so easily.


    Only a small minority knew that this strategy had come from Wandering.


    Out of the three major commanders of Ruling Sword, Wandering was definitely the smartest and most observant of people''s true intentions. His IQ was unmatched by anyone since he was young. If it wasn''t because of his natural laziness, he would''ve already become the gaming circle''s most well-known commander.


    As expected, the players who originally planned to retreat because they were too tired all didn''t want to leave anymore when Ruling Sword started driving people away.


    People usually wouldn''t cherish things they received easily. As the saying went, ''wives are inferior to concubines and concubines are inferior to stealing''.


    As soon as they heard that Ruling Sword was driving people away, they felt as if they were stealing the Reputation of Ruling Sword.


    This feeling made them instantly forget their exhaustion.


    9 hours!


    Lu Li watched his teammates around him, who were all terribly fatigued. His eyes travelled beyond the sea of insects towards the depth of Ahn''Qiraj. There was still a never-ending stream of insects gushing out and it still didn''t look like they were going to relent.


    10 hours!


    This had already surpassed the amount of time in his past life. He didn''t know what effect his rebirth had on this.


    However, he did know that if they didn''t stop relentlessly farming insects, a time would come where everyone would collapse ¨C and it would definitely be a full-blown crash.

 1655 10 Hours

    10 hours!


    Everyone was already completely exhausted, there were still over millions of players here fighting. Flesh and blood had formed a steel wall that firmly blocked the army of insects in their old nest.


    The people who stayed until now would not allow themselves to retreat, no matter if it was for the sake of reputation or honour.


    Crippled Black Ant as one of the Paladins was fighting at the front this whole time. He enjoyed the feeling of hot-blooded fighting and being invincible in the face of death. In fact, he had already died several times today.


    This 10-hour high intensity battle was even making Black Ant feel dizzy.


    If it was any other ordinary person, they would have needed to go to the back and rest for ten minutes or so at the very least. However, Crippled Black Ant had forfeited his rest.


    He had now already entered into the core elite team, so he was a lot more knowledgeable.


    The three-guild alliance was already out of more reinforcements to fill the gaps. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have the players who had been fighting since the beginning still at the frontlines. These people couldn''t retreat, otherwise the other clubs that were watching on would seize this opportunity.


    They had farmed enough Reputation anyways. No one would give up the opportunity to mess with Ruling Sword at the end.


    In fact, there were already people who had been forcefully withdrawn by the System as a result of mental fatigue. This was kept hidden from the other players in case it collapsed the frontlines.


    Even though other clubs had also fought from the start until now, their members were constantly rotating.


    "Ant, go and rest for a bit. You can barely stand straight," Big Dog Li said as he came over and helped Ant clear away the monsters beside him.


    The two of them didn''t have much of a relationship, but because they were both mercenaries and had the experience of joining Ruling Sword, they had naturally become good friends. Big Dog Li''s sharp tongue wasn''t working in this moment because he was also tired.


    He was a Mage and often needed to move to the vanguard in order to recover his mana, so his fighting strength was a little lower than the Paladins.


    "Keep going for a little while longer. This is nothing. Before, when I used to level up, I wouldn''t stop at all from morning to night. I used to be at level 40 when I first started and now I''m already at 60," Crippled Black Ant responded with a grin.


    "We''re fighting so hard. I don''t know if Shameless Lu will give us any benefits," Big Dog Li joked out of habit.


    "What other benefits do you want? There''s already an endless amount of Reputation." Crippled Black Ant had received an Enhanced skills book after entering Ruling Sword. Th Reputation now was more than enough to learn this enhanced skill with plenty leftover.


    "After this battle is over, do you think the club members will receive some reward?" Big Dog Li asked, then continued to gossip, "I heard that the players during previous quests got a few Epic equips. Shameless Lu even got the only mount."


    "What?!" Crippled Black Ant suddenly froze.


    Big Dog Li followed his line of vision and nearly threw away the staff in his hands. Behind the insects in front of them was an area of empty land.


    Empty land. It was not at all strange to see empty land.


    However, for the past ten hours, the players of Ruling Sword had only gazed upon a sea of insects.


    "What happened?" Big Dog Li mumbled.


    "Elves!" Crippled Black Ant cried as he pointed to the lateral rear side. There stood a group of elf NPC soldiers. They had just thrown a wave of arrows and immediately killed off the group of insects, creating a patch in their ranks.


    "The reinforcements are here!"


    "The reinforcements are here!"


    More and more players discovered this group of unexpected visitors. Some people cheered, others cried and some even laid flat on the ground without a care in the world. People who were mentally exhausted could finally relax once the NPCs came. Of course, there would not be only such a small group of Elf soldiers.


    In reality, a large number of Night Elves had entered into this region. Not far from them was a small team. One part of them was using bows and arrows to clean up the insects, while the other part was directly building arrow towers.


    The Elves'' arrow towers were formed on the base of plants. The vines would wrap around the wood and it would quickly grow to form the towers.


    Dotted along the wall, the arrow towers were like road signs that succeeded in curbing the insect''s momentum. Plus, the Elves'' range of attack was very wide. Their shooting distance was much further than players and they dealt AoE attacks.


    Basically, wherever the arrow rain swept, insect corpses would be left behind.


    "These NPCs are not only level 60, right? They''re too strong!"


    The players'' looked envious. Under normal fighting circumstances, it would take several players to subdue one insect, and even then, they couldn''t instantly kill it.


    Meanwhile, the Night Elf Archers would kill them in one wave of arrows, no matter if they were ordinary insects or elite monsters.


    "Where were these NPCs earlier? They didn''t come until we had fought to this point."


    "These NPCs are so annoying! I still haven''t farmed enough reputation!"


    "Stealing our business! Boss, we already agreed on no take-backs with the money," an ''EXP baby'' said, then quickly ran to the back before people turned their heads. He had a bitter face and was ready to cry when he saw that his EXP bar was nearly at 60.


    Players would farm monsters in group and collect fees from an ''EXP baby'' according to their level or time.


    Even though it was much simpler to level up than at the start, it wasn''t as fast as it was now. The ''EXP baby'' had levelled up from 48 to 59, and was just a step away from getting to 60.


    "These NPCs are so badly behaved. How dare they come and steal our monsters."


    Many of the players were complaining, but not Lu Li. He was very grateful for these NPCs. He even wanted to go over and shake their hands to say, "Comrades, we''ve been expecting you."


    Otherwise, in another couple of hours, the frontlines would definitely collapse. If it got to that point, then the Instance Dungeon couldn''t be opened, and the whole quest would most likely need to be started all over again.


    As of now, the starting quest for Ahn''Qiraj was finally over.


    The next thing they needed to face was Ahn''Qiraj''s two other Instance Dungeons ¨C the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj and Ahn''Qiraj Ruins. However, Lu Li would never forget his quest rewards. The last ten hours of arduous battle couldn''t reward them with nothing, even if the System was greedy.

 1656 Jarod Shadowsong

    The Night Elves were the main force behind getting rid of the isnects in the War of the Shifting Sands. A large number of Night Elf soldiers laid dead on this piece of land. The yellow sand of the Silithus desert was still stained red from the bloodshed.


    The insects rushed out of the wall again and were met with a thousand years of built-up hatred.


    Now, with the addition of the Night Elf army, there was an immense decrease of pressure on the players. Lu Li stopped a sentry, saying, "Dear warrior, thank you for your help. As you see, I''m also an Elf. My name is Lu Li. I would like to pay a visit to the highest commander of your army. May I please ask which general is leading the army this time?"


    The sentry gave Lu Li a look that said he didn''t plan to pay attention these adventurers.


    However, this one look changed his attention.


    "In front of yourself, how can I be considered as a brave warrior? Under your command, Honourable Lu Li, you and your troops have bought us time to gather," the sentry replied with great admiration. He was a Night Elf sentry. This race was immensely prideful in and of themselves. Not to mention, they were one of the best armies in Azeroth. As such, they would never put themselves in comparison with a mob of adventurers.


    However, Lu Li was different. He had accomplished many First Clears with his command of his teammates.


    What made the sentry even more impressed was that Lu Li''s command of what he saw as a motley crew had actually blocked the advancement of the insects. Moreover, he had maintained it for over 10 hours.


    They, as the reinforcements, were so slow because there was another battle that had occurred before this one.


    They had to resolve that battle before rushing over here. They thought that all of Silithus was going to be lost. The insect army was spread across the plains. No one thought that they would be stopped by a motley crew led by this Elven commander in front of him.


    He truly proved himself to be from the Elf race.


    "The insects were bound to be destroyed regardless. Can you please introduce me to your Honourable Commander?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course. Please follow me," this sentry said as he greeted to a fellow companion, then brought Lu Li towards the back.


    As he walked, he gave Lu Li an introduction commander of the army. As such, Lu Li came to know that the commander this time was called Jarod Shadowsong. He was ordered to command a defensive quest against the insects. He led 5000 Night Elf sentries in addition to 100 Priestesses of the Moon.


    This small number was not to be underestimated; the Night Elves as individuals were quite strong.


    Even millions of players would not necessarily win against a Night Elf army of 100, not to mention, there were another 100 Priestesses of the Moon.


    Lu Li wasn''t surprised by the scale of the sentinel troops. What Lu Li was surprised about was that Jarod Shadowsong was the one responsible for leading the troops.


    Some people weren''t sure who Jarod Shadowsong was, but from his surname, people would think of someone else. Someone who sought revenge and was a Warder of Illidan and the Outlands ¨C Maiev Shadowsong. They were siblings.


    Now at this point, you might think that we need to trace back to the aristocratic lineage of the Shadowsong family name. But if you thought that, then that would be a big mistake.


    In reality, when the last ancient war erupted, Jarod Shadowsong had already been promoted to the rank of Captain of the Sumara Guard, while his sister had also become a senior member of the Elune Sisterhood. The Shadowsong family didn''t have any aristocratic blood, but the brother and sister earned their final positions though their own talents and hard work.


    In order to prevent a possible invasion, Jarod Shadowsong was patrolling the land of the Night Elves when he successfully captured Krasus the phantom dragon and threw him into jail.


    Then, who was Krasus?


    He was a Red Dragon who was originally called Claustraz, and his human form name was Krasus. As the youngest partner of Queen Alexstrasza, Claustraz was a rare magic genius out of the Red Dragons. Since he was young, he had already started to study the human race''s way of doing things. Through using his transformation abilities, Claustraz would often mix into these races without any notice.


    A special type of both strange and strong phenomenon occurred to Krasus which prevented him from returning to his dragon form and made him very weak.


    Under the successful persuasion of Krasus, Jarod Shadowsong was worried as to whether he would die before the hearing. As such, Jarod looked for a priestess from Elune to see if his illness could be cured.


    He coincidentally bumped into Tyrande Whisperwind, who agreed to lend a helping hand.


    Tyrande Whisperwind cured Krasus'' illness. Hence, Krasus agreed to help Tyrande''s husband, Malfurion Stormrage, who had fallen into the Emerald Dream.


    At the time, the Night Elf Commander in charge of fighting back the Burning Legion, Kotalus Rafincrest, witnessed how dedicated Jarod Shadowsong had been. He decided to give Jarod the battle-hardened sentinel troops to command.


    Jarod and his sentries'' quest was to protect the four strongest casters of the Night Elf army ¨C Malfurion Stormrage, Illidan Stormrage, Rhonin, and Krasus.


    With their efforts, the demi-god of the Groves, Cenarius, appeared. Jarod Shadowsong couldn''t hide his surprise towards this. Cenarius called Malfurion''s soul back from the Emerald Dream. Malfurion recovered quickly after his soul had returned to his body.


    Jarod Shadowsong, Krasus, Malfurion and Tyrande established their friendship based on this incident.


    Malfurion and Krasus left the Night Elf army in the end to search for other dragons and to ask them to band together against the Burning Legion.


    Even though Jarod Shadowsong couldn''t stop these two Mages from leaving, Kotalus Rafincrest still couldn''t bear blaming him.


    After that, Kotalus Rafincrest angered Queen Azshara with his strong leadership over the Night Elf army. She instructed Captain Varo''then to eliminate this aristocratic family. The assassination was successful, and Desdale Stareye became the new leader of the Night Elf army.


    Unfortunately, Desdale Stareye lacked tactical literacy.


    The invading demons pretended to retreat then suddenly attack from the sky above and caught the Night Elves off guard. Desdale Stareye was horrified to see the demons pouring boiling red liquid onto the heads of the Night Elf army. Hundreds of Night Elves were killed and even more died.


    When Jarod Shadowsong asked Desdale Stareye what the next course of action was, this terrified aristocrat didn''t have any reply.


    Jarod Shadowsong then suddenly found another team of demons circling the sky above Desdale Stareye, and tried to persuade him to take action. However, Desdale Stareye viewed Jarod Shadowsong''s suggestion with anger and threatened to throw him into jail if he didn''t move out the way.


    Jarod Shadowsong was driven away.


    The demons poured containers of boiling liquid which gushed down onto Desdale Stareye and his companions. Stareye died on the spot. His face was corroded to a point beyond recognition.


    After Stareye died, the rest of the aristocrats were divided among the army''s new tactical strategies. Jarod Shadowsong was forced to fill in the blank spot of a substitute leader. His intuition and natural leadership of the battlefield situation soon made him the new commander of the Night Elf army. The aristocrats all listened carefully to his command.


    Jarod Shadowsong was full of doubt regarding his purpose towards this battle, but he received a big surprise very quickly.


    Cenarius sent a large numbe rof demi-gods into the Night Elf army whilst agreeing to be under Jarod Shadowsong''s command.


    With the demi-god''s approval, Jarod Shadowsong established an unprecedented prestige among the sentinel troops.


    Just as Jarod Shadowsong was organising the Night Elves to turn the tables, he got the attention of the demon king, Archimonde. He was very disappointed that he didn''t see Malfurion Stormrage on the battlefield, so he decided to turn all this rage onto Jarod Shadowsong.


    Archimonde believed that the Burning Legion''s victory was irreversible, so he was not at a rush. He was psychopathically teasing Jarod Shadowsong ¨C slowly killing him. It was very likely that Archimonde was looking forward to the eventual defeat of Jarod Shadowsong''s iron will.


    Before Jarod''s untreated dire wounds, Malfurion Stormrage and Illidan Stormrage combined their magic for the Well of Eternity.


    All the demons, including Archimonde, were sucked into the Well of Eternity. They howled in rage and were thrown back into the Twisting Nether.


    A great disaster created a new sea. The turbulent sea water chased the Night Elves onto Mount Hyjal.


    Everyone else was burned to death, other than Jarod, who only suffered mild burns. With the help of Malfurion, Jarod and the other caught Illidan.


    Jarod Shadowsong got Malfurion Stormrage to decide how to punish his younger brother, Illidan, who recklessly ignored the consequences of his actions.


    Malfurion locked Illidan into jail for 10, 000 years.


    As an unwilling commander, Jarod was grateful for the end of the battle. He dissolved this assembled army, and worked as a manager for a period of time. However, he never wanted to become a leader. He slowly asked more and more visitors to go find a new High Priestess of the Moon ¨C Tyrande Whisperwind.


    She was using wisdom and compassion to treat wounds after the war.


    At this time, Tyrande had established a new Night Elf army, called Sentry. Jarod was behind the scenes on purpose as he believed he wasn''t a hero, and didn''t plan for other people to think the same.


    One day, he suddenly disappeared, and only took a few personal items with him. He didn''t say where he went, nor did he say goodbye to anyone.


    Ten thousand years later, the Sacred War of Mount Hyjal erupted. The Night Elves lost their eternal lives and started to face the trouble of old-age deaths. At this time, Jarod brought his ill wife, Sarah Hill, back to Darnassus in hope of finding a cure for her. However, the disease had seeped into her bones, and Sarah Hill passed away.


    At the same time, one of the only alive high-level elves, Sindra, returned to the Night Elf community, and also brought back some inherited magic. However, this brought the hatred of Maiev Shadowsong who had returned from the Outland. She and her subordinate wardens started arranging an elaborate series of assassination operations aimed at the high-level elves. They had even kidnapped Malfurion.


    Through his nimble observation skills and superb willpower, Jarod Shadowsong exposed his sister''s plot, but was almost killed by the psychotic Maiev.


    With the help of Edric the Worgen, Jarod Shadwosong released Malfurion, and joined forced to defeat Maiev which forced her to run back to the Outlands.


    He was a legend of the Night Elves. He was an old Elf in the minority that could be compared with Tyrande and Malfurion. Under normal circumstances, he as someone withdrawn from society, would not usually take on the commanding role and lead the sentinel troops.


    However, Lu Li thought about it a little bit and understood everything.


    Malfurion was still asleep in the Emerald Dream. Not long ago, the Nightmare Master tried to invade the world and destroy Malfurion''s physical body. There was of course no way that Tyrande would have left there. The other Night Elf elders, for example Staghelm and co., had already lost his son in the War of the Shifting Sands and would no longer be able to return to command against the insects. Shandris was still not qualified to face up against this once-considered great race on his own.


    In the end, Tyrande still called upon Jarod Shadowsong, the old veteran.


    If you had to speak of the oldest living commander alive, then Jarod Shadowsong would no doubt be it. Lu Li, who was also considered as a professional commander, knew who this ancient epic name for sure.


    Once he heard that the one in charge of this sentinel troop was this senior, he nearly couldn''t believe what he had heard.


    "It''s just up ahead. I still have a battle mission, so I won''t go over with you."


    The sentry brought Lu Li to a massive tree house, then realised that he had left his post without permission and left Lu Li in a hurry.


    Lu Li exclaimed with admiration at the ancient towering tree deeply rooted in the desert in front of him.


    It only took him a few minutes to walk from the front.


    Following the location of the tree branches, a huge wooden ladder coiled around the branches, and finally was hidden from view.


    It was the plant manipulation magic used by the Night Elves.


    No wonder a pre-command post could be built in such a short amount of time. Many sentries took on new quests and ran up and down the wooden ladder. They then took off on a group of Nightsaber Mounts under the tree.


    The two soldiers on patrol stopped Lu Li.


    Lu Li announced his name and was released immediately/


    "Ah so it''s Your Excellency Lu Li. His Excellency Jarod Shadowsong has been waiting for you."


    Following the wooden ladder, Lu Li saw this epic figure of the Night Elves on the very top of the command post.


    He looked different from Tyrande, who looked ever-young. This Elf of the same generation exhibited a very obvious old age, which could be first seen by his head of white hair, as well as a face full of wrinkles that reflected the marks left by the passage of time.


    It wasn''t that type of handsome silver white, but instead a very aged plain white.

 1657 Hero

    However, Jarod Shadowsong was just like his sister and had a pair of beautiful green eyes. Except. his eyes were filled with serenity and not aggression like Maiev Shadowsong.


    "My dear commander, I have arrived," Lu Li said as he took a few steps forward and saluted his Elven brethren.


    "Welcome, brave adventurer. I want to apologize for coming so late."


    Jarod Shadowsong''s presence was very calming, and those around him couldn''t help but feel relaxed.


    Many years ago, he had used his calm voice to command thousands of Elven soldiers in the war against the Burning Legion. They had succeeded in the assault because of him, which gave Malfurion and the others a valuable opportunity.


    "These bugs are an enemy of the entire continent, so my work is worth it. I am happy that we have managed to block their advance," Lu Li said humbly.


    "Brave adventurer, you have led the other adventurers to tenaciously resist the insects'' attack. Your achievements will forever be recorded in history."


    Jarod Shadowsong didn''t hide his appreciation for Lu Li. He seemed to see his young self in Lu Li.


    "Oh¡­" Lu Li wasn''t so touched.


    Getting a record in history books didn''t mean much to him. What he wanted was a real reward. He couldn''t sell the historical record for gold coins or attributes.


    "Do you know that in the land of Azeroth, there are some remembered as heroes?"


    Jarod Shadowsong seemed to be able to detect Lu Li''s disdain for that reward. With a smile, he continued to explain, "Heroes are not known by how powerful they are, or how much they have contributed to defending the continent. People are remembered as heroes because they have left their mark on history."


    "So, what do I need to do to become a hero?" Lu Li asked curiously.


    "That is a good question. Who do you think is worth of being a hero?" Jarod Shadowsong asked in return.


    "Well, you must be a hero," Lu Li said, trying a bit of flattery.


    "Haha, one might say that. What about my sister? Do you think she could be called a hero?" Jarod Shadowsong questioned, giving an example.


    Lu Li was a bit annoyed. He didn''t know what the relationship between these two siblings was like, and was forced to take a cautious approach.


    "Maiev is powerful and used to be a member of the Elune Sisters. I think she is a hero."


    "Well, I did say before that being recognised as a hero is not because of power and contribution," Jarod Shadowsong responded as he shook his head. "Maiev can indeed be called a hero, but not because of her strength or identity. It is because of her battle with Illidan, and her establishment of the watchmen."


    "It is because those things left a mark in the history of Azeroth," Lu Li said, indicating that he now understood.


    "What about Illidan¡­ no wait, what about Arthas?" Jarod Shadowsong posed with another example. He chose Illidan at first, but changed his mind. It seemed that Illidan probably wouldn''t have made the cut.


    "Arthas would probably have been known as a hero when he pulled out Frostmourne. But now that he has killed so many people, how can he be known as a hero?" Lu Li said without hesitation.


    He had a clear attitude towards both Arthas and Illidan.


    Illidan may have done a lot of questionable things, but he had clear principles and a straightforward personality. He was obsessed with magic, he hated the Burning Legion, and used demonic skills against them. Lu Li felt that he was perfectly fine.


    As for Arthas, there were actually many other people who liked this prince.


    However, whenever Lu Li thought about Pamela, he would feel that the prince was evil. There were thousands of people just like Pamela and just as many broken families, all because of the Scourge.


    "Well, it is not because of strength or contribution, regardless of whether it is good or evil. Will the Chronicles of Azeroth wipe Arthes out of existence?" Jarod Shadowsong asked.


    "Doesn''t that mean that even a wicked person can be called a hero?" Lu Li wanted to vomit.


    "That is how it is," Jarod Shadowsong responded. "So, do you now understand how important it is to go down in history?"


    "I just want to know what benefits there are for being a hero."


    Lu Li now understood that being a hero in Dawn was not what was commonly understood as being a hero. It was more like hitting a certain level. Once that person had a certain amount of influence, they would be considered a hero.


    The relevant attribute for being a hero was probably Reputation.


    No matter if it was a good or bad person, as long as their Reputation hit a certain amount, then this person would be considered a hero.


    "There are some things or quests that only heroes are allowed to claim or participate in," Jarod Shadowsong replied straightforwardly. In other words, there were some major events that only a hero could participate in.


    If you were not reputable enough, then you wouldn''t be able to join at all.


    "Thank you for explaining all this to me. With my current reputation, how much longer will it take for me to be a hero?" Lu Li asked.


    "You are still very far away. When you really become a hero, everyone will recognise you," Jarod Shadowsong said with a smile. "Do you want your other rewards now?"


    "Of course," Lu Li answered bluntly. "Whether I can become a hero is not something I can decide, but a commander should always reward their comrades after a successful battle."


    "Well¡­ I suppose you are right," Jarod Shadowsong admitted.


    After winning the battle, it seemed completely reasonable for Lu Li''s commander to reward him with something.


    "My brethren''s strength is really low, but they have been fighting for over ten hours for Azeroth. They haven''t contributed any less than anyone else," Lu Li bargained like a businessman.


    There was no real way for Lu Li to force an NPC like Jarod Shadowsong to give him a reward.


    However, his name was Shameless Lu, and he had some tricks up his sleeve to guilt the NPC into giving something. As a commander, it was absolutely impossible to be indifferent to those tricks.


    A general would obviously like soldiers that fought the most bravely!


    Lu Li wasn''t even fighting for his own interests. He was fighting for the welfare of the hard-working soldiers. Jarod Shadowsong didn''t feel like Lu Li was being greedy. In fact, he was being quite selfless.

 1659 Old Stranger

    Although they gained a few Epic-grade items this time, the items were not the main attraction.


    They had also gained many Dark Gold or lower items. After all, they were fighting mostly normal monsters during these ten hours. Elite monsters were extremely rare and their drop rates were not that much higher either.


    Lu Li also didn''t ask everyone to hand in all the items they looted.


    The largest gain was most likely in the looting of many different materials. These materials would be stored inside the guild storage, organised, then sent over to the Trade Union to compensate the materials that they provided during the battle.


    This battle lasted ten hours. The number of supplies consumed during the battle was incredible.


    If it were just the Trade players in the guild, they wouldn''t be able to provide for the battle. Fortunately, there was the Trade Union. Their enormous storage of supplies and materials made the completion of this quest possible. However, no matter how strong their relationship was, this would have undoubtedly caused a huge dent in their pool of resources.


    The spoils of war this time would definitely be used to compensate the Trade Union''s losses.


    Glory Capital didn''t join the battle this time, since they were still completing the Opening the Door quest.


    The Wall was already opened and only thing left was the entrance to the dungeon. There weren''t any black Qiraji Beetles or any Sceptre quests anymore. There also wouldn''t be millions of insects emerging to battle.


    Lu Li wasn''t sure if Sorrowless would regret not joining the battle.


    After all, skill points were just as precious to Glory Capital players.


    Now, Lu Li planned to see through his promise. He would wait a while before tackling the Ahn''Qiraj Instance Dungeon.


    He regretted making that promise now. Lu Li sighed. Sometimes, he felt that he was different. He


    felt that he was shifting to become a genuinely nice person.


    That was something extremely surprising.


    Winter in Jiangnan City never brought snow. That was something that Lu Li was extremely grateful for. This was because he could go through winter without much difficulty with his sister.


    Now, his life was much better, but he regretted it a little.


    This was something that people from the southern side grappled with.


    As soon as he walked out of his front door, he was immediately immersed in the sunlight. Winter in this sense didn''t mean much, since it wasn''t all that different. If it was a hot day, then all he needed was to put on a thin jacket and he would be fine.


    The environment was filled with green and lush vegetation. There were also many trees, which didn''t fit with the winter aesthetic.


    However, Lu Li enjoyed it.


    This was an everyday reminder that he had successfully brought himself and his sister out of the poor district. He didn''t plan to go back. Ever.


    The area that Lu Li was staying in was a high-class place, but it was a little too boring.


    Today''s weather was rather temperate. Many elderly people came out to have a walk around the area.


    Lu Li frowned as he looked at these old people. Their steps were unstable and they trudged along slowly, like zombies wandering. It wasn''t that he didn''t like these old people, but he didn''t like the state of being old.


    Actually, these elderly people were fortunate enough. They were able to stay in this place, each of them seemingly wealthy.


    The elderly in the poor areas were even more unfortunate.


    It seemed that there were elderly people who died due to sickness or the cold. Lu Li had seen his fair share of helplessness in life and death.


    Lu Li was in deep thought, thinking about the direction in which the guild was heading into as well as the administration side of the guild. He was no longer a normal player, so he had to spend quite a lot of time in organisation.


    That was why he would often ponder about these things on a walk.


    He thought about whether the previous decisions had the desired effects, as well as the more recent decisions. He also thought about future decisions and tactics that he might have to employ.


    Perhaps Square Root Three or Wandering could help check the holes in organisation, but Lu Li wasn''t the type of person to rely on others to do things. The trust that he gave to people was limited, so it would satisfy him only if he placed things into his own hands.


    "What? You know?"


    Lu Li heard this voice, but he didn''t care much about it, since it was someone else''s business.


    "That''s right."


    This voice was familiar. It was extremely familiar, so he quickly exited his deep thoughts and looked towards where the voice was coming from.


    "He looks focused, but appearance-wise, he looks a little dumb."


    Hey! Who are you talking about?


    "Quite dumb, but not bad at all."


    Lu Li knew the person who said these words, so he didn''t care about the disrespectfulness from this old man. After all, the person who he knew was supporting and holding the old man had a posture of respect, indicating the relationship that she had with him.


    "Snow¡­Snowy."


    "Hehe¡­He even calls you Snowy. I reckon that he''s the reason why you''re staying in Jiangnan City."


    "Nope! I''m here because of you, grandpa!"


    The wealthy lady didn''t seem cold at all. Her voice and aura felt like that of the girl next door. It was just her beauty that was out of this world.


    "Alright then, you little brat."


    Upon hearing this, the old man was over the moon.


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li didn''t know what to say.


    He knew of Water Fairy''s grandfather and he also knew of his importance to Water Fairy. However, he never thought that he would meet with him under these circumstances.


    "This is my grandpa," Water Fairy introduced as she stared at Lu Li.


    "Grand¡­Grandpa."


    Lu Li found his voice once again but lost his brain cells in the process.


    "Says it that easily! Wow! Well, doesn''t matter anyway, since you guys are locked in. Just call me grandpa! When are you planning on marrying our Snowy?" the old man asked as his smile stretched from ear to ear, looking at Lu Li with genuine kindness in his eyes.


    His granddaughter was also a prideful girl. No men were able to get her to open her heart.


    Sometimes, this old man thought that this grandchild of his would remain single for the rest of her life. Even if she did marry and have children of her own, it would be because it was a part of life and not because of love.


    He thought this until this year, when someone called Lu Li entered her life.


    "Grandpa!" Water Fairy seemed to be angry.


    However, people who knew her better knew that she wasn''t actually angry. She didn''t even correct Lu Li''s words.


    "Until she accepts my proposal," Lu Li answered, finally to his senses. He moved forward and held onto the old man''s other arm, supporting him alongside Water Fairy.


    This old man was actually still quite fit. He wasn''t so weak that he needed two people to support his steps.


    However, he enjoyed this treatment.


    Water Fairy''s grandpa had rich experiences in dealing with people. He could judge a person''s character just from a glance.


    Lu Li wasn''t actually dumb. He just cared too much.


    The old man quickly formed his ideas about this Lu Li. He reckoned that Lu Li''s personality was one that was firm and persistent, but also adaptable at the same time. He also didn''t see himself as inferior when interacting with his granddaughter and also wasn''t focused on Water Fairy''s beauty.


    Heart of the strong!


    He greatly admired these types of young men.

 1660 Shameless

    It was mostly just Lu Li answering the old man''s questions.


    The old man was quite capable at speaking and alleviated Lu Li''s feelings of being interrogated. He didn''t ask about whether Lu Li had a car, a house or how much money he had. Instead, most of the conversation was just about trifling matters. He heard that Lu Li was recently beginning to listen in for some classes in the university, so they also talked about this.


    As for the question when Lu Li would marry his granddaughter, that was more of a joke.


    His granddaughter would not be that easily married away.


    Lu Li talked about some of the things that he learnt from sitting in some of the classes, as well as the things that he couldn''t quite understand. What surprised him was the old man''s intelligence and understanding of different areas. He was able to give clear answers to Lu Li''s questions and also made it easier for Lu Li to understand as well.


    The old man was just as surprised as Lu Li was.


    It was already impressive enough that Lu Li, as someone without any academic foundation, could understand what was being said in the university. Furthermore, he even managed to ask complex questions which demonstrated critical thinking.


    This was a young man who was capable at grasping new things.


    He was only hindered by his life''s circumstances. However, he was putting in effort to fill in those gaps during his younger days.


    Generally speaking, this interaction was a peaceful one.


    Both Lu Li and the old man left great first impressions on one another.


    Lu Li did an especially good job of it. He purposely hid the dark side of his youth and was successful in doing so. The old man thought that Lu Li was just a child who faced trials and difficulties when he was younger and used his determination to survive day after day, until the era of gaming arrived, where he blossomed.


    The old man didn''t know that Lu Li had become a gangster when he was quite young.


    Lu Li saw many different faces of the dark side of society. At the same time, this also formed the dark side of Lu Li. For the sake of survival, he had not been good person.


    If the old man knew of Lu Li''s dark past, then it was likely that they wouldn''t be able to talk like this.


    In the afternoon, Lu Li and Water Fairy ate lunch with her grandfather. They ate the kinds of food that the elderly people liked to eat, like porridge. It wasn''t a substantial meal, but it was healthy.


    Unknowingly, the conversation topic shifted to the organisation of the club.


    This opened a whole new can of worms.


    In the time after, the old man used his expert mind and analysed Lu Li''s situation for him, then suggested some solutions. The lifespan of this topic lasted a long time, so they kept talking about it from afternoon to night.


    Besides the toilet breaks, it was a cup of tea after another while talking.


    What a wise man!


    Lu Li realised that this old man''s intelligence was one of his defining characteristics.


    Lu Li had to admit that during this process of discussion, he gained clarity on many of his questions and dilemmas and had answers to them.


    In the end, it was Water Fairy who pulled her grandfather away.


    Again, this second interaction and discussion was extremely fruitful.


    The old man thought highly of Lu Li, while Lu Li also felt that the old man was worth learning from. They even organised a time for their next meeting. After all, they both stayed in the same area.


    After a few days, the System announced in the world channel that Glory Capital had gotten the First Clear for the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj. This woke Lu Li up from his beautiful dream.


    How shameless!


    Lu Li usually was the shameless one, but he was furious this time. He cursed Glory Capital for their lack of sportsmanship.


    Everyone agreed to enter the Instance Dungeon together.


    "It was you who said it. No one else did."


    Wandering wasn''t angry at all. There were two Instance Dungeons and the Ruins were the less important one of the two.


    "Let''s go. Let''s go."


    Lu Li immediately voided the agreement and commanded everyone to move for the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj.


    The forty players were all familiar faces who were the strongest players from the three allied clubs.


    The Main Tank was Azure Sea Breeze, without question. This was the reason as to why Lu Li gave him so much, so that he could handle situations like these. There were two vice-Tanks, which were Wandering and Deep Watersong. World''s Best Friend was outside as a backup.


    The healing ranks included March Rain, Star Baby, Darkness, Hachi Chan and others.


    The other players were either the pro players from the other clubs or more Ruling Sword players. Drizzle Court and Peerless City players were used to fill vacancies.


    As for team composition, Ahn''Qiraj was much more extreme than Blackwing''s Lair. Some Bosses within the Instance Dungeon needed extremely high DPS, while some other Bosses required a defensive team. There were even Bosses that Warriors couldn''t guard against. However, all in all, they needed around 7 Warriors and 15 or 16 Healers. As for the other classes, four or five of each were needed most of the time.


    As for team composition, it was likely that it would be different for every stage of the battle, so Lu Li arranged for twenty backups outside of the Instance Dungeon.


    Ahn''Qiraj was already overcrowded during this time because the First Clear that Glory Capital took ignited a fire in everyone. Players flooded into the area, but they found that they could only do the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj, while the higher-tiered Temple of Ahn''Qiraj had the quest requirement of Opening the Door.


    There needed to be at least one player who had completed the quest to enter the Instance Dungeon.


    From what Lu Li knew, there were probably around ten clubs who had completed the quest.


    Upon entering the Door of Ahn''Qiraj, you would find two pathways. The green door on the left side led to the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj, while the green door on the right side led to the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj.


    In Lu Li''s eyes, the shameless Glory Capital had betrayed everyone''s trust by secretly taking the First Clear for the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj. However, they were not as shameless as Blood Red War Flag, who had completed the dungeon on Elite difficulty instead of Nightmare. This was engraved into Azeroth''s history books.


    If only these people were immortalised as a shameless bunch.


    "Start to collect your own potions and elixirs that you need. Squads 1 to 8, enter the Instance Dungeon. As for the rest, just stay outside and wait for instructions. You guys can grind for Reputation outside. There are some officers from our guild in the area, so they will prevent you guys from getting attacked by other players.


    The group of Ruling Sword officers were led by Her Tears and were a group of PVP-focused players.


    The main group selected Nightmare Difficulty and all forty of them successfully stepped into the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj.


    The Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj was just a 20-man Instance Dungeon, with six Bosses in total, while the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj was a 40-man Instance Dungeon, with nine Bosses in total.


    The main rewards from this Instance Dungeon were T2.5 set items, as well as some other things.


    Quests associated with the Instance Dungeon were all received by participating players, even if they were not needed.


    Similar to the Ruins, every class'' set of five quests were received and finished within Ahn''Qiraj. This was at the back of Skeram''s room.


    All participating players in this Instance Dungeon had also participated in the war against the insects for at least 10 hours.


    Therefore, Reputation was not a problem at all.


    However, no one would complain about having excess Reputation. It wasn''t difficult to obtain more Reputation anyway.


    In the Instance Dungeon, every Boss would drop one Qiraji Lord''s Insignia. This would be given to the NPC at the back of Skeram''s room called Kandrostrasz. The reward of turning the Insignia in would be 500 Broods of Nozdormu Reputation.


    Monsters within the Instance Dungeon also could drop an ''Ancient Qiraji Artifact'' which could be looted over and over again. After receiving the quest ''Secrets of the Qiraji'' and giving these Artifacts to Andorgos, 1000 points for the Brood of Nozdormu Reputation would be awarded.


    Every Boss could drop ''Imperial Qiraji Armaments'' and ''Imperial Qiraji Regalia''. On the left side of C''Thun''s room, there were three Dragons sealed away. Of course, they looked like humans, similar to the three NPCs from before. These Dragons were the ones who went missing in the War of the Shifting Sands ¨C Merithra, Caelestrasz and Arygos.


    Three Elementium Ores, as well as Imperial Qiraji Armaments and Regalia could be exchanged powerful weapons.


    These quests would all be completed during the battles within the Instance Dungeon.


    After entering the Instance Dungeon, they would see a patrolling Obsidian Eradicator. According to how Instance Dungeons had been in Dawn, no one dared to underestimate the guardian monsters anymore.


    The guardian monsters in the Molten Core had taught everyone a lesson.


    Under normal circumstances, after entering the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj, they would wipe once or twice


    while fighting the Obsidian Eradicator.


    These stupid-looking monsters were not to be underestimated.


    As magic-based elementals, they had 0 Mana at the beginning of the battle.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately underestimated it and laughed. The damage that was dealt by the Obsidian Eradicator was less than the insects outside, so he might not even need a healer to heal him.


    Lu Li could have prevented a tragedy from happening, but Azure Sea Breeze''s arrogance caused Lu Li to forego that notion.


    They might as well just wipe once just to teach them a lesson.


    After a little over ten seconds, a wave of energy surged through the battlefield. Besides a few players who survived, the rest were killed.


    Lu Li used Gale Steps to save himself.


    He knew what was about to happen and also knew when he should use Gale Steps.


    Other people had no idea.


    Even though everyone had the best items now and all had relatively high HP, not many exceeded 6000 HP. Even Moonlight, who was a Berserker, only had over 5000 HP.


    Only death awaited those who dared to face the Obsidian Eradicator''s AoE attack with under 6000 HP.


    This elemental that had no mana would constantly absorb the players'' mana. Once the mana bar was filled up, an AoE skill that dealt 6500 Nature damage would be unleashed. This monster was similar to the Obsidian Eradicator in the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj.


    However, they didn''t enter the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj, so they obviously did not know this mechanic.


    Actually, fighting it was quite simple. Before killing the monster, they just needed to prevent the mana bar from filling up again. Warlocks and Priests had skills to absorb mana, so this was a viable option. Since the Obsidian Eradicator could absorb mana from players, why couldn''t the players absorb its mana?


    After realizing the tactic, this monster was a piece of cake to deal with.


    After killing the Obsidian Eradictor, everyone was faced with a group of four of Anubisath Sentinels.


    Anubisath Sentinel!


    Upon seeing the monsters, everyone shivered in fear. The war with the insects had left a mark on the hearts of the participating players. There were even some people who were still dreaming about fighting Scarabs.


    The Anubisath warriors were elite monsters in the war against the insects. Their strength and power left a deep impression in everyone''s hearts.


    "Don''t be afraid. Let''s go!" Lu Li exclaimed as he pushed Azure Sea Breeze forward.


    It wasn''t that these monsters had become weaker. The truth was that these four Anubisath Sentinels were much, much stronger than the ones outside. Squad wipes were only a matter of time.


    However, staring at it wasn''t going to deal damage. You couldn''t stare a monster to death.


    Everyone killed the first one. This monster had the AoE skill of Shadow Bolt. That attack was like rain, falling down on the players. If they didn''t kill it first, the pressure on the Healers would be too great to handle.


    This monster was quickly disposed of. After all, it was only a normal monster.


    However, its death didn''t bring relief to the team. Instead, it brought great devastation. This was because after its death, the rest of the three monsters would all begin to use the same skill.


    Each of the four Anubisath Sentinels had their own individual skills. Mages could see which Sentinel had which skill. The skills would be learnt by the rest upon the death of one of them. This meant that once the first one died, it would distribute its HP and give its skills to the other three. According to this logic, the last Sentinel would have four skills, which would be the four skills of the original four monsters.


    The four monsters would have a different skill each time the battle was reset.


    Just then, the one that they killed was the one that knew AoE Shadow Bolt. Upon its death, the other three monsters also knew how to use AoE Shadow Bolt. Furthermore, the HPs of all three remaining monsters skyrocketed.


    AoE Shadow Bolt would not be used every time. It was likely for it to be another skill the next time they battled.


    The tactic was simple. The Sentinel with the most difficult skill to deal with would be left last to fight. This was because if this Sentinel was killed first, then the other three would gain the skill as well.


    After discussing the order of killing, this was the conclusion:


    Firstly, it was Fire/Arcane Reflection, Ice/Dark Reflection, then Periodic Knock Away.


    The Fire/Arcane Reflection couldn''t be detected by Mages (because it was also arcane magic), so they deduced that if they couldn''t detect it, it would be this skill. Naturally, Magic Reflection meant that they couldn''t use those elements to fight it, while Periodic Knock Away couldn''t be Taunted. They needed to be cautious to survive. These three skills were considered as the easier ones, so the Sentinels with these skills were prioritised.


    The next skills were Mortal Strike, Mana Burn and Thorns.


    Mortal Strike was also easy, since there were so many Healers here. Mana Burn was to be handled by the melee classes while Thorns was to be handled by the long-ranged attackers.


    The next was Recover Wounds.


    This was a more difficult skill to deal with, since it provided self-sustainability, so they left it to the end.


    Lastly, there was Thunderclap and AoE Shadow Bolt.


    These two were AoE skills. Thunderclap had the attacking range of 0-15 metres, while AoE Shadow Bolt had the attacking range of 15-45 metres. Therefore, they needed to watch their positioning. If they dealt with these skills properly, they would be able to minimise the casualties. No matter what, these skills were definitely left to the very end. If more than two Sentinels had these AoE skills, the team would not escape the damage no matter where they stood.


    These skills appeared randomly, so they just needed to figure out which Sentinel had which sets of skills and kill them in this order.

 1661 Cloning

    Before they had even seen the Boss, they had already been wiped a few times.


    The Instance Dungeon difficulty was evident from that. It was likely that the other clubs trying to do this were also not having a easy time. They all had to slowly work out what these four monsters could do.


    After killing these mobs, they turned to the left to see the Obsidian Eradicators and Anubisaths. After clearing them, they finally saw the first Boss ¨C Prophet Skeram.


    Prophet Skeram was an insect Boss. Perhaps in the eyes of the insects, he was quite good looking, but all the players thought he was incredibly ugly.


    "This Instance Dungeon has been so difficult. How should we approach this?"


    Azure Sea Breeze felt paralysed with fear. He had been killed by the mobs at the beginning of the dungeon. Now that they were faced with the Boss, it would be strange if he wasn''t scared.


    He wasn''t willing to just die. No matter how much it happened, they would never get used to the feeling of dying.


    "Who knows? We''ll only know when we try and die. Let''s just clear the mobs first," Lu Li shrugged and admitted that he didn''t know either. He couldn''t just tell Azure Sea Breeze what the strategy was. The fact that they had him, someone who had experienced rebirth, was a blessing. Otherwise, Azure Sea Breeze wouldn''t have become Dawn''s number one Main Tank


    "Alright then, I''ll go ahead. Please don''t give up on me," Azure Sea Breeze begged, having no choice but to rush forwards.


    It was his fault that he decided to be the main tank!


    After the monsters had been cleared, they instantly started attacking the Boss.


    "Let the screams of death reach the clouds! Let symphonies of fear begin to play!"


    The unique screams of this Boss were in language that the players could understand. This monster responded in anger to how the players dared to block the insects'' advance.


    At first, no one expected that they would be able to defeat this Boss any time soon. However, they quickly worked out what his skills were.


    The most commonly used skill was Arcane Explosion, which was centred around the Boss. It dealt two thousand damage, so non-defensive melee players obviously shouldn''t stand next to him for too long. The Thieves and Berserkers would just have to retreat and heal more often.


    Earthquake ¨C When Skeram''s target was far away from him, he would unleash this skill which dealt more than 2000 damage. This meant that they couldn''t just have all ranged players attacking from afar. There had to be someone standing near him and taking the aggro.


    The strategy to deal with that was just to have the Main Tank standing next to him at all times.


    Clone ¨C When the Boss'' HP was reduced by 25%, he would be divided into three. There were two fake avatars that had powerful attacks, but weak defense. Their HP would also rapidly deplete over time.


    Currently, Lu Li and the others hadn''t reduced the Boss'' HP by 25% yet, but it was likely that this skill would be cast at 75% and 50%.


    Teleport ¨C the Boss (and the fake avatars) would teleport from his original position to another random location to the right or left. When this happened, all aggro would be cleared and the nearest player would become the next target.


    The most horrible situation was when three Skerams appeared in the same place at the same time.


    Enrichment ¨C the Boss would control a player once every 5 seconds. The controlled player would grow larger, their skills would cast instantly and their damage would be increased by 100%. The way they dealt with this was quite simple; it was very similar to when they were dealing with Nefarian.


    These were his five main skills.


    These five skills, when used in combination, were the reason this was Nightmare Difficulty. Almost every time the group got wiped, it was because the Boss used a new trick.


    The most important thing was to watch out for was Enrichment. Although the players that were controlled would be Polymorphed by the Mages, it was often the Main Tank that was the target. It wasn''t clear if it was just the Instance Dungeon or because Lu Li was involved in this First Clear attempt.


    Once the Main Tank was controlled, everything changed.


    The Boss would teleport elsewhere and begin killing players because there was no one to draw aggro.


    Many players would die, and they wouldn''t have enough damage to continue.


    The strategies that he had read up on didn''t explain this phenomenon at all. Fortunately, he wasn''t an inflexible person, so he discussed a bold plan with Wandering and Sky Moon.


    They would take six Main Tanks into the fight!


    They had 40 players, so it seemed like they would have plenty of healers, but they only had ten as they needed to have a minimum number of damage dealers. Having six main tanks would really be pushing it.


    In the end, they settled on having three Main Tanks instead.


    On each platform, there was a tank stationed in preparation of the Boss'' teleport. The reason for this was to prevent all their tanks from being controlled by the Boss. They would then cast Taunt when the Boss teleported.


    The other damage output players and healers would stand on both sides and above the platforms. There would be at least one Mage on each of the stairs, ready to Polymorph whoever was controlled. They all also had to ensure that they maintained enough distance from the Boss to survive the Arcane Explosion.


    When the Main Tank attracted the Boss'' aggro and the battle began, the he would pull the Boss so that it would be facing the wall. Everyone would then deal as much damage as they could.


    There wasn''t too much pressure on the healers at this point, but the attack power of the fake avatars couldn''t be underestimated. As such, there was also a high priority on identifying and getting rid of them.


    When the Boss teleported, the Main Tank needed to run and drawl it back to the middle to avoid confusion.


    After the Clone skill, one of the fake avatars could also use Teleport. In that case, two Warriors would have to come in to use their Shields and Life gems to hold the Boss with the healers until the Main Tank could deal with the other Boss avatars. The fake avatars could teleport wherever they wanted to, but the real body needed to be kept in the centre so that they could maximise their damage output.


    Skeram didn''t actually have that much HP. As long as they handled the fake avatars well, he wouldn''t be that difficult.


    Soon, the success of Ruling Sword was announced by the System.


    "Dreamy, loot the body. Let''s see how the other clubs are going," Lu Li sighed in relief, but he knew it wasn''t time to relax.


    The other Clubs hadn''t followed the gentleman''s agreement. Who knew how long it had been since they started the Ahn''Qiraj Temple Instance Dungeon? At least Glory Capital was unlikely to have started with the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj.


    If the Boss dropped more things, it meant that the other guilds were still stuck on the initial monsters.


    If the drops didn''t reflect a First Clear, it meant that some other Club had already defeated the First Boss, and maybe even more. If so, the challenge facing Lu Li and the others was even more difficult.


    The first that was looted was some Gems. There were a few Strengthening Stones, but nothing else. This didn''t tell them anything as they would be dropped regardless of whether it was a First Clear.


    Then, there were four Synthetic Gems dropped.


    They had decent attributes. One in particular had a cloning effect, which was almost exactly the same as the Boss''.


    After using it, two fake avatars would be formed. The defense and HP of the avatars would be weaker than the real body, but they had stronger attack power. The duration wasn''t as long as the Boss'', but it was still a valuable gem.


    Even so, it was still uncertain as to whether they had gotten the First Clear on the first Boss.

 1662 A Rushing Pace

    Skill book, rare materials, quest materials, Gold equipment, Dark Gold equipment¡­


    Epic equipment¡­


    Only one piece!


    Under normal circumstances, this was unacceptable. If it was a First Clear, there should have been at least two pieces, and if luck was on their side, maybe even three.


    It was clear what this meant.


    No one looked particularly happy on the field.


    "There were about ten or so who finished the quest. We just don''t know who did it first," Sky Moon said anxiously. His heart was as fragile as a strand of hair. He had considered the outcome if Ruling Sword didn''t get the First Clear. Although it wouldn''t be absolutely devastating, it wouldn''t exactly be a happy ending.


    In competing for the First Clear of a Wild Boss, Ruling Sword was always in a weaker position.


    Because Lu Li didn''t want to have a fight between their own allied clubs, they spent a frighteningly large amount of potions in the Wild Boss battle, and they also had to consider the problem of those players who lost their equipment.


    In a controlled environment such as an Instance Dungeon, they had an advantage in achieving the First Clear.


    Although they had their First Clear stolen by Blood Red War Flag, and they had once let Drizzle Court take it, Ruling Sword was always superior in Instance Dungeon First Clears.


    This had kept going until today, when Glory Capital had snatched away a First Clear.


    "My bad," Lu Li apologized straightforwardly, admitting his own carelessness. He had gotten the club''s help in the battle against Eranikus, which was the reason he gave this sort of promise. However, the main thing was that they needed to make some adjustments after insect war.


    Ruling Sword''s team had fought in front of the wall for a full 10 hours.


    Unless you got a few days rest after, you basically wouldn''t recover properly.


    He knew this fact ages ago, so he negotiated a gentleman''s agreement to drag it on a little longer. However, he never knew that the other clubs simply didn''t care about him. This made Lu Li understand deeper the true meaning behind the saying, ''the market is like a battlefield.''


    "From the strength of the smaller monsters, I feel like they''ve killed one or two Bosses at most, so we''re not out of hope," Wandering said.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t have an objective in view. Glory Capital had only finished the opening quest one or two days ago, and they were focused on taking the First Clear of the Ahn''Qiraj Ruins. In order not to let word get out, not many players were sent in.


    They were wanting to gain the maximum profit of killing three Bosses, but if the second Boss was really hard, then they would probably be in a bit of a tangle.


    "Good. I hope everyone''s awake. Let''s go and finish off this Boss."


    Lu Li wasn''t a person who took to defeat easily, let alone the fact that he had been reborn.


    He would let you run ahead 39 meters before showing you his 40 metre-long knife!


    After they finished off Skeram, they would truly enter into Ahn''Qiraj. After a few more levels, they turned right and could see the three quest dragons.


    If you headed down towards the left you would see one or two Qiraji Brainwashers with a few Vekniss Guardians together. The Qiraji brainwashers were basically the ''lite'' version of the first Boss. They had


    less health and less defense, but they could control people. The tactic was to use two Tanks to pull them, with the Mages Polymorphing the people who had been controlled.


    The Vekniss Guardians were a tiny bit more difficult. This sort of monster had no particular tricks, but when their HP got down to 10%, all the guardians would surround the players and cast an AoE Impale. Basically, this meant that you were thrown up high, then left to fall down.


    Therefore, when you were tanking these monsters, not only did you have to stay close to the wall, but you also needed to have a barrier above your head. Lu Li used his prior knowledge ''just happen'' to find out this position.


    Otherwise, with all these small monsters surrounding you, it wasn''t too unreasonable to die over a dozen times.


    When these monsters were about to die, they would also give off an Arcane Explosion in a self-destructive manner. Apart from the Main Tank, all other players were to stay away from the monster when it was about to die. The key to dealing with the Qiraji brainwashers and the guardians was to first quickly kill off the brainwashers, then kill the guardians one by one.


    After facing two groups of these combined forces, they kept going down and came to a group of Vekniss warriors standing together.


    Actually, all in all, the smaller monsters in the Ahn''Qiraj Temple were powerful enough make the whole team die, sometimes even more than once.


    While they appeared to be easy to defeat, after they died, they would summon a swarm of ''Vekniss Borers''. These insects weren''t only extremely tiny, but there were about five or six hundred of them for each person to deal with.


    They carefully killed off this group one by one, first focusing their attacks on one Vekniss warrior. After dealing with the Borers, they would go and provoke the next Vekniss warrior.


    If they provoked three of them at once, the whole team would definitely die.


    Between the first and second Boss were basically just the aforementioned monster groups. They kept clearing the monsters until they reached the second Boss.


    The second Bosses were relatively special. They were formed a group ¨C a famous stinkbug family.


    Afterwards, they were given a nickname ¨C they were called the ''Lucky 3 Treasures'' by the players. The dad was Lord Kri, the mum was Princess Yauj, so of course, Vem was the son.


    "Does everyone need to rest for a bit?"


    After receiving a negative answer, Lu Li nodded his head, saying, "Then we''ll do it as before. Let''s test it out first."


    The battle this time took a while ¨C almost half a day.


    Lord Kri had two main skills. One was Poison Bolt Volley, which dealt area-of-effect damage. Apart from dealing 500 direct damage, it also did an additional 125 damage every second, which could be stacked on top. The other was a Poisoned Corpse. After Lord Kri died, a poison cloud would remain above his corpse, which dealt 2000 damage every second.


    The mother, Princess Yauj, had four skills.


    Group Fear: Yauj would cast an AoE Fear at a close range. This Fear had no limit on the number of people it affected. At the same time, regardless of whether you were immune against the Fear, your aggro would decrease down to 0. Because of this, the healers would pray that the Fear wouldn''t be defended against.


    Heal: Under normal circumstances, Yauj heal herself, although it was possible that she would sometimes heal her son Vem. Of course, Kick, Shieldstrike and Earthquake were able to disrupt this ability.


    Yauj Blood: After the princess died, seven or eight little bugs would appear. They had approximately 17 000 HP, and they had to be quickly dealt with.


    Rage: If Vem died before Yauj, then Yauj would enter into a rage.


    The last skill was proof that they were one family. It could be considered an expression of a mother''s love.


    The son, Vem, only had two skills. One was Knock Away, which frequently knocked away a certain player. The second skill was Charge, but this also altered the target''s aggro.


    The first thing was to eliminate the strategy of trying to take on them all at once. It was simply impossible to kill three Bosses all at once. Because of this, they could deduce that the intended way for attacking this Boss was to go according to a certain order.


    As such, they needed to find out a certain order that would work.


    Actually, the HP of these Bosses wasn''t too high. Lord Kri had about 600,000 HP, Princess Yauj had about 800,000, and Vem, about 1,200,000.


    From this perspective, they should kill Lord Kri first, then Princess Yauj, then finally Vem.


    Actually, these three Bosses dropped different things. Only the one who was killed last would drop items. Vem dropped the worst items, while Lord Kri dropped the best. Because of this, Lu Li had a real hard time deciding the order of how to kill this family.


    Logically, Lord Kri, Princess Yauj then Vem was the easiest, and it was the more standard method. Most clubs followed this order.


    However, in terms of getting good drops, this method was the worst.


    If they could pull Lord Kri to a corner, there was no way that the Poison Volts could affect the entire room. But with the limits on aggro on everyone in the room, when others had been affected by Fear, the small group of healers resisting Lord Kri would face their first wave of disastrous deaths.


    Because of this, Lu Li used Azure Sea Breeze to occupy Lord Kri, two Tanks against Princess Yauj and another two against Vem.


    Firstly, they tried to separate Lord Kri from the other two, focusing their damage to kill him as quickly as possible. Lord Kri''s poison skill could be recast at a very high frequency.


    As such, the healers were constantly running around, trying to heal everyone as equally as possible.


    The defensive roles pulling Vem were basically the same as the ones pulling the princess. Of the two Tanks, one was the main puller and the other was waiting by the healers, waiting for Vem to Charge. As soon as Vem charged, the waiting tank would assume his role.


    When Lord Kri was killed, everyone avoided his poison cloud and focused their DPS on killing the princess. At this time, the ranged players would prepare to nuke the insects. At the same time, it was important to cut off the princess'' healing.


    After killing the princess, Vem, wouldn''t pose much of a threat. The remaining strategy was similar to dealing with the Lava Surger in the Molten Core, with everyone focus-firing Vem.


    There were also two other orders that they could take.


    It could be Lord Kri, followed by Vem and Princess Yauj. The first point of difficulty in this order was that in the process of killing Lord Kri, they couldn''t lose too many DPS players, because they had to kill Vem next. Because his mother was still there, he could not be completely encircled, not to mention that he had the highest HP. If they lost too many DPS roles, the team could die when they came to Vem.


    The second point of difficulty was in the princess'' berserk. This required more effort from the healing roles to spread around to make sure that more people would stay alive.


    The last order was killing Princess Yauj, then Vem, then Lord Kri. This was the most difficult order, but it had the best drops. The difficulty of this order was more than could be imagined, but what was dropped was also unbelievable.


    If there wasn''t another club racing ahead of them, Lu Li would probably have chosen the 3rd option.


    It was a shame, however, that he had no choice but to take the first order.


    This order would make the second Boss only a bit harder than the first Boss. If they chose the third order, then it would probably make this one of the most difficult Instance Dungeons.


    The Ahn''Qiraj Instance Dungeon was constructed very grandly.


    It was as though there were three different Bosses at this second stage. The strategy and the drops weren''t the same.


    With Lu Li here, they could simply choose the easiest option and go ahead with it. The main thing with competing for a First Clear was timing.


    There was a real chance they couldn''t get the First Clear otherwise.


    The order with the worst drops immediately had the best chances of getting First Clear. At least, then, they would receive an extra piece of Epic equipment. Even if the quality was a little off, it would be made up for by numbers, let alone the fact that there was a certain chance of getting an Enhanced Skill Book.


    The second Boss of Ahn''Qiraj had a pretty decent chance of dropping an Enhance Skill Book.


    Getting a First Clear would increase these chances as well.


    After defeating the three Bosses, they couldn''t rest yet. Everyone was waiting for Remnant Dream to loot the equipment. In the present circumstances, they couldn''t learn about the other teams'' progress. They could only tell from the equipment the second Boss dropped whether they had gotten the First Clear or not.


    There were a lot of Strengthening Stones, even more than double the amount from the first Boss.


    However, this was certainly not the criteria for judging the loot.


    Six Synthetic Gems. The quality of these was still alright; at least it wasn''t so bad that no one wanted them.


    Everyone could only continue to wait with expectation, staring at Remnant Dream as she looted the equipment.

 1663 First Clear

    "Improved Expose Armor"!


    The skill book that was looted turned out to be an Enhanced Skill Book. This really shocked everyone.


    Enhanced Skill Books really didn''t come that easily. They perhaps even more valuable than Skill Points and more difficult to obtain. At the moment, with some of the best players in the game gathered here, on average, there weren''t even two Enhanced Skills for each person.


    What was more, Expose Armor was an extremely important skill for warriors.


    "This is really good luck! Congrats, congrats."


    Without a doubt, everyone was congratulating Moonlight.


    This skill was the most useful for Warriors, but it was more for PvP players. No matter which way you looked at it, they had to give priority to Moonlight. Azure Sea Breeze, the so-called number one Main Tank couldn''t compete for this reward.


    "Thank you, thank you everyone. Thank you, Remnant Dream."


    Moonlight was clearly happy without expressing it in words.


    "Judging from this, we probably got the First Clear," Sky Moon commented happily.


    "Not just yet. Dreamy, quick, keep looting. Don''t keep counting the gold," Lu Li urged. This little girl had taken the bag of gold that Moonlight handed her and was sitting there happily counting it.


    "Ok then, thanks brother Moonlight," Remnant Dream said, happily putting away the money.


    Moonlight was always the type to not care too much about gold. He simply couldn''t manage to keep money himself. That bag of gold just then had at least five or six hundred coins. For Remnant Dream, it could feed her pets for many days.


    There was Gold, Dark Gold, then Epic equipment.


    Triad Girdle ¨C this was an Epic equip of a decent quality.


    Everyone held their breath. Would there be more Epic equipment?


    Angelista''s Touch!


    This was a physical ring, and was the second piece of Epic equipment.


    Angelista''s Charm!


    This was a magic necklace and was the third piece of Epic equipment.


    "Good, we got the First Clear of the second Boss."


    Lu Li felt overjoyed. Although they could have technically gained more from the Boss family, he was satisfied with this outcome.


    "There''s still another one ¨C Imperial Oiraji Regalia. Looks like a quest item," Remnant Dream called out as she pulled out another item.


    "Oh, keep it first," Lu Li said, feeling even more satisfied. They had certainly gotten the First Clear.


    The Imperial Qiraji Regalia was a quest item. With three Elementium Ores, you could exchange it for a healer''s staff, or a Druid''s hammer. Aside from this, there were also the Imperial Qiraji Armaments, which could be exchanged as well.


    Actually, if they killed Princess Yauj last, there was a chance of dropping T2.5 accessories.


    In order to quickly finish with the second Boss, Lu Li could only choose the easiest order.


    Glory Capital had actually already begun the Instance Dungeon ages ago.


    After Ruling Sword''s alliance had just prevailed against the insects, a few clubs, including those associated with Glory Capital, had finished the opening quest. Without stopping for a rest, they began to send squads into the two Instance Dungeons.


    Glory Capital was very powerful, beginning both Instance Dungeons at once. It was just that they were focused more on the Ahn''Qiraj Ruins, which seemed easier.


    After spending two days, they had gotten the First Clear of this Instance Dungeon on Nightmare difficulty.


    It wasn''t just Glory Capital. Other clubs also publicly showed off their campaign, but they weren''t as fast. By the time that Glory Capital had gotten the First Clear of the Ahn''Qiraj Ruins, Lu Li was only just waking up, so as to speak.


    The Ahn''Qiraj Temple Instance Dungeon was also started by Glory Capital two days ago.


    They had struggled with the small monsters there. Lu Li took less than an hour to ''discover the strategy for the smaller monsters, although they wiped for two to three hours.


    They also suffered in fighting the first Boss. When Sorrowless was paying attention to the Ahn''Qiraj Ruins, they didn''t make any progress all day. By the second day, their team was finally just able to defeat the first Boss.


    Then, they died again when it came to the smaller monsters.


    When Sorrowless was finished with the Ahn''Qiraj Ruins, he brought his best players to enter into the Ahn''Qiraj Temple Instance Dungeon and fight against the second Bosses.


    They were basically entering the Instance Dungeon at the same time.


    When Lu Li finished up with the smaller monsters, they were stuck at the second Boss. When Lu Li finished off the first Boss, they were still stuck at the same place.


    Each side wasn''t aware of the other''s progress, but Lu Li was able to make a rough estimate.


    If Glory Capital chose the easiest order, then they were likely to have already finished off the second Boss, and would be attempting the third. If they didn''t choose the easy order, then there was a real possibility of them being stuck.


    Lu Li made a very accurate guess. Glory Capital still hadn''t figured out the simplest method.


    By the time Ruling Sword finished off the second Boss, the game time was coming to end for the day. Shortly after, Glory Capital also finally prevailed against the family of Bosses.


    "Did we still get the First Clear for this Boss?" Blood Dagger was not very sure.


    He saw three pieces of Epic equipment drop with the first Boss, so he knew how valuable the drops were for this Instance Dungeon First Clear. Having already had a taste of this, he didn''t want to experience anything else.


    "Not sure, but these three Bosses were really too hard. I feel like Ruling Sword would also have a difficult time," West Whitehill said.


    No one lacked self-confidence, especially when it came to their level. They had fought this Boss for almost two days. Although they weren''t sending their main forces to begin with, their secondary forces were still more than capable. West Whitehill didn''t think they were any worse than Ruling Sword.


    Since they had already been here for two days, then Ruling Sword would likely be the same.


    "It doesn''t matter what we say. Let''s just see what comes out."


    Sorrowless wasn''t in such a bad mood. Under his command, they had finally taken down the Boss. Whoever was in his position would be happy.


    He was a very lucky person, perhaps not as lucky as Remnant Dream, but still pretty close.


    There were more Strengthening Stones than the first Boss, relatively valuable Synthetic Gems, Skills Book and rare materials. Then, the equipment started to be looted.


    Gold, Dark Gold, then Epic¡­


    One piece, two pieces¡­


    "Only 2 pieces?" West Whitehill couldn''t help but ask.


    "Yes¡­yes."


    The one looting was being stared at by everyone, so it was fair for them to be nervous, especially with Sorrowless'' thunderous expression. They had seen this situation too many times already.


    They had worked hard for so long with their eyes fixed on victory, but every time, they ended gloomily amidst the happy cries of Ruling Sword.


    "Two pieces isn''t considered too few¡­" West Whitehill said in spite of the situation, but even he couldn''t persuade them. The first Boss had dropped three pieces, and despite being three Bosses in one, the second only dropped two.


    Everyone damn well knew they didn''t get the First Clear.


    "Maybe it was Blood Red War Flag or Seventh Heaven. They also defeated the first one yesterday," Blood Dagger said.


    Their info spread a bit quicker than Lu Li''s, so they actually knew that there was more than one club who had defeated the first Boss yesterday. Logically, they had all gone in before Ruling Sword, so there was no reason why it was definitely Ruling sword.


    "No matter who it is, it''s close enough," Sorrowless sighed. "But I still think it''s Ruling Sword. Lu Li''s too good at Instance Dungeons."


    "I keep feeling like he was involved in designing Instance Dungeons," Blood Dagger said gloomily.


    "Even if he was involved, it doesn''t mean he''s capable of deducing the strategy. It''s not that we can''t find people like that," West Whitehill said, shaking his head. "Dawn''s Instance Dungeon mechanisms are all done created by the System. The Instance Dungeon designers only do the most foundational things. Unless all the mechanisms of the Boss were determined by them, Lu Li can''t just be good at this particular Boss."


    They were so tired, so they couldn''t guess realistically.


    The drops from defeating the second Boss were divided based on DKP. They slightly favored the Main Tank and professional Healers, but generally speaking, there wouldn''t be too much of a disagreement in this.

 1664 People as Kites

    There was still some time before the game closed for the day, so of course, everyone wouldn''t rest yet.


    Although they had achieved the First on from the second Boss, Ruling Sword''s superiority wasn''t overly evident. Everyone was familiar with the story of the Hare and the Tortoise, so the main thing was to increase the distance between their competitors.


    They went back on the main road after killing the second Boss.


    Ahead of them, there was a group of seven Vekniss Guardians, and to the left and right, there were another two groups each. Lu Li used six Tanks as well as Moonlight to divide up these monsters, pulling them to the wall and using AoE skills to finish them off.


    The Vekniss Guardians were monsters they had dealt with before, so logically speaking, there shouldn''t be any problem in dealing with them.


    However, there was a real chance of the whole team dying.


    They killed the group ahead of them without any difficulty, but when they moved on to the left, the area the first group was spread across was simply too large, so they attracted another group. Fourteen Vekniss Guardians against the team created a humongous challenge. That was when players began to die.


    Before they could stabilize the situation, the monsters also attracted the other two groups on the other side of the road.


    Four groups, 28 Vekniss Guardians!


    Anyone facing so many powerful monsters would feel hopeless. At that time, Lu Li allowed everyone to give up.


    "Finished, we''re finished," Azure Sea Breeze said with dull eyes and an extremely hopeless expression.


    He had no way of resisting so many monsters. In fact, three monsters were their absolute limit.


    "What do you mean finished? Can''t you be a bit more positive?!" Lu Li scolded, giving him a slap.


    "I don''t suppose you have a plan?" Azure Sea Breeze said innocently.


    "What if you pull the first group on the left over there to kill them? It''s just a bit more effort."


    Lu Li had plenty of reason to look down on him. His mental fortitude was still a little weak.


    Apart from being reborn, Lu Li''s main advantage was that he was very mentally tough. No matter what hardships he encountered, they had no way of influencing his thinking.


    Pulling the groups of monsters to where the first group stood would simply be a repeat of what it was like to kill the first group. The difficulty went straight from being almost impossible to a menial task.


    Such a simple strategy couldn''t be thought up by anyone just like that.


    At the very least, of the forty people here with Lu Li, only he was able to think of a solution in a moment. As such, he really wondered how long it would take the other clubs to think of a solution.


    After travelling across this road, Battleguard Sartura was standing right in front of them.


    Sartura was a flying insect with pink clothes and a veil. She had the a figure of an enchanting, beautiful woman ¨C if you ignored the insect legs. If the veil was taken off her face, she would probably be frightening.


    Sartura brought three followers, each of which looked like a mini version of her. They followed her very closely. It didn''t look like they could be pulled away to be killed separately.


    "Let''s see if we can finish off this Boss before the game time ends. Everyone, get to it," Lu Li said lightly.


    It actually didn''t really matter if they could finish off the Boss or not.


    With this remaining time of over an hour, if they could feel out the Boss'' skills, then that would already be pretty worthwhile.


    Sartura didn''t have all that many skills. There was a Whirlwind that did heaps of damage; in just a second it could finish off a cloth-armored player. The good thing was that during a Whirlwind she could be Taunted. As long as a Main Tank was hodling her down, then there wouldn''t be a massive death toll from this skill.


    There was another key skill which was Furor.


    Furor and Berserk were similar, but Sartura''s Furor was based on time. Fifteen minutes after the battle started, she would begin to enter her first Furor. Twenty minutes later, she would enter her second.


    This meant that you had to finish the battle within 20 minutes, otherwise, the battle would definitely be over. Even if she only had 1% HP after those 20 minutes, the players still might not have a chance to claim victory


    Aside from this, there was Mortal Strike, as well as a skill like Armor Pierce. Generally speaking, this Boss was a Berserker type.


    Sartura''s had about 1,500,000 HP, while her three followers had 300,000 each.


    Today, the whole team dying would just be a matter of time. Too many people died at the front and there wasn''t enough damage output at the back. Without realizing it, the battle had already progressed beyond 20 minutes, so it was definitely over.


    As such, Lu Li and co. could only wait until the second day to continue their campaign.


    On the second day, more clubs were joining in. Most of the major guilds had already completed the opening quest and some had begun to enter Ahn''Qiraj Ruins. Some still held out hope, choosing to give up on the Ahn''Qiraj Ruins and going for Ahn''Qiraj Temple.


    Get the First Clear!


    People always had dreams, even though the chances were one in a million.


    Not long into the second day, Seventh Heaven also finished with the second Boss. From their drops, they could easily deduce that someone had already gone on ahead of them.


    However, they didn''t suspect it was Ruling Sword.


    They thought Glory Capital was still at the very front. As for Ruling Sword, perhaps they were still stuck on the first Boss or on the smaller monsters. After all, they were also stuck on the smaller monsters in front of the first Boss for one or two days.


    The greatest competitor in their eyes, Glory Capital, was currently being wiped by the 7 Vekniss Guardians. They didn''t fare all that well with the first group, and were struggling to finish them off.


    "Careful, don''t pull the monsters on the side!" Sorrowless cried out until he lost his voice. The monsters here were attracted by spikes on the ground, but most players simply didn''t realize this at all. Everyone thought it had to do with where they were standing.


    Glory Capital wiped here for two or three hours. In the end, it was someone in the group who usually didn''t speak much who suggested they aggro the monsters to a different location.


    Sorrowless was dumbstruck.


    Sometimes, smart people though too much and they missed the most simple, direct solution.


    It would be most accurate to describe this battle as ''people as kites''.


    Since the damage from the Whirlwind was so high, and every second, more aggro was being accumulated, keeping the Boss still became an interesting but difficult problem.


    Sartura and her three followers were patrolling in the main hall. It was very difficult to use Warriors to charge at them, because they was basically no way to heal from a collective Whirlwind.


    Because of this, Lu Li instructed the tanks to position themselves, then draw aggro to ensure the team''s safety.


    Two Tanks and a Hunter formed a small team, and they had four such teams, targeting Sartura and her three followers.


    This required eight Main Tanks, which was really was too much. At least their equipment was good enough so that the other Plate-armor players were able to lend a hand in time. They could help the real Main Tanks pull the monsters.


    "Alright, I hope this is the last time we have to fight this Boss. Everyone should well aware of what they''re doing now," Lu Li said.


    "No problem."


    Early in the morning, everyone was wide awake, so no one had an excuse.


    "Then start. Mages, start on the monsters."


    Lu Li didn''t use Main Tanks to initiate this time, nor did he use hunters. The Mages cast Frost Novas, then used Ice Block. The monsters surrounded the invulnerable Mages, then following this, a few Tanks pulled them to the spots that Lu Li determined.


    At this time, with the way the team was distributed, there were two options.


    They could focus on the followers, killing each of the followers before Sartura. This was more suitable for a team with high DPS. Since the monsters would already be aggroed, the three followers would be scattered. Therefore, they needed each team''s substitute Warrior to make a timely Taunt once the followers lost their targets after the Whirlwind. That way, they would pull the followers back to their original positions, and at the same time, the DPS players could attack their set targets regardless of the Whirlwind. 300,000 HP could easily be dealt with.


    If they focused on the Boss, they wouldn''t kill the three followers first, but attack Sartura. This was more suited for teams that didn''t have enough DPS but had enough healers. A Hunter would have to monitor the followers to make sure they weren''t casting a Whirlwind. Whichever one was not in that state would be stunned. Then, when the healers could guarantee the other Warrior''s health, they would focus their DPS. This could almost guarantee that the whole team of foryt would be in the game until the end.


    These two methods had their own advantages and disadvantages. After thinking carefully for a while, Lu Li chose the first option because it was a little more stable. The second frequently led to team deaths.


    "Magic roles, be careful to protect your lives. If you die too stupidly, I''ll take points off you," Lu Li said, threatening them with the point punishment again. There was no choice. There were Whirlwinds flying all over the field and there was always someone actively leaving their position.


    "We have to protect ourselves and make sure our DPS doesn''t get too low, Boss, you''re really asked a lot," Fat Monkey mumbled in complaint.


    "Yeah, it''s really annoying," Lonesome Flower said, as he cast Ice Block.


    "I''ll transform, transform, transform!"


    With a whizzing sound, Hachi Chan transformed into a giant bear, twisting her bottom to run away from the Whirlwind. When she was escaping, she was still turning her head to show off her ugly face.


    Calling it ''people as kites'' wasn''t for fun. Everyone needed to stay moving to protect themselves, and, at the same, time, to do their job.


    The Priests also needed to constantly pay attention to their own safety. As soon as they realized the Boss'' target wasn''t right, they would have to escape as quickly as they could. During the Boss'' Whirlwind, the target would keep changing, so at this time, if someone went up to Taunt, they should heal them quickly.


    All roles had their uses, except the Thieves.


    They basically couldn''t contribute DPS. The only other Thief apart from Lu Li was Water Fairy.


    These two players were entirely dependent on their mechanics and equipment to survive.

 1665 Deceiving Each Other

    "What are you doing? I''m busy here," Lu Li impatiently said, connecting to the communication service. The person on the other side had already sent three reports asking for help.


    "Hahaha, not in a good mood? How come it sounds like you''ve eaten some gunpowder."


    Jade Flower Lover''s lone laugh came through.


    "Why am I in a bad mood? I''m in a good mood," Lu Li responded.


    "If you''re in a good mood, then tell me, how has your three-guild alliance progressed through the Instance Dungeon?"


    Jade Flower Lover was evidently trying to gain information. After they had defeated the second Boss, they were on a high, so they wanted to annoy Lu Li.


    "I didn''t choose the Elite difficulty Instance Dungeon, so of course I''m not as fast you guys," Lu Li said, subtly concealing his intent.


    "Damn, can you not bring that up? That time we chose the wrong difficulty, but now we''ve definitely chosen Nightmare. I don''t know which one of us is in front. If you can, why don''t you reveal it?" Jade Flower Lover asked in annoyance.


    If they didn''t choose Elite difficulty, could they accidentally get the First Clear later then?


    "There''s nothing I can''t reveal. We just defeated the first Boss and we''re just taking a short break now. You''ve probably already killed the second Boss," Lu Li said. "We discussed a time when everyone would go in and start, but you guys entered into the Instance Dungeon first. Damn you, Flower bro."


    "Hahaha, don''t use that kind of language, all warfare is based on deception. Blood Red War Flag never made an agreement with you," Jade Flower Lover laughed loudly in satisfaction.


    Lu Li cursed him more and more, and Jade Flower Lover''s heart felt even more satisfied. This made what Lu Li had said about their progress sound believable.


    Lu Li hung up the call and laughed twice. Right when he saw the third, he knew he had definitely deceived them.


    If Lu Li had gone to school, he should have known that this sort of deception was just a common thing.


    Every time there was a test, there would always be those people who got better marks and would make a fuss about how they didn''t study the night and how they would fail this time.


    However, in reality, these people never scored below 95%.


    Wandering didn''t agree with Lu Li''s little performance


    "Pfft, it''s still not as good as telling them our actual progress. That way, they''d be frightened half to death. Or. you can exaggerate a little, and say that we''ve defeated the fourth Boss. They''ll be completely hopeless and have no idea what to do."


    "Oh, Jinzhu Liu, you look so kind but you''re so cruel," Lu Li said, looking down on him.


    Wandering replied by giving him the finger.


    Remnant Dream began to loot the equipment. Even if Glory Capital was stronger, Lu Li still didn''t believe that they would be able to catch up after falling behind at the second Boss. This time, their alliance had definitely achieved the First Clear for this Boss.


    When the Boss died, World''s Best Friend gained a Skill Point.


    No Enhanced Skills Book were dropped.


    After this, it came to various equipment, from the lowest to the highest grade.


    No one had any need for Gold and Dark Gold equipment. Most people here were all clothed in Epic equipment; they were Level 60 players who had been at this level for two months.


    After this came the Epic equipment.


    The first were the Legplates of Blazing Light.


    "Er, this equip is actually for females."


    Lu Li felt a little embarrassed to explain this point. This Plate Leg Armor looked to be of excellent quality, but the real reason it was valuable wasn''t because of this.


    In the future, when many players had reached level 70, they would farm this Boss for the pants.


    The golden-orange color of the armor was eye-catching, trendy, and charming. These Legplates of Blazing Light were always highly valued.


    "Why is it for females?" the males questioned in defiance.


    "When you wear them, you''ll know," Lu Li said bluntly.


    "If it''s for the girls, let Darkness try it first. If it''s for guys, then let Wandering."


    Everyone was waiting in anticipation. Although every knew that the equipment in Dawn had different results when worn by a male or female, the difference generally wasn''t too large, and until now, there hadn''t been too much equipment that was only for a certain gender.


    "No problem for Darkness. She''s very pretty, but Wandering without a doubt is even prettier," Azure Sea Breeze laughed.


    "Damn, I can''t do this! You wear them!" Wandering cried out angrily.


    He was originally very interested and planned to try on this equipment, but when Azure Sea Breeze said this, he lost the heart to straight away.


    "Hehe, course it should be me. Let me try them," Azure Sea Breeze said as he took the equipment and changed pants in front of everyone.


    After he put them on, everyone immediately burst out in laughter.


    On Azure Sea Breeze, the Legplates looked like a miniskirt.


    "This equipment is still Wandering''s; it suits him more."


    Azure Sea Breeze was in complete shock and embarrassment, taking off the pants straight away and chucking them to Lu Li.


    Even if it was better, he couldn''t take it. He couldn''t wear it outside; it was simply too embarrassing.


    "Hehe, you wait," Wandering said intimidatingly.


    Darkness took the equipment and generously put it on.


    "Wow, it''s so pretty."


    The other girls all crowded around in just a moment, looking on with envious admiration. It was quite a shame that most of them were Priests and Mages who wore Cloth Armor. Almost no girls would play Plate Armor roles. It looked like Darkness was the only female Paladin.


    "Anyone fighting Darkness for it?" Lu Li asked.


    A few Berserkers and Paladins looked at each other blankly, thinking back to what Azure Sea Breeze looked like wearing the little short skirt, and they couldn''t help but shiver.


    Without a doubt, this piece of equipment was going to Darkness. Of the three special effects, two were well suited to a Tank Healer, and the other one could save the wearer''s life. These were valuable special effects in an Instance Dungeon.


    Badge of the Swarmguard!


    This was another piece of Epic equipment, a physical type badge. It was similar to the Assassin item, with the most important special effect being Critical Hit. As the player killed more units, there would be an increase in Critical Hits. If the circumstances allowed, it wasn''t uncommon to gain 100% Critical Hit.


    Lu Li thought about it for a while, and in the end, he didn''t join in the contest.


    It wasn''t that the Badge wasn''t good, but rather, it just wasn''t necessary to spend too many points on this piece of equipment. In the end, Her Tears took it away at an exorbitant price. The points he had saved up were all completely gone.

 1666 Frankriss the Unyielding

    The third Epic item was Imperial Qiraji Armaments, which was a quest item.


    On the journey from the third Boss to the fourth Boss, Frankriss the Unyielding, there were the elite Vekniss Soldiers and the non-elite Vekniss Drones. If they got wiped while fighting them, they would have to start all over again. However, after they killed Frankriss, they wouldn''t be able to farm these insects anymore.


    But this meant that every time they got wiped, they had to start by fighting these monsters again.


    This was a very annoying process in obtaining the First Clear.


    Unfortunately, there was no choice. The Instance Dungeon was designed in this way, so they just had to not get wiped.


    If they could do it one go, then they wouldn''t have to worry about it.


    These two were new monsters. The Vekniss Soldiers could grant a ''powerless charge'' debuff, which reduced movement speed by 60%. However, those who were affected by this debuff had to keep moving forwards as they could still tank for the others. These monsters were easily dealt with if they simply cast some area of effect skills.


    The Vekniss Drones weren''t even an elite unit, so there was no difficulty in defeating them.


    Although it didn''t seem like these monsters were particularly powerful, they weren''t any easier to defeat than the previous monsters. This was a very similar situation to the ''Trap House'' in Blackwing''s Nest between the second and third Bosses. These soldiers and drones were very fast, and you had to kill one every 30 seconds.


    The difference between this and the ''trap house'' was that the soldiers could be pulled by the Warriors, which kept the fighting close together. If they were too scattered, the monsters might leave and call for reinforcements. This also meant that they had to kill the monsters they encountered as quickly as possible.


    The entire team would try to hug a wall to avoid being surrounded by the insects. Once some of the elite insects dropped, the team had to quickly press forwards.


    Lu Li would often shout, "Come to me! Keep up!"


    Just before the last wave of monsters at Frankriss'' hall, you could take a break. There was a small slope on the left where everyone could gather and remain undiscovered by the Vekniss Drones. Before they approached the Boss, they would prepare their buffs there. The Warlocks could also transport people who died on the way to that location.


    In general, the Mages were the ones casting the area of effect skills, so they needed to regenerate their mana.


    The fourth Boss was called Frankriss the Unyielding.


    In reality, no matter how unyielding this Boss was, it couldn''t be as unyielding as the players. They never gave up, even if they were about to die.


    The players who were selected for these Dungeon runs were very patient. Some even enjoyed the feeling of dying, because the glory of defeating the Boss and taking the First Clear was more than enough to make up for their present suffering.


    They hadn''t spend much time on the previous Boss, but they had spent half of the day just travelling to Frankriss.


    This Boss had four skills, and one of them was called Fatal Wounds. This was a stackable skill that reduced the target''s ability to receive healing by 10%. When cast, it was similar to Opportune Strike, where the people in front of the Boss would be affected. Therefore, within reason, they had to avoid standing there.


    The only exception was the Main Tank Azure Sea Breeze; he obviously didn''t count as a person.


    The second skill spawned Vekniss Hatchlings. Frankriss would hatch a large number of Vekniss worms throughout the battle, which were stronger than those outside.


    They were also immune to all crowd control skills, except Fear and Sleep.


    Spawn of Frankriss was another skill that would summon even more minions into the battle arena. These monsters had very strong attacks that could one-shot Cloth-armored players. They dealt over 1700 damage to the Plate-Armor players and were also immune to all crowd control except Sleep.


    The last skill was Webspinning. For every new Hatchling or Spawn that was created, Frankriss would randomly send a player to one of the four corners of the hall and Root them for 8 seconds.


    Frankriss'' skills were probably worse than Kurinnaxx''s in the Ruins of Ahn''Qiraj, because the hatchlings were very strong and there was no limit to them.


    In order to defeat Frankriss before the mobs overwhelmed them, they needed to work harder on their damage output.


    Unlike Kurinnaxx, Lu Li rotated three defensive players for the Boss. He wanted to avoid gaining a lethal number of Fatal Wounds stacks and also mitigate the issues of a tank being sent into a corner.


    The constant stacking of Fatal Wounds would eventually cause the tank''s death, so when they received a certain number, they had to swap with another tank.


    Most of them would be stacked onto the Main Tank, but they would swap to another tank every once in a while so that the stacks would reset. After that, the Main Tank would rejoin the battle at the front.


    The Thieves and Hunters'' pets were attacking Frankriss from the side. They couldn''t stand in front because they would gain more Fatal Wounds stakcs.


    Since they couldn''t always rotate Azure Sea Breeze out in time, he started drinking Rage Potions so that they could maximise their damage output.


    The Mages, Hunters and Warlocks frantically attacked Frankriss as the Thieves and the Hunter''s pets were occupying him and his hatchlings.


    In the battle, they would all surround Frankriss to ensure that they would take care of as many of the hatchlings as possible.


    They wouldn''t worry about any missed hatchlings as the Warriors would take care of those.


    When Frankriss used Spawn of Frankriss, one of them would pull the mobs and there would be a healer assigned to that person. However, all the damage output players would then focus on killing Frankriss as quickly as possible. The longer they dragged it on for, the more mobs would appear and the greater the likelihood that an accident would occur.


    Because the hatchlings could be affected by Fear, Lu Li had brought in many Warlocks.


    Chaining their Fears was an important part of the process, and there were five Warlocks working together to achieve this. The first Warlock''s Fear was especially important.


    Generally, they would start when there were four hatchlings because the area of effect Fear had a 1.5 channel time.


    If a Warlock made a mistake, it didn''t mean they would get wiped, but casualties were inevitable.


    The Main Tank was also a focus of this battle, as they had to have enough quality equipment and skills to ensure that Frankriss and all the spawned mobs stayed in place.


    This time, they had brought in all their best Main Tanks. Azure Sea Breeze had to pull Frankriss'' aggro as quickly as possible. After doing that, he also had to make sure to keep the Boss still even when rotating with the other tanks. Too much movement would affect the efficiency of the Thieves'' Backstab.


    This time, they had finally brought along more Thieves than just Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    Lu Li brought four Thieves into the battle. As long as those four Thieves focused on attacking the Boss, their stuns could save the game.


    It wasn''t obvious in the current version of the game, but Wings of Dawn would later do this Boss with 15 Thieves. It wasn''t that efficient, but it was an impressive strategy.


    However, Lu Li didn''t have enough capable Thieves to execute that strategy.

 1667 Top Ten of the Donghua Cup

    After defeating Frankriss the Unyielding, Lu Li announced that everyone could now take a break.


    They had already killed four Bosses, so there was no need to keep rushing along. The other clubs were likely still stuck on the third Boss and there were many players that needed to participate in the competition.


    The Donghua Cup was almost coming to an end.


    Ruling Sword''s rookie team and Peerless City''s rookie team had both entered the top ten, but Drizzle Court''s rookie team was eliminated fighting for 10th place.


    A win or a loss wasn''t that important in a competition like this. There were no famous players who were participating. Blood Dagger had made an apperance once but solely to vent his anger. He didn''t play anymore afterwards.


    The players who were participating were basically all newcomers.


    There were also some PVE players who didn''t usually participate in things like this, but wanted to experience this part of the game.


    Because of this, there were many Mercenary players in the competition representing outside companies. It was a form of advertising for these groups.


    Lu Li had a similar idea in his previous life, but he couldn''t find anyone to participate in the competition with him.


    Azure Sea Breeze was constantly being chased around and killed, so he had no time to make money with him in advertising.


    At this time, the Donghua Cup had officially entered the top ten stage.


    The top ten included the main clubs ¨C Glory Capital, Ruling Sword, Peerless City, Seventh Heaven, Gangnam Royals, Wings of Dawn, Blood Red War Flag, Azure Guard, Grand Hegemony and Blue Universe.


    Glory Capital''s youth camps were famous all over the world, as many top players had come from there.


    They were simply the cream of the crop. Even without Blood Dagger being involved, they were still able to advance to the top ten with the highest scores.


    The second highest scoring team was Blue Universe''s team.


    They were actually already professional players, but they had been kicked out of their previous clubs by Water Fairy. They were now all playing in the Donghua Cup under new identities, but they were in fact not real newcomers.


    Then, there was Grand Hegemony. Their situation was similar to that Blue Universe. They had a lot of money and were very powerful.


    The Gangnam Royals were previously unable to get anywhere in these competitions, but this time they had hired experts from the mercenary community and filled the rest of the team with strong players of their own. This strategy performed quite well.


    The other teams were made up of newcomers, or at least a majority were newcomers.


    In Ruling Sword''s team, Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu were the already established professional players.


    However, they didn''t play too much. The requirements of a newcomer for the Donghua Cup was that their debut had been less than a year ago. Even so, this would include people like Fat Monkey, Kitty Likes Meat, March Rain and even Lu Li.


    If Lu Li, March Rain, Fat Monkey, Mu Qiu, Kitty Likes MEat and Sakura Memories were playing, they could easily win the championship.


    It was just that Ruling Sword had quite a unique status, and doing that would obviously just be bullying the other newcomers.


    The players who were participating for Ruling Sword were true newcomers and were under the leadership of Short Circuit. Short Circuit''s performance had been very good. His progress had been compared to Fat Monkey''s progress.


    However, his character was quite different from Fat Monkey. He was an Ice Mage, and he had a seamless fighting style.


    Someone had once analysed a video of his fight and found that he was a player that had made almost zero mistakes in the Donghua Cup. Almost everything he did was perfect.


    Of course, this wasn''t the only style that was good.


    Often, an overemphasis on attention to detail would lead to the forgoing of other things.


    When dealing with other newcomers, the pursuit of perfection wasn''t a big deal. However, when dealing with other strong star players, pursuing perfection would just result in more mistakes.


    Lu Li had discussed this attitude with Short Circuit, and he had said he would pay attention to that while in game, but there were some things that were very difficult to change.


    At the very least, Lu Li couldn''t see any signs of it getting better.


    However, this wasn''t important. Lu Li had experienced Rebirth, so he expected this style from Short Circuit.


    Almost all players had their own style, which could be a strength or a weakness. People just had to play to their strengths, instead of trying getting everyone to change.


    Short Circuit''s style was to be OCD.


    Mu Qiu had also participated in this competition and had changed his fighting style. He had gone from a tanky healer to a damage output player. In a sense, he was also a newcomer.


    Of course, he was also one of the players that only played occasionally, so he didn''t have that many opportunities in the Donghua Cup.


    There was also Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze who went on a few times.


    "How about we''ll go watch the competitions to relax? I''ll pay for the tickets," Lu Li suggested. He saw that everyone was quite interested in the matches, so he decided to be generous.


    "Whatever!" everyone scoffed at his proposal.


    It was just a few silver per ticket, but he had made it out like he was being super generous.


    This was a match between Ruling Sword and Blue Universe. It was quite a difficult matchup as the Blue Universe players were basically established professionals.


    Both Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu were playing, otherwise, they would have no chance.


    These guys didn''t care much about winning or losing the Donghua Cup, but there were some who did. Some groups were using this Cup was a means of launching their comeback. THe Gangnam Royals were one such group.


    Ruling Sword wasn''t matched up against the Gangnam Royals this time, but Lu Li wished they were.


    However, Gangnam Royals weren''t that fortunate either. They had been matched against Glory Capital''s Youth Camp group. These players were generally considered to be as capable as established players. The mercenaries in the Gangnam Royals were unlikely to be skilled or strong enough.


    After entering the arena, Lu Li and Water Fairy sat together.


    Nine Phoenix and Wendelian were on stage. Nine Phoenix was a professional commentator and Wendelian was the commander of Gale Legion and a very popular female player within the gaming circle.


    "This will be a very interesting match. Ruling Sword and Blue Universe have both scored quite highly. However, it is a pity that we won''t be seeing familiar faces like Lu Li, March Rain, Moonlight and the rest," Wendelian said confidently. She should have been against Ruling Sword as Gale Legion was subordinate to Glory Capital, and Glory Capital had now named Ruling Sword as a major opponent.


    "Actually, I quite like Fat Monkey and Short Circuit together. They are an Ice and Fire OTP," Nine Phoenix laughed.


    "Lu Li was quite lucky to have found a player with such great potential," Wendelian said somewhat reluctantly.


    The Shadow Cup was where Lu Li and March Rain had risen to fame. The Professional League was where Far Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat had made their mark. And here in the Donghua Cup, it was Short Circuit and Mu Qiu with his altered fighting style.

 1668 Anti-Warrior Entering the Match

    "Short Circuit indeed has a great future, and the other newcomers are also pretty good,"


    Nine Phoenix continued, "But Blue Universe is also quite strong. It is hard to say what the outcome will be."


    "Definitely," Wendelian agreed. "Let''s wait and see."


    "The first player to appear is Sindra from Blue Universe. Mages are currently quite strong. Hey, Ruling Sword is also sending out a Mage. It''s Fat Monkey ¨C a fire mage! This will be a fight between ice and fire!" Nine Phoenix cried out.


    Fat Monkey generally didn''t participate in these matchups, so the fact that they were using him meant that their opponent had to be very strong.


    Sindra was an old-school Mage, so he might have a focus a little.


    Those were the thoughts of Fat Monkey, but of course, there was actually a decent chance that Sindra would defeat him.


    Both players already knew each other as neither were newcomers, so they didn''t need to spend much time testing the waters.


    "Fat Monkey is getting wilder and wilder," Lu Li said coldly.


    "True, but it''ll get better in future."


    Water Fairy knew what Lu Li meant. He was dissatisfied with Fat Monkey''s fighting style and how he had little respect for his opponents. It must have been that there were so few worthy matchups for him in the Donghua Cup that his ego had become inflated.


    The reason for Water Fairy''s response was quite simple.


    Once he experienced a few losses at the higher levels, Fat Monkey would naturally have to adjust his mindset.


    "Sindra is pretty good. He''s giving Monkey a run for his money."


    Lu Li felt that the Mage was doing quite well despite taking a passive approach. He would wait for Fat Monkey''s offence to lull before launching a counterattack.


    "However, he is still not a match for Fat Monkey," Water Fairy said with a smile.


    The players in Blue Universe had once been her subordinates, so there were few people that knew them better than Water Fairy.


    "We''re helping you teach those traitors a lesson," Lu Li quipped.


    "I don''t really mind anymore. It has been quite hard for them since they left too."


    Water Fairy was hugging Lu Li''s arm as she spoke. She didn''t really feel sad as Drizzle Court and Peerless City had formed a three-way alliance with Ruling Sword. They were tied together in getting First Clears.


    The human and material resources that they had saved from doing Instance Dungeons and instead spent on Wild Bosses had achieved great results.


    According to the number of Wild Boss kills recorded last month, Drizzle Court and Peerless City had surpassed Seventh Heaven and were just behind Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag.


    Blue Universe wanted to sweep through the Donghua Cup so their name would be known.


    However, the road had not been as smooth as they thought. They had encountered many tough opponents that it was difficult for them to claim that they had steamrolled through.


    Now, they were up against Ruling Sword, who were at least equally as strong as they were.


    They had already lost a match to Ruling Sword in the Professional League. This had left a lasting impression.


    Fat Monkey took a few blows from Sindra''s counterattacks because of their impeccable timing, but this wasn''t enough to eliminate him. He had many tricks up his sleeve that were beyond Sindra''s imagination.


    In the end, Fat Monkey won, but with a less than ideal advantage.


    Blue Universe''s Party Leader Enthrall had now come to eliminate Fat Monkey before being greeted by another Ruling Sword player.


    Everyone had expected Mu Qiu to appear. Between Mu Qiu, Fat Monkey and Short Circuit, Ruling Sword had a strong team that was hard to rival within the Donghua Cup.


    However, things didn''t play out that way.


    Enthrall looked to his opponent and felt blood rushing up his throat.


    Azure Sea Breeze!


    That''s right ¨C Ruling Sword had heartlessly sent someone who wasn''t even a professional player into the field.


    However, there wasn''t a single person who had forgotten who he was.


    He was the Main Tank of Ruling Sword''s First Clear Team. He could even be called Dawn''s number one Main Tank. The total value of his equipment and enhanced skills was enough to buy a medium-sized guild.


    "Come on, someone is bound to get crushed now," one of the audience members cried out.


    However, their voice was soon drowned out by the overwhelming cry of the crowd. Azure Sea Breeze''s popularity was just too high, and they were just chanting his name repeatedly.


    "How dare you put your shield down."


    Enthrall had very little experience with Anti-Warriors.


    The guy in front of him was like a hedgehog armed to the teeth, and he didn''t know what to say.


    "Come and hit me. Come on!" Azure Sea Breeze taunted his opponent.


    Enthrall cast a Charge which hit Azure Sea Breeze''s shield. However, what left him speechless was that he Stunned himself and he took more damage than Azure Sea Breeze did.


    "Hey, you won''t get through my equipment that easily," Azure Sea Breeze laughed proudly.


    Enthrall''s attack power was certainly not comparable to Azure Sea Breeze''s. The damage that he had received was just the rebound damage. When Azure Sea Breeze was bored, he tried to collect as many exquisite equips with rebound damage as he could.


    Of course, the rebound damage wasn''t 100% effective, otherwise, he would just be invulnerable.


    However, with his HP and defense, he could just stand there and allow the rebound damage to do the work. Even Lu Li wouldn''t be able to beat him.


    Enthrall knew that he was in trouble.


    This was especially so when Azure Sea Breeze quickly regained his lost HP from some Lifesteal stats in his equipment.


    "Invincible! Breezy is invincible!"


    This wasn''t the first time that Azure Sea Breeze had joined in on the Donghua Cup. However, his popularity was very high which meant that more and more spectators were joining in.


    "If he uses Magic, then it wouldn''t even be a fight," Lu Li said coldly. He instantly worked out the weakness of Azure Sea Breeze''s set up. The rebound damage only worked on melee attacks. Those who used magic damage could fire away without any fear.


    "Come on, it''s already quite impressive. You don''t have to tear him down," Water Fairy said with a smile.


    Azure Sea Breeze had managed to embarrass Enthrall and he seemed to have even gained Water Fairy''s approval, so he was quite happy.


    Enthrall didn''t throw a tantrum in the arena; he just continued fighting. Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t gaining that much regeneration from the Lifesteal, so he could still deal damage.


    But what if he didn''t fight?


    Then, what was he doing in the arena!?


    Enthrall was not a top Warrior, but he was still somewhat of a celebrity. He had no idea that he would one day encounter this perversion of a strategy from Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Concede, concede," Azure Sea Breeze laughed at his opponent.


    Azure Sea Breeze was beaming. The feeling of humiliating a professional player like this was just like getting a First Clear.

 1669 Meeting the Princess Again

    Enthrall wouldn''t admit that he and Azure Sea Breeze were of the same profession. He was a Berserker, not an Anti-Warrior.


    Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t happy for too long. The opponent''s Hunter, Feather Enthusiast, evidently knew how to deal with Azure Sea Breeze.


    He was flying a kite, fighting Azure Sea Breeze the same way that he would fight a Boss. He even packed up his pets, in case they got hurt from the rebound damage, but also to prevent Azure Sea Breeze from gaining another source of HP.


    After Azure Sea Breeze was sent off, Mu Qiu still didn''t make an apperance.


    Rather, it was Lonesome Flower.


    Prince Flowe, Big Prince Flower, Big Uncle, Sister Devotee ¨C these were all nicknames for him that the audiences shouted. In fact, Lonesome Flower wasn''t promiscuous in any way. He rarely spoke with any girls outside of the First Clearing Team.


    The reason they shouted ''Big Uncle'' was because his sister, March Rain, was so beautiful that she was lusted after by countless players.


    As for ''Sister Devotee'', that was also true.


    When Lonesome Flower first entered the game, he was a novice too. The first time that Lu Li met this pair of siblings was when Lonesome Flower was being assaulted. He was a mess as a novice back then.


    Then, he slowly adjusted to the game, and hung out with professional players all the time.


    Lonesome Flower''s mechanics started to gradually improve.


    He probably couldn''t compare with his naturally talented sister, but with his superb equipment, he was definitely a terrifying mobile fortress out in the Wild. Many people simply couldn''t even get close to him.


    Feather Enthusiast knew Lonesome Flower. He, of course, was afraid of standing up against him.


    He could only rely on his slightly longer-distance range to kite Lonesome Flower to a dead end. This was the ideal, but there were always some differences between the ideal and reality. If Lonesome Flower was an ordinary Mage then he would probably be dead.


    Unfortunately, Lonesome Flower was a professional Mage with superb equipment and amazing skills.


    In reality, his equipment was no lesser than Sorrowless''.


    This was also Lu Li''s first time in seeing Lonesome Flower''s full graceful bearing. His series of skills had pretty much drowned his opponent, and damage was continuously being dealt.


    "It''s easy to deal with him," Lu Li said, showing off in front of his girlfriend. "As long as you can find one Thief that''s good at using controlling skills, then you can tease him to death."


    "Why are you always thinking about how to deal with people?!" Water Fairy asked angrily.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower were busy helping her fight the traitor. Whose side was he on?


    After this, Blue Universe sent out their Thief, Post-Mortem Cook. He had evidently seen what type of person Lonesome Flower was. Only through controlling him could he prevent this fortress from having his way.


    "Post-Mortem''s abilities are not bad," Water Fairy commented. She knew this player relatively well.


    "No use. Flower has a piece of equipment that grants him immunity to three control skills." Lu Li also knew Lonesome Flower well. Nearly all the equipment on Lonesome Flower was distributed through his hand.


    That piece of equipment would grant Lonesome Flower at least 15 seconds of damage output.


    Lu Li always thought that putting all this equipment on Lonesome Flower was a little wasteful. It was a shame that Fat Monkey didn''t need it at all, otherwise, it would be given to him.


    Post-Mortem Cook lost quite badly. He was trying to control Lonesome Flower before he died. If it was a Thief like Lu Li or Water Fairy, they wouldn''t have used as much effort as he did.


    The open challenge finished very quickly. Other than Fat Monkey, Ruling Sword had sent players that were pretty much all non-professional PVP players.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s appearance was essentially made for humour. He got rid of Eththrall, then was killed by Feather Enthusiast. These two rounds were complete reversals of the other. In one round, he had the absolute advantage, while in the other he was at an absolute disadvantage.


    Team battle!


    The format of the Donghua Cup was 5v5, and there were not substitutes.


    Blue Universe had a lineup of a Warrior, Mage, Priest, Paladin and Hunter, while Ruling Sword had three Mages, a Paladin and a Warrior. The former had a more formal 5v5 lineup, while the latter looked a little strange, no matter how you justified it.


    The Tank was Azure Sea Breeze, who took the lead and rushed to the front.


    Unfortunately, no one paid attention to him. Even the ghosts knew that he was as hard as stone, so it would be a waste of time in beating him.


    As for Mu Qiu, Fat Monkey, Lonesome Flower and Short Circuit, the four of them would go and one-shot the priest facing them ¨C Almond Parfait.


    "Hang on, hang on! Parfait¡­ ugh Parfait, how come you can''t hang on?" Feather Enthusiast couldn''t help but scold him. Why did their Priest drop dead from a face-to-face encounter?


    "Stuff you! Why don''t you try and hang on, huh!?"


    The four of them focused on him and he was killed without any time to react.


    "Mu Qiu has a weapon with really high attack."


    Wendelian on the commentary desk felt a chill down her spine. She was also a Priest, so from one look she could tell how many measures Almond Parfait had taken to avoid being one-shotted in the first round.


    However, the power of Mu Qiu''s weapon was far too high. Two slices had cut out half of his target''s HP.


    "Greatsword of the Brotherhood," Nine Phoenix sighed.


    Mu Qiu''s weapon really got people to marvel it. It was could be said that it was one of the strongest weapons in the current edition of Dawn. Also, there was currently only one; the other clubs couldn''t farm it no matter how hard they tried.


    Blue Universe''s survivability had dropped immensely and the rest of the players were nearly dead. Ruling Sword had appeared to win with an overwhelming advantage. Everyone was naturally ecstatic, except for Azure Sea Breeze.


    He was running back and forth in the arena, but not a single person was willing to give him any attention.


    There wasn''t anyone hitting him, and neither was he able to hit anyone else. It was as if he was a completely irrelevant person.


    "Okay, the competition is nearly over. We''re nearly done watching. We can go back and continue First Clearing," Lu Li urged. The match had gone so smoothly, and he believed that the Instance Dungeon would go just as well.


    Tomorrow would be the new week. Lu Li wanted to kill the later Bosses as quickly as he could. If he waited until next week, he would have to start again from scratch.


    Ahn''Qiraj Temple''s fifth Boss was Princess Huhuran.


    A majority of children grew up listening to stories of princesses and princes. Whilst admiring the beauty of princesses and the bravery of princes, girls aspired to be the princesses in these stories, while the boys would hope to marry them.


    Of course, for Lu Li, his childhood had no fairy tales.


    However, in order to make his sister happy, he had also read a lot of similar stories. At the very least, he knew that these fairy tales were meant to be happy.


    Yet, the princesses in the game were not like those in fairy tales that waited for prince charming to save them. They all had their own characteristics and personality traits.


    The princesses in games were all vastly different from each other. Some were medievally-styled with long skirts and gentle demeanour, while others completely subverted expectations in both clothing and behaviour.


    Dawn didn''t have just a single princess, and not all of them were the conventional type.


    The weirdest of course was a wild boar found wandering in the Elwynn Forest Farm. It was suppressed by players because of wrecking a cabbage patch.


    Then, there was the Black Dragon Princess, who was the core antagonist of the Alliance''s main storyline.


    Theradras¡­she had an even more resounding name as Princess Maraudon.


    Princess Myzael was also known as the Earth Princess. Players first found her in the Arathi Highlands''. After a series of obstacles, they successfully rescued her, only to find that she was a little bigger in size than the typical princess. She was also someone who would turn hostile instantly, so there was no other choice but to kill her off.


    Lu Li had also saved a small Gnome princess from a large gorilla.


    Princess Yauj was the mother of the family of Bosses. Lu Li and the others just killed them not too long ago. Now, they had bumped into Princess Huhuran. She was a gigantic insect that could fly. Apparently, she was the daughter of Twin Emperors.


    This title of princess was truly not worth that price.


    Lu Li doubted whether this game had a princess that met normal aesthetic standards.

 1670 Temporary Alliance

    No matter how much Princess Huhuran appeared like a large bumblebee, she was indeed a very powerful Boss.


    At the beginning, they just kept getting wiped. Lu Li didn''t even get to test very much before it would happen, so they were struggling just to decide on a team composition. Time was being wasted, but fortunately, they were able to maintain good spirits after watching a match of the competitions together.


    Lu Li wasn''t in the hurry anyway. This Instance Dungeon was very difficult, and if they were making a little progress, then the other clubs would be even slower.


    The other guilds that Lu Li was thinking about weren''t even trying to fight the new Boss. In fact, they were all in a chat room gossiping. Glory Capital, Seventh Heaven, Blood Red War Flag, Azure Guard, Wings of Dawn, Purple Lunar Paradise, and Glory Capital''s Gale Legion were all there.


    There were some other clubs that had completed the starting Quest, but they had failed to defeat the second Boss, so they were excluded from the group.


    "So, you haven''t defeated the third Boss?" Jade Flower Lover asked.


    Blood Red War Flag had defeated the third Boss, and was one step ahead of Glory Capital. As such, Jade Flower Lover took this opportunity to have a bit of fun. Given the equipment that it dropped, it didn''t make much of a real difference anyway.


    "I already told you we haven''t done it. You don''t have to believe me," Sorrowless said impatiently.


    "Hey, I just thought you were ahead of us this whole time," Jade Flower Lover sighed before smiling and saying, "So Lu Li obviously wasn''t telling the truth. When we defeated the second Boss, he said that he had just defeated the first Boss."


    "We defeated the second Boss before then, and it wasn''t the First Clear at the time," Sorrowless said.


    "Damn, what a liar," Jade Flower Lover cursed at Lu Li.


    "You didn''t invite us here just to get angry at someone else did you?"


    Azure Guard''s Floral Paralysis was puzzled. He didn''t understand what Jade Flower Lover wanted.


    "I invited you all here to talk about how we can cooperate," Jade Flower Lover said, beginning to talk about his intentions.


    He first gave his analysis of Ruling Sword''s progress. He hypothesised that Ruling Sword had probably already defeated the third Boss and was in the process of fighting the fourth or even fifth Boss. All of that was to say that Ruling Sword had entered the Instance Dungeon late, but had made more progress than everyone present.


    "Although it seems unbelievable, we don''t know who took the First Clear from Blood Red War Flag since Glory Capital hasn''t even defeated the third Boss yet," Lucky Southern Persian chimed in. "I would rather believe that it was Ruling Sword, especially since I don''t trust the things that they have been telling us."


    "It can''t be one of the other clubs either. I have asked about it, and there are only a few other clubs on the second Boss," Jade Flower Lover said.


    "So how do you want to cooperate?" Floral Paralysis asked.


    "We can share the strategy of the third Boss. Then, let''s work together on the strategy for the fourth Boss, then the fifth Boss, and the sixth¡­" Jade Flower Lover said.


    "Wait, you would be so generous?" Floral Paralysis couldn''t believe it.


    "I don''t believe it either. Flower bro is trying to fool us. We know who you are."


    Dream 13 could be a bit na?ve at times, but he wasn''t a complete idiot. Both he and his brother Elevenless knew that good things such as this were never for free.


    "Well, you have two options," Jade Flower Lover said with a smile.


    This guy always thought of himself as a master tactician, and would often try to come up with intricate schemes. But everyone knew that about him, so they didn''t usually believe the things he said.


    However, he continued to explain, "The first is that we cooperate until the we get to the final Boss. Then, we will allow everyone to fight for themselves, and whoever is able to clear the Boss first will take the First Clear of the Instance Dungeon. The second is that we will take turns in future Instance Dungeons. We will take this First Clear, and next time¡­"


    "Wait!" Dream 13 interrupted him, "Why does Blood Red War Flag get this one?"


    "Big bro, we have already defeated the third Boss. What are you guys up to? Come and tell us if you''ve made more progress. Then you get to be the ones to take the First Clear."


    "We''re almost there. We''ll beat the third Boss soon," Dream 13 said disdainfully.


    "So, we''ve still made more progress than you. Does that make sense to everyone?" Jade Flower Lover tried to suppress his anger as he defended his club.


    "Why would you want to be so fast? I like taking things slow," Dream 13 joked, trying to stir the pot.


    "Your face is fast, your whole family is fast," Jade Flower Lover swore, losing it at this guy. He felt like this second-generation gamer was being insolent towards him, a veteran.


    "If you guys are just going to quarrel, then I will be leaving. Glory Capital isn''t interested in your proposal," Sorrowless said as he left the chat room.


    He was such a proud person; how could be possibly allow them to get into a relationship like this?


    "Hey 13, this is all your fault," Jade Flower Lover said, feeling a headache coming on.


    "I think this is a good proposal, but I want to choose the first option," Lucky Southern Persian spoke up.


    "Alright, since Southern likes it, I will listen to him."


    Dream 13''s club has actually been lagging behind. Since Jade Flower Lover was going to hand the strategy to him, why would he decline?


    "Wendelian, what about Gale Legion?"


    Jade Flower Lover counted the rest of the people in the chat room, and noticed some who hadn''t said anything.


    Gale Legion was a branch of Glory Capital, but since they were still here, it meant that they definitely didn''t have Glory Capitals resources nor were they that closely controlled by them.


    "I only represent Gale Legion. Are we not qualified to work with you?" Wendelian asked coldly.


    "Can you guarantee that you won''t share the strategy with Glory Capital?" Jade Flower Lover felt like his head was hurting. Although Gale Legion was a branch of Glory Capital, they weren''t much weaker than anyone else in the room. He really had no reason to say that they were not qualified.


    "Yes, I promise," Wendelian said decisively.


    Jade Flower Lover: ¡­


    Dream 13: ¡­


    Lucky Southern Persian: ¡­


    Everyone else: ¡­


    "Sorrowless is a very proud person. There is a no way he would accept the strategy from me. If I say that I will not share it with Glory Capital, then I won''t share it with Glory Capital. If you do not believe in Sorrowless'' pride, then believe in my character. If you don''t think I am sincere, then I will leave," Wendelian said firmly.


    "Wait, I believe you," Jade Flower Lover hurriedly called after her.


    One major guild had already left, and if more started to leave then there was no point left to this temporary alliance.


    Several clubs soon started receiving Jade Flower Lover''s information about the third Boss. The strategy was still a bit rough, and needed a bit of work before it could be converted into a formal guide.


    However, they also agreed to cooperate with the strategies of the following Bosses.


    Everyone would share their information and work with each other.


    Jade Flower Lover was indeed talented. He had sacrificed a little bit of self-interest, but had tied everyone together to curb Ruling Sword''s rapid progress in the Instance Dungeon.


    At this point, Ruling Sword had begun to slowly understand some of Huhuran''s skills.


    From the princess'' model, there were green points that showed that her damage was poisonous.


    And this was true, as her most common skill was Toxic Dart.


    The princess'' Toxic Dart was similar to the green dragon in the Wild. It could be stacked and couldn''t be dispelled, but high poison resistance could help mitigate its effects. The Toxic Darts dealt Nature damage and could stack up to four times. Each Toxic Dart dealt 700 damage with each tick. With a stack of four, the target would suffer continuous damage of 2800 per tick.


    If you couldn''t rescue the target in time, this was a death sentence.


    Nature Spit was another skill that was commonly used. It was an area of effect skill that could also be endured if their resistance was high enough.


    Dragon Sting was another Nature skill, which put the target into a Deep Sleep. If the skill was dispelled, the target would receive 4000 Nature damage.


    In addition to the Toxic Dart, there was also Toxic Dart Flurry.


    One of the most terrible things in battle was when Huhuran''s HP fell to 30%. She would unleash a flurry of Toxic Darts at the 15 nearest targets. All of them would take significant Nature damage. If these players didn''t have high resistance or receive significant healing, they would fall instantly. However, outside of these 15 players, no one else would receive any damage.


    The first few battles took place in Princess Huhuran''s room, but Lu Li later moved the battlefield outside.


    The reason for choosing this new battlefield was firstly because everyone would be in better positions to observe and make changes accordingly. Secondly, there was just more space which meant that they could move and avoid skills more efficiently.


    In terms of positioning, this was very important. Apart from the Warriors and Thieves, everyone had to surround the Main Tank. The distance between each player had to be within 15 yards. They stood together in case of emergencies so that the Healers could instantly reach them. The Shamans were all standing in the inside of the circle.


    Warriors and Thieves were surrounding Princess Huhuran to deal as much damage as possible.


    Before the aggro was pulled, the Thieves would stand aside. Players who were responsible for relaying communications were also hiding as the aggro was being pulled. This was to avoid the first area of effect skill the Boss would cast as it got pulled.


    All Warriors wore Natural Resistance equipment, and would also receive the Hunter''s aura and the Shaman''s totem''s buffs in tanking the Natural damage of the Boss. The Main Tank and other tanks would then get ready to take over in the second stage of the Boss. Princess Huhuran''s physical attacks were very powerful in the second stage, so they couldn''t just sacrifice everything for Natural Resistance.


    For the other melee players, they were also able to enjoy some resistance from the Hunter''s aura and the Shaman totems.


    However, the players couldn''t afford to simply stack Natural Resistance equipment, because their damage output would be greatly affected as well.


    After several battles, Lu Li finally worked out how the resistance worked. He asked the ranged players to wear their normal equipment. Cold Chill''s Great Nature Protection Potion would provide everyone with some extra needed resistance.


    "This feels almost the same. Unless we do something different, we won''t have enough time today," Wandering reminded Lu Li.


    This was the last day of the week, as the cooldown would refresh tomorrow.


    "Let''s get to work then," Lu Li said as he repositioned everyone and readied the preparations.


    After Bearded Zaza used his pets to pull Princess Huhuran, all the players started attacking. This time, Azure Sea Breeze was able to gain the aggro easily when Princess Huhuran went into the second stage.


    The battle against Princess Huhuran was divided into two main stages. When herHP was less than 30% or when it had been longer than 15 minutes, the second stage would begin.


    The first stage of the battle was quite stable.


    If the Hunters did a good job of controlling the Boss'' Berserk, then the Boss'' attacks wouldn''t post any threat to the tanks.


    There were three tanks building aggro together. When the Toxic Dart on the Main Tank was stacked for the fourth time, they would swap the aggro onto another tank. Otherwise, it was likely that the tanks would die. The group had already been wiped a few times because of the tanks'' mistakes.


    Each healer was assigned a specific target. Each Priest was responsible for the healing of one tank and one Thief. They were also required to help each other when necessary.


    Each Shaman was responsible for removing the Dragon Sting effect from the defensive players. The Dragon Sting could deal a lot of damage very quickly, so the Shamans needed to pay close attention. All the Shamans also focused their healing on the Main Tank.


    Lu Li brought three Shamans, three Druids and two healer Shamans, along with Sakura Memories.


    While Sakura Memories was dealing damage, she also ensured that the stings on the current tank''s body were being removed in time.


    The two Druids were each responsible for maintaining the health of the three Tanks, and helping out with general healing. The other Druid was responsible for keeping the Thieves topped up. As for the healers, they needed to conserve as much mana as possible while helping out. They generally needed to have 75% or more mana when entering the second stage. The Shamans and Druids were generally to save their mana regeneration until then.


    "If you need them, make sure to take potions. Don''t expect the healers to save you," Lu Li reminded.


    In the first stage, the Boss would focus on a random target. It would inflict a Silence and 750 damage every two seconds. All players who suffered this damage had to rely on themselves to regenerate their HP after it was over. Unless they were continuously being damaged, the healers wouldn''t take care of them.


    This damage wasn''t fatal; you just needed to apply some bandages. There was no need to waste March Rain''s mana.

 1671 Luck Is Very Importan

    "Druids, revive the Mages and Warlocks and then imbue them with the status boosts that they need. Stop daydreaming and let''s get to work."


    Lu Li closely examined the Boss'' HP and felt that if nothing unexpected happened, then they would undoubtably be able to enter the second stage.


    It was unfortunate that two of the main players died, which wasted two revives.


    During this time, the Princess'' HP was already less than 40%. Lu Li told Kitty Likes Meat to use Curse of Doom. This Curse dealt a lot of Shadow damage, but the time that it took for it to activate was quite long, so it was important to let the others know to be cautious.


    "Breezy, get ready to take the Boss. Flower, go up and tank a Toxic Dart."


    Lu Li felt that it was about time as the Boss'' HP had dropped to around 35%.


    Lonesome Flower''s Nature resistance was quite high and his HP was over 4000, so tanking a Dragon Sting was not a problem at all. His name was also quite high up on the aggro rankings, so the Boss'' aggro would easily be on him if he unleashed any skill.


    These Boss mechanics were figured out from previous runs. Before the Boss'' HP reached 30%, there would definitely be a Sting.


    The Dragon Sting poison could be dispelled, but once dispelled, the Dart would deal 4000 damage. Lonesome Flower survived thanks to the healing provided by his sister, March Rain.


    30% HP was the start of phase two.


    Upon reaching this phase, the Boss'' difficulty would spike. This was why Princess Huhuran was a difficult Boss to deal with.


    Toxic Dart Flurry!


    One Toxic Dart was enough to kill everyone, let alone a flurry.


    Thieves needed to have enough defense and armour for phase two. The defense and armor from the Priests'' skills were all given to Thieves, because their defence was inferior to Warriors, while Mages could tank lots of damage, and Gale Steps'' duration was too short.


    Mages would use Freeze, while Warriors had enough innate armour and HP to tank.


    In phase two, the tactics for Priest healing were the same. Each Priest was responsible for healing one Thief and one Warrior. Half of the Druids focused on healing the Main Tank, while the other half focused on the Thieves. The Druids responsible for the Thieves would use Chain Heal, which would also heal other nearby players.


    The Druids needed to multi-task here. They also needed to make sure that all Warriors had the buff Abolish Poison, so that they could dispel the poison effect immediately after getting hit with Dragon Sting. At the same time, there needed to be at least two Druids healing the Main Tank, while the other Druids would heal other Warriors and Thieves.


    Every healer had to make sure of the Thief and Warrior''s survival before the end of the Mages'' Freeze.


    The Main Tank was the same. After dropping to 30% HP, Last Stand would be used. After Last Stand''s effects finished, Shield Wall would be used. After Shield Wall''s duration ended, other skills or elixirs would be used.


    All in all, this difficult phase was something that everyone needed to work together for. If even one of them failed, they would all be wiped.


    Therefore, every DPS player unleashed everything they had in their arsenals right after the Boss dropped to 30%. It was also around this time that the Curse of Doom would activate.


    After the 20 seconds for Freeze ended, the Boss'' HP was around 15%. During this time, all the Mages would retreat away from the Boss and join the DPS ranks.


    Other non-mage, non-healing or melee classes without many skills would then go within the Boss'' range to tank the Toxic Dart Flurry. There needed to be at least 15 people to tank these Darts.


    Even Lu Li himself rushed to tank these Darts.


    "Rice Ball, go in! Hurry up!" Lu Li yelled.


    Sesame Rice Ball hesitated for a bit and reluctantly ran to tank the Darts. He quickly died.


    "Bearded Zaza, go! Hurry!" Lu Li yelled again. Rice Ball actually still had some mana left before. However, Bearded Zaza was someone who still had a lot of mana left, yet Lu Li still called him to tank the Darts.


    This couldn''t be helped. The players in the inner circles died too quickly, so there was no one to tank.


    If there was no one in the inner circle, then 15 players from the outer circle would be moved to the inner circle. If a healer was put among these 15 players, Lu Li would cry.


    "Argh. Never mind. Let''s give up." The Boss still had 8% HP left, but the Darts were already flying everywhere. Some players were even hit twice. After Lu Li said these words, there were no longer any survivors.


    "How unfortunate. We''re so close too." Sky Moon said.


    Everyone understood the mechanics. It was just that they couldn''t last until the very end.


    "Some people ate their Nature elixirs too early. I won''t name names, but please be careful next time."


    Lu Li couldn''t do anything else. If the elixirs were consumed early, then naturally, they wouldn''t be at maximum firepower at the end. However, this wasn''t the main reason for the wipe, so Lu Li didn''t say anything more.


    Sesame Rice Ball''s mood was down and he felt guilty about the mistake.


    He consumed the elixir a little too early. He probably could have tanked for a little more. He didn''t


    think that he would need to be one of the players to tank the Toxic Darts.


    "When we return, we''ll get Cold Chill to brew up even better elixirs. This one doesn''t do the job." Lu Li had experienced it himself. He felt that the damage from the Darts this time was a lot worse than in his previous life. This was because the Boss had been nerfed by the time Lu Li fought it in his previous life.


    "We''re ending it here?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    "Well, yeah. You''re free to go." Lu Li waved his hand.


    "Aw yeah!" Azure Sea Breeze was over the moon. He packed up his shield and planned to go out with his friends later on.


    "Lu Li, you coming?" Sesame Rice Ball didn''t forget to invite Lu Li. Otherwise he might have sulked. It was rare for them to finish this early. Although the professional players seemed to be free, they were not free at all. In fact, it wasn''t even the weekend yet.


    "Not going. I''m going to spend time with my girlfriend."


    Lu Li seemed to be oblivious about hurting the feelings of the single men and women.


    Everyone was originally quite happy, but after hearing this, the mood immediately died.


    In the blink of an eye, a new week began.


    There weren''t any new maps for Stronghold releases, while the old Strongholds weren''t open for battle this week. Everyone kept their territory to themselves.


    Therefore, everyone''s focus was on the Instance Dungeons.


    The cooldown meant that the Instance Dungeons were refreshed. All progress from the previous week was wiped clean and the monsters and Bosses all respawned.


    Everyone had to begin from the first Boss again.


    From a superficial point of view, everyone was equal on the starting line again.


    However, the experience from the previous week meant that everyone cleared it at different speeds.


    Jade Flower Lover allied with other clubs, so they had a much easier time progressing. After two days, they quickly defeated the first three Bosses, and even managed to figure out a few of the fourth Boss'' mechanics and skills.


    However, according to Gale Legion, Glory Capital had already managed to take down the fourth Boss.


    This wasn''t good news. Despite being an alliance themselves, they knew that they were unlikely to catch up to Ruling Sword. However, they were even overtaken by Glory Capital.


    However, everyone was already used to being neglected by Glory Capital, so one more time wasn''t anything special.


    There was one more thing that Wendelian had already confirmed with Sorrowless. Glory Capital didn''t get the first clear for the fourth Boss.


    This meant that Ruling Sword had already taken the fourth Boss!


    Truthfully speaking, Ruling Sword had already cleared out the fourth Boss by Tuesday. On Wednesday, they spent a whole morning and finally managed to defeat Princess Huhuran.


    What they couldn''t complete last week was finally completed this week.


    Actually, although they couldn''t defeat the Princess last week, they still managed to take her down to 8% HP. This was proof of Ruling Sword''s strength. Everyone only lacked better elixirs and a little more favourable luck.


    Ruling Sword''s main Elixir Master was Cold Chill. Her hands were shaking even until now.


    It was most definitely an effect of overworking.


    After successfully killing the Princess, there were two players who were rewarded with skill points. Lu Li wasn''t one of them, but he was used to it. Even if there were three players, it still wouldn''t matter to Lu Li.


    There were many Strengthening stones this time, even more than the previous Bosses. This Boss who had obstructed their progress for a couple of days was truly a difficult Boss to fight.


    If it wasn''t for Cold Chill''s extremely precious Nature-resistance elixirs and the luck that they had in the end of the battle, even Lu Li reckoned that they would take another one or two days to kill this Boss.


    There were also many Fusion stones, but there weren''t many especially good ones.


    There were two skill books that dropped. Neither was an Enhanced version.


    Lu Li stored away two rare materials that dropped. Unless it was something they desperately needed, rare materials wouldn''t be given to Drizzle Court or Peerless City.


    Some of the Gold and Dark Gold items were given to the other two clubs. After all, there were indeed middle and low-class players in all clubs. Not all players had Epic items, so these Gold and Dark Gold items had quite a good market.


    However, everyone had their attention on the Epic items.


    Before this, there was an enchanting recipe that dropped. This was the ''Formula: Enchant Gloves- Fire Power''. A simple glance was enough to know that this was something good. This was something that added Fire-based magic to your attacks.


    Fat Monkey stared straight at this recipe. Unfortunately, he hadn''t learned Enchanting.


    He still had to give it to someone professional to do it for him.

 1672 Little Slime

    Huhuran''s Stinger!


    The name made it seem like a dagger, but it was actually a bow. It was quite a beautiful bow and its properties were quite good as well. It was a product of Princess Huhuran anyway. In the end, Bearded Zaza happily bought the bow.


    The first Epic item found a home.


    The next were the Gloves of the Messiah. This was an exquisite item for Magic-based classes.


    All magic-based classes instantly perked up. They examined each other as if they were judging how much each person was willing to offer up.


    Magic-based classes made up the majority of Dawn''s players. Since many of the magic items were universal, this only fuelled the competition for their items.


    This was a pair of exquisite gloves. The auctioned price for these types of items were likely to be at


    least ten times the price of other class-exclusive items.


    For example, Bearded Zaza managed to buy the bow at the starting bid price because Remnant Dream gave up as she had a better one.


    Some newbies in Dawn would ask for class recommendations on the forums before registering their first character. If the newbie was someone not wealthy and couldn''t invest a lot into the game, most veterans would suggest for them to pick a class that wasn''t so competitive.


    "50."


    Lonesome Flower was the first to bid. Obviously, he wanted it too. These gloves added a lot of damage, which suited his playstyle and build. He was planning on going all in on damage.


    "80." Kitty Likes Meat also wanted it and immediately added 30 points. Lu Li''s eyebrows couldn''t help but perk up. He knew that there was something brewing here.


    However, he quickly calmed down, because 80 points was not the end point.


    The bidding price quickly exceeded 100 points and skyrocketed bid after bid. It seemed like every single magic player was bidding for it.


    The price of the item wasn''t determined by its quality, but by its demand. Although this item wouldn''t be considered as one of the best items in this era, it was still powerful enough for all the present Mages to want it.


    In the end, it was bought for 150 points by a magic player. Everyone else gave up.


    This was normal. The price of the magic items in the outside market was also much higher than the other classes. As for exquisite items, that was something that money often couldn''t buy.


    "Eh? I haven''t seen this one before."


    Remnant Dream looted an item that looked like wrist guards, but it didn''t have detailed properties.


    Qiraji Bindings of Command!


    Lu Li glanced over it and explained, "These are Warrior, Hunter, Thief and Priest T2.5 wrist guards. This was released when the Qiraji Scarabs was released and is part of the set item. These four eligible classes can now bid for it. However, I want to give you guys a suggestion first before you bid. The details are on the official website. In my opinion, this isn''t something that''s particularly good for Agility-based Thieves and Berserkers, so these two classes shouldn''t waste their guild points on this. Priests and Hunters are still welcome to bid. The stats are really quite good."


    He didn''t want everyone to be bidding for this. If this kept up, then it would be difficult to maintain a peaceful relationship with the other clubs.


    Actually, Thieves still benefitted from this item. However, neither Lu Li or Water Fairy were power-based players, and both of them had their own gloves for their own sets as well. Besides the increase in stats, the set effect wasn''t all that different.


    Bloodfang Bracers (Elite Epic): Armour 100. Agility +120. Constitution +80. Lethality +35%. Slots: 2. Unique Effect 1: Slit Throat level +1. Unique Effect 2: Retreat. Transports wearer to a visible place within 15 metres. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Unique Effect 3: Upon a successful kill, the wearer will receive a +20% attack buff for 10 seconds. Level requirement: 60. Durability: 400/400.


    All three of the T2 set items'' effects were extremely good. They were arguably even better than the T2.5''s effects. This was for Thieves.


    It was the same for Berserkers. In terms of unique effects, there wasn''t a noticeable increase. Therefore, there was no need to change items just for the slight increase in overall stats. This way, the only ones who needed them were the Priests and Hunters.


    There were five Priests and two Hunters.


    Both Remnant Dream and Bearded Zaza mulled over it and decided to give up their rights to bid. In the end, the five Priests were the ones who bid for it and it was Machine Bro who won the item. The end price was not as high as the previous Mage item. It only sold for 90 points.


    "There''s one more, but the class is different," Remnant Dream said as she pulled out another.


    Qiraji Bindings of Dominance!


    This time, it was for Paladins, Shamans, Druids, Mages and Warlocks.


    "I suggest that Paladins and Druids not pursue this item. Other classes, feel free to."


    With the same logic in mind, Lu Li asked for the Paladins and Druids not to bid. He said this without bias either. It really wouldn''t be suited for either classes.


    Although Shamans, Mages and Warlocks were in contention for this item, the real race was between Mages and Warlocks.


    Shamans were usually the ones who took the items at the lowest possible price.


    It was another chaotic bidding session. This time, the price skyrocketed to 120 points. None of them saw the properties, so they just listened to Lu Li.


    After the Princess, it was yet another Boss.


    The morale was high, so no one planned to rest. Furthermore, Ruling Sword had a bye for their fixtures today, so there was no professional match to obstruct their progress.


    They quickly arrived at Viscidus, the sixth Boss of the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj. If they didn''t follow the normal order, they could''ve fought him before Princess Huhuran, which would make him the fifth Boss.


    This Boss wasn''t a pushover either. Furthermore, the battle style was a new one. From an Instance Dungeon Boss perspective, it wasn''t easier than Princess Huhuran, so it didn''t matter which one they killed first.


    From its appearance, it looked like a slime, so players called it ''Little Slime''.


    The Little Slime didn''t have many skills, but its damage was something to be reckoned with.


    Firstly, there was Poison Bolt Volley. It seemed that all the green-coloured monsters in Ahn''Qiraj dealt poison damage. Naturally, this Poison Bolt Volley was an AoE skill that dealt 1300 to 1600 damage. It would be cast every 10 seconds within a 100-metre radius. Furthermore, it would also deal an additional 300 to 500 damage per tick.


    Poison damage would become Nature-based damage, and it also had a chance at inflicting stun.


    It didn''t only use Poison Bolt Volley. Instead, there was another skill, called Toxic Fumes. The range was a 5 metre radius, so it was nowhere near as large. It looked like a toxic cloud, and it dealt 1500 damage per second to the players who were inside the fumes. It ignored resistance and would also decrease the movement speeds of those who were within the fumes and would also cause damage from skills to individual players.


    The Little Slime''s HP was not that high. However, it had a skill called Thick Skin, which would decrease all damage received by 50%.


    Everyone realised that there was something amiss as soon as they began fighting.


    This was because there were no effects on the Little Slime. Only Ice-based skills dealt damage to the


    Boss.


    The word dumbfounded wouldn''t be able to describe what everyone was feeling. Only Lu Li, a person who was reborn, could stay calm in this situation.


    Actually, there was a special mechanic here. Upon dealing Ice damage 225 times to the Little Slime, it would have decreased movement speed and be frozen in place. Only the number of attacks counted, not the level of the skills. However, Lu Li couldn''t reveal this to everyone, so he could only take them in to experience it for themselves.

 1673 Stupid

    In the beginning, the Boss'' HP was manageable for everyone. At every 20% HP interval, the Boss'' HP would be locked. They would need to deal Ice damage 255 times to the Boss, after which the Little Slime would split into water droplets. Then, these water droplets would be able to be attacked.


    If these water droplets were not killed before they grouped together again, the Little Slime would be reconstructed back to full HP and full mana, which would mean that they would be back to square one.


    Only once they cleared a certain number of the droplets, would the Slime return to its HP. For example, the first successful clearing of the water droplets would bring the Boss to 80%, then 60% and so on. However, once it reached 60% HP, the Little Slime would lock its HP, which meant that they needed to deal Ice damage 255 times to the Boss again.


    The problem here was the number of attacks needed. Not every team was able to reach the 255 mark as it was quite a high number. Even the players were just casting Ice Lance, it would require many repetitions of it.


    After wiping twice, Lu Li had to stop the battle.


    Little Slime was quite a ''soft'' Boss, but its attacks were not soft at all. It wasn''t an immovable Boss that just mimicked a target. In reality, its damage was extremely high. Lu Li and the team couldn''t even fight past 50% HP.


    Lu Li tried his best to recall the strategy.


    There weren''t too many components. One was just to form more groups of Ice-based players, but he couldn''t just make the whole team full of Ice users. It was rare for Dawn to release Bosses that were so limiting.


    It was also likely that the strategy that he saw was for the nerfed version of the game.


    Perhaps the difficulty upon release was much more difficult than the one that he experienced, so the first club that got the First Clear had used an unknown method to kill the Boss. Then, after the nerf, this method was not needed anymore, so it wouldn''t be released.


    Guides were written for the people who needed them, not for people who had been reborn.


    "If we really can''t go on, then let''s just make more teams of Ice users."


    Wandering also couldn''t do anything. He was quite intelligent, but he also had no idea what to do.


    As an Ice Mage himself, Sky Moon objected.


    "I don''t think that''s viable. Even though this Boss could only be damaged by Ice damage before splitting, its Ice resistance is extremely high. The Mages'' DPS would drop heavily. That''s why if we have more Ice Mages, we wouldn''t have enough DPS for the other phases of the battle. Also, we all know how important it is to have a diverse team.


    "We can''t do this and can''t do that either. Are we going to continue?" Azure Sea Breeze sighed as he sat on the ground, clearly bored.


    "We''ll definitely keep fighting, but the question is how to fight."


    Lu Li knew that Instance Dungeons required patience, especially in a situation like this.


    Fighting Instance Dungeons were like solving a puzzle. Under normal circumstances, players would be able to fight the newly released dungeons. Furthermore, with good enough luck, they would even be able to take the dungeon down. The only problem here was the process of figuring it all out.


    "Um, I have a suggestion," Hachi Chan said as she raised her hand.


    "Don''t mess around. We''re busy right now. If you''re trying to act cute, then wait until later," Lu Li said, ignoring her.


    When it came to quests, Hachi Chan was undoubtedly the master. Even Lu Li had to admit that she was more capable than him at doing quests.


    "Hmph!" Hachi Chan huffed angrily and didn''t say another word.


    "Hachi, don''t get angry. They''re seriously working on something right now."


    Remnant Dream ran over, held her hand and comforted her.


    Hachi Chan grew even more restless, proudly saying, "Even you don''t believe me! Isn''t it just Ice damage? It''s so simple! How do you need so people to think about it? How stupid."


    Stu¡­Stupid?


    If these words came from Wandering, then the person being targeted would need to reflect on themselves.


    However, it was Hachi Chan who said these words. She was one of the dumb ones in Ruling Sword. Her stupidity was so well-known that other clubs knew about it too. This time, it was her who was calling that other people were stupid? Furthermore, Wandering was among the ones who she was calling stupid.


    "Do you have a way to solve the Ice damage problem?" Lu Li asked. He didn''t really believe her. "It''s not something like forming more groups of Ice Mages, is it?"


    "I''m not telling you," Hachi Chan jeered as she made a face at Lu Li.


    "Hachi, do you really have a solution? Tell everyone! Let Lu Li call you daddy."


    Azure Sea Breeze wanted to make things into a chaotic situation.


    "How stupid. No." Hachi Chan was full of herself right now.


    It actually seemed like she had something up her sleeve. Lu Li dry-coughed twice, then looked at her straight in the eyes and said, "Hachi, if you have any personal problems, then we''ll talk after this Instance Dungeon. If you actually have an idea, then tell me. Quickly. Time is precious right now."


    "I''m not saying anything! Just pretend that I don''t know anything," she huffed, immediately seeing through Lu Li''s act.


    "Alright. Alright. I''m in the wrong. Sorry. Hachi, stupidity has clouded my judgment. Lord Hachi Chan, please tell us what to do."


    Lu Li was still suspicious, but he could only go along with it. Everyone else was just keeping quiet.


    "Be more genuine with your tone!" Hachi Chan chided.


    Lu Li could only do what she asked. He was experienced with calming down his younger sister anyway.


    The main part was that everyone else started standing on Hachi Chan''s side, so her mood became a lot better.


    "Wait a second. I''ll show you guys something."


    Hachi Chan stuck her head into her bag and started searching. After a while, she finally took out a bottle of elixir. Although her bag wasn''t the legendary bottomless and limitless bag, her storage space was still many, many times bigger than the average player. She had many different and weird things in there. She was incredibly blessed by the game System.


    Icy Chill Weapon Coating: After coating the weapon in this, the wearer of the weapon will have a chance at dealing 5 Ice damage after casting both melee and ranged skills. Duration of effect: 1 hour.


    There was something like this!


    Lu Li knew that his own words just then were correct. Stupidity had indeed clouded his imagination.


    Or, it could be said that he was the most conservative and simple.


    "Where did you get this?" Lu Li grabbed Hachi Chan and asked.


    "Rape! Rape! Lolicon! Sister Water! Help!"


    The little brat was still vengeful from before. Originally, she wanted to help out to the best of her ability, but Lu Li had thrown her aside. The petty little brat wasn''t going to let Lu Li go that easily.


    Water Fairy could only hide Hachi Chan behind her, then glared at Lu Li.


    "The Blacksmith at Silithus. Just do three quests there, then they would give this to you."


    In the end, Hachi Chan still told them the answer. She knew when to joke around and when to be serious.


    "Only one bottle?"


    "There''s three choices. Every choice had three of the same bottles, so I just chose one of them. I just thought that all three types looked pretty."


    The way that Hachi Chan picked her rewards were extraordinarily weird.


    "There''s three? That''s really good!" Lu Li clapped his hands then said, "Everyone, come over here for Hachi Chan to teach us something. It''s something about the quest. Later, we''ll all go and start this questline and get this bottle. The Boss won''t be a problem then.


    Hachi Chan then told everyone how to activate the quest and how to complete each step of the quest.


    She couldn''t even remember the roads that she had walked on for the past 30 seconds, yet she could remember every single detail about a complicated quest that she had completed a few days ago.

 1674 Sharp-Tongued Blacksmith

    "About this quest¡­" Lu Li lowered his voice and asked Hachi Chan, "Can other people get it as well?"


    "How would I know?" Hachi Chan thought for a moment before continuing, "Uncle Stack is not a great person. He is always scolding people, and his quests are always dirty and tiresome, so not many people ask him for quests."


    "So what are you doing?" Lu Li asked curiously.


    "I am just helping him watch the fire. He even gave me a plate of dried fruit."


    This little servant girl seemed to be having a good time somehow.


    "What about everyone else?" Lu Li continued to ask.


    "Washing ores, adding coal, modelling clay¡­ well, there are a lot of little tasks," Hachi Chan said. She counted with her fingers and found that there were quite a few things.


    "Okay, I get it." Lu Li was a little shocked.


    People who had high charisma, like Hachi Chan, were given easy jobs like watching this fire. She was even given snacks while she did it. The other players were given dirty and tiresome jobs that probably didn''t even reward much. It was likely that most people wouldn''t take Stack''s quests.


    "In that case, let''s just get some people to pretend to get the quest. Then we''ll let Three bro send some players to confuse the other clubs."


    Lu Li didn''t want the other clubs to know his true intention.


    It was hard to keep this kind of secret for a long time, but for every minute the secret was kept, the other clubs would remain stuck for longer.


    Lu Li changed his equipment into a red Transmog set, the extremely flashy kind.


    This was a level 60 Transmog set that he had recently found in the guild warehouse. The Transmog set had no special attributes, but it was so far departed from his ordinary clothing that he didn''t have to worry about being recognised.


    Stack''s blacksmiths, who hadn''t paid attention to much in the past, couldn''t help but notice this today.


    At least five or six people entered the blacksmith at the same time. The blacksmith was located in a relatively remote place, so it was obviously not normal for that to happen, especially since the people were all sneaking about.


    "Can you guys be a bit more natural? Are you trying to let people know we are here?" Lu Li was the second person, and he reminded the others of their instructions.


    "Ahem," Azure Sea Breeze cleared his throat, then continued, "Uncle Blacksmith, I am an adventurer who participated in the battle against the insects. Is there anything I can do?"


    "If you were fighting in the great war with that equipment, you must have just been fighting the old and weak ones."


    Stack was just as offensive as they said. The others had clearly tried to be polite, but he did not respond in kind.


    "Haha, there are male ones too. I don''t have much to do, and I don''t mind doing difficult work," Azure Sea Breeze responded, not choosing to dwell on it.


    In fact, it was probably normal for him. He was inseparable from Wandering, who when compared to the sharp-tongued blacksmith, was equally as offensive towards him. Azure Sea Breeze had already suffered under these personal attacks for the past 20 years.


    "You are such an annoying waste of space; go smash the coal over there," Stack said while pointing to a pile of coal in the corner.


    No wonder why no one would ask him for quests; that was simply just too much.


    "Alright."


    Azure Sea Breeze picked up a hammer and struck a piece of coal.


    Lu Li took a breath and stepped into the position where Azure Sea Breeze was.


    "Respected master blacksmith. Hello, I am¡­"


    "I don''t care who you are. Go away, and stop bothering me. What are you even looking at?" Stack roared as he waved his hammer around and almost knocked out Lu Li''s brain.


    Charisma value was important when talking to a violent NPC like this one. Hachi Chan had an insane amount of Charisma and Azure Sea Breeze had a normal amount. Lu Li, on the other hand, had none, or even negative amounts of Charisma.


    Lu Li wasn''t hit on the head because he wasn''t hostile, otherwise, he definitely would have been killed.


    "Master, I am actually a blacksmith," Lu Li said as he quickly took out his own blacksmithing hammer.


    Cresso Hammer (Special): Strength +20, Forging Speed +30%, Forging Success Rate +20%, Grade +1, Lu Li exclusive, Durability 100/100.


    This hammer was an exquisite blacksmithing hammer, and it had extraordinary origins. It represented the centuries-old glory of human blacksmiths. Stack was a human blacksmith and he didn''t seem ignorant or illiterate, so he was immediately drawn to it.


    "Where did you steal this hammer from?"


    "Oh¡­ I inherited it. See, I forged this equipment myself," Lu Li said as he took out a Perfect grade weapon and handed it over.


    "Well, it seems like you aren''t a bad young man."


    Stack had a bad temper and was very proud, but he wasn''t an idiot. After Lu Li demonstrated his worth, he finally eased up.


    Azure Sea Breeze, who was still breaking coal blocks, was almost in tears.


    He had watched Lu Li get completely dismissed as a joke, but now the situation was completely reversed because he had taken out that hammer.


    "Is there anything I can help you with?" Lu Li asked, immediately taking the opportunity to ask for a quest.


    I''m tired, can you help me create these equipment?"


    Stack threw a few Molds at Lu Li before grabbing a cask and having a drink at his work bench.


    Compared to breaking coal blocks, Lu Li was happy that he had received a job that involved his technical skills.


    The next few players also received quests, but their tasks were miserable. Most of the work was dirty, and someone was even thrown a rag and asked to clean the entire workbench.


    The reward for the first quest was some ore.


    Those who had followed Lu Li looked at each other. Even if it was a piece of Mithril ore, it was still of a very low quality. It was only worth a few dozen silver coins. No one wanted to keep working for this guy.


    The second quest was also received smoothly, and Lu Li was tasked with selling some weapons at a high price.


    This quest was actually very difficult because Stack''s asking price for the weapons was too high. These weapons were limited by their material and grades. Even if Lu Li used his exquisite forging hammer, it wouldn''t be worth that much.


    Fortunately, Lu Li was quite rich. He casually called a person from the guild who bought all of the weapons on the spot.


    The loss was just a few gold coins.


    The quest reward was as usual, a level 60 Silver weapon. Lu Li had rarely seen an item like this. These were only dropped in the Wild or from Instance Dungeon mobs. Even if they fell, no one would pick it up.


    Then, he asked for the third quest. Stack asked him to go to the mountain and help him dig up some ores of miscellaneous amounts.


    These were then processed in a similar way to the second quest, by selling them to someone.


    And just like that, Lu Li completed the third quest.

 1675 Viscidus

    Similar to what Hachi Chan said, the reward from the third round were three bottles of potions from a choice of nine. Apart from the Ice coated weapons that they already knew about, there were also Fire coated weapons and Poison coated weapons. There was basically no difference in quality between these three types of potions; They all had the same damage rate of five points of damage. Five points of damage!


    "I choose the Ice coated weapons, all three bottles," Lu Li decided with certainty.


    "Sure, now you have to help me." Blacksmith Stack threw the potions over to Lu Li. He didn''t think twice about sending rubbish for the poor and hardworking kid who was helping him.


    "Sorry, Mr. Stack, I think I can only help you up to this point, I still have important things to do. If you have any more orders, I''ll come back to help you later," Lu Li apologised, firmly declining the rest of quest.


    No matter what reward there was, it still wasn''t as important as a First Clear. Stack was speechless.


    What made him even more speechless was still to come. He actually had an unset link of quests here. There were seven links in total, and after the seven links, the reward was a piece of Dark Gold equipment. For normal players, this was actually a generous prize for a quest that was rare to find at level 60.


    What you got and what you gave out were usually equal. Getting cursed by him a few times and getting a piece of Dark Gold armor meant it was all pretty balanced.


    However, it turned out that none of the people who came to do the quest today made it to the fourth link. All of them chose the Ice weapon coating then left.


    "You''re all just jumping ship halfway!"


    All 40 players got the three bottles of Ice weapon coating. At least this way, the opening would take three hours. If they couldn''t defeat the Boss by then, Lu Li could send people to go and do this quest.


    By that time, if you wanted to finish up the quest, it wouldn''t be easy.


    "Now, the biggest problem has been solved, hope everyone works hard and aims to finish off this Boss after using these potions. The other clubs aren''t far behind us. We''re not afraid of the likely outcome, but we''re afraid of what might happen. If they do happen to get a boost in progress, then there''s a chance the First Clear might not be ours. Think about the First Clear reward," Lu LI motivated them before the battle.


    Let''s not talk about what Glory focused on. Simply the reward from the First Clear would make everyone lose sight of everything else. Azure Sea Breeze took the lead, rushing towards the Boss with a thunderous roar.


    With the experience from the last few attempts, Viscidus''s HP was quickly taken down to 80%. After this, they relied on Freeze attacks.


    Although they couldn''t change their Dawn equipment in the middle of a battle, weapons weren''t included as part of equipment. They could change weapons during the battle, so everyone''s Ice weapon coating wasn''t coated on their main weapon. For example, Lu Li took out a super-fast dagger. Working together with the Shard of the Defiler, it increased his attack speed. They could only have more chance to activate the Ice attack''s special effects when the attack speed was faster.


    Other people were also similar. With regards to the five points of extra damage, no one could use that as an effective output. Lu Li felt even more awkward at this time. Those who were lucky would have their Ice weapon coating activate at the rate of once every three or five attacks, and those who were particularly unlucky, like Lu Li, would only get one ice attack activated out of every ten or so.


    No matter what, with everyone being able to dish out Ice damage at the moment, it was much faster than when there was only Ice magic.


    When the 255 Ice attacks were finished, Viscidus turned into little water drops. These little water drops didn''t have high health individually, but they definitely weren''t weak. The defense roles and healers still needed to carry out their responsibilities.


    "Attack with all your might," Lu Li shouted loudly.


    They needed to defeat a certain number of little water drops to ensure the Boss wouldn''t recover HP. Otherwise, all of the fighting before was pointless. If the Boss recovered HP, even though it was only 1%, it still meant that after the Boss split and came together again, it would have 81% health. So after defeating 1% of the Boss'' HP, they had to go through the split stage at 80% again. This Boss really tested everyone''s damage output.


    If everyone used Ice, then maybe the 255 attacks would be really easy. However, at this stage, it was really a shame for them. These little water drops were all really strong against Ice. Ice mages basically couldn''t have any effect. Evidently, Lu Li and his team. didn''t have a problem with their damage output.


    They got rid of a lot of water drops, and when the Boss reverted back to its original shape its HP was exactly 80%. And with another barrage of damage skills, his HP was quickly brought down by another 1%. The first splitting up stage was over.


    The rest of the battle was actually a repeat of the first split stage. If there was no problem with the first stage, and there weren''t any large-scale deaths, there basically wouldn''t be any problems. After the battle continued for about 15 minutes, the Boss entered a berserk state. By this stage, there was no more splitting, but in the berserk stage, the Boss was really fierce. If one of the healers were careless, it would result in the team dying. The good position the team had might all fall apart in just a moment. Lu Li was filled with determination. For the first attempt, they didn''t die at the hardest place, but they died when the last Boss had only 3% HP left. Healers were precious. Most clubs tried not to deduct their points when they didn''t have to, but Ruling Sword wasn''t a normal club. Lu Li didn''t feel bad at all deducting their DKP. The second time, everyone was more careful. With the addition of knowledge gained from having defeated the split stage before, they got through to the berserk stage again with no problem.


    This time, Azure Sea Breeze had room to maneuver, and just at the right time, he opened up the Strengthened Shield Wall. The weak berserk couldn''t break through his defenses, and he could do nothing but get his head chopped off then and there. In the end, he turned into a green puddle of watery mud.


    After this, there was just a thing that looked like a treasure chest.


    This was the reward from the battle!


    There was one Skill Point, which was taken by Water Fairy. Water Fairy wasn''t considered too lucky. She was often complained about being a manipulator, but compared to a real manipulating team leader, she was quite kind.


    No Strengthening Skills Book came out. Three pieces of Epic equipment were dropped. The defensive one was taken by Wandering, and the physical attack equipment was taken by Bearded Zaza. Another healer''s plate armour was taken by Darkness with the lowest points. There was no doubt that this Boss had been First Cleared.

 1676 Specialties Not Matched Up

    After they defeated Viscidus, Lu Li began to adjust his team.


    Those who were competing left the team and gave up their place, letting in those who weren''t competing. Of course, they definitely couldn''t let those like Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower go out to mess around on the competition arena. Only Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu brought new people to go to compete.


    They had one less Fire mage and crossbow knight. It didn''t have that much impact on the team''s power. The Boss they were facing now was simply too powerful compared to the one they faced before. Fat Monkey was pretty lucky to have avoided this threat. They only needed to face competitors from clubs ¨C it wasn''t even close to fighting the Twin Emperors.


    The Twin Emperors Vek''lor and Vekniss were actually the figurehead rulers of the Ahn''Qiraj insect people''s empire ¨C in actuality, there was a manipulator behind the throne, C''Thun.


    In the War of the Shifting Sands the Ahn''Qiraj insect people were defeated by the Night Elf and dragon alliance. After the whole empire had been sealed off, and in order to seek world domination again, the mysterious leader of the Ahn''Qiraj, C''Thun, commanded emperor Vek''lor to create a new lifeform to increase the strength of the insect people. At this, Vek''lor and Vekniss together created the Obsidian Destroyer.


    This way, Vekniss used his natural power, using volcano stones as the main material to create the Obsidian Destroyer''s huge body. Vek''lor, on the other hand, used magic powers to provide the strength of the Obsidian Destroyer.


    Because Vek''lor was physically immune, he could only do magic attacks. Whilst Vekniss was immune to magic, but he was a master in sword arts. So, they were called the Magic Emperor and the Sword Emperor.


    The Twin Emperors were pretty much considered the first pair of Bosses in Dawn which shared their HP. In future patches, there were a lot of Bosses which were like the Twin Emperors, with a lot of similarities between their way of fighting. Lu LI had done some deep research into this type of Boss.


    The room they were in was triangular. There was a platform on one side, and the doorway where the players entered was also considered a platform.


    After entering, the Emperor on the platform to the left in front of them was holding a magic staff in his hand. He was the Emperor Vek''lor. The emperor on the platform to the left in front of them had a huge sword in his hand, which was evidently the sword master Emperor Vekniss. There was a big piece of lang between them, filled with little yellow bugs crawling all over it.


    These little bugs weren''t monsters that actively attacked them. As soon as they attacked them, the battle would start immediately.


    "Oh, a great competitor getting held up by Main Tank duties, I''m done." At this moment, Azure Sea Breeze was like he was possessed by the minstrel Big Dog Li, still brooding on the fact that he couldn''t go to compete.


    Afterwards he died, because he wanted to clean up the little bugs. This death wasn''t meaningless at all though. At least they knew that at the beginning, you couldn''t, or you didn''t have to, kill the little bugs first.


    "Breezy go pull the one with the sword, Wandering you go pull the one with the stick," Lu Li commanded. They had to test the waters each time they attempt a new dungeon; there was no way they''d get it immediately. That''s right, Lu Li''s strategy this time was still testing it out. Not long after Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering had worked together here ¨C actually, not even ten seconds later, they were gone. This time, the whole tired team followed in dying.


    The first time only Azure Sea Breeze went up, so the second time, there was a healer who added HP.


    "It''s not working, when I get close, he starts an Arcane Explosion, there''s just no way to pull him," Wandering complained, refusing to play the role of cannon fodder again. He was sure there was no way he could pull the magic emperor. This magic emperor just wouldn''t give him a chance to get close.


    "Looks like we can''t use close combat to pull the monster. This Boss looks like a magic attack type, so let''s think about how we can use magic to fight it," Lu Li suggested.


    Opening an Instance Dungeon was always like this. Through deaths, they would figure out where they went wrong, then try something new. If the new tactic failed, then they''d keep trying something else. If it worked, it meant that everyone had found out the right way to fight.


    A mage ¨C that is, Lonesome Flower took over Wandering''s place.


    He was responsible for getting things started with the magic emperor. Because magic roles had the skill of not drawing Aggro, pulling a monster was dependent on output alone. At the moment, Lonesome Flower was the magic role who had the strongest attack, so whenever there was such a need, he was chosen first.


    The reality confirmed that he really was not bad at pulling aggro. Not many people were able to snatch aggro away from him. It was just a shame that he simply couldn''t aggro with this Boss. The magic emperor Vek''lor had another skill apart from being able to cast Arcane Explosion when others got within five yards of him. He had the skill of being able to launch Shadow Bolts to the unit with the highest aggro.


    Lonesome Flower simply didn''t have much Shadow defense at all, so when these Shadow Bolts hit him, it was a direct hit of almost 5000 damage; This one-shot him.


    "No Shadow defense." Lonesome Flower didn''t have much to say. He just pointed out the facts. They weren''t really attacking this boss, they were defending against it. He simply couldn''t be attacked. Mages usually had higher Shadow defense than the average physical unit, but it couldn''t be compared at all with a warlock. Warlocks had a special attack. Dawn really took care to make sure all roles had their own specialties.


    "Are you going, or me?" Sesame Rice Ball asked Kitty Likes Meat. They were both warlocks with powerful equipment and skills. The former had followed Lu Li from a very early stage and was one of the veterans of the club. The latter was a very high placed competitor and always got priority for equipment when it came to first clears.


    "I''ll go, but I''ll have to borrow some of your equipment," Kitty Likes Meat volunteered eagerly.


    Being DPS all the time would get boring. It was very rare to get to chance to experience playing the role of an NPC. Such a lively girl like Kitty Likes Meat wouldn''t let this opportunity pass by.


    Sesame Rice Ball was even younger than Kitty Likes Meat, but to others, he was an old but steady introverted player in the game. So he simply took off the equipment that Kitty Likes Meat wanted and gave it to her. Everyone was family here; They wouldn''t worry about others not returning equipment. Kitty Likes Meat combined equipment from two people and she suddenly became very powerful.


    She purposely focused on her Shadow defense, even consuming a Shadow defense potion. The Shadow Bolts which dealt five or 6000 damage to Lonesome Flower only did two or 3000 to her. This was the definitive defensive capabilities of a role and equipment. Kitty Likes Meat endured two Shadow Bolts with no problem at all. She just need a healer to give her HP and there was basically no way she would fail. Even if there was a critical hit, there was still a chance to let the healer save her.


    Azure Sea Breeze pulled the sword emperor, while Kitty Likes Meat pulled the magic emperor. Both of them securely pulled their own Bosses. However, this was definitely not enough to prevent the team from dying again. The Twin Emperors were evidently much more powerful than those Bosses of Ahn''Qiraj Temple before. The two of them suddenly changed places, and everyone faced disaster because they simply didn''t have time to react.


    Changing places like this meant that Azure Sea Breeze ended up pulling the magic Emperor and Kitty Likes Meat ended up defending against the sword emperor.


    Their defenses didn''t match their bosses!

 1677 Working Together

    These two Bosses were able to switch places all of a sudden. It was a trap! What the hell is this! Complaining didn''t do anything to vent everyone''s feelings. Many people were concerned about how the game designers'' mothers were going.


    "Kitty Likes Meat and I will stand a bit closer. After they teleport, there''s a pause, which gives us time to switch," Azure Sea Breeze suggested. He was a bit dumbstruck when the bosses switched places for the first time, so he didn''t have time to switch places with Kitty Likes Meat.


    "Ok, we''ll try what you say then," Lu Li said, without having much hope.


    They pulled the monsters again. Kitty Likes Meat and Azure Sea Breeze adjusted their positions a bit and prepared themselves for when the two Bosses changed places again. That way, they could run to where the other was and pull their own respective bosses again.


    The twin emperors'' aggro system meant that aggro depended on distance. After teleporting, the aggro was cleared. Then, they would have massive aggro on the player that was nearest to them. If, before the next teleportation, this aggro had been exceeded, they would change their target. Otherwise, they would be the same target the whole time. After the teleportation again, the aggro calculation would start over again. Snatching aggro was the key. Before the Boss attacked others, Kitty Likes Meat had to stabilize her own aggro.


    Kitty Likes Meat''s armor was relatively strong, and she also had a piece of equipment that increased her level of her Burning Pain skill. Pulling the monster didn''t seem like much of a problem at all. However, Lonesome Flower had been afraid of these two powerful monsters for a long time and he didn''t dare to deal damage.


    Originally, the situation looked great. Everyone had their own target of damage output, and the two tanks were pulling their own targets well.


    However, when the Twin Emperors started to dodge and heal each other, Azure Sea Breeze suddenly realized that this wasn''t going to be simple. These two Bosses couldn''t be pulled together. They needed to be separated for it to work. This made it harder for them to do their job of pulling the two bosses. Kitty Likes Meat was a bit better. She was a ranged attack magic unit, so pulling monsters was done at a distance. As long as she stood at a certain spot, it wasn''t too far for her to run to where she needed to be. Azure Sea Breeze pulled monsters at a close range, so if the two Bosses had to be separated, then he''d really suffer.


    The HP of the Twin Emperors put together was about 4.5 million. Since their HPs were the same together, whichever one they attacked would make them lose health. Before, when they had dealt about 200 000 damage to them, after they healed each other, they managed to restore back more than 100 000 HP. It seemed like more than half of what they did before was wasted.


    "Keep going, the team''s not dead yet. Who knows, the Bosses might only heal very rarely," Azure Sea Breeze encouraged the team. He refused to accept the fact that he had to keep running around to pull the monster. He was only praying that the monsters didn''t heal each other often.


    "Then keep fighting," Lu Li commented casually.


    Although he knew that Azure Sea Breeze''s thinking of wanting to try his luck was doomed to have an unhappy ending, Instance Dungeon openings were like this. Any sort of possibility was worth trying, and Ruling Sword had enough time to go ahead with these attempts. Everyone continued to attack these monsters which had been healed.


    One thing that made Lu Li satisfied was that everyone was already familiar with the rhythm of the Bosses changing positions. Although the walkthrough said that on average, they changed about every 30 seconds, it actually wasn''t exactly 30 seconds. Sometimes it was a bit less, possibly just over 20 seconds. Over 30 seconds and even 40 seconds were intervals that happened. After they changed places, there was about a five second gap that gave time for everyone to get to their places.


    Under normal circumstances, the change of positions between the bosses threatened the team the most. If the close combat DPS didn''t retreat in time, then it would cause the Magic Emperor to cast an Arcane Explosion, and that would lead to the team''s death. If the magic roles kept attacking the sword emperor, the Boss would use a strong attack. Many close combat roles, like thieves, berserkers and Paladins, lost a lot of DKP here, even losing all their DKP wasn''t impossible.


    Azure Sea Breeze''s conviction of wanting to try his luck soon completely faltered, because of the bugs they thought were harmless. The sword emperor Emperor Vekniss used his big sword to point at the bugs, and one of the bugs looked like it had been blown up like a balloon. This insect which expanded rushed towards the Magic Emperor Vek''lor. Since the distance between the two Bosses was extremely close, the bug took almost no time to enter the area of the Magic Emperor''s attack. The Magic Emperor''s staff pointed towards the insect, and the bug began to give off sparks. Then, with a bang, the bug exploded. How big this explosion actually was, no one knew, but everyone incurred over 4000 damage. All of a sudden, they lost half their team. There was no doubt they were on the path to the whole team dying.


    "It looks like these Bosses can''t get too close," Azure Sea Breeze grumbled. There were healing bosses and exploding bugs to worry about on top of that. Even the dumbest person could see that these Bosses need to be pulled away further.


    "There are platforms on both sides. You can pull the Bosses onto the platforms," Lu Li suggested, guiding them the right way while he still had the chance.


    "I''m a ranged unit, how can I pull him up onto the platform?" Kitty Likes Meat asked, expressing her helplessness. She was at a long distance from the Boss. From her point of view, being stuck and unable to attack much, it was really hard to pull the Boss in a certain direction.


    "There''s no problem the first time, pull him wherever you can, when the Bosses change position, they''ll naturally get on the platform," Lu Li said.


    "Right, that could work," Kitty Likes Meat realised.


    "As for Breezy¡­" Lu Li looked at him.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately had a teary face. "It won''t work, Lu Li, the platforms are so far away, there''s only a second and a half after the Bosses switch places to before they attack, I simply can''t run from one side to the other."


    "If I remember correctly, you had a special escape skill," Lu Li said.


    "I can''t keep using it though. I can guarantee if the Bosses switched places two or three times there''ll be a problem," Azure Sea Breeze sighed hopelessly. He couldn''t imagine his DKP being drained, so he simply spoke the discouraging truth upfront.


    "Then let World''s Best Friend in then," Lu Li replied, swapping out a person. Sesame Rice Ball pulled up the other Main Tank of the club, World''s Best Friend.


    The two Main Tanks split up and guarded near the platforms. As soon as the sword emperor switched to the platform in front of them, they rushed forward and pulled the Boss. And as soon as the sword emperor was switched away, the Main Tank who was originally pulling the sword emperor would clear away to avoid the Arcane Explosion of the Magic Emperor from being casted.


    "What do we do about the bugs?" Sky Moon asked.


    "Just kill the bug that gets chosen by the sword emperor. Even Wandering could pull it if he is able to."


    It was easy to take care of the bugs. As soon as one of these neutral bugs was picked it would rush toward the Magic Emperor and climb up. When it entered within a certain distance, the Magic Emperor would make it explode. As long as they killed it and stopped it from getting within range of the Magic Emperor, it''d be fine.


    The battle started again, but they were quickly defeated again. It was because there weren''t enough healers healing. As long as the two Bosses called out to each other, the healers had to switch their position. Lu Li had arranged more than a dozen healers. When there were a lot of people, things got messy. It was apparent that they needed some time to get used to working together to defeat this Boss.


    They were still in the process over the next few days. Good thing that everyone worked better and better together, gradually making progress. Soon, they were able to see a slither of hope in claiming victory in Dawn.

 1678 The Thunderfury Ques

    The opening of Ahn''Qiraj Temple had the attention of a lot of players, but its impact affected them slower than expected.


    As time passed, almost everyone knew that the Twin Emperors had double the power to block the path of the clubs. It wasn''t just Ruling Sword, who encountered the Twin Emperors. Later, Glory Capital, which also attempted the dungeon and an alliance of a few big clubs were all stuck at this dungeon.


    "If someone else really does get super lucky, then our First Clear''s gone," Azure Sea Breeze sighed with a gloomy expression.


    Although the First Clear was really important to Ruling Sword, the one who cared about the First Clear the most wasn''t Lu Li, but it was Azure Sea Breeze whose life mission was to appear on TV. His goal was to appear on the worldwide broadcast at least once a month.


    "It''s not that simple. Luck doesn''t play that much of a role with this Boss," Lu Li reassured, as he remained calm in spite of their situation.


    And even if the Twin Emperors were defeated, the two Bosses after them would still be difficult. According to Lu Li''s memory, if nothing unexpected happened, the next Boss, would only arrive in the month following the Twin Emperor''s death. The last Boss, C''Thun, was also a challenge. It couldn''t be said exactly how long it''d take to kill.


    "So are we really having a break in the afternoon?" Azure Sea Breeze had complete faith in Lu Li. As soon as he heard what he said, he wasn''t so sure of himself anymore. These past few days, everyone had been fighting to death against the Twin Emperors with very little rest. Most people couldn''t handle such extremes.


    "Take a break, do whatever you want to do, we''ll keep fighting these twins tomorrow morning," Lu Li ordered with a wave of his hand, dismissing the team.


    "Wait a sec, if you''re not busy, I''ve got enough Elementium Ore," Azure Sea Breeze revealed.


    "Elementium Ore? Already? No way." Not long ago, they gave him the shared stuff to do the opening quest for Ahn''Qiraj, and now, he was saying he had all the materials. This was so sudden it was a bit unbelievable.


    "It''s really easy, Molten Core''s weakened now, so naturally, you can farm more Elementium Ore," Wandering explained.


    More teams were able to defeat Molten Core. If the drops didn''t change, there''d naturally be more Elementium Ore and other materials going into the guild''s storehouses. The Elementium Ore that Lu Li borrowed from Azure Sea Breeze had been returned, and Azure Sea Breeze got together a bit more, so he certainly had enough materials to do the Thunderfury quest. He took everyone to Silithus'' Crystal Valley.


    The quest NPC, Highlord Demitrian, was a warlock. In the beginning, he almost wanted to enslave the strong air element Thunderaan, but he ended up getting surrounded. He and his wind element slave were here looking for certain types of magic materials. Thunderaan was the son of the wind element lord, Al''akir.


    Al''akir controlled the sky, the uncontested king of the airs and the winds. All air elements and flying creatures worshipped him and relied on him. His territory bordered all other elemental territories. The mutual influence between the wall of the sky and the other realms was stronger than the mutual influence between the other realms, but he was the most inconsistent ruler of all the elements and also the most eccentric.


    Prince Thunderaan was born at night in the midst of a typhoon. He was a prince like the wind, hence his name Windseeker. Of the leaders of the four main elements, the wind element leader was the weakest. Al''akir didn''t avoid this label at all ¨C he taught his own son, hoping that one day, the prince was able to lead the wind elements to devastate all the planes. Prince Thunderaan didn''t disappoint his father.


    In ancient times, the Titans paid a visit to Azeroth. All the gods were worried about the Old God''s evil indulgences. At this, they sent out a team with the elemental lifeforms to do battle with their evil lord.


    The Old God''s forces were led by the strongest element leaders: Ragnaros, Therazane the Stonemother, Wind Wielder Al''akir and Tidehunter Neptulon. However, the Titan''s forces had Sargeras leading. This was known in history as the War of the Dominators.


    The relationship between the elements and the Old God was really one of mutual benefit. As their response to being called to enter into the physical world, the elements and the Old God were willing to resist the Titans who transformed the world. However, the elements weren''t completely united. The wind and air elements were in an alliance against fire. Two years before the War of the Dominators, Prince Thunderaan defeated Ragnaros.


    In the 16th year of the War of the Dominators, Prince Thunderaan blocked Sargeras from attacking the world of wind and Sargeras was repelled from the world of wind. In the 17th year of the War of the Dominators, since Prince Thunderaan had a head-on clash with the almighty Sargeras, Prince Thunderaan began to lose his sight and his movements became slower.


    Prince Thunderaan loved the wind leader Adoroyan''s daughter, the wind-kissed fairy Azshir. However, Prince Thunderaan knew that he would be blind soon, but Azshir hoped that Thunderaan would be able to follow her and leave the battlefield. Thunderaan knew he couldn''t give her want she wanted and didn''t reveal his love to her. This was called, ''The Prince''s Regret''.


    In the 20th year of the War of the Dominators, Thunderaan became blind. At the same time, the Tidehunter Neptulon was defeated by Sargeras and sealed off in the Great Sea.


    In the 33rd year of the War of the Dominators, Sargeras betrayed all the gods. However, this wasn''t the end of the War of the Dominators. Rather, a new war had begun. Ragnaros attacked the realm of wind, while his underlings Garr and Geddon planned to trap Prince Thunderaan. Prince Thunderaan suffered an ambush from Ragnaros. After he died, his essence had been sucked away, but since Thunderaan was too powerful, Ragnaros accepted Garr and Geddon''s advice and sealed up the prince''s soul in two pieces of magic equipment, dividing them between Garr and Geddon to look after.


    From that day on, Thunderaan never again saw night and day and Azshir, so he never had the chance to express his love. In the 36th year of the War of the Dominators, the realm of wind was completely destroyed, and the wind elements ran away in droves. In the 60th year of the War of the Dominators, the Titans came to this world again and sealed up all the elements who had opposed them. The War of the Dominators came to an end. Those who were able to free the prince proved themselves to the prince and received his blessing.


    "So, have you prepared?" the aged warlock Highlord Demitrian asked, fixing up the summon circle, making sure that Azure Sea Breeze had freed the trapped spirit of Thunderaan.


    "Yes, we''re ready," Azure Sea Breeze said, raising up a big shield. Behind him, there were 110 people coming to help. Apart from those who had gone in to open up Ahn''Qiraj Temple before, there were also replacements from outside the Instance Dungeon.


    Everyone was definitely sick of doing First Clears. Most people were planning on looking for somewhere to relax.


    But Azure Sea Breeze was pretty popular, so after he gave out this request almost everyone responded to his call. A vast and mighty group of people came to Silithus'' Crystal Valley.


    These 110 people were already powerful enough to deal with an average level 60 Boss. Even a harder quest Boss wouldn''t be a problem.


    And with this group of people coming in, the members of the three big clubs watched the bustling area. As soon as someone dared to meddle with it, someone would immediately send a huge force against them and teach them a lesson.

 1679 The Spirit Blacksmith

    "I don''t know why you freed him, but we have to tell you something. My master¡­he''s not really one to speak," Highlord Demitrian warned the adventurers.


    "The Wind Prince right? We know," Azure Sea Breeze dismissed the warning with a wave of his weapon in his hand, "Actually we''re not really into talking much either."


    "Good, good. If you''re really able to defeat him, maybe I can gain freedom too. This cursed land is too barren. I just wanted to enslave a more powerful elemental lifeform. I never thought I''d have chosen the legendary wind prince. Even if he''s already heavily weakened now, I still wouldn''t be able to deal with him," Highlord Demitrian lamented with sad tears.


    "Mate, I think you can help alongside us," Azure Sea Breeze invited.


    "My magic''s only strong enough to let him out, the rest will be up to you, you''ve got so many people¡­" the warlock replied, sounding willing but unable to help.


    On top of the simple Summon Circle, the materials that Azure Sea Breeze provided were placed ¨C he provided two sets of materials. One was materials for making weapons, and the other was for this Summon Circle. The blessing of the Thunderfury Windseeker made the sword powerful, not simply because of the sword itself. The sword blessed by the Thunderfury Windseeker needed to seal a powerful wind element before it became the best quality it could be. Otherwise, it was just an ordinary sword.


    "Who dares to go against the will of the wild elements!" The monster that called out was extremely scary. He seemed to have a relatively blurry top half, while his bottom half was a cluster of whirlwinds that didn''t stop stirring wildly. Opening his two arms revealed wind elements that continued to congregate. As soon as he came out, it looked like he was one who had a really bad temper.


    A wind prince like this couldn''t win anyone''s sympathies.


    "He''s just a damned spirit, but he''s full of brutality. You better be careful," Highlord Demitrian said as he weakly lay on the ground, shifting slowly towards the outskirts.


    "You lowly thing, you actually betrayed me!" a dagger of wind whistled at Highlord Demitrian''s head. The feeble warlord could only stare at the dagger of wind cutting into his head. This was a battle between NPCs, and it didn''t follow the rules of damage between players at all. Under normal circumstances, this dagger of wind would be able to cut off Highlord Demitrian''s head and it''d fall off, not matter how high his HP was.


    "Bang!"


    A figure appeared in front of Highlord Demitrian, blocking his way. The dagger of wind lashed on this figure, and it sent him flying straight away. In the end, both of them were out of the scene.


    The figure was none other than Lu Li. This dagger of wind which should have been able to One Shot him, but it didn''t do any damage to him, because he was able to use Gale Steps. Being sent flying was real, and it was also true that he had full health, but Highlord Demitrian did lose a bit of health from being hit by Lu Li.


    Highlord Demitrian couldn''t die. If he died, then who would get the sword blessed by Thunderfury Windseeker.


    When this quest first started, some people didn''t protect Highlord Demitrian well. The result was the NPC''s death, and after he died, even if they killed Prince Thunderaan, there was no way for them to continue the quest. Another NPC would spawn after they died. However, the new NPC would break the agreement, refusing to acknowledge the materials given before. The players could do nothing but to collect the materials again.


    Collecting the materials for a wind sword would need nothing less than all the elite members of a club to do all they could, and to get two sets of equipment was practically a life mission. Lu Li didn''t want Azure Sea Breeze to have to pay his own ransom. Prince Thunderaan didn''t have any more chances to hurt Highlord Demitrian, because Azure Sea Breeze had already pulled his aggro.


    A Boss more intelligent would still have to follow the system''s rules, and at this moment Prince Thunderaan was just a savage ghost. He angrily dropped down his wind-magic-type dagger of wind in torrents, but it was blocked by Azure Sea Breeze with a big shield. It wasn''t that he didn''t do damage, but it was because there was a whole heap of healers standing behind Azure Sea Breeze.


    As long as there was enough defense and HP, this group was unbeatable.


    Prince Thunderaan didn''t have many skills. The elegant demeanor by which he attacked Ragnaros with back then was effectively all he had. It''s said that most of his strength had been sealed up in those two pieces of magic equipment, and the rest was pretty much completely sucked up by Ragnaros. So, if nothing went horribly wrong, there wasn''t a big chance that Azure Sea Breeze could fail this quest. Unless someone in the group was being troublesome.


    When normal people did this quest, they needed to call friends or hire some mercenaries to protect them. Azure Sea Breeze had no need to do this. People from the three guild alliance were helping here, and they didn''t have to be asked to help. In a bit more than ten minutes, Prince Thunderaan''s health reached zero. His final berserk was of no use, but he wasn''t completely dead yet. Finally, he changed into pure wind energy that was collected up by Highlord Demitirian.


    "Alright, a great success! I guess I''m free now. Haha!" Highlord Demitirian cheered happily.


    Lu Li was irked though. You''re happy for nothing, as a quest NPC, you''re stuck in an endless cycle.


    "You said you would make this stuff into a weapon." Before Azure Sea Breeze even put down his weapons, he was filled with suspicion, looking at Demitirian, an evil warlord. The original reason this guy came to Silithus'' Crystal Valley was to enslave wind elements, and now the strongest wind element was in his hands.


    As soon as the Highlord went back on his promise, the flustered and exasperated Azure Sea Breeze decided firmly that it was going to be a battle to the death with him.


    "Don''t worry. Right now, I hate wind elements the most. They''re nightmares, I don''t ever want to see wind elements ever again. I can make the weapon for you now. Come along child," Highlord Demitrian reassured, hobbling to the cave where he lived.


    Since he was enslaved by the wind elements, he could never leave Crystal Valley again. This place had become his home.


    It was very rare for a warlock to be a blacksmith. Demitrian probably wasn''t an ordinary blacksmith. So Lu Li was actually even more interested in Highlord Demitrian''s blacksmithing than the wind sword.


    "I''m also a blacksmith. Maybe I can help?" Lu Li asked, taking out his forging hammer!


    This thing was useless for helping the blacksmith master make the magic weapon. Demitrian saw it and entered into deep thought, before sighing and saying, "I haven''t seen this hammer for many years. Those who used it are pretty much all gone now."


    "I inherited this hammer, hoping it can be used and brought back to its former glory," Lu Li said humbly.


    "Alright then, follow me then." Highlord Demitrian was actually very advanced in years. He had depleted his magic today, so his steps were a bit wobbly. Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze supported him on both sides as they walked up the steps.


    "My method of blacksmithing is different to what''s usually done. It''s been passed on in our trade called the Casting Spirit," Demitrian said, evidently very satisfied with these two guys'' performance.

 1680 Spirit Casting

    "So, what is Spirit Casting?" Lu Li asked, knowing his chance had come.


    It was rare to find an NCP who didn''t care much for his charisma. When he had blocked Prince Thunderaan''s Wind Blade, it had perfectly gained Highlord Demitrian''s favour.


    The kindness of saving someone''s life was worth more than any level of charisma.


    "Many craftsman were not human; The best ironsmiths were dwarves, runes were controlled by trolls, the forte of gnomes were jewels and the elves were experts in enchanting. Humans had learnt all sorts of crafts from these races, then gradually changed it to their own style¡­" Demitrian sighed with emotion.


    "Was Spirit Casting invented by humans?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course not," Demitrian shook his head and smiled, "It was invented by demons. Humans had learnt this too."


    "You still haven''t explained what Spirit Casting is," Lu Li was speechless. He couldn''t wait to understand what this Spirit Casting was. It would be ideal to learn how to use it. It was amazing just hearing about it.


    "It''s basically putting a strong spirit into an equipment. It''s as simple as that," Demitrian said straightforwardly


    "So, do all demons'' weapons come from this?" It was the first time that Lu Li had heard about this.


    "Well not entirely, only a small minority are like that. I heard that Illidan had a double-edged weapon with a perfect application of Spirit Casting. It had sealed a very strong being," Demitrian''s face looked carried away.


    Lu Li was just as carried away. It was a weapon only heard about in legends. It wasn''t exaggerating to call it a Magical weapon.


    Illidan was strong not only because of his own abilities. Warglaive of Azzinoth, Skull of Gul''dan, Cursed Visions of Sargeras, Sargeras and the Betrayal were all Magical items that gave him a lot of power.


    Illidan received the Warglaive of Azzinoth from a guard called Azzinoth. The specifics of its origin were not reliable, but some people thought it could have an even greater background. The Orc Mages'' Skull of Gul''dan contained strong power that tempted people into evil; It was a very long story.


    The latter two objects came from Sargeras. When Illidan held it in his hand, they were true magic items.


    Of course, the Instance Dungeon that dropped Egg Knives were weakened. Even so, Egg Knives were known to be the best of the best among the Epic equipment.


    "Actually, Spirit Casting isn''t that amazing," Demitrian answered, "Strong spirits are not easy to obtain. If I wanted to obtain a strong wind element, then I''d need to sacrifice my freedom."


    "Is there no other way to seal a smaller spirit into it?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course, but I would warn you not to do so," Demitrian cautioned as he worked, "There once was a period of time where casting spirits was very popular. At the time, no matter how low level the weapons were, Spirit Casters could seal a spirit into it. It was to a point of being misused."


    "Then what happened? Why would a then-popular Spirit Casting now become unknown to people?"


    "That''s a very good question. They found human spirits to be very special ¨C they could multiply. It could still multiple no matter how many human spirits there already were, even if they were shared with other life forms. And it could have very good results too. At the start, people used convicts on death row''s spirits. Then, they used the spirits of prisoners of war. and then it spiralled out of control. Villages were destroyed. The elderly and children¡­ anyways nothing was left. Can you imagine what that was like?"


    "I can imagine," Lu Li suddenly felt that this was similar to the Undead Scourge.


    "Hence, the mainland started to kill Spirit Casters. More and more of them were killed ¨C their hands were dirty and there was nothing for them to say during their hearing. Some Spirit Casters chose to hide themselves away. After over tens of thousands of years, there are probably not many left now."


    "Are you a Spirit Caster?" Lu Li was surprised.


    You couldn''t tell at all, but this quest''s NPC was actually a hidden professional.


    Dawn didn''t have any hidden professions or hidden missions. But if Demitrian had a hidden profession, it seemed that it had disappeared over time.


    "Yes, I am a Spirit Caster, and also a Warlock," Demitrian admitted.


    "Azerothrian Lu, are there many Spirit Casters like you?" Lu Li was very curious. He had lived two lives already, and up to this point in this life, he had never even heard of the term ''Spirit Caster''.


    "There used to be a lot, but a lot of them have died. Like me they always hoped to live as enslaved but powerful beings," Demitrian said.


    "Stuff this, this would be faster than suicide! No wonder all the Spirit Casters are dead," Azure Sea Breeze exclaimed.


    "But did you guys know a Spirit Caster''s lifelong pursuit?" Demitrian paused.


    "It seems like everyone was thinking about ways to grow stronger," Lu Li replied.


    "No, it was to create the real Demi-God and Magical item. Not these fakes and low quality equipment that you have in your hands," Demitrian proudly said, "Why should only demi-gods or even greater beings be allowed to create Demi-God and Magical items?"


    "To seal in strong spirits that made equipment live. Spirit Casters firmly believe that this is the only way to forge Magical objects," Demitrian rambled passionately.


    "Then, can the one you make now become a Magical object? I mean we''ve put in Thunderaan''s soul. I''ve heard that he could even defeat Ragnaros and Sargeras," Azure Sea Breeze was already daydreaming.


    "I hope more than you for it to turn into a Magical object. Pray, children, Demitrian spoke gently.


    Lu Li focused on watching Demitrian forge weapons. He could help a bit occasionally, but he was destined to disappoint, because this observation wasn''t enough for him to learn the mystery of Spirit Casting. He couldn''t understand how you could seal a spirit into a weapon. Even if it was a game, it should still follow the logic of the system.


    "I knew there was an equipment that can absorb a certain spirit and grow even stronger and powerful. Was that equipment within the realms of the Spirit Casting?" Lu Li brought out the Book of Ur from his backpack. This equipment was already at maximum level but had become a broken equipment.


    He had been holding on to this equipment. Sometimes he will let out Silly Husky from the book.


    "This is a wise spirit. It still has his sanity," Demitrian saw the wolf spirit that had been let out. His eyes was full of both shock and empathy.

 1681 Demi-God Item

    "Damn the spirits! They are evil controllers!" after being summoned, Silly Husky hid behind Lu Li''s back.


    "He can even speak!"


    Demitrian had changed Lu Li''s view. He now knew that Spirit Casting actually still existed on this earth. Lu Li had changed Demitrian''s outlook too. He now knew that Spirit Casters didn''t need to smother away the spirit''s humanity.


    "Hehe, let me introduce myself. I won''t change my name nor my profession until the day I die. I am Sossamondnaire. Oh, wait no, I''m now called Silly Husky," the Giant Wolf poked its head out showing his terror and arrogance.


    "Who''s this? That''s impossible," Demitrian was going insane.


    "Ur Mage. Kirin Tor''s Ur Mage. Have you heard of him?" Lu Li tested the waters and asked.


    "Of course, he''s a great controller who inherited ancient magic, but I never knew he was a spirit caster," Demitrian carefully analysed Silly Husky, as if he couldn''t wait to grab and study him in detail.


    Silly Husky shivered and ran over to Remnant Dream to play.


    Recently, he''d been mentally prepping Remnant Dream. He was instigating Remnant Dream to ask for the Book of Ur from Lu Li. He could then change his family status, and from then on, he and his pretty girl can live a happy and free life.


    "I hope I can learn Spirit Casting," Lu Li said directly.


    Evidently, Spirit Casting was not a true independent life skill, but it was a strong addition to the ordinary life skill. Even though Spirit Casting did look a bit evil.


    Lu Li wasn''t some villain, but neither was he a gentleman.


    To use an old saying, "there was no separation between evil and justice when it came to power". Not to mention, this was just a game anyways. He had a feeling that if he could learn Spirit Casting, then he very well could make Epic level equipment.


    Under normal circumstance, players couldn''t make Epic equipment.


    When you get to Lu Li''s level, increasing life skills levels was just unsealing some corresponding blueprints. Not even Epic equipment can be made.


    Players'' were limited by their Epic equipment''s levels.


    Lu Li, of course, wouldn''t be satisfied at this point. Since this game announced Demi-God and magical types and levels for equipment, then even if it is quite rare, there will still be the possible appearance of these types of equipment. It would be these types of equipment that players will fight over.


    "You want to learn to cast spirits? Why? Why do you want to learn? Why should I teach you?" Demitrian bitterly smiled while he shook his head.


    Clearly the grace of saving someone''s life was still not enough to learn this type of skill. Not to mention, Lu Li was someone with incredibly low charisma.


    "Of course, it''s to inherit and carry it onward. My friend is quite amazing," it was Azure Sea Breeze who said this. Even though everyone would roast each other in everyday situations, but when it came to critical moments, they still helped one another.


    "Just let it fade with time. Spirit Casting was destined to end," Demitrian was evidently not someone easy to talk into.


    "If I was you, I definitely wouldn''t let that happen, not when my lifelong pursuit is right at its end in front of my eyes. I''m not sure how long you''ve learnt this, but I believe it must have been a very long process. And the master who taught you must have held great hopes in teaching you Spirit Casting¡­" Lu Li had always been a master when it came to reading people''s minds.


    "Say no more," Demitrian hammered the sword sheath which surprised Azure Sea Breeze.


    "I won''t kill any good people to fulfil your Spirit Casting, but I have already killed many monsters, and will continue to do so. I am different from you, I am not a failure," Lu Li completed quests differently from ordinary people and evidently didn''t plan on pleasing the NPC.


    Demitrian immediately understood Lu Li''s underlying message - he mocked him as a loser.


    He even failed when he enslaved a wind element. In the end, he had even become this wind element''s slave. In the end, he still had to rely on these adventurers to help obtain his freedom ¨C how was he going to carry Spirit Casting forward?


    He wanted to refute Lu Li''s statements, since he had spent all his life working hard for Spirit Casting. But he began to feel that he was such a failure that he was destined to disappoint his mentor who held so much hope. He had gotten to his age and still not broken the normal limit of a forger.


    "I have killed countless powerful enemies and received the recognition of Demi-Gods," Lu Li boasted as he reached out his hand and showed his ring.


    His tactics were old, but as long as it worked that was all that mattered.


    You either use the hammer or use the ring. In the beginning, he saw Demitrian as a forger, so he used the hammer. Now that the hammer''s strength wasn''t enough, it was naturally time to use the ring.


    Originally, Lu Li was worried whether Demitrian recognised this ring.


    Luckily, while Demitrian''s abilities were not so great, his experience as a forger with ancient inheritance gave him some degree of vision and insight. He couldn''t use words to describe the shock that Lu Li gave him. It wasn''t fair to bully people like this!


    The forging hammer wasn''t a big deal; It was considered as something that ordinary humans could touch. However, what the heck was this Demi-God level stuff?!


    Also, the Supreme One Ring was forged with Demi-God magic and it was blessed with the existence of the true divine power.


    There were people who said that the ring absorbed the power of the Well of Eternity. It used to be filled with the power of the Stream of Magic over many years. And some people said that this ring was also filled with power that the Moon Goddess'' made for her son.


    Some even said that the ring in Cenarius'' hands under the blessing of Archdruid had already become a real magic item.


    With that ring, Cenarius had become one of the strongest beings in existence in this world.


    There were all sorts of rumours, but without a doubt the ring on Lu Li''s hand was truly the Demi-God''s work of meticulous care. It was the Highlord Demitrian''s lifelong pursuit, but it was unimaginable to him ¨C it belonged to another ultimate realm. In fact, he only wanted to make an ordinary Demi-God item.


    "Can I have a look?" Demitrian bent down as if he was begging Lu Li.


    "I received the recognition from the Demi-God and became its new owner, but I still can''t fully control it. So, you may not be able to fully observe it any further," Lu Li walked closer and placed the ring in front of his face.


    "That''s enough, it''s enough already child. Thank you for letting me see a Demi-God item from legends," he spoke to himself as he observed the ring in detail. Demitrian acted like a mad scientist.

 1682 Inheritance

    Did Demitrian have any excuses to refuse?


    He couldn''t help but think of the professor that taught him Spirit Casting. He was an old Warlock with a foot in the grave. He saved a young Demitrian from a beast and raised him from that day.


    He taught Demitrian how to survive, how to study and mentored him to become a Warlock.


    Then finally came the day when the old Warlock decided to teach his secret and hoped to share it with his adopted child and student. He didn''t hide the secret regarding the taboo of Spirit Casting, and the age in which everyone was hunting Spirit Casters.


    Demitrian wasn''t a brave person and turned away cowardly.


    He refused the old Warlock and depicted that he only wanted to study the wonders of Shadow Magic. However, once he met a plateau in his power, he had no choice but to ask for help and slowly realised how great the power of spirit casting was.


    He proactively inherited the old Warlock''s legacy and became a Spirit Caster.


    When the old Warlock died it was during the process of Spirit Casting and he sealed his spirit into an equipment in despair. There were countless Spirit Casters like him who were all in there.


    Demitrian could often hear the mutters of previous Spirit Casters from that equipment. They didn''t rest in peace even in their deaths.


    Sometimes, Demitrian would despise the old Warlock.


    He thought that the old Warlock cursed his life. There were two possible endings for him, one was hope and the other was despair. If everything proceeds normally, his default ending would be despair. He was destined to become trapped in an equipment just like the old Warlock and become a spirit that never rests in peace.


    Now, he had been given hope.


    "Believe me, only I can continue Spirit Casting''s legacy," Lu Li didn''t waste his breathe saying unnecessary things and stood on the side with Azure Sea Breeze while waiting for Demitrian''s final decision. The forging room only had the sounds of banging.


    The sword sheath took shape slowly and gradually became the shape in Lu Li''s memory, only without the splendid and surging magical power because it wasn''t spirit casted.


    Lu Li waited in anticipation for the Spirit Casting process, and the ability to witness the birth of an Epic level weapon.


    The Wind power that Prince Thunderaan accumulated was a ball of pure spirits. It no longer had its original owner''s violence and rage ¨C this was largely dealt with by Spirit Casters. This was why Demitrian was so surprised at the fact that the Book of Ur had such a wise spirit residing in it. Demitrian sealed the wind power into the weapon. First through the surface, then slowly seeped into the power into the weapon bit by bit.


    The originally scrap iron sword suddenly had a spirit in it and the whole weapon started to move animatedly. Even the people beside it could feel the power it contained.


    The sword finally settled after a long while. "Done," Demitrian''s wiped his face full of sweat, and happily sighed.


    "This is so pretty," Azure Sea Breeze watched in obsession of this weapon that was to be his.


    "Unfortunately, it''s still only an Epic weapon," Demitrian responded with regret, "If it was a perfect wind element print then it could even be made into a Demi-God item."


    These were only maybes. The Wind Prince at his peak was not someone that Lu Li and his team could mess with. If he hadn''t fallen, then perhaps it could be stronger than people like Illidan or Malfurion.


    "Jesus! The Epic weapon! Quickly! Give it to me!" Azure Sea Breeze was overjoyed at the unexpectedly good outcome.


    Stuff the Demi-God items. He wasn''t even thinking about that. He just wanted a relatively high-end Epic equipment with good attributes, a trendy appearance, and would give him the strength he needed in an Instance Dungeon. That was it.


    Now, the outer appearance is enough to satisfy his anticipation.


    He didn''t think that this was something of Epic level. Mu Qiu''s Ashkandi ¨C Greatsword of the brotherhood was the level of Epic equipment but the high-end weapon didn''t really look like an Epic equipment. Demitrian casually threw the weapon over to him.


    Azure Sea Breeze carefully caught it and laughed liked an idiot as he drooled over it. He no longer had the ability to pay attention to anything else.


    "Come with me elf. Hope you won''t regret the decision you have made today," Demitrian fumbled against the walls for a bit. The stone table of the mountain cave started moving. After it moved open there was an underground basement. He could see something like a staircase that went further down.


    "Cool," Azure Sea Breeze was alert and couldn''t help but speak in admiration.


    Demitrian''s basement compared to upstairs was indeed quite different. The simple and crude appearance of the upstairs was fitting for his enslaved identity, but downstairs was considered open and magnificent.


    "This used to be a ruin, and was changed by me to its appearance now," Demitrian explained.


    "Is it for experiments?" Lu Li and Azure Sea Breeze followed him down.


    He and his other teammates had already split, they had all gone their own ways back home. The Instance Dungeon up to this point had left free game time for everyone.


    Even if everyone wanted to continue the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li still wouldn''t miss this chance to become a Spirit Caster than to fight an Instance Dungeon.


    Instance Dungeon was important of course but even if Ruling Sword lost this First Clear, there were definitely more opportunities for more in the future. However, there was only once change to learn Spirit Casting, and Lu Li had never heard of it even in his past life.


    Not to mention, there was a piece of Epic equipment that was born right in front of his eyes just then.


    The attributes were naturally amazing. It would depict differences according to each profession. This weapon was well liked by many professions. Those who could hold swords would try harder to get one for themselves. But it was most suited for Tanks, from basic attributes alone, it was enough to give Azure Sea Breeze a great boost in power. Not to mention the four special effects that were more amazing: A damage reduction, additional HP, increased defence, and lastly, a revival on the spot with full HP.


    "Yes, it''s used for experiments. And also, a prison," Demitrian pointed to the cupboards on the walls and casually opened one. Immediately, a light ball floated out.


    "A spirit?" Lu Li widened his eyes.


    "Yes, this spirit is of a wild boar. I bumped into it at Razorfen Kraul. This was a demonised wild boar. This spirit was full of rage. It''s such a shame it could only be used as research material," Demitrian introduced it to Lu Li one by one.


    Some were the spirit of wild beasts, some were dead organisms from the Death Fields, but there were other things which were very unnerving.


    Ogres were fine and didn''t affect Lu Li. However, the two light balls belonging to orcs disturbed him. Perhaps in the eyes of Demitrian, there wasn''t any difference between ogres or orcs ¨C many humans all thought this way.


    Especially people like Demitrian whose whole families were killed by orcs and became wandering orphans of the wild.

 1683 Official Humiliation

    Lu Li did not intend to the correct the Highlord Demitrian''s three views. He wasn''t familiar with the Orcs anyways. He just watched as the Spirit Casting technique was used.


    "What do you think of my collection?" Highlord Demitrian seemed quite content with it.


    It was large in number, and was also quite diverse. All the items he had collected over the years were stored here. There were some that had been obtained only after fighting tooth and nail to defeat a very powerful monster.


    "Well, there is quite a lot."


    That was all Lu Li could say about it.


    He didn''t want to deliberately offend the NPC, but he also didn''t want to flatter him baselessly. There were quite a lot of different souls here ¨C after all, it was the collection of a Spirit Casting master.


    However, there were many souls that were very low levelled. From the players'' perspective, these were just ordinary monsters. The better ones were just Elite monsters, which was still quite bad.


    "Well, I guess I am too timid. I fear death too much to provoke stronger beings," Highlord Demitrian said with a wry smile. "The one time I had the courage to fight something stronger, I ran into the Wind Wielder, the son of Al''akir.


    "That is just bad luck," Lu Li agreed.


    "Even a powerful prince of the wind does not wield a Demi-God weapon. It seems like there is no hope left for me in this life either. I hope you can carry forwards the art of Spirit Casting. If you make a Demi-God item one day, please let me see it. Then, I will know that taking you as a disciple was not in vain," Highlord Demitrian said.


    "I will not let you down," Lu Li promised, overjoyed.


    The System then prompted him to learn Spirit Casting. This artform had three skills. The first was Soul Collection, which could be used after killing a target. There was a certain probability that the target''s soul would be captured.


    But why was it chanced based? Lu Li instantly felt like this Soul Collection skill would be very difficult for him.


    The second skill was the core skill, which was simply called Spirit Casting. It could inject a soul into a piece of equipment as it was being produced. It was also worth mentioning that this process had a certain probability as well.


    In addition to general luck, there were a number of factors that would affect the probability in positive and negative ways. These involved the materials, the technique of the player and so on.


    There was also a skill called Soul Synthesis, which combined two or more souls into a more powerful soul. This was also chance based, and was affected by the compatibility of the two souls.


    If it was the soul of an Orc being merged with a human soul, the process would definitely fail.


    "This is something that our Spirit Casting master has passed down. It has sealed countless souls. I thought I would seal myself in one day, but now that it belongs to you, let me find death in peace."


    Highlord Demitrian was rubbing a badge as he spoke, before reluctantly giving it to Lu Li.


    Spirit Casting Badge (Special): All Attributes +200: Spirit Casting Success Rate +50%, Soul Collection Success Rate +30%, Soul Synthesis Success Rate +30%. Exclusive item for Spirit Casting players. Durability 400/400.


    Lu Li let out a long sigh of relief.


    After learning about the Spirit Casting skills, he had been quite embarrassed. Why were they all chanced based events? Lu Li was always unfortunate when it came to these.


    He had already mentally prepared himself for the worst.


    If the success rate was low, it just meant that he had to do more grinding. Since he was fighting stronger and stronger monsters, there were plenty of opportunities for him to collect and synthesise souls.


    He would have been happy for one to succeed for each 100 attempts.


    However, he didn''t expect that this stingy master would actually give him such a valuable item, one that would directly increase his success rate.


    In fact, Lu Li thought that the Spirit Casting skills now had a reasonable success rate. There was nothing out there that had 100% success rate anyway. However, before long, he would find out why Highlord Demitrian, a great Spirit Casting teacher, would be enslaved by the winds.


    After passing Spirit Casting onto Lu Li, Azure Sea Breeze also gained some equipment and the quest was now complete.


    Azure Sea Breeze wanted to show off his new weapon to someone else and Lu Li couldn''t wait to try this great Spirit Casting technique. Neither of the two brothers planned to stay in that place, so both rushed off to do their own thing.


    Lu Li wasn''t someone who would bite off more than he could chew. He didn''t think immediately think that he would try to kill Ragnaros the Firelord to capture his soul. He had to become proficient at the three skills he had learnt first. This was equivalent to starting in a new Trade Skill.


    As such, he travelled to the Novice Village to find a Shadowmaw Panther.


    There was a bit of a ruckus with the team responsible for regulating the game. They weren''t sure if there was anything wrong with Spirit Casting being triggered now, even though it was intended to be discovered a bit later. All they could really do was contact the company.


    "Spirit Casting has been discovered by the players."


    This simple statement was enough gain to attention of the higher-ups.


    "How did this happen so quickly?! I thought the triggering condition was very difficult. Which professional NPC triggered the quest?"


    The design director responsible for Dawn was the last to enter. In a room filled with design experts, it was only now that they found the courage to speak up.


    "Highlord Demitrian!" the team leader stood up and reported.


    "Isn''t that the Thunderfury Quest NPC?" Isn''t that the hardest one to trigger? Whose luck was that good?" the design director asked with widened eyes.


    Highlord Demitrian was a quest NPC that issued cyclic quests.


    This kind of NPC would have its memory reset in various stages, so you couldn''t just farm it. It wasn''t even clear that you could learn Spirit Casting from him.


    "It was Lu Li," the team leader answered helplessly. "We thought he was locked in because he was doing the Thunderfury quest."


    "Oh, so he completed the Thunderfury quest?" the director asked curiously.


    "Yes, he completed it. Azure Sea Breeze now has the first Thunderfury."


    The monitoring team wasn''t allowed to play given their restrictions, but they were still obsessed with the game. As such, they understood the value of Thunderfury more than ordinary players.


    The director began to give his advice.


    "It is a little faster than we expected. See if you can increase the difficulty of the Thunderfury Quest. Not all Thunderfuries are Epic equips, right?"


    "Director, now is not the time to discuss this. Spirit Casting is the problem. Aren''t you worried about the spreading of Epic equipment or even a Demi-God item? They are only at level 60 right now!"


    One of the teams couldn''t hold it in any longer. Thunderfury was indeed an exquisite item, but it was too difficult to acquire so it wouldn''t affect game balance.


    Spirit Casting was different. It could produce a lot of Epic equipment.


    "There is nothing to worry about. If it was Remnant Dream, I would be losing sleep. As for Lu Li, let him try his best," the design director yawned, clearly indicating his disagreement.

 1684 Non-Horde

    The fact that Lu Li could use Spirit Casting was quite miraculous.


    Demitrian''s method of Spirit Casting could be taught to others. According to the design of the game, it needed to be a player with a high level of Charisma and luck. Furthermore, it also needed to be at a time when Demitrian felt that his life was nearing its end. It was only once that these conditions were met that he had a chance at triggering the quest. After this, then there were also a lot of hard work and dedication which only gave him a small chance at learning Spirit Casting.


    Lu Li''s luck wasn''t great and his Charisma levels were also not spectacular either.


    That was why it was simply miraculous.


    Firstly, Lu Li used his words to evoke Demitrian''s feelings and memories with his own mentor, then he also used the fact that the Blessed Blade of the Windseeker wasn''t even on the level of a demigod weapon, despite using Prince Thunderaan''s soul to craft it. These words made Demitrian feel the hopelessness that his mentor had experienced before his death.


    With these, the conditions of Demitrian feeling both incompetent and that his life was now coming to its end had been fulfilled.


    As for the other conditions, Lu Li had saved Demitrian''s life by using Gale Steps to block a lethal attack from Prince Thunderaan. Otherwise, with his normal luck and Charisma levels, Demitrian wouldn''t even look at him.


    Even if the first condition was fulfilled and the second was not, then Lu Li would still be among the last people to be taught Spirit Casting.


    In the end, it was the Hammer and Supreme Ring that shocked Demitrian. This was especially true with the Supreme Ring. The appearance of the Supreme Ring had shattered his original perspective.


    These two items greatly raised Lu Li''s status in Demitrian''s eyes.


    This intelligent NPC had already made his decision. This was something that was intended by the design, but it was not set in stone.


    Dawn was AI-controlled, which meant that there was more freedom within the game. For the sake of improving playability and flexibility within the game, the game company didn''t have set responses for everything. As a result of this, the higher the NPC''s intelligence, the more likely they were to make their own decisions.


    That was why the process of Lu Li acquiring the skill was incredible.


    The game company had no rights to intervene. Even if they wanted to utilise underhanded tactics to intervene, they weren''t able to take away the skill that was already in Lu Li''s hands.


    Rut''theran Village was one of the beginner Dark Elf villages.


    The races in the Alliance were better looking, or at least, they looked more like people. The races in the Horde were freakish and strange.


    The beginner Dark Elf villages were not as popular as the Human ones.


    This was why Lu Li was able to find a place where he could practice Spirit Casting in peace.


    With one slash of his dagger, an old Nightsaber fell. Lu Li was able to instantly kill these lower-levelled monsters and he began to collect their souls.


    A fog-like essence floated up from the corpse.


    It looked like it had a head, face and was also in the shape of a Nightsaber. Lu Li was extremely happy. His instincts told him that this was the soul of a Nightsaber. He didn''t think that he would succeed on the first attempt.


    However, at that same time, the nearly-formed Nightsaber soul dissipated.


    Gone?


    Why did it fail? It was nearly complete. Lu Li couldn''t understand it.


    He wasn''t frustrated at failing, since he had prepared himself for this.


    Time for the second one¡­


    Failed again!


    Third one...


    Failed!


    When Lu Li failed for the thirtieth time, he finally realised that he had made a mistake.


    The 50% success rate didn''t mean that it was a one in two chance to succeed. Otherwise, there would have been at least a couple of successes out of the 30 attempts that he had made. Furthermore, he was even trying the skill on lower-levelled monsters.


    At the same time, the surveillance team for the game company was also waiting for Lu Li to make a joke of himself.


    Besides the surveillance team, the director of design and a few others who were nervous, stayed behind and watched Lu Li as well.


    They watched as Lu Li failed 30 times consecutively, then finally breathed a sigh of relief and laughed loudly.


    "We''ve known him for so long now and thought that he was really skilled. Who would''ve thought that his luck would be so bad! How did he get to where he is now?"


    This person in the higher echelons of the company was clearly not a gamer. His knowledge of Lu Li was probably quite limited as well.


    "Haha! He is quite an interesting character. His talent for gaming is quite good, but his luck and Charisma levels are extremely low. Yep ¨C they are rock bottom. You could say that they are even lower than what we had designed. No one knows what he did to get such bad luck."


    The director of design was clearly enjoying Lu Li''s failures.


    "There are two girls in his team. One of them has max Charisma, while the other had max Luck," the leader for the surveillance team added.


    The surveillance team gave up watching him after a while. Lu Li had already failed 150 times. Even these people who were concerned about the balance of the game began to sympathise with him. They even hoped that Lu Li would succeed just once.


    "Well, we can rest easy now."


    The company executives were quite satisfied. They saw that Lu Li had failed so many times and seemed like he would keep failing, so they didn''t bother watching anymore.


    It was just like what the director of design said. They didn''t need to care about this person.


    Even if he succeeded once, it wouldn''t matter!


    Would he give up?


    Of course not!


    This level of hardship was incomparable to what he had faced in his life thus far. He was determined enough to face even more difficult things head on.


    He was a child who had grown up in poverty. He had no right to be spoilt.


    167 times!


    Just when he thought that it would fail, the Nightsaber''s soul didn''t dissipate, but instead, grouped together and formed a ball of light. The System then indicated that it was in a collectable state.


    Success?


    Lu Li laughed heartily and was extremely happy. He wasn''t down just because of his failures.


    His mindset was straightforward. The rarer and more precious an item was, the harder it


    was to obtain it. Flukes were non-existent. Therefore, the skill of Spirit Casting was bound to reap great benefits.


    If it was as simple as cutting cake, then he might as well not learn this skill.


    The ball of light took up one slot in his bag. It seemed that he needed to expand his storage again. He envied Hachi Chan''s incredibly spacious bag. Lu Li even thought about begging for one, since he remembered that there was one of them that could be traded.


    After getting a Nightsaber soul, Lu Li immediately gave up the notion of continuing.


    He wanted to find an area where the monster population was much more concentrated. With him being level 60, the success rate wouldn''t improve whether the monster was level 5 or 15.


    He went to the Scarlet Monastery next.


    For the sake of better-integrating new players, all of the lower-levelled Instance Dungeons were made available to enter. The higher-levelled players were able to bring the lower-levelled players into these Instance Dungeons to grind for EXP.


    The Scarlet Monastery was the most popular area for grinding EXP.

 1685 Justice

    There were many low-levelled players here. Not everyone liked to follow the normal method of grinding different monsters to level up.


    As for raising their levels from doing quests, that was a pipe dream. Unless they had extremely high Charisma values, it wouldn''t be possible to raise their levels from doing quests alone. Most people would need to rely on grinding monsters to gain EXP.


    There were also many people who came here for business purposes.


    Stronger players would party up with four other weaker players in a party and charge them for power-levelling. Each player would pay a certain number of silver coins. In a day, players would be able to earn around 100 gold, which was already a much higher pay than normal workers.


    However, power-levelling was a Mage specialty. Other classes, even with good items and mechanics, wouldn''t be able to grind the monsters in the Scarlet Monastery at the speed and efficiency of a Mage. If it took three to five hours just for one run, then they might as well work some other mediocre jobs in real life.


    Of course, there were also players who brought their friends over to power-level, so they just partied up with other people as well.


    Lu Li entered the weapon vault first and he found that the rates of gathering the souls of elite monsters were much higher than normal monsters. This far exceeded his expectations. He ''only'' needed around 80 monsters to gather one soul.


    How pitiful. He had already realised his own misfortune.


    After cleaning the vault, he received his third soul. Unfortunately, the two souls that he obtained in the vault were not Boss souls. Boss souls were obviously harder to obtain as well.


    Besides the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li was nearly killed outside.


    This couldn''t be right. He had a lot of HP and the damage that he received was negligible. After all, he did have an emblem that added 200 to all Attributes, although there weren''t any unique effects. However, the HP that it added was significant. Lu Li''s HP exceeded 5000, which could contend with the average Berserker.


    Even so, he was noticeably damaged.


    He had taken a few hundred damage!


    The people who attacked him also paused for a moment. From what they saw, Lu Li obviously did not belong to whatever faction they were targeting.


    "Why''d you attack me?" Lu Li innocently asked.


    "It seems like we made a mistake. Let''s leave him alone. He''s only a Thief anyway, so he can''t steal our business," one of the Mages piped up, discussing the problem with his teammates.


    "Kill him!" another Mage yelled, not caring about Lu Li.


    Since they all agreed on the same outcome, these people wouldn''t offend their own friends for the sake of a Thief who they had no affiliation with.


    This was a perfect example of ants biting an elephant to death. However, these people weren''t even comparable to ants.


    Lu Li immediately used Gale Steps to avoid being damaged, then entered Stealth.


    "Gale Steps! Oh crap!"


    These Mages weren''t stupid, since they at the least knew of Gale Steps.


    For Lu Li and his associates, Gale Steps was a common skill. If the skill book dropped in the dungeons, then no one would need it, so it was usually just thrown into the guild storage and sold to other club members.


    However, most of the ordinary players didn''t even have the skill yet.


    "Flush him out."


    The lead Mage immediately cast Blizzard in front of him, trying to bring Lu Li out of Stealth. The other Mages followed his lead and covered the area with blasts and explosions.


    Some of the lower-levelled players who just exited the dungeon were caught in the blasts. The players grinding here were usually around level 30, so they couldn''t handle the damage from a level 60 Mage.


    Corpses started appearing gradually on the ground. However, none were the Thief that they were looking for.


    "Why''d we start fighting? He seems really strong."


    One of the Mages was frustrated.


    "We''ve already used so many skills, yet he hasn''t been damaged much. His items must be really good. If we can kill him and make all of his items drop, we would hit the absolute jackpot!" the lead Mage cried out.


    "Oh yeah! That''s right!"


    The other players'' eyes immediately widened, until someone interrupted them.


    "Come at me if you have a porblem! Why are you killing the innocents?"


    A Mage wearing a blue robe appeared in front of the dungeon where Lu Li was standing when he had just exited the dungeon. This sight angered the lead Mage.


    It seemed to be so scripted.


    By ''innocents'' did he mean himself?


    Lu Li was planning on entering the dungeon after avoiding these Mages, but he stopped. He thought about it and realised that he was actually innocent. The first attack was an accident, but the pursuit after the initial attack was not an accident anymore.


    "Hehe¡­He still dares to come out. Kill him as well! The item that dropped just then was not bad either!" the lead Mage laughed loudly.


    The blue-robed Mage was going to re-enter the Instance Dungeon, since he was outnumbered. However, he saw that there were innocent players caught in the crossfire, so he entered the battle too.


    "I''m bringing newbies into the dungeon for free. How are we obstructing you? You guys are just bullies."


    "We just don''t like you."


    This clearly was not the first time for the team of Mages. All of their PVP skills were quite decent.


    The blue-robed Mage didn''t stand a chance. If it wasn''t for their desire to flush Lu Li out, they would have already killed him.


    Lu Li remained stuck to a wall that was just outside the range of Blizzard. He was just watching the battle, marvelling at the existence of such a benevolent guy. He ahd seen nice people before, but people who were nice to this level were not a common sight at all. Not only did he not charge people to power-level them, but he was also willing to put himself in danger for the sake of strangers.


    "Bunch of evil bullies! Come at me!"


    At this moment, a few players suddenly joined the battle.


    The targets were clearly the Mages who wanted to kill Lu Li. Were these players the so-called ''good Samaritans?''


    Unfortunately, these players were much too weak. They were all around level 30, so as soon as they struck by the Blizzard, they just died.


    "Don''t come here! Run!"


    "Big bro, we''re not scared!"


    Lu Li was speechless. It was a scene straight out of the movie, but what could he do? These weaker players immediately died as soon as they entered the battlefield.


    "I''ll go all out!" the blue-robed Mage cried in despair. He changed his tactic into one of both defense and offence, but it was clear that he was fully committing himself.


    This again? This line was a classic line from dramas.


    Lu Li sighed and swapped out his current emblem. He didn''t particularly admire this drama unfolding and the characters within it. However, he realised that he was also a victim.


    As a victim, he wanted justice. This was normal.

 1686 Soulhun

    The situation at Scarlet Monastery was extremely messy.


    There were many scumbags in the society. In real life, the rule of law was absolute, so they had to be


    cautious when doing such things. However, in the game, they didn''t need to worry about the law.


    These people took joy in bullying, killing or harassing other players.


    Scumbags like this usually weren''t strong players in the game, so there was a very obvious problem here. They might not be able to bully around the people that they normally bully in real life.


    The disadvantaged and the powerless could only endure these hardships in real life.


    However, it was different in games. Perhaps it was because of their difficult circumstances in real life that they were extremely driven to succeed in the game. This type of people were usually quite strong and had potential.


    After hitting many walls, these scumbags finally found a new direction.


    Newbies!


    Dawn had already been released for a year, so there were many changes throughout the life of the game so far. The most obvious change was that the game helmet''s price gradually decreased. Now, a mere thousand dollars could buy a game helmet. With the ability to earn money in Dawn, many people would take this route to earn their living.


    The price drop of the helmet allowed many of the poorer people in the society to enter the game.


    The real-life status of the newly-entered players didn''t matter in the game. In the beginning, they all had the title ''Newbie''. These new players became the targets of these scumbags.


    The Scarlet Monastery was an area that was full of newbies, so naturally, it attracted these scumbags.


    These Mages were all the same type of people. All of them were scumbags. They were used to killing and harassing other people, especially newbies. However, they would leave the newbies who helped out with their business alone.


    However, these Mages'' power-levelling skills were not worthwhile at all.


    The prices were extravagant with average results. They would often miss a couple of monsters which would chase after the newbies in the party during the run.


    Even if there were no one to take the newbies on free runs, the newbies wouldn''t pay these scumbags to take them. Furthermore, there was a Mage called Soulhun who was just bringing these newbies in for free runs. There was an instance where a newbie that was partied up with these scumbags ended up leaving them for the free runs that Soulhun was leading.


    These scumbags were furious.


    Free power-levelling would disrupt their business, and this was directly stealing their customers. That was why they decided to kill this Mage.


    The process was simple. After all, he was outnumbered.


    The first time they killed Soulhun, he had dropped a decent Dark Gold item. This motivated them to crush him into the ground completely.


    However, they didn''t expect for a new target to appear.


    Lu Li was always the one doing the bullying, whether real life or in game. He wasn''t going to let this slide. He thought that they were just trying to get by with this small business of theirs. He didn''t think that they were a bunch of bullies and scum of the earth.


    The new prey decided to thoroughly teach them a lesson.


    With one slash, Lu Li immediately killed one of the Mages with around 50% HP.


    Everyone in the battle were dumbfounded. The group of Mages wanted to find Lu Li, then kill him and loot his items. However, they didn''t expect him to appear in such a fashion.


    Everyone paused.


    "Why''d everyone stop?"


    Lu Li spun his dagger on his hand, then stabbed a person next to him on the head.


    Gouge!


    This was a crowd-control skill that usually didn''t deal much damage, but it ended up dealing a little more than 300 HP. This immediately dropped the Mage''s HP bar by a small chunk, but not even the Mage had noticed.


    Only professional players would consider everything when battling.


    From the first skill, a professional would be able to form a plan regarding offence and defence.


    If the Mage didn''t notice the first strike, it was still okay. The second and third normal hits were still manageable. However, it was the fourth skill, Sinister Strike, that dealt a whopping 1800 damage and also inflicted 2 seconds of Stun.


    Lu Li followed up with a normal hit and immediately killed the second Mage.


    What happened?


    No one could follow what had just happened. Why were there suddenly two bodies on the ground?


    "My friend¡­"


    The lead Mage was the first to react. He didn''t order his henchmen to immediately attack Lu Li. After all, even the stupidest people would realise that Lu Li was not an easy target. Lu Li had just instantly killed two of his men. This was almost an inhuman feat.


    "Eh? When did we become friends?" Lu Li asked.


    His acting was actually quite good, but unfortunately, he had a mask on. Other people could only see the two cold and ruthless eyes behind the mask.


    "It''s all just a misunderstanding! We were just targeting this person, so it doesn''t involve you. You''ve already killed two of our men, so any misunderstanding between us is gone, right? Let''s leave it at that. How about it?" the lead Mage said, suppressing his anger.


    This was a lawless group of people who had oppressed players at Scarlet Monastery for a long time, purely through their numbers. They weren''t used to swallowing their pride.


    "Why are you guys targeting him?" Lu Li asked.


    "This doesn''t concern you. It''s between us and him," the lead Mage warmly replied.


    "Why doesn''t it concern me? He''s my friend! You''ve already killed him¡­How many times?" Lu Li turned his head and asked the blue-robed Mage who would dangerously close to dying again, if it wasn''t for him.


    "Tw-twice¡­"


    The blue-robed Mage was dumbfounded because this weird guy just claimed that they were friends. Unless, if they were actually friends, but he just didn''t know because the person was masked.


    "Don''t joke around. You don''t know him."


    "I do know him! His name is Soulhun," Lu Li said seriously.


    "Pft! You just found out, didn''t you? Friend, are you trying to look for trouble?"


    The lead Mage couldn''t stand it any longer.


    "I''m not joking around. You''ve already killed my friend twice. It''s you guys who are looking for trouble, not me. Ask them! Who''s looking for trouble here?" Lu Li asked as he pointed to the newbies who had just revived.


    A leader could bring four players. Now, there were only three.


    Perhaps there weren''t four players to begin with, or one of them had already escaped.


    Lu Li didn''t want to stir up trouble, since he preferred to spend this time on collecting souls. Now that he finally had something new to do and strive for, his passion for the game was reignited.


    However, he couldn''t just ignore this.


    The blue-robed Mage was willing to power-level for free and didn''t seem like the pretentious type. Furthermore, upon seeing that other people were brought into his conflict, he didn''t hesitate to try and save them.


    The newbies who were partied up with the blue-robed Mage knew that they were destined to die if they entered the battle, but they didn''t hesitate to join in.

 1687 Seeing the Local Tycoons Again

    Lu Li would never become that kind of person.


    However, this didn''t prevent him from admiring such a person. If the opportunity arose, and it wouldn''t affect him too greatly, he wouldn''t helping that person out.


    What else could this Mage possibly do anyway?


    "Looks like you won''t be able to do this. You must be quite capable, and you must not forget that we outnumber you," the leader had no choice but to say. After all, he couldn''t kneel before Lu Li to beg for mercy.


    Instead, he threatened Lu Li and messaged his accomplices at the same time.


    These players had taken over the Scarlet Monastery, and obviously didn''t only have a few Mages. There were quite a few others, but they were either in Instance Dungeons or oppressing other weak players.


    As a result, Lu Li soon found that he was being surrounded by players sneaking around. He immediately knew that he needed to do something.


    Yet, the people surrounding Lu Li were acting overconfidently.


    His opponent''s plan was to keep stalling Lu Li, but Lu Li saw through that. He immediately vanished and reappeared behind his opponent before casting Cheap Shot, Backstab and Backhand Backstab. He managed to defeat his opponent with one rotation of skills.


    This player might have been the brains of the group, but his strength was just average.


    From start to finish, he didn''t survive Lu Li''s attacks for longer than half a second. When he saw Lu Li previously, he saw that he managed to kill two players quite quickly. He thought that Lu Li was powerful, but he still underestimated the extent of Lu Li''s strength. Now that he had experienced it himself, he came to understand what it meant to feel completely helpless.


    Originally, he had thought that it would be easier after finding some people to help him.


    But now, he was suddenly unsure.


    Taking out the leader first made sense. Without him, the rest felt agitated and began their counterattack.


    The blue-robed Mage Soulhun who was nice to everyone had regenerated almost all of his HP while the boss and Lu Li were talking.


    However, this was when the action began.


    Lu Li found that this Mages'' technique was above average, albeit a little unrefined. It seemed like he had just started playing recently, but how did he get to level 60 and acquire such a good set of equipment?


    "Let me into the Instance Dungeon group!" Lu Li shouted as he picked up the equipment that the Mage dropped after killing him.


    There were more and more people gathering outside. He still had a few more Mages to get through and was almost stopped by their crowd control. Lu Li felt like he was being bitten to death by ants.


    However, once he entered the Instance Dungeon, they wouldn''t able to reach him anymore.


    Under normal circumstances, an Instance Dungeon could be split into a number of different Instances. The people within the same Instance Dungeon had to be in the same team.


    There were five people in this team ¨C the party leader, Lu Li and three other normal players.


    "What should we do?" Soulhun asked.


    "You tell me."


    Lu Li didn''t really mind. If he wanted to, he could take over and just call thousands of players over to clear out the Scarlet Monastery.


    Fortunately, Lu Li wasn''t someone looking for fame. He felt that it wasn''t necessary for him to deal with these insignificant players.


    "Their boss has been revived. We can rush over and lead them away so you can leave," someone in the team suddenly spoke up. It was one of the three players that the blue-robed Mage had brought in.


    "No, you guys can go first. Let''s avoid attracting attention. Tomorrow, I will take you to farm monsters in the wild. Then, we can go to Zul''Farrak," the blue-robed Mage interjected, stopping them from taking that risk.


    "Excuse me," Lu Li interrupted them. "Are you two from the Beijing Film Academy or the Central Drama Academy? Are you guys practicing your acting?"


    Soulhun: ¡­


    The three players: ¡­


    "Ahem, do you have any other suggestions? We aren''t from a film school, but we do have loyalty and are willing to die together¡­" one of the players responded.


    "Okay, alright, just tell me where the leader is," Lu Li said.


    "At the pillar on the left side of the Instance Dungeon door. Let me ask again. Do you want me to sneak ahead? I am a Thief and they haven''t noticed me yet."


    A Thief''s Stealth was affected by a number of factors.


    Common sense would dictate that a level 30 player had no chance of being hidden from level 60 players. However, since the two sides were far enough and there were obstacles in the way, he had not yet been found.


    "Stop bluffing. You''re just looking for a place to hide," Lu Li said, seeing right through these people''s plans.


    He recalled the terrain of the Instance Dungeon door and worked out the location of the Thief. He then stepped out of the Instance Dungeon and entered Stealth at the same time.


    The moment Lu Li came out of the Instance Dungeon, he was a visible figure, but he moved quickly so no one noticed that he had come out.


    Most people didn''t think that he would dare to come out at this time since there were so many people waiting for him.


    Lu Li went straight to the pillar that the little Thief was talking about. The leader was currently sitting down and eating some bread to regenerate his HP. When a player was revived in Dawn, they would only revive with a small amount of HP. They had to use food or potions to regenerate the remaining lost HP.


    Not to mention, he was also a Mage, so he needed to regenerate his Mana as well.


    Lu Li couldn''t be bothered to actually gain the leader''s attention.


    He just carefully snuck behind him, flashed his dagger and killed him.


    Whether this player was at half HP or full HP made no difference to Lu Li because he was such a weak Mage with so little protection.


    Once again, the leader was humiliated as he turned into a corpse.


    However, Lu Li had now been discovered and soon experienced a barrage of attacks. There were area of effect skills being flung everywhere. It didn''t matter that Gale Steps provided one second of invulnerability. Even if he had 10 seconds of Invulnerability, it wouldn''t be enough time to run away safely.


    Fortunately, Lu Li did not intend to run out of range.


    He just needed to escape back into the Instance Dungeon.


    Once he was back in the Instance Dungeon, he didn''t need to fear the people outside as it provided him with a natural safe haven.


    "Wow, you''re strong," Soulhun commented in admiration. Although he was a kind old man, even he wanted to get some revenge after being killed by these bullies for no reason.


    Lu Li had just helped avenge him.


    "So, you must be new to this game."


    Lu Li took advantage of the fact that the leader was being revived to satisfy his curiosity.


    "Yeah, I just started playing this game 10 days ago. I used to play Shadow Realm," the blue-robed Mage responded as he and Lu Li sat together at the entrance of the Instance Dungeon. There was no point in hiding this kind of information.


    "But you managed to reach level 60 in 10 days, and you have a Transmog set?" Lu Li couldn''t believe it.


    Was this person like Remnant Dream or Hachi Chan? His luck or Charisma had to be particularly high to have all this equipment on his body.


    "Well, I just met a friend when I entered the game. He levelled me all the way to level 60. I then bought some equipment in the Exchange Hall to assemble a set¡­"


    He was a tycoon!


    This man in front of Lu Li who was so helpless was actually someone like Water Fairy. To him, acquiring all that equipment must have been no issue at all.


    If he had purchased that Transmog Set, it must have cost at least tens of millions of dollars.


    There were even several pieces of Epic equipment that Lu Li recognised.


    "Tycoon bro, what kind of business do you do in real life?" Lu Li asked curiously. Other than Water Fairy, Lu Li didn''t really have much contact with rich people.


    "I have tried venturing into business in the past, but I have always failed," the blue-robed Mage said sheepishly.


    "Then how did you buy so many pieces of exquisite equipment?" Lu Li questioned.


    "After my businesses failed, I had no choice but to listen to my dad and inherit his business," Soulhun answered sadly.


    "Hey¡­" Lu Li was about to vomit blood.


    He felt like he had not been mistaken; this person was a natural drama queen.

 1688 Collecting Corpses

    "Soulman bro, why did you have to come here bringing these others, and bringing them for free too?" Lu Li asked curiously.


    "Um, my name in Soulhun. It''s like a doppleganger. In Shadow Realm there''s a type of weapon called the doppleganger weapon. Those with this weapon are called the doppel lords. It''s the top weapon of the last patch and I have three," the blue-robed mage said, thinking he should show off his own glory.


    As a failure in life ¨C failing in business and having no choice but to go back home and continue the family business ¨C Soulhun always thought he was to use another way to protect his own dignity.


    "Ok, ok, I thought you and Soul Eater had some connection," Lu Li said in a dumbstruck way.


    "That previous boss of Peerless City before, right? I saw him a few times way back then, but we couldn''t get along, so we lost contact. I heard he''s really not been going well recently¡­"


    "Alright, alright, you still haven''t said why you ran over here to boost. You''re not lacking money. Oh no, you''re bringing someone along for free," Lu Li hastily said, cutting him off.


    This person really practically had nothing on him.


    "Haven''t I been taken along for free for a long time already? I just want to give back to society, so I ran over here to bring someone for free. I just didn''t think I''d bump into these evil people. These days, the problem of bullying is so serious in games," Soulhun lamented.


    "You''re coming for free. What about those people who do this for a living?" Lu Li asked.


    "Rubbish. They say they have to make a living and need to raise a family. I gave them a bit of gold, but they went back on what they said. They said I had to pay them every Instance Dungeon, Soulhun said indignantly.


    Lu Li could do nothing better than sigh at these local despots.


    "The two leaders inside, they''ve all been respawned," the messenger outside reported timely.


    "Soulhun, brother, you game to go out together?" Lu Li asked.


    "No reason not to be, but you haven''t even been game enough to reveal your name. Isn''t that a bit chicken?"


    Soulhun had already seen Lu Li''s information ages ago. Though they were in the same team, Lu Li had hidden his own name.


    "Me? Lu Li. You follow behind now," Lu Li said, no longer continuing to cover anything up. He told him his own ID, then took the lead in heading out of the Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li was dead silent when heading out, but as soon as they were out, he entered Stealth straight away.


    Enhanced Stealth wasn''t just more effective, but it also increased the effectiveness of Lu Li''s other skills. Especially since Lu Li was such a high-level thief, the shortened time it took to do things had an immediate effect.


    After Lu Li went out, he quickly appeared next to the leader.


    Soulhun was still digesting the ID info that Lu Li gave him. He had played Dawn for a short time, but Lu Li''s famous name had spread well beyond the game, and most people in the entire gaming circle knew about him.


    This feeling was like seeing a legendary character.


    Perhaps, in some people''s eyes, Lu Li was on the same level as the old boss of Peerless City, Soul Eater, but in the second-generation-eyes of Soulhun, it wasn''t like that.


    Soulhun couldn''t look up to someone like Soul Eater ¨C he felt like he was simply playing around with such a big club. Soul Eater was no different to himself, who had failed in business.


    However, Lu Li wasn''t the same. He was a true high-level player that Soulhun aspired to be but could never reach.


    Lu Li''s identity as the boss of Ruling Sword wasn''t enough to shake Soulhun. What Soulhun focused on was Lu Li''s talent. There was no Thief who was a match for him, and he had taken many more victories than losses against fellow high-level players.


    "Hey, come out faster! Help me attract attention!" Lu Li called out.


    "Oh, right, right. I''m coming out now," Soulhun said right away.


    At this, the Mages guarding outside saw the figure of a blue-robed Mage exit the Instance Dungeon. They immediate surrounded him and the Thief, determined to show these guys who wanted to challenge their authority what power really meant.


    Lu Li was very pleased with the behavior of this rabble.


    If it were elite players encountering this situation, they certainly wouldn''t just surround a target as soon as they saw them. It wasn''t necessary at all.


    Even that that pitiful guy leading them was left alone again.


    He stood outside the circle holding his arms, watching the battle scene with a cold laugh. At least from appearances, they had already solidly taken the advantage. The blue-robed Mage would be killed and couldn''t be saved unless he was frozen!


    Lu Li stood behind him, stretching out a pair of evil hands.


    And again!


    The guy leading them was nothing more than a corpse, lying down on the scene.


    The blue-robed mage Soulhun slid back into the Instance Dungeon again, and the Thief commander who was attacking them disappeared without a trace. They didn''t even know if this Thief was inside or outside the Instance Dungeon.


    Life was meant to be messy. It was just that today was a bit too messy.


    Standing in front of the angel, the guy leading them felt that this dark world was filled with malice towards him. For the first time, he realized that though he thought he had strength in numbers, it could be said that too many chefs spoiled the broth.


    Once ambitious and filled with aspiration, these feelings slowly faded into thin air.


    He laughed at himself, then went back on the road home. Surely nothing bad could happen three times in a row, he reassured himself. He needed to finish off these two people, putting a full stop to his squandering.


    Just as he was respawning, he met with a new wave of attacks.


    Poverty limited his imagination, or perhaps, low-level playing skills meant that he had no way of understanding how a real high-level player fought. Lu Li was standing next to his corpse, waiting till the moment he respawned before decisively attacking.


    It definitely wasn''t what he imagine Lu Li would do, as he thought that Lu Li would''ve already escaped.


    Only after killing the guy leading them again did Lu Li flash back into the Instance Dungeon. He even was able to pick up what the guy dropped for free. Perhaps it was because he had same PK points on him, but every time he died, he dropped the equipment he had on him.


    Now, he looked extremely pitiful. He had been stripped of his clothes by Lu Li. The corpse that lay on the ground looked like it had been humiliated.


    Collecting Corpses!


    This phrase was on the minds of all the players there. There was no other word that could describe what it was like at the scene.


    Most people would only collect from corpses when they had the advantage, like when they were repeatedly winning against a weaker target.


    The guy leading the group hadn''t respawned in a long time.


    The Thieves helping Lu Li watch were staring at the corpse turn back into computer code. This mean that the leader chose not to respawn where his corpse was, but rather respawn back where the city was.


    "So weak-minded! What''s the point!"


    Lu Li was really not happy.


    "Sometimes it''s better to forgive and forget as they say. You''ve already killed them so many times," Soulhun said, speaking up for the guy. Lu Li still couldn''t figure out if he was a natural at acting, or if he really did have a good heart.


    "Screw it, I''m gonna go do my own thing. Do you want to come to my guild?" Lu Li asked.


    He didn''t give out this request just to be nice. If the club had a few more of these rich second-generation kids, they would be better off.


    It was just like with Her Tears; they contributed much more to the clubs.


    Also, Soulhun seemed to be a decent character.


    "Really? That''s sounds good, but I''ve got these three other guys here, see¡­"


    Like before, he had such a strong sense of righteousness. Even in his overjoyed state, he wouldn''t forget his sworn brothers.


    Lu Li stared at them for a moment, but couldn''t tell if they were being serious or not.


    Regardless, if one extra person joined or four more joined, it didn''t make much difference. The other three looked to be relatively sharp and had a strong sense of justice too, so Lu Li didn''t really mind taking them in.

 1689 Guild Benefits

    A few days later, Lu Li had assembled together a bag full of spirits.


    Most of them were produced at Scarlet Monastery. After, he went to Stratholme, where he discovered that it was a more suitable for collecting spirits.


    Lu Li thought all along that the undead didn''t have spirits. Their spirits were all subject to the Lich King, but actually, Lich Kings weren''t really interested in them. Without being aware of it, these undead spirits were even easier to collect. When first beginning this, the odds of success were close to 200-to-1, but it scarily increased to 800-to-1.


    No matter how it was put, Lu Li was already very satisfied with this outcome. He was lingering around Strathholme Instance Dungeon, and there was still the Plaguelands where there were droves of monsters to be farmed and you could farm spirits to your heart''s content.


    He didn''t stop until his backpack was full.


    It looked like he needed to find Hachi Chan to ask for a bigger backpack. Lu Li began with his backpack having 16 empty slots, before adding more four more. Three had 18 slots and another had 20. Altogether, there were 90 slots. Discounting the Hearth, potions and so on, he couldn''t even hold 80 spirits.


    However, Hachi Chan had nearly two hundred empty slots.


    Apparently, her original backpack was expanded by completing various quests and NPCs helping her. Now, it had already been expanded to 25 slots, and with four additional backpacks, she had close to 150 slots in total.


    Lu Li was certainly not bullying this little girl ¨C rather, this was a redistribution of resources. Lu Li didn''t feel shameful at all.


    Seventy or eighty spirits had been stored inside Lu Li''s backpack, but he didn''t feel that he had suddenly struck it rich at all. He was very sure in his heart that these spirits were actually simply unable to fulfil the needs for the work of casting spirits, let alone synthesizing them together.


    He evidently wasn''t able to generously synthesize all the spirits together.


    "A special promotional sale ¨C bring your materials and Moulds! The blacksmith shop in Blackshore guild is making weapons for everyone for free, but this is limited to 80 weapons. First come best dressed," Lu Li announced directly to the club.


    Usually, Lu Li didn''t speak much.


    He only needed to speak and everyone would focus on his words, let alone when he said he would be making weapons for everyone.


    The boss of the club had an exquisite smithing hammer, and he was originally a master blacksmith anyway. This was something that everyone in the club knew. It was just a shame that usually, Lu Li had too many things on his plate, so there was no way he could spend all day in the blacksmith shop.


    So usually, it was only the First Clear team or the elite group who could request for Lu Li to do things.


    Heaps of people signed up. It felt like in a moment the whole message board was flooded.


    The main one responsible for the logistics, White Bread, could only first tabulate the Moulds and materials that everyone gave. Then, according to their merits and how much each person contributed to the guild, he selected 80 of them.


    90% of people hadn''t been chosen, but there was nothing they could do.


    "In the future, I''ll make 100 weapons for everyone every week of Dark Gold level or above. It''ll still be based on who contributes to the guild the most. If you don''t have anything on you should do more guild quests."


    Lu Li really greatly surprised everyone, deciding to take some time out and make everyone happy.


    Before the level cap was raised to 70, 100 weapons a week wasn''t very much, let alone the fact that he had to practice smithing often anyway.


    "I''d say, if you do things all well and good, then everything will be good and well," Crippled Black Ant said with a simple, honest face. Coming from a poor background, he was able to withstand difficulties, and even though he had entered the elite group, he still gave up a lot of time and money to do guild quests.


    "Hehe, you''re right, you''re right. It''s just we don''t know what we can argue about when Lu Li''s making weapons for us," Big Dog Li laughed, having to have the final word.


    In total, there were only 80 people, and these two, who were newcomers, somehow got chosen. From this, they could see that in Ruling Sword, they reaped what they sowed.


    However, they still weren''t sure how valuable getting these two places were. Over in China, it was important to conduct yourself well with others. The underlings often maintained good relationships with their leaders. They''d even say their bosses'' farts smelled nice.


    "Heard it''s really good stuff. He used that hammer to pick up Water Fairy," Crippled Black Ant whispered quietly.


    "Ant, you''ve changed. You''re just as gossipy as a woman," Big Dog Li chided.


    They didn''t have to wait long before it was their turn. They both greeted Lu Li with great politeness. Regardless of whether it was Crippled Black Ant, who really understood how to behave with others, or the minstrel Big Dog Li, who didn''t care what he said with his tongue, they weren''t being too upfront with their plans or anything in front of Lu Li.


    Lu Li recognized them and nodded kindly at them.


    What Crippled Black Ant gave was the Mould for a piece of Epic equipment ¨C a towering double-handed axe, which was dropped in Blackwing''s Nest. When produced, the quality of this piece of equipment was excellent. If you discounted the Greatsword of the Brotherhood, it was pretty much the best a level 60 player could have.


    A lot of high-level players choose to wield this weapon, even Moonlight.


    Moonlight''s weapon was also made by Lu Li. Being an exquisite piece of Epic equipment, he usually didn''t take it out. After all, if he dropped it, it would cause him a heartache.


    Lu Li began to forge the doubled-handed axe with practiced skill. The game wasn''t like reality though, otherwise, it would take at least a couple of weeks to create such an eye-catching axe. It would have to pass through dozens of steps before it could come out of the furnace.


    However, the game would allow the players to finish making a weapon in 15 minutes or so.


    Before the weapon was completely forged, Lu Li stopped. He took out a level 55 elite undead spirit from his backpack. This spirit came from a Patchwork monster. Logically speaking, it was an amalgamation of many corpses and body parts, so it shouldn''t just be one spirit. However, Lu Li really only got a single spirit. It was just that it was a little stronger than other elite monster spirits.


    He took out six of these types of spirits. If it wasn''t for Crippled Black Ant''s nice weapon, he simply wouldn''t have had to use them.


    The grey vapour-like spirit was forced into the inside of the weapon. As long as it was pressured in, the spirit wouldn''t dissipate. This meant that the casting of the spirit had been successful. Before this, Lu Li had already made more than 20 weapons, but only 1 piece of Dark Gold equipment was successfully sprit-casted. It definitely increased the quality of the weapon. It was just that that spirit was too weak, so the increase it had on the quality was very limited.


    Lu Li hoped that this weapon would be successful. No matter if it was the weapon itself or the spirit, both were the best of the best.


    Crippled Black Ant had seen the weapons made by other blacksmiths, but evidently, they didn''t follow Lu Li''s steps. He saw Lu Li''s serious expression, like all the guys around him. He didn''t even dare to breathe.


    The grey spirit was struggling; it didn''t want to be enslaved. It made no sound at the start, but by the end, everyone could hear its wailing.


    Fortunately, this was only a game, otherwise, Lu Li could have been psychologically scarred.

 1690 Flawless Epic

    The grey spirit clung to the outside of the weapon, stubbornly refusing to give in.


    You almost couldn''t see any more fog on the outside with the naked eye, but Lu Li didn''t want to let it go at all, because he was really sure that this time''s casting spirit wasn''t completely successful. At the very beginning, there were a few instances like this. He thought it was close enough, but who knew that as soon as he relaxed his hold, the System would indicate that it had failed?


    It was a good thing that failure didn''t damage the weapon. With the added help of the casting hammer, Lu Li able to increase a weapon''s level from average to fine or exquisite.


    The members of his guild who received the weapons were all very satisfied.


    "Success!" Lu Li couldn''t help but to let out a breath. As the one doing the spirit casting, he heard the system give the news.


    The system indicated that he had successfully inserted the spirits into this weapon.


    The weapon which was spirit-cast was still only half-finished though. Lu Li still needed to finish the final steps, hammering here and there. The rough double-handed axe transformed into something brand new.


    "Take it away. Be careful when you''re using it ¨C don''t let anyone run off with it," Lu Li said as he gave the weapon to Crippled Black Ant.


    Crippled Black Ant went over to receive it but almost dropped it as his hands shook.


    He was relatively calm. The minstrel Black Dog Li, who was next to him, saw the quality of the weapon and exclaimed, "Flawless Epic! Hot damn! Crippled Black Ant, were you visited by the little lucky goddess last night? It''s actually so perfect, and the quality really is so¡­"


    It was on the same level as the one that Moonlight had. The basic quality of this weapon had increased to a whole other level.


    The special effects were also improved slightly. The last special effect, however, was completely different. No matter if it was from a practicality point of view or its price, Lu Li''s spirit-casting really increased its value.


    Many players hadn''t touched a flawless level equipment, even professional players.


    Crippled Black Ant immediately became the object of envy of all the others there.


    "Ant''s such a kind and honest guy. He deserves it."


    Compared to Big Dog Li, who did whatever he wanted and didn''t care about most matters, Crippled Black Ant was a genuine guy. Most people ran over to congratulate him.


    "Ant, I just washed my hands. Can you let me touch your trophy? Let me rub off on your luck," the minstrel Big Dog Li cried in distress.


    Lu Li didn''t rest. He decided to keep on striking while the iron was literally hot.


    "Boss, don''t you want to take a rest? Somehow, I feel empty inside," Big Dog Li said with a bitter face, seeing Lu Li take up the Mould. The Mould was of a magic single-handed sword.


    Big Dog was using a double-handed staff at the moment and its quality wasn''t the best.


    A few days ago, in the Molten Core Instance Dungeon, he received a piece of secondary equipment for a magic roles. Then, from the guild''s storehouse, he exchanged it for a long magic sword, which wasn''t very popular, but was something that was perfect for his taste. Then, this was exchanged perfectly for the magic staff.


    "Nonsense, you take care of yourself," Lu Li said bluntly before beginning to make the equipment.


    The whole process took about as long as before. Very soon, it was time to cast the spirit again. Everybody surrounded him for half a day, watching on as they tried to gain some understanding of the process.


    Since the very beginning till now, Lu Li seemed to have only been successful twice.


    Both times, what was produced was something of a Flawless level. Although Lu Li had made more Flawless level things before, this time, he just needed to hear the word ''success''.


    "Succeed¡­ It must work ¨C all the gods are looking over," the minstrel muttered as he stared at Lu Li.


    The materials used this time were good too, otherwise, it wouldn''t match with this sort of Epic level weapon Mould. As such, Lu Li worked hard with every muscle of his body, hoping that he would again be able to produce another Flawless level weapon. If his good fortune came through it, who knows, it could be a Legendary weapon.


    Perhaps it was because Lu Li was being cruel, or maybe Big Dog Li had done too many bad things.


    In any case, this time''s spirit casting didn''t last long before it failed.


    "What?" Big Dog Li asked in confusion after seeing Lu Li take his hands off, as well as his not-so-great expression.


    "My commiserations," Lu Li apologized, wielding his hammer, continuing to do the rest of the work.


    "Actually¡­getting to flawless level, it''s just a matter of attributes," Crippled Black Ant said, looking at his expressions of deep anguish as he grasped his shoulder straight away to comfort him. He even had to be careful not to keep smiling because he was so happy.


    "How can it just be because of the attributes? Your 3rd special effect is so damn good," Big Dog retorted with extreme resentment.


    "Um, mine''s a special case ¨C look at the others. Just because its flawless doesn''t mean it can change the special effects."


    Crippled Black Ant was naturally not really good at knowing the right thing to say, let alone the fact that now, there was one person who was satisfied and one who was disappointed. All the people looking around were secretly feeling happy about this failure.


    "Why, why do you have to be like this to me!"


    This complaint was so sad and pitiful. When the guys heard it, they fell silent. The girls started tearing up.


    "Alright, cut the drama. Take your things away quickly. Come on, next, next!" Lu Li hurried, chasing him away. He really didn''t understand why there were so many fools in his own club.


    "Boss, you can''t be like this. What has Ant done for you that you have to treat us differently? Are you having an affair with him or something?" Big Dog Li cried in teary humiliation.


    "Go away," Lu Li said, chucking the finished weapon right at him


    The next player rushed over, handing over the Mould and materials that had been prepared.


    Big Dog Li wasn''t happy, but he still obediently went away to the other side. However, very soon, he jumped over again.


    "What happened? How come it wasn''t successful? Isn''t this clearly a Flawless Epic?"


    There were four levels of weapons in Dawn when they were produced ¨C superior, fine, exquisite and flawless.


    Under normal circumstances, most weapons made from Moulds were superior level, while fine and exquisite were quite rare. It was very difficult to craft a flawless level weapon. There were many blacksmiths in the whole game who might not have even produced a single flawless weapon.


    Because Lu Li had an exquisite smithing hammer, the items he crafted were naturally raised by one level.


    Big Dog Li''s single-handed magic sword wasn''t successfully spirit-cast, but this didn''t stop it from becoming a flawless weapon.


    This weapon was actually not that powerful, but Big Dog Li had already grown attached to its attributes and special effects. You always thought the things you have were better. He even thought that the weapon Lu Li made for him was better than Crippled Black Ant''s double-handed axe.


    "Hahaha¡­"


    A sudden laugh scared Lu Li enough that he almost hit himself with the hammer.


    "Can someone take him away? Once you''ve got your weapon, go away," Lu Li said with a wave of his hand, and immediately, someone dragged him off.


    "Big Dog, you''ve gotta treat us!"


    "I just don''t get it ¨C Ant''s nice with people, and he got a flawless weapon and that was it. You''re such a nasty guy and you can still get a flawless weapon? How can it be that you get even more luck for bad stuff?"


    "Nup, I''m just too jealous, I''m getting his balls for this!"


    "Do it, you gotta do it!"


    "Dammit, what the hell?! You damn bastards! Don''t, don''t, come on, be serious!"

 1691 Killing the Twin Emperors

    With the remaining few dozen spirits, Lu Li was successful another three times.


    He was successful five times with 80 spirits. This rate was much better than he imagined. He thought it must have been because he had the casting spirit badge which increased the rate, and the casting hammer must have had some impact too.


    Casting the spirits had a higher rate of success than collecting them. This was probably the reason Demitirian chose him too.


    It was just that Demitrian didn''t know what bad things Lu Li had been up to, otherwise, he definitely would have preferred to give himself the badge.


    Lu Li concluded that his success in casting this time was a very useful thing. However, it wasn''t as amazing as he had imagined. Even though the spirit casting was successful, it didn''t mean that it would consistently produce Flawless Epic equipment.


    He was successful five times, but only three items were Flawless. One was a flawless Dark Gold and two were Epic.


    Of the remaining two, one was an exquisite Epic and one was a fine Epic.


    This time, he had made four Flawless level items in total. The extra item was Big Dog Li''s single-handed magic sword. Since it wasn''t spirit-cast, it meant Lu Li was able to produce Flawless things by relying on his exquisite hammer.


    On the second day, Lu Li didn''t continue to collect spirits. Resting for half a day was already a luxury. Everyone still had to keep up the fight against the Twin Emperors.


    Lu Li had given the club members weapons with great fanfare. People in other clubs obviously knew.


    From this, they knew how far Ruling Sword had progressed in the Instance Dungeon. It meant that they could at least take that afternoon off, which meant that Ruling Sword''s battle against the Twin Emperors actually wasn''t going all that swimmingly.


    This knowledge meant that all the other major clubs were all of a sudden filled with confidence and ambition.


    Without realizing it, Ruling Sword had already become the club to beat for the Instance Dungeon''s First Clear. If they weren''t able to make much progress, then other clubs would feel that their own sluggish progress could be forgiven.


    Their ambition wasn''t from themselves either.


    Perhaps Ruling Sword wasn''t good at fighting this kind of Boss. If this was really the case, then everyone would have their chance. They couldn''t just allow Ruling Sword to take all the Instance Dungeon First Clears. If they did, then how would this game be fair at all?


    Lu Li evidently didn''t plan on letting these guys experience so-called fairness.


    The fairest thing about Dawn was that the developers wouldn''t intentionally interfere with the game, as long as players didn''t break the rules. Even if the game went bankrupt, the game company could do nothing but reflect on themselves.


    Actually, Ruling Sword never really stopped their advance in the Instance Dungeon.


    Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering began to lead a new team aiming at First Clear. Because they had the successful experience from Lu Li and his team, the two other teams were also able to reach the Twin Emperors.


    Lu Li''s team was the main force, made up mostly of Ruling Sword member.


    The other two groups had chosen a lot of core elites from Drizzle Court and Peerless City. They were even in a phasing-in period. If nothing out of the ordinary happened, these two teams were going to become regular teams.


    One time, the old problem of the healers not getting over quickly enough cropped up again. Another time, the bugs weren''t killed and they exploded.


    To deal with the first situation, Lu Li thought outside the box. The healers didn''t have to run over at all. When the Main Tanks switched places, the healers could change their own healing targets.


    If the healers were running to change their position, it depended on if the commanders gave their commands on time, as well as how quickly the players reacted.


    The set healing positions could be changed at their will. This way, the healers would be less effective, but they would be even more ordered, and there wouldn''t be a situation where they couldn''t find their target and just run around blindly.


    Besides, it would tire Lu Li out having to deal with all this. He needed to focus on the whole battlefield.


    However, the outcome wasn''t negative at all, in fact, it was much better than what Lu Li imagined. He understood something from all this ¨C don''t just blindly follow the walkthrough.


    To get to where he was today, all those various walkthroughs were a major help.


    Lu Li wouldn''t be unconventional and purposely say that he would want to have a fair fight with other players. If he had some prior knowledge, he would use it. And if he won, he wouldn''t necessarily feel that he had cheated. However, he gradually realized that he was a bit too trusting of all these guides.


    A lot of times, his subconscious was telling him that the walkthrough must be right.


    However, was the walkthrough really always right?


    At the very least, Lu Li thought that some walkthroughs weren''t that accurate. Sometimes it was because the game gradually went through official changes so that eventually the mechanisms of the Bosses changed. Other times, it was because the players who participated in the battle were different and didn''t have the need to follow something instructions to each letter..


    If the Boss had been weakened, for normal players, there''d be no problem following the walkthrough. The thing was that now, the Boss was at its strongest, so the walkthrough had no way of helping them with this healer problem.


    Also, with Lu Li, there were quite a few healers who were professional competitors. The rest had experienced multiple Instance Dungeon First Clears and were the cream of the crop. They were much more experienced in the game than ordinary players, so it was perfectly fine to let them make their own calls about switching positions.


    Of course, solving this problem didn''t mean that Ruling Sword was able to finish off the Twin Emperors.


    The reason why this Boss was hard to defeat was because there were too many changes. The Bosses switched positions, exploded the insects randomly, and changed aggro unpredictably as well. If a problem came up regarding any of these elements, it could waste all their efforts.


    The new day began with a team death and ended with a team death too.


    If you focused only on the failure, then Lu Li and the team didn''t accomplish anything. It was a good thing that First-Clearing an Instance Dungeon wasn''t like this. They were taking baby steps towards victory. Lu Li was sure that the second day would be enough to finish off these two guys.


    With another day, it appeared that Lu Li''s estimation was not incorrect.


    Around noon, they successfully defeated the Twin Emperors. It took almost two-cooldown''s-worth of time to defeat these two Bosses. If Lu Li hadn''t changed to a new way of thinking, it would probably take at least another cooldown.


    One cooldown was seven days, which was far too long.


    No one was really sure of what things were like with the other clubs. It was just the expressions of the faces of those going for the First Clear that gave Lu Li some comforting news.


    It wasn''t that all the players were professional actors, but that ordinary people would find it hard to put on a troubled expression when they felt overjoyed. Conversely, when they were so unhappy they were about to go crazy, even if they wanted to feign happiness, they wouldn''t be able to do so.


    Those who had been tortured by the Twin Emperors for a week were all dazed, and were ready to have a breakdown at any time.


    However, Ruling Sword''s all had broad, free smiles on their faces. Shortly after, people from other clubs knew that Ruling Sword had finished off the Twin Emperors.


    There was a whole heap of Strengthening Stones which immediately increased the number of Stones in Lu Li''s backpack to triple digits. At this, he put on a brave face and brought himself to Hachi Chan''s side. "Hachi, my backpack''s gonna be full soon. It''s not gonna be able to carry much more."


    "Oh," Hachi Chan said, not even blinking an eye.


    "Oh? That''s it?"


    "Do you have things to give me? My backpack is heaps big. It can fit a lot of things," Hachi Chan said seriously, so seriously that it almost made Lu Li cry.

 1692 Our Hachi Can’t Be That Smar

    "Humph." Lu Li was that close to breaking point.


    Others were laughing next to him, and some were also feeling aggrieved, such as Azure Sea Breeze. "Hey, you''re doing really well, cheating little girl. Hachi, don''t worry about him."


    "Mm hmm, I''ll definitely listen," Hachi Chan said obediently.


    "It''s like this ¨C see how many stones I''ve picked up? I''m not gonna be able to fit them all in. Can you lend your backpack to me for a bit? Actually, I also want to give you some stuff, but you also know, this stuff is for everyone, not just you."


    Lu Li hoped he could persuade this young maiden. The chances of something going awry were just too high. You never know, someone could mug her on your way at night.


    "Liar!"


    Hachi Chan had an expression on her face that said she wouldn''t be duped.


    "Don''t think that I don''t know that Strengthening Stones can be laid on top of each other. Also, you can deposit them to me here. I don''t want yours."


    "Wait a sec, who are you? You can''t be Hachi ¨C Hachi can''t be this clever! The real Hachi''s really stupid," Lu Li said angrily.


    "Damn you, go to hell. You''re the one who''s stupid," Hachi Chan retorted.


    Lu Li couldn''t retaliate. He could only scurry away like a rat¡­


    "Where are ya gonna hide? Take away your dirty groping paws. You got a problem? Come at me!" Azure Sea Breeze fiercely shouted. It was so weird to see someone like Lu Li hiding behind a girl, especially when this girl was the goddess Water Fairy.


    At this time, no matter if it was Hachi Chan, Lu Li, or Water Fairy, they were all paralysed by inaction.


    After a small argument, they had to watch Remnant Dream loot the equipment.


    Hachi Chan was just kidding around. She handed over her 22-slot backpack to Lu Li.


    22 slots!


    Evidently, poverty had limited his imagination. The largest backpack that Lu Li had seen actually only had 18 slots. Even though that was from his last life, he hadn''t seen any larger backpacks since.


    At the moment, the most mainstream backpack had 16 slots. If it was a particularly impoverished player, they might not even be willing to buy a 16-slot backpack. A poor person didn''t need so many slots to hold things. A 16-slot backpack on the market would cost around 15 gold. Converted to real money, this was a few hundred dollars.


    Seven Synthetic Gems were dropped, which was so many it was ridiculous.


    Now, ordinary players would use Synthetic Gems. No matter of whether it was in Attributes or special effects, improving things a little was still something. Increasing power was just a matter of slowly increasing these attributes.


    Although there were many ways by which players could obtain Synthetic Gems, the ones what were actually valuable almost exclusively only dropped from Bosses.


    If ordinary players didn''t have the chance to enter into an Instance Dungeon, they could only find ways to activate more quests. They were basically looking for a needle in a haystack, hoping that the quest would reward them a good stone.


    In this life, Lu Li chose to be a Thief, a more independent role, but he had never planned to do anything alone.


    This was because teams were the main target of Dawn. If you didn''t have a team, you couldn''t enter into an Instance Dungeon, defeat a Boss and gain good equipment. No matter how many walkthroughs you had, it was all useless.


    "Arcane Shot! Haha, mine, mine," Remnant Dream shouted in glee.


    Everyone couldn''t stop being surprised. There was no way an Arcane Shot could make her so happy. Only an Enhanced Skill Book could make this little lucky girl go crazy.


    As a hunter, she would use attacking skills very frequently, so this Enhanced Book naturally suited her.


    "Beardy''s not here¡­oh," Lu Li sighed. Because they were divided into three teams, in order to make it a bit more even, Bearded Zaza followed Sky Moon and joined another team. The new Hunters filling in only had a few dozen DKP, so they couldn''t think of competing with Remnant Dream. Even if they wanted to bid, they wouldn''t have any bidding power.


    In order to be a good team leader, you not only had to command your team to victory in an Instance Dungeon, but you also had to aim to make sure that everyone''s DKP was all relatively fair.


    Without a doubt, Remnant Dream was the boss of the points in the team. Especially when Square Root 3 was leading, every time she looted a Boss, she would gain an extra DKP. Three Bro was always worried that this little lucky girl would be poached by the other clubs, so the only way to deal with this was to increase her pay.


    The Enhanced Skill Book was bought with a basic price, prompting the others, especially a few people who played more popular roles, immediately started to shed tears. Why didn''t Dawn release a delete code and train new skills right from the beginning? What was with this constant reliance on mages and all? Not being able to gain equipment was not cool at all.


    200 DKP could buy an amazing item for a Hunter or Shaman, but sometimes an exquisite piece of equipment for a Mage or Warlock couldn''t be attained for that price.


    The relatively ordinary equipment was all stored up. Now, Lu Li wasn''t just going to casually take equipment for compensation for Main Tanks and healers. The control of DKP was gradually being perfected, so if they wanted to make any compensation, it was done with DKP, regardless of whether it was to the clubs or to the healers or Tanks.


    The equipment that they couldn''t use was taken back to be stored in the warehouse.


    Since the Instance Dungeon at the moment was relatively difficult, even if they added people from the club''s guild, not everyone would have the chance to enter into the Instance Dungeon to gain equipment. The way these people could gain good equipment was to exchange for it at the guild Storehouse.


    This was also the main reason that players wanted to join a guild.


    Belt of the Fallen Emperor!


    This was a piece of Epic equipment for Tanky Healers. It was of fantastic quality, but Darkness clearly showed that she didn''t want this belt herself, so it was bought for a lower price by a new player.


    Ring of Emperor Vek''lor!


    This was another piece of rare equipment, mainly suited for defensive Druids, that is, Bear tanks. All the special effects were incredibly powerful. Lu Li gave this piece of equipment to Water Fairy. Drizzle Court valued this equipment more.


    As for DKP, they didn''t really have much choice in what to do. In the end, Lu Li couldn''t take points off Water Fairy.


    Others didn''t really have much of an opinion. The three clubs were really close at the moment, and there was the tacit recognition that they were all kind of together.


    Vek''lor''s Crown!


    This was a T2.5 equipment.


    "Paladins, Hunters, Thieves and Druids can bid. Whoever wants it can roll."


    When Lu Li finished saying this, he added, "I don''t recommend that Hunters and Druids compete for this, especially healer Druids."


    Hachi Chan didn''t even blink. She didn''t even think of needing a T2.5 helmet.


    Peerless City''s paladin, Green Flag Wine, took away the equipment. He was a competitor, and because he was a decent guy, no one really wanted to compete with him too much.


    Kalimdor''s Vengeance!


    This was a Mould for a double-handed sword, and was taken away by a Berserker.


    The attributes of the Mould were made half-public. Some parts of it had to be produced to be visible. When this Mould was revealed, its attributes could only be considered to be second-class. Compared to the one that Lu Li gave to Crippled Black Ant, its attributes were probably not great at all.


    As Lu Li knew, even if they showed all the remaining special effects, this weapon''s attributes were still not anything amazing.


    However, a weapon''s value couldn''t be calculated in this way. If they really wanted to calculate it, apart from the Enhanced Skill Book that Remnant Dream took, the worth of the remaining things couldn''t be compared to Kalimdor''s Vengeance.


    It looked good! That was its appeal!

 1693 Product of the Twins

    As the saying went, attributes were a matter of updates, but outer appearances were a matter of a lifetime.


    No matter how good the attributes were, they would become nothing in the next update. On the other hand, the appearance would allow players to show off to no end. In the future, the game would also create an illusion system. This meant that under the condition that there were two types of the same equipment, one of them could be illusioned into the other one.


    Once the time came, many people would probably go and collect their favourite equipment models. Then each and every one of them would become very trendy.


    After this Berserker equipped his new weapon, he immediately won the eyes of everyone. Many regretted not placing down a bid before.


    "Mate, don''t ever sell this weapon casually okay?" Fat Monkey said, grabbing the Berserker''s shoulder, then continued in a serious tone, "Once you get eliminated, how about you sell it cheap to me??"


    The first half of the sentence depicted genuine concern, then the second half of the sentence revealed his evil intentions.


    The Berserker was so happy he couldn''t stop his mouth smiling. Luckily, he hadn''t lost his voice of reason, and fallen into Fat Monkey''s trap.


    Vek''linash''s Charm!


    This Magic necklace''s attributes were incredible. The auction was doomed to be another bloody storm. It was taken by Fat Monkey in the end. He had pretty much cleared all of his accumulated guild points ¨C more than 200! He ground his teeth at how much that hurt.


    There would only be pain if there was comparison. He had a look at what equipment other professions received, then had a look at his Mage items.


    Even Shadow Priests could participate for this type of interchangeable Magic equipment. It was incredibly difficult to obtain. Even Lu Li couldn''t say much so he just plugged it to the contestants, since there weren''t any important competitions coming up.


    The Donghua Cup was in the middle of determining its top 3.


    There was only Ruling Sword, Glory Capital, and the Gangnam Royals remaining. Out of the three clubs, Ruling Sword''s ability was the least impressive. They had dumb luck to get into the top 3. There was only Fat Monkey, Mu Qiu and Short Road who stood out when they took the stage. The rest of the newbies fought rather ordinarily, since they were quite young still.


    Those like Azure Sea Breeze purely took the stage to disgust other people. While he fought a few rounds, he really couldn''t kill others so he couldn''t be bothered going on anymore.


    If all went to plan, then Glory Capital would win the Donghua Cup fair and square. In reality, Glory Capital had been the champions for the past few years.


    Lu Li saw their competitions, and was shocked to find that almost all their so-called newbies already had the abilities of the professionals.


    Rome wasn''t built in one day. Even Heaven Trees were grown inch by inch. A thriving club that had survived for centuries would inevitably have built up quite the reputation.


    Even if they lost the competition or didn''t get their Instance Dungeon First Clear, the status of Glory Capital''s would remain standing.


    The Gangnam Royals had pretty much already gone mad. Apparently, Heart of War''s family had many competitors trying to get rid of him, so he was anxious to prove his achievements. He had paid a lot of money in form a new team of competitors and bought a lot of equipment, no matter the cost.


    Heart of War would not have ended up where he was now if he hadn''t gone looking for trouble and managed the club well.


    Back when Lu Li first entered the game, the Gangnam Royals was synonymous with the local tyrant''s concentration camps in the gaming circles. There were also many powerful, God-like competitors right up until Heart of wart began to show his domineering side. He drove away a lot of talent until eventually, the guild fell of the altar.


    Perhaps, this was a type of growing up for Heart of War.


    Regenerating Belt of Vek''linash!


    A belt again. Was this guy a belt trader? This belonged to Plate armor and healer professions.


    "I¡­" Hachi Chan opened her mouth.


    "You''re getting it whether you want it or not. 50 points," Lu Li said, cutting her off rudely. It was necessary to cut in, otherwise the bids would become more and more exaggerated.


    "¡­" Hachi Chan was stunned.


    "Hachi Chan, if you don''t use it, we can go and sell it? This is Epic equipment, so it can be sold for a LOT of gold coins," Remnant Dream suggested.


    This girl was usually slower than everyone else. Only when it came to making gold coins did her intelligence turn on.


    "That sounds reasonable. But why are you so happy for me to sell it?"


    Little Hachi Chan had her hand over her bag, and retreated two steps back with a defensive expression.


    "I''m helping you with this idea, so wouldn''t you feel embarrassed to take it whole? Wouldn''t you feel ashamed to see me starve?"


    Remnant Dream''s way of acting cute was lethal. Even the people watching on the side had the urge to bury her in money out of their pockets.


    "You guys can go sell it, but only in our own club okay?" Lu Li reminded them.


    "Imperial Qiraji Armaments!"


    "Vek''linash''s Circlet!"


    There had already been eight pieces of Epic equipment!


    There seemed to be too much stuff, to a point where it was abnormal. Everyone was staring at Remnant Dream''s hand to see what else she could loot.


    "There were two Bosses. This much stuff is pretty normal."


    Lu Li was very calm as he spoke. Even though defeating the Twin Emperors was achieved in only a single battle, this was different from the previous three Bosses.


    "Don''t distribute it yet. Quickly come have a look and see if there''s more!"


    Others were staring at Remnant Dream''s little hand with eagerness.


    "Anubisath Idol pet!"


    Remnant Dream was ecstatic. According to her and Lu Li''s agreement, all the pets dropped during the First Clearing period belonged to her unconditionally. She knew it was a pet as soon as she saw the name.


    "Any more?" Lu Li asked.


    "Still another recipe, then nothing else," Remnant Dream said as she her head.


    The recipe was for "Enchant Gloves-Strength", a kind of enchantment for glove parts. The person equipped with it would gain a 2% increase in aggro to monsters.


    This recipe was not bad.


    There were many sources for enchantment recipes. Ordinarily, they could be dropped when killing smaller monsters. There were many for completing quests too.


    Truly good recipes came from only two sources. One was relics, including treasure boxes, and the other was Bosses.


    The popular recipes on the market largely came from Instance Dungeons. This recipe came from the Twin Emperors and as such, was both powerful and valuable.


    The ability of a Main Tank was mainly determined by two aspects.


    One aspect was their own ability to resist monsters. If they couldn''t resist them then it would all be for nothing. They would kill off the whole team in no time. The other aspect was how well they could hold on to the Boss. No matter how high your defense was, it was no use if you couldn''t maintain aggro on a monster, especially if your blocking was not great.


    This enchantment added 2% to aggro, which didn''t seem like much, but was more significant than it seemed.

 1694 Ouro

    This enchantment recipe was marked with a ''10/10'' note, which meant it could be used 10 times. There was at least one defensive player in the guild that could slightly improve their own ability to pull monsters.


    The pet was given to Remnant Dream by Lu Li, and a shrunk version of Anubisath was summoned.


    Everything could be made to look cute. The cute version of Anubisath looked less ferocious than its original, and was even quite adorable.


    Lu Li deduced that the designer for this pet''s appearance was female, and had a young girl''s heart.


    In total, there were eight Epic items, one pet and one Enhanced Skill Book. The two cooldowns they had used up were not for nothing.


    Of course, this did not spell the end. The Imperial Qiraji Armaments and Vek''linash''s Circlet still had to be distributed. The former could be distributed randomly, but the latter was fierce competed over as it was T2.5 equipment.


    "Warriors, Priests, Mages and Warlocks, you can now start bidding."


    Although Lu Li had no part in the auction, he started to feel anxious for them. All four of these professions contained huge numbers of people.


    "Why should we Warriors have to fight these other three professions for equipment?" Azure Sea Breeze wailed.


    "Everyone, let''s be at peace. Let''s take a form of hidden bidding. Everyone can only bid once. Whoever has the highest bid will take it all," Lu Li suggested. He didn''t want to see the Magic professions clear their guild points just for one piece of equipment.


    After a while, each of the players gave their bidding points to Lu Li. The highest was 210 points, followed by 200 points. Lu Li still felt like he was too na?ve.


    No matter if it was a hidden bid or not, there were still people willing to spend 200 guild points to purchase a piece of equipment.


    There was indeed cause for celebration after killing the Twin Emperor. Looking at everyone''s expressions, it was as if the First Clear was about to fall into their hands. After all, according to previous experiences, one Instance Dungeon took two or three cooldowns at the very most.


    Lu Li could only sigh on the inside at their naivety.


    The Twin Emperors were indeed not considered to be much, even though it could be said that they were hardest Bosses that Ruling Sword had come into contact with.


    The reality was that the next two Bosses would be even more difficult than the Twin Emperors.


    When the Old God C''Thun led the attack of the Qiraji army, they were entrenched between the Silithus'' Temple of Ahn''Qiraj. The huge Temple of Ahn''Qiraj hosted many legendary characters. Among them, Ouro was the last barrier that stood in front of C''Thun.


    In Lu Li''s memories in his past life, players could choose to skip over his path and go straight to C''Thun. However, in this current time, Ouro would become a nightmare for many teams.


    Now, Ruling Sword couldn''t pretend to be scared at all.


    It was impossible to skip over Ouro. If you wanted to get a First Clear, then you needed to also kill two Bosses after him.


    Ouro was the most difficult Instance Dungeon Boss that Lu Li knew of.


    High damage, messy Aggro and a complex fighting process turned a huge team of 40 players into a sandstorm at its feet. Until the moment that he was reborn, Ouro was the longest surviving Boss in Dawn. This point alone was enough to show how strong he was.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, Ouro remained alive for 87 days after the death of Twin Emperors. This was nearly 3 months, which was more than ten cooldowns.


    This was not to say that he could one-shot players. According to those who had participated before and won, Ouro was considered a special case in Dawn, but his strength could only be considered ordinary.


    However, his unconventional form, momentum of appearance and concealed hiding place would all instil a little fear in those seeing him for the first time.


    This sandworm combined all evil, greed, cruelty, violence and power as one. It evoked everyone''s primitive impulse to escape.


    That''s right. Ouro was just a sandworm.


    Gadgetzan''s location in the desert spawned this sort of sandworm everywhere. A majority of time, they squirmed beneath the quicksand. If prey came by, they would open their mouths and swallow them in the sand.


    Lu Li and others had encountered a lot of these sandworms when they went to go fight Captain Andre earlier on. He had also used these sandworms to entrap a number of his unfortunate opponents.


    At that time, he was only level 30 and had to hide whenever he saw these sandworms. Now, even if all of Silithus'' sandworms charged at him, he could still take them on.


    Evidently, it was true that Ouro was a sandworm, but he was the pet of the Old God C''Thun.


    No matter what it was, as long as it was to do with the Old Gods, then its meaning was changed completely.


    With the title of the Old Gods'' pet, Ouro''s status in the Instance Dungeon was higher than that of the Twin Emperors''.


    Destroying a team was simple. Everyone was confused by what had happened.


    They couldn''t just stop simply because they wiped, even though they knew that it was not right to force it head-on.


    There were still some results in the next half a day. At least they knew what skills the Boss had and what they did.


    Ouro''s ordinary attacks were not considered powerful. He dealt around 1500 damage, and the frequency of attacks wasn''t that fast. Rolling Injury dealt around 2600-3300 damage, and he had a sweep attack that dealt approximately 1000 points. The highest damage came from the sandstorms, which dealt 3300-4500 natural damage. Furthermore, after several special attacks, Ouro''s aggro would become rather chaotic.


    The sweep attack''s frequency was a little higher, and was cast every 17-18 seconds, but this was not the worst of it.


    Everyone here had about 5000 HP, so who would still care about over 1000 points of damage? However, this skill could damage targets in a 360-degree radius of about 30 yards while resetting Aggro.


    The aggro had to be rebuilt within 2 seconds.


    You could imagine how frantic Azure Sea Breeze was as he was responsible for tanking.


    How could a mere man be this quick?


    Once this week''s cooldown came to an end, everyone had no choice but to admit this reality.


    Ouro was harder to fight than Twin Emperors.


    Fortunately, the other clubs seemed to be preoccupied with the Twin Emperors, which left Ruling Sword with a lot of time. Plus, Lu Li didn''t believe that the other clubs would have any better idea.


    As such, this was how everyone slowly started this Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li right now was more worried that the Stronghold Battles were about to begin again.

 1695 Battle of Survival

    After two weeks of no activity, the Stronghold battles returned. All the major clubs had to set aside the Instance Dungeon and focus all their attention onto the Strongholds.


    Clubs who didn''t have a Stronghold were fighting with their all to just get one, while those who had one were naturally not willing for them to be taken away.


    Using the Commander of Blood Red War Flag''s words, this was a battle of survival.


    Ruling Sword had two Strongholds. Even if they were solidly in their grasp, there were still no lack of clubs that were taking chances to challenge them. Some people had even offered Lu Li or Square Root Three gold to purchase them.


    Some people''s offers were ridiculously high. Lu Li was shocked to discover that his value was worth over hundred of millions dollars.


    Of course, he wasn''t going to sell them. Even idiots knew that you couldn''t kill a chicken to get an egg. As long as Dawn continued on, this industry would only become more and more lucrative.


    Or perhaps with more industries, he could cash in some part of it to improve his life in reality.


    Lu Li used to really know how to be thrifty in maintaining a household, but that wasn''t his personality. As long as he was human, he would want to enjoy life. While his sister was recovering, and after the club was on the right path, he would think about improving his quality of life.


    If he wanted a car, it would be best if it was the trendy and cool type.


    Every man had a dream luxury car. Lu Li liked the vintage and Range Rover type ¨C it was more manly and very safe.


    If he was on a date with Water Fairy, it would be too uncool for her to drive.


    The Stronghold battle event this time still hadn''t released the new map. As such, the original ten Strongholds were targets. These included Ruling Sword''s Black Sea Coast and Grey Valley, Drizzle Court''s Western Wilderness, Seventh Heaven''s Tanaris, Glory Capital''s Barrenlands and Stranglethorn Vale, Blood Red War Flag''s Hillsbrad Hills, Peerless City''s Stonetalon Mountains, Wings of Dawn''s Thousand Needles, and also Grand Hegemony''s Un''Goro Crater.


    Of these, Ruling Sword''s had the longest history and most established defense.


    In comparison, the one easiest to target was Grand Hegemony''s Stronghold. No matter how hard they tried, the club wouldn''t progress much in such a short period of time.


    Then after that would be the Wings of Dawn, Seventh Heaven, Blood Red War Flag, and others like them. Their Strongholds had experienced a few battles, but they hadn''t had much of a chance of being developed further.


    The results from this morning''s bidding came out.


    The price of land had risen by a significant amount. The lowest had already reached 70-80,000 coins. It was only a matter of time for it to break through the 100,000 gold coin


    If they didn''t win the bid to attack, then the gold coins would be returned. However, only a portion would be, around 60%. The remaining 40% was halved and given to the gaming company to the Stronghold being auctioned.


    As such, from the bidding alone, Ruling Sword had a revenue of 40,000 gold coins.


    If the club who won the bidding for the Stronghold lost, then half the gold coins they paid would go to the game company and the other half would go to the Stronghold, which was another great source of revenue.


    Risk and interest went hand in hand. If they won, then they would not only have the Stronghold but also the income that came along with it.


    Lu Li had to take these battles seriously. He wished that there could be Stronghold Battles everyday.


    A single battle could earn someone like Ruling Sword, who owned two Strongholds, over 200,000 gold coins. As for the cost of potions, maintenance fees and equipment required defending the stronghold, this would only total 50,000 gold coins at most.


    According to the current exchange rate 15,000 gold coins could be exchanged to 5,000,000 dollars in real life.


    Of course, development in the game required a lot of gold coins. Under normal circumstances, gold coins wouldn''t be exchanged. In order to save gold coins, guilds would reward excellent members with real world money.


    The attack rights for Ruling Sword''s two Strongholds this time were won by Glory Capital and Gangnam Royals respectively.


    The former number one and number two were now both targeting Ruling Sword''s territory. From one perspective, Lu Li was already proud enough with that.


    Also, he had a pretty definite chance of victory.


    This was also why he didn''t request for Drizzle Court or Peerless City to come and attack his Stronghold. That would of course be a safe bet, but it would mean that they lost the opportunity to make money they otherwise could''ve made.


    Lu Li led a team at Grey Valley against Glory Capital, while Wandering and Sky Moon led the others at the Black Sea Coast to face off with the Gangnam Royals. This confrontation between the top three clubs had gained a lot of attention.


    The entry tickets were another big source of revenue.


    With just the revenue of the Strongholds alone, Ruling Sword didn''t need to attract any investors. They could independently gain the capital required for fast development.


    Lu Li and Sorrowless were considered old friends. Many people in Dawn''s chat forum had written a lot about them. There was even romantic fan-fiction.


    There were also a bunch of people who didn''t like Lu Li and Water Fairy as a couple, so they had imagined a variety of new couple pairings.


    Time was so precious. Wasting one opportunity meant that many things had changed.


    This time, Glory Capital gave up the easier Stronghold and targeted Ruling Sword again. This was completely in accordance with Sorrowless'' personality. He was never the type to hide from a battle because it was difficult.


    "Boss, what strategy would they have?" Fat Monkey asked, stretching out his neck as he waited for the enemies to appear.


    "Sorrowless rarely uses strategy. Strategy is something only relied on by weak people. Strong people use resolve."


    Lu Li had analysed Sorrowless as a person. He was his number one nemesis.


    "Pfft, we''re not weak either," Fat Monkey said haughtily.


    "Monkey, you can''t be like this. Don''t underestimate any opponent, especially someone like Sorrowless. No matter if it''s you or me, neither of us have the right to underestimate him," Lu Li replied seriously.


    Before fighting with Sorrowless, he was already an insurmountable obstacle in Fat Monkey''s heart. However, after his battle, the outside praised him as the most likely person to inherit the title of ''Mage God''. This type of gap was too large, so it was no wonder Fat Monkey lost himself.


    "I understand," Fat Monkey said, falling quiet instantly and nodding his head.


    The main force of Glory Capital soon came into their field of vision. The majority of them were familiar faces. It seemed like this time they were really serious. Only the most powerful people had come from the club.


    However, it was not only Glory Capital.


    There was also Gaze, Cloudy Leaf, Wendelian and others from Gale Legion amongst them. These two top clubs combining powers elevated the circumstances significantly.


    According to the rules of Stronghold battles, neighbouring Strongholds would attack each other more easily than unrelated ones.


    This time, Glory Capital''s camp contained only the cream of the crop.


    The two commentators who were in the live broadcast of the battle were shocked and speechless. One of them yelled in surprise, "Glory Capital has not had such a complete team in a very long time!"


    What advantage did Ruling Sword have?


    City walls, Ancient of Lore and their unyielding willpower. Lu Li could see his teammate''s faces filled with fighting spirit; there was not a trace of timidness nor recoiling.


    Lu Li felt that even if this was a failed battle, he wouldn''t have any regrets.


    "They brought a ladder. I don''t know what it''s for," Fat Monkey observed carefully. Lu Li said that Sorrowless didn''t have any strategy, but he didn''t fully believe him, so he kept paying attention to see if the opponent had some sort of trump card.


    "In ancient times, ladders were used to attack cities. This is a virtual reality game, so they would appear sooner or later," Lu Li said, then continued to explain, "The functions of ladders limiting. At most, they can only send a few more people up. Everyone can just simply kill them off."


    "Exactly! Even if they come, it would be to give us equipment," Azure Sea Breeze said fearlessly as he waved his new Epic equipment.


    Cannons plus ladders had created lines of attacks, while Ruling Sword responded with artillery and a barrage of skills. The battle at the beginning had already entered into an fierce state.


    "There''s people coming up! Kill them!" Lu Li shouted.


    Accompanying his voice was an even faster silhouette. Moonlight collided with the visitor, who was a Berserker just like him.


    Gaze!


    This was Gale Legion''s number one Berserker. Moonlight, Gaze, Elevenless, Deadly Gold Underpants and Sea Breaker were the top five Warriors in this game.


    Their eyes now only saw each other in them.


    Gaze also knew that he would not live as soon as he came on the city wall. His aim was to mess up the defensive rhythm of the city walls.


    However, he was blocked by Moonlight.


    If it was Lu Li who blocked him, he wouldn''t care at all, but this was Moonlight. He had no way off escaping this fateful battle. He couldn''t even if Sorrowless ordered him.


    With the same logic, Moonlight threw himself onto Gaze the moment he saw him.


    People who played Warriors were relatively more hot-blooded. Glory was something they could never have enough of in their hearts.


    Lu Li didn''t act on his own. It was as if he was observing Sorrowless and Sorrowless was also analysing his position. As soon as the opportunity arose, either of them would make the executive decision to eliminate the other.


    A battle where its commander was lost made it hard to say which direction it would go.

 1696 Sinister Motives

    Moonlight''s fight was soon resolved. Gaze had already lost a lot of HP climbing up the walls, so he ultimately wasn''t able to defeat Moonlight.


    The strength of these two players was almost the same. However, after entering Ruling Sword, the exquisite equipment and Enhanced Skill Books obtained by Moonlight made him slightly stronger.


    In the end, the result still affected both sides of the battle.


    "Hey, I just saw that Gaze fell. Breezy bro was right ¨C he didn''t come back from climbing up that wall," Fat Monkey said as he smiled widely.


    Lu Li glanced at him but didn''t say anything.


    Sorrowless didn''t expect Gaze to play a big role, but he did achieve something. Many of Ruling Sword''s players had turned to Gaze, which reduced the intensity of the attacks on the chariots. This meant that Glory Capital had a better chance of attacking as they unloaded more artillery fire onto the walls.


    This battle was destined to be an extremely fierce one.


    When Glory Capital kept on pressing on at all costs, Ruling Sword could no longer passively defend the wall. Lu Li directed a group of ''death squads'' to rush in and attack. They were successful as they destroyed two more chariots.


    Glory Capital''s responded by using even more ladders as more teams rushed to the walls.


    Ruling Sword''s chariots were originally fewer in number than Glory Capital, but after losing two chariots, the gap that had been closed was once again recreated.


    Lu Li didn''t hesitate to initiate another wave of attacks. He personally led one of the teams this time.


    Sorrowless certainly had no intention of giving up the opportunity to kill Lu Li and Lu Li knew this. His goal was to attract enough firepower so that his teammates could destroy another chariot.


    Equipment being littered all over the battlefield was now a normal occurrence.


    If equipment was lost, the players would use their spares, pick up someone else''s or kill a player to get one.


    According to some commentators, this was one of the most brutal and evenly matched battles in the history of the Stronghold battles. Both sides had very high-quality equipment and both sides were willing to fight to the bitter end.


    E-sports had never been a modest activity.


    Since victory could only be attained by one of the two parties, the sides had to want the win and had to keep fighting until they could attain it.


    Meanwhile, the other Stronghold battles were also just as fierce.


    On the one hand, the intensity was partly driven by economics and also partly driven by the desire to secure more Strongholds. When the fighting got intense, the players only saw other players as either enemies or comrades.


    However, Lu Li and Sorrowless weren''t just commanders.


    At this time, there was no need for any complicated orders. One party just wanted to break open the wall and the other wanted to stop them from doing that.


    "Monkey, calm down. You''ve already died five times!" Lu Li yelled at Fat Monkey as he rushed forwards.


    This guy had a violent temperament and the environment stoked his temper such that he was caught in a blinding cycle of killing and dying. There was probably no semblance of reason left in that guy''s mind.


    Fire Mages were not suitable for charging and Lu Li really needed him to be within the walls.


    In fact, Moonlight had also died several times, but he had more spare equipment that also had good attributes. You might think that Moonlight wasn''t someone that cared about equipment, but he cared about it more than anyone else. Lu Li knew this too because he knew that the equipment that Moonlight wore into these battles was not his best.


    But because he had been in more Stronghold battles and was killing more people than anyone else, Lu Li turned a blind eye to him.


    Lu Li finally experienced his first death.


    Sorrowless personally chased down Lu Li and Blood Daggered appeared behind him. They finally killed Lu Li today.


    Those who stood by the river should expect to get wet. Dawn wasn''t the kind of game where a single person could fight 100 people. Lu Li wasn''t too worried that he had died, but the fact that he had dropped his Nightslayer Cloak was a bit upsetting.


    Nightslayer Cloak (Exquisite Epic): Armour 115, Agility +120, Strength +60, Special Effect 1: 20% bonus Movement Speed, Special Effect 2: Poison Master, increases the damage dealt by your poisons by 20% and increases the non-damage effects by 10%. Special Effect 3: Strengthen Cloak, whenever the user uses Shadow Cloak''s effect, the user will regenerate 3% HP for each effect that is nullified by it. Equipment Requirements: Level 60, Durability: 320/ 320.


    Now, he understood what it felt like to be killed and have his equipment taken away.


    It was an Exquisite Epic, which was a little better than an ordinary Epic item. It was also an item that Lu Li had been reluctant to change out.


    "Haha, you finally got what you deserved," Azure Sea Breeze laughed loudly. His voice was filled with gloating. This made Lu Li, who had just revived, even more upset. It seemed like Lu Li was now going to be even more harsh to Azure Sea Breeze in the future so that he could forget this pain.


    "Breezy, don''t just stand there smiling. You still have so much HP ¨C charge in."


    "Screw you, I have a legendary weapon. What if I lose it?"


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t think that Lu Li would enact his revenge so soon. Azure Sea Breeze thought Lu Li was quite childish.


    "What, you actually brought the legendary weapon to the battle?"


    Lu Li was shocked and his voice was high pitched. This was the non-private chat so it could be heard throughout the Stronghold Battlefield. Everyone heard it.


    "Hey, shouldn''t you bring your strongest equipment in?" Azure Sea Breeze subconsciously shot back, unaware of what had just happened.


    In his opinion, if everyone didn''t come in with their best equipment, then their defensive strength would be 20% less than what it could be. If that was the case, they should just surrender.


    There were some people who saw right through Lu Li''s sinister intentions, and were already feeling sorry for Azure Sea Breeze.


    Normally, Azure Sea Breeze couldn''t be killed by just a few players in PVP. The other players had four to five thousand HP while his total HP exceeded ten thousand. His defence was also two or three times that of most players and he had a lot of damage reduction skills.


    With the firepower needed to kill him, you could kill three to five Lonesome Flowers.


    Coupled with the healers constantly healing him, it was even harder to kill him.


    As such, no one really wanted to fight him, especially since he moved slowly and had the same attack power as most people. He wasn''t much of a threat to the Glory Capital players.


    But now, it was different¡­


    The words ''Legendary Equipment'' had attracted everyone''s attention. Sorrowless was no exception. Legendary weapons couldn''t even be bought right now.


    According to Lu Li''s estimate, even a giant such as Sorrowless didn''t necessarily have a Legendary equipment.

 1697 Crowd Taun

    Before Sorrowless could say anything, the focus of attention suddenly became Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze was quite confused in the beginning as to why he was suddenly the target. However, after enduring the attacks of too many people, he finally realised what had just happened.


    "Lu Li, you asshole! I''m going to cut off all our relations!" Breezy yelled.


    He tried to kite the best he could, while activating his damage reduction. As he was doing this, he was also calling out, "Are you guys accepting new members? You guys saw how I was getting bullied here, and I''ve even cut off all relations with Lu Li. Now, I want to leave Ruling Sword and join you guys. How about that?"


    Everyone ignored him. Just because he was dumb didn''t mean that everyone else was easy to trick.


    Ruling Sword had a few pillars. Among these pillars, Azure Sea Breeze was one of the more well-known. That was why even a three-year-old child wouldn''t believe him.


    From other people''s perspectives, every fight that these two had between them was just like the bickering between old couples.


    With Lu Li''s help, Azure Sea Breeze managed to quickly charge up an ultimate AoE Taunt skill, while Lu Li brought his men to destroy a couple of chariots.


    "Crap! Heal me! Heal me! I''m nearly dead!" Azure Sea Breeze howled.


    Actually, he had already activated his ultimate mitigation skill, so the maximum damage that he was receiving was at most, a little over a hundred. Furthermore, it was impossible for him to die that easily in a timeframe of a minute. However, once the people from Glory Capital heard that he was nearly dead, they were more unwilling to let this big fish go.


    "Stop attacking him. Legendary items? So what? We have them too."


    Sorrowless finally woke up and hurriedly called for his teammates to calm down.


    "That''s right! Even if we kill him, who''s to say that the Legendary item would definitely drop?" West


    Whitehill added.


    When players died, they would usually drop one item. There was a large chance of dropping an equipped item, while there was also a chance of dropping an item in the storage. However, there were at least 10 items equipped at once, so the chances of dropping a Legendary item was not that high.


    Most people hadn''t seen Legendary items before, while most people also hadn''t heard of a Legendary item''s properties.


    There was a rumour that said that Legendary items were bound to a player once equipped. It wouldn''t drop even if the player died. They wanted to avoid a situation where they lost the Stronghold as well as the Legendary item.


    However, it was difficult to compare the value of a Stronghold and a Legendary item.


    For individual players, Legendary items were undoubtably more important. However, Strongholds were more valuable and yielded more benefits to clubs. On the other hand, Legendary items were still extremely attractive.


    No one knew whether Dawn had God weapons or not.


    The highest tier known to players then was Legendary tier. There was once a player called Clamour who used tens of millions to buy Legendary items. No one could confirm the validity of this claim, but this was a clear example of the value of Legendary items.


    Glory Capital players were well disciplined, so everyone stopped attacking Azure Sea Breeze after Sorrowless commanded them to stop.


    However, their attention was still unconsciously on Azure Sea Breeze.


    Hypothetically, if there was a Giant Panda in the middle of the streets, even the calmest people would still be curious enough to go and see it.


    Players who had Legendary items were rarer than Giant Pandas.


    The key part was, what if they could bring this Giant Panda home?


    Sorrowless was extremely frustrated, but he couldn''t do anything about it. It wasn''t just his teammates whose attention was now on Azure Sea Breeze. He himself was also drawn to Azure Sea Breeze.


    How shameless!


    Never had he seen someone so shameless!


    Lu Li purposely revealed that Azure Sea Breeze had a Legendary item, which attracted all of their attention. This was only a tactic that only someone like Lu Li was able to think of.


    Upon seeing that everyone had stopped attacking him, Azure Sea Breeze grew extremely arrogant.


    The battle raged on with a hefty price paid on both sides.


    "We''ve lost way too many items!" Fat Monkey painfully cried out.


    "Monkey, are you stupid? We''ve lost a lot, but they also lost a lot. It pretty much cancels out."


    Azure Sea Breeze''s IQ suddenly increased this time. Furthermore, he even raised his voice and said, "Unless they can take my Legendary weapon away from me, we''ll always have the advantage."


    "...." Everyone in Glory Capital was now furious.


    They were now desperate on the offensive end. Sorrowless understood their situation. A stalemate like this would only benefit the defensive side. As the offensive side, they needed to break through as soon as possible.


    There weren''t that many Ruling Sword chariots left on the wall.


    The ladders that Glory Capital constructed had served their purpose, while their chariots were also now in full use.


    "We''ll rush them again. Breezy, you''ll lead the squad," Lu Li instructed.


    "Are you for real? We''ll die if we leave."


    Azure Sea Breeze was afraid. After all, he had only been fighting the players who came up using the ladders, so Glory Capital couldn''t inflict their maximum damage on him. No matter how powerful his mitigation was, he was still unable to tank that many people at once.


    "Our situation doesn''t look too good at the moment. We need to destroy their chariots," Lu Li calmly responded.


    There were still eight chariots left. This wasn''t many, but it wasn''t insignificant either. Furthermore, there were still around 30 minutes until the end of the battle. 30 minutes was enough for Glory Capital to destroy Ruling Sword''s wall.


    "Alright then. I''ll go."


    Azure Sea Breeze thought about it, then unhesitatingly brought Ruling Sword players and rushed down.


    When they need hot-bloodedness, he and Moonlight did not fail to deliver. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be playing the Warrior class. After all, West Whitehill was right. Even if he died, the Legendary weapon still might not drop.


    Upon seeing Azure Sea Breeze lead the charge, everyone''s eyes widened.


    The opposing side''s skills immediately came at him. Everyone was attacking him like they would with a Boss. After all, all of his items were top-tier in the current meta, so he was naturally a fatter pig than any Boss that had been released.


    Even if he didn''t drop the Legendary item, just one of his items was equivalent to other multiple drops.


    "Protect the chariots! Have you guys not seen items before?" Sorrowless roared. He was usually the elegant and calm type, so this shattered his image. This idol-like figure in Dawn was not without a temper either.


    Lu Li''s main objective when he decided to send out Azure Sea Breeze and a team of players to rush at the chariots was for Azure Sea Breeze attract all of their attention. Then, he would instruct a separate team of players to destroy the chariots.


    They knew this. However, they still fell for it. How was Sorrowless meant to keep his composure upon seeing this?


    They were the number one club in the gaming industry, where the elite among the elites gathered. However, they still couldn''t ignore the temptation of a single Legendary item. Sorrowless felt that it was his fault for loosening the control and discipline of the club.


    He had dominated the gaming industry for many years. Now, he was being made a fool.


    There were many problems that arose during this Stronghold battle which made Sorrowless fearful.


    After hearing the usually calm Sorrowless explode in anger and curses, all the Glory Capital players immediately straightened up. They quickly repositioned themselves and clashed with the Ruling Sword players.

 1698 Azure Guard

    This time, Ruling Sword destroyed three chariots, but they also left behind a few corpses, one of which was Azure Sea Breeze.


    "What''d you drop?" Lu Li saw that the now revived Azure Sea Breeze only held his shield and his right hand was empty.


    His heart dropped. Breezy wasn''t a bad guy, yet his best item dropped?


    "It''s gone. It''s gone," Azure Sea Breeze cried lifelessly. He seemed to be on the verge of tears.


    "We''ll just make another one. Don''t worry."


    Lu Li could only comfort his old friend like this. After all, it was him who instructed them to do so, and he knew full well that there was a chance for it to drop.


    Other people were also comforting Azure Sea Breeze. Some people said they would help him out, while another player said that he had two more Elementium Ores in his storage.


    "Ahahahah! Got you!"


    Suddenly, the longsword appeared in his hands.


    "Was that a surprise? Did you guys get surprised?"


    "%\u0026@# you!" Lu Li swore.


    Everyone else was also speechless. Even Moonlight suggested, "Let''s throw him down there again. Let''s see if the Sword will drop this time."


    "Don''t! I already dropped an item. What if it actually dropped this time?" Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    "What''d you drop?" Lu Li asked.


    "Hehe¡­It was something from my bag. Since I have high Reputation and pretty much haven''t killed anyone before, the chances of an equipped item dropping are not high. Do you want me to rush again?" Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t a coward at all. He was just an actor who loved to act.


    "We probably won''t need to rush them again. They wouldn''t be able to destroy the walls before the timer ended with five chariots anyway." Lu Li shook his head.


    At the bottom of the walls, the furious Glory Capital players began relentlessly attacking.


    All the ladders were used up now, so they could only hope to turn the tables by taking control of the Stronghold gate.


    Sorrowless had to admit that he had underestimated Ruling Sword. He knew, ahead of time, that Drizzle Court and Peerless City''s Strongholds were targeted by many big clubs, so he was sure that Ruling Sword wouldn''t have reinforcements.


    After recruiting multiple experts from Gale Legion, the chances of losing were quite slim.


    Furthermore, they even had the blueprint for making ladders. With the ladders, they were able to constantly send players up the walls, which created chances for their chariots to attack.


    He didn''t know that Ruling Sword was this strong and this reckless now.


    Every time Ruling Sword rushed at them, Sorrowless trembled with fear. They didn''t care about the price to be paid and defended the Stronghold with their all.


    The worst thing was the distraction and mess that came with the opposition revealing that they had a Legendary item.


    Commanders had to be adaptive. Naturally, this meant that whatever Lu Li thought of, Sorrowless had to pay attention to it.


    There were two choices.


    If they gave up now, then they would end up with more items than they lost. However, if they continued, then it was likely for them to lose more items.


    If they continued fighting this battle, then they would be fighting for that sliver of hope.


    "Let''s keep going. I''d rather die than give up."


    The usually calm and light White Westhill said the words that many resonated with.


    They were not afraid of failure, since it wouldn''t be the first time that they lost to Ruling Sword. They also didn''t think themselves as less than the players in Ruling Sword.


    What was the problem?


    Although victory was right in front of them, Lu Li did not relax. He was someone who was extremely cautious. He was so cautious that some people thought that he had a mental problem. At the very least, he would give his all before the results of the battle were released.


    Both sides fought fiercely in the remaining time of the battle. However, it was true that Glory Capital was a little stronger as a whole.


    Ruling Sword wasn''t able to completely suppress them and prevent their advancement completely, but they were putting up a good fight. Fortunately, they had the height advantage, and their revival point was right on top of the wall. If it weren''t for these, Ruling Sword was unlikely to fend them off as well as they did.


    "Boom!"


    The wall finally fell. The five chariots had completed their objective.


    However, with that, the Stronghold battle was also in its final moments.


    Lu Li quickly slashed the neck of a Glory Capital player and looted the item that dropped without giving it a second glance. He eyed an opposing player, then jumped down in a backflip and landed on the ground without a hitch.


    A slew of skills was immediately fired towards him, but before they made contact with his body, he immediately disappeared.


    The battle was still continuing, but the System was already sounding out the final seconds.


    "We won!" everyone in Ruling Sword cheered. This was a hard-fought battle, since they were up against the number one club. The pressure was simply immense.


    Fortunately for them, the defensive side had a greater advantage than the offensive side. If it was Glory Capital who was defending, Ruling Sword probably wouldn''t have even touched the Stronghold walls.


    Drizzle Court successfully defended their Stronghold, while Seventh Heaven also successfully defended Tanaris. Glory Capital''s main camp in the Barrenlands was also untouched.


    Blood Red War Flag also successfully defended the Hillsbrad Foothills again, making it the second consecutive successful defence.


    Wings of Dawn was powerful. Although they weren''t doing well in the early stages of the Stronghold battles, they also managed to successfully fend off powerful attackers twice in the Thousand Needles.


    There were three changes that occurred.


    The first one was Un''Goro Crater. Grand Hegemony had control of it as they defeated the previous owner in the last round, but they were defeated this time, so it was the Gangnam Royals who took possession of it.


    Grand Hegemony was once the number two club. Now, they were like a cockroach, seemingly unwilling to die.


    They still had one of their oldest veterans and an extremely promising player in their ranks. This wasn''t the end of their fight. It would be fair to assume that Grand Hegemony was going to rise again in the next Stronghold battle.


    The second change broke the internet.


    No one thought that Stranglethorn Vale, originally occupied by Glory Capital, would be taken away. The ones who accomplished the deed were Azure Guard, who had three pro players in their ranks ¨C Magic Cry, Stellar Union Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis. They were within the Top 10 clubs, but they were less prominent than the others.


    The battle there was also extremely fierce and both sides paid a huge price.


    However, the outcome was different to the outcome between Ruling Sword and Glory Capital. Azure Guard was the one who emerged victorious.


    It didn''t matter whether or not they would be able to defend the Stronghold during the next battle. At the very least, they managed to take down the number one club in the gaming industry. This victory greatly propelled Azure Guard''s reputation.


    Although it was a split-second, Azure Guard''s influence exceeded that of Ruling Sword, who had just successfully defended against Glory Capital.


    Actually, Glory Capital didn''t lose as much as everyone thought they did. Although they did lose Stranglethorn Vale, they managed to take possession of the Stonetalon Mountains in Gale Legion''s name.


    As such, Glory Capital still had two Strongholds.


    Ruling Sword had two Strongholds as well. Drizzle Court, Seventh Heaven, Blood Red War Flag, Wings of Dawn, Gangnam Royals and Azure Guard each had one Stronghold.


    Gale Legion no longer had a Stronghold.

 1699 Money Distribution

    Peerless City and Drizzle Court were attacked at the same time. While Drizzle Court managed to hold onto their Stronghold, Peerless City couldn''t and was destroyed. This was only indicative of the influence that Soul Eater''s betrayal had on the club.


    Before, although they were in Drizzle Court''s shadow, they were still a top-10 club.


    There were many times where Drizzle Court couldn''t match up to them.


    They looked to conquer the world, named Glory Capital as their rival, and thought that they could one day rise and be the strongest of the strong.


    Everything changed when Soul Eater decided to betray the club. Then, the club''s reputation was tainted with a mark of a traitor and the future of the club looked bleak. Many veterans in the gaming industry thought that Drizzle Court should absorb all of the core elite players from Peerless City into their club and force Peerless City to become a club that couldn''t support itself.


    Had they done this, Drizzle Court''s strength would have been greatly increased. Although they wouldn''t be able to match up to Glory Capital, they would be able to fight Blood Red War Flag eye-to-eye.


    The effects of the betrayal seemed to have disappeared with time, but upon meeting a powerful foe, the issue of morale was definitely exposed.


    Even the core elite members at the peak of the guild were affected by this low morale, let alone the guild as a whole. After talking with Square Root Three, Lu Li found out that over the past month, Peerless City had lost 10% of their members.


    As a club with 200,000 members, 10% was equivalent to 20,000 members. Such a number was definitely not negligible.


    There were also players leaving Ruling Sword, but it wasn''t even 0.5% of their total members. Compared to other clubs, 0.5% was towards the low end. After all, it was still a promising and growing organisation, so if people stayed, they would become elders in the guild.


    Lu Li realised that it was no wonder that Water Fairy hadn''t been in a good mood lately. Lu Li felt that he had failed as a boyfriend.


    He couldn''t do anything about it though. The worries of Peerless City players wouldn''t go away by the effect of some promises. Only time could heal the hole that was left by Soul Eater.


    According to rumours, Soul Eater''s small guild was once again oppressed.


    However, the one who did it was not Water Fairy, but a medium-sized guild. This group of people was targeting Soul Eater and chasing after his group of people all day long. It seemed like this was for purely work purposes, and that they had joined the game just to mess with Soul Eater.


    Then, Square Root Three and Lu Li discussed Azure Guard and gained some understanding behind how they ended up taking Stranglethorn Vale from Glory Capital.


    Actually, the method that they employed was similar to the one that the Gangnam Royals used.


    The only difference was that Azure Guard didn''t hire mercenaries, but hired a lot of smaller to mid-tier guilds instead.


    Before Dawn was released, Azure Guard was always a quiet organisation. They were quite kind to the player base. If there were clashes between other people and they were asked to step in and assist, they would always lend a hand. Therefore, their reputation amongst the low to medium-sized guilds was quite favorable.


    This time, they temporarily recruited a group of stronger players from a number of guilds and clubs and formed a powerful squad.


    Unforgettable Maple from Majin Temple and Wood Fearing from Gods of Dusk were among their ranks this time. All of the included players were forces to be reckoned with and not to be underestimated.


    The secret was kept extremely well, so Glory Capital only knew that Azure Guard was to attack their Stranglethorn Vale Stronghold. Therefore, they organised their defense based on their knowledge on the top ranks of Azure Guard and were completely defeated.


    From then onwards, additional variables were thrown into the Stronghold battles.


    At this moment, Lu Li and Square Root Three were counting their finances.


    Ruling Sword already had a complete and functional administration system. They had everything and every position covered. As soon as the Stronghold battle was complete, the finance office was immediately analysing the battle, calculating their profits and losses.


    However, Lu Li and Square Root Three still wanted to look at it again themselves.


    Both of them lived in poverty. The previous three generations of their family were all living in poverty. Although they were a little wealthy now, it was still insufficient to satisfy their ambitions.


    "Should we start a subsidiary guild? We have more and more money now," Square Root Three suggested.


    "Making a subsidiary guild is a handful. Look at Peerless City."


    Lu Li actually had the same idea, but he was growing less fond of it. Perhaps this idea would come back in the future, when Lu Li met a suitable person.


    This person needed to be someone strong and was completely trustworthy. Not a sliver of trust could be lacking.


    Of course, the other person would need to agree to it as well. Wandering was strong and was completely trustworthy, but it would be utter stupidity to let him organise a subsidiary guild. Lu Li might as well give Azure Sea Breeze a whole set of clothing to cosplay as a female.


    "What would we do with this money then? It''s quite a number," Square Root Three asked.


    Neither of them had the thought of withdrawing the money and using it in real life, since there wasn''t a big difference between reality and virtual reality. For them, as professional gamers, it was better to use this money in-game than in reality.


    "Well, how about distributing it?" Lu Li suggested.


    He was illiterate and his life of poverty has also limited his imagination. He also didn''t know what they could do with this money.


    "Distribute? Who to?" Square Root Three responded.


    "Well¡­to the members."


    Lu Li suddenly remembered that the club was quite large. They still had around an estimated 80,000 members.


    With tens of millions, each person wouldn''t even receive 1000 dollars. They wouldn''t be able to do much with it.


    "Well, you can. However, there needs to be a few rules in place. For example, we would need to limit the number of people to less than 1000. The best would be around 500 people. If we do it like this, then there would be a little motivation boost as well. I''ll head back and make a list for you."


    If there were only a thousand players who would receive the money, then each person would receive at least 10,000 dollars.


    An amount in the tens of thousands was a considerable sum. Players would be able to buy a decent item in game or go out with their friends on a number of lavish occasions.


    Realistically, no clubs would distribute their wealth with everyone like this.


    Clubs would only give special attention and rewards to the players who greatly contributed or had reached a certain level of strength. Otherwise, who would have the determination to contribute if money was just distributed like this? The ones who worked hard for the club''s cause would be unmotivated.


    Lu Li felt pretty good about himself, since they had just simply decided where tens of millions of funds were going to go.


    However, he quickly thought of something problematic.

 1700 A Newcomer Lineup

    It was now Glory Capital''s turn to face true power. They were now left fighting to avoid third place in the Donghua Cup.


    Why was it third place?


    Since the Gangnam Royals had already advanced, it was just Glory Capital and Ruling Sword left to fight against each other. The loser would take third place, and the winners would fight Gangnam Royals in the championship.


    Retribution had come unusually quickly.


    The fans who supported Glory Capital were happy to see Glory Capital fight Ruling Sword. After the disgraceful Stronghold battle, they just wanted to see blood being shed.


    However, the Gangnam Royals were even more happy.


    This was because two things had happened. The first was that they had acquired a Stronghold from Grand Hegemony, becoming one of the few Clubs with a Stronghold. They weren''t like Azure Guard, who controlled a Stronghold with other clubs.


    The second thing was that the Donghua Cup had gone surprisingly well for them.


    They were going to be second place at least. Heart of War felt like he was once again standing at the top of the Club leader board.


    Recently, he had been down because he thought his club had been ruined. In his mind, Lu Li was responsible for this, trying to oppress him and drag his club through the mud.


    Now, Gangnam Royals had given up on opposing Ruling Sword. There were some Gangnam Royals players that would even actively avoid Ruling Sword.


    If they couldn''t fight them, then it also made some sense to hide from them.


    In the Wild, when they were fighting over a Boss or against another guild, the Gangnam Royals players would retreat once they saw Ruling Sword. They would retreat even if there weren''t that many Ruling Sword players.


    This happened even while they were in a fight with other groups of players.


    Once the Gangnam Royal players saw that their opponents had the Ruling Sword guild badge, they would start screaming about how it was a misunderstanding and would run away without saying anything else.


    This was quite undignified for one of the super clubs!


    There were many people in China that taunted Heart of War. They said that he wasn''t a real man.


    However, Heart of War didn''t care. He looked at his club and how it had recovered, and took pride in that.


    The Gangnam Royals was an old-fashioned club, but it was once a fascinating movement. When Heart of War took over, it was one of the top three clubs in the gaming circle. The feeling of being at the top made him take it for granted.


    Now, he was thinking day and night about how he could get the club out of trouble and improve it.


    He has lost a bit of hair in the process and had almost terminated some contracts before the competition, but he had finally made a breakthrough.


    His first principle was to avoid any conflict with Ruling Sword. His second principle was to collect as many experts as possible from the Mercenary Groups. His third principle was to ensure that the first principle prevailed whenever there was a conflict between following the first and second principle.


    Once these principles were established, they were strictly enforced. If members of the club fought players from Ruling Sword, not only would there be no rewards ,but they would be kicked out of the club.


    Those who encountered Ruling Sword had to immediately retreat. However, they could take a picture when doing so and would receive a reward as compensation.


    People who followed these rules felt no shame, after all, their hearts were comforted by some gold coins.


    There were some people who didn''t want to do that, and so they left the club, but Heart of War didn''t care. He had money and he had the resources from his family supporting him. As long as he developed the club, it would demonstrate that he was worthy of his inheritance. He would have no problems becoming the future head of the house.


    However,, Heart of War could also be considered to have profited from a disaster.


    The Donghua Cup''s As such had been quite stingy, and were unwilling to arrange flights for the competitors. So, all the competitions had been carried out online. It was no longer the keyboard era anyway, so this didn''t pose much of an issue.


    The expectations of Ruling Sword and Glory Capital were obviously quite high. It seemed like both were competing to take the championship.


    It was true that the Gangnam Royals were strong, but there would be no competition if they fought either Ruling Sword or Glory Capital.


    Lu Li certainly wouldn''t miss this occasion. It wasn''t that everyone didn''t want to pay attention to the Donghua Cup, but that the Donghua Cup just didn''t have the same prestige as the other competitions. Lu Li''s biggest goal with this competition was to train their newcomers. However, if their club could take the championship, it was still a big event worth celebrating.


    Ruling Sword had Short Road, Fat monkey, Mu Qiu and two newcomers. Glory Capital had all newcomers. The former team had two and a half players who had debuted in a previous competition, while the latter had demonstrated great strength in the current competition.


    Lu Li made an appearance, and it wasn''t just to give his own people encouragement.


    He also wanted to observe his opponents in this match. He was curious about several players in Glory Capital. He and many others were looking into Glory Capital''s newcomers to work out what they would be like in future.


    Glory Capital had five players in their lineup.


    The first was the Warrior Dragon Flame ¨C a 20 year old who was said to be a disciple of the Glory Capital training camp instructor Master Huang. He has had the most outstanding performance in this competition. He had repeatedly defeated other professional players and was Glory Capital''s star player.


    His combat style was varied and he also had a lot of combat experience.


    If there were no other incidents, he would become a professional player just as Master Huang retired.


    This also meant that he would be seen in this year''s professional league.


    Moonlight held a high opinion of him. He thought that this player was born a Berserker and had the strength of a top professional.


    Lu Li had also watched a game with Dragon Flame in the past, and felt like he was very aggressive at the time.


    He hadn''t done much research in his previous life, but he knew that he was rising very quickly to stardom and it was incredible to watch. Even though Dragon Flame was a newcomer, most players couldn''t beat him. It was no wonder that everyone was praising the Glory Capital Training Camp.


    It was just like Moonlight from Ruling Sword. If Moonlight resigned from his position, Lu Li wouldn''t be able to find someone to replace him.


    The second player that Lu Li was concerned with was a Thief from Glory Capital. Since Lu Li was a Thief himself, and naturally paid more attention to other fellow Thieves.


    This player was called Happy Scrolls. It was said that he was a veteran who had been training at Glory Capital for seven years. Now that he had finally debuted, his performance was amazing and second only to Dragon Flame.


    He had been training for seven years!


    Lu Li was shocked at the thought of this.


    Even if he didn''t have anything to do in his previous life, if Lu Li was told to train for seven years and become a professional player, he wasn''t sure if he would accept it.


    However, even though he had been training for seven years, he was still very young. The information showed that he was 18 years old, which meant that he was 11 when he entered the training camp and started training.


    Glory Capital''s Priest Sky''s Darkness had a similar style to White Westhill and was likely to be following in her footsteps.


    He wasn''t as strong as the top two, but still demonstrated a strong ability. Any club would happily take him on as their main Priest.


    However, it was his origins that interested Lu Li.


    He was actually a person who had come from the Common District, just like Lu Li. He had been lucky enough to meet White Westhill and didn''t even know who she was at the time. Even so, he was taken on and put onto this career path.


    This orphan of the Common District''s life had radically changed since then.


    After training in the training camp for six years, he appeared before the eyes of the world. His experience was an inspirational story to everyone.


    The rest of the team also performed well, which further demonstrated the strength of Glory Capital''s Training Camp. In contrast, several of the newcomers for Ruling Sword, with the exception of Short Road, were not nearly as talented.


    Priest Princely Beauty had a username that made it seem like she was a man, but she was actually a woman.


    This annoying girl was only 14 years hold when she joined the Ruling Sword''s training camp. It wasn''t Lu Li who first called her an annoying little girl, but Wandering, the most handsome man in the gaming circle.


    Princely Beauty was a fangirl of Wandering.


    She was the kind that would drool at the sight of Wandering; there was just no limit to her infatuation. She had originally wanted to play as a Mage, but Lu Li persuaded her to play as a Priest after spending some time thinking about it. In fact, this girl turned out to be more suitable as a Priest, so more people encouraged her to do so.


    In the end, all it took was Wandering saying how nice it would be to have someone behind him healing him.


    Lu Li and the four Sharpening Centre instructors had taken turns for a few days to persuade her but it was all in vain. Wandering had just casually thrown a few phrases around and the girl was immediately convinced. She had resolutely decided to become a Priest and now no one could stop her.


    She named herself Princely Beauty, not because she was a narcissist but to praise Wandering''s beauty with her username.


    After entering the training camp, she performed quite well. She was very talented and trained very hard.


    It was just that she had this quirk where she would run every morning to see what Wandering was wearing before running back to her dorm so that she could match her clothes with him. They had no idea how many clothes she had packed away.


    It was probably because of some rubbish fanfiction on the forums, but this little girl hated Azure Sea Breeze the most because she thought he was interested in Wandering.


    This girl had made friends with Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan and Lu Xin. The four of them were very close, so Lu Li really had no choice but to pick her. She was currently the youngest person participating in the competition at only 14 years old. It was good to train them while they were young, because at that point in their lives, their potential was almost unlimited.


    The Warrior Soulless Grass was one of the more introverted players. He mostly kept to himself and didn''t say much, but when in battle, he was quite cooperative.


    He was a bookworm in real life and worshipped Sorrowless.


    However, his worship was different from Princely Beauty. Princely Beauty wanted to be with Wandering all the time, but Soulless Grass'' way of worship was to beat Sorrowless on stage.


    Needless to say, that was quite an ambitious goal. There were many people who wanted to beat Sorrowless, but few were successful.


    He was a little older at 15 years of age. He hadn''t been trained for long before being put on stage by shameless Lu Li.


    Soulless Grass'' performance was still rather inconsistent. When he played well, he could defeat current professional players but when he played poorly, he would get scolded quite harshly by his instructor Dawn Peak.


    Dawn Peak was the current instructor of Ruling Sword''s newcomer Training Camp.


    He had a lot of experience on stage, and later retired to work as a training for several club training camps. Stellar Union''s Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis were taught by him. His only flaw was that he liked scolding people, especially if they made a low-level mistake, which often made the younger children cry.


    Fire Mage Fat Monkey, Ice Mage Short Road, Paladin Mu Qiu, Warrior Soulless Grass and Priest Princely Beauty ¨C this was Ruling Sword''s lineup.


    Lonesome Flower and Azure Sea Breeze, who had been on stage before, were no longer playing.


    At the beginning of the match, there were three rounds of individual fights. Ruling Sword sent Fat Monkey and Glory Capital sent Dragon Flame.


    One was the future successor of the Mage God Sorrowless and the other was a close disciple of the first instructor of the gaming circle, Master Huang. It was such an exciting first matchup that the tickets to watch this match were quickly being snatched up.


    In a Mage and Warrior match up, Mages were generally more dominant, but Fat Monkey was a Fire Mage and this meant he didn''t have as many crowd control abilities as an Ice Mage.


    Both of them relied on strong attacks, so it just depended on who could get theirs in.


    Visually, Fat Monkey was at a disadvantage because he had to keep running away. No matter how good his equipment was, he was still a Mage. Without crowd control skills, he had to keep running because once the Berserker got into range it would be over.


    Any form of fixed combat style was a lie. If a player rigidly stuck to their combat style, then they would stand no chance.


    Fat Monkey was usually quite active, and liked to rush in to kill his opponent. Many people would think that this was his style, but he wasn''t a fool, and he wouldn''t rush at a Warrior.


    Dragon Flame was desperately trying to keep up with him.


    With once chasing and the other desperately escaping, a na?ve person would think that the person chasing had the upper hand.


    But in fact, Dragon Flame was also having a hard time trying to work out why this Mage was so fast. How many pieces of movement speed equipment was he wearing?


    Stop running!


    Fat Monkey: "Do you have what it takes to catch me?"


    As he ran, he continued to cast fire skills, so Dragon Flame was continually taking damage too.


    If Dragon Flame had known, he would have invested more into movement speed¡­ if he had known he would have trained more in movement, if he had known¡­ he wouldn''t have gone first! He would let this old mage fight whoever and then he could bully them instead.


    But in this world, there was nothing much that could be done about that kind of regret. Who knows? If he had faced Mu Qiu, he might have fared even worse.


    Maybe he could defeat Soulless Grass, but he was already 20 years old, so it didn''t feel like there was much glory to be had in defeating a 15 year old kid.

 1701 Poster Boy

    Dragon Flame''s target was to be the best newcomer in the Donghua Cup. As long as he could win against Fat Monkey, this was almost guaranteed. Although now, Fat Monkey wasn''t a celebrity competitor, his strength was on par with that of the other competitors. He and Kitty Likes Meat had defeated celebrity competitors many times before.


    These intentions were swept away along with Dragon Flame''s decline and fall. In the end, he still hadn''t defeated Fat Monkey.


    The second one to enter the stage from Glory Capital was Happy Scrolls.


    There was a long love-hate relationship between Thieves and Mages. Both wanted to say they were better than the other. Happy Scrolls'' way of fighting wasn''t like Blood Dagger''s at all. He acted stupid but was actually quite effective; his actions seemed slow but everything still seemed to fall into place.


    Fat Monkey hated this sort of dawdling opponent, but his opponent was a Thief, so he didn''t have control of the fight at all. Fat Monkey could only respond and follow along.


    "He''s really such a patient competitor," Lu Li said with shame.


    "Looks like he has control over the monkey," Square Root 3 responded with a nod. He was also watching the competition, sitting at Lu Li''s side. Being an important figure within the guild, he rarely had time to relax. Even if he was relaxing, this was the way he would relax. He really was a workaholic.


    "Monkey still needs to cultivate himself," Lu Li said.


    "What do you think of these Glory Capital competitors?" Square Root 3 asked. They weren''t here to know the result of the competition, but rather were here to observe at Glory Capital''s new players, as well as how their own new members were going.


    "They''re all damn good. Glory Capital''s hidden talent is coming out strong. Before, they always went on about how they had their hidden talent and traditions, but now we know what it all actually means. This is a big, heavy burden, Three," Lu Li lamented.


    "But there''s no need to be discouraged. We''re already doing a great job," Square Root 3 replied.


    "Still not great enough, I''m planning to increase the training program. Hopefully more people will assure us the victory the next time we have a Stronghold battle," Lu Li said, his gaze cast away.


    "That''s gonna be hard. Even Glory Capital''s been defeated by us ¨C who do you think would dare to attack our strongholds?" Square Root 3 questioned painfully. The scene in front of them seemed to reflect this. Glory Capital had been thoroughly defeated twice. Other clubs just had to think about it and they''d know that they wouldn''t be able to make it.


    They could predict what the next Stronghold battle would be like. Everyone would skip over Ruling Sword''s stronghold. No one would be willing to pay the high price to try to attack and pillage it.


    Deception!


    Lu Li suddenly had a toothache. Sorrowless really was an idiot, doing nothing but looking hard at how his own club was going.


    "Do you want to do something a bit dodgy?" Lu Li asked, suddenly thinking of an idea.


    "Dodgy? How, how can you do that here?" Square Root 3 cried out, showing that his goodness limited his imagination.


    "Aren''t there a lot of people here who want to buy a Stronghold from us? We can sell it to them, then after, we can attack¡­Um, what''s this expression you''ve got? You don''t think my plan will work?"


    "Lu Li, this would be too damaging," Square Root Three said, speechless. "When people sell things, they''ve got to have some after-sales service, but not you. You''re just selling it, then snatching it back. Who''s gonna ever buy from you again? Even if you want to do something else, you''re going to give people a bad impression."


    "Hehe, it''s just an idea, that''s all."


    Even so, Lu Li still felt uncertain deep inside. If they did it once, it would actually make them a lot of money.


    If one Stronghold was going for 50 million, countless clubs would be rushing for it. He would choose a club of average strength, then he would simply fight for it back.


    As for whether it would impact their reputation, he really didn''t care.


    "We''re people with a name. We can''t keep going in this way," Square Root 3 said, solidly against Lu Li''s shameless plan.


    "Then what do you say we do then? How about we don''t spend any money?" Lu Li suggested.


    "Should we spend, or can we spend? As long as we leave a little behind it''ll be fine."


    Square Root 3 looked at the scene, where Fat Monkey had been drawn into a passive battle. He then continued, "Lu Li, what do you think about this Sky''s Darkness here? He''s actually really on my mind."


    "Not bad at all, but not as good as March."


    In Lu Li''s mind, March Rain was the model priest.


    "Isn''t that nonsense? How can you even compare them," Square Root 3 said.


    "But he''s still pretty good. Their three new players this time weren''t bad at all either. They''re stronger than ours," Lu Li said, hiding a bit of discontent in him. How could the new members of his team lack this combative spirit? He didn''t think about how long his Sharpening Centre had been established. The two new players had to receive training, but on the other hand, they had to dedicate so much to level up at the Instance Dungeons.


    "Of the five new people, two of them are orphans. Did you realise?" Square Root 3 reminded.


    " I only know Sky''s Darkness was like this, born in an orphanage to unlucky parents. He shouldn''t be the child of a big family ¨C that''s what all the TV dramas are like, like Dynasty and all that," Lu Li said, his imagination blossoming.


    "Oh, can you not always watch those damned TV dramas," Square Root 3 sighed.


    "I watch them with my sister. So what? You''re just jealous you don''t have a sister. Xin''s so happy when she watches those shows," Lu Li said, defending his rights. He usually played games by himself, and Lu Xin usually went out doing stuff, so there was rarely the chance for the two of them to just get together and relax.


    Just watching shows at home!


    "Fine, fine, let''s not talk about this anymore. What I mean is, we don''t have to set our sights so high. We can''t raise a normal child," Square Root 3 said.


    "I get it, three, you''ve got your sights set on the crazy kid."


    "Damn you!" Square Root 3 swore, giving him the finger.


    "Actually, I''ve thought about this before too. I grew up in the Common District, so I know what it''s like. What you say is right, but a lot of kids there have issues, so it''s hard to take care of them."


    Evidently, Lu Li was just joking then.


    "I still believe people are good at heart."


    "You''re an idealist, Three. Over there, good people can''t survive, especially the orphans you were talking about. I don''t like people with no bottom line."


    "We''ve got so many trainers. I''ve seen them; I think they''re pretty free most of the time. Butterfly Dancer hates to see bad things done. Teaching them wouldn''t be a problem at all," Square Root 3 countered.


    Ruling Sword''s training camp for newbies was officially called the Sharpening Centre. There were four instructors with Cat Dad being the leader. He was the veteran there, having done the most for the Sharpening Centre since it was established, and his daughter also contributed to Ruling Sword. They were all valuable parts of the team.


    Then there was Dawn Peak. He was an instructor for real combat, and was even greater than what people described him as.


    Butterfly Dancer was a mature girl, with a much better temperament compared to Dawn Peak. It was just that she really detested evil, like a proper married woman. She would really teach a lesson to those she didn''t see eye to eye with.


    Lastly, there was an old friend of Cat''s dad, Han Lengxian, an expert on game theory.


    He had come from Glory Capital''s Green training camp, but lost his job after graduating, so for over 10 years he had been researching theory behind the game.


    He was the Sharpening Centre''s theory expert. Lu Li had seen his training material and other resources, and it was all watertight. He also had a knack for summarizing the outcomes of battles.


    Now, Ruling Sword''s Sharpening Centre had 12 students altogether. There were originally 14, but two dropped out because they thought it too hard.


    Not only were there 4 instructors, but Ruling Sword had also hired a couple aunties to help out. It really was a waste for them to look after 12 students. Looking after 30 or 50 would be fine, after all, they could do a lot of things by themselves.


    If they couldn''t take care of themselves, how could they compete on the stage?


    "I''ll find someone to try it out," Lu Li said. There didn''t seem to be anything wrong with giving it a try. if it really didn''t work out then they''d just chase them away.


    Recently, he had been watching TV with Lu Xin, and often saw how the main characters were independent. Those orphans raised from birth were so loyal and devoted. He could only curl his lips and smile coldly. It was really too na?ve.


    At the end of the day, human nature was the most complex.


    On the arena, Fat Monkey had already been defeated.


    Happy Scrolls was overjoyed, but this quickly turned when he saw that the entering the stage from Ruling Sword was Soulless Grass.


    Fighting with another melee player, especially a big, brawny Berserker, would not be advantageous for a Thief.


    In the current patch, a Thief basically had no way to win against a Berserker of the same level, unless there was a significant difference in their mechanics. After a short while, he was killed in Soulless Grass'' Whirlwind.


    Soulless Grass was extremely calm but bold in battle. He had defeated an opponent, but he immediately turned into a shy boy afterwards.


    His still stature made all the audience around Lu Li adore him. Everyone seemed to like the new kid. At the end of the day, this world focused on appearances more than anything.


    If it was am ugly person in the same position, it would be the complete opposite!


    Soulless Grass could definitely be a good poster boy.


    Originally, Wandering was nicer, but it was a shame this handsome lad was crazy and his mouth was too dirty. Apart from his diehard fans, others couldn''t stand him and would shower him with vitriol if they got the chance.


    "Wandering, I really like you! I like you so much my heart breaks."


    "You didn''t bring an umbrella when it rained. Hey, your brain is full of water! Take a look at your ugly face ¨C who are you to like me?"


    Soulless Grass wasn''t like this. He was young and handsome, looking heroic in his armor. He was gentle and polite when speaking with others, as well as a little shy¡­

 1702 Fainted

    It was a shame he was still too young. No matter if it was Lu Li or Square Root Three, he didn''t give them the chance to talk straight business with him.


    If Ruling Sword had as many suitable new players as Glory Capital, they wouldn''t let a 14 year old go on stage. Glory Capital easily influenced their worldview, but you had to be patient and endure to really go far.


    Soulless Grass was defeated by another one of Glory Capital''s players.


    Then, Mu Qiu went on and defeated this player. The final score was 3-2, with Ruling Sword leading by 1.


    Finally, they had to play out the group competition. Both sides just had five competitors, so they didn''t need to decide who would go on.


    The Donghua Cup didn''t have any perfect rules to begin with.


    Lu Li and Square Root Three shut themselves up ¨C the match would be commencing straight away. If they kept on chatting, then it would look like they didn''t really care about the competition.


    In the group competition, Ruling Sword was a little weaker. This was a fact without a doubt.


    Lu Li felt that their own Princely Beauty was far off from their opponents. However, even at her own mediocre level, she somehow hoped Wandering could wait for her to grow up to get married. It was a good thing their own girls in the team weren''t infatuated with Wandering''s permanent good looks.


    If something like that really happened, Lu Li would be the first to scold him.


    Dragon Flame didn''t face off against Fat Monkey this time ¨C instead, he was pursuing Soulless Grass, and was crushing him.


    It was a good thing that Mu Qiu, who was the most experienced here, managed to somewhat stabilize the battle.


    Changing his output and wielding his Sword of the Brotherhood, Mu Qiu was far more amazing than many celebrity competitors.


    The first one to be snet off was Princely Beauty. The little maiden did her best, but she was too young, being tricked by a false attack and not responding in time. After being deceived a few times she was finally completely out of mana.


    Without healers, fatal attacks would definitely be fatal, but it still wasn''t enough to say all hope was lost.


    However, when Short Road fainted, Lu Li couldn''t bear to watch this group of pitiful children any longer.


    It was his own fault ¨C how could he have let them on stage?


    It wasn''t the first time Short Road fainted either. Although it didn''t happen as often as it did in the beginning, it still happened when he was too nervous.


    It looked like in the future they''d have to wait for Short Road to fully recover before he could properly compete again.


    There wasn''t any more suspense after that. Glory Capital ended up winning the competition.


    They were really actually quite gloomy. They were originally going to kill Ruling Sword''s priest, and after they won, there wasn''t any more suspense.


    When they started, it looked like they had been set up.


    It was only until Ruling Sword''s few competitors were unable to remain focused on fighting and they looked at Short Road that they believed. That way, they were sure that they had won the competition, but they had won it without putting up a fight.


    It looked Ruling Sword wouldn''t win unless some sort of miracle happened.


    There was no miracle and they won ¨C how great!


    In this way, the competition between Ruling Sword and Glory Capital officially ended.


    Ruling Sword received 3rd place in the Donghua Cup, leaving the competitors disappointed, especially Princely Beauty and Short Road. Taking the blame, he was very apologetic, but Lu Li and all were very understanding.


    Right from the beginning, this competition wasn''t about getting results.


    Princely Beauty probably became aware of her shortcomings through this competition. Hopefullym she would find some time to train in between chasing after Wandering.


    Soulless Grass won a whole of female fans. In a few days, there would be companies asking him to be their spokesperson.


    Even Mu Qiu and Fat Monkey would have rewards.


    After the Donghua Cup ended, they were preparing for the second league match. This was a formal competition. Everyone was giving up all they had to get the first prize.


    It would difficult for Ruling Sword to win two trophies. Lu Li sometimes didn''t even really want to think about it.


    The final deciding match of the Donghua Cup was on the second day. Glory Capital were against the Gangnam Royals, so there was certainly no suspense as to the outcome of the battle. Even so, the high-level players that Gangnam Royals hired were still not worse that those new players that Glory Capital had been training up for many years.


    This was the same as many a Donghua Cup before. Glory Capital took the first place as they had always done.


    Lu Li wouldn''t let these people like Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu participate in the next Donghua Cup. Next time, Short Road and Princely Beauty along with Soulless Grass would be the main force. From their current performance, they might not even get into the top 10, let alone the top 3.


    This time, Fat Monkey and Mu Qiu were the decisive factors.


    The road of growth for a competitor was crooked and difficult. If everything went smoothly for them, their careers would be propelled into limelight.


    Truthfully, most competitors had already experienced setbacks. If they didn''t go through at least a few of these setbacks, then they couldn''t say they had complete experience.


    Lu Li hoped that the competitors who left the Sharpening Centre would go through their own struggles to grasp the reality of victory.


    After the second day of the Donghua Cup ended, another two students chose to leave the Sharpening Centre, the reason being because they weren''t allowed to compete. They were clearly older and a little stronger than Princely Beauty and Soulless Grass, so why weren''t they allowed to participate? That initial promise never came to fruition.


    Lu Li could only laugh at this.


    It wasn''t untrue that they were older ¨C it said so on their ID.


    But to say that they were stronger than Princely Beauty and Soulless Grass was just being too egoistical.


    It was true that Lu Li promised before that if there was a chance, they could participate. He had denied them of this opportunity, so it looked like he was in the wrong, so there wasn''t much chance of him being able to argue his way out of it.


    This whole situation was all like a damn zoo.


    That was what Lu Li felt like. Looking at the ten remaining people, he didn''t feel too sure of himself.


    These kids had more or less come from good backgrounds, and apparently, they even understood laws and contracts.


    "Who else wants to go, then?"


    "I¡­I won''t go, not even if you force me away," Soulless Grass stammered. However, he was only the first one to speak. He felt he had found worth in life, although he didn''t win.


    Through all these things happening, this new kid''s ambition was ignited.


    "Wherever my man goes, I''ll go. If my man doesn''t go, I won''t go, hahaha¡­"


    The little maiden looked as if she was crazy. Who knew when she would be able to get Wandering to stand beside her?


    Both of them had entered the arena, so they had no ill feelings towards Lu Li. But what about the other eight?

 1703 Why Be Cut Off?

    "Can we go?" one of them asked in confusion.


    "We can just leave, no strings attached?" another asked.


    "Yep, if you want to go, go," Lu Li said with a dark expression.


    The other higher level ones didn''t say anything. Although they had already spent quite a lot on these people, if their hearts weren''t in it, forcing them to stay would be even worse.


    Simply said, it was simply that the regulations stipulated in the contract weren''t strict enough.


    What was more, any club which was training new people couldn''t guarantee they would stay. People coming and leaving were very normal, and they were all used to it now anyway.


    "Then¡­then I''ll go back and pack my things," the first one said.


    "Thank you everyone for looking after us during this time. I hope we can meet again in future," the second also said politely.


    "See you," a third one grinned, thinking that leaving really wouldn''t be this easy.


    And so, three of them went, meaning that five had left in total.


    The remaining three had relatively firm expressions. Lu Li recognized them, remembering that they had come from the same place as friends. They weren''t in amazing shape, and actually, they were a little foolish, but since they decided to stay, he decided that they were good kids.


    From their gaming IDs, it looked like they were brothers: Sikong Che, Sikong Liang and Sikong Ming.


    However, everyone was used to calling them Sikong Fool 1, Sikong Fool 2 and Sikong Fool 3.


    Sikong Fool 1 beat his chest, saying, "Us three Sikong brothers aren''t ones to bite the hands that feed us. A man can''t sleep with two masters ¨C isn''t that right, 3?"


    "Sleep my arse."


    "Man, getting high with that!" Sikong Fool 2 beamed.


    What sort of people were these? Wasn''t it better to chase them away?


    "It''s my fault ¨C I never thought something like this would happen."


    Cat Dad thought his work wasn''t up to standard, or perhaps he was rushing too much to train to compete in the Donghua Cup, so he skimped on the mental and political education.


    "Leaving is fine. Wait a minute while we contact their families so they can arrive home safely," Lu Li said.


    "I know why they would leave," Sikong Fool 3 said with his hand on his chin, looking like he was speaking with great thought.


    "Because I didn''t let them compete?" Lu Li asked. He actually didn''t care much about why they left. Kids always changed their minds, they could leave without any reason.


    "There were a lot of clubs that had contact with us outside, wanting me to go with them. The pay is better than here in Ruling Sword, and they promise that they will let us compete really soon," Sikong Fool 3 said.


    "So, they''re being treacherous," Sikong Fool 2 added.


    "Us three brothers don''t care about them. We never thought there would actually be people who would betray the group. Just a few days ago they even said they would keep struggling along with us," Sikong Fool 1 said with great resentment.


    "I remember last time we were playing cards¡­ they still owe us money from that," Sikong Fool 3 piped up, suddenly realizing an important matter.


    "We didn''t think about chasing it up, but now that they''re leaving, we need to get it back. Let''s go! Get after them!" Sikong Fool 1 cried out in anger.


    "Haha, I never thought the day would come when we would get that money back. Bro, if there''s nothing else, let''s go demand our payment," Sikong Fool 2 agreed.


    The three high school students left, and Soulless Grass went with them too.


    Only Princely Beauty didn''t leave; she did not want to stop clinging onto Wandering''s leg.


    "Can we chase this one away too, or just get rid of her directly?" Wandering asked with a dark expression. If he wasn''t one to not hit women, and if it wasn''t for her age, he would let her know what it meant to be a level three black belt.


    He was so handsome, but he enjoyed to offend others with his malicious tongue. The reason he hadn''t been hammered by others was because his fighting level was off the charts.


    "Let''s continue the meeting," Lu Li coughed, ignoring him.


    Wandering couldn''t betray them ¨C he was part of the team that created Ruling Sword, so how could be betray himself? Also, this guy was so lazy he couldn''t make the effort to do anything. So naturally, his little admirer couldn''t betray the group either.


    As for this whole love to hate affair, unless Wandering and Azure Sea Breeze were going to get their marriage certificate any time soon, they wouldn''t worry about this whole thing for now.


    "There have been a lot of problems this time, but it''s a good thing they all came out now," Square Root 3 said, summarizing all that had happened that day. Actually, he was against having new people compete in the Donghua Cup so early. He also knew about how other players had approached the new recruits in the Sharpening Centre.


    Everyone there knew about it, but they just didn''t know how to deal with it.


    They couldn''t stop this issue; it wasn''t the sort of thing that could be forcibly prevented.


    As soon as the Donghua Cup started, Short Road had attracted a lot of attention.


    Princely Beauty and Soulless Grass actually weren''t bad either. They were even able to attract the attention of Glory Capital''s Green training camp. All the big clubs couldn''t sit still, reaching out to the Sharpening Centre in droves.


    The three who had gone on to compete were still fine. Road couldn''t leave, as he and Lu Li had a strong deal. Unless they could find someone more handsome than Wandering, Princely Beauty would stay, and Soulless Grass didn''t look like someone who was easily swayed.


    Those who hadn''t competed were less predictable though.


    They could only watch on from the sidelines.


    "I''m stronger than Short Road! If you swapped him with me¡­I''d definitely be able to take over."


    By the time Ruling Sword lost to Glory Capital, having only achieved third place, these players were even more determined in desire to leave.


    To begin with, Ruling Sword wasn''t the legendary victor who would win 100 out of 100 battles, so why did they have to stay here to suffer this sort of ''humiliation''?


    So at this, of the original 14 new trainees, there were only 5 left.


    "On the bright side, if these five don''t go, we have our team for the next Donghua Cup," Lu Li joked. The other instructors also followed along laughing.


    Although there were a lot of new trainees in Ruling Sword''s training camp, those which had entered didn''t become competitors. The players that left didn''t amount to a huge loss for Ruling Sword. It just didn''t leave them with a pleasant taste in their mouths.


    The departure of new people didn''t detract from the foundation which had already been established.


    "Still looks like we need to get more people," Cat Dad said. "This time we''ll attract instructors, and solve the problem from the roots."


    "Strengthen thought education. When we select them, we''ve got to consider their own moral conduct too. We also have to improve the conditions of the contract, so that they won''t want to leave when they''ve tasted what we''ve got to offer," Butterfly Dancer said, offering her own opinion. She was usually very nice to these kids and it never crossed her mind that they would just leave when they wanted. It really made her quite disappointed.


    "The stuff we talked about a couple days ago, how''s that going?" Square Root 3 asked, bringing up what he discussed with Lu Li last time when they were watching the competition.


    After everyone heard this, they began to fall silent.


    Getting people from the Common District ¨C would this be feasible?


    Yes, of course, the feasibility of this was very evident. Kids of the Common District were used to working very hard, and they were easy to maintain. If they were given a chance, then they would do all they could for it.


    However, their weaknesses were also very evident.


    They more than likely had questionable ethics and morals. If someone came to them waving money, those who were poor their whole lives really might not be immune to the temptation.


    "We can''t rush this issue. I''ve already got people coming over. They should be here soon, Lu Li said.


    The people coming were Buggy and Blacky. They rarely travelled over to Ruling Sword''s turf, and they also knew that Lu Li wasn''t too fond of seeing them.


    Why did they have to part ways like that? It really was a matter of forgetting his roots.


    By the sneering way that Buggy usually spoke, it didn''t look like he had come from the Common District.


    Of course, they all had unconditional faith in each other as always.


    They were basically sworn brothers for life.


    Some knew what these people did, and others didn''t. Now though, everyone basically was aware.


    "What''s up? Li, bro, we''re at your command," Blacky said respectfully.


    Buggy didn''t speak up. He didn''t really have much to speak about with Lu Li.


    "I need some people from our Common District, aged 10 to 15 and a little more active. You go have a look first, and observe what their character is like. If it looks like they won''t betray us, send them to me," Lu Li instructed secretively.


    "We don''t have anything there, just lots of people," Blacky said with a twinkle in his eye.


    "In the future, these people may end up on the stage. If they''re not successful, they''ll become Elites in our guild, and that will be good too. You can be a bit flexible with age," Lu Li added.


    "We have to have our share too. We''ve got too few people," Buggy said.


    "Up to you. You pick some and give the rest to me," Lu Li agreed, not minding. However, he knew that Buggy wouldn''t pick away the best. They had this implicit understanding between them.


    "After entering the club, they''ll be divided into different levels. They''ll have to keep going through tests and trials before they have the ability to go on stage," Han Lengxian said. He had done some research into club-control, and had made his own suggestion towards the Sharpening Centre.


    "I agree with teacher Han. I''d like to trouble teacher Han to concretely set out the club rules," Lu Li requested.


    Specialist duties were handed over to the specialists.


    In this way, Ruling Sword would never fail to have fresh blood come in, from where Lu Li had come from himself. In the beginning, he played Dawn to give his little sister a new life, not wanting to come in contact with that place again.


    However, he never truly forgot his roots. The Common District of Jiangnan City was in the middle of massive developmental change. Buggy was working on it, but the idea and capital was coming from Lu Li.


    However, when Lu Li had established himself, only then did he realized that the idea of being cut off from this past was a little immature.


    No one can truly be cut off from their past, and there wasn''t any need to either.


    From then on, the Common District and Lu Li were linked together again, and the club of Ruling Sword decided to always have some association with it. Countless high-level players from the Common District had their origins here, beginning a new life.


    All of these things were handed over to Cat Dad, Buggy and Blacky to be dealt with. Lu Li was still focused on Instance Dungeons.


    In the first week, they hadn''t even finished analyzing all of Ouro''s skills, let alone progressing to the next Boss. The other clubs were like this too. The official message board was filled with protesting messages. No one thought this Boss could be killed at all any time soon.

 1704 Bear Tank

    Apparently, some commanders of other clubs were so rushed in their commanding that their voices grew hoarse. The people entering the Instance Dungeon kept on changing, and some poor player''s DKP was quickly depleted.


    However, on Lu Li''s side, he didn''t seem worried at all.


    When he didn''t have anything to do in the Instance Dungeon, he chatted with Water Fairy. Occasionally, the two of them would just spend some time together by themselves, or mess with Azure Sea Breeze for a bit.


    Under his leadership, the whole team atmosphere was very relaxed.


    Other commanders of teams were the type who would rage, but here, it was the team members complaining about their commander, frustrated at his lack of care.


    This messy lack of care continued over the past couple weeks, before everyone suddenly realized that they had seen all this Boss had to offer in terms of skills and mechanics. Compared to the others, their improvement was much quicker. Glory Capital didn''t know about this. Besides, it was crystal clear that they were doing this Instance Dungeon in alliance with Blood Red War Flag.


    Sand Blast was Ouro''s most commonly used skill.


    It was cast once every 22 seconds and affected a 180-degree area, dealing 3500-4500 damage at a distance of 45 yards. Those who were caught in the blast fell into a spinning state for 5 seconds, not being able to move. You could drastically decrease your aggro to resist the blast straight away. The Sand Blast targeted those with the highest aggro, regardless of whether the target was actually in range.


    A Sweep would be used every 15 seconds and attacked in a full 360 degrees around the Boss. The range was about 15 yards, and it dealt 1000 damage to the Main Tank (2000 to a Thief). It also repelled those within range, and also decreased their aggro.


    Then, there was Summon Ouro Mound, which would be cast at the same time as Burrow. Four mounds would chase after their targets.


    After 30 seconds, the mounds would release insects, with Ouro boring down into the ground.


    Ouro didn''t have many skills. The first two were commonly used, approximately once every 30 seconds. The latter three skills were often cast together, at intervals of around 2 minutes.


    Aside from this, when entering the 3rd stage, Ouro would cast a new skill ¨C Spikeweed. This mainly targeted ranged units, dealing over 5000 damage.


    Lu Li spent two weeks progressing into the 3rd stage and witnessed the one-shot power of these spikes.


    "There''s no way to keep fighting," Azure Sea Breeze said, kneeling on the ground, looking weary and helpless. It appeared as though he was destined to fail.


    "Yeah, it''s too hard."


    Lu Li didn''t disagree. Ouro was the hardest Boss they had encountered, even more so than the Twin Emperors which had taken two cooldowns to defeat.


    "Soulless Grass, what are you doing?" Azure Sea Breeze questioned as he began to struggle.


    Nothing terrible had happened ¨C Wandering had just rounded up Fat Monkey and a few others to sit on top of Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Ooh, yeah, it''s too hard." Wandering was sitting comfortably, not thinking about him at all.


    Quarrelling and fighting. This was the atmosphere of Ruling Sword at this moment in the Instance Dungeon.


    "Boss, how long do you think it''ll take for us to take down this Boss?" Fat Monkey asked. After the Donghua Cup, he couldn''t even find a reason to slack off.


    "My guess is maybe another 2 weeks," Lu Li answered.


    He wasn''t just speaking nonsense. In his memory from his last life, Glory Capital had taken 80 days to finish off Ouro, which was close to 3 months. Ruling Sword really wasn''t much stronger than Glory Capital, but Lu Li had some strategies that could help them.


    With his input, seemingly intentional or otherwise, Ruling Sword was able to complete in two weeks the quest which originally took Glory Capital two months.


    With the knowledge of all of Ouro''s skills, as well as some ''accidental'' research to discover how to target these skills, Lu Li conservatively gave an estimate two 2 weeks for the team to get used to how Ouro worked. If nothing out of the ordinary happened, it would take even less time.


    "It was the spikes just then ¨C we couldn''t deal with those even if we had two months," Fat Monkey said in astonishment.


    He had just been killed by that Spikeweed.


    "Actually, there was a sign that came with the Spikeweed. I thought it was just mounds to begin with but now that I think about it, it''s not really the same as that mound skill. You just have to avoid it when it moves around. Then, you can avoid the spikeweed damage. Am I right?" Sky Moon asked. He was a player with very detailed observation skills.


    Lu Li realized that since Sky Moon entered the team, he didn''t have to worry about his reborn identity being discovered.


    Lu Li just needed to give a hint and the others would figure it out. Things would end up going even better than what he expected. If the whole general situation went smoothly, then Lu Li would have to step down gracefully and let Sky Moon take the lead.


    "Yeah, everyone pay attention. Moon here has been really observing carefully," Lu Li praised.


    "Why don''t you let Moon command?"


    According to the order set out, the three of them followed the principle of 3/1/1. Lu Li commanded three times, while Wandering and Sky Moon commanded once each, giving Lu Li time to rest.


    However, this guy Wandering was so lazy he didn''t even want to command once.


    "If you''re not tired, we''ll do that."


    Lu Li didn''t oppose this. When Wandering was lazily slacking off and didn''t want to waste his brain cells, he would definitely not be able to command as well as Sky Moon, who was still young and had energy. Wandering was already prematurely entering into his later years.


    "Sure."


    What else could Sky Moon say?


    Thieves were in a relatively awkward position against this Boss. Lu Li and Water Fairy had to avoid Sweeps and definitely couldn''t acquire too much aggro, while maintain a high output at the same time. In order to reduce aggro, they had no choice but to run over to the Main Tank and tank the Sand Blast.


    Although those who were attacked by the Sand Blast incurred high damage, their aggro would be cleared.


    Lu Li had chosen two pieces of equipment from the guild storehouse that increased Nature Resistance. What was more, he had more HP than the average Thief, so occasionally tanking a Sand Blast wasn''t too much of a problem. Water Fairy was in a similar situation, but it was better for her to have some better equipment.


    Lu Li''s current equipment wasn''t as good as Water Fairy''s.


    There were a lot of items that he hadn''t updated. Some of them didn''t have any special effects, and some of them weren''t replaced simply because he hadn''t come across anything better.


    If Bosses didn''t drop any Thief equipment, what could he do?


    Furthermore, there was his ring. It looked like he would have to wait until next year when more areas were opened up.


    This Boss wasn''t friendly to melee players. He had to keep on moving, so in terms of DPS, he was completely outclassed by the Magic players.


    Sky Moon didn''t command this battle any differently. He used the same tactics that Lu Li had before, such as having two Tanks at the front and back. When the Main Tanks were knocked out by the Boss and the aggro cleared, the secondary Tank would stand over and Taunt. After the crowd-control duration ended, the Main Tanks would then run back to where the Secondary Tank was just standing.


    Because aggro didn''t clear reliably, Hunters became the main damage output force.


    As soon as Feign Death came off cooldown, they would cast it again to clear away their aggro. It was much more convenient than for any other role.


    Priests also had a similar skill called Fade. After casting it, their figure would gradually blur, and the aggro they accumulated would correspondingly decrease.


    When they had teammates, a Priest could use this skill to avoid one attack. However, if their teammates had died, there was no use. It didn''t truly conceal their figure like Stealth.


    Seeing the number of people dying continuing to increase, with even a Tank dying, Sky Moon found time to chat with Lu Li while commanding.


    "Actually, I think we can use a Bear Tank."


    "A Bear Tank? Why?" Lu Li didn''t really understand.


    "I feel like a Bear Tank is better to face off against Sweep. This skill is used way too often. The Warriors have to change their position to block it, which wastes a lot of Rage, and the cooldown time is relatively long too, so we can''t be too careless with it. It wastes a lot of time for the Warriors to go back and attack Ouro. Just then, a few died because of this," Sky Moon explained.


    "Sounds alright."


    Lu Li was a Druid in his past life, so he really understood this role.


    A Bear would charge once every 15 seconds, using up 5 Rage points. Every time there was a Sweep, they could block it first, building up aggro in the whole process.


    "The Bear Tank of the current patch¡­" Lu Li was actually a bit hesitant.


    It''s not that he hadn''t thought of this issue before. Drizzle Court''s Deep Watersong was outside, waiting for orders.


    "I know, they accumulate aggro relatively slowly, but as long as the equipment good, this won''t be a major problem," Sky Moon said, doubling down on his idea.


    "Fine, next time we''ll try a Bear Tank. It doesn''t reduce the number of Tanks we have anyway. One more Tank doesn''t matter. The way we''re dealing damage at the moment won''t be a problem now anyway." Lu Li thought they could try it. In his past life, he was aware of a similar strategy, but it just wasn''t very mainstream.


    They died very quickly this time.


    The first skill to be cast was Sweep, which was also the skill that the Boss used most frequently. Logically, it would be the easiest to deal with, but it was also the main culprit of team wipes.


    If there was a player within 5 yards of the Boss, then the Boss would bore into the ground once every 90-120 seconds. However, as soon as there was no player within 5 yards, it would bore into the ground straight away. The mounds and summoned insects that would follow could kill countless players.


    The Sweep would force a retreat. Sometimes, there was a problem with this retreat. Perhaps those who were forced to retreat couldn''t come back to aggro the Boss in time, and the Boss would Burrow into the ground again.


    Sky Moon thought for a long time and compared the methods that could be used. In the end, he felt changing to a Bear Tank was a way that might solve the problem.


    Lu Li wasn''t against this, but didn''t have high hopes either.


    Deep Watersong entered the Instance Dungeon.


    "Hehe, you''ve finally come."


    Previously, in another game, he had also played a defensive role, but was a Warrior or Paladin instead. In Dawn, Druids could be a Tank, a healer, deal damage, and could even act cute at the same time.


    Deep Watersong chose this role in the spur of the moment, and from that point on, never looked back.


    The earlier Instance Dungeons weren''t problematic for him. He relied on his own elite training, as well as a full suit of exquisite armor that had been given to him by his club.


    However, this didn''t cut it for large-scale Instance Dungeons. All too often, Druids simply couldn''t hold on, and they weren''t good at pulling aggro either.


    With such a weak role, wouldn''t the game company know buff it? The result was that the game company ended up increasing the Tree Sap''s healing, making Druids specialists in continuous healing. Bird Druids were strengthened later too, and had output that could be ranked first on a DPS list.


    They purposely didn''t make the Bear Tank more powerful, but even nerfed it twice.


    It was like a child raised by a stepmother!


    Out of all the elite players in the professional circles, he was the one who entered Instance Dungeons the least.


    He even suspected that he had already been forgotten by Lu Li.


    "¡­The situation is like this. I hope you can make up for the shortcomings of the warriors," Sky Moon said, then gave a detailed explanation to Deep Watersong as to why he had been brought in.


    "Relax, I''ve been watching the livestream the whole time. I''m very familiar with the Boss'' mechanisms and skills," Deep Watersong assured the commander as he nodded with excitement. This commander who he once thought wasn''t that great had given him a chance to show what he could do. Even if it was just to give them confidence, he still had to show what he was capable of.


    Some people had been waiting for orders for so long that they went back to do their own thing. After all, if they were called, they could immediately come back. With a Warlock on the team, they could be however far away they wanted and it wouldn''t matter.


    There were also some people who would watch the internal broadcast, constantly studying the Instance Dungeon and pretending they were on the stage as well.


    "All the best."


    Sky Moon was actually as nervous as Deep Watersong. This was the first time he had made such a big decision.


    Azure Sea Breeze was Lu Li''s best friend. It was said that when the game first started, they already knew each other. No one knew exactly how close they were, but in the First Clear team, Azure Sea Breeze was a sure presence and also very well received.


    No one would have thought that Sky Moon would change up Azure Sea Breeze''s role as Main Tank and swap to a Bear Tank, which was not so popular in previous patches.


    Sky Moon had been called up by Lu Li himself, and had no real achievements to his name. When it came to a First Clear attempt, he would come and command for a while, giving Lu Li some time to rest. If it wasn''t for Wandering being too lazy, he might not have gotten this chance.


    Or perhaps in an Instance Dungeon which they had already cleared, he would command the Elite groups.


    As for whether he achieve get First Clear under his command, even Sky Moon himself hadn''t considered it, let along the other players.

 1705 Successor

    Changing the Tank wasn''t the same as changing other roles. Other roles could be swapped easily and there usually wasn''t any big impact. Changing the Tank, especially the profession as well, would change the mechanics of the whole Instance Dungeon.


    When Deep Watersong entered the Instance Dungeon for the first time, the team''s performance was a farce.


    Ouro was more fearsome than ever. Deep Watersong had already followed everyone in watching the livestream countless times, but watching the livestream was completely different to experiencing the battle in real life. Furthermore, there was a difference in utilizing a Bear Tank and Warrior Tank, so the first time there was a Sand Blast, the whole team died.


    Sky Moon was dumbstruck. He looked to help from Lu Li, as if waiting for him to give his verdict on this result.


    Should Deep Watersong be swapped out again?


    According to his expectation, Deep Watersong Tanking this Boss should have some advantage, not to mention he also checked his equipment. In both Defense and HP, it was better than Azure Sea Breeze''s.


    "Continue ¨C you continue commanding. It''s allyours today," Lu Li said matter-of-factly as he took a potion.


    "Um, ok Boss. I''ll try my best," Sky Moon said somewhat nervously.


    "Take it easy, with this Boss¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t particularly unhappy, but he was just sharing his experiences with Deep Watersong.


    Actually, Azure Sea Breeze and Lu Li thought in similar ways.


    For Azure Sea Breeze, no matter what, Deep Watersong was still an outsider and couldn''t impact his position as the number one Main Tank in Ruling Sword.


    And to Lu Li, no matter how well Sky Moon did, it didn''t affect his position.


    He actually wanted to raise up a competent Instance Dungeon commander. This would release him from his heavy burden of commanding Instance Dungeons, as well as being able to make up for future shortcomings.


    Perhaps he himself really had talent for commanding, but when it came to what others thought of him, his reputation was better than the reality.


    What sort of person was Lu Li?


    The best Thief, Water Fairy''s boyfriend ¨C most larger clubs simply didn''t care about all this.


    In their eyes, the most menacing thing about Lu Li was the fact that under his command, there were almost no defeats at all. Since Dawn had been released until now, practically all the First Clears of the public Instance Dungeons were completed under his command.


    This one person was more fearsome than ten of best Thieves.


    No matter how hard they tried, the Instance Dungeon commanders and First Clear teams of other clubs couldn''t match how Lu Li seemed to command with such ease. It was if he was getting direct help from God himself.


    This ''help from God'' was actually mostly not what Lu Li had thought of himself, and it had nothing to do with talent.


    He had a lot of Instance Dungeon walkthroughs in his brain to keep up the pretense of being a ''genius Instance Dungeon commander'' for now.


    However, after level 60 or 70, would he still be able to guarantee that First Clears would still go to Ruling Sword!


    He could not!


    Commanding Instance Dungeons couldn''t simply be learnt by just studying hard. At a certain level, it was a matter of talent.


    Only God could give you this talent.


    In order to reduce the impact of this, Lu Li fostered his own growth on one hand, and on the other hand, trained his successors who would take over after his great reborn knowledge was used up.


    Whether Sky Moon could reach this level, he didn''t know. However, he was willing to give Sky Moon a chance, letting this unknown player show off his own amazing talent.


    As soon as they entered, they were sent out again. Deep Watersong didn''t know what to do. Even if they weren''t thinking about Deep Watersong, Lu Li also needed to consider how Water Fairy felt.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were in a honeymoon phase. Even if Lu Li wasted two or three days of progress for Water Fairy, he wouldn''t feel as though it was a big problem.


    Everyone took a brief rest. Deep Watersong, Sky Moon, as well as Azure Sea Breeze were feeling a little uncertain for a while, before they restarted the Instance Dungeon again.


    They went much better this time. Deep Watersong was the number one Main Tank of Drizzle Court, and really wasn''t much worse than Azure Sea Breeze in how he did things. With the Female Tycoon here, he naturally wouldn''t have to worry about equipment. The only thing lacking was understanding of actual combat against this Boss.


    The Bear Tank''s Charge cooldown was faster. Before, there was a higher chance of failure. Many times, it was because Deep Watersong had reflexes quick enough to avoid a crisis.


    In this way, the number of times the mounds came up was greatly reduced.


    Ouro''s three linked skills were really quite fearsome. Most team deaths occurred at this stage. It wasn''t as simple as knowing the skills that Ouro had. You were required to target them directly and deal with it.


    These three skills produced immediate effects. If a single reaction wasn''t correct or on time, it could lead to a whole group of teammates stumbling.


    Although Deep Watersong made some progress, it was impossible for him to fight any better than how Azure Sea Breeze had been going in the past couple of weeks.


    The second team death came quickly. The main responsibility again lay on the few Tanks responsible for drawing aggro. As soon as they entered the second stage, the team had died, with no chance to even try to salvage the situation.


    When Deep Watersong was watching the Instance Dungeon from outside, he couldn''t shake the feeling that a lot of people just weren''t performing up to standard. A lot of team deaths weren''t necessary. However, he needed to enter in to truly experience how difficult fighting this Boss was.


    "Is there something different happening?" Sky Moon asked uncertainly.


    "Have some more confidence. If you think it''ll work, you need to convince yourself first. Otherwise, how can you convince others that your decision''s right?" Lu Li responded. People with a discerning eye could see that a Bear Tank had a certain advantage against this Boss. How could Sky Moon, the initiator of this idea, not see this? He just needed to appeal to authority to give himself some confidence.


    Perhaps in other situations, a Bear Tank wasn''t as useful as a Warrior Tank, but the undeniable advantage here was that a Bear Tank guaranteed that there would always be a player within five yards of the Boss.


    "Just then, three people dodged the mounds poorly," Sky Moon said cautiously.


    "If you''re sure someone did something wrong, and it was an unnecessary mistake, then as a commander, you can give them a punishment. Moon, you''re the commander now. Even if I did something wrong, you could punish me," Lu Li said, trying to give him the most support possible.


    "Um, just then, when Water boss changed position¡­" Sky Moon began with an awkward expression, avoiding looking at Lu Li.


    "I really did mess up. Punish me however you should," Water Fairy responded calmly.


    Sky Moon was leading here. Deep Watersong had come in to act as the Main Tank and quite a few people didn''t approve of this, but this didn''t apply to Water Fairy.


    Deep Watersong was one of her people. If he didn''t do well, it reflected poorly on her too.


    Simply because Water Fairy was more concerned about the Main Tank''s situation, she was a bit less careful and made a mistake. She incurred damage from a mound, and a healer didn''t heal her in time, which meant that she was knocked out early.


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 1706 Working Together

    "Water Fairy is at fault ¨C 5 points deducted!"


    Since she had admitted her errors, Sky Moon wasn''t going to go easy on her.


    Now, everyone bucked themselves up. They were even more focused than when Lu Li was commanding, because they realised how ruthless Sky Moon was. He had even dared to take points off Water Fairy, and 5 points too!


    Five points was the upper limit for those who made more than one mistake. Under normal circumstances, two points were enough to make someone wince.


    People were probably not that worried when Lu Li''s points were deducted. After all, Lu LI was the type of person who would even take his own points off if he was being ruthless. Plus, they would be taken off more than once. However, Water Fairy''s points were rarely deducted by him. Even if it really couldn''t be justified, he would just take off one point.


    He was the boss here and the one who made the rules. No one else dared to object, except for Azure Sea Breeze. However, Lu Li had used the cold facts to tell him how narrow his mind was and how tragic his revenge would be.


    This punishment was a warning to others.


    The people present all weighed themselves and felt that they were nowhere near as untouchable as Water Fairy.


    Now, under Sky Moon''s command, the rate of progress of this Instance Dungeon resumed to its normal level again.


    Deep Watersong had been the Main Tank for the past two days, and could completely understand Azure Sea Breeze''s feelings. No matter what, he probably wanted to find a scapegoat.


    But no matter what happened, it seemed that the scapegoat was him.


    This was especially since he was the one that Lu Li, Wandering and Sky Moon all approved of. He couldn''t avoid the blame.


    On the third day, Deep Watersong cried and begged while making more promises, and finally got Azure Sea Breeze to agree to swap with him to be the Main Tank.


    When Azure Sea Breeze was Main Tank, Lu Li would command. When Deep Watersong was the Main Tank, then Sky Moon would be in command.


    The two pairs invisibly formed a competitive situation. If it wasn''t to ensure the progress of the First Clear, then Lu Li was likely to have split into two teams. He and Sky Moon would each have led one and competed fairly.


    As time passed, Sky Moon''s performance become more and more outstanding. Lu Li discovered in surprise that Sky Moon was kind of right. A Wild Druid''s advantage was as simple as running back to Ouro as quickly as possible.


    The current version of Wild Druids (including Bear Tanks), similar to other professions such as Shadow Priests, had no real sense of existence. Their skills were nondescript and they had no special equipment. In the early and middle stages of the game, there was only one level 40 Warder''s staff and Armor that suited Wild Druids.


    The Molten Core and Blackwing''s Nest only dropped a few suitable pieces, for example, the Taut Dragonhide collection. Thieves wouldn''t want Transmog sets, and every time they were dropped, the whole team would swear. Only the Druids would laugh behind everyone''s backs. It was only when the two Instance Dungeons of Ahn''Qiraj were opened up did they start to see more items. Even the T2.5 set was completely suited to Bear Tanks, which was considered a win for Wild Druids.


    However, a majority of Wild Druids couldn''t gain access into Instance Dungeons, so they didn''t even have the chance to gain equipment.


    It was only players like Deep Watersong who relied on super-guilds like Drizzle Court that could acquire such items. No matter how low the drop rate was, it wasn''t a problem.


    Or perhaps it was because of his profession that a majority of his items were not as good as Azure Sea Breeze''s.


    Lu Li had never experienced this stage, so he had no idea how to go about it. At the same time, in the same place of Ahn''Qiraj Temple, Wild Druids were given for the first time an official position.


    They played a vital role ¨C their high HP, high Armor and high Resistances all became decisive advantages.


    Of course, this wasn''t to say that a Warrior tank wouldn''t be capable. At the very least, Lu Li knew that a majority of First Clear teams used Warriors, but the tolerance rate for mistakes was just a bit lower.


    When the team was destroyed again, Lu Li felt that he needed to say something.


    "Actually, Breezy and Watersong, you guys can split the roles. Don''t think of yourselves as distinct Main and Secondary tanks."


    "It does seem like we can do that," Azure Sea Breeze agreed.


    "Another thing ¨C I reckon the whole team should focus a little more. I didn''t see the location of the last mould because I was completely blocked. I felt as though there were people everywhere and I was dizzy," Deep Watersong explained with a bitter smile.


    "That seems plausible," Sky Moon nodded, and began to think about how he could focus altogether.


    "We''ve got some Natural Resistance equipment here. Perhaps we can divide it up," Water Fairy suggested. She wanted to contribute more for this First Clear, but after some thought, it seemed like there weren''t many opportunities.


    In the end, she could only get purchase equipment from the market and clubs she had good relations with.


    Ouro''s biggest difficulties were like that of Ragnaros'' before. They both required a certain level of resistance; Ouro just required rarer Natural Resistance equipment instead.


    "Cold Chill seems to have a new type of medicine which can buff Natural Resistance. It''s just a little expensive. Drinking it for two weeks wouldn''t be financially viable," Wandering said.


    "Let everyone in the guild find their own ways to collect materials, I''ll go talk to them." Azure Sea Breeze decided to show his strength of rallying supporters. After all, it was impossible for the guild to pay such a high price.


    Everyone else was also thinking of solutions. Some even showed that they were willing to put money in themselves to fix equipment in case the guild couldn''t afford to.


    The constant fighting costed a lot, just in terms of equipment repairs.


    It wasn''t easy for everyone to earn a living. Ruling Sword had a decent amount of gold coins in the bank along with the alliance of Drizzle Court and Peerless City. The maintenance costs wouldn''t become overly problematic in the short-term.


    Then, there was the issue of everyone''s emotions. Sky Moon presented the idea that for every time that a team was wiped, five minutes should be set aside to rest.


    No matter being in or out of the Instance Dungeon, everyone needed to put on a performance.


    The point was so people couldn''t develop a mentality of being frustrated. After all, everyone was human and not robots. To keep doing the same thing over and over again everyday was bound to make even the most iron-willed people admit defeat.


    In Lu Li''s world, this idea of resting didn''t exist, but he wouldn''t disagree with this.


    Lu Li only criticised Azure Sea Breeze''s dirty jokes.


    There were many young girls in the team, plus some were still underage, so they had to keep things appropriate, no matter what.


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 1707 Pre-Battle Mobilization

    First Clearing was a rather boring process. Plus, you couldn''t just give up halfway, because going into the Instance Dungeon required a special state of mind.


    If you went and did something else halfway, then everyone would require additional time to refocus and adjust themselves again.


    Such a short time to rest didn''t affect this and would also allow them to feel more relaxed. Sky Moon had some of his own ways of dealing with certain aspects of this. Additionally, these small details were exactly what Lu Li lacked because his worldview didn''t include the possibility of mental fatigue in the first place.


    "How could you be picky when there were still games to play?"


    "How could you be picky when you were in an elite squad already?"


    "How could you be picky when you were participating in the First Clear?"


    "Look at those people who can''t even afford a helmet and have to work so hard to be satisfied. Look at those people who play all day and night and still don''t have a regular team. Look at those waiting on the outside who still haven''t gotten the opportunity to be substituted in¡­"


    What did people have to be dissatisfied about?! How dare they get fed up!


    If anyone dared to say this to Lu Li, that they were fed up with team being wiped again and again, then Lu Li without a doubt would let them know what being a ten-thousand-year-substitute meant.


    Sky Moon was more down to earth, so he could do things that Lu Li couldn''t.


    At this point in their dungeon run, Lu Li was shocked to find that they had progressed to the third stage.


    This was an amazing achievement!


    Now, they could consistently enter into the second stage, which at 60% of the Boss'' HP. This was an unbelievable thing in comparison with other clubs who were fighting Ouro at the same time.


    If the Little Red Dragon was hard enough to break ordinary guilds, then Ouro made the high-level clubs doubt their existences.


    Another week passed, and the Donghua Cup was completely settled. As expected, the Gangnam Royals were no match for Glory Capital. In the end, Glory Capital were the champions, the Gangnam Royals were runners up, and Ruling Sword was third. They had each won 10 million dollars, 8 million dollars and 5 million dollars respectively.


    Including the entry ticket income, Ruling Sword''s earnings were actually around 20 million dollars.


    Dawn''s influence was increasing at an alarming rate. If it were last year''s Donghua Cup, the third place would not have received 5 million dollars. It made sense now that Glory Capital had also created a Glory Cup to capitalize on this.


    If all went to plan, after the second half of this year''s Donghua Cup finished, Glory Capital would host the Glory Cup. This was a competition that did not care for clubs, but only personal charisma.


    To quote some experts, Glory Capital was prying in its own corner.


    Participants and the organising teams both put in money, and skipped the whole club stage, so everyone would naturally earn more. Each of the major clubs didn''t want to see this type of thing happening. If one player had too much, they would lose their drive.


    However, the phenomenon of players leaving clubs did not happen. Clubs were the soil for players to survive. Perhaps without soil, flowers could still bloom, but they would wither as soon as they appeared.


    Lu Li wanted to beat Sorrowless by one step and create a Ruling Cup, but he didn''t have such prestige.


    Not to mention, Lu Li was someone reborn and had experienced the Donghua Cup twice. He knew more than anyone else how successful Donghua Cup was. It was very likely that from now on, other than the professional league matches, there would be no other competitions that could be compared to it.


    The first Glory Cup was considered appropriate to the expectations. It was just a group of competitors performing, and the majority of fans were willing to pay for it.


    In the second Glory Cup, Sorrowless invited the top players of Dawn from all over the world, and pushed this competition to the international stage. Even the relevant departments showed great concern. If Lu Li was reborn at that time, no matter how crazy he was, he wouldn''t have the courage to challenge Glory Capital.


    Glory ¨C it was not only one person''s glory!


    After sublimation of the Glory Cup, Glory Capital also became the representatives Northern Chinese district. No one could move their position.


    Lu Li''s sense of crises was always switched on. Other people who observed Ruling Sword saw that their progress was catching up to nearly that of Glory capital''s position. However, only he himself knew that Sorrowless was pondering about some sort of gaming kingdom.


    If only it were he who organised a Ruling Cup professional league, invited players to form teams from around the world, carried out internal screening of each country, then carried out the competition on the basis of countries¡­


    Perhaps, it would be possible domestically, but the other players overseas would just laugh at him.


    Then, there would a huge group of people who would copy his model. However, everyone else was no match for Glory Capital. Sorrowless had unmatched capital and an enormous sphere of influence in the gaming circle, Lu Li would be no match for him.


    What Lu Li could do now while Glory Capital still hadn''t reached their greatest heights, was to try his best to compete.


    Lu Li didn''t take a cent of the Donghua Cup prize money. Other than distributing it to the participating players, the rest was used to First Clear Instance Dungeons. This time, all the high-level clubs were attempting Ouro, and even the overseas clubs were doing the same. Even though not everyone was going to be competing for the First Clear, once Ruling Sword achieved this, then these other overseas clubs would no doubt think that they were unrivalled, at least in terms of Instance Dungeons.


    The other previous Instance Dungeons didn''t have much interaction between domestic and international clubs.


    In any case, the club who got First Clear wouldn''t publicise their strategy. It was of no use to focus on them. Plus, the clubs overseas were indeed stronger.


    Ouro was the most classic example of this period of gaming ¨C the hardest Boss.


    Hence, everyone focused all of their attention onto him. Many people had put defeating Ouro on the same level as national honour. The one club who could kill this Boss would be considered as a national hero.


    It was entering the end of the third week, and Lu Li was slightly in the lead. He had entered the Beserk stage for the first time.


    Sky Moon had painfully found that he could be wrong. Bear Tanks couldn''t hold on and even Deep Watersong had to admit that his stamina was not enough.


    As Azure Sea Breeze became more and more skilled, everyone coordinated better, and the difference between the two Tanks grew more apparent.


    "Or perhaps we can try and integrate the two tanks together. Azure Sea Breeze can be the Main Tank and Deep Watersong can be the second. He himself is equivalent to two or three Warrior tanks. Then we can bring in more Berserkers. These Berserkers can hold down the beetles that come out of the ground. If they don''t damage the healers or DPS, then we naturally won''t need to worry about not having enough DPS in the third stage."


    This new strategy didn''t even match up with any of the strategies that Lu Li had in his head. This plan was completely new and had taken him and Sky Moon all this time to create.


    It left them only a week to the forecasted time of four cooldowns. Was it really appropriate to change plans now?


    It was a good thing to be courageous in trying new things. However, to enact such drastic change was generally not a good idea in First Clearing Instance Dungeons.


    Fortunately, this new strategy was complementary to the previous two types of strategies. It didn''t involve complexities of rearranging. Additionally, Deep Watersong and Azure Sea Breeze were very familiar with each other''s positions, so the two would work together seamlessly.


    Ouro as a Boss had many difficult aspects. For high-level teams, there were mainly just a few.


    Firstly, he would drill in 5 yards if there wasn''t anyone else there. Then, in the second stage, most players would not have enough resistance. Then, in the third stage, there was the spike weed, and lastly came the various problems of the berserk stage.


    The first and second problems could all be resolved by using Bear tanks.


    The third stage could be solved by swapping to Warrior tanks. Then, the Bear tanks could continue to address the previous two problems with their advantage.


    Lu Li had said before, that it was not simply an issue of emphasising who was Main and Secondary Tank between Azure Sea Breeze and Deep Watersong. In other words, no matter a Warrior or Druid, neither was enough to handle the responsibility of tanking Ouro.


    At the very least, the current version of Ouro was too powerful to be handled by any defensive profession on its own.


    The 4th week was the deadline given by Lu Li to everyone.


    Apparently, other clubs had made significant progress on their analysis of Ouro. Many Bear Tanks had already started to enter into Instance Dungeon. Druid equipment, which was initially unavailable, had now surpassed Magic equipment.


    Even some low-level Bear Tank equipment was affected too. It was as if Bear Tanks had suddenly become a popular profession.


    The officials had also stepped out and published comments along the lines of there being no strongest profession, only the strongest player. Any profession had its own advantages.


    The natural resistance equipment went above and beyond.


    If this had happened hundreds of years ago, everyone would find it hilarious.


    Desperation meant that playing games had a ridiculous future, but the development over a couple of a hundred years meant that people had long become accustomed to playing for wealth.


    "There are still two days remaining. If anyone has been saving something, now''s the time to bring it out. From now on, everyone can take whatever Resistance potions you have at liberty. The guild will reimburse you. As long as we get First Clear, all participants will be compensated, no matter in guild points or equipment. On top of that, the club will fork out 200,000 dollars as the celebratory prize for this First Clear."


    Lu Li started to mobilise everyone before the battle. Everything would come to fruition. If they still couldn''t defeat Ouro, then it wouldn''t be a problem that time could solve.


    Then, at that time, they would either wait for other clubs to get First Clear or wait for the officials to weaken this Boss.


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 1708 Potbellied Monster

    Now that Lu Li had mobilised everyone, people immediately began to bring out their trump cards.


    "Last time when I was strolling in the exchange hall, I saw this potion and was planning to use in the in a later critical stage, but I want to give it to Breezy. Hopefullym he can resist a while longer with it," one team member offered as he brought out his own personal collection of potions.


    "Wow, this is so good! How much did you get it for?"


    Even Azure Sea Breeze who was used to luxury items complimented it.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t keep people in suspense and sent it to the team channel straight away.


    This was a bottle that added 20 to all attributes ¨C +20 to all Defense, +20 to all Resistance, movement speed¡­


    Lu Li glanced at the instructions and found there was over a dozen things, even the obscure Attributes such as +20 anti-throwing, +20 high jump¡­


    What was even more ridiculous was that the potion''s effects would be sustained for a full 20 hours!


    No. 21 Potion ¨C what a simple name.


    Its creator, Roland, was a master apothecarist. Any apothecarist who had read medicinal books in the library would have heard of his name.


    He was a Troll apothecarist, who over his long life had seen countless herbs.


    "20 Gold coins."


    The person who presented this potion was a bit shy.


    "Are you sure it''s not 2000 or 20,000 gold coins? Only an idiot would sell it for 20 gold coins!"


    They were all elite players so of course they knew how rare this medicine was.


    Twenty points were not a lot, but they would be added to all Attributes.


    "I have three teleport scrolls and two revival scrolls. These are the last of my stash," Little Hachi Chan offered, unable to sit aside anymore.


    "Does this count as officials helping us cheat?"


    If there Hachi Chan was exposed as the Dawn gaming company''s treasure, then a lot of people would choose to believe it. After all, these five scrolls were more valuable than that potion.


    "I have a pet that can give Natural Resistance to everyone," Remnant Dream said.


    "¡­" Everyone stared at her, speechless.


    They felt an impulse to bury this fool in a pit. Why did she only speak now if she had such a valuable thing?! The reason why people kept dying was precisely because they needed this bit of Natural Resistance.


    "He''s a little ugly and scary¡­"


    If Remnant Dream explained herself, then she wouldn''t be beaten to death, right?


    Nevertheless, this did pique everyone''s curiosity. For such a sweet girl to label it as ugly, it must have been truly hideous.


    "See, you guys! This is what it looks like!"


    Remnant Dream put away her original pet and called another one.


    Hence, a potbellied monster appeared in everyone''s vision.


    Kitty Likes Meat stepped back. She finally understood Remnant Dream''s feelings. If she had a pet that looked like this, she would either hide it away so no one could ever see or just kill it straight away.


    "It used to be a cute Oozeling¡­"


    Remnant Dream was nearly in tears.


    Even though everyone didn''t know why Oozelings were considered cute, in order to care for her feelings, they expressed surprise and approval.


    "So, because it''s transformed into a potbellied-shape, it can only provide people with natural resistance?"


    Lu Li had never heard of this before, but he knew that monsters could morph.


    A majority people who had pets fed them ordinary meat, fish, fruit or grass.


    These foods could increase the pet''s satisfaction levels, and increase a degree of loyalty. However, if you wanted them to develop further, then this was simply not enough.


    Remnant Dream was a little rich lady. If it weren''t for her pets, she would be on the list of Dawn''s wealthiest players.


    Wealth lists were not determined solely by money. If a person bought a lot of gold coins from someone else, then no matter how much they had, they wouldn''t be recognized on the list. Only through earning money by your own hands could you achieve this.


    However, Remnant Dream had been in a long state of poverty. Sometimes, she couldn''t even afford potions.


    All the money she earned was spent buying food for her pets. Of course, all this money wasn''t spent on just ordinary food. The food menus for her pets at home were all luxurious.


    There were a few mercenary groups who specialised in her business and brought whatever her pets ate.


    At first, some people tried to scam her, but then Her Tears came to know about this.


    "How are there people who would cheat Remnant Dream?! She''s already this spaced out! That''s just sick! I need to teach them a lesson!"


    In the end, he brought a number of PVP players to teach the mercenary group a lesson. They were unable to conduct business for 2 weeks.


    From then on, no one dared to bully Remnant Dream. Word on the street was that to upset Remnant Dream meant being hunted by all the elite players.


    Of course, to mess with Little Hachi Chan was to have many NPCs hate you to the point of being attacked by them, so she was equally unaffordable to offend.


    "It''s all Hachi Chan''s fault! I don''t know what she fed my little softie, but it became fat and the colour changed to this. So, can you see why I can''t let it out?!" Remnant Dream cried out. She was considering unfriending Hachi Chan.


    "I¡­I didn''t know this would happen! My dragon loved to eat this type of fruit, and it was okay."


    Little Hachi Chan didn''t want to carry the responsibility.


    "Waaaaah¡­ My little softie was originally the same-coloured green as your dragon. Now it''s this yellow colour. How dare you say it''s got nothing to do with you! I want you to compensate me¡­ with gold coins!" Remnant Dream burst out in tears as she threw her pet onto the ground.


    Lu Li had a headache.


    "That''s enough you two. What skills does this potbelly have?"


    "Originally it had three skills, and now there''s one more ¨C a natural hug," Remnant Dream sniffed as she wiped away her tears and happily took the gold coins from Little Hachi Chan.


    "Natural hug¡­"


    Lu Li suddenly had a bad feeling about this.


    "As long as everyone hugs my little softie for ten seconds, they will gain 30 points of Natural Resistance," Remnant Dream explained, then demonstrated by hugging the yellow pile.


    The players'' faces looked uneasy, but they didn''t want to give up the 30 points of resistance.


    The previous potion only provided 20 points of Natural Resistance, while this one hug could give them 30 points alone. At present, the best Natural Resistance equipment added 50 points.


    "It''s really just a matter of 10 seconds."


    No one else moved, so Lu Li had no choice but to be proactive first.


    Azure Sea Breeze was a douche usually, but was he understood the principles in a critical situation and followed suit.


    "Speed is everything. We can get the gain status in just 10 seconds. We have 40 people, so that''s a lot of people to go through¡­"


    The third person who came up was naturally Little Hachi Chan. She was probably already used to this Oozeling.


    Other people had also overcome their psychological barriers as they grabbed the Oozeling one after the other.


    It seemed like a waste of time to devote that much time to just 30 points of Natural Resistance.


    Azure Sea Breeze gained 50 points of Natural Resistance in total, while the others gained 30.


    However, Remnant Dream couldn''t put the monster away. Once it was kept away, everyone would lose the status immediately.


    Luckily, even if the potbellied monster died, they would remain unaffected. Otherwise, they would have to guarantee the survival of the monster. This potbellied monster was considered a magic pet before it changed from an Oozeling. Its main attack was spitting. After its transformation, the first three skills underwent a degree of damage enhancement.


    Plus, its magic resistance was incredibly high, so it was unlikely to die before Remnant Dream.


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 1709 A Big Meeting

    While they were fighting in the Instance Dungeon, Square Root 3 sent a message.


    It was said that the major clubs were conducting a big meeting. This time, it wasn''t being led by Jade Flower Lover as usual, but by Sorrowless himself.


    Since it was Sorrowless calling the meeting, there was a stronger response.


    "What is the meeting about?" Lu Li asked. Since Sorrowless had organised a meeting and rushed to have it promoted, no one dared to ignore it and Lu Li didn''t want to be ignorant either.


    "I think it''s about Instance Dungeons," Square Root 3 said.


    "That''s fine, I''ll go have a look."


    Lu Li''s team was about to get wiped again. He left Sky Moon in charge and got a damage output player to replace him.


    Square Root 3 gave Lu Li a room number and a complicated password.


    After Lu Li entered, he was still surprised, even though he had mentally prepared himself. There really were hundreds of people in this chat room. Even if the room owner limited the number of messages that a person could send, the screen was still filled with messages.


    "Hey, Lu Li is here. Let me introduce you. Everyone, this is Ruling Sword''s representative. I''m sure everyone has heard this name before," Elevenless announced.


    "Why are you here? Where''s your big brother?"


    "Hey, can you not count? I am eleven and he is thirteen. I am obviously his big brother," Elevenless shot back. He seemed to care about what he was called.


    "What is the meeting for?" Lu Li asked, choosing not to bother with him.


    "I don''t know. The master hasn''t said anything yet," Jade Flower Lover answered somewhat bitterly. When he saw the authority that Sorrowless'' name commanded and compared to his, he just couldn''t help but feel sorry for himself.


    "There are some people who aren''t here yet. Please wait a bit longer," Wendelian said.


    She was a member of Gale Legion, so she naturally would be on Glory Capital''s side. She didn''t want Jade Flower Lover to spread dissatisfaction, not that it was likely to happen anyway.


    Everyone waited in the chat room for another half an hour as the number of people entering decreased.


    When people stopped joining, Lu Li found himself participating in a large-scale conference of the entire Chinese gaming circle. He counted up the players and found that more than 800 players were in this chat room.


    If every club or guild sent a player, then there would be more than 800 people.


    There weren''t this many large guilds, so Sorrowless had probably also invited medium-sized guilds that he considered to be top-notch. Lu Li wasn''t clear on what Sorrowless intended, but he had a few guesses.


    "Everyone has been waiting for some time. Thanks for that," Sorrowless began to speak. His voice made the rest of the room go quiet.


    "Everyone knows of the Instance Dungeon Boss Ouro. Well, the foreign regions have also reached this point of the game. I don''t know how they are going in the other regions, but defeating this Boss has now become a matter of pride for the Chinese region. As such, I invited everyone who is strong to be a part of this chat room."


    "Previously, there have been similar situations, but most of them have been about Wild Bosses. Some people have one, and others lost them, but we have never been left behind here in China."


    "But Ouro is different. The other regions reached this Boss before us, and they have specifically formed a strong alliance to defeat it. I even have received several reports that they have reached the stage of Ouro going Beserk. It is likely that they will achieve First Clear within the next 2 weeks."


    "Among us, we have the elite of the elite. Especially someone like¡­ Lu Li. What do you think?"


    Lu Li had been studying the clubs and guilds that were present. He didn''t expect to be questioned first. He didn''t want to just give away everything he knew. However, one couldn''t blame Lu Li either. He and Sorrowless were clearly rivals. The strongest impression Lu Li had of Sorrowless was that he was a mortal enemy.


    "Lu Li glanced at the messages that had been sent and quickly wrote up something


    "I strongly support everyone''s plan. This is a big deal that affects all of the Chinese region. As a member of this region, Ruling Sword will work hard to fight this Instance Dungeon. We will not allow the foreign regions to get ahead of us."


    "¡­" Sorrowless wanted to scold him. This Lu Li guy really wasn''t cooperating at all.


    If all Sorrowless wanted to do was to get everyone to fight in the Instance Dungeon, there was no real need for such a meeting. Even if he didn''t do this, everyone would still compete viciously to get Ouro''s First Clear.


    "Lu Li, how far has your First Clear team gotten?" Jade Flower Lover asked.


    There were more than 800 people in this chat room, but there were a few people dozen people whose chat wasn''t limited.


    These people all led guilds that were capable of taking down the Ahn''Qiraj Temple on their own. Then there were some guilds with some limitations on their messaging, because they weren''t capable of doing that. The guilds that were even smaller didn''t have messaging rights, and had to apply to send a message.


    This kind of ruthless hierarchy had been in the gaming circle for a long time.


    There were many people who hated this, but it was hard to change the system. Once they were in a position of privilege, they became strong supporters of the system.


    "We have reached the third stage, and we sometimes get it to Berserk," Lu Li answered, not hiding their progress.


    These 800 players represented the backbone of the entire Chinese gaming circle. There was no need for him to keep a low profile in front of these people. If Ruling Sword wanted to improve, they would eventually need to look to these people.


    "Berserk!"


    Sorrowless'' pitch got higher, and everyone in the room immediately understood what he meant.


    "It seems that Glory Capital has almost entered the Berserk stage too. We, Blood Red War Flag, aren''t too far behind. We can get it to go Berserk at least 4 out of 10 times," Jade Flower Lover said.


    If Jade Flower Lover said that they were still in the first stage, then Blood Red War Flag wouldn''t be able to call themselves a top 3 club anymore.


    "We are similar," Elevenless chimed in with envy.


    "We are a little worse. We are still on the third stage, but at the beginning. We lose too many players then, so we can''t get much further," Lucky Southern Persian spoke up. He was representing Seventh Heaven.


    "We are also in the third stage," Heart of War said.


    Everyone couldn''t help but express their surprise.


    This guy was really making a comeback!


    "I guess I don''t have to say anything, but our progress is the same as Ruling Sword."


    Water Fairy was still in the Instance Dungeon, so there were two representatives here.


    They hadn''t said anything until now, but everyone felt sick when they heard it.


    This three-guild alliance had taken so many First Clears. Drizzle Court and Peerless City had followed Lu Li to achieve great success. No matter what everyone else said, they had to admit that they were jealous of them.


    Why didn''t their guild have a supporter like how Water Fairy supported Lu Li?


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 1710 Keeping It To The Poin

    The other clubs reported their own progress.


    Although there were more than 800 people, the number of players that had the resources to fight Ouro were more like 50-60.


    "The foreign countries are a little ahead of us by a few days. It is said that several large clubs have all entered the Berserk stage. There was even a club that reached 1% HP," Sorrowless said after everyone was done reporting.


    "I have heard they once combined all their forces and managed to get the Boss down to a few hundred HP," Wendelian added.


    It seemed that those reports had struck a nerve, as the chat room was suddenly filled with excitement. There was a sense of indignance towards the foreign regions.


    Lu Li wasn''t that excited. The regions next to them weren''t that much better than they were. How could they possibly have reached just a few hundred points of HP? This was unlikely, even if they had combined of all their elite players.


    Wendelian was a young girl, but she still knew how to handle situations like this.


    In recent years, various conflicts between countries had decreased, but the gaming circle remained adamant. The thing that they had all rallied around was that they refused to lose to the foreign regions.


    Lu Li had once struggled to survive, so he didn''t have much time to spend being angry.


    However, he was actually even more extreme than the people who were excited. He didn''t care about the rich or the poor. To him, this hostility wasn''t something that would wane, even after a 100 years. Only if one side was completely and thoroughly defeated would Lu Li let up.


    When he saw that everyone felt the same way, Sorrowless finally revealed his intentions.


    "I plan to set up the first super First Clear team. We will pull together players from all over the gaming circle to create the strongest team possible. We will then be able to quickly achieve the First Clear on Ouro and be the first to do it in the world!"


    "Yes!" Elevenless shouted,.


    In the bloodlust and excitement, this young guy had already approved of the plan, even before the details had been explained.


    "How will we work together?" Lu Li asked.


    Sorrowless hadn''t put this group together to discuss the plan, but rather to approve it.


    "There are three steps. The first step is to share the combat experience that you have had in fighting Ouro so far. We will then analyse that experience and put a combat plan together¡­"


    This was reasonable. Since everyone was working together, it made sense to share their


    experience.


    Moreover, everyone had been hiding their experience up until now, but due to the different First Clear team compositions and the strategies used, there was clearly still more optimising that could be done.


    "The second step is to choose the strongest line up. This is another discussion we need to have, and we shouldn''t hold anything back."


    The second step followed from the first. Every club had their own talents. Ruling Sword had Azure Sea Breeze, who was undoubtedly the best Main Tank of Dawn. The other clubs had other sorts of experts as well.


    If they combined these players, they could have a First Clearing team that was definitely more powerful than any individual club.


    Lu Li had to admit this as well. Although he had 40 players in his team, there were only 10 players that properly satisfied his requirements. The rest just had to obey his orders and make as few mistakes as possible.


    If he were given a full team that all met his requirements, he could guarantee that Ouro would be defeated within 2-3 weeks.


    "The third step¡­ and I hope everyone would be willing to contribute to this First Clear because this is not about a Glory Capital First Clear or a Blood Red War Flag First Clear or a Ruling Sword First Clear. This is about the entire Chinese Region. I hope everyone can contribute¡­"


    Lu Li almost applauded. He had wondered why Sorrowless had invited so many unrelated people to this meeting. He finally understood what Sorrowless was trying to do.


    Basically, he wanted these people to pool their resources.


    If they had a few bottles of potions, they could hand them in and have it noted. If they carried any equipment that was suitable for fighting Ouro, they could hand those in and have it noted.


    Only someone like Sorrowless, who had such broad appeal, could make so many people do this.


    Those people were likely to agree too. Not only that, they would strive to make sure that they were giving as much as they could, because they took pride in that.


    Lu Li had to admit that there was a large gap between Sorrowless and him in this respect.


    This First Clearing team, which would be produced in these three steps, would be more powerful than any existing club. If they could assemble it successfully, Ouro would likely be defeated within 2-3 days.


    They should have done this earlier!


    Ruling Sword had invested so much manpower and resources into this Boss and had been fighting for more than 4 weeks. But now, he had to start all over.


    Perhaps, after taking the First Clear, Ruling Sword could claim some of the benefits.


    But surely, there was still a great advantage to going alone and taking the First Clear on his own. Lu Li felt like that was the only thing that would properly satisfy him. Moreover, if this was successful and if they prevailed over the foreign regions, the biggest profits would go to the leader ¨C Sorrowless.


    If nothing else, Sorrowless would at least be the commander of the First Clear team.


    And when things went wrong, he definitely wouldn''t make Lu Li commander. At most, he would make Lu Li his right-hand man, so that Sorrowless could take all the credit.


    However, Lu Li also knew that he couldn''t refuse.


    No one dared to reject this proposal. The starting point that Sorrowless took was too clever. He had rallied the entire Chinese region, and so no one could refuse now.


    Lu Li was also worried that Ruling Sword would be labelled as traitors, which would be a devastating blow for an emerging club.


    The first step was more complicated and didn''t have to be done right away. It could also continue as the First Clear team was doing the Instance Dungeon. However, the second and third steps could be executed immediately and simultaneously.


    "For the Main Tank, it should be Ruling Sword''s Azure Sea Breeze. Does anyone object to that? Lu Li?" Sorrowless asked seriously.


    "Damn it, you''ve already decided! Why even ask?" Lu Li cursed inwardly.


    Lu Li had no choice but to agree.


    "He should be fine. We support this plan as Ruling Sword."


    There were quite a few people to select, as there were 40 in the party and a few as backup. Of Ruling Sword, Azure Sea Breeze had already been selected and March Rain was chosen too.


    This Boss wasn''t that easy for Thieves, so they couldn''t even pick Lu Li, especially after already picking two players from Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li was depressed, but there was nothing he could do.


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 1711 Lu Li Apologises

    The new Instance Dungeon squad was successfully composed. Of course, it wouldn''t just be fighting Ouro, but the other Bosses as well. This meant that the First Clear for the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj would be given to this squad.


    The hope of a First Clear wasn''t the only thing that drove people mad. The prospects of skill points and equipment was also another attractive point.


    Lu Li couldn''t gain anything out of it, and the way that Sorrowless rallied the people also rendered him unable to do or say anything else. After all, Glory Capital was the initiator and was also the strongest club out of all the Chinese clubs.


    The remaining 37 clubs were largely left to be replacements, waiting outside the Instance Dungeon.


    The Super First Clear squad was quickly assembled. Lu Li watched on as he salivated. As someone who had been reborn, he was utterly useless here. If he were a stronger player, he would have been the one who formed a team of this calibre.


    For example, he would immediately convince Sorrowless to be the team Mage, and then scare the living daylights out of Elevenless and tell him to just fight the monsters.


    Water Fairy might as well change her class too. It was weird for females to be playing a Thief anyway, so she could swap to a Priest and just focus on healing. Then, when it came to night-time, they could have some fun¡­


    Sorrowless didn''t have any spare time to understand how Lu Li felt. He already started researching into what would be beneficial in their fight against Ouro.


    "There are people who can enchant Nature Resistance in our guild!"


    "We''re willing to donate a few Fusion stones for those players who need them."


    "How about Paracelsus'' Elixir? It can recover 3000 HP instantly, but we only have 10 of them. Haha, it''s nothing much. It''s just that we were lucky¡­"


    "We have an Epic item. We''ll send over the properties of the item and you guys can have a look. We''re only a small guild, so this is all that we can lend. I''m not sure if it''s up to your standards."


    At the moment, everyone was trying to show off what they had. They were all afraid that their resources weren''t good enough for the major guilds.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li wiped away his tears and swallowed the fire that was blazing in his heart. Frankly, he was angry. While it was true that without Azure Sea Breeze and March Rain, Ruling Sword''s overall strength was reduced, it wasn''t to the level where they were completely stunted.


    He planned to start the Instance Dungeon as soon as he got back. What if they managed to clear the Boss quicker than them?


    Hehe¡­


    While he was fantasising about his success, Lu Li''s message box rang.


    He didn''t know who was calling him. They might not know that Sorrowless was about to take all the glory for Ouro''s First Clear.


    "Hehe¡­"


    It was Sky Moon.


    "Hehe? Sorrowless is gonna be the one doing all the ''hehe-ing'' later."


    Lu Li was not in a good mood at all.


    "There''s bad news," he said.


    "Hehe. I also have news. Who goes first?"


    Sky Moon seemed to be overly excited. He usually wasn''t this hyped and was usually quite reserved as he saw Lu Li as an older brother, so he was often careful with his words around him.


    "You go first."


    Lu Li was thinking that the news he had was going to make him cry.


    "We passed. Haha! We defeated him! Ouro is dead! Haha!" Sky Moon was laughing at loud at this point. He was like a different person.


    "Stop playing around. Do you know what''s happening here?" Lu Li didn''t believe Sky Moon at all.


    Lu Li was with 800 other players that he saw in his previous life as veterans and elders of the game who were all far above him. These people were now discussing on forming a Chinese alliance.


    And now, Sky Moon was telling him that they had killed Ouro already? If that was so, then there was no need for this.


    Therefore, he thought that Sky Moon knew that these hardships would befall Lu Li, so he decided to try and make himfeel better.


    "Why don''t you believe me? I''ll take a screenshot for you," Sky Moon said, then continued. "You''re not the only one in disbelief. Even I myself am in disbelief. I didn''t know what happened, but I just knew that the runs got better and better, until we accidentally killed the Boss."


    "Pft!" Lu Li immediately felt like he had taken 10000 damage.


    He was only here for a little over an hour, which meant that there were only one or two tries that Sky Moon and his team could fit in. Unexpectedly, they had actually managed to defeat the Boss in this timeframe.


    Didn''t this also mean that Lu Li was ultimately an anchor? They dropped him from the squad and managed to defeat Ouro in such a short time!


    The screenshot was clear and verified what Sky Moon reported. Everyone was posing while surrounding Ouro''s corpse.


    "Lu Li, why aren''t you saying anything? Does Ruling Sword have nothing to offer to the table?"


    Some people were beginning to be frustrated.


    Most of the people here were all Lu Li''s seniors in gaming. Some had been playing games for more than a decade, while some had been leading guilds for more than a decade as well. Now, Ruling Sword had emerged and become a new frontrunner, so naturally, everyone was uncomfortable with him to a degree.


    "Hm¡­I think there''s something."


    Lu Li was still in complete shock.


    He didn''t want to tell them about what had just happened. The only things that ran through his mind was that firstly, he didn''t need to follow Sorrowless anymore, and secondly, that Sky Moon had actually managed to kill the Boss.


    Well, he was planning on nurturing a successor. However, if the successor''s performance was outrageously excellent, then the mentor''s mood would naturally be dampened.


    "What do you mean by that? Are you not going to contribute these things then? Defeating Ouro this time isn''t for any particular club''s benefit, but for the benefit of the whole Chinese region. Are you still planning on hiding things?"


    The atmosphere immediately quieted down. Everyone was gleefully watching how Lu Li would respond to this.


    Of course, Falling Star, an ally of Ruling Sword, wouldn''t be like the rest of them. However, she didn''t know what Lu Li was thinking, so she couldn''t help at all.


    "There''s something, and it''s quite good too."


    Lu Li thought about Remnant Dream''s disgusting pet and thought about vomiting.


    "Well, are you not going to take it out? Don''t forget, if we really manage to get the First Clear this time, then Ruling Sword wouldn''t be exempted from the benefits. If the First Clear is taken by the other region, are you willing to bear the consequences?"


    "Hehe¡­"


    Lu Li suddenly understood.


    Sky Moon had just taken the First Clear for Ouro, so he obviously wouldn''t be disappointed. After all, he much rather preferred to see these people who didn''t like him become even angrier at him. As a result, he was now much happier.


    "Lu Li, do you have something to say?"


    Sorrowless felt that Lu Li''s small chuckle was a little out of place.


    "No, I have nothing to say. Actually, I need to apologise to everyone. I''m really sorry, guys. Everyone here is busy, and in an effort to raise up the Chinese region, you dropped everything that you had and came here to discuss this. It was going really well, but something unexpected has happened." Lu Li said, in a slightly playful tone.


    "I gave this na?ve kid in my club my commanding rights, and he just went right ahead and killed Ouro! Who would have thought? This stupid boy¡­We''ve all just wasted our efforts because of him! I''ll punish him when I get back¡­"


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 1712 Disperse!

    No one believed him at the start, but as Lu Li was speaking, he pulled out a screenshot of the Instance Dungeon. Everyone was completely stunned.


    The atmosphere in the chatroom turned strange.


    What could be said? What could anyone say at this time?


    Suddenly, a random player called Cube House appeared in the chatroom, selling his stones.


    "Selling Nature Resistance Stones. Gives 15 Nature Resistance and 200 HP. Auctioning now. Starting bid 10,000 dollars¡­"


    Then, everyone immediately saw that Sorrowless had kicked him straight away.


    As expected, Sorrowless was frustrated. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have immediately kicked him from the chatroom before he could say anything more.


    This guy who was just kicked might also be targeted by Glory Capital after this. He had gotten himself involved in some scary business.


    "Well then. Is that it then?" Jade Flower Lover tentatively asked.


    Anyone could see that he took immense joy in this. Jade Flower Lover always admired Sorrowless'' ability to rally the people. It wasn''t that Jade Flower Lover hadn''t done something before, since he had previously formed an allied team without Ruling Sword and Glory Capital. However, he couldn''t rally the people together like Sorrowless, so the alliance that he had formed had a lot of internal issues. As a result of these issues, the team did not work well together. In the end, they could only give up.


    Now, he was taking joy in Sorrowless'' failure.


    "Well, there''s one more Boss at the end. The First Clear for the dungeon is still up for grabs," Wendelian said. She didn''t want to let all this work that went into assembling Super Team go to waste.


    Furthermore, if they just left after this, it would greatly damage Sorrowless'' reputation.


    Sorrowless had rallied 800 guilds, but Ruling Sword still managed to take First Clear. Furthermore, they didn''t even need their main commander, Lu Li.


    If they wanted to retain their reputation, they would need Sorrowless to gather a team and take the First Clear of the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj, which meant that they would need to kill the final Boss in the dungeon as well.


    "No need. The Boss that we were going to compete with them for was Ouro anyway. As for the last Boss, let''s see who comes out on top this time."


    Instead, Sorrowless decided to give his own opinion on the matter and with a calm manner, he continued speaking, "This time, we must congratulate Ruling Sword on their achievement. They have brought glory to the Chinese Region. I have already arranged for the screenshot to be posted on the game forums. The game company will also look to verify the screenshot."


    No matter what, Sorrowless was someone with pride and integrity.


    He already accepted that he lost this time. If he acted like a sore loser, then it wouldn''t be like him. Furthermore, the reason behind his rallying of 800 guilds was to win honour for the Region. However, since that was no longer relevant, it was pointless for them to stay here.


    Even if he did achieve the First Clear for Glory Capital, it still wouldn''t cover his embarrassment completely.


    At that moment, all Sorrowless could think of was to absolutely crush Ruling Sword to the ground.


    Of course, that was impossible. Not only could he not do that, but he also had to thank Ruling Sword


    in front of the 800 guilds.


    Sorrowless then left the chatroom.


    The chatroom quickly devolved a noisy market. Cube House made an appearance once again, this time selling items that would benefit the fight against Ouro.


    Honestly speaking, this ''Cube House'' was actually quite an intelligent guy.


    In the whole Chinese region, the majority of buyers for these items were already here. The smaller guilds that weren''t capable enough to fight Ouro as of the current update would aim to sell their items here for a higher price.


    Furthermore, with Sorrowless'' departure, no one would be kicking anyone from the chatroom anyway.


    The chatroom that was meant for creating a Super Team for the Chinese region immediately became a marketplace.


    Lu Li also stayed for a while and browsed through the options, managing to find a few decent things.


    However, the prices were massively inflated. Furthermore, Ruling Sword had also successfully killed Ouro already, so they were not in a rush to prepare for Ouro again.


    The game company would definitely nerf Ouro''s difficulty in the next few updates, so everyone was waiting for that.


    After leaving the chatroom, Lu Li re-joined the team.


    In the time without Lu Li, the Allied raid team had successfully defeated Ouro and distributed the spoils of war. Since Lu Li wasn''t in the team when they had the First Clear, he didn''t receive anything from it.


    The stones and materials that Sky Moon sent over were only an indication of just how abundant the rewards were.


    Water Fairy received a new Helmet, which resembled a princess'' tiara. Normally, only Mages and Priests wore this type of eye-catching gear, and it wasn''t ideal for a Thief to look that prominent.


    However, after Lu Li had a look at the properties, he was utterly speechless.


    It was far better than his current helmet. This only demonstrated the fact that set items were not the most powerful in Dawn. There were individual items that far surpassed what the set items could provide.


    There were also a few others who received new items. Each of them was extremely satisfied.


    The thing that provoked Lu Li''s envy the most was the reward of eight Skill Points. Eight skill points! This was an unimaginable number! Lu Li recalled that the highest that was ever given was only eight.


    Lu Li reckoned that he would have received one too, had he been there.


    "What do we do now?"


    Upon Lu Li''s return, Sky Moon reverted to his original, cautious self.


    "Let''s keep going. We''ll see just how powerful the final Boss is," Lu Li lazily replied.


    He couldn''t leave everything to Sky Moon, but he could afford to be lazy. Sky Moon was a person who needed to be pressured and pushed. It would be after constant pressure that he would be able to grow.


    The Temple of Ahn''Qiraj was the main camp of the Qiraji insects. However, their king was not the top of the hierarchy because there was a mastermind behind this all ¨C C''Thun.


    C''Thun was an Old God who was extremely evil. In the Ancient times, the Void Lords launched countless corrupted seeds into the Great Dark Beyond (which would become the Old Gods) for the sake of destroying titan world-souls. Out of these seeds, there were at least four of them that were


    born in Azeroth. These four were Y''Shaarj, C''Thun, Yogg-Saron and N''Zoth.


    The Old Gods were deeply intertwined with the dark force, as they were creations of the Void Lords and were physical manifestations of the Void itself. As a result, they were led by the Void Lords to enter Azeroth and unleashed a curse on Azeroth which allowed them to absorb living things. This would eventually corrupt and bring the demise of the titan world soul on Azeroth.


    However, when the Titans discovered that the exterior part of Azeroth had already been corrupted and destroyed by the Old Gods, they were absolutely furious. After Aman''Thul, one of the Titans, personally tore Y''Shaarj, the strongest of the Old Gods, apart, the Titans found that the Old Gods were already embedded too deep within the world''s surface. This created a giant wound in the planet''s crust, drawing the arcane lifeblood of Azeroth, the titan world-soul. For the sake of preserving the life of Azeroth, they created guardians to prevent the Old Gods from escaping their imprisonment.


    The intelligent creatures on Azeroth proceeded to forget about the evils from the Ancient times, but the defeated Old Gods were not willing to remain imprisoned.


    Despite being imprisoned far below the world''s crust, they were still plotting to conquer and lay waste to the world of Azeroth again.


    C''Thun was defeated and sealed away during a battle at Silithus. However, due to the mistakes that Ra-den, the guardian, had made, as well as the constant and earth-shattering attacks, the guardian''s seal was weakened and destroyed. As a result, C''Thun once again became the hidden leader of the Qiraji insects.


    During the War of the Shifting Sands, the Dragons had sealed away the Insect Wall, so he was trapped deep underneath the abandoned Temple of Ahn''Qiraj. However, despite this, he was still able to control the Qiraji insects and gradually gained control of Silithus over thousands of years.


    However, the existence of the Qiraji insects was not what struck fear into the hearts of the Azeroth elders. They were able to defeat the insects the first time in the War of the Shifting Sands, so there was no reason that they would lose the second time. It was the existence of this Old God that made them nervous.


    The gods in Azeroth were quite complicated. There were some who were extremely powerful, but there were also some who were quite weak.


    However, for existences like the Old Gods, weakness did not exist. During Azeroth''s primordial times, even an extremely powerful creature like Ragnaros was only a servant of the Old Gods.


    This was the last two days before next week''s cooldown. Lu Li didn''t expect anything more from this team.


    It would be beneficial for them to experience the Boss'' mechanics and skills, since there wasn''t anything else better to do anyway.


    The killing of the Twin Emperors and Ouro spanned across 33 days.


    It was much faster than the 81 days in Lu Li''s previous life. This only went to show just how much Lu Li had affected the game.


    In a world without Lu Li''s excellence, the Chinese region would not have attained the First Clear.


    Glory Capital was always the leading club that brought the Chinese region against the other regions. In the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj, the competition would always be proper and with order. However, Lu Li''s existence changed this, since he was the one who brought his teams to claim First Clear after First Clear.


    Some players in the US Region had also achieved the First Clear, but before they could even celebrate, someone mentioned that the Chinese Region had already accomplished this three days ago.


    There were many other similar situations. In this timeline, the Chinese Region was the leading region.


    The rage of the players from other regions gradually accumulated until Ouro was chosen to decide which was the best region.


    Ouro: Who did I piss off?


    There were also other reasons behind it, but it was estimated that it would take roughly 2 months of progress to be able to defeat Ouro. However, they had managed it in a little over a month.


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 1713 Glory Cup

    As for C''Thun, Lu Li recalled that C''Thun didn''t take as long as Ouro to defeat in his previous life. There was a team who killed C''Thun around two weeks after defeating Ouro.


    This didn''t mean that C''Thun, the first Old God to appear in Dawn, couldn''t even compare to its own pet, but that the company had massively nerfed it.


    Otherwise, this Instance Dungeon would take forever to complete.


    The cooldown reset the day after they killed Ouro, so everything was revived, including the recently-killed Ouro.


    If Ruling Sword hadn''t ''secretly'' killed Ouro, then Sorrowless would have led the Super Team to kill him today. However, Ruling Sword threw a wrench in their plans, so all of them had to disperse and deal with Ouro themselves.


    The Stronghold battles hadn''t yet begun, so everyone needed to capitalise on the time that they had while in possession of a Stronghold.


    Had it not been for the game restrictions, everyone who had a Stronghold would undoubtably modify the Stronghold wall structure and thickness. The Stronghold owners would be willing to carry a whole mountain to block the Stronghold from attackers if they could do so, even at the expense of them leaving the Stronghold.


    The second season of Shadow Cup was upon Dawn again. Currently, it was in the registering stage.


    The registering process was much stricter this time. Only the first 10,000 teams who were verified by the official company could enter the competition. It was no longer the case that a casual team that was just simply put together could enter.


    Of course, the Shadow Cup was still welcoming to newer squads who wanted to try their hand at eSports.


    New teams or teams who didn''t meet the criteria were eligible to enter the qualifying rounds. There weren''t any limits placed in the qualifying rounds, and there were 10 teams per qualifying round. Then, after a process of round robin, the team with the highest number of points would be able to enter the next round.


    At the end of the qualifying rounds, there would be a total of around 10,000 to 20,000 teams formally entering the competition.


    There were also many new changes this time around. The Shadow Cup''s organisers decided to speed up the competition as per the request of the committee, making it progress much quicker. In the first couple of weeks, over 90% of the teams would be eliminated.


    As for the champion of the Shadow Cup, the prize was not limited to an abundant amount of money, but there were also other bonuses such as advertisements and dedicated channels.


    However, in the newest update of the statistics, the number of new guilds in the competition from the first season to the current season had increased by at least 10 times.


    This indicated that more and more people wanted to join and share in the glories of the Shadow Cup.


    There were hundreds of new guilds being created each day. With the increase in new guilds, the bigger fish would swallow up the smaller fish. However, there were also a few larger guilds that would disband over disputes over distribution of resources.


    Even a mega-organisation like Ruling Sword would need to be careful of the piranhas lurking.


    The new guilds with a bunch of money on their hands didn''t seek to establish a good foundation and build themselves up that way. They wanted to instantly become mega-organisations themselves, so they targeted the big guilds.


    After all, the lowest-ranked members who were hired in these large organisations had a salary that was comparable to a white-collar worker''s salary. They were paid at a minimum of 3000 dollars per month, which was not too much and not too little.


    Furthermore, 3000 dollars per month was the base. If they had better items and could pass the review, the salary would increase even more.


    As for the elite members in the organisation, they would be able to live a lavish life with their salary.


    These under-handed conducts were common in the gaming circle. People who didn''t have a goal or a plan in mind simply didn''t have the ability to judge a player''s capability. Therefore, once they start plateauing and start going bankrupt, that was when they would calm down and plan out their actions.


    At this point in time, Ruling Sword needed to take measures.


    With 80,000 members, they were going to need to cut down 10% to 20% of their current members in just two months. There was also another factor which led to anxiety for many people. This was the decision to either stay in the organisation and try and get a better position, or to leave the organisation and earn as much as they could independently. There were many perspectives and answers to this.


    Ruling Sword couldn''t do much at that time. They could only increase the benefits of the organisation members, while improving the wealth and quality of items inside the guild vault.


    Other organisations were even worse off. The sudden increase of gold circulating within the game forced most guilds to go through a period of stagnancy and no growth. Ruling Sword''s market economy was also being greatly inflated because of it.


    According to some experts, if they wanted to sell Dawn and the company, it would be valued over a trillion dollars. With this, they would be one of the top ten most expensive companies.


    They had started from humble beginnings and now, they were at the pinnacle of the world. They were also one of the reasons that many news channels named this era as the ''Virtual Era''.


    After the Shadow Cup released the news, Sorrowless immediately came out and spoke on behalf of Glory Capital. He initiated a suggestion for a global invitational competition that would be organised by many well-known organisations.


    This was much earlier than what Lu Li had expected.


    Lu Li thought that he had a long time to catch up, but he didn''t expect Sorrowless to already have such an idea in his mind. Furthermore, there were even detailed plans in place already.


    When Lu Li heard the news, he was completely speechless.


    Was this the butterfly effect?


    This was something that struck fear into Lu Li himself.


    However, this was logical. Lu Li was, after all, a person who had been reborn. Furthermore, he had done so many things in his current life. If no one else could see that there would be additional effects, then those people would be much too stupid.


    In reality, those who could make a name for themselves wouldn''t be stupid.


    Without Lu Li, Glory Capital would have been undeniably the number one organisation in the whole of the Chinese region. No other organisation would even come close to them, no matter in Instance Dungeon raids or Wild Bosses.


    Under these circumstances, Sorrowless already wanted to start a Glory Cup. However, he wasn''t impatient about it. Naturally, the progression of this idea wouldn''t have advanced as quickly.


    However, with Lu Li in this timeline, Sorrowless was likely to be quite frustrated already.


    A lot of the plans had progressed much quicker than what Lu Li had expected, especially this time with Ouro. Sorrowless thought that he had everything planned out and prepared for. All he needed was just the execution and he would have been able to rebuild Glory Capital''s dominance in Instance Dungeon raids. Who knew that Ruling Sword was going to upset them?


    Sorrowless hadn''t felt these feelings and emotions for many years. He obviously chose to retaliate.


    The Glory Cup was his trump card. It would be enough to regain all of his lost reputation. Furthermore, he wasn''t going to fight with Lu Li over Instance Dungeons anymore. He admitted that Instance Dungeon raiding was Lu Li''s expertise.


    He knew that he couldn''t win here.


    The footage of the killing of Ouro by Ruling Sword still hadn''t been released yet. There was only the screenshot of the Boss'' corpse after the kill.


    The forums went insane after this. Everyone was disappointed at the result of Ouro being slain. There were also some people who suggested to make C''Thun the target instead. Now, everyone started to bet again.


    Globally, many guilds and organisations poured in an abundance of resources and manpower. In the end, they still didn''t win. How could they bet again? The name of Ruling Sword was engraved into everyone''s minds and hearts.


    At least, in the Instance Dungeon raiding aspect, they were evenly matched with Glory Capital.


    Sorrowless wasn''t even willing to keep competing, let alone Jade Flower Lover.


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 1714 C’Thun

    Everyone was actually still pretty curious about another thing.


    In the chatroom before, everyone saw that Lu Li wasn''t commanding an Instance Dungeon. So, who was the one commanding Ruling Sword then?


    A full 40 people had showed up in that Dungeon, and every single one had been taken out to be analysed.


    Basically speaking, every one of the 40 people who participated in that attack were all famous players in the gaming circle. Every one of them were analyzed one by one and excluded.


    In the end, the targets were certainly either Wandering and Sky Moon.


    That was the first time that Sky Moon had heard that Lu Li had chosen him to be one of the three commanders of the First Clear team.


    Ruling Sword''s First Clear team wasn''t the same as the traditional definition of a First Clear team. The First Clear team of other clubs were generally split into those who were going in to participate in battle, the subs who were outside, and those watching and analyzing the livestream together.


    Ruling Sword''s analytics team was practically of no use. The orders the commander gave in the Instance Dungeon pretty much came from the commander right then and there.


    At this, everyone began to pay attention to this previously legendarily unseen new commander.


    Even so, a new person was a new person. Almost all of Ruling Sword''s First Clears were accomplished under the commandership of Lu Li. Sky Moon still remained a relatively average commander. This image continued all the way to the time of the Plaguelands Stronghold battle before it was finally shattered. At that time, Sky Moon was commanding one of Ruling Sword''s teams to attack one of Glory Capital''s Strongholds. Sorrowless thought a major enemy was coming, a large force commanded by Lu Li.


    That day, Sky Moon terrified Sorrowless, causing the great commander of Glory Capital to be afraid to venture out.


    Of course, this sort of clever tactic wasn''t anything major in the eyes of all the commanders. They saw it as just a small thing that had humiliated Sorrowless. It didn''t add much credit to Sky Moon''s name.


    That was, until that moment Ouro was defeated.


    All the top teams all around the world struggled here. If Lu Li got the First Clear, no one would be happy with it, but they would tolerate it. After all, Lu Li had taken plenty of First Clears before.


    It was just how casually Sky Moon had appeared to have taken First Clear when Lu Li wasn''t on the scene.


    In just a moment, Sky Moon''s username became a hot search term on heaps of websites online. Many forums began to gossip, interested in Sky Moon''s legendary life.


    This was someone who was very clever and didn''t just repeat same thing every time.


    As for how many clubs extended an olive branch to him, Sky Moon had never admitted it to Lu Li, and Lu Li never asked either. It was as if this sort of thing never happened.


    Actually, almost all the clubs had sent people to get in touch with Sky Moon.


    This guy was a reliable person and almost every club lacked a high-level commander. Even Glory Capital sent people, showing a genuine cooperative proposal.


    There were even some proposed funds to be passed to him unsuspiciously. They said they could directly give Sky Moon a massive amount of money to create his club. Not only would the Instance Dungeon attempts or other gaming activities be handed to him to command, he would even be the one to lead in competitions.


    The Sky Moon at this time was no different to the Sky Moon before he had defeated Ouro. He earnestly sought for advice from Lu LI, asking him to confirm if his strategy had any problems.


    "Everyone needs to hold their position, avoid the red lasers and deal damage, but they also need to change their positions. There''s actually no shortcut when it comes to this Boss. Moon, you''d better be mentally prepared."


    "Boss, you''re just too nice," Sky Moon said, wiping away cold sweat that didn''t actually exist. He felt that Lu Li wasn''t a master that was training himself, but was actually just being lazy.


    However, what Lu Li said wasn''t bad ¨C it was necessary to change positions.


    The ninth Boss of the Ahn''Qiraj Temple, C''Thun, was a Boss that required players to move around and work together. If just one player messed up, it could lead to the whole team dying.


    Simply said, they needed to work creatively together to deal with this Boss.


    Last week, Ruling Sword had taken a few hours to achieve a First Clear. This week, they spent a few days to successfully defeat those previous Bosses again, including Ouro, and successfully stood in front of C''Thun again.


    The results were almost identical to last week. They died too easily. Everyone thought this Boss was harder than Ouro.


    This difference was in response to the first stage. There were two common states of C''Thun''s eyes, and it was the skill that most easily led to the team dying.


    The green laser was called Eye Beam, and was sent out from C''Thun''s body. It was his main way of attacking, occurring once every 2 seconds. It would jump to players within 5 yards of those were hit, and the damage would be doubled.


    This skill was what caused the team to wipe. Every time the laser jumped more than twice, it one-shot all the players who had under 10000 health. They relied on awkwardly running away to avoid it.


    In order to avoid this sort of team death, Sky Moon ordered everyone to stay 5 yards away from each other.


    As for the red laser, this skill was called Darkness Gaze, which dealt Darkness damage against the players.


    Who would bother to carefully analyze all the damage? Regardless of who paid attention, they would still be eliminated in one shot.


    Fifty seconds after the battle started, the first wave of skills started to be cast. The Boss'' eyes opened and his body transformed from green to dark red as a wide beam of red light shone from his eyeballs.


    All the players on whom the light shone were killed instantly. Then, the beam swept over and shone in another direction.


    This would occur every 40 seconds, but it moved relatively slowly. As long as the players weren''t unfocused, they generally wouldn''t be hit. This was the ideal situation. In actuality, C''Thun wasn''t a Boss that was suited to being faced head-on. His fearsomeness came from him having other skills that would be combined together to attack.


    The first few team deaths came from these two lasers. Lu Li was unable to remain calm and collected


    The Boss needed to move positions, so everyone else need to move too


    Even if the players were off by a fraction, they couldn''t risk rushing away. If they did, they would die a horrible death.


    Aside from these, there were also two extra skills which prevented them from solely paying attention to the red lasers.


    The first was a ''Summon Death Tentacle'', which would be cast about 10 seconds after battle begun.


    Upon using this skill, a tentacle would emerge from the ground. The tentacle wasn''t wearing glasses, but this did not affect its accuracy at all. Every time it made contact with a player, it would strike them, sending them flying. At this time, it didn''t matter if they were struck by a red or blue laser ¨C it was simply a disaster.


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 1715 Three Big Things

    The second skill was Summon Eye Tentacle. The difference with the previous one was that at the top of this tentacle was a living, moving eye, which looked horrifyingly evil.


    This skill came up 45 seconds into the battle. Within 5 feet from the black cloud surrounding C''Thun, eight Eye Tentacles extended out. After each tentacle extended outwards, it would be attacked by surrounding players, but it would also send them flying.


    These eight tentacles were equivalent to the smaller monsters. After they appeared, they would begin to actively use their skills to lash out at players, dealing 700-800 damage to those players around them.


    Summon Eye Tentacle was cast every 45 seconds. Regardless of whether these tentacles were defeated or not, C''Thun would summon new ones. Sky Moon''s plan to just control them but not defeat them was simply not feasible.


    Afterwards, he arranged for people to purposely target and clear out these tentacles.


    The tentacles had 25,000 HP each. If they reacted in enough time and their output was powerful enough, they could finish them off in a few seconds.


    The first stage basically involved just dealing with these, as well as some minor skills, which really made Ruling Sword struggle.


    Sky Moon was originally feeling smug, but now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.


    Lu Li just happened to be away from the action, messing around with Water Fairy and simply not caring about commanding the Instance Dungeon at all. If Sky Moon complained to him, Lu Li would simply say, "I trust you, like when you killed Ouro. Uou definitely won''t let me down."


    Sky Moon had never come across such a thick-skinned, shameless person.


    Actually, it wasn''t that Lu Li didn''t want to command, but there simply wasn''t the need. C''Thun at the moment was simply impossible to finish off.


    Sometimes, all four skills in the first stage were used at the same time, without any reason at all.


    When this happened, everyone needed to maintain a safe distance, avoid the red lasers, as well as attack the tentacles being constantly sent flying. The whole situation was a mess.


    Even so, Lu Li couldn''t just call it a week here and just let everyone run off.


    As such, they needed to keep persisting with this First Clear. They had to wait until the next week before the System would update C''Thun and at least apply some logic to when the four skills were cast. This would give the players a chance to pass the first stage.


    Lu Li wasn''t truly being lazy. Being around with Water Fairy and making everyone envious was just the other people trying to place blame on him. He was clearly working very hard preparing for the Shadow Cup.


    The following week was an extremely busy week.


    Firstly, there would be a new Stronghold in the map of Winterspring. It was a beautiful place, and there were some great things to be found there too. Geographically speaking, it was well-located. If L Li needed to expand in the future, this was probably a place that Ruling Sword would definitely have to fight for.


    Black Sea Coast, Grey Valley, Moonlight Forest, Felwood, Winterspring¡­


    This was the path of Strongholds that Lu Li had established early on. His ultimate plan was to make Mount Hyjal the centre, occupying all the land to the north of the Plaguelands.


    If Winterspring was occupied by someone else, then it would be a major thorn in his side, but it wasn''t possible to stop people from occupying lands. Even just the money it would take to accomplish this would be too great, let alone the other costs.


    He thought he had a lot of money before, not knowing even how to spend it.


    However, when it came time to use money, he helplessly found out that he couldn''t even buy one entrance ticket in front of these other major players.


    But right then was the time when there was an influx of capital. Money came in like a flood, looking for a way to get out. The Stronghold war was one of these exits. They required all the supporting guilds to participate in this grand dinner.


    With all of these rich clubs, you could imagine what level this Winterspring battle was at.


    Even if Sorrowless wanted to be a part of it, he probably had to consider if it was worth it. And so, it was said that if you had money, you had power and could do what you want.


    They had to wait for the authorities to step into the Stronghold battles and make changes before this silly act would come to an end.


    They didn''t have to worry about the new map. Lu Li didn''t want to be sloppy about the two Strongholds that they owned. In the case that something really went wrong and Lu Li wanted to reclaim a lost Stronghold, it would be rather troublesome and difficult.


    Of course, when Glory Capital made a big commotion about attacking Ruling Sword''s Stronghold but returned demoralized from their defeat, any club that wanted to dip their finger into this would have to assess whether they had enough power.


    Afterwards, there would be the Instance Dungeon to focus.


    They didn''t have to get the First Clear with Ouro, but they needed to First Clear C''Thun.


    It was said that Ouro was the competition on which the most clubs were betting on worldwide, but actually, they were just betting on the meaningless title of who was more amazing. Ruling Sword got the First Clear on Ouro, but it only meant that performance in this Instance Dungeon had been excellent.


    It didn''t mean that their power had already overtaken that of Glory Capital ¨C Glory Capital had at least over 100 times more First Clears than Ruling Sword when it came to Wild Bosses. They had taken almost 60% of the Wild Boss First Clears in all of China. Because of problems with their scale and their power, Ruling Sword didn''t even have 1%.


    But in the same way, they didn''t receive any material reward, not even 100 dollars. Talk about doing it for the glory of the country!


    However, C''Thun wasn''t the same. C''Thun was the last Boss of Ahn''Qiraj Temple. As long as they could kill it, Ruling Sword would not only get a massive advantage in the rewards, but they would also receive the all-important forty portions of rewards for the First Clear.


    Past experience told everyone that the harder the Boss, the more abundant the rewards.


    Although Ouro didn''t drop Legendary-level equipment, he still dropped a Enhanced Skill Book, gave out eight Skills Points and six pieces of Epic equipment, along with other random, valuable items.


    It was the same principle with First Clears. The harder it was to get achieve, the better the 40 rewards would be.


    Finally, the Shadow Cup was going to start immediately.


    In the last Shadow Cup, Ruling Sword were the champions. At that time, Lu Li had the advantage of being reborn, and their level and equipment completely overpowered the other teams. Regardless of whether luck played a role or not, it at least established Ruling Sword as a guild.


    This time, Lu Li hoped that Ruling Sword would still be able to achieve a top placing.


    At least it wouldn''t make people think that Ruling Sword was nothing more than a flash in the pan. That way, when the money was flowing freely, it would stem the tide of Ruling Sword members flowing away.


    This time''s Shadow Cup was conducted in more or less the same fashion.


    Like before, they were divided into fighting arenas, and there were group competitions as well. There were only three arenas now. For every person they killed, they received one point, so there were three points in total. Then, there were the group matches. Five people would enter, and there were over 400 maps. What was different from before was that there were no restrictions on the number of subs or their membership. As long as the clubs were happy with it, they could put on 100 competitors to be substitutes. The problem was only which sub would enter, so even if you had more, it didn''t make any difference.


    These three events couldn''t be measured as being more or less important.


    As for the first event, there was no pressure in defending the Strongholds and there wasn''t much chance that they could get involved in Winterspring. What Lu Li needed to do was to raise a bit of money, wait until someone got hold of the Winterspring Stronghold, then fight for it.


    Of course, they had to wait for the Stronghold to be updated before they could do anything.


    There was a common saying in China that doing too much was just as bad as not doing enough. Before the Stronghold war, Ruling Sword had an advantage in defending, and they were still able to withstand an all-out attack from Glory Capital. There were two times when Lu Li used his reborn memory to his advantage, and the second time he did so, it really was a very difficult fight.


    It really wasn''t that Ruling Sword was stronger than Glory Capital. At the most, the top few dozen people at the core of Ruling Sword weren''t much worse than Glory Capital''s best. In terms of their


    overall power, Ruling Sword was actually very far behind.


    Sorrowless was someone who had unbridled talent.


    For many years, there wasn''t any club which was even in a position to challenge them. Would Lu Li have liked to take their place, with just a few Instance Dungeon First Clears and two competition championships? Not unless he was like a main character in a stupid novel.


    The main reason for their victory was because the Stronghold mechanisms at the moment were very favorable to the defender.


    And it looked like the official channels realized this. This whole time, they were researching how to make some changes to the Stronghold mechanisms. They couldn''t make it too advantageous for the defenders, but they couldn''t make it too easy for the attackers to claim the Stronghold.


    To do this, they launched an innovative new patch for Strongholds.


    This new system was called Stronghold Battle 2.0. This was the shortest time ever in which Dawn launched a new Stronghold Battle patch, taking just under a week. The official channels were rushing out a 3.0 version. The current version wasn''t 1.0; it was already 1.5. They had gone through five minor updates.


    The reason for so many was simple. This patch was simply a failure.


    It could almost be called a bug. The defenders at that time suffered heavy losses. Almost half of the Strongholds changed ownership to a strong enemy they faced. The officials had no choice but to dejectedly rush to push out a new patch.


    As one who was reborn, although Lu LI didn''t have the qualifications to join in, he had a very deep impression of that time.


    As such, he would wait until that patch update before issuing a call to take the Winterspring Stronghold in his hands. Before this were to happen, all he needed to do was to accumulate power.


    After this it was the Instance Dungeon. Lu Li didn''t actually plan to do all he could.


    He let Sky Moon command because he knew that no matter what they did, they couldn''t defeat C''Thun.


    If Sky Moon was able miraculously defeat C''Thun like he did with Ouro, then Lu Li would simply just hand over the position of commander to this guy.


    They could only wait until the next cooldown before the System would update C''Thun and emasculate him, allowing everyone to finally defeat him. Lu Li also knew another way to make C''Thun easier; he would just reveal it next week.


    As for the last Shadow Cup, they actually didn''t prepare well.


    Everyone just tried their best and that was it.


    This was the last large-scale competition of the level 60s. When the competition was almost over, the year would draw to its close. Hot on the heels of this was the level 70 cap and Dawn''s second role league match.


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 1716 Winterspring Stronghold

    Because heaps of money had flowed in, the Stronghold battle had turned from being the most attractive thing to being an auctioning event now.


    Each club would bid against a certain Stronghold, and the top 8 would go and fight the monsters protecting it. Whoever was quickest would have the right to attack.


    The cost for these eight places kept growing higher and higher, especially for the new Stronghold in Winterspring, which was by far the most popular.


    At the moment, Lu Li, having already broke the bank, found it very difficult to get an entrance ticket, but there was no need for him to try to forcibly gain one at this time.


    However, he was very happy about those spending gold to attack their own two Strongholds.


    The higher the auction price, the more money would finally end up in the hands of Ruling Sword. If they didn''t even have to fight, then the advantage would be massive.


    After all, if even Glory Capital couldn''t break into a Stronghold, the other clubs needed to have a good think about their own power.


    That was why when the auctioning ended, for a short time, Lu Li was happy.


    Eight clubs had made bids for the Grey Valley Stronghold. Even the lowest bid was over 101,000 gold, which was even higher than what Lu Li imagined and broke through the baseline of 100,000 gold.


    The highest price reached 140,000, with the average being 123,000.


    The Black Sea Coast Stronghold was even higher, with the average reaching 137,000.


    Apart from the club which received the rights to fight in the end, the other 14 clubs which were knocked out all had to contribute 20% gold to Ruling Sword.


    Lu Li made a rough calculation. From the auction alone, Ruling Sword had earned 500,000 gold.


    Including the livestream and rebroadcast viewing fee income, their final income would amount to about 25 or 30 million with the current gold exchange rate of 29 to 31.


    Aside from these two Stronghold battles, Ruling Sword was also doing some advertising for a company in Jiangnan City. This company''s advertising was placed temporarily at many Strongholds.


    On top of the main doors was written ''Look the smartest. Revitalize your hair.''


    It was clearly an advertisement for hair tonic.


    When this product first began to seek promotion, Lu Li actually refused. They could advertise anything but something weird like hair tonic. Apart from Moonlight, not one of them was bald.


    Even Moonlight was just a bald guy in the game only, and he was like that from the day he entered it. Compared to his unchanging style in real life of actually having a head of short, spiky hair, he looked really cool.


    However, they couldn''t resist all the money they were giving them.


    They paid an advertisement fee of two million dollars, and it was just a short-term agreement for this Stronghold battle. They weren''t making money; they were just spending it.


    Lu Li also sent people to investigate, seeing if this hair tonic really worked, so he also held on and resisted temptation.


    So it was said after all that Lu Li really was a man of principle. Previously, it was mentioned that he could not be purchased with money. But as soon as this money was presented to him, Skinless Lu would really forget what it meant to have standards.


    The auction of the 16 clubs was successful. In the morning, they began to attack the System''s monsters defending the Stronghold.


    None of these 16 clubs were in the top 10 of clubs. Lu Li hadn''t even heard of some of them, and he had no idea where they had come from. With a price of over 100,000 gold, any club which was rational and had thought there was no way they could win wouldn''t spend this pointless amount of money.


    This Stronghold battle was a just a bizarre situation.


    The auction wasn''t really all just for some pointless fun.


    A few million for a chance to be on the world stage wasn''t too much of a deficit. They would gain some publicity. Even if they didn''t win the fight, having many in the audience know about their club was still a sort of investment.


    The two clubs which qualified to fight in the end were the Murong Nobles from Su City in the south, who were attacking Grey Valley, and Frost Castle from the north, who were attacking the Black Sea Coast. Both these clubs seemed to be moderately powerful. By spending lavish amounts on potions and scrolls, they were able to finish off the Stronghold monsters in the quickest time.


    Lu Li couldn''t even be bothered to watch their livestream.


    There really wasn''t any need to watch it. These so-called clubs presented themselves in a standard pattern. They would have capital to enter the game, acquire a few medium and small-sized guilds, then amalgamate them and come up with a few ''high-level players''. Because they had money, they were perhaps slightly better than the average guild, but they had no hidden talent, or background or anything to speak of. In wanting to defeat Grey Valley and the Black Sea Coast Strongholds, there was no way, unless Lu Li and his team all disconnected.


    In the afternoon, Sky Moon was defending the Black Sea Coast and Wandering was defending Grey Valley.


    Lu Li¡­was off doing quests with his girlfriend.


    Or rather, Water Fairy was accompanying him. Recently, they had been relatively busy. They only had time to meet when there was a break after their Instance Dungeon team wiped, but there was relatively heavy work involved in the First Clears, and everyone was physically and mentally exhausted. They really couldn''t do anything in that short time.


    Wandering was managing most of the Grey Valley Stronghold. In fact, most of the authority of Grey Valley Stronghold was in his hands.


    If he wanted to betray Lu Li, he just needed to declare a surrender in the Stronghold battle and he could sell it off. This was something that Lu Li had entrusted to him. He didn''t simply trust him as a person. What he trusted more was that this guy was simply too lazy to move. It simply wasn''t realistic for him to spend so much effort to consider this.


    The Murong Nobles couldn''t even touch the Stronghold wall.


    The audience watching this battle were in shock ¨C this was completely impossible. There were actually more people all in a rabble trying to get a ticket refund, because this competition didn''t have a single highlight that could be spoken of. Or rather, they simply thought that the Murong Nobles were too pitiful against Wandering''s reliable defensive force.


    The Black Sea Coast wasn''t the same though.


    For the audience, Sky Moon brought along a classic spectacle of a Stronghold battle.


    Lots of people were still paying to download the battle to slowly savour it afterwards, wiping away cold sweat from this nerve-racking competition. After all, Frost Castle broke into the city many times.


    Actually, if it was someone who really knew what they were doing, they could see through to the trick behind this battle.


    Sky Moon yet again refreshed his public image in everyone''s eyes ¨C vicious, cruel, and maliciously cunning with insatiable greed.


    It was also because of this battle that Frost Castle became famous, with the whole gaming circle knowing about this club. The one-million-plus gold that they spent to enter into this battle was worth it.


    According to the list of items that Sky Moon handed over to Lu Li, in this battle, Ruling Sword collected 146 pieces of Epic equipment, nearly 300 pieces of Dark Gold equipment, and God knows how many Gold¡­


    In one Stronghold battle they had earned over 140 pieces of Epic equipment. Lu Li couldn''t help but just gasp in amazement.


    This kid Sky Moon was really too ruthless.


    If he had followed Wandering in defending, there wouldn''t be any dangers at all from start to finish. Of course, there couldn''t be much equipment to be collected. After all, the two sides were attacking each other while being divided by a wall. Whoever dropped equipment could pick it up straight away.


    It was just those few Thieves in the team that went out working together that retrieved a few pieces of equipment.


    Sky Moon declined to conduct a Stronghold battle in such a gentle way. At the very beginning, he made it look like that they were weak, allowing Frost Castle to smash against the wall directly. In just over 10 minutes, everyone was already locked into close combat.


    The members of Frost Castle actually never had the opportunity to claim this Stronghold. They had, to some degree, a recognition of their own limitations.


    However, they didn''t expect that Ruling Sword''s defenders would be so weak either. They appeared to barely be trying and seemed to be unconcerned with the wall being smashed. Because of this, they forgot about their differences in strength and began to hope that they could actually prevail.


    The commander cried out that as long as they got the Stronghold, then everyone who participated in the battle would receive an extra prize of 2 million dollars.


    There many professional players who might not even be able to earn two million dollars in their whole life. This amount of money was enough to make all the players'' eyes'' water like crazy, crying out as they rushed forwards.


    With death after death, any idiot could see that this wasn''t working.


    Sky Moon had planned ahead. He arranged for a few people to wear some rubbish equips, who were able to, at the right time, ''perform'' an act that made it appear as though the Stronghold couldn''t be held for much longer.


    Lu Li really felt like wanting to kill off this damn kid. This time, it was real.


    In this world, there weren''t so many idiots as there were clever people. Just killing as many people as quickly as possible simply wasn''t a long-term strategy.


    However, Lu Li just didn''t care after it was all said and done.


    The next time Lu Li bumped into Frost Castle''s people, he could say some polite things, just taking the blame for it. However, he wouldn''t actually try to change Sky Moon.


    Every commander had their own way of doing things. If he forcefully twisted him, it would just be like strangling him in a cradle.


    Ruling Sword had defended both strongholds, and the other clubs didn''t see any changes. Those who attacked them were basically just using their power from money. When all the major clubs saw the auction prices, they were flabbergasted.


    Seventh Heaven was in a relatively desperate situation fighting for Tanaris. This old, established club had almost lost their own Stronghold.


    Attacking them was a club called ''Poop Cat Owner''.


    It was said this club had a lot of girls ¨C but they didn''t just accept girls. They used them to mess around with the high-level players in the gaming circle.


    With money and girls, there really weren''t many who weren''t lured in by them.


    The team they formed to fight against the Stronghold really was valiant. Among them there were quite a few retired competitors, current competitors, ordinary elite players, and even a few foreigners who had come to China from neighboring countries to work.


    These few foreigners were keenly aware that their own countries'' e-sports competition didn''t cut it, so they formed teams to come to China.


    Although they would encounter various forms of discrimination, the pay and opportunity to flourish was much better than in their backwaters.


    After this, someone did the analysis and found out that Poop Cat Owner chose the wrong attack target. If they had changed their focus onto the Gangnam Royals, maybe, just maybe, they would have been easier to handle. The Gangnam Royals were rising from the ashes, but their power was not as high as it was at their peak. Furthermore, Seventh Heaven was an old, established club that always stood tall. Their courage and uprightness were known throughout the whole gaming circle.


    Winterspring, the new map, was captured by Blue Universe.


    Blue Universe had a very solid foundation. Water Fairy had split from her Shen family behind her, taking away with her Drizzle Court, Peerless City, as well as others like Misty Story, Double Dimension and Concealed Heavens. There were a few leftover clubs. The Shen family integrated these remaining resources and came up with the lineup of Blue Universe.


    Originally, in terms of power, Blue Universe was ranked at number 33, but after it was integrated, there was a massive boost to its power, and it easily entered the top 10 clubs.


    The Shen family threw two million gold at this Stronghold battle, making it onto the list to attack. In the final capture, because they finished the battle the fastest, they successfully won the Stronghold.


    The old Strongholds had remained intact, and the new Stronghold became Blue Universe''s. And so, this time''s Stronghold battle came to an end.


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 1717 Mar’alith

    Speaking of this, Lu Li was actually quite pure and innocent. He had known Water Fairy for about a year, and they had been flirting with each other for about half a year. However, apart from getting jealous looks all around when they were together, their relationship seemed limited to just holding hands and giving kisses on cheeks.


    In Auzre Sea Breeze''s words, Lu Li was being treated like a pet dog these days.


    Lu Li replied with a single line: Shut up, you single dog!


    The quest that Lu Li was doing with Water Fairy this time was actually very difficult. If it was just Lu Li doing it himself, he thought it would be fraught with danger. However, the quest was limited to only two player, so you couldn''t just bring along a massive group of people.


    If there were two people allowed, it would actually be more favorable with Innocent Child.


    After all, Innocent Child could use Stealth, heal, and had amazing fighting power. He was also the best in the whole team when it came to all of this.


    It was a shame that Lu Li didn''t want to do the quest with him.


    Two guys going together to do a quest would be gay.


    Although Water Fairy couldn''t heal, she had no problem in staying alive, and there was more understanding between the two of them anyway.


    This quest was called ''Dear Natalia''.


    The NPC that activated this quest was called Mar''alith, a male Night Elf. He was the commander of the Silithus forces of the Cenarion Circle. Natalia, on the other hand, was a female Night Elf and the deeply beloved wife of the commander.


    Compared to the lovers from those other days, they were lucky. At least they could be together and not have to suffer separately. Even if Mar''alith was busy, they always still had time for themselves.


    However, this sweetness didn''t continue for long. In the protracted war with the Qiraj insects and their old god C''Thun, Natalia gradually had some changes occur to her. More than once, Mar''alith had seen her mumbling to herself when no one was around, always saying that she was right, and determined to keep persisting with her own research.


    Finally, after a few weeks, Natalia went missing. The last time Mar''alith saw Natalia, he noticed she was walking south.


    In this situation, of course, Mar''alith was anxious, but his duties didn''t allow him to put everything down and go search for his wife. Besides, Natalia was evidently avoiding Mar''alith.


    At this, in his helplessness, Mar''alith could only have someone else take care of this in his place. Since Natalia was going south, and there was a small camp belonging to a camp of explorers, he sent investigators to check out that area.


    Players basically didn''t have to do anything to trigger this plot. After all, the commander was extremely worried about his wife''s situation.


    Normally, there wasn''t much suspense in this quest, because Natalia''s mind had apparently already been corrupted by the Old God and she had degenerated into a Twilight follower.


    The players would meet a dwarf in the camp that knew the details, and he would tell the players that Natalia had entered into Ahn''Qiraj Temple with reverence and deference.


    The Ahn''Qiraj Temple? Perhaps she was welcomed in by those bugs? No way! Hearing this news was like a sudden heavy blow for the commander Mar''alith, but he quickly understood the situation.


    However, it was still hard to accept on an emotional level. Mar''alith''s beloved, Natalia, was a Priestess of the Moon back in the day. How could she defect to the enemy like this? But at the end of the day, the commander was a commander. After thinking it over a bit, he gave the players another task again. This time, his command was to sneak into the insects'' lair and find Natalia. If they could bring her back, then bring her back. If they couldn''t¡­then they knew what to do.


    The players could find the room that Natalia was in, but it was all too late.


    Natalia now had already become a ''High Priestess of C''Thun''. There was no way she could be brought back to Cenarion Stronghold. According to the commander''s demands, the players just had to kill off this monster to successful complete the quest.


    Mar''alith, who was still in the Stronghold, got the report back from the players quickly. He didn''t say much, just dismissing them and getting the deputy to give them their reward along the way.


    With no one around in the lonely quiet, it was like nothing had happened. There was just the sandy wind blowing over Mar''alith''s face. Below his amber eyes, there were two watery marks which had been dried by the wind¡­


    After a few minutes, Mar''alith returned to his own post and began to transmit new directives.


    It looked like this quest need to be done by level 60, because the reward was a piece of equipment which added 20 points to Nature Resistance. This was extremely important for attempting the Ahn''Qiraj Temple.


    This quest''s difficulty wasn''t too hard, and the reward wasn''t too amazing. Logically speaking, Lu Li shouldn''t be so careful about it.


    In order to complete this quest, Lu Li didn''t even take part in commanding the Stronghold defense. Lu Li did not at all plan to do this quest in the conventional way. For him, 20 points of Nature Resistance wasn''t important.


    What was more, this piece of equipment''s overall attributes were rather average. There was simply no way Lu Li would exchange a piece of Epic equipment for this.


    In his previous life, the players didn''t complete this quest conventionally.


    One time by chance, the players realized that there was another way of doing this quest which would not only earn a better reward but would also change the direction of this sad story.


    As such, Lu Li was planning to go the unconventional way to finish off this quest.


    Firstly, him and Water Fairy went to where the Cenarion Circle''s Silithus forces were stationed. Lu Li didn''t really have any military role as a Night Elf, but he had the blessing of the Priestess of the Moon on him, which was even more useful. The sentry at the door heard about his reason for coming, and without saying another word, went in to report it.


    "I''m looking for someone to help."


    Mar''alith was an outstanding Night Elf. He had a head of green hair, which was rare among elves, as well as green eyes. In the race of the Night Elves, this meant he had an old, aristocratic bloodline.


    However, he looked extremely fatigued. Even when he was receiving Lu Li and Water Fairy, there were guards coming in to give him reports, and he was constantly dealing with them, issuing order after order.


    "If there''s anything to do, we can do it. Feel free to let us know," Lu Li offered.


    "Child, you have the mark of the Priestess of the Moon on you. I know you will do your best to help me," Mar''alith said in a deep voice. "Actually, things have been getting intense, I''ll let you help me with a personal matter. Actually, it''s some really bad behavior."


    "Sir, even if I were a god, I wouldn''t think you''d be abusing your authority," Lu Li responded seriously.


    "Alright, with the moon god here, I won''t leave you waiting. My wife ¨C the Priestess of the Moon, Natalia ¨C has gone missing. I hope you can help me find her," Mar''alith said.


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 1718 Performing in a Tragedy

    "I think I have the right to know more about the details of this quest," Lu Li probed.


    "She''s my wife, and my fellow war combatant. We''ve been together for many years already, so may I can''t even remember," Mar''alith said as he put on a bitter smile, then continued, "I really love her, but I''ve always been busy with work. It''s been so long since I had a good chat with her."


    "You''re a good commander, sir, but not a good husband," Lu Li responded as he held Water Fairy''s hand tightly.


    Water Fairy puckered up her lips in a smile, seemingly understanding what Lu Li meant. There were lots of times when you didn''t have to say something clearly.


    Lu Li was the administrator of a club, a commander of a First Clear team, and also had a sick sister he had to take care of.


    However, he had never used these things as excuses to neglect his own love life.


    In the game, even in the break after a team wipe, he would still sit with Water Fairy. They would discuss trivial issues, so much so that people eavesdropping might suspect that their intelligence had dropped.


    In actuality, Lu Li and Water Fairy were both in Jiangnan City. Apart from being with his little sister, he spent practically all his time accompanying her.


    This sort of accompaniment wasn''t at all about sticking close all the time. At the very least, they would be within each other''s line of sight at all times.


    In order to better keep his sister and Water Fairy''s company, Lu Li delegated his real-life work to Wandering, Cat Dad, Square Root 3, White Bread and so on. It was pretty much the same within the game. Even his most basic commanding duties were used to groom Sky Moon as his successor.


    Loving someone meant sacrifices.


    Evidently, Mar''alith was the type of guy who cared too much about work to the neglect of his family. What was more, this sort of situation had continued for hundreds, or even over 1000 years. The long life of an Elf was their most fatal downfall.


    "You''re right, I really have neglected her, but I deeply love her," Mar''alith rebutted.


    "Then, what happened next?" Water Fairy asked. She didn''t know how to view this situation. Logically, even though she had been neglected to a certain degree, if the love was loyal and steadfast the whole time, then nothing unforeseen should have happened.


    "Looking back now, she hasn''t been quite right for quite a while. She was always muttering to herself, like she was constantly distressed all the time. Sometimes, she would say that she was right, and then quickly deny it¡­"


    "There''s something really not right with her mind. It''s like someone''s having a conversation with her, persuading her. Right at the beginning, she was really certain, but towards the end, she wasn''t so sure. My God, I really deserve this¡­"


    "One day, when I got home, she was nowhere to be seen. Someone told me she left and headed south. There''s only desert over there. There''s a small camp out in the open there. Can you go there and ask if anyone''s seen Natalia?"


    "Sure, we''ll be reporting back to you in a flash," Lu Li agreed simply.


    That was the quest; nothing special happened. Anyone that took this quest went down this path. The next thing was to go to the camp and have a look.


    This little camp really was tiny; it wasn''t even marked out on the map.


    A group of wandering Dwarves used the desert scorpions to brew alcohol. This alcohol contained the venom of the scorpions, and the Dwarves added in other things as well. Not only was the finished product non-toxic, but on the contrary, it was an antidote that reduced most of the damage from desert scorpions.


    There were about six or seven of them and they would give quests to players related to desert scorpions. The reward was this sort of alcohol, as well as some other specialties from the desert.


    When Lu Li and Water Fairy got here, the seven Dwarves happened to be fiercely defending their camp. A group of insects were besieging them. From their appearance, they looked to be the descendants of the Qiraj insects.


    After the Wall collapsed, the disaster-afflicted insects began to flood this area. In the desert, you could often see those skeletons of wild beasts and even intelligent creatures that had been consumed by them. In the mountain range in the northwest of Gadgetzan, there was a giant skeleton of a bronze dragon. The ordinary insects with the magical power of C''Thun were literally like ants that ate an elephant to death.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy resolutely rushed up to help.


    The insects that they killed in the Instance Dungeon were 100 times stronger than these. With their assistance, this precarious little camp out in the open was secured.


    Dwarves were a naturally optimistic race. They had almost been eaten up, but now that the danger was averted, they went right back to their brewing.


    "Thank you so much for your help. We don''t have much to repay you, but if you like drinking, you can drink our brew until you''re drunk, or we can give you some antivenom alcohol. We''ve researched scorpions for many years, and the Tanaris scorpion has the fiercest venom."


    "We''re here to look for someone. We''re looking for a female Night Elf, a Priestess of the Moon. She''s wearing a blue mage robe with the image of the goddess Elune."


    The few Dwarves looked at each other blankly.


    "Of course we know about that. In archeology and theology, there''s not much that us Dwarves don''t know. There are quite a few Night Elves here, but not many wear that sort of clothes. I think we''ve seen the person you''re looking for."


    "Where is she? Did she leave any info behind?"


    "That day, we were also met with an insect attack. When she arrived, we had already finished with the battle. We were wounded, so we hoped we could receive her healing. After all, if you''re serving the gods, how can you not work to save others? But God knows what the hell was wrong with her ¨C she actually attacked us. Good thing we had heaps of scorpions here. When we escaped back to the camp, she gave up attacking us."


    "That''s right, that''s what happened. We didn''t do anything against her, we didn''t insult her god. By Elune, we really saw a damn ghost."


    "Did she say anything?"


    "Not much, and it was really scattered. She just kept mumbling, saying that everyone had been tricked or something, and that our world wasn''t real, that Azeroth was actually a monster¡­I have no idea what she was going on about¡­"


    "Ok, so did you see what direction she went in?"


    "Yeah of course. Our brother here, he''s a Thief. He followed that woman and saw that she was heading to the Ahn''Qiraj insect lair¡­"


    "You had no idea what I saw. It''s simply so hard to believe," the Dwarf Thief said with lingering fear. "Those insects welcomed that woman, that Night Elf. I saw with my own eyes her entering the lair with the insects clustering around her, my God!"


    Lu Li and Water Fairy looked at each other blankly. In their hearts, they guessed that something bad had happened.


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 1719 Responsibility

    To use brash words, this female Night Elf was neglected by her husband, and hence, went and looked for C''Thun out of loneliness.


    Of course, in reality it was actually the Old Gods that had corrupted her mind and brought her into an evil cult. This type of backstory was often seen in Dawn. The most famous one was probably of how Sargeras had become a fallen titan.


    These characters didn''t lose their minds, which was different to the Undead. They still held their strong beliefs, and they were even stronger than before, but it was the content of their belief that was twisted.


    For example, Sargeras was appointed to protect this world from demons. He performed his duty with noble and fierce fanaticism, keeping the world at peace for thousands of years. However, he witnessed the decay of the world''s soul, and the Titan felt fear for the first time in his life. Amongst a fit of anger and pain, he lifted his sword and the world was split into two halves. The explosion destroyed the Old Gods, and killed the newborn Titan at the same time.


    Sargeras exhibited his fear towards the idea that beings in themselves were flawed. After meeting the Old Gods, he confirmed that thought. It was only by burning away everything did the Titan have the hope of stopping the Void Lord''s final target. For Sargeras, even a dead universe was better than a universe dominated by the void. Since life could take root in the universe once, then there were possibilities for life to blossom again after the decay of the physical universe had been eradicated.


    Without a doubt, Sargeras believed that only by destruction could a world be truly pure.


    Natalia was corrupted by the Old Gods and was instilled with a new belief. Azeroth in itself was a dormant Titan. Once she awoken, the whole world would be destroyed. The great C''Thun taught her that only be completely killing this Titan could the world have everlasting peace. Only then could the humans, Elves, Dwarves, and other races continue to live on.


    Lu Li and Water Elf brought back this message to Mar''alith. They had repeated word for word what this dwarf had said.


    The Night Elf Commander fell silent for a while in sadness.


    However, he quickly found his rationality again, "My Natalia, why has she become like this? Elves, please help me get her back. If she really did¡­"


    He could no longer say the next words.


    The System notified that Lu Li and Water fairy had received a quest to go to the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj to find Natalia. If she had fallen, then they had to kill her off.


    Under normal circumstances, the players would go complete this quest earnestly. They would walk towards the other street from the junction of the Twin Emperors and C''Thun, and would see Natalia once they got to the end.


    She was pretty much like a hidden Boss. Her name had already been changed from Priestess of the Moon to ''High Priestess of C''Thun''. Should they take her back to the Cenarion Circle?


    They had no choice in the end but to kill her then go back and report on the mission''s completion. It was sad that Mar''alith had this type of relation involved in this quest and would remain in this cycle of sadness for a long time.


    That was, until there was one player that rejected this quest.


    According to word of mouth, this lady had suffered emotional trauma in real life and denounced Mar''alith as a bastard who talked about how much he loved his wife, but wasn''t even willing to go and look for her.


    This so-called loss of his beloved wife was a result of his own doing. Such a person deserved no one ¨C no wife, no children, no family¡­


    This was pretty much what she said, it was just that her word choices were a lot more colourful. It was hard to imagine how Water Fairy could have a fight with anyone, so Lu Li had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and deal with it.


    "Sir, to see what you''re doing right now, I truly feel sorry for your wife, Natalia. I think she made the right choice to leave you. You are a hypocrite. You cannot extricate yourself from your dream of power. You didn''t fulfil your obligation as a husband and spend time with her, nor are you a good commander. You don''t even know what responsibility is. The Cenarion Circle is full of talent. Even without you, they would stand on this continent for many years to come¡­"


    Water Fairy''s two eyes stared at Lu Li without blinking once, and felt that his harsh words were simply beautiful.


    This was a man''s promise and confession in itself. She had completely forgotten whether Mar''alith would be angered and kill them both.


    "¡­So, put away your sad face. I feel for Natalia, and I feel worry for the Cenarion Circle. With a shameless and irresponsible commander like you, the future of the Druids will only go to ruin," Lu Li concluded with a sharp breath.


    Mar''alith was already in shock, or in other words, frozen.


    He was a smart NPC, and had to manage a lot of things every day. Even if it were some unexpected incident, he could react immediately. However, he had never met someone who ridiculed him to this extent.


    In this type of scenario, if it were any other player or any other NPC, it would probably end in a blood bath.


    The NPCs in Dawn were not good-tempered like other games. They each had a distinct personality. If you were well mannered towards them, they might not buy into it, but if you weren''t polite, then they most certainly would be rude to you.


    If there were conflict, then they would hammer the player to death. This was common occurrence in every city on a day-to-day basis.


    It was said that even the Great Chief Saar had personally dispatched a player. As for Queen Sylvanas, she not only killed off impolite players, but her hall was also decked out with player corpses.


    Mar''alith was a commander and also a general ¨C it was no effort on his part to kill a player.


    However, he couldn''t lay his hand on Lu Li, who not only had blessings from the Priestess of the Moon, but also blessings from Remulos. Remulos was the guarding god for the Cenarion Circle''s camp in Moonlight Forest ¨C how could he kill someone he sheltered?


    Plus, the words of this Elf truly made him speechless.


    He knew that Lu Li wasn''t completely correct. He had twisted words and forced logic, but he couldn''t refute his inner pain which told him that this was all true.


    He wasn''t a competent husband. Even though he said he loved his wife, he still couldn''t protect her. Even at a time like this, he had chosen his responsibilities of being a commander over being a husband.


    "Why don''t you go look for her? Why don''t you think about how to save her?" Lu Li questioned.


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 1720 Asking for Help

    "This isn''t something easy," Mar''alith spoke in pain.


    "From what I can see, this is a very easy thing. Unless you''re afraid of death. The Cenarion Circle is defending the land from the Burning Legion and other forces. Countless commanders have been killed. It doesn''t make a difference with you or not. At most, you would just die in C''Thun''s nest, and that''s about it," Lu Li continued viciously.


    He was acting just like an evil antagonist right now.


    "Enough Elf! You don''t even know what type of responsibilities I carry," Mar''alith feebly retorted. However, he had already started to doubt his own actions, so this type of excuse was weak.


    "I believe there would be people who would help you in your responsibilities as commander," Lu Li said.


    "Yes, sir, I will carry this responsibility in the meantime until you return," the Lieutenant, Laiken, who stood next to him, couldn''t help but say. He didn''t care for power, but he just couldn''t bear watching his brother in pain.


    "Laiken¡­" Mar''alith looked at his brother in shock.


    "I have grown up now."


    Laiken was also a handsome guy with the same green hair and eyes.


    "Okay, I hope you can shoulder this responsibility, my brother. Our family honour cannot be desecrated and I¡­ need to go do what a good husband is meant to do," Mar''alith said as he looked as his brother in gratitude.


    He wasn''t sure if his brother would be qualified for this position, but Lu Li was right ¨C he had to face everything himself.


    "I think we need to go to the Temple of the Moon," Lu Li said.


    There was actually a rather deceptive set up. If Mar''alith went to go search for Natalia straight away, then he would be killed by his hostile wife. Once she killed him, Natalia would then be awakened, which would be followed by ending her own life. Then, the players'' quest would be a complete failure.


    There was nothing good that would come out of it.


    As such, Lu Li couldn''t just allow Mar''alith to just walk into his death. He had to find a way for the Commander out of this mess.


    The Temple of the Moon was not a place that anyone could get into, but Lu Li was someone who could.


    Who said that Lu Li was hopeless after being reborn? He had built himself an extraordinary character. Otherwise, from his Charisma, he wouldn''t even come close to the threshold of entering the Temple of the Moon.


    A guard respectfully asked Lu Li to wait a moment, and didn''t even look at Mar''alith once.


    The Commander of the Cenarion Circle was seen as nothing at the Temple, especially in front of people like Lu Li who had been blessed.


    "Sir Tyrande is out at the moment. I hope we can help you," a great priest said as he emerged in front of Lu Li.


    Unlike Grandma Tai, who was as beautiful as a flower, this Elf was very old already. Ever since the Well of Eternity exploded, the Night Elves lost their eternal life and would live to grow old and die.


    Even if this was so, this elderly grandma looked like she could live for thousands of years more. Not to mention, she was also a Priestess of the Moon.


    "My wife¡­" Mar''alith began as he saluted the high priest respectfully, then explained his intentions in detail.


    "Natalia¡­ that poor child."


    Once she heard that this Priestess of the Moon was tempted by the Old Gods and had fallen, the old priest became serious immediately. She also knew Natalia. After all, there weren''t many Priestess of the Moon to begin with.


    "Now, she''s probably already stuck in the Qiraj Insects'' nest. Even if I manage to save her, I don''t know how to save her soul," Mar''alith cried out helplessly.


    "C''Thun ¨C what a troublesome existence. Even if it''s just a wicked breath, it''s enough to give someone a headache. But, your wife betrayed her faith, and the Moon God wouldn''t care for those who don''t have firm belief," the old priest said.


    "She has only lost her way," Lu Li piped up from the side.


    "Indeed, she lost her way."


    The old priest had no choice but admitted that.


    "She gave her everything to the Moon God, like a servant, like a child to the Moon God. Was the Moon God going to ignore her just because she made one mistake?" Lu Li pushed further.


    "Little Elf, what you''re saying is correct. I also hope that she can return to the arms of the Moon God. Plus, Mar''alith, you put down everything just for her ¨C I am rather surprised," the old priest sighed.


    If Lu Li had come himself, the old priest probably wouldn''t have budged. Mar''alith''s pained eyes easily touched the old elf''s kind heart.


    "What do we need to do?" Lu Li asked.


    "The method is simple, but it''s not easy in practice," the old Priest said as she took out a thick ancient book and sifted through it.


    Lu Li listened to her as she scanned through and repeated the words with her mouth. She roughly knew that there were different ways of dealing with this type of situation. Different methods had different requirements. Many of them were in the category of impossible.


    In the end, the old priest came to a simple plan for Lu Li.


    Assassinate C''Thun!


    The players had to kill C''Thun in the Instance Dungeon, then use the mental fragments that dropped to create a magic that would allow Natalia to recover.


    In fact, this was just brainwashing again.


    It could be said that this quest was to get Mar''alith to be the players'' hatchet man. He would act as the quest''s NPC, entering into the Instance Dungeon and participating in the players'' battle against C''Thun.


    One more helper meant that the Instance Dungeon naturally would be more efficient.


    Mar''alith was a level 60 NPC. His profession was a Druid and was different from that of players. He could both tank monsters and deal damage, as well as heal.


    To bring such an NPC into the Instance Dungeon was equivalent to another small team.


    Lu Li didn''t dare to use this method on the cooldown. Once the time came, C''Thun would be in a fit of rage and if Mar''alith died in the Instance Dungeon, they would have a major problem.


    In Lu Li''s memory, it was indeed quite popular to use this type of method in the Instance Dungeon during that period of time.


    Mar''alith had to go prepare some things, including the installation of this subordinates and the preparation of combat supplies. This meant that time had to be delayed until tomorrow at least.


    Lu Li was rather bewildered. Did this guy actually want to go save his wife?


    If it were real love, wouldn''t he have left straightaway to begin his journey to kill C''Thun as if his life depended on it?


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 1721 Desperation

    In any case, Ruling Sword had an extra person on their team ¨C the Night Elf NPC.


    Lu Li kept this strictly confidential. No one knew about this, and he hoped that the other clubs would just have to slowly make progress. It was likely that the new Instance Dungeon Naxxramas Necropolis, or Naxx, would be open soon.


    This was a very famous Instance Dungeon, one that would soon take up a few months of their time.


    It had been more than a year since Lu Li was reborn. As the year was coming to an end, Lu Li was rather sad and hoped that the other clubs would remain occupied by C''Thun for as long as possible. It was entirely possible that they would take until the new year.


    "Boss¡­is this¡­?"


    Sky Moon and the others were surprised.


    "This is a Quest NPC. I got him to come and he will join us in the Instance Dungeon," Lu Li said. However, Lu Li was actually underplaying the significance of the event. He was quite proud of this because even someone like Hachi Chan couldn''t make it happen. This was only possible in very limited circumstances.


    Mar''alith was a very serious character, and didn''t speak with the other players.


    However, after entering the Instance Dungeon, he came alive. This guy was like four Druids combined. He first used the Cat Transformation to aggro the monsters, before using Bear Transformation to tank them. He would then use Bird Transformation to cast a variety of skills and would use Tree Transformation to heal himself when he fell to low HP.


    "Wow, I really want to be friends with him. Can he be my teacher?" Hachi Chan said as she stared at this NPC, completely entranced.


    She had forgotten that her mentor was Remulos, the Demi-God.


    With the addition of this new force, the Instance Dungeon became quite easy. The first few Bosses were taken down without any problems ¨C especially since everyone was familiar with them.


    Unfortunately, there was an incident while the group was fighting against the Twin Emperors and they were wiped.


    Even though Ruling Sword had their strategy for defeating this boss, they were still defeated. After all, the Twin Emperors were where they had been completely stuck for over a week.


    Everyone felt a bit nervous. They weren''t worried about themselves, but whether the NPC would be killed by the Twin Emperors.


    However, it turned out that they were worrying for nothing. In the same way that Lu Li could escape with Gale Steps, Mar''alith had his own invulnerability skill which he cast, before turning into a Leopard and escaping to a safe area.


    The Twin Emperors also ignored Mar''alith, like they were blind towards him.


    After being wiped two more times, the Twin Emperors had finally been dealt with. Now, there was just Ouro and C''Thun left. Mar''alith was a good teammate, but the best part about him was his ability to heal the others.


    "Boss, this aide is just too powerful," Sky Moon commented. His commanding experience had been quite boring today. He recently thought he was beginning to understand what it was like to be Lu Li, but he didn''t expect Lu Li to do something like this.


    Now that they had seen Mar''alith''s strength, they had a renewed hope in fighting C''Thun.


    Ruling Sword had killed Ouro several times. They had managed to do it at almost every refresh, and found themselves facing C''Thun.


    As such, after being wiped a few times, Ouro was defeated.


    Everything had gone smoothly; the experience felt surreal. Everyone thought that this would still be a difficult fight, and that they would spend much more time fighting Ouro. They didn''t expect to be fighting C''Thun already.


    Even after C''Thun fell, the day had not come to an end.


    When they defeated Ouro, no one would have known unless Lu Li said something. However, when C''Thun died, all the major clubs immediately knew about it. The news had even travelled internationally.


    This was because the System broadcast that the First Clear of the Ahn''Qiraj Temple had finally been taken, two to three months since the Dungeon had first been opened.


    Glory Capital had managed to kill Ouro, but they hadn''t even entered C''Thun''s second stage.


    Sorrowless sighed and announced that everyone should take a break. They were free to grind for the Headless Paladin''s Steed if they wanted to, as competing to defeat C''Thun now was meaningless.


    They had never felt so depressed. It was like a boxing match where they had been knocked out even before they raised their fists.


    When it came to Instance Dungeons, Sorrowless felt like he was helpless to fight back against Lu Li.


    "Alright, let''s loot the equipment," Lu Li said as he glanced over and saw that Mar''alith didn''t want to wait around. Even if he was bruised and mentally exhausted, he just wanted to see his wife.


    Even before he fought C''Thun, he had wanted to see his wife.


    However, Lu Li put him to even more work. The C''Thun High Priest wasn''t very strong, so defeating this priest that wouldn''t even fight back was a breeze.


    Although Mar''alith was not very willing, he obeyed Lu Li''s command. As a commander, he would respect the orders given, even if the commander was weak.


    And so, Remnant Dream was now free to loot the equipment.


    The gems and Rare Materials received went without saying, and were apportioned appropriately. There was another Enhanced Skill Book that was dropped ¨C the Paladin''s Enhanced Consecration. This was an area of effect skill with an additional effect ¨C anyone who entered the affected area would not only suffer continuous damage but would be slowed.


    If the bonus effect wasn''t just a slow, this book could have been given to Wandering or some other Paladin.


    However, since it was a slow, it was useful for PVP, so they needed to give it Mu Qiu. When facing an opponent, casting a Consecration that would not only deal damage but reduce their speed would make chasing them or running away from them easier.


    The others had no opportunity to weigh in on it. The Shadow Cup was about to begin and the professional players were given priority in these things. Everyone could understand why it had been done.


    Then, they started to divide up the rest of the equipment. The Gold equipment was just collected into three piles and thrown into the guild warehouse so that the ordinary guild members could use them.


    Clarity Drape!


    This an exquisite cloak for Healers. March Rain was both a professional player and their main healer, so it was given to her.


    The professional players didn''t just get these items for free either, as that would be unfair for the other First Clear team members. The others would instead receive some bonus points for the equipment every time it was taken away like this. This way, they would receive more points for completing First Clears.


    In Ruling Sword, it was Lu Li who specified the points, as he was the one who had devised this system.


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 1722 Robes of the Guardian Sain

    Titan''s Relic!


    It was said that C''Thun defeated and killed Titans in the Battle of the Ancients, so it carried equipment like this. This proved that the rumours were correct.


    Titan''s Relic was an item that buffed all attributes and gave special Physical bonuses.


    Basically, any Physical professional could use this item, but it was particularly suited for Paladins, Shamans or Druids because of its additional healing effect.


    There was also a special effect that could reduce the Defense of any non-Boss target, which meant that this equipment was better for use in PVP. After all, most people would plow through monsters quite quickly, so reducing their defense didn''t mean much.


    The monsters they would be fighting would have to be quite hardy to require such an item.


    In the end, the equipment was taken by Peerless City''s Paladin Green Flag Wine, the famous Tire Killer of the gaming circle. This item was very suitable for him and he used almost all his DKP to purchase it. He also promised to buy everyone a round of drinks.


    In fact, even Lu Li could use this equipment to great effect.


    Only the last special effect would be wasted as he didn''t have many effective HP regeneration skills. Nevertheless, it would still be good in his hands.


    Mu Qiu could also use it, but he had just received the Enhanced Skill Book.


    So could Sakura Memories, but she wasn''t interested in being a PVP player. Her interests were more inclined towards enjoying the game rather than using it as a means of earning income. There were rumours that claimed that if she couldn''t cut it in the real would, she could go home to inherit her family business which was worth millions.


    The Penetrating Eye of Infinite Depths!


    Something decent had finally been dropped, otherwise, it wouldn''t have felt like they had just defeated C''Thun.


    This equipment was an extremely rare Legendary piece of jewellery.


    This equipment had a total of five special effects and undoubtedly deserved to be called a Legendary item.


    The last special effect was rather unique. When the player''s HP was less than 5%, the item would activate to give them invulnerability for 30 seconds. When the player died, the


    special effect would trigger again and allow the player to continue fighting for 30 seconds.


    This meant that the player could have a 1 minute window of invulnerability.


    During this minute, that player could keep taking or dealing damage without issue. This special effect didn''t conflict with any other special effects either.


    The rest of the special effects were also useful, but none were as eye-catching as the fifth.


    "We''ll let the two Priests fight over this one. Everyone else, stay out of it," Lu Li said. This judgment was fair and no one could really say anything.


    Although it could be used by any Magic profession, it was definitely something that was more suite to Healers.


    Innocent Child could use it, but he just had too few DKP. Lu Li couldn''t blatantly just give it to him either. Besides, a Druid''s survivability was far greater than a Priest''s anyway.


    Eventually, March Rain won the item, exhausting all of her DKP in the process.


    The next time a similar item was dropped, there was no doubt that it would go to Drizzle Court''s Priest.


    The next items that were dropped were various quest items. Anyone who received the C''Thun quest could loot the body and gain those items. Lu Li was part of this group, and he received a soul fragment of C''Thun.


    This item could be used to treat Mar''alith''s wife.


    Mar''alith couldn''t wait to see Natalia, and was indifferent to their looting process.


    As such, Lu Li just told everyone to travel to Natalya''s location, and discuss what First Clear rewards they had received. The most excited person seemed to be Deep Watersong.


    "Haha, it''s an Enhanced Skill book! I got an Enhanced Skill Book! I finally got an Enhanced Skill Book!"


    Deep Watersong almost burst into tears. Enhanced Skill Books were even more precious than Skill Points. He had defeated quite a few Bosses, but was just unable to find the Enhanced Skill book for Bear Tank. He had actually begun to regret playing this class.


    But who would have thought that the Enhance Skill book that he wanted would suddenly appear now?


    "Who else got an Enhanced Skill book?" Lu Li asked as he put his item into his backpack, not wanting to let anyone else see it.


    He had received a pretty good¡­ Dark Gold equipment!


    He was just becoming more and more unlucky, ever since he looted that Steel item back in the Spider Lair. It was likely that his numbers were being tweaked to maintain balance within the game.


    "I got a Skill Point," Azure Sea Breeze said proudly. He didn''t know what lacklustre reward Lu Li got, but he could tell that it wasn''t good from his expression. One could roughly tell what a player in the party had received just by looking at their face. To Azure Sea Breeze, this Skill Point was even more precious than equipment.


    No matter how good the equipment, it would eventually be replaced when they could train to level 70. On the other hand, Skill Points would always be relevant.


    Most people received equipment as this was the most common reward.


    However, most of them received Epic equipment, as this was a First Clear of an Instance Dungeon. The only exception was Lu Li.


    Under normal circumstances, everyone would receive Epic equipment relevant to their profession. However, the item also had to be connected to the Ahn''Qiraj Temple Instance Dungeon, which came with advantages and disadvantages. Different players from different professions would have different opinions about that.


    However, there was one item that they knew was really valuable.


    Robes of the Guardian Saint!


    This was the item that March Rain had been rewarded with ¨C healer robes for the Priest profession.


    A girl''s understanding of equipment was different from a boy''s. It wasn''t that they didn''t value the attributes, but they didn''t value them as much. If an equipment''s attributes were bad, a boy would be disgusted while a girl would still consider wearing it for its aesthetic value.


    When March Rain put the robe on, she was instantly surrounding by all the other girls.


    It was a colour that Lu Li couldn''t quite identify. Most men would say that it was a blue colour with a tint of green.


    However, any man could tell that March Rain looked beautiful in the robes. She was almost as beautiful as Water Fairy now.


    "I want it too!" Water Fairy cried as she pulled at Lu Li''s fingers.


    "Uh¡­" Lu Li was speechless. She was a Thief, so why would she want a robe like that? However, he was someone with a girlfriend now, so he had no choice but to accept.


    "I will definitely help you farm one."


    The Robes of the Guardian Saint didn''t actually have any profession limitations, so anyone could wear them.


    Although the drop rate was low, it was definitely possible to farm one with the strength of the three guilds.


    The attributes of this item were alright, and weren''t as good as what March Rain already had, but it could still be used as a fashion piece.


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 1723 World-Soul

    In sharp contrast to the players, the anxious Mar''alith was leading the way and rushing towards where his wife was.


    Lu Li followed him, and was worried that Natalia would just kill him.


    The Instance Dungeon had been dealt with and Mar''alith''s role had been completed, but Lu Li didn''t want to see that tragedy unfold.


    Besides, if Mar''alith managed to save his wife, the quest reward was bound to be a rich one.


    "Get ready to fight," Lu Li reminded everyone.


    He wasn''t so na?ve to think that there wasn''t going to be a fight in the next section. He wasn''t counting on there to be a scene where the husband and wife would cry and embrace upon reuniting. Natalia was now an High Priestess of C''Thun and Lu Li and the others, including her husband, had just killed C''Thun in the Instance Dungeon.


    As such, it was no surprise when she attacked once they met.


    However, Mar''alith was shocked and didn''t even know how to fight back. If Lu Li and the others weren''t there, the commander of Cenarion Circle was likely to die.


    "Breezy, block the attacks!" Lu Li shouted.


    "Relax, it''ll be fine. I''ll keep this NPC alive," Azure Sea Breeze said as he charged into Natalia''s petite body, but was sent flying. She managed to do this with just a wave of her Magic Staff.


    She was nothing like a Priest in terms of their low survivability. She was more like a melee Magic profession.


    "Lord Mar''alith, we must subdue her to use the Soul Shards of C''Thun. You will only have one chance, so if you feel like you are unable to fight then maybe we should retreat!" Lu Li yelled at Mar''alith.


    Mar''alith couldn''t continue fighting on like this. It wasn''t that they couldn''t defeat Natalia, but there was no way that they could guarantee Mar''alith''s survival.


    Mar''alith was the NPC and he had managed to survive until now because of his four Druid Transformations. He could easily survive Natalya''s attacks if he wanted to, but he was currently just standing there and probably wouldn''t last longer than 5 minutes.


    When he finally heard Lu Li''s voice, Mar''alith finally came to his senses.


    Yes, this woman wasn''t his wife. They had to restrain her and dispel the evil from her so that he could have his Natalia back.


    Mar''alith quickly burst into action and was now taking part in the fight.


    His wife was so beautiful that there had to be many people who wanted to be friends with him. But now, these friends were also helping him fight his wife.


    This poor couple didn''t know that they would be repeating this process many times over in the future. At the very least, they would be doing this until C''Thun was nerfed enough that the players didn''t need to make use of Mar''alith anymore.


    Natalia turned out to actually be a reasonably strong Boss.


    However, she wasn''t as strong as C''Thun in the Instance Dungeon. Moreover, her husband knew her skills and was able to fight around her.


    When Natalia was controlled by C''Thun, she stopped being blessed by the moon God Elune and instead turned to the Old God''s power. However, in terms of fighting style, not that much had changed. It was just the property of her attacks that had changed.


    Mar''alith, who had been fighting by her side for countless years, could close his eyes and tell what skills she was about to cast.


    With his reminders, Lu Li and the others sent Natalia Berserk without any issues. However, this was where the problems began to arise.


    The question was whether they should kill her or not.


    Mar''alith certainly didn''t want his wife to be killed. He just wanted to restrain her. If she was killed then he would be alone in this world.


    "Stop! Breezy, just tank up. Healers, pay attention to his HP!" Lu Li cried out before explaining the dilemma to everyone.


    This death would be a real one too ¨C if they killed her then she really would be gone. Who knows? Mar''alith could even turn into a Boss if that happened and kill everyone. The Bosses that they were most afraid of were not the ones that had the most attack or defense, but the ones that could regenerate their own HP.


    In general, Druid Bosses in Instance Dungeons were usually a severely weakened version of the profession.


    Mar''alith wasn''t an Instance Dungeon Boss, but no one could weaken him. He probably couldn''t face C''Thun alone, but the players would rather face C''Thun than him. Mar''alith was such a strong Druid NPC that he was probably an Archdruid.


    After everyone stopped attacking, only Natalia''s attacks were left.


    Fortunately, her strength was quite ordinary, especially after she had finished going Berserk. There was no way for her to wipe everyone.


    After the Berserk stage had ended, Natalya gained a weakness status effect.


    Without Lu Li''s prompting, Mar''alith knew what to do. He went up and hugged his wife so he could place C''Thun''s Soul Shard onto her head.


    It was like throwing a hot coal into water, as the C''Thun''s Soul Shard began to burn up all of C''Thun''s spiritual energy.


    Mar''alith sitting around doing nothing either. His hand was filled with healing energy as he was a powerful healer himself.


    With this two-pronged approach, the weakened Natalia tried to escape.


    As she was struggling, she was doing a lot of shouting. The things she shouted seemed to make sense to those listening.


    For example, she talked about the damage that the Titans caused to the mainland, and how if the Azeroth Titan woke up one day, they would all welcome the Drowned. She also mentioned some secrets about some other continents. These were things that Lu Li and the others didn''t know about. There were things that weren''t even recorded in the Stormwind City Library.


    These things weren''t mentioned in the strategy guides, so it was likely that the officials would soon remove this part of the game.


    Dawn''s lore and worldbuilding was quite complicated. For some people, Elune, who remained asleep, was Azeroth''s World-soul. They thought that she was the only true God on this continent.


    Whether her presence was good or bad for the people living on the mainland, no one could really tell. But at least in the minds of the Night Elves, she was a positive force. Moreover, she had not just destroyed all the Orcs and the Undead, so the other Horde races still maintained a certain level of respect and fear for her.


    As for what would happen if the World-soul woke up, it was generally believed that Azeroth would continue to exist even after that.


    The appearance of Titans wasn''t something that had never happened before. And no one really thought that Azeroth itself was the World-soul. At the very most, it was the World-soul''s cradle, its homeland and nothing more. In the future, the World-soul might leave, but everyone would still be able to live on this land.


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 1724 Branch Guild

    Natalia''s voice was growing weaker and weaker as the spell casting continued. In the end, she finally fell into a deep slumber.


    Mar''alith breathed a sigh of relief. He carried his wife and planned to leave right away.


    Wait a minute. Where were the rewards?


    Mar''alith seemed to remember the rewards as well. He stopped walking and said, "My friends, thank you. Without you, Natalia would not have been revived. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Normal rewards would not satisfy the magnitude of my gratitude."


    "No! Just give me the normal rewards! Don''t say something like ''I will remember what you have done for me''," Lu Li thought to himself.


    Lu Li was already on the verge of tears. In Dawn, not all of your efforts that were invested into a quest would yield rewards. If you angered an NPC, then the NPC wouldn''t give out the rewards or the NPC might even kill you. Furthermore, even if they were satisfied, the rewards might still be a little peculiar.


    For example, you could be rewarded with a friendship with the NPC. What was the point? How much could these friendships sell for?


    Even without rewards, Lu Li would still gain something out of it. After all, they had participated in the battle, which sped up the completion of the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj by at least half a month. This would shock a lot of Dawn''s players. Now, once the name ''Ruling'' Sword was mentioned, players from around the globe would know that this was the club which had taken the first clear for Ahn''Qiraj. Moreover, other clubs were still struggling in the first phase of the battle.


    There were still players outside of the Chinese region who were still living in the age where Glory Capital was dominating the gaming scene. After all, Ruling Sword hadn''t been established for that long.


    However, after Ahn''Qiraj, no one was able to compete with Ruling Sword in terms of Instance Dungeon clearing.


    Of course, this didn''t mean that Ruling Sword was untouchable.


    To put it simply, Ruling Sword wouldn''t have more than 30 teams that could take down the Temple, even after one or two months. However, those mega-clubs would be able to commission 300 teams to constantly grind the Temple. Even if they only received five Epic items per run, this would undoubtedly add up to a considerable amount.


    Ruling Sword didn''t even have five complete Elite teams. One of them was also focused on PVP. Other clubs already had around a hundred, with some clubs having even more.


    Glory Capital also hadn''t been slacking either. They had 300 active Elite teams for a while now.


    Gale Legion also had more than a hundred Elite teams.


    "I always prioritised my business more, but now, I have realised that there are much more important things in the world," Mar''alith said with a tone of sadness. "I hope that it is not too late, my friends. After I return, I will resign from my position. When that time comes, you can send two Druids to me, and I will teach them some battle skills forged from my experiences."


    He didn''t mention items, gold, skill points or skill books, but Lu Li was extremely satisfied with these rewards.


    The Mentor system had already been released for around half a year. Many of the top players already had their own mentors, but this was not the case for 99% of other players. Even within those players who had mentors, the strength of these mentors also had to be considered.


    Mar''alith was one of the Cenarion Circle''s highest-ranking commanders. He was highly respected and was extremely powerful.


    It would be an opportunity of a lifetime if a Druid could become his student. Of course, it wouldn''t be comparable to being mentored by Malfurion.


    "Only two?"


    This was the only thing that Lu Li wasn''t satisfied with.


    Did Mar''alith even love his wife? They had saved his wife, and yet this was it?


    "I am very sorry. I want to spend more time with Natalia. I don''t want to teach half-heartedly, so I''ll only take two students," Mar''alith explained regrettably. He knew that if it wasn''t for Lu Li, he would have received a corpse instead of a living Natalia.


    Innocent Child and Hachi Chan both had mentors already, so the demand for a mentor wasn''t that high at all. In the end, Ruling Sword still took a slot, while Water Fairy''s guild took another. There were no objections. After all, this was a quest that had been received by Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    Now, the new Naxxramas Instance Dungeon had been released.


    Some players decided to try their hand at this, but even the top players wouldn''t want to go and attempt it straight away. Furthermore, Lu Li was quite busy with all the things within the club.


    He immediately looked for Square Root Three.


    "Brother Three, come!"


    "What''s up? If there''s nothing important, then keep it short. I''m super busy right now."


    Square Root Three didn''t bother about Lu Li''s feelings. He wasn''t too impressed with Lu Li interrupting his work.


    He was a busy man now ¨C on a normal day, he wouldn''t even have time to talk and hang out with Lu Li. In the beginning, he would ask Lu Li for tips and advice on many things. However, in more recent times, he realised that Lu Li wasn''t someone who cared about details. That was why he didn''t really want to bother with talking to him about things that weren''t important.


    "I want to talk to you about making a branch guild," Lu Li said.


    "You want to do it now? It hasn''t even been a year!" Square Root Three cried out in shock. There were already talks of establishing a branch guild, but it seemed to be premature.


    Most clubs wouldn''t exceed 200,000 members, while it was better for newer clubs to remain stable at 100,000 members.


    Ruling Sword had already sent some of their members to the Profession Alliance, so they had 80,000 now. However, this didn''t seem like an opportune time to establish a branch guild.


    A branch guild wouldn''t purely consist of new recruits, so they would send over a large portion of their current members. The ones being sent over wouldn''t be too happy about it, especially since everyone still wasn''t too sure of their loyalty to Ruling Sword.


    After a couple of years, these would no longer be issues


    Square Root Three didn''t know why Lu Li wanted to speed up their plans.


    "Didn''t you realise that there are more people applying to join the club now?" Lu Li replied with another question.


    "That''s true¡­You''re saying that it was because of the First Clear?" Square Root Three wasn''t stupid. He was just overworked.


    "Let''s use this opportunity to rapidly expand our guild. We can''t just let this opportunity slip away." Lu Li was planning on committing hard. He continued saying, "I''m planning to use all the money that we earned to invest into this. We need to really press for it this time."


    The Glory Cup had already commenced, while the Ruling Cup was still many years away. Lu Li didn''t want to wait any longer.


    Ruling Sword''s greatest weakness now was their lack of Elite teams.


    Sure, they had taken First Clear after First Clear, which only served to build upon their reputation and fame. However, they needed to capitalise on the opportunity to use this to expand, otherwise, it would all be for nought.


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 1725 Sugar Baby

    The whole world received the news of Ouro''s First Clear as well as the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj''s First Clear. Naturally, this placed the spotlight on Ruling Sword.


    The number of people wanting to join Ruling Sword nowadays was increasing. Among these players, there were some who left other major clubs to join.


    The reason as to why Square Root Three was overworked and extremely tired was because he was picking and interviewing these hopeful recruits.


    "We''ll expand our club, then form ten complete elite teams¡­" Lu Li began explaining his ideas.


    "Ten elite teams? Lu Li¡­Do you know that the elite players still need to be paid salaries?"


    Square Root Three suddenly felt a whole lot of pressure. They only had five elite teams at the time, and that was already difficult enough to manage. Now, Lu Li wanted to double that number.


    Elite teams were not easy to manage.


    They couldn''t just be spoken into existence. If it was that simple, then Lu Li could say that Ruling Sword had 800 Elite teams. Everyone would be an ''Elite''.


    Realistically speaking, Elite players still needed to sign an official contract to be employed, then be included into the trade union. It was just like being officially employed into the gaming industry.


    The Union would protect the rights and benefits of these players and make sure that they were treated fairly while being employed. Furthermore, there were also regulations in place that set different minimum wages.


    If there were actually 800 Elite teams, Lu Li would immediately go bankrupt.


    The only way for players to be included into an Elite team was for them to meet the requirements. At the very least, they would need to be able to contribute to the organisation from their own determination and efforts.


    Glory Capital had 300 Elite teams. According to the minimum wage of 3000 per month, it would cost them 100 million dollars per month just to pay the 30,000 players. In one year, it would cost them 1.2 billion dollars. No matter how rich they were, they wouldn''t be able to keep this up.


    Realistically speaking, Glory Capital probably didn''t even pay 100 million per month to the Elite teams. Furthermore, they were also profiting from these teams too.


    The Elite teams participated in the guild''s activities, which in turn benefited the guild.


    According to statistics, only the clubs that were able to reap profits from their Elite teams were able to sustain themselves in the long-term. With more money, they could continue to pay the Elite teams, which would only serve to increase the overall value of the organisation.


    It wasn''t easy for Ruling Sword to maintain ten Elite teams either.


    "It''s not that simple either. The branch guild would need to form two more elite teams. We need to go and recruit people, and try out best to recruit top-tier players. Throw a few of our newbies into the new branch. Get them to register into the competitions and let them play in them."


    Lu Li''s words were relentless. With ten elite teams already, adding more would not be so simple.


    "Where are we getting the funds from? There''s no way that we''ll be able to feed so many mouths." Square Root Three was speechless.


    Lu Li rolled his eyes and started counting on his fingers.


    "Stronghold battles are at least once per month. With this, we''re gaining 7 million dollars in profit every time. There shouldn''t be a problem¡­"


    "Well, it doesn''t seem like there will be problems. However, that''s assuming that we win every time. Lu Li, didn''t you say that you wanted to grow and build steadily? If you''re going to do this, then we''ll be walking on thin ice. If we lose our Stronghold, then we also lose our source of income. If that time comes, it would likely that we end up going bankrupt and are forced to disband.


    "Well, the Shadow Cup is starting this month. Three months later, there''s Glory Cup. After that, we''ll have the second season of the professional league. There will surely be an increase in competitions, so our income will surely increase too," Lu Li responded.


    "Big bro¡­Big boss¡­Again, that''s assuming that we win every time. Are you that confident that you can win every time? Are you willing to bet on it? Do you have a backup plan?"


    Square Root Three was about to burst into tears.


    "Actually, it''s not without a backup plan," Lu Li said, suddenly becoming a little embarrassed. "If it really gets to that stage, I trust that Snowy would help us."


    "Hm¡­." Square Root Three froze for a little.


    He didn''t know whether he should have yelled at Lu Li for being irresponsible and a leech, or to yell at him for flexing his relationship like this. However, he needed to admit that Lu Li''s words made sense.


    Water Fairy was rich.


    Filthy rich.


    Some people were worried that Drizzle Court and Peerless City would lose their income and money after Water Fairy split from her family. However, for the people who truly knew her and her family, this wouldn''t have been a concern. This was because without her family, she was still incredibly wealthy.


    Furthermore, news leaked out that while she was building Drizzle Court and Peerless City, the funds and resources had mainly come from her.


    At the most, she had used some manpower and a few resources from her family''s company. Otherwise, when she split from her family, how would she be able to sustain Drizzle Court and Peerless City during those desperate times?


    If Lu Li really was struggling and had no more options, it would be impossible for Water Fairy to stay on the sidelines.


    "How shameless!"


    He hadn''t seen anyone as shameless as Lu Li. This was all Square Root Three could say.


    If only he himself had a girlfriend that was so outrageously wealthy. He wouldn''t even need to work this hard.


    Sugar baby!


    "Actually, with where we''re at now, we need to keep going. Otherwise, we''ll be left behind. We need to use this opportunity to expand quickly. It''ll be much harder in the future. Even if there are risks, we need to steel ourselves and face it," Lu Li said with a serious face.


    "I trust you."


    Square Root Three couldn''t do anything more.


    "Firstly, we need to increase the number of Elite teams. This will be in part done through selection of our current members. The other part will come through our recruitment processes. Secondly, we also need to build two Elite teams for the branch guild. I think that some players will want to transfer to the branch guild. Thirdly, announce that we''re working with the Profession Alliance. Direct partnering. I''ve already told Half-Life Crystal about it.


    According to the agreement, Half-Life Crystal had provided the materials for the Door quest for the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj, while Lu Li agreed to eventually conquer a Stronghold for them.


    Now, the benefits gained from Strongholds were much greater. Furthermore, the competition for them were also much fiercer. Therefore, with the strength of the Profession Alliance, they probably wouldn''t be able to maintain control of the Stronghold even if they were given one. Lu Li and Half-Life Crystal discussed this, with Half-Life Crystal agreeing to have a direct partnership with Ruling Sword. The only thing left to do was merging the two organisations together.


    The Profession Alliance also had large expenses of their own to deal with, so they couldn''t provide much financial support for Ruling Sword''s establishment of a branch guild. However, they had a lot of low-value materials and resources, so they could speed up the expansion of a new guild.


    Square Root Three thought over Lu Li''s points and could only agree.


    "Alright. I agree with your suggestion to build a branch guild. However, who''s going to manage it? What''s going to be the name of the guild?"


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 1726 Judgment Spear

    "Are you sure that he would agree? He''s a stubborn donkey, that one."


    Square Root Three couldn''t believe that Lu Li planned to delegate such a big responsibility to Wandering. He reckoned that anyone else would be a better fit for the job.


    "If I really do give it to him, he won''t just ignore his responsibilities. Don''t worry about it." Lu Li was sure of his decision.


    Lu Li already had a relationship with Wandering that spanned over two lifetimes. How could he not know what type of person Wandering was? It was true that he was lazy, but that was because everyone else was already involved in most tasks, so there was no need for him. However, in situations where they needed him, there was no way that he would just watch and not take action.


    This was evident in his style of administration and commanding as well. He was someone who aimed for the big fish.


    One of his strong points was that he was able to unintentionally find problems and use the shortest amount of time to solve them. His brain was being put to good use.


    Square Root Three was worried that Wandering would just be lazy and not care, which would only make things more chaotic.


    He didn''t know Wandering like Lu Li did. Firstly, Wandering was only lazy when he had the opportunity to be lazy. If they actually delegated him responsibility, then he wouldn''t be lazy about it. Secondly, he was someone who cared a lot about his image and reputation. Even if it was for his concern over maintaining his image, he wouldn''t allow the guild to be thrown into chaos.


    "Let Cat Dad go over to help him, since he has a wealth of experience to offer him. He''s also a more careful person," Lu Li added. After hearing this, Square Root Three was satisfied.


    Cat Dad was an extremely capable administrator. Although he sometimes lacked foresight, this would even out after partnering with Wandering.


    "What should be the name of the new guild?" Square Root Three asked.


    The name was still very important, despite it being a branch guild. A branch guild still had limitless potential. Did Peerless City and Gale Legion not begin as branch guilds?


    "Let''s call it Judgment Spear," Lu Li immediately answered. Building a new branch guild could not be done in a day. His goal in life was not only to marry Water Fairy, but also to expand his paths.


    Establishing a branch guild had always been in his mind.


    Ruling Sword, Judgment Spear, Guardian Shield ¨C these were all names that Lu Li already had in mind. Guardian Shield was still quite far away, but Judgment Spear was already on the brink of completion.


    "Alright. I''ll go and make the necessary preparations. I''m about to be overworked. You need to raise my salary for this."


    Square Root Three was already quite busy. Wandering and Cat Dad were the two people who could help alleviate some of his burdens, but now they were going over to the branch guild as well. He was going to be worked until his legs gave out.


    Lu Li didn''t think that Square Root Three was grumbling.


    Even the dumbest of people could sense the excitement in Square Root Three''s words. In earlier times, Square Root Three could not stand Ao Jian''s unwillingness and lack of enthusiasm to use their resources to expand their guild. As a result, he left the guild angrily and in frustration, since he thought that all of his efforts had just gone to waste.


    Lu Li then approached him and gave him an opportunity.


    Perhaps it was through his experience with Ao Jian that he was able to easily recognise Lu Li as someone who had great


    potential and ambition.


    Lu Li was completely different to Ao Jian. If Ao Jian was a proud peacock, then Lu Li would be a tiger, hiding its fangs and claws. No matter how harmless Lu Li looked, his carnivorous nature would be hard to hide.


    Furthermore, Lu Li was someone who was patient in pursuit.


    The environment in which he was raised was not ideal, as he lived in extreme poverty. It could be easily imagined that he was one of the people who lived their lives counting every single cent. However, in his interactions and relationships with other people, he was not stingy and petty.


    Once he accepted someone, he didn''t care whether the person would benefit him or not.


    He was also willing to share his own benefits with others.


    People like him were seen as idiots.


    Lu Li had already experienced one lifetime of poverty and could barely sustain himself, and yet he was still doing the same thing.


    Firstly, he thought about fair distribution of items between his teammates. Then, he started being much more generous when giving items as well. An idiot like this had managed to attract countless top-tier players to follow him with


    unwavering loyalty.


    Players like Azure Sea Breeze, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream would have been heavily recruited to join other organisations which would have offered them far more than what Lu Li could. Yet, they still decided to stay with Lu Li . Square Root Three knew better. He knew that Lu Li wasn''t an idiot. He would rather believe that Lu Li''s harsh upbringing taught him how to manipulate others.


    Well, it didn''t matter anyway. Just as Lu Xun, a Chinese writer, said, if a bad person only did good things for his whole life, then he was a good person.


    All the organisations were amazed upon learning that Ruling Sword was establishing a branch guild.


    It seemed so rushed!


    The pressure would be immense!


    Ruling Sword hadn''t even been around for one year, but this didn''t seem like a joke at all. They seemed serious about it.


    However, people who knew better knew that this was something that would happen sooner or later. If Ruling Sword really wanted to, then they could just accept a large investment from external sources and rapidly increase the number of elite teams. That would be real growth.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li was stupid and narrow sighted, so he couldn''t gather enough investors. Therefore, Ruling Sword could only progress slowly.


    They didn''t think that they could get here without external investments.


    To establish Judgment Spear, Lu Li arranged for 20,000 capable players from the main guild to transfer over. In a blink of an eye, Judgment Spear was filled with members. Furthermore, within these 20,000 players, there were some top-tier players from Ruling Sword''s own elite teams who were willing to join the branch guild.


    After this, they began to furiously recruit for members.


    Because they had the trump card of the Stronghold, it was an easy task for them to recruit new members.


    Countless Arena rooms were set up in the Strongholds. Players who enjoyed to PVP were free to challenge anyone there. As long as they could prove that they were somewhat capable in battle, they would be able to join Judgment Spear. Lu Li set a limit of 50,000 Judgment Spear members, which meant that they needed to recruit around 30,000 more.


    As for the 20,000 members that were transferred from the main guild, Lu Li also planned to fill this gaping hole.


    The requirements for joining Ruling Sword were much stricter than the branch guild. For PvE, they needed to show their System score in a certain Instance Dungeon. If the score met the requirements, then they would be able to join. Furthermore, once they joined, they would be a trial member. Only after experiencing an actual Instance Dungeon with the guild would they be instated as a proper member of Ruling Sword.


    As for PvP players, they needed an Arena score exceeding 1800. Otherwise, they wouldn''t even have a chance at joining Ruling Sword.


    In this current update, the maximum Arena score was 2200. Not many people could reach that. People who did manage to reach 2200 usually quit the Arena after maxing it out.


    It was easy to lose points, but difficult to gain them. The more points the player had, the more difficult it was. The points system past 2000 was ridiculous. If they lost one round, the points gained from winning ten rounds might not be able to recover the deficit. Most of the top-tier PVP players usually hovered around 2000 points or so.


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 1727 Killed the Wrong Person

    Judgement Spear had been established. Everyone looked over.


    Lu Li had also entered into this branch. He was like a living sign ¨C he long as he was there, he would be on everyone''s lips.


    Whoever said that branching off wasn''t a good idea wasn''t respected.


    "Organise some activities or something. How often can we get everyone together like this?"


    Wandering actually didn''t want to be the leader of this branch, but Lu Li eventually persuaded him. Now, Wandering had a taste of what it felt like to have all this chatter directed at him.


    "Why not go fight some Headless Paladin Steeds?" Lu Li suggested.


    When Ruling Sword was only just established, the first activity organized was going to fight Headless Paladin Steeds. It could be considered an anniversary event now.


    "That''s not that interesting. I don''t even have any cooldowns left today," Her Tears said.


    He was also loaned from the head guild, spending some time at the branch guild then going back after everything was stabilized.


    "If you don''t have cooldowns, it doesn''t mean others don''t. There are quite a few people who want to fight Headless Paladin Steeds."


    Lu Li really didn''t have much to say. To this kind of PVP fanatic, nothing was as exciting as killing other players. Wouldn''t these people be concerned that this long-term interest would turn into their personality?


    "Then give us some killing related things to do," Her Tears said quietly.


    Recently, Ruling Sword''s reputation had gone through the roof. They almost didn''t have any power at this key moment to incite anything. People like Her Tears were quickly getting bored to death.


    "How about this? Go and find someone called Chase You Hehe ¨C he''s a Night Elf druid. I''m not sure exactly what level he''s at, but they might be from the Gangnam guild¡­" Lu Li said, thinking back a bit. At this time, this person should be entering the game.


    "And after we find him?" Her Tears asked as he looked expectantly at Lu Li.


    "Kill him," Lu Li said.


    "And after we kill him?"


    There was clearly something wrong with Her Tears'' morals. The first thing he cared about wasn''t why Lu Li had to kill this person, but he was concerned with what to do after killing them. This was especially concerning since this guy was still part of a club.


    "Keep killing," Lu Li answered matter-of-factly. There was clearly something wrong with his morals here too.


    Actually, it wasn''t that there was something wrong with Lu Li''s morals, but it was that he had no choice but to kill this person. He was even dying to kill this person in real life.


    If his little sister didn''t get sick in his past life, which would grant Lu Li continued willpower and intellect in his character, then maybe he wouldn''t have entered the game one year later.


    There were two turning points in his life. One was when his sister got sick, and the other was when he was tricked of everything he had in the game.


    Because his sister was sick, he could do nothing else but to sell everything he had in the game.


    Chase You Hehe just happened to look like a frank and generous buyer. He more or less entered the game at about the same time as Lu Li, about one year after it had been released. This person was incredibly wealthy. Lu Li''s first earnings were from a rare material dropped by an Elite monster that he sold to Chase You Hehe.


    Chase You Hehe was relatively generous. At the time, it was selling on the market for 85 gold, but he bought it straight from Lu Li for 100 gold.


    From then on, whenever Lu Li had anything good, he would tend to ask Chase You Hehe first. As long as it was something he wanted, Lu Li would sell it to him. As such, he didn''t waste time in selling things, and he could fetch a pretty good price for it.


    Their way of doing trade was giving the cash first before the goods. Since Chase You Hehe always said that he didn''t have enough gold to use, they always used real money to complete the trade.


    Chase You Hehe didn''t lack money. He had a disposable income of several million every month.


    Lu Li sold all of his things for one million dollars, which was just enough to save his sister.


    It was right at this time that Chase You Hehe trapped him.


    Lu Li really did receive this payment, same as with all the countless trades before. However, when he went to the bank to cash-in, he realized that this account number actually didn''t contain this amount of money.


    He reported this to the police, who determined that a virus had been planted on his phone in a sophisticated way. There was no evidence that Chase You Hehe had done this. Chase You Hehe definitely did transfer money into Lu Li''s account, but it had been robbed away somewhere along the way.


    Aside from this, the game company never encouraged players to trade offline, and also didn''t take responsibility for things that happened offline.


    The practically illiterate Lu Li simple couldn''t find a way to recover his losses.


    Chase You Hehe also truly turned against and fell out with Lu Li. He was from the Gangnam Royals and he had close ties with some top people in the guild. By flexing a bit of his power, he could make Lu Li wish that he had never been born.


    Why exactly this rich kid who simply didn''t care about money targeted him, Lu Li never found out.


    Now, this thing wouldn''t happen again.


    He would not experience this sort of hopelessness, and Chase You Hehe wouldn''t have a chance to rob him again.


    So, how should he get rid of that sort of hostility etched in his memory? Perpahs someone would say that nothing like this could happen in this world, and it wouldn''t happen again in the future, so he should just forgive and forget all about it.


    Damn all this forgive and forget stuff!


    Her Tears called the PVP fanatics in the new guild, looking for anyone wherever he could.


    Thousands, even tens of thousands of people all went hunting for one person and the results came very quickly. This person was just at the Scarlet Monastery levelling up with a Gangnam Royals Mage.


    Even if the level 60 players were simply armed with a couple of watermelon cutting knives, they could still dispatch of him with no effort.


    The Mage who was with him was scared to death.


    If there weren''t many people, he could still fight back without hesitation. The thing was that the opponents came in dozens, fighting and clambering over each other, trying to kill off a level 30 sock-puppet. The whole scene was chaotic. The Mage anxiously acted as though he didn''t know who this Hehe guy was, trying to avoid his death.


    Chase You Hehe was completely dumbstruck. He just couldn''t understand why he had been killed.


    A mistake, there must be a mistake.


    "Have they gone?" Chase You Hehe asked as he stood next to his corpse.


    "They''ve gone, or it looks like it anyway. I heard a Paladin quietly say that they killed the wrong person. Hehe, bro, what do we do?" the mage asked for instructions. He had been sent here to bring Chase You Hehe to level. With this command from up above, it was clear that the one whom he brought was pretty important.


    "The most important thing now is to level up. I have to get to level 60 first," Catch You Hehe said with hatred.


    After making sure that no one was there watching the corpse, Chase You Hehe respawned. He was going to go into an Instance Dungeon before he again saw a group of people rushing over. They either had increased movement speed or they had some sort of skill that let them appear in a flash. In any case, they were so quick that there wouldn''t be any time to react.


    Poor Hehe, he had no idea why he would be killed like that.


    "I definitely just saw them leave."


    The mage was really embarrassed. Unfortunately, it looked like he was taking his anger out on himself.


    "Then you have a look now¡­" Catch You Hehe said, holding back his temper. He was always accustomed to keeping a smiling face since he was a child, so he never lost his temper easily.


    "They''ve gone. It really looks like they''ve gone. That Paladin said that they think they killed the wrong person," the Mage said as he carefully followed behind at a distance, despite being sure that the mob of people had left.


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 1728 Not Daring to Provoke

    "Check again. I just can''t shake the feeling that they didn''t kill the wrong person." Chase You Hehe wasn''t an idiot.


    But he just couldn''t figure out why these people wanted to kill him. He was always very friendly to everyone. Even if he was plotting against someone, he''d do it secretly. And in Dawn, not many people knew who he was anyway. Who would be so bored as to assemble a whole group of people to fight him?


    "I''m sure. I used Cone of Cold to check and there isn''t even a thief using Stealth," the Mage guaranteed many times.


    Suddenly, Chase You Hehe fell down yet again. He wasn''t far from the entrance to the Instance Dungeon. As long as he could step into the Instance Dungeon, then this nightmare would be over, but he couldn''t even take one step in.


    "You''re on the same side as them. Didn''t you say they had already left?"


    "Maybe there''s too many of them. They could''ve waited after my spells and then re-entered again," the Mage suggested as he racked his brains.


    "I haven''t wronged anyone before. I didn''t use my old name, and not many people know my new name," Chase You Hehe groaned in frustration.


    "Well, bro, how about we go back to the city and then to Zul''Farrak. With your level you can enter Zul''Farrak now." The Mage suggested.


    On the field, since the ''Chase You Hehe'' who tricked Lu Li of everything he had and made Lu Xin penniless, everything that Chase You Hehe faced was all illogical.


    How could a new person in the game offend anyone? Even if he did wrong someone, there was no need to keep killing him again and again.


    Chase You Hehe hired someone to deal with this, but he really wanted to get to level 60 as soon as possible. Revenge and all that could take its time. While he let people investigate who those people were just then, he went back to the main city to respawn.


    After he respawned, he went to Zul''Farrak under the guidance of the Mage. "Grrr, wait till I''m level 60. I''ll definitely bring an even bigger bunch of people to get some revenge," Chase You Hehe thought.


    "Relatively speaking, your level is still a little low. I''ll go to the entrance first to clear up some monsters, and after I''m done you can come in," the Mage warned Chase You Hehe at the entrance of the Instance Dungeon, before entering the Instance Dungeon first.


    "Ooowww," a voice cried pitifully.


    The Mage was startled. He was surrounded by a group of little monsters and he quickly took care of the little monsters, then he gasped and saw that Chase You Hehe had been finished off again.


    When he got out of the Instance Dungeon, apart from seeing Chase You Hehe''s corpse, he also saw a familiar face. It was a Paladin, his face full of regret, mumbling to himself, "Damn, killed the wrong one again."


    "Damn you, no idiot would believe you! Who are you? Why do you keep killing my friend? Do you know what club we''re from?" the Mage interrogated in a shrieking voice.


    "You don''t belong to a club," Her Tears replied provocatively.


    "You¡­you¡­" the Mage stammered. He simply couldn''t get any words out.


    There were a few dozen people on their side, and who knew how many more were hidden away. As a PVE player, he simply didn''t dare to attack.


    "They¡­shouldn''t come here again right," Chase You Hehe groaned sluggishly in his spirit form. In any case, he wouldn''t believe whatever the Mage said now. He didn''t blame the opponents for being smart, but it was his own fault for having a useless teammate.


    "Nope, I''ve talked with them, they''re probably just looking for trouble," the Mage sighed pathetically.


    "Trick them into saying something. I''m calling someone, if we put up with something like this then where do we draw the line?" Chase You Hehe said. He was never one who liked to wait. Even though he hadn''t levelled up fully yet, he still had people behind him. An amazing club got his back; He needed to let these people know the furry of such a high-level club.


    "We, we''re from Judgement Spear," Her Tears confessed. What the hell was Judgement Spear?


    Never heard of it. The Mage told Chase You Hehe about Judgement Spear, and both of them hadn''t heard of such a club. So what were they waiting for? Of course they''d call for reinforcements straight away. They''d just get a few people from Gangnam Style to simply destroy these guys.


    It looked like there were a few dozen of them, but they didn''t know if some were hidden. So, it was best if they brought about 300 PVP players.


    So many people suddenly transferred to the guild. Of course, the club boss, Heart of War, couldn''t have any idea about what was happening initially. He had stronger authority and control than anyone else, and because of this, he spoke out and asked what was happening.


    "What, Judgement Spear?" To begin with, Heart of War didn''t feel like there was anything weird. But just a second later, he realized who this unheard guild was. He knew that today Ruling Sword had started up a new branch. Everyone called this the ''Ruling Sword Branch Guild'', but almost no one had brought up the name Judgement Spear.


    "Yeah, I''ll bring some members over to get rid of them. Damn them, they killed me quite a few times," Chase You Hehe complained angrily.


    "Wait, don''t go. What did you do to provoke them?" Heart of War questioned in cold sweat. A big disaster was going to happen if he didn''t react in time. Wouldn''t a big war erupt again?


    Heart of War and Lu Li had clashed quite a few times, but every single time it was he that suffered. Lu Li made his club rank last in the list of high-level clubs¡ª on the brink of disintegrating. Fortunately, he had money and the ability to avoid a full blown war with Ruling Sword. Now, he could finally breathe again.


    However, if you were to say he was afraid of Lu Li from now on, or whenever he met him he''d avoid him, well, that certainly wouldn''t be true. The thing about this game is that it was always important to keep track of old scores. If he wanted to settle these scores, Hear of War would definitely attack Ruling Sword fiercely. He hasn''t yet not because he hadn''t recovered his strength, or because Ruling Sword had entered into a golden age, he was just waiting for Gangnam Royals to return to glory and for Ruling Sword to reach a crisis of some sort. Then the opportune time would come for action.


    "I didn''t stir them up. I''m a level 30 something sock puppet. What can I do to provoke them?" Chase You hehe defended himself, emphasizing that he really had been treated badly.


    "But why did they kill you?" Heart of War was having a headache. If it was someone ordinary, he''d just kick him out of the guild and it''d all be over, but Chase You Hehe was different. He was Heart of War''s brother from his own guild. Although he was part of a pretty distant branch, many families had invested in this guy. Since he was young, he had been playing behind him, so he was really one of his closest confidants.


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 1729 You Really Wanna Fight?

    "Could it have been a personal enemy of yours?" Heart of War continued to ask.


    "I already changed my name. Who would know who I am? I''ve only been in the game for a few days and I haven''t encountered anyone," Chase You Hehe defended himself, emphasizing his innocence.


    "We don''t know how they got to know your identity then. These Ruling Sword people¡­"


    "What Ruling Sword people? Weren''t they from Judgement Spear?" Although he hadn''t been in Dawn for long, Chase You Hehe was considered a pretty knowledgeable player. He has heard about the recent developments with Ruling Sword, and the fact that he was involved in a few big battles between Gangnam Royals and Ruling Sword.


    In Chase You Hehe''s heart, Ruling Sword was his number one enemy after he had entered Dawn.


    And though he graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in acting, he still wasn''t going to mess with anyone he wanted.


    "This is what we''ll do. I''ll find someone to go over and talk it over with them, maybe you weren''t careful and wronged them before. Don''t go around showing off your acting skills like this again, we simply can''t keep playing along with your games," Heart of War may''ve been even more of a bad egg than his little bro, but now, he was much more professional; no longer acting without restraint like Chase You Hehe.


    Chase You Hehe was someone with a very dark heart. He liked to see others with hopeless expressions, and he could even enjoy some pleasant feelings from others'' disappointment. He would usually gain someone''s trust, then at the right moment he would kick them when they were down. This sort of ''prank'' was sometimes done to girls, tricking his targets physically and mentally, before trampling them with hatred. Occasionally, he''d also mess around with some kids who to have great potential but were just poor little kids.


    "I''ve been killed¡­" In his moment of anger, Chase You Hehe actually forgot how many times he had been killed.


    "Even if you were killed a hundred times, it doesn''t change what we should do. It''s not good for us now to get into a fight with Ruling Sword," Heart of War advised. It wasn''t like Heart of War to be humble and bear humiliation quietly. But he knew better than everyone what might happen afterwards if they provoked Lu Li.


    "Bro, this isn''t like you," Chase You Hehe commented.


    "For the sake of Gangnam Royals, you don''t even know what your brother''s been enduring," Heart of War put his arm around his brother''s shoulder and sighed, "Do you know that this whole year your bro''s been the laughingstock? The pain you''ve had to bear really isn''t much." What Chase You Hehe held in his feelings because of Heart of War''s sad story.


    According to the description of the paladin given by the mage, Heart of War guessed that the opposition was probably Ruling Sword''s highly ranked Her Tears. Jianghu people called him Lil'' Soft Big Bro. He''d never submit to Lil'' Soft Big Bro!


    This person was one of Ruling Sword''s loose cannons. They didn''t know why Lu Li would still keep him by his side. And clearly they weren''t afraid that he''d provoke someone he wasn''t meant to.


    According to Heart of War''s guess, it was probably that Chase You Hehe had offended someone, and this person had got Her Tears to come to deal with him. Her Tears probably didn''t know about Chase You Hehe''s background, so that''s why there is a misunderstanding.


    "Lil'' Soft Big Bro, what are you busy doing?" Hearts of War personally contacted Her Tears after a friend invite¡ª good thing they didn''t reject it.


    "Oh, it''s you, I''m busy killing someone. What do you want me for?" Her Tears replied calmly and confidently. He was completely unaware of what he has been killing a Gangnam Royal member over and over.


    "Lil'' Soft Big Bro, is there some misunderstanding between us? Aren''t you looking for high-level players to compete against? Why are you killing this little sock puppet?" Heart of War asked while he contained his temper.


    "There''s no misunderstanding, he''s the one we''re killing," Her Tears spoke honestly.


    "He''s just a sock puppet. How could he have done anything against you?" Heart of War said with anger but with some curiosity.


    "I don''t know either. Anyway, all I know is that my quest was to kill someone named Chase Me Hehe," Her Tears casually answered. He never cared about why he had to kill someone.


    As for these difficult people that he brought with them, as soon as they heard that their target was from Gangnam Royals, they just focused on killing them.


    Given enough time, those who played games would eventually bump into some evil tyrants. And in China, the guild with the evilest people was Gangnam Royals. Even if someone hadn''t been personally victimized by the Gangnam Royals, they''d definitely have some distant relative or acquaintance who had had an unfortunate encounter.


    Under Heart of War''s leadership, Gangnam Royals had kept quiet. However, there are still moments where they couldn''t help but turn back to their original ways of the club. Actually, Heart of War was promoting his "reformed" guild to high-level players. However, when facing low-level players they went back to their old evil ways.


    "Quest?" This was a really unexpected answer.


    Heart of War thought for a moment. For someone to be able to give a quest to Her Tears, it would have to be someone from the very top of Ruling Sword.


    "Yeah, our Boss said that Chase You Hehe''s our new PVP activity for our new guild Judgement Spear." Her Tears said brazenly.


    "What kind of guild activity is that? Is that really necessary? Such a big guild and yet the activity for this new guild is to kill a new sock puppet?" Heart of War was shaking in anger. His Gangnam Royals had become so worthless.


    "I don''t know. He didn''t say much." Her Tears said as a matter of fact.


    "Chase You Hehe''s my brother. Can I ask you to let him go?" Heart of War pleaded. He was simulating countless ways in which he would brutally murder Lu Li and his team. It''d even be good to bury Lu Li in some unmarked grave. But at the moment, all he could do was tolerate this longer.


    "There''s no use begging from me, go beg from my boss. If he''s happy to let your bro go, then maybe, just maybe I''ll kill him a few times less."


    "Beg?" Heart of War was boiling with anger. He growled, "So could it be that Ruling Sword''s not afraid of starting a war again? We''ve got hundreds of thousands of people here at Gangnam Royals. We also have a few hundred Elites who are ready to fight"


    "You really wanna fight?" Her Tears jumped excitedly.


    Heart of War couldn''t continue. He only realized just then that he was speaking to a PK fanatic. This sort of person definitely wouldn''t consider things like circumstances¡ªthey only wanted to fight. If they didn''t kill you, they''d be killed by you. Either of these results would be pretty intense for a typical peaceful player.


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 1730 Why, Oh Why?!

    If Heart of War spoke to Square Root 3, his words would''ve been taken more seriously.


    Gangnam Royals had recently managed to stabilize themselves. They kept on fighting in Instance Dungeons, occupied one stronghold, and came second in the Donghua Cup. Ruling Sword looked to be flourishing, but under Lu Li''s crazy ''warmongering'' expansion, they were always in a precarious situation. So even if there were a little careless, their guild could fall apart.


    If they were going to start a war against such a powerful high-level club like Gangnam Royals, they were simply deluded. You couldn''t use common sense to predict what these crazy guys would do. As long as Lu Li gave permission, Her Tears didn''t care about the consequences at all.


    "I want to discuss this with Lu Li, even Square Root 3 would be good too."


    He kept saying the same thing about Chase You Hehe being his brother. He wasn''t just going on about this to show concern and drop the act later. He really wanted to speak with someone who was a bit more reasonable.


    "3 bro''s as tired as a dog these days. He probably doesn''t have time for you," Her Tears said, "I''ve asked Lu Li for you."


    At this time, Lu Li was bringing people to go farm Headless Paladin Steeds. Since these Headless Paladin Steeds had some amazing reins, people lined up to farm them. Even if they couldn''t do the killing themselves, they could hire someone to do it for them. If they got lucky, then they would''ve accomplished one of the top achievements in Dawn.


    At this time, the Paladins who were able to ride with the reins of these Headless Paladin Steeds only numbered 100¡ª all of them were rich and powerful players in clubs.


    Apart from Lu Li, pretty much all these people had been beaten heaps of times but had lots of money. Their life didn''t matter as much as absolutely needing to get something to maintain face.


    Shame that the official channels had again reduced the chances of Headless Paladin Steed drops. Regardless of whether it was Ruling Sword or Judgement Spear, the 100 plus teams that had come today hadn''t even been able to farm a single Steed. Remnant Dream, the lucky girl, wasn''t so lucky this time.


    Good thing that the Boss dropped some equipment and material. The level of the Headless Paladin Steeds had been increased, and there was a massive change in the equipment they dropped too.


    If ordinary players wanted to get Dark Gold or even Epic equipment, farming Headless Paladin Steeds was a pretty good shortcut.


    "Boss, Heart of War''s looking for you," Her Tears called out.


    "I''m busy," Lu Li replied.


    "He wants to ask you when we can let his brother go. Or in other words, how many times to we have to kill his brother till we stop?" Her Tears was just acting obediently so that Heart of War would rest his hopes on Lu Li.


    "No need to stop," Lu Li replied coldly from the other side.


    "What a real shame," Her Tears smiled, "My boss says we don''t have to stop. Which means we can''t talk about this anymore. Entrust your brother to us, I promise he''ll be really happy. Apart from us, no one will hurt him."


    "Pfft." Heart of War was ready to spit fire.


    Anger raged in his head. He really wanted to declare war. But he didn''t dare to. He was scared.


    There''s no one who''s truly an idiot in this world. Everyone, whether they''re good or bad, would have different ways of behaving because of their personality, their upbringing and interests. However, everyone has the same feelings shared by all humans, and one of them was fear. Heart of war couldn''t help but to think back to that big war with Ruling Sword.


    At that time, Ruling Sword pretty much didn''t have any foundation. They were just a rabble of players, and Gangnam Royals was even more powerful then compared to how they were now.


    When everyone ¨C even other clubs ¨C was sitting back and watching this new rising club Ruling Sword get smashed to the ground with no hope of rising, it turned out that Gangman Royals actually lost. They became a stepping stone for Ruling Sword''s path to fame.


    Countless PK fanatics flooded into Ruling Sword, and countless people who had been mistreated by Gangnam Royals publicized this all for free. That is, it was only from that point on that Ruling Sword was able to stand on its own two feet. Gangman Royals had become a joke. Their number two ranking once frightened countless people, but from that time on, everyone considered them a paper tiger. Even a few small guilds dared to start fights with them.


    Back in the day, the Gangnam Royals could have two people train on a map and that would clear everyone out. However, now they didn''t dare to have anything less than a small group of them walking out in the wild. If another war broke out, it''d be great if they won. All the glory would come back to them.


    But what if they lost? What if they lost again?


    "Silly kid, don''t play this game anymore." Heart of War sighed. In the end, this was all that Heart of War could say to his little brother.


    "I just don''t believe it, the game''s so big, but they just were able to find me," Chase You Hehe wondered.


    "The game''s so big, but how big can a game be,"


    "The game''s so big, but how big can a game be. You think this is really funny, hey? You just play these evil games all day, you think it''s all good, right? You''re already 20 something, can''t you be a bit more mature? Do some honest work." Chase You Hehe spat.


    Heart of War''s anger suddenly flamed up. With a wave, he swept off most of the items on the table, then roared hysterically, "Do you know how angry your brother is now? I''m dying to crush Ruling Sword, but I can''t. I can''t, you know? I can''t make this gamble, I lost this gamble last time. Your carefree life now is screwing me over. If I fail, what are you going to squander away then? How are you going to survive? Then you''re going to lie to other people, steal away their money, their lives, you should''ve been in jail ages ago."


    Chase You Hehe kept his head down, not saying a word. After a moment, he walked out resolutely.


    Heart of War dropped back in a chair.


    Yes, the game was extremely big.


    "See, it''s that person. In the future, you''re responsible for pursuing him. If you manage to get him, we''ll give you $1000. Even if you fail, I''ll still give you guys $5000 every month. How about that?" Her Tears squatted in front of the little dwarf, handing over a bag of gold as a deposit.


    "We''ll have mercenaries to do this, don''t you worry, we''ll go with your price. I''ll arrange for 3000 people who''ll do nothing but look all over the world for him." The little dwarf laughed, "If you can''t pay us on any given day, just let me know. I suppose you''ll probably be breaking your bank."


    "Bro, don''t worry about it. I''d be happy to break my bank," Her Tears said without a care.


    Her Tears had spending money every month that Chase You Hehe had. However, the spending money that Chase You Hehe had was given by others, but his own spending money he earnt himself.


    "Hehe bro''s been killed¡­"


    "Hehe bro''s been killed again¡­"


    "Hehe bro¡­"


    Heart of War looked at the thing in his hands numbly. He was not interested in listening to the jabbering going on under him, but he didn''t stop having people watching the situation.


    Why, oh why did Lu Li have to trouble a little sock puppet.


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 1731 Happiness in Losing

    Eat, sleep, kill Hehe bro. This was the everyday life of those in Judgement Spear. Even Ruling Sword people joined in. Very soon, everyone in the game knew about this.


    Ruling Sword had gotten in a mess with Gangnam Royals again. Last time, it was Gangnam Royals provoking and pressuring the new Ruling Sword. This time, it was Lu Li stirring things up by killing a level 30 something sock puppet for no apparent reason ¨C this sock puppet had been in the game for only a dozen or so days and hadn''t even levelled up to level 40.


    From an outsider''s point of view, last time, Gangnam Royals were too harsh. This time, it looked like Ruling Sword were even harsher. They were killing a level 30 something sock puppet over and over again. Even a few random players joined in and some were doing so just to earn money. They''d record a video of themselves killing Chase You Hehe and gave it to Her Tears. After Her Tears confirmed that it''s legitimate, there was no problem in giving them money.


    And some were joining in simply to seek revenge on Gangnam Royals. When too many people break the law¡ª there was no more law. With so many people participating, Gangnam Royals couldn''t tell who was the one doing the killing.


    Amidst all of this, some people came out to watch the situation play out. These people for an opportunity to benefit from Ruling Sword and Gangnam Royals getting in a fight. If that happened, it''d affect both guilds'' strength which would make both their strongholds vulnerable. In the scenario where Drizzle Court and Peerless City joined the fight as well, there would be two more strongholds up for grabs.


    However, what made everyone really shocked this time was a silent Heart of War. Apart from expressing his sadness at some public events and publicly condemning Ruling Sword''s aggression and oppression, he actually didn''t do anything but play the victim. The stronghold battle came as it would, and Gangnam Royals successfully protected their own stronghold.


    After the stronghold battle, Gangnam Royals and Ruling Sword erupted in a battle for control over their territory, fighting for a few hours. After that, no one in Dawn saw Chase You Hehe again. After the change of name feature started up, whether Chase You Hehe changed his identity and went back into the game, no one knew.


    At least in everyone''s eyes, Ruling Sword had pressured Gangnam Royals to the point of one of their brothers leaving the game. From then on, Ruling Sword never appeared weak again.


    Halloween ended on a happy note. Since Remnant Dream was there, Ruling Sword got five Headless Paladin Steed reins. According to the statistics, this was the sixth highest number of Headless Paladin Steed reins taken in by a club in the China area.


    The highest number was taken in by Glory Capital, with their great power and high numbers, getting seven knights.


    This new guild Judgement Spear also got two knights. One of them Wandering shamelessly gave himself, and the other was taken by Princely Beaut.


    "Today is the first time Ruling Sword is participating in the Shadow Cup. Their opponents are a new club, Flourishing East. *cough* The name sounds really dominant, everyone''s looking forward to seeing their performance," Dark Wind announced into the microphone, starting today''s commentary.


    Today, he was the only commentator. After all, it was only the very beginning of the competition, so there wasn''t much to talk about. Everyone in Flourishing East was excited. They were rolling up their sleeves, ready and waiting excitedly to participate. They didn''t think it was a David and Goliath situation where they would completely grind Ruling Sword to the ground. Actually, even if they had more confidence, they knew that their own road in this competition would end here. They would probably not be able to get a single point.


    The main thing was just to get their name out there. For a club with no power to speak of, and knowing that they had almost no members, the best result was if they won a few competitions and earned a bit in ticket fees. But when they went up against Ruling Sword, it was different.


    Because of Ruling Sword, the whole venue was filled. Some of the ticket fees would be given to them, and the coolest commentator in the commentating world, Dark Wind, would be their commentator. With him commentating their competition, even if he casually gave them a compliment, it would make the news. No matter how much money they spent, they couldn''t find such an effective form of advertising.


    When the arena competition started, the competitor from Flourishing East went for a deep bow straight away, almost hugging Fat Monkey''s leg in his expression of gratitude. Fat Monkey had a terrible temper, but the kinder others were to him, the less likely he would be fierce against them. Originally, it would''ve taken 30 seconds to finish up this battle, but this battle lasted for two to three minutes until that competitor was finally knocked off the arena.


    The second competitor was super polite too and also used the same fire magic as Fat Monkey. When he came up, a group of fans felt like they had met their idol. Fat Monkey gnashed his teeth, and after fighting his opponent for a few minutes he was lying flat on the stage. That''s right, he pretended to have a poor performance and had been knocked out.


    The next to go on stage was Moonlight. Moonlight wasn''t like Fat Monkey. He was a very focused competitor. It didn''t matter if you were more polite to him. His goal was just victory. Throwing a game against him on the stage was something that just couldn''t happen. So the arena battle ended in the hands of Moonlight.


    And no one blamed Fat Monkey either. Getting one point was very important for Flourishing East. If Flourishing East could even get just one point, they might get the chance to advance. There was a massive number of low-level teams here, so it was possible that there were quite a few clubs who could get one point.


    Ruling Sword simply didn''t care about points at all. Lu Li himself went on the arena, so Ruling Sword could be said to have given enough face to their opponents. They made Flourishing East''s demise very clear, but it also made them very happy as well. In the future, they could boast about how they were on the level to be able to fight Lu Li on the same arena.


    Although Judgement Spear was Lu Li''s branch guild, their team still needed to go through trials.


    In competitions in this day and age, things were becoming more user-friendly. Especially when it came to these preliminary trials, there were practically no requirements. When Judgement Sword was set up, the preliminary trials had already been running for a long time.


    The good thing was that they had to be on the same playing field as other teams that had been fighting from the start. They needed to have accumulated a certain number of points. The main competitors from Judgement Spear had come from Ruling Sword''s Sharpening Centre anyway.


    Road was the leader of the Judgement Spear team. In the team, there were the priest Princely Beaut, the Warrior Soulless Grass, as well as the Three Sikong Fools.


    A six person team was enough for a round. Although the players weren''t particularly remarkable, Lu Li didn''t arrange for a veteran player to be on the team to lead them. When it was the Donghua Cup he still arranged for Mu Qiu and Fat Monkey to fight with them, and even Azure Sea Breeze and Lonesome Flower rolled up their sleeves for battle.


    Actually, their performance was really outstanding, getting more than six points each round (three points for the arena competitions and six for the group competitions, for a total of nine points). When they faced some especially crappy team they were able to get eight or nine points straight away.


    If nothing unexpected happened, Judgement Spear were safely able to get into the regular competitions.


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 1732 Naxx

    Shadow Cup was a serious competition. Ruling Sword rose through the Shadow Cup, so Lu Li attached great importance to it.


    Ruling Sword didn''t support Judgement Spear. Lu Li, Moonlight, March Rain, Fat Monkey, Innocent Child, Carnivorous Cat, Mu Qiu, and Sakura Memories all came together and created the strongest line-up in the club. Their goal was to win the championship!


    The club''s early development made it easy for them to achieve amazing results.


    The players in this stage weren''t afraid to fight; they had nothing to lose. Plus, it seemed as if the Gods of Luck were shining on these newbies. It was normal for people like Lu Li and the others to win a few championships. Of course, this was not guaranteed.


    There were some clubs who grew at a crazy pace that would then dramatically fall in relevance soon after.


    No matter how much interest was entangled, it wouldn''t stop everyone fighting to death.


    Ruling Sword was currently at this stage of rapid development. No one would think they wouldn''t win. Clubs that had the potentially to grow all prayed that they wouldn''t encounter Ruling Sword before the Top 100.


    Probably because their prayers were answered, Ruling Sword''s process of going up the Shadow Cup went smoothly. They hadn''t met any famous clubs.


    The Top 100 list came out quickly. Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear were all included.


    To be able to enter into the Top 100 in Shadow Cup after being shortly established meant that the momentum of Judgement Spear was a force to be reckoned with. Some people even thought that they would be a repeat of Ruling Sword''s old days. Lu Li didn''t make any comments on that. The chapters were all under him, so any development of the clubs were a good thing.


    Majority of Shadow Cup''s top 100 were familiar faces. There were very little chances for a high-level club to meet each other so the majority could survive to the end. Of course, there were still clubs with extreme luck that made it to the top. Otherwise, Ruling Sword wouldn''t be what it was today.


    Stronghold Battles required a lot of money which affected the Arena inevitably. Many players with some sort of ability were all headhunted. Some had even retired for many years but came back from the temptation of money and reputation.


    Dawn as a game was not only well done in terms of content, image, and virtual experience, but also in aspects of human body adaption, the game had achieved the best current technology had to offer.


    Before, people would fight at 20, then peak at 25 and go downhill basically at 27/28. If you hadn''t retired at 30, then you''d be seen as taking up space. However, Dawn changed this where at 30 you may not be able to keep your peak energy, but at least you could make use of experience to make up for the loss in energy. At the current rate, it would be normal to retire at 35.


    Dawn was a national game, and electric competition was an important component of it. Nearly all of the time was spent on competitions. Donghua Cup was actually a top tier competition, there were plenty worse than them. Many clubs could all whip out a trophy.


    The start of a new year meant that the second cohort of professional league were starting to enrol. At this time, the Shadow Cup had just released its top 100. So, all the competitions had conflicting schedules which meant everyone had no other choice but to participate in both at the same time.


    To panic everyone even further, there were the new Instance Dungeons that came out as well.


    Naxxramas! Also known as NAXX!


    Lu Li didn''t have much confidence in this Instance Dungeon''s First Clear. He knew nothing about it. He hadn''t even touched the slightest of this Instance Dungeon in his past life.


    He had read a lot of strategies, but there were limits to it in practice. Once it got to this stage, the gaming company could no longer design the types of Instance Dungeons that could be solved by strategies alone.


    Many years ago, Kel''Thuzad was still a baby. But he was still a mage who loved his apprentices to bits but was obsessed with dark magic. When he was still a member of the Kirin and was working under the guidance of the great mage leader of Kirin, Antonidas.


    Kirin controlled a large quantity of knowledge and secrets relating to magic. Yet, Kel''Thuzad spared no effort to absorb any knowledge that he could touch ¨C even to the extent of the darkest and most taboo areas of arcane magic.


    He became known in the city of Dalaran not due to his identity as a great mage, but rather his obsession with necromancy. Necromancy was considered dark magic where you dealt with dead people.


    After the war with the Orcs, all the collected information on Orc Warrior Death Magic and Orcs Death Knights were taken to Dalaran and locked into the Violet Library. And Kel''Thuzad who was immersed in necromancy used his title as a great mage to obtain this information and started some dangerous experiments. Even though the experiment''s subjects were just small white mice, these zombie animals still caused unrest among the surrounding farmers and had a bad effect on Kel''Thuzad''s reputation.


    The great mage Antonidas warned Kel''Thuzad because of this incident. Even though Kel''Thuzad agreed with Antonidas on the surface, in fact he was still doing his necromantic experiments behind his back. It was due to this that Kel''Thuzad''s relationship with the other Kirin mages got worse and worse.


    In reality, during these few years while Kel''Thuzad had been doing these necromantic experiments, he had a ghost-like voice by his ear that guided and helped him this whole time.


    When Kel''Thuzad was in Kirin and fell into trouble, it called out to him, telling him to go to the distant Northrend.


    After he realised that staying at Kirin would only hinder his dark experiments, Kel''Thuzad sold everything he had and casted away his position at the Kirin and went to Northrend alone.


    Once Kel''Thuzad arrived in Northrend, he went through the destroyed ruins of the Neburian Kingdom''s Azjol-Nerub, and the Undead Nerubian guards left him with a deep impression. Once he got to Icecrown and witnessed the enormous mass of Undead organisms, he felt that this was the place he wanted to be.


    But once the silent Undead guard made way, and he directly faced the soul that had been calling to him, the spirit used its terrible powers to force him to submit and pledge allegiance.


    This soul in which Kel''Thuzad referred to as the Lich King was rather satisfied with his new recruit. He promised Kel''Thuzad eternal life and powerful magic in exchange for his loyalty.


    He gave Kel''Thuzad his first order, to go to the human world and establish a religion where the Lich King was worshipped as God.


    To ensure this quest''s implementation, the Lich King kept Kel''Thuzad''s human form.


    After accepting this quest, Kel''Thuzad returned to Lordaeron. The prosperous Lordaeron had conquered countless injustice and evils. Relying on his own wealth and necromancy as an Undead mage, Kel''Thuzad successfully established a religion called the Cult of the Damned in the shadows of human kingdoms. Kel''Thuzad promised the monks of equal status in society and eternal life so that would pledge their loyalty to Ner''zhul.


    Kel''Thuzad found many socially inferior workers as members of the cult.


    What made him more shocked was how easily he had persuaded citizens to not believe in the holy light but in the dark powers of Ner''zhul.


    As the cult became stronger and bigger, the Lich King felt that the time was ripe, and transported a mass amount of polluted grains into Lordaeron. After these grains had been consumed, the people would turn into Undead creatures. And the plague began to spread on the land of Lordaeron ¨C Kel''Thuzad''s Undead had since been named the Scourge.


    It could be said that Kel''Thuzad was the accomplice in the Undead Scourge.


    In view of the spread of plague, King Terenas II sent crown prince Arthes Menethil to investigate the status of the plague. Arthes with the combined support from Jain, found Kel''Thuzad near Brill who was commanding the Scourge. Arthes chased him and killed Kel''Thuzad near Andorhal. Hence, Kel''Thuzad''s spirit had been resting near the remains there. He knew that the Lich King''s plan had been successful.


    Like the plan of the Lich King and Kel''Thuzad, Arthes picked up the magic sword Frostmourne. Although he had killed the terrifying Mal''Ganis, who was the overseer of the Burning Legion in the Scourge, Arthes'' soul had been absorbed by the magic sword. He then killed his father, King Terenas, and turned into a Death Knight.


    Under Dreadlord Tichondrius''s command, Arthes started out on Kel''Thuzad''s corpse near Andorhal, and killed his mentor Uther, and obtained the cinerary urn of King Terenas that Uther kept safe in order to pour over Kel''Thuzad''s ashes.


    Kel''Thuzad''s soul appeared next to Arthes and told him the Lich King''s whole plan ¨C which was different to the plan known by the Burning Legion.


    Then Arthes led the Undead Legion into a high-level Elf kingdom, Quel''Thalas. He used all sorts of Elite Elf sacred objects and energy originated from the Sunwell to revive Kel''Thuzad. Whilst reviving Kel''Thuzad, the water in the Sunwell became contaminated.


    The revived Kel''Thuzad and Arthes broke Dalaran together and obtained the magic book of Medivh. Then they were attacked by the remaining troops of the evil Orcs. Through obtaining the ways of the Orc''s warlocks, they had gotten into contact with the Burning Legion. Outside the city of Dalaran, Kel''Thuzad summoned one of the leaders of the Burning Legion¡ª Archimonde the Defiler was summoned to this world.


    When Arthes led the Scourge to follow the Burning Legion through the Great Sea to attack Kalimdor, he had appointed Kel''Thuzad as the administrator of the Scourge. The Burning Legion had also sent three Dreadlords: Balnazzar, Varimathras, and Detheroc to monitor the movements of the Scourge. However, they died due to the natural aggro of Mount Hyjal and were not heard of until weeks later.


    Once Arthes returned to the kingdom of Lordaeron, the self-acknowledged Undead King of the Scourge expelled the three fearful demons out of Lordaeron.


    However, the Evil Hunter, Illidan Stormrage used the Eye of Sargeras to rip apart the land of Northrend but was stopped in time by his friend Malfurion Stormrage. However, the Frozen Throne in which the Lich King was sealed in now had a crack. The Lich King''s powers faded because of the crack, and Arthes''s connection to the Lich King''s power gradually grew weaker. This meant that he began to gradually lose control over the Scourge Undead.


    The Dreadlords took advantage of this opportunity and took the majority of the Scourge Undead command to revolt against Arthes. Arthes fought difficultly through the ruins of the Lordaeron kingdom and left it under the protection of Sylvanas the Banshee.


    But Sylvanas who was killed then revived as a dark knight had also been restored back to her own self due to the weakening control of the Lich King.


    If it weren''t for Kel''Thuzad and his Scourge getting there on time, Sylvanas''s death would have made Arthes life living hell.


    After orders from the Lich King, Arthes settled in Northrend. Kel''Thuzad remained in Lordaeron to manage the remaining troops of the Scourge.


    Arthes and the Lich King combined as one and fell into a deep slumber on the Frozen Throne. The remaining citizens of Lordaeron formed a Scarlet Crusade and started to protect themselves. The Alliance and other two factions of the tribe were created during this time. Kel''Thuzad commanded the Scourge to launch a number of counter attacks against the survivors. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse of the Undead city, especially one of which was the fallen Ashbringer Alexandros Mograine was one of his masterpieces.


    Naxxramas and the other Undead elite forces were always the enemy of all living beings.


    Naxxramas was the residence of Kel''Thuzad''s evil. He controlled the operations of the Scourges and could also receive orders from the master at the same time.


    The evil Lich King was going to launch a long-planned raid on Azeroth. The Scourge was going to wage another war very quickly. This time there were no warnings from prophets, there were no knights who will fight the oncoming battle of darkness, and there were no legendary heroes to stop the army of deformed monsters from the Frozen Throne.


    There were only countless adventurers, who truly devoted their passion and lives to Azeroth without any fears.


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 1733 Hello Again, Old Fordring

    Naxxramas needed a starting quest in order to enter it. Lu Li hadn''t even done it in his past life.


    He couldn''t do this Instance Dungeon so there was no point in wasting materials for the starting quest.


    This quest was received from the NPC in the Light Hope Chapel of the Eastern Plaguelands. In Silver Dawn, reputation required two Arcane Crystals and one Nexus Crystal to complete the quest and worship was free to enter into.


    Once the quest was complete, there were unlimited entries.


    For the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li had 40 people from the Alliance enter into it. There were 60 more people outside awaiting orders. These people also needed to do the starting quest, and majority of other people not participating in the Instance Dungeon also needed to do the starting quest.


    The market price for Arcane Crystals and Nexus Crystals had been pushed higher and higher. The merchants who had hoarded the right goods made another fortune.


    However, they were still incomparable to Shen Wansan - the miracle.


    Other people didn''t know, but Lu Li clearly knew, that these two things on the market at the moment where all pretty much in the hands of Shen Wansan. He pretty much had spent all his savings on these things.


    70% or 80% was enough for him to monopolise the market for both materials.


    Anyone who wanted to enter into Naxxramas all needed to give Fatty Shen a large sum of money. Other than the people of the Alliance, at least those who entered into the Instance Dungeon didn''t need to spend a cent and could enter in and out at will.


    Because Shen Wansan received this information from Lu Li, so he needed to provide sufficient reciprocation.


    On top of that, Shen Wansan had also shown his sincerity in joining Ruling Sword. His road as a businessman was no longer challenging, earning more money had no more meaning towards his career or life. He hoped that he could join Ruling Sword, and to manage Ruling Sword''s finances.


    Of course, he didn''t fall for Lu Li''s charisma and entered in as a lowly employee, but rather he entered through equity with capital, so as to grasp the power of Ruling Sword.


    Fatty Shen was an old friend who had worked with Lu Li countless times and provided Ruling Sword with very important material support. Now Lu Li was not going to use Fatty Shen anymore.


    Phantom Glaze''s Life Profession Alliance was more suited to cooperate with Ruling Sword. Moreover, they each took what they needed, so there wasn''t the question of who would betray who. Lu LI had no stakes in the Life Profession Alliance. And Phantom Glaze who focused on Life Professional naturally didn''t intend to conquer the territory of Ruling Sword.


    But Lu Li wouldn''t go to the extent of ditching Shen Wansan.


    Square Root 3 raised both hands to welcome Shen Wansan to join. However, Lu Li was thinking about how to distribute the profits.


    After grabbing the full set of materials from Shen Wansan, everyone completed the starting quest straight away at Naxxramas, they only needed to hand it to Archmage Angela Dosantos, then they could deliver into the flying stronghold of Kel''Thuzad.


    "Lieutenant Sir, I think I have a letter here for you," Archmage Angela Dosantos said after Lu Li completed the quest.


    "A letter? For me?" Lu Li was surprised.


    He had such low charisma, so he had only finished the starting quest because there were no requirements for it. He didn''t think that there were additional quests outside of it, and especially in the presence of little Hachi Chan.


    "A letter for you from Sir Tirion. It was coincidental to have bumped into you today," Archmage Angela Dosantos explained.


    Okay, since it was Old Fordring then it was no problem.


    Lu Li and Old Fordring had been old friends for ''many'' years. Their relationship was even closer than Lu Li and Remulos, because Remulos was a demi-god. While Old Fordring now was also relatively powerful, but back when Lu Li first met him, he was still just an ordinary farmer. Lu Li had also helped him obtain Tyr''s Hand.


    "Thank you. Dear Ladies," Lu Li received the letter.


    The letter''s content was roughly some greetings, then it wrote that Kel''Thuzad''s flying stronghold held a war that would threaten the whole Plaguelands. Tirion Fordring hoped that Lu Li could find time out of his busy schedule to go to Tyr''s Hand to negotiate a grand plan.


    To negotiate a grand plan ¨C that was such a good surprise!


    Originally, he had thought that this Instance Dungeon had all the players operate individually. He didn''t think that Old Fordring would repay what he had done before.


    So, it could be said, that people needed to be willing to give first, both to other players or NPCs. Even if it were NPCs, you would still reap the rewards one day as long as you maintained a steady flow of interactions.


    Other people started to enter into the Instance Dungeon. Lu Li headed to Tyr''s Hand by himself.


    Tyr''s Hand had changed drastically. Lu Li remembered from the last time he had left there that more than half of the buildings were destroyed. There were broken limbs and blood everywhere. The execution pillars that raised corpses that went straight into the sky. The sky looked like burnt yellow. But now everything was no longer the same.


    The powerful walls were five or six meters high, and the thick boulders were covered with a dark red colour, which indicated that many battles had been fought there.


    Teams of Paladins galloped passed. They held print guns used in battles, holy light surrounded their bodies that made it hard for people to keep their eyes open.


    There were also many civilians who welcomed back their returning heroes. They took the paladins'' horses and gave them warm food. Some people had also spontaneously cleaned the paladins'' wounds and wiped their armour. They were also very warmly welcoming Lu Li here.


    Back then, it was Lu Li who had led a group to rescue 3000 civilians from the cellar. Basically, all these people had stayed at Tyr''s Hand to help Old Fordring build his former home.


    Then other people came to this place; these people weren''t opportunists who came to make a fortune, but rather they were the lucky survivors of those who had lost their loved ones and territory in Lordaeron. They couldn''t beat the Undead, so they could only contribute in their own way to the survivors'' battle.


    "Take me to Sir Tirion," Lu Li said.


    Then a paladin led Lu Li on the broad stone road in the city and soon brought him to Tirion Fordring.


    "Oh, my friend! I heard this whole city calling your name," Old Fordring smiled as he walked over and gave Lu Li a solid hug.


    "I don''t deserve it. They are truly the ones that are worthy of respect," Lu Li nervously smiled. He was used to hiding in the shadows, not this type of heroic welcome, but it didn''t feel too bad either.


    "Mate, it''s been a long while since you appeared in the Plaguelands ¨C what have you been up to?" Old Fordring playfully asked.


    Ever since the Battle of the Scourge ended, Lu Li had vanished off the face of the earth until today when he received news of Lu Li in the Light Hope Chapel.


    "Everything is for Azeroth," Lu Li replied. He simply explained the Ahn''Qiraj Bugs which Old Fordring knew nothing about. Naturally, he appreciated Lu Li''s act of saving Azeroth.

 1734 Demise

    "This time, I plan to take people deep into Kel''Thuzad''s Air Fortress," Lu Li said.


    "I knew you wouldn''t let me down," said Old Fordring. He gave Lu Li high praise and felt like Lu Li was just like him ¨C willing to make sacrifices for Azeroth''s people. The game designers seemed to have a good grasp on human nature.


    There were many similar situations in real life. If you really liked someone, their bad behaviour could still be interpreted in a good way. But if you didn''t like someone, you likely wouldn''t see any goodness in their actions. When Stormwind City abandoned the Hand of Tyre, it was Lu Li who led the people to save the land against the plague.


    "My brothers have gathered in the front line of battle, but I am just missing a commander," Lu Li had planned to leave soon and was trying to get any help that he could. Otherwise, the other clubs would get the First Clear before him.


    "Please wait, I have something that you might be able to use," Old Fordring called out to Lu Li and began to dig around for something, "In the recent battles, we have managed to get quite a few good items. These items should all be put to good use for the glory of Lordaeron."


    Ah, this was the Old Fordring they were looking for. It was no wonder that he and Lu Li were such good friends. It was some worn out Magic Robes! These clothes were very worn out and dirty. If you sat down and put it in front of you at Stormwind City, someone would only give you some copper coins.


    "This is the treasure of the Chief Administrator Mage Bradley," Old Fordring quickly explained, "Although it has been damaged, the runes have not been destroyed. I believe you will not be disappointed if you read its attributes."


    Bradley''s Robe, a Legendary equipment!


    Lu Li was never going to be disappointed. No matter how damaged it was, as long as it was a Legendary item, it would still be a cut above an Epic item. The only pity was that the robe was indeed damaged. Currently, there were only two Special Effects left. One of them was Rapid Nine Star, which allowed the caster to unleash nine big successive fireballs. But if the target was hit successively, each fireball had its damage increased by 50%


    Lu Li quickly did some mental arithmetic but wasn''t able to work out how much damage all nine fireballs would deal. This one of a kind Rapid Nine Star was enough to qualify Bradley''s Robe as a Legendary item because of its ability to one-shot. Lu Li was sure that even he wouldn''t be able to tank all nine fireballs.


    Lu Li had only seen one other one-shot item before, and that was the Greatsword of the Brotherhood.


    The other special effect was Fiery Rebirth. This resurrected the player after death and would deal Inferno Impact damage to targets within eight yards of the target. They would also receive 50% regeneration of HP and mana.


    This equipment was definitely something for Fat Monkey. Yet, Lu Li felt envious about giving up the item, so he decided to charge Fat Monkey a large sum of money, take a chunk of his DKP and may even force him to call Lu Li his father. There were a few more pieces of equipment given after that, but none were as exquisite as that robe.


    "I also have this equipment, which we got after paying a heavy price. I think you might like it," Old Fordring took out another item which was actually good. From the appearance, you could see that it was a very sharp dagger.


    Kryss of the Fallen King! It was a Legendary dagger!


    This Legendary dagger was colloquially referred to as Demise. Lu Li''s hands shook as he took the weapon. He had heard of the name of this dagger but had never seen it before. It was said that this was the ultimate Thief weapon that could by dropped in Naxx. It was the best Thief weapon a few generations ago. It was better than his Felstriker and better than the Shard of the Defiler.


    Although people have heard that Naxx could drop this weapon, there were few people that have actually seen it. Kryss of the Fallen King (Legendary): Damage 100-135, Agility +150, Strength +120, Critical Hit +35%, 3 Slots. Special Effect 1: Shadowstrike Skill +1, Special Effect 2: Gale Steps Skill +1, Special Effect 3: Sudden Thrust. Choose a target within 15 yards and instantly thrust towards the target to deal double damage and cause a two second stun. Special Effect 4: Part 1 ¨C Sacrifice 30% of your HP to deal double damage to the target. Part 2 ¨C Sacrifice 50% of your HP to deal triple damage to your target. Part 3 ¨C Sacrifice 99% of your HP to deal quintuple damage to your target. 30 minute cooldown. There is a certain probability that your attacks will result in an instant kill effect.


    Lu Li could finally change his weapons.


    Shard of the Defiler (Epic): Damage 82-96. Agility +80, Strength +60, Attack Speed +45%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Deep Contamination, requires activation, reduces 30% of target''s armour and movement speed, 120 second cooldown. Special Effects 2: Fatal Blow: when the target health drops below 20%, there''s a certain chance to execute the target. Special Effects 3: Echo of Archimonde: Activate to transform into a demon, allowing the user to cast demonic skills, lasts for 30 seconds, useable once per day. Level Requirement 60, Durability 240/240.


    Felstriker (Perfect Epic): Damage 88-120, Agility +120, Strength +100, Critical Hit: +35%. Three Slots. Special Effect 1: Ambush Skill Level +1, +1 Combo Points gained for using this skill. Special Effect 2: After the user successful lands a critical hit, gain 50% damage increased for 10 seconds. Special Effect 3: Phantom Shift ¨C Six Phantoms appear randomly that last three seconds each. The user can choose to change positions with one of them at any time. Two hour cooldown. Special Effect 4: Bloodthirst, Instant Cast, consumes 20% of HP to increase Attack Power by 50%, Attack Speed by 50% and Movement Speed by 50%. Lasts for 10 seconds. Two hour cooldown. After using this effect, the user is satisfied and can no longer be affected by other bloodthirst or time warp effects for ten minutes. Equipment Requirement: Level 60. Durability 320/320.


    Although the Shard of the Defiler seemed to be weak, have bad attributes, and didn''t have any notable effects, the attack speed of this weapon was just too powerful. Any Thief that wanted high attack speed would never reject this weapon.


    Lu Li hesitated for a long time, but finally replaced the Shard of the Defiler because Felstriker''s effects were just too powerful. It was also a Perfect Epic weapon. Even if his attack speed was now a little worse, equipping Demise and Felstriker was definitely a big upgrade.


    "Is there anything else?" Lu Li curiously asked. He looked at Old Fordring with widened eyes. He really didn''t expect this Old Paladin to be so rich. Old Fordring had previously awarded an Epic equipment so reluctantly, but now he just handed over four Epic items and two Legendary items. Both of those Legendary items even have an effect which has the potential to one-shot. It was only high-end Legendary Equipment that had this ability ¨C equipment with one-shot effects were actually quite rare in Dawn.

 1735 Entering Naxx

    "Young one, you are really greedy. I don''t have any more equipment. All that are left are the really bad ones and a few potions," Old Fordring said helplessly, "But according to the rules, I can''t give them to you until you complete the Quest." Lu Li then went on to trigger some quests that could be completed in the Instance Dungeon.


    Some of the quest rewards were given to Lu Li in advance. They were all Potions and items that could be used in the Instance Dungeon. It seemed that Old Fordring was quite familiar with the Instance Dungeon, as they were Shadow Resistance Potions, Ice Resistance Potions, and Poison Resistance Potions.


    Naxx required Ice Resistance, but that wasn''t the only one they needed it. There were also a lot of Dark and Poison attacks that were used especially from the Necromancers and Frankensteins. For now, Nature Resistance and Shadow Resistance were not less important than Ice, even Arcane Resistance was occasionally useful.


    According to Lu Li''s memory, the only thing that Naxx didn''t require was Fire Resistance. These were all really good items. Lu Li got a hug from Old Fordring before leaving Tyr''s Hand to find the NPC that would send them to the Instance Dungeon.


    He didn''t ask Old Fordring to help out with this fight. If he asked for it, it was likely that Old Fordring would just send someone to follow Lu Li, just like when Lu Li was trying to take back Tyr''s Hand. The Game Company would only let the NPCs participate in Instance Dungeons to a certain extent, but they couldn''t let the NPCs participate every time.


    The Instance Dungeons were designed for players after all. When he got to the meeting spot, Lu Li took out the equipment and started apportioning them. There were four Epics, two of which were for Mages, one for a Paladin and one for a Warrior. These were all items that competitive players could use. Lu Li distributed it as if they were Boss drops, which meant that they costed DKP.


    In fact, this equipment had been independently acquired by him, so it wouldn''t have mattered even if he sold them. He was no longer the poor boy that would sell his soul for one or two million dollars. One or two million dollars was still a decent amount of money, but he had bigger goals in mind. He wasn''t just single-mindedly pursuing money.


    After splitting the four equipment, Lu Li''s gaze fell onto Fat Monkey. "Boss," Fat Monkey chimed as sweetly as he could in anticipation. Everyone around them felt sick when they heard it, but they also knew that it was this guy''s lucky day.


    "This is yours," Lu Li threw over the rare equipment.


    "Boss, surely we aren''t that poor, that I would have to beg just to support my family," Fat Monkey knew that this item was an exquisite one. But he supressed his impulse to look at its attributes and took a moment to appreciate its appearance which he was actually kind of disappointed by.


    "Boss, that''s 3000 gold coins!" Fat Monkey sighed, there was only a little sorrow in his voice. If Lu Li was deducting all his DKP and 3000 gold coins, this equipment had to be something else.


    He glanced at the equipment''s properties and almost fainted with happiness.


    If Fat Monkey shot a fireball with his current equipment, he would deal at least 600-800 damage if the target wasn''t wearing any Fire Resistance. If he could get five hits in, he could easily deal over 5000 damage.


    Any more hits and he would easily win any fight.


    "The ninth fireball is four and a half times more powerful. So, if all nine fireballs hit then the damage is 20 times more," Moonlight looked over and answered in an instant.


    "We just don''t know how easy it is to hit them," Water Fairy said enviously. Unfortunately, it wasn''t equipment she could use even if she wanted to try it. Lu Li had brought four items, and one of them had gone to Drizzle Court, so he had already done his duty.


    "Let me try it," Fat Monkey challenged Lu Li to a duel.


    "Oh, is this how you are going to repay me?" Lu Li sneered and accepted the challenge before entering into Stealth.


    Fat Monkey pouted, "Why did you go into Stealth? Just stand there and let me try it."


    "How many people will stand there and let you hit them? I bet you can''t even hit me with five of the fireballs," Lu li appeared behind Fat Monkey and plunged his dagger into the back of Fat Monkey''s head. But Fat Monkey didn''t give Lu Li a chance to deal any real damage, as he dispelled the crowd control and split into several images. It was really hard to tell these images apart!


    All these Fat Monkeys used a big fireball against Lu Li. This time, Lu Li chose not to use Gale Steps or Vanish to help Fat Monkey test his skill, but he could still try to avoid them. He was trying to dodge or use some escape-type skills.


    Fat Monkey''s Rapid Nine Star was finally casted. A series of fireballs rushed over and slammed into Lu Li. The trajectory of the fireballs seemed to be controllable, and the interval between fireballs was very short. If the person didn''t have a really fast reaction, they would have already been hit by all the fireballs by the time they realised what was happening. Of the nine fireballs, four of them hit Lu Li.


    If it wasn''t for Lu Li deliberately trying to escape, there probably would have been more that hit him.


    Of course, if he used a skill like Gale Steps or Vanish, he would have been hit by even fewer fireballs. But this didn''t mean that Rapid Nine Star was bad. You could instead crowd control the target first before using this skill.


    For example, Lu Li could hold someone down with his crowd control, then Fat Monkey could use Rapid Nine Star on the target.


    "Hey, I should be able to turn faster next time. I think I know how to change the fireball''s direction. It feels pretty good," Fat Monkey''s natural talent was obvious, he had already learnt a lot even though he had only used the skill once.


    "Practice it a little more. it would be a very good sneak attack," Lu Li was also very satisfied with the effect of this equipment.


    Besides, the other effect was a resurrection at 50% HP. It didn''t say that it couldn''t be used in the arena, so Fat Monkey was likely to become even more popular in the next match.


    Of course, Lu Li''s weapon was also really strong, but he didn''t intend to tell anyone. It wasn''t that he couldn''t, but that he didn''t need to. Perhaps he could tell Water Fairy about it in private, but her equipment was also actually quite good so she probably wouldn''t be that impressed anyway.


    Lu Li held on to all the potions. There were also some potions that he got from Cold Chill and some Maintenance Robots prepared for this First Clear attempt. These all went into the guild''s account. As the club began to standardize these things, it was no longer a confusing model of having different people holding different items.

 1736 Sky Fortress

    Archmage Angela Dosantos nodded to the group that had come to her.


    "You should hurry up. There are many people who have entered the evil place from here. As friends of Tirion Fordring, you mustn''t fall too far behind."


    Because of the relationship between Ruling Sword and old Fordring, Ruling Sword players were respected by all the frontline NPCs in the Plaguelands.


    As for Hachi Chan''s high Charisma values, the NPC was now patting her head and stuffing a few potion bottles into her hands. The NPC told her that she should take care of herself¡­


    Well, as long as they didn''t compare themselves to the System''s children, the players were generally quite satisfied with the way the NPCs treated them.


    Lu Li waited for Hachi Chan to finish scamming potions from the NPC before speaking.


    "We are going in now. Sorry for the trouble."


    Naxxramas was a large spiral tower suspended in the air. The area was filled with creatures. This was Azeroth''s Alliance''s battlefield. There were countless bones of humans and other races there. Lu Li even saw several Orc heads.


    When the land on which everyone lived was threatened, the distinctions between them were no longer important.


    "I have a piece of information about Naxxramas, which was collected by a warrior who put their lives in danger. I hope it will help you," Archmage Angela Dosantos said as she pulled out a sheet of parchment. This was her parting gift.


    A group of Mages and Goblins were fiddling with an apparatus.


    Soon after the team of players arrived and paid some money, they stood in the centre of the apparatus. The apparatus came to life, and the players were sent into the sky directly into Naxxramas.


    This was the only way into the Instance Dungeon.


    Why would Kel''Thuzad also allow players to install a portal in his tower?


    The players'' opening quest was actually just the fee. These gold coins were given for the labour expenses of the Goblins. These Goblins were willing to contribute to Azeroth, provided that they were paid in gold.


    After Lu Li and the others handed over the gold coins, they were also sent into the Sky Fortress.


    At the outermost place, Lu Li took out a Revival Stone that he bought from an NPC merchant and put it into a remote corner. The players in the reserve were responsible for protecting the Revive point so that they didn''t have to respawn outside of the Naxxramas Instance Dungeon if they got wiped.


    If that happened, they would be revived in Light''s Hope Chapel below and would need to


    pay again to get up here.


    If they added it all up, that cost would be more expensive than buying this Revival Stone. It would also waste a lot of time.


    "Let''s go!"


    Inside Naxxramus, there were rows of stairs filled with corpses. There were quite a few monsters patrolling the area that they needed to kill.


    This wasn''t that difficult for Lu Li''s team. After all, these were all players that had killed many Bosses before, so these mobs were no issue for them. Although they were able to get past the monsters, they would inevitably take some damage, which meant that they had to waste potions.


    As such, when the players from the three guilds entered, they were followed by a lot of other players in the Instance Dungeon.


    "These players are so dumb. If they just banded together they would be able to do the Instance Dungeon themselves," Azure Sea Breeze said, looking down upon them with disdain.


    "Aren''t random players just like this? If they were all banded together, then they wouldn''t just be a group of random players," Lu Li said. He had once been a casual player, so he could understand their thought process.


    "I heard that there might be an alliance forming for these random players. What should we do about that?" Wandering asked.


    "Be friendly. They are all just trying to get by and it''s not easy. Moreover, we don''t know what the future of this alliance will be," Lu Li said.


    He used to eb a casual player in his previous life, and he had experienced some desperate moments. Although he couldn''t help everyone who was having the same experience as him, it didn''t cost him anything to be friendly towards them.


    As someone who had experienced rebirth, he also knew how that alliance would go.


    The Life Professional League, the Scattered Players League, the Female Players League and the Old Game Alliance ¨C these alliances would spring up one after the other in the coming days.


    The emergence of these forces was not a good thing for the Club of Ruling Sword.


    Many people who joined guilds were looking for a sense of belonging, or to avoid being bullied by other stronger powers. However, when various alliances could provide them with the same things that a guild could provide, then many people would no longer be interested in joining. The guild''s main bulk of players was the source of the club''s strength.


    However, Dawn''s player base was so big, that even a powerful club couldn''t stop that from


    happening.


    It would be better to have a good relationship with them, as there would be more opportunities to cooperate in future.


    They quickly entered the Instance Dungeon and selected the Nightmare Difficulty.


    It wasn''t that Lu Li really wanted to pick Nightmare Difficulty, but it was the only option. This was because of the new rule that the Game Company implement to ensure that First Clears were taken at Nightmare Difficulty.


    Before the First Clear was taken, players could only select to do Instance Dungeons at Nightmare Difficulty.


    This meant that those random players who wanted to team up could only farm the monsters in the various areas, as they weren''t able to defeat a Boss.


    According to the information provided by Archmage Angela, the entire Instance Dungeon of Naxxramas consisted of five zones ¨C the Spider Zone, the Abomination Zone, the Plague Zone, the Death Knight Zone and the Frost Dragon''s Nest. There were 18 formidable Bosses inside and the final Boss was the Lich King Arthas'' right-hand man ¨C the infamous Kel''Thuzad.


    The first four zones didn''t have to be played in any particular order, but if you wanted to fight the final Boss, they had to defeat all of them.


    Therefore, there was no shortcuts for getting the First Clear in this Instance Dungeon.


    "So which area should be do first?'' Sky Moon asked.


    "Spider Zone ¨C we have an advantage there with our antidotes," Lu Li said without hesitation. Although they had to defeat all the Bosses to fight Kel''Thuzad, he knew which zone would be best for them to warm up on.


    Cold Chill was no longer the rookie that Lu Li had picked up.


    People now proclaimed Cold Chill to be the number one Potion Master in Dawn. Most of the general potions were now made by her apprentices. She would only spend her time making the premium potions.


    Antidotes were one of the first things she studied, and so she had the most thorough research on them.


    It could be said that 80% of the poisons that a player would encounter could be dealt with by one of her antidotes.

 1737 Parasite Eggs

    After seeing the Boss, there were many small monsters that needed to be cleared out. Of course, these were all different types of spiders.


    The individual players targeted these spiders. This was the ultimate Instance Dungeon back in the 60s, so there would at least still be some valuable recipes and materials. If equipment dropped, then it would at least be Gold grade. For ordinary players, these were rather valuable items.


    Even if nothing dropped, the gold dropped from these monsters was still a good source of income. Naxxramas'' small monsters didn''t drop copper coins; they immediately dropped silver coins.


    Of course, these silver coins would still be distributed out to other teammates. Even if that was so, the income from grinding these monsters was still quite decent. The biggest obstacle was not dying and not using a lot of potions.


    Before the Boss, they needed to clear out around six waves of monsters. There were two patrolling groups that needed to be eliminated first. These two groups were formed of small spiders which had high offensive strength. After controlling their aggro, the Mages would need to be wary when they cast their spells. They needed to keep a cycle of constant freeze on the spiders. The rest of the Mages would cast Blizzard, and would require constant healing to avoid dying.


    Wandering was in charge of pulling the aggro of the small monsters, since he had Enhanced Consecration. As soon as he used Consecration, a group of spiders would immediately swarm him. From the damage and the Taunt, they weren''t even tempted to attack other players. The aggro was safely maintained on Wandering.


    There was a familiar item that these spiders dropped ¨C the Jadeite Feather.


    In the beginning of Lu Li''s gaming journey with Azure Sea Breeze, Northern Tang Dream, Northern Tang Kitty and Drinking Alone, the five of them went to take the First Clear of this Instance Dungeon.


    A year had already passed since then in the blink of an eye.


    The contact between Lu Li and his friends from those times were much less and frequent as before. It was the same in game and in real life. Everyone had their own lives to live, so neither parties had enough time to build their relationships further. Naturally, they grew apart.


    Northern Tang Dream was still a beauty, but unfortunately, Lu Li already couldn''t quite remember what she looked like. He was actually completely incompetent at remembering faces.


    One wave of small spiders dropped two Jadeite Feathers. These feathers were in quite a high demand, especially in the current market. The demand was much higher than the supply, so a single feather could sell for 7 to 8 gold, which was around 200 dollars in real life.


    Unfortunately, these spiders would no longer respawn in a few months'' time. When that time came, nobody would be able to earn anything from here.


    There were still many groups that they needed to clear. The most common group consisted of one Giant Spider, two Red Spiders and two or three Yellow Spiders. The Giant Spiders would release toxins, so they needed to kill those first. The Red Spiders would release a curse that reduced the effects of healing, so they needed to deal with these second. Finally, the Yellow Spiders would be left to the end.


    These groups of spiders posed a huge threat to normal players. They were unable to kill them without suffering casualties.


    However, the drops were much better. From a single Giant Spider, Remnant Dream managed to loot a Dark Gold item with decent properties. It was a shame that no one was interested.


    After clearing the monsters on the path, the door to the right path would open, which led to the Boss.


    The first Boss was Anub''Rekhan.


    Anub''Rekhan was the leader of the underground that was revived by the Lich. When he was alive, he was once one of the strongest Spider Lords. As of now, he served Kel''Thuzad and guarded the entrance to the Spiders'' Nest.


    The deadly and sharp spikes that exploded from the ground could instantly tear players in two. Tough armor protected his innards and his gigantic body. After killing someone, Anub''Rekhan would insert parasitic eggs into the body of their corpse. These parasites would then seemingly revive the corpse and target all living things in its vicinity.


    Anub''Rekhan was one of the most powerful Spider Lords in the whole of Azjol''Nerub. Many years ago, Anub''Rekhan and his king, Anub''arak, were defeated in battle by the Lich King and were recruited into the Scourge. It was said that he was the most loyal commander to Anub''arak.


    With the second coming of Naxxramas, the Anub''Rekhan now was guarding the fortress with a thirst for blood and hunger for flesh. He was the first barrier of defence for Naxxramas and sought to crush any invaders.


    It had to be said that Dawn was a work of art. The inclusion and implementation of these details would have been a huge project.


    In terms of physical design, Anub''Rekhan did not disappoint the players. This wasn''t a normal-looking dungeon at all. It was something truly beautiful.


    Azure Sea Breeze even whistled and exclaimed at how cool the spider Boss was, along with


    Fat Monkey.


    "Let''s go!" Lu Li called out, indicating for them to begin, then cunningly said, "It''s said that this Boss has a really interesting skill. If its spikes enter your body, it will deposit some parasitic eggs into you which will hatch within. So, Breezy, you''ll soon become a father¡­"


    "Lu Li, you scumbag!"


    Azure Sea Breeze''s excitement instantly died.


    Of course, this was just Lu Li''s joke. The designers were not that disgusting. The parasitic eggs would be injected, but they would definitely not spawn more spider babies. At the most, they would only deal damage.


    Azure Sea Breeze tilted his head and looked at Wandering. Wandering was just researching this point, so obviously, he wouldn''t be able to take the responsibility of pulling aggro. At that time, Azure Sea Breeze could only try his best and focus on pulling the aggro of the monsters.


    "Oh! Be careful! I am coming! It has been a while since I have tasted flesh and blood."


    This was Anub''Rekhan''s script.


    Azure Sea Breeze was ready, swinging his blade at Anub''Rekhan''s mouth, which looked like a pipe of some sorts. This was probably where it deposited the parasitic eggs.

 1738 Anub’Rekhan

    The little needle was one of its attacking methods and wasn''t that easily destroyed. Actually, it could be said that it was impossible to destroy it. Otherwise, this Boss would be too easy.


    Furthermore, it wasn''t fighting alone ¨C there were still two more Crypt Guardians.


    The Crypt Guardians looked quite similar to their Boss, but with slightly smaller heads. Lu Li gave Wandering the responsibility of holding the Crypt Guardians'' aggro and assigned a group of healers to heal him.


    Looking over at the Boss, Azure Sea Breeze was already tanking its'' heavy strikes. Anub''Rekhan had a pair of lethal and razor sharp claws. However, the damage dealt by them was rather average. Azure Sea Breeze only lost around 1000 HP with every hit. This meant that this Boss was likely to have many skills in its arsenal.


    In the beginning, everyone was still deciding whether or not they should kill the Boss'' minions.


    This was because not all minions could be killed, and not all minions needed to be killed. However, when the Boss summoned another Crypt Guardian, even the most stupid players would know that they would need to kill the Guardians as soon as possible. Otherwise, the number of Crypt Guardians would rapidly grow, which would be devastating for them.


    Lu Li counted the time that it took for the Boss to switch modes of attacking. From the beginning of the battle to summoning took around 100 seconds.


    The first skill that indicated the change was Carrion Swarm. This skill slowed down the movement speed of the caster by 40%, while dealing and stacking Natural damage on surrounding enemies within 20 to 25 metres.


    The allied Instance Dungeon team was greeted with their first squad wipe here. They realised that they needed to retreat when the skill was unleashed, but it was too late. The melee ranks were utterly destroyed. Without these players, they obviously would not be able to continue. This damage lasted from 10 to 15 seconds and it could keep stacking. Besides the Main Tank, no one else was able to withstand it.


    "This actually has quite a simple solution. Breezy, just pull the Boss away from the Carrion Swarm, and wait until the skill ends, then pull him back here. March Rain and Hachi Chan, focus on healing Breezy. Use your longest-ranged healing skills. Don''t stand too close to the Boss," Lu Li instructed.


    "I discovered one of the Boss'' skills. Just then, when we died, the Boss would cast a skill at the corpses which summoned a lot of scarabs," Sky Moon observed closely.


    "Looks like we need to minimise our casualties," Azure Sea Breeze responded solemnly.


    Everyone ignored him. Of course they needed to minimise casualties!


    After restarting the battle, everyone''s attention was on clearing out the Crypt Guardians.


    The Crypt Guardians were rather powerful and their damage was not low either. They had a key skill, which was Toss Net. This would prevent players'' movements while accumulating a massive amount of aggro. The Main Tank was likely to lose aggro for a split second, so the Guardians would move towards the players he was protecting.


    Lu Li arranged for Wandering and World''s Best Friend to tank the Crypt Guardians.


    Even if they couldn''t kill the Guardians, the Boss would still summon a new Crypt Guardian after switching. If the Crypt Guardians weren''t dealt with, then even the most powerful squads would wipe.


    With two tanks, it didn''t matter if people were hit by Toss Net. This setup was much more generous with mistakes. Truthfully speaking, Anub''Rekhan wasn''t that difficult to deal with. Lu Li thought that someone would have already taken the First Clear already.


    Everyone was already level 60, so with the right team composition and exquisite items, the Boss would be a piece of cake if the mechanics weren''t too hard to deal with.


    The skills that were more difficult to deal with were Impale and the summons. Impale was a skill that dealt 2500 or more damage in a line. The player would be knocked up, then receive further damage once they hit the ground. Therefore, players who couldn''t avoid the skill in time were likely to die.


    If the dead players were not revived within 3 seconds, the Boss would summon scarabs from the corpses.


    The Crypt Guardians'' corpses could also be used to summon scarabs. Three to five scarabs would be summoned at a time, and their attack speed would be extremely high. These scarabs were also immune to crowd control, which was the main cause of squad wipes. Lu Li arranged for the Mages to stand nearby the corpses of the Crypt Guardians. As soon as the scarabs were summoned, the Mages would quickly eliminate them using AoE skills.


    The Guardians were dealt with by pulling the two of them away from each other. The first one would be killed, then the Mages would deal with the scarabs. Then, they would pull the other Crypt Guardian to the same place and do the same.


    This way, the Mages didn''t need to run around. The ones who had to work harder were the Tanks.


    Carrion Swarm!


    This skill was labelled as the ''squad-wipe specialist''. In the earlier days, Carrion Swarm even had an effect of slowing down movement speed as well. Once the players were hit by it, there was no chance for them to run away. Their movement speed would be constantly dropping, while the damage would constantly increase.


    Even Lu Li was hit by it.


    He was originally quite confident. He had high movement speed along with many escape skills. However, when he was hit by Carrion Swarm, he realised that this was different to what the strategy guide described.


    Carrion Swarm didn''t even give the players a chance to respond with their skills. All skill animations were interrupted. Even if they managed to escape, the effects of Carrion Swarm would still be present on the players and it would bounce between them. Furthermore, their movement speed wouldn''t recover either. Their movement speed would instead be continually dropping, until the Carrion Swarm caught up with them.


    Azure Sea Breeze was the only one holding the aggro of the Boss.


    He already had an absurdly high amount of Natural Resistance, so Carrion Swarm didn''t affect him as much. Furthermore, most of his skills didn''t have an animation. Although it looked like he was suffering, if the healers did their jobs properly, squad wipes wouldn''t be a problem.


    During this time, in order to protect the rest of the team, Lu Li arranged for a Hunter and Warlock to deal with them.


    The Hunter would cast Aspect of the Pack, which increased the group''s movement speed. Remnant Dream''s skill would be able to increase everyone''s movement speed by 20%, which was enough for everyone to escape.


    There was someone who needed to pay attention to this ¨C Azure Sea Breeze. He needed to dispel the effects of the skill, otherwise, he would be stunned.


    There was also the Warlock, who was able to inflict a Curse which slowed down Anub''Rekhan''s casting speed.


    This time, the MVP was probably Hachi Chan.


    She was in charge of healing the Main Tank, because of her class'' flexibility in different fighting situations. If she was hit by Impale, she could transform into a bear and tank it. When she was knocked up into the air, she would be able to transform into a leopard and land safely. Furthermore, she was moving with Breezy the entire time as she healed him, all the while perfectly maintaining the distance between her and the Carrion Swarm.


    March Rain, in comparison, had a difficult time. Because Priests were not that mobile, she couldn''t outrun the Carrion Swarm, unless she began to run much earlier.


    Lu Li was beginning to grow lazy while commanding in an Instance Dungeon.


    For the Main Tanks, he gave the commanding right to Wandering. Wandering was now in charge of how they would pull the monsters. He allowed Sky Moon to have full responsibility over how the Mages operated and cleared out the scarabs, so he could just be on the sidelines and command over how the whole team operated as a whole.


    After wiping four to five times, Anub''Rekhan was finally defeated.


    The success came as a little bit of a surprise. The key part was that everyone had already worked together many times before, even as a combined group like this, so their team chemistry was actually very well-developed.

 1739 Enhanced Holy Nova

    Remnant Dream was a little slow at looting the corpse. She was no longer as excited as before when looting. Furthermore, it was only Anub''Rekhan, who was an Entrance Boss. This wasn''t the First Clear either, so the chances of dropping something good were not high at all.


    "There''s a bunch of rocks. None of them look pretty," Remnant Dream said.


    "Actually, that''s not bad. We''ll throw them in the Guild Storage. There should be many people who can use them."


    Lu Li knew that the rewards this time wouldn''t be great, but everyone else''s standards had already been raised.


    There were a few with Legendary gear, while virtually everyone had full sets of Epic items that had been carefully selected.


    "Eh?"


    Remnant Dream handed the rocks and rare materials to Lu Li and went back to loot the body, but suddenly stopped.


    "Why is there something like this? Enhanced Holy Nova. This is an Enhanced Skill Book for Priests."


    Holy Nova was a skill that ignited the area around the caster in an explosion, dealing large amounts of Holy damage to surrounding enemies within 12 metres. At the same time, it also healed any surrounding teammates'' HP. This was one of the few skills that dealt damage and healed simultaneously.


    There were two main Priests in the team ¨C Star Baby and March Rain. Both of them could use their guild points and compete for the book.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn''t going to make the decision to give it to March Rain, as that would be too rude. Furthermore, March Rain didn''t have as many guild points as Star Baby. Their personal relationship was quite good, but neither were willing to let this go.


    Even though March Rain''s guild points couldn''t match Star Baby''s, she could still keep bidding for the book, forcing Star Baby to take the book at a high price. If she did this, then Star Baby wouldn''t be able to compete for the next valuable Priest item.


    Star Baby used 180 guild points to purchase the skill book. Surprisingly, she wasn''t angry about buying the book at such an exorbitant price, but seemed overjoyed.


    After learning the Enhanced skill, she also gained a unique effect. When she used the skill, a shield would surround her body. This shield would absorb damage that was similar to the level of the skill. All the other Priests were envious.


    If it was learnt by another person, the unique effect would be different, even if it was the same skill.


    Taking Blink as an example, Unforgettable Maple''s unique effect when using this skill transformed his body into a small bat. This would allow him to more easily dodge skills. However, Fat Monkey''s unique effect with the same skill provided him with a knock up effect upon landing.


    It was difficult to say which one was better or worse. However, it was clear that Unforgettable Maple had a defensive unique effect, while Fat Monkey had an offensive unique effect.


    Even so, Anub''Rekhan still dropped some worthwhile items. Gold and Dark Gold items aside, the first Epic item was the Cryptfield Silk Cloak, which was a Tank item. Because it was better-suited for Warriors to use, it was taken by Azure Sea Breeze.


    The second item was the Gem of Nerubis, which was a secondary weapon for Mages with decent properties. It''s main point of attraction was that it was a Mage item.


    The third item was the Desecrated Bracers, which was part of the T3 set that Warriors and Thieves could use. Unsurprisingly, there were a bunch of players competing for this. Thieves and Warriors were both popular classes. In the end, Lu Li managed to buy the item using 145 guild points.


    "Do you want it? I''ll give it to you," Lu Li offered in his message to Water Fairy.


    He was using a T2 Bracer which gave a bonus skill level to Slit Throat and provided him with an additional escape skill. Furthermore, there was also an Assassin effect, so it didn''t really matter if he swapped it or not.


    "Really?" Water Fairy was shocked.


    Lu Li was someone who was always calm and collected and didn''t act impulsively. She didn''t think that he would give her an item that both of them could use.


    "Of course I''m for real. Would I lie to you?"


    Lu Li immediately handed the item to Water Fairy. Drizzle Court also had talented tailors, so they didn''t need March Rain to craft the Bracers.


    "I''ll give my old one to you then. It''s better than the T2 one," Water Fairy said.


    A trade sounded good. Although Lu Li was quite satisfied with his T2 Bracers, he wasn''t stupid enough to reject her. It was his girlfriend who was giving him the gift. Even if it was the worst present possible, he still needed to have a face full of joy and surprise.


    Astri''s Despair (Epic): Armor 120. All Stats + 100. Critical Damage +30%, 3 Slots. Special Effect 1: Detection +20. Special Effect 2: Escape. Teleport in a range of 15 metres within the caster''s line of sight, 2-minute Cooldown. Cooldown is not shared with other skills of the same type. Special Effect 3: When Stealth is lost after receiving damage, wearer gains a magic-based shield which absorbs 1500 damage. Level requirement: 60, Durability: 280/420.


    He had to admit that Water Fairy''s item was better than his own. The Assassin effect on the T2 Bracers was pretty much useless in PVP and Instance Dungeons, but the magic shield could be used to good effect. After all, it was a skill that didn''t have a cooldown.


    The triggering effect was the wearer losing Stealth due to an attack. It provided a 1500 magic damage shield, which was enough to tank two skills from a Mage.


    This skill would come in handy in desperate situations to turn the tables.


    Astri was a Wild Boss in the Badlands which was difficult to tackle. Because of the ferocity of the competition over it, Ruling Sword had already given up a long time ago.


    Lu Li immediately switched out his old T2 Bracer for this one. Because Water Fairy''s Bracers weren''t completed yet, so Lu Li gave his own Bloodfang Bracers to her.


    Bloodfang Bracers (Exquisite Epic): Armor 100. Agility +120. Constitution +80. Lethality +35%. 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Slit Throat +1. Special Effect 2: Escape. Teleport in a range of 15 metres within the caster''s line of sight, 2-minute Cooldown. Cooldown is not shared with other skills of the same type. Special Effect 3: After successfully killing a target, wearer gains +20% Attack. 10 second duration. Can be stacked. Level Requirement: 60, Durability: 400/400.


    "Damn! Looking at you two everyday makes me want to get a girlfriend of my own," Azure Sea Breeze cursed.


    He was already tortured enough by the Boss. Now even his own captain was inflicting emotional pain on him. No matter how high his defence was, or how powerful his items were, they couldn''t defend against emotional pain.


    "Desecrated Wristguards. Paladins, Hunters, Shamans. Druids," Remnant Dream called out as she looted another set item.


    "No one objects to giving it to Innocent Child, right? I''ll take 100 points guild points from him," Lu Li said.


    No one objected. These four classes weren''t too popular. Mu Qiu and the rest of them were already satisfied, and didn''t have many guild points left anyway. Furthermore, Lu Li had deducted 100 guild points from Innocent Child, so everything was fair.


    This was a T3 set item, so obviously Innocent Child wouldn''t say no.


    His role in the team was to heal. He would also keep an eye on the Secondary Tank''s HP. With the inclusion of Innocent Child in the team, the power of the combined forces of the three organisations was slightly raised.


    Under normal circumstances, the team would have two Priests, two Druids, and a Healing Paladin as healers. The reserves would also contain other Priests and healing Shamans.


    Then, Remnant Dream looted the last item of the day.


    Splinter of Atiesh!

 1740 The Grand Widow

    The Splinter of Atiesh was material for the Legendary weapon ''Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian''.


    Naturally, the Guardian mentioned here was the Guardian of Tirisfal.


    After Karazhan fell, the Kirin Tor Assembly dispatched a whole team of Mages to search the whole tower and collect all the important things. In the end, this staff was taken to Dalaran.


    A whole series of unfortunate events had occurred in Dalaran. All those who had encountered Atiesh, even those who had just done some work with the Kirin Tor Mages, had all died strangely. It was like it was a sentient magical weapon. This sentience must have been granted by Sargeras. However, it was no longer the carrier of the Guardian''s strength.


    After these people died, the Kirin Tor Sixth Assembly made a decision. They thought the best way to deal with this staff was to use some long-lasting magic to seal it up inside a prison.


    Afterwards, Dalaran was practically completely destroyed by Archimonde. In order not to have the enemy lay their hands on this staff, the shackling circle activated numerous protective mechanisms that


    crushed the staff, thus turning it into the Splinters of Atiesh.


    This staff was one of the highest level weapons and it was one of the best pieces of equipment in the game. There was some info that revealed that the Lich King Kel''Thuzad in Naxxramas was secretly looking for this legendary staff. That was why it wasn''t unusual to find the Splinter of Atiesh here.


    The best equipment in Dawn were Magic weapons, but there weren''t many in the whole continent. Because of this, Legendary weapons was naturally what everyone was chasing after.


    When different roles used this weapon, it had different effects. You could even say that the attributes of each ''Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian'' were different. Some of the staffs'' attributes might be mediocre, that is, compared to other Legendary equipment, while others had attributes that were top-notch.


    It was said that the attributes of the best ''Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian'' broke all the limits of Legendary equipment, turning it into a true Demi-God weapon.


    This splinter had been previously thrown away, but now, it was still in Lu Li''s hands. Of course, it would be kept with Lu Li. He planned to assemble all the materials before deciding who would own this piece of equipment.


    Alternatively, it could be made as a prize. Whoever was the most outstanding in the Shadow Cup would receive this staff.


    There were many roles who were able to use this staff. In fact, Druids, Priests, Mages and Warlocks were all able to wield ''Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian''. Because all the attributes were different depending on the role, they didn''t have to consider which one was most suitable.


    The second Boss was called the Grand Widow Faerlina.


    Faerlina led the fanatics of the Cult of the Damned who wholeheartedly admired her. These fanatics would patrol both inside and outside her hall, both day and night, so that she could contentedly give her life for this cause. And so, it was said that this Boss had both looks and power.


    Before her life had taken this low turn, this former aristocrat of Lordaeron relied on her own drop-dead stunning beauty and cunningness to conceal herself. She married six young aristocrats one after the other, like a black widow spider, getting rid of them all without any trace. By inheriting her deceased husbands'' estates, she was able to become one of the richest women in Lordaeron at the time.


    However, the greedy Faerlina was a lady who couldn''t be satisfied. The real natural enemy of women was the passing of time. Faerlina''s ultimate goal was to have eternal beauty.


    At this, Kel''Thuzad looked for her. Using dark magic, her chubby body and thick skin disappeared, and a Faerlina who would look forever-twenty came out. At that time, she became a member of the Cult of the Damned, a servant of the Lich King Ner''zhul.


    The night before he was killed by Prince Arthes, Kel''Thuzad issued a new command.


    "Go confuse that supernatural Nois! I need his strength! Make him be a part of Scourge!"


    Faerlina, an expert in the affairs of the heart, finished the quest. She captured Nois'' heart, and made him willing to become undead.


    Faerlina was not to be underestimated because she was a lady. Everyone who did so went to hell!


    The designers in the game company really did put in a lot of work, making this Boss look sexy. Lots of players thought she had the charm of Queen Sylvanas, but from her appearances, she actually looked like a celebrity in real life.


    This celebrity had a messy personal life, and in many aspects, there were a lot of similarities between her and Faerlina.


    The company that managed her took Dawn to court and demanded all sorts of compensation. However, the game company actually managed to win the case, surprising everyone in a massive display of power.


    Anyway, fighting with Faerlina really was quite a sight.


    Lu Li had a serious appearance, not even looking at Faerlina, as if she were some ugly monster. But then again, with a girlfriend like Water Fairy, Faerlina really wasn''t much to look at.


    When this battle started, Faerlina really let everyone know the heart of a ''poisonous'' woman.


    As a biologist and a potions master, compared to the previous first Boss Anub''Rekhan, the poison she used was on a whole other level.


    Her rain of poison arrows blanketed half the hall. In normal circumstances, there was simply no escape.


    Moreover, this attack was cast approximately every 10 seconds.


    She also brought with her two followers and four worshippers, and they actually all used poison.


    The followers would even charge at random. Those who were charged at would not only incur massive damage, but they would also be silenced for 3 seconds. This silence wasn''t considered magic, so Priests couldn''t do anything about it.


    However, the worshippers were actually the key to defeating this Boss.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li didn''t know how to explain it. What reason could he give to the Priests to get them to control the little monsters?


    If the Priests controlled them, the players would realize that these worshippers had a skill. This skill would allow them to get rid of the Boss'' Berserk, stopping her from casting Natural magic for 30 seconds, and reducing her magic attack speed by 20%.


    In other words, the little monsters that were controlled became the players'' helpers.


    The Grand Widow Faerlina was a Boss which often went Berserk. She would go into Berserk every 60 seconds, and every time, it would last 60 seconds.


    The damage report came in after the Berserk. Even the Main Tank couldn''t withstand a few rounds of this.

 1741 Should Not Regre

    This also meant that, if they wanted to defeat this Boss, having the Priests control the worshippers would be the most effective method. And as such, it became the only method.


    Lu Li had no idea what the first person who ate a scary-looking crab was thinking. Likewise, he was really in such a difficult situation now.


    The team had already died twice. Just when Lu Li had no idea what to do, Hachi Chan spoke up.


    "How about, we try to control these two little monsters? Aunty Angela said that Faerlina''s followers don''t have their own independent mind; they can be controlled by the Priests."


    The Aunty Angela she spoke of was the Archmage Angela Dosantos, an NPC of Light''s Hope Chapel.


    Lu Li was flabbergasted. Having been stuck for so long, it turned out that the solution was so simple.


    He knew ages ago that he shouldn''t test his luck against Remnant Dream, nor his Charisma against Hachi Chan.


    But actually, Lu Li was being too harsh on himself before.


    Although they were in the Plaguelands, where Lu Li had suffered the most, he and old Fordring had a super tight-knit relationship. All the NPCs in the Plaguelands were thankful for his support.


    It was a shame that this couldn''t match up with that System''s girl.


    "Alright, in a second the priests will control the little monsters. Try it out, and see what the little monsters can do," Lu Li said, happily agreeing with Hachi Chan''s suggestion. He was also planning to reward her with a few DKP. This silly girl was getting whatever she wanted.


    Of course, controlling the little monsters couldn''t be left to the two main healers, March Rain and Star Baby. Machine Bro and Jaweika were both up for the task.


    Machine Bro and Innocent Child were both called ''Machine Bro'', but since Machine Bro was 2 years older, he was called ''Big Machine''. Innocent Child, being the younger of the two, could only be known as ''Lil'' Machine.''


    The Priests soon found out that the followers couldn''t be controlled, and that only the worshippers could.


    The followers were killed first and the four worshippers were split up and pulled. After the followers died, the Main Tank pulled the Boss to the middle of the room, and everyone stood in a similar position to when they were fighting the Princess of the Black Dragonflight. They spread out around the room and stood firmly as a tight group together that could resist fire and rain.


    The four worshippers didn''t need to all be controlled. Just one or two were enough to accomplish the task of removing the Boss'' Berserk. When one monster had been controlled, a debuff would prevent it from being controlled again for a short time. During this time, they would switch to control another worshipper.


    Actually, after they grew accustomed to this, a Priest was able to completely get rid of the Boss'' Berserk.


    Since the team''s antidotes were relatively powerful, it actually wasn''t even as hard to kill this Boss compared to the first one. Not long after, they found themselves victorious in this battle.


    The equipment that was dropped out wasn''t anything special. It couldn''t be compared at all to the first Boss.


    The Splinter of Atiesh and some T3 parts were rewarded, which could be considered a rather mediocre drop. After all, not every Boss would drop Skill Books. In fact, you could say that most Bosses, even if you got the First Clear, wouldn''t drop a Skill Book for you.


    Following this was the last Boss of the spider zone, Maexxna.


    Maexxna''s appearance was that of a ginormous, scary spider. She was guarding the last frontline of the spider zone. On her large spider web lay the corpses of intruders that nourished her countless children.


    Although the plague that the Lich King Ner''zhul gave to Kel''Thuzad only made humans turn into the undead, it also affected other non-human lifeforms.


    In the Plaguelands, there were many plants and animals that were mutated. A certain native spider had transformed to become ginormous.


    Kel''Thuzad, the real master of the Plaguelands, maintained his scientific curiosity after death. When he heard the news that there were all sorts of giant plants and creatures in the Plaguelands, he immediately set off himself to shackle up these giant creatures and brought them back for Naxxramas to research.


    "What strange changes! The plague has brought a lot of interesting things; gigantism is just one aspect. There are also corrupting toxins, as well as tough, tensile and super sticky spiderwebs. It''s all so amazing!"


    "What a shame its dead, but it actually left behind a huge pile of eggs! It looks like I can investigate how these changes occurred in the plague-ridden environment.


    "It''s really so interesting!"


    Only 70% of the eggs successfully hatched, and as soon as they were born, they began to slaughter each other. In just a short 20 minutes, they had used their own methods to determine who was the final king. This final victor only took three days to grow larger than its mother, and more greedy! Ordinary corpses infected with the plague were already unsatisfactory for its appetite, and only the special giant scavenging maggots of the Plaguelands could fill its belly.


    "I''ve decided to name it Maexxna ¨C the legendary pet of the gods of the Spider Kingdom!"


    It was said that this monster had legs five meters long and stood three meters tall.


    Of the other two, the first was a spider, and although it was scary, at least at the end of the day, it still looked like a spider. The second was even less worth talking about. Not only was it not scary, but it was just a pet. It actually looked as pretty as a lady.


    The one in front of them, though, was different. It was not quite the legendary three-meter tall monster with five meter legs, but it was at least two meters tall. No one in the team was as tall as Yao Ming, so they had to look up at it.


    The thing that made everyone most disgusted was that the spider kept on salivating.


    Azure Sea Breeze was livid. If he went up to pull the monster, the spittle from the spider would definitely wash his face for him.


    "Go on Breezy ¨C what are you waiting for? It can''t be because you think this Boss isn''t as glamorous as the last one?"


    No matter how you heard it, Lu Li''s tone sounded like he was taking pleasure in pain.


    "Should not regret¡­ah¡­ah¡­"


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t know either of where he heard it before, but he was actually able to sing Peking opera.


    If he knew earlier, then he wouldn''t have chosen to be a Main Tank. He realized that a Main Tank meant being abused. Every time there was a Boss, he would be crushed. He wasn''t someone who got pleasure from pain. He completely regretted his decision now.


    However, he liked the feeling of having everyone looking at him. In a team, the commander was the most important, and next was the Main Tank. Of the Ruling Sword PVE team, apart from Lu Li, the other players only knew about Azure Sea Breeze.


    He was in a position that was even more watched than celebrities were.


    It was a case of choosing the lesser of two evils. Even if they were both good choices, it was still the same principle. Thinking about the greatness of his Main Tank position, Azure Sea Breeze wielded the Greatsword of the Brotherhood with one hand, lifted his shield with the other and charged towards the spider''s hideous mouth.

 1742 Not First Clear Again

    Maexxna''s normal attack were pitiful. It was as if this spider monster couldn''t rely on its ordinary attack to survive.


    However, Maexxna soon showed off her special methods.


    Her claws kicked around, sending Moonlight, Lu Li and Sakura Memories flying. They flew right into the wall, and were stuck to it by the Boss'' phlegm-like web.


    The web wriggled like it was alive, wrapping up the three people on the wall in a cocoon.


    Each of them received 600-800 damage every 2 seconds. It was not clear how long this would continue for, just that they kept incurring damage. The healers couldn''t see them, and they had no way to restore HP to them.


    "Haha, I never thought you would see this day," Azure Sea Breeze said, taking pleasure in their pain as he wiped off some of the drool that the spider had sprayed on his face.


    It was really hard to say who actually had it worse, but at least when they were suffering together, he was a bit more at peace.


    "Attack this spider web!" Lu Li shouted in a muffled voice from under the web.


    It was good that he could still take his own potions, otherwise, there was no point waiting for help. These spider webs had HP and could be attacked. It was just that Lu Li''s limbs were trapped, so he had no way to attack from the inside.


    The other players received this command and launched into action straight away. Very quickly, they freed the three people from the spider web.


    The spider web had about 6000 HP. If a few people attacked it, they could finish it off in under 10 seconds. The main thing was they had to be coordinated, and the people trapped in the web couldn''t run out of health, otherwise, they wouldn''t be saved in time.


    Maexxna was called the spider queen, so she naturally had the will to summon little spiders. It would be strange if she was incapable of summoning them.


    These little spiders didn''t have much HP. They were mainly effective because they would self-destruct just before their died. The team had faced this sort of monster when they were in the Spider Lair. They didn''t even need Lu Li''s command to deal with them.


    What led to a team wipe was another skill called Bind.


    This time, Maexxna didn''t just spit out three globules of phlegm, but actually spit out a few dozen, binding everyone.


    This continued for 10 seconds, and during this time, everyone''s actions would be prevented. It did 1500-2000 damage, so a lot a people died in this time. After all, Maexxna was a venomous spider, and the venom was especially strong. With this single attack, quite a few players died within seconds.


    What was even worse was that the healers were also trapped, so no one could heal the Main Tank.


    Over half of the team died, including Azure Sea Breeze. Lu Li helplessly declared this battle over, telling everyone to just peacefully close their eyes and accept defeat.


    It looked like this venom only targeted the Main Tank. The result was that it reduced the effectiveness of healing by 90%. The healers were a little careless. They simply didn''t heal his HP up to over 50%.


    "Healers, take note and raise everyone''s HP, especially Breezy''s. Don''t let his HP drop below 50%, and those who can get rid of the venom, make sure that there''s no venom affecting him," Lu Li instructed.


    Evidently, this Boss was here to bother the healers.


    However, the strongest in this three-way alliance were still the healers. There were two celebrity competitor priests, Star Baby and March Rain, as well as other celebrity competitors such as Innocent Child. Hachi Chan also had all sort of tricks up her sleeves. The Tank Healer Darkness, already had some amazing equipment on her. Furthermore, there was the Priest Machine Bro, who had been a stalwart of the First Clear team.


    After they were shot away and trapped in those threads which had been spit out, they actually also


    needed to make sure that those who were trapped had enough HP as well.


    As long as everyone''s HP was maintained above a safe level, the ability for this Boss to cause a team wipe was lowered compared to the previous Bosses.


    It was only when the Boss had 30% HP and went Berserk that you could say it behaved more elegantly.


    At this time, both her attacking power and speed increased dramatically. If the Main Tank wasn''t competent enough, then they would packed up and left the Instance Dungeon earlier.


    It was a good thing that Azure Sea Breeze was powerful. When the Berserk stage ended, he was close to being finished off, but in the end, he still kept his HP level stable.


    Since the Main Tank wouldn''t become the weak link in the Berserk stage, all that was left was teamwork and luck. After the three-way alliance died a few times, they finished off the final Boss of the spider zone, even faster than Lu Li expected.


    He originally thought that if they finished off the spider zone in the first day, it wouldn''t be bad.


    However, they achieved their target in just over half a day. If everyone kept up their performance, they might even finish off the Boss in the next zone.


    However, they still had to loot the corpse and divide up the loot.


    "Did we get First Clear this time?" Azure Sea Breeze asked.


    Strangely enough, the first Boss dropped a Strengthening Skill Book, so it wasn''t easy to judge if it was a First Clear. Judging by the slim pickings from the second Boss, it was clear that the First Clear had been taken by someone else. Now, it was the third Boss¡­


    This time, it was different to the previous Bosses. Green Flag Wine from Peerless City received Skill Point.


    It was evident that it was becoming harder and harder to gain Skill Points. A lot of times, there would be 40 people fighting one Boss and in the end, only one person received a Skill Point as a reward.


    "How do I know if it''s a First Clear? We have to see what it can give us," Lu Li said. The Skill Points weren''t enough to determine anything.


    Remnant Dream looted the corpse. The materials and the Skill Book that were revealed first were rather average. At this stage, everyone already had the Skill Books that they needed. However, these books were almost impossible to obtain for ordinary players.


    Then came the equipment. In terms of Epic equipment, there was a piece of jewelry.


    Pendant of Forgotten Names!


    It was probably a healer''s piece of jewelry.


    This Pendant looked like an Exquisite item but actually, the demand for it wasn''t high. In the end, it was taken away by Machine Bro at an affordable price.


    Wraith Blade!


    This was a single-handed magic weapon. Judging by its appearance, it looked to suit Warlocks more. In the end, it was given to Kitty Likes Meat, because this weapon had a special effect for PVP. You could pull someone towards you, regardless of whether they were friend or foe.


    Desecrated Gauntlets ¨C a T3 set item, designed for Thieves.


    Lu Li spent some DKP and purchased the Gauntlets. He would let March Rain deal with making them and then, they could be used.


    He was still using T2 equipment. He had to swap to T3 equipment sooner or later. But of course, if there were separate pieces of equipment of even better quality with no set effect, it was actually still fine.


    A second Desecrated Gauntlets were dropped, and this time, it was taken away by Water Fairy. She already had a T3 item, and with this, she could combined them to activated the first special set effect.


    After this was the Splinter of Atiesh, and that was all.


    It seemed as though this wasn''t a First Clear after all. Although there were four Epic pieces, the actual value of these four pieces was were just too low.

 1743 An Old Familiar Face

    Ruling Sword didn''t rush to get into the Instance Dungeon. In other words, they always took their time to enter.


    After Naxxramas had been opened up for a while, the other clubs had already brought their teams to attempt it. At the same time as they fought, they fixed up their team. If they needed any potions or other roles, they could address that later. Anyway, they had over a 100 elite players, so they could have three or five teams and it wouldn''t be a problem.


    The core of Lu Li''s group was the three-way alliance''s First Clear team. Although the rest also entered the Instance Dungeon, they didn''t have much impact.


    With the three-way-alliance''s First Clear team, it didn''t look like Drizzle Court and Peerless City had to worry.


    However, it wasn''t that there wasn''t any hidden danger. If they took their time, their First Clear team would become weaker and weaker.


    The first Boss of the plague zone was the Plague Messenger Nois. He was a renowned mage of Dalaran, the same as Kel''Thuzad. He followed the summoning of the Lich King, and in the same way yearned for power. He agreed to use his achievements in necromancy and evil magic for the service of Scourge.


    However, when Nois saw that Scourge had seized countless innocent lives in the third major war, he began to doubt Kel''Thuzad''s decision.


    However, Kel''Thuzad quickly sealed up Nois'' heart with ice, blocking away any signs of mercy.


    A man who was able to become the lady Faerlina''s husband would be one of the most outstanding men. This was certainly true. As the 7th husband of the lady Faerlina, the "Lordaeron Necromagus Association President" Nois Abrahams, had made many great achievements in researching and communicating with spirits.


    There was a clear distinction between a Necromagus and a Necromancer. Before Sthe courge had been established, Necromagi had already been officially recognized by humans as an important role. By summoning spirits of those who had been harmed, the police would be led to who the real killers were. Historians would find Necromagi in the hope that they would have had conversations with eyewitnesses to uncover realities lost in the mist of time. Of course, not every departed spirit could be summoned out, and likewise, it wasn''t just anyone who could become a Necromagus. Before the Scourge invaded Lordaeron, there weren''t even 100 Necromagi in this kingdom, and every one of them had a good and peaceful heart.


    Nois was the kindest and friendliest one of them all (note: to be a Necromagus you needed to have a pure heart, and the kinder you were, the higher chance you had of successfully summoning a spirit). Within his territory, people lived peacefully, praising their kind and easygoing master.


    "As the man that was Black Widow''s prey, his final end would only be death."


    After a month, the power of the curse had come onto this peaceful land. Those spirits who had been cursed loafed around in the night. Unclean and undead spirits of lifeforms ventured out on the fields. Creatures of darkness would randomly launch attacks on people. All the while, Nois and his wife Faerlina didn''t take a single step out of their manor.


    The people worked their hardest in these dark days, waiting for their master to save them. However, they ended up waiting for the plague and death.


    When the manor door was opened, the Plague Messenger Nois emerged wearing a Scourge uniform. All that was left in the manor were just corpses of villagers who had died from plague.


    "Get up! Fight loyally for your master!" Countless skeletons bore their way out from the graveyard, exiting out from the rooms and standing up from the fields.


    As the saying went, even the strongest warrior can be seduced by a beautiful girl. Nois ended up becoming a Necrotic mage.


    There were actually too many people like this in history. Everyone was too lazy to look down on their opponents, but actually, they weren''t qualified enough to look down on others. At the very least, those they looked down on could be cool by dying and still getting with the girl. This was much better than just being a dog stuck in a house.


    "Glory to my master!" The former Necromagus had now fully become a servant of the Lich King.


    Under normal circumstances, if normal damage wasn''t high, it meant that the Boss'' skills were extremely powerful. What the players were most afraid of were those powerful skills which often led to a team wipe.


    Although it was only the Boss guarding the gate to the plague zone, not long after he came out, Nois had already made them fail once.


    About 15 seconds after the battle started, he let out a group curse. Everyone within a 30-yard radius was hit with it. The curse persisted for 8 seconds, but the damage was negligible, so everyone took their time in getting rid of it. The result was that a few of the people who were affected ended up exploding.


    That''s right ¨C they really blew up.


    They didn''t only destroy themselves, but they also killed the people around them.


    "Ranged players, be careful of your position. Try to keep your attacks more than 30 yards away. Melee players, you have to get rid of the curse. Work it out yourselves," Lu Li said. He pulled two more Mages in, so now there were five Mages in total. He also added in two Druids who could also dispel curses. This time, they would be able to remove it.


    "I''ve got a curse-cancelling potion," Hachi Chan piped up, as she reached her hand into her bag and took out a few potions.


    She really had whatever was needed; she was even cooler than Doraemon.


    However, there was a limited number of these potions. If they could help not using them, of course that would be best. As long as the Mages and the Druids didn''t make any mistakes, they could definitely guarantee being able to dispel the curse within 8 seconds.


    This Boss definitely wasn''t the type that would stand firmly. About a minute after the battle started, he removed all of his own aggro targets and used a Blink skill. After that, he would use normal attacks at random before casting area-of-effect skills.


    The first time they faced such a shameless Boss, everyone didn''t even respond. By the time they could, the team had already died.


    Actually, attacking people at random with normal attacks was fine. Nois'' normal attacks weren''t strong, and even if he could kill a player by chance, this wasn''t a big deal. The key thing was that the area-of-effect curse was unbearable. Apart from the group curse, there was another thing that crippled the whole team.


    This was a group speed-reducing skill with an even more ridiculous range. Azure Sea Breeze rushed over but failed to pull the Boss. This was because he was afflicted with the speed-reducing attack.


    The way to deal with this was really simple though. Lu Li had the secondary Tank stand in the group, and as soon as the Boss Blinked, they would pull the Boss over. This would continue in cycles, and as long as they executed this cleanly, there would be no issues.


    In the second stage, the Boss would run up the walls and summon smaller monsters.


    The first time this happened, four Plagued Champions were summoned at once. They would cast a group Shadow Shock, dealing about 2000 Shadow damage.


    After this happened, the Mages would tend to use Frostbite straight away, and at the same time, the Priests would Lock as quickly as they could. The Warriors who could pull one would concentrate all their firepower onto it and kill it as fast as they could. Then, they would move onto the next one.


    The second time, there were four Plagued Champions and two Plagued Guardians at once. The guardians would cast an Arcane explosion and deal about 1000 Arcane damage. Since there was no Buff that increased Arcane resistance, before the battle with the Boss began, they would have to drink some Arcane Resistance potions.


    The third time, there were four Plagued Champions, two Plagued Guardians and two Fanatic Constructs all at once. The constructs could Cleave and deal group damage ¨C about 1400 to Warriors and 3000-4000 to other professions. They couldn''t be Stunned, Locked or Silenced, and they had little HP. Like before, four priests would Lock the Plagued Champions while the melee players would quickly kill the Plagued Guardians. Two Warriors would pull the constructs down and stay away from the group. Ranged firepower would first kill the Plagued Guardians before targeting the constructs.


    After all of this, the team entered the third stage of the battle.


    There weren''t any new skills in the third stage, so it was much easier than the second. There was just a Plague debuff. Those who received it would definitely die; there was no way to get rid of it. They could only roll away from the rest of the team, otherwise, they would infect nearby people with the plague. Five seconds after someone was infected with the plague, they would incur massive damage and would die.


    This Boss likewise didn''t waste too much of everyone''s time.


    First there were Stones, materials and Skill Books, and then came the equipment.


    Nois'' Frigid Heart, a piece of exquisite Off-Hand Magic equipment, was taken away by Kitty Likes Meat in the end. Last time, she had received a magic sword, which matched her perfectly.


    Libram of Light ¨C this was a Libram only for Paladins. This equipment was positioned similar to where a Thief''s bow was. It was Darkness'', without a doubt, because it was perfect for a Tanky Healer.


    The Band of the Inevitable was an exquisite magic ring. Finally, Lu Li saw something which could be considered interesting.


    They most likely had achieved the First Clear with this Boss.


    You could imagine the fierce competition for a ring that used magic, especially since Lu Li had used five Mages for this Boss. Who wouldn''t want such a powerful ring?


    In the end, Lonesome Flower purchased it for 220 DKP.


    However, the ring he took off to replace it was also in high demand. In the end, Azure Sea Breeze used 120 DKP to take it. All in all, Lonesome Flower only ended up paying 100 DKP for a valuable piece of equipment.


    As a mage, none of them wanted to fall behind in damage output.


    An old mage always had the pride of an old mage.


    The Desecrated Girdle was used by Paladins, Hunters, Shamans and druids. Remnant Dream easily won over her enemies to purchase the equipment.


    This Boss didn''t give out any shards or fragments or splinters, but gave out a quest item ¨C Fate of Ramaladni.


    Ramaladni was a warrior from the Brotherhood. Well before Silver Dawn was established he was a student under Mograine. When news of Mograine''s death spread, hatred and anger filled his heart and soul. He got out of his shelter and became a hunter for the Scourge in the Plaguelands.


    Naturally, he was arrogant about his power. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be a hunter, but would instead be the prey.


    The reward for this quest was a ring with Ice resistance. Any role could go and complete the quest and would receive an appropriate piece of equipment.


    After Lu Li explained the quest, this item was bid for as a piece of Epic equipment. The one who received the quest item in the end was Deadly Gold Underpants from Peerless City. He felt like he really lacked Ice resistance. When it came to PVP against Ice Mages, he would lose much more often than he would win.


    In this patch, Warriors were really quite embarrassed when pitted against magic roles.


    All up, there were actually six items, so it should have been a First Clear.


    The following Boss was that despicable Heigan. When they saw him, everyone laughed. At the battle of Tyr''s Hand, the Boss everyone faced was this one. Or, you could say, everyone faced Heigan last time, who was even stronger than in the Instance Dungeon. They had seen all his skills before.


    What was different was that last time, there were more of them, but this time, there were only 40 people.

 1744 The Crazy Scientis

    The previous Bosses weren''t really difficult. Everyone only had to go through a few team wipes before they would be finished, but Heigan really wouldn''t be that easy. Any one of the skills of this undead Mage could lead to a team wipe. The players had to pay the price of a few deaths to be able to learn the mechanisms of this Boss'' skills.


    However, Ruling Sword''s players didn''t. They already knew of Heigan''s abilities ages ago.


    "All the races of the world will eventually go extinct. This is just a matter of time."


    "I can see limitless suffering, limitless torture¡­ I can see the anger of heaven and earth ¨C I see everything¡­"


    "This world will be shaken very soon¡­"


    "Your life is heading to its end."


    "Starving worms will swallow up your rotten body."


    This undead Mage left behind some classic lines as he died again at the hands of Lu Li and his team. This time, they only died once.


    Two players received skills points, but still no Enhanced Skill Books were dropped.


    In terms of equipment, Remnant Dream looted a Necklace of Necropsy. Although other healing roles could also use it, Lu Li let the Priests compete. March Rain and Star Baby didn''t really think much of this necklace, and so it was picked up by Machine Bro at a cheap price.


    No one would think that purchasing Epic jewelry for 60 points was expensive, apart for those non-mainstream roles like Shamans.


    Icy Scale Coif ¨C this was a piece of Ice-resistant headgear that increased agility in Chain Mail Armor. Hunters and Shamans could use it. There weren''t many of either professions, and this item didn''t garner much interest, so in the end, Sakura Memories purchased it at a low price.


    She reasoned should could wear this hat to fight Mages.


    The Icy Scale Coif was very suitable for fighting Mages. Some Paladins or Warriors would even carry one of these in their bag, equipping it when they encountered Ice Magic.


    Not only did this hat increase Ice Resistance, but it would also reduce the time they were frozen for.


    An old Mage would probably be completely stunned now. Now, when PVP players were selecting equipment, they used Mages as their hypothetical opponents.


    Icebane Helmet was another piece of headgear that provided Ice Resistance. It appeared that Heigan had turned into a hat peddler in the Instance Dungeon. This piece of equipment was for defensive roles, so Lu Li handed it right over to Azure Sea Breeze.


    They would encounter Ice Magic later in the Instance Dungeon, so they needed to stock up.


    However, Ice Resistance was one of the most common types of resistance, so it wasn''t hard to acquire.


    Desecrated Waistguard was T3 equipment for Warriors and Thieves.


    Moonlight bid a relatively high price and took it away.


    Lu Li actually wanted it as well. He needed to acquire another piece to gain the set effect. Fortunately, there were lots of Bosses later, so this wouldn''t be too difficult.


    Desecrated Belt.


    The Magic players were beginning to get stuck. The three roles of Priests, Mages and Warlocks were all fiercely competing.


    Fat Monkey cried as he stuffed the equipment into his backpack. His wallet was bleeding.


    Moonlight spent 80 points to purchase the T3 belt in his hands, but Far Monkey had spent 150 points, which was almost twice as much. He wouldn''t feel hurt if there was no such comparison, but given the circumstances, there was no way he could feel entirely satisfied after this.


    "There''s another one ¨C it''s exactly the same as the last one!" Remnant Dream exclaimed in elation.


    Another Desecrated Waistguard ¨C what a blessing for the Magic players!


    However, something happened that surprised everyone. The first piece had been sold for 150 points, but the second had actually gone for 180 points. Even Lu Li couldn''t understand it. Last time, Lu Li wasn''t willing to compete when it was at 150 points, so why had it risen to 180 points now?


    Fat Monkey immediately lightened up.


    After a final Splinter of Atiesh was dropped, they headed off to where the next Boss was.


    "We''re going so fast. If someone can get the First Clear before us, I''ll cut off myself off down there," Azure Sea Breeze said, taking the lead. That was what you called having the spirit of enthusiasm.


    "Hehe, really?" Lu Li asked.


    "Foggy Grass, what do you wanna do? Damn you! You''re not gonna throw the match are you?"


    Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t an idiot; he understood what Lu Li''s double meaning was. If you used psychotic logic to work it out, Lu Li could easily throw the match and not get First Clear to see Azure Sea Breeze cut himself off on livestream. Wasn''t it easy for a commander to do that?


    "How could I do that? We''re brothers! If you cut it off though, don''t worry," Lu Li said, then continued, "Your wife and kids, I will take care of them!"


    "Look at my lips! Damn your girlfriend!"


    Azure Sea Breeze was in a rage, but he quickly realized he didn''t have a wife, so he relaxed and let out a breath.


    It looked like they could still kill the third Boss of the plague zone within the day


    This Boss was named Loatheb. He wasn''t a person, nor an undead. Perhaps he could be considered a Fen Creeper.


    The plague had a massive impact on the plants and animals. The crooked Fen Creeper Loatheb was the best example. Loatheb was a fungus monster which had been used by the fanatical Heigan for a plague experiment. After going through changes, this scary beast was now able to spread the frightening plague and was even able to summon mutant spores to increase his strength.


    In the caves of tears in the west Plaguelands, there were countless swampy muddy monsters as well as many mutant plants.


    Under the effects of the plague, the swamp monsters had unusual changes occur to them. Originally slow and peaceful, the toxins in their plague made them quick and cruel. They fought each other but they could never kill their opponents. At this, they evolved to prevent their opponents'' ability to heal themselves.


    Heigan tried to extract this sort of strength and also use it on their undead generals.


    He was a dangerous scientist, and even crazier that those who studied engineering.


    However, with every experiment, these swamp monsters went through new changes. When they went to fight each other, they released a special spore which would increase the damage of other monsters.


    The crazy Heigan definitely wasn''t satisfied with this achievement. He combined a Dreadlord''s blood with a demon warlord''s blood, before synthesizing and injecting them with a new plague.


    These guys had undergone a new change as well. They kept fighting themselves like before as frightening shadow magic covered the whole room. Those Acolytes who fed them only stood for a second before they corroded until there was nothing left. Under this frightening shadow magic, the only thing that survived was this organism.


    Kel''Thuzad called it Loatheb.


    It was said in ancient legends of the Spider Kingdom that the devil that heralded the last days was called Loatheb.

 1745 Wasted Healing

    After fighting this Boss a few times, Lu Li understood that it wasn''t going to be done by today.


    He started to try and adjust the team, and kept only Azure Sea Breeze. The rest of the defensive professions were all changed because this Boss didn''t require many of them. If they were swapped for Thieves or Mages, this would increase the overall damage output of the whole team.


    As for why more healers weren''t necessary, it wasn''t because there wasn''t any pressure on them. In fact, the most difficult part of this Boss was maintaining the team''s HP. There was no organisation of healers as there was no point in having more of them.


    Loatheb often cast a skill called ''Corrupt Mind'' which debuffed all healers after a few seconds. All healing magic and dispels were placed on cooldown for one minute. Within this one minute, only one heal or dispel could be used.


    Basically, all healing professions were made redundant ¨C they could only be used at key moments.


    In times like these, the fight was dependant on the club''s equipment and potions.


    All in all, everyone had taken every measure possible to regenerate HP.


    On the contrary, the healing potions couldn''t be used at this time.


    Some people said that this Boss'' attack wasn''t that high, and that the skill damage was mediocre. This was true, but once someone made your healing useless, then even the weakest attack would gain some lethality.


    The second skill was a summoning type skill.


    After 20 seconds, Loatheb would summon Diseased Spores, which would creep out of the four wells. The spores had little HP, around 700, and would grant nearby players a buff once killed. The melee players'' Critical Hit rate would increase by 50%, while spell Critical Hit rate would increase by 60%.


    This type of spore could be killed easily without the need of aggroing monsters.


    The players would also benefit after they died, and there would be no increase in aggro. As such, they were recklessly allowed to increase their damage output.


    The ones who killed the spores were usually Mages and Thieves.


    Loatheb would be an unsolvable Boss if not for these spores.


    Of course, things were never that easy. Loatheb also had a skill of ''inevitable doom'', which would fill the entire area with dark damage. It would debuff all players within 100 yards with a slow effect every 30 seconds, while dealing 2500 points of Shadow damage. Once 15 minutes had passed in the Boss fight, the trigger time was adjusted to every 5 seconds.


    Of course, this was terrifying, but within the first 15 minutes it was still manageable.


    After 15 minutes, a team wipe would be inevitable. No one could withstand so much damage once every 5 seconds.


    Lu Li put on a few pieces of life-stealing equipment he had taken from the club warehouse. Even though his output fell by a huge margin, his life-steal considerably increased.


    He could recover about 300 HP for each ordinary attack. As long as he wasn''t struck by the Boss face-on, he didn''t need to worry about the damaged caused by the ''inevitable doom''.


    If they wanted to pass the Boss steadily, they just needed to bring more Thieves. Everyone needed to wear some life-steal equipment and take turns to kill the spores. There was no need to worry about output. However, they also couldn''t wear too much life-steal equipment, otherwise, the damage wouldn''t be able to keep up and the Thieves wouldn''t have an advantage anymore.


    "My HP! My HP!" Azure Sea Breeze shouted.


    "Stop shouting! You''re not dead yet," March Rain scolded.


    "It would be too late if I''m dead, sister. My life is already in your hands okay?!"


    Azure Sea Breeze pulled a long face. Usually when he tanked a Boss, his HP steadily remained above 50%. Now, it had dropped to 30% and he was not being healed.


    "Who are you calling sister? Am I your sister?"


    Lonesome Flower was not happy. March Rain was his sister, and nobody else could take that from him.


    "Hehe, Flowery, let me tell you something, hey? Your sister is gonna marry someone one day hahaha~" Azure Sea Breeze cackled, not afraid of death.


    "Get out! I''m going to kill you one day!" Lonesome Flower roared.


    Azure Sea Breeze loved to see other people''s expressions of wanting to kill him; he despised people like Lonesome Flower, who acted like a pretty boy.


    "Stop fighting. Darkness, heal!"


    March Rain was rather angry.


    Darkness lifted her hand and filled up Azure Sea Breeze''s HP bar, then proceeded into a one-minute cooldown. March Rain was responsible for adjusting the healing times between the healing professions. These guys were already angry, so they were not in the mood to listen to the quarrelling between these two man-children.


    They needed to wait until the Main Tank''s HP had fallen to a certain level. Then, the healers would cast an Enhanced healing skill restore his HP all at once. This way, they wouldn''t waste the entire minute.


    "Let''s hope this time it won''t go Berserk," everyone prayed as they were about to enter into the last stage.


    Loatheb still had a chance of going Berserk at the moment. There had already been two times he had gone Berserk and destroyed the teams. After a period of time, the gaming company would remove this Boss'' Berserk mechanism. Combined with the restriction of healing, a Berserk would simply strip away any chance of survival.


    Perhaps because their prayers were more earnest, Loatheb actually hadn''t gone Berserk.


    "It''s steady now," Lu Li sighed in relief.


    Loatheb fell and two people received Skill Points. Of course, this didn''t include Lu Li, but he wasn''t jealous. It would be a miracle for Lady Luck to doze off.

 1746 Conflic

    It was about time. There was no chance of fighting it again.


    Of course, the already killed Loatheb hadn''t been looted yet. This Boss was definitely a First Clear, so the dropped items would be worth looking forward too.


    "This stone is not bad," Remnant Dream commented as she took one of them in her hand. Lu Li read through the attributes and thought they were valuable Synthetic Gems. Even ordinary equipment couldn''t compare with the level of these gems.


    After this stone was inserted, it could increase the Critical Damage of spells. Moreover, 20% of the critical damage could be converted into HP.


    This elite dual-attribute stone that had both critical hit and life-steal was especially suited to Magic professions.


    In the end, the price of 120 guild points was put forward. The Magic players all went crazy, disregarding the idea of performing a basic cost-benefit analysis.


    In fact, this was the result of the gaming company''s guidance.


    Even though Magic type damage was high, if it didn''t have supporting equipment and skills, then it wasn''t worth paying the price.


    This stone seemed to signal a bloody beginning. Hence, a second round of fierce bidding began amongst the team''s Warlocks when the Enhanced Death Coil Skill Book was retrieved.


    Sesame Rice Ball and Kitty Likes Meat kept going back and forth. Now, that was truly the definition of acting recklessly without any regard for anyone.


    In the end, Lu Li made the executive decision to give the skills book to Kitty Likes Meat. However, after he deducted guild points based on the final scare, she had not only cleared all her guild points out but also owed some as well.


    After all, she was a competitor, and Sesame Rice Ball understood that as well.


    She could let it go, but not at will. Otherwise, Sesame Rice Ball''s equipment would fall behind that of hers.


    Kitty Likes Meat''s focus on Enhanced Skill Books meant that she couldn''t place it onto other things. In terms of equipment, she didn''t really contest with Sesame Rice Ball. When competitions came around, she could borrow from him anyway.


    Then, there were the rare materials, and Gold and Dark Gold equipment. In the very end was the main epic equipment for today ¨C The Eye of Nerub!


    This was a Long-Handled weapon mould for an elite Hunters'' weapon. It seemed like Remnant Dream and Bearded Zaza were going have a tough fight.


    However, neither of them appeared as enthusiastic. Lu Li thought about it then came to a realisation. He realised that by this level, Hunters no longer cared if a melee weapon was good or bad. Rather, they hoped for an elite crossbow or gun.


    No matter how astonishing the melee weapon was, it couldn''t match up to the damage that a crossbow had when pulled out.


    "This weapon adds to three skills. Are you guys sure you don''t want it?"


    "What skills?"


    Bearded Zaza was awake instantly. In general, only one skill level would be added to weapons or equipment. It was unexpected that there would be three skill levels on this weapon. Even if they weren''t ideal, it was still a free bonus.


    "Escape, Freezing Trap, and another one that is only revealed after the weapon is created." Lu Li deeply remembered this kind of popular weapon. He remembered that in the second-tier professional league, a Hunter from Purple Lunar Paradise had a weapon like this. The third effect was for Instant Flare, and she had another item that enhanced this skill. As a result, she had a level 7 Instant Flare, which was the worst nightmare for Thieves.


    Of course, the result of the bonus three skill levels meant that the weapon had no other special effects.


    "Can this equipment be given to me please? I''ll pay a high price for it!" Green Flag Wine exclaimed as his eye sparkled.


    "You guys¡­"


    Lu Li was a tad hesitant. There were only two Hunters in the team today; one was Remnant Dream and the other was Bearded Zaza.


    Bearded Zaza, Sesame Rice Ball and Lonesome Flower were in similar situations. They were, of course, not as good as other players when it came to fighting, but they were professional PVE hunters, no matter in terms of skills or equipment. Yet, Peerless City''s Vegetarian Mosquito needed both to perform well on the field. Kitty Likes Meat was also behind Sesame Rice Ball by a significant amount when it came to damage output. As for Fat Monkey and Lonesome Flower, there was no point of comparison.


    According to the rule, only those who entered the Instance Dungeon were allowed to participate in the auction. Otherwise, they were to stay outside and wait for further instructions. Even so, they would receive some low points and hope that one day there would be opportunities to enter into the Instance Dungeon to gain equipment.


    It sounded cruel, but the whole gaming circle followed this model. Naturally, the issue of dissatisfaction existed.


    However, the request by Green Flag wine was also very normal. This weapon was the ultimate dream for Hunter competitors.


    Lu Li looked towards Water Fairy ,then looked towards Bearded Zaza who had a darker gaze.


    He knew that if he didn''t resolve this type of issue well, the three allied parties would ultimately progress towards an ending that no one wanted to see.


    "How about this? Currently, the team has two Hunters bidding. Until there is a competition, your club could borrow it for your Hunters? Does that sound okay?"


    This type of problem didn''t puzzle him. Ruling Sword had similar issues like this pop up in the past.


    For example, there was Sesame Rice Ball and Kitty Likes Meat. They were competing fair and square. Kitty Likes Meat could borrow equipment from Sesame Rice Ball once the next competition rolled around.


    "Okay, that sounds good," Green Flag Wine agreed. He had put forward this request in a moment of excitement, but regretted it as soon as the words came out. It was already by Water Fairy''s favour that Ruling Sword had brought Peerless City along to First Clear of the Instance Dungeon. Even if nothing was distributed to them, they had no objections.


    Other clubs were envious to the point their eyes turned red at their opportunity to participate.


    Bearded Zaza received the equipment in the end. Remnant Dream lacked enthusiasm towards this item. It looked rather ugly and was called the Eye of Nerub, which was a little off-putting.


    She had already vowed to loot an Epic weapon for herself one day. If other people had said something like this, then it was nonsense. If Little Red Hand had said this, then everyone was filled with hope. It was as natural as Little Hachi Chan going to chat with an NPC.


    The next item was a Brimstone Staff, which sent the Magic players into a frenzy once again. In the end, Green Flag Wine bidded the highest amount.


    Desecrated Leggings were another Magic profession item. This time, Lonesome Flower purchased this T3 item for 100 points.


    Desecrated Legguards were relevant for Paladins, Hunters, Shamans and Druids. Little Hachi Chan simply opened her hand out and everyone kneeled before their queen.


    Finally, there were the Desecrated Legplates.


    Now all three of the T3 leg Armor had been dropped together.


    Water Fairy didn''t seem to be interested. Lu Li didn''t know if it was because she was actually not interested or because he had left Peerless City with no room for rewards just then¡­

 1747 Smelly Potion

    Now that he had it in his hand, Lu Li was relieved. He had received a T3 item before, and now he was getting another. These were exactly the two items he needed to gain an effect from the Transmog Set.


    Frankly, his current equipment wasn''t that much stronger than the rest. If he entered the top 100 of the Shadow Cup and faced someone like Blood Dagger, his victory would no longer be guaranteed.


    As the leader, even if he was unlucky, he still needed to wear equipment that he was proud of.


    The last item was a Splinter, which Lu Li temporarily held on to.


    The day that they had spent on the First Clear was a great success and had ended perfectly. In the following day, when everyone came online, they had no reason to delay.


    They met by the Spider Zone and immediately entered into the Instance Dungeon. Even though they had time, the other clubs and random players would soon start flooding into the Instance Dungeon. If that happened, they might not get the First Clear bonus on the first two Bosses.


    They were free to attempt the Spider Zone, the Plague Zone, the Abomination Zone and the Death Knight Zone in any order they wanted. So, in order to get a few First Clears on the Bosses, some clubs decided to do them in a different sequence to the others. It was wishful thinking to try and get all the First Clears anyway.


    However, if they could get even one more First Clear, that would be good too.


    The Bosses in the Spider Zone had all been defeated. Lu Li announced that their goal for the day was to kill all four Bosses in the Abomination Zone. This was the only area with four Bosses, as the others only had three.


    The monsters at the beginning were ones that they had killed countless times. If they ran into problems here, then they might as well give up now.


    The Abomination Zone gatekeeper was the Boss Patchwerk.


    His character was not as simple as he seemed. He was the most powerful creature in Kel''Thuzad''s Abomination army. Opponents that encountered him were often surprised and amazed at his strength and speed.


    Unlike the slow-moving and predictable undead creatures, Patchwerk could use his inexhaustible strength to launch a barrage of attacks and crush any enemy that dared to face him. In his eyes, they were just little balls of meat to play with.


    The Abominations had always been the backbone of the Scourge''s ground forces. Ghouls were always thinking about their stomachs and wouldn''t take a step if they hadn''t eaten enough. Crypt Fiends were more concerned about how they could torture their prey. However, the Abominations were always loyal to their master''s commands, which made them the perfect war machines. As such, Scourge scientists were also constantly trying to improve their abilities.


    The birth of Patchwerk could be considered a miracle.


    When the huge Abomination was assembled, Kel''Thuzad appeared in the slaughterhouse. Dark magic flowed from the high lich and the inanimate Abomination suddenly stood up.


    This behemoth was 4 metres tall (Abominations were usually only 3 metres tall), and had a tough skin that had been enchanted by dark magic. It wielded a giant axe and could cut an unwitting target to pieces within seconds.


    He was the Abomination that Kel''Thuzad had personally given life, and so became the King of Abominations upon birth.


    Most of the clubs that chose the Abomination Zone as their first suffered at the hands of Patchwerk. Some even abandoned the Abomination Zone and moved on.


    Lu Li didn''t want to leave the Abomination Zone until the end, but he knew that the Death Knight Zone was even more difficult. If they couldn''t defeat the Abomination Zone, then there was no point trying the Death Knight Zone.


    The reason for Patchwerk''s strength was not because of how many skills he had or how complicated his behaviour was. It was just that his ordinary attacks were devastating once he went Berserk.


    He was a typical tanky, high-damage Boss with high HP, and would go Berserk after 7 minutes, which would increase his damage by 400%.


    This kind of damage was unbelievable; a normal Main Tank would basically get one-shot. After this happened, the rest of the players would just be a feast for the Boss.


    One skill that it had was called Hateful Strike. This skill guaranteed that the next attack would be a critical hit. Patchwerk would select his target by picking someone who proportionally had higher HP than him.


    These two factors made it very difficult for the Main Tank. The first made it such that the Main Tank needed to keep their HP high, but the second required the Main Tank to not have too much HP. Otherwise, if the Main Tank received a 400% damage attack with a critical hit, then even Azure Sea Breeze with 20,000 HP would fall.


    This was where most of the clubs died.


    Any club could enter the Berserk Stage, but they would inevitably be wiped. Even though they were playing as a three-guild alliance, Azure Sea Breeze was still being killed over and over.


    "Wandering get out. Let''s get another Warrior in here. This way, we''ll have four of them," Lu Li began to adjust the team composition.


    With Azure Sea Breeze and three Warriors standing in a line, Lu Li instructed that Azure Sea Breeze''s HP should never be full. Instead, the three others should always be at full HP, even if that meant they were being over-healed.


    In fact, keeping the three other Warriors at full HP wasn''t that difficult as long as the Healers kept healing.


    The key point was that Azure Sea Breeze''s HP would remain a little lower, but this was difficult to coordinate. Darkness, who was responsible for healing, bit her lip and nodded. She was calm on the surface, but was actually feeling quite flustered. This was the first time she had been asked to heal in this way.


    However, even after that, they still got wiped.


    It was then that Lu Li finally came up with his trump card.


    It was a bottle of orange-coloured potion which gave off a pungent smell after unscrewing the lid. Azure Sea Breeze had no desire to drink it.


    "Drink it. Nothing bad will happen to you I promise," Lu Li said, trying to console him. This was the last idea that he had, and it could only last one battle. They had been wiped so many times, but he didn''t take it out before because he wanted to ensure that it would work.


    "Tch, why don''t you drink it then?"


    Azure Sea Breeze really wanted to throw up.


    Lu Li decided to give up on reasoning with him and said, "I''m not a Main Tank ¨C why would I drink it? If you drink it, I''ll give you 20 DKP."


    "No, 100," Azure Sea Breeze bargained.


    "Uh, the most I can give you is 30. You can only get 10 from defeating a Boss, so how could I give you 100 just to drink this thing? What a shameless request."


    Lu Li wasn''t so easily convinced.


    "80. I think that drink will probably cause me nightmares. Where did you even find such a smelly thing? I don''t want to do it."


    Azure Sea Breeze smelled the potion again and couldn''t take it.


    "Big bro, 50 points then. If you really don''t want to, then I''ll let one of the other Warriors drink it," Lu Li said, feeling somewhat guilty.


    This potion was the smelliest potion he had ever held, so it was quite heartless to force Azure Sea Breeze to drink it.


    However, the effects were very suitable for fighting this Boss. It was not really a potion, but a poison, as it would cap his HP at 90% for half an hour.


    This would solve the problem of the Boss attacking the Main Tank with Hateful Strike.


    Lu Li had deliberately searched for this item so they could fight this Boss. He had watched it for a few days in the Exchange Hall. The purchase had gone smoothly, but the smell was clearly foul.


    Fortunately, Lu Li didn''t have to drink it, and could order Azure Sea Breeze to do it instead.

 1748 Toxin Injector

    50 DKP wasn''t that much, but Azure Sea Breeze would also receive DKP from the Boss and for being a Main Tank. He was standing to gain 2-3 Bosses worth of DKP.


    However, it didn''t seem like he had a real choice. It was likely that he would have to drink it regardless of whether he was willing.


    Even after having his HP capped at 90%, Azure Sea Breeze would still have enough HP to face the Boss. It wasn''t that he was conceited, but that none of the other Warriors present were qualified like him.


    As such, Azure Sea Breeze solemnly downed the potion.


    After finishing the potion, he immediately chased it with fruit juice while crying out in disgust. It took a while for him to wash out the odour from his mouth; he was working hard for his team.


    After drinking the potion, Azure Sea Breeze''s HP wasn''t full anymore. In fact, it stayed at 90%. This potion could actually be used to fight the Boss. For example, when the Boss had its mouth open, you could throw it inside. It would then reduce the Boss'' HP by 10%, which was a good start to the fight.


    However, this was still a waste of resources. The first 10% HP wasn''t something that most teams needed help with.


    Currently, there were no physical symptoms for Mages and Healers for using their magic for


    extended periods of time. As such, it didn''t make a different to fight the Boss for 30 minutes or 40 minutes.


    Lu Li bought this item from the Exchange Hall and had spent a lot of gold coins. Presumably, the seller didn''t know how precious it was, but noticed that it was quite rare. Only a fool would sell an item like that for 1 or 2 gold coins.


    If there was no such item, then they would have had to just keep trying and getting wiped until one of the four Warriors had high enough HP at just the right time.


    With this potion, the three-guild alliance managed to save a lot of time.


    Patchwerk gave out a Skill Point, which was won by Water Fairy. The female tycoon was also usually quite unlucky, but she had a beautiful fac,e unlike Lu Li. Perhaps the System took that into account.


    Beautiful girls generally had better luck.


    There weren''t any particularly exquisite gems, and there was no Enhanced Skill Book. So, they all anticipated that the subsequent equipment would be disappointing too.


    There was the Plague Bearer, which was an Ice Resistance Shield. Its overall attributes were not that strong, but as an Ice Resistance equip it was valuable. Azure Sea Breeze took the item somewhat indifferently as no one competed against him.


    Cloak of Suturing ¨C this was a healer''s cloak and was taken by Star Baby.


    The next item was Severance, a two-handed axe. Deadly Gold Underpants was very satisfied with its special effects, and spent a lot of points to purchase it.


    No matter what profession you were, unless you were Lu Li, you would always find yourself in trouble from time to time. When that happened, all you had to do was to call for Moonlight or Her Tears, and they would drop what they were doing to help.


    Remnant Dream then looted two Desecrated Shoulderpads, which were for Priests, Mages or Warlocks.


    This was already quite a lucky set of drops. If they had received three Paladin items, then they wouldn''t know how to split them up.


    While they were dividing the equipment, the others began to clear out the mobs nearby. They soon came across the second Boss in the Abomination Zone ¨C Grobbulus.


    He was another giant made of flesh and blood guarding the Abomination Zone. Unlike his peers, Grobbulus had undergone a transformation where he had fused with the Scourge. In this battle, the adventurers had to be careful of the Oozelings and Deadly Fog that this monster could spit out!


    Not all the Scourge''s experiments were perfect. Grobbulus could actually be regarded as one of the Scourge''s many failures. Of course, this bizzare creature wasn''t completely useless, but it was the Scourge''s first attempt at mutating live ogres with the Plague.


    Human beings were no longer the only creatures that the Plague could transform into the Undead. Orcs, Tauren, Trolls and even Night Elves could now fall victim to the new plague.


    Grobbulus'' fighting ability was far weaker than the other Abominations, and it wasn''t that much smarter either. However, it had a large amount of poisonous liquid stored within it. What was more amazing was that the Plague within it was constantly evolving. This was why Heigan decided to keep this failure, and use it to create new plagues.


    Inside Naxxramas, Grobbulus slowly moved about and produced a variety of new plague variants for the Scourge scientists to study.


    One of Grobbulus'' arms was eventually replaced with a syringe through which he could inject Ooze into his enemies.


    When players saw this character, it was likely that they would be reminded of their childhood nightmare of a doctor''s injections.


    Although he looked formidable, Grobbulus'' combat power was not that strong. His normal attacks didn''t do that much damage, nor did he attack particularly quickly. This meant there wasn''t much pressure on the healers.


    Every 10 seconds or so, he would put out a poison cloud. This cloud started at the size of the Boss before gradually spreading out. It would spread until it had a diameter of about 20 yards before vanishing.


    The time from the appearance of the cloud and its disappearance was about 1 minute. Anyone who came into contact with the cloud would lose 2000HP per second.


    However, as long as the Main Tank could pull the Boss away, this wouldn''t be an issue.


    The second skill was Spray, where the Boss would spray his current target. This skill inflicted 3000-4000 Nature damage to all targets, even if they were only hit by a few droplets.


    This was again solved by just pull the Boss away.


    Grobbulu''s needle-shaped arm wasn''t just for looks either. It could give the player an injection of a Plague variant. This would then infect the person with a ''plague variant'', which would either disappear after a while or could be dispelled by a Priest or Shaman. The plague would then cause the player to unleash a poison cloud around them, which had the same properties as the Boss'' one. It would expand until it had a 10 yard radius and then would explode to deal about 3000 damage (with Armour Pierce).


    If a person with the plague died within 10 seconds of releasing the poison cloud, it would also trigger the disease effect.


    People affected by this would just have to run off to the corner so it didn''t spread to anyone else.


    This Boss would go Berserk in the 20th minute of the battle. If they defeated it within 20 minutes, then it wouldn''t go Berserk. However, even if it did, it wouldn''t necessarily wipe them.


    After wiping Lu Li''s group twice, they worked out the strategy to combat the skills. In the third attempt, they defeated the Boss in 17 minutes.


    There were no Skill Points awarded. There was a valuable gem for healers but no Enhanced Skill Books.


    Midnight Haze ¨C this was a dagger for Mages, which didn''t apply to many people. Its attributes were rather ordinary, so no one was willing to spend that much on it, even though Magic equipment was generally quite popular.


    Glacial Mantle ¨C this was an Ice Resistance Mage item, so Lonesome Flower took it.


    The last item was Toxin Injector, which looked like a large needle tube. Remnant Dream needed this equipment because it was actually a rifle for Hunters.


    "In the future, if anyone bullies me, I will be giving them an injection."


    The little Hunter was very satisfied as she held her shiny new rifle.

 1749 Gluth’s Missing Collar

    There was a match in the afternoon, but there wasn''t too much pressure, so Lu Li didn''t bother resting and continued on with the next Boss.


    The Undead Plague dog Gluth was obediently sitting in Naxxramas, waiting for his master''s orders.


    He was a mutated, sutured monster and was known as ''two-dog''. This Undead guard dog was protecting the last door in the Abomination Zone. His appetite couldn''t be satisfied with some pet biscuits, as it was unusual like his huge body. Rumour had it that Gluth could swallow an Undead army and the rotten flesh to repair its own.


    In their battle with him, the adventurers were about to experience the ''appetite'' of two-dog.


    The Cursed Church were the representatives of the Scourge in the living world. These slaves retained the appearance of living beings, but their hearts were completely corrupted as Undead. If it weren''t for Kel''Thuzad ordering them to live in the living world, these guys would definitely commit suicide in exchange for eternal immortality.


    Members of the Cursed Church didn''t just exist among the humans. They were in Orgrimmar, Darnassus and Steel Stove Castle too. They were among the merchants, the officials, the military and the mercenaries, quietly awaiting the arrival of the Lich King Arthas.


    Arthas had absorbed all the memories of Ner''zhul and knew of Azeroth''s past. Acquiring Ragnaros the Firelord''s strength was one of his top priorities. However, to acquire the strength of the elements, you had to first understand them. As such, Kel''Thuzad instructed his Cursed Disciples to live among the mercenaries. When a Mercenary Group defeated the Molten Core, they were to steal as much knowledge of the elementals as possible. They had infiltrated Nefarian''s Lair and even got the secrets of Chromaggus and Broodlord Lashlayer.


    When Kel''Thuzad saw the molten cub and Nefarian''s gene fusion technology, a brilliant idea popped into his evil mind.


    He used Grobbulus to synthesise a new plague and injected it into the poor molten cub. After a week of mutation, an incomparably big and fierce Undead dog was born.


    However, this new creature had a fatal weakness because the mutation had caused its bones and muscles to be quite fragile. As such, it couldn''t be used on the battlefield as a weapon. So, Kel''Thuzad gave it a new ability so that its appetite would never be satisfied and kept it as the Naxxramas'' famous Scourge gatekeeper.


    Fighting two-dog was not easy, as its normal attacks were quite strong and it had very unusual skills.


    The skill that it used most often was a debuff that reduced healing effects by 10%, and could be stacked. This was similar to the first Boss of the Ahn''Qiraj Ruins. Because of this, Lu Li arranged to have two Main Tanks take the debuff in turns. If they only had one tank, then they would definitely lose.


    This Boss would go Berserk once every 10 seconds.


    Fortunately, this Berserk could be dispelled by a Hunter''s Tranquilizing Shot. As long as there were Hunters on the team, there wouldn''t be many issues. Lu Li''s team had three Hunters ¨C Remnant Dream, Bearded Zaza and Peerless City''s Vegetarian Mosquito.


    Vegetarian Mosquito had been on standby for a long time and now finally had the chance to enter the Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li couldn''t just leave people on standby forever either, even if their PVE damage output was a little worse. Even if Vegetarian Mosquito and the other players weren''t needed, he would occasionally bring them in so they would have an opportunity to gain some equipment.


    The third skill was a summoning skill. Two-dog would summon zombies in three areas.


    The zombies had a debuff that was applied when they attacked. This debuff increased physical damage taken by 100 and could be stacked.


    Lu Li''s team had been wiped several times because of these zombies. If it was just one debuff, it would have only been 100 extra damage. However, if they were stacked, then the damage would quickly start adding up.


    "Don''t bother killing the zombies. Mosquito, can you kite them around?" Lu Li asked.


    At this time, the usefulness of a PVP Hunter could be demonstrated. Neither Remnant Dream nor Bearded Zaza were particularly skilled at kiting, at least not compared to a professional player. Vegetarian Mosquito nodded confidently, but he did have some concerns.


    "If they are attacked while I am kiting them, I won''t be able to hold onto them."


    "Here is a potion that can increase your aggro. Just drink that," Lu Li said as he took out a new potion. This wasn''t something he had purchased from the Exchange Hall, but was one of Cold Chill''s new works. It was intended to reinforce the Main Tank''s aggro so that the other players wouldn''t steal it away.


    With this potion, Vegetarian Mosquito''s job was made much simpler.


    However, the mobs weren''t always being pulled away. As the number of monsters kept increasing, there was a greater chance that Vegetarian Mosquito would make a mistake.


    Two-dog''s fourth skill was called Decimate and was cast once every two minutes. All the players and monsters in the room would have their HP set to 5% and all Aggro would be reset, even those being pulled by Vegetarian Mosquito. The monsters had to be killed quickly, otherwise, they would run to the Boss and be devoured by him. Each monster that two-dog swallowed would grant him 5% HP.


    At least this still was balanced, and eating the monsters didn''t grant him full HP.


    The last skill was an area-of-effect Fear, which was cast once everyone 20 seconds. It had a 20-yard range, but a Shaman''s Tremor Totem or a Priest''s Dispel could deal with it.


    These skills seemed to be manageable, but when they actually faced them, they realized it wasn''t so simple. They were wiped quite a few times, and it took them until noon before they finally killed two-dog.


    "Quickly distribute the items so you can take a break before the competition," Lu Li instructed, breathing a sigh of relief.


    "Can we watch the competition together?" Azure Sea Breeze asked. The reason he didn''t participate in PVP wasn''t because he didn''t enjoy it, but because he wasn''t good at it. Even so, he still liked spectating the matches.


    "What do you mean? There is nothing for you to watch. We''ll keep going with the Instance Dungeon. Sky Moon, you can be the commander. I hope that you''ll be able to defeat the next Boss while we fight this match."


    They were trying to get the First Clear, so there was no time to watch the match.


    The match wasn''t even between the top 100 yet, so there was nothing to see.


    "Shameless Lu¡­" Azure Sea Breeze muttered, but didn''t oppose it.


    Remnant Dream quickly looted the equipment. There was one valuable gem among the two ¨C it increased physical attack and had Life-Steal properties. This was taken by Moonlight. The other gem was a Shadow Damage gem for Magic professions. Sesame Rice Ball negotiated with Kitty Likes Meat and took it for himself.


    The equipment was actually decent. The first Epic equipment was Gluth''s Missing Collar. It was an exquisite defensive necklace and would increase Azure Sea Breeze''s defense by one point overall.


    In fact, this could also be used in PVP, as its damage reduction effect was quite powerful.


    Berserkers dealt more damage when they were on lower HP. If a Berserker had this necklace, they would be able to deal high damage for a longer period of time, which had the potential to turn matches around.

 1750 A Proposal for an Alliance

    Claymore of Unholy Might ¨C this was a two-handed broadsword that was purchased at a low price by Her Tears.


    Actually, he had a better weapon. However, as someone who was crazy about PVP and often charged headfirst into battle, dropping items was a frequent occurrence for him. This would be his backup weapon, and one that was quite powerful.


    Next, there were two T3 Belts, one pair of shoes and one set of shoulders. There were four T3 items in total.


    The item drop rates for First Clears were boosted. If it wasn''t for it being a First Clear, then it was likely that there would only be four T3 items, despite it being a top-tier level 60 Instance Dungeon.


    "There''s something that I want to talk to you about," Square Root Three said to Lu Li. "It''s about this afternoon''s competition."


    "What''s up? There shouldn''t be problems with the competition in the afternoon, right?"


    Lu Li didn''t understand what Square Root Three meant by that. The match was against Grand Hegemony. Although they were developing at a rapid rate, Ruling Sword had never been worried about losing to them.


    "It''s Drinking Alone. They might be planning to do some underhanded stuff," Square Root Three explained.


    "I''m friends with him. Why didn''t he just approach me?"


    Lu Li frowned a little. If it was someone else offering them cash to throw the match, then they could just immediately reject them. However, Drinking Alone was his friend, albeit not one that was very close with him.


    "If he approached you right away, then there would be no turning back. He probably approached me to test the waters," Square Root Three chuckled.


    "What does that mean?" Lu Li asked.


    "In the end, it''s still your decision. Based on how Grand Hegemony is now, it would be too cruel to kick them out of the top 100."


    Square Root Three clearly was not objecting against the idea of throwing the match. It wouldn''t be favourable for them if they just trampled on others either.


    Lu Li didn''t know Grand Hegemony''s battle history, so he did a little bit of research to understand the situation.


    They were once a top 20 club. However, they were knocked down by a number of other guilds, so their points were lagging behind. Now that they had matched up against Ruling Sword, if they lost, then it was likely that they were going to drop out of the top 100.


    To avoid this, they looked for Square Root Three to ask if they could get Ruling Sword to give them a chance.


    "How about this? I''ll discuss this with Drinking Alone," Lu Li said.


    They arranged for a meeting in a tavern in Stormwind City. This tavern was an establishment founded by a player. Lush and verdant vines snaked up the walls of the tavern, but the design aesthetic was also quite modern. It was well-suited to having meetings. Furthermore, the costs were rather high here, so it was not too crowded.


    Drinking Alone''s smile was a little forced.


    After all, the purpose of this meeting wasn''t a casual hangout with friends. To think that the first time that they met, Lu Li seemed like a normal player who was just a little luckier than the others while he himself was in charge of a mega-club¡­


    How things had changed with time. Lu Li was now one of the key figures in the whole of Dawn and the gaming industry, while his mega-club needed players to join them.


    "Hope that you have been well, Drinking Alone bro."


    Lu Li didn''t know how to start the conversation, so he just went with the go-to response.


    "Well, I''ll be blunt with you. Grand Hegemony has been very hardworking, but effort alone does not determine success. Sometimes, it also depends on luck. If we lose this time, then we won''t have another chance. I hope that in the upcoming match, you will go easy on us. Of course, we won''t make things difficult for you," Drinking Alone said.


    "I had a look at your match history. It was not pretty at all. I understand your situation, but this match doesn''t only affect you guys. If we lose to you, how will our reputation be affected? I hope you guys can understand this."


    Lu Li wasn''t going to budge easily, although he was making the decision for Ruling Sword.


    "We don''t need you to lose. Lu Li, we''re not behind by that much. We only need to get three more points to enter the top 100. If we enter the competition and still are unlucky, then that''s on us."


    "Three points?" Lu Li was surprised.


    "Well, Drinking Alone bro, are you not confident enough to get a mere three points fighting fairly?"


    If they were an average club facing off against so many of the top clubs, then they would have already been eliminated. However, looking at their match history, Grand Hegemony was able to earn quite a few points and even hoped to join the top 100. This meant that they were currently quite powerful.


    "If we were faced with another club, then we would at least have hope, but we''re facing you." Drinking Alone''s tone was depressed.


    According to the current competition''s rules, winning the Arena rewarded 3 points, while the group battle rewarded 6 points. As such, there were 9 points up for grabs. Ties were unlikely, so there was always one side with higher points and the other with lower points. Therefore, it was quite difficult for Grand Hegemony to take 3 points away from Ruling Sword.


    From the selection of players that they had, Grand Hegemony lacked real star players.


    As such, they only had a small chance at taking an Arena battle. This was assuming that Lu Li didn''t enter. However, if Lu Li was the one that they had to fight against, then it was likely that they weren''t even going to earn a single point.


    As for group battles, it was hopeless. Ruling Sword''s team of Lu Li, Moonlight, March Rain, Fat Monkey, Kitty Likes Meat and Mu Qiu was too much for them to handle. These players were all the cream of the crop. It was futile to try and break their defences and kill someone.


    "Don''t worry about it, Brother Lu Li," Drinking Alone said. He observed Lu Li''s expression and realised that Lu Li wasn''t objected to the idea, then quickly added, "I won''t let things be difficult for you. If we can just get three points from this match, we will be more than satisfied already."


    As he was saying this, Drinking Alone slid over a piece of paper.


    Were they not going to pay with money? Lu Li was confused and read the paper. He found that it was a contract for an alliance. This contract stipulated that Grand Hegemony would give Ruling Sword 5% of their stocks.


    This type of alliance was frequently seen in the gaming industry. Although a 5% stake wasn''t enough to do anything with, the money involved was quite a large sum.


    This alliance would ensure that neither side would betray the other.


    Normally, an alliance like this would involve the stronger side giving less, while the weaker side would give more. All in all, both sides would be gaining something. However, in this contract, Ruling Sword didn''t need to give a portion of their stocks to Grand Hegemony.


    This was a one-sided contract, which would be tough to reject.

 1751 Takes Skill to Lose

    "Actually, even if you don''t enter the top 100 this time, it''s not like there won''t be other chances. The Shadow Cup is much more important than this, is it not?"


    Lu Li was never the type of person to jump into an offer like this. He needed to know the goals of the other party.


    "Well, you have to buy a ticket to enter the ride," Drinking Alone cryptically replied.


    Lu Li unhesitatingly chose to reject the proposal.


    "Our Instance Dungeon team is the product of our alliance of three clubs, so adding another would be too much. I think I will have to disappoint you."


    It wasn''t that he didn''t care for the 5% offer.


    Grand Hegemony''s network wasn''t any smaller than Ruling Sword''s. As a long-standing mega-club, they had many partners. Even if they didn''t count Ruling Sword''s income from competitions and only counted the income from Strongholds, they would still have a few times that of Ruling Sword''s income.


    However, Grand Hegemony were different to Drizzle Court and Peerless City. They could be partners and work together, but they would never be family.


    "Oh, I don''t have hope for us to join your Instance Dungeon team. We just need someone powerful to back us and be our ally. We can support each other when we need to and join events together. We can also financially support you to form strategies and things like that," Drinking Alone explained genuinely.


    Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword didn''t have any misunderstandings at all. This was because the leaders from both clubs were nearly becoming a family.


    "How about this? I''ll accept your proposal for the three points. As for the rest, we''ll discuss it further."


    At this point in the conversation, if Lu Li still rejected him, then it would simply be too cruel.


    Dawn wasn''t a game that could just be conquered by one club alone. With the existence of Glory Capital and its might, it was only natural for clubs to ally with each other to face the rest of their opponents.


    Although Ruling Sword was no longer a lone club, Lu Li did not mind another ally.


    "Haha! Let''s go back to Jiangnan and celebrate!"


    Drinking Alone was overjoyed. He knew that Lu Li wouldn''t reject him from the beginning, but he couldn''t help but be excited after hearing Lu Li''s answer.


    It wasn''t that Grand Hegemony had too much money and didn''t know where to spend it, or that they were stupid and just gave out their benefits without much thought.


    After receiving the utmost support from real life corporations, it seemed that they were going through rapid growth. However, the higher echelons of the club and the corporations supporting them knew that although they were extremely wealthy, they were unable to reach the top of Dawn.


    In terms of PVE, while other guilds were all clearing Naxxramas, they were still trying to buy the strategy to clear the Temple of Ahn''Qiraj. They were simply unable to clear Ouro.


    Without progress in either aspects of the game, their financial supporters would one day give up on Grand Hegemony.


    If they could ally with Ruling Sword, then buying strategies would no longer be a problem. After all, they were allies. Even if they couldn''t join the Instance Dungeon team, they would still be able to buy the strategies from them.


    After allying with them, the next time that they met with Ruling Sword in competitions, they wouldn''t be massacred like before. Furthermore, it wouldn''t just be Ruling Sword, but Drizzle Court and Peerless City as well.


    "Alright then, let''s look at this afternoon''s match."


    Lu Li gathered together a few of the PvP players. They needed to be on the same page for things like this.


    "Wait, we''re going to let them win?" Fat Monkey was extremely surprised.


    "No, that''s not it. Grand Hegemony is lacking just 3 points to enter the Top 100. We just need to let them get 3 points," Lu Li explained.


    "I won''t join today''s match."


    Moonlight''s expression was the same as usual.


    He had already been in this industry for so many years already. However, he couldn''t really accept using competitive matches in exchange for benefits. Although he didn''t like it, he didn''t despise it to the point where he would leave Ruling Sword because of it.


    "Alright. That''s fine. You can go and clear Instance Dungeons with Sky Moon."


    Lu Li didn''t want to force him.


    The other people didn''t react much. At least, they didn''t have the right to react much yet anyway. Instead, Fat Monkey felt excited and curious about this, because it was something new that he hadn''t done before.


    "Fat Monkey, you go. Defeat their first competitor and leave yourself with 30% HP at the end of the battle. Your next opponent will be a Thief. When that time comes, just intentionally make a mistake and let your opponent take control of the battle," Lu Li instructed, beginning to arrange their strategies.


    The battle against Grand Hegemony would be much easier to win than to lose and make it seem natural.


    "So, for the second battle, because I don''t have much HP left, I will start panicking. Then, because I am a little more desperate, I make a mistake and I''ll end up dying that way."


    Fat Monkey was clearly much better than Lu Li at coming up with scripts.


    "Mhm. Continue," Lu Li said, deciding to stop talking.


    "Who''s the next one up? Kitty Likes Meat? The boss probably is too embarrassed to lose."


    Fat Monkey was quick to think on the spot and formulated a plan.


    Everyone just needed to follow Lu Li''s instructions. They needed to lose two points in the arena battles, and then lose one point in the team battles. This way, Grand Hegemony would be able to gain 3 points and enter the Top 100. Upon entering the Top 100, the points would be reset. At that time, if Grand Hegemony still couldn''t win and survive on their own, then it would be on them.


    The Top 100 was the benchmark goal for super-clubs. If they couldn''t even enter the Top 100, then how could they still call themselves a super-club?


    The tickets sold out almost instantly for the afternoon match. After all, this was a battle outside of the Top 100 and Ruling Sword had finally matched up with a decent opponent.


    Grand Hegemony had encountered super-club after super-club. However, Ruling Sword had a different fate. All of their competitors thus far had been a cakewalk for them.


    "Man, I feel sorry for Grand Hegemony. They just had a battle with Wings of Dawn and now they''ve met with Ruling Sword. I remember them getting their ass kicked by Glory Capital just a couple of days ago too! They couldn''t even get a single point," some players started to comment.


    "Blood Red Dagger killed three in a row and they didn''t even have a chance in the Team Battle. Of course they couldn''t earn a single point."


    "Lu Li''s stronger than Blood Red Dagger, right? Looks like Grand Hegemony is going to get destroyed again. Even Moonlight could probably kill three Grand Hegemony players in a row. Looks like anyone can join their team nowadays. I think that even I could."

 1752 Proud Lonely Snow

    The whole world was watching. Even when Drinking Alone came back and relayed the news to Grand Hegemony''s team, the players didn''t have a happy expression on their faces.


    Grand Hegemony hadn''t recruited the stronger players within their hired forces to join their competing team. Their team consisted of two second-rate players from other clubs and two retired pro players who still had skills and experience.


    "For the first match, we''ll deploy a Thief. Proud Lonely Snow, please do us this favour."


    Their new captain was Dancing Star Moon, who was Grand Hegemony''s only star professional player. Dancing Star Moon was originally from the Gangnam Royals, but once their competitive team disbanded, their Big Three players left for different clubs. Innocent Child chose to join Ruling Sword, while Dancing Star Moon chose to join Grand Hegemony.


    "Don''t worry. I''ll try my best."


    Proud Lonely Snow was a male Thief player.


    Ten years ago, this name was much more influential. Previously, he was affiliated with Seventh Heaven and Majin Temple as one of their main professional players. He decided to retire around two years ago from the professional gaming scene. However, the age of retirement was completely rewritten with the release of Dawn, so he decided to accept Grand Hegemony''s invitation to come out of retirement and fight once again.


    "Greetings, Proud Lonely Snow Teacher."


    When Fat Monkey entered the arena, he quickly and solemnly bowed in Grand Hegemony''s direction.


    Well, this was a little awkward. Fat Monkey was being polite and bowed, so he couldn''t just ignore him and not bow back. Proud Lonely Snow quickly bowed back, which signalled the beginning of the battle.


    Lu Li realised that Fat Monkey was just simply acting.


    If it was Lu Li himself, it wouldn''t be that easy to show a gap in the armor. However, Fat Monkey perfectly acted out the role of a nervous and cautious new player facing off against a veteran in the gaming industry. Throughout the battle, Fat Monkey was visibly nervous and shifted position at weird times. He even fired skills to some questionable areas.


    Even the audience was completely fooled.


    After acting for a while, Proud Lonely Snow finally decided to make his move. Fat Monkey was already right next to him and had his back turned to him. If he hadn''t done anything, then he would have been called out by everyone.


    Everything was panning out just the way they planned it.


    Proud Lonely Snow successfully gained the upper hand in the battle. Although Fat Monkey was struggling against his opponent, he was still ultimately suppressed by Proud Lonely Snow.


    Of course, this was not without surprise.


    No matter if it was Grand Hegemony or Ruling Sword, they had all underestimated Proud Lonely Snow. Once he gained the upper hand, it was impossible for Fat Monkey to leave with 30% HP.


    Lu Li immediately stood up from his chair.


    What the heck? This Thief was so strong! Did Grand Hegemony really need Ruling Sword to give them 3 points?


    In reality, Proud Lonely Snow couldn''t believe it himself. He only had one goal in mind ¨C to work hard and work harder.


    The man above gave him another chance, so why wouldn''t he give it his all?


    He also had his glory years. However, with time, the deterioration of his body slowly pushed him out of relevance and he ultimately quit the competitive stage after 10 years.


    Ten years of living his dream ultimately came to an end.


    Although he gradually found the feeling once again, it was still as if he was being choked by something.


    Upon seeing Fat Monkey''s youthful and passionate energy, knowing that his opponent was going easy today, he nearly cried on stage.


    I am Proud Lonely Snow! Going easy!? Pah!


    After defeating Fat Monkey, although it was a difficult victory, Proud Lonely Snow felt a huge burden lifted from his shoulders. The choking feeling from before was gone.


    Lu Li breathed a huge sigh of relief and gave him a round of applause alongside the audience.


    Everyone gave him a round of applause. The analysts, the audience, as well as both sides of competitors all gave him a round of applause. Proud Lonely Snow''s old fans were even crying as well upon seeing his old self return once again.


    "Monkey, your acting skills are so good!" Kitty Likes Meat''s face was full of admiration.


    Fat Monkey opened his mouth but didn''t know how to reply. He was even a little shocked. He was acting at the start, but once he was suppressed, it was for real. In the end, he even tried his best to try and escape, but he couldn''t and died.


    "Kitty Likes Meat, try fighting normally first," Lu Li said.


    There was no need to go easy anymore. At least, in the Arena battles, Grand Hegemony could easily gain 2 points.


    Kitty Likes Meat followed what Fat Monkey did and also bowed to Proud Lonely Snow.


    Both Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes Meat were both extremely popular players. Last year, they, alongside March Rain all swept the awards for rising stars. Both of them now bowed to Proud Lonely Snow, but both of their bows had different meanings behind them.


    Fat Monkey''s bow was because of Proud Lonely Snow''s experience and partly because he was acting.


    However, Kitty Likes Meat''s bow was one of true respect of his strength and experience. Her performance was much better than Fat Monkey''s. She showed no fear and no nervousness. After all, her opponent was a Thief who was now nearly dead.


    In the end, Proud Lonely Snow exited the Arena. He successfully took away half of her HP, which managed to cause many jaw-dropping gasps from everyone.


    The Arena battles after this were all meaningless. All the thunder and attention from today had been stolen by Proud Lonely Snow alone. Anyone could see that Grand Hegemony was unbelievably lucky today. Who would''ve thought that an old veteran like him could still put up such a good fight?


    Grand Hegemony successfully took two kills. It wasn''t possible for them to take another, otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to keep acting. The audience were not fools.


    It was easier to give them kills in the Team Battles. Ruling Sword seemed to have all their attention focused on killing Proud Lonely Snow first and didn''t care about the other members. Although they successfully killed Proud Lonely Snow, Kitty Likes Meat ended up dying due to being focused by Grand Hegemony.


    Both Ruling Sword and Grand Hegemony successfully entered the Top 100 together.


    Everyone who watched the match were completely satisfied with it. No one noticed that it was an act at all. There were only a few people who were complaining about Fat Monkey, whose mistakes had costed him his match. After all, he was someone who was thought to be the next Mage God after Sorrowless.


    There was an unforeseen result from this battle as well. Old and retired pro players were now once again relevant.


    As mentioned before, Dawe rewrote the retirement age for professional players. Did this mean that the previously retired professional players would be able to revive their careers? These players all had a wealth of experience in the professional gaming circle, so it was only natural for them to continue playing games.


    Lu Li asked Cat Dad to test the waters and contact some old players. Even if they didn''t want to fight in competitions, he wanted to recruit them to coach and give advice to new recruits.


    Judgment Spear, which was Ruling Sword''s branch guild, was eliminated quickly from the competition. This was because it hadn''t been that long since the club was established, and their few competing players could not handle the competition in the Top 100.

 1753 Different Sides, Shove Off

    Not being able at 100% strength was normal. Lu Li couldn''t really blame anyone either. After comforting everyone, they again focused their energy on the Instance Dungeon strategy.


    When it came to Wild Boss First Clears, Ruling Sword really wasn''t competitive. Even if Lu Li knew the Boss'' strategy, it wasn''t any use.


    The three-guild-alliance could not get away with much. It was only the Instance Dungeon First Clears that was Lu Li''s turf.


    As long as Ruling Sword could keep achieving First Clears, Drizzle Court and Peerless City could never deviate. The relationship between these allies was even stronger than that of Lu Li and Water Fairy. There would be more clubs like Grand Hegemony, finding whatever excuse they could to gain some rewards.


    The last Boss in the Abomination zone was Thaddius.


    This giant monster was created in one of Naxxramas'' labs. His body was constructed from the flesh and blood of innocent victims. Two similarly strange creatures protected him ¨C Stalagg and Feugen. Powerful electric currents sparked across the lab, filling Thaddius and his followers with power.


    Although Stitches had many advantages, they lacked magic power, which was a constant weakness of the Scourge.


    The Druid of the Claw of ''Ragnarok'' in the War of the Holy Mountain resisted the Scourge and Burning Legion''s encroaches again and again with the help of the ''Forever Young'' skill.


    On the verge of death, the Dire Bear, under his original Druid magic, roared with spirit and overturned the utterly dilapidated Stitches. At that time, Arthas coldly said, "Without the support of magic, my Stitched army can never think to unite this world!"


    Today, Kel''Thuzad etched this sentence permanently onto the main door of Naxxrama''s lab with magic. Countless Scourge scientists worked hard for their master''s egotistical plan to conquer the world.


    When it came to a monster made out of corpses, no matter what you did, the only thing you could strengthen the monster in was strength and the level of stability. If you wanted them to have magic abilities, you couldn''t use corpses, which didn''t have any magic in them.


    "Since corpses don''t keep their magic, then just use live people in the experiments! The master''s will cannot be opposed! We need to speed up ¨C the master will soon arrive in this world. We need to give these brand new Stitches as a gift to the master!"


    The Scourge''s underlings came out from all directions, looking for an appropriate specimen.


    They tried Ogre Mages, Warlock beasts, Human Paladins, Tauren Shamans and so on, but the experiment was never successful. As soon as Arcane Magic, Shadow Magic and Divine power came in contact with the Plague, it immediately disappeared into nothingness.


    No changes occurred to the experimental specimens. They simply had magic abilities but didn''t have a strong body at all.


    Under Kel''Thuzad''s leadership, the experiments had taken a new turn for the better. A human specimen called Thaddius, under the influence of the Plague and Arcane magic, gained the ability of attacking with lightning. However, after this magic was released just once, this Stitch stopped living.


    "Our skill only gets us to here?"


    Although he was disappointed, Kel''Thuzad could only face the facts.


    "Then make a room for him. Make him the guard for our stronghold and defend the Lich King''s dignity!"


    The former Paladin Thaddius was now imprisoned in the dark, despicable Naxxramas.


    "Help me! Save me!"


    These cries for help echoed inside Naxxramas for a long, long time.


    After this terrifying Scourge giant had been transformed, he still kept his original thoughts as before. Not wanting to hurt others, he was exiled into the depths of the construct zone, and was watched over by two giant undead monsters.


    However, when players failed in their intentions to save him, they realized that because of the intense electric current, Thaddius could no longer act in accordance with his previous morals¡­


    "Actually he''s really pitiful. Is there any way to solve this problem? A quest or anything?"


    Hachi Chan had unusual sympathy for this monster who wasn''t even considered an NPC. Apart from her high level of Charisma, the main reason for Hachi Chan''s love towards NPCs was her kind little heart.


    "Nah, why don''t you go up and give it a try?" Lu Li suggested without much hope.


    "Hey, uncle Thaddius, I''m coming! If there''s anything you want to say, say it to me."


    Hachi Chan really did run up to the Boss. Azure Sea Breeze covered his face in shame. He realized that he, the number one Main Tank in Dawn, was a coward.


    "Save¡­save me!" Taddius screamed in pain.


    "What do you need me to do?" Hachi Chan asked as she thumped her chest. "As long as I can do it, I''ll definitely try, and even if I can''t, I have lots and lots of little friends."


    "Save¡­save me!" Thaddius screamed in the same pained way.


    At this time, the two monsters guarding him, Stalagg and Feugen, rushed over to attack Hachi Chan. Hachi Chan received a massive fright, but their fists never reached her.


    Azure Sea Breeze stood next to her holding his towering shield.


    "Start the battle. Finish off the two guards first," Lu Li said, giving his orders. The last Boss battle of the Abomination zone had officially started.


    The monster on the left used Windfury, while the monster on the right used Thunder. Both of their Defensive stats and HP were relatively average. The difficult part was that they had to kill them at the same time, otherwise, they could revive each other.


    After finishing them off, Thaddius entered the scene.


    He had no feeling of turning from his past mistakes. He had the spirit, but not the power. This room was constructed just for him. The lightning had already been controlling his intelligence for ages.


    The former Paladin Thaddius was now a master of electricity, and could be considered a Magic Boss.


    Apart from ordinary attacks, the skill he used most often was Chain Lightning, which dealt around 1800 damage. Even if it didn''t kill you, you wouldn''t be able to stay alive for much longer.


    However, this wasn''t the main factor that caused a team wipe. As long as everyone carried a lot of Natural Resistance potions, and paid attention to the healers, it would be fine. Of course, if your Resistance increased, your damage would naturally be reduced.


    Thaddius launched a powerful electric attack every 30 seconds. Everyone in the team would change polarity at random. However, there were roughly an equal number of people who had a positive or negative polarity.


    If those with the same polarity were within 10 yards of each other, they would each gain a Buff that would increase their damage by 10%. Theoretically speaking, 20 people would gain up to the 19th-level Buff, which meant a 290% increase to their base damage. However, if those with a different polarity were within 10 yards, they would release their charge, dealing 2000 damage to each other that couldn''t be resisted.


    Actually, to sum it up, "Different sides, shove off!"

 1754 Death Knight Instructor

    As the last Boss in the Abomination zone, there wasn''t any need to talk about its power. In the blink of an eye, the team was wiped, but his skills and methods weren''t complex. As long as players of different polarities stood apart, it would all be fine.


    If they wanted to reach the goal, then they''d have to change their positions during the Boss battle.


    The first time they changed positions they took 3 seconds. After 1 or 2 months, this Boss would be weakened a little. If one person didn''t switch positions, then they would just lose one person. It was only if two people didn''t, then the team was done for. However, at this point in time, the First Clear stage, the Boss was incredibly powerful. Even if a single player didn''t switch or went to the wrong place, they would have no choice but to start again.


    The key thing in this battle was separating the positive and negative charges. In the walkthrough in Lu Li''s mind, there were two ways to switch. One was to switch between two positions, left being positive and right negative, or left negative and right positive. There was also switching between four positions, with the left being divided into upper, which was positive, and lower, being negative. Meanwhile, the lower right would be positive and the upper right negative.


    The advantage of switching between four positions was that the fault tolerance was high. The weakness was that they obviously didn''t have enough DPS and most of the time was wasted on moving around. When the Boss changed polarity, it was always messy, and it was easy for the healers to run into difficulties during those times. Lu Li still chose to switch between two2 positions.


    It was only after the team died four or five times that everyone began to feel as though they would be able to defeat this Dungeon.


    It was not until almost nightfall that Thaddius was killed.


    In the following time, they simply didn''t have a chance to go and fight other Bosses. Everyone was exhausted, especially those who were playing in the competition. Grand Hegemony definitely wasn''t a strong team, but they also weren''t so weak as to merely be a stepping stone that they could beat when they were half-asleep.


    Killing the Boss rewarded two Skill Points, which belonged to the others. Lu Li didn''t have the slightest to do with it.


    He put the stones and materials into his own bag with hatred, as if he were taking away someone else''s things. These stones and materials might not have been worth much, but it was still better than looking at others take away the Skill Points.


    Plated Abomination Ribcage was a Mould for Epic clothing. If it was made to be Fine or better, then it would be worthy to be a piece in a set of equipment designed to one-shot other players.


    Everyone''s aim was to obtain four pieces of matching equipment. The difference was just in choosing what the other three pieces were.


    Moonlight took away this piece of clothing. He and Deadly Gold Underpants both went for it, so he ended up paying 120 points. If Warrior equipment was dropped in the future, he might not be able to beat Deadly Gold Underpants.


    Spire of Twilight was a magic staff, but it was actually better for healers to use.


    March Rain and Star Baby both had better weapons, so it was purchased by Machine Bro at a low price. Although Naxxramas had given out quite a bit of equipment, Machine Bro, who was always just a substitute, had already taken two pieces, so he had been rather fortunate.


    Eye of Diminution was a magic decoration.


    The competition for this was fierce, but it was much better than the average magic ornament. This piece of equipment had a special effect which was capable of reducing aggro.


    In PVP battles, this toy was a mere decoration. Others wouldn''t let you go just because you had a special effect.


    It was only when fighting a Boss in an Instance Dungeon that this item would shine, and it was particularly suitable for Magic roles.


    Desecrated Helmet was a T3 item for Warriors and Thieves. Three of them were dropped at once.


    Deadly Gold Underpants, Water Fairy and Lu Li took one each.


    The next day was Monday. Due to the influence of the Shadow Cup, the Stronghold wars took a break. After everyone went back online, they continued the Instance Dungeon. After they finished fighting in the Abomination zone, they began the Death Knight zone, otherwise known as the Military zone. This was the hardest zone in Naxxramas. It definitely wasn''t something that could be finished up in a day or two.


    Instructor Razuvious was the first Boss which taught them a lesson.


    He was a powerful, top class Death Knight who guarded the entrance to the zone, and also had a part time job teaching and guiding new students. He almost had no match in terms of his power in Naxxramas.


    A few clubs who attempted this Zone first couldn''t see any hope at all, and simply gave up.


    Instructor Razuvious was originally a Warrior instructor from Stormwind City, but after he was killed in a cunning scheme by Kel''Thuzad, he respawned in Naxxramas. Filled with hatred towards those who were alive, Razuvious rapidly trained batches and batches of Death Knights with his top-level methods.


    At the same time, he guarded the first defensive line to the military zone, and was one of the most skilled Warriors of Naxxramus.


    The Death Knight team of the Scourge could be said to be a truly elite group. Most of the time, Death Knights would only be assigned to be commanders for battles of different teams, but as soon as there was a major battle, all the Death Knights would be joined together into one team. They would use their skillful fighting techniques and powerful Dark magic to really let their enemies know what it meant to die a painful death.


    The battle of the holy mountain of Hyjal was right where they had charged in from the left flank into the Orcs'' Shaman team and massacred them


    In the battle of the rebellion of the Forsaken, when the Lich King Arthas was trapped by Sylvanas in Lordaeron, Kel''Thuzad immediately assembled all the nearby Death Knights who were there at the time and suddenly rushed right into Lordaeron, freeing Arthas who was already at the brink of a crisis.


    In the battle contending for the Frozen Throne, Arthas raised up Frostmourne and commanded the Death Knights to break through the obstruction of the Blood Elves and Naga, destroying the escorts who were under direct command of Illidan. He then chased Illidan, who controlled the Outland, away from the Frozen Throne, thus protecting the Lich King Ner''zhul.


    However, fierce fighting continued, which also led to a heavy loss for the Death Knights, especially in the rebellion of the Forsaken. A matching group of the Death Knights stood in the barracks of the Banshee King, changing sides against their former allies.


    At this, newly trained Death Knights became the thing that the Lich King Arthas was most concerned about. In order to satisfy the master''s demands, Kel''Thuzad locked onto Razuvious¨C the most famous instructor of Stormwind City.


    The Cursed Disciples came to the Redridge Mountains and lured this powerful warrior into wrongdoing. However, Razuvious relied on his will as strong as iron and steel and was simply unmoved. The disappointed cursed disciples evilly began their new plan.


    "Warrior Razuvious, because you''ve conspired with the Scourge, our intention is to turn Lakeshire into a new Plague point. We are specially sentencing you, Razuvious, to death."

 1755 Enhanced Frostbol

    Razuvious, who kept shouting that he was innocent, was dragged onto the gallows. The common people who had been bullied by the Cursed Disciples angrily spat and threw stones at Razuvious'' corpse. However, the Cursed Disciples also happily stole away Razuvious'' corpse and took it to Naxxramas under the cover of night.


    "Do it according to my instruction!"


    "Training time''s over! Show me your real strength!"


    "You''re too much of a disappointment, you loser!"


    From that day, Razuvious trained batch after batch of Death Knights, carrying with him his anger against the living. He also held the hope that one day, he would also die a glorious warrior''s death on the battlefield.


    As an instructor, Razuvious certainly didn''t lack students.


    In the Boss'' room, there were eight Death Knights, or rather, eight Death Knights which were allowed to die. They could only step onto the battlefield for the Lich King once they graduated after reaching Razuvious'' standards.


    First, it was time to start fighting the monsters. There were too many students. Azure Sea Breeze went up to initiate the fight, then everyone died.


    They tried it a few times like this, and the conclusion they came to was that defensive Warriors couldn''t go up to initiate. They could only let someone else do the job. Generally speaking, there were only a few roles who could initiate. One was having the Priests control the undead monsters, while another was to have the Mages use Ice Block. Yet other was to have the Hunters make the first shot, and then immediately cast Feign Death. In fact, Thieves could also pull the Boss over too.


    After he was pulled over, everything wasn''t done and dusted though. Azure Sea Breeze dejectedly realized that he couldn''t aggro it himself.


    Even a normal attack could kill him in one shot. A single normal attack would deal 5000 damage, and three in a row would deal 15,000.


    This damage seemed to be just because of the rapid rhythm of the attack and had nothing to do with which role was tanking. Lu Li led everyone to focus their energies on those eight students. These students were already undead and could be controlled by the Priests. In other words, they could be commanded to go up and tank the Boss.


    Actually, this really was the correct method, and it was the only method.


    The players who gave up on the Death Knight zone wouldn''t have thought that if they knew this method, Razuvious was a piece of cake.


    "The monsters actually have skills!" March Rain exclaimed as she tried to control a student, and realized in pleasant surprise that her target had a number of spells to choose from.


    They were each basically a simpler version of a defensive Warrior, with Taunt and Shield Wall. What was more important was that each student had 320,000 HP. Eight students combined were already enough to be a Boss.


    Starting up here meant pulling the Boss to a certain position, and in that position, a Tank would pull aggro the student. A Priest would control one of them, commanding him to go and tank the Boss.


    Everyone would then focus-fire the Boss, while the monster was controlled.


    Of course, Razuvious was still very difficult. After all, the Death Knights had very few skills. Shield Wall had a cooldown of one minute, and they would often lose their aggro against the Boss because the players would deal too much damage.


    Usually, it was just Mages and Thieves who had this problem. Mages had Ice Block and Thieves would use Evasion. The Priests who were right in the middle of controlling little monsters needed to notify the two substitute Priests. These Priests would then immediately control new death knights and Taunt the Boss.


    This sort of arrangement was even more complicated than the average change of position. After all, there wasn''t any particular pattern to this.


    Priests weren''t roles that specialized in Defense. Most Priests were at a complete loss as to how they would use Warriors to aggro monsters. It was simply this process of getting used to things that drove Azure Sea Breeze crazy. This was the most depressing Boss to fight. If he wasn''t needed to command the Priests to pull monsters, there probably wouldn''t be any place for him to showcase his talents.


    Those who didn''t have any worth could only be made substitutes.


    They definitely wouldn''t be able to take down the Death Knight Instructor this time.


    On the second day, they were only just starting to work together coherently, and on the third day, they finally reached the 2nd stage of the Boss. This stage had an extra skill compared to the first one.


    When the Boss'' HP dropped to 30%, he would make a Big Shout.


    Big Shout: All those who were within 35 yards of the Boss'' field of vision would have their mana depleted and dealt damage according to how much was burned.


    The amount by which it was multiplied was related to the time of the battle. The earlier they got into this situation, they lower the multiplier. The longer the battle went for, the more ridiculous this multiplier would be. As such, everyone preferred to deal more damage and risk drawing aggro than slowly wearing down the Boss to this stage.


    As long as the Boss couldn''t see you, then there was no problem in dodging the Big Shout. There were quite a few places in the room where you could hide from the Boss'' line of sight.


    However, while other people could run, the Priests who were controlling the death knights couldn''t. Because of this, they couldn''t keep too much mana.


    There was no doubt that this was a First Clear.


    It had taken a whole week to kill this Boss before it could be considered defeated. Even if Instructor Razuvious was only the entrance Boss in the Death Knight zone, he was really just too powerful. Even if other clubs were able to think of this strategy, they would be sent to the grave and back again.


    Three Skill Points were rewarded for the First Clear. Lu Li finally received one.


    There was no way to describe his happy surprise. Each time, he could only watch on helplessly at others getting Skill Points. This time, that pressure was finally off.


    Even so, he was still relatively solemn. When he smiled, he didn''t show his teeth.


    "Stop smiling like an idiot. Do you actually want to keep these stones? If you don''t want them, I''ll put them in my bag," Remnant Dream scolded.


    "*Cough*, put those in the guild storehouse if no one has a use for them."


    "Wow, an Enhanced Skill Book!"


    This was worthy of a Boss which had taken them a week to finish off.


    Lu Li''s thoughts turned away from the Skill Points immediately. Taking the Enhanced Skill Book, he realized that it was actually for Frostbolt, and had absolutely nothing to do with his role as a Thief.


    Frostbolt was a basic skill for mages, as well as their most commonly used skill. With an Enhanced Skill Book, damage output was sure to be increased.


    "Mages, go bid!"


    There weren''t many using Ice Magic, but it turned out that the one with the highest points wasn''t actually Lonesome Flower, but was actually the usually gloomy Sky Moon.


    This guy was actually full of fervor beneath his restrained appearance. He would occasionally receive points from commanding, and like Lonesome Flower, who occupied the top of the list with the most output, he didn''t lack DKP. If the price of magic equipment wasn''t so high, he could be the one who dominated when it came to points.


    At this time, Lonesome Flower had 170 points, and Sky Moon spent 180 points to take away the Skill


    Book.


    After taking he book, he still had about a dozen points left. He almost didn''t have enough to win out against Lonesome Flower.


    Lu Li was happy to see Sky Moon take his reward. There was too much of a difference between Sky Moon''s and Lonesome Flower''s damage output.


    This Enhanced Frostbolt was able to give a small boost to Sky Moon''s damage. If it was given to Lonesome Flower, it would just increase the chances for him to get to draw aggro, and Azure Sea Breeze would have no way to pull him back.

 1756 The Most Complicated Boss

    There were also a few pieces of rare materials. Now, there was a lot of equipment, especially set equipment, that required various rare materials. There were also many merchants who inflated the prices. Because of this, the value of rare materials couldn''t be easily calculated.


    As well as this, Ruling Sword couldn''t buy rare materials from outside.


    By the time the Outlands were opened up, Lu Li could level up his Supreme Ring. At that time, he would definitely need a frightening number of rare materials. The leader of the Keepers of the Grove, Remulos, had already hinted at, or clearly stated this point.


    There was a limit on how much Legendary material there was on the mainland.


    Lu Li was looking forward to levelling up his Supreme Ring from Epic to Legendary.


    The Idol of Longevity was Druid equipment, but Hachi Chan didn''t have any need for it. Her idol was Legendary level, and been personally sent to her by Remulos. It was said that it was made by the Demi-God Cenarius himself, and was blessed by quite a few Druids of the Cenarion Circle.


    Innocent Child took this equipment for a low number of points with glee in his heart.


    He realized that he had really made the right choice by choosing Ruling Sword. As soon as he entered, he was chosen to participate in the First Clear team. Although he couldn''t fight in every Boss battle, he was still a frequent member of Instance Dungeon First Clears. Having not worked for long, he had already received Skill Points from two Bosses, as well as quite a bit of Exquisite equipment.


    At first, he thought Lu Li would still prefer Hachi Chan, a veteran of the club, and would give her priority to receive equipment.


    It was only when he actually entered an Instance Dungeon that he realized that Hachi Chan very rarely needed equipment, and she was the type who would refuse even if you insisted. Saving up points to be the king of points had already become her greatest delight.


    Veil of Eclipse was a magic cloak.


    Signet of the Fallen Defender was a Defensive role''s Ring.


    Another pair of Desecrated Leggings and Desecrated Legguards found their own owners as well.


    Then, there was still the Splinter of Atiesh. It was still kept by Lu Li for now, and when someone needed it, they could apply to receive it from him. Of course, it wouldn''t be free to get the Splinter. They would either exchange it for their aggregated guild points, or for their Instance Dungeon DKP.


    The second Boss of the Death Knight zone was called Gothik the Harvester.


    He guarded the second road into the Military zone. His strength wasn''t that powerful, but he controlled a powerful Death Knight team. If players had no way to deal with this batch of enemies, then they wouldn''t have the qualifications to battle with Gothik.


    Regardless of whether it was ghosts, ghouls, or skeletons ¨C no dead was able to get away from Gothik the Harvester.


    It wasn''t that easy to become a real Death Knight. Apart from possessing superhuman combat skills, you also needed to be proficient in using high-level black magic.


    Although Razuvious was an excellent teacher, his skill was only limited to how to destroy an enemy''s body. However, the highest extent for Death Knights to destroy an enemy''s body was to use terrifying black magic to torture souls. Gothik the Harvester was an expert in torturing souls.


    "Don''t think that because you''ve gone through the simple test of Razuvious that you can put up your feet and relax. I am where your nightmare begins!"


    If Razuvious'' reprimand was already too much for the students to stand, then Gothik''s training would be torture for the soul.


    It was necessary to take a drink every day that was made from special hallucinogens. The drinker could clearly feel the pain of their soul being ripped away from the body. Before sleep, they would also have to take an unnamed pill. Their dreams would be filled with the curses of black magic like words in some sort of indecipherable book. They would fight with each other and regardless of whether they were the best of friends or the closest of sworn brothers, in the end, only one would survive.


    In their training and decisive battles, the students would become more and more cruel. All of the companions, including himself, were only tools for final victory. They would betray anything just for victory.


    His heart degraded quicker and his black magic power increased. By the end, many students simply didn''t need Gothik to teach them how to use Death Pact and corpse-controlling spells. They could simply rely on their depraved selves to learn this type of high-level magic.


    And in their depravity, they completely gave up their own humanity. The distinguishing feature of undead creatures was that as they became more depraved, it would gradually become apparent on their bodies. At this, another new batch of Death Knights was born.


    When the Death Knights crossed over, they used black magic to maintain their undead warhorses. They wielded daggers in their hand, and beneath their purple cloaks, there was a pair of hollow eyes. Under the lead of the blue war flag of Frostmourne, the Death Knights sped out of Naxxramas and rushed at the intense frontmost lines of the war.


    And Gothik the Harvester watched them go out with satisfaction. Looking back, he looked at the bloody combat on the dueling field of future Death Knights.


    He was going to be the commander, commanding these Death Knights to deal with those invading adventurers.


    "You idiots have already actively walked right into a trap. You''re challenging the most powerful! "Although you''ve experienced thousands of dangers to come to the territory of the harvester, standing in front of me¡­, the only way for you to live is to join the Cult of the Damned!"


    "Can we really join?" Azure Sea asked Lu Li.


    This guy''s head really was a piece of work. These were just the Boss'' lines. He couldn''t really have wanted to join the Cult, right?


    "Alright, alright." Azure Sea Breeze touched his nose in embarrassment. He really couldn''t understand these people saw him as an idiot. Actually, joining the Cult of the Damned would be pretty cool.


    Gothik was a full-on technique Boss.


    He only had 300 000 HP. A team which was able to make it this far could finish him off in 5 minutes. The problem was that he would jump off the high wall and summon his minions. The key in this battle was how to reasonably control and eradicate them.


    The Boss room was divided in two with a door, with the monster zone on the left and the respawn zone on the right.


    After every one of newly farmed monsters on the left had died, they immediately respawned on the right in a pile of bones. When they respawned, their HP didn''t change, but there would be a change in the skills, and all the magic would be gone. After they activated the Boss, the door in the middle would close. The Boss room would become two independent zones, and you couldn''t help each other on other sides.


    However, after the Boss arrived, he would cast some potent, widespread skills with his students.


    If they fought with DPS on the left, then there would be no way for the right to deal with this. If the left didn''t have enough DPS and control, then they would also be defeated. The key to defeating Gothik was to have a reasonable divide of DPS and effective control methods.


    Lu Li named the three platforms one, two and three from the left. Each platform had different monsters.


    The Unrelenting Trainees flooded out on all the platforms, and at the same time 11 new waves were farmed. Their attack strength was average. After the trainees were wiped out, they would respawn as specters, and like before, they were rather weak. They had Arcane Explosion that they could cast 30 yards around them. As soon as they entered into the group of healers, the team would be done straight away.


    The Unrelenting Knights would form seven waves on platform numbers one and three. They could be locked down with a Priest''s Bind.


    The attack power of these monsters was enough to one-shot an average player. At the same time, they would also release a damageless debuff to those around them. Those with this debuff would suffer the Shadow Bolt Volley of another monster, the Deathkight Cavalier, after 15 seconds, dealing 3800 Shadow damage. After they respawned, they would become a Death Knight, capable of casting spells such as Mana Burn and Life Tap. However, these could be stopped with skills like Kick or Shieldstrike.


    New Unrelenting Riders were only present on platform two, with four waves in total. The main skills of the riders worked with the Knights for the Shadow Bolt Volley. They also had a Shadow Aura with a range of about 35 yards which would deal 500 damage every 3 seconds. However, the bigger danger was that it could stop the use of magic.


    After they respawned, they divided into undead riders and undead warhorses. Both had the name HP, but they couldn''t withstand as much as Death Knights. The former basically had the same skills as the Death Knights, and were immune from all control skills. The latter could Trample, and could grant a movement speed buff to those around them.


    The beginning of the battle was relaxed. After the Boss finished with his drawn-out nonsense, three new waves of trainees would be spawned. Each only had 4500 HP, so they were finished off easily. Then, every 22 seconds from the start, new knights would be spawned. From the start of the third wave of knights, new riders would be spawned every 22 seconds.


    The nightmare was slowly arriving. If the left side wasn''t completely controlled and the DPS wasn''t powerful enough, then what would the right side be like? A warhorse, an undead rider, two Death Knights and three specters were respawning at basically the same time. They would need at least four Warriors to aggor them!


    Moreover, if there was just slightly not enough DPS, then 22 seconds later, there would be even more undead forces following right on their heels.


    Perhaps some guilds were able to keep this sort of extraordinary DPS ability. However, this rash way of fighting evidently wasn''t possible at the current point in time. If Ruling Sword couldn''t do it, then other clubs definitely couldn''t.


    Since the monsters on the right respawned and were exempt from magic, all the Mages and Warlocks would gather on the right. Thieves and Hunters naturally became the main force behind DPS on the right.


    Priests could Bind the Unrelenting Knights, so at least six of them needed to be on the left, but it would be good to have one on the right as well.


    From experience, much of the pressure on the healers came from the right. Because of this, apart from a Main Tank healer, all the other Druids and Paladins were placed on the right. After a day of wipes, Lu Li fixed up the team, and began to use an arrangement of 6 Warriors, 7 Priests, 3 Paladins, 4 Druids, 7 Thieves, 4 Hunters, 6 Mages and 3 Warlocks.


    Of these, 2 Warriors, 6 Priests, 3 Warlocks, 6 Mages and 1 Druids were on the left, and on the right, there were 4 Warriors, 7 Thieves, 3 Druids, 3 Paladins, 4 Hunters and 1 Priest.


    This Boss was much more complicated than the previous Instructor Rezuvious in a lot of ways.


    The left-hand side had its rhythm of battle completely controlled. Lu Li himself commanded, while the other parts were commanded by others.


    The ideal situation was for the monsters dying on the left to be at limit that the right-hand side DPS could handle. When they just started, the right side was evidently relaxed. The few ghouls could be finished off easily. When new knights were spawned, pressure started coming on, but it was still within what they could handle.


    The difficult point was that after the third wave of knights were newly spawned, the riders would be spawned quickly again too. At the same time, trainees were coming from all three platforms. At this point, no matter if it was at the left or the right, there was no way for them to meet such high demands.


    For the left side, three Warlocks and a Warrior needed to deal with the trainees. Within 22 seconds, 6 Mages had to defeat two knights and a rider. For most clubs, this was almost an impossible task. It was a good thing that Lu Li had Lonesome Flower here.


    As long as they didn''t have to worry about accidentally gaining aggro, he was easily worth a Mage and a half.


    If they couldn''t defeat them, then the knights at the back would spawn new ones and the team would die.


    As such there was another method, which was to have Priests lock down platform three''s newly spawned knights. Then, the Mages would focus their DPS on the knights of platform 1 and the riders of platform 2. This was within the ability of most clubs. At this point in time, the right side spawned a new knight, horse and rider every 7 to 8 seconds.


    Since the trainees were affected by crowd-control, including Polymorph, they could choose to use a chain of Mages on the left to alleviate a lot of the pressure on the right. However, this method, without a doubt, increased the potential of danger that the left side faced. Lu Li decided to give it a try.


    It was an easy task for the three-way alliance to bring out five or six Mages. There were quite a few substitutes waiting on hand.


    The Thief and Warrior teams of the three-way alliance were extremely powerful too. As such, giving up the Polymorph and killing all the trainees from the three platforms from start to end became a possible option.


    However, it still took seven or eight days for everyone to grow accustomed to these mechanisms, as well to refine a strategy.


    It was a shame that the Shadow Cup meant that Lu Li couldn''t always be in the Instance Dungeon.


    The main forces in the three-way alliance First Clear team were all competitors, so there were issues with the strength and arrangement of the players who were replacing them. When they were fighting on the stage, their progress almost completely stagnated.


    Glory Capital wasn''t impacted. They had quite a few First Clear teams, and the one which progressed the fastest apparently wasn''t the one with the most competitors.


    In the Top 100, the first club that Ruling Sword faced was called ''Sakura Straw''. It seemed that with just a fraction of their power, they completely destroyed their opponents.


    The one who made three kills in the arena wasn''t Lu Li, nor was it Moonlight ¨C it was Mu Qiu.


    Mu Qiu was filled with pride. After all, in the present patch, Paladins were mediocre, being weak in attack and having low damage from skills. They were unable to crowd-control and had just passable recovery of HP.


    However, when attack wasn''t enough, equipment made up for it, and bad skills were accompanied with Skill Points. There were still special effects from equipment and so on.


    Green Flag Wine, Hit Me 72 Times and Mu Qiu were called the three great Paladins of the competition. Whenever anyone met with them, they would get a headache, especially in the arena. They just had to show up and they were guaranteed to finish off one or two people.


    In terms of the rankings of those who had made three kills in the arena, Green Flag Wine was first. Blood Dagger from Glory Capital could only be listed below him.


    Lu Li simply had no desire to attack this unofficial ranking. If he wanted to make three kills, it wasn''t too difficult of a task. After all, Ruling Sword wasn''t like Grand Hegemony, having to face many strong opponents. Given the circumstances of there being a large gap between their power, getting three kills didn''t require much technique.

 1757 Shameless Leader

    If they couldn''t gain any points in the arena, then Sakura Straw had even less of a chance in the group stage. This didn''t mean that Sakura Straw wasn''t as good as Grand Hegemony. The fact was that members of Sakura Straw had over 100 years of history. Just being able to survive for so long was a miracle.


    This Shadow Cup, Ruling Sword looked like they cheated. They never encountered an opponent of equal strength. Even the audience became angry and began to demand a ticket refund.


    "We came to watch a competition filled with excitement and uncertainty, not this sort of brutal killing with no suspense!"


    After spending a little over 3 weeks, Ruling Sword finished up with the Harvester, taking a bit longer than expected. This couldn''t be helped. After every cooldown reset, they''d have to fight from the beginning again. Even if they didn''t go and fight Bosses from other zones, they had to defeat the instructor in the Death Knight zone yet again.


    But then again, they couldn''t pass up the other zones. Even if the First Clear had been taken, every Boss would still contribute two or three pieces of Epic equipment.


    While Lu Li was strategizing against the Harvester, he was alternating with killing the previous Boss. Occasionally, he would also have to lead the competition team, which was why they took so many days to finish off the Harvester.


    The Harvester deserved to be called the Harvester as he gave 2 Skills Points. Even though these Skills Points weren''t taken by Lu Li, he was still satisfied with this result. The stones were average and there was no Enhanced Skill Book. They could only rest their hopes on the equipment.


    Sadist''s Collar was a necklace for physical roles. Its attributes were decent and it was modelled exquisitely. When worn on a female player''s neck, it would definitely add at least a point to their physical attractiveness, and if a male player wore it, it would even be enough to attract other male players.


    "This equipment is really suitable for Thieves," Lu Li said.


    "Damn, what the hell?"


    "What''s he on about?"


    "Damn, the boss wants to cheat us of the equipment."


    "We''re done for, the club''s done for. What sort of leader can wear this and lead us?"


    "We''ve gotta abandon him! Choose me! Hey, choose me as the leader! Who says I can''t lead? At least I''m prettier than him."


    "Haha, if you''re talkin'' about looks¡­"


    Everyone was talking in whispers.


    As time passed, the dark side of Lu Li''s growth had been watered down a lot. Especially with all these girls jumping around him all the time, his personality had changed a bit too.


    Days like this when they were joking around were actually great.


    "*Cough*, time to start bidding. Thieves can start bidding," Lu Li announced, not hearing all these whispers around him at all.


    "50 points."


    "Anyone else bidding? No one''s bidding? If no one''s bidding, this necklace is Water Fairy''s. Congrats," Lu Li said speedily, not even counting down from three as he usually did. The equipment was passed over to Water Fairy''s hands.


    The few Thieves looked at each other with blank faces, gripping their weapons tightly in their hands.


    Damn, he had just stolen away the item, and there was even a public display of affection. It was just too much to bear.


    "Thanks everyone. When the game''s over today let me treat you to dinner. You can all choose the place."


    Water Fairy smiled very happily. It wasn''t just the equipment, but there were also Lu Li''s thoughts for her. Before, she had taken a few pieces of equipment in a row, so she didn''t have much DKP. If someone fought her for it, she really wouldn''t be able to compete.


    As for bidding for equipment for someone else, this was already clearly prohibited.


    The equipment you were bidding for had to be most suited for you. Otherwise, the leader had the authority to simply disallow you from bidding, and the points you bid would just be taken, just like that.


    The first piece of Epic equipment that the Boss gave had average attributes and wasn''t particularly amazing. The main thing was that the design was too feminine, but all the Thieves there were male.


    Glacial Headdress was a piece of headgear. It looked like a crown and was of great quality. Moreover, it provided Ice resistance.


    Soul Harvester was a Thief''s Leather Armor. This was truly a piece of equipment just for Thieves, otherwise, it wouldn''t add one point to the Shadow Cloak skill.


    Soul Harvester (Epic): Armour 180, Agility +120, Strength +100, Defence +80, 2 Slots, Special Effect 1: Shadow Cloak +1. Special Effect 2: When the wearer incurs damage, there is a 20% chance that 50% of the damage will be reflected back onto the opponent, and 8% of the wearer''s HP will be recovered. Special Effect 3: Soul Harvest. For every death of an enemy fighting against a teammate, the wearer gains a layer of protection that can absorb 60 damage. Maximum of 60 layers. Effective for 24 hours. Level Requirement: 60, Durability 365/365.


    This really was an excellent piece of Thief clothing, better than what Lu Li wore.


    Nightslayer Chestpiece (Epic): Armour 150, Agility +100, Defence +80, 2 Slots, Special Effect 1: After wearing this equipment, armor is increased by 10%. Special Effect 2: After use, the wearer''s damage is reduced by 40, and teammates within 30 yards enjoy half of this damage reduction effect. Cooldown time of 60 seconds, Special Effect 3: Remulos'' Protection. Natural spells cast with this equipment will have magic embedded. When the wearer''s HP reaches 20%, they will gain a shield, which will stop the wearer from incurring total damage that goes above 50% of the wearer''s total HP. Cooldown time of 60 seconds. Level Requirement: 60, Durability 300/300.


    Armor tended to provide some damage reduction or defense, and this Soul Harvester was no exception. A 3600-damage shield made it a very satisfactory piece of defensive equipment.


    There were other shileds which had more than 3600HP, Dawn was a balanced game. A 5000 HP shield would have weaknesses in other areas. The Nightslayer Chestpiece provided a 50% HP shield, so if Azure Sea Breeze used it, he could gain 5000 HP, but Lu Li would only have an extra 2000 or so.


    What Lu Li valued most was the second Special Effect, or in other words, he thought it was where this piece of equipment really shone.


    It was common to be critically hit in the arena, especially against Magic roles. However, when the wearer received critical hit damage, there was a 20% chance that 50% of the damage would be reflected back to the opponent, and it would also let the wearer recover 8% of their HP. It could attack the opponent and heal oneself ¨C there was nothing better.


    Moreover, a 20% chance wasn''t low. For someone like Lu Li who wasn''t so lucky, he thought that this was rather reasonable.

 1758 Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

    This piece of clothing would only fall in the hands of Lu Li or Water Fairy as it leant towards PVP.


    Water Fairy had just received a necklace she really liked. So, there was a big possibility that the clothing would be given to Lu Li because it looked too ugly to wear.


    The Soul Harvester was indeed quite ugly. It not only looked grey and drab, but there was also a Scourge totem on the front of the chest. Girls would rather choose T3 Transmog set equipment with lower attributes than this hideous thing.


    There was one Desecrated Sandals, T3 Magic Boots, two Desecrated Sabatons, and T3 Thief/Warrior Boots. Neither Lu Li nor Water Fairy participated in the bid. They couldn''t keep bullying the others.


    Setting aside difficulty first, the best death knights were still the Four Horsemen.


    The next battle that Lu Li encountered was a four-man Boss, who were the so-called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.


    The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were allusions from the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation to John (also known as the Apocalypse). It described that at the end of the world, when judgement was given to mankind, a lamb would unlock the seven seals of the book and summon knights on white, red, black and green horses to bring war, famine plague and death to the final judgement of mankind. At the time, the heaven and earth would be at disarray. The sun and moon would change colour, and the world would be destroyed.


    These Four Horsemen all had a history here in Dawn.


    Dwarves had always been the most determined allies of humankind. When the Scourge army swept across Lordaeron, many Dwarves took initiative and went to the frontlines and fought against the fierce enemies with their human friends.


    Duke Paladin Thane Korth''azz was one of the many Dwarven warriors who made the Scourge army tremble in fear. Countless Undead soldiers turned into ashes beneath his huge hammer and holy powers. This white-bearded and amiable old man, together with his mentor "Silver Hand" Commander Uther, prevented the Scourge from attacking Tirisfal Woodland, and built a solid fortification in the narrow mountain pass later known as the Wall of the Undead.


    Not long after, Uther was ambushed by the Scourge army at Andorhal. The fearless messenger of light was beheaded by the new king of Lordaeron. However, the Wall of Undead was still unbreakable and the Duke Thane Korth''azz''s contributions couldn''t go unnoticed.


    "Since that cowardly little Dwarf likes to hide in the fortress and bluff with his ridiculous gunpower, we''ll let him freeze to death in his bunker."


    The fallen prince smiled coldly as he waved Frostmourne. Massive ice dragons eclipsed the bleak sun, and the frosty dragon breath swept through the blockhouse. Many Dwarves and humans who hadn''t escaped were frozen into crystal clear ice sculptures forever.


    "For Lordaeron! For Steel Stove Castle! For Silver Hand!" The Duke roared as he raised his own war hammer and charged towards the Scourge army resolutely. The war hammer danced as corpses and blood went flying, necromancers tuned to ash in a flash of holy light. The Duke fought bravely to protect his men who had lost their will to fight.


    "Hmph, it'' just a mere mortal. Since you clearly have a death wish ¨C I''ll grant it to you."


    A green light appeared in Arthas'' hands and evil shadow magic flew towards the weary Duke.


    As he watched the Duke fall onto the ice-cold ground with blood all over him, Arthas smiled eerily.


    "I believe he must''ve hoped to become one of my strong men after his death."


    A few days after, the Scourge army''s frontlines appeared with a small shadow. Korth''azz wore the green cape as a symbol of death and raised his new weapon, the Skull Hammer, smashing it heavily towards his former comrades.


    Lady Blaumeux and Sir Zeliek were in the "Undead Wonderland" of the Western Plaguelands. The two of them only wished to live in the here and now with the fanatical Scarlet Crusade and mysterious Silver Dawn.


    The Scarlet crusade stationed at Tyr''s Hand continuously sent elite troops to the important base of the Scourge army at Stratholme, and had become successful in building a solid front position in the southweast corner of Stratholme.


    Even though the Scarlet Crusade set the eradication of all Scourge as their ultimate goal, they also attacked all non-Scarlet Crusade members under the influence of unknown forces. Therefore, the Silver Dawn stationed at the ruined Light''s Hope Chapel had also been attacked by the Scarlet Crusade.


    However, the mysterious Silver Dawn weren''t bothered by this harassment. They cared more about the High Elves'' campground, Quel''Danil, in the north of the Plaguelands.


    These poor High Elves formed a small part of the survivors of the "Silvermoon City Massacre". Their families were slaughtered and their homes destroyed, which made these elves extremely miserable and extremely hostile to the Scourge.


    The smart Elves were natural born assassins and snipers, and their affinity with arcane magic made them excellent mages. But now, they were facing harassment from the Scourge all the time. Their lives were very difficult. In order to have more people join in the fight against the Scourge, Silver Dawn established logistical supply points in the northern and eastern sentinels respectively. They invited Lady Blaumeux, the High Elf Hunter, to be the commander of the northern post and ordered the high Paladin Duke Sir Zeliek to act as the liaison officer of the eastern wall post.


    In order to coordinate how to better protect strategic materials and energy sources to be sent to Quel''Danil, the two commanders kept meeting in the abandoned village in the Northern Valley. As time passed, the handsome Sir Zeliek fell in love with Lady Blaumeux. Likewise, the beautiful Lady Blaumeux was conquered by the charms of Sir Zeliek.


    Their subordinates held a grand wedding for them both and people had temporarily forgotten about the terrible Scourge. A soft and sweet atmosphere rose over this sad land after the "Massacre Day" (Massacre of Stratholme).


    However, the Scourge wouldn''t forget about the nasty creatures who got in the way of their plans. The attacks on the supply line to Quel''Danil became more and more fierce. The newlyweds, Blaumeux and Zeliek, had no choice but to end their honeymoon early and return to their posts immediately.


    Even though the distance between them wasn''t far, their busy military affairs kept the two apart, often for several months at a time. However, the messenger in the transport team kept them in close contact.


    "Dear Blaumeux, even though the attacks are still endless from the Scourge, I believe that there will come a day when we will defeat them. Once the war ends, I hope we can return to your hometown and enjoy our time there¡­"


    "Dear Zeliek, the Scourge come and attack us every day. I was so happy when your letter came. You have given me the strength to keep fighting. Even though Silvermoon City is now in ruins, I''d like to take you to my beautiful birthplace of Shadowmoon Canyon, with its green plains, bubbling streams, cute Dragonhawks and Arabo tree laden with sweet fruits. I think you would really like it there¡­"


    Reality was always cruel. The Runeblade of Baron Rivendale and Ras Frostwhisper led the Scourge troops and completely destroyed the northern tower. They did not know if Lady Blaumeux was dead or alive.


    Sir Zeliek was stricken with pain and asked for help from the Dawn of Light''s Hope Chapel. On one hand, he organised people to fight against the oncoming Scourge army. Only by working hard could he alleviate his yearning for his wife.


    "Sir, the enemy is here!"


    A purple skull army flag was flying high among the howling group of ghouls. The skeleton soldier constantly stood up from the meat grinder and the Necromancer laughed at the stupidity of the opposing humans.


    Baron Rivendare slowly walked towards the tower.


    "Poor Zeliek, you must want to know where your sweet beautiful wife is¡­"


    "You bastards! What have you done with Blaumeux?!" the angry Zeliek roared as he held tightly to his sword.


    "Blaumeux? What a beautiful name. then I think you must want to know whether this ugly woman is the owner of such a beautiful name, ahahaha."


    A tall cross appeared behind the Baron, and Lady Blaumeux, who was covered in bloody wounds was bound to it. Where her once beautiful green eyes had shone were now two black holes.


    "You¡­ You¡­"


    The men tried to stop their irrational commander.


    "Oh, you still recognise her! Then say goodbye to your wife! Ras, it''s time for your performance!"


    "My pleasure!"


    Flame appeared on Lady Blaumeux, and high-level sacrificial magic completely devoured the last vitality of the poor Elf.


    "Noooo!"


    Sir Zeliek could no longer control himself and charged by himself towards the Scourge army.


    "I''m very sorry but, stupid Paladin, those who are engulfed by rage can only have the path to death," the Baron chided as he threw out his evil blade and nailed the duke to the ground.


    "You''ll do well to remember this," Baron Rivendale said as he reached out his right hand and grabbed Sir Zeliek''s chin. "Say hi to Blaumeux for me in hell. I hope you still remember each other."


    "Snap"


    "You still have this old habit of crushing other people''s chins," Ras Frostwhisper commented, staring coldly at the corpse of Zeliek.


    "Next it''s time for these Dragonhawks to be crushed. Death and Decay!"


    "My king, we would like to add two more strong warriors to your undead knight army ¨C Lady Blaumeux and Sir Zeliek ¨C but there is a little problem which requires your attention."


    "What''s the issue, Kel''Thuzad?"


    "Zeliek still retained some human memories. I thought it was strange. Even though his body completely listens to me, his consciousness won''t accept my orders."


    "As long as his body listens that''s all that matters. Your mission is to complete the plans I give you. Don''t worry over little things like these. There isn''t much time left."


    So, this was the story of the three horsemen, but not many people knew much about them.


    As for the fourth horseman, everyone was probably very familiar with him.


    Great Leader Mograine!

 1759 Desolace Stronghold

    Lord Mograine held the magical Ashbringer. He was the most representative and powerful, iron-blooded Paladin in the whole continent.


    He was so filled with justice that even the Lich King, Arthas, praised him greatly.


    "If one could combine the Ashbringer with my Frostmourne, then this whole world would tremble under my sword!"


    However, the Lord Mograine was a soldier with deep-rooted values.


    As one of the founding members of the Scarlet Crusade, Mograine fought at the frontlines of the plague in Stratholme. Countless Scourge soldiers charged towards Mograine to capture Ashbringer, but waiting for them was the Judgement of Light.


    Mograine waved Ashbringer and stepped on the bodies of the Scourge soldiers, leading his own bloody troops to take down Stratholme Church, and establishing it as a solid fortress which stands even to this day.


    As the son of the Ashbringer, Renault Mograine was shadowed by this father''s halo. Yet, he was someone who was eager to impress. He wanted to prove to his father that he was a brave and fearless warrior.


    However, the great Leader did not seem to recognise Renault''s performance. He found faults with his son everywhere and often scolded him in public, which made Renault very dissatisfied. Coupled with the interference of his feelings for Whitemane, this made him extremely resentful of his father.


    "Why do you not approve of me and Whitemane being together?"


    "Emotions and lust will make you lose the will to fight," the Great Leader coldly replied to his son''s question.


    "How? Do you think I''m still just a child who only knows how to cry and make noises? Whitemane is also one the few strongest women here in our Scarlet Crusade. Are you saying that she doesn''t know how to control her desires?"


    "Then let me ask you, if one day the Scourge stood Whitemane in front of you, would you be able to control your rage and despair?"


    "¡­"


    "Answer me, Child!"


    "Father, if the Scourge took me, tortured me and then stood me in front of you, would you be able to control your rage and despair?"


    "Child, I will first help release you then destroy those Scourge who tortured you. Do you understand, Renault?"


    Renault lowered his head and softly replied, "I understand, Father."


    The war was still continuing. In order to satisfy their master''s wishes, the Scourge army captured the Ashbringer and surrounded Lord Mograine, Renault and Fairbanks.


    Even though the soldiers were still valiant, but humans were still human. When faced with the tsunami of the Scourge army, Fairbanks fell and the Lord fell too. Only young Renault was still standing and fighting. Against the berserk and enraged Renault, the Scourge retreated.


    "Father, you have suffered enough from the Scourge, let me release you from this pain!"


    "What are you doing? Renault! What are you doing?!" the Lord cried out as he looked at his son in fear.


    "Fulfilling your promise Father!"


    "No!!!"


    The pure white Ashbringer turned into an evil green Fallen Blade as it stabbed the Lord.


    Renault dropped Ashbringer in his hands and watched his father'' body become cold as tears of regret streamed down his face.


    A few days later, in the depths of Naxxramas, a newly dead soldier mounted the red Undead military horse with the symbol of death. The fallen Ashbringer emitted powerful hatred in his hands.


    "We are very glad that you have willingly become the Lich King''s Undead Soldier. Even though it''s a pity that the Ashbringer no longer possesses its sacred powers, we still welcome your presence."


    "Thank you, Kel''Thuzad. It is you who allowed me to understand life''s true meaning. I hope to use my power in the greater mission of the Lich King in purifying this ugly world."


    "Very well, Lord Mograine, I eagerly await your performance. Scourge soldiers! Let this world feel your anger!"


    The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ¨C they were the masterpiece of Kel''Thuzad and Arthas. They were the land''s strongest Paladins.


    This was the last Instance Dungeon of the 60s. Perhaps they were not as hard as Ouro or the Little Red Dragon as a single Boss, but the Bosses here all had a history, and they were all strong in their own right.


    After three matches in the top 100, Lu Li and the others finally understood the mechanisms of the Four Horsemen.


    The opponents in these three matches weren''t considered weak. After all, in order to get into the top 100 meant that they were reasonably skilled. Those who were too weak had no way of entering into the top 100; even throwing money at it wouldn''t work.


    Ruling Sword couldn''t go easy on their opponents anymore like in the first match. It was common to lose two or three points. It was miserable in fighting the team match against Wings of Dawn ¨C Ruling Sword lost four points straight up. Plus, they had lost two points in the challenge arena, so the score became 9:6 straight away. This meant that Ruling Sword had 9 points and their opponent had 6 points.


    It didn''t matter if it was the challenge arena or team matches; killing one person meant accumulating 1 point.


    Overall, there were six clubs with a full score: Blood Red War Flag, Glory Capital, Ruling Sword, Peerless City, Seventh Heaven and Azure Guard. Because Blood Red War Flag had the most number of fights, they had one more round than the other clubs, so their accumulated total was the highest.


    When the top 100 competition first began, dozens of clubs had full scores, but soon some of them became stuck.


    Drizzle Court and Gale Legion went head-to-head and they lost, but they earned a good score of 7 points.


    The Stronghold battles couldn''t keep quiet forever. From the second week of the top 100 competition, a new map of the Desolace appeared and attracted the eyes of many clubs. It was another massive Stronghold map, even though it looked rather barren.


    The area lacked resources and there weren''t many players.


    Desolace was an area with mountains of wasteland and located within the plains. Legends said that Centaurs were left here by the demi-god Cenarius for his son and were mixed with an earth elemental princess to create these creatures. Even though Desolace was fortunate to not be destroyed by the evil wars, because of the Centaurs'' internal battles, the Desolace became a wasteland.


    However, the Desolace had a unique point of gemstone resources.


    Gems could be cut out of Synthetic Stones with different attributes, which could be inlaid into the slots of equipment. There was also a pretty high chance of seeing Strengthening Stones appear as byproducts.


    A majority of gemstone mines were held by the Centaurs. Among them, they would engage in trading with humans in exchange for their expansion and living needs in weapons and materials.


    In fact, there were Strongholds here for both the Horde and Alliance. Both came for the same goals, but their targets were different.


    The Alliances mainly had two goals: release the soul of Zaetar, the son of Cenarius, and destroy the undead organisms that were growing in this area. Meanwhile, the Horde needed to spend a lot of time fighting against the demons in this area and the demonic followers of the Burning Blade Clan.


    This was the most tempting part of the Desolace. If the gemstone mines were controlled in the hands of the Alliance or Horde, then the players could challenge each other for these resources. However, things were different with the Centaurs in control.


    Perhaps some people would say that even if the players didn''t have Strongholds, they could still go and attack these Centaurs, but that kind of attack didn''t have the effect of System recognition. After a Centaur was killed, it would refresh. The Centaur Calvary will constantly attack the players and even large clubs couldn''t withstand such constant attacks.


    If was different with a Stronghold. The mines won over would become property of the club.


    Even though the Centaurs would still come and attack every now and then, they wouldn''t continue refreshing, and the pressure of defending would also decrease immensely.

 1760 Changes to the Stronghold

    Lu Li was very interested in this Stronghold, but he felt like he didn''t have the strength for this proposal.


    It was Grand Hegemony going in for it once again.


    "After such a long time, only one new piece of land has been released, so the competition will be quite fierce. There is only so much we can do to help, as we also have two Strongholds that we need to defend."


    Lu Li had no choice but to decline Drinking Alone even though he had basically just come to offer him money. It was 70,000 gold coins too.


    There was no way 5% of a company''s shares would be so easy to acquire. The smiling Drinking Alone that was sitting across from him made Lu Li feel like he was walking into a trap.


    However, the first dividends of Grand Hegemony had already been sent ¨C 70,000 gold coins. Lu Li was drooling at the sight of this money. This was for just a month''s time.


    70,000 gold coins, for 12 months a year¡­


    That was over 20 million in real world dollars. If Lu Li had this opportunity in his previous life, he would have stopped at nothing to take it.


    Moreover, there was also extra compensation after the Stronghold had been taken.


    "Obviously, we don''t know what will actually happen, but we will pay no matter what the outcome is," Drinking Alone promised. He had the look of a tycoon when he said that. They had received a capital injection from some big corporations, so money wasn''t something they were lacking.


    The big corporations weren''t afraid of you spending their money, but that you wouldn''t be able to spend it.


    Only those that knew how to spend the money were looked upon positively by them. This was the case in real life and in game.


    A Stronghold was what Grand Hegemony needed most. They had once owned one, but it had been taken away by the Gangnam Royals.


    Lu Li thought for a while before deciding that he might still be able to make a deal.


    "Drizzle Court and Peerless City are going to the Stonetalon Mountains, so they have no one to spare anyway. I can give you 20 of my people, but whether you use them isn''t up to me," he offered.


    As for whether the extra 20 players were able to help Grand Hegemony win the Stronghold, Lu Li didn''t really think it would make a difference.


    "Lu Li, please rest assured that we are strong enough as we have other assistance too. However, we hope that we would be able to borrow a commander from you."


    Grand Hegemony was quite satisfied with receiving 20 players. As long as they got a chance to fight for the Stronghold, the chances of their success were very high.


    "A commander¡­ alright. I''ll let you have Sky Moon. You probably won''t be able to get Wandering," Lu Li said.


    This was the ninth Stronghold Wars!


    Since the first, the Black Sea Coast, Grey Valley, Western Wilderness, Tanaris, Barrenlands, Stranglethorn Vale, Hillsbrad Hills, Stonetalon Mountains, Thousand Needles, Un''Goro Crater and Desolace had been opened, for a total of 11 Strongholds.


    In the early days, when a map was opened and a Stronghold released, there would soon be the release of a second and third Stronghold.


    If there were two different Strongholds on the same map, they would either ally or one would take the other. Otherwise, neither could go out to attack other Strongholds and the wars between them would be particularly intense.


    In these Stronghold Wars, the strength of the defenders had been reduced once again.


    On the one hand, the Stronghold walls didn''t need to be built by the players anymore. They were standard walls given by the System, so every attacking Club faced the same kinds of walls.


    But on the other hand, the number of chariots one could buy was limited to 20 for the


    attackers and reduced to 10 for the defenders. Moreover, the damage dealt by these chariots to the players had been increased. If the defenders wanted to rush out to destroy the chariots, then they would have to face the chariots'' bombs.


    If 20 chariots attacked together, it was the equivalent of taking damage from a wave of skills coming from 40 players.


    Of course, the chariots couldn''t be compared to the players. Chariots could launch bombs, but they couldn''t do it as freely as players could cast skills. The Game Company had designed it this way so that the Chariots wouldn''t all the destroyed before they even reached the walls.


    Lu Li knew better than anyone that this was not the first nor the last time that they would weaken the defenders.


    After a while, the defender''s chariots would be reduced to 5, which meant that the defenders would have to defend with the players'' lives. That also meant that fight would be the most bitter, and the Strongholds were more likely to change hands.


    Ruling Sword had to keep persevering for a while and maintain their two Strongholds, at


    least until the relationship between the Stronghold and the map was severed.


    Currently, the players'' Strongholds were built on the corresponding maps. For example, there was the Grey Valley Stronghold, so Ruling Sword''s Stronghold was the Grey Valley Stronghold. Once Ruling Sword''s Grey Valley Stronghold had been taken away, they would lose their connection with the map as well.


    This meant that the stakes were much higher and involved more variables.


    After a while, players wouldn''t even want to develop their Strongholds anymore. You could spend 20 million on it but loose ownership next week. This was a complete loss that no one wanted to risk.


    The game officials weren''t that unreasonable and would soon come to realize this too.


    As such, the separation of the Stronghold and map would eventually become a reality.


    If the Stronghold in Grey valley fell, then Lu Li would just lose the right to build a Stronghold in Grey Valley. However, the Stronghold itself would still be Ruling Sword''s Stronghold. In the future, if Ruling Sword managed to take another map, then they could put up the same Stronghold.


    Because of this System, Strongholds would become things that could be bought and sold.


    Other players could also confidently purchase a business in the Strongholds, because the Stronghold would not be lost. If there was no place to set up the Stronghold, then Clubs would have to compensate the shops for loss of their business time. Alternatively, they could declare bankruptcy and publicly auction the Stronghold.


    Currently, you had to defend well, because a loss would mean the complete loss of the Stronghold.


    Fortunately, Ruling Sword''s Ancient of Lore and smiling Dryad Sisters were still there even though the walls had been standardized.


    The Black Sea Coast Stronghold was facing an attack from the Eternal Kingdom club, so that wasn''t too difficult. This club was from the Horde, and had been overwhelmed by Glory Capital. They were dying now, but if they could win a Stronghold then could have a chance to survive.


    Otherwise, they would have no choice but to submit to Glory Capital.


    Optimistically, it would be an alliance. Pessimistically, they would be mere vassals to Glory Capital. There were some guilds that saw this kind of arrangement as an opportunity to share in Glory Capital''s power, but Eternal Kingdom didn''t see it that way.


    However, Lu Li was quite puzzled. They didn''t want to attack the Un''Goro Crater, which was currently being held by the Gangnam Royals, so why did they want to attack Ruling Sword''s Black Sea Coast? Why had emboldened them to make such an attack? Perhaps Lu Li''s Stronghold looked just a little bit easier to take.


    As for the Grey Valley Stronghold, a strong rival had come for it ¨C Glory Capital.

 1761 Don’t Be So Shameless

    This wasn''t the first time Glory Capital was attacking Ruling Sword''s Stronghold. In fact, it would be odd if they weren''t challenging Lu Li for the Strongholds.


    They were a club that had been established for just a year, yet they held two Strongholds in prime locations. As the overlords of the gaming circle, they couldn''t just let Ruling Sword continue developing.


    There were some things that just didn''t make sense, like why the antagonist of a movie would always wait until the protagonist grew strong before facing them.


    However, Ruling Sword could unequivocally say that no one had allowed them to freely develop.


    Every inch of ground they had taken was the result of blood, sweat and tears.


    Before the establishing the guild, they were constantly being targeted by the Imperial Secret Service. Immediately after they had established a guild, they provoked a gaming circle giant ¨C the Gangnam Royals. They had fought a number of guild wars as they had been hindered by other guilds too.


    "I don''t think things are that simple!" Wandering said as he found Lu Li. He had a serious expression on his face.


    Wandering rarely had such a serious expression. He spent most of his time lazing around, but he was actually a really smart guy that people listened to when he opened his mouth.


    "Why do you say that? What did you find out?" Lu Li asked, clearly puzzled.


    "With Eternal Kingdom''s strength, how ambitious would they have to be to think they are capable of taking our Stronghold. Do they just have money to burn or something?" Wandering didn''t believe that Eternal Kingdom would sabotage themselves like this.


    "Do you mean there is some sort of trick?" Lu Li was still confused.


    "Something is definitely happening ¨C it''s just a question of what," Wandering said adamantly. He had a very keen ability to notice things about the human condition.


    "Then I will gather everyone to study it."


    Lu Li quickly invited some people to have this discussion. They didn''t have any real information on hand, but he invited the club members and members of the First Clear team.


    Of course, Lu Li wasn''t going to take this matter out of this circle. Even if Ruling Sword was a relatively more cohesive guild, it didn''t mean that there were no undercover players lurking among them.


    Lu Li explained the situation and asked for the group''s opinions.


    "Does anyone else feel like there is some conspiracy happening here?"


    "Maybe Eternal Kingdom just needs to take a Stronghold to satisfy their investors. As for why they chose us, I don''t know," Cat Dad said. And that was the main problem ¨C no one could think of why they would choose Ruling Sword.


    These were Strongholds that even Glory Capital couldn''t take. Why would Eternal Kingdom even bother trying?


    Everyone had now expressed their opinions. There were some that just thought it was a coincidence. Others thought that Eternal Kingdom had hired a group of masters that were strong enough to attack the Black Sea Coast Stronghold.


    Lu Li listened to everyone''s opinions and tried to recall some of the things that had happened his past life.


    If he remembered correctly, Eternal Kingdom would eventually submit to Glory Capital and just join their alliance to further solidify their dominance in the Horde.


    However, he just couldn''t remember when Eternal Kingdom joined.


    Wait!


    Lu Li was shocked for a moment. If the current Eternal Kingdom was already part of Glory Capital then¡­


    "I have one suspicion," Lu Li said quietly.


    Everyone was quiet as they waited for him to continue.


    "If Eternal Kingdom and Glory Capital have made some kind of deal to coordinate an attack against both Black Sea Coast and Grey Valley, would that explain it?" Lu Li asked.


    "That would be treacherous," Sky Moon instantly responded.


    Wandering was relieved as he understood what Lu Li meant.


    In a normal situation, Ruling Sword couldn''t defend both Strongholds at the same time with the same strength. But given that Eternal Kingdom was not that strong, Glory Capital was their number one enemy, Glory Capital had almost defeated them last time, and the defenders of Stronghold battles had been weakened once again, Ruling Sword would find it even more difficult and would have to invest most of their strength in Grey Valley. Especially with the deal they had with Grand Hegemony, there wouldn''t be much of a defence at the Black Sea Coast.


    All they needed to do was to put their main force into Eternal Kingdom''s attacking team and the Black Sea Coast Stronghold would be ripe for the taking.


    "Wow, this really is a sinister plan," everyone agreed in shock.


    However, there were some others that began to feel optimistic.


    "Well we now know about their plans, so it''s not a problem anymore."


    "It is good that we know, but that doesn''t mean we''re out of the woods just yet," Lu Li said with a frown. "This is just our speculation. But if we are wrong, and Glory Capital''s offensive focus is still on the Grey Valley Stronghold, then we''ll be done for."


    Everyone went silent once again. Lu Li''s concerns made sense too.


    It was even more unrealistic for them to attempt to defend both Strongholds at the same level as Ruling Sword didn''t have that kind of strength. Lu Li was really feeling the inconvenience caused by lacking information. He secretly decided that he had to set up some kind of intelligence system in the future. At the very least, they wouldn''t have to guess what the problem was.


    After all, they didn''t have the strength or the information here and were really struggling to defend just these two Strongholds adequately. What if they had more Strongholds in future? How would they defend those?


    "We don''t have time to discuss this any further," Wandering said. "We have to work out which Stronghold they are focusing one, otherwise, we will just have to lose one. If we try to treat both Strongholds equally, we might not be able to keep either one."


    "Ask for some support. We''ll need some allies for this," Lu Li said helplessly.


    He didn''t want to do this. Drizzle Court wanted to establish a Stronghold for Peerless City this week, and Lu Li had just promised to help Grand Hegemony. Now, he had to shamefully renege on those agreements.


    Drinking Alone had just made the announcement, but before everyone had the chance to be happy about it, they were informed that Ruling Sword were no longer supporting them. Fortunately, they understood Lu Li''s predicament, but their hopes of taking the new map was now more remote.


    "How about this? You guys give up on taking the new map this week. No matter what Eternal Kingdom does this week, they will definitely reveal their intentions. Next time, Ruling Sword will fully support your attack on a Stronghold, but you guys can help us this week¡­"


    This was absolutely shameless, but Lu Li wasn''t afraid of that.


    Drinking Alone was speechless.

 1762 Heart Attack

    However, Drinking Alone also knew what option they had to pick.


    Even with the help of Ruling Sword, they didn''t have a great chance of taking the Stronghold, let alone attempting it without their help.


    If they helped Ruling Sword defend, they wouldn''t just be asking for help anymore. This kind of reciprocal transaction would also help to improve cooperation between the two guilds. After consulting with the club executives, Drinking Alone decided to fully support Ruling Sword.


    They carefully selected nearly 20 of their top players to join the defence of Grey Valley.


    Lu Li had decided to focus on the Black Sea Coast. He had basically handed over Grey Valley to his allies with 20 players from Grand Hegemony and 20 players from Peerless City. The rest of the players in Grey Valley were naturally filled with Ruling Sword players.


    The Black Sea Coast was to be personally defended by Lu Li, who would face whatever they were plotting.


    In Grey Valley, Wandering and Sky Moon were defending together. There were more and more signs pointing to the fact that Lu Li''s guess was true. For example, Eternal Kingdom had fought a Wild Boss last weekend, but Glory Capital didn''t seem to contest it as much as they normally would. There was also an ore mine controlled by Glory Capital, but some Eternal Kingdom Life Profession players had appeared there. Eternal Kingdom hadn''t been able to get through the Ahn''Qiraj Temple, but last week they suddenly managed to clear the Instance Dungeon¡­


    If they weren''t looking, they would have missed all these clues, but they were able to notice all these things because they were now aware.


    It was likely that Glory Capital had completely suppressed Eternal Kingdom in the last few months to force them to submit to them. They probably searched everywhere for Eternal Kingdom''s activities, farming their monsters, taking their materials, stealing their Bosses and attacking the players.


    However, those activities slowed at the start of the month.


    It was likely that they had started negotiating at that time and had made some progress, because they later became like family.


    The reason why it wasn''t immediately announced was likely because Sorrowless wanted to use the secrecy to attack Ruling Sword. He would attack the Grey Valley Stronghold while using Eternal Kingdom as a shell to attack from another angle.


    As Lu Li stood on the wall of the Stronghold, he silently looked at the group of players opposite from him.


    All the players had their faces concealed. Why would they do this if they didn''t have anything to hide? Since when was Eternal Kingdom sensitive about the identity of their players?


    Other than the one time when Sky Moon was assigned, Lu Li would always personally face Sorrowless. Having just Wandering or Sky Moon wasn''t enough. They weren''t able to defeat Sorrowless because they lacked the mental fortitude.


    Not everyone was like Fat Monkey, who was fearless before Sorrowless.


    However, since Lu Li was in front of them, that meant that he wasn''t in Grey Valley.


    "Why, are you surprised?"


    Lu Li was very pleased with this atmosphere. Even if he didn''t know who these players were, he could imagine their facial expressions.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," Midnight Ghost said as he removed his bandana.


    "Hey, isn''t that Ghost? Who is that next to you then?" Lu Li asked.


    "None of your business," Midnight Ghost said calmly.


    "You are an Eternal Kingdom Club Party Leader, the highest position among the combat professions. But now, you aren''t standing in the chief position. Surely you weren''t acquired by another guild? The once brilliant Eternal Kingdom now beaten to a pulp by Glory Capital¡­ I can''t believe you guys were so thoroughly defeated¡­"


    "Sure, we are allied, but we definitely were not acquired."


    The person standing next to Midnight Ghost removed their bandana. Sure enough, Sorrowless'' face was revealed.


    Now that they had reached this situation, the surprise was lost so there wasn''t a need to hide anymore.


    Lu Li had never been one to talk nonsense. On this occasion, he had uncovered things that both parties wanted to keep secret, and had also humiliated the Eternal Kingdom players. The result was that the Eternal Kingdom players'' moral plummeted.


    Lu Li had mentioned the greatness of their predecessors were and how far they had fallen. The players couldn''t have but been dissatisfied with their high-level executives.


    Sorrowless certainly understood the sinister intentions of Lu Li, so he stopped Lu Li from continuing.


    "Hey, isn''t that Sorrowless? How come you''re here in the Eternal Kingdom team? Surely it wasn''t Glory Capital who got acquired in this situation," Lu Li taunted as he continued smiling.


    "I hope you don''t intend to defend this Stronghold today with your mouth," Sorrowless snorted and pointed his Magic Staff at Lu Li before yelling, "Attack!"


    The explosions of the chariots firing filled the air. Lu Li immediately called for Azure Sea Breeze to raise his giant shield, which blocked a lot of the damage. However, Lu Li could also hear Azure Sea Breeze''s cry of distress as this dramatically reduced his equipment''s durability.


    The players who were attacking brought many spare equips. Azure Sea Breeze had also brought a dozen shields, and many of them had been borrowed from Ruling Sword''s Club''s Warriors.


    "It looks like they have sent quite a few people to Grey Valley as well. They actually wanted to take both Strongholds. They must be fearless," Lu Li sneered at the players as he organised a counterattack. Even though he only had half the chariots, he still intended to kill as many players on the ground as possible.


    "Wandering will be fine."


    Despite their tumultuous relationship, Azure Sea Breeze had more confidence in Wandering than anyone else.


    "Neither Blood Dagger nor White Westhill is here. Sorrowless must be pretty depressed by now," Lu Li gloated.


    He didn''t even want to consider for a moment what would have happened if Wandering didn''t say anything. They would have had their worst line up defending the Black Sea Coast. It probably wouldn''t have lasted for much longer than 10 minutes under Sorrowless'' siege.


    In that situation, it would have been Lu Li who was depressed.


    Sorrowless really had no chance of taking the Black Sea Coast. Although he worked hard to break through the walls, he wasn''t leading Glory Capital''s strongest players which meant that he couldn''t fight through Lu Li''s players. Moreover, Sorrowless'' players already had low morale, which made the fight even more difficult.


    The words that Lu Li started with had a serious impact on the Eternal Kingdom players.


    They didn''t know why Sorrowless had brought a group of players to be among their ranks. They were told by their leaders that it was just some help. Even if Sorrowless denied it, the seed of doubt was planted by Lu Li and it was something really hard for them to shake.


    The Black Sea Coast''s defenses were also far beyond what they had imagined, which further exacerbated the difficulty of Sorrowless'' offence.


    The Black Sea Coast was eventually successfully defended. Grey Valley was also defended under the leadership of Wandering and Sky Moon. When White Westhill didn''t see Lu Li, but saw the faces of Peerless City and Grand Hegemony, she could already anticipate how the Black Sea Coast fight would end.


    Glory Capital had lost once again!

 1763 Quarterfinals

    In the matters regarding the Strongholds, it wasn''t as simple as Sorrowless being unable to take down Black Sea Coast and Grey Valley.


    He couldn''t even face the public and tell them the good news that they had just taken Eternal Kingdom. After all, he already said so during the Stronghold battles. It was only an alliance. Therefore, this alliance would need to keep going, unless it was affected by a large change.


    Otherwise, he would only be able to watch as Eternal Kingdom''s players slowly left.


    There weren''t many changes in terms of other Strongholds either. The new Stronghold was taken by Gale Legion. With this, they now surpassed Glory Capital and successfully became the other holder of two Strongholds alongside Ruling Sword.


    After two weeks, Ruling Sword also successfully took down the four knights.


    The whole process was torture. Lu Li did not want to remember it at all, and the results were not great either. None of the four skill points went to him. All he wanted was for the Boss to drop some valuable things. In the end, he received a few Enhanced Skill Books that he could use.


    "There''s a good stone. Attack Speed and Critical Damage ¨C dual-properties," Remnant Dream said, very surprised.


    "Mine!" Lu Li fiercely cried out.


    "Alright, alright. I''ll give it to you."


    No one else objected to this. They acknowledged his hard work and the time and effort that he had to put in every time. This was only a mere Equipment Stone, so it wasn''t worth much anyway.


    Enhanced Skill Book!


    Unfortunately, it was for Warlocks. This time, it was Sesame Rice Ball''s turn, since Kitty Likes Meat had taken it last time.


    Maul of the Redeemed Crusader ¨C this was a Two-handed Mace and was a choice weapon for Healing Paladin. Darkness was the only Healing Paladin present, so there were no competitors. As a result, she took it at base price.


    Warmth of Forgiveness. This was an Epic Accessory that recovered mana, which was quite useful for Mages. However, it didn''t sell for much, since the Mages here didn''t lack mana.


    Corrupted Ashbringer, an Epic blueprint ¨C naturally, the properties were quite decent.


    Of course, this wasn''t the original Corrupted Ashbringer. The original was a demigod-level weapon that even Arthas coveted.


    The Corrupted Ashbringer was taken by Her Tears. This was a Two-Handed Sword that had ridiculous properties, comparable to Mu Qiu''s Greatsword of the Brotherhood. However, Her Tears couldn''t enjoy it just yet as Green Flag Wine requested to borrow it first.


    It wasn''t because of Water Fairy that he was willing to lend it, but it was Her Tears himself who was willing.


    After this, there was a T3 set clothing. Lu Li had an individual item that he was eyeing, so he didn''t need this one.


    After killing the four knights, the Shadow Cup''s Top 100 battles finally finished. The competition was now in the stage of the Top 16. This season''s Shadow Cup Top 16 consisted of Glory Capital, Ruling Sword, Blood Red War Flag, Seventh Heaven, Peerless City, Wings of Dawn, Gale Legion, Azure Guard, Majin Temple, Gangnam Royals, Blue Universe, Gods of Dusk, Purple Lunar Paradise, Stellar Union and Grand Hegemony.


    The influence of luck in the competition was definitely extremely important.


    On the first, Ruling Sword would be facing off against Stellar Union.


    Stellar Union was actually quite strong. In terms of strategizing for Instance Dungeons, they were definitely capable.


    There were two main goals in Dawn''s Instance Dungeons ¨C the First Clear and the Speed Record. Of course, First Clears were the most important, but the importance of Speed clearing was not to be forgotten. Stellar Union was one of the clubs that frequently set new records for clearing speed. In many of the Instance Dungeons, it was Stellar Union who held the Speed Record.


    They weren''t a club that was often in the spotlight, but no one would ignore their existence.


    Stellar Union''s Mage, Twilight, and their Paladin, Hit Me 72 Times, were both the best of the best players, especially Hit Me 72 Times. He and Green Flag Wine were essentially the faces of the class. Mu Qiu had only risen relatively recently.


    It was time for the Arena Battles. Both sides deployed their Paladin first.


    Everyone was happy to see two evenly-ranked Paladins fight against each other. They were also the first ones to fight, so it could not be any fairer.


    Truthfully speaking, a battle between Paladin was the most boring. It wasn''t flashy like a battle between Mages, or as hot-blooded as Berserkers, or as exciting and cunning as Thieves. All in all, it was like two kids whacking each other over and over again. Their HP bars would decrease slowly and gradually, then be replenished as they cast their healing spells.


    Many people would start to doze off when two Paladins were fighting.


    However, someone like Lu Li would be able to analyse the intricacies of the fight, such as how Mu Qiu was receiving the his opponents skills, or his positioning. However, his advantage was clear for all to see.


    Greatsword of the Brotherhood!


    This was the strongest Two-Handed Sword in this current update. It put Hit Me 72 Times under enormous pressure. This was because the damage was extremely potent, and he also had to be cautious about the sword''s effect of instant-killing the target.


    In the end, Mu Qiu managed to win because of the advantage of having better items. However, the battle was still extremely close.


    It only took Twilight a short while to kill Mu Qiu, after which he was eliminated by Moonlight. The third person from Stellar Union was Purple Heart Sea. Unfortunately, the Hunter who was known for being able to kite any melee classes wouldn''t be able to kite Moonlight until he died.


    Being in the Top 16 meant that points no longer mattered to continue in the competition. Points were only used to analyse how the battles went and the results of the battles.


    For Arena Battles, Ruling Sword had 3 points, while Stellar Union had 1 point. This was because they had only managed to kill Mu Qiu.


    The Group Battle was held in a map of grasslands with some valleys and hills. Both sides met with each other in a valley. Stellar Union attacked Ruling Sword from the low ground and were disadvantaged in terms of terrain, but they still managed quite well. They managed to kill two Ruling Sword players before being wiped out.


    Ruling Sword gained 6 points from the Group Battles, while Stellar Union received two.


    The results from the first group were revealed. Stellar Union was eliminated while Ruling Sword successfully advanced into the Quarterfinals. It was as simple as that. Brutal, but simple.


    For the second day, it was Drizzle Court versus Wings of Dawn.


    Lu Li only entered the Instance Dungeon after watching the match. Drizzle Court managed to defeat their opponent and successfully entered the Quarterfinals as well.


    All four of the Bosses in the Instance Dungeons were cleared, so a deeper path into the Dungeon was opened. This revealed two more Bosses: Sapphiron and Kel''Thuzad.


    Clubs who were able to progress to this stage of the game was almost non-existent. Lu Li didn''t mind that other clubs knew about their progress. Naxxramas wasn''t an Instance Dungeon that players would be able to clear despite knowing the strategies. A single detail could not be ignored.

 1764 Sapphiron

    Of course, he wouldn''t slack off like the hare in the race against the tortoise. After all, he had other things to deal with as well, such as Strongholds and competitions. If he wasn''t in the Instance Dungeon team, then it usually wouldn''t operate.


    Most other clubs still could keep it going, since their commanders only had the role of commanding.


    While Sapphiron was alive, it was a loyal servant of Malygos the Blue Aspect.


    During the battle of the Frozen Throne, Arthas met with a pitiful-looking Blue Dragon in Northrend. Sapphiron was only a normal adult Dragon when it was fighting for Malygos. However, upon being ambushed by Arthas and Anub''arak, Sapphiron was ultimately killed after being defeated. Then Arthas, using the power of the fallen, revived Sapphiron into a Frostwyrm. Sapphiron the Frostwyrm became a fang for the Scourge.


    Sapphiron then became Kel''Thuzad''s mount, stationed in the depths of Naxxramas.


    "There are only two more Bosses left. These are the last two of the 60s."


    Azure Sea Breeze''s tone was first filled with excitement, then slowly turned sad.


    In this moment, he suddenly had the aura of a smart, young lad.


    "Let''s go!"


    Unfortunately, his aura was ruined the moment Lu Li kicked him from behind.


    Sapphiron didn''t have anything to say. After all, it was a pile of bones. The only thing it could express was its desire to kill all the living in front of it, no matter Dark Elf or Tauren.


    It was a pile of bones, so there was no shape of a Frostwyrm yet. All the bones were laid across the large hall, and they began reassembling themselves.


    Azure Sea Breeze rushed forward and immediately died.


    Everyone else was in the safe zone. After seeing the tragedy that unfolded before their eyes, they just froze.


    After Sapphiron exited its battle mode and turned into a pile of bones again, Lu Li then instructed someone to revive Azure Sea Breeze, and then interviewed him.


    Azure Sea Breeze angrily stared at Lu Li. Why was it always him who tested out the Boss? What was even worse was that Lu Li didn''t even arrange for a Healer to heal him.


    He had no chance of survival at all.


    Lu Li had no plans of him returning alive.


    "Believe me that I can make things worse for you," Lu Li sighed and looked at him pitifully.


    "Whatever," Azure Sea Breeze muttered, already on the verge of tears. "Its normal attack damage is extremely high and it also has a Freeze effect to it. It decreased my movement speed, and increased damage dealt. I couldn''t even deal with three hits. I feel like it would be better if a Thief went and tested the Boss out instead."


    "You are right. Since that''s the case, then we''ll just start for real this time," Lu Li responded.


    "Man, screw you," Azure Sea Breeze cursed. He could only brace himself and rush forward again.


    As a dragon, a frontal attack of 120 degrees and a tail smash was expected.


    One of its ultimate skills was Blizzard, which it would cast in two waves onto the ground. After being hit with the Blizzard, there was the effect of decreased movement speed. Two seconds later, it would deal 3700-4000 damage to players. Blizzard was the same type as Ouro''s skill, where they needed to predict the Boss'' movements to be able to avoid it.


    There was also a curse every 30 seconds for seven random targets. The players hit with the curse would be dealt 2000 damage every two seconds, and it would heal the Boss for 4000 HP.


    In the first 35 seconds of the battle, the Dragon would soar in the air and spit out 5 Frostbolts after 10 seconds at random targets. Players hit by the Frostbolt would receive around 3000 Ice damage and be Frozen. Moreover, they were unable to be healed.


    It was different to how Lu Li imagined it to be. They had already lost a lot of players in this phase.


    He remembered that the frozen players wouldn''t receive the aura damage anymore. However, in the present reality, the aura damage still remained.


    There was also the 3000 damage from being in the range of 10 metres from the frozen players. This was unable to be resisted. In the end, the Dragon would spit out a large ice ball, dealing 60,000 damage to the whole area. After this, the Dragon would land on the ground.


    No one could tank 60,000 damage. Fortunately, all the frozen players were grouped together, so they could just hide behind them to avoid the damage.


    The interval between the Dragon landing and flying again was 70 seconds.


    This Boss didn''t have phases to it. The whole fight consisted of the Boss cycling through its skills. The order of the skills would be figured out quite quickly. The issue was how to solve this problem.


    There were quite a bit of Ice Resistance items from before. Even Lu Li managed to string together four or five pieces, some of which were Dark Gold and Epic. Now, they definitely needed it. It was necessary for them to lose out on DPS for them to have a chance at surviving in Sapphiron''s frozen world.


    Shamans and Paladins could increase the team''s resistance, so Lu Li arranged for two Shamans and a


    few Paladins to join them.


    As for what potions to use, this was straightforward. At the moment, they just needed to get the equipment and potions right. They were spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each day on


    So shameless!


    The Boss'' curse was difficult to deal with. They needed to make sure that they had enough players to dispel the curses. Fortunately, the alliance with the three clubs provided enough support for this.


    They still needed to determine positioning. It wasn''t too difficult, since they just needed to figure out where to stand to survive and where to stand while battling.


    They needed to reposition themselves a lot during the battle. After the Dragon soared into the air, they had to spread out and avoid the Frostbolts. However, they also had to keep close together so that they could shelter themselves behind the frozen players in time for the ice ball attack.


    Making a beeline for the frozen players was a must. No matter where they were, they needed to immediately rush behind a frozen player.


    Mages were the only exception.


    Mages knew Ice Block and also could teleport. No matter where the frozen players were, the Mages would be able to teleport behind them and avoid the damage.


    However, less mobile classes needed to realise the positions of the frozen players immediately. If they were too far away when the ice ball struck, then they would be destined for death.


    Because there was also the issue of the Dragon soaring and landing on the ground, aggro also had to be considered. The team also wiped multiple times because of this. It took them a few days to figure out how to avoid being wiped because of aggro.


    All in all, Sapphiron was a Boss that required the players to be prepared before the battle. 300 Ice Resistance was a minimum requirement. Healing was also important, so players had to make sure to avoid receiving unnecessary damage and prepare sufficient healing items for emergencies.


    While they were nearing the end of Sapphiron, the results for the Shadow Cup Quarterfinals were also revealed.

 1765 Inner Conflic

    The Quarterfinalists were expected. After all, it was unlikely for another Ruling Sword to appear.


    Even if money were poured into a new club, it still wouldn''t be another Ruling Sword.


    Glory Capital, Ruling Sword, Blood Red War Flag, Drizzle Court, Peerless City, Wings of Dawn, Gale Legion and Gods of Dusk ¨C these were the 8 clubs in the Quarterfinals.


    The most unfortunate club was Seventh Heaven. In the Top 16, they were met with Glory Capital.


    Grand Hegemony could not escape the carnage either. Blood Red War Flag completely destroyed them.


    The rebuilt Gangnam Royals no longer had the star power that they had before and were eliminated by Gods of Dusk. Wood Fearing managed to win three consecutive times again, eliminating Gangnam Royals while doing so. Gods of Dusk was seemingly creating legend after legend just by having this one veteran that kept them in relevancy.


    Blue Universe was met with Peerless City. Both clubs had once been under Drizzle Court. Although both had the same origins, there were still undoubtably strength differences. Blue Universe was completely destroyed by Peerless City.


    Drizzle Court wasn''t too lucky this time. They were met with Azure Guard, which was quite a powerful club and were nearly eliminated by them. Fortunately, in the Group Battles, Green Flag Wine and Deadly Golden Underpants performed superbly and managed to turn the tables by killing three opponents together.


    Gale Legion eliminated Purple Lunar Paradise while Wings of Dawn eliminated Majin Temple and Ruling Sword eliminated Stellar Union. The Top 16 battles were still quite exciting.


    From a class-focused perspective, there were three classes that seemed to have an advantage over others. The first one was obviously the Mage class. No other class could compare to the burst damage and crowd-control abilities that Mages had. Second was the Berserker class. Berserkers were deadly in one on one situations and usually overpowered their opponents fighting face-on. As such, they were very popular with teenagers and young people. Third was the Thief class. It didn''t matter if it was Blood Dagger, Lu Li, or Wood Fearing ¨C they were all able to perfectly showcase the power of Stealth.


    Dawn''s official website wrote that there was no such thing as a ''strongest class'', only a ''strongest player''.


    Players disagreed.


    "No strongest class? Mage is the strongest class."


    "No strongest class? There is only a strongest Thief."


    "No strongest class? Come and fight a Berserker one on one."


    It was nearing the end of the current update. These three classes were enjoying themselves, not knowing that a massive nerf was on its way.


    Sapphiron was defeated during a not-so-particularly sunny afternoon.


    There were three skill points awarded and one Enhanced Skill Book which was Ice Magic-based.


    Face of Death ¨C this was an Epic item for Defense-based classes.


    Then, there was Sapphiron''s Left Eye, a secondary weapon for Mages. Usually, only Warlocks needed these.


    Cloak of the Necropolis ¨C this was an exquisite item for Magic classes. With the appearance of this item, the peaceful atmosphere instantly shattered as all the Magic players went into a furious battle over it.


    Claw of the Frostwyrm ¨C this was probably the strongest Knuckle in the game at that time.


    Although there were two Shamans and a few Thieves, in the end, it was Sakura Memories who took the item at its base price. This item was powerful, so it made a lot of players jealous. Even though Shamans were the weakest class during that version of the game, it didn''t matter. She still managed to take the item at its base price.


    Dragonslayer''s Signet ¨C a physical-based Accessory.


    Everyone who was laughing at the fierce battles over the Magic items were now silenced.


    "120. Everyone, let''s be good to each other here," Lu Li said sternly.


    Someone else immediately ignored him.


    "150."


    "180. What did the leader say just then?"


    "200. Didn''t hear him."


    "220. How much do you have left?"


    "Not much, but more than you."


    "Let me have it. I''ll buy you a meal later."


    "The most I would do is lend it to you. No need for dinner."


    "Then you''re not scared that I would drop it if I died?"


    "There''s only a 0.43% chance of accessories dropping upon death. If you really do lose it, then you''ll pay me for another one."


    "Deal! Deal!"


    Lu Li''s tears were welling up in his eyes as he watched someone else take the item. He really wanted that one. If it weren''t for the worries of the team disbanding if he just gave it to himself, he would have done just that. These scumbags didn''t even look at him properly while bidding for the item.


    He decided that he couldn''t just spend his guild points so loosely anymore. He needed to prioritise and save up for the exquisite items so that this wouldn''t happen a second time.


    After Sapphiron''s death, the last sealed door finally disappeared. Now, Kel''Thuzad was waiting patiently in his place for his challengers. However, they all had other things to do and would regather later. They also had matches the next day as well.


    If they were unlucky, then they might be eliminated.


    It would be best if they didn''t meet with Glory Capital. Lu Li was praying to avoid them. Sorrowless was open about him collecting all sorts of exquisite items. He was spending millions and millions on items. No one else could compare to him.


    Most of the best items came from Wild Bosses or Instance Dungeon Bosses. However, there were also exceptions, such as the Faction and Mentor systems.


    Lu Li guessed that there were around ten Legendary items floating around in the game. Although this wasn''t much compared to the huge player base, it would be a concern if Glory Capital got their hands on one of them, since it would make them even more terrifying.


    There were no ''main characters'' in a game like this. Anyone could be blessed by luck.


    Perhaps a god-level dragon could land in front of you with a sliver of HP left, inviting you to take the kill.


    There were also some NPCs who you could save by gifting some basic potions to, build a relationship with them, and then prosper from there.


    It seemed as though his prayer had worked. Ruling Sword ended up drawing Blood Red War Flag to be their opponent. Although Blood Red War Flag was still a worthy opponent, this was already the Quarterfinals, so there weren''t any weaklings here.


    On the same day, Drizzle Court drew Peerless City as their opponent.


    The match between Ruling Sword and Blood Red War Flag didn''t even garner as much attention as Drizzle Court and Peerless City. After all, they were close allies. Everyone else just wanted to see how it would unfold.


    If Drizzle Court lost, then it would be rather embarrassing since Peerless City was their branch club. If Peerless City lost, then that wouldn''t be good either. This results of this battle would definitely cause rifts to open within their relationship.


    Lu Li even went and checked up on Water Fairy about it.


    However, Water Fairy was fine with it. She calmly replied that this was a test of strength to see which club was stronger. It wasn''t that difficult of a situation to deal with.

 1766 Sorrowless’ Hatred

    "What a shame, to let these idiots escape," Blood Dagger said as he downed his tea.


    White Westhill, who was sitting next to him, just took a small elegant sip. The expression on her face was also brighter than that of Blood Dagger''s. Blood Dagger thought that it was a real shame not being able to get Ruling Sword, but White Westhill didn''t think much of it. They didn''t get the best, but they were leaving the best till last.


    "Don''t underestimate Ruling Sword. If Ruling Sword are idiots, then what are we?" Sorrowless said sa he glared at Blood Dagger, while again refilling Blood Dagger''s cup.


    The only people who he''d pour a drink for were these few in front of him.


    "Knocking out Peerless City''s not bad either. If we lose the championship again, then we really will have to face up to the blame from the board," West Whitehill sighed.


    "Hehe, if we don''t wanna cooperate with them, we''ll just let them leave," Sorrowless laughed coldly. He had an unyielding attitude, because he was the biggest shareholder. White Westhill and others also had quite a few shares, so they had complete control over their board of directors.


    "¡­"


    This guy was probably not in a good mood. Blood Dagger and others sensibly kept quiet.


    After sitting around for a while, everyone began to leave. Just when they were leaving, they just happened to brush past someone. Everyone was familiar with everyone else here, so it was hard to avoid saying hello. From this, they knew why Sorrowless wasn''t in a good mood.


    After Night Blood walked in, he sat opposite to Sorrowless, not saying a word.


    "Is she still not willing to come home?"


    Sorrowless'' shoulders were drooping. All of the aggressive reprimanding of Blood Dagger was gone.


    "Nope, she''s already graduated. There''s nothing much at home that can hold her. She''s the main Tank Healer in the Ruling Sword First Clear team now. I was lost for words when I saw the equipment she had. She is getting hundreds of thousands every month ¨C what can I do?" Night Blood said sourly.


    "A young girl like that, going by herself to all sorts of faraway places and mixing with a bunch of boys¡­" Sorrowless would only show this sort of immaturity in front of this future bro-in-law.


    "Hehe¡­" Night Blood laughed coldly, then continue, "If you''re not careful about your own personal life, how can you tell me how to take care of my sister?"


    "It''s a misunderstanding. All of this is just fun and games. Really, nothing much has happened. I just didn''t really understand this nonsense. Even if it''s a punishment, it''s quite enough ¨C I mean, does she want me to go beg her to come back? Sorrowless responded as he stole at glance at Night Blood.


    Night Blood looked at him with slanting eyes, and like before, he laughed coldly but had nothing to say.


    drooping as low as they could. "We''re like water and fire with Ruling Sword at the moment, and she''s not in a good place in the middle. I just don''t believe that Lu Li won''t be defensive with her."


    "What''s there to be defensive about? She''s been in the First Clear team the whole time and in all the stronghold battles," Night Blood said, taking a bit of joy in Sorrowless'' misfortune. "You don''t have the heart. It doesn''t matter what you say ¨C don''t say you''ll beg her to come back. Even if my own mother went, it would be of no use."


    "Lu Li¡­" Sorrowless was so resentful he was gnashing his teeth.


    "That bastard!"


    This was the first time that Sorrowless, who was usually acknowledged as an alpha male, was worried about being forever alone.


    All levels of Glory Capital regretted not being able to deal with Ruling Sword, and Blood Red War Flag, who were actually facing Ruling Sword, really didn''t feel that they were very lucky.


    It wasn''t that they thought they couldn''t defeat Ruling Sword. There wasn''t a big difference between their power, and there was no reason for them to inflate their opponents'' grandeur and ruin their own morale. The thing was that no one wanted to face such a strong opponent at the beginning and consume all their energy and strength. It would definitely affect them in their match against Glory Capital.


    "Blood Red War Flag. Hehe, how about I go on first?" Fat Monkey suggested as he licked his lips.


    "Monkey, it''s Blood Red War Flag, not the Imperial Secret Service," Lu Li called out in a deep voice.


    "I know, I know, I''m just making a joke, lightening the mood," Fat Monkey said. However, there was no need to make any rebuttal about looking down on Blood Red War Flag. It was just like when Blood Red War Flag considered Glory Capital to be the worst guild. But when did Ruling Sword ever not consider Glory Capital to be their biggest target in the Shadow Cup?


    As for Glory Capital, it was because of Darkness that Sorrowless couldn''t wait to destroy Ruling Sword.


    "They probably have Wild up on the arena. Are you going up or should I go?" Moonlight asked.


    Wild was the most powerful mage in the current patch. The skill he had was unmatched, and he had received the title of being a celebrity competitor two years after entering the professional scene. All the way till now, Blood Red Flag''s leader was Jade Flower Lover, but the strongest was still Wild.


    "I''ll go."


    In the last Shadow Cup, Lu Li faced off against Wild. Since he was reborn at that time, his level, equipment and techniques were well in the lead and he didn''t feel any pressure at all.


    Now, he was meeting a version of Wild who was at his peak.


    The advantages in his technique were long gone. Having played Dawn now for over a year, professional players all owned their own style. As for equipment, there might be a slight gap, but it wouldn''t be too large. Although Ruling Sword didn''t have as many Elite groups, they had taken a lot of First Clears and their top-level equipment wasn''t bad at all.


    A line of frost was slowly extending at Lu Li''s feet. Although Lu Li didn''t know how his opponent was able to apprehend him at his location, he also knew that he was in big trouble.


    He glanced back, then proceeded directly to Stealth.


    However, he quickly circled back, cautiously getting close to Wild while waiting patiently to attack. Before Wild released a skill again, he escaped, not at all being caught up in the battle.


    "Lu Li''s at a disadvantage."


    Dark Wind said what everyone saw. This was an obvious matter. Wild had used two skills, cancelling out Lu Li''s two escape options. Even if Lu Li had more escape skills, they wouldn''t be used in that way.


    "He''s testing Wild''s Detection," Nine Phoenix said.


    "Yeah, when Lu Li''s fighting a Mage, especially a top player like this, he needs to know the range the Mage can Detect, and what they use to Detect him. Is it their own Detection, skills, or special effects from equipment? If you just keep going for it, you''re asking to die," Dark Wind explained.


    "I haven''t seen such amazing Thief technique for a long time. I suppose everyone has something they''re striving for now. You just have to pick up what you''re using and choose who you''re going to go for. Whoever chooses the right player in this arena will have a chance to receive a piece of official Epic equipment."


    With so many players on the stage, and only one piece of Epic equipment, the chances of winning were one in a million, but this didn''t do anything to stop the players'' continued enthusiasm.

 1767 Hook

    Lu Li circled around three times, and on the fourth time, he calmly and steadily stood behind Wild. He wasn''t in a rush to attack. Who could tell if Wild was just pretending not to notice him, waiting until Lu Li was off his guard then striking him with a massive attack?


    Lu Li was a little regretful. He always thought he was a prudent person and never would''ve thought he would have made the mistake of a proud soldier.


    In the 1st Shadow Cup, as long as he had time, he would definitely be able to gather up videos and information on the on the opponents he might face. He would even try to figure out how these competitors performed their spectacular moves in the past.


    This Shadow Cup clashed with Naxxramas, the final Instance Dungeon for the level 60s. In order to guarantee a First Clear, Lu Li put most of his focus on the Instance Dungeon.


    Added to the fact that all the people he had faced before were rather weak, Lu Li simply didn''t have to use much effort to deal with them. As such he rarely went to research his opponents, not even looking at their past competitions.


    Circling around three times had taken almost 20 seconds.


    That was enough time for an old Mage to finish off a weak little Thief.


    Actually, the previous Thief that fought Wild died a very pitiful death. They used some very different tactics compared to Lu Li. In order to avoid Wild''s Detection, they would always attack directly, using an unexpected method to seize control on the offensive.


    Wild appeared calm, but inside, he was actually quite panicked.


    He didn''t have strong Detection, but Lu Li had lost three of his escaping skills.


    Thieves did have a lot of escape skills, but after throwing away three, he didn''t have many left. As such Lu Li needed to grab hold of the offensive, using all of his strength to pin Wild down to the ground.


    Cheap Shot!


    Shadowstrike!


    His own Shadowstrike didn''t have much effect in terms of crowd control, but Lu Li was just about to unleash a full-combo Shadowstrike that could disable his opponent while dealing off-the-charts damage.


    This was a battle of control, with Lu Li and Wild both trying to stun the other.


    Wild''s 20 seconds of Detection didn''t come from nowhere. It was the main attribute of his equipment. Apart from this Special Effect, all of the others were rather useless. He had to lose a piece of similar level equipment to be able to achieve to this current level of Detection.


    As long as he could grab hold of a Thief, he could easily dispatch of them.


    In the first round, Lu Li didn''t completely control Wild. He had no choice but to keep running away.


    He actually could keep escaping?


    Wild was angry. Lu Li had already escaped 3 times, and he could still escape now.


    He had no choice. He could only wait for his chance to act.


    Next, Blood Red War Flag sent out a Paladin.


    Of course, a Thief who had all of their skills available and full HP wasn''t afraid of a Paladin, but a weakened Thief stood no chance, let alone the fact that Lu Li had consumed too many skills and special effects.


    Seeing someone of the same role, Mu Qiu was filled with anticipation that he could barely hold in.


    Of course, the Paladin opposite them couldn''t defeat him, but his Greatsword of the Brotherhood was still not able to finish him off in one shot. Even taking out half of someone''s HP was rare, let alone getting killing someone in a single strike.


    Mu Qiu defeated his opponent, but was also eliminated by the next warrior from Blood Red War Flag.


    Although the warrior wasn''t high-ranked, Berserkers in this patch were powerful, so they had a definite advantage against Paladins.


    Blood Red War Flag''s competitors weren''t considered the cream of the crop. The highest-level mage, Wild, wasn''t even comparable to Unforgettable Maple. However, while Blood Red War Flag''s competitors seemed rather average, they were all powerful players. They were the type who didn''t look that amazing, but could hold their own against anyone.


    Moonlight went up to face and finish off the warrior, which brought the battle to a close.


    Ruling Sword scored three points to Blood Red War Flag''s two.


    This score really didn''t reveal much. There were still six points in the group battle, and what Blood Red War Flag exceled at was group battles. They definitely could turn the tables here.


    It was too bad for them that Ruling Sword had Moonlight, Lu Li, Mu Qiu, as well as March Rain and Innocent Child. This sharp team with two healers didn''t lack output or healing, and under Lu Li''s command, they were as defensive as a tortoise''s shell.


    Without the Magic players, who could easily be targeted and killed, Blood Red War Flag instantly understood Lu Li''s intentions.


    Who would be the best to focus on? The three options were Lu Li, Moonlight and Mu Qiu. One was a Thief, the most difficult to kill, while the two others had strong Defense, high HP and Plate Armor. Even targeting the healers would be difficult, since they could heal each other.


    However, they did not have much of a choice. The targets were still the healers.


    "Control March Rain and kill Innocent Child," Wild instructed. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to kill March Rain. Priests were the best at healing HP on the battlefield, but they were the most vulnerable. The reason they didn''t kill March Rain was because there was no way to control Innocent Child.


    Druid healers were the worst at healing on the field, but you certainly couldn''t look down on their ability to survive.


    They could heal themselves, and if you focused on them, they could go right into Bear Form. In this form, their HP was comparable to a Main Tank and they were still able to dispel most controlling effects. A Druid with an arsenal of continuous recovery spells was simply a nightmare.


    At the moment, a Priest and a Druid healing together was the best combo.


    However, you had to consider the quality of the Priest and Druid as well. If your awareness of changing positions was average, and the Druid didn''t have any top skills or equipment, it was just a matter of time before you''d be finished off.


    Bear Form just meant that your HP was like that of a Main Tank. It didn''t mean your Defense increased along with it.


    Blood Red War Flag went all out against Innocent Child, and Innocent Child showed the audience what a powerful Druid was capable of.


    Dawn didn''t lack Druid competitors to begin with, and Innocent Child was literally a textbook Druid. Most Druids, in their private study, would model and analyze Innocent Child''s moves and attacks.


    In the end, Blood Red War Flag still finished off Innocent Child.


    However, while they were focusing on him, Lu Li and his team weren''t being lazy. They chose their target to be Blood Red War Flag''s healer Priest, Dark Heavens. He was surrounded and killed, with no chance of escape.


    Each team had lost a healer, and it appeared even, but in fact, Blood Red War Flag was at a big disadvantage.


    "Retreat," Wild commanded.


    They still had four damage dealers on their side and Ruling Sword had three, so it looked like they had the advantage, but Ruling Sword had March Rain. Even having five damage output players would be useless.


    Wild''s plan was very clear. They would first avoid the worst of it all and wait until they could quickly sub on their healer Jade Flower Lover before re-engaging.


    "Chase!" Lu Li was at the head, running them down, while Moonlight charged to the front. At the back, Mu Qiu and March Rain were right on their heels. They were a little worried for Lu Li and Moonlight. On the off-chance that Blood Red War Flag suddenly killed one of them, then this would all be over.


    Moonlight threw his axe like a meteor, striking Blood Red War Flag''s Paladin Scandalous. Then, like a chain, it bound her up and pulled him back.


    "Damn, turn around!"


    Wild was surprised and angry. After giving a shout, he brought them back to support Scandalous.


    Lu Li was also speechless. They had lost a healer; there was no point in being so aggressive.


    However, since Scandalous had been hooked, Lu Li and his team could capitalize on this opportunity.


    Blood Red War Flag intended to attack March Rain. As long as they could kill her, then the tables would be completely turned. After all, one of the two healers of Ruling Sword was already dead. If they killed another one, then they would have no healers left at all. Blood Red War Flag''s healer, Jade Flower Lover, was also rushing over now.


    March Rain stalled as long as she could. She didn''t heal her teammates anymore and just tried to preserve her own life.


    Scandalous had already been finished off. After all, there was no healer to protect him.


    After finishing off Scandalous, Lu Li went right for Wild, saving March Rain from her dangerously low HP.


    Wild sighed helplessly. He knew it was all over. Even if he could do more, he couldn''t fight against Lu Li with a healer. Jade Flower Lover simply couldn''t come in time to help them.


    Ruling Sword successfully eliminated Blood Red War Flag, advancing to the next stage!

 1768 The Final Nightmare

    Ruling Sword defeated Blood Red War Flag and entered into the semifinals.


    Drizzle Court defeated Peerless City and entered into the semifinals.


    Glory Capital defeated Wings of Dawn and entered into the semifinals.


    Gale Legion defeated Gods of Dusk and entered into the semifinals.


    For the most amazing battle, you couldn''t go past Drizzle Court against Peerless City, who had both given it their absolute all. In the arena, Green Flag Wine and Deadly Gold Underpants eliminated three members from Drizzle Court to lead by one point.


    When it came to the group battle, Star Baby gave an outstanding performance. Just when she was on the brink of death from focused fire, an area-of-effect Fear managed to turn the tables at just the right moment.


    Her AoE Fear was a strengthened skill which would persist until she had no one attacking her, unless all the people that she Feared had the power to dispel it. At that time, the players in Peerless City had used up all of their Dispel methods, so they had no choice but to helplessly watch Star Baby slowly heal the HP bars of herself and her teammates.


    Lu Li''s aim was to get into the semifinals, and now, they had achieved their goal.


    Having learnt from the lesson of fighting against Wild, after Lu Li finished with the competition, he began to research his opponents, especially those competitors from Glory Capital. Although these most recent battles weren''t officially broadcast, there were a lot of so-called expertly-analysed posts online, giving detailed analysis of the competitors'' equipment, skills and techniques. Some were useless and others were even misleading, but there were a few that were outstanding. It was up to you to see if you could find the things you were looking for in them.


    Lu Li realized gloomily that for Glory Capital''s competitors, there were very few that you could really prepare for.


    This also meant that Glory Capital''s competitors had a lot of room to play around with in their battles.


    Since they had entered into the semifinals, Lu Li definitely wouldn''t be satisfied with their current results. It would be ideal if they were able to bring home the championship again. The goal of every club was to win the championship. The championship brought with it massive financial benefits as well as a reputation that no one could smear in the gaming world.


    Ruling Sword had finished off the previous Boss and were facing Kel''Thuzad again.


    There was no doubt that Kel''Thuzad was a genius in magic.


    There were many famous Mages in Dawn. The most powerful Mage was Norgannon, who was a Titan and one of the creators. The second most powerful mage was the blue dragon Malygos, a representative of magic. Of course, it was Norgannon who bestowed on the Guardians a limitless magic ability. There were also some outstanding mages in Elven history, like Queen Azshara, Prince Kael''thas and so on.


    For example, Aegwynn was without a doubt the most powerful human Mage of all time in Azeroth. As the most outstanding Guardian of the Tirisfal Assembly, she had no competition in being ranked number one.


    She devoted herself all along and finally fought a decisive battle against Sargeras, sealing his body in his tomb.


    Then, there was Medivh. He was Aegwynn''s son, and harbored in his heart the strongest antagonism against Sargeras in Dawn. Over his whole life, he had been using the power of his spirit to fight against Sargeras'' will, working hard and never giving up on his quest to recapture his own freedom.


    There was no doubt that Antonidas could be ranked number three. He was the leader of the Kirin Tor group of Dalaran mages. Simply put, he was the king of Mages.


    At the same time, he was also the teacher of Kel''Thuzad and Jaina. Since he was young, he had possessed natural gifts for Magic. When he was 12, he published an essay titled ''The Branching Methods of Implementing Past Time Travel in Exact Magic Practices.'' Most 12 year olds probably weren''t able to even say such a long name.


    Khadgar was an extremely important figure in human history. As an Archmage, he was also one of the five heroes of the Dark Portal, a member of Lothar''s Sons, the only student of the Legendary Mage Medivh and the Eternal Guardian of Watchtite.


    The fifth was Jaina. Her father was actually the highest ruler of the coastal kingdom of Kul Tiras. This little girl had been a genius in studying magic since she was a child. After she grew to be an adult, she focused her efforts on stopping Scourge plague of the third war from spreading. At the same time, she was with her close friend and romantic lover, Prince Arthas Menethil, as they ventured step by step into Blackfathom.


    When the war grew worse, Jaina gained the trust of a new main Horde leader, Saar, who became the key figure in the Burning Legion that all the races of Azeroth banded against to fight.


    Kel''Thuzad was ranked number six. Like all those people mentioned before, he was a genius in magic, and he was also the type to be ambitious. When he had finished studying all the traditional magic he should have studied, Kel''Thuzad hope to study some things that other people didn''t know about. At this, he chose to turn to spirits.


    This form of magic wasn''t weak at all ¨C it was just that it was riddled with problems. With the birth of the Lich King, Kel''Thuzad also received the summons from the Lich King. In his long, difficult, crushing journey through the icy wastelands of Northrend, Kel''Thuzad knelt down at the Lich King''s feet. In the end, he didn''t just offer up his devotion, but his own soul as well. He became a great Lich, commanding brainless, ordinary undead Scourge soldiers to fight for the Lich King.


    He started up the Cult of the Damned and was one of the heads of the cult.


    When players were at level 60, he was their final Boss. Killing him meant that they had finished all the public Instance Dungeons, and it also meant the beginning of the level 70s.


    Kel''Thuzad''s normal attacks were rather average. To a Main Tank like Azure Sea Breeze, he still wouldn''t be able to dealt 2000 damage. However, there was no doubt that as the final Boss of the final Instance Dungeon for level 60s, he certainly couldn''t be easy to deal with.


    His Frostbolt spell didn''t have to be discussed. With a 6 second cooldown, it was often cast against the target with the most aggro, dealing 8000-9000 Frost damage. However, it could be blocked by various spells that shielded against Magic.


    Although Azure Sea Breeze was able to tank Kel''Thuzad, 8000 damage would spell a massive change to their development of strategy.


    Lu Li arranged for some people to purposely focus on blocking Frostbolt.


    Apart from Frostbolt, there was also an AoE Frostbolt. With a cooldown of about 15 seconds, it would attack 40 people with no exceptions, dealing about 3000 Frost damage. However, this could mitigated by Ice Resistance equipment.


    Kel''Thuzad''s Chain could attack about 5 targets at once. The players who were targeted would grow physically bigger, with their damage increased by 200% and healing power increased by 500%. They would then attack their other teammates, give buffs to Kel''Thuzad and heal him too.


    Self-Destructing Magic targeted those players with mana. After 5 seconds, this spell would deal half the amount of mana in damage to their teammates within 5 feet of them, but it didn''t deal any damage to themselves.


    Shadow Clink drew boundaries under the players'' feet. Five seconds later, it would deal tens of thousands of shadow damage, but it was easy to avoid.


    Frost Attack dealt 2000-3000 Frost damage to the players and would freeze players within 10 yards of the Boss. Those players who were frozen would lose health by the percentage point. If they didn''t receive any healing, they were doomed to die. Basically speaking, they needed to spread out as far as they could.


    Individually, they were all relatively easy to deal with, but put together, it was clear that Kel''Thuzad would be the last nightmare for the level 60 players.

 1769 Changing Equipmen

    Before Lu Li entered the Instance Dungeon, Sky Moon brought everyone to fight the previous Boss and analyze Kel''Thuzad''s abilities.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li repaired his own equipment. He inlayed a Strengthening Stone and found someone to re-enchant it.


    His 4-piece T3 set had finally been produced, at the cost of quite a few materials in his storehouse. Over the last few days, Lu Li had been suffering. Everyone was currently producing their T3 set, and the number of rare materials that this required in the current patch was simply ridiculous.


    Bonescythe Legplates (Exquisite Epic): Armor 180, Agility +180, Strength +120, Movement Speed +15, 3 Slots. Special Effect 1: Kick +1. Special Effect 2: After consecutive critical hits, Evasion increases by 20%. Special Effect 3: Knee Hit. Use: Use your kneecaps to attack an opponent, dealing 160% basic damage. There is also a chance of paralyzing the opponent for 30 seconds. Cooldown time of 15 minutes, Level Requirement: 60, Durability: 380/380.


    This was a pair of Exquisite Epic trousers, so of course, its attributes couldn''t be bad.


    Those who saw the amount of armor it provided knew. If this pair of trousers provided armor, this would be added to the other clothing that Lu Li was wearing. This item of clothing was an individual piece that was even better that an average T3 set piece.


    There was an ''Exquisite'' prefix added to the title of the equipment, which indicated that its grade had been increased.


    Bonescythe Helmet (Epic): Armor 140, Agility +180, Strength +180, Evasion increases by 30, 2 slots. Special Effect 1: Gouge +1, Special Effect 2: Fog. The user transforms into a light fog, forcing them into a state of Stealth. Increases Stealth by 20% and grants the ability to pass through obstacles. Cooldown of 2 minutes. Special Effect 3: Frigid Blood. Your head becomes as cold as a block of ice. Grants immunity to against Fear and other similar spells for 30 seconds, cooldown of 20 minutes. Level requirement: 60, Durability: 360/360.


    This piece of equipment was relatively average. It could be considered the worst piece of Epic equipment, with mediocre attributes.


    Looking again at his own T2 headgear, he didn''t even think that that T3 one was better than it.


    Bloodfang Headcloth (Flawless Epic): Armor 150, Agility +180, Strength +120, Stun Resistance +35, 3 slots. Special Effect 1: Blind +1. Special Effect 2: Darkness Insight. After use, Detection increases, with an increased chance of finding hidden units within 40 feet for 10 seconds, cooldown of 30 minutes. Special Effect 3: Death Gaze. Inflict an opponent with Fear for 3 seconds or until the target is attacked. Level requirement: 60, Durability 400/400.


    Apart from their difference in being T2 and T3, the levels at which these two were crafted were different too. One was ordinary, while the other was Flawless.


    wasn''t a major difference in their attributes, but there were groundbreaking differences in the two special effects of the Bloodfang Headcloth.


    Set equipment with the same name didn''t necessarily have the same attributes.


    The first two attributes of the previous Bonescythe Helmet were considered to be common attributes. Most T3 Thief helmets possessed these attributes, and at most, there would be slight nuances in their special effects. However, Special Effect 3 was a new one, replacing the previous effect which wasn''t all that useful.


    Knee Hit was like another control skill, and it could also disrupt the rhythm of an opponent in the middle of a battle.


    Special Effect 2 was another escaping skill. It appeared to be quite useful, but everyone had it. An experienced competitor had no trouble escaping the fog that a Thief created.


    Originally, Lu Li had a level 45 belt, which provided this Special Effect when it was worn.


    Before others were aware of it, it was amazing when it was used. In other words, when you were facing an average opponent, it was effective. But in competitions at such a high level, Lu Li would rather use other escaping methods.


    Lu Li didn''t plan to get rid of Bloodfang Headcloth. He could keep rotating between the two. The Bloodfang Headcloth was suitable in battles between Thieves, while the Bonescythe Helmet was suitable for fighting Warlocks, or dealing with a Priest''s Fear in group battles.


    Bonescythe Gauntlets (Fine Epic): Armor 150, Agility +150, Strength +120, Critical Hit +30, 3 slots. Special Effect 1: Slit Throat +1. Special Effect 2: Disarm. There is a 50% chance of stealing an enemy''s weapon, rendering them incapable of using that weapon to attack for 3 seconds. Cooldown time of 10 minutes. Special Effect 3, Raptor Sprint: Choose a target within 15 yards to attack with Charge. Attacks all targets along that line while also dealing double basic damage to the chosen player. Cumulative time 1.5 seconds, cooldown time 15 minutes. Level Requirement: 60, Durability 380/380.


    The third Special Effect was a pleasant surprise; Lu Li was very pleased with this equipment.


    As for the second, he had a piece of equipment before with a similar Special Effect. The chance of activation was something that was hard to explain in just a few words.


    The last piece was the Bonescythe Waistguard, which was also the piece that Lu Li happened to be the most satisfied with today.


    Bonescythe Waistguard (Flawless Epic): Armor 220, Agility +200, Strength +160, Constitution +80, Evasion +35, 3 slots. Special Effect 1: Sprint +1. Special Effect 2: Like a Shadow. Immediately reach the target you are chasing, while dealing 300% more basic damage to them and Stunning them for 1 second. Cooldown time 60 minutes. Special Effect 3: Cage. Summons a cage to surround the area around a target for 5 seconds, cooldown of 12 hours. Level Requirement: 60, Durability 420/420.


    A Flawless level T3. March Rain had been crafting quite a few T3 equips recently, but this was the first high-level, Flawless piece.


    Lu Li felt before that T3 wasn''t as worthwhile as T2 because of the Bonescythe Helmet, but this had caused him to eat his words.


    The Bonescythe Waistguard had very strong basic attributes, and it provided 80 points to Constitution. The average T3 Waistguard simply didn''t have this effect.


    The second Special Effect was an uncommonly seen Exquisite Special Effect. It Stunned and dealt damage simultaneously, providing a wide opportunity for maneuvering.


    As for the third, Lu Li hadn''t seen or heard of this effect before.


    As a Thief, this was still the first time he had acquired this sort of real crowd-control skill. When everyone was resting and preparing to fight the Boss, Lu Li secretly pulled Moonlight right out of the Instance Dungeon and opened up a room in the arena.


    When he cast the special effect, a cage materialized out of thin air, falling from the sky and trapping Moonlight underneath. Moonlight jumped in fright, not expecting that Lu Li would use this effect.


    After some careful analysis, Moonlight discussed this effect in detail with Lu Li.


    This cage persisted for 5 seconds and could be attacked, but it could withstand 5000 damage, which was adequate against a single player. Moonlight was unable to smash the cage until it disappeared.


    It was a shame the cooldown time was too long, so it really could only be used in a final fight.

 1770 Kel’Thuzad

    In this way, Lu Li swapped out a lot of his equipment. The equipment that he replaced was given to others in the club to use, but Lu Li still selected and kept a few that had relatively useful Special Effects.


    At the moment, he could be said to have the highest-level equipment in all of Dawn.


    T3 wasn''t considered the best equipment. In the future, the Elite teams of many major guilds would have a set for each of their members, but at the moment, only those who were on the First Clear teams of the very top clubs could afford this luxury. Those who were able to enter into the final Instance Dungeon First Clear team weren''t poor, so even having money wasn''t enough to buy T3 equipment.


    There was a small chance of a Wild Boss dropping a part of the T3 set. These sorts of Wild Bosses


    were all very powerful, and what was more, they could only be farmed once per week.


    It was extremely rare for someone to have four pieces of T3 equipment like Lu Li. Having more than four wasn''t that useful.


    When it was nearly time to replace equipment, what mattered in deciding a winner in the arena was still each individual''s technique.


    "Who dares invade my sacred territory? I''m warning you ¨C many stupid guys have invaded here before and they''re already dead!"


    By the time Lu Li entered the battle, Azure Sea Breeze had already familiarized himself with the Boss.


    Kel''Thuzad''s whole battle was divided into three stages.


    In the first stage, Kel''Thuzad himself didn''t take part, but in the room, there were seven points that spawned waves of new Elite monsters.


    Soldiers of the Frozen Wastes were skeletons with about 2000 HP. As they charged into a group of players, they would self-destruct and release Shadow Impact, dealing about 2000 Shadow damage. Unstoppable Abominations had high HP and an attack that could reduce healing by 10%. This effect could stack and would target players at random. Soul Weavers were monsters that looked like Banshees. They would deal about 5000 damage to the player with the highest aggro, while also knocking them away.


    The first stage continued for about 5 minutes. After 4 minutes and 30 seconds, the rate at which new monsters were spawned increased. After 5 minutes, Kel''Thuzad would spring into action, marking the beginning of the second stage.


    Sky Moon led everyone into the second stage without much effort.


    The first stage was a test. If they couldn''t break through, then they should just give up, since all they needed was to just have enough basic equipment and be able to coordinate together.


    Close combat players were responsible for the Unstoppable Abominations. Three or four Warriors were required to create a Taunt chain. As soon as the target turned in the other direction, then apart from defensive Warriors, pretty much no one could attack them at all.


    Generally speaking, the ranged players were responsible for the skeletons and Banshees, while the melee players would focus their power on the center area and attack the Abominations. As such, the entire team would focus on a ring around the center of the field.


    As time passed, the new monsters would be spawned more rapidly, which required powerful DPS.


    As long as their DPS was strong enough, this stage didn''t require any strategy at all. What they needed to be aware of was the ranged players being pulled towards the monsters in the center. Of course, melee players weren''t allowed to exit their circle and attack the monsters they weren''t meant to deal with.


    In the second stage, Kel''Thuzad entered the battle.


    Sky Moon''s team had entered this stage before, but had struggled here each time.


    The state of the battle hinged on their DPS in the first phase. If there were still Banshees and Abominations on the field, they had to remain calm. If the close combat players had sufficient DPS, they could use controlling skills to quickly eliminate the Abominations. Meanwhile, the ranged players and healers would quickly establish their positions, standing 10 feet apart, and continue to fight the Banshees. Usually, after 30 seconds, there wouldn''t be any Elite monsters remaining on the field to distract them.


    Sky Moon had believed in a misconception. He wanted to finish off all the Elite monsters in the first stage, and because of this, the number of Main Tanks and healers were reduced.


    As soon as Lu Li entered the Dungeon, he made some adjustments. Healers needed to make sure that the team could at least keep surviving, otherwise, the team could perish at any time. If they didn''t leave some fault tolerance in this stage, then in the second phase, they would simply have no way of sustaining a fight.


    The first change he made was to bring in four Main Tanks.


    They would stand in the center area at 90 degrees angles and with the Boss closest to them. Then, moving from the inside out, there would be melee DPS, healers, ranged DPS, then ranged healers. Their placement wasn''t meant to be perfect but that was the general guide. After everyone took their positions, making sure to keep adequate distance from each other, apart from avoiding Shadow Clink, they basically didn''t have to do any repositioning.


    In the second stage, Kel''Thuzad would frequently use his six skills.


    The most threatening one of the all was probably Frost Impact. It was difficult to survive it before, but after using Lu Li''s strategy, it was very rare for two ranged units to be hit at the same time. Even if that happened, they just had to heal them in time and the ones who were affected wouldn''t be in any danger. However, they needed to have healers. If they didn''t have healers, then there was no doubt that they would definitely die from Frost Impact.


    When Sky Moon reduced the number of healers and Main Tanks, people died the most in this stage.


    Lu Li would remind the melee players at the right time. When they heard the command, they would promptly disperse. In this way, Frost Impact was completely dealt with.


    The difficulty with Kel''Thuzad''s Chain was that it could simultaneously control three Main Tanks, and those who were controlled would have some of their aggro cleared. If all four Main Tanks had been controlled after two rounds, then it was really easy aggro to be lost. As soon this happened, then three Frost Arrows would be unleashed, which was enough to kill all of them in one shot.


    That was why those Tanks who had been controlled needed to build up as much aggro as they could. If aggro was lost, then the target should quickly move towards the center, while the other players cut off Kel''Thuzad''s magic as quickly as they could. In this way, they could greatly reduce the casualties.


    Frost Arrow had a 6 second cooldown, dealing 8000-9000 Frost damage to the player with the most aggro. If the target wasn''t in close-combat range, then it would be shot out every three seconds, which was devastating. Having four tanks would prevent this from occurring over the course of the battle.


    Considering Shieldstrike''s cooldown, two Tanks would group together and take turns to get rid of it.


    If the Main Tank had to change up the Boss'' position, they had to remember that they needed to wait for Frost Arrow before moving.


    Mana Detonation would continue for 5 seconds, dealing natural damage to everyone within 10 yards. The damage done was related to the mana level. If there were enough Tanks and they were positioned well, then they could simply ignore this skill.


    Area-of-effect Frost Arrows weren''t very threatening, but they put constant pressure on the healers. They would deal 3000 damage to the team every 15 seconds, but could also frequently be resisted.


    It was very obvious when Shadow Clink was cast, and if there was enough time to avoid it, there was no hidden danger of the team dying.


    However, all of this was easier said than done. Most commanders were worried about there being enough output. The faster they were able to kill the Boss, the higher the chance of success. If they took too long, the variables would fall further out of their control.


    With Lu Li commanding, it took two weeks to get through the second stage, until they finally worked together to enter the third stage.


    When Kel''Thuzad had 40% HP remaining, he would ask for help from the Lich King. Upon entering the third stage, the doors around them would send out five Guardians of Icecrown.


    Guardians of Icecrown could be locked by Priests, could have their speed reduced and could be Rooted, but they had a lot of HP, so much so that it looked like it was impossible to kill them. What was more, they changed their targets each time and received a Blood Tap buff which could stack, increasing their own attack by 15%.


    Kel''Thuzad''s own skills didn''t change. If they could hold up against the Guardians of Icecrown and kill off Kel''Thuzad, then they would win.


    Battle tactics weren''t too important here. If they arranged well for people to be controlling something then that would be enough. Of course, if the number of Warriors allowed for it, the best thing was to have them go first to draw aggro.


    The main thing in this stage was to control the five Guardians of Icecrown and increase their damage output, but the melee players still had to pay attention to the Frost Arrows.


    It was clear that the Cooldown time for the Boss'' skills was longer, so they didn''t need to worry about the Main Tank being frequently controlled. In this stage, they could even have a Main Tank who had just been controlled to go aggro the Guardians of Icecrown.


    All in all, the third stage was generally easier than P2.


    The main factor in determining their victory was the number of players remaining upon entering this phase.

 1771 Lovers’ Weapon

    "Hey now! Don''t get excited too quickly¡­ Your victory is empty and meaningless¡­ I will be back soon."


    System: "Congratulations¡­"


    They had achieved the First Clear with such ease?


    It wasn''t just those who were frustrated and sceptical on the world channel ¨C even Ruling Sword themselves were a little unconvinced.


    The First Clear had come so suddenly. Everyone was a bit shocked.


    "Nothing for me again!"


    Lu Li''s howl of rage woke everyone from shock.


    Yes, there were 5 skill points ¨C and they all belonged to other people.


    They had fought many Bosses many times during the past months in Naxxramas. Usually, there would be at least one or two Skill Points per Boss, even if it wasn''t a First Clear. There were some lucky players that had even received three Skill Points from this Instance Dungeon.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li had only been awarded with a single, measly point.


    "I got 1 point, then was rewarded with another. Man, how should I spend them all?" Azure Sea Breeze questioned with a melancholy face. When Lu Li saw this, he decided that when the time came, he would definitely beat him to death.


    Lu Li''s First Clear reward was a piece of equipment ¨C not the skill point nor the Enhanced Skills Book he wanted.


    Ravager''s Shoulderpads (Epic): Armor +160, Agility +160, Strength +120, Evasion +30, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Sap +1. Special Effect 2: Hot-Blooded Surgency. Attack speed +20. After use, increases Agility by 10%, 15 minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Shadow Step. Remove all negative states. Move within the shadows, and appear behind a target. Over the next 3 seconds, the damage caused by the next Ambush or Throat Lock will increase by 30%, and movement speed will increase by 70%. Lasts 3 seconds. 15 minute cooldown. Level Requirement: 60, Durability: 380/380.


    This was a valuable set of Shoulderpads and Lu Li equipped them happily. It was still better than receiving useless equipment.


    If he didn''t compare himself with those who had received Enhanced Skills Books or Skill Points, then his reward was actually rather decent.


    This was the last Instance Dungeon Boss of the 60''s. Everyone was looking forward to looting equipment.


    "Gemstone with three magic attributes!" Remnant Dream announced.


    This little girl had been picked up by Lu Li at Novice Village. At the time, she was not doing well for herself. Lu Li saw that she was around the same age as his little sister so brought her along. Then, he discovered that her luck was insane, and since then, she had become the looting expert of Lu Li''s team.


    Back then, Lu Li was poor as dog. He had to find money to pay the liquidated damaged to Star Moon Guild, cover his rent and feed himself. More importantly, he had to save a large sum of money for his sister''s medical treatment.


    The other stones were almost all exquisite items too. Kel''Thuzad didn''t drop rubbish. Even Lu Li received a double attribute stone that provided a 4% boost to Agility, and gave 24 points of Constitution.


    Enhanced Shadowstrike!


    This was a Thief''s enhanced skills book. Unfortunately, both Lu Li and Water Fairy had already learnt Shadowstrike, so they could only hand it to other players.


    Then, there was a treasure trove of rare materials. With the exception of Wild Bosses, Lu Li had rarely seen more than five rare materials dropped at once. He didn''t know what type of rare materials his Supreme Ring would require in the future.


    The only thing he could predict was that it would not be an easy task to collect all the rare materials that the Supreme Ring required.


    In Dawn, it was almost impossible to have only one piece of equipment that was similar to the Supreme Ring. Lonesome Flower actually had one item that was similar, but it would have been replaced by this time.


    A majority of equipment could only be enhanced a maximum of one or two times.


    Even though Lu Li''s Supreme Ring was more difficult to enhance, its potential was enormous. Without a doubt, the next enhancement would not be the last for this equipment.


    Gem of Trapped Innocents ¨C even though the name described it as a gem, in reality, it was an exquisite Magic Necklace. Naturally, there was another mad scramble for it.


    Gressil, Dawn of Ruin ¨C this was an Epic One-handed Sword.


    Gressil was an unclean devil in Christianity and was ranked third among the throne guardians. His image changed as time went on, and in many modern novels, he was described as a flying lizard-like monster with purple bat wings and a lizard''s head on the body of a miniature devil.


    Legends said that Gressil fed on rotten meat as a main source of food, but when enraged, he also attacked other creatures. Gressil lived in the depths of dark caves, surviving on abandoned prey left behind by humans.


    This one-handed sword had average effects, but an incredibly high basic attack attribute.


    A weapon''s basic attack attributes were actually quite important as this influenced the damage of many skills. A strong basic attack could completely outweigh other shortcomings in attributes and special effects.


    In the end, Mu Qiu received the equipment.


    Ring of Faith!


    This was a Priest''s T3 ring and was taken by Star Baby.


    In fact, March Rain also wanted it, but since everyone was already allies, it didn''t matter who the equipment ended up with, unless the finals were fought between Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword. Otherwise, whoever was using it could have it. Anyway, the next competition couldn''t be played at the same time.


    Ring of the Dreadnaught!


    This was given to Moonlight as a Warrior T3 ring.


    Ring of the Dreamwalker!


    This was given to Innocent Child. Little Hachi Chan still lacked enthusiasm, which made people wonder what type of equipment she had.


    King''s Fall ¨C as in the Kryss the Fallen King in the Thief legend!


    Finally, there was a Legendary item! The other professions were very envious, but those who knew started to laugh at Lu Li.


    Originally, Lu Li would have been pleased to see a Legendary weapon he could use.


    Yet, as he looked at the same type of weapon in his hand, Lu Li could only comfort himself. He had one, and Water Fairy also had another ¨C the Lovers'' Weapon!

 1772 Broker

    The new battle schedule was released. Everyone was looking forward to Ruling Sword fighting Drizzle Court.


    Glory Capital was not matched up against Gale Legion. It was impossible for the competition preparation team to arrange such a bizarre combination.


    It was Ruling Sword versus Gale Legion, and Drizzle Court versus Glory Capital.


    The first match would be between Drizzle Court and Glory Capital, while the next match would be two days after. Lu Li and the others sat in the stands as audience members. The organising committee invited Lu Li to commentate, but he refused without hesitation.


    Drizzle Court versus Glory Capital ¨C this matchup was not ideal.


    This matchup was seen by the players as a double battle of wealth and abilities. In terms of wealth, at the moment, it appeared that Glory Capital had the upper hand. Even after losing the support of the Shan Financial Group, Water Fairy was still a female tycoon.


    On the other hand, Sorrowless was handsome and wealthy. Half of the gaming circle''s female players were Sorrowless'' fan.


    As for their overall strengths, Drizzle Court still could not compare.


    If Green Flag Wine and Deadly Gold Underpants joined Drizzle Court''s team ¨C which would create a line-up of Deadly Gold Underpants, Water Fairy, Deadly Green Orange, Star Baby, Green Flag Wine and either Vegetarian Mosquito or Immortal ¨C they would then only stand a chance against Glory Capital.


    This five-celebrity line-up would be unbeatable even for Lu Li and the others.


    Unfortunately, Water Fairy couldn''t arrange something like this. Peerless City had already experienced trials of hardships and needed to steadily develop. For competitions like the Shadow Cup, the original team of Peerless City would continue to fight for them.


    When Peerless City settled in the future, they would perhaps incorporate these experts into the Drizzle Court team, while they developed their new competitive team.


    If you took away all the main players in Peerless City now, then the club would be ruined.


    In order to narrow the gap, Water Fairy had borrowed a lot of equipment from her other two allies. There was no need to talk about Peerless City. They no longer had any matches, so it made sense for them to give their equipment to the main club. As for Ruling Sword, they also provided a lot of support.


    However, that didn''t include their tactics that haven''t been exposed yet. After all, everyone needed to keep a trump card.


    The Shadow Cup held a major influence. The level of attention it received put it at the forefront of all major events. It could be said that it was only second to the professional leagues, so the reward, naturally, wouldn''t be stingy. Since Dawn had been released, it had been held twice. This time, the Champion prize money had reached 1 million.


    Originally, Lu Li thought that placing top four was good enough, and hadn''t thought much about becoming champions.


    Or rather, he hadn''t dared to think about it. Glory Capital had such rich financial resources, and they had now collected the world''s most exquisite legendary equipment. Against such oppressive wealth, any effort paled in comparison.


    Now, looking at the newly announced championship reward, all he thought about was money.


    One million dollars ¨C this was enough to give Ruling Sword a bit of a break.


    It was difficult to maintain a club without finances. Even if Lu Li could make millions and millions of dollars easily, they couldn''t spend all the money. Lu Li himself couldn''t take out any more than 10,000 dollars out of the game.


    However, 10,000 dollars was enough for him and his sister to be content.


    Back when they lived in the slums, they often had only tens of dollars to live on.


    "This is a bit tricky."


    Shen Wansan was rather stumped.


    Lu Li found him in the hope that he could help him search for the equipment that Glory Capital has gathered, where they had got it from, and the attributes of the equipment, so that Ruling Sword could make effective precautions.


    "If money''s an issue, then you just need to let me know," Lu Li offered.


    "It''s not a matter of money. The main thing is, no one wants to get into trouble with Glory Capital. To survive in this circle, no one wants to get on Glory Capital''s bad side. They really can do as they please," Shen Wansan said, evidently rather worked up.


    He was already bound together with Ruling Sword, and didn''t want Lu Li to think that he didn''t want to do the errands.


    "Try your best. We will keep it top secret on our side. I believe you would definitely have your ways."


    Lu Li also understood the difficulties of Shen Wansan, but some things still needed to be done. If they could find out even the smallest piece of information, this could all influence the result of the competition.


    "Generous rewards rouse people to heroism. I''ll try and see what I can do," Shen Wansan promised.


    He was a senior game merchant, and had been involved in many games. He had many connections, and had heard of deals involving exquisite equipment.


    Businessmen knew businessmen best. So, he set his sights on a businessman.


    This person''s ID was called "Tweedle Dummy", and was a game merchant like Shen Wansan. However, his business focus was not on hoarding and profiteering, but was instead a kind of middleman dedicated to serving key customers such as Glory Capital, collecting exquisite equipment for them.


    Of course, Tweedle Dummy was only one of them, and was not the best of them.


    The truly amazing brokers were hard to buy over, and Shen Wansan didn''t have the money to do that anyways.


    Tweedle Dummy was one he knew that he could break. Perhaps it was his good luck ¨C otherwise, he couldn''t have possibly helped Glory Capital purchase two pieces of equipment that they were happy with.


    "Here are 10,000 gold coins. Consider it a deposit. Bro, I need some help," Shen Wansan said as he threw a large sum of money at him.


    Tweedle Dummy swallowed his saliva as his eyes widened.


    The impact that 10,000 gold coins had was pretty amazing. Very few people in Dawn could just throw around such a large bag of gold coins.


    An ordinary player who played for a week could at most accumulate a few hundred gold coins, and these were the ones who had done well. Tweedle Dummy helped Glory Capital purchase two pieces of equipment ¨C one Epic and one Legendary. Altogether, the prices reached 140,000 gold coins.


    Glory Capital couldn''t produce this many gold coins in-game, so they traded the corresponding portion of real-life money.


    "Shen Bro, you''ve gotten rich ¨C throwing around 10,000 gold coins like nothing! So, what can I do for you mate?" Tweedle Dummy asked as he rubbed his hands. In the end, he still placed his hands on the gold coin sack. Greed filled his mind. He was set on taking these 10,000 gold coins.


    "What equipment did you help Glory Capital buy? What attributes did they have?" Shen Wansan asked, getting straight to the point.

 1773 Insatiable

    "Why do you ask this?"


    Tweedle Dummy retracted from the bag of gold quickly like he had just been burnt.


    "Uhh, don''t worry about it Tweedle Bro," Shen Wansan said with a smile.


    "Worry? Do I looked worried? Now I''m scared!" Tweedle Dummy looked around, afraid that there was a Thief in the room spying on them and selling their secrets to Glory Capital.


    "Tweedle bro, calm down. We''ve known each other for so many years now ¨C why are you scaring yourself? There just the two of us here. No one else will know what have talked about," Shen Wansan responded confidently. He was a little speechless. Tweedle Dummy was a wealthy businessman, so it was quite embarrassing to see him acting like this.


    In fact, if it weren''t for the business partnership he had with Lu Li until now, he would have definitely been just as paranoid, if not more paranoid than Tweedle Dummy.


    Ordinary players, especially businessmen, were often afraid of offending the bigger clubs. Once a businessman offended a guild like Glory Capital, they had basically lost their future business. All business required dealing with people, and they had lost all those connections.


    "Shen Bro, what are you saying? Aren''t you afraid? If Glory Capital reaches out and finds out about us, we''ll no longer have a place in this gaming circle."


    Tweedle Dummy was still worried, but he was now looking at the bag of gold. This was 10,000 gold coins, not just 100 or 1000. If he didn''t get lucky, he wouldn''t see that much money, even after selling two pieces of equipment to Glory Capital.


    But now, all he needed to do was to say a few words and the 10,000 gold coins would be his. In addition, Shen Wansan had said that this was just a forward payment, and another final sum was also coming.


    This damned Shen Wansan had to be someone sent by God to torture him!


    "Tweedle Bro, I''m not trying to attack you, but you still live with your wife in that small flat right. Do you want your life to be like that forever? Are you going to be timid your whole life? How can you make it big if you do that? Dawn has brought so many opportunities for everyone, but the key is whether you''re willing to take them."


    Shen Wansan''s words were a temptation that kept bombarding Tweedle Dummy.


    Tweedle Dummy''s face turned a little red, and his breathing became heavier.


    Shen Wansan''s words were cutting, and Tweedle Dummy could feel it. He had earned more than 10,000 gold before and considered himself to be successful, but Shen Wansan was someone who could easily just drop 10,000 gold in front of him¡­ which was just a deposit.


    But what did that mean? It just made him even more frustrated!


    The gold coins thunked onto the table, further fuelling Tweedle Dummy''s feeling of greed.


    This was 30,000 gold coins!


    He had previously been busy trying to get two pieces of equipment for Glory Capital, but he had only earned 14,000 gold coins. Now, all he had to do was move his mouth and he could earn 30,000 gold coins. With 30,000 gold coins and the previously earned 14,000 gold coins, he could move into a house in a rich area of the city. The objections that Tweedle Dummy had at first seemed to have dissipated when he saw the 30,000 gold.


    Shen Wansan watched with satisfaction as Tweedle Dummy took the 30,000 gold, as he knew that an agreement had been reached. Screenshots of the attributes of an exquisite Epic equipment and a Legendary equipment were soon sent over.


    Shen Wansan was speechless. This was the same guy who was so scared of offending Glory Capital, but he dared to send screenshots of the equipment?


    However, it did make some sense. Anyone who saw Legendary equipment wouldn''t be indifferent towards it. He probably just kept a picture as a memento.


    Shen Wansan wasn''t afraid that Tweedle Dummy was fooling him with a fake picture either. If he couldn''t offend Glory Capital, then he also couldn''t offend someone who could easily pay him 30,000 gold for some information.


    "Shen Bro, now that I''ve given you the information, you must protect me. Glory Capital cannot know that I sold this information."


    "Relax Tweedle bro, this information will stay here with me. I didn''t meet you today, nor did you meet me," Shen Wansan laughed before pouring another glass of wine. He intended


    to leave once he was finished with that glass.


    He already had a relationship with Tweedle Dummy, but now it was even stronger.


    His next target was an ordinary player.


    It was someone who had inadvertently opened a chest in a shipwreck and had found a Legendary Magic Staff. Glory Capital''s players then found the player and forced them to sell it for 12 million dollars.


    Of course, the payment was made in real dollars.


    "Bro, you''ve invited out to this meeting, yet you''re hiding your face. Surely that is not a good way to start."


    This player''s ID was Happy Fountain.


    He had received a mysterious message that someone wanted to do business with him.


    That was why he had come over. He previously was hesitant to do business with people, but ever since he had become rich overnight, Happy Fountain was hoping that more people would look for him to do business.


    For a normal player to receive a huge sum of 12 million dollars, even after paying tax, he would receive more than 10 million dollars. Of course, Happy Fountain was looking forwards to doing more business if that was his experience so far.


    "Hey brother, I am here to give you some money," Shen Wansan said, lowering his voice. "I heard that you found a Legendary equipment."


    "How did you find out that I found a Legendary equipment?" Happy Fountain asked with some frustration. "Did you know that I had already sold it."


    "How much did you sell it for?" Shen Wansan questioned despite already knowing.


    "12 million dollars. I''m now a multi-millionaire."


    People who came into money would often find it difficult to hide that fact. However, this was quite a normal response, and Happy Fountain was acting accordingly. There was a part of him that wanted to keep it quiet, but another part that wanted people know he had received this huge sum.


    "Only 12 million dollars? Who did you sell it to? Surely that is not enough!" Shen Wansan exclaimed.


    "12 million wasn''t enough?" Happy Fountain retorted somewhat aggressively.


    The buyer that had come previously said that a Legendary equipment like this, especially one that wasn''t too overpowered, could only be sold for a maximum of 8 million dollars. Since there weren''t many people who afford it, it didn''t really have a market price. But how could this masked player now tell him that it was sold for too cheap a price?

 1774 There Are Smart People Too

    "Of course it was a loss! If you sold it to me, I would have paid 20 million!"


    Shen Wansan could say whatever he wanted. He wasn''t worried that this player would take out another Legendary item for him. For an ordinary player like this, finding a Legendary equip was a lucky event that would happen once every 100 years.


    The reason he said that was to provoke him into thinking badly of the first buyer, so that he could implement his plan.


    Shen Wansan was an old-fashioned but cunning businessman. Even another businessman like Tweedle Dummy couldn''t withstand him, let alone some ordinary player.


    20 million!


    The player was deeply shocked at the thought. He initially thought that he had benefited by selling it for 12 million when it was only worth 8, but he didn''t expect that someone was willing to pay 20 million.


    "I¡­ I''m going to get the equipment back!" Happy Fountain exclaimed indignantly.


    Shen Wansan started to sweat a little at that thought. If he really asked Glory Capital for the equipment back or for the extra money, the gig was up. He quickly pulled Happy Fountain aside and said, "Bro, do you still remember who you sold it to?"


    "Of course! I sold it to Glory Capital!"


    "Do you know that Glory Capital is one of the biggest guilds in the gaming circle. You''ve sold it to them, but now you want it back? Are you still asleep!?" Shen Wansan chided.


    Happy Fountain felt frustrated.


    "Bro, this is life and it would be better if you just lived with it," Shen Wansan said regretfully, "But since I can''t buy it, can I at least know about the equipment? I''m curious as to why he gave such a low price."


    "Its attributes weren''t even bad. It had a special effect¡­"


    Happy Fountain was just about to reveal it when he suddenly stopped and said, "No, I had an agreement with him. I can''t reveal its attributes."


    "Bro, they ripped you off and you are still defending them?" Shen Wansan questioned in a puzzled tone. "How about this ¨C I am quite curious about Legendary equipment, so if you send me its attributes, I''ll give you 1000 gold coins. Even if I can''t buy it, knowing its attributes is not bad either."


    Would anyone really believe that?


    But Happy Fountain seemed to believe it.


    In fact, if Shen Wansan had taken out 10,000 gold coins, then Happy Fountain might have felt suspicious. But since it was just 1000 gold coins and he had represented himself as a rich man who was willing to pay 20 million for the Legendary equipment, paying some money to know the equipment''s attributes seemed to make sense to him.


    There was no doubt in Happy Fountain''s mind, unlike Tweedle Dummy who suspected Shen Wansan.


    Since Shen Wansan had said that the equipment was worth 20 million and Glory Capital had


    only given him 12 million, he now also felt a sense of resentment towards them.


    In fact, Glory Capital''s price of 12 million dollars was not low. Money was a resource they had plenty of, so they wouldn''t attempt tricks like that, but Happy Fountain didn''t know that. When people bought things, they would always think that they had paid too much but when people sold things, they would always think that they had sold it for too little.


    Shen Wansan''s third target was a Mercenary Group.


    Shen Wansan still didn''t dare to reveal his face, so it remained concealed as he spoke to the Mercenary Group''s leader.


    "This is 10,000 gold deposit for you if you tell me the equipment''s attributes. I promise to protect your group as well."


    "Hahaha, are you Ruling Sword or Drizzle Court? Let me guess ¨C Water Fairy wouldn''t pull tricks like this, so you are probably from Ruling Sword."


    Tiger Temperament was clearly a smart person as he easily guessed where Shen Wansan had come from.


    "Brother, you have overestimated. I am just a businessman, an ordinary businessman."


    Tiger Temperament shook his head and poked fun at him.


    "Even if you offered 1 million gold coins, I wouldn''t say anything, let alone 10,000 gold coins. Our reputation is more important than our bottom line. The door is over there. I will pretend nothing happened today. I wish that Ruling Sword would beat Glory Capital in the final. In fact, I am a big fan of Lu Li, who is an epic character in our Mercenary community."


    Shen Wansan knew that he was caught here. This person was clearly not one to talk nonsense, and had resolved himself to not reveal the equipment''s attributes.


    There were a few more people that Shen Wansan spoke to. Some were businessmen while others were ordinary players. He carefully contacted them and made some successe, but also had his share of failures. Soon, he had six screenshots of equipment attributes in his possession.


    "Shen bro, you''ve been working hard, especially if you have the results already."


    Lu Li was very satisfied with Shen Wansan''s working efficiency. If he was to do it himself, he probably wouldn''t even be 10% as efficient.


    Shen Wansan shook his head with a bitter smile.


    "I don''t know if these will be useful or not, but these were the ones I could get. According to my information, Glory Capital received 20-30 equips during this time. I only dared to contact about ten of these sellers, and could not even get a success rate of 50%. Moreover, some of the sellers are likely to disclose our actions to Glory Capital."


    "I understand what you mean, but we can''t avoid that. This is better than nothing."


    There were six equips. Three of them were Epic and three of them Legendary.


    If you followed this ratio, that meant that of Glory Capital''s thirty equips, there might be at least 10 Legendary items. Lu Li took a deep breath as began to understand Glory Capital''s power.


    "There is no need to be frustrated. As we steadily develop, we will eventually gain power like this."


    Shen Wansan was worried that Lu Li''s mentality might be affected, so he comforted him. "We have only been established for a year, but Glory Capital has been around for a hundred years. We haven''t sold ourselves out either. All the achievements so far have been because of our own hard work. If we look at gaming history, no one is comparable to us."


    "Relax Shen bro, I just need to work hard to make sure everything is done right. Whatever happens after that is not something I can control."


    Lu Li and Moonlight then called a small meeting to analyse Glory Capital''s style of play based on the information they had received. They could now also develop some targeted countermeasures.


    They also had some equipment that they had selected for the tournament. Some were from Ruling Sword''s players, while others were gathered specifically for the match. There were even pieces that had been offered by their allies for their use during the matches. Lu Li and the others were allowed to use all that equipment whenever they needed it for the match.


    Since they were all allied, they shared the same interests. If they had strong allies, then the help they received would be even more effective.

 1775 Sorrowless’ Wrath

    Since it was a battle between Glory Capital and Drizzle Court, they had to watch it in person.


    Although it was hard for an ordinary player to buy tickets, it was quite easy for someone like Lu Li.


    The group was sitting on the stands, waiting for Drizzle Court to face Glory Capital. They thought that Drizzle Court would give Glory Capital a run for their money, but no one really thought that they would win.


    And if Drizzle Court really did beat Glory Capital, Lu Li wouldn''t be too happy with placing second either.


    After all, everyone fighting in the finals would be from the same alliance.


    The atmosphere was enthusiastic as the match finally began.


    Aside from the relative strengths of the two sides, there were also quite a few high-profile players on stage. Both Water Fairy and Sorrowless were superstars in the gaming community. Water Fairy had male and female fans from all over, but Sorrowless mainly had female fans among the crowd. Even if he wasn''t riding a white horse, many of these fans thought of him as their Prince Charming.


    As for Lu Li, he didn''t care about who was the best looking. He didn''t even care that much about who was going to win this match.


    He was just observing to remember.


    "The legendary dagger is in Blood Dagger''s hands, and he just used its second effect," Lu Li commented, quickly reaching his first conclusion. Blood Dagger had used it in his fight against Water Fairy. This equipment corresponded with the screenshot provided by Shen Wansan.


    Unfortunately, the actual effect was blocked by Water Fairy with Gale Steps.


    Blood Dagger was annoyed, but saw that Water Fairy had taken two steps back before


    rushing back at him.


    Blood Dagger had previously already used Gale Steps, and now Lu Li felt sympathetic towards him. He knew that Blood Dagger''s strategy of dealing with this match as quickly as possible had failed. Water Fairy had been waiting for him to use Gale Steps, and now that he had, it was over for him.


    Kryss of the Fallen King (Legendary): Damage 100-135, Agility +150, Strength +120, Critical Hit +35%, 3 Slots. Special Effect 1: Shadowstrike +1, Special Effect 2: Gale Steps +1, Special Effect 3: Sudden Thrust. Choose a target within 15 yards and instantly thrust towards the target to deal double damage and cause a 2 second stun. Special Effect 4: Part 1 ¨C Sacrifice 30% of your HP to deal double damage to the target. Part 2 ¨C Sacrifice 50% of your HP to deal triple damage to your target. Part 3 ¨C Sacrifice 99% of your HP to deal quintuple damage to your target. 30 minute cooldown. There is a certain probability that your attacks will result in an instant kill effect.


    This weapon had four special effects, and three of them could be used continuously. If the player being attacked didn''t have an ultimate escape skill like Gale Steps, then they were done for.


    In their last trade, she was dealing double damage, and now, she was dealing triple damage. Blood Dagger was immediately killed.


    Unfortunately, that meant that Lu Li didn''t get to see any of the other item''s special effects!


    Somewhat regrettably, Lu Li saw the dead Blood Dagger stand up again. He had some revive effect, but the HP he was revived at was quite pitiful. Water Fairy was not unfamiliar with an effect like this, so after another brief struggle, Blood Dagger fell again. This time, he didn''t get back up.


    The Legendary equipment that he had was clearly not comparable to Water Fairy''s new Kryss of the Fallen King.


    Blood Dagger had thought that he could easily defeat this female tycoon with his new Legendary weapon. In fact, he had even hoped to single-handedly carry the match against Drizzle Court''s strongest player.


    However, what he didn''t know was that today''s encounter wasn''t going to be an isolated event.


    Lu Li also had the same weapon!


    There were two new equips on Blood Dagger. Lu Li noted that he had a Legendary dagger and exquisite Epic shoes. These Epic shoes provided him with extremely fast movement speed and high evasion.


    But in the end, Water Fairy ultimately defeated Blood Dagger.


    This result was a little surprising. Blood Dagger had been performing very well this season, and had often defeated three players before going down. Lu Li didn''t actually expect Water Fairy to beat him.


    Water Fairy had about 30% HP left before she was greeted by Sorrowless.


    "Even the best heroes can be charmed by the beauty of a woman," White Westhill sighed as she ate her melon seeds.


    Blood Dagger was shocked.


    "What!? Boss is in love with Water Fairy??"


    "Are you an idiot?" White Westhill screamed at Blood Dagger, "The Boss obviously feels like his girl has been kidnapped by Lu Li, so he wants to repay this blood debt by defeating Water Fairy and make Lu Li feel uncomfortable."


    "Do you really think Lu Li will feel uncomfortable?" Blood Dagger disagreed.


    "You shouldn''t use common sense on people who are in love," White Westhill said, then threw away the remaining seeds and patted Blood Dagger, continuing, "We should try to get Darkness back sooner rather than later, so we won''t have all these problems."


    "We''ll just destroy Ruling Sword," Blood Dagger sneered. "Then, Darkness will have to come back."


    "Oh, that''s a good idea! How about you go and destroy Ruling Sword? We''ll wait and see," White Westhill said sarcastically.


    As they were speaking, Water Fairy was killed.


    Lu Li didn''t really mind. He was just recording as much as he could. However, he did find that the skills Sorrowless was using were a little strange, and perhaps even unnecessary. Even if he didn''t use these new skills, he could have easily defeated Water Fairy.


    Lu Li racked his brain, but couldn''t work how why he was doing this. Even if it was out of jealousy, the advantage he was giving up was hard to comprehend.


    Although he knew that Sorrowless liked Darkness, they didn''t even have a relationship. How could Sorrowless expect him to expel Darkness just to avoid a conflict? This wasn''t possible, and it wasn''t something he was afraid of anyway. He was happy to hear that Sorrowless had been unhappy about it.


    Drizzle Court''s next player just died as well; they were completely defeated.


    Lu Li was surprised and made another note. Sorrowless was crazy ¨C he was venting his frustrations onto his opponents. All the skills that had been hidden until now, were being revealed.


    In fact, it would be even better if Darkness was sitting next to him, or even on his lap. Sorrowless would lose it if he saw Lu Li doing that.

 1776 Benefits

    The ones under Sorrowless only grumbled, but they didn''t dare to complain. They didn''t think that Sorrowless had a moment of glory, defeating three opponents at once. However, Sorrowless had complete authority in Glory Capital. Therefore, even if other people had their opinions, they could only sit in silence. White Westhill was just ridiculing him, but now she was representing the others to rebuke him.


    The atmosphere surrounding Drizzle Court was a little heavy. However, giving up was not an option.


    Drizzle Court once again gathered their morale, preparing for the upcoming Team Battles. Although all their team members this time were females, they were still fierce and fiery under


    Water Fairy''s leadership.


    First, there was a two for one trade, where they managed to successfully kill Sorrowless. There were now three members remaining from Drizzle Court: Water Fairy, Deadly Green Orange and Star Baby. They seemed to hold a grudge against Sorrowless and aimed to kill him first.


    Dawn wasn''t a game where one person could conquer and ignore everything. No matter how good Sorrowless'' items were, he was not invincible.


    Of course, killing Sorrowless did not guarantee Drizzle Court''s victory. Glory Capital once again proved themselves through their might and power. Furthermore, during this battle, they revealed a lot of their new items and skills.


    Even if Drizzle Court was fighting normally, Glory Capital wouldn''t be this reckless with showing their hidden cards.


    Drizzle Court couldn''t fight Glory Capital as a whole, but they could at least inflict some damage.


    Drizzle Court ended up losing. It was hard to describe their feelings with words, but Water Fairy''s tears were enough.


    Lu Li was concerned and went up to her, hugging her tightly. He swore to avenge her.


    The match results between Ruling Sword and Gale Legion was quite predictable as well.


    Moonlight defeated Gaze one on one, then fought Cloudy Leaf. Fat Monkey then defeated Cloudy Leaf and even managed to take Torrent with him.


    His battle against the Hunter, Torrent, was a classic battle of the ages. From an analytical standpoint, it was a flawless fight. He did not make a single mistake during it. Otherwise, he would not have been able to defeat his opponent with a few hundred HP remaining. A small mistake would have cost Fat Monkey his life.


    In the Team Battles, Lu Li had organized for a dual-healer set up. With March Rain and Innocent Child, it seemed like they were just bullying them.


    Gale Legion didn''t know what to do. They could have also arranged a dual-Healer team composition. Angry City Dweller, their Shaman, had a full set of Healing items. These items were usually bought at the lowest bidding price. However, he couldn''t compare to Innocent Child.


    The dual-Healer set up for Ruling Sword was deadly, and Gale Legion could not put together an offensive team with enough firepower to overcome the healing of Ruling Sword.


    They were absolutely crushed in the Team Battles. Gale Legion also wanted to kill Lu Li, doing the same as Drizzle Court had done.


    It wouldn''t be easy. A Mage could only do so much when being focused on.


    It was easy for Thieves to escape. They could just run, while Mages could not.


    Lu Li casually strolled around the arena, attracting the attention of all the competitors from Gale Legion. Then, as they were in pursuit of Lu Li, they slowly found themselves losing member after member. After they realised this and tried to regather themselves, it was already too late.


    This was still quite an exciting match.


    However, the smart ones would have seen Gale Legion''s failure. They failed to complete the objective of their strategy, unlike Drizzle Court. Drizzle Court managed to expose many of Sorrowless and other Glory Capital members'' hidden skills and effects.


    Moonlight and Gaze were once equals. However, during this battle, there were clear differences in strength.


    Although Fat Monkey had a great performance himself, it wasn''t to the level of Moonlight''s battle. Everyone''s attention was on the two Berserkers and people even tried to figure out if something was wrong with Gaze. Some even hypothesised that he was going to leave Gale Legion.


    The Semi-Finals were now complete. In the end, it was Ruling Sword and Glory Capital who advanced to the Finals. It was the same result as previous times.


    This was a normal match up. They were equals in terms of strength at the time, so having the same match up was not surprising at all.


    However, this time, they didn''t know whether Ruling Sword would win again.


    Ruling Sword had already performed many miracles. During their early days, the public would all be in favour of Glory Capital winning, but now, it was completely different. The results were completely unknown.


    "We definitely can win this time."


    Lu Li was the last one to enter the arena.


    "That''s it?" Fat Monkey couldn''t believe it and looked at Lu Li, asking, "Are you not going to promise some benefits?"


    "What do you want?"


    Lu Li was not happy at all for being interrupted.


    "I don''t have a girlfriend yet, do I?" Fat Monkey replied, then looked at Lu Li with hopeful eyes.


    "Girlfriend?" Lu Li shook his head and joked, "No, they don''t exist. How about a boyfriend?"


    "Screw you! I''m going to lose on purpose now. Someone, buy my services! Just give me 5 gold and I''ll die willingly," Fat Monkey grumbled and whined, but everyone ignored him.


    Glory Capital thought about paying someone to be their spy.


    However, they couldn''t pick a suitable person. March Rain was out of the question, since they she and Lu Li had a close relationship since the beginning of the game and were instrumental in each other''s success. Moonlight was the same, as he was famous for having unwavering loyalty and did not take bribes.


    Once upon a time, Moonlight and one of his friends were being pursued by a club. In the end, his friend decided to surrender to the club, suggesting him to do the same. Moonlight was greatly angered and pursued his friend for the next few months. From then on, no one dared to advise Moonlight to bow to his enemies.


    Fat Monkey¡­Wouldn''t be a good idea. He was crazy.


    Kitty Likes Meat¡­Her dad was also at Ruling Sword, so that was impossible.


    Although Sakura Memories was also one of their competitive players, she hasn''t been playing in their matches recently. There were rumours that she was preparing for the release of level 70 so


    that she would be able to power level.


    There was a possible player ¨C Mu Qiu. Lu Li hadn''t given him Ruling Sword''s shares, and the contract that he signed was also one that didn''t have much value. Even at the current time, they still hadn''t re-signed a new contract.

 1777 Torture You

    Ruling Sword had spent 1.8 million dollars to sign Mu Qiu.


    At that time, 1.8 million dollars was not a small number, but now, no one would object if Mu Qiu''s annual salary was 5 million. Considering the current market, there would even be people willing to sign him for 10 million a year.


    As such, Mu Qiu became the only choice, but he immediately rejected them. Glory Capital''s representatives were confused. Mu Qiu didn''t seem like a stupid person, so why had he rejected their offer of an 18-million-dollar annual salary? It was ten times greater than his current salary.


    Ten times!


    Mu Qiu''s answer was simple. When he entered Ruling Sword, he didn''t want 1.8 million dollars. Instead, he asked for 1 million. If he was able to compete for them, then he was willing to take an even lesser amount.


    However, it was Lu Li who felt that he was worth it, so he added another 800,000 to his contract.


    At that time, he was moved to tears and swore utmost loyalty to Lu Li. It was because of this that he rejected the offer of 18 million. Money could not buy this level of trust.


    Besides, the additional 800,000 was not all Lu Li had given him.


    Any other club would have just kept him as a Healer. If that had happened, then there wouldn''t be a super Paladin who wielded the Greatsword of the Brotherhood. Glory Capital was not an exception.


    News of this quickly travelled to Lu Li.


    If he didn''t know that Mu Qiu would be able to succeed going down the Damage path and if he hadn''t given him the extra 800,000, then the Mu Qiu of today might have really transferred clubs.


    In hindsight, he realised that his personality had a large influence on how he managed to succeed.


    He wasn''t a particularly generous person, but he did not fail to take care of those who he cared about.


    This was a wise ideal in life.


    He was generous towards Azure Sea Breeze. In turn, he gained the number one Main Tank in Dawn as an ally. He was generous towards Remnant Dream, and in turn, he gained an incredibly lucky player as an ally. There were numerous others who he showed generosity to, despite his own situation in his earlier days.


    If Lu Li wanted to do that same now, it might be easier. After all, he was the leader of two clubs, the owner of two Strongholds and the core of a three-club alliance. However, the loyalty that he would command this time would not compare to the undying and unwavering loyalty of Azure Sea Breeze and the rest.


    Sharing is caring ¨C Lu Li did this while he was poor and still gave and shared in his limited wealth.


    If someone had billions upon billions to spend and only shared a piece of bread with other people, then he would be a scumbag.


    As everyone was preparing to watch the Finals, Gale Legion successfully defeated Drizzle Court.


    Gaze consecutively defeated Water Fairy and another competitor, shutting down his hecklers. As to why he lost to Moonlight, not even he himself could explain it.


    It was impossible for a player to be 100% consistent all the time. It was normal for players for drop their form.


    There wasn''t much difference between the third and fourth place. It could be said that only the champion mattered. Other positions didn''t really have much significance.


    For example, if Glory Capital was on the decline and there was no sudden emergence of Ruling Sword, then the other clubs would have had a chance to claim the title the strongest club. However, Glory Capital was as strong as ever, and there was also Ruling Sword. As a result, the other clubs lost their chance at reaching the top.


    There wasn''t a long wait for Glory Capital and Ruling Sword''s clash. As soon as the match between Gale Legion and Drizzle Court finished, it immediately transitioned into the Finals clash.


    "The battle between Water Fairy and Sorrowless a few days ago led everyone to believe that Mages can definitely defeat Thieves. As a Thief myself, I feel that this conclusion is flawed. Therefore, I hope that Sorrowless can give the Thieves another chance. I shall represent the Thieves and propose a battle with Sorrowless. I hope that he will not reject me. In fact, it doesn''t even matter if he rejects me. I will be the one to fight in the first round."


    Lu Li, who was usually tight-lipped about his actions, was now immediately issuing a challenge to Sorrowless.


    The reporters who were interviewing Lu Li were a little confused. What did this mean? Then, they realised that Lu Li was issuing a challenge to Sorrowless.


    Lu Li''s words were not blunt and straight to the point. He used the debate between Thieves and Mages to mention this. He could have just said, "Sorrowless, get your ass out here and fight me!" It would have conveyed the same meaning.


    "Are you confident in your abilities to be able to defeat Sorrowless?"


    Lu Li bent down a little. After all, the reporter was a little short.


    "Sorrowless is an opponent who deserves respect. No one can have 100% confidence in defeating him, but I am also quite confident in my own strength."


    "Oh! I know!" the little reporter exclaimed, eyes shining. "Is this because of the battle between Sorrowless and Water Fairy, where she lost to him? She''s your girlfriend, so now you''re going to avenge her on this stage! How romantic!"


    "That''s not the case." Lu Li denied. "Everyone''s fighting fairly, and there''s no bad blood between us. There''s also no such thing as revenge."


    "If that''s the case, then when do you guys plan to get married?"


    Lu Li really wanted to throw this reporter out the window and yell for the next question.


    However, this was a live-stream interview, so he had to answer it. He endured it and answered, "We don''t have plans to get married yet."


    "Are you just planning on playing around and not marry her?"


    How did this person become a reporter? Was this person hired by Glory Capital to stir up trouble?


    "Our relationship is great. We are dating seriously and we will definitely get married in the future.


    However, it is not the time now."


    The little reporter wasn''t happy about Lu Li''s answer, but Lu Li didn''t want to give the reporter another chance to talk and quickly ended the interview.


    If it wasn''t for wanting to publicly issue a challenge to Sorrowless and forcing him to fight, Lu Li would not have accepted an interview like this. Usually, it was other people who dealt with these reporters. After Lu Li left, Fat Monkey immediately jumped on, keen to answer questions.


    Unfortunately, there weren''t many questions for him. They reporters could have asked him about his eagerness to have another showdown with Sorrowless, but Lu Li already issued his challenge.


    Fat Monkey was also a single dog and didn''t have a girlfriend or anything close to it. There weren''t


    even rumours of his love life, so there weren''t any interesting topics to ask about.


    However, under the reporters'' fierce plea, Moonlight decided to step onto the podium and answer questions.


    They were all asking about his battle with Gaze.


    "Gaze is a strong opponent. We have known each for a long time and his strength is proven. As for what happened that they, I don''t know. I''m an outsider, so I don''t know. As for whether he would leave Gale Legion or not, anything could happen. However, from what I know, Gaze does not seem to have plans to jump ship."


    As a popular and beautiful player, March Rain was also someone who garnered the attention of reporters.


    Most of her questions consisted of the gossip and rumours within Ruling Sword and her own personal romances. March Rain wasn''t someone who liked to gossip, so she could only repeat some pre-fabricated stories to appease the greater audience.


    Of course, her love life was just as bland and empty. When they asked about her ideal type, March Rain just gave a simple and vague answer, which led to many people thinking that they matched it.


    Glory Capital was different to Ruling Sword. Sorrowless was the last to be interviewed.


    As such, the reporters over there had already gotten wind of the challenge that Lu Li issued Sorrowless.


    During the interviews, Sorrowless was immediately asked, "We just received news that Ruling Sword''s leader, Lu Li, has issued a challenge to you. Are you going to accept his challenge?"


    "What? I don''t know about it. Is this real?"


    Sorrowless didn''t believe the reporters. He believed that all they wanted was to stir up trouble.


    "It''s real! Lu Li really did challenge you just then!" The reporter even showed Sorrowless a video snippet of Lu Li saying that.


    Now, Sorrowless believed Lu Li''s challenge.


    "I haven''t been able to find you and now, you''re coming to me yourself. Just watch and see what I''m going to do to you," he thought to himself.


    He was quite satisfied with this, but he didn''t let it show when he spoke.


    "The debate between Thieves and Mages have been going on for too long. I too, am curious about it. Since Brother Lu Li is willing to do this, I will of course not back down! Although our abilities cannot represent all Thieves and Mages, we will do our best on the battlefield and give everyone a fair chance to judge, as well as put on a show."

 1778 Targe

    Since both sides were fired up, everyone else was overjoyed.


    The opening battle for the Finals was the hottest and most-anticipated clash of the whole season of the Shadow Cup. The organisers decided to add last-minute additional tickets, but these instantly sold out as well.


    The entry tickets were one gold a piece. Selling 10 million tickets meant 10 million gold.


    Hundreds of millions of dollars had just entered the organiser''s pockets, just like that. It was true that people with the financial capabilities were able to earn money more easily. Not even Lu Li, when he was reborn, would be able to earn 100 million gold.


    This wasn''t the first battle between Lu Li and Sorrowless. In their previous battles, it was mostly Lu Li who had the advantage.


    In the beginning, it was because Lu Li was a higher level than Sorrowless. Sorrowless had also planned to retire. Then Lu Li, with the advantages of being reborn, was able to surpass Sorrowless each time they clashed.


    However, this advantage was becoming weaker and weaker. At this point in time, it was already non-existent.


    He truly did not know whether or not he would be able to defeat Sorrowless. After all, Sorrowless had used powerful methods to defeat a top-level Thief in Water Fairy."


    They did not immediately start battling after entering the arena.


    Lu Li was a little confused. He didn''t think that there was anything to talk about. Glory Capital wanted to maintain their position at the top, which meant that they needed to crush Ruling Sword''s ascension. However, Lu Li wanted to place Ruling Sword at the top, which meant that they needed to defeat Sorrowless'' Glory Capital.


    There were no personal grudges between the two of them. However, because of their clubs, they had already become each other''s worst enemies.


    "Is Darkness well?" Sorrowless asked.


    "Darkness? Lu Li suddenly realised that there was someone who had a close relationship with Sorrowless on his side. Although they were both in the Instance Dungeon team, there weren''t many interactions between them. After all, all of his attention was on clearing Instance Dungeons and Water Fairy. Furthermore, it would be suicide to talk to another pretty girl while already having a girlfriend.


    However, he replied with a genuine tone, saying, "Darkness seems to be going pretty well. She seems quite happy."


    If Darkness was happy, then Sorrowless wasn''t happy. He had too much pride to have the mindset of ''as long as you are happy, then I am happy.'' He felt that Darkness'' happiness could only be made true if it was with him.


    "Be honest with me. What price do I need to pay for you to return Darkness to me?"


    A flash of sadness appeared on Sorrowless'' face.


    "There''s no bad blood between me and her. If you can just arrange for a time for us to meet and talk, then we will let you win this Shadow Cup."


    "Haha! Sorrowless, Sorrowless. You''re thinking too highly of yourself, aren''t you? Unless, love has really made you stupid. We don''t need you to let us win! We''ll be able to take this championship with our own hands."


    "I apologise if my words have made you uncomfortable," Sorrowless apologized. He needed to endure this, and continued to say calmly, "You also have someone you love, so you understand how I feel, right?"


    "No, I don''t. The person I love was bullied by you on the arena. The fact that I didn''t jump in was already good enough, so wanting me to help you?"


    Lu Li was speechless at Sorrowless'' logic. In everyone''s eyes, they thought that Sorrowless was flawless, like a god. In the end, he was an ordinary person after all.


    The audience couldn''t hear what they were saying on stage.


    This was because the fighters could choose to broadcast their words or not. They could just use the arena as a chatroom and no one would know.


    Everyone was curious about what Sorrowless and Lu Li were talking about. After all, these were two people from opposing clubs. One was from Ruling Sword, and the other from Glory Capital. Therefore, whatever they had to discuss must have been something important.


    Many people in the audience were hollering for the organisers to release the audio.


    There were also people asking others to lip read as well.


    This was a game, so there were no holes for people to exploit.


    Lu Li and Sorrowless'' discussion came to an end. Lu Li did not accept Sorrowless'' proposal and aimed to take the championship through their own strength. On the other hand, Sorrowless also wanted to use his own strength to utterly defeat Ruling Sword as well.


    Sorrowless had many tricks up his sleeves, but he had already used many of them. As such, Lu Li''s items all countered Sorrowless'' items. He didn''t have many exquisite items, but they all had their uses.


    Sorrowless felt a little regretful. His set of items was focused on crowd-control and could be used to counter Thieves. In terms of DPS, it was fairly average. If everything went smoothly, then he would definitely be able to press Lu Li hard, but unfortunately, Lu Li had already prepared for that.


    Lu Li''s current set of items were gathered from the storages of all three clubs and mainly focused on continuous DPS and escape.


    His strategy was simple ¨C he would charge in, deal damage to Sorrowless, then immediately run. It was almost shameless. He planned to shave off Sorrowless'' HP bit by bit.


    Of course, Lu Li couldn''t escape without being damaged at all, so his HP was dropping slowly as well.


    At the 13-minute mark of the battle, Lu Li finally managed to defeat Sorrowless using his shameless strategy, but he didn''t have much HP left himself.


    Lu Li''s victory was quite surprising, as his DPS wasn''t high. In fact, it was almost pitiful. Any random set of offensive Thief items would result in more DPS than during this battle. He also didn''t have high armor either. If Sorrowless could have caught him even once and properly damaged him, then he would have died.


    The key was to dispel crowd-control and continuously attack. It was an extremely specific set of skills.


    Everyone watching was sorely disappointed. They were all booing at Lu Li, but booing could not change the result.


    Lu Li used this battle to prove his shamelessness, or rather his strength!


    Sorrowless had been defeated!


    Why had the all-powerful Sorrowless been defeated by a newbie who had only been in the circle for less than two years?

 1779 Start of a Dilemma

    At this time, Lu Li was already exhausted. His second opponent was also one of the Eight Great Thieves, Blood Dagger. There was no doubt that Blood Dagger was a super high level Thief. In his fully equipped state, it looked like he didn''t have to lift a finger to beat Lu Li. On top of that, his HP was still perfectly preserved at 90%.


    The next player for Ruling Sword was Moonlight. He had a great presence of mind, and his skills were also pretty good. It was completely expected that Moonlight would defeat Blood Dagger, but he wouldn''t have much HP at the end of the fight. Glory Capital''s Warlock Demigod Asura finished off Moonlight afterwards.


    A Paladin like Mu Qiu was perfect for fighting against a Warlock. Mu Qiu bested Demigod Asura and had become the final victor on the stage and didn''t let anyone down.


    The final score on the arena was three to two. Ruling Sword was just leading by one point. It was really hard to determine who the final champion would be with such a tiny difference. In the end, they still had to see the results of the group competition.


    There was a one hour intermission between the arena competition and the group competition. Both clubs used this time to revise their strategy which they had already finalized before. Things were still looking good on Lu Li''s side. They had gone over their plan in detail over and over again. It was Glory Capital that needed to make some adjustments because they realized that Ruling Sword understood them too well.


    "We can see from the equipment Lu Li is wearing that they''ve really researched our Boss super thoroughly," West Whitehill sighed. "I suspect we''ve got a traitor!" Blood Dagger accused loudly. He really liked to look at things from a dark angle.


    "What rubbish are you goin'' on about!" Sorrowless scolded harshly. By this time, it didn''t matter if there was a traitor or not. They couldn''t disrupt their own team before they even faced the enemy.


    "Boss, you shouldn''t have used those skills so early." West Whitehill daringly advised. Sorrowless was the highest on the command chain in Glory Capital, so he rarely doubted Sorrowless''s decisions. However at this time, what he said really resonated with others who were holding back their feelings.


    Because of Darkness Sis, Sorrowless was distracted during the fight.


    "It''s my fault. This time I let everyone down," Sorrowless apologised, going with the flow. He didn''t really give a sincere apology. Everyone simply had no idea that he once planned to get the Shadow Cup and do a trade with Glory Capital.


    "But, even though our Boss used those skills, it''s actually not enough to make Lu Li prepare so thoroughly. Maybe they have another source. Couldn''t we chase down the people who sold us weapons and get some info?" Not everyone in Glory Capital was an idiot.


    "We could change back to our previous equipment," Blood Dagger suggested hesitantly.


    "I think that''s a bit too drastic," Sorrowless said, "We''re not showing them all that we''ve got. The equipment we got is only a part of what we are. I don''t think that Lu Li''s so-called preparation is enough to take away every chance we have of winning. All of our preparations can''t have all been in vain. Haven''t you thought about it? If we changed to our previous equipment, our power will drop a lot and we''d have an even smaller chance of winning."


    If you weren''t comparing a few players but were comparing their Elite group''s strength as a whole, Ruling Sword couldn''t even begin to compare. There were too many Elite groups in Glory Capital, farming Instance Dungeons again and again, having a dozen or even a 100 times more Epic equipment than Ruling Sword.


    It was a shame that the competition wasn''t about comparing the total power level of a guild, but just the power of a few people. Because of this, the equipment of Ruling Sword''s few players was evidently extremely important. If it wasn''t for Glory Capital getting a First Clear of a Wild Boss, they were simply in no position to challenge Ruling Sword. Other clubs were pretty much in the same position too.


    This had become a vicious circle. They would get the First Clear and get the good equipment, and then use the good equipment to get the First Clear. So although Ruling Sword''s development wasn''t massive with a hundred Elite teams springing up overnight, someone with an insightful eye could see that they were taking the slow but very steady approach.


    First Clears and competitions¡ª as long as they could capitalize on these two things, no one could keep Ruling Sword down, and Ruling Sword could rely on these to develop their build slowly. Slowly but surely, they would become an unstoppable force. Of course, this would take time.


    Looking at the history of the game, every single dominating group in the game took a long time to get to that stage. Some even moved to different games.


    This wasn''t to look down on Ruling Sword though. They were catching up to Glory Capital and steadily overtaking them. It really was a very long journey even if they got another two championships!


    Lu Li had never thought that in such a short time, they''d overtake Glory Capital. What they needed to do was to make sure they were taking each and every step of the way well.


    As Glory Capital rushed to make up their new strategy, there was actually dispute going on Ruling Sword''s side too ¨C it wasn''t about the players, but a dispute between two different strategies. The group battles in Dawn were generally five on fives. It would be considered the end of a battle when everyone on one side died, or if they surrendered.


    So the key in every battle was who to kill first. Under normal circumstances, they''d kill that tempting healer. As long as they killed the opponent''s Healer, then the battle was pretty much half won.


    There were also times when they could go kill the Mage or Warlock with a high damage output. It was easier if they were wearing cloth armour. If the opponent had one less member, then they''d have a better chance of winning.


    According to their original plan, Lu Li and his team chose to focus their damage on Sorrowless or West Whitehill, depending on the circumstances.


    However, through spending time analyzing Glory Capital''s past battles, as well as collecting info on their equipment, Lu Li felt that this strategy was increasingly questionable.


    The hammer that West Whitehill held in his hand was a legendary equipment. This hammer had a special effect called Golden Protection. It could give a golden shield to themselves or a designated person, and for almost eight seconds, they wouldn''t receive any damage at all.


    This was a super powerful Special Effect, even more powerful than restoring all of your HP instantly.


    That''s why Lu Li and his team set up a new strategy. The strategy was that Ruling Sword wouldn''t run with their double damage dealer team. Instead, they''ll have three fighters, along with a strong mage. As for the healer, they chose the stronger and more mobile Innocent Child, subbing off March Rain.


    This way, they would increase their output and it wouldn''t be easy to get rid of their healer, so they had more space to keep attacking. But if they did things this way, there''d also be more variables. As soon as something failed, there was no turning back, so it was a risky plan.


    These two strategies weren''t perfect, so everyone was in a bit of a dilemma.

 1780 Still Cute Me

    "I still think it''s better if we use four damage dealers and one healer," Moonlight asserted, giving his weapon a slap.


    "Why do you say that?" Lu Li turned his gaze over to his weapons and immediately understood what he was suggesting, "It''s really hard to have things go our way on the battlefield, and these opponents of ours are quite difficult."


    "Power and luck. It all comes down to that no matter what," Moonlight nodded.


    "If we have four damage dealers, then Cat or Monkey, who''ll participate between the two of you?" Lu Li asked.


    "Oh, just let Cat go," When Fat Monkey knew about Lu Li and Moonlight''s strategy and sadly gave up his chance to take the stage. His output wasn''t any worse than Kitty Likes Meat''s, and his Burst damage was even stronger than hers. However, he wasn''t able to survive as long as Kitty Likes Meat.


    Kitty Likes Meat''s surprise attack was done in tandem with her pet Voidwalker, as they joined together to turn into something like a big Doraemon.


    This Doraemon had high HP and defence, could Taunt, and was also able to recover its own health. It could be said that this was most suitable for trying out the new tactic. Although Fat Monkey was an experienced Magician master, it was a shame that he rarely worked on improving his equipment to increase his survival.


    On Lu Li and his team''s side, they had the healing druid Innocent Child, and the damage dealers were the Thief Lu Li, the Warrior Moonlight, the Paladin Mu Qiu and the Warlock Kitty Likes Meat.


    On Sorrowless''s side, they had the Mage Sorrowless, the Priest White Westhill, the Thief Blood Dagger, the Warlock Demigod Asura and the Hunter Ethereal Wind¡ª the same arrangement of four damage dealers and one healer.


    After both sides re-entered the battlefield, a quick explanation left everyone''s attention focused on the teams on the stage. In his voice, filled with energy that was unexpected for someone his age, Dark Wind announced, "Ruling Sword has given up the arrangement which brought them their sweeping victory. March Rain has been subbed out."


    "March Rain is the pride and joy of female competitors and was also the most popular candidate for being a celebrity competitor this year. She''s been on every stage, but not this time," Nine Phoenix commentated in surprise.


    "Maybe the competitor had something to deal with and so she couldn''t make it," Dark Wind guessed. Rather than believing that March Rain''s absence was because of a change in Ruling Sword''s tactics, they preferred to believe that March Rain wasn''t there for some other reason.


    "I think the only way for Ruling Sword to win is to one shot White Westhill," Dark Wind voiced his obvious thoughts. What he was saying was pretty pointless since anyone would know that if they killed White Westhill they would win. But was White Westhill really that easy to kill? It was clear without a doubt that White Westhill was the hardest Priest to kill in the whole game. His mind, movement, skills and equipment, as well as his extremely powerful teammates have allowed him to maintain a record of practically zero deaths in group competitions.


    In many previous competitions, there were plenty of casualties in Glory Capital''s group battles. A lot of times, even Sorrowless was killed but White Westhill always managed to survive.


    "The battle has already started so let''s wait and see what happens. Since Ruling Sword emerged, they''ve come out with a miracle again and again. This time, we have to believe that they can still keep up this mythical winning streak." Nine Phoenix had a really good relationship with Water Fairy and the girls, so he was really supportive.


    "Hmm, Lu Li and his team aren''t focusing their damage on White Westhill," Dark Wind observed. He couldn''t understand what he was seeing.


    It wasn''t only Ruling Sword who didn''t go for the healer, Glory Capital didn''t chase Innocent Child either. Innocent Child was a druid, so it was super hard to kill him too; it made sense they didn''t even attempt to kill him. But what was Ruling Sword thinking?


    It was a mess.


    Lu Li had tied down Sorrowless. He had decisively defeated Sorrowless on the arena, so this was naturally the move for him to make. However, with White Westhill at his side healing him every now and then, he basically had zero chances for him to wear down Sorrowless to death.


    With a pair of big axes, Moonlight covered Demigod Asura and Ethereal Wind. They were just a Warlock and a Hunter that was easily pulled away and dealt with. Mu Qiu was the only one chasing White Westhill. At least he appeared to be the one who was making the right move.


    Everyone had something to do, even Innocent Child who was jumping around randomly with no one attacking him. He mainly healed and shielded the HP of his teammates here and there.


    The busiest player was Kitty Likes Meat. As the only Ruling Sword player with cloth armour, she naturally became the focus fire target for Glory Capital. This was no time for Glory Capital to hide their secret methods¡ª they used all they had on her.


    Everything was piled unto her, from healing reductions, speed reductions, silences, to disarming and disabling effects.


    Such a cute and simple girl receiving such treatment was a bit difficult for the audience to watch. However, this didn''t change the dangerously decreasing HP of Kitty Likes Meat. If nothing unexpected happened, Innocent Child''s continuous healing magic spells were simply not enough to save Kitty Likes Meat''s life. Even if Moonlight protected her, it was no use.


    At this time, in order to get out of the Ruling Sword competitor''s pace, they tried their hardest to kill Kitty Likes Meat in a short time. Glory Capital were being intentional with their skills.


    They felt that as long as they could kill Kitty Likes Meat things would stabilize. As for why March Rain didn''t show up, they simply didn''t care, and they didn''t need to care.


    Ruling Sword''s people weren''t purely focused on their own targets either. Occasionally, two or three of them would work together to focus on one unit, stopping the opponent from using their skills effectively.


    According to the report that had been gathered up, Lu Li and his team pretty much knew who had hidden skills and methods. Players who had relatively more surprise attacks, who hadn''t used them at all and players who had methods that could block their plans were focused by Ruling Sword.


    "Ah!" On the verge of death, Kitty Likes Meat suddenly gave out a sad, shrill cry.


    All that could be seen was a black, enveloping fog around her. She had suddenly changed into a big, strong, two metre tall demon. This was a typical Warlock transformation that quite a few high-level Warlock players were able to do, however the results varied between players.


    After the transformation, some would increase their attack, some would increase their defence and some would increase their HP.


    Evidently, Kitty Likes Meat''s transformation increased her defence. Her originally dangerously decreasing HP had already slowed down. However, with the four damage outputs of Glory Capital working against her, they were still forcing her to her death.


    The attacks from Glory Capital grew fiercer. They just needed another fifteen seconds or so to finish off this damned transformation.

 1781 Cooperation

    The large transformation looked like it was going to be finished very soon. Suddenly, Kitty Likes Meat did something which left everyone awestruck again. She picked up the Doraemon by her side, (her warlock pet Voidwalker), opened her ferocious mouth wide and inhaled the Doraemon. She ate it!


    Kitty Likes Meat expanded again after eating, her body getting bigger again. However, the important effect of this action was that her HP was replenished in an instant, and she turned into a big demon at full strength.


    The players on Glory Capital''s team were pissed. How could they keep fighting? They needed to change their focused fire target to stay in the fight. Who knew how long Kitty Likes Meat would stay in this state? On the off-chance that she''d stay like this until the end of the battle, then it would be a very heavy price to pay to kill her.


    So, if they didn''t focus fire on Kitty Likes Meat, who would be best target?


    Lu Li?


    Just kidding.


    Mu Qiu?


    Some Paladins were easier to kill, and some were not. Paladin Mu Qiu was definitely not easy.


    Innocent Child?


    It wasn''t a good idea to attempt to kill a druid who could constantly heal themselves.


    Moonlight?


    Yeah, at the moment, they could only focus fire Moonlight. Although Moonlight had strong armour, he lacked skills that could maintain his survival, and his adaptability wasn''t the best either.


    "Let me stay," The big, crude demon actually spoke in a soft, gentle feminine voice, but no one thought that she was cute. They couldn''t ever see a cute little girl again without considering that they might turn into a big giant in an instant. Along with her girly call, there was a clump of unseen strength surrounding her, pulling the five people of Glory Capital towards her.


    This was her Taunt that activated after she transformed, which allowed her to pull all enemies within four yards of her, and even forced them to attack her. Although the space this effect worked on was very limited, with a whole ring of people surrounding her, there was not a single one who was able to escape her Taunt. Sorrowless felt despair after being taunted. He had already begun to realise that they may have been set up.


    Bonescythe Waistguard (Flawless Epic): Armour 220, Agility +200, Strength +160, Constitution +80, Evasion +35, 3 slots, Special Effect 1: Sprint level +1, Special Effect 2: Like a Shadow, immediately reach the target you are chasing, as well as doing 300% more basic damage to the target and Stunning the target for one second. Cooldown time 60 minutes. Special Effect 3: Cage, summons a cage to surround the area around a target, continues for five seconds, cooldown of 12 hours. Requires level 60 equipment, lasts 420/420.


    A cage dropped from the sky.


    Inside the cage, there were only three of them. White Westhill, Ethereal Wind, Demigod Asura, and ¡ªwhere was the other one?


    "Kill Sorrowless!" Lu Li shouted loudly. He had dealt harsh damage to Sorrowless face to face, and Mu Qiu and Moonlight didn''t hold back either. They all stood in their set position. They had been planning for a long time to dish out some Berserker level damage at this moment.


    Blood Dagger had escaped. His technique was great, and he was a Thief too. As soon as he felt like something was not right, he blinked away. And that''s how there were three in the cage and two on the outside.


    Not a single Ruling Sword player cared about Blood Dagger, including the healer Innocent Child. They were all focusing their output on Sorrowless.


    Kitty Likes Meat could withstand Glory Capital''s focus fire for maybe 15 seconds. Logically speaking, the five second cage probably wasn''t enough to deal fatal damage to Sorrowless. The focused fire that Kitty Likes Meat received was disturbed by Lu Li and his team, but the focused fire that Sorrowless encountered was true focused fire.


    In order to gain control of the battlefield and to get more opportunities to focus fire Kitty Likes Meat


    , Sorrowless had even used his Ice Block. He was now longing for that Ice Block, if only he had his Ice Block.


    "Attack the cage, you idiot!" Sorrowless shouted. Seeing Blood Dagger running over to help him with no regard for himself, Sorrowless almost cried. He wasn''t crying out of appreciation, but out of frustration. They didn''t know how long the cage would last for, but it could still be attacked.


    With four people focusing fire on Sorrowless, help from just one person wouldn''t do much. If the cage is destroyed, White Westhill can use the Golden Protection special effect to protect Sorrowless.


    After hesitating for a bit, Blood Dagger rushed over to attack the cage.


    The cage was finally broken ¨C actually, regardless of whether it was destroyed or not, the cage had already completed its mission. Sorrowless had suffered an extremely powerful barrage of attacks, but he didn''t die. When White Westhill got out she immediate went to save Sorrowless.


    At least for now, Ruling Sword hadn''t reached their goal.


    However, Sorrowless didn''t relax. He blinked over to where White Westhill was, because his HP was dangerously now. Like before, he was still the target for focused fire. Lu Li was even quicker than Sorrowless. He blinked right behind White Westhill.


    Shoulderpad Special Effect: Special Effect 3: Shadow Step, eliminates all negative status effects on oneself, when tried to be activated in the shadows, you will appear behind your target, and for the next 3 seconds, your next Ambush or Garrote will deal an extra 30% damage, as well as increasing your movement speed by 70%, continues for 3 seconds, cooldown time of 15 minutes.


    Leg Gear Special Effect: Special Effect 3: Knee Hit, uses kneecap to attack opponent, does 60% basic damage, as well as having a certain chance of paralyzing a target for three seconds. Cooldown time of 15 seconds. With two special effects joined together, it was a powerful, adaptable form of control.


    White Westhill was a bit dumbstruck. Why didn''t his fear have any effect on Lu Li? But he knew in a flash that Lu Li was evidently using some special effect or skill to eliminate his control.


    Head Gear Special Effect: Special Effect 3: Frigid Blood, your head becomes as cold as a block of ice. Use grants immunity against Fear and other similar spells. Lasts for 30 seconds.


    From the moment that Lu Li furiously dealt damage to Sorrowless, he had already foreseen this moment. He understood Sorrowless''s power better than anyone and knew that he couldn''t kill Sorrowless in just a short five second window. So when the cage disappeared, the target he needed to face became White Westhill.


    He wasn''t going to kill White Westhill, but he was going to control him. He needed to control him till he died. If he was careless at all, then White Westhill might be able to protect Sorrowless. This would put a stop to the strategy that Ruling Sword had committed to. Lu Li did everything he could to control White Westhill while the others tenaciously chased after Sorrowless.


    All the highest tier players of any game hadn''t been in such an exhausted, confused position in such a long time. If Sorrowless apologized to his teammates for showing too many of his skills earlier, that would barely be enough. He was really regretting it now.


    The skills of his pursuers were just too powerful!

 1782 3 Championships in a Row

    Glory Capital''s players weren''t just sitting back either. They definitely were not willing to just let Sorrowless die¡ª competitors never resigned to their fate.


    They went to distract Lu Li relentlessly. There were still heaps of skills that could control and even kill him. It was a shame that in the end, Dawn was still a fairly even game.


    Three strong players ¨C including Kitty Likes Meat in her big demon state ¨C didn''t do high damage, but they still had the ability to Fear and Disarm which really crippled Sorrowless.


    Either one of Moonlight and Mu Qiu could fight Sorrowless hundreds of times, let alone the both of them working together.


    Lu Li had been taken down to half HP, latching onto White Westhill without letting go. It wasn''t until Sorrowless was taken down before he finally used Gale Steps to get away from the battle, trying to stay alive.


    Sorrowless bit the dust!


    Not only was this a massive change in the battle, but it also caused a fall in Glory Capital''s morale.


    It was especially impactful on players like Blood Dagger, who followed Sorrowless as his only leader. Sorrowless''s death meant that he couldn''t think clearly. This was different with Lu Li, Moonlight and Mu Qiu. If Lu Li died, Moonlight would just fight however he thought was right.


    White Westhill could apply her Golden Protection on whoever she wanted to, but he didn''t know who to put it on. "Secure the defence line. Keep it up and regroup," White Westhill called out, taking command.


    Lu Li and his team didn''t look like they were in a rush though. Glory Capital had already lost Sorrowless, so there wasn''t much they could do. If they wanted to choose a target to focus fire, they could only choose Kitty Likes Meat, who had reverted from her demon form ¨C that''s right, Kitty Likes Meat once again became a cute little girl. Lu Li immediately started to go on the offensive.


    Actually, if Blood Dagger and his team had the guts to go on the offensive instead of waiting for support, they''d realise how weak the current Kitty Likes Meat actually was. Although her HP had already been refilled by Innocent Child, when she actually had to fight, a couple skills from any of them would be able to finish her off.


    The side effect of her transformation was a debuff that made her extremely weak; it wasn''t just a matter of having no defence.


    There was nothing wrong with White Westhill''s strategy. A four on five battle was disadvantageous so waiting for backup was the safest option. It was a shame they had missed a chance to turn the tables.


    By the time Glory Capital waited for their backup to come, it became a five on five battle again. History is unchanged as Glory Capital still wasn''t able to kill an opponent without losing someone themselves.


    Because they had an extra person, the subbed off Fat Monkey was finally able to enter in the battle. Being a benchwarmer for half the day, he finally had his time to shine.


    In the current patch, the old Mage had amazing damage levels. He had the strongest fire magic of any Mage; he was like a movable cannon. There was one voice echoing in White Westhill''s head, saying it was all over.


    Because of his temper, he began to have some deep hidden anger against Sorrowless. If Sorrowless hadn''t gone all out on the arena in destroying Water Fairy and everyone else, then other people wouldn''t have been able to see all his weaknesses. With the advantage of understanding those little weaknesses, Ruling Sword was able to defeat Glory Capital on the arena.


    Ruling Sword once again claimed the Shadow Cup championship.


    There were two Shadow Cup Championships and one Professional League Championship, so Ruling Sword could be considered to have won three championships in a row. The Donghua Cup and all those other little competitions didn''t stop Ruling Sword from boasting that they themselves were champions three times in a row.


    The generous reward allowed Ruling Sword''s economy to recover a little again. Creating a new branch cup meant they didn''t have a cent left over from their income in the first half year. Lu Li failed so much he almost had to live off his girlfriend.


    And so the last competition of the level 60s ended this way. The last Instance Dungeon, Naxxramas, had also been overcome by Ruling Sword. But the game company wouldn''t immediately unlock level 70. It would take at least a few months. The company had to consider the experience of the mid and low level players. They wouldn''t make a large-scale release of new content until most of them had experienced at least most of the level 60s content.


    In this period, Ruling Sword entered into a relatively stable time of development. On one hand, they didn''t stop forming Elite teams with some of the best players for Instance Dungeon farming, while on the other hand, they made some mass removal of ordinary players from the guild.


    This time, out of 100 000 battling players, Ruling Sword went right ahead and eliminated some 50 000. About 20 000 of them went into Judgement Spear, but the remaining 30 000 were completely cleared out.


    In this way, Ruling Sword''s fighting members were reduced to about 50 000.


    These waves of member removals would keep going on because there were constantly new strong, powerful players coming in. 50 000 people was the largest number a poor guild was able to support.


    Ruling Sword was one of these poor guilds¡ª they really lacked funds. When their income didn''t keep up with their expenditure, they''d have to reduce their numbers to increase benefits to the outstanding players.


    Actually, most of the best clubs including Glory Capital were reducing members. They had slimmed down quite a few times in a row, but they had a lot of assets and heaps of funds. The members who had been cut out more or less went into the branch guild, and not only did they accept their own members which had been removed, they also accepted members who had been removed from other clubs.


    Kicking guild members was a very cruel thing. Those members who had been eliminated already experienced the benefits of being in a big guild, so when they became an unaffiliated player again, there''d be a lot of things they weren''t used to. Good thing most of the ordinary players who were removed from big clubs could enter a mid or small sized guild easily.


    Since there were no competitions for now, clubs didn''t have go all out on getting First Clears for Instance Dungeons. Everyone focused once again on the Strongholds. The official channels were very cooperative as well, opening up a dynamic Stronghold battle.

 1783 Borrowing the Weapon

    An intense Stronghold battle wouldn''t be simple and straightforward like past battles, and the past battles weren''t very exciting either. At the moment, most clubs were able to defend their own Stronghold if they gave it their all.


    The game officials'' malicious strategy was to release double Strongholds.


    This meant that on each map, a second stronghold would begin to appear, especially on maps where there were barracks. For example, the Hillsbrad Foothills as well as Grey Valley Stronghold both had barracks. The double strongholds emerged on these two maps.


    With two strongholds appearing at once, it immediately attracted the attention of all the big clubs, but most people were aiming for the second stronghold at Hillsbrad Foothills.


    However, it wasn''t going to be easy. Blood Red War Flag was currently occupying the Hillsbrad Foothills. Even Glory Capital couldn''t guarantee that they would be able to defeat them. After all, they had their own stronghold they had to protect too. And as for Grey Valley, they would be fighting head on against Ruling Sword.


    Ruling Sword were big shots who had won all three championships, so they were in a position where no one wanted to provoke them. However, Ruling Sword already occupied two strongholds, Grey Valley and Black Sea Coast. There was no way they could fight for a new stronghold with everything they had to manage.


    The main reason no one wanted to participate in this war was because of Glory Capital, who had just been defeated by Ruling Sword in the Shadow Cup. Evidently, they wouldn''t let go of the chance to teach their old enemy a lesson.


    Ruling Sword was already a hard enough opponent, and with the powerful Glory Capital also in the mix, it was still relatively easier to bully Blood Red War Flag.


    Sorrowless had done two things recently.


    The first was to investigate the people who had sold weapons to them and investigate who had leaked out the info about their weapons. If those who were investigated had no way to confirm their innocence, they''d be hunted down and killed by the power of Glory Capital¡ª a top-level club simply couldn''t allow themselves to be messed with.


    Some of Ruling Sword''s resource points had also been met with the powerful, shameless attack of Glory Capital, like their mines, ruins and Wild Bosses. There was no doubt that Glory Capital had made Ruling Sword their number one enemy.


    Apart from this, Glory Capital had already started preparing for the Stronghold battle with all their might. Their strategy was really simple, or maybe it should be said that they didn''t care about a strategy at all.


    With the alliance of Drizzle Court and Peerless City going to attack the Gale Legion stronghold, if Gale Legion didn''t want to lose their stronghold overnight, then they needed to focus.


    What Ruling Sword really had to face was the allied strength of Glory Capital and Eternal Kingdom.


    Compared to getting the new Grey Valley stronghold, Ruling Sword would choose to protect the two strongholds they already had. It didn''t matter if it was Grey Valley or Black Sea Coast, if they lost either one, it would have a big impact on their power. Ruling Sword couldn''t afford to lose; they had put in too much money and effort into these two strongholds.


    But they wouldn''t just passively look on and watch Glory Capital take away the second stronghold of Grey Valley. Grey Valley was Lu Li''s big base camp. If Glory Capital took away Grey Valley''s new Stronghold, it was like having a stake driven into Lu Li''s heart. This was something that Lu Li definitely didn''t want to see.


    "I hope you guys are able to get this stronghold," Lu Li made a direct appointment with Drinking Alone, offering them a supposed gift.


    "Bro, are you kidding? Letting us compete with Glory Capital for this new stronghold." Drinking Alone replied. He didn''t think this was a gift at all. Their original target was Un''Goro Crater which Gangnam Royals occupied. At the moment, Gangnam Royals was considered one of the weaker top-level clubs. They still hadn''t completely covered their vitality.


    "There''s one thing you don''t have to worry about. Whether it''s me or Water Fairy, we don''t want to see Glory Capital occupy the second stronghold of Grey Valley, so we will give you full support, from players to materials. We''ll even offer money, which you definitely don''t lack."


    Drinking Alone was in deep thought for a moment. Lu Li wasn''t wrong, and he believed what Lu Li said. Any idiot would know Ruling Sword didn''t want Glory Capital crapping right outside their front door.


    If they were to attack Gangnam Royals, Ruling Sword''s support would be extremely limited. They needed to defend their own two strongholds and had to gather additional strength to plot against the second stronghold of Grey Valley.


    "I''d really like to know what sort of help Ruling Sword can offer," Drinking Alone asked.


    Lu Li was well prepared for this. He pulled out a list on which was written the names of high level players like Lonesome Flower, Kitty Likes Meat and Fat Monkey.


    "No way. You can give all these people to me?" Drinking Alone couldn''t believe his own eyes.


    Everyone was going to bid for the new stronghold. After bidding for it, everyone would attack the new stronghold that was defended by the system, seeing who was fastest. Whoever defeated it the quickest would be the new owners of the stronghold.


    That''s why those who were attacking the stronghold were those who had the highest damage output. However, if there was a relatively strong healer, they''d join in too. A strong healer could do the job of two and free up a place for more damage dealers.


    "That''s right, these are the ones we can give you for support. Drizzle Court will also give you a few strong mages. As long as you''re stronger than Glory Capital, it''s enough. Regardless of whether it''s us or Glory Capital, neither of us want to go all out to go attack a new stronghold. Your opponent isn''t Glory Capital at their full strength. If you''re not even brave enough to face Glory Capital with their hands and legs tied, then don''t you think you should just give up on your dreams of growing into an even greater guild?" Make them feel like they benefited from helping you, then use clever wording to trick them. Lu Li had already convinced Drinking Alone long ago.


    "We''ll give it a try," Drinking alone agreed enigmatically.


    He didn''t have to go back and discuss it with those at the top in the club. He was cautious man, but even he was tempted by this massive gift that Lu Li was placing right in front of him. The opportunistic guys at the top of the club probably wouldn''t even give it a second thought and would simply agree right away.


    "I do have one more recommendation," Lu Li laughed.


    "Doesn''t matter where those top players come from, you can still hire them to come over and help."


    "This is what we mean when we say we want to watch the world burn. They really are lending top players for the stronghold battle. It''d take at least a half a year before we can really rise in success. However with Lu Li''s clever, seemingly unintentional guidance, maybe he''ll speed up this process."


    At the moment, Gangnam Royals and Grand Hegemony were recruiting top players from the people of the most frequently participating clubs.


    But their limitations meant that they were only able to hire top players from the general public. So why don''t they spend a bit of money and borrow some people from other clubs? Other clubs must have extra people. So, if you give them a whole bunch of money, regardless of whether it was the player itself or the club, they wouldn''t refuse.

 1784 Reinforcements

    Lu Li was fighting against the enemies of Glory Capital in Grey Valley stronghold. He felt relieved as he watched his opponent''s line-up.


    It wasn''t to say that the people facing him wasn''t strong, but rather too strong.


    Nearly more than half of the people were professionals. Even those who had gone into hiding and retired such as the Green Training Camp instructor, Master Huang, had appeared. This meant that Glory Capital definitely wanted to use their full power for the Grey Valley stronghold as he expected.


    Lu Li had studied Sorrowless''s way of thinking very thoroughly.


    They took a stronghold here and then a stronghold there ¨C the whole of Grey Valley nearly belonged to Glory Capital.


    Lu Li encouraged Grand Hegemony to fight the Grey Valley stronghold and used his Golden Finger. The Golden Finger could be used more than once. Both Grand Hegemony and Lu Li could use it, and he invited a lot of backup.


    Wood Fearing and Unforgettable Maple brought their club''s players. Last time, they helped Azure Guard take Stranglethorn Vale from Glory Capital. This time, Glory Capital was mainly directing their focus on Ruling Sword, so there was no more need to ask the two of them for help with Azure Guard.


    Sea Breaker, Fallen Morals, Mini Meow, Lone Smoker Long were all from Purple Lunar Paradise.


    They had never had their own stronghold. This time Lu Li invited them, and they accepted without much thought since it was nice to learn by tagging along.


    Vincent, Twilight, Jumanji, Egg Cow, Hit Me 72 Times and Purple Heart Sea were all from Stellar Union.


    They agreed even more straightforwardly. There were not many big clubs in the Horde. Gale Legion was the subordinate of Glory Capital, and now Eternal Kingdom was also on their side.


    All in all, the 20 strong reinforcements allowed Ruling Sword''s defence power to increase immensely. After all, the ones invited were pretty much players and a few were celebrity player levelled.


    It wasn''t that Lu Li didn''t want to invite more people, but rather this needed to be kept secret. The more clubs contacted, the more easily that the message would leak out. If Glory Capital knew then it would lose compromise their plans. So, Lu Li only contacted one suitable club that definitely wouldn''t backstab them.


    Unforgettable Maple and Wood Fearing helped Azure Huard steal Glory Capital''s Stranglethorn Vale last time. They had already offended them, so they naturally won''t go looking for Glory Capital for cooperation.


    Purple Lunar Paradise and Glory capital were old enemies who had fought for decades that passed down from generation to generation.


    But he was called Shameless Lu for a reason. Even if he did just win a large sum of money from the Shadow Cup, he was still stingy. He not only didn''t pay them but he also made a small profit from these four clubs.


    As long as they held on to the stronghold, Lu Li would allow these clubs or individuals to buy a shop front for a cheap price in the stronghold.


    This temptation was much more attractive than ordinary gold coins, especially for clubs without strongholds. Business in other people''s clubs was still business.


    It could be said that Lu Li didn''t use any effort in inviting these 20 or so strong warriors. Regardless, he was still going to sell the shopfronts. It wouldn''t hurt to sell it at a cheaper price.


    While Sorrowless watched these people behind Lu Li, his face wasn''t so happy anymore. Unforgettable Maple, Wood Fearing, and the people they brought, plus Stellar Union and Purple Moon Paradise gave him a feeling of having made enemies all over the world.


    Did these people have nothing else to do?! Why have they all gone to help Lu Li?!


    But he wasn''t stupid either. He knew some things of these power and monetary exchange within this.


    He wasn''t happy because the intel gathered on their side was really poor. The last time they found out the attributes of Lu Li''s equipment without trying. This time, Lu Li received so many reinforcements out of nowhere.


    However, Lu Li found that Sorrowless''s expressions quickly changed to another. He couldn''t explain his expression.


    Following his opponent''s eyes, Lu Li found that Sorrowless was looking at Darkness. Who would have thought that Sorrowless was still infatuated with someone he killed decisively?


    Sorrowless was indeed looking at Darkness. At this time, she was dressed in full armour, and most of her small face was covered by a mask. However, Sorrowless could still recognise her in a crowd with one glance as the girl who took his heart.


    It didn''t matter whether she wasn''t by his side. Once she left, he finally knew what he cared most about.


    Lu Li expressed that he was innocent, he never thought about using Darkness to provoke Sorrowless. However, Darkness as the club''s number one Tanky Healer was an irreplaceable role in protecting the stronghold. After observing each other, the two sides begun their battle.


    Glory Capital was strong and powerful but Ruling sword had invited a lot of reinforcements. Glory Capital was still a bit stronger on comprehensive strength, but this was a defensive battle. Being on the defending side had its natural advantages.


    Hence, the battle fell into a state of impasse the moment it began.


    Compared with the stronghold battles between ordinary clubs, the casualties here were far more severe. Even Unforgettable Maple died once.


    "Oi Lu! I dropped an equipment, Epic one, you got to make up for my loss!" he yelled as he unleashed his skills. But attracted so much attention that another wave of attack came straight at him. He luckily retreated in time, so he wasn''t one-shotted.


    Lu Li didn''t participate in the command of the stronghold, only Sky Moon was in charge.


    He and Wood Fearing jumped to the bottom of the city wall. Their goal was to assassinate the healers of Glory Capital. It wasn''t unusual for two powerful thieves to cooperate with each other. He and Water Fairy had done so numerous times, but it was the first time with Wood Fearing.


    In the past he had fought hand to hand with Wood Fearing and was impressed by his skill and will power. It was the first time they''ve fought side by side.


    Lu Li felt his temporary partner''s growth in power. He was someone reborn, so he didn''t need to adapt to the game like other people did. However, Wood Fearing needed to get used to Dawn''s game operation model bit by bit, so his growth was rather obvious.


    If he fought Wood Fearing now, Lu Li wouldn''t have the complete confidence of being able to kill him.


    The two thieves didn''t aim for White Westhill ¨C that priest was honestly too hard to kill. It was also why Ruling Sword had chosen to kill Sorrowless during the championship.


    The priest targeted by them had no time to call for help and turned into a while light straight away.


    A piece of equipment dropped and was taken by Wood Fearing then thrown into his bag.


    This speed made Lu Li admire him even more. When it came to the speed of snatching equipment, he had never admired anyone else before.


    Now, he found that Wood Fearing was even better than him in this aspect. Indeed, he was a veteran of gaming.

 1785 Laughing at Other’s Misfortunes

    Killing a healer wasn''t enough to change the battle situation. However, it had a greater impact than killing a damage dealer.


    The majority of healers were in charge of their own little team. If the healer died, then there was no one to maintain the HP of their team. Damage dealers would then be more likely to be eliminated amidst the waves of skills.


    Lu Li and Wood Fearing very quickly met Glory Capital''s retaliation with Blood Dagger leading it.


    They were the best of the best among the Thieves, if they bumped into each other and didn''t battle it out, it wouldn''t sit right with any of them.


    "Fight me one-on-one if you dare!" Lu Li declared, as he takes the first step in avoiding the incoming wave of opponents.


    "If you have the guts then don''t run! I''ll fight you one-on-one!" Blood Dagger grunted.


    As if! Lu Li didn''t believe that Blood Dagger would fight him one-on-one. Even if Blood Dagger did agree to it, he wouldn''t agree to this type of stupid battle.


    Until the city wall has been broken, both sides of the attack and defence were based on long-range classes. Close combat could only play its role when the city was broken.


    No matter if it were above the city walls or below the city walls, they were all within the area that skills could reach. Only war chariots that could run far could have the chance of getting away from the skills'' reach.


    So, in the beginning stages, all the long-distance classes were having a hard battle.


    In addition to inflicting damage on the enemy, the attacking side also needed to wear down the durability of the city wall.


    White lights kept flashing without fail on the battlefield. From time to time, people who died would rush and join the battle again from the resurrection point. In fact, in addition to weakening the enemy''s strength, this kind of death would not cause equipment loss because the place where everyone died was beside their own people, if the equipment was dropped then someone would pick it up for them.


    However, Lu Li and Wood Fearing disrupted this idea. The two of them would wander about the outer circle of the Glory Capital players. If they saw someone drop their equipment, then they would throw themselves towards it and grab it like hungry wolves.


    The people of Glory Capital gritted their teeth with hatred but had no way of stopping them. This was a quest only thieves could accomplish.


    As the attacking side, Blood Dagger couldn''t do the same because they were underneath the wall. If he jumped onto the wall, this was no different to a one-way street to death.


    Lu Li had also paid a price for picking up a few pieces of equipment. He was controlled by Blood Dagger, then a group of people gathered to kill him, which made him drop a piece of equipment.


    Luckily, he had back up so he could continue fighting after putting it back on.


    The players that Lu Li interacted with in his past life were all of the lower-end, if they had a piece of Epic equipment on them it was something worth showing off. Only walking into this circle did he know that the things that ordinary people found hard to come by were something commonly seen by high levelled players already.


    The earlier stages of stronghold battles were boring; the true battle only began when the city walls were broken.


    Once the city wall had been bashed open, Glory Capital rushed in while the people of Ruling Sword fought with their lives to stop them.


    Such a narrow battlefield caused more casualties in a shorter period of time than the previous fighting did. Everyone was beginning to lose their equipment, but everyone had learned from previous battles. Even if they didn''t bring spare weapons, they would still carry a bag filled with stuff, so there wasn''t a high probability of dropping equipment.


    People with experience already knew from the equipment''s colour to determine what equipment it was and of what level.


    At a time like this, long-distance damage dealers were naturally important, but close combat players began to play a more powerful role that long-distance players couldn''t. The close combat classes of both sides, from Thieves to Warriors fiercely collided.


    Skills were thrown towards opponents haphazardly.


    Sorrowless and Lu Li had both become each other''s main target. Their combat power was astounding. They had also shouldered the role of temporary commander, plus their equipment was better too.


    When he was killed again, Lu Li charged to the front lines from the revival point. Luckily, none of the important equipment was dropped, the only thing that dropped was a piece of back up equipment.


    He was a bit annoyed. As he stared at Sorrowless, he stared back at him. He was so close to killing Sorrowless off when Sorrowless unexpectedly threw a critical hit. And it was a three times critical hit too which killed him straight away.


    Sorrowless who was low on HP did not escape death either. The only thing now was wondering which bastard would benefit from the equipment that he will drop.


    As Lu Li joined back with the team, Lu Li hurriedly asked the team channel to see what Lu Li dropped.


    Sorrowless was someone with more Epic equipment on him than Lu Li. If he had picked up an equipment, it would be such a bargain.


    "Hehe, look what I got." Unforgettable Maple waved the dropped weapon in his hands as he said in triumph.


    Lu Li''s mood dropped instantly. The really important equipment that Sorrowless dropped was meant to be something to be happy about, but the one who picked it up was Unforgettable Maple. Plus, he didn''t belong to Ruling Sword. So, to ask someone like him to hand over the equipment was essentially daydreaming!


    How could Lu Li be happy? If Sorrowless hadn''t dropped equipment, then the next drop could''ve been really good. Now that it was Epic equipment that was dropped, he had no idea what the next drop would be.


    Lu Li didn''t believe that Sorrowless''s back up staff was also Epic.


    Unforgettable Maple was still pleased with himself and immediately became an object of target. He was too late to react, and he died on the spot. The battle situation was so fierce. Everyone''s health potions were nearly used up.


    "Far out! My clothes! My clothes dropped! Who picked it up?" Unforgettable Maple yelled after his revival.


    Lu Li looked at his equipment and his heart sank. It wasn''t his Epic dagger that dropped, but his Felstriker dropped.


    Lu Li also started yelling in the team channel, "Did anyone pick up my weapon? Has anyone picked up my weapon?"


    There were two bosses, one was asking about clothes, the other about their weapon.


    The only difference was that Unforgettable Maple had worse luck. He did pick up Sorrowless''s weapon, but this time all of his dropped clothes were taken by Glory capital, while Lu Li''s weapon was brought back by the players of Ruling Sword.


    "Morals. Sister Maple, isn''t it indecent of you to not wear clothes? Ahaha!" Lu LI couldn''t help but laugh at his misfortune, even if he was an ally he still couldn''t help it.

 1786 Three Wars

    "Sorrowless, Sorrowless are you there? Just give me the equipment back, and I will help you fight Ruling Sword," Unforgettable Maple said angrily.


    "Heh," Lu Li didn''t even pay attention to him.


    Sorrowless didn''t pay attention to him either. The player who was leading Glory Capital and directing his troops to rush into the Stronghold had to be really naive to believe Unforgettable Maple''s words.


    The battle had now transitioned into the Stronghold and the two sides were desperately fighting.


    "Push them back," Lu Li looked at the time and felt that he had to push them out now. As the endless stream of Glory Capital players rushed into the Stronghold, Lu Li realised they might not be able to hold on until the time ran out.


    Of course, the Glory Capital players didn''t want to get pushed out, but Lu Li had the Ancient of Lore. Once it started moving, there was little the players could do to stop it. As they cleared out Glory Capital''s players, Lu Li also had a chance to take some equipment. The ground was covered in equipment, and everyone was grabbing as many as they could.


    They had already agreed that as long as the equipment didn''t belong to someone on their own side, they were allowed to keep any equipment that they picked up. This meant that the players aiding Ruling Sword were picking up equipment like crazy.


    "Stop picking up equipment and get ready to meet the enemies. Make sure to meet them at the entrance," Lu Li yelled as he continued to pick up equipment.


    "They are blocking the gap," Unforgettable Maple was also yelling at the same time. These two men were saying these things, but their true intentions were betrayed by the fact that they were still picking up equipment.


    Although there were many drops, most of them were rubbish. Yet the players were still picking up the equipment as they were afraid that their peers would have more than them. But it was even more shameless for the leaders to be doing something like that as well.


    Fortunately, the aiding players weren''t just good at picking up equipment, but also at defence. After all, it wasn''t in their interests to let Glory Capital take the stronghold as well. If the Stronghold fell, then all the discounts that Lu Li promised wouldn''t mean anything.


    Despite their defensive strength, they were still bound to lose some equipment. But if they won the Stronghold war, the spoils should be enough to recover their losses.


    If you were lucky, you could even earn some money. For someone like Unforgettable Maple who had lost some of his armour, the Legendary weapon that he picked up could pay for the equipment that he lost.


    Of course, Sorrowless wasn''t willing to accept defeat either. So, the longer the fight was drawn out, the more vicious the fighting got.


    Sorrowless had already overestimated Ruling Sword''s strength, but he had no idea that Lu Li would ask for help and invite over 20 professional players.


    In the end, Glory Capital still couldn''t capture the Stronghold.


    Glory Capital had come in with 80 players, half of whom were selected from a pool of 200 players. This greatly affected their offensive strength.


    As this fight came to an end, the other Stronghold battles had naturally also ended.


    Lu Li first looked to find out what happened to the new Grey Valley Stronghold. He wasn''t worried about the Black Sea Coast Stronghold at all, as he had put Wandering in charge with a strong defensive line up, so there was no doubt that they could have held it.


    In the place where it listed the new owners of the new Grey Valley Stronghold, Grand Hegemony was written.


    Great!


    Lu Li couldn''t help but clap his hands in joy. Now that the new Stronghold was held by Grand Hegemony, the entire Grey Valley was under his sphere of influence.


    Although Lu Li wasn''t too charismatic, as long as he and Ruling Sword stood strong, he had no reason to believe that Grand Hegemony would betray them. Even if Grand Hegemony backed out from the deal, Lu Li had the strength to teach them a lesson at any time.


    The joint forces of Drizzle Court and Peerless City had defeated Gale Legion, so they won Gale Legion''s Stronghold on the Stonetalon Mountains.


    Fortunately, Gale Legion had held onto their Desolace Stronghold. Otherwise, the feeling of losing both Strongholds would have been crushing. Right now, Glory Capital had Stranglethorn Vale, Drizzle Court had Western Wilderness, Seventh Heaven had Tanaris, Blood Red War Flag had Hillsbrad Hills and Wings of Dawn had Thousand Needles. None of those Strongholds had changed. The only other change was in the Un''Goro Crater, where Gangnam Royals were not strong enough to defend it, so it was taken over by Blood Red War Flag.


    This meant that Blood Red War Flag had successfully become a club that owned two Strongholds. However, Blood Red War Flag didn''t manage the capture of the new Stronghold in Hillsbrad Hills. Instead, the new owners were Glory Capital.


    Glory Capital had started with two Strongholds and got another one. But this result was far from what Sorrowless had intended when he deployed his troops. According to the intention of his deployment, they should have acquired all of Grey Valley, and half of Hillsbrad Hills. In addition to their original Strongholds, it would have left them with six total Strongholds. But since Gale Legion lost one of their Strongholds, the whole operation turned out to be a loss overall.


    This was the nature of Stronghold Wars, there were bound to be some happy people and some who met a less desirable fate.


    Two weeks later, there was another round of the Stronghold War. But this time, there were no new Strongholds, just another modification to the Stronghold Wars.


    The changes affected the player selection process. For the attacking party, the 40 players were now selected from a pool of 100 players instead of 200. This meant that the attacking side''s strength would be more pronounced as they had a higher concentration of stronger players. The other change removed the Stronghold from the land. The Stronghold could now be stored by the club, so even if the battle was lost the club''s Stronghold still existed. Once they successfully conquered a new piece of land, they could re-establish the same Stronghold in that new location.


    This was good news for both the offensive and defensive parties. The offensive party now felt more confidence in their attacks, and the stakes were lower for the defending party.


    In this week''s Stronghold War, Lu Li decided to purely focus on defence.


    This time, they defended quite easily as Glory Capital''s energy had been spent on attacking Azure Guard instead of Ruling Sword.


    Azure Guard had previously taken Stranglethorn Vale from them, but Sorrowless was busy dealing with Lu Li so he couldn''t deal with them. He didn''t even look in their direction until then because he felt like he could take back the Stronghold at any time.


    This much was true. Azure Guard didn''t have the defensive strength of Ruling Sword. Although they had also hired some help, they were still defeated by Glory Capital''s strong attack.


    The other Strongholds didn''t change that much.


    There was one, if it could be considered a change, where Blood Red War Flag and Seventh Heaven privately exchanged the Un''Goro Crater and Tanaris.


    Two weeks later, the last Stronghold War was about to begin. This was just before level 70 was unlocked and it also released two new maps ¨C The Hinterlands and the Arathi Highlands. Additional Strongholds were also released on the existing maps of Western Wilderness and Tanaris.


    With four Strongholds being released at once, the officials obviously thought that the players didn''t have enough to do.

 1787 Another Crafty Scheme

    "I think Sorrowless will definitely attack Blood Red War Flag this week," Fat Monkey said with certainty.


    "We can''t just pin our hopes on the fact that he will attack someone else and not us. We need to have more forward thinking than that."


    Lu Li hated to admit it, but Glory Capital''s existence actually put a lot of pressure on everyone else.


    In the two previous Stronghold Wars, Glory Capital had attacked them. Although they had acquired some extra aid, they still almost lost the Stronghold.


    Glory Capital attacked someone else last week, which meant that every other guild that wasn''t facing them had a relatively easy time defending themselves. Now, everyone was just hoping that Glory Capital would target someone else.


    "So, what you''re saying is that if they attacked with all their strength, we wouldn''t be able to hold it?" Sky Moon asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.


    "We wouldn''t have a problem defending one of them, but defending two of them would be a little difficult. The key issue now is that we have three Strongholds to defend as we need to help Grand Hegemony hold their Stronghold too. We''ll have to get the aid we got last time again ¨C we cannot let our Strongholds fall into the hands of Glory Capital," Lu Li said resolutely.


    "In the case that we aren''t able to hold it, we would rather give up the Black Sea Coast¡­ but that isn''t really an option," Wandering considered seriously.


    At this time, everyone still thought highly of the Strongholds.


    The Black Sea Coast was a Stronghold they had held for nine Stronghold Wars. It had existed since the beginning of the Stronghold system, and now it was going to be abandoned.


    "I think we could incite Blood Red War Flag to fight Glory Capital, or perhaps we could even get Azure Guard involved. They would do their best to help," Wandering suggested. He had always been good at developing these kinds of strategies.


    "That sounds pretty good," Lu Li''s agreed as his eyes lit up.


    "We don''t need to commit much manpower or money as well. Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard will happily go all out. The former are in conflict over the Hillsbrad Hills and the latter just lost a Stronghold to Glory capital¡­"


    "Wandering, you''ve changed¡­ you''re so crafty now," Azure Sea Breeze said with a shocked expression. Azure Sea Breeze was the kind of person to attend the meeting just to make up numbers.


    "And in that case, Glory Capital wouldn''t attack us anymore, right?" Sky Moon asked.


    Lu Li shook his head, disagreeing, "If the attack is strong enough, then they would have to focus all their strength on defending. In that case, they wouldn''t attack us anymore. However, we have to be clear on the fact that Blood Red War Flag''s interests and our interests are not the same."


    "Why? Don''t we all want to join forces to fight Glory Capital?" Fat Monkey questioned.


    He was obviously an intelligent person. Anything that Lu Li thought of, he had realized as well.


    Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard could combine forces as long as they had reason to, and as long as they had someone to remind them of that reason, the combined attack would work.


    However, they obviously didn''t want Glory Capital to be defending their Stronghold. If Glory Capital was fully on the defensive, then they wouldn''t be able to win. If Glory Capital did their best to attack Ruling Sword when they attacked, they would have a better opportunity.


    It was actually in their interests for both Ruling Sword and Glory Capital to suffer.


    After listening to Lu Li''s explanation, they realized that things were not that simple.


    "So, I think the plan would be this," Lu Li said after some thought, "We work on ensuring that Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard collaborate, while leaking that information to Glory Capital."


    "Wow, you really are shameless!" Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    Fat Monkey also had a shocked expression. From their perspective, both Wandering and Lu Li were crafty veterans. They were both trying to one up each other with their insidious plans.


    "Alright then, I''ll be contacting Jade Flower Lover," Lu Li said, settling on the decision and beginning to implement it.


    "No, you can''t do it," Wandering quickly responded.


    "Why? Surely you don''t think I''m incapable of doing even this," Lu Li said with a smile.


    "Of course you can do it ¨C you are even more crafty than I thought ¨C but you can''t underestimate Jade Flower Lover. He isn''t as dumb as these two idiots and he is likely to discover our true intentions if he gives it some thought."


    "Are you going to do it then?" Lu Li asked after he nodded.


    With his reputation in the professional circle, Jade Flower Lover was unlikely to take him at face value.


    "I can''t go either. We have to find someone who has no interest in Ruling Sword," Wandering said.


    Unforgettable Maple!


    Lu Li blurted out a name and Wandering nodded. The two had decided on a suitable candidate.


    "Who will be feeding this information to Glory Capital?"


    "I think it is best for them to find out on their own. I can handle that part," Wandering said confidently.


    Lu Li knew he was referring to Ruling Sword''s intelligence network, mainly because Wandering was responsible for it. He might already have someone undercover inside Glory Capital.


    Unforgettable Maple was respected in the professional circle, but this didn''t meant that he was a good old man. In fact, he would often hold grudges against other players, but it was all done in the open and he would never speak to anyone passive aggressively. This meant that he had an amicable relationship with most players.


    Unforgettable Maple didn''t have much of an issue with this task, as he was a person without many principles as well.


    Whether it was blood Red War Flag, Glory Capital or even Ruling Sword, he was just happy to see someone in an unfortunate position. Blood Red War Flag actually had a decent chance of getting the Stronghold too, and once that happened, he would be owed a favour.


    Jade Flower Lover heard Unforgettable Maple''s advice and sincerely invited Gods of Dusk to join in.


    Unforgettable Maple had no reason to refuse. As long as Blood Red War Flag was paying them, Gods of Dusk would have no reason to reject the offer.


    Then, Jade Flower lover contacted several clubs, including the one that Lu Li had asked for aid from. Together, they formed a very powerful line up which was more ambitious than Lu Li and Wandering had imagined. They would not only attack the Stronghold on Hillsbrad Hills, but also other Strongholds owned by Glory Capital.


    Fortunately, the Stronghold bidding this time was not as expected as it used to be.


    The venture capitalists were beginning to understand that there was no point investing all their money into these Stronghold wars if their guilds didn''t have the corresponding strength. It was better to invest in the shops of someone else''s Stronghold and develop their in-game strength rather than blindly intervening in a Stronghold War.


    As for whether and when Glory Capital would discover the plan, Lu Li didn''t ask because he trusted that Wandering would handle the matter.


    Wandering was a lazy person, but anything that he guaranteed to Lu Li was always done perfectly.

 1788 A Lost Ally

    "There are four Strongholds, and there is one I want," Water Fairy said firmly.


    "I understand. Do you need our help?" Lu Li asked.


    Of the four new Strongholds, there was a new Stronghold in Arathi Highlands. However, there were two additional Strongholds added to Western Wilderness and Tanaris. As Drizzle Court already occupied a Stronghold in the Western Wilderness, she couldn''t tolerate having another force co-existing on the same map.


    In terms of game time, it was now nightfall and Lu Li''s home was in Darnassus.


    There were many small animals being raised by Lu Xin in the backyard. They were dancing about in the moonlight, as if the mysterious strength of the moon was giving them endless vitality.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were sitting under the maple trees in the front yard, where you could see the emerald Lake Al''Ameth and the moonlight shining on it. There were even some small fishing jumping about. The scene was filled with life.


    When faced with such a vivid scene, Lu Li felt an intoxicating calmness.


    He remembered when he and Water Fairy had first come here. They were facing each other, and were sitting quite close, but they weren''t very familiar with each other. They had no idea that they would come this far. Lu Li''s thoughts were entirely focused on his sister''s illness and was frantically trying to change his destiny.


    Water Fairy was also a proud woman, and wouldn''t pour her entire life into Lu Li even if she did like him.


    But now, they were sitting together with Water Fairy snuggled up against Lu Li. She looked rather cute and Lu Li just wanted to hold her in his arms.


    In fact, that was exactly what he did.


    "There''s no need ¨C just defend your Stronghold. If you can''t defend it, I can find some people to help you."


    Any problem that could be solved with money posed no difficulty for this female tycoon.


    Despite the awkwardness with her father and the lack of support from the Shen Group, Water Fairy''s resources were not to be underestimated. Her uncle had inherited the family business and really cared for Water Fairy. He also recognized her gaming ability, so he would support her in all her endeavours.


    At the beginning, when Water Fairy''s mother married her father, it was thought by the community that she had married down.


    Besides, Water Fairy also owned a lot of the family property, so it was no problem supporting Lu Li.


    "Oh, you don''t have to do that. We¡­ well, Wandering thought of an idea. He is going to


    encourage Blood Red War Flag to form a coalition force to fight Glory Capital''s Stronghold. We will then secretly relay that information to Glory Capital so they will both fight very fiercely. I asked you to come here today to tell you that you can rest assured of that."


    "I know, you really can''t gauge a person by the way they look. Just because he is good-looking doesn''t mean he thinks good thoughts," Lu Li said with a look of disgust.


    "Aren''t you afraid of him then, since he is so close to you?" Water Fairy asked worriedly.


    (Wandering: Damn you Water Fairy ¨C you don''t even know that your man is 100 -imes more crafty than I am!)


    "Nah, he is also such a lazy person that if it wasn''t necessary to breath, he problem wouldn''t be bothered to. There is no way he will betray me," Lu Li said with some relief. He couldn''t go on putting down Wandering.


    Water Fairy was now completely relaxed as well. Since she could now focus everyone on the Western Wilderness Stronghold, they now had a greater chance of taking it.


    Lu Li wasn''t even thinking about taking the opportunity to win another Stronghold.


    He had to recognize his own strengths. This was not like a First Clear. They could take First Clears with 40 players, but a Stronghold War required 80 people in the fight itself. Even if Grand Hegemony didn''t need their help, they would need to find a total of 160 Elite players.


    It was already difficult enough to get 160 players, but they also had to help Grand Hegemony.


    Once Ruling Sword had control over three Strongholds, they would require 240 Elite players to defend them.


    They really wouldn''t be able to achieve that!


    There was just no way around it, unless you asked for 100 players to help out, but that would be too expensive. If you could pay 100 players to help, they would just take the Stronghold themselves and sell it to a large club.


    "Developing a club is a long-term process that doesn''t have any shortcuts!"


    This was what Square Root 3 often said in meetings. While everyone else was eager to dominate the gaming circle, he had been the most calm and pessimistic. He always seemed to think that Ruling Sword was one wrong step away from becoming a sinking ship.


    Lu Li wasn''t as pessimistic as him, but felt that they were very fortunate to have Square Root 3 managing Ruling Sword.


    Unfortunately, his plans couldn''t keep up with all the coming changes.


    "We want the Hinterlands. If Ruling Sword wants it, we can give them the Grey Valley Stronghold," Drinking Alone said bitterly on the verge of begging Lu Li.


    "You guys¡­"


    Lu Li was naturally angry.


    Even under the tremendous pressure of Glory Capital, they had made big plans to help Grand Hegemony take the Stronghold, but now they didn''t want it?


    "Lu Li, listen to me. I know that this is very disloyal, and I don''t want to do this either. But our Boss insists that this will make us overly attached to you guys. Everyone knows that Grey Valley''s two Strongholds will ultimately be yours. And the fact that we have it really just means that you have it."


    "So it''s your boss who caused this awkward situation right?" Lu Li had calmed down. It had already been done, so there was no point being angry.


    "Yes, our Boss wants us to capture a Stronghold that purely belongs to Grand Hegemony. I advised him against it, but he won''t listen. With Grand Hegemony''s current strength, there is no way for us to occupy a Stronghold ourselves," Drinking Alone said sadly.


    "Oh," Lu Li laughed coldly.


    At the beginning of the game, Drinking Alone had invited him to join Grand Hegemony with a very attractive set of conditions. If not for the qualms that Lu Li had with them, he might have agreed to it.


    After all, he had to worry about his sister''s illness at the time and had not found his own ambitions yet.


    His qualms at the time were with Emperor Hegemony, the leader of Grand Hegemony.


    According to his understanding of that person, he was very talented but not a good leader.


    Forming an alliance wasn''t something that could be done casually. Once a party stopped benefiting the other, the other party would quickly drop them as an ally.


    He just didn''t expect it to be to such an extent and so soon.


    Indeed, Grand Hegemony''s occupation of the second Grey Valley Stronghold was essentially in place for Ruling Sword. However, Lu Li was going to treat them as an ally, and would have helped them occupy their own Stronghold in future.


    Now that Strongholds and maps were separate, Ruling Sword was basically just lending Grand Hegemony a place where they could develop their own Stronghold.


    Once they were capable of owning their own Stronghold, they could then build the same Stronghold onto that spot.

 1789 Half-Life Crystal

    "This alliance¡­it''s like a joke."


    Lu Li was trying to suppress his own anger.


    "I know¡­I know. We''ll compensate you for your losses. We''ll cover the financial side of things for the attack. We''ll guarantee your victory."


    Drinking Alone hoped to calm Lu Li down. He originally just wanted to freeload from Ruling Sword a little. He didn''t want to make them enemies.


    "This I can accept. However, take back the shares that you gave us," Lu Li replied coldly.


    "Lu Li, why? Don''t do that." Drinking Alone was panicking.


    "You think that we can defend three Strongholds by ourselves?" Lu Li coldly laughed and continued, "Won''t you also need us to deploy a part of our people to help you take down a new Stronghold as well? If you guys don''t want to take it back, then I will sell the 5% shares."


    Lu Li hated this. He didn''t have a rock-solid foundation with Grand Hegemony as allies anyway.


    Drinking Alone''s face went pale. He utterly hated his own boss, and utterly hated Lu Li as well. If this happened, then Grand Hegemony''s losses would be too great in this exchange.


    Ruling Sword went easy on Grand Hegemony in the last competition, which allowed them to enter the top 100. In return, Grand Hegemony gave Ruling Sword 5% of their shares.


    Realistically, this was an overtly one-sided exchange. The shares were not worth it just for them to go easy. Even if it was 0.5%, it still wouldn''t be worth it. Under the advice of Drinking Alone, Emperor Hegemony decided to use this relationship to share in Ruling Sword''s Instance Dungeon strategies and other information.


    Well, they proved to be correct. They managed to get what they wanted.


    Ruling Sword sold quite a few Boss strategies to them at a low price. Their progress for Instance Dungeons quickly caught up and even exceeded some other mega-clubs as well.


    Now, Lu Li didn''t seem like he was too keen on bringing them along for the ride. He wanted to sell


    the 5% shares back to them, but it wasn''t the money that was the problem. It was about sending a message.


    Grand Hegemony was well known for being a wealthy club. Many large corporations and rich people had invested into this club.


    In the game, Grand Hegemony had purchased many lands and also invested in many small and medium-sized clubs. Many other old mega-clubs wouldn''t be able to compare to them.


    If they really wanted to sell the club, the price might be as high as 6 billion. However, the market price was estimated to be around 4 billion.


    5% meant 200 million dollars!


    The 5% that Grand Hegemony gave Lu Li wasn''t just a verbal agreement, but was signed as an official document which was 100% effective. As such, Drinking Alone didn''t know what to do. However, he couldn''t do much, because it was them who had betrayed Lu Li''s trust first.


    They thought that it wouldn''t affect the stability of the alliance since it would only be the first failure. Moreover, their alliance greatly benefitted Ruling Sword. They didn''t expect Lu Li to be so determined to part ways.


    Drinking Alone wasn''t sure that their boss would be able to accept this loss, so he needed to go back and discuss this matter with him.


    His relationship with Lu Li only existed because they partied up together once at the beginning of the game. Their relationship was quite shallow, but enough for him to be a liaison.


    With an emotionless expression on his face, he watched as Drinking Alone left. After he left, Lu Li''s face instantly transformed into one with an evil grin. It wasn''t that he wasn''t angry, but that he had exaggerated his anger a little.


    As soon as Drinking Alone opened his mouth and proposed his idea, Lu Li immediately looked for


    new suitors for the Grey Valley Stronghold.


    Even if Grand Hegemony didn''t want this Stronghold, there were many others who did. Lu Li promised the Life Alliance that they would give them a Stronghold of their own. However, because of external investments, the capital needed to attack Strongholds grew much higher, so they hadn''t been able to do that.


    Lu Li always honoured his promises, so it was only a matter a time. Now, the time had come.


    Life Alliance''s warfare capabilities might not have been able to match up with Grand Hegemony''s, but both clubs were wealthy. At the very least, their financial capabilities gave them the right to compete for Strongholds.


    However, he was serious about dissolving the alliance with Grand Hegemony.


    Lu Li''s personality was actually quite dominant. Unless it had to happen, he didn''t allow for uncontrolled things occur happen.


    Grand Hegemony betrayed him, which rocked Ruling Sword''s foundation and hold in Grey Valley. Who knew what would happen the next time?


    Lu Li didn''t want to take this risk. He also didn''t need to take this risk.


    For Ruling Sword, the alliance with Grand Hegemony was expendable. As for the 5% shares, that was a bonus. Lu Li didn''t plan to just nicely give them back either. He wasn''t that nice.


    Grand Hegemony was obviously not happy to receive this news. However, they couldn''t do anything about it.


    They could give the second Stronghold in Grey Valley to another club, for example, Glory Capital. Perhaps they might be able to sell it for a decent price, but this notion was immediately stopped by Drinking Alone. He was even willing to leave Grand Hegemony to make a statement.


    Emperor Hegemony was considering this possibility.


    Drinking Alone was only one of many vice-presidents in the club. In terms of competitions, he had only participated in a few. As for the impact on the club, it wouldn''t be too significant if he did leave. However, he did have a good relationship with Northern Tang Dream.


    With the departure of Drinking Alone, Northern Tang Dream was also likely to leave. Furthermore, everyone who had a good relationship with Drinking Alone would also be likely to leave if things weren''t dealt with properly. If that happened, Grand Hegemony would be falling apart.


    Emperor Hegemony couldn''t bear the burden of the club breaking apart. Lu Li could act like a spoiled brat, but he could not.


    This was because Ruling Sword was Lu Li''s and his alone, while Emperor Hegemony was only managing the enormous capital for Grand Hegemony. Therefore, he had to deal with external investors as well.


    To give up on the second Grey Valley Stronghold and turn to a new target was what the body of investors wanted, but the price to pay to make this happen was enough to completely tear Grand Hegemony apart.


    Neither Ruling Sword or Grand Hegemony would feel nice about it. The only one rejoicing was probably Half-Life Crystal.


    In the beginning, they were mere herb collectors who were poor and weak. Anyone could have bullied them. Because of the bullying that occurred in-game, her and her sisters shed many tears. It was under Lu Li''s guidance that they established the Life Alliance.


    After the establishment of Life Alliance, they quickly became one of the biggest groups at that time.

 1790 Battle of the Ages

    The Life Alliance was quite a relaxed group; most of the inner members weren''t capable in combat either. Half-Life Crystal''s greatest dream was to have their own land ¨C a Stronghold would be ideal.


    However, it was difficult to make this a reality. This was because many mega-clubs still didn''t have their own Strongholds either.


    The motivation behind her and the Life Alliance''s constant support for Lu Li was that she hoped that he could make her dream a reality and take a Stronghold for the Life Alliance.


    Half-Life Crystal originally thought that it would take around a year and a half, or an even longer time for her dream to come true. She didn''t expect Lu Li to contact her this soon for her to take the Stronghold. Furthermore, from his tone, it seemed that he was 100% confident in taking the Stronghold.


    They were not very ambitious people. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that their type of ambition was different to a normal club''s. As such, safeguarding Ruling Sword''s Stronghold in


    Grey Valley was not only without detriment to them, but it was better for them as well.


    This Stronghold was Ruling Sword''s. If they couldn''t protect it, Ruling Sword wouldn''t just stand by and watch. They would try their utmost best to assist them. Furthermore, Life Alliance wouldn''t need to repay Ruling Sword for doing so either.


    Half-Life Crystal was extremely excited.


    At the very beginning of the game, she was just an ignorant little girl. After being saved by Lu Li, she started to grow more and more ambitious. With luck on her side, she also became more successful. Besides Ruling Sword, she also had good relations with other clubs as well. That aside, she had also managed to gain the support of a group of individual top players.


    They would sell materials and equipment to these players at a discounted price, supporting them just as a mega-club would.


    For example, if these players dropped items after dying in the Wild, they just needed to give Half-Life Crystal a call. She would immediately send equipment to the players who needed it, even if they didn''t have enough money. As long as they were top players, the Life Alliance was willing to support them. After all, they were financially capable to do so. Furthermore, they didn''t even care if the players owed them money.


    This created a network of top players that the Life Alliance could rely upon in times of need. As soon as the Life Alliance requested for help, these top players would immediately rush to their side.


    Lu Li asked for Half-Life Crystal to prepare 100 top fighters. This way, they would only need 40 more players from Ruling Sword. He didn''t expect that Half-Life Crystal would immediately prepare a list of 200 players. Of this list of 200 players, the top half were players with a strong reputation as well.


    After all, Grand Hegemony was only guarding it in name. The ownership of the Stronghold was already decided beforehand.


    Drinking Alone came twice more afterwards. The second time, he even brought along Northern Tang Dream and Northern Tang Kitty, hoping to regain their alliance with Ruling Sword. However, this was all rejected by Lu Li. What he was asking for was impossible.


    The relationship between Lu Li and these people were quite shallow. After all, they only partied together once during the very beginning of the game. There was nothing more beyond that.


    If there wasn''t a clash of principles, Lu Li wouldn''t mind building a better relationship with these people. He wasn''t a person who completely disregarded the past. However, after pushing him to the limit, Lu Li decided that they were not worth his time.


    Emperor Hegemony also surrendered and quickly sent the money to Ruling Sword.


    Besides paying the price for taking back the shares that they gave Lu Li, there was also the price of the Stronghold. It wouldn''t just be Life Alliance joining, but there would be other clubs too. For the sake of appeasing Lu Li, they also paid for that.


    Truthfully speaking, no matter how confident and proud Grand Hegemony was, they knew that they couldn''t dare to offend Lu Li.


    Despite crossing swords with Glory Capital again and again, Ruling Sword hadn''t suffered many losses at all. Lu Li was someone widely recognised as ruthless and heartless. Furthermore, he had a reputation for being narrow-minded and holding grudges. He would pay back all the wrongs that were dealt to him. If you offended him, you wouldn''t be able to even dream of sleeping well that night.


    It was only Water Fairy, who was disillusioned by her love for her boyfriend, who felt that Lu Li was a legendary figure who was worthy of the glorious tales about him.


    Although Glory Capital was occupied at that time, Lu Li did not let down his guard.


    If he was Sorrowless, Glory Capital''s leader, he wouldn''t do things the conventional way. He would team up with Blood Red War Flag and the other clubs to take away Ruling Sword''s Strongholds.


    Unfortunately for him, Sorrowless was Sorrowless.


    His proud personality would never allow himself to do such underhanded things. From the very beginning when he took control of Glory Capital, he had always defeated their opponents the right way, and always in one on one confrontations. Even when Glory Capital was being teamed-up against, he never conceded. As such, Lu Li wasn''t worried about him.


    The twelfth Stronghold wars officially began.


    Ruling Sword continued to be on the defensive. Both the Black Sea Coast and Grey Valley had already been successfully defended more than ten times. Therefore, if everything went according to the plan, their defence would be almost guaranteed.


    Drizzle Court controlled the first Stronghold in Westfall and aimed to gain the second Stronghold in the same map.


    Peerless City was also on the defensive. They deployed some players to assist Drizzle Court in attacking the second Stronghold in Westfall to ensure their victory.


    Life Alliance wasn''t a club. A club meant that there was military strength. Furthermore, clubs would also compete in different competitions. They spent a great amount of money to gain the right to attack the second Stronghold in Grey Valley and were battling against Grand Hegemony.


    People with a keen eye would be able to sense that Grand Hegemony and Ruling Sword had resolved their issues.


    Otherwise, they wouldn''t be spending that much money to fight each other.


    For the sake of preventing clubs from cheating and sabotaging the integrity of the battles, the official administrators would judge the progress of each battle to see if it was legitimate or not. As soon as they decided that one side was acting, they would disqualify the accused club and inflict a harsh punishment on them. For example, they would forbid the accused club from participating in the Stronghold battles three times. If it was judged that both sides were acting, they would nullify the ownership of the Stronghold, then release it as a free Stronghold next time.


    No one dared to test the administrators.


    Grand Hegemony didn''t dare. They still wanted to take on other Strongholds. Life Alliance also didn''t dare to test them. It wasn''t that they weren''t strong enough to take a Stronghold for themselves, but that Grand Hegemony just didn''t need to defend it like their life depended on it. They just needed to fight normally.


    With no external reinforcements from Ruling Sword or hired mercenaries, Grand Hegemony shamefully lost to the Life Alliance and became known as a joke for a long time.


    The Stronghold battles this time had been exciting and went down in the history of the game.


    The most exciting clash was of course between Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag. It was a much better viewing experience than Ruling Sword''s defence.


    Glory Capital was just as Lu Li expected. They did not ask for reinforcements at all.


    They clashed with a combined strength of Blood Red War Flag, Azure Guard, Seventh Heaven, Grand Hegemony, Wings of Dawn, Peacetime Dynasty, Purple Lunar Paradise, Brotherhood and Majin Temple. This was an alliance of nine clubs.


    Of course, each of these clubs had their own things to do, so they only deployed a small portion of their strength.

 1791 Infernal Scroll

    Glory Capital had three Strongholds to their name ¨C the Barrenlands, Stranglethorn Vale and the Hillsbrad Foothills. There was also one more, but that was occupied by Gale Legion, which was in Desolace.


    If it was Ruling Sword facing off against the alliance of nine clubs, Lu Li wouldn''t be able to defend these four Strongholds even if he overworked himself to death. After all, Ruling Sword only had a core of 110 people. They would not be able to spread out their strength to cover all four Strongholds.


    Blood Red War Flag and Glory Capital had always clashed. They wanted to decide the ownership of the Hillsbrad Foothills Stronghold.


    Azure Guard had stolen Stranglethorn Vale once upon a time, but it was taken from them yet again.


    They were obviously not happy with this, so Jade Flower Lover wanted to ally with the others.


    Peacetime Dynasty and Brotherhood were both lesser guilds that were oppressed by Glory Capital. They weren''t going to sit back and take this from Glory Capital, so they were constantly looking for opportunities to fight back. This wasn''t their first time. The first time that they fought back, they only suffered heavier oppression from Glory Capital. Upon seeing that there was another chance, they instantly wanted to join.


    Wings of Dawn, Seventh Heaven and Purple Lunar Paradise were all attracted to the alliance by personal benefits. This was especially true for Wings of Dawn and Seventh Heaven. They already controlled a Stronghold, but greed made them want more.


    Seventh Heaven and Blood Red War Flag was often at each other''s necks, but strangely enough, they still managed to work together often as well. During last week''s Stronghold battles, they even exchanged the Strongholds that they owned.


    Everyone was surprised that Grand Hegemony was among these clubs.


    According to how everyone interpreted it, this nine-club alliance, no matter when compared to Ruling Sword or Glory Capital, was stronger than both of them.


    According to Unforgettable Maple, the nine-club alliance had already sorted out their plans.


    Their objective was to take down three of Glory Capital''s four Strongholds. Blood Red War Flag would take the second Stronghold at the Hillsbrad Foothills, Seventh Heaven and Purple Lunar Paradise would take Desolace, and Azure Guard would team up with Grand Hegemony to take Stranglethorn Valley. The other clubs that didn''t gain a Stronghold would be compensated in gold by the new owners.


    As for Unforgettable Maple and Majin Temple, they weren''t too concerned about the outcome of the battles. After all, they were going to receive a large amount of compensation from Blood Red War Flag whether it was a success or failure.


    As for what Sorrowless was thinking, Lu Li had no idea. Well, no one cared anyway.


    However, against the impregnable defence of Ruling Sword, Stellar Union''s fierce attack was rendered useless and they lost miserably.


    Azure Guard was attacking the Black Sea Coast.


    Lu Li saw them as little children who just liked to pick a fight. They didn''t give up easily, but they were not a threat at all.


    Anyone else would have been a better match up for them. Unfortunately, they just had to face Ruling Sword.


    Azure Guard couldn''t do much about it. It already took a lot of their resources to mount an attack. They would have hope against a smaller and weaker club, but the outcome here was already pre-empted.


    Their financial backing, the Shen Company, forced them to attack Ruling Sword, so there was


    nothing they could do.


    Director Shen''s son had recently been born, and was Water Fairy''s stepbrother. The child was still young, so they didn''t know what he was going to look like. Director Shen didn''t plan to discard his daughter and support his son instead. After all, he still recognised Water Fairy as the most suitable person to inherit the Shen Company.


    He didn''t care that Water Fairy did what she did. In the very beginning, he always believed that Water Fairy would return home eventually.


    However, he wasn''t so sure of it now. This was because the poor kid that he didn''t really care for was now getting closer and closer to his beloved daughter.


    This was why he wanted Azure Guard to unleash everything they had on Ruling Sword and be completely ruthless.


    It was ruthless indeed. Azure Guard was being completely beaten down and were being chased the entire battle. In the end, they couldn''t even breach the wall. Lu Li did not give the slightest bit of face to his future father-in-law. He believed that Water Fairy would be supportive of his decision to teach these people a lesson.


    After exiting the Stronghold, Lu Li was immediately dumbfounded at what he saw.


    His Stronghold was fine. Water Fairy had also successfully taken down the second Stronghold in Westfall. The thing that left him dumbfounded was the result between Blood Red War Flag and Glory Capital.


    He finally understood what had happened after the Dawn''s official site released the footage of the battle.


    The nine-club alliance, led by Blood Red War Flag, had hoped to take at least three Strongholds from Glory Capital''s four, but they failed to take even one. To make matters worse, Blood Red War Flag had lost their own Stronghold at the Hillsbrad Foothills. Now, the entire Hillsbrad Foothills was owned by Glory Capital.


    It wasn''t that the nine-club alliance wasn''t trying hard enough. They were all trying their best.


    Even Unforgettable Maple, with his casual mindset, was fighting with all his strength. He died multiple times in battle alongside his team.


    This result would be unacceptable to anyone. However, upon watching the replay of the battle, Lu Li understood why. He was utterly shocked at the appearance of so many Infernal Scrolls.


    As someone who was reborn, Lu Li obviously knew about the Infernal Scrolls. However, he never


    thought that this item that was quite rare at level 70 would appear at such a high quantity, and with all of them being in Glory Capital''s possession.


    "I have some news. They''re from the shipwrecks. As for which one, we don''t know yet. Glory Capital has their mouth sealed tightly," Wandering reported.


    "Shipwrecks¡­"


    He still had no idea; this wasn''t something he had prior knowledge of.


    There were pros and cons to Shipwrecks. Most of them were possessed by clubs, and Ruling Sword had two of them. One of them produced more equipment and enhancing stones, while the other produced more special elixirs and potions. The cooldown periods were regular, so all they needed to do was to arrange for people to patrol the area at certain times.


    There were also cases where new Shipwrecks were found. However, the people who found them weren''t able to take them, so they would sell the information to the clubs.


    As for the undiscovered ones, they would remain a complete secret. Their locations were unknown and the products were also unknown.


    Infernals were likely to be categorised as corrupted, so what type of Shipwrecks would produce these scrolls? Furthermore, the quantity was unbelievable. Lu Li could not think of anything.


    "We should count our lucky stars," Wandering said. "These things were meant to be used against us. Fortunately, Blood Red War Flag offered themselves as tribute. Otherwise, we would have suffered great losses."


    "That''s right. We''re incredibly grateful towards them."

 1792 I Have Money

    "I''ll have people go and try and find out as much as possible and report back on the position of the remains of this sunken ship soon."


    Wandering didn''t dare to slack off either.


    This time, it was Blood Red War Flag who survived against Ruling Sword. What could they do next time? Blood Red War Flag had been beaten until they were scarred, so next time, it would be difficult to gather such a group of allied forces.


    "If you can get some info, that would be great, but if you can''t, don''t force it. Glory Capital''s City Smoke is no idiot," Lu Li reminded. City Smoke was Glory Capital''s main messenger. It was said that in real life he was a detective, so his reporting skills in the game were among the best.


    If you always played with fire, you were bound to get burnt. In the process of investigating, it was easy to expose yourself.


    Although Glory Capital had the Infernal, they couldn''t have had much left. From the video, their few Strongholds were defended with great difficulty, and there were very few opportunities to use the Infernal. If things were going well for them, it would probably not be so risky.


    The level 70s would be opened up in the following weeks. Soon, there wouldn''t be any more Stronghold battles.


    By the level 70s, the Azeroth mainland would be joined to the Outland, and after travelling to the new map, Lu Li would have a way to deal with this sort of Infernal.


    An Infernal''s natural enemy was the Fel Reaver!


    Of course, the quest for the Fel Reaver wasn''t easy to complete.


    "What we have to do now is to integrate those who are strong enough to participate in the Stronghold battle. We need at least three Elite teams, and as for Core Elite teams, we''ll need at least three more," Lu Li said seriously.


    No external forces could be relied on. The truly reliable way to go forward was still to use military power.


    Glory Capital defended four Strongholds and they were actively attacking another one. It wasn''t that Sorrowless was powerful, but that over many years, they had developed an army of top level players.


    Although there wasn''t an Infernal, Lu Li still didn''t think that Blood Red War Flag was able to defeat three Strongholds. If Glory Capital didn''t have enough power, it didn''t matter if they had an Infernal.


    "Three Elite groups?! This will be more difficult than normal."


    Wandering thought Lu Li was crazy.


    In recent times, Ruling Sword had been flourishing greatly. They had set up the branch guild Judgement Spear, crafted a vault of Elite teams and had money flowing like water. There were ten Elite groups here in the main guild, and in the branch guild, there were two. In total, they had raised up 12 Elite teams.


    However, because they had developed too quickly, the level of the Elite groups was very low.


    If you disregarded factors like morale and enthusiasm, the individuals of the Gangnam Royals'' Elite team were stronger than Ruling Sword''s.


    With 365 days in a year and 3650 days in 10 years, their screening and refining process had been completed over a course of many long years and months.


    However, there was also no team on earth like Ruling Sword''s First Clear team, which had completely dominated Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag.


    Beginning with just one Core Elite team at the start, then having expanded to three now, Wandering thought Lu Li was crazy. Either that or things had developed too smoothly recently, and he was becoming full of himself, no longer content with the slow, wretched growth they had experienced so far.


    "I''m not crazy."


    Lu Li knew what his eyes were saying, then continued in a smug voice, "I have money now ¨C a lot of money."


    "Money?"


    "Grand Hegemony paid me damages of 200 million dollars. Isn''t that strange? Haha, they actively gave it to me. I didn''t have any choice but to accept," Lu Li laughed, expressing how polite he was.


    Wandering would be an idiot to believe him. It was only after he listened to Lu Li''s full description that he felt he had underestimated Lu Li.


    When this sort of thing was spoken from Lu Li''s mouth, of course it would bring with it his subjective views. In his story, he was the tragic figure, being betrayed by his closest ally. He had been hurt so terribly badly, and in the end, Grand Hegemony had to beg him before he would receive the money.


    "This was your own money," Wandering emphasized. He couldn''t even be bother to complain about Lu Li anymore. To say that he was shameless was simply praise to him.


    "At this time, what''s the point of speaking about if it''s my own money or not my own? There''s still the prize from the competition ¨C take that all out too. There''s just too much of a difference between us and Glory Capital. If we don''t go faster, Blood Red War Flag''s exit is going to be our future, and we will suffer even more."


    Actually, Blood Red War Flag''s loss was just a single Stronghold.


    If Glory Capital used their Infernal army, Ruling Sword would lose at least two Strongholds, with a possibility of losing a third. No matter how rich their alliance was, they would still be hung out to dry by Glory Capital.


    "Since it''s like that, let''s all get some money together. There''s no problem for us to raise 300 million dollars. Then, we can discuss how to manage it and use this money where it''s needed most," Wandering said.


    Sometimes, Wandering really looked up to Lu Li. Now, this guy could be considered a massive multimillionaire, but he never had any thought of enjoying it.


    A typical person would have spent that money on all sorts of cheap pleasures ages ago. However, Lu Li lived in a room where they had to make regular payments. Jiangnan City sold it to him cheaply. To get in and out, he took a taxi. He didn''t even have a scooter. What he wore were those cheap clothes that were just a little better than what was sold on the side of the street, and he ate the simple food that Lu Yin cooked.


    He never had more than a million in his bank account. Wandering really suspected that Lu Li was absolutely obsessed with this number ¨C one million. He didn''t have more or less than this amount of money, but just kept one million.


    The only time he spent money was on his sister, but Lu Xin was also such a smart, frugal child, so their expenses never reached a thousand in a month.


    All the money that Lu Li had earnt over these past two years was all reinvested in the club.


    The other players had earned their fair share through prizes from competitions, and endorsements for products. Advertising companies had been chasing Lu Li''s people for a long time already. Even Hachi Chan and Remnant dream were rich kids from multimillionaire families too. Wandering felt that he couldn''t let this one person, Lu Li, give so much of his money. If everyone gathered some money together, then it would look more like a team effort.


    However, the Core Elite team wasn''t the same as normal Elite teams. You couldn''t just create one with a bit of money.


    Otherwise, Sorrowless could have just put together a few hundred Core Elite teams and he would be the undisputed king.


    After some discussion, under Cat''s dad''s advice, Ruling Sword would hold their own internal competition, and hopefully, they could sort out their members.


    One type they would look for were top players who had been overlooked. After all, in a large-scale guild with tens of thousands of players, it was very normal to have talent fall through the cracks. Another type of person was someone who had a lot of untapped potential. This type of people were the ones that Cat''s dad was aiming for in this competition. Spending time and money on this group of people, equipping them with items and skills, then finding a few top players to train them would make them the cream of the crop in no time.

 1793 Ruling Cup

    It didn''t matter if it was a top PvP player or a top PvE player, as long as they showed results in the area they were working in, they could enter the Core Elite team.


    Of course, since the goal of this time''s expansion of the Core Elite team was to increase the strength of the Strongholds, the focus was still on top PvP players. The first time the concept of a Ruling Cup was brought up, it didn''t compare at all with Glory Capital''s Glory Cup, but it still led to quite the sensation within the guild.


    At the very least, this meant that Ruling Sword was again making headlines.


    There were also a lot of players who thought that Ruling Sword was being too na?ve with this competition they had suddenly announced. That Glory Cup had already been running for 10 years.


    Lu Li didn''t care in the least about what others thought. He gave everyone three days to sign up. Those outside the club could also sign up to join, as long as they weren''t affiliated with any other organizations.


    This competition only had individual contests, which were held in groups. At the very beginning, there were ten in a group, and the top three would advance.


    What happened later would be the same. They would decide the top players, with as many as 300 prize winners. It all sounded very appealing, but the prize was rather small. The top prize was only one million dollars with a piece of Epic equipment thrown in.


    However, a lot of people didn''t focus on the prize, but were instead focusing on whether they could directly enter Ruling Sword''s Core Elite team.


    Ruling Sword had stated it very clearly. Everyone who received a prize was of a standard where they could enter straight into Ruling Sword''s Elite teams.


    If someone was thought this was beneath them, and only wanted the million dollars and Epic equip, there would be no qualms either. Ruling Sword wouldn''t force them. There was no condition that forced them to join in order to receive the prize.


    Lu Li saw many people continuously signing up for the competition. Ruling Sword reputation as powerhouse guild had already been established. They were leading the way in Instance Dungeon First Clears, they occupied three Strongholds, they were allies with Drizzle Court and Peerless City, and they had taken their fair share of Wild Bosses too.


    No one could refuse an opportunity like this.


    Other clubs wouldn''t reject this chance either, so when they received the signup sheet, Wandering saw a lot of IDs that looked rather suspicious.


    Wandering didn''t have a good impression at all of Lu Li''s authorized rules.


    "It''s not a big issue," Lu Li said. "You think I wouldn''t know that these bunch of people would join our competition?"


    "Then why are you still doing this? Why don''t you limit these people from entering."


    "You think you can control them just by saying the word control? Let me see you control them."


    Lu Li was speechless.


    "But you can''t just let people come in like this."


    Wandering was sharing information now. He saw things clearer than anyone else what sort of disaster could happen if these suspicious people entered into the club.


    "Hehe, with you here, what do I have to worry about?" Lu Li laughed. "I gave you this list because I wanted you to add up those from the outside who are able to enter into our Core Elite team and conduct a thorough inspection. Only those who are confirmed to be clear will you let in. With those we haven''t grabbed hold of, we can just find a chance in the future to expel them and it''ll be fine."


    "Expel them all?" Wandering was speechless. "Then what''s the point of us doing this anyway? We can simply not allow people from outside."


    "Don''t you know, that as long as these undercover agents don''t get the info they want, they''ll put in more effort in their performance than the average club member? They have to do that to be trusted, to be able to join in the more secret operations. These people are more powerful than you think."


    "What you mean is, we can borrow these peoples'' strength for a bit, then after our own people are sorted out, we''ll expel them?"


    "That''s right ¨C if they not 100% guaranteed to be fine, we''ll definitely throw them out."


    "Damn, that''s just too insincere. Lu Li, you''re too shameless."


    "Sincere or not, you better check yourself. You''re always faking it, pretending you don''t know what''s going on," Lu Li said in disdain.


    The two days for signing up came to an end, and so the competition started.


    Lu Li applied for a competition space with the System, but it was simply too expensive. It was so expensive that average clubs simply had no way of affording it, so the space that Lu Li applied for was only for the final competition. Those at the very beginning of the competition were simply chased into the arena.


    After all, to rent a room in the arena only cost a few coppers.


    Actually, if it didn''t appear so poor, Lu Li would even have these people fight in the Wild.


    There were over 10 000 people who had signed up for the competition this time. It wasn''t as big as those large-scale competitions. Actually, it couldn''t even be compared to the minor competitions. Since Lu Li clearly prohibited those who were affiliated with an organization to join the competition, having over 10000 people participate was already an astounding number.


    In the first round, 70% of this 10 000+ group were eliminated right away, and 30% advanced. With this method, they rapidly narrowed it down to 300 people, which was the number that Lu Li wanted.


    Of these 300 people, some probably wouldn''t enter into Ruling Sword. They just wanted their prize. Even if it was the lowest commiseration prize, there was still a piece of Dark Gold equipment to be won. For the top level players, they wouldn''t even take a second glance at Dark Gold equipment, but for those unaffiliated players who weren''t able to enter into Instance Dungeons, even Dark Gold equipment was something that they would scramble over for.


    Lu Li sent people to discuss with the winners about entering into Ruling Sword''s Core Elite team, and while he did that, he made the most of having Cat''s Dad do some promotion work. He had spent so much money to set up this two-day event. This was actually an ideal time to get some publicity as well.


    The competition was broadcast live, but it looked like there had been a lot of edits made.


    Quite a few players saw it and felt their blood boil in excitement, turning them into fans even of Ruling Sword members they met on the street. Some unaffiliated players who were originally unsure about joining Ruling Sword now made their firm decision.


    Of the 300 players, about 160 were originally members of Ruling Sword''s elite teams. They had gone through some serious assessment. If they officially became members of the Core Elite team, they would enjoy more benefits and participate in more high-level club quests.


    Lu Li didn''t have to worry about these people.


    Of the remaining 140 people, about 20 or 30 clearly expressed that they declined to sign a contract with the club, which was to say they would take the reward and leave.


    There were still 110 people left. What left Lu Li and Wandering speechless was that these 110 people were all suspicious. Seventy or eighty of them were suspected of smuggling themselves into the Core Elite team. It was just like what Wandering said. This was a ticking time bomb.


    Actually, after thinking about it, this was normal. Since they were sent out to work undercover, then their abilities must have been quite good, at least good enough to be able to go through Ruling Sword''s reviews.


    The one who took the championship was a player whose ID was ''Lonely Fireball''. He really was quite powerful. The only thing was they had never heard of his name before. According to his own explanation, he had entered the game relatively late, and was an unaffiliated player in other games as well.


    Of course, Lu Li and Wandering didn''t believe it, because according to their intelligence, this ID had once posted on an official message board thread that criticized Glory Capital to defend them.

 1794 Glory Cup

    However, even though they knew something was up with this person, Lu Li still had to follow the agreed upon procedures and prizes.


    Although this was a private competition, the System still tracked it to make sure it was fair. As soon as something judged to be unfair was detected, apart from rectifying it, the System would also strip the club''s rights to hold competitions for a while.


    After the competition results came out, they shamelessly copied Glory Capital''s tongue-in-cheek awards ceremony.


    Glory Capital''s authorized ceremony was an event that attracted the attention of a lot of people. Whenever someone from Glory Capital received an important honor in a major competition, or a reserve competitor leveled up in the Green training camp, they would hold such an award ceremony.


    Glory Capital''s Glory Cup was much larger than Lu Li''s competition.


    However, no matter how much something was altered, the essence was still there. This sort of club-organized competition was very much goal-led. They had spent a considerable amount on prizes, and the ultimate aim was to network with people of talent.


    In these two weeks before the level 70s were opened up, the Glory Cup officially opened for registration.


    The rules were a little more relaxed compared to Ruling Sword''s competition. As long as someone wasn''t an official competitor, they could participate. If they were found to be of potential, even if they were part of another club, as long as they hadn''t signed a contract to be a competitor, Glory Capital could simply pull them over.


    From Ruling Sword, players like Crippled Black Ant, the minstrel Big Dog Li, Her Tears and so on all joined the competition. They weren''t proper competitors. They just had to pay 10 gold and they could participate. By comparison, the top prize was 30 million dollars, so anyone was willing to risk 10 gold.


    Of course, Her Tears didn''t lack money. He was just upset that the top prize of the Ruling Cup had been taken by an outsider, so now, he wanted Ruling Sword to get a sense of what that felt like. The people who had gone to participate from Ruling Sword had basically all been pushed by Her Tears.


    Glory Capital''s top prize was 30 million dollars and three pieces of Epic equipment.


    That was a real show of strength. Lu Li could barely part with one million. After all, he had to reward 300 people, so when it was all added up, it was no small amount.


    Glory Capital was rewarding the top 1000 people. Even the lowest level award winner still received ten thousand dollars.


    Regardless of the amount of prize money or the way awards were presented, Ruling Sword was still miles away from Glory Capital. Lu Li really had a mind to plagiarize the Glory Cup.


    In any case, he had reached his goal.


    He also considered taking a registration fee of 10 gold. Seeing tens of thousands of people register for the Glory Cup and the amount of income made his mouth water. Fortunately, he had a fair degree of self-awareness and knew that there was no point for Ruling Sword to do that since they didn''t have any publicity or history.


    If they really were going to take 10 gold in a registration fee, they probably wouldn''t even get 1000 signups.


    Actually, Sorrowless didn''t care about this little amount of money either. Their competition area was all rented from the System, which was in stark contrast to Lu Li''s budget option of the Arena.


    However, the pace of their competition was extremely fast as well. Within a week of registration, it was all over.


    After all, the level 70s were going to be opened up soon, and everyone was preparing to train.


    Glory Capital''s awards ceremony was very grand ¨C they even had a celebrity who came to perform. There were also some businesspeople and investors who reluctantly showed up, hoping they could expand their business with Glory Capital.


    Lu Li also toughened up and came.


    He used to be part of a lower class of people, but now he already had the money to enter into the highest echelons of gaming society. He would recognize others, and others were watching him too.


    The results of the competition had already been released, so there were no surprises that people were looking forward to like in typical award ceremonies.


    It was at the very last minute that Sorrowless went up to award the top few players their prizes.


    "Hehe."


    Crippled Black Ant was a little bit embarrassed. He had taken seventh place along with a share in the prize money and a piece of Epic equipment.


    "Keep it up ¨C you''ve got great potential."


    Sorrowless maintained his pleasant, warm, glowing smile on his face as before.


    "Hehe."


    Bearded Zaza was also feeling quite awkward. He originally didn''t want to participate in this competition, but Her Tears forced him to come, and Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan provoked him too. Remnant Dream even gave him a few Exquisite pieces of equipment for him to wear.


    "You''re¡­very good as well."


    Sorrowless glanced over at White Westhill following next to him. He had been busy with some other things before, and did not even read through the list of winners. If he remembered correctly, this person was also in the Ruling Sword First Clear team too.


    White Westhill twitched her mouth, not knowing what to say.


    "Hehe."


    This laugh was a little exaggerated. Of course, Sorrowless knew who it was.


    Her Tears!


    This idiot had fought against Glory Capital many times.


    Everyone in the gaming circle now knew that he was a die-hard Ruling Sword member and couldn''t be roped in by anyone else.


    How did this idiot take 5th place? Wasn''t it said that his PvP skills were only average? Sorrowless was really suspecting that all the top players in the gaming circle had died out.


    Actually, he had completely misunderstood.


    The Glory Cup and the Ruling Cup differed in that those who participated in the Glory Cup didn''t include those who were from within Glory Capital. Although they weren''t banned, since they wanted to network with other top competitors, their own people tended not to take up space for signups.


    Internally, Glory Capital had an extremely well-organized mechanism of training, so they didn''t have to join in the Glory Cup to prove themselves.


    What Her Tears held in his hands was Mu Qiu''s Greatsword of the Brotherhood.


    He had basically stripped off everything from Mu Qiu.


    By relying on equipment that would even make a top competitor''s mouth water, he battled his way up to get 5th place.


    "Hehe¡­"


    As soon as they heard this laugh, Sorrowless felt goosebumps up his arm. This laughing, cunning Mage in front of him couldn''t be Ruling Sword''s as well, right?


    He was correct. It was a shame there was no prize for guessing so.


    The minstrel Big Dog Li couldn''t wait to get his hands on the prize. He received it from Sorrowless'' hands ¨C he had taken third place.


    Five million dollars and two pieces of Epic equipment ¨C he had never seen so much money before. How many girls could this buy him¡­

 1795 The Dark Portal

    There were still two left. Sorrowless was on the verge of turning his head and leaving.


    "Hahaha, Sorrowless, I''m your admirer¡­"


    Finally, there was no ''hehe'' this time, but this ''hahaha'' made Sorrowless even more angry.


    He could recognize this guy even if he turned to ashes.


    Azure Sea Breeze!


    A defensive warrior had taken 2nd place in his Glory Cup! Was there even any point to keep hosting this competition?


    Ten million dollars and two pieces of Epic equipment!


    Azure Sea Breeze nearly wanted to hug Sorrowless'' leg and call him his daddy. It was a good thing he held back, otherwise, it would definitely be the top story in all the gaming news the next day.


    The last one was finally not a Ruling Sword member.


    Sorrowless didn''t care about the 30 million, as long as this 30 million didn''t land into the hands of Ruling Sword. Instead of giving money to Ruling Sword. He would rather build 100 shelters for pet cats across the whole country.


    The champion''s ID was Blue White Ghost Wings.


    He was a Berserker, but was not like other Berserkers. Blue White Ghost Wings looked delicate and pretty. If he wasn''t wearing his role''s equipment, he would look even more like a Priest. Only those who had seen him compete would know how extreme and crazy his fighting was.


    His final battle was against Azure Sea Breeze.


    Azure Sea Breeze was simply like a glitch ¨C no one could match with his equipment, and he had quite a few Strengthened Skills. When normal players were fighting him, they could barely scratch him, and he still had equipment that was able to convert damage into HP.


    The longer you dragged on fighting with Azure Sea Breeze, the more you would lose.


    Blue White Ghost Wings was well aware of this point, so he held down Azure Sea Breeze and beat him.


    Actually, most competitors were easily able to drive Azure Sea Breeze to death.


    After all, the players in Glory Cup weren''t as powerful as competitors. Even those who were close were grouped with Azure Sea Breeze and ended up losing.


    "Blue White Ghost Wings, right? Congratulations on winning the championship of the Glory Cup. On behalf of the 600,000 brothers and sisters of Glory Capital, I invite you to join. Are you willing to join Glory Capital?" Sorrowless asked solemnly.


    "I am willing to!"


    Blue White Ghost Wings was very excited.


    "Actually, I''m kind of willing too ¨C why didn''t you ask me?" Azure Sea Breeze, who was standing to the side, asked, giving them a bit of a fright.


    Sorrowless'' perfect handsome face turned green, then white. He almost died from frustration on the stage.


    Damn, he had to arrange for people to go after this guy and kill him.


    The minstrel Big Dog Li thought he should try to attract a bit of attention too.


    Sorrowless told himself as firmly as he could to keep smiling. There were a lot of people watching down beneath him.


    Fortunately for him, the host came over and changed the topic at the right time. The awards ceremony had entered into the next stage.


    "Wow, Sorrowless is really treating that money like nothing," Lu Li sighed. Compared to Sorrowless, he was like a coal miner who had come from the country to the city.


    "But you''re making him angry to death," Water Fairy said as she her little hand in Lu Li''s large one and gave him a bit of encouragement.


    "*Cough*, not me, it''s got nothing to do with me. Actually, I didn''t know they entered the Glory Cup. These people really are over the top. When they get back, I''ll cut their pay."


    Lu Li took the opportunity to hold Water Fairy''s hand. Every time, he would be taken aback at how gentle and soft it was.


    "Why would they even care about your little bit of money?" Water Fairy laughed as she covered her mouth, but she didn''t break off her other hand.


    This level of intimacy was all too normal for couples.


    "Hey, that''s right ¨C they''re getting distracted. The team''s not doing well. I''ve got to think of a way to get them to hand their money over. If people have too much money, they become lazy," Lu Li said. He firmly believed that this was for the good of Azure Sea Breeze and them all.


    "I''d be crazy to believe you."


    Actually, Water Fairy really admired Lu Li.


    Although Lu Li had experienced all kinds of emotions with her, when things were turned against her, he would do all he could. However, he didn''t seem at all worried that those few people on the stage would be taken away by Glory Capital, and he even dared to think about such a shameless thing as taking away their hard-earned money.


    On the 1st of October, 2217, Dawn officially opened up the level 70s. Lots of information was posted online, along with a video clip.


    The new map was called the Outland and was located on the other side of The Dark Portal. In the ruins of this world, after suffering catastrophe, the survivors worked hard to rebuild their home, and in the other areas of the Outland, life was still thriving.


    The adventurers who would cross over through The Dark Portal would discover new allies, enemies and countless risky opportunities in this primitive but immense world.


    But evidently, it wasn''t a particularly easy thing to do to enter into a new map.


    There were lots of ways to enter into a new map ¨C so many that even the reborn Lu Li could barely remember them all. It was just that at the moment, the only thing the players could use was probably the Dark Portal.


    Currently, the Dark Portal was still located in some ruins, surrounded by a deathly stillness like it was a graveyard.


    All players who came here were met with this sort of scene. After they completed a related quest, only then would they see a giant portal. On the other side of the portal was the new map ¨C the legendary Outland.


    Of the few NPCs that Lu Li knew, not many were actually able to issue quests.


    If your charisma was too low, there was nothing you could do. Even if he had a whole string of First Clears behind him, in the eyes of an NPC, they would consider it more reliable to go with an idiot who wouldn''t even get into a fight.


    It was a good thing there was someone who didn''t mind his low Charisma.


    "My friend, I think you must be coming to ask for my help. Otherwise, you never would have thought of me."


    Like before, Remulos was sprawled over the floor.


    "I''m extremely sorry, your excellency. Remulos, the continent is facing imminent danger at this moment. As the leader of a group of adventurers, I need to be vigilant at this time," Lu Li said, trying hard to defend himself.


    Wasn''t this nonsense? If someone had free time, who would be so bored as to go and chat with an NPC? (Hachi Chan: "Go to hell, Lu Li.")


    Lu Li was so busy recently that he didn''t even have time to see his teacher.


    He suddenly thought that he needed to go pay a visit regularly to his own teacher. The level 70s would contain the Karazhan Instance Dungeon, which was Medivh''s old lair. As someone who had lived there before, and who had a really close relationship with Medivh, Garona could definitely benefit him.


    "You''re an outstanding leader. I can see a lot of familiar faces with you," Remulos said as he nodded with satisfaction.


    "So, why are you actually coming to look for me this time anyway?"

 1796 The Viewpoint of the Demi-God’s Son

    "I want to travel to the other side of The Dark Portal. I''ve already made all the preparations," Lu Li said.


    Remulos understood Lu Li''s purpose for coming very quickly.


    "The Dark Portal? Right, sounds like you''re already familiar with it, and maybe you''ve already prepared for it, but you can''t even begin to imagine what it''s like. You can enter into my dream; I''ll take you to have a look."


    As a relative of the Dream Queen, the Keepers of the Grove could easily pull Lu Li into their own world.


    The Dark Portal had seen all the wars between humans and Orcs. It was the beginning of them all.


    "The war being Burning Legion and Azeroth can be traced back 10,000 years, but it was only many years ago that a green tide of water rushed out of The Dark Portal, sweeping over the whole land. Only then did people know that Orcs existed. It was also at that moment that the ordinary beings in Azeroth started their war with Burning Legion. In the same way, at the same time, humans and Orcs entered into a cycle of mutual hatred."


    "But Elves, Wyrms as well as Aegwynn had fought with Burning Legion ages ago," Lu Li said.


    "I said ordinary beings. Child, they are not ordinary beings. The grand Mage Aegwynn is stronger than you think ¨C it wouldn''t be too much to say she was a Demi-God."


    Evidently, Remulos really looked up to the strongest female human mage.


    The scenery around them continued to change irregularly. In an instant, Lu Li arrived in front of a giant portal.


    This legendary portal was made in the shape of a Temple''s main door. It looked solemn and dignified, and carried some mystery with it as well.


    Apparently, the two stone statues on top of the portal were made in Medivh''s own image, but no one until now was sure of what the The Dark Portal was made of. By looking at it, it just looked like a stone door, but its solidity was far beyond anyone''s imagination.


    In the sixth year of The Dark Portal, the Alliance''s counterattack finally chased the Orcs back to the other side.


    At this time, they destroyed the idea of The Dark Portal, but they had no way to physically remove it. In the end, the mage Khadgar, who was familiar with Medivh, discovered how to close the Dark Portal through his research. Furthermore, despite the explosion of Draenor, the Dark Portal was still perfectly intact and suffered no damage. Perhaps builder used magic to strengthen it. This was some unwitnessed strength for ordinary beings.


    "Even you¡­the son of a Demi-God, don''t have a way to destroy it? What about the wyrms? The Bronze dragon can, right?" Lu Li asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.


    "You have to consider the builder of this portal. They were not any weaker than a wyrm, of course, apart from the strongest few, but there''s actually not that much of a difference between them. Also, building it cost the lives of countless Draenei."


    Five years before it was completed, Medivh, who had already been completely controlled by the will of Sargeras, used magic to establish a connection with the Draenor orc warlock, Gul''dan.


    On that fertile land, Gul''dan promised to bring the Orcs which had already been infected by the Burning Legion to invade Azeroth. At this, in the remote lands that were called the Blasted Lands, Medivh used magic to create a portal generator, which was also the Dark Portal of today. Meanwhile, Gul''dan and his shadow Warlocks created another one in Draenor. Then, Medivh used his incomparable strength to tear through space, creating a rift to travel through between Azeroth and Draenor.


    The rift in space gradually grew bigger and bigger, and Gul''dan continued optimizing it.


    Finally, in the first year of the Dark Portal, Gul''dan successfully opened up a permanent way to travel through the two worlds. The first time The Dark Portal was opened up, Orcs rushed through like a flood and began to invade Azeroth. To ordinary beings, especially humans, this was where the history of Azeroth changed.


    Within four years, Stormwind City fell into enemy hands.


    The invasion of the Orcs caused massive destruction to human civilization. These guys who had suffered through the reformation of the Burning Legion had never heard of something called mercy. They rushed right into Azeroth, and left nothing for the humans except those nightmarish memories of blood and fire.


    There were a few like Grom, who valued heroism more than glory and so spared the humans'' women and children, but unfortunately, most Orcs thought that the humans were not worthy of this.


    The Orcs, who originally revered military might, under the influence of the Burning Legion, only became more and more bloodthirsty.


    At this, the hatred between Orcs and humans was tied down.


    "Why don''t you stand over there, your excellency Remulos?" Lu Li asked. He felt that this was incredibly important, or in other words, he had always been curious about this.


    There were various Druids in the Moonlight Forest. It wasn''t just limited to the Alliance.


    "To be fair, the war brought damage to both sides."


    With a wave of his hand, Remulous brought Lu Li to an unknown land.


    Just when Lu Li was going to ask what place it was, the land suddenly transformed. Such a healthy, thriving planet had gradually declined.


    "Most Orcs are crazy and bloodthirsty because they want to claim a piece of fertile land for their loved ones. Draenor had been pretty much turned into hell by Gul''dan ages ago," Remulos sneered. "It was like when the humans attacked the trolls that year. Apart from the fact that the Burning Legion was involved, there was no difference¡­"


    However, their habit of promoting a military spirit as well as their backwards knowledge of society meant that the Burning Legion had them where they wanted. In the end, they were controlled by the Burning Legion. This was where the Legion was being deceitful ¨C they would allow the Orcs to get themselves killed, then in the end, they would reap the benefit as the third party. Perhaps some powerful orcs, like Grom, who were the cream of the crop and were therefore recognized by the Legion, would end up being added into their ranks. However, most Orcs were simply added to the Burning Legion as cannon fodder. Actually, they couldn''t even be considered cannon fodder, because Gul''dan was a selfish being who was too immersed in his own delusions.


    But no matter what, the war had started, so nothing could be turned back. Humans could be said to hate Orcs to the bone, but in the end, they were a little more civilized and only turned the Orcs into slaves.


    However, from today''s point of view, it could be said there was no mercy to speak of here. The work of a slave was far more grueling than many people were led to believe.


    "Why are you letting me see this?" Lu Li asked, not understanding.


    "My child, you should never think that you already see this world clearly," Remulos sighed, as he brought Lu Li back to reality. "Now, I have a quest to give to you to do."

 1797 Quest Difficulty

    Lu Li''s expression was also very serious. He had seen things that ordinary people couldn''t see, and had also experienced the dreamland.


    The difficulty of a quest of this level could only be imagined.


    The thing he was most afraid of was Remulous disallowing external help. Then, Lu Li''s plans of entering from the Outland would have completely failed.


    "This deer will accompany you on this quest. You must ensure she doesn''t get hurt," Remulos said. "This quest isn''t testing your capabilities. Remember what I said before and the world that we are protecting."


    Lu Li''s heart skipped a beat ¨C a quest that didn''t test his capabilities?


    Other than his capabilities, he had nothing else!


    A stream of jade green light engulfed Lu Li and the deer, and then they were sent away.


    As he opened his eyes, everything seemed a bit too overly familiar.


    The map left many traces of his training, quests and battles. He even had a lofty Stronghold here, and he could its towering shadow as he turned around.


    Lu Li, himself, was facing the misty ocean as he stood on the beach.


    The rocky cliffs, the sand and the haze of the sea proved that nothing of value could grow on the Black Sea Coast. Clumps of algae, seaweed and rocks covered the beach, with the occasional tree that dotted the land far away from the coast. The climate here was cold and stormy, with wind strong enough to agitate enormous waves. The rain and fog across the year meant that only very skilful sailors could navigate the waters of this treacherous region. In the shallow waters were the shipwrecks that marked the final resting places of many sailors.


    The local inhabitants here seemed to only be Murlocs.


    In the world of Azeroth, they were often found nearby water. The lived along the shallow coast in simple, small houses and often wielded weapons made of shells. Amongst them, there were also some who could use some basic shaman magic. Murlocs believed in the water elemental leader, Neptulon. In the sea there were also their relatives ¨C the deep sea Murlocs.


    Perhaps his quest was to get rid of these Murlocs.


    This was probably too simple. Even though these Murlocs were known as ''newbie killers'', Lu Li was at level 60 and could kill one with every strike.


    "Here, here," the deer began to say.


    Lu Li was not surprised. To be an extraordinary deer around Remulos was something ordinary. You never know ¨C she could even be Remulos'' biological daughter.


    Remulos and his father, including his grandfather, weren''t picky people. Their bloodline came from all sorts of ethnicities.


    Lu Li walked over but didn''t see anything.


    "Here, here."


    The deer seemed quite young still, and had limited verbal abilities, so she could only kick her little hooves anxiously.


    "Oh! Oh!"


    The deer seemed frustrated at Lu Li''s foolishness and used her mouth to bite onto Lu Li''s clothes, dragging him in front of the puddle.


    "And then?"


    Lu Li was dumbfounded.


    The little hooves dabbed in the water and a little fish jumped out from the water''s surface. Then, the deer jumped and yelled around with joy.


    "You want to eat fish?"


    Lu Li let out a sigh, but he was sure he saw the deer''s look of disdain.


    It didn''t make sense to keep lingering on like this. There were already several Murlocs that had come their way asking for trouble. However, they didn''t know how powerful Lu Li was and walked towards their deaths, one after the other.


    Even if Lu Li stood there and did nothing, the Murlocs still couldn''t possibly kill him.


    Even so, he couldn''t underestimate these Murlocs. These low-level creatures that flooded the whole of Azeroth obviously couldn''t see that the deer was a guardian of the forest. If the deer was hurt, Lu Li couldn''t be certain if Remulos would go ballistic.


    Plus, there was still two Bosses in this area ¨C Murkdeep and Flagglemurk the Cruel.


    They were considered Greymist Murlocs and both had come from the coastline. They were the old neighbours of the Night Elves on the Black Sea Coast, but they were quite a headache as neighbours. These Murlocs couldn''t be distinguished from one another in appearance or demeanour. In reality, they had caused a lot of trouble on the Black Sea Coast, and were even more than the annoying Naga and Satyr combined. Those who had seen them lead their brothers to go hunt Threshadons would be deeply shocked by this wonderous sight.


    In the last month, their exploits included the sinking of two merchant ships and the death of a sentry.


    Ruling Sword''s Black Sea Coast Stronghold had dispatched troops to dealt with them twice. Unfortunately, they didn''t drop anything good, and it was annoying to fight against them.


    Lu Li caught the fish very quickly. He hesitated for a moment then stuffed it into the deer''s mouth, smiling fondly like a father.


    The deer was stunned for a moment, then ran to the edge of the sea and spat out the fish into the water. The little fish wiggled its tail and swam away quickly.


    Hence, the deer made a happy yelp.


    Lu Li wasn''t an idiot. He quickly understood what the quest wanted him to do.


    However, surely this was too ridiculous? He was the outstanding leader of the Ruling Sword club, who was in charge of the lives of over hundreds of thousands of people, yet he was asked to rescue fish?


    The morning sun broke through the sea and shrouded the land.


    The sun on the coastline was very hot as it baked the reef of the seashore. As such, these puddles also evaporated.


    Lu Li picked up these fish from the puddles and threw them into the sea.


    One fish, two fish¡­


    They were all washed in when the high tide came in. They had just forgotten how to get home once the tide retreated.


    This was a rather fascinating process. At first it was quite funny, then there were more and more fish that were saved. As he felt the jumping sensation of the fish in his hand, Lu Li felt more and more calm.


    He no longer felt any sense of embarrassment even if he had been seen by others.


    There was no difference in rank in the face of life itself.


    There was no difference in ethnicity or interest in the face of life itself.


    Life was life. It was as pure as the fish jumping and the feeling of the rising run breaking through clouds.


    One little Murloc walked out of the old tent, picked up the little fish in the puddle and showed a smile of fulfilment. There was no right or wrong with natural selection.


    Lu Li started to understand the meaning of Remulos'' quest.


    He wanted Lu Li to cherish life, to educate him on the equality and simplicity of life, and to have Lu Li understand how small he was and how he was powerless in many things.

 1798 Fel Reaver

    The deer jumped around the forest''s guardian and yelped in happiness. Lu Li suspected that it was telling on him while laughing at him.


    "Congratulations, you have already completed my quest," Remulos smiled as he finished listening to the deer''s recount, then announced that Lu Li had completed the quest.


    "Sadly, I only saved a very small portion."


    "That''s okay. This quest isn''t about how many you saved. Even if it was one, then you could also complete it. Even if you could save all the fish, you still could have failed the quest too."


    Lu Li felt his sweat turn cold. He rejoiced that he didn''t bully the deer.


    So, it turned out that the standard that judged if he had completed the quest was set by this seemingly infant little animal.


    "If you crush this badge, you can go to the Outlands, but you need to understand that this is a one way route. You can''t come back to this land until the Dark Portal has been completely fixed," Remulos said.


    "Yes, I understand."


    Only one person could go over. And if they went over, they couldn''t come back, so Lu Li didn''t want to play with luck.


    There were barely any people seen in the Outlands and there were few times it was open to the public.


    The Outlands and Draenor used to be the hometown of Orcs. The Outlands used to be full of vitality like Azeroth, but the demon, Kil''jaeden, invaded this place. Kil''jaeden couldn''t control Draenor from this place, so he deceived the Orcs leader, Ner''zhul.


    Ner''zhul brought power and peace to the Orcs. He believed the demon naively and let the Orcs drink the cursed water, which turned their skin green. Only the Mag''Har Orcs still maintained the original traditions of the Orcs. The Orcs turned bloodthirsty and declared war with their old allies, the Draenei. It was then that Ner''zhul discovered the demon''s deception. He regretted all that he had done and betrayed Kil''jaedon. Kil''jaedon assisted the succeeding leader in order to control the Orcs, who was Gul''dan ¨C the disciple of Ner''zhul.


    Gul''dan and the strongest human mage, Medivh, opened the Dark Portal, allowing the Orcs to travel through it and start a war.


    Due to the betrayal of Gul''dan, the tribe still failed in the end. Medivh''s student, Khadgar, closed the Dark Portal, but Ner''zhul came back and opened it again. He attempted to find the magical item of the Azeroth mainland in hope of finding fertile land for the Orcs.


    Khadgar, Turalyon and the others joined forced and entered Daenor, and crushed Ner''zhul''s plans. Ner''zhul''s soul was found and tortured by Kil''jaedon, and in the end, he became the Lich King. Draenor had been crushed to pieces due to the pressure of such strong power. So, it was no longer Draenor, but instead the Outlands.


    So, this was how the Outlands came to be.


    The original place of ruins now had a massive return gate appear. After Lu Li crushed the talisman, he was sucked into the return gate.


    The other side of the Dark Portal was the Hellfire Peninsula. As the name suggested, this was an of hellish dirtland. Here, Gul''dan had induced each of the Orc clans to drink the demon''s blood. This piece of land, like the Orcs'' skin colour, was left with a mark of decay. The once abundant land turned arid, barren and plants had started to wither. Those organisms who were fortunate enough to survive also mutated due to exposure to the evil powers.


    Hellfire Peninsula was a part of Draenor. Before Draenor was destroyed, it was called Tanaan Jungle.


    In the whole history of Dawn, this was the most ruthless and bloody area of land. You could see signs everywhere of the war and massacre that had occurred here before. Numerous people of Draenor had experienced a racial slaughter by the berserk and bloodthirsty Orcs.


    The Hellfire Peninsula was now dry with no signs of life. Only the Dark Portal was still standing there. Yet, the Burning Legion still believed that this was a place of strategic importance and planned for this as the starting point to begin its expedition.


    Now, in front of Lu Li''s eyes, besides the scenes of devastation, were many units of the Burning Legion.


    They were patrolling in the area surrounding the Dark Portal, in order to guard against the Alliance and Horde Vanguard.


    Lu Li had already made plans to infiltrate. If he stood here like an idiot, he would inexplicably be killed. Many players who just entered into the Outlands would all be killed here.


    The engineers of Burning Legion had established a large quantity of Demonic Gateways. These gateways connected with legion camps of other Outland areas and could send demons to the frontlines at any time.


    Bang bang bang!


    Thunderous sounds boomed next to his ear. Lu Li''s face changed colour as he retreated from afar in alarm.


    He ran to the high ground and turned around to see a massive monster walking over to where he had just stood.


    Fel Reaver!


    Lu Li recognised it straight away by its unique style.


    He had once read in a book the description for this type of monster.


    "A unique engine began to roar. Hellfire Peninsula''s red dirt trembled. Its robotic structure could emit a horrifying demonic light. We used to hide as we prayed that its green eyes hadn''t found us, but Thomas, a new soldier, due to fear or some other reason, ran to escape as soon as he laid eyes on the Burning Legion''s terrifying monster. Hence, he paid with his life. The legion''s robotic creature discovered him. Its metallic feet stomped on his bloody flesh and bones which gave off a crushing sound from far away. Even though I had participated in various battles with Orcs and demons, that scene still gives me nightmares."


    The Burning Legion''s first Fel Reaver was a product of the hard work and continuous sleepless nights of the sinister and talented Mo''arg Engineer. These massive mechanical-demon constructs stood over 30m tall.


    Due to lacking the necessary construction materials, location and time, among other factors, the Fel Reaver was fortunately unable to join the Azeroth battle.


    There were very few people or armies who could stop the progress of the Fel Reavers. They were seen as a sign of the power of the Legion. In reality, the Fel Reavers couldn''t really be used in battle. All those who had the luck of surviving after being in battle with one all mentioned in their reports how it was directed at the enemies of Burning Legion. People painted a picture of how it emitted death and destruction whilst levelling the seemingly firm strongholds and guard towers. This was enough to make the most confident soldiers crumble.


    Lu Li''s number one goal was to grab a few Fel Reaver scrolls to help guard his Strongholds.

 1799 Stair of Destiny

    What did a Fel Reaver drop?


    Lu Li didn''t know. He hadn''t killed a Fel Reaver before nor had he seen anyone do it. If you thought that killing a Fel Reaver would drop scrolls, then would be na?ve.


    He suspected that even if he brought ten elite groups, he wouldn''t be able to overcome the extraordinary strength of the Burning Legion.


    Across the Hellfire Peninsula were dozens of Fel Reavers. If these monsters were already able to kill them, then the Boss of the map would be too much to handle.


    The Fel Reaver scroll had a low probability of being dropped by Mo''arg the Engineer. However, they first had to have the prerequisite quest active, which was something Hachi Chan was tasked with acquiring.


    Most of the people in Ruling Sword''s core Elite Group acquired the quest as directed by Lu Li.


    They believed that they would soon be able to cross the Dark Portal. It was only then, as they fought Mo''arg, that they would realize that even Lu Li wasn''t able to defeat these mechanical monsters at his current Strength.


    The only thing that Lu Li could now was level up.


    He also couldn''t afford to die, as reviving would take him back to the starting location.


    When you re-entered the level 70 map, you would then have to re-do the quest.


    Most of the quests were unique and Remulos might not give it to him again. Even if he did, the quests were often difficult and took a few days to complete.


    Although it was desolate, there was a beautiful starry river here that Water Fairy would probably like.


    Suddenly, Lu Li remembered Water Fairy, and realized that they had been apart for about an hour.


    Lu Li had no plans of fighting the monsters to level up. It was too dangerous to go alone and if he ran into a Fel Reaver, he would be finished.


    He instead decided to go the Stair of Destiny which was a very long defensive perimeter in front of the Dark Portal. That was where both Alliance and Horde NPCs were holding the line against an endless stream of Burning Legion monsters. Their goal was to push through the Burning Legion troops so that they could better establish themselves and bring in even more forces.


    They had been fighting for a long time.


    It could be said that the peace and harmony in Azeroth was built on the blood and sweat of these people.


    A Crow swiftly flew towards the Dark Portal. It took some time before Lu Li found a safe place on the Stair of Destiny. This was the frontlines of the resistance.


    "What?!"


    A sturdy Shaman Tauren holding a large totem was watching this strange crow vigilantly. He had not forgotten this familiar creature. It had been about five years, even though it felt more like 50 years.


    "I am an elf, as you can see. I am from Azeroth," Lu Li said, as he transformed after landing.


    "It''s an Elf, a Night Elf! Come over here!" the Tauren shouted.


    "What happened?" a Darnassus archer asked as he ran over. He was wounded and the bow on his back had been damaged, so he was now fighting with a machete.


    "He is a newbie. Looks like a mage," the Tauren said as he healed the archer.


    "I am not a Mage. I''m actually a Thief," Lu Li corrected him.


    "It doesn''t matter," the Darnassus archer interrupted him impatiently and eagerly asked, "Where are the reinforcements? How many people have come?"


    "Oh, I am here alone," Lu Li said helplessly.


    "This is impossible. Damn Tyrande, damn Malfurion and damn Darnassus. Do you know how long our team has been here? We haven''t rested for seven days¡­ seven days!"


    The Elf, a member of a race which was generally known for their elegance, was swearing directly at the leader of the Night Elves.


    "Why haven''t they come yet? We can''t hold it for much longer¡­" the Tauren added helplessly.


    "Go join the fight elf. Make sure you die well," the Darnassus archer said before hurrying back to his post. The Fel Soldiers had broken through the Orc Warrior''s line of defence, and now even the Darnassus archer had to fight the enemy in melee.


    "I brought some supplies, if you need them¡­"


    In a bloody battlefield like this, wounds were likely to get infected. Lu Li was also stunned at the way this battle was going.


    Otherwise, Lu Li who was normally really stingy, would have never handed over his supplies like this.


    "Supplies? Do you have supplies?" the Tauren asked overjoyed as he lifted up Lu Li.


    Potions, food, bandages¡­


    Lu Li was glad that he had asked Hachi Chan for a bigger backpack, otherwise, there was no way that he could have brought so many things. Lu Li, who had originally disguised himself, was now a hero to the various races at the scene.


    Even at the peak of their lives, it was likely that no one would be respected by so many different races.


    "Did you come from the portal?"


    Lu Li was eventually escorted to see the highest sergeant present, likely because of all the supplies he had brought. It was Lieutenant General Orion, a vicious looking Orc, but who actually spoke quite amicably with Lu Li.


    "Yes," Lu Li nodded.


    "We haven''t been back in five years. What is going on back there?" Lieutenant General Orion asked.


    Lu Li briefly talked about the major events that had unfolded in Azeroth. Most of them were pieces of news that he could confirm. Lu Li didn''t really know what he wanted to hear, so he mainly focused on the news relating to Orcs.


    "Those militant guys should come here to expend their energy."


    Lieutenant General Orion was very angry to hear that the Alliance and Horde were still in constant conflict.


    "In the near future, more adventurers will come through the Dark Portal to join the battlefield of the Outland," Lu Li said.


    "That is good, even if the strength of adventurers is weaker."


    Lieutenant General Orion was immediately happy to hear that countless Orcs, humans, Elves, Tauren and Trolls would be joining his side to protect Azeroth. The boundaries between race had faded because they all wanted to see the end of the Burning Legion.


    "Our advantage is that we aren''t afraid of death."


    Lu Li shrugged and didn''t feel like going to great lengths to prove their worth.


    Lieutenant General Orion saw Lu Li''s frail body and gave him a protective item.


    "In that case, you must first kill ten Fel Soldiers. They are just the cannon fodder of the Burning Legion. Put on this talisman, and your comrades will try to protect you from harm on the battlefield."

 1800 The Night Watchmen Legion

    Expeditionary Talisman (Special): Congratulations on becoming an Expeditionary soldier. Damage done to Burning Legion units is increased by 1% (Upgradable), and you will gain healing and buffs from NPC teammates. Effective for 2 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.


    Lu Li only had three days, so he rushed to battle without delay.


    He did not expect to be able to fight with the NPCs and had originally thought that he would be slowly levelling off to the side.


    The Fel Soldiers'' levels ranged from 60 to 70. They didn''t have very high defense, but they had very high attack. This made their group charge even more formidable. Fortunately, the NPCs had various occupations that could resist them.


    The real headache was the combination of Wrath Masters and Infernal Siegebreakers that were summoned by the Pit Commander.


    The Infernal Siegebreaker''s defense was almost unbreakable and he was covered in green flames that caused tremendous damage to units close to him. With Lu Li''s fragile body, he simply did not dare to approach that monster.


    The Wrath Master''s strongest skill was a Fear, which made its target run around aimlessly. Lu Li saw an Orc infantryman affected by this Fear, which caused him run to into some Fel Soldiers. His teammates couldn''t rescue him in time and he was soon cut down.


    Lu Li had to opportunistically pick out his targets. All the monsters that had been attacked by other NPCs and had reached low HP were the ones Lu Li attacked. Lu Li managed to kill the first Fel Soldier with just two normal attacks and quickly developed a taste for stealing the monster kills.


    The EXP he received was quite worthwhile. Lu Li actually only received a small portion of the full EXP as he only killed the monster at the very end.


    The Expeditionary Talisman was slowly improving. As Lu Li slowly farmed the first wave of monsters, the damage bonus on the talisman increased to 1.37%, which provided a noticeable difference in his attacks. Lu Li felt like this was a valuable item and didn''t really want to have to return it.


    The Burning Legion were coming from quite a few different portals, so they would usually take some time to consolidate their troops before launching an attack.


    In this wave, the Pit Commander was the boss. Unfortunately, Lu Li didn''t manage to get the last hit as he couldn''t deal enough damage, so he didn''t receive any drops from it. However, he did manage to collect some drops from the other monsters and the Wrath Masters.


    Unfortunately, this equipment was usually just level 60 Gold or Steel grade. Since Lu Li was now at level 60, it simply wasn''t worth picking up.


    The attributes of these items were mediocre in comparison to what he currently had, and their special effects were far worse. Moreover, if a level 65 player was wearing level 60 equipment, the attributes would be reduced by at least 50%.


    For example, if a level 60 Epic equipment added 200 points, but was reduced by 50%, then it would only add 100 points. There was a similar effect for the special effects. This meant that if a player received higher level equipment, they wouldn''t bother with the lower levelled ones.


    Lu Li organized the equipment that he did pick up and handed them over the Quartermaster Drake.


    Drake gave Lu Li some EXP and Reputation, but not much more than that. The Expeditionary Army''s supplies just weren''t enough. They had to make do with a lack of food rations and staying warm enough. They had to rely on their own healing abilities or a healer. Only serious injuries could warrant the use of a potion or bandages.


    However, the EXP and Reputation amounts were quite high, and Lu Li felt that if he stayed here for 3 days, he would definitely level up.


    Lu Li also went to the place where the wounded were resting, and received a quest from an Orgrimmar Shaman. He also gained quite a bit of EXP and Reputation from that.


    The second wave of monsters soon arrived and the soldiers of the Expeditionary Army had almost no time to repair their equipment.


    They dragged their tired bodies into battle once again. Occasionally, a warrior would fall, but there was no way to revive them. It was no wonder that the forces were diminishing every day and the time that each team needed to set up defences was increasing.


    Lu Li''s attacks dealt some damage, but he was only one person and could only play a limited role.


    After a few waves, Lu Li''s Expeditionary Talisman damage buff increased to over 2%.


    "Boss, we are about to come over. Is there anything we should keep an eye out for?" Drifting Rain asked.


    Drifting Rain was a special member of Ruling Sword. He was part of Ruling Sword''s Night Watchmen Corps, which was famous throughout the game. With Lu Li''s support, they had formed a Mercenary Group under the name of the Night Watchmen. There were about 700 to 800 players within the group.


    The condition for joining the group was both simple and difficult ¨C they had to join the Night Watchmen camp.


    "That was quick, but you guys should be able to open a portal," Lu Li said, then suddenly blurted out, "We? You aren''t coming alone?"


    "We have over 800 people, and we''re all coming. Boss, quickly tell us what we need to bring. We don''t have much time!" Drifting Rain said urgently.


    "800!"


    Surely that was excessive; Lu Li was dumbfounded.


    Originally, he felt quite impressive for being the first person to venture into the Outland, but this was insignificant in comparison to the number of people the Night Watchmen were bringing.


    However, he also knew that the timing was tight and they really were in a hurry. As such, he quickly found the Quartermaster and came up with a list of all the things that were needed ¨C potions, food, clothing and anything else.


    The items that these 800 players brought might not solve all the problems of this Expeditionary Army, but they would bring some temporary relief.


    Upon hearing that there were 800 adventurers coming over, Lieutenant General Orion almost burst into tears.


    Soon, there was a battalion of Paladins charging out of the Dark Portal in the face of the imposing Burning Legion.


    The charge was quite the sight, and it actually gave Lu Li a fright.


    "Pay attention to the big guy; don''t go close to him. Also, don''t go near the spawning portals, or you''ll be dead before you even start," Lu Li reminded them quickly. The Fel Reavers had been specifically tasked with protecting the portals. If Drifting Rain and the others impulsively decided to attack them, then it would be all over for them.


    "Boss, you can relax. That big guy doesn''t look that easy to fight anyway," Drifting Rain responded.


    He had used their hot-bloodedness to charge in, but it didn''t mean that they were going straight into battle. This was the reason why Lu Li felt like he could leave him in charge. Even though Her Tears was Ruling Sword''s number one Paladin, he wasn''t suitable to lead the Night Watchmen because he lacked this quality.

 1801 Pit Commander

    However, Drifting Rain wasn''t out of trouble just yet. The Pit Commander, who was attacking the camp, noticed them and sent out a strike team of two Wrath Masters, two Infernal Siegebreakers and a large of number of Fel Soldiers.


    This number of troops wasn''t enough to wipe them out, but casualties were inevitable.


    "Colonel Dulong, I order you to lead a group of people to support them."


    Lieutenant General Orion had been observing them and decided to send out some support. This was a decision that wasn''t made lightly, as sending troops out could mean that they wouldn''t be able to hold the main line of defence.


    The fact that an Orc was ordering a human to do something was also quite strange.


    However, the human commander didn''t hesitate at all. He quickly gathered a small team and rushed into the sea of Burning Legion units with Lu Li.


    Lu Li had to follow them. This role was very important. As a mobile Thief, he could interrupt the Wrath Master''s Fear. As long as they stayed in formation, it wouldn''t be too difficult of a situation to overcome.


    The two men successfully reached the reinforcements and killed the two Wrath Masters before finally reaching the Expeditionary Army at the Stair of Destiny.


    "Look at what we brought," Drifting Rain said proudly.


    Several dozen artillery units appeared before Lu Li, exuding a murderous aura as they were arranged before him. They could barely imagine the number of Burning Legion units that they could kill with these.


    Even though they were in a crisis earlier, Drifting Rain hadn''t brought these out.


    The power of the artillery was obvious, but there were also obvious drawbacks. It was difficult to defend them, and it cost time to take them out of their backpacks while in battle. Also, once you brought them out, they couldn''t pack them back into their backpacks.


    "This is great! Did you bring enough cannonballs?" Lu Li asked.


    "In addition to the supply list you gave us, the rest of our backpack space was used for cannonballs," Drifting Rain said.


    "Report that to the NPC Lieutenant General Orion. He sent a party out to assist you, so make sure to thank him for that and then give him all of these supplies. See if they reward you with anything," Lu Li instructed.


    "Uh, so we''ll be giving them the artillery as well?" Drifting Rain asked, suddenly felt a twinge of pain.


    This group had spent a lot of money in acquiring the artillery to just give it all away. Surely Lu Li hadn''t spent enough time with Water Fairy that he thought he was a tycoon now.


    Lu Li looked at Drifting Rain''s expression and immediately knew that he was thinking.


    "What do you know? It''s not like you get any EXP from killing monsters with the artillery anyway. You can come with me to learn how to last hit these monsters later."


    They had brought more supplies than Lu Li, and they had even brought the artillery. Lieutenant General Orion felt his heart pounding. With all of this, there would be fewer casualties among his troops.


    They received a Fortified Expeditionary Talisman for each piece of artillery they gave away.


    The initial buff was 5%, which made Lu Li''s item look very weak in comparison. Lu Li resolved to bring in an artillery unit next time.


    Drifting Rain has been a leader for a while, and knew what he had to do. He quickly gave Lu Li one of the Fortified Expeditionary Talismans, as he couldn''t let his Boss use a worse talisman to fight these monsters.


    With the addition of 800 new recruits, the Burning Legion''s soldiers were being swept. Lu Li even considered going up to fight the Pit Commander.


    The Pit Commander wasn''t technically a Wild Boss, as it was part of the Burning Legion''s standard army. It also didn''t have amazing drops, but the items it did drop would definitely be better than the other monsters that it was fighting with.


    "Take some people to attack the Pit Commander, but be careful to avoid the Infernal Siegebreakers. We can''t really fight that one right now," Lu Li commanded.


    This would ensure that they would be able to inflict some damage to the Pit Commander. After all, Lu Li''s damage to the level 70 Boss was insignificant, which meant that his success rate of getting the last hit was not high. He had tried several times and had never succeeded.


    "Okay, don''t worry Boss," Drifting Rain assured, then quickly rallied his troops and attacked the Pit Commander.


    The Paladins that they brought were of a particular personality. It was easy for them to be taken over by bloodlust which meant that several of them had been killed by overextending. Fortunately, their teammates were usually ready to push the monsters back so that they could be revived.


    With this group of players attacking the Pit Commander, accumulating 20% of the total damage would be a difficult tasked, but they still struved for it.


    Lieutenant General Orion was very appreciative of the heroic adventurers. Even strong NPCs were injured or killed when facing the Pit Commander. With the help of these adventurers, the time it took to defeat the Pit Commander was shortened and it also reduced casualties.


    Lu Li rushed towards the Pit Commander as well. The amount of damage he could put out was relatively high, as he often reached 100% Skill Completion.


    Moreover, the arrival of the Paladin Legion provided him with reassurance.


    Before, if he pushed out, it would be easy for him to get himself into trouble. After all, the NPC''s healers had a lot of take care of and he wasn''t close friends with them. However, with 800 Paladins with the ability to heal, this was of no concern.


    As the leader of this group, Lu Li had at least four healers paying attention to his HP at all times. Whenever his HP dropped to half, it would immediately be replenished.


    There was no way that these Paladins would let their Boss die. With the sense of honour that they shared, they would rather die than let that happen.


    With Lu Li unhindered, the damage he dealt was quite impressive. Before, he had felt like a useless flea, but now he felt like he could at least stand among the NPCs.


    The Paladins soon squeezed in as well, and the Pit Commander was completely surrounded.


    There were Paladins constantly dying, but there were even more Paladins rushing in to take their place. During that time, the ones that died were revived too. The advantage of the adventurers was now clearly on full display ¨C they were basically unkillable.


    However, this didn''t mean that they wanted to die.


    Progressing to level 61 from level 60 required a lot EXP. If you died, you would lose a lot of EXP, and even if you were revived, the loss would at least be 10%.


    Even Lu Li had not yet acquired 60% of his EXP bar.

 1802 Days Without the Little Red Hand

    Fortunately, when players died, they would only lose EXP and not levels. They wouldn''t drop to below level 60.


    As for the dropping of equipment, their teammates would be able to pick it up anyway, so there were no losses.


    The Pit Commander''s HP was whittled down at a rapid rate, but this wasn''t because of the Paladins or Lu Li. The main DPS were the Undead Mages, Darnassian Archers, Troll Hunters and other NPC characters. Lu Li''s objective was to clear the last remaining 20% HP on the monsters, or to get the last hit.


    If it were possible, Lu Li would want to stop the NPCs from fighting at the last second. Unfortunately, the System didn''t allow this to happen.


    Otherwise, Hachi Chan would become the most broken and bugged player in the whole of Dawn. She would ask the NPC to attack until the last hit, then take over. If she wanted to take it step further, she would team up with Remnant Dream and let her loot the items.


    Perhaps this path would be more profitable than staying in Ruling Sword.


    The NPCs didn''t care about Lu Li''s plea. It was as if they were designed to completely ignore these types of requests, because they simply started fighting more intensely.


    After the Pit Commander was slain, the other soldiers also proceeded to fall one by one.


    "Who''s going to loot?"


    The main goal was the EXP. Lu Li was quite sure that items would drop from the Pit Commander, but Remnant Dream wasn''t there, so who would loot them?


    Everyone looked at each other. In the end, they all decided on someone who wasn''t that unlucky.


    As for Lu Li, no one felt that he had the right to loot items. After all, it seemed as though he was cursed. Fat Monkey had once said to Lu Li that he would rather Lu Li kill him than for Lu Li to extend his arm to a corpse.


    "There''s only one. It''s a Dark Gold."


    This Paladin that was voted to loot the corpse was embarrassed.


    He thought that his luck was above average. When partying up with other people, he was always the one looting. Although he couldn''t compare with the famous Little Red Hand, his luck couldn''t have been so poor as to loot a single Dark Gold item.


    No matter what, this Pit Commander was still a Wild Boss.


    What did the Wild Bosses of this level drop?


    Lu Li remembered that they would drop at least 3 Epic items. There were also rare materials, Skill Books and different Stones. There was no way that it was just going to be a single Dark Gold item.


    "Give it to me," Lu Li said as he took the item and stored it away. "This item isn''t too bad. I think Lonesome Flower will like this. It''s already wearable at level 62, and it even has two Unique Effects."


    "Boss, you haven''t gone crazy, have you?"


    Even Drifting Rain, who was well accustomed with Lu Li, was dumbfounded.


    Lu Li wasn''t surprised; he already knew what to expect from the monsters in the new maps.


    There wasn''t much equipment being dropped, but there were many recipes, blueprints and materials.


    This was one of the changes in the level 70 update which was made because Dawn wanted to develop the Professions.


    Of course, the Pit Commander only dropped a single item that was only Dark Gold. This wasn''t characteristic of its Boss type and level. Under normal circumstances, Wild Bosses would drop more items and it was possible for the tiers of the items to exceed Epic.


    "Well, let''s gather our things again. If you guys have nothing to do, then go look for NPCs to do quests. Quickly level up to level 61. We''re all on the Level Rankings now," Lu Li said.


    The Level Rankings were reset after the new update. Everyone at the top of the rankings were all level 60 and above. However, Lu Li and his party had all just received an abundant amount of Experience, and were well ahead of the other players.


    It wasn''t that the players in the new maps couldn''t grind for EXP. Many of the old maps had monsters around level 60, and the monsters in the Instance Dungeons reached level 65 as well. Although the levels were there, the EXP rewards were limited.


    A level 60 Elite monster''s EXP was the same as a normal monster in the new maps.


    If players opened up the Level Rankings, they would see that it was full of Ruling Sword players.


    The second wave of monsters arrived, led by another Pit commander. This time, there were even more monsters, including the Wrath Masters. Lu Li had to arrange for people to clear out the Wrath Masters first.


    The advantage of the team of the Paladins was that they could set up a formation and work together. However, against the Wrath Masters, the Paladins would be completely disabled when the Wrath Masters broke their formation.


    As such, they needed to quickly eliminate this threat. Fortunately, killing them was a simple task. They just needed to interrupt the skill animation, after which a group of players could rush forward and bash them to death.


    Killing the Wrath Masters was top priority. Then, they would surround the Pit Commander and focus on it. This was their strategy.


    The Pit Commander was successfully slain. Unfortunately, because of the Wrath Masters, they were unable to take the last hit and were prevented from looting the corpse.


    This round had been wasted. Lu Li''s rage was then diverted to the remaining smaller monsters. After all, a little bit of EXP was still EXP.


    However, there was still a third Pit Commander. They managed to successfully take it down and were able to loot the corpse.


    This time, there was a level 62 Warrior item. The properties were average, but there was only a single Special Effect.


    The items between level 60 and 70 were just temporary items. The properties were decent, but there were less effects. After all, these were only level Dark Gold, so they couldn''t compare to Epic, Exquisite Epic and Legendary items.


    "We''ve already been battling here for 7 days. Later, there will be new soldiers coming to replace us. Do you want to retreat with us to a safe place to repair your things?" Colonel Dulong asked Lu Li. Their performance had already impressed Dulong''s warriors.


    "No need. We only fought for a few hours just then, so we''re not tired at all."


    The Expeditionary Talisman only lasted three days, so of course they would want to fight for as long as possible.


    Lu Li''s Fortified Expeditionary Talisman increased his damage by 5% at the beginning, but this had now accumulated until 16% damage. Perhaps they would be able to defeat the Fel Reaver after continuously gaining damage.


    "Alright then. I''ll leave as much as I can for you."


    Dulong slapped Lu Li''s shoulders with admiration in his eyes. Unfortunately, Lu Li wasn''t a normal person. Otherwise, he definitely would have been invited to join the military in the game.


    Lu Li was unaware that he had missed this opportunity.

 1803 The Reason of Existence

    In those days, Khadgar, Turalyon and the others led the Alliance into Draenor. As a result of other races wanting to protect their own homes, they also sent in their people to this land that was destroyed as far as the eye could see.


    They built two fortresses in Hellfire. As for why they built two and not one, there was only one reason ¨C the Alliance and the Horde would never be able to completely trust one another.


    For the sake of protecting Azeroth from the Legion, they fought day and night for multiple days around the Hellfire Peninsula.


    They needed to battle against seemingly never-ending waves of Scourge soldiers. A single team of people were definitely not enough. They needed multiple squads to rotate and defend.


    In the beginning, one squad only needed to fight for one day. As their strength slowly dwindled over time, they could only rotate after a few days of fighting. However, rotating after seven days of fighting was quite unusual.


    Even though they were new troops, they were still wearing old and broken armour. They were quite surprised upon seeing strangers here.


    "They are all reliable and warriors worthy of respect," Lieutenant General Orion said to the Frontline Commander Sethria.


    Lieutenant General Orion didn''t participate in the defence. He was the highest ranked officer here and had been posted here for a few years. He would participate in battle occasionally, and when he was tired, he would sleep in the old and wasted chariots.


    Sethria was an Undead Priest.


    It was unknown whether or not she was beautiful when she was still living. However, she was currently the complete opposite of beautiful.


    "Looks like the seal on the Dark Portal is nearly broken," Sethria said. "I received news that there would be a large group of adventurers arriving as reinforcements through the Dark Portal."


    "You are correct. These are the adventurers who have come here early to support us. There are also these chariots, which were given by them to us," Orion explained, then continued to say, "Sethria, I know that you do not value life, but please value these lives."


    "Life!" Sethria cackled and hissed, "I have cursed all living beings. However, I hate the cursed Legion that didn''t allow us a chance to live, and the main culprit behind all of this even more."


    With the authority of the highest ranked officer, Lu Li and the others were not sent as fodder for the enemy troops to kill.


    They continued to go and hunt down one of the Pit Commanders. Sethria was happy upon seeing this. The Pit Commander that was being attacked by Lu Li''s team wanted to summon Hellfire upon the camps, but it was now unable to.


    "Damn it! This is a little over the top now, isn''t it?"


    Drifting Rain furiously threw the equipment on the ground. The looter had only managed to pick up a Gold item.


    "I don''t want this either. I think that my hand is not bad, and the items have been alright. Look at what the others have picked up from the small monsters."


    The looter felt wronged; he even wanted to suggest that Lu Li try his hand.


    "Stop fighting. Pick up the item. Get ready to receive the next wave of monsters."


    Lu Li looked at his own level and thought that there was still hope to level up to level 61 today.


    Ruling Sword''s Little Red Hand was arriving soon. Hachi Chan was bringing along Remnant Dream, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower and Sakura Memories to complete quests together. Otherwise, they would have been there a lot earlier. Everyone else in the club was furiously looking for the trigger point for the quest.


    With Azure Sea Breeze and Remnant Dream, they would have an easier time against the Pit Commander, and there would be even more DPS.


    The items being dropped were horrendous, but this was linked to the damage being dealt.


    In the afternoon, Lu Li finally received news that Hachi Chan and the others were about to enter the Dark Portal. He intentionally warned them against bringing chariots to give the NPCs. Chariots weren''t worth as much as an Enhanced Amulet.


    Furthermore, the amulets weren''t guaranteed. Donating a chariot might not have given an Enhanced Amulet, but a normal amulet was not a problem.


    Lu Li''s amulet gave him a 60% damage bonus, so his damage was absurd against these monsters.


    There were eleven people arriving, including Hachi Chan. This wasn''t the limit, but Lu Li didn''t want to keep asking her to help out with the quests and sacrifice her time for the sake of advancing others. He simply didn''t think that it was worth it.


    After clearing out the wave of monsters, Lu Li and the Paladins charged at full speed to the entrance of the Dark Portal, received the new arrivals and immediately returned to their post.


    It was just at that time when the next wave of monsters arrived, so they didn''t even need to charge.


    "What is happening?"


    Drifting Rain saw Pit Commanders come out from the Portal and froze. It wasn''t that he hadn''t seen a Pit Commander before; they had killed many of these. Rather, he froze because he hadn''t seen four Pit Commanders being summoned at a time.


    This didn''t make sense!


    Even if they wanted to increase the numbers, it should have been a gradual increase, one by one. It didn''t make sense for the number of Pit Commanders to jump from one to four straight away.


    If this happened earlier, the Stair of Destiny would have already been destroyed.


    It was glaringly obvious that the System didn''t want the players to continue grinding EXP.


    "Lord Sethria, I think we need reinforcements."


    If they didn''t have to, Lu Li did not want to face the four Pit Commanders by themselves. This was because they had ''snuck'' in from the outside. If there was no one to revive them, then they could only respawn back in Azeroth.


    If they wanted to return here, then they would have to re-activate the questline.


    Furthermore, they would stand to lose a considerable amount of EXP and more equipment. If they couldn''t deal with this wave of monsters, then Lu Li would take his people away from this camp and retreat.


    Hachi Chan was dumbfounded. Before they came, all the rumours that they heard about the Paladins were pleasing to their ears. They heard that items littered the battlefield and that the monsters were easily slain. They even asked for Remnant Dream to come and loot the items.


    What was the situation now?


    Why were there four Bosses at the same time? From looking at the collective expressions of the NPC and Lu Li''s party, they knew that something wasn''t quite right.


    Were they going to die as soon as they arrived? Were they just here to watch?


    "General Orion, I think that we will require your assistance."


    Sethria was not in a state of panic. It seemed that this had happened before.


    "Don''t worry, Sethria. You know, this is the meaning of my existence."


    Lieutenant General Orion had already charged ahead. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he grew from a two-metre, well-built Orc into a monster that was five or six metres tall.

 1804 Hadn’t Seen Someone This Arrogant Before

    The Orion who had turned into the monster was still the Lieutenant General Orion that they knew. He didn''t lash out at his allies, which meant that he still maintained his sanity. However, his fighting style became much more aggressive, as if he was a battering ram being thrust at the castle doors. He immediately targeted one of the Pit Commanders.


    A Pit Commander was around 4 metres tall. They were originally looking down upon everyone around them, but Orion dwarfed them all.


    Orion raised both of his fists and slammed them heavily downwards into the skull of the Pit Commander. The Pit Commander''s head immediately exploded as large volumes of green bodily fluid gushed out of its head. The great body of the Pit Commander fell to the ground. It was unbelievable how easy Orion made it look.


    How impressive! A Pit Commander was capable to instantly kill the players here, and it took a long time for them to defeat one. Orion''s power exceeded all of their expectations.


    "Attack!"


    Sethria led a group of NPC soldiers and charged towards another Pit commander. Their fighting style was one that was relentless and simply mindless. They were all just frantically attacking the Pit Commander and did not discuss strategies at all. Although this method was fast, it also led to a lot more casualties.


    Lu Li didn''t understand why she had done that. Lieutenant General Orion could take down all four Pit Commanders easily enough.


    However, he overthought it.


    After killing a Pit Commander, Orion immediately charged towards another. The result of this clash was not decided by Orion''s one-hit KO. Instead, it was Orion who was being attacked by the Pit Commander.


    Even the blind could see that he was barely holding on.


    If it all went as expected, Orion would not be able to defeat his second opponent. It appeared as though Orion was only a one-hit wonder and didn''t have enough strength to continue.


    If they were being even more pessimistic, then Orion was likely to become weaker and weaker, so it would be possible for him to be killed by the enemy.


    "Breezy, what are you doing, standing around like that? There''s one more Pit Commander!" Lu Li roared. He quickly led a team of players to surround the fourth Pit Commander. They needed to kill this one quickly so that they could go and support Orion.


    There were around 100 players, so they weren''t all going to fight the Pit Commander together. Most of them were melee classes, so they couldn''t all fit.


    Lu Li also arranged for some Paladins to go and help with the other Bosses.


    He had two goals in mind ¨C to spread out his forces and to steal the last hit on the Boss. Out of these four Bosses, he wanted to at least be able to loot two of the corpses.


    Now that Remnant Dream was here, it would have been a shame if they lost the opportunity to do so.


    Another group of people appeared in front of the Dark Portal, which announced that there were going to be more players arriving in the Outland. This time, there were around 40 to 50 players. The leader of this group was Sorrowless, so it was assumed that these were all Glory Capital players.


    Glory Capital had always been at the top in terms of killing Wild Bosses.


    They obviously wouldn''t ignore the Wild Bosses in the new map, so they must have gathered up the players who had completed the quest and entered the Outland together.


    Although the trigger for the quest couldn''t have been traded, there was a method that allowed someone else to trigger the quest for them. With so many players in Glory Capital, there were at least thousands of players who had triggered the questline. However, because of the difficulty of the quest, many of them weren''t able to complete it.


    These 40 to 50 players were at the top of Glory Capital and were all Elite players.


    The Stair of Destiny was not far from the Dark Portal. They could immediately see the intense action that was happening.


    Some of the Glory Capital players wanted to immediately rush over to make things harder for Ruling Sword. Blood Dagger was the leader here. He hated Ruling Sword, so he always wanted to cause trouble for them.


    However, Sorrowless didn''t like that idea. After all, Ruling Sword had a massive numbers advantage over them. If they really fought, they would be completely outnumbered. Sorrowless did not think that there would ever be a time where he was outnumbered.


    "Such a shame. Those few Bosses look like they would be fun to kill," Blood Dagger whined.


    "There''s a bigger one over there," one of the Glory Capital players said while pointing to a place in the distance. There was a gigantic silhouette in the distance, and it was coming ever closer to them. Furthermore, its thunderous footsteps could be heard as well.


    "Do we go for that one? We only have 70 people," White Westhill asked.


    "Let''s go."


    Sorrowless was quick to decide. This was a truly powerful group that represented the peak of all of Glory Capital. He thought that the difficulty wouldn''t be too high since this Boss was designed for the general population of players. It was the very first Boss in the level 70 map, or so he reasoned.


    Ruling Sword might have been planning to go and kill that one after they killed the one that they were fighting.


    "They''re going to fight the Fel Reaver," Drifting Rain said with glee. Lu Li had warned him of one of the most untouchable existences in the Outland. The Fel Reaver ranked third. This was an insect-like creature that sheer numbers could not overcome. Furthermore, it was difficult to escape its grasp once a fight was initiated.


    Lu Li mulled over it and decided to get someone to help prevent this tragedy.


    "Left Hand, go and prevent them from going to the Fel Reaver. Just say that this Boss cannot be fought. Bring them over here to fight these Bosses insetad."


    "What the heck? What''s wrong with you?" Azure Sea Breeze didn''t understand.


    Ruling Sword didn''t have a relationship with Glory Capital at all. In fact, they were constantly clashing and had suffered underneath Glory Capital many times. Although Ruling Sword seemed to be ahead in competitions, the Instance Dungeon scene and Stronghold battles, they still lost in many other areas.


    For example, there was a Wild Boss last week that Ruling Sword was in the middle of fighting, when Glory Capital decided to deploy their players to interrupt them.


    Both sides were engaged in a huge war. Not only did Ruling Sword fail to kill the Boss, they were also miserably defeated. They lost many lives and many equips that day.


    "Even if they did go and fight it, the number of deaths wouldn''t be that many, so it wouldn''t mean much," Lu Li explained. "I''m worried that there might be four Pit Commanders again next wave. Looking at Orion, I think it''ll take us two weeks to do this. What can we even do?"


    "Lu Li''s right. We can also get them to owe us a favour this way. They would also help us defend as well. Furthermore, when they bring in more people later on, we wouldn''t clash with them because of it. At the very least, we can''t compete with them in terms of battling in the Wild," Wandering said, showing his support for Lu Li''s idea.


    Lu Li wouldn''t lose anything if Glory Capital owed him a favour either.


    Cain''s Left Hand was a player who focused on Wild battles, so he didn''t particularly like Glory Capital either. He went into Stealth until he was in front of the Glory Capital players, revealed himself, said a few words, and immediately disappeared.


    "Our boss said that the Fel Reaver cannot be fought. You guys would not be able to fight it. Why don''t you all come quietly and fight the small Bosses with us?"


    Everyone from Glory Capital looked at each other.


    They hadn''t seen someone so arrogant before. What he had said sounded incredibly condescending. It was hard to believe that it was a warning out of kindness.

 1805 All Goes to Plan with Hachi Chan

    If you couldn''t fight through it, then you couldn''t fight through it. Whose fault was it that you couldn''t?


    They still had to have players obediently go and farm Bosses together. But when would Glory Capital ever listen to Ruling Sword''s advice?


    At that moment, there were many people, their mouths full of complaint and cursing, who decided to ignore this arrogant Thief. If he wasn''t such a sneaky Thief who came and went without a trace, there would probably all sorts of skills thrown at him.


    "Go," Sorrowless suddenly said, interrupting their racket.


    "Go where?"


    "Didn''t Lu Li tell us to go fight the Boss together while the Boss isn''t dead yet? We can rush over and get a share of it," Sorrowless explained lazily as he rushed right over to the Stair of Destiny.


    "Boss, you''re kidding right? Do we really have to listen to them?"


    "Yeah, you never know ¨C they could be tricking us."


    "After we go over, who knows? They could just leave straight away and get us killed. Besides, I think Lu Li really could do that ¨C that dodgy guy has no limits."


    "Don''t be silly; just be a little patient," Sorrowless said impatiently, cutting off these two guys.


    He glanced far away, and in an instant, he saw a yearning face in the massive crowd of Paladins ¨C Darkness.


    There were 800 Paladins, so this was definitely a talent.


    Both weren''t strangers, but they weren''t friends either. There wasn''t any need to say hello. After Sorrowless joined in the war, they went over to help Lieutenant General Orion. B


    With the grand entrance of these top forces, the war situation finally stabilized


    The first to be helped, of course, was the NPC team that Cecilia led. After they were helped, they went to help Lieutenant General Orion. The final two Bosses were pretty much finished off at the same time.


    The threat had been neutralized and all that was left to do was to divide the spoils.


    For Ruling Sword and Glory Capital, there was no problem when it came to sharing the spoils. They divided things between the different teams, and with the corpses, whoever could loot them would loot them.


    In the end, Ruling Sword received the right to loot two corpses, though Glory Capital got there first. Since they didn''t deal enough damage and didn''t make the last attack, they could only watch on.


    Dark Gold, Dark Gold ¨C in total, there were two pieces of Dark Gold equipment.


    One of them was a piece of Thief equipment ¨C level 62 boots. Not willing to pass on this responsibility, Lu Li took them to use himself.


    These boots had two special effects, but one of them increased the amount of EXP gained by 5%, so it could be considered a very suitable piece of equipment for training. Equipment for level 60 and above would occasionally present with this effect, and players would often opt to have this on at least one or two of their items.


    Remnant Dream also looted a blueprint and a rare material. Things always looked worse when you compared with others.


    "Warriors, thank you for your work today."


    Lieutenant General Orion had already turned back to his original self. His powerful Orc voice echoed through all of the Stair of Destiny as before.


    Everyone rushed over and assembled.


    At this moment, Lieutenant General Orion was not just weak and empty. His skin had already cracked and sometimes, blood would steep out. His whole face was stained with blood, and he looked like he had been injured beyond the hope of recovery.


    "I might have to rest for a bit," Lieutenant General Orion said.


    If he didn''t take a rest in this situation, then he simply wouldn''t be taking his own little life seriously. Lu Li didn''t think much of this. If he excused himself, then who would give out the talisman? There could not be no reward handed out.


    Because of the strengthened Expeditionary Talisman, Lu Li''s damage towards the Burning Legion units had already increased by 83%. When it came to farming monsters, that was efficiency.


    "Cecilia, I''m handing over the defense here to you. I bestow to you the heavy responsibility of defending the Stair of Destiny," Lieutenant General Orion said, while Cecilia, full of solemn ceremony, received this heavy responsibility. This also meant that even though they had been successful, she still needed to remain here, all the way until Lieutenant General Orion recovered completely.


    "And you all, you can''t fight for yourselves like this. You need to have a leader," Liuetenant General Orion continued.


    Wouldn''t this make things even messier? How there be a leader? Everyone was in different camps, and they were enemies too. In fact, Lu Li and Sorrowless had never thought that this would happen. Immediately, they entered into an intense ideological battle.


    What Lu Li thought was that he had come early and had been occupied with it all until now.


    However, Sorrowless reasoned that they had just saved Lieutenant General Orion, so coming earlier wasn''t as important as coming at the right time. According to the principles on the relationship between players and NPCs, they still should have a chance.


    "Um, I have to choose someone from among you to be a leader. They can talk about your performance, and can give the reward on your behalf," Lieutenant General explained as his eyes swept across the everyone. Regardless of it was Lu Li or Sorrowless, everyone paused for a bit. In the end, he looked at Hachi Chan kindly, and gently said, "Child, I think you''re most suitable to be the leader here. When I''m not here, all the adventurers will listen to your commands¡­"


    "Pfft."


    Lu Li just couldn''t hold it in. He just had to spit it out.


    Sorrowless'' eyes clouded over. He was just stunned.


    With a dumbstruck face, Hachi Chan became the highest leader of the players in the Stair of Destiny. This wasn''t just being a leader in name. It looked like she could even give players quests, hand out appropriate rewards and so on. She could do all those things that Liuetenant General Orion originally had the authority to do.


    Hachi Chan, very pleased with herself, tried to issue a quest.


    "Lu Li, go get your big sister a cup of water."


    Lu Li felt he was just like an idiot, but he had no reason to decline a quest of pouring a cup of water for 300 XP. It was still better than nothing.


    The main thing was that at the moment, he couldn''t displease Hachi Chan.


    Sorrowless stared at Lu Li as he accepted the quest, not knowing how much EXP would be issued. In any case, Lu Li''s body flashed, and he became the first level 61 player in the game.


    They felt this was ridiculous, and they were envious as well.


    That Liuetenant General Orion didn''t really care when it came to choosing a leader for the adventurers. That was his freedom. Even if they went to complain to the game company, it wouldn''t achieve anything.


    "Don''t give Sorrowless and the others the talisman! Give the talisman as a reward to us!"


    This was the first command that Lu Li gave to Hachi Chan. The nominal leader was Hachi Chan, and Hachi Chan was also a member of their club, so this command didn''t actually mean much.

 1806 Treasure Chests

    Sorrowless couldn''t do anything either. He couldn''t offend Hachi Chan, unless he didn''t want to farm monsters here.


    The new map was filled with dangers; it wasn''t easy to find a place to rest. However, the Stair of Destiny was still relatively safe, and the NPCs here were able to repair equipment.


    The Pit Commander was a worthwhile Boss to fight too. As the very least, it didn''t summon a swarm of monsters.


    On the second day, Glory Capital''s people actually still hadn''t left.


    They dutifully went to Hachi Chan and received her quests, but while the difficulty of Hachi Chan''s quests was relatively high, the reward didn''t match. For example, she would hand out a quest to kill 3 Wrath Masters with a maximum of 2 people who could participate. It was more difficult than killing 10 Fel Soldiers, but the reward was much, much less.


    What was more, Hachi Chan didn''t give them the talisman ¨C poor Sorrowless didn''t even know there was one.


    He was just bewildered as to why the players from Ruling Sword had such high damage.


    On the second day, when Lu Li''s damage against Burning Legion had increased to 100%, he didn''t wait on the Stair of Destiny anymore. With limitless opportunities in the new map, it was simply too much of a loss to stay in one place and kill monsters, What was more, he was level 61, which was higher than anyone else.


    He sneakily transformed into a crow, and flew into the skies above.


    There would occasionally be collectable herbs and ore on the ground, but Lu Li didn''t pay attention to them, because these Mountain Silversage, Felmusk and Fel Iron Deposits simply weren''t worth much money. They could farm a whole stack of them in a day with no problems.


    Lu Li went through Expedition Point, but didn''t stop by. They were in short supply of goods here. Apart from repairing equipment, there wasn''t any NPC here that was worth dealing with.


    They were relatively wary and wouldn''t issue a quest lightly.


    However, Lu Li had to admit that his own Charisma was too low, and it was relatively harder for him to receive quests. He didn''t want to lose face.


    One of the most commonly seen monsters on the Hellfire Peninsula was the Helboar. There were also boars all around Azeroth. Who knew how this creature actually could survive in two completely different habitats?


    The boars here would occasionally drop blueprints, which was why in the future, many guilds would assemble teams to farm them.


    If the Stair of Destiny had not been secured, Lu Li was originally planning to farm boars by himself. These monsters were densely packed and had low attack, so they were very suitable for levelling up.


    But of course, he didn''t rush to farm them now.


    Crossing through a large Helboar territory, Lu Li arrived very soon at a place called Zeth''Gor.


    These Bosses were difficult to deal with. Lu Li couldn''t even defeat one.


    Even if he brought 800 Paladins with him, it would be of no use. As such, his target wasn''t these three Bosses, but the two treasure chests inside these ruins of Zeth''Gor . If the circumstances allowed for it, he might be able to receive a quest that wasn''t too dangerous.


    Lu Li couldn''t quite remember the location of the two treasure chests. After all, he was a Druid in his last life, so he had no need to purposely go and remember this.


    There were still quite a few dangers in the process of searching. After all, this camp was filled with the Eyes of Grillok.


    Grillok ''Darkeye'' sacrificed an eye to the dark forces, and from this, gained frightening magic powers. The eye he sacrificed had been Scorched and in its place was left a terrifying hole. He used an eyepatch to cover up this symbol of a betrayer, but there was also a secret within.


    He didn''t waste his lost eye either, but used it as a tool in witchcraft.


    These Eyes of Grillok were like Grillok''s eyes and ears. As long as your tracks were discovered by them, Grillok would immediately know your position, and the whole camp of Fel Orcs would be welcoming you with their pursuit.


    Lu Li needed to be more cautious. He didn''t want to die in this place.


    Fortunately, it wasn''t too hard to find where these two treasure chests were. One was in a broken tent. Apart from the treasure chest inside, there were also two Bleeding Hollow Necrolytes. Lu Li Sapped one, killed the other and then dealt with the first.


    It was said before that Lu Li preferred farming Helboars to level up, but this didn''t mean that all monsters were the same.


    Killing them and farming them to level up were two different issues. The main difference was whether or not it was efficient. For Lu Li, two Bleeding Hollow Necrolytes simply weren''t all that worthwhile. One of them dropped a piece of Bronze equipment.


    Bronze equipment was not to be underestimated. While they often lacked special effects, they still had relatively high attributes and damage.


    Next came using the Unlock skill to open the chests.


    There was a minor adjustment in the level 70 patch to the Unlock skill. You could still level it up, but not with Skills Points. As such, players had to try to find treasure chests to practice on. Otherwise, there was a real chance that in the future, they would encounter an exquisite treasure chest but have no way to open it.


    The treasure chest in front of Lu Li didn''t require too high of a skill level for now.


    He could open these intermediate-level locks at the moment with 0 Unlock XP. This just came from a solid attitude to practicing well, so he needed to watch it a few more times to get it right. Especially since he was always unlucky, it took him a dozen times to get it right before he could open it.


    Level 65 Dark Gold Cloth Gloves. Once worn, they had two special effects, one of which increased EXP gain by 7%.


    By the time everyone found equipment that increased their EXP gain by 7%, it wouldn''t be worth that much anymore. However, it was still more valuable than most other equipment. Demand determined the market.


    It provided high damage, its basic attributes were solid and its critical hit damage was also high. It was very suited towards magic roles.


    After more looting, something else was found ¨C the Eyes of Grillok.


    This was what Lu Li wanted. Eyes of Grillok could increase a players'' vision on an enemy. As long as you could control stealthily, even a Boss wouldn''t realize you had it.


    The Outland was still too dangerous at the moment, so Lu Li needed such a tool for his safety.


    There were often monsters flying around in the sky, and turning into a crow meant having no armor at all. If he was attacked, he would probably be killed immediately.

 1807 The Human Scou

    Many of the densely-packed monsters on the ground had Detection abilities. The sky above was also dotted with all kinds of creatures. If he didn''t have the Eyes of Grillok, he simply couldn''t keep going.


    It would be perfect apart from the fact that it could only be used for 20 minutes at a time, and it could only be used three times.


    He was originally going to find a Warlock to notify him of what the enemy was up to, but he had no way to ensure their safety. After all, the Warlock couldn''t hide himself.


    Warlocks also had a similar skill called the Eye of Kilrogg.


    They were all members of the Bleeding Hollow Clan (a.k.a. The Bleeding Hollow). It seemed like this clan were all able to dig out their own eyes and use it for casting spells.


    Following the wishes of his injured, diseased father, Kilrogg Deadeye complied with the clan''s ancient tradition ¨C starting a ceremony to sacrifice one''s own left eye in order to see one''s future fate.


    Because of this, in every battle, Kilrogg Deadeye was filled with self-belief in seeing through his own life and death.


    Kilrogg was born in Draenor into the Bleeding Hollow Clan. When his clan was almost exterminated by the Arakkoa, he did not surrender. He found the so-called hidden secret room of his clan and conducted a frightful ceremony. In this ceremony, Kilrogg foresaw that his own death was still a long way off, so he knew that he would go through all this suffering.


    With this heartening news about his fate, he seized authority in his clan and led the Bleeding Hollow to shatter the menace of the Arakkoa, before attaining countless victories in battles to come. In the following years, he destroyed all those who disagreed with him. Even though he had committed such harsh crimes against those closest to him, he always maintained hope that his fate would lead him.


    The Bleeding Hollow Clan was made up of the most ferocious Orcs on the Draenor mainland. Kilrogg had an intensely firm belief in the prophecy of his death. He firmly believed that the Steel Horde would ultimately take him into his own final moment of glory.


    The Berserkers under him all thirsted for battle, impatiently waiting for war to arrive. They conducted various mysterious ceremonies as they were filled with the intensely strong desire to kill. Not one of those poor people who strayed into their territory came out alive.


    Grillok was simply too different compared to Kilrogg, but his eye was still enough for Lu Li''s purposes.


    After getting what he wanted, he began to search around this abandoned city. In his last life, he finished a quest which provided a massive EXP reward. Now, he had to save a human scout who had been taken prisoner.


    Just when he was about to go on his way, he saw a human who had been tortured inside a cage. At this, Lu Li kindly saved him. Sure, he just wanted a reward, but this human scout definitely didn''t let him down either. He gave Lu Li a massive amount of EXP and Reputation. It was said that he held in his hands some vital intelligence that would even impact the war in Stair of Destiny.


    The only thing to worry about was that it was still early. If this scout hadn''t been captured yet, then things would be awkward.


    After searching for more than an hour, Lu Li found something that looked like what he was looking for in a remote area. It was inside a hollow formed by collapsed walls. The human scout, Cage, maintained a strange position, lying on the ground. This position made him very uncomfortable, but he couldn''t help it, because he had rather vague control over his whole body. It was even hard for him to turn over.


    Lu Li speechlessly looked at this horrific mess.


    He thought it would be better if he just gave up this quest. In this sort of injurious state, there was no way he could be brought out.


    Next to the hollow there were four Bleeding Hollow Berserkers standing guard. They looked intently all around, and had at least two Eyes of Grillok. As soon as there was a problem, they would make a report, and Grillok would be warned immediately.


    Later, Lu Li could be surrounded and hemmed in by the Bleeding Hollow Clan.


    In his last life, this scout didn''t only chat with the players, but would even fight with them.


    However, it all made sense after thinking about it. This was probably a quest that would be made easier in the future.


    It evidently wasn''t realistic to kill the guards, then fight their way out with Cage like in his last life.


    Lu Li sneakily withdrew, the whole time feeling his way along the outer walls of the abandoned Zeth''Gor. There were quite a few Bleeding Hollow laborers around here, and many of them were holding torches. There was going to be a quest for Lu Li to snatch away these torches and set alight the tents of the Fel Orcs.


    This quest would actually cause heavy damage to the Fel Orcs. After Draenor had been shattered, they were extremely lacking in resources, and even tents were a rare thing.


    As soon as the tents were set on fire, the Fel Orcs would risk their lives to fight it.


    By that time, Lu Li would naturally have a chance to get rid of these NPCs who seemed to have no place left to go.


    Actually, the original intent behind the design of this quest was to target groups of players, with everyone sharing roles and working together. Some would go and save people, some would go and set more tents on fire, and some would be on guard. In the end, everyone would share the quest EXP, which was why the reward was so great. Later, after the game updated, some minor changes were made to this quest too. The difficulty was reduced, but the massive EXP reward actually still remained, which could be considered a benefit that the System gave to players who had entered Dawn late.


    However, there was no such benefit in the current patch, unless one person finished the quest.


    Lu Li didn''t jump into action immediately. Who knew if there were Eyes of Grillok around? After observing for a while, he was sure that there wasn''t anything going on around the Bleeding Hollow laborer. Only then did he walk up for a double kill.


    The two torches were in his hands, but Lu Li wasn''t satisfied ¨C he still needed more.


    Eight torches would be enough. If he killed too many Bleeding Hollow laborers, the Eyes of Grillok would sense that something was amiss.


    This was the first step. After the first step was complete, he would have to look into the route. He needed to set fire to those tents, but where would he go to get away from them? If he encountered a certain situation up the road, how would he face it? It wasn''t until after thinking about it over and over that Lu Li finally dared to jump into action.


    The first fire was set a little further away. The purpose was to attract the attention of the Orcs. Then, if the Orcs ran over to see what was going on, Lu Li could jump into action to save people.


    The second fire was set next to the storehouse, which it would soon set fire to. The storehouse was full of the Fel Orcs'' accumulated food. Most of it was boar jerky. It was actually rather simple to make and was very fragrant too.


    The third fire was set in what looked like an alchemy room. Unfortunately, there was nothing volatile inside, otherwise it would be difficult to control.


    The 4th fourth was set next to a tent not far from a Warg den. Lu Li hoped that it would be able to set the Warg den on fire. If so, the Wargs would go crazy, and things would be even better for Lu Li.

 1808 Scorched Camp

    The remaining four torches weren''t thrown for now, and were left for a future opportune time. Lu Li couldn''t be in two places at the same time either. He could only summon a Silly Husky to help. It was already good enough for a man and a dog to set fire to four places.


    Silly Husky knew about safety and danger too, so Lu Li didn''t have to consider this. After all, it was only a summoned creature. If it died today, it could still be summoned tomorrow.


    As for how long this Silly Husky was free for, that completely depended on the person''s skill. If they couldn''t manage him, then they would be chopped to death by the Fel Orcs. Otherwise, it could perhaps live as long as the summoning time lasted.


    When a tent suddenly caught fire somewhere, it didn''t make the Orcs suspect anything. After all, the Hellfire Peninsula was dry, and there were bonfires blazing around the camp all year.


    Just a few Orcs drove the Bleeding Hollow laborers over to work. The whole camp was still in order like before, until the tent next to the warehouse caught fire. Only then were the Orcs alarmed.


    This was just a little bit of food that they had managed to accumulate over a long, hard period of work. If it was burnt up in a big fire, then all that would be left would be the cooked aroma.


    For the next few months, they might very possibly have to be busy at work to look for food. What was more, they had also stored some things that they had taken from humans.


    A large group of Orcs rushed over and poured their originally equally valuable water onto the blazing fire.


    Hellfire Peninsula had very few water sources. It was about as rare as food, but if they had to choose one, they would choose to protect the food.


    Lu Li really wanted to tell them that using sand would be a little more effective in extinguishing the fire.


    Of course, he wasn''t that kind.


    The third fire ignited the lab, and it also burnt down quite a few tents around it. The camp was all up in arms. Even those few Orc Berserkers guarding the hollow went over to help.


    The human scout in the hollow was already at death''s door. He might not even be able to survive the night. There was no need to worry that he would escape.


    They ran away, and Lu Li ran in.


    "Brother, are you alright?" Lu Li asked, already knowing the answer. He pushed the human scout a few times. Although it wasn''t clear whether it was because he heard sounds, or because of his pain, the human scout moaned twice, opening his eyes which were swollen like peaches.


    "Water¡­water¡­"


    He wanted to drink water?


    Lu Li wasn''t a Mage, so he would rarely bring something like spring water with him. If he took bread out for him to eat, he might choke him to death just like that.


    The main ingredient in the potion was water, and the next ingredient was a healing herb. Even if the healing mechanisms between players and NPCs differed, this could be used as water for drinking and at the very worst, wouldn''t do anything.


    After drinking a bit of water, the human scout evidently felt better. He panted and could already converse with Lu Li.


    "Who¡­who are you?"


    His voice was feeble, and Lu Li had to get closer to hear what he was saying.


    "I''m what you see ¨C I''m an adventurer. I just happened to pass by here. May I ask how I can help you?" Lu Li asked.


    "My name is Cage. I''m a scout from the Expeditionary Camp. A while ago, Orcs attacked our motorcade, killed my companions and took me captive. If you can, I hope you can take my intelligence back to the Expeditionary Camp."


    At this point, the System prompted Lu Li to asked if he wanted to accept this quest to pass on the information.


    Most people would just accept the quest right away here. After all, if it was done here, the difficulty would be reduced by more than half. However, Lu Li saw things more clearly than anyone. If he really did this, not only would there be no reward, but the Expeditionary Camp would also take away some of your reputation since you saw someone dying but didn''t save them.


    As such, Lu Li took the effort to shake his head, saying, "As someone from Azeroth, I have to take you back."


    "Are you crazy? This is a main camp of the Bleeding Hollow Clan; there are hundreds and thousands of Fel Orcs! How can you, one person, take me out? Brother, don''t do things blindly," the human scout firmly refused.


    "I just created a bit of a distraction in the camp. They''ve gone firefighting. I''m taking you out now," Lu Li said, getting straight to the point.


    He wrapped up Cage and carried him on his shoulder. He then released the Eye of Grillok that he had found from the treasure chest. He had no choice if he wanted to avoid getting caught. He didn''t want to use this thing and although the camp was in a right mess, the Fel Orcs were still able to send out a massive number of troops to pursue them.


    With the Eye of Grillok ahead of them to scout out the road, Lu Li successfully avoided quite a few Orcs who were running around frantically. They arrived outside of the camp very quickly.


    Even so, they still weren''t safe yet. Cage couldn''t walk by himself, and Lu Li couldn''t lead him through all the monsters which were in the Wilderness to arrive at the Expeditionary Camp. They didn''t have much time. Lu Li had already received the notice from the System that the Silly Husky had died.


    The Orcs would settle the situation quickly. When they realized that Cage was gone, they would chase after them until they were killed.


    These barbaric Orcs were not to be underestimated. When pursuing their enemies, they were of a threat level that no human could imagine. Orcs were already adept at following tracks anyway, and their Wargs had sensitive noses too.


    What was more, Lu Li was carrying a person with him, so his energy would quickly be depleted. Where could they hide to avoid those four-legged Wargs?


    That was why Lu Li took it as his mission to find a place that was a little more out of the way. This place couldn''t be easy for anyone to find. Then, he himself would run to the Expeditionary Camp and get help.


    It was a good thing he was reborn and he knew some out of the way places to hide.


    The Draenor continent used to be all one piece, which later split into a few. Of course, there weren''t just these few pieces. There were also countless shards that had scattered into emptiness. Some of these shards stood perfectly still, but others were still swirling around.


    Lu Li found a shard that moved around in a set orbit. Sometimes, it was close to the mainland of Hellfire Peninsula, but most of the time, it floated in the emptiness. No matter how skilled the Fel Orcs were, they couldn''t enter into the emptiness to catch people.


    When this shared floated around, Lu Li put Cage onto it. They he transformed into a crow and flew to the Expeditionary Camp, reporting to the human commander what had happened.


    "You heroic, courageous Elf ¨C you have really done well. Now, I hope you can bring them to bring back our injured brother."


    Before the human commander had even seen any proof, he believed Lu Li''s words. By the time Lu Li took out the thing that Cage had given him as proof, the human riders were sent out with no room for doubt.


    "I will definitely do it," Lu Li said as he saluted.


    The human commander nodded with satisfaction.


    "To work with you on your actions, I will personally direct a team to attack the ruins of Zeth''Gor to


    provide cover for you."


    With such words, everything was made easier.

 1809 Official Poop Shoveler

    Lu Li brought the riders to where he had hidden people before. Then, he transformed into a crow and searched the edge of the mainland. Very quickly, he found that shard of land. By this time, the human scout was able to sit up.


    He was extremely happy to see Lu Li. Then, the System notified Lu Li that he had finished the quest of saving the scout.


    Apart from a massive amount of EXP, he also received lots of Reputation. He hadn''t received this much Reputation in all the time he had spent at the Stair of Destiny fighting monsters. Lu Li could even say that even if he were given two Strengthening Skills Books now, he would have enough Reputation to finish studying them both.


    Actually, the real reward was still the EXP. Before Lu Li accepted this quest, his EXP bar was at 3% of level 61. This quest alone raised it to 21%, which was an increase of 17% in EXP.


    Levelling up from level 61 to 62 compared with 60 to 61 was an exponential increase. This 17% increase made up for Lu Li''s time at the Stair of Destiny, where he had monsters for half a day.


    Following the troops back to the Expeditionary Camp, Lu Li received the highest praise from the camp commander, before he was awarded with more EXP and Reputation.


    "Brave warrior of Azeroth, thank you for all that you''ve done for the Expeditionary Camp. Now, I have a quest to give you. I don''t know if you are willing to accept," the camp commander said. He was extremely satisfied with all Lu Li had done.


    Lu Li simply couldn''t believe his ears. His Charisma was so low, he was practically insulated from receiving quests. It was only a few NPCs that he was relatively close with that would issue him quests.


    He wasn''t an arrogant person and immediately nodded his head with enthusiasm.


    "I can do it. No matter what it is, I''ll do my very best."


    "It turns out I''ve judged you well."


    The commander was even more satisfied with Lu Li. He pointed at the boars outside the camp, saying, "You see over there, these pigs can really breed quite a lot¡­"


    Could it be that he wanted him to kill Helboars? That really was too easy.


    "They leave their excrement all over the place¡­"


    Lu Li suddenly had a bad feeling. This wasn''t how you treated your hero, was it?


    "It attracts a lot of Marauding Crust Bursters, and we''ve lost quite a few warriors to them¡­"


    "He wants me to kill those damned Marauding Crust Bursters, right? No matter how hard they are to kill I''ll still go for it," Lu Li thought to himself.


    "So, can you help us clean up the Helboar poop from around our camp?"


    "Pfft."


    Lu Li nearly died from his intense feelings. He stared straight ahead and nodded mechanically, saying, "No problem, I can do that. Yes, I can, it''s not too hard for me, commander. Is there really no other quest that''s more challenging?"


    The camp commander didn''t notice the variety of colors on Lu Li''s face at all.


    The helmsman of Ruling Sword and the number one player in the game foolishly took out his spade tool as well as a container for collecting poop. He then exited the camp with his face devoid of meaning.


    These damned Helboars were mutant creatures that arose when disaster struck Draenor.


    No one knew where they got their food from, and no one purposely went to raise them. Unless someone was starving, they wouldn''t choose to eat their sour flesh which was devoid of any nutritional value.


    One heap, two heaps, three heaps, four heaps, five heaps¡­


    A groaning Helboar came over. Lu Li put down the spade and hit it, as if he were venting out his anger. It was these damned boars that put him in this poor, embarrassing position.


    Of course, the Helboar couldn''t win against him, but before it died, it pooped out a heap with great force. It was even nice and fresh this time.


    This was an interesting game!


    Two hundred heaps of boar poop had been all collected up. Lu Li let out long sigh of relief and went back to the camp.


    "I knew you were the best ¨C you completed this quest much faster than our best warrior. This is your reward," the camp commander said. Apart from EXP, he also gave Lu Li a blueprint.


    The EXP amount was massive. In the end, there weren''t many risks associated with this quest. It was said there were Marauding Crust Bursters, but Lu Li didn''t encounter a single one.


    The blueprint was for a firearm ¨C a level 65 Gold weapon for Hunters. This was already considered a massive prize. In the current patch, one blueprint could make 10 weapons.


    If you are satisfied with this reward, we sincerely hope that you can take on the responsibility for cleaning the camp long-term," the camp commander offered.


    "Thank you, sir, but I think I have to continue my adventures now," Lu Li firmly rejected. He didn''t want anything more to do with boar poop. If he did it a few more times, he would probably be shoveling poop in his dreams.


    "That''s a real shame," the camp commander sighed. "If your journey takes you to Honor Hold, I hope you can take a letter from me."


    "No problem at all, commander."


    It was relatively easy task to take a letter.


    "Aside from that, Hellfire Peninsula is going to enter into a large war. There is a mysterious force at work that''s causing trouble. It''s these Fel Orcs which are behind it all. These new Orcs are even bigger, they''re more cruel and more cunning. If we didn''t make any preparations, then we would really be suffering," the camp commander said.


    "Ok, I''ll definitely bring it there," Lu Li breathed out in relief. This was the right way for the quest to go. What was the point in him staying at the camp and shoveling poop?


    Lu Li really did need to go to Honor Hold. It was the biggest military fortress for Alliance players in Hellfire Peninsula. The corresponding Horde fortress was called Thrallmar.


    Although they had a common enemy in the Burning Legion, the human-led alliance and Orc-led Horde were in still long-standing opposition to each other.


    In the beginning, the Horde established a new stronghold on Hellfire Peninsula, Thrallmar. The south was adjacent to Path of Glory and Hellfire Citadel. However, the expeditionary teams that the Alliance sent out to take back The Dark Portal kept coming and cut off their back door to get back to Azeroth. Those who stayed in Thrallmar were trapped between rocks and the wilderness.


    Since Thrallmar''s conventional reinforcements had already been cut off, the residents here could only rely on adventurers from the Horde to help them face the many threats on Hellfire Peninsula.


    The Burning Legion set up camps to the north and east of the stronghold, continuously sending soldiers that way. These camps deployed strong cannons. The demons there posed a serious threat to Thrallmar.


    If you sat and watched these developments at the camp, it appeared that Burning Legion were going to invade Thrallmar very soon.


    Although the Alliance and the Horde were enemies, they were strongly bipartisan towards the problem of Burning Legion. The Hellfire Peninsula worked with having three states peacefully coexisting. Now that there was another group of Fel Orcs, peace was about to be shattered.


    However, Lu Li thought they should consider players. Only with their arrival could they truly change the


    situation in Hellfire Peninsula.


    Players didn''t have anything to offer, except there were a lot of them!

 1810 Trollbane

    At this moment, there were more and more players over at the Stair of Destiny.


    The Burning Legion soldiers here were already losing momentum. As the leader with official authority, Hachi Chan actually led the players to assault the return gate of Burning Legion, and achieved success in doing so.


    The reward for destroying the return gate allowed the players to enjoy some benefits.


    The war situation would probably likely conclude for the meantime. If no threat existed, then naturaly, there was no need for any quests.


    When the time came, Hachi Chan would then become the ''king of the mountain''. Lu Li had already let some people of Ruling Sword go ahead to the military camps to complete quests. He had to wait until the Stair of Destiny battle paused, as the NPC would then clear a path towards Honor Hold or Thrallmar. Then, the players would truly be considered as established in the Outlands.


    Lu Li didn''t need to go through all of this trouble because he could fly.


    Almost all of the players of Dawn game currently had mounts. Riding a horse was always faster than running.


    Level 70 being released meant that besides an upgrade to riding, there would also be public Outland flying.


    As long as the riders met a certain Reputation requirement, they could purchase a flying mount from an NPC at Shattrath City. Of course, this came along with a large sum of gold coins. Many players saved a year''s worth of money to purchase one.


    Thrallmar and Honor Hold had different architectural styles. Even being in the Outlands, humans still maintained the medieval castle style of Azeroth.


    Honor Hold was situated to the south of the Path of Glory and Hellfire Citadel. After the second Orc war, the Alliance sent out an expedition to traverse the Dark Portal in order to completely resolve the threat of the Orcs.


    Under the leadership of Danath Trollbane, Alleria Windrunner, Kurdran Wildhammer the Gryphon Rider, Turalyon the courageous general and Khadgar the Archmage, the expedition carried out their great mission, which unfolded into a life-and-death battle with the Orcs of Draenor.


    The expedition used the Book of Medivh and the Skull of Gul''dan from Draenor to close the Dark Portal and gave up their only chance of returning home.


    Before the expedition destroyed Draenor''s Dark Portal, Ner''zhul had already opened numerous gateways that led to other worlds. Draenor, which had already suffered the abuse of the Orcs'' demonic magic, could no longer withstand the impact that these new gateways brought, and began split into pieces.


    In reality, none of these heroes were dead.


    Twenty years after completely losing contact with Azeroth, this expedition team had already occupied a proper place among the Outland domain.


    To commemorate the late Anduin Lothar, they called themselves the ''Sons of Lothar''s Ghost''.


    Currently, the Sons of Lothar''s Ghost controlled a couple of Outland strongholds, including Honor Hold. Even though the Orcs hadn''t been completely defeated, the army guarding Honor Hold and all of Sons of Lothar''s Ghost saw new hope. After new forces joined, the expedition planned to finish what they started, then return to Azeroth.


    Lu Li didn''t know Lothar, but he and the Sons of Lothar''s Ghost''s Marshall Windsor had a strong friendship.


    "I''m an Elf from Azeroth. I have come here to see your highest commanding officer. I have brought information from expedition camp."


    The current version of Honor Hold still hadn''t been officially opened to the public. This was a sealed-off military stronghold. Lu Li had no choice but to announce his origins. He was rathr worried that those gunmen who were pointing their firearms at him would fire accidentally.


    "Wait a moment," the guard who stopped Lu Li said warily.


    He was alone in entering into this unfamiliar place, then had experienced the explosion at Draenor. He was constantly battling at every moment and couldn''t let down his guard around anyone.


    Not long after, Lu Li saw a tall human man walk over. He didn''t seem young, and had a golden beard with a smooth forehead. He was like a majority of human NPCs and looked like an old Mediterranean man.


    "I am Danath, the commander of Honor Hold. Elf, can you now give me the intelligence?"


    This old man didn''t have a great attitude towards Lu Li even though he could see the lieutenant military rank on him. But subconsciously, he would view these dainty and fair-skinned men as having bought their royal positions.


    Danath Trollbane used to be the leader of Stromgarde''s people militia.


    He had been promoted because of his performance in the Khaz Modan battle. After the Dark Portal''s destruction, Danath had spent a period of time in the newly constructed Stromwind City, and was responsible for the world of managing the detention centre for Prisoners of War.


    The detention centre had unbearably packed due to the war. Considering safety, the Alliance took the Orcs prisoners to the Drago Prison. Then, a human First Lieutenant called Aedelas Blackmoore was appointed as the new warden of Drago Prison.


    Not long after Ner''zhul opened the Dark Portal again, the Orcs besieged Azeroth''s outpost of Nethergarde Stronghold. Danath was ordered to repel the Orcs'' attack. However, this was a clever roundabout tactic of Ner''zhul. Once the main force of Danath and the tribal army were fighting fiercely at Nethergarde Stronghold, another cavalry made up of Orcs and Death Knights raided the then new Stormwind City. In the end, not only was the Book of Medivh stolen, but so were many other items.


    Even though after Danath had successfully repelled the Orc''s ''direct attack'', Ner''zhul had returned with bountiful rewards.


    Not long after, the Alliance launched a large-scale counterattack. Danath, along with Turalyon the Paladin and Khadgar the Archmage led the expedition and passed through the Dark Portal to come to the red world of Draenor. Here unfolded yet another battle. Afterwards, Danath and the other heroes chose again to remain on the land of Draenor before the Drak Portal exploded. It was unknown if they were dead or alive.


    The statues of these five heroes would stand forever outside the gates of Stormwind City.


    "Danath Trollbane!" Lu Li exclaimed as his eyes lit up. "Are you THE Danath Trollbane? One of the five heroes?"


    "That''s right, I am Danath Trollbane. However, I do not know what your so-called ''five heroes'' means."


    Danath Trollbane had been programmed according to the System. He still had not come into contact with the adventurers from Azeroth.


    The only reason he came out to see Lu Li was because he said he was from Azeroth.


    Hence, Lu Li told him the whole story of the legend from the Azeroth mainland about the five heroes, during which he subtly flattered him several times.


    He had become a real live martyr standing there. Danath Trollbane was sobbing uncontrollably, especially when Lu Li mentioned Windsor. Finally, he let down his guard and pulled Lu Li into his campsite.

 1811 Cannon Fodder

    After he heard Lu Li''s story, Danath Trollbane fell silent for a long time. He still remembered Windsor. He was Turalyon''s most cherished soldier and used to follow Sir Lothar and the guardian''s battles.


    What made it even more wholesome was that he turned out, as everyone expected, into an outstanding commander.


    Yet in the end, he still ended up, as fate foreshadowed, dead in the hands of the Black Dragon.


    "Such an idiot. He shouldn''t have gone to provoke the Black Dragon. Fate had already warned him."


    "Please don''t be too sad. When the Marshall died, he was engraved in everyone''s memory as a hero. Plus, he successfully laid bare the Princess of the Black Dragon''s conspiracy. We were then able to win against the Princess of the Black Dragon and beheaded her as revenge for the Marshall," Lu Li said.


    "I''m not actually sad. In fact I''m very grateful he didn''t become a coward out of fear of his fate," Danath Trollbane said as he moved the edge of his lips to show a smile.


    "If he knew you commended him this way, he would be really happy."


    One old acquaintance. One new acquaintance. Both reminisced Marshall Windsor and that heroic person that had already been taken by time.


    Having said that, Danath Trollbane''s emotions were still a little low. He wasn''t even that concerned with the intel that Lu Li had given him. However, the reward he gave to Lu Li was still much more than he had anticipated.


    The main thing was still EXP and also some Reputation.


    "Now, is there anything else I can help with?"


    He was becoming frustrated with how difficult it seemed to find quests, so Lu Li had to hint at the NPCs.


    "If you would like, there are still some things I need help with. I''m planning to dispatch some Gryphon Riders to destroy some equipment at Forge Camp. The Burning Legion''s Gan''arg Servant is working day and night to get the campsite running. Once the Cannon Fodder is complete, they will no doubt attack Thrallmar''s Orcs. These Orcs are different from the others. Honor Hold doesn''t wish for their campsite to be destroyed by the Burning Legion."


    Forge Camp was the Burning Legion''s frontline factory. They had many places like these in Draenor.


    Would he himself be riding a Gryphon to go bomb the Burning Legion''s monster? Lu Li vaguely remembered that Hellfire Peninsula had a similar quest.


    "I swear using the name of a soldier that I will do my very best in completing this mission," Lu Li promised, feeling satisfied. Riding a ferocious NPC Gryphon, he would have a vastly different fighting power to all the other players. He could drop down fire from above which would send the Burning Legion crying home. It was exciting just to think about it.


    Lu Li held his fist tightly and really wanted to punch Danath Trollbane''s old face.


    He really looked down on people. Just then, he was showing him an appreciative look and now he had turned around and given him a cannon fodder quest.


    If it was little Hachi Chan, what type of quest would she receive?


    She would probably just need to comb the Gryphon''s hair and would receive a large amount of EXP and rare equipment as compensation.


    Originally, he used to think that Hachi Chan was the System''s daughter, while he was the son raised by the stepmother.


    Now, he didn''t think this way. If Hachi Chan was the System''s daughter, then he was the System''s enemy''s son.


    Now, Lu Li''s level ranking was number one. The number two was Hachi Chan.


    Lu Li was the person to first enter into the Outlands. Plus, besides working hard to fight monsters, he had also used his advantage of being reborn to gain a quest.


    What had Little Chan done? During this time, she was sitting down with crossed legs while trying to make conversation with every person who came to her regarding quests because she was so bored. Then, she would watch on as her EXP bar increase exponentially.


    Even the short-legged Remnant Dream had to go find one corpse after the other with a brow covered in sweat.


    "34 bronze coins. As Brother Lu Li said, I get one-fifth. Yep, those 10. The remaining will be split among everyone equally. Also, everyone will receive one equipment. Hehe the ones I''ve secretly packed won''t be found out by people. The backpack is nearly full."


    Lu Li had to work even harder than Remnant Dream; he was exerting his all by running around. Red-coloured smoke behind him rose up, then immediately, a loud bang sounded.


    "Bro, I''m on your side! No need to be this much of a hurry."


    Lu Li didn''t even have time to complain and continued to crawl to the next target. The Gang''arg Servants and demonic machinery that were just behind him had already turned ruins. There were so many monsters, and a majority of them were elites. If he had killed them all, Lu Li could have reached level 65 by now.


    "Have you gotten to the expected location? If you don''t come now there won''t be any other opportunities," Lu Li said in the team chat channel.


    "Boss, we can''t fly," Cain''s Left Hand replied helplessly. This was the sxith time that he replied with the same answer.


    He was sent here to act as cannon fodder. Of course, Lu Li wasn''t satisfied to just do one quest. He used the shortest time possible to assemble a group of Thieves and Druids, telling them to follow a relatively safe route to rush here from the Stair of Destiny. Later, Lu Li would tempt a Gryphon Knight to drop fire on Razorsaw.


    Razorsaw was the area Boss, and was different from the Pit Commander. If it doesn''t drop an Epic equip, Lu Li would cut off his own head to kick around like a ball.


    Unfortunately, Sesame Rice Ball and the other Warlocks who had Summoning Portal all couldn''t fly. The current situation on the Hellfire Peninsula for ordinary players was hell. The only ones who came over were Thieves and Druids with Stealth skills.


    However, most of them were thieves. Druids were in charge of Tanking monsters and healing HP.


    This type of irregular format was not suitable to fighting the Boss. However, if Lu Li could lead Razorsaw right under the fire of the Gryphon Knights and bomb it a few dozen times, he probably wouldn''t have much HP remaining.


    Razorsaw was a machine unit and was created by the Mo''arg Engineer.


    The Mo''arg Engineer was an ethnic Mo''arg and belonged to the Burning Legion. As the wisest individual, he used to be a leader of the Mo''arg. Many armed Mo''arg blacksmiths had even more terrifying damage than Doomguards, while the Legion''s many battle machines, including Star Warships ,were designed by him.

 1812 Forgive Her

    Some said that Razorsaw was a Mo''arg Engineer that was so keen on transforming things into Mecha form that he didn''t even stop at their own bodies.


    Some even thought that Fel Reavers were made up of one or more Mo''arg Engineers, that they were not just merely mechanical units.


    Then there were the Gan''arg Servants.


    As low-cost technicians of the legion, these Dwarf Mo''args were a very intelligent species. Because of their disregard of normal conventions, they were willing to experiment with new, underdeveloped technologies.


    "We''re here and we see the monster. Are we in the movie Saw?"


    Cain''s left Hand had experienced all sorts to hardship just to get to the raging Razorsaw.


    "What is Saw?"


    "It''s an old movie. Boss, you should go see it. Bring your girlfriend too, and you might be pleasantly surprised."


    "I''ve already seen it," the somewhat humiliated Water Fairy called out.


    "Same. Boss you can pretend to be very scared and ask her for comfort," Cain''s Left Hand smirked.


    Lu Li reprimanded the shameless Cain''s Left Hand but simultaneously felt like he had a point. He decided to find a movie like Saw to watch with Water Fairy in future. Obviously, he didn''t have any ulterior motives ¨C he just wanted to study the great art of film.


    After everyone was in place, Watersong began pulling the monsters. Everyone had to ensure that they built up enough aggro, otherwise, they would easily lose the Boss'' aggro.


    "This monster is really strong," Deep Watersong commented. In fact, the Boss of this level 70 map was very powerful, and even its basic attacks were a lot higher than what they had experienced. Moreover, Druids were not the best profession for physical defence.


    As such, if they fought by conventional methods, they wouldn''t be able to defeat the Boss no matter what. Even the Druid''s healing wasn''t doing much to help them.


    The Boss had many skills, but there were two main ones. The first was Slime Spray and the other was Saw Blade.


    Slime Spray was an area of effect skill that had a chance of applying a blinding effect.


    Saw Blade was a single target high damage skill that had a chance of applying Hemorrhage.


    Even after losing a dozen Thieves, the Boss'' HP barely dropped below 90%.


    Even so, this was enough for everyone to have generated enough aggro.


    "Let''s do this!" Lu Li yelled out as he rushed towards the raging Razorsaw.


    However, he didn''t have a death wish. After giving the command, he immediately escaped the attack range of the Boss.


    After Lu Li issued the warning and fled, a bomb exploded behind him which burned the two Thieves that had stayed behind. They had taken no small amount of damage.


    One of the Thieves that was blasted was immediately killed. It was inconceivable how terrifying the damage from the explosion was. Some of the Thieves didn''t time their escape skills correctly and had to use their special effects just to escape unscathed.


    The Gryphon-riding Paladin in the air couldn''t see what was happening on the ground. They could only see the red smoke from the signal flare, which was where they dropped the bomb. They had no idea whether there actually was a monster where they had dropped the bombs. In fact, even if they could see, Lu Li had told them not to drop the bombs without an order.


    This was especially the case as Razorsaw was an engineer, so killing him was far more valuable than killing the servants.


    There was one bomb, and then another. With the heavy fire support of the Gryphon Paladins, Razorsaw''s HP was dropping. If there were no other incidents, Lu Li''s strategy was going to work.


    "Left Hand, how dare you? You dare use my girl as one of the players to take aggro?" Lu Li asked incredulously as he noticed that one of two Thieves that ran forward was Water Fairy.


    "Lu Li, shut up," Water Fairy said. She just couldn''t bear it.


    How could a man be so na?ve? Everyone was the same, so why couldn''t she take the aggro? She guaranteed that she was better than any other Thief here. After all, she was a professional, and although she wasn''t Dawn''s number one Thief, she was unrivalled among the other women and was actually among the top eight Thieves. Water Fairy definitely wasn''t just a pretty face.


    "I know, I know, I''ll stop."


    Lu Li passed by the monster and snuck up to the next bombing site.


    "Hey, I don''t want to play anymore. I''ll just afk,"Cain''s Left Hand said as he shook his head weakly. He felt like he had to be losing his grip on the Thief profession. There was no other reason why he was feeling so incompetent.


    On the one hand, he was being abused by the Boss and on the other he was being abused by this couple¡­ he just couldn''t take it anymore.


    The number of monsters in the Forge Camp gradually decreased, which meant that it was becoming safer to fight the Boss. The Gryphon Paladins above didn''t understand why Lu Li was still putting down signals after such a long session of bombing. Fortunately, they had acquired a new Goblin invention, which had a small size yet great power. It allowed them to hold more bombs, their supply still wasn''t unlimited. There were already several Gryphon Paladins that had finished throwing their bombs and were returning.


    "Get ready for battle. How long will it be before the next group of people arrive?" Lu Li asked, after looking up and seeing that they had to face the Boss alone.


    Lu Li was a cautious person. He had called the first group of people ahead because they were all Thieves and Druids that could enter Stealth. The second group of people had to travel more slowly as they had to fight their way through.


    There were 200 players with Warriors and Paladins fighting at the front. The Mages and Warlocks were providing firepower from the back while the Hunters and Thieves scouting ahead. When a powerful monster was approaching, they would generally avoid that path.


    With such a big movement, there was no way the other clubs were oblivious to it. However, any response would take time, and Lu Li still had plenty of it. Moreover, Hachi Chan had already begun giving out the talisman quests, so there were many people surrounding her and none of them were willing to leave the Stair of Destiny.

 1813 Fel Reaver Blueprints

    The Stair of Destiny was no longer the exclusive territory of Glory Capital and Ruling Sword. There were already many other clubs and even casual players here.


    There were also many available quests. Whenever the game officials released a new map, many quests were also created that would reward players with access to the new map. Many players would receive the quests unwittingly and eventually find their way into the Outland. There were some players that did realize that they were completing a quest to gain access to a new map, but they weren''t that interested in travelling to the Outland. Instead, they would sell the quest''s clues to high-end players.


    After all, the Outland monsters were all very powerful. If a player didn''t have at least a few pieces of level 60 Dark Gold equipment, there was no point in going. It was better to cash-in on the quest. Under normal circumstances, the clues could be sold for an average of 3000 gold coins. If you were lucky, you could even sell them for 5000-6000 gold coins. To an average player, this amount of money was plenty.


    Most of the players who entered the new map were receiving quests from the Stair of Destiny. They were all trying to level up as quickly as possible to avoid falling behind. There were very few like Lu Li, venturing into the depths of the Hellfire Peninsula to fight Wild Bosses.


    Deep Watersong from Drizzle Court had not yet reached level 61, so it was difficult for him to resist the monsters. He had to regularly transfer the aggro between himself and another Druid. When such a transfer happened, everyone had to stop attacking, otherwise, the aggro could easily be stolen away. A Druid Main Tank was also ineffective for various reasons, so they wouldn''t have done this unless absolutely necessary.


    This made the fight more difficult than it should have been. When the Gryphon Paladins flew away, Razorsaw''s HP was still more than 30%. Moreover, the bombing had actually left the Boss in a weakened state. If not for this state, they would have eventually been wiped. However, even in this state, they still struggled to finish off the Boss.


    Lu Li''s strategy was simple; they just needed to stall for time. The main focus was on safety. He didn''t need anyone to deal a certain amount of damage to kill the Boss ¨C everyone just needed to stay alive. It was an arduous journey to this area of the map, so it would be too much trouble for them to travel back if they died.


    "You guys need to be a little faster," Lu Li said.


    "Groups 9 to 12, come with me to cut them off. Everyone else, move ahead. Warriors, make sure to protect the healers and Breezy."


    Wandering saw that there was a dense pack of monsters heading their way. Moreover, there was a Fel Reaver patrolling the area that could stumble onto them soon, so he decisively issued some orders.


    However, sacrifices were sometimes necessary and a skilled commander like Wandering would know how to make those sacrifices. Moreover, he had chosen to stay among those players as well, so those who were forced to stay had nothing to complain about.


    With Wandering''s example, the supporting players quickly moved in and actually arrived much more quickly than expected.


    Lu Li had never missed Azure Sea Breeze as much as he did now.


    "Lu Li, can you stop looking at me like that? If you keep doing that, I''m going to have nightmares tonight," Azure Sea Breeze said, looking disgusted.


    "I''m deducting 5 points from Breezy for a negative attitude. We''ve come so far, and you aren''t running head-on to pull the monsters. Isn''t that basically abandoning your post?" Lu Li questioned angrily. Breezy lacked discipline and Lu Li hadn''t reprimanded him these last few days, so he was getting a little out of control.


    "Damn you Lu Li."


    Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t depressed; he just had never seen such a shameless person before.


    With the addition of Azure Sea Breeze, the situation immediately changed. His profession was a Main Tank, which was exactly the nemesis of Razorsaw. The ordinary attacks that Deep Watersong was taking were dealing at least 5000-8000 damage, but Azure Sea Breeze only took 3000-4000 damage. This meant that the fight was much more stable.


    "Did Dreamy come?" Lu Li asked.


    "I''m here," Remnant Dream announced as she jumped up. "Why couldn''t you see me?"


    "Oh, my bad. You are a little short," Lu Li said as kindly as he could make that statement sound.


    "I''m going on strike!" Remnant Dream shouted, then turned to Water Fairy and continued, "Water sis, Lu Li is bullying me. He touched my butt!"


    "Pervert!"


    Everyone came together to attack Lu Li.


    Of course, the joking around was fine, as long as they didn''t delay the progress of defeating the Boss. Under the attacks of 200 to 300 players, its HP was soon to be depleted.


    Although Razorsaw didn''t have a name, that didn''t mean it wasn''t a Wild Boss. The fact that they had been the first to clear it was broadcasted on the World Channel, and all the other clubs who were at the Stair of Destiny with Hachi Chan were fuming.


    "Dreamy, go loot the body. You''re the best," Lu Li called out. He had to suck up to her now after he called her short.


    "How much are you paying?" she asked, suddenly feeling greedy.


    "I will give you all the gold coins I have in my backpack," Lu Li offered with a sad expression, which satisfied Remnant Dream.


    There were two rare materials, and a siege blueprint¡­


    Wait¡­ is this?


    The Fel Reaver Blueprint!


    Lu Li was completely shocked, and quickly shoved the blueprint into his backpack. He could publish the blueprint''s attributes, or he could choose to hide them.


    He had always wanted to find this blueprint, but he hadn''t taken the time to fight the Mo''arg Engineer.


    In fact, the Mo''arg Engineer only had a low probability of dropping that blueprint. He never imagined that it would be dropped from Razorsaw. If you actually thought that Razorsaw was the Mo''arg Engineer himself, then it would explain why he was capable of dropping this blueprint.


    However, Lu Li had not seen this blueprint before in all of his previous life.


    The Fel Reaver blueprint wasn''t the most valuable of Engineering blueprints, but it was one most paid attention to. If Lu Li sold this blueprint to a club with a Stronghold, then he easily could have paid for his sister''s treatment. However, he had never heard of any other monsters dropping this blueprint except for the Mo''arg Engineer.


    In fact, this was the result of a later patch. In the earliest days, Razorsaw could drop two Fel Reaver blueprints but this severely affected the balance of the Stronghold Wars, which was why this change was put into effect. For the remainder of Dawn''s lifespan as a game, there wouldn''t be more than 10 Fel Reaver blueprints dropped, and the Fel Reavers constructed by players would also be greatly weakened.


    Considering the poor success rate of constructing a Fel Reaver, a lot of materials needed to be spent on making it. There were many clubs that eventually just let the blueprint collect dust in the guild warehouse.

 1814 Self-Respec

    "What is it?" Water Fairy knew Lu Li very well. After seeing this suspiciously stingy behaviour, she knew that something valuable must have been dropped.


    Lu Li couldn''t hide it from Water Fairy. As soon he heard that Water Fairy wanted to see it, he immediately showed it to her.


    "Damn, what a shameless guy. What about we re-elect another boss, someone who is more reasonable? Someone like me¡­"


    There was only one person other than Wandering who was brave enough to openly declare that they wanted the throne; this was probably Azure Sea Breeze speaking.


    "This¡­ can be used in Stronghold Wars?" Water Fairy asked, instantly realizing how the Fel Reaver blueprint worked.


    It was only in a Stronghold War that the Fel Reaver could show its true potential. Even if an ordinary player had it, they wouldn''t be able to use it. After all, the Fel Reaver was expensive to construct and needed to consume a Strengthening Stone as a power source during the start of a battle.


    "More precisely, it is for defending Strongholds. It is too slow to attack one," Lu Li explained, then said proudly, "I will find someone to make it in a few days and I can give you one or two. A blueprint can theoretically craft ten copies of an item, but it would already be a success if we could craft somewhere between three to five of these."


    With Lu Li''s current Engineering level, he wouldn''t have a high probability of success, even though he had reached level 60. For a blueprint that was so hard to craft, he needed to find a true master of engineering, the kind of player that practiced nothing but Engineering. These kinds of players were probably engineers in real life too.


    After seeing Lu Li''s strong ambition, Water Fairy couldn''t help but give him a kiss. It wasn''t just a kiss on the cheek either, but on his lips. Lu Li felt himself going crazy and in his delusion, deducted another 5 DKP from Azure Sea Breeze.


    There were also two pieces of Gold equipment and one piece of Dark Gold equipment. These were all level 62 equips.


    "Too bad these aren''t Epic," Lu Li sighed. "Dreamy, here you go. This is all the gold I have in my bag."


    "Seven... seventeen¡­" Remnant Dream almost fainted.


    "Hey, I only had 15, but the Boss gave me 2 more. Dreamy, I did what I said I would do. I didn''t lie to you," Lu Li laughed.


    "You''ve already gained something, but you''re still bullying Dreamy. I might just kill you. Dreamy, how about you join Drizzle Court? We wouldn''t treat you like this," Water Fairy scolded Lu Li before turning to Remnant Dream.


    In fact, there was no difference even if she did change guilds. The three guilds did all their First Clears together. Drizzle Court and Peerless City would often get Remnant Dream to loot the Wild Bosses that they defeated anyway. Remnant Dream was always happy to do a task like that.


    Lu Li felt like there was nothing to regret; he took pride in having tricked this little girl.


    "Place your bids, place your bids! Level 62 Shoulderpads for Thieves! It''s an Epic equip with two special effects. One of the effects lowers the level requirement by 5%. This can be worn by a level 60 player. What are you waiting for? Starting bid is 200. Everyone can bid except Lu Li. I will take a 20% commission to mend my broken heart, and the rest will be divided equally among everyone else," Remnant Dream said as she waved an equip around in her hand, which dumbfounded Lu Li.


    Why was there another equip, and one that was Epic too? If you counted the number of things that Razorsaw dropped, it was definitely too much.


    The other players didn''t mind the way Remnant Dream wanted to distribute the item, as they would all receive some money, even if it wasn''t much.


    The fact that this level 62 equipment could be worn at level 60 without fear of a penalty immediately made it attractive for all the Thieves.


    The level penalty was now becoming a little too much. Lu Li was at level 61, but his strength was actually worse than when he was at level 60. This was because he had acquired no new equipment, and the debuff was not proportionate to the benefits of levelling up. Of course, the greater the level difference, the more exaggerated the penalties would be.


    This level 62 Epic equipment didn''t have great attributes, but it meant that they didn''t have to worry about level penalties until level 64.


    Nowadays, the market for level 60 equipment had undergone earth-shaking changes. Equipment that was originally worth 5000 gold coins was now selling for 500. The players who didn''t listen to the game officials were now in tears and many players had the exciting opportunity of experiencing Epic equipment.


    With level 70 equipment now available, why would anyone purchase level 60 equipment?


    "Dreamy, I made a mistake," Lu Li pleaded.


    In fact, as the commander of the party, he had the power to assign the equipment and could even cancel Remnant Dream''s distribution rights. Unfortunately, he couldn''t just do that ¨C it was just as important for a commander to play along and let everyone have their fun.


    Besides, when it came to money, who else could compare with Water Fairy? In the end, Water Fairy naturally bought the item for more than 6000 gold coins. The current exchange rate for gold was about 1:15, so the price for this equipment was already rather exorbitant.


    "You girls just banded together," Shameless Lu sighed sadly. Although the money being spent wasn''t his, that was just a matter of time.


    After clearing out the battlefield, everyone journeyed to Honor Hold. They also farmed all the herbs and ores that they came across on the way there. There were so many players in the group, that as long as they didn''t run into a Boss, there wouldn''t be any issues.


    Lu Li didn''t leave right away. He directed several players to lift Razorsaw and intended to carry him back to the Honor Hold to received a reward. There wasn''t a dropped item like a head or tail or some fur. As such, he just decided to haul the whole corpse back to the NPCs.


    As a low Charisma player, he had no intention of trying to convince the NPCs himself. As such, he had already arranged for Hachi Chan to get to Honor Hold ahead of time.


    Hachi Chan was still flying in as a butterfly. She had a dragon that could fly her, but she still hadn''t learnt to ride and was often crashing into things. She only did it when she had no other chance, so now she was fluttering her own wings.


    Perhaps she would eventually learn to ride. Those NPCs that she completed quests for might just casually hand her a skill book for that at some point.


    After learning that lesson from Remnant Dream, Lu Li controlled his envy and happily handed over the Razorsaw corpse to Hachi Chan.


    Hachi Chan struggled to move it as she pulled on one of its legs. The others helped her carry it and they eventually dropped it before Danath Trollbane.

 1815 Infinite Starry Sky

    "This is¡­." Danath Trollbane examined Hachi Chan, then asked in a surprised tone, "This is the bastard Engineer from Forge Camp! Yes, this is him! I know this face."


    Lu Li was completely speechless and disgusted.


    How could you recognise this face?


    Had it been him who dragged the Razorsaw to turn in the quest, this old man probably would have ignored him. This was the reality of the differences within virtual games. This wasn''t an obvious occurrence, but there would have been completely different result had it been Lu Li.


    "Actually, I didn''t do much. All the efforts were from my friends. It was them who killed this monster."


    Hachi Chan was a good kid; she nearly even told the truth.


    "What a genuinely good child. Your spirit is as pure as Elune''s," Danath Trollbane praised. "However, I believe that you must have not spared any efforts as well. Look at you and your sweat-covered face. Those who were fighting alongside you clearly didn''t take care of you. My child, your rewards are well and truly deserved."


    "¡­."


    Lu Li was unimpressed. After all, it seemed like he had been mentioned before. Lu Li originally planned to try and receive some of the rewards as well, but that notion had completely derailed.


    "Brother Three, go and check someone out for me."


    Although Lu Li was in the Outlands, his communication with Square Root Three was not hindered at all. Square Root Three wasn''t leaving the mainland any time soon. It would take a while for the player base to move from the old maps like Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms to the new maps.


    "Who is it? What''s their ID?" Square Root Three asked.


    "The ID should be Infinite Starry Sky. Class should be a Warrior, or a Paladin, but that isn''t important. He is a reputable Engineer. You can go on the forums and probably find something there," Lu Li replied, guessing from his previous memories.


    From a logical standpoint, this person should not have been affected by the Butterfly Effect.


    "Ah, a Profession-based player. I''ll ask Half-Life Crystal. She knows a lot more people than I do. Why did you ask me and not her?" Square Root Three questioned as he mulled over the ID, unable to think of anything.


    "Ah, right. Well, you''re getting up there in age, but you''re still single. I just wanted to create an opportunity for you. Crystal is pretty and also capable. Unless¡­Brother Three, you don''t like girls? If it''s like that, then don''t mess around with Crystal," Lu Li responded.


    "#$%@ you! Get out of here! This single dog will come for you!" Square Root Three was pissed off.


    However, he quickly received the information that Lu Li wanted.


    Of course, Half-Life Crystal wouldn''t ignore the existence of a Profession-based player of his skill level. She had even tried to get him to join the Life Alliance, but she was completely rejected and even insulted a little. He said to her that the Life Alliance was just a ragtag mob and that they didn''t know what true art was.


    Furthermore, he was not a poor player. As a highly-capable Engineer and Profession-based player, he had received requests from the official company to teach and create guides for Engineering. He was extremely wealthy and had an estimated value of millions.


    "He sounds quite impressive. Can you arrange a time for me to meet him? If he hasn''t entered the Outlands, then find an easier quest for him to do and come to the Outlands."


    Lu Li wasn''t about to return to the old map just to meet someone.


    It was good that Infinite Starry Sky was quite interested in Lu Li and the Outlands, so it didn''t take long until he arrived at the Stair of Destiny.


    After arriving at the Stair of Destiny, it would be possible to be summoned through a portal that Warlocks were able to use. However, Sesame Rice Ball was rejected from using it on Infinite Starry Sky.


    "The master has seen the Fel Reaver," one of the Paladin squad leaders who was responsible for receiving Infinite Starry Sky said.


    A top-tier Engineer had encountered the peak of Scourge Engineering. This was a love at first sight. The word ''like'' was not able to describe the intensity of Infinite Starry Sky''s feelings then.


    "What does he want to do?"


    "Seems like we''re going to help him out. He wants to research it, dead or alive. Then, he will do anything we ask for," one of the paladins angrily answered.


    His rage couldn''t be blamed. In more recent times, there was a constant stream of players going through the Dark Portal. There were many groups of players from different reputable clubs who came and naturally, their attention was shifted to the Fel Reaver. They were greedy and wanted to take the Fel Reaver for themselves. Hopefully, they would even earn themselves some Legendary or God-level items in the process.


    There was enough proof that people who thought like this all returned to the old map.


    Infinite Starry Sky wanted them to fight the Fel Reaver, which clearly meant that they were going to die. Of course, the Paladins wouldn''t be happy about this and harboured a grudge against Infinite Starry Sky. Furthermore, they didn''t think that they were anywhere near strong enough to take down the Fel Reaver.


    After hearing this, Lu Li wasn''t worried at all. Instead, he was actually extremely happy that Infinite Starry Sky saw the Fel Reaver.


    From Lu Li''s perspective, everyone had their weaknesses. If they had a weakness, then it would be possible to exploit the weakness. A person without weaknesses was like an egg with no cracks. No fly would be able to penetrate the eggshell.


    "Let him know that I have a way for him to make contact with the Fel Feaver. I can even help him make one."


    Lu Li arranged for one of the paladins to relay his message.


    After a short while, Infinite Starry Sky appeared in Honour Hold in front of Lu Li.


    This was Lu Li''s first meeting with Infinite Starry Sky. In his previous life, he had only heard about this Engineering master. He knew of his temperamental behaviour and his livestreams. Naturally, Lu Li didn''t know what to expect from him. He wasn''t a complete newbie like Lu Li had thought. Infinite Starry Sky looked like he was at least 30 years old and had a face full of beard in the game. Adding onto his ragged and old equipment, he just looked like a homeless person.


    "I am Lu Li."


    "I know that you''re Lu Li. Let''s get straight to the point. Get me one of those Fel Reavers."


    Starry Infinite Sky was blunt and didn''t care about anything else.


    "Do you know Wings of Dawn? It''s Dream 13 and Elevenless'' club," Lu Li asked.


    "Yeah I know. Even if I didn''t care about the news, I would still know about Elevenless."


    "Then do you know Azure Guard? They''re the one with Stellar Union Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis," Lu Li asked again.


    "What the heck? What''s wrong with you?"


    Infinite Starry Sky was angry. He felt that Lu Li was just wasting his time by asking some weird questions. How did this person become the head and brains behind a club and achieve so many Instance Dungeon First Clears while leading a three-club alliance?


    It was said that he, too, was a top-tier Engineer who had the blueprints to a lost bomb.


    Infinite Starry Sky was focused on that blueprint that Lu Li had. This was what he was interested in. This was the only bomb item that players could use for training.

 1816 Adding On

    "These two clubs have a combined total of almost 600 top-tier players. They couldn''t even last five minutes against the Fel Reaver. Do you think that anyone would be able to help you get a Fel Reaver right now?"


    Lu Li wasn''t exaggerating about the Fel Reaver''s difficulty. There were even some other people who joined the two clubs in their battle against the Fel Reaver, but they were all utterly stomped.


    "Then why am I here?" Infinite Starry Sky questioned, speechless. "Are you just telling me how strong the monster is?"


    He immediately took out a Return Stone and planned to return to the previous map right away. His temper was considerably worse than the average person. No one could understand how he could attract an audience of 100,000 while livestreaming.


    "I have a blueprint here to create the Fel Reaver."


    Lu Li''s one-liner immediately undid Infinite Starry Sky''s actions.


    "Why didn''t you say this earlier? Why?"


    Infinite Starry Sky''s mood instantly changed as he quickly cosied up to Lu Li. All of his attention was on Lu Li''s hands, waiting for him to take out the blueprint.


    "I too am a capable Engineer and have made many good things," Lu Li began to brag. "You also know, as a passionate lover of Engineering, the value of such a blueprint."


    "I know. I know," Infinite Starry Sky said as he furiously nodded his head.


    Lu Li was just bullying him at this point. Even an ordinary person would realise that if it was just as Lu Li said, then why would he want Infinite Starry Sky there? Were they just going to talk about their hopes and dreams?


    From Lu Li''s previous memories, Glory Capital had invited Infinite Starry Sky to make four Fel Reavers. In total, they spent around 5 million dollars. Furthermore, Infinite Starry Sky saved one of the four Fel Reavers for himself. One Fel Reaver was worth 5 million dollars already.


    There were also other clubs that wanted to invite Infinite Starry Sky to do the same for them, offering him a great sum of money, but he wasn''t a guaranteed taker. As for other Engineers, none of them could match his skill.


    One blueprint could potentially create 10 Fel Reavers. Infinite Starry Sky could make 4 or 5. In the future, when he grew more proficient, he would be able to make six of them. As for other Engineers, it would be a miracle to produce just three. There was someone who wasted 10-Fel-Reavers-worth of materials and couldn''t even produce one.


    Lu Li planned to have Infinite Starry Sky make these for them.


    However, he didn''t want to spend 10 million dollars, so that was why he hadn''t been direct.


    "This blueprint¡­it''s extremely rare. At the very least, there won''t be a second one in the near future. Furthermore, the materials are quite extravagant."


    "Give it to me. I won''t ask for anything more," Infinite Starry Sky said.


    Naturally, Lu Li was shaking his head.


    Shameless Lu, Shameless Lu ¨C he wasn''t just going to let this go.


    "I don''t have much money, so I can''t pay for the materials. Furthermore, I''m already helping you guys make this. You guys can''t make me duplicate money, right?"


    Infinite Starry Sky wasn''t stupid. He also knew that Lu Li was being unreasonable. However, he was already completely swayed by the Fel Reaver blueprint and couldn''t leave it alone.


    He believed in Lu Li''s words regarding the rarity and materials of the Fel Reaver blueprint.


    "Of course we wouldn''t let you pay for the materials," Lu Li said, then continued, "I just hope that you can keep helping us make things in the future. For free."


    "Continue?" Infinite Starry Sky''s expression immediately changed.


    He loved Engineering and was very interested in the Fel Reaver, but he wasn''t planning to sell his soul just for it. This must have been a joke. How could he sell his body just for a blueprint?


    "Of course, we wouldn''t make you do all the little things. Only the rarer blueprints like the Fel Reaver will be given to you," Lu Li explained.


    "Then that''s not a problem at all. Can you give me the blueprint already?"


    Infinite Starry Sky was an extremely blunt person. Since Lu Li didn''t have plans to make him a slave, he was no longer worried. As for what counted as a rare blueprint in the future, it would be up to him.


    "Alright. Come. We''ll sign a contract first."


    Lu Li was holding a blueprint in one hand and pulling Infinite Starry Sky with the other hand.


    Infinite Starry Sky then became the Engineering Advisor of Ruling Sword. His contribution would be to make ten items for Ruling Sword every month. There was also a condition that he could only take Ruling Sword members as his students.


    This wasn''t unreasonable. At least, Infinite Starry Sky thought so.


    However, if he had known of his value in Lu Li''s previous life, then he wouldn''t have thought it to be reasonable.


    How did Infinite Starry Sky gain his fame? It was probably the Fel Reaver. The Fel Reavers that he created would be extremely effective in the Stronghold battles and completely change the landscape of these battles. The creation of the Fel Reavers in Lu Li''s previous life allowed Glory Capital to affirm their position as the dominating force in Dawn. It was also at that time that Sorrowless retired from the battling scene.


    Sometimes, Lu Li regretted killing Sorrowless.


    It would have been good if Sorrowless just wasted away instead of becoming the number one Mage in Dawn. Even Lu Li couldn''t take it easy when fighting him one on one.


    "What about the materials? Have you guys already started collecting them?"


    Infinite Starry Sky was rubbing his hands together in excitement. He wanted to dive straight into it and make the first Fel Reaver.


    "Collect? Why do we need to collect?" Lu Li responded, intentionally showing his expression to be one of ease. He then continued to say, "I can just get them from the Life Alliance. It won''t even take 10 minutes for the materials to arrive. We have a partnership with them. They even have their own Stronghold now."


    "I know. They have the second Stronghold in Grey Valley. If it wasn''t for you, they wouldn''t have it," Infinite Starry Sky said.


    The Life Alliance was something that he rejected before. However, they were now one of the powerhouses in the game. Furthermore, he also envied Lu Li, who was able to produce any material with a wave of his hand.


    Although he had quite a bit of money, he still had to consider the prices of the materials.


    It was just as Lu Li said. A stack of materials arrived in Lu Li''s hands in less than 10 minutes. This wasn''t just the labour of the Life Alliance. They were established in the old maps, but they didn''t have many connections to the Hellfire Peninsula.


    On the other hand, Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City had over 100,000 players combined, so there were members coming through the Dark Portal and entering the Outlands at every moment.


    By revealing all of this, Lu Li was able to shock Infinite Starry Sky into obedience. He blinded him with their power and strength, which convinced him to work for them.


    Poor Infinite Starry Sky ¨C how could he compete against the sly and cunning Lu Li? Furthermore, Lu Li knew more about Infinite Starry Sky''s future than Infinite Starry Sky himself.


    After collecting the materials, Infinite Starry Sky began to make the Fel Reaver.

 1817 Never Say Die

    Fel Reavers were the peak creation of Engineering. Besides the complexity of their inner workings, they were gigantic. If Infinite Starry Sky was left to deal with it alone, he might not complete it even after 3 months of working. As such, he would need a group of Engineering students.


    They were called students, but all of them had the same level of Engineering. All of them were level 60.


    In the beginning, everyone was disgruntled. Why were they still doing student-work when they were all the same level?


    Student just involved making spare parts, which gave some Engineering experience points. However, it couldn''t be compared to the growth of Infinite Starry Sky''s experience. Furthermore, when the Fel Reaver was complete, Infinite Starry Sky would take the credit for it as well.


    Everyone wanted to have something that they were known for when learning a Profession.


    However, as they began the project, they slowly understood. This was because they found that Infinite Starry Sky was able to refer to similar machinery in the real world effectively as well. They realised that he was a robotics specialist in real life and was someone who was highly capable.


    If players could understand how real life mechanical engineers thought, then they would naturally be able to pick things up quickly in the game as well. This was why Infinite Starry Sky called the Life Alliance a ragtag group of people.


    Lu Li didn''t stay and witness the birth of the first Fel Reaver.


    This was because he estimated that the success rate of the first Fel Reaver would be close to zero. He had already prepared himself to waste the materials.


    Furthermore, he had recruited Infinite Starry Sky for the creation of the Fel Reaver not only because of his success rate, but also for another reason. Infinite Starry Sky had a rare Engineering skill, which had a chance of converting failed products back into some of the used materials.


    Because of this skill, they wouldn''t be losing as much money.


    Infinite Starry Sky was precious. It was unfortunate that they were unable to fully recruit him. They could only hope to progress slowly and hopefully, one day he would have a sense of belonging within their organisation.


    Hachi Chan had already completed her quest. Danath Trollbane could not hide his own affection towards Hachi Chan, giving her an abundant amount of EXP and Fame. After all, they had killed a level 62 Wild Boss. Then, Hachi Chan rose to the top of the level rankings.


    She was also rewarded with a level 65 equip that had a decreased level requirement and was Epic tier.


    As well as this, she was given a skill book. Unfortunately, it wasn''t an Enhanced Skill Book, but it was the most popular Skill Book at that time. This was the Apprentice Flying Mount skill book. Hachi Chan had a flying mount, but she did not possess the Skill Book.


    "These were gained from my early years of adventuring."


    Danath Trollbane was still taking items out.


    What the hell? Was the System not going to limit this? This was enough to tilt the balance of the game. Lu Li''s jealousy was going through the roof. He wanted to go and secretly report Hachi Chan to the officials. However, since Hachi Chan was known as the System''s daughter, the System might not have even deal with her properly. Furthermore, he might end up as the one punished instead and have his luck and Charisma values drop even further. Upon considering this, he gave up on that idea.


    "Wow! This is such a pretty bag! Thanks Uncle Danath!" Hachi Chan was over the moon.


    She didn''t even look at its storage space. Lu Li was curious and lamented upon Hachi Chan''s attention to detail.


    Hachi Chan''s part was complete, so Lu Li cosied up to Danath Trollbane and said, "I completed the mission. General, the Mageddon Forge Camp has already been reduced to rubble. Including the Razorsaw, all the Legion monsters are dead.


    "My warriors have already returned for a long time, yet you only just reported it to me," Danath Trollbane said coldly as his expression immediately changed. "You should thank the stars that you are not a professional soldier. Otherwise, I would be using the name of the military to punish you."


    "No, General. There''s a misunderstanding. On the way back, I was pursued by countless soldiers," Lu Li lied, completely ignoring the condescending look in Danath''s eyes. "However, I found a secret place."


    "What secret place?" Danath Trollbane''s attention was successfully diverted.


    "Do you know about the Hellfire Ramparts?" Lu Li asked.


    "Of course. During the first and second Orc Wars, it was the main territory of the Orcs. It was a sacred area that could not be touched. However, the large fortress has already been abandoned for so many years. Why did you mention it now?"


    "I just saw a Fallen Orc who was red and went berserk. Furthermore, I think that they found a new source of corruption to satisfy their original thirst for blood. I heard a thunderous and wild roar from the depths of the fortress. General, I have reason to believe that this will be our next threat," Lu Li reported.


    "Bastards! These corrupted Orcs¡­" Danath Trollbane seemed like he knew about this too, so he immediately accepted Lu Li''s words.


    He turned around and looked at Hachi Chan, who was counting her dollars with Remnant Dream and said, "Young and brave girl! There is an imminent threat on the horizon. The future is unclear, and is shrouded in mystery. Are you willing to help us provide insight and gather information about the incoming war?"


    Lu Li nearly fainted.


    It was him who triggered the quest, yet it was Hachi Chan who received the quest instead. How was this fair?


    "I am willing," Hachi Chan immediately accepted. Both Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were laughing and couldn''t stand up straight. They loved to see Lu Li devastated. They didn''t want to steal his quest, but it was just a pure stroke of misfortune.


    Danath Trollbane began to give the details of the quest.


    "Go to the outside of the Hellfire Ramparts and kill 20 Hellfire Sentries and gather some letters from their corpses."


    Then, he looked at Lu Li.


    "Hah! He''s finally looking at me now."


    The situation wasn''t all hopeless now. Danath Trollbane still remembered him. After all, he was good friends with Windsor.


    "Follow them. Protect them. Do not let a single hair on their arms be touched. Soldier, can you do this?"


    "Pft!" Lu Li nearly spat out blood. He was just an escort.

 1818 Hellfire Citadel

    Hellfire Ramparts were probably the 1st Instance Dungeon that players would enter in the Outland.


    The Hellfire Ramparts were a constructed flank of Hellfire Citadel, situated in the center of the Hellfire Peninsula. It was mostly inhabited by Fel Orcs of the Shattered Hand. Vazruden and his Nether Dragon mount Nazan were the commanders here. These were ramparts not just in name but in reality. As you progressed through the Instance Dungeon, you would realise that this was simply just a part of the giant wall of Hellfire Citadel.


    What Lu Li and his team were exploring was the area around the outside.


    Actually, they didn''t need Lu Li to protect them or anything. Regardless of whether it was Remnant Dream or Hachi Chan, both were able to fight. Remnant Dream could summon her pet, knock her bow and deal with two monsters by herself.


    All Hachi Chan needed to do was heal Lu Li and Remnant Dream.


    It was a simple task to kill 10 Fel Orc scouts. The main thing was that finding the letters was relatively troublesome. The needed to gather up the top, middle and lower parts of the letters, which would fit together to make one whole formal piece of information. If they weren''t lucky, they might not be able to collect them all even after fighting for half a day.


    What was more, there was no one attempting this quest at the moment. Even if they wanted to buy the pieces, they couldn''t. However, this wasn''t a problem for Lu Li. With Remnant Dream here, Lu Li and Hachi Chan''s letters could be looted by her.


    The quest was finished very quickly. Danath Trollvane rewarded all three of them with a generous amount of EXP.


    Sometimes, it was nice to have someone to rely on like that.


    After that, there was a follow-up quest. Danath Trollvane wanted something strange from these Fel Orcs. He hoped that they would be able to gather some blood from the Fel Orc centurion.


    In this way, Lu Li and Hachi Chan progressed through the quest and successfully went through their fifth day in the Outland, reaching level 62.


    What was more, they received a few pieces of level 62 equipment from Remnant Dream''s hand. After equipping them, their power increased considerably.


    By the time they reached level 62, Lu Li began to plan to attempt the Hellfire Ramparts.


    Many of their quests were related to this Instance Dungeon, and were somewhat of a prerequisite. What was more, there was also a First Clear up for grabs. For a club like Ruling Sword which relied on Instance Dungeon First Clears, this was high on their priority list.


    With the level 60s opened up, quite a few clubs had already started going for First Clears.


    However, they all failed without exception.


    If you weren''t level 62, almost any hit you incurred by an Instance Dungeon Boss was equivalent to a critical hit. If things kept going this way, not even Azure Sea Breeze could survive.


    Players with high charisma were pursued by clubs, who would use them to receive quests and lead the other players to level up. This had become a common practice.


    Every player had a niche they excelled at. Just as the Chinese saying went, the wheel of fortune kept on turning for everyone.


    In the three-way alliance, there were five level 62 players ¨C Lu Li, Hachi Chan, Azure Sea Breeze, Sakura Memories and Star Baby. As for the remaining players, Lu Li chose Water Fairy, Remnant Dream, Sesame Rice Ball, Half a Smoke and Lonesome Flower.


    This was a 10-person Instance Dungeon, and would actually be considered low-level later on.


    Lu Li had attempted this Instance Dungeon countless times in his last life. He knew it like the back of his hand, so it wouldn''t be unusual for him to achieve the First Clear.


    Lu Li took a few pieces of level 62 equipment, which were all Dark Gold. In the few small Instance Dungeons of the Hellfire Peninsula, even with the lucky hunter girl Remnant Dream, it was extremely difficult to find Epic equipment, even amongst First Clear rewards.


    In this sort of low-level Instance Dungeon, most groups were evenly matched.


    Lu Li and his team had just completed the Hellfire Ramparts.


    Immediately afterwards, a few clubs progressed through as well. It was just a difference in a matter of minutes. With everyone so hot on their heels, in order to preserve this lead, Lu Li didn''t even go back to the city to repair equipment, but immediately jumped into the next dungeon.


    Fortunately, because they had successfully achieved the First Clear, two more players reached level 62 ¨C Remnant Dream and Lonesome Flower.


    The Hellfire Citadel was made up of three 10-player Instance Dungeons and one 25-player Instance Dungeon. The System set up an order of completion. Otherwise, when Lu Li started with the Hellfire Citadel, at least two 10-player Instance Dungeons would fall to their enemies.


    Even though this was the case, there was a lot of pressure on Ruling Sword. There were more and more level 62 players on the ranking lists.


    Since other clubs had no shortage of Elite players, Ruling Sword didn''t have a definite advantage on the ranking lists. However, Lu Li was the first to enter into the Outland and found a quick way to level up. The little talisman wasn''t useless after all.


    The Blood Furnace was located at the top-right of Hellfire Citadel. It was called the Blood Furnace not because there used to be Orcs there who experiment with blood, but because the Fel Orcs had locked up Magtheridon inside. They used Magtheridon''s blood to create an all new Fel Orc. These newly born Fel Orcs were infused with the evil magic power of Magtheridon.


    The Boss in this Instance Dungeon wasn''t difficult. In fact, it was only as troublesome as a regular Elite monster.


    Perhaps it was because they underestimated their enemy, but Ruling Sword''s entire team died right here.


    As a result, they lost the First Clear for the Blood Furnace. It was Seventh Heaven who achieved the First Clear, and were even a little faster than Glory Capital. Evidently, they had put in a lot of effort. Apparently, as long as anyone who participated in this Instance Dungeon had reached level 62, they would be given a suit of level 62 equipment.


    Unless they were scouring the private market, it was near impossible to assemble an entire set of level 62 equipment.


    Looking at the general attributes of all the equipment, the quality was not necessarily better than Exquisite level 60 Epic equipment. However, it was more likely to be suited to the few Bosses here in Hellfire Citadel.


    "No need to be discouraged, the next Instance Dungeon won''t be so easy. Let''s take it as pitying Seventh Heaven ¨C they''ve never gotten a First Clear in a public Instance Dungeon before. Let''s keep going guys," Lu Li comforted everyone. As the team leader, he needed to remain mentally strong.


    If he said he didn''t care, he would be lying, especially since people from Seventh Heaven were gloating on the nearly every channel.


    Lu Li was right. The third Instance Dungeon, the Shattered Halls, was the hardest of the ten-player Instance Dungeons.


    It was the old lair of the Fel Orcs in the Outland. The commander here was the Warchief of The Shattered Hand, Kargath Bladefist. With two blades instead of hands, he was a member of the Shadow Council, as well as the only core member of the Shadow Council who wasn''t a Warlock. When the Dark Portal had been destroyed, Kargath and Magtheridon colluded together in the darkness. He occupied Hellfire Citadel, claiming that he himself was the true Warchief of the Horde.

 1819 The Shattered Halls

    Actually, the current Warchief of the Horde should be Saar.


    When all the Orcs had been freed from the curse of Tainted Blood, which was really a process that was much more difficult than one could imagine, the Warchief Saar had already seen too many orc heroes fall under the control of The Hand of Fate. Now, it looked like Kargath Bladefist would also meet the same gloomy end.


    Kargath Bladefist was currently daydreaming in the Shattered Halls in Hellfire Citadel. It was declared that he was the one and only ''Warchief'' of the Horde. With the help of such fierce and bloodthirsty forces, he wouldn''t rest until the Thrallmar barbarians had been flattened.


    The various Fel Horde forces were all commanded by Kargath Bladefist. They were cruel, good at fighting and because they possessed the help of evil magic, they were in no lack of power. One of the elite groups was the Shattered Hand Legion. Their legionnaires, warriors and centurions received deep respect and admiration from other soldiers. They were the middle or lower officers for other teams.


    The Warchief Saar had already given his orders. He would not spare anything to completely destroy Kargath and his troops.


    Lu Li was certain that the Shattered Halls wouldn''t be captured so soon. Aside from the difficulty of doing this, the Shattered Halls also required a key.


    That was a really troublesome quest. It took at least half an hour to finish that quest, but Ruling Sword didn''t have to do that, because Lu Li had already sent out Cain''s Left Hand a while ago.


    More accurately speaking, he had sent out a group of Thieves.


    They went all around looking for things like treasure chests so they could practice their Unlock skills. That way, Cain''s Left Hand could have everyone level up fully to the intermediate level of the Unlock skill as fast as possible.


    They could only open up the main door of the Shattered Halls if everyone was of an intermediate level.


    What was more, there were also many other quests in the Shattered Halls, such as ones given out by Danath Trollbane. If they activated them, they would reduce the difficulty of this Instance Dungeon.


    "In the Outland, one of the many tragic things you must encounter is the power of the Fel Orcs under the cage of their shadows. We, the Sons of Lothar''s Ghost, once believed that we had already used our own blood in exchange for the immediate peace of Honor Hold, but in actual fact, true peace had never arrived here."


    "The Sons of Lothar''s Ghost will certainly never surrender to any Orcs, regardless of whether their skin color was green, brown, or red like it is today. We either defeat them or we all die in glory. If we want to attain true victory, then we need to defeat the Hellfire Citadel. As for now, go finish and off that self-proclaimed ''Warchief'' Kargath Bladefist, and you will get your reward."


    The reason why they didn''t receive the quest before was that the players had to use the first tw Instance Dungeons to confirm their abilities. Before the two Instance Dungeons were completed, Danath Trollbane would give the players a quest, and would even grant more abilities to the players.


    These players with additional abilities could deal 5% more damage to red Orcs.


    Five percent wasn''t a lot. For every 100 damage they dealt, they would deal an extra 5. However, these seemingly insignificant amounts added up. What was more, with these abilities, the players would have a massive reduction in the amount of damage that they received from red Orcs. This wasn''t explicitly stated, but through careful experimental analysis, the results confirmed this.


    As for the Instance Dungeon of the Shattered Halls, Lu Li was envious of the Mages.


    Mages were the true sons of the game, this was for sure. When they were at a low level, they could farm the Scarlet Instance Dungeons as a group. If they had good technique, they could farm EXP in Strathholme. By the time they were in the level 70s, they could go back to the Shattered Halls and continue training there to their hearts'' content.


    What was even more ridiculous this time was that they could use a bug to farm EXP.


    Was there anything more ridiculous than this?


    Yes!


    What was even more ridiculous was that this was clearly a bug, but the officials pretended not to see it. No matter how people complained, they kept pretending they couldn''t see it.


    Lu Li could actually understand what the officials were thinking. Dawn wasn''t a levelling up game. Of course, levelling up was important, but it wasn''t too difficult. For example, to reach level 60, you just had to be willing to spend time and money. At that time, it took less than a month to reach level 60, and in the future, this time would decrease.


    The Mages led the farming of the Shattered Halls. One person could take along four patrons.


    If one person could farm 20 gold in 1 hour, then every hour, they would earn 80 gold. Even if the worth of gold decreased in the future, the amount they could earn in a single day was still significant.


    Of course, if you wanted to earn money, you needed to have skill and equipment.


    If your equipment wasn''t good, it was simply not efficient to farm monsters. Those patrons weren''t idiots.


    Lu Li thoroughly researched how to use the bug. When everyone had finished the Shattered Halls, he planned to recruit a reliable group of mages, and after a bit of training, have them go right and lead the farming.


    By that time, the ranking lists would be dominated by Ruling Sword.


    At the moment, Lu Li could only keep to the standard ways of progressing through an Instance Dungeon. Cain''s Left Hand entered the team and opened the door, but didn''t actually go in. There was no place for him in a 10-person First Clear team.


    Even March Rain wasn''t part of the First Clear team, let alone him.


    However, Lu Li didn''t let her talents go to waste. In the three-way alliance, there were at least ten teams following behind that were continually farming Instance Dungeons. They were mainly farming for EXP and equipment. As soon as they reached level 62, they would leave the group and let someone else enter.


    Remnant Dream couldn''t be divided between two teams, but with so many people in the alliance, there was no lack of players with lucky hands.


    It was just that they weren''t as lucky as Remnant Dream was.


    After entering the Instance Dungeon, Lu Li and Water Fairy first controlled the ranged monsters, while the Main Tank pulled the others. Then, they would focus the soldiers first, before slowly killing the other monsters one by one. They couldn''t use area-of-effect spells here, and it was best to use their kiting abilities sparingly because the soldiers continuously summoned new monsters. As well as this, the spread of AoE firepower would slow the deaths of the soldiers. In the end, the old monsters would die and the new monsters would still remain, but the magic players wouldn''t have much mana left.


    The Grand Warlock Netherkurse was once the Shaman priest of the Shadowmoon Clan. He forfeited the esteem of the elements and turned to research involving the evil art of demon magic. All the demon capabilities he controlled made him nothing more than a mere body. He was only happy when he tortured young Fel Orcs, testing the limits of their physical and mental strength.


    The difficulty of Netherkurse became apparent in the second half, when he had only 20% HP left.


    This Boss was actually rather interesting. Because Lonesome Flower didn''t change positions fast enough, he ended up dying. After that, everyone heard the Boss come out with the line:


    "A loser''s dead!"


    After he died, he still had to be taunted by the Boss. You could imagine what Flower, who always cared about face, was feeling.


    One person dying didn''t mean the team was dead. Azure Sea Breeze was trying desperately to save a dire situation by protecting the healers and output roles, determined to support them to the very end.

 1820 Unlocking Earns Money

    With not enough time to distribute the equipment, Lu Li led everyone to the next Boss without stopping for any rest at all.


    The 2nd Boss was Blood Guard Porung.


    When the Bloodied besieged Shattrath, Porung launched a fierce attack against the territory of the Draenor Paladins. At that time, these Paladins locked themselves up in a corner of the city. He single-handedly extinguished the defenders, but incurred serious injuries and had no way to join the Horde''s later surprise attack on Azeroth. Now, Porung had fully recovered from his injures, and worked for Warchief Kargath in Hellfire Citadel, hoping to make up for his regrets from those brilliant military campaigns, writing his own name in the history of the Orcs with the blood of his enemies.


    Fighting this Boss was optional, but if they chose not to, the channel between the second and third Bosses ¨C that channel of raging flames, would continuously spawn new monsters. These monsters were actually rather powerful, so Lu Li chose to face the Boss.


    Blood Guard Porung dropped a Blood Guard''s Wild Necklace, which increased the strength of attacks and boosted critical hits.


    There wasn''t that much equipment that was level 60+ and boosted critical hit too, so equipment like this was extremely popular.


    Leaving Remnant Dream behind to loot equipment, Lu Li brought the rest of the party to keep moving forward.


    According to reliable information, the other clubs were all still completing the unlocking quests. Cain''s Left Hand became the decisive factor for Ruling Sword. Lu Li wasn''t being honest now. He instructed Cain''s Left Hand to stand by the door of the Shattered Halls and ''sell himself out''.


    "88888 ¨C as long as you''ve got five lots of eight of gold, the full intermediate level unlocking Thief will be here!"


    "Open the Shattered Halls and you''ll experience the peak of your life!"


    Cain''s Left Hand was announcing this on the international livestream. He was going to earn money immediately, regardless of what he was actually talking about. Lu Li had said that the club didn''t want any of the money earnt, and would rather divide the money between this group of Thieves who had been busy unlocking doors recently.


    It wasn''t easy. Shameless Lu always took advantage of others, so it was rare for him to come to a point where he would give up a little bit himself.


    "Boss, are we buying it?" a follower asked Sorrowless.


    "It''s too dodgy ¨C five lots of eight ¨C that''s two million dollars in real money. We definitely can''t let them earn that much," Blood Dagger disagreed. He really regretted that he himself hadn''t practiced unlocking. Even as a Thief, he had no way to help out the team in this difficult time.


    Sorrowless looked expressionless.


    "Are you idiots?"


    White Westhill didn''t want to look down on them, but he had to say it.


    Actually, although the door was open, if the one who opened the door wasn''t on the team, others had no way of getting in.


    Moreover, players from different camps simply couldn''t join together. As such, Ruling Sword had no way of joining in on this sale.


    "I think we can buy it," Elevenless said.


    "Too dodgy, it''s just too dodgy. It must be something that that damned Lu came up with."


    If you didn''t run the household, you wouldn''t know how precious money was. Dream 13 pinched his own collar. Doing so allowed him to breathe a little easier.


    "We''re already running behind on our progress in the quest. If we don''t buy it how are we gonna keep going?"


    "That damned Lu and them will definitely be finished with the Instance Dungeon soon. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be selling it," Dream 13 said unhappily.


    "Then they''re at least coming second. It''s on the Instance Dungeon record."


    Elevenless still wanted to buy it. They were ranked second on the Hellfire Ramparts and third for the Blood Furnace. If they did well on the Shattered Halls, they could certainly get second place again.


    "2 million! 2 million, and we won''t be the only ones either!" Dream 13 cried out, gnashing his teeth.


    "I heard that Seventh Heaven already asked him."


    New info had come. Dream 13 and Elevenless looked at each other in the same way, and right away, they stopped debating about whether to buy it. They had to buy it. For most people, two million dollars was a lot, but these sorts of major clubs spent more than that in expenses in a single day.


    At most, they just weren''t that happy about it.


    By the time Lu Li and his team had advanced to where the third Boss was, Cain''s Left Hand had already done business with three groups.


    In order to be able to keep doing business in the future, he didn''t continue promoting this as a special price. That way, he was certainly able to earn a bit more money. It would just offend those clubs who had paid that sum before.


    These three clubs were Seventh Heaven, Wings of Dawn as well as Blood Red War Flag.


    Wings of Dawn bought it because Seventh Heaven had. They weren''t willing to fall behind, but Blood Red War Flag''s thinking was relatively simple ¨C they just had to be ahead of Glory Capital.


    This was almost five or six million dollars. Even if it was split between dozens of people, everyone would still receive a fairly decent sum of money.


    "Haha, turns out following the boss pays its rewards," Cain''s Left Hand laughed gleefully. "Boss, we''ll never say you''re a bad guy ever again. Bad is good ¨C the badder, the better."


    "Get out of the way!"


    The third Boss was called Warbringer O''mrogg.


    The fierce, cruel and cunning ogre O''mrogg was seen as one of the most powerful members of the Fel Horde. However, this guy''s frightening thugs caused their own problems too. The two heads that extended from his neck would fight over what seemed like the inconsequential things. Two years ago, O''mrogg had started up a 12-step plan so that they could continue in their warmongering natures. Unfortunately, his two heads still hadn''t decided from which step they were going to start.


    Each head had its own independent thoughts, and through the whole battle, it sounded like you were listening to them argue.


    For example, one head would say to the other, "I''m hungry."


    The other would respond, "You''re always hungry ¨C that''s why we''re so fat!"


    After defeating the players, one of the heads would gloat in a Beijing accent, "They''ve bit the dust!" It''s because we''ve used heaps of power!"


    The other would say in a Northeastern accent, "It''s just because you''re so good, right? Shut up with the nonsense."


    Apparently, if the two heads of Warbringer didn''t fight between themselves, their power would be doubled. At that stage, the players probably wouldn''t be able to beat them.


    Fortunately, this was only a story. While the two heads continued their intense argument, Lu Li and his party succeeded in killing this Boss.


    Skyfire Hawk-Bow!


    Hunters and Thieves could both use this equipment. Remnant Dream preferred rifles and crossbows, so Water Fairy ended up taking it into her hands.


    The Skyfire Hawk-Bow greatly boosted critical hit. It was the most admired ranged weapon for a close-combat role that lacked in critical hit.


    There was also a Firemaul of Destruction, which was considered a PVP piece of equipment. It couldn''t really be used in the next Instance Dungeon for levelling up. Lu Li took it up for now and would throw it into the guild storehouse later where those who needed it could exchange it for guild points.


    There was no Epic equipment, which seemed unlikely at this stage.


    However, as the final Boss for the three Instance Dungeons of Hellfire Ramparts, as well as the final Boss of the Shattered Halls, there was still a very high chance for Warchief Kargath Bladefist to drop Epic equipment.

 1821 The Orc Hero

    As the leader of the Shattered Hand Clan and the warchief of Fel Horde, Kargath was one of the greatest Orc heroes of recent times.


    That''s right, within Orc circles, his reputation well regarded.


    The stronghold of the new Horde that Saar established in the Badlands had been named ''Kargath''. This was in memory of this epic Orc and the breaking through of chains that he represented, all in the pursuit of freedom.


    Kargath once had many fine moral points ¨C he didn''t simply give in to fate, he thirsted for freedom, he was determined to put ideas into practice, he was decisive, courageous and resolute. But at the same time, he had many weaknesses. He was cruel and unpredictably violent, while being extremely fanatical and conceited. In the second half of his life he seemed to have abandoned all of his positive character traits, gave up on his self-control, and pursued power, enacting and enjoying various cruel and violent atrocities.


    "Don''t be afraid of pain. As long as you can enjoy your pain, no one can contend with you."¨C Kargath Bladefist.


    "His demise has made all of us feel saddened, especially the Warchief Saar. No matter what happens in the last days of his life, we will never forget what type of person Kargath once was. In the same way, we will also never forget the lesson that his demise teaches us."


    Kargath wasn''t originally part of a clan. He was born as a slave to the Ogres.


    The Ogres promised him that as long as he killed 100 Orc gladiators in the arena, he would be granted his freedom. Kargath finally passed this test, but he realized that not only was the promised freedom nothing but a lie, but the final prize for the championship was locked away in a dungeon of the arena and completely blocked off.


    Kargath had lost his final hope, but he wasn''t willing to be locked up again. In order to escape from his chains that imprisoned him, he cut off one of his own hands.


    Those fellow prisoners who followed him also followed his example. They bound their weapons


    on their mutilated arms and fought, successfully toppling their masters. After escaping from the Ogres'' arena, they formed the Shattered Hand Clan, and the formerly-enslaved Kargath became this clan''s Warchief. He attached a blade for a first on his own cut-off arm, and today, people called him Kargath Bladefist.


    Since he had become famous for leading his fellow arena slave Orcs to topple the cruel servants of the Gorian ogres, the Shattered Hand Clan was thus formed.


    Later, Gul''dan changed Ner''zhul''s name to ''Horde'', appealing to all Orc clans to be known under the same ''Horde'' banner. Kargath, in leading the Shattered Hand Clan, took the lead and joined the Horde, even gaining a seat on the Shadow Council. Kargath was also the only one who wasn''t a Warlock out of the core members of the Shadow Council.


    In the second Orc War, the Alliance expeditionary forces established Honor Hold, the frontline stronghold in the Outland. Kargath was appointed to be the main commander of the Horde attack on Honor Hold. He was at the front of all the soldiers, but he returned with injury. Those under his command retreated back to defend Hellfire Citadel.


    Later, Ner''zhul considered him and his clan to be abandoned children, ordering them to block the Alliance''s expeditionary force, and sending their extra teams to Black Temple as quickly as they could.


    Kargath ordered a battle, but the rear fled at the moment of danger. He went to Black Temple in


    Nagrand to seek backup but to no avail. After this, he kept a low profile.


    After Draenor was torn apart by Ner''zhul''s portal, the Burning Legion demons, led by the Pit Lord Magtheridon, occupied the Black Temple and assumed authority over the Outland. In order to look for more power, Kargath surrendered to Burning Legion, and after drinking Fel Blood, his skin turned crimson, he grew buckteeth and became hideous. He cut off his other hand and attached an axe for a fist. From then on, he proclaimed himself to be the Warchief of the Horde, and once again occupied Hellfire Citadel.


    Later, Illidan came to the Outland and overthrew the control of Magtheridon, taking over all those under his command. When Kargath''s ''Fel Horde'' was weaved into the ''Illidari'', which Illidan had direct control over, their purpose didn''t change. They continued to defend Hellfire Citadel. Illidan commanded the Fel Horde to imprison Magtheridon in the bowels of the citadel, taking his blood to create more Fel Orcs, while Kargath himself was in the ''Shattered Halls'' at the top of the citadel, ordering around his Orc commanders.


    It wasn''t the first time that Lu Li had seen this Fel Horde warchief, so he didn''t feel too strongly about his strange hands.


    Red skin, long black hair, a giant blade for a fist on his left arm, fanatical, cruel and fully intent on victory. This was Kargath Bladefist.


    "The other clubs have already entered the Instance Dungeon, and we''re in the lead by three Bosses. If we still can''t get the First Clear like this, then I really don''t know what to say," Lu Li said before the battle.


    It wasn''t at all that he didn''t consider to simply not have Cain''s Left Hand go out and sell his unlocking abilities. If he did that, then the other clubs would be delayed even further in entering the Instance Dungeon.


    But since he knew it, he had to use it. If he didn''t use it, then it would just be a waste. Lu Li wasn''t being particularly pretentious, but he also knew that this sort of one-time advantage wouldn''t always be with him.


    As such, he hoped that everyone would work a little bit harder. If you had a goal, you needed to have a little pressure to achieve it.


    After the battle started, Lu Li and Water Fairy Stealthed around in the Boss room to make sure there were no Laughing Skull Thieves around.


    Before, near the ballista on the way to the third Boss, Lu Li and his party encountered a Laughing Skull Thief. Though it was just one, it almost killed the whole team. After that, everyone was more cautious.


    When Kargath Bladefist was activated, two new Thieves would be spawned down at the Boss'' steps. Apart from the Main Tank, Lu Li had everyone stand on the steps and rush forward at the same time. The Main Tank pulled the Boss at the center and everyone else spread out from their positions.


    Kargath had two skills. One summoned monsters, and the other was a Blade Whirlwind. Kargath was attacking all around his room, dealing physical damage. Although there was only one direct attack skill, this skill lasted for a long time and dealt a lot of damage too. The only way to reduce the damage was to spread out.


    The most annoying monsters that had been summoned were the archers. They would shoot scattered arrows, causing the tanks to disperse and allowing the Boss to attack the others. As such, the archers had to be Polymorphed as soon as possible. The other monsters could be pulled together by the Main Tank until the Boss was finished off.


    Generally speaking, this Boss wasn''t easy. It was to be expected that the whole team would have to die a few times.


    Even though Ruling Sword had Lu Li, they also needed a familiar way to get through this. The first few attempts ended in a team wipe, until out of thin air one miraculous attempt allowed them to pass through the Instance Dungeon.


    Achieving the First Clear really was a miracle. In the last few minutes, the Boss acted like an idiot, not even dealing a single critical hit. After the archers fired their shots, the Boss continued chasing the Main Tank, wasting a massive chance to turn the tables.


    Since Ruling Sword had achieved the First Clear, those three clubs which had spent two million dollars on unlocking the Instance Dungeon felt rather gloomy.


    What made them even more depressed was that their activities in Hellfire Citadel led them to encounter an army of Horde players, suffering heavy losses.

 1822 Plate Armor Brothers

    It wasn''t just those 3 clubs. Actually, most of the Alliance players met with the same situation.


    This also included those clubs that Ruling Sword was very close with. Those Horde players killed whoever they saw. As long as they were an Alliance player, they were a target. In an extremely short amount of time, thousands of players were slaughtered.


    The forums called this the beginning of the ''Citadel War''.


    To begin with, all was peaceful. Everyone was willing to fight together to resist the Burning Legion. It was a shame that this only lasted a short we hile at thStair of Destiny. When the center of everyone''s


    activity shifted to Honor Hold and Thrallmar, clashes were unavoidable.


    By the time the three Instance Dungeons of Hellfire Citadel had been opened up, a large, shapeless hand had ignited the flames of war.


    The Alliance wasn''t a pushover either. If someone attacked them, they would fight back. If you were talking about looking at the big picture, first, they had to face the fury of their own people. For those players who had been killed and had lost their EXP and equipment, their fury could only be pacified with the blood.


    "Our team farming the Dungeon''s been killed," Wandering reported.


    "Go loot the equipment. Quickly, Dreamy, we''ve got to fight straight away," Lu Li urged.


    "Huh, fight right away?"


    Wandering was taken by surprise. According to his understanding of Lu Li, he would usually have everyone hold back a little, farming the Instance Dungeon a few times first to find some equipment.


    "What else? When we should push on, we should push on. We don''t have to care about the big picture, besides, we''ve already got the First Clear of the Instance Dungeon," Lu Li said matter-of-factly.


    Since Lu Li had spoken like this, the others naturally had no need to oppose.


    As for those the PVP fanatics like Moonlight, Fat Monkey and Her Tears, they had been ready and rearing to jump into that mess of a battle.


    "But I have you remind you that this time, I suspect it''s Sorrowless and those people who are stirring up trouble," Wandering said.


    Wandering was the only one who wasn''t interested in the war between the camps. At this stage, even Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan were enthusiastically joining in.


    "It''d be strange if they didn''t try to stir up trouble, but Sorrowless wouldn''t do something like this," Lu Li reasoned.


    None of the First Clears of the three Instance Dungeons were theirs. All of them had been taken by the Alliance. As long as there was just a slight provocation, the Horde players would become hot-headed and angry right away.


    However, Lu Li also certainly didn''t believe that Sorrowless would do something like that. If he was able to, then it was either because of a sinister follower like White Westhill, an easily angered Blood Dagger, or simply them two working together.


    "There are no benefits for them to take. Since it''s a war between the camps, no one''s unaffected by this."


    Lu Li stuffed Strengthening Stones into his own backpack, taking out his Hearthstone to read from it. No Epic equipment had dropped from this Instance Dungeon, which was completely as expected.


    "Where are we going to fight?" Azure Sea Breeze asked. He couldn''t wait to get started.


    "We''re going to fight, not you. Follow Hachi and go level up. Dreamy too ¨C it would be best if you could reach level 63 quickly, otherwise, you''ll be off the team. The others who want to keep joining for First Clearing in the next Instance Dungeon better go level up too," Lu Li said.


    "Why don''t you go level up?" Azure Sea Breeze wasn''t pleased at all.


    "My level''s high."


    Lu Li could be proud of this at least. His EXP was more than halfway to level 63, and he would at least be faster to level up than Azure Sea Breeze.


    Lu Li got closer to Hellfire Citadel from the outside. There were corpses all over the place here, and after the corpses disappeared, they turned to gravestones.


    The war was still continuing, and it was growing even more intense.


    Lu Li didn''t hide himself. Two Horde players seemed to think he would be a good target, and ran right over to him.


    One was a Paladin, and the other was a Warrior. Two Plate-Armored guys were bullying a poor Cloth-Armored Thief. No matter how you looked at it, nothing unexpected would happen, unless that damn Thief escaped right away.


    Lu Li had face, so he didn''t run and instead turned to face them nonchalantly.


    Dawn was a game that strove for equality. Every role had their own positions, and until this time, those who were able to get into the Outland weren''t noob players at all.


    However, what Lu Li needed was this sort of pressure. If his opponent was just one person, and an ordinary player at that, he wouldn''t necessarily attack them. After all, everyone these days was someone noteworthy.


    Block, attack, block, blind, retreat, evade¡­


    The two Horde players realized something very quickly as they were dazzled by the sight of Lu Li''s counterattacks. The opponent they had chosen wasn''t a weak one, and they weren''t crazy, either.


    However, this didn''t make them shrink back. This was a game, and at the very worst, they would just die and revive.


    What these PVP fanatics were most brave about was death.


    "Haha, it''s a big fish. Bro, do you dare to report this guy?" the Warrior asked with a laugh.


    "No," Lu Li replied dully, keeping face. The dagger cut across the Paladin''s waist, drawing a line of blood.


    The Paladin''s face turned white. Revolving and jumping, he exhaustedly escaped from Lu Li''s zone of attack.


    It was a shame that at this point, Lu Li had already decided to kill him. Of course, he wouldn''t have let him escape like this. He activated his equipment''s special effects as he got his whole body geared up for a twisting attack, following the Paladin''s movements.


    "It''s a big thief! Unlucky, I''m gonna go first!" the Warrior shouted loudly, planning to flee right away.


    Those who enjoyed PVP had some special terminology for high-level players, like big thief, big mage and so on.


    To be called a ''big thief'', you had to be at least in the top 100 of your role.


    This seemed like a lot of players, but if you considered that Dawn had broken through the 100-million player number ages ago, this ranking was something to be proud of.


    "Damn, what did I do to deserve a bro like you?! The worst thing that can happen is we die, and if we do actually win, we can boast about it," the Paladin said as he worked hard to resist, using all different sorts of skills. After all, he didn''t want to die.


    "Fight!"


    After giving it a moment''s thought, the Warrior came to his senses. Right at that moment, he charged at Lu Li.


    Lu Li turned slightly. His whole body was hiding behind the Paladin, so of course, he wouldn''t be charged at by the Warrior. He didn''t stop his actions with his hands, launching high damage attacks, one after the other, at the Paladin''s body.


    However, most of the Paladin''s attacks were blocked by Lu Li.


    Was this damn bastard still a thief? The Paladin was cursing from his mouth. He needed to retreat, otherwise, he would be finished off right away. Now, the only hope was his Warrior partner.


    Unfortunately, when he turned his head, all he saw was his back as he quickly ran away.


    "Don''t you worry ¨C I''m definitely gonna get my revenge for you."

 1823 Shifting Blame

    In fact, the Warrior had no choice. Originally, he was quite confident in this attack, but their opponent was simply not on the same level.


    He couldn''t believe that he hadn''t even dealt a fifth of their opponent''s HP. Choosing to stay and fight wouldn''t guarantee victory or his Paladin friend''s life.


    Lu Li had successfully killed the Paladin. He took one look at the Warrior disappearing over the horizon, but chose not to chase.


    He had no grudge with him ¨C why would he bother?


    It wasn''t that he was unable to pursue him. If he turned into a crow, he would gain a better view from the sky and would be able to hunt the Warrior down.


    "Level 60 Dark Gold! Should I say you''re lucky or that you''re just a poor idiot?" Lu Li laughed as he picked up the equipment and threw it into his backpack indifferently.


    He then bumped into a few more Horde players. Some were in teams of two, some moved individually, but were all killed off by him.


    This was until he bumped into a large army with approximately 100 or so players. Lu Li was immediately cautious. Even if he wanted to commit suicide, he had no need to run towards them heroically.


    However, he did not run away immediately. Instead, he contacted the players on his side and told them to deploy an ambush quickly.


    There were mounds everywhere on the Hellfire Peninsula. There were also ground worms that drilled odd-shaped ditches, which made it easy to hide people. Over a hundred or so Ruling Sword players squatted in the ditch and planned to all rush forward when the Horde''s players had passed.


    Her Tears was rather impressed with Lu Li.


    He felt that his own play was nothing in comparison with Lu Li, who had planned an ambush of over a hundred people. Not to mention, they were all Elite players that were qualified to enter into the Outlands.


    "We only have a maximum of 5 minutes to finish the battle, and we need to retreat completely within 2. Otherwise, a large quantity of players will get wind of us here and surround this area. This place is not easy to escape from," Sky Moon analysed.


    It was precisely because it wasn''t easy to escape from that this place had become the ambush area. It was also because of this that it would not be easy to retreat if they were surrounded.


    "5 minutes is plenty. Give it all you got guys," Lu Li said.


    Adrenaline was surging through their veins. This was a man''s fight.


    "They have Thieves at the front to carve out a way. Our Thieves will move first, while the Warriors control the situation and the Mages cast area of effect attacks. Don''t let down your guards. The players opposite us are not a motley crowd," Lu Li instructed as he observed from the air. In the dusk sky, no one was going to take notice of a flying bird.


    "Understood!"


    "Go back and support!" The majority of people were all the type to actually fight to the death than escape.


    There were also people who were slightly smarter and requested players nearby to come support via the faction channel. Now that this had escalated into a massive faction battle, many players were just joining in when they had the opportunity. As long as they held on for a little bit longer, many players would run over and help them. Then, this whole area would become a messy warzone with a sea of people.


    Yet, the number of people in the ambush were far higher than they predicted. This evidently was a premeditated ambush.


    "Which club''s people?"


    The leader was rather furious.


    An ambush attack of this scale and abilities was clearly not of an ordinary guild. It was definitely one of the Alliance''s clubs that had designed this trap.


    "Elevenless ¨C we caught a big fish this time!" Fat Monkey shouted as he patted Moonlight''s shoulder. It seemed as if he was trying to lower his voice as he yelled, but in fact, everyone could hear him.


    "Elevenless¡­" Moonlight hesitated for a moment then angrily roared as if he had been transported back, "Elevenless you idiot! I said to stop shouting my name! Now what''s the point of us covering our faces? To hide our stupidity?"


    "Eleven¡­ Elevenless!"


    The people who were being ambushed reacted immediately.


    "So it''s you, Wings of Dawn!"


    "Oops, I¡­ I had a slip of the tongue. Boss, what should we do?"


    Fat Monkey ran over to the side of a Mage, and looked so guilty with a tone that nearly sounded like he wanted to die in repentance, but his posture was clearly asking for forgiveness.


    This Mage was Lonesome Flower ¨C the Lonesome Flower who was known for always being elevated and cold.


    Fat Monkey''s original intentions weren''t to pass the blame to Wings of Dawn; he just wanted to play a prank on Moonlight and Lonesome Flower. It just so happened that one was a Warrior and the other was a Mage. They both seemed to be of a high level in terms of their abilities, and could completely be misjudged as Elevenless and Dream 13.


    Usually, Moonlight was an unsociable and silent person, so he had forcibly used his acting skills for the sake of coordinating with Fat Monkey.


    He was filled with shame.


    "Eh, ahem, didn''t we discuss this before? I get you to call Elevenless, then we shift the blame onto Wings of Dawn. You got way too into the acting," Lonesome Flower said indifferently. His style of talking was very different from that of Dream 13.


    He really couldn''t handle the task of imitating Dream 13''s playfulness, so he changed the script at the last moment.


    Fat Monkey smiled awkwardly, and didn''t dare to mess with Lonesome Flower again.


    However, this didn''t stop the Horde''s players from thinking that they were the people of Wings of Dawn. They had already beating them up as they swore.


    Her Tears didn''t want to stay silent and decided to join in on the fun


    "What''s the point in swearing huh? I would never change my name or profession ¨C I belong to the Wings of Dawn. We belong to two different factions so it''s natural for us to ambush you guys. Are you saying that''s wrong? Don''t come out here if you can''t stand to lose! Go home and feed on your bottle."


    This was just twisting the knife. Now, even if the people of Ruling Sword admitted that they were in fact Ruling Sword and not from Wings of Dawn, then these players probably wouldn''t even believe them.


    "Why shift the blame onto Wings of Dawn? Elevenless is actually not a bad person," Lu Li questioned, appearing innocent.


    In fact, he had also been contemplating regarding the issue of shifting blame. Ruling Sword was still not yet at a point of being invincible, but it was unfortunate that when they still hadn''t chosen the suitable target, Fat Monkey had already chosen Wings of Dawn.


    He even chose two people that were the least capable in acting to coordinate with him and was so close to giving it all away.


    "There was one time when I saw Elevenless in the wild. Originally, I was going to have a chat with him and make friends, but he was not appreciative and turned around to run away as soon as he saw me. So, I have personal beef with him," Fat Monkey said boldly and assuredly.


    "You brought a group of people who whipped out their weapons as soon as they saw him. Any normal person would run away too. Fat Monkey bro, you''re too shameless."

 1824 Operation: Beauty Hun

    "Boss, 4 and a half minutes."


    The battle ended, but Sky Moon was constantly mindful of the time.


    "Healers grab all the others. Thieves, stay and finish the battle. Everyone else, retreat! Hachi Chan, you lead the way ¨C never mind, I''ll do it. Sky Moon you stay and take the others to sweep the battlefield. Gather everything over at Hachi Chan, then we''ll distribute it later," Lu Li instructed, quickly delegating the roles.


    To rely on Hachi Chan to lead the way was worse than idling around to wait for other people to surround them.


    When creating groups, one could see indicator for their teammates. In this way, Hachi Chan still had a chance to walk over in a straight line, but would lose the indicator if she led. She would most likely lead everyone into the ambush of another team.


    Players who had been revived wouldn''t have a tombstone. Only revival via the Hearthstone would result in a tombstone. It would engrave the date that the player had died as well as a sentence or two of a special eulogy.


    Those Horde players who had been killed didn''t choose to run for the corpses because they were worried they would continue to be ambushed, so they had been all revived via Hearthstone.


    Ever since Honor Hold and Thrallmar had been opened to the public, players could tie their Hearthstone to these two places so that they didn''t need to go back to the former mainlands after death.


    "It''s the people of Wings of Dawn!" one player who had been killed and revived declared resolutely after he rushed back.


    "An ambush like this is like a complete massacre! How inhumane. Let''s go find where the Wings of Dawn are for revenge," someone suggested. Naturally, there were people who agreed, so everyone called for their friends to pursue the Wings of Dawn.


    As for this group of people from Ruling Sword, Lu Li had asked for Hachi Chan to fly away in the sky act act as eyes for them in case of other people lying in ambush, while he and the other Thieves went to look for new targets.


    Lu Li and Cain''s Left Hand were paired as a two-man team. If there weren''t many people, they would just kill them off straight away. Only when there was a larger group would they organise reinforcements for an ambush.


    Very quickly, Ruling Sword''s overall number of attacks was on the scale of over thousands of people. A majority of these were ambushes.


    "Lu Li, quickly come and help! We''ve been surrounded!"


    This was a message sent by Star Baby. They didn''t move along with Ruling Sword. Travelling with too many people held the risk of escalating into a wide-spread battle, so it was better to move apart.


    "Where? Send me your location," Lu Li said hurriedly.


    He and Star Baby didn''t have a very deep friendship, but if all was going to plan then his partner would be together with her. Star Baby''s so-called "we" evidently included Water Fairy.


    Star Baby sent the location and also explained the situation.


    They were one of the teams of Drizzle Court, along with about a hundred or so girls that enjoyed PVP. Of course, Drizzle Court as a club couldn''t compare with male-dominated clubs in terms of fighting spirit.


    At first, they didn''t have any issues.


    Then, the Horde players suddenly decided to initiate an event that was codenamed ''Operation: Beauty Hunt''. This was directed at Water Fairy and her people. They planned on surrounding and teasing them.


    Because of the restrictions in the game itself, they couldn''t do anything improper, but this type of behaviour received a lot of response from many other players.


    Now, there were already hundreds over there and numbers were still increasing.


    What was even more detestable was that the Horde clubs were coordinating with them to block Peerless City and Drizzle Court.


    "In fact, Water Sis didn''t want me to say anything. I came to find you in secret," Star Baby added.


    "Just hold on for a bit longer," Lu Li said. He had understood the situation, and had also started to deploy his own players.


    Did he need to think it over?


    Of course not! His girl was being ''beauty-hunted'' by others. Any man couldn''t stand that!


    "Drifting, it''s time to make ourselves know. Gather your people."


    Lu Li didn''t gather too many others, even though Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear had about a thousand people who had entered the Outlands. However, amongst them, many were only pure PVE players. To get them to participate in PVP would be unwise because they would be unable to display their true abilities.


    Killing people and fighting monsters was different. In virtual reality games, the hardest part was the psychological aspect.


    "Sky Moon you keep commanding everyone to continue playing. I''m gonna go rescue my girl," Lu Li instructed and turned into a crow. He left first and flew towards the area where Water Fairy and her team were stuck.


    Lu Li felt rather at ease to leave over a hundred or so people with Sky Moon. On the other hand, he wouldn''t leave people with Azure Sea Breeze even if it killed him.


    Lu Li flew to the scene of the incident and participated with the current surrounding crowd of over a thousand people.


    He even wandered about the surroundings. The people of Drizzle Court and Peerless City had indeed been intercepted. By looking at the characters of the situation and the people, evidently, they were not ordinary soldiers, but players from the clubs of the Alliance. Even so, they showed no signs of going over to help. Rather, they were chasing the skirmishers near the Horde.


    Of course, this didn''t include Blood Red War Flag, who were engaged in a fierce battle with the people of Glory Capital.


    Jade Flower Lover was someone who liked to plot, but this didn''t mean that he wasn''t hot-blooded. Otherwise, he couldn''t have established his role as commander. Blood Red War had a lot of retired soldiers and they never feared hard battles. They and their fated enemy, Glory Capital, would always clash in the wilderness.


    It was said that in the recent period, Blood Red War Flag had recruited new members based on a changed examination format.


    Players had to kill five Glory Capital members to be eligible to join the PVP team in Blood Red War Flag.


    "Okay hahaha, please order our offensive attack."


    Drifting Rain was so excited he was shuddering. He and the others had been waiting far too long for this moment and hadn''t an opportunity to appear in front of the public yet.


    "Uh¡­ Attack!"


    Lu Li was rather awkward and placed down the attack order after being forced to.


    The ones who had surrounded Water Fairy were all desperados of the PVP arena. Otherwise, they wouldn''t dare try to surround the owners of Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Even if it were a super-level club, no one would dare to offend a woman.


    Since it was teasing, then naturally, they couldn''t just go straight up to them and kill them.


    They surrounded the girls, but didn''t kill them. Even so, they still shot arrows at them constantly which made it impossible for them to return to the city. The truly offensive weapon was probably their vile laughter.


    Even if Water Fairy had over 100 or so people on her side, they still couldn''t withstand the power of an opposition that was 10 times theirs. Even though they could occasionally kill a few enemies, it was impossible to end them immediately.


    Water Fairy was amongst them. She was a Thief, so there wasn''t an issue for her to leave. But how could she leave without her own sisters?

 1825 Paladin

    Water Fairy didn''t think she would get out in one piece, but she hadn''t given up yet.


    It had been a long since someone had so boldly challenged her; the last time was when they had all first joined the game.


    She had to retaliate. She had already issued instructions to collect as much information as possible about those players and their sympathisers. These players were all in her blacklist now.


    The wrath of these women was to be feared as they would not stop their vengeance once it began.


    The ID of the leader was Linghu Scallion, and he was famous. While participating on a forum, he had gotten into a conversation about how the game should be played, and they talked about how they would get the most beautiful female players.


    The topic soon turned to how female players had more charisma.


    And no matter what other people thought, Linghu Scallion had always thought that Water Fairy was the goddess of Charisma, so he secretly launched this ''beauty hunting activity''.


    However, when the System saw that a player tried to harass Water Fairy, it instantly passed judgment. The System were monitoring the players'' brainwaves, heartbeat and other physiological factors, and used those to determine their intentions. The player was immediately disintegrated and nothing was left behind. Linghu Scallion was so shocked that he warned everyone not to overdo it.


    In fact, he was just an otaku that wanted to try something. He didn''t intend to commit any crimes.


    The situation had long since spun out of control. With the pressure from all the players involved, it was clear that the beautiful women of Drizzle court were being harassed.


    "A little to the left! Charge, fellow Paladins!"


    Lu Li had already observed where they should break through. The players standing at that location were in a mess, so they could barely hold them back.


    "The long night is approaching. Tonight, I will begin my watch until death. I will take no wife, no land or child. I will never wear a crown or live with privilege. I will do my best in life and in death. I am the sword in the dark, a guard of Darkshire, resisting the flames of the cold. I am the light that breaks in dawn and the horn that rouses the sleeping. I dedicate my life and glory to the Night Watchmen, tonight, tomorrow night and forevermore."


    This slogan resounded throughout the land of the Hellfire Peninsula.


    The chaotic sounds were eventually overcome by the uniform rhythm of horse hooves. The


    players looked up to see a group of black-clad Paladin charging over on warhorses.


    "Is this some kind of play?" someone smirked.


    "The performance is actually quite compelling, but surely this is misguided. This must just be a group of paladins looking to get killed."


    The game officials must have not liked the Paladins, because they kept getting nerfed.


    In the previous patch, Paladins and Shamans were at the bottom, which meant that players like Green Flag Wine, also known as the Tire Killer, couldn''t even beat a second-rate Warrior.


    hat advantage did they possibly have? Maybe they were handsome?


    Or perhaps it was that they were able to acquire warhorses through their quests? However, many Paladins were unwilling to ride their warhorses around, because anyone that saw you were riding a Paladin warhorse would come over and bully you.


    Moreover, the Paladins couldn''t even fight while mounted.


    The Paladin profession didn''t live up to its reputation, and was simply a scam set up by the gaming officials.


    Even if a large number of Paladins rushed over, there was little that they could do. Perhaps, they could just kill even more of them today to let the officials know about the garbage profession they had created.


    However, to everyone''s surprise, the Paladins that were charging together were slowly being enveloped in a halo of light. The light was growing more and more intense, and the people watching them couldn''t help but avert their gaze.


    Who was making such a bright light?!


    As long as they kept their cool, they would be able to discover what was happening.


    The movement speed of these Paladins was also quite high. Average mounts increased movement speed by 30% while stronger mounts could increase movement speed by 60%. However, these Paladins were travelling with a 100% movement speed buff at the very least.


    "Get ready to dash!" Drifting Rain shouted loudly.


    His eyes were red with excited; he couldn''t want to tear into the enemies in front of him.


    He had joined Ruling Sword very early on and was one of their veteran players, but because of his profession and position, he hadn''t become famous. Her Tears was 100 times more famous than him, as were other players like Darkness, Mu Qiu, God of Destiny.


    He was Drifting Rain, the head of the Ruling Sword Paladin Group.


    He was the deputy head of the Night Watchmen Corps. A player who had taken up this position had a rank much higher than Lu Li''s.


    However, what they lacked an opportunity to demonstrate their strength. Today, the Night Watchmen would be immortalised.


    The long weapons that they were carrying were now pointed at the enemy as they received the command. The warhorses also all used their Charge skill as they rammed into the formation of Horde players like an arrow.


    The Mages sneered at them as they unleashed their Frost Novas.


    There was also the Hunter''s Ice Trap, the Shaman''s Bind Totem, and many other crowd control skills that they were covered with. These Horde players thought that the threat that these Paladins posed was less than the level 60 monsters.


    If it really was as they thought, then everything that Drifting Rain and the other Paladins did would be a joke.


    But was it a joke?


    It was not a joke at all. The Horde players that thought so soon found themselves having trouble laughing.


    These warhorses were not affected by the skills at all, not even a little bit. As the yrushed into the crowd at full speed, the players hit by the horses were knocked away or were impaled by the long weapons.


    "It''s the Watchmen Legion of Darkshire!"


    The truth had finally gotten out.


    The Night Watchmen Camp wasn''t that strong, but the players it recruited were from the best of many other camps. Their powerful combat ability was not a secret.


    This wasn''t the first time that Ruling Sword''s Night Watchmen Corps had appeared, but it had never been so intense. The players began to feel desperate.


    As one wave of Paladins charged into the players, the Horde''s formations fell into chaos.


    Then, the next wave came, and another.


    800 Paladins charged into more than 1000 players. The numbers disadvantage didn''t count for anything, as the players found themselves unable to fight back.


    There were not many Paladin skills available while mounted on the warhorse. The horses probably just had Charge and Trample. The Paladins had Sprint (which could generate a knock away effect) and Sweep.


    Since they all had long weapons, the Sweep skill gave them the biggest advantage.


    The speed at which they were killing the Horde players was actually not that high, as their attacks were not that strong even after being combined with the warhorses. Even so, their attacks still seemed effective.


    The players quickly lost their fighting spirit and began to turn around to escape.

 1826 Long Live the Alliance

    The Paladins who rushed into the enemy lines had now pulled away their long weapons and were slowly turning back.


    They stood in a line with their spears. The silence was frightening, and made all the Horde players lose their fighting spirit.


    "Paladins, Charge!"


    The slogan was once again repeated as the black-clad Paladins rushed forwards.


    The silence was necessary, not just as a psychological tactic, but to make time for their skills to be refreshed. If the Night Watchmen Corp''s warhorses didn''t have cooldowns, then they really would be invincible.


    With a group of Paladins charging at them, the Horde players had no chance of running away.


    The ordinary players had no choice but summon their mounts to escape, but this could only be done when they were out of battle. These Paladins were obviously well-trained enough to prevent that from happening, so the Horde players had to try to run away on foot.


    Sky Moon soon arrived and took part in the fight.


    Since their Boss was also joining the fray, how could they sit idly by? The hundreds of Paladins crushed the players as they fought even more vigorously.


    Water Fairy would remember this day many years later as the day when she was the most embarrassed and angry. However, Lu Li had used his Paladin army to save her and held her in his arms.


    "Get rid of the Glory Capital players that are here too," Water Fairy said hatefully.


    Everyone had their own system of intelligence, and Drizzle Court was not an exception. After the incident, they immediately assessed the Horde players who had appeared and concluded that they definitely had ties to Glory Capital.


    One shouldn''t assume that Glory Capital''s top management was watertight just because Sorrowless was a proud person.


    The people who were really responsible for these kinds of events were usually not ordinary people.


    "They are fighting Blood Red War Flag. Let''s go pressure them!" Lu Li yelled at Water Fairy as he rushed to Brokeback Mountain with the Paladins.


    Brokeback Mountain was a place in the Hellfire Peninsula. It was probably a tribute to an ancient movie.


    There were thousands of players killing each other there. There were players from Blood Red War Flag on the one side and players from Glory Capital on the other.


    In terms of overall strength, Glory Capital dominated the gaming circle and Blood Red War Flag was simply incomparable. However, if you simply compared their PVP strength, Blood Red War Flag was a strong contender. They didn''t know what they were fighting over today, but it was a decisive battle.


    White Westhill had to be mentally prepared to withstand Jade Flower Lover''s offence.


    PVP players weren''t interested in doing Instance Dungeons or quests, their main consumption of gaming content was through levelling and PVP.


    "The left flank is being pressed. Has Wendelian arrived yet?" White Westhill asked, sounding anxious, as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.


    As a commander, she was just a little less competent than Jade Flower Lover. However, Wendelian was an even better commander than the both of them. She intended to pass on all her responsibilities as soon as he arrived.


    "You will have to wait a little longer, but the Boss has arrived," one of the underlings answered.


    "Hey, the Boss is online! That was quick."


    Sorrowless had gone to Jiangnan City for what he described as official business. In fact, everyone knew that he had gone to find Darkness because he was eating food behind closed doors.


    Most people didn''t really talk about it. The atmosphere between Glory Capital and Ruling Sword was quite different.


    Sorrowless was an authority, so no one except his old friend White Westhill dared to publicly ridicule him. Even White Westhill ensured that her underlings continued to respect him.


    However, Ruling Sword was different. Azure Sea Breeze constantly wished the worst for Lu Li, while Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan weren''t afraid of him at all. Those who once did revere Lu Li, like Fat Monkey or Cain''s Left Hand, were now happy to insult him as well.


    Insulting Lu Li was a normal thing to do among the members of Ruling Sword. Even the low-level players would do it.


    "What is that sound?"


    White Westhill was observing the battlefield when she heard a faint rumbling. The sound was far away in the distance but getting closer. She hurried to the back of the mountain to see a group of black-clad Paladins rushing towards them.


    "Hey, what''s that?" someone behind her asked.


    "That is the Paladin Legion, Ruling Sword''s Paladin legion," White Westhill said after she finally worked it out, then shouted, "Get ready to defend! We have a large number of enemies approaching from the southwest. Get the Warriors and Paladins to the front."


    They were already struggling against Blood Red War Flag, so a fight with Ruling Sword was not going to go well.


    Those damned Paladins should be saving Water Fairy ¨C why were they here? White Westhill didn''t know that the players looking for Water Fairy had already been wiped out by them.


    According to her estimates, Water Fairy being attacked should have been the most important event for them today.


    She thought that the battle over there between the Alliance and The Horde would result in a deadlock as a bunch of random people would also want to join the fun. Even if the Paladin army joined in, they would have to fight a thousand Horde players. It should have been impossible for them to get here.


    Unfortunately, she had underestimated these Paladins.


    These Paladins from the Night Watchmen were not only known for their horseback fighting but also their extraordinary mobility.


    If they wanted to pursue someone, there was no one who could stop them.


    White Westhill was a veteran commander, and was generally able to tell good strategies from bad ones, but she had still underestimated Ruling Sword''s Paladin Legion.


    "Paladins, Charge!"


    Drifting Rain took 800 Paladins and, according to Lu Li''s command, cut into Glory Capital''s defensive line. They easily tore through the large crowd of players.


    Glory Capital''s originally stable formation was quickly overwhelmed. The Mages and healers were a particular focus for the Paladins and were easily defeated by them.


    "Is that a friend or a foe?!" Jade Flower Lover asked aloud.


    As Ruling Sword''s Paladin army cut into the battlefield, it wasn''t just Glory Capital who was nervous but Blood Red War Flag too. If Ruling Sword focused on fighting Blood Red War Flag, they would face significant losses.


    "Long live the Alliance!" Ruling Sword''s Paladins shouted in unison.


    The people of Blood Red War Flag were relieved as they responded in kind.


    "Long live the Alliance!"


    Jade Flower Lover had an excellent commanding ability in field battles. He immediately adjusted his battlelines to complement the legion and frantically began to kill the Glory Capital players.

 1827 Battle Over The For

    White Westhill was furious, but there was nothing she could do.


    This was a game where commanding skill was important, but it was not as important as the comparison of strength. Blood Red War Flag and the Night Watchmen''s combined forces greatly exceeded Glory Capital''s strength. Not to mention, the timing and angle of attack by the Night Watchmen was devastating.


    Lu Li! This had to be Lu Li!


    White Westhill nervously chanted this name over and over again ¨C the name that had been


    the reason for her nightmares.


    "What happened?" Sorrowless asked as his voice connected. He saw the mess in the guild channel and knew that something wasn''t right.


    "We were fighting with Blood Red War Flag, and then Ruling Sword came," White Westhill summarized briefly. Even so, Sorrowless immediately understood the situation that Glory Capital was now facing. He was aware of Blood Red War Flag''s strength. In the past few years, they were Glory Capital''s number one opponent. He didn''t know how strong Ruling Sword''s Night Watchmen were, but he did understand that every time Lu Li did something, it would cause him headaches.


    "Why did Ruling Sword intervene?" Sorrowless further questioned.


    There was a common rule in the gaming circle that when two super clubs were fighting, others should stay out of it. If you dared to participate, then the club would likely deal severely with you after the fallout.


    Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag had found themselves at Brokeback Mountain fighting each other. Both clubs had originally intended to clear out the area, and both had the attitude that the other should back down lest they face the consequences. Eventually, it broke out into an all-out battle.


    Logically speaking, Ruling Sword had no reason to participate in the battle.


    Lu Li had to consider the consequences of entering the fight. Blood Red War Flag wouldn''t mind, but Glory Capital would definitely ask for an explanation. They couldn''t just say it was because they were from the same faction. These players had travelled far from the Hellfire Citadel to reach the Brokeback Mountain precisely so they wouldn''t be bothered.


    Unfortunately, Ruling Sword had entered the battle and was fighting without reservation.


    "It is probably because of Water Fairy and the plan to bother her. Now, we''ve annoyed Lu Li," White Westhill said with a wry smile. City Smoke was Glory Capital''s Intelligence Chief who thought that Lu Li had played a disgraceful role in Darkness leaving Sorrowless. His boss had been humiliated, so he wasn''t happy either and was trying to find a way to get at Water Fairy.


    This time, it was actually a curious coincidence that they managed to have an opportunity to target Water Fairy.


    Unfortunately, the developments that resulted from that were beyond their control.


    "What an idiot!" Sorrowless cried out.


    "I don''t blame him for taking initiative, since he has been appointed as Chief of Intelligence. However, he did something that clearly worked against our interests. I called him an idiot because he did something that exposed us. Tell him that if this happens again, he is done," Sorrowless said furiously. "What is the situation now?"


    "It is not looking good. Everyone is fighting very bitterly. How long do you need?" White Westhill asked with a sad expression.


    "Then withdraw. It wouldn''t be any use for me to be there anyway," Sorrowless said.


    "The losses are too great. Wendelian will soon be bringing in people to support us."


    White Westhill was a little dumbfounded. As a senior commander, she should be familiar with what to do.


    "Lu Li likely has reinforcements as well, so pressing on might not be that useful. We''ll break it off and settle this with them later," Sorrowless said decisively.


    As such, Lu Li soon saw the Glory Capital players adjusting their formation.


    "They want to retreat. Wandering, get some teams to surround them."


    Lu Li identified Glory Capital''s strategic attempt and relayed the info to Jade Flower Lover.


    White Westhill apparently didn''t notice that Lu Li was in the sky and could see what they were doing. Otherwise, she might have just told everyone to conduct a mass retreat, which might have worked better.


    "Do you really want to trap them all? There is a lot of them."


    Jade Flower Lover looked at Lu Li. I fact, he was happy. They had been fighting Glory Capital for a long time and the losses were beginning to feel heavy. He couldn''t wait to slaughter Glory Capital.


    Lu Li''s decision was exactly what Jade Flower Lover was thinking, and he immediately directed his players to participate in the encirclement.


    Trying to surround Glory Capital wasn''t that easy either. It would have been almost impossible with just Blood Red War Flag, but with the addition of Ruling Sword''s Paladins, it all became possible.


    In fact, when Glory Capital got into a retreating formation, they were already doomed to fail.


    They couldn''t teleport back to the city, so they had to retreat and fight at the same time. White Westhill was trying to get into a Horde town, so that the Horde NPCs could help in defending against Blood Red War Flag and Ruling Sword.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li, while watching from the sky, had already put everything in place.


    After Water Fairy was out of trouble, the Drizzle Court and Peerless City armies were no longer engaged. They left the battle early and moved to this location at Lu Li''s request. When Lu Li saw Glory Capital moving, he finally made his move.


    It was a massacre!


    Glory Capital had not experienced this in the years since Sorrowless debuted. It was only at the beginning when they first started growing and the major clubs of the time tried to obstruct them.


    Dying here meant losing EXP, but it also affected the surrounding players'' morale.


    In the end, White Westhill only managed to escape with a few dozen players. Thousands of other players died and most of them died on the retreat. Blood Red War Flag, who had participated in the encirclement, had also lost about a thousand players. Ruling Sword, who had a more mobile unit, had only lost about 100 players.


    A large amount of equipment was dropped, and the players who participated in this battle were generally unhappy.


    However, the consequences were also obvious. From then on in the Hellfire Peninsula, Glory Capital, the Ruling Sword three-party alliance and Blood Red War Flag would fight in many


    more bloody battles where everyone suffered.


    It lasted for more than a week until the first Stronghold War since the opening of the Outland.


    The angry Glory Capital obviously wouldn''t let go of such an opportunity, and even an idiot could work out who their target would be ¨C it was either Blood Red War Flag or Ruling Sword. It was actually a matter of time for the both of them, and only the order was unknown.


    As for the possibility of them both being attacked at once, there was a slim chance of it being so, but Sorrowless was unlikely to spread himself out in that way.

 1828 Gentlemen Die For Those Who Appreciate Them

    During the previous Stronghold battles, Glory Capital''s Hellfire struck fear into the hearts of all clubs who held a Stronghold. Everyone was afraid of being Glory Capital''s next target.


    Ruling Sword was now guaranteed to be Glory Capital''s number one target.


    Everyone thought that this was a favourable outcome. They all just wanted to see some excitement. It didn''t matter who won between Glory Capital and Ruling Sword. As long as they fought each other, the other clubs wouldn''t need to face either of them as opponents.


    Lu Li did not feel regretful in the slightest about angering Glory Capital. They should have seen this coming when they bullied his future wife.


    The Grey Valley Stronghold had a forbidden area. Besides a few people from a particular club, no one else could enter or exit from it. This was Ruling Sword''s secret Engineering area.


    This area was chaotically messy, with spare parts strewn everywhere. They were all working on a gigantic object. It was around 3 to 4 metres and its bones were as hard as metal. Its form was being constructed gradually.


    There was a row of them, standing side by side, with four in total. These monsters were the result of a constant month of work.


    This was an artificial Fel Reaver. Although it was small compared to the real thing, it still towered over all players.


    "How long until this one is complete?" Lu Li asked.


    "Soon. Man, you''re the leader of a club. How are you so free all the time? Can you go do some of your own things? I can''t work with you here."


    Infinite Starry Sky didn''t even look at him and focused on his work, but he had to say something.


    He had been working tirelessly every day on this and had already wasted 5 of the 10 tries to make a Fel Reaver from one blueprint.


    Ruling Sword had already lost a lot of materials, but Lu Li was not angry. If they were able to make so many Fel Reavers from one blueprint, then the success rate would have exceeded his expectations.


    "The Stronghold battles are about to begin. Are you not excited for your product to be displayed in full majesty?" Lu Li asked.


    "If you''re uncultured, then don''t try and be a smart ass," Infinite Starry Sky immediately snapped back. "As for how it performs, it''s none of my business. If the official company wants it to be powerful, then it will be. If not, then it will be weak."


    "¡­" Lu Li was completely speechless. If everyone thought like he did, then this game would be meaningless.


    "Alright. Done. This one is also a success," Infinite Starry Sky announced as he stood up and lightly tapped his lower back with his hammer. "Next time, I''ll be able to make at least 6 of these from one blueprint."


    "I''m arranging for people to get the blueprint. It will be in my hands soon."


    Lu Li was elated at this news.


    Lu Li arranged for people to constantly grind Mo''arg Engineer and had already confirmed that ''Brutal Razorsaw'' could drop the Fel Reaver blueprint. For the sake of avoiding other clubs catching wind of what they were doing, Lu Li asked Peerless City to grind this Boss for him.


    When the time came, it was unlikely for anyone to link the Fel Reaver blueprint to the ''Brutal Razorsaw''.


    Unfortunately, there were no blueprint drops after defeating the Razorsaw twice. Remnant Dream''s lucky hand didn''t help either. This only showed just how low the drop rate was.


    There were pros and cons to such rare drop rates. Lu Li didn''t want everyone to have a Fel Reaver during Stronghold battles.


    "This is the result of combining a bunch of gold together," Infinite Starry Sky sighed. If he had a blueprint for himself, he wouldn''t have been able to gather the materials to make ten Fel Reavers. Therefore, it was still highly likely that he would look to work with a mega-club.


    "It was fortunate that there were many successes."


    Lu Li also had lingering fears. This was because Ruling Sword''s inventory was completely drained after taking out the materials needed for this.


    "It''s easy to use. Someone sits in the cockpit. Throw some Enhancing Stones into the energy drive and activate the machine. Then, it''ll be ready for battle. If the damage suffered doesn''t exceed 70%, then you can use materials to repair it. However, once it exceeds the 70% threshold, then this machine will be considered wasted," Infinite Starry Sky explained. "Before the battle begins, you will need to practice with it. It''ll be best if you can find someone who retired from the military and has experience with driving a tank in real life."


    "I understand. I''ll make some arrangements."


    "Then let''s talk about the rewards. Five Fel Reavers ¨C it would at least be 500,000 per machine, right?" Infinite Starry Sky was a little frustrated. Although he promised that he would work for free before, he understood that he was at a disadvantage after working on it.


    "We have a contract in place," Lu Li stubbornly replied.


    He was talking with Infinite Starry Sky on one hand, and on the other, he was messaging the player who he appointed as Starry Sky''s assistant, asking, "You were here working with him the whole time. If Infinite Starry Sky wasn''t here, would you be able to make me a Fel Reaver?"


    Infinite Starry Sky was too unpredictable, so Lu Li had to arrange for his assistant to be Ruling Sword''s own engineers.


    "I can, since our levels are pretty much the same. However, it would be hard to say how many I would be able to make. Infinite Starry Sky isn''t stupid either. He''s hidden the real core skills from me," he responded. "He really is very capable. He must be a master at his craft in real life."


    "What if we just recruited a real-life robotics specialist?"


    "That would do it, somewhat. However, there aren''t many people like that who play games. If they didn''t know anything about games, then it would be useless. They would need to know a lot about real life mechanics, but also know about the mechanics in the game."


    The players from Ruling Sword were all convinced by Infinite Starry Sky''s skills. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be talking up Infinite Starry Sky like this. If there was no Infinite Starry Sky, then he would be the number one Engineer in Ruling Sword. After all, no one would willingly want to be working under someone else.


    "Then what type of person do you think he is?" Lu Li asked.


    "He is someone who is more reality-focused." The engineer knew what Lu Li meant by this question, and continued to explain, "He isn''t someone who would labour just from the drive of emotions and passion. He works for the sake of benefits. He must have had rich experiences in real life, since he isn''t that young either. However, he isn''t a bad person either. He respects his work and works hard at it. He''s also quite caring."


    "Alright then. 500,000 per machine it is. I''ll send the funds over to you after I get back," Lu Li immediately said.


    Infinite Starry Sky was shocked. He couldn''t even say all of his words that he had practiced in his mind.


    He thought that there would be a negotiation process. He had 200,000 as his base price. If he could bump it up to 300,000, then it would be even better. However, from what he understood about Lu Li and had heard about him within Ruling Sword, he was extremely stingy and often didn''t even let teenage girls go. These teenage victims were Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream.


    300,000 seemed out of the question for him.

 1829 My Husband Is Being Stolen By The Mistress

    He didn''t expect Lu Li to accept his request straight away. Furthermore, the accepted price was the initial offer of 500,000 too. Infinite Starry Sky was left speechless.


    However, compared to the value that he had in Lu Li''s memories, 500,000 was insignificant.


    In Lu Li''s previous life, Infinite Starry Sky had priced his services at one million dollars per machine. There was also the condition that he would always take one away for himself for every batch.


    Unfortunately, he had come into contact with Lu Li who had been reborn. Lu Li wasn''t as extravagant as Sorrowless when recruiting people into their ranks.


    "Starry Sky, from now onwards, we are brothers. If I have something to eat, then you will not be hungry either."


    Lu Li said this with a genuinely happy expression while resting his hand on Infinite Starry Sky''s shoulder. Infinite Starry Sky had goose bumps while Lu Li was saying this and was touched as well.


    What a man! Lu Li was known to be extremely stingy, yet he immediately accepted his offer without a second thought. What was there to think about?


    Gentlemen die for those who appreciate them!


    Soon after this, the news that Glory Capital was going to attack the three-club alliance''s Stronghold spread throughout Dawn. Everyone knew that Ruling Sword would be facing the full wrath of Glory Capital. No one wanted to intervene, because they knew that they would be the next target.


    If they wanted to help Ruling Sword, they could. However, it was unknown whether or not Ruling Sword would be able to help them out in the future.


    Jade Flower Lover, who originally wanted to keep fighting with Ruling Sword, also retreated. This was because despite the combined forces of many of their allies, they still lost and paid the price of a Stronghold.


    No one knew just how terrifying the Infernals were unless they experienced them firsthand.


    No one knew how many more of the Infernal scrolls Glory Capital still had. Jade Flower Lover didn''t want to see any more Infernals. If Glory Capital went to fight Ruling Sword and its allies'' Strongholds, then it wouldn''t affect Blood Red War Flag. This was because Glory Capital also had many of their own Strongholds that needed defending, so that was financially taxing as well. Naturally, Blood Red War Flag would be left untouched.


    There were no new Strongholds released this week, so the focus was on conquering the existing Strongholds.


    Ruling Sword and its allies had seven Strongholds in total. Ruling Sword had two of their own. The Life Alliance had one, Drizzle Court had two, and Peerless City also had two.


    Glory Capital had four Strongholds of their own, while Gale Legion also had Desolace under control. However, Glory Capital still had the resources to attack constantly. On the other hand, Ruling Sword was just begging for others to ignore them.


    Obviously, they wouldn''t use both of them at the same time. This was a tool to use in the most desperate situations. According to Lu Li''s arrangement, he planned to focus all of his defence on one Stronghold. No matter who it was, it would be hard to break Lu Li''s defences if he focused all of his strength into one Stronghold. As for the other Stronghold, he planned to place a Fel Reaver there.


    He believed that Glory Capital didn''t have many Infernal scrolls left.


    Infernals were Boss-like existences. Furthermore, their combat was automated and didn''t follow instructions. They were much weaker than a Fel Reaver. Ruling Sword could control these Fel Reavers to fight.


    The anticipated battle between two of the strongest clubs in Dawn was coming up soon. Even Lu Li was keen to see what results his gift would yield on the battlefield.


    He believed that Sorrowless'' expression would be priceless upon seeing the Fel Reaver.


    However, there were too many plot twists in this world. The end result of the Stronghold bids left a priceless expression on Lu Li''s face.


    Why had Sorrowless ignored him? Why had Sorrowless ignored all six of their Strongholds? Each of them were prepared to face Glory Capital, but their target was instead¡­


    Blood Red War Flag!


    Jade Flower Lover thought that Glory Capital would be targeting Ruling Sword. He even sent Lu Li a few words of encouragement. However, he was completely dumbfounded upon finding out that Glory Capital was attacking their Tanaris Stronghold instead.


    This was their last straw!


    The Stronghold at Silithus had already been stolen and they were still crying about that. However, they were now once again being attacked by Glory Capital''s main force.


    Jade Flower Lover wanted to fight against Azure Guard and take the second Stronghold at Tanaris from them so that they could have the whole Tanaris to themselves.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t matter whether they had the first Stronghold or Azure Guard''s second Stronghold in Tanaris. Both of the Strongholds were Glory Capital''s targets.


    "Don''t use the Fel Reaver. We''ll save it. I don''t believe that Sorrowless can just sit still and endure for his whole life," Lu Li instructed. He was like a wife of a man who had just run off with a mistress. He was furious and everyone around him felt his aura.


    "Mobilise everything that we have and head towards Mo''arg Engineer and Brutal Razorsaw. We will not allow anyone else to have the Fel Reaver."


    It seemed that Glory Capital had purposely leaked the news that they were going to attack Ruling Sword. This was to lower the guard of Blood Red War Flag. Then, when Blood Red War Flag began to relax, it would already be too late. From the time of the Stronghold bids to the beginning of the Stronghold battles, there was only a window of one hour. There was not enough time to source external reinforcements.


    External reinforcements needed to join the club for a minimum of 24 hours to be eligible to fight.


    From then onwards, in the future, the time was going to be tighter. The defensive side would only find out who they were against only when the battle began. Additionally, external reinforcements would need to join the club for a whole week before they were able to participate in the Stronghold battles.


    This was also why Lu Li didn''t want to pursue for more Strongholds. They wouldn''t be able to defend them even if they managed to take them.


    However, taking a Stronghold and then selling it was not a bad idea either. If only they knew earlier that Glory Capital wasn''t coming to attack them, Lu Li would have gone and attacked someone else.


    Compared to what Blood Red War Flag was facing, Lu Li''s worries were nothing. When a little more than ten Infernals dropped on top of the Tanaris Stronghold walls, Blood Red War Flag were doomed to face a tough battle.


    From the accounts of the people who witnessed the battle, the entrance of the Infernals was extremely impressive. A large, green-coloured rock fell from the sky and smashed into the Stronghold walls, destroying a significant portion of their durability. Then, the rock would stand up as a gigantic Infernal covered in green flames.

 1830 Lu Li’s Anger

    From above, there were the Infernals. From below, there were the Chariots. Although Blood Red War Flag fought valiantly, they still ended up losing their Stronghold in the end.


    Tragic!


    Lu Li wiped the tears from his eyes and was completely over the moon at what had happened. He thought that he was quite merciful. At the very least, he didn''t voice-call Jade Flower Lover and use a condescending tone of voice to comfort him. After all, this was what Jade Flower Lover had done to him just a few moments ago.


    "Azure Guard also lost. The whole Tanaris is Glory Capital''s. They only used seven Infernals."


    "Haha. What weaklings. How many Infernals do you think we''ll be able to take out with our Fel Reavers?" Lu Li wasn''t surprised at all. He was just curious as to what would happen in a fight between the Infernals and Fel Reavers.


    "We''re still operating the Fel Reavers on a basic level, so we don''t know the full capabilities yet. However, from an offensive standpoint, I think that a single Fel Reaver would be worth as much as ten Infernals. Furthermore, Fel Reavers are meant to specialise in defence, so from what we saw in Glory Capital''s battle with Blood Red War Flag, we will be able to defend against them."


    "Sigh. How sad! My Fel Reaver! Why didn''t they attack us?"


    "If they really wanted to attack us, they wouldn''t have been so open about it," Sky Moon said, after thinking about it for a while. He didn''t think that there were any negatives in Glory Capital not attacking Ruling Sword. He wasn''t like Lu Li, who wanted Glory Capital to attack them.


    "Do you reckon that they''ll attack us next time?"


    "If it was me, I wouldn''t. Glory Capital has too many Strongholds. They already have six Strongholds under their own name. Defending is already a problem, so I don''t think that they''ll have enough power to attack us as well," Sky Moon answered truthfully.


    "¡­." Lu Li was furious and speechless. In the end, he could only curse.


    This was like preparing a feast for guests to eat and waiting in anticipation for them to praise your food, only to have them not turn up. That disappointment was unmatched.


    "If they don''t attack us, then we can still attack them anyway." Sky Moon didn''t understand why Lu Li was angry.


    "You don''t understand," Lu Li sighed as he waved his hands and sulked, before continuing, "Have you ever had the sort of experience where you have a piece of meat and it smells really nice and tastes really good, but as you''re eating it you end up finding¡­"


    "Crap on it?" Sky Moon asked with his eyes wide open.


    "Hm¡­Similar to that type of feeling."


    Lu Li suddenly felt that his analogy was not a good one. It made him seem like he had personally experienced this. Well, these were the capabilities of an uneducated man.


    "Cough, cough. If Glory Capital decided to attack our Stronghold and is on the verge of winning, we will unleash our Fel Reavers and completely destroy them¡­" Lu Li said as he rubbed his hands together in excitement. "Let them have a whiff of what victory is, then unleash complete despair on them ¨C how good would that feel¡­"


    "That''s right. It''s the taste of eating poop. I know it now."


    Sky Moon scratched his head, showing that he understood.


    Lu Li was done ranting by then. His Fel Reaver was now a joke. The battle with Glory Capital would have been recorded into the history books, but now, it was gone.


    Besides the changing of ownership of the Strongholds from Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard to Glory Capital, there weren''t many other changes. Ruling Sword remained in control of Grey Valley and the Black Sea Coast, while the Life Alliance held the other Stronghold in Grey Valley. Drizzle Court held both Strongholds in Westfall, while Peerless City was heavily guarding Stonetalon Mountains.


    The Barrenlands, Stranglethorn Vale, the whole of Tanaris, and both Strongholds in Hillsbrad Foothills all belonged to Glory Capital.


    Gale Legion held the Desolace.


    The Thousand Needles were Wings of Dawn''s territory, while Un''Goro Crater was Seventh Heaven''s. The Hinterlands belonged to Purple Lunar Paradise, and the Arathi Highlands belonged to Stellar Union.


    Generally speaking, all the clubs in the top ten rankings had Strongholds. Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard originally had one each, but theirs were conquered by Glory Capital during this round''s battles. It didn''t matter how much they cried. It wouldn''t change a thing.


    "We found information on the sunken ship that dropped Infernal scrolls. It''s near the port in Stranglethorn Vale. The exact position is still unknown, since Glory Capital''s been guarding it heavily. They would kill whoever got close to that port," Sky Moon continued to report.


    No matter what, this was the truth. Glory Capital now had Infernals. However, Lu Li had also discovered something ¨C Glory Capital did not have many Infernals left. They were unable to continue to completely overwhelm their opponents. This was apparent when they were fighting Azure Guard and only summoned seven Infernals.


    If they still had an army Infernals, then it was completely possible for them to take down two more Strongholds.


    Lu Li was growing excited, as he fantasized of Glory Capital going all out on them during the next Stronghold battles. Then, he would unleash his Fel Reavers and crush them!


    After the end of the Stronghold battles, the mega-clubs wouldn''t continue to fight meaninglessly. Everyone needed to grind for levels and craft new equipment to prepare for the next great battle.


    Even if this was the case, the Hellfire Citadel battles were still as bloodthirsty as ever.


    This was probably the most exciting area for Outlands PVP. The terrain was complicated and barren. Ruling Sword''s Night Watch team were heavily involved in the battles.


    These Paladins were at the lowest in the player food chain. Nevertheless, they struck fear and admiration into the hearts of other players.


    After this, many new players who entered the game for the first time would choose Paladin as their class. They didn''t aim to be as strong as the Night Watch team, but they wanted to be as cool as them. This would be the beginning of many different Paladin-focused guilds. of the Holy Light'' and many others.


    Lu Li was impatient. However, no matter how impatient he was, he understood that he needed to grind for experience as well.


    He was already long gone from the level rankings. Even Sakura Memories and Azure Sea Breeze were already level 63. Many players who were now level 63 were already grinding for level 64. This all happened in the span of a few days.


    If Lu Li copied others and grinded for levels just like they did, he felt that it would insult his identity as a person who was reborn.


    After grinding the Hellfire Citadels and letting it go on cooldown, Lu Li immediately set out for the next map, Zangarmarsh.


    Previously, he was in the Hellfire Peninsula which was completely barren and with no living plants. However, the next area was lush with vegetation and greenery. Draenor had its clear differences. Naturally, with the drastic differences in terrain and climate, the intersecting area between these two maps was not easy to pass.

 1831 Zangarmarsh

    There were lots of roads that went into Zangarmarsh, but at the moment, there were only two roads from Hellfire Peninsula.


    One was through the camp of the Arakkoa.


    The Arakkoa were one of the oldest races in Darenor. Their ancestors had evolved into intelligent bird-like creatures from simple birds. They were originally violent and ferocious and followed a strict social hierarchy. High-level Arakkoa grew wings, and those who didn''t have wings were looked down as only sacrifices used to draw power from the God of Darkness.


    There was an Arakkoa clan in the northwest of Hellfire Peninsula called the Haal''eshi. Although these Arakkoa weren''t that powerful, their plundering of the Blood Elf Pilgrims and alliance members'' military supplies gave them lots of trouble. Many prisoners were locked up in the Arakkoa''s; some of the prisoners were even elemental lifeforms.


    There was also a canyon by which you could cross over to Zangarmarsh.


    But there were four Bosses here, all of them Arakkoas ¨C the type that could fly. Unless they could defeat these four wild Bosses, there was simply no way to pass. Lu Li''s crow transformation was probably not the best idea to get past the bosses. The Arakkoa Bosses definitely wouldn''t treat him like a relative.


    The other road was the Pools of Aggonar.


    In the west of Hellfire Peninsula, there were Fel pools called the Pools of Aggonar. These were originally holy Draenei waters, but Terror of the Deep Aggonar''s body and blood polluted this place. Although a long time had already passed, the effects of the decay were hard to remove.


    Although Aggonar died on Hellfire Peninsula, he didn''t become the main archenemy of the Orc Horde. The real archenemy was Mannoroth, he was the one in Dawn''s history who was the archenemy of the Orc Horde. This Pit Lord was the most favoured underling of Kil''jaeden and Archimonde because his cunning and cruelty got him to the highest positions in the legion.


    Players tended to call him Fat Ma.


    Even though Terror of the Deep Aggonar wasn''t the archenemy of the Orc Horde, the demonic blood which didn''t dissipate for many years after his death still gave the Fear Fiends who occupied the area more strength.


    If Lu Li wanted to go to Zangarmarsh, there was no other road better than this one.


    There were also flying units here but compared to the four Bosses that could fly, it was a lot easier to deal with. Besides, the flying demons here flew very slowly. Hachi Chan might not have been able to fly across but there wasn''t a problem for Lu Li.


    Actually, after a few days, the alliance NPC leaders would clean up the Arakkoa ¨C who let these Arakkoa always go steal the alliance supplies anyway?


    But Lu Li didn''t want to wait. He couldn''t wait to go to Zangarmarsh and open the treasure chests. Zangarmarsh was filled with special gas and fertile soils which bred some unique wetland life. This was a home for numerous types of strange lifeforms. In the marsh grew many savage, meat-eating lifeforms and plants.


    There were originally five big lakes here. Although it wasn''t considered extremely rich and fruitful, it was still a place overflowing with life. Many unique lifeforms rested at the beautiful lakeside of Zangarmarsh surrounded by a giant fluorescent mushroom forest. Compared to the neighbouring Hellfire Peninsula, Zangarmarsh still maintained most of its original natural beauty, all the way to Naga.


    After entering into this territory of Naga, there were large water pumping installations being constructed. From that very moment, the water from various lakes began to fall in, and the water pumped out poured into all the habitats where the Naga lived ¨C the Serpentshrine lake of the Colifang Cave.


    Now, the leading Cenarion Expedition team didn''t only forcefully enter this place, but to protect the original natural environment here, they also started a battle.


    And also because of Zangarmarsh''s original hidden and unique nature, it wasn''t suitable for developing a large-scale colony. Because of this, after the Draenei met with the massacre of the Orc Horde, the prophet Ferren brought the poor Draenei into Zangarmarsh. From that day on, the Orcs never found them again until Illidan came.


    With the help of the Shattered Prophet Noble, Ferren led the Draenei to attack what was originally theirs, but now was occupied by Stormwind Stronghold, which was occupied by Blood Elves. After trying to fight against the Exodar, they escaped to the Outland. However, their plans were very quickly discovered by the Blood Elves defending Stormwind Citadel. They broke into the Exodar space, changed their equipment, and brought about the final destruction of the Exodar to the east of Kalimdor.


    There were quite a few strongholds here. Some were neutral, some were Horde, and some were Alliance. Lu Li didn''t have plans to go there at the moment. He planned to go the Cenarion refuge.


    The Cenarion refuge was originally set up as a stronghold for the Cenarion Circle to do research into the plants of Zangarmarsh. But with forces invading and the expansion of the area of research, the Circle decided to have the Cenarion team of the Outland independently set up the Cenarion Expedition. This benefited the Cenarion Circle to appropriately deploy the right resources and human labour for the Outland.


    The Cenarion refuge had everything that a small town needed. A bar, traders, equipment repair, chefs, even a hook master could be found here. They only lacked a flying master to link the town with other air paths, but this could be found nearby at Telredor and Swamprat. So, it wasn''t too much of a problem.


    At the moment, the Cenarion Expedition needed more people to solve the problems they faced in Zangarmarsh. Because of this, they sought help from adventurers, and they treated them well. Players could realise in a short amount of time that they could establish good relationships with them.


    In this sort of expedition, Lu Li also wouldn''t get a cold welcome with his low charisma.


    The Cenarion Circle was a Druid committee modelled on those that humans had. The leader was Malfurion Stormrage. He had antlers on his head. The Cenarion Circle was the most important Druid group in Azeroth for the Druid teachings.


    Malfurion''s superior talents and abilities in his understanding of Druid magic made him the undoubted leader of the Cenarion Circle.


    Although since Malfurion had recently entered into an abnormal period of comatose. Because of this, his leadership authority had been handed over to the hands of Fandral Staghelm. As the son of Cenarious, Remulos still maintained absolute influence in this denomination, as before.


    When Lu Li turned into a little leopard, he took on the shape of Child of the Forest and entered into the camp.


    He was moved to tears by the waiting reception of a hero. The two Druids didn''t raise their staffs as usual, but according to an understood Druid practice, they welcomed him with warm and kind words.


    "The protector of nature, we welcome you here."


    In the past, those NPCs saw him as a piece of poop. Finally, he was no longer poop to them.


    "I went through The Dark Portal and bring greetings from his excellency Remulos." Lu Li changed his appearance from being a leopard to an Elf.

 1832 Extreme Happiness to Extreme Sorrow

    Lu Li, who had changed to human form, immediately became famous in all the Cenarion Circle.


    "He said Remulos!"


    "Is it the Remulos I know?"


    "It must be him, no one would dare blaspheme the holiness of the true name!"


    "Respected excellency, the Keeper of the Grove, has sent someone here. We¡­looks like there''s a hope of coming back, although I already planned to die in battle or from old age. If I could live to again kiss the land of Azeroth with my own lips¡­"


    Things went further than what Lu Li expected. He never thought that the name of Remulos was so powerful. All Lu Li knew was that the Cenarion Expedition was an exploration team sent by the Cenarion Circle to the Outland to research lifeforms. At the very beginning, it was a small group of soldiers under the Cenarion Circle. After The Dark Portal was opened, the team rapidly increased in size and even reached autonomy. But now, The Dark Portal couldn''t be used properly, so this was a hopeless place that didn''t have a tomorrow.


    "His excellency Remulos, along with the others haven''t forgotten us here. There''ll be more and more people going through The Dark Portal. We can defeat our enemies, we can traverse through all the roads to the Outland. You can also see Shattrath, we can open a portal there to join with Azeroth¡­" From his memory, Lu Li described the near future to this isolated fighting group of heroes in this foreign land.


    Unexpectedly, no one really believed Lu Li.


    However, everyone longed to follow such a beautiful plan to work. Everyone crowded around Lu Li enthusiastically. After speaking and speaking, Lu Li realised a way for the quest to appear.


    If it was Hachi Chan, the NPC would probably have actively issued a quest since his charisma was quite high. There was no way that the system could treat everyone in the same way when It came to charisma and issuing quests.


    "Fred has already been missing for three days. How many have we lost? Who else has gone missing?" an NPC said sorrowfully.


    "The 13th one, but Fred won''t die so easily. My friends, don''t forget that he was our most distinguished Shadow Hider out of us," another opposed.


    "We have to go find him, maybe Fred hasn''t died!"


    "That¡­" Lu LI raised his hand, interrupting their discussion, "I think I''m willing to help. I''m a Thief, so I can look for your Freddy. If he''s still alive, I can definitely find him."


    "Are you sure you want to go find Fred?" a green-haired Elf asked.


    "Yes, I really respect you all, I''m willing to contribute some of my own power. As long as Fred is not dead, I''ll definitely find him," Lu Li said, justly and sternly.


    "But this is really dangerous, and you¡­" the Elf didn''t seem to trust Lu Li. Given the many years that Elves lived, Lu Li was still a baby.


    "I also have lots of friends, and we''re not afraid of anything." Lu Li was a bit desperate.


    The few NPCs discussed quietly for hours, until finally, someone called Lethyn Moonfire, an old druid, issued the quest to Lu Li. What was more? He issued two at once. One was to find Fred, the other was called ''The Dying Balance''. The description for the quest read ¨C


    Have you observed your surroundings closely, friend? This is an ailing landscape, struggling to keep itself in balance and losing the fight. If you know where to look, you can see the symptoms. Members of some species rapidly outgrow their peers and become more aggressive.


    A good example of this uncontrolled growth is the Marshtrekker Boglash. If you wish to see it for yourself, look no further than the waterways south of the refuge. Be prepared to defend yourself. The creature knows no mercy.


    Fred was lost because of that Marshtrekker Boglash. If Lu Li finished the quest, then these researchers wouldn''t have to brave the danger to look for clues for the quest.


    Right before Lu Li left, they gave him a few bottles of natural resistance potions. There wasn''t really anything else apart from this.


    Actually, Lu Li had a plan too. He knew this NPC Fred. He did Fred''s quest in his last life. He was in a dry well in a marsh. There were Marshtrekker Boglashes all around blocking him so that he didn''t dare come out.


    Others might''ve had to spend a lot of effort to find him, but for Lu Li, these two quests were a piece of cake.


    But he purposely didn''t say it out loud. After all, the reward for the quests in Dawn were closely interlinked. If he just made a quest look super easy, there certainly wouldn''t be too big a reward.


    Now, Lu Li had to make a grand exit, dropping the act about being so sure of helping you find Fred. Only this way, after he finished the quest, would there be a massive XP reward ¨C these poor Cenarion Expeditioners simply couldn''t give out rewards, but they dished out XP generously.


    Lu Li chose such quests to level up quickly.


    The marsh was extremely dangerous. Not only were there monsters hiding around in the mud, if players fell into a muddy ditch, there was no hope for them. They couldn''t even retrieve their corpse, since you couldn''t find your own corpse.


    What was more, at the very beginning, your HP would decrease very slowly when you fell in the mud. Players might be stuck in the mud for a long time before they could die.


    Quite a few people were very against this idea, thinking that the content wasn''t good for the players'' physical and mental health. Among them were psychology experts that had society''s best interests at heart. They maneuvered around the gaming company and got some updated changes. As long as players fell in as deep as their shoulders, and they hadn''t gotten outside help, the system would judge that they had already died.


    Lu Li wasn''t worried about this since he could fly.


    Being able to fly, he really could do whatever he wanted.


    A cute flying dance occurred in the colourful sky above the marsh. Phosphorescent air bubbles made this as beautiful as a fantasy land. Lots of players liked this place, because it was good for selfies ¨C tourist companies were like this. They didn''t need you to be so pretty or beautiful, as long as you could take good pictures for girls, it was fine.


    A saying goes, that when you''re on cloud nine, that''s when you fall.


    Lu Li soon fulfilled this principle.


    A flash of light flashed out and hit him. Shame that his crow had no defence and he fell right there. Good thing by this point he had lots of HP, so he didn''t die straight away. He still had a layer of defence on him.


    Marshtrekker Boglash!


    It was a type of spore that didn''t really look like a lifeform. It had a big head but no body. Under its head, there were things that looked like long legs or feelers. The whole organism looked like it was suspended in the marsh.

 1833 A Lucky Day

    It wasn''t particularly amazing in any area, just that it could release a flash fork-shaped lightning that reached far distances. It could be compared to a full-screen flash that you saw in cartoons or comics. This flash wasn''t only far-reaching but also very powerful too, which was why Lu Li was almost One Shot.


    After falling to the ground, Lu Li immediately escaped in a very awkward situation. The monsters in Zangarmarsh could easily come out and One Shot his weak self.


    Although he didn''t have to worry about going right back to the main road after he died, it was too hard to level up these days. If he died once, it would take quite a few hours to earn back the lost EXP.


    Anyway, the goal wasn''t far; Lu Li just planned to kill his way to it.


    The marsh had very strong anti-Stealth abilities so Lu Li couldn''t sneak away. Lots of thieves who were here were asking for trouble. When its HP was very low, the Marshtrekker Boglashes liked to get into the marsh, so there were lots of traps in the places where they waited. Thieves who liked jumping here and there would often jump into the traps themselves.


    Lu Li didn''t fancy that sort of thing. He used his equipment''s special effect, charging right in front of the monster. That was how directly he dealt with the Marshtrekker Boglashes.


    It was an ordinary monster so even if Lu Li gave up his Thief advantage, he would still survive.


    Picking up the quest items that the Marshtrekker Boglashes dropped, Lu Li continued to loot and move forward. He needed to be super careful. Even though he was careful, there were still a few times where he almost dropped his foot into a trap.


    Good thing he changed a few pieces of equipment and could escape. He had some equipment with special effects to escape immediately. As soon as he encountered such a situation, he would escape straight away.


    The little monsters here would drop a blueprint. There were alchemy and engineering blueprints, and all that helped players escape this sort of environment. Lu Li killed four or five Marshtrekker Boglashes and finally reached Fred.


    Fred was a Druid. Since he was young he lived in an ordinary home in Thunder Bluff. His father was a Warrior. And in the War of the Harpies, his father gave his own life.


    As the heir of a martyr, Fred was very well taken care of and became an outstanding Druid.


    It was a shame that he never understood the magic of flying. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be stuck in this dry well here. It had already been three days. If his comrades noticed that he hadn''t gone back, would they actually think he had died? Or would they think he could still he saved?


    "Fred, Fred¡­"


    A faint call reached the rims of his ears. The dying Fred didn''t dare to believe the tiny voice he heard again and again. That''s right, it was calling his own name, he took a deep breath and used his hoarse voice to shout a reply.


    Lu Li actually knew where he generally was, but this just made it a little easier. Following the sound, he found where this dry well was. Then using a very ordinary rope, he saved Fred the environmental researcher and successfully completed the first quest he had.


    "Thank you, friend. You saved my life,"


    The Cenarion Circle members didn''t have super strong views towards armed forces, so a Night Elf wouldn''t put much emotional pressure on a Tauren.


    "I went past the refuge and received a quest to look for you. This damned place is just too hard to find. There are monsters and traps everywhere. Good thing I could find you." Lu Li took out some food and water and watched him consume it ferociously.


    "Thank you so much." Fred was in tears. He then rewarded Lu Li with a massive hunk of XP.


    Lu Li immediately reached level 63.


    He finally experienced what it felt like to be someone with high charisma doing a quest. It really wasn''t fair that they could get XP just by barely doing anything.


    "Let me escort you back," Lu Li said after Fred had rested enough.


    "My quest still isn''t finished. I need to do what I need to do," Fred replied as he shook his head, refusing Lu Li''s offer.


    "Then I''ll help you," Lu Li said earnestly.


    "Sure, then help me kill ten Marshtrekker Boglashes because I need to collect their blood samples," Fred was in a bit of a difficult situation, but someone had just come to save his life. So, he couldn''t refuse him directly.


    The system told Lu Li he had received a quest.


    Evidently, if you wanted a quest, you had to give up face. He already been hit with 3 quests today, 2 of them overlapping. As for the other one to find Fred, who knows, he could get an extra reward when he returned.


    "We came to the Outland full of hope; we hoped that we could discover new species. When we went to Zangarmarsh, it seemed like a rich, flourishing ecosystem¡ª shame that our first impression was wrong. After we did some surveying, we realised that the water level of the lake and marsh here kept dropping. This meant that there was an impending disaster for the plants here."


    "Do you need check on the ecosystem again?" Lu Li asked enthusiastically.


    This quest wasn''t hard at all. It was a Naga team led by Vashj that occupied Serpent Lake in Zangarmarsh. They made a giant water pump to pump out all the water from the marsh so that they controlled the extremely precious source of water in the Outland.


    This was a really nonsensical plot in the game. It''s like if Lu Li was able to store up a lot of water in real life, then he could unite the whole world under his control or something.


    If you don''t obey me, I won''t give you water to drink.


    "Um, the thing is¡­" Fred was in a tough situation. These omens were just his own estimates. It was difficult to have it issued to someone as a quest.


    "Don''t worry at all sir, I''m particularly reliable and diligent. There won''t be any problems if you hand it over to me," Lu Li was talking himself up, but his words were still practical. If you looked at his ability to do quests, he was much more reliable than some of those who had high charisma.


    "Alright then, consider it me asking for your help Elf. Are all your people so enthusiastic?" Fred finally softened his stance.


    The system told Lu Li that he had gotten the quest ''The Secret of Colifang Reservoir'' which was another quest which had heaps of XP as a reward¡ª today was definitely his lucky day.

 1834 Naga Invasion

    Lu Li helped Fred assemble together enough samples, and then they both happily went through the marsh back home. Fred was able to avoid the traps better than Lu Li¡ª being able to avoid all the traps but not the well was a talent.


    Seeing Lu Li bring Fred back home, the whole Cenarion refuge erupted with excitement. Their only missing brother had come back, and there was no doubt that Lu Li had become a hero in everyone''s eyes.


    Lu Li got another massive heap of XP again.


    After a bit of rest and reorganization, it was the afternoon, and Druids who were still celebrating got a report from the sentries¡ª there were Naga all over the place!


    "What do they want?" Lethyn Moonfire asked angrily.


    Hamoot was a strong, war loving Tauren who had a broken horn. He was the refuge Warden responsible for defending the refuge, while other Druids were busy researching plants and surveying the lake. He jumped right in saying, "I have been telling you, those Naga aren''t going to be peaceful with us. They''re a bunch of people who''ve lost their brains."


    "The Naga are greedy and never reasonable. They''re not coming here to be guests, there''s a real chance they''re coming to attack the refuge. If we don''t want to become homeless, the best thing to do is take up your weapons and kill off the invading enemies. Druids can do more than just magic tricks."


    Lethyn Moonfire gave Lu Li a glare. Evidently, he wasn''t happy with how Lu Li defined Druids. But he still nodded his head, "Hamoot, the safety of the refuge is in your hands."


    There weren''t many Druids capable of fighting. Including Fred, there were only 18 of them, and they were led by Hamoot. Soon, they finished their preparations for battle. Everyone could already see the vague silhouettes of the Naga in the distance. The perimeter of the refuge was very secure. Those Druids who were good at plant-type natural magic were really good at it. The only part which needed to be guarded was the refuge''s main door.


    "Elf, are you willing to help us. Help us one more time." Fred issued a quest to Lu Li.


    Of course, Lu Li wouldn''t refuse. He had already gotten XP quite a few times today. Fred gave it to him twice, and he got two more after he returned to the camp. Now, he was about to receive it for the fifth time. Turned out the Cenarion refuge was a really easy neutral camp to earn XP in.


    After receiving the quest, Lu Li became the 19th fighting member of the refuge. Generally speaking, the Naga had scaled human bodies and the lower half of their body looked like a python. They could breathe underwater or on dry land.


    That''s why the Naga were a matrilineal race.


    Male Naga were physically bigger and stronger than female Naga, and they had more beastly features. They had facial features similar to dragons, and their muscles were strong and tough. The scales on their body were bigger, thicker and heavier than the females.


    Like Night Elves, Blood Elves and High Elves, Naga had a long lifespan. Some of them, mostly the female Naga, could even live forever. The male Naga served as cannon fodder, while a few female Naga gave orders to the cannon fodder from a distance.


    Most Naga had already lost the ability to use language. When they attacked, they made strange sounds that sounded unnerving and shrill; it was even said that this sound could be heard across the oceans.


    Lu Li sneaked out of the refuge. He was a Thief so standing guard at the door wasn''t his strong suit. He noticed that there was a progress bar above his own quest, number killed 0/100. This also meant that he couldn''t just slack off during battle, he needed to kill a certain number of Naga.


    In an out of the way place, Lu Li successfully Cheap Shot Naga and realised that their HP and defence was pretty scary.


    The monsters in the Outland shouldn''t be messed with unless you reached a certain level, or you had a whole set of Exquisite equipment on you. Lu Li''s equipment was not bad, but worlds away from Exquisite level equipment. So in this difficult situation, he didn''t have much choice but to escape back to the Cenarion refuge.


    "Comrade, you''ve got to learn to keep our formation," Warden Hamoot lectured sternly.


    At this, Lu Li saw that Hamoot and the Druids had pulled out crossbows one after the other from the undergrowth next to the fence. If Lu Li had guessed right, these were Draenor''s moderately famous ballistae.


    "Two in a group. Listen to my orders," Warden Hamoot announced.


    "Let''s be in a group," Lu Li took Fred''s arm. When the other NPCs saw this, they didn''t really say anything. It was because Lu Li had once saved Fred''s life that he reluctantly saved him some face.


    Fred taught Lu Li how to use the ballista, and Lu Li learnt very quickly.


    "Brother, you''re still very weak. You can just be an assistant, let me control the ballista," Lu Li pretended to really care about him. Actually, it was because he wouldn''t get any XP if he was the assistant. The killing needed for the quest wouldn''t be counted for him.


    "Thank you. You really are a good person,"


    Whoosh! Lu Li''s first ever shot!


    "Nice!" Everyone praised him.


    He shot the target with his first shot and killed the target right away. This really changed their impression of Lu Li.


    Lu Li opened his mouth, but in the end, he just laughed shyly and modestly. Actually, the arrow was clearly aimed right at a big Naga, but for some reason, the shot landed on one next to it. Good thing it hit, how it got there didn''t matter.


    The next few times, Lu Li chose to aim at an area where the Naga were together relatively densely. Though he was randomly shooting, he still killed almost ten of them.


    "Mage! A Mage is coming!" The Druids suddenly got worked up.


    Lu Li saw that there were a few ones which were relatively petite, they fit the human aesthetics of a pretty girl. These Naga came over while carrying a long staff in their hands. Ice crystals froze on the ground that they walked on; you could see how strong their magic was.


    The old Mages had come, and they needed to be killed!


    Lu Li adjusted the ballista, aimed right at a mage and shot. Mages were weaker than warriors, it should be a bit easier to kill them.

 1835 The Draenei

    Since Thieves would occasionally dabble in archery, Lu Li''s shooting level was pretty much at 80% or 90% with a bit more practice. He had confidence in himself; he was certain that he could shoot down these female Naga. However, something unexpected happened.


    When these female Naga saw crossbows shooting at them, they would use Blink to teleport and dodge the shots.


    But Lu Li''s arrow didn''t hit nothing. A male Naga which was following behind the female Mage took the shot instead. Lu Li''s progress bar increased by one, and the female Mage which flashed away didn''t have a clean escape either. Just before she Blinked, a crossbow still shot her.


    Was someone stealing his targets? It was usually him that stole other people''s targets. He never thought the day would come when he would be stolen from.


    He observed the scene¡ª there was definitely some stealing going on.


    A Naga Mage Blinked and hid before shooting her own crossbow. Before she fell to the ground, she met with two calculated attacks. The first attack came from Lu Li. If nothing unexpected happened, then Lu Li would take the kill. However, he didn''t expect the Mage to immediately give herself an Ice shield.


    The ice shield was pierced, and the crossbow was successful in taking away most of the Naga Mage''s HP. But she wasn''t dead. Lu Li rushed to aim the second crossbow at his target, praying in his heart that someone wouldn''t steal his kill.


    An injured Naga Mage moved very slowly. Even though she was working hard to hide, she was still taken out by Lu Li. The XP was incomparably high. One Mage was worth ten ordinary Naga. On Lu Li''s long experience bar, it made movement that could even be seen by the naked eye. This made Lu Li feel that there was something more that could make this quest go faster.


    One Mage was equivalent to ten ordinary Naga warriors. Someone with a magic staff was always going to be cooler than someone with a harpoon. Since one was worth the same amount as ten, of course Lu Li wouldn''t keep looking for ordinary Naga to attack. He purposely chose the Naga Mages who Blinked and could give out Ice shields. From this point on, he was a kill-stealing bandit.


    Maybe it was because too many Naga Mages died ¨C Lu Li alone finished off 16 of them ¨C but the first wave of the Naga retreated very soon.


    The Druids'' ballistae with natural magic could very easily attack retreated Naga. Since the Naga were persistent in eradicating this refuge eyesore, they weren''t happy with retreating. It was expected that the refuge would face another invasion that was even more challenging.


    "You completed this quest with flying colours," Warden Hamoot praised, "Killing 16 of the Naga Mages, the biggest threat to the refuge. Friend, I thank you on behalf of the whole refuge¡­"


    Blah, blah, blah. Lu Li got sleepy listening to it. Only at the end was Lu Li rewarded a heap of XP.


    Maybe because of Lu Li''s outstanding kill stealing, Warden Hamoot finally honoured Lu Li and gave him another quest. Warden Hamoot wanted Lu Li to help him eliminate that group of the Broken and the Lost Ones in the shadowy lands that helped the Naga. They were also extremely cruel to slaves that tried to escape. Lu Li had to kill ten of the Broken and ten Lost Ones, as well as save 20 slaves while he was at it. Most of these slaves came from all sorts of races.


    They had invited Lu Li over to visit the Telredor camp, so Lu Li crossed over to the Telredor camp. There were two captive Draenei ¨C it was said there were originally three, but one of them died from enslavement. The poor Draenei seemed to have always been bullied by various races and powers.


    At the moment, he had no way to do the Colifang Reservoir quest because it could only be completed in an Instance Dungeon. He needed to wait for his First Clear team to come over before doing anything.


    The Telredor camp was part of his next stop. Besides, under the mushrooms, there were quite a few treasure chests. Although they didn''t drop anything special, it was good to use them to practice unlocking.


    The Draenei built a stronghold atop a giant mushroom. This was built when they were hiding in Zangarmarsh. It was also because of this that the Draenei were able to successfully hide and survive against the Orcs'' search for them.


    And because of the clever design of the lift, the lift didn''t only have the job of sending people to Telredor, it could also successfully drop those people who weren''t familiar with this place.


    "The residents of Telredor are mostly Draenei exiles who had survived the massacre of the Burning Legion. We hope to protect Telredor forever, and to be a safe haven for all allies during war. But we''re not too sure about accepting new allies¡ª traitors have made the Draenei too cautious," the Draenei explained to Lu Li. He was the slightly older one who had been rescued by Lu Li.


    "Before being ruined by a common enemy, the relationship between the allies was quite strong," Lu Li replied after thinking for a while.


    He actually wasn''t very sophisticated, but he borrowed the description from a book. In reality, even though they had a common enemy, the Burning Legion, the Alliance and the Horde would fight to the death over nothing.


    Very soon, Lu Li arrived inside the Draenei''s camp. Lu Li didn''t receive a united welcome, but rather, he received a lot of hostile and judging looks.


    This kept going until the two Draenei who had been rescued by Lu Li described how they met.


    "I''m a mercenary working for the Cenarion Circle Expedition." That was how Lu Li introduced himself.


    "Oh, that''s a very polite gentleman," The Draenei commented, they suddenly had a pretty big change in attitude. Evidently, the Draenei had a very positive view of Druids because they supported them.


    The Druids and Draenei in Zangarmarsh, though they looked like brothers in their names, were two completely separate groups. They had a really good relationship mainly because the Druids taught the Draenei botany. They could combine two inedible plants together to be made edible; this helped alleviate part of the Draenei''s food shortage crisis.


    Because of this, Lu Li, who had the goodwill of the Draenei, became more interested in the history of Telredor camp. It was right to say this was originally only a Pilgrim stronghold, but if they solved the food problem, then this would be heaven for the Draenei too. Because of environmental problems, the Burning Legion simply weren''t willing to enter into this area.

 1836 Ikuti the Lost One

    The first person to bravely take a dive in always reaped the rewards. Even though his charisma was less than ten points, Lu Li still got two ordinary quests to clear some nearby small monsters. There weren''t many rewards to reap from quests like these, but Lu Li completed them with outstanding speed which changed the Telredor camp grounds NPC''s attitudes of him.


    Ahuurn The Draenei got Lu Li to go find the Lost Ones of the Boha''mu Ruins in hope that Lu Li could help aid them. The leader of the group of Lost Ones was called Ikuti.


    Finally!


    Lu Li finally connected with the person he had been wanting to see. He entered Zangarmarsh in advance. The most important goal was to see this person called Ikuti. The aim for seeing this person wasn''t just for some quest. Experience was naturally very important, but there were many NPCs who could give experience.


    Lu Li may not be well liked, but with his experience as someone reborn, he could still mess around with some of the NPCs.


    No matter how awesome the NPC, they''d all been created for players to interact with.


    Ikuti the Lost One, Broken and Lost Ones were two types of varied Draenei. They lost the natural-born noble appearance of the Draenei. Their skin had become loose and their limbs had shrunk, while rotten flesh had slowly emerged at the same time.


    What was more terrifying was that they had lost the protection of the Holy Light, and their thinking was no longer as clear.


    However, Broken kept his own wisdom and thinking for Shamanism. The Lost Ones were the saddest Draenei because they''ve completely lost their mind and souls. On top of that, they had also lost the protection of the Holy Light.


    They no longer possessed the nobility and wisdom of the Draenei, and they couldn''t even remember their names. They muddled about without aim and knew nothing.


    If Ikuti the Lost One hadn''t accidentally walked into the Boha''mu Ruins on that day, then this aimless Lost One would have never met Lu Li.


    During peaceful times, the Draenei built many temples in Zangarmarsh. They were managed by scholars and vindicators, but the majority of them were damaged; only some broken walls and magic relics were left behind. Yet, this place consecrated a Raven Lord statue.


    Even though it had lost a majority of its magic power, it was still a true magic artefact.


    It was said that it was Anzu the Raven Lord''s primitive artefact, but then it was lost in a battle and Anzu lost his ability to fly. He disappeared amongst the shadows and then became many Lost Ones'' patron saint for many of those who could no longer fly.


    In realty, Anzu had entered into the Emerald Dream to try and search for his lost artefact.


    Ikuti called their clan the Feralfen Clan!


    Currently, their aim was to save their members who had been enslaved.


    Under Velen''s encouragement, Nobundo the Broken and his team had returned to Draenei society and participated in the capture of Exodar. While some other Broken among the marsh migrated in all directions.


    The Naga in the Marshlight Lake, Umbrafen Lake and Lagoon had constructed a pump and gathered all the water from the marsh into the bottom of Serpent Lake''s Colifang Reservoir. A group of Broken Ones had been enslaved by the Naga. The Wasteland Broken Ones were fixing the Colifang Reservoir for the Naga. The traitors who had sold their own people for power had turned them into labourers for the Naga.


    There were also some other Broken Ones groups that volunteered to participate in Naga''s evil plans. In the deep Serpent Lake, the Murkblood Broken Ones helped the Naga enslave the wildlife in the cave. The clan of the Unbrafen Broken Ones spontaneously assisted Naga. They even used dark magic to enslave others to work for the Naga.


    The Naga hated Ikuti and organised attacks on the Boha''mu Ruins many times. Ahuurn The Draenei hoped Lu Li would aid Ikuti and his Feralfen clan ¨C to use Telredor''s name to bring the Feralfen clan on their side as new allies.


    Very calculated, but Lu Li also had his own calculations.


    If there was something that could improve his crow transformation, other than Medivh who was nowhere to be found, or a great mage like Jaina, there was only Anzu or Ikuti.


    The Great Mage was not someone that Lu Li could just meet when he wanted. Anzu was still immersed in the Emerald Dream so only Ikuti was left.


    If that artefact really worked, Lu Li would not hesitate to start a war in order to receive the artefact to improve his crow transformation.


    He didn''t need the help of allies. Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear alone were enough to wipe out the Boha''mu Ruins.


    The players currently were quite a low level, but they could still upgrade their stats, and equipment could still be gathered.


    Lu Li''s crow transformation was one of his strongest ability, but it had a fatal shortcoming¡ª it dropped his defence to zero. Zero defence meant that even a group of mosquitoes could deal a large amount of damage.


    After entering the Outlands, the officials had completely opened up flying.


    These people sat on flying mounts, and they had as much defence as they wanted. It was so much better than Lu Li''s crow transformation. Even Druid''s transformation magic didn''t affect their defence. Lu Li was not happy; his crow transformation was going to turn into the weakest flying magic.


    "Outsider, please stop. Otherwise you will be faced with the angry flames of the Feralfen Clan," two weird-looking Lost Ones came out and stopped Lu Li.


    They came from nowhere and held short daggers. Even Lu Li couldn''t sense where they had been hiding.


    The Lost Ones who had regained their minds did not have the regained favour of the Holy Light. In order to survive and to continue fighting, they started to worship beast spirits and understood Druid magic through this. They had also started to train their physical fitness in order to become either Thieves or Warriors.

 1837 The Way of Nature

    "Please forgive this tired explorer. My hands are stained with the fresh blood of Naga, because I was chased by a group of them. If the Naga are also your enemies, please give me some food and fresh water," Lu Li asked in a calm and sincere manner.


    Lu Li was taken into the ruins very quickly.


    This place was clean compared to the ruins that Lu Li had seen before. The majority of them were Lost Ones. Their outer appearances looked a little like the Draenei, but not to the extent where people would mistake them for Draenei.


    Many people wandered by the abandoned stone pillars, their eyes were distracted and dazed. Compared to the wild Lost Ones, they were less crazy and destructive.


    When Lu LI walked past them, they didn''t even humour him a glance. These Lost Ones didn''t have any fighting power. The rumour that they had been worshipping the beast spirits and had started to learn Druid magic was far from the truth.


    "Foreigner, am I discriminating my own race?" a voice boomed.


    Lu Li raised his head abruptly and followed the direction of the voice. He saw a crow on the ruins, but the crow didn''t see Lu Li and instead combed its feathers with its mouth. But Lu Li knew it was the one who spoke.


    He transformed into a crow multiple times and had observed the detailed shape of transformed crows in this game. So, he very easily could find the difference between a real and fake crow.


    "Pease forgive my offense," Lu Li saluted the crow.


    The crow shook its feathers and stretched out its wings. Under the light, it transformed into a Lost One. Compared with the other Lost Ones, this person had a pair of very bright eyes.


    "Don''t mind these things Young One. I am Ikuti. From your eyes, you don''t seem surprised to see me. Have you seen other transformation magic like this before?" Ikuti asked curiously.


    "Yes, I have witnessed a great being''s existence. He was enlightened with crow transformation magic. He also turned the feathers of the Raven Lord into a cloak," Lu Li explained.


    "I see¡­" Ikuti thought about it in detail. From the people he knew, there weren''t many people who could pull out the Raven Lord''s feathers and make a cloak out of it. Plus, that person also understood the magic of crow transformation.


    "He had also passed on this magic," Lu Li paused and turned into a dark red blood duck.


    It was even cooler than Ikuti''s in comparison!


    Ikuti stared at Lu Li dumbly. Just as Lu Li thought he was going to acknowledge their relationship, he let out a long sigh and said, "If this is it, then I feel a lot better. Your transformation magic is only similar in shape, but it is mainly magic."


    "I don''t understand," Lu Li admitted wholeheartedly.


    This meant that Ikuti did have things up his sleeve. Otherwise he wouldn''t have gotten the recognition of a God-item.


    "Yes," Lu Li nodded.


    Ikuti transformed again into a crow and whooshed towards the sky. As his wings flapped, a strike of lightning struck the ground. A few rocks were hit and turned to dust straight away.


    Lu Li''s original plan of stealing the item was immediately thrown out the window.


    He was definitely as strong as a Boss! Ruling Sword also needed to pay a massive price. Even if Ikuti was defeated, the God item wouldn''t necessarily be dropped. Lu Li didn''t believe that the latest patch would allow a Boss to drop a God item at such an early stage.


    "This is my crow. The beast spirits bestowed me with this natural power. My power came from the way of nature," Ikuti said after he landed.


    "I¡­ actually quite admire the nature''s way. I often indulge in the power of the nature''s way and feel only nature is the one supreme power," Lu Li shared shamelessly, "Master Ikuti, may I ask to follow you?"


    "You¡­" Ikuti was shocked and shook his head, "I can see that you a strong Rogue."


    "But this doesn''t hinder me from pursuing the nature''s way. Why can''t I learn it?" Lu Li decided to show his ultimate God item ¨C he reached out his hand. No matter how awesome the NPC, they would all fall on their knees when they see the ring.


    Unfortunately, Ikuti ignored the ring on his hands.


    Lu Li pulled his hands back awkwardly. He just remembered that even though the nature''s way was a subbranch of Druids, Azeroth and Draenor were two completely different systems. Ikuti had never even heard of Cenarius.


    "Even though I am a Thief, I can use Druid techniques. See," Lu Li turned into a small leopard and a bear and used a few skills.


    "This is a God item. A real God item," Ikuti proudly declared.


    This Raven Lord statue had epic power. But no matter how epic, it still couldn''t equip a Thief with Druid powers. To be directly bestowed was different from practicing. in his eyes, Lu Li was evidently not someone who could practice the Druid way.


    The Raven Lord''s statue''s function was simple ¨C it increased the intelligence and spirit attributes. This was the main solution in resolving the Lost and Broken Ones'' problem. Then, it also improved Druid magic levels. From the NPC''s perspective, this God item could bestow wisdom to people and enlighten the ignorant to discover the true meaning of nature.


    All in all, it was a good thing.


    Lu Li''s item was also really powerful. Some might say it wasn''t any less powerful than Raven Lord''s statue. However, it was still incomplete and had a lot of room for growth.


    "My friend, thank you for talking with me. You should be happy to know that this thing has already recognised you as the owner. Otherwise, it could have been hard for me to let go of it," Ikuti said in the end.

 1838 Underwater Entrance

    A self-proclaimed master?


    When did this happen? He quickly thought about it and came to the conclusion that it was because of the bound artefact. The explanation was simple if that was true.


    If this was the case, then the NPC must have recognised the bound item.


    Otherwise, Lu Li had still yet to figure it out!


    "My Raven Transformation is too weak. I want to know how I can improve it," Lu Li asked.


    "That is very simple. You just need to observe more ravens and understand their nature, and you should be able to improve that way. Once you have a proper grasp of their nature, you will have to train in your understanding. The people I know have all improved this way," Ikuti answered.


    "Observe ravens¡­" Lu Li was dumbfounded.


    The NPC had to be messing with him. If a person watched ravens all day, would they acquire the ability to transform into one? Besides, ravens usually didn''t have the ability to control lightning."


    "Of course, there is a simpler way. I can help you understand like a Druid would, but I need you to do something for me first," Ikuti replied.


    The System prompted Lu Li to receive a quest - Book of the Raven.


    He accepted the quest without hesitation, but when he saw the content of the quest, he knew that he couldn''t complete the quest on his own.


    He needed to expel a particular race from an area, something pretty much impossible. Even with Ruling Sword, there was no hope. If he got the three-party alliance together, they might be able to achieve it, but it would cost a lot of money. Regardless of whether it was Azeroth or Draenor, the Ogres were a powerful race. The clan known as Ango''rosh had migrated from another place to Zangarmarsh. When they came to Zangarmarsh, they began cutting down the mushroom forest. Ikuti thought that these Ogres were a huge threat and wanted to eliminate them before they reached their ruins.


    According to the information Ikuti possessed, there are about 3000 of these Ogres.


    The three thousand strong Ogre army might not seem like much, but there were no regular monsters or even elites among the Ogres of Zangarmarsh. They were all at least quasi-Bosses or stronger. Moreover, these Ogres could respawn, so they needed to kill many of them at once to force them to leave.


    But the quest had already been received. With Lu Li''s Charisma values, there was no possibility of bargaining the quest''s terms anyway.


    If Lu Li wanted to level up his Raven Transformation, he had to complete the quest. He also couldn''t complete this quest in a short time, so Lu Li had no choice but to complete other quests in the meantime. He decided to visit the Zangarmarsh to open any Treasure Chests there.


    Lu Li felt quite helpless as he visited the swamp, but at least the depths of the swamp didn''t scare him.


    There were many monsters in the depths and most of them were snakes that looked terrifying. But Lu Li wasn''t scared of them. If he faced a snake in real life, whether it was white or green, he would use it to cook up a nutritious meal for his sister.


    The only pity was that there were very few good items left. This place was no longer a newly released map, so most of the treasure chests had already been opened before. There were now very few people getting rich overnight from this place. Instead, you would often get a bunch of rubbish materials and maybe some gems. Very occasionally, you might get an equipment that isn''t Common grade. If one received a Dark Gold equipment here, they would be overjoyed at their unexpected success.


    Lu Li wasn''t actually looking for anything here. He just wanted to level up his Unlock skill and gain some EXP. When a player unlocked a Treasure Chest for the first time, they would gain quite a bit of EXP. It was more than what they would receive for killing an elite monster.


    So, he spent about two days doing that, and when his EXP suddenly soared to level 64, the Zangarmarsh was suddenly filled with other players.


    The players weren''t there to see the sights. Everyone was busy doing quests and looking for the Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li was no exception. Since his friends were coming, they would be able to complete the Colifang Reservoir quest. Everyone was also trying to pick up as many quests as possible. Besides, Lu Li had said that no one could find the Instance Dungeon entrance yet, so there was no hurry.


    The Colifang Reservoir was quite difficult to find, as they have not yet been exposed to an Instance Dungeon where the entire entrance was submerged in deep water.


    In order to prevent the Instance Dungeon location from being exposed, Lu Li only took two people.


    One of them was Water Fairy and the other was Carnivorous Cat.


    The reason why he didn''t bring Sesame Rice Ball was because there were many people watching him. He was Ruling Sword''s transporter ¨C by knowing where he was, they could know where Ruling Sword was doing a First Clear. But in fact, most Warlocks now had the Summoning Portal.


    The surrounding area was also filled with monsters, and Sesame Rice Ball was not as good as Carnivorous Cat in fighting them off.


    Both Lu Li and Water Fairy were invisible, so it seemed like Carnivorous Cat was alone.


    She was a beautiful girl who was all alone. When in game, that practically meant that she had a sign on her facing telling people to approach her.


    Those that were polite were directly refused and those that were rude were killed.


    With Carnivorous Cat''s strength, even a five-person squad could barely fight her. Many players saw her innocent and beautiful face and would often forget that she killed two gaming veterans on her own.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy didn''t need to do anything, and just scouted ahead to help her avoid some dangers.


    Then, as Carnivorous Cat went further and further, she disappeared into the wide lake. Lu Li gave them both an Underwater Breathing Potion and dove under the water.


    Lu Li''s Seal Transformation was no longer as important as before as everyone had Underwater Breathing Potions now.


    Many people liked to fight monsters underwater because they wouldn''t have to compete with other players to fight them. All they needed to do was buy some of the potions or the materials, which weren''t too expensive. Most apothecarists were capable of making this potion as well.


    Lu Li took them all the way while avoiding any obstacles before finally entering a place similar to an underground cave. The centre of the cave was a small pool and the rest was land. There was a huge waterfall hanging over a rock. Here, there was the 25-man Serpentshrine Cavern Instance Dungeon.

 1839 Double First Clear

    Accessing the Colifang Reservoir required a key. Once you acquired enough Reputation, you could buy it from the Cenarion Expedition''s Quartermaster. Lu Li had already farmed the Reputation he needed and acquired the key.


    This was the benefit of rebirth; there was no skill involved.


    "Get the portal up and start transporting players," Lu Li announced the official start of the First Clearing.


    The First Instance Dungeon was the Slave Pens.


    This was a very simple five-person Instance Dungeon. Its purpose was to help the players advance from level 63 to level 65, which was not difficult given that it was an Instance Dungeon.


    This time, the main players that were involved in the First Clear were Lu Li, Lonesome Flower, Azure Sea Breeze, Remnant Dream and March Rain. It was faster with these five players. Water Fairy formed her own team, and they joked about racing each other.


    Their line-up was Water Fairy, Deadly Green Orange, Star Baby, Wandering and Kitty Likes Meat. All the players on this team were very attractive.


    The line-ups on both teams were actually very similar. They had one defensive player, one healer and three strong damage output players.


    Mennu the Betrayer was the first Boss that they all ran into. He patrolled an area and was surrounded by some other monsters. He was a Shaman-type Boss (like Hexxer Jin''do), who used melee attacks and placed totems.


    Everyone doing the Instance Dungeon instantly knew what to do when they saw this Boss ¨C destroy the totems!


    As long as the totems were destroyed as fast as they were placed down, they would have no problems.


    Water Fairy''s team missed a healing totem, so their progress was a little slower than Lu Li''s.


    Lu Li reached the second Boss before them, and was soon faced with Rokmar the Crackler. Rokmar the Crackler was a giant lobster, so giant in fact that there were few people that


    would want to eat it when they saw it.


    This Boss had an area of effect Frostbolt with unlimited range, so it was basically impossible to avoid it. As such, there was also no point standing back. Its deceleration debuff was not often cast, and it was usually cast onto Azure Sea Breeze. They wouldn''t even bother dispelling it as it didn''t have much of an effect on them.


    The most important thing was to pay attention the Bleed. Since this skill was always cast onto the Main Tank, and could only be removed if they were on full HP, the Healers had to


    keep overhealing, which placed noticeable pressure on them.


    In addition, they had to pay attention to the Main Tank''s HP even after the Boss died, otherwise he would die along with the Boss.


    Fortunately, March Rain was such a powerful healer that this was simply no challenge for her.


    Remnant Dream looted the corpse and pulled out a pair Dark Gold Wavefury Boots. This was a reasonable Priest item.


    The reason that Lu Li brought Remnant Dream to this Instance Dungeon was for the final Boss. It was also to acquire useful items, where Priests and other Magic professions would benefit the most.


    There were a total of three Bosses in this Instance Dungeon, and the last one was called Quagmirran.


    Quagmirran was once the ruler of many Fungal Giants in Zangarmarsh. He was captured by the Naga while wandering the caves of Zangarmarsh and suffered from unbearable torture. Now, this devastated creature was solely loyal to its master, and was willing to silence all those to dared defy its master''s will.


    Azure Sea Breeze stood by the water as Quagmirran rumbled over. The Boss'' melee attacks were devastating and it was constantly casting area of effect poison arrows during the battle. You had to neutralize the poisons as often as possible, but as long as the Priest was capable enough, this Boss wasn''t too much of an issue.


    The reason that Lu Li had completed it all so quickly was likely because of the first Healing totem that Water Fairy''s team failed to clear. This meant that Lu Li managed to achieve the First Clear in the end.


    Quagmirran''s Eye!


    This was an exquisite Magic item, even with the level penalties, as many players would wear this level 65 item all the way until level 70.


    Lu Li threw a hundred gold coins at Remnant Dream, as an offering for her services.


    He only teased this girl when he didn''t have any money. However, when he did have money, he was actually quite generous. In the end, he spoilt Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan like his own sister.


    The First Clear had been broadcasted.


    The whole world was in awe.


    Everyone was still investigating the clues and looking for the Instance Dungeon, but this guy had already taken the First Clear.


    Ruling Sword hadn''t just assembled two teams either.


    They had formed more small teams to grind the Instance Dungeon. All of them were farming the Instance Dungeon over and over again to gain levels and equipment.


    "You still haven''t worked out where the Instance Dungeon is?"


    "Our people just can''t work it out. There are no coordinates within and it''s just a cave. I don''t know how the Ruling Sword players managed to get in. It is almost like they have sealed themselves in."


    "Just get more people onto this task, as many as possible. We need to keep up with Ruling Sword!"


    "I mean, it''s not like we don''t have anyone with Ruling Sword. Darkness is among the players First Clearing with them."


    "Do you dare tell this to the Boss?"


    "Hehe, I''ll just mention it casually. It''s not like I know that we are banned from mentioning Darkness. I''m just not that kind of sentimental person."


    "Heh, be careful, I don''t know what will happen to you."


    Just like Hellfire Citadel, the Colifang Reservoir also contained a group of Instance Dungeons. In addition to the Slave Pen, there were two other places where they could acquire a First Clear ¨C the Dark Swamp and the Steamvault. As for the Serpentshrine Cavern, it was the same as Magtheridon''s Lair, and could only be completed when they were all at level 70.


    The Dark Swamp was the second Instance Dungeon in the Colifang Reservoir. It was the natural habitat of life in the Colifang Reservoir that had not been destroyed by the Naga.


    At Ordinary difficulty, each monster kill was rewarded with 5 points of Reputation and each Boss kill was rewarded with 50 points of Reputation. Once you were respected, you couldn''t receive any more Reputation. On Elite Difficulty, you could keep gaining Reputation until you were Worshiped.


    If you wanted to farm Reputation for Colifang Reservoir, grinding the Instance Dungeon was the right thing to do.


    The Instance Dungeon wasn''t that difficult and was easily completed by Lu Li. The System once again broadcasted Lu Li''s name. This kind of small Instance Dungeon didn''t reward much, but it could promote the guild''s name.


    The other clubs weren''t without intelligent people either.


    From the description of what it was like inside, the quickly determined that the way the Instance Dungeon should be entered was likely by a pool in the cave from underwater.


    As such, their position was quickly narrowed down to the lake.


    When Lu Li completed the second Instance Dungeon, someone had discovered the Colifang Reservoir under the water.


    However, the fact that the Slave Pen required a key came as a shock.


    What kind of strategy did Ruling Sword that allowed them to get the key in such a short time? Cenarion Expedition''s Reputation was not that easy to earn.


    In fact, Lu Li was able to acquire so much of Cenarion Expedition''s Reputation because he shot many Nagas with his crossbow, each of which yielded a rich amount of Reputation. Since they now felt secure, the Druids weren''t stingy about rewarding Lu Li.

 1840 See You At The Top

    The other club players that went to the Colifang Reservoir all skipped the first two Instance Dungeons after finding out that they needed keys to access the Slave Pens.


    These days, regardless of whether they would admit it, everyone was convinced of Ruling Sword''s First Clearing ability. Since Ruling Sword had already started the Dark Swamp before they entered the Colifang Reservoir, they simply gave up on the two Instance Dungeons.


    In the depths of Zangarmarsh''s Serpent Lake, there were many secret hidden caves. These caves were ruled by Lady Vashj in the Outlands.


    They seemed to be studying a combination of water and mech magic that would give the Naga Warriors incredible strength.


    The Naga were using this as a base to continuously absorb the Zangarmarsh waters, which caused the Serpent Lake''s water level to drop. This resulted in a series of ecological problems which led to the habitats of countless creatures being destroyed.


    The Cenarion Expedition called upon Horde and Alliance warriors to attack the Naga leader. Warlord Kalithresh was among the targets, but in order to reach the Warlord''s room, you first had to defeat his two underlings and access the places they guarded.


    In addition, the Violet Eye Mages had received news that the lost Karazhan key fragment was hidden in the Steamvault. Khadgar was waiting for someone to reforge the Karazhan key so that the secrets of Medivh''s death could be revealed.


    This Instance Dungeon was one that dropped Karazhan key shards. In the future, before going into Karazhan, you had to have the key.


    Ultimately, this Instance Dungeon was not that difficult, and the First Clear soon came.


    However, it wasn''t Ruling Sword''s. They had just defeated the second Boss when some other team took the First Clear.


    Lu Li wasn''t surprised at this at all.


    He was familiar with the team that got the First Clear ¨C it was Water Fairy, Deadly Green Orange, Star Baby, Wandering and Kitty Likes Meat, the other First Clear group.


    "Wow I got a skill point!"


    They were all on the same side, so there several teams of people who could hear Kitty Likes Meat''s cheers.


    Since venturing into the Outland, they had already received two First Clears in Hellfire Citadel and two First Clears in Colifang Reservoir for a total of four First Clears. Since no one had received Skill Points as a reward until now, everyone had assumed that these small Instance Dungeons didn''t reward Skill Points.


    However, now that Kitty Likes Meat had acquire a skill point, everyone''s opinions had been changed.


    "Why did Kitty get a Skill Point when we didn''t? Is it just a matter of luck?" Azure Sea Breeze asked in his frustration. He had initially been excited about being broadcast after achieving a First Clear, but after it had happened so many times, he didn''t care about that anymore.


    He would often not say anything because he was too lazy to. In the past, most of the teams he was on were filled with men, where it was common not to say too much. Now, with a team of all attractive girls except for him, things were somewhat different.


    Since he hadn''t said anything for a while, everyone fell silent in anticipation for what he was about to say.


    "It is not a matter of luck. Skill Points shouldn''t have anything to do with luck, otherwise Remnant Dream would be swimming in them," Wandering reasoned, then paused before adding, "But, that is not to say that you wouldn''t be affected by bad luck. If you think about it, what is the key difference between Kitty''s team and yours?"


    The joker Azure Sea Breeze immediately knew where this was going.


    "Our team is affected by the aura of the black hand!"


    It was unlucky Lu Li''s fault!


    "Hey!" Lu Li was a little upset. If they kept this up, there were some people who were going to lose their positions.


    "You can go. My mum doesn''t want me playing with you anymore," Azure Sea Breeze said after turning his head.


    Lu Li was speechless.


    After some bickering, the day came to an end. The next day was a Monday, which meant a new week of Stronghold Wars was about to begin.


    There were no new maps this time nor was there any new Stronghold-related content. However, there were still many people watching the Stronghold War regardless of whether new maps were


    released.


    It wasn''t just the players in clubs, but ordinary people who were there for the spectacle.


    For the clubs, the Stronghold had huge benefits for their development. For everyone else, particularly those who liked to gamble, it was a sport for them to watch who would win and who would lose.


    The game had officially banned gambling, so there was no content that allowed them to place bets, and if you gambled in-game, you would be banned. Moreover, if the circumstances were serious enough, you would be reported to the authorities.


    However, there were some things that weren''t absolutely banned. If you just changed the name, then suddenly, they would be allowed.


    These things were Lotteries!


    Lotteries were not a breach of the law, and so there were several lotteries that were available throughout the game.


    However, many people just enjoyed betting on who would own which Strongholds after the Stronghold War.


    In general, the main bets were for three categories.


    For example, the Black Sea Coast Stronghold''s current owner was Ruling Sword.


    At the beginning, everyone would gamble over who would attempt to fight for this Stronghold. However, not many people would bet on this, as many players thought that it was easy to control this outcome.


    Once the attacking and defending parties were confirmed, everyone would start gambling on who would win the fight.


    The value of the bets would be increased here, but sometimes the differing strengths of the guilds made the outcome clear to everyone. If Star Moon Guild was attacking Ruling Sword, then everyone knew that Ruling Sword would win.


    The most popular bets were on the outcome of the fight after the Stronghold War had begun. The odds of these bets would be constantly changing as the battle progressed.


    Take for example, the previous period, when several Clubs such as Blood Red War Flag joined forces to bully Glory Capital.


    After the offensive and defensive parties were determined, the lottery for the outcome of this battle was very popular. The odds at this stage represented the fact that Glory Capital was going to suffer a huge loss. As this situation unfolded, the odds steadily changed, reflecting the fact that Glory Capital was definitely going to lose.


    That was until the emergence of the Infernal!


    At that time, not only were Blood Red War Flag and the other clubs dumbfounded, but so were the


    players who were participating in the gambling. The odds were changing erratically, and it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that they were freefalling at one point.


    The odds had now completely reversed.


    However, there was no way for players to change their previous bets. Many players who thought that Glory Capital was bound to lose, were now losing their money. There was now also a chance to safely earn a little bit of money, if a player had bet a lot.


    But, as a result, there were some that rose to the top!


    In the previous period, there was also some suspense surrounding who Glory Capital would fight. Everyone thought that Glory Capital would fight Ruling sword, but there was an upset as Blood Red War Flag became the target.

 1841 I Really Want to Commit Suicide Now

    The Stronghold War was quite suspenseful this time.


    The question was where was Glory Capital going?


    Although most players thought that Glory Capital already held too many Strongholds and it would already be an amazing feat if they could hold them all, if you knew a little bit about Sorrowless, you would know how arrogant and aggressive he was.


    Naturally, Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard, who had lost Strongholds in the last war, would likely stay quiet so that they didn''t lose anything further.


    They were also likely to join forces to seize a Stronghold from Glory Capital, but it was hard to say which one. Most players thought that Strongholds most likely to be recaptured were the ones lost in Tanaris.


    There was a saying, that people would get up at the places where they fell.


    Lu Li and the others had nothing to worry about. He went to check the betting market. The odds that had been placed for Glory Capital to beat him at the Black Sea Coast were at 1.85. This was quite high, but the odds for the Grey Valley Stronghold were higher than 2 since it was bring run by the Life Alliance.


    This also meant that if Glory Capital bet 100 dollars on them winning in Grey Valley, they would immediately double their money the moment they succeeded.


    Lu Li hesitated and chose not to put bet on himself.


    He wanted to stay away from forms of money-making that came from nothing. Otherwise, he could easily win the lotteries for the third round of the Stronghold War, which was the one involving the actual fight. If he bet 200 million on himself, he would probably make several bookmakers go bankrupt instantly.


    Many players around him were participating and they were talking about earning a fortune from their bets.


    Ruling Sword was a guild that had been created from scratch. Not only did they now have the Life Alliance, but they had also created several multi-millionaires.


    Lu Li found out the results of the Stronghold bidding while farming for EXP. There wasn''t a single Stronghold in the game that wasn''t bid for, so there were attackers for all Ruling Sword''s Strongholds.


    Glory Capital had finally chosen a Stronghold to attack, which put everyone''s speculations to rest.


    Grey Valley''s First Stronghold would be defended by Ruling Sword and attacked by Glory Capital.


    The Black Sea Coast''s First Stronghold would defended by Ruling Sword and attacked by Grand Hegemony.


    Lu Li was speechless. Grand Hegemony''s cooperation with them had just failed, and now they were suddenly willing to change sides. Even with their ability and the fact that Ruling Sword had to defend three Strongholds, Ruling Sword had no intention of making it easy for them.


    Lu Li killed the monster in front of him and sighed helplessly.


    Who was it giving them this courage?


    The last Stronghold was the one run by the Life Alliance and it was Blood Red War Flag that was attacking this one.


    It looked like there were many players that were going to be sent to heaven. Weren''t they bored of dying all the time? They could achieve the same effect by jumping off a building.


    Many players thought that Ruling Sword and Blood Red War Flag would fight together against Glory Capital. After all, an enemy of my enemy is a friend and Blood Red War Flag needed a strong ally to help them fight against Glory Capital.


    Unfortunately, they all thought wrong.


    It was true that they needed an ally, but it wasn''t Ruling Sword. If Lu Li''s guess wasn''t wrong, it definitely wasn''t just Blood Red War Flag who had come to attack him.


    There was also pressure on Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Drizzle Court was defending two


    Strongholds and was facing particularly strong opponents this time. Everyone seemed to be banding together for attacks, so it was hard to work out who was supporting the guild that was attacking you.


    Everyone could only try their best to resist the strong enemy placed before them.


    When it came to fighting, Lu Li did not dare to underestimate them. So once again, they had to focus their energies on defending. When would Ruling Sword become like Glory Capital, where they could attack whoever they wanted whenever they wanted?


    What about keeping their Strongholds?


    Lu Li thought about how the Fel Reaver was currently gathering dust in the Stronghold storeroom and the piles of Strengthening Stones that were around it. A sneer started to creep from the corners of his mouth.


    If he wanted to get rich, he could just bet on himself to lose. He could make so much money that way.


    Of course, if he really bet 200 million (assuming he had that money), there would be no one to pay him out, as the bookmakers would definitely run away afterwards.


    Furthermore, the money he invested would affect the odds, so he wouldn''t ultimately wouldn''t profit as much.


    "Sky Moon, I am giving you control over the Black Sea Coast Stronghold. Don''t lose it." Wandering was going to the Life Alliance. He was already a member of the Life Alliance as Half-Life Crystal had given him the position of an elder. Occasionally, he would pull players out to train them. Lu Li had also given them a Fel Reaver which was reassuring.


    As for Grey Valley''s first Stronghold, Lu Li himself would defend it against Glory Capital.


    Everyone had already agreed in advance that they wouldn''t use the Fel Reaver unless it became an emergency situation.


    The reason why trump cards were usually so effective was because they were unknown to their enemies.


    Lu Li was facing the main force of Glory Capital, but it was difficult to imagine that they could send such a strong line up to attack Ruling Sword while defending six Strongholds.


    Moreover, Ruling Sword was no walk in the park and Lu Li was one of Ruling Sword''s strongest players.


    The Infernal he was looking forward to had not appeared, so Lu Li didn''t have the opportunity to unleash his Fel Reaver. The first Fel Reaver driver, Fat Monkey, was cursing the fact that he didn''t get a chance to play.


    If you looked at the Black Sea Coast battlefield, it was clear that Grand Hegemony was really prepared.


    However, the players that Sky Moon brought were much stronger. Some of these players were from Ruling Sword and others were from the main force of Judgement Spear.


    Despite the fact that Judgement Spear had only been established for two months, there were already quite a few experts that were a part of it.


    In addition to the original ones, two experts had recently joined. Lu Li was also surprised that these players liked Judgement Spear. After all, even if these players had joined Ruling Sword, Lu Li would treat them seriously.


    The real battle was in Grey Valley''s second Stronghold.


    Wandering had brought a group of elite players from the Life Alliance to defend an attack against a coalition between Blood Red War Flag, Wings of Dawn and Azure Guard.


    This kind of battle was a classic.


    The betting community called these battles a ''war of trades'' and Wandering had also received the title of the trade dog. However, this time, the attackers were being sent to heaven en mass. Although they were reluctant to go at first, Wandering decisively kicked them away from his Stronghold.


    Countless players lost a small amount of money. There were also many betting companies that lost money too.


    Of course, there were a few lucky people that became millionaires overnight by just betting several tens of thousands on the right person.

 1842 Showing Your Hand

    There wasn''t much to be said about the first round of betting. No one could really guess who would end up fighting the Life Alliance.


    In the second round, it was revealed that Blood Red War Flag would be fighting the Life Alliance.


    The odds were decisively determined, with Blood Red War Flag tipped to win at 1.08. This meant that someone who bet 1 dollar had the chance to earn 8 cents. It seemed that no one thought there was going to be any issues with this fight.


    After all, even with the support of Ruling Sword, the Life Alliance would not be strong enough to fend off Blood Red War Flag.


    Not to mention, Ruling Sword was also facing an attack from Glory Capital, who had an Infernal.


    The third round then came, which was usually the highlight of the betting. Everyone could see the lineup of the two sides in the livestream. Everyone thought the two sides would be filled with the usual players, but the Life Alliance''s side had the well-known Ruling Sword commander Wandering standing there confidently.


    However, none of the players knew that he had also brought experts from the three-guild alliance.


    Most of them were unfamiliar faces, so the players watching couldn''t really tell who they were. They were coolly scoping out the forces that had come to attack them.


    On Blood Red War Flag''s side, there was Wild, Dark Heavens, Jade Flower Lover, Scandalous, Not an Elementary Sudent, Indifference, Yew and Capcoman, among others. From Wings of Dawn, there was Elevenless, Falling Smile, Faker than Wind and Tracer, and from Azure Guard, Magic Cry, Stellar Union Silver Radiant and Floral Paralysis. This appeared to be a super strong star team.


    A line up like this could only be seen once in a blue moon.


    Therefore, everyone assumed that Blood Red War Flag would win. This increased the odds of Life Alliance winning to a dozen times more.


    These odds intensified as the battled continued.


    In the third round, you would lock in the current odds the moment you placed a bet.


    There were also some individuals that hedged their bets. They bet thousands of dollars for


    Life Alliance to win, on the off chance that they would make a ludicrous profit.


    Of course, there were only a few players like this. After all, those who truly had money wouldn''t bother with things like this.


    After the battle started, Blood Red War Flag were fighting against Life Alliance quite aggressively. While the chariots were roaring around, they started using ladders to scale the walls. They obviously wanted to break through Life Alliance''s defensive lines as quickly as possible.


    "Little Jadey, do you guys have no shame?" Wandering yelled while squatting on top of the walls.


    After seeing the defensive line up, he had already relaxed himself.


    He was most afraid of entering the battlefield and suddenly finding himself facing the 80 strongest players of the three-guild alliance waiting for him on the city walls. In that case, no one would say that Blood Red War Flag would win so confidently. Glory Capital''s fights had already proven how powerful Ruling Sword''s defensive capabilities were.


    Right now, all they had was a ragtag group of players.


    "Hurry up and buy some! After a while, the odds of us winning will keep reducing. Find a few reliable bookkeepers and buy from them separately. Also, make sure they don''t run away," Jade Flower Lover advised. He was different to Lu Li in that he liked to gamble. However, his results thus far had been inconsistent, and he had not made any substantial winnings.


    He was talking to any gamblers who were on Ruling Sword''s side.


    For example, Fat Monkey, Big Dog Li and Her Tears were three of Ruling Sword''s most famous gamblers. They were currently fighting in the Stronghold while placing their bets. In order to better control their luck, they were even participating in the Life Alliance defence.


    "What''s with this commotion? This isn''t even that much money."


    Her Tears was actually a tycoon, but the amount of money he could receive from winning this bet made him feel quite satisfied.


    "These bookmakers are unreliable. What if our money gets taken away?" Big Dog Li asked worriedly.


    This poor guy had participated in some gambling in the last Stronghold War while drinking. He had bet on Glory Capital to win (not because he had some insider info, but because he was drunk) and somehow managed to win. He had bet several tens of thousands and stood to earn six or seven million dollars.


    The worst part about it was that he had already thought of all the ways he could spend the money.


    In the end, the bookmaker returned his initial bet. He claimed that the other bookmaker had engaged in some illegal activities and most of his previous transactions had been cancelled.


    Big Dog Li had been nervous about betting since then, and would always need to reassure himself that it was fortunate enough to at least have gotten his bet back. Otherwise, he would not be on these city walls with these two fools.


    This time, he was actually part of a minority of players who had inside information.


    In order to raise his betting amount, he asked to borrow money from some friends. He signed a five-year contract with Lu Li to borrow 150,000 dollars. He had accumulated a total of 300,000, which was not an easy task for a shut-in gamer.


    He also chose two allies, Fat Monkey and Her Tears.


    Fat Monkey was actually not a stingy person. He was a super-foodie that used all of his money to eat all sorts of exotic things. He could tell you all about the different foods he had eaten from different provinces.


    He had also signed a control with Lu Li, but this was for 15 years.


    In fact, he wanted to sign for something that would last for more than 50 years, but Lu Li wouldn''t let him.


    Her Tears lent them 50,000 dollars each and said that he was their big bro. As they placed their bets, he also said that he would generously feed them if their bet failed.


    They would have meat buns for every meal!


    It wasn''t that he didn''t have more money to lend them, but there was a chance that getting so rich so quickly would cause them to lose themselves.


    With a betting an amount of 300,000 dollars, winning would change these players'' lives overnight.


    Big Dog Li could now live the life of a club member and Fat Monkey could eat things from all over the world. He could even get items shipped directly from the United States.


    "Rest assured, the companies I have recommended are all well-funded and it would look very bad for them to run away with your money," Her Tears said as he patted his chest and shot them


    a reassuring look.


    In fact, he had picked these companies out from his own network. He obviously couldn''t mess up his friends like this, so he had picked rival companies.

 1843 Fallen From the Sky

    "Big brothers, what if we don''t win?"


    Sixty to one odds were high, but Her Tears knew that it would climb even higher until the Fel Reaver debuted.


    However, nothing was for certain, and this was true in gaming and in life. The Life Alliance''s trump card was the Fel Reaver, but if the Fel Reaver wasn''t as powerful as they thought or their opponents had an even more powerful trump card, then these three gamblers would no longer be exemplar players but rather examples of what not to do.


    "Don''t worry. I have never seen anything quite so powerful as what we have."


    Fat Monkey was also the pilot of the Fel Reaver so he was somewhat qualified to make such a comment.


    "It''s like a Boss. Can you imagine one side summoning a Boss to fight for them? If we lose this Stronghold battle¡­ I''ll kill myself."


    "Okay!"


    "Sounds good!"


    Her Tears agreed with Big Dog Li confidently. It wasn''t clear whether they were happy because of the Fel Reaver''s power or because they might have an opportunity to make Fat Monkey eat his words. From the perspective of pure combat strength, there was still a chance that Fat Monkey would have to do what he had said.


    The fighting didn''t go like they had expected.


    With their combined intelligence, they thought the plan was to use the Fel Reaver to destroy the enemies chariots. Without their chariots, they would have to sacrifice the players'' lives to break through the wall. Since the Fel Reaver was there, the most likely outcome of that plan was the retreat of Jade Flower Lover''s friends.


    However, Wandering didn''t do that.


    He was a genius and could easily consider all the outcomes of a plan. According to Azure Sea Breeze, Wandering could read an 800-character article and perfectly recall it. In his student days, he joined various competitions in different subjects to display his intellectual prowess and attractiveness, and had won all kinds of awards.


    Of course, in the end this failed.


    This caused Wandering to become disillusioned with the world who cared more about looks, and he gradually became a more cynical person.


    He worked hard to command the defense and watched as their opponents rushed up with their chariots that were attacking the walls.


    The purpose of rushing towards the walls was not to kill the defenders, but to interfere with the defender''s attacks on the chariots. They wanted to enable more chariots to attack the walls.


    When they rushed forwards like this, these players would inevitably be killed, no matter how weak the Life Alliance players were.


    There was a lot of equipment being dropped. Since all three guilds with Blood Red War Flag were filled with experts, there cries and shouts from the Life Alliance members as they casually picked up the equipment. Those in the Life Alliance who lost equipment found that they were able to easily replace it.


    He had said it quietly and away from Wandering. Fortunately, he had never offended this guy before.


    Wandering''s seemed to be shaken and somewhat annoyed by the strength of his opponent, but continued to put on a calm expression.


    It had to be said that such a calm expression was quite handsome.


    "Come on, we can still be friends after this. Just give up."


    Although a certain price had been paid, the city walls seemed like they were coming down. As such, Jade Flower Lover couldn''t help but speak up. He didn''t think that Wandering was the surrendering type.


    It was better not to surrender anyway, as they would have to return the equipment they had just picked up.


    "You are just so beautiful," Wandering said.


    "Huh?" Jade Flower Lover felt a little embarrassed, being complimented by a handsome man.


    "Not your looks ¨C your mind is beautiful," Wandering continued.


    "Wandering, you old man, let''s see how long you will persevere for. Everyone, attack with everything you''ve got!" Jade Flower Lover bellowed.


    "We''ll see, little one," Wandering laughed coldly.


    "It''s settled then!" Jade Flower Lover was overjoyed. He was afraid that the other side would give up the Stronghold after the walls were destroyed. Although they would occupy the Stronghold, their lost equipment would not be regained.


    This was a simple method of getting his opponent to do what he wanted. Regardless, the game company now released the details of every Stronghold battle, so everything that was said was recorded.


    The city walls did not last for a long time after that and soon collapsed.


    They had been destroyed less than 4 minutes later, so was there really any suspense left about the result of this battle?


    The gambling odds soon rose sharply and became even more exaggerated than 60 to 1.


    Of course, there weren''t many players betting at this moment. You couldn''t make any money by betting on Blood Red War Flag unless you paid millions or tens of millions. Moreover, players that could bet this kind of money wouldn''t do so for such little gain.


    "Uh, surely we bet now?"


    Big Dog Li was shaking. He was a much braver person in the past, but he had lost some of that courage after losing his earnings.


    "What are you worried about? Just wait until Wandering calls in the big boss."


    Her Tears tried to wipe away the sweat in his palms and pretended to be calm while fighting.


    "I don''t think we''ll break 100 to 1 in odds. They are already record-breaking at 90 to 1," Fat Monkey said as he stared at the odds on his screen.


    The fighting had descended into chaos. Sometimes it was going well, and sometimes it wasn''t. This back and forth made the experts in the Life Alliance look upon this fight with contempt.


    Fortunately, they also understood the principle of grinding down their opponents. Even though the situation had gotten worse, they didn''t slack off and continued to be diligent in their fighting.


    They had broken through!


    The Blood Red War Flag players cried out as they charged through.


    From their perspective, they had suffered for the first quarter of this battle. This was the price they had to pay. But now, they had faith that the remaining 3 quarters would be determined by them, including the fates of the Life Alliance players.


    From then on, they would fly their flag in a Grey Valley Stronghold.


    "In this world, there are many people who think that they are smart," Wandering said before slowly turning his head. "Unfortunately, none are as smart as I am. Fat Monkey, I think it is your time to shine. Remember what I said before. You need to give them some hope."


    "Yes, yes, give them hope. Relax, I''m not an idiot."


    Fat Monkey gave instructions for some other players to place his bets for him before rushing into the enemy.


    What was this?


    It wasn''t just the opponents that didn''t understand. Even the players on their side didn''t understand what Fat Monkey was talking about and where the sound was coming from.


    The cavalry had arrived!


    No one would forget the shocking moment when a steel giant fell from the sky and smashed into the crowd before turning around.

 1844 Resisting the People

    When they moved around, a ring of people were sent flying.


    "What a shock. What a nice surprise."


    The mechanical monster spoke in a sophisticated voice. Fat Monkey really hated interesting quirks.


    It really was a shock, but it wasn''t a pleasant surprise at all.


    "Fel¡­Fel Rea¡­rea¡­reaver."


    Jade Flower Lover dumbly looked at the colossus in front of his eyes. There was a sort of cold, bone-slicing shriek, a kind of hopeless cry.


    Fat Monkey''s fist sent a charging idiot flying. This idiot actually still had a bit of HP left; it was just a shame that he had landed in a problematic place.


    He landed in a group of people, but not one of this group of people were his allies.


    The game made it difficult for players to one-shot-kill other players. Even if they could do this, there was a very small chance of it happening. Since a Fel Reaver was a tool that players could be ''equipped'' with, they had this same quality about them too.


    However, the shock that this brought wasn''t only limited to damage.


    Everyone who came to the Outlands stood a respectful distance away from the Fel Reaver, but for those who didn''t get the warning, or those who didn''t believe it, they would never forget their experience of being of being crushed underfoot.


    Why would something from a nightmare appear in a Stronghold battle?


    This wasn''t the most frightening thing though. The most frightening thing was that this Fel Reaver was on a team with Ruling Sword. This left Jade Flower Lover ridiculously dumbfounded.


    People said that both great joy and great grief damaged you. This was exactly what Jade Flower Lover was experiencing right now.


    "What is this?" Most people on their own team didn''t have any idea. They knew nothing about this beforehand.


    Most of them had gotten the help of the Life Alliance, and they had maintained stable cooperative relationships with them. It wasn''t the sort of fickle, transactional relationship. As such, no matter how tough the battle situation was, they didn''t give up lightly.


    All of these men were brothers.


    "Fel Reaver," Wandering said with a smirk, "We prepared a nice surprise for those idiots."


    Fat Mokey began to chase after and kill those Blood Red War Flag players that had already entered the Stronghold walls. He wasn''t fighting by himself. His allies were working with him, and very soon, they finished cleaning up those who had charged in, leaving behind an absolute mess on the ground.


    "Are they still going to come?" Fat Monkey asked.


    Wandering suddenly became angry and scolded him.


    "What did I say to you?! You have to give them hope. If you''ve gone and killed them like this, what damn hope do they have¡­"


    "Um, I just got a bit excited and hot-headed," Fat Monkey said sheepishly.


    "Take your head home then," Wandering laughed coldly.


    Otherwise, it would be recorded in gaming history that Ruling Sword met Blood Red War Flag in battle, and in under half the allocated time, easily defeated them. Blood Red War Flag would never recover from this point onwards.


    Wanting to die but not able to ¨C this was all they could do. Besides, they had proudly and boldly spread the message that they were just sending their kids to go up first.


    The only person who might still have been able to toughen up and go all in was Unforgettable Maple.


    A group of players rushed into the Stronghold yet again with great force. Then, they were faced with another round of death. Actually, anyone intelligent player would know that rushing in with this sort of force was just doing the bare minimum. Evidently, this group of people had already given up on victory.


    "Monkey, do you want to die?" Wandering hissed through clenched teeth.


    "Me again? What did I do?"


    Fat Monkey was about to cry. Everyone in the club knew that the person you didn''t want to offend, well, it definitely wasn''t Lu Li.


    Although Lu Li was petty, resentful and liked to publicly air his grievances, he wasn''t very smart. Wandering wasn''t like that. Not only was Wandering resentful, but he was smart. If he wanted to mess with you, he could send you to the grave and back.


    "Don''t you know that you''re using up Strengthening Stones even just to walk around. When we get back, I''m gonna strip you of your driving qualification!" Wandering threatened.


    "I messed up; I won''t do it again. I''ll definitely use less, and at key moments I''ll give the opponents some hope while I''m at it."


    Most guys dreamt of having a Reaver, and Fat Monkey definitely didn''t want to lose his license to drive it.


    "Hey, their Reaver isn''t working. Is it dead?"


    Someone quickly noticed that that frightening Fel Reaver seemed to have stopped shooting. It just stood there, not moving.


    "Wait, I feel like it looks like we have a chance. The game can''t come up with things that are too ridiculous, otherwise, there would be no way to play," Jade Flower Lover reasoned.


    "I think this Reaver is pretty sturdy; it won''t be ruined unless it''s really taken a beating. Secondly, it definitely needs some sort of motivation ¨C it can''t be attacking for nothing. Also, it probably needs to take a rest ¨C see, it looks like it''s really tired."


    "Yeah, yeah."


    "Our bro Jade Flower Lover''s right."


    "So we can''t just be doing the bare minimum in our fighting. I''m guessing that this Fel Reaver is worth heaps. If it''s destroyed, it''ll make Lu Li run home and cry in Water Fairy''s arms," Jade Flower Lover said happily.


    "If I had a girlfriend to hug, I''d be willing to cry too," Elevenless mumbled.


    "Ahem, Eleven, what''s up with you? Relationships don''t really matter."


    "The game''s not fun enough for you? How come you keep on going on about a girlfriend all day?"


    "All you people, you say these nice things, but how come you all have girlfriends?" Elevenless cried out.


    "Ahem, Eleven, go on up and destroy that stronghold. Don''t forget you''re still risking that two million. If you lose, you''re going to have nothing left."


    After a period of calm, Blood Red War Flag and their allies finally launched a new wave of attacks.


    "Monkey, run!" Wandering shouted.


    "Huh? Why do I have to run? I can fight them!"


    Fat Monkey was a strong-headed person by nature, let alone when he was controlling the Fel Reaver.


    "It''s called acting! Don''t you get it, you idiot?"


    Wandering was so furious he was physically in pain.


    Fat Monkey finally understood and pretended to run away in defeat.


    As soon as Blood Red War Flag''s people saw that the Fel Reaver was provoked, they immediately felt in high spirits. Each one went over as quickly as they could.


    The situation outside had the odds stacked against Blood Red War Flag, but now, they weren''t completely in the favor of the Life Alliance either. After all, the Fel Reaver looked rather volatile ¨C sometimes it was unstoppable, and other times it appeared weak. No one was sure who would claim victory in this war.

 1845 Diverting Losses to Others

    The war ended like a dream.


    Of course, Blood Red War Flag didn''t defeat the Stronghold, and they didn''t defeat Fat Monkey''s Fel Reaver either.


    Fat Monkey was inconsistent in his movements. He didn''t follow a pattern in making his moves at all, giving Blood Red War Flag hope one moment, and stripping it away the next. Evidently, this wasn''t his style. It was more likely that this was the mark of the commander on the field, Wandering.


    Apparently, someone recommended that Wandering be added onto the list of ''Stunners'' in the game. This was code for those who were hot but vicious.


    The three of them, along with Fat Monkey, became massively rich too. Since the rates of the odds were about 19-fold, and each risked 300,000, even though there were some deductions because of platform fees, they would still earn 20 million.


    However, that wasn''t to say that the money was solely theirs. Lu Li found them, and after some deep conversation, they became minor shareholders in Ruling Sword.


    The three still thought it wasn''t fair, but it was already too late.


    With 50 million dollars, they could finally take a breather.


    Despite the Stronghold auction fees, they still benefited from equipment. In order to help Ruling Sword protect Strongholds, the Life Alliance gave a bit of their money too.


    The cost for a single battle was the consumption of hundreds of Strengthening Stones, and they still had to repair equipment afterwards. After working out all the expenses, it was even more than making a new Fel Reaver.


    With three filthy rich guys and their funds, Lu Li immediately felt at ease.


    Now, the whole game was talking about the three Fel Reavers. No one cared anymore about who owned which Stronghold.


    Actually, in this stronghold battle, there were very few changes in ownership.


    One of the few changes was with the Wings of Dawn, who had plotted against Ruling Sword with Blood Red War Flag. They lost their own stronghold.


    The incoming owners were Majin Temple. They seemed to have established a new joint alliance with Gods of Dusk.


    It had to be said that their timing was perfect, and they collated their intelligence well too.


    Since the beginning, Lu Li had never thought that the Wings of Dawn would help Blood Red War Flag against himself. He hadn''t wronged them thus far.


    The clubs in the gaming circle were like countries fighting a war; alliances were often short lived. Seventh Heaven were working together with Blood Red War Flag, but they went in alone this time.


    Seventh Heaven defeated Gale Legion''s Desolace and became a club that owned two Strongholds.


    Actually, the Stronghold battles that Ruling Sword wasn''t part of were still amazing. They just didn''t receive as much of the spotlight as those battles with Fel Reavers and Infernals.


    After all, they had to make a choice between attacking Ruling Sword and defending their own Stronghold.


    They had six strongholds, so it wasn''t easy to defend them all. If they hadn''t taken too many of the top Gale Legion players, then Gale Legion would still have able to defend their own Desolace.


    The whole world was paying attention to the battle of Grey Valley''s second Stronghold, where a Fel Reaver had appeared. However, Lu Li was designing something else in his mind, or rather, he had already begun to plan and even put it into practice. He had begun to arrange this after he knew that Wandering was using a Fel Reaver.


    Firstly, he shifted a lot of people in the three-way alliance to book out venues everywhere, which would mix up their time limits. This was so that no one would see where the Fel Reaver blueprint actually was.


    After this, they would go everywhere to spread news about where the Fel Reaver blueprint was.


    Of course, the news was fake.


    According to the more reliable information on the market, this blueprint of Ruling Sword''s had come from the Ango''rosh Ogres.


    These ogres lived on plundering. They would plunder from anyone, including the Scourge.


    That was how Ruling Sword was able to get the Fel Reaver blueprint which was considered top-secret by the Scourge. What was more, they chased them out on that same night, which made Blood Red War Flag and their allies suffer a massive loss. Each of the alliance clubs lost over a million dollars each.


    They needed to get the Fel Reaver Blueprint!


    Otherwise, in the next Stronghold battle and in Wild Boss fights, Ruling Sword would definitely dominate. Some people were even worried that the Fel Reaver could be used in Instance Dungeons. If that was the case, then no one would bother playing the game anymore.


    Because of this, the powerful Ango''rosh Ogres brought their own terrible destruction on them.


    To the players now, any of the Ango''rosh Ogres was nearly as powerful a Boss. What was even worse was that these Ogres had patrolling teams, so when everyone was fighting, new Ogres would often join.


    The players were as small and weak as ants, but even a lot of ants could still kill an elephant. Apart from fighting for the Fel Reaver blueprint for themselves, each of the major clubs also issued a massive reward for finding one. As long as they could find a Fel Reaver blueprint ¨C no, as long as they could uncover a genuine trail for where it was, they could strike it rich overnight.


    "What have the Ango''rosh ever done to you?" Wandering didn''t understand.


    He bragged about himself as an intellectual, but he could never understand Lu Li''s plots.


    "According to the quest, the NPC hopes that I''ll expel the Ogres, so why don''t I just kill two birds with one stone?" Lu Li said somewhat proudly.


    "Have you already planned this for a long time?" Wandering asked.


    "What long time? I just had a good idea for how to divert losses to others. I just hope that these Ogres will drop some worthwhile things," Lu Li answered as he rubbed his eyes with pity and sadness. "Seeing so many people go to their deaths, it''s hard for me to take."


    "Haha, don''t worry ¨C what the monsters drop is related to how hard they are. These Ogres can easily drop Gold and even Dark Gold items, and there''s also set equipment for various professions. It''s a shame that people play PVP, otherwise, we would already have gotten a foothold," Wandering sighed.


    He still thought he wasn''t as evil as Lu Li as he looked at the stuff that Lu Li was doing.


    If there was one word to described it, it would be wicked.


    "In the next Stronghold battle, we''re going to get a new place," Lu Li said.


    "If we get one, how are we going to defend it?"


    Wandering didn''t really understand. Although the Fel Reavers were powerful, there were so few of them. There weren''t even enough for each Stronghold to have one.


    "No, after we get it, we''ll sell it," Lu Li explained. "Glory Capital has six strongholds. It''s beocmign hard for me to bear."


    "This is really a way to make money. I don''t think anyone will trouble us next week, unless other clubs also have Fel Reavers."


    Wandering wasn''t obsessed with money, but he also knew what Ruling Sword was lacking the most at the moment.


    They didn''t even have enough to pay their everyday expenses, especially when Judgement Spear was also crying out to be fed.


    Considering that the two clubs had over 100 000 people, when it was all averaged out, the millions of dollars really wasn''t much money. Even when they were just paying the wages of the Elite teams, Lu Li could barely afford to give much to them.


    "Even if they have Fel Reavers, they won''t choose us," Lu Li said calmly. "If I had a Fel Reaver, I definitely wouldn''t fight a club that had Fel Reavers. I would fight one that didn''t have any so it would be easier to win."


    "I heard you were planning to go to a new map again?"


    "Yeah, we''re going to stay ahead of the others as much as possible, and what''s more, I have something I have to do," Lu Li said as he rubbed the Frigid Ring on his fingers.

 1846 Enchanting Scroll

    Supreme Four Ring (Epic): Agility +50, Strength +30, Constitution +30, Critical Hit +30%, Life-steal +30%, Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle''s Protection, instant, summons a natural shield which allows the spell-caster to absorb the full damage of one skill. Cooldown time of 6 hours. Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle''s Blessing, Stealth effect +30%. Special Effect 3: The Special Power that the King of the Jungle Gave to Cenarius. You can learn the three Transformation skills of the Druids, as well as up to four skills of the branches of Transformation. Level Requirement: None. Durability: None.


    This piece of equipment was already outdated. Although it wasn''t limited by level, in the current patch, where attributes were a top priority, a total of 110 points was just too little. It couldn''t be dropped or be worn out either, so Lu Li had spent a fortune to strengthen it to level 9.


    Now, Lu Li had already gone to the Outland. It was time to try and level up.


    Legendary equipment wasn''t a long way off now.


    At the moment, if he wanted people, he had them, and if he wanted money¡­he had money. There wasn''t much that could stop him.


    A massive force of 3000 Ogres ¨C this such a difficult quest. If you weren''t level 70, you probably wouldn''t try for it, but it was still actually finished by him.


    "You finished this quest?"


    The NPC who issued the quest, the Lost One Ikuti, simply couldn''t believe his ears, but he quickly accepted this reality.


    Whether they had left Zangarmarsh, he didn''t know, but at least they were far away from the Boha''mu Ruins, where they were now.


    "We had confirmed a reward before concerning the secret of transforming into a crow," Lu Li said. Things had gone much more smoothly than he had expected. He originally thought it would take much longer before he could see Ikuti.


    "Of course. Thank you so much for all you have done," Ikuti responded, taking out a scroll which he had prepared a while ago.


    "It''s just that simple?"


    Lu Li found it a little hard to accept this.


    Wasn''t there supposed to be some God item? The NPC didn''t even take it out for him to see.


    "Yes, this is the Enchanting scroll that I made. You can choose a piece of equipment to go through the Enchantment."


    Of course, Ikuti couldn''t give Lu Li a God or Demi-God level item, despite the difficulty of eliminating 3000 ogres definitely being enough for it.


    Lu Li examined this scroll for a moment. It turned out it was a Transformation scroll.


    When it was used with a piece of equipment, the equipment would be imbued with a special effect that would strengthen the player''s Transformation skill. For Druids, their power would increase after Transformation, while for Shamans, it would improve their survivability.


    In terms of value for money, it was more worthwhile for Druids to use it.


    As for needing to choose a piece of equipment to be Enchanted, other players would have a headache about this. After all, any piece of equipment would have to be swapped out eventually, so after it was outdated, this Enchantment would be useless. What was more, it would be penalized because of the equipment level.


    Lu Li decided to use the scroll to Enchant his ring.


    After levelling up his ring, the Strengthening Stones and Synthetic Gems from before would be removed, but this wasn''t the case with an Enchantment, unless a new Enchantment scroll replaced an old one.


    Afterwards, Lu Li went to hand in his Colifang Reservoir quest, successfully levelling up to level 65. There were plenty of other quests in Zangarmarsh, but Lu Li wasn''t interested in them.


    Once the map of Zangarmarsh was clear, players had two places they could go ¨C Terokkar Forest or Nagrand.


    Terokkar Forest was located to the southwest of Hellfire Peninsula, between Nagrand and Moon Shadow Valley. Under the assistance of the Naaru, a group of Draenei rebuilt Shattrath City. When this city was first rebuilt, they adopted an open, welcoming stance ¨C their main gate was always open to the exiles of all races in the Outland.


    However, Terokkar Forest was definitely not a place of peace. Because of the world-famous Bone Wastes and Auchindoun citadel, there would always be fearless adventurers and tomb raiders that would go on a rampage in the ruins of Auchindoun.


    Shattrath City was once the capital of the Draenei.


    In the beginning, when the Horde first rose to power, it was destroyed by Saar''s father Durotan. After being abandoned for several years, it was discovered by the allied Expedition, led by Khadgar. Here, Khadgar encountered the Naaru, and with the help of a group of Draenei priests called the Aldor, he rebuilt Shattrath City.


    After several years, a group called the Geomancers, who were traitor Blood Elves, also joined them.


    At the same time, this place also slowly became a refuge for all those who races who had been slaughtered by Burning Legion and Illidan. This led to Shattrath City''s strange complexity of having many races living together.


    Lu Li passed by Terokkar Forest without stopping at all, as he headed towards Nagrand.


    Before the Draenor world had been ruined, Nagrand was the home of Orcs, as well as the earliest origin point for Orc Shamans. The Orc ancestors lived a nomadic lifestyle here, with many famous Orcs growing up in this grassland, such as Grom Hellscream, Durotan, Orgrim, Drek''Thar, Gul''dan, Ner''zhul and so on¡­


    Nagrand was the only place in the Outland that hadn''t encountered serious destruction or pollution.


    In the Orc language, Nagrand meant the ''land of wind''. When you rode at a high attitude, you would naturally and elegantly be sweeping past this lush, green grassland, relaxingly admiring the beautiful scenery.


    The main Horde presence here was Galador, which was named after Durotan''s father, or Saar''s grandfather, the old Frostwolf warchief Galad.


    The Mag''har who were assembled here were those who the players encountered in Hellfire plains ¨C the brown-skinned Orcs who had not been polluted at all. They included the epic orc hero Kilrogg Deadeye, the descendant of the High Overlord Saurfang, and their military leader just happened to be the son of the celebrated Grom Hellscream, Garrosh Hellscream.


    That year, Galador''s wonderful leader had assembled these orphaned Orcs to escape Greatmother Geyah, who had been corroded by Burning Legion.


    Now, Greatmother Geyah was ill to the point of death. There was a deep fear that with the loss of the leadership of an elder, they would be falling behind, degenerating from their fathers'' days. While the players were helping the Mag''har Orcs get rid of their troubles all around them, they slowly realized that Greatmother Geyah was Galad''s widow, and was now acting as the grandmother of the Horde warchief Saar.


    In the process of reuniting with her grandchild, the mystery surrounding Oshu''gun, the holy mountain of the Orcs, was gradually unraveled.


    The Alliance base was in Telaar though, with Kurenai camp as the main city. In the Draenei language, Kurenai meant ''Redeemed''. Broken ones who had come from all sorts of enslavement and control, escaped to Nagrand and built up their own homes, trying to find their own, true destiny there.


    After Lu Li arrived in Kurenai, he began to listen out to what NPCs were saying about the Throne of the Elements.


    In the end, he managed to receive two quests concerning the Throne of the Elements, but the content of the quests was completely foreign to him. It could only be said that this place was relatively mysterious. He had never encountered it at all in his previous life.


    He set out, bound for the Throne of the Elements. Flying in the sky and looking at a distance, he could see the great mess that everything was in underneath.


    Giant totems stood up tall, while the elements raged all around, especially in the sky. The giant bolts of lightning really ended up striking Lu Li down.


    Compared to when he had come before, the lightning now was just too dense.


    After Lu Li landed on the ground, he transformed into a bear, the most defensive of the Druid states. He rushed into the lightning, but after doing so, he was immediately killed.

 1847 Cold Reputation

    What was this?! Falling to the ground and dying straight away!?


    After Lu Li said goodbye to the angel, he rolled and crawled right over to where his corpse was. He had respawned just near his corpse. If he had respawned back in the city, there simply wouldn''t have been enough time for him to run back to pick up the things he dropped.


    The item he dropped was actually a Felstriker. Even though there was a level penalty, it was still a fearsome weapon.


    Fortunately, he had lost it very soon after starting, so it was relatively close to the edge. After dodging two lightning bolts, Lu Li finally snatched back his own equipment.


    Afterwards, he quietly observed these berserk elements as they wreaked havoc.


    He didn''t discover any pattern as to how the elements moved, which also meant that there was no way to use logic to avoid danger.


    Apart from thunder and lightning, there were also fire, water, earth, shadow and so one. Any element looked like it had the power to one-shot him. By now, Lu Li didn''t even dare to try. He was now in the stage of levelling up from level 60 to 70. If he died, he would lose precious Experience.


    Returning to the Alliance in Nagrand City, Lu Li began to do all he could to find clues for the quest.


    He suspected that these Kurenai had a way to enter into the Throne of the Elements. It was only because his Charisma or Reputation was lacking that there was no way of knowing this method.


    It was different with other Broken ones. The Kurenai did their best to resist their own degenerate desires. Although their intentions were noble, the Kurenai were extremely vigilant when it came to outsiders who were looking in on them and their evil compatriots and others like them.


    After searching for half a day, he finally found someone who was willing to pay attention to him. Grasping at straws, Lu Li held onto him for dear life as he sought his advice.


    "They''re so cold to everyone. Have you been to the Orebor Harborage?" this Broken one called Alfred asked.


    "Yes, I did a few quests there too," Lu Li answered as his eyes twinkled. In a moment, he understood what the main point of the question was. Evidently, it was his Reputation that wasn''t attractive enough. According to common sense, he should go to Orebor Harborage and farm his Reputation until he was Respected.


    Then, when he came here later, these Broken ones wouldn''t be so cold to him.


    "Looks like it''s still not enough. I have a quest to give you here, but there''s no quest reward. Are you willing to accept it?"


    It turned out that Alfred wasn''t really all that polite either. He was just trying to take advantage of Lu Li.


    "I''m willing!"


    "Good, child, there are many Kurenai guards in Orebor Harborage who live in Zangarmarsh. The Broken ones there have always wanted to help the Broken ones in Telaar to establish relations with the Draenei of Telredor. In order to have the messengers between Telaar and Telredor travel between them quickly, they need to ensure the safety of the Zangarmarsh road, but there are many powerful lifeforms in the marsh. I need you to help me clear up all the monsters on that road."


    "All of them?"


    Lu Li couldn''t believe his ears.


    "Yes, as long as they threaten this road. Actually, there''s not a lot of them. I believe in your strength," Alfred said with a tone of full belief.


    "Uncle, have you received some information from elsewhere?"


    Lu Li thought he had encountered this sort of quest somewhere before.


    "Do you know, in Zangarmarsh, the Ango''rosh clan of Ogres are heading east. They''re already far away from Orebor Harborage, and apparently, this quest was completed by you," Alfred said with great interest and enthusiasm. "Actually, the Boulderfist and Warmaul clan Ogres are also always threatening the safety of Telaar. These two Ogre clans have already sent people to this place to look for food to satisfy their endless desires¡­"


    "Stop!" Lu Li interrupted him, then said resolutely, "I accept your quest. The Ogres are done."


    "If you can finish off the Boulderfist and Warmaul Ogres, you will gain respect from all the Kurenai," Alfred promised reluctantly.


    "Ahem, do you want me to finish off the Murkblood clan?" Lu Li was speechless.


    The troubles of the Kurenai in Nagrand came from another group of Broken ones ¨C the Murkblood clan.


    These barbaric Broken ones plundered the Mag''har in their stronghold in Sunspring Post and killed many Orcs. They completely wrecked any chance for the Kurenai and Mag''har to live together in peace. What was worse was that the Murkblood clan seemed to be planning to use their new-found power against the Telaar.


    However, this old Kurenai making his promise wasn''t him just uttering nonsense either.


    Since the Kurenai always tried to make peace and get along with the Draenei, they strongly supported the decision of the Draenei to enter into the Alliance, and also allowed Alliance members to safely enter and exit Telaar. Those people who had gone to Telaar realised that although the Kurenai were wary of strangers, they were good friends to those allies who had passed the test.


    Alfred gave a dry, short laugh, then offered, "If you can finish off the Murkblood clan, I''ll give you two sheep."


    All of a sudden, Lu Li''s attention had been captured. However, after he considered the power of the Ogres and Murkblood clans, he still shook his head reluctantly.


    The two sheep weren''t ordinary sheep, but rather Talbuks.


    Talbuks were a type of animal native to the Nagrand area that were like deer. They were also the favourite mount of the Draenei. This sort of mount was very beautiful, but it was an arduous process to get them.


    However, no matter how hard it was to get one of these, it wasn''t as hard as killing the whole Murkblood clan or Boulderfist and Warmaul clan Ogres.


    The Boulderfist and Warmaul clan Ogres dropped a type of badge. If players just spent a few days to farm a few more of these sorts of badges, they could buy Talbuks from the NPCs. This old guy Alfred didn''t even bat an eyelid when he was tricking people.


    "Can I find friends to help?" Lu Li asked.


    There weren''t too many monsters on the road between Telaar and Talredor, but it was a long distance. It would be a nearly impossible task for Lu Li to clean it all up by himself.


    "Of course, we welcome more friends to come to Telaar," Alfred said without hesitation. With more people coming, the Talbuk business would expand, and this way, they could lure adventurers into killing Ogres.


    Lu Li didn''t call on his own forces out in the open. After all, everyone''s eyes were already locked on them now.


    Everyone quickly killed a wave of the Ogres, but they didn''t see a single Fel Reaver blueprint drop. As such, they began to suspect whether the Ogres actually dropped blueprints. In a situation where there were no new leads, Drizzle Court and Peerless City, who were watching Ruling Sword, would be right.


    The friends that Lu Li called were Buggy and co., from the Common District.


    After such a long period of development, the number of their Shadow mercenaries had considerably expanded. With 8000 of them, they had one of the highest numbers of mercenaries in the mercenary world.


    Of these 8000 people, most of them were Thieves, who were punks from the Common Districts of various cities.

 1848 The Throne of the Elements

    It was very eye-catching to have over 1000 Thieves clean up the area, but because there was a certain distance from Telaar to Telredor, when they were all spread out, it wasn''t as obvious. Moreover, even if it didn''t really matter how conspicuous it was, at least a few people knew about what sort of relationship Buggy and his group had with Lu Li.


    "Right, the quest''s finished."


    In just a short 15 minutes or so, Lu Li again stood before the old Broken one.


    Alfred only opened his mouth after a moment of silence.


    "Hero, you have astonished me with your power."


    "Please believe me, respected elder, I have paid a huge price for this."


    Lu Li didn''t want him to think that this quest was too easy for him. Either he would think it a good idea to reduce the quest reward, or there would be an even harder quest waiting for him.


    Seeing how stingy Alfred was, Lu Li really didn''t want to work too hard for him.


    "Fine," Alfred said, resentfully taking back his thoughts of breaking his promise. He then continued, "When the universe was born from the collision of light and darkness, there existed a world before the Burning Legion Expedition. It took shape in a chaotic, dark corner. There were no dormant spirits of the world (Titans), but this place was filled with ''water, fire, wind, earth'' and the fifth element ¨C''the spirit of life''. Later, the Ogres would call this place ''D''Gor'', which means ''the known land'', while it was called ''Raksha'' by the intelligent Arakkoa Bird Men, meaning ''the rock of the sun''. However, we call this world Draenor."


    "Water, fire, wind, earth?" Lu Li asked, then followed with, "What about lightning?"


    He had been one-shot-killed by lightning, so he was constantly brooding on that occurrence. This lightning didn''t just come out from nowhere, but it was an attack that came from the monsters that defended lightning.


    "Air, which is wind," Alfred began, looking at Lu Li scornfully, then continued to explain, "Draenor''s 5th element, ''the spirit of life'', cannot only mediate the natural power of the other four elements, but it can also speed up the growth of plants. Because of this, Draenor has become a place that is filled with vitality, while being the cradle of wildlife. Different lifeforms are fighting on this land, which demands the survival of the fittest. The most powerful strength here is not in pointy teeth or sharp claws, but a type of carnivorous plant ¨C the Spore Colony. Wherever the Spore Colony goes, there, lush forests and marshy ponds will grow. Their roots will draw the spirit of life from rocks and soil. This fifth element gives brand-new intelligence. The Spore Colony is called the Everbloom by other plants. In all the greenery, there''s no other strength that can rival with them."


    Later¡­


    When the Titan Aggramar, who was pursuing demons in the universe, arrived in Draenor, even though there were no spirits of the world here, the greedy plants of the world made him extremely curious. However, after he observed the Everbloom carefully, he foresaw Draenor''s future misfortune.


    "Suppose that restraints are not increased. Then, the Everbloom will swallow all, and in finality, Draenor will became a wasteland with no end."


    Aggramar wanted to personally destroy the Spore Colony, but he was also afraid of damaging the planet (when Aman''Thul was removing Y''Shaarj, he left behind some serious damage on Azeroth.) Because of this, Aggramar used ''fire, wind, water, earth'', the four elements, to form an elemental storm, changing the tallest peak on Draenor to be his own guardian ''D''Gor''. This walking peak carved out rivers, seas and valleys, and separated out the Everbloom.


    When D''Gor headed towards the closest Spore Colony to do its thing, the roots tangled him up, preventing him from going forward. It was like when Aman''Thul pulled up Y''Shaarj from the Earth''s surface. D''Gor effortlessly pulled up that Spore Colony. When the other Spore Colonies clearly recognised that they had no way to win against D''Gor, they began to absorb all the life essence around them in a frenzy, thus being able to move around on their own.


    These three ''essence-d'' Spore Colonies differed greatly from each other. Zangar was widespread throughout the marsh and fungi, Porta''An was full of primal forests, while Nayanu was dressed in dense jungle.


    The three Spore Colonies joined together to resist D''Gor. Draenor dragged out its feeble existence under the intense fighting of these giants.


    In the air above Draenor, Aggramar looked over at his creations being completely dominated by the Spore Colonies, but D''Gor''s rock-solid will wouldn''t give up so easily. With his fist that was heavy as a mountain, he would smash the plant giants to pieces.


    The weakest plant giant, Zangar, was broken into two halves by D''Gor. His decomposing body became the fungi sea area known as ''Zangar Sea''.


    Nayanu was smashed by D''Gor''s giant fist, and his body, which turned back into soil, became the Tanaan Jungle.


    D''Gor, who had defeated two plant giants, had suffered limitless trauma. After Porta''An had absorbed the extra life essence from Nayanu and Zangar, he turned into a colossus that blocked out light from the sun.


    His thorny roots dug into D''Gor''s open wounds, from which burst forth tangling vines. The elemental giant fell to the ground, shattering into shards and forming a mountain range at the border of Nagrand.


    During the battle between D''Gor and the Spore Colony, after these giant body shards entered the earth, they became new species.


    The three Spore Colonies bred many unique lifeforms, the most famous of which was the ''Genesaur''. This four-legged lifeform was gigantic, while being frighteningly speedy and agile.


    The rock pieces which had tumbled off from D''Gor and contained life essence turned into self-aware ''giant spirits''. The elemental power of D''Gor''s corpse birthed out countless elemental substances, including the strongest Furies of Draenor ¨C the Fury of Fire Incineratus, Fury of Water Aborius, Fury of Air Kalandrios and Fury of Earth Gordawg.


    The Furies of the four major elements pledged to always remain at D''Gor''s side. After this, they were call the Throne of the Elements.


    "This is the history of the Throne of the Elements, the remains of D''Gor," Alfred sighed. "Do you know the origin of the power of Shamans?"


    "Of course ¨C the elements," Lu Li answered.


    "That''s right," Alfred said, "Fire, wind, earth, water ¨C the four major elements which everything in the universe is basically composed of. In the culture of Shamans, many of them look to peacefully coexist with the elements. Either that, or they force them to submit to them, adding to their will the strength to do what they want them to do ¨C that is, to be spirits, or decrepit and senile. In hoping to establish a peaceful and equal relationship with the elements, they depend on the strength of the spirits to do things. This life-nurturing strength was able to establish mutual relationships with the things of this world, uniting all as one. However, the strength of those decrepit ones was used by those Shamans who wanted to force the elements into servitude, using them to fuel their own equipment."


    "It can''t just be Shamans that can enter in there right?" Lu Li asked, speechless.


    After speaking for half a day, all Lu Li got in the end was a nearly nonsensical conclusion.


    "The logic is this," Alfred explained, "Those who have the approachability of the elements are able to enter the Throne of the Elements. In the beginning, Gul''dan was born in a remote village of the Shadowmoon Clan, and because of his disability, he was abandoned by all his clan. Under the guidance of the Shaman in the village, he came to the Throne of the Elements in Nagrand and prayed that the elements would guide him on his way. In the end, even the elements gave up on him, because his heart was full of darkness."


    "However, it was because of the strength of their rejection that he received the gift from Burning Legion. Relying on the evil power that Burning Legion bestowed on him, Gul''dan became the first Warlock in history. He went back to the village that abandoned him, killed all his former clan, and ''paid back'' that Shaman who guided him with ''thankfulness'', destroying all of Draenor while he was at it."


    The dodgy Lu Li definitely didn''t want his heart to be considered to be full of darkness. At that time, he almost wanted to use say some taunting words in return to this old dispirited guy.


    "So, you''re planning to ask Burning Legion for help?"


    Alfred gripped his staff in his hands tightly.


    "It won''t get that far. Seriously, don''t misunderstand me. I''m planning to ask my teacher for help. Many years ago, she was an original inhabitant of this land too," Lu Li laughed dryly before retreating, not planning to get tangled up with this old guy any further.


    His Charisma was too low ¨C there was nothing he could do!

 1849 Bluffing People with Mentors

    The Kurenai were already more hostile to outsiders. When players first arrived there, their reputation that they were always cold and indifferent.


    Not to mention, Lu Li''s Charisma was incredibly low. It was too hard to truly let Alfred help him. Once he knew how the Throne of the Elements came to be, he thought of his own mentor, Garona.


    It was about time to reach out and connect with his mentor again.


    "Your mentor? Who is he?" Alfred asked in curiosity.


    "Garona. Do you know her?"


    Lu Li hesitated a moment but felt he had nothing to hide. His mentor was not someone to hide. Even though Garona was a Thief, he didn''t have any plans to become famous.


    "THE Garona?..." Alfred cried out, then stopped his mouth in time.


    Lu Li could imagine what he was going to say. It wasn''t going to be anything positive. It was only because that Garona was a name that was feared by people in Draenor that he dared not continue.


    "My mentor will return to this land in a few days," Lu Li said, then smiled sinisterly and continued, "She probably has some old debts to settle. We just don''t know who would be unlucky enough to run into her."


    "Yes, this is her hometown. She is free to come and go," Alfred responded with his eyes drooped.


    "Since there isn''t the clue I need here, shouldn''t you give me my rightful reward? I''ve helped you guys clear a path."


    After seeing this, Lu Li immediately became more arrogant. He was worried that his mentor''s name would not hold any weight here.


    In fact, Garona''s name was far more powerful in Draenor than in Azeroth.


    Garona had spent her entire life as a spy and assassin directly affiliated to Gul''dan. She had performed countless important quests, including the assassinating King Ryan of Stormwind City during the first world war. She directly caused the collapse of the Shadow Council. It was precisely because she was captured and tortured by Orgrim Doomhammer that she gave up the location of the headquarters of the Shadow Council.


    Legend said that when Garona was performing assassination quests, she did not use a fast dagger, instead opting for an oddly-shaped knife. It was as if a mirage flashed the light of several blades in an instant; her prey fell immediately silent with wounds all over their body.


    When she was weak and small, Orcs treated her as a feeble alien species, so they all looked down on her.


    When she was unmatched, all of Draenor shuddered in fear under her blade. Alfred had experienced that time and knew the despair of all those Draenor people and Orcs who were killed by Garona.


    "Actually, it''s not that there aren''t clues. At least I know that the Orc Shaman Gar''rock can communicate with the elements. Perhaps he can tell you what to do. The condition, however, is that you get him to throw aside his camp''s prejudice," Alfred admitted with fear.


    His expression was unforgiving. In fact, he had already noted down the name Gar''rok.


    There were still some ways to work through tribal NPCs. Plus, he didn''t necessarily need to get some quest from the Gar''rok. He just needed a way to enter into the Throne of the Elements.


    The Deception Orb could give Lu Li a simple disguise.


    "This is indeed the clue for the Throne of Elements," Alfred said, feeling a little awkward.


    "Under normal circumstances if someone helped you guys clear a path, what would they receive as a reward?" Lu Li asked, then shamelessly threatened, "Since my friends have the ability to clear this path in such a short amount of time, it means that they also have the ability to make it very dangerous."


    "You¡­"


    Alfred immediately turned furious.


    If he wasn''t worried about Garona''s reputation, he would have lifted up his magic staff then and there.


    "I helped you get the job done and you give me a reward ¨C it''s perfectly justified. I honestly don''t understand why you''re so angry. Dear elder, you should know that there are no free meals in this world. I always believed that the Draenei was the most virtuous race," Lu Li said unceremoniously.


    If it was any other player, they could be gotten rid of easily.


    As someone reborn, Lu Li knew the tricks of these NPCs. Unfortunately, these NPC didn''t know his tricks.


    We have someone backing us!


    A piece of level 65 Epic equipment was given into Lu Li''s hands. Unfortunately, it was for Shamans, so Lu Li had no use for it. The attributes were amazing and there were three special effects, one of which also improved Experience gain. Such an item was perfect for Sakura Memories.


    Sakura Memories was currently number one on the ladder ¨C she definitely lived up to her title of a levelling maniac.


    Then, there was Experience and Reputation.


    The quantity wasn''t abundant, but Lu Li was already satisfied. It was better to have something than nothing at all. Not to mention, he had already gotten the clue he wanted.


    Alfred seemed relieved to watch Lu Li leave. He muttered Garona''s name as if it was like a curse that gave people a headache. Many people who were stronger than her could die in her hands.


    Lu Li''s Hearthstone was already bound to Shattrath City.


    Shattrath City was the new main city that was open to the public. It used to be the capital of the Draenei from Draenor. It name meant "the place of light". After the Burning Legion provoked the Orcs to wage a war against the Draenei, this place had exploded with intense battles.


    Even though the Draenei defended the capital, Shattrath City had still fallen into the hands of the enemy. The whole city was reduced to ruins, until the Sha''tar came here.


    Sha''tar meant "born in the light". They were a group of Naaru who came to the Outlands to kill the Burning Legion. The Naaru lived in the ruins of Shattrath City, and a small group of surviving Darenei priests insisted on undertaking their holy rites in the ruins of the temples in the city.


    Along with the message of the Sha''tar''s arrival spreading, these so called Aldor priests quickly gained new life.


    The rebuilding project of Shattrath City immediately began. If it wasn''t for another group of invaders coming in, the rebuilding work could have been finished.


    The attack this time was from Illidan Stormrage. Illidan''s ally, Kael''thas, sent a large team of Blood Elves to besiege this city every day.


    When the Blood Elf army was crossing the big bridge, Aldor''s bishops and believers also marched out to defend the Holy Light Dome. But then, something unexpected followed after that ¨C the Blood Elves dropped their weapons in front of the guards.


    The leader of the army was one called Voren''thal. This Blood Elf elder rushed into the Holy Light Dome to greet him. Once he saw the Naaru, Voren''thal kneeled down and said, "I had once seen your illusion, Naaru. Only you can save my people. My followers and I are willingly at your service."


    The defection of Voren''thal and his followers was the most serious one to have ever occurred in Kael''thas'' forces.


    At the same time, this also caused a massive shock to other Blood Elves. Many of Kael''thas'' best wise men and mages began to waver. The Naaru accepted the devotees who were renamed Scryers. They lived on the south side of Shattrath City in the Scryers'' Tower. Only those who were accepted by the Scryers could enter into it.


    The Scryers were one of the six major Reputations of the Shattrath City, and were enemies with the Aldor.


    Aldor was a follower of the Holy Light. Forgiveness and salvation were their doctrines, but they could not forget what the Scryers had done under Kael''thas. Indeed, those Mages who now served the Naaru had killed many of Aldor''s members.


    Aldor''s temple and other buildings were situated on the west side of Shattrath City''s A''dal Highlands, where the whole city could be seen.


    As Aldor''s sacred grounds, only those who were accepted were allowed to enter the Temple.


    Players needed to make a choice between these two camps. This was limited within Shattrath City. The players in other locations still used tribal alliances to distinguish between enemies and friends.


    Even though it had been impacted by the Scryers'' betrayal, the attack of Shattrath City did not stop.


    However, Strattath City did not fall.


    In fact, it was quite the opposite. Under the leadership of the Naaru, Synrae, Aldor and the Scryers mounted a successful raid on the ''front yard'' of Illidan ¨C Moon Shadow Valley. However, these two hostile camps were not able to give up their differences. Both sides competed fiercely for the glory of assisting Syndrae.


    Aldor decided everyday who was to be sent forward, while the chosen warriors needed to go to Moon Shadow Valley and gather in front of the Holy Light Dome to accept Aldor''s blessings. Adventurers who want to help Shattrath needed to align with Aldor or the Scryers. Of course, the side that the players sought help from would result in dissatisfaction from the other.


    It was here that the newly built gateway would be and correspond to the main cities of the mainland.


    It would probably be finished by the time the next System update was done. At the moment, Lu Li could only find a Mage to help open the door for him. The goal was Azeroth''s old mainland, where he would soon meet his mentor.


    When Lu Li returned, Garona was in the middle of a battle.

 1850 Gar’rok’s Friendship

    This normally gentle-looking lady fought like a madman with two weapons dancing around her like snowflakes.


    That''s right ¨C Garona''s weapon wasn''t a dagger, but rather two sword-like weapons that were longer than daggers. No one knew how strong she truly was, but these large blades flew like feathers.


    She was a true Thief ¨C fast as the wind, charming as a ghost. There was still an almost insurmountable gap between the players and the top NPCs.


    Her opponent was short, definitely much shorter than a normal person.


    Gnome!


    Plus, it was a Gnome Thief!


    Lu Li wasn''t in a hurry to help her. Being able to fight with Garona without seeming at a disadvantage showed that this Gnome was also an NPC.


    This Gnome''s skill was also quite impressive, and his fighting style was even more unorthodox. His weapon was a different dagger. Lu Li felt uncomfortable as to why neither of these two expert Thieves used daggers.


    Unless, Thieves weren''t meant to be skilled in using daggers?


    Lu Li fell into a deep conundrum. The most important part was still that key Thief NPC figures came and went too mysteriously, especially those like Garona. He hadn''t even met any in his last life, so naturally, he didn''t know what weapons they used.


    As for the female host who brought him into Ravenholdt Manor, it was hard to put her and the word ''strong'' together in one sentence.


    "Let''s stop here for today. We can determine a winner when we have time; your mentee is here," the Gnome Thief said, then suddenly transformed into a dozen doppelgangers. They were smashed to pieces by Garona, but she still couldn''t find his real body.


    Garona stopped and the weapon disappeared in her hands.


    "Oh, it''s my busybody mentee. It''s so good of you to remember to visit when you''re so busy."


    It sounded like resentment, so Lu Li carefully replied, "Dear mentor, please forgive me. I''ve been busy this period travelling through the Dark Portal to the Outlands, and hadn''t found a convenient way to come back to Azeroth mainland."


    "Outlands¡­" The two NPCs both fell silent.


    "What are the Outlands like now?" Garona faintly asked.


    "Broken to pieces, but still full of vitality. Everything is recovering back to life," Lu Li answered, as he knew what the Outlands meant for Garona.


    It was Garona''s hometown. No matter how much pain she went through at Draenor, it was still the place she was born.


    "This is such a great news," Garona said. "Then, my dear mentee, why have you come this time?"


    Why did she make it sound like he didn''t come unless there was something to do?


    Lu Li awkwardly replied, "I need to enhance my Ring. According to Sir Remulos, the Throne of Elements should be able to satisfy my requirement. Yet, there were many crises hidden there and no ways to enter."


    "You mean the Orc Shaman Gar''rok?"


    Lu Li only just realised that Alfred hadn''t actually lied to him. The clue he gave him was completely right.


    "That''s right ¨C the Orc Shaman Gar''rok. He is a friend of Elements who is in charge of the communication between Fury and humans, and guarded the Throne of Elements by himself. Decades passed like days. In my memory, it was always so and now it should still be the same as long as he is still alive."


    "I actually already knew of this clue," Lu Li said awkwardly, "But he is an Orc and I am an Elf ¨C a Night Elf."


    "Ha, such a silly idea," the Gnome Thief next to her sneered.


    "Near the Throne of Element there is a grave. Go and offer a bunch of flowers. Then, you will receive a status effect that will allow you to communicate with Gar''rok. That grave is his wife''s grave," Garona said.


    "Do you know about Gar''rok''s circumstances?" Lu Li asked, wanting to know more.


    "All you need to know is about him and his wife, which is enough," Garona responded. "When Gar''rok was young, he was like his fellow clansman and gained his own romance. Dahaka was an ordinary Orc girl, and fell genuinely in love with the young and promising Gar''rok. Yet, their time of bliss didn''t last long¡­"


    "One day, Dahaka suddenly died. Gar''rok rushed to his loved one and wept bitterly.


    In the face of this sudden event, he didn''t know what to do. He found that Dahaka''s face was pale and her body looked as if the life inside had been robbed away, but he had no clue where to start."


    "Because of this, doubt existed in Gar''rok''s heart for a very long time. Until one day, he found a widow called Challe by chance who remained forever youthful. This then made him think that she had something to do with the cause of Dahaka''s death. However, he had no proof. He asked for help from a powerful assassin to search for the truth from Challe. The assassin didn''t ask twice and killed Challe."


    "In the face of death, Challe finally admitted that she sucked the life essence out of Dahaka because she was jealous of the romance between Dahaka and Gar''rok."


    "Well, that''s a pretty twisted story. Did Challe die?" Lu Li asked.


    "Yes, she got what she deserved," Garona said eerily, "Because she saw my face."


    Lu Li shivered and realised that the powerful assassin mentioned before was in fact right in front of his eyes. This meant that his mentor and Gar''rok had a strong friendship. Why didn''t she give him some sort of keepsake?


    "I haven''t seen Gar''rok in a very, very long time. Please help me bring a bunch of flowers for his deceased wife. This isn''t too much to ask, is it?" Garona requested.


    "Of course. I am very honoured," Lu Li agreed without any hesitation.


    "Okay, you go now. Say hi to Gar''rok for me," Garona said, then paused and took her words back.


    "Nevermind, if he asks of me, just say that I died in a far-off land, that I had died under the power of the Doomhammer."


    Lu Li noted down everything and left feeling satisfied.


    These two top Thieves had a talk behind closed doors and both disappeared on the spot.


    Lu Li returned again back near the Throne of Elements and felt a lot more confident. He had already bought the prettiest and most expensive-looking condolence bouquet in Stormwind City.


    Dahaka''s grave was easy to find after asking around a bit.


    Plus, it wasn''t far from the Throne of Elements. Gar''rok must not have wanted his wife to be too far from him.


    Lu Li went to offer his bouquet, and instantly gained a new status: Gar''rok''s Friendship.

 1851 Attitude Reversal

    This time, he didn''t dare hastily approach the Throne of the Elements. Instead, he called Water Fairy over.


    "What do you need me to do?" Water Fairy asked curiously as she looked in the place where there were several Boiling Elementals. She was unsure of what she had to face.


    "There is nothing you need to do. Just stand by and watch. If I die, help me get my equipment," Lu Li said with a hint of fear. "I''ve been here before, and I almost got one-shot a few times. You''re here just as a contingency."


    "Okay, be careful."


    Water Fairy walked off to the side where she could sit down, and watched as Lu Li approached the Elementals.


    As Lu Li approached, the Boiling Elementals started to become agitated.


    This was the same as last time; it seemed like they were about to attack. Lu Li had to resist the strong urge of turning around and running. He was being watched by his girlfriend, so he had to appear manly. He couldn''t embarrass himself now.


    Soon, these Elementals started to calm down, as if they were trying to ease his anxiety.


    "Looks like we can get in. Come with me Snowy, but don''t stay too close," Lu Li warned as he waved her over.


    Water Fairy came to Lu Li''s side and the two walked together within the Throne of the Elements. It seemed to be a wide-open area. After Lu Li entered, he could see that it was densely packed with Elementals.


    Elementals were not that easy to kill, otherwise, this place would be a nice place to farm.


    After walking for a while, they saw the altar. However, there were four Furies and an old Orc Shaman standing in the way.


    Shamans were known as Elemental Mages, as they controlled the power of the Elements.


    "This is probably the NPC I am looking for," Lu Li said as he stepped forwards and greeted him politely.


    "Respected Elemental Emissary, I am a foreign adventurer."


    "Oh, I have seen your people before. You come from a place called Azeroth, and you killed many Orcs there."


    Gar''rok''s voice was just like all the other Orcs; it sounded rough and aggressive.


    It gave off a cold attitude, one that hinted he was willing to fight if this conversation took a wrong turn.


    "I am different from them. I am a lover of peace. I have come to Draenor to sightsee," Lu Li lied through his teeth, then added, "I once studied under a teacher that was a Draenor native, so I thought to visit her hometown."


    "A Draenor native? Who is it?" Gar''rok asked in curiousity.


    "Garona. Have you heard of her?" Lu Li responded.


    "This is impossible, she¡­ she died a long time ago," Gar''rok stammered. He did not sound very convinced.


    Lu Li followed his mentor''s advice and confirmed Garona to be "dead".


    "She indeed died, and she died due to the power of the Doomhammer, but I did study under her. There is no reason for me to fake that, is there?"


    "I want to be able to use the strength of the Throne of Elements to level up my ring," Lu Li answered. "I am willing to pay for it. If there is anything you need, I will deliver it to you."


    "There is no way!" the Orc Shaman categorically refused Lu Li''s request.


    "Why?"


    "The strength of the Throne of the Elements can''t be used to easily," the Gar''Rok explained, as his tone lightened slightly.


    "I know the principle that strength must come with a cost. Or, if I am willing to pay enough, then I would be able to acquire this strength. If I am able to get what you want, why should I not be allowed to acquire the strength from this altar?"


    "This is different, I can''t promise this to you. But¡­"


    The Orc Shaman had a funny expression on his face. After a while, he slowly began to speak again, "What kind of price do you plan to pay?"


    "Here is a list. I think it should be enough to compensate for the strength I will acquire," Lu Li said, presenting a list to him.


    All the materials in the list were rare materials in the game. There were some gems that an altar required. All altars in the game worked in a similar way, and this was no exception.


    As for the quality of the materials and gems, shameless Lu was once again being stingy. Of course, these were low-value items from the players'' perspective, but they were full of energy.


    The altar could be seen as a converter or extractor. No matter what was put into it, it could turn the items, like gems, into energy.


    "Not enough, this is not enough. I need to make changes to this list. You¡­"


    The Orc Shaman thought for a moment before giving Lu Li a glance.


    "Come find me tomorrow, and I will give you a new list."


    "¡­" Lu Li felt like he had been caught out.


    He was really worried. Would he really have to pay a steep price?


    He had used the reputation of his mentor, and had hoped to get what he wanted with these worthless materials.


    However, the NPC had already spoken and appeared to be quite firm on his decision. Lu Li didn''t have much else to say. Compared to the previous rejection, this was already a pretty favourable response from Gar''rok.


    After leaving the Throne of the Elements, Water Fairy brought up her confusion.


    "Did you feel like that was a bit weird?"


    "What was strange about it? Do I look strange? I thought I looked quite handsome today actually," Lu Li joked.


    Water Fairy rolled her eyes and responded, "I didn''t see anything handsome today."


    "Why won''t you just play along," Lu Li muttered dejectedly before continuing in a serious tone, "I thought it was strange as well. He clearly rejected my request at first, but there was a sudden reversal in attitude."


    "Maybe he needed the materials for the altar at the Throne of the Elements," Water Fairy guessed.


    "No, this is the Throne of the Elements. The place is already filled with energy," Lu Li said as he shook his head. "When his attitude changed, his movements and tone didn''t seem quite so natural."


    "I thought you hadn''t noticed. I guess I worried for nothing then," Water Fairy sighed, feeling discouraged.


    "No, thank you Snowy, I am grateful that you helped me observe this situation. There must have been something or someone that changed his mind. Do you think my mentor had a private conversation with him?"


    "NPCs can''t have private conversations," Water Fairy laughed, and felt that Lu Li was taking this too seriously.


    "I hope the materials that he is looking for aren''t too ridiculous. I am already feeling the pain from giving the materials up," Lu Li said sadly.


    "If you don''t have enough, you can take some from us," Water Fairy offered generously.

 1852 Extremely Expensive Materials

    Yesterday''s strange performance with the Orc Shaman Gar''rok made him feel uneasy. He suspected that the old guy was going to ask him to bring more materials and rob him blind.


    This was something that was absolutely possible among NPCs, and was particularly the case amongst Goblins and various other races.


    As such, Lu Li brought a small team of ten players over.


    "This is the list of items. Given your attitude, you must be a rich person as you weren''t timid in offering the original list. I believe this new list will not pose an issue for you," Gar''rok taunted when he saw that this solitary Thief had actually brought bodyguards.


    "Believe me, I can bring a thousand more of these bodyguards. All of them are dispensable, but they are all also experts," Lu Li threatened, then took the list.


    He unfolded this seemingly small scroll and immediately felt a pang in his chest.


    This was just too much!


    He remembered that the last time his levelled up his ring, he needed at least two or three of each item. This time, he needed to collect over 80 different rare materials, and he needed at least a dozen of each one. He even needed to collect over a hundred for one of the materials.


    The total number was over 2500 rare materials.


    Moreover, these weren''t just ordinary rare materials; these were the kinds that cost several thousand gold coins per unit.


    As a rough estimate, the total price for all these items was more than 50 million dollars.


    The last time he levelled up his ring, the total price was a few hundred thousand dollars. This time, it seemed that either the Game Company was trying to limit his progress, or that this NPC had gone insane.


    If he had not been reborn and created a foundation of wealth for himself, the quest of levelling up this ring any further would have just been abandoned.


    This was simply too much; he was being taken advantage of.


    Lu Li looked at Gar''rok''s cruel eyes and hesitated. He was thinking about whether to mobilize a large number of players to destroy this area. Even if it couldn''t be done now, he didn''t have to wait longer than a month or two before everyone reached level 70.


    The Throne of the Elements was one of the Outland''s most dangerous areas, but since it was a place released to the players, there was nothing they couldn''t overcome.


    "If you want, you can also bring the things you promised yesterday."


    Gar''rok was obviously someone who was greedy beyond measure. He was completely unaware that he was already a dead man in Lu Li''s eyes.


    "You might not believe it, but I need to add some elemental gems of my own to make this altar work. Please don''t compare this altar to ones you have used in the past," Gar''rok added disdainfully.


    "So, what would my ring be levelled up to?" Lu Li asked, showing his ring to the NPC.


    Gar''rok glanced at the ring''s attributes before vaguely responding, "It will be beyond your imagination child. The price and reward will always be proportional."


    "Please let me think about it," Lu Li said.


    He wanted to find Remulos and see if there was another way. The game world was so vast; he was sure that he didn''t need to rely solely on the Throne of the Elements.


    Gar''rok seemed to see through what he was thinking and quickly dealt with his idea.


    "Child, there are not many opportunities like this. With your current strength and what you can achieve, this is the only place that can provide what you need."


    "Have you got the numbers?"


    Lu Li had privately asked for White Bread, the person responsible for logistics, to pass the list onto the relevant persons.


    After all, he didn''t pay much attention to chores like this. There were so many things in the warehouse that he couldn''t just spend all this time counting them up.


    "It''s not a huge problem ¨C they are all materials that we can obtain. The items that we don''t have, we could get from the Life Alliance players and Drizzle Court," White Bread responded quickly.


    Such a reply made Lu Li feel bittersweet.


    Once upon a time, he needed to come up with all sorts of creative ways and use his advantage as someone who experienced rebirth to acquire the materials. Now, he just needed to give one instruction, and a large number of resources would immediately be mobilised for his use.


    He once again looked at the long and expensive list and realized that it was only a small portion of what he could possibly acquire.


    Of course, this was also because of Ruling Sword''s unique position when it came to Instance Dungeons. Not only did they get many First Clears, but they would also use the strategies they developed from taking First Clears to farm the Instance Dungeons over and over again.


    "You have three days. If you can''t gather the resources within three days, then you will have to wait for three months before you can use the elemental altar as the elements will go berserk until then."


    Gar''rok''s final words was the straw that broke the camel''s back.


    "Okay, I will gather the materials as quickly as possible. I hope that the ring''s level will not disappoint me, otherwise¡­" Lu Li paused before saying, "You will see countless adventurers training here¡­"


    "Heh, that''s not something I''m worried about," Gar''rok said indifferently.


    Lu Li didn''t have to wait three days. The materials were all already ready by noon.


    Ruling Sword had acquired most of the materials on their own and the rest was supplied by Drizzle Court, Peerless City, the Life Alliance and Judgment Spear.


    After taking out so many rare materials at once, Ruling Sword''s guild warehouse had been hit hard. Although Lu Li was the master of this guild, he couldn''t just take all fruits of their collective labour.


    Therefore, Lu Li gave guild points to compensate everyone.


    These points weren''t something that was so easily given out. Guild members with points could claim a monetary bonus at the end of the year, depending on how many points they had.


    This was similar to giving out shares for the guild.


    "The rest of you have to leave. This place doesn''t take kindly to strangers."


    Even after seeing all these materials, the Gar''rok still didn''t have a positive expression.


    "Alright, you guys can all go back now," Lu Li instructed.


    "I will be in Nagrand, and I will have two brothers with me. If you need anything, just call me," Sesame Rice Ball said. If Lu Li needed troops, he would open a Summoning Portal and summon a large number of reinforcements.


    "There is no need for that right now. It doesn''t make sense anyway; the Throne of the Elements isn''t something that our players can conquer right now," Lu Li responded.


    The main issue was that they weren''t high-levelled enough and they also didn''t have the required Resistance equipment. When Lu Li turned up here, he was basically being one-shot.

 1853 Unforeseen Inciden

    Gar''rok did not lie.


    Lu Li watched with his own eyes as he put all the materials into the offering place of the altar. He also took out a pile of various gems and¡­


    Blood?


    It seemed that most of it was demon blood. Although Lu Li felt disgusted, he remembered that Remulos once instructed him to use Demon''s blood to strengthen the ring, so this was to be expected.


    He just didn''t expect that such an old Orc would have this much stuff.


    When all the materials were put together, Lu Li realized with shame that the materials he had brought did not amount to much. The materials that Gar''rok had provided were not that much less than Lu Li.


    However, this made the overall situation even stranger.


    Why would the Orc himself pay such a great price to help Lu Li level up his ring?


    At this point, Lu Li''s ring was once again released from him. It was attracted to the energy being produced and floated just above the elemental altar.


    The energy rushed into the ring, causing the runes on it to start distorting. Eventually, the ring began to look different.


    Lightning flashed and the whole Throne of Elements went berserk.


    There were countless roars, cries and all sorts of strange sounds. The Demon blood not only contained energy, but also the Demons'' immortal souls. If the Demon blood had been brought into the void, they could have been reborn.


    But now, this opportunity had been lost.


    The Throne of Elements and Supreme Ring had reserved the undead nature of these demons, and they were all going to die.


    The levelling up process didn''t take very long.


    After everything calmed down, only a grey ring remained.


    Based on Lu Li''s previous experiences, he expected the ring to fly back to him.


    Lu Li was the owner of the ring which, according to the rules of the System, meant that it was bound to him. No amount of strength could separate the ring from Lu Li.


    But in that moment, there was an unforeseen incident.


    A hand reached out from the void, and it was reaching for Lu Li''s ring.


    The hand was huge, and it appeared to be moving slowly, but it had almost reached its target. With Lu Li''s current ability, there was no way for him to snatch it back.


    Just as this hand was about to grab the ring and pull it into the void, another unforeseen incident occurred. A hoof extended to trample on this hand.


    Was it Remulos?


    Lu Li''s heart was filled with joy. If Remulos had come, then there was hope.


    He now understood that Gar''rok had already been corrupted. This was the reason he promised to help Lu Li upgrade his ring and was willing to pay so many materials to do it. It also explained why he had so much Demon blood. After all, there was no shortage of powerful Demon Lords.


    Lu Li just didn''t know who his master was.


    The hand''s master seemed frightened at first, but soon calmed down.


    "Son from the Stormrage family, why are you trying to take things that don''t belong to you?"


    The hoof trampled on the hand once again, completely pushing it back and gradually exposing itself.


    "Zaetar, I see you''re still alive!"


    It turned out not to be Remulos, but Remulos'' younger brother, Zaetar. It was said that Zaetar was also the son of Demi-God Cenarius. This same Cenarius had produced the Centaurs with Princess Theradras. Eventually, Zaetar was killed by the Centaurs and Princess Theradras sealed away his soul.


    That was the story that Lu Li learned from the Maraudon Instance Dungeon Strategy guide.


    "Dead? You underestimate the Demi-God''s strength. I am heir to the Force of Nature ¨C therefore, I am immortal."


    Lu Li remembered that when the game officials introduced the Maraudon Instance Dungeon, it stated that Maraudon was a temple dedicated to the Zaetar, one of the immortal sons of Demi-God Cenarius.


    It turned out that the word ''immortal'' was not an exaggeration.


    "Even he is dead, so what does that say about your immortality?" the hand''s master boomed as he started tearing through the void. He had to appear in person too, otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to defeat the Demi-God''s son, who appeared to be quite powerful.


    "Illidan, you don''t understand, nor do you need to understand what kind of existence my father currently is!" Zaetar cried out, raising his hoof once again.


    This time, instead of attacking Illidan, who was approaching him, he unexpectedly attacked the ring.


    "No!" Illidan growled.


    The ring had been attacked by the Demi-God''s son. Lu Li was certain that it would be broken, but this didn''t happen. Instead, it was released from the altar and was shot away like a meteor.


    The direction was at¡­


    Lu Li!


    Lu Li grabbed the ring and quickly put it on his hand. He had no time to look at its Attributes as he was kicked to death by Zaetar''s next attack.


    Kicked to death¡­


    He was dead¡­


    There were no words that could be used to describe the situation he just faced.


    After Lu Li vanished, Illidan finally appeared in Nagrand. He had come from the real Black Temple (not the Instance Dungeon), which had to take some time no matter how strong he was.


    Zaetar had taken advantage of this delay. He kicked the ring to Lu Li and one-shot him to completely eliminate the possibility of Illidan taking the ring.


    "I thought you would want to take the Lord Ring?"


    Since there was no longer any hope of getting it, Illidan had no reason to be anxious.


    "Haha, as long as neither you or he has it, I don''t really care who has the Lord Ring," Zaetar said laughed. He was obviously referring to his brother Remulos in that sentence.


    "The Lord Ring belongs to me," Illidan said seriously.


    "Yes, it used to belong to you, until you chose a different path and lost it to the endless abyss. Illidan, your heart is not resolute," Zaetar said.


    "You wouldn''t understand what a resolute heart is Zaetar. You are just jealous, jealous of everything you can''t have! After so many years, you are still like a child," Illidan''s chided, his voice carrying a trace of indignation.


    "I am the son of a Demi-God, the heir of the Force of Nature. When my father returned, I will be his proudest being," Zaetar declared loudly.


    It was generally believed that Cenarius was dead and had been killed by Grom Hellscream.


    Grom Hellscream found a fountain of life that exuded powerful magic. He quickly succumbed to Mannoroth''s temptation and thought that the Strength would help him defeat the Demi-God Cenarius.


    As such, the Orc tribe led by Grom Hellscream drank the infected waters in the fountain and became addicted to the strength given to them by the Demon.


    With extraordinary aggression, Grom and his warriors counterattacked Cenarius and his allies. In the end, the Orcs successfully killed the Demi-God. The Night Elves and many other creatures mourned this terrible death.


    Although Cenarius was dead, many believed that he would be reborn in another form.


    The powerful Demi-God could not be killed as his revival mechanism was not like the Demon''s Twisted Void or the Emerald Dream ¨C it was not dependent on a certain plane. Their souls contained the essence of life that could only be corrupted or purified, but not destroyed. The death of the flesh was just a short rest for them, and they would return to this world when necessary. It was only a matter of time.


    For a Demi-God, there was no concept of death.


    At the very least, Zaetar was convinced of this.


    "Haha, oh Zaetar, this is a tragedy. Your father is most proud of those devoted to him. He is most proud of my great brother, the brother who took everything from me."

 1854 The Supreme Five Ring

    "Come on Illidan, let''s settle this with our fists, like the old times."


    Zaetar seemed to have calmed down.


    "You aren''t even an adversary, but do you think you will escape? I am now the Lord of the Outland!"


    After so many years, Illidan had indeed become a lot stronger. He had surpassed Zaetar and even other stronger beings like Remulos.


    Of course, he had also paid a huge price.


    In Dawn, the characters with the saddest stories were Illidan and Arthas¡­


    "Yes, but I have two helpers," Zaetar said, seemingly unfazed.


    Two assassins attacked Illidan from behind. With Zaetar''s support, they managed to deal significant damage to him.


    The Demon''s blood was spraying everywhere!


    Illidan growled before spreading his wings and rushing into the sky. He ran away without looking back.


    This fierce battle had ended unexpectedly quickly.


    However, this was to be expected. When facing these two top level assassins, no one would stick around and fight. Even Illidan did not dare to underestimate the son of the Demi-God. He had made extraordinary progress over the years, so there was no reason to assume that Zaetar was the same.


    One of the assassins was the Orc Garona. She was holding two warblades which still had Illidan''s demon blood on them.


    The other was a renegade of the Goblins, Mekgineer Thermaplugg. He had cast Cheap Shot on Illidan several times and the last one almost removed Illidan''s left arm.


    Garona confirmed that Illidan would not be returning and put away her weapon.


    "Thanks a lot Mekgineer, and son of the Demi-God."


    "Thank you Zaetar. You have worked the hardest," Mekgineer Thermaplugg said in an indifferent tone.


    "Don''t thank me. You don''t owe me anything, Mekgineer," Zaetar snorted before trampling the top of the altar with his heavy hoofs. He then casually walked away from the altar as cracks started to appear on it.


    "This guy really isn''t afraid of dying¡­ or getting lost in the void," Mekgineer Thermaplugg muttered.


    "It really seems that the son of the Demi-God is immortal. It''s too bad that you still aren''t as strong as Illidan. If we hadn''t set up an ambush, we probably wouldn''t have been able to hurt him," Garona said.


    The three of them had planned this ambush in advance, but Illidan had taken his time to arrive.


    When he finally arrived, he was suddenly attacked. But before the three of them could truly display their combat ability, he had already run away.


    "There have always been some unusually powerful beings in this world. I would have thought you would have seen them all already," Mekgineer Thermaplugg said in a surprised tone. "For example, you seemed to be close to people like Medivh and Aegwynn."


    "You probably don''t want to die here in the Outland do you?" Garona retorted and then


    vanished.


    Regardless of whether it was the Orc Shamans or the many Elementals of the Throne of the Elements, they all just silently watched as this all unfolded.


    In fact, they mostly didn''t dare to do anything.


    Mekgineer Thermaplugg was a Thief, but he was also a genius Tinkerer.


    To someone from Stormwind City, this sounded like a low-class profession akin to a shoe repairer. One would have thought he had little to no fighting ability. However, anyone who knew the Goblins knew that being a Tinkerer was the pinnacle of Goblin engineering.


    The great craftsman Mekkatorque and the great Tinkerer Mekgineer were the two goblins with the greatest achievements in Goblin engineering.


    Even if he only had a single breath left, he wouldn''t be killed so easily, which was why Garona left without any fear.


    Some people didn''t like being seen in their weakened states.


    Lu Li sat near the Revive Point in Shattrath City. He was in a daze and surrounded by players from Ruling Sword. They didn''t know what had just happened. All they knew was that Lu Li had just appeared at the Revive Point and had lost a lot of EXP.


    The celebrities of the game were always being watched by the players. For Lu Li to die and be sent back to the city like this was a very fascinating circumstance.


    Even Lu Li''s own players didn''t dare to bother him. The players in the know knew that he was trying to level up some important equipment. They also knew that he had spent enough materials to buy a medium sized guild.


    However, after seeing him come back after being killed, it seemed that the process had failed.


    He had lost a lot in this process.


    "She''s here," someone whispered before everyone saw Water Fairy arriving.


    Seeing that the Boss was in a bad mood and had lost his spirit, no one dared to talk to him. Naturally, they informed someone who could do the job and Water Fairy was one person who was particularly suited for this job.


    "What''s wrong? Why are you sitting here?" Water Fairy asked.


    Lu Li slowly raised his head. He first saw Water Fairy''s slender waist and immediately recognised it to be Water Fairy.


    "Weren''t you going to fight in the Instance Dungeon?" Lu Li was surprised to see this girl here and was a little worried.


    "I came looking for you; we''re waiting on your command. Did the levelling up not succeed?" Water Fairy crouched down and held Lu Li''s hand. Even though she was a local tycoon, she also would have felt the pain of wasting so many materials.


    "Huh? Who said it failed? It''s already done." Lu Li was speechless.


    "Then why do you look like you''re mourning someone?" Water Fairy said angrily.


    "The level up process went a little haywire," Lu Li explained as he pulled Water Fairy to her feet. "Forget it, let''s do the Instance Dungeon first. Let me do some Fortifying first. I''ll explain as we walk."


    Since the Supreme Ring could not be damaged or dropped, he didn''t have too careful when fortifying it.


    This did not mean that the Fortification could not fail. For example, on the fifth Fortification, the benefit received on the first four successful fortifications would be lost and Lu Li had to start over.


    Recently, Ruling Sword had consumed a lot of Strengthening Stones because of the Fel Reaver.


    Even though they had strong support, Lu Li wasn''t willing to deconstruct the equipment required to get to the twelfth fortification. In fact, almost no one do so because of the consequences. Failing the fortification early would just reset the weapon back to its original stats, but failing it at the later stages risked destroying the weapon completely.


    Lu Li only chose to fortify up to six times; he felt that that was enough.


    Even so, he had failed four times before getting to the sixth Fortification. He had also decided to use a few scrolls to increase his Fortification chance so he could get to the higher levels of Fortification.


    The Supreme Five Ring had undergone tremendous changes after being upgraded from the Supreme Four Ring.

 1855 Demon Transformation

    Supreme Five Ring (Legendary): All Attributes +160, Critical Hit +37%, Lifesteal +42, Damage +12%, Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle''s Protection. Instant Cast, summons a natural shield that allows the caster to absorb the full damage of 1 skill. 3 hour cooldown. Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle''s Blessing. Stealth Effect +30%. Special Effect 3: King of the Jungle Cenarius''s special ability. The user may learn two Druid Transformation Skills and two skills that branch out from those skills. Special Effect 4: The Demon Hunters grant the user the ability to transform into a Demon. When the caster jumps into the air and lands on the ground, Chaos Damage will be dealt to an 8 yard around the caster. This will also stun all affected units for 3 seconds. Upon landing, the caster will transform into a Demon. You can continue to use all skills from your original profession. Defence is increased by 70% and attack is increased by 10%. Lasts for 30 seconds. 8 hour cooldown. Level Requirement: None Durability: None


    Had the ring improved?


    There was no doubt that this equipment had been dramatically changed from an Epic item to a Legendary item.


    Supreme Four Ring (Epic): Agility +50, Strength +30, Constitution +30, Critical hit +30%, Lifesteal +30%, Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle''s Protection. Instant Cast, summons a natural shield that allows the caster to absorb the full damage of 1 skill. 6 hour cooldown. Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle''s Blessing. Stealth Effect +30%. Special Effect 3: King of the Jungle Cenarius''s special ability. you can learn 3 of the Druid''s Transformation Skills, as well as up to 4 skills that branch out from those skills. Level Requirement: None, Durability: None


    There was one major improvement from the Supreme Four Ring. Its unfortified attribute bonuses only granted a total bonus of 110 points, while the Supreme Five Ring provided at least six times that, with each attribute gaining +160. (Before it was Fortified, it only provided +120 for each attribute). Although Intelligence and Spirit were useless to Lu Li, he would greatly benefit from the increased Agility, Constitution and Strength.


    The Lifesteal stat in particular was increased by quite a bit, and was approaching the limit that a Thief could reach.


    Lu Li didn''t need any other Lifesteal items at all after this one.


    The latest patches had made huge revisions to how the critical hit mechanism worked, but an item that gave +37% critical hit was unheard of.


    As for the +12% increase in damage, this would basically make him invincible. Lu Li had taken the full Agility route and needed all the damage he could get. As everyone''s Skill Completion rate was getting higher, Lu Li''s damage advantage was not what it used to be.


    This 12% increase would place any of his squishy opponents into a miserable situation.


    However, what confused Lu Li was the change of two Special Effects.


    Of course, if the ring really had been taken by Illidan, its attributes would probably be even more different.


    Since the ring was still in the hands of a player, the System had to find another way to express those changes. It was understood that Illidan''s strength had corrupted the Supreme Ring, which somewhat weakened Cenarius''s strength. This was demonstrated in the weakening of the third special effect. Even so, Lu Li still confidently felt as though the special effects had been upgraded because of the addition of Special Effect 4.


    The Supreme Four Ring had not been very useful for Lu Li, as the benefits didn''t provide any absolute advantages over ordinary Epic equipment.


    Now with Special Effect 4, the Ring had become a force to be reckoned with. Having a Demon Transformation was a strong skill that gave him a crowd control and damage reduction. It was essentially like going Berserk.


    Lu Li, being one who was never satisfied, felt like it would be even better if its cooldown was 30 seconds.


    However, he was also somewhat worried. He wasn''t sure how he would level up the equipment again. Illidan wouldn''t ''help out'' again, which perhaps meant that the fourth Special Effect couldn''t go any further?


    Of course, that wasn''t something he had to worry about right now. He probably wouldn''t be able to find another opportunity to upgrade the ring until he was level 70.


    The main thing at the moment was the Instance Dungeon. The Instance Dungeon group was still waiting for him.


    The new Instance Dungeon was located in the Auchidoun Ruins in Terokkar Forest.


    Auchindoun used to be a temple of Draenei. For thousands of years, the Draenei had buried their dead there. However, members of the Shadow Council snuck into Auchindoun and used the place to summon evil creatures.


    Their shameful magic caused a huge explosion that tore the temple apart. The surrounding area that remained was scorched and barren.


    The explosion also split a crack into the void, bringing forth spirits from another world into the Outland.


    The previously buried Draenei''s restless souls now wandered through the ruins. Moreover, the frightening creatures that the Shadow Council had summoned were always threatening to break out of the Council''s control.


    The players had to complete a mainline quest here and they could also farm the monsters along the way.


    This was another Instance Dungeon group ¨C one with three Instance Dungeons. There was the Magic Tomb, Auchenai''s Tomb and Sethekk Halls which were currently available to the players. The Shadow Labyrinth was another group Instance Dungeon that contained five Instance Dungeons, but it was only available after level 70.


    The Auchindoun Underground City Instance Dungeon required the Auchenai Key. After the players gained enough Reputation in the Shattrath Slums, they would be able to purchase the key from NPC Nakodu.


    Once they started their quests, they worked out the conditions required for the acquiring the key.


    Ruling Sword had little advantage here because the Reputation requirement was so high. All they could do was slowly farm it. The only real advantage they had was Hachi Chan, who could respond to the NPCs in such a way that they would earn Reputation slightly faster than the other clubs.


    "There are three Instance Dungeons. Which should we choose?"


    "Let''s go with Sethekk Halls. This Instance Dungeon is more difficult, so it''s safer for us," Lu Li said without thinking.


    The other two Instance Dungeons were relatively simple and there was very little strategy to discuss. If everyone rushed into this Instance Dungeon at once, Ruling Sword would have a smaller chance of getting the First Clear.


    The Sethekk Halls were a little more difficult, and one of the steps required a Druid to summon the Raven Lord.


    If they got the First Clear, there was also a chance of getting a Crow Mount. Lu Li certainly didn''t want to miss out on such an opportunity.


    The monsters in this Instance Dungeon were all Arakkoa. They weren''t that strong and their


    numbers weren''t great. Generally, they appeared in groups of three and could be controlled quite easily.


    However, this didn''t mean that they wouldn''t get wiped in this Instance Dungeon. It was these smaller monsters that would be reason they got wiped. Several of the monsters had their own special characteristics. For example, the Sethekk Recruits could use magic reflection shields that would redirect magic attacks. There was a real possibility that the players would kill themselves.


    There were also the Sethekk Prophets that knew Spirit Control. If they crowd-controlled the players and ran them around, they could easily attract an overwhelming number of monsters.


    In addition, the Sethekk Prophets would leave a ghost after their death. The ghost''s attack was high and most professions would die to it in two strikes. If a Cloth-Armored player was not at full HP, they would be one-shot. Fortunately, the ghost moved slowly, even though it couldn''t be attacked, and it would vanish after a few seconds.


    Other monsters like the Sethekk Talon Lord and the Big Bord were not easy either, as they synergized well with the other monsters.


    All in all, overcoming the monsters would be manageable as long as they fought them in isolation. The only time they faced trouble was when players with low HP stood too close to the ghost and got one-shot.

 1856 Summoning Anzu

    After Draenor went through the events that precipitated because of the The Cipher of Damnation and the disaster involving the huge explosion, many of the intelligent native species went extinct. The survivors were either corrupted or degraded like the Lost Ones. However, two intelligent races not only managed to survive, but gradually managed to prosper in this broken place. They eventually became powerful forces that held influence over this area. These were the Mag''har Orcs and the Arakkoa.


    Compared to the brown-skinned Orcs, the Arakkoa''s eccentric appearance, mysterious magic and sensational legends were far more interesting to the players.


    The creatures that were present in Sethekk Halls would be enough to satisfy the players'' curiosity.


    "Hoho, it''s time to go, let''s goo~~"


    The first Boss, Dark Weaver Seth, was a prefect representation of the Arakkoa''s alternative looks and behaviour.


    Azure Sea Breeze immediately went up to start the Boss without a moment''s thought. He had become very accustomed to taking the First Clear and couldn''t accept that he didn''t have any from the three Instance Dungeons that were available. His current equipment was exquisite and his level was high, so he was still quite tanky. He also still claimed to be the number one Main Tank of Dawn.


    The Boss'' attacks were so pitiful that even Hachi Chan could keep them alive. When Chain Lightning was cast, she just needed to activate a healing-over-time skill on the other players before going back to healing the Main Tank.


    Many players thought that Hachi Chan was like a cute pet that everyone just kept around.


    In fact, this was a completely misinformed view. Not only was she cute, but she also had an incredibly high Charisma value. Moreover, she had many exquisite equips and an arsenal Enhanced Skills. Even if she was a little pet, she could guarantee the health of her teammates in battle.


    If there was any difficulty involved with this Boss, it would be because of the elemental monsters that were summoned three times.


    When the Boss reached 75% HP, 50% HP and 25% HP, it would summon four elementals. There was a Shadow, a Flame, a Frost and an Arcane Elemental.


    The four elementals would deal incredible damage to the team in a short amount of time, so they had to kill them as quickly as possible. With the exception of the Main Tank and the Healers, all damage output players had to participate in killing these elementals before attacking the Boss. If they couldn''t deal with them quickly, they had to use their crowd control skills to limit their damage.


    In addition to Lu Li, Hachi Chan and Azure Sea Breeze, they were attempting this Instance


    Dungeon with Lonesome Flower and Fat Monkey.


    The second Boss was called Ikiss, the Talon King.


    The Sethekk were one of the most powerful tribes among the Arakkoa. Their leader, Ikiss the Talon King, was one of the most powerful Arcanists among Arrakoa.


    His achievements and mastery in arcane magic were unmatched.


    When compared to his Arcane Explosion, Dark Weaver Seth''s arcane skills were nothing more than cheap tricks.


    He carried Terokk''s Shadowsatff which had been a reward for his ability and loyalty. This was a deadly Magic Staff and Ikiss always had it at his side despite the fact that he was more used to using a dagger.


    It was rumoured that Terokk had cast magic onto this Magic Staff so that he could communicate with its user.


    Ikiss used this rumour to declare himself as the spokesperson of Terokk. Terokk''s followers were quickly convinced that the his words were being spoken through the Magic Staff.


    After the exiles fled from Skettis, the Sethekk family also left the area.


    Ikiss, the Talon King, claimed that he had been inspired by the soul of the master. He said that Terokk was about to be reborn in Auchendoun''s Tomb. He was anxious to revive his master, so he took the three legendary items, Terokk''s Quill, Terokk''s Mask and Terokk''s Legacy without permission. He then brought the clan to Sethekk Halls to dig and search.


    Unfortunately, before the excavation work had concluded, there was trouble in Skettis.


    Although the Sethekk people claimed to be loyal followers of Terokk, their arrogance meant that they had no one to blame but themselves. Several other clans had been dissatisfied with the fact that Sethekk had been the favourites and were afraid that they would become even more indulgent with the revival of Terokk their hero.


    As such, they singled out the Sethekk tribe and declared them as traitors to Skettis.


    After days of digging, there was no sign of Terokk''s revival and Ikiss the Talon King was becoming very concerned.


    Ironically, what he initially regarded as a symbol for Terokk''s revival, a paw mark in Sethekk Halls, was actually a mark which symbolised the revival of Anzu the Raven God.


    There were many that thought he was an innately good person, but ultimately was corrupted.


    In fact, this was incorrect. The so-called corruption never existed because he had never been a kind person to begin with. This was just an outward expression of who he was.


    He had openly declared Terokk''s Revival with the intention of all of his people submitting to him and accepting his rule. In fact, this revival was nothing more than a hoax.


    The other Arakkoa had seen them as traitors and the exposed Sethekk tribe now had nowhere to go except the hall.


    In short, this was a story of some children who used the name of their master to bless themselves after their master''s death.


    This Boss'' skills were very powerful. Due to his mastery over the arcane, he had a Polymorph skill that would randomly turn a player into a sheep for five seconds. A lot could be done in five seconds.


    Of course, the players could resist this crowd control or have their teammates Dispel it.


    Druids couldn''t Dispel magic, but fortunately, everyone was high-levelled enough that they had their own ways to control it. If they had a Priest present, Dispelling the magic would be a simple task. March Rain even had group Dispel skills.


    However, they had brought Hachi Chan to fight Anzu.


    In addition, the Boss would continually try to Blink into the players and cast Arcane Explosion. At this stage, it dealt significant damage, so if the healing wasn''t enough, there was a decent chance that they would get wiped.


    Lu Li''s response was simple. When the Boss used Blink, the nearby players would use their escape skills. The two Mages had Blink, Lu Li had his escape skills and Hachi Chan had her equipment special effects. As for Azure Sea Breeze, he didn''t seem to care about the Arcane Explosion damage so he just walked out slowly.


    In fact, this Arcane Explosion would be interruptible in future patches.


    The official reason for this was to reduce the overall difficulty of the game.


    At this point, many guilds didn''t know what to do after defeating this Boss. They couldn''t find another Boss, but the game refused to acknowledge that the players who had defeated the two Bosses had acquired the First Clear.


    At this point, it was Hachi Chan''s turn to shine.

 1857 Raven Lord’s Steed

    To summon the Raven Lord Anzu, you had to fulfil two requirements.


    The first was an essential item ¨C an Essence-Infused Moonstone. This was a quest item that could be obtained from a Druid flying quest. It wasn''t that hard to activate this quest. There were quite a few Druids who had reached this stage.


    After this, this Druid would have to learn Strengthened Stealth.


    This wasn''t actually too difficult. Strengthening Skill Books were highly sought after, but with so many players in Dawn, quite a few people were able to obtain them through a variety of methods.


    Both Hachi Chan and Innocent Child of Ruling Sword had the Strengthened Stealth skill.


    The druids who activated the quest and received the Essence-Infused Moonstone weren''t necessarily able to obtain Strengthened Stealth, but those who did have Strengthened Stealth might not have the time to complete the quest. After all, top players were much more interested in training to maintain their spot on the leaderboard rather than being able to fly.


    Hachi Chan was one of these obedient children who had met all the conditions.


    She had Strengthened her Stealth without anyone knowing about it. After all, the System''s daughter seemed to be constantly completing quests.


    Lu Li had actually been reminded of the flying quest, but he chose not to involve himself.


    Hachi Chan was already completing the quest. Getting involved would have been trying to show off in front of a master.


    "*Cough*, Lu Li¡­"


    Provoking everyone in doing so, Azure Sea Breeze stood up to speak and said, "Why don''t you go rest outside for a bit?"


    "Why? I''m not tired?" Lu Li questioned as his face turned black, green, then white.


    "You''re the boss; we can''t have you do everything yourself. Why don''t we swap someone else out to enter the Dungeon, like Dreamy? She hasn''t entered in the Dungeon yet; she''s still crying outside now. That poor little girl¡­Surely it is the responsibility of a kind, benevolent leader as yourself to take care of the weaker little ones?"


    "Why don''t one of you go?" Lu Li shot back. He obviously wasn''t too pleased with this plan.


    These guys were really gutsy; they actually dared to have their boss follow their own directions. Lu Li was already being too down-to-earth, so much so that he had buried himself in the earth.


    "Damn, we want you to go! You''re such an idiot ¨C you''ve left me no choice but to say it directly. Just get out, quickly."


    Azure Sea Breeze was Lu Li''s best friend. They had been working diligently together since the beginning. It really could be said that apart from Lu Li, the one who worked the hardest to make Ruling Sword what it was today was Azure Sea Breeze. Because of his personality, he was always forthcoming when he was talking with Lu Li.


    "No."


    Finally, after some bargaining, Lu Li took 300 gold away with him, happily leaving the Instance Dungeon and swapping Remnant Dream in. Anzu was hard to summon, but it wasn''t too much of a problem when it came to fighting him. They would still fight all the same even without Lu Li.


    He didn''t have much to do outside either. He had never been good at waiting.


    Because of this, he searched all over the place, looking for treasure chests. Although droves of Thieves had already visited this place, because of the complexity of the forest environment, as well as the strangeness of the Bone Wastes, there were still a lot of unexplored nooks.


    Eight at this time, he encountered a PVP Horde player, and swiftly finished him off.


    As for the ordinary players who were jumping around the place looking for potions and materials, or those clumsy ones who were fighting monsters, Lu Li didn''t have any interest in taking action on them. After all, some people enjoyed PVP while others didn''t, so he only killed those who were playing PVP.


    "Come out yet?" Lu Li asked in curiosity. Azure Sea Breeze had called him an idiot, but he never thought he had dubious intentions.


    "It''s come!"


    Azure Sea Breeze''s voice was filled with something that was impossible to describe. In order to really convince Lu Li, he even broadcast the information onto the world livestream.


    Raven Lord''s Steed: Bound Equipment. Unique item. Level Requirement: 60. Requires Riding (150). Summons or releases a giant raven mount. This mount has extremely high movement seed.


    Lu Li silently sat on a hill of bleached white bones, then raised his head to look at the dark, starry sky of Terokkar Forest and sadly sighed.


    However, he quickly roused himself up again. Who could say that with him in the team, it wouldn''t drop? There was a massive chance of taking the First Clear and having exquisite items drop.


    Meanwhile, on the world livestream, the First Clear and the new mount caused excitement to boil over.


    In fact, before Ruling Sword''s First Clear, of the other two Auchindoun Instance Dungeons, Glory Capital had taken the First Clear for the Mana Tombs, while the Auchenai Crypts were taken by Stellar Union.


    However, unlike Ruling Sword, who also got a mount.


    This mount towered over the players, while its name suggested that it could fly.


    This was the first flying mount in the game that was dropped through a public Instance Dungeon, which meant that everyone had the opportunity to farm it. As long as they persisted, they had a chance of getting it.


    They were all discussing whether the raven mount could fly.


    "Who''s it going to?"


    Lu Li wasn''t all that interested, although there was once an official announcement that as long as you collected enough mounts, you might be able to receive a Legendary equipment reward.


    He still had an ulterior motive, because apart from directly buying a mount from an NPC with money or reputation, most of the rest of the ways of finding one came from Instance Dungeons or quests. His Charisma wasn''t high, so he had no other options.


    "Give it to Dreamy; she''s already starting to climb onto it. She''s at the Dungeon entrance ¨C quick, go and have a look," Azure Sea Breeze urged.


    Of course, Lu Li was no stranger to the raven mount. In his last life, he didn''t have it, but he saw others riding it around the place around him, leaving him covered in dust.


    The entrances of the three Instance Dungeons of Auchindoun were originally bustling.


    Now, it was even more busy. Everyone was crowded around, popping their heads out to have a look inside.


    Lu Li took a lot of effort to squeeze himself in, before being able to see Remnant Dream sitting on top of a giant raven, as happy as could be. Quite a few girls were stroking the raven''s feathers.


    "Wow, it''s so soft."


    "Wow, it''s so smooth."


    "Wow, it''s so beautiful."


    This mount really did look very beautiful; it wasn''t the sort of raven that was simply all black. Although its feathers were dark, they were dark with a sheen, while being colorful and translucent.


    Moreover, it was really comfortable to ride too. For a little girl like Remnant Dream, sitting on the back of the raven almost buried her in the feathers.

 1858 The Grandmother Paradox

    However, what made everyone disappointed was that this raven mount couldn''t fly.


    When a lot of those players who hoped to see the raven fly left soon in disappointment, just a few girls stayed behind to admire the raven with drooling mouths.


    Lu Li shed tears of sympathy for these girls'' boyfriends, just wishing that they wouldn''t be bothered to


    death.


    After the three Auchindoun Instance Dungeons were cleared, there were still more left to attempt. The Caverns of Time on the old continent released two more Instance Dungeons. One was the old Hillsbrad Foothills, while the other was Dark Bog. It was a repeated storyline that got the players to come back to join the plot.


    Lu Li had already encountered the former. At that time, he was one of the top adventurers that was netted in as part of a large-scale quest.


    Now, the official game was moving from quests to Instance Dungeons. Anyone could go through an Instance Dungeon to finish off this part of the storyline of saving Saar.


    As for Dark Bog in the Caverns of Time, that was another story.


    The old Hillsbrad Foothills in the Caverns of Time had already been taken by Ruling Sword three days ago. After all, a lot of people knew this Instance Dungeon well. The main thing was just to see who was quickest and was willing to spend resources on it.


    However, because no one had been able to break open Dark Bog the entire time, everyone had reached a deadlock there.


    Lu Li knew how to open it up, because this Instance Dungeon had another name ¨C''The Opening of the Dark Portal''.


    According to the game settings of the world of Azeroth, the concept of time was like a crisscrossed net. Each strand of time was like a long, thin stream that flowed together into a time node, before splitting off and going its separate way again. In the countless different strands of time, the heroes of Azeroth all had different fates.


    These strands of time could be envisioned as a scattered network. For some of them, there was only ever one timeline that was the correct timeline, able to carry on the continuation of history. The final point of all these timelines was the destruction of Azeroth and the death of all creatures.


    There was a similar principle in real life. The most famous one was naturally the time paradox, which was also the so-called grandmother paradox.


    The theory questioned whether someone would continue to exist if they really ''went back,'' and killed their grandmother before she were pregnant with their mother.


    The problem was very obvious ¨C if the grandmother didn''t exist then the mother wouldn''t have existed, and if the mother didn''t exist, then he couldn''t have either. Moreover, if he didn''t exist, how could he ''go back'' to the time before his mother was born to kill his own grandmother?


    This was the ''grandmother paradox''.


    As for the times of Azeroth, Nozdormu and his Bronze Dragon force had to be considered.


    The Bronze Dragon Nozdormu was one of the five Dragons that the titans created. He was bestowed with the power to travel through time by the Highfather of the titans, Aman''Thul. Responsible for keeping time and fate, he was known as the Infinite King.


    The Bronze Dragon legion had been protecting Azeroth''s time since ancient days, making sure that time was heading in the right direction. What was more, they led many people time travelling, guaranteeing that certain events happened in the past, as well as ensuring that the current timeline was correct. However, the way time flowed was tangled up and complicated, and it was easy for people to get lost inside. It wasn''t clear what was reality and what was an illusion, even for Nozdormu himself.


    There were a lot of members of the Bronze Dragon legion, but it looked like most Bronze Dragons didn''t like to be revealed in public.


    When Nozdormu was lost in the flowing times, his Prime Consort, Soridormi, led the Scale of the Sands to garrison the Caverns of Time, supervising the flow of time there.


    There was no Bronze Dragon that players were more familiar with than the little Chromie. She would often transform into a female dwarf and appear in various places in Azeroth to give adventurers help.


    When the Bronze Dragon king was dormant, the Bronze Dragon legion and a mysterious dragon clan called the Infinite Dragons made war with each other. It was so mysterious that even the Bronze Dragons themselves didn''t know what their opponents were actually like.


    Later, at the end of time, the Infinite dragon king Nozdormu appeared and explained everything ¨C the Infinite Dragons were the evil version of the Bronze Dragons. They had been seduced into doing wrong by the Old Gods, departing from their faithful selves who protected time.


    Their goal was to bring the timelines to the end of time.


    Actually, there was a relationship between the birth of the Infinite Dragons and Nozdormu. The Bronze Dragon king had seen his own end in fate in front of the Highfather Aman''Thul ¨C he was going to turn into the Lord of the Infinite Dragons, Murozond, and would be killed by one of the adventurers he led himself.


    It was just this lengthy torture that made Nozdormu become one who was later deceived by the Old Gods. The timeline of him turning into the Lord of the Infinite Dragons to destroy Azeroth, as well as trying to lead him to join the Wings of Death, was a successfully destroyed future.


    Actually, Lu Li had always been skeptical towards this explanation.


    Why couldn''t it be another situation?


    It was actually correct for him to be an Infinite Dragon ¨C they were future Bronze Dragons who had travelled back to the current time.


    At a certain point of time in the future, the Bronze Dragons realized that what they had been keeping all along was a mistake. Because of these keepers, Azeroth was soon going to be devastated. In order to edit this tragedy, they travelled back in time, trying to rewrite history.


    As such, they were called the Infinite Dragons.


    They were the ones who were truly fighting to keep the spirit of Azeroth alive, while stopping those who unyieldingly urged on Azeroth''s demise.


    Actually, this logic was solid enough.


    After all, if you didn''t have any reason to, who would go back in time to kill themselves? Even if you tricked by the Old Gods, you still wouldn''t.


    However, the players would follow whoever gave them EXP, Reputation and gold. Because of this, they would only block the Infinite Dragons from ruining the timeline with the help of the Bronze Dragons.


    At the moment, the main thing with the two Instance Dungeons in the Caverns of Time involved the storyline of repairing the timelines.


    The first was when the Infinite Dragons wanted to block Saar from escaping and imprison him forever in Durnholde. In continuing to bear with his strength, the new Horde would not appear, and the plotline would take a massive turn.


    The other was when the Infinite Dragons tried to stop The Dark Portal from being opened. That way, the Orcs would naturally would have no way to invade Azeroth.


    In this Instance Dungeon, players would be supported by the Bronze Dragon legion to be by Medivh''s side when The Dark Portal was about to be opened. Here, the Infinite Dragons used some direct methods to affect the flow of time ¨C they sent out assassins to attack Medivh.


    Although the battle that was instigated by the opening of The Dark Portal led to the loss of tens of thousands of lives, if the Orcs never came to Azeroth and the timeline was broken, then history and the future would be changed.


    The players were to become Medivh''s assistants until Gul''dan''s underlings could successfully go through The Dark Portal to arrive in the world of Azeroth.


    The players had no choice, because this was an Instance Dungeon!

 1859 The Caverns of Time

    "Actually, the key''s really easy. It''s just that everyone just wants one, so people are a lot less patient. Hachi, go find that Broodmother for a quest. Remember to be a bit more polite; she doesn''t have a good temper," Lu Li instructed.


    The Bronze Dragons really were a patriarchal society. Because of the mystical Lord of Time, all of the managerial work was given over to his consort and sons.


    His Prime Consort Soridormi led the Scale of the Sands to be garrisoned in the Caverns of Time.


    As for this queen, there was limited information written about her. For now, it was estimated that most of her time was spent managing the Bronze Dragons, and because of this, she didn''t have any time to do other things. Perhaps it was simply because of this that in comparison to other dragon consorts, Soridormi had survived them all. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have gone to bring the children to circle around the Caverns of Time.


    Actually, finding her to receive a quest was rather pointless, or at least this was the case in the earlier stage of the game before the players reached level 68. The reason why Lu Li told Hachi Chan to complete Soridormi''s quest was to gain some Reputation from the Scale of the Sands.


    As long as she had Reputation from the Scale of the Sands, Anachronos could be found ¨C the Bronze Dragon they had come in contact with during the opening Ahn''Qiraj quest.


    Afterwards, this Bronze Dragon would tell the players where Chromie was.


    Chromie''s real name was Chronormu. Ever since the day that the king of the gods Aman''Thul had given strength to the Bronze Dragons to protect Azeroth''s timelines, they had been hidden in time, and rarely appeared amongst other people and races. However, there were always a few Bronze Dragon members who were willing to associate with other people, and Chromie was one of them.


    In the current patch, Chromie appeared in Darrowshire, but later vanished, leaving no trace of her whereabouts. Evidently, it was to foreshadow the identity of the NPC in the next stage.


    Anachronos would tell the players where to find this short-tailed Broodmother. Then, from there, they would receive an ''advanced'' key to enter the Instance Dungeon earlier. They simply had to pay 100 gold for it.


    After getting the key, the players were then confirmed to have the standing to enter into the story. From them on, they entered into the Caverns of Time. Heading for the Black Morass, where the historical opening of The Dark Portal was taking place, they would converse with Sa''at.


    He looked like a Blood Elf, but was actually a dragon Keeper of Time.


    Pointing to a pitch-black, distant place, he would explain that at the very end of this tunnel of time, the Keeper Medivh was in the heart of the Black Morass. Medivh was bustling with excitement, wanting to open The Dark Portal so that the Orc army could flood through and invade the world of Azeroth.


    Afterwards, Sa''at gave the players a Chrono-Beacon.


    The depths of this pitch-black place were messy with the flow of time, so the Chrono-Beacon was able to prevent the players from getting lost.


    As for what would happen if they got lost, it was simple ¨C you would be sent back to where you originally were. It was like being kicked out of the Instance Dungeon.


    If they just kept getting kicked out of the Instance Dungeon, then how could they progress through it?


    With the Chrono-Beacon, Lu Li and his team didn''t have to worry about this. In fact, this Instance Dungeon was quite small.


    Those well-fed, bored Infinite Dragons wanted to stop the Portal from being opened and change history. Lu Li''s quest was to ensure that history would progress on the track it was meant to, even though it was going to be a tragedy¡­


    Since there was no way to try to use words to persuade them, all they could do was kill them off.


    The setting of the Instance Dungeon was the day that The Dark Portal was opening in the Black Morass, which was today''s Swamp of Sorrows. Apart from the Infinite Dragon legion, there were quite a few non-Elite crocodiles there too which would also obstruct the players.


    The party consisted of the Main Tank Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, Lu Li, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream.


    Ice magic was important here. There were many monsters in this Instance Dungeon, so they had to clear them out as quickly as they could with AoE spells. They could only ride their mounts once they exited the battle, which was the quickest way they could go to support Medivh.


    After talking with Medivh, an intense battle commenced.


    The Infinite Dragon legion would open up four portals on the map at random, and at each portal, there would be one Elite monster along with several non-Elite monsters.


    The team had to rush at the portals, pulling the Elite monsters there. Meanwhile, the non-Elite monsters that charged towards Medivh needed to be eliminated by the mages that were next to them. After the Elites were killed, another portal would appear.


    The players would then continue to fight in the same way. After four or five waves of enemies, the first Boss would appear.


    Before progressing to the stage of finishing off the Boss, they had no time to rest. Lu Li and his party had to keep rushing from portal to portal on the map. It was important for the team to coordinate well with each other. A capable team fighting together made things effortless, but if they didn''t cooperate well, it was easy for things to fall into a chaotic confusion.


    Hachi Chan, Remnant Dream and Lonesome Flower were all considered players that specially focused on Instance Dungeons, and they were good at following orders too. Under Lu Li''s command, they executed their duties perfectly.


    Hachi Chan was particularly useful here. She really was working hard as she ran around everywhere.


    After the Boss died, there was a two-minute break in which they picked up drops, distributed them, replenished their HP and mana, and renewed their buffs. After that, they would ready themselves for the next wave of enemies and the Boss. There were both magic and physical Bosses.


    The biggest challenge was maintaining their mana consumption in this sort of continuous battle.


    Even though Lonesome Flower had exquisite equipment, he would sometimes struggle because of a lack of mana.


    At this point in time, the advantage of being the support in a major club became apparent. Cold Chill''s potions resolved the predicament that the magic roles faced. The one who needed to keep using mana replenishing potions here was actually Lonesome Flower.


    After finishing off three Bosses, the final Boss made its appearance. Its physical damage was devastating and it could silence abilities for a limited duration as well.


    If they slipped up at all, there was a chance of losing members. Fortunately, after the previous Bosses died, they could pick up a tool to summon the Bronze Dragons. Under normal circumstances, it would be lucky to find one from the three Bosses, but Remnant Dream managed to loot three.


    Along with the Chrono-Beacon, they could summon three Bronze Dragons to join the fray.


    In this situation, there wouldn''t be any suspense as to what would happen. Although the three Bronze Dragons weren''t all that powerful, at least they had no problem in attracting attention.


    In the end, The Dark Portal was opened. The Orc forces rushed through The Dark Portal like a tidal wave, and the disaster of the Azeroth continent began, which lasted to this day¡­


    A group of Medivh''s accomplices received the notification of a First Clear.

 1860 Advancing in the Early Rounds

    Until they reached level 68, they had no way to farm the next Instance Dungeon for now.


    What was more, the professional league had already begun its preliminary rounds. No matter how much they would think they might not be selected, it didn''t mean that they could just be lax about it.


    At the moment, the professional league was still the largest competition. After going through the various channels of the gaming association, this time''s league was formally integrated as an international competition. This also meant that the end of the competition would include fighting it out for the world championship.


    At the moment, the only place that they could play with overseas players was Alterac Valley battlefield. The chance of facing an overseas player was about 1 in 5.


    Lu Li hadn''t fought on the battlefield for a long time. He didn''t even understand the power of overseas players.


    However, he could cross that bridge when he came to it. He didn''t have to particularly worry about it.


    If it was a competition like the Shadow Cup or the Donghua Cup, a championship team like Ruling Sword wouldn''t even have to participate in the preliminaries. Such a super club would be promoted in right away.


    The league wasn''t the same. Everyone was treated in the same way.


    Because of this, in the first match, Ruling Sword faced a team from the internet bar next to the school. When Lu Li saw this information, he didn''t know whether to laugh or cry.


    With five players, three of them being level 62, one being level 64 and another being level 65, the levels were all uneven. It looked like they were just trying to fill up the numbers.


    This team that was facing them definitely could only cry.


    It had been a difficult task to scrape everyone together, and in the 1st round, they were matched up against one of the top teams. They protested against the league match officials, but this was to no avail. Shortly after, they posted on the message boards that their team was immediately splitting up.


    This short-lived team became one of the most pitiful teams in the professional league.


    Ruling Sword defeated their opponent, and so successfully achieved victory in their first match.


    After the first league match, there was a Stronghold battle, which would mark the fifteenth Stronghold wars. Like before, there weren''t any new Strongholds appearing this time. Everyone was focused on fighting for the Strongholds that existed.


    With the frightening Fel Reaver, no one dared to meddle with Ruling Sword''s system. However, Ruling Sword already had their fair share of Strongholds, so Lu Li wasn''t powerful enough to snatch more away. This time, they were simply going to watch the action come to them.


    Glory Capital went through some struggles, but in the end, they didn''t lose a single Stronghold.


    However, anyone could feel that Glory Capital had already begun to be tired out.


    They didn''t have many Infernals left, and their Barrenlands were almost snatched away. The attacking ones were Drizzle Court. Water Fairy seemed to harbor bitter resentment, still remembering the time when she first went into the Outland and Glory Capital had tried to ''capture a beauty''.


    This time, Water Fairy directly sent a Fel Reaver to the walls of the Barrenlands.


    This was the first time a decisive battle took place between an Infernal and a Fel Reaver in front of the players. This amazing battle completely overshadowed the developments of the other Stronghold battles.


    Fortunately, the Barrenlands were Glory Capital''s main camp. The Infernal was brought along with Sorrowless. All eight Infernals were required to block the Fel Reaver''s devastation and defend the Instance Dungeon.


    Despite this, Glory Capital''s people had been slaughtered multiple times.


    Even Sorrowless died a few times.


    When Lu Li saw this, his heart felt cold. In an instant, he understood why such amazing men would be afraid of their wives.


    You really couldn''t offend women.


    This time, Blood Red War Flag took Desolace from Seventh Heaven. Although both sides fought intensely, according to some reliable sources, they had made some prior agreements before the battle.


    Actually, Azure Guard prevailing against Stellar Union to became the new masters of Arathi Highlights


    was the genuinely intense battle.


    Majin Temple and Gods of Dusk joined together to attack Wings of Dawn, continuing to maintain their power over the Thousand Needles Stronghold. Unforgettable Maple led his mages to summon a group of Wind Snakes, assembling them so that they were a united bolt of lightning. In an instant, they one-shot all the enemies on the field, reversing the precarious situation there.


    There was no doubt that Majin Temple had found a resource point for these sorts of scrolls that could summon so many Wind Snakes.


    At the moment, all the top clubs in the game were frantically looking for these sorts of things. It didn''t matter how powerful they were. As long as they had enough, they could serve an important purpose at key moments. After all, even if it was a group of boars, they could still trample some dying opponents.


    In this Stronghold battle, there was a cataclysmic announcement for next month''s Stronghold wars.


    There was no doubt that there would be a massive change in Stronghold battles.


    If Lu Li remembered correctly, the main thing was still increasing the difficulty of defending Strongholds, so that there would never be one dominator in the Stronghold battles.


    There were still two or three remaining battles before next month, so they didn''t have to worry for now. This was also the reason Lu Li didn''t go to snatch up other Strongholds, because they would not be able to hold onto them.


    By the time the preliminary matches were over, Ruling Sword had fought a total of seven rounds. Winning all of them easily, they moved ahead.


    Apparently, in the preliminary matches, the number of teams from just the Chinese region who signed up totaled over 300,000. The preliminary matches eliminated most of them just like that. In the end, there were about 50,000 teams who entered into the first matches. Of these 50,000 teams, 10 000 of them entered into the intermediate round.


    After that, they fought it out to be placed in the final 100, the final 16, and so on.


    After entering into the next matches, the teams they met with were relatively professional. It was hard to find a team that had major level differences. There were some teams that didn''t even have any level 65 players.


    Lu Li was already level 66, and it would not be long before he reached level 68.


    When the players reached level 65, they wore level 65 equipment.


    In the matches this time, they didn''t encounter any particularly rich players. Even so, there were some dirt-poor clubs that visited Lu Li, hoping that he could be lenient with them. The price they offered didn''t move Lu Li, and so he firmly declined their offers.


    In fact, Judgement Spear also successfully progressed to the next stage.


    There was one particular team they fought in the preliminaries, and in the second match of the first round, they met again.


    This was fate destined by heaven. Both teams almost fell into tears on the battlefield.


    In order to get Judgement Spear to throw the game, in the preliminaries, they gave them $10 million right away. The second time they faced, they offered $20 million. Later, they made a deal, that if they met in the future, money wouldn''t be an issue.


    Lu Li had no idea when it came to these schemes of rich people.


    But who would reject someone that had money? Both times when they were took the money, they only did so after Lu Li approved.


    Judgement Spear was much weaker than Ruling Sword. All of the competing players were new people from the novice training camp, but they were much better than most of the other clubs in the early rounds. Losing a couple matches wasn''t too big of a deal.


    By April, the early rounds had finished. Both Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear entered into the next round, and almost everyone had reached level 68.

 1861 The Eye

    After reaching level 68, there were more new Instance Dungeons to attempt.


    Netherstorm had three five-person Instance Dungeons and one 25-man Instance Dungeon. The three five-person Instance Dungeons were Arcatraz, The Botanica and The Mechanar, while the 25-man Instance Dungeon was The Eye, where Kael''thas Sunstrider resided.


    Of these Instance Dungeons, Arcatraz required a key to be able to enter.


    The key wasn''t hard to obtain, but these Instance Dungeons had additional conditions.


    If players wanted to attempt these Instance Dungeons, they needed to travel into the sky.


    Here, the importance of having a flying mount was made apparent. If you didn''t have a flying mount, you couldn''t even enter into the Instance Dungeon. If others saw that you didn''t have a flying mount, they wouldn''t join up with you.


    Alternatively, a Warlock could use a Summoning Portal to transport the team, but not every team had a Warlock.


    The main members of Ruling Sword''s team all had flying mounts. The worst one was a Gryphon that could be bought by anyone if their capital city Reputation had reached a certain level. The requirements for buying this were to have enough Reputation, to have learnt Riding and have enough gold saved up to buy the mount.


    The gold system, which was originally already not that balanced, had stabilized because too much gold had been spent these days.


    As before, the conversion rate was about 1:26.


    The gaming traders who hoarded gold in speculation and were waiting for inflation to rise made a ton of money.


    However, Lu Li knew that it was too early for them to celebrate, because there was no way to reverse the continually falling trend of the price of gold. After all, there were more and more players who were farming Instance Dungeons in the Outland, and the monsters in the Outland as well as those in the Wild dropped plenty of money.


    Furthermore, after the Isle of Quel''Danas was opened up, no matter how high or low your Charisma was, there would always be quests for you to complete regularly.


    Each person could earn a regular amount of about 10 gold a day, which caused even more destructive damage to the gold market. In this end, the gold in this patch would finally settle down to be a price of 1:5.


    The new Instance Dungeon, The Eye, in the area of Netherstorm, which was an area of the Outland. It was to the north of Blade''s Edge Mountains, while the other three sides were bounded by the Twisting Nether. Made up of shattered floating islands of all sizes, of all of the Naaru''s giant Star Warships, The Eye floated in the most northernmost area.


    The air was filled with the Arcane power of the Nether, attracting a lot of adventurers who had come before to explore.


    The Draenei''s ruins had been scattered to various lands, but their master had already left. The land was occupied by Demons, Ethereals and so on.


    The leader of Burning Legion, the fallen titan Sargeras, realized the wisdom of the Eredar on the planet of Argus, and decided to appoint them as one of the top commanders of Burning Legion. Moreover, he promised to give them unlimited intelligence and strength.


    At that time, of the three leaders of the Eredar, Archimonde and Kil''jaeden accepted Sargera''s invitation, and transformed into giant and evil Demons.


    However, the third leader, Velen, knew all that would happen if he accepted Sargera''s invitation. The followers he led escaped from Argus'' world and called themselves the ''Draenei'' or ''the Banished''.


    Kil''jaeden saw the departure of his dear brother Velen as a betrayal, fueling his deep anger. The forces he was leading hunted down and killed the Draenei in that limitless world.


    Amidst the endless chasing, killing and fleeing, a race called the Naaru would be encountered. The Naaru had innate strength from Holy Light, and for the purpose of destroying Burning Legion, they assembled all the strength they could.


    Our male supporting role finally showed up here, offering up himself without any complaint or regret.


    With the help of the Naaru, Velen and his followers successfully escaped from Kil''jaeden''s pursuit and finally reached a new world they called Draenor. There, they lived peacefully together with the Orcs who believed in Shamanism.


    However, the line of vision of Burning Legion finally reached the Draenor mainland.


    Through deceitful methods, Kil''jaeden successfully degenerated the Orcs, turning them into evil, violent warriors who massacred the Draenei. At this time, because the Naaru were searching for allies in this limitless world, they didn''t come out to help the Draenei.


    This was definitely something that was worth taking points off for. When they needed help, the Naaru had gone off on a holiday somewhere.


    Around the time that the second war ended, at the same time as when Ner''zhul''s portal split up the mainland of Draenor, A''dal, as the leader of the Naaru, drove them off on their flying craft (which was the future Eye), to come back down to this shattered land. Perhaps this was because they had felt the great fluctuations on the destroyed mainland.


    Making up for their late arrival, they managed to win back Velen''s young heart. After all, the Naaru had helped the Draenei to win back their capital city Shattrath.


    At this time, The Eye only had M''uru as the Naaru who was left protecting it.


    However, when the forces of the betrayer Illidan came to the Outland, the Blood Elves and the Orcs started a war with the Draenei for no reason. Although the other teams under Illidan also had hostile relations with the Draenei, they weren''t like the Kael''thas'' Blood Elves who massacred the Draenei.


    It was seriously suspected that these Draenei were constantly casting a Taunt spell, otherwise, everyone wouldn''t be bullying them all the time.


    With the backing of Illidan, the Blood Elf forces launched a surprise attack against The Eye, capturing M''uru and taking him as one of the spoils of war that was sent back to Silvermoon City.


    However, the Draenei were successful in recovering something, as well as being able to escape yet again. The part they recovered was called the Exodar. It fell into in the sea that was to the south of Teldrassil on the Kalimdor mainland. Now, the Draenei had appeared on the stage of Azeroth history.


    Meanwhile, the remaining parts of The Eye were occupied by Blood Elves. This included their leader prince Kael''thas, who was also on the biggest flying craft.


    When comparing these few ordinary little Instance Dungeons, Lu Li was more interested in ''The Eye'', the 25-man Instance Dungeon. The final Boss here, Kael''thas, dropped something called ''Ashes of Al''ar''.


    It could definitely be said that the Ashes of Al''ar were an incomparably perfect flying mount.


    No matter if you were looking at its flight speed or its outside appearance, it satisfied all the aesthetic demands of vain humans. This also meant that ''The Eye'' was a place that any player would be willing to die hundreds of times each week if need be. Of these players, many belonged to teams that simply didn''t have the power to implement a strategy.


    The Ashes of Al''ar could definitely cut down the length of struggle for an ordinary player by years.


    Lu Li hadn''t come to this Instance Dungeon in his last life, because he had understood himself enough to know wiser. All the teams that he entered simply didn''t have the power to fight strategically for The Eye. After the Phoenix came out, it wouldn''t be hard at all too guess what would happen.


    Aside from this, when the lovers system was first released, in order to have this system succeed on the first go, Lu Li and Water Fairy were invited to ''be ambassadors'' for it.


    This odd couple were now official. The price the officials paid would let them keep steadily earning without making a loss. One of the rewards they paid was a ''Phoenix Transformation''. The difference was in the Phoenix mount. The Phoenix Transformation and Lu Li''s Crow Transformation were both considered Transformation skills.


    Moreover, if Water Fairy had Phoenix Transformation, she would gain the ability of being able to respawn at her original point once a day.


    Rising up from the ashes!


    With Hachi Chan''s help, Water Fairy''s Phoenix Transformation quest was already more or less finished. The last step in the quest was to kill prince Kael''thas in The Eye. If she could get the special quest weapon, then that would be icing on the cake.


    The chance of finding this was different to the chance of the Ashes of Al''ar being dropped. Water Fairy''s Heart of the Phoenix was an item that was considered guaranteed to be dropped


    This also meant that when Water Fairy defeated prince Kael''thas here, she would gain the ability to fly and respawn after.

 1862 I Curse You with this Circle

No content

 1863 Millhouse Manastorm

    Just before fighting the last Boss, Little Hachi Chan had another quest to do.


    "A gnome sister called Milificent Manastorm said that her husband has escaped and wanted to bring him back. According to the information that sister Milificent had, her husband should be here," Hachi Chan explained.


    "Why would he come here?" Everyone was puzzled.


    "Ummmm, maybe to escape to outer space on an airship?" Hachi Chan suggested, then shook her head and sighed in a would-be wise tone, "Men, they are so scarily innocent, thinking they can escape to outer space and be safe."


    Everyone was stunned. This guy must have been terrified of his wife to want to escape to outer space.


    In reality, Gnomes were a race of high intelligence, and had a strong thirst of knowledge. If there was a chance for them to satisfy their thirst for knowledge with the help of technology, then many would do so.


    Of course, Millhouse also did the same and quietly boarded this ship of dreams.


    But unfortunately, the Kael''thas'' Blood Elves attacked and occupied the Naaru''s ship. There, they found Millhouse imprisoned amongst other dangerous creatures.


    "Then let''s stop fighting Bosses and find this poor gnome," Lu Li said.


    When he completed this Instance Dungeon in his past life, it had already been opened for many months. As such, the difficulty had been lowered. But even so, Harbinger Skyriss wasn''t an easy Boss to deal with, and was perfectly suited as a final Boss after these three smaller Instance Dungeons.


    Bringing along Millhouse Manastorm was the same as gaining an additional helper.


    The party cleared out the remaining monsters and arrived at the place where Millhouse Manastorm was locked up. The only reason they could recognise their target straight away was because that prison had all sorts of weird and strange creatures inside.


    However, there was only one small Gnome like this who was small and weak and helpless¡­


    Warden Bellamoore stopped everyone. Lu Li instructed Azure Sea Breeze to pull the Boss, then he used his Unlock skill to open the prison gate.


    That little gnome walked out in a daze.


    "Uh, where the heck am I? And who are you guys? Aaaah, my head hurts!"


    As Warden Bellamoore was fighting, she turned around and glanced at them.


    "What is this?! A despicable gnome? Why is it here in my prison?"


    "Despicable? I don''t care who you are! No one dare calls the mighty Millhouse a despicable gnome! I don''t know what has happened here, but I will gladly get rid of this unreasonable fool with you guys!" Manahouse roared.


    "Wait for your death, idiot!"


    Everyone was watching him in anticipation. No one knew if he was capable of dispatching the Warden in one shot.


    "Wait, I need to prepare myself. You guys go first; I first need to make some water."


    "That''s fantastic! Next, we also need some protective spells," Millhouse Manastorm continued, then cast Ice Barrier on himself. When he saw that his Mana had been consumed, he picked up a bottle of spring water to restore it.


    "Of course, I need to first restore my Mana. Then, you guys will witness my prowess. Just wait a moment¡­"


    "How about we lock him back up again?" Hachi Chan suggested in embarrassment.


    "Step it up! Get rid of this Warden!" Lu Li yelled, no longer pinning his hopes on this Gnome.


    "Okay, I''m ready. So, who''s ready now to get a beating?"


    Millhouse Manastorm was fully prepared now. He jumped up and began shouting again, "Crystal clear, cooling heart!"


    Along with these words came a Frostbolt.


    Surely he was joking ¨C it was just a simple Frostbolt.


    "I will roast you to bits!"


    Then, out shot a Fireball. It appeared that Millhouse was a dual-trained Mage.


    "There isn''t anyone who can stand up to Millhouse''s Arcane Missiles!"


    Everyone was shocked; he was actually a tri-elemental Mage. No wonder he had the title of Manastorm.


    Other than the fact that he was a little eccentric, this Gnome was quite amazing. Warden Bellamoore had been hurt quite badly, and didn''t dare call him a despicable gnome any longer.


    "Heal me! God damn it! Quickly heal me! I''m going to die!"


    His HP bar had only slightly dropped, but he called for help as if he was on the verge of death.


    Hachi Chan immediately tended to him.


    "You''re very clever, little girl."


    Unfortunately, Millhouse had married a fierce woman, so he wasn''t gentle at all.


    Lu Li and the others no longer had anything to say, and only asked for Warden Bellamoore to be killed.


    The battle soon reached its conclusion. After all, Warden Bellamoore was just a minor Boss.


    "Now look who''s the strongest?! Who''s the strongest? That''s right! We''re the strongest!" Millhouse Manastorm cried out, feeling full of accomplishment.


    "Mr. Manastorm, what are your current plans?" Hachi Chan asked.


    "Plans? What else can I plan? This stupid airship is no longer flying," Millhouse Manastorm said.


    "Then do you wish to wait for a bit and come meet a friend with me?" Hachi Chan offered as she blinked her round eyes with a face of pure innocence.


    "Your friend? Oh, she must be a cute little girl like you. Millhouse likes little girls the most. Alright, let me come meet your friend. She would definitely love Millhouse. I am a tri-elemental Mage."


    "Ahem, Mr. Manastorm, can you help us get rid of Harbinger Skyriss?" Lu Li asked.


    "Interrupting when other people were talking is very rude behaviour," Millhouse scolded as he turned around and glared at Lu Li. He completely disregarded the fact that Lu Li was the one to save him.


    Lu Li shrugged his shoulders and closed his mouth like an obedient schoolboy.


    "Mr. Manastorm, can you defeat Harbinger Skyriss?" Hachi Chan asked.


    "Of course, I''m the great¡­"


    "Then please help me teach him a lesson," Hachi Chan begged as she waved her little fist.


    "That''s not at all a problem. I''m so tired of him being in my ear all the time," Millhouse Manastorm agreed without a moment''s hesitation.


    The Naaru believed that as long as the Harbinger Skyriss was locked up, he would be forced into a long and dreamless sleep. This would allow his persuasive voice to quiet down.


    It turned out that they were completely wrong. Under his instigation, all the prisoners decided to find a chance to escape.


    Harbinger Skyriss and Ahn''Qiraj''s Prophet Skeram looked very alike. Even their skills were alike, but they were different Bosses. They weren''t brothers, and only shared the same clan.

 1864 Elevenless Starting the Show

    To kill the final Boss, you needed to kill the three Elite monsters first.


    You wouldn''t immediately lose if you didn''t, but the following fight would definitely be a mess.


    Azure Sea Breeze pulled it and everyone rushed to deal with the monsters before the Boss made its appearance.


    "It is very easy to control those who are weak-willed. My strength is unchanged by time and uncontrolled by fate, and because of that, there is no strength that can match mine. Not even the Burning Legion!"


    To Harbinger Skyriss, the Old Gods were no worse than the Titans.


    It was generally believed that planets gave birth to Titans, while the Old Gods were tumours that formed on the planets. The two were really not on the same level at all.


    "Come on, if we wait any longer there might not be a First Clear to take," Lu Li urged.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn''t say a word and immediately struck the Boss'' feet.


    "The time of your demise has come!"


    Harbinger Skyriss seemed to have some more proclamations that he didn''t get to finish. When he was interrupted, he suddenly raised his weapon in anger.


    This Boss had several powerful skills, but most of them were Spirit attacks.


    Spirit Burn dealt 3000 damage to random targets, while Spirit Control would randomly allow the Boss to control the players. Spirit Lash would deal 2000 damage to a random teammate and cause them to fall asleep for 3 seconds. He also had Spirit Fear, which would cause a target to be affected by Fear for 3 seconds¡­


    There was also a clone skill, which allowed the Boss to clone itself. This was used once every two minutes.


    Harbinger Skyriss was difficult at first because of the skills that would target several players randomly in combination with the cloning skill. Lu Li''s party was first defeated because Hachi Chan was controlled while the Boss cloned itself.


    The difficulty of the Instance Dungeon was later reduced by decreasing the probability that a party''s healer would be controlled. The Boss'' clones would also be weakened, with less HP and Defense.


    As a result, Harbinger Skyriss would become one of the weakest Bosses in the game.


    However, as it currently stood, he was one of the most powerful Bosses below level 70. He had a Fear, Crowd Control, cloning and a variety of ways to throw the fight into chaos. You had to have impeccable teamwork to defeat him.


    Lu Li''s team was fortunate, as the situation that caused them to be defeated the first time didn''t arise again.


    Since Hachi Chan hadn''t been crowd-controlled, she managed to cast a continuous HP regeneration skill on everyone to ensure that they would continue to be healed. Although the Boss'' damage was high, it wasn''t enough to one-shot anyone. After the third attempt, they finally cleared this Instance Dungeon.


    At this stage, the Instance Dungeon regards were all rather mediocre, but at the very least, Hachi Chan gained a Skill Point.


    Lu Li''s had a conflicted expression on his face. Whenever Skill Points were rewarded, he was resigned to the fact that they would more than often not be his. However, when he found out that Hachi Chan had received yet another, it was like salt had been thrown on his wounds. Hachi Chan already had so many ¨C was the System blind?


    After completing the Instance Dungeon, they all prepared to fight in the competition without a break.


    Today''s match was against Wings of Dawn, an old opponent of Ruling Sword. They had faced them in almost everyone competition, but it was a little earlier in the rounds this time.


    Lu Li didn''t mind letting Wings of Dawn have another taste of defeat in this rematch.


    Elevenless'' ability had been overshadowed by Lu Li. When he was fighting Lu Li, he would always die, regardless of whether it was in the Arena or in the Wild.


    This was not the first time a major club would fail to enter into the top 100. Many clubs had faced this fate in the past.


    Fortunately, none of the outcomes were determined by a single match. The points were calculated after a round of matchups and the top two teams would qualify. This meant that as long as they didn''t lose too many points, it was okay to drop a game or two.


    Since there were two super-clubs in this group, the other teams were basically done for.


    There were three individual rounds and one team round, but the scoring formula had been altered.


    Each of the individual rounds was worth one point. A victory in the team round was worth two points. This meant that there was a total of five points up for grabs in a match, and most professional matches were now held in this format.


    Of course, the System was changing all the time, but the key was just to keep all the players informed.


    "We should aim to take four points. We can''t let Wings of Dawn get comfortable," Lu Li said, setting a goal for them to achieve.


    "Leave it to me in the first round," Moonlight volunteered.


    "Uh, you don''t have to do this every time. We are fighting Wings of Dawn today and I can''t just pick out three players now."


    Lu Li felt helpless. PVP players like Moonlight were worried that they would beat their opponent without putting on a good show, so he would always ask to go first.


    "I would like to go third, if there is an opportunity to," Mu Qiu requested.


    "I would like to go second then!" Fat Monkey cried out.


    "What about me?" Lu Li questioned as he glanced at him, rejecting his plea.


    "Heh, Monkey, you need a bit more finesse," Mu Qiu said with a smile. In fact, he knew that with Moonlight and Lu Li playing, there was no chance of a third player to get in anyway.


    The map was the large, round arena, and Moonlight stepped in.


    Elevenless was standing on the other side. A Warrior mirror-match was undoubtedly the most promising match up. A duel between two Warriors was exciting to watch as it often felt like a real battle.


    Other professions like Thieves were too devious, and Paladins were generally not powerful enough. It was only the Warriors and their axes that could satisfy the crowds'' appetite for blood.


    "Elevenless is probably afraid to fight you. He has said in the past that Lu Li is like a supernova, and anyone that comes into contact with him will inevitably die. If you fought him in the Wild and died, he would definitely accuse Lu Li of some foul play," Mu Qiu joked casually.


    This guy was bought into Ruling Sword at a low price as his professional career was looking bleak.


    However, other than Lu Li himself, no one expected that he would make such a big come back as a Tanky Healer and become the number two Paladin after Green Flag Wine.


    "It seems that Elevenless can''t even touch me. Lighty will definitely win this one," Lu Li said as his raised his chin.


    On the stage, Moonlight had about half of his HP and Elevenless had less than 20%. The two Berserkers were continually trading blows, but Elevenless was slowly losing.


    "Elevenless, you can do it!"


    Elevenless fans had little to do but to keep cheering, even if they were exhausted.


    Elevenless was very popular among the fans and was basically treated like a star.


    Lu Li sourly thought about how he couldn''t ruin their impression by being the one to kill


    him, especially in front of his enthusiastic fans.


    "Wait, that''s not right," Mu Qiu said as he suddenly sat up straight and stared at the two Warriors on stage. "Isn''t Elevenless supposed to be dead by now?"


    Lu Li took a closer look, and saw that Moonlight''s HP had started to drop rapidly while Elevenless'' HP began to increase 10% at a time.

 1865 Ingot-Handler Se

    "His attack damage and speed has increased, and he also has a Lifesteal effect, but I don''t know how long it lasts," Lu Li said, feeling like a toothache was coming on.


    He had a bad feeling about this. Surely a club like Wings of Dawn wouldn''t try such an off-meta build. However, he remembered encountering Elevenless in the Shadow Cup. That time, he was wearing the Archaedas Berserker Set, which also proved quite the challenge to overcome.


    Moreover, he had heard of a level 65 set in his previous life.


    If he was correct, it should be Alfred''s Ingot-Handler Set. This could only be acquired from a private Instance Dungeon in the Hinterlands. It had a very low drop-rate and there were barely a dozen of those Instance Dungeon scrolls, so obtaining the set was quite unlikely.


    Alfred was a master blacksmith for the Titans, and he was particularly known for this meticulously created and exceptionally durable items.


    His father was Aman''Thul, King of the Titans, while his mother was Eonar, Guardian of the Order and Protector of all Life.


    However, when he was born, he only had half of his body ¨C one eye, one arm and one leg. It was as if he had been split in half. As such, he was abandoned by his parents in a land densely packed with dangerous animals. Young Titans were normally unable to survive this environment.


    Against all odds, Alfred survived tenaciously with his incredible vitality.


    On that planet, he found an extremely tough metal and spent thousands of years studying its characteristics. He managed to forge the other half of his body with this unique metal and had since become a complete Titan.


    However, his abandonment continued to a source of enmity for him.


    Afred used the metal to forge a headpiece and dedicated it to his biological mother, Eonar. This headpiece was very beautiful, but immediately after wearing it, it turned into a net that covered Eonar''s head.


    The net was tight and couldn''t be removed.


    Many Titans gathered in the temples, but no one could rescue Eonar.


    Golganneth was the other son of Aman''Thul and Eonar. He inquired behind the scenes and discovered that this had been caused by his own brother. He eventually found his brother and begged for forgiveness on behalf of their parents. After some time, he eventually managed to move Alfred.


    Alfred was reunited with his parents and returned to be a part of the Temple.


    There were a total of six items in the Ingot-Handler set, each of which had the same special effect that could be stacked. When the user''s HP was reduced to a certain level, they would gain a strong attack and defence buff in addition to Lifesteal.


    This set''s Defense was already incredibly high, and could be considered overpowered.


    As for how they should deal with this set¡­


    "Brother Qiu, you should get in there," Lu Li instructed Mu Qiu, while gathering some other players to make preparations.


    Mu Qiu saw the whole process of Moonlight''s defeat and knew he didn''t stand much of a chance. His only hope was to kill Elevenless as quickly as possible.


    Unfortunately, it turned out that he was thinking too much.


    He ended up repeating Moonlight''s tragedy, and both of them were killed by Elevenless.


    After Elevenless killed two players in a row, he couldn''t help but gloat a little.


    "What about Lu Li? Why haven''t you appeared yet? I want you to kneel down before me and call me dad."


    "I don''t understand ¨C if Elevenless had such good equipment, why would he wait until now to use it?" Square Root 3 questioned as he rushed over. He had mobilised the entire guild to collect all the equipment that Lu Li needed.


    "It''s very simple ¨C it''s all because of the level debuff. When the top 100 is determined or when it is time for the finals, everyone will be at level 70. If you were wearing level 65 equipment at that time, you would just be asking for it," Lu Li explained while changing his equipment.


    After putting on a whole bunch of equipment, Lu Li almost had a set of his own.


    As far as the match was concerned, Ruling Sword was definitely going to lose. However, Lu Li just couldn''t stand being picked on by Elevenless.


    If Elevenless won, Ruling Sword would have become a stepping stone for Wings of Dawn. Elevenless would also have killed Moonlight, Mu Qiu and Lu Li in succession, which would probably make this the peak of his career so far.


    While the individual rounds were going, if no one entered the arena within the 30 second window, then the opponent would considered to have abstained.


    Lu Li obviously didn''t have the option of abstaining. He was standing opposite from Elevenless and entered the arena at the last moment with two daggers in hand. He had a dignified look on his face.


    Elevenless'' HP was at 13%. His set took effect at 10% HP, but none of that mattered because he could regenerate his HP.


    "Haha, I thought you would be too scared to turn up," Elevenless laughed. He elated to see Lu Li.


    Since his debut, no one had made Elevenless die in every encounter like Lu Li had. After all, he often would play the Warrior-like profession in games, which might not have the strongest damage, but they didn''t have the weakest survivability either.


    "Unexpectedly, you guys have done a good job with the equipment," Lu Li said sincerely.


    As they approached max-level at level 70, there were many level 70 items beckoning to the players. However, it took a special dedication to acquire that much equipment from a private Instance Dungeon.


    "Hehe, were you surprised?" Elevenless laughed.


    "It doesn''t matter anyway, since the team round won''t be a problem," Lu Li said indifferently.


    "Does it really not matter? Would it matter if you didn''t get a single point today?" Elevenless retorted. "You should express your emotions. Don''t pretend like you don''t care."


    "Ahem, let''s get started. I''m guessing that the commentators are already talking about how we are in love or something," Lu Li urged.


    Lu Li first entered into Stealth, and Elevenless waved his equipment around. His equipment actually looked quite ragged from the outside, and you couldn''t tell that it was the Ingot-Handler Set. Surely if it really was made of this special metal, it should look quite formidable.


    "How about I stand here and wait for you to attack me?" Elevenless called as he turned around, trying to work out Lu Li''s whereabouts.


    Although he wouldn''t die if he was attacked by Lu Li, that wouldn''t be a great performance. He wanted to decisively kill Lu Li before the eyes of all these spectators.


    "You think you can hide?"


    Lu Li put Elevenless under crowd-control and started dealing damage to him.


    "Ouch, Lu Li you''re hurting me¡­ but only a little bit? You''re just tickling me."


    Elevenless was startled at first, but found that Lu Li''s attacks didn''t do much damage to him.


    Compared to Moonlight and Mu Qiu, a Thief should definitely have been doing more damage.


    Moonlight could hit him for over 300 damage and Mu Qiu could hit him for about 200 damage. However, Lu Li''s damage was outrageously low. He was only dealing 30 to 40 points of damage, which was definitely not the amount that Thieves usually dealt.

 1866 Begrudging Defea

    Elevenless started to fight back, but before he could land a single attack, Lu Li had already moved off to the side.


    He had left combat and entered Stealth again!


    Did he plan to just keep grinding until he died?


    Elevenless almost started to laugh out loud. His equipment''s Lifesteal was quite high, but his HP regeneration was even higher. Even if he was standing still, Lu Li wouldn''t be able to kill him with such low damage.


    "Ruling Sword is probably going to lose this one."


    There were two guest commentators invited today ¨C Stellar Union Silver Radiant from Azure Guard and Unforgettable Maple from Majin Temple.


    Unforgettable Maple grinned as he said, "If Lu Li played Elevenless normally, he would definitely have lost."


    "Does that mean that Lu Li is playing different to normal?" Stellar Union Silver Radiant questioned with a puzzled expression.


    "He''s not showing it; he is weak. The low damage that we are seeing is because of his equipment, but I don''t know what other strange effects it might have," Unforgettable Maple said, then began to gloat, "But I can see that the effects are beginning to work, because Elevenless is beginning to panic."


    Elevenless really was panicking. Although Lu Li''s initial damage was quite low, the additional effects that followed were truly digusting.


    There were slashes all over him, and he was affected by Bleed.


    As his body continued to bleed, he was taking damage at the rate of ten or more points at a time. With over 1000 HP, it would be a long time before he would bleed out. Since he had some HP regeneration, this match would likely have no end point. In that case, the System would provide an expert analysis, and Lu Li would likely suffer a technical loss.


    Unfortunately, Alfred''s Ingot-Handler Set had an inherent weakness towards slash attacks like these.


    Even if he took a little bit of Slash damage, his HP regeneration and the Lifesteal effects would be lost.


    Lu Li didn''t even need to do anything. He just needed to ensure that Elevenless was continually suffering from Slash damage, which was why he deliberately equipped this relatively weaker equipment.


    The damage was low at the beginning, but as the Slash effects began to stack, they would started dealing a lot more damage.


    "Elevenless looks quite pitiful," Stellar Union Silver Radiant sighed. He had also heard of the conflict between Lu Li and Elevenless. He thought that today was an opportunity for Elevenless to turn it around, and didn''t expect the outcome would be the same today.


    "Oh dear, I''ve talked to him about this before. He shouldn''t be so wanton with his newfound abilities. But he never listens, and loves showing off every new little thing that he acquires," Unforgettable Maple muttered.


    Unfortunately, Elevenless was too greedy, and thought he could take down three players. This gave Lu Li enough time to prepare for his strategy.


    "I thought Elevenless'' equipment was hard to counter, but it turns out that it is affected by Slash attacks," Stellar Union Silver Radiant commented.


    "I don''t think there is any equipment that cannot be countered. My guess is that Slash attacks are not the only way to counter it, but in a match like this, there isn''t much time to work out what the counters are. All you can do us consider yourself to be unlucky for facing such a strategy."


    Unforgettable Maple couldn''t help but sigh when thinking about how lucky Lu Li had been today.


    "Elevenless¡­" Stellar Union Silver Radiant had really wanted to see Lu Li defeated.


    "There is still a chance. Both players have given up their optimal equipment for their respective strategies, so victory is still contingent on their individual technique. Elevenless still has a chance of coming back," Unforgettable Maple commented wisely.


    "Unfortunately, Elevenless'' mental fortitude is poor," Stellar Union Silver Radiant chimed in.


    Elevenless'' mental fortitude was really not very steadfast. He found that after his effects had been mitigated by Lu Li, he was quickly killed while Lu Li managed to retain two thirds of his HP.


    After defeating Elevenless, Lu Li immediately switched his equipment.


    This Slash equipment had very little damage output, and his Stealth level had been reduced to a level that a Berserker could easily discover him.


    The second player from Wings of Dawn was Tracer, a Hunter. Hunters were currently the best professional for dealing with Thieves.


    In the end, Lu Li still failed. The lack of HP was one aspect of it, but Lu Li had already used many skills and effects on Elevenless. There were also some effects, such as the Supreme Ring, that he didn''t want to use.


    For the individual rounds, Ruling Sword had lost.


    Ruling Sword gained 1 point, while Wings of Dawn had acquired 3 points.


    During the intermission, Lu Li and the others met up to discuss the matches. It wasn''t just Elevenless that they had to talk about.


    "Our equipment strength has fallen behind," Lu Li stated, opening up the meeting.


    Moonlight and Mu Qiu nodded solemnly. They had both fought Elevenless and were both embarrassed with their performances. They were completely helpless against their opponent and found themselves slowly being chipped away at until they lost.


    "I''ll get a set of Slash equipment later for Elevenless," Moonlight said.


    "Their other players'' equipment is not bad either. Tracer''s equipment is also generally better than ours," Lu Li recalled. He roughly calculated everyone''s attack and defense strength based on their damage. He was able to do this even though he was semi-illiterate.


    "It seems that we have to play well in the team round. Someone take my spot. I''m still not good at playing a warrior," Mu Qiu sighed before volunteering his position.


    Their strategy turned out to be very simple ¨C use Slash equipment to limit Elevenless'' HP regeneration and Lifesteal before focusing their firepower on him, as he was the biggest threat to them.


    Moonlight, Fat Monkey, Kitty Likes Meat, Lu Li and Innocent Child were the starters with March Rain and Mu Qiu as the substitutes.


    Running a double-Mage composition posed a great threat to Warriors and using Innocent Child instead of March Rain would ensure that their Healer would not be one-shot in return. Innocent Child was a Druid that couldn''t heal nearly as much as March Rain, but his survivability and crowd control were definitely better.


    Elevenless, Dream 13, Falling Smile, Faker than Wind and Tracer were the starters of the


    other team. It was a double-healer composition.


    Falling Smile was a Priest and Faker than Wind was a Tanky Healer. The synergy between Priests and Tanky Healers was quite strong. Paladins had many protection skills that could protect the Priest while the Priest healed the other players. To kill the Priest, you first had to kill the Paladin that was protecting them, which was something that was very difficult to do.


    If the two healers were working on protecting their Berserker¡­


    Lu Li felt that this was going to be a hard fight.


    But in fact, the bitter fight that he expected didn''t happen. It took four players to attack their well-protected Berserker, which had become an almost impossible task, especially since Elevenless tried to avoid confrontation with Moonlight as much as possible.


    The goal of Wings of Dawn was to kill Moonlight. After all, there was no one that could kill Innocent Child at this stage.


    Innocent Child''s survivability was strong, but the shortcomings of that was also obvious. The fact that he healed less meant that he lacked the ability to quickly regenerate his teammates'' HP. In the end, he failed to keep Moonlight alive.


    More importantly, the players in Wings of Dawn simply had better equipment.


    Since they were all on their way to level 70 from level 60, any equipment they had now was transitory. Even if they got a First Clear from an Instance Dungeon, acquiring strong equipment wouldn''t do that much for them.


    There wasn''t much difference in strength between all the level 60 equipment.


    This was the reason that Lu Li and the others were wearing whatever equipment they had. They hadn''t even thought about farming for better equipment.


    They couldn''t just wait until they were level 70 either, as the major clubs would all have exquisite gear by then.


    However, Wings of Dawn was an exception to that rule.

 1867 Divided Up

    Every piece of equipment that Wings of Dawn had was painstakingly acquired, and each one was better than what Lu Li owned.


    Since they weren''t able to easily acquire Skill Points or Enhanced Skills, they invested heavily into the equipment of their players. They had done so by fighting Bosses or buying it for exorbitant prices. Lu Li didn''t dare to imagine the lengths to which they had gone.


    After all, Ruling Sword was just too poor for something like that.


    Although they had an income from each Stronghold war, there were also great costs involved with a time like this.


    The Elite Group, particularly the core one, required a lot of money to maintain. These professional gamers took their work seriously, like it was a job. Not only were they paid salaries, but insurance policies had been taken out for them.


    As an official guild, they also had a pay a portion of their profits in taxes.


    When considering that the current equipment was merely transitory and that the real game wouldn''t start until they were all at level 70, Lu Li didn''t pay too much attention to acquiring exquisite items.


    There were no strong professions, only strong players.


    However, among strong players, if there was a difference in equipment, then there would be a difference in strength.


    Moonlight had died and Elevenless seemed like he was basically invulnerable. Although the Alfred''s Ingot-Handler Set had its flaws, it was one of the best level 65 equipment.


    Ruling Sword had only scored one point in this round, which was considered a complete defeat.


    "Don''t worry about it. We made it through regardless," Square Root 3 comforted everyone after the match finished. He continued to explain, "Wings of Dawn paid a huge price to prepare for this game. The Transmog Set was prepared by grinding a private Instance Dungeon. They bought the Instance Dungeon scrolls from the market for tens of millions of dollars."


    "That''s a lot of money to spend on a single match," Lu Li commented. He couldn''t understand the thought process behind these guilds.


    "It''s not just that. They demanded equipment from their entire guild. Anyone who had equipment that was useful for competitions had to give it up. It obviously made the players unhappy, but Dream 13 paid out a large sum of money to placate them."


    Square Root 3 almost sounded like he was gloating.


    "But they beat us in the end," Lu Li said, feeling unsatisfied.


    "I don''t think there is anything wrong with how we''re going. We are developing in a stable way," Square Root 3 said. He didn''t seem to mind that they had lost a game.


    Lu Li patted Square Root 3 on the shoulder but didn''t say anything.


    With this kind of encouragement, anymore and it would have started to seem like arrogance.


    Once Ruling Sword was defeated, discussion immediately exploded on the World Channel.


    It was especially liberating for the teams that had been previously defeated by Ruling Sword in this competition. It was quite rare to see Ruling Sword defeated. From the creation of Ruling Sword until now, they had not even lost three games yet.


    How did this happen?


    Glory Capital was a century-old guild, so there was a chance that they would lose every now and again. When they were in a slump, they even lost multiple games in a row and would even lose to medium sized guilds.


    Even when Sorrowless was in charge of Glory Capital, they were a long way from being considered invincible.


    Wings of Dawn had defeated the undefeatable and had become heroes in many players'' eyes. Everyone in the guild instantly felt that all the money they had spent was worth it. In fact, they had spent more money that everyone thought.


    The amount invested was more than 100 million. If they still didn''t win, their funding was going to be taken away.


    Dream 13 had almost peed himself in fear during the match.


    Wings of Dawn''s expenses were so high that they were barely able to make any money. They had already accepted capital injections from seven or eight large corporations many years ago. In exchange, Wings of Dawn used their popularity to advertise their investors'' products.


    A few weeks ago, Wings of Dawn''s Stronghold in the Thousand Needles was stolen away by Unforgettable Maple. The dissatisfaction of the board had reached an extreme at that point.


    As such, Wings of Dawn had to do something.


    It turned out that the results this time were excellent. Their guild had defeated the almost-invincible Ruling Sword. This inevitably made the board even happier, so they threw even more money at them.


    The next Stronghold War was about to begin.


    This was the 16th Stronghold war, which seemed to have been inspired by Wings of Dawn. Many small and medium guilds were spending more on level 60 equipment to gain an advantage in the Stronghold War.


    Most players thought that this was a crazy movement that would soon be over.


    In addition to throwing money at equipment, there were other business tactics being employed. After acquiring the Stronghold, the guild that got it would immediately invest a large sum of moneyh into it.


    At the beginning of the year, there were some changes to the stock exchange rules that relaxed the auditing of entertainment and sports companies. This also meant that it was a golden opportunity for the gaming industry to explode, and there were many companies watching very closely.


    Several of Ruling Sword''s strongholds came under attack, but Lu Li wasn''t afraid.


    A few days ago, another Fel Reaver blueprint was dropped, so another six Fel Reavers had joined Ruling Sword''s army. This meant that each Stronghold could be protected by at least one Fel Reaver.


    The only thing that Lu Li was unsatisfied about was that the method by which these blueprints were acquired had been leaked.


    On a day when Ruling Sword was farming Mo''arg Engineers, a blueprint appeared in front of an ordinary team without warning. This team couldn''t contain themselves and were crying out in excitement.


    Naturally, there were other people that heard them.


    Now, the location where Mo''arg Engineers were farmed was very popular, and Lu Li had instructed the Ruling Sword players to temporarily vacate the area.


    As long as there were Ruling Sword players farming something on a large scale, the masses would rush towards the same thing. However, they never stopped to think about how Ruling Sword had only managed to find two Blueprints, so the chances of them getting one was very low.


    Ruling Sword, who had just lost a match, seemed to have been plunged back into the mortal world.


    It turned out that Ruling Sword''s equipment level was low, which was the reason they lost. Unforgettable Maple''s commentary had such an influence on the population that they started to overrate the value of equipment. Many players now thought that the player with the best equipment would be the best.


    A further conclusion was that Ruling Sword was coming to an end, and their Strongholds were destined to be divided up among the survivors.


    Those who acted first would have the advantage, and might even be the ones to wrestle control of Ruling Sword''s Strongholds. So, when the bidding phase came, many guilds attempted to acquire the chance to attack Ruling Sword''s Strongholds.

 1868 Conques

    Lu Li couldn''t hide his smile.


    He had suddenly discovered how amazing losing to Wings of Dawn really was.


    In the previous Stronghold Wars, Ruling Sword had earned some money, but the total sum was quite limited. The amount that they were earning was not as much as some of the other guilds.


    The other guilds knew that they couldn''t beat Ruling Sword, so they naturally didn''t bother bidding for the opportunity.


    Since there were fewer guilds bidding, there was less competition and so only a fool would bid such a high price. In fact, it was better for them to place a higher bid for a Stronghold that they could actually defeat.


    This was especially true after the Fel Reavers had been revealed.


    Now, their defeat had inspired many guilds to try a rematch in an attempt to defeat Ruling Sword.


    In fact, if someone could see the bidding information, they would see that not a single one of the major guilds participated in the bidding process. They seemed to be completely unaffected by Wings of Dawn''s victory.


    They were clearly more aware than the medium and small guilds, who were simply ignorant to the truth.


    They knew that victory or defeat in these competitions didn''t mean anything. Everyone had lost a few games before. Moreover, Ruling Sword had lost to an old and established guild like Wings of Dawn, not some small no-name guild.


    "We''re going to be rich!" Square Root 3 was also elated.


    "What is our estimated income?" Lu Li asked as he licked his lips. Was it finally the big win that they deserved?


    "Not counting the Life Alliance, our two Strongholds are looking at a conservative estimate of 50 million dollars. This will be our greatest income in recent days. We won''t have to sell the Fel Reavers," Square Root 3 said. He knew that they were lacking in money, but he never wanted to sell the Fel Reavers.


    Water Fairy had already taken three Fel Reavers and transferred 50 million dollars to Ruling Sword''s account.


    After all, this was expected among couples, so Lu Li couldn''t say anything. He wasn''t expecting to be repaid for every meal, but he wasn''t generous enough to give three Fel Reavers away so casually.


    With Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear, there were almost 2000 players that needed to be paid. Even if they were only paid 8000 dollars each, that was nearly 20 million dollars in total.


    Therefore, the funds that came in each month from these Stronghold Wars had become a stable source of income for Ruling Sword.


    "We have to get it, so make sure there are no incidents. How much did you end up spending on bidding?" Lu Li asked.


    "Very good, thanks for getting the bids in. Just leave the rest to us," Lu Li said.


    Yes, this time, Ruling Sword was going to besiege a Stronghold. The original target was Thousand Needles or Un''Goro Crater, but they didn''t succeed in those bids. In the end, they were only able to acquire the chance to attack Stranglethorn Vale.


    If you included the Life Alliance, Ruling Sword had three Strongholds to defend.


    Since there were no powerful guilds attacking him, a single Fel Reaver was enough to defend each one. Lu Li would take the remaining two to fight Glory Capital.


    Glory Capital was somewhat overwhelmed. They were being attacked by many guilds during this period, and it was likely because they had lost an Infernal. However, they didn''t expect that Ruling Sword would also participate.


    Ruling Sword had such little resources and needed to defend three Strongholds. How could they be so confident in attacking someone else?


    However, Lu Li insisted on attacking!


    The town wasn''t big enough for the two of them¡­ was what Lu Li said to the guild executives.


    But no one knew his true purpose¡­


    Glory Capital''s defensive line up could be described as luxurious, but it was only because they had to face the threat from Lu Li.


    Commander Lu Li was attacking with experts from three top guilds. There was no doubt that their line up would also be a formidable representation of their strength.


    Even if there were no Fel Reavers, Glory Capital needed Sorrowless in person to deal with Lu Li, let alone the fact that their intelligence showed that Ruling Sword was bringing two Fel Reavers into this battle.


    It was going to be a tough fight!


    Right from the beginning, there was no hiding or stalling. The two Fel Reavers from Ruling Sword were immediately dropped onto the Stranglethorn Vale Stronghold and struck the heart of the city among the defenders like boulders.


    Glory Capital showed no weakness and sent six Infernals to meet the Fel Reavers.


    The Glory Capital players in the city ignored the chariots that were hitting their city walls. Their eyes were focused on the Fel Reavers and they cast all their skills onto them. They knew that the Fel Reavers were very durable, but if they were able to break through the defences, then all that would be left was a pile of scrap iron.


    In this battle, Ruling Sword had broken the record for smashing through the Stronghold Walls. They were able to create a gaping hole in Glory Capital''s Stronghold after about 10 minutes.


    They actually had no choice but to do this so that the Fel Reavers would be able to move in and out of the Stronghold.


    After the walls had been breached, the Fel Reaver pilots, Fat Monkey and Azure Sea Breeze, received orders from Lu Li to escape the Glory Capital Stronghold.


    "How are they? How much Durability left?" Lu Li asked.


    "Boss, don''t worry about it. It might look bad, but I held them back with ease¡­." Fat Monkey said with a grin.


    "Don''t give me that rubbish!"


    "35% left," Fat Monkey answered as his tone dropped.


    "Lu Li, our friendship actually began many years ago. You know, when I think back on that time, you were just a little Thief being bullied by others. If two people were fighting you, you had no way of fighting back¡­" Azure Sea Breeze said sentimentally.


    "Stop it!"


    "28% left. Don''t blame me. They were just focused on me, so there was nothing I could do. Monkey was just jumping around the whole time," Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    "How can you blame me, I killed four of the six Infernals," Fat Monkey defended himself.


    "You keep stealing my kills. I was obviously targeted in there and you would jump in to take the kill," Azure Sea Breeze ranted furiously.


    "Alright that''s enough from you two. Look for any opportunities to rejoin the fight. If we don''t get this Stronghold today, you''re both done as pilots. Especially you Monkey ¨C your damage output as a Mage is wasted as pilot," Lu Li said seriously.


    "Relax, we will succeed," the two guys responded in unison.


    In fact, Fat Monkey and Azure Sea Breeze''s skill as pilots was already quite good and they could be considered experts. The fact that they stalled Glory Capital long enough for them to break through was more than Lu Li could expect.


    The Fel Reavers remained stationary for a while and the fresh chariots now rushed into the Stronghold.


    Ruling Sword''s troops charged behind these chariots and their advantage was clear. Glory Capital had lost.


    The battle that followed lasted for another 10 minutes. Two more Infernals crashed into Ruling Sword''s troops, which was what Lu Li had expected. He did not believe that Glory Capital only had the six Infernals from the beginning.

 1869 Hosting Guests

    The two Infernals delayed Ruling Sword''s attack, but once Fat Monkey and Azure Sea Breeze returned to the fight with the Fel Reavers, the battle became quite one-sided.


    They were about to lose!


    Sorrowless'' eyebrows wrinkled as he sighed silently.


    He just needed two more periods to integrate new defensive capabilities. By then, no one would dare to attack him like they were doing now.


    Lu Li didn''t know what Sorrowless was thinking, and even if he knew, he would probably be taunting him.


    When a guild owned six Strongholds and did not have good macro control, their general defence was bound to be weakened, which would make the outcome of these battles uncertain.


    Victory!


    Stranglethorn Vale had changed hands as Ruling Sword became the new owners.


    The Stronghold that Glory Capital had built there had been removed, and Ruling Sword could now place one of their existing Strongholds there or create a new one.


    The pressure from Ruling Sword meant that the defences of the other Strongholds had been diluted by a lot. Blood Red War Flag also managed to recapture their Stronghold from Glory Capital. They had finally regained the Hillsbrad Hills, and the other one now remained in the hands of Gale Legion.


    As a result, Glory Capital only had four of its six Strongholds left. They had lost two in this Stronghold War.


    No one knew how Sorrowless was feeling.


    Drizzle Court and Ruling Sword had many players attacking them, but these were weak small to medium guilds. They were entranced by the possibility of victory but ultimately defeated on the battlefield. In the end, they lost their money and their equipment.


    Thousand Needles, which was co-owned by Majin Temple and Gods of Dusk for only two periods, had been captured by Azure Guard.


    In any case, Azure Guard was definitely strong enough that there were few Strongholds that could defend against them. Everyone knew that they were bound to gain one eventually; it was just a matter of whether they were unlucky.


    Azure Guard had held Arathi Highlands for only one period before it was taken by Stellar Union.


    From Lu Li''s professional perspective, he could see and understand things that most players couldn''t. Azure Guard hadn''t bothered defending their Stronghold, and instead chose to pursue a new one.


    In this Stronghold War, Ruling Sword and Blood Red War Flag were the biggest winners.


    They had both pried a Stronghold from Glory Capital grasp. Blood Red War Flag was now a guild with multiple Strongholds, with one in Hillsbrad Hills and another in Desolace.


    The question of who would face Glory Capital''s vengeance the next week was a hot topic of discussion.


    The guilds that had been eager to use Ruling Sword as a stepping stone had also calmed down.


    Someone did come, not to attack him, but to give him money. It was Wings of Dawn; they obviously had not yet calmed down from the previous excitement.


    "Hey, why didn''t Elevenless come?" Lu Li asked as he sat crossed-legged on his seat. He was seated in a luxurious club while pretending to appear casual. However, he was actually quite distressed because he had booked this place for four hours and all the food and drinks had cost him tens of thousands in real money.


    "He doesn''t want to see you. Isn''t this the first time you''re hosting?" Dream 13 asked. He was sitting across from Lu Li.


    "Hey, what''s up with his attitude? He is acting like a child. This isn''t an ideal situation for having a conversation," Lu Li said, trying to rile up the other person.


    "Don''t waste my time with this talk. Just name your price ¨C how much for Stranglethorn Vale!" Dream 13 questioned as he waved his hands. "We have to get this Stronghold."


    Stranglethorn Vale was one of Dawn''s largest Strongholds. It had rich produce and beautiful surroundings. No matter what level you reached, this place would never be deserted. The large Instance Dungeons like Zul''gurub here also guaranteed that there would always be high traffic.


    In a sense, it was a better than Grey Valley and the Black Sea Coast.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li had other ambitions and hoped to one day occupy the Elf capital city.


    The Fel Reavers would be nerfed sooner or later, which would affect either their strength or durability. At the very least, they would no longer be an overpowered force that could fight on their own. The rise of Ruling Sword actually broke the balance that Lu Li had in memory and the impact of the Fel Reavers was much more exaggerated.


    The Infernals had been weakened, so why would the Fel Reavers be left unscathed?


    The next update to the Stronghold Wars would also make defence a lot more difficult, so it was definitely not a good idea to retain too many Strongholds. Selling was definitely the better option for Lu Li.


    As for who the buyer could be, Wings of Dawn was certainly not the only option.


    However, they were the first option.


    They were the first option because they currently didn''t have a Stronghold. As a guild that


    could beat Ruling Sword, not having a Stronghold was just ridiculous.


    The second reason was because Wings of Dawn had money to spend. Dream 13 and Elevenless were part of two separately rich families. They had also taken many capital injections. If you only measured by this metric, they were even better than Glory Capital.


    The third reason was because Wings of Dawn wanted to go public. Or, perhaps it was more accurate to say that all of these old large guilds wanted to go public.


    However, with no Strongholds to your name, how would you convince the investors to believe in your strength? After all, these investors were also playing the game.


    As for any other potential candidates, Lu Li had also sent them a message.


    "You can have it for 200 million and 20% of the Stronghold''s income for each period," Lu Li offered with a smile.


    "Who are you fooling? You''re asking for 200 million and you still want income from each period? Do you think you have a Stronghold that is filled with gold?"


    "If you don''t want it¡­then leave," Lu Li retorted without a change in his facial expression.


    "Wow, you''re actually ruthless."


    Of course, Dream 13 wouldn''t just lave. He sat back down and started talking more reasonably.


    "But the price is too high. Please elaborate on this price."


    "In three minutes, Jade Flower Lover will come in. Thirteen minutes after that, Unforgettable Maple will be here. Don''t think that you''re the only one I''m hosting," Lu Li reminded.


    "Okay, you have a of clients, but you want us to buy it, right?"


    Dream 13 felt a headache coming on. He knew that Lu Li wasn''t kidding as there was a real chance that Jade Flower Lover would buy it.


    "Yeah, why don''t you already have a Stronghold?" Lu Li shrugged.


    "200 million is acceptable, but 20% of the profits is too much. How about we give you 250 million and you give up the second clause?" Dream 13 offered. He had to serious consider Lu Li''s price.


    "300 million in one lump sum. Otherwise, I can''t accept it."


    Lu Li had turned into an auntie at the markets. He had mentally rolled up his sleeves and prepared to fight Dream 13 for a hundred rounds.


    Dream 13 thought about it before nodding decisively.


    "Okay, we''ll take it then."


    Lu Li: ¡­

 1870 The First Close Encounter

    Actually, if Wings of Dawn persisted, it could''ve been sold for 200 million.


    When defeating a Stronghold, the total cost shouldn''t have been more than 50 million dollars. The requirement was that you could defeat it. Lu Li had used two Fel Reavers and an army of top players to accomplish this.


    The land was auctioned for more than 30 million, but since they won, a portion of this money was deducted by the System. More than half still went into Lu Li''s pocket. There was also wear and tear from the Fel Reavers. Repairs required a lot of expensive materials, but the cost wasn''t too great.


    As for the lost equipment, winners of the battle would generally even earn a little.


    Lu Li and Square Root 3 were already ecstatic with 200 million. As for sharing the 20% interest afterwards, naturally, it was clearly impossible.


    "You have no idea what his expression was like, ahahaha."


    Dream 13 had returned back to his own club, and was sitting in his large, luxuriantly furnished office, describing the scene of what had happened to his little cousin, who was half-lying on the sofa.


    "Hahaha, he must regret so much that he wanted so little. It must be so hard to take."


    Elevenless also laughed so hard that he nearly curled up.


    "I reckon he''ll be regretting it for three months. Who knows? He might find out that we would have been able to accept a price of 500 million. At that point, he''ll feel so bad about it he won''t be able to eat or sleep. Who knows? He might even give Water Fairy a cold shoulder. Then, Water Fairy will say goodbye to him and you''ll have a chance."


    "What rubbish." Elevenless jumped up.


    "Huh? You really are a special one. You won''t even be honest with your feelings. If you fessed up before, who knows? You could still have had a chance," Dream 13 said with a face full of disdain.


    "When did I ever say I liked Water Fairy? Can you stop making things up," Elevenless shot back in exasperation. "If I liked Water Fairy, wouldn''t I rather like Lu Li? I do more with Lu Li than with Water Fairy."


    "Hehe, idiot," Dream 13 laughed coldly.


    "You''re the idiot. When they give a price, that''s the price it''s going to be. You think money grows on trees?" Elevenless continued to rant.


    Later, the three brothers scuffled together in the leader''s office. The beautiful secretary adjusted her glasses and continued to bury herself in watching the latest period drama.


    After receive this giant amount of money, for a short while, Lu Li almost didn''t know how to spend it.


    However, there was no way to hand over the Stronghold directly, so in the next stronghold battle, everyone would have to fight a real battle for it. At the most, Ruling Sword wouldn''t send Fel Reavers out, and the defenders would be a touch weaker.


    The prerequisite was that Wings of Dawn had to successfully auction off their right to attack.


    It wasn''t all the time that they would face an opponent like Wings of Dawn. Most opponents wouldn''t have the strength to fight back, even if they worked hard to farm equipment.


    The best equipment for those in the level 60s was Dark Gold. Epic was relatively rare, and Legendary was even harder to find. No matter how hard they tried to rack their brains about this, they couldn''t find equipment that could give them an advantage.


    With everyone levelling up, level 65 set equipment gradually became weaker because of penalties. All of a sudden, Elevenless'' power dropped massively.


    After defeating a few more opponents, Ruling Sword and Wings of Dawn successfully progressed through, becoming one of the 10,000 competitor teams.


    It didn''t seem too hard to rise above the rest in the group of 10,000. For Ruling Sword, this was a likely outcome, but other clubs wouldn''t think the same way. They would be lucky if they could progress into the intermediate levels, but in the final 10,000, luck wasn''t a factor anymore.


    Moreover, because of the competition''s system, overseas players would also begin show up.


    In the first round, Lu Li faced an overseas group.


    Before the competition, both sides had an opportunity to exchange short pleasantries.


    However, Lu Li quickly got a headache from hearing their annoying language.


    "They''re really excited. They think they''re playing against a Chinese team," Kitty Likes Meat explained in a small voice. After that, she went over to have an exchange using the same random language.


    "See, Kitty''s so amazing," Fat Monkey said with respect and admiration.


    He and Kitty Likes Meat had entered into Ruling Sword one after the other. They were both Magic players and were of a similar age. During the day, they still fought against a common enemy when they were out, but naturally, they couldn''t catch a break in their private time either.


    Although Fat Monkey lost much more than he won in battle, he still fell into Kitty Likes Meat''s snare, although he was never fully convinced.


    Now, he had been convinced.


    "What the hell are they saying?" Lu Li asked.


    "They''re speaking Gaoli. My dad had an e-sports friend who used to live in Gaoli, so I learnt a little bit. They said they hope to establish a solid friendship with us," Kitty Likes Meat reported to Lu Li after she came back.


    "And how did you reply?"


    "I said we''ll see after you beat us," she said with a shrug.


    "Beautifully done."


    Lu Li didn''t have any particular goodwill towards foreigners. He was most familiar with grassroots culture, and as the saying went, most righteous people were from poor backgrounds and most bad people often were educated. On the contrary, the lowest class of people wouldn''t care too much about international affairs and so on.


    The team on the other side was one of those top few teams from Gaoli.


    Of course, this was speaking within the context of their own country. This club called Purgatory Shrine was safely in the top 100 over there. For ordinary players, this was already something they dreamed of that was out of their reach.


    As for Ruling Sword¡­


    "This is a top Chinese team and were the champions last time. Can we beat them?"


    The face of Purgatory Shrine''s leader was full of worry.


    "Boss, how can you speak like that? Where''s our weakness? How can you talk about how good they are and dismiss our own power. It''s the first time we''re playing against a foreign club. We can only win, not lose," a Warrior said in a stern, reprimanding voice.


    Although the team leader was stronger, the Warrior was an old player, having been around these circles for nearly 20 years. He bowed in apology with great discomfort, extremely timid and ashamed.


    "We''ll definitely make it."


    The Gaoli players mobilized themselves with great enthusiasm before the battle.


    "At the very least, we can get one or two total points," the leader of Purgatory Shrine quietly added in his heart, quickly strengthening his faith.


    Meanwhile, Ruling Sword did not do any pre-battle mobilization. Rather, they met with some trouble.


    A few people had been fighting it out to the point of injury regarding who would be sidelined for the match. Though they usually scrambled for stuff like this on a normal day, they were still able to negotiate between themselves peacefully. However, today was the first time they were up against overseas players, and no one wanted to give in and miss their place.


    "What are fighting about? It''s about being sent out right ¨C what''s the point fighting about it? Stop arguing," Lu Li scolded.


    Everyone thought about it and realized they were acting like they had never seen a foreigner before. At that, they all shut up sheepishly.


    "Ahem, this first battle is super important. We can only win, not lose, so¡­It''s still gonna be me," Lu Li said shamelessly.

 1871 Three Out of Three

    The team leader was the one who organized who was going on the field.


    Lu Li himself was the team leader. At this, after some careful consideration, he gave himself the opportunity to enter the field first.


    With rays of glory, he disappeared from the waiting area and left behind his dumbstruck group.


    The opponent was already waiting there. Seeing Lu Li come out, he made a deep bow straight away. Fortunately, that the System would translate what the other side was saying, otherwise, Lu Li would be completely stuck.


    "I am South Sky Dagger of Purgatory Shrine from the great empire of Gaoli. I hope you will remember my name today," Lu Li''s opponent introduced.


    However, right after the countdown, Lu Li flashed right over behind him and went right ahead with a Premediated Cheap Shot. When all those skills hit him, they took away 60% of his HP.


    South Sky Dagger almost cried. He simply didn''t have any defense.


    Wasn''t it said that China was such a vast country where most of them wouldn''t retaliate when hit? Supposedly, all they would do was just use their mouth to speak out in protest. Why was he being so direct?


    Lu Li took back his dagger without showing much concern at all. His opponent''s health had been reduced down to just over 10%.


    The audience was silent at first, then erupted in great cheers afterwards.


    Of course, in their midst, there were some sounds which weren''t too harmonious.


    "Such a loss of face. What sort of ability is Cheap Shot? Why couldn''t he defeat him properly."


    "Yeah, complete loss of face. Why didn''t he go a little easier on them? If it was me, I''d defeat them without equipment."


    "Hmm, they''re not even such a strong club after all. They can''t even show off our country''s power."


    Lu Li simply didn''t care about the audience''s reaction. Making the most of the time before the next opponent came on, he crouched down to practice his English on the ground with great effort. The dagger which he used to kill his opponent was now used to write on the ground.


    First blood!


    The audience could watch the competition from every angle, so naturally, they could adjust the angle to see what he was writing. His handwriting looked like that of a three-year old''s.


    Now, the next challenger entered the stage and Lu Li immediately went into Stealth.


    Writing on the arena wasn''t something that he had invented. He wasn''t that sort of cunning sort of person. Apparently, this was an idea that Fat Monkey came up to execute when they finished fighting an overseas club.


    With every kill, words would be written.


    It didn''t need to be said that although Fat Monkey couldn''t be compared with Moonlight and Lu Li. At this stage, fighting against other random teams in the top 10,000, it wasn''t impossible for him to achieve the heroic feat of defeating all three opponents.


    Fat Monkey''s expression was both angry and grieved. Simply put, he was like the neglected third wheel.


    The first warlock had died, and the second one to come up was a Berserker. In terms of the other professions, they were the most threatening for Thieves. Paladins were had higher defense, but in the current patch, they lacked damage.


    Lu Li didn''t care if they were a Warrior or a Warlock. Whoever was up, he would crush them.


    Hs opponent had all sorts of fighting skills, showcasing a risky style of battle. Constantly on the move, this disorientated Berserker from Purgatory Shrine felt his opponent''s incomparable power in his heart.


    In their Gaoli, only the top five Thieves or so would have this sort of power.


    When he lost, Lu Li still had 60% of his HP.


    The dagger he was tossing around was still stained with the hot blood of the Warrior. Lu Li crouched down again.


    He was going to write ''double kill'' now.


    But was it ''dauble kill'' or ''double kill''? The half-illiterate Lu Li went into deep thought. The dagger froze halfway, looking like it poised to stab the sky.


    "Oh, oh oh oh¡­." the whole audience cried out together.


    "Oh man, what an idiot."


    Dark Wind facepalmed, unable to keep on watching. Why did he have to actively choose to commentate this competition?


    In the end, Lu Li was still not able to think of what that word actually was, but time didn''t allow him to think any more. At this, he drew a circle and added a tiny little tail to the end of it. This way, no matter which spelling was right, it could still just be made out.


    The third Gaoli player went up on the stage. She didn''t use skills, but rather used words to begin the battle.


    "Can I ask, why do you have to humiliate us? You Chinese people should be as noble as one of us."


    "What are you saying? I don''t know Gaoli," Lu Li said with an expression of innocence.


    "¡­"


    The Gaoli player suddenly broke down.


    Had the interpreting system been eaten by a dog? This was like apologizing for not speaking English, but in English.


    Anyway, this Mage fought with real fire, as if there were no limits to her skills.


    "Come out, come out, you!"


    "Don''t you dare to come out?!"


    "\u0026...%\u0026...%£¤*\u0026"


    "Frost Nova''s gone, Ice shield has just broken, Ice Block is on cooldown, Water Elemental is a bit far away¡­it''s got to be now!"


    Lu Li looked like he was being chased all around the arena, but he had already planned everything out in advance.


    When he thought it was most appropriate, the king of shadows inconspicuously attached to the back of the girl.


    She was knocked out!


    What would he do after she was knocked out? Kill her as quickly as possible, then keep writing on the ground. Lu Li clearly remembered how to write ''triple kill'' in English.


    Finishing her off, Lu Li used the last 30 seconds of the arena time to get down on the ground and quickly write down ''triple kill'', then let out a long breath, standing up to receive the cheers of the audience.


    Three out of three!


    Why were there still hisses? Lu Li truly didn''t understand. He was convinced of Wandering''s understanding about how he treated his fans. None of them were particularly clever or intelligent, so he didn''t have to try to understand them.


    "Boss, I''ve always considered you my boss, but you treat me like this!"


    Fat Monkey was almost going to wipe away his tears.


    "What''s going on? Who''s been bullying Monkey? Monkey, when I finish school, I''ll take you out to eat some good food."


    Lu Li pretended not to know what was going on, but actually, he was a little ashamed in his heart.


    "I can have whatever I want?" Fat Monkey asked innocently. It seemed like all had been forgiven.

 1872 Extremely Strong

    Since Lu Li had taken out three opponents by himself, in the group stage, everyone stripped away his right of starting on the stage.


    Instead, Kitty Likes Meat, Fat Monkey, Moonlight, Mu Qiu, and Sakura Memories would enter the arena.


    Meanwhile, March Rain, Lu Li and Innocent Child would wait aimlessly as subs.


    On the Gaoli side, Purgatory Shrine had a standard five-man lineup of a Mage, Warrior, Paladin, Priest and Thief. The only healer was a tanky Priest, while the other four were all damage output roles.


    Lu Li didn''t care. As for what his teammates came out with, he didn''t express an opinion.


    Although he looked down upon his enemies, he still admired them. No matter what sort of enemy it was, they all had unexpected strategies and skills.


    "Who''s Sakura Memories?" Purgatory Shrine asked in confusion.


    After they knew that their opponents were the Chinese champion in the last league match, they made sure to do their homework. They conducted detailed research on the few Ruling Sword competitors that had played in the first league match.


    Sakura Memories was a levelling-up fanatic as always, firmly holding on to first place on the rankings and not entering the arena even once.


    Naturally, they knew nothing at all about her.


    "Could be a tanky Shaman? That Paladin''s a DPS player. His name is Mu Qiu,;I remember it well."


    After some further analysis, they decisively confirmed that Sakura Memories was a healer Shaman.


    "Kill their healer first. Shamans don''t have many protective skills; they''re easier to kill than Priests!"


    "Kill the healer first then kill that Warlock. It''s a shame their Thief is too scared to step forward, otherwise, we would definitely one-shot him first. He brought shame upon us, so we''ve got to pay it back sooner or later."


    Meanwhile, Ruling Sword, upon seeing that their opponents were targeting Sakura Memories, immediately giggled. After the opponents had entered into their camp, they began their sudden attack.


    Sakura Memories cast Bloodlust, then rushed ahead in a flash.


    This was a healer?


    Her damage wasn''t any less than anyone else, and she had all sorts of terrifying skills. Moreover, she could even heal herself.


    Of course, the scariest presence wasn''t her, but rather the other four Ruling Sword players who had now been buffed. To say they were wolves and tigers wasn''t enough to describe their ferocity.


    With one Bloodlust, the Priest on the other side was finished off.


    The Mage was left on half-HP, and when the others chased Sakura Memories, they realized that she wasn''t the healer.


    If Sakura Memories wasn''t the healer, then who was?


    The answer was that there was no healer. All five of them were damage output players. With an all-damage team, how hard could it be to eliminate an unprepared priest?


    "It''s almost done. If you fight too fiercely you''ll be targeted. I heard that on the new map. there''s a common area. We can try it out later," Innocent Child said. The new map he was talking about was something he had heard through the grapevine. When Lu Li had been reborn, it still hadn''t been released.


    "There are two parts to a group competition. Aside from the number of people, fierceness is another thing too," Lu Li responded, voicing his disagreement.


    Soon, Purgatory Shrine''s Mage was blasted to death by Fat Monkey''s Fireball.


    Kitty Likes Meat transformed into a demon to try and catch someone, but didn''t manage to. She could only let out her anger on the rest of the players.


    Poor Purgatory Shrine had never been rubbed in the dirt like this before.


    By the time their subs came on the stage, there were just five corpses left on the arena. How could their one healer fight against five damage players? Of course, all they could do was surrender.


    In the interview after the competition, the journalist pursued them with questions.


    "Lu Li, this is the first time China has played against an overseas opponent. Ruling Sword, you''ve personally experienced it ¨C how do you feel about facing the Gaoli team?"


    "They''re powerful, really powerful. They completely surpassed my expectations," Lu Li answered with a serious face.


    Was he praising them or roasting them?


    "Is Ruling Sword confident in representing China to compete in the international league match?" the journalist continued to ask.


    "Top three? I think we were number one last time."


    They had won the entire competition last time, so why wouldn''t they be confident in placing within the top three?


    The journalist had been embarrassed by him, and had no choice but to go and find someone else to interview.


    The atmosphere over on the Gaoli side was completely different. They had made a solemn pledge before they went on, but they ended up being crushed. They didn''t earn a single point, and they didn''t even kill a single person in the group competition.


    They finally experienced the sadness that Chinese football fans had been experiencing for almost 300 years.


    That Thief on the arena had swept them, and they didn''t even bring a healer into the group stage. That was like not having a goalie in a soccer match.


    They didn''t have a goalie, but they still couldn''t get a goal in!


    Purgatory Shrine, ranked in the top 30 or so in Gaoli, looked like they had been kicked right out of the gaming association''s top 100.


    In fact, being within the top 100 in Gaoli wasn''t something to write home about.


    The hundredth-ranked club in China still had about 70,000 or 80,000 people, but Purgatory Shrine, despite being ranked in the thirties, didn''t even have 60,000 players.


    After the competition was over, they worked on levelling up before the new Stronghold wars. Like before, no new maps were released this time, but the System warned that there would be drastic changes in the next update.


    This didn''t stop Ruling Sword and Wings of Dawn''s half-completed and paid, but not received transaction.


    Of course, the game was seriously against any sort of private trades.


    That''s why everyone looked like they didn''t know what was going on. Wings of Dawn put down their hard-earned money for the auction, and after that, nothing more was mentioned. With Lu Li''s dodgy morals, he probably couldn''t ever live with the result of his Stronghold being snatched away by someone else.


    In order to ''meet the enemy'', Lu Li personally went out himself.


    He had no choice. As soon as they heard that this battle was definitely going to be lost, Sky Moon and Wandering didn''t want to participate. Lu Li couldn''t just casually find someone else to command.


    The battle was fought very intensely. Wings of Dawn tried to get to the top of the Stronghold walls as if their lives depended on it, but each time, they were pushed back.


    The intensity of the battle made Dream 13 wonder if Lu Li was reneging on his promises and deciding not to give the Stronghold to Wings of Dawn.


    At this, Dream 13 hinted with his eyes as he glanced at Lu Li.


    Lu Li led his people to charge forward, aiming right at Dream 13. With Moonlight''s Whirlwind, this guy basically wouldn''t have any HP left.


    "Don''t forget the promise."


    Dream 13 was angry but he didn''t dare to speak out.


    "Don''t worry, we can''t have you break the wall too early. Otherwise, they''ll know something''s up," Lu Li said with a sparkle in his eye as he picked up the ring that Dream 13 dropped. He was surprised to discover that it was level 70, inlaid with a Level Reduction Gem, and was an Exquisite Dark Gold item.

 1873 All Comes Down to Acting

    Ruling Sword''s storehouse had a total of four Level Reduction Gems, and they didn''t reduce that much either. It appeared as though the game didn''t give out these sorts of gems anymore, as they clearly affected fairness.


    Lu Li happily put the equipment into his backpack and continued forward.


    Was he not going to retreat to safety?


    None of the equipment he had on him was worth much, so why would he waste this opportunity?


    The two sides duked it out for an hour before finally toppling the wall.


    Players from Wings of Dawn swarmed in.


    Everyone was expecting that Ruling Sword''s Fel Reavers would fall from the sky, obliterating Wing of Dawn.


    The odds in the lottery were even more ridiculous than the last time when they had Fel Reavers.


    Big Dog Li and Fat Monkey had made a pile of money last time, but they wouldn''t give up this opportunity to win big. It wasn''t just them ¨C even the innocent girls Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan had been led astray.


    Lonesome Flower took out two million for Fat Monkey to deal with, claiming that life had forced him to do so. After all, he had a lovely little girl to raise.


    Sakura Memories also put forward money, saying that she would use her earnings to build a Yaoi content website. No one could find fault with such a far-reaching goal.


    Recently, Azure Sea Breeze had been thinking about finding a girlfriend, but he also lacked money. Who knew which unlucky lottery company would have to support his love-life?


    Anyway, those who were in a position to know that this battle culminated in a trade took out a stack of money to gamble with.


    As for how many lottery companies went bankrupt, who cared? Besides, they had earned so much money that at the most, it would take a small bite out of their earnings. Bankruptcy was still a long way off.


    Lu Li didn''t join; he had severed himself from all underground dealings.


    Others gambled for so-called fun, but for these people who were on the border with the dark side, it was actually gambling. Just before his parents died, he had made a pledge, that no matter what circumstances he faced, he would never become involved in this.


    In the most difficult times of his last life, he seriously thought about going back on his pledge, but it was a shame he couldn''t find a chance to.


    A Stronghold battle offered a rare chance. This was basically why poor people always hit roadblocks when they were trying to strike it rich, but rich people always found it easy to multiply their wealth.


    After entering into the stronghold, Lu Li started the act at the right time.


    For example, as soon as Fat Monkey killed someone, he would go over to pick up dropped equipment. By the time he picked up the equipment, he would naturally be a target of focused fire and be done for.


    As for Lonesome Flower, he was skilled at acting when it came to it. He actually blinked into a whole group of people to save Fat Monkey. Although he killed one, he ''died from exhaustion,'' leaving everyone perplexed about their brotherly relationship.


    Apart from March Rain, when other people were dying in front of his eyes, he didn''t even bat an eyelid.


    Following along with Ruling Sword''s continual acting, the battle slowly took a different turn.


    This change was extremely gradual. Ordinary players wouldn''t have been able to discern that something wasn''t right. After all, the wall had been broken, and though the defenders were just a tiny bit disorganized, they were still being reasonable.


    When the tide began to turn, Lu Li issued the command to retreat. His reasoning was to regroup and then come back again before continuing to fight.


    At this, Wings of Dawn entered the Stronghold. Both sides drew up their armies across the vast expanse of the Stronghold.


    "No problem ¨C the Stronghold''s only just been broken in. Ruling Sword''s got Fel Reavers. They''ve got to get the hunters in, then close the door and let the dogs loose."


    "Yeah, as soon as the Fel Reavers come out, who''s gonna be fighting then?"


    "I don''t understand. Wings of Dawn are fighting so poorly against Ruling Sword ¨C haven''t they overestimated themselves? Just because they won a competition, they think they can win a Stronghold battle easily."


    "Anyway, I always bet on Ruling Sword. I''ve earned well over 100,000 to date. I''ve never ever lost."


    "Same here ¨C I always bet on Ruling Sword and Glory Capital, no matter if it''s a competition or a Stronghold battle."


    "What if they''re both fighting?"


    "To begin with, I thought Glory Capital was better, so I would bet Glory Capital, but after I lost twice, I understood. It''s not a bad idea to bet on Ruling Sword. You have to look at the odds. If I bet for Glory Capital and win, I don''t earn much, but if I bet on Ruling Sword, I win bigger."


    "That''s right, I only trust in Ruling Sword!"


    "It''s almost time. The Fel Reavers are gonna light up the stage. They''re all a man could ask for, hey."


    However, the Fel Reavers didn''t show up. No matter how much those guys who bet their wives on it prayed, Lu Li looked like he had forgotten that they had Fel Reavers.


    Ruling Sword was fighting a guerilla war, killing a wave of players, then snatching their equipment and running away.


    In the end, although they had worked hard to block Wings of Dawn, the central tower was still toppled, and so, with a regretful loss, Stranglethorn Vale had a new owner.


    How strange!


    You could only use strange to describe this battle. After the battle ended, only a few Ruling Sword people had painful expressions on their faces. Most of them looked as happy as if they had earned a Stronghold.


    As for the Wings of Dawn, especially Dream 13 and Elevenless, they looked like a submissive daughter-in-law just following along.


    All the way until the negotiations after the Stronghold battle, Dream 13 had switched out his energetic-looking profile. He spoke calmly on behalf of Wings of Dawn, humbly expressing that although they had defeated a strong opponent in the competition and in the Stronghold battle, they still had a long way ahead of them.


    "I''ve made money, I''ve made money! I don''t even know how to spend it! I''m going to hire three pretty girls ¨C one to sweep, one to cook, one to be the nurse¡­"


    Fat Monkey seemed to be singing the whole time all the way to the hall of Black Sea Coast Stronghold.


    "Hey, Monkey bro, come back. Boss wants you to go to the meeting room," a Ruling Sword player informed him.


    Fat Monkey stopped, made a check, and realized that Lu Li had sent him five or six messages.


    "Boss wants me? Oh yeah, right, I forgot to turn on the communications. I''ll go now."


    After entering the meeting room, he noticed that there were already quite a few people there.


    "Three bro, let''s start."


    Seeing Fat Monkey enter, Lu Li''s eyes sparkled.


    "This is a rich man. Last time, I thought I had already bled him dry. I never thought he had earned so much that he could gamble again," he said to himself.

 1874 Taking Advantage

    "Monkey take a seat. Today''s meeting is starting now," Square Root 3 said, cordially inviting Monkey to sit down, before declaring that this regular top level meeting of Ruling Sword was beginning.


    "I suppose everyone knows that our Stranglethorn Stronghold was lost on purpose," Square Root 3 began, "So everyone please take note that for the sake of work, you can only quietly leak this info when you need to."


    Since the official punishment could only be given when the battle was taking place, there was no fear of them chasing this up after the fact.


    Then, he looked back on the struggles of establishment of Ruling Sword. The club had only been around for two years, and everyone had experienced some of this process. Naturally, when talking about the past, it stirred up emotions.


    After that, they looked ahead to the future, which was more than just looking forward to good things.


    Finally, they moved onto the current situation.


    Square Root 3 complained about being poor and needing money in all areas. They had to get equipment for competitors, and the level 70s were going to be released soon¡­


    Anyway, the club was about to be finished. Everyone''s smooth journey was about to end.


    He even had Lu Li list everything out. He had never taken any bonuses, with all of it being left for the club''s lifeline. All rare tools and equipment had never been taken for himself, but given to everyone.


    Then, there were those Fel Reavers which crushed the other clubs in the Stronghold battles. They were almost completely handled by Lu Li.


    "I''ve heard that everyone''s become rich off the Stronghold battle. Have a look and see if the money''s just stuck on your card, not being used. Put it into the fantastic cause of expanding and developing the guild."


    After speaking for hours, this little secret had finally been revealed.


    Without waiting for anyone to speak, Lu Li added, "Of course we''re not just taking money from you. This time, we''ll be using the form of shares. Some will be virtual shares, from which you''ll just earn a bonus. Some will be real shares, which you can buy and sell¡­"


    "I''ll do it. How much do you need to fill the gap? I can do all of it."


    Her Tears was hooked straight away.


    Although he was part of the top level of Ruling Sword, he had entered late. He wasn''t even a virtual shareholder, let alone a real shareholder.


    "Um."


    Lu Li looked at Her Tears speechlessly. He was originally worried that everyone would be silent, and was thinking about a way to put this off. He never thought that someone would be so active like this, but he still shook his head and said, "If we needed financing, we would have done it ages ago."


    "I know, it''s all my own money. I''ve got complete authority over it," Her Tears replied eagerly.


    White Bread took out sets of documents, distributing them based on the different numbers.


    Her Tears opened it up and had a look. He was immediately disappointed. It was very different from what he expected, but he also understood that this was part of Lu Li''s insistence. Ruling Sword wanted to have small shareholders.


    However, it was always better to have something than nothing, let alone the fact that there were some real shares in there.


    "I need my money for a wife."


    Azure Sea Breeze was really in a knot. He couldn''t give up his money, but no matter how stupid he was, he knew the worth of making an investment. The asking price of shares from outside shareholders had skyrocketed ages ago. It was a shame that Lu Li just didn''t want to open the guild up.


    "How do you need money for a wife? You''re not buying one. Is it even love if you''re buying it?" Lu Li questioned, expressing his disdain.


    "Shut up you, living off your girl," Azure Sea Breeze shot back.


    "If you go out and say how many of Ruling Sword''s shares you have, heaps of girls will be lining up for you to pick," Square Root 3 chimed in.


    "With him being so stupid, it''s still better to find someone blind."


    A sudden piercingly accurate word came from Wandering, who was lounging weakly in his seat.


    "You shut up too. Do you have money to put in, you poor bugger?" Azure Sea Breeze continued in his


    anger.


    "Ha, needing money for just tiny bit in shares? I''ll get two ambassadors and get them to send some funds," Wandering said indifferently. Only idiots had to think about how to earn money.


    "My looks are enough for people to come after me. Hmph, I have outstanding looks. With good looks you can do whatever you want," Azure Sea Breeze said, then hit the table indignantly and declared, "I''ll buy all of them."


    "I''m following my sis," Lonesome Flower said with a turn of his face.


    "I don''t quite have enough money¡­"


    March Rain was in a bit of a difficult situation. She had a lot of money with her brother together, but they bought a new house together, so they didn''t have much money on hand. Moreover, her brother had taken away a fair bit of money a few days earlier for something she didn''t know about.


    "Sis, I''ve got money."


    Lonesome Flower whizzed over to March Rain''s side, opening up his account and showing her his massive sum of newly obtained money.


    "Bro, how did you get so much money?" March Rain was really surprised.


    This sudden, massive amount was more than brother and sister earned in the past year.


    "Hehe, actually bro''s pretty amazing too," Lonesome Flower laughed as he puffed out his chest. Instantly refreshed, the gloom he had kept in his heart for so long had immediately disappeared.


    As an older brother, if he earned less than his little sister, then that would simply be the end of the world.


    "Ah, big bro is awesome. We''ll both buy it," March Rain said as she looked at her brother with the greatest admiration.


    Oh, the glory from past days had come upon him again. Lonesome Flower solemnly drew back the corners of his mouth.


    "I''m buying too, I''ve got so much money anyway. If I take out half, it''ll be enough for me," Sakura Memories said straightforwardly as she waved her hand big and wide.


    Fat Monkey and Azure Sea Breeze watched her helplessly with a bit of envy. They thought they had already contributed a lot, but they were still a long way off when compared with Sakura Memories. Very few girls were this bold.


    Sakura Memories had actually stolen her parents'' money to go gamble with. Fortunately, it was returned without harm, and even came with a massive return.


    "Ahem, actually, I''m relatively knowledgeable when it comes to investing. It''s not a good idea to invest in a manga anime novel website. This industry has pretty much already reached its end."


    Square Root 3 had more or less heard about heard about what Sakura Memories was planning to do.


    "I''ve never thought about earning money. This is just my personal hobby," Sakura Memories said.


    "Then you can buy a mature website. There are a few going through financial difficulties that you can buy for a low price."


    Square Root 3 shrugged, not trying to dissuade her anymore.


    Sakura Memories'' eye''s sparkled, and gratuitously said, "Yeah, thanks, three bro. When it''s all done, we''ll still be asking you to help us. I''ll give you an extra role in the novels, I don''t think I could make you the female protagonist¡­"


    In an instant, Square Root 3''s face turned dark.


    Everyone else also rushed to pay their own parts. This included Crippled Black Ant, Big Dog Li and others who had entered the club quite recently. No matter where they went, those with power sparkled.


    "Monkey how about you?" Lu Li asked. This guy hadn''t opened his mouth at all.


    "Ahem, you still have the face to ask me? You just took away my chance to go up first, then you said you were going to treat me to a meal, which you finally did last night, but you just pointed to those cheap snack places and had me eat there¡­"


    "Man, Monkey, I was joking then. Didn''t I offer you to have fried fish in the end?"


    "Dammit, I paid for that!" Monkey exploded in indignant cursing.


    "Oh yeah, you paid. I saw Snowy, then I went along with her to walk around. Next time I''ll definitely treat you," Lu Li recalled sheepishly, then quickly added, "This is a good chance though. Don''t miss this opportunity by being headstrong."


    "I''ll pay what I can. The rest, you can help me fill in."


    "I''m as poor as a dog," Lu Li said as he spread out his hands.


    "Don''t be an insulting dog, Monkey. I''ll help with however much you''re lacking," Azure Sea Breeze offered very generously.


    "You just owe me the best stuff."

 1875 Level 70

    All jokes aside, no one was stupid. Even if they were stupid, everyone knew that Ruling Sword shares were a valuable thing.


    This was because they had rejected external capital financing. Moreover, everyone had witnessed Ruling Sword''s progress over the past two years so there was no doubt about its future. If it continued forward the same way, then they would definitely be able to steadily pass the top three super clubs in the Northern Chinese district.


    Even if Lu Li had a stroke, there was still Square Root 3. Even if both Lu Li and Square Root 3 had a stroke, there was still Wandering.


    Not to mention, there was still the guidance of Cat Dad on the side. These people created a stable high-level leadership. The young clubs were still in the middle of climbing up the ladder. They didn''t have any old club traditions or messy interests.


    Cat Dad and Kitty Likes Meat also gained the purchase power of share-holding. The father-daughter pair could finally become one of the owners of the club in the right and proper manner.


    This type of shareholding with incentives could tightly tie everyone together. Other clubs didn''t have any way to calculate how much Ruling Sword was worth in the future, even if they wanted to lure people away from them.


    "We must get to level 70 after three days. If you can''t get there, then those of you on the First Clear team won''t be able to make it in," Lu Li added at the end of the meeting.


    "So as long as we get to 70, we can enter into the First Clear team?" Big Dog Li asked in anticipation.


    "Being a substitute is also okay," Crippled Black Ant added behind him. He and Big Dog Li were one of the earliest members to join. They used to be mercenaries and were not used to the club''s restrictions in the beginning, but were quickly won over by the different types of conveniences that the club offered.


    The Instance Dungeons they couldn''t go to were open to them. The previously expensive materials could now be purchased with accumulated points.


    Furthermore, they had joined the so-called high-level leadership.


    "Never mind substitutes; there isn''t much opportunity. We are preparing for the second First Clearing team. You guys can join there," Lu Li said.


    The club was indeed in the middle of preparing the second team. Sky Moon was the team leader, the Main Tank was World''s Best Friend, the Secondary-Tank was Deep Watersong, and the Main Healer was Star Baby. The others were the cream of the crop from all the professions in the three-guild alliance.


    The second team was also powerful in strength. There was only a slight difference between the two groups.


    Crippled Black Ant, being a Berserker and Big Dog Li, being a Mage, would face stiff competition for their positions.


    The first teams of other clubs weren''t necessarily going to be better than this second team.


    In fact, the players were all from the three-guild alliance. These three super clubs'' two teams were equivalent to a main team of a single club.


    Sky Moon smiled bitterly. It was like a dream for him.


    Within a day''s time, he had not only received the incentive shareholding, but had also somehow become the second team''s leader. He was going to lead a large number of experts and high-level players to First Clears.


    He didn''t dare think about it before joining into Ruling Sword. He wasn''t a professional competitor, so this incentive shareholding was only temporary. He still owed the club a large sum of money.


    It would be much better after being team leader. The leader had subsidies and the salary was much higher than ordinary elite members.


    As for why Lu Li had regarded Crippled Black Ant and Big Dog Li as important wasn''t because of how much potential they had in the future. They were indeed experts, but there was also room for improvement.


    Why they were highly regarded was mainly because it sent a certain message to mercenary soldiers.


    Ruling Sword was the most ideal home for mercenary experts. They didn''t have a strong expectation for talent, while other clubs were deep-rooted in tradition. Other clubs lacked celebrity-level players the most, while Ruling Sword did not lack celebrity players at all. Lu Li being reborn had helped them quickly gather a group of top-level competitors.


    However, apart from the 10-20 experts they currently had, there weren''t many other players that were available. This was why Lu Li had created the alliance in the first place. It wasn''t just because of his connection with Water Fairy.


    Other than these main members, there was also White Bread in charge of logistics, and a few major players from the Life Alliance. For example, there was Cold Chill, who was responsible for brewing all sorts of precious medicines, and also Infinite Starry Sky, who created Fel Reavers.


    Infinite Starry Sky''s value was not only in Fel Reavers. His engineering accomplishments were beyond the reach of others, and he would play a big role in the future.


    Lu Li would rather give shares to his own people than receive financing. It wasn''t that he was opposed to receiving a large sum of money to start rapid development, but rather, he assessed the value of his own business being so high that any sale would be a loss.


    No matter if it was Glory Capital or Blood Red War Flag, they were all doing this during this development period. Only short-sighted people would choose to finance during the development phase.


    In the future, if financing was needed in order to survive, he would look for Water Fairy. After all, they were really in the same family.


    The three days passed very quickly. The people that Lu Li needed had all reached level 70 without exception.


    The first one to reach level 70 was Sakura Memories. She was the first to reach level 60, and now first to reach level 70. The one behind her was I No Understand and was a levelling maniac of Glory Capital.


    The reward for being first to level 70 wasn''t a Stronghold; it was a level 70 Epic equip and a Magic Rooster Mount.


    The Magic Rooster Mount was a land mount, but was very rare to find. At the very least, Lu Li didn''t even know where to get one. Unfortunately, it was bound to the owner. Otherwise, people who were uninterested in mounts would sell it for a large sum of money.


    The level 70 Epic equip was a pair of exquisite fist weapons. They also couldn''t be exchanged. The attributes were amazing, and they allowed Sakura Memories to easily defeat Fat Monkey in a one-on-one battle.


    The level 70 equipment obtained by defeating the Wild Bosses finally came into use.


    Compared to those super clubs who had money, Ruling Sword had stockpiled less level 70 items.


    As, they started to attempt the level 70 Instance Dungeon. It was not only for the First Clear, but also for the arena. Only by quickly obtaining a pile of level 70 equipment and arming everyone could they maintain their competitiveness.


    This was the first level 70 Instance Dungeon ¨C Karazhan!


    They travelled back to the old road, to the channel connecting the quiet Twilight Forest with the reed-covered Swamp of Sorrows. The gloomy and desolate Deadwind Pass had in fact been explored long ago, but there was now a barrier that only level 70 players could enter through.

 1876 Karazhan

    The equipment was indeed exquisite and Lu Li could wear it without taking off the Ring on his left hand. Although it had no other strong attributes and wearing it would cause his overall strength to decrease, the assistance it would provide to the team was obvious.


    There were two lines written at the bottom of the equipment.


    "Time is a kind of poison. This item will drop upon death."


    It was similar to the Battle Standard that Lu Li had acquired before, which was also dropped upon death. As such, it was best not to carry this item if you were going to be in danger. If you were in an Instance Dungeon, you had to ensure that the person holding it would not die or that you picked up the item as quickly as possible.


    There had to be some kind of drawback for equipment like this, otherwise, it would be overpowered.


    However, Lu Li had no idea how Garona would react if he lost this item. He was quite curious, but it wasn''t something he wanted to experience.


    "Thank you, teacher. I will definitely come back safely, but I am unsure of what you need help with."


    This seemed like it was leading up to a quest. Lu Li also didn''t want to feel indebted, and wanted to repay her as soon as possible.


    "You are still not strong enough. You shouldn''t bite off more than you can chew," Garona said.


    "Okay, I will work hard to grow stronger."


    This was all Lu Li could say. With such a great item, Lu Li had no idea how long it would take to repay her. The sheer number of Demons and Undead that he would have to kill would be staggering.


    Moreover, there was only a small portion of those kinds of monsters in Karazhan.


    "By the way, there is also this one. I hope you will be willing to learn it, but don''t it force you to change your style," Garona said as she stood up and walked through the library to grab a book.


    "An enhanced skill?"


    A guy like him who didn''t lack Reputation would never turn down an Enhanced Skill Book.


    "No."


    Garona shook her head.


    Lu Li took it and found that it was a skill book with the name ''Dual Swords''. This was a peculiar item, as he hadn''t needed to be taught to use weapons. Lu Li had deliberately chosen to play with two daggers, and could already use a one-handed weapon the moment he picked it up.


    Once he learned the skill, Lu Li saw something new had appeared in his skill panel.


    Dual Swords: Passive. Mastery over dual-wielding two one-handed Swords. When dual-wielding swords, attack speed is increased by 5%, block rebound damage is increased by 5% and Off-Hand weapon damage is increased by 5%. The restriction of skills on the swords has now been removed. Learning Requirement: Agility above 2000.


    After seeing this skill, Lu Li finally understood why Garona, an Assassin type Thief, was dual-wielding swords.


    Now, all Lu Li needed was two swords with high attack damage!


    "This is the style of Ravenholdt Manor. You should be an expert in both swords and daggers. Use swords in a frontal assault and use daggers when attacking from behind," Garona explained. She used two swords herself and Lu Li had seen her style.


    After bidding Garona farewell, Lu Li returned from his rewarding journey.


    To protect himself from losing Death''s Memory, Lu Li withdrew some equipment from his personal warehouse and the guild warehouse that would keep him alive. He spent a lot of money on potions, and even applied some poison on his daggers to further increase his damage while reducing his aggro generation so that a Boss wouldn''t randomly decide to attack him.


    Everything had gone smoothly, and the fight for Karazhan officially commenced.


    During this time, he had opened Treasure Chests in various maps and was easily able to navigate through Karazhan.


    The interior of the Instance Dungeon was dark and gloomy. This tower had originally belonged to a guardian mage that had been living here silently for many years. In the beginning, with the help of Khadgar and Garona, Lothar led a raid on Karazhan and killed Medivh, who was a former close friend of his.


    From that day, a horrible curse fell on the tower and the surrounding area. A dim shadow fell on Deadwind Pass and the forest to the west was also affected, becoming the Twilight Forest that they knew today.


    The tower was silent, but that didn''t mean it was motionless.


    In the embrace of the night, silent figures were floating in and out of the windows. There were various illusions dancing along the walls as lights reflected off them.


    It was not appropriate to call them ghosts. They were better described as afterimages of the past.


    These old figures were unleashed because of the madness of the former owner of the tower. Now, a terrible curse compelled them to re-enact a past situation over and over in this forgotten tower. They were forced to perform in this production without an audience.


    In recent years, some nobles of the Twilight Forest had ventured into the Deadwind Pass to investigate the strange smell of death wafting from there.


    They entered the tower in the darkness, but none returned.


    In fact, some eyewitnesses insisted that the dead souls of those nobles still lingered within Karazhan. They too now suffered under the torture of the curse, unable to leave the halls of the tower.


    There were some other ghosts that occupied Medivh''s creepy laboratories. These were demons that had been summoned by the mad mage.


    Regardless of all the rumours, one thing about Karazhan was for sure¡­


    Once you entered, you might never be able to come out!


    However, for the players, no matter how exaggerated the descriptions were, as long as there was a chance for exquisite equipment to be dropped, they would enthusiastically charge forward.


    After entering, there were a few strange humanoid and horse shaped creatures. These were horses and humans that had turned Undead.


    "I''ve got new equipment. Let me show you its attributes," Lu Li said, revealing the attributes before continuing, "Lets practice it a few times first. Listen to my instructions and lead all the monsters within an 8-yard range. Everyone, make sure you use your damage reduction skills."


    "Dammit Lu Li, did you sell your kidneys? Where did you find such a good item?"


    Azure Sea Breeze was quite surprised.


    As a regular of Instance Dungeons, he understood the mechanisms of Instance Dungeons just like Lu Li did. He could already tell that this was an exquisite item at a glance.


    "It was given by my mentor. You already knew that my mentor had a certain relationship with this place," Lu Li answered, not hiding how he had acquired it.


    It didn''t matter if this item was known to outsiders. He was Garona''s only disciple and there was only one of these items. The other clubs couldn''t get their hands on it even if they sold everything they had.


    The practice wasn''t too complicated, and they managed to get it right after a few waves of monsters. The main thing was to listen to the instructions, judge where you could gather the monsters and use the terrain to help you execute this. Then, all the team had to do was cast their area of effect skills.


    Karazhan was a magical place, and its first Boss had a certain probability of dropping a mount.


    However, it was very unlikely!

 1877 Attumen the Huntsman

    My name is Attumen the Huntsman, and I am but one of Medivh''s servants who keeps horses.


    Medivh rarely left his home and would often just teleport if he needed to go somewhere, so there was no real need for horses. These horses were instead kept for the needs of Moroes.


    Master Medivh had never really paid close attention to me, and I just wanted to live a peaceful life with my Midnight.


    In the early days, I would go out each day to get the freshest forage to feed Midnight and comb Midnight''s hair until it shined. But one day, Master Medivh decided on a whim that he wanted to go horse riding.


    He was quite a big person, and I didn''t get to see him very often.


    One day, there was a man and one woman in the castle. One of them was called Kagdgar or Khadgar, the name doesn''t matter. There was another one called Garona, and I almost laughed when he saw her because she was so ugly.


    The two people lived and studied in the castle and brought a lot of stories with them.


    Unfortunately, no one paid attention to me.


    I lived in the castle and gradually heard stories about the outside world. I heard about what had happened to the Orcs, but I thought that he was safe. I was Master Medivh''s horse breeder after all.


    I will never understand why Lothar, the person who had occasionally visited me and my horses, was leading an attack on my master. But I was just a horse breeder, so I trembled as I hid in the stables. I was unsure of what would happen next.


    Master Medivh was eventually defeated, but I was sure that it was partially because he was unwilling to kill his friends.


    I thought that my master was the most powerful guardian in the world. How could a Paladin without a horse, a tactless Mage and an ugly woman beat him?


    They killed Master Medivh, and still didn''t pay any attention to me.


    At this time, I was thinking of what I should do next, now that Master Medivh was dead. I thought that I should find a new job, but fortunately, Butler Moroes told me that I could stay here and continue raising horses¡ª I could keep raising Midnight.


    I don''t know why, but Butler Moroes suddenly became a lot scarier and my Midnight had also changed.


    But none of that mattered. As long as I wasn''t being driven away, and I could be with Midnight, that was enough.


    Today, there are some new guests in the castle. I can hear their voices and they are coming closer towards me. Should I just keep hiding in the stable?


    No, I will fight them. I am Master Medivh''s horse breeder, Attumen.


    And I am not just an ordinary horse breeder either!


    If they want to take away Midnight from me, they can do it over my dead body.


    "These are just horses. How do we fight them?" Azure Sea Breeze asked as he looked around the stable for the Boss.


    In addition, when acquiring the First Clear, the monsters were usually relatively stronger. So, they couldn''t just pull all the monsters at once with an area of effect skill.


    If they just pulled the monsters, then it wouldn''t make much of a difference. But if they accidentally pulled the Boss as well, then it would all be over.


    Lu Li now had equipment that dropped upon death, so he didn''t want the team to get wiped if he could avoid it.


    After all the monsters in the area around the Boss had been dealt with, Azure Sea Breeze rushed in to start the fight. Some players even got their mounts out to further taunt the Boss.


    "Come on Midnight, let us destroy these meddlers together," Attumen shouted as he climbed onto his mount and launched an attack onto Azure Sea Breeze.


    "Dammit, his damage is pretty high," Azure Sea Breeze grunted. This was the first time he fought a level 70 Boss. Compared to the level 60+ Bosses, the difference was quite noticeable. The normal attacks were dealing 2500+ damage, and if someone with Cloth armour was taking the hits, it would be more than 5000 damage.


    If a critical hit landed on someone with Cloth armour, they would get one shot.


    "Pay attention to your position," Lu Li deliberately stood beside Azure Sea Breeze to experience the Cleave skill that the Boss would often use and immediately lost 80% of his HP.


    The equipment they had seemed pretty bad now. No wonder they couldn''t defeat Elevenless.


    After a few attacks, the Boss suddenly rushed to Carnivorous Cat and dealt 5000 damage with a single stab. She was left with a smidge of HP which scared her so much that she immediately transformed into a Demon.


    The response of a professional player was very quick, but it was heightened by the fact that she had been frightened.


    This overwhelmingly quick reaction saved her life as the second attack landed when she was in Demon form. It gave March Rain enough time to heal her as Azure Sea Breeze re-taunted the Boss.


    When Lu Li came to this Instance Dungeon his previous life, the random charge skill existed but there was only one attack instead of two.


    The Boss would charge at a random player and attack once before returning to the Main Tank. It didn''t make much sense, but this change was probably made so that ordinary players could defeat this Boss.


    "Keep your HP full and be ready to apply damage reduction at any time. Cat is a good example. If she didn''t die, then neither should you. I will deduct points if you do," Lu Li took the opportunity to put a bit of pressure on everybody.


    If they lost players in the first stage, it would be because the Main Tank wasn''t doing their job properly. But Azure Sea Breeze was such a veteran that it wasn''t something they had to worry about. The main problem was the random charges the Boss did since the cloth armoured professions could easily get one shot by it. But once you accounted for these two things, they easily entered the second stage.


    The second stage began when the Boss reached 50% HP.


    At this point, Attumen the Huntsman would jump off the horse and fight separately from Midnight, becoming two separate Bosses.


    Wandering immediately started pulling Midnight without Lu Li''s orders. If there were two Bosses, it was better for each Boss to be pulled separately. Otherwise, the risk of the main tank getting one shot by an unexpected skill was too high.


    Attumen now also had a Cyclone skill, so Lu Li and his team had to quickly adjust and attack Attumen from a long range. The melee players were now congregated around Midnight and attacking it. They kept the two Bosses slightly apart.


    The random charge from the first stage still existed, and both Bosses could do it which made it even more difficult.


    Fortunately, they had two healers ¨C March Rain and Hachi Chan. With so many ways to survive, they managed to enter the third stage which triggered when the Boss was below 25% HP. Attumen would feel at this point that the current strategy wasn''t working, so he would get back onto his horse.


    At this stage, there was another area of effect curse skill.


    Lu Li activated the trump card that Garona had given him. In addition to the March Rain''s readiness with Mass Dispel, they managed to get through the stage.


    In fact, this Boss actually required three Healers. But Lu Li''s team''s two healers and two Main Tanks were so strong that the lack of a third healer didn''t feel like much of a weakness.

 Chapter 1879 - Fiery Warhorse’s Reins

    In the Instance Dungeons since Hellfire Ramparts, Lu Li didn''t have any expectations for Boss drops because all this equipment were merely transitional and would be replaced when they got to a higher level.


    The equipment they acquired here was also going to be replaced, but they would form the foundation of the level 70 equipment.


    "Dreamy. It''s time," Lu Li said expectantly.


    Remnant Dream was now no longer short of money ¨C she had won a large sum of money from the lottery and could now spend money without worry. But as the little lucky girl, getting praised for all the good equipment that she managed to loot was enough to keep her going.


    "A gem! Wow! It sparkles. It looks really pretty, it must be a Mage''s gem," Remnant Dream''s eyes sparkled as she spoke.


    "Are you a dragon or something? Who cares if the gem is pretty? Take a look at its properties," Lu Li hurried Dream.


    He checked the attributes of the gem himself with his authority as the leader and was surprised to find that it was actually pretty good. This was a gem with two attributes, reduced skill cooldown and increased movement speed.


    All Mages faced the problem of being interrupted while channelling their skills, and this sometimes led to their deaths.


    All professions would benefit from increased movement speed. The faster the player was, the more likely they were to catch up to their target and the more likely they were to escape their pursuers.


    "Give it to March Rain for 60 points," Lu Li directly assigned the item. Since the professional league was on-going, any loot had to be assigned with that in mind. The others had no say in the matter as the item was clearly good for PVP.


    There were also 12 Strengthening Stones. Lu Li put these away for distribution after the Instance Dungeon was completed. He intended to save some to power the Fel Reaver as well.


    There was a Skill Book for Berserkers which was given to Moonlight. There were several new skills to be learnt at level 70, but the drop rate of these items wasn''t low, so it wasn''t that precious of an item. No DKP was deducted for this item.


    There was a Hunter''s Battle Bracer, a Dark Gold equipment. There was also a Chain Mail Armour that could be used by both Hunters and Shamans. Lu Li gave the item to Sakura Memories for 30 points.


    A level 70 Dark Gold equipment was better than a level 60+ Epic, but they had to find one first. Remnant Dream was fine with all of this, she knew why certain players were taking priority and had already accepted it.


    Vambraces of Courage, this was a Dark Gold Plate Amour. It was a defensive equipment that Lu Li assigned to Azure Sea Breeze. After all, he needed all the defence he could get to tank future monsters.


    A Worgen Tooth Pendant!


    "Surely he isn''t thinking about keeping it for himself. He wouldn''t dare," Wandering joked.


    "What is there to be afraid of? A man can''t accommodate for a woman all the time. Surely, he isn''t that scared of his wife," Azure Sea Breeze smiled and answered. The teamwork between these two was seamless.


    "According to the principles of fairness and justice, this equipment should be assigned to himself," Wandering continued.


    They just wanted to see Lu Li struggle. If Lu Li gave it to himself, he would seem selfish but there was a social cost to giving it to Water Fairy. Both Lu Li and Water Fairy also represented wider interest groups. Although, it was likely that they would become one group in the future.


    "Tch, idiots," Lu Li grumbled scornfully.


    Then he assigned the equipment to himself, "This equipment belongs to the number one player in Dawn, Lu Li, for 30 points!"


    Before anyone could say anything, he took the equipment and handed it to Water Fairy, "Snowy, do you like the look of this? Happy Valentines."


    "Dammit!" Azure Sea Breeze dropped the shield he was holding and squatted with his head in his hands, "Why do you have to do this? Do you feel uncomfortable if you don''t engage in public acts of affection? Damned Valentines, I wish all the lovers in the world became brother and sister¡­"


    "Number one?" Water Fairy happily accepted the equipment but added a final question.


    "No, number two. You are number one," Lu Li instantly realized his mistake and his survival instinct forced him to quickly rectify what he said.


    The others lamented as well at these displays of affection, complaining that it was getting harder and harder to stay on the team.


    "Wow! A war horse, I want to summon it here to see what it looks like," Remnant Dream though there was going to be another Epic equipment, but it turned out to be a mount. Remnant Dream, who was a lover of pets, immediately decided to summon it to have a look. The mount could still be traded within five minutes, but it would be bonded to her after then.


    It''s ugly!


    In the eyes of the little girl, this was just a horse skeleton. The horrible green flames that engulfed it were also really ugly and it looked like it was going to attack her.


    Most of the girls gave up on this mount. However, the boys didn''t seem to mind. These were the kinds of things that they liked. In the Alliance, there were very few things that had this kind of design. They couldn''t just go to the Undead city capital to buy their mounts after all.


    So, the boys actually went crazy for this mount.


    Lu Li didn''t want it that badly, but he wouldn''t mind buying it too if the price wasn''t too high. According to official information, if you could collect 10, 30, 50 different types of mounts, you would get surprises from the NPCs at each stage.


    The others didn''t know, but Lu Li knew what these rewards were.


    Whether it was the reward for the 10 mounts or the 50 or even the 100, these were rewards available in the future that the players would definitely not be disappointed in.


    The 10 mount reward was a Dark Gold equipment that Lu Li had acquired in his past life. It had pretty good attributes and was Lu Li''s best level 70 equipment at the time. He kept using it until he came to this life. More importantly, there was also Skill Points awarded in addition to the equipment.


    The 50 mount reward was an Epic equipment and two Skill Points.


    The 100 Mount reward hadn''t appeared before Lu Li came to this life, but he concluded that it had to be better than the 50 mount reward otherwise there would be no one collecting the mounts.


    Although these were just horse skeletons, the Warlock mount, the Undead Warhorse, the Fiery Warhorse Reins from Karazhan, or the Headless Paladin''s Steed were all officially recognised as different types of mounts.


    As for the ordinary mounts such as the standard human horse mounts, regardless of whether they were black or brown or maroon, these were all the same mount.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li underestimated the madness of the two boys who really wanted this horse. In the end, the mount was taken by Azure Sea Breeze for 220 points. Even after spending so many points, he didn''t feel any regret at all.


    "Why would I regret it? I am the Main Tank. You will have to give me equipment regardless of whether I have the points for it."

 Chapter 1880 - Moroes, the Tower Steward

    Were there any more items?


    Yes!


    ¡°What is this? It¡¯s a Badge of Justice, but it doesn¡¯t seem like an equippable item. I got three of them,¡± Remnant Dream took out two items that looked like coins.


    ¡°Oh, I think this is the exchangeable currency that the official site mention that could be exchanged for equipment at Shattrath City. Because it¡¯s Nightmare difficulty, everyone will get three, so let¡¯s go up and get it,¡± Lu Li also went and looted. Fortunately, he got three as well, instead of two or one. Otherwise, it would¡¯ve only further validated his misfortune.


    Thank the heavens!


    Badge of Justice could not be traded. The equipment you exchanged the Badge of Justice for also couldn¡¯t be traded.


    In Nightmare difficulty, everyone received three Badges of Justice. Hero Difficulty gave two each, and Elite difficulty gave one each. Normal difficulty didn¡¯t drop any. Therefore, each run of the instance dungeon yielded around 33 to 42 badges. The equipment that could be exchanged needed 16 to 128 badges. The better the equipment, the more badges it needed.


    16 badges could be exchanged for a level 70 Gold item. The properties were actually not too bad. Individual players tended to exchange the badges for these. As for the Dark Gold items, 64 badges was the bare minimum. Two-handed items costed even more badges¡ª the price was 128 badges.


    This forced individual players to team up with small clubs to pass Karazhan and take on either the same levelled instance dungeons or higher levelled instance dungeons to grind for these badges to exchange for items.


    After killing Attumen, they were able to leave this place. Firstly, they needed to return back to the path where they came from, then they needed to ascend an extremely long staircase. There were many monsters there. In Lu Li¡¯s previous life, he just pulled it and cleared it in one wave. However now, he could only clear it slowly.


    After the wave of monsters were about to be cleared, the last two monsters that were alive decided to make a run for it.


    Lu Li immediately blinked to the monster and used Cheap Shot from behind and immediately stunned it. Looking at what Lu Li did, Water Fairy proceeded to do the same to the other monster. They didn¡¯t realise that what they did would have eventually saved them from a squad wipe.


    If the monsters had successfully run away, then all the monsters that were near them would gain aggro. If this had happened, then there would be waves and waves and waves of monsters, which would yield an unimaginably horrifying result.


    However, killing these two monsters avoided that.


    They proceeded to clear the whole stairwell and arrived at a large and spacious room. There were many noble spirits having a party.


    After clearing them, there was a small dining hall on the left side. The nobles seemed to party all day and every day. Furthermore, the host was Moroes the Tower Steward.


    No one knew whether Moroes became Medivh¡¯s steward when he was living or when he was dead. However, his job continued. All the events were hosted by him and everyone who came to the dining hall was his precious guest. However, he would get rid of the uninvited guests.


    Moroes wasn¡¯t hard to fight, but he had four followers.


    Or, it would be more accurate to say that he had six followers. However, for the sake of fairness, he would choose four out of these six followers and take them into battle.


    Lady Kaitlin. Class: Holy Priest. She had the lowest HP and defence. If she was included in the four that were chosen to battle, she should be prioritised to be the first kill. Otherwise, she would heal the other four including Moroes.


    Lady Kirla. Class: Paladin. Kirla didn¡¯t deal a lot of damage, but she could heal herself and other monsters. In most of the combinations, she needed to be high on the priority list. The healing aside, they also needed to dispel her buff, Blessing. Otherwise, the damage from the monsters would be extremely high.


    Baroness Dorothy. Class: Dark Priest. She was proficient at Mana Burn and Mind Flay. Similar to Kaitlin, Dorothy also didn¡¯t have much HP or armour, but she was able to deal a large amount of damage in a short time. Her Mana Burn was able to erase 6000 mana. As a result of this, she needed to be killed extremely quickly as well. She would be placed under the healers in terms of priority.


    Baron Loft was a Retribution Paladin. He was extremely dangerous. It was in their interest to maintain control on him the whole time. They also needed to be extremely cautious when doing so. This was because if the control was broken, then it was very likely that he would use Hammer of Justice on the target in front of him, which would stun the person controlling him, which would lead to the players losing control of the situation. Naturally, this would then lead to team wipes.


    Baron Robin was a Warrior specialised in weapons. He used Mortal Strike and Whirlwind. Out of the six of them, Robin was the most dangerous. He should be controlled the whole time until after the Boss himself was killed, then dealt with afterwards. Mortal Strike was able to deal huge amounts of damage, which was enough to instantly kill any non-defensive players. Furthermore, everyone also needed to be away from his melee attacking range to avoid being struck by Whirlwind.


    Baron Crispin was a defensive Warrior. He wasn¡¯t as dangerous as the other followers. Crispin had high HP and armour, but he wasn¡¯t very strong offensively. He also had an ultimate skill which was Shield Wall. The team would either hold aggro on him or used Hunters to kite him for the whole battle. Because he didn¡¯t pose much of a threat, they only used spare crowd control skills on him. If he was prioritised to be killed early in the battle, then it would only waste a lot of time. Furthermore, it would lead to a worse situation for the team as the other three followers would become more and more of a threat. Therefore, it was best for them to control him until after the Boss was killed.


    The priority list of the six followers was basically ordered from healers to DPS. The first three needed to be killed first, while the other three could be controlled and held back in the meantime.


    The team¡¯s luck was not bad. It was Lady Kaitlin, Baron Loft, Baron Robin and Baron Crispin who ended up coming out. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t need to deal with another healer and a powerful DPS. That would¡¯ve been extremely difficult to deal with.


    Actually, if the combination of the four was something akin to unbeatable, they could exit the dungeon and wait for thirty minutes before re-entering. If they did that, then the combination would be changed. Now, they didn¡¯t need to do that. This way, they could save at least thirty minutes.


    ¡°Ah! We have unexpected guests tonight! Let me prepare myself.¡±


    ¡°There are some new guests with us tonight.¡±


    Prompted by the players¡¯ entries, Moroes responded to the new guests. He was extremely passionate and excited to welcome the adventurers into their midst, as if the adventurers were already destined to become lunch.


    Well, it was the truth. If the players could not be revived, then it would be impossible for them to defeat so many monsters in this instance dungeon.


    Lu Li¡¯s team finally began to falter. This was a level 70 team instance dungeon, so it was absurd to even think about clearing it in one try. However, each time the team lost, they gained valuable. This was because they understood the Boss¡¯ mechanics more each time.


    Because of their items that dropped upon death, both Lu Li and Water Fairy would retreat the moment the battle was out of their control.


    They needed two people to run at the same time because if Lu Li couldn¡¯t retreat in time, then they would¡¯ve needed another person to hurry back into the fray to loot the dropped item. Although, the chances of Lu Li not being able to escape was quite small.


    If a Thief wanted to escape, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    Everyone quickly figured out their own positions. Wherever the Boss was pulled to, the MT was there. The other Tanks would be responsible to pull the followers. The Thieves that were responsible for crowd controlling the followers knew where to position the followers. There were also the DPS positions and Healer positionings.


    As someone who had been reborn, Lu Li had an advantage here. He quickly adjusted everyone¡¯s positions to suit the positions shown in the strategy.

 Chapter 1881 - Moroes’ Lucky Pocket Watch

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°Kill the Priest first, then focus on the Retribution Knight and Arms Warrior. Snowy, we¡¯ll take care of controlling the Retribution Knight and Arms Warrior. Dreamy, I have a mission for you. You have to kite this defensive Paladin. Can you do it?¡± Lu Li arranged his team for the battle. If there weren¡¯t any problems, then they just needed to deal with the Boss.


    Everyone was given a mission. Now they just needed to follow Lu Li¡¯s instructions.


    Moroes had a lot of skills. The one that posed the biggest threat was Throat Rip.


    When Moroes used a disappearing skill, he would reappear and used Throat Rip on a player. After this, Moroes would return back to the MT. Throat Rip dealt 1600 Nature damage every three seconds. This lasted for five minutes.


    This was the skill that needed to be kept in check. Divine Shield, Wind Walk, Stoneform and Blessing of Protection could all dispel the DoT.


    The longer the battle was, the more dangerous Throat Rip was. The more DoT there was to deal with, the heavier the pressure was on healers. After a certain time elapsed in the battle, even the strongest of teams would be wiped here.


    The Boss¡¯s Healer usually didn¡¯t use Nature attacks. Even if the Healer did use it, the damage was extremely low, so there was no need for anyone to go and Tank the damage. The Arms Warrior was given to Wandering to deal with. This way, they would be able to save time and kill them quicker. However, the Arms Warrior dealt exceptionally high damage, so there was a chance that Wandering could be killed. The one responsible for healing him was Hachi Chan. Fortunately, she had plenty of mana, so Lu Li didn¡¯t care about how she was healing and what skills she used at what times.


    The Retribution Knight was handled with the same method as the Arms Warrior.


    Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t great at PVP. In the beginning when she just joined Lu Li¡¯s team, she couldn¡¯t even defeat a small monster.


    After two years with countless battles¡¯ worth of experience under her belt, and coaching from so many top-tier players, she was no longer the little girl from before. Looking at her current skill level, she was absolutely able to destroy the players known as the Elites. Adding her equipment into the equation, and she would be a killing machine in the Arathi Arenas.


    Kiting a follower was extremely easy for her. She wasn¡¯t any worse at it than an average Hunter.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t hold it, then come to me. I¡¯ll use mitigation when the CD resets. Lure the monsters that we need to kill within eight metres of me as well,¡± Lu Li¡¯s position was unusual. It was different to what the strategies said in his previous life. His position was eight metres from anything that needed to be killed.


    ¡°Hi. This is the benefit of cheating huh,¡± Azure Sea Breeze was also within eight metres of Lu Li. They were able to share the Blessing of Protection whenever they wanted to.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Lu Li continued to speak, ¡°For those of you guys who have mentors, you guys should do the best so that you can to suck up to them.¡±


    ¡°My mentor? He already went ahead and sold the shield for drinks. What good is that?¡± Azure Sea Breeze whined.


    His mentor was an extremely powerful defensive Warrior. He had joined a lot of different types of military squads. After retiring, he became a mercenary. It could be said that the mentor was one of the founders of the largest mercenary group in Stormwind City. Unfortunately, he was betrayed and now was at rock bottom.


    Lu Li reckoned that there was a hidden large-scale team quest here. Unfortunately, the players¡¯ strengths were not enough yet, so they couldn¡¯t trigger the questline.


    ¡°My mentor just likes to give me things to eat,¡± Remnant Dream sighed. ¡°I already told her that I¡¯m not a child. I only look like a child because I¡¯m short, but she just doesn¡¯t believe me. How did the game designers even design this game? I suspect that my mentor uncle is a big lolicon.¡±


    ¡°Sigh. I haven¡¯t even seen my mentor yet.¡± Hachi Chan was even more worried.


    ¡°If your mentor¡¯s not around, then look for someone else.¡± Lu Li said bitterly. He was extremely envious of Hachi Chan¡¯s relationships with the NPCs.


    Hachi Chan¡¯s mentor was Malfurion Stormrage. The King of the Dark Elves was still dwelling in the Emerald Dream while he took in Hachi Chan as his student. Since he was still in the Emerald Dream, Tyrande was responsible for her husband¡¯s student.


    Tyrande was now the one in charge of the Dark Elves. Even the semi-corrupted Fandral Staghelm admired her.


    After being wiped seven or eight times, everyone began to figure out the patterns. They finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Lu Li¡¯s Death Memory was integral to their success.


    Victory!


    Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief. The constant battling was tiring them out. After all, it had been a while since they¡¯ve been wiped multiple times like this.


    Lu Li pushed off one of the nobles from his seat and sat down.


    Remnant Dream put quite a lot of effort during this battle. She was like a never-ending ball of energy. She was constantly kiting the shield Warrior, but she didn¡¯t grow tired at all. Instead, she immediately went to loot the corpse.


    Stones and skill books. Then, it was the all-important equipment drop.


    Royal Cloak of Arathi Kings. Dark Gold. Strength classes only. It was taken away by Moonlight.


    Belt of Gale Force. Looking at the name, it seemed likely that it would add Strength. However, it didn¡¯t at all. It was an Intelligence-based item. Its properties were best for Nature Shamans. However, there were no Nature Shamans in the team, so this item was given to Lu Li to hold first.


    Moroes¡¯s Lucky Pocket Watch!


    An Epic item finally dropped, and it was something that was more precious than the average Epic item.


    ¡°It¡¯s for Bear Druids. Snowy, you take it. Give it to Deep Watersong when you get back.¡± Deep Watersong was the second team¡¯s vice-tank. The items that drop from the first team¡¯s runs could be given to him. After all, there were no competition for his items.


    Moroes¡¯s Lucky Pocket Watch was the best item that could drop from this Boss.


    The effects of the First Clear was clearly quite impactful.


    Formula: Enchant Weapon ¨C Mongoose!


    Moroes¡¯s Lucky Pocket Watch wasn¡¯t the last item that dropped. Remnant Dream took out another item. This time it was a recipe. It was actually able to use a level 70 enchantment, Mongoose.


    Mongoose was an enchantment for weapons. The effects of this enchantment added 120 Agility and 10% increase in attack speed.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t a permanent increase in properties, but the attribute increase was triggered with a certain percentage.


    Even though this was the case, it was still an extremely powerful enchantment. Classes that needed Agility would usually use this enchantment. Lu Li wasn¡¯t an exception. Unfortunately, it was only possible to enchant one of the weapons with this enchantment, not both. Otherwise, even if it was more expensive to do so, it would also be worth it.


    After level 70, there were a few enchantments that average players could not afford. Mongoose was one of them.


    After distributing the items, they continued to battle. The hoard of benefits from having the First Clear relieved everyone of their tiredness. They were not about to let other clubs steal the Bosses that they were about to kill.


    The third Boss was called the Maiden of Virtue. Seeing her reminded people of the gigantic Titan in Uldaman. However, the difference between her and the Titan was that her room was filled with holy light. Furthermore, she was a holy light user through and through.


    She was an optional Boss to fight. However, no one would skip on their chance to fight her. After all, in her hand was a powerful one-handed healing mace.

 Chapter 1882 - : Romeo and Juliet

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    There were many stories regarding the origins of the Maiden of Virtue, but the official website never confirmed any of it.


    Some people thought that she came here by herself for the sake of protecting this world alongside the guardians. Then, she discovered that there was something wrong with Medivh, so she stayed and tried to use the power of love to change him.


    Some people also thought that the Maiden of Virtue was created by Sargeras. She definitely wasn¡¯t to Medivh¡¯s liking.


    Karazhan was an odd place. There was corruption, but there was also innocence. There was immorality and there was holiness. There was also loyalty and yet also betrayal. No matter what, Maiden of the Virtue was a Boss. Furthermore, she was also more powerful than Moroes.


    The first few times of battling her were bound to be difficult. This was because her skills were either Holy-type damage and Nature-type damage.


    The MT was in charge of taking all of the Nature damage. Furthermore, the MT also needed to drag the Boss to the middle of the room, which was where her original spot was.


    She had more skills that dealt holy damage. She had many AoE damaging skills, such as Divine Endowment. This skill, when activated, dealt constant damage to enemies within 12 metres of the Boss. Players were dealt 500 Holy damage every three seconds. There was also a short Silence effect.


    The 12 metre range pretty much covered most of the small room.


    There was also Repentance, which dealt Holy damage and stunned all players for ten seconds. In these ten seconds, any player who received damage would be woken up. Similarly, Warriors who used Berserker Rage or Death Wish would also be able to wake up. There was too much that could happen within these ten seconds.


    The Maiden of Virtue had a skill that was similar to the Zug snake Boss. This skill was called Holy Wrath. The skill dealt 2000 Holy damage to its first target. If there were other targets within ten metres of the first target, it would bounce to a second target, dealing 2900 damage, then the third bounce would deal 3800 damage and the fourth bounce would deal 5400 damage.


    The first team wipe was here.


    It was his first death in the Karazhan instance dungeon. Fortunately, Water Fairy was able to escape and pick up his items for him.


    Besides these skills, there was also Holy Fire which was used quite frequently. This was used randomly on a single target and dealt 3000-3500 Fire damage alongside a side effect which dealt 1750 Fire damage every two seconds for 12 seconds.


    The side effect needed to be dispelled, otherwise no one would be able to tank it.


    After being wiped twice, Lu Li called Darkness, who was Sorrowless¡¯s ex-girlfriend and a healing Paladin, for some additional healing.


    Three healers gave a much better chance at fighting against this Boss. Lu Li decided to swap out Wandering, since they didn¡¯t need so many Tanks for this Boss and instead substituted in a Mage. A ranged DPS would be better than a melee DPS.


    Sakura Memories was actually not needed. However, she was able to use the Mana Tide Totem to help her and her teammates recover mana. This was because this battle needed a lot of healing, which meant that healers would run out of mana.


    Naturally, since everyone needed to be spread out in the room, not everyone was able to enjoy the mana recovery buff from the Mana Tide Totem.


    When the Mana Tide Totem was on cooldown, Sakura Memories was assigned to the DPS teams so that she could buff them with other Totems. Her buffs were able to increase the DPS¡¯ damage.


    Before the battle began, everyone immediately glued themselves to the wall and began moving towards their positions to avoid startling the Boss.


    When the battle began, the Tank immediately rushed forwards to take the Boss¡¯s aggro, while the healers spread themselves out all over the room to cover the maximum range of healing. The Priest would immediately cast a shield and a Prayer of Healing on the Main Tank. This would help the healers buy time to get to their spots.


    Ranged DPS players needed to stay away from the Healers to avoid the devastating Holy Wrath.


    All the ranged DPS players and healers all positioned themselves between all the pillars. This way, the pillars would not block their vision.


    For the sake of avoiding Holy Wrath being bounced from the Main Tank to the Melee DPS classes and dealing huge damage, they needed to have a rotation to manage a constant flow of melee attackers. When the attacking melee player had less than 50% HP, then the player would retreat and heal up using bandages or potions.


    At the same time, another melee attacker would use Brave Elixir or the Speed Elixir. This was because the window of opportunity to deal damage was quite small, so they needed to maximise each rotation of damage.


    Melee attackers needed to retreat quickly, otherwise it was likely for them to be one-shotted by Holy Wrath. At the same time, they also needed to be careful of Holy Wrath¡¯s side effect and dispel it immediately.


    Hunters and Warlocks were not able to use their pets because of Holy Wrath. The Warlock could just be assigned to the Tank squad and make sure that the tank was in the pet¡¯s buffing range.


    To avoid all the healers and the Main Tank being killed by Repentance, they needed a Paladin to use Blessing of Sacrifice on the Main Tank. When the Boss casted Repentance on the Main Tank, the Paladin would then be able to escape being stunned and heal the Main Tank or dispel the status ailments from others.


    This battle ended quickly. It was much quicker than Moroes.


    After its conclusion, someone received a skill point. Of course, it wasn¡¯t Lu Li. He could only hold in his disappointment and signalled Remnant Dream to loot the corpse.


    Remnant Dream¡¯s luck finally soothed his soul. An extremely precious enhancing stone that added both Damage and Attack Speed dropped, which only motivated Lu Li to immediately take it for himself.


    Mantle of Nefarius. Dark Gold item for Magic-based classes.


    Mitts of the Tremender. Dark Gold and Leather armour for Healers. It was given to Hachi Chan with no second thought.


    Shard of the Virtuous!


    The one-handed healing mace finally dropped. It did its status of an Epic item justice. This item was given to Darkness. This was because March Rain liked to use Staffs, so she needed to wait until she received a powerful sub-weapon before she could use one-handed weapons.


    Darkness had been patiently waiting outside. If Sorrowless knew that Lu Li was just using his girlfriend as a reserve, Sorrowless would not be pleased and be extremely bitter towards Lu Li. However, she received an exquisite item after entering the dungeon.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today¡¯s show. Tonight, we will witness an extremely tragic story of love. However, everyone knows that not all love stories end nicely. Sometimes, love is like a thorn that is extremely dangerous. When these two lovers see each other under the moonlight, what tragedy will unfold? Sit tightly and watch. Now, the show begins!¡±


    After talking to the host, the theatre curtains began to part.


    There were three shows: Little Red Riding Hood, Romeo and Juliet and the Wizard of Oz. These were all classics in theatre, but they didn¡¯t expect to see Romeo and Juliet. This might have been because it was nearly Valentine¡¯s day.


    The first Boss was Juliet.


    When she appeared, her lines were extremely theatre-like, ¡°Where is my master? Where is Romeo? Oh? A knife? It¡¯s your sheath! Let me die!¡±


    The MT immediately rushed forward to take her aggro and allowed everyone else to DPS.


    This wasn¡¯t a difficult stage. They just needed to interrupt her healing animation. Furthermore, when the Passionate Love buff appeared on her body, they needed to immediately dispel it. Otherwise, her damage would increase by 50% and her casting speed would also increase 50%. She would go from being harmless to being extremely dangerous. Team wiping would be inevitable.


    Lu Li¡¯s team worked extremely well together. As soon as this buff appeared, someone immediately tried to dispel it. Lu Li didn¡¯t even need to say anything.


    When Juliet was at the end of her HP, Romeo appeared and said, ¡°Today is a dark day. It has begun with a tragedy and must end with one!¡±


    Without a second word, the team engaged in battle. Azure Sea Breeze pushed Romeo to the walls of the stage and pinned him there. This way, the melee classes would be able to continue fighting and minimised losses to their effectiveness. Healers needed to remain cautious at all times. By doing these things, they were able to successfully proceed into the third stage.


    In the third stage, they still needed to be cautious about dispelling Juliet¡¯s heal.


    Another difficult part about this stage was to simultaneously lower both Bosses¡¯ HP and kill them at the same time. Otherwise, the remaining Boss would revive the other.


    When the team encountered this ability, so Lu Li instructed everyone to give up and start again. After all, they were unable to sustain the fight with their mana and skills any longer.


    The theatre wasn¡¯t too difficult to clear. Generally speaking, it was one of the stages that were more enjoyable to clear.


    Both Bosses dropped items, so in terms of the loot, it was welcomed. Unfortunately, there were no skill points.


    Masquerade Gown. This was a Dark Gold cloth armour for Healers. This was given to March Rain.


    Romeo¡¯s Poison Vial was a Melee Dark Gold accessory. It was best suited for Thieves. It was not bad for other classes either. Lu Li gave it to Water Fairy. His own poison was a little more special and its effects conflicted with Romeo¡¯s Poison Vial.


    Eternium Greathelm was a Dark Gold Helmet. It was given to Moonlight.


    Beastmaw Pauldrons was a chainmail Epic item. Remnant Dream immediately took the item for herself. There was no one more suited to the item than her.


    The last item was a two-handed sword called Despair. It was an Epic item and its properties were extremely good. This was given to Mu Qiu.


    Although Mu Qiu had the Greatsword of the Brotherhood, it was unfortunately a level 60 item. Since there were heavy equipment penalties in Dawn, level 70 players could not wear level 60 items. Even the best level 60 items were rendered nearly useless in the hands of a level 70 player.

 Chapter 1883 - T4

    After clearing out the opera house, everyone got a short rest before snaking around to where the Director was. He was the next Boss they had to kill.


    Before they faced him, the needed to deal with the two mechanical guards in front of the door.


    It was super easy with the tanks pulling one each.


    The problem was that they would target a teammate at random which would lead to an arcane explosion. The damage began at 200 points, and it would double each time. A few repeats was enough to One Shot someone. The worst thing was that the teammate who was targeted would just freeze there like an idiot.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t let something like this happen. After he saw that Fat Monkey had been targeted by this skill, he immediately called him to scramble over to one side.


    Fat Monkey obediently went over to the side to die. After the two mechanical guards were finished off, him and another one who had died in the battle were brought back to life.


    There were a lot of groups of monsters that were made up of arcane elements and siphoning fish in the gallery. The Boss was patrolling in the gallery and needed to be pulled out to attack it. The siphoning fish would suck up mana, while the arcane elements would blink and reset their aggro. With a mana shield, mana would be released after their death, allowing for people all around to recover over 100 mana every second, continuing for 20 seconds.


    Here, they only needed to pull the Boss when they didn¡¯t have to keep killing the little monsters, and it¡¯d be fine.


    The Director had high HP, high defence armour and relatively strong physical attack, in addition to being immune from arcane magic.


    Aside from physical damage, the Director would also release arcane bombs which did 6000 arcane damage to the players. When this skill first started to come out, everyone thought it would target the person with the highest HP besides the Main Tank. But later, it was confirmed that this was not exactly the case. The one with the second most aggro could also be a target.


    That was why Lu Li had Wandering, who had just been swapped in, to keep taking the brunt of this skill.


    He was a Defence Raider, so his HP was very high anyway. And to guarantee that he was definitely going to be the sacrificial lamb, Lu Li even required that he must maintain an even higher aggro than usual. As long as it was lower than Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s, it was fine.


    If arcane bombs were still not hard enough to deal with, then Lightning Balls would definitely be the Director¡¯s signature weapon.


    Every eight to ten seconds, the Director would use up all his mana to summon a Lightning Ball. Its HP was at about 12 000. They would release Chain Lightning, doing 800 arcane damage to their target. If the target had a friendly unit within ten yards of them, it would refract and do them the same amount of damage. Ten yards was already a really big range. No matter how everyone stood, they couldn¡¯t be completely clear of this range.


    A single Lightning Ball was still ok, and 800 damage was a small matter. As soon as the number of Lightning Balls increased though, everyone would have to face a continual baptism of fire from all of them.


    This was a battle that tested everyone¡¯s DPS, though more importantly, it tested their speed in attacking Lightning Balls.


    The only way they could kill the Boss was to be able to quickly attack the Lightning Balls that the Director summoned. Anyone who stayed long enough would¡¯ve figured this out. Either the Director died, or everyone else did.


    They couldn¡¯t be stingy with the potions as well. This was the perfect time to use those precious potions from the Great Cold.


    But in the previously battle, the main thing was mostly being able to work together. Output wasn¡¯t really being tested. So it was only now, with the Director, that this Instance Dungeon had begun to really enter nightmare mode.


    If the Director was able to constantly keep summoning Lightning Balls, then they would abandon the fight.


    Good thing the Director had a limit to their mana. After summoning about ten of them, he needed to use the Evocation skill which Mages often used, replenishing his own mana. Then, he continued to summon Lightning Balls. The time it took for Evocation was 20 seconds.


    Players could use this 20 seconds to quickly kill off all the remaining Lightning Balls which hadn¡¯t been dealt with yet.


    If the Lightning Balls had been cleaned up, they could continue to attack the Director. During Evocation, the Director couldn¡¯t fight back, and the damage he could incur was 200% of what he would normally receive.


    After the team died a few times, Lu Li slightly adjusted the team, putting in as many damage roles as he could. After all, all they needed was output.


    When the Director had about 15% HP left, he¡¯d enter into a state of Fury. At this point, he stopped summoning Lightning Balls. However, his attack speed and his frequency of releasing arcane bombs would increase massively, but the damage he received was still the same as before.


    This pressured everyone to increase their damage output, since after 12 minutes of battle, everyone would be wiped out. Because at the 12 minute mark, the Director would instantly expand, and would then One Shot everything.


    The arcane resistance potions should come into effect at this time. Regardless of how valuable the ingredients were, they had to be put into use without holding back.


    When Lu Li and his team were fighting to death against the Director, the second team had also been fighting very quickly to get to this place.


    Although the second team didn¡¯t have equipment like ¡®Death¡¯s Memory¡¯, they still had a complete guide. After Lu Li and his team finished fighting the Boss on their side, they immediately sent the guide over. Moreover, the second team¡¯s arrangement wasn¡¯t any worse than Lu Li¡¯s one.


    This also meant that when Lu Li and team were figuring out the way to fight, the second team could just follow their lead exactly.


    There weren¡¯t the only two teams fighting Karazhan. Actually, every one of the three clubs had sent a few teams to join in, with the level 70 equipment they received to be given to competitors.


    At least during league match periods, equipment was prioritized for competitors.


    The Director dropped Skill Points before they looted equipment.


    There was a very high chance of Skill Points being dropped in level 70 group Instance Dungeons. They would get at least three Skill Points for an Instance Dungeon and even more for a First Clear. In his last life, Lu Li¡¯s meagre two Skill Points were pretty much just from fighting in a level 70 group Instance Dungeon, and they were on Hero difficulty too.


    Shame the chance of getting a Strengthening Skills Book was really low. This Instance Dungeon hadn¡¯t come out with a Strengthening Skills Book yet.


    Pauldrons of the Solace-Giver, Dark Gold equipment, was given to Fat Monkey.


    Staff of Infinite Mysteries, Dark Gold equipment, was given to Carnivorous Cat.


    Then it was Gloves of the Fallen Defender, set equipment for Warriors, Priests and Druids. This was the first high quality set equipment of the level 70s¡ª the legendary T4 equipment.


    Since it was for Warriors, Priests and Druids, naturally, those roles would be prioritized. Lu Li, as the leader, gave it to March Rain.


    Gloves of the Fallen Hero, another one.


    Shame it was a Hunter¡¯s magic equipment, otherwise Lu Li would¡¯ve shamelessly taken it away for himself.


    Thieves, Paladins and Shamans all shared T4 set equipment parts, so even if he did take the equipment for himself, good ol¡¯ Mu Qiu with his personality wouldn¡¯t say anything.


    Since it was a Hunter¡¯s magic equipment, both Fat Monkey and Carnivorous Cat could take it. Moreover, both of these people had just taken equipment. So Lu Li had them roll a dice for it. Fat Monkey wasn¡¯t that lucky and only rolled a two. Carnivorous Cat won the equipment with a roll of over 20.


    That¡¯s why they say, you might not roll a high number, but all that mattered was that it was higher than your opponent¡¯s.


    When it came to blueprints, an Engineering Magic Potion Injector blueprint was dropped. From this, it was evident that engineering bore similarities to alchemy blueprints.


    After they finished fighting, time was pretty much almost up. Lu Li was already really satisfied with having defeated five Bosses on the first day. On the second day, they would clean up some of the new monsters that had come out, then they could head straight over to fight Shade of Aran.


    Shade of Aran referred to Nielas Aran.


    Nielas Aran was a highly respected Archmage of the royal court of Stormwind City. The guardian Aegwynn chose him to be the father of his own children. He was probably really handsome, or at least had the potential to be so.


    After Medivh was born, Aegwynn left Azeroth, leaving the child with the father.


    The little boy soon had quite a reputation in the Royal Court of Stormwind City.


    On the night that Medivh came of age, he was woken up by a nightmare. The massive power inside his body began to erupt, cutting through the Astral Plain, startling the priests of Northshire Abbey. Within an hour, they had rushed over to Stormwind Stronghold. It took Aran and over a 100 priests to suppress this explosion of power.


    After several days, this power disappeared as suddenly as it came. Medivh entered into a deep sleep. His father Nielas Aran was exhausted, and as a result, he fell down and died.

 Chapter 1884 - Medivh’s Daddy

    He was the top mage of the Stormwind kingdom. At the same time, he was a renowned member of the Council of Tirisfal. In the reign of King Landen Wyrnn, he happened to encounter one of the Guardians of Trisifal at the time, Magna Aegwynn, and even successfully led her into his hands. But actually, from the very beginning, Aran and Aegwynn¡¯s meeting was a scheme set up by the latter. In order to successfully produce an outstanding child, the experienced Aegwynn charmed Aran. Aegwynn took advantage of the situation, finally getting Aran onto bed, and she gave birth to the later Medivh.


    The plan worked as expected. After Aegwynn had her showdown with Aran, she left Stormwind City. After the child was born, Medivh was sent to Aran¡¯s hands, but she herself escaped to the ends of the earth.


    Anger and shame filled Aran¡¯s heart, but Medivh was his own flesh and bone, so he rarely turned showed anger and hate onto his own child.


    Karazhan was like Medivh¡¯s dream that radiated out of his own powerful spirit.


    That father who he could sometimes not look up to, an Archmage of the royal court, sacrificed his own life for him. It was only then when Medivh, raised with a silver spoon, realised what he had lost.


    Many years later, when he woke up from his slumber again, and the Shade of Aran was in Medivh.


    ¡®This old dog still has some teeth!¡¯


    This line from Aran made him one of the most famous Bosses in Dawn, as memorable as ¡®Arise, my champion¡¯ from that odd couple.


    As the father of Medivh, Shade of Aran was 100% a full Archmage, proficient in the three talents and extremely powerful. Only when all three of his magic skills had been silenced at the same time would he use his physical attack that wasn¡¯t worth mentioning. His attack target was completely random, not related to aggro at all. But when any player¡¯s HP got low, there was a really high chance he would keep attacking that player to finish them off.


    Frostbolts, Fireballs, and Arcane Missiles¡ª these perfectly summarized what the three Mage skills were.


    His Ice Bind was able to freeze his target to stop them from moving for ten seconds, doing no damage, but they could be dispersed. It could be removed with all Root removing skills and those that removed physical objects. The effect looked like a Priest binding the Undead.


    There was also the silencing of his surroundings, as well as a speed reduction effect. These were all conventional skills.


    Apart from the conventional skills, there were special skills that gave people a ¡®pleasant surprise¡¯, such as Blizzard, which did 1700 damage every second, that covered half the field with a slowing effect. It was a bit like C¡¯Thun¡¯s Red Beam, which worked two seconds faster than Blizzard. There would be a single Cone of Cold that would come down and let you know where it was beginning, and you had to hide, otherwise you¡¯d definitely get hit.


    Teleporting + speed reduction + extremely strong arcane damage¡ª a powerful three combo attack. The Shade of Aran teleported everyone to the very middle of the room, and at the same time, casted a speed reduction debuff on the whole group, while the Arcane Explosion began to cast as well. After ten seconds, 9000 ¨C 11 000 arcane damage was done to players within 30 yards ¨C the radius of the room was only 35 yards.


    The only way to deal with this was to move next to the wall within ten seconds. If your reaction time was fast enough and you began to run towards to edge before the teleportation started, then even if the speed reduction speed hadn¡¯t been removed, you could still escape the explosion in time.


    This skill was really easy to handle. You just needed to try your best not to get Iced so that any Invulnerability or other emergency measures wouldn¡¯t be wasted here. The only place where there might be a problem was someone getting Ice bound. Because of this, healers had to make sure they could cleanse anyone caught by it, or it would not end well.


    The Shade of Aran had so many skills. This was pretty much the first Boss that players had come across with so many skills. There was another, Flaming Hoop, which would randomly be used against three players. If there weren¡¯t any others near them, then it wouldn¡¯t be casted. However, if there were other players around, then it would produce a Flaming Hoop that lasted for 15 seconds. Anyone that tried to get through it would make it explode, doing 3000 ¨C 4000 fire damage to everyone there. So when Aran was about to cast this skill, everyone should immediately stand still¡ª even if they were in a Blizzard.


    All they could do was wait for death, at least that way they wouldn¡¯t get others damaged.


    When Aran¡¯s HP fell to 40%, he would summon four Elite water elements. Each one had about 10 000 HP and they would automatic disappear after 90 seconds. Their main skill was that they would keep sending out Frostbolts that did about 1500 damage.


    Ice, Fire, Arcane, and summoning¡ª that wasn¡¯t all.


    Nope, there was also transformation magic. When Aran¡¯s mana dropped down to 20%, he would make an exaggerated expression and turned everyone into sheep, except for Druids since they were immune to polymorph effects. Then, he would make a stream for everyone to drink from. Ten seconds later, he¡¯d fire an Impact wave, doing 5000 fire damage to everyone.


    If they hadn¡¯t killed Aran within 15 minutes, he would summon a shadow that would One Shot the whole team.


    Just like that, the whole team would be One Shot. In the opening stage, this made Shade of Aran an extremely hard Boss to kill. Only after being weakened a few times in later patches was everyone finally no longer stuck here.


    As for now, though¡­


    Hard was a word that the team had heard too many times before.


    Everyone in Ruling Sword¡¯s three way alliance was stuck here. Even for other clubs, quite a few teams would¡¯ve gotten here. After all, the Bosses before just tested their cooperation or output ability.


    Shade of Aran couldn¡¯t be taunted so a Main Tank was simply not needed. Indeed, even if they took two Main Tanks and chucked them into the Instance Dungeon it still wouldn¡¯t help.


    Again, the water elements needed someone to pull them, otherwise they¡¯d recklessly attack players. If the healers got killed, then there was no point in continuing the fight anymore.


    Lu Li even wanted to chuck the close combat units out. However, he needed to leave some people to tank the Boss¡¯s skills. Moreover, Aran was a Mage, so those who could truly do damage to him were still the close combat units. If Mages fought Mages, it¡¯d be a waste of a whole bunch of DPS.


    But with the close combat units, they needed to move quickly to avoid the Blizzard. Ranged units stood relatively far away, and they could just take two steps back and they¡¯d avoid the 30 yard zone.


    The thing that led to the team getting wiped the easiest was the Flaming Hoop. From the description of the skill, it could be seen that the condition that triggered it was that there had to be other players within 5 to 8 yards of the target. However, since they brought too many close combat units, it was super difficult to completely avoid the Flaming Hoop from appearing.


    When the Flaming Hoop and the Blizzard came out at the same time, it would lead to the death of a few members and sometimes even the death of the team.


    ¡°We need to think of a way to beat this,¡± Lu Li had been racking his brain for about less than a minute. Then, he had thought of a new idea.


    ¡°Who here still has Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, that chicken leg staff?¡± Lu Li recalled. He wasn¡¯t sure of this would work. Since when he was fighting this boss in his last life, Shade of Aran had already been nerfed a few times.


    On some relatively earlier guides, there was a small note at the top, if you entered the Dungeon with ¡®Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian¡¯, it would reduce the difficulty of the Instance Dungeon.


    Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, was Aegwynn¡¯s and Medivh¡¯s weapon, which meant it was something that belonged to the Archmage Aran¡¯s wife and child. If he saw something that belonged to his own wife and child, maybe he would go easier on them.

 Chapter 1885 - Shade of Aran

    ¡°I have it in the storehouse,¡± Lonesome Flower said.


    That was a piece of level 60 equipment. Although it was Exquisite, there weren¡¯t any areas in which it was especially remarkable. With the level penalty getting bigger and bigger, maybe changing to a level 68 Dark Gold staff would be more powerful that this Legendary weapon.


    Because of this, a Legendary weapon had degenerated into something kept in storage.


    ¡°Go get it, we¡¯ll be waiting here for you,¡± Lu Li decided to follow this vague guide. After all, they had died a few times, so there was no harm in trying it.


    Lonesome Flower read his mind and went to retrieve it. After he had received it, he was pulled into the Instance Dungeon by a warlock¡¯s summoning.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, my son¡¯s extremely powerful! But I have my own strength too! I am Aran! I want you to know, this old dog still has some teeth!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not some laughable clown, I¡¯m Nielas Aran!¡±


    These were the original lines of Shade of Aran.


    However, since Lonesome Flower brought back this ¡®Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian¡¯ weapon, this Shade of Aran expressed his own feelings with uncertainty.


    ¡°How do you have this weapon? Did he call you here?¡±


    This was his new line, and his mind even began to ¡®wander¡¯ during the battle ¨C through stories, he told of how he met Aegwynn and their bitterness and joy, but he had no regrets.


    When he was talking about when Medivh was young, he talked about how back then, Medivh was still just a smart and cute little boy.


    When he made these statements from his memories, the battle finally came to an unexpected end. According to Lu Li¡¯s calculations, after Shade of Aran saw this staff, the speed at which his magic was released dropped by at least 20%, and the magic¡¯s power and range also had decreased.


    The most important thing was that not once did Flaming Hoop and Blizzard come out at the same time.


    Simply put, it was like a Boss on Nightmare difficulty pulled back down to Hero difficulty. Even when Shade of Aran fell, everyone was speechless.


    Lu Li was the first one to have any reaction, because he got a Skill Point.


    This was simply a miracle, even harder to believe that they had defeated Shade of Aran.


    ¡°Ahem, don¡¯t look at me like that. As an outstanding Instance Dungeon commander, when the time comes for the officials to evaluate everyone¡¯s contributions, they will give me more points. So, me getting Skill Points is a very reasonable, understandable and logical. It¡¯s hard for you guys to understand.¡±


    ¡°Report it. System¡¯s got a bug,¡± that¡¯s how everyone complained.


    Remnant went up to loot equipment. After the stones, she actually looted a Strengthening Skills Book.


    ¡®Strengthened Fireball¡¯!


    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve said it. If even such a dodgy guy like our boss can get Skills Points, my luck can¡¯t be that bad,¡± Fat Monkey was so happy he could almost die.


    He already had two Strengthening Skills Books, but he had never strengthened the signature fire skill, Fireball. This was a type of explosive attack that he loved. He finally found his redemption from this Archmage Boss.


    Next it was Pauldrons of the Justice-Seeker, equipment for a Tanky Healer. Naturally, it was given to Darkness.


    Even though Darkness wasn¡¯t in the Instance Dungeon, it was still given to her all the same. This was pretty much the good thing about not having any competition. Darkness¡¯s equipment was always up with the times, and this was the reason.


    Sabreclaw Talisman!


    Although it was Dark Gold, it was a Thief¡¯s equipment. Lu Li immediately took it for himself.


    Sabreclaw Talisman (Dark Gold): All Attributes +80, HP +500, Slot +2, Special Effect 1: Critical Hit rate +6%, Critical Hit damage increased by 28%, Special Effect 2: Escape, teleport to a viewable position within 15 feet. Cooldown time of 2 minutes, cooldown time cannot be shared with other similar skills. Equipment requires level 70, Endurance 245/245.


    This was Lu Li¡¯s first true level 70 Exquisite equipment, produced from a large group Instance Dungeon.


    Although it didn¡¯t add much in attributes, it had a relatively even distribution. HP was super important in the level 70s. When you couldn¡¯t add points to Constitution, this sort of all-attribute-increasing equipment was very welcomed.


    Critical hits had been officially adjusted and redefined once again. Having the rate increased by 6% was still ok but having the Critical damage increased by almost 30% was extremely solid.


    Escape-type skills were rarely seen in equipment above level 60. It could be seen as a blank space. It was only level 60/70 large group Instance Dungeons or Wild Bosses that produced them. In order to get this sort of escape equipment, players had no choice but to keep using level 60 equipment. Because of this, they helplessly had to bear the reductions of the equipment level penalties.


    Pendant of the Violet Eye!


    An Epic decorative item. As soon as Lu Li compared his Sabreclaw Talisman to it, he could chuck it away.


    Pendant of the Violet Eye could be said to be the best item that the Director dropped. Because of this, the Magic roles began to compete for it. In the end it was Lu Li, being the Boss, who gave it to March Rain, deducting from her a heap of DKP.


    Moreover, when it was needed, this piece of equipment could be loaned to other competitors for use. After all, no one would say no to getting their mana back faster.


    The Boss also dropped a Sunfire blueprint, ¡®Formula: Enchant Weapon ¨C Sunfire.¡¯ It enchanted a weapon, increasing its strength of being able to get Fire and arcane magic by 50 points. The weapon level couldn¡¯t be lower than 35.


    Fire and Arcane Mages liked this sort of enchanting relatively more.


    Karazhan would drop heaps of all sorts of blueprints. Even the little monsters weren¡¯t exceptions. When they were cleaning up the little monsters before, there were two enchanting blueprints and one jewelry crafting blueprint that was dropped.


    Since they found an easy way to get around Shade of Aran, Lu Li felt that they were already ahead of most clubs, so they should have time to fight the hidden Boss.


    This was because when he was scanning the library bookcases, he happened to push open the bookcase, and it turned out there was a secret room.


    There was a hidden Boss inside ¨C Terestian Illhoof.


    Back then, Medivh had hidden in his spirit a mystical and powerful existence¡ª Sargeras. It was already concealed ages ago in the battle with Aegwynn, and when Medivh was born, it moved onto him.


    For a very long time, Medivh didn¡¯t even know about Sargeras¡¯s existence.


    Sargeras was like Medivh¡¯s other personality. Sargeras did many things without Medivh knowing. Terestian Illhoof was the demon that Sargeras summoned.


    Terestian Illhoof brought along his little monsters and waited here quietly, waiting for his master¡¯s command.


    Compared to Shade of Aran, this Boss was a lot easier. Even though the team died, it was because they were exploring the Boss¡¯s mechanics and skills. There was never a First Clear where no one died.


    Terestian Illhoof¡¯s little monster was called Kil¡¯rek. Having about 60 000 HP, it did very little damage to Main Tanks. Physical attacks dealt about 2000 damage. When it had been killed, Illhoof would cast a debuff. Which made the damage received by the team to increase by 25%. After the 30 seconds of Debuff were over, Kil¡¯rek would be summoned again.


    Warlocks were responsible for tanking the little monsters. Carnivorous Cat incurred very little damage, pretty much because of her role.


    At certain times, Illhoof would randomly teleport players into the green circle in the middle of the room. These players were bound by a layer of demon chains, and in this state, they would also incur about 1500 Shadow damage every second. At the same time, the Boss would be healed. There was no way to resist this damage. Invulnerability and a Mage¡¯s Ice Block could get rid of it though. The demon chains had 12 000 HP, and they needed to be destroyed quickly.


    Lu Li specially sent people to destroy the demon chains after they came out.


    About ten seconds after the battle started, Illhoof would create two portals on the two sides of the wall in the inner room area. The weakened little monsters would just keep getting farmed. Each one had 3000 HP. They attacked very quickly with Firebolts, and each one did 250-350 damage.


    These little monsters were really easy to kill. The main thing was to rely on AoE skills to finish them off.


    This Boss also had a time limit before he one shot everyone, so they needed to finish the battle by a set time ¨C about ten minutes.

 Chapter 1886 - Chess

    To begin with, the team still died a few times. This made Lu Li, who wanted it to be over and done with, almost give up on this Boss.


    Fortunately, things got easier as they went on. Finally, they defeated the Boss on their fourth try. This was a soul-stirring battle. In the end, of the fifteen people, only three remained alive, but just barely.


    In fact, Terestian Illhoof wasn¡¯t a particularly difficult Boss. They just needed a bit of time to find their feet.


    A Skill Point was rewarded to Azure Sea Breeze, but he wasn¡¯t all that happy about it. Lu Li had gotten one as well, so what was there worth showing off?


    ¡°Stop complaining and quickly loot the equipment,¡± Lu Li grunted. ¡°Kids these days¡­someone needs a spanking.¡±


    Girdle of the Prowler, which was a Dark Gold item, was given to Sakura Memories, while the Mender¡¯s Heart-Ring, which was a Dark Gold healing ring, was given to March Rain.


    Lightning Capacitor!


    This was a piece of Epic equipment, and was a magic accessory. Its famous special effect absorbed a portion of Critical Hit damage in the form of an electric charge. After accumulating three charges layers, they would be released.


    This made it quite valuable, but what attracted the players more was the group-controlling effect that these charges had.


    The electric shock would spread to multiple people in a radius of 10 feet. Those who were afflicted by the charge would be frozen for 0.5 seconds. You couldn¡¯t do much in 0.5 seconds, but you could interrupt a channel or shock Thieves who were Stealthing around you.


    This was the only special effect. The attributes weren¡¯t all that powerful either, otherwise, the magic professions would go crazy over this item.


    Satyr Charm!


    As the last item, Remnant Dream had looted a pet tool.


    After it was used, a little monster would be summoned.


    In the end, this item was given to Remnant Dream. This pet, which didn¡¯t need to eat and could accompany Remnant Dream to have fun, was very welcomed by her now.


    The next Boss would be Netherspite. As long as the director was killed, this Boss would appear. You could also choose to skip it and not fight it, but Lu Li neither immediately initiated the fight, nor did he skip it.


    Rather, he first went to play some chess.


    If someone really did defeat the director and Shade of Aran, they could come right over and snatch away this Boss¡¯ First Clear. However, Shameless Lu definitely wouldn¡¯t allow this sort of thing to happen.


    When entering the chess room, it could be seen that the entire room was a chessboard. On the left were the Horde¡¯s pieces, and on the right were the Alliance¡¯s.


    There was no difference in terms of the skills of the chess pieces at the same positions; they were all the same. The only difference was in the appearance and the name. If you were from the Alliance, you would control the Alliance side. In the same way, the Horde would control the Horde side.


    After the battle started, the King was controlled first. The king was at the center of the battle. If the opponent¡¯s King was attacked, this would result in victory, while the opposite would end in defeat. Even though they didn¡¯t control the pieces, when they encountered enemies, they would also automatically attack.


    Lu Li chose a few people to control the pieces, while the others went elsewhere to do their own thing.


    If they were really following the rules of chess, there would be quite a few people here better than Lu Li. However, the situation wasn¡¯t exactly like that. Medivh was cheating while the players were playing.


    He would periodically produce fire where the players stood, forcing them to run away. This was the reason you had to move the pawns in front of the king.


    He would increase his pieces¡¯ attack, so you had to pay attention to when you needed to run away.


    The pieces to the left and right of the king ¨C the beast prophet or human priest ¨C could both heal the King. When the King was being attacked, they could be controlled to heal him.


    As long as they avoided his underhanded tactics, and used the area-of-effect attack of the Doomguard or Water Elementals, this battle would prove to be easy.


    In his last life, he and another player solved the chess puzzle in Karazhan. Now, on their first attempt, they familiarized themselves with the mechanics. On their second attempt, they were formulated a plan of attack, and on their third attempt, they got to the last stage.


    The King fell to the ground, the game ended, and everyone went to the box in the corner to collect their winnings.


    Mithril Chain of Heroism, Dark Gold, Headdress of the High Potenate, Dark Gold, King¡¯s Defender, Epic.


    The three pieces of equipment weren¡¯t bad. Lu Li divided them up according to the principle of prioritizing competitors.


    They would be dividing it up like this for now. However, this did not set in stone who was going to have it. Even if the competitors didn¡¯t receive an item, during competition times, they could still borrow it. As such, they didn¡¯t feel as though they had to own these items.


    After the game of chess, they came before Netherspite.


    What was different about Netherspite compared to most other Karazhan bosses was that mistakes were not tolerated.


    They needed to do all their planning before they started the battle, and the battle required every team member to execute everything perfectly. In the battle, was it possible to have each team member understand what they were meant to do and how important it was for them to it?


    If every person got into the rhythm of things, then the battle would be relaxed, but if there was just one person who didn¡¯t understand what they were doing, it would be hard to avoid a team wipe.


    The first few times, the team was wiped to gain experience.


    They didn¡¯t need to waste potions; they just had to spend time and repair costs for equipment.


    In the new patch, the game had increased equipment repair costs for the level 70s. Apparently, there were already some small guilds that had to cancel most of their guild activities because they couldn¡¯t afford to repair equipment. Some had already even cancelled guild funding for equipment repair.


    If a guild wasn¡¯t even willing to take on the costs of equipment repair for a group activity, then it was only a matter of time before it was going to disband.


    For Ruling Sword, it wasn¡¯t just group events ¨C the guild even paid for repairs from damage incurred in non-group activities. However, there was a daily limit, and once that was exceeded, they couldn¡¯t use guild funds for equipment repair.


    Only Lu Li, who had experienced the lowest levels of life in the game, knew how important a little help with equipment repair was to players at lower levels.


    This sort of benefit provision added more pressure onto Ruling Sword¡¯s finances. If it wasn¡¯t for Lu Li supporting it all the way, Square Root 3 would have followed the example of other clubs ages ago. Together, the two clubs of Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear had more than 100,000 fighting members. The repair fees for each day were an astronomical figure.


    As for other clubs, they would just provide guild funding for group activities.


    It was only those groups in the Elite teams and above that could repair their equipment whenever they wanted.


    However, they could only reap if they sowed. Lu Li¡¯s seemingly foolish stance allowed for the two guilds¡¯ grassroots-level players to be exceptionally strong. Once you entered into either of these clubs, for the most part, you wouldn¡¯t be leaving in a hurry. You might even slowly develop to become a top player.


    They had gone through about a dozen team deaths here and repaired their equipment twice. Finally,


    they had cleared up any confusion about most of Netherspite¡¯s skills.


    The Netherspite battle was divided into two stages ¨C the Nether gate stage, which lasted for 60 seconds, and the Banish stage, which lasted for 30 seconds. The two stages would keep alternating, until the sxith Banish stage ended, which meant that the battle had gone on for 9 minutes. If the Boss still hadn¡¯t been killed, it would enter into a Berserk state, and all the damage done within the ring of light would be increased by 400%. The team would be dead within 10 seconds of this.

 Chapter 1887 - Mirror Image Healing

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    The Karazhan Bosses were all unruly like this. They had to be killed within a set time, otherwise, they would finish the team off.


    The stages of this Boss weren¡¯t obvious as there were two that kept on alternating. There were three skills that would be cast throughout these stages, one of which was Nether Burn. In theory, it could be avoided with the line of vision being cut off, and it could be resisted against too.


    If you were in a favorable position you could not only avoid it, but even counterattack.


    Because the skill could be resisted, Lu Li had March Rain provide everyone Shadow resistance. Nether Burn appeared like a fire skill, but it actually dealt Shadow damage.


    There was also Void Zone. A target would be chosen at random, and at the Boss¡¯ feet, a Void Zone circle would be released, persisting for 15 seconds. Anyone within the zone would receive 1000 Shadow damage every 2 seconds.


    This damage had to be avoided, or else they would keep losing people.


    Lastly, there was Strengthening, which would increase the Boss¡¯ own damage by 100%. This buff could not be Dispersed, and it tended to be cast within the first few seconds of the Nether gate stage.


    To prevail against this Boss, you had to be focused.


    The Nether gate stage continued for about 60 seconds. On the left and right of the room¡¯s entrance, as well as on the opposite side, there was a Nether gate point. Every time they entered into this stage, these three points would each spawn new, different-colored Nether gates. Ten seconds later, the three gates would emit three matching streams of light that shot at the Boss.


    What they had to be careful of was that although the position of the three gates didn¡¯t change, the colors would, and there was only a ten second window to react in.


    When the three different-colored lights shot at the Boss and players, they would produce different buffs. However, when they were focused at the same point, the buff would multiply every second. In theory, the upper limit was a 99-fold increase. When players escaped from the paths of light and the buff disappeared, the players would be afflicted with a debuff called ¡®Mental Fatigue¡¯. Over the next 90 seconds, they would absorb the rays of light of that color, but wouldn¡¯t be influenced by the other colors.


    Of the three different colors of light, one was red and was called Resolute. After it shone on the Boss, every multiple reduced the damage it incurred by 1%. If it hit the players, that player would become the Boss¡¯ aggro target, and every multiple would reduce their own damage by 1%, whiile increasing their defense by 5 points.


    This had to be blocked, or else, the Boss would eventually become invincible.


    There was another green light, called Tranquility. If this shone upon the Boss, he would receive 4000 HP per stack. The effect on the players was a 5% increase in healing and reduction in skill consumption by 1% (Mana, Rage and Energy consumption).


    The last light was blue, and was called Mind Control. If it hit the Boss, it would increase his magic damage by 1%. If it hit the players, their magic damage would be increased by 5%, healing reduced by 1% and susceptibility to magic damage increased by 8%.


    After 60 seconds, they would enter into the Banish stage, which would continue for about 30 seconds.


    In this stage, the portal would disappear, and Netherspite would remain in a Banished state, unable to move. However, the players could still incur physical damage. In this stage, Netherspite could also be attacked.


    The only skill that was cast in this stage was Netherbreath. A target would be chosen at random, and the Boss would spit at them in a cone-shaped attack. To players in the area, 4100 ¨C 4800 damage would be dealt, and they would be pushed back 30 feet as well.


    In every stage, this would happen four times. This skill was limited by line of sight.


    After 30 seconds, the Banish stage would end and the Boss would return to the Nether gate stage. At this point, aggro would reset, and healers and DPS players would have to be careful of drawing aggro until the red light shone out again. Strictly speaking, this stage didn¡¯t continue for exactly 30 seconds. If time was almost up and the Boss just happened to use Netherbreath, the duration would be slightly longer.


    Because of the differences between the buffs, different roles would be responsible for each light.


    Generally speaking, tanks were responsible for the red lights, since the red lights increased aggro, reduced damage and increased defense. Any other role would be one-shot.


    Healers were responsible for the green lights, while ranged units and DPS players were responsible for the green.


    However, it was impossible for the players to single-handedly absorb the buffs. From the 31st stack, the red light would decrease the player¡¯s highest possible HP to lower than it was originally, and after the blue light had shone for 30 seconds, it would increase the extra damage taken by 240%. Apart from some specific professions, most players found it hard to keep up.


    Because of this, alternating between players became a relatively standard way to solve this problem.


    Lu Li had an alternative proposal in his heart, but the problem was that he had to reasonably ¡®research¡¯ and formulate it.


    If he didn¡¯t act, the only problem to figuring out the plan was time.


    Simply put, after they first entered, the three points would spawn new Nether gates at the same time. This meant that after 10 seconds, the lights would flash. They needed to take their positions during this period of time. The DPS players didn¡¯t need to attack yet; they could just let Azure Sea Breeze aggro the Boss. Remnant Dream would use Misdirection to help stabilize aggro, and the three players responsible for taking the light would begin to adjust their own positions. This would guarantee that when the light was emitted, it could shine on them, and not the Boss.


    Ten seconds after the battle started, the Main Tank received the first ray of red light, and after holding it for about 25 seconds, it was taken by a healer, who continued to hold it for 25 seconds.


    Lu Li pulled Darkness in. This way, there were two healers and two Main Tanks blocking the red light together. As a plan B, if the person blocking the red light died, it could still be acceptable for a Hunter to keep it up.


    This way, they persisted until the first Nether gate stage finished. In the second Nether gate stage, since the Netherbreath debuff on these two people was still present, the secondary tank would go on up to take the red light. 25 seconds later, another healer would take over for the same amount of time. This way, by the third Nether gate stage, the Main Tank¡¯s debuff would have just ended, finishing a cycle.


    During this stage, had to adjust their aggro, and they had to do this while the red light hadn¡¯t been emitted yet. Because of this, they needed to be careful of drawing aggro, but as soon as the red light shone, they had to attack with all their might.


    If the players responsible for receiving the current light just happened to have the Boss fire Void Zone at them, they had to keep in mind that they couldn¡¯t move to the left or right. They could only move forwards and backwards. They could never allow the light to shine on the Boss.


    Those players who were being shone on by the green light needed to take note of their Mana at that


    moment. When their mana was at 0, the green light would simply ignore them, and at this time, if no one took over, it would be shone directly at the Boss. This would prove to be fatal.


    No matter what, they had to make sure the green light didn¡¯t touch the Boss. When the three healers were taking over, they had to execute their task perfectly. If things went haywire, the Thieves, Warriors and other DPS players could also take over.


    Netherspite¡¯s difficulty was very high for a First Clear team.


    Any team who had practiced this a few times could casually defeat this Boss with their eyes closed.


    Once the Boss was dead, some players received Skill Points, which was the charm of the First Clear. If it


    wasn¡¯t a First Clear, one Skill Point being rewarded from the three Bosses would already be a fantastic result. If they weren¡¯t lucky, they wouldn¡¯t receive a Skill Point from their entire Instance Dungeon journey.


    As for the Strengthening Stones that were dropped, there was one called Mirror Image healing.


    This could bind a teammate as the player¡¯s own mirror image, and every time they were healed, the mirror-imaged player would have a chance to be instantly restored.


    This was an exquisite special effect stone and would not be wasted on ordinary equipment.

 Chapter 1888 - Plugging Yourself In

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    After a few Dark Gold equips, there was finally an Epic one-handed sword. Because the main Attribute was Agility it was more suitable for Thieves and Hunters.


    However, hunters usually preferred double-handed close-combat weapons, for example, a magic staff. There were typically more Attribute points on double-handed weapons, so this one-handed sword became something that no one wanted.


    ¡°No one wants it? Something this good!?¡±


    Lu Li was rather surprised and looked at Azure Sea Breeze, saying, ¡°Breezy, 30 points. You take it.¡±


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid and replied, ¡°Go away.¡±


    ¡°Dreamy¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it either. If you give to me by force, I¡¯ll cry.¡±


    ¡°Oh man, then I¡¯ll give it to myself. Take off 10 points.¡±


    Even though the starting amount for weapons was 30 points, no one wanted this weapon. As such, ten points didn¡¯t really count as much.


    Lu Li instead had come out merry, paying only ten points for a one-handed sword. Other people probably were still laughing at him for ending up with a piece of rubbish.


    This patch¡¯ battle Thief was very weak, along with PVP-control and escape variants of the class. PVE Thieves also couldn¡¯t deal the same damage as a magic profession, so it was rare to see a high-level Thief player using a one-handed sword. As such, this one-handed sword with added Agility was considered as rubbish.


    Resentment (Epic): Damage 128-164, Agility +180, Strength +120, Critical Hit + 8%, Critical Hit Damage + 33%, 2 Slots. Special Effect 1: Attack the target once more with a certain probability after a Critical Hit. Special Effect 2: Curse the target with a certain probability when attacking, inflicting Weakness. Can stack up to three times. Equipment level requirement 60, Durability 340 / 340.


    The Attributes were very simple. It completely suited a minimalistic level 70 style.


    The new version of Critical Hit chance was no longer a number that people didn¡¯t understand. It was divided into the probability of a Critical Hit and the increase of a Critical Hit¡¯s damage. According to some people¡¯s speculation, the probability and damage both had a maximum limit. Thieves, as a high Critical Hit profession could control up to 28-33% of critical hit.


    At the moment, Lu Li still couldn¡¯t change weapons because he had just learned the double-handed sword skill and needed two swords.


    He picked up a Badge of Justice, and completed some quests of his own. The rest of the people didn¡¯t take any breaks to clear monsters. Even though Ruling Sword¡¯s First Clear progress was very fast, Lu Li was rather greedy and didn¡¯t bypass any Bosses. As such, they had wasted a lot of time without realising it.


    Other clubs weren¡¯t as confident as them. Plus, they had found a lot of level 70 equipment and their equipment level already had surpassed Ruling Sword¡¯s.


    Lu Li called upon his informant to report to him on the outside world¡¯s situation and found that the Shade of Aran strategy was no longer a secret. Without excluding the possibility of someone from the three-guild alliance to have leaked the secret, he also couldn¡¯t look down upon the wisdom of the mass majority of players.


    Then, should they go straight away to fight the final Boss, Prince Malchezaar? Or get rid of the hidden Boss, Nightbane, along the way?


    To say ¡®along the way¡¯ wasn¡¯t entirely correct because the difficulty of Nightbane was higher than that of Prince Malchezaar. Even though in terms of order, Prince Malchezaar was the true final Boss of Karazhan, many people thought that Nightbane was the final Boss.


    Greed was a type of original sin. Lu Li hesitated for a long time.


    After such a long hesitation, he suddenly wanted to slap himself. There was no need for such conflict. He could just go kill the Prince and get First Clear, then go kill Nightbane. It was a flipped order, which didn¡¯t get in the way of the Instance Dungeon.


    Hence, everyone headed straight for the final Boss.


    Prince Malchezaar wasn¡¯t just a prince of any Azeroth mainland¡¯s kingdom. He was a being from Eredar.


    Back when Kil¡¯jaeden and Archimonde and Velen were best mates, Malchezaar was one of the minority of talented mages in Eredar. The person that Malchezaar admired the most was Archimonde.


    Malchezaar wasn¡¯t the son of any of these three giants, because they didn¡¯t have any offspring.


    The details of his identity couldn¡¯t be verified. However, his appearance and identity hid that he and Archimonde could very much have a blood relation. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be called as ¡®prince¡¯.


    Nearly everything that Archimonde said, Malchezaar would go and do.


    The same could be said where Archimonde praised this young mage. Hence, Malchezaar had become a small head among the people of Eredar.


    Not long after, Kil¡¯jaeden and Archimonde both ran to Sargeras for power without any hesitation. Of course, this included Archimonde¡¯s follower, Malchezaar.


    Malchezaar as the small head of the Burning Legion still followed Archimonde, whilst continually studying Archimonde¡¯s evil magic. Archimonde had also patiently fostered this loyal follower.


    A demon was still a demon. The magic that Archimonde taught Malchezaar had hidden potential. This meant that Archimonde hadn¡¯t taught Malchezaar everything.


    The Burning Legion then invaded Azeroth. Archimonde became invincible and destroyed Dalaran. Including everything that stood in the way of the Burning Legion and its allies, the Alliance were all reduced to dust. He had forced himself all the way to the foot of the World Tree, and evidently, had fought to death there in the end.


    Malchezaar didn¡¯t participate in the battle with Archimonde. He originally was a member of those invading Azeroth. Yet, Archimonde was overly confident and didn¡¯t let Malchezaar participate. Archimonde believed that with him alone, Azeroth was a piece of fatty meat for the Burning Legion.


    The most important thing was that Archimonde didn¡¯t want to share the power of the World Tree with anyone.


    After Archimonde died in battle, the lost Malchezaar couldn¡¯t control his thirst for power. He called upon all the demons under him and frantically began to search for the entry point into the world of Azeroth.


    Karazhan¡¯s remnant magic attracted Malchezaar¡¯s attention and he opened the gateway towards Karazhan, stepping into it without any hesitation. His legion also followed him into the gateway.


    Evidently, Medivh¡¯s Karazhan was mysterious and unpredictable. The magic of Karazhan was so unstable that when Malchezaar stepped into the gateway, space-time changed dramatically.


    Using his own power, Malchezaar was able to successfully arrive on the rooftop of Karazhan.


    His demon followers had instead been sent god-knows-where by the gateway.


    Malchezaar discovered in despair that in Karazhan he couldn¡¯t find any connection with the outside world. He couldn¡¯t walk outside of this rooftop. There was no time, and no sound, only dead silence and loneliness.


    He didn¡¯t know how long had passed when he started to lose his mind and patience, and fell into a state of mania.


    He believed that with his capabilities, he shouldn¡¯t be trapped here. He believed that he could subvert the world.


    Unfortunately, the only thing waiting for him were players.


    Malchezaar dropped T4 set Headpiece and hence became the target of players. Moreover, he had an exquisite axe ¨C Gorehowl.


    ¡°Gorehowl¡± was the famous weapon of Grom Hellscream, the Orc chief of the Warsong clan. The blade had small holes which sent a terrifying Warsong that gave enemies a chill when it was swung through the air.


    During the second time when the Burning Legion invaded, Grom used this to cut Mannoroth into two. However, he also died due to the wounds that he suffered. Hence, the axe had been buried here with its owner in the Demonslaying Canyon.


    When Malchezaar went to Grey Valley to steal the magic of Moonwell, he was met with an army of Water Elemental. Even though both sides had escaped in a hurry because of the Shadow Alliance, Malchezaar left, saying, ¡°I have found another well-suited toy!¡±


    The Orcs near Grey Valley declared Malchezaar as their enemy.


    Hence, it could be deduced that Gorehowl was probably stolen by Malchezaar from the Demonslaying Canyon.


    This was the first Legendary weapon unlocked by players from the 70¡¯s. At the moment, it was of course not Legendary. It could be upgraded by completing quests, and after three upgrades, its true glory would be put on display.

 Chapter 1889 - The Strongest Skill

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Someone had once calculated the strongest Boss skill in Dawn.


    Prince Malchezaar¡¯s signature skill made it onto the rankings and even made it into the top three.


    Subjugated Power was cast on any five non-tank team members, setting their maximum HP down to 1, and healing and regeneration to 0. This lasted for 7 seconds.


    No matter how much HP you had, if you were afflicted by this, your HP would decrease to 1. It made no difference if other people healed you or if you drank a potion. If you received damage, no matter how little, you would die.


    One could only wait until this debuff ended for their HP to return to a normal state.


    Along with Subjugated Power was Shadow Nova, which dealt 3000 Shadow damage in a 30-yard radius and would repel people within this range.


    Those who were hit with the Subjugated Power and hadn¡¯t run away would be killed in one fell swoop.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s team wipe had broken a new record. After just a few minutes of battling, they were all on the floor. Lu Li turned around and walked away as soon as he was hit. Then, he turned back to see his teammates enter into a state of stupidity. He shamelessly turned back around and continued to run away.


    Anyone who found that their HP had been reduced to a single point and could not do anything about it would be at a loss.


    ¡°What happened? What¡¯s wrong with me? What should I do?¡±


    ¡°What to do? We can¡¯t keep fighting. Everyone, let¡¯s disband after splitting the stuff,¡± Fat Monkey said dejectedly. He was one of the players who had been killed just then.


    It was impossible to disband. Since this Boss was designed by the gaming company, then there must have been a way of overcoming it.


    ¡°Those hit by the debuff, immediately run outside of the Boss¡¯ attack range. It¡¯s that simple,¡± Lu Li explained.


    Indeed, Prince Malchezaar had one of the strongest skills, but it wasn¡¯t necessarily the hardest to deal with. After all, the frequency of this skill wasn¡¯t to the point of completely shutting down the players.


    Moreover, the equipment that Lu Li had received from his mentor could also be used here. Malchezaar, being from Eredar, was a member of the demons.


    Other than the Subjugated Power, Malchezaar periodically summoned an Infernal mid-battle. His Infernal fell from the sky and didn¡¯t have a fixed position. It would roughly be cast at any point within a 60-yard radius around the Boss.


    This introduced an element of unpredictability into the battle.


    The Infernal itself wouldn¡¯t move, and didn¡¯t have an aggro list. However, it would deal 1000-1500 damage within a radius of 15-yards.


    In the first and second period, it would be called upon every 50-60 seconds, while in the third period, it would be called every 20-25 seconds.


    The Infernal would automatically disappear 3 minutes after being summoned.


    Then, there were the stages. This Boss battle was also divided into three stages. No one knew why this was the case across most Bosses.


    However, there were differences from Netherspite. This Boss was split into stages according to its HP. The first stage was 100-60%, the second stage was 60-30%, and the third stage was 30-0%.


    The third stage was the hardest, while the first two stages were of a similar difficulty. The third stage introduced another skill called Shadow Word: Pain. It was cast on random target and dealt massive damage, but it could be dispelled. It was much more different from Subjugated Power.


    Since, Malchezaar had 1,150,000 HP, the whole battle was a test of the team¡¯s endurance, especially for the healing and ranged DPS players.


    Wandering had once again been granted his wish of being a substitute outside the Instance Dungeon. If it was anyone else, they would feel a bit down, but he wasn¡¯t like that. He would rather be a substitute his whole life.


    If the Main Tank was strong enough here, then three healers would be sufficient. Otherwise, it would be safer to enter with four healers.


    With Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s level and equipment, there was no need to consider having four healers. March Rain, Little Hachi Chan and Darkness as a combination were stronger than another quad-healer group.


    As for DPS professions, Shadow Priests were a very good choice. Not only did they have high DPS in the current version, but they were also potent Magic users.


    A majority of ranged DPS professions were better suited than melee players against this Boss. Ranged players could easily stand outside the AOE range of the Boss if they were afflicted by Subjugated Power.


    There were only four melee DPS players ¨C Lu Li, Water Fairy, Moonlight and Sakura Memories.


    The rest were all ranged output.


    Choosing the appropriate potions here would be helpful to the team. Other healing-oriented teams could rely on more consumables to improve DPS, such as Whetstones, Wizard Oil and other elixirs. If the team had less healers, then it needed to rely on consumables to improve recovery. Stoneshield Potions would also be necessary to relieve pressure on the Main Tanks.


    Stoneshield Potions could be used in the second stage where the Prince would increase his damage towards Main Tanks.


    Lu Li and the others spent a whole day defeating this Boss. Some of the mechanisms were different from what Lu Li recalled, and they needed to constantly adjust and discuss countermeasures.


    Malchezaar rewarded skill points, which were taken by Darkness.


    Darkness was a lucky player. Most of the time, she was a substitute, but when she entered an Instance Dungeon, she would always receive equipment or skill points.


    A Life-steal Gem was given to Moonlight.


    For Thieves, they couldn¡¯t run if they didn¡¯t kill their opponent, so there was no use for life-steal.


    Unfortunately, there were no Enhanced Skills Book. Prince Malchezaar was Karazhan¡¯s final Boss, so they didn¡¯t expect him to be so stingy.


    Then, there was a Thousand Seal Ring, which was Dark Gold grade.


    This could be generally used by all players, so Lu Li gave it to Sakura Memories.


    Of course, this type of general equipment didn¡¯t truly belong to anyone. If Sakura Memories wasn¡¯t competing, she had to lend it to Moonlight or Mu Qiu. At the moment, level 70 equipment hadn¡¯t been popularised, so they had to live frugally.


    Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix ¨C Dark Gold Bow.


    Even though this could be used by both Warriors and Thieves, Remnant Dream still wielded a level 68 weapon. As such, Lu Li gave it to her without hesitation.


    Lu Li¡¯s heart felt heavy after seeing the Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix. If the Boss dropped a weapon, then there would likely be no second weapon, and Prince Malchezaar¡¯s best item was naturally Gorehowl.

 Chapter 1890 - : Nightbane

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    The appearance of the Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix was very cool. Many people were willing to carry it on their backs even if they had a better weapon. Once Transmogrification was introduced into the game, this item would become a must have for many Hunters.


    However, in the eyes of a pragmatist like Lu Li, appearances meant nothing. It was functionality that reigned supreme.


    The Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix still could not compare to a Gorehowl.


    Then, the Helm of the Fallen Champion was dropped¡­ twice in a row. Two of the same T4 Headgear for Thieves had been dropped.


    Lu Li took one and so did Mu Qiu. Water Fairy didn¡¯t take one this time. After all, this First Clear had basically been achieved by Ruling Sword, so Water Fairy had to wait her turn after Lu Li and Mu Qiu before demanding anything.


    Besides, with her status, she could easily acquire equipment like this sooner or later.


    It wasn¡¯t just her either ¨C most other players weren¡¯t that worse off in terms of equipment. Once the three-guild alliance properly got a First Clear in Karazhan, dozens of teams would flocks to the Instance Dungeon to complete it. They would easily be able to farm this kind of equipment and reach level 70.


    Gorehowl!


    Remnant Dream waved the axe around and was drooling over its properties.


    Unfortunately, this item couldn¡¯t be taken by Hunters, nor was it her turn to take this item. In the end, most Hunter weapons were ranged weapons.


    ¡°Gorehowl?¡± Lu Li asked again to confirm.


    In fact, after seeing the shape of the weapon, he was already quite convinced that it was a Gorehowl.


    Unlike the T4 components, which were Molds that required a Tailor or a Blacksmith to complete the equipment, the Gorehowl was a finished product. It was an Epic item that would become a Legendary item after upgrading it three times. After all, it was a well-known weapon in the game¡¯s lore.


    ¡°Do we give it to Moonlight?¡± Remnant Dream asked.


    ¡°Yeah, and we¡¯ll deduct 120 points for it. That should be fair,¡± Lu Li said as he looked at the others, but they didn¡¯t seem to want to take it.


    Epic equipment was worth at least 30 points, but two-handed equipment like this that was upgradeable into a Legendary weapon could be easily valued at 120 points. Anyone would take a Legendary equipment at 120 points, even if it wasn¡¯t a finished product.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had heard of the high-level Gold farming groups in Karazhan that would always be looking for a Gorehowl to drop.


    A Gorehowl was worth at least 10,000 dollars. If it was dropped, then everyone would be rich together. If it didn¡¯t drop, then their trip to Karazhan would be for nothing.


    ¡°That is not a problem,¡± Moonlight immediately agreed without hesitation after looking at its properties.


    Level 70 weapons had now been dropped.


    As they were enjoying their spoils, the other clubs numbly continued with the Instance Dungeon. As soon as Prince Malchezaar had been defeated, the other Clubs saw the World Announcement that Ruling Sword had taken the Karazhan First Clear.


    There were very few people that actually responded to that announcement, as everyone was used to this by now.


    There was no need to worry now that the First Clear had been taken. Even the remaining Hidden Boss had nothing to do with the overall First Clear.


    The First Clear rewards were quite generous. Two of them received Skill Points and one of them got an Enhanced Skill Book. Lu Li naturally wasn¡¯t a part of that group.


    However, he didn¡¯t care much as he had already gotten a Skill Point in the Instance Dungeon, which was more than he had expected already.


    When it came to luck, it was all just a matter of comparison. If you didn¡¯t compare your luck against someone else¡¯s, then you wouldn¡¯t feel bad about it.


    In the end, Lu Li received T4 Gloves as a reward.


    In addition to the previous T4 Headgear, he now had two T4 equipment which could be used together to activate the first bonus effect. If Lu Li remembered correctly, the two-piece bonus was a 40 point increase in Agility, which was a valuable effect.


    The Hidden Boss was Nightbane, a bone dragon summoned in Karazhan. Before his death, he was a blue dragon and many people thought he was Karazhan¡¯s final Boss. This was likely due to the complicated series of quests required to trigger the battle and the difficulty of defeating him.


    His real name was Acanlogos, but now that he was dead, Nightbane was a more appropriate name.


    The blue dragons in Dawn were all rather unlucky.


    They were either killed, banished or corrupted. Some even continued to be tormented after death.


    Although blue dragons like Malygos had a good reputation in places like the Well of Eternity to the Grim Totem for helping the Red Dragon Queen, their fates were worse than the villainous black dragons.


    As guardians of magic, they were always first to be reduced to cannon fodder in battle. Among them were dragons like Kel¡¯Thuzad¡¯s mount Sapphiron and Arthes¡¯ watchdog Sindragosa.


    However, the deadliest of them was the one that Lu Li was about to face. Although Medivh was the guardian of Tirisfal, he was also Sargeras¡¯ host. The fact that the dragon was one-shot by a mortal human highlighted the serious power that Medivh wielded and the proportional difficult they were going to face when fighting this dragon.


    That¡¯s right ¨C it was one-shot.


    The seemingly powerful adult dragon was killed after discovering Medivh¡¯s secret.


    Among the blue dragons, there were others that had been enslaved just like the one that the players were about to face in the Instance Dungeon. Kalecgos was enslaved the moment he stepped into the Sunwell. Madrigosa was successfully enslaved into Femis. It was worth mentioning that throughout the Battle of the Sunwell, only the Blue Dragons of the five coloured dragons participated in the battle. Since their responsibilities were so great, the tragedies among them were great as well¡­


    Netherspite, a dragon that Lu Li and the others had previously killed, was said to also have been a blue dragon.


    The fate of these blue dragons was so unfortunate that if there was a corrupted creature of unknown origin, it would be safe to assume that it had once been a blue dragon. These arcane experts often lost themselves and would become corrupted.


    Of course, the most tragic fate of the blue dragons was faced by the blue dragon king Malygos.


    Since his battle with Nezario, the death of his wife had almost driven him insane. After saving the Red Dragon Queen, some acknowledged that he had recovered from his madness. However, he reasoned that the culprit for all the chaos in the world was magic, so he sought to get rid of all creatures that used magic. As a result, he turned against the Red Dragon Queen, who advocated the protection of all life and was constantly stabbing the Kirin Tor Mages in the back.


    In the end, he was hung by the Red Dragons that he once worked to save.


    In fact, there was still some luckier blue dragons such as Little Awbee who lived on the upper levels of the Blackrock Spire. However, the Blue Dragons as a whole had undoubtedly faced great tragedy throughout history.


    The Nightbane quest chain was very long and quite complicated.


    However, Lu Li had Hachi Chan, so all of this wasn¡¯t an issue. This was why Lu Li had to bring Hachi Chan along on the First Clear team, even though Innocent Child¡¯s technique was better.


    Hachi Chan had already completed the Medivh¡¯s Diary quest chain.


    Lu Li also intended to complete that quest after summoning Nightbane. The rewards had to be worthwhile, after al,l it was very difficult and complex.


    The group followed Hachi Chan to Karazhan¡¯s teaching podium and watched as she summoned Nightbane with Kalynna¡¯s Jar.

 Chapter 1891 - Public Enemy Number One

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°Breezy, stack more HP. Do you have the equipment for it?¡± Lu Li asked.


    After being wiped twice because of the Main Tank, anyone could see that Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s current setup wasn¡¯t working. This Boss was completely different from Lu Li¡¯s impression of Karazhan¡¯s Nightbane. Later on, the Main Tank only needed to have 16,000 HP to defeat it at Heroic Difficulty. The amount was similar for Nightmare Difficulty, so this shouldn¡¯t have been an issue.


    But now, even though Azure Sea Breeze was stacked with HP buffs at 18,000 HP, he still couldn¡¯t withstand the Boss.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the problem is with me, my equipment is already pretty good.¡±


    As a man, the greatest insult was one aimed towards his competence.


    ¡°Let the people from the guild come up with some equipment. The highest HP we can stack should be 20,000. We also can¡¯t lose any of your current defensive stats. If you can¡¯t achieve it, then use gems to boost it further,¡± Lu Li said as he shamelessly began collecting Warrior Tank equipment from the entire guild.


    Everyone naturally contributed what they had despite the fact that 99% of the equipment was not as good as what Azure Sea Breeze already had.


    In addition to the equipment, they also collected Constitution gems.


    After trying a few different combinations, Azure Sea Breeze finally reached 20,000 HP. The equipment wasn¡¯t that great, so it hurt for him to put the gems into them.


    Once a gem was inserted into an equipment, there was no way to remove it. All you could do was replace the gem with another.


    The original gem would then be destroyed by the insertion process.


    A good Main Tank needed more than high HP. If that was Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s only concern, then he could actually reach 25,000 HP by changing his equipment, inserting gems and enchanting the equipment.


    Ruling Sword was collecting equipment on such a large scale that the other clubs soon found out as well.


    However, they didn¡¯t understand why they were doing this. Hadn¡¯t they already acquired Karazhan¡¯s First Clear? Why would they be collecting equipment? Was it to fight a Wild Boss?


    As such, the major clubs sent out their players to determine if Ruling Sword was really fighting another Wild Boss. If they found them, they had to stop them from taking it. No Wild Boss was allowed to fall into Ruling Sword¡¯s hands.


    This was probably how it felt to be public enemy number one.


    With so many First Clears and two major championships, Ruling Sword had brought upon themselves the attention of all the large guilds.


    ¡°Idiots! I will end your suffering quickly!¡± Nightbane roared as the battle began once again.


    With Azure Sea Breeze at 20,000 HP, they weren¡¯t wiped so easily.


    Lu Li had also brought along two Tanky Healers, a Shaman, a Druid and a Priest. It was a potent healer line up.


    Because this Boss could be handled by a single tank, Wandering was once again kicked out of the Instance Dungeon, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind. He just returned to his villa in the Black Sea Coast Stronghold to nap.


    Nightbane had many skills, but the battle was divided into two stages.


    The first stage was when Nightbane was on the ground. Like the Princess of the Black Dragonflight or Nefarian, he also had an area of effect Fear. The cooldown for that skill was 30 seconds and it was always cast when available, so everyone was well and truly familiar with it.


    It also had a very powerful cleave attack, which meant that Azure Sea Breeze had to pull the Boss in such a way that the Boss¡¯ back was facing the rest of the players.


    This position ensured that only Azure Sea Breeze was affected by the Boss¡¯ skills. Everyone else who was behind the Boss remained unaffected.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that standing behind the Boss protected you from all damage. Otherwise, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have had to insert in five healers in this composition. The Boss¡¯ Scorch skill was aimed at random targets and had a wide range. The players had to protect themselves from this skill.


    At this stage, there was also a debuff called Ashes. When hit, the player¡¯s received healing was reduced by 50% and their range was also reduced by 50%. However, this debuff could be dispelled.


    The second phase was called the aerial phase. Most dragon creatures fought in these two phases.


    At this stage, the Boss¡¯ signature skill was Smoke Breaker ¨C Nightbane¡¯s most lethal skill. It was cast onto the target with the highest aggro, dealing 1850-2150 physical damage per second. There was also a fire damage-over-time ability, which dealt 500 fire damage every 3 seconds for 18 seconds. Only the fire damage-over-time could be dispelled.


    As well as this, there was Bone Volley. It was hard to say whether this was a good skill, but it definitely looked the most impressive.


    It dealt 352 to 408 physical damage to random targets (including pets) within 6 yards and summoned five Toothgnasher¡¯s Skeletons. These skeletons had approximately 13,500 HP and dealt about 450 melee damage against Plate Armored players and 1300 damage against everyone else.


    By all accounts, Nightbane was a very proud Boss.


    If anyone was outside his attack range, he would cast a firebomb that would deal 3000-3500 damage to everyone on the field until everyone entered his attack range.


    The first stage was actually very easy to deal with. Everyone just had to position themselves properly and dodge the Scorch skill when it came.


    After Lu Li and the others were wiped a few more times, they finally understood what they needed to do in the first stage. Although they had been wiped a few times, they had actually saved quite a bit of time by following Lu Li¡¯s positioning.


    When the Boss reached 75% HP, it would enter the second stage.


    Nightbane was now airborne!


    This stage wouldn¡¯t last until the Boss was dead. After about 45 to 60 seconds, the Boss would return to the ground.


    When the Boss dropped to 50% and 25% HP, it would go airborne once again.


    Once the Boss was in the sky, everyone had to run to the Main Tank. This was to prevent being killed by the Toothgnasher¡¯s Skeletons and also to avoid being hit by the Bone Volley.


    Each Paladin would bless the Healers with one revive (which meant that they needed to be revived if killed) and would cast Consecration immediately after. At this time, the other healers wouldn¡¯t have accumulated much aggro, but casting Consecration would guarantee that the Boss¡¯ target was one of the Paladins.


    Lu Li asked for Sorrowless¡±girlfriend¡¯ Darkness to be responsible for that. It was her fault for having the best equipment.


    Soon after, the Boss would begin casting Bone Volley on random targets. After the Bone Volleys were cast, everyone had run away, but not too far away. If they exceeded the Boss¡¯ attack range, the firebomb would quickly lead to the destruction of the group.


    Lu Li and the others were wiped twice more because of this before Lu Li set another rule for them.


    Whoever ran out of the attack range would have their DKP deducted. The mistake that had just occurred instantly resulted in the team being wiped. Lu Li almost ran back through the Instance Dungeon to get the equipment that the instructor gave him.


    After the Bone Volleys had been cast, the Warriors had to quickly grab the aggro of the summoned Toothgnasher¡¯s Skeletons to prevent them from attacking the Healers while the damage output players would kill them. During that process, the Paladins would continue to heal and all the players had to make sure that their aggro was below the Paladins.


    If all went well, the Boss would cast Smoke Breaker on the Paladin with the highest aggro, Darkness. Since the damage from this skill was very high, once Darkness was hit, all the healers had to pay attention to keep her alive. They also had to make sure to dispel the fire damage to help her survive the attack.


    The aerial phase lasted around 45 to 60 seconds, after which Nightbane would return to the ground.


    At this time, the aggro was reset, which meant that everyone had to stop moving and wait for the Main Tank to pull the Boss once again. Lu Li chose to let Remnant Dream use Misdirection to help Azure Sea Breeze build aggro.


    The first and second stages would then alternate.


    Their most recent attempts involved being wiped over and over again. After looking at everyone¡¯s tired eyes, Lu Li couldn¡¯t bear to tell them what it would be like in the Mount Hyjal, Black Temple and Sunwell Instance Dungeons. The number of times they would be wiped would increase tenfold and then a hundredfold.

 Chapter 1892 - Lovebirds

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    After two days had passed, Ruling Sword finally killed Nightbane.


    There were two Skill Points, one Enhanced Skill Book and two exquisite gems that completely made up for all the trouble that had been caused over these last two days.


    Lu Li took one of the exquisite gems, which was a pure attack increase. He hoped to put it into a slot of a weapon in future, since the weapons he currently had weren¡¯t worthy of such a gem. He also hoped that they would be able to achieve the First Clear of the Black Temple.


    Ideally, the Warglaive of Azzinoth would be dropped. If two of them could drop at the same time, that would be even better.


    There was a Dark Gold leather armor called Stonebough Jerkin. The attributes of this item were not bad, so Lu Li assigned it to Water Fairy. After all, Water Fairy had yet to receive any T4 items.


    The Nightstaff of the Everliving was a Dark Gold Magic Staff that was given to Fat Monkey. He could use this weapon for now.


    There was also an Epic Shield ¨C Shield of Impenetrable Darkness. This increased the Main Tank¡¯s strength by a little bit.


    The Epic Cloth robe, Robe of the Elder Scribes, was given to Lonesome Flower as this item was biased towards Ice Mages. Lonesome Flower hadn¡¯t taken many things so far, so this was also to compensate him.


    Then there was the Badge of Justice and quest items.


    Nightbane¡¯s quest was related to the Serpentshrine Cavern¡¯s large Instance Dungeon. If they didn¡¯t complete the quest, they couldn¡¯t enter Serpentshrine Cavern.


    However, the next events were a Stronghold War and the competition.


    They didn¡¯t run into any experts in the competition, so that wasn¡¯t worth mentioning.


    The most shocking thing was the upcoming Stronghold War. The game officials had finally greatly reduced the defender¡¯s advantage, which meant that Strongholds would now change hands more frequently.


    The first Stronghold War after the changes was also the seventeenth Stronghold War overall.


    There were two new Strongholds to be officially released.


    The first was the Barrenlands¡¯ second Stronghold and the other was for the Tirisfal Woodland.


    The fighting this time was very fierce. Ruling Sword¡¯s three-guild alliance and the existing Fel Reavers was enough to defend their Strongholds, even though they hadn¡¯t managed to produce any more Fel Reavers.


    However, it wasn¡¯t just Ruling Sword that had Fel Reavers anymore.


    Seventh Heaven also had Fel Reavers. Lu Li didn¡¯t know exactly how many they had, but it


    seemed that they currently had a total of four in circulation.


    Of the four Fel Reavers, two helped them defend the Un¡¯Goro Crater and one helped them win a second Stronghold in the Hillsbrad Hills which was being defended by Gale Legion. Another was sent to attack the first Tanaris Stronghold which was defended by Glory Capital, but unfortunately, that attack failed.


    The Fel Reavers had apparently also been weakened in terms of their durability and destructive power.


    Glory Capital¡¯s three Infernals had managed to stop Seventh Heaven¡¯s Fel Reaver from taking a Stronghold.


    Although Gale Legion had lost the Hillsbrad Hills, they had successfully won the Barrenlands¡¯ second Stronghold. This meant that Glory Capital¡¯s conglomerate was neither winning nor losing a Stronghold this time.


    At this point, the Hillsbrad Hills that had originally belonged to Glory Capital were now occupied by Seventh Heaven and Blood Red War Flag, with one Stronghold each.


    Blood Red War Flag originally had Hillsbrad Hills¡¯ first Stronghold and Desolace¡¯s Stronghold, but they underestimated the difficulty of defending them. As such, their Desolace Stronghold was taken by a coalition of Majin Temple and Gods of Dusk.


    The owner of Tirisfal Woodlands¡¯ new Stronghold was Brotherhood.


    They were a relatively low-profile Club that ranked 13th on the latest rankings. They had recently received many fresh recruits and had regained some of their former glory.


    Lu Li was quite satisfied with the current situation and had no intention of taking a new Stronghold for the time being.


    He secretly released some information that Ruling Sword could help others fight for Strongholds, as long as the right price was paid.


    It was one thing to capture a Stronghold, but holding onto it was another matter. If you were able to take it, but unable to defend it, you couldn¡¯t blame Ruling Sword for that.


    It wasn¡¯t that Lu Li was trying to do good deeds, but he saw this as a way to make money.


    This was probably the gaming circle¡¯s current high priority.


    Once this information had been released, many clubs got into contact with them. The prices that they got were quite varied ¨C there were some offering hundreds of thousands and some offering millions. However, there were some laughable offers in the tens of thousands.


    Their requests were written quite formally. They would first describe what their ambitions were before characterising Ruling Sword as heroic. They would then say something like how the money was trivial, but the future potential was infinite. They would finally close up with something about how the comrades that fought together today would become unshakeable allies in future.


    However, Shameless Lu didn¡¯t buy any of this at all. He hadn¡¯t accepted any of the offers.


    A normal price would have been 10 million at the minimum. If you included the costs of the attack, Lu Li felt like a minimum price would have been 50 million. There were not many Fel Reavers around and the game officials had not yet dealt with them, so there was still some time to profit off them.


    These arrangements had been thought up by Ruling Sword¡¯s financier, Shen Wansan. He was a proficient businessman who knew how to maximise profits.


    Lu Li intended to collect level 70 equipment. Even if there was no Epic equipment, level 70 Dark Gold equipment was still better than level 60 equipment. Even the equipment that was currently being dropped was not guaranteed to be level 70.


    Presently, in addition to the Bosses, there were several large quest chains which were very difficult to trigger. However, most of the attention was currently focused on the Chinese Valentines events.


    Since the official launch of the couple system, it seemed that the game officials would not overlook the traditional Chinese Valentines festival. The activities wouldn¡¯t just be for romance, but would also provide many benefits for the players.


    Everyday, the players would receive a decent potion and would have an opportunity to complete quests for equipment.


    Lu Li was a sad single person in his previous life, so he couldn¡¯t do anything more than watch other players engage in the activities. He could only activate the small quests that had been set by the officials for poor singles.


    The main quest was only available for couples and the best quest was called the Love Red Wire.


    From the low-level Instance Dungeons like Ragefire Chasm to any other Instance Dungeon below level 70 and the major maps in the Wild, there would be Lovebirds to farm. The level of these Lovebirds was dependent on the location where they were found.


    For example, the Lovebirds in Ragefire Chasm would only be level 10. However, if you found them in the Outland Instance Dungeon, they would probably be level 70.


    These Lovebirds had a certain probability dropping a Love Red Wire. This item could be exchanged for various items at a capital city¡¯s Chinese Valentines special envoys. Among them was a Chinese Valentines gift box that could contain a level 70 Dark Gold equipment.


    It was worth mentioning that a player needed to be at a certain level of intimacy with another player to deal damage to the Lovebirds.


    The game officials had basically designed this event exclusively for couples.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy joined up and began to enter various Instance Dungeons. Although there were many Lovebirds in the Wild, there were also many players trying to steal the drops. Since they were in a team of two and could only fight in melee, there was no advantage to being in the Wild. Playing in the Instance Dungeons gave them a private space to farm the Lovebirds.

 Chapter 1893 - Cupid

    There was something similar that occurred twice in one year. One was the western Valentine¡¯s Day, while the other was the eastern Valentine¡¯s day.


    Other smaller countries might also have their own similar traditions, but their influence was limited. Furthermore, games could not have the same event too many times, since that would spoil its meaning.


    The Valentine¡¯s Day within the game was designed quite well and there were many things to do.


    Many people would find a fake partner to spend Valentine¡¯s Day in game. After all, there was no way for the game masters to know that they were real or fake couples anyway. However, many players who found fake partners slowly became a real couple as well.


    They found the NPC in charge to send them into the Instance Dungeon, and after paying the fee, they entered.


    The first dungeon was the Spider Nest, which was the lowest-levelled instance dungeon in Dawn. Lu Li and Water Fairy could both one-shot the mobs with a normal attack.


    Lu Li recalled this as being the first step that he had taken in his newly-reborn life. This dungeon was also his very first First Clear.


    Lu Li was responsible for killing the mobs, while Water Fairy was responsible for looting. Although the loot was all low-levelled, worthless materials, this feeling of working together was very couple-like.


    On the way to the first Boss, they finally saw the first Lovebird.


    The game supersized the designs of these Lovebirds from their real-world counterparts. They were approximately half a metre long each and had a brownish black head. There was a yellow collar around their necks and their breast was coloured green. Their back and wings were light-green with the tips of the wings being black, their tails being green and their feet being grey.


    In the real world, these birds were also called lovebirds. This was because they did not leave their partners for as long as they lived.


    Since the Spider Nest was a level 10 Instance Dungeon, the Lovebirds here were all level 10 as well.


    Although the Dungeon was on Elite difficulty, it was still unable to withstand Lu Li¡¯s normal attack.


    ¡°I¡¯ll loot,¡± Water Fairy said as she immediately teleported to the side of the Lovebird.


    ¡°Are you saying that I have bad luck?¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s expression was one that was extremely unimpressed.


    ¡°How can that be?¡± Water Fairy felt awkward but managed to keep her smile and composure and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve been the one looting this whole time. Furthermore, look at my hands, then look at yours. Are your hands any whiter than mine?¡±


    These were all fleeting thoughts, but Lu Li¡¯s attention was instantly diverted to Water Fairy¡¯s little white hands.


    There were two Love Red Wires from the first Lovebird. Both of them were transferred into Water Fairy¡¯s storage. Lu Li didn¡¯t care about it. There were two people that he was generous with. One was his own sister and the other was probably this woman in front of him.


    This tandem of Lu Li and Water Fairy quickly progressed to Stratholme¡¯s Instance Dungeon. By this time, they had accumulated quite a few Love Red Wires.


    After arriving at Stratholme, Lu Li couldn¡¯t be the only one fighting. Even if these were small mobs, he was unable to one-shot them any longer. They couldn¡¯t relax when it came to the Boss either, otherwise, they were in danger of being wiped.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go grind the Rivendare¡¯s Deathcharger. It might drop,¡± Water Fairy suggested.


    The two of them proceeded to go and grind for Rivendare¡¯s Deathcharger.


    Although it was difficult, Water Fairy and Lu Li were able to purchase this mount with a small price. After all, there was no mount-locking system in place yet.


    For the sake of limiting the number of items floating in the market and encouraging everyone to play the game whole-heartedly, the gaming company decided to implement an equipment and tool locking system. This system locked most mounts, some items and a few special tools.


    This implementation meant that an item that a rewarded item would become untradeable after 30 minutes of trading it.


    Even if there was a 30 minute window to trade it, only party members who were in the battle were able to receive it. This caused a wave of complaints from many players, but it was futile.


    As a result, Lu Li began to stockpile and hoard as many mounts as he could now and opened a special storage area for them.


    When the locking system was implemented, there would be a great inflation in the prices of the mounts. At that time, mounts would be extremely profitable. This was probably the last thing that Lu Li was able to use his knowledge on to be able to profit from buying and selling.


    The two of them entered Baron Rivendare¡¯s room, but they didn¡¯t find Rivendare.


    Instead, they found a Boss that was not typical of what a Stratholme Boss would look like. From its appearance, it just looked like a naked little boy with a pair of wings on his back. In his hands, there was a short bow that was enveloped in a soft light.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Water Fairy was shocked.


    ¡°This is the Boss, huh?¡± Lu Li sighed.


    ¡°This is a cupid, you uncultured swine,¡± Water Fairy scolded, unable to help herself. She sighed and looked at the Boss with beaming eyes. ¡°The game designers have earned their money. This Boss is so cute.


    ¡°Kill him! Quick! Surely he¡¯ll drop something good!¡± Lu Li cried out, nearly drooling.


    This was a complete surprise. After all, they just expected there to be another Lovebird. They did not expect to see the event¡¯s Boss.


    There were four Bosses for the Valentine¡¯s Day event ¨C Cupid, Nice, Matchmaker, Cowherd and the Weaving Maid. The Cowherd and Weaving Maid had the same cooldown times, so these two Bosses were counted as one Boss. These Bosses¡¯ levels were affected by the map that they spawned in


    The Cupid in front of them was substituting for Baron Rivendare. As such, his level was the same as the Baron¡¯s.


    However, event Bosses were not difficult. After all, there were only two people fighting them. Some people even went as far as to find Healing classes, especially Paladins, to be their partners. After all, Paladins were capable of a little DPS and could tank well.


    As for these two Thieves, they could only try their best to maintain crowd control on the Cupid.


    Fortunately for them, Bosses were susceptible to crowd-control skills. However, they were unable to control the Cupid like they did other players.


    Water Fairy was a little reluctant to fight the Cupid. After all, he was a cute little boy.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t think that Water Fairy was being unreasonable. After all, he thought that a girl like Water Fairy didn¡¯t like children, but that clearly wasn¡¯t the case. He felt warm inside knowing this.


    Fortunately, the Cupid transformed into a sinister monster after the battle commenced.


    From a class standpoint, he was likely to be a combination of a Hunter and Priest. He would use a healing skill on himself every 10% decrease in HP. Therefore, they needed to interrupt the skill animation each time.


    With two Thieves here, it was not a problem at all. In fact, it was probably overkill.


    Hunters fired arrows as their DPS method. The Cupid¡¯s normal attacks did not deal much damage. The damage was less than 100 per hit on a level 70 player. However, his magic arrows dealt a lot of damage. Each arrow dealt at least 300 damage. In a situation without a healer, this was extremely lethal.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy rotated as they each fought the Boss and tanked the damage. Once their HP reached a certain threshold, they would retreat and heal themselves with bandages.

 Chapter 1894 - Love Pegasus

    If this was a normal couple, even with healing, it was likely that they would be unable to defeat the event Boss.


    ¡°Is it going to drop some good items?¡± Water Fairy asked.


    ¡°If we¡¯re unlucky, then it¡¯ll probably only drop Love Red Wires. If we¡¯re lucky though, then equipment or mounts could drop.¡±


    If Lu Li recalled correctly, then the mount that the Cupid dropped was a Pegasus, Venus¡¯ drop should be a Unicorn, Matchmaker¡¯s drop should be a Big Bridal Chair and the Cowherd and the Maid would drop a Golden Bull.


    The best looking mounts were the Pegasus and Unicorn. The one with the most meaning would be the Big Bridal Chair. Naturally, the ugliest one was the Golden Bull.


    However, some players chose the Golden Bull as they were against riding horses.


    ¡°Who¡¯s looting?¡± Water Fairy asked.


    Lu Li looked at her, absolutely speechless. Why was her face full of innocence and seriousness, yet her eyes were full of mischief?


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s you. I don¡¯t like to loot,¡± Lu Li said, with a darkened expression.


    After killing the Boss, Water Fairy went up to loot the corpse.


    There were 11 Love Red Wires. This yield was equivalent to multiple Lovebirds, but this wasn¡¯t enough. If Love Red Wires were all that dropped from the Boss, then there would be at least 16 of them. This meant that¡­


    The Cupid not only dropped Love Red Wires, but more items!


    After realising this, Water Fairy was also excited.


    She immediately continued to loot and pulled something else out.


    ¡°Cupid¡¯s Love Pegasus!¡±


    ¡°Wow! A mount! Snowy¡¯s pretty good!¡± Lu Li immediately praised her. It was already rare enough to see a Boss in this low-levelled Instance Dungeon, let alone a mount. Even if Lu Li was confident in his luck, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that the mount would drop.


    ¡°Do you want it?¡± Water Fairy squinted her eyes as she asked him.


    ¡°No. I can fly by myself, so it¡¯s going to you, of course,¡± Lu Li answered. Water Fairy proceeded to happily put away the mount into her own storage.


    The Pegasus was a pure-white stallion. Besides its sapphire-coloured eyes, it was white everywhere else, including its wings. This complemented Water Fairy¡¯s charm and aesthetic well.


    Cupid¡¯s Love Pegasus (Unique). Level Requirement: 70. Riding Requirement: 300. Summons or Recalls a Pegasus. This is a fast mount. Ground speed: 100%. Flying speed: 280%. Able to carry two players.


    This was the standard of a level 70 mount. It could be ridden on the ground and in the air, and was a truly versatile mount.


    Furthermore, its flying speed was 280. At this level, only the Phoenix was faster at 310%. It was as fast as Lu Li¡¯s crow.


    There was also the ability to carry two players; Valentine¡¯s Day mounts were all dual-seated.


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Lu Li asked softly.


    ¡°Uh huh!¡± Water Fairy nodded her head furiously.


    ¡°Treat it as a Valentines Day gift then!¡± Lu Li generously said.


    ¡°You¡¯re so thick-skinned. It was me who looted it, okay?¡± Water Fairy couldn¡¯t hold in her laugh. After getting to know Lu Li, she found that he had a playful side to him as well.


    ¡°Haha. What is yours is also mine. What is mine is also yours,¡± Lu Li chuckled.


    Water Fairy rolled her eyes at him and decided to leave it at that.


    During the event, they could only fight a single Lovebird in each Instance Dungeon, so Lu Li and


    Water Fairy had to move on to higher-levelled Dungeons.


    Otherwise, grinding Stratholme would be ideal. At the very least, the Bosses here were easy to kill. As for higher-levelled Instance Dungeons like the Black Dragon Princess or Molten Core, clearing them with ten members would be a challenge, let alone just the two of them.


    After clearing Stratholme, they decided to go to Blackrock Spires.


    This time, Lu Li and Water Fairy couldn¡¯t completely clear out everything like they did before, as this would take too much time


    Fortunately, both of them were Thieves. After entering Stealth, they were able to avoid the monsters and quickly traversed the grounds.


    Although they were looking for Lovebirds, they were talking to each other the whole time.


    There were more Lovebirds allocated in Blackrock Spires compared to the lower-levelled Instance Dungeons. The Lovebirds¡¯ levels were also higher, which meant that more Love Red Wires would drop. There was also a chance of dropping rare materials, but it wasn¡¯t high.


    After defeating two levels of the Blackrock Spires, they didn¡¯t encounter any event Bosses. However, it was coincidentally the time for Couple Horseracing, so Lu Li decided to go.


    This was one of the activities in the Valentines Day event.


    From its name, it was obvious that they needed to have a two-person mount. The grand prize was two class-specific Epic items and two Skill Points. The runner-up prize was two class-specific Dark Gold items and two Skill Points. As for third place, the prize was just two Skill Points, while consolation prizes were two Dark Gold items. Every participating player would receive two Gold items as a reward.


    This was the first Valentine¡¯s Day event in Dawn and not many people had a two-person mount. As a result of this, the chances of winning the grand prize were generally quite favorable.


    These rewards were also very generous. There were Skill Points, which were more valuable than any Epic item. However, Epic items were also in high demand. Since these were System-based rewards, they would be quite decent as well.


    Previously, Lu Li had participated and won first place in a marathon in game. He received an Epic item called Champion¡¯s Boots.


    Champion¡¯s Boots (Epic): Armor: 80. Agility +100. Constitution +50. Movement speed +25%. Slots (2). Special Effect 1: Kick +1. Chance to silence Magic-based targets. Special Effect 2: Shadowstep. Enter the shadows and appear behind the target. In the next 10 seconds, the next Ambush or Garrote deals an extra 30% damage and also increases movement speed by 80%. Duration: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Unique Effect 3: Lunge. Active skill. Instantly moves forward 15 metres and deals 200% damage to all targets in a straight line. When this skill is active, the caster is invulnerable. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Level requirement: 60. Durability: 375/375.


    If it weren¡¯t for the level penalties, this item would still be considered an exquisite item. These three unique effects alone completely outclassed most level 70 items.


    The grand prize for the Couple Horseracing was two Epic items, so Lu Li definitely did not want to miss out.


    In his previous life, Lu Li had also experienced a Valentine¡¯s Day event. However, he was single then, and didn¡¯t have a couple mount. He could only watch as others hugged their significant others tightly and reaped the rewards.


    Water Fairy was also excited. Although she was wealthy, Epic items weren¡¯t easily bought. Furthermore, Skill Points could not be bought with money either.

 Chapter 1895 - Couple Horseriding

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    The race was set on a small island. This island was quite deserted, and no players came here. It didn¡¯t even show up on the map, so the players could only be teleported there.


    Every player needed to pay a fee of 20 gold to participate in the race, while the to spectate was 2 gold.


    The exchange rate for gold to dollars was around 1 to 25. This meant that it cost them 500 dollars to participate in the race, and 50 dollars to watch the race. The pricing was similar to watching a movie at the cinemas. Lu Li believed without doubt that this was a cash-grab for the company.


    Although this was a free to play game, they were still able to earn a huge sum of money from the sheer numbers of players despite there being not many pay-to-win aspects in the game.


    From the earliest virtual reality game, Otherworld, to a virtual reality game that conquered the whole gaming market, New World, to now another extremely popular and groundbreaking virtual reality with Dawn, the gaming industry had seen 200 years of constant advancement. Every time people thought that they had reached the peak of gaming, there would always be something better that exceeded their expectations.


    Including all the other nations and their regions, there were around one million players who participated in the races. There were also tens of millions of players watching in the audience¡¯s seat. The amount that the company would have earned from this was close to ten billion dollars.


    Comparing this to the amount that Ruling Sword earned from each Stronghold battle, which was in the tens of millions, Ruling Sword¡¯s gains were miniscule. These tens of millions were inclusive of all three Strongholds and Stronghold battles that were held once every fortnight or so. Furthermore, there were talks that they would lengthen the time gap between each Stronghold battles to being monthly.


    Although earning tens of millions per month would be a dream come true for the average person, Lu Li would be in poverty. This was because it wasn¡¯t anywhere near enough to manage a club.


    In the time that they registered and were teleported to the racing grounds, the System had already arranged their lane for them. According to the data, Lu Li and Water Fairy were placed in lane 1457.


    There were more than ten thousand lanes and was a spectacle indeed. This was only achievable in the game.


    There were three stations, and each station allowed 5 minutes of rest. The points were calculated from the time that it took to reach the finish line.


    The players with the highest number of points would be crowned the champions.


    ¡°How about letting me control the horse?¡± Lu Li said, keen to volunteer. Although he hadn¡¯t participated in the race in his previous life, he still knew the mechanics of riding a horse.


    ¡°Why are you the one riding? I know how to as well!¡±


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t a shy girl who was dependent on people. She was very strong and independent, to the point where not many males could compare to her, let alone females.


    ¡°How about this? Since there are three stations, I¡¯ll start, then you ride the second stretch. We¡¯ll see who is the faster one and the winner will ride the last stretch. How about that?¡± Lu Li suggested.


    ¡°Alright then. Don¡¯t fall behind too much, otherwise it¡¯ll be hard for me to come back,¡± Water Fairy reluctantly agreed.


    ¡°¡­¡± Lu Li was speechless.


    Water Fairy sat in the front, while Lu Li sat in the back. Lu Li had one arm wrapped around Water Fairy¡¯s waist and the other on the reins. As soon as the gun was fired, Cupid¡¯s Love Pegasus immediately rushed out.


    It didn¡¯t matter whether it was an aerial or ground mount. They all had to be on the ground today. Therefore, the normal movement speed was 100%.


    Everyone also had different mounts.


    Lu Li had no idea and didn¡¯t want to think about it. Why were there so many different couple mounts? Then, he later realised that the Valentines boxes could drop blueprints of a mount tool called Inseparable Couple. This was a saddle, which could make single-rider mounts into couple mounts.


    They had lots of Love Red Wires, which could have been used to exchange for the gift boxes, but they just never used them.


    As for Lu Li in his previous life, he was single, so he never had the opportunity to come in contact with such things. Lu Li¡¯s riding mechanics were quite solid. Although they didn¡¯t have a huge lead, they weren¡¯t behind either.


    ¡°Sigh. Someone passed us again. Hurry up!¡± Water Fairy wasn¡¯t honest with her feelings. She needed to direct her attention somewhere else to distract her from the fact that she was completely enveloped in Lu Li¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Horses get fatigued too. If we rush forwards, then it¡¯ll get tired quickly,¡± Lu Li reasoned as he glanced over at the Pegasus and saw that its fatigue was slowly decreasing.


    This was similar to the Ram Racing during the Brewery Festival. There were levels to the speed. To slow the increase of fatigue, they needed to be running at a pace that was around 100%. There was Charge, which raised the movement speed to 120%, but this would greatly increase fatigue. There was also the slow speed, which could be used to recover fatigue levels.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been passed by so many people.¡±


    ¡°Stop moving around. Your hair is blocking my vision.¡±


    ¡°On the left! There¡¯s a ball on the left! Hurry and eat it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a yellow ball. It decreases your speed. Did you read the rules before the race began? Yellow decreases your speed. Red increases your speed. Green recovers fatigue levels, while we need to avoid white balls at all cost, or else we¡¯ll be stunned for a second. Even though the 1 second stun isn¡¯t that lethal, it resets our movement speed back to zero. It¡¯s very time-consuming to get the mount back up to speed.¡±


    ¡°Sigh. Do you know how to ride or not? Once we get close to a turn, you need to slow down accordingly, then speed up again¡­¡±


    The both of them were constantly arguing. Lu Li didn¡¯t have his usual calm composure, while Water Fairy also didn¡¯t have her usual elegance and coldness. Fortunately, both of them had masks on and had different clothes on. Otherwise, they would have been recognised immediately, since they were both public figures.


    The audience were watching the race from a range of different perspectives.


    They could watch it from a bird¡¯s eye view, or they could zoom into a particular pair and see the racers¡¯ expressions, hear their voices and see their actions and movements.


    Of course, if any male riders were showing their indecent sides and the audience saw it, there would be sudden bursts of cheers and screaming.


    The pairing of the masked Lu Li and Water Fairy didn¡¯t seem all that interesting. However, as they appeared to be secretive, this only attracted more attention. There were already quite a few people who already locked their cameras on them. Naturally, they could also hear their exchanges.


    They were ranked around 700 when they arrived at the first station. They needed to wait here for 5 minutes before continuing.


    Water Fairy was insistent on her being in control of the horse.


    ¡°How can we win like this? Let me try. Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m an experienced committee member of the China Horse Union? I learned how to ride a horse from the young age of nine. I¡¯ve ridden horses for at least 200 kilometres every year.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then you go. It¡¯s not like I said that I didn¡¯t want to give you a try. We already agreed to give you a stretch to ride,¡± Lu Li mumbled.


    ¡°Then why do you seem like you have no confidence in my skills? We¡¯re already in the 700s,¡± Water Fairy complained, beginning to lose her temper.


    ¡°Cough, cough. Even though we¡¯re in the 700s, there are over 10000 participants in this race. If I continue, then I¡¯ll surely be able to catch up,¡± Lu Li kept arguing, not knowing when to stop.


    They had no idea that there were many ears listening to their conversation. These audience members already had an idea who this couple was.

 Chapter 1896 - Break It Off

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°This pair¡¯s really amusing. They¡¯re a little cute.¡±


    ¡°How are they cute? I think this guy probably found it really hard to find a girlfriend. His EQ¡¯s too low.¡±


    ¡°The guy up there has heaps of experience. They¡¯ve definitely tried it before.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t get why people are like this these days. Gender equality? How come it has to be the girl? I feel like this guy¡¯s not bad, but he¡¯s still not thorough enough. If it was me, I¡¯d just slap her right to the floor¡­¡±


    ¡°You have a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­girl¡­girlfriend? Yeah¡­yeah, what?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I know what your girlfriend is called!¡±


    ¡°No¡­no way.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s either called little left, or little right.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±


    Lu Li and Water Fairy had gone through some simple negotiations. Lu Li had signed a new contract with great humiliation. Originally, they were alternating between the two of them and would see who was running faster. If they were running fast, they would be running to the third stop.


    Now, in the new contract, no matter how Water Fairy was running in the second stage, the third stage was still going to be run by her.


    Because of this, Lu Li didn¡¯t persist. For one, his EQ wasn¡¯t that low, and he also didn¡¯t have faith in himself.


    Although he didn¡¯t have personal experience with this, he did know a thing or two. However, when it came to actually doing it, only then did he realize that his knowledge wasn¡¯t enough for him to dominate the others. The racehorse rules weren¡¯t hard to understand. As long as you weren¡¯t an idiot, you could easily figure out how to run faster.


    Such an event that didn¡¯t involve any skill wasn¡¯t suitable for a top player like himself.


    Now, they were going out for the second time. Like before, Lu Li sat at the back and Water Fairy at the front. Actually, they could change positions, but Water Fairy¡¯s field of vision would be completely blocked. In all these competitions, only the petite guys would sit in front of their girlfriends.


    Lu Li hugged Water Fairy¡¯s waist¡­


    ¡°Damn, even if this guy only had his eyes showing, I would still be able to see his pervert smile.¡±


    ¡°This girl¡¯s body is so thin. She must be hot, and her eyes are so pretty too¡­¡±


    ¡°Let go of that girl! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    They had guessed right. As Lu Li hugged Water Fairy¡¯s waist, he felt a warmth in his heart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hug so tight! How can I still ride!?¡± Water Fairy¡¯s scolded as her elbow sharply dug back.


    Lu Li dully groaned. He had no choice but just to be serious, using both hands to pinch Water Fairy¡¯s waist. This way, Water Fairy¡¯s driving would not be affected, but it still felt just as good. His face was beaming like it was before.


    Water Fairy still couldn¡¯t get rid of him, and had no choice but to silently endure his actions.


    Lu Li quickly realized that Water Fairy was in fact incredibly skilled.


    The audience evidently realized this too, and they expressed their disdain towards Lu Li. It was such a shame that a girl like Water Fairy was with that wretched Lu Li.


    They were originally ranked lower than 700, but since Water Fairy had assumed control of the horse, they were gradually rising.


    When they arrived to the second rest stop, they had already entered into the top 100.


    Actually, no matter if they were in the top 100 or the top 700, there wasn¡¯t much of a difference between everyone. An improvement of 1 second could see them surpass many hundreds of opponents.


    At this moment, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare at all to suggest that he should drive. If the first stage was given to Water Fairy, then who knew? They could have already been in the top 3 by now. This made Lu Li feel a little depressed; his own girlfriend was too valiant.


    In the third stage, Lu Li¡¯s job was to help Water Fairy look out for Orbs of Light ahead. In this way, she wouldn¡¯t have to divide her attention between looking and riding.


    ¡°Have you noticed? These two look a little familiar¡­¡±


    At this time, the people who were watching Water Fairy and Lu Li weren¡¯t just the few hundred at the start, but over 100,000 players. After all, they were originally in the top thousand, and had shot up to the top 100. Moreover, the reason for their success was because they had swapped to a girl driving.


    After the number of spectators increased, people began to notice something.


    ¡°How are they familiar? I don¡¯t see anything. Those two people are wrapped up so tightly. What¡¯s with your eyes? How can you see something?¡±


    ¡°No way ¨C there¡¯s really something wrong with these people. Normal people don¡¯t need to mask themselves like that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, wearing masks means there¡¯s something up.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because their ugly.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot. Just look at that girl in the front! If she¡¯s ugly, I wouldn¡¯t believe it even if you beat me up.¡±


    ¡°These two would probably be recognized by a lot of people, so that¡¯s why they are wearing masks. I can¡¯t tell what professions they play, but their movements are agile and precise. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, they should be Thieves.¡±


    ¡°Dammit, that guy¡¯s crazy. As soon as I heard what you said, I feel like it makes so much sense.¡±


    ¡°Same here!¡±


    ¡°If they¡¯re Thieves, and they were destined for love in the game, and the girl¡¯s pretty damn awesome¡­¡±


    ¡°Could it be that damn couple?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be! Is it really the damn couple?¡±


    ¡°This girl¡¯s clothing is all very fashionable. I haven¡¯t seen most of it before, but does anyone recognize the purple crystal?¡±


    ¡°I think it came out from some event before. It was bought away by Water Fairy at a high price, and the seller even boasted about it on the forums. There are only a few in the entire game, so it looks like it really is Water Fairy.¡±


    ¡°The guy¡¯s sense of fashion is quite average. Lots of people have what he¡¯s wearing, and Lu Li wore it a few times too.¡±


    ¡°That stingy Shameless Lu simply wouldn¡¯t buy the latest clothes. He just wears that set, exposing himself as a poor idiot.¡±


    ¡°Their voices match the damn completely. It looks like they can¡¯t hide anymore.¡±


    ¡°I never thought Lu Li was so harsh. He¡¯s tiring out my goddess! Goddess, abandon him quickly! I¡¯m much better at riding than him; I definitely wouldn¡¯t be troubling you.¡±


    ¡°My Water girl is so awesome ¨C 21st already, and there¡¯s only 20 ahead of her! If she passes them, she¡¯ll take the championship. If she wasn¡¯t held up by that dodgy Lu Li, she would already be first by now.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t approve of this relationship! Break up, break up immediately!¡±


    And so, calling for a breakup became the chant of the crowd, and the attention they drew greatly increased the number of spectators. Even the official broadcast was switched to the scene here.


    ¡°Water girl is really so formidable!¡±


    ¡°Break it off with Lu Li! Drop him and you can run faster!¡±


    Lu Li simply had no idea what others were saying about him, and he wasn¡¯t interested, either. Nothing they could say would get under his skin at all.


    All he knew was that he was getting closer and closer to the two pieces of Epic equipment and two Skill Points.

 Chapter 1897 - Moment of Silence

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Lu Li suppressed his breathing and kept on holding onto Water Fairy¡¯s waist, without realizing the tightness of his grip. However, Water Fairy didn¡¯t feel it at all either. Her lips were pressed together tightly and her pair of beautiful eyes stared on straight ahead, with victory having an overwhelming grasp over her.


    There were only four opponents in front of them!


    ¡°Front left, 40 yards!¡± Lu Li cried out as his eyes sparkled.


    Water Fairy tugged on the horse¡¯s head without another thought. The warhorse stiffly moved over to the side and rushed over.


    A red, speed-increasing ball was consumed, but since it was sprinting ahead on a non-straight course, the originally small gap between them and the third competitor had widened. Meanwhile, the two horses which were right on their heels went past them. They had gone from fourth to sixth.


    ¡°They¡¯re nearly at the end already! What¡¯s the point of getting that extra speed!¡±


    The group of spectators watching him couldn¡¯t help but immediately scold them. However, not many people seconded what they said, because as soon as they spoke, everyone saw that Water Fairy¡¯s warhorse had abruptly sped up again.


    This was Sprint ¨C it consumed a lot of a rider¡¯s stamina, but it increased the rider¡¯s speed from the normal 100% to 120%.


    Added onto the fact that they had just consumed a the speed-increasing ball, the warhorse¡¯s speed had reached inconceivable levels.


    ¡°It will definitely pass 150%!¡±


    Those two lovebirds who had just passed Water Fairy and Lu Li were overtaken in an instant, and the three who were in the lead were now growing closer and closer as the horse flew towards them. If nothing went wrong, they would be caught up with.


    This was because they could only run at normal speed.


    Perhaps it was because she felt the ever-increasing pressure, and the desire to win the championship, which gave an incomparably amazing prize ¨C two Skill Points and two pieces of Epic equipment. Even just the two pieces of Epic equipment would make people crazy, let alone those priceless Skill Points.


    The two in the front grit their teeth and began to make the final sprint to the end.


    They were slowly equaling with first place. With first place being so close, no one could hold it any longer. Everyone Sprinted together, after all, the finish point was in sight. Since they were Sprinting towards the end, it would only take them less than a minute to get there.


    However, this didn¡¯t stop Water Fairy and Lu Li from inching closer at all, since not only were they Sprinting, but they also had increased speed.


    Just when everyone thought Water Fairy and Lu Li were right about to chase up to and overtake the three opponents at the front, Lu Li suddenly shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t Sprint!¡±


    Without any hesitation at all, Water Fairy canceled Sprint, and the warhorse reverted back to its normal speed. It was just the effect of the speed-increasing ball that hadn¡¯t been canceled, so they were still growing closer to the front.


    This continued for 2 seconds, after which Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s speed reverted back to 100%.


    The three in front were still faster than them. The distance which they had narrowed slowly widened again.


    Seeing them fall behind, the three riders at the front immediately stopped thinking about them. It was just the three who were racing for the championship. Although they didn¡¯t have Lu Li and Water Fairy behind them forcing them to speed up, no one was willing to slow down.


    There could only be one champion!


    Under these circumstances, no one could cancel their Sprint.


    The three Sprinting riders eyed the approaching finish point. At best, it would still take more than 10 seconds to reach it.


    Suddenly, one of the riders slowed down like they had hit a wall in the air. Then, the next slowed, and so did the third rider¡¯s horse.


    ¡°No more stamina,¡± someone whispered quietly, explaining away everyone¡¯s confusion.


    Sprint had consumed too much of the riders¡¯ stamina. Sometimes, they would even have to run at a low speed for a while for the warhorse to recover stamina.


    They had been so focused on getting the championship that in all that rush, they had forgotten about stamina.


    However, they were already close to the finish line. Although they were approaching at a leisurely trot now, they still couldn¡¯t be caught up by those opponents behind them ¨C apart from Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    They were getting closer and closer!


    When they had just 7 or 8 seconds left, Lu Li tapped Water Fairy¡¯s shoulder and said one thing ¨C Sprint!


    Cupid¡¯s love made them shoot forwards at a flying speed as they passed them!


    Rushing to the end!


    The finish point split open to shoot off colorful fireworks, surrounding Lu Li and Water Fairy. Their supporters leapt up straight away after they rushed across the finish line.


    Champions!


    Right on their heels, was a rider who had regained some stamina and Sprinted to the end once again.


    Runner-up!


    The two riders behind them who were now paying attention rushed across the finish line, one ahead of the other.


    Behind them, more and more people rushed across the finish line, but at most, they could only receive a bit of encouragement. They weren¡¯t in a position at all to receive Skill Points.


    People could only focus on the successes of a few. The 10,000 or so other competitors were just a dark background to those few who made it at the front.


    ¡°Thank you for believing me¡­¡± Lu Li said to the girl he was hugging as he took some long breaths.


    He was really worried before that Water Fairy would continue to be arrogant. If they didn¡¯t go to consume that speed-increasing ball, it would have been difficult for them to overtake those three at the front. If they just kept Sprinting ahead, they would have been caught in the same predicament as their opponents.


    Although he was half-illiterate, Lu Li observation skills were sharper than most.


    It was that sort of observation, which was more calm the more intense the situation got, that let his brain change direction rapidly, calculate the outcome of every possibility, and in the end, find the only method that could get them victory.


    ¡°What did you say just then? I didn¡¯t hear. It was because of my talent that we won the competition,¡± Water Fairy said with irritation, struggling out of Lu Li¡¯s embrace.


    Lu Li was dumbstruck, but he very quickly found a way to take revenge.


    He was going to give Water Fairy a subtle kiss on the lips, entwining their breath together, for the whole audience of over 100 million to watch right out in the open.


    The loud, crazy calls filled the whole island!


    ¡°You¡­you¡¯re a pervert, there¡¯s so many people.¡±


    Water Fairy was feeling so embarrassed and awkward. Although she wasn¡¯t one to pretend to be shy, and she could even be quite fierce sometimes, she was still a girl.


    ¡°What¡¯re you afraid of? We¡¯re wearing masks; no one knows who we are at all,¡± Lu Li said without a care.


    He was thick-skinned, but not so thick to the point where he would kiss his girlfriend in front of the whole world to see. The main thing was that both of them were masked; there wasn¡¯t another person in the world who knew.


    But those watching the competition, especially those one million people who had zoomed in on them, were sent into a frenzy.


    ¡°Moment of silence!¡±


    ¡°Damn couple!¡±


    ¡°A moment of silence for Lu Li ¨C we might never be able to see him again. Rest in peace.¡±


    ¡°Hope there¡¯s no domestic violence in heaven!¡±


    ¡°In a short two years, he brought Ruling Sword to the highest peaks, but he was just too thick-skinned and he died in his prime.¡±


    ¡°I heard he still has a sister who is as pretty as a flower. I¡¯ll help him take care of her¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help him look after his girlfriend¡­¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t and don¡¯t really want to, but I will help him look after his club¡­¡±

 Chapter 1898 - Awkward and Embarrassed

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    There was going to be an award ceremony for the championship prize, beginning from the consolation prize and moving on the champion.


    The consolation prize was originally just going to be an ordinary award. Two pieces of Gold equipment wasn¡¯t much to boast about. At most, the pretty design of the equipment would complement the few words they spoke on stage about their success.


    This was the plan until a guy expressed his love towards his female partner in front of such a large audience.


    After this, a couple others expressed their love too. This included the runner-ups. What made people speechless was that the runner-ups¡¯ expression of love was a success.


    Finally, it came to the champions. It was time for the two masked people.


    The one responsible for the awards was the gaming celebrity, Su Guliang. In real life, she was the model, singer, and actress Su Mei. Lu Li had seen her once. Previously, at the marathon, she was responsible for awarding the prizes too. Later, as Dawn became more and more popular, she signed a set contract with Dawn.


    This time, Lu Li decided not to speak, in case he would be recognized.


    Water Fairy had the same idea. The two decided to just take their things and leave.


    ¡°Hey, Snowy, long time no see,¡± Su Mei said smilingly.


    Water Fairy looked at her with a daze. She was so perplexed as to how she could recognize her. Apart from her pair of eyes, nothing else was showing. If she could tell who she was just by looking at her eyes, then Su Mei must have been ridiculously vain.


    ¡°Oh, and Lu Li, long time no see too,¡± Su Mei continued.


    ¡°It must be Lu Li who exposed us,¡± Water Fairy muttered, immediately shifting the blame.


    ¡°You must be so surprised I can recognize you two, right?¡± Su Mei asked, as if she seemed to know what Water Fairy was thinking. ¡°It¡¯s not just me who knows ¨C the whole world knows. It¡¯s just you 2 who think everyone doesn¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were straight out ruined.


    They didn¡¯t even know how they managed to get the award as they dejectedly escaped this difficult situation.


    Only after they got back did they see that all the world¡¯s news had been focused on them, including various livestreams, the major forums and even their club channel.


    ¡°I¡¯m blaming you. Who told you to only wear this set of clothes?¡± Water Fairy complained.


    ¡°It was clearly your wrap that gave it away. The clothes I¡¯m wearing have been worn hundreds of thousands of times. No one could just tell by looking at the clothes,¡± Lu Li protested.


    ¡°You¡¯re still not admitting it! Still not admitting it!¡± Water Fairy cried as she held Lu Li¡¯s arm, found a sensitive area, and twisted it strongly a few times with malice.


    Lu Li¡¯s head was covered in cold sweat. Fortunately, this was a game. If Lu Li was attacked like this in real life, he would be done for.


    However, he still pretended like it really hurt.


    The two pieces of Epic equipment were both clothing. Apart from being equipment, they were also quite fashionable. The final piece of equipment had the Bind effect, which meant that as soon as you put it on, you had no way of selling it.


    In his past life, Lu Li at this time would be at a stage where he lacked money, and he would definitely sell it for his sister¡¯s treatment.


    But naturally, he wouldn¡¯t do that now. Lu Li had no doubt about where this equipment was going to end up. Of course, he was going to wear it.


    In just two short years, his circumstances had gone through groundbreaking changes.


    Venus¡¯ Protection (Epic) Armour 160, Constitution +270, HP +450, Special Effect 1: The amount of time the wearer is controlled by magic is reduced by 20%. Special Effect 2, Venus¡¯ Protection. Activated when the wearer¡¯s HP is below 10%. Provides a shield for the wearer that is able to absorb 5000 damage. While the shield is present, movement speed increases by 50%. Activation cooldown 2 hours. Level Requirement: 70, Durability 450/450.


    Naturally, the attributes were excellent. Either of the special effects would make it an Exquisite equip. If you had to speak about weaknesses, then you could only say that it did not strongly favor a profession. In terms of attributes, it increased Constitution and HP, but what Lu Li needed more was Agility and Strength. However, the Constitution wasn¡¯t bad either. The following Instance Dungeon demanded a lot of Constitution, and increased Constitution also increased survivability in the arena.


    Water Fairy¡¯s equipment was better than Lu Li¡¯s. There was no choice ¨C the female tycoon had driven the last two stages and surpassed the final 100 to take the championship.


    Water Fairy¡¯s equipment was close to being Legendary. It surpassed Lu Li¡¯s in every single way, and there were three special effects too. The last special effect gave Water Fairy the skill to sprout wings and fly for a short time. The key was that it could be used in battle. That way, no matter if she was escaping or chasing, she would become her opponent¡¯s nightmare.


    There wasn¡¯t much point for Lu Li to be jealous. She was his own partner, so no matter how powerful she was, it was fine. Anyway, with the Supreme Ring on his hand, he was on solid ground when it came to Thief battles, so there was no chance of getting dominated by his girl.


    After the couples¡¯ horserace was over, Lu Li and Water Fairy went back to the Instance Dungeon together to farm Lovebirds. Regardless of what level the Instance Dungeon was, the lone Lovebirds had no way to defend against the attack of two top Thieves. The total number of their red wires had reached over 200. They could already exchange for 20 of the giftboxes.


    Twenty gift boxes was already quite a lot. Most couples would reach this level after playing for 1 day, but Lu Li and Water Fairy could farm this in half a day, and they had even won the racehorse championship in the meantime. There weren¡¯t any other events they wanted to join in the afternoon, so they spent their whole time on farming those wires.


    It wasn¡¯t that there weren¡¯t any other activities on Valentine¡¯s Day. As a large-scale celebration in the game, there were at least a dozen or so events like the ¡®couples¡¯ horserace. It was just that the events and the prizes weren¡¯t attractive to Lu Li and Water Fairy, and after just experiencing such awkward embarrassment in front of so many spectators, they were itching to bury themselves up with sand. Of course they couldn¡¯t go out and join in public events again.


    As the Instance Dungeon levels got higher, the lovebirds became harder and harder to kill.


    They had already defeated the Instance Dungeon in Karazhan this week, and as for the Boss inside, they could only farm it from next week after the Instance Dungeon was updated. Although they would still occasionally farm a few new monsters, it was nothing compared to the masses and masses of smaller monsters originally in Karazhan. If you were farming lovebirds inside, it was very lonely business. Although it was hard to farm, it wasn¡¯t hard to deal with it. After all, you didn¡¯t have to clean up the smaller monsters.


    This was until Lu Li met a matchmaker on the Karazhan platform.


    The matchmaker¡¯s hair was all white, with a kind expression. He wore a very festive red robe and held a long cane in his hand. Then, the originally dark and gloomy capital of Karazhan became filled with great color. In short, it looked like a scene from a Chinese-style wedding.


    What if he met a Boss? There was no doubt that unless you were romantic and sentimental, you would go and fight it.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy weren¡¯t romantic people. They were even more curious as to see what the Boss could give them.


    One lovebird took 2 minutes to kill. How would they farm the level 70 matchmaker boss?

 Chapter 1899 - The Matchmaker

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°We¡¯ll try it first. If we can fight it, we¡¯ll fight it. If we can¡¯t then we¡¯ll see,¡± Lu Li said.


    It wasn¡¯t his style to not fight a Boss if he came across one. This matchmaker would have a certain chance of dropping a mount, or it could drop some love gift boxes that could have valuable items inside.


    When it came to this sort of thing, of course he wouldn¡¯t have his partner go up. Lu Li could only bear the brunt of it himself.


    ¡°Youth, enter my door of thoughts. Know my pain.¡±


    The cane in the matchmaker¡¯s hand moved slightly, and a gold circle exploded in front of Lu Li, dealing about 600 damage to him. What was more, it had the effects of reducing speed and knocking him away. Lu Li had no choice but to activate a maneuver skill that immediately teleported him behind the matchmaker.


    A Shadowstrike was cast, and with 95% Skill Completion, it dealt over 1000 damage and Stunned for 2 seconds.


    Lu Li was just afraid that this old guy couldn¡¯t be crowd-controlled.


    ¡°If a relationship lasts through all bends, then a day must feel like it never ends,¡± the matchmaker laughed. He wielded his staff again, and Lu Li realised that he and Water Fairy had switched places. At this time, Water Fairy had taken the place of Lu Li to suffer the matchmaker¡¯s blow to her head. She was left in a daze and was Stunned for 2 seconds.


    ¡°What the hell is this old boomer going on about?¡± Lu Li cried out. He could only rush over again.


    ¡°You illiterate idiot ¨C it¡¯s an ancient poem.¡±


    While blocking the matchmaker¡¯s attacks, Water Fairy didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry at Lu Li¡¯s question. If it was a few years earlier and someone told her that the guy she liked hadn¡¯t even heard of the line ¡®If a relationship lasts through all bends, then a day must feel like it never ends,¡¯ then she would have thought that the biggest joke on the planet.


    ¡°Haha, right, it¡¯s an old poem,¡± Lu Li mumbled sheepishly.


    Sometimes, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t have confidence in himself. He had a extremely distinguished position in gaming, being worth well over 100 million dollars. However, his coarseness and ignorance was already becoming more and more apparent.


    If you were a scoundrel, it would be weird if you weren¡¯t being vulgar.


    But as soon as you had your own job and had a girl who looked and acted like a goddess, you had to talk like a goddess¡¯ partner. Then, that vulgarity would be immeasurably magnified.


    It wasn¡¯t just Lu Li who thought like this. Most of those people who bad-mouthed this odd couple¡¯s relationship thought that Lu Li wasn¡¯t good enough for Water Fairy. Just because he was good at gaming didn¡¯t mean much, because gaming wasn¡¯t all there was to life.


    However, life was a very long journey. If two people were living together, they wouldn¡¯t be playing games.


    So, how far could Lu Li and Water Fairy go?


    At the same time that Lu Li was scoffing at this, he was stressing about it. This was why he planned that after classes started, he would go to university more and listen in. He also prepared some preordered books that he could read and learn from.


    ¡°What are you thinking about? Hurry up ¨C I¡¯m running out of HP,¡± Water Fairy warned coquettishly. There was a twinge of regret in her heart. She felt like she shouldn¡¯t always call Lu Li illiterate. She didn¡¯t know if deep down, it was hard for him to bear or not.


    ¡°Coming, coming, don¡¯t fight yet. Let me pull aggro over.¡±


    Thieves didn¡¯t have the Taunt skill, so if two people wanted to draw aggro, they could only do so through damage output. When the DPS of one person was more than 20% of the other, aggro would slowly move over.


    ¡°Holding hands under the flowers, we finish a cup of wine. How beautiful is your face!¡±


    Before the words were out of his mouth, Lu Li and Water Fairy had received a full blast of drunkenness from the Boss. They couldn¡¯t walk straight anymore, and they continued to lose HP.


    ¡°A heart is like a net of thousands of knots!¡±


    Just when that skill had ended, a new one had been cast.


    All of a sudden, nets sprung forth from the ground. Lu Li accidently stepped on one, and all of a sudden, his health dropped by a third. He rushed to use Gale Steps and not only did he escape from that drunken state, but the damage he received later also disappeared.


    ¡°Snowy don¡¯t step in that net,¡± Lu Li reminded.


    However, only Lu Li was silly enough to put himself in danger and make himself an example of what not to do.


    ¡°The stars have changed ¨C who will I be with now?!¡±


    They didn¡¯t know what this skill was called either. Lu Li saw a gale begin to blow, which pushed him and Water Fairy towards a certain direction. It turned out they were being blown towards the entrance of what looked like a whirlpool.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what would happen after they entered, but it definitely wouldn¡¯t be good.


    The two of them moved towards the Boss with great difficulty. They had no way of stopping themselves from being sucked into the whirlpool. In a worst-case scenario, it would only take a few seconds for them to be swept along, and then it would probably be over for them.


    ¡°Our appearances aren¡¯t as colorful as birds, but our spirits fly just as high!¡±


    At this time, the matchmaker was reciting poetry. When foreigners attacked this Boss they probably would be completely dumbstruck, having no idea what this Boss¡¯ lines meant.


    ¡°Grab my hand!¡± Water Fairy shouted.


    Lu Li subconsciously held onto Water Fairy¡¯s outstretched hand and realized in surprise that the speed at which they were being sucked into the whirlpool had been reduced. Now, they were able to move stably towards the Boss.


    ¡°Snowy, you¡¯re really amazing. How did you know we had to hold hands?¡± Lu Li asked in surprise.


    ¡°What else would a Valentine¡¯s Day Boss be doing? If we don¡¯t have wings, then we can link hands and fly,¡± Water Fairy said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that we realized too late. We can¡¯t defeat this Boss now,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    While the matchmaker¡¯s HP was just under 60%, they were both about to die, and they had already used up all the skills they could to recover their HP.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold him; you go first. We¡¯ll start again.¡±


    Water Fairy also understood that under these circumstances, they would be unable to continue on. If both of them died, the Boss would be gone, and they wouldn¡¯t see him if they entered the Instance Dungeon again.


    ¡°You hold him and I go. Who knows? I might make it.¡±


    Of course, Lu Li couldn¡¯t let his girl stay while he ran himself.


    Actually, he had already stored the ¡®Death¡¯s Memory¡¯ that Garona had given him and put it in the storehouse. Even if they died now, it didn¡¯t matter that much. They would not lose EXP or equipment.


    Water Fairy looked at him and firmly decided to run away from the Boss, Stealthing over and leaving the battle.


    Most Bosses in Dawn maintained aggro throughout the whole Instance Dungeon. As soon as the Boss saw you, they would chase you down right to the doorway of the Dungeon, unless you could run outside before you died. Most players didn¡¯t have the speed to escape.


    Thieves were different. As long as they ran away from the Boss and Vanished, they could escape from the battle, and the Boss wouldn¡¯t trouble them either.


    After Water Fairy got away, Lu Li first pulled the Boss away to a distant corner, then used Sprint escape.


    The matchmaker dropped his aggro and angrily went back to his original position. As this happened, his HP began to refill too.

 Chapter 1900 - Bridal Chair

    Both of them weren¡¯t dead yet, so the matchmaker wouldn¡¯t disappear.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back and pick up some equipment. I think we¡¯ll still need you to help in that department, because it¡¯s not that easy to find Life-stealing Leather Armor. The quality can¡¯t be too bad either.¡±


    Lu Li took a moment to rest and reorganized himself, planning to keep Water Fairy here before he went to find equipment.


    Square Root 3 had been busy recently, so his contact was White Bread.


    White Bread had quite a bit on her plate too. It was just that now, it was her turn to take a holiday, and she had already returned back home now. Even so, she had to make sure she was online for a certain amount of time every day.


    ¡°Leather Armor with Life-steal¡­does it have to be level 70? If so, there¡¯s nothing really that stands out. I¡¯ll see if I can get a set together,¡± White Bread reported.


    The last few days were a free-for-all period in Karazhan.


    Regardless of whether they were clubs, ordinary guilds or unaffiliated players, as long as they could assemble together some blue and green equipment, they all flooded into Karazhan. Even if they were at a complete loss when it came to Nightmare Boss, that didn¡¯t stop them from being able to try it out on Heroic Difficulty. Of course, there was Normal Difficulty, which didn¡¯t need to be brought up.


    On Normal Difficulty in Karazhan, there was very little chance of even dropping Dark Gold equipment.


    There was a small chance of dropping Epic equipment on Heroic difficulty, but Dark Gold and Gold items would be dropped at a normal rate. However, on Nightmare Difficulty, Epic equipment would definitely be dropped, although not from every Boss.


    The storehouse didn¡¯t have much equipment accumulated. After all, everyone didn¡¯t even have completed sets of equipment, so how could they have extra equipment that they could throw in the storehouse? White Bread had to call up club members on short notice, asking if those who had Life-stealing Leather Armor on them could offer it up for the boss to use it first.


    Although people didn¡¯t usually care about Lu Li, when it really came down to it, they supported him as a leader.


    Very soon, three pieces of Life-steal equipment were collected ¨C two Dark Gold and one Epic.


    This still was far from enough. They needed to have enough Life-steal sustain themselves through the fight, and they needed equipment for two people.


    At about the same time, those from Peerless City sent 11 pieces of Life-steal equipment over, and not a single piece was the same item either.


    This made Lu Li relax a little; his girlfriend was too powerful.


    So much for being equal ¨C she had constantly been bearing their burdens for a long time.


    Going back to the Instance Dungeon, the two of them divided up the equipment among themselves.


    Life-steal couldn¡¯t be stacked up without limit. Otherwise, if you wore a whole suit of Life-steal equipment to the arena, it wouldn¡¯t take any effort to win.


    They started the battle with the matchmaker again. They weren¡¯t in such a difficult position as they were the first time, and since Lu Li¡¯s partner was more educated than himself, he gave her the authority to command. Whatever his partner wanted him to attack, he would attack. However she wanted him to attack, he would attack in that way.


    Someone was already well on the path to living off his wife.


    It didn¡¯t need to be said that Life-steal equipment was powerful. The two Thieves took turns to resist the Boss. Combined with the massive adaptability that Thieves had by default, the matchmaker was at a loss for what to do.


    The only thing that stopped it from being perfect was that the battle time had dragged on for too long.


    It was only after spending two hours that they had finally ground the Boss to death. All the Chinese Valentine¡¯s Day¡¯s events were about to end.


    ¡°Quickly loot the equipment. Then, we¡¯ll go exchange gift boxes,¡± Lu Li urged. He didn¡¯t bring up that he himself wanted to loot it. If he found anything noteworthy, it wouldn¡¯t be due to his hard work, and if it wasn¡¯t valuable, he would definitely be complained about. Even if Water Fairy didn¡¯t say anything, just by seeing the strong hidden bitterness in her eyes, Lu Li felt he was the most evil person on the planet.


    The red love wires had to be exchanged on the day itself, otherwise, they would have to wait till next year.


    However, the gift boxes could be opened on any other day.


    The boxes couldn¡¯t be sold, nor could the things inside, but they could be exchanged between the couple.


    If a couple in the game split up, then all their equipment, tools, mounts, and everything that they earned in the couples¡¯ events would all be gone. It was evident how resistant the game designers were to the idea of splitting up. However, if the split-up couple got together again, everything disappeared would all come back again.


    According to the game¡¯s definition, love was something that could be recovered.


    ¡°12 red love wires for a¡­Chinese bridal chair? What does this mean?¡± Water Fairy was shocked.


    ¡°It¡¯s good ¨C the two hours were worth it.¡± On the contrary, Lu Li was very happy.


    The bridal chair was the mount that the matchmaker dropped. The rate of the drop was in theory, miniscule. In all the events of Chinese Valentine¡¯s Day, there wouldn¡¯t be more than 10 dropped.


    There were quite a few ways to play around with the bridal chair.


    One was that the husband could lift up the wife. The girl would use it first, and after using it, she would sit inside. After that, the guy would use the mount. At this time, he would split into four identical chair carriers.


    Another way was to have the wife carry the husband, which was basically the same with the roles reversed.


    Another way of using it was to get married.


    The bridal chair was the most popular marriage tool in Dawn. After it was used, the chair would be surrounded by flying flowers.


    This bridal chair tool could only be used by the couple together, but it could be lent out. If someone else wanted to use it, they could find someone who had one to borrow it from. The borrowing time was limited to one day, and the owner had the right to take it back whenever they wanted.


    Lu Li¡¯s impression was that to rent a bridal chair for a day would cost at least over 100,000 dollars, which was why it was a valuable drop.


    The chances of encountering two Bosses and finding two mounts were ridiculous.


    Could it be that his own girl would suddenly turn into that lucky red hunter?


    Actually, Lu Li had made a slight mistake in his thinking. The chance of mounts being dropped on Valentine¡¯s Day wasn¡¯t small. The reason he didn¡¯t see many of them was because most couples couldn¡¯t defeat the Boss when they saw one.


    Not all couples were as valiant and fierce as they were.


    The game encouraged top players to be couples. These players set a very clear example of power, and they were even more effective than having to hire celebrities for endorsements. That was why when the game officials watched over and encouraged Water Fairy and Lu Li to be a couple, they promised them lots of valuable stuff.


    However, top players were focused on the competition and Instance Dungeons. They simply didn¡¯t bother with the relationship system.


    Wasn¡¯t the game fun enough? What was the point of finding a girlfriend to boss you around?

 Chapter 1901 - High King Maulgar

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Back at the activity management division of Stormwind City, Water Fairy exchanged for 65 gift boxes all at once.


    ¡°We can go half-half?¡± Water Fairy asked.


    ¡°You go for it. I¡¯m okay just watching on the side.¡±


    Lu Li noticed that Water Fairy was itching to have a go. He didn¡¯t mind sacrificing his opportunity to give her this moment of happiness.


    ¡°Rose perfume¡­¡± Water Fairy said as she opened the first one.


    This was the most rubbish item in Lu Li¡¯s eyes, yet it had captured Water Fairy¡¯s heart. She had even opened the bottle for a sniff.


    ¡°It smells really nice; it¡¯s quite light. Do you wanna try?¡±


    ¡°No thanks. You can keep it,¡± Lu Li hurriedly refused.


    He was a rough man; perfume was way too girly for him. Moreover, these perfumes and cosmetic items didn¡¯t provide any additional attributes.


    ¡°Okay then.¡±


    Water Fairy packed up the perfume and continued opening boxes. In her heart, she thought that if the opportunity came in the future, she would teach Lu Li a lesson. By that time, it wouldn¡¯t just be trying on perfumes, but wearing female clothing as well.


    Valentine¡¯s Day sweets!


    This small bag contained about 10 or so sweets.


    ¡°This is good stuff!¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s eyes lit up. It wasn¡¯t that he liked sweets, but rather because they could regenerate HP. They were more potent than most healing medicines on the market at the moment.


    What was more fascinating was that the same sweet would have different effects depending on its use.


    If a player used it on himself, a certain amount of HP or Mana would be regenerated. However, if he used it on his romantic partner, it would regenerate double the amount of HP or Mana.


    Red sweets regenerated HP, blue sweets regenerated Mana, and rainbow sweets could regenerate either, albeit a lower amount.


    As for the method, it just had to be physically fed to the other person.


    The next item was jewellery. This wasn¡¯t the same as equipment; it was just for decoration. The style was rather elegant, but there had been too many Valentine¡¯s Boxes opened already so it wasn¡¯t as valuable anymore.


    Water Fairy opened the box with excitement, while Lu Li read the forums out of boredom.


    The recent few matches weren¡¯t very challenging, including today¡¯s one. Moonlight and Mu Qiu alone were enough to leave their opponents unable to do anything.


    Meanwhile, Judgement Spear were unfortunate and continued to encounter clubs in the top 100. They lost three rounds straight and would have great difficulty progressing onwards.


    ¡°Wow~ fashion! Such pretty, antiquely-styled clothes!¡±


    It seemed like Water Fairy had opened something noteworthy again.


    Lu Li took one glance and gave a big compliment.


    ¡°This¡­¡± Water Fairy had opened something strange; it looked like a piece of cloth.


    ¡°A red veil for your head,¡± Lu Li said, recognizing it straight away.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Now she was a little embarrassed to have opened a red veil. It was as if she was in a hurry to get married off.


    For the balance of the game, this type of gift box would at most reward Dark Gold items. A majority of the items were for the sake of contributing to the atmosphere of Valentine¡¯s Day.


    For example, there was perfume, little decorations, roses, fashionable clothes¡­


    Lu Li had expected this early on, so he wasn¡¯t very disappointed, while Water Fairy seemed happy from start to end. She was not only not disappointed, but rather satisfied with the game¡¯s activities.


    In the coming days, Lu Li started to lead people to try and fight Magtheridon¡¯s Lair.


    He had completely given up after two tries.


    The difficulty of this Instance Dungeon had far exceeded his imagination. The Instance Dungeon from his past life evidently had been weakened several times already.


    After level 70, even Elite Difficulty couldn¡¯t be passed by everyone. To this day, there had not even been a single club which had completed Magtheridon¡¯s Lair on Elite Difficulty.


    Lu Li quietly led a team to Gruul¡¯s Lair, which was a level 70 Instance Dungeon. In the description given by the officials, Kargrul¡¯s Lair¡¯s position was higher than that of Magtheridon¡¯s Lair, and was even higher than that of Serpentshrine Cavern.


    Even if players wanted to try it, they would be tortured to death by the small monsters. Hence, it then became a place where no one came.


    Gruul¡¯s Lair was situated in the Blade¡¯s Edge Mountains.


    The Gronn originated from the Outlands and were demi-god Ogres. Legends said that the Gronn raised Ogres, yet used force to control them. The Gronn race possessed massive power, like that of Diablo.


    They were the sons of the Gronn leader, Gruul. The real master of the Gronn race was Gruul, who was known as the Dragon Slayer.


    Many people had seen the Blade¡¯s Edge Mountain¡¯s Dragon¡¯s End and were in shock. The dragons placed on the edge of the cliffs were killed by Gruul himself, which was why he was known as the ¡°Dragon Slayer¡±.


    He lived in the depths of Gruul¡¯s Lair, and had an iron fist that would one-shot anyone who dared to invade.


    In the Instance Dungeon of Gruul¡¯s lair, there two Bosses altogether. Gruul was considered the second Boss, which was the final Boss.


    The first Boss was called High King Maulgar, a cyclopian Ogre leader of Blade¡¯s Edge Mountain. The entourage that followed him usually stayed by his side in order to guard the Blade¡¯s Edge Mountain¡¯s true leader, Gruul¡¯s Lair.


    The difficulty of Maulgar was actually quite high.


    This further confirmed that the difficulty of Gruul¡¯s Lair was higher than that of Magtheridon¡¯s Lair.


    High King Maulgar¡¯s melee attack dealt 5000-6000 damage. Just these numbers alone were enough to make any Main Tank stop in their tracks. After all, if they could be one-shot in a second, then there was no hope of killing Boss.


    Not to mention, he also had a number of skills.


    The most often-used Arcing Smash could eliminate 8000 HP of a Main Tank. Other professions would pretty much be instantly killed.


    Arcing Smash was a 180-degree attack, but he could also spin like a tornado. Other than Tanky Healers, none of the other healing professions could sustain this type of damage.


    It was easy to be killed by the tornado in melee range. The safest way was to wait for Maulgar to finish his tornado, then step up and attack, but this was very dangerous. Perhaps the best way was to stand afar and use long-ranged weapons.


    As such, Lu Li only brought six melee professions.


    They would be required to defeat the four followers of High King Maulgar, who used magic.

 Chapter 1902 - Lying in Wait

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Such a powerful Boss could even also go Berserk.


    However, he wasn¡¯t the type that went Berserk at a low HP. Rather. he would start going Berserk at half HP. Actually, it would be more appropriate to call it a moment of rage. Not only did his attack speed increase, but he would also throw his own mallet.


    This would one-shot anyone.


    Moreover, he could also cast a group fear. Even though the area of the fear wasn¡¯t large, the Main Tank would be left unable to escape.


    Those who were unaffected couldn¡¯t relax either, as they would be targeted and Charged at by Maulgar.


    It would be okay if the Main Tank could aggro the Boss in time. If not, then the team would get destroyed.


    These were some of the mechanisms of High King Maulgar. It would be even more difficult to fight him in reality.


    However, this wasn¡¯t the end to all the troubles. To fight this Boss, you also couldn¡¯t ignore the four followers he brought with him ¨CFirehand the Mage, the Warlock summoner Omer, Priest Blindeye the Seer, and Chichler the Madman Shaman.


    Each of these four followers had different professions, and formed an elite monster team that partnered with the Boss.


    With the current ability of players, even a core elite team of a super club with exquisite equipment wouldn¡¯t even stand a chance against High King Maulgar and his four followers.


    At a stage where everyone¡¯s equipment was still lacking, the difficulty of High King Maulgar surpassed Gruul.


    In fact, the smaller monsters at the entrance were also not be underestimated. A 25-man team were shredded through within minutes. The saving grace of this Instance Dungeon was that you could escape. After all, behind them was the entrance. If they could no longer fight, then Lu Li would command a retreat and the rest of the players would escape using their own abilities,


    After all, smaller monsters were smaller monsters. They could block a majority of teams, but they couldn¡¯t hold Ruling Sword outside forever.


    ¡°Dreamy, try to use Misdirection on a smaller monster and lead it out here.¡±


    Lu Li had been wiped a few times and didn¡¯t want to continue anymore. Hence, he started to take advantage of being reborn.


    This Instance Dungeon had a bug. In the earliest period, Gruul¡¯s Lair was easier than Magtheridon¡¯s Lair, and was even easier than Karazhan.


    Of course, the bug did not involve leading away the smaller monsters.


    Hence, everyone was wiped as a team again.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    Lu Li pretended to be deep in thought, then pointed at another smaller monster to let Remnant Dream try again.


    They tried this time and time again, but were wiped four times. By the fifth time, Lu Li pointed at the Boss and said to Remnant Dream, ¡°Trying using Misdirection on him. You lead Breezy, then pretend to die. Don¡¯t mess it up.¡±


    Even though Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t keen, she still loyally obeyed Lu Li¡¯s order.


    There wasn¡¯t a great cost in wiping. Only Remnant Dream and Azure Sea Breeze were killed because they were too close to the Boss and had drawn aggro.


    This time around, everyone was still prepared to run. Nobody had any objections to Lu Li¡¯s command.


    However, no one really thought that doing this would actually work.


    Just as everyone was prepared to make a run for it again, an astounding scene unfolded.


    ¡°Sand sculptures! Don¡¯t run! They¡¯re coming ¨C see, you guys, he¡¯s coming! This time it¡¯s just one the Boss!¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried out.


    Whenever Lu Li experimented in a First Clear, it almost always ended with Azure Sea Breeze dying.


    There wasn¡¯t much to say if everyone died together, but Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t think of himself as special. The key was that everyone could escape together and only he had to die. As for Remnant Dream, as long as she played dead, the Boss would just treat her as a corpse.


    Because of this, he felt unfairly treated.


    Everyone locked their eyes and saw that the Boss had really come over by himself.


    This Boss was hard, but it wasn¡¯t hard to the point that everyone was afraid. A Boss on its own without any backup was especially easy to kill. Hence, everyone started to return to their positions.


    Lu Li commanded Azure Sea Breeze to pull the Boss close to where the entrance of the Instance Dungeon was. The Boss¡¯ four followers were left alone, which made it easier for everyone to escape when the team was wiped. Thus, this new strategy was put into practice.


    Without the four followers, High King Maulgar was just a slightly stronger than usual Boss.


    At 50% HP, the Boss entered into a rage, which placed some pressure on the team.


    After Maulgar calmed down, he would continue to cast Whirlwind. Sometimes they would be unlucky and be struck consecutively, which killed a number of players.


    ¡°No need to stress ¨C only two people are gone!¡± Lu Li yelled. ¡°Fat Monkey, if you dare run towards the Instance Dungeon entrance, I will deduct your guild points right now.¡±


    ¡°Yes, deduct him! How shameful to not fight and run!¡± Azure Sea Breeze added.


    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t run then,¡± Fat Monkey huffed as he resentfully turned around and continued to attack the Boss.


    ¡°No one takes it easy until Breezy dies. Until I say so, the first person to run will have 20 points deducted. The second person to run will have 10 points deducted.¡±


    Lu Li felt a little regretful now. He shouldn¡¯t have given everyone a route of retreat. They thought about running whenever they couldn¡¯t fight.


    They would only drop some equipment if they died. This was nothing compared to losing 20 points. Sometimes, 20 points was enough to claim a piece of equipment.


    After being wiped three times, the High King Maulgar fell.


    Lu Li and the others also suffered heavy losses. At the end, there was barely anyone left standing. After all, High King Maulgar¡¯s mallet was accurate with every throw, and whoever was hit was instantly killed.


    After High King Maulgar fell, a number of players received Skill Points.


    This was the attraction of First Clears; the equipment actually didn¡¯t really matter. The main thing was still Skill Points.


    There were two exquisite gems. Lu Li didn¡¯t take them, and instead took the Skills Book dropped by the Boss.


    This Skill Book was called ¡°Lying in Wait¡±. It wasn¡¯t used to Enhance skills, but belonged to the set of new level 70 skills. After adding 5 points, it increased the damage done by 20% when casting Backstab, Garrotte or Ambush from behind.


    Enhancing a skill¡¯s damage by 20% was already an insane effect!

 Chapter 1903 - Game Design

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    After level 70, there were many new skills, but the drop rate for them was not high.


    Even after so many Bosses in Karazhan, no Thief skill had been dropped. As such, they hadn¡¯t expected that High King Maulgar would drop one.


    Backstab, Garrotte and Ambush were Lu Li¡¯s most frequently used skills. It was definitely worthwhile for him to invest 5 skill points into these skills, so he had already done so.


    The next was equipment. King Maulgar was a Boss that dropped T4 equipment. In the future, there would be many players madly farming this Boss for them.


    Because the size of this Instance Dungeon was relatively small, it was a favourite of many Gold Collection Groups. When they entered this Instance Dungeon, they had a chance of obtaining Skill Points, equipment and even other rewards.


    A T4 equipment was worth at least 1400 gold.


    Was 1400 gold expensive for the item? Well, if you wanted the Transmog Set¡¯s effects, then you would have felt that the 1400 gold cost was not that high.


    However, for players like those in Lu Li¡¯s group who were capable of farming strong Instance Dungeons, spending 30,000 gold on a Transmog Set item was not enough.


    The Belt of Divine Inspiration was a Dark Gold equipment that had decent, but not exquisite attributes. This was just a temporary item to equip while searching for a better one. The Mages were quiet when it was put up for bidding and someone eventually took it for the base price.


    The Hammer of Naaru was also a Dark Gold equipment with strong attributes. It had similar damage to King Maulgar along with a fury effect.


    Unfortunately, there were few players that used two-handed Hammers, so Mu Qiu managed to purchase it for its base price.


    His current Greatsword of the Brotherhood was also a transitory weapon. At level 70, he was using a level 60 item that had a minute chance of one-shotting its target. The chance was so small that even after a few hundred attacks, it would only happen once.


    Maulgar¡¯s Warhelm was an Epic Chain Mail Armor and was given to Remnant Dream.


    After all, Remnant Dream was the little hero that everyone needed to defeat the Boss. No one had anything to say if she wanted to take one of the equips.


    The next was a T4 set item.


    The Pauldrons of the Fallen Hero was an item for Hunters, Mages and Warlocks. There were so many Mages and Warlocks in the team, and the one that eventually won it was called Bloody Bruised.


    After looting the equipment, everyone looked to the Boss¡¯ four minions. They rushed in and were soon engaged in a fierce battle. These monsters were also quite powerful despite their lack of support, but were eventually defeated without much issue.


    After clearing everything else up and picking up whatever quest items that each person needed, they continued ahead.


    ¡°We can¡¯t let the others take Gruul in this Instance Dungeon before us. The use of Misdirection needs to be kept strictly confidential,¡± Lu Li said seriously. The Misdirection had caused the Boss to abando its underlings, which actually seemed quite ridiculous. Most other First Clearing teams would just use Misdirection on one of the underlings instead. When the underling didn¡¯t leave, they would think Misdirection wasn¡¯t useful for this fight and wouldn¡¯t use it again. If Lu Li hadn¡¯t experienced rebirth, it was likely that he would have never worked this out.


    After several waves of monsters, they finally reached the depts of Gruul¡¯s lair.


    There was a huge underground space, and Gruul was squatting in the middle.


    Gruul was a huge, one-eyed, dreadful beast.


    Some said that the Gronns gave birth to the ogre race. Even if this was true, the Gronns had no love for their children. The way they ruled the Ogre tribes was ruthless and barbaric. Regardless of how they came to be, it was clear that the Gronns had unparalleled force.


    The Gronn¡¯s ancestors were rock guardians created by the Titans on Draenor. They had huge granite bodies which were majestic like a mountain. They had endless strength and the ability to terraform the earth.


    They followed the mission they were given by the Titans and shaped the earth and oceans of Draenor. They fought an eternal war against the enemies of the Titans ¨C the primitive plant monsters of Draenor.


    After the Titans left Draenor, most of the guardians were affected by the curse of flesh and blood and turned into half-rock half-organic one-eyed giants. Their descendants were the Gronn.


    Although not as powerful as the rock guardians, the Gronn still inherited a portion of their strength from their ancestors and their abilities were closely related to the earth elementals of Draenor. As such, the most powerful Gronn had the power to alter the landscape. One such such place which was transformed by a Gronn in Draenor was called the Blade¡¯s Edge Mountains. The sharp rocks all around was as a result of Gruul, the father of Gronn and the dragon slayer.


    There were also some scholars in the game that said that the earliest Ogres were actually a product of Gronns that had been further affected by the curse of flesh and blood.


    In fact, they regarded Orcs as another branch of the Gronn¡¯s metamorphosis.


    The origins of this mythology were from the Cyclops of Sicily from ancient Greek mythology.


    In addition to Gruul, there were also some other monsters roaming around this


    huge area.


    The players called these mobs ¡®110s¡¯.


    The monsters were divided into two types depending on how they moved. The first was stationary and was called a guard monster. In addition, there was a monster that would constantly patrol a certain route. This was called the patrol monster.


    When players usually killed monsters in Instance Dungeons or killed monsters in the Wild, they would usually kill the guard monsters. However, if they were interrupted by a patrolling monster, it would usually exceed the party¡¯s abilities and lead to them getting wiped. As such, they needed to pay attention to the patrol routes to ensure that they would avoid that situation.


    ¡°Kill the monsters first. Hunters, use Misdirection so they will come to use. Kill them slowly; there is no rush. If we accidentally pull the Boss, we¡¯ll get wiped,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to use Misdirection. Let¡¯s just pull the Boss out,¡± Fat Monkey responded, looking annoyed at the monsters.


    ¡°Are you getting too used to the easy life? Do you really think it would be that easy? If the Boss was designed like that, then the designer would be fired.¡±


    Lu Li was speechless at what this guy had said; it was even dumber than Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°Hey, I studied game design, I almost became a designer,¡± Fat Monkey grinned.


    ¡°Have you graduated?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°I have,¡± Fat Monkey answered without hesitation.


    ¡°You must have plagiarised your thesis.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t believe it at all. In his opinion, people who managed to get through university were all very intelligent.


    Fat Monkey felt that he was being insulted, which finally removed all respect he had for Lu Li. He retorted directly, ¡°I am still better someone who is illiterate. You managed to become a boss, so why couldn¡¯t I graduate?¡±


    As he spoke, Fat Monkey started to laugh. If this continued, Fat Monkey really thought that he would be sent by Lu Li to fight the Boss.

 Chapter 1904 - Death by Deduction

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Although Lu Li wanted Fat Monkey to fight the Boss, exacting such a revenge plan would be too obvious. For the moment he just had to hold back and record Fat Monkey¡¯s name on a little notepad.


    Lu Li just hoped that Fat Monkey would betray the club so that he could justify killing him.


    The monsters had almost been cleared out. There were only two patrol monsters to the left of the Boss and it was impossible to pull them out. Lu Li stopped Remnant Dream from wandering too close to the Boss. He planned to kill them while fighting the Boss; it wasn¡¯t as though they could kill the Boss that quickly anyway.


    The process was pretty much the same as usual; they first needed to the test the Boss¡¯ abilities.


    Gruul¡¯s most unique skill was Grow, which increased his attack strength by 15% every 30 second and his character size by 10%. This effect could be stacked up to 30 times.


    Compounding 15% attack strength thirty times would make this Boss impossible to defeat.


    No team could support buff-stacking like that, so this Boss was one they needed to defeat as quickly as possible.


    Grand Strike ¨C this skill was cast on the closest player with the second-most aggro. An off-tank was required to withstand the attack as it dealt about 12,000 physical damage, but could be reduced by Armor and Defensive stats. This was cast every 20 seconds.


    The damage output players within range had to control their damage to make sure their aggro was less than the two tanks.


    The Boss also had a skill called Reverberation. This randomly silenced a target for three seconds at a time, so they had to split up to avoid being hit.


    They also split up because of some other skills.


    Subsidence was a random area of effect skill that dealt damage to an 8-yard diameter area every 3 seconds for 15 seconds. This skill had a range of 3000 yards.


    In the later stages, the boss would often cast this skill. This skill dealt physical damage, which meant it could be reduced by Armor. However, the damage of this skill would increase over time because of Grow. If the players stood more than 8 yards apart, then the skill would only affect one player at a time.


    Ground Slam was a random knock-back skill that would be immediately followed up with Lord Guru¡¯s Grip.


    Lord Guru¡¯s Grip was one of the more terrifying skills. After being hit by Ground Slam, the player would be affected by this debuff. The affected player would lose 20% movement speed every second. After 5 seconds, the player would be Stunned and Gruul would attack all the players at once with Shatter.


    Shatter¡¯s damage depended on the distance between players. If the distance between two teammates was less than 2 yards, then the damage dealt would be about 9000. The longer the distance, the lower the damage. Players greater than 10 yards apart did not take any damage.


    Unlike Grand Strike, Shatter could result in a critical hit, but it didn¡¯t increase in damage because of Grow.


    Therefore, before the targeted player was Stunned, all members should spread out from their teammates to avoid Shatter¡¯s damage. Moving more than 10 yards apart was a little difficult, as there were 20 players and the space was limited.


    However, they could definitely separate by 8 yards ¨C even the melee players were able to achieve this.


    If you stood too closely together, then it was likely that everyone would just be one shot.


    The team had about 10 minutes to defeat Gruul or lose their opportunity. Otherwise, the stacked Grow skills would make the Boss too powerful for the Main Tank to withstand. A high damage output team would be best for this battle, and Gruul didn¡¯t use any magic attacks. Any buffs that they could make use of would also be helpful.


    Damage output was key here, and this was reflected in the team¡¯s composition, their choice of equipment and their preparation of potions.


    The equipment they had was the best among the current population of players and their potions were no worse than the other clubs. With Ruling Sword¡¯s financial resources and material resources, none of these seemed to be a problem anymore. Compared to his difficult experiences from two years ago, Lu Li felt like he was in a dream.


    Gruul required two tanks, which meant that having Azure Sea Breeze and Wandering was just perfect.


    The two players were always bickering, but they had grown up together, so they had an innate understanding of each other. As long as they were there, Lu Li only needed to tell them what they needed to do, and they would work together to accomplish it. There was no need to remind them.


    The damage that every other player would take was quite sporadic, so they didn¡¯t need as many healers.


    However, they couldn¡¯t have too few healers either. Everyone was standing 8 yards apart, so if they had too few healers, they simply wouldn¡¯t be able to reach everyone in time.


    Six or seven healers was a suitable number, especially given that the players could adapt to Gruul¡¯s multiple skills and survive on their own. Lu Li began with nine healers at first, but later reduced it to the final number of six.


    Having too many melee players also increased the difficulty of fighting this Boss, so Lu Li benched most of them except for the two tanks. In the end, there were only five melee players.


    The five melee players were Moonlight, Mu Qiu, Lu Li, Sakura Memories and Water Fairy.


    As for why the two Thieves were not benched, this was obviously because it was Lu Li and his girlfriend. If Lu Li and Water Fairy were Warriors, then this line up would suddenly include two Berserkers instead.


    No one else would think that anything was wrong. Who would dare oppose the directions of


    the boss?


    After two attempts, Lu Li had found his opportunity to take Fat Monkey¡¯s DKP. After everyone had come in and started the battle, he found that Fat Monkey had been locked out of the Gruul entrance.


    If you didn¡¯t enter in time, you had no choice but to watch from the outside until the people inside were dead.


    ¡°Monkey, what were you doing?¡±


    Lu Li was angry and laughing at the same time.


    Of course, he wasn¡¯t just deducting Fat Monkey¡¯s points for the sake of it. Being locked out like this in a First Clear attempt was just too low-level of a mistake to make.


    ¡°I¡­I was trying to find somewhere to take a look at my equipment. I thought there was something wrong with it¡­¡±


    Fat Monkey was sweating profusely and hoped that the Boss would open the door. He would rather be dead on the inside.


    ¡°Ah, keep changing your equipment then¡­ or maybe you were talking to a girl and forgot to come in,¡± Azure Sea Breeze accused, quickly seeing through Fat Monkey¡¯s lies.


    ¡°Dammit, Breezy you¡¯re a traitor,¡± Fat Monkey said bitterly.


    ¡°You have been pretending all this time to be a proud single and have insulted him in all sorts of ways. It would be weird if he didn¡¯t take revenge now,¡± Wandering said coolly.


    ¡°This is a top-level violation. I will deduct 40 points,¡± Lu Li announced, suddenly feeling refreshed.


    ¡°No!¡± Fat Monkey knelt onto the ground as his heart was breaking.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t revenge, I am just doing a public service. I don¡¯t care that I¡¯m single or whether


    you¡¯re single,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, feeling wronged. ¡°Wandering, you idiot, you cast the aura incorrectly!¡±


    Wandering¡¯s Fortified Concentration Aura was meant to assist the healers. The Aura¡¯s resistance to being silenced protected the team from Reverberation when the Grow stacks were becoming too high.


    Unfortunately, Wandering had no chance to swap Auras again as Gruul just one-shot him.


    ¡°Deduct DKP from Wandering! Kill him with the deductions!¡± Fat Monkey and Azure Sea Breeze cried out in unison.

 Chapter 1905 - Dragonspine Trophy

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°¡­¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything about it. It wasn¡¯t that he favoured Wandering, but the fact of the matter was that there wasn¡¯t such a great responsibility on the vice tank.


    This was so that the vice tank had more opportunities to become stronger.


    After adjusting the team composition again, Lu Li made the requirements on everyone even stricter. According to his memory, their current composition was capable of defeating Gruul.


    The first Boss focused on Strength, but the second Boss focused on cooperation.


    High King Maulgar was more than difficult than Gruul in some sense. His four underlings, especially the Mage one, were likely to wipe the other clubs over and over.


    On the contrary, Gruul was less likely to do this. As long as everyone cooperated, didn¡¯t make any mistakes and could output enough damage, they would be able to deal with the Boss.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword and Drizzle Court for acquiring the First Clear on Gruul¡¯s Lair.


    Along with the Reputation and Skill Point gains, the World Announcement left the teams that were still in Magtheridon¡¯s lair or being wiped in Karazhan confused.


    Were Lu Li and the others still playing the same game? What was a Gruul?


    ¡°I have heard about Gruul¡¯s Lair; it is in the Blade¡¯s Edge Mountains. You don¡¯t need a key and can enter it at level 70, but the monsters are too powerful. Our team couldn¡¯t even defeat the smaller monsters.¡±


    ¡°I thought it would take a long time before anyone would fight Gruul. How could they have already gotten the First Clear?¡±


    ¡°I think Ruling Sword is cheating; this has to be a bug.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s protest!¡±


    ¡°Please raise your hand if you think Ruling Sword is exploiting a bug.¡±


    ¡°Lu Li, will you sell your strategy? I am willing to pay high prices!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re already fighting Gruul¡­ but even Karazhan is too hard¡­¡±


    As a result, many parties left the Karazhan and Magtheridon dungeons and entered Gruul¡¯s lair, a place where they would be doomed and reduced to tears.


    They started by analyzing High King Maulgar for bugs. It wasn¡¯t until a few days later when a Hunter accidentally cast Misdirection that there was a surge in popularity of players fighting Gruul. For the teams that were well-equipped, even if they managed to defeat King Maulgar, Gruul would quickly put them in their place.


    There were two Skill Points, and the lucky ones who received them were very excited.


    Then there was a gem, which Lu Li gave to Water Fairy. He didn¡¯t need a gem like this for his weapons for the time being.


    An Enhanced Skill Book was dropped, and it was a Warlock Skill. Lu Li gave this to Kitty Likes Meat.


    For payment, she not only forfeited a great amount of DKP, but also her bidding rights for the next equipment. If she needed equipment for the competition, she could borrow it from someone.


    In general, this was still more worthwhile for her. No matter how good the equipment was, it would eventually be replaced. However, Skill Points and Skills would never be replaced.


    Perfect Champion¡¯s Gauntlets!


    This was a damage output Dark Gold Plate Armor. Moonlight single-mindedly threw away everything he had to win it. There weren¡¯t many people contesting it and he wouldn¡¯t have much DKP afterwards for new equipment anyway.


    Cowl of Nature¡¯s Breath!


    This was Dark Gold equipment for Druids, but Hachi Chan refused to pay any points for it. As such, they had no choice but to hold onto it for Innocent Child.


    As a professional player, Innocent Child was probably one of the few that was constantly receiving Hachi Chan¡¯s leftovers. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t mind and actually enjoyed the surprises.


    Leggings of a Fallen Hero; this was T4 equipment for Hunters.


    Sesame Rice Ball paid a high price to take this equipment. He was a person who had followed Lu Li for a long time and Lu Li had said that he wouldn¡¯t treat him badly. However, the others in the professional league all thought that he was constantly being treated poorly. If Kitty Likes Meat didn¡¯t have the status of a professional player, there was no way she would have gotten the Enhanced Skill Book over Sesame Rice Ball.


    Even if Sesame Rice Ball took any equipment, Kitty Likes Meat was likely to borrow it when going into competitions.


    Perhaps this was the reason why Sesame Rice Ball had recently been practicing PVPs. There was a lot of dissatisfaction in his heart, and perhaps he would have an opportunity in the future to be on stage.


    In some other smaller competitions, Sesame Rice Ball, Azure Sea Breeze, Lonesome Flower, Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream joined with their Instance Dungeon equipment and managed to earn some decent rankings.


    Leggings of the Fallen Defender ¨C this was T4 equipment for Warrior, Priests and Druids.


    This equipment was eventually given to March Rain. Moonlight had already spent his last points.


    Moonlight belonged to the type of PVP player that was particularly keen on fighting in the Wild. The difference between him and Her Tears was that he didn¡¯t like to fight a group of players with a group of his own. He liked to face a group of players alone. He was constantly striving to defeat his opponents efficiently like a Jedi and would often challenge three to five players at a time.


    This type of behaviour was insane, and the price was paid in equipment.


    Fortunately, the game prevented players from dropping equipment in competitions, but he couldn¡¯t use his best set of equipment to do this. As such, he was always making new sets of equipment, regardless of the quality.


    Moonlight was sometimes like a Wild Boss as he dropped equipment all the time.


    Dragonspine Trophy!


    This was an Epic badge and looked like an accessory that boosted melee attributes.


    There were not many melee players in today¡¯s team. After all, there was only Moonlight, Mu Qiu, Water Fairy, Lu Li and Sakura Memories. In addition to these, there were two Hunters.


    ¡°Start bidding.¡±


    Lu Li wanted it, but he didn¡¯t show it. After all, he had to maintain a certain amount of composure before his girlfriend.


    All the melee players were suddenly interested and bid without hesitation. Even Moonlight, with his few points, symbolically made a bid as well.


    Lu Li eventually took the equipment at a high price of 180 points. His current total score was only 260 points, so this left him at 80 points. If the commander didn¡¯t receive a DKP bonus, he would basically be out of points.


    ¡°Ah, if I knew you wanted it, then I wouldn¡¯t have bid,¡± Water Fairy apologized.


    Lu Li was the last person to bid for it. Bearded Zaza lasted for a long time as he reached 150 points. His main opponents were Mu Qiu, Water Fairy and Remnant Dream, who all bid more than 100 points.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay; this equipment is worth it,¡± Lu Li said.


    Before the strategy for the Black Temple was discovered, one of the Thief¡¯s best badges was probably Dragonspine.


    Dragonspine Trophy (Epic): Strength +180, Agility +120, Critical Hit +36, Slots 2, Special Effect 1: Skill Point + 1 ¨C you can level up one of your skills. Special Effect 2: After equipping this item, your melee and ranged attacks have a chance to be affected by Haste by 325 points for 10 seconds. Level Requirement: Level 70. Durability 350/350.


    Haste was a new attribute that was available after level 70. In fact, it had existed before and it was called Cooldown, but the calculation for this was different.


    For Thieves, the Haste cap was 330, so gaining anything more than that didn¡¯t do anything.


    As long as this equipment was triggered, one could make use of almost the maximum Haste effect. All skills would cooldown much faster and there was a certain regeneration bonus as well. Since more skills could be cast in a shorter window of time, damage output would naturally increase.


    With Lu Li¡¯s reputation, if he had said in advance that he wanted this equipment, then he would have received it for a very low price.


    However, he couldn¡¯t do that. This really was an exquisite item and taking it like that was bound to cause offence. Since he was paying 180 points, which was much higher than the original price of 30 points, everyone would be convinced that he had paid a fair price.


    The quest item was taken by Hachi Chan and was used to open the Instance Dungeon gate of the Serpentshrine Cavern.


    Now that the equipment had been divided, everyone picked up their Badge of Timewalking Justice, which they could use to exchange for equipment at Shattrath City. Then, they got together to see what First Clear rewards they had received.

 Chapter 1906 - Dual Blader

    In terms of equipment, Remnant Dream received the best reward. She received a new Dragonspine Trophy.


    Lu Li remembered that he spent his hard-earned 180 Guild Points that he had saved up for so long. These 180 Guild Points yielded him only one item. On the other hand, Remnant Dream didn¡¯t even need to waste a single point to have such a powerful item dropped at her feet.


    However, if he could choose a reward, then he would have surely chosen a skill point.


    Unfortunately, he was not the person who received the skill point ¨C it was Fat Monkey. He didn¡¯t receive an item, yet 40 Guild Points were taken from him. He was feeling quite down, but this boosted his mood right back up.


    Lu Li himself received an item.


    Gronn-Stitched Girdle.


    Gronn-Stitched Girdle (Epic): Armor: 200. Agility +180. Strength +80. Critical +40. Slot: 1. Special Effect 1: Escape. Teleports user to 15 metres within line of vision. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Cooldown is not shared with other similar items. Special Effect 2: Growth. Active skill. Increases attack by 15% every 30 seconds. Body size increased by 10%. Effect stacks 3 times. Loses effect after leaving battle. Cooldown: 16 minutes. Level Requirement: 70. Durability: 420/420.


    This was quite a decent item; it added 40% Critical Strike.


    At level 70, Thieves should have the full 260 Critical Strike and 330 Haste.


    Special Effect 1 was a mobility-based skill. With the level 60 items now made redundant, this effect came as a surprise. Special Effect 2 was a budget version of Gruul¡¯s skill. The description of the skill sounded rather impressive, but realistically, it wasn¡¯t that useful.


    After using the skill, the user¡¯s attack would be increased by 15% every 30 seconds up to three times. In total, it added 45% attack. This effect would continue as long as the player was in battle. Compared to most special effects that increased attack, this was quite powerful.


    However, one thing needed to be considered ¨C adding each stack took 30 seconds. If there were three stacks, this would take 90 seconds.


    When Thieves fought with other players, the battle was usually over within 20 to 30 seconds. If the battle was prolonged past the initial 20 to 30 seconds, it would be a difficult fight. If a Thief was unable to finish the battle within 30 seconds, then he would most likely lose. This was the case for most players.


    If they were unable to kill within 30 seconds, then they would be killed.


    90 seconds was too long to stack the effects to maximum capacity. Nevertheless, this item would suit some Paladins and Berserkers, since they would often fight in long and tiring battles.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have a better belt at the time, so he was using it as a placeholder.


    Surprisingly, no one left immediately after completion. If people needed Stones or received some items that they didn¡¯t really want, they would ask other players to trade.


    Lu Li looked at others¡¯ First Clear rewards and saw something that caught his eye.


    Sword of the Gronn Lords (Epic): Damage: 120 -164. Strength +220. Constitution +150. Accuracy +65. Slots: 2. Special Effect 1: Damage received is reduced by 50% after successful blocking. Special Effect 2: When the wearer¡¯s HP is lower than 20%, the wearer is able to convert their remaining HP into a shield that is 300-times their Max HP. This shield lasts for 10 seconds. After the shield expires, the wearer¡¯s HP will fall to zero. Level Requirement: 70. Durability: 440/440.


    This was undoubtably a Tank¡¯s single-handed sword.


    This weapon added Strength and Constitution. Some people thought that Tanks didn¡¯t need Strength, but even Tanks needed Strength to increase their damage. If they didn¡¯t have damage, the how would they be able to gain the aggro? However, taking aggro was not the only use of a Tank.


    Accuracy was also a key stat for Tanks. After all, the squad would be wiped if a skill missed.


    The first Special Effect was a defensive effect. This was commonly seen on many items, even some average Gold items. However, those only mitigated around 10 to 20%. Anything above 30% was considered to be exquisite.


    Lu Li looked at this item and thought that he could use it as well. After all, Strength was also beneficial to Thieves. The extra 150 Constitution would also yield more than 1000 HP, which would make the wearer much more durable.


    Thieves and Warriors also had their own Block, which would mitigate the damage received. The difference between this Block and a shield-bearer¡¯s Block was that the effects of using a weapon to block were incomparable to the effects of using a shield.


    If blocking was successful and mitigated 50% damage, then the benefits of blocking as a Thief or Warrior would far surpass that of a Tank. After all, a successful block from a Tank would have already mitigated the damage by quite a lot, so adding another 50% wasn¡¯t a major difference.


    For example, if a monster dealt 1000 damage and a block from a shield mitigated 700 damage, this meant that the final damage received would be 300. 50% extra mitigation would decrease this to 150 damage, which wasn¡¯t a huge difference.


    A Thief¡¯s block would be able to mitigate 300 to 400 damage, which meant that the final damage received would still be around 600. After taking 50% away, that would leave 300 damage left.


    The difference here was far more significant.


    Of course, this was only a rough estimate.


    Azure Sea Breeze didn¡¯t say a word and gave the sword to Lu Li. He didn¡¯t even talk about money.


    Lu Li then swapped out the two level 70 Dark Gold daggers for two Epic single-handed swords.


    The Sword of the Gronn Lords was in his main hand. Although the attack speed was slower, the skill damage would be much higher. The blade that he received from Kazrahan, Spiteblade, was in his second-hand.


    Spiteblade (Epic): Damage 128-164. Agility +180. Strength +120. Critical Chance +8%. Critical Damage +33%. Slots: 2. Special Effect 1: After successfully landing a Critical Strike, there is a chance for an extra attack to occur. Special Effect 2: Chance to Curse target when attacking. Inflicts weakness onto target. Effect stacks three times. Level Requirement: 60. Durability 340/340.


    One sword improved his survivability while the other improved his DPS. This was a perfect pairing.


    In the current times, everyone had just gotten to level 70. Therefore, Lu Li having two Epic weapons in his hands was the subject of many envious players.


    Netherblade Facemask (Fine Epic): Armor +210. Agility +240. Strength +160. Dodge +65. Slots: 2. Special Effect 1: Decreases duration of crowd control skills by 10%. Special Effect 2: Looming Darkness. Instant cast. After usage, effects of Stealth are improved. The wearer becomes more difficult to be Detected. Duration: 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes. Level Requirement: 70. Durability 420/420.


    This T4 Hat only had two Special Effects. If it was exquisite, then it would have a chance at having three Special Effects. If it was perfect, then it would definitely have three.


    Netherblade Gloves (Exquisite Epic): Armor +250. Agility +260. Strength +180. Critical Strike +75. Slots: 2. Special Effect 1: Backstab level +1. Special Effect 2: Bloody Slash. Upon casting, wearer loses 20% HP and deals 40% of the target¡¯s Max HP. If the target does not have enough HP to be taken away, then the target will be left with 1% HP. Cooldown: 20 minutes. Special Effect 3: Unarmed. Steals the target¡¯s weapon, who is unable to use the weapon¡¯s effects or attack. The wearer proceeds to use the weapon as a shield and attacks the target once with the weapon. Cooldown: 2 hours. Equipment level requirement: 70. Durability 420/420.


    This was an exquisite Epic item that had three Special Effects. Not everyone who had this set item had the same effects. Realistically speaking, most set items didn¡¯t have this effect either.

 Chapter 1907 - Battle for Reputation

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    In more recent times, it was the equipment crafters that were the most busy. Although Ruling Sword had many people who specialised in this field and also had a stable relationship with the Life Alliance, some high-tier equipment still required the skills of particular people.


    For example, Tailoring was March Rain¡¯s field of expertise and Forging was Lu Li¡¯s. Special tools were not easily obtained.


    The aim of making all of these equips was to prepare for battle against other mega-clubs.


    This was the final battle in the Top 100. Ruling Sword was met with Blood Red War Flag, a powerful opponent. After the Gangnam Royals slipped down in the rankings, Blood Red War Flag proceeded to surpass them and became a powerhouse club.


    As for Ruling Sword, although they had managed to emerge as champions twice, their rank did not reflect this. This was because there were many factors that were taken into account when considering the rankings.


    Blood Red War Flag had many First Clear records for Instance Dungeons. Although they couldn¡¯t compare with Ruling Sword, they weren¡¯t very far behind Glory Capital. As for Wild Bosses, they couldn¡¯t compare with the numbers of Glory Capital, but the quality of the Bosses that they had killed were rather decent as well.


    Only Blood Red War Flag was brave enough to directly compete with Glory Capital for Wild Bosses.


    Other clubs like Seventh Heaven and Wings of Dawn would avoid fighting Glory Capital alone, unless they were in a multi-club alliance. As for Ruling Sword, Lu Li didn¡¯t dare to confront Glory Capital either. One clash would result in at least a 3-month negative regression for the club.


    Blood Red War Flag had a reputation of being strict, impartial and fearless.


    During Wild Boss battles, their players were like military soldiers. They were completely obedient to orders from the commander. Lu Li dreamt of having teammates like this. However, this was something that wouldn¡¯t be possible in a game. Everyone was here to play the game and there was no hierarchy or superiority. Only fair treatment was able to keep the club going.


    This time, the arrangement of these two clubs meeting together in the Top 100 was like the last battle.


    ¡°This is the information on their new members.¡±


    Wandering had done some investigation into Blood Red War Flag prior to the battle, so he took out some papers and handed them to everyone.


    Lu Li looked over the information and did not feel the slightest bit of panic.


    He had known these people from his previous life. They had appeared during the second season of the Professional League. There was a particularly skilled player whose potential was not any less than Fat Monkey¡¯s . However, Lu Li never tried to reach out to him and recruit him to Ruling Sword.


    This wasn¡¯t a case of price, but rather, it was a tricky situation.


    This player was a Thief called Biting Youth. He would have been the most popular up and coming Thief superstar if it wasn¡¯t for Lu Li. He was a player who won against Wood Fearing and Floral Paralysis.


    It was rumoured that his annual salary was $300,000. This was even lower than what Lu Li gave those newbies at Judgment Spear!


    This wasn¡¯t just a low price ¨C it was a bargain.


    As for why Ruling Sword couldn¡¯t recruit him, it was because he only wanted to join Blood Red War Flag. His dedication to joining Blood Red War Flag was so strong that he would complete free labour for them, instead of accepting any amount of money from other clubs.


    This was extremely rare in the gaming industry.


    Biting Youth didn¡¯t have any mental problems. He was an ex-military soldier.


    He had retired from the military in August. Before entering the military, he was known as a young prodigy who had some reputation. He was highly scouted by many mega-clubs, who waited for him to become an adult to snag him for themselves. In the end, everyone failed as he became a soldier.


    After retiring, he immediately announced that he was joining Blood Red War Flag.


    He was destined to become one of Blood Red War Flag¡¯s members. No one was able to change that, especially someone of his calibre.


    Drunken Agar and Poison Stream were all in similar situations. Therefore, Blood Red War Flag had three new top players join their ranks. This was the main discussion point in the Ruling Sword camp. They gathered together and analysed each player¡¯s tendencies and abilities in detail. Then, they listed out what they needed to watch out for from these players.


    Ruling Sword didn¡¯t need more points to advance into the next round, but this match was fought for the sake of reputation. If they lost, it wouldn¡¯t look too good.


    Blood Red War Flag didn¡¯t need it either, but they didn¡¯t mind using this battle to debut their three new players. They wanted the world to know these three new recruits.


    Jade Flower Lover had already replaced Dust Dragon as Blood Red War Flag¡¯s manager. Dust Dragon was only in charge of managing the club¡¯s activities.


    If Dust Dragon was a soldier, then Jade Flower Lover would be a combination of a businessman and a soldier. He was born into a business family and studied finance in university, but instead of entering this field, he went and worked as a soldier for many years. After returning from military service, he immersed himself into the world of gaming and joined Blood Red War Flag. He progressed to where he was now one step at a time.


    He had the toughness of a soldier and the cunningness of a businessman.


    It was said that Blood Red War Flag¡¯s founder was also someone who was born into a business family and became a soldier afterwards. Then, once he had built up enough power, he established the guild. It was then that Blood Red War Flag grew and grew to become a fearsome power.


    Everyone didn¡¯t have much information on these three new players, although they had fought a few times in the public eye.


    ¡°Blood Red War Flag¡¯s Biting Youth is challenging you. Are you going to accept the challenge?¡± Cat Dad asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s your suggestion?¡± Lu Li wanted a second opinion. He didn¡¯t want to accept this challenge because he didn¡¯t need to accept it to grow his reputation anymore. Winning wouldn¡¯t bring him any benefit, and if he lost, then he would become Biting Youth¡¯s stepping stone.


    ¡°My suggestion is for you to accept it. It doesn¡¯t look good on your part if you avoid his challenge. Are you confident?¡± Cat Dad asked.


    No one knew about the properties of the Supreme Ring.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lose,¡± Lu Li answered as he nodded his head.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s accept it. We¡¯ll count it as giving Blood Red War Flag a favour. If he can¡¯t defeat you, then that¡¯s their problem,¡± Cat Dad laughed, then continued, ¡°There¡¯s also this Prison Stream. If he can meet Moonlight on the arena, they would be even more satisfied.¡±


    ¡°What can this favour get us?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t understand Cat Dad¡¯s words.


    ¡°We can just hold onto it for now and use it at a later date. They won¡¯t forget this. Not even Jade Flower Lover. They are too prideful to forget a favour.¡±


    Cat Dad was someone highly experienced with the gaming industry and had decades of know-how in this industry. He was extremely familiar with how these clubs were.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be the first one, then Moonlight second. If they want to meet Moonlight, then they¡¯ll have to get through me,¡± Lu Li decided.


    Realistically, even if Lu Li didn¡¯t accept the challenge, Ruling Sword would also need to send out other people. All of their competitors were well-known players, so any defeat on their part would inflate Blood Red War Flag¡¯s players¡¯ reputations.


    There was another way. Lu Li could accept Biting Youth¡¯s challenge, then shamelessly send out Moonlight as the first fighter.


    There were no Thieves who could face Moonlight in a one-on-one battle.

 Chapter 1908 - Tendencies

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    The first and second seasons of the Professional League had their own fair share of excitement. Anyone with a keen eye could see that the officials were controlling these matches in the background.


    This battle between Ruling Sword and Blood Red War Flag was no exception.


    This was a clash between two mega-clubs; it was destined to be exciting.


    However, this wasn¡¯t the only one. Just a couple of days ago, Glory Capital was matched against Seventh Heaven. Seventh Heaven were a powerhouse guild, so everyone was waiting to see this exciting matchup.


    However, Glory Capital decided to send out their newbies-in-training.


    These newbies were skilled. They were able to gain enough points for Glory Capital to stand at the front of the rankings. However, compared to the proven competitors of Seventh Heaven, there was still a long way to go. Naturally, the match between Seventh Heaven and Glory Capital resulted in a completely one-sided massacre.


    Glory Capital wasn¡¯t ashamed at all. In fact, they thought that this was a favourable outcome. They used this opportunity to show these arrogant newbies what true strength was.


    Instead, Seventh Heaven was in an awkward situation. They had prepared themselves for this supposedly ¡®big¡¯ match and were met with a group of rookies instead. They completely dominated the match, but no one was in awe.


    These rookies were incomparable to the skill of Biting Youth.


    It was preparation time for the match and there was already a huge crowd, awaiting the clash between two of the top guilds in the game. Besides the personal fans of each club, everyone else was just watching for the sake of seeing some action and weren¡¯t supporters of either club.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s fans and the members of other clubs that were affiliated with Ruling Sword were not any different from the normal crowds. They were noisy and rowdy, as if they were in a market.


    On the other hand, Blood Red War Flag¡¯s members were quite intimidating.


    Most of them were young males. All of them were lined up properly and stood with their chests puffed out. They didn¡¯t move a single inch as they looked at their opponents, waiting for the battle to begin.


    Even Blood Red War Flag¡¯s fans had a similar vibe to the players themselves. Some of them even sat like Blood Red War Flag¡¯s members. This was why Blood Red War Flag was known as an ex-military club.


    There were even rumours that there were current military soldiers in the audience.


    Lu Li was speechless. Could current soldiers still play the game?


    They didn¡¯t make the crowd wait for too long. After ten minutes, everyone saw the competitors from both sides appear on the arena.


    Thief!


    Another Thief!


    Although a battle between Thieves was not as exciting as a battle between Berserkers or Mages, this was still a highly anticipated matchup.


    ¡°It¡¯s Biting Youth. He¡¯s probably going to lose,¡± some players murmured.


    Biting Youth was a dark horse in this competition. Naturally, he had garnered a lot of attention. After all, who knew when they would encounter him on the arena? It was best to gain information on him.


    ¡°Losing is pretty much guaranteed. The key part is whether or not he can make some good plays,¡± another player said.


    ¡°Why is it guaranteed?¡±


    ¡°Because that¡¯s Lu Li. Do I need to say more?¡±


    Indeed, that was Lu Li. Alongside with Sorrowless, Lu Li also had slowly become an undefeatable giant in everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Both Thieves looked at each other and entered Stealth simultaneously.


    Biting Youth had exquisite items; they were all Level 70 Epics. Although Blood Red War Flag couldn¡¯t compare with Ruling Sword in terms of First Clears, they were much better at Wild Bosses. Blood Red War Flag¡¯s control of the flow of items within their club was also extremely strict.


    If other people received good items, Lu Li would only borrow these items if he needed them. This was assuming that they would be willing to report the items that they received to the upper echelons of the club. However, not many players did that. After all, people were selfish.


    However, Blood Red War Flag was different. It was said that even a Dark Gold item would be reported.


    If it was something that was more suited to being used by the pro players in the club, then it would be immediately given to the pro players. The players who would give and the players who would receive would obey without question. After all, this was for the glory of the club itself.


    Since Lu Li had the Supreme Ring, he quickly discovered Biting Youth¡¯s position.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t go towards Biting Youth immediately. He planned to play with this fresh meat for a bit. He wanted to use a shameless method to finish this battle and acted as if he didn¡¯t know where Biting Youth was.


    Biting Youth¡¯s heart was pounding. After all, Lu Li was the strongest Thief that he had encountered since entering the game.


    The Thieves that he trained with in Blood Red War Flag were second-rate compared to Lu Li. He was excited to face off against this top-tier Thief, but he didn¡¯t believe that he was guaranteed a loss.


    No matter how strong Lu Li was, he was still a human!


    Not a god!


    Biting Youth quickly realised Lu Li¡¯s position and proceeded to move with extra caution. From what he felt, he thought that he had circled around to Lu Li¡¯s blind spot. He hadn¡¯t realised that he was already caught.


    Cheap Shot. Backstab. Continue. Control.


    If the target managed to escape from his control, which way should he move in?


    From examining Lu Li¡¯s previous battles, he found that Lu Li had no particular tendencies. Lu Li also didn¡¯t care if he looked cool on camera or not.


    After all, Water Fairy was his girlfriend, so it didn¡¯t matter anyway.


    Biting Youth decided to take action when he thought that it was the right time. His daggers silently aimed at Lu Li¡¯s head.


    Scum!


    This was the word that echoed throughout the mind of every Thief who had fought against Lu Li previously. Since they had fought against Lu Li before, they knew how adept Lu Li was at sensing his opponent. Therefore, it was impossible for Lu Li to not know that Biting Youth was right next to him.


    Just before Cheap Shot and Backstab landed on Lu Li, which would give Biting Youth control of the battle, Lu Li suddenly turned around and dodged the dagger.


    Biting Youth was on the verge of meltdown upon missing. However, he couldn¡¯t hesitate. This was because this miss was enough for Lu Li to find him.


    From having the upper hand, he was now disadvantaged. Lu Li used Gouge and immediately stunned him. They proceeded to exchange skills and attacks after this. Since Lu Li managed to gain control of the battle, it was Biting Youth who ended up falling behind.


    Both players re-entered Stealth after suffering damage and waited for their next opportunity.

 Chapter 1909 - Still Too Simple

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°I did ¨C I said Lu Li¡¯s so shameless, not wanting to try out any skills with him. He only cares about himself, I slapped his face and told him to just cut out the nonsense.¡±


    Jade Flower Lover was helpless too.


    ¡°So what¡¯s he doing now?¡± The Untamed asked as he pointed to the two people who were still scheming against each other.


    ¡°All I can say is that he is still a kid. He just can¡¯t imagine how shameless Lu Li actually is,¡± Jade Flower Lover sighed. Even if Biting Youth lost, he wouldn¡¯t feel good. Only through experience would he be able to understand this world.


    In terms of shamelessness, no one was more suitable than Lu Li to be a teacher.


    ¡°This kid¡­you¡¯re planning to take an eye for an eye with him?¡±


    The Untamed was distressed about Biting Youth.


    ¡°He probably thinks what happened just then was an accident. He thinks that his Conceal and Detection is better than Lu Li¡¯s, so he¡¯s learning from Lu Li to cover things up. This kid really isn¡¯t suited to be a Thief,¡± Jade Flower Lover laughed coldly.


    On the contrary, the Untamed was quite positive.


    ¡°Don¡¯t they all come over like this? We have to thank Lu Li.¡±


    Biting Youth had already constructed his script, and, in accordance with it, Lu Li was standing behind him. As soon as Lu Li made a move, he would open up and counterattack. The origin of all his self-confidence was from his understanding that Lu Li¡¯s Conceal and Detection were rather average.


    Lu Li attacked!


    Just like Biting Youth, Lu Li cast a Cheap Shot. His dagger went right into the back of Biting Youth¡¯s head.


    Lu Li was not wielding his Epic Dual Swords because he didn¡¯t think Biting Youth was worth it.


    Reality also confirmed what he deduced. Biting Youth took a small step to the side with confidence, thinking that this was enough to avoid Lu Li¡¯s Cheap Shot. At the same time, his dagger was already ready to give Lu Li a Gouge.


    Lu Li tried very hard not to laugh. He wiggled his wrist, following Biting Youth¡¯s movements. He wasn¡¯t being gentle at all as he followed the back of Biting Youth¡¯s head to stab it down.


    A successful Cheap Shot!


    This successful Cheap Shot also made it clear what Biting Youth¡¯s fate was. His HP was less than Lu Li¡¯s to begin with, let alone the fact that they had already been even in exchanging skills.


    He had been completely deceived from top to bottom!


    Blood Red War Flag wasn¡¯t too dissatisfied about this. Biting Youth¡¯s thinking process was simply too one-dimensional. If he was going to suffer under the viciousness of others in the competitions, then why not start learning now?


    The second one to go up from Blood Red War Flag was the Untamed.


    If Lu Li was finished off, Moonlight would take the stage. Then, their new Berserkers would stand a chance.


    Could Lu Li at half-HP win against the Untamed?


    Especially since most controlling and cleansing skills had already been used, the answer obviously went without saying. The Untamed was a solid celebrity-level league competitor, and was the poster boy for Blood Red War Flag.


    After Lu Li was defeated, the Untamed still had a fair bit of HP left, but he left the competition right away. He actually didn¡¯t want to give any advantage at all to the new Berserkers that were coming up next.


    Prison Stream was said to be a new person, but he was actually older than most rookies. At the very least, he was older than Biting Youth.


    He was a relatively experienced player. Apart from his own strength, he also led a mercenary group that travelled around, helping with people¡¯s problems. This time, he had accepted Blood Red War Flag¡¯s recruitment and became an official competitor for the guild.


    His addition made up for the lack of capable Berserkers in Blood Red War Flag.


    He wasn¡¯t as talented as Biting Youth, but in terms of battle experience and wisdom, he was far ahead. At the very least, Lu Li¡¯s shallow methods wouldn¡¯t have tricked him.


    He had long admired Moonlight, but had never fought him.


    He was filled with enthusiasm and self-confidence fighting against one of the very best Berserkers in the entire game. After the two of them exchanged pleasantries, they immediately clashed.


    This was why many people enjoyed spectating fights between Berserkers. An axe here and a blade there made it all very energetic. It wasn¡¯t like a battle between Thieves, where both parties were trying to be more cunning than the other.


    Just because the two of them were fighting intensely, didn¡¯t mean that they lacked finesse. They Blocked, changed positions and chained different spells. Evidently, Moonlight was a step ahead. His HP decreased slower than his opponent¡¯s.


    Moonlight was someone who could often be found in the Wild, attacking at least five people on his own. It was said that when there weren¡¯t enough people to target, he would turn his head and leave, because that just wasn¡¯t enough of a challenge.


    In the end, it was still Moonlight who claimed victory. All in all, the scores were 3 to 2.


    At this time, however, the scores were completely meaningless, so no one payed attention to them.


    The group battles were like before ¨C Blood Red War Flag simply arranged for three new people to join the two old hands on the stage. The other new player was Drunken Agar, a Warlock, working together with The Untamed and the Priest Dark Heavens.


    It was all well within Lu Li¡¯s expectations.


    Meanwhile, his setup consisted of Moonlight, Mu Qiu, Kitty Likes Meat, Innocent Child, and himself.


    Like before, there were four DPS players and a single healer, but evidently, Lu Li¡¯s players were stronger. Nothing needed to be said for Moonlight and Mu Qiu, and Innocent Child, with his unmatched adaptability, wasn¡¯t easy to deal with either. A Warlock like Kitty could transform into all kinds of beings to keep herself alive, and as for killing Lu Li, the other side probably hadn¡¯t even considered it.


    What were the weaknesses of the new people?


    Not only were they lacking in experience, but what they lacked more was their cooperation. Their teamwork could not be compared with Ruling Sword¡¯s competitive lineup, who had fought together many times before.


    That was why Lu Li¡¯s strategy was to drag it out, analyze their opponent¡¯s flaws and then deliver a fatal strike.


    Evidently, The Untamed already understood this, but he didn¡¯t think it was bad at all. This was a rare opportunity. Where else could he find a mature team to battle together with?


    It was only through both ups and downs that a team could grow quickly.


    Otherwise, if they simply relied on the practice fights against each other, no matter how much their fought, it wouldn¡¯t be much use.


    Lu Li deserved to be called one of the top commanders and strategists in Dawn. It seemed that he would hit the nail on the head when exploiting his opponent¡¯s weaknesses. This sort of targeted fighting was always more common now than in the finals.


    Both sides were fighting very stably. They fought a few rounds to flesh things out at the very beginning, and there weren¡¯t any casualties at all.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t choose for the Priest to be the weak link, since a Priest¡¯s main role was certainly to protect their target. The new competitor Drunken Agar had become their weak link target. Lu Li was waiting for him to consume all his protective skills.


    Blood Red War Flag was similar as well. They didn¡¯t even consider Innocent Child at all. Their weak link


    target was Moonlight.


    Kitty Likes Meat was a famous player; there was no secret as to who her dad was. The daughter that Cat¡¯s Dad taught naturally would make her top of her class. You couldn¡¯t hope that he had made any mistakes.


    That was why Moonlight had become the first target.

 Chapter 1910 - Nether Drakes

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Moonlight was a Berserker. The less HP he had, the more powerful his attacks would be. He faced one-on-five battles very often, and it was when he was close to dying that he would one-shot his opponents.


    When it came to Berserker fights, your own HP couldn¡¯t be full, and neither could your opponent¡¯s.


    However, it couldn¡¯t be too low either, for fear of burst damage. In league matches, this was even more dangerous, as none of their opponents would be unskilled.


    Moonlight had screwed up quite a few times before, even having a video compilation of him made by some busybody. After those who were killed by Moonlight gloomily returned home, they would immediately search for these compilations online. Their originally gloomy feelings were refreshed in an instant. In quite a few ways, you could say Moonlight was extremely popular online


    Blood Red War Flag¡¯s people were waiting for Moonlight to screw up again.


    It was a shame that they still had some misunderstandings about him. Moonlight and Fat Monkey weren¡¯t the same. Fat Monkey was often inattentive, but Moonlight would always be very clear about the difference between competitions and playing in the Wild.


    ¡°Light, chill out. Give them a bit of a chance, but don¡¯t actually die.¡±


    Lu Li had also discovered their opponent¡¯s strategy.


    ¡°I can¡¯t act,¡± Moonlight said, speechless.


    If Sesame Rice Ball was filled with white sesame, then Lu Li¡¯s heart would definitely be filled with black sesame. They could clearly rely on their power to achieve their goal, but he wanted to trap them, and after trapping them, he wouldn¡¯t feel any remorse.


    ¡°No problem, just act a little wild when you fight. Child, make sure to protect him. Everyone else, get ready to look for a chance. At most, Drunken Agar has two more chances ¨C force out his skills,¡± Lu Li said.


    The judgement that he had two more chances at most was calculated by Kitty Likes Meat. It was unlikely that Drunken Agar was a better player than her.


    When compared with Biting Youth and Prison Stream, Drunken Agar was the one who was truly an amateur. He was born into Blood Red War Flag¡¯s training system. Apparently, when he was an army boy completing his service, he would use his free time to participate in the training. He had simply already mastered the techniques to pass as a competitor.


    What he lacked was fighting experience. If it weren¡¯t for his relatively stable mentality, he might already have been knocked out now.


    Despite this, he did make quite a few minor mistakes. They weren¡¯t fatal, so he didn¡¯t agonize over them. But who would have thought that Lu Li had already made note of them? He only had to wait until these mistakes accumulated to a certain point before that fatal time came.


    They almost didn¡¯t need to communicate. When Moonlight was in a group fight, a few members from Ruling Sword went right over and made the final fatal attack on Drunken Agar.


    Drunken Agar also knew that he wouldn¡¯t last long himself, but he felt that he couldn¡¯t drag it on and tire his team. They had spent so much effort on finding out Moonlight¡¯s weakness and finally had a chance to exploit it, so he just kept going at it.


    The Untamed had already realized that something wasn¡¯t right. It was a shame that it was all too late.


    Before, he was still saying that Biting Youth had walked right into Lu Li¡¯s trap. Now that he was on the stage himself, it turned out he had followed in Biting Youth¡¯s misguided footsteps.


    Drunken Agar was knocked out, but his teammates were still fighting, even more invested in the battle than before.


    The War Flag doesn¡¯t fall! Long live Blood Red!


    This was originally a group of rock-solid players that would never admit defeat. Even someone like Lu Li was still full of respect for this group of people.


    No one would choose to throw the game, even if Ruling Sword didn¡¯t mind losing a round.


    Throwing a game would be the most humiliating thing. Since they already finished off one of them, it was most fitting to finish them all off. After all, the most important thing for a family was to be together.


    In the end, Blood Red War Flag still lost this group competition, but they did successfully finish off Moonlight and Kitty Likes Meat.


    It wasn¡¯t that bad of a loss.


    Besides, there were all sorts of amazing things that happened in this competition. All the spectators got their money¡¯s worth. Blood Red War Flag were enthusiastic as always, and the few amateurs didn¡¯t disappoint. The only one who didn¡¯t fit in was Lu Li, who was really just too shameless.


    ¡°Man, I still feel like Lu Li was the villain today.¡±


    Fat Monkey didn¡¯t compete today, so along with Azure Sea Breeze, they were just casually looking on. They didn¡¯t sit in the VIP seats that the System had prepared for them, but had bought tickets and were sitting amongst the crowd.


    There were many different forms of bluffing your way around. There was a special kind of feeling about being famous but just among the crowd.


    ¡°Exactly, he¡¯s a villain! I hope the others mess him up when he leaves,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said vaguely while he gnawed on pig trotters.


    The food in the game was delicious. It tasted just like food in real life, but even better, and no matter how much you ate, you wouldn¡¯t get fat.


    A certain number of players in the virtual game didn¡¯t do anything all day and just ate. They played the game just to eat. In real life, their tables were filled to the brim like some sort of royal banquet worth millions, but they still had to consider the limitations of nature. In the game, they only needed to spend a few thousand dollars and they could experience even better tasting food.


    The two of them were sitting in the middle of the crowd and were able to listen the audience¡¯s criticisms of Lu Li.


    Cat¡¯s Dad had also brought it up with Lu Li before, but Lu Li didn¡¯t care.


    Lu Li never had many fans. The main reason was because he was too shameless. Even if everyone liked him, it wasn¡¯t that nice to say it out loud.


    Of course, many more people liked Lu Li¡¯s partner.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind how many people liked his girl.


    Right now, he was just farming with her for new mounts.


    Lu Li personally didn¡¯t care about how many mounts he had, but Water Fairy wasn¡¯t the same. Recently, she had been completely stuck into collecting mounts. Collecting wasn¡¯t quite the right word. At the very least, she wasn¡¯t spending money to buy them. For the female tycoon, this would probably be the easiest method.


    She enjoyed the process of finding mounts, only occasionally complaining that the farming was complicated, or that the drop rate was miserable.


    Today, they were aiming for the Nether Drake mount.


    At the end of the second Orc War, the Black Dragon had travelled through The Dark portal and come to Draenor. He thought that this world was a relatively safe place for his offspring, and even left some black dragon eggs here secretly.


    Right after that, Ner¡¯zhul opened up many portals with any consideration at all. The pressure of his powerful magic quickly shredded the entire world of Draenor into shards. The energy produced by this disaster had effects on Deathwing¡¯s eggs. And so, they were hatched to be half-material, half-spiritual Nether Drakes. They had the power to shuttle back and forth between the material world and the spirit world.


    Having lost the care of Deathwing, the Nether Drakes could only find their own way in the shattered Outland ruins.

 Chapter 1911 - Through His Stomach

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    A lot of flying mounts had already come out now, but most of them were factional flying mounts. After reaching a certain amount of reputation and learning how to ride, they could spend a huge sum of gold and purchase one.


    Aside from reputation, to learn to ride and obtain the mount would cost at least over 1000 gold.


    This sort of expenditure also successfully stopped the worth of gold from dropping. On the black market, the trading price was at more than 20. For a game that had already been released for more than 2 years, this was a favorable result.


    With a flying mount, players could soar at the horizons, fly through the fiery-red clouds of Hellfire Peninsula, or get a bird¡¯s-eye view of those waves of green of the Nagrand grassland.


    Players had complete control over the flying mount, able to explore every nook and cranny of the Outland.


    Actually, within the shards of the Outland, there was an area which was floating around in thin air. Because of this, only adventurers who were riding on flying mounts could get there.


    Dawn purposely put a treasure chest here on this unassuming location to encourage players to come explore.


    Most of these treasure chests didn¡¯t need Unlock skills. Anyone could open them, and inside, there was gold, equipment and materials as well. Although it wasn¡¯t worth all that much, it was another benefit in addition to enjoying the scenery.


    Players could finish off the Netherwing quest and come to get EXP and money. At the same time, they could also increase their Netherwing Reputation and obtain the Nether Dragon mount.


    This sort of epic flying mount was pretty damn awesome!


    As soon as your Netherwing Reputation reached Worshiped, when you completed a series of tasks, you would be rewarded with the Nether Drake mount for free.


    If they wanted to get Nether Drakes, players first needed to chat with the NPC Mordenai, who was in the Moon Shadow Valley of the Nether plain. As long as they completed the series of quests that he provided, players would reach neutral Reputation with the Netherwing.


    Moon Shadow Valley was the stomping ground of wild Orcs and Demons. Wild Orcs were nothing to be scared of, but those demons had been fighting against the Wildhammer Stronghold and Shadow Moon village with no end in sight.


    Fortunately, those townsfolk were relatively strong, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to protect their places of rest.


    One of these places was the Wildhammer Stronghold, featured in one of five famous hero statues of Stormwind City¡¯s Valley of Heroes. It was an Alliance stronghold founded by the group led by the Dwarf hero Kurdran Wildhammer. It was also the only capital city of the alliance in this precarious Moon Shadow Valley. Apart from being a center of military strategy, there was another reason it was important, especially for adventurers ¨C it was a place where you could buy riding skills and high-level flying mounts!


    Mordenai looked like a Blood Elf from his appearances. He had a head of blond hair and was ridiculously handsome.


    Of course, he was still no Wandering. After all, NPCs were NPCs. No matter how intelligent they could be, they had to comply with pre-programmed things to exist.


    Even a pretty face would still look quite stiff and unanimated.


    Since the first MMORPG ¡®New World¡¯ came out, games didn¡¯t construct NPCs to be overly intelligent. One reason was the problem of cost, and other was that these intelligent NPCs would actually start thinking about life, which terrified humans.


    Dawn¡¯s intelligence was done well. It was just that the core of the intelligence was given to just a few NPCs. Mordenai, this quest issuer, could just be considered a low-intelligence NPC.


    Netherwing reputation began at Aggravated, and players could only complete ordinary quests to get to Neutral. Only right after that could they earn Reputation by different methods. They could complete normal, Netherwing-related quests to gain Reputation, all the way until Worshiped.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s a Night Elf couple. What are you doing coming on my turf?¡±


    Mordenai¡¯s database was evidently enough for him to complete a simple conversation, and his tone wasn¡¯t that friendly either. One reason was because of the rough relationship between Night Elves and Blood Elves, and the other was because Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s Reputation were mediocre.


    ¡°We are adventurers, hoping to find something to do and earn a bit to make our way home,¡± Lu Li lied openly.


    But how would Mordenai believe this? After some deep thought, he said, ¡°See those drakes? They are starving but they lack skills to hunt effectively. Get them some meat. I think that¡¯s the most suitable job for you.¡±


    ¡°Ok, Mr. Mordenai. I guarantee we¡¯ll be done with this task very soon,¡± Lu Li immediately agreed.


    The quest wasn¡¯t hard to activate. They just had to do things according to what he said. There were a lot of monster near Dragonmaw Stronghold that dropped pieces of meat and innards. After fighting for a bit, Lu Li and Water Fairy had collected a backpack full.


    ¡°It looks like these meat pieces can be synthesized,¡± Water Fairy realized.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s combine them into big pieces. It¡¯ll probably increase our reputation a bit.¡±


    Lu Li took a piece of fresh, red meat, weighed it in his hand and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we roast a piece and try it? I¡¯ve never tried your workmanship before.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so evil! This stuff is from monsters,¡± Water Fairy said with disgust.


    ¡°It¡¯s just something exotic. If you don¡¯t want to eat it then don¡¯t eat it. I heard it doesn¡¯t taste that bad at all.¡±


    Lu Li felt it was quite a shame that this girl of his wouldn¡¯t actively go and make something for him to eat. Didn¡¯t they say that the way to a man¡¯s heart was through his stomach?


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t know what Lu Li was thinking about, otherwise, she definitely would have given him a Ghostclaw. Enough about stomachs ¨C she would let her heart be clawed out.


    After synthesizing eight large pieces of meat, they went to feed the dragon babies. They just had to put the meat on the ground and the dragons would come by themselves. Water Fairy was relatively interested in this, placing down a chunk of meat with great enthusiasm. She then kept her eyes on those drakes doing their dance in the sky, waiting for them to fly down to eat.


    However, the little dragons only circled around in the sky honking and not coming down.


    ¡°Go back a few steps. These dragons haven¡¯t grown up yet, so they¡¯re even scared of people,¡± Lu Li reminded.


    ¡°I just wanted to pat them when they came down,¡± Water Fairy mumbled to herself.


    ¡°You can when they eat. Actually, Nether Dragons don¡¯t really feel like much.¡±


    Dragons as creatures weren¡¯t like cats and dogs, which were furry and cuddly. Dragons had rough skin, and the Nether ones gave off a kind of cold feeling.


    Water Fairy retreated a few steps. Finally, she saw a small dragon come down somewhat cautiously, stretching out an evil little claw.


    And so in this way, they fed the drakes a few times. Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s reputation had finally reached Neutral, even slowly crossing into friendly. This allowed them to continue the quests of the next stage.

 Chapter 1912 - Babies

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°Done beautifully, children. You really are a caring couple. Your future baby will definitely be cute.¡± Mordenai was extremely pleased with the two players¡¯ work. It was especially because of their interaction when they were feeding the dragons that he said this.


    ¡°Ba¡­by¡­¡± Lu Li and Water Fairy were dumbstruck, as they looked at each other not knowing what to do or say.


    That old Lu Li began to get feverish. Although he was already at this stage of life, he had never thought about this question. Could it be that this was that sort of thing that those ancient people chastised? As for Water Fairy, by now, her face was already blushing. Who would¡¯ve said that they wanted to have her baby?


    What a frightening topic!


    ¡°Then¡­we won¡¯t talk about this for now. What do we have to next?


    Lu Li really didn¡¯t want to keep causing Water Fairy embarrassment, so he quickly changed the topic.


    ¡°Friend, the Nether Dragon¡¯s Palladium Neltharaku is soaring in the heights above. It seems like your love from the dragon children has stirred him up. He is willing to see you now; send him my greetings. I hope you are able to help him with some things. This way, you will gain the friendship of the Nether Dragons,¡± Mordenai said. He was finally finished with his nonsense.


    ¡°In the sky?¡± Water Fairy asked as she raised her head with a face of confusion.


    How could they search for something in the sky?


    ¡°Oh, I forgot to point out that although Neltharaku roams all over the place, the path that he patrols is fixed to the north of Dragonmaw Stronghold. He has a ginormous body ¨C it blocks out the sun. I always tell him it¡¯s because he eats too much. Such a big body really prevents him from flying,¡± Mordenai joked.


    Lu Li had to take a bit of effort before he finally figured out the rough whereabouts Neltharaku.


    He and Water Fairy came to the area near the coordinates of Neltharaku was and summoned a mount ¨C it was the Cupid¡¯s Love flying horse. The two of them rode it, flying into the sky. As for why they didn¡¯t each ride their own one, or why Lu Li didn¡¯t turn into a crow, those were just the thoughts of people who were single.


    ¡°Oh? What do I see? A horse that can fly?¡±


    From the dazzling white light of the flying horse, Neltharaku realised that there were two Night Elves on it.


    ¡°So it¡¯s you. Thank you for all you¡¯ve done for the drakes; I saw all of it.¡±


    ¡°The dragon babies are really cute. We¡¯re happy to do a little something for them,¡± Water Fairy said.


    ¡°Yes, every lifeform is cute,¡± Neltharaku laughed kindly as he lowered his head.


    ¡°I heard that the dragon babies met with some trouble. Perhaps we can lend a hand?¡± Lu Li asked. He had to get the conversation back on topic. Farming mounts was a time-consuming activity, and Lu Li and Water Fairy weren¡¯t really people with free time to spare.


    With the time they spent chatting to the NPC, they could have done something nice between themselves.


    Neltharaku¡¯s story wasn¡¯t new anyway.


    In the second Orc War, Illidan found the once-imprisoned the Red Dragon queen Alexstrastra and sent for the Red Dragon forces of the warring Dragonmaw clan Shaman Zuluhed, bringing them to Shadow Moon Valley to establish Dragonmaw Stronghold.


    In the face of three strong forces, the Nether Dragons had no choice but to surrender, enduring the deployment of the Dragonmaw orcs. Zuluhed grabbed away Neltharaku¡¯s partner Karynaku to repress the bargaining chip of the Nether Dragon¡¯s resistance.


    He had tried many times before to rescue his own mate but failed. Now, Neltharaku could only ask for the help of players.


    ¡°You must be able to rescue your own wife,¡± Water Fairy said.


    At a time like this, girls were emotional. As for the fact that the Nether Dragons had been enslaved, she completely overlooked it.


    ¡°For a while, I also couldn¡¯t think of any way to save my children and partner. Child, make the most of my time. If you can, please go Dragonmaw Stronghold, towards the east of the Nether plain, and kill those Dragonmaw orcs. The turmoil that you will create should be able to impede their plans,¡± Neltharaku finally requested.


    Lu Li nodded to show that it was all no problem.


    ¡°You must be careful ¨C some of the dragons have already had their intelligence corrupted by the Dragonmaw Orcs. Only death is waiting for them. I allow you to end their lives along with all the others,¡± Neltharaku said in an anxious voice.


    It wasn¡¯t that hard a quest. These Fel Orcs and Nether Dragons were roughly five to a group. When players were first levelling up, no one dared to provoke them, but when they reached level 70, as well as being mostly equipped with level 70 Epic equipment, killing them still wasn¡¯t a piece of cake.


    As such, Lu Li and Water Fairy entered right into Dragonmaw Stronghold. There were even more monsters inside.


    ¡°I¡¯ll resist the dragons. You can just deal damage.¡±


    This was how the two Thieves fought monsters. If there were a lot of monsters, they needed someone to aggro them.


    However, this didn¡¯t mean that they all had to be aggroed. The two of them Stealthed towards a group of monsters, with each person Sapping one of them. Then, Lu Li would Cheap Shot one of the easy targets, and three monsters would lock onto him. Water Fairy would Cheap Shot one of them, and so the two of them would each control a monster. There would only be one that could attack Lu Li.


    In fighting against these mixed ordinary and Elite monsters, they both had the power to control them until death.


    ¡°How many monsters do we have to farm in total?¡± Water Fairy asked. Seeing that they had already slain ten Fel Orcs, and Lu Li still hadn¡¯t stopped, she knew that he had a new plan.


    ¡°It¡¯s best to keep going until there¡¯s no more Reputation left,¡± Lu Li said.


    The Nether Drakes were considered the easiest to farm for a mount.


    However, the game couldn¡¯t make it too easy for everyone to get the dragon. The Nether Dragons¡¯ Reputation was extremely hard to farm, so if they had a chance to, they should make the most of it. In Lu Li¡¯s last life, he saw a simple guide related to this..


    It was a shame that when he got the mount, it was unable to be traded freely.


    Moreover, with everyone able to farm Reputation by doing quests, they weren¡¯t worth much when they were sold anyway. It didn¡¯t do anything to help with treating his sister¡¯s illness.


    There were a lot of drakes in Dragonmaw Stronghold. Even Lu Li and Water Fairy didn¡¯t find it easy to farm them.


    However, there wasn¡¯t a lot of pressure in farming monsters. Nearby, there were a few small teams farming monsters to level up.


    No one was competing with Lu Li and Water Fairy for these few waves of monsters. The rate at which they were newly spawned was just right for them to farm.


    In the middle of this, Lu Li¡¯s observant eyes saw a giant monster which patrolled over. This monster held two Windseeker swords and rode on an iron-armoured Netherwing dragon.


    A Boss?


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t remember what Boss there was in Dragonmaw Stronghold. Since this guy didn¡¯t look like a friendly NPC, then who was it?


    ¡°What do we do?¡± Water Fairy asked as she hastened her attack speed, but they evidently had no way to clear the monsters in front of them before this Boss came over.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. We¡¯ll sound it out first.¡±


    Lu Li actually wasn¡¯t flustered at all. As long as it wasn¡¯t a Wild Boss, it wouldn¡¯t have the power to just kill them in an instant. If it was a rare Quasi-Boss, then they could simply kill it and be finished with it.

 Chapter 1913 - Regretfully Losing One’s Loved

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Very soon, the monster was at their side. After engaging in hand-to-hand combat, they received the basic information of their opponent.


    Ruul the Darkener!


    ¡°This power will destroy your world and obliterate everything!¡±


    With this line spoken after the battle begun, the name of Ruul the Darkener, and the overwhelming Windseekers¡¯ swords, Lu Li finally realised who this guy was.


    He wasn¡¯t as powerful as a Boss, but he was much more powerful than ordinary Elites.


    The reason this Boss had appeared was because someone had attempted The Cipher of Damnation quest, but had failed to kill him. As such, this Boss that had been summoned for the quest had become a patrolling monster in Dragonmaw Stronghold.


    In Lu Li¡¯s last life around this time, the players were already powerful. Defeating Ruul was a piece of cake, so it was very rare for people who weren¡¯t completing the quest to bump into this Boss.


    Apparently, Ruul the Darkener was originally a skillful general under the command of Kael¡¯thas. Ever since Prince Kael¡¯thas joined the forces of Illidan, the Darkener had constantly been dissatisfied. He just didn¡¯t understand why Illidan was worthy of the prince¡¯s allegiance. When the prince revealed the news to Ruul the Darkener that he was going to defect from Illidan and choose to join Kil¡¯jaeden, the Darkener pretended to be very calm, but in fact, he raged with fury in his heart.


    This was because one of Kil¡¯jaeden¡¯s subordinates had killed his parents and turned their skulls into war trophies.


    He gave this information to Illidan Stormrage, and pledged his eternal loyalty to him. And so, Illidan was protected against Kael¡¯thas Sunstrider.


    The Illidari Council, a.k.a. F4, was something that Kael¡¯thas commissioned to monitor Illidan. But in the same way, Illidan used the F4 to monitor Kael¡¯thas.


    Illidan didn¡¯t really say much. He gave Kael¡¯thas something that he could never give Ruul ¨C energy, a type of broken energy that allowed the Darkener to monitor Kael¡¯thas¡¯ each and every move¡­


    To this day, the Darkener and his most favorite mount Karus ¨C the Nether Dragon ¨C wandered around Shadow Moon Valley.


    Ruul the Darkener, who had been summoned out for the quest, was just a mirage. In fact, his real power was at least comparable to Queen Vashj. Moreover, he didn¡¯t have in his hand ¡®Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.¡¯


    Even so, it was enough to make players envy him until their mouths watered.


    ¡°Be careful, the Boss¡¯ attack is really high,¡± Lu Li reminded Water Fairy. He hit the Boss a few times and saw that his HP had already dropped by 3%. He needed to bandage himself first, so he swapped over to Water Fairy to have her resist the monsters.


    If either of them were a Hunter, then things wouldn¡¯t be so troublesome.


    No matter how strong a Thief war, it couldn¡¯t beat a tough-skinned pet Hunter.


    Water Fairy finished off the ordinary monsters then took over with the Boss.


    The two of them took turns to deal with the Boss, constantly depleting his HP.


    The area that Lu Li and Water Fairy were in was right on the path of where Ruul the Defender patrolled. Many players who were training to level up had suffered from Ruul, which was the reason why this plot of empty land was so unpopular.


    They watched with glee as they saw two unsuspecting Thieves step into the territory of Ruul the Darkener.


    However, after the two Thieves and Ruul the Darkener clashed, only then did they realize in surprise that they actually weren¡¯t one-shot.


    What was this? Others would be gone after a couple hits, so how come these two Thieves had a chance of actually defeating this Boss?


    During the battle, Lu Li did his best to guard against those people around them, worrying that they might get too excited and snatch the reward. This happened all the time in Dawn. After all, there was not much to lose, and a lot to gain.


    It was a shame that he was looking at the wrong people. The real enemies were the ones who had gone in through the entrance.


    Lu Li felt a soft body landing on himself. After that, Water Fairy was drowned in a sea of spells, as she fell into his arms and turned into a white light.


    If Lu Li saw a scene like this in a movie, he would think it was funny.


    However, when it happened in front of him, he completely forgot that this was a game. In reality, it wasn¡¯t much of a loss, but his head was empty, and his heart was empty too. It was like losing something precious to him.


    He refocused quickly, casting his Gale Steps to blink over to the other side of the Boss.


    Spells were cast at the Boss, pulling away his aggro.


    When the group surrounded Ruul, Lu Li¡¯s shadow could no longer be seen.


    ¡°What a shame ¨C one of them has been killed. Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s some equipment dropped.¡±


    The person speaking laughed, commanding his subordinates to keep attacking the Ruul. He didn¡¯t see Lu Li, who had disappeared into Stealth.


    Actually, Lu Li was standing next to him. It was just that his expression was quite dumbfounded.


    Lu Li had died in the game before, and the same went for Water Fairy. Moreover, Lu Li had never seen Water Fairy die. After all, the two of them had First Cleared Instance Dungeons one after the other.


    However, Lu Li had never felt the feeling that he had just felt.


    Under this sort of sudden attack, Lu Li had just forgotten for a moment that this was a game. He even thought that Water Fairy had just died in his own arms.


    But what sort of feeling was that to have Water Fairy die in his own arms?


    It was like heartbreak, like dazedness. It couldn¡¯t be expressed clearly, but it was definitely something hard to bear. It was like someone fiercely stabbing a knife into your heart, like having your most valued possession snatched away.


    It was only when someone went to pick up Water Fairy¡¯s stuff that Lu Li fell back into the moment.


    Rage overflowed in his heart. This group of people had to pay!


    The person picking up things suddenly changed in their expression, because they had already encountered an attack, and they hadn¡¯t noticed a Thief get close to them. This left him, who was usually very confident, completely dumbstruck.


    He wasn¡¯t sent out to loot because his fighting skills were subpar, but because he was the best at counterattacking Thieves.


    They were a mercenary team, professionals in looting and plundering.


    The info they had received was that there were two top Thieves in Dragonmaw Stronghold fighting Ruul the Darkener. As soon as they heard that, they knew their opportunity had come. No matter how strong top players were, they would definitely be finished off.


    Unexpectedly, the female Thief shielded the male Thief from their spells, after which he ran off.


    If he ran off, it wouldn¡¯t an issue. There was something wrong in the head with these couples. Perhaps it was something called love that had dazed their brains. The one who survived would eventually run back to court death.

 Chapter 1914 - Kill How Many Times?

    As expected, the Thief emerged when the female Thief¡¯s equipment was being looted.


    This group had cooperated countless times and had waited for this moment. At a time like this, they all needed to concentrate fire and attack the Thief. They could then receive a second piece of equipment. Masters like these often dropped equipment that was worth more than what they could earn in a single Instance Dungeon run.


    Yet, a shocking scene unfolded right before their eyes.


    The person in charge of picking up the equipment didn¡¯t even have any room to fight back before being killed. Not only was the equipment of the female Thief taken from the ground, but so was the newly dropped one.


    Throughout the whole process of this happening, not only did the male Thief have time to kill someone picking up equipment, but also give a cold hard glance towards their direction.


    The head of the Sea Dragon Mercenary Regiment, Tea Smoothie, suddenly realised he had kicked the iron plate.


    That ghost-like Thief disappeared in a flash. He was even more sure of the fact that this was no ordinary master.


    ¡°Friend, this is in fact a misunderstanding. We are willing to pay for your loss,¡± Tea Smoothie said. He could no longer manage to save his face.


    It was dead silence all around, with only the sound of skills striking the body of


    Ruul the Darkener.


    Under this quiet siege of the dozen or so people, it was killed very quickly.


    Nobody replied; it was if those two Thieves didn¡¯t even exist in the first place.


    ¡°Look¡­¡± someone said as they pointed in one direction.


    Everyone¡¯s glances shifted over but found nothing. The spot where the female Thief had just fallen had a tombstone over it, which meant that she was lurking around nearby.


    For the sake of looking nice, Dawn made it so players couldn¡¯t see the corpse after death.


    The appearance of a small tombstone marked the resurrection of a body. It meant that someone had died there once. If one was interested, they could read some humorous epitaphs on it.


    A flash went past. The female Thief was an ordinary player either.


    And what were Lu Li and Water Fairy doing?


    Hugging!


    Water Fairy had just been resurrected and felt herself being held. As hugging wasn¡¯t categorised as an attack movement, the System determined that they were able to maintain Stealth.


    Lu Li thought back to before when Water Fairy fell into his arms and the fear she had. Only a hug could appease his hurt soul. As for this group of people¡­


    With his current position, he had no need to deal with problems like this himself.


    ¡°You done hugging? I¡¯m gonna go take revenge.¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t plan to go bet his life on it, while Water Fairy was eager to take revenge. Lu Li had just remembered that Water Fairy was actually a very vengeful woman. It was her style to block her enemy in their safe area so that they couldn¡¯t come out.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already notified some people. How about let¡¯s wait for a bit?¡±


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want Water Fairy to take risks, even if they were in a game.


    ¡°What are you afraid for? If you¡¯re not gonna go, I¡¯m gonna go first.¡±


    Water Fairy had already broken away from Lu Li and was moving towards the group of people that wanted to leave. Because there were monsters everywhere in Dragonmaw Stronghold, it wasn¡¯t easy for so many people to return to the city, so their plan was to first escape here.


    Water Fairy left first, but the first one to move was Lu Li. He couldn¡¯t let his own woman think of himself as cowardly.


    Hence, a Mage walking on the outskirts suddenly got Sapped.


    Before he could use his skill to release the control, he was attacked and killed.


    Back when Lu Li first entered the game, he relied on his personal skill being above others.


    Now, he had Epic equipment from head to toe. He wasn¡¯t as superior as when he was at level 60, but in the early days of the level 70s, a majority of players were still fighting for level 70 Dark Gold equipment. Even Tea Smoothie and the others in the Sea Dragon Mercenary Regiment who were becoming illegally wealthy through raiding homes still had a mixture Gold and Dark Gold equipment. Only a small minority of people had Epic equipment.


    Just relying on equipment alone, Lu Li could steamroll through them. Moreover, the last thing that Lu Li lacked in was technique.


    Lu Li killed a Mage on his side, prompting the Sea Dragon Mercenary Group to frantically cast their spells to save the situation. At the same time, Water Fairy had also taken the chance to make a move. Her equipment was not lesser, and could even be considered better than Lu Li¡¯s. There was a minor difference in their technique, not that it could be displayed against these people.


    There was no need for any communication. The third target was met with their joint attack after being Cheap-Shot.


    The team leader, Tea Smoothie, had completely given up hope. Now, he had become more and more regretful. Why did he provoke these two Thieves in the first place? He, as a proud mercenary regiment leader, had already apologised in a lowly manner and said that this was all a misunderstanding. Yet, the opposition was still not leaving him alone.


    ¡°Defense formation! Plate Armor players, stand on the outside! Ranged players, standby to attack!¡±


    They had committed many atrocities and had a wealth of battle experience. They didn¡¯t need to be taught how to deal with a master. This type of hedgehog tactic had won them many battles before.


    In fact, Lu Li and Water Fairy didn¡¯t know where to even begin.


    However, Her Tears had already brought people and ran over here as soon as he had received Lu Li¡¯s notification.


    They were originally fighting full steam with Nagrand and Horde players over a Hawk.


    As soon as he heard that there was a battle to be fought, he immediately rushed over.


    Flying Mounts blotted out the sky and covered the sun within a second. Once they arrived at Dragonmaw Stronghold, they nearly scared the dozen people from Sea Dragon Mercenary Regiment to death.


    What was worse followed after. Her Tears had brought people who had crossed paths with the Sea Dragon Mercenary Regiment before and recognised them in an instant. They told Her Tears about these origins of these people. Naturally, Lu Li came to know too.


    ¡°Boss, how many times are we gonna kill them?¡± Her Tears asked in a heroic manner.


    ¡°Kill them until you guys don¡¯t feel like it anymore.¡±


    Lu Li actually felt quite thankful to this group of people in his heart.


    This type of feeling of losing the one you loved happened in an instant. However, he would never forget this for the rest of his life.


    And neither did he ever want to feel it again!

 Chapter 1915 - Strength in Numbers

    The people of Sea Dragon Mercenary Regiment who were surrounded had fallen into a complete meltdown.


    They didn¡¯t even have a chance to adjust tactics to retaliate. The opposition had 100 or so helpers who were fierce as wolves come over.


    The regiment leader, Tea Smoothie, thought they were going to all be killed as group together.


    It wasn¡¯t anything major to be killed altogether once. It would cost them a few dozen equips.


    But for them to kill until they no longer wanted to kill?


    How many times was killing until no longer wanting to kill?


    It all depended from person to person!


    Any normal person had Instance Dungeons to attempt, arena battles to fight, and had to make money for their girlfriend. Having a girlfriend also needed time, so they would lose interest after two or three times at most.


    But this was Her Tears!


    He was one of the most abnormal people and most bored person in all of Dawn. He didn¡¯t need to fight Instance Dungeons, didn¡¯t need arena battles, didn¡¯t need to make money, and didn¡¯t need time for a girlfriend.


    His hobby was to fight, and in a shameless way.


    Moonlight liked to challenge himself, while Her Tears like to give the opportunity to challenge himself to other people. Once, he had taken hundreds of players to chase after one person, and guarded a corpse from morning to night without tiring.


    Her Tears killed until he no longer wanted to.


    Tea Smoothie had now naturally realised who he had messed with ¨C the damn couple!


    One was the leader of Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear, and the other was the head of Drizzle Court and Peerless City. Both were already level 70, so why didn¡¯t they just stay home like good children? Why did they have to come out here and fight monsters?


    What was the repercussion for killing Water Fairy?


    After being destroyed as a team once, Tea Smoothie saw how his 700-man mercenary regiment exponentially grew smaller, as though it had been afflicted by a virus.


    Within a short few minutes, there were only 100 or so people left. It wasn¡¯t that this 100 or so people weren¡¯t afraid of death; it was because they weren¡¯t online and didn¡¯t even know what type of monster that their group had messed with.


    Tea Smoothie had chosen to return to home straight away and stopped at a hotel to go offline.


    He hesitated a bit before he went offline. In the end, he couldn¡¯t bear breaking up the group. The Sea Dragon Mercenary Regiment had existed from the moment the game began. The group had raided countless people and built themselves up bit by bit. They never imagined that they would end up like this now because of messing with a couple.


    Could they withdraw the group in order to keep safe?


    This was impossible. Withdrawing to keep themselves safe wouldn¡¯t work against Her Tears. He led a team that had a clear division of tasks. All the people on the scene were quickly filed and classified.


    Each of these people had a PK value. They could all be found in the reward system.


    Hence, each of the assassination groups rushed to locations dispersed everywhere.


    Her Tears had specifically found someone in the Grey Valley Stronghold¡¯s campgrounds to hang these players¡¯ life status, times, locations and pre-death videos on digital screens.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy didn¡¯t participate in the pursuit. They only followed the soldiers to the scene to tackle the hedgehog formation of the Sea Dragon Mercenary Regiment, and killed Tea Smoothie themselves.


    Then, they went off to mind their own quests.


    Dragonmaw Stronghold had already become Ruling Sword¡¯s territory. There were Stealthed Thieves around here everywhere. Anyone who dared to come were asking for a death wish.


    Of course, there were people watching from the side. Lu Li and Water Fairy were also embarrassed to show PDA.


    These Thieves were busy people too. Other than protecting high-level personnel, they also completed quests of the Nether Drakes.


    After farming enough Reputation, Lu Li and Water Fairy returned in front of Neltharaku. Neltharaku was rather satisfied with the mess they created ¨C how could he not be satisfied? Nearly all of Dragonmaw Stronghold had been destroyed.


    Hence, Lu Li and Water Fairy received another increase in Reputation.


    ¡°Anything else that we need to do?¡±


    ¡°I had once sealed my powers into a Nethervine Crystal, and turned it into an Enchanted Nethervine Crystal. This type of power contained by the Enhanced Nethervine Crystal was enough to release enslaved Nether Drake from the hands of the Dragonmaw Orcs. Head towards Netherwing Ledge and collect Nethervine Crystals. Netherwing Ledge is a small island floating among the southeast side of Moon Shadow Valley. Once you collect enough Nethervine Crystal, then return to me to report the completion of the quest. Friends, be careful of the Dragonmaw Orcs on the island.¡±


    Netherwing Ledge was a floating island and required a flying mount to get there. It held a large quantity of medicinal herbs. Many players rode flying mounts to come here again and again to wander about. They could earn a couple hundred dollars at the end of the day.


    Even accounting for inflation, a couple hundred dollars per day was enough for those at the bottom of society to leave poverty and become wealthy.


    That was, if you didn¡¯t get sick in the first place!


    The monsters here weren¡¯t as strong as the ones at Dragonmaw Stronghold. Void Nethervine Crystals were found growing along the side of giant crystals.


    Lu Li and the others left after gathering the crystals. They also took with them any medicinal herbs and ores along the way.


    Maintaining a business also required frugal and diligent management.


    Then again, after being together with Lu Li on top of her falling out with her father, Water Fairy had already started to gradually change her spending habits. Only at times where real money needed to be spent did her true nature surface again.


    ¡°This time was a lot faster than last time,¡± Neltharaku commended Lu Li and Water Fairy again for their work efficiency.


    ¡°The main thing is that the quest information you gave us was quite complete,¡± Lu Li said modestly. ¡°What do you need us to do next? Please go ahead and tell us.¡±


    ¡°Take the Enhanced Nethervine Crystal and return to Dragonmaw Stronghold. Search for the enslaved Nether Drakes, then release the magical powers inside the Nethervine Crystal. My power will burst forth from within and help the Nether Drakes break free. The Drakes have become weak from so much suffering; you must help them defeat those Dragonmaw Orcs!¡± Neltharaku said.


    This was a simple quest.


    The people of Ruling Sword still hadn¡¯t returned, and the newly refreshed Dragonmaw Orcs were yet again met with destruction.


    Completing quests as a group was always fast; any target was destroyed quickly. Even Lu Li and Water Fairy didn¡¯t need to move a muscle to kill them.


    ¡°Friends, there is one more thing I need to ask of you. I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re our only hope. If my spouse can¡¯t be liberated, then the Netherwing family will probably die out without any descendants,¡± Neltharaku said, finally thinking of his poor wife.


    ¡°Rest at ease, friend. We will definitely bring her to you safe and sound,¡± Lu Li promised.


    ¡°Before you leave, the only thing I can do is give you a hand.¡±


    Neltharaku provided Lu Li and Water Fairy with a Buff. In the next half an hour, their damage and attack speed would be increase by 15%.


    It wasn¡¯t difficult to find Neltharaku¡¯s partner, Kaireenaku. She was chained and imprisoned on Dragonmaw Stronghold¡¯s large platform.

 Chapter 1916 - Rejecting Public Displays of Affection

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    The Dragonmaw Stronghold didn¡¯t have a Boss, but if you spoke to Kaireenaku, then a Boss would visit this place.


    ¡°Children, you should not have come here. I was imprisoned by here by the powerful Zuluhed. Now that you have meddled with this place, he is on his way and everything will be different soon.¡±


    ¡°Is Zuluhed the leader of the Dragonmaw Clan?¡± Lu Li had completed a quest with some other people in his previous life. The name that the NPC mentioned last time was different, and the monster that ended up appearing wasn¡¯t that strong.


    A distinct feature of this Boss was that it didn¡¯t drop anything, so no one really bothered fighting him. Only those doing the Nether Drake Quest would seek him out.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy could probably deal with it on their own, let alone the hundreds of players from Ruling Sword that were now starting to do complete the Nether Drake Quest as well.


    ¡°Although he is not the leader, he is one of the most powerful experts of the Dragonmaw Clan. Your strength is far from enough.¡±


    Broodmother Kaireenaku had worked for a long time to free herself from the binds that made her so uncomfortable.


    ¡°A single Orc clan was able to enslave you? And now you¡¯re trapped here?¡± Water Fairy thought that this was incredible.


    The Dragonmaw Clan seemed to have some strength in the Outland, but surely it was incomparable to the Dragon clans? Why did they even enslave these Nether Dragons? As a variant of the Black Dragons, their power was indisputable.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate them, even though they might not seem that srong,¡± Broodmother Kaireenaku said with a bitter smile. ¡°After Blackhand¡¯s expedition into Azeroth, Deathwing instructed the Fel Orcs of this Dragonmaw Clan to dig out a cursed Artifact that had been sealed by the dragons in the ancient times ¨C the Demon Soul¡±.


    Demon Soul!


    Water Fairy finally understood how the Fel Orcs could enslave the dragons.


    The Demon Soul was an Artifact made by five guardian Dragons ten thousand years ago in order to resist the Burning Legion. However, the Earth Guardian Black Dragon Nesario who had suggested this action had actually been corrupted by the Old Gods. He persuaded the other four Dragons to contribute their power, but he didn¡¯t do so himself. As a result, he became the most powerful dragon.


    After the Burning Legion was defeated, the Dragons cast a curse on the Artifact. No dragons were allowed to use it and its name was changed from the Dragon Soul to the Demon Soul.


    Any dragon that approached it would lose their strength, and only the black dragons could destroy it.


    ¡°It was Nekros. He successfully enslaved Alextrasza the Red Dragon Queen with the Demon Soul and took her most precious dragon egg as a threat. He forced her to give birth to red dragons as Mounts for the Orcs. Since then, these mounts have proven to be an indispensable strength for the Dragonmaw Clan. The air cavalry of these Orcs have made it impossible for the other races to resist them.¡±


    ¡°How did the red dragon queen escape then? And how did you enslave the red dragon?¡±


    ¡°The Human Mage Rhonin and High Elf Ranger Vereesa Windrunner managed to rescue the enslaved Alexstrasza. The Dragonmaw Clan was defeated and Nekros was also killed. Zuluhed originally followed Blackhand and led the Horde expedition into Azeroth. After Orgrim¡¯s defeat and capture, the Dragonmaw Clan fell apart and Zuluhed fled back to Draenor. There, he inherited part of Demon Soul¡¯s strength and surrendered to Illidan¡¯s evil power in order to train a Nether Dragon.¡±


    ¡°You guys¡­ regardless of whether it is Nesario or Deathwing, I¡¯m sure they didn¡¯t anticipate that the Demon Soul that they created would one day be used to enslave their descendants.¡±


    Lu Li started sweating. His girlfriend, who was standing next to him, was just ridiculing the dragon.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t just standing idly by while Water Fairy spoke to the NPC. He was getting a party together to fight the upcoming Wild Boss.


    The PVP madmen in Dragonmaw Stronghold alone weren¡¯t enough. Zuluhed wasn¡¯t a small Boss that could be killed by two people; they needed players to tank the monster¡¯s attacks.


    This person most certainly had to be Azure Sea Breeze.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lu Li didn¡¯t understand. Everyone else had already agreed, so why was Azure Sea Breeze being so reluctant?


    ¡°I just ate.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Did you eat too much that you can¡¯t move?¡±


    I just ate and I¡¯m full, so I can¡¯t stomach any public displays of affection.¡±


    ¡°Just come on, damn it! There¡¯s a big Boss!¡±


    ¡°A big Boss? Hey, will I get on TV if we beat it? Will it drop good equipment?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Alright, give me 2 minutes!¡±


    The team was soon in position and Zuluhed finally arrived. There was a prefix in front of his name, which made his full name Tired Zuluhed. At least Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t have the face this Boss at its strongest.


    ¡°Brothers, for the First Clear!¡± Azure Sea Breeze shouted before rushing towards the Boss.


    Lu Li felt a little bad. This quest Boss might not actually grant a First Clear, nor would it drop any equipment.


    Sure enough, after the first attack Azure Sea Breeze found that there was something wrong. He turned his head and looked at Lu Li with some confusion.


    ¡°Hey shameless Lu, how could you lie to me? How can such a weak Boss still have a First Clear?¡±


    ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s possible,¡± Lu Li said, not even looking at him.


    With a hundred players, a single wave of skills easily resulted in the Tired Zuluhed kneeling before them.


    Of course, no First Clear was awarded and not even a single hair was dropped. The group of players silently looked at Lu Li. Azure Sea Breeze in particular was urging everyone to kill him.


    ¡°For all participants, you will be awarded 10 DKP. If you have nothing to do, you can even farm some Nether Drake Mounts, which look great.¡±


    Lu Li wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and was extremely grateful for his quick wit. Otherwise, he was about to be brutally murdered by this mob like one of the medieval kings in a revolution.


    For 10 DKP, no one responded to Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s call and instead started to complete the quest to farm Nether Drake Mounts.


    Azure Sea Breeze looked at the people around him and looked at the damned couple. He quickly forgot how Lu Li had wronged him and joined the others in completing the quest.


    Although no equipment was dropped, players like Lu Li and Water Fairy who had accepted the quest could loot the quest item.


    It was a key that could unlock the chain on Broodmother Kaireenaku¡¯s body. Without the threat of Zuluhed, Kaireenaku finally gained the freedom she dreamed of.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Broodmother Kaireenaku said as she spread her huge wings. ¡°Let me take you back to Mordenai; he must want to see you again. Neltharaku too ¨C I haven¡¯t seen him in a long time.¡±


    ¡°What is your relationship to Mordenai?¡±


    Lu Li and Water Fairy climbed onto the dragon¡¯s back. The dragon fluttered her wings and swept through the air. The speed at which she flew was indescribable; she was definitely incomparable to horse mounts.


    ¡°Mordenai is my son, and the son of Neltharaku,¡± the Broodmother said proudly.

 Chapter 1917 - : Time For Some Medicine

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Mordenai was a dragon, so this was to be expected, but they didn¡¯t think it would be him posting a quest to save his mother.


    Now that the family was back together, Lu Li and Water Fairy received quite a bit of Reputation. At the same time, they had also unlocked the Nether Drake daily quests. These quests could be completed each day for a Reputation reward. After completing them for a few days, they could earn enough to buy a Nether Drake.


    All they had to do was start with today¡¯s quests.


    The starting point was still Mordenai, who would give the players a new identity.


    ¡°Netherwing Ledge¡­ that was once a refuge for the Netherwing but it has been ravaged by the Dragonmaw clan. Although the Orcs have occupied our territory, they cannot weaken the Dragon¡¯s powerful magic. With this magic, I can conceal your truth identify and help you safely join the Dragonmaw Clan. I have prepared a letter for Overlord Mor¡¯ghor and will fly you to the Dragonmaw camp. Then, you will start a new life as one of Illidan¡¯s Stormrage¡¯s Fel Orcs.¡±


    And so, both Lu Li and Water Fairy became two Fel Orcs.


    The style was quite different and not the most attractive. If Water Fairy was an ordinary girl, she definitely would have refused such a transformation. After all, it was so ugly and she was in the presence of her beloved.


    However, Water Fairy wasn¡¯t afraid. Even if she was ugly for the moment, everything would be alright if they could return to their original forms.


    The two newly created Fel Orcs went to Netherwing Ledge and their mounts were automatically transformed into Dragonmaw Nether Drakes. Their undercover adventure was about to begin. For a while, the players would have to do manual labour for their Dragonmaw overlords.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy eventually found Overlord Mor¡¯ghor and gave him Illidan¡¯s service


    papers.


    Overlord Mor¡¯ghor was a red-skinned Fel Orc who wore plate armour and wielded an axe. He read the service papers before throwing them aside before saying, ¡°Alright, the most important part of being in the Dragonmaw Legion is that everyone has to work. There are no exceptions. Go find something to do, and don¡¯t mess it up. I will decide, based on your performance, whether to send you off to do something else. Talk to Taskmaster Varkule Dragonbreath in the centre of the Dragonmaw camp and he will give you a task to do based on your skills. Now leave!¡±


    The two new Fel Orcs now had to make their way to Taskmaster Varkule Dragonbreath.


    ¡°Dammit, everyone I get is useless.¡±


    Varkule Dragonbreath was clearly dissatisfied with Lu Li and Water Fairy. He growled angrily at them, ¡°What are you good at?¡±


    Lu Li and Water Fairy looked at each other before shaking their heads.


    How would they know what these Fel Orcs were good at? They also didn¡¯t know what kind of weird tasks they would get if they pretended to have certain skills. It was best to plead ignorance as they probably didn¡¯t gain anything from doing these monsters¡¯ quests anyway.


    ¡°Are you good at nothing? Alright then, we have a use of idiots too. We can¡¯t let you just enjoy your blissful life. Go hunt some of Netherwing Ledge¡¯s creatures and collect some Netherwing Crystals for me. We¡¯ll make that your quest for the day. Now get out!¡±


    Lu Li decided that he would one day come back and kill this NPC.


    There was no difficulty in killing the creatures. Even though they had to pretend to be Fel Orcs, the monsters they fought were quite ordinary.


    After giving 40 Netherwing Crystals to Taskmaster Varkule Dragonbreath and completing their first quest, they continued to pester him about getting more tasks.


    ¡°Hmph, looks like you did well. You should do some skinning. As a member of the Dragonmaw Clan, even idiots like you need to learn some skinning. There are many skinning experts here. Hunt some of the Quarrypounders and bring me their skins you idiots.¡±


    They had to kill some people and take their skins!


    Fortunately, this was a game and there was some censorship. These Quarrypounders didn¡¯t appear Human. After you killed them, all you had to do was use the Skinning skill with a knife and you could harvest the skins.


    The skinned Quarrypounder would then immediately disappear. It wouldn¡¯t leave a skinless corpse behind.


    After delivering the skins of 35 Quarrypounders, they completed the quest to earn their Reputation rewards. These quests were done daily. There were other smaller quests, but they weren¡¯t worth doing.


    They eventually ran into a Netherwing Egg, which was quite interesting.


    At this time, after the completion of several quests, Taskmaster Varkule Dragonbreath¡¯s attitude had become much more friendly.


    He was discussing this matter with them in a friendly tone.


    ¡°If you find Netherwing Eggs on the island, bring them all to me. Netherwing Eggs are extremely rare, so don¡¯t feel frustrated if you don¡¯t find any. Most of these eggs have been moved to unknown locations. There are some creatures that carry them, but they can also be found near clusters of crystals in mines or in some special shrubbery. Just make sure to keep a low profile, and don¡¯t get Mor¡¯ghol¡¯s attention.


    This quest was special because it could be done as many times as they liked as long as they could keep finding the Netherwing Eggs, unlike the other quests which could only be completed once a day.


    There was another quest that needed to be triggered. Lu Li and Water Fairy met another ¡®undercover¡¯ person while collecting Netherwing Eggs.


    The undercover person gave them a quest that would cut down the Dragonmaw Orc¡¯s strength.


    ¡°The Dragonmaw Orcs have set up labour camps near almost every crystal cluster. Just killing the Orcs is bound to cause trouble, but there is a trick that can help use reduce their numbers without getting Mor¡¯ghol¡¯s attention.¡±


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were asked to hunt down infected wild animals in the Moon Shadow Valley and remove their Fel glands. These Fel glands were mixed into some food and placed near the labour camps. The Orcs would fall as soon as they took a bite of the food.


    Lu Li secretly put some food near the Taskmaster in an attempt to poison the person that had previously called him a fool.


    Unfortunately, it was taken away by Water Fairy as they needed the Taskmaster to complete their quests.


    However, there were quite a few ordinary Dragonmaw Orcs that were poisoned. They also received quite a bit of Reputation for each Orc poisoned, to their surprised.


    ¡°Come here, it¡¯s time for some medicine,¡± Water Fairy said as she handed over a piece of poisoned meat.


    ¡°What!¡± Lu Li almost choked on the bread in his mouth.


    Water Fairy then smiled happily.


    After being with Lu Li, the once distant Goddess had now become more in touch with common people. Even Lu Li had to admit that Water Fairy had become more like him.


    As long as they were happy together, perhaps it didn¡¯t matter who was leading who astray.

 Chapter 1918 - Magtheridon

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were doing the Nether Drake quests not only for the Mount reward but also because the quests were easy and fun.


    They would often get on their flying mounts when attacking their enemies to exercise their flying skills.


    The time they spent in the game was happy. Even during the Stronghold War, Lu Li wasn¡¯t participating. Since there was no Fel Reavers knocking at the door, they could easily defend their Strongholds. Sky Moon even led an attack to take the second Stronghold in the Barrenlands from Gale Legion.


    Seventh Heaven was the guild other than Ruling Sword that had a Fel Reaver but


    unfortunately, they lost the second Stronghold in Hillsbrad Hills to Blood Red War Flag.


    As such, anyone could see that this was actually a business deal. Blood Red War Flag now had two Strongholds in Hillsbrad Hills.


    Seventh Heaven had surrendered the Hillsbrad Hills to them before turning to Desolace which had been defended by Majin Temple. With the Tirisfal Woodland occupied by the Brotherhood and the Un¡¯Goro Crater that they had already owned, Seventh Heaven became a super club with three Strongholds.


    However, they were still a little weaker than Ruling Sword. Ruling Sword occupied three Strongholds, but their Life Alliance also held one which made a total of four.


    The other Strongholds were basically unchanged.


    The new second Barrenlands Stronghold was assigned to Sky Moon. He would be responsible for defending it in future.


    Of course, Lu Li¡¯s advice to him was to sell the Stronghold and give half the money to the club and evenly distribute the other half to the players who participated in the battle.


    It would be a total of a few million dollars, which was a huge sum.


    This was how easy it was for rich people to make money. This strategy of inspiring players in the guild to take the Fel Reaver and make some money had been thought up by Wandering. He thought that this would make the poorer players of the guild explode with enthusiasm.


    However, everything had its advantages and disadvantages. If this situation was not controlled properly, it would easily cause everyone to be more excited about taking new Strongholds and making money rather than keeping their old Strongholds.


    Therefore, Lu Li imposed a condition. Anyone who had accumulated a certain amount of guild points would have the opportunity to follow Sky Moon to earn extra money.


    After going into a battle, their points would be deducted according to a certain percentage and they had to re-accumulate enough points to go again. Not only would this stimulate everyone in the guild to earn points, but it wouldn¡¯t make the money-making so easy for everyone.


    After a few days of joy, Lu Li was pulled away into an Instance Dungeon once again.


    They had been strategizing for Magtheridon¡¯s Lair for many days and it was now time to face it because it seemed like the other clubs were getting close to victory.


    Magtheridon was the former King of the Outland. As a cruel Pit Lord and servant of Mannoroth the Destroyer, Magtheridon found his way there after the Draenor disaster. Magtheridon quickly demonstrated his power before the collapsed Horde and the refugees of the disaster to unite the remaining Orcs to form his army. These Orcs were corrupted by Magtheridon to become Fel Orcs.


    He had claimed this world and was the law of the land.


    After many years, Magtheridon used Ner¡¯zhul to tear open four portals that would bring a demon army into the Outland. This made him extremely powerful as these demons included the Nether Dragons, Voidwalkers, Succubus, Hellguards, Felhunters, Eredar and Infernals.


    However, he was now the former King of the Outland and had since lost that status.


    About 20 years after the catastrophe, Illidan and his servants came to the Outland to avoid the anger of his superiors. They were on the hunt for Kil¡¯jaeden and intended to get rid of all the demons there.


    Magtheridon found that he had been surrounded by Illidan¡¯s alliance. Kael¡¯thas and his Blood Elves, Lady Vashj and her Naga and even Akama and the Broken Draenei were in this alliance.


    The alliance first closed the portal that Magtheridon had been using to summon reinforcements before heading straight for the Black Temple.


    The Pit Lord consolidated his army for the fight, but the fighting skills of the alliance were too great. Soon, Magtheridon¡¯s resistance was shattered. In the end, Magtheridon was defeated by four heroes and Illidan took the throne of the Black Temple.


    Magtheridon¡¯s reign was ended with the arrival of Illidan Stormrage, who would become the new King of the Outland.


    Illidan thought Magtheridon could still return, so he imprisoned him in Hellfire Citadel for the Fel Orcs to do as they pleased.


    Magtheridon¡¯s loud wailing could be heard through the clouds as this happened.


    What was interesting was that the Orcs that guarded him were not Fel Orcs but regular


    green-skinned Orcs. Perhaps Illidan kept him alive to make more Fel Orcs for him.


    Magtheridon, who was once invincible, had now become a prisoner. A powerful seal had rendered him completely immobile.


    However, even though Magtheridon was a prisoner, the players standing before him were still very weak. A single attack would wipe them out. From when Karazhan¡¯s First Clear had been taken until now, no one had succeeded in defeating Magtheridon.


    In the battle against Magtheridon, the first stage was the most difficult. The latter two stages could be completed by applying the correct strategy.


    Now, there were some that had seen a glimmer hope in victory, which meant that they had gotten through the first stage.


    As such, Lu Li knew it was time to get to business.


    ¡°Well, I guess you can¡¯t do it without me.¡±


    Lu Li entered the Instance Dungeon and replaced Sky Moon as the commander. He wanted to mess with them for a little bit.


    The others were depressed, but had nothing to say in response.


    They had fought for several days and had used all kinds of methods. Sky Moon had also commanded with all his ability, but they hadn¡¯t seen even a sliver of hope.


    ¡°I have been watching you guys play for the last few days, and today, I will show you what it means to be a God-level commander,¡± Lu Li said.


    Of course, Lu Li was just talking nonsense. When he was with Water Fairy, how could he have the time to watch the Instance Dungeon fights? At most, he would just take a glance when he was bored.


    By the time Lu Li brought his girlfriend into the Instance Dungeon, the mobs had already been cleared.


    Magtheridon was in the middle of the room, surrounded by five Hellfire Channelers. These Channelers were standing in a circle around him.


    These Channelers wouldn¡¯t attack the players unless they were first attacked.

 Chapter 1919 - The Art of Commanding

    Lu Li immediately distributed the potions and elixirs. The bulk of these elixirs were given to the Tanks. This was because this Instance Dungeon needed four Tanks.


    ¡°Boss, this is cheating!¡± Sky Moon found one of their Tanks and looked at the potions and immediately started to rethink his existence.


    Why did he not have these items when he was commander?


    ¡°Ask Cold Chill. Do you expect him to just give them to you?¡± Lu Li responded. ¡°As a successful commander, you not only need to use your existing resources wisely, but you also need to find ways to retrieve more resources.¡±


    Sky Moon originally thought that Lu Li was just acting again, but as he listened, he realised that these were words of wisdom.


    He felt that he had learnt new things.


    ¡°Now, tell me which aspects of this Boss are more difficult to deal with, and why you guys wiped,¡± Lu Li said.


    Sky Moon explained the Boss¡¯ mechanics and skills while Lu Li already had an idea.


    It was similar to what he had experienced in his previous life. However, the greatest difference was that the Boss¡¯ attack and HP was much higher than before. Therefore, the difficulty of this battle was also raised significantly.


    Sometimes, Lu Li admired these people very much.


    They could kill even Bosses like these. Now, he was about to admire himself. This was because his goal for today was to kill Magtheridon.


    The first phase was to kill the Magisters. These Magisters were here to restrain Magtheridon. However, they were not allies ¨C they were Illidan¡¯s servants. Illidan did not want to kill Magtheridon, because he wanted Magtheridon¡¯s blood to create more Fel Orcs.


    ¡°Interrupt it. No matter if it¡¯s Shadow Bolt or Dark Mending. Sky Moon, did you not think to interrupt these skills?¡± Lu Li asked as he looked at Sky Moon.


    ¡°I wanted to have more time to DPS, so I only interrupted the healing,¡± Sky Moon frowned.


    ¡°The damage from Shadow Bolt is high, and the healing is also extremely potent at the moment. That¡¯s why we need to sacrifice a little bit of Thief and Mage DPS to interrupt these skills. We need to kill the southern-most Magister. We can only pass if we kill it within one minute. Then, we can kill the next one in the south-west direction.¡±


    Their original tactic was similar to this. Lu Li only made slight changes to the game plan. After the death of the second Magister, Magtheridon was freed. When this happened, Azure Sea Breeze, who was tanking the first Magister would immediately rush forwards to take the Boss and pull it towards the south-west direction, then back himself against the wall.


    This was also why Lu Li decided to kill the Magisters in that particular direction first.


    This way, Lu Li successfully split the battle into two parts.


    In the 40 seconds after Magtheridon gained its freedom, it would use the first ¡®Shank¡¯. Shank was a very annoying skill. Healers wouldn¡¯t be able to say the incantations for skills. Thieves were likely to be knocked back and couldn¡¯t interrupt its skills either. It was during this time that Healers would need to use instant-cast spells to heal or use the effects from their items.


    Priests were able to bestow a shield for Tanks and the Tanks themselves were able to consume potions by themselves. The potions that Lu Li brought with him would now also be useful.


    The interruption of the Boss¡¯ skills needed to be coordinated by the Mages. They would use Counterspell after being knocked back. Whenever Shank was about to be casted, the Mages needed to be wary of their positioning and avoid the fires while being knocked back, otherwise, they would be dealt damage.


    This was the most important phase. Although Sky Moon could get past this phase, the price that he had to pay was too great.


    Who was left to fight the Boss whose HP seemed to be untouched?


    However, under the calm leadership of Lu Li, the team managed to address the small details that Sky Moon had overlooked.


    ¡°Flower, do you not know how to dodge the stamp? I¡¯m taking five points away,¡± Lu Li said heartlessly.


    Sky Moon immediately started sweating. When he was commanding, all he dared to do was yell and instruct, instead of being like Lu Li and just taking points away from players. Furthermore, Lu Li took away the points of an elder of the club. Lonesome Flower was someone who had followed Lu Li at the very start. Furthermore, his sister was the top Priest in the club.


    If Lonesome Flower was angry at the commander for taking his points away and left Ruling Sword, then Sky Moon would instantly be the nemesis of the guild.


    However, to his surprise, Lonesome Flower didn¡¯t even say a single word.


    ¡°Breezy, take care of the Boss properly! Make sure that you face the Boss away from us!¡±


    ¡°Cat, do you not know to use Banishment for Infernals? It¡¯s the closest to you! If you don¡¯t use


    Banishment, who else do you expect to? I¡¯m taking five points from you.¡±


    It was as if Lu Li had grown many pairs of eyes. Whenever someone made a mistake, even if it was


    extremely small, he was able to see them and point it out. Then, he would either scold them or take points away as punishments, depending on the severity of the error.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother to quieten his voice and continued brainwashing Sky Moon.¡±


    ¡°If you are the commander your eyes must only be on the Boss. You cannot overthink. If you overthink, then you will miss a lot of details. You failed because of these errors.¡±


    ¡°After entering the Instance Dungeon, you need to completely obey the commander, even if they say the wrong things.¡±


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t have the confidence yet. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve given you some time. However, you can¡¯t keep going without confidence. You are now commanding the two-time Champions and a super team that has countless Instance Dungeon First Clears under their belt.¡±


    ¡°We are a top club!¡±


    ¡°Do you understand now?¡±


    ¡°I understand!¡± Sky Moon responded. Although it sounded simple, it was not as easy as the words made it out to be.


    ¡°Okay then. Everyone, stop! We¡¯re going to restart. Sky Moon, you¡¯re going to command this time.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    Everyone was stunned. They didn¡¯t expect Lu Li to be this straightforward.


    There were some people who were still fighting out of habit. However, the players who had followed Lu Li for a while and knew his personality immediately stopped. These people included Azure Sea Breeze and March Rain among others. The others who were still fighting the Boss immediately died. How spoiled!


    Not only did he waste time, but he also wasted precious elixirs. If Square Root Three was here, he would have completely gone off at Lu Li until his throat was sore.


    However, all of this burden crushed Sky Moon¡¯s heart.


    Sky Moon was rendered mute for a while. It was as if his throat was blocked by something and nothing could come out.


    He often thought about the potential that Lu Li saw in him. What did he see? No matter how much potential he had, there was no way that he was able to compare to Lu Li himself. Lu Li was the person who brought Ruling Sword to take down 90% of the First Clears.


    Furthermore, Ruling Sword under his leadership also wasn¡¯t any worse than the other clubs in Wild Boss Battles and Stronghold Battles as well.


    With a commander like this, what was the point of nurturing another? Wandering was also someone who was highly capable and Sky Moon had learnt lots from him.


    However, he didn¡¯t know what burden Lu Li bore himself.


    No one knew. Everyone thought that he was doing this out of a long-term benefit for the club. Nurturing another commander would naturally be beneficial for the club. However, they just didn¡¯t understand why Lu Li wanted to push Sky Moon to develop as an Instance Dungeon commander.


    Azure Sea Breeze thought that Lu Li wanted to go on more dates with Water Fairy, which would mean that he wouldn¡¯t have time for this.


    The reasons that Lu Li was able to get to his current status was firstly, because he truly had potential in gaming. If this wasn¡¯t the case, he could only get so far. Secondly, it was his personality that was honed and shaped due to his poor upbringing, which improved his determination and judgment.


    However, there was one more reason, which was the most important.


    A new life!

 Chapter 1920 - Independence

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    As time went on, the two years of experience that he had from his previous life was now coming to an end.


    Once his advantage would come to an end, Instance Dungeons would be much more difficult than what it was. Lu Li didn¡¯t want to taint his reputation as a result of this, which was why he wanted to nurture Sky Moon to be his successor to clash with the other clubs¡¯ commanders.


    If Lu Li was unable to compete with them, then it would affect Ruling Sword¡¯s reputation. After all, Ruling Sword was built from the basis of First Clears.


    If Sky Moon couldn¡¯t compete, then it would be expected. It would be impressive if he could, and expected if he couldn¡¯t. The commanders from other clubs also couldn¡¯t be too harsh with the new generation either.


    If Sky Moon won, then Lu Li would give him words of encouragement. If Sky Moon lost, then Lu Li would comfort him with a couple of words to show how generous he was and how well he treated the younger generation.


    Furthermore, the decision to choose Sky Moon wasn¡¯t out of blind judgment either. Sky Moon¡¯s potential for commander was truly better than his.


    Looking at the history of his past battles, he had commanded many Instance Dungeon attempts. Although First Clears were usually completed by Lu Li, the process of figuring out quicker ways to clear was mostly done by Sky Moon.


    As for Stronghold battles and the arena, he was also a bright star. With a ragtag group of people, he was able to take down a Stronghold.


    When the next Stronghold battle came, the main commander would be Sky Moon.


    With the encouragement and backing of Lu Li, he was more relaxed and confident now. When he yelled, it was with force and was quite impressive.


    ¡°B-boss! Lu Li! Do you not know how to interrupt the skill? Is it because your skills are on cool down or are you b-blind! T-take away 5 points!¡±


    Sky Moon¡¯s eyes were stuck on Lu Li¡¯s face, worrying about seeing a hint of disappointment or anger.


    In the end, nothing happened.


    Lu Li only calmly replied, ¡°That¡¯s my fault!¡±


    Even the leader was scolded and punished. Upon seeing this, everyone became alert. This was even more impactful than when Lu Li was commanding before. Lu Li became the sacrifice to send the message to everyone else.


    Wandering began to mock Lu Li and expressed his contempt at Lu Li¡¯s actions.


    He didn¡¯t even need to think about it. He knew that Lu Li had done that on purpose. Lu Li had interrupted all of the Magister¡¯s healing skills and only missed a Shadow Bolt, which didn¡¯t deal that much damage either.


    Lu Li did this for the sake of reinforcing Sky Moon¡¯s authority and gave him a chance to take points away even from the leader himself.


    Under the instruction of Sky Moon, everyone quickly advanced into Phase 2. Magtheridon had just gained his freedom, and there were still three Magisters on the battlefield.


    The key part of this stage was to interrupt the Boss¡¯ skills.


    A Thief¡¯s Kick or a Mage¡¯s Counterspell were all useless. After one minute of gaining its freedom, Magtheridon would use the first Fire Nova. Fire Nova was a skill that dealt 10000 damage every 10 seconds to all players. However, this skill was able to be interrupted by using the ¡®Box of the Prophets¡¯ that was on the Magisters¡¯ platform.


    To successfully interrupt Fire Nova, all five Boxes needed to be used simultaneously.


    After striking the Box, a 10 second incantation to control Magtheridon would begin. If all five were struck at the same time and successfully landed on Magtheridon, then it would be restrained again and interrupt his Fire Nova.


    When Magtheridon was restrained, he would be dealt 300% magic and skill damage.


    The binds would also damage the players who struck the Boxes, dealing 800 damage per second. Any movement from these players would break the control that they had on Magtheridon, which would allow Magtheridon to run free again.


    When the Boxes were used simultaneously, it would be lethal to the team if the control was broken. This would mean that Magtheridon¡¯s Fire Nova would not be interrupted. Furthermore, once the control was broken by one player, he or she would be inflicted with the debuff called ¡®Mind Exhaustion¡¯ which prevented the player from using the Box of the Prophets in the next three seconds.


    This tested a commander¡¯s ability.


    The commander had to constantly adjust the team. He needed to arrange for people to hit the Boxes and when they would hit them. This had to be done without mistakes.


    He also needed to pay attention to the people who struck the Boxes and also needed to keep them alive.


    Even if the extra 300% damage was helpful for the DPS, it wasn¡¯t something that the players needed to risk their lives for. They should immediately stop the control once Fire Nova was interrupted, which would allow the least damage to be done to them as a side effect of using the Box.


    During this time, the most likely place for mistakes to happen was the Druids using Revive and the players that the Druids used Spirit Stones on.


    All of these required the commander to adjust.


    With Lu Li beside him, Sky Moon was quite nervous and many mistakes happened. As a result, they wiped again and again, which took a toll on them mentally.


    However, Lu Li pushed him to keep going and didn¡¯t take over the commanding role either.


    It was through these trials that Lu Li wanted to keep developing this young man.


    In the end, Sky Moon was completely calm. Or, it could be said that he was completely numb. It was through a process of constant exposure that he was able to completely ignore Lu Li¡¯s presence.


    Then, they somehow entered the third phase.


    When Magtheridon¡¯s HP was at 30%, the third phase began. The Boss would destroy the walls that surrounded him. As a result, the debris would deal five to six thousand nature damage.


    At this time, they needed to prioritise healing the Tanks first, then the others.


    Using the healing stones and potions were good ideas. Taking advantage of correct opportunities to heal were also important. They stopped attacking when the Boss was at 31% HP, waited to interrupt the next Fire Nova, then made sure that everyone was at near or full HP before continuing their onslaught to enter the third phase.


    This was the strategy that Sky Moon figured out after many squad wipes.


    When he sought Lu Li¡¯s confirmation, Lu Li just rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°This is your own battle. Why are you asking me?¡±


    It seemed like Lu Li had completely passed the squad over to Sky Moon.


    Actually, if Lu Li wanted to take over during the battle, it was likely that they would have already gotten the First Clear within half of the day, instead of using a whole day just to enter the third stage.


    They also wiped a few times in the third phase for them to figure that they needed full HP to deal with the third phase.


    Entering Phase Three with full HP!


    At times, Lu Li also wanted to give him hints and remind him. Although Lu Li was a little fidgety as a result of it, he also understood that if he interjected, Sky Moon¡¯s reliance on him would only grow.


    Using the words of Wandering, this battle was a new commander¡¯s growth of independence.


    The debris that dealt damage wasn¡¯t a big problem in the third phase. Furthermore, the players who struck the Boxes couldn¡¯t just stand in their place. They also needed to dodge the debris.


    Sky Moon began to use large numbers of potions. Each round of battling costed Ruling Sword quite a sum of money. Including the repairs of equipment, the total cost of this Boss alone was comparable to the cost of clearing the whole Karazhan Instance Dungeon.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, who under the leadership of Sky Moon, have achieved the First Clear for Magtheridon¡¯s Lair!

 Chapter 1921 - A Successor

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    What?


    First Clear!


    Ruling Sword got the First Clear?


    Correct!


    Lu Li again?


    No!


    It was Sky Moon this time!


    Sky Moon? When did he become so good? Wasn¡¯t he just someone who Lu Li was nurturing as a rookie commander? How could he already get a First Clear for Ruling Sword? There were so many other top commanders in the game. Even if they couldn¡¯t compete with Lu Li, they weren¡¯t even able to compete with his student?


    This world was too illogical! This game was simply unplayable.


    Normal players weren¡¯t the only ones reconsidering their lives.


    It was not easy to become a commander who was in charge of a club with more than 100,000 members. At the very least, they needed to have confidence. Even the least bit of confidence was better than none.


    Now, these commanders were also reconsidering their own lives.


    ¡°Maybe it was Lu Li who took charge for most of the battle, but then he transferred the leader position to Sky Moon at the very end¡­¡±


    ¡°Listening to you makes my brain cells die. Do you think that it¡¯s that easy and that the System is that stupid? Do you really think that the System doesn¡¯t know who is in charge? This has already long been fixed in the world of gaming!¡±


    ¡°I already said that Sky Moon is a genius. You guys just didn¡¯t believe me.¡±


    ¡°I also think Sky Moon is very capable. I remember when he faced off against Sorrowless in the Stronghold Battles. He didn¡¯t shy away from it at all and instead held his ground.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already obvious that Sky Moon isn¡¯t the average player. He already was able to take down Gale Legion¡¯s defense. Furthermore, it was Wendelian who was responsible for Gale Legion¡¯s defense. Next time, don¡¯t put him and Lu Li together. Sky Moon is Sky Moon.¡±


    Many pro players debuted during the second season of competitions and many of them had built a reputation for themselves.


    This was a player who wasn¡¯t a pro player. Sky Moon had ¡®debuted¡¯ as a commander and immediately stole everyone else¡¯s thunder.


    The large corpse of the great demon leader appeared in the middle of the battlefield in the depths of Magtheridon¡¯s Lair.


    Everyone congratulated Sky Moon on his achievement.


    Lu Li slapped his shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯ve already said this before. You have the greatest potential. You need to believe in yourself. I hope that you won¡¯t disappoint me in the future.¡±


    Sky Moon was shaking out of pure excitement.


    ¡°Boss! Don¡¯t worry! I will take care of it!¡±


    ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy!¡±


    Sky Moon¡¯s line of vision landed on Wandering. As the team¡¯s right hand man, what else could Wandering say? It wasn¡¯t him who was going to be commanding in the future anyway.


    Furthermore, if Sky Moon ever decided that he didn¡¯t want to do it anymore, it was likely that Wandering would need to pick up the slack.


    ¡°I have high hopes for you, Little Moon! You must believe in yourself,¡± Wandering encouraged as he used his sincere gaze to convey his support. Sky Moon was even more dazed.


    ¡°Haha! Little Moon, next time, you command, I¡¯ll tank and then we¡¯ll bring Hachi Chan and Dreamy and we¡¯ll clear every Boss out there and take all the First Clears!¡± Azure Sea Breeze laughed. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. We need to kick this cursed man Lu Li off our team. If that happens, I guarantee that Dreamy will be looting much, much better items.


    After this was said, these few scumbags were discussing who they would take to future dungeons.


    It didn¡¯t matter who was chosen. Lu Li seemed to be the one being left behind.


    ¡°Dreamy! Come loot the items!¡±


    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m coming.¡±


    Remnant Dream didn¡¯t care about who was chosen. She just wanted to loot.


    Furthermore, she felt that it was not bad bringing Lu Li along either. There was a sense of satisfaction when looting great items in the presence of such an unlucky person.


    ¡°So many gems for Mages, Warriors¡­and mine¡­¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s only one Boss in this dungeon! Naturally there are going to be a lot of things. Where¡¯d you learn this behaviour from? How shameless. It¡¯s not yours; it¡¯s for Hunters!¡±


    Lu Li was completely taken aback. This was no longer the innocent young girl from before.


    ¡°Rubbish. It was obviously learnt from you,¡± Azure Sea Breeze sneered.


    Gems were easier to distribute, unless they were especially good. Otherwise, no one would want to spend their points, so there was not much competition over it.


    As for the gems that were more suited to PVP, the professional competitors took priority.


    ¡°Wow! Enhanced skill book. Not mine¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, so now she¡¯s become a bad child. She doesn¡¯t even need to say which class anymore ¨C just whether it¡¯s hers or not.¡±


    Lu Li took the book in his hands and examined it. It was a Druid¡¯s skill book and neither Innocent Child nor Hachi Chan had it. However, since it wasn¡¯t a skill that was for PVP purposes, Lu Li himself made the decision to give it to Hachi Chan.


    Karaborian Talisman, Dark Gold, secondary weapon.


    Unfortunately, although the properties were not bad, no one wanted it.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t mind that since he could just put it into the guild storage and leave it for other ordinary players to claim it.


    The purpose for joining mega clubs despite being at the bottom of the food chain was not all for the sake of glory. There were also great benefits from making this decision. The items that slipped through the top players¡¯ hands would fall into the hands of the regular players. This was the advantage that members had over independent players.


    Thundering Greathelm, Dark Gold, Plate Helmet.


    Unlike the last item, this item would be claimed. This was because Moonlight claimed every suitable equip that no one else wanted.


    He often lost items when playing PVP. Although these items were rubbish in his eyes, normal players wouldn¡¯t think so. However, Moonlight¡¯s existence in the club wasn¡¯t annoying to the other members. Instead, he was a motivational figure and had many fans in the club.


    Moonlight liked to fight alone; he didn¡¯t want to bring anyone.


    Crystalheart Pulse-Staff!


    An Epic item finally dropped. It was suited for DPS magic-based classes. Properties aside, the aesthetics of this staff were also rather eye-catching.


    Naturally, there was a huge bidding war that ensued.


    In the end, it was a Shadow Priest who took it away. He had to spend most of his points to do so.


    Glaive of the Pit!


    This was a polearm, so it was usable for Druids, Paladins or Hunters.


    Lu Li decided to take it and place it in the guild storage to help the ordinary players who were levelling with their friends.


    The most special part of this weapon was its Lifesteal. Druids who equipped this weapon alongside a full set of Feral items would not need for external healing in Instance Dungeon monster grinds because of the amount of Lifesteal from the items.


    Chestguard of the Fallen Champion, Chestguard of the Fallen Defender, Chestguard of the Fallen Hero!


    Three set items dropped at once. This was well and truly fair.


    Lu Li, Fat Monkey and March Rain each took one.


    One Boss dropped five Epic items. Even if this was a First Clear, this was more than enough to reward everyone¡¯s efforts.


    Pit Lord¡¯s Satchel!


    There were also other quest-related drops.


    A 20-slot bag was decent and Lu Li decided to give it to Azure Sea Breeze. As a Tank, he had to bring many types of potions and elixirs and needed to have different sets of resistance-based Armor. Therefore, more slots would always be advantageous for him.


    There were also other First Clear rewards.


    Lu Li received a Cloak of the Pit Stalker, which was a level 70 Epic item. Although it wasn¡¯t a particularly exquisite item, it was still better than the Dark Gold cloak that he had, so he immediately changed it.


    Everyone dispersed while Lu Li arranged for some people to help Hachi Chan complete quests.


    After clearing Magtheridon¡¯s Lair, The Eye and Serpentshrine Cavern were opened to Ruling Sword.


    This was Sky Moon¡¯s time to show off now.


    As for Lu Li, he was preparing to go to Water Fairy¡¯s house to eat dinner.

 Chapter 1922 - 13 Naughty Ones

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Going to Water Fairy¡¯s home for a meal was something that had been mentioned ages ago, but it was only now that a plan had been made.


    Lu Li had seen Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather and they had a great chat together, but he hasn¡¯t made a formal visit. And even with his poor EQ levels, he could guess that this meal wasn¡¯t going to be easy.


    This not-very-easy meal was going to be at Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather¡¯s place.


    A formal house visit!


    Recently, Lu li had been collecting presents all over the place, asking all sorts of people what might be good to buy for an old, cultured guy.


    Antique scrolls, all sorts of strange, precious treasures, if he got anything he could find.


    Then when he got there, he¡¯d show it all off to the old guy!


    Whether he was bringing his sister or not was the question. After hesitating for a bit, Lu Li still decided to bring his sister. Lu Yin was a part of his life that he couldn¡¯t cut off. In various ways, she was even more important than Water Fairy.


    ¡°Bro I don¡¯t wanna go,¡± Lu Yin whined, she was about to cry.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you really close with Snowy? We¡¯re just going over for a meal,¡± Lu Li was at a loss.


    It wasn¡¯t right to leave his little sister at home by herself, especially when the last time they met, Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather said he wanted to see Lu Yin.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit nervous,¡± Lu Yin didn¡¯t quite know how to feel.


    ¡°Your bro is even more nervous. I¡¯m seeing the head of my future wife¡¯s family. Are you as nervous as that?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t perform well, then Snowy sis won¡¯t want you,¡± Lu Yin replied.


    ¡°Your bro is so amazing. How could she not want me?!¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re getting more and more vain. Snowy is going to drop you sooner or later, then I¡¯ll be married to Snowy sis, and the two of us will live happily ever after,¡± Lu Yin laughed.


    Her ear was given a good pinch by Lu Li.


    ¡°Listen here, two girls living happily ever after? Don¡¯t watch so many of those weird TV dramas.¡±


    After brother and sister made a bit of a racket, their nervousness had all but disappeared.


    After taking the presents and walking a few minutes, they arrived at where Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather lived. After all, everyone lived in the same little neighbourhood.


    The difference was only in that the place where Lu Li and Lu Yin lived was just a little bit humbler. Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather¡¯s detached house was so big it was ridiculous. The main building had two stories and had a very distinct design. One look and you could tell it was the work of a famous designer.


    What showed off the owner¡¯s status most conspicuously was actually the lawn in front of the house, as well as a vegetable garden. It looked like it must have originally been designed as a garden, but later was changed to grow veggies.


    The vegetable garden was lush and green, more vibrant than the lawn.


    There were a few boys kicking around a ball on the lawn, the oldest being over 10, and the youngest was only a few years old.


    If he didn¡¯t remember wrong, he heard Water Fairy say that there was only her grandfather at home, as well as a housekeeper who had been hired for more than 10 years.


    ¡°Can I ask who you¡¯re looking for? Is there something up?¡± The slightly older boy politely greeted them.


    ¡°I¡¯m Lu Li, here to visit the old gentleman Mr. Fan.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s old gentleman Mr. Fan?¡± A little boy next to him blinked and asked in curiosity.


    ¡°The old gentle Mr. Fan¡¯s grandfather. Go, tell them that you¡¯re here,¡± That mature young man introduced himself, then took some things from Lu Yin¡¯s hands and took them to go inside.


    Lu Li suddenly had a bad feeling. This time¡¯s meal at Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather¡¯s place seemed quite different. After he entered, his feelings had finally become reality. This was a family gathering.


    Dozens of pairs of eyes looked at him. It made someone who wasn¡¯t even scared of death, completely weak at the knees.


    Water Fairy was sitting next to her grandfather. At this time, she didn¡¯t even dare to look at Lu Li, unexpectedly even pretending to not recognize him. Her bright face turned slightly red, so embarrassed that she didn¡¯t look right.


    The Lu brother and sister really wanted to run.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Lu Yin?¡± Someone opened their mouth. It was a middle-aged woman who looked very intelligent and beautiful.


    ¡°Teacher¡­Teacher Zhao¡­¡± Lu Yin looked over and spoke obediently, unexpectedly meeting her class teacher.


    ¡°You¡¯re Lu Li¡¯s little sister. Come, sit next to me.¡± The teacher than explained to everyone, ¡°The students in my class are extremely diligent, and their results are improving rapidly. When she first came in, she was ranked 2third . But this time, she was already in the top 3.¡±


    Then everyone praised her for all sorts of things.


    After all, Lu Yin was an adorable little girl, the type that you simply couldn¡¯t help loving, let alone her being so good in her studies. In an instant, she had softened the hearts of everyone in the Fan family.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hide yourself. Go and introduce him. You¡¯ll have to do it sooner or later,¡± Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather used his cane to prod his granddaughter¡¯s calf, his face full of joking smiles.


    ¡°Ahem, this is Lu Li, my boyfriend, and Yin Yin his little sister,¡± Water Fairy¡¯s confidence returned to her body, and she was seen introducing everyone one by one.


    ¡°My grandfather, you¡¯ve met before,¡±


    ¡°Grandfather!¡±


    ¡°This is my elder uncle, this is my elder aunt, and their children, my oldest cousin, second oldest cousin, and fourth cousin.¡±


    ¡°Elder uncle, elder aunt, big cousin, second cousin, fourth cousin.¡±


    ¡°This is my second uncle, my second aunt, my third cousin, fifth cousin, eighth cousin and ninth cousin.¡±


    ¡°third uncle, third aunt ¨C she¡¯s Yin Yin¡¯s teacher, and sixth cousin, seventh cousin and tenth cousin.¡±


    ¡°fourth uncle, fourth aunt, eleventh cousin, twelfth cousin and thirteenth cousin is sleeping upstairs, he¡¯s only six months old.¡±


    Lu Li greeted all of them one by one, and soon you could see sweat on his head. This was such a giant family.


    The old gentleman Mr. Fan had four sons and one daughter. His four sons had given him 13 grandsons, and his only daughter bore him a granddaughter.


    Unfortunately, his daughter had passed away very early, just leaving behind a single granddaughter, Water Fairy.


    This old man who had 13 grandsons only had one granddaughter!


    This family only had this little princess, Water Fairy.


    And so, he felt that all of these eyes staring at him were filled with judgement as well as hidden enmity. Saying that the pressure was like a mountain was an understatement.


    ¡°The kid is alright,¡± This was Water Fairy¡¯s eldest uncle. Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t make things difficult for Lu Li.


    ¡°Least he¡¯s not a sissy,¡± the eldest aunt followed her husband.

 Chapter 1923 - The Illiterate Counterattack

    Maybe it was because the old gentleman Mr. Fan or Water Fairy had already prepared everyone, and so this group of people didn¡¯t give Lu Li a hard time.


    It was just the eldest uncle and the third uncle that asked Lu Li some things about his upbringing and his career. Others, especially the young people, were mostly actually interested in Lu Li¡¯s involvement in the game Dawn, especially the third uncle. He was actually a professor on stuff about the gaming industry and the second in charge at a famous university, a national authority in this area.


    Businesspeople, politicians, scientists, scholars¡­


    Doctor, doctor, doctor, professor, assistant professor¡­


    You didn¡¯t have to guess how much the Fan family owned, nor did you have to do any research to learn about their social standing. You just had to get a taste of this family¡¯s culture and you would know how this family reached their prosperity.


    But Lu Li, he was illiterate.


    If the Fan family really didn¡¯t see eye-to-eye with him, they could just find some sophisticated topic to talk about.


    But they chatted to Lu Li about games, which was purposely making it easy for Lu Li.


    It was a very lively, noisy atmosphere to have the whole family together. Lu Li had never experienced this sort of liveliness before, he didn¡¯t reject it.


    The impression that Lu Li left everyone was that he was very capable in gaming. And like those who were born from the Shen family, he didn¡¯t think that having money was something super amazing, nor did he think that official positions were so awesome. What they liked was one¡¯s authority within a certain area.


    And Lu Li had this exact sort of authority.


    So, if you were good at gaming, you could also have a chance to get this ideal, beautiful rich girl.


    Seeing the family meant that Lu Li and Water Fairy had formally become boyfriend and girlfriend. However, the Fan family thought that the two of them got into some pretty feisty arguments, and their identity as boyfriend and girlfriend was already doomed.


    So after they ate, Water Fairy¡¯s eldest uncle brought up the issue of whether or not they needed to be engaged.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy were both so dumbstruck.


    Then they received criticism from their seniors, could it be they were just playing around? If so, they wouldn¡¯t have to see him again.


    As Lu Li was leaving the Fan family, he was covered with sweat. On the contrary, Lu Yin was bouncing around like she had a lot of fun.


    The Fan family had a few little kids under 10 years old, boys all around the place. Their only sister was quite indifferent to those kids, so it was a rare chance today to have a beautiful older sister come. The main thing was that the beautiful older sister was willing to play with them, and so Lu Yin had become their ¡®best¡¯ friend.


    Water Fairy¡¯s third uncle even talked about things after Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s marriage.


    Were they going to join together to become an even stronger club? Or maintain the status quo and simply have an allied relationship?


    There were advantages and disadvantages to these. If they joined together, there¡¯d be a lot of trouble, with various benefits being reassigned and so on. The speed of Ruling Sword¡¯s development was because they reduced these distractions. But if they really did join together, then Glory Capital¡¯s hegemony would be over.


    There were clubs before who had allied together to resist Ruling Sword.


    But those alliances were just simple alliances. Both sides¡¯ benefits weren¡¯t completely equal, and all sorts of things kept on happening. A lot of the time, before they could contend against Glory Capital, the alliances were usually already breaking down.


    A lot of the Fan family were curious about what the two of them would do about these issues.


    They weren¡¯t concerned about the assets themselves. When you had accumulated a certain amount of money, it just became a simple number. What was more important was the career that had been built over this process.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy had never discussed this issue. And now, they couldn¡¯t discuss and come up with a result either. In the end, they could only go and develop their own separate ways, and at most, they would work a bit closer and a bit more often.


    After all, these leaders of the two clubs had benefits that were equally high. Even if there was some issue, they could take it home to resolve it. And no matter what the issue was, it wouldn¡¯t impact the cooperation of the two clubs.


    Since they defeated Gruul and Magtheridon, Serpentshrine Cavern and The Eye had opened their gates to Ruling Sword.


    It was a question as to which one would attack first.


    Later, it would still be Sky Moon who decided to fight Serpentshrine Cavern first, because relatively speaking, they could still take The Eye a bit more slowly for now.


    Whoever could control water could control the whole Outland.


    This principle was handed down by Illidan Stormrage to his most trusted subordinate Lady Vashj. Not long after the third war, Illidan sought the assistance of the Naga, and a group of Naga led by Lady Vashj responded to Illidan¡¯s call. From then on, Vashj was intensely devoted to the service of Illidan.


    Now, this Naga Witch sat on the authoritative throne in Serpentshrine Cavern, carefully monitoring the activities of the Colifang. Compared to when she was bound inside the icy stone walls of Black Temple, amidst the water of the reservoir, she felt more at ease. She continued to watch her subordinates intensely, and even personally supervised the training efforts of Zangarmarsh.


    But was she only loyal to Illidan, or was she waiting for someone else too?


    Like before, Lu Li didn¡¯t take command, instead he remained at a solid output position. Along with Water Fairy, the two of them treated this place as a holiday spot, chatting quietly if no one was around them.


    For example, gossiping about why Egg got pursued by Maiev, and how could Maiev have defeated Egg.


    They concluded it might have been love, Tyrande loved Malfurion, Illidan loved Tyrande and Maiev loved Illidan. It was like a circle that could never be completed perfectly. Immediately, Water Fairy felt unhappy. Maybe Malfurion liked his younger brother, it was hard to say.


    If there was a relatively longer rest break, the odd couple might even spar with each other.


    At this time, those who liked gambling could gather around and place bets. Lu Li and Water Fairy were of similar power, Lu Li was just slightly better, but he obviously couldn¡¯t win against Water Fairy every time. But he couldn¡¯t lose either. If you met a guy that couldn¡¯t even defeat you, why would you still be with them?


    That¡¯s why Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s battles were filled with uncertainty. This sort of uncertainty was perfect for betting. You didn¡¯t need much, just win or lose a few hundred gold.


    It look a really long time to destroy the first Boss in Serpentshrine Cavern.


    The first Boss was called Hydross the Unstable. The original name was Fury of Water Hydross, the Guardian of Water in the Outland, the Water Element Guardian in The Throne of the Elements.


    When Vashj occupied the Colifang Cavern, she had her eyes on Hydross. She realised that if Hydross was able to help her guard the gates to Serpentshrine Cavern, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about things at home. And so she came to Nagrand, polluting the water elements in the lake. Hydross realised that the lake water of Sunspring Post had been polluted and rushed over to have a closer look.


    This poor guy had fallen into Vashj¡¯s well-furnished trap. The Hydross that was tricked by Vashj turned crazy and lost his mind, and even began to attack any living thing nearby.


    Later, Hydross was taken by Vashj to Serpentshrine Cavern and helped her guard the gates to Serpentshrine Cavern.


    This Boss couldn¡¯t be killed quickly.


    But Lu Li didn¡¯t need to command, and he had a beautiful girl for company, so he didn¡¯t get tired out at all.

 Chapter 1924 - Only Lu Li Can Save Us

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°You¡¯re laughing like two idiots! Even if you are taking it easy, you could still give some advice. Could it be that ordinary First Clear team members don¡¯t have to do this sort of duty?¡± Wandering couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer. He wanted to finish fighting quickly then head home to sleep.


    It had nothing to do with the fact that sleep was the biggest enemy of beauty. He was simply lazy.


    ¡°Huh, you¡¯re talking ¡¯bout me?¡± Only after Lu Li came back to his senses did he realise that everyone was looking at him.


    ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯re just showing off PDA. You¡¯re still doing it. Look at your output, you¡¯re going to be in the second tier team soon,¡± Azure Sea Breeze couldn¡¯t stand it any longer either. He just couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    ¡°Man, Thieves got nerfed for the Instance Dungeons this patch! Those monsters,¡± Lu Li joked.


    ¡°So tired, we¡¯ve fought this Boss for so long,¡± Water Fairy said quietly to the side.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve fought for so long. I¡¯ve had some thoughts over this process, we avoid the spray in the first stage, needless to say, the commander can just take points away if they don¡¯t avoid it.¡± As soon as Lu Li heard his girl was tired, he immediately turned into the top commander in Dawn. In his analysis, he made many points, ¡°And as for the Main Tank¡­ two Warriors and two Riders, why not change it to two Warriors and two Druids¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just head off to bed then,¡± As soon as Wandering heard all this, he took the chance to get out.


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯d also be ok with a Rider Tank,¡± Lu Li had spoken a bit too late. Wandering had already finished reading his Hearthstone.


    People who didn¡¯t know might still think he left because he was angry. Only those who understood him knew that he really didn¡¯t want to keep going. After all, they had died over ten times fighting Serpentshrine Cavern. Anyone would feel annoyed, let alone a lazy guy like him.


    ¡°One Tank wears a natural resistance transmog set, the other wears an ice resistance transmog set, and their rate of block doesn¡¯t matter, as long as their equipment¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you can¡¯t really run when the Boss releases water on the graveyard. Don¡¯t just wait for the commander to speak up, it¡¯ll be too late by then. There aren¡¯t any noobs on the field, can¡¯t you make some judgements for yourself?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going really well in the second stage changing the Tank, so I don¡¯t have to say anything there. However, in the third stage, can you deal with the little monsters a bit quicker, just save the output skills to that stage and it should be ok.¡±


    ¡°Um, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Sky Moon humbly accepted instruction, feeling that what Lu Li advised really made sense. They immediately adjusted the team here and set some new positions.


    After dying twice more, they finally defeated the Boss.


    ¡°When you¡¯re commanding, you don¡¯t have to be so focused. You¡¯re too nervous, that way you¡¯ll become the most tired person on the field, and fatigue would lower your reaction time. So, when you issue commands, it¡¯ll too late.¡±


    This was what Lu Li said to Sky Moon to conclude.


    After they finished fighting they split up the equipment. Others went back to rest, but naturally, Water Fairy wasn¡¯t tired anymore.


    In order to not have her be tired, Lu Li got into action and finished up the Boss. This was simply a textbook example of a dominant leader.


    Serpentshrine Cavern drops were considered T5 level equipment, and the unaffiliated drops were better than the last few Instance Dungeons too, so Dark Gold was a popular item that everyone was chasing after too. Generally speaking, there weren¡¯t any quiet auctions.


    From the first Boss, Lu Li got a Ring of Lethality, and didn¡¯t actually have to spend much DKP for it. After all, it was just an interim piece of equipment.


    This Boss dropped blueprints too.


    ¡®Plans: Red Belt of Battle¡¯, plate armour output equipment, Dark Gold level. This blueprint could make 10 of them, which was already pretty good. Top teams had no use for it, it was more for the weaker teams who were skill farming KLZ.


    This was the good thing about a large-scale club, those at the front threw things to those at the back. And after they got them, they would have a head-start over the average player.


    The second Boss was the Fathom-Lord Karathress.


    Karathress was originally a top Elite. When the Well of Eternity exploded, power came down in torrents onto the lives of many top Elites. However, after he received this turbulent flow of power. Not only did he survive, he even received some strange powers.


    When Karathress was woken in the freezing dark depths of the sea, he realised in surprise that he had a body like a snake. The top Elites who had survived with him were called the Naga. What made him even more surprised was that he realised he was able to harness the power of his fallen comrades¡¯ souls.


    He was ecstatic to receive this new ability and came up with a plan.


    Karathress used his power to stand out above the rest in Naga society. But Naga society didn¡¯t allow males to reach very high positions, so he prepared to gain respect for himself by physical force. He even considered, when he was powerful enough, abolishing the matriarchal Naga system. But there might be a day when he had to challenge his limitless magic, his master that no one could oppose ¨C Queen Azshara.


    He was working hard for that day. To the queen, he was a loyal guard and her officer.


    However, as soon as he left the queen¡¯s palace, he became the most dangerous assassin in Nazjatar city. He eliminated every enemy he set his sight on and kept absorbing their abilities. In Naga society, if men fought like this, as long as they weren¡¯t caught, it was legal. Karathress grew stronger day after day.


    After Vashj pledged her allegiance to Illidan, he voluntarily applied to be a military vanguard of the Outland. He knew there were more chances to absorb others¡¯ abilities on the battlefield. In every battle that followed, he led those right under his command, himself at the helm, gaining Vashj¡¯s deep appreciation, and getting the title ¡®Fathom-Lord¡¯.


    He held in his hand a ¡®World Breaker.¡¯


    It was a very exquisite Druid weapon, dealing great damage and having a high chance of critical hits, as well as looking really awesome.


    This Boss brought with him three little brothers. When they saw them, after Sky Moon thought for a bit, he gave the command that Remnant Dream was to Misdirect one of the Boss¡¯s little brothers.


    Evidently, he was imitating how Lu Li fought in Gruul¡¯s lair.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t tell him that this wouldn¡¯t work, because when First Clearing, they needed to try all sorts of things, and Misdirecting was evidently something that was worth a try.


    Of course, the main reason for trying this is that only Azure Sea Breeze would have to deal with the consequences.


    Other people just kicked back and watched the show.


    After messing around for a bit, they finally realised that Misdirecting it to kill it in isolation wasn¡¯t possible, if they were killing them one by one.


    So did they have to kill them all together, or kill them one by one?


    The conclusion was to kill them one by one.


    Then which one was better to kill first?


    They only got a verdict after fighting all day. They would kill the Deep Guardian Sharkkis first, which was the Hunter little brother, then the Shaman little brother, the Deep Guardian Tidalvess, and finally the Priest little brother the Deep Guardian Caribdis.


    The hardest part about this monster was the loss of players at the frontlines. If they could limit the number of people they lost, then the Boss later wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    They fought a few times again on the second day, and Sky Moon finally led everyone to defeat the Boss.


    Everyone had a taste of what entering this Instance Dungeon was like. They always thought it was easier to follow Lu Li into an Instance Dungeon. Azure Sea Breeze, who absolutely hated Lu Li before, now looked at him with eyes full of affection.

 Chapter 1925 - Sextant of Unstable Currents

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Though he took the initiative and defeated the Boss independently, he didn¡¯t have everyone sing his praises. Sky Moon lost heart immediately. Lu Li didn¡¯t comfort him, he said what he had to. If he had no way to toughen up his heart, then there might be a limit to his achievements.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t take anything from this Boss.


    It wasn¡¯t that the Boss didn¡¯t drop good stuff, if ¡®Sextant of Unstable Currents¡¯ wasn¡¯t good enough, then there was no point clearing this Instance Dungeon again.


    Shame that this was an exquisite item for a mage, having nothing to do with him, a Thief.


    The third Boss was Leotheras the Blind.


    Leotheras the Blind was one of the five Blood Elves that was sent by Kael¡¯thas to undergo Demon Hunter trials under Illidan.


    Of those five who went to training, three had died. Only Varedis had successfully completed the training. Leotheras had survived but because he couldn¡¯t bear the training, he went crazy.


    Illidan felt that to kill Leotheras was a waste of his power, so he imprisoned him in the depths of Serpentshrine Cavern.


    What¡¯s worth mentioning is that not all Demon Hunters were once Blood Elves, but, if there was a non-Blood Elf Demon Hunter, it would cause quite a spectacle. Varedis and Leotheras were maybe the pioneers in terms of being non-Blood Elf Demon Hunters, because before then, non-Blood Elf Demon Hunters were unheard of.


    ¡°Bear Tank, it¡¯s best to use a Bear Tank for this Boss.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not in a good condition, then everyone¡¯s going to suffer along with you. I¡¯ll give you 10 minutes to fix up yourself, if you absolutely have no way to adjust your attitude, then I¡¯ll come and command this Boss.¡±


    Sky Moon nodded, walked over to the side and sighed quietly.


    In Dawn, there were Warrior Tanks, Rider Tanks, as well as Druid Bear Tanks. Generally speaking, Warrior Tanks were the most popular. After all, they had the highest defence, and were the most able to pull aggro. They were a solid barrier against a big Boss.


    Defence Raiders were maybe a bit worse, but great at pulling groups¡ª Warrior Tanks had nothing on them in that department.


    Bear Tanks were the most embarrassing. It wasn¡¯t particularly great in any area, so they never had good status in an Instance Dungeon. Even though there was Drizzle Court¡¯s Deep Watersong, for now, they had already reduced themselves to just two or three Tanks.


    But since the start of Serpentshrine Cavern, the Bear Tank began to show off its magnificence.


    After a while, Sky Moon opened up his mouth to declare the start of a new strategy, bringing in a Bear Tank called Seventh Night.


    He was originally someone from the number two team. At the moment, the second team was fighting Magtheridon, and he was on call outside. And so he was summoned out. The equipment he had on him wasn¡¯t bad at all, and he was alright in Instance Dungeons too.


    Since Karazhan started, whenever a First Clear team had Bear Tank equipment, it was pretty much just dumped on him.


    ¡°Whoever screws up in the first stage will have points deducted,¡± Sky Moon paused, ¡°That includes Lu Li.¡±


    Lu Li laughed; he wasn¡¯t angry.


    There weren¡¯t many parts to mess up in the first stage. The main thing was about 15 seconds after the battle started, the Boss would clear aggro and release a Whirlwind that would last about 10 seconds. At this time, they had to disperse, leave their positions and move to avoid it. Healers had to be careful to avoid accumulating too much aggro to avoid being One Shot after the Whirlwind ended.


    Non-healer roles didn¡¯t have to take any healing potions, they just had to maintain zero aggro. Tanks needed to follow him as he ran around all over the place and accumulate as much aggro as they could.


    Five to six seconds after it stopped the Whirlwind, the DPS would start to attack again to give the Main Tanks time to pull aggro.


    15 seconds after the Whirlwind stopped, Leotheras would clear aggro again and would set off a Whirlwind. About ten seconds after it was over, it would turn into the form of a demon and clear aggro, entering into the second stage.


    If Lu Li commanded, maybe he wouldn¡¯t know how to attack. The first stage was cleared easily, after all, it was just a matter of dealing with aggro.


    The second stage was the demon stage. If they were still using Bear Tanks or Warrior Tanks at this stage, then the First Clear team was going to suffer. The right method was to use a Warlock Tank. Without Lu Li prompting him, Sky Moon had swapped Carnivorous Cat to deal with the Boss¡¯s aggro.


    This stage was actually really hard. The main thing was the Boss¡¯s ¡®Inner Demon¡¯ skill.


    He would randomly cast ¡®Inner Demon¡¯ onto any random player within his field of vision, and it created a demon that would possess the same HP as the player. Each Inner Demon could only be attacked by the player it was summoned onto. If you couldn¡¯t finish off your own Inner Demon before Leotheras turned back into human form, you would be mind-controlled for a ten long minutes, and there was no way to get rid of it.


    If you were finished off while mind-controlled, then there was no way for you to revive in this battle again.


    Inner Demon could do around 1000 hand-to-hand damage, as well as Shadow Bolts that did 2500 damage. There was no doubt that none of the healers could get rid of their Inner Demon.


    Lu Li really wanted to tell Sky Moon to calculate the time of the Boss¡¯s skill releasing, because then you would realise that these times weren¡¯t random at all.


    You could note down when they were released. Then, a few seconds before it was released, you could just arrange for the healers to hide behind the columns.


    But he couldn¡¯t say it. He needed to have Sky Moon realise this by himself.


    Good thing Sky Moon¡¯s commanding talent wasn¡¯t what Lu Li had imagined. After dying a few times amidst some messiness, he finally learned this method.


    If the Boss had more than 85% HP, it would keep cycling between the first and second stage. When the HP was below 50%, the battle would enter into the third stage.


    Leotheras¡¯s Demon form would split from his human form, so the team had to deal with two Bosses at the same time. A Warlock was to Tank the demon form, and there shouldn¡¯t be anyone within 15 yards of this Warlock. Although it was the same as the second stage, at this point, it wouldn¡¯t summon Inner Demons.


    The Main Tank was to Tank the human form. Like the first stage, it would send out a Whirlwind every 15 seconds, but you wouldn¡¯t have enough time or ability to survive two or three Whirlwinds. You had to rapidly DPS the human form to death before it got angry. After it was finished off, the demon form would disappear, and the battle would end.


    In the loot, there was a Tsunami Talisman, which was a pretty good talisman, an Epic equipment. Lu Li gave it to Water Fairy.


    There were actually more T5 Transmog set pieces, but it was just a shame that none for Thieves came out.


    The fourth Boss was called Morogrim Tidewalker.


    Ever since entering the game, no matter what race you were or what experience you had, you would¡¯ve fought with a certain creature¡ª a Murloc.


    These Murlocs didn¡¯t have any fighting spirit. They ran fast, there were a lot of them, they would escape and look for help if they encountered anything remotely dangerous at all, and they would chase you in hot pursuit.


    However, there was one creature Murlocs were afraid of. This creature was incredibly powerful and ginormous in size. One footstep would sent a whole group of Murlocs running away in fear ¨C he was Morogrim Tidewalker.


    As the strongest ocean giant on the Azeroth mainland, he was an unforgivably evil despot, often leading Murlocs to attack and pillage human villages.


    Before Illidan attacked Black Temple, he commanded Vashj to find some help. Vashj found Morogrim Tidewalker and promised that if he joined her, then she would give him even stronger power.


    Morogrim Tidewalker joined in with Illidan and his team, and they successfully attacked Black Temple.


    Later, Vashj had Morogrim Tidewalker guarded the central territory of Black Temple to wait for invaders.


    This Boss was good, it dropped all sorts of good things.


    Talon of Azshara! Serpent-Coil Braid! And a Shell of Tide-Calling for little pets!

 Chapter 1926 - Vashj Sis

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Within the whole Instance Dungeon, this Boss was of intermediate difficulty. Unlike Leotheras the Blind and the Fathom-Lord Karathress, he didn¡¯t drop T5 pieces. This made his value the same as Hydross the Unstable, but a bit lower than the two bosses that dropped T5 equipment.


    If they could kill the first boss, then they should pretty much be able to fight Morogrim Tidewalker.


    Resistance equipment wasn¡¯t necessary, nor was an HP with a full buff up to 9K, but it could guarantee that after a team member went through the Water Tomb, wasn¡¯t able to heal in time and got damage from an earthquake, they would still be able to survive and thus reduce the difficulty of fighting.


    This Boss¡¯s signature skill was Water Tomb.


    This name was indescribably awesome. Every 30 seconds, the Boss would teleport four random targets to certain positions and trap them in bubbles for six seconds. After six seconds, the bubble would explode, doing 3200 ice damage, as well as flinging away the target and those around them, doing about 1000 fall damage.


    This skill wouldn¡¯t one shot people. What would really one shot people was the earthquake that would shake those Water Tomb targets who were running away.


    After this Boss was finished off, Skill Points were finally dropped.


    The one who received the Skill Points was Darkness. As a Tanky Healer, she had a great need for Skill Points. Next came a moment that stirred everyone up. Lu Li was really looking forward to seeing that single-handed sword Talon of Azshara come out.


    The Talon of Azshara was once worn by the ancient Kaldorei ¨C it was a single-handed sword named after the moon goddess Azshara. The blade was long and thin, and its appearance dazzled the eyes. Its attributes were Good, considered one of the best T5 weapons.


    Because of its superior attributes, as well as its beautiful appearance, it would become one of the most sought-after pieces of equipment, especially liked by Thieves and Warriors, as well as tempting Hunters.


    Even in later patches, where its attributes had fallen very far behind, there were still quite a few players who didn¡¯t mind taking the trouble to farm Instance Dungeon for it and hoping for its drop, because they liked its appearance.


    High output, has control, could reduce damage, what else could you ask for.


    Warriors had priority for this piece of equipment. If Warriors needed equipment, they would let Lu Li know. They liked double-handed swords more, but it was just the defence Warriors that liked single-handed swords, but defence warriors tended to use their priority status on shields instead.


    Talon of Azshara (Epic): Damage 132-168, Strength +220, Agility +160, Constitution +100, Slots 2, Special Effect 1: Tide, after use, it deals 800 ice damage to the target directly in the line of the sight of the wearer within 5 yards, and it also reduces their movement speed by 60%, lasts for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 6 minutes. Special Effect 2: summons an air bubble shield, does 1200 damage reduction to the wearer. After the air bubble shatters, it does 300 ice damage to all enemy targets within 5 yards, as well as reduces their movement speed by 60%, lasts for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 6 minutes. Equipment requires level 70. Durability: 420/420.


    The Talon of Azshara that the Boss dropped had over five special effects in total, and any two of them could come out. Occasionally, there was a chance that three special effects would come out.


    The Talon of Azshara that dropped out today only had two special effects, but these two special effects were really nice.


    Without any hesitation, Lu Li swapped his Lord Gronn sword for the Talon of Azshara.


    Shame that the Serpent-Coil Braid didn¡¯t drop, it was worth even more than the Talon of Azshara. If Mages had a Serpent-Coil Braid, they either had a lot of points, their stats were off the charts, or they were a rich kid.


    The final thing to drop was the Shell of Tide-Calling.


    It could summon out a mini Tidewalker. This plaything was both cute and ugly at the same time. It followed behind its master all day. It liked to eat little fish, shrimp, or shells. If his master wanted to cross a river, he would grow bigger and have the master sit on his shoulders to cross.


    It was really good at moving around in water.


    The fifth Boss was The Lurker Below. Players called it the Fish Head Hotpot. But players generally weren¡¯t able to find it. After Lu Li finished off the little monsters, he went fishing and fished up this Boss.


    Although the lake in Serpentshrine Cavern had been polluted, there wasn¡¯t a single creature that could attack in there. Vashj felt very dissatisfied about this. And so, she filled the lake with a heap of man-eating fish, letting them kill each other. After three days, an absolutely ginormous beast surged up in the lake, and so Vashj called this wild beast the Lurker Below, becoming her own pet. If an invader fell into Serpentshrine Cavern¡¯s lake, they would become food for The Lurker Below.


    The Lurker Below was an extremely simple Boss, it was basically a giveaway.


    It didn¡¯t have anything good, just the Earring of Soulful Meditation. It wasn¡¯t a bad accessory for Priests, according to all those who used it.


    The final Boss was Vashj. Vashj was once the maidservant of the Elf Queen Azshara.


    The Well of Eternity had exploded, causing a powerful earthquake that destroyed the world¡¯s foundations. However, Queen Azshara and the top Elves actually ended up surviving the disaster.


    Queen Azshara and her followers suffered as they were dragged into the roaring sea by the Well of Eternity¡¯s explosion. The cursed Elves had changed their form, becoming snake-like Naga filled with hate.


    Queen Azshara¡¯s own hate and anger continued to expand, becoming extremely oppressive. It displayed the evil and resentment she had held in the depths of her inner heart the whole time.


    Under this maelstrom, the Naga established a new city, Nazjatar, to gather their power, and as Azshara¡¯s maidservant, who had stuck by her side, Vashj turned into a snake-like Naga too.


    Later, she was suddenly summoned by Illidan, leading the Naga guards out to serve Illidan. At the same time, Illidan entered Sargeras¡¯s tomb and saved the Blood Elf prince Kael¡¯thas. Later, because of Northrend¡¯s fruitless attempt to destroy the Frozen Throne, they followed Illidan to escape to the Outlands and occupied it.


    Illidan forcibly occupied Black Temple, Kael¡¯thas stayed in The Eye, and Vashj in her humble abode of Serpentshrine Cavern, all becoming overlords of one area.


    Vashj Sis wasn¡¯t an easy Boss, it was really normal to have to fight her for a few days.


    In these few days, Ruling Sword had entered into the top 32 in the second league match.


    Ruling Sword had never faced an opponent like that since they were fighting with Blood Red War Flag. They were ruined like a hot knife cutting through butter. Not only did they lose, they lost hard. Even Blue Universe, formerly part of Drizzle Court, didn¡¯t score a single point.


    In the new stronghold battles, Sky Moon had successfully returned the stronghold they got from Gale Legion back to them.


    The price was 80 million in real money, which still wasn¡¯t how much Gale Legion had paid for it.


    The club took 40 million, and the remaining 40 million was given to those who participated in battle. Everyone got a fair few hundred thousand. Regardless of whether Sky Moon liked it or not, this group of people had become crazy for battle, and Sky Moon kept declaring war on other clubs for various reasons.


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with them, as long as they protected their own few strongholds, they could keep messing around again and again.


    He hoped that more Elite team players would join in. It would then turn into a training ground so that when they become mature, they could occupy more strongholds.

 Chapter 1927 - 8 Faction Tangled Battle

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    At this moment, Lu Li was sitting on his Black Qiraji Battle Tank. By his side was Her Tears and also some other Ruling Sword PK players. They had taken a whole mountain and kept everyone away.


    Right in front of them were great canyons and hills, and they were filled with tangled battles.


    The people who participated were not ones from Ruling Sword; they were only spectators this time. The real protagonist was Majin Temple, and they were attacked from all sides from the so-called ¡°Six Major Schools¡±.


    The Six Major Schools consisted of Peacetime Dynasty, East Sea Fleet, War Victory, Proud Arrogance, Inferno, and Imperial Secret Service.


    These clubs, no matter strong or weak, at the very least all existed within the Top 100. With the six clubs joining forces, any clubs needed to be alert. Hence, why Lu Li left from Vashj Sis¡¯s First Clear to come check out the situation.


    Under normal circumstance, battles wouldn¡¯t get them involved. It didn¡¯t do any good for any side to upset a super club.


    ¡°How did these clubs join forces?¡± Her Tears was very puzzled.


    ¡°Is there some connection between them all?¡± Lu Li was also asking. But he wasn¡¯t asking Her Tears. It was pointless to ask him anyways. He was asking Moonlight who was an old gamer.


    ¡°Nope, there isn¡¯t really any connection between them all. Some clubs even have conflicts with each other. Not long ago, Peacetime Dynasty besieged Inferno Club. It was such an intense fight,¡± Moonlight shook his head.


    ¡°I know this,¡± Her Tears chimed in, ¡°It was indeed quite a hectic fight. Every part of the map had players from Peacetime Dynasty chasing after the members of Inferno.¡±


    ¡°Now they are all allied together. Don¡¯t understand why,¡± Moonlight sighed.


    ¡°Very simple. Inferno was swallowed up. One side brought a cheque while the others brought fists. They had no choice but to follow them. The other clubs were probably in the same situation. Only question is why they would choose to take down Majin Temple¡ª a hundred-year-old club. They really have guts,¡± Lu Li combined some information he had heard in his previous life as he finally made his judgement.


    There were some clubs in the gaming circle who had a very long history. That had existed since the time of keyboard games. For example, Seventh Heaven, Stellar Union and Brotherhood, etc. Some came into the spotlight after the advent of the virtual era, others came from the popularisation of virtual games. Majin Temple was one of these super clubs who had appeared long with the national game ¡°New World¡±.


    After so many years of ups and downs, they¡¯ve had glories and also failures. But they¡¯ve stood standing tall. Yet, they had never thought they would end up in a state like today.


    ¡°Do we need help?¡± Her Tears was eager for action, ¡°I can start to gather people. Give me half an hour, I can get at least 50,000 people to join the fight.¡±


    50,000 people wouldn¡¯t guarantee a win, but at least it can shift the current state of the battle.


    ¡°Why would we help? Plus, it¡¯s not even our turn to,¡± Lu Li laughed.


    Once a mass of blood red flags appeared everywhere amongst the canyon basin, it announced that Majin Temple¡¯s reinforcements had arrived. They rushed straight towards the enemy without a word and killed anyone who got in their way. Only those clubs who occupied the mountain tops without any show of malice were spared.


    Lu Li and the others didn¡¯t move, even though it was hard to avoid being alarmed.


    They only had about a hundred or so people come and spectate, so it was easy for Blood Red War Flag to flatten them if they wanted to.


    That¡¯s right, it was Blood Red War Flag!


    The club ranked second on the ladder. This was a super club that had stood for over a hundred or more years.


    ¡°No way! Blood Red War Flag?¡± Her Tears was really shocked and asked in confusion, ¡°Aren¡¯t the two of them usually at each other¡¯s throats? Unforgetful Maple and I had once pranked Jade Flower Lover.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know!¡± Lu Li knew that the reinforcements would be Red Blood War Flag, but he didn¡¯t know the exact reasons why.


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t the first time,¡± Moonlight smiled and said, ¡°No matter to what extent the two clubs were at each other¡¯s throats, as soon as one of them were at a place of life or death, the other one would definitely come aid the other at full strength¡ª No matter the cost.¡±


    From Lu Li and the others¡¯ perspectives looking down, the people of Blood Red War Flag did seem to be giving their all.


    Nearly all the elite teams were in action. Even the silhouettes of the top competitive players could also be seen. Expensive equipment were all dropped on the ground with no one picking them up. Medicines worth over tens even hundreds of gold coins were all used. All for a little more attack, a little more power to kill the opponent, even if it was to lessen Majin Temple¡¯s pressure by just a little bit.


    Even with Blood Red War Flag joining in, they were still unable to fully turn the tides. Afterall, it was six of the top 100 clubs joined together.


    Both sides had engaged in a hard battle.


    But this situation didn¡¯t last for very long. The Six Major Schools were fighting for money, while Blood Red War Flag and Majin Temple were flighting to survive. Both sides had different reasons. So, one side became more fearful as they fought while the other grew in morale as they fought.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. There¡¯s not much to see anymore. Get someone to gather intel on this area,¡± Lu Li pinched his nose.


    To witness this battle with his own eyes rather than hear it from elsewhere made Lu Li suddenly feel quite bold to cooperate with Maple Sis.


    If he had known that Blood Red War Flag and Majin Temple had a life-long friendship, then he would have never sided with Majin Temple to prank Blood Red War Flag. Even though in reality, Blood Red War Flag didn¡¯t accrue any losses.


    This was a large-scale wild team battle that shocked the whole gaming circle.


    No one knew why Blood Red War Flag was helping Majin Temple. Even though that had won them the battle, but the costs were very heavy. The lost equipment or medicines weren¡¯t too bad, but to upset the Six Major School¡¯s alliance at the same time.


    However, nobody thought that Blood Red War Flag wouldn¡¯t escape but rather start counterattacking.


    Lu Li also didn¡¯t understand. They were fighting Majin Temple ¨C it had nothing to do with Blood Red War Flag. Jade Flower Lover was a smart cookie, why did he not care at all for his club¡¯s future development and listed the Six Major Schools as wanted everywhere in the world.


    If at this time, Glory Capital chose to add misfortune to the situation, or if some other super clubs joined in, then Blood Red War Flag could very well be faced with destruction.


    The wild was filled with news about these eight clubs ripping each other apart over the last few days in Dawn.


    No wonder even Moonlight who loved warfare was rather wary of Blood Red War Flag. Blood Red War Flag usually had five people a unit for wild battles who worked together seamlessly. Maybe the other dozen or 20 people could be beaten by them.


    Then were not afraid of death, neither did they worry about losses, all for the goal of achieving victory at all costs.


    Within a short four to five days, the people of the Six Major Schools didn¡¯t dare leave the safety zone. Even if it were a dozen people going out, they would still be stricken with fear.

 Chapter 1928 - Passing the Ball

    Whether in reality or in games, wars will always be fought to the bargaining table.


    Majin Temple and Blood Red War Flag won the battle, but there were other costs to consider. It wasn¡¯t too costly for Blood Red War Flag; their losses were only medicine and equipment. They made an example by reminding everyone of Blood Red War Flag¡¯s fierceness. Majin Temple¡¯s problem was regarding the fact that they had lost a large number of master players.


    An unknown financial group sneaked into the gaming circle. They hired a large amount of master players and integrated several mercenary groups before starting the game where big fish ate small fish. With gold coins in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other, they bought over many clubs. Even an old club like Peacetime Dynasty had admitted defeat.


    Their tactics for taking over had improved. Majin Temple¡¯s leaders didn¡¯t have a clue, but they already had people seep into their ranks, and had persuaded the elite team members to leave with them. Then, they engaged in a large-scale team battle when Majin Temple was at its weakest.


    Now that they had won, they could lay down their conditions. But even if Unforgetful Maple did lay down conditions, there was still no way that those elite team members who had left could be returned. To take those traitors back in would be like keeping a time bomb.


    The outside world had another conspiracy theory.


    Why did Blood Red War Flag rush to the rescue when they could¡¯ve tried to take over Majin Temple instead? Majin Temple¡¯s abilities at the moment was indeed not as great as before, but a lean camel was still bigger than a horse. Blood Red War Flag needed way more power to defeat Majin Temple. Otherwise, why would they help them so recklessly?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t entertain the theory. If they really did have plans for this, then these two clubs would¡¯ve joined together ages ago. They had too many opportunities to do that.


    He had already entered the Serpentshrine Cavern and planned to first clear Vashj Sis. Vashj Sis had been fighting for days already. Lu Li was pretty much there the whole time, but Sky Moon was the one responsible for commanding at the moment. Everyone had successfully fought to the third stage and victory was right in front of them.


    As a top competitive player, Lu Li evidently wanted to participate in the final battle.


    After the battle began, Lu Li was the first to get hit by Vashj¡¯s Static Charge. His truly was the unluckiest.


    Static Charge was a debuff that Vashj released in the first and third stage to a random person. It lasted for 30 seconds and dealt 2775 to 3225 natural damage per second to the target and all targets within five yards around the target.


    The damage would accumulate and increase if not managed properly, and the team could get wiped out unexpectedly. Luckily this debuff could be removed with skills like Shadowcloak, Ice Block, and Holy Shield. Lu Li¡¯s Shadowcloak was enough to remove it. He reacted quickly so there was barely any HP loss. The first stage went by without much difficulty.


    Vashj wasn¡¯t very formidable in the second stage. She ran to the centre of the platform and created a shield around her. The only way to break the shield around her was to destroy the four pillars connected with her shield.


    There was a Poisonous Water Elemental that would randomly shoot copies of itself in all four directions. They would get mixed in normal water, and if it wasn¡¯t destroyed in a long period of time, it would automatically disappear. Killing it dropped a Tainted Core. Using the Tainted Core to tap the pillar connected to Vashj would release it. They needed four altogether. After breaking the connection of the four pillars, then could they enter into the third stage.


    Once the second stage started, everyone all went to their respective positions immediately. Every side of the stairs were left with two Damage Dealers and one Healer. Main Tanks and Sub-tanks were left in the middle, ready to pull Vilefang Elite who was about to appear.


    That left long-distance Damage Dealers, Main Tank and Sub-tanks grouped in the middle.


    After the second stage began, the Enchanted Elemental started to appear on every side of the stairs at the bottom and moved towards the direction of Vashj.


    Each Enchanted Elemental had 7800 HP. Each team needed to destroy them before they moved to Vashj.


    Every Enchanted Elemental that successfully moved to Vashj would increase her damage by 5%.


    If more than two Elementals were consumed by Vashj then it could very likely lead to the whole team being destroyed. Furthermore, any losses of members at this stage could cause significant reduction in damage output. Therefore, killing the Elementals while surviving was the main objective.


    Lu Li¡¯s professional responsibility was to kill the Elementals. He was a master and killed them as if he was simply chopping vegetables. He didn¡¯t even need healers to follow along.


    This stage had many different types of little monsters. Amongst them were the Coilfang striders that could one-shot certain professions. It killed from a long-distance, and if there were too many of them in the area, it pretty much meant a complete team wipe.


    Sky Moon changed from pick up mode to free pick up so that not just the team leader and looters could pick up, but now everyone could.


    This was for the sake of collecting Tainted Cores dropped by Enchanted Elements.


    The people who got the Tainted Core would be frozen for a short period of time. But the Tainted Core could be passed along to people within a certain radius within sight. So, it was like passing a ball.


    Quickly obtaining the Tainted Cores and passing it to the people nearby in order to remove Vashj¡¯s shield could prevent the site from accumulating too many Coilfang striders. Hence, passing the Tainted Cores quickly was very important. Whoever that didn¡¯t pass it on would have points deducted.


    If Ruling Sword didn¡¯t clear Magtheridon¡¯s Lair and gotten the qualification to enter into Serpentshrine Cavern before the other clubs, then there was perhaps a chance for Glory Capital to get the First Clear of Serpentshrine Cavern.


    As long as Vashj hadn¡¯t consumed too many Water elements, and they hadn¡¯t lost too many people, then clearing the third stage should go smoothly.


    The Boss¡¯s life was already at 50% in the third stage so they could now attack with full force; Main Tanks could cast their blessings with less constraint. The close combat team¡¯s Grounding Totem must be protected well. In the third stage,


    Sky Moon had to admit that when the First Clear notification appeared, it perfectly displayed Lu Li¡¯s skills as a player.


    After Lu Li joined the team, he proved that he was a master at killing the Elementals. His attacks had a high level of control. He had the skills to flash in front of the Enchanted Elements, kill it right away, and pass the ball both very quickly and accurately¡ª any team leader would be happy to have him on their team. With Lu Li on the field, Sky Moon felt a lot more confident.


    Ruling Sword got Serpentshrine Cavern¡¯s First Clear. It was a lot quicker than those who planned to get the First Clear from the Eye. They gave up Serpentshrine Cavern to go to the Eye so that all of them could fight their own battles without getting in each other¡¯s way. In the end, they sadly discovered that they needed to compete with Ruling Sword for the First Clear anyways.

 Chapter 1929 - Tsunami Talisman

    Lu Li didn¡¯t get any Skill Points. There were only a total of two Skill Points given for the 25 players, so it was quite normal that he didn¡¯t get any of them.


    He also didn¡¯t receive Thief equipment among the T5 equipment dropped. This was also quite normal because he wasn¡¯t the only Thief there.


    But what the First Clear awarded him with was pretty good.


    The Tsunami Talisman!


    Who dared to say that he was unlucky!


    Lu Li proudly displayed his equipment to get rid of the stigma against his fortune.


    ¡°I remember that you already have the Dragonspine Trophy, what¡¯s the point of getting the Tsunami Talisman?¡± Water Fairy looked at the properties of this item and felt that it was indistinguishable from the Dragonspine Trophy.


    ¡°Damn it woman! Go and stand over there!¡± Lu Li was angry.


    He had finally managed to find an exquisite equipment and dared anyone to challenge him, but he didn¡¯t expect it to be Water Fairy.


    ¡°There wasn¡¯t any Thief T5 equipment and it¡¯s probably because he is so unlucky. Water Fairy, you should break up with him. You have to,¡± Azure Sea Breeze teased Lu Li, as usual.


    ¡°What do you mean by what is the point of the Tsunami Talisman?¡± Lu Li rushed to push the item into Water Fairy¡¯s hands, ¡°Aren¡¯t you missing equipment like this? You can have the Tsunami Talisman.¡±


    Since it was the First Clear, many good items were dropped. Even the Sextant of Unstable Currents was dropped as a First Clear reward for Lonesome Flower.


    Water Fairy received Fang of Vashj, an exquisite Epic dagger.


    The Serpent Spine Longbow was dropped, but Remnant Dream wasn¡¯t the recipient but Bearded Zaza instead. Remnant Dream received an impressive amount of Skill Points. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t a professional player, so it was a bit of a waste.


    There was a ¡®Dripping Strider Egg¡¯ dropped which was a cute pet that was taken by Remnant Dream. After completing the Serpentshrine Cavern, it was time for The Eye.


    This Instance Dungeon was one they had to do. Prince Kael¡¯thas was a being that had a chance to drop the Phoenix Mount but that was beside the point. The main point was that Water Fairy had a quest that required her to kill Prince Kael¡¯thas. Once she did that, she would be able to transform into a Phoenix and fly. It was similar to Lu Li¡¯s Raven Transformation.


    Lu Li had long since promised to help Water Fairy acquire a flying ability, and it could now be fulfilled.


    The Eye was the largest Instance Dungeon in this Instance Dungeon group. There were four Bosses in the Instance Dungeon that dropped level 70 Epic equipment and two T5 equipment.


    The key to the door was obtained by completing a series of quests in Moon Shadow Valley before completing Naaru¡¯s three quests. The hardest of these was Gruul¡¯s Lair.


    After everyone continued to accumulate equipment by farming Karazhan and other level 70 Instance Dungeons for a while, Gruul would no longer be an obstacle for players wanting to face Prince Kael¡¯thas.


    There were many races in Dawn, and there were many civilisations that produced many kingdoms. As heirs of the kingdoms and leaders among their race, the contrast between difference princes was always a topic of conversation among players. There were some that died in battle, some that betrayed the people, and some that become kings.


    Karazhan¡¯s Prince Malchezaar had just recently been killed. The Wind Elemental Prince Thunderaan had been sealed into a sword. His name was now nothing more than a blessing. Stormwind City Prince Anduin Wrynn had inherited the throne. He was one of the few princes with good luck, and who had not fallen due to a plot against him.


    Lordaeron Prince Arthes Menethil was one of the most popular but most tragic princes. With immense lust for revenge, he took up the cursed weapon Frostmourne and was corrupted by the dark magic from the sword to become a Death Knight. Later, his uncle took the throne and transformed all of Lordaeron into hell on earth. He would then take the Frozen Throne and become the new Lich King.


    The prince that Lu Li had to face was Prince Kael¡¯thas. He could perform ¡®Hellfire¡¯ and summon ¡®Fire Phoenix¡¯. His betrayal, corruption, and tragic end made everyone who heard the story feel sympathetic towards him.


    The undead Scourge of Arthes had destroyed Quel¡¯Thalas. The corrupted Sunwell had not only endangered the high Elves but also all the things around it.


    Kael¡¯thas had painfully destroyed The Sunwell and renamed the High Elves to the Sin¡¯dorei or Blood Elves in honour of those who died while defending their homes. After the Blood Elves lost the Sunwell, their craving for magic drove Prince Kael¡¯thas to find a new source of magic. He soon became a servant of Illidan Stormrage and was tasked with guarding The Eye.


    This sad prince had just wanted to use his strength to protect his subjects. There was the ugly princess and the tragic prince. These were creations of the game designers, which perhaps showed their views on royalty. Perhaps those people had been bullied by princesses and princes in their lives.


    The first Boss¡¯s First Clear had long since been taken by other clubs.


    This Boss was a Phoenix, and like all Phoenixes, he had two lives. In the first stage, the Boss would fly through the air and perch on one of the four platforms. The first stage ended when the Boss¡¯s HP dropped to 0. After a few seconds, the Boss would be reborn with full HP and the second stage would begin. The second stage was fought on the ground and when the Boss ran out of HP the fight was over. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t drop anything good. Lu Li and the others couldn¡¯t wait to get to the next fight.


    This Instance Dungeon was made up of groups of mobs. These groups were made up of Blood Elves, Mages, Warlocks, Paladins, and Warriors so it wasn¡¯t easy to fight them.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s team was reduced by a third after fighting the mobs. The main problem was that they would pull too many mobs accidentally, which took a lot of effort for them to clear.


    The difficulty of The Eye was mainly due to Prince Kael¡¯thas. The previous Bosses weren¡¯t that difficult.


    The second Boss, Void Reaver, posed some difficulties for the First Clear.


    The players had to keep running around but maintained a certain level of damage output.


    This battled relied on strong tanks and powerful damage output players. When these conditions were satisfied, then there wasn¡¯t much pressure on the healers.


    They made sure to clear the mobs before starting the Boss, even though they were constantly respawning.


    The Boss¡¯s signature skill was Arcane Sphere. The Boss would randomly select a player and unleash an Arcane Sphere. But this skill had a long flight time, so the players could escape the area after the skill was casted.


    When the sphere landed, it dealt between 4675-6325 damage within 20 yards of impact and it also silenced the players in range. Those within melee range of the Void Reaver couldn¡¯t be selected as targets of Arcane Sphere, but this skill was casted every three seconds. The targeting didn¡¯t follow the player, and it would just be at the position the player was when they were targeted.


    There were no differences between the different stages of this fight, it was the same all the way from 100% HP to 0% HP.


    Sky Moon had found a new strategy after getting wiped a few times. He arranged a few Hunters to deal damage from range and got everyone else to stand beside the Boss. Since those within melee range wouldn¡¯t be targeted, the Hunters were specifically tasked with dodging the Arcane Spheres.


    Lu Li thought that Sky Moon had come a long way, now that he was thinking independently and making his own decisions.

 Chapter 1930 - : Two Transmog Sets

    Lu Li received a T5 Shoulderpad from this Void Reaver Boss. Everyone was currently trying to get the best equipment, and professional players took priority as usual. After all, the


    professional league had reached a critical time.


    Ruling Sword was currently among those in the lead. They had acquired winning scores in their two games of the top 32.


    Lu Li was not satisfied with his current equipment.


    Thieves were not even good enough to be put on teams after the most recent patches. In the next patch, they would be nerfed even further. In contrast, the Paladins had been treated like they were sons of the System.


    As such, this meant that Lu Li had to get some exquisite equipment and some powerful Skill Books.


    Instructor Garona likely had many good items, but he just didn¡¯t know how to get them. There was also the Gnome that previously fought his mentor. Perhaps there was an angle there he could leverage.


    Once a person stood at the top, they wouldn¡¯t want to come back down.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t want to be defeated by players he had beaten in the past during the individual rounds.


    After the mobs nearby had been cleared out, they travelled to the location of the third Boss.


    The third Boss was High Astromancer Solarian. She was a Blood Elf High Astromancer under Kael¡¯thas and studied Demon Magic at The Eye. At this point, Prince Kael¡¯thas had been driven almost completely mad with his desire for power, so he didn¡¯t mind who he worked with to achieve that goal.


    This Boss¡¯ strength was far beyond Lu Li¡¯s imagination.


    After they were wiped here for five days straight, he no longer thought the problem was with Sky Moon. He later learned that there were other clubs who had been stuck here for almost two weeks.


    If this was the Game Company¡¯s way to recovering gold coins by forcing the players to continually repair their equipment, then it was working almost too well.


    There was no doubt that Lu Li had faced an inferior Boss in his previous life. This meant that this version of the Boss was a new experience for everyone and they just had to work it out slowly.


    Lu Li, Sky Moon and Wandering decided to analyse this Boss.


    The main reason that the Boss was really difficult was because their overall damage output wasn¡¯t high enough. They also didn¡¯t have enough HP, nor did they have enough Mana regeneration. These defects didn¡¯t matter much individually, but their combined effect was the reason why they couldn¡¯t defeat the Boss.


    ¡°We need to adjust the ratio of melee and damage output players. There needs to be a balance between the melee damage output players and the area of effect magic casting players. There should be at least seven to eight magic damage output players to make sure we get to the second stage. High Astromancer Solarian has a lower Armor value when in humanoid form, which is good for melee damage output players. We can¡¯t have too few of them either.¡±


    Lu Li had no option but to give some of his own advice.


    This was not a strategy he had read from his previous life. This was simply the result of his analysis.


    He couldn¡¯t just let Sky Moon bang his head against the problem and continually be wiped.


    One the one hand, it was because of the second professional league currently going on. Since many of the First Clearing team were also professional players, being wiped like this was bound to take a physical and mental toll on them that would affect their performance on stage.


    On the other hand, Lu Li also had to consider Sky Moon¡¯s mental capacity.


    He hadn¡¯t been able to defeat a Boss after getting wiped for five days and likely didn¡¯t see much hope left. No matter how talented he was, he was still a newcomer and not someone who had been reborn like Lu Li. Too much pressure like this could be unproductive.


    ¡°We lack a bit of healing. I think we need at least seven healers and three of them should be Paladin Healers. When a group gets wiped, you need to determine the root cause of why the group got wiped and not just point fingers at whose fault it was,¡± Lu Li continued.


    ¡°Yes, I understand. Not all mistakes can be avoided,¡± Sky Moon nodded as he listened.


    ¡°Not all mistakes can be avoided? Who told you that?¡± Lu Li frowned.


    ¡°You told me that!¡± Sky Moon was surprised that Lu Li had forgotten as Wandering nodded beside him.


    ¡°Then I take it back. Deduct points from anyone who makes a mistake,¡± Lu Li unashamedly declared, then continued boldly, ¡°Make the damage output players compete and bench the one that deals the least damage. If anyone runs out of Mana or dies a lot, bench them too. We have a three-guild alliance doing this Instance Dungeon; we have the players for it.¡±


    They didn¡¯t really care about weapon durability anymore. They had been wiped so many times that it was now pointless to care.


    ¡°Uh¡­ okay, I¡¯ll get them to wear equipment that has more Arcane Resistance,¡± Sky Moon said. Now that he had the boss¡¯ authority, he could kick whoever he wanted.


    But why did they only get the ranged magic damage output players to compete? Couldn¡¯t the same be done for the melee players?


    Sky Moon didn¡¯t want to ask.


    ¡°As for your resistance equipment, you can render the Boss¡¯ Arcane Missiles harmless by stacking resistance, but that would negatively affect damage output and healing. You need to find a balance where you resist some of the damage without affecting other factors too greatly. This balance can only be found with some calculation and experimentation,¡± Lu Li said.


    Lu Li had basically said everything he possibly could have before finally asking Sky Moon to take over commanding once again.


    The first 20% and the last 20% of the Boss¡¯ HP was not that difficult. The hardest part was the middle where you needed high damage output and high healing. They also couldn¡¯t afford to splurge on mana consumption and they had to remember to be in the correct positions.


    Wrath of the Astromancer was the most troublesome skill. When Lu Li fought this Boss in his previous life, they had removed the Contagious effect from this skill.


    While they were doing this First Clear, this Contagious effect was the most painful effect to deal with.


    The worst part about it was that it increased Arcane damage taken by 50%. If you had that effect active and you were hit by Arcane Missiles that dealt 3000 damage per round¡­


    It was hard to even consider not dying.


    They had two Main Tanks with Arcane Resistance for the very purpose of tanking this debuff. However, since this effect was stackable, they had to fight quickly as their equipment wouldn¡¯t hold up forever.


    Every 2 minutes or so, the Boss would disappear. Three pillars of light would appear and there would be mobs spawned within each pillar. These mobs weren¡¯t powerful, so they would just pull them together and fight them all at once.


    After about 30 seconds, they would clear the mobs. However, the Boss would then bring in two Priest mobs from the pillars to help him.


    The Priest mobs would then single-mindedly heal the Boss. Fortunately, these mobs were susceptible to crowd-control, otherwise, there was no point in fighting this Boss anymore.


    After Lu Li¡¯s fine-tuning, Sky Moon found that everyone¡¯s capacity to resist the Boss had actually increased.


    It took some time to work out the critical point of Arcane Resistance where everyone could still dish out the high damage and healing required to complete this Instance Dungeon.


    This was the combined strength of the three guilds. Lu Li had basically replaced half of their equipment with equipment that had been collected from other players.


    Those that were more suitable for PVP were removed.


    Having said that, the real professional players basically had two sets on hand ¨C one for PVE and one for PVP that provided more mobility options.


    Lu Li also intended to organise his equipment in this way. His innate advantage was becoming less obvious, and the circumstances he faced on stage were becoming more of a struggle.


    However, losing was still not an option.


    Even if you had no more resources stemming from being reborn, you still couldn¡¯t lose in a one on one fight.

 Chapter 1931 - It Is Good to Have a Filling Dinner

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Even after finding the correct strategy, taking the First Clear was still difficult. It wasn¡¯t for another week and a half before Ruling Sword¡¯s three-guild alliance would finally defeat high Astromancer Solarian.


    In fact, this rate was already considered quite fast.


    If it weren¡¯t for Lu Li¡¯s rebirth, the First Clear of high Astromancer Solarian would have been taken by Seventh Heaven after another two weeks. Blood Red War Flag and Glory Capital would also take another two weeks.


    Ruling Sword had exploited a bug when fighting in the Serpentshrine Cavern.


    In response, the other clubs that couldn¡¯t compete focused their resources and manpower on doing the Eye Instance Dungeon, so they had faster progress than normal.


    It hadn¡¯t even been a day after Ruling Sword had defeated Astromancer Solarian before Seventh Heaven and Blood Red War Flag defeated the Boss too. Glory Capital had also invested quite a bit into this Instance Dungeon, but had obviously fallen behind these three clubs.


    The reason was quite simple ¨C Sorrowless refused to admit defeat.


    He refused to believe that Glory Capital would lose in the Serpentshrine Cavern, so he hadn¡¯t given up on that Instance Dungeon.


    They were working on both Instance Dungeon strategies at once. This was the kind of stubbornness that you could only afford by being rich.


    Unfortunately, the most direct consequence of attempting to do both at once was that they achieved nothing. Ruling Sword¡¯s Sky Moon took Serpentshrine Cavern¡¯s First Clear and although The Eye¡¯s First Clear had not yet been taking, Glory Capital was obviously behind the pack.


    After defeating High Astromancer Solarian, everyone now faced Kael¡¯thas Sunstrider.


    This was going to be another long process.


    Lu Li and Ruling Sword also had to face a formidable opponent in the competition ¨C Stellar Union.


    Stellar Union was a guild with a long history. Stellar Union and Seventh Heaven were once experts of Instance Dungeon strategies. In many games of the past, Seventh Heaven had been on the forefront of taking the Instance Dungeons and they continued to do so for many years. This was the advantage they had over Glory Capital and Blood Red War Flag. However, Stellar Union had taken another path.


    They started picking up professional players and debuting them in the guild.


    It sounded weird, but this really was the history of Stellar Union and those years were disastrous for it.


    Now, Stellar Union had changed once again. No one really understood their style, but no one dared to offend them either. After all, Twilight and Hit Me 72 Times were still there.


    Mages were heavily favoured by Dawn and Paladins were basically the sons of the System.


    The two commentators were chattering in the commentator¡¯s box, but no one was paying attention to them. Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the arena. Stellar Union¡¯s Hit Me 72 Times was expected to go first, but who would be Ruling Sword¡¯s first player?


    ¡°Let me, let me Boss! Look at my poor appearance rate this season,¡± Fat Monkey begged as he hugged Lu Li¡¯s thigh and didn¡¯t let go.


    In comparison, Stellar Union was comparatively a very weak club and if he didn¡¯t get to play now, there would be no chance later.


    ¡°Monkey you can¡¯t!¡± Lu Li refused as he shook his head.


    ¡°Boss, please, I can. I¡¯ll do anything ¨C you can use my head as a ball. You can use me as your footstool¡­¡± Fat Monkey never had a chance because Moonlight and Mu Qiu would always go first and there was no one who could completely defeat the two of them.


    ¡°Well, the Club has been in financial difficulty lately¡­ and I can¡¯t even afford to take everyone out to dinner¡­¡±


    ¡°Boss, what is this? I¡¯ll pay for dinner; we can invite everyone from the Elite groups. Why wait? We could go tonight,¡± Fat Monkey offered, taking this opportunity to flaunt his wealth.


    ¡°Wow, Monkey you¡¯ve got so much money that some other club might ask you to finance them.¡±


    ¡°Boss, please don¡¯t joke about that. I, Fat Monkey, am not a person like that. If I have any disloyalty in my heart, then the heavens can curse me to be single for the rest of my life.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll let you fight in this one. Good luck, I¡¯m counting on you.¡±


    Fat Monkey was overjoyed and immediately jumped into the arena.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we already agree to let him on? Why did you lie to him?¡± Mu Qiu asked with a puzzled look as everyone began to discuss Fat Monkey¡¯s debut.


    ¡°Easy come, easy go. If I press him like this, he will play better.¡±


    Lu Li¡¯s reasons made sense and he presented himself as an intelligent person.


    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re just teasing him. You made him pay for dinner and swear that he would never leave. You¡¯re absolutely shameless,¡± Kitty Likes Meat said, immediately seeing the situation for what it was.


    ¡°Kitty, I am not that kind of person. You will understand when you¡¯re older,¡± Lu Li sighed.


    Fat Monkey had already traded blows with Hit Me 72 Times.


    In fact, Lu Li wasn¡¯t kidding. He really was trying to pressure Fat Monkey in this way. Otherwise, Fat Monkey would just charge in without a second thought and would fall into whatever trap that had been set.


    When Fat Monkey was forced to get serious, he was actually a pretty good player.


    Lu Li rubbed his nose in self-pity as these ordinary people couldn¡¯t see his good intentions. He wondered what he would eat that night. Fat Monkey didn¡¯t give any restrictions, so surely he was allowed to bring family. He might just bring his sister and Water Fairy to have a nice dinner too.


    Given that he could afford to buy dinner for hundreds of players, it seemed that Fat Monkey had recently made a lot of money.


    To the audience¡¯s surprise, Fat Monkey actually defeated Hit Me 72 Times. Although he only had a slight advantage, it was still something.


    Hit Me 72 Times was not a star player, but he was definitely stronger than some of the other star players out there.


    But if Fat Monkey could defeat him, then what did that say about Fat Monkey?


    ¡°Boss, what a shame!¡±


    After such an exhausting fight, Fat Monkey was quickly defeated by Stellar Union¡¯s Twilight.


    ¡°Monkey, you¡¯ve worked hard. Let¡¯s just enjoy a good dinner tonight.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Boss,¡± Fat Monkey said as he sat beside Lu Li and rested, but he sensed that something was wrong.


    Lu Li now sent out Moonlight. He had long since wanted to test Twilight. Although the System didn¡¯t favour Warriors, this didn¡¯t stop Moonlight.


    Moonlight came on and Lu Li didn¡¯t say anything.


    There was absolutely nothing to say. Moonlight enjoyed fighting so much that most people thought he was crazy. And when he fought, it was like he threw all caution into the wind. In some ways, it was just like Fat Monkey¡¯s fighting style.


    However, this was the wrong way to think about it. Unlike Fat Monkey, Moonlight¡¯s fighting ability was much more consistent.


    Twilight was also a very solid player. At their level, any attempt to quickly defeat an opponent would reveal too many weaknesses to them.

 Chapter 1932 - : Snowball

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    In the end, Moonlight was still unable to defeat Twilight. Mages remained number one in solo PvP, with Berserkers ranked below Hunters.


    Thieves were ranked around sixth, close to the bottom.


    The main part about Thieves was the difficulty. It required great mechanical skill to use a Thief properly. Besides a small portion of elite players, most Thieves were mediocre and pulled down the win rate.


    After Moonlight exited the arena, Lu Li personally entered the battlefield.


    Twilight, although a veteran, was still extremely skilled, and would be a formidable opponent even without that much HP.


    Stellar Union¡¯s third competitor, Purple Heart Sea, was defeated by Lu Li. In the current update, the Hunters¡¯ Flash Bomb was buffed, and Quivers had their own properties. This meant that Hunters essentially had one more item compared to other players. This was why Hunters jumped to second place in the PvP rankings.


    However, although Hunters were strong against Thieves, it still depended on who the Thief was.


    The results from the Team Battle were expected. The more notable players were Twilight and Hit Me 72 Times, but since the Team Battle consisted of five players, they weren¡¯t good enough to best Ruling Sword.


    After defeating them, Lu Li heard that they were eliminated.


    They were eliminated in the Top 32.


    Stellar Union were once a Top 10 club who stood toe to toe with Glory Capital, battling for the top spot. Now, they were declining and disappearing into irrelevancy.


    If they were lucky, then they would preserve some of their potential players and slowly develop themselves. Perhaps, one day, they would rise again.


    If they were unlucky, then they would disappear into the depths of time.


    ¡°Monkey is buying everyone dinner tonight. Anyone who goes will have their meals paid for. The venue is Rich Blessings Palace!¡± As the end of the day approached, Lu Li announced this in the Guild Channel.


    ¡°Boss, you can¡¯t do that!¡± Fat Monkey cried out, his face immediately turning as pale as a ghost.


    If these hundred thousand people showed up, he might need to give his life.


    The Guild Channel was completely flooded with messages of gratitude. It was the result of a snowball effect.


    Once a single person heard about something, it would spread to another person, and then another. In this case, it was buying dinner.


    Fat Monkey originally only planned to buy one girl dinner. In the end, countless people showed up to the gathering.


    It was frightening.


    The result of the snowball effect was simply unimaginable. Fat Monkey would possibly be bankrupt after this.


    At night, only a few tables were left in Rich Blessings Palace. The rest were completely booked by Ruling Sword.


    A normal company wanting to completely book out Rich Blessings Palace would be a dream.


    It wasn¡¯t a money problem. Rather, there were limited seatings and they needed to take care of other customers as well.


    However, Ruling Sword was different. After Ruling Sword was established in Jiangnan and because its building was close to the restaurant, Rich Blessings Palace¡¯s business immediately doubled.


    All of the elite team players from Ruling Sword were young adults and they didn¡¯t know how to save money either. Moreover, they didn¡¯t need to pay for bills or other utilities. They could give any amount to their parents and their parents would be overjoyed and moved to tears.


    Since they had money, they would want to eat good food. Therefore, Rich Blessings Palace virtually became Ruling Sword¡¯s caterers.


    As night descended on the city, the people nearby the restaurant saw groups of young people enter Rich Blessings Palace.


    In reality, there were only a few hundred people who came. It wasn¡¯t nearly as many as Fat Monkey thought there would be.


    After all, everyone had their own lives. Not every member was in Jiangnan either, so they weren¡¯t going to fly over just to eat a meal. Even so, there were a few who did, just to eat food bought by their big brother.


    Fat Monkey was a in daze.


    How much money would this cost him?


    However, he quickly comforted himself. If he was able to buy so many people dinner, didn¡¯t that mean that he was extremely cool and capable?


    Not many people would be this generous and this able!


    Lu Li brought along Water Fairy and Lu Xin. He was a little late.


    It was impossible to estimate how long a lady would take to get ready, but if there were two? That was even more impossible. It wasn¡¯t without a great blessing though. Lu Li got to see Water Fairy with makeup on.


    She didn¡¯t usually have makeup on, but now, there was a different aura to her.


    ¡°Hi Boss! Hi sister-in-law! Hi little princess!¡±


    The players from the elite teams would greet them if they saw them. Lu Li wasn¡¯t egotistical, so anyone would be able to talk trash to him.


    Of course, it was another matter as to whether or not he would retaliate if you pushed him too far.


    On the other hand, Water Fairy was how she usually was ¨C calm, elegant, seemingly cold. She was slightly smiling and would respond lightly if people greeted her.


    This was her personality. She was able to be completely free and smile widely in front of Lu Li, but no one else had a right to see that side of her.


    ¡°Qiqi is also here! How did the chasing of that girl go? Did you get her?¡± Lu Li¡¯s memory was very good. He seemed like he could remember everyone¡¯s names.


    ¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t want to talk about it anymore. She didn¡¯t want me because my income was too low,¡± the player answered in deep sorrow.


    ¡°She¡¯s a girl who only looks at your bank account? You don¡¯t need her! Also, she probably doesn¡¯t know that you are one of the elite team members for us. If all goes well, you¡¯ll be able to be promoted to a small squad leader next month, right?


    ¡°Boss, I can be promoted once the results come out at the end of this month! Brother Three says that I¡¯m likely to get it!¡±


    ¡°Hey! That¡¯s quicker than I expected. What did you do?¡±


    ¡°I took a group of players and stole a Wild Boss from Glory Capital. Hehe¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s impressive. I can¡¯t even do that.¡±


    ¡°Boss, don¡¯t joke around with me. It was only a small Wild Boss. We were just passing by when they were nearly done with the Boss, so we just killed them and then took the Boss.¡±


    ¡°Nice work!¡±


    They were walking while talking. Although Lu Li was constantly being labelled as a very unlucky


    person by the Instance Dungeon team, he was undoubtedly everyone¡¯s leader and was revered and admired by the whole club.


    There were a few members of the elite teams who had recently moved to Jiangnan to settle down. After they met Lu Li in real life and talked with him, they were very excited and couldn¡¯t stop talking.


    Many tables were laid out in the large hall. This was like a banquet.


    Everyone was here.


    Lu Li¡¯s place was at the same table as Square Root Three. This was also the same table as the other higher ups in the club.


    Remnant Dream was here, and so was Hachi Chan. These two usually went hand-in-hand.


    Now, there was also Lu Xin.


    There was another girl of a similar age to these three, called Princely Beauty. She was always chasing after Wandering. Since Wandering wasn¡¯t here, she wasn¡¯t either. It was rumoured that they were both in the club building, living in their own world.


    The world that they were in consisted of Wandering sleeping in his own dorm, while Princely Beauty was in the living room, watching anime.


    She considered this as romantic.

 Chapter 1933 - Event

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Someone who booked a room on the second floor went to the bathroom and saw the crowds of people in the main hall.


    ¡°Who are those people? Is there a company gathering?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. These are all young people. This company is full of fresh and youthful energy, huh.¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­We were more energetic in our youth.¡±


    ¡°Hey, waiter. What company is this? There¡¯s at least a few hundred in there. That¡¯s way too many.¡± After having a class reunion, the old man was a little tipsy, so he was a little more curious than usual.


    ¡°This is considered as a lot? Not even 10% of the company is here,¡± the waiter replied almost condescendingly.


    ¡°A company that has hundreds of thousands of people? They¡¯re all so young too! How is that possible? Jiangnan hasn¡¯t heard of anything like this!¡± the old man exclaimed as his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.


    ¡°They¡¯re a gaming club. Have you heard of the name ¡®Ruling Sword¡¯? There are around 100,000 to 200,000 players in it. These are only some of the players living in Jiangnan,¡± the waiter proudly explained. The young people in Jiangnan who were immersed in gaming usually were fans of Ruling Sword.


    ¡°Why are there so many people just from a game? Are they able to support this many people?¡± the old man asked in amazement.


    ¡°This club has three or four Strongholds in the game. It¡¯s still not easy to feed hundreds of thousands of mouths. The club earns more than most companies in real life. I estimate that Lu Li¡¯s net worth is in the billions. He also has a girlfriend who¡¯s richer than he is. He did all of this in only two years¡­¡± The waiter didn¡¯t know much, but this didn¡¯t prevent him from expressing his own opinions.


    ¡°Just from playing a game? Who would¡¯ve thought that one could gain so much from this¡­¡±


    This old man had worked tirelessly for a small company, yet these youths were at the top of the world just from playing games.


    This was a different age. It would be stupid to see modern things from an old perspective.


    There was bound to be alcohol at a gathering like this. Furthermore, they were mostly males, so Lu Li couldn¡¯t escape not drinking.


    He didn¡¯t drink much.


    In both of his lives, he was always shouldering the burden of his own livelihood. He didn¡¯t dare to relax even for a moment. However, now, he had his own business and legacy and had brothers who he could trust.


    Perhaps it was because he was a little tipsy, but he rose his glass and stood up.


    Everyone gradually went silent and looked at him.


    ¡°Thank you everyone for coming tonight.¡±


    ¡°Three Brother has always asked me why I was so rushed all the time. I don¡¯t really want to let others know this, but I¡¯m someone who¡¯s incredibly insecure and weak.¡±


    ¡°I wake up from my dreams often. This was because I¡¯m worried that I¡¯ll suddenly become poor.¡±


    As he was speaking, everyone was laughing, so he was laughing too.


    Everyone thought that Lu Li was joking, but in his heart, he knew that this was the truth.


    ¡°It is because of you guys that I feel secure. You guys are my support. Without you all, I, Lu Li, am nothing.¡±


    Joke or no joke, these words were quite moving.


    ¡°Cough¡­cough. With that person standing next to you, who can feel more secure than you? Isn¡¯t that right! Water Fairy!¡±


    There was always bound to be that one scumbag who spoils the mood. Azure Sea Breeze was that scumbag.


    Lu Li also felt that the atmosphere had become a little heavy because of his words, so he didn¡¯t continue.


    ¡°Come! Let¡¯s drink!¡±


    ¡°What? I only teased you a little bit and you want to make me drunk now? What are you going to do to me once I¡¯m drunk? Don¡¯t molest me! My god, I treat you as a brother and now you want to molest me? Water Fairy, please take care of your Lu Li!¡±


    ¡°Screw you. Drink your wine.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t stand him any longer. He held him in place and force-fed him a glass of wine.


    Azure Sea Breeze originally had an angry look on his face, but that slowly went away and was replaced with a dazed look. After ten seconds, he slid onto the floor.


    Someone immediately dragged him away.


    He couldn¡¯t even hold his drink for one glass. He wasn¡¯t worthy to sit on the same table as the boss himself.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even wait until he was full before drinking with him.¡±


    Although she was teased, Water Fairy still maintained her gentle and kind heart.


    Lu Li on the other hand, didn¡¯t sympathise at all.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. There¡¯s a lot of instant noodles in his room anyway, and they¡¯re all beef flavoured.¡±


    However, he would soon need to be sympathised with.


    It didn¡¯t matter what year it was, or what age it was. Chinese dinner tables always had a tradition of greeting the elders. Under normal circumstances, you had to go and offer a glass of wine to the leader out of respect. Otherwise, it would seem that you were not happy with the leadership.


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯ll offer you a cup. I¡¯m going to finish it, but you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°Boss, I wish you and Water Fairy all the best in the future. You don¡¯t have to drink, but I¡¯m going to.¡±


    ¡°Boss, you¡¯ve worked hard. Nothing else to say.¡±


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯m only a street thug who didn¡¯t have much of a future. I only have a future now because of you. I¡¯m so happy today! Boss! Come! Let¡¯s drink!¡±


    It didn¡¯t matter how much it was up to him to drink, but it would be disrespectful to not even touch the cup.


    This was why Lu Li was now in trouble.


    Square Root Three acted fast. He quickly stuffed himself with food and went to lie down with Azure Sea Breeze.


    There was already a top figure acting like he was dead. If Lu Li did the same, then it wouldn¡¯t look very good.


    Fortunately, Lu Li could hold down his alcohol. Especially in these couple of years, he had received plenty of training. He was still standing after a whole round.


    Those who were waiting to see Lu Li drunk were absolutely stunned. When was he this good at holding his weight?


    After drinking for a round, Lu Li immediately handed his sister over to Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan. Then, he exited the building along with Water Fairy after saying his goodbyes.


    Now that Lu Li, the boss, had left the scene, the others felt free to truly enjoy themselves.


    No matter how close Lu Li seemed to the members of Ruling Sword, he was still the leader. If they messed around with Lu Li, then there would be problems.


    The river that ran through the city of Jiangnan was beautiful at night. Many people would walk around here after eating dinner.


    Lu Li¡¯s hand naturally wrapped around Water Fairy¡¯s.


    There were many couples like them, walking along the river. Some were young and some were old. Old couples were supporting each other as they walked under the night sky, illuminated with the stars in the sky.


    Supporting each other while walking in step wasn¡¯t too bad either. Lu Li suddenly admired these people.


    His phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.


    Lu Li glanced at the message.


    It was his sister. There were only a few words.


    ¡°Bro, go to the plaza. Don¡¯t be too surprised.¡±


    What was she up to now? Although Lu Li was reluctant, he was also quite curious as to what was happening. With Water Fairy in his hands, he walked towards the plaza.

 Chapter 1934 - Congratulations

    Before he even got to the plaza, he already knew what had happened.


    A few young girls were talking about what had happened as they ran towards the plaza.


    ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a lot of candles and balloons at the plaza. Someone¡¯s going to propose. Hurry!¡±


    ¡°My god, what year are we in? There are still people using these old ways to propose?


    Water Fairy was extremely surprised.


    Lu Li froze for a second, then he started laughing. He finally understood what Lu Xin had done in secret. However, he didn¡¯t explain it to her.


    It was as if everything was planned.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    There were no dancers in the middle of the plaza today. After hearing that someone was about to propose here, the aunties that usually occupied this area decided not to show up.


    Perhaps the sight of a proposal allowed them to recall events from a long time ago.


    Perhaps at that time, there was a boy, who arranged a bouquet of flowers in front of her and wanted to grow old with her and be by her side forever. However, their pride caused them to reject the boy. The boy slowly faded away, into a memory. Now, she no longer remembered what the boy looked like, but she had never forgotten the feeling from back then.


    The candles and red roses were placed in heart shapes, with fairy lights hung on the trees.


    It was a proposal taken straight out of the history books.


    There were many people waiting and watching. Some were already at the plaza, while some came over while taking a walk. There were also the people from Ruling Sword at the restaurant who crawled over.


    ¡°Bro, I brought the ring that you told me to buy in secret.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Lu Xin.¡±


    Lu Li took the ring in his hands and gazed lovingly at Water Fairy.


    ¡°Did you really buy this?¡±


    Obviously, Water Fairy figured out that this wasn¡¯t arranged by Lu Li. This person didn¡¯t have the ability to be this romantic.


    ¡°Well, this one is true. That day, after I ate at your house, I went to buy it. I could never find a time to do this.¡±


    It could also be said that he didn¡¯t have the courage to take this large step. This was because taking this step would bring many other things that he needed to bear.


    He was a hug born from poverty. What right did he have to desire a white swan?


    He originally planned to wait until he had built up a business and made a name for himself before marrying her. However, her wealth and status was much, much higher than his. More than he ever


    expected.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Water Fairy asked endearingly as she teasingly blinked her eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! What are you waiting for? If you can¡¯t, then I will!¡±


    Someone unknown in the crowd yelled this, which only fired up the crowd even more.


    Lu Li laughed and smiled. Then, he knelt on one knee, in front of Water Fairy.


    ¡°I have always stayed true to myself. Every decision that I made was made completely willingly. I have never been bribed and controlled! I can bow down and worship out of respect, but never out of surrendering!¡± he affirmed to himself.


    ¡°Snowy, will you marry me?¡±


    ¡°Erm¡­¡±


    Water Fairy acted as if she needed to think about it.


    ¡°Say yes! Say yes!¡±


    If it was a normal situation and Lu Li came across a sight like this, he would be muttering under his breath and telling the crowd off.


    ¡°They¡¯re proposing. It¡¯s none of your business. Why are you all saying things? It¡¯s them who will be living together, not you.¡±


    However, he was now instead thankful for these people for hyping up the atmosphere. Even if they were there for the sake of being there.


    After a short while, Water Fairy finally reached out.


    Lu Li, in a daze, held her hand. Then, after a second of completely going blank, he finally remembered to put the ring onto Water Fairy¡¯s finger.


    It wasn¡¯t too big or too small. It was just right.


    When this moment came, he was filled with joy. He understood that he liked this girl. A lot. He also realised that he had liked this girl for a long, long time.


    When Lu Li held her hands as he stood up, Water Fairy dove head-first into his chest.


    They were both extremely moved and also moved the crowd as well. Thunderous applause and cheering surrounded them as they embraced each other.


    ¡°How moving! Makes me want to find a significant other for myself as well.¡±


    ¡°Even though this is a disgusting amount of PDA, I still want them to be like this forever.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! If they didn¡¯t end up growing old together even after this, then it would be too cruel! It would make me contemplate whether true love exists in this world.¡±


    Putting on the ring didn¡¯t mean that they were able to immediately prepare for the wedding.


    According to Water Fairy¡¯s uncle, they needed to arrange for an engagement party and also needed to invite Water Fairy¡¯s father.


    Otherwise, this would be extremely rude.


    But was arranging an engagement party for his daughter without first consulting the father not rude as well?


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have other ideas for this. His impression of Chairperson Shen wasn¡¯t the greatest. Furthermore, her father was likely to be either working or changing diapers for his son. Just when he wasn¡¯t looking, his daughter was stolen by another man.


    Both proposals and weddings were like ceremonies.


    At this time, Lu Li finally felt that he was no longer alone.


    A day after this proposal, it seemed that everyone in game knew that this in-game couple had become a real couple in real life too.


    After knowing that Lu Li logged on, a lot of players proceeded to congratulate him on the World Channel.


    Unforgettable Maple: Congratulations brother Lu Li and Water Fairy! When will we see a fat baby?¡±


    Green Flag Wine: Haha! Congratulations brother Lu Li on becoming our brother-in-law. If you dare to mistreat our princess, Peerless City and Drizzle Court will not forgive you.


    Wood Fearing: Congratulations, brother Lu Li! I hope you guys stay together for a 100 years!


    Stellar Union Silver Radiant: Congratulations Water Fairy! You finally took Lu Li home. The man conquers the world while the woman conquers the man!


    Elevenless: Sigh. Lu Li, you must take good care of sister Water Fairy. If you suddenly decide that you no longer want her, there are countless other men who will!


    Wendelian: Sister Water Fairy, I wish you all the happiness in the world!


    Not An Elementary Student: Wow! This is probably a once in a blue moon blessing in the gaming world! I want to be a bridesmaid!


    Dancing Flower Beauty: Hehe, if you go, other people will think that the newlyweds only married after having kids.


    Not An Elementary Student: You¡­you¡­I hope you never find a boyfriend!


    Dancing Flower Beauty: You scum. Maybe that¡¯s why I haven¡¯t been able to find a boyfriend.


    Not An Elementary Student: Hehe¡­you devil¡­I am famous for my mouth!


    Sorrowless: Congratulations, Lu Li and Water Fairy! If you find a partner, then you should be together! Brother Lu Li, do you agree?


    Lu Li: Thank you everyone. I don¡¯t really understand what God Sorrowless is saying.


    Sorrowless: A smart man does not beat around the bush. If Water Fairy was always in our Glory Capital, then what would brother Lu Li think?


    Lu Li: Oh, you¡¯re talking about your ex-girlfriend?


    Sorrowless: What ex-girlfriend? We haven¡¯t officially broken up!


    Lu Li: Can¡¯t do anything about that. We can¡¯t give her up. She¡¯s our best Healing Paladin. Sorrowless: ¡­.


    Sorrowless quickly exited the chat. This was because this topic wasn¡¯t fit for discussion in the World Channel.

 Chapter 1935 - Picking Up Equipment and Leaving

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    If it was possible, Lu Li genuinely hoped that Sorrowless and Darkness could live together happily ever after.


    It wasn¡¯t that he was so nice to wish them well, but because jealousy was a scary thing. On his side, Lu Li held the top three prettiest girls according to the game rankings, while Sorrowless was always thinking whether to use his left or right hand. If he kept going for long enough, he would become disillusioned.


    It would be hard to predict what a crazy person would do.


    However, Darkness disagreed. She was the type of girl that looked delicate but was actually very headstrong.


    Most guys weren¡¯t able to deal with this sort of girl. Lu Li thought about going to advise Sorrowless to give up and find a new partner.


    It was a shame that Lu Li had told the whole world know that he would die to keep Darkness. Whoever dared to obstruct him, he would simply kill.


    Besides, Darkness had firmly decided to rely on Ruling Sword. Ruling Sword wasn¡¯t afraid of Sorrowless, and Lu Li preferred to avoid conflict, but that wasn¡¯t to say that he wouldn¡¯t become involved if something did happen.


    Having been reviled as the ¡®damn¡¯ couple for so long, Lu Li had long developed skin as think as a wall. In the past, Water Fairy might have sent people to chase down and terrorize some of those people spreading rumors, but now, she was used to it.


    The people in the First Clear team were even more used to it.


    So, like before, they went down into the Instance Dungeon.


    Right now was just when Kael¡¯thas Sunstrider was getting fierce. It wasn¡¯t just Ruling Sword ¨C quite a few other clubs had given it their all to get their First Clear team to this stage.


    They had used all sorts of extravagant potions and exquisite equipment to give the First Clear team the best opportunity they could.


    It wasn¡¯t even just one First Clear team entering into the Instance Dungeon ¨C a few First Clear teams had gone in all together. As long as they could quickly develop a strategy, any one of the teams, if they were lucky, could successfully make it through.


    There were five stages in the battle against Kael¡¯thas. First was the four-advisor stage, then the seven-weapon stage, the four-advisor stage, the Kael land battle and the Kael space battle.


    He had an arsenal of skills, some more powerful than others.


    The first advisor stage was where Kael¡¯thas was the easiest. Kael¡¯thas¡¯ four advisors at his side entered the battle one by one. In this stage, everyone could just kick back and take it easy.


    The first of the four advisors was Thaladred the Darkener, who was often called the gazing boy.


    True to his name, he would randomly Gaze at a player and follow them for about 8 to 12 seconds. This Gaze wasn¡¯t related to the aggro system, rather, the one who was Gazed upon would get all the aggro.


    At the same time, he could also deal powerful attacks. His regular attack did about 3-4000 damage to Plate-Armor players, and his Rupture effect activated every 2 seconds, dealing 2500 damage for 12 seconds. A Cloth-Armor player, would be killed by this one ability.


    To defeat this advisor, the best strategy was for the Gazed-player to circle around the field. This would help the ranged DPS roles to attack. The first stage didn¡¯t matter too much; they could fight a little slower. Whether they could quickly kill him in the third stage became the key. This advisor was best killed at the left side of the entrance, which became a consideration for the third stage.


    Next was Sanguinar, who was also known as the Fear boy.


    Sanguinar held a hammer and a shield, but apart from being able to Fear everyone within 30 yards, he was completely useless. It was best to pull this Boss in Berserk mode, because there was a real chance of a Fear being cast.


    After the Boss was pulled, they would run to the corner at the top left of the entrance, and if they let him die there, then the third stage would be over.


    To fight this advisor, ranged DPS players needed to stand outside of 30 yards to attack, as well as be away from the entrance. Previously, someone was Feared out of the gate, which was then closed, and they were unable to re-enter.


    The third advisor was High Astromancer Zanien, who was the most troublesome of the four. She had three skills ¨C Fireball, Arcane Explosion and Set Ablaze.


    At this time, they needed a Warlock with high fire resistance to be the Tank. The Warlock should have the Soul Link skill, and before they started fighting, they should summon Hellhounds to pull the monster far away.


    The fourth was the Master Engineer Telonicus, who was affectionately known as the bomb boy. When the Astromancer had about 50% HP left, the tank pulling Telonicus could take their position.


    When Lu Li came in, Sky Moon could consistently lead everyone to the second stage, occasionally being able to reach the third.


    The second stage was the seven-weapon stage.


    This reminded the players of an old martial arts novel, which had a similar name.


    In this stage, Kael¡¯thas would summon seven weapons, and players needed to do all they could to kill them within two minutes. After two minutes, no matter how you did, the third stage would start.


    If you couldn¡¯t finish it, then you would have no choice but to give up.


    Five tanks would be put to use here, with the first responsible for the axe, the second for the sword and shield, the third for the staff and dagger, the fourth for the hammer, and a Hunter for the bow.


    The seven weapons produced a throne ¨C the place where Kael¡¯thas had been standing the whole time.


    Those few tanks had to claim them quickly, as well as draw them to their positions.


    The first to be killed should be the bow, so that it wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to the ranged players in the area of effect.


    After the bow was destroyed, they had to eliminate the rest of the weapons as quickly as they could. One of the things they had to pay attention to was that the axe had to be pulled away from the group, but still be within the area of effect. They had to sever the magic for the hammer and staff too, especially the staff. After the players realized that the staff was dead, they couldn¡¯t pick it up straight away. It was best to destroy all of the other weapons first.


    After these weapons were destroyed, they could be picked up, and multiple times as well.


    All of this equipment was Legendary with excellent attributes and high-quality special effects.


    Everyone was a little dumbstruck when they got to this stage.


    All of the weapons were helpful in battle. They disappeared after a minute or two, so it was important to pick them up in time.


    Just when they were fighting, Fat Monkey opened his mouth anxiously.


    ¡°Did you hear about that really funny thing happened to the club next door?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Even Lu Li¡¯s curiosity was aroused.


    ¡°When they were fighting this stage, someone saw that the whole ground was covered in Legendary equipment. They picked up a piece, said sorry, then just left the team. Haha, such an idiot,¡± Fat Monkey laughed loudly. ¡°If it was me, I¡¯d definitely pick up a whole backpack full.¡±


    Everyone looked at him like he was an idiot.


    ¡°Huh, what¡¯re you looking at me for? I¡¯m just telling a joke to cheer everyone up,¡± Fat Monkey said defensively as he was looked on disapprovingly.


    ¡°So¡­ you were just joking. I almost thought you were being serious.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no ¨C that last thing I said just then, that was a joke.¡±

 Chapter 1936 - Kael’thas

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°I really never thought there were people on this planet that were more idiotically funny than you,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said. ¡°How could it be that easy to have Legendary equipment drop like that? Even if it did drop, there wouldn¡¯t be that much.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you two have any sense of shame at all? Would you really take Legendary equipment and just leave?¡±


    ¡°Um, how could I? I¡¯m not that type of person,¡± Fat Monkey argued after thinking deeply for a moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not that sort of person either. They¡¯re just Legendary anyway. It would have to be at least a God level item for me to do that,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said.


    ¡°Dammit, how could it be so easy to have these God items drop? I feel like I¡¯d leave the team for Demi-God items. I¡¯d just take it when I see it,¡± Fat Monkey said, disagreeing with his view. He felt Azure Sea Breeze was just too greedy.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough from the two of you, go pick up the weapons. Whoever wants to leave, I¡¯ll take points off of. If you keep talking about leaving the team, sir, I¡¯ll kick you out.¡±


    Sky Moon was absolutely speechless. These two idiots definitely relaxed everyone¡¯s tense nerves a little, but now wasn¡¯t the time to relax.


    After fighting for a while, the two of them began messing around and laughing again. Who knew what was so funny?


    The third stage came, which was also the messiest stage.


    Each method of team wiping challenged their imaginations. The easiest way the whole team could die was that when all four advisors respawned and they still hadn¡¯t finished killing all the weapons. At that point, they were done for.


    Any leftover weapons would make the battle incredibly difficult.


    This was a First Clear attempt, so the difficulty was even higher.


    At this stage, all the advisors would respawn at the point where they died, and there were three minutes to do your best to kill them all. Their skills, damage and HP were exactly the same as before.


    The only difference was that in the first stage, they came one by one, but now all four came at once.


    When they came one by one, they didn¡¯t apply much pressure. It seemed as though the four advisors could be crushed easily. But now, it was different. If all four of them came up at the same time, then it would be a bit too much for the players to handle.


    The Gazer should be pulled immediately and tanked by a Warrior and a healer at the southernmost position. The reason a Warrior Tank was used was because of his Fear.


    The advisor would be maintained at that set spot with the Tank until he was finished off.


    That was the reason why in the first stage they had to kill the monsters at a set position. Without Lu Li needing to remind him, Sky Moon had realized this trick.


    The High Astromancer Zanien should also be pulled immediately by a Warlock and a healer and Tanked in the south. Because of the staff¡¯s immunity to Confusion and the hammer¡¯s 50% reduction of fire damage, a healer and a warlock could Tank her for as long as they wanted.


    She should be killed last, because she had the lowest strength.


    Because of the hammer¡¯s buff, the bomb advisor could only do minimal damage, and with the staff cutting out Silence, it made it very easy for a single healer to Tank him. He could be Tanked at any location next to a wall.


    In the same way, the staff also rendered him useless.


    That was the reason why they had to pick up that Legendary equipment. The players were completely reliant on it, as there was no hope of defeating the Boss otherwise.


    In the end, the Gazer still cast his Gaze.


    Because the team only had 3 minutes to kill all the advisors before the 4th stage started, it was a wise choice to choose to kill him first, because he posed the biggest threat to the team. Since melee players were hardly efficient, the smartest thing to do was to have all the melee DPS and Hunters focus on the bomb advisor, while the magic roles would deal with the Gazer.


    After the bomb advisor died, everyone would move over to the fear boy. Under the fierce attack of all the DPS players, as well as the debuff from the dagger and bow, he would be finished off very quickly.


    In an ideal situation, after the fear boy was killed, the 3 minutes would be up.


    They struggled for five days with the last Boss.


    The other clubs were struggling as well, so Lu Li grit his teeth and focused on the task of obtaining the First Clear.


    He made practically zero mistakes, and without the commanding position to tire him out, his DPS now ranked within the top three.


    Water Fairy had constantly been outside the top three. At the moment, Thieves weren¡¯t ideal in Instance Dungeons.


    Every patch had their gods, and at the moment, the Instance Dungeon favorites were Mages, Hunters, and Warlocks. Strengthened Shamans could be considered as well, if they were fighting a single Boss.


    Then, everyone heard the second story of someone who had ran off after picking up Legendary equipment.


    Perhaps he hadn¡¯t heard about the player who had made the same mistake before him. This wasn¡¯t an uncommon occurrence though. Later, when this Instance Dungeon was made a little weaker, this sort of thing would happen much more in teams made up of unaffiliated players.


    There were also noobs being brought in to farm mounts. They didn¡¯t understand anything, and when they got Legendary equipment, they just took off and ran.


    That¡¯s why some team leaders had to explain everything in simple terms before they entered the Instance Dungeon.


    That items that were dropped weren¡¯t real Legendary equipment. After you left the Instance Dungeon, they would disappear.


    After fighting for a few days, they could finally stably enter the fourth stage.


    By this time, Ruling Sword had finished fighting in the top 32 and were just waiting to enter in to the top 16.


    Over in the Instance Dungeon, after they entered into the fourth stage, Kael¡¯thas would join in the battle.


    Hunters had a lot of points deducted here, because they habitually forgot to release their own pets.


    When there were still 15 seconds or so in the third stage, the Main Tank should take their position in front of Kael. At this time, he should have at least one person next to him holding the orange hammer to heal, as well as someone with a staff to open up an aura, to guarantee that the Tank wouldn¡¯t get confused.


    The seven weapons were extremely important, as not only did they increase output, but they also dealt with control.


    In this period of time, the remaining team members should finish off the advisors as quickly as they could before Kael¡¯thas used the first Phoenix Reborn or Shock Barrier.


    As soon as all the advisors were finished off, all the team members would move over to Kael¡¯thas and


    open fire, making sure that the bow and dagger debuffs were still there the whole time.


    Apart from the Main Tank, all the tanks were responsible for getting rid of mind control.


    It was imperative to Dispel the mind control immediately.


    What they had to pay attention to was not to kill their teammates that had been mind-controlled. To avoid any accidents, it was good to have the Tanks come up when they had their spare moments, as their damage was relatively low.


    Every time the Phoenix showed up, a Tank needed to pull it quickly and have the team kill it.


    After it died, an egg would appear.


    All the Thieves should immediately run over to help get rid of it before it hatched.


    Once it was eliminated, all the team members would keep on continuing to fight Kael¡¯thas.


    Shock Barrier combined with Pyroblast was the difficult part of this stage. They needed to prioritise this, even more so than the Phoenix. The one-minute cooldown time of the Shock Barrier and Phoenix Reborn were independent, so they needed to have someone to specially keep track of time and remind


    everyone when a new one was being spawned.


    Lu Li was given this important responsibility.

 Chapter 1937 - Clearing the Cache

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    It really was all the same. Even if Lu Li fought flawlessly, even if everyone¡¯s equipment had surpassed Karazhan¡¯s level ages ago, and even if they had two or three pieces of T5 equipment, they still just kept on dying.


    According to some incomplete stats, on average, they died about once every 8 minutes.


    After dying three times, they would have a short rest.


    Then, everyone would listen to a few idiots tell jokes. The joke about taking Legendary equipment then leaving the team was already old.


    ¡°I heard that someone started up a guild, but the number of people was miniscule¡­¡± Azure Sea Breeze began.


    ¡°Why do you have to say miniscule when you can just say really few?¡±


    ¡°Dammit, can you just let me finish?¡± Azure Sea Breeze swore before continuing, ¡°And so this guild leader who was even more wretched than Lu Li thought up of a dodgy idea to steal noobs from other guilds.¡±


    ¡°How did he take them?¡±


    Ruling Sword¡¯s foundation was actually very solid. A rogue team winning the Shadow Cup championship, then establishing a guild and taking First Clears seemingly whenever they wanted, simply didn¡¯t need any promotion.


    Their recruitment department just needed to collect details and filter through the applications.


    ¡°The guild leader would run over to lead new players and help get through quests. Then, he said, when the quests are over, we have to clear the cache, or else it won¡¯t be so easy to receive new quests.¡±


    ¡°What the hell? Clear the cache?¡±


    ¡°Then, he had the noobs type in /GQUIT in the chat.¡±


    ¡°Pfft!¡±


    Immediately there were people laughing out loud, and those who didn¡¯t understand thought for a moment before realizing what was going on.


    /GQUIT was a language command in the game, the purpose of which was to allow you to exit your current guild.


    ¡°The noob would say, dammit ¨C how come I¡¯ve left the guild? The guild leader would immediately comfort them and say, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll add you into mine and it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    System: Fat Monkey has left the guild!


    Everyone who was originally laughing now fiercely held back, then went back to laughing again.


    No one suspected that Fat Monkey would betray the club. According to everyone¡¯s understanding, this guy was just curious and wanted to give it a try.


    ¡°Quick! Add me, add me in!¡±


    Fat Monkey¡¯s expression was dumbstruck. It was just too easy to exit the guild; he was just wanting to give it a go.


    There were lots of top level players here, so they could just send an invite and he would be back in.


    ¡°Take off¡­take off 5 DKP.¡±


    Sky Moon couldn¡¯t stop laughing.


    ¡°Damn, team leader, how come you have to take off my DKP? It¡¯s break-time now,¡± Fat Monkey said unhappily.


    ¡°God, I¡¯m laughing to death! Do you think we can fight the Boss in this state? You¡¯re holding up everyone¡¯s progress. Taking 5 points off is already a light punishment.¡±


    Even a calm person like Sky Moon couldn¡¯t take it.


    And so, Sky Moon made a rule that in the next rest break, they couldn¡¯t tell jokes.


    ¡°Apparently a new patch is coming out next month, with new Instance Dungeons, as well as a new map called the Isle of Quel¡¯Danas or something.¡±


    Those who were up to date had already asked about the new info.


    Actually, it wasn¡¯t really a matter of asking for it. The patch had already been there for a few months, and there were minor patches almost once a month. The one next month wasn¡¯t a major change.


    ¡°Apparently you can shuffle around points. You can reset Skill Points too, which also means that everyone¡¯s roles can be played in a different way.¡±


    Lu Li was clearer about it than them, but it didn¡¯t mean much to him. At the very most, he would reset his Skill Points. Gaining them would still follow the same process.


    The game would also push out a talent system. Different talents would have points added to them, and


    the only way to undo this was to shuffle around your points in the right way.


    Paladins and Druids were the happiest about this. By changing their attributes and Skill Points, it would be like playing a different role.


    That was what was happening next month, but currently, everyone still had to fight Prince Kael¡¯thas to the death.


    Now, the point that problems occurred most often at was when the players were mind controlled. They had to use Polymorph or Fear to control them, especially Thieves like Lu Li and Water Fairy!


    Lu Li had high damage to begin with, and now, with the Legendary weapon, it took a few shots to kill a Cloth-Armor player. First, he would be Feared and Polymorphed. Then, the Defensive Warriors would rush over to stop him.


    Lu Li had killed the whole team twice in total, and Sky Moon was so angry he almost deducted DKP from him.


    When Kael¡¯thas¡¯ HP had reached 50%, they entered into the fifth stage.


    During the process of Kael¡¯thas¡¯ extended preparation time, he would fly up, then land on the ground. After spouting some nonsense, those who could Bind him had to rush over.


    His dialogue lines were rather lengthy. It was a shame that players couldn¡¯t leave the battle here, nor could they take their potions.


    Then everyone would take their positions wherever they wanted. Regardless, he would suck everyone together straight away.


    Every time Kael¡¯thas sucked everyone together in the middle and set off the weightless forcefield, he would hold them there as if he was a puppeteer. Players needed to detach themselves from Kael¡¯thas to avoid the Nether steam damage, and they had to disperse their radiation to avoid more Nether electricity jumping between more team members.


    When the distance was right, everyone could attack Kael¡¯thas until the 30 second forcefield ended.


    Actually, flying around in this stage made it a bit more fun.


    After the weightless forcefield ended, the team would drop from the air and be dealt some fall damage. As long as you weren¡¯t up too high when this happened, the damage would be negligible.


    But here, they couldn¡¯t let the Main Tank die at any cost.


    The Phoenix couldn¡¯t be attacked in the weightless forcefield stage, and it wouldn¡¯t deal any damage either. Even though the Phoenix had respawned, it didn¡¯t pose too much of a threat.


    When the Shock Barrier was put up, the whole team could leave him. After the Shock Barrier disappeared, they could go up to attack him again.


    With a solid grasp of the special characteristics of the weightless forcefield, the team could defeat Kael¡¯thas after a few rounds. This battle was rather interesting ¨C it was easier than the previous stages. By the time they got to the fifth stage, they had pretty much defeated the Boss, so long as the Main Tank didn¡¯t die.


    Without realizing, they had already been in The Eye for more than 3 weeks.


    They were just a little bit away from finishing off Prince Kael¡¯thas. Strategies weren¡¯t important at all now; everyone already knew how to fight.


    The only thing was who would be that step ahead in finishing the fight first.


    Compared to Instance Dungeon First Clears, what was even more intense was the Stronghold battles.

 Chapter 1938 - The Grand Melee Stronghold Battle

    Gaming shares had always been taken from the game company to be sold on the market, and even now, gaming clubs hadn¡¯t been put on the market.


    Finances were actually a very normal thing, but to have this sort of thing be handed out was an autonomous decision. A strong-willed person like Lu Li wouldn¡¯t be willing to receive people¡¯s finances no matter what. He was just afraid that others would run onto his turf and direct him to do all sorts of things.


    If a club went on the market, then what could they get to cheat those stockbrokers?


    Trophies?


    This was completely possible, but in the eyes of stockbrokers, all they saw was the championship. They had no way to understand what it meant to just have one championship. Most of the trophies had been taken by Glory Capital, and the few recent ones were won by Ruling Sword. The trophies that other clubs had won were already more than five years old.


    Trophies didn¡¯t grow more valuable as time went on.


    And the total number of members in the guild?


    With virtual online games having developed to this stage, recruiting 100,000 members was a simple task. However, there was no way to just gain more members than other guilds in an instant. It was the same for competitors ¨C you couldn¡¯t instate any random player as a competitor, otherwise every club would have thousands of them.


    In the eyes of ordinary people, the most awesome thing was to have some actual territory.


    There were a few cities in the game.


    In order to enter the market smoothly, these clubs began to frantically farm Strongholds.


    Then, some really crazy things happened.


    One of them was sold the Stronghold for a high price, taking in cash and assets too. After it went on the market, everyone split up the money, and that was it. The capitalist market had never been very logical.


    In an even more ridiculous instance, someone actually used appearances to trick others.


    And they used it with an emerging talent ¨C the commander Sky Moon.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know about it to begin with. It was only when players in the other clubs made fun of Sky Moon that he knew.


    One of the girls in the top 100 beauty rankings was hired to flirt with Sky Moon.


    You couldn¡¯t blame Water Fairy for not liking beauty ranking being brought up. Most of the girls were unwilling participants, and it was a very humiliating thing for them.


    Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that the people on the ranking were necessarily worse off


    If you were listed up near the top, for example, in the top 50, you would receive so many sponsorship deals that you couldn¡¯t even handle all of them. Dancing Flower Beauty, who was ranked number one, had entered the top 10 highest earners last year. The game had even invited her to be a spokesperson for a race in the game.


    As for Water Fairy, she was a tycoon to begin with.


    Ruling Sword had never for a moment considered going on the market. Regardless of whether it was Ruling Sword or Judgement Spear, they were all developing at a very healthy rate.


    Their three Strongholds were their foundational territory. This number wouldn¡¯t increase, nor would they let others take them.


    Two new Strongholds were released ¨C one of them in Winterspring, and the other in Loch Modan.


    Winterspring was a map that almost everyone was familiar with. Countless people went there to farm mounts. It was very lively, and so the new Stronghold there gained the most attention.


    Loch Modan was made up of steep hills and low grasslands. There were plenty of mineral resources, and the cities here made money from trade with travelers who were leaving from South Lordaeron and Azeroth. The main inhabitants were humans and dwarves.


    Loch Modan was the heartland of those proud, sturdy, energetic dwarves.


    Although the Horde had chased away the dwarves to distant areas in the second war, forcing them to resort to guerilla warfare, they had now returned to their homeland and had grown even stronger.


    The players here were sockpuppets, but ever since the Loch produced a type of flying fish that couldn¡¯t be found anywhere else, all the fishing and cooking players journey here.


    There were also players who came here to hunt black bears and Threshadons.


    No matter what, these two places had become key battlegrounds. The Strongholds in the hands of the major clubs were defended to the death, while new Strongholds became points to make breakthroughs.


    Lu Li was also rather interested in the new Strongholds.


    He decided to expand his own Stronghold model. They already had more than enough defense for the three Strongholds. The game had limited the production of Fel Reavers and replaced them with a new type of Reaver blueprint, which was more than just a minor upgrade over the Fel Reavers.


    He moved a few Fel Reavers to Judgement Sword and adjusted the top players to try and help them claim the Winsterspring stronghold.


    Loch Modan was said to be better, but it wasn¡¯t as bustling as Winterspring.


    Especially after the game cancelled mount trading, if you wanted a mount, you had to farm it yourself. All those traders busily farming mounts to sell had left Winterspring, and there were now more fighting and lifestyle players.


    The snowy scenery of Winterspring was so beautiful; it almost looked like a painting.


    Defeat Winterspring!


    Establish a snowy tourist city!


    Lu Li personally went out to command, entering right into the chaotic war situation.


    This so-called chaotic war situation involved eight clubs showing up to fight on the map, with everyone being level 1 and having no equipment. They could keep fighting monsters and growing on the map, ultimately aiming for the Stronghold¡¯s stone tablet right in the center.


    With this sort of fighting, the dead were kicked right out, unless they had respawning equipment or tools.


    With a new style, there was a new way to play. Lu Li had actually never participated in this sort of thing before. How could he have participated in Stronghold battles in his last life? At the very most, he had just watched a few streams because they looked energetic.


    Firstly, the 80-Thief strategy was implemented.


    Stealth couldn¡¯t achieve everything, nor was it realistic to wait until the other players had eliminated each other.


    However, Thieves did have some advantages, so Lu Li brought ten of them along.


    ¡°Five to a group. Go and develop quickly, and retreat as soon as you see an enemy. I¡¯ll mark out a few assembly points; send a signal if you meet an enemy. Then, retreat and lead them to the assembly point, and after they get there, you know what to do.¡±


    Lu Li gave out the tasks first.


    He also assembled a small Elite team, with the Priest Princely Beauty, the Warrior Soulless Grass, the Ice Mage Short Road, the Paladin Sikong Clear, as well as himself.


    The other members who had come over from Ruling Sword, including Fat Monkey, Moonlight, Big Dog Li and Crippled Black Ant each brought a few new people.


    Everyone was level 1, there was not a single piece of equipment on them, and they only had basic skills. At this time, they needed to develop.


    There were a lot of monsters in Winterspring, most of them being level 50 or 60. Of course, the Stronghold map couldn¡¯t be set up like this. There were monsters from level 1 all the way to level 70. With the highest being level 70, this was also the maximum level the players could reach.


    Lu Li¡¯s group of five surrounded and killed a level 5 Holly bear. Now, all of them were at level 3.


    The drops weren¡¯t bad either ¨C the Holly bear dropped a green bow, and they all looked at each other with blank dismay.


    There wasn¡¯t a Hunter here!


    In the end, it was still Lu Li who put on this weapon. Thieves could shoot arrows too, although the attack wouldn¡¯t be at its full potential, and the shooting speed was slow.

 Chapter 1939 - Lu Li Rises Again

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Every single second of this messy war was precious. If this bow was swapped for an output weapon of his role, the five of them could pick a fight with an even higher-level monster, or they could kill level 5 monsters with greater speed.


    It was a shame that in order not to take the risk of losing members, the five of them could only keep bullying level 5 monsters.


    This time, an axe and a piece of armor finally dropped. Once Soulless Grass equipped both, they were in a position to challenge higher level monsters.


    Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be as hard to level up in the Stronghold map compared to outside. The drops were generous as well. Very soon, everyone had cobbled together some random equipment.


    In Lu Li¡¯s hand was a green dagger, and on his body he wore three pieces of leather armor, two pieces of cloth armor, and he had also learnt 4 skills.


    Feeling confident, he led a small group of people to go challenge a level 15 Boss. Lu Li and his team were level 12, so it was a risky battle, although there was potential. After it was killed, there was a real chance that everyone would receive quite a bit of equipment. The most important thing was the chance of dropping a Strengthening Skill Book. However, if they were unlucky, they could easily lose a member.


    This was where the magical attraction of the Grand Melee was.


    Many people enjoyed this Grand Melee style, and looked forward to new map releases.


    They felt as though it was even more intense, with even more unknown variables.


    If Glory Capital was put into a Grand Melee situation, would they definitely be able to occupy the Stronghold?


    Victory was not guaranteed as everyone started completely empty-handed, and it was really hard to say how they would end up developing. If they weren¡¯t lucky, they would lose a few members, and then anyone could bully them to death.


    Although the people that Lu Li brought were so-called ¡®new¡¯ people, they weren¡¯t any ordinary new players.


    They were the cream of the crop in terms of talent, and had been trained to competitive standards. Most of them had been on the stage in a competition more than once.


    If a level 15 Boss didn¡¯t do anything unexpected, it would be finished off.


    ¡°Two Gold, four Steel, two Strengthening Skill Books, one Blizzard.¡±


    What was more, all of them had levelled up to level 17. They really had struck it rich overnight.


    Lu Li received a pair of Gold Boots.


    ¡°Alright, we can¡¯t keep fighting monsters ¨C it¡¯s too inefficient. We¡¯ll find other people to trouble.¡±


    There were eight clubs, and 80 people from each club. In total, there were more than 600 people. Sooner or later, they would bump into them, but why keep waiting? Why not just start finding people to fight now?


    In the stronghold map, when someone died, they would drop all the equipment and Strengthening Skill Books they had. The person that killed them would also gain the EXP they had earned.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go explore that way. You all try your best to follow me down there.¡±


    After speaking, Lu Li transformed into a crow, opening up his wings and flying low.


    The Stronghold map prohibited flying mounts. Only ordinary mounts could be summoned for use. However, having your own personal methods for flying around wasn¡¯t prohibited, although Lu Li couldn¡¯t be so open in using this for long.


    For one, he wasn¡¯t the only player who could fly. In the future, almost everyone would bring someone to be a scout.


    Secondly, Druids would very quickly learn how to fly.


    What was more, Lu Li felt that to maintain the audience¡¯s excitement for these Grand Melees, there was a real chance that the game would come up with a policy to ban all flying. In the future, only the Eagle Eye skill of hunters could reveal their enemies at a short distance.


    Very soon, he found his first target.


    This was a 10-person team that was currently fighting a level 20 Boss.


    The Bosses in the Stronghold map were far weaker than those in the Wild. Under normal circumstances, a small group of five people could finish off a Boss of the same level without losing members. If a 10-person team was fighting a level 20 Boss, they would easily be able to defeat it if nothing unexpected occurred.


    Lu Li was the unexpected.


    He went back down to his own team, then everyone took out their signalers.


    A Cloud Arrow was fired, and then a whole army appeared!


    The few teams nearby quickly assembled, gathering 20 or 30 people.


    By this time, their opponents had already nearly finished fighting the Boss.


    Lu Li gave everyone the signal from above. He would sometimes fly in an S shape, and sometimes in a B shape. Wandering had set this up to notify everyone of where their opponents were.


    The targeted team was completely confused; they had just happily finished splitting up the loot.


    The loot from the level 20 Boss had far exceeded their expectations.


    If they kept going at their speed, they would definitely be the quickest team to get to level 70, and there was a real chance they would have the best equipment too.


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Someone spotted a figure. After all, there wasn¡¯t much vegetation in Winterspring, and the surrounding land was covered in ice and snow.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone casting Cheap Shot!¡±


    Unfortunately for them, they had already been surrounded.


    Three Mages cast Blizzard, and in an instant, seven or eight of them were dead. What could the remaining people do to struggle?


    After killing two players, Lu Li, who was originally level 17, instantly reached level 19.


    Moreover, he received two pieces of equipment and quite a few Strengthening Skill Books.


    It was simply too exhilarating to loot the corpses. They had never been able to loot so much from one body. Remnant Dream, who surely loved looting corpses, would definitely enjoy the Grand Melee format of the new map.


    The players from Judgement Spear got a taste of what it was like to kill someone and take their equipment, nosily urging Lu Li to get back up and look for targets that could be surrounded.


    In just half an hour, the players from Judgement Spear had risen to level 60. Moreover, all of them were fully equipped, and they had learned more than half of their skills.


    Lu Li¡¯s hands were covered in the blood of innocent players. He had risen to level 68, just short of level 70.


    And finally, someone realized that something wasn¡¯t right, and began to gang up together to stay alive.


    This made their original strategy of finding lone teams and surrounding them more difficult.


    At this time, Lu Li didn¡¯t have them go up to fight hand-to-hand.


    There were 72 of them left ¨C they had lost 8 people in the fighting. They might have easily been able to finish off an opponent with the same number of people the first time, but there was no way to avoid deaths.


    So after losing people, it would be relatively harder for them to do it again.


    And even if they did, they would just be waiting to be eaten up by others. In the case that the other few groups of players did join up, they could completely push Ruling Sword out of the game.


    Of the eight clubs, only Ruling Sword was considered a major guild. It wasn¡¯t impossible for an alliance to form.


    First, the strongest would be taken out of the game. Then, the remaining few competitors could fight fairly between themselves.

 Chapter 1940 - Winterspring Stronghold

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    If you didn¡¯t want to become the target of the public, then you needed to shy away temporarily.


    To shy away didn¡¯t mean to hide into a corner in the middle of nowhere. Lu Li was commanding high up in the sky and found a club that wanted to stay away from the fighting.


    This club had already been encircled and suppressed by the people led by Lu Li. Now, there were only 40 or so people left. They planned to hide until the other clubs were done with fighting, then take over again.


    As for going to sneakily destroy the Stronghold tablet, that was looking for death.


    The tablet required at least 5 minutes to break through, and an announcement would be made if it was attacked. Once it got to that time, they would become a target of the public.


    These 40 or so people were rather careless. They didn¡¯t realize that they were being hunted down.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t need to participate in the ensuing fight.


    Sky Moon needed independence and similarly, Judgment Spear needed growth.


    The main and sub-clubs who had performed best in the gaming circle were Drizzle Court and Glory Capital. Drizzle Court¡¯s Peerless City was in the top 10, while Gale Legion was the same.


    As Lu Li observed the tangled battle, he found that these people fought very conservatively.


    A lot of the time, small skirmishes would break out, as if they were waiting for something.


    It could be clearly seen that they were waiting for Ruling Sword¡¯s Judgement Spear, who was waiting behind them.


    As Lu Li watched from the sky, other clubs found it difficult to even touch Judgement Spear.


    Lu Li watched the drama from the side as the players of Judgment Spear eliminated those 40 or so opponents.


    No matter how amazing the battle formation, the situation of losing members in a large battle was inevitable.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with guerrilla warfare if the opportunity comes. If there¡¯s no opportunity, then we can just play hide and seek. I don¡¯t believe that these clubs can truly be cohesive and harmonious.¡±


    Lu Li knew how ugly human nature could be, especially when it came to personal interests.


    These clubs who had reached temporary agreements didn¡¯t have any foundation for cooperation.


    Sure enough, after not being able to find Judgement Spear in the ten minutes, there was finally a club who couldn¡¯t suppress themselves anymore and attacked the Stronghold tablet.


    War erupted in this moment. The club that attacked the Stronghold tablet was targeted by everyone else.


    ¡°You guys go find somewhere and fight monsters. Quickly get to level 70 and find some equipment. You don¡¯t need to participate in the fight; let them all fight first.¡±


    Lu Li was worried this was a trap and stopped his team¡¯s plans of attacking.


    He himself also found an opportunity to kill off a few players who were left behind and successfully advanced to level 70.


    Many of the players in the tangled battled still hadn¡¯t reach level 70. After all, Judgment Spear had killed a majority of the players, so their Experience had increased by a massive proportion.


    Lu Li observed for a while and determined that this wasn¡¯t an act. Hence, he started to transfer some of his team closer to the Stronghold tablet.


    After the Stronghold tablet had been claimed, it did not mean the end of the Stronghold battle. The person with the tablet needed to protect it for 5 minutes. Victory could only be achieved if it was not lost within these 5 minutes.


    In the end, the tablet was obtained by a Warrior player. He wore a lot of defensive equipment, and had the protection of a couple of teammates.


    He didn¡¯t hesitate in the moment and charged out of the circle, then ran wildly the whole way.


    As long as he didn¡¯t die in 5 minutes, they would be the owners of the Stronghold. They didn¡¯t care if they had made a lot of enemies in the process.


    The other clubs became upset as soon as they saw this. There was no point in fighting now. At least in normal Stronghold battles, people could still pick up some equipment of their opponent afterwards. However, in the Grand Melee, they all had nothing going into it. So, naturally they had nothing to come out of it.


    The people who had the tablet laughed loudly at everyone. Everyone¡¯s speed while horse-riding was the same, so it looked like there was no way they could catch up to him.


    This person¡¯s smile still hadn¡¯t stopped, until an army of people appeared in front of him. They encircled him, and he was already in the middle without him realising.


    Or, it could be said that they had run headfirst into the circle.


    ¡°First and second team, kill them. Everyone else, stop our enemies. Finish this battle quickly; I¡¯ll collect the tablet,¡± Lu Li ordered and fell from the sky as he flew straight towards the person with the tablet.


    This person was emanating a golden halo from head to toe so there was no way he had the wrong guy.


    Lu Li collected the tablet, then transformed into a crow straight away, while the others welcomed the pursuing troops to buy him time.


    A dark red crow emanating a golden halo flew past in the sky and spread its wings into the distance as everyone watched.


    This also signalled that the Stronghold battle was at its end.


    Judgement Spear claimed the Winterspring Stronghold and became the new owners.


    At the same time, Fat Monkey, who was poor because he had insisted to pay for everyone and rejected Square Root 3¡¯s suggestion to apply for reimbursement, had finally become ¡®fat¡¯ again.


    He had bet on Judgement Spear emerging victorious.


    The other gamblers hadn¡¯t really looked favourably upon Judgement Spear.


    They even thought that Judgement Spear could very much be the first team to be eliminated because the other clubs would gang up on them. However, they also knew that Ruling Sword would definitely send some of their own members to participate.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s three strongholds were now protected firmly under the Fel Reaver.


    There wasn¡¯t much change after this Stronghold battle; the two newly-released Strongholds were the focus.


    Loch Modan was taken by Stellar Union. Other than this new Stronghold, they also occupied the Arathi Highlands.


    Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court, Peerless City, Glory Capital, Blood Red War Flag, Seventh Heaven, and now Stellar Union ¨C these 7 clubs all occupied at least two Strongholds. There were others that occupied one, and some of them had relations with these seven clubs as principal and subordinate.


    One could only imagine how intense the next Stronghold battle would be.


    Once the time came, there was no guarantee how many people Ruling Sword could transfer to help Judgement Spear. At the very most, they could assist them with two Fel Reavers. It would be all up to themselves to see if they could handle it.

 Chapter 1941 - Little Lucky Hand’s Challenge

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    System: Congratulations Glory Capita, who under the leadership of White Westhill, have completed the First Clear of the Stormwind Stronghold!¡±


    This world notification instantly froze everyone. Everyone was still discussing the First Clear the second before.


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    Sky Moon stood up abruptly. His eyes locked onto Lu Li in the first second.


    Currently, Lu Li was sitting with Water Fairy.


    The two of them were holding hands. Lu Li tilted his head towards Water Fairy to say something which made her laugh so hard she couldn¡¯t sit straight, and her whole body leaned onto Lu Li¡¯s.


    ¡°Lu Li, our First Clear got taken by someone else and you¡¯re still sitting there flirting,¡± Azure Sea Breeze chided as he threw his axe and shield onto the floor with a bang.


    ¡°Oh, yeah I know,¡± Lu Li said nonchalantly as he glanced at him and seemed surprised as to why he was making a fuss.


    ¡°Boss, the First Clear is gone! It was taken by Glory Capital!¡±


    Sky Moon suddenly felt his whole body sapped of energy. He felt that his progress was fast enough already and he only needed two or three more tries before obtaining First Clear.


    ¡°I saw it already. Are you guys done with resting? If so, let¡¯s continue,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°A First Clear! First Clear!!¡± Azure Sea Breeze shouted loudly.


    ¡°We both need to fight for Strongholds, and also fight in matches, so we don¡¯t even have that many powerful, high-level players for Instance Dungeons. Wouldn¡¯t it be normal for our First Clear to get taken?¡± Lu Li questioned, paying him no attention, then continued, ¡°Are we gonna stop fighting just because our First Clear got taken?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Sky Moon still felt very ashamed.


    Even though nothing had been said, he felt that they were all blaming him.


    ¡°There are no buts. Even if I was commanding, there is no absolute certainty that we would definitely get this First Clear. Quickly get rid of this Boss. Don¡¯t let me down,¡± Lu Li commanded.


    The Instance Dungeon continued.


    Perhaps due to his emotions being over stimulated, the team was destroyed twice. It was not until the third time that Ruling Sword killed Prince Kael¡¯thas.


    This time, there were no First Clear rewards.


    There was no equipment, no skill points and no enhanced skill books. Everything that everyone had been anticipating had come to nothing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s loot the equipment, Dreamy,¡± Lu Li hastened.


    It would be a lie if they weren¡¯t disappointed without a First Clear. However, Lu Li had to show as if he didn¡¯t care. Sky Moon felt guilty enough already as it was. There was no point in blaming him. As a leader, he was learning when to criticise, when to forgive, and when to encourage at the right time.


    Lu Li¡¯s personal mentor, Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather Mr. Fan, had imparted him a lot of knowledge in this area.


    Remnant Dream crisply replied and ran to loot equipment.


    In fact, she didn¡¯t even care about First Clears or not. When she looted valuable items from First Clears, everyone thought that it was an effect of the First Clear rather than her lucky hand.


    Now that this wasn¡¯t the case, it was far more of a challenge.


    ¡°Three gem stones!¡±


    There was definitely enough in terms of quantity, but it was unfortunate that the quality was just passable. They could all be used and were still considered to be useful by people, but no one would bid points for them.


    There was a pile of Strengthening Stones, and then two Enhanced Skill Books.


    Then came the equipment.


    Sunhawk Leggings, Dark Gold ¨C Chain Mail Armor for Magic professions.


    This failed to go to auction since the team didn¡¯t have any healer Shamans or elemental Shamans.


    Due to the Dual Talent Specialisation that was going to be released, Sakura Memories was forced to take it for the price of 5 points. She didn¡¯t care too much since she usually didn¡¯t spend a lot of points to bid for equipment.


    Thalassian Wildercloak, Dark Gold ¨C this was something that belonged in the Agility category.


    Nobody wanted this either, so Lu Li assigned it to himself and also deducted 5 points.


    Two pieces of Dark Gold made Remnant Dream¡¯s little hands shake.


    The third was the Nexus Key.


    Finally, there was one Epic equipment for Magic roles. This Staff was considered more geared towards PVP, and drew a number of bidders.


    Hopefully, the fourth equip was going to be equally as valuable! The System¡¯s lucky hand had to start praying now.


    Chestguard of the Vanquished Defender!


    This was T5 Transmog Set piece for Warriors, Priests and Druids.


    The Little Lucky Hand pouted her mouth and nearly cried. According to the usual, Transmog Sets would be dropped after individual Epic items. However, only one individual Epic item had dropped before the Transmog Set piece.


    ¡°This is good stuff! Warriors and Priests are especially lacking in this,¡± Lu Li comforted her with a meaningful look.


    To miss a First Clear costed them a lot of equipment indeed.


    All 25 people would receive a First Clear reward. Even if only a third received equipment, then that was still 8 pieces. Even if it was just 8 pieces and half were Epic, then there would still be four Epic items.


    Warriors and Priests battled it out, but March Rain ended up with the equipment.


    She was a pretty girl, a competitor and the guild¡¯s top Priest.


    All these factors combined meant that not many people would be thick-skinned enough to fight her.


    Plus, she had an older brother. Offending March Rain was the same as offending Lonesome Flower. He was like Azure Sea Breeze and was a part of the earliest group of people who had followed Lu Li.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more!¡±


    Remnant Dream was finally happy after grabbing another Transmog set.


    There was no way more items could be found. However, to loot this much stuff without a First Clear was enough to prove how amazing her little lucky hands were.


    This new Transmog set was made specially for Paladins, Thieves, and Shamans.


    Competition for this was also pretty intense. Even if Sakura Memories announced her withdrawal from the competition, there were still many people who sought after it.


    In the end, Lu Li made the decision to give it to Water Fairy.


    After all, she was his own partner.


    More importantly, if it was his turn to enter into a match, he could totally borrow it to wear himself.


    ¡°There¡¯s still stuff,¡± Remnant Dream said.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably a quest item,¡± Lu Li recalled. This Boss would drop at least two quest items. One called Kael¡¯s Vial Remnant, while the other was called Verdant Sphere. Plus, Water Fairy had also collected her flying quest from here.


    ¡°Nope, Ta-da!¡±


    System: Congratulations Remnant Dream of Ruling Sword Guild for collecting the Ashes of Al¡¯ar!


    Ashes of Al¡¯ar?


    What the heck was that? Was it a mount?


    This name didn¡¯t really explain clearly what it was. There was only a minority of people who were sensitive enough to link it to the first Boss of Stormwind Stronghold, the Fire Phoenix. Only then did people have some realistic guesses of what it was.

 Chapter 1942 - Two Hearts Beating as One

    Wasn¡¯t it just a Mount drop? Why would the System make a global announcement because of it?


    ¡°Wow, it has 310 movement speed¡­ That¡¯s 30 faster than mine.¡±


    Remnant Dream did some quick arithmetic to find that her 280 movement speed mount was comparatively slower.


    Currently and for the next few patches, this was the fastest Mount available.


    From that perspective, it was no wonder that the System made an announcement.


    ¡°Good job Dreamy!¡±


    Everyone was elated. Although they didn¡¯t get the First Clear, they had done something that couldn¡¯t be done even with a First Clear.


    There wasn¡¯t any indication that Glory Capital had acquired the Phoenix Mount.


    ¡°Dreamy, you can take this mount like we agreed.¡±


    Lu Li had promised long ago that she could take anything that was pet-related as their resident lucky looter.


    ¡°Eh, maybe not this time. Let¡¯s all roll for it.¡±


    Remnant Dream also heard the System Announcement and knew the value of this Mount. She felt like she couldn¡¯t just take it.


    Rolling for it was undoubtedly the best way to resolve this issue, as anyone had the chance to take it.


    Bidding with DKP was not great because it was likely that the person with the most DKP would just take it. Lu Li didn¡¯t want someone important to the First Clearing team to spend all their DKP to get this mount.


    Lu Li was the first person to roll, as he simultaneously announced the start of the contest for the Phoenix Mount.


    13!


    He only got 13 points!


    This was a very unlucky number because Jesus, the Son of God, had 12 apostles. However, one of them, Judas, betrayed Jesus for 30 silver, causing him to be tortured and crucified.


    ¡°Hahaha, if you win it with that number, I¡¯ll livestream myself naked,¡± Azure Sea Breeze gloated.


    ¡°I will too,¡± Wandering said to further taunt him.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Fat Monkey chimed in to play along.


    Lu Li really didn¡¯t want to get the mount now, otherwise, Ruling Sword would become a guild of exhibitionists.


    Fortunately, all the players that rolled after him got better rolls. Three players actually managed to roll 100.


    ¡°I think we should all roll again, and the ones who rolled 100 are out,¡± Fat Monkey suggested after only rolling 60.


    ¡°The three of us should roll again,¡± Kitty Likes Meat said, ignoring him.


    The three players that rolled 100s were Kitty Likes Meat, Mu Qiu and Crippled Black Ant. As such, the three of them rolled again.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have much to say. He would have wanted everyone to roll again, but as the Boss, he had to show some responsibility.


    In the end, Mu Qiu won the first Phoenix Mount in Dawn with a roll of 89.


    After summoning it, they could see that it really looked like the first boss of the Instance Dungeon. When they sat on it, they fit quite comfortably. In Mu Qiu¡¯s words, his whole body was warm and cosy.


    The Quest items were then taken by whoever needed them. Water Fairy also got her own quest items.


    She had long since completed the previous quests, and now all that was left was Prince Kael¡¯thas¡¯ quest items. After receiving and studying them, she would be able to transform into a Phoenix.


    Suddenly, someone pointed out that Water Fairy had disappeared and had been replaced by a miniature version of the Phoenix mount. It was very cute and could made a soft squawking sound.


    Lu Li smiled and used his Raven Transformation Skill.


    They were now a Transformation Couple.


    ¡°Wow, how romantic! They are flying together!¡± Kitty Likes Meat gushed.


    ¡°Having a Phoenix paired with a Crow is such a poor match,¡± Azure Sea Breeze said, looking disgusted. The others didn¡¯t really know what to feel. One of them was black and ugly while the other was red and cute. They were completely different styles.


    ¡°You guys are all jealous!¡± Lu Li said to comfort himself. He didn¡¯t care what the others said and happily flew out of the Instance Dungeon with Water Fairy.


    Unfortunately, Water Fairy couldn¡¯t stay with him.


    In the afternoon, Drizzle Court had a match against Purple Lunar Paradise. This was the battle that decided whether they could make it into the top 16. Lu Li gave all of his good equipment to Water Fairy.


    But really, he didn¡¯t have much.


    All the professional players were currently carrying a mix between T4 and T5 Epic equipment.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t watch the game; he had complete faith in his girlfriend.


    Instead, he went to his mentor, Garona, whom he hadn¡¯t seen in a long time.


    ¡°Is there anything I can help with? The organisation must have some quests, right?¡±


    Ever since he had become Garona¡¯s disciple, she stopped giving him her own quests.


    This meant that the only connection left between Lu Li and Ravenholdt Manor was Garona.


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t have any time left to work for the organisation,¡± Garona said, remaining in her lazy posture while throwing out some scrolls.


    ¡°These are some quests that haven¡¯t been given out today. You can pick from them.¡±


    He had gotten what he wanted so suddenly that Lu Li was a little dumbfounded.


    However, he was concerned that he had given the impression that he didn¡¯t want to do these quests. He desperately needed better equipment¡­


    Otherwise, if he and Sorrowless were to meet in battle, he would definitely be crushed.


    ¡°Return Darkness to me!!! You will do as I say!!!¡± Sorrowless would demand as he pressed Lu Li¡¯s face into the ground.


    The thought of that gave Lu Li shivers.


    Sure enough, these were all pending quests.


    Having a high-level mentor was cool, but he didn¡¯t find any quests that he wanted from the pile.


    ¡°Teacher, is there any kind of quest that will give me Enhanced Skill Books or Legendary equipment?¡±


    ¡°Haha, how arrogant. You¡¯re still my student ¨C what are you going to do? Kill Illidan?¡± Garona sneered.


    ¡°That, I can¡¯t do!¡±


    Everything in an Instance Dungeon could be defeated, but the real Illidan was able to crush him with one finger. For some reason this game had made their NPCs incredibly strong.


    The monsters in Instance Dungeons were just projections, even if they did take several days to defeat.


    If fighting these projections was already this hard, they had no chance against the real thing.


    ¡°Maybe you could rescue Malfurion from the Emerald Dream?¡± Garona suggested again.


    ¡°Teacher, please don¡¯t be like this,¡± Lu Li pleaded speechlessly. Were these actual quests that people could do? As far as he knew, even Tyrande couldn¡¯t get Malfurion out of Emerald Dream. Only Malfurion could save himself as he had saved the world in the Emerald Dream.


    ¡°Or maybe, you could find clues to Varian¡¯s abnormality?¡±


    Garona probably wanted to be absolutely clear to her disciple.


    ¡°Wait¡­ I could do this one.¡±


    Lu Li had thought that Varian had already regenerated to his original form. He didn¡¯t expect that he was still in his weakened state. Couldn¡¯t he use his rebirth knowledge to provide the clues?


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Garona couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°What would the quest reward be?¡± Lu Li asked eagerly. Since this quest had been mentioned after the first two, the rewards wouldn¡¯t just be an Epic equipment, even if it was a little worse.

 Chapter 1943 - Jaina

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°You¡¯re really going to do this quest?¡±


    Garona froze for a moment but relaxed after thinking about it further.


    Of the three quests, the first two required immense strength. Her apprentice naturally was incapable of completing them. As for the last quest, no one had any information about it. A quest like that had nothing to do with strength.


    I will find the clues. Who do I talk to when I complete the quest?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Go and find Jaina, but¡­¡± Garona paused while talking to her apprentice, then continued, ¡°You better make sure your information is correct. You won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences of messing with a Mage like that.¡±


    ¡°Yes teacher, I believe I will be able to complete this quest. But, you still haven¡¯t told me what the reward for this quest will be?¡±


    ¡°You are not a Mage, so there is no point in becoming her student. If you want a Skill Book, she can give you the Mage¡¯s Fortified Ice Block. If you want equipment, she will give you a Legendary Magic Staff. If you insist on a Thief item, you will have to talk to her in person.¡± Since she was speaking to her student, Garona was willing to tell Lu Li everything she knew about Jaina.


    ¡°Thank you teacher. I will come back to see you after completing the quest.¡±


    ¡°Do you know Aegwynn?¡± Garona suddenly asked as Lu Li was leaving.


    ¡°Of course, she is a powerful Mage and guardian of the Council of Tirisfal. Well, former guardian ¨C I¡¯ve heard that she is dead. However, some other people are saying that she is just living in an unknown place,¡± Lu Li answered after some consideration.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re not a mage. You can go now,¡± Garona said as she waved her hand to indicate she was done talking.


    Lu Li was confused by that interaction. Perhaps he was supposed to be a Mage?


    There was no doubt that Jaina¡¯s quest was also set for Mages. Regardless of which reward he chose, they were all for Mages. Thought, it seemed unlikely that a level 70 Legendary weapon would appear now.


    However, if Sorrowless did get such a weapon, he would be able to properly thrash Lu Li.


    Regarding the conversation about Aegwynn, there was probably also a quest that required the player to be a Mage.


    Given Aegwynn¡¯s current age and circumstances, it was probably an appropriate time for her to find a successor among the players.


    The first reward of the quest was unlikely to be chosen. Although Enhanced Skill Books were precious, they didn¡¯t usually confer an immediate and obvious increase in strength. Most people would choose the Legendary Magic Staff, but there were probably a portion of people who would want to become an apprentice of such a renowned Mage.


    In Azeroth, there was basically no one who was currently stronger than Jaina as a Mage.


    After visiting this teacher, getting more equipment or skill books would no longer just be a dream.


    If you had both quests, then your decision wouldn¡¯t be so hard. You could take Aegwynn as your mentor and still take the Magic Staff or Enhanced Skill Book from Jaina.


    The difference in strength between Jaina and Aegwynn was not difficult to determine.


    Aegwynn was at least partially Jaina¡¯s mentor.


    If you had Aegwynn as your mentor, then Jaina would be your sister.


    Lu Li hypothesised that Aegwynn was spending her last days with Jaina. She was teaching her ancient magic while also serving as her administrative consultant.


    If Lu Li were a Mage, he would definitely straightforwardly worship Aegwynn.


    Unfortunately, the only option Lu Li had was to find Jaina in Theramore.


    Obviously, Jaina was a human and humans seemed to have a particular talent for Magic. Even those monsters that had lived for thousands of years weren¡¯t as powerful.


    ¡°I have been ordered to come here. Once she looks at this, I think she will agree to meet me.¡±


    Lu Li passed over a dagger ¨C the Shard of the Defiler.


    After being invited to join the Assassin League, you would be given a code item that represented your identity. The code item was generally either an earring, a ring or a dagger. These items could only be understood by the Assassin League or their clients.


    Lu Li was quickly invited in and found himself facing Jaina.


    She was daughter of Daelin Proudmoore and her father was the supreme ruler of the Kul Tiras Kingdom. He was also an admiral of the Alliance during the Second War.


    Jaina had been talented in her magical studies since she was a child. She studied under the Leader of the Kirin Tor, Antonidas, who was a Mage who lived and worked in the magical capital of Dalaran.


    In Jaina¡¯s early adulthood, she worked to stop the spread of the Scourge that would trigger the third war. She also watched her close friend and lover, Prince Arthas Menethil slowly step into the darkness.


    When the situation intensified, Jaina gained the trust of the new Horde Warchief Saar and became a key figure in uniting the different groups of Azeroth to fight against the Burning Legion.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know how old she was, but Jaina was definitely not as young as she appeared. She looked like a young 18-year-old blonde.


    ¡°O Respected Mage, I bring greetings from my teacher.¡±


    Although Lu Li didn¡¯t appreciate Jaina¡¯s style of behaviour, he had to at least show some respect when in the face of such power.


    Jaina managed Theramore Island and was a leader there.


    ¡°I know you ¨C Garona has mentioned you in the past. Is she doing well?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. In her words, she is quietly waiting for death to come.¡±


    ¡°Death won¡¯t come to her. She has been imbued by magic so strong that even death cannot overcome it. Let¡¯s talk about why you are here,¡± Jaina said as she motioned for Lu Li to sit down and called for someone to bring fruit and tea.


    If he had visited a Warrior, this scented tea might have been replaced with liquor.


    ¡°It¡¯s about Prince Varian. I heard that you were investigating this. I¡¯ve been to the Royal Palace of Stormwind City not long ago where an old man and I stopped an assassination attempt against the king,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°I have heard some rumours about that. So it turns out that the powerful adventurer was you, Garona¡¯s disciple.¡±


    ¡°I am not that powerful. Regarding King Varian, I found that something was wrong and I started investigating. After working for a while, I have some clues now. How are things going on your side?¡±


    ¡°Things are a little complicated. I discovered a conspiracy a few months ago as some Demon Worshippers tried to stir up some conflict between the Horde and Theramore. I have actively been trying to contact Varian. I want to establish a relationship between him and Saar to broker a lasting peace between the Alliance and the Horde.¡±


    ¡°I understand. What happened next?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°He was not very used to such having such a relationship. But in a sense, if it were not for the cooperation between the Alliance and the Horde, Azeroth would have been destroyed.¡±

 Chapter 1944 - Lilian’s Embrace

    ¡°Due to information being leaked and the betrayal of the Grimtotem Taurens, Varian, who was on a boat to Theramore was taken into Horde territory,¡± Jaina said wearily.


    ¡°And what about Stormwind City?¡± Lu Li asked.


    These villains intended to cause as much trouble as possible, so they didn¡¯t just kill Varian. His son, Anduin, was still young and managing Stormwind City. This was enough to keep him occupied.


    ¡°We will need to rescue him, so we can return him to Stormwind City,¡± Jaina responded.


    ¡°But I am sure you feel like something is wrong. The once wise and strong King Varian is now being led around all across the continent as if he was some frail being,¡± Lu Li commented based on what she had said so far.


    ¡°I initially suspected that it was someone else posing as him, but now I am sure that it is Varian,¡± Jaina said as she planted her Magic Staff onto the ground for a moment. ¡°Mr. Thief, I put out this quest in search of someone knowledgeable. I want to better understand this situation.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, I have the information you want. What kind of reward will I received?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°If you found out about this quest through your mentor, then you probably already know what the rewards are,¡± Jaina replied.


    ¡°As you can see, I am a Thief, so your rewards are useless to me. But, I do believe that my information is very valuable.¡±


    Lu Li was a Thief and had no real reason to earn the respect of this beautiful NPC, so he didn¡¯t mind speaking more straightforwardly.


    ¡°I do have some other items. If you can help me, then this Cloak is yours,¡± Jaina offered as she handed over an item to Lu Li.


    Lilian¡¯s Embrace (Legendary): Armor +350, all Attributes +200, Movement Speed +30%, 3 Slots. Special Effect 1, Shadow Bayonet, Instant Cast, deals 1200 Shadow Damage to all enemies within 8 yards. 30 second cooldown. Special Effect 2: Death Grip, 2 second channel time. Absorb the surrounding dark energy and pull a target within 30 yards to the position of the user. 3-minute cooldown. Special Effect 3: Lilian¡¯s Embrace, appear behind the target and immediately casts Throatkill with a 100% chance of landing a critical hit. 2-hour cooldown. Equipment Requirements: Level 70. Durability: 640/640.


    There was a small inscription at the bottom: Life is as gorgeous as the summer flowers and death is as beautiful as the autumn leaves.


    Lu Li felt euphoric. This has exceeded his expectations.


    Supreme Five Ring (Legendary) *6: All attributes +160, Critical Hit +37%, Lifesteal +42, Damage +12%,


    Special Effect 1: King of the Jungle¡¯s Protection. Instant Cast, summons a natural shield that allows the caster to absorb the full damage of 1 skill. 3 hour cooldown.


    Special Effect 2: King of the Jungle¡¯s Blessing. Stealth Effect +30%.


    Special Effect 3: King of the Jungle Cenarius¡¯s special ability. The user may learn two Druid Transformation Skills and two skills that branch out from those skills.


    Special Effect 4: The Demon Hunters grant the user the ability to transform into a Demon. When the caster jumps into the air and lands on the ground, Chaos Damage will be dealt to an 8 yard radius around the caster. This will also stun all affected units for 3 seconds. Upon landing, the caster will transform into a Demon. You can continue to use all skills from your original profession. Defense is increased by 70% and attack is increased by 10%. Lasts for 30 seconds. 8-hour cooldown.


    Equipment Requirements: None


    Durability: None


    When comparing these two pieces of equipment, the Supreme Ring was not clearly better, even after being Fortified six times.


    This cloak added 200 points for all attributes, which was 40 more than the Supreme Five Ring, even after it had been fortified.


    It also increased movement speed by 30%, which meant that Lu Li would be faster than almost everyone except the players that deliberately stacked movement speed. He would be moving like the wind when on stage.


    The first Special Effect was an area of effect damaging skill that dealt Shadow damage. Most players didn¡¯t have much Shadow Resistance.


    The second Special Effect was to pull a target towards the user. One could imagine a team match where Lu Li pulled the opposing healer and they were inevitably one shot by the team.


    The third Special Effect was not only an instant-cast skill, but guaranteed a critical hit.


    Lilian¡¯s Embrace probably referred to Lilian Voss.


    It was said that during her lifetime, she was a Scarlet Crusader killer. Her father was Scarlet Crusade High Priest Benedictus Voss. After Lilian¡¯s death, she was revived by The Forsaken, but she refused to accept his identify as an Undead.


    When she had become a Forsaken, she felt panicked, but she believed that her father could help her. She anxiously when to see her father, but her father, who was firmly opposed to the Undead, disowned her and ordered her execution.


    She faced great distress and strangled her father, the High Priest of the Scarlet Crusade and fled to the gloomy corridors of Scholomance.


    Instead of ordering the intruder to be destroyed, Darkmaster Gandling kindly guided Voss and taught her to embrace her fate.


    Her anger and her blades were not used against Gandling¡¯s enemies.


    She was a very proficient killer and her killing method was always the same ¨C she would slash the neck. If necessary, she would unleash shadow powers to take out a group of enemies in single attack.


    The origins of this cape were self-evident. Lu Li didn¡¯t know why Jaina had this cape, but he knew that it would be his quest reward.


    ¡°Let me tell you a story about gladiators. This story might be helpful in helping you understand more about Varian¡¯s disorder,¡± Lu Li began to speak wisely. ¡°One day, a patient with amnesia found themselves on Durotar Beach, captured by a Shaman named Rehgar Earthfury.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean to say that this amnesiac is Varian?¡± Jaina questioned with a frown. If that¡¯s the case, then who is the current king of Stormwind City?


    How had he managed to get pass the detection of so many Mages?


    ¡°Oh, that is not what I mean. Please continue to listen to me, o¡¯ beautiful one,¡± Lu Li said. He seemed to be deliberately giving small bits of information at a time.


    ¡°This person was able to defeat the Shaman Gladiators in one on one combat even after taking his swords away. With his leadership and fighting skills, the Orc Shamans were led by him to become champions in the Doomhammer Arena.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    Jaina frowned, unsure of what to make of all this.


    ¡°Since then, he has made a name for himself with the title of the Ghost Wolf of Lo¡¯Gosh. He still can¡¯t remember who he was, but he continues to work on finding that out with the help of his two friends. One of them is Broll Bearmantle and the other is Valeera Sanguinar.¡±


    ¡°I need to confirm that all this is true,¡± Jaina said.


    ¡°I have very detailed information about all this, and I have no reason nor the courage to deceive you or my master,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°So, what should we do?¡± Jaina asked.


    ¡°Just wait and see. The truth of it all will soon surface. But how about I use this cloak for now?¡±


    Lu Li was captivated by the cloak on his leg.


    ¡°You can take it for now. I¡¯ll settle the rest with you when I confirm everything,¡± Jaina agreed.


    She had believed in Lu Li¡¯s information, but there were still some things she couldn¡¯t figure out.

 Chapter 1945 - Existence

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    It wasn¡¯t because of quest requirements that Lu Li wanted to change Jaina¡¯s mind.


    It was because he wanted to affect the story himself to clear Valeera Sanguinar¡¯s presence. This was another notable Thief in the world of Dawn.


    Western people, in the olden days, tended to say who their father was upon first meeting someone.


    However, in the western legends, while the main protagonists might not have a good father, they always had a connection to other notable figures.


    The reason that Anduin was able to lead the Human Alliance was because he was a descendant of the great Thoradin. However, Thieves operated unlike this. The more renowned a Thief wanted to be, the lesser known he would have to be.


    Therefore, Thieves were called Stealth Stalkers who walked in the dark.


    Perhaps there were even more powerful Thieves. They could be stronger than Valeera Sanguinar or even Garona herself. However, since there was no information on them, Lu Li was unable to find them at all.


    Valeera Sanguinar and Garona were exceptions.


    Garona¡¯s name had been spread everywhere upon assassinating the previous king. Sanguinar¡¯s name


    was spread through gossip and word of mouth by bards and old teammates.


    The Sanguinar family was actually a family of Blood Elf nobles. During the war in The Eye, Kael¡¯Thas had an advisor called Lord Sanguinar, whose nickname was the Blood Hammer.


    In the western hierarchy of aristocracy, a Lord wasn¡¯t that high of a rank. Normally, it was the lowest rank among nobles. A Lord was simply a warrior with a different title to most.


    To shorten the story of an irrelevant person to the main storyline, he was probably born into nobility, then rose up the ranks after courageous showings in battle. It was also likely that he inherited everything from his family.


    No matter what, a lord wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee nobility to his whole race. Therefore, Valeera¡¯s family was unlikely to be noble, but rather, were extremely close.


    However, Valeera had the makings of a main character. She was born into a privileged family, although not nobility. Furthermore, she also had many nemeses. Naturally, this led to chance encounters which would strengthen her and turn her into a ¡®main character¡¯.


    Valeera fitted this role; she was beautiful and strong. Furthermore, the male main character was a young and amnesiac king.


    What role was Lu Li going to play?


    Second-lead?


    Second-lead was impossible. He would die. No one would live as the second-lead.


    Furthermore, his mind and body might no longer work in tandem being in front of such a beautiful female Blood Elf. Even if she was an NPC, Lu Li needed to ensure his loyalty in mind and body to Water Fairy.


    Therefore, he called upon his own fianc¨¦e, Water Fairy.


    If he did this, then he wouldn¡¯t threaten the male main character and also wouldn¡¯t endanger his own relationship with Water Fairy by getting close to a beautiful lady.


    It was hard to live like this.


    As soon as Water Fairy heard that there was a quest to be done and she was likely to receive a Legendary item, she immediately rushed over when the match was complete.


    As for the competition, they had naturally won without much fuss.


    Lu Li quickly explained to her the details of this quest.


    ¡°Give it here!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Lilian¡¯s Embrace! This was something worn by a girl and you want to use it? I¡¯ll take care of it for you first.¡±


    Lu Li nearly broke into tears.


    His fianc¨¦e has changed. She wasn¡¯t like this before. She used to give up her own items for Lu Li to use.


    His heart said no, but his hands already obediently handed the Legendary cloak to her.


    Water Fairy was overjoyed as she took the cloak into her hands and wore it. She even twirled around while wearing it. Her beautiful body completed blinded Lu Li¡¯s eyes; he no longer regretted anything.


    1


    Before, it would cost her at least millions to get herself a top item in the current update.


    Without spending a single cent and a twirl of her finger, this item was immediately in her hands. From a business perspective, having Lu Li as her husband was a blessing. Although¡­Lu Li was a little dark, ugly and poor¡­


    What to do? She was falling deeper in love with him.


    ¡°You look really pretty wearing this. There¡¯s no one else more beautiful than you,¡± Lu Li said. If Azure Sea Breeze and others were here, he would be scolded heavily.


    Water Fairy was beaming, which indicated that she was willing to go and do the quest.


    They didn¡¯t know the entrance point to the quest, besides that these three people hadn¡¯t arrived at Stormwind City yet. Lu Li didn¡¯t even know if they had left the Coliseum yet.


    However, this wasn¡¯t a problem.


    One word from Lu Li¡¯s mouth and countless players searched for traces of the three people. In the end, they found three NPC adventurers who were suspiciously similar to the three people at Menethil.


    It didn¡¯t even take 15 minutes.


    This was an advantage of having the sheer numbers of multiple mega-clubs. However, they didn¡¯t know why they needed to find these three people. Some players didn¡¯t even know what they were


    looking for.


    Menethil was the surname of the previous king of Lordaeron. This was originally a surname that was associated with power and glory. However, following the betrayal of Arthas and the destruction of


    Lordaeron, this surname had already been buried in the depths of history.


    However, the people still remembered it, which was why this area was named Menethil, as it was an important port for the Human Alliance.


    After Lu Li and Water Fairy hurriedly arrived, the Defias thugs who followed these three warriors also started to attack.


    These thugs were everywhere. Even the experienced warriors¡¯ facial expressions changed.


    ¡°If things go south today, you two go ahead. I¡¯ll hold them off. You guys come and avenge me in the future,¡± Broll Bearmantle roared thunderously and transformed into a large bear.


    ¡°I will not abandon my brothers and run away like a coward!¡±


    Varian was fearless and quite impressive. If he had agreed to run ahead, he would not be Llane¡¯s son.


    Valeera didn¡¯t say a thing.


    As the thugs roared and rushed towards them, the gigantic bear swiped at them and the whole group went flying.


    Some of the thugs who were hit dead-on were left with broken bones. If it wasn¡¯t for the armor on their bodies, these swipes would have torn their limbs apart.


    ¡°Do we need reinforcements?¡± Water Fairy looked at these Defias thugs and was a little nervous as well. Although these thugs were only level 50 to 60, each of them were elite monsters, or even Boss level monsters.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call. Otherwise, our own reinforcements wouldn¡¯t be treated as precious,¡± Lu Li said as he shook his head.


    Both him and Water Fairy were equipped with the best items possible. Furthermore, they also had a lot of Dodge and Lifesteal attributes. This was for the sake of allowing them to survive and last for a longer battle. At this stage of the game, they often had another two to three sets of equipment in their bags.

 Chapter 1946 - Entering the Story

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Defias thugs swarmed the area; anyone would look to retreat.


    Edwin VanCleef was the leader of the Defias Thugs. He was once a member of the Stonemasons in Stormwind City. The Defias group slowly grew in power and influence due to the Stormwind administration¡¯s failure to pay the workers salaries, which incited a rebellion among the citizens.


    Then, VanCleef was killed, so these thugs disbanded into the different corners of the world.


    The Defias Brotherhood played a major role in the disappearance of Varian Wrynn. Under the control of the Black Dragon Princess, Varian was ambushed and kidnapped shortly after leaving Stormwind City.


    The Brotherhood took Varian to Menethil, then rode a boat to Dustwallow Marsh and secretly kept Varian on Alcaz Island. The Defias Brotherhood had a hand in each part of the kidnapping. Stormwind City, Menethil, Theramore.


    On the island of Alcaz, Defias¡¯ Warlocks used a forbidden spell to split Varian¡¯s spirit and body in two. One half was elegant, gentle and kind, while the other half was ferocious, fierce, and strong.


    Onyxia sent out her soldiers to Alcaz and wiped out all of the Warlocks on the island. She planned to kill the more powerful half of the king, then use the other half as a puppet king while she ruled from the shadows.


    Then, the more powerful half jumped into the deep sea and disappeared.


    Onyxia had already been executed (actually, it was only her projection, so she was bound to appear again), but her plans were still in motion. Besides Onyxia, there were also other people who didn¡¯t want Varian to return to Stormwind City.


    The Defias Brotherhood was just a weapon for these people.


    Besides wanting their salaries, they also had a desire for government reformation.


    They were a bunch of pitiful people. However, Lu Li didn¡¯t have the right to pity them. After all, if he had gone easy, even in the slightest, even Varian and the others would need to admit defeat.


    Everyone needed to fight with all they had.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy quickly moved towards Varian.


    ¡°We¡¯re on the same side. We are here to help,¡± Lu Li said parried away a Blood Elf thief¡¯s dagger. Valeera Sanguinar suddenly appeared behind Lu Li.


    Of course, according to the story of the game, these people weren¡¯t as strong as they were yet.


    Valeera Sanguinar was an elite Thief. At her peak, she was able to instantly kill Lu Li with one hit.


    ¡°Prove it.¡±


    Valeera was on high alert.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t have anything to suspect us. If we were really your enemies, we would be helping these Defias thugs to kill all of you,¡± Lu Li reasoned.


    With his wife next to him, emotional reasoning was not a possibility.


    ¡°You know these people?¡±


    Varian quickly figured out the problem.


    ¡°It¡¯s already been so long and you don¡¯t know who caused all this trouble for you?¡± Lu Li thought to himself.


    As he battled, he explained the situation with the Defias Brotherhood. These were actually a group of people who were greatly disadvantaged by the aristocracy. However, the rage of these pitiful people slowly manifested into the Defias Thugs, who also hurt people like them.


    ¡°Do you have any ideas on how to defeat these people?¡± Varian asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t. We can only raise our weapons and fight!¡±


    Lu Li actually knew more, but he could not say.


    If he mentioned Jaina and revealed the whole truth, the reward would probably be a lot less than what it could be.


    They proceeded to fight valiantly against the enemy. They hacked and slashed, while they were also attacked back. This was an impressive and moving sight. They had no business to be here, yet they still unhesitatingly decided to help upon seeing these three people in trouble.


    Valeera Sanguinar and Broll Bearmantle quickly treated them as comrades and would support them every now and then.


    Varian, with his strong and determined side as the King of Stormwind City, had utmost confidence in Lu Li and Water Fairy. He didn¡¯t lend a hand even when Lu Li and Water Fairy were in danger.


    Since there wasn¡¯t a Boss, Lu Li and Water Fairy wouldn¡¯t die as they had the help of many elixirs and potions.


    It was because of these potions and elixirs that they were able to survive.


    As for the other three NPCs, they were already tired and worn down with injuries. The battle had also worn down their mental fortitude.


    Then, without him and Water Fairy, how could these three people defeat the powerful enemies? Even as a reborn player, Lu Li didn¡¯t know anything about the details of this.


    At the nest of the Defias Thugs not far from where they were, there were squadrons of hidden Paladins. These were the Paladins from the Night Watchmen. There were already more than 800 of them, and they were all level 70 with Epic items.


    Ruling Sword had invested most of their items into the Night Watchmen.


    In wild PVP battles, there weren¡¯t many people who could defend against them.


    Their mission was simple. Once they received the instruction, they would immediately charge towards the Defias Thugs¡¯ base and burn everything, including their crops, food and their families. This would force the Defias Thugs to retreat.


    If Lu Li ordered the knights to charge earlier, the battle would have been over much sooner.


    However, there was a reason as to why he delayed the charge. Firstly, it would hide their identities and where they had come from. Secondly, he wanted to make the support from him and Water Fairy seem precious.


    Lu Li was waiting for the catalyst that would turn the tides of this battle.


    As he waited and could wait no longer, a group of Dwarves suddenly entered the battlefield. Although they were short, they were intimidating and powerful with their hammers raised.


    There was a larger Dwarf as their leader, wielding a giant hammer.


    There were eight blades on the hammer. He swung it mightily and instantly turned the Defias Thugs into mincemeat. His face was hidden underneath a helmet with a horn.


    ¡°Anvilmar!¡±


    ¡°Anvilmar!¡±


    ¡°Anvilmar!¡±


    The Dwarves that were following him were yelling this name. It was as if this brought them power and raised their morale.


    ¡°Thargas Anvilmar! Descendant of the King of the Mountains!¡± Lu Li sighed. He finally understood


    why Varian was able to safely enter Ironforge.


    The King of the Mountains was Modimus Anvilmar. This was a legendary name in Dwarven history.


    There were no clans that did not know this name.


    His death had led to the breaking of the Bronzebeard, Wildhammer and Dark Iron Dwarves. This also led to the famous War of the Three Hammers.


    Thargas Anvilmar was Modimus¡¯ descendant. If the Dwarves followed along the monarchy that Humans had used, then he would be the King of the Dwarves.


    The Defias Thugs were quickly defeated. They appeared like a flood, but also receded just as quickly.

 Chapter 1947 - The Battle of Thandol Span

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°I¡¯m extremely grateful for your help, my Dwarven brothers. Thank you to both of you adventurers too.¡±


    Varian, or Gorosh, finally decided to trust Lu Li and Water Fairy, who had been fighting alongside them all along.


    Since since he trusted Water Fairy and Lu Li, he now treated them as one of his own.


    According to how gladiators were and their habits, they did not turn their back on unknown people. They would always be wary. However, Gorosh alone walked to the Dwarves, seemingly protecting Lu Li and Water Fairy.


    The Dwarves were holding onto their battle rams, so they could climb upon their rams and attack them at any moment.


    ¡°Varian! What are you doing?¡± the lead Dwarf, Thargas Anvilmar, removed his helmet and yelled. Dwarves were an extremely prideful group, let alone being the descendant of the King of the Mountains. Even upon meeting the Varian, Thargas wasn¡¯t going to kneel before even the king of the Humans.


    ¡°You¡­know me?¡± Gorosh hadn¡¯t remembered anything, but he already began questioning his identity.


    If he was a normal gladiator, then these Defias thugs would not prevent him to seek the truth in Stormwind City. If what these Dwarves said was true, then it was extremely likely that his identity was involved in a large conspiracy.


    Even as he was fighting as a slave, he knew that Stormwind City¡¯s king was always in Stormwind City.


    ¡°Varian, son of Llane¡­This is incomprehensible.¡±


    Thargas scanned the people with Varian and asked, ¡°Do you think the world is at peace now? How can you only bring these weaklings with you?¡±


    The Tauren chuckled. The Blood Elf remained expressionless. Lu Li muttered curses under his breath. Water Fairy eyes were pinpointed on Thargas¡¯ throat, as if she wanted to slash it.


    ¡°I hope to have your protection and take me to Stormwind City,¡± Gorosh said.


    If he really was the king of Stormwind City, then who was that in the city? There must have been a conspiracy a place. As he was the unyielding and unshaking side of Varian, he would never retreat.


    ¡°You have come at the wrong time, human. We have another mission. You all should look for a place to hide first,¡± Thargas said as he placed his helmet on his head.


    His words always brought a tone of hate and contempt. They weren¡¯t very pleasant.


    However, getting rid of these people was for the best in this situation.


    ¡°If there is a battle, then we can help you. You haven¡¯t introduced yourself.¡±


    Gorosh quickly bandaged himself and waved his great two-handed sword around, showing off his immense strength and power.


    ¡°Thargas. Thargas Anvilmar. Who exactly are you?


    ¡°That¡¯s not important. However, you can call me Gorosh. Let us fight together! Who is our enemy?¡± Gorosh asked.


    ¡°A group of scum. You probably have heard of Dun Modr¡­¡± Thargas said, with a hateful tone in his voice.


    ¡°I know him. Dun Modr is located in the southern marsh area between Lordaeron and Khaz Modan, at Thandol Span. Our people have travelled there before. They were rebuilding the area there before, and now it has once again been engulfed in flames?¡± The Druid, Broll Bearmantle asked curiously.


    ¡°Someone tried to destroy the Thandol Span. Those cowards from Dun Modr have all fled. The city has been invaded by the evil Dark Iron Dwarves.¡±


    ¡°So you want to take back the city, is that right? Gorosh asked.


    ¡°Yes. My life mission is to protective Thandol Span. No matter who and how many of them comes, they will have to face my hammer,¡± Thargas responded.


    ¡°Actually, I am also investigating this. We are from a group, but I cannot say who it is. However, what I can say, is that we¡¯re definitely on your side,¡± Lu Li interjected, using this opportunity to explain why he was here.


    ¡°Oh, what have you found?¡± Gorosh was interested.


    ¡°Thandol Span is the only path that connects the marsh to the Arathi Highlands. It is an important strategic position to have. There must be a reason as to why the Dark Iron Dwarves have attacked this place,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°This is rubbish!¡± a Dwarf beside Thargas Anvilmar interrupted.


    ¡°Shut up, Hajima! Let him continue,¡± Thargas rebuked the Dwarf. Immediately, the Dwarf stopped talking and never opened his mouth again.


    ¡°We found that they are connected to Twilight¡¯s Hammer,¡± Lu Li continued.


    ¡°Twilight¡¯s Hammer!¡± Thargas Anvilmar¡¯s boomed, ¡°Me, along with others, have always just thought that they were just a bunch of crooked Dark Iron Dwarves. I didn¡¯t expect that these Dwarves were cultists!¡±


    ¡°There are three people that we need to deal with ¨C Calamoth Ashbeard, Golem Lord Argelmach and High Interrogator Gerstahn.¡±


    Lu Li already knew this beforehand.


    ¡°I know about two of them, but who is Gerstahn?¡± Thargas Anvilmar asked angrily.


    ¡°She is one of the Twilight¡¯s Hammer¡¯s members. She is their interrogator. I planned to assassinate her, but she is quite powerful. Furthermore, she is under the heavy protection of many Dark Iron Dwarven warriors, so I have never been able to do so,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°Okay. You are trustworthy. If you are not afraid of dying, then I invite you to battle with us at Thandol Span.¡±


    Thargas Anvilmar finally trusted Lu Li and Water Fairy, and this guy who looked like Varian.


    In the end, they were limited. It was already difficult to face the Dark Iron Dwarves, but there was also the Twilight Hammer too.


    Thargas Anvilmar wasn¡¯t interested in fighting for power, which was why he didn¡¯t have the complete support of the Ironforge.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy received a major quest called ¡®The Battle of Thandol Span¡¯. If everything went as expected, then the rewards would be quite impressive.


    They received reinforcements from the Dwarves and set out immediately for Thandol Span. The guards were already fighting against the Dark Iron Dwarves.


    Compared to the Defias Thugs that used pure numbers to overpower their enemies, these Dark Iron Dwarves that were brainwashed by the Twilight¡¯s Hammer were much more dangerous. Furthermore, there were also three Wild Bosses leading them.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t change his tactics either. The Night Watch was already attacking the nest of the Defias thugs, which forced the thugs to flee and retreat.


    Taking down an NPC also had its own rewards. Naturally, these rewards were quite abundant and the loot was also quite valuable.

 Chapter 1948 - Three Assassins

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight, my people! The child of the king of the high mountains, Thargas, will definitely bring you victory!¡± the Dwarf leader called out in a loud voice.


    Actually, if they were going according to inheritance rules, instating Thargas Anvilmar as the new Dwarven king could possibly give the Three Hammer Dwarfs even more glory. The civil war had completely spent their energy.


    Among this group of Dwarves, Thargas had incomparable prestige. With him to inspire them, they rode on their War Rams without any fear, rushing towards their degenerate kinsmen.


    The origins of this race weren¡¯t like that of the Trolls and Elves, who were indigenous inhabitants, nor were they like those alien Draenei.


    The Dwarves were created from rocks by the powerful Titans in the cradle of the world¡¯s civilization.


    This race seemed to always be as firm and tenacious as a rock. Regardless of whether it was the ¡®good guys¡¯ who led and inspired in battle, or those who had been seduced by those Twilight followers, they were all like rocks, striking against one another.


    Lu Li faced by himself the attack of three Dark Iron dwarves. Their giant hammers wanted to smash Lu Li into mincemeat.


    When facing this sort of enemy, Lu Li really wished he was a master Mage.


    Even if the Dwarves¡¯ magic resistance was high, a Mage would do a cleaner job than a Thief jabbing with a little knife.


    ¡°Snowy, come over. Let¡¯s work together.¡±


    Water Fairy¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t much better than his, so he called her over, planning for the two of them to watch out for each other.


    Dying was equivalent to failing the quest.


    As such, they had to protect their own lives, nor could they be discovered by the NPCs here that they were shirking away.


    The two of them coordinated together to attack, alleviating the pressure on each other.


    Of the three Dark Iron Dwarves, two had been controlled and one was surrounded. In an instant, they were finished off, and then there was a new target.


    ¡°You two, stop wasting your time with those useless things!¡±


    Just when Lu Li and Water Fairy were fighting, they suddenly heard Valeera Sanguinar call for them.


    ¡°Do you have some advice?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s work with Gorosh to kill their commander ¨C that Argelmach. If you¡¯re not afraid to die, then let¡¯s go together,¡± Valeera Sanguinar said.


    Water Fairy immediately followed.


    His own partner had gone, so he naturally couldn¡¯t stay back. He followed along behind her in Stealth. As they rushed ahead amidst the chaos of war, they soon stood by Gorosh¡¯s side.


    With the cooperation of the big bear druid, Gorosh had already killed his way to his opponent¡¯s commander.


    Argelmach was the puppet leader of Blackrock Abyss. It was said that he harbored within him the desire for immortality, making a magic double of himself with his appearance. A story went that he even used various types of dark magic. When this puppet leader¡¯s flesh and bone was destroyed, his new creation would become the vessel for his soul.


    The one who was in front of everyone¡¯s eyes was evidently the body of his flesh and bone.


    Gorosh finally engaged in combat with Argelmach. To begin with, he should have had the advantage. It was only by the help of all the Dark Iron Dwarves around Argelmach that he was able to keep on going. Argelmach just needed to wait for more Dark Iron Dwarves to come over to help. Then, he would be able to kill this damned human.


    The three Thieves each took their places, waiting for an opportunity.


    Thieves were like assassins in other games. They were experts at hiding and killing; it wasn¡¯t just stealing things that was the specialty of this role.


    ¡°Now! Judge for yourself how and when best to attack!¡± Valeera Sanguinar shouted as she rushed forward first. Her target was Argelmach¡¯s eye, but she met with his arm that he raised up to block the strike.


    Lu Li attacked at the same time as her, focusing on Argelmach¡¯s other underarm.


    Feeling that a new attack was coming, Argelmach tried to use his arm to pinch out a dagger. Regardless of whether he was actively doing it, or if he was doing it subconsciously, Lu Li could be considered to have finished his job in the battle.


    Water Fairy¡¯s attack target was Argelmach¡¯s temple, but her aim was really more to be a distraction.


    The real fatal attack wasn¡¯t from them; it was from Garosh.


    Using the situation that the three Thieves had created, Garosh kept moving from left to right, fiercely chopping at the back of Argelmach¡¯s neck.


    One attack was sure to kill!


    Only an NPC could do this to another NPC. No matter how Lu Li and Water Fairy attacked, the Boss¡¯ HP would only drop by a fraction.


    They were happy to be in a supporting role, creating chances for Garosh and Valeera Sanguinar.


    Argelmach simply couldn¡¯t wait long enough for support and was promptly slain.


    One of three Bosses had been finished off.


    The four of them began to face the frantic counterattack of the Dark Iron Dwarves. After all, Argelmach was the leader of their pack, so since he had died so easily, it was an embarrassment to them.


    ¡°I am here! You all go off somewhere else!¡± Gorosh roared fiercely as he sliced an Iron Dwarf¡¯s body from head to toe, before stepping through the fountain of blood to cut down three more Dwarves standing behind.


    Broll Bearmantle could not only turn into a bear, but could also turn into a small sapling that heal Gorosh. The three assassins simply didn¡¯t have any room to show off their talents.


    ¡°Follow me!¡±


    Valeera Sanguinar was extremely pleased with Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s performance just then, and brought them to keep searching for opportunities.


    Apart from gaining lots of Reputation, Lu Li and Water Fairy also received some impressive equipment. Just then, Argelmach had dropped a level 70 Epic equipment Mold.


    In the Blackrock Abyss, he dropped level 60 equipment, but here, he had dropped a level 70 item.


    How considerate!


    ¡°Retreat!¡± came a roar, gaining the attention of the three assassins.


    As soon as they heard the voice, they rushed over, and realized that the child of the king of the high mountains was urging his warriors in retreat. It wasn¡¯t that he had the upper hand and wanted to find someone to pick a fight with, but that the strange tactics of High Interrogator Gerstahn had already killed quite a few of Thargas¡¯ warriors.


    Thargas couldn¡¯t hold it in at all, and decided to rush on up ahead to deal decisively their opponent.


    The High Interrogator Gerstahn was a magic user, but she wasn¡¯t afraid of being besieged at all. She held in her hand an Enthralled Sphere. In the hands of a player, this plaything was a piece of equipment, but in the hands of Gerstahn, it became a powerful tool that could control her opponent.


    Moreover, she could still use an AoE Fear. Warriors that got close to her would be like headless flies against this magic, only being able to run around randomly before being killed or controlled by her.

 Chapter 1949 - The Souls of Deceased Warriors

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    With a Berserker and a Warlock, what would their result be?


    Actually, Lu Li didn¡¯t know.


    He had already secretly come up with a way to go forward. Apart from his partner who was thinking the same way, Valeera Sanguinar was as well.


    This female Blood Elf assassin who enjoyed playing with Cheap Shots and Backstabs definitely didn¡¯t feel any psychological pressure.


    Thargas Anvilmar really was a powerful warrior. With a roar, he charged right at High Interrogator Gerstahn. However, Gerstahn had a stern expression as she freely cast her spells.


    She felt nervous to, when she was that Thargas Anvilmar wasn¡¯t someone to be messed with.


    Thargas Anvilmar wanted to get close, but the Interrogator did all she could to block him. As she blocked and dealt damage at the same time, she quickly left him bruised and bloodied, but these were the conditions that Berserkers thrived in.


    The Interrogator Gerstahn knew that her own moment of crisis wasn¡¯t over yet, not unless Thargas Anvilmar stopped breathing.


    It was this feeling of crisis that made Gerstahn overlook her back, where the three assassins were waiting to pounce. One attacked the back of her head, one attacked her temple, and another attacked her neck.


    This time, Lu Li was responsible for the back of her head.


    Valeera Sanguinar seemed to want to use Slit Throat and kill off the opponent. Her methods were incomparably fierce.


    Actually, although the three assassins looked like they had come out of nowhere, there wasn¡¯t much difference between their current job and what they had done before. They were simply only pinning her down. Interrogator Gerstahn¡¯s shield was no laughing matter.


    Magic roles actually weren¡¯t afraid of assassins, especially NPCs.


    The one who truly confirmed the result of this sudden attack was still Thargas Anvilmar. His big hammer


    came down to deliver a fierce chop.


    The invisible magic shield finally couldn¡¯t hold any longer and completely disappeared.


    The weapons of the three assassins had hit their targets on this female Warlock, stopping her from raising a second shield.


    If she was standing in the midst of a group of Dark Iron Dwarves, she could look upon at what was going on and cast her spells indiscriminately. Regardless of whether it was Berserkers or assassins, if they couldn¡¯t touch her, then they would be hung up and killed by her.


    Now, she was responsible for her own failing.


    ¡°They want to run!¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that Lu Li¡¯s eyes were that sharp, but that he had been constantly paying attention to the third Boss.


    Even if it didn¡¯t drop equipment, the Reputation was still a big reward, and if they killed all three Bosses, the reward would also be a bit more generous.


    Calamoth Ashbeard!


    He was not simply the commander of the Dark Iron Dwarves; his real identity was a messenger of the Twilight Hammer.


    Ordinary Twilight Hammer members were believers.


    Twilight Hammer believers firmly believed that Azeroth was going to return to the rule of the Old Gods. As soon as the Old Gods returned, they would proceed with a singular, complete cleanse of Azeroth. When that time came, all the creations of the Titans would be destroyed.


    Only the truly devout ones would survive after judgement day.


    The scriptures of the Twilight Hammer clearly stated that all devout ones who sacrificed themselves doing good work would be reborn in a new world. They would be remolded by the Old Gods and would be given a transcendent body and appearance. They would transcend life and death, and gain true strength that would surpass the bodies of ordinary people!


    The lowest standard to be a devout one was to be a messenger.


    Messengers were able to go directly to the Old Gods to express their devoutness and seek forgiveness. This was the fierce ambition of every Twilight Hammer member.


    Under certain conditions, devout ones could receive the blessings of the Old Gods, stripping their own flesh and blood in a dark secret ceremony spread within the religion. Using pure elements to fill up their spirit, they would transform themselves into an abnormal elemental creature and gain incredible strength.


    In the end, they would be bathed with bestowed kindness from the Old God in the new world of the Twilight Shroud.


    Of course, Calamoth Ashbeard hadn¡¯t received this sort of special honor yet. He couldn¡¯t even be compared to Samuelson, who could transform himself into the Faceless One.


    However, Calamoth Ashbeard never thought that death was a type of devoutness.


    After both his helpers had been killed, he began to run away.


    How could Lu Li have made him run away, with a call like this everyone would see Calamoth Ashbeard


    trying to run away.


    Calamoth Ashbeard brought his Iron Dwarves, who, when it came to devoutness, definitely couldn¡¯t be compared with him. If he wanted to run, then others definitely would¡¯ve wanted to more, and so heaps of Iron Dwarves began to run away.


    The saying went that an incompetent general kept the whole army away.


    Lu Li moved his lips tauntingly.


    Calamoth Ashbeard didn¡¯t bring along many Dwarves at all.


    The commander leading the troops to run away like this led to a chain reaction. Thargas Anvilmar commanded his Dwarves to chase after those Dark Iron Dwarf kinsmen, chasing and killing them along the way, with their few dispersed troops chasing and eliminating forces that were much larger than them.


    ¡°Block off that scoundrel!¡±


    Thargas Anvilmar¡¯s hammer flew and smashed right at a few Dark Iron Dwarves, while Calamoth roared as he led the way to retreat.


    His deputy Haggema leapt up from the fencing on the bridge, finally pulling Calamoth off his mount. They grappled together momentarily, and seeing that there was no way to escape, Calamoth became enraged, pushing down Haggema into a difficult situation.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Haggema cried pitifully.


    ¡°Let go!¡± Calamoth said urgently.


    Haggema held on to Calamoth for dear life, unwilling to let go, but Calamoth used a poison-dipped dagger to repeatedly stab into his belly.


    A swarm of Dwarves rushed to beat up Calamoth.


    To begin with, Calamoth could still let out a couple pitiful cries, but the later sounds grew weaker. In the end, all that was left was the sound of shattered bones, as well as the clattering sound of flesh and bone rubbing together. Very soon, he had turned into a pile of slush.


    The place where Haggema was lying was a hole covered with blood. He hadn¡¯t died yet, but he wasn¡¯t far off.


    Lu Li took potions and Bind, and others also laid out potions for him. However, no matter how luxurious the potions were, there was no way to stop this Dwarf¡¯s life from fading away.


    Thargas Anvilmar hugged his brother; he looked like he was crying silently.


    Gorosh took over his command, leading the Dwarves to clean up and chase the Dark Iron Dwarves. After they had died, they threw their corpses right under the big bridge to roll away in the swift currents.


    Having experienced so many battles, what was abundant here was the souls of deceased warriors.


    ¡°I have to go back to Steel Stove Castle. Do you want to come along? My kind will reward you for all that you¡¯ve done,¡± Thargas Anvilmar invited. He was planning to bury Haggema under the snow-white mountains outside Steel Stove Castle.

 Chapter 1950 - The Real and Fake Varian

    Gorosh and the two little guys discussed for a bit, and decided to follow the Dwarves to Steel Stove Castle.


    They each bore their own injuries, and had sustained significant blows to their fighting ability. If they bumped into Defias Thugs, they might not be able to escape unscathed. They didn¡¯t know at all that the Defias Thugs were being pursued and killed by the Night Watchmen.


    Naturally, Lu Li and Water Fairy wouldn¡¯t oppose this.


    The reward for the Battle of Thandol Span still hadn¡¯t been received. Thargas Anvilmar looked like he was poor; he probably didn¡¯t have much to give. If they went to Steel Stove Castle, they were more likely to receive something valuable.


    Moreover, their original intention was to participate in the storyline of the king coming back home.


    A line of people carried the wounded and dead, walking in the mire of the wet land as they began their trek towards Steel Stove Castle.


    Despite walking continuously for over half a day, they didn¡¯t get far. Fortunately, Thargas Anvilmar brought a tent and pitched it before Lu Li and Water Fairy could finally log offline. Otherwise, they really wouldn¡¯t have had the heart to spend so much game time to keep following them on.


    This quest evidently wasn¡¯t going to be easy to finish.


    In terms of time, it would take at least quite a few days. Lu Li and Water Fairy really were just followers. As long as they could go offline when they set up camp, they could just take turns checking every now and then if they were ready to set off.


    After arriving at Steel Stove Castle, the troops were given an enthusiastic welcome.


    Of course, the target of the welcome wasn¡¯t Lu Li nor Gorosh, but rather those Dwarves who were returning in triumph. The king of Steel Stove Castle, Magni Bronzebeard, personally went out to receive them.


    Magni Bronzebeard was the eldest son of Madoran Bronzebeard, and was also a distinguished blacksmith. There was no one in all the continent of Azeroth who could compare with him when it came to metalworking.


    To begin with, Magni had no interest in becoming king. He had participated as a warrior in the second war, but fate indeed mocked him by leading him to succeed the throne after his father died, and so he became the third Dwarf king.


    For many years, Magni had always conducted his responsibilities without complaint, leading the dwarves to maintain the peace of Khaz Modan and the Alliance.


    However, he wasn¡¯t a competent father at all.


    And so, Magni treated his only daughter Moira badly, leading her to leave home and marry the Iron Dwarf emperor Dragan Thaurissan.


    Magni was so terribly hurt by this and felt extremely regretful.


    The surprise attack of the valiant warriors of the Bronzebeard-led Alliance killed Dragan in Blackrock Abyss. When they tried to bring Moira back to Steel Stove Castle, she expressed that she was already pregnant with Dragan¡¯s child, and refused to go back home. His daughter¡¯s cold attitude made Magni feel even more dejected.


    Afterwards, Magni sought help from the king of Stormwind City, Varian Wrynn, to fight against the Dark Iron Dwarves. However, Varian pushed him away, refusing him again and again.


    This left him in an undesirable position, all the way until he saw Gorosh in the guest room.


    ¡°Thank you sir, for all you¡¯ve done for Thandol Span. May I be so bold as your ask your great name?¡± Compared to Thargas Anvilmar, Magni was much more cautious. He wouldn¡¯t just ask Varian what he was playing at right off the bat.


    ¡°I see your confusion, and this also confuses me,¡± Gorosh said. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that I look very similar to the king of Stormwind City.¡±


    ¡°No, not very similar ¨C you are the king of Stormwind City, your highness Varian,¡± Magni said with certainty.


    ¡°Then who¡¯s that one from Stormwind City?¡± Gorosh was annoyed too as his memory hadn¡¯t fully recovered, but Magni was already very certain that he was Varian.


    ¡°I think, as long as we go to Stormwind City, everything will be sorted out,¡± Lu Li suggested.


    ¡°There¡¯s always some sort of force stopping me. I don¡¯t know if I can make it to Stormwind City myself.¡± Gorosh was an absolutely fearless warrior, but he wasn¡¯t a reckless brute. As soon as he died, everything would become meaningless to him.


    ¡°Steel Stove Castle will send people to protect you on your way,¡± Magni offered.


    He had this sort of power here. After Thargas Anvilmar buried his wounded brothers, he again took up a heavy responsibility, but Magni provided them with more top-quality auxiliary troops, replenishing and strengthening the power of this contingent.


    Lu Li also began to summon his own forces to act as support for these troops.


    They would support them regardless of whether it was the Defias Thugs, or those exiled players who wanted to try their luck. Normal clubs wouldn¡¯t dare to brazenly go and attack Steel Stove Castle¡¯s bodyguards.


    Aside from this, there was another baffling force that appeared.


    Lu Li even thought that an assassin of Ravenholdt Manor would appear. The Assassin league didn¡¯t have one common leader, and they wouldn¡¯t refuse the job of assassinating him because they were afraid of the revenge of Varian.


    However, with the help of Thargas Anvilmar, Varian finally did make it to Stormwind City.


    This day was going to be written in the history books of Stormwind City.


    The two Varians finally met together in unavoidable confrontation. They followed each other closely before lashing out, with the situation growing all the more messier.


    By the time the two Varians had exhausted themselves, and the others, all dumstruck, didn¡¯t know who to help, a guard, taking advantage of the mess, seized Prince Anduin. With a strange laugh, he had turned into a giant black dragon.


    Onyxia!


    Princess of the Black Dragonflight!


    Onyxia opened up her giant wings, flying away with a scream, her claws grasping the poor Prince Anduin.


    Lu Li pulled back Water Fairy, who wanted to rush over. They weren¡¯t powerful enough to stop all of this from happening, and after all, the two Varians weren¡¯t a solution. Why not just go along with the storyline and go to Oxynia¡¯s Lair to save his highness the prince?


    The two Varians both had half of the characteristics of the king before he went missing.


    Gorosh was impatient, direct and aggressive, not wanting to linger around and chat. On the other hand, this Varian, who had come back a few weeks ago, was refined, steady and even overly passive to an extent.


    Although the two Varians were polar opposites, they realized that not only were they very evenly matched in their fighting, they also saw Anduin Wrynn¡¯s safety as an important issue.


    The two of them actually joined hands to set out a plan to go on to Theramore. Their final destination was Onyxia¡¯s Lair.


    As Gorosh¡¯s auxillary troops, Lu Li and Water Fairy naturally followed along.


    ¡°The facts are hidden in a fog, but in the end, it will all be revealed.¡±


    After Lu Li saw Jaina, he said something like this. He was pretending to be a charlatan; it was an exhilarating feeling.


    It wasn¡¯t just Jaina who had appeared; the former guardian Aegwynn had also been invited. She was Jaina¡¯s closest attendant.


    This was the first time Lu Li saw Aegwynn. As soon as Aegwynn saw the two Varians, she knew that neither was the real one, but that both Varians were real.


    ¡°This is the result of an evil ceremony, but the ceremony was interrupted, so it¡¯s not perfect anymore,¡± Aegwynn said appraisingly.


    ¡°What can we do to solve this? These two both have completely opposite personalities.¡±


    Lu Li couldn¡¯t think of a better solution than to kill one of them.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that everything will be revealed in the end? Just let fate make the decision, disciple of Garona.¡±


    Aegwynn actually knew who Lu Li was, but it just wasn¡¯t known whether she acknowledged this Garona that she spoke of. In a way, Garona was her son¡¯s wife, the mother of her grandchild.


    ¡°Actually, I already knew his highness ages ago,¡± Lu Li said.


    He talked about how he had found ¡®Aegwynn¡¯s Tome¡¯, as well as about how he gave this book to Medivh.


    ¡°Actually, that book should be your good luck. You can keep that book,¡± Aegwynn responded in a moment of daze.


    ¡°It really is my good luck. I¡¯ll never forget that message on the title page,¡± Lu Li respectfully acknowledged.


    ¡°It¡¯s too hard¡­¡±


    Aegwynn shook her head sadly as she silently disappearing away from everyone¡¯s view.


    Over on this side, Varian and Gorosh had already set up a detailed plan of attack. Even Lu Li and Water Fairy had been given their own positions.


    Everyone had already quickly left and arrived in Onyxia¡¯s Lair to face off against the evil Broodmother.

 Chapter 1951 - Two Into One

    Although it wasn¡¯t clear why Onyxia had to corrupt the politics of Stormwind City, she did a great job of it.


    She took the form of a human ¨Cthe noble Katrana Prestor ¨C to take part in Stormwind City¡¯s politics. Because of things like her beauty and experience, she gained the appreciation and trust of the regent at the time, Bolvar Fordragon.


    Half of the government decrees of Stormwind City were issued by her.


    However, right when she was having fun playing her game, it was cut off. She was wanted and pursued by a horde of adventurers.


    Although each time she died, it was only her projection, this sort of death really made her lose face. Moreover, she could also feel that as more of her projections were killed, her power also began to decrease.


    And so, she abhorred this country. After the few waves of people she incited to kill Gorosh weren¡¯t able


    to, she finally decided to take things into her own hands.


    However, Stormwind City wasn¡¯t her home turf. The ballistas and other weapons were definitely able to do damage to her, and there wasn¡¯t a lack of strong forces in the royal court. Onyxia chose to quietly sneak out, before kidnapping the little prince Anduin.


    In this lair of lava and toxic smoke, Onyxia prepared to eliminate all her enemies.


    Lu Li, Water Fairy, Thargas Anvilmar, Valeera Sanguinar, Broll Bearmantle, Gorosh, Varian, as well as some humans and dwarves from Stormwind City ¨C this expeditionary team was extremely powerful.


    Jaina didn¡¯t come though. She and the advisors had to protect against the Black Dragonflight auxiliaries that might come over this way.


    As the battle started, Lu Li realized that the three people of Gorosh had increased power. He didn¡¯t know if this was just fate, or if the storyline required this. However, what was certain was that these three had been increased to a level that he had to admire.


    Everything in Dawn was in place just to maintain good gameplay.


    The NPCs in the game were incomparably powerful, and players could only serve as cannon fodder. This was what was commonly called being a footman ¨C an unimportant person, not able to achieve major things. As for things they could do, they could only take on random odd jobs, and as for how important they were, that simply wasn¡¯t even worth talking about!


    In various aspects, Dawn wasn¡¯t as good as the first universal virtual game, ¡®New World¡¯. Although the gameplay of New World wasn¡¯t comparable, in definitely outclassed Dawn in how captivating it was.


    New World gave players lots of pathways for development, and after people reached a certain level of strength, anyone from any role could fight a close battle with an important figure in the game.


    At the moment, Lu Li and Water Fairy could definitely lend a land.


    However, there was no way for them to become the main fighting team against the vicious Onyxia.


    Even so, the damage that they dealt was still noticeable. Lu Li quietly negotiated with Water Fairy. They would wait until Onyxia was dying, and then they would lash out to see if they could snatch the last hit.


    If they could do that, then Onyxia would drop equipment.


    On their road of killing so far, most Bosses didn¡¯t drop equipment. Lu Li and Water Fairy could only share in the Reputation. After all, those other Bosses would definitely be killed with an NPC attack. They could only be of some supportive assistance.


    What would this Onyxia drop this time? She evidently wasn¡¯t an ordinary Instance Dungeon Boss, nor was she a wild Boss.


    All of the above depended on if they could get the final attack.


    They attacked Onyxia for a long time without success, and she herself was getting war-weary, realizing a little late that she was being caught up in a gang fight.


    She suddenly had a bright idea, holding her breath and blowing it towards the bound-up Prince Anduin.


    As soon as he saw this, Lu Li immediately began to feel numb. Their quest was to save someone, and as soon as they failed in that, then it was pretty obvious what would happen to the quest reward. Even if they killed Onyxia, it wouldn¡¯t be complete.


    They had to blink over to block the baptism of fire, but there was already someone ahead of him.


    Gorosh¡¯s memory was still not completely recovered, but he already expressed a definite desire to protect his son. He fiercely went right over Anduin¡¯s body, hugging him, planning to use his own body to take the fiery blast.


    The flames that Onyxia spit out were no ordinary flames. These were the sorts of flames that Thargas Anvilmar had been preparing all along for, having the Dwarves forge towering shields to help with their protection.


    However, Thargas Anvilmar had just been swept away by a dragon tail, and he still hadn¡¯t gotten back up yet.


    There was someone who was again quicker than Lu Li. There was nothing he could do, as his position wasn¡¯t ideal. Even if he used a Sudden Thrust, he couldn¡¯t get right over to give some sort of protection any quicker that those two fathers protecting Anduin.


    Gorosh didn¡¯t die, even though he thought in his heart he was definitely going to die.


    Varian, that is, the elegant, refined Varian, appeared next to Gorosh and flocked the Broodmother¡¯s fatal flames. He has saved his ¡®brother¡¯ and his son.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy simply didn¡¯t get involved. Thargas Anvilmar also rushed over, holding up a shield.


    The two of them attacked Onyxia with all their might. Regardless of whether the 2 Varians had died, if they didn¡¯t defeat Onyxia, and Anduin kicked the bucket too, then there really wouldn¡¯t be a king in Stormwind City.


    When Lu Li and Water Fairy ended up going to attack Onyxia, something miraculous happened.


    Varian¡¯s block actually made Onyxia¡¯s magic produce the opposite effect. The two Varians fused into one, right in front of everyone¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Keep up the attack! Let everything go!¡±


    Lu Li and his partner rushed over and fought with everything they had.


    The newly combined, complete Varian also rushed towards Onyxia, who was still spewing out fire.


    He was extremely powerful, and with a slash of a sword, he split open Onyxia¡¯s head.


    ¡°Has the monster been snatched away?¡± Lu Li asked dejectedly.


    He really was a little greedy. Up until now, the quest could have been said to be completed perfectly. Jaina had made her arrangements, and Varian here could lead strong advance. They had done a lot to protect the bridge as well; Thargas could vouch for them.


    ¡°No, it looks like it can still be taken!¡± Water Fairy exclaimed as she got close to the corpse and discovered a pleasantly surprising secret.


    ¡°Snowy, quick, loot it.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you looting it?¡±


    ¡°Snowy are you doing this on purpose? You really want me to loot it?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, it¡¯ll still be me looting it.¡±


    Water Fairy stuck her tongue out, and proceeded to take the loot from the corpse.


    Reins of the Onyxian Drake!


    This was a flying mount.


    Black Dragon¡¯s Teeth!


    A Legendary thief weapon ¨C a dagger!


    Lu Li gave both these things to Water Fairy. He didn¡¯t have a big need for a mount, and with the girl being so carefree, she probably had an urge to collect together some exquisite items.


    As for the dagger, Lu Li could use it, but he was still planning to use two single-handed swords for even more damage.

 Chapter 1952 - Female Noble Water Fairy

    A flying mount and a Legendary dagger ¨C this was already some extremely valuable loot.


    However, when Water Fairy also looted a cloak, Lu Li suspected that Remnant Dream¡¯s spirit had been passing through her. After all, these things that were dropping were just too amazing. Anymore, and it would impact the fairness of the game.


    The game developers probably didn¡¯t think that there really would be someone who would kill the Princess of the Black Dragonflight, Onyxia.


    According to the normal game storyline, Onyxia would be beheaded by Varian, simply to emphasize his mighty power.


    Varian didn¡¯t disappoint the game designers; he really did behead Onyxia in one go. However, when the blade of his sword cut off Onyxia¡¯s head, she had in fact already died.


    She was brutally killed by those two little Thieves.


    Who would have thought this would happen? The two of them did the lowest damage out of everyone on the field, but when the others went to protect Prince Anduin, they finished off the dying Onyxia.


    No matter what the game developers were thinking, from a design point of view, every Boss had a drop table.


    If a level 1 Sockpuppet killed Medivh, something would be dropped, regardless of whether it was reasonable or not. This table had to be in place, and it couldn¡¯t be taken lightly either.


    This was what equipment was dropped if a level 70 player killed Onyxia, even if they didn¡¯t think there was anyone at level 70 that could kill Onyxia.


    Black Dragonflight Cloak (Legendary): Armor +440, Constitution +600, Magic Resistance +20%, Slots 3. Special Effect 1: Fleshmelt. After use, 50% of the damage incurred in the next 3 seconds becomes the wearer¡¯s own HP, cooldown time 3 minutes. Special Effect 2: When the target¡¯s HP is less than 20%, there is a set chance of being able to activate a definite kill with one attack. Special Effect 3, Black Dragonflight Resurrection. After dying, gain a chance of respawning. After respawning, HP recovers to 20%, cooldown time 6 hours. Level Requirement: 70, Durability: 720/720.


    Another cloak had dropped; this was the second Legendary cloak today. Could it be that Legendary cloaks were particularly common?


    Lilian¡¯s Embrace (Legendary): Armor +350, Constitution +200, Movement Speed +30%, Slots 3. Special Effect 1: Shadow Bayonet, instant cast. Deals 1200 Shadow damage to all enemies within 8 yards, cooldown time 30 seconds. Special Effect 2: Death Grip, 2 second cast time. Absorbs Shadow power and pulls targets within 30 yards to where the user is, cooldown time 3 minutes. Special Effect 3: Lilian¡¯s Embrace. Immediately appear behind the target and perform a Throatkill that deals 100% Critical Hit damage, cooldown time 2 hours. Level Requirement: 70, Durability: 640/640.


    As a comparison, the third Special Effect of Lilian¡¯s Embrace made it an equipment purely for Thieves. If other roles used it, they would limit their strength.


    However, this wasn¡¯t the case for the Black Dragonflight Cloak ¨C it was suitable for all professions.


    This was a so-called piece of all-purpose equipment.


    Lu Li took this cloak, while Water Fairy was covering herself with Lilian¡¯s Embrace. The two cloaks were of extremely exquisite quality, and there was no set way of dividing them. When it was time for Drizzle Court to compete, there was a real chance that both cloaks would be given to them. Ruling Sword had a similar logic too.


    Everything looked like it had been perfectly resolved. Lu Li had made arrangements for Jaina, Lilian¡¯s Embrace had naturally become the reward for the quest, and then there was also King Varian¡¯s reward.


    Varian sat on the throne in Stormwind City, beginning to thank the people who had made exceptional contributions in all these events.


    ¡°You have a military rank in Stormwind City, so I¡¯ll move up your rank to Major.¡±


    After he had thanked the others, he came to these two players. Lu Li received a promotion in his military rank; this was better than nothing at all.


    They had just gotten two pieces of Legendary equipment from Onyxia, so they weren¡¯t desperate for more. Including Lilian¡¯s Embrace which Jaina gave, they already had three Legendaries.


    If they were rewarded another couple, the game company would definitely become angry.


    The game system institute a certain degree of self-correction, so Lu Li guessed that the equipment that might have been rewarded would fall through.


    ¡°As a girl, you should have a safe, stable home to return to. Water Fairy, how about a noble title in Stormwind City? A baronage will become the start to your prosperous life. You have a stronghold in the Western Wilderness, so, the whole Western Wilderness will be your territory.¡±


    Lu Li was flabbergasted.


    He was promoted to a major, and he thought this was pretty good.


    He never would have thought that that Water Fairy would not only become an aristocrat, but even one with actual authority.


    To Stormwind City, perhaps the Western Wilderness wasn¡¯t that important. It was a place where bandits ran amok. The farming industry that used to be there was now practically non-existent, and there was a whole group of refugees that needed aid too.


    It was perfectly reasonable to dump this whole package onto the new baron.


    However, to Water Fairy, this reward was extraordinary. According to the officially provided info, as soon as a player received a noble title, unless the capital city repealed it, they would have jurisdiction over all the Strongholds in the area.


    Water Fairy could directly shut off the ability of other clubs to attack the Strongholds in the Western Wilderness.


    In other words, there was no way Drizzle Court¡¯s two Strongholds in the Western Wilderness could be attacked from now on.


    Lu Li was happy for his own partner, but no matter what, he still kept feeling inferior to his girl. His partner was a noble now, while he was just a little nominal officer that didn¡¯t even have any forces.


    Why, oh why was the difference between the rewards so big?


    Could it be that he didn¡¯t protect Gorosh the whole time?


    Very soon, Lu Li and Water Fairy were invited out of the place. There were counts and barons all over the place in Stormwind City, so one batted an eyelid. All the so-called friendship that they had built up on the road of battle had already been mostly offset with these rewards.


    ¡°Wait a second!¡±


    Just when they were holding hands and walking away, Lu Li and Water Fairy heard someone that seemed to be calling them.


    When they looked back, they realized it was Valeera Sanguinar. They didn¡¯t know how long she had been following them. Along with the end of the storyline, this Blood Elf female Thief received an earth-shattering increase to her power.


    Before, the two of them could perhaps still join hands and fight against her.


    Now, Valeera Sanguinar could probably kill them off with a single slash.


    ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done. I think you might have use for these two books,¡± Valeera Sanguinar said as she placed them into Water Fairy¡¯s hands.


    Lu Li peered over and saw that it was actually two copies of ¡®Enhanced Cheap Shot¡¯.


    There was no doubt that Cheap Shot was the most important skill for Thieves, no matter which path you took. It could even be said that regardless of whether you were a PvP or PvE player, Cheap Shot was still one of the best starting skills.


    They had made fruitless searches everywhere for it and never thought they would find it here.


    This Blood Elf girl Valeera Sanguinar probably didn¡¯t know how to read.

 Chapter 1953 - Sorrowless’ Press Conference

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Water Fairy was very thankful of Valeera Sanguinar, to the point where she left her fianc¨¦e to talk to her for a while.


    Lu Li found it very hard to understand sistership between girls. Evidently, they had some fruitful conversations, but how did that turn into two Enhanced Skill Books? Valeera Sanguinar¡¯s reward and Varian¡¯s had nothing to do with each other.


    At the moment, Valeera Sanguinar was the royal consultant of Stormwind City.


    This meant that she didn¡¯t pledge loyalty to the Alliance. She was only loyal to Varian Wrynn and his son, Anduin Wrynn.


    Her achievements allowed her a foothold in Stormwind City as well as a position beyond the ordinary.


    In comparison, Valeera Sanguinar and Broll Bearmantle were the true ministers of outstanding service. Lu Li and Water Fairy were blocks that connected at the opportunistic time.


    Broll Bearmantle couldn¡¯t stay. Even though he promised to come back and visit old friends at Stormwind City and guide young prince Anduin in some of nature¡¯s ways, he still hoped to return to the forest.


    Lu Li and the others completed their mission. The results of the top 8 in the second season of the professional league were ready to be released.


    The ones with the highest accumulated points were Seventh Heaven, followed by Peerless City, then Glory Capital, Drizzle Court, Ruling Sword, Wings of Dawn, Blood Red War Flag and Azure Guard.


    These eight clubs became the top 8 clubs of this competition.


    Glory Capital¡¯s accumulated points weren¡¯t so high mainly because they had sent many new faces into the arena. It was as if they didn¡¯t give much weight to professional leagues, hence why they had lost a lot of points.


    In fact, Ruling Sword was a bit similar. Other than Moonlight who couldn¡¯t get enough of PVP, Lu Li would much rather go shopping with Water Fairy in real life.


    ¡°Who¡¯s our next opponent? Is there any official news yet?¡± Lu Li asked as he returned to the club headquarters.


    Now that the top 8 had been revealed, the matchup of the first round would also appear. Starting from the top 8, matches would be held at offline events. If there was an away game then they had to fly to the city of the home field.


    ¡°It should be Azure Guard, but don¡¯t worry about it now. Come quick and look at this live broadcast,¡± Square Root 3 urged as he swiped out a large screen and appeared right in front of Lu Li.


    It was Sorrowless on the screen.


    ¡°¡­ All these years, as someone who has worked hard to lead a group to fulfil their dreams, I have completed many unbelievable accomplishments¡­ But, I have also sacrificed too much for this and lost many things, including one person¡¯s passing that has left my whole life without any meaning¡­¡±


    ¡°What the heck is he doing?¡± Lu Li questioned in confusion.


    ¡°A press conference of course, to announce his retirement!¡±


    Square Root 3 still didn¡¯t believe this type of message.


    ¡°Him? Retire? No longer fighting in competitions? Or not being club leader?¡± Lu Li was stunned.


    ¡°All of them. He wants to get rid of all duties, to the point of even never playing games again,¡± Square Root 3 sighed.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone mad! Or he was hacked probably! How is this possible?!¡±


    Lu Li speechlessly watched Sorrowless who was all doom and gloom. As someone who was 30 already, he looked younger than he did.


    Wasn¡¯t there a saying that decreasing outdoor activities would turn a person¡¯s face whiter? Why didn¡¯t it work in his case then?


    He had played games all day every day for the past two years and didn¡¯t need to make a living being out in the sun and rain. Why did he not look pale like a ghost?


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t impossible, but he might like Darkness a lot more than we imagined,¡± Square Root 3 said.


    ¡°Darkness? Didn¡¯t they break up? Oh, right, he wants to give up everything to chase Darkness. Then would he join our club?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t indulge in wild fantasies. Our first Paladin Healer is probably going to be stolen away,¡± Square Root 3 sighed.


    ¡°Haha, just joking. She can go as she pleases. You¡¯d rather kill a family than break up a marriage, so let them be,¡± Lu Li said, then thought about the best method for getting rid of Darkness carefully.


    Sorrowless finally announced his decision on the screen.


    ¡°After this professional league competition finishes, I will retire from all duties inside and outside the game. All related club and guild matters of Glory Capital will be left to¡­Miss Wendelian¡¯s responsibilities¡±


    The high-level personnel sitting beside him onstage were all frozen. Even the people filming were also stunned.


    ¡°Tsk, tsk, I thought it would be White Westhill. I didn¡¯t think all the power would be given to the hands of Wendelian. She¡¯s soared to the top in one go. In the future, her position will be no lesser than your wife¡¯s,¡± Square Root 3 commented.


    ¡°At the very least, she¡¯s not as pretty as my wife,¡± Lu Li sighed. If this was the case, then another super club would be led by a girl.


    Sorrowless had given full power in the heat of the moment to Wendelian. By looking at the expression of White Westhill and few others like Blood Dagger, they had probably accepted this type of result. Wendelian held all power in her hands ¨C the entire Glory Capital system, including its other sub-clubs.


    ¡°Plus, she¡¯s not as rich as your wife. What are your plans for the future?¡± Square Root 3 asked.


    ¡°Well what else can we do? I don¡¯t want to mess around like Sorrowless. I plan to marry first¡­ Hmmm, if all else fails, I¡¯ll just have a kid first. That would even save the proposal. Wait. No. I¡¯ve already proposed, and she said yes. So, I could just pick a date and get married.¡±


    Square Root 3 took a glance at the live broadcast on the screen at Sorrowless¡¯ emotion-filled face, then looked back at his own shameless Boss, and felt how different people could be.


    In reality, Sorrowless had already handed over all duties as soon as the press conference finished. Wendelian became the new CEO of Glory Capital and controlled everything on her own. Sorrowless only waited for these games to be over before he ran off to chase his life¡¯s love.


    Humans were always like this, not treasuring things when they had them, and regretting everything after they lost them.


    However, Lu Li thought that Sorrowless had a pretty good chance of getting Darkness. After all, he had given everything up for her. Plus, it wasn¡¯t that Darkness didn¡¯t feel anything for him. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be single without a boyfriend for so many years.


    Without a doubt, those who reaped the most reward from Sorrowless¡¯ retirement were his biggest competitors.


    The effect of Sorrowless¡¯ retirement was only beginning. He was the one player who created this game¡¯s hegemon. Back when he took over, Glory Capital was a declining third-rate club. Only after experiencing dozens of years of hard work did it reach today¡¯s heights.


    No matter Wendelian¡¯s leadership abilities, there would be a process of time needed if she wanted to steady the troops¡¯ morale.

 Chapter 1954 - New T6 Instance Dungeon

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Sorrowless¡¯ announcement of his retirement indeed made Lu Li feel quite regretful.


    It was as if a huge mountain on his heart had been lifted.


    As for Wendelian, there was no saying how dangerous she could be. When she was in Gale Legion, she didn¡¯t even make it to a position of club leader.


    In fact, the leader of Gale Legion was always Gaze.


    ¡°Notify Sky Moon that we are First Clearing Mount Hyjal.¡±


    His steps had become lighter and Lu Li decided to lead everyone to the Instance Dungeon in order to celebrate.


    Hyjal Summit was one of the Instance Dungeons of the Caverns of Time. It was like the other two Instance Dungeons of the Caverns of Time. The power of darkness and evil had pervaded the flow of time, trying to change the past, and the direction of the present and future.


    If they were successful, the whole of Azeroth mainland would be destroyed. Players had to fight in order to ensure that the progress of Mount Hyjal¡¯s history wouldn¡¯t be altered.


    The difficulty was very high, but with the levels that players were at now, there was no need to comment. As the quality of equipment gradually increased, the previous few Instance Dungeons could even be cleared by most Elite teams.


    After all, members of the First Clear team were wearing T5 Epic set items from head to toe.


    The major guilds were busy with matches while ordinary guilds quietly sneaked into Instance Dungeons. They all dreamed of taking a First Clear, but unfortunately, their abilities were average. Not to mention, this Instance Dungeon had such a high level of difficulty that everyone could only share different versions of their failed experiences.


    The end goal of this Instance Dungeon was to protect the World Tree.


    Everyone focused their strength on defeating Illidan, who was on a selfish pursuit of power. However, they were all enjoying everything this crazy one had created on his way.


    Before the heavens fell and the earth cracked, Illidan Stormrage took the first Water Sample of the Well of Eternity.


    He then came to the lakeside at the top of Mount Hyjal and poured the water into the lake. A second Well of Eternity quickly formed on the new land of Kalimdor.


    Malfurion Stormrage very quickly discovered this new Well of Eternity. In order to ensure that it wouldn¡¯t become a gateway for the Burning Legion¡¯s invasion again, and by considering the potential disaster that destroying the new Well could bring, he could only ask for help from the Netherwings.


    The red dragon Alexstrasza planted an Oaktree in the middle of the lake.


    This tree would grow to cover and protect the well water¡¯s power. They named this world Tree ¡®Nordrassil¡¯¨C the ¡®Crown of Heaven¡¯.


    Alexstrasza blessed the World Tree. As long as the World Tree remained, the Night Elves would be immune to all diseases. The bronze dragon Nozdormu also blessed the World Tree. As along as Nordrassil remained, the Night Elves would keep their eternal youth. The green dragon Ysera connected the tree to her dream realm, so as to allow Druids to enter into Emerald Dream through the World Tree.


    However, these peaceful times didn¡¯t last long as Acride came.


    Under the guidance of Medivh, Saar and the Kalimdor tribal leaders, Jaina Proudmoore realised that they needed to put aside their differences. At the same time, Malfurion and Tyrande¡¯s Night Elf leader also realised that they needed to join forces in order to protect the World Tree.


    After they all reached a consensus, Azeroth¡¯s various races began to strengthen the protection of Nordrassil to the best of their abilities.


    In the end, it was still through Malfurion relying on everyone¡¯s power that Acride was destroyed and the Burning Legion driven out of the Well of Eternity.


    This last battle shocked the earth of Kalimdor. The Burning Legion was unable to absorb the power of the Well of Eternity, and disappeared to dust in front of the allied camp from Azeroth.


    Yes, this was a story of the past.


    Now, there was someone who wanted to tamper with history. Players needed to fight side by side with the legendary heroes and finally subvert the evil plot of the great demon Archimonde.


    This Instance Dungeon had a lot of pre-quests.


    No one could enter without first completing them.


    The first precondition was to reach level 70, which nearly everyone here had done.


    The second requirement was to finish the first two Instance Dungeons of the Caverns of Time, but this had been accomplished earlier.


    The third were the chain quests regarding the Vials of Eternity. The difficulty of these was high and involved many other Instance Dungeons.


    As a member of the First Clear team, these were all basic requirements that needed to be met.


    When the two lovebirds Lu Li and Water Fairy were together, they did not only spend their time playing around.


    Naturally, these chain quests had been completed ages ago.


    As long as these pre-requirements were met, they could enter into Mount Hyjal.


    The players attempting the Instance Dungeon needed to travel four years into the past, when Malfurion, Tyrande, Saar and Jaina were fighting the Burning Legion and Archimonde. Their mission was to stop the Infinite Dragons from influencing the path of history.


    Mount Hyjal was a pleasant place. Players could find T6 set equipment that was dropped there.


    In fact, after the Zul¡¯Aman Instance Dungeon was released, it would be even easier to clear this Instance Dungeon with the upgrade in equipment. The difficulty of Zul¡¯Aman was lower than Mount Hyjal, but there were a lot of Bosses.


    Unfortunately, Zul¡¯Aman still wasn¡¯t open yet. They needed to wait until the next patch was released.


    Not only would a few smaller 15-man Instance Dungeons like Zul¡¯Aman be opened, but so would larger Instance Dungeons like the Isle of Quel¡¯Danas and Sunwell Plateau.


    After entering the Instance Dungeon, the first thing they saw was an Alliance campground.


    The commander here was Jaina ¨C the Jaina from four years ago ¨C who they would help in fending off waves of monsters.


    These monsters had high HP, but were all rather short-sighted. They wouldn¡¯t open fire until they were right in front of their opponents.


    The NPCs here could not be healed, but Jaina would cast Brilliance Aura, providing everyone within a 20-yard radius 100% Mana Regeneration.


    The best strategy was to send tanks to take care of the NPCs, and allow them to recover in between waves of monsters.


    Before the first Boss arrived, there eight waves of random monsters, such as Ghouls, Crypt Fiends, Necromancers and Abominations.

 Chapter 1955 - The Chronicle of Dark Secrets

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    The first to third waves of monsters were actually fine, and most teams could handle them.


    The problems started with the fourth wave of monsters, where a Necromancer would appear. They would stand still and lock on to the closest player before channelling their spells. As such, the players needed to keep a Secondary Tank at the rear as a reserve.


    The Main Tank would be unable to withstand the damage at the rate that it was dealt.


    The Necromancer also had to be controlled with Fears or Polymorphs.


    The moment the enemy wave engaged, the melee players had to focus on attacking the Necromancer while the ranged players and the tanks would focus on dealing with the rest of them. When the Necromancer was almost dead, the melee players had to turn to the monsters and help clear them out. Once the monsters had been cleared, they could then deal with the almost-dead Necromancer that had been constantly crowd-controlled.


    The last two waves had Abominations, which were hardy with high attack power.


    After clearing the eight waves of monsters, it was finally time for the first Boss ¨C Rage Winterchill. When Lu Li had fought against him in his previous life, he had dropped a lot of decent equipment.


    Although Rage was quite weak, he was outstanding among the Lich. As such, Archimonde had sent him in as the vanguard.


    Unlike those Lich who were loyal to the Lich King, Rage Winterchill was an avid follower of the Burning Legion. His powerful magic and demonic skills clearly distinguished him as someone under Kil¡¯jaeden.


    Rage Winterchill¡¯s first appearance was during the siege of Heartglen. However, due to his loyalty to the Burning Legion and dislike of the Scourge, he did not participate in many of the Scourge¡¯s fights until the final battle of Mount Hyjal.


    In the final battle on Mount Hyjal, Rage Winterchill attacked Jaina¡¯s camp as a commander. However, his attack failed and he eventually was returned to dust.


    Although he was considered weak, there were very few that had managed to kill this Boss except for a few major clubs.


    After all, the preconditions of the Instance Dungeon were enough to prevent many lesser guilds from setting foot in this place.


    ¡°The ultimate conquest of the Burning Legion has begun! The world will be in our hands once again; nothing will survive!¡±


    The lines that he spoke were rather aggressive and his appearance was quite similar to Kel¡¯Thuzad.


    It didn¡¯t really matter who was tanking the damage from him, as long as he wasn¡¯t hitting the NPCs. This was especially true for Jaina, because they would have to restart the whole


    process, including the first eight waves of monsters if she fell!


    The battle wasn¡¯t too complicated. The key was in avoiding the Lich¡¯s skills, otherwise, the pressure on the healers would be too great.


    All members in Death and Decay range had to stop what they were doing and run.


    If you didn¡¯t run, then you would die.


    Ruling Sword defeated the Boss after being wiped twice. Although the Boss was weak, the items that he dropped were not bad at all.


    Furious Shackles ¨C Epic Plate Armor.


    This was better than T5 equipment and was on par with T6 equipment.


    The Chronicle of Dark Secrets!


    If the Furious Shackles were considered valuable, then the Chronicle of Dark Secrets was considered the best item that Rage could drop.


    Its nickname was the ¡®Black Book¡¯.


    There was a saying that went, ¡°The Black Book in the left hand and Sunflare in the right would create a Mage that can roll over everything.¡±


    The Black Book referred to the Chronicle of Dark Secrets, which was an off-hand equip. It was one of the best damage output items that magic players dreamed of acquiring.


    Many players even regarded the Black Book as something that signified that you had graduated in the current patch.


    When this item appeared, saying that the atmosphere was lively was an understatement.


    Lu Li was too lazy to care about it. This wasn¡¯t a skill book, so they could use it in a competition if they needed to. Whoever bid the most points was free to take it.


    In the end, it was Lonesome Flower who had the most points.


    This was the benefit of being an Ice Mage ¨C he could enter almost any Instance Dungeon. In contrast, a Fire Mage like Fat Monkey would receive preferential treatment in some aspects, but couldn¡¯t attend as frequently as Lonesome Flower.


    Fighting inside the Instance Dungeon and outside the Instance Dungeon were activities that gave completely different amounts of DKP.


    Sometimes, Lonesome Flower would even receive bonus DKP for being the highest damage output player.


    Before the second Boss Anetheron, there was another wave of monsters. However, unlike the first eight waves before Rage Winterchill, there was a Banshee.


    The players called the Necromancer a man and the Banshee a woman because they were both Mages and their genders were obvious.


    The woman used magical attacks that were similar to the man. At the same time, she also cast an anti-magic shield on herself, broadcasting to the melee players to attack her.


    As such, they just locked her down and sent the melee players in.


    After the wave of mobs, Anetheron arrived.


    Anetheron was a keen and formidable Dreadlord. His position among the Nathrezim was second only to the leader Tichondrius, who had been killed by Illidan. After Tichondrius¡¯ death, he had taken over as the leader.


    In the campaign to attack Mount Hyjal, Anetheron joined the battle and demonstrated his ability to lead the army. He also demonstrated tenacity when confronting the defense, which was a combination of the Alliance and the Horde.


    When Archimonde set out to defeat the World Tree, Anetheron was supposed to guard the Legion¡¯s camp. But in the end, he hadn¡¯t noticed Archimonde¡¯s critical situation quickly enough and by the time he felt Archimonde¡¯s strength dissipate, it was too late.


    He and most of the invading Burning Legion didn¡¯t have time to escape. They were soon overwhelmed by the angry Mount Hyjal Alliance warriors, and Anetheron himself died in the fight.


    This Boss was much more difficult than the first one.


    Most of the players who had come here to get the First Clear were stuck on this Boss, and the rest were on the first Boss.


    His signature skill was Carrion Swarm, which inflicted a swarm of vultures upon a random target in a range of about 60 yards and dealt 4250-5750 Shadow damage.


    This swarm also reduced the healing of the target by 75% for 20 seconds, regardless of whether it was received by potions, bandages or healing skills.


    The cooldown on this skill was about 11-15 seconds.


    In addition, this skill had an effect on healing that persisted longer than that.


    As such, they had to split into small teams to fight this Boss. Sky Moon divided the team into four groups with the Boss in the middle, and each group overlapped as much as possible. The point was that each time a group was hit, the other two groups could heal them.


    There was also a skill called Hypnosis which put the target to sleep, but these players could be rescued with Tremor Totem.


    Once every minute, an Infernal would also be spawned onto of a player. This dealt 2500 Fire Damage in a small area and stunned the target for 2 seconds.


    The Infernal had about 200,000 HP. Its attack wasn¡¯t that high, nor did it last very long, but it would deal continuous damage to any players within 8 yards of it.

 Chapter 1956 - : Hammer of Atonement

    Under Sky Moon¡¯s command, everyone seemed to understand the Boss¡¯ tactics and the design of the positions to counter it.


    Lu Li would also sometimes check if there were any instructions missing.


    There were some things, even if he didn¡¯t know through rebirth, that could be observed.


    This was his talent.


    The process was long and painful, but eventually they managed to get through the second


    Boss.


    There were skill points awarded, none of which went to Lu Li.


    There were also two Epic equips that dropped. The first was The Unbreakable Will, which was a single-handed sword for defensive professions. This was obviously given to Azure Sea Breeze and the weapon that had been replaced was given to someone else.


    There was also the Golden Links of Restoration.


    This was an item for Paladin healers. There weren¡¯t any of those at the moment, but Lu Li planned to cultivate one. As a top-level team, you had to have players from any profession to be ready and on-call.


    After defeating these two Bosses, they could finally switch up the positions. The struggle here had come to an end.


    After helping Jaina and Saar, the footmen suddenly became arrogant.


    Saar¡¯s camp was on the other side, so it was quick to travel by horseback. There were also some herbs and minerals to harvest along the way. The quality of these materials was very good.


    If they were a wild party or a gold collection unit, then the leader of the group might appoint someone to collect it and then distribute it for a few particular players, such as the person who commanded the fight or the player who found the Boss.


    Of course, there were also some shameless leaders that would take all the loot for themselves.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t think much about this issue, as there were no players lacking in materials. They were all just thrown into the guild warehouse after being harvested and anyone who needed them could just take them from there.


    Of course, the guild warehouse was divided into several grades. Players of various grades would correspond to warehouses of different grades. The First Clearing team had their exclusive warehouse. Square Root 3 would sometimes take some garbage from the First Clearing Team warehouse and place it into the first-rate warehouse. Many players would then rush to take those items.


    The third Boss was called Kaz¡¯rogal and was much less famous than the first two Bosses. However, as someone who was part of the third wave of attacks on Mount Hyjal, the strength of the Apocalypse Guard should not be underestimated.


    The most important thing was that his drops were good.


    There weren¡¯t any Bosses that they could skip, as the Instance Dungeon told a complete story with the players acting like heroes trying to save the day.


    Before facing the Boss, there was another wave of monsters.


    This was a group of miscellaneous monsters which included all the variants that had previously appeared like Ghouls, Crypt Fiends, Banshees, Necromancers and Abominations. There were also Gargoyles and Frost Wyrms.


    These two extra monsters were actually not that difficult to fight.


    When the Gargoyle first appeared, its Flying status effect meant that melee players couldn¡¯t attack them. However, if the Gargoyle¡¯s first target ran out of its attack range, then it would land on the ground to chase the player and would not fly again.


    If it remained airborne all the time, it would simply be too difficult to fight against.


    The Frost Wyrm¡¯s attack was Frost Breath, which was an area of effect skill. It would continually use this skill until it was defeated. In addition to Frost Damage, the target¡¯s attack and movement speed would be reduced by 50% for 6 seconds.


    Someone had to tank this monster and that player had to be healed continuously, otherwise, they would die very quickly.


    Unlike the first and second Boss, where the mosnter waves just rushed out towards the players all at once, the battlefield here was quite expansive. As such, the Frost Wyrms and Gargoyles were flying everywhere.


    These kinds of monsters couldn¡¯t be dealt with alone.


    As such, the Healers and Damage output players had to run around everywhere.


    After the chaos ended, the Boss appeared.


    Kaz¡¯rogal was enormous and his skills were extraordinary. War Trample and Kaz¡¯rogal¡¯s Mark were two abilities that brought much sorrow to many teams.


    War Trample was a skill cast periodically that dealt a lot of damage and stunned all players within 15 yards of the target location. Five seconds was plenty of time for the Boss to do anything it wanted. Fortunately, the Main Tank still maintained Aggro, otherwise, Kaz¡¯rogal would definitely be remembered in history as the worst Boss to fight.


    When all the melee players were stunned, it would rush into the ranged players. Surely, that would result in a massacre.


    Despite that, his most powerful skill was not War Trample, but Kaz¡¯rogal¡¯s Mark, which was placed on all players and could not be Dispelled.


    This Mark was completely ineffective on Warriors, Thieves and the Hunter¡¯s pets. It drained 600 mana per second from the other players for 5 seconds, causing them to lose 3000 mana in total.


    If the target ran out of mana while they still had the mark, the mark would explode and inflict 10213-11287 Shadow Damage to all members within 10-15 yards of that person.


    When they got wiped, it would be because of this explosion.


    ¡°Big bro, I don¡¯t even have 3000 mana!¡±


    ¡°Do you have 12000 HP then?¡±


    ¡°Nope ???¡±


    ¡°Get out!!!¡±


    This meant the Boss had very high requirements for the players. Of course, even if you didn¡¯t have 3000 mana or 12000 HP, you could still participate if your Shadow Resistance was high enough.


    Therefore, you had to acquire an appropriate amount of Shadow Resistance equipment before fighting this Boss.


    They also had to position themselves in a decentralized way, particularly the professions that did have enough mana.


    Kaz¡¯rogal would first use Kaz¡¯rogal¡¯s Mark 60 seconds after the start of the battle. The second time would be at 110 seconds, the third at 150 seconds, the fourth at 180 seconds, the fifth at 200 seconds and the sixth at 210 seconds¡­


    In short, each cast of Kaz¡¯rogal¡¯s Mark would reduce its cooldown by 10 seconds.


    If a battle lasted for more than three and a half minutes, Kaz¡¯rogal would turn into a lunatic that would constantly cast the mark.


    In fact, it meant that the time-frame they had for fighting this Boss was really short.


    In order to prevent them from exhausting their mana too quickly, the players had to do anything they could to regenerate their mana.


    However, they also had to cast their skills as soon as they came off cooldown, provided they had the mana for it.


    This Boss just needed some planning and adjustment to be defeated.


    Lu Li and the others only managed to defeat Kaz¡¯rogal in the second week. They also quickly defeated the first two Bosses after their cooldowns reset. The only pity was that the Black Book didn¡¯t drop the second time.


    By the time they got to Kaz¡¯rogal again, everyone was experienced enough that they managed to defeat him again in one go.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know if they had achieved the First Clear on the third Boss, but the item that it dropped basically confirmed that they did.


    There were four pieces of Epic equipment before them, so how could it not be a First Clear?


    Black Featherlight Boots ¨C Epic Leather Boots for Thieves.


    Beast Tamer¡¯s Shoulders ¨C Epic Chain Mail Shoulderpads for Hunters.


    Leggings of Channeled Elements ¨C Epic Cloth pants for Magic professions.


    The Hammer of Atonement ¨C this was an Epic Paladin Healer hammer, which was perfect for Lu Li¡¯s intention to train a new Paladin Healer in the guild.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t that straightforward for Lu Li. Darkness had been part of the First Clearing and had been there the whole time.


    As such, when she asked for the hammer, Lu Li had mixed feelings.

 Chapter 1957 - Getting Wiped Even After the Boss Dies

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Of course, Lu Li had to give it to the person who deserved it. Darkness eventually held the new hammer in her hands.


    Everyone knew that Sorrowless wanted to retire because of this girl. However, although everyone was curious, no one dared to ask him.


    Who knew what the true relationship between them was?


    Lu Li managed to take the Thief¡¯s shoes, but they were so eye-catching that his girl wanted them. As such, he eventually gave up the shoes to her.


    After dividing up the items, they continued to fight the monsters like before.


    The next group of miscellaneous monsters had two new additions.


    There was the Fel Stalker that could burn mana and the Giant Infernal, which had an Immolation Aura that could burn nearby players.


    Without saying anything, everyone began fighting the monsters.


    The only complication was when some players stood too far forward and had almost all of their mana burned. They had no choice but to find their own way of regenerating their mana, but this slowed down their damage output and affected the First Clearing Team¡¯s rhythm.


    This meant that they managed to get wiped even before they reached the Boss.


    Everyone went back the Orc camp to repair their equipment. Remnant Dream was occupying herself by looting the bodies that they hadn¡¯t had time to loot previously.


    There were just too many monsters and looting them one at a time seemed tiresome, but she didn¡¯t seem to think so.


    ¡°You see what I looted?!¡± the little Hunter exclaimed as she jumped up and happily showed off her new item.


    Fist of Molten Fury!


    This was an Epic weapon!


    It was also part of a Transmog Set, so everyone immediately surrounded her.


    ¡°It looks like a Shaman¡¯s weapon ¨C why would a Thief use this thing? I want to delete the Shaman class. It¡¯s one thing for the Boss to drop items that no one wants, but now even the monsters are making fun of us by dropping Epic equipment that no one wants,¡± Azure Sea Breeze¡¯s sighed. His face looked like he had nothing left to hope for.


    This was just some of his nonsense, but everyone else seemed to agree.


    ¡°This is pretty good! Keep going Dreamy; find the other one.¡±


    Sakura Memories managed to claim the equipment at the base DKP cost. Regardless of its attributes, it was still worthy of collection because of its appearance.


    ¡°Okay! Memories sister, I will definitely get it for you,¡± the little red hand promised.


    After the mobs were cleared out, they finally found the fourth Boss ¨C Azgalor.


    Azgalor was once an aide to Mannoroth, leader of the Demon Army. Since Mannoroth was executed by Grom Hellscream, he replaced him and led the Demon Army himself.


    Azgalor was not as intelligent as his predecessor, but his enthusiasm for chaos, violence and torture was beyond anyone¡¯s imagination.


    His first task was to coordinate an attack with Archimonde to attack the Mount Hyjal.


    Azgalor unleashed an incomparably powerful demon force, whose offensive power destroyed any mortal defences that dared to oppose him.


    However, just when the Burning Legion thought that victory was in sight, Archimonde was caught in Malfurion Stormrage¡¯s trap and was killed under the World Tree. The Burning Legion had been defeated once again.


    During the battle, Azgalor went missing.


    The players had to stop him from defeating the Warchief Saar. During this battle, the Warchief was a weak NPC that could be trampled to death at any time.


    After practicing a few times and taking on-board some of Lu Li¡¯s advice, Sky Moon eventually asked the Main Tank to pull the Boss an unexpected distance of 100 yards away from Saar. This split the battle into two. One half was involved in fighting the Boss, while the other half defended Saar from the Apolcalyse Guards that were dropping from the sky.


    Getting wiped repeatedly also meant that they killed more mobs.


    ¡°I got it! Ah, never mind ¨C it¡¯s another Fist of Molten Fury. I¡¯m looking for the Claw of Molten Fury. I¡¯ll keep going!¡± Remnant Dream announced. She had looted another Epic equipment.


    The only pity was that it was the same as the previous one.


    Lu Li gave it to Water Fairy for no cost. After all, no one else wanted it.


    Given that they were being wiped like this, a pair of Epic weapons wasn¡¯t a bad consolation. Also, since they were struggling so much in the fourth Boss, the other guilds would definitely not be doing well either.


    They eventually started to gain more experience, and the players started to grasp the skills required to fight this Boss.


    For example, when the Boss was moving too quickly, Sky Moon would send the couple to harass him. They would use their Stealth to travel the long distance and use their skills to interrupt the Boss. Not only would this interrupt the Boss¡¯ attacks, but sometimes even its movement too.


    Whenever this happened, the singles of the party were pleased that the couple had been sent away.


    They couldn¡¯t kill the couple themselves, but sending them to a fight where they could easily be killed was close enough.


    When Azgalor rushed in, they had to ensure that Misdirection was cast. You never wanted to pull this Boss into a fight with Saar because the Warchief was a seriously weak NPC.


    The tank had to quickly grab the Boss¡¯ aggro, otherwise, it might be snatched by the NPCs.


    This was the most shameful thing that could happen to a tank.


    This happened once to Azure Sea Breeze because he wasn¡¯t managing the aggro well. As a result, the NPC died and they had to restart.


    Azgalor had a lot of skills and whenever something started raining down the best course of action was to run away.


    The key skill was Azgalor¡¯s Growl; most people called this the Howl.


    Azgalor¡¯s Growl was a deadly skill with a range of 99 yards. This range was the reason Azure Sea Breeze had to pull the Boss so far away from Saar.


    It was used 15 seconds after of the start of the battle, and would be repeated 15-20 seconds thereafter.


    The range was very long and although Saar was safe, the players couldn¡¯t run that far.


    The furthest escape skill that they had was no more than 40 yards, so they were all trapped within Growl range.


    Before Azgalor used Growl, the tank had to have as much HP as possible and be stacked with as many healing-over-time buffs as possible. If the Main Tank survived the attack, then they had a chance of beating the Instance Dungeon. Otherwise, they would have to leave the Instance Dungeon and rethink their strategy.


    This Boss could also summon monsters with an interesting ability. Every 50 seconds, he would pick one of the players. The player would die within the next 20 seconds, after which an Apocalypse Guard would be summoned at the body.


    In order to prevent these Apocalypse Guards from interrupting the Boss fight, the players that were marked like this were sent to die near Saar.


    Those near Saar would arrange for two tanks to aggro this monster. Of course, even though it was just a monster, they still needed a healer. As such, there was a healer ready to receive the player too.


    Lu Li and the others used almost the entire week to finally defeat Azgalor.


    At that, there was a lot of excitement. Everyone was jumping and laughing.


    Even after the Boss died, the team could still get wiped, which was the most annoying part.


    The monsters that had been summoned were unlike the ones from the past. Even after the Boss died, the Apocalypse Guards were still there. Since the team didn¡¯t take the threat seriously, only a handful of these monsters was enough to kill the few surviving players.

 Chapter 1958 - Away Side Can Still Win

    Fortunately, they didn¡¯t need to restart the Boss if they died. Furthermore, there were also skill points given to two players.


    Although Lu Li wasn¡¯t one of them, his fianc¨¦e was, so he was still very happy.


    The ones responsible for reviving went to take care of the dead players, while the ones responsible for looting went to loot.


    No one cared about the materials and other things that dropped first. If it wasn¡¯t an Enhanced Skill Book, no one batted an eye at it.


    The main show was here; Azgalor was a Boss that dropped T6 Set Equipment.


    T6 items were obviously the top items at the time. The few Legendary items that Lu Li and Water Fairy had didn¡¯t count. After all, those items could only be found once in a blue moon, and even then, they were still extremely rare.


    ¡°Snowy, it¡¯s yours. Make an offer for it,¡± Lu Li said, publicly displaying his affection.


    ¡°How shameless. This is such a good dagger. Why don¡¯t you need it?¡±


    The spectators couldn¡¯t bear to watch any longer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you see the twin blades that I¡¯m using now?¡± Lu Li shot back. He shamelessly let Water Fairy take the item at the lowest price.


    There were only two Thieves in the team after all.


    ¡°I also can wield one-handed swords. I don¡¯t care. When that time comes, I¡¯ll talk with my Guild Points!¡± Azure Sea Breeze laughed coldly and looked at Lu Li with great contempt.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t bother with him and asked Remnant Dream to continue looting.


    Don Rodrigo¡¯s Poncho!


    This was Epic armor for healing Druid¡¯s. Innocent Child ended up with the item.


    Gloves of the Forgotten Conqueror!


    This was a pair of T6 Gloves for Paladins, Priests and Warlocks and also the first T6 Gloves for Ruling Sword. They were taken by March Rain.


    Gloves of the Forgotten Protector!


    This was a pair of T6 Gloves for Warriors, Hunters and Shamans.


    All the Thieves, Mages and Druids looked at Remnant Dream with hopeful eyes, hoping that she would pull out an item for them. In the end, that was not the case.


    After Azgalor came Archimonde. However, the pro players like Water Fairy and Lu Li couldn¡¯t continue.


    It was time to decide who would enter the Professional League¡¯s semi-finals.


    Wings of Dawn and Blood Red War Flag had already clashed in the first round of the quarterfinals. Even having the home ground didn¡¯t bring an advantage. It could be said that they were finished for the season.


    Next was Ruling Sword fighting against Azure Guard, with Ruling Sword as the away side.


    If they could win despite being the away side, Ruling Sword would have quite a good chance this time.


    They landed at the airport before noon and began the match in the afternoon. After finishing, they left immediately. There was no time wasted.


    Azure Guard¡¯s first player was the Mage, Magic Cry. It didn¡¯t matter how much Floral Paralysis, their Thief, wanted to compare his skills with Lu Li ¨C it was always going to be Magic Cry.


    But what if the first player from Ruling Sword ended up being Moonlight?


    In the current update, Thieves would definitely lose to Warriors, unless the Thief had an advantage in both skills and equipment.


    Therefore, it would be the safest to deploy a Mage. It didn¡¯t matter whether it was a Warrior or a Thief; a Mage would still be effective.


    The first player to enter the battlefield from Ruling Sword was Lu Li.


    He wanted to face off against Floral Paralysis, but he wasn¡¯t scared of a Mage. Thieves couldn¡¯t really control Mages, but it would also be difficult for a Mage to control a Thief.


    In Dawn, the win to loss ratio for battles between Mages and Thieves was quite even, at nearly 50:50.


    After reaching level 70, everyone¡¯s HP and armor was increased by tremendous amounts. Therefore, it was impossible to instantly kill any class, no matter how fragile they were. However, if the equipment and skill difference was significant, then it would be possible.


    Since this was the quarterfinals, what gap would there be?


    Lu Li immediately entered Stealth and used Cheap Shot. Magic Cry dispelled the skill, turned around and responded with a Silence and Freezing Circle.


    If he was frozen, then it would over. Lu Li immediately activated his cloak to dispel the Silence and crowd-control. After freeing himself, Magic Cry also used blinked and escaped.


    Even the worst Mages would know to put distance between themselves and Thieves while in a fight.


    Shadow Step. Liver Shot. Ice Block to dispel.


    It was a back and forth. Lu Li tried this skill rotation twice and was buffered, but he wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage. Magic Cry¡¯s skills were also rendered useless.


    Everyone was looking for an opportunity, or to create an opportunity to force their opponent to make an error.


    Lu Li had to admit that Magic Cry had improved in leaps and bounds. He hadn¡¯t expended so much energy during their last battle.


    Of course, it was also because Lu Li didn¡¯t want to use his Legendary items.


    Being the away side, he just needed to gain a little bit of an upper hand.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t especially quick or slow, but Magic Cry was struggling to keep up.


    After all, they were the home side. If they could gain an advantage going into the second battle, then the morale of the team would be greatly increased. Knowing this, his attacks became much more ferocious.


    In response, Lu Li became even more relaxed.


    The more desperate that Magic Cry got, the more likely it was for him to expose a kink in his armour.


    Even the spectators, let alone analysts and fellow competitors could see what was happening.


    As soon as the slightest opportunity presented itself, Lu Li pounced and used a combination of skills, taking away a noticeable chunk of Magic Cry¡¯s HP. Adding this onto the previous damage that was inflicted on both sides as they were trading skills, Magic Cry was on the verge of death.


    Although Magic Cry was using healing abilities and special effects, he couldn¡¯t offset Lu Li¡¯s attacks.


    Lu Li needed to capitalise on this opportunity to defeat him.


    Even Lu Li¡¯s basic attacks were enough to overcome the healing done to Magic Cry. Furthermore, Lu Li didn¡¯t care about his own HP any longer and relentlessly attacked. Before Magic Cry could deal lethal blows to Lu Li, he finally fell to the ground.


    Phew!


    Lu Li stood alone on the arena and calmly looked at his opponent¡¯s body, splayed across the floor. He breathed a sigh relief.


    In the beginning of the game, his advantage was that he was reborn. Even in the Professional League, he was using his knowledge from before to suppress and take down the old gods of gaming.


    It had already been two years since then.


    There were less things to exploit now. The difference in skill and mechanics were no longer a reality. The advantage he had before was now gone.


    Lu Li used his true strength to defeat Magic Cry. It was pure skill. He hadn¡¯t even used many of the hidden cards up his sleeves.


    What did this mean? Well, if Lu Li was given a suitable starting point, even without the advantage of being reborn, he would have been able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the giants of the game.


    The second player was Floral Paralysis.


    Both Thieves greeted each other and talked for a short while. Then, they entered Stealth together.


    Floral Paralysis was not desperate. After seeing what had happened to Magic Cry, he calmed himself down and decided to battle slowly but steadily.


    Actually, Lu Li was worried that Floral Paralysis would look to finish him off as soon as he could.


    After all, Lu Li had just finished a battle that required a high concentration level, so it would be disadvantageous to him if Floral Paralysis was going all out from the beginning. Furthermore, Floral Paralysis was also a top Thief who wasn¡¯t much worse than himself.


    The more he could rest, the better it would be. He might even be able to have all his cooldowns refreshed.


    Unfortunately, Floral Paralysis wasn¡¯t stupid. He wasn¡¯t planning on letting Lu Li recover to his peak condition.


    Both Thieves were crawling around the battlefield. There was bound to be a moment where they would meet.

 Chapter 1959 - The Most Exciting Pounce

    Lu Li realised that he didn¡¯t have the advantage in Stealth and Detection. This was because his opponent had Detected him earlier.


    He would soon understand why that was.


    He was a Dark Elf, while his opponent was a Human. One of the Human¡¯s specialities was that they had great innate Detection skills. It was easier for them to uncover a Stealthed target. Furthermore, Floral Paralysis also had a special piece of headgear, which had likely been created by an Engineer ¨C Quad Deathblow X44 Goggles.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t have the blueprint for that item yet, and he didn¡¯t know where Azure Guard found it from either.


    However, this wasn¡¯t shocking. After all, it wouldn¡¯t be fair if he threw a tantrum over this, since he had received three Legendary items and two Enhanced skill books.


    He was impressed, but Floral Paralysis was even more impressed.


    Lu Li was on the stage for a longer time, so he had ample preparation. He was geared up and ready to fight, with increased Detection and Stealth that he had sacrificed other Attributes for.


    In the end, it still took him a while to find Lu Li, and Lu Li nearly even made the first move.


    What items did Lu Li have?


    Actually, Lu Li didn¡¯t even focus on increasing his Stealth. His Supreme Ring had a unique effect ¨C Blessing of the King of the Jungle ¨C which increased Stealth effects by 35%.


    35% from one item alone was enough to offset multiple items.


    Enhanced Stealth: Instant use. Allows the Thief to hide until the effect disappears. The effects of Stealth are enhanced. If used in a dark area, Stealth is further enhanced. Unique effect: Transformation: Bat. Able to be cast at any time. After using this skill, the caster will transform into a bat. Cooldown: 2 minutes.


    His Stealth had already been Enhanced, and in addition to the 35% bonus from his ring, it was nigh impossible to find him.


    After being controlled, Lu Li immediately ran.


    However, he was running out of methods to escape.


    As such, he only had one chance.


    The moment they were both separated, he immediately pounced onto where he thought Floral Paralysis would move to.


    They both collided, revealing themselves.


    ¡°Spectacular!¡± Dark Wind cried out as he nearly jumped out of his analyst chair. ¡°This is probably the most exciting lunge of the season! He pounced and found Floral Paralysis!¡±


    ¡°Actually, he didn¡¯t have any more escaping abilities, so he was going to lose if they went back into Stealth. Therefore, he decided to risk it, foregoing his advantage, but managing to pull himself out of certain loss.¡±


    The other analyst was a little slow on his analysis of the situation, but he realised why Lu Li did what he did.


    People in audience and even some professional players themselves only understood Lu Li actions after listening to the analysis.


    ¡°This type of movement is only effective in a very specific situation. I do not recommend anyone to copy this. After all, Lu Li¡¯s actions are full of risks and dangers. A large movement like this, while in Stealth, would surely reveal the user if he or she had missed. Lu Li¡¯s actions were a make or break!¡± Dark Wind added.


    Everyone was analysing the skill that it had taken for Lu Li to make that judgment.


    On the other side, Lu Li had already used Gouge on Floral Paralysis and managed to gain the upper hand once again.


    Gouge was a stun-move. However, Floral Paralysis had just entered the arena, so he quickly dispelled it. He wasn¡¯t going to let Lu Li use a flurry of combos on him.


    After escaping, Floral Paralysis discovered something that dumbfounded him.


    Why was he bleeding?


    Lu Li regrettably pursued Floral Paralysis. Why was this a regret? This was because he was forced to use one of his hidden cards.


    He had learnt Enhanced Gouge!


    Gouge: 0.5 second cast time. Gouges the target¡¯s eyes, paralysing them for 3 seconds. This effect is only usable when the target is in front of you. Any form of damage will dispel the effect. Level 5/5.


    Enhanced Gouge: Instant cast. Gouges the target¡¯s eyes, paralysing them for 3 seconds. This effect is only usable when the target is in front of you. Any form of damage will dispel the effect. Unique effect: After the effect disappears, the target will Bleed for 5 seconds. The Bleed damage is affected by the user¡¯s main weapon¡¯s attack.


    Level 5 Gouge still required 0.5 seconds to cast the skill, but Enhanced Gouge was instant.


    As such, Floral Paralysis couldn¡¯t counter it, no matter his reaction. The Paralysing time was still the same, and the requirement for the activation of the effect was also the same. The only difference was that there was a unique effect attached to Lu Li¡¯s Enhanced version.


    The effect that Water Fairy¡¯s Gouge had was that the Paralyse effect would not be dispelled even if the target received damage. Lu Li¡¯s was that the target would Bleed for five seconds after waking up.


    Neither one was better than the other. If the target immediately used an escape skill to dispel the stun and run away, Lu Li¡¯s effect would be more useful. Furthermore, in a Thief versus Thief battle, the Bleed effect would neutralise Stealth, so the target would need to dispel the Bleed effect straight away.


    However, if the target wasn¡¯t planning on running away and decided to tank the hit, then Water Fairy¡¯s effect would be more powerful.


    Lu Li caught up to Floral Paralysis and immediately unleashed flurries of combos. It was a completely relentless battle.


    He didn¡¯t have much HP anymore, so he was risking it all.


    Furthermore, everyone knew that this was his second opponent. Magic Cry had already been defeated. If he could take down Floral Paralysis as well, then that would icing on the cake. However, if he lost, then the more HP that he could shave off the better it was.


    Floral Paralysis also knew this, but he couldn¡¯t extend the fight any longer.


    If he decided to drag it out, then he would lose.


    Both Thieves took out their weapons and clashed face-to-face. Their skill completions were both extremely high. In the beginning of the game, Lu Li had an advantage in this, but this was no longer the case.


    In the end, it was Floral Paralysis who won.


    However, his win had cost him too much. His skills and HP were all nearly used up.


    When he faced off against Fat Monkey, he just wanted to drag out the battle and recover his cooldowns.


    Unfortunately, Fat Monkey didn¡¯t give him a chance and immediately killed him. A Thief without even one of their skills would be hard-pressed to win against a Mage.


    He should have just confronted Fat Monkey head-on. That way, he could at least take off some of Fat Monkey¡¯s HP.


    After Fat Monkey defeated Floral Paralysis, he faced off against the third competitor from Azure Guard and promptly defeated him too. The results were three to one.


    In the team battles, Azure Guard tried their best to turn the tables around. They were using a new strategy and set up.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s strategy was a defensive one. They had March Rain and Innocent Child as healers, and Moonlight, Mu Qiu and Lu Li as the DPS. Not a single one of them was an easy target. No matter how Azure Guard tweaked their set up, they couldn¡¯t defeat them.

 Chapter 1960 - Grandpa Is Here

    Azure Guard had no counters to this shameless set up.


    This wasn¡¯t to say that Ruling Sword¡¯s dual-healer composition meant they were invincible. To defeat Ruling Sword, they needed to have four DPS players who solely focused on the weaker healer. Alternatively, they could use the same set up and grind it out that way. The first team to make a mistake would be punished.


    Ruling Sword was patient, while Azure Guard had to keep telling themselves to not rush.


    In the end, someone still was too desperate, which led to Azure Guard¡¯s demise.


    Friendly matches were postponed, so after doing the post-match press conference and interviews, Lu Li and the rest flew back to Jiangnan City.


    After fighting on the away-side, it was their turn to fight on home-ground, with a day of rest in between.


    This day was of course used to grind the Mount Hyjal Instance Dungeon. They needed to clear Archimonde to receive the last First Clear.


    Most of their time was spent continuously being wiped out. However, this didn¡¯t affect their morale when facing off against Azure Guard. After all, they had won with such a landslide even as the away side.


    Jiangnan¡¯s biggest arena wasn¡¯t actually that large, but it was a popular venue, so it was difficult to get the tickets.


    A lot of people began to purchase tickets using alternate methods.


    Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather requested Lu Li to reserve some tickets for her family, as they wanted to watch the competition as well.


    This was his time to show off his skills. If her grandfather wanted to watch the match, reserving even half the arena wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Lu Li reserved two hundred tickets and personally sent them over.


    Uncle Fan brought his whole family and also invited many of his neighbours and friends. The two hundred tickets were nearly all used up.


    ¡°How come you wanted to watch this¡­eSport competition? You were never interested in this were you?¡± the wife asked her husband.


    ¡°Uncle Fan personally invited us, so how can I reject it?¡± the husband explained.


    ¡°Grandpa Fan¡­He¡¯s already quite old, so why did he invite us to watch this? This isn¡¯t that impressive or popular is it?¡±


    The wife cared a lot about her social standings, and she didn¡¯t understand why such an influential and notable character like Uncle Fan would attend something like this.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever say something like that again. It¡¯s not popular? You don¡¯t know anything about this. Do you know how influential the gaming industry is right now? The hundreds of millions that we have now is a drop in the ocean for these gaming companies. I thought to invest into a mega-club, but in the end when he asked me how much I was going to invest, I politely hurried him along.¡±


    ¡°What does this have to do with Grandpa Fan? Oh! That¡¯s right. I heard that their little princess is managing some gaming business.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not accurate. That little girl already has hundreds of times my net worth, and she¡¯s only a bit over twenty years old.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I get it now. Is her club the one that¡¯s competing today?¡±


    ¡°Surprisingly, that¡¯s not it, but there are some connections there. I¡¯ll tell you. The little princess has already chosen her partner.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Be a little quieter. It¡¯s a guy from today¡¯s match. Don¡¯t go spreading it. I heard that the Fan family is quite happy with him.¡±


    ¡°Where is he from?¡±


    ¡°Some unknown family. I heard that he built his fame and fortune from the ground up. Now. he


    manages two clubs. I even heard that the city secretary eats dinner with him quite often.


    ¡°Well, this was expected. Oh, that reminds me. Since the little princess found her prince, does her father, Mr. Shen, know?¡±


    ¡°Of course he knows. However, since Mr. Fan already nodded his head, how could he say otherwise?¡±


    ¡°Are they already engaged?¡±


    ¡°I heard that they will get engaged next month. Mr. Shen¡­Hehehe.¡±


    ¡°He did this to himself. There are no good men out there.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Ruling Sword already decided on their first player.


    The first player to enter the arena from Ruling Sword would be Sakura Memories.


    They chose her because they were going to lose the first round.


    This was an unspoken rule. If the away side defeated the home side, then when the grounds were flipped, they would need to forfeit the first round.


    This was courtesy.


    Just as expected, Sakura Memories lost the first round. She was now a third-string player on the team. This was because competing wasn¡¯t her main focus. Secondly, Buff Shamans did not fare well on the arena.


    The second round was Fat Monkey versus Floral Paralysis. However, Fat Monkey lost.


    This was a little awkward. Lu Li didn¡¯t plan to lose this round. After the match, he was going to find a reason to punish this scumbag.


    ¡°Is it not going too well?¡± Mr. Fan turned to ask his granddaughter. He didn¡¯t understand it well, but he at least knew a win and a loss.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem. Maybe he wanted to give some face to the opponents. Lu Li and his people in the day before had just defeated them in a complete landslide. It was utterly ruthless,¡± Water Fairy explained.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s your boy!¡±


    ¡°Aiya! Grandpa, what are you saying?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡±


    Lu Li entered the arena and defeated Floral Paralysis in no time, since Fat Monkey had already eliminated most of his HP. Then, he had to face off against the Berserker from Azure Guard, Bingo Bro.


    ¡°Berserkers counter Thieves pretty well. They want to use the advantage of classes to beat Lu Li,¡± Water Fairy explained for her grandfather.


    ¡°Then is little Lu Li going to lose?¡±


    ¡°No. Even if it was me, I would be able to beat this Berserker too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re quite confident, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Everything that happened on the arena was just as Water Fairy had said. Even though it was a little more difficult and required more effort, Lu Li still managed to take the win with around 50% HP left.


    If Bingo Bro was as good as Moonlight, then Lu Li might not have won.


    Bingo Bro was effective when facing off against normal Thieves, but his opponent just had to be Lu Li.


    The third competitor from Azure Guard was Magic Cry.


    ¡°He is a star player. He¡¯s very good. I¡¯ve fought him a few times and have both won and lost,¡± said Water Fairy.


    ¡°Little Lu Li isn¡¯t that good either. How did you start liking him?¡±


    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m not talking to you anymore.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. Let¡¯s see how little Lu Li defeats this Magic Cry.¡±


    Lu Li was able to defeat Magic Cry. That wasn¡¯t a question. However, he only had 50% HP left, and his skills had mostly been used up.


    There was also a battle timer, so Lu Li couldn¡¯t avoid Magic Cry for the entire duration.


    Lu Li was once upon a time, a model Thief. One could say that he was the very example of what a Thief was. Now, he was going to prove his power once again.


    Of course, this was also because Mr. Fan and his family was watching the match.


    Under normal circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t have tried so hard. After all, if the results were 3:2 or 2:3, it would still be a one point difference. As long as they won the team battle, the result would still be the same. Ruling Sword would still enter the next round.


    However, Lu Li needed to win now.

 Chapter 1961 - To Avoid Doing the Dishes

    ¡°Keep calm and carry on. Stay afloat when things are low, and keep steady when things go awry ¨C that is being a man,¡± Water Fairy¡¯s eldest uncle, the big brother of the Fan family, praised.


    Those sitting next to him were clearly already very old, but they still nodded and agreed politely.


    ¡°When this battle ended, Water Fairy was in the semi-finals, just one step away from the championship. Their biggest competitor Glory Capital was shaking in their boots.¡±


    Water Fairy¡¯s third uncle was a professor of the gaming industry, knowing much more than those non-experts sitting around.


    ¡°Then what if it does turn out that this Ruling Sowrd and our Snowy¡¯s Drizzle Court fight against each other?¡±


    The one speaking seemed to be the fourth brother, his face full of worry.


    ¡°Then we can¡¯t yield. We¡¯ll do whatever we have to; men should do a job well,¡± the oldest Fan brother said.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t know what they were discussing here, but during this time, he had already defeated Magic Cry, despite his disadvantage.


    He was wearing the Black Dragonflight Cloak, which came with 20% Magic Resistance.


    After the arena competition was over, Ruling Sword led by one point.


    Next was the group stage. Ruling Sword couldn¡¯t throw this one, and had to avoid screwing up. After all, everyone that Water Fairy¡¯s grandfather had invited was watching on.


    After the competition ended, Ruling Sword claimed victory again, winning 5:2.


    They won 5:1 last time, and 5:2 this time, so overall, it was 10:3.


    The total points for a round was 5 ¨C 3 for the arena battles and 2 for the group stage. Even if Azure Guard achieved full points in the third round, defeating Ruling Sword 5:0, it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that they were being eliminated.


    Ruling Sword smoothly advanced to the next stage.


    Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that the third round would not be held.


    The third round was often friendly wasn¡¯t entirely public at all. Those who would participate were often second-rate players or new talent.


    On Ruling Sword¡¯s side, Fat Monkey and Kitty Likes, as well as Sikong Clear, Princely Beaut and Nuo Yu were selected.


    Azure Guard managed to claim the round 5:2 against Ruling Sword, which earned them back a bit of face. The worst thing that could possibly happen was if their main team couldn¡¯t make it, and they also lost to the randomly assorted players from Ruling Sword. That would be shameful.


    After entering into the quarter-finals, there would be a suitably long break as they waited for the other clubs to finish.


    At this time, Lu Li and his team were First Clearing Archimonde.


    When the matchups were decided, Drizzle Court weren¡¯t so lucky ¨C they were facing Glory Capital.


    Peerless City was against Seventh Heaven, while Blood Red War Flag was against Wings of Dawn.


    His partner had to go fight Glory Capital, and there was nothing he could do either. Lu Li could only offer moral support and hope that she could complete her task.


    He still had to go watch the competition, and he even sat in the commentator seat.


    He got along with Dark Wind relatively well, so he could choose not to say anything. He could just express his agreement and that was all that was needed.


    ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Dark Wind asked.


    ¡°Wind bro, that¡¯s not a clever question to ask at all,¡± Lu Li replied.


    ¡°But the audience really wants to know! Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    Dark Wind really knew how to shift the crowd¡¯s mood. There were countless people watching the livestream who were drinking his words in.


    ¡°Of course my girl¡¯s club is going to win. You simply don¡¯t have to ask,¡± Lu Li said, stating the obvious.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s my girl.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re going to be doing the dishes when you get home, right?¡± Dark Wind said, poking fun at him.


    Lu Li rushed to change the subject, otherwise, it really would never end.


    ¡°Actually Drizzle Court¡¯s competitive line-up right now is quite powerful. Let¡¯s have a look ¡­¡±


    Could Drizzle Court defeat Glory Capital? Well, of course they couldn¡¯t, especially when they were playing away, and they weren¡¯t familiar with the grounds. Almost everyone there looked to be Glory Capital fans, but a few hours ago, Drizzle Court¡¯s people were still on a plane.


    However, Water Fairy and her team didn¡¯t have high expectations for today¡¯s match.


    As long as they could earn a basic 2 points, it would be enough.


    In other words, they needed to finish off two Glory Capital competitors in the arena.


    The first one to go on for Drizzle Court was Water Fairy, and on Glory Capital¡¯s side, it was Blood Dagger. This was a classic battle between Thieves.


    ¡°Lu Li you should have fought hand to hand with these two before. Ahem, you probably would have gone hand to hand with Water Fairy a bit more. We¡¯re only asking about in the game; we don¡¯t care how you engage in real life. Do you think either of them have any remarkable characteristics?¡±


    Dark Wind was usually very normal, but sometimes he would just go crazy.


    Lu Li pretended not to understand, and answered seriously, ¡°Blood Dagger¡¯s style is more unusual, while Water Fairy is more fierce.¡±


    ¡°Who do you think would be harder to beat?¡± Dark Wind asked.


    ¡°If it was an even match, I think the difficulty of beating Blood Dagger would be higher,¡± Lu Li said.


    ¡°In saying that, if you get a beating back home, this contest won¡¯t be responsible for it,¡± Dark Wind laughed. ¡°Please, let¡¯s have a look at the competition.¡±


    As soon as Water Fairy started, she got off on the wrong foot, but it wasn¡¯t too big of a problem. The equipment she wore was exquisite, and after she counterattacked, Blood Dagger¡¯s advantage was equalized. After all, she was wielding a level 70 Legendary weapon in her hand.


    ¡°Blood Dagger¡¯s fighting quite carefully, but it¡¯s already clear who has the advantage,¡± Dark Wind commented, then looked at Lu Li to confirm.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lu Li nodded. ¡°He didn¡¯t take the chance to capitalize on his advantage when he could, and his


    reaction time looks a little slower.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Sorrowless, it really is a shame,¡± Dark Wind sighed.


    Only a small amount could be understood from their dialogue. He meant that Sorrowless¡¯ retirement had come as a shock to Blood Dagger, leading to his abnormal performance in the competition.


    Water Fairy continued to fiercely appear behind Blood Dagger. A Slit Throat that dealt 100% Critical Hit damage lowered Blood Dagger¡¯s HP to a critical amount, and with another skill on the way, he was finished off.


    It was really quiet on the arena now, the atmosphere was heavy.


    Blood Dagger and Water Fairy were considered equal-level competitors, but because of his past military exploits, as well as everyone¡¯s general idea that female Thieves were weaker, most people thought Blood Dagger would be able to defeat Water Fairy.


    They didn¡¯t think that in the first round in the arena, he would lose, and lose so badly too.


    The second to go on for Glory Capital was Sorrowless.


    This was his first competition after he announced his retirement, but he looked exactly the same as before.

 Chapter 1962 - : Didn’t You Bring Your Brains With You Today

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°Now we see Sorrowless. It really is such a pity for him,¡± Dark Wind sighed with great regret.


    As a commentator, he shouldn¡¯t be expressing his bias so clearly in the commentator¡¯s seat, but perhaps he just couldn¡¯t hold back. Sorrowless¡¯ meteoric rise coincided with his own success; it could be said that his position in the commentating world was a result of his analysis on Sorrowless.


    From then on, he tried to commentate almost every single competition that Sorrowless was in.


    Now, with Sorrowless planning to retire after this competition, he couldn¡¯t help but feel intensely emotional.


    ¡°Everyone has their own choices. Maybe we look at it with great regret, but perhaps he thought it was really worth it at the time,¡± Lu Li said after thinking for a while.


    He really admired Sorrowless. If he was in his shoes, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could let everything go like Sorrowless was doing.


    However, there were a lot of unfriendly rumors in the outside world.


    Lu Li was a schemer, having infiltrated Glory Capital back when Darkness went to Ruling Sword. He had just been playing a massive game of chess for the past two years, and had now finally knocked out Glory Capital.


    This was pure nonsense. Lu Li was actually a very proud person; how would he know Sorrowless would do this?


    He was rather regretful that he couldn¡¯t defeat Sorrowless fair and square.


    Glory Capital, under Sorrowless¡¯ leadership, was still the unopposed hegemon of the game, while Lu Li¡¯s Ruling Sword was just a weak, one-dimensional kid in comparison.


    There was a clear example of this in the Wild Bosses, where Glory Capital continued to take the lead.


    It was only the crumbs that Glory Capital allowed the other clubs to scramble for. Even though the three clubs of Drizzle Court, Peerless City and Ruling Sword were allied together, they never got to the point of fighting outright with Glory Capital.


    A successful club wasn¡¯t something that could be accomplished overnight.


    At the very most, Ruling Sword would have a group of top players that Lu Li found and trained. The quality of these players wouldn¡¯t be much worse than Glory Capital, but in terms of numbers, there would be many less.


    Glory Capital had at least ten Elite teams which were comparable with Ruling Sword¡¯s core Elites.


    And they had 500 Elite teams altogether!


    Ruling Sword only had about ten.


    The one who could defeat Sorrowless was only he himself.


    This was the first time he had fought after announcing his retirement, and he was facing the Thief Water Fairy, who had less than half HP.


    After a subtle nod of greeting, the two engaged in battle.


    Water Fairy rushed for the first attack. Her task was to use up as much of Sorrowless¡¯ HP as she could, giving a chance for the players coming up later.


    And Sorrowless, as before, was steady and sharp, without the slightest indication that something wasn¡¯t right.


    ¡°Sorrowless is still Sorrowless!¡± Dark Wind laughed.


    Water Fairy lost.


    The next player from Drizzle Court also lost.


    Even three people weren¡¯t able to defeat Sorrowless; he wasn¡¯t the god of magic for nothing. Many people just knew Sorrowless as the leader of Glory Capital, but forgot that he himself was a top-level competitor.


    He was someone who pushed the limits of the constantly changing rules of game league alliances.


    The score for Glory Capital and Drizzle Court on the arena was 3:1.


    Next came the group stage.


    It was originally thought that Sorrowless would lead the team, and that he would overwhelmingly crush Drizzle Court. What was unexpected was that Glory Capital suffered a crushing defeat in the group stage.


    The final result was 3:3; they had fought to a draw.


    ¡°Man, there is a lot to say.¡±


    Dark Wind sounded indescribably disconsolate. He didn¡¯t give any extended analysis of various events in the battle, which was a little out of character for him.


    Drizzle Court then met them on their home court, and Sorrowless didn¡¯t even come out to fight.


    They completely turned the tables in the arena, taking a 3:2 advantage.


    In the group battle, Sorrowless was evidently out of touch with his teammates in his lineup. It wasn¡¯t clear whether he didn¡¯t get along with his teammates, or whether his teammates didn¡¯t get along with him. Besides, there were all sorts of problems, so naturally, they fell short of victory.


    Glory Capital lost to Drizzle Court 2:5.


    All up, the scores from the two rounds were 5:8 ¨C Glory Capital were 3 points behind.


    Although there was still hope of turning the tables, that hope wasn¡¯t strong. At the very least, they would need to resolve their teamwork if they were to stand a chance.


    Glory Capital were defeated by Drizzle Court.


    The situation was growing rather ridiculous now; even various media outlets were reporting all about it.


    They blamed Sorrowless for being selfish, tiring out the whole club and having Glory Capital enter a period of unprecedented crisis.


    This mighty empire that had been built over 10 years would disintegrate in one day.


    There was news that Blood Dagger had already discussed that he would move to a different job after this. Someone else claimed that White Westhill might leave Glory Capital, and that she already had an investor who was willing for her to establish a new club.


    Lu Li took all the info and threw it on the table, rubbing his eyebrows as he dealt with a headache.


    Square Root 3 stayed lighthearted, joking with Lu Li.


    ¡°You afraid of meeting your partner in the finals?¡±


    The top people present from Ruling Sword began to study the current situation. They didn¡¯t believe that Glory Capital would collapse like this, but they did not understand how all this happened in front of their eyes.


    ¡°If they really collapse, I feel this is a good chance. We can absorb a lot of Glory Capital¡¯s Elite teams; it would be like sharing a banquet.¡±


    Cat Dad was excited; he had seen too many major organizations overturn before. Each time, the tumbling down of one club was a very good thing for other clubs.


    ¡°We¡¯re really lacking in capital,¡± White Bread said, her face covered in anxiety.


    ¡°We can borrow from the Life Alliance. They have a lot of money,¡± Lu Li responded.


    ¡°Why not from your partner?¡± Square Root 3 asked curiously.


    ¡­


    ¡°Are you guys done yet? What¡¯s the point of discussing this?!¡±


    Wandering was lying on his back and sleeping in the corner when he was woken up by their increasingly intense discussion.


    ¡°We¡¯ll collapse before Glory Capital does. They¡¯re just not going to ¨C can you really not see that it¡¯s all fake?¡± he said impatiently.


    ¡°Fake?¡±


    The others were really confused.


    ¡°What¡¯s fake? The scores aren¡¯t fake, and Sorrowless can¡¯t be faking his retirement. He¡¯s had press conferences; it can¡¯t be good for him to eat up his words like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Man, how can you guys be so stupid?¡± Wandering questioned as he sprawled over the table, holding up his forehead.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you bring your brains with you today?¡±


    ¡°Ahem, we really are a bit dumb. Why don¡¯t you explain it to us?¡± Lu Li said as he lowered his posture.


    ¡°Who is Sorrowless? He¡¯s the god of Glory Capital. He¡¯s left such big shoes to fill, so who could take over? Wendelian can¡¯t ¨C what is she? How could she take over from Sorrowless? How could she take over from Sorrowless, the guy whose essence has permeated every part of Glory Capital¡­¡±

 Chapter 1963 - Goodbye, Sorrowless

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    ¡°Failure is the mother of success!¡±


    Wandering tapped his nails lightly on the saying, then continued with a cold laugh, ¡°First, turn the respect and admiration everyone has for Sorrowless into hatred. Then, Wendelian will come out and appease the forces, leading to a massive change on the arena. This way, Wendelian will be like a savior to Glory Capital. She can take over Glory Capital, and who else would oppose it? Who else would compare her with Sorrowless?¡±


    This person rarely spoke so much, and after speaking, everyone was really quite shocked, not knowing what to say.


    ¡°Meeting¡¯s over.¡±


    Wandering stood up as he clutched the table, staggering away as he walked outside.


    ¡°I¡¯ve leaving now; you guys can just keep discussing. Such a bunch of idiots.¡±


    After a moment of silence, Cat Dad rubbed his gums, saying, ¡°After hearing him speak, I feel like it does make sense.¡±


    White Bread intentionally lowered her voice and responded, ¡°If it¡¯s really like that, I feel like Wandering is frightening. How could he see all that?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Lu Li opened his mouth but didn¡¯t have anything to say.


    It really did sound quite reasonable listening to it. If it truly was the case, then Glory Capital really might make an earthshattering turnaround.


    Of course, it could just be Wandering just spouting rubbish, and in that case, Drizzle Court would safely advance to the next stage.


    Lots of things happened in the next two days after this, which thoroughly destroyed the image of Sorrowless. It was like an incapacitated ruler with a dysfunctional kingdom. Things had really become too weird. Glory Capital still hadn¡¯t take any measures against people making Sorrowless look bad.


    This wasn¡¯t quite right; even Lu Li could see something fishy here.


    Sorrowless was only announcing his retirement ¨C he still hadn¡¯t retired yet. Like before, he was still the big boss with full authority over Glory Capital.


    Even if he had really retired, he was also the biggest shareholder of Glory Capital. In reality, he could be considered to have all the authority in the club.


    Wendelian had the next position, along with the authority to run things, but she couldn¡¯t just snatch all the power couldn¡¯t away without cause.


    No normal person at all would criticize him lightly, especially not anyone rich.


    Glory Capital¡¯s PR team wasn¡¯t just for show.


    But this only made one thing clear: everything was controlled by Sorrowless behind the scenes in order to build up a chance for Wendelian to take over, to have her endorsed as the leader by everyone in Glory Capital, top to bottom.


    There was a problem ¨C could Glory Capital without Sorrowless defeat Drizzle Court?


    Could they flip the score of 5:8?


    As Ruling Sword¡¯s First Clear team were tangled up with killing Archimonde, they had quickly come to the third round competition between Glory Capital and Drizzle Court.


    Lu Li already discussed the issue of Sorrowless with Water Fairy. If what Wandering said was right, then Drizzle Court really might underestimate the enemy and fall into the trap of being passive. After all, they had already won two group battles.


    It turned out that Sorrowless did not enter the Arena.


    This was the second time that Blood Dagger faced Water Fairy, but his performance was worlds apart. Although Water Fairy had fought very hard, in the end, she was defeated like before.


    The second player from Drizzle Court had to give up more than half of their HP to defeat Blood Dagger.


    Next was the berserker Dragon Flame. He successively defeated Drizzle Court¡¯s players, setting the arena points at 3:1, with Glory Capital taking victory.


    The most important group stage had come.


    If Drizzle Court could claim victory in the group stage, then they could enter into the semifinals. If they took a loss in the group battle, then Glory Capital, who had lost in the two previous battles, would go in instead.


    ¡°Wandering¡¯s not wrong. Before going out, Wendelian organized a mass Glory Capital rally and made an impassioned speech. It was a classic moment; our spy broadcast it on the stream. Sorrowless wasn¡¯t there¡­¡±


    Lu Li saw the report that Square Root 3 issued out, showing a complex smile.


    Sorrowless, even though he was going to retire, was still up to new tricks.


    Like before, Sorrowless didn¡¯t show up in the group stage.


    Lu Li thought that perhaps he would never see Sorrowless on the arena ever again. He left the audience somewhat despondently, not even continuing to watch the final group battle.


    Deep down, he was dazed.


    It was like he had lost his purpose all of a sudden.


    He sat on the long steps at the front of the stadium, with pedestrians rushing past him. No one payed attention to him, and he didn¡¯t remember them either.


    In his last life, Sorrowless and him were in two different worlds.


    In this life, ever since he was successful in assassinating Sorrowless, they had been in a two-year struggle to see who was on top.


    Because of Lu Li, Sorrowless changed to gradually do more planning behind the scenes. He was still active on the arena, but Lu Li had always seen Glory Capital and Sorrowless as his target to keep pursuing.


    And suddenly, one day, the target was gone.


    He heard the far-away cheers from inside. They were crying for Glory Capital, with some occasional shouts for Wendelian. In past times, they would have been calling to Sorrowless.


    Lu Li stood up, and slowly walked down the steps.


    The third match was between Peerless City and Seventh Heaven.


    Seventh Heaven was the club with the most points in the top eight, but they were still defeated by Peerless City


    Green Flag Wine was draped with the Black Dragonflight Cloak that was borrowed from Lu Li and Water Fairy. He accomplished two separate 1 vs. 3 victories, becoming this competition¡¯s most dominant individual player.


    It was also at this time that the World Announcement came out with the broadcast that Azure Sea Breeze had led Ruling Sword¡¯s First Clear team to the Mount Hyjal First Clear.


    They had fought this Instance Dungeon for quite a few weeks, and after defeating it, Lu Li already had two pieces of T6 Transmog Set equipment, as well as a lot of scattered pieces of the same level.


    He also received a Skill Point. After all, a lot of Bosses were killed again and again on Nightmare level, and the System overlord would eventually doze off.


    Archimonde came with drops, as well as the rewards for the First Clear.


    Bristleblitz Striker was a Legendary bow. Remnant Dream looted one, and she was given one as a First Clear reward.


    Cataclysm¡¯s Edge ¨C this reward was given to Wandering, but he didn¡¯t want it, so he gave it to Mu Qiu.


    Apostle of Argus ¨C this weapon was given to Kitty Likes Meat. It looked cool, and the attributes were just as worthy.


    Tempest of Chaos ¨C this single-handed sword was given to Fat Monkey and matched with the Black Book, which simply overwhelmed him.


    There were also quite a few Transmog Set pieces. Ruling Sword had come one step further in their power.


    Now, the ones who had entered into the semifinals were Ruling Sword, Peerless City and Glory Capital. The remaining two teams hadn¡¯t started their battle yet, but under normal circumstances, Wings of Dawn couldn¡¯t defeat Blood Red War Flag. They had fought many times before, and Wings of Dawn had never prevailed.

 Chapter 1964 - Zul’Aman Appears

    Before Wings of Dawn fought against Blood Red War Flag, the game came out with a new patch.


    Black Temple!


    It was said that in order to rule all of the Outland, the betrayer Illidan established a giant stronghold called the Black Temple and stationed troops there to be used as a Draenei fortress.


    After his most trusted aide Kael¡¯thas Sunstrider failed, Illidan¡¯s power began to wane.


    This was a perfect opportunity. The virtuous Draenei Akama, who was called Broken, rose up to oppose the so-called Outland lord. When Illidan was a warden, with the help of the fortuitous Night Elf Maiev Shadowsong and Akama, a group of warriors successfully snuck into Illidan¡¯s throne of authority, completely ending the rule of the betrayer.


    The new patch included the new Instance Dungeons Zul¡¯Aman and the Black Temple, as well as a few changes to other ones.


    Paladins were made stronger, the talent system was improved, there were some new arena maps, and so on.


    The Black Temple and Mount Hyjal were both T6 Instance Dungeons, but Zul¡¯Aman was between T5 and T6. This was to allow players to accumulate better equipment beforehand.


    As soon as this Instance Dungeon was released, it immediately attracted the attention of all the major clubs.


    First Clear!


    The difficult Instance Dungeon First Clears were taken by Ruling Sword, while the easy ones depended on luck.


    Lu Li had a lukewarm attitude towards the Zul¡¯Aman Instance Dungeon First Clear. He didn¡¯t even make joining the First Clear team a priority because he thought Ruling Sword had already passed the stage of needing to get First Clears to increase their profile.


    Speaking from the current situation, one more or one less First Clear simply wouldn¡¯t affect the club.


    Unless it was an Instance Dungeon like Mount Hyjal with a team of 25, getting a First Clear was equivalent to more than ten pieces of equipment, so it really was worth giving it a go.


    Zul¡¯Aman was considered a ten-man Instance Dungeon, and of course, the equipment couldn¡¯t be compared with T6 items. It was only the Berserker¡¯s Call that was really worth getting.


    The things that Lu Li was busy with now were complicated, but the main thing now was to look at the layout of the club.


    The first issue was everyone¡¯s pay. The Elite team¡¯s salary had to be increased a little. Ruling Sword wasn¡¯t rich, but they at least were considered to be out of poverty.


    They couldn¡¯t continue the long-term development of the club just with a positive attitude.


    Strongholds earned a lot of money, especially the Strongholds that Sky Moon peddled. Aside from quickly turning him into a multimillionaire, they also gave the club a handsome profit.


    They had 200-300 million dollars in capital in their account, so Lu Li began to encourage the Elite team again.


    He and Cat Dad set up some new regulatory frameworks together.


    Contributions weren¡¯t enough for the Elite team members to stay where they were. Unless there was a special reason for them and they made special contributions, they would have to be laid off from the Elite team.


    These people who were laid off would leave the guild. After all, most people wouldn¡¯t accept this ¡®humiliation¡¯.


    These decisions were not taken lightly. Who knew if they would become a great god in the game? Perhaps in a future interview they would remember how Ruling Sword and Lu Li had looked down on them back in those days.


    This wasn¡¯t enough to stop Lu Li¡¯s from chopping them off and implementing reform.


    As for ordinary guild members, as long as they contributed to a certain level, they could enter the Elite team for now and begin their own Elite trial period. They would be trialed for a month, and whether or not they could stay on was completely dependent on their own abilities.


    The Elite teams were expanded once again. Lu Li would maintain 15 Elite teams in Ruling Sword, and Judgement Spear would do their best to keep 5 Elite teams.


    20 Elite teams, 2000 people ¨C in real life, this was already a massive enterprise.


    Lu Li would do his best to ensure that their average income reached about $10,000 every month, and at least more than %6000, with the possibility of an increase.


    Simply in paying monthly wages, they threw away $20 million.


    However, if they spent a lot, they earnt a lot too. Now, Ruling Sword didn¡¯t need Lu Li to personally fund the guild¡¯s activities. Just the income from the Strongholds was enough to cover this.


    In just a short while, Seventh Heaven had already achieved the Zul¡¯Aman First Clear.


    At this time, Sky Moon was still fighting the last Boss, but they weren¡¯t far behind. Seven minutes after Seventh Heaven achieved the First Clear, they finished off the last Boss.


    The second day was Monday, and a new Stronghold battle was starting.


    A new map was opened, including the second Stronghold of Black Sea Coast. This Stronghold was one that Ruling Sword had to fight for. Anyone who dared interfere would become Ruling Sword¡¯s mortal enemy.


    Of course, if Drizzle Court decided to stake their claim, Lu Li wouldn¡¯t really mind.


    Drizzle Court had become a powerful force in this Stronghold battle.


    Because Water Fairy had become a baroness, her two Strongholds were safe, so they had power to begin seeking an expansion.


    Another club that had gamblers excited was Glory Capital.


    No matter how much Wendelian had calmed the hearts of her forces, the hearts of Glory Capital¡¯s people were going to be a bit unsettled. Like before, there were quite a few analysts who gave their variously mistaken deductions.


    That was why whether Glory Capital would lose a few Strongholds or now was a key issue for gamblers.


    Ruling Sword didn¡¯t care about the others; they had to protect their own two Strongholds in Grey Valley. One of them was occupied by the Life Alliance. They also had to protect the first Stronghold of the Black Sea Coast, compete for the second, and help Judgement Spear hold Winterspring.


    The first time, Ruling Sword sent out as many top players as they could to help Judgement Spear claim Winterspring.


    Before the start of the Stronghold battle, everyone had a special discussion regarding Winterspring. In fact, Wandering held the position of wanting to sell Winterspring. After all, there were too many Strongholds affiliated with Ruling Sword, and Judgement Spear wasn¡¯t strong enough to truly hold Winterspring themselves.


    Unfortunately, everyone in Judgement Spear was firmly against Wandering¡¯s decision. At this time, Wandering was still the leader of Judgement Spear.


    Since everyone wasn¡¯t willing to let it go, then they could only do all they could do defend it. At the moment, the biggest thing they could count on was the Fel Reavers.


    Originally, Ruling Sword had 11 Fel Reavers, but now they only had 9 left.


    As players levelled up to 70, their equipment quality increased, and Fel Reavers weren¡¯t absolutely overwhelming anymore. As soon as the one controlling the Fel Reaver slipped up, it was easy for it to be destroyed.


    Lu Li moved a couple of Fel Reavers to Judgement Spear, while Wandering was responsible for commanding.


    Three were given to the Life Alliance, and they gave some top fighting players too for support. They had to guarantee that not an inch of the second Stronghold Grey Valley would be lost.


    There were four Fel Reavers left ¨C two were to help protect the first Stronghold of Grey Valley, while two were to help claim the second Stronghold.


    Lu Li personally led a team to participate in the Black Sea Coast¡¯s Grand Melee battle. Previously, they had defeated Winterspring, but whether they could defeat the Black Sea Coast¡¯s second stronghold now was hard to say. The only thing Lu Li could boast about was that he had the advantage of being able to transform into a crow. He could see the whole situation from the sky. The others did not have this sort of ability.

 Chapter 1965 - You Can’t See Me

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Compared to the mountain of pressure on Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court was the most relaxed club.


    They decided to attack other Strongholds.


    They were originally planning to fight Glory Capital, but after hearing Lu Li¡¯s analysis, they felt that Glory Capital was as strong and unyielding like before. Following the right advice, they chose to fight Wings of Dawn¡¯s Stranglethorn Vale.


    There were two new Strongholds this time ¨C the second Strongholds of the Black Sea Coast and Stranglethorn Vale.


    There was no doubt that Wings of Dawn would use their strength to try and claim the second Stronghold of Stranglethorn Vale.


    After the auction results had come out, Square Root 3 began to grow anxious.


    ¡°Compared to the club that was bidding last time, they¡¯ve put in more money than is sensible.¡±


    Last time, the competitors consisted of random few smaller clubs that had struck it rich and were pushing forward. They were hoping to get lucky in this messy situation, but Ruling Sword and Judgement Spear demonstrated that good luck was hard to come by.


    That was why most of them had relented this time.


    Plus, everyone knew that Ruling Sword needed the new Black Sea Coast Stronghold, leading to a gang-up situation in the Grand Melee.


    As for Wings of Dawn, Lu Li really doubted the intelligence of the brothers Dream 13 and Elevenless. They were competing for the new Stronghold in Stranglethorn Vale, but they still had their old Stronghold to protect, and it turned out they were interested in snatching the Black Sea Coast.


    Meanwhile, Blood Red War Flag occupied the two Strongholds in the Hillsbrad Foothills. They weren¡¯t defending them well, nor did they use their resources to bring trouble to Glory Capital.


    As for Azure Guard, this poor club didn¡¯t have a single Stronghold now.


    Lu Li hadn¡¯t heard much news about the Gangnam Royals, only that they were dedicating themselves to development. Perhaps now they would have the power to stage a comeback.


    Before the Stronghold battle officially started, a conversation on the World Announcement channel began.


    Elevenless: We better discuss well; we¡¯re not gonna fight before Ruling Sword are finished off.


    Unforgettable Maple: Well that¡¯s a given.


    Dancing Star Dream: Just afraid Maple sis has already been bribed.


    Unforgettable Maple: What are you on about? I¡¯m not that kind of person.


    Elevenless: Then we¡¯ll finish Ruling Sword and Majin Temple first. @Jade Flower Lover, what do you think?


    Jade Flower Lover: Sounds good, I also think Maple sis has something going on with Lu Li.


    Dancing Star Dream: Haha, Blood Red War Flag and Majin Temple have been in cahoots since they started, and you guys are actually believing Jade Flower Lover?


    Elevenless: Then we¡¯ll finish off Ruling Sword, Majin Temple and Blood Red War Flag first.


    Floral Paralysis: The more we talk, the more enemies there are. How do we finish off three clubs? Is the Imperial Secret Service counted as a club? Can you stop making things so hard for me?


    Dancing Star Dream: Are you saying that our Grand Hegemony isn¡¯t a club?


    Floral Paralysis: No, no, no, as long as we¡¯ve got our Dancing bro, any club is a club. Grand Hegemony¡¯s been doing really well recently ¨C just missing a Stronghold.


    Elevenless: So what do we actually do?


    Unforgettable Maple: Lu Li, give me money. Otherwise, I¡¯ll work with them.


    Lu Li: You¡¯re too scary. We at Ruling Sword aren¡¯t voting this time. After you occupy a Stronghold, I¡¯ll have my Fel Reavers come out. Hmm, we¡¯ll see how it goes.


    Unforgettable Maple: Haha, you guys believe it?


    Elevenless: Nope.


    Floral Paralysis: Who cares? Let¡¯s just deal with Ruling Sword first. We¡¯re not going to fight between ourselves until they¡¯re finished off.


    The World Announcement channel remained lively all the way until the Stronghold battles formally started.


    The new Grand Melee format really was quite something. The game placed the audience in an immersive position, attracting many people to watch.


    The players participating in the Stronghold battle had no way to get info from the outside world, nor could they go offline. As soon as they went offline, they had no way of returning to the battlefield, so they didn¡¯t have to worry information being leaked.


    The audience had all taken their comfy seats ages ago, waiting for the eight clubs to make their way onto the field.


    After the Ruling Sword players entered into the Stronghold, everyone was immediately stirred up.


    ¡°Shameless!¡±


    ¡°How could you be like this!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all over! Elevenless¡¯ getting played again.¡±


    ¡°I really think this Stronghold battle is going to be the first that no one wins.¡±


    ¡°So if they can¡¯t find Ruling Sword, do you think the remaining seven guilds won¡¯t battle between themselves at the last moment?¡±


    Those few other clubs that were in this Stronghold battle simply had no idea what sort of secretly evil opponent they were going to face. Lu Li had brought 79 other players with him, either Thieves or Druids, but they all had Stealth.


    This wasn¡¯t a competition arena at all. The battle map was vast, and there was very little chance for the eight clubs to bump into each other. However, these 79 players had a commander in the sky flying and telling them where to go.


    Ruling Sword¡¯s players rapidly developed and levelled up. Under the command of Lu Li, they didn¡¯t encounter a single enemy.


    After about half an hour, when everyone was around level 5 or 6, someone finally realized there was a problem. They were unable to find Ruling Sword after so long, especially when the other seven clubs had made an agreement among themselves to avoid conflict and focus on searching for them.


    Ruling Sword couldn¡¯t have been hiding so well this entire time.


    Jade Flower Lover had already realized that Ruling Sword had only brought Stealthed players.


    However, even though he knew this, it didn¡¯t help his cause at all.


    In order to conceal themselves, Ruling Sword gave up the fighting power that different roles together would bring . Lu Li gambled upon these seven clubs being unable to maintain this until the end.


    At the very least, Azure Guard, Blood Red War Flag and Wings of Dawn were clubs that had strong armies that seriously wanted to occupy the Black Sea Coast.


    The one to take action first was the strongest!


    Jade Flower Lover had always been famous for being crafty. He knew he had to be decisive to create an opportunity.


    And so, he focused on the Imperial Secret Service.


    The poor Imperial Secret Service kids originally thought that today, the clubs were going to shove Ruling Sword off its pedestal. How could they expect to be the loophole in the equation? Before Jade Flower Lover raised his knife against them, they were happy marching alongside Blood Red War Flag¡¯s forces. They even thought they were both each other¡¯s allies.


    They had seen them for not even a couple minutes.


    All 80 players of the Imperial Secret Service were all killed, while it turned out not a single person from Blood Red War Flag died.


    There were definitely some unexpected Cheap Shots there, but players were deeply shocked at Blood Red War Flag¡¯s power. The Imperial Secret Service weren¡¯t guinea pigs either; how could they have killed them off so easily?

 Chapter 1966 - : Elevenless Has Gone Mad

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    There were no large-scale battles that could be hidden from other clubs.


    Blood Red War Flag had made a killing move to its allies. Instantly, all the other clubs felt vulnerable. Originally, there were a couple of close clubs that immediately moved away from each other in fear that they would become the next target.


    Those with the greatest sense of crisis were Peacetime Dynasty, Grand Hegemony and Majin Temple.


    Even though Majin Temple and Blood Red War Flag were both allies with a long history, these two clubs both acted like maniacs who fought with each other from time to time.


    One minute they could be helping each other out, and the next they could be in a brutal conflict.


    These three clubs quickly joined together and formed a loose alliance.


    Azure Guard moved closer to Grand Hegemony unconsciously. It was as if they had decided to get rid of a competing opponent, like what Blood Red War Flag had done.


    Azure Guard was indeed quite amazing, but they faced the alliance of three other clubs. Outside, they would have no fears even if these three clubs were allied together. However, in Stronghold battles, every side could only enter 80 people. Against 240 other players, they would be destroyed.


    However, Azure Guard was Azure Guard indeed. Even if they had no Strongholds, they were still in the top ten.


    The alliance of the three clubs suffered great losses. Altogether, they had less than 150 people left.


    There was significant noise from the battle. Things had only just begun to settle down before Blood Red War Flag involved themselves. They didn¡¯t try to take out the 150 players right away, otherwise, they would suffer considerable losses.


    They only went for Peacetime Dynasty and Grand Hegemony. The players of Majin Temple not only didn¡¯t come to the aid of the allies, but even helped Blood Red War Flag wave their swords.


    Majin Temple had suffered the least from the battle with Azure Guard just then, with only 20 or so killed and more than 50 remaining.


    A while before this, Wings of Dawn and Gangnam Royals also crossed each other.


    Elevenless bumped into the players of Gangnam Royals and couldn¡¯t help but taunt them. He would never let go of such an opportunity to sneer at the former number-two-club who had since fallen out of the top ten.


    The Boss of Gangnam Royals, Heart of War, was no longer that arrogant person that he once was.


    He had been taught lessons by Lu Li repeatedly.


    This time, he saw the situation of the Stronghold battle and had given up hope on taking it. They already lacked top-level experts. Stronghold battles always relied on numbers to win, so they were naturally on the weaker side.


    After being taunted by Elevenless¡¯ few words, Heart of War suddenly flashed a wide smile that showed his teeth. Then, all the players of Gangnam Royals rushed toward Wings of Dawn.


    Even if there was a difference in their capabilities, Wings of Dawn suffered severe losses. Their team had been cut in half.


    Elevenless¡¯ face was stunned. He completely had no idea why this had happened.


    He had never met such a petty person. All he had said were a few words.


    Elevenless was like a rabid dog searching for the others and in the end found the four clubs that were still engaged in a messy battle.


    They immediately rushed in and killed anyone they saw.


    Blood Red War Flag and Majin Temple had originally already been in the superior position, but they didn¡¯t want to lose too many people so they controlled the rhythm of the battle. They wanted spend time to get rid of the other two clubs, given the condition of not losing too many of their own people.


    Who knew that Elevenless would stir the pot like this?


    Now, it was essentially impossible to end the battle without losses.


    As such, they no longer held back. Each side fought with their own true abilities.


    ¡°This is crazy,¡± Innocent Child whispered as he squatted next to Lu Li. He was a leopard now and could also Stealth.


    ¡°It¡¯s better being crazy. It¡¯ll be easier for us to reap the rewards,¡± Lu Li responded with a wicked smile. He was more than satisfied with the situation in front of him.


    ¡°It¡¯s still better being a Stealth profession. I think in the future with these types of battles, everyone will send Stealth professions in.¡±


    Innocent Child had a face filled with worry. Their war tactics weren¡¯t technical ¨C anyone could use them.


    ¡°The solution is actually quite simple. All you need to do is to go for the Stronghold tablet. It doesn¡¯t matter how many Stealth professions there are; it¡¯s a one-way track to death,¡± Lu Li said plainly.


    The strategic plan he thought of was as easy as falling off a log.


    There was no perfect solution in this world to begin with. Even if there was, it wouldn¡¯t be called a solution. It would be called a game bug.


    ¡°Then what do we do now?¡± Innocent Child asked.


    ¡°Notify that team to go for the Stronghold tablet. We can participate in the battle on our side too. We¡¯re not aiming for victory. We just need to delay time,¡± Lu Li answered as he waved his hands. The many Thieves and Druids who stood behind him started to edge towards the centre of the battle.


    Jade Flower Lover had a big headache, but he couldn¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°Eleven, I¡¯ve even taken you out to dinner before ¨C have you forgotten?¡±


    If Elevenless took his people and went off, then he and Unforgettable Maple would have nothing to worry about.


    Blood Red War Flag and Majin Temple had joined hands to deceive the others. They had agreed upon this before entering the battle.


    ¡°Stuff you. Today, you¡¯re all going to be be dead meat!¡± Elevenless cried out as he wielded his axes and went straight for Jade Flower Lover.


    Then at this point, the notification that the Stronghold tablet was being attacked rang next to everyone¡¯s ears. Jade Flower Lover was instantly upset.


    The stronghold tablet had high HP, so it wasn¡¯t easy to claim. As long as he got there in time, he could block the attempt.


    However, the premise was that he could get there in time. Now with the messy battle on his side, he couldn¡¯t even get away.


    ¡°Elevenless, are you mad?! Did you not hear that the stronghold tablet is being attacked? We might as well join forces and go target Lu Li!¡± Jade Flower Lover shouted.


    ¡°Hmph, we can¡¯t get the Stronghold anyways. I have to make this as messy as possible. Don¡¯t get too up with yourselves.¡±


    Elevenless was a rascal and hooligan from head to toe.


    ¡°I can give you money, okay?¡± Jade Flower Lover was nearly in tears.


    ¡°How dare you use money to humiliate me! Guys, chop him up!¡± Elevenless howled.


    On this side, the players of Ruling Sword had finally joined the battle. They couldn¡¯t allow Blood Red War Flag and Majin Temple do as they pleased. Otherwise, there was no guarantee that Ruling Sword could break into the Stronghold tablet in such a short amount of time.

 Chapter 1967 - Becoming Enemies with the Officials

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Altogether, there were six clubs that were frantically fighting now.


    However, the only one that was frustrated was Jade Flower Lover.


    Peacetime Dynasty and Grand Hegemony were not frustrated at all. Majin Temple had betrayed then and allied with Blood Red War Flag. There never existed a possibility of them claiming the Stronghold. They were currently in a battle with that was not so much a desperate struggle as ¡°I¡¯ll fight whoever fights me¡±.


    Majin Temple wasn¡¯t frustrated either. Unforgettable Maple had done everything he could do. If Jade Flower Lover couldn¡¯t claim the Stronghold, then it went to show he deserved it.


    Wings of Dawn was even less concerned. Elevenless only had 20-30 players left. His principle now was to ¡°kill whoever was in sight¡±.


    Meanwhile, Lu Li had already sent people to attack the Stronghold tablet. So long as their enemies were held up on this side, the Stronghold was going to be his sooner or later.


    Jade Flower Lover tried to divide his forces but was stopped by the players of Ruling Sword.


    After losing a group of people, he realised an issue. Rather than retreating, he might as well go for it with these idiots. Only if he cleared off all the enemies on the arena did he have a chance of stopping Ruling Sword.


    The tablet wasn¡¯t something that could be broken within a short amount of time. He still had a chance. Jade Flower Lover comforted himself this way.


    Evidently, even the audience members could see that he had no chance at all.


    The result in the end was that Blood Red War Flag defeated all of their enemies. As they were on their way towards the tablet, it was broken. He was then transferred out of the battlegrounds, filled with hatred.


    Ruling Sword had successfully seized the Stronghold.


    The other battles had also concluded. As expected, Ruling Sword¡¯s other Stronghold had also been successfully defended.


    What was unexpected was that Glory Capital¡¯s four Strongholds remained in their control. However, despite strength to spare, Wendelian chose not to expand without careful consideration. Her club¡¯s operating strategy was still more conservative at the current stage.


    The one who was in the worst shape was probably Wings of Dawn.


    Elevenless wasn¡¯t able to take down Black Sea Coast¡¯s second Stronghold. Dream 13 wasn¡¯t able to take down Stranglethorn Vale¡¯s second Stronghold. Moreover, Stranglethorn¡¯s first Stronghold which they originally owned was taken by Drizzle Court.


    Apparently, after the two brothers accepted this reality, they held each other and cried. Then, they fought with each other for a while and ended up going for drinks hand in hand.


    The winner of Stranglethorn Vale¡¯s second stronghold was a smaller guild from the Horde with a ranking in the mid-twenties. They had likely seen the crisis of Glory Capital and felt the huge mountain of pressure above them shift. Hence, they chose to come out and show off their existence.


    There were quite a lot of clubs in the Horde, but they had all been neutered by Glory Capital.


    Apart from this guild, there was also Open Sky, who had defeated Stellar Union and taken Loch Modan. This club didn¡¯t have any amazing players. They didn¡¯t even have any celebrity competitors, but their alumni included the past-professional player and now-commentator, Nine Phoenix.


    The only other change to come from the Stronghold wars was the Hillsbrad Foothills of Blood Red War Flag. Jade Flower Lover kept thinking about stealing from others and ended up having his own backyard burned up.


    Their second Stronghold of the Hillsbrad Foothills was taken by Azure Guard.


    Out of the super clubs, Azure Guard had taken over Wings of Dawn¡¯s place.


    Life was always everchanging.


    Ruling Sword now had two Strongholds in the Black Sea Coast and one in Grey Valley. They indirectly controlled two, which were occupied by Life Alliance and Judgement Spear.


    In terms of their alliances, Peerless City was fighting steadily with the Stonetalon Mountains and Thousand Needles in their hands.


    Drizzle Court didn¡¯t need to worry about the two Strongholds in the Western Wilderness. They had also taken the first Stronghold of Stranglethorn Vale.


    The alliance of the three guilds occupied ten strongholds, out of the 23 in total. They had more than double of what Glory Capital had.


    Not long after, the officials changed the rules of Stronghold battles.


    Originally, the stronghold battles could involve 80 players. This number was now expanded to 200. Different items were also introduced, such as stone throwing chariots and siege ladders.


    Stone throwing chariots could be used by both offensive and defensive sides, while the siege ladders could only be used by the offensive side.


    The principle of the game developers was to prevent a club from occupying too many Strongholds. Otherwise, the Stronghold Wars would become stale and repetitive.


    Oppose the hegemony!


    In the process of continuous failure and success, to continue surviving could lead to the development into a hegemon.


    The last of the top eight matches was between Blood Red War Flag and Wings of Dawn.


    There was no suspense in this battle. Blood Red War Flag took their home match 5:1, and the away match 5:2. As such, the third round had become a friendly match.


    Wings of Dawn lost a Stronghold and a match, but somehow earned another round of financing.


    More money naturally meant stronger abilities.


    They could give elite groups money, and attract more and more elite players, while replacing underperforming guild members.


    Only poor people like Lu Li could develop their guilds honestly and sincerely.


    The expansion of the elite group was in full swing. Other than that, there would not be much possibility for any trouble.


    Lu Li also had to research how to guard their Strongholds. One Stronghold had 200 people defending it. That meant that five Strongholds would require 1000 people!


    They simply did not have enough elite players for this.


    This was a crisis!


    This was a massive crisis!


    However, Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid. He wasn¡¯t someone who let himself enjoy things. His experience when he was young made him afraid. He felt that enjoyment and death were equal to each other. All living beings suffered and only when they died could they be at ease.


    After succeeding, he continuously broke through his comfort zone and exposed himself to new crises.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t know everything. After he entered the sight of Water Fairy¡¯s grandpa, there were naturally people who noticed his growth and quickly ended up with this conclusion.


    Lu Li was a nouveau rich, but not all nouveau rich were good enough for the little princess of the Fan family.


    ¡°Judgement Spear, you guys need to rely on yourselves. Nuo Yu, Sikong Clear and the rest of you need to rely on yourselves if you want to securely keep the Winterspring Stronghold.¡± Lu Li handed over Judgement Spear to the responsibility of their leaders after the official policy came out.


    If Ruling Sword faced a huge challenge, then it could be said that Judgement Spear had faced a crowning calamity.


    The plan was to have five elite teams. At the moment, there were a little more than three. Moreover, these 300 or so people needed 200 people to participate in the Stronghold battle. Looking at all the other clubs, this proportion was an absolute joke.

 Chapter 1968 - A Seed That Sprouted

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Letting Judgement Spear defend itself was no different from giving up on it.


    However, Lu Li didn¡¯t mind if that day came. Despite how cruel it was, all guilds that had


    grown had gone through thick and thin.


    Those guilds would otherwise not been able to grow to such a scale if that were not the case. Guilds such as Peerless City or Gale Legion were examples of this.


    Lu Li¡¯s focus was on defending the Black Sea Coast and the Grey Valley Stronghold.


    The first Black Sea Coast Stronghold¡¯s defences were the best. They had the Ancient of Lore and the Dryads. Even with 200 of their weaker players, they could still put up a solid defence.


    Grey Valley¡¯s Stronghold was generally defended by the most elite of players.


    The Life Alliance employed a large number of elites and was supported by Ruling Sword. Under normal circumstances, there was no chance of them losing their Stronghold.


    They were actually most worried about the second Black Sea Coast Stronghold.


    Lu Li had thought about it a few times already. If he wanted to guarantee the protection of the other Strongholds, it would be difficult to get enough players to defend this one.


    This Stronghold was in a better location, had beautiful scenery and had plenty of resources for fishing. It wasn¡¯t far from the pier that connected all parts of Azeroth. The transportation that it provided was so convenient that Lu Li simply couldn¡¯t allow anyone to take it away.


    Would they have to hand it over to Drizzle Court and Water Fairy to defend it for them?


    Although Water Fairy had a new Stronghold, she didn¡¯t need to defend the two Strongholds in the Western Wilderness. As such, she still had some resources to spare.


    However, Lu Li just couldn¡¯t bear to rely on a woman.


    On that day, he took several players to the second Stronghold on the Black Sea Coast. This Stronghold was called the Elf Stronghold while the first Stronghold was called Ruling Sword¡¯s Stronghold.


    If there was a chance to occupy Darnassus in the future, the Elf Stronghold would be the closest point.


    Lu Li motioned to his sister Lu Xin and told her about a seed.


    It was the seed of the World Tree. Lu Li assigned for her to cultivate this tree. Ruling Sword was constantly collecting seeds like these.


    Even Drizzle Court and Peerless City had helped out a lot.


    All these seeds they had collected had been devoured by the World Tree seed. After two years had passed, Lu Li had lost track of how many trees it had devoured.


    In particular, there were spore plants in the Outland that dropped a large number of seeds. Even all of these had been devoured by the World Tree.


    The small seed that was once thin had now become quite fat.


    When a player held it in his hands, they could even feel the energy flowing within it.


    Lu Xin reluctantly put the seed into Remulos¡¯ hands after stroking it. This Keeper of the Grove and son of the Demi-God almost never left his temple.


    Lu Li was quite surprised; he didn¡¯t expect that Remulos would be a part of it too.


    The original plan was just for her to dig a hole and bury the seed.


    Unexpectedly, after Remulos heard about that plan, he started shouting because Lu Li had almost destroyed a World Tree seed.


    The World Tree seed could only be planted in powerful pools of magic such as the one Illidan used.


    Even a small sapling wouldn¡¯t grow if it was planted in soil.


    As such, Lu Li invited him to come and help him. He didn¡¯t expect that the Lord Keeper of the Grove would really come and bring four Archdruids with him too.


    Remulos slowly placed the seed into a Moonwell.


    This was where it would take root.


    This Moonwell had also been brought by Remulos. Countless wisps of green energy emerged from him and were infused into the Moonwell.


    They had transported the Force of Nature with the Moonwell. The World Tree seed took root and sprouted as soon as it fell in. It turned into a small tree in the blink of an eye and continued to grow rapidly.


    It seemed that everything they had accumulated up until now was for this day.


    The growth stopped after it was about two stories high and Remulos seemed to be satisfied too. Perhaps he had produced too much magic energy at a time and was exhausted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll send a few Druids a day to help power it. Your Druids can do the same,¡± Remulos said.


    ¡°So, when will it have fighting ability?¡± Lu Li asked.


    ¡°Oh, the World Tree is a source of life. It is not used for fighting, but¡­¡± Remulos said, then paused and continued, ¡°If there is a fight in this Stronghold, it will give a Status Effect to those who protect it.¡±


    ¡°Can it do that now?¡± Lu Li asked expectantly.


    ¡°You will have to wait until after the World Tree has spawned a Wisp. These Wisps will provide the Status Effect to friendly targets within the Stronghold and can also participate in combat. But, I suggest that you do not let the Wisps fight on the front lines as their only means of attack is by self-destructing,¡± Remulos explained. ¡°Wisps will keep growing and eventually breed Warriors from the Elf tribe.¡±


    ¡°Please rest assured that I will take good care of them,¡± Lu Li promised.


    ¡°I trust you,¡± Remulos said, and was just about to leave.


    ¡°Hey, I have a wedding banquet that will happen in nine days in this Stronghold. If you are interested, I would like for you to be present,¡± Lu Li invited.


    This was not the first time he had invited an NPC to his engagement reception. He had previously invited his mentor Garona, but he was rejected.


    A Thief was a hidden killer after all, and couldn¡¯t just walk about in front of all these players.


    Although it was just an engagement, Lu Li had already negotiated this with Water Fairy. When they got married, they wanted to travel so the wedding reception had to big.


    He and Water Fairy were owners of multiple guilds, so it was impossible that the players wouldn¡¯t want to attend.


    If the Elite Group all arrived, the numbers would already be huge. It would be difficult to maintain any order in that case.


    Not to mention, there were also ordinary members that would want to participate.


    What about their other friends in the game?


    Despite how it seemed on stage, they had close relationships with many of their fellow competitors in private.


    Under the suggestion of Square Root 3, hosting a banquet became the only option. This way, Ruling Sword, Judgement Spear, Drizzle Court, Peerless City, and any other guilds invested into by Water Fairy, along with anyone else that wanted to come would be able to.


    The Life Alliance provided extensive support for the banquet.


    A wedding reception with hundreds of thousands of people was something that could only be realized in game.


    This wedding banquet had also officially been recognised by the game. By then, the entire Black Sea Coast would become a safe area and there would be gift boxes and mascots to provide a festive atmosphere.


    The couple had become the game¡¯s advertisement for the love system after it had come out.


    Since they had achieved positive results with it, there was no reason for the game officials to hold back. They obviously intended to design the wedding as an official event in the game.

 Chapter 1969 - Attack the Black Temple

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Blood Red War Flag, Ruling Sword, Glory Capital, Peerless City were the final four. An intense battle was about to begin.


    Lu Li went to draw lots and was put up against Peerless City.


    This was awkward.


    They were fighting their own people, and this was just the semi-finals.


    In any case, no one could deprive Peerless City of their right to fight. Not even Water Fairy could; all she did was say a single phrase.


    ¡°Fight, fight to the death.¡±


    If even her boyfriend didn¡¯t seem to be pulling any punches, then everyone else was willing to fight with everything they had.


    Peerless City were elated and were keen to get into the fight. They wanted to demonstrate their ability to everyone.


    Of course, this meant that the old rivals Blood Red War Flag and Glory Capital were put up against each other.


    Blood Red War Flag had a glorious history and once dominated the game. They still occupied an important position in the gaming industry, but they had recently succumbed to Glory Capital¡¯s pressure.


    Jade Flower Lover had strong personal technique and the club had been slowly but steadily training their members. Then, they encountered Sorrowless.


    But now, Sorrowless had actually retired.


    Jade Flower Lover felt like his time had come. He still wasn¡¯t that old yet and so he decided to take Blood Red War Flag back to the top of the game again.


    Their match was scheduled to take place later. The first match was between Peerless City and Ruling Sword.


    Ruling Sword and Peerless City¡¯s match was quite festive.


    It was basically one crowd gathering together.


    After such a long period of cooperation, the three faction alliance had almost been completely integrated. Many members of the Elite Group from all three guilds had fought side by side.


    However, when it came to the competition, everyone still took it seriously.


    Lu Li was abused by Green Flag Wine when he went in. In this current patch, he really didn¡¯t stand much of a chance against Green Flag Wine.


    However, Mu Qiu helped Lu Li take revenge.


    Everyone had studied these outcomes a thousand times already. All the trump cards that each side had were crystal clear to the other and there was basically no suspense.


    After some back and forth, Ruling Sword lost the individual rounds 2:3.


    In the team match, Lu Li gave a motivating speech. He didn¡¯t want to lose to Peerless City, otherwise, his status as a family member in the future would be compromised.


    After they ran into conflict in their marriage, Water Fairy would say that he had lost to her underlings. Lu Li would then immediately lose his confidence in defending himself.


    ¡°For the Boss¡¯ future household status and to settle who really is the best, we have to win!¡± Fat Monkey shouted as he jumped onto the table after Lu Li left.


    In the team match, Ruling Sword was like a wolf hunting its prey and Peerless City had no idea what was going on.


    In the end, Ruling Sword secured the victory.


    In this way, they had taken the away match with a final score of 4:3. The home game was postponed for two days and everyone started on the Black Temple Instance Dungeon while they waited.


    This place once belonged to the Draenei, but it had later been occupied by Orcs and the Pit Lords. The original Draenei people had since been displaced.


    Akama had been wandering and fighting for so long that he looked dishevelled.


    Illidan, who occupied the Black Temple, had lost his mind. He vowed to crush all invaders to dust. However, Akama had resolved to take revenge and joined the thousands of footmen in order to retake his homeland.


    The Instance Dungeon¡¯s location was in Moon Shadow Valley. The quest to open it was quite complicated, but ultimately not too difficult with the team¡¯s strength.


    There were some Bosses loitering at the entrance of the Instance Dungeon. These were very powerful so it was best not to provoke them.


    After entering the Instance Dungeon, the monsters turned out to be very difficult to deal with.


    The small water elementals were always wandering around, so it was easy for the players to find themselves facing more than one wave of monsters. After dealing with these monsters, they welcomed the first Boss ¨C High Warlord Naj¡¯entus.


    Long before Vashj became the commander of the Naga, Naj¡¯entus was already Vashj¡¯s most trusted confidant.


    As one of Vashj¡¯s earliest two followers, he and Karathress paved the way for Vashj to gain leadership of the community. After Vashj successfully became Queen of the Naga, Naj¡¯entus was named High Warlord and was made responsible for all military affairs.


    Karathress was named Fathom-Lord, and was responsible for all political and diplomatic affairs.


    However, this result had stirred up some conflict between him and Karathress. It turned out that the noble-born Karathress had always looked down on Naj¡¯entus, who had come from nothing. The two had some conflict before Vashj became queen. Although they were equal in status, Karathress often mocked Naj¡¯entus¡¯ origins in public.


    Naj¡¯entus suffered the humiliation silently.


    However, when Karathress was named Fathom-Lord, becoming the Queen¡¯s lieutenant and was able to spend night and day with the Queen, he felt sidelined even though he had sole military power. His supressed anger had finally been ignited and began plotting a mutiny against Fathom-Lord Karathress in order to regain the favour of the Queen.


    However, this was when Illidan started his attack on the Black Temple. As Illidan¡¯s left- and right-hand men, Vashj and Kael¡¯thas also received orders to coordinate an attack.


    After receiving the orders, Vashj gave Karathress authority and told Naj¡¯entus to march out.


    In the end, the fierce battle between the Naga did not occur.


    Naj¡¯entus, who had been bloodthirsty, vented his anger on the Demon and Fel Orcs who guarded the Black temple. He even rushed into the Black Temple before Illidan gave the command to attack. All those who dared to stand in front of him were pierced by his halberd.


    This battle made Naj¡¯entus famous, and even Illidan appreciated him. After the occupation of the Black Temple, Illidan demanded that Vashj and Kael¡¯thas each leave half of their troops at the Black Temple. Among them, it was also proposed that Naj¡¯entus should be left behind.


    Vashj naturally did not dare disobey Illidan¡¯s orders, so Naj¡¯entus was now the guardian of the Black Temple and had to stay there forever.


    After many years, Naj¡¯entus¡¯ physical appearance and personality had changed due to such a long life. Because he had not soaked in the sea for such a long time, his scales lost their original blue colours and turned grey. His eyes had also turned blood-red because of long-term exposure to Demon¡¯s breath.


    He had become irritable, impatient and even more cruel.


    The only constants were how much he missed his queen and his irritable anger.


    In fact, this was a story of two underlings fighting for favour in front of their goddess. Unfortunately, these were still underlings after all and Vashj didn¡¯t see any of this between them.


    The players now needed to face this Boss. This was a test of the team¡¯s HP. The entire Boss battle required the team members to have more than 10,000 HP. Preferably, they would have even more than that.


    This was a prerequisite for the team to even challenge the Boss, otherwise, the whole battle would be very difficult.


    This time, the First Clearing Team was composed of the three clubs. Sky Moon was the Commander while Lu Li and Water Fairy were fooling around as team members.

 Chapter 1970 - Shadowmoon Insignia

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Although the first Boss was difficult, it wasn¡¯t so hard that it stumped them for days on end.


    The most important part of the Boss battle was the timing of when to break the Boss¡¯ Tide Shield. After Tide Shield had been used, all damage output players had to immediately cast their HP regenerating skills and cooperate with the healers to ensure that the team had at least 10,000 HP.


    This would give them enough time to break through the shield.


    After the Boss¡¯ death, the Maelstrom¡¯s Fury was dropped. This was a good one-handed weapon for magic professions that had excellent attributes.


    However, the Halberd of Desolation completed overshadowed that item. The Halberd of Desolation was a two-handed, long weapon that had even better attributes. Moreover, it was a cooler-looking item.


    The fact that this Boss had dropped two items meant that it probably hadn¡¯t been killed before.


    On the way from the first Boss to the second, there were some flying monsters that the long-ranged damage output players had to attack after the tanks had pulled them down.


    The second Boss was Supremus.


    He appeared at the Illidian Training Ground outside the Black Temple and was guarding the gate to the Black Temple.


    Supremus was a very simple Boss and was similar to one of the four guards in the battle against Prince Kael¡¯thas. Due to the long Berserk time of the Boss, Sky Moon appropriately decided to increase the Fire Resistance of the team members. Most teams discovered that the damage caused by the volcano was a direct reason for their team being wiped when attempting this Instance Dungeon.


    This entire Boss battle was fought in two repeated stages. The first required two tanks and the second involved kiting the Boss around. These stages would be repeated until the Boss died.


    In the first stage, the two tanks had high HP and the damage output players could deal the most damage. The second stages existed primarily to evade the volcanos¡¯ damage.


    The Boss would summon small volcanoes which erupted with blue flames that dealt 4500 fire damage to the players around them. They dealt with this by casting movement speed buffs and paying attention to where the volcanoes were being summoned.


    However, they could not run too far away, so they made sure to keep circling an area.


    There was no problem with Aggro at this stage, even with the damage output players going all out. Even if the Boss suddenly changed targets, the new target could use an invulnerability skill to temporarily save themselves. The main way that the Boss killed players was through the volcanoes in the second stage. Overcoming this was just a matter of practice. When the second stage came, they just had to pay extra attention to the Aggro. Hunters could cast a timely Misdirection to avoid drawing aggro.


    After the Boss died, a Syphon of the Nathrezim was dropped.


    This exquisite hammer was taken away by Sakura Memories for very few points. After the Dual Talent Specialisation was introduced, Sakura Memories now focused on providing buffs and healing. When more healing was required, she would often make an appearance. If they had enough mana, she could cast a fairly strong healing chain.


    Band of the Abyssal Lord!


    This defensive ring was good for both the Main Tanks, Wandering and Azure Sea Breeze, that were present. Despite the fact that they appeared to have been quarrelling all day, they were actually quite close.


    It was actually fairly difficult to guess who would get the equipment.


    Legionkiller!


    This was a Hunter¡¯s crossbow with fantastic attributes.


    Remnant Dream had collected enough equipment from both Bosses that the others didn¡¯t have much to say in response to her taking it. All they could ask was for the lucky little girl to not loot her own equipment all the time.


    The third Boss was Shade of Akama.


    Akama was the leader of Ashtongue Deathsworn. This organisation was composed of broken Draenei. They appeared to support Illidan, but actually secretly planned to remove them. The Shade of Akama was part of Akama¡¯s soul that had been separated by Illidan¡¯s spell. This part was absolutely loyal to Illidan.


    In short, Akama was now just a poor and pitiful creature.


    They had to talk to Akama before they could activate the Boss. The overall process of the battle was to kill the guide and the wizard before they could free the Shade to fight it.


    Before the Shade of Akama broke free from its bonds, various monsters from the Ashtongue army would rush into battle to interfere.


    When the Shade of Akama was unleased, he would rush towards Akama in a fierce confrontation.


    No one could distract it.


    After the Shade of Akama had been unleashed, Lu Li and the others needed to dispose of the other low HP monsters and then try to control the Shade. The whole group was fired up and poured out all of their attacks.


    The Shade of Akama¡¯s attack strength was very high. Under an offense like this, Akama could only survive for one minute. The Shade of Akama had to be killed before this time was up.


    Fortunately, they received some help from Akama. Akama¡¯s attacks on the Shade would apply a poison that increased damage taken by the Shade by 5%, and this could be stacked indefinitely.


    This Boss dropped three Epic items, and they were all Plate Armors.


    For the fourth Boss, Lu Li chose to fight Gurtogg Bloodboil.


    The defeated Magtheridon was put in Hellfire Citadel by Illidan. Instead of killing Magtheridon, Illidan took his blood to make a Fel Orc that would serve him.


    Demon¡¯s blood was like a drug for Orcs. It made them berserk, hyperactive and more cruel. This crazed status effect often brought many negative effects too. Many Orcs became restless and went insane. Some died immediately because they could not handle the strong stimulus. Only a small portion of Orcs could keep a clear head while gaining the powers of a demon.


    Gurtogg Crackhammer was a hard worker at the furnaces.


    His father used to be a well-known solider in the Orc Horde. Gurtogg had worshipped his father. He had dreamed on more than one occasion of leading a small army to fight on the battlefield against the enemy.


    However, after waking up, he would remember that he was just a manual labourer.


    Gurtogg longed for strength.


    Only Demon¡¯s Blood could give him the strength he wanted.


    However, a humble labourer like him might not ever be a candidate to become a Fel Orc in his lifetime.


    So one night, he went into the laboratories where Fel Orcs were made.


    The laboratories were full of jars of blood. Most of it had been taken from Magtheridon. There was some well-known blood and some unknown demon blood. There were also some mysterious potions. Although these were all labelled, Gurtogg couldn¡¯t read them.


    Since this was a unique opportunity, he drank all the liquids that he could find.


    He didn¡¯t know what would happen. He just felt his skin burn and an energy swell up inside him that he couldn¡¯t expel. He felt like he was about to explode and saliva dripped from his mouth. There was a cloud of smoke coming from where he was standing and his consciousness was fading.


    He looked up and found his father standing in front of him, but a human officer nearby raised his blade and cut his father in half.


    Gurtogg made a low growl and threw himself at the human officer. Blood was flowing from his eyes, staining them red.


    However, this was just a hallucination. He moved through it, hit his head against the wall and fainted.


    Three days later, Gurtogg was sent to Illidan¡¯s Stronghold, the Black Temple, as the most successful Fel Orc sample. They put thick armor on him which was engraved with a few words:


    ¡°Gurtogg Bloodboil¡±!


    This Boss dropped the Blood-Cursed Shoulderpads, the Staff of Immaculate Recovery and the Shadowmoon Insignia.


    The Blood-Cursed Shoulderpads were a piece of magic equipment. The Staff of Immaculate Recovery was a valuable healing staff and the Shadowmoon Insignia was a defensive ornament ranked among the top defensive ornaments in this patch.

 Chapter 1971 - During the Instance Dungeon

    The fifth Boss was Teron Gorefiend.


    Teron Gorefiend was quite a famous character. This was because he was the first Death Knight in history.


    As a Warlock, Teron was quite powerful. Naturally, Gul¡¯dan also regarded his bloodlust and ruthlessness quite highly.


    When the Orcs conquered the predecessor of the Black Temple, the Temple of Karabor, Teron completely massacred all the Draenei inside. It didn¡¯t matter if they were male, female, elderly or young ¨C Teron Gorefiend massacred them all.


    This inhumane action caused many of even the Orcs to feel uneasy.


    In the eyes of the Orcs, slaying those who could not even defend themselves was not glorious at all.


    After the failure of the first Orc invasion into Azeroth, Gul¡¯dan¡¯s power was greatly reduced. Orgrim Doomhammer used this opportunity to mobilise his soldiers. Teron Gorefiend was the first Shadow Council Warlock who died under the Doomhammer.


    However, Orgrim did not kill Gul¡¯dan.


    This was because Gul¡¯dan promised that he was going to establish a powerful army that would only listen to Orgrim¡¯s commands. Gul¡¯dan found a few Human general corpses and used evil necromancy to kill Orgrim. He then transferred the souls of the Shadow Council Warlocks into these corpses, reviving them to become Death Knights.


    Teron Gorefiend was the first Death Knight in history.


    Gorefiend brought his army of Death Knights and invaded Azeroth a second time. They were successful in this campaign as they claimed victory after victory.


    Then, when they attempted to invade Lordaeron, they were finally defeated. Most of the Death Knights were destroyed, so Teron escaped along with the survivors.


    After this, Gorefiend strongly adviced Ner¡¯zhul to open the Dark Portal once again so that he could return to Azeroth with the help of Rend Blackhand. However, he was rejected.


    That night, the Black Dragon King Deathwing appeared on the foot of the Blackrock Mountains. He signed a contract with Teron to help steal the Eye of Dalaran.


    As a price, Deathwing stole the Skull of Gul¡¯dan from Ner¡¯zhul.


    After the Humans arrived at the Dark Portal, Teron and his forces began fighting a fierce war against the Humans at the Dark Portal. In the end, he died after being killed by the Commander of the expedition, the Paladin Turalyon. However, just before the destruction of his physical body, Teron¡¯s soul managed to escape and no one could find him.


    The legend of Gorefiend appeared once again during year 26 of the Dark Portal. This was also the year of the Legion¡¯s expedition.


    After a few decades, Teron Gorefiend¡¯s story was already nearly forgotten by the people and slowly became a legend. The Draenei guardian who was responsible for Gorefiend¡¯s soul was also dead, but the cunning Gorefiend did not give up.


    His soul manifested into an image of an Orc and lured many unknowing adventurers to help remove his seal at Shadowmoon Valley.


    In the end, he was finally revived after many years. Teron Gorefiend was back. After destroying his seal, he returned back to the Black Temple.


    Facing Illidan, who had absorbed the power of the skull of Gul¡¯dan, Gorefiend swore his loyalty to him. For Gorefiend, his fate, which had been on hold, was now running again. Illidan now had Gul¡¯dan¡¯s power and the Black Temple, which was once the Temple of Karabor.


    The battle of Teron only had one phase, but it was extremely complicated. They needed to be aware of his high offensive power. The healers needed to make sure that the Tanks were safe.


    As for the Doom Blossoms, these appeared on Teron¡¯s head and increased with time. The team needed to clear Teron as quickly as they could.


    The first Deathmantle would appear after ten seconds into the battle. It was said that if the Deathmantle killed its target, it would transform the dead target into a Vengeful Spirit. At the same time, when the Deathmantle made the kill, there would be four Shadow Constructs surrounding the dead player.


    The player who was transformed into a Vengeful Spirit would need to kill these Shadow Constructs as soon as they could. They needed to prevent the Shadow Constructs from reaching the team. If they failed and even a single Shadow Construct reached the team, then it would be game over.


    The Boss was killed after two days.


    Girdle of Lordaeron¡¯s Fallen!


    This was a healing Paladin¡¯s item, which Sky Moon immediately gave to Darkness. She was often being talked about recently. Everyone was discussing when or if she would ever return to Sorrowless. However, the higher echelons of the club had always been looking after her, so no one suspected that she would betray Ruling Sword.


    Shear!


    This was a two-handed axe. Moonlight didn¡¯t hesitate to use his Guild Points to buy it.


    The next Boss was Soul Capacitor.


    The Temple of Karabor was the sacred place of the Draenei. There was a legendary godly weapon in the depths of the Temple ¨C the Soul Capacitor.


    The Draenei stored the souls of their best leaders, the wisest prophets and the most ferocious and powerful warriors into the Soul Capacitor. Using this godly weapon, these heroic souls would never die and fade away.


    However, the Orcs soon conquered the Temple of Karabor.


    Gul¡¯dan quickly realised the power that the Soul Capacitor had contained. He retrieved the souls of the dead civilian Draenei and put them into the Soul Capacitor. He also placed the bloodthirsty Orcs¡¯ souls into the Capacitor, as well as some of his own dark magic. In the end, the Soul Capacitor was corrupted.


    However, Gul¡¯dan didn¡¯t expect this godly weapon to be that powerful. Even if it was corrupted, he could barely control it himself.


    He had to seal the weapon away for the time being because it was that powerful.


    Then, Gul¡¯dan didn¡¯t get to see the Soul Capacitor ever again. He followed Orgrim to Azeroth and died there. However, the Soul Capacitor always remained within the temple.


    It had seen the changes that the temple went through. Countless living beings died here and countless souls wandered the halls of the temple.


    Anger. Rage. Sorrow. Pain.


    These souls ended up being absorbed by the Soul Capacitor.


    At the present time, the Soul Capacitor was the most evil existence in the Black Temple. Any living being that dared to wander near it would immediately be consumed in the rage-filled souls.


    This battle weighed heavily upon the performances of the Thieves, so Lu Li and Water Fairy couldn¡¯t just be in their own world.


    Everyone was relieved. In the words of Azure Sea Breeze, ¡°You guys might have already done the deed in real life. Why are you guys still so lovey-dovey in the game? Be careful ¨C maybe someday, someone might just leave the club because of you two.¡±


    The Boss ended up dropping Grips of Damnation, which were exquisite Gloves for Thieves.


    Lu Li immediately gave them up to his fianc¨¦e. There wasn¡¯t even a hint of competition in the air.


    Torch of the Damned!


    The two-handed mace was given to Mu Qiu.


    Wavemender¡¯s Mantle!


    This was a Chainmail Armor for healers, and naturally, it was given to Sakura Memories.


    Although Sakura Memories was only picking up the leftovers from the dungeon runs, her items were still better than most main healers in the game.


    The seventh Boss was Mother Shahraz. She once served Magtheridon, but now served the traitorous Illidan as one of his capable generals.


    Compared to male demons, female demons were much more ruthless and devious. Furthermore, Mother Shahraz was the most notable among all the female demons. During the age of Magtheridon conquering the Black Temple, Shahraz was given complete control of all female demons within the Black Temple.


    However, power simply would not be enough to keep her heart. Magtheridon¡¯s stupidity and ego had always irked Shahraz, so when Illidan and his soldiers attacked the Black Temple, she would foresee Magtheridon¡¯s downfall.


    The cunning Shahraz sold Magtheridon out. All the female demons under her rallied themselves with Illidan. As a traitor, Shahraz, along with her female demons, killed Magtheridon¡¯s personal guards, which allowed Illidan a direct path to Magtheridon¡¯s nest. The pitiful Magtheridon didn¡¯t know that he had been betrayed until he was pulled down from his throne.


    Even though she wasn¡¯t a particularly powerful female demon. Shahraz had her own ways of conquering. Even demons as powerful as Illidan were not an exception.


    After Illidan took the Black Temple, Shahraz became the main guardian of the temple again. Most of the demons within the battle had died, but Shahraz and her female demons lived on within the halls of the Black Temple.


    No one knew what their objective was. No one knew if they were truly loyal.


    Illidan was in danger of falling into the same trap that Magtheridon fell into. After all, he had forgotten about what had happened to Magtheridon.


    However, Shahraz was well-endowed. If it wasn¡¯t for her multiple arms or her gigantic body, she might also have been attractive to normal males.

 Chapter 1972 - Saving Points

    The fight against Mother Shahraz tested the team¡¯s ability to resist against Shadow type attacks. If the team all had above 400 points of Shadow resistance, then it would be simple. Of course, the team members still needed to have fast reflexes and be familiar with positioning.


    Sky Moon¡¯s instructions were clean and direct. Everyone was also expending lots of energy and effort into the fight. Even Lu Li felt it would be disrespectful to the team members if he continued to hang around Water Fairy.


    He didn¡¯t understand why they were so desperate. After all, there was still a bit of waiting time until the next match.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s wedding was also being prepared and arranged, in game and in real life. However, there was nothing that they needed to do. After all, the Fan family had many connections and talented people who helped with it. Even within the game, they also had people to help Square Root Three.


    Furthermore, the main administrator Square Root Three was also a highly capable person.


    Mother Shahraz fell soon after the battle began.


    Before the equipment was looted, it was fortunate that a Warlock Enhanced skill book dropped. This was a surprise to everybody.


    Then, came the equipment.


    Leggings of Devastation ¨C an Epic Leather Armor for Mages.


    Nadina¡¯s Pendant of Purity ¨C this item was quite suited to Warlocks. Seeing that other people were privately discussing about who was going to claim it, Kitty Likes Meat and Sesame Rice Ball did the same. In the end, it was Kitty Likes Meat who took the item away.


    Pauldrons of the Forgotten Protector!


    Another T6 item had finally dropped!


    Unfortunately, this one was for Warriors, Hunters and Shamans, so there was little to no competition. Moonlight and Azure Sea Breeze talked for a little while and Moonlight ended up paying a reasonable price for it.


    From then on, there was a type of curse that flowed through Dawn.


    Not many people used Warrior, Shaman, Hunter items, so it would just be a disappointment if these items dropped.


    Hunters and Shamans were fragile classes, even with Plate Armor, while Warriors did not have much self-sustainability. On the other hands, Paladins could heal themselves as they were fighting. This was why many newbies decided to play Paladins.


    There was a second T6 item. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t a Warrior, Hunter, or Shaman item.


    Pauldrons of the Forgotten Vanquisher!


    This was a set item for Thieves, Mages and Druids.


    It was as if the hornets¡¯ nest had been tipped over. Although there were only two Thieves, both of them were guild leaders, while the plight that Mages faced when their items dropped was self-explanatory. There were only two Druids, but one was Innocent Child, who was a pro player, and the other was Hachi Chan, who had an exorbitant amount of guild points.


    In the end, it was Hachi Chan who had the highest bid.


    When Innocent Child stepped onto the arena, he would then be able to borrow the item from her.


    After all the items were distributed, it was time for the next Boss.


    ¡°Are you guys crazy? Are you not going to rest?¡±


    The ex-commander was stunned. When he was commanding, everyone wanted to squeeze in as much rest as they could. The difference was night and day. They were now fighting consecutive Bosses without rest, despite having been wiped multiple times.


    ¡°If we¡¯re tired, then we¡¯ll sub out.¡± Azure Sea Breeze respond harshly. ¡°Are you tired? If you¡¯re tired, then you can rest.¡±


    ¡°Not tired. Not even a bit,¡± Lu Li immediately said, showing that he was still able to continue.


    This was already the penultimate Boss. They were already able to see Illidan in the distance. If Lu Li went out for a rest and this group of scumbags didn¡¯t pull him back in, then his dream of dual-wielding Illidan¡¯s Glaives wouldn¡¯t be realised.


    There was information, as well as gameplay videos of Illidan¡¯s blades in action. All the players were excited to see this new Legendary weapon in action.


    Even Mages, who couldn¡¯t equip the Glaives wanted one just to wield in one hand.


    There wasn¡¯t only one Boss; this was the Illidari Council.


    Illidan, Kael¡¯thas and Faskey had built this group together, along with Lady Malande, Gathios the Shatterer and High Nethermancer Zerefor.


    The Illidari Council was established to help Illidan manage the Black Temple and its armies. This Council was also responsible with managing the daily tasks and duties of the Black Temple. There were these main groups of soldiers within the Black Temple ¨C Naga, Blood Elf, Trolls and Fel Orcs. These groups of soldiers were given to Gathios the Shatterer, while Zerefor was in charge of nurturing them by empowering them with magic. Lady Malande was responsible for administration, while an assassin from Kael¡¯thas¡¯ royal family, Veras Shadowshadow, was responsible for the Assassination unit, which was called the Crimson Sigil.


    Of course, this was what it seemed to be on the surface.


    However, the purpose of the Illidari Council was to keep an eye on Illidan. There were constant reports of Illidan¡¯s movement being sent to Kael¡¯thas.


    Illidan was completely aware of Kael¡¯thas¡¯ actions.


    Naturally, Illidan did not care for Kael¡¯thas and what he was doing. After all, if he wanted to, he could completely destroy Kael¡¯thas and all of his people, the Blood Elves.


    However, it wasn¡¯t yet the time. He still needed Kael¡¯thas¡¯ power and Kael¡¯thas¡¯ trust. The Illidari Council was useful for this purpose.


    It was also because of this that the Council still stood strong. How would this end? Only fate itself knew.


    However, their attitude towards the players were still unchanging. They knew that they needed to fight, no matter what the Council was.


    Because there were more enemies on this battlefield, the team needed to have three Warriors and a high hit-rate Mage for the Tanking team.


    This was because Mages did not gain aggro easily. If they missed a single hit, it was likely for them to lose aggro. Furthermore, it was not easy for them to pull the aggro back immediately. If that happened, a team wipe would soon follow.


    They also needed to bring at least seven healers. Of course, they could bring more ¨C this was going to be a long and arduous battle after all.


    Sky Moon formed four small squads from the main team. Each squad was in charge of one Boss.


    He arranged for the strongest and most durable Tank, along with four healers to deal with Gathios the Shatterer.


    Another squad consisted of one Tank Warrior, one Thief, two Mages and one healer. The aim of this squad was to interrupt Lady Malande¡¯s Circle of Healing and her Holy Wrath.


    Normally, two Mages were used to interrupt these two spells.


    This needed to be done without mistakes, otherwise, it would lead to a team wipe.


    There was also a pairing of Tank and Healer as a separate squad. This squad was responsible for holding Veras Shadowshadow away from the main teams as soon as he spawned.


    The hit-rate Mage was responsible for tanking High Nethermancer Zerefor for the whole battle.


    This wasn¡¯t the first multi-Boss battle. They all had prior experiences, so the key was teamwork and understanding the Bosses¡¯ mechanics well. The combined forces of the three-guild alliance swiftly dealt with the three of them.


    All of these Bosses dropped items, but the combined drops were still around the same number as one Boss.


    A T6 set of Pants dropped.


    Veil of Turning Leaves!


    This was a Healing Druid¡¯s Cloth Armor, and was given to Innocent Child.


    Madness of the Betrayer!


    Everyone was sent into a frenzy when they saw this item.


    This was an endgame Accessory for the current update of the game. Not a single person wasn¡¯t excited.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t an exception. However, as the bidding price went up, he found himself unable to compete anymore. After all, he wanted to save up for the Glaives. He had already been saving up for a while.

 Chapter 1973 - Black Temple First Clear

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    The final Boss was of course, Illidan himself.


    Illidan Stormrage, otherwise known as the ¡®Traitor¡¯, was now the leader of the Outlands and the final Boss of the Black Temple. He was once a Night Elf and was Malfurion Stormrage¡¯s younger brother who had been romantically involved with Tyrande Whisperwind.


    Illidan was born with an innate talent and passion for Magic.


    After being freed from imprisonment, he began a rampage of outrageous doings, such as absorbing Gul¡¯dan¡¯s power, awaking the Naga and swearing loyalty to Kil¡¯jaeden. The Illidan now was no longer a demon or a Dark Elf. He was no longer what they knew as a living being. He was now being hunted by Maiev Shadowsong.


    Illidan¡¯s life was filled with legends and constant drama. Perhaps it would be wiped clean one day, but not right now. He was a complete traitor.


    Illidan loved Tyrande. He had liked her since he was a child and continued to like her even after she became his sister-in-law. He never gave up and was even willing to be imprisoned by her for ten thousand years.


    Now, he was the King of the Outland, but he was never able to be with Tyrande.


    His life was full of stories and legends, being Malfurion Stormrage¡¯s younger brother. Before he left Azeroth, he uttered a final word.


    ¡°No matter what I have done, or what I become, I will always care about you, Tyrande.¡±


    If these words were used in a romance novel, they would be extremely effective.


    After days of effort, they finally stood in front of Illidan.


    This battle was not going to be easy. In fact, it would be comparable to the battle against Kael¡¯thas.


    The battle was split into four phases, which was uncommon.


    There was a Main Tank, two Secondary Tanks and a Warlock who was heaped with Shadow Resistance items. The rest of the squad was comprised of eight or nine Healers and DPS players.


    The battle began with talking to Akama. Then, Akama brought them to the top of the Black Temple and had an argument with Illidan. In the end, Illidan yelled his signature line.


    ¡°You are NOT prepared!¡±


    This signalled the end of the argument and the beginning of the actual battle.


    After Illidan was activated, Warriors needed to pull him to face the other way to avoid his Drain Soul hitting anyone else other than them.


    In this phase, the positioning of the players was very similar to the battle that they had against Grobbulus. The Tanks were circling the outside of the team, keeping Illidan¡¯s back faced towards the team. Meanwhile, the ranged DPS players were positioned in the middle of the room, furiously attacking Illidan. When the Shadow Demon was about to spawn, they would run and wait until it appeared.


    They couldn¡¯t even get past Illidan¡¯s pre-programmed words for the first few battles. They continued to wipe, even before Illidan finished.


    However, they were furthering their understanding more and more with each wipe.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t understand why Sky Moon was so determined to get the First Clear for this Instance Dungeon. Sky Moon was simply sending the players to their deaths.


    However, no one seemed to object to it.


    This completely dumbfounded Lu Li.


    What left him even more dumbfounded was why Sky Moon had brought along four Thieves. Lu Li knew that during the second phase, Thieves were almost useless and couldn¡¯t contribute much to the overall DPS.


    If the difficulty level was at 10 with two Thieves, then bringing four Thieves would increase the difficulty to 16.


    Unfortunately, Lu Li had already left everything to Sky Moon. It was up to him as to how he wanted to compose his teams. However, Lu Li was able to displace Sky Moon as the commander if he wanted to.


    There was also another problem ¨C with so many Thieves, the price of the Glaives would surely go up.


    What ensued were days of wiping again and again. It was nearly time for his engagement ceremony.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep holding on. Everyone, just a bit more! We are taking the Instance Dungeon down today! Tomorrow is the wedding day!¡± Sky Moon yelled and encouraged everyone to keep going, despite them being exhausted already.


    Had he not brought five Thieves into the Instance Dungeon, perhaps the battle would have been


    over quicker.


    That¡¯s right ¨C he had decided to include yet another Thief.


    Although Lu Li was complaining in his heart, he had to admit that the collective power of this tri-guild alliance was incredible. Even with so many Thieves, they were able to enter the fourth phase multiple times.


    System: Congratulations to Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City, who under the command of Sky Moon, have completed the First Clear of the Black Temple!


    No one could believe their ears. The Instance Dungeon had been completed so unexpectedly. The start of the final battle wasn¡¯t ideal. Quite a few players made mistakes that shouldn¡¯t have been made, which made Sky Moon nearly call for a restart.


    Who would have thought that this would be when they finally took Illidan down?


    Four skill points!


    After a rough calculation, Lu Li¡¯s silence meant that in a one out of six chance, he hadn¡¯t been rewarded with one.


    One Enhanced Skill Book!


    It was for Warlocks, so it didn¡¯t concern him.


    There were two regular skill books and one of them was quite useful for Thieves. However, Lu Li already planned to save up all his points for the Glaives, so he didn¡¯t even take a second look.


    Finally, it was time for equipment.


    Faceplate of the Impenetrable!


    This was a Legendary Helmet for Healing Paladins, so it was given to Darkness without question.


    Of course, she still needed to pay. However, since there were no competitors, she claimed it for the base price.


    Memento of Tyrande!


    This was an exquisite accessory for Priests. Star Baby was the one who ended up with it after bidding against March Rain. March Rain¡¯s own accessory at the time was already quite valuable, so she decided to give up after a few bids.


    Chestguard of the Forgotten Conqueror!


    This was a T6 set item for Paladins, Priests and Warlocks. March Rain finally decided to unleash everything she had to claim the item.


    Chestguard of the Forgotten Protector!


    This was part of the cursed Warrior, Hunter and Shaman set. Although as a whole, these items weren¡¯t in demand, Remnant Dream, Moonlight, Azure Sea Breeze, Bearded Zaza and Sakura Memories still wanted them. In the end, the final bid was not considered low at all.


    Zhar¡¯doom, Greatstaff of the Devourer!


    This was the signature staff that Illidan dropped. The properties were excellent and the look of this item was rather unique. This staff was adored by countless Mages and was the signature weapon of this game update. As a result, no one wanted to let this go. Although its properties could not compare to the golden staff or the magister, it was still extremely coveted.


    There was furious competition over this item. In the end it was Sesame Rice Ball who came out victorious, but he paid the price of poverty.


    Lu Li sighed. It wasn¡¯t because he wanted this staff or because there was no T6 Thief item that had dropped.


    The reason for his sigh was because after all these drops, there was only a chance for one or two more items.


    Was there hope for his blades?

 Chapter 1974 - Warglaive of Azzinoth

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    Another piece of equipment was looted as Lu Li shut his eyes in pain.


    Skull of Gul¡¯dan!


    This was the Skull of the Orc Warlock Gul¡¯dan, which held a terrifying power inside that could draw out the evil in one¡¯s heart. After Illidan Stormrage got this treasure, he turned into a powerful demon.


    It was said at the time, in order for Gul¡¯dan to gain even more power, he went to Sargeras¡¯ tomb and died there in the end. His body was shredded into pieces by the demons in the grave, while his head was taken away by a Storm Raider Warlock back to Draenor.


    This skull changed hands a few times in the battle.


    Harkkan Skullsplinter, chief of the Ribchewer clan, ended up with it and hung it in front of his own chest, all the way until Grommash Hellscream paid him a visit.


    Grommash killed Harkkan, subduing the Ribchewer clan and giving the Skull of Gul¡¯dan over to Ner¡¯zhul.


    Afterwards, Deathwing and Ner¡¯zhul formed an alliance, expressing immediate interest in the skull that Ner¡¯zhul had on his table. Although Ner¡¯zhul wasn¡¯t willing, because of the current situation, the Skull of Gul¡¯dan ended up in the hands of Deathwing.


    In the battle between Deathwing and Khadgar, Khadgar observed Deathwing¡¯s weaknesses. Taking advantage of Gruul and his spell that was capable of melting the Black Dragon¡¯s armor, Deathwing¡¯s body instantly began to crack. He had no choice but to drop his armor and flee. In the chaos, Gul¡¯Dan¡¯s skull was dropped, with Khadgar picking it up.


    The Skull of Gul¡¯dan had been passed around Azeroth from Dalaran to Lordaeron, and had even belonged to Kel¡¯Thuzad for a while too.


    Although he absorbed the power of the Skull of Gul¡¯dan, he didn¡¯t become as handsome as him, but rather became bigger, taller and stronger. A long, crooked horn grew from his forehead, while bat wings sprouted from his back and his feet became powerful hooves.


    Illidan not only inherited the strength of Gul¡¯dan, but also inherited his memories. This gave him many secrets that others weren¡¯t to know, including the whereabouts of Sargeras¡¯ tomb and what was inside it.


    Although the power inside the skull was nearly completely gone, Illidan had still kept it the entire time.


    It was often placed on Illidan¡¯s table, and sometimes was taken to serve as a paperweight. Whenever Illidan was deep in thought, he would pick it up and play with it in his hands, even speaking to it from time to time.


    Although it wasn¡¯t Legendary equipment, the attributes were better than Legendary. With complete attributes and three strong special effects, it had all the attributes magic roles had been dreaming of.


    Lu Li sat desolately to the side, holding Water Fairy¡¯s hand ¨C this gave his weak heart a bit of consolation.


    Remnant Dream looked at Lu Li¡¯s light-green face, squatted down and kept looting.


    A distinctively crafted warblade was pulled out.


    ¡°Hello!¡±


    Li looked at Remnant Dream with dissatisfaction.


    ¡°Points, give up your points! Anyone who can wield this sword come out with your points!¡±


    ¡°80 points!¡± Azure Sea Breeze cried at the top of his voice.


    ¡°Pfft!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a Tank; what¡¯s the good in taking it?¡± Lu Li thought to himself.


    ¡°85!¡± Sesame Rice Ball¡¯s face was serious.


    ¡°Bro, it says up there that it¡¯s only for Warriors and Thieves. You¡¯re a Warlock.¡±


    ¡°Mmm, 100. This weapon is really good,¡± Moonlight said seriously.


    And so everyone kept bidding their points. There were seven or eight people, not counting those joking around. Lu Li was looking up as he fell down next to Illidan¡¯s corpse.


    At this moment, the System actually distributed a First Clear reward.


    This also meant that there was no more loot. Only after all the items had been picked up would a First Clear reward be released.


    Cursed Vision of Sargeras!


    At this moment, Lu Li felt that he had been visited by the goddess of luck.


    Many people thought that no matter the Attributes of the Cursed Vision of Sargeras, it was still better than the Warglaive of Azzinoth.


    ¡°I got the Off-Hand Warglaive of Azzinoth!¡± Cain¡¯s Left Hand exclaimed gleefully.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good. Why doesn¡¯t Dreamy give another one to Left Hand? Then, it¡¯ll be a pair,¡± Azure Sea Breeze giggled.


    What else could Lu Li say? He felt it made a lot of sense too.


    The other few Thieves also showed off their rewards. Water Fairy received a Skill Point.


    Sky Moon clearly let out a relieved breath. He took the blade that Remnant Dream had looted, as well as Cain¡¯s Left Hand¡¯s one, pairing up the Warglaives of Azzinoth.


    Under Lu Li¡¯s confused gaze, Sky Moon placed the two weapons into Water Fairy¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Congratulations Water Fairy sis on your wedding. These are our congratulatory gifts from the First Clear team!¡±


    Lu Li was especially emotional; he was unable to speak.


    Thinking about it now, everything had an explanation. It was no wonder the First Clear team had been pushing forward with such vigor, and why Sky Moon had brought along five Thieves.


    They were very lucky to have gotten the First Clear, otherwise, it would be too late to cry.


    ¡°What are you emotional for? We¡¯re not giving it to you,¡± Azure Sea Breeze chided as he brushed past Lu Li.


    ¡°Shut up, you single dog!¡± Lu Li retorted coldly.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± The others roared with laughter; Azure Sea Breeze had been deeply hurt.


    With these congratulatory gifts given to Water Fairy, it was actually the same as being given to Lu Li.


    Water Fairy smilingly equipped herself with the weapons. At least weapons in the current patch could be sold after being equipped.


    Lu Li looked eagerly at his partner flaunting the weapons in front of him, with hatred overfilling in his heart. He thought about going for a walk together at night, then tying the knot tomorrow. He had to make her understand the principle of the man being in charge.

 Chapter 1975 - Wedding

    With their pile of equipment, they had now completely finished the Black Temple Instance Dungeon.


    Sky Moon used his own power to cement his position on the commander ranking, and his commanding authority in the club. After all, Lu Li didn¡¯t give any tips to him from the start to the finish of this Instance Dungeon.


    Lu Li had already decided to relax and let him command the Sunwell from the beginning.


    If they could get the First Clear, that was the best, it was no problem otherwise. A professional gamer¡¯s life couldn¡¯t be too smooth, otherwise, they would lack resilience and the motivation to keep going forward.


    Lu Li held two blades in his hand and brought Cursed Vision of Sargeras with him. He snapped a picture with everyone in front of Black Temple as a memento.


    That was also the last photo of him in his single life.


    Starting from tomorrow, he would have an extra responsibility in his life. He would become someone¡¯s husband, and in the future, he might have to shoulder the responsibility of being a father.


    Lu Li wasn¡¯t afraid of this responsibility, so in terms of this uncertain but foreseeable future, he didn¡¯t have any fears at all.


    After a night of sweet dreams, he woke up early the next day and logged into the game.


    The Black Sea Coast Stronghold was decorated with colourful lanterns. They already had celebratory events in the daytime, and the game them some awesome congratulatory gifts. In this map, they could farm festive monsters which would drop wedding sweets and gift boxes.


    They had always showed strong support for this odd couple. Now that this pair had reached their final destination, there was no doubt that they could provide the most publicity for the official dating system.


    Yes, you can find a girlfriend in the game.


    Yes, you can find a wife in the game.


    Yes, you can find your fair-skinned, rich beauty in the game.


    Of course, the game designers couldn¡¯t make this event game-wide. They didn¡¯t have enough time; even they worked overtime non-stop it couldn¡¯t be done.


    All of the Black Sea Coast had entered into nighttime earlier ¨C most likely to heighten up the atmosphere for the wedding.


    However, a dark night didn¡¯t mean darkness. With all the flowers and trees lit up, the entire area was illuminated.


    Thousands of players streamed into the Black Sea Coast. Even the busiest person would choose to take a day off from their gaming life.


    It was relatively casual for ordinary players to enter, but those who wanted to show off would give presents.


    The trumpet on top of the Stronghold would be regularly blasting out a tune.


    ¡°Wood Fearing, the leader of the Gods of Dusk club, congratulates ¡®the odd couple¡¯ on their wedding. Note, ¡®the odd couple¡¯ was what Wood Fearing insisted on saying. It¡¯s got nothing to do with me; I¡¯m just a messenger.¡±


    ¡°The Azure Guard club, Stellar Union Silver Radiant, and Floral Paralysis join hands on congratulating ¡®the odd couple¡¯ on their wedding, note as above.¡±


    ¡°Join hands. Dammit, Fat Monkey, wait. You best not go out anymore.¡±


    ¡°The new leader of Glory Capital, her majesty queen Wendelian, as well as the famed Open Sky commentator, her majesty queen Nine Phoenix, congratulate Water Fairy on her joyous wedding. Note, how come you have to be different to others? Could it be that you¡¯re not congratulating our boss. You can see he¡¯s so happy he can¡¯t even speak.¡±


    ¡°Alright, the girls don¡¯t care about me. Oh, here comes another girl ¨C our Maple sis. Maple sis I love you. Do you love me? Haha, save your Fireballs and keep them for your single, partner-less self.¡±


    ¡°Majin Temple¡¯s leader, Unforgettable Maple, together with the harem, congratulates the odd couple on their marriage.¡±


    ¡°Wings of Dawn¡¯s leader Dream 13¡­hey, Elevenless, how come you didn¡¯t come? I really miss him.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s crying at home. The girl of his dreams is getting married; it¡¯s hard for his heart to bear.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, then you have a chance. You two are brothers after all.¡±


    ¡°Haha, Monkey, we will see. After today, I think you might leave the group.¡±


    ¡°What do we in Ruling Sword have to be afraid of!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no we, just you. Just go die where you ought to die.¡±


    Square Root 3 was receiving guests downstairs and was quickly growing annoyed to death by Fat Monkey. That guy was an expert at making people angry, and there was Azure Sea Breeze too, who was always whiny. They were both so sharp and annoying.


    ¡°Glo¡­Glory Capital,¡± Fat Monkey stammered, suddenly becoming serious.


    ¡°Glory Capital¡¯s former leader Sorrowless congratulates Lu Li and Water Fairy on their wedding.¡±


    No one dared to look down on him ¨C he was still the big boss of Glory Capital, still the top player in the game, and there were still countless people by his side willing to do whatever he asked.


    Fat Monkey had some very complex feelings.


    Many people said that after Sorrowless, he would become the Mage God that had the most potential. It was a shame that these were just words; even he himself didn¡¯t take them to heart.


    Sorrowless retiring didn¡¯t mean that he wouldn¡¯t be playing games. In terms of gaming, he could still


    deliver a shameful, crushing defeat.


    More and more people kept on coming.


    Those idle onlookers even actually heard that there was an NPC that gave their congratulations to the odd couple.


    Two players flirting around and planning to spend their happy, unashamed lives together with each other shocked the NPCs. The table of NPCs all seemed to too enigmatic to be understood. You simply couldn¡¯t see where they actually came from.


    However, when considering Lu Li and Water Fairy¡¯s professions, as well as their attitudes towards the NPCs, everyone was able to get make a rough guess.


    Thief players used passionate eyes to look over at that table, but no one dared to make conversation.


    By the time all the guests had arrived, an MC began going through the usual protocol. Because it was a wedding held in a game, they saved themselves from carrying out a lot of the traditions.


    They didn¡¯t know who had proposed this lousy idea, but they actually wanted the bride and groom to have a battle.


    Seeing Water Fairy¡¯s eager eyes for it, Lu Li had a bit of a breakdown.


    What sort of wedding would have two people holding knives and jabbing each other?


    There was no one in the past who did this, and probably no one in the future either.


    ¡°Whoever wins will have the final say in the household!¡± Deadly Green Orange cried.


    ¡°Whoever wins manages the money.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, do it like that! Whoever loses has the buy the groceries!¡±


    Fat Monkey was the kind of person who wanted to watch the world burn.


    Everyone was saying this was to celebrate. If they could have a little fun, then no one would refuse.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t really dare to win.¡±


    Lu Li was about to vomit blood. It was enough to have him fight on his wedding day, but they had even set a trap for him.


    However, since Water Fairy wanted this wedding to be a trendsetter, what was more to be said?


    Both of them quickly changed into their equipment.


    Water Fairy wore a whole suit of war clothes, looking very heroic and valiant.


    Lu Li almost wore a full set of equipment too, except he only wielded a single-handed sword and didn¡¯t have any headgear.


    If you were playing chess and didn¡¯t have your rooks, knights and bishops, then it was basically impossible to win.

 Chapter 1976 - Alcohol Doesn’t Get People Drunk, People Get Drunk Themselves

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    However, it wasn¡¯t important whether he won or lost.


    Today, Lu Li was destined to win. He had grown up in the common district, living a difficult life like a dog.


    Who would have thought that one day, he would be able to earn the money to cure his sister¡¯s disease that, establish a gaming club, and marry someone who was a goddess in so many young people¡¯s hearts?


    ¡°Come on, you¡¯re not willing to put on equipment yourself? It can¡¯t be me forcing you,¡± Water Fairy said.


    ¡°Yeah, yep, I don¡¯t want it,¡± Lu Li responded helplessly.


    Although he was helpless, when he opened his mouth, his voice tricked no one. Water Fairy was right, however ¨C she hadn¡¯t forced Lu Li to give up two pieces of equipment, but rather, it was her two close friends.


    To have a battle on the stage of a wedding was something that could happen only in a game.


    Today, quite a few relatives on Water Fairy¡¯s side had entered into the game. Many of them were still level 10 newbies, and all of them had been transported to the Black Sea Coast by Warlocks from the three-guild alliance. They had their own seats and had settled in exceptionally well.


    A few of the older cousins in the Fan family had reached level 10, and had suddenly realized that this game ¡®Dawn¡¯ was actually quite fun.


    And so, they began to get really into the game.


    Some mercenary groups also attended and had brought generous gifts. They had been assigned to a table of themselves, but the ones sitting there weren¡¯t actually people from the mercenary group.


    If Square Root 3 wasn¡¯t so busy, perhaps he would have recognized the Blue Universe competitor Sindra.


    Of course, Sindra couldn¡¯t have left Blue Universe and joined an ordinary mercenary group. This mercenary group was part of the Blue Universe group, and Blue Universe was once a guild that Water Fairy had invested a lot in. Later, Water Fairy and her family had a falling out, and these clubs reorganized and started over again. Blue Universe became the biggest club held by the Shen family group.


    Who was able to have Sindra mindfully serve them?


    Evidently, it was only the legendary leader Shen.


    Leader Shen was a level 10 newbie, and there were quite a few differences between his appearance in the game and in real life. However, he had no way to hide his marks of age.


    In the end, he was still a dashing and elegant old man. Otherwise, how could he have a daughter of unrivalled beauty? Even if Water Fairy¡¯s mother was any more beautiful, it wouldn¡¯t have made any difference.


    The reason why rich families had lots of handsome guys and beautiful girls wasn¡¯t just because of the imagination of authors and screenwriters.


    Beautiful girls would enter into their homes, and after a few generations, the genes would become more and more beautiful. It was hard to have an ugly child. Water Fairy was evidently the result of the filtering of genes from generation to generation.


    If one day Lu Li and Water Fairy had a son or a daughter, would they actually be pretty, or would they be troubled by Lu Li¡¯s ordinariness?


    Unfortunately, their child was another story altogether.


    Today, the protagonists were Water Fairy and Lu Li.


    When leader Shen saw his daughter that he had not seen for a long while, his eyes moistened. Sindra, sitting formally next to him, didn¡¯t know how to comfort him either.


    He actually wanted to complain deep inside. Was there actually something wrong with her? Such a small matter had turned them into enemies.


    The odd couple had already started fighting intensely on the stage. Those who weren¡¯t gamers couldn¡¯t stand all the jumping and floundering around, but the others were relishing the moment.


    However, everyone could clearly see something here ¨C Lu Li was struggling to fight.


    No matter what, Water Fairy was a celebrity competitor, and her power wasn¡¯t far off from Lu Li¡¯s at all. If she couldn¡¯t hold the advantage even like this, then she might as well live off her pretty face.


    Mr. Fan¡¯s heart was pounding with fear and anxiety, and he lamented along with the people around him that kids these days were too lively.


    The old folks around him all nodded in agreement, but some of them talked with great excitement about their gaming exploits in their early days.


    The win/loss points were revealed on stage. It turned out Water Fairy¡¯s skills were ¡®one notch better¡¯, and she had successfully held down Lu Li.


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t feel that it was a one-sided battle either. She happily went back to change into her wedding clothes. This was her day; she could play however she wanted.


    Of course, there were a lot of people she had to see and socialize with. The ones she genuinely had good times with were still those little students Remnant Dream, Hachi Chan, Lu Yin and Princely Beauty.


    A lot of the time, it was just because someone was born in the right circumstances, made the right choice, and then smoothly reached the pinnacle in life that was so hard to reach for so many people.


    For example, those silly little girls Hachi Chan and Remnant Dream were still ignorant of society and hadn¡¯t experienced the difficulties of life, but they had already become shareholders of Ruling Sword. Now, each of them was worth millions and millions.


    It didn¡¯t matter what their family circumstances were like; they now had wealth that they could pass down to their descendants.


    Lu Li and Water Fairy went to the tables one by one for toasts.


    However, they would definitely not be able to visit them all. Today, the Black Sea Coast was hosting a massive banquet, refusing no one who came. There were certainly tens of thousands of tables, with nearly a million people watching. If they really took a toast at every table, they might die from drinking too much.


    The main ones were just those inner tables. These were the Elites from the three-guild alliance, as well as outstanding players from the same roles.


    No matter how everyone usually fought each other, at this time and place, everyone was a guest. Everyone brought congratulatory hearts as they came to attend the ceremony.


    ¡°Congratulations, congratulations,¡± 13 laughed heartily.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Lu Li had a drink with him. As the leader of a club coming to celebrate with him, you could say he gave enough face.


    ¡°Just hope you don¡¯t get into having too much fun, haha,¡± Dream 13 said as he hammered Lu Li¡¯s chest, then looked over at Water Fairy and shook his head helplessly. His brother liked this girl, but she had barely given him more than a glance this whole time.


    Many people were perplexed. What sort of person was actually able to match with a girl like Water Fairy?


    Water Fairy wasn¡¯t number one on the so-called list of beauties, but her family status was the highest. She was a goddess who had more than enough to match with anyone.


    As for people like Dancing Flower Beauty, all they had were good looks.


    No matter what era a society was in, looks couldn¡¯t cover up everything. Social status determined a lot of things outside one¡¯s self.


    No one would have thought that the person was Lu Li. When the rumors about the odd couple grew more and more intense, everyone was a little disapproving. If they were good at gaming, that was one thing, but in real life, they would certainly have to find someone who was in their league.


    Everyone understood one thing. Although this wedding was just taking place in the game, what it meant was different to when normal people got married in the game.


    No matter whether Water Fairy was alive or dead, in the game or in real life, this was her man now.


    ¡°Treat our boss well. I think you¡¯re a good guy,¡± Green Flag Wine said as he stood up and downed his drink. His attitude represented the approval of everyone at Peerless City. Why did their boss have to find some rich or upper class kid in real life? Lu Li had gone from rags to riches through his own hard work.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know how to act right. With these hundreds and thousands of people behind her, I¡¯m scared,¡± Lu Li joked.


    Water Fairy used lightly punched Lu Li, laughing coyly and sweetly.


    From start to finish, she had more clarity than anyone. She knew what sort of choice she had made.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say either. Just, congratulations to you two, and I admire you two.¡±


    Sorrowless was a little shaky as he stood up. Alcohol doesn¡¯t get people drunk ¨C people get drunk themselves. Blood Dagger quickly held him. It didn¡¯t matter what the situation was; Blood Dagger always seemed to be at Sorrowless¡¯ side.


    A friendship of over ten years wouldn¡¯t change because of anything.


    ¡°I understand. Thank you,¡± Lu Li thanked him from the bottom of his heart.


    Speaking of which, he really had to thank Sorrowless. If it wasn¡¯t for the enormous pressure of Glory Capital, Ruling Sword, Drizzle Court and Peerless City maybe wouldn¡¯t have banded together.


    And Lu Li and Water Fairy, with their own power that they controlled, couldn¡¯t avoid the competitive relationship between them. They really might not have gotten together so soon.


    After finishing the toasts at this table, Lu Li and Water Fairy, arm in arm, had to leave quickly. At this time, Water Fairy turned back and said, ¡°Darkness already left Jiangnan City. Where she¡¯s gone I don¡¯t know. I guess maybe she¡¯s gone home.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯re you doing?¡± Lu Li glared.


    ¡°It looked like she really didn¡¯t have the heart to,¡± Water Fairy said.


    ¡°But that¡¯s out set Paladin Healer in our First Clear team. If she¡¯s been kidnapped away, I¡¯ll have to have you settle the bill.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯ll be fine. You never know ¨C you could be buying this one and getting another for free.¡±


    As the two walked further away to the next table, Sorrowless had gone from being lifeless to wide awake. Then, he obscured himself and went offline.


    In that inconspicuous corner, Mr. Shen asked Sindra somewhat anxiously, ¡°Will they come over? How long will it take before they come here?¡±


    How was he going to face his own daughter?


    Although he could be strong and assertive and try to suppress everything, with the passing of time over these last two or three years, he gradually knew that his daughter wouldn¡¯t take it.


    His daughter wasn¡¯t an ordinary weak girl.


    She controlled the forces of nature in the game. Her fighting even made him ashamed of his business empire as not being good enough.


    She had her grandfather on her mother¡¯s side she could rely on. The influence of the Fan family had left this so-called big boss of the business world too timid to cross over that line.


    Moreover, in the last few years, he already knew too many things he didn¡¯t know originally.


    His current wife, who was his former secretary, had done many bad things. The evidence was now locked up in a safe. Some things even he felt were too extreme, so extreme that he wanted to dump her.


    However, she bore him a son who would definitely be a worthy successor.


    ¡°Er¡­leader, they won¡¯t come over here. We¡¯re in the outer part,¡± Sindra explained with great awkwardness.


    Forget about them using the guise of mercenaries to attend. Even if it was Blue Universe, as long as the bridge and groom didn¡¯t give the nod of approval, they wouldn¡¯t have the status to sit on the inside.


    Leader Shen immediately became dispirited. He waved his hand weakly, exhaustedly entering deep thought as he slumped in his chair. They didn¡¯t know what he was thinking about either.


    This day belonged to Lu Li and Water Fairy; anyone else was just in the background.

 Chapter 1977 (END) - The Final Chapter

    Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales


    After the wedding in the game ended, very soon, it was the 2nd round of Ruling Sword¡¯s semifinals, fighting on their home court against Peerless City.


    Everyone was fighting very seriously. The scores of the arena competition were still 3:2, but this time, it was Ruling Sword leading. In the first round, Ruling Sword was actually losing to Peerless City by 1 point.


    Peerless City had Green Flag Wine and Deadly Gold Underpants. On the arena, they weren¡¯t afraid of anyone.


    Fortunately, Ruling Sword weren¡¯t weak either. Moonlight, Mu Qiu and Lu Li were all PvP masters. Lu Li certainly couldn¡¯t defeat Green Flag Wine and Deadly Gold Underpants, but apart from these two, he could easily crush anyone else.


    In the group competition, the two sides were fighting even more intensely.


    In the end, Ruling Sword walked away with a home court victory of 5:2.


    They had won in their away match 4:3, so now, the final scores were 9:5. In theory, Peerless City still had a chance the turn the tables.


    Blood Red War Flag and Glory Capital had fought very intensely. After Sorrowless showed up that day at the odd couple¡¯s wedding, no one had seen him again in the game.


    He loved his work, but he loved his girls more.


    No one knew what he was thinking, but this didn¡¯t hinder how he wanted to live his life. After all, he was one of the top ten richest people last year. His assets definitely didn¡¯t include Glory Capital alone.


    On the other hand, Jade Lonesome Flower always considered his professional life to begin from when he had entered Blood Red War Flag.


    In the years when Sorrowless was in control of Glory Capital, he had never been able to bring Blood Red War Flag to the peak.


    Now, Sorrowless had gone.


    If he couldn¡¯t personally defeat Sorrowless, he could chase him off his altar. Jade Flower Lover had suffered for a long time.


    Now, they could only regroup and reorganize, setting their sights on the new Glory Capital under the leadership of Wendelian. If he couldn¡¯t even deal with one woman, then Jade Flower Lover could only work on grooming his own successor.


    What could Glory Capital do without Sorrowless?


    He was still thinking like this until the moment the final scores came out. Reality was a real slap in the face.


    Losing 2:3 in the arena competition was enough, but what about being crushed in the group stage? What was even more crazy was it was their home court.


    Their home court!


    They had lost 2:5 on their home court. This had Jade Flower Lover, who had already drafted his victory speech, dying to kill himself in front of the portrait of Blood Red War Flag¡¯s founding father.


    On the other side of the competition, Peerless City had lost.


    As such, Ruling Sword successfully entered into the finals. They just had to wait for the result between Blood Red War Flag and Glory Capital before they could fight for the second championship.


    There was another Stronghold battle at this time. Ruling Sword¡¯s World Tree had finally bared its fierce teeth to the world.


    When it was planted, it simply couldn¡¯t birth Wisps in time. However, there were a lot of Moonwells in the Black Sea Coast. Some had already dried up, so there were many Wisps wandering around with no home to return to. They would occasionally make a miserable wailing sound, waiting to return back to nature and being restored back to their most basic elements.


    Until one day, the new Stronghold at the Black Sea Coast had a Word Tree seed planted there.


    These Wisps were attracted by it, and they slowly stepped onto the road to find the final resting place for their spirit.


    Lu Li sent people out to protect and guide them, having them clean up monsters on the way and driving away players that were bothering them. This guaranteed that they were able to enter Ruling Sword¡¯s Stronghold.


    With a few days¡¯ effort, The World Tree was filled with over a hundred fluttering Wisps.


    They were able to absorb power from The World Tree to continue their growth and learned natural magic.


    After the Stronghold war started, in order to protect their home, they exploded out in power to fight.


    Their biggest specialty was casting spells. Within a certain radius from The World Tree, the effectiveness of their magic was almost unaffected by distance. They didn¡¯t need to stand at the Stronghold walls to be able to attack players down there.


    Of the two Strongholds in the Black Sea Coast, one was protected by the Ancient of Lore, while the other had the World Tree. A small number of players to defend them was enough. The others were assigned to the two Strongholds of Grey Valley. As for Winterspring, Lu Li instructed Judgement Spear to defend it independently, and wouldn¡¯t send any more reinforcements at all.


    What was unexpected was that Judgement Spear turned out to actually be successful.


    The commander Wandering was usually as crafty as a fox. He created a fake persona and spread a rumor that Judgement Spear had formed a three-way alliance. This caused the major clubs to grow overcautious and not dare to head out.


    Their attackers were a medium-sized club whose power wasn¡¯t that great.


    After a bitter fight, their defense gradually won out.


    However, in the next Stronghold battle, the same strategy wouldn¡¯t work twice.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t keep waiting for the finals. He and Water Fairy held a simple wedding in real life. Mr. Shen sent people to give gratulatory gifts, with he himself not showing up. In a certain way, this expressed his attitude ¨C his business was still going to be given to his son.


    However, no successful businessperson would put all their eggs in one basket.


    According to his will, his company would be divided into three parts. One would be kept for Water Fairy, one would be kept for his son, and one would be held by the board of directors. If his son wasn¡¯t able to pass the triple test set up by the board of directors, the shares held by the board of directors would be given to Water Fairy, and Water Fairy would become the new leader of the Shen clan.


    It was rather complicated, but on the whole, as long as things went in accordance with his will, there wouldn¡¯t be any massive problems.


    And the board of directors would guarantee that this would all go smoothly. They were even more willing to accept a capable person to become the Shen leader. If the Shen prince really couldn¡¯t hold up, they would make sure that Water Fairy would take over.


    As time drew near for him, no matter what lady Shen did to quicken the Mr. Shen¡¯s passing, she also had no way to get the Shen name through her young, ignorant son.


    In his will, leader Shen didn¡¯t leave a cent for her.


    Water Fairy didn¡¯t express an opinion towards this. Her own business was developing flourishingly and simply didn¡¯t need this gift.


    After the wedding was over, Lu Li and Water Fairy began their honeymoon. They went from the great mountains and rivers of the country, to many famous historical and scenic spots overseas, as well as the countless scenic views of the small towns in northern Europe and deserted landscapes of the polar regions.


    To be wise, you couldn¡¯t just read books ¨C you had to be well-travelled too. Once a poverty-stricken youth in the Common District, he began to enjoy life as well as enrich himself.


    When he was overseas, Lu Li heard that Blood Red War Flag had won a round, gaining the advantage while playing away with a score of 4:3. Combining the points before, they had just clawed back to 6:8, so it wasn¡¯t impossible for the scores to flip.


    The System also began release the last patch for The Burning Crusader ¨C Fury of the Sunwell.


    There was a new map, a new Instance Dungeon, and new game mechanisms.


    He also heard that Sorrowless had completely left Glory Capital. After he was relieved of all his duties, he unworthily became an ordinary player in the game. Apparently, he was assembling a personal mercenary group.


    Lu Li still hadn¡¯t received Darkness¡¯ application to leave the guild, so it seemed as though Sorrowless would be waiting for yet a while longer.


    When a guy did something wrong, there were various views on whether they should be forgiven or not.


    Lu Li didn¡¯t express his own views toward this and didn¡¯t take a position either. As long as Darkness chose to remain in the guild, everything would continue as normal. However, in the event that she did leave, they would still remain friends.


    As for Lu Xin, she had already been banned from games. Lu Li hoped that she would enter into university this year, relying on her own capabilities.


    The same went for Remnant Dream and Hachi Chan. They were battling their final year of high school. Even though they had quite a bit of wealth, they still had to study, otherwise, life couldn¡¯t be said to be complete.


    After being away for a month, he took his beloved wife Snowy back home from Europe.


    Blood Red War Flag was unfortunately defeated at the hands of Glory Capital. Once again, a final showdown between Ruling Sword and Glory Capital would take place.


    Aside from this, after another 9 months had passed, Lu Li became a father.


    (End of the book)